The Herd with Colin Cowherd - 3 and Out - Wednesday Football Weirdness; Free Stafford; Shrinking Cap; 2nd Rd. QB Theory; Harbaugh Ducking?; 3 for the $ ATS Picks

Episode Date: December 4, 2020

In this episode, John explains his take on the Steelers/Ravens weird Wednesday day game, why Matt Stafford needs to demand a trade to finish his career with a winner, why he disagrees with the current conventional thinking that the salary cap will shrink due to COVID, why he would never take a QB in the 2nd round, why he's not buying that Jim Harbaugh will duck Ohio State, why the Chargers can't go cheap when hiring their next coach, gives his week 13 3 for the $ ATS picks, and answers listener questions in the Middlekauff Mailbag. Follow John on Twitter and SUBSCRIBE now to get all the latest content!! Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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slash tune in. That's 1,800flowers.com slash tune in. What is going on, everybody? John Middlecop, three-and-out podcast. Thursday afternoon, I peek up and I realize there's no Thursday night game because of all these corona pushbacks. I'm like, you know, what am I waiting for? Might as well just hit record and get some of my takes up on my computer because there's no game tonight, which is kind of weird. But I guess there's like two Monday night football games and then a Tuesday night game. So I really can't keep up with the game movements.

I got no clue what's going on. I just know games get moved at rapid speed, and I just turn on my TV, and if it's on, it's on. If it's not, it's not. But I'll dive into the Wednesday night game, I guess, off the top. I got a lot of stuff. I'm pretty excited about some Matt Stafford thoughts. Scott Pioly had an article on NFL.com about the salary cap. I'm going to push back a little bit.

I have a theory. Developed a theory this week about second round quarterbacks and why I probably wouldn't touch them. Kirk Herb Street said some things about Jim Harbaugh and Michigan, potentially tapping out. And just overall college football playoff thoughts. I was watching Joey Bosa, who had like 50 tackles last week against the bills, like six sacks. I mean, he really had like 10 tackles, three sacks. And it hit me, man. The Chargers.

They have the opportunity to be one of the better job openings in a long time. Three for the money, of course. Actually hit two of my three last week. got a little lucky, I guess, with Tampa that ended up covering three and a half. But I'm 22 and 17 on the year. Feeling pretty good. Feeling pretty good. This week's a little harder.

This week's kind of a tough week. So we'll try to nail my three picks. I actually feel pretty good about my three picks. But let's just start really quick about the Wednesday night game. My overall takeaway is it was a Wednesday night game or Wednesday day game. I don't take away any football from Wednesday's game. I just don't. Football players are creatures of habits.

They have learned to adapt to the Thursday night game, and they understand Sunday and if they're playing Monday night games. They do not play football on Wednesday. The average schedule for an NFL team, if you win on Sunday, you get Monday and Tuesday off. Typically, you practice on Wednesday. Even if you're a team that didn't win, maybe you come in for a little bit on Monday,

get Tuesday off, and then practice on Wednesday. Wednesday is the number one practice day in the NFL. It's when the game plan gets handed out. It's when players start feeling, I mean, depending on who you talk to, feeling a little bit better from the game on Sunday. That's just a normal, you know, your body clocks as a football player are our body clocks as we work our normal jobs, right? You used to go into bed at a certain time, you used to waking up at a certain time.

You're used to a schedule Monday through Friday. Obviously this year has, you know, gotten a clay, Kershaw level curveball of life, but for the most part, the majority of us, even the creative ones, are somewhat creatures of habits. Some people are probably more buttoned up on their daily schedule. I mean, you read some of these guys like getting up at four, working out and doing their stuff and other people, but again, like for the most part, you wake up, you take her kid to school, you go to work, you come home, you make dinner, you hit the gym, whatever. We basically, most humans do the same things the majority of the days of their life. The week, you

weekends are up, you know, in the air. But when it comes to their work, they build their life around their work. So I understand, like, that game looked terrible. It was a rough watch. The Ravens literally played the game without Lamar Jackson. So when I look at the Steelers, I go, yeah, they're 11 and 0. And I think a lot of people are nitpicking them, and I know Mike Tomlin said the Red Zone offense sucked.

I don't really hold them that accountable for that situation. Now, by one takeaway for the Steelers is they lost one of their best players. on the unit that if they were going to win the Super Bowl was going to have to carry them their defense. You lose Bud Dupree, you lose Bush, you lose two legit starters on your defense. I mean, Bush was already gone. But that's a massive loss.

It just is because the number one thing they did is you could not block their front. And it was Dupree and Watt. I mean, it was Watt and Dupree, but losing that guy, that's a big loss. So I don't look at them the same, though when I watched them, I thought it was going to be very difficult for them

to win the Super Bowl, but they clearly were one of the best teams in the league. that's a rough injury loss but I also don't take that much away because they struggled to beat the Ravens like it's a Wednesday game and the Ravens I have no opinion beside the opinions that I already had

they struggle to pass the ball but when RG3 has to start newsflash Robert Griffin the 3 sucks he's not very good if Lamar Jackson was not the Raven starting quarterback Robert Griffin the 3rd

would not be in the national football league. So they started a quarterback who's only in the league because that team runs the most unique offense in the league when it comes to a running quarterback. If Lamar's was John Jackson and he was just a normal quarterback and not Lamar Jackson, RG3 would be out of the league. He's terrible. He can run around a little bit. He couldn't hit water if he was sitting in a boat. So I can't, my takes on the Ravens normally with Lamar, Clearly a flawed team. That team that I watched, I have no opinion on.

That's not their normal football team. I just saw John Harbaugh before I came on here. I was watching the NFL Network, and he was like, you know, the Corona guys don't really have an update. They'll all come back at separate days. So it's just, they got dealt a shitty hand with this thing. And it clearly looks like it was that the reason it happened was an assistant coach, which, for those of you Ravens fans that listen to this,

if he hasn't already, I would imagine he'll be the first guy to go when the season is. When the season ends, they will fire that guy. That guy will go. Someone has to pay for this. And there will be pressure on the league. They'll want that guy to go. He's going to get fired. And he screwed over the Ravens if it was a coach that wasn't following the protocol and led to this spread.

Because when you're a strength and conditioning coach, you deal with all the players. So just a disaster situation sucks for the players. I know they said on the broadcast, like Lamar Jackson was like, what? I've been following all the rules. You can follow the rules. If someone slips, it screws you. It's why I think it's going to be really hard for the NBA. The NFL, these guys, the discipline and the sport, it's just, it's set up like the military.

Coaches tell you to jump, you say how high. In the other sports, like baseball players and basketball players, like, they do what they want to do. I think it's going to be very difficult. It's why football, even though it's been a little rocky at times, for the most part, like, players, listen, what you tell them to do. It's the nature of football. That's why the sport thrives. The other sports, the players are used to telling everyone else to do. It's going to be difficult.

You know, I don't, the NFL, it's been remarkable, especially given how many players they have that I think Schaefter tweeted they haven't had to cancel a game yet. And they came damn close with this one, but they ultimately didn't have to cancel it. Okay, let's dive into Matt Stafford. And I've talked about them earlier this week. You know, the thing in football is free agency and trades happened before the draft. And this week, BYU now plays coastal Carolina. Zach Wilson, Trey Lansden play all year long.

I think if we talk to people in the league, those guys have a chance to even go above Justin Fields. We might see four quarterbacks going to the top ten. But before that, there's going to be some movement. And I think the two guys that we keep talking about, when I say we, meaning myself, are Sam Darnold and Matt Stafford. Matt Stafford right now is infinitely better than Sam Donald. Newsflash, we all get that.

I think, listen, there's a lot of unknown. Who is going to be their next coach? who is going to be their next general manager. To me, if I'm Matt Stafford, I'd say most people, if you listen to the show, if you said, is Middle Cough like pro player or pro-management? I would imagine most people say, oh, he's probably pro-management.

He's kind of anti-player. If you just ask the casual guy to listen to my show. And I always push back and go, listen, most of the players that fight for stuff, I just tend to disagree with their fight. Like Levion Bell, every media guys were like, he went up against the man. No, he lost 50s.

$15 million that he's never going to get back. And ever since he came back, he's a terrible football player. So instead of having the $27 million, he could have had the $14 million and the $27 million. Also, when you sit out a year, you become worse at whatever you do. Whatever you're doing right now, if you're listening to this, medical sales, architecture, podcasting, if you just stop doing something for a year, you become worse. Guarren freaking teat. And a lot of those situations, like I just don't agree with.

sometimes, Khalil Mack, when he held out, I said, you know what? Khalil Mack has a point. You have to pay this guy. He's the best player in the franchise. He knows what his value is. And the moment Aaron Donald got $87 million, it was like either pay him $87 million or he's going to get that deal somewhere else. And he did.

So like, I'm just pro-good business, whether it's the team side or whether it's the player's side. And the only time when a player is really making a big stink that I'm going to lean with the player, if he's a premium player. because if he's not a super elite player, the reality of the NFL is, I can replace you. Welcome to the league.

This isn't the NBA. I don't need to pay $18 million for a small forward. I can find a good, like if you're a Pro Bowl, right guard and you want a franchise tag, I can find a starting right guard for $2 million. It's just the reality of the situation. But I do think for Matt Stafford, and a lot of times when players have drawn their kind of line in the sand

and demanded a trade, I guess it depends on the situation. But I think this one is an easy one for Matt Stafford. He's been there 10 years, and he's been a part of, let's face it, a franchise, that their two best players in franchise history have basically retired at 30 years old. Barry Sanders and Calvin Johnson both said, yeah, I'm over this.

See ya. Godspeed, I'm out. I think Matt Stafford, regardless who becomes the coach, and regardless who becomes the general manager, because if I'm him, I'm not going to trust that those guys going to be good. No matter how sexy the hire is on the press conference, no matter how many fluff piece articles get written from the media, the moment the season ends, I just demand a trade. I say, I'm not playing here anymore. I go Carson Palmer.

Just like when Carson Palmer did that with the Bengals, he was right. The Bengals were in the wrong. And ultimately, it took him the Raiders, but then he eventually got to the Arizona Cardinals. And he got to a situation that resurrected his career. Now, Matt Stafford, you could say, well, they've lost a lot of games. He's been paid handsomely for that. He's made after this season $226 million in his career. So money will never be an issue for any Stafford for several generations

unless they are just village idiots. He has made generational, generational, generational, generational money. Like, it's going for generations. If I'm at Stafford, I do whatever I have to do. I look at the landscape, I pick a couple teams, I get with my agent, I go, who's going to need a quarterback, where can I win, Indianapolis, San Francisco, Pittsburgh, whatever, and I give them the list. And I dictate the terms. It's rare in the NFL that you're able to do that.

And you've seen every once in a while, premium players can do that. Jamal Adams kind of did it with New York, so I'm not playing here anymore. Now, they still got two ones and a two for them. Jalen Ramsey, same thing, two ones and a two. Kaleel Mack, same thing, two ones. It doesn't mean that you're not going to have to trade something for him, but I think Matt Stafford, who also could, if he had to, give some bonus money back, take a little bit smaller of a cap number,

but he needs to take his career into his own hands. Because the Detroit Lions, while they change the financial future of his life, and Stafford's for, till the, you know, it's going to be, you know, 3,050, the Staffords are still going to be living off this contract money. the hell they could move to California and even with these taxes still be fine. But he's going to go down as just one of those guys, you know,

he's just one of those like NBA players that just put up good stats and just never won. Do you want to be remembered like that? Especially when you have an unlimited amount of money. He has an unlimited amount of money. As a rich guy told me one time, or actually someone told me that a rich guy told him what it's like to be a billionaire,

he said, just imagine everywhere you go, everything is free. It was like, God, that's such a great way to put it. Like, everywhere you go, everything is free. Even the more money you make, you realize you go someplace, you're like, ah, I used to think about paying for this, now I'll just buy it. But every, you always go somewhere, you're like, God, there's a little out of my price range, right?

Hell, you could make $10 million a year. You walk into Malibu, they're like, yeah, we want $50 million for this house. You're like, yeah, it's a little out of my price range. There ain't many places Matt Stafford goes where money is an issue. I'll promise you that. It's time to win. And just make the playoffs a car. couple time and just have some moments on a franchise that matters. The Colts are clearly ready-made.

Now, I don't know if the Colts want them. The 49ers are clearly ready-made missing a quarterback. There are going to be a couple spots and a couple teams, the Steelers, who knows what's going to happen with Rothersburg. He's pretty old. My gut would be Rothersberger comes back. But I think the no-brainer move, and if I was Matt Stafford's friend, if I was his agent, I would, the moment the season ends, I would meet him at his house and go, we need a strategy, we need to demand a trade. and help make it public, however we want to do it. But we need to tell the Lions, we're not going to play here anymore. We're done.

We will never play another snap for your franchise. We appreciate all the money you gave us. I gave you everything we had. Your crappy coaches and crappy rosters screwed our ability to win. I had some moments too, but I was the least of your problems for the last decade. And he truly was. I mean, we can nitpick them all you want,

but I'm blaming the Lions not. him. But it's time for him to take his, you know, his career into his own hands. And 33, 34, 35, 36, he's got a little window where he can still really play to give him a chance to maybe win a Super Bowl or make a couple deep playoff runs and just become a quarterback that we remember as a winner. Not a guy that just has an unlimited amount of money, but is a losing player. You know, I've lived in several different condo complexes in Philadelphia and now three in the Bay Area. And one thing you consistently notice when you move in,

I didn't probably notice as much in Philadelphia. I lived actually in a really, really nice one in Philadelphia, right downtown. It was badass. My second year working in the office. It was really cool. But the last two condo complexes I've lived in, one as a renter and now one as a buyer,

you go into these where someone owns it, whether they live in there or they're renting it out, and you see a lot of different people. Like the first one I live, and had a lot of older people. Honestly, it kind of felt like a retirement home. Part of it was like in 2013, 2014. I did not want to play San Francisco rent prices,

so I moved basically right across the bay, right next to Cal Berkeley, kind of. And I lived in an area where the economy was booming. But there were a lot of people that had moved in this condo complex when you could probably buy in for like 80 grand, 75 grand 20 years previously and now these condos are going for you know five 600,000 so they had made a ton yet the people in the condo complex a lot of them on fixed income

didn't have that much money so when you have to do big improvements it's on the HOA fee they want to raise the HOA fee and the richer guys that pay five six hundred thousand dollars that money isn't as important to them want the condo complex to be nicer whether it's improve the pool improve whatever like cool I'll pay an extra hundred dollars a month on the HOA fee well a lot of the older people on the fixed income want no part of that because even though they've made a ton of money on their place right if they paid off that hundred thousand dollars whether how much they got on a loan they have four or five hundred thousand dollars in equity just in a little condo in 15 years it's an incredible investment yet they don't actually have that much money the cash so they want

no part of raising the HOA fees. And I've seen it in the one I live in now, which actually has a lot more younger people. It's more just I hate the HOA, but we haven't had that as many problems as we did as the old place I lived. But part of like anyone knows it's at a country club. I'm not a member at a country club right now.

My brother is. And I think you see it at a golf country club is there's always a discrepancy with just because you're a member at a country club, unless it's like Augusta. A lot of the run of the mills, like the one of my brother's a member of that, that I grew up kind of playing at in like Davis, California.

It's not like some nice country club. Honestly, most people that are members there are like farmers, construction workers. I mean, you can join for, gosh, it's like $1,000 to join. It's not, I think a lot of the people view country clubs, like, yeah, there are some ones in like Bel Air or New York, right, or I don't know, some of these Trump ones that are probably expensive as shit. But a lot of them just have guys that like to play golf. I played golf this during Corona with a guy. I had a buddy that was a member at a course in the Bay Area. We played with another guy who had just joined.

He's like, you know, it actually, I was playing so much golf during Corona as a public golfer. It was cheaper to join the country club, especially if the down payment's like a thousand bucks. And then your monthly payment is a couple hundred dollars. But part of being a member of a country club is you're kind of all in it together. So if you ever want to make like an improvement to the clubhouse, meaning like maybe add a sweet restaurant or at a cool bar or whatever.

Everyone has to chip in to pay. Well, not everyone, not every member of the club obviously has the same amount of money. Some guys might have been members there forever and don't really pay that much money and might have cost them no money to join. Other people that have new money, they don't mind. They want to do nicer stuff. Well, it's hard to get everyone to vote and agree on because even though you're all members of the same club, not everyone is in the same financial situation.

I saw Scott Piole write a long article on the salary cap and kind of the potential ramifications of the salary cap going. Can I give you an educated guess, which I think a lot of owners are going to push for? Because it's been a topic all year long that the salary cap is going to plummet. I think a large majority, especially the new owners, the big money guys,

are not going to want the salary cap to drop. Why? Because going from $200 back to like $180, what's $20 million? dollars to Dave Tepper. You know Dave Tepper just bought his franchise for $2 billion? He paid cash. He paid cash for his team. Why would he want the salary cap to get? That'd be a competitive disadvantage for him. You think Jerry Jones is worried about the salary cap? Hell, even like Mark Davis, who had no money, who now moved to Vegas, salary cap's not going to be a problem for him. But here's the problem. In a country club, not everyone thinks the same. Some of these old

old school guys, the Spanos's, Mike Brown and the Bengals, maybe even the Roonies. Because when you think about money, money's all relative. So a lot of these guys that have been in the league 30, 40 years, they were part of the league when giving a guy a million or $2 million bonus was a big deal. Dave Tepper just gave Teddy Bridgewater $30 million guaranteed. You think he's worried about giving some bonuses? No chance. You think the glazers, it's cronkeys, these guys are worried?

No. So there is this conversation about, well, the league, they're going to drop the salary cap. I'd imagine a lot of owners, especially the ones with a lot of pull, or at least with a lot of money. I don't know if they have a lot of pull, like Jerry does, but I think Jerry does lean with the Maras and some of the old school guys, the crafts. Because when you just think about business, the move is, we didn't make as much money, pull back a little bit. they're not pulling back because they don't have the cash they're going to have made a ton of money on the television deals now they won't have made as much because a lot of these stadiums are empty

they weren't able to make the huge sponsorship money they either had to give it back or not accept payments this year obviously they didn't get the sweet money but I'm telling you if you go to any country club in America there are going to be people that agree with stuff and disagree with stuff at any level of money. The NFL is no different. And part of this is like,

if the salary cap drops, and Piole wrote about this, well, the franchise tag becomes a lot more complicated. Because when I franchise tag a player like Dak Prescott, and that's $28, $30 million, all of that money goes on my salary cap. So if I'm the Cowboys,

I wouldn't want the salary cap to drop, especially if I plan on franchise tagging him again. And clearly, if you're Jerry, money's no issue. why does the salary cap have to drop? Just because the entire league wasn't going to make as much money? They still made more than enough to cover the cost of the $200 million salary cap.

In my opinion, there are going to be, in my educated guests, there are going to be several owners who push to just keep at most, just the cap flat. They did it in the NBA. The NBA, like the NFL, all these new owners in the NBA, money is no issue. They made billions upon billions upon billions in venture capitalism.

Now again, I'm not, there's a difference between just wasting money if they didn't have it. Yes, I would say it's definitely going down. But they got the cash. They got more than enough cash. And why a lot of these guys are trying to win because the quicker you get to win on the field,

the faster you make money. The NFL is a pretty simple business. First and foremost, you're guaranteed to always make money. You cannot lose money because of the TV deals. But second, if you win, if you win, you will print money. If your team is in the playoffs every year, and you're in any sort of market beside like Jacksonville, you're going to crush Minnesota, Pittsburgh, Philly.

Hell, the Giants and Jets don't even win and they make huge cash. Obviously, Robert Kraft makes an unlimited amount of money. Jed York last year made so much cash with those home playoff games. If you win, you make cash. So these owners are not going to want to have to cut all these people. When I see some of these old school Scott Pioli's and Mike Lombardis are like, they're going to have to cut all these veteran players. And part of that, you know who gets screwed in a huge cap, you know,

rollback are veteran players. Why? They make more money. Well, a lot of veteran players, and when I say veteran, I'm not talking 35-year-olds, a 28-year-old who's been in the league for seven years. Well, what if that guy's one of your best players? And the owner likes them.

Why do I want to get rid of them? I think there is going to be a huge pushback. You heard it here first. I'll be a little surprised that the salary cap moves back. And the salary cap going to 175, I don't see it. Because I don't think they have to do it. And it's one of those moves that it's not going to cripple their business long term. Corona, the shutdown's not going to last forever.

I think it's fair to say they're going to be fans. I mean, hell, I'm a number. I'm an outlier right now in the Bay Area slash California. We don't have fans. I watch football all weekend long. Fans are everywhere. Jerry's hosting like 30,000 people, you know, a game. But next year, I think it'll be full go.

So they're going to get all their money back next year. Why not just take, it's not even a hit. Just you wouldn't be as rich as you normally would have been. But I think these guys can see the big picture and understand where it's going, the television deal. I'm telling you, I think it sounds good on paper. Oh, just roll the salary cap back.

What does that really save in every team? $15 million? Who cares? Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal, but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all,

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

I don't care what you're saying. Yep, that's me, Clifford Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, the reactions, my journey from basketball to college football, or my career in sports media. Well, somewhere along the way, this platform became bigger than I ever imagined. And now I'm bringing all of that excitement

to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, unfiltered conversations with some of your favorite athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. One week, I'll take you behind the scenes of the biggest moments in sports and entertainment, and the next we'll talk about life, mental health, purpose, and even music. The Clifford Show isn't just a podcast. It's a space for honest conversations, stories that don't always get told, and for people who are chasing something bigger. So, if you've ever supported me, or you're just chasing down a dream, this is right where you need. to be. Listen to the Clifford show on the IHeart radio app, Apple 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 with Little Kim? Well, you can find out on the Look Back at it podcast. I'm Sam Jay. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick a here. unpack what went down and try to make sense of how we survived it. Including a recent episode with Mark Lamont Hill, waxing all about crack in the 80s. To be clear, 84 is big to me, not just because of crack. I'm down to talk about crack on day, but just so you all know.

I mean, at this point, Mark, this is the second episode where we've discussed crack. So I'm starting to see that there's a through line. We also have AIDS on the table right now. Thank you for finishing that sentence. Yes. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. 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.

Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hard Way with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Kear 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, 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 Hardway, and listen now. Why does that happen? Why do you want to cut players that you wouldn't normally cut? I honestly think you could just, it's gone up basically $10 million a year.

In 2012, it was $120 million. This year was basically $198 million. So it went up 10% basically every year. Why would these guys want to roll it back? It's the one thing that keeps everyone in the mix is the television money. And that money is not stopping. It's the reason why I've said from the jump, they're playing all these games to get the cash. Get right to the romance and find the way to wow this valentines with 1800flowers.com.

From classic roses and bouquets to decadent chocolate-covered berries, gourmet treats, and more. Surprise your Valentine with 1,800flowers.com. Right now, get the 18th stem in jubquets. Chanted Rose Medley for $3999 or upgrade to 24 red roses for $10 more. Go to 1,800flowers.com slash tune in. That's 1,800flowers.com slash tune in. And we're live here outside the Perez family home just waiting for the... And there they go.

Almost on time this morning. Mom is coming out the front door strong with a double-armed kid carry. Looks like dad has the bags. Daughter is bringing up the rear. Oh, but the diaper bag wasn't. closed. Typhers and toys are everywhere. Ooh, but Mom has just nailed

the perfect car seat buckle for the toddler. And now, the eldest daughter who looks to be about nine or ten has secured herself in the booster seat. Dad zips the bag closed, and they're off. Ah, but looks like Mom doesn't realize her coffee cup is still on the roof of the car,

and there it goes. Oh, that's a shame. That mug was a fam favorite. Don't sweat the small stuff. Just nail the big stuff like making sure your kids are buckled correctly in the right seat for their age and size. Learn more at nhtsa.gov slash the right seat. Visit nhtsa.com slash the right seat. Brought to you by Nita and the Ad Council. If I could be you and you could be me for just one hour. If you could find a way to get inside. Each other's mind. Walk a mile in my shoes. Walk a mile in my shoes.

Walk a mile in my shoes. We've all felt left out. And for some, that feels. That A feeling lasts more than a moment. We can change that. Learn how at belonging begins with us.org. Brought to you by the ad council. Walk a mile in my shoes. A lot of deep thinking this week. And in my deep thinking, I developed a theory.

And I thought about it for a long time, and I came to the conclusion, I would never draft a quarterback in the second round. And as someone who gambles a lot, I talk about the stock market a lot. I like cheaper stocks, especially when stocks plummet and get to like single digits or in the low teens. Because if it's a company you believe in,

it's got a chance to get to $80, $100, where you can triple, quadruple your money. Well, it's easier said than done. A lot of times it does not happen. Just like when I bet on football, I like taking underdogs. It's like, I bet if we look back, besides like some Jets games,

I take a lot of big underdogs. That's why I like, I got the Jags this week. plus 10. Now I when I bet on underdogs too I'd like to dabble some on the money line typically because the return on them is very good but when you get aggressive on the money

line if you bet typically a hundred dollars a game and you put a couple hundred dollars on a money line big underdog like you're not going to win that many of them. They tend to not win now they might cover but if you don't win you lose your

money but the risk all you got to to do is hit one of them and you're like, ah, I just won $500 on a $100 bet, or I want $1,000 on $250 bet. It's an incredible feeling. But it doesn't happen that often. There's a reason they give you the points with basically one-to-one odds. Well, in football, most great quarterbacks, or most really good starting quarterbacks, in theory, when they're coming out of the draft, are going to be drafted in the first round.

And when we view a guy as a potential star, he is not going to laugh. out of the first round. They typically go in the top 10, right? Usually you got to draft guys in like the top five. I think you're going to see it this year. All these guys, at least Trevor Lawrence, Justin Fields, Trey Lance, and Zach Wilson have a chance to go.

Obviously, Trevor's going to go one. But the other three guys to go in the top, like six or seven picks. Because all those guys are going to be viewed as future starting quarterbacks. So when you view a guy as a future starting quarterback, you typically take that guy in the first round. and then if you think there's just good value,

I'd say you start drafting guys in like the third and fourth round. But when you take a guy in the second round, and what got me thinking about this is John Elway and Drew Locke. One thing I consistently hear in the league is maturity, maturity, maturity. I didn't know that much about Drew Locke. I know he had the dancing thing a couple weeks ago, but this week or last week when the Corona thing happened, and it clearly was on him for being an idiot

and not wearing the mask, right? Like the rules are the rules. Aaron Rogers, Russell Wilson, Tom Brady, they're all falling them. Whether you agree or disagree. If you want to play football, you put the fucking mask on when you're at the facility.

It's just that simple. And he clearly didn't do it, got caught, got fined, and wasn't able to play, and they had to play a practice squad guy. And they lost 35 to 4, or 3, whatever the final score was in that game. They got rolled. And their coach,

who is an old school badass, zero excuses blame the quarterbacks. Here's the problem with, and listen, that's separate for what I'm about to talk to. But John Elway, when you draft a guy in the second round, you know the problem with the second round quarterback? Is I view the guy, if I'm in the fan standpoint, you invested a pretty premium pick. And if you miss on the guy, it almost has a feel like you missed on a first round quarterback. Like, it's a huge miss.

and if you hit on the guy it feels pretty good but its contract, you've got to extend it pretty quickly, it happens fast. But I got news for you. I went through the last decade of second round quarterbacks. Most of them aren't that good. And definitely most of them are not franchise quarterbacks. I think second round quarterbacks

are by far the worst quarterbacks to take because of the pressure you get from the fan base for them to be just good, for them to be worth a second contract, for them to be viewed as a franchise quarterback because the moment I take a guy in the second round I think we might have just got our franchise quarterback well history would show us you did not

so when I looked at the last decade here are the names Jimmy Claussen Andy Dalton Kaepernick Osweiler Geno Smith Derek Carr Garoppel

Hackenberg Kaiser Drewlock Jalen Hertz let's go through him Jimmy Closson, couldn't play. Dalton Kaepernick. You know, Dalton was okay, benefited from a really good team. Kaepernick ultimately blackballed from the league,

but listen, for the two years before that, he was terrible. Did have some big moments and was pretty sweet for a couple years. Osweiler stinks, Geno Smith, worse. Carr Jimmy. Jimmy obviously got traded. Part of that was Tom Brady. Jury's out on him right now. Derrick Carr, franchise quarterback feels like a strong word, but of this entire list, the one guy that stayed on one team the entire time.

So I would say that. Derrick Carr, Jimmy Garoppel. Best case scenario, you can get Derrickard, Jimmy Garoppel. Hackenberg, Kaiser, disasters. Jalen Hertz, I never would have taken the second round. Drew Locke, juries out. So think about this. In a league where the most important position by a country, is quarterback. When you take a guy in the second round, that means every, but you view this guy as a really good player, every team in the league passed on them.

32 teams. And a lot of these guys aren't going like the first pick in the second round, so potentially like 40 selections go before these guys are taken. And of this list, like the likelihood of it hitting, the best case scenario is Derek Carr or Jimmy Garoppel.

I would much rather take third or fourth round guys and take my chances there than in the second round. I would not take a second round quarterback because you see it with Elway. He's now in this position and I know I got a lot of Bronco fans listening. I get text and DMs all the time. What's Drew Locks deal? What's Drew Locks deal? What's this guy good enough? If you're asking that question, I think we already know the answer. He's not. He's not. Now is he better than Hackenberg and Jimmy Clausen and he hell even Osweiler? Yeah, it looks like it. is he ever going to be Carr or Jimmy? No.

Because the one thing Carr and Jimmy both had is they're pretty mature hard workers. Clearly, Drew Locke can't even follow the rules. Cost his team an embarrassing loss at home. Now they might have lost that game anywhere. They were playing the Saints. Take some hill through for 77 yards. So if Drew Locke just would have followed the rules

like every other player in his team, who knows? Maybe that game looks a lot different. So I'm out on Drewlock. Here's a problem. If the Broncos are like, are they just constantly going through this? You either got to take a guy in the first round

or take a guy in the third plus rounds. I'm not messing with the second round quarterbacks. The other problem is, when you do hit on the second round guy, he gets expensive fast, you know, just because you've got to pay him kind of after his third year. So I just, my theory,

sticking with this, no first round running backs. When I say no first round running backs, like I maybe take a guy in the 20s, I would not take a guy in the top 15. doing it. But I am not taking the second round quarterback. Okay, I got a couple thoughts here on the college football situation. And I was actually watching on Tuesday night the playoff ranking show. And I am rarely surprised. Honestly,

I am surprised by nothing. Like all these, I'm sure many people are seeing these stories of all these politicians blatantly disregarding their own rules. Like, of course, they're all frauds. Like, no shit. You know, if it wasn't for social media, I wouldn't know anyone had any faith in any of these people. But I just, it takes a lot to shock me. And Kirk Herbfrey said something that made my jaw kind of really hit the floor. Now, he insinuated that a lot of programs are claiming corona COVID-19

so they can get out of game so they don't get their ass kicks. I have heard the same thing. I saw Joe Clatt tweet it. That's a true statement. Teams are doing that. For example, I think San Jose State thinks Boise State dodged them. I think Florida State clearly Clemson and Virginia, like there are teams that people think are dodging them.

And listen, it's going to be hard to prove, but that is what people are thinking. Which on shows like this, even Herb Street, like that's what you want. You want the inside scoop. But he said something else that I was like, I don't know if I believe that. He basically said that,

Jim Harbaugh in Michigan were either going to plan or don't be surprised when they opt out to play Ohio State even though they could. My jaw hit the floor. Because I watched Jim Harbaugh for a couple years in San Francisco. I went to a lot of his practices, went to a ton of his games. He's one of the craziest SOBs I've ever been around. And his number one attribute as a coach, let alone as a man, is when I think about Jim Harbaugh, I think that is one guy who is not scared of a goddamn thing.

He's not scared of anything. That's his number one. He's fearless when I think Jim Harbaugh. So when I heard Kirk Herbstreet basically call him a quitter or would be willing to quit against his bitter rival, I'm like, God, if Jim Harbaugh is opting out when he could play, even though clearly he's probably going to lose, I don't know if I could ever look at Jim the same.

And then ultimately Kirk came back and gave an apology. and I was listening to Rosillo's podcast, and he thought it was stupid for Herb Street giving an apology. And I tend to agree, I think apologies are just so stupid. Who am I apologizing to? Like, I apologize to people I do business with and my parents. I don't apologize to the other media. I don't give a fuck what they think.

I don't apologize to followers on Twitter. Who cares? But to me, his apology did make some sense because he specifically pointed out Michigan. And he specifically, when you do, that you're specifically kind of calling out Jim Harbaugh. It's his program saying he was not going to play the game. And I'll tell you this, sitting on my couch, I was shocked. Because you basically, if you're going to call Jim Harbaugh, like, he's going to quit or he's going to pus out of a game

because you know he's going to get his ass kick. It's a pretty bold thing to say. I'm a big Kirkcruid guy. And clearly I think it's going on all over the country. And maybe Michigan had planned it. All I know, if Michigan didn't play a game, they're not playing this week because of Corona. But because it's one thing if you can't play, right? you have too many positions that are out you just game gets canceled, I get that. But if you could actually play the game and you don't, that's a bad look.

But when he said that about Harbaugh, if Harbaugh's fearlessness is gone, like he's done as a coach, because he's not a schemer, he's a leader, he's a crazy man. And part of his craziness is like he would play, like they would play the Patriots this week if they had to. Especially Ohio State.

Like, he went there to play Ohio State. Now, Ohio State's been kicking his ass, but like I did think that was shocking and I again I think apologies the majority of them are one are disingenuous too it's like who are we apologizing to you know if you say something legitimately insensitive and this isn't even insensitive he just he made a statement like Michigan was prepared to opt out against Ohio State which you know is basically saying Jim Harbaugh is a quitter and I was shocked now he's gone back and we'll see if they end up playing but that that even got out there, I was like, damn, that was pretty nuts.

Now, overall with college football, I think this year is a pretty big joke, right? We've had games canceled left and right. It's impossible to do any sort of judgment. I've been a big believer. The SEC is better than every other conference, besides the Big Ten who's kind of down this year. But the SEC, Alabama is clearly the best team in the country. I think Florida's damn good. So I got no problem with Alabama 1.

The other two best teams I've watched are Notre Dame and Clemson. When Trevor Lawrence is in there and Notre Dame, those two teams should be in the playoffs. Now, if Alabama beats Florida in the SEC championship, it should be Alabama. If Notre Dame loses Trevor Lawrence, I'd put both those two teams in. And then the fourth team, like, I really don't care.

I would tend to lean Ohio State, watched them this year. They don't quite look as good as last year. but I have no beef with them getting in. Now, if Florida were to beat Alabama, then Ohio State's probably screwed because it's probably Bama, Florida, Notre Dame, and Clemson. Unless Notre Dame beats Clemson with Trevor Lawrence,

then maybe Ohio State gets in. But like I hear BYU, bitching and moan in Cincinnati, like I'm sorry, guys. These programs are just better than you. And in this weird year, like it's already a pretty set country club of the Power 5 programs. There's a reason coaches leave the smaller schools

to go to the Power 5. There's a reason Luke Fickle is eventually going to leave. There's a reason Chris Peterson, who loved Boise State, eventually went to Washington. Because he never would have made the college football playoff at Boise State. He made it at Washington. Just like Luke Fickle, he'll never make the college football at Cincinnati.

Now, maybe he does this year if a bunch of teams lose, but it sure doesn't look like it. He could make it if he went to, I know he's not going to go to Michigan, but just Michigan, Ohio State, and Ohio State is not coming over anytime soon. But I got no issue. And Colin always talks about this.

Just watch the team with the most NFL guys. You know, like, look at Jimbo. Jimbo is starting to recruit big time. What does Jimbo do? Well, he won a national championship at Florida State. What's he going to do at Texas A&A? I don't know if he's going to win a national championship. It's really difficult in that,

especially that side of the division. But he's going to get damn close. and if Bama has a down year and they're going to lose their quarterback, I'm sure, to the draft and a bunch of players this year to the draft, so they're going to have another new quarterback. Now, I say, I guess, the backup. 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 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the I-Hard radio app,

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

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

show isn't just a podcast, it's a space for honest conversations, stories that don't always get told, and for people who are chasing something bigger. So, if you've ever supported me, or you're just chasing down a dream, this is right where you need to be. Listen to the Clifford show on the IHeart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. Do you remember when Diana Ross double-tap Little Kim's boobs at the VMAs? Or when Kanye said that George Bush didn't like black people.

I know what you're thinking. What the hell does George Bush got to do a little Kim? Well, you can find out on the Look Back at it podcast. I'm Sam Jett. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick it here, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. Including a recent episode with Mark Lamont Hill, waxing all about crack in the 80s. To be clear, 84 is big to me, not just because of crack.

I'm down to talk about crack on day, but just so y'all know. I mean, at this point, Mark, this is the second episode where we've discussed crack, so I'm starting to see that there's a through line. We also have AIDS on the table right now, so. They're 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. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hard Way with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Kear 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. person. Join me, Keir Gaines, as we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast, Learn the Hardway. Open your free I Heart Radio app, search Learn the Hardway, and listen now. Get from modern day, supposed to be really good. I think it's things like Bryce Love. So it's going to be difficult, but like watch out for A&M. There's a reason Georgia, Florida, A&M, and Bama, and LSU if they can just, you know, keep a decent coordinator around, are just better than everyone else. Now obviously Ohio State, Oklahoma, Clemson, Notre Dame. Like, it's the same group

every year. That's college football. Hell, what's the difference with college basketball? I'm sitting on my couch the other night watching Gonzaga play basketball. I used to view them like Boise State football. And then eventually they started getting blue chip players. They now have a guy that's projected to go like top five in the NBA draft. And they already have a bunch of other studs. Like, there's not a program on the West Coast that holds a candle to Gonzaga basketball. Gonzaga basketball is now a blue-chip program. And Mark Few can win a national championship at Gonzaga. Well, the equivalent of Gonzaga in college football is like Boise State.

It's like Central Florida, what was Central Florida, wherever Scott Frost was. South Florida, I don't even know. But UCF, you're not winning a national championship there. They won't let you in the club. They have a velvet rope for VIP. and if you don't have Power 5 on your chest, they don't let you in. And honestly, I don't have a problem with it.

I really don't. I want to watch the Big Power 5 programs. So to the viewers. And I loved Boise State. And honestly, Boise State, the one year, it would be like second year in the league in 2011 when they had 12 or 11 guys drafted.

It was the year Kaepernick beat him on like a last second field goal. I thought that team could play with any. anyone in the country besides like Alabama. But that's probably the best non-power five team of the last decade. Cincinnati's not that good. I take that Boise State team definitely over them.

Because Chris Peterson's a better coach and they just had more NFL talent. So ultimately, I guess to start with, I was surprised when Herbie said that Harbaugh would duck him. Because listen, Harbaugh, it's clearly not going to smooth and they're having a terrible year.

But the last thing, the Jim Harbaugh I ever know, to call him as scared or would would would push out to play someone when he could play. That is, that's counter Jim Harbaugh. So it didn't shock me when Herbstreet kind of had to roll back those words. Get right to the romance and find the way to wow this Valentine's with 1800flowers.com. From classic roses and bouquets to decadent chocolate-covered berries, gourmet treats, and more. Surprise your Valentine.

with 1,800flowers.com. Right now, get the 18-stem enchanted rose medley for $39.99, or upgrade to 24 red roses for $10 more. Go to 1,800flowers.com slash tune-in. That's 1,800flowers.com slash tune in. Look through your children's eyes to see the true magic of a forest. It's a storybook world for them. You look and see a tree.

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Trees? Sure. Know what else grows in the forest? Our imagination. Our sense of wonder. And our family bonds grow too. Because when we disconnect from this, and connect with this. We reconnect with each other.

The forest is closer than you think. Find a forest near you and start exploring at Discovertheforest.org. Brought to you by the United States Forest Service and the ad council. I was watching something this week. I was, when I was coming up with my quarterback theory, might have been on a little edible, and it's when my brain does its best thinking. And I watched this four-minute highlight take.

I think the Chargers put it out on Joey Bosa's performance. I mean, he looked like L.T. as a white guy. I mean, he was dominant. He destroyed the bills. I mean, he kicked everyone's ass, and he's screaming. He was a madman. And I've been thinking this all year long. But after watching that game, I'm like,

if Bill Belichick coach this team, if Andy Reid coached this team, if Sean Payton or Pete Carroll were the coach of this team, they'd win like 14 games. They have the best statistical rookie quarterback in the history of the league. They have star receivers. They have good running backs. They have a really good tight end.

They have Joey freaking Bosa. They have good defensive players. It's insane that they're going to end up winning five games. And I've obviously talked about how they should go after Urban Meyer. But I just, it's really pretty pretty. nuts when you look at the last 20 years of the Chargers, talent acquisition has not been their issue. I remember being a graduate assistant at Fresno State and A.J. Smith came to watch Ryan Matthews work out at the Pro Day. And if you remember A.J. Smith and Marty Schottenheimer used to

kind of butt heads. A.J. Smith was a really good talent evaluator. He built some of those really talented Charger teams in the 2000s. And then really over the last decade, Tom Telesco has done a really good job of picking players. The Chargers have consistently, for two decades now, had really talented teams. But they never win. And you ask yourself, why? Because you go, well, what are the two most important positions slash jobs for any NFL team? Passed once the owner has the team.

You'd say, well, the coach and the quarterback. Well, they haven't really had that big of an issue finding a quarterback, right? They had Drew Brees for the first five years and they had Philip Rivers for the next Their problem is they've had one good coach over that stretch, Marty Schottenheimer, and then since Norv Turner, McCoy, and now Anthony Lynn, they keep trying to get bargain basement coaches. Instead of, like I said, go get a big boy, go pay 10 to 12 to 15, whatever it cost. Go get your mat rule.

How could you possibly, if you owned an NFL franchise, be willing to pay some random linebacker $12 million, some good. guard $11 million, but not pay a coach eight. How does that make any sense on God's green earth? And I was really thinking watching this charger, just that Joey Bose to highlight, how many playoff opportunities they've left on the table as a franchise because their owner is cheap, not because they didn't have the money. That's my issue with cheap people.

I don't ever call you cheap if you don't have the money. I understand people worrying about money. Most people, the number one worry you have in your life besides just the most basic health, you know, your children and stuff, is just how am I going to pay for things? House, what my kids need, nice things. It's stressful.

I've never understood the guy that has, at that level, like that level of money and that level of wealth and still cuts corners on important things. I get cutting corners on things that don't matter. Like, if you tell me, you know, Chargers don't really have that great of a marketing department. I'd be like, yeah, I think that's kind of overrated.

Just win, you know? Like, do the Patriots market well, or they've just gone to nine Super Bowls in 20 years and became a, you know, Stollware brand of the league? Right? Seattle, like, do they market that well? Or they just have Russell Wilson, P. Carroll, kicking everyone's ass for a decade. L.O.B.

L.B. Markets itself when they're laying people out. You know, I'm okay with cutting costs in certain places in your franchise. But if you tell me, you know, when it comes to football, they just, football operations, you know, when my GM or head coach says they need something, they're like, yeah, we don't have the money. Then you got a problem. That's on you. But to me, what the Chargers starts with their head coach, they're always trying to go cheap.

And when you look at all the crappy teams, the Giants, the Jaguars, the Jets, all the teams that are in the mix to not win many games and be drafting in the top five or six picks, they couldn't hold a candle to this charger team. It's insane how much talent they have. And I'm done, you know, beating up on Anthony Lynn. He is what he is. I've been consistent over this for a couple years. It's never been personal hell.

When I watch Hard Knocks, I wanted to like the guy because he was such a likable guy. I'd enjoy smoking a cigar and talking ball and throwing a couple back with them. Like I would most coaches. That doesn't mean they'd be good head coaches, and you could argue sometimes when that is like your ability to bis hang out, you might not be a good head coach.

I don't know exactly why Anthony Lynn's not a good head coach. I just simply know he's not a good head coach. He doesn't make much money. And the Chargers are going to go into this hiring cycle. Their job is dramatically better than every other job. The Lions, every Lions fan would agree, the franchise just in shambles. I mean, the team is just a joke.

Like, it's just not a good job. The Falcons have no cap space. You're stuck with Matt Ryan. The Texans have no picks or cap space. They do have a quarterback. But this Jack Easterby guy who is like a preacher, but he's also kind of like a GM, even though he doesn't pick the players, is in with the owner.

Yeah, that's not really my type job. The Jets, who do have the number one overall pick, the roster is an embarrassment. Absolutely terrible. The Jaguars, Well, it's the Jaguars. You know, even the Eagles, let's say the Eagles comes open. Like, you want to be the guy to try to save Carson once his career?

It might not be salvageable, you know? It might not be possible. So this is the one job. Quarterback, have it. Star wide receivers, have it. Star pass rusher, have it. Top draft pick, have it. Wiggle room with your salary cap, have it.

Like, I don't know what else you could need. You're in a big market and you don't have that much pressure. Because the fans don't even care. Just will he be willing to cut a check and pay a guy the going rate? I'm not even asking, it'd be one thing if the going rate for a coach was $5 million and I'm telling him to pay a $10 million. All the good coaches make $9 to $12 million. That is the going rate for talent in this profession.

It just is. Like, it's just the business you're in. So if you're not willing to pay it, you can't keep complaining or be shocked when you keep sucking. But it's clear now. They have no business moving forward at the end of this year to keep on sucking. They have way too much talent on the team. They have a good quarterback. They have a top pick.

The only thing that will hold them back, the hell, they have a GM that can pick good players. That's never been their problem. They've always had good players. Can they pick a right head coach? Because that is the franchise one problem. They can never seem to get the coach right. Big off season for the Chargers.

Okay, let's go a little three for the money. I am currently, let's see, 22 and 17. I'm 22 and 17 on the year. I had the Titans last week, plus three and a half, nailed it. Bucks plus three and a half, got a little lucky, but it's better to be lucky than good, nailed it. Raiders over, no, against the Falcons. I think the over-under was like 51.

Final score was 43 to 6, so it didn't even hit 50. This week's pretty hard. I'm not going to lie. I haven't even figured out what games I'm going to gamble on. Honestly, it might just, I don't know. This week is very challenging. Actually, the only game that I might pick would be, we'll get into it in a second.

But I'm going to start off with this game. My guy Matt Nagy is struggling right now. They're obviously lost a ton of straight games. I think they're five and six now. They're in Chambles. And their biggest issue, I mean, the defense isn't playing that good anymore, but their main issue right now is quarterback play. As we saw last week, and he had some garbage time yards,

Mitch Trubisky is terrible. And I had a buddy in the league that hit me up. It was after the Texans won, after they had fired Bill O'Brien and the Texans won a game. He said, is there a bigger lock every week? Or not every week, because it doesn't happen every week. But when a coach is fired to bet on that team, and I said, yeah, you're on to something.

And the Detroit Lions just fired Matt Patricia. The players hated Matt Patricia. The Lions are playing a Bears team who's in absolute shambles. I like the Lions plus three. The Indianapolis Colts are playing the Houston Texans, who have kind of got their mojo back a little bit. But I just think Indies better. Indy just kind of got their ass kicked

Now, I don't, they clearly aren't as bad as what they just showed against Tennessee They were missing some players I mean, the best player in their team could not play in the game Jonathan Taylor out, their second round pick So it's like, and their best player is DeForest Buckner

But like you're missing your best player And several other role players You might still have lost the Titans But you wouldn't have got your ass kick like that I mean DeForest Buckner is a special player He's going to be an all pro this year So I like them this week minus three and a half

And I tend as the year goes on, and this is why my next pick, you give me huge lines, even if teams that are like one or two wins, if they have some talent on their team, which the Jacksonville Jaguars do, and I bet on them now a couple times, last week against the Browns, a couple weeks before against the Packers, you give them 10 to 14 points. They hang in games. They are not the Jets that have no talent and no direction. You watch the Jaguars play, you're like, oh, they can score points. They have athletic players on offense.

They have a good running back. they have wide receivers that can score. They have some defensive players that can make plays. Like, they just do some stuff. You give me over 10 points with the jacks. I'm taking them every time. They're also playing the Minnesota Vikings. It'd be one thing if Minnesota was like,

you know, they're an 11-1 team, they're going to be the one-seat. Minnesota's not even making playoffs. Their defense is atrocious. Can't cover anybody. Now, I'll say this about Kirk Cousins. I've been hard on Kirk Cousins over the years. He's a lot better.

He's improved a lot. He's a solid player. But in their offense with, Justin Jefferson and Thielen, and I think Thielen's still up in the air with the Corona thing. But if those guys are playing, like they can score. Dalvin Cook, we'll see if he's healthy enough. But I like the Jags plus 10 and a half. So I got the Lions plus three at the Bears.

I got the Colts minus three and a half at the Texans. And I got the fighting Jacksonville Jaguars at the Minnesota Vikings, Skoll. A little skull, plus 10.5. That's honestly probably my favorite bet of the week. Jags plus 10 and a half. Okay, let's go a little Middlecough mailbag. At John Middlecough is the Instagram handle. Slide up in those DMs.

Also, if you haven't, leave a review. I'd greatly appreciate everyone that left a review. Apple or iTunes. It helps. So thanks. Keep doing it. Don't stop. Don't stop if you get enough.

Is that what Michael Jackson said? Hey, John. Never miss a pod. Appreciate it. Would, uh... My question is this. What do you think Carson Wentz's trade value? is taking into consideration his contract, his floor, his ceiling, his ability now, if he were

to move, which teams would he fit? I think the answer is just really simple. He's not going anywhere. Because of the way NFL contracts work. I was talking about this on my other podcast with Haberman. We were talking about Westbrook and Chris and John Wall. In the NBA, when you have a guy that makes 40 million and another guy that makes 40 million, you can trade them straight up if they're on a similar contract, right? The money has to. The money has to. to match. In the NFL, it doesn't work that way. When I give a guy $120 million guaranteed, as the owner, I pay his entire bonus, even though his contract is like five years, $180 million, but $120 million of is guaranteed. Jeffrey Lurie pays all that money no matter what. So they're so

tied to him for the next three years paying him that lump son of money that he's not a tradable player. So he's not only not going anywhere. He is a 1 million percent lock to be the Eagles quarterback next year. Carson Wentz will be the quarterback for the Philadelphia Eagles. If you were an NFL GM, who would you draft? Justin Fields or Zach Wilson? You know, my first inclination is to say Zach Wilson. I'm going to have to do some digging with some of my buddies in the league, text around what they've seen. Because watching Justin Fields against Indiana, you know, he does pass the ball a lot better. I just, Zach Wilson looks like a pretty pure thrower of the ball.

I don't think the more and more just kind of keep my ear to the streets. I don't know if Justin Fields is a 100% lock to go number two. Now it's still really early. It's still hard to tell, but I think Zach Wilson and Trey Lance both have a chance to go number two

in this draft. And I think a lot of people are going to think Justin Fields is really good. What do you think could be some veteran quarterbacks who could come in and replace Rothersberger after the season should he walk away and stop playing? Here's my thing.

If I bring up his contract right now, isn't he under contract next year at a pretty big number? Like, I just, if they make the playoffs, I mean, they're going to make the playoffs. If they win a play, if they lose the Chiefs in the AFC championship game, why would Rathusberger quit? Let's see. He's under contract next year. Cap hit $41 million, $20 million. I just, I think Ben Rothera's coming back.

To me, the move of here, the Steelers just trade for Darnold, have him sit behind Rathesberger for a year, and kind of be as insurance as he gets old. But I think Rathsburg is coming back. I'll be floored if he retires. He's making too much money, and their team's too good. Why would you retire? And he's still decent, you know?

I mean, he's still, and his stats are still really good, I think under no circumstances, unless he has a bad issue. injury as this season goes on, does Rathsburg not come back? What are your thoughts on the season from the New York Giants? I'm really impressed. As anyone that knows, if you've been listening to the show for a while, I thought Joe Judge making the coach's run was the dumbest shit ever. But he's bounced back well.

His teams played really hard. They're well coached. They're physical. Every game, their defense plays hard. He looks like a franchise coach. That might be a little strong. He looks like a coach that has an opportunity to be a franchise coach. And clearly what the Giants like, Coughlin Parcells, he's kind of nuts, right?

He may or may not have thrown blows with Mark Columbo, who's 6-8, 350 pounds. So the moment I heard that, I like Joe Judge even more. They just need a lot more talent. To me, the move's easy. You fire Dave Gettleman. Maybe you go get one of the guys in New England. You bring them in with Joe Judge, and you start picking good players. And you start building a championship, let's say a playoff.

level team because Joe Jaze looks pretty solid. I have a question I'd like your opinion on. With Tom Brady's obvious struggles with the deep ball passing game, do you think the reason that Bill Belichick was so hesitant to surround him with so-called weapons, we all

said that they were lacking? Clearly Tom was still productive in New England with the short game. Maybe Bill outsmart us all again and realize those expensive weapons would have been useless in their offense anyway. So he decided to spend money elsewhere. Have to admit, as terrible as Tom's last year in New England was, they were still a complete team and they were obviously

still a contender. They just weren't exciting to watch. I agree. I would never put it Bass Bill Belichick that they didn't think he was very good at throwing outside the numbers, or throwing down the field outside the numbers. So they didn't waste time investing in those guys. When you look at when they drafted Nikiel

Harry, Nikiel Harry's comp, he was going to be, if he hits, it turns out he's not any good. I was wrong on that. I thought he was good. I thought he was going to be like a ju-ju-type guy. I thought he going to be juju. That's what I thought he'd be like. Physical guy and he's just not good. But I thought Nikiel Harry was going to be in that mold. And that's what they were looking for in the first round. They weren't going to draft a guy like D.K. Maccalf. They wanted a big physical guy

to go across the middle and Tom, you know, pump the ball to. So yeah, I think that's definitely a chance of that happened. We'll end on that. About an hour in the podcast. Appreciate everyone listening. Have a good weekend. And enjoy the football. all. Try to enjoy your life. Not easy during these times. Try to keep our smiles, you know, turn a frown upside down. It's easy to get mad. Trust me, I got Gavin Newsom, you know, can make you really angry if you read the news too much. So you just got to, you just got to stay positive. Adios, Godspeed, and, uh, see you guys next week. Peace. Thunderstruck, adjective. Shocked and amazed by the power of fun on Carnival.

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Another podcast from some SNL, late-night comedy guide, not quite, on human, me with Robert Smygel and friends, me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, S&L's Mikey Day and head writer Streeter Seidel help an a cappella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and Friends on the I-Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal, but encouraging. It's the enhanced games.

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

Hey, what's good, y'all? You're listening to learn the hard weight with your favorite therapist. and hosts care games. This space is about black men's experiences, having honest conversations that it's really not safe to have anywhere, but you're having them with a licensed professional who knows what he's doing. How many men carry a suit or armor? It signals to the world that you're not to be played with.

And just because you have the capability that does not mean that you need to. Listen to learn the hard way on the AHA radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. On the Look Back at a podcast. From 1979, that was a big moment for me. 84 was big to me. I'm Sam Jay. And I'm Alex English.

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