The Herd with Colin Cowherd - 3 & Out - CeeDee Lamb gets paid, Trey Lance is really bad, Cut-Down Day

Episode Date: August 27, 2024

John reacts to the new contract that the Cowboys gave CeeDee Lamb and how the league has turned from a RB league to a WR league and how we're seeing that in the money being thrown around to that position. Also, John dives into how Trey Lance is lucky that he is even a 3rd string QB in the NFL, and how if you have a back-up QB that thinks he should be a starter, you have a problem. Later, John answers your questions in this episode's mailbag segment. 7:46 - CeeDee Lamb gets paid 14:42 - Trey Lance is bad 20:12 - Back-up QB's 28:00 - Bill Belichick is coming into his own 36:19 - Cut-down day 50:11 - Mailbag Follow John on Twitter, Instagram and YouTube for the latest. Check out Gametime - the fastest growing ticketing app in the US, and the official ticketing app of 3 & Out and GoLow -  for tickets to all of your favorite NFL, NBA, NHL, NCAA teams. Concert and comedy show tickets, too. Go to Gametime now to create an account, download the app and use code JOHN for $20 off your first purchase. #Volume #HerdSee 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. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal, but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth.

Listen to Superhuman on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, this is Robert from the Stuff to Blow Your Mind podcast. Joe and I are both lifelong Star Wars fan, so we're celebrating May the 4th with a brand new week of fun, thought-provoking Star Wars-related episodes. Join us as we tackle science and culture topics from a galaxy far, far away, such as the biology of Tontons and Wampas on the Ice Planet Hot, or the practicality and corporate business sense of the Sith Rululul. of two. Listen to Stuff to Bole Your Mind on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

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

So let's get to it. Listen to the Clifford show on the I Heart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. On the Look Back at it podcast. From 1979, that was a big moment for me. 84's big to me.

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. With our friends, fellow comedians, and favorite authors. Like Mark Lamont Hill on the 80s.

Before it was a wild year. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. The volume. We had the appetizer last week. Now it's time to feast. College football is back. Don't miss any of the action. Jump in at Draft King's Sportsbook. It's a full slate of games for week one, including the big matchup in Atlanta, between the preseason number one and number 16. It's super easy for first timers to get started.

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John Middilcoff, 3 and Out podcast. How are we doing? Well, I'm doing good. I'm sure many of you are doing good because football's right around the corner. We have no more preseason games. College football is back this week, and we're almost a week away from the NFL starting. So good times. Spirits are high.

We had some breaking news today. I did a reaction video that was YouTube only yesterday, about 10 minutes, to CD Lamb. So you can check that out. And I let it marinate and thought about it a little more, talk about it on this show. I have a theory on why Jerry waited so long to pay his wide receiver. I got to talk about Trey Lance, who threw five interceptions, and has statistically one of the worst preseason games ever, and literally the worst in a decade.

So we'll discuss that in regards to just we'll talk about that. The Broncos, you guys know where I stand in terms of backup quarterbacks, not wanting to be the starter. That is a problem. some comments from Zach Wilson and Jared Sidham that really stood out to me. And then a theory on Belichick. Something

to keep an eye on because let's face it. He's going to be in our world. He was on Pat McAfee for 30 plus minutes. It was really good. I highly recommend going to check it out. We're going to see a lot of Bill and the question is going to be he wants to coach. Pete Carroll's like, yeah, I'm good. I'll just go teach the little USC hang out in

Newport or Manhattan or wherever the hell he lives and just chill. I'm super rich. Bill is like, I'm watching football, breaking down football. I want to coach. Where's he going to coach in 2025? He said something today on McAfee that something we should be keeping an eye on. And then the big cutdowns, which I was a part of when I worked for the Eagles. I think I did it for a couple years, honestly, meeting the guys,

getting their play. But it's a tough day. It sucks. Even if the guy isn't that good, it doesn't matter. It's just, it's a weird, weird environment. Something, you know, these coaches and GMs, I don't think ever quite get numb to, but just have some overall thoughts. And a lot of guys that got drafted are going to get cut. You know, fourth round picks, fifth round pick, six round pick, seventh round picks, guys from the previous years that were drafted. But it doesn't determine your success.

And I think we all can relate to these situations when you hit a little adversity. It's usually when you get better. And then, of course, the Middilkoff mailbag at John Middilkoff is the Instagram, firing those DMs. Get your questions answered here on the show. everything is up on YouTube, even some extra stuff on YouTube, as well as if you listen on Collins feed, make sure you subscribe to the three and out feed,

and we'll just keep rocking and rolling. We'll podcast all week. Stucky yesterday, big gambling preview came out on Monday, so if you miss that, go check that out. And before we dive into C.D. Lamb and the Cowboys, do you want to go to one of these games? College football is here. The NFL is here.

Do you want to go and enjoy yourself on a Saturday or a Sunday? Have a good time. Have some beers. Tailgate. Take a buddy. Take a family member. And just have a good time while saving a little money. Well, my friends, my partners, and the official ticketing app of this podcast game time, been using them for a long time, and I will continue to use them. They have you covered because anytime you can save money, anytime that the app doesn't get any easier to use from flash deals to picking where you're sitting to picking the venue, I cannot recommend them enough.

So if you want to go to anything, concerts, comedy shows, obviously sporting events, take the guesswork out of buying tickets with GameTime, download the GameTime app, create an account, and use the code, John for $20 off your first purchase. Terms apply again, create an account and redeem the code, J-O-H-N for $20 off, download the GameTime app today, last-minute tickets, lowest prices, guaranteed. Well, I think we're in the middle of a market explosion

when it comes to wide receivers. And we see this in a lot of different industries when something just takes off and it feels like it will never stop. Now, I'm not saying that there's going to be because sometimes when there's a boom, there also comes a bust and a disaster. And we saw that with the running backs.

For a long period of time in my life, running backs were a focal position or focal point for teams to build their team around. and up until within the last decade really, but even six, seven years, they were always a highly paid guy. They were someone that you relied on. I was just watching the Steve McNair doc, RIP, and I was telling Maria, like,

I don't think you realize how good Eddie George was. You could just ride this guy like a freaking thoroughbred, and he was. I mean, he was a massive, great player. And there were guys like him all around the league, and they got paid premiums. And then after the girly deal, after the Zique deal. Let's face it, last year all these guys were bitching and moaned because no one wanted to get paid because the market had changed. And the market right now

in these wide receivers is outrageous. In a good way, if you're them, if you are these teams, you're definitely a little uncomfortable because we've never seen teams allocate so much to a position not named offensive tackle or defensive end and obviously the quarterback and sustain winning. Now, I said this yesterday when the news broke that all these guys getting paid have proven to be winning players. So it's not like these guys are playing on crappy teams and then get paid. Like St. Brown now has been a stalwart for a team that we all think is going to be awesome again. They won a bunch last year. They were trending in the right direction two years. Like he's a winning player. Jamar Chase proven winning player.

CD Lamb, their best wide receiver, they're rattling off 12 wins a season. You know, but I think the Chiefs kind of proved when they flip their guys. Same with the Packers and just kept on having success. It does make you think. And it does make you wonder. And I think we're in the middle of a case study if this works or it does not. And I don't know the answer. I don't blame any of these teams for signing their guys. I think it's so easy to pull the Chiefs move or pull the Packers move, it can easily blow up in your face. The whole point of drafting is to land Jamar Chase at fifth overall. Or land C.D. Lamb in the top 20. Or land Brandon Ayuk at the end of the first round. Now, Iyuk is in a different category than Justin Jefferson, C.D. Lamb, and Jamar Chase.

He's not as good of a player as those guys. But that's the point of a draft pick, is to land a star player. Then, when it comes to paying them, you have to decide, what am I going to allocate? And a lot of talk has been Jerry Jones. Why does he wait so long? I have a simple theory. I looked it up. getting ready for this podcast. Justin Jefferson signed his historic contract on June 3rd. So we are almost three months removed, all of June, all of July, and almost all of August, before Jerry Jones pulls the trigger and gives a contract to CD-Land that the moment that contract was signed, now, it might not have been the exact numbers,

but you were going to be in the ballpark about 95-98% when it came to paying CD-Land. Well, if you're Jerry Jones, and you look at the preseason, you go, we're not going to play any of our guys. This entire preseason was basically a tryout for Trey Lance. And you feel good about the guy, because part of when you sign one of these massive contracts, right, we've seen it with other positions, Aaron Donald, Khalil Mack, Jefferson, St. Brown, Panais, Sewell. Like, we've seen a lot of young guys get broken off. You believe that that guy on and off the field is worth it. you trust his work ethic.

One, you've seen it because he's been your guy. The character, the wiring is all there. You feel good about him being in shape. Now, there's a difference between training and being ready for an actual football game, but you still got two plus weeks to get ready. Is you go, well, we already know the numbers. The stock market has been ripping this year. All my money's invested, I'm sure, if I'm Jerry, or a large chunk of it,

that pays these contracts. It's not like you just sit in a savings account that yield. you 0.01% even if you had put it in a money market fund a couple hundred million dollars, giving you 5%. And we know Jerry, a little bit of a wheeler and dealer.

It's got some big gahones on him. I would imagine he's been a little more aggressive. So he goes, listen, we're going to pay this contract anyway. We're going to have to give him a $35, $40 million signing bonus. I have this money paying me 10, 15% a month, potentially right now, depending on where he's

invested. So, as long as as we get this guy under contract before we cut down our roster, why do we just let the money ride and basically have this contract kind of accumulate money that's going to essentially pay them of money that we already have? So my theory was that Jerry was making so much money in some of his accounts, he just let this keep ripping. And he had a date of really today, yesterday, kind of this kind of timeline, really before Tuesday the cut down that we'll offer from the contract that we know he's going to sign. But we could have done this, like, this number and this contract,

Jerry knew this three weeks ago. Why wouldn't he just sign it? Because he was making money off his money, basic economics. That's my theory on the whole thing, especially with the archaic way of having to fund these deals in escrow. So you've got to lose the cash anyway. You might as well keep it if it's doing well. And at the end of the day, like, to me, the only news was the amount of money they paid him.

there was never any question about this guy getting traded. No one thought he wasn't going to be a cowboy. And now the pressure, there's always pressure on the Dallas Cowboys. They're the biggest brand in the NFL. Their quarterback and their coach are under one-year contracts. And it's going to be a fascinating watch because, honestly, week one, I like them. I like the Cowboys more than most. Everyone thinks that they're going to come back to Earth, be under 500.

I do not. I think they're a playoff team. And they had a big blow that the news came out over the last 20, 24 hours, that bland, their star, DB kind of do it all, just makes a lot of plays. Fresnel State Bulldog before Sack State, so California guy, it hurts. He's going to be out for a couple months, but they still got a lot of good players. They got a lot of good young offensive linemen, and you get CD ready to roll. I'm more bullish on the Cowboys than most.

Now, part of being a Wheeler and dealer is trying to find value, and Jerry did that when he traded a fourth round pick for Tray Lance. and we've talked a lot about this. The reason Trey Lance went for way more than Mack Jones, who's a much better player. I mean, Mac Jones, listen, I don't like him as a starting quarterback. He's a good backup quarterback. Justin Fields, as of recording this, probably should be the starter in Pittsburgh.

And who my lead, Zach Wilson, who all those guys were traded for six and seventh round picks. I think Zach Wilson is going to win the number two job. Those guys were traded this offseason. You get them for one year. Jerry got Trey Lance for two. Now, it was a lot of money. It was like $9 million, and you took the contract from the 49ers, which was, I mean, looking back, that was a fleecing.

And people like, well, they traded three first round picks. Yeah, that's water into the bridge. That spilled milk. That happened. Once you haven't established bad asset that no one was offering nearly that much, it was a bad trade. Is it the end-all, be-all? Of course not. It's not that big a deal.

But once you trade for a guy that's making $5 plus million that I got news for you. If you look at the league and go, let's assume every team has three quarterbacks. Not every team will keep three on their 53, but every team will have three in some form or fashion. The team that have two will have a guy on the practice squad. Many teams will have three guys on their active roster. So that's 96 quarterbacks. I'm not sure that Trey Lance would crack the top 90. I'm not saying he's the 96 guy, but he's definitely not the 80th.

he's not we keep is he a starting starting quarterback he's not a backup quarterback the game that he had against the chargers who were playing people full of that are going to be on the waiver wire come tuesday his interceptions listen people throw picks it happens he threw five picks and honestly four of them were just like that's embarrassing the one that ended the game pretty easy throw just layer the thing over the linebacker ahead of the safety, should have been an easy touchdown. They would have tied the game. He threw a one in the end zone. He threw a bad pick on an out route that he was way laid on,

that he didn't see the guy. He threw a pick six, where he basically threw it right to the line. He's hitting these defenders in stride. He has no touch, and he's a turnover machine. I think there's a chance he's the worst draft pick in the history of the league. Now, we have seen guys like Jamarcus Russell, Ryan Leaf, like guys, quote-unquote busts that were.

high picks. But those guys were just that team's draft pick. When you factor in the trade compensation for the players, the Niners gave up their 12 pick and then two other ones, and then the Cowboys gave up a fourth round pick. So basically, three first round picks, a fourth round pick for this player. You can't say that about all these other guys who were just horrendous, right? They were just, we had the number two overall pick for you picked the player because we were terrible last year. Like if Drake May fails, let's just say he's awful or Jaden Daniels or whatever, those

teams just had to pick because the previous year they sucked and then they get their first round picks the following years. They didn't give up anything to get the guy. This player, and listen, it's not his fault, it's on the teams. But there are no more excuses. He went from Kyle Shanahan, who's one of the best

offensive coaches, to Mike McCarthy, who's also a fantastic offensive coach, who's coach I don't know. Aaron Rogers and Dak Prescott to unreal seasons over the last 15 years. This guy just can't play. And listen, sometimes, and I've been saying this for a while, it's you kick yourself when you get a player

and you go, God, he's got some talent, but he just immature, bad guy, doesn't care, doesn't have the wiring. I think the hard part about this one is this guy's a good guy. He tries. Like, this is not from a lack of effort. It's just from a lack of skills. And like I said, worst draft pick of all time. I think when you factor in the trade compensation,

I don't even know if it would be an argument when it comes to quarterbacks. He cannot win a backup job four years into his career. Honestly, in Dallas, it ain't even close. San Francisco last year, he was not even going to win their third job because Brock Purdy was their starter. Sam Darnold was their backup. If Kyle Shanahan had to pick one, he would have gone with Kyle Allen over

Trey Lance. Tray Lance is now in the Mitch Trubisky category that if you put him on the field, you're going to lose. You cannot play with a guy. It's impossible. Now, for some weird reason, the bills want Mitch Trubisky be their backup. Awful decision.

To me, if I'm the Cowboys, because I'm paying him either way, I would cut the player and just move him on the practice squad to save a roster spot. Now, Jerry keeps saying he's a lock, he's a lock, like you watch that preseason game, which I watched it.

It was tough. It really was because the decision-making, the lack of touch, the lack of just seeing anything, this is not playing the Baltimore Ravens defense week seven last year. This is playing the Chargers four-string players. When you're trying to just earn a spot in the league, so just listen, he's just not very good.

And thank God the Cowboys honestly didn't try. trade more, but he's the worst of the group by a long, long stretch. And speaking of the other guys, my theory on my backup quarterback, like look at the Cowboys. Cooper Rush does not think he's the starter, does not go around saying, I'm a starter in this league. You go around the NFL. Good teams, their backup quarterback, knows their role. Doesn't mean they don't have self-confidence. it doesn't mean that they don't think if they're given the opportunity, they could show everyone wrong. But they know when they walk into the building,

starting, whenever OTAs start till the end of the season, they have a specific role, essentially be an extra coach. Help the starting quarterback in every way possible. When I get a back, and that's the hard part about, we'll see, I mean, Justin Fields might end up being the starter, but Justin Fields thinks he's a starter. Like whenever you have your backup, again, it might turn out not to be, but even if it's Russell Wilson, Russell Wilson, he gets started.

That's all messed up. Whoever's behind Lamar Jackson, who's ever behind Joe Burrow, who's ever behind Matt Stafford, who's ever behind Josh. They know for a fact. And I wanted to play something because Zach Wilson, who has looked really good in the preseason and was really bad, obviously, with New York. Like, couldn't have been any worse.

But then he goes to a real offensive coach in Sean Payton. I'm not saying this guy's a starter, but maybe there's something there. and maybe this guy can just go on to have a long career as a backup. But one of the knocks on Zach Wilson has always been maturity. Like, does he get it? And then I watched him have a fantastic preseason and then listen to the way he talked about just being on the team with Bo Nix as a starting quarterback.

Yeah, I was excited for him. I mean, I don't think it was a surprise too much, obviously, right? I think he's had a great camp. You know, I told him I'm excited for him for this opportunity. I really believe that they're putting them in a good situation. I think Sean has done a phenomenal job, and then the guys that we get to hang out with, starting with Davis and then Joe and Pete and then Johnny Moe,

we have a great offensive staff. I think they do a great job. And then Bo has just continued to keep getting better. So I'm excited to see what he can do, and I think he's ready for it. Then I listen to Jared Stidham, who's 28 years old, not a young player. Been in the league a long time.

has made four career starts. So this is not a Zach Wilson situation where he got a bunch of starts early, it didn't go well, kind of derailed. Like, he's never been a starter. No one's ever viewed him as a starter. Why? Because he's not a starting quarterback.

Hell, the Broncos did him a pretty good solid from giving him a two-year, $10 million contract last year as a backup quarterback. And he got to start a couple games at the end, just like a couple years ago when Derek Carr got a bench slash eventually traded. He got to start a couple games there. But he's a backup.

There's nothing wrong with that. You could argue it's one of the best jobs in the world, right? Because, yeah, you make a lot of money as a starting quarterback, but take a bunch of criticism, you got to play, you got to execute, everyone's watching you, it's hard, like, you can get injured. As a backup quarterback, if you're making $5, $6, $7 million, in a perfect world, you never take a real snap. You don't take any reps at practice beside the scout team where they can't hit you. You're really just a vibes guy, right?

How many jobs in America, right, you know, these guys making $40, $50 million playing professional sports, or maybe some of these artists, they have to perform. If they do not perform, it will not work out. As the backup quarterback, you don't need to perform at all unless you're thrust into action that they don't want you thrust into. I just need you to provide support. How many people make $5 million to just provide support? It's unheard of. It's an incredible gig.

yet Jared Sidham after the game and listen he also, this isn't the only thing he said but he said he's going to be there to support but he said something that I went I'd think about trading him if I was Sean Payton I wouldn't want this with this type of ad I don't want my backup court let's just let's listen to Stidham really quick

on his view of himself not winning the starting quarterback job in Denver I mean first of all obviously I was very disappointed you know I know I'm a starting quarterback in this league. I have zero doubts about that. And, you know, just didn't shake out my way. But I know what kind of player I am, the kind of person I am. And like I said earlier, I'll be ready to go if I need to be. And yeah, like I said, I have no doubts that I'm starting

caliber quarterback in this league. I'm sorry. I just, I couldn't, if I owned the team, if I was a GM, or if I was the coach, couldn't have my guy with that attitude. I mean, there's these chances he's a third quarterback. And he believes he's starting quarterback. And there's something to be said about, like I said, having belief internally in yourself. But like, you got to know your role. The moment you don't

know your role, it's impossible to function in that role. And I wonder if this off-seasoning thought, this is my time to shine. Well, I get the moment OTA start, but then once the draft happens, and the guy's drafted in the top 15, it's over, buddy.

Like, sayanara. Like, they drafted this guy for a reason. And he's clearly a more talented player. But I can't quite understand having that mentality when you've started four career games. You're 28 years old. Like, you've never been a starter. And the only time you started is because of the starter,

because of financial reasons, got benched. So you have to wonder, Sean Payton goes with Zach Wilson as the backup. Does Jared Sidham get shipped somewhere else? 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 I'm saying. Yep, that's me, Clifford Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, the reactions, my journey from basketball to college football, or my career in sports media. Well, somewhere along the way, this platform became bigger than I ever imagined. And now I'm bringing all of that excitement

to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, 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 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 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 was 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, 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, or 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 Hardway. Open your free iHeartRadio app, search Learn the Hardway, and listen now. Hey, this is Robert from the Stuff to Blow Your Mind podcast. Joe and I are both lifelong Star Wars fan, so we're celebrating May the 4th with a brand new week of fun,

thought-provoking Star Wars-related episodes. Join us as we tackle science and culture topics from a galaxy far, far away, such as the biology of tontons and wampas on the ice planet hot, or the practicality and corporate business, sense of the Sith rule of two. Listen to stuff to blow your mind on the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcasts,

or wherever you get your podcasts. Belichick's performance today on Pat McAfee for 30 plus minutes was awesome. Belichick is really starting to come into his own. He ripped some players. He's like, yeah, that contract Atlanta gave to the corner. He's like, he doesn't have a pick in two years. What the hell are they doing?

Maybe he's taking some personal shots because he didn't get the job, but, It was good. I highly recommend watching it. But Bill said something. I was just watching it. And he mentioned something. I was like, damn. Because I had heard, obviously, when the Eagle season ended, a lot of people thought

Siriani was going to get fired. And then Bill was available. And I thought, like, Bill, Howie, how would that work? And then I remember in the early on in the off season before the Super Bowl, just kind of doing some digging. And a lot of people hit me with like, yeah, I think Bill and Howie have a pretty good relationship. I think Bill respects Howie a lot. And then I listened to Bill's take on the trade Howie made with the commies. And I went, yeah, I think what I'm hearing is real. Let's take a listen to Bill

on Howie. But I thought it was a really interesting trade that Philadelphia and Washington had. I mean, to me, it was another great trade by Howard Roseman. I mean, I don't know how he keeps, you know, getting number one picks for Carson Wentz and gets Dotson for basically a fourth from the team in his division. But it's a great trade. Howie, you know, the Eagles don't have much money on their salary cap, but they get a rookie contract.

They get a good player. I get it that he's not a starter, but he'll be the third receiver. He gives them a lot of depth and he'll be, you know, nobody's going to double dots in there, right? I mean, he'll be the third guy, you know, with Brown and Smith and maybe even Goddard. So I think it's a great, great move

for Philadelphia. They really strengthen their team. they really don't have to give up anything. There doesn't give them any salary cap money as little as possible, and they gave up, you know, really not much in the draft. I mean, if you think about Philadelphia's fifth, which will, you know, probably, or Philadelphia's third, which should probably be close to a fourth, and Washington's fifth, which is probably going to be close to a fourth, let's just say, in the ballpark, you know,

you're really looking at not too big of a trade that you throw in the seventh, but, I mean, it really isn't a big trade. And I think it was a great trade by Philadelphia, and by Howie, I don't know how he keeps pulling those off, but I think you have great value on this. But if you're Bill Belichick and you're going to come back, it's pretty clear it's impossible to be the GM and the head coach again. You need help, right?

You need someone to support you. Andy Reid did that when he went to Kansas City. And who's one of Bill's best friends in the league? Andy Reid. When did Andy Reid shoot like a rocket ship? When he's like, you know what? I'm just going to coach the team. I need someone I can trust.

And he had John Dorsey, who known forever. And then Brett Beach, who also known. forever. Very comfortable. You need someone who's good at that job. What's Bill a big believer in? Value. You see C.D. Lamb signed this contract? Bill never

did shit like that. Wait last minute, pay premiums. Like, he hated that crap. So a lot of people, Dallas, Bill Belichick, don't see it. Because, one, even if he doesn't want to be the GM and he doesn't have a choice with Jerry, he doesn't like doing business like that.

The other team that I've thought is like, well, he's worked for the Giants. right back in the day, maybe as a soft spot for that. They have no situation with their GM. That guy is completely over his head. Well, you got Howie Roseman, who is an excellent drafter, and who's excellent with value, who can handle all that. And they have a team with a lot of talent.

So if that job does become available, because the other thing I'd heard, and this is kind of well documented, they were very serious about Bill if they had moved on from Siriani. And I wonder when you listen to those words, words like Bill respects this guy. Bill ain't just getting on his knees and, you know, circle jerking everybody. That's not really his style. And if you listen to that, you know, his 30 minutes with McAfee, really only a couple

guys he gave a lot of credit to. Chiefs, Eagles trade. I mean, he's not exactly thrown around compliments. So this is something to keep an eye on. Now, you know where I've stood? I thought Kellyn Moore is a real player, and I do believe that. But I also think Belichick's a real player. And I think that would be difficult if the opportunity does present itself how serious the Eagles got there.

Because I think the relationship with Howie, just running all the deals, and Bill just focusing on coaching the team and working hand in hand with him, is pretty viable. The other thing that he said that I had never thought about or heard, now, I'm not some special teams guru and texting people about it, because I really don't care. Bill Belichick equated the new kickoff rule to golf. He believes you should have done the same kickoff, but just move it back. Well, in golf up until the last 15, 20 years,

long hitters hit at 270 yards. A lot of guys on the PJ tour in the 80s and 70s because of the equipment were hitting, drives 250 yards. So a par four, those 400 yards, if you hit at 250, you got another 150 yards in. But if a part 450 yards, Rory McElroy's playing it, or Bryce and D.C. M.B. or Scotty Sheffler, they have a flip wedge in. It's a different sport.

So what they have done to challenge players in the sport of golf is they've elongated the course. They've pushed the T's back to make, instead of 410-yard par 4s, 490-yard par 4s, or 500-yard par 4s, where just a little more challenging, given the equipment and given how far these guys are hitting it. and Bill essentially thinks this kickoff rule is stupid because everyone did it in the preseason. Why? There were no stakes. And he thought that a lot of coaches just went to the other coach, like, no matter what, don't kick it out of the end zone, let's both practice this, and everyone was on board. But in the regular season games, every single person will just kick it through the end zone.

Because it's not worked, and we've seen a couple, there was one in the Niner game, there was one, I forget the other game that had happened, but I initially thought that, like, go up the middle, there would be a little. lot of action. The action's on the edges. And if you can get a close-off block, you can get to the 50 pretty quickly. And if that happens once a game, it is not worth it. So are a lot of these teams is going to kick it out of the end zone and just basically wave the white flag to the 30-yard line? Because that's what Bill Belichick thought they were going to do. He wished, and I agree with this, push the ball back. Instead of kicking it off at the 35, push it back 15 yards. So it's basically

impossible to kick it out of the end zone. And at best, your guy's going to get it to like the goal line and have the old school returns. Now the pushback from Roger in the league is we're trying to take out the collisions in this. And we don't want the concussions in that play

and we want more action. But if everyone's just kicking out of the end zone with the new kickoff rule, are we not going to get any action? Because I know this. The 49ers who are, for being a good team, their special teams is historically just bad. They drafted a kicker last year in the fourth round from Michigan with a big leg.

I'll promise you, Kyle Shanahan is going to say kick it is. Their defense is good. Kick it out of the end zone every play. And I think a lot of other teams are going to fall under that quickly. Because I said forever, like the new kickoff rule, I was like, ah, this is going to be sweet. Well, why wouldn't you just put, if a tie game, Tyree Kill back there, or Debo Samuel back there, or whoever back there, who's really good and explosive. And Bill's like, yeah, the moment they do that, the last. thing you would ever do is kick it to that guy. So I do wonder if this kickoff rule, which was

kind of exciting, I enjoyed watching it in the preseason because everyone was actually just trying to follow the rules and kick it in the little box. If that stops happening, we're going to get the same result as previous years is going to look different the moment they kick it off. But at the end of the day, it's just going to start five yards more forward. Or I guess four if it used to start at the 20 if you kicked out of the endzo. The cutdown. Like most people when they first get hired in the NFL, one of your roles during training camp is to be the Turk, which I just call it that because that's what they call it in Hard Knocks back in 2000.

And basically the majority of GMs in the NFL have done this role. The majority of scouts at one point in time in their career have done this role. And it sucks, right? Now, it's a lot different than when I was in the league because they were two separate cutdowns. It was only 80 instead of 90, and then you went from like 80 to 70 and 70 from 53. Now you essentially just go from 90 to 53.

And that's a lot of guys. So some players have a pretty good idea. I got no shot, but it's a difficult moment for a lot of people. Now, the good part is, is, like for all of us, life is not about where you start. Where you start and going through rough times, I've been fired a couple times,

I'm sure many people listening to this have been let go from a job, have been part of a company that went belly up, maybe you started a company that went bankrupt. You got two options. You either sulk about it, or you realize the sun comes up the next day and you keep swinging. And you learn from those situations. So a lot of guys that were drafted over the last couple of years

will be cut on Tuesday. They will be added to the practice squad. And the best part about the first part about the, practice squad is one, it's eligible to basically everybody now, and there are 16 spots. Well, the season has never been longer. They added a game, and we know they're going to add another game, is that you are one step away from being active on game day, even if you're on the practice squad. But when you get cut, like when you get fired or when you go belly up or when you go bankrupt, you get to realize, like, what did I do wrong? What do I need to improve at? How do I get

better because that team goes, listen, you're not going to make the 53, we want you on the practice squad, you need to do A, B, and C to help our team, and we need you to get better at that. And if you show that, we have a lot of belief in you, we've invested a draft pick for you, we think there's a spot for you with this team. It could be week one. If you're the guard or a linebacker, whoever on the practice squad, that linebacker breaks his arm. That, you know, corner pulls a hammy. All of a sudden he's out.

Well, what happens? The backup becomes a starter. The practice squad guy gets elevated to the active roster. And boom, you're automatically playing on special teams. And you're a rolled ankle away in week two

from being on the field, on defense or offense. So I would say it used to be a lot more negative to be cut, because when I was in the league, the practice squad restrictions were really, really harsh.

and they were very punitive for young players who had already played. So if you had already played, you were like a seventh-round pick on a bad team and you had got a bunch of action in the regular season, your practice squad eligibility was gone. The last couple of years, Jason Peters, like 41 years old, he's been on practice squad. So it's incredible. Your practice squad eligibility does not run out. I'm sure there are some stipulations,

but not many of Jason Peters can be on a practice squad. So the opportunity to go on a practice squad, if this team used a draft pick on you and invested in you, I would work my ever-loving ass off because the difference of, it's a big financial difference. There's a big difference when making $160,000 and making a million dollars. But you are so close. And you're still, you know, in the fire.

It's not like you're removed from it. It's not like, you're fired, you're done, you got no shot. So I think it'll be a big deal when you see the list of all these guys getting cut. but it does not determine. We see how many guys get cut in their first or second year and go on to have long careers, eventually get a big contract. Happens all the time in this league.

A couple other NFL stories. I saw today Jeremy Fowler on ESPN, kind of went viral in 49erland, said that Trent Williams will not end his holdout until they figure out his contract situation. Well, yeah, no shit. isn't that why he's been holding out? Like, how is that news?

Yeah, he's holding out for more money and he won't end the holdout until he gets more money. That's literally what's going on. That's what he's been doing. I love it when something like that said is like, oh, my God, he just said what's literally been happening for the last 30 plus days. Now, pressure on the Niners. Time to get this thing done.

Time to get Trent Williams taken care of. Get him in camp. You got no choice. because you need him, and he's got leverage. But yeah, he wasn't just going to show up because he didn't want to take part in some practices. He wants more money. And based on these other contracts, he deserves more money.

I think the Patriots, man, are just... I said this a couple weeks ago when Drake May barely played in the first preseason game. You signed Jacoby Verset, who's 31 years old, who's played in a lot of regular season games. your team's not going to be any good. He does not need preseason reps. It made no sense to not give all the reps. I get playing Zappy a little bit,

try to increase, maybe get his trade value, but playing obviously Drake May and Milton. Play your young guys. Let them get reps now. Because ideally, they're not going to have to play in the regular season game for a while while you suck and Jacoby is your sacrificial land. Well, Sunday night football happened.

I turned it on a little late, and Drake May was already in the game. Then they showed Jacoby Verset and he's injured. And I just went, what are these idiots doing? I think the Patriots have no clue what's going on. Honestly, none. Someone could have said, like, listen,

Jacobi Brissette was signed simply to be a placeholder for Drake May. He's going to get hurt more than likely in a regular season game because our O line sucks. This is not some 24-year-old bridge. This is a guy who's over 30. who's played a lot of football. Let's just wait till the regular season to play him. And if our timing's a little off, who cares?

For him to get hurt in a preseason game, and it might be nothing, we'll see as more information comes out. This feels like a team that just has no direction. And if he is injured and they've got to throw Drake May out there, who got some talent, I like Drake May. He might get murdered. Because that offensive line is going to be the worst in the NFL.

And luckily he can be. move, but that was not the plan. The plan was to sit him. And they execute that plan by paying $10 million to a bridge quarterback. Then to get him hurt in a meaningless game on Sunday night football,

it's kind of an embarrassment, honestly. A lot of guys headed to Pup, right? If you're not healthy right now and you go to Pup, you've got a minimum miss the first month of the season, so that can be a big bloke. Some guys aren't as shocking as others. Like I saw Nick Chubb going to

going to pup. Well, yeah, his leg got snapped about seven different directions. He's going to be ready for week one. Then there are the guys that maybe tore ACLs or whatever early in the season. Are you comfortable with where they're at? Because they've got to take a 53-man spot. A lot of hard conversations right now are happening in all these buildings as they're kind of putting their roster together, even though they've known, but you kind of need to go ahead from your doctor. You've got to feel like talk to the player. And some of these guys go on pup might not want to go on pup. They think they're a little closer, but maybe you feel more comfortable with the guy that's been out there during training camp. And then you give that guy basically an extra month to keep rehabbing and practicing to make the transition.

But that's a huge conversation going on right now. Because if you put the guy there, you can't bring them in week two. Like, it kind of is set for a while. And then last but not least, and this, I was going to say this leads into my spicy take, but this is separate from that. The Ravens, Joe D.S. I don't, they call him, Joe D. Their offensive line coach. Passed away over the weekend.

And he had been with the Ravens since 2017. He was 70 years old. Just in a vacuum, that's just awful. I mean, losing anyone's life at 70 in 2024. To me, 70's kind of young. I had an acute illness, got diagnosed over the summer. Clearly, bad stuff happened quick, and he died.

And I think that can be a huge, huge, powerful moment in a bad way. One, you can't replace your offensive line coach, right? That's just, that's irreplaceable. It's going into week one. But this is a guy that's been there since 2017. So all these offensive linemen, the homegrown guys, all your offensive players from Lamar to Mark Andrews, think how much time they have spent around this human. I mean, you could tell John Harbaugh, who tried to kick him a professional, was pretty rattled by this, and rightfully so. that one overall take I have just, I think the AFC North is not going to be as good.

And I think specifically looking at the Ravens, like you lose your defensive coordinator, you elevate a guy who's never called defensive plays, and then you have something like this happen, that this is a heavy thing that you carry with you. Like this is someone that you, you, your coaching staff, your team, your front office, like, you know, football buildings are not that big.

There are 15 to 20 coaches. they're 60 to 65 players, training staff, equipment staff. Everyone knows each other intimately. Knows your wives, knows where you live. You just spend so much time together. This is hard, man. And when I was with the Eagles, my last year, Andy's son passed away in training camp,

and he was working with a strength coach. Everyone in the staff knew them. It's just hard. It's something that's hard for a team to shape. And I don't know, man. I think this got a chance to just not derail the Ravens season, but I already had them taking a step back. I think this is hard to overcome.

And I'm just down on the AFC North in general. So like hot take, spicy take, I still don't think the AFC North is going to be very good. I don't, obviously they have really good players in the division, some of the best players in the league in the division, but the Ravens, we just talked about. The Browns, I'm sorry, when that's your quarterback situation, I'm out. I'm out. The reason that they saved their season last year is Joe Flacco,

who I was listening to a fantasy podcaster. He had one of the great fantasy December's last year. The Steelers situation. I can't get behind it. The Bengals. Jamar Chase's been holding out. Joe Burrell can't practice four straight days. So this was a division that we all viewed as the best division in football coming into the season.

Last year, three teams made the playoffs. The Ravens were the one seed. The Browns were really good. I mean, they won 11 games with Flacco playing the majority of it. And the Steelers were just their typical 10 wins. It wouldn't shock me if only one team makes the playoffs out of this division. I guess you would have to lean with the Ravens. But I'm telling you, man, it just feels weird.

This division feels weird. I don't even think that's really debatable at this point in time. 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 where you're 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, perfect. 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 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 Jek. 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's big to me, not just because of crack. I'm down to talk about crack on day

But just so y'all know I mean at this point Mark this is the second episode where we've discussed crack So I'm starting to see that there's a through line We also have AIDS on the table right now So Thank you finishing that sentence

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 podcast

Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hardway 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, Tript Fantine, 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,

as we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast, learn the hard way. Open your free, our heart radio app, Search learn the hard way and listen now. Hey, this is Robert from the Stuff to Blow Your Mind podcast. Joe and I are both lifelong Star Wars fan, so we're celebrating May the 4th with a brand new week of fun,

thought-provoking Star Wars-related episodes. Join us as we tackle science and culture topics from a galaxy far, far away, such as the biology of tauntons and wampas on the ice planet hot, or the practicality and corporate business sense of the Sith Rule of Two. Listen to Stuff to Bo Your Mind on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Okay, Middlekopf mailbag time. At John Middlecoff.

At John Middlecough is the Instagram firing those DMs. Get your question, answer here on the show. This preseason, the Giants Quarterbacks did not throw a touchdown for the mailbag. Number one pick, you can't tell me otherwise. John, I swear. I would be hard-pressed to see the Giants being the number one overall pick. I think there could be similarities to last year, where they're kind of competitive in some games when their quarterback plays well, and probably draft somewhere between 6 and 10. I think they are much more likely to be the 8th pick than they are the second pick.

They have a good defense. Maybe neighbors goes off in a couple games. I got them in that 5-6 win range. I think the Patriots are going to be horrendous. I don't think the Panthers are going to be that good. I think the Giants, you're going to have some moments, maybe in the first month of the season, where fans go, oh, we're kind of competitive.

Does come down to the quarterback. I mean, if they're not going to throw any touchdown passes, you're screwed. But you guys won't be as bad as people think. That would be my guess. Question for the mailbag. What are your thoughts on the NFL changing the preseason? and cut dates from two dates to one. Why was this rule proposed and accepted?

Having two cutdown dates benefited players on the bubble because they had more time to sign with a new team. Wasn't one huge cut day with all the movement happening at one time? Now teams go from 90 to 53 at one time. Make the cut day more difficult to manage signing guys. Well, I would disagree. I like this this way. it'd be harder if you were a personnel guy watching the guys because you have more players at once.

But when you cut down, I forget, was it 90 to or I mean 80 to 70 and then 70 to 53? Those guys they got cut in the initial cut down for the most part. There was a reason they were getting cut early. They weren't good enough. They weren't as good as the other guys making the team. Or I mean, you know, continuing on to the last preseason game. So to me, that group,

usually was pretty irrelevant. Obviously, there are examples, I'm sure, but I like it more. I like the three preseason games more. I like this where you get more time going into week one. You get this whole week off, and then you get another normal week leading into week one. I think it's easier on the teams.

Obviously, they changed it because of the vid, but they're never going back, and they shouldn't go back. So I think they're going to figure it out when they inevitably go to two preseason games, how to space it out a little bit so the league can, you know, kind of evaluate. But talk to some buddies that are pro scouts, and they're watching hundreds of guys.

I mean, writing 100 reports a week. And most of those guys will be practice squad. But if you can find five or six guys that you really like and pound the table for, if those are at positions of need that maybe your team, can claim them. I mean, it's a big time a year for that type stuff. Question for the mailbag. Hope I make it. Straight up. Who had a better NFL career? Farv or Ben? Love the show.

Brett Farve won three straight MVPs. Three straight MVPs. Both of them? Some issues off the field. But if we're just talking player, it ain't even close. And Ben's a Hall of Famer. To me, Ben's a first ballot hall of famer. Fav is I mean one of the most popular athletes of the 90s

one of the most famous athletes of the 90s Rothesberger was never even viewed as like one of the more popular quarterbacks in the league Manning and Brady were in a different world and then once Rogers kind of hit the ground running like he was viewed as a better player so

and I'm not this is not trying to be a criticism of Ben I loved him as a player he was elite Ben in his prime was a badass. But this it's like comparing apples and oranges. Three straight MVPs. You know one, watching that documentary on Steve McNair

on Netflix, if you haven't seen it, go check it out. I'd forgotten about this. Not the story. I mean, I knew he was killed. One, you watched a documentary and you realize, like, this girl did not kill him. Like, no chance she killed him. Someone killed them both. the other thing because Maria watches so many of these murder shows

one takeaway I have and listen I never judge anyone's relationship the only people that know how things are going are the two people sleeping in that bed every night together but clearly a lot of famous people over the years and just I mean they're not alone people that sleep around when you get older and Steve McNair even his good buddy in this documentary

He said, like, he slept around a lot. And I think when you do that, the older you get, you are putting yourself in some compromise situations. And I've seen enough murder mysteries that Maria's watching all these different shows of dudes losing their life because they're sleeping around. And you start sleeping around. You don't know these people. You have to be discreet.

Especially as you get older, you get involved with some younger women. You have no fucking clue what they're doing. I have seen three or four murder mysteries in 2024 that had parallels of this. And listen, I'm not one to tell you how to live. I don't care. I do not, you do you. I'm not one to pass moral judgments on any human being. But like when I see these situations of these guys,

and I saw it, we watched a show on this Fox executive that was sleeping around and the ex-boyfriend killed him, And in this McNair situation, you just put yourself in arms away. Sad story, though, because his football, like the football stuff in that show, you're like, God, this guy was good. I mean, he was big, he could move, he had a huge arm, he was calm in the pocket, he was tough as nails. What a baller. One of the great players, I don't think we talk about enough.

One of an MVP, using my daughter's Instagram. Listen to you on the daily. In regard to your story about your dog in the ER, my wife works. in one in Charleston. Recommend coming out. Beautiful City, world-class golf, Kew Island. Love to come.

Anyway, she tells me stories all the time on the daily of people dropping thousands and weekly $10,000 on their pets. And that her company, a national company, made billions last year. It's a boom-in market. You know, what's funny is I had a lot of people,

I think some girlfriends and wives of people that were either told about the rant and then listened to the rant, came at me. and said, it's not the vet's fault. I didn't blame the vet. Like, I don't go to Safeway or Fries and get mad at the butcher that the meat is expensive. They're not picking the price points.

All I said, one, is I want in on the business. Like, it's, if you said, hey, John, the ER that you went to, you give them a hundred grand, they give you a percentage. I would have that check written yesterday. I mean, it's one of the great businesses I've ever. ever seen. Obviously, the hospital business makes a ton too. I think it's complicated because your pet that most human beings are going to do everything humanly possible, a lot like a family member to keep alive, cannot speak. So when you're given these amounts, which are a lot, it's never like, I just went, it was like, it was like, I just, I had AAA come. It's nothing,

it was free. It's like, pay my monthly deal, no big deal. You go there, I have, I, I had multiple people reach out, like, the independent ones, I mean, making $5 to $8 million a year. I mean, they are cash cows. And rightfully saw my capitalism. I'm pro business here. It's just you have no clue. You get this bill.

You know nothing about. Your animal can't speak. And it looks like she's going to live. I mean, she's still, we haven't slept much in the last week, but I'm not blaming the vets. I don't blame my doctor for the hospital bill. He's not hospital administration. He's not setting the prices. I've been a consistent listener for the pod for a couple years now.

Appreciate the content. With Pete Carroll making his way back to SC, I was wondering if you ever got the chance to watch ESPN 30 for 30. The Trojan War documentary highlighting the rise and collapse of the USC tenure. Also, do you believe the NFL, he's a lock for an NFL Hall of Fame? I think Pete Carroll's a lock, yeah. Because part of it, which it's the NFL Hall fame, but I think USC cemented him. I mean, he's one of the best, think of the best coach in the last 25 years.

Who comes to mind immediately? Belichick Sabin, Andy Reid. I think Pete Carroll's right there. You know, Urban Meyer, Kirby Smart, Pete Carroll, I mean, it's a short list, and he's definitely on it. Now, he's the only guy. I think Jim Harbaugh's thrown his hat in the ring now that he won the national championship, one in college and pro. You know, I think part of, I don't know if I've seen it or not.

I don't feel like I have, but I lived it. You know, I lived it, living, being in college in that era, and then going to Fresno State, that we recruited Southern California, so, I mean, I saw their dominance, but back then, you know, it wasn't legal to cheat, and the stuff that happened was just stupid, but Pete was legit. Pete is legit.

It's just kind of sad that, I mean, it ends for everybody, so there's nothing really you can do. Two questions. Why are the NFL players under contract allowed to hold out? If this is now common practice in the NFL, which it seems to be, why even sign a lengthy big money contract?

What does players sitting out to a team and team morale? Seems like Trent Williams for the San Francisco is going to miss a lot. games. Well, they're not allowed to hold out. Hassan Reddick's been fined 50k a day. Trent Williams has been fined every day. I don't have the exact dates that they've missed, but do the math. If you miss 10 days, that's 500 grand. Well, it's August 26th I'm recording this, when a training camp start? July 25th. So, I mean, are we talking $1.5 million? Like, They're getting fined.

Real money. And a fine is not gross income. It's net income. So if you're making $10 million and you owe $1.5, well, you get taxed on the $10 million. So if you see $6 million of it, you start doing the math. It gets kind of complicated.

Now with players like CD Lamb, you can waive it because they're on their rookie contract. Brandon Ayyuk, Jamar Chase, a little less complicated. I think we're seeing holdouts. at a much higher rate because the money we're talking about. And all of us in a position where it's like, hey, you are going to sell this operation, John, this podcast operation,

for $100 million. Would you risk doing something to screw that up if you could avoid it? Of course not. It's like anyone listening, whatever business you're in. If I told you, you could sell your business, if you're especially small or median-sized business, for $100 million. Guaranteed.

You would avoid all disasters. Well, their disasters, like, if I haven't signed the contract yet and I'm at practice, someone falls into my leg, guess what happens in that contract? The owner wipes his ass with it. I mean, it gets ripped up, gets shredded. No moss. Adios. It's all over.

It's not worth it. So I do understand where these guys are coming from. Okay, Collins' buddy, Nick Wright, had a comment on TV a few weeks ago about the two hottest new teams people are getting behind this upcoming season. The Texans and the Packers. He claimed that if history has taught us anything, one of these teams

won't succeed this season. That is, make the playoffs. If you had to bet only on one of these teams to get back where they ended up last season and make the playoffs, who would it be? I think one of my bets that I've been circling is I had already

kind of, I was played golf on Saturday, got home, had a few cocktails, was watching Nevada play SMU. I felt a little left out. And I had my like second Tito's and watermelon like, you know, a little cocktail mixer. And I was like, feeling good. So I was like, you know what?

I'll throw a little live bet on this. Nevada was kicking their ass. And my producer James text me as, I mean, they're up nine. they're up 11. It's just cruise control. Text me. Did you cash out? The moment he text,

SMU hit a play and we never look back. And I did not cash out at 2. I was going to turn 250 in a 2,600 and I was able to cash out at 2100. I didn't do it. And then he texts and immediately the all-time jinxed. I've never experienced anything like that. But I had already thought

of taking that 2,500 or 2,600 that I was going to make and I was going to allocate it. and one of my bets was going to be, I was going to put a thousand on Bo Nicks, Rookie of the Year. I was going to put $1,000, maybe $750, something on the Saints to make the playoffs, and something on the Houston Texans. You can get them right now with Draft Kings, 8 to 1, 8 to 1,

to be the number one overall seed. So I don't have that money because it disappeared. All-time Jinks, Nevada lost. Their quarterback sucks. But still, I was crew. to a victory. And I didn't place the bet yet because the money didn't come into my account. It left.

So I like the Texans a lot. And I think the Packers, like, their defense is always a question mark. This new coordinator who's never been a coordinator in the NFL. Gets a lot of credit for one year at Ohio State being a co-coordinator. Like, I got news for you. Ohio State's defense most of my life has been fucking awesome. So it's like most people that go there to be the coordinator succeed. is it going to work, I don't know.

I think their offense will be fine, but if their defense sucks, you can have a great offense if your defense is bad or below average. It's pretty easy to be the difference of like 11 and 9 wins. So I think the Texans, I think Texans can be the number one seat. I love that bad, actually. Good morning. Sitting here in Kansas City, watching your pod.

Have a conversational topic for your mailbag, or just for you. We'll do it on the mailbag. is from Neil. Brett Feach, I'm neutral on him. He's had some hits in the draft, but he's had some big misses too. Is this normal,

or is he riding the coattails of Andy and Mahomes? I don't ever hear him mentioned in the same breath of Howie Roseman or John Lynch. I put him in that category. Honestly, Neil, you're insane. To like have reservations, about Brett Veach at this point,

he traded Tyree Kill, which was pretty crazy at the time. Even if you don't want to give him that much credit for 2019, okay, I'll let you argue that. But these last two drafts, no on Tyree Kill. They trade them, they get Trent McDuffie,

who is one of the best D.Bs in the league, as well as Corlofskis, free up cap room to enable themselves to invest in Chris Jones, who's one of the best defensive line. in the league. Travis and Patrick Mahomes never stopped talking about how great he is. They just signed one of the best centers in the league.

Might be the best center now that Kelsey's retired. And I'd say he's been pretty awesome. I would say Veach has done a pretty good job of building your roster. Has done a really good job. So I don't know how you'd be lukewarm on him. Your team, most of my life, never snobes. nift to Super Bowl. And then he's helped be a huge part of leading back-to-back Super Bowls,

let alone the one he was a GM of five years ago. I have a hard time with that one. You'd be like, middle coffee, you know, I'm just telling you. Here's another one. I'm a forester in Michigan, and I appreciate having your podcast while I listen to cruising around. My wife and brother-in-law are vets with my brother-in-law being an emergency vet. Makes about 160K a year after Texas. Costs are so high because,

vets are at such high demand. I'm not disputing the business model. This is not one of those whack job media guys that hates business. Like, they got that fucking lane covered. This was simply an eye-opening experience of how much money

these things are making and how I would love to be involved. And now, too, you have no choice as a consumer. Right? It's like insurance. Like, I understand why insurance exists, yet it's a business where I pay I pay property insurance, I pay car insurance, I pay insurance on every, I mean a ton of things,

right? Health insurance, you name it. Well, they have no problem accepting my monthly rate, yet the moment I need something from them, it's a pain in the ass. But I get the business model. Who's a huge investor in insurance companies? Guy named Warren Buffett, why? Incredible businesses. Monthly revenue, cash flow. That's all I saw with this thing. And like I said, like, what was I going to say? They could have said it was 1,800 I paid, then we had to go back and we got to go back again tomorrow. I've already paid $2,800. Well, what if that was 10 grand?

What was I going to say? No. They got me by the balls. Like I said, supply demand. I'm not pushing back against the business model. And I don't blame the vets. The vets we've dealt with were great. It's like most doctors I deal with are great.

Then I get the bill. It's just business. But I still get to complain about the prices. It's pretty high. I do a lot of things in life, and that's one of the things. just more eye-opening bills in recent memory. And like I said, the one great advantage is a lot.

I said this last, it's a lot like a mechanic. If you don't know anything about cars, there's nothing you can say to argue with these people. You can go get a different quote if you want. But unlike with a vet, like, what am I supposed to get a different quote on my dog's survival? They're like, yeah, she needs blood transfusion right now.

Be like, I'll just see if the vet across the highway, has any openings. Well, it might be life or death. I guess you get a different quote, but even then, you still don't even know what you're talking about. People think I'm like anti-I-well,

not anti-bets. Anything, I'm pro the business. Live it out here in Europe. Love the pod. It keeps me connected. One of my favorite things you do is compare the game time strategies to personal life strategies.

You-wee football and everyday life question as a huge Bill's fan. I keep watching Buffalo, come so close, only to blow it year after year. How do you see this happening before Josh Allen bails on the team? He obviously elevating his team in a lot of situations

and I imagine he doesn't want to waste his prime years never quite going all the way. Or do you see this becoming a Jim Kelly story? You think he stays forever because the city has adopted him so fully. What do you think are the real obstacles and the bills can overcome in championship without blowing it? Well, quarterbacks are kind of stuck. Right.

think some recent famous guys that were traded. Rogers was with the Packers from 2006 or 5 till 2022. Matt Stafford was there from 2007 2007 to 2021.

You know, these guys, and Rogers was having success, it was a Green Bay Packers, but Stafford's a good example. You just kind of stay because they keep paying you a lot of money. And the market side, doesn't determine whether your team's good or bad. You're still a star if you're a good player. And again, you make a lot of money.

So we haven't seen many recent examples of quarterbacks kind of going NBA player. Now, maybe that's inevitable. It doesn't really feel like Josh's style. I think he's got a pretty special thing in Buffalo. I think sometimes, you know, I think the shitty part about sports is, you know, you can have a lot of success.

You can keep going to the playoffs, but if you just can never get over that hump, it's just hard to shake, right? And it just follows you forever. I mean, we talk about, you know, in golf guys that can never get over the hump and win a major. We talk about it in, you know, Charles Barclay is like the greatest player to never win a championship. Dan Marino, Jim Kelly. It's something that becomes part of your story. But because in most of our lives, right, if you're having the equivalent of that much success, you're doing so well. Like, okay, one company makes a little more than you.

Who cares? I'm making so much money. It gets to the point where it's not really about the money or the fame. It just all gets down to, like, can you win that last playoff game? Can you get to that AFC championship? Can you get to that Super Bowl? And there's no guarantee. There is zero guarantee of it ever happening.

So we might have passed Buffalo shot, right? They might be average for the next couple years. I don't agree with that. I think they're going to be fine this year. But if you tell me that they go nine. and eight missed the playoffs. It's not inconceivable. And then all of a sudden, like, did you miss your window? Which is, it happens in football all the time.

Back to the Steve McNair documentary. Like, the Titans had really good teams there for like three years. They went to a Super Bowl. They got to the one-yard line. They went to the AFC championship again. They lost the Raiders. It's like they were so close. And then it just didn't happen.

So sometimes you get there and you just rattle off a couple. Sometimes you just get there once, you win it. Right? Sometimes, like the Giants out of nowhere twice. Sometimes you just never win it. You know, that's what it feels like to be a Buffalo fan. You go, are we just cursed? Minnesota Vikings fan. Like, are we ever going to make it?

I can't tell you there's a guarantee. I would bet when you have one of the best players, I like my chances. So if you just look at it like a statistical, you know, coin flip, like what is my percentage chance? Well, we know you need an excellent quarterback to have a shot. In the history of the league, there are some outliers that have great defenses, the 85 bears, 2,000 race. Ravens, 2002, Tampa, right?

But for the most part, you need a Hall of Fame worthy guy playing at a really high level, where a really good player gets super hot at the right time. You got one of the best players of his generation. So it's on the roster management, it's on hitting on these draft picks, it's on him staying healthy, but I'd like my chances if I were you.

Question for you. If we see Kyler and Marvin Harrison can connect and put points on the board on a consistent basis, what do you see the next step for the cardinal offense to become more of a threat for the rest of the division? Well, they got three really fantastic players, right? Kyler, Trey McBride, and Marvin Harrison. I still believe they're a couple years away from building this roster.

I mean, the defense is not going to be good. But if they can find a second receipt, to go with Marvin. Like with Kyler, it makes the running game way easier because he's a threat, any zone read stuff. I just think you have to have balance. Like, it can't all be on. Like, they just have to find a number two wide receiver.

And that number two wide receiver doesn't need to be like T. Higgins is your March Ace. Or Brandon, I know you can debo. It just needs to be a credible guy. And if you can find that, then all of a sudden, you take some pressure off Marvin. If you have a good tight end, like, it's, hard to double team them because your safety's got to cheat to the wide receivers and your quarterback can take off at any moment.

So I just think that I think you're obviously going to be pretty interesting, to be honest with you. Who's your running back? James Conner's sure you're running back? The team's James Conner on right now. He's on the Cardinals. I like James Connor. James Conner's a good player. So you got James Connor, who had 1,000 yards, seven touchdowns last year.

You got Kyler, you got Marvin Harris. and got Tray McBride. Like, you got some building block skill, guys. I don't know if James Connor's a building block, but he's, you know, how old is he right now? 29, he's just a really good player. He's just a really good player. You feel good about him.

I think Cardinals are a fun watch. I really do. Who would you rather have a linebacker? Patrick Willis or Fred Warner? Come on. I like Fred, but there's levels of this stuff. Hey, John, question for the mailback. Do you think it's more likely

that Cowboys miss the playoffs this year or make the NFC championship? Well, I mean, if you're just basing on the last 25 years, you have to say missed the playoffs because they never go to the NFC championship game. I think they're going to go to an NFC championship game, inevitably. I think it's going to happen. One issue, and we talked about this, was Stucky.

The NFC is as good if not better than the AFC. The Chief's best team in the league, back-to-back Super Bowl champs. Let's look at the rest of the rest. of the depth. The bill's lost a bunch of guys. The Jets, we have no... It's Robert Sala, any good. Chargers roster is pretty decimated. Bronco's starting a rookie quarterback. AFC North, all sorts of issues. AFC South, actually pretty good. But... I went from, like, kind of wanted to pick the Colts to win the division, and I still like them.

But when you watch it and be Richardson in the preseason, just oozing with talent. ease in which he throws the 100 mile-hour fastball doesn't always know where it's going to go. So it's like, wait, I'm going to bet on this guy who's just not going to be accurate this year. Maybe he becomes more accurate. It's not happening right off the bat. When I just have this pocket quarterback who knows how to play

who has a loaded team, I'll just go with the Texans. Chiefs Texans, again, I think the Ravens step back. Bill's Jets, I think the NFC is just loaded. Niners, Rams. Packers, Lions, I think a couple teams in the NFC South. I mean, the Bucks have made the playoffs four straight years. The Saints won nine games last year, and I think you're going to be good.

The Falcons have everyone picking them. The Eagles, the Cowboys, you could argue the Bears. I mean, it's just, NFC's tough. So I think it's a long-winded way of saying, I guess I would have to pick them and miss the playoffs. but I'm not one of those people that say it's never going to happen. Now to my question, this is from Jonathan. How big is the influence of an offensive coordinator in a system of a strong offensive play-calling head coach? Like Sean McVeigh.

When having a head coach like that, does the offensive coordinator really matter that much, or is he effectively just a glorified assistant? Some people make a big deal of losing an OC, but does it really hurt these head coaches, or do they just have it covered anyways? Well, where it hurts them is, like ultimately Kyle is the one, the decision maker, Sean McVeigh, or Andy Reid, or Sean Payton,

on the guy deciding the play. Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, when they give the game plan to the players, they have given the final go-ahead on the play. But throughout the game plan, those assistant coaches, one guy's in charge of third and long, one guy's in charge of goal line situations

one guy's in charge of early down stuff and then the more you're around those guys the more you're confident when they give you stuff and you meet for the game plan and throughout the week of like that's a genius idea so anytime you lose talented people they're not the ones calling the plays or giving the final go ahead on the game plan

that's the coordinator but it's like if you're the boss of a company and you lose some really good employees ultimately you might be the driver of the operation, but their influence is hard to replace. So yeah, it just depends. It's hard to quantify. And I would say only people internally really know, right? Like how much Mike McDonald meant to Kyle or how much Clint Kubiak meant to Kyle or how much Kevin O'Connell meant to Sean McVang? I don't know. I can't quantify it. But if you trust someone to

do certain things, it takes stuff off your plate. And even as these coaches, I've heard them talk during the preseason like Kyle and Sean, because both of them gave up play calling for the preseason. They said it's definitely weird to not call plays, but the reality is during the season, I'm influenced by play calls by my assistants. Now, the more you trust someone, the more you're going to let them chime in, right? or let their suggestion become a decision, but it's impossible to quantify,

I guess it's a long-winded way of saying. It doesn't mean nothing, but it doesn't mean something. In every situation, be different. They're more than glorified assistance, for sure, because what they're doing on a weekly basis is really important. Because the head coach, like, I can't break down every situation.

I don't have the same time as those guys, because I got to meet with my defensive staff, I got to meet with the media. I got a lot of other stuff. You know, a lot of other irons in the fire I got to take care of. So I'm very, very dependent on my group of offensive coaches, my line coach with the run game,

my past game coordinator, my quarterback coach to help me build the game plan. I mean, it's a group effort, even though I'm the CEO of that group. I guess that's a long-winded way of hopefully I described that to you. So like when these guys leave, you know, I don't know. You can feel it like if the Texans go on to have a great year,

number one seed, NF, AFC championship game, Bobby Sloak becomes a head coach. It's very like, we know if I'm Domingo, I got to get a new O.C. Right? Like that, it's not an unquantifiable loss. But when these guys lose their position coaches that are their quote unquote OC,

but they're not calling plays, I would imagine if you had a buddy on the staff some guys are like yeah not that big a deal won't even notice and others would be like yeah he was he was pretty important like any industry some people in management positions that aren't or middle management that's essentially what that is are more impactful than others a lot of average lot of average okay thanks for listening everybody talk to everyone soon see you guys tomorrow the volume another podcast from some SNL late night comedy guy Not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smygel and Friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier.

This week, my guest, S&L's Mikey Day and head writer, Streeter Seidel, help an a cappella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and Friends on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not.

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-Hart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, this is Robert from the Stuff to Blow Your Mind podcast. Joe and I are both lifelong Star Wars fan, so we're celebrating May the 4th with a brand new week of fun, thought-provoking Star Wars-related episodes. Join us as we tackle science and culture topics from a galaxy far, far away,

such as the biology of tauntons and wampas on the ice planet hot, or the practicality and corporate business sense of the Sith rule of two. Listen to Stuff to Blow Your Mind on the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever, you get your podcast. 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 Clifers 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 Clivert Show on the IHeard Radio app, Apple Podcast,

or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok podcast network on TikTok. On The Look Back at it podcast. For 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 year. It was a wild year. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed human.