The Herd with Colin Cowherd - 3 & Out - Giants, Netflix's "Receiver", RIP Jacoby Jones

Episode Date: July 15, 2024

John dives into the first few episodes of "Hard Knocks" by talking about how they handled the Saquon Barkley situation and how if he has a big year in Philly it could mean that some people in NY could lose their job and how these episodes are showing you a "fun" side of Brian Daboll that we haven't seen in previous years. Later, John talks about Netflix's new show "Receiver" and after watching you can understand why certain coaches fall in love with specific receivers. Lastly, John answers your questions during this episode's mailbag segment. 11:44 - The Giants on Hard Knocks 24:22 - Brian Daboll 29:40 - Netflix's "Receiver" 41:38 - Other NFL news 50:37 - 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,

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18 and over in most eligible states, but age. varies by jurisdiction. Eligibility restrictions apply. One per customer. Enter the best ball $15 million contest by $9.524 to get one bonus entry. $20 entry fee required. Reward expires at contest lock on 9 524. See terms at draft kings.com slash DFS. What is going on everybody, John Middelloff, three and out podcast? That'd be me. That'd be the show. Thanks for listening. We are going to attempt to talk some football today. I actually almost recorded this on Friday. And the day kind of got away from me, but I'm going to talk about what I was going to talk about regardless. Clearly a lot is going on. Part of this vacation, we wanted to, well, not we, but our parents,

our mothers wanted to throw us a engagement party. So on Saturday, when we were getting ready to go to the party where everyone, people were already there, my mom, my brothers and everything, we were going to be one of the last people there, or at least to show up of our immediate family. And I went to the back of the house to put on my shoes. When I walked back out because I had on the American Century Golf Tournament, the news, the visuals, the live updates of the dude trying to kill Donald. And at first, you just, this was, it wasn't live, but it was within a couple minutes. And it was insane.

It was wild. The visuals, I'm screaming for shoes, which is pretty legendary. I want my shoes! And holding this fist up, obviously the picture that went pretty viral is just an all. timer and before I started recording this today I saw that he was playing golf so yeah man that's I don't even there wasn't much talked about at the engagement party beside that because it was so fresh and new and a lot of hunters at this party there were a lot of actually like sheriffs and policemen that are dating and married to some of Maria's friends so it was it was a hot topic

that's for sure it's going to be but like I said today on this show We'll talk some giants, some receiver on Netflix, and it's just some NFL news to try to give everyone a little break from the craziness that is what's going on. And I think Donald talks at the convention on Tuesday. So it's, I mean, it's just one of the biggest stories in the history of my life of 39 years on this planet. So it's not going to go away. But here, just going to try to talk football today. Other than that, subscribe to the podcast. make sure you check out the YouTube channel.

All of our stuff is up there as well. Last week, if you missed it, Mike Commodore, NHL player, even if you don't like hockey, I had a bunch of people DM me. He's a gem. It's a really good, he's an entertainer.

He's special. He's special. And on Monday, I think we had Bobby Bones, I don't think, I know, who country music, big radio host, just telling stories about his life.

He's been on Dancing with the Stars and a bunch of other stuff. He's a stud. So if you miss those, go check those out. And the game plan will be a podcast this week. We'll have a golf podcast. The game plan, I think, is for, we'll come out on Tuesday. The British Open is this week.

We'll have some betting picks. I don't know if you know, but the last major that happened, your boy won a pretty big parlay. I can't guarantee I'm doing that again because not many humans ever turned in $150 into 18K, but we're definitely going to gamble on it. And we'll be talking about it on the podcast. come tomorrow. Other than that,

I think that's probably it. So we'll have some more football talk as the week goes on, but let's dive in the show. Before we dive in to football, I've got to tell you about my friends, game time. Here's the thing.

You want to go to a concert? Do you want to go to a baseball game? Do you want to go to a football game this fall? I saw someone said, like 52 days or 50 days till the first football game. Could be off, but college starts a little earlier

obviously than the NFL. And I'm not counting preseason because those games suck, even though you get very excited to watch them. And I've been to a bunch when I worked in the NFL and then when I did radio and you're excited because football's finally here, then the game starts going. But obviously there's nothing like regular season games, college or pro. And that's where my friend's game time come in, concerts. I saw Morgan Wallen just canceled. But if you want to go see his shows, I have, he's pretty good. But whoever you like, if you're a Swifty, my friend's at game time, go check them. out long time official ticketing app of this podcast. So take the guest work out of buying tickets with game time. Download the game time app, create an account and use the code, John for $20 off

your first purchase. Terms apply again. Create an account, redeem the code J-O-H-N for $20 off. Download the game time app today. Last minute tickets lowest prices guaranteed. Okay, before I get critical of some stuff with the Giants, I got to say, I think this is the coolest hard knocks that happened since I was like in college and I'm almost 40 years old. I've never quite seen something this in-depth is probably the wrong way I put it, but behind the curtains. One issue I've had with hard knocks over the last decade, which I understand because if I was a team, I wouldn't want to show the deep conversations inside the staff meetings when you're crushing players with social media, everything goes viral. I get it. Now, I understand it's still an entertaining product for some,

said for a while, it's not really for me. Because I kind of like the nitty gritty. Like, people get cut in the NFL, right? Coaches badmouth guys because they're not good enough. It's like, that's part of the business. But teams have shied away from it and you don't get any of them. Now, one thing we've gotten, I would say, over the last three or four years is this incredible self-produced stuff from the teams. The Colts do a good job. The Jets did one this year. A lot of teams do it. And I'm missing teams. But, draft meetings, of them going to Indianapolis. And if you're a sucker for the scouting world, the draft free agency, it's cool. The Colts have been doing a great job for a long time with this. But this Hard Knocks has given conversations from the GM and to agents of players to

episode two was one of the best Hard Knocks episodes I've ever seen. because Brian Dayball talking with the quarterbacks was incredible. It was freaking awesome. Caleb, Jaden, Drake May. I mean, all these guys are impressive. And one thing we've been talking for a while, these quarterbacks in 2024, you know,

they've been playing on these seven on seven leagues since they were like 10, 11, 12 years old. It was an impressive group, which we knew. I mean, six guys went in the top 12. but it was really, really cool. And if you're a football nerd, dayball with these quarterbacks, was kind of football porn. It was awesome. I cannot recommend it enough.

If you haven't seen it, episode two, Elite. Joe Shane, listen, seems like a really nice guy. I've said for a while is true in coaching, and it's definitely true in the front office. not everyone is meant to be a number one, and to me, feels a little bit more like a number two. Asking a lot of questions of his group, which is normal, but it kind of feels like this guy's a GM. I work for Harry Roseman. I don't quite get those vibes from this guy.

One major issue that I think he's going to have is it's not about what happened this offseason. I understand their decision to move on from. Saquan Barkley because of the financial situation that Daniel Jones presents. But they fucked this up last year. That it made no sense. One thing with running backs, for a long time, I would say six, seven years ago when some of the girly Zeke Elliott contracts were happening, they backfired. But in tooth, the last year and then this year, running backs are actually a discount.

They're the one guy, I would say on the offense, who you. can get at a bargain because wide receivers, we know good ones, cost $25 to $35 million now. Guards are costing $18, $19 million. We know how much sweet offensive tackles cost. But wait, I can sign a running back to $11, $12, $13 million a year. I wouldn't do that with everybody. But the Christian McCaffreys, Alvin Kamara, Sequin Barclay, John Mara said multiple times, I don't know if I'm that comfortable with losing Sequin Barclay,

because our offense sucks without him. And Joe Shane's whole point is we have to figure out Daniel Jones. I was like, have to figure out. You just gave the guy $40 plus million a year last off season. You have to figure him out. Think how crazy that is. This is why we discuss these quarterback contracts at nauseam. Because when you pay a guy, listen,

I was watching the golf tournament. Trevor Lawrence is there. He's not very good at golf. But there's a lot of unknown there. And I would obviously rather have Trevor Lawrence than Daniel Jones. But when I have to give a guy $200 million guaranteed, I don't like to have a lot of questions. Listen, the DAC Prescott contract over the last four or five years, you can quibble with his performances in the playoffs, justifiably so.

He has not been very good. But he has been extremely productive in the regular. season and every single year for the last three years, they've won 12 plus games. So it's like, yeah, he's been worth it to them. Now I think they're asking themselves, do we want to double down on that with the prices that you have to pay if this guy can't win a Super Bowl? And I've said for a while with Dak, I do think he's capable of getting hot in a playoffs and making a run.

It doesn't mean it's going to happen. But it's, I've seen Eli Manning do it. I've seen Joe Flacco do it. It's possible with Dak Prescott. I believe, and I think most people would agree with me, it is impossible with Daniel Jones. But because of their situation, they have to let Seekwon Barkley go, here's the problem. I think Joe Shane is going to get fired at the end of the season if Seyquan Barclay has a big year with the Eagles. And how's he not going to have a big year with the Eagles?

Their offensive line is freaking awesome. And the depth on their offensive line is awesome. How is he not going to be sweet? Now, the new episode that's coming out, they showed like the, preview and even Mara said like, I don't know if I'm comfortable with him going to the Eagles. And I think if you're Joe Shane, listen, if Seekwon had gone to some random team that's going to win six, seven games, whatever. But he goes to your division rival for not that much money. And here's the thing with the division rival. They've been to the playoffs the last three years.

They beat you in the playoffs two years ago. Two years ago, they were in the Super Bowl. We know they're really well run. And even if they underachieve, guess what? They're going to be pretty good. Last year was a disaster for them. And the Giants would have given everything to have that season that they just had. And Howie Roseman and Siriani fired like half the coaching staff. So I don't see letting him go and not quite understanding his market and knowing that the Eagles wanted them, that's going to hurt.

And it's going to backfire hard. And if Daniel Jones coming off this ACL, and I understand like in Malik Neighbors, I said it before the draft, he was the best prospect because he had the highest upside. It doesn't mean he's going to be the best player, right? Obviously, Marvin Harrison's awesome. Rome's sweet. A lot of wide receivers in this draft are probably going to turn out to be pretty good. But the one thing Joe Shane kept saying, and I just don't understand, is he kept hammering on the offensive line. We need to get better on the offensive line.

and then you take a receiver at number six. Now, they already have a couple tackles, so could they have taken J.C. Latham? Could you play him at Guard? I think he played Guard early in his Alabama career. But here's the thing I don't understand. Do they know what they're doing when it comes to building a team? And that starts with Joe Shane.

Because let's use Harbaugh and Joe Ortiz as an example. All the conversation leading into the draft, which was laughable, was like, Chargers, get rid of Mike Williams, get rid of Keenan Allen, they're going to take a wide receiver at number five. And anyone who knows football went, bullshit. Jim Harbaugh is going to take an offensive lineman. What do you end up doing? Taking an offensive lineman.

And what did he say the night of the draft? I view offensive linemen as weapons. Because you know why when you say Jim Harbaugh, John Harbaugh, Kyle Shanahan, to hand, Andy Reed, there is a specific identity with and led by, you know, Brett Veach, Lynch, obviously Ozzie and DeCosta, and now Ortiz coming from the Ravens with Harbaugh of their identity as a football program, as a football team. You know what you're getting. What are the Giants doing? When I worked for the Eagles, listen, I'm a West Coast guy. I had never even really been back to the Northeast. I actually don't think I ever had. I had the first time I was ever in

Philadelphia or New York or Washington was when I got hired. And, you know, whether I scouted, you know, they were the Redskins at the time or met life against the Giants. I was an NFC West guy, you know, growing up. And the Giants, I'll never forget at the time, my second year, they won their second Super Bowl in 2011. When you were on the sideline and that team came out, they had a clear identity. You knew exactly what Tom Coughlin and the Giants organization stood for, what they looked for in players,

and I see a team right now that feels lost. And when you're lost in a division with teams that kind of know what they're doing, listen, the Cowboys' biggest brand in the league, they're the Yankees of football, you cannot diminish their identity as a football team and what they have invested in over the last decade plus offensive linemen.

They've taken offensive linemen in the last two years. Now, are those guys going to be high-end players? Time will tell. I mean, this year they took a project, but I would probably bet on it. I know what the cowboys want to do when it comes to building their team. Now, their coach sometimes says he wants to run the ball, then he passes the ball, and obviously, Dak, they don't have a running back. But I don't think the Giants have any identity.

And that's why Washington has been so shitty for 20 years. they've gone through coaches, they've gone through GMs. Dan Quinn and Adam Peters are going to have an identity immediately. You know why? Because Adam Peters has learned from Kyle and John, from John Elway, and Bill Belichick. Like he has specific type players that he looks for. And his draft just showed this. And when you watch Joe Shane and they're just kind of talking,

you know, Michael Lombardi talks about this a lot, you know, with play calling. Just like throwing darts at a darbore. I'm just calling place. There's no rhyme or reason, right? I'm not setting any, some play callers. That's why most play callers aren't that good. Because, and I've talked to my scouting buddies who think, and I believe this too, you're kind of instinctive doing it.

You either kind of have it or you don't. It's why some offensive coordinators get their shot. You're like, this doesn't work. And some guys just, there's a feel for it. It's obviously you get better like anything in life with experience, the more you do something. But when I watch the Giants, like, I'm just like, What is going on here?

What are you guys doing? That's my big question, Mark. What the hell are you guys? You guys have any direction. And like I said, if Seyuan Barclay and if feels like not strong enough, when has a really successful season, the Eagles, I think it would be pretty shocking if they're just not in the playoffs. Most people, including myself, don't think the Giants are going to be any good.

I think that could end. That could end Joe Shane. out and listen, I thought John Robinson, I know he had a rough last couple years, but I've known John back, I met him when I was at Fresno state. He did a pretty good job of building up that Titans team when Vrable first got there. But what was his undoing? That AJ Brown thing. It destroyed him. They traded AJ Brown. He goes to the Eagles, and then they ended up playing the Titans, right, randomly a little bit because it just happened to be that year you were playing, you know, that cross division in the AFC. And AJ eviscerated them. And that was the end of his

GM career with the Titans. And the problem for the Giants was AQUAN. They're not only going to see him twice a year, they all play the same teams. And that division, it's a little SEC like, right? Everyone follows those four teams really closely in all those cities. I mean, New York's a pressure cooker. They've been so shitty now for so long. I think it's going to be a major problem. Now, Brian Dayball, I thought he came off pretty well, like just kind of a cool football guy. And the knock on him, has been definitely last year was like, God, this guy's got to calm down. This guy is just a loose cannon. And then you saw him. And listen, I don't know, I don't know him personally. It felt like just a relaxed guy having a good time, cracking jokes. But when you saw him talk football, it's like,

yeah, this is a guy that worked for Belichick and saving. He knows his shit. But he could joke about being chubby and eating chicken wings and running the 40. Like honestly, he kind of reminded me a little bit just in the second episode at the combine of like jokes Andy Reid would make. But if this team's bad because of the team that Joe has, you know, kind of constructed over the last couple years, you have to wonder like, would he get a second GM or would he get fired to? And based on the Giants history over the last,

I don't know, post-Cofflin, they've run through a lot of people. And if you're John Mara, Sequin Barclay, high character guy, you were in this position. Joe's like, we tried to offer him a bunch of money last year. Well, even if you would have quote unquote overpaid a little bit, it's a running back. They don't even cost that much money. But you were so dead set on paying this quarterback that everybody in their mother knew was average.

What was going to be his market if he hit free agency? I can't imagine anyone would have given that guy, I don't know, over like $40 million guaranteed. And I think this is going to be his undoing. And it was just a disastrous decision that they're paying. paying for now. But like I said, you have to have a clear philosophical belief as an organization. I've only worked for one NFL team in the league, right? Line, line, line, line. Howie Roseman, because you learned from Andy Reid, always drafting offensive linemen. That was just a point

of emphasis. And like I said, when I was in Philadelphia watching those Giants teams, they had good offensive lines. Eli couldn't move. Eli is as fast as me, but they were stout up front. And now they just feel lost. 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. 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 a TikTok podcast network on TikTok. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year.

Within probably 10 days I'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. What's up, fam? It's Isaiah Thomas. And I'm C.J. Toledano, and our podcast, Point Game is about defying the odds. Like LeBron heading into the playoffs without Luca and Austin Reed. And finding ways to win no matter what. He's the smartest player to ever play the game. His IQ is at a level that we've never seen before.

knows. Without Luca and Austin Reeves, I got to manipulate the game. We get a player's perspective on the challenges of the playoffs. I think Joker's going to be exhausted this series because when they don't have Rudy in the lineup, he has to really guard guys like Nas Reid.

He has to guard Julius Randall. And then he has to give us everything he gives us on the night-to-night basis on offense. And when IT's friends stop by, like Quentin Richardson, we dive into some playoff history too. Steve Nass would get that thing. That man, hell get the flying. He running up the court, licking his fingers, why he got the ball.

Like, after you go through a training camp with that, Isaiah, you figure it out real quick. Get your ass up and down the court, and you're going to get the ball. So listen to Point Game on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Receiver. I watched the first episode, and one of my main takeaways was, this shit ain't that complicated. It's really not. And this isn't, you know, the 70s and the 80s football anymore, right? The game is much more wide open.

And you can run over the middle Jack Tatum or Jack Lambert or Ray Lewis or Cam Chancellor can't shatter your collarbone. You still get hit hard, but the crazy hits don't happen as much. I've been probably three or four times, you know, pre-2015 where I've seen guys get carted off the field of some of the most. malicious hits you'll ever see. Just in my, I remember Deshawn Jackson got taken out, I think in an Atlanta Falcons game when I was with the Eagles. You thought he died. I mean, you really did.

There was a game where we played the Colts and Austin Colley, remember he was really good player, but he had some concussion issues. I forget who on our team hit him, but you also thought he died. Pretty sure he got carded off that game. Both those guys got carded. You just don't see that as much. I mean, guys still get carted off the field, but it's usually for ACLs or an Achilles. But when it comes to hits, it doesn't happen as much.

But physicality in the sport not only still matters, it's essential to being successful. You cannot be good in the NFL if you do not have physical players. Let's look at the final four in the NFL. And obviously, two of the teams were featured on the first episode. I recommend it. I thought receiver, the first episode was just pretty cool. It's a very easy watch. Debo Samuel, one of the most physical players I've ever seen.

Blod, not a great route runner, but because he's such an elite player with the ball in his hands and he can basically play this hybrid running back position, you just get the ball to him, screens, pitches, put him at running back, and he makes it happen, breaks tackles, runs guys over. George Kittle, who is probably, maybe at this point he's a little older, but he hangs his hat on physicality. There were so many clips of him running guys over in the run game. And George said it, like, listen, do I love to get eight catches for 100 yards and two touchdowns? Of course.

But if I have one catch for one yard and we run the ball down their throat and win by 20 points, sign me up for that every day. And then you watch Amin-Ross St. Brown, who I think was a fourth round pick. Why do guys that aren't, you know, think about the list of players. in this in receiver, George Kittle, fifth round pick, Debo Samuel, second round pick, Amin Rae St. Brown, fourth round pick. Devonte Adams' second round pick. While Justin Jefferson was a first round pick,

think how many receivers were taken over. And Justin's, you know, your prototypical elite outside wide receiver. But those other guys, Amin Ra, the reason he ran a four-six, but you watch him play, like, who cares? like his ability to get open, his toughness. You watch the background on his family. Maybe I knew this, but it definitely like, when you're watching it, his father talked about him being in the NFL at eight years old. He was a former Mr. Olympia, the thing that Arnold Schwarzenegger used to win all the time.

And he's a serious cat. And like I said, physicality and seriousness, the best players in the NFL are so serious about their craft. obviously they have fun. I'm watching the celebrity and Jason Kelsey and Travis Kellett. That tournament is made for those two guys. Shotgun and beers, getting wasted,

high-fiving dudes. But when it comes to football, I've said the story before, but before he was dating Taylor Swift, I ran into Travis at the golf course. And I just kind of introduced myself. I didn't want to like, I wasn't even trying to fan boy.

I just, hey, man, I used to work for Andy Reed. We started BS in a little bit. And he's like, yeah, OTA started in a couple weeks. This was two years ago. He's like, I can't get weight. I can't wait to get back.

I can't wait to get on the practice fuel. I can't wait to just kind of lock back in for the offseason. And the seriousness it takes, I haven't seen the Devante episode yet. And listen, I don't, I understand Devante wanting to be on the Raiders. It's his, I think his grandma or grandpa,

you know, it was hard for them. They could never travel to Green Bay. It's much closer to where he grew up in Northern California. He grew up a Raiders fan. I get it. Like at one point in time when Daniel Jeremiah went to the NFL network, I begged to come back west.

And obviously, I haven't left since. Man, I don't plan on it. But I understand being home. But when you're a professional athlete, where you play kind of matters. And you're with Green Bay,

and I get they low ball them. And even if he wanted to leave. But when you demand a trade to the Raiders, and then they suck for a couple years, and your quarterback play is awful, like, I don't know what to tell you. what'd you expect? Kenny Stable or ain't walking through that door. Rich Gannon's like 55 years old.

Hell, he might even be older because he was older when he won the MVP with Gruden in like 2000 or 2001. Maybe it was 2002. But here's what I know about Devante. That dude takes shit very, very seriously. I'm close buddies with his personal coach, Keith Williams, who's now the wide receiver coach for the Saints. He was our wide receiver coach at Fresno State, and they trained for years in the offseason. These guys don't mess around when it comes to working on their craft. And all these guys, George wasn't that productive in college. Devante, smaller school, ran slow. I remember stories when I left the Eagles. Chip Kelly and his staff thought the guy was a slug, thought he sucked. Pretty good evaluation there, boys. And the knock on Debo, he was an excellent player in the SEC,

but he had a lot of injury issues. But Kyle and those guys, because they sucked at the time, coached the senior ball and we're around them. And I think we can use this guy. And when you see the shiny toys, like Andy draft savior worthy, he kind of knows how to use those guys. And this is my thing with Malik neighbors, elite talent. Like I'd want them on my team. But you look at the Giants, you're like, you got a quarterback who's a dink and dunk guy who's just not even that good. Like, it's kind of going to waste there. You know, ain't really going to work.

When you drafted Odell Beckham early on, why did it kind of work? Well, what did Eli do pretty well? We're a good deep ball. Had a big arm. Like could push the field. could get them the rock way down, you know, on go routes, on post, like they really threaten the deep part of the field. That ain't them.

And guys that go over the middle and you get the ball to and can break tackles are very valuable. I don't care if you got Patrick Mahomes or you got Brock Purdy or you got Daniel Jones. Because it's why running backs, like, let's face it, they're kind of valuable. Why? Very easy to get them the football. Now, value in terms of money and the cap, obviously we can discuss that all day long. but if I got Kamara, if I got Sequin Barclay, if I got Christian McCaffrey,

Nick Chub before he got hurt, it's not that difficult, even in the passing game, to make sure the ball's in his hands. And Debo Samuel, most of his catches around the line of scrimmage. Ammon Ross St. Brown works the middle of the field at an elite level.

George Kittle, like pretty big target within 10 yards of the field. Now, he's fast, he can stretch the field. And once the ball's in their hand, like most guys are not Camp Chancellor in the NFL anymore. and they have to, like they can't leave their feet to tackle you anymore. And these guys break tackles.

And I like tough guys on my team. Always have. I don't think that's a novel concept. And some people, every time a new coach or a new GM gets a job, we want tough physical guys. And then I watched this, like, I know exactly what a Dan Campbell player looks like. I know exactly what a Kyle Shanahan player looks like.

And guess what? Those are the winning players. It really are. I was thinking about this because last week, if you haven't checked it out, we did on the podcast. The Mike Commodore interview was fantastic. It was only on the podcast because our video kind of got messed up and Bobby Bones. But on Friday, I just did a little, you know, a little offseason, top 10 coaches that, for me, not named Andy Reed.

And I had Dan Campbell on there. And I was thinking about this over the last couple days in Tahoe swimming around, having some beers. He went to the Alliance. He went to the Alliance and didn't just win. has turned them in to a team that you would have to be on drugs not to pick them to make the playoffs this year. Their team is deep, high-end players everywhere. If you get hired at Ohio State, if you get hired at Oklahoma, if you get hired at LSU and you don't win, you just suck. But it's why I'm pretty high on Lane Kiffin right now. All-Miss has never had back-to-back

double-digit win seasons. And he just did it. And most people are going to pick them to make the playoffs this year. You don't do that at Old Miss. That's not what you. what they do. And the NFL is a little different because of the way the draft works. Every team has money. Every team has the same resources. But for whatever reason, certain teams suck way more than others. And if Dan Quinn and Adam Peters go to Washington and win, that's more impressive than winning at the Eagles or the Cowboys. I'm not talking to the Super Bowl. I'm just talking about consistently winning every single year being in the playoff hunt. And you do that by drafting and picking the right players. Because when you get the right guys, tough guys, physical guys,

guys that love football, one of my big pet peeves around draft time, is when the media freaks out when these stories are like, the GM asked them, do you have a, we don't want balance. We want you to be all in on football. Well, no shit. I'm paying a 10, 20, 30 million a year. You ever done a job for that much money? I haven't. But if someone paid me $25 million a year to do a job, I would probably expect them to think, I'm going to spend 99% of my effort thinking about this. I'm not saying you just avoid your family, have no other life. But like, it takes a little more effort. Money kind of factors in. If you work in 9 to 5 and make $50,000 a year and check in, check out, like, yeah, my expectation is a little different for you. So the

expectations during the draft, like these guys that are football junkies, it usually works. Most of the best players, I mean, think about the best players the last like 20 years. Seems like football's pretty important, right? Quarterback or non-quarterback. Think about some of the best non-quarterbacks over the last 20 years. Ed Reed, Ray Lewis, just go around at different positions. Like, yeah, they're kind of all in on the sport. It kind of means everything to them.

And when I watch George Kittle or I watch Amman Ross St. Brown, like, I know football on their pie chart of life means a lot. And that's important. And that just stands out watching the show. I mean, I'm in Ross St. Brown catches 202 balls from the Juggs machine every single day after practice. Every single day. It's incredible. So, yeah, I enjoyed it. I look forward to watching more episodes and Peyton Manning and his crew. It is powerful. And obviously, the media is dramatic. changed. And that's why a lot of media members are very angry because they're just being pushed into a relevancy. And a lot of these former players have gotten involved. It's the pushback on McAfee. It's like, this is jealousy. He's printing money. He gets all the big guests that they would never get.

And Peyton Manning does the same. It's different because he's not like hosting a radio show or a YouTube show. But his access because of these Peyton Manning, being able to get that quarterback last year, being able to get the receivers is just cool. And it's not like, listen, they're not going to give you some crazy players talking shit, but Devante did it a little bit. But it's just, it's a, it's very entertaining. And I enjoyed it. Okay, NFL news, a couple of little things. I do think Rogers messes with people a little bit.

And I've always thought if I was a super famous player as I got older, I would do the same. I would just say things to create just, mystery is probably the wrong word, but just fuck with people. And he mentioned at the Tahoe tournament that he looks forward to playing with Devante Adams again. And a lot of people like, what does that mean? Will the Jets trade for him? I think he just said that knowing what that word means and he's screwing with people.

I do not believe Devante Adams is going to be on the Jets. Now, I wouldn't bet my life savings on it. But I truly believe at this point, Rogers is just going to screw people. And it's, I kind of find it entertaining just because when he does that, the avalanche of people trying to guess what he means, what's going on, what would the trade package be? Would they trade a couple ones? I haven't even look at the financial ability. Do they even have any room to do that? And trust me, I don't think Mark Davis would trade him like not happening unless Devonte Adams demanded a trade from the Raiders, which their quarterback situation would never be out of the realm of possibility.

but that seems like a like it's not going to happen. One thing about the NFL that I think is way different than the other sports is it's obviously in terms of American team sports is there are so many characters. Like all this is reality TV. That's what sports is. It's reality television entertainment. Their game is our entertainment. But the characters in the game are the reality TV stars, right? And that's what players are.

And basketball, for example, their players are really famous. But the assistant coaches in the NBA are pretty irrelevant to the casual fan, unless it's a former head coach. Right. But just a random guy, unless you're like a nut for the team, you're not really going to know the guys. Yet in football, their characters, they have so many different angles of their characters. Obviously, the players on the field, the quarterbacks, the star defensive players, the wide receivers are big stars. head coaches, I would say, are equally as big. I mean, the top 10 coaches in the NFL, if you just start rattling off their names,

are pretty famous, right? Starting with Big Red in Kansas City to the Harbaugh brothers, to McVeigh and Kyle, what LaFleur is doing. You know, Belichick and Pete Carroll are not coaching, but I mean, these guys are every bit as famous as the players. In my opinion, I don't know, maybe some would disagree, but I don't think it's a much more famous like Bill. Belichick, but it's always been that way.

Bill Parcells, you know, back to John Madden and Tom Landry, but assistant coaches, meaning the coordinators, are pretty big deals too. And when I was a kid, there were a couple of coordinators that clearly stood above the rest. And Monty Kiffin was one of those guys.

And he passed away over the weekend in Mississippi around his lane and the family. But he felt like I don't know, one of the biggest assistant coaches in my lifetime. Tampa 2, just the defense that every coach tried to, I mean, think how many people not only copied that and used that,

how many coaches from his staff went on to get jobs, from Herman Edwards to Mike Tomlin. I'm sure I'm leaving guys out. I think Rahe Morris was there as well in the early mid-2000s. but he was a central figure on for about a five, six year stretch, easily one of the best defenses of my life. And he was just an elite coach. And it just felt like, maybe I'm wrong, he was one of those guys that was just cool with being a coordinator.

And whoever got the job wanted to keep him. And then obviously in his latter years, as Lane became a head coach, he went on to work for him. And that's cool. I mean, I can't even imagine being a football guy and having a football. son who's also a football guy in the coaching profession and getting to work with each other.

It's just something that, you know, has to be pretty special. And the time with Lane was a little up and down. I mean, obviously at USC didn't go that well. But just a legendary football figure. He really is. And I, you know, he's one of those guys that I don't know if there's a guy in this generation. Maybe Fangio, but Fangio hasn't won a Super Bowl. and I don't know if he's known.

I mean, he has a specific defense he runs, but, you know, Dick Leboe, I would say Monty Kiffin and Dick Leboe, when I was growing up and coming into my own as a young football guy, were just, you know, two stalwarts of the profession and two guys that were really, really famous. And part of it is they were probably the two best coordinators on two of the best teams, which is sweet players. And when you played them, they were going to rock your world.

I mean, rock your world. That Tampa defense, I remember being like in high school watching them and being like, how do you even gain like 10 yards on these guys? I mean, if they had any sort of offense, who knows, maybe they win like two or three Super Bowls. I mean, they were incredible. Some of those games, I think there was an NFC championship game where they played the Eagles with Jim Johnson, who was also a really famous defensive coordinator, also RIP.

He died a long time ago, though. And the physicality in those games was a little different than today's day. age. And just, I mean, the rules were different. And it was, it was a war zone with football pads and a helmet. The other news I saw today is Jacoby Jones, who was just an excellent return man, just a playmaker passed away at 40 years old. I haven't seen why, but that's just just terrible news. It really is. So we're losing some football guys here with just sucks. So rest in peace is you have an upcoming fantasy football draft well then you need to check out the fantasy pros draft wizard when you sink your fantasy football league with draft wizard you'll get an instant report that shows you

how the rest of your league drafts you'll see who overdrafts rookies in early rounds who's going to be the person to take that first qb off the board and which manager is going to always reach for that hometown player every single time and then you take those patterns directly into the draft simulator and make your mock draft feel like the real thing when your real draft comes around You're going to be ready, and the draft assistant will be there for you to give you live pick-by-pick insights and expert recommendations of who to draft and when to draft them. You can see all of this and more at fantasypros.com slash volume today. A win is a win. A win is a win.

I don't care what 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, 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. 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. What's up, fam? It's Isaiah Thomas.

And I'm C.J. Toledano, and our podcast Point Game is about defying the odds. Like LeBron heading into the playoffs without Luca and Austin Reed. and finding ways to win no matter what. He's the smartest player to ever play the game. His IQ is at a level that we've never seen before. And he knows. Without Luca and Austin Reeves, I got to manipulate the game.

We get a player's perspective on the challenges of the playoffs. I think Joker's going to be exhausted this series because when they don't have Rudy in the lineup, he has to really guard guys like Nas Reid. He has to guard Julius Randall. And then he has to give us everything he gives us on the night-to-night basis on offense. And when IT's first,

friends stop by like Quentin Richardson, we dive into some playoff history too. Steve Nash will get that thing. That man, hell get the flying. He running up the court, licking his fingers why he got the ball. Like, after you go through a training camp with that, I said, you figure it out real quick. Get your ass up and down the court, and you're going to get the ball. So listen to Point Game on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Okay, let's do a couple quick mailbag questions because we haven't done the mailbag in a little bit.

and a lot of you guys have sent me questions. So I thought, let's hit a couple. Question for the bag. This is from Goose Charger. As a diehard Panthers fan, I love and miss Luke so much. If he were to go in a draft today, where do you think he would go against the likes

of other talented defense events? Also, I still think about the one Patriots fan that wanted to jump ship after one bad season. They've had a couple, but I hear it. I mean, you don't get to have 20 years a kicking ass and then go through some rocky times. I think I'm just going to pick a new team. I think if he was in the draft last season, or, you know, a couple months ago, because the quarterbacks all went, I would say Harbaugh would have taken alt over him.

Quarterbacks went one, two, three. I think the Cardinals would still take Marvin Harrison over him. I think the Harbaugh would take the offensive lineman I think he'd be in the mix with Malik Neighbors at at 6

I mean he went 8 in his draft I don't have his draft in front of me but I think you could make a very very good case for him going over Malik neighbors at 6 Luke Keeckley was a special player and if he didn't have the concussion issues I mean he's just he's an all all-time great linebacker.

Like, it's just certain guys, because of injuries, they get derailed, but in their peak, it's clear. Like, Navarro Bowman was this. Now, his career was even derailed faster. It's like, yeah, this is one of the better players I've ever seen. Now, part of, you know, being a Hall of Fame or whatever, and Luke did it longer, but Patrick Willis, it's like, that's as good as it gets right there. Luke Keeckley, Patrick Willis, Erlacker forever, Ray Lewis, elite, elite player.

Do you think there's a chance? this show leads him to losing his job, speaking on Joe Shane. How many cringe videos can he let be aired? Players will surely get a bad taste in their mouth when thinking about signing as a free agent. While he's still there knowing how he's compensated talent and having conversations like this with a player that means as much as does to the organization via a phone call, I don't have a problem with him calling Sequin Barkley to let him know their decision, even though it just felt my take earlier in the podcast was pretty simple.

He just kind of feels like a number two. He does not feel like a number one. And ultimately letting Sequin Barclay go. I understand it's a tough decision given their current salary cap structure with Daniel Jones, but they never should have got to that situation. They should have locked Seekoine Barclay up two years ago and not done what they did with Daniel Jones. I think why he's going to lose his job is if Seacuan Balls with the E.

Eagles, it's one thing to play well if he had gone to the Cardinals or Seattle or Minnesota or just some team that has no connection to the Giants, to the Philadelphia Eagles, who, let's face it, are just going to be good? How good, I don't know, but what's their floor? What's the Eagles floor? I have a hard time seeing them go 9 and 8, so it feels like 10 and 7 is probably their floor, and he is going to be a major part of it. And the Giants ain't winning 10 games.

So you're going to watch Seiquan in Philly, balling out. That's how you get fired, man. I think that's the reason he's going to get fired, not the videos. I do give him credit. I guess I don't, because the Giants were forced into this. It wasn't their choice, right? You don't, the league is very aggressive about, it's hard to get out of these things.

And when you've been bad for a while, like obviously you can't. like the Niners or the Rams or the Eagles, like they don't have access to those teams because you make the playoffs and they're not part of the umbrella of teams that they can get access to. I wonder if John Mara was like, yeah, I wouldn't mind cameras on these guys. See what it looks like.

I want to see it for myself. Obviously, I see it in real life, but I don't see everything they do. I want to see it. Is there a chance that happened? That John Marr gave the go-ahead because I kind of want to evaluate these guys under a different light.

Why is everyone so down on Trevor Lawrence? The Jags were 8,000. three before he got a high ankle sprain and the injury to his throwing shoulder. After that he played bad, but people act like he was horrible the whole season. I agree. I think sometimes we go too far, and I think Trevor Lawrence is one of those where he's just talked about like a scrub. Like Trevor Lawrence sucks. No, he doesn't suck. You would take him over without even thinking, I don't know, 16, 17 guys with him. ease. I think the thing where people are really critical is to pay him $200 million guaranteed

after that. It's like, that's pretty risky. I understand he was banged up, but my whole thing was just, couldn't we do this next year? If he has a good year, what's he get next year? Two, ten? It's not like the number would go from 200 to 250. So what was the rush to do it now? You're just keeping your fingers crossed, but there is a chance, like, what if he just plateaus? And he's just above average guy. Above average guys, you don't want making $50 million. To pay that type freight, I got to know. He's already making a lot of money. He was the number one overall pick. So, you're right. He's not some scrub the way people are acting like, I don't even know who

would compare him to, but part of it is when you draft the number one overall, the hype that comes with that, and the hype on that specific player, he was the most hype prospect in since Andrew Luck. And this year, he's a Caleb Williams level prospect. You're going to see it with Caleb. Like the expectations are just super high. So anything less than 30 touchdowns and going to the playoffs feels like a dramatic letdown.

They like him, clearly. I think there's a lot of pressure on him this year. I guess, actually, how is there any pressure on him? What if he sucks? What does it matter? They're not going to bench him. They can't cut him now or anything. Not like you're going to trade him.

He's your quarterback. So, good question. Someone asked me a question that do NFL teams pay insurance on their star players big contracts? For example, if McCaffrey has a season-ending injury, do the 49ers get compensation back from an insurance company? That's a good question that I don't, you know, you'd have to, the GMs and specifically the contract negotiator slash owners. I'm pretty sure there are clauses in contracts

that when you're on IR, I don't have to pay you as much than when you're playing. I mean, ultimately, I'm paying you for the games, but that's where the guaranteed money kicks in, right? It kind of protects me against that. But it's also why the injury guarantee and non-injury guarantee are a really big deal. It's why, you know, in these contracts where they hold guys out because they don't want to get them injured because it does immediately click in the money.

Yeah, I'm not exactly. sure how the insurance works. It obviously works in other sports, basketball and baseball with these enormous guarantees when guys get injured. But I just know there are clauses in contracts about missing time and the amount that I actually have to pay you relative to when you're actually playing. Because if you just play and you're bad, whatever. This is from Josh. Curious as to who you think might be the biggest underachiever at quarterback going

back to the 2000s. Some names that come to mind. Matt Ryan, MVP, solid team around him, obvious Super Bowl choke. Philip Rivers, great player, but five and seven in the playoffs. And Peyton Manning, regarded as one of the goats, but barely above 500 in the playoffs. I could not put Peyton Manning in the underachiever. He had some games he would like to have back in the playoffs, but at the end of the day, he went to four Super Bowls.

He won, I think, four or five MVP's. and he's easily one of the greatest players of all time. So I cannot put Patent Manning with Matt Ryan and Philip Rivers. I think Philip Rivers and Matt Ryan would be up there, but I would, like Matt Ryan, like you said, went to a Super Bowl, dominated in that Super Bowl until the end, and won an MVP that year. That is better than anything Philip Rivers did.

In a weird way, you could argue Philip Rivers' career underachieved. I will defend Philip Rivers. After Marty Schottenheimer was fired, what did the Chargers do? Constantly. Cheap coaches. Can you imagine if Philip Rivers in his heyday would have had

Jim Harbaugh running the operation? I don't think we look Philip Rivers' career as an underachievement. I have a hard time with really talented guys that play for shitty coaches. I mean, let's call it what it is. Let's just be real. Anthony Lynn and Mike Murray.

McCoy. Played a lot of years under those guys. What should the expectations be when that's the case? And I think North, was it Norv Turner after Marty left? My memory, is that correct? So I would say Philip Rivers' career definitely underachieved. But some of it, like, and listen, I went to, I saw Philip Rivers play live probably four or five times.

He could get very interception happy, forcing things. But I think it. His coaching staff was just consistently pretty crappy. If he had had the same career and Harbaugh or John Harbaugh or McVe or Shanahan or one of those guys or Pete Carroll, you'd be like, God, should have been better. I just, look who coached him the majority of his games. Like, those guys aren't head coaches. They shouldn't be head coaches.

And they'll never be head coaches again. It's why, like, people are critical of Justin Herbert. promise you this. He's going to be good for Jim Arbaugh. He will be. You don't even need to guess. It's going to work. And it's going to work well. I don't care who you are. Peyton Manning, obviously, he's a much better player than Philip Rivers. Maybe he could overcome average coaches because he essentially can just become the offensive coordinator. And if you just draft decent on defense, I mean, look when he got to Denver. It was on like Donkey Gong. And they dominated for, you know, they would have dominated for four straight years, but his arm fell off

his fourth year. But that team was a juggernaut. Why? Because they had Peyton Manning, running the show on offense, and their defense was elite. They were unstoppable. But they had a well-run operation. That was when John Elway was picking a ton of good player. They were just well-run. And I don't think you could ever say with the Chargers when Rivers was there, yeah, they were well-run. Like, I just, I don't think you can say that. So it sounds like I'm defending him, because I also think, I do think he underachieved. But I think there were variables that definitely did not help him out.

The volume. Another podcast from some SNL late night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smygel and friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier.

This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and 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.

isn't to humor me with Robert Smigel and friends on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. What's up, fam? It's Isaiah Thomas. And I'm C.J. Toledano. It's our favorite time of the year on our podcast point game, the playoffs. We're digging into the biggest surprises of the season, and I'm looking back

on some of my greatest playoff moments. If we didn't talk ever again, I was part of it. You just understood. That's how personal it got. Wow. Then after that game seven, Marquis coming to you, he's like, you know I love you, dog. You know, it's all love. This was just playoffs. This was just basketball.

So listen to Point Game on the I Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, I'm Deanna Maria Riva, and on my new podcast, How Hard Can It Be? I call on my Gen X squad from Ohio to Hollywood as we navigate Midlife's most fantastic BS. Unfiltered conversations from night sweats to futas to scheduling sex. Wait, what sex? Is it just me or does every woman my age want to look at Pinterest instead of having sex sometimes? They say we can't polish a turn, but we're sure going to try. So let's get blunt with laughs, tears, or tears of laughter.

Listen to How Hard Can It Be with Diana Maria Riva on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed human.