The Herd with Colin Cowherd - 3 & Out - Is Mahomes FAT, Cousins REGRETS signing in ATL, CHANGES in College Football
Episode Date: July 11, 2025John is back talking football and opens the show talking about the Chiefs and specifically how Patrick Mahomes is looking physically and if he's put on some weight this offseason. Next, John stic...ks with KC and talks about Brett Veach's comments on Travis Kelce and if he's justified for being critical of the TE. Next, John talks about Kirk Cousins' comments about how if he had the chance to redo the past he likely would not have signed with Atlanta. Finally, John answers your questions in this episode's mailbag segment. 5:19 - Mahomes Fat? 11:38 - Brett Veach on Kelce 22:55 - Cousins regrets signing in Atlanta 26:50 - Changes in College football 40:57 - Fugazi Friday 43:01 - 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. #VolumeSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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I was like, that is right up my alley.
Travis Kelsey, is he shot physically.
Veech had some comments.
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I saw the headline, like I'm sure most of you,
a podcaster, a Kansas City radio host, or,
honestly, I didn't really care who said it, it just clearly went pretty viral.
I didn't have the energy to like search the guy's background.
Because in fairness to this guy, it had been out there in the world before that
Mahomes in the summer can just be fat.
And my first reaction is the picture that went viral, honestly, I didn't think you look bad.
If that is considered fat, then we are all, all of us normal human beings in society.
I don't even think obese is a strong enough way to describe the majority of Americans,
if Patrick Mahomes is fat.
But on a serious note, when it comes to quarterbacks,
being fat, is that okay?
Like, can they be a little overweight?
If you think about it, there are certain positions in football
where having a gut or extra weight is extremely important.
Obviously, offensive line.
We see it all the time.
We're bigger players.
Guys weighing 300, 320 pounds, retire,
and they either go one or two ways.
But a lot of them lose a lot of them.
lose a lot of weight.
And the first thing they tell you was like,
that wasn't my natural weight.
I needed it to use as an anchor.
A lot of defensive linemen,
especially defensive tackles.
They usually don't cut like some of the offensive linemen,
but they are taking on and carrying weight
that isn't natural because of the position.
Yet I remember like when I first got to the Eagles,
I think there was a conditioning test
and a guy like Deshawn Jackson,
I have no clue if in 2010 he was training in the offseason like he was Jerry Rice.
But the reality is he did not need to.
He was a genetic freak.
He weighed like 170 pounds, no fat on his body and could show up and pass conditioning tests with ease.
Most defensive backs are like that as well.
If they take off their shirt, wide receivers, defensive backs,
the overwhelming, I would say 99.9% of them are going to be what,
we would consider in society as shredded.
These guys don't have body fat.
It's why when guys like a Debo Samuel, people can be critical like, God, is he fat?
Because wide receivers never are.
And I've always defended Debo.
His body type is actually much more like a running back, who let's face it, running back's body
types vary.
But linebacker is a position where if you ever say like that linebacker is fat going to be
a problem.
Their job is literally to run around and make tackles.
Chase guys, run with guys. They have to be in good shape. And obviously most are.
Quarterback is not that. I don't pay my quarterback. I don't scout my quarterback. I don't
need my quarterback to have abs. Honestly, that is completely irrelevant. My quarterback, especially
a guy like Patrick Mahomes, is literally paid when it's 20 to 20 in the fourth quarter against the Baltimore
Ravens, against the Denver Broncos, against the Buffalo Bills.
can you keep the drive going on third and six
and as he's answered for seven, eight years
fuck yes I can't
so when it comes to quarterback
I don't pay for abs
I don't pay for body mass index
I pay for completions
I pay for leadership
I pay for toughness
and ultimately I pay for him to lead my team
to wins
he's the most important player
in the entire sport and has been now
since Tom Brady essentially retired
and just like the guy's behind him.
Lamar Jackson's kind of unique, right?
Because he is a running quarterback.
I have to break down the percentages.
It's obviously changes year to year.
And he probably ran, I would just take an educated guess,
I know, the stats in front of me,
a little less the last couple years than the first couple years.
But I remember a couple years ago,
he said he was watching himself on film.
And he said he looked slow and he lost some weight.
That's a huge part of his arsenal.
And it is with Josh Allen as well,
but I've seen pictures of Josh.
Josh Allen with a shirt off. I wouldn't exactly call him Mr. Olympia against Arnold Schwarzenegger
in his prime. Joe Burrow isn't going to pass many like front page of the magazine with a shirt
off because that doesn't matter. No one talks about that. We have seen some quarterbacks who are
quote unquote shredded and that's not really what people are looking for. Why? I actually,
Tom Brady proved this, looking for more flexibility, pliability. So when I saw Patrick Mahomes,
this guy crushing him for being fat,
my first reaction was,
who gives a shit?
Because like most industries,
especially a lot of the ones
that you guys work in,
you're paid to produce.
That's literally all that matters.
If having abs led to more wins
on the football field,
then the conversation would be different.
Clearly, that's not the case.
So I just thought it was kind of funny
because I have never once
since I have been around football.
and what's 2025.
So, I mean, we're not far away from going on 20 years to being around coaches, to being around
scouts, to being around people that cover football, to going to practices, going to games
for 15 plus years now.
I have never, ever heard anyone bring up.
Yeah, we don't really like this guy because we don't see his abs.
No one cares.
And no one more specifically than a guy that I would say early on in his career,
his numbers were just mind-blowing.
The thing that has defined Patrick Mahomes
over the last couple years is like,
it's kind of hard to quantify
what he brings to the table.
We have watched these games over the last couple years
when their offense has been way less explosive,
when actually they've really been more of a defensive team.
When their head coach, who loves to pass,
has had to relent a little bit.
Why? Because some of their strengths
on given matchups have been running the ball.
We have watched this guy make,
make key play after key play in the biggest moments.
So if he is a little chubby, honestly, that makes him more relatable.
So props to the Mahomes for living life, winning games, and good luck this week at the ACC.
There was also, speaking of the chiefs, another story.
You know, when you're out of the mix, there's some stories.
You're like, I wasn't going to do a podcast today, but God, I want to talk about that.
Is Brett Veach, I guess, had some comments to Adam Tyshire, who has covered the chiefs.
I feel like for decades.
And I saw a bunch of people like, God, Fiji's being critical of Kelsey.
When I was flying home, I was like, I need something to listen to.
And I just clicked on YouTube while our flight was delayed by like 30 minutes.
So I had a little time to kill.
And I was looking like, what should I listen to on the plane?
And I saw Kelsey Brothers, the podcast, New Heights, came up and they were talking to buddy, my name, Matt Nagy.
So I was like, you know, that's going to be a good listen.
for my hour and a half flight home, so I downloaded that bad boy and listened to it.
And one thing, and I, listen, the Kelsey's have had some really cool interviews over the years.
And Travis has been very, very, when you watch that, his passion, his love, especially when they have on someone associated with the chiefs, whether it's Coach Reed, they've had Spags, Nagy, Vich, you name it.
He feels very, very indebted to them, just like they feel very, very indebted to him.
They have a partnership.
we see the conversation going on right now with LeBron James.
LeBron James has always, like, he didn't want partnerships.
And in fairness to basketball, the star player has more juice.
But he never approached it like Steph Curry.
He approached it like, you're going to do exactly what I say, when I say it,
no question if answers or butts.
Like, this is going to be on my terms.
And for the first time in LeBron James' career, the team's like, yeah, we don't really
give a shit anymore.
And he's rattled.
He clearly is.
Well, a lot of people, especially in football, have very good working relationships with the team.
We saw Brady for two decades, even though him and Belichick butted heads, they had a great partnership, financially and on the field.
You've seen it with Patrick Mahomes.
His working relationship with Andy Reid, Brett Veets, the Hunt family is fantastic.
It is a partnership.
And it's so different with Travis Kelsey.
So when Brett Veach says these comments, I say, God, Brett Veach is kind of crushing him.
He essentially says, well, we've all seen it the last few years.
This is Veach.
This is on Travis Kelsey.
There are periods throughout the season
where you're like,
this might be it.
But when the games are the most important
and the lights are the brightest,
he finds it somewhere.
And I think for a lot of players
in situations where you're an established player,
where you're an All-Star, a Pro Bowl,
or a star,
GMs and coaches tread very lightly.
They don't want to piss anyone off.
Well, when you have a very,
good working relationship with someone.
And I saw this for years when I was in the Bay Area with Steph Curry and the Warriors.
Hell, I saw it in baseball with Buster Posey and the San Francisco Giants.
You can be honest and not worry about how things are going to be taken in this modern day media
climate where people take things and run with it.
They get aggregated.
And it just becomes you're on the first, you know, the front line of first take going viral
over a comment that actually wasn't.
the way it was said, but I think the power in the chiefs, and this gets back to, you know,
Mahomes being fat and just Travis Kelsey shot. And I'm telling you, you see this when, if you
watch the Kelsey Nagy interview, is the relationships in which they have, from the coaching
staff and the front office to the players. And I'm talking with the star players, and they're all
on the same page. And feelings don't get hurt. Why? Because everyone's been coached hard. They've
been through the battles. They've seen the highs and they've seen the lows over a long period
of time. And it's one of their biggest advantages moving forward. And it's, it's something I think
the bills have built up. I think the Ravens have tried to build up. They just haven't been able
to get over the hump in terms of winning that game. But it's, I think we see a lot of people
asking this. Like, how have the chiefs, I was at dinner the other night. And I was asked,
like, do you think there's no chance, right? There's the first time. I'm not. I'm not. I'm not.
wanted to say that could the games be rigged for the chiefs could they i was like no they're not they're
winning all these close games for a reason they have an enormous advantage they have cohesion they have
chemistry and they have the same guys on the team now for a long long period of time most teams
cannot say that because most teams don't even give their star players a third contract that's pretty
abnormal in this day and age they usually move on after seven or eight years i'm not talking
quarterback, but I'm literally talking everyone else around him. And the Chiefs group, Holmes is the
newest guy. Chris Jones was there before him. Obviously Travis Kelsey has been there since 2013.
So you have this group of players, you have a lot of group of coaches who have been there for a long
period of time. So when you wonder, it's like, God, this team's offense, what's going, wait,
this went 15 and 2? And they actually threw the last game of the season. It's because of that.
and for a long period of time before free agency
the best teams had that
right when I was a kid
the same dudes on the 49ers
when I was born
were still there when I was 10 years old
right if you were a fan that grew up in the 70s
you watch your team have the same group of players
for a long time no different in the 80s
that's not the case anymore
with this modern day business
that is the salary cap
which is these contracts
which is just free agency
and just overall player movement
and the chiefs now
it's going to come to
an end, right? Patrick Mahomes
is going to outlive
Travis Kelsey. If you told me
this last year, I think he probably
would have retired if they would have won that game,
but more than likely this is his last year
because I have a hard time, and I would never
say never, but seeing Travis
play for another team. And if
you watch the way he talks, like I feel
he thinks his connection,
it's almost like a Julian Edelman type situation
where it's like, when I'm done,
I'm done, but this is my squad. Right?
Now, could be wrong, and
my guess is this is his last year on the Chiefs
because there comes to a point where it's like
the Chiefs can't keep rolling this out.
We don't do, you know, scholarships
in football.
But I also think like they're on this, these guys talk all the time.
So it's just,
it's kind of refreshing to see that.
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I haven't had a chance to watch yet.
I watched last year and, you know, Maria loved Coles Cash, Kirk Cousins.
It was just refreshing.
It actually really made him very likable.
and this year having Joe Burrow on and Jared Goff
I'm going to watch over some time over the next couple weeks
but obviously what was going to come out if Cousins was involved
was surely he was going to be asked
and when I say asked obviously producers play a role in what you talk about
but one of the conversations like what the hell happened
like how did you sign with this team and then they drafted the Atlanta Falcons
and to give you the Cliffs Note version I'm sure a lot of you have seen this clip go viral
on Instagram on Twitter on TikTok
Cousins essentially said if I knew that they were going to draft a quarterback,
I probably just would have stayed with Minnesota who was offering a lot less money,
even though they had been very candid.
We were going to take a quarterback and everyone kind of knew.
It felt like in February they loved J.J. McCarthy.
Remember they were getting two first round picks, which we thought they were going to move way up.
They ended up just waiting and he essentially fell to them.
But Cousins said, like, listen, I just would have stayed.
and I do wonder this.
Two things.
One, Kirk, they offered you $90 million.
No one blames you for taking that money.
I've been saying this forever.
When the Atlanta Falcons signed cousins,
they did not have the intention of drafting Michael Penix
number eight overall.
They did not.
They fell in love with cousins
because mid-March free agency happens.
They signed cousins.
Then they fell in love with Pennix
over the next four or five weeks.
If they knew they were going to draft Michael Penix,
and listen, there was not a person alive in the National Football League
that would have said Michael Penix wasn't going to be there at eight.
Some things you're like, I don't know exactly where J.J. McCarthy is going to go.
We all knew in some order.
We knew Caleb was going one, and then wasn't going to be Jaden or Drake May.
But we knew that was going to be the top three.
Michael Pennix was never going in the top ten.
And I was a Michael Pennix fan.
Really was. No different in Bo Nix.
No Knicks was never going in the top 10.
That was never going to happen.
So they would have known if they had run their operation like most teams.
This guy was going to be there.
And this was a plug-in-play ready to go, 24-year-old, 25-year-old quarterback that had played in college for like a fucking decade.
You don't sign Cousins for $90 million to draft this guy.
That's on the organization.
I don't blame Cousins for taking the money.
He loves his money, rightfully so.
He's in the business of football.
But it's easy to play hindsight.
I would have made a different decision.
No one had any clue because the Falcons had no freaking clue when they paid you that money.
I also, and I know it's easy to say, I don't think Minnesota wanted them anymore.
Because Cousins wasn't going to sign for like $15, $20 million.
Clearly, just look how much money the Falcons gave him.
He was also coming off a torn Achilles.
So if you look at the people that run the Minnesota Vikings, especially their GM, Google is background.
It's in a little world called Finance.
and if there was ever time to basically say,
we're selling off this stock,
we've had a good run here,
we're out of this business,
it was when a guy in his mid to late 30s
who can't move to begin with rips his Achilles.
So I know he can say,
it's like, well, they had offered me,
the coach was saying that.
The coach wanted you to stay,
and there have been lots of reports,
did the organization want you to stay?
Did the GM want you to say?
I have a hard time seeing that.
I really do.
And listen, maybe,
Questie would dispute this.
Maybe the owner would dispute this.
I'm kind of calling BS.
Would they have taken them back for $15, $20 million?
Sure.
But were they comfortable giving a guy off a torn Achilles,
$35, $40 million, even if they were going to sign him to a one-year deal?
I have a hard time seeing that.
I really do.
And listen, this whole situation got weird.
Still on the team.
I doubt he's on the team week one, but it's like, look at his landing spots now.
There's a financial element to this.
There's also just an element at this current time.
His cousin's done.
Like, is cousin shot?
And I think that's a fair question.
And the pushback is, well, usually you're better off,
your two off the Achilles in any sport.
I just, I would have a hard time making a move for Kirk Cousins
unless I was really desperate.
But listen, I don't blame him at all for taking the insane amount of money,
the Falcons, who were kind of right for doing it.
They were completely desperate.
the time too. But if they knew what they were doing, they just would have signed like a $10 million
bridge quarterback, taken Pennix, and Panics would have started week one. And that guy would have been
his backup. Like Case Keenham, Flacco, like that type, Gardner-Minchu, that type of player, not give
the money that they gave to Cousins. And last but not least, and I've been thinking this for a while,
because I'm sure like many of you love football, see a lot of stuff on college football. And forever,
it was like the recruiter of the year.
This guy's a great recruiter.
Like this assistant coach,
dominant recruiter.
And for those of us that like know a lot of people in the business,
you'll text someone.
You're like, yeah, he's not a great coach,
but holy shit, he's great with, he's great with recruiting.
And working at Fresno State,
I saw some guys who were just elite recruiters,
saw some guys who just didn't like recruiting.
Like it was, it's a huge part of the job,
but like a lot of industries,
you can get by if you're a great positional coach,
a great coordinator,
and not a great recruiter, just like you can get by if you're a great recruiter and not necessarily
a great exes and nose guy.
I do think recruiting's kind of dead.
I don't really think it exists anymore.
And even Dion Sanders, who was at the Big 12 Media Day, said that like, look at all the teams
in the playoffs and Google how much they were spending on their roster.
Kenny Dillingham came out yesterday and said, like, get ready, guys.
Texas Tech is going to be really good.
So I googled it.
Texas Tech had the number two
Transfer Portal recruiting class.
A head of teams like Miami and Oregon
who are clearly spending a lot of coin.
They have this guy named Cody Campbell.
I had to Google him.
I knew about the guy.
I didn't know his name.
He played there.
He's now a billionaire,
and he's financing their program.
Their team wasn't bad last year.
They have a chance to be really good this year.
Not because Joey McGuire,
who Dion actually loves,
is some dynamic recruiter.
It's because they have a lot of money.
And I'm not talking shit about any coaches.
But whenever I see, it's like,
God, I got to did a great job recruiting.
The only thing that matters now is like,
what are you offering the guy?
Now, if both offers are half a million dollars,
he likes you more for sure.
It's like, okay, your relationship,
your personality, you resonating
with his mom, dad, high school coach,
whatever matters.
But if you say, well, I was offering $600,
and the other team was offering $350,000.
Of course you landed them.
Like, welcome to America.
So when I see it's like, God, they did a great job recruiting.
Bullshit.
They just have a bigger checkmark.
And rightfully so.
Like, I, listen, I can be Ohio State hater,
but they were great before the money.
Now they have a ton of money and they're willing to spend it.
Their roster's always going to be good.
Why?
They spend a lot of it.
Oregon, why did they not fall off after NIL started?
Because it works to their advantage.
That's why everyone's been scratching their head the last couple years with USC.
It's like, I thought you guys have these enormous boosters.
Why aren't you spending the money?
And people tell you, well, they've actually spent it on the wrong guys.
But it's like, Dion's right.
Like this sport is all about, and this isn't, you know, two years ago when Howie landed
Sequin Barclay for $27 million guaranteed.
It was like, guys, you know, it's a little risky, is it going to be good?
I remember thinking like, one, that's really not that much money relative to all these,
you get guards signing for 50 million.
Mike McClinty like three years ago
signed for $50 million guaranteed.
He's like an average foot athlete
you know, mid-tier right tackle.
It's like Sequin Barclay, one of the most talented players in the league
if he's just, he does need help,
like he needs a good offensive line,
but if you have a good offensive line,
like that's a fucking steal.
But like who's how he bidding against?
In college football, if you do want a player,
and it's like a guy like, let's just use Seekoine Barclay as an example,
the equivalent of that in college football,
you're going to have the top five, ten teams
with all the money bidding for his services.
So anyone in business knows,
the more people you got bidding,
my wife's in real estate.
It's one thing when you only got one person
making an offer on the home.
Remember 2020?
When interest rates for like two and a half, three percent,
you had to line out the freaking door.
So you had ten offers.
It's like, well, they're offering this,
they're offering this.
All of a sudden, you know,
especially if you lived where I lived in California,
it's like, well, they got $300,000 over asking.
Well, how do you think they did that?
not based on one person, it's based on 17 people that want the property.
And that's what's happening in college football with the transfer portal.
So these top guys go in the transfer portal and they have film and everyone wants them.
Because you know the guy's going to be an immediate starter.
And I just think that's what college football is.
Now, on the flip side, the same teams have always won.
Ohio State's been winning for 40 years since I was alive.
Obviously they've been winning before that.
But my point is, they've been winning forever.
Georgia's been good most of my life.
Alabama had a lull before saving got there,
but I would say they are one of the more iconic teams
in the history of the sport.
Coward has said this, and he's right.
The only new team who's really thrown their hat in the ring
in the internet age is Oregon.
Why? Nike.
Oklahoma State for a long period of time was very, very competitive.
Why? They had T-Boon Pickens.
So if you have a big money booster,
if you have a lot of money behind you,
you have a huge advantage.
And this is where, as being a smaller school guy,
I feel sorry for the Boise States,
the Fresno states,
even the smaller programs in the bigger conferences.
They're not going to be able to compete
because they are not going to be in,
as Kenny Dillingham said it,
recruiting's dead.
Retention is the new recruiting.
And can you keep the players?
And when you get a good player,
can you keep him. We had on
Jake Dickert, who's now the coach
at Wake Forest. Well, who was his
quarterback last year?
The starting quarterback for Oklahoma.
Who they tried to keep at Washington State
somehow got a million dollars
to attempt to keep his services.
I'm out. Going to Oklahoma.
Who could blame him? If he was offered
a million dollars to stay at Washington State,
what do you think Oklahoma paid him?
Double? Triple?
This is just the world we're in.
So I think that college football is going to continue to be crazy and everyone's going to complain.
But all the top teams are the ones with the money.
And whenever I see this, listen, I don't quite understand how exactly this salary cap is going to work.
Like, okay, 22 million in football, some people have said like football gets $13 to $15 million.
They do.
If I'm at a program, it's like, well, I'm making 90% of the money and I'm only getting 60%?
How the fuck does that pencil?
It surely doesn't.
But regardless how it ends up playing out, especially early on, you're going to double dip.
Because in the NFL, when I get Patrick Mahomes, right, I don't have to worry about his NIL.
That's on his marketing manager or agent, right?
So when you see Patrick Mahomes with Oakley sunglasses or on the State Farm commercial,
or you see Steph Curry with Under Armour or with Callaway Golf, he's doing that separately.
The team doesn't have to waste time on that.
Well, in college football, when I sign you, if I'm Georgia, if I'm Alabama, if I'm Texas, if I'm USC,
I'm going to have to deal with both.
And when I see these headlines like, where there's going to be a strict process to judge the contracts of NIL.
Bull shit.
Because forever it was like, you're not allowed to pay players.
Yet all over the country, guys were getting paid.
Well before NIL.
And rightfully so.
Pro, it's called business.
It's called capitalism.
Used to be small brown bags full with a decent amount of money.
Now you're talking 10x that.
And that's just going to be on the side of what I'm making on the salary cap.
So I think college football, a lot of people are going to continue to complain,
get the same teams, beside a couple new ones.
If you've got a billionaire former player like Texas Tech,
maybe all of a sudden Texas Tech is going to be the new right there with a Texas,
a Texas A&M, LSU.
Hell, maybe they surpass some of these SEC teams.
because how do you compete against that?
And the answer is, it's hard to.
Hey, it's us, the Jonas Brothers, and guess what?
We have some big news.
What's the news, name?
Huge news.
We created our own podcast called, Hey Jonas.
We invented a podcast?
Well, we didn't invent it.
We just contributed to it.
We're the first people to do podcasts.
Pretty, yeah, pretty wide range of podcasts throughout there.
But this one's extra special.
So how do we actually come up with a name, Hey Jonas, guys?
I honestly don't remember.
I think it was on a call about what we should call it.
And we were thinking I'm originally calling it one of the early names of our band before Jonas Brothers.
This is how you guys remember it going down?
Yes.
I have a very different memory of this.
We were talking about a thing, a bit for the podcast, for people could call in and say, hey, Jonas.
And then I wrote down on my little notepad, Hey Jonas, and offered it up as a potential title for the podcast.
But thanks for remembering that, guys.
Listen to Hey Jonas on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your
podcast. Just listen. We don't care where you hear it.
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.
The French Open is one of the toughest tests in tennis, and I know firsthand because I
competed there myself. I'm Renee Stubbs, and on the Renee Stubbs Tennis podcast, I'm breaking
down everything happening at Roland Garris, every match, every upset, and what it really takes
to win on clay. Genshin win. I mean, she went down in three to Roebuckina, but I'm delighted.
She's an outsider to win the French for me.
And she likes Clay.
Listen, Lernerabakina is arguably the best player in the world right now
and I actually can win on any surface.
Because if she's serving, well, good luck.
Consider this your court side seat to the French Open.
Listen to the Renee Stubbs tennis podcast on the IHeart Radio app,
Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.
Presented by Capital One, founding partner of IHeart Women's Sports.
Last night, a blown call changed a game.
This morning, the internet lost its mind.
Highlights are trending, opinions are flying, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened.
That's where Sports Slice comes in.
I'm Timbo.
Every episode, we're cutting through the noise.
Breaking down the plays, the controversies, and the stories behind the headlines.
We go straight to the source, the athlete themselves.
Their locker room stories, their reactions, the stuff nobody gets to hear.
The laughs, the drama, the triumphs, the moments that never make the highlight real.
From viral moments to historic games, from buzzer beaters to controversial calls, we break it down,
give you context and ask the questions everybody wants answered.
Sports Slice brings you closer to the action
with stories told by the people who live them.
Listen to Sports Slice on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts,
or wherever you get your podcast.
And for more, follow Timbo Slic Life 12
and the TikTok podcast network on TikTok.
Okay, before we dive into the mailbag,
one gigantic Fugazi is,
obviously depending on your skin tone,
you know, I had some friends,
definitely some friends brothers who are just pale white you go out in the sun summer you need to
apply basically a whole bottle of of sunscreen i i this isn't the healthiest thing but i honestly
didn't wear sunscreen up until i got older but it used to work right even if i was in lake tahoe
if i was wherever i applied sunscreen it would protect my skin from i don't know peeling off i feel
like my entire body over the next three or four days and i felt like over the the week that i was
I was on the lake hanging out, playing golf, whatever.
I played a lot of sunscreen.
I understand the sun.
You're at elevation.
You're 65, 7,000, 8,000 feet, whatever it is.
But I do wonder, like, the sunscreen even work?
Because I'm doing 50 SPF.
My feet are peeling.
My legs are peeling.
I'm burn everywhere.
One mistake I made a long time ago when I first went bald.
I went with a buddy to the lake with his girlfriend, now wife, a bunch of her friends.
and we just
we just had a good time
booze was flowing
hanging out
this is probably
2011-ish
and I had just
shaved my head
so the top of my head
had never seen
the sun
and I of course
had never put sunscreen
I don't know
on the top of my head
and I didn't do it
and we're out hanging out
all day
boozing whatever
and like three days later
my entire head peeled off
so ever since then
I do take my head
and my face
really seriously
but I felt like
sunscreen used to protect my body and i i don't know i understand as you get older your skin
thins but yeah i just i'm i'm about maria's her entire body's about to peel and again we're
applying it we're being health uh conscious and you got to protect but i don't know maybe
you go to lake tahoe just wear long pants long sleeves and a hat even when it's 90 degrees
okay let's do a little mailbag ad john middlecuff ad john middlecuff is the instagram
fire in those DMs, get your questions answered here on the show.
Mailbag question.
What do you think a realistic season is for the Bears?
I feel like with the weapons and Ben Johnson,
being the next Shanahan, has a high ceiling.
Caleb is obviously talented, and they fix the line.
Could they win 11 games and win the division
if everyone beat each other up?
I would say win the division feels really, really strong.
I think it's fair to say best case scenario.
Defense should be good, but it's, you know, it's a new coordinator.
The defense was good last year with Iber flus.
So you get a new voice.
I'm sure you get some new terminology.
You just get some new ideas, thoughts.
But listen, they got good players on defense.
Offensively, also new, everything's new.
So there's just a transition process given how much pressure is on them.
If you just say they get, let's say they're way better the second half of the season,
I think 10-11 games, making the playoffs is very much a fair expectation.
I think if you tell me that the Bears win the division, Ben Johnson is 100% the coach of the year.
I just don't see a scenario.
If you tell me right now, the Bears win the NFC North,
I just don't see how you could have a better coaching job.
I mean, they were atrocious last year.
I mean, they were, it's a lot of the same players.
So I know they've added a couple new offensive linemen,
but they're still going to depend on DJ more.
They're still going to depend on Caleb.
Obviously, you know, the defensive personnel, their star players haven't changed.
So 10 and 11, if he won 11 games, you could argue that even if they were like the 6 seed coach of the year.
So I think that's fair.
Me, realistic, I would say 8, 9.
I think it's a big transit.
One, the division's really hard.
Detroit's going to be healthier to start the season.
The Packers, fair or not, I mean, kind of own you.
The Minnesota Vikings roster is just better, and they've won before.
That's the other thing.
These other teams have won, right?
These other teams have won, and been winning.
Packers have been winning.
The Lions have been winning.
The Vikings have won two of the last three years.
One.
You know?
So I think you're asking a bunch of guys who you have a ton of talents
and some new guys who have definitely won just to now start winning,
and that's a pretty big step to take.
Question for the bag.
First off, congratulations on the pregnancy.
My wife's pregnant.
Breaking news.
Put it out on social media.
But yeah, she's been pregnant for a little while.
So 12 weeks, I guess the end of the, starting the second trimester, I think, is what they say.
So congratulations to me for not really doing much.
But swimmers can swim.
Other than that, she's way harder for her.
Appreciate that.
Second, what are your NFL conference championship games?
Predictions. As a Bucks fan, I feel confident the boys can get rolling at the end and can lead us to glory.
It's a good question. I would say when you look at the top of the NFC, you would say the Eagles should be the favorite.
They are the favorite. They deserve to be the favorite. Their team stacked.
Then there's the group of like, the lions are pretty damn good. Question marks, new coordinators.
Vikings are pretty damn good. Coaches never won a playoff game, new quarterback. Packers, like,
what's their health situation?
Who is Jordan Love?
The Rams.
We like the Rams.
We like McVeigh.
It's not like they've been winning 13, 14 games.
They won 10 games last year.
And you look at it statistically,
like they weren't as good of a defense
is the way they've talked about.
Now, one thing, the comp I've made,
I remember watching Cleo Max rookie season.
I think he had four and a half sacks.
But if you watched him, he was good.
You're like, I don't want the number.
numbers fool you. This guy's coming. And then over the next couple of years, he was coming.
And I think that's Jared Verst. So it's like, Jared Verst this year, is he like one of the best
players on defense in the league? Because that kind of changes you. Stafford's health is pretty
big. The 49ers, like, what's their deal? So I think, yeah, I think it's pretty wide open.
I really do. I mean, the Eagles have a new offensive coordinator. The Eagles have four
offensive coordinators of four years with Jalen Hertz. So that would be the, the commanders.
Like what's, how does it come together with Tunzel, with Debo, they figure out the McLaren situation.
I think there's a lot of good teams in the NFC.
It's kind of just how, you know, injuries obviously play a huge factor.
I mean, that derailed the lion's chances, right?
It really did.
How you're playing toward the end of the season, look at the Rams last year.
Obviously, the Washington, do you get hot at the right time?
Does your quarterback get hot?
So it's what makes football pretty cool.
Right?
Like I saw the Thunder have given out like a billion dollars in the last week.
Every human being alive is going to pick the Thunder next year.
Rightfully so.
We have this core of young guys.
Their roster is loaded.
And basketball's always kind of been like that.
It's like, yeah, there's three or four teams that can win it.
I mean, it's kind of the way it is.
Maybe on a good year, five or six.
Like in the football, there are, the Chiefs are going to have a year where they don't win in the playoffs.
They're just going to have a year, second round where they lose.
It happened to Belichick and Brady.
So the bills, the Ravens, these other teams,
the Chargers and the Broncos.
I just saw Naji Harris had a little firework incident.
I don't,
maybe I'm going to sound like the old guy.
I used to love fireworks, firecrackers,
like most young kids, had a little pyro side.
Once you get to a certain age,
I don't quite get it.
And we have specific situations in football
with JPP blowing off his hands.
I just think the risk, where I'm from, actually,
around the Sacramento area,
there was a firework,
because in California you can't sell like M80s and the good shit.
There was a storage facility that somehow something went very wrong.
I think this was last week, July 2nd or July 3rd,
and it looked like a Middle East war.
and seven people are
I remember last I saw the story
were missing, aka dead
so I just
and I get it if you got young kids
to do like some of the shitty fireworks
to have a good time
but I just
don't see the risk
for us to reward
I don't quite understand it
my question is regarding the Niners
obviously Purdy signs the big deal
this offseason
but since Kyle has been the head coach
they've never had a high-end quarterback
they've been successful building a team
team around the quarterback, then paying the quarterback, then paying the quarterback doesn't
screw it up. My question to you is, what does Kyle value more? High-end quarterback play or focus
on drafting and developing the full roster? Do you think he trusts Purdy to get the team into
the playoffs, or does he think he needs draft capital to help build a team around his quarterback
again? I mean, Kyle is so scarred from that Tray Lance situation where he tried to like manipulate
and creates a small school like Josh Allen,
Lamar Jackson guy who's a third stringer.
I'm honestly shocked still in the NFL.
So Kyle thinks Brock Purdy's really good.
Listen, Brock Purdy is good.
He's somewhere between 8 to 12.
On given weeks, he can play like one of the better
quarterbacks in the league and he can have weeks where he's not as good.
And he has some flaws, but he's a really good starting quarterback.
And if you do a good job building your team, you can win with him.
I've said it forever.
Like, look at the Eagles in the league.
Alliance. They're paying their
quarterbacks a ton of money. Nobody
views either guy like a top five quarterback.
Nobody. Jalen Hertz
last year halfway through the season, people are like, what the hell's going
on? What's wrong with our passing game?
Brandy Graham's like, yeah, AJ Brown and J. Brown and Jalen Hertz
hate each other. Just kidding.
Jared Goff, people are like,
I mean, he's got some limitations.
You've got to protect him. But no one views
either guy's top five quarterback.
Jalen Hertz had played like a top five quarterback the last
two weeks of the season against the commanders
and then in the Super Bowl.
but in terms of like
no one ranks him in the top five
and he makes a ton of money
they build the team around him
that's football
Joe Montana played on some of the most talented
teams in the history of the league
you've got to do a good job building around him
Brock Purdy's good enough if you build the team
I've said forever
the pressure is on John and Kyle now
Brock Pretty's showing you who he is
if your team's good he can win
won a lot of games
going back to college
as a winning player
is he Mahomes or Josh Allen or Lamar
Jackson? No, he's not. Joe Burrow? We know that.
Who, like, who's comparing him to that? First take?
I don't know.
So, yeah, I mean, I, I, they're all in on Purdy. This is no, they're no drafting.
Purdy fails. Kyle's going to be done with the 49ers.
In the NFL, do head coaches spend much time coaching up individual players?
Or are they mainly interacting with the coaching staff and allowing them to micromanage the
players?
I can't speak for every coach
I haven't seen
if you go around the league
I've never seen John Harbaugh at a practice
I've never seen Sean Payton
never seen Sean Payton at a practice
so I've never seen these guys at practice
but in my experience
Andy Reid
Kyle Shanahan
Jim Harbaugh
some of the Raiders guys
Dennis Allen
Jack Del Rio I think it changes
right if you are a former player
like Hardball or Jackdell Rio linebacker,
sometimes they are just going to be inclined to grab it,
especially if they're not the play caller,
to gravitate toward their position.
And then they kind of give them tips.
But the CEO head coach,
his main gig is kind of like,
which is pretty clear, the overseer.
Now they talk to individual players,
but I think a lot of their job,
when they see things they don't like,
are kind of dictating that to the assistant coach
or dictating that to the coordinator.
And then you get guys like,
if you're Kyle Shanahan or Sean McVeigh
or Mike McDonald in Seattle
like the coordinator of,
even though you're the head coach or the coordinator,
you spend much more time
coaching up individual players of what you want
because you lead.
Like Travis Kelsey talks, watching the podcast,
talks a lot about like Andy Reed
running the installs.
So if you're running the installs of a play,
all the guys are looking at you, you are coaching them up on what you want them to do.
So I think it's very specific.
You know, a guy like, a guy like, I'm trying to think of an example.
Who'd be a coach?
Tomlin or Harbaugh, either of the Harbaugh brothers, Siriani.
They're not installing the place, right?
But they are active in meetings.
are obviously active at practice.
It's probably somewhere that leads much more to dictating it to your coaches
than it is if you are the defensive coordinator of the team.
If you're Ben Johnson, you're coaching it up.
You are spending a lot of time with Caleb, with what you want,
where Rome or DJ are breaking off the route.
You know, it's like you are dictating.
Like you watch Kyle practice.
Like he's telling who to go where, maybe not at practice as much.
You know, because in the NFL, you know, high school or even college,
you probably spend more time at practice specifically teaching.
I think in the NFL, you're trying to rattle off, especially in training camp.
I think it happens more in the season when you have less guys.
But in training camp, it's a lot of just rapid fire, run the plays.
Maybe if something's a really screws up, you run it again.
And then you teach in the walk through the meeting room.
I think in the regular season, there's a lot more, less players.
You know, in training camp, there's 90 guys out there.
This is a lot going on.
Regular season, you kind of have a decent idea who's going to play, who's not.
And, I mean, you have a really good idea.
And then you kind of can dictate, at practice, the media is not allowed out there.
You're installing specific plays against specific teams.
So it's, I think it depends on the time of year.
OTAs too.
Like, there's a lot of, like, that's where most of,
the teaching from a standpoint of things are a little slower.
Once training camp comes,
you better know the place or one,
especially if you're young guy,
you're just going to get lapped.
So I think there are a lot of variables.
That's a good question.
I think it's a hard question to ask.
And it's very, very specific toward the team,
the coach, the scheme, his role,
the age of the players.
You know, it's like some of these teams too,
if you have,
what would be an example here?
Like, if you have an older player
that's been on the team for seven, eight years, ten years,
he acts, you know, he spends a lot of time.
If you went to a nine of practice,
you would watch George Kittl or Kyle Eusecheck
talking to a lot of the younger players at training camp.
kind of coaching them up,
giving them tips, what to do,
because Kyle's just like, next play, next group.
This is what the coordinators do.
So if you, I'm just using the nicest example
because I spend the most time at their practices.
You come off the field if you're a young linebacker
and the threes jump on, you're the two.
It's like Fred, Warner or Greenlaw
would it go over you and maybe probably talk to you?
So they do a lot of coaching, the veteran players.
And that's true for whoever your team is, right?
If you're a young wide receiver and you're on the Eagles, you know, you can, A.J. Brown can tell you like, hey, you know, they like this route to be broken. Jalen likes this to be broken off at seven yards, not eight, even though the teaching point is technically eight. You know, stuff like that.
A Packer fan. Where do you think Matt LaFleur in the coaching ranks in coaching?
As a Packer fan, he has moments that are genius and then moments that leave us all scratching her heads with game management and decision making, even in the NFC North.
am I overreacting?
Yeah, I mean, I
No one's going to put him in the top five
But he's better than
And he's proven a lot
Than the, I don't know
The majority of the league
They're 32 coaches
So he's easily better than half
Like cut off the 16
Now we're 15 on
I think he's probably closer to like 8 or 9
than he is 15
And like you said
He has had moments where
went into Dallas and beat the shit out of the Cowboys on the road.
Last year was tough.
I mean, the quarterback wasn't playing that well.
Injuries in that Eagle game.
I don't know what he could have done.
He's had some moments in the past that he would like back,
obviously the field goal against Tampa,
but I think he's pretty good.
I think if you just ask a casual fan,
Matt LaFleur or Kevin O'Connell,
I have used this as an example.
Most people, I think the,
The initial, oh, Kevin O'Connell.
Yeah, Kevin O'Connell's had two playoff games,
where he's had like 13 and 15 win teams, 14 win teams,
and he can't win him.
Kevin O'Connell lost the Giants a couple years ago,
Daniel Jones, at home.
You can say the Rams' loss isn't as crazy, and I'd agree.
But, like, he lost the Giants.
Haven't.
People think I talk shit about Kevin O'Connell.
I'm not anti-Cennel McConnell.
I think he's a good coach.
But my point is simply that I think everyone
listening and talking
the overwhelming majority
if you had to just pick one
most people would just gravitate toward Kevin
could be wrong
I just this is my gut feel
of just kind of have a pretty good
good pretty good beat on people
Kevin O'Connell
over the floor are we sure
what do you think Keenan Allen ends up
I think a lot of these guys
you know older players
that have been making a lot of coin for a long
period of time
really struggle when their arrows kind of pointed down, they're older,
or right around free agency when they're available, people's lowball.
Like if you're used to making 99.99% of people can't relate to this.
But if you've been used to making 15 million,
probably pretty hard when someone's like,
eh, we're just, our best offers three.
You know, it's like you've been used to making 500 grand
and you still think you're good at your job and someone offers you 100,
you're like, oh, I'm not taking that gig.
I think that happens to a lot of these older players
that most of the offers during the offseason
relative to what they were making
is really low.
So it's a humbling time.
Now, they can hope
there are injuries,
someone gets hurt,
and all of a sudden
people are desperate.
So that $3 million,
that you're being offered,
maybe goes to eight or nine.
But if that doesn't happen,
I think you could be in a little trouble.
So I don't know.
I think more than they ever tell
is a lot about money.
Hi John, what's your opinion on Garrett Wilson?
I've seen people rank them anywhere between the top five
to out of the top 20.
Keep up the great work.
Uh,
I think he,
I think more than,
than any other position, wide receivers, a lot of stuff's out of their control.
So when you play in chaotic offenses, in chaotic organizations,
Jerry Rice played with Joe Montana and Steve Young.
You know, Randy Moss, early on his career, had good quarterbacks and he went
Tom Brady.
So when a good wide receiver, Larry Fitzgerald looked pretty good when he had Carson Palmer
or Kurt Warren throwing them ball.
So when you're a very talented wide receiver and you have a good quarterback situation,
you're going to look unreal.
Antonio Brown for six years had Rathesberger slinging in the pill.
Tyree Kill in the peak of his powers had Patrick Mahomes thrown in the rock.
So if you put Garrett Wilson with Patrick Mahomes or Josh Allen or Lamar Jackson,
I think he'd be pretty unreal.
You know, last year, I was expecting actually his numbers to not look this good.
He had 100 catches for 1,100 yards.
I think he's a top 10 talent in the league.
You know, if you had a draft from scratch,
would he crack the top five?
Probably not.
But I think once we got six to 10 range,
when you factor in his age,
you know, if you think about it, like Jamar Chase,
you know, Justin Jefferson, Jamar Chase, Cidid Lam,
I think Tyreeks kind of trending the other way.
So you would have Jefferson Chase,
I would have C.D.
I have those three guys.
I'd feel pretty confident about those guys.
Then you get this group of like,
Amon Raw, St. Brown.
Would I rather have Amon Rae St. Brown or Garrett Wilson?
Well, I think obviously in the scheme,
Amon Ross St. Brown, and he's a stud.
But like, I think if you put Garrett Wilson on the Lions,
nothing would dip.
And I think if you gave non-Lions,
like every team in the league,
you could pick one of the two guys.
From a talent standpoint, I think you would take Garrett Wilson.
Now, there are stuff that St. Brown brings at the table.
like, I know for a fact
I can go to war with that guy.
Like Drake London. I would take
Garrett Wilson over Drake London. Brian Thomas
Jr., one year in, I think
he's going to be pretty good.
You know, Malik Neighbors,
I'd probably take Malik Neighbors.
But again, like this is,
yeah, I think he's a top 10
wide receiver in the league.
Hey, it's us, the Jonas Brothers, and guess what? We have some big news.
What's the news, huge news? We created
our own podcast called
Hey Jonas. We invented a podcast
Well, we didn't invent it.
We just contributed to it.
We're the first people to do podcasts.
Pretty, yeah, pretty wide range of podcasts throughout there.
But this one's extra special.
So how did we actually come up with a name, Hey Jonas, guys?
I honestly don't remember.
I think it was on a call about what we should call it.
Oh, we were thinking I'm originally calling it one of the early names of our band.
Before Jonas Brothers was...
This is how you guys remember it going down?
Yes.
I have a very different memory of this.
We were talking about a thing, a bit for the podcast,
where people could call in and say, hey, Jonas.
And then I wrote down on my little notepad, Hey Jonas,
and offered it up as a potential title for the podcast.
But thanks for remembering that, guys.
Listen to Hey Jonas on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts,
or wherever you get your podcast.
Just listen. We don't care where you hear it.
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 headwriter, Streeter Seidel,
help an a cappella band with their between songs banter.
Where does your group perform?
We do some retirement homes.
Those people are starving for banter.
Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and Friends on the I-Heart Radio app,
Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
The French Open is one of the toughest tests in tennis,
and I know firsthand because I competed there myself.
I'm Renee Stubbs, and on the René.
Stub's Tennis podcast, I'm breaking down everything happening at Roland Garris.
Every match, every upset, and what it really takes to win on Clay.
Genshin won.
I mean, she went down in three to Rabakina, but I'm delighted.
She's an outsider to win the French for me.
And she likes Clay.
Listen, Lina Rabakina is arguably the best player in the world right now, and I actually
can win on any surface.
Because if she's serving, well, good luck.
Consider this your court side seat to the French Open.
Listen to the Renee Stubbs tennis podcast on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Presented by Capital One, founding partner of IHeart Women's Sports.
Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hard Way with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Kear Games.
And in recognition of mental health awareness month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience in the mental health field and conversations with so many incredible guests.
I'm talking, Tripp Fontaine, Ryan Clark.
Sometimes when we're in the pursuit of the thing,
We get so wrapped up in the chase that we don't realize that we are in possession of the thing.
And we're still chasing it.
And we don't know when we've done enough.
Because people scoreboard watch.
Life becomes about wins and losses.
Steve Burns, Dustin Ross, because you find it important to be a good person while you hear on Earth.
Are you a good person because you're afraid?
Because that's two different intentions, bro.
Absolutely.
And that's two different levels of trust.
I want you to just really be a good person.
Join me, Keir Gaines, is we.
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.
With all the chaos and realignment in college football, what are your thoughts on adopting regulation-style conferences?
That way we can transition to the NFL of two main conferences while still allowing schools to compete at their respective levels.
Relegation is never happening.
I know people love it in European soccer
but it is just not happening
in pro sports ever
because if I'm spending the amount of money I have to spend
and it doesn't go well
okay we fucked up but I still spent
billions of dollars that's never happened
in college football the same way
there just no none of these
it's a partnership now you could argue that
Ohio State Michigan
Oregon Penn State
carry the Big Ten and that's true
You could argue that LSU, Bama, Georgia, you know, carry the SEC in terms of ratings, in terms of whatever.
And you could add other teams there too.
But it's ultimately a partnership.
And are the Cowboys, are the Packers, are the Niners, are the Eagles more important than the Cardinals, the Jags, and the Titans?
Sure.
But part of the power of the NFL is the group partnership.
So it just
It gets brought up a lot
It's just not happening
Okay question for the mailbag
First of all, congrats
Appreciate it
Also I heard someone earlier
In a different podcast mentioned
Why people don't talk about the UFC
Something that shocked me way more
Is that big talk shows don't talk about
Big Golf events like the Masters
I was shocked when I saw no one talked about
Rory winning when I'm pretty sure the average
12 million views on Sunday
And Monday no one even said
a single pot or peep about it.
Kind of just blew my mind.
The number of eyeballs is way bigger than UFC
and still no one said a single thing.
I don't know what shows you're alluding to.
You know, if you think about the TV shows,
I think Colin definitely led his television show
that day, Fox Sports One, talking about it.
I remember watching.
So maybe you're talking about some of the ESPN shows.
Maybe those people don't watch.
I also think we overvalue
you know, it's like, well, so, you know, Stephen A. Smith, who cares?
500,000 people watch his show.
Pardon my take, I don't know what the number is, but it's dwarfs that.
They definitely led with that.
I did a podcast on it.
I mean, I think a lot of people did.
So I think if you just rely on, like, what are the TV shows?
This isn't 2004.
You know, I bet a lot of YouTube shows did, you know, but Pat McAfee did.
So I, I just think that,
legacy media, a lot of those people don't watch golf. If it's not Tiger, they don't care.
They would rather talk about LeBron versus Jordan. And that's fine. I mean, that's what their
business model is. But I think sometimes we overvalue like, what do they, who cares? Their audience,
relative to some of these other audiences that are talking about it, aren't even close to as big.
So I also, you know, one of the reasons ESPN, for example, talks about UFC is they are in business with UFC.
right? I'm pretty sure. ESPN Plus has UFC stuff. Dana did a deal with ESPN years ago. I don't know how long that deal goes. I'm not super dialed in, but I know that's why they promote it. No different than like Fox Sports. You know, Colin, Colin likes soccer, obviously like soccer a lot, but one reason they talk about it, like they have contracts to talk to do soccer. World Cup. Like Alexi Lawless comes on, they host the Gold Cup. Like it's, you're
kind of talk what your programming is.
I think that that plays
a part too. You know, if ESPN
had the masters, they
would do more master stuff in terms
of Saturday and Sunday. I know they play
a role on
Thursday and Friday.
But I'm with you.
There's not a basketball game this year.
Well, I guess game seven did. Game seven got 16 million people.
But it was before game seven,
it was easily the lowest rated NBA finals
in like three decades. It's like
seven, eight million people watch them.
But basketball in terms of like, you know, you name the whoever is very good on the internet does very well.
You can run businesses based on the algorithms with basketball stuff.
Harder to do that with golf.
So I like I understand like for this one time who even cares.
It all, all the stuff comes down to business.
It really does.
And the business is just like how many people are watching?
How much can we sell? How much money can we move based on what topics?
Question for the bag.
You recently said the dolphins owner has serious interest in hiring Jim Harbaugh.
The question is, do you think that Jim would be coaching the dolphins right now instead of the Chargers if they had taken Herbert, fifth overall in 2020, instead of Tua?
That's a good question.
I don't think Jim Harbaugh would coach Tua.
So is your question, would, if he was coaching the Dolphins?
Do you think that Jim Harbaugh would be?
Yeah, I think he would have.
The Dolphins have gone after Jim multiple times,
so it's not like a one-off situation.
I think he would have been inclined to...
If someone had Justin Herbert and he could coach their team, he would have.
So, yeah, I think there's a decent chance.
I don't think he would be the Chargers head coach
if they did not have a good quarterback situation.
And if you flip-flop the two-quartered,
I don't think Jim Harbaugh would take that job if two was her coach or quarterback.
A quick question about love and a second year regression.
Warren Sharp put out a list of the third down incompletions due to receiver errors.
And Green Bay led that statistic with 32.7%.
Next was the Bengals at 18%.
Jalen Hertz was around 8.5% and Goff was at 7.5%.
And Love was never truly 100% healthy last.
year, but still was a top 10 in all the metrics.
Given that, if Green Bay is just league average,
can we expect the love and the offense to be dynamic?
You guys know where I stand.
I own stock.
I think they're going to be good.
If you tell me the Packers' defense is good like it was last year,
I think the Packers are 12 or 13 win team.
And if you win 13 games over the last decade,
I bet you win your division, I don't know, 80% of the time.
Like last year was abnormal, right?
You had two teams with 14 wins in weeks.
Now, it's a little skewed because we've added a game.
But you guys know what I mean.
If you win 13 games, you get a pretty damn good chance to win your division,
even if you're in a good division.
So I think they're going to be good.
We get a lot of Packer fans, because I get another question.
I think the thing with Jordan Love is you also got to embrace what he is.
Is he going to be a top five player?
Probably not.
But his ceiling and his high end, which we didn't see as much last year as we did two years ago, is pretty high.
And when you're not healthy and you don't have much experience, like it can be kind of rocky.
And like you said, the receivers were just all over the map last year.
But they always have a good offensive line.
Jacobs is a stud.
They do have a lot of bodies on offense.
They just got to figure out which ones and like can they get their version of Jordy Nelson or DeVante to kind of come out of this group.
maybe it's the guy they just drafted.
But to me, if their defense is good,
like the team's going to be good.
I appreciate the respect you give
toward my Packers,
but my question is,
at what point will you change your tune
and become more critical?
Love is one of the higher paid quarterbacks
and is yet to take the next step.
Our young wide receiver core
that everyone hypes up
hasn't been consistently reliable.
We have some nice pieces
scattered throughout the roster.
I'm concerned about becoming the Steelers.
Good enough to win during the regular season
against the bottom half of the league, but never.
True contender for a championship.
Your thoughts.
Are you guys as good as you were from like 10 to 15?
Of course not.
Even though you only won one Super Bowl,
you guys were legit Super Bowl contenders that four or five years.
A couple years ago, when you lost to the Bucks,
I thought that was your best team.
I thought those two years with Rogers when he was older,
the year you lost to the Niners,
those were tough losses.
But you were true Super Bowl.
contenders. You weren't a Super Bowl contender this year
toward the end of the season, clearly.
I do think you can be one this year, though.
If you told me
NFL teams were stocks, you can buy one of
two stocks this upcoming year.
The Packers or the Steelers.
And whoever goes farther
in the playoffs or just throughout the seat, who has a better
record at the end of the year, whoever
has progressed
longer in the season, 10x is your money.
And you're allowed to
put down whatever you want,
I would not hesitate to pick the backers.
Would not hesitate.
So you guys are not the Steelership.
I promise you that.
What is the next disposable position in the NFL?
When it comes to value that's going to be overlooked the way running back was.
I think it's pretty clear right now.
Safety is.
Now, safety has never had the value as corner or pass rusher.
but I think we have to admit
that certain teams
didn't value linebacker like other teams
the Eagles are a good example
that their historic value
in terms of what they would pay a linebacker
was they would let a lot of guys walk
after bond last year
and the way this league is
who does that guy end up on a lot
running backs and tight ends
well what is the league full of
dynamic running backs and tight ends
so linebackers and I believe this
since honestly
I got around the Niners and saw Willis and Bowman.
It's like, if you have a good middle linebacker, let alone two of them,
you can, if you have two good linebackers, your defense is good.
Because they account for like, let's just conservatively say 25, 28 tackles.
Some games like 35, 40, 40'd be high, but low 30s.
They can pressure the quarterback because they can blitz.
They can cover the running back behind the line of scrimmage,
which a lot of teams, you know, wheel routes,
and that's a huge part of the game.
And now with tight ends going down the seam,
if I can cover that guy,
it's a huge point of difference.
So I would say linebacker is not as undervalued as it was.
Friend Warner makes a lot of money.
Roquan makes a lot of money.
Zach Bond just got paid.
A ton of other guys have been paid.
So I would say safety would be the one,
because guards are making a ton.
Trey Smith just got franchising.
He makes $23 million.
Hell, centers make decent money if you're good.
So I think it's safety.
Question for the pod.
Are you an early riser?
What type of fitness training do you do?
Uh, good question.
It depends on time of year.
I would say the summer,
7ish, 7.30?
You know, depending on what's going on.
The season, which training camp, I wouldn't even count.
Like the actual season.
I'm up late.
Like my little brother.
for example, gets up at like 5, 5.30.
He also goes to bed at like 9.
During the season, Sunday night, Monday night, Thursday night,
especially, you know, half the football season I'm on Pacific Standard Time,
but then it kicks up.
So we're on mountain time.
Sometimes three days a week, I'm not going to bed until like midnight.
So I'm one of those people.
Like, I don't really operate off like four or five hours sleep.
I do need six, seven.
So maybe during that time I get up seven.
738 I would say sometimes after Monday night football
Sunday night football and Thursday night football and then during the
during the week kind of depends on the time of year
usually between 615 and 645
I would say if I go to bed at a normal time
usually get a go to my coffee maker get a double shot of espresso
come look at the market
bank account internet
slam that coffee drink some water maybe take
the dog far walk, then usually go to the gym within like an hour of taking that double
shot of espresso. And then this my day kind of goes on from there. So it's, it's, it's, it's, it's,
it's pretty time related in terms of from getting up super early or just kind of, I need some sleep.
Because I can't, when I'm tired, it's just hard for me to podcast. I mean, because my brain doesn't
work. And I was like that in the NFL. I, I just needed some sleep.
I have a lot of respect for guys that don't need much sleep.
It's a life hack.
If you don't need much life sleep,
and that's something that, like, you can function
and your brain works on way less than eight hours,
you can dominate in society.
It's a huge, huge point of difference.
I do not have that.
I don't need like eight exactly,
but I need more six or seven than four or five.
Some people just don't need much sleep.
I wanted to open and discuss about the UFC.
My girlfriend really, she put me on it about five years ago,
and I've loved it ever since.
I don't, girlfriend likes it.
That seems like a keeper.
For starters,
it's something super competitive and entertaining to watch during the summer
when not much stuff is going on.
Also, the mentality shared between football
and the UFC fighters are quite similar.
It's you and the man across from you.
They don't like you.
And you don't like them.
If you ask me, a hospital ball over the middle is more dangerous than anything in the UFC.
Considering you can control your own destiny, it's one Saturday night and a match in a card,
you won't be disappointed.
Again, I've watched the UFC.
I just, I guess I just don't build, you know, nights or events like some of you guys.
Like, I don't look forward to them unless it's something that transcends, right?
if you tell me that when Connor McGregor was fighting,
I'm like this with boxing.
If Mike Tyson's fighting Jake Paul or Floyd Mayweather's fighting Pachial,
like I have FOMO in terms of enormous events that I know that I can't miss.
That aren't football, golf, the World Series, the NBA final shit like that March Madness, right?
Stuff that aren't off the beaten path.
If I know that like, I should be paying attention to this, I'm going to pay attention.
If I know a lot of people are watching.
you tell me Connor McGregor is going to box Jake Paul
I'm going to watch
I'm that type consumer when it comes to fighter
fighting
but if you just give me a random card
like I paid attention to the Sugar Sean guy
dude with the purple pink hair
why because he was Scottsdale
and I remember this guy told me that he knew him
he was trained at this place I went to CrossFit
I'm like okay I'll pay attention to this
so if there's not like a personal connection
it's just harder for me to get into
like I said
I have nothing against the violence.
I'm pro-violence.
I just, I only have so much time.
My wife doesn't like it either.
So it's like if she was into it,
I'd probably watch it more.
You have to, when you watch as much sports as me,
you have to pick and choose, like,
yeah, I'm just going to give this up.
Because the Trump card I have,
even with golf,
I mean, we've got six months a year,
I got golf on the TV.
Thursday through Sunday.
And then from what she's cool with,
I mean, NFL Sundays are a really big deal in my home.
But I've really got her into college football.
We watch a lot of football.
Like most of you, I mean, football is on,
there's a game on, it's on three TVs in the house.
Okay, last question.
Who do you think is under more pressure to win immediately?
Ben Johnson, the Bears,
or Liam Cohen and the Jacks?
That's not even a question.
The Bears, it's a hard job.
Like a lot of the big jobs in the NFL because of the market size, because of the pressure, because of how many fans you have.
Obviously, there's pressure in Jacksonville because of what they did.
I'd argue that pressure is as much on the GM as it is on the coach.
And there's just not as much pressure in Jacksonville.
Not really debatable.
You know, it's just the pressure in Chicago is really, really difficult.
And Iber Fluse was completely over his head and got embarrassed.
Ben Johnson is clearly a more talented coach than Iber Fluse.
But being a head coach is a lot different than being a position coach or coordinator.
And the hype behind Caleb Williams, like, let's face it.
There's still a lot of hype and unknown about Caleb Williams.
Based on what we've seen, like Trevor Lawrence's isn't good.
He's kind of meh, kind of average.
You know, I think most people agree.
Like, yeah, he's kind of whatever.
There's not really much pressure behind coaching Trevor Lawrence.
Because most people don't think he's any good.
there's a lot of pressure behind coaching Caleb Williams
who many people thought was like an all-time great prospect
and the best part about football
just like any sport but
the power of football a lot of hype comes
behind these guys right
because years in college
like Cooper Flagg ton of hype played one year
you know is he the greatest things that's sliced spread maybe
I'm sure he's probably going to be pretty good
look damn good when I watched him
but if you tell me he makes two all-stars
instead of 10, believable.
Tell him you make 10 kind of believable too.
I don't know.
Football you never know.
Ever know.
I mean, Trevor Lawrence was supposed to be the best prospect
since Andrew Luck and Peyton Manning.
I think he's averages the day as long.
I actually thought he was...
I'm not trying to do hindsight.
I thought he was a little overrated in college.
Would have taken him one as well.
But I just thought, like,
based on the high...
comparing him to Andrew Luck, I thought was laughable.
Especially when he's like, yeah, I don't even like football that much.
Not in fairness, Andrew Luck, after some injuries, retired at like 30, but maybe they got more in common than you think.
But Andrew Luck was, you cannot argue.
When Andrew Luck played, he was good, was excellent.
I mean, for three straight years, took the team that won two games, immediately the playoffs,
three straight years during the championship game.
So I would say the Bears by country mile, the pressure.
And it's not like he's going to get fired or anything, but it's,
if they went 7 and 10
it would be a massive story
it would be a massive story
if the Jags won six or seven games
no one really cares
they make the playoffs they're a big story
their winning games they're a big story
but if they're under 500 like no one's talking about them
no one's paying attention
Travis Hunter is kind of a big offseason story
if the team's bad we're not talking about Travis Hunter
it's just not going to happen
like no one cares how many snaps he gets on defense
it might be a throwaway at the end of
of shows. Appreciate the questions. Talk to you guys soon. Have a great weekend.
The volume.
Hey guys, it's us. The Jonas Brothers. I'm Joe. I'm Kevin. And I'm Nick. And guess what?
We created our own podcast called Hey Jonas. We invented a podcast. Well, we didn't invent it.
We just contributed to us. We're the first people to do podcasts. We get to ask other people
questions because we're sick and tired of being asked questions. Well, sick and tired is a strong way
to put it. But, you know, tired and sick. Tired and sick. Listen to Hey Jonas on the IHeart Radio app,
Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast.
Just listen. We don't care where you hear it.
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.
Hey, it's Edwin Castro, also known as Castro 1021.
And I'm Conky, his best friend and business manager.
And we've got a new show called The 1021 Podcast.
I'm taking you behind the scenes on how I became one of Twitch's most popular streamers.
We also love sports.
And with the World Cup right around the corner, we'll be breaking down the biggest
storylines ahead of the big tournament here in the USA.
Listen to the 1021 podcast on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts,
or wherever you get your podcasts.
The story I told myself can then shape my behavior,
and that can lead me to sabotage the possibility of connection.
This Mental Health Awareness Month,
tune into the podcast deeply well with Debbie Brown.
If you've been searching for a soft place to land
while doing the work to become whole.
This podcast is for you to hear more.
Listen to deeply well with Debbie Brown
from the Black Effect Podcast Network
on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts,
or wherever you get your podcast.
This is an IHeart podcast.
Guaranteed human.
