The Herd with Colin Cowherd - 3 & Out - Monday Night Football Reaction, Jayden Daniels shines, Week 3 QB recap

Episode Date: September 24, 2024

John reacts to the Commanders 38-33 win over the Cincinnati Bengals in which we saw a coming out party for Washington quarterback, Jayden Daniels who went 21 of 23 for 254 yards and two TD's. John also dives into the Bills dominating win over the Jags 47-10, and if it's time that people need to stop talking about Trevor Lawrence as if he's going to be a great QB in the NFL. Later, John dives into the quarterback play from week 3 and how QB's like Sam Darnold and Justin Fields are making the most of their opportunity, has Bo Nix turned a corner, and how Caleb Williams is having a hard time pulling off the plays in the NFL that he was able to do in college. Finally, John answers your questions during this episode's mailbag segment. 7:25 - MNF Football Reaction 27:45 - Quarterback recap after Week 3 54:17 - Mailbag Follow John on Twitter, Instagram and YouTube for the latest. Check out Gametime - the fastest growing ticketing app in the US, and the official ticketing app of 3 & Out and GoLow -  for tickets to all of your favorite NFL, NBA, NHL, NCAA teams. Concert and comedy show tickets, too. Go to Gametime now to create an account, download the app and use code JOHN for $20 off your first purchase. #Volume #HerdSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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

Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and friends on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal, but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year.

Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the IHard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, what's good, y'all? You're listening to Learn the Hardway with your favorite therapist and host, Kear Games. This space is about black men's experiences, having honest conversations that it's really not safe to have anywhere, but you're having them with a licensed professional who knows what he's doing. How many men carry a suit or armor? It signals to the world that you're not to be played with. And just because you have the capability that does not mean that you need to.

Listen and learn the hard way on the AHA radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. Hey, this is Robert from the Stuff to Blow Your Mind podcast. Joe and I are both lifelong Star Wars fan, so we're celebrating May the 4th with a brand new week of fun, thought-provoking Star Wars-related episodes. Join us as we tackle science and culture topics from a galaxy far, far away, such as the biology of tauntons and wampas on the ice planet, or the practicality and corporate business sense of the Sith rule of two. Listen to stuff to blow your mind on the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

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

So let's get to it. Listen to the Clifford show on the IHeard 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. The volume. I love touchdowns. Tuddies, taken into the house, in for six. I call them Tugs. Whenever you call a touchdown, one thing's for sure.

touchdowns matter more at Draft King Sportsbook, an official sportsbook partner of the NFL. On the ground, in the air, special teams or defense, we do not care how they score them. We want to bet on touchdowns. And Draft King Sportsbook is delivering. Ready to place your first bet? Try betting on something as simple, like picking a player to score a touchdown or how many touchdowns will be in a game. Go to Draft King Sportsbook app and make your pick. ready to do a touchdown dance on your own.

New Draft King's customers bet $5 to get $200 in bonus bets instantly. Score big with Draft King Sportsbook, the number one place to bet touchdowns. Download the Draft King Sportsbook app now and use the code John, J-O-H-N. That's code John. New customers get $200 in bonus bets when you bet just five bucks. Only on Draft Kings. The crown is yours. Gambling problem, call 1-800 gambler.

In New York, call 8778-8-8-HopenY or text Hope-N-Y 4667-369. In Connecticut, help is available for Problem Gambling. Call 888-889-777 or visit ccpg.org. Please play responsibly. On behalf of Boot Hill Casino and Resort in Kansas, 21 and over, age and eligibility varies by jurisdiction. Void in New Hampshire, Oregon and Ontario. Bonus bets expire 168 hours after issuance. For additional terms and responsible gaming resources, see dkng.com slash FT Ball.

NFL Plus premium offer available only to new and former NFL plus subscribers. Additional NFL plus premium terms at NFL.com slash terms. What is going on, everybody? How are we doing? Probably as good as me because I just had a big parlay on draft kings. Feels good. Because we just watched a double header. And the Buffalo Bills, I mean, ended that game by halftime.

Josh Allen shined. The Jags, we got to dive in at Trevor Lawrence because that is a disaster. And Jaden Daniels, what a performance. What? That was really fun to watch. He is Adam Peters, the Washington Brass, has to feel pretty good about themselves. That last touchdown to McLaurin in the end zone, that's as good as you get. That's as good of a throw as there's been this year in the NFL.

that was a thing of beauty. I mean, that kid, the athleticism, the arm strength, the accuracy, the poise. He even slid. So we'll dive into that game. And I think the tough part for the Bengals is Joe Burrow and Jamar Chase kind of dominated tonight. Broth threw three touchdowns, no picks. The offense was good, running the ball down their throat, and their defense was atrocious.

So I don't really know what the answer is for the Bengals. They're 0-3. They've had games with their offense. been off. They've had games where they choked it away, and then they had a game where their defense was a disaster. So we'll dive into Jaden. We'll dive into the Bengals. Not much to say about the bills besides, I don't know, they look like a Super Bowl team, and they got, you could argue in 2024, the best player in the NFL right now. And the Trevor Lawrence situation probably is going to end Tramalky and Doug Peterson's tenure with the Jags. But yeah, man, that's a lot

of football. Not going to be negative tonight, but doubleheader Monday night. But doubleheader Monday Unneeded, but I guess, you know, could be worse. So we're going to stay positive. It could be no football. And make sure you subscribe to the podcast. If you listen on Colin's feed, we got a YouTube channel. All of our content is there. We do instant reactions to this game, which I'm doing right now.

But it goes right up on the YouTube channel after the games on Monday, Thursday, and Sunday night. I went on with Colin if you missed that after some of the games on Sunday. So you can check that out as well on his podcast feed. We'll talk about some other. stuff as well. But before we dive in to tonight's action, you know I got to tell you about my friends, my partners, and the official ticketing app of this podcast, if you want to go to a game, if you want to go to a concert, I got you covered. Because my friends at game time, best ticketing app in the world, not even close. There is no close second. What do you want to do? You want to go to an NFL game?

You want to go to a college game. The baseball playoffs are about to start. I don't even know who's in them. I know the Phillies are because I watched on Instagram that they won the NL East. If you want to go to one of those, you want to go to a concert, Taylor Swift, you name it. Obviously, comedy shows as well. My friends, at GameTime, take the guest work out of buying tickets with GameTime. Download the GameTime app, create an account and use the code John for $20 off your first purchase. Terms apply. Again, create an account and redeem the code, J-O-H-N.

For $20 off, download the GameTime app today. Last Minute tickets, lowest prices guaranteed. Where or where should we start? I think we'll start with the rookie and the Washington commanders, which are now two and one. And their quarterback had an incredible night. You watch that game and you go, well, what can he not do? And the one thing we knew coming out of LSU is that he was a great deep ball thrower. he had Malik Navers and Brian Thomas Jr.

And he won the Heisman for a reason. No one last year in college football, you could argue in the NFL, threw a better deep ball. And that was on full display tonight. And that's been, I think, a point of contention for, you know, falling different people that cover the team is like they weren't pushing the ball down the field. They even mentioned it tonight. Terry McLaren, high character guy, wasn't going into the tank. He's like, listen, I'm a veteran.

I make a lot of money. were good. And he was fed the night. And that pass that sealed the game in the back corner of the right end zone is the best throw so far of the NFL season. Or it's on par with Anthony Richardson's throw week one. The difficulty of that,

the accuracy of that, staring down the gun barrel as a defender is coming full speed right at you, about to hit you in the chest. It couldn't be any more perfect. Like that's a video game level throw. And he hit McLaurin way earlier in the game, down the middle of the field for a huge game. He was 21 or 23 today.

It felt like seven on seven for him. The Bengals defense, which was clearly struggling, he destroyed them. And the one thing you see with Jaden, we know how good of an athlete he is. He slid! The guy finally slid! And he slid kind of on like, I would say, say, of all the plays that he's made so far this season, a pretty innocuous one, not one you're going to remember, a three or four-yard scramble. He hit that slide like he was, you know,

playing for the Washington Nationals, and the entire bench lit up. His offensive lineman lit up, Dan Quinn and that backwards hat, you know Colin Coward's pissed off at him. Huge smile. Because the only negative thing that I have to say about the guy is that he takes a lot of unneeded hits. The one thing the good quarterbacks do is they slide. And Jane Daniels isn't exactly, you know, 250 pounds of muscle. So any hit that he can avoid when he's scrambling, because that is a huge, huge strength of this. You saw he had a rushing touchdown tonight? Because on that zone read with Brian Robinson, who is a really good player, it's like Cliff Kingsbury was awesome tonight. He's clearly been really good.

for Jaden. And I don't even know. I'm kind of speechless. You know, I remember watching him early on in Arizona State, and honestly, my first reaction was, I don't see it. I remember watching him early on at LSU, and I thought, I don't see it.

And then last year, you really couldn't debate. I mean, they had one of the most historical potent offenses in the history of college football. And his deep ball throwing, like we've talked about, was excellent. Clearly that is translated. You knew as athleticism would translate, but tonight being calm within the pocket,

tonight being calm as a scramble guy, moving from your spot, but keeping your eyes down the field is something we hear a lot with quarterback play. It's when the eyes drop, you know you're in trouble. And the best athletes at quarterback scramble and keep their eyes up. You watch Josh Allen, he's the best at that. He's moving left, he's moving right,

Eyes are up, looking down the field. Who's open? Boom. Delivers a strike. And you saw Jaden do that over and over tonight. So, listen, Cliffs never been my favorite from an offensive philosophical standpoint. But in terms of working with a quarterback like this, like, listen, I don't vibe with their short-yardage running game. It's not my style.

They have the quarterback in the gun. They have the running back right next to them. Like, I get it's going to work. sometimes, but that's not what I grew up on. It's not what I've been around in my professional career, but I won't dispute like it helped Kyla Murray get going. And it clearly, Jaden is very comfortable in this offense. Listen, that touchdown they threw to the offensive lineman, hat tip to Cliff Kingsbury, but that is a massive win for Washington. To go on the road with a rookie quarterback with a team that is 0-2 fighting for their lives. Now listen, the 17-game season

short sample size, you know, of teams that can make the playoffs at O and 2. I don't need a long sample size. At O and 3, you are in a major fucking hole. Let's call a spade a spade. And tonight, Washington, you know, I don't want to say put a nail in their coffin, but we might look back really derailed their season. And it started ending with Jaden Daniels, who they showed Adam Peters sitting next to the owner. that's a moment where the rookie quarterback, let's face it, Kayla's been up and down,

Bo Nick's first two weeks were terrible, he was good at Tampa, that was like star quarterback in the making on an individual game basis. The physical attributes, the throws, obviously the touchdown pass at the end of the game, that was freaking awesome to watch. And for the Bengals, it's like you lose week one, 16 to 10. your offense scores 10 points against the Patriots that are probably going to end up winning three or four games. The second week, you go toe to toe with the champs.

You easily could have won that game. Let's face it, you kind of choked the game away. Then this game, Joe Burrow is awesome. Throws for well over 300 yards, hitting Jamar Chase left and right for multiple touchdowns, is playing a Joe Burrow level game. And your defense gives up 38 points. To me, it's like, what do we need?

to, well, our offense was bad one game, our defense was bad another game, the other game, we just couldn't close it out. It's one thing when you just have a major question mark at a specific position or with a specific unit. Right now in different games, everything has gone wrong. So I don't really know where they go from here. I think on the bright side is Chase got going, T. Higgins is back. Their offense looks fine. You know, even if you remove that last touchdown, which is a little hollow. If you're the commanders, you're just kind of like playing a little prevent defense. But they had 26 points.

You could give them 27 because they went for two trying to tie the game. When you have 26, 27 points and you're on pace to lose the game by double digit, like you got issues on defense. And Lou Amaruno has been widely considered one of the better defensive coordinator. But sometimes on defense, you know, obviously the exes nose really matter. You're seeing that with Brian Flores and Steve Spagnola. But defense is also about the jimmies and the Jos. You can out-scheme people offensively with a random talent.

It's difficult to do that on defense. If your corners and your safeties can't cover, like, what are you supposed to do? What defense are you supposed to cover or call? And you saw tonight, guys, just getting wide open, especially in key spots. Zach Ertz was one of the last players I scouted when I worked in the NFL. That was a long time ago. He's pretty old. And he was shredding them the night.

And when you can't cover him, let alone McLorn, let alone, is that Christian? Oh, no, that's Luke McCaffrey. So they got worked. And I just, I don't know what you do. You try to circle the wagons, but like, you're not screaming at Burrell in the offense. and the defense over the last couple weeks had played well. I don't know if they ran out of gas, but 0 and 3, I think we can borderline right since the off as a playoff team.

It's going to be very, very difficult to make it. Now, luckily for them, you know, the Ravens are a little behind the eight ball, one and two. The Brown suck, but we'll see how the rest of the AFC plays out because Houston's going to be good. You're an easy question mark. So maybe you can get to 9 and 8. and get that seven seed, but I don't know.

The Bengals, you just never know what you're going to get week to week. So, fantastic win by the commanders. Bill's Jacks. Let me say this. Nothing after halftime mattered. Not a thing. The Bills stepped on their throat and ended their season. No one can take the Jags seriously again.

That was the tight performance in the first half by Josh Allen, who I've been saying for a long time is the second best quarterback in the NFL. I think it's fair to say, given Mahomes has had some bad interceptions this year, no one has played better than Josh Allen this season at quarterback. Sam Darnold's a cute story, and he's played well. Josh Allen's on a different level. Like right now, that is the best player in the National Football League. Mahomes still the guy you don't bet against in the playoffs.

Mahomes clearly has the best resume, but currently through three weeks is that cat in Buffalo. Four touchdowns, first half, said Doug Peterson, Trent Balke, you guys can probably clean out your offices. And I think we saw in that game, two max players, two guys making hundreds of millions of dollars. One guy is dramatically underpaid, and there is no amount of money the bills could pay them, where they wouldn't feel good about it because their franchise can't function without that human being and their GM and obviously

their coach they've done a good job because everyone's like, what are they going to do without digs? I don't know. Khalil Shakir, one of the better slot wide receivers in the league. Cook has changed their offense since last year. Kincaid the tight end, really good player.

Keon Coleman, first round pick, touchdown. Like, they're going to be okay. and I would say over the last two weeks no team in the NFL has played better but that's a Super Bowl contender right there which we knew a lot of people questioned coming into the season thinking they would take a step back

when you have that guy playing quarterback and an organization that has now proven they know what you're doing like that's what you get and that was that was a massacre it really was and I think what we found out so congrats to the bills who have just dominated the competition these last two weeks.

Do you know what Trevor Lawrence is? He's a high character, Deshaun Watson. As just someone that likes watching football on my couch, that would be doing it whether I did this for a living or not. They are terrible watches. They are terrible for the consumer. You just sit there and watch and you go, this is awful. How am I watching this?

What is going on? And I think we can officially say, Trevor Lawrence is one of the most overhyped players in the history of the league. The hype that followed him coming into the NFL was insane. And through three years and three games, it has been beyond underwhelming. But the craziest thing is, and this is what bad organizations do in the NBA, the NBA gives out max contracts like, you know, a home and a cul-de-sac gives out candy on Halloween night. Some guys are worth it. Yokic, Lukia, Kuri, LeBron.

And then there are a ton of guys that you go, we just won 30 games and didn't sniff the playoffs. It's like, yeah, you gave that guy $240 million. I could have told you that was a terrible contract. The Jags, giving him $200 million after last season, when he was going into year four. It's not like, well, he's going to be a free age, you got a franchise.

he wasn't even close to his fifth year option. He still had another year to get there is one of the most insane things I've ever seen when it comes to the economics of the NFL when you're talking that type of money. I thought both quarterback contracts this summer were pretty embarrassing for the franchises. But there's a reason the dolphins don't really win anything ever.

And there's definitely a reason the Jags since Shod Khan has owned the team constantly suck because giving this guy that much money who yeah he's got some talent but there was a moment in the second half he had a couple drives and Orlovsky was like he's really just kind of letting it rip and play

well yeah he's down 34 to fucking three nothing matters he could just play free but in the heat of the moment when they got down really quick like 13 to nothing you felt a little pressure and the balls are just flying all over the map. The interception he throws to DeMar Hamlin, which dude dies on a field.

Two years later is picking off a $200 million quarterback starting for a Super Bowl contender. Incredible story. Was an atrocious throw. The dude is wide open, running down the middle of the field, cutting across the field, drive the ball into him. Instead, he tries to, like, layer a throw. and the ball air mails the wide receiver, tips and overthrows, hits Hamlin in the breadbasket.

Easy as interception he's probably ever had dating back to like Pee-Wee football. And listen, seems like a nice guy, never gets in trouble. But like, this is, him and Deshawn Watson made a combined $430 million. And you can't win with either of them. You cannot. We all watch enough football. We saw three quarterbacks out of the four tonight. And you're like, that's a really.

good player. Josh Allen, transcendent talent. Jaden Daniels, oozing with ability. Joe Burrell was like, that's the guy, that's Joe Burrow that I remember. Like, that's that guy tonight. And then there's Trevor Lawrence,

who, you know, people have been pushing. He's got talent. He's got ability. He's like, okay, let's just see it. I'm not asking for four touchdowns a game. I'm just asking, like, can I just watch a couple series when the game is, not out of hand and have him make throws that matter.

It's not like he's throwing to me and you. They have good offensive pieces, and he just looks awful. He just looks terrible. Like there's not even a discussion to be had about Deshawn Watts anymore. Awful guy beyond question marks off the field. Trevor Lawrence, good guy, people like him.

Below average player. And currently right now, he doesn't make more money to Sean because he got more guaranteed, but, you know, the second most overpaid player in the NFL. I mean, that contract currently looks like a disaster. And I said this a little while ago that, hey, like Doug Peterson and Trent Balke are done. I like Doug's a good guy. Like, I'm not rooting for him to get fired, but let's call what it is.

I mean, you can't get your ass kicked and lose the games in which they've been losing when your owner said what he said coming into this season and have a chance. And there's no way you're letting Trent Balke pick another coach. It's like, it's over. It's over and done with there. But it's like, oh, they'll be go after Belichick. Well, if you do like, listen, who knows how many opportunities are going to have this offseason, what if he thinks this guy's terrible?

And it's not like, well, just cut him this off season. They gave him $200 million guaranteed. You're kind of stuck with them. and even though these owners now are willing to cut guys with these, it ruined your cap or puts huge limitations on you in the short term. So you're kind of, you know, upstream without a paddle and this guy's sitting on your boat, you just got to figure it out. So you could argue, you know, hey, these guys are going to get fired,

kind of an intriguing job because they have a quarterback. But based on what we've seen through three games, yeah, they have a quarterback who's making a ton of money that isn't very good. So you could almost say that's a detriment to the job. And it was on full display tonight. We had two games going with two quarterbacks on max salaries. Josh Allen, Joe Burrell. Awesome players. Jaden Daniels, the second pick in the draft.

You're like, holy moly, this kid's good. And then there's Trevor Lawrence, who, my mom, you, my fiancé, my neighbor, anyone that's watching all has the same take. Like, is this guy supposed to be good? Like, we've all watched enough football at this point, even just based on this season to know like, hey, show me something. And he shows you nothing. So the drives in the third quarter down 34 to 3 coming out of halftime

don't matter one iota to me. I would put negative stock in that. It's irrelevant in terms of judging like, oh, there's something there. Like, bullshit. shit. There were some big spots in the first half, and he melted. Like putting ice outside in Scottsdale when it's 110 degrees. The cube never has a chance. Melt's like that. And that's what Trevor Lawrence and that offense and just the Doug Peterson-Trent-Balkey era felt like.

Because this thing's a wrap. 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. way, the podcast Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the I-Hard radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what I'm saying. Yep, that's me, 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. Hey, this is Robert from the Stuff to Blow Your Mind podcast. Joe and I are both lifelong Star Wars fan, so we're celebrating May the 4th with a brand,

new week of fun, thought-provoking Star Wars-related episodes. Join us as we tackle science and culture topics from a galaxy far, far away, such as the biology of taun-tons and wampas on the ice planet hot, or the practicality and corporate business sense of the Sith rule of two. Listen to Stuff to Bole Your Mind on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Do you remember when Diana Ross double-tap Little Kim's boobs at the VMAs? Or when Kanye said that George Bush didn't like black people. I know what you're thinking. What the hell does George Bush got to do a little kill?

Well, you can find out on the Look Back at it podcast. I'm Sam J. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick it here, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. Including a recent episode with Mark Lamont Hill, waxing all about crack in the 80s. To be clear, 84 was big to me, not just because of crack.

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

Really? Yeah. For me, it's one of the most important years for black people in American history. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hard Way with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Kear Games. And in recognition of mental health awareness month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience

in the mental health field and conversations with so many incredible guests. I'm talking, Tripp Fontaine, Ryan Clark. Sometimes when we're in the pursuit of the thing, we get so wrapped up in the chase that we don't realize that we are in possession of the thing and we're still chasing it and we don't know when we've done enough

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

I want you to just really be a good person. Join me, Kear Gaines, as we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast, Learn the Hardway. Open your free, our Heart Radio app. Search Learn the Hardway and listen now. Okay, let's dive into some quarterback play around the NFL. Today on the old Stairmaster, I watched a couple games. I watched them yesterday on Sunday, but it's hard when you got eight games going at once to really dial in.

And the Vikings game was really such a blowout. They went back-to-back wins over the 49ers in the Texans. Like, I'm sorry, there can't be two better back-to-back wins so far this season than those two. And they destroyed Houston. and I mean they kind of work the Niners as well and the talk of the town is Sam Darnold who leads the league in touchdown passes who's been fantastic

who is it's early but is truly an MVP candidate throwing touchdowns left and right looks really really good and I texted around some buddies in the league and I think consistent theme that came back and we all agree he plays for a well-run high-level coaching team right Kevin O'Connell, one of the better offensive coaches in the league, clearly.

Brian Flores is a dominant defensive coordinator. It is a good situation. But we can't really argue that confidence is a powerful tool. And having people that believe in you, having the right people that believe in you is a game changer in life. I get asked all the time. Want to start a podcast? Want to do football? Do you have any advice?

I say, yeah, just get coward, Bill Simmons, or Portnoy behind you. or be two Hall of Famers, one guy dating Taylor Swift, or else you've got no shot. And when you do have the right people who believe in you and are behind you, then it's on you to take advantage of it. And listen, Sam Darnold is 6.3.5. He's 220 pounds. He is a solid, I wouldn't call him a great athlete,

but he's definitely average to above for NFL standards. and the knock has always been he's been really erratic. And you'll just look back, it's like, he played for fucking Adam Gase. And Matt Ruhl, who I think Matt Ruhl is a good college coach, but he was kind of an embarrassment in the NFL. And Kyle Shanahan and the 49ers changed him, and Kevin O'Connell has taken him to another level. And right now the Vikings look fantastic.

They look real. Like, I don't think this is a fluke. They're excellent on defense. Their quarterback is not only playing like under control, he's an explosive player. This guy has a big explosive arm, and they got weapons, and they got a good running back, and they got a star left tackle. Like, this is a real team. Now, I wouldn't just chalk them up in the Super Bowl for the NFC, but I don't see how, obviously, Donald, who had a little bit of a knee scare with JJ out, you know, their backup quarterback situation.

If he were to go down, I think would be obviously problematic. But let's face it, Cousin's a good player, right? He's made a ton of money in this league. He's been to Pro Bowls. He's had an excellent career, especially given where he started. Sam Darnold is much more talented. And to me, their team is now more dynamic. Cousins, I would say over the course of a season is going to be a more accurate player.

But what do we talk all the time about? We saw it last night again. He can't ad lib. So if you pressure him, he's D-O-A. Sam D-D-D-A. Sam Darnal can move. Like, that is a huge element. to modern day offenses. It's why all these quarterbacks

that are excelling in the NFL are all good to elite athletes. I mean, that's just a fact. And it doesn't mean that we're never going to see the Peyton Mannings and the Tom Brady's again, but those guys, the type players that have come into the NFL over the last,

I don't know, six, seven years have all been athletic guys, have all been guys that you can run movement plays with. and if he's not going to turn the ball over and he's going to throw a ton of touchdowns, the Vikings are, this isn't a fluke. As a buddy in the league text me today, like, they're real.

This is not smoke and mirrors. And the Sam Darnold trade, or not trade, but signing, in a weird way could get complicated for them because if he wins, or if the team wins 12 games and he's excellent and they win a playoff game, you're just going to let him walk? I know you drafted J.J.

They told this to Coward yesterday. Like, it's not like they traded up three first round picks to get this guy. Kind of fell in their lap. And which was good job by their GM, knowing the market, know where you can get the player. I think they traded up one spot. But I don't know. It's going to get complicated. It's a good problem to have.

Speaking of a good problem to have is the Steelers landed two quarterbacks who they're not paying any money. And I think they got lucky when. Russell Wilson got hurt because I thought to begin with that Russell was never going to work in Pittsburgh. He's a dink and dunk quarterback who's kind of a weirdo that is not Pittsburgh style. And Justin Fields has, at this point in time, there's just more to work with. And this is a player who, the Steelers are 3 in 0. And obviously they're led by their defense, which like the Chiefs, has been elite. I mean, they are dominating defensively.

And that game, to me, was a coin flip game until Justin Herbert re-injured his foot. And based on the line this week, probably won't play. I thought halfway through that game, I'm like, this Charger team's a playoff team. If Herbert's fully healthy and he plays 17 games. If he's in and out of the lineup, they got no shot. But that was a solid win by Pittsburgh. and their defense, as long as T.J. Watts on the field, is going to be top-notch all season long. And the question mark has been with them in the last couple years, like quarterback play.

And they've just had guys that bring no juice. Like, Kenny Pickett's got nothing. He's throwing 88-mile-hour fastballs. And it's not like he's some big-time athlete. So you get Fields, who their first touchdown, little zone read, boom, walks right in the end zone. Didn't have a big rushing game. I think he only rushed for like six or seven yards yesterday. But that's a huge element of his game.

And it does feel like he's a little more under control throwing the ball. And maybe this, we talk about confidence, we talk about leadership. Like Kevin O'Connell looking at Sam Darnold, I believe in you. Mike Tomlin looking at Justin Fields, I believe in you, is just a little bit different than Matt Rueller, Matt Iberfluse telling you that. And I think it's showing. Now, can the Steelers win a Super Bowl? Justin Fields, clearly they're going to have to be a little more potent on offense in these bigger

games in December and in January. But like, this is why you start them, which again, they weren't planning on, but because of the Russell Wilson calf injury, they got granted that ability. Like, if Justin Fields stays healthy, we're not seeing Russell Wilson this entire season, which is a whole other conversation like what happens to that guy's career. But this is not the time for it. And you got to give Justin Fields credit. You got to give Sam Donald the credit. When you get these opportunities and you get with a good team, like everyone's like, oh, their receivers suck, their receivers suck. Well, obviously George Pickens is really talented. This Calvin Austin looks pretty good to me. Friar moves good. They got a couple backs. And they don't

need to score that many points. I mean, they're going to be games where they're going to have to score more than 18, 20 points, clearly. But I do think they will have that capability as the season goes on as this quarterback gets more comfortable. Big explosive arm can throw on the move. Throwing over the middle of the field is something they're going to have to become a little more comfortable with. He had a pick yesterday, but it was kind of tipped up in the air. I'm a believer. And listen, you guys know where I stood on Pittsburgh. I was out. They've kind of wrote me back in because their style translates. It really does. I would say if I had to bet on one of the two teams, I think the Vikings I would feel a little more confident in

because just their passing games much more explosive and their defense has been equally as dominant and their defensive coordinator Flores right there with Spags is so far through three weeks best in the league. But the Steelers are real too, man. They're very comfortable. I think the Chiefs have proven this the last couple years now the swing vote with the Chiefs is they got Patrick Mahomes,

you got Justin Fields. But like they got no problem being in games. when it's 13 to 10 in the second half. Like, they're comfortable in that environment, so props to the Steelers. Some other thoughts on quarterback play. I rewatched, or just independently, on the Stairmaster, the Colts, and the Bears game. And I had two big takeaways. Because yesterday, with Colin, my take was like, God, Fields is all over the place.

Obviously, he has some stuff to work on. He's missing some deep balls. He gets a little frenetic in the pocket. but he did make a lot of great throws in that game. They have no running game. I mean, they're asking him, I'm sorry, in a game that it's one thing being down 30 to nothing and you have to throw. At no point was this game ever bigger than, like, it was like 14 to 3.

It's like, can we just take a deep breath here, run the ball a little bit? And they're just asking him to throw every single play. But he had some great passes to roam. There's a difference in struggling and losing like Bryce Young was. us and going, I don't see anything there. That wasn't my takeaway from Caleb. You know, to me, there is so much there to work with. Need to calm down a little bit. You can't ask him to do this much. Like, it's kind of crazy. But I think most of the reaction is like, oh, he sucks. He's terrible. He's over his head to hype. And that was kind of my reaction,

watching him on a four-box situation. But when you really watch the game, I was more glad. half full. The guy I was glass half empty on would be Anthony Richardson, who is a complete train wreck. I mean, making throws off platform, fading to his left, hitting bears in stride. You can't function with this at quarterback. It is not sustainable. And Stuyken, they play the Steelers this week. you know, they play the Steelers. That is a tough spot for AR. Because right now, the balls are coming out of his hand, and you have no clue where it's going to go.

He had a couple big plays in that game against the Bears, where you could tell he throttled off a little bit because he was afraid to overthrow the guy. And whether this guy is all out of whack, or whether this is just what he is, you talk about earning your money if you're Shane Steichen. this is a project's project. Now, luckily, if you are going to have a project,

you want a guy 6-4 that is that powerful, that fast, and with that big of an arm, but the accuracy issues, like to me, Caleb, when he's overthrowing some stuff, and then you see him make just a couple great throws, hit guys in stride, you're like, this guy can be accurate. He did throw a bad pick-six,

or not, it wasn't a pick-six, the guy went out of bounds, but a pick on an out-rout, hold on the ball a little too long. That happens to young quarterbacks. When I watch Anthony Richardson, young quarterback, the accuracy isn't a concern. I mean, it's probably one of the biggest liabilities right now in the NFL. So the Colts clearly are going to have questions on defense.

DeForest Buckner's not there. They played a pretty good game, all things being equal yesterday with their backs against the wall. But I think the quarterback, when you play better teams, I just don't see how you win. if he's going to play like he has through the first three games. I mean, there was a play in the red zone where they rolled them out, and there was a guy open in the back of the end zone.

The ball did get tipped, but you didn't have any faith when he was rolling out, like, this is pretty risky, and the ball gets tipped and goes right into the, into Edmund's hands. You're like, man, this guy, there's one thing to be a roller coaster, and there's another thing to be what Anthony Richardson is right now, to feel like a train wreck. And listen, I know you won the game if you're a Colts fan, but I think we all have to agree

that this is pretty freaking ugly right now. And I was a believer. Or I wanted to believe. I mean, hell, I was tempted to bet on them to win the division. And the preseason spooked me. And it's been way worse than the regular season. So if Shane Seichen can work his magic, he deserves an extension.

If he can get this team in playoff contention come December and have this quarterback improve, it'll be like LaFleur with Malique Willis. I will tip my hat. I'm not sure it's possible. Bo Nix, I watched that game back. Two things. Denver came to play.

Denver showed up to kick-ass and take. Their defense was flying around. I mean, they got up a couple scores before you could even blink. To me, the difference between Bo N'N, Nick and Caleb is they were asking him to get, and this is what we talked about coming into the season, snap the ball, get rid of the ball quick. And he did that a couple times, and he found himself in a rhythm.

And this is the big question mark with Iber Fluse, who when you're watching the bears and they keep showing him and he's screwing up challenges or he's not challenging the ball, you just feel a guy. You talk about it with players all the time, you know, gaining confidence, losing confidence. Iber Fluse looks like a guy that's swimming, completely in over his head. That's why I think most people, if you're gambling on it, if you're a fan of it, you're like, I'm out on this guy. This is not going to work. Then you watch Bow Nix and you just feel the confidence in the quotes from Sean Peyton.

It's like, he's been there, done that. Like, he's been around the block a few times. Kind of knows what he's doing. Now, his offense, in terms of the verbiate, it's very, very complicated. But with time, you find a place like, hey, I got to cut this out. I need to make this a little easier for my guy. The best thing that can happen to a young quarterback, play solid defense, make plays on defense, turn the ball over, and run the ball, slow down the game, and the Broncos did that. I mean, they went into Tampa and completely punked them.

Now, was Tampa feeling themselves at 2 and 0? Did they underestimate? I say this all the time because there are massive upsets in November and December every single year. These people are humans. like when you're playing a one and seven team and you are six and two, it's hard to practice the same way as when you're six and two and you're playing another six and two team on Monday night or Sunday night football. When you're playing that morning game, you're like, this team stinks.

Like I do get, and I understand coaches harp on this, take it seriously work hard. It's hard for players when they, remember Belichick over decades when they would play just horrendous teams, and he'd be like the peak of the dynasty, and he'd be like, you know, I know this team's 0 and 10, but their special teams is one of the best units I've ever seen. And he would go on some long diatribe for like 10 minutes. You'd be like, he is trying to psych himself in to this team being a real opponent because he has to communicate with his own team. And that's hard. That is a difficult proposition. And it felt like Tampa just thought, I would guess their practice was pretty hit or miss, their focus was pretty hit or miss,

and they showed up thinking they could win the game, and all of a sudden it's like a Mike Tyson shot across the chin, and you're down. But Bo Nick's getting rid of the ball quick. One thing that's pretty evident is he's a pretty good athlete. He made some fantastic plays with his legs. He had an early touchdown. He had another great scramble. He looked really, really good.

And I think they just got him calm. where you watch Caleb, what's weird about the Bears, and Colin and I talked about this on Sunday night, is like they start really slow. So whatever their scripted plays are, that is something you harp on Thursday, Friday, Saturday, you feel pretty confident on how the game is going to open up, you practice those plays over and over,

you go over it as the offensive coordinator. Very rocky early. There's no rhythm to it. Like, honestly, that game, the score looks a lot closer, they scored a couple late touchdowns. You know, the score doesn't indicate how poorly they played on offense. Part of it was just kind of Caleb freelancing, which is part of the problem. It's hard to freelance in the NFL because even if you go,

oh, the Colts suck on defense, their defenders, when they have angles on you and you're doing 360s in the backfield, will catch you. And if they don't catch you, they will force you back in to more help. and it will just turn into these disasters. It's why we talk about all the time with quarterback play, get rid of the ball. Shador Sanders, really big time talent. And I would put a lot, like their offense,

when you're watching it, you're like, I think Pat Shermer is one of the biggest scam artists going in Power 5 football or the NFL. His offense is a joke. It's like, you can't block, and you are asking your offensive line on four and five wives every single series. Like in tight games, when you're down.

And Chador just had to pull plays out of his, you know what. Well, in college, you can pull that off. Caleb was able to pull that off the last couple years. Terrible offense line. Because most of the defenders who are chasing you around are not going to be playing on Sundays. So like Chador made just remarkable plays. It's harder to do that in the NFL.

Because even some random backup is still like a fourth round pick. still a guy that might play in the NFL for five or six years. So you're seeing Caleb do all this stuff and you're like, bro, you either if it's not there, you've got to throw it away. You have to balance some of the hero ball that works in college, that in football it's much more in the pros on rhythm and timing. That's the only way an offense can operate. And that's where you watch Bo Nicks, you know, the first game,

no rhythm and timing against Seattle. Steelers overwhelmed them early. As the game went on, it felt like he settled in. And this game felt much closer to what we saw during the preseason. A couple steps, get rid of the ball. A couple steps, your first options out there, look, get rid of the ball. And that's how you can be successful in the NFL. Because when you are going back there and no one's open, you're like, shit,

I'm just going to do a 360, I'm going to scramble the left, and then if something's not open, I'll scramble back to the right. that can lead to crazy interceptions, that can lead to crazy sacks, that can just lead to problems. And this gets back to avoid some of these crazy second and third and long, you have to function in the run game. You have to have, I would say, productive plays on first and ten, because it makes it easier on everybody. And the bears are like, I don't know, like an NFL Blitz team, they just want to pass. pass the ball nonstop, unless I'm pro the pass. But when you're asking a rookie quarterback to pass the ball 50 times in a game where you are not down

three or four scores, you're asking for problems. And you've got to find a way to get an early lead. That's what the Broncos did. That's why they dominated that game. Get an early lead. Have your defense settle in. And everyone can take a deep breath. when you find yourself behind the eight ball, and some of these coaches,

it could be like 14 to 6 or 9 to nothing. And they start calling plays like they're down 21-3 in the third quarter. Like, guys, it's the second quarter, you're down nine points. Can we just run the plays that we talked about on Wednesday and Thursday that have a chance to just gain six yards? Like, we don't need 30 or 40 yards. And I think sometimes that's a huge difference you just see between coordinators. Their inability to stick with the run.

Their inability to just run basic plays. It's my issue with Pat Shermer. I mean, I'm sitting there. I'm rooting for Deion. And I'm going, Pat. Every play does not have to be, obviously, the Hail Mary play, but on the previous series, it's like just run a slant route. Just run a quick screen.

Make it a little easy on your offensive lineman. make it so Chador is not running for his life. And some of these coaches like, pass, pass, pass, pass, pass, go deep, go deep, go deep, which is what we all want to do in Madden. It's not realistic in Power 5 football or the NFL. And in the NFL, the difference of Power 5, if you have an elite talent at quarterback, he can run around and make shit happen. And Chador did.

And Caleb used to do that in college, where in the pros, it can unravel on you fast. Anthony Richardson's doing it right now and then just throwing the ball to the other team. It's why when they had control of that game, what were they doing? They were handing the ball off and getting productive plays to Jonathan Taylor. That's how they took the lead. Because it just settles everyone in.

And what has Andy Reid done these last couple years as his passing game has been hit or miss? He's ran the football. How do the Ravens have a lot of success over the years? They run the ball down your throat. and that's why I have a lot of respect for the running back position coming back in to vote

because we've talked forever the tight end is the quarterback's best friend I'd argue the running game is the quarterback's best friend it makes it easier on everyone especially the offensive line because a lot of offensive linemen are going to struggle in pass pro if you ask them to pass protect 40, 45 times a game

but there are a lot of o linemen who can be average to above average in the run game who are liabilities in the past game. But you can play, function, and win with them if your running game is successful. And you can say, oh, they have no running game. A lot of these coaches will not stick with it.

They just will not. They will be so quick to pivot away from it because, like, oh, we got stuffed once. Well, just stick with it. That's how you lean on a defense, tire them out. And the teams that are willing to do that, I think just have a better chance to be successful when you're passing game and it's like this all over the league is out of whack and not really functioning.

And your offensive linemen, probably most teams have multiple guys out of their five who are liabilities in the past game. I understand, like the Cowboys, you're down 28 to 6, you have no choice. You have to pass. But if you're down like 7 to 3 or 10 to 3 or 14 to 6, And there's two quarters and five minutes left in the first half. It's like, guys, we got some time. Like, why are we rushing to try to gain a comeback in one play?

Let's take a deep breath. Let's just sustain a drive. Let's just settle everyone down. And I think a lot of offensive coordinators, which, listen, most of us, if we're just playing video games or screaming at the TV, we all like the past. but I think some of these guys are becoming so obsessed that it's leading to this erratic quarterback play when the offensive linemen are completely overwhelmed.

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 parents, I was having trouble

stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the I-Hard radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care which I'm saying. Yep, that's me, Clipper 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 what 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.

Hey, this is Robert from the Stuff to Blow Your Mind podcast. Joe and I are both lifelong Star Wars fan, so we're celebrating May the 4th with a brand new week of fun, thought-provoking Star Wars-related episodes. Join us as we tackle science and culture topics from a galaxy far, far away, such as the biology of Tontons and Wamp. on the Ice Planet Hot, or the practicality and corporate business sense of the Sith rule of two.

Listen to Stuff to Bole your mind on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Do you remember when Diana Ross double-tap Little Kim's boobs at the VMAs? Or when Kanye said that George Bush didn't like black people. I know what you're thinking. What the hell does George Bush got to do a little Kim? Well, you can find out on the Look Back at a podcast. I'm Sam Jett. And I'm Alex English.

Each episode, we pick it here, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. Including a recent episode with Mark Lamont Hill waxing all about crack in the 80s. To be clear, 84 is big to me, not just because of crack. I'm down to talk about crack on day, but just so y'all know. I mean, at this point, Mark, this is the second episode where we've discussed crack. So I'm starting to see that there's a through line. We also have AIDS on the table right now. Thank you for finishing that sentence.

I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Really? Yeah. For me, it's one of the most important years for black people in American history. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hard Way with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Kear Games. And in recognition of mental health awareness month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience in the mental health field and conversations with so many incredible guests. I'm talking. Trip Fontaine, Ryan Clark.

Sometimes when we're in the pursuit of the thing, we get so wrapped up in the chase that we don't realize that we are in possession of the thing. And we're still chasing it. And we don't know when we've done enough. Because people scoreboard watch. Life becomes about wins and losses. Steve Burns, Dustin Ross. Because you find it important to be a good person while you hear on earth?

Are you a good person because you're afraid? Because that's two different intentions, bro. Absolutely. And that's two different levels of trust. I want you to just really be a good person. Join me, Kear Gaines, as we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast. Learn the hard way. Open your free iHeartRadio app.

Search Learn the hard way and listen now. Okay, mailbag time. Do you guys know the drill? Add John Middlecoff. Add John Middlecough. Lowell Instagram account. Fire in those DMs. Get your question answered here on the podcast.

We will start with Jacoby. Question for the bag. With Pierce saying there could be a quarterback change, it got me thinking. Would the Raiders trade Devante for J.J. McCarthy straight up? Devante has shown multiple times he doesn't seem happy in Vegas. With Sam Ballin, it just got me wondering. Well, I would imagine the Raiders would gladly. take J.J. McCarthy, I think that's an

immediate no from the Vikings. One, they don't need a wide receiver. They gave Justin Jefferson the biggest contract in the history of the league, non-quarterback. I think maybe boasts a little higher, guaranteed. Maybe not.

I have to relook at those numbers. But obviously, they just gave them an astronomical amount of money. They have Jordan Addison. They'd another wide receiver, 83, making some plays. they just, they don't need them. And despite Sam bawling, which is a problem for them in terms of, are they just going to let them walk? They would not do that deal. And the reality is J.J. McCarthy's out for the year, so he doesn't really do you any good.

I do think two guys, though, that are trade candidates. Like, Devante, if this team is going to be bad, and what's crazy is that comeback win against The Ravens was pretty impressive, but I think that's a little more outlier than it is what we're going to see. Now, Max Crosby's banged up. Devante has no value on that team. He still can play. Could you trade them for like a second and a third round pick? I think you'd have to entertain that.

Obviously, Crosby's untouchable, but I think Devante, you'd have to think about it. And to me, the other guy, and I understand they gave him a little more money before the season. that they give them an extension or rework his contract, added a bunch of guaranteed money, you could easily get a first round pick for Tyree Kill. Should we just start over? Should we just press the EJEC button? Because that's what I'd do, if I was the Dolphins.

I'm not remotely close when healthy to winning playoff games. Now, I don't think they do that. I'm not speaking. I don't know the cap implications, which are obviously, you know, not ideal when you give guys a large amount of guaranteed money. But those two guys don't make sense on the team at this point in time. With the quarterback play in Miami, assuming Tua, who knows if he comes back,

and Gardner Minchew and A. O'Connell, like, give me a break. Listen, I'm not a raider. Gardner Minchu made no sense on the Raiders. He makes sense as a backup. He does not make sense as someone that you go into the season week one. This guys are starter. Out on you. Is Jackson Dart a sleeper?

number one. He's having a season that's going under the radar. I think part of it is Ole Miss hasn't played anybody yet. I have not watched a snap of Ole Miss, partly because their opponents are a joke. When they play the real teams, he's got a lot of money in the line. I mean, when they're playing Bama, when they're playing Georgia, when they're playing Tennessee, I don't have their schedule in front of me, but Bama, Georgia is this week, so that's an incredible game. So you guys have played Furman, MTSU, I don't want to click on it. Wake Forest and Georgia Southern.

You've won 76-0-5-2-3, 40-6, and 52-13. So listen, schedule's a joke, dominated everybody. Then you go Kentucky, South Carolina. So you should be 6-0. I don't even know if you're an Ole Miss fan. Then it gets interesting. at LSU, Oklahoma, at Arkansas, who's sneaky not bad. They easily could have beat Oklahoma State. They're running back number 22 is a really good player.

You don't play Tennessee, but you do play Georgia. I think there's a very decent chance that'll miss, let's just give them an L to Georgia, goes 11 and 1. So that means they could be in the SEC championship game, play Georgia again, Tennessee or who, you know, play someone else again and be in the playoffs. So, yes, 100% Jackson Dark could be the number one overall pick. Clearly, the best players in college football right now are not quarterbacks.

In terms of, like, just the best pure players are Travis Henry, who is remarkable. I mean, he had a sweet open field tackle. He had the game-winning fumble forced. He's a great player on offense. Will Johnson, the corner from Michigan, who got banged up in that game at another pick six. He's elite. I think Tennessee has a defensive lineman who's elite. You know, the quarterbacks are Shador, who has a lot of NFL attributes.

It's hard to judge him in that offense because Pat Schumer. I mean, it's so funny. The discourse on Dion, because, of course, the media gets bad when you rip the media, Dion's constantly going back and forth. To me, I don't care at all about that. I don't pay any attention. I refuse to even comment. I don't even give a shit.

You'd have to pay me to give a shit, and even then I wouldn't care. But to me, the thing to be critical on Dion is like, and what I mean is like banning the reporter, saying the reporters are jealous of the players getting paid. Like, I'm sorry, I think there's some merit to that. I'm not saying he's 100% accurate with that, but.

I texted with a scouting buddy the other day or was talking to him on the phone. And I was like, what is a player parking lot at these Power 5 schools look like right now? He's like, bro, it looks like the NFL. I mean, these guys, you know what the average, you know, reporter dude working out of a newspaper makes? He makes nothing. So I don't think he's totally off base. Now Dion brings a lot on himself. but the thing no one's ever critical on him is like you hired Pat Schumer to be your O.C.

Like that's a, there's substance behind that criticism. Wait, you went into a season with a quarterback who might go in the top five, who's your son, and Travis Hunter, who more than likely is the most talented player you'll ever coach, and you named Pat Schumer as your O.C. Yeah, I'm pretty sure you don't drink or do. drugs? Like, what were you on when you made that decision? But no, everyone's so consumed with he's so being to the media. I got news for you. No one cares. Got a question for the mailbag. I think one of the most underrated storylines right now is Devonte. And I wanted to get your thoughts

on the situation. Do you think he was sold a bill of goods by his hometown writers with Jimmy G at the same time a promising roster? Or is he also to blame for making the move to a Doom franchise? He's one of the great wide receiver talents of his generation, but he obviously is unhappy in Las Vegas, and it seems like anyone could have foretold the situation. How do you think it relates to other top talents and their evaluation of landing spots when it's time to move on from their current team? I think it's a good lesson. is I think for most athletes and most high-level people in business,

the longer you do something, the easier it is to be unemotional about it. Because when you make emotional decisions, it's when I think you make bad decisions. It's why family businesses can have their challenges because there's money involved and there's emotional, you know, situations involved with brothers, sisters, parents, whatever. That's why it gets complicated.

And I think Devante, one, he is really, really good friends with Derek Carr. And he wanted to play with Derek Carr, which I don't totally blame him. He's like, Derek's thrown 25, 30 touchdowns, like, we can have success. And he grew up a Raiders stand.

And I'm pretty sure you know, it was hard for certain family members to come to Green Bay games. I think he has an older grandparents that couldn't make it to game. So it was a lot easier. His family was Raider fans. And they obviously paid him a ton of money, which was very lucrative, no state income tax in Vegas. It's been lucrative to him. But it's been a little Randy Moss for the Raiders 20 years ago. Like kind of forces you into relevancy, which is crazy because think how many wide receivers are, you know, shining. And he, he,

He was a superstar with Aaron. And I think if he could, listen, I don't think he'd change his decision. But I think anyone that wasn't emotionally tied to the situation would have told him, this isn't a good idea. And I think looking back, like, let's face it, the Raiders weren't in position to make that trade. I mean, they were because they had the assets to trade for them, but it didn't make sense. they were so many players away. It's just one of those bad deals for everyone involved. Even though the Raiders get to sell more jerseys,

Devante gets to make them a lot more money, but it felt like everyone lost. You know, and it's sad. I like Devante a lot. I don't know him personally, but I'm close with his mentor slash, you know, longtime off-season coach, who's now in New Orleans,

coaching wide receivers, Keith Williams. I obviously knew all those people of Fresnel State when he came. He's just a high-level cat. And I think he made an emotional decision because there were elements outside of business that were there. I think a lot of teams would have been willing to pay him a lot of money. But he only wanted to go to the Raiders. And the Raiders were willing to trade for him and kind of the rest is history.

And he's just, it's just sad because he should be playing for, Big time games, you know, in big time games. It would be fun to see him on the Steelers, the Chiefs, some of the bills, like some of these really good teams right now. Lifelong Packer fan. It feels like LaFleur gets left out of the conversation when talking about the best coaches in the league. I think the list goes, Andy, McVeigh, Kyle LaFleur.

Why do you think he gets left out of the conversation? Colin and I talked about this the other day. is one, I think that first year he was overshadowed by, or the first couple years, Rogers, and that just happens. Rogers wins MVP's. Aaron gets all the credit, Matt didn't get that much, even though I remember when he got the award, he thanked Matt. And in a weird way, he didn't get enough credit for last year with Jordan Love.

But I just threw on the highlights before I press record. chord, like a 12-minute YouTube package that the NFL puts out. It's crazy how good he had Malik Willis looking. But also the stuff he was running, you know, some quick hitters, motion guys, get him in the flat, Malik hitting him in stride, having Malik run around. Malik Willis looked like the Colts want Anthony Richardson to look like. Think about that. One guy was had for a seventh round pick three weeks ago.

guy went fourth in the draft. First of all, enjoy the show. Thank you, Blake. I appreciate that. Big Vikings fan. And have been thinking about the game against the Falcons later in the year. That me and some buddies might go to it. That'll be fun. And if you think Flores will have Cousin's number, having practiced against him,

or if Kirk will be able to succeed against his scheme. With the way we're playing right now, I personally, think it will be a long day for Cousins without a clean pocket. If the pocket is not clean, Cousins could be playing Georgia or Alabama. He is going to make mistakes. So fooling Cousins, if you're not hitting him, is not the end of the world for Kirk.

So the scheme stuff, moving guys back and forth, he can manage that. It's about getting him off his spot and making a move and the moment he has to move that he has problems. I know this. If I was a Vikings fan sitting here today, it's like, wait, we got a quarterback who looks better than the other guy for $10 million. And the other guy wanted $40 to $45 million. And we also drafted a player who looks pretty promising.

I'd feel pretty good about our situation. I think optimism should be really, really high. It's like, wait, do we kind of have... guys that know what they're doing right now? Because that's what it feels like. That's a huge economic swing. Think how much money the Falcons are paying Cousins these next couple years. Now maybe if Darnold throws 40 touchdowns and you guys win 12, 13 games, what are you going to do? Let him walk. So you'd have to pay him, but

he's a more dynamic player than Cousins. Now Cousins has been doing it at a longer, higher level for longer. It seems like kickers have been or had a surprisingly good start year. It's clear that kickers are stronger and more accurate than ever. Example, Brandon Aubrey made a 65-yard field goal look like a chip shot, and nobody was surprised. Is it possible in the next three to five years the NFL makes the goalposts closer together? I saw guy, I mean, I saw Jake Moody miss a 50-yard field goal. I think sometimes we overreact to this. obviously training and strength training is probably never been better for specific things. I think it's fair to say these kickers are probably stronger than they have been in years past.

The isolated training, maybe it's different. I mean, I don't pretend to be some kicking expert. But I've read some headlines. I know some blog posts about we need to put the goal posts and make the posts a smaller distance. It's like, let's just pump the brakes. Let's just... Why? If a guy can kick 65-yard field goal,

the guy can kick a 65-yard field goal. What's wrong with that? I have no problem with it. I'm not one of those people that say, we need to change. We're three weeks in, too. Coming from a Bears fan, did the team screw up in hiring

Shane Waldron over Clint Kubiak? I saw some of Seattle fans actually happy with the offense this year compared to last season. Waldron looks to be the problem, and I think he's going to get Iber Fluse fired how bad the offense looks. Do you think the Bears have a chance at landing Ben Johnson?

If I'm a Bears fan, and let's face it, I mean, as of the day, you'd say Iber Fluse is a dead man walking. I don't think we can afford to risk hiring one of these coordinators. Because what if they are over there? head. I think the guy I would hire would be Mike Vrable. Get Mike Vrable and have him hire an offensive,

good offensive coordinator. Now, you go, John, that stands for everything that you're against. I think you're so invested in the Caleb Williams that if you hire Sloic or you hire Clint Kubiak and if they are not a good quote-unquote head coach, that is, That's very, very risky. Now, it's easy. It's like, well, we got the next Kyle or McVeigh or Andy Reid. What if you got the next, the litany of guys that have failed? I would try to hit a double.

I think sometimes the bears and just teams in general, when they're in a situation like that, like, you guys have a lot of good players. Let's just get the train on the tracks. Because I think the variance on a. Lowick or a Kubiak or a Ben Johnson who has been scared to become a head coach could be a home run, but it could be a fucking disaster. I mean a disaster. Or if I tell you, Mike Vrable is your next head coach, is it safe to say you're going to be pretty good over the next two or three years? And then if in three years you're like, this isn't good enough, that's a good problem to have. But to me,

in your situation with Caleb, who to me needs to be corralled and just kind of like settle down a little bit, I think Vrable's a safe option. If I'm one of these teams with just nothing going for me, yeah, whatever, you guys have something going for you. The other thing is you need a good, your division is well coached, Lafour, Kevin O'Connell, Dan Campbell, like it's, these guys are going to be there for a while. So if you get it wrong with the coordinator spot, that's pretty risky. And I get like, well, what if Rabel's offensive coordinator does a good job he leaves? I understand that, but I don't know.

I get very nervous with the Slowicks and the Kubiaks and those type guys. Both of them, I mean, Kubiaks called plays for three games. Three games. One game against Vic Fangio, he got punked. Flora has just. just took Bobby Slovak to the woodshed. He's called games for 17 games, a playoff game, 18, 21 games in his life. 21 games.

I think you guys need experience. I mean, I'm serious. Just get an experienced guy who just knows what he's doing. We're not trying to win the Super Bowl. We're just trying to go to the playoffs like back-to-back years. It's early in the season, but we're seeing struggles from this year's rookie quarterback class. and a lot of success from previous written-off quarterbacks.

Darnold, Baker, Carr, Malik Willis, and now even Andy Dalton. Do you think the league will start to trend back to the days of giving their rookie quarterbacks time to develop? Uh, I think it's tough

because I'm recording this part before Washington plays. Like, what are they supposed to do? What did Jaden sit behind Marcus Marriota? I think Marriota's even hurt right now. What were the Bears going to sign like Gardner Minchew to start over Caleb. I'm pro playing guys.

I think it depends who you are. And also depends on the situation of the team. We've seen guys, I mean, Peyton Manning started right away. Started immediately in 1998. You know, Matt Stafford started immediately in 2007. So quarterbacks and you just take your lump. and you figure it out. Now, you could argue that breaks some guys.

And some of the guys have to go other places to resurrect their career. Jared Goff started immediately. I mean, Brock Purdy got to start as a rookie. He was a seventh round pick. Dak Prescott, immediate starter. I'm a huge believer in there is no correct path for anything in life. My path is different than your path. Manning's path is different than Brady's path

is different than Aaron Rogers' path so that there's no guaranteed path to success. Everyone's different. Now, some paths are bad for that individual person and can derail their career. But the best part about the NFL, especially when you're a high pick, you're going to get several chances. Diana Rusini just said that if they were willing to trade them,

there'd be four or five teams willing to trade for them right now, which I think is a little crazy being Bryce Young, given how much money he makes. Even giving up a seventh round pick based on what we've seen. If Bryce Young had been a six-round pick and had been the Panthers started the last two years, nobody would trade for. But he's the number one pick and he has the pedigree. So when you get drafted high and have the quote-unquote pedigree, it's why teams are going to be interested in Baker Mayfield and Sam Darnold in Bryce Young,

no matter how bad you look. it's the one big disadvantage you get when you're a late around pick and you struggle. People think you can't play. Where when you're drafted high and you struggle, people think, oh, it's the situation. It's the team. It's the coach. Yeah, I don't know.

Monday morning pod segment. You could do a section on the show each Monday and call it Monday morning Mulligan. And that would be a team that played poorly on the last Last Sunday of football, but it doesn't change your opinion on that player or team. It just deem it a bad game and you're willing to give them a pass on their performance. I like that guy. It's not a bad idea. As a Jags fan and Doug Peterson doubter, do you think it's possible that Jags move off Doug

if they start 0 and 4? I feel like Doug's inability to move off Press Taylor has and tied himself to, to press. And if you want one gone, you must fire the other. He does have a weird loyalty to press Taylor. I'm obviously recording this part before the Monday night game. I think that place could get really weird, really fast. That if they don't make the playoffs, I'd be a little shocked if he got fired early in the season

because I'd have to look at their coaching staff, but who would they implement? but I do think he's coaching this year for his job. And I do think anything less than being in the playoffs come the second week in January, he will be fired. And I think Trent Balke will be fired. And that place will have full court press of Bill Belichick. That would be my guess. A lot of people are sending me the memes and the pictures of Arthur Blank,

who put himself in his own Hall of Fame and Ring of Honor. Listen, I would say pretty high percentage chance. I will never be as rich as Arthur Blank slash own an NFL team. So maybe that warps your opinion of yourself. But I can't imagine being that rich, that's successful, and needing to put my name in the ring of honor. I mean, bro, what are you? It's just the jokes

Right themselves Nobody I've listened to a couple podcasts today On a million text chains about it How can anyone take that seriously? Can you imagine Some of the text chains Of employees

For the Atlanta Falcons Are we really Can you imagine the guy That had to I don't know if they engrave it Or they They put You know

Big letters up there I honestly didn't wasn't really paying attention to halftime I was eating dinner so I don't I don't know if they showed it on TV but I guess it feels like a lot of people don't necessarily engrave it into the concrete they almost you know kind of put letters on top why would you do that also what have you done build a stadium cook cool I struggle understanding why more teams don't take the approach of starting a veteran quarterback while letting their rookie quarterback develop. As a former Panthers fan, seeing how the Bryce Young situation is played out, my question is,

why aren't more teams interested in having veteran guys, Darnold, Flacco, James, Dalton, Tyrod, even compete for the starting job while letting the rookie develop? You and others, rightfully so, mocked Atlanta for taking penics while acquiring cousins, but seeing most of the rookie performances, I don't know anymore. Contracts aside, is there a reason teams are more willing to throw underdeveloped rookies into the fire

instead of letting a Sam Donald, Andy Dalton, or Jacoby Brissette, or any other veteran compete to be the immediate starter? What's an economic problem? Because the value in having a rookie quarterback is their contract. so if I waste two or three years while the guy sits and we aren't competing to win the Super Bowl

I have just wasted his greatest asset the Packers with Jordan Love who cares their guy was winning MVP's and they were competing to win the Super Bowl but in other situations when a guy sits and you don't win big it's a waste

the Chiefs won the division hosted a playoff game, lost to the Titans, and immediately got rid of Alex for Patrick. Because his value with the contract was important. They can utilize that money around him. So I think that's a huge element. That one, you know right away or within a short period of time, and then you can utilize that contract to your benefit

if the guy is just a solid player, let alone a star. That's a huge reason. It all comes back, like, this is a business. to the money. And paying a guy $5, $6, $7 million, what was a huge benefit to the Houston Texans this offseason? They have a lot of firepower

to spend because their quarterback doesn't make much money. That one day, CJ will make $50, $60 million a year. Right now he's making like $5, 6, 7, whatever his, you know, the bonus gets spread out over four years.

But you know what I mean? That is the huge advantage to find out. And I also think we have recent examples of a lot of guys having immediate success. So you go, why are we waiting? Because most of the time, if you're a team that drafts the guy really high, and you start a Dalton, start a flacco, your team's not going to be that good. I mean, Dalton, I know, looked excellent yesterday.

But if they started him for 17 games, realistically, they're not going to look like that most of the time. I just think it gets back to economics. and I think it gets back to having that rookie contract and using it to your advantage to sign other players and make moves to build up your team because one day if you do hit on that player you got to pay him a lot of money and if you don't you want to know quickly

so you can move off and look for a new guy like the clock is ticking a meet this isn't baseball where you get to sit a guy in the minors until he comes up to the big leagues his contract doesn't start it's not the way it works I mean the moment the guy is drafted Year one, baby.

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

Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and Friends on the eye, Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal, but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque.

Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the I-Hart Radio Act. Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, what's good, y'all? You're listening to Learn the Hardway

with your favorite therapist and host Keer Games. This space is about black men's experiences, having honest conversations that it's really not safe to have anywhere, but you're having them with a licensed professional who knows what he's doing. How many men carry a suit or armor. It signals to the world that you're not to be played with. And just because you have the capability

that does not mean that you need to. Listen to learn the hard way on the AHA radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. Hey, this is Robert from the Stuff to Blow Your Mind podcast. Joe and I are both lifelong Star Wars fan, so we're celebrating May the 4th with a brand new week of fun, thought-provoking Star Wars-related episodes. Join us as we tackle science and culture topics from a galaxy far, far away, such as the biology of taun tons and wampas on the ice planet hot, or the practicality and corporate business sense of the Sith rule of two. Listen to Stuff to Blow Your Mind on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. 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, my basketball and college football journey, or my career in sports media. Well, now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifers Show. This is a place for raw, unfilled conversations with athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but, So let's get to it. 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.

This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed human.