The Herd with Colin Cowherd - 3 & Out - Russell Wilson, Pittsburgh Steelers Embarrass Aaron Rodgers, Davante Adams & New York Jets on SNF

Episode Date: October 21, 2024

John is back reacting to the Pittsburgh Steelers, led by journeyman QB Russell Wilson, defeating Aaron Rodgers and the New York Jets in star WR Davante Adams’ debut. John breaks down how Russell Wilson, Najee Harris and the Steelers turned the tide after a shaky start against the New York Jets thin defense to win 37-15. Middlekauff salutes Mike Tomlin and the Steelers consistency across several years, and explains why the Steelers way, despite challenging, provides consistency other teams would kill for. After getting worked in the second half, Middlekauff wonders if Aaron Rodgers and the New York Jets season is OFFICIALLY over after falling to a disappointing 2-5 on the season. After, John recaps the full Sunday slate of games and goes through the gamut of games. Plus, John wonders if the Indianapolis Colts have a problem at quarterback with second year playmaker Anthony Richardson, then dives into Cleveland Browns QB Deshaun Watson’s ACL injury and the reaction from the Cleveland Browns fans and players in the aftermath. 07:09 - SNF Reaction 30:13 - Coaching in Washington and New England 39:49 - Watson gets hurt, the fans react 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.

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Listen to Superhuman on the IHard 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, unfilled conversations with athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but the show.

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see dkng.combe-Ball. What is going on, everybody, John Middilkoff 3 and out podcast? How are we doing? It is Sunday night and I just watched the Steelers beat the crap out of the Jets. We will dive into that because there's a lot going on there. We have Woody Johnson playing GM We got Tomlin going to Russell Wilson It looking rocky to say the least at the start

To turning into look like a genius move by the end of the game And yeah, just a crazy game I want to dive deep into Some games Colin and I go after every Sunday night game Or excuse me every Sunday afternoon game So we went deep on the Chiefs, Niner game

the Lions, Minnesota game, the Eagle Giants game, and the Packer Houston game. We talked a lot about those games, so if you want to go back and hear my takes on those, obviously we'll get into it too as the week goes on, but I'm not going to discuss those games here. So Colin and I talked about those.

You see it on YouTube or see it on the podcast. I do want to talk about Anthony Richardson. The Colts got a problem. I do want to talk about some things I've seen with the Patriots and the commanders when it comes to coaching and young quarterbacks. I do want to talk about Miles Garrett and some of his thoughts on

some of his thoughts on Deshaun Watson because he was not happy with people booing him and I got to say, I understand where the fans are coming from. So that'll be the plan today. And we'll have another podcast out tomorrow reacting the Monday night football. There's actually two Monday night football games.

I'm actually playing golf tomorrow with Daniel Jeremiah, who, NFL network guy that I worked with way back in the day with the Eagles because he's here with the Chargers. He's their, uh, he does radio for him. And Matt Money Smith, his radio partner. We're playing tomorrow like 7 a.m. He texts me, he's like, I'm in town.

I'm like, yeah, Monday night football. I'm like, I thought it's Ravens, I thought it's Ravens Tampa. He's like, yeah, double header. I'm like double header. And it's not even a normal double header. It's a late double header. The game's at six. The first one's at 515, Pacific Standard Time.

So we got a lot going on. These football games, Rod's just keep throwing games at us. So we'll be reacting to the games tomorrow. Both of them, Monday night football. And yeah, we'll just keep rocking and rolling. We'll do some college stuff coming up on Wednesday. I'll record on Tuesday.

Josh Pate, a lot of people, fellow ball brother, coming on the show, we'll record with him on Tuesday. So we'll dive deep into all the college stuff. So buckle up because we've got a lot going on. Make sure you subscribe to 3 and out if you listen on Collins' feed. YouTube channel, we got you covered. go subscribe to that as well. But before we dive into a bunch of football stuff,

the World Series here, so if you are a Dodger fan, if you're first time the Yankees have made the World Series in 15 years, pretty crazy. Brian Cashman's been the GM there since like 1916. He was dressed last night like he was going to a happy hour after that game. But if you want to go to a World Series game, if you want to go to one of these college football games,

if you want to go to an NFL game, Taylor Swift, she's torn around, any concert you want to, to go see comedy show, get some laughs on. Do it with 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. Code J-O-H-N for $20 off down on the Game Time app today. Last minute tickets, lowest prices guaranteed. Okay, let's dive into the game. Just a big picture thought. And it kind of hit me toward the end as the Steelers were kind of choking them out, that it reminded me a little bit of Saturday night. So far the biggest college

football game of the year when Georgia went to Texas and kicked their ass. And this isn't apples to apples because the Steelers were up against the ropes early on in that game. But the NFL's different than college. But over the course of the game, the cream rose, the best team won, and really the Steelers dominated them in the second half. Is that culture matters. is that the ethos of your franchise, the direction of you are being led by your head coach, by your organization, by the beliefs that the emblem on the side of your helmet stands for,

certain organizations it means something. And with the Pittsburgh Steelers, at the end of that game, Collins War said, he's like, it's crazy. We go to so many practices, and there isn't many practices, if any, like the Steelers on a Friday. or they go full pads

and they practice for two hours. He's like, I asked Tomlin, is it hard sometimes for agents, people talk, they don't want to come because they want no part of it? And Tomlin's like, yeah, we get guys that will turn us down for that. And you know what? They wouldn't want those guys

because the chiefs do the same thing. If you can't handle the physicality of practice of the mental and physical toll that it takes being a member of this organization, don't come. because you won't last. But most importantly, with the Steelers and like a lot of good organizations, the Ravens, the Chiefs, their stability.

There's one vision. With the Jets this morning, Adam Schefter reported, Hassan Reddick is coming back. His agents fired him, right? So he gets with Drew Rosenhouse. One of the great deal makers in like the history of business. And he got a deal done. And as Schefter reported, he's the first guy to hold out in the last decade

into the season that got a rework deal. And so I clicked on the article, Shefter tweeted out. And do you know who was quoted in there? That dealt with the deal was Drew Rosenhouse, who said he dealt directly with Woody Johnson. Who do you think made the trade last week for Devante Adams? You think it was Joe Douglas,

who's clearly a dead man walking and will not be the general manager of the team next year because it's deals up and they haven't had any success? Of course not. It was Woody. Johnson. You can't function like that. Now listen, I don't pretend to be right about everything. Wrong often. Part of the gig. When Tomlin went to Russell Wilson, honestly, when the rumor started last week, I didn't believe him. I thought he was messing with the Jets. Thought it all week.

And then it was pretty clear when the video went viral of George Pickens, acknowledging that Russell Wilson was starting, I think that was on like, either Thursday afternoon or Friday. It really couldn't be denied. I was like, yeah. Maybe I was wrong. And then the game starts and you're like, this is nuts. He's skipping balls. He looks atrocious. Like Mike Tomlin.

Listen, anyone that's watching the baseball playoffs know, or if you just like baseball, in the playoffs sometimes you take a pitcher out for someone in the bullpen. Or you substitute a hitter for someone off the bench. Sometimes that guy hits a home run or strikes out the side and saves the game and you win. and sometimes that guy grounds into a double play and your season ends and you go home and the manager looks like an idiot

but Mike Tomlin when Russell Wilson starts you don't have to go do you think it was the Roonies do you think it was the new GM no it was Mike Tomlin's decision but whenever you go with the Jets you go what is going on

who's making these decisions and the answer is I don't know sometimes it's the owner sometimes it's the 40-year-old quarterback who's nowhere near as good as he once was, even though he's way better than anything they've had. They're a team full of mercenaries. And going back to the Georgia-Texas game is

the one thing that really stood out to me is there's like a way of life when you play football at Georgia. When we're playing well, we're going to try to destroy and hurt you physically. And for most people that we're, we play, we're able to impose our will. And that's how the Steelers have often played. It's why when you close your eyes, if you think about the Pittsburgh Steelers and they acknowledge the team from the 70s tonight, you think mean Joe Green. You think when I was a kid at Greg

Lloyd and Kevin Green to now, T.J. Watt and Minka Fitzpatrick and Highsmith off the edge and Cam Hayward in the middle. And now Joey Porter, Joe. Jr., whose father also played there. And it's kind of what they stand for and who they are, and Mike Tomlin on the sideline. And as this game played out, you looked at the other side, and you're like, this is just a team full of mercenaries, hired guns. In baseball, that works sometimes, right?

You look at the teams in the World Series. I buy or trade for Juan Soto. I trade for John Carlos Stanton. I buy Shohei Otani. I buy whoever, right? I trade for mooky bets. It's a plug-in-play sport. It doesn't matter.

Chemistry's, as Billy Bean would tell you, relatively overrated. And I would kind of agree. In football, it's not. You can't just have Devante Adams show up on Tuesday or Wednesday. Everything's fixed. Tomorrow, Asan Reddick walks into the building. Come on in!

You think he gives a shit that they're two and five? And they've been kind of embarrassed the last couple weeks on Monday and Sunday night football that their head coach was escorted out of the building a couple weeks ago? Hell no! Doesn't even know the guy.

Why would he care? So when you get in these games and at one point tonight the game was really, really close and I'm thinking like, God, the Jets might be able to pull this off right around halftime when they were winning 15 to 13.

But then as the game goes, you realize these guys barely know each other. One, some of them aren't even that good anymore. This guy's had a great career. Tyrone Smith, Hall of Fame level player. Stud. No one that played with him, that played against him, that knows the guy. Never heard a negative, terse thing said about him.

Publicly, privately, he's not any good anymore. Like, that's part of sports, right? You sign these big names, it's like, this ain't 2017. And you just look at the Jets and you're like, this ain't gonna work. You go to an interim coach who's never, been a head coach who was, listen, I really liked him when I was a kid when he was a player and seemed like an intense guy. But now their defense sucks. I mean, their defense is getting shredded these last two weeks. Why is that? Because he can no longer just focus on the defense.

He's also got to be the head coach because that's his new responsibility. You look over at the Steelers sideline, they've had three fucking head coaches in like what feels like a hundred years. and there's a hierarchy. Mike, and then it on down. And everyone answers to him. And we all know what we're going to get. Tonight actually was kind of cool because they were in the red zone,

they were like the five-yard line. Tomlin looks at Arthur Smith, and you could tell he was saying something to him and even Collinsworth's like, I bet he's telling him to run the ball. Turns out he was telling him, throw a fade to George Pickens. Didn't work, but clearly that came from Tomlin.

Why? Because he's the boss. this is the knock on the Cowboys. You go, who's the boss? Well, it's Jerry, but he's not coaching me. Can I just circumvent him and go talk to the owner, even though the defensive coordinator is telling me one thing. These were famous stories forever about the Raiders. That if you ever wanted anything changed,

schematically, play-wise, you just go around the coaching staff and go right to Al Davis. That's what happens with the Cowboys. That's kind of what's happening now with the Jets. and it's a problem. It does not work. And it definitely does not work when your owner's Woody Johnson.

And you saw tonight an organization that's buttoned up that wins. Now, they haven't won a Super Bowl in a long time. They haven't even won a playoff game in a while. But they never have a losing record. And now it looks like they're headed

toward one of their better seasons over the last three or four years. Looks like they can get to 11 or 12 wins. Defense is really good. They're tough. They just, they have an identity. Now, we'll see this, Russell Wilson, Justin Fields thing,

clearly they're going to go with Russell moving forward. But I just thought that that was culture and organizations on full display tonight. And it was an eye-opening experience. And listen, I was wrong about Mike Tomlin. Right. But that's why, you know, when you get the head coach right, which is the reason he's had the job for a long time, you got to make tough decisions. And it's a lot easier to make suggestions.

than decisions. It's why so many guys go from coordinator positions or position coaches to coordinators and become overwhelmed because I've always been thought I had the ideas. I've always made these suggestions, but I've never been the one that have to make the decision. That was a bold-ass move. It really was. I don't think any of us are alone that we thought he was insane early in the game when balls were hitting the ground, not even remotely close to wide receivers. Meanwhile, Rogers is kind of slinging it around like he's 34.

You're like, Mike, you are not going to be able to beat Aaron Rogers and now Devante Adams and Breeze Hall. And he's thinking his head, maybe this ain't going well, or just let it play out. Let's take a deep breath. We're not going to overreact to every single play

like Woody Johnson up there in the box. And over the course of the game, it was clear it was the wrong. decision. Russell Wilson can no longer really run, right? Justin Fields, who's a great athlete, that part of the game is done. They have no running element with their quarterback. But as Collinsworth mentioned on the broadcast, spreading the ball down the, you know, on go routes and passes down the sideline, opens up the offense that had not existed with fields. And one thing Russell has always done, and everyone knows this, is throw a good, go

bowl, throw a great lollipop throw. And tonight it still feels like he's a little off. He's clearly nowhere near as good as he once was. But he hit some of those passes. And George Pickens was a major, major factor tonight that

he had not become one or had become less and less of one with fields. And then when they were doing that, it opened up the run game. And then they just took complete control of the Jets, whose defense has got to be one of the more fraudulent units going. But

like the Steelers can't win the AFC with Russell Wilson at quarterback. I think depending on the matchup, it would be tough for them to win a playoff game. But as the game played on, it was clear like okay, I get it. Even though Albert Breer tweeted he like quoted one

of Collins tweets that was like yeah, a lot of people around Pittsburgh because I think Colin asked like, did Russell look like this in practice? Because if he did, how did you start? him. And I just think he went with his gut. And that's part of being a leader. You got to make decisions where you don't have all the information. You go, I just know what is not working, and this is not going to be good when we play better teams. We're going to need to be a little more

potent on offense in the passing game. Because if you can explode, if you have explosive passes, then they have to honor it opens the line of scrimmage. And you can run the ball a little bit better, which is clearly what happened. Their passing game opened up the run game tonight. And listen, I'm not Russell Wilson hater in the sense of he's one of the most electric players I've ever seen live and I thought he was remarkable in the prime of his career. But the guy he's become doesn't really resemble that guy anymore. But he's better than Justin Fields as a passer.

Not really debatable in a half. And this is a guy who didn't play a game right all season long. missed basically all of training camp and what was he bench? The last several games of the season when Sean Payton when they didn't want to pay him the bonus. So props to Mike Talman

because sometimes like sometimes life you've got to risk shit. Sometimes like yeah things are going okay well if you want to take the next step you got to roll the dice and sometimes you know you roll a situation and it blows up in your face. That's part of being the leader.

It's part of being the head coach and sometimes you do it And you feel really good about it. Now they probably even feel better about their quarterback situation. The other thing they learned this week is when the situation was playing out, and clearly the players do it,

is that Fields wore it like a 10-year vet. How mature he was. He didn't go, you know, because early in training camp, he believed I should be the starting quarterback. And then when he was asked Wednesday or Thursday, he straight up said, like, I could have done more.

I could have been better. I wasn't good enough. It's like, damn, that was a really, really impressive comment. And that goes back to the culture thing. Because what was he going to say? Because that shit doesn't fly there. It's why when you start acting like an idiot, unless you're Antonio Brown and you're so damn good,

they kind of got to deal with you. But unless you're an elite all-pro player, you kind of got to either shape in or they kick you out, right? And Fields's been in that culture, and he's a high character guy, no problems to begin with. But it's like, God, he just talks like a stealer. He just blends right in. George Pickens is the one wild card,

but again, he's by far their best wide receiver. And I just, I think back to the Jets, man. You just, you can't fake it in football. And I think when owners get involved, do you know who the Jets really feel like right now? A little Dan Snyder, mid-2000s, Washington Redskins.

That's kind of the vibes they get. And I saw Gottlie put something out on social media. And he said that I think the Jets get an inordinate amount of coverage because such a large percentage of media people grow up in Long Island

are inclined to work or root for the Jets growing up. And I think there's probably some truth of that. I would just put New York as a whole even if you grew up a Giants fan. You still watch so much of the Jets as a kid. They're just part of who you are to your core. And I also think just we are inclined to talk about the bigger markets in New York.

But they get, like, at the end of the day, the Cowboys are a good example of like, we talk too much. They go to the playoffs a lot. They're in a ton of big games that matter. The Jets simply are not. Now, this year's a little different because Aaron Rogers is their quarterback. So they are a major conversation. But, like, they're a loss or two away from, no one gives a shit.

Like this is a joke Like this is an embarrassment And they get the Patriots next week So they'll win and be like everything's It's like that game couldn't mean any less to me It's irrelevant It does not matter So they could win that game 75 to nothing

I don't want to hear one opinion coming out about it If you want to give some opinions about this game And you know football wise Obviously Devante opens it a little bit up for Garrett Wilson if you can get Brees Hall a little involved but their defense, their offenses isn't that good. They scored 15 points tonight.

And the Steelers defense isn't exactly the 1975 version of the Steel Curtin. They scored 20 points last week and seven of them were on a fucking Hail Mary. So I think we have to acknowledge a couple things, right? Because we do it with all these other teams like are the bills, they have enough talent on defense? Are they explosive enough on offense?

Yet it comes to the Jets like, They're going to figure it out. No, they're not. They can't score points. They struggle to block for Aaron Rogers. Their defense can't stop anyone who has any talent on offense. Their head coach has literally never been a head coach up until like seven, I don't know, 12 days ago. Their offensive coordinator has been run out of multiple places.

Their superstar quarterback is 40, years old and no longer looks remotely close to what he once does or did yes brees hall and garrant wilson are really talented quinine williams could play for my squad any day of the week but like devonte just shows up gonna save the day that's got to work for the raiders i love devante big fan frisome state go dogs but give me a break hasan reddick is just going to show up let's go get them guys bullshit no way because all these teams, I watch the Chiefs take it to the 49ers. That Chiefs unit now has been together for years. Years, especially the defense.

They've been playing together for a long period of time. They all know everything about each other. Their families, what they like to eat, what pisses them off, what they think is funny. Think how much time they've spent around each other. OTAs, training camp, playoff games, Super Bowl trips. I'm talking years. It's like Asan Reddick should really help the defense. He should?

The fuck's he been doing? Where has he been? Do you think he's really been training hard? Because one thing I heard this morning on one of the shows, or maybe I read some article that was like, he's really sticking to his guns. He believed he was getting screwed. So if he believed he was getting screwed and he was just fired by his agent,

he probably thought they were never going to change the contract. So are we to believe? that he has just been training his ever-loven ass off, wherever he was? Because that would seem to be a little nuts to me. Now, he's a really talented player, but you're just saying you just show up October 21st and I expect you just have a huge impact.

It's like plug and play. When does it ever work like that unless you're a kicker? So I'm just tired of talking about this team because we're force-fed them because they play in all these primetime games because of Rogers and the way just they always feel like a headline story and then you watch them play

you're like the production does not outweigh like the importance that they feel on all of our you know football lives and they are a loss obviously they're going to be the Patriots

they lose the Texans like I'm sorry we're going to ban them up until they show any signs of life now if they win the next two games which the Texans are clearly leaking a little oil, looked a little off today. All of a sudden it'd be like, they're four and five.

They got, look at their schedule. To get to 10 wins, which I think they would have to do to make the playoffs, right? Steelers are going to be in the playoffs. Obviously, the Ravens are in the playoffs. So that's one division winner and a wildcard team. Chiefs are in the playoffs. You might want to Google the charger schedule.

They're winning in 11. Plus, so that's another wildcard spot. and a division winner. Bills are in and the Texans are in. Listen, Cincinnati's definitely not dead. There's going to be another team, I think, if we look around, and the Denver Broncos are four and three. So I think they would have to be almost...

This team's going eight and two? Cannot see it. I can't. Would I be shocked if the Steelers lost a couple games? Of course not. But when you build a five and two cushion, it's pretty easy to get the 10 wins. Because all you've got to do over the last 10 games,

is go 5 and 5. Where Tomlin gets a lot of credit for making this move because it worked. 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.

A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what you're saying. Yep, that's me, Clifford Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, the reactions, my journey from basketball to college football, or my career in sports media. Well, somewhere along the way,

this platform became bigger than I ever imagined. And now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for Raw, filtered 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

ton-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. Do you remember when Diana Ross double-tap little Kim's boobs at the VMAs? Or when Kanye said that George Bush didn't like black people. I know what you're thinking. What the hell does George Bush got to do with Little Kim?

Well, you can find out on the Look Back at it podcast. I'm Sam J. And I'm Alex Inman. Each episode, we pick it here, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. Including a recent episode with Mark Lamont Hill, waxing all about crack in the 80s. To be clear, 84's big to me, not just because of crack. I'm down to talk about crack all day, but just so y'all know. I mean, at this point, Mark, this is the second episode where we've discussed crack,

so I'm starting to see that there's a through line. We also have AIDS on the table right now, so. Thank you 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, Tript Fantine, Ryan Clark. Sometimes when we're in the pursuit of the thing, we get so wrapped up in the chase that we don't realize that we are in possession of the thing. And we're still chasing it. And we don't know when we've done enough.

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

I want you to just really be a good person. person. Join me, Keir Gaines, as we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast, Learn the Hardway. Open your free iHeartRadio app, search Learn the Hardway, and listen now. Speaking of coaching, like, it really hit me this, for some reason, I couldn't really sleep. I get up probably at like 6.45 in the morning. The game had already started, go out, make some coffee, just kind of sit down, pour a big Stanley, and just watch the game for a little bit. And at first you're like, God, well, the Jags is going to lose to the Patriots, and the answer

was a hard no. And the Jags ended up working them. And there was a moment in that game late in the second half when the Patriots were down nine points, and they scored a touchdown. Or they scored a touchdown to make it nine. So if they kick an extra point, they would be down eight. And Gerard Mayo went for two. He didn't get it.

And then I'm watching today, the kind of watching. I mean, I had the game on a smaller TV. The commanders versus the Carolina Panthers, which was, I don't know, the final score. If you told me to guess, I'd guess 50 to 3. They absolutely, I mean, ruined them. And that's with Jaden Daniels getting injured and missing a large portion of the game,

and Marcus Marriota came in, and it looked exactly like Jaden Daniels. Think about last year. The Bears are not your normal number one overall drafting team, right? They got that pick from Carolina. But the second team was Washington, and the third team was the Patriots. Both teams sucked.

One team drafts Jaden Daniels. The other team drafts Drake May. Now, in fairness, one team starts the guy, the other guy goes with Jacoby Reset for a little bit, and he sucks. But if you just watch the two teams and even remove the records, right? You just go, you know what Washington has going for them?

I don't think they're going to probably win a playoff game. I'd still bet against that because of the overall talent on their team. They have been winning against bad teams, and you deserve credit for that. We'll see as they play better teams. But we saw them play the Ravens, and it was one-sided, though the Ravens are probably, you know, right there with the Chiefs, the best teams in the league. Think about the coaching for Washington.

They got a real head coach. who you could nitpick of Middala, he took them to the Super Bowl. Then he became the Dallas defensive coordinator, and they had one of the best defense in the league for like two and a half years. They hired Kingsbury, who should be your head coach, but he's an excellent coordinator. And you watch them play and you just go, God, they're just well-coached. Obviously, they got a couple good players, and their rookie quarterback's been fantastic,

but they're not exactly rolling out superstars at all these positions. They're depending on a lot of young players. And you just watch them and go, God, they're doing a really, really good job. And then you watch the Patriots and you go, do these people have any clue what they're doing? Like, are we sure that Drake May is in safe hands? Obviously, their head coach, who was an impressive player, team captain, so was Antonio Pierce.

Look at the Raiders. They're a fucking joke. Dan Campbell was a marginal backup. It doesn't matter how good you were as a player. for being a coach. Look at Bill Belichick. There's no way in the prime of his career, at whatever age you wanted to pick,

he could have taken one snap in Division I football, let alone the NFL. So what you did as a player in the NFL means nothing for what you're going to be as a head coach. And you watch the Patriots and you go, listen, I understand they don't have much talent. I'm not expecting them to win many games.

But can they ever do impressive things? and then you watch the commanders I don't think they have much talent and I watch them every week and you go God they're making Marcus Marriota look good this is why Brian Dayball won coach of the year a couple years ago because you're like

who is on this giant's team all of a sudden they won nine games and then won a playoff game one of the most remarkable coaching jobs I've ever seen coaching matters and when you hire people and you hire the wrong people and you get guys that just

are what feels like in over their heads. Antonio Pierce and Gerard Mayo. Those guys were stud players, championship level players, team captains, heartbeat of the team. But there's a big difference between doing that with shoulder pads and a helmet on

than being the head coach of an NFL team, week in, week out. Like Dan Quinn, I doubt he ever could have taken a snap in the NFL. In training camp with a third. threes, let alone in a regular season game. But he knows what he's doing as a coach.

Why? Because they're two completely different things. They don't parallel each other at all. So I just, it's just crazy how much coaching matters. Speaking of coaching, I think Shane Steichen's really good. He's proven that over the years. He knows how to work with quarterbacks. But I do think there are certain players that if they have the best,

coaching possible. If they had the most talent around them possible. They were on like dream teams, pro bowl rosters, they still wouldn't be good enough. This stuff's really, really hard. And there are all types of really,

really competitive industries that certain human beings just aren't talented enough and get weeded out. Not because they don't care, not because they don't have the intellect to succeed there, not because of the effort or the work ethic, just simply because whatever business, they don't have the talent.

You see this a lot in sports and you see this a lot in music. Though with technology, you can fake it a little bit more in music. But you definitely see it in pro sports. Because once you get to the highest level, you get weeded out if you're not good enough. And I'm watching Anthony Richardson today going,

I want to like this guy. Like everything I heard coming out, people, all my friends in the scouting world that are on like the good teams that were never going to draft them, really liked them. They said once you meet him at the combine Everyone was so impressed with them

Obviously the physical gifts speak for themselves But he's a terrible football player right now Today when you take Huntley Who got injured in the game And Tim Boyle who had one of the worst finishing passes You'll ever see Threw it out of bounds on 4th Down When 15 of 26

For 115 yards Which I think if I just said Tyler Huntley, Tim Boyle Are your quarterbacks that are going to play in a game it's going to be hard to be worse than that in any NFL game all season long. Anthony Richardson went 10 for 24 for 130 yards in the same game.

I don't believe the stats are actually as bad as what I witnessed. Somehow they won. They got very lucky to win. I thought, I understand why the Colts are playing them. They drafted him fourth overall. The only way he's going to improve,

prove, in theory, is to play through it. But there is a chance that if you just keep rolling him out, he will continue to be bad. And he will never get better. I think there is above a coin flip, well above a 50-50 chance. This is who he kind of is. And in fairness to Shane Sykin during this game,

he kind of acknowledged it and treated him like a running back. And this is a guy who gets injured all the time, and it was clear, like, if he gets injured, so be it. We can't in some must-passing situations have them throw the ball. If they truly want to win on a weekly basis, it try to make the playoffs, they would go with Joe Flacco. That gives them the best chance to win. If they just keep rolling this out, which I, like I said, I understand,

they are just trying to make the guy that they drafted really high work. And they should just come out and say that, which they won't because that's not the way it works, but they don't need to because we all know it. because if you keep, they could barely beat the Miami Dolphins, who without Tuatong of Iloa is just easily one of the worst teams in the NFL.

Who played Snoop Huntley, who's, you know, wasn't bad for the Ravens, but you watch them days pretty terrible. And Tim Boyle, who's even worse? And they could barely win that game. I mean, it was 10-10 going down the stretch of the fourth quarter.

That's an embarrassing win. You thought the Eagles against the Browns was bad This is worse This is worse It really is And I think by the end of the season They might have to acknowledge Not that we picked the wrong guy

Because they picked it knowing What they were getting into A major project A great unknown We're swinging for the fences We're going to try to coach him up But this guy might just be someone That you can't coach up

He's just not accurate enough He does not have the touch He just can't make the throws Like every once in a while of the night, even Russell Wilson, you saw a couple nice little touch throws. Saw some bad ones, but he also saw some good ones. Like he has it in there. Obviously, Rogers has it.

Any starting quarterback for a long period of time has to have some of that. No one care. You can't throw 100 miles an hour on every single pass. And that's what it feels like. So Colts fans, it's wild ride. Sucks because you know, like, would we have won this game like 30 to 10

if Joe Flacco was playing? And the answer is probably yes. Okay, one of the big stories today Was Deshawn Watson I was watching the game He goes to you know Plant his foot You immediately see that little Achilles

Boop Over obvious ripped Achilles Cartered off the field Now I got about All the games going on at once So I can only listen to the volume on one game So in the morning slate I was basically going back

Between the Lions Vikings game And the Packer Houston game. Early on, I went to Little Eagles Giants, but as that game got away, I didn't listen to that game. So I just listened to two volumes,

because I can't listen to three volumes at once. I just listened to one volume. So I wasn't listening to anything. So I see them get carted out of the field, the team comes up, don't really think anything of it. As the day goes on, everything starts going viral

about how they boot them off the field. Like, yeah, not surprising. Not surprising. And then all the comments come out. James went on James, if you watch Jameses two minute,

kind of like, uh, rant slash soliloquy slash diatribe, I don't, I didn't even know how to describe it. It feels like he's putting on a skit. Or like acting, you know, like, going to one of those reads

to try to be an actor for a television show. That's what he feels like he's do. He's really playing the character. But Miles Garrett, who was just being Miles Garrett in the press conference, uh, was pretty pissed up. And he said a lot of things.

And one of the comments that he had was, the Deshaun has been a model citizen throughout his college career. And most, he used the words, not mine, most of this professional career. It's hard not to laugh when he said, and most of this professional career. I just think this. Because I think it's most players, and I, We'll see the media takes. There are going to be some that are crushing the fans because they love to.

Now, I think opinions are going to be all over the map on this. But I know this. There is not another player in that game on the Browns or on the Bengals. Coaches, sideline people, the chain gang, any human that could have got a leg shattered, that could have popped in Achilles, that could have been knocked out, that if they would have gone off the field on a cart and given a thumbs up, from Jamar Chase to Joe Burrow to the Bengals, you name it.

There's not another human that that crowd, like any crowd, would have given a standing ovation to. But this fan base, they traded for this guy and they gave a historic amount of money and he was immediately suspended

for 11 games for the massage therapist. I think the number's up to 28 total. So we immediately get this, I'm just putting myself in a Browns fan shoe. We immediately get this quarterback, who's been good for the Texans, that he's immediately suspended. And our owner and our front office fudge the contract because we knew it was coming and we only paid him a million bucks. 11 games.

We've seen guys get in trouble. We've seen guys get, you know, three, four, whatever. 11 games, which is kind of a weird number, but it's a lot. That's a fucking massive number. So all of a sudden, 11 games, all the stuff going off the field. So it's like, okay, every single person in that stadium thinks the guy's a scumbag. But listen, you watch sports, you root for teams long enough, you root for some scumbacks. So it's like, hey, if you're good, whatever.

Well, then this guy starts playing, and he's the opposite of good, he's atrocious. Statistically, he's legitimately one of the worst quarterbacks in the history of the NFL. This season he was. And I would say over the course of those couple games or six games when he came back, and then last year before he got injured, it couldn't have been going much worse. So it's like, wait, I'm a Browns fan. I've been watching this team for my whole life. Let's just put me in those shoes.

I'm 40 years old. I've seen a lot of bad football. I've rooted for a lot of teams that have lost, but you know what? We've had guys that find it easy root for. Nick Chub, stud. Joe Thomas over the years. Bad ass.

Right? Now, Miles Garrett, baller. I want that guy on my squad. But I'm supposed to just like this guy. Obviously, no one in that city wants that guy on their team. They're stuck with him. Then he gets injured, which actually makes it worse, because any of these potential, like,

could we get rid of them and include some draft picks, that guy is yours. It is over. Careers a wrap. Like, this thing's done. But I just don't blame them for booing him. I don't think they're booing him. One, he wasn't going to die.

Fucking Taurus Achilles. He'll be fine. They're booing the situation. Do you know who they were really booing? The owner. that was an F you to the owner from making the fans watch a guy that every single person is the same opinion of

which isn't good from a character standpoint who is one of the worst players and this is a team who has watched crappy quarterbacks they're not expecting Rogers or Fav to come running out that tunnel for the Browns but for 230 million just a functional starter wouldn't have been great and this guy was awful

bad guy worst player and I just I just don't think it's very shocking and anyone criticizing them I just don't think any other player any other person

in the entire league in any stadium is getting booed in that situation except him here's also what I think I think you could put him in another stadium I think he probably gets booed there too

I actually feel pretty confident he gets booed in any other stadium So it's like, this is a Deshawn Watson thing. Not a fan thing, not a city thing. And it's because of the owner. Because the only reason that he's on the team is because the owner was willing to give him that contract. He pops his Achilles.

Obviously, the season's over. I doubt we ever see him play another snap for the Browns. He absolutely, it was like the equivalent of the Latonza heist, absolutely robbed the Browns. I mean, it's an all-time, it's highway robbery. Right? It's just props to Mogeta as agent because they just, they bent over the Browns and they took all the money. And they never thought twice about giving any of it back. No matter how many balls they threw to the other team, no matter how many balls skipped the grounds, no matter how many lawsuits came their way. It's all guaranteed, baby. A couple other quick things. It's crazy when Gino Smith plays well. When Gino Smith plays well, which he never does against the 49ers.

But then he plays other teams like today and just watching them make some throw. You're like, God, this guy, he's just all over the map. He's got to be a frustrating player to coach because they are so explosive on offense. Kenneth Walker is such a good multi-dimensional player. He's a great running back. He can catch the ball. I mean, D.K., I think he's got to be one of the most unique freaks in the history of the NFL. The size, the speed, the power, the athleticism.

He's just an all-time athletic. outlier. And you watch him today. I know he got dinged up toward the end, but he made a catch in the middle of the game where he goes up, you know, ahead of a DB. It's like, what a monster. And I think their coaching staff's really good. Now with the Niners losing, they're in first place, but it kind of just hit with Gino plays well, their coaching staff's good, their talent's good. They can beat a lot of teams. And you leave that game going, is it land any good? Is it land any good? Listen, you lose some games. They got worked in that game. And you look back, it's earlier in the season, me and Stucky talked about this on Thursday.

Their record could easily be the other way right now. I mean, easily. So I'm not, I still like some of the players on their team. And, you know, I'm not just selling all my Kirkgo cousins stock, but they got worked today. And last but not least, it's got to be a good feeling as a judge. GM to make a trade. And when you got a good team, it's just easier to be aggressive with trade. So it's not, it probably wasn't that difficult for Brandon Bean to trade for Amari.

But it's still like, you hope it works, right? You want to look good. You want the guy to be productive. And then you get him and you look up and he scores a touchdown. And on the play, when you watch it in slow motion, he did not know what he was doing. He had to look at Keon Coleman. Coleman did like a, he tried to do like a sneaky little like, run a post, you know, D.Bs are standing right there.

It didn't even matter. Ran right to the goal post. Touchdown, Josh Allen. Amari Cooper. So props to Brandon Bean, props the bills, make a trade, media touchdown. Thanks for listening, everybody. I will see you. Well, I won't see you because I can't see you.

You'll probably hear me Tuesday morning or Monday night. If you want to watch YouTube, we usually put. post a video, we will be reacting to all the Monday night games, because there's two, so buckle up, but have a great day. Talk soon. The volume. Another podcast from some SNL

late night comedy guy, not quite unhumored me with Robert Smigel 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 it. on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the

I-Hard radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what you're saying. Yep, that's me. 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, unfills of conversations with athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated.

So let's get to it. Listen to The Clifford Show on the 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. On the Look Back at it podcast. For 1979, that was a big moment for me. 84's big to me. I'm Sam Jay. And I'm Alex English.

Each episode, we pick a here, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. With our friends, fellow comedians, and favorite authors. Like Mark Lamont Hill on the 80s. It was a wild year. It was a wild year. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

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's really not safe to have anywhere, but you're having him 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,

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