The Herd with Colin Cowherd - 3 & Out - Sirianni's relationship with Hurts, Bears Hard Knocks Debut, 49ers work out Chosen

Episode Date: August 8, 2024

John reacts to a story stating that Jalen Hurts has lost respect for Eagles Head Coach Nick Sirianni and if this relationship is able to be fixed or has it been fractured beyond repair. Later, John dives into the first episode of Hard Knocks featuring Caleb Williams and the Bears, and the 49ers work out Robbie "Anderson" Chosen and what if anything it means in regards to the Brandon Aiyuk situation. Later, John answers your questions in this episode's mailbag segment. 9:28 - Nick Sirianni and Jalen Hurts relationship 23:50 - The Bears and Hard Knocks 26:10 - 49ers work out Robbie Anderson 33:43 - Other NFL news and notes 41:32 - 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.

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Good to be seen. I guess you're listening, but regardless, hopefully everyone's having a good day. A lot going on in the National Football League. We've had my guy from Fantasy pros on a couple days ago. We dove into a lot of things, all things fantasy. We had a podcast yesterday that kind of broke down the different teams when it came to Brandon Iyuk. Since that podcast came out, Iyuk basically declined the Patriots offer slash they realized and pulled out.

So by the time you're listening to this, who knows, maybe he's been traded. If he gets traded sometime on Thursday, I will, if I'm around, I'll surely put up a instant reaction video on the YouTube channel. But who knows? I mean, this feels like it could just go on forever.

One of those things. Other than that, there was an article today that came out about Nick Siriani and Jalen Hertz. and their fractured and unhealthy relationship in 2023. So I read it and want to talk about it. I watched Hard Knocks on Tuesday night. I might be pulling a 180 on the series,

and I've been its biggest critic, but I've kind of changed my mindset, and I enjoyed it. So we'll talk a little bit about that. And just ultimately, I think you just have to look at it differently if you're a football junkie. and embrace what it's become,

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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 down the GameTime app today. Last minute tickets, lowest prices guaranteed. Well, it's flying around on social media today. I was scrolling pro football talk and I said, you know what?

I'm going to read this article. It was on ESPN.com and it was about Nick Siriani and Jalen Hertz. And obviously the big story of the article was that they had a fractured and unhealthy relationship in 2023, as well as Jalen didn't respect him from an X's and O's standpoint. At least that was my biggest takeaway And I would say the most salacious part of the article By a wide By a pretty wide margin

Because let's face it The most important people Once the season starts The GM doesn't have as much control The owner can't do anything It's your head coach and your quarterback And then falls in line to your coordinators, right? And Siriani's lucky to have a job

We all know that I thought he was going to get fired after the season. So did most people. So did some people in the Philadelphia Eagles building. But he survived. I don't think it's possible, and I've been in these positions, where you work for somebody and you don't respect them. Football, like a lot of jobs in this country,

can be pretty aggressive, can be contentious, can be uncomfortable. Like that's part of any high-level industry, especially ones like this, where there's a ton of money on the line. People have big egos. People, I guess football more than most industries. A lot of screaming back and forth. It's a violent sport. It's full of aggressive people.

So to me, people screaming at each other. It's why when Aaron Rogers and Garrett Wilson or coaches screaming it means nothing to me. Welcome. Even the article. with some of the Dionne Sanders stories. Like, I don't care. This is not your normal workplace environment when it comes to interactions between two people,

whether it be two players, whether it be a coaching player, whether it be a coach and coach. I'm pretty numb to that. It means nothing to me. So there have been clips over the years of like Jalen and Siriani yelling each other. I don't care.

Honestly, that's what I expect. Same with any team. It doesn't do much for me. But when you lose respect for a coach or for any person that's in a superior position to you, whether you're making $50 million like Jalen Hertz or whether you're me and you, and you don't respect your boss, you don't have to agree with someone above you all the time. But when I lose respect, like, it's hard for me to listen to anything he says. and I think the crutch of this whole thing was

it all revolved around X's and O's. Can you imagine? Like, I bet Matt Stafford and Sean McVay always haven't had the greatest days. Jimmy Garoppel and Kyle Shanahan were at each other's next non-stop. Patrick Mahomes and Andy Reid feel like they have the perfect marriage,

but I bet there are some tense days. Do you think those quarterbacks, and I just use those as examples, ever once, questioned those coaches' ability to scheme an offense, those coaches' intellectual capacity for football? Obviously not. And listen, Siriani is not like those guys.

He can't call plays. We've seen him attempt to, and it was a disaster. Last season ended with basically the building on fire, and he hired a new offensive coordinator. He said, I'm going to be completely hands-off. Even Mike McCarthy, who has much maligned, Cowboys coach, last year of his contract, people love and part of it is the brand all over him 24-7-365. Here's what you cannot argue about Mike.

He can call an offense. Just did last year. They were pretty good. And he did for Green Bay many times. I know Mike McCarthy can be an offensive coordinator. Nick Siriani cannot. And part of this article was about like people started freelancing, people started doing their own thing, no one was listening to anyone. Because listen, there are a ton of coaches that are successful in this league that don't call plays.

John Harbaugh, Jim Harbaugh, Dan Campbell. But one thing they are great, Mike Tomlin is controlling the room, keeping the chaos to a minimum, holding a standard, driving people. There was a comment in the hard knocks from Sabin, which we'll get into in a minute, but Sabin basically said, people aren't born to be champions, whether it be in football, whether it be in life. People are born to be average. Get by, just survive. If you want them to be great, you have to do it, meaning you have to coach it.

So Siriani, my question has always been, what does he do? seriously. He's some great motivator? Well, you wouldn't put him in the Harbaugh, Mike Tomlin, Dan Campbell category. He's definitely not a scheme guy for an offense. One thing, and Jim Harbaugh is a former quarterback, but really he's like a hybrid.

He feels more like a defensive lineman. Same with Dan Campbell, former tight end, but if you just saw him, he'd be like, oh, yeah, I bet he played D-Tackle back in his prime. John Harbaugh and Mike Tomlin are defensive guys. But how often do offensive head coaches are not super dialed in on the scheme? Historically. Think about historically. Mike Holmgren, Mike Shanahan, like all the best offensive coaches, even if they take a year off or whatever, can always call the offense.

Even this year, Brian Dayball's like, I'm taking it back, I'm calling the offense. Why? He's done it countless times in his past, college and pro. If my offensive head coach Isn't some elite leader Which let's face it, he's not Can't dominate when it comes to schematics, we got problems So, and I'm not acting like Jalen's perfect Takes two to tango

They probably are both Responsible That's the way any Situation usually goes But how do you blame him? Like Jalen's had a front row seat of elite schematics at Alabama

where the best of the best were coaching him on the offensive side of the ball and he knew his head coach while a defensive guy is arguably one of the greatest defensive schematic guys in the history of the sport

especially when it comes with the secondary in Nick Sabin and then he played for you know a year and a half with Shane Stike can call in the offensive place so he knows what an elite play caller looks like I just think this thing

Now, I'm still high on the Eagles because I think they have a lot of talent, but one thing they hit on in this article because everyone's in good spirits right now, clearly the roster is really good. What happens when they hit adversity? And it's the one thing that gives me pause that will they turn on this guy?

I think most guys on the team, like Nick's erionic clearly personally. But like when you're in the trenches and you're in the fire and you've lost a couple games, what could he bring to the table besides some Rudy Rudiger speech, besides some crazy analogy in front of the team on a Wednesday. I'm talking about a game plan to give you an advantage.

That's what the great coaches on Sundays do. Urban Meyer in college was an incredible recruiter and a great motivator. But then he came to Sunday and none of that shit really mattered. Because Monday through Saturday is a chess game against your opponent. it's a thinking man's sport. Of course you have to push guys and make sure you're practicing hard. But you win and lose on Sunday by play calls, offensively and defensively.

It's why I think it's such a fascinating sport. It's why even beside the head coach, we talk about the coordinators non-stop. God, that was a dumb blitz. Why can't they cover this guy? God, why are they running the ball? much. Because you know, I talked to someone the other day. In baseball, we argue so much, actually Adam the producer of this podcast, that, you know, everyone's so critical always of baseball

managers in the playoffs. I can't believe. Aaron Boone or Dave Roberts pulled that guy from the game. You can't? It's not his choice. It's being run by the front office. Yet no one in football when the Niners grew up or the Chiefs grew up or the Broncos grew up on offense ever go like, God, the GM, you know for a fact who called that play and whether it worked or whether it didn't.

And whether that led to a win or whether that led to a loss. It's a huge part of this podcast. Once the game start, we talk a lot about individual play calls, individual play calls. Obviously how a team starts, how ready they are for a game,

And then like most games in the NFL, they're relatively close, and a play here or a play there are the difference in the game. And Siriani has nothing to do with that. Jalen Hertz, think about this. Like Tom Brady is a good example. Him and Bill butted heads for a long time. But one thing that was never argued, he never lost respect for him, when it came to X's and O's. That's insane. I mean, that's crazy.

It'd be like working for, you know, Warren Buffett and like, he does something to piss you off. Like, yeah, just, I question his ability in the market. It's literally the job of a coach. That's why it always drives me nuts when a head coach gets hired from a coordinator position. And then they no longer do that. Robert Sala is a great example. He was literally hired because of how good the defense was in San Francisco. Then he gets the jets.

He's like, I'm just going to be a CEO. Like, we didn't hire you to be a CEO. I want you to run the defense and do that. You're the head coach. But the reason you're a head coach is because you have an expertise doing one individual thing and then they stop doing it.

I don't know. I just articles like this don't necessarily make me nervous because I'm not picking the Eagles to win the Super Bowl and last year was a joke with their coaching staff and they still won 11 games. Now, obviously they started well, but I still believe they're going to be good but this is something that doesn't just go away

usually when you I've been a position now I never had a guy of Nick Siriani's like fame that I lost respect for but when you lose respect for someone above you you usually don't gain it back you usually don't gain it back because deep down you know he just doesn't know this guy's not good enough

this guy can't help me. Why? Because there's a part of you that thinks he's clueless. Think about that. That's usually what it is, at least in my experience. Jalen Hertz, one part of this article, which I actually thought was kind of cool, is he called Wink Martindale

after the season before the Tampa Bay playoff game. And asked him for advice, essentially. Like, what do you see when you coach against me? Obviously, Wink for two years was the day. Giants defensive coordinator, and they played him in a playoff game. So he had game plan for him countless times. And Wink said, in my 40 years of coaching, I've never had a player reach out. Well, you wouldn't have to reach out if you could lean on your head coach.

Brock Purdy, Patrick Mahomes, all these guys. Matt Stafford wouldn't have to reach out. They would just reach out to their boss, to the guy that they lean on. What do we need to do? and they would have the answers. That's literally their job. Now, I'm not saying it was wrong for Jalen to do that. I think that gives a lot of insight into him as a guy

as a person driven to be the best he can. I also think it gives a lot of insight is he doesn't think anyone in the building has the answers for him to help him out, which is pretty scary. And this is a very slippery slope this year. Like I said, I thought he was fired at the end of the season. I thought Bill Belichick was going to be their head coach.

And that is definitely still on the table this year. And making the playoffs will not be good enough. If they're won and done in the playoffs and the same questions kind of come back, what is Siriani doing? I don't see, because you're going to get to the point, like is Jeffrey Lerie going to give them an extension? And here's the other problem for Siriani now.

It's pretty well established. If Kellyn Moore has success and their offense is awesome again, it was under Shane Steichen. Because let's face it, if they had a redo, which would have been crazy at the time, but if they had a redo today, they would do it. They would have fired Nick Siriani for Shane Steichen. Obviously, that would have been unprecedented.

They weren't in a position to do that. But after a year, looking back, what the right move would have been. And if Kellyn Moore succeeds this year, it's him succeeding. Siriani has nothing to do with it. It's not like he's picking the players. we know Howie is the grand poo ball when it comes to personnel.

So you just go, we just paying this guy $7, $8 million to be the head coach on our website? So the Eagles are a team that everyone's going to be watching. Another team everyone's watching. I've talked a lot of shit over the years about Hard Knocks because I thought how great the show was early on and the insight, how it motivated me. I wanted to be part of professional football because really how cool it looked, you know, behind the scenes.

and personnel meetings, deal with GMs and head coaches. And then they just completely got away from that. And it became usually an episode about some undrafted free agent, an episode about an assistant coach. It just, it became like a reality television show for demies when it comes to football. And I think I'm cool with that. Like, I watched the first episode of the Chicago Bears, and I enjoyed it. And I went in with the mindset of like, I'm not looking for much.

I'm not expecting much controversy. I'm not expecting to see guys get cut as the show goes on. I'm not expecting much. I'm definitely not expecting any GM head coaching meetings about guys struggling, guys pissing them off. Like, those days are over. But I thought it was an easy watch. And I think the one thing they've done the last two years,

it's reality television show. That's what it is. And they've brought stars. Last year was Aaron Rogers. Couldn't miss an episode. This year, it's Caleb Williams. And I liked it. I enjoyed it.

I'm not going to get too hyped or more bullish or bearish on the team based on clips. Like Caleb Williams was up and down in practices. He's a rookie. Football's hard. Their defense is good. Of course. That's what every quarterback would look like in his situation. Iberfluse, his kind of new image.

Kind of enjoyable. New beard, haircut, in the facility, looking cool. I just thought it was a really, really easy watch. And this is the same guy that would have blasted that last year. I think I've just embraced

this is what it is. And clearly people like it. It's not going away. And the key to this show is you can't have random teams. You have to have stars. And it feels like they got some stars. And I like that first episode a lot.

I've seen just throughout the last couple days, these teams work out players. And today I saw a headline, the 49ers are working out. I don't know what the hell his name is now. It used to be Robbie Anderson, the speedster from Temple. And I think a lot of people go,

oh, does that mean they're trading Brandon? At you can, hell, they might. By the time you're listening to this, Brandon out you could be on another team. But when you work in an NFL front office, the GM, the assistant GM, and the pro scouts, have a list.

And once everyone gets cut, they will have a list of all the practice squad guys. And you can always steal a practice squad guy and put them on your roster. But right now there's a list of free agents. Basically, they're called guys on the street. They're not technically on the street like they're homeless. Most of them are veteran players made some money. And let's just, the numbers can vary, five guys, ten guys, whatever, per position. So in training camp, we're a.

a preseason game, you lose a starter or a backup, you might call that guy and want to sign them. But part of what you do in training camp, you try to do, and you definitely do this during the season, is you bring in guys at different positions, especially different positions if you have some injuries, and put them through a workout. You might not even sign them that day. You just want to gauge, this guy is one of our top free agents at the wide receiver position, at the safety position at the running back position. Let's see if he's in shape. Now, there is a level of guy, you know, a couple years ago like Odell Beckham on the street,

he's probably not working out for you. But guys like chosen, Robbie Anderson, you put him through a workout. And you go, yeah, he still looks pretty good. If we needed, we'd be interested in signing them. And maybe you have a need that day and you sign them. But every day you go to practice, you know, now it's all probably on your phone. But we used to print out the hard sheet for Howie, and you're just prepared that if you lose a guy,

you immediately call two or three of those guys and try to set up a workout. And if the guy is at a level in which he's not going to work out, you might just sign him. But you have to be prepared because one thing I learned when I was in the NFL, and you see it every single year as just a fan or someone that watches a lot of football,

a position of strength can go to a position of weakness. like that within a couple snaps, one broken leg, one ACL, and then the backup gets dinged up. All of a sudden you're like, God, we loved our offensive line. Now we're down two starters. So things can snowball fast. You have to be able to pivot. Now, clearly within a couple weeks, things dramatically change, the big cutdown, and there are a lot of names available.

A lot of guys go to practice squad to take a guy from a practice squad and put him on your active, you have to put him on your active roster if he's not on your team. So once the season starts and the practice squads are created, if I want to steal the number one practice squad guy at my board on my board, because I need a guard, and I am the Dallas Cowboys, and the Green Bay Packers have my favorite guard, and he's on the practice squad. For me to sign that guy, I have to put him on my active roster. Now, he can do two things.

Green Bay can basically go, we don't have a spot right now on the active roster, but we drafted you in the sixth round. You know we like you. We will bump your salary up. You can make their salary a regular season salary. And the first time we have an injury, you'll come right up. And he can choose to say they also could just if they have an opening or put a guy on IR and elevate him as well.

But a lot of guys change from practice squads to regular rosters because you get a huge pay raise. There's a big difference between making whatever they make. I think I look last year was like 150 grand or something. And the league minimum for a rookie is, I think, like, 850 or not 820 grand. So you're looking at 4xing your money. And obviously you've got to divide that by 17, but still, it's a big jump. And that's kind of what is about to happen when the big cutdowns happen.

And you also see players, random guys, get cut throughout the weeks now. And typically that is you brought in some undrafted free agents. and you can tell pretty quickly that he's not good enough. And so you just cut him. And you're also doing him a favor because you allow him maybe to get on with another team. There's a lot of time left. Maybe he gets to playing some preseason games.

Because once the season starts, if you're a practice squad guy, your resume is stopped. Because the only way I can evaluate you, now I can do it off college, right? Whatever my grade was for you in college, like why Jerry Jones traded for Tray Lance. It wasn't the regular season.

season action that he played because he wasn't very good. It was based on that they had a really high grade on him. And they go, hey, we had a top 10 grade on this guy and we get him for a fourth rounder. That seems like a good deal. It was very transactional that way. But when you evaluate the practice squad guys, all you have to go off is the preseason film.

And now with technology, if it's John Middilcoff, the starting linebacker for the Houston Texans, number 56, I type in all of his plays and I watch them. and if it gets to the offseason and he gets cut and he hasn't played a regular season game, that's the only thing I have to go off of. So that's what all these teams are going to be doing is basically evaluating every player once the preseason starts. That is a potential cut. So basically every guy that's drafted from the fourth through the seventh round, any undrafted free agent that got a signing bonus,

and then any kind of veteran player who is on the bubble, make the team. So when the cuts happen, if you go, God, we really like this guy in the preseason and he got cut and we need that position, we can acquire him.

So that, it's a very, very busy time watching preseason film for the scouting community these next three weeks. It's actually gotten a lot easier with less preseason games and that last week of preseason,

you get a couple days in the last week of August, which when I was there, you didn't have as much time because you had four preseason games, and then after that fourth preseason game, that I think everyone played on Thursday, the cuts happened within the next couple of days,

and it's kind of a free-for-all. So you're just, you are watching a ton of guys. Now, technology has made it easier with the ability to kind of, you know, just pick targets or pick, you know, times a corner was thrown at, or pick tackles or whatever. But still, I mean, you got to do a lot of work,

and this is, when you find some diamonds. Maybe a guy gets cut, you get in the, you know, that was drafted in the fifth round and they wanted to put in the practice squad and you go, I think this guy can be a backup force right now. And it happens all the time. And then we look back on six years, you're like, God, so-and-so cut them, it happens. I remember at the Super Bowl, I was hanging out with a buddy from the chiefs. And we were talking about Charverius Ward. He's like, yeah, the way we got him was his rookie season. We traded the Cowboys for him. And then obviously he went on to be a several your starter for the Chiefs, and he got paid a lot of money by the 49ers.

And again, it's not even, it could happen to any team. A lot of teams cut guys that go on to have careers other places. It's not like Jerry Jones fault, but it just happens. You never know. A couple other NFL news and notes, Andy Reid, the Chiefs are pretty enjoyable preseason watch for as long as the starters are playing, because you know they're going to play. He claims, and this can always change, right, if Patrick Mahon,

Holmes, they get the ball first. He leads him on a touchdown drive, and he could pull him. But he did say they'll play a quarter. And I saw the floor had a quote, because I think Jordan Love, Jordan Love playing the preseason, I think he might. He said there's value, and I do agree with him. There is value of preparing to play a game mentally, of just getting in the mindset the two days before, a day before the way you prepare in terms of your food, your sleep, and just kind of having the juices is flowing, even if you only play a series, that lead-up, so you don't just start the regular season just zero to 60. So Andy's playing his guys a quarter.

Joe Burrow is going to play. So this, listen, I don't know how long, and you never know, but like, if Joe Burrow plays three series, even if I don't watch the game live, I'll go YouTube it or go to my NFL app and watch those three series. It's fun. Kyler Murray will not play. Don't totally blame him. Last year coming off an injury.

Justin Fields, because Russell and the calf is kind of being weird, is going to start the game for the Steelers. And one story, it's really crazy that the Patriots during the dynasty, and this happens during any dynasty, the warriors had the same thing with Curry, Clay, and once Durant came, when you are a great team, you can get guys to take a little less to try to win. When you suck,

you have to overpay, and even then, guys aren't that interested, the Patriots. Schefter tweeted out that they pulled out. I got news for you. Brandon and I, you didn't want to play there and wasn't going to accept their contract.

And Matt Mayoko, who was all over this story, no team, and again, he might be traded by the time you listen to this, offered him more. than the Patriots did. The Niners obviously offering the least. The Steelers number, actually, I've heard, was closer to the Niners.

The Browns more than the Steelers. And the Patriots offered the most. And you didn't want to go there. Don't totally blame them, right? The team's awful. Why would you want to go from a great team to a bad team? And it's not like it's some no-tax state. It's expensive to live there.

But he said no. And then obviously, once the Patriots find that out, they're like, yeah, we're out. And listen, it's not the Patriots are going through a rebuild. To me, they got very, very lucky that Brandon Iuk had no interest. I thought the same thing about Washington. You are in no business to make deals like this. You do not need to trade for players and then pay them in year one of a rookie quarterback,

who is not even going to start. Just take a deep breath, reset your team, and figure out what you have. have. You need those assets. And it wasn't going to cost the Patriots a first round pick. But still, even if you had to give like Matthew Judon in a second or whatever the trade would be. I don't know, I'm just a hypothetical. Why would you give anything? You're not in the position. If you can ever sign this guy and he's available in the free agent market, then dramatically overpay. But when you're awful and your roster isn't good and you're staring down the barrel of being a team drafting in the top five again to do moves like this make no sense.

Hell, looking back, it didn't make sense for the Raiders to trade for Devante and they had Derek Carr and some pieces. The Patriots have no business even sniffing around this one. And listen, you could argue sniffing around that's part of these guys' jobs. Okay.

But that would have been, they got lucky to me that IUC had no interest in going there because is there a team in a league that's more players away than the Patriots? so to give up any draft capital. You can say, hey, they're getting rid of Kendrick Bourne. Now, the deal would have been Kendrick Bourne, Matthew Judon,

and like a fourth, maybe like we're not even giving up that much. We're giving up a player that's not going to be on this team next year, Judon, Kendrick Bourne, whatever, we're just replacing him with IEuk and a mid-round pick. But I don't know if the Niners are accepting anything less even with players than you've got to include a second-day pick. And I think the Patriots got lucky when it comes to this. transaction. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged. It's the enhanced

games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the I-Hard radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, it's Edwin Castro, also known as Castro 1021. And I'm Kunky, his best friend, and business manager. And we've got a new show called The 1021 podcast.

I'm taking you behind the scenes on how I became one of Twitch's most popular streamers. We also love sports. And with the World Cup right around the corner, we'll be breaking down the biggest storylines ahead of the big tournament here in the USA. Listen to the 1021 podcast on the IHeart Radio. Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, I'm Jared Adano. You might know me as that loud guy who yells out, help on the internet.

Help! Somebody! Please! But there's so much more to me than that. I'm an actor. I'm a comedian. And recently, I've become quite the helper myself. And on my new podcast, Hope from a Hypocrite, I'll be changing lives,

helping people in need with my sage advice and thoughtful solutions. Sike! I'm a comedian. I'm not qualified to give good advice. Join me and my comedian friends as we riff, rant, recommend some of the most legally dubious advice known to man. If I'm calling you, even if you're on your phone, let it ring twice. One ring is too scary.

Cream of chicken suit. Hey, cream. Cream a chicken suit. This is Help from a Hypocrite, the worst advice from the dumbest people you know. Listen to Help from Hypocrat as part of the MyCultura podcast network available on the I-Fart Radio Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Will Ferrell's Big Money Players and IHeart Podcasts presents Soccer Moms. So I'm Leanne.

This is my best friend, Janet. Hey. And we have been joined at the hips since high school. Absolutely. Now a redacted amount of years later, we're still joined at the hip. Just a little bit bigger hips, wider. This is a podcast. We're recording it as we tailgate our youth soccer games in the back of my Honda Odyssey.

With all the snacks and drinks. Sidebar. Why did you get hard seltzer instead of? a beer. Oh, they had a bogo. Well, then you got them. Do you want a white collar or something here? Just take it. Oh, what are y'all doing? Microphones? Are you making a rap album? Oh, I would. Oh, I would. I would buy it.

Cuts through the defense like a hot knife through sponge cake. That sounds delicious. Oh, you're lucky. I'm not a drug addict. You're lucky. I'm not an alcoholic. You are. I'm not a killer. I love this team, and I'm really trying to be a figure in their lives that they can rely on. Oh. Listen to Soccer Moms on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. What's up, fam? It's Isaiah Thomas. And I'm C.J. Toledano, and our podcast Point Game is about defying the odds.

Like LeBron heading into the playoffs without Luca and Austin Reed. And finding ways to win no matter what. He's the smartest player to ever play the game. His IQ is at a level that we've never seen before. And he knows. Without Luca and Austin Reeves, I got to manipulate the game. We get a player's perspective on the challenges of the playoffs. I think Joker's going to be exhausted this series because when they don't have Rudy in the lineup,

he has to really guard guys like Nas Reid. He has to guard Julius Randall. And then he has to give us everything he gives us on the night-to-night basis on offense. And when IT's friends stop by, like Quentin Richardson, we dive into some playoff history too. Steve Nash would get that thing. That man, hell get to flying. He running up the court, licking his fingers while he got the ball. Like, you go through a training camp with that, Isaiah.

You figure it out real quick. Get your ass up and down the court, and you're going to get the ball. So listen to Point Game on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Okay, mailback time. At John Middlecoff, Instagram, you guys fire in the DMs, you know the drill. Wide open, baby. Let's answer your questions. Start with Loon.

MVP mailback question. Should we just call the MVP award, the quarterback award? at this point. Yes, I get it. Quarterback is the most important position. But they have to throw the ball, running back tied in wide receiver. An average game manager quarterback

will look like a god if he has an amazing wide receiver. Should we just stop wasting our time having non-quarterback candidates when we know the quarterback will always win the award? I don't think it's going to change. I don't think they'll ever change the name of the award. But if you do like to gamble

and dabble in a little future interest, MVP bet, I think you'd have to be pretty nuts to bet on anyone, but I would say five players this year, right? Obviously, Mahomes, Lamar. Lamar would be pretty difficult given that he just won and he's already won two. Alan Burrow, I think, I haven't even looked at the odds yet. You know, if Jalen Hertz bounces back, Purdy, golf could put up huge stats. So yeah, it just feels like we know the group six, seven guys. C.J. Stroud has a big year. It's like, what would like Miles Garrett, Nick Bosa or T.J. Watt have to do? Honestly, to win the MVP. 27 sacks. What would a wide receiver have to do? 150 catches, 2,300 yards, 30 touchdowns? I mean, what's even, it's not, I hear you, bro.

It just kind of is what it is now. We could argue about it all we want, but it's definitely not going to change. and it's kind of the world we live in. Let's see you all the time. Question for the mailbag. Where would you rank Calvin Johnson Megatron on an all-time wide receiver list? The reason for my question is because

I see all the time on social media people talking about all-time wide receivers, more specifically from the 2010s. More often than not, I see people talk about Julio Jones, A.B., Larry, and even Des Bryant. But hardly ever Megatron. He's not even meant.

So where would you rank them among all-time receivers? As a Lions fan who grew up watching that era, he's my Barry Sanders. And I feel like he doesn't get enough credit. That's a great question. It's hard because I don't have like a list of every wide receiver. I mean, the same guys kind of come to your mind, right? Jerry Rice, Randy Moss, one, two. I think a lot of people go, Randy Moss is the most talented wide receiver.

obviously Jerry's records speak for themselves. Those guys are just in a category kind of of their own. I think the easier way for me to do it because I can't speak on the 70s or 80s, really. And in the 90s, like the best wide receivers, Chris Carter was incredible. Michael Irvin was dominant. But in my football watching time, like late high school through now, so like late 90s to now, you know, Torell Owens, I think the problem with him is he was, you know, thing that Megatron or Larry Fitz had is they operated like they were Peyton Manning or Tom Brady, like the character, the leadership, just how much everyone loved him. T.O. was a pretty big pain. Now, he was a dominant player. So if we just go to the last 25 years, you know, Antonio Brown's six-year stretch, a little like Torel Owens, he leaves such a negative taste in your mouth.

because of how weird it got at the end, but he was as good as it got. So I'm not doing ranking here. I'm just using other names. To me, Megatron obviously is an all-time great player. Larry Fitzgerald's unique, right? Because he clearly, like Megatron, was a dominant player.

But at times when his quarterback position was like, what is going on here? And that happened to Larry more than Megatron because at least he got Stafford. But when Larry was in the playoffs, the dude turned into like a jacked Jerry Rice. I mean, he was an unstoppable force. So I would have Larry right there with Megatron,

Antonio Brown. I think Tyree Kill is one of the best players I've ever seen any position in the NFL. That's why the argument with everyone going Tyree Kill being number one, did you notice no one was really saying that? It's like, who has Lamar Jackson above Patrick Mahomes when we just saw the two guys play?

One guy put on a master class. Yeah, what's going on? But Tyree Kill, I mean, there were stretches. There were stretches in 2023. It's like, who are the two best players in the league? You're like, Tyreek and Miles Garrett. I mean, there were stretches in that season where like, these are the two best players in the league.

I mean, you can watch a month. You're like, is Trent Williams the best player in the league? So I put Megatron on a very short list of, and I'm sure I'm forgetting, guys. I'm trying to think Manning, who'd he play? I wouldn't put Reggie Wayne on that category. Marvin Harrison played in the 90s, too.

I think he was drafted in 96. Guys, yeah, I think those are some names to jump out. I'm sure I'm leaving some out, but it just gets very, very cluttered quick. You know, Devante has an incredible five, six-year stretch. And the only reason to slow down is because it's quarterback play.

But that's the thing with the wide receiver. It's not in your control. Same with a running back a little bit. The all-time greats, like Barry Sanders, Walter Payton, like they're flourishing no matter who they're playing with. But most guys, like you put them behind crappy offensive lines, it ain't going to be great. You are dependent.

Even a quarterback. You are dependent on your play caller, unless your name's like Peyton Manning. Mailbag. I'm from Cape Town South Africa. I'd love to go. I was thinking a few days ago. You know who has the best job in the world? Trey Lance.

If he's utter trash, he gets to retire. He made almost $35 million. Just think of the life you could set for yourself with that level of cash. An absolute best case scenario. He could be a career backup making $2 million a year for another 10 years. Also, if he retires, you said he's a high character guy. he works and has connections in an industry where he can one day work himself up to a salary of a couple hundred thousand dollars these are the type of options and privileges i think players disregard when they complain about the unfair

criticisms and the pressures of what they do yeah i mean i think you said it pretty well um it's hard i've seen some clips where he's looked terrible and then i've seen clips where he looks good preseason games are going to be pretty big for him pretty clear he's still the number three quarterback uh he can't beat out cooper rush who's actually a pretty good backup quarterback but is Trey Lance of backup quarterback in the NFL? But like you said, he made it the moment the Niners pulled the trigger and drafted a number three overall. Now, if the Niners hadn't drafted him,

he was going in the top 10. Someone would have drafted him. And someone would have been pretty disappointed in the draft pick. But that's the way the draft works. If you get drafted in the top 10 and there are players every single year that never become very good in the top 10, you make a lot of money.

Question for the mailbag. I'm in a family football pool with my mom, dad, and brother. It's super simple. We all take turns snake drafting eight football teams each for the regular season. Whoever has the most cumulative

wins for the season wins. Easy as that. This year I'm drafting first overall, meaning I get picks 1,8, 9, 16, 17, 24, 25, 32. I am I in Detroit 49ers or Chiefs

with my first pick. But after that, what team should I target with each pick? Once again, for overall Rago season wins. I think if you're looking for, I think Detroit feels like a team that's going to win 12 plus. The Niners got a lot going on. Wouldn't totally be scared. I think the Chiefs would scare you a little bit just because at this point in time, what do they have to prove in October and November? I think they'll try early, try late, and they could go to cruise control a little in the middle. They're the team you bet on in the playoffs.

I would say the Rams would be a team that could be pretty interesting. The Rams, the Packers. If you like the Eagles to win the division, that could be 11, 12 wins. I would say mid-tier teams that people might be off the scent of would be, you know, the Bears are a team.

I think the Saints are a team. People act like the Saints blow. They went 9 and 8 last year. And their offense was a job. goke. Well, I was doing a little research, texting with some people on the staff, said the offense with Kubiak is a lot, Derek's a lot more comfortable. Not acting like they're going to win the Super Bowl. But I don't think it's crazy. The Saints win 10 games. Because everyone in their mother is picking the Atlanta Falcons. I'm just supposed to bet that Kirk Cousins and Rahim Morris

are just a lock. I'm not acting like Derek Carr and Dennis Allen are great either. But what the hell is the difference? What is the difference? Cousins has been a better player than Derek, but he's coming off in Achilles. Rahim Morris hasn't been a head coach and 15. We just don't know. So I just, I think the Saints are a team. I would say,

I don't know if the Bengals were like off the scent. I would be a little less bullish on like, could the Ravens win 10 games this year instead of like 13? I don't think the Ravens are the number one seed. I mean, they lost a lot. They're depending on a lot of new young players. Is there a chance

The Bengals win that division? Now the one thing, the Ravens draft really well, so even when you haven't heard of the guy, and then he comes, he becomes a five-year starter. Question for the mailback. I went to OU in 2017 to 2022. Had my fair share of fun. During my time, I saw some of the most dominant

individual college talents in Baker, Kyler, and Jalen Hertz C.D. Lamb. And Caleb Williams was levels above all of them. He's got that situation magic like Mahomes combined with all the talent in the world. I would be shocked considering his talent combined with his weapons if they are competing to win the division, even with the Lions and the Packers, who are elite teams in their own right. My question is, if I told you the Bears made the NFC championship game in that division, how would we be talking about Caleb Williams and his rise to start them? I think he could win the MVP.

But when you watch hard knocks, and this is why I always pumped the brakes, and Saban brought this up. Now, Caleb has an element that Peyton didn't have because he can scramble. Peyton couldn't move. Actually, Peyton was a better athlete in like 98 than he obviously became when he was older. It's really, really difficult for young players. The play calls are really intense, a lot of moving parts. Defenses are way more complex in the NFL. you are going to have ups and downs.

And you are going to go through periods where your confidence just, I would say, sways. You might not lose it, but you just, it's tough. No matter what you do, the moment you get a new job that is hard, it can be intense early on. And then you might look back a year or two later, you're like, God, this is way easier now. Of course it is.

Most humans learn by doing. You get better with experience. I think expecting the world of this team as a rookie, it's why I think the hype on Jaden Daniels, like the NFL is so hard. All the shitty teams are good. It's like, okay, they're playing the second worst team in his division, which in the equivalent of that in college is like when LSU plays like Mississippi State.

Well, he's playing the Giants. And they got Brian Burns, Dexter Lawrence, Bidot. they got some dudes who can move like you can move and hit you and hurt you. So I just think that Sabin was right. It's unfair the expectations

that these guys have to deal with. It really is. He could have a fantastic rookie season and they win eight games. Now you would say, how does that happen? Because they were what, seven wins last year and Justin Fields was their quarterback?

So maybe that's not plausible. Maybe if he is really good, they win 10, assuming their defense is really good. Which, I mean, it could be. They got a lot of talent on defense for sure. Not a question, but more of a statement. I don't think he should be paid Justin Jefferson money. The wide receiver bubble is going to burst eventually

and don't want to lock up your salary cap right before you have to sign Purdy. They have control of them for the next three years without a long-term deal, so I think they should make IEuc play under the option and franchise tag them next year. He won't retire. I think one thing that Jake Rosenberg, when we had him on, who's been dealing with these contracts for years, he hit on a pretty good point.

He said player empowerment has never been stronger. And it's not the NBA where you just get your way. Kevin Durant, I only want to play for the Sons, and he ends up on the Sons. That's not quite how it works. But forever, teams would just be like you're playing on the 50-year option, you're playing on the franchise tag. I don't think coaches,

and GMs want to deal with that anymore in terms of a pouty player and if the reason you are making him do that it's because you're questioning, paying him. Well, if he pouts and then plays bad, his value goes down, but his price tag for you doesn't go down because you still have to franchise him in that number's high.

So I think a lot of teams are like, yeah, we're not dealing with this, so we essentially trade you. Now, where the player empowerment comes in on this, and I saw Schefter on, it was on my social media, it was on Twitter, but he said it on TV. He said essentially IUC has a no trade clause. Because for you to execute a trade,

like they had a deal in place with the Patriots. And I yuk said no, because I'm not signing the contract. So the Patriots aren't going to do whatever that deal was. Let's just, let's use a hypothetical. Kendrick Bourne coming off in ACL, Matthew Judeon, who wants a new contract, and a second round pick. Niners are like, yeah, we'll do that deal.

And then here's, we'll give IUC $30 million a year. And Iuke's like, yeah, I'm not signing it. The Browns, the Niners have a deal in place with the Browns. Amari Cooper and a third round pick. Let's just, again, I don't know what the deal is. I'm just using hypotheticals. If Iyuk signed their contract, which they have negotiated with him, he's a Brown.

He clearly is hesitant to do that. so like he controls some of this the problem is he's just kind of sitting there in no man's land it's like I only want to go to the Steelers and that's where it's like well the Niners aren't comfortable with the package they're getting back from the Steelers so nothing's

happening that's where I think a lot of this kind of animosity weirdness because he controls some of it they don't want to just I think they'd be more likely it's like okay if you're going to stay

you're making $14 million this year, we'll actually, we'll give you a raise. We'll make that $14.23. Because they got like $30 plus million in cap space and we'll just play out this season, or $25 million, or whatever. I don't see how they give them $25 million when Debo's making $20.

That's where it gets kind of weird. The whole situation is just pretty bizarre. 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, 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. Hey, I'm Jared Adano. You might know me as that loud guy who yells out, help on the internet. Help! Somebody! Please! But there's so much more to me than me. actor. I'm a comedian and recently I've become quite the helper myself. And on my new podcast, hope from a hypocrite I'll be changing lives, helping people in need with my sage advice and thoughtful

solutions. Sike, I'm a comedian. I'm not qualified to give good advice. Join me and my comedian friends as we riff, rant, recommend some of the most legally dubious advice known to man. If I'm calling you, Even if you're on your phone, let it ring twice. One ring is too scary. Oh, cream of chicken suit. Hey, cream, cream a chicken suit. This is Help from a Hypocrite, the worst advice from the dumbest people you know. Listen to Help from Hypocrite as part of the Mike Cultura Podcast Network available on the IHart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Hey, it's Edwin Castro, also known as Castro 1021. And I'm Konki. his best friend and business manager. And we've got a new show called the 1021 podcast. I'm taking you behind the scenes on how I became one of Twitch's most popular streamers. We also love sports. And with the World Cup right around the corner, we'll be breaking down the biggest storylines ahead of the big tournament here in the USA.

Listen to the 1021 podcast on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. What's up, fam? Miss Isaiah Thomas. And I'm C.J. Toledano and our podcast Point Game is about defining the odds. Like LeBron heading into the playoffs without Luca and Austin Reed. And finding ways to win no matter what. He's the smartest player to ever play the game.

His IQ is at a level that we've never seen before. And he knows without Luca and Austin Reeves, I got to manipulate the game. We get a player's perspective on the challenges of the playoffs. I think Joker's going to be exhausted this series because when they don't have Rudy in the lineup, he has to really guard guys like Nas Reid. He has to guard Julius Randall. And then he has to give us everything he gives us on the night-to-night basis on offense.

And when IT's friends stop by, like Quentin Richardson, we dive into some playoff history too. Steve Nass would get that thing. That man, hell get the flying. He run up the court, licking his fingers while he got the ball. After you go through a training camp with that, Isaiah, you figure it out real quick.

Get your ass up and down the court, and you're going to get the ball. So listen to Point Game on the, IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Will Ferrell's Big Money Players and IHeart Podcasts presents Soccer Moms. So I'm Leanne. Yeah. This is my best friend, Janet.

Hey. And we have been joined at the hips since high school. Absolutely. Now a redacted amount of years later, we're still joined at the hip. Just a little bit bigger hips. Wider. This is a podcast. We're recording it as we tailgate.

Our youth soccer games in the back of my Honda Odyssey. With all the snacks and drinks. Sidebar. Why did you get hard seltzer instead of beer? They had a bogo. Well, then you got it. Do you want a white collar something here? Just hit it.

What are y'all doing? Microphones? Are you making a rap album? Oh, I would. Come on. Could you believe? I would buy it. Cuts through the defense like a hot knife through sponge cake.

That sounds delicious. Oh, you're lucky. I'm not a drug addict. You're lucky I'm not an alcoholic. You are. I'm not a killer. I love this team, and I'm really trying to be a figure in their lives that they can rely on. Oh.

Oh. Listen to soccer moms on the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm glad you haven't answered my question yet. Instead, may I rephrase? I guess I miss this one. I miss some of your guys' questions. There's a ton of DMs we get. It's hard to just keep track of them all.

So I'm trying. I don't pass anyone on purpose. With the salary cap making things interesting for every team from year to year, The teams have the choice to spend on the cap how they see fit. Doesn't that just render the draft kind of useless? Caleb Williams would not go to a team that is strong at quarterback with a monstrous contract.

So the team that would have been drafting him anyway is courting him during a theoretical free agent signing period, along with the veterans of the league. And now Caleb Williams would have chosen Cliff in Washington rather than being forced to Chicago. We have the same kind of choice to pick where we want to work as long as the feeling is a mutual, don't we? Why take that

away from the players? Do you agree that the draft has become obsolete with a salary cap? No, I don't, because the draft, this whole thing is a reality television show. That's how all these guys make their millions of dollars with us watching. Well, the season's only six months long, so how do you keep everyone engaged? Well, you have the combine, you have free agency, and then the draft, which is one of the biggest television shows in America. And that's led by the NFL. So to me, it serves not only a purpose from a marketing tool. It also, like Caleb Williams just, as he said on Hard Knocks, got $25.5 million.

And in this specific situation, okay, he could have gone to Washington because his buddy's cliffs there. You use the example of like, we have the opportunity to choose, let's just use coming out of college. What's the most money you've ever heard of of a guy making out of college in engineering, in sales and whatever? Maybe the number's way higher now than when I was coming. I mean, I didn't, I don't think I knew anyone that made 100 grand. Now, that was 2008, but I think it's a little different. Like, I'm sorry, the rules are different when you get $25.5 million signing bonus. Sorry, you don't get to choose where you play. And I'm sorry, Chicago ain't the worst place to play. And he looks

pretty happy there and it's a pretty incredible situation. So yeah, I'm not one of those anti-draft people. I fucking love the draft. I see its value from the league standpoint. I see its value from a fan standpoint. It creates hope for the bad teams. So, yeah, I mean, I... I don't know what to tell you.

I don't look at it that way at all. Because I feel... I don't feel bad. I mean, I just don't. I'm not 100% certain you will see. this. But a team that's not brought up that could fill the things the Niners want could be the Raiders. Adams for Ayuk. They have picks and players. Adams would gladly work on a long-term deal with the Niners. Devante Adams is a Raider fan, born and raised. The reason when the Packers and him were not going to get a deal done, he said, I want to go to the Raiders, and the Raiders

wanted them, and it worked out. I don't think Devante, now maybe the first three weeks of practice, he's like, we're not going to win with these two quarterbacks. So maybe he would change his tune. If the Raiders offered Devante Adams for Brandon Ayyuk straight up, the Niners would do that trade.

They would fucking, Kyle Shanahan would drive Brandon Ayuk to Vegas. Devante Adams is in a different level than Brandon Ayuk. Devante Adams is one of the best players the last like 20 plus years. He is a great wide receiver. So if that was a

which it is not. Like, what's the difference? Why would the Raiders get rid of Devante for a yuk? So I got a younger player who's not as good, who's going to actually cost more per year. I already got a wide receiver. Wide receiver is not my problem. Quarterback is.

Niners would do that deal in a New York minute. I mean, think they're cool with getting Amari Cooper. Devante Adams? If the Fortinires at Devonte Adams, Waddebo and Kittle and McCaffrey's bad calf, they'd be in pretty good shape.

But it makes no sense. I mean, that was flying around on the old Reddit pages like last week. It's not going to happen. Mailback question. Is there a world where the Steelers actually start fields over Wilson? If Russell is healthy,

because Mike's pretty old school, you know, Mike's a little bit of a throwback, I think no matter what he would try at least for a couple games, Russell Wilson. Veteran player, proven more. You just, if you have to just dink and dunk, he can do that. The wild card that is fields, I think if Russell is healthy, he starts week one.

Now, I don't know how long that lasts, but I do think that Tomlin is giving him week one. And probably, I mean, give or take, the first month no matter what. Now, if they start 0 and 3, 0 and 4, quick hook. If they're 2 and 2, but it looks pretty terrible, quick hook. Again, it feels is playing this preseason game. What does he look like? I keep pushing Fields, but he can't be throwing balls into the dirt. He can't be taking sacks left and right.

He has to function. He has to play well. He has to kind of work in this offense. I'm not trying to speak out of both sides of my mouth, but it's on him to do some stuff too. but I think no matter what, if he's healthy, Russell gets the start. And I'm not saying that's the right move. It'll play itself out, but I think Tomlin's going to do that.

Old school guy, veteran player, proven a lot, star. Just finished episode one of Hard Knocks. And from what I've seen of Caleb so far, I'm worried. He seems meek and shy, unconfident, and I don't see him being a vocal leader. Just doesn't seem like the guy to lead it to him. team. Pretty has a similar vibe. Quiet, soft-spoken, but he makes plays. And we've yet to see what Caleb looks like. I think it is very, very difficult for any young human being to walk right in

to any situation, an office, a sales team, a football team, and be the alpha and point and tell everyone what to do. I have a hard time judging him for not like screaming. dreaming at guys. You don't get to act like Tom Brady or Peyton Manning day one of training camp, your rookie year. Just like the CEO of a company probably wasn't acting like that if he'd been there for 20 years, his first year.

There's a hierarchy of life. And there was a clip in the Hard Knocks where, I don't know if it was DeAndre Swift. It might have been the backup running back, who's like, hey, get on these guys. it's not easy being one of the youngest guys and having all these people looking at you who in that scenario are filthy rich.

A lot of them have had success, gone to pro bowls, and then you have to tell them what to do. Now, as time happens, you become more comfortable, it's easy. The Peyton Manning we saw year five, was that the Peyton Manning day two of training camp as a rookie year? I'm not saying Caleb's going to be Peyton Manning.

I can't judge his personality off the first couple practices of training camp. That's just not fair. And it's just stupid. Just put yourself in that scenario. Whatever you do for a job, think about your first day at the job. Actually, regardless how old you are, I'm not even talking about right out of college. I'm talking, you could be 40. And you just started a job last year.

The first couple months of the job, are you bossing everyone around? you're kind of easing your way into stuff. And this is the time to ease your way into stuff. I actually think his personality, I felt a little, he felt a little more normal than I felt when I saw him at USC. Get him around the guys.

He's got, you know, DJ Moore, Keenan, cool cats, Jalen Moore. Iber Flues, I thought was a big winner. I know a lot of people have DM me about Dayball's performance in the Hard Knocks. I thought it was very football guy liked. a lot of swear words, a lot of feet up on the desk, a lot of just being in sweats all the time.

And then you get Iber Fluse, who's just like, this guy's pretty impressive. I'm not saying I'm coming around on him that he's going to be some star head coach. Pretty likable. I could see why people like Matt Iber Fluse. Nick Saban likes him. Players seem to like him.

Seems, I thought it was a really, really good showing for Iber Fluse in the first episode. I really did. and I'm not acting like they should give them an extension yet but I understand I like this guy and sometimes you watch a show that's part of entertainment you want and that's what the people that produce the show

want to get whatever show they want you to like some people and hate other people it's a natural reaction for us hell there are probably people listening to this podcast I can't stand this fucking guy I don't mind as long as you're listening there's no different that you know you might watch you're like God I hate this Caleb Williams guy

He's pretty polarizing. I don't find him as polarizing at this point. Like, now these with the bears, I just want to see how good he is. I want to see what he looks like as a player. And you guys know where I stand. Like, I think my expectations for him aren't as crazy high as some of these other people.

Now, I had Fitzmores, the fantasy pros guy, who has Jaden Daniels above him. I would not do that. I don't even think the gap between those two players. I know Jaden had a great year. You're throwing to Malik Navors, who all reports come out of training camp. This guy looks like fucking Jerry Rice meets Terrell Owens.

I mean, he's incredible. Brian Thomas Jr., who was awesome. They have the star left tackle. That team was stacked. Not acting like he's not going to be any good in the NFL, but I think sometimes that happens. The gap between Caleb Williams and Jaden Daniels, their entire lives up until nine games last year,

has been really wide. and the NFL is really, really hard. So I just, I'm not a believer in Cliff Kingsbury's offense. And I know Shane Waldron and that style of offense, the play action, the boots, the woggles with a guy like Caleb. Some of those, they did a little montage of like five or six of Caleb's throws on the run. And some of these DPs are just on the sideline going, what the hell was that?

Because his arm strength, his ability to scramble. and that's a lot of modern day NFL and he can be really accurate on the move. And then you got Keenan Allen, DJ Moore, guys that get open with ease, and you got Roma Dunzee who you can kind of throw it anywhere. He can make just acrobatic catches. I guess Keenan can't too. If Caleb is good this year,

they could be really, really explosive passing game. I think this question would be the offensive line, which I got news for you. Most offensive lines aren't great. Most teams, if you got their GM on the, the horn right now and go, how many offensive linemen on your team do you feel good about? I would say the over-under would be

two and a half. I bet most teams, like we really like a left tackle and a right guard. Center, solid, left guard, we'd like to replace, right tackle, pretty ify. Most teams don't go like, yeah, I got four Hall of Famers and a really solid starter. It's not the way it works.

So if your thing is, don't love our offensive line. As long as they're functional in your offense and you have a couple long-term starters, like, yeah, it's on your offensive line coach to improve the random guys. But most teams do not have four pro bowlers. It's why whenever people complain about their second corner,

it's like, yeah, welcome to the NFL. Most times your second corner isn't that great? Like, most guys aren't 6'5, long hair, jacked abs, super rich. I mean, really smart, nice guy, great businessman, and he can sing. Like, you usually don't get it all. That's not the way it happens.

And I think a lot of people complain with like, every team has a weakness. And unless you're a great team, you're going to have several weaknesses. And a weakness is usually a group, right? It's like, yeah, we like one of our three linebackers. I've worked in these spots. You're constantly looking like, yeah, I think these three guys are better than the guy we got. Now, maybe the coach likes him, the position coach likes him, and he knows the playbook, so it's not like you cut him and sign that guy.

But that's, like, you're not thrilled about most players. Let me rephrase that. I bet the bears are bullish on a lot of guys on their team, but they need to show it when the pads come on. Like the overwhelming majority of the NFL. Most guys in the NFL are not DJ Morgan in Keenan Allen. question marks all over the place. You've got to do it all the time.

And even the good players, like Keenan's been doing it. I know every year if he's healthy, he's going to be in the mix for the Pro Bowl. And more than likely, go. But Jalen Johnson's a good example. Like, yeah, he's an unreal year. Are you going to do it the next three?

Are you going to go to like four straight Pro Bowls? Or he's going to be up and down career? What are we doing? You got paid? Let's see what you got. I don't know. I mean, I hope. I root for good players.

But that's what great players. do like every year. TJ Watt, Miles Garrett, Travis Kelsey. These guys are healthy. They're kicking ass and taking names. And then there are a lot of players. You go, oh, this guy made a pro bowl this year.

They didn't make a pro bowl for a couple years. Then he made a pro bowl. What makes the NFL so fascinating? Greatest reality television show on television. Have a great day. Adios. The volume. Another podcast from some SNL late-night comedy guy.

Not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smygel and friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer, Streeter Seidel, help an a cappella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes.

Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and friends on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. What's up, fam? It's Isaiah Thomas. And I'm C.J. Toledano. It's our favorite time of the year on our podcast point game, the playoffs. We're digging into the biggest surprises of the season.

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

So listen to Point Game on the Iheart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. The story I told myself can then shape my behavior, and that can lead me to sabotage the possibility of connection. This Mental Health Awareness Month, tune into the podcast Deeply Well with Debbie Brown.

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