The Herd with Colin Cowherd - 3 & Out - The importance of Pro Days, Jed York speaks, Christmas Auction, Fugazi Friday

Episode Date: March 29, 2024

John discusses the importance of the Pro Day and how Malik Nabers proved a point during his workout and the reaction from Michael Penix Jr showing off his speed during his workout. John also dives into how the NFL owners seem to have an issue with the grades they've gotten on their organizations, and how the Christmas Day games are going up for auction. Finally, John reacts to some of your biggest Fugazi Friday concerns. Lastly, John reads your questions for this episode's mailbag segment. 6:08 - Pro Day workouts 13:48 - Michael Penix Jr's Pro Day 19:56 - Jed York speaks 30:56 - Owners are not happy with their team grades 33:47 - Christmas Day Games Auction 37:09 - Fugazi Friday 50:21 - 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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Yep, that's me, Clivert 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 Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, unfiltered 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 IHard 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. From 1979, that was a big moment for me. 84 is big to me. I'm Sam J. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick a year, 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. 84 was a wild. I mean, 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. The volume. The thrill and excitement of Marchmania is here. And Draft King Sportsbook, one of America's top rated sportsbook apps, is giving new customers a shot to turn five bucks into $150.

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That's me, that's the show. Live here on Friday. Well, actually, I recorded it on Thursday, but you're probably listening on a Friday. So here's the deal. Pro days galore. The top wide receiver in the draft, Malik Naber sure threw his hat in the ring. Obviously, he did it in the fall with his play. but then again with his workout at the LSU Pro Day

in front of a ton of GMs and coaches. Jaden Daniels, Michael Pennix, and Drake May have worked out the last 24 hours. So we'll discuss a little bit when it comes to workouts. Some purty conversation with a contract, Eric Armstead, not happy, felt disrespected. So we'll talk a little about some 49ers news. And then Woody Johnson and Robert Sala, someone said they yelled at each other.

Woody Johnson called it BS. It's just always something with the Jets, man. Then the NFL is going to auction off the Christmas games. You better open that checkbook if you want to get that inventory. So we'll talk a bunch of football stuff. Fugazi Friday and Middilkoff mailbag as well. At John Middlecoff is the Instagram. DM's wide open.

Firing my DMs at John Middlecoff. DMs, get your question answered here on the show. It's Easter this weekend, so hopefully you guys have good time with family. enjoy yourself. I think your boy is going to use a little prime rib on a treger, invite some people that are familyless over to our house, some friends, and just see if I got the skills on the tracer to do my first prime rib.

So I'm excited for that. It reminds me I got to call the butcher. But other than that, you guys know the drill. If you listen on Collins feed, fire to the three and out feed, we had Go Low came out yesterday, some thoughts on the current state of golf.

It's all on YouTube as well. So subscribe to the YouTube channel. And appreciate everyone that has, thevolume.com. We have merch. Check out three and out hat. I'm actually wearing one right now. But again, happy Easter. Enjoy the weekend.

But before we dive into some football, you guys know the drill. My friends, at GameTime. Sweet 16 tonight, do you live in New York City? Do you want to go to one of these games? Do you live wherever these venues are going on? Do you want to go to any event? College, pro,

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I've always been a believer in do what you're good at. The advice I always give to any young person asking here is like follow your passion. Because you're usually going to be better at your passion. you're going to put more time into it. Now, some of us are just more natural at stuff, right? Like Emerald-Lagasy, no matter how much time I spend in a kitchen, I'm never going to be able to, you know, prepare a better dish than him.

Right? It's just not going to be possible. Some people are better at negotiating deals than others. Obviously, not all of us have the intellectual capacity to be a doctor or a lawyer. But I'm a huge believer. When you figure out what you do well, quadruple down on. that thing as you get older professionally. And I never understand why people at pro days, even high level prospects, don't work out.

Like, if you're a good athlete, you should want to work out. It's a time to shine, right? It's a time to impress people. If me or you worked out, obviously it wouldn't look great. We're not great athletes. No one wants to see us run and jump. but if I was a high level college player and my team had a pro date,

even if I was a consensus top 10, top 15 pick, why wouldn't I want to run and jump? Things I do well. Now, I understand Marvin Harrison, his dad, which I've been told is like all this stuff stupid, and he's not totally wrong. This is not going to dictate one way or the other, you go in 6th or you going 30th.

But like Marvin Harrison, who's dominated college football for the last couple of years, getting open on everyone, wouldn't he want to display his physical characteristics in front of the decision makers? What's the most important thing for any sales guy? Don't waste time with people that can't make decisions. You always want to get in front of the decision maker. I've been an area scout. I've gone through these schools. I was never the decision maker. I can give my opinion on stuff,

but you wanted to get in front of Howie Roseman, Andy Reed, right? Well, I'm watching these pro days the last couple of days with the quarterbacks, Jaden, Drake May, Pennix, and it was like this with Caleb, and all these GMs and all these coaches are in attendance. Well, in a draft room,

who's the person that says thumbs up or thumbs down on a pick? It's not the scouts. It's not the college directors. It's those guys. and Malik Neighbors yesterday and I heard some scuttle butt around LSU that he was like

okay you know you want to see who the number one wide receiver is watch this fellas he went out and he ran a 435 and he jumped like 42 inches Malik neighbors a lot like Marvin Harrison

did not need to do anything was not necessary his film is dominant and let's face it in a better defensive conference in terms of NFL athletes at defensive back than the Big Ten. And again, I'm not trying to act like this is the end-all be-all, but one guy who is wildly viewed by many teams as the best wide receiver prospect said, fuck it, you want to watch me run a 435? Take my shirt off, have at it, boys. Get those clocks out. Where's the

vertical setup? I plan on jumping. Out the gym. And I just don't understand. Like, I give credit to these quarterbacks, right? Caleb did not need to work out. But he did. Why? Because he throws the football well. Why would you not want to work out?

It'd be like if someone asked me, hey, John, we're interested in hosting a show with you and Bill Belichick during the season. Every Sunday or every Monday before Monday night football. Like, wait, I just talk football with Bill Belichick. Good at talking. No football. I'm in. I wouldn't even hesitate. Now, if you had, hey, do you want to open for Dave Chappelle on improv night on Wednesday?

I'd be like, yeah, it's probably not a great idea. If you wanted Marvin Harrison to do something he wasn't comfortable doing, I'd get it. Like, this is stupid. This doesn't make any sense. Wait, you just want me to run and run routes and catch the ball in front of guys? It's literally my greatest attribute currently in life in terms of professionally. like this is what I do at an elite level. I don't understand guys that push back

and I don't think it's a great idea. And listen, I don't know ultimately which guy is going to go ahead of others. But Malik neighbors put on a show and most people would tell you there is not some clear one and two. If anything, these two guys or neck and neck and a lot of teams

from what I've heard might have neighbors above him. And he didn't hesitate to work out. Rightfully so. He's fast. He's a freak athlete. Why would you not? When you think about the great wide receivers over the years, they love working out.

Why? It's like when college teams, high school teams, the pro teams, when you do the conditioning tests, do you know who dreads those? The fat guys. Why? Because it's difficult. It's hard to run conditioning tests

when you're a 310-pound offensive guard or defensive tackle. That's a challenge. You know who didn't? The wide receivers and the DBs. Why? Because they're way more athletic, and even if they're out of shape, they can still handle 99.9% of athletic testing stuff. So I think it was a mistake, and I applaud neighbors for just doing what he's good at, running and jumping.

That's literally going to be his job. We know all these guys can catch the football. So, listen, when neighbors goes above Marvin Harrison, if that's the way it plays, out. Is it because of this pro day? No, it's not. But if you don't think putting on a show in front of all the decision makers that are drafting from four to 12 matters, you'd be pretty naive. You really would. These guys didn't just fly there to fucking have the gumbo, right? They flew there to watch these guys. And it's when you do something positive, that can only help. And when you're a great athlete doing these pretty remedial things relative to what you do on a football field

should be a no-brainer. And like, listen, when I watched these quarterback workouts and I watched a little bit last night, we had dinner cleaned up, she was like taking a bath. I'm like, yeah, the pro day replay. So I watched it kind of boring. Like you're not gay. The quarterback, whatever. Honestly, even with the wide receiver, I know all these guys can run rounds.

I am pretty impressed when a guy runs a 435. Like, yeah, I knew he was fast. He's really fast. Right? I knew he was an explosive guy. He's really explosive. He's what we say in the business, a freak show. And that was impressive.

But when you watch these quarterbacks roll out, underthrow, overthrow, complete pass. I don't care. I mean, none of this is real football. When you play a football game at quarterback, you have four or five guys chasing you and other guys being covered. So when you're just playing pitch and catch,

you're not getting anything out of that. You stand much more on the tape when it comes to the quarterbacks. Now one thing I saw that was really impressive, I'm not going to lie, and I'm biased. I tend to root for West Coast people, and I know Michael Pennix isn't technically from the West Coast, but he became a star at the University of Washington, and I'm a sap for the Pac-12, even though it no longer exists. I think a lot of people comp Pence, and I kind of did too, to like a Tua, right? He's really a pocket passer, and the Tua one's easy because they're both. left-handed, throws a beautiful deep ball, but he's not Mr. Scramble guy. And that's never how he's

played. Now, part of it was at Washington, they had a lot like Michigan, an elite offensive line. So he wasn't getting touched that much. He had a lot of time in the pocket and he picked you apart. But I think when that happens, and I know it would deal with Tua, you're like, well, Tua is not a very good athlete. Tua can't scramble really if he wants to. I mean, he can move, but he's not by any means a runner. And he is not a guy that is going to be potent on the ground. He didn't run a 40 coming out because he was injured with the hip. But I think we all agreed, like, Tua's not super fast. It's not really his game.

Now, it never was Michael Pennix's game these last couple years at Washington. I know some people said before he got injured, he was much more of a dual threat quarterback when he was really, really young at Indiana. I'd be lying if I said I knew who he was at the time. But obviously these last couple years, off the different injuries he's had, he's just a pocket passer. And then today he goes out, and I know NFL network, I think, tweeted and Instagrammed out

that he ran a 455 or a 445. I talked to a couple scouts that were there that got him like 453, 454, which is an excellent time. Like, that was a very, very impressive time for Michael Pennix. Like, he can run. I mean, that much is pretty clear. And he also jumped 36.5 inches.

Michael Pennix is a really good athlete. So he is viewed because of his play style as a pocket quarterback. And that's all you can go off of. The way he played in college, pocket quarterback. Caleb, dual threat. Jane Daniels, definitely dual threat. Even Drake, scramble a lot more. You watch Michael Pennix, you go, that's a pocket quarterback.

And then you see this, you're like, well, he actually can move a lot. Now, that doesn't mean there aren't questions with them, the injuries, the way he played against Michigan, which was basically an NFL team, it was hard for him, it rattled them. I'm inclined to, I mean, I'm definitely rooting for him. I wouldn't just bet my career on drafting him. But when you have the film that he does over a couple years span, and then you have the athletic testing, I know I've talked to buddies that have him in the second round.

I think this guy's going to end up going in the top 20. When you factor in the position he plays, when you factor in his super high character guy, when you factor in how beautiful his deep ball is, and let's face it, these teams are desperate. and one thing we've learned over the years is quarterbacks get overdrafted. I mean, Kenny Pickett and Mac Jones, to me historically, with their physical attributes for like third or fourth round picks.

Kirk Cousins, fourth round pick. The hell's the difference between him in college of Mac Jones and Kenny Pickett. Well, the inflation in recent memory has driven guys up. It's part of the deal, right? You want a house right now. You can go on Zillow all you want and go, God, they paid 400 grand for this house in 2017. no one cares. It's 2004 and that house is now listed for

1.1. So if you want it, you better be in that vicinity or don't even waste your time. And I think that's the reality with Michael Penix. We can nitpick him apart and that's the right thing to do. That's part of the process. But he's going to go higher than any of these people that are down on the guy.

I promise you that. And other than that, like you know, Jaden Daniels, you turn on, you know, you see day ball, you see all these guys there, Antonio Pierce, Sean Payton sending contingents. It's pretty clear where all these quarterbacks are going. I think it would be very, very shocking for, I don't know exactly who's going to go where, but I think we got a pretty good idea who's going to end up with the quarterback by the end of halfway through the draft, right? Obviously,

the first three teams, going to have quarterbacks. Minnesota, going to have a quarterback. The Giants, a little bit of a wild card, because if you're day ball, like, there's some pressure on you to win. So do you want one of these wide receivers? Denver, the Raiders. I don't think there are going to be some big shockers coming when it comes to all this. 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. A win is a win.

A win is a win. I don't care what you're saying. Yep, that's me, Cliver Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, the reactions, my journey from basketball to college football, or my career in sports media. Well, somewhere along the way, this platform became bigger than I ever imagined. And now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand-new podcast,

The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, unfiltered conversations with some of your favorite athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. One week, I'll take you behind the scenes of the biggest moments in sports and entertainment, and the next we'll talk about life, mental health, purpose, and even music. The Clifford Show isn't just a podcast, it's a space for honest conversations, stories that don't always get told, and for people who are chasing something bigger. So, if you've ever supported me, or you're just chasing down a dream,

This is right where you need to be. Listen to The Clifford show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. 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 Jek. And I'm Alex English. We pick it here, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. Including a recent episode with Mark Lamont Hill, waxing all about crack in the 80s. To be clear, 84 is big to me, not just because of crack.

I'm down to talk about crack 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. Thank you 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. Speaking of quarterbacks, Jed York, you know, all these owners at the owners meetings, I don't know

if they're actually obligated to talk to the press, but most of them do a scrum with their local reporters. It's like kind of throwing them a bone. And Jed, who does not talk much. Maybe twice a year. Like most owners. Most owners avoid giving any statements because in fairness

no matter what they say becomes very polarizing, becomes a headline, and gets twisted as we go. Every comment they have. Hell, Robert Kraft was like, yeah, what was up with that documentary? He's like, Robert, you fucking produce the thing. John Marr is like, they can draft a

quarterback if they want. Then everyone's like, well, are you guys drafting a quarterback? Your owner wants you draft a quarterback. So it's, I get why they just let the coach and the GM do all the talking when it comes to football. We'll talk about the business, the stadium and stuff, but for the most part, I want to avoid. Some of these guys, you get them talking, though,

they're no different than me and you. They got opinions. They got thoughts. I mean, this is not just their passion. This is their life. This is what makes them famous. So Jeds asked about the quarterback situation, and he basically said, like,

obviously when your quarterback is the highest paid guy on your team, that's usually a good thing. Alluding, dude, they're going to pay Brock Purdy a lot of money, potentially at the end of next year. And my entire take on contracts in general is why we're always in such a big rush to pay people. Like Patrick Mahomes, after year three, he'd won an MVP, he was clearly a superstar,

he had been to an AFC championship, he had won the Super Bowl. You just watched him, you're like, this is a second coming, like Brett Farv mixed with Aaron Rogers. And then a lot of players are not Justin Jefferson, are not Trent Williams, are not Aaron Donald.

Like, I've never seen anything. Most guys, even the good ones are like, oh, let's see you do it again. And the moment the Super Bowl happened, or really this, as the Super Bowl run happened with the 49ers, no matter what happened with Purdy, he could have thrown 50 touchdowns in December, in the playoffs, and the Niners win the Super Bowl and they blew everyone out, he still would have been a polarizing player next year. Because everyone would be like, well, can he do it again? What's he actually worth?

And if he had flopped, right, if they had lost that game against the Packers or lost that game against the Lions, everyone would have crushed them. But it was all going to be determined in 2024. What does he look like this year? Does he have another season where he's clearly one of the best NFC quarterbacks? Because if he has two and a half seasons of playing like one of the better NFC quarterbacks, the reality is his value is not really arguable. Now, I would say, like, I would struggle and I get the cap keeps going up. Like, I'm not very comfortable unless he's my homegrown, all pro guard, given free agent

guard $17, $18 million. Because I don't think the margin for error is very big there. I'm signing this guy just because he's a free agent I'm giving him a 30 or 40% markup and then if he is just an average or above average guy we're at a disadvantage he better be a top 4 or 5 player at his position or I'm misallocating funds it's no different than that with quarterbacks

like listen I like that Prescott he's a very good quarterback but once you start paying him premiums like it's a lot of pressure on it and listen Dak has been very successful during the regular season he just hasn't gotten it done in the playoffs He's going to have, you know, when you look back at his career, it's going to be defined if he's ever able to get over the hump.

But he's going to be very rich, have a ton of pro balls, and been a very, very good starting quarterback for the Cowboys. I think the hard part with Purdy, a little like Dak early on, was like he gets to inherit this great team. Now, I've said forever, if you watch the 49ers and you can't watch and say, this guy's really good, then we don't have anything in common with football. But there's a difference between, like,

I watch the guy's really good. It's like, are you comfortable giving him $200 million guaranteed? Because that's a whole other conversation. And a lot of people have talked, Purdy's best attribute has not been his contract. It's been his play. He's been excellent. But obviously, the ability to have a $850,000 quarterback,

you know, is a huge curveball for your organization to build out. Like, no one else in the league has that right now. Even the other top young quarterbacks make a decent amount of money. CJ Stroud was his second pick in the draft. Sounds like a $35 million contract. And his yearly numbers are like eight and a half, nine, seven, like in that range. Right. Purdy is, even if CJ Stroud, I haven't had his contract up, is making $8 million next year in his second season.

Purdy is $8 or $7 million cheaper. Like that's a player or two. And I just think we're too quick to rush. Let's just see it play out. And if this year doesn't go as well and he kind of takes a step back, then we got another year under contract. If he goes out and he wins the MVP and the 49ers finally win the Super Bowl, then yeah, you don't have a choice. But sometimes when you just let like one year, and that's basically what this is, now I know he was good that first year, but like this year

start to finish and this year's going to be different, right? Because there was a feeling out process. Everyone's gun him for the Niners. They're the NFC champs. No one is taking Purdy lightly. And listen, I've been saying this forever. The media is like, thinks Purdy's very Andy Reid thinks he's good. Steve Spagnola thinks he's good. I saw, I watched Dan Campbell's press conference at the owner's meetings. He thinks he's damn good. So the league thinks he's really good.

I think he's good. But before we pay large sums of money, and there's a difference. Like would I pay him right now, four years, $100 million? Yeah, I wouldn't hesitate. Would I give him $4 years $180 million? Yeah, we're talking something different then.

So the money matters. Like, this is a business. Speaking of business, Eric Armstrongstant, was not pleased with the way he was disrespected, according to himself, the way everything played out with the 49ers. And this is the hard part about the sport. Eric Armstrongstead, team captain, team leader,

high-end player. But when your salary doesn't equal your production slash games played and you're an older player, we got a problem. Like, that was the issue. The reason they quote-unquote disrespected you, and it's not your fault, no one wants to get hurt, but when you're not available,

and I'm paying you a premium, $16, $17, $18 million, it no longer adds up. So reports, I think based on him, said that they basically offered, you know, he's scheduled to make almost $18 million, they wanted him to make $6 with incentives to get up to like eight or nine.

So basically taking a haircut in half. Like, I'm on Team Niners here. Like, that's the right move. And listen, you probably know he's going to say, yeah, not that interested. But that's part of being a healthy organization is when you get a guy, even when you love them, of like, this is not adding up anymore. And I know the Jags offered him a lot of money and he got paid.

But there's a fine line, we're all human beings. And any time you deal with anyone's money, whether you make 80 grand or whether you make $8 million. When you start talking pay cuts, we're all the narrator of our own story. it's going to piss us off. Even if we've underachieved, even if we haven't been available, no matter what. I don't blame anyone for being offended when your company comes to you and wants you to take less. Sometimes it's valid, though. Like, sometimes it makes sense.

Like, you're not worth this price point anymore. To us, it doesn't mean to someone else's situation, but to us, we can't pay you this. and I think the 49ers, which clearly was very hard on them, made the right decision. There was a story that Colleen Wolfe, who works for the NFL network, which as Mike Florio has pointed out, is owned by the 32 teams. This is not some independent organization that is just saying things to say things. This is the owners like call the shots when it comes to that organization. It's why if you're watching an NFL network, it's not going to be the most aggressive

production when it comes to being critical of stuff. Players, yeah, but in terms of owners and operational stuff with the league, that's not going to be their stuff. So when it was reported on a NFL media podcast that Robert Sala and Woody Johnson had an altercation, I saw that, I was like, damn, screaming at each other. Now, Woody Johnson comes out and says, unequivocally not true. disregard, fake news. I wasn't there.

I don't know what to believe. But one thing that can't be argued, the Jets are kind of always a shit show. If this had happened between like, hey, Dan, let's use this as an example. Dan Campbell and Brad Quinn were kind of yelling at each other. And then both of them were like, that never happened.

It's like pretty clear they have a really good working relationship. All, it's been hunky dory, whenever we've seen them together these last couple years, she'd be like, yes, that's kind of a weird report. That's probably not true. But if something happens with the Cowboys, she's like, yeah, Jerry and Mike, something's off. Kind of believable, right?

Like, I'm sorry, one thing I've heard about Woody Johnson, not the easiest guy to work for. And I think it's pretty reflective in the organization's success over the last decade and a half. So did this happen? I don't know. Honestly, I don't really care. It does not matter.

People argue all the time. professionally, personally, welcome to the real world. I mean, Woody Johnson just said the other day that if we can't trade Zach Wilson, he's going to be on the team. It's like the owner, what are you talking about? And I understand why. He doesn't want to cut him and eat that whatever it is, $7, $8 million that you'd have to pay him.

He wants no part of that, which I understand from just a dollars standpoint, doesn't make sense. but from a football standpoint, you no longer can have the guy around. Like, it's over. He has no trade value. No one is trading anything for him, unless either you eat the majority of the money,

and the only way he's on another team, which I would guess is everyone's hoping that you cut him. So obviously Woody's trying to, like, draw a lie in the sand. But this story's believable. Why? Because it's the Jets. And sometimes when things come out about, right, certain players, you go,

Yeah, I can see that. You just see crazy stories sometimes about like Tyree Kill. You're like, yeah, I don't know. Might be true. But then you see a story about certain guys like Patrick Mahomes or Josh Allen. You're like, yeah, it seems a little out of character. Sometimes perception is reality. Let's be real.

A lot of times it is. And the Jets, they got a lot of weird shit going on. A lot of owners, that NFLPA report card that came out, they gave a lot of them Fs about like their training room, their locker room, their cafeteria, we're not happy. I think I saw who was the owner. One owner said, I didn't write it down,

that thought it was just like a media skeptical. Like this isn't a constructive back and forth where you meet with the NFLPA and they go, hey, we got these negative marks for you, what's your opinion or how can you go about fixing it? It just gets released and then we all talk about it. And there were a lot of F minuses going around. I think I saw Josh Harris, who in fairness took over the team from Dan Snyder.

I don't put any of this on him. He said he didn't even know an F-minus was possible. That's what happens when you take over Washington. I do think here's the problem. And in my experience, I've only worked for one team. It was top-notch. Jeffrey Lurie spends every dollar when it comes to improving anything. Whether it's the draft room, whether it's a training room, whether it's any facility.

He'll cut a check. He's very pro Money, do what we got to do But this isn't college football So a lot of these guys If you're coming from LSU If you're coming from Alabama If you're coming from Georgia

I've come from Ohio State If you come from Oregon It's the Taj Mahal Because they had to use that to recruit you The recruiting in the NFL is like It's your game check It's hey I pay you $10 million a year Right

Sorry our cafeteria isn't a little bigger Now it is bad business if you have a shitty weight room where your cafeteria doesn't have good food. Like, that's on you. Even Bidwell, I judge him for charging the containers for guys to take home. Like, what are you doing?

But if you, like, don't like the chairs or if your locker room isn't glamorous enough, like, that's not this industry. This industry, it's completely different. And I would imagine for a lot of younger players who are now playing in Power 5 at all these big-time programs, they have spent hundreds of millions, millions of dollars on the aesthetic of it all, right? But it's not like, do you need these flashing

lights and seven lockers per guy with an Xbox and a TV screen in it? Probably not. And I would imagine a lot of NFL teams are like, this is kind of stupid. We're not going to do that. And there's a fine line. Like if you're putting yourself at a competitive advantage, training wise, lifting wise, eating wise, then you're bad at business. Like, you're a fucking moron your cheapscape. but if you're doing if it's not hindering any player's ability to get better to get the proper nutrition

to train then I wonder if some of this stuff's a little overrated and last but not least before we dive into Fugazi Friday is the NFL is going to auction off the Christmas games because it wasn't technically on the schedule I think of the media buy and pro football talk said that potentially

like $50 million a game. So it's just an extra $300 million. So not only did they steal the real estate and the land from the NBA and basically render them irrelevant on that given day, they're profiting from it immediately.

And let's face it, these networks are going to line up to pay that. Well, if you have people lined up and bidding, who's to say they can't get $75 million for each game? and get $150 million of something that they just invented from nowhere that wasn't going to exist before, free revenue.

And this is what I think when Cuban said pigs get fed, hogs get slaughtered when he tucks get slaughtered when he tux shit. I do think there was an element of jealousy. And when you're on top, everything you do, you're able to monetize and you're able to make more money when you're popular. Right? And I think it pisses a lot of people off.

The media obviously always, they hate it. I mean, let's face it, they hate a lot of successful people when it comes to business. I don't know if they were taught that as a kid. I don't know if they learned that in Big J. Journalism school.

But their general take on any successful stuff when it comes to business is always like, oh, the corrupt, corrupt capitalism. It's like, yeah, welcome to real world. And the NFL has figured out a way to capitalize on this better than anyone. And I don't know if it's going to last forever. In the immediate future,

all you can say is chiching. 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. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what I'm saying. Yep, that's me, Clifford Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, the reactions,

my journey from basketball to college football, or my career in sports media. Well, somewhere along the way, this platform became bigger than I ever imagined. And now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, unfiltered conversations with some of your favorite 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 Clivert 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 Cliverts show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or we're

you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok podcast network on TikTok. Do you remember when Diana Ross double-tapped 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 Jette. 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. Including a recent episode, with Mark Lamont Hill waxing all about crack in the 80s.

To be clear, 84 is big to me not just because of crack. I'm down to talk about crack on day, but just so y'all know. I mean, at this point, Mark, this is the second episode where we've discussed crack, so I'm starting to see that there's a through line.

We also have AIDS on the table right now, 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 IHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Okay, Fugazi Friday. I had someone, he was a restaurant owner who was like, you know, I come to podcasts for positive encouragement and uplifting. And all you guys on Fugazi Friday, it's such a negative complaint session. Turns out he was a business owner and he was mad about the tipping thing. It's like, one thing, and another guy is like, stop talking about tipping. it's like guys Fugazi Friday's not going anywhere I'm going to try to pick some other Fugazi Fridays

that aren't tipping related I also think for the most part universally everyone that interacted with this was not saying like I'm not going to tip if it's good service but the notion that you just have to tip without good service that's what everyone was talking about

I think we've all been on the same page there but I took some screenshots of some other ones Fugazi Friday The unsubscribe button process for spam emails Has to be up there with the fakes thing ever It doesn't matter how many times you do it Those emails are still coming

And starting a new email address to avoid the spam Is harder than it sounds With all the legitimate contacts and businesses Who rely on reaching you through that email That's a great point Because I have several times, like a lot of people, hit that little unsubscribe and you just

you can't keep track of every spam email you get and then you realize like I unsubscribe from you know restoration hardware or Nike Golf or Dell computers it's like they're just relentless now I would say the good thing with email is I think we're so numb to just kind of moving through it but like most people now

our businesses are pretty interconnected to getting emails and emailing people and sometimes things get lost in the shuffle because you got so much clutter. One thing with a spam phone call, it's pretty easy like, yeah, I don't need to pick this up. Or if this is not a spam and it's important, they can leave me a voicemail that I'll probably never listen to,

but if they do, then I can figure out who it is and call them back if necessary. But I'm with you. The spam email situation, I wonder the percentage of business that is generated from spam emails, right, that actually a lead from a spam email turns into something. Now, sometimes it gets you, right? It's like, God, I thought I was unsubscribe from

Travis Matthew. And then you'll get one. You're like, 50% sale off all colored shirts and hats. Like, oh shit, I'll buy some. Fugazi Friday, since you're a golfer, when I pay $30 for a cart and my girlfriend is with me, the cart costs $60. Nice guy of you to bring her on a little golf trip if she's not playing. But if I'm by myself, it costs $30. So really, it's $3.00. So really, it's $30 a seat on the golf cart. $60 for a cart is crazy. And I'm at a private club. We usually walk, but the concept is still there.

I was going to defend the cart, Fugazi, because I was at TPC the other day, and I finished, I played early in the morning. I teed off at like 7.10. So I was done by 11.30. It was so bad, I was like, I'm going to go hit some golf balls. And I'm not trying to act like I'm Tiger Woods or anything like I'm some grinder

But it was I was like I don't even know what I'm doing so I'm to go to the range Well I got up to where the cart barn is and I said hey and usually you just take a cart to go down there Like hey can I take a cart I usually just hop in we don't even ask but I there's only a couple carts there And I asked my guy Casey I'm like can I just grab one of these he's like actually we're out of carts He's like some days you know on super busy days And a lot of the pros that come there practice they all grab their own cart even sometimes they come together. He's like, we don't have any. So some of it is just based on inventory at these public courses. They just don't have enough golf carts for how many people are playing.

The private course thing, that's pretty absurd. That's crazy. Now, if they were charging you for your own cart and you can't bring them, it's one thing. A lot of these private courses charge you a fee to just drive your own cart. Like my brother, who lives on a golf course, has his own cart, can drive up and plays on his own cart, but he still pays, I think, like, $100 a quarter or $200 a quarter. Again, they're running a business too. But getting charged per person in your cart at a private course, I agree that's a little outrageous.

John, I live in a state run by liberals. In addition to a recent ban on plastic bags, Fugazi, we also have a ban on flavored tobacco. Tobacco. It was presented under the vagusia Preventing the sale of methyl cigarettes to miners Yet they also banned flavored Zin pouches

Clearly Zin is not tobacco No it's not It's nicotine They sell flavored Nicarette gum What's next? Flavored liquor I know I was playing golf with a guy the other day And I offered him a Zinn

Unlike the second hole And he's like Don't worry about it I got my own. And then we started talking as the round went on. This guy lives in Southern California. And California has banned flavored zins. Now, and like you said, their idea, again, like a lot of these states that banned stuff, they overregulate everything, is against, you know, miners having the ability to buy them. So this guy said he was going to buy like several logs of the flavor he likes to take it back. I didn't realize flavored zins were banned.

until my brother and I were talking, he's like, yeah, I don't have the ability to get the coffee Zins here. I'm with you. That's some of these ideas. This is why, like, I don't even know. It's just, it's beyond stupid. The nitpicking on things that make absolutely no sense, I'd like to see the data to. Like, how many youth is trying to buy the flavored Zins? Also, isn't the Zin nicotine has a lot of positives for you? Like, the one thing with tobacco, I get, right? The cancerous, the fiberglass, it's not good for you, chewing tobacco. Now, I never chewed because it just didn't, like a lot of my friends did growing up, a lot of my friends still do. It never worked in my body. It just kind of made me sick. Even for as much as I wanted to do, like in high school to be cool or whatever, I could never do it, couldn't stomach it. The Zins are

incredible. I mean, I've been going through like a tent a day. They're not really a tin. They're plastic, but you know what I mean? California, man. You never know, what they're going to ban and allow, and they're usually on the opposite ends of the spectrum of like, this makes no sense and neither does this. That's why your boys in Arizona. For Fragazi Friday, I go to a gym where at one point I used to grab a protein shake after every workout. Those protein shakes were $5 and have jumped to $8. I love these shakes, but not as much as a Starbucks coffee. Here's a reality. My gym, I guess the last two gyms I've worked at have had a cafeteria, the one I had in the Bay Area, and now the one I have here in Scottsdale.

And both of them had sweet protein shakes. I mean, it just fucking melt in your mouth. There's always a huge markup on those. There really is. It makes no sense if you're a protein shake guy. Now, I understand sometimes if you're working out in the morning and then going to the office, it's not like you can go home. If you are coming home after the workout, the amount of money, it's no different than buying

coffee and not going to Starbucks. the bang for your buck is a dramatic gap between the two. So, yeah, sometimes you go to Starbucks. One, it's convenient. And two, sometimes you just don't want to make coffee. But we all know at this point in time the difference in the cost. I did the other day, I got a, they have this Moka Java smoothie that is like Moka Java. I get peanut butter in there and has protein.

It's elite. It's also $10. So I know every time I buy it, it's stupid that I bought it. But yesterday I really wanted one. And I also told them to throw in a shot of espresso. The smoothie was $14. So I can complain about it,

but I'm not going to. Because I've acknowledged it. Like the first time, it's like, like you said, sometimes things jump. But hey, we live in like historically inflationary times. Like, what about the month to month at it?

No, over the last three years, I saw something the other day that a lot of goods and services, have generated a jump between 20 to 25%. And I was listening to a finance podcast that talked about, like, typically, everything constantly goes up over a period of time. You know, the jump we've had historically would have been over like a seven to nine year period.

It happened in like 24 months. It's jolting. But even if things are expensive at the store, it's still cheaper to do it, whether it's coffee, instead of Starbucks, whether it's a protein shake instead of your gym. it's always going to be that way. It always is. Now, there's a convenience factor, sometimes like,

I don't really want to do the dishes. But that's lazy. That's me being lazy. Fugazi Friday for you. People who ride the elevator for one floor, unless you have a physical limitation, heavy baggage, like groceries and luggage,

or kids to pack, take the stairs. The elevator should not be packed with people going up one story. I agree. I don't have anything to add there. Fugazi Friday. For the first time this year,

now, what's stairs situation? That's always a question. Are there stairs? Are they easily accessible? For the first time this year, I tried watching the NBA. I turned on YouTube TV to watch the Lakers Bucks game.

I watched that the other night. LeBron just conveniently not playing. Lakers won anyway. And it was blacked out in my area. I tried. Why HBO next and same thing. The NBA is a joke and doesn't even let people watch if they want to watch. Reason why the NFL is king.

I've never had a blackout problem on my YouTube TV, any game. So I don't quite know what's going on there. I can't speak to it. I don't know if it's an NBA thing or more of a coverage thing. Sometimes the games are blacked out. I don't know where you live. If you live in Milwaukee or L.A. It's on the local broadcast, maybe, or vice versa.

But to me, the blackout thing in general is like, I get we got contracts, I get we got rules. But in 2024, under no circumstance should any game ever be blacked out. Let the consumer consume. We got too many options. There's a million things to watch. If you give anyone a reason to like, oh, this is too big of a headache, changing the channel, you've lost.

and the loyalty Listen, the loyalty in my generation as a consumer has never been shorter, ever. So you just, you got to figure that out. I can't speak to your exact problem, but happy Fugazi Friday. 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. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care which I'm saying. Yep, that's me, Cliver Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, the reactions, my journey from basketball to college football, or my career in sports media.

Well, somewhere along the way, this platform became bigger than I ever imagined. And now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, unfiltered conversations with some of your favorite athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. One week, I'll take you behind the scenes of the biggest moments in sports and entertainment, and the next we'll talk about life, mental health, purpose, and even music. The Clifford Show isn't just a podcast. It's a space for honest conversations,

stories that don't always get told, and for people who are chasing something bigger. So, if you've ever supported me or you're just chasing down a dream, this is right where you need to be. Listen to The Clifford show on the IHeart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. Do you remember when Diana Ross double-tapped Little Kim's boobs at the VMAs? Or when Kanye said that George Bush didn't like black people. I know what you're thinking. What the hell does George Bush got to do a little kill? Well, you can find out on the Look Back at it podcast.

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

We also have AIDS on the table right now. Thank you finishing that sentence. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Really? Yeah. For me, it's one of the most important years for black people in American history. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Okay, Middlekopf mailback.

At John Middlecough, fire in those DMs, Instagram, why, open, two Fs. Start with Clay. Question for the mailback. Do you think Lane Kiffin ever gets another shot in the National Football League? Seems like he's matured.

Or do you think he would leave for Bama and he's just content at the college level? It's a good question. He makes about $9, $10 million at Ole Miss and he's turned them into a juggernaut. I mean, they're winning double-digit games.

I saw something on my social media feed the other day. He thinks this is going to be one of their most talented teams. He's crushed the transfer portal. The Bama thing is clearly gone for the foreseeable future. You know, I think Kaelin Du Boer is getting three years at minimum. So, you know, the job was just open, and it didn't feel like they wanted Lane. So to think that I would never say never, but to me, Lane Kiffin probably is more likely to get LSU if Brian, anything weird would ever happen there?

And let's face it, Brian Kelly's going to have pressure next year. I know he had the Heisman trophy winner, but he went 9 and 3. In Florida, if Billy Napier doesn't win, he's getting fired. And to me, if you're Florida, this guy's killing it in the SEC. I think they would be all over Lane Kiffin. I wonder if Lane's just made for college. Like, it just works for him. He's good at the transfer portal.

He's good at social media. you make so much money now. I kind of, if I was a bedding man, I think he's just in the SEC for a while. And I think you would, Florida is the most likely place of Billy Napier's fired. How do they, who would they want to hire over Lane Kiffin?

Especially if he wins 10 plus games again. So this guy's doing this at Ole Miss? What do you think he'd do for you guys? Do you think the bills can still win the AFC East next year? The last two seasons, the Dolphin has, had four game leads and blew the division. That being said, the bills lost a lot of key players and leaders in the locker room.

What are your thoughts on how the division plays out? I haven't looked at the odds yet, but I would bet on the bills. I would be stunned if the bills don't win it. Patriots are going to be god-awful. The Jets, I mean, just got a lot of issues non-stop. I'm sorry, the dolphins are just dramatically worse. They just are. I mean, they lost their second-best player.

I just, this is the Bill's division until they don't win it. How could you bet against them? And I know you guys have some holes. You have the best quarterback by a country mile. I mean, Aaron Rogers is kind of an unknown right now. But Josh Allen compared to Tua, it's like having Steph Curry compared to like, I don't know, the 18th best quarterback.

Or, I mean, point guard. It's not a fair fight. The advantage you have with that quarterback over the Dolphins, who clearly the second best team in the division, I would say it's pretty wide. Here's a question. Tomorrow night, I'll be going to a baseball game at the Tokyo Dome while on vacation here.

Are there any international sporting events you've been to or want to go to? Very excited. You know, a good friend of mine, Brian Hawkins, who played baseball at St. Mary's, the school that makes the NCAA tournament in basketball, one of his good buddies, who he played with in school,

was like a fringe AAA guy, got a couple of year contract, to go play in Japan. And him and some of his friends or some of his teammates went to go watch Kyle play. Instead, it was one of the coolest experiences he's ever been a part of.

This guy's been to SEC games, he's been to big college football like he's been to other events. And so he's never seen anything like it, the Japanese baseball game, like the high level of it. I guess one inning, everyone blows up a balloon

and they all let it go at the same time, they go to the top. So that'd be an incredible experience. I would say I would love to see the all blacks play in New Zealand I'd love to see a big EPL game right Manchester City versus Manchester United

or you know some of that action I haven't really thought about I would love to go to the British Open the golf tournament at St. Andrews specifically that'd be pretty sweet but enjoy it that's that's a cool life experience I would love to go to Japan

I've heard incredible things about Japan. It's clean, safe, great food. Which is an awesome place. Right up my alley. Born and raised, Casey, resident, and fan. We have it so great right now, and I'm living in a fairy tale. That you are.

Podcast question. When you sit down to record, I'm curious what your process is start to finish. What software do you record on? What camera are you using for such high quality? I have a notebook and before I've pressed record, I've obviously kind of put together a show of what's going on. I also have a kind of a running thing on my phone in terms of topics and angles and things that I want to talk about. So I don't just freelance once I hit record.

So I spend, you know, I mean, sick way every day, every hour thinking about it. And any idea comes in, I throw in. obviously certain days are easier than other days. In terms of recording, we have a pretty big setup here. My guy James flew in from Jersey, who is producer here on the show, and set it up. We got a Sony camera. I got this fancy mic. My production, in terms of before I send it off to my people, I just recorded on garage band.

But the cameras, I think, pretty expensive. expensive high-end Sony camera. They're just staring right at me. Got a lot of chefs in the kitchen here figuring this thing out. I wouldn't have known what to do. Before that, I just had one of those like $28 yogis.

I'm a big fan of the podcast. Appreciate your rants with Colin. I'm a Saints fan who got into the NFL in the first season of the Breeze Peyton marriage. Good time to start. All I've known is high level. However, I've been so disappointed and the team's willingness to settle for mediocrity

since the end of that era. I was out on Derek Carr signing from day one and can't believe that Dennis Allen still has a job. What on earth are they trying to achieve? I'm also disappointed with Mickey Loomis, as I imagine, he'd know better than settling for mediocrity. Me and my girlfriend are currently searching for a rental

in a town where the demand is much higher than the supply. It's challenging. The other day, we could have taken an apartment that was kind of okay, but far from my deal. Decent kitchen and living room, but zero storage space and no window bedroom. Later that day, I asked myself, if taking this apartment would be like the Saints settling for Derek Carr? I know that it would be the most mediocre thing to do.

I also asked myself, if I was an NFL GM and I was given the option of having cars, my 100% guaranteed quarterback or a coin flip, would either land me Patrick Mahomes or Zach Wilson, which would I take? Well, obviously, I would flip the coin. So I said no to the mediocre apartment Now I'm left asking myself Why the heck the saints choose to do it I think

The difference in apartment hunting Is I don't know exactly where you live But there are going to be a lot of options Even if like you said The demand is higher than the supply There are just going to be a lot of places you can find a rent out Whether it's apartments Maybe a condo

Maybe you can find some cheap house So guys With quarterbacks, they're just, with quarterbacks, they're just are not. And I guess what you're arguing is the thought of the unknown is better than knowing you get an average of best player. The problem is, in the coin flip analogy, Patrick Mahomes isn't an option. So you're really looking at the coin flip, would I flip a coin to just get a guy better than Derek Carr? Well, free agents, none of those exist. Right.

And in the draft, I forget last year, you guys didn't even have the pick. That was part of it. Didn't the Eagles have your draft pick? Am I off on my ears? I'm pretty sure the Eagles had your draft pick, right? If the Eagles didn't have your draft pick, maybe it's a different story. But I do think that had to play into the fact. So I think they're simply looking at it like, could Derek Carr get us to the playoffs?

and let's face it, that'd be a successful season. Clearly answer year ones no. I do think that you should be more hopeful this year given the Kubiak signing. I just think your offense could be better. My guy Keith Williams, the wide receiver coach, is really good. So, like Derek is what he is. When he plays really well, he's probably the 12th or 13th best quarterback.

When he's bad, he's in the 20s. So can you just get like the 13th, 14th, best quarterback out of him and can you win 10 games? That's what the Bucks figured out with Baker Mayfield. I feel you though. Sucks. No one wants to watch a team where you feel like you're just kind of spinning your wheels. I think the other problem is when it comes to quarterback situations,

a lot of teams are scared of the unknown. A lot of teams are scared of the unknown. And that's where your coin flip. Are you better off? Sean Payton was not. Like, just get Russell Wilson. We'll figure it out. Sean Payton has more confidence than, let's face it, Dennis Allen.

Just use the game time code. You used to get some Orioles, tickets for the opener. Have a good one, bro. You know the thing with the Orioles, I think they're pretty good now. Longtime listener. I heard you and Colin talking about Dion's son, Dion's comments with respect to his son, Shador, and Travis Hunter,

essentially controlling their own fate in the 25 draft. I'm a Cowboys fan. I went to school with Dak and have been following the team long enough to now to have a good sense for how Jerry in the front office will operate. When I heard Deion's comments about wanting to go to quote unquote certain cities and nowhere cold, I immediately thought of Dallas. Jerry loves the bright lights and of course his personal affection for Deion.

With Dax potentially hitting free agency next year and their likely lower first round draft slot, what are your thoughts on the likelihood of Shador to Dallas? Here's the thing with Shador Sanders Obviously, early on in the season, he's talented. He's got a big arm, he's a good athlete, comes from incredible genetics. But like, as the season went on, and we could argue their O-line sucked

and they've made a change of coordinator, there was a lot going on. Like, to me, he is not some elite prospect right now. He's an intriguing prospect. Anytime you're an intriguing prospect, you don't get to dictate the terms of where you go. This is not the NBA,

where team, you know, agents and players have been doing it forever. The NFL never operates like that. It's happened twice, kind of. I mean, ultimately, the Chargers got Philip Rivers and some picks, right?

Or no, was that Drew? Yeah, no, it was Philip Rivers. So I, I don't know. I think we're so far away. Let's just see how the guy plays this year. Let's see how he plays. because the colder weather

city's like, isn't he playing in Denver? That's why I don't call him. Colder weather cities, isn't Denver freezing cold? I think sometimes you know, in Dion's perspective, Dion's an all-time great. Dominant elite ass-kicking player could have played any era,

any time, anywhere, and dominated. Is that Shador Sanders? Maybe it turns out to be. But it feels like he put a lot of pressure on them. Now, they like the pressure. I get it all. And I'm, I'm pro Dion. Because for all the talk with Dionne, Dion's old school, which I appreciate about him. But I do think it's a lot of pressure to put on your son when your team, I mean, is your team any good? Because if your team's not that good, it's very challenging. The DAC situation,

it's definitely a possibility, but I guess we'll see over the next, I don't know, a couple months. Like, do they get a formal agreement or not? Do they just play the season out? Because If they just play the season out, then it's definitely an option. I'd like to hear your thoughts on the Jags Free Agency spree and our upcoming draft needs. We're light on media coverage. I'd be lying if I knew your roster that well. I don't. The two free agent signings that come to my mind, Gabe Davis, which I saw Doug talking about at the owner's meetings.

Obviously, you know, big body can run. He's made some big plays over the years for the bill. It's a guy that's used to being part of a winning operation. I totally understand that signing. Clearly they signed him, knowing that Calvin Ridley was kind of on the fence. Makes a lot of sense. Good signing.

I like that signing. The Eric Armstead won. I get it, right? You keep doubling down on your defensive line. He's a really high character, a leader, comes from a winning operation. A lot like Gabe Davis. So if you just look at it, like,

if we get the most out of these two guys, We're not getting these guys from random teams. These guys have been used to go into the playoffs every single year. The thing with Eric, he just can't stay on the field. He's had planter fasciitis, he's had knee issues. He's huge. One thing with Armstead, he's not like the biggest guy in the NFL in terms of weight.

He might just be, I mean, just when you stand next to him, there has to be a short list of human beings that feel bigger than Eric Armstead. He's fucking massive. Six, seven, three, pounds. He's got to be one of the best looking guys getting off the bus in the league. Trent Balke drafted him, so it wasn't really shocking. If they keep him on the field, positive addition. If he can't stay healthy, which sometimes older linemen struggle with, it's going to be a problem. I've become what seems to be a three times a day now, daily listener. However,

however you plan your content, you truly do it in a perfect way how I consume my day. First, with the Otani News scandal breaking, it makes me wonder, if league officials feel like the direction of gambling has taken sports as less, more, or the exact public headache as they expected. Are they just waiting for an old-school mind in the public to change and not be concerned, or do they think generally fear a game-shattering gambling scandal? Well, there's still a lot of unknown in the Otani story. One historic story with gambling has been players on the take, right?

Like back in the 20s. It happened in college. I remember watching the Netflix documentary, I think in the early 90s at Arizona State, one of their star players, he wasn't throwing the game, he was just making sure the spread was either covered or not. In the NFL, in basketball, in Major League Baseball,

do you know how much money these players make? Right, so the star players, you couldn't buy LeBron James, Steph Curry, O'Tani, a player that makes 30, 40, 50 million. Mahomes, that they make too much money. Well, what happened in the NBA?

A two-way contract guy was hammering his unders. Yeah, he'd be the small percentage of the type player that I guess you could buy. Even in football, with the prop bets, you can't, like if I'm a random running back, I don't control how many touches I get. So there's nothing, or targets I get. I guess I could drop a ball on purpose

if I was a wide receiver, but in the NFL, you might get cut. I think football has to, worry about that less. You know, the NBA with the player props and just some of these shitty teams that have these two-way players making no money. But even

a two-way player in the NBA, what are you making a million bucks? And he's like, giving his buddies heads up for unders, for $10,000 bets. Now, the referees are always something you have to keep an eye on. Because anytime I can get a guy making a couple hundred grand,

well, what if I can give him 50 grand? 50 grand to most pro athletes in the major sports is not much. But to a ref who makes 175 or 225 grand or 100 grand makes you think. So to me, the referees and the umpires are the guys that you have to keep an eye on. I'm less worried about the players, definitely not worried about the coaches. I do think with the players, you know, Calvin Ridley got caught. he got to spend it for a year.

The dude on the Raptors Porter, Michael Porter's brother, like he's gonna get banned for life. It's just not worth it. But I do think the referees, they're someone you just have to keep close, close eyes on, really. To me, Otani, I don't know

if he was betting or not. I mean, it kind of feels like he probably was. Maybe he was getting robbed. I just don't care. I really don't. If you told me he bet against himself on games he was pitching, I would acknowledge.

Like, that's pretty crazy. But unless that comes out or betting on the angels, I just, I can't pretend to care. I really don't. In this notion, I've heard so many people say it

of like gambling, ruining sports, I heard Bill Simmons talking about it. There's been gambling scandals forever. We gamble, right? In every facet of life. People do.

Athletes do. Businessmen do. not just on sports, on life. If you put money in the stock market, you're kind of gambling. If you're gambling on, if you're betting on games, you're taking educated guesses. I'm a free society guy. Get to do what you want. Obviously, if you work in an industry, there are regulations, right? You can't inside trade.

But I'm a big believer. I'm like, yeah, people are going to make mistakes. Most people that are breaking the rules or laws, like kind of know what they're doing when they're doing it. Like, not many of them are like, yeah, I was kind of naive to the fact that they know, they know what they're doing. So I just, I'm not as fazed by, oh, the gambling. It's so accessible on your phone. I didn't know this, Colin said. The average bet's $4.

You know, most people aren't betting that much money. 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. week, my guest, S&L's Mikey Day and headwriter, Streeter Seidel, help an Acapella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform?

We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and friends on the I-Heart Radio app, Apple podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care which I'm saying. Yep, that's me.

Clifford Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, my basketball and college football journey, or my career in sports media. Well, now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, unfilts 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 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. On the Look Back at a podcast.

From 1979, that was a big moment for me. Eighty-4 was big to me. I'm Sam J. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick a year, 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. 84 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. This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed human.