The Herd with Colin Cowherd - AB keeps looking worse; Rodgers defends himself; Dak should give a discount

Episode Date: April 9, 2019

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Three and out podcast. That would be this, what you're listening to. Recording this on a Monday night. As you listen to me right now, we're about 20 minutes away from the National Championship game. Having lived on the East Coast for a couple years, I got mad respect for anyone that consumes sports on that side of the country. It feels late for.

me and the game starts at 6 o'clock or 6.10. 9 o'clock, tip off. I mean, geez, Louise. I get TV ratings and stuff, but I struggle to stay up past 10, so I don't know how you do it. Monday night football. I remember when I worked for the Eagles, you know, the game started 815. It's crazy. I got mad respect for you guys as sports fans on the East Coast. Coming up, big show. We have A.B., juju, beef all over social media. A.B. looks pretty bad. There's really no way around it. Aaron Rogers kind of comes to his own defense.

Of course he does. I mean, what else was he going to say? And I thought Stephen Jones had some pretty strong works. You know, if Dak wants a deal, it's got to be team friendly. And I got news for you. Dak should want to do a team friendly deal with the Cowboys. Because as Colin has talked about forever, and as anyone that just falls football knows,

you are more valuable as a cowboy quarterback than you are with most teams. But let's start with Antonio Brown. And he's gone back and forth with Juju, and it kind of started with an innocuous comment from a follower to Antonio that basically tweeted at him a picture of Juju being the team MVP. And then Antonio kind of crushed him, said that he screwed up their season with a fumble. And then Juju comes back and basically, kind of show shock, couldn't believe he was taking these shots when all Juju had ever done was get his back.

And they kind of went back and forth. And, well, they didn't really go back and forth. But I think Juju was kind of hurt. Then today, Antonio Brown, as of Monday, tweeted out a screenshot of a direct message of Juju when he was at USC just reached out. like you would if you were a college kid and you were in finance and you had like Warren Buffett's direct message just send him a direct message

that basically I'm paraphrasing here I play at USC I play wide receiver I love what you do on and off the field kind of ironic I want to know what makes you great like the dude was just looking for words of wisdom then the irony is that the Steelers end up drafting him

he goes to Pittsburgh and they have a lot of success I say it all the time and I think a lot of you guys on social media easiest way to get a hold of me I always say is on social media at John Middilkoff, we'll do the Middlethoff mailbag a little later, slide up in those DMs, same with my Twitter account.

Is it Twitter really kind of nowadays, people are so emotional with Twitter? Like I'm not very emotional with Twitter. I was a couple years ago. I've gotten a lot better at just like not being as fazed by shit because at the end of the day it doesn't really matter. But earlier, I don't do it as much anymore. You know exactly what I stood for, what I thought about in everything in life, whether it be sports, whether it be politics, whether it be food.

Like, you follow my Twitter account, you got a pretty good feel for me. Everyone that I follow, for the most part, if I followed them for a long time, I know they're true colors. I know exactly what gets under their skin. I know how they view players. I know how they view sports. I know how they view business. I know that most people in the sports media, like there's this narrative. Most of the sports media is really liberal.

No, most of them are. I follow them. They're extreme liberals. Which again, that's a great part of America. You can think however you want to think. But with social media, I know how you think. Well, with Antonio Brown, probably within the last month of this trade going through, I think a lot of people, including myself, were like, you know what?

Some of the shit this guy said is defensible. Big Ben, you know, kind of has a history. of being a dick, kind of has a history of being a me guy, kind of has a history of being a drama queen, and you know what, maybe some of it was on Big Ben. And I think most people agreed. But then

this comes out, Juju, who's pretty harmless, and who has stood for everything that's right about young players in pro sports. Good guy interacts with fans on social media. It's a tough player, is a really good young player, works really hard. I mean

that the direct message that Antonio took a screenshot of the day. I'm a little hesitant to go all in on this one because this has a little bit of a WWE feel and these guys are good with social media so are they just making this all up? I won't discount that that's a possibility here. Though it doesn't feel like one and I don't know why Juju would partake in it, especially because Levion came out, tweeted out a picture or something that James Connor had sent him, about congrats on the deal and how much he admires him and stuff like that.

So it didn't really feel like this is all being made up. But I would be naive to say that it's not a possibility that this is all fake. I'm going to lean on the side that this is real. And I'm going to lean on the side of this is Antonio Brown's true colors. This is the guy that Ryan Clark said, oh my God, you don't want to pay that guy because he ain't going to listen to his soul. and my biggest issue with this entire trade was not that paying Antonio Brown,

he's worth $20 million a year. He's top five wide receiver I've ever seen. He's been the best receiver arguably in the league for the last four or five years. Worth every penny. I have zero issue with what they paid him. And I obviously have no beef with what they gave up to get him. But what they gave up to get them,

they were able to do that for a reason. Most teams in the league didn't want to touch them. And then the teams that did want to touch them, did not want to then add money. Because the moment the Raiders got him, they immediately empowered them by throwing more cash at him. Where it's not like, you know what, Antonio Browns had six straight years of 100 catches,

thousand yards, averaging 11 touchdowns a year. He's making 13 million. He's underpaying. So the Raiders got to take care of him. He was already making $19.5 million. That's the thing with Antonio. He's been making huge cash since really starting in his third year in the league. They have taken care.

The Steelers took care of him multiple times. He's not been some underpaid player. He's been highly compensated and he's been highly productive. It's been a win-win partnership. But this shows that he's going to arguably, and I've had a front row seat for him, I've dealt with their dysfunction. I've dealt with, I got no issue. I don't think Gruden's like some slap, clearly.

I mean, he's a legitimate NFL coach. Like he can coach schematics. But I do think since he has, was last in the league with Tampa, his ego has grown exponentially. How could it not? For 10 straight years, he was making 6, 7, 8 million, kept getting raises at Monday night football because people were getting on their knees and begging him to come coach their team,

college and pro. Finally, the Raiders convinced him to do it, but like I've said this on this show a long time ago, he didn't come to the Raiders out of the goodness of his heart, and to give him $100 million. Not $50 million, which was another team offering him $50, was another team offer him 60 was another team offer and he took a hundred million dollars and i thought it's been pretty disingenuous that gruden often says like you know i want players that'll play for free

because i would coach for free no you wouldn't coach for free you wouldn't coach for 80 million dollars you'd coach for a hundred million dollars but the one downfall i've thought of gruden besides personnel and we'll see if he empowers mike mayock i would bet against it i would bet on them having problems. Two alphas, two headstrong guys. And just, I would bet against that marriage. Not because I don't think Mike's good. I think Mike is good. I think the guru's just not going to listen to him. And he just, because Gruden has all the power. And Mike's admitted as such. Where I see a problem here is, because Derek is, he's a people pleaser. I actually don't think Derek, even when he plays bad, him and if he has

bad games, we'll have that many issues. I see it with John and Antonio. Brown. John has had famous ones before with Kishon Johnson. He had famous, you know, situations with the Raiders back in the day. It was like Al Davis. Big ego guys. He butts heads with. Well, Antonio Brown, who beside the New England Patriots, played for the most consistent organization in the NFL in the Pittsburgh Steelers, played on fantastic teams that were going to the playoffs every year, and played with a Hall of Fame quarterback, and still had issues. So what is he going to do when he runs the wrong route, and I'm not saying he's going to run the wrong route

because he won't know the play, just because he's pissed off, or he has some sideline blowup and him Gruden get into it. And then he tweets out something because it's proven, like we all follow people on social media that just can't contain themselves.

They get so emotional about politics. Oh my God, Trump! Like, what does that accomplish? They just tweet, what is that doing? Is that, is that, If you're like, want to help the poor people, just drive to the area and give some money or clothes. I don't know.

Tweeting about it does nothing. But we've seen it. Antonio, tweeting about this stuff does nothing. But he can't help himself. He's caught up in his own little world, and it's his prerogative. It's his right. The problem is it's not an individual sport. This isn't tennis.

This isn't golf. He is connected with the other 52 guys on his team and his coaches. And as coaches, you know, you could argue. Not the most successful coach in the league, but he might have the biggest ego in the league in John Gruden. And I know John loves him. I know John Ray's about his work ethic. No one ever had a problem. The Steelers never had a problem with his work ethic.

They never had a problem with him understanding the offense. His issue was clearly not getting along with other people. And that, to me, is a pretty big fundamental issue in any office setting, in any team setting. Like, that's a problem. And you're also downgrading quarterbacks. Derek is not as good as Ben. It's just not even an argument. And even in Ben's bad days, he consistently gave AB the ball.

Like AB was targeted countless times every game. That's why he averaged over 100 catches for six straight years. Check the average targets that he had for six straight years. They were extremely high. So it's not like, you know what? They're mad at Antonio Brown. Remember the story that came out a couple weeks ago? I think Levion said, was talking to somebody to ESPN, and was saying something like, you know what?

When Ben gets mad at you, he just won't feed you the ball. Well, that's good in theory, and it's fun to say when everyone assumes that Ben doesn't like AB and AB doesn't like Ben. But the numbers don't agree with that. And I believe stats lie, but the stats do not lie how often they fed Antonio Brown the pill. Derek has had two, I wouldn't say, diva wide receivers. Crabtree would be closer to Amari. Amari's just a different personality. both the relationships did not end well.

Now they didn't end like Ben and AB, but those guys' personalities aren't necessarily like that. Crabtree and Derek did not end well at all. Clearly Amari and Derek were not on the same page at the end. The difference of this situation, now Antonio is dramatically better than those guys, but he can't throw it to himself. And Derek has games where he can look horrendously bad,

really bad. So what happens if that's week one or week two, and they're 0.2? and it's through two weeks, they're 0-2, and they've lost two games by an average of double-digit points, and Antonio Brown has a total of 10 targets. What happens then? I'll tell you what happens, more than likely. Antonio Brown goes to social media, and people like me, I love it.

I can't get enough of it. Great stories. You know who doesn't like it? The team. Gruden, and that's where it becomes a problem. That's why this guy was available, because he is a problem. Now, is he malicious? We could argue this a man.

antics of it all day long. I know this. In 2019, now that social media plays a big part of society, and clearly a big part for teams because all their players are on it, you would like guys that are kind of low-key and that you don't have to worry about freaking out. No different if I ran a media company, I would want some people to kind of contain themselves about certain things other than sports. And that's been a big issue with certain media entities, right? ESPN said, hey guys, stop talking about politics, we're into sports. Like, hey, Antonio, you can talk about yourself, but should you be ripping other people in team dynamics?

Now, you could argue Juju's not on the team anymore. They're not on the same team. So, yeah. But how long until he takes a shot at an offensive lineman, another receiver, the defense, the coaches, to me it feels inevitable, and that is going to be the downfall of Antonio Brown in Oakland. It's not going to be his talent,

because we know his talent is immense. It's going to be his ability to contain himself. And we have proof now over and over he can't. Let me tell you about my friends at Robin Hood. Robin Hood is an investing app that lets you buy and sell stocks, ETFs, options, and cryptos all commission free. Other brokerages charge you up to $10 for every trade. Robin Hood doesn't charge any commission fees

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for off-season activities, phase one, whatever the actual terminology. is it doesn't matter. The offseason began officially Monday, April 8th for the Green Bay Packers. So any press that was around, you better believe they want to talk to

one of human. That was Aaron Rogers. And of course, like anyone right or wrong, typically they're going to defend themselves in their position. And for the most part, most of the quotes I read I have not seen video was Rogers speaking pretty highly about

Mike McCarthy, how they had good times, how he meant a lot to him, how he regretted some comments that he made, I think, after the Bill's game. But he spoke pretty glowingly about McCarthy. Also took some shots at Finley and Greg Jennings, who clearly did he doesn't like, which I don't blame him. We all like and dislike other people. And I had said last week on Friday that I thought Rogers looked worse than McCarthy. My guy, loyal listener, Jeff Schwartz, former offensive lineman, you guys probably follow him on Twitter if you listen to the show. text me on Friday or whatever that he disagreed. He thought McCarthy looked back.

And my thought on the whole thing was, I think McCarthy already was, for the most part, the overwhelming perception just in football, we just casual football fans think, you know, McCarthy wasn't that good of a coach. And he really benefited from having Aaron Rogers on his team. Now, he had some really good teams in 10, 11, 12, right? I mean, they won a bunch of games and they made it back to an NFL. championship game. For the most part, though, I think these last couple years, even I guess the year the Atlanta Falcons went to the Super Bowl, that team wasn't very good. They got hot late,

and it just felt like a basketball team, Rogers carried them. And it felt like from that year till he got fired, most people in football don't think that highly of Mike McCarthy. And it was clear this year with all these job opening. He didn't get a job. Did not get a job. Now, I will agree with Jeff that the article did not make McCarthy look great. Like, it's pretty clear. Some weird shit was going on with massages. But like I said last week, to me, it looked worse on Rogers. Just, I get that some of his former teammates don't like him and we knew that too. But anytime you read in detail about being a dick, one, like I said, to your mother, you're usually not getting the benefit of the doubt from fans. Now, I think we'd all agree

that in this situation, like in any business situation, if you've got to pick between two people, you're going to pick between the more important one. So it was easy in this decision. decision. But I think the reflection from Rogers now puts a ton of pressure after this article on this season. Has a new young head coach who just looks like a male model or something, who hasn't accomplished really anything. They've spent some money for the first time this offseason what feels like ever since like Reggie White or Charles Woodson. In Reggie White they landed. I mean, Charles kind of landed in their lap. Teams didn't want them. But this season they spent some big money. They have two first round draft picks. They have their own.

and then they have the Saints. But I did think this statement by Rogers kind of stuck out to me. This was a smear attack by a writer looking to advance his career talking with mostly irrelevant bitter players who have all have an agenda whether they're advancing

their own careers or just trying to stir up old stuff. And I wanted to say that sometimes moments like this and I don't blame Rogers and I don't know what's true or not. So if Rogers in truth, is right at what Costanza's line.

It's not a lie if you believe it. And we all kind of live in our own little world. So Rogers thinks that even if you are kind of an asshole, if you think you're treating people well, you don't view yourself as an asshole. Even if people and you're a public figure, people talk about you kind of like, you're a dick.

And I think that's just kind of how we've talked about Rogers for a while. The difference is these last couple years, it felt like he was just kind of doing his own thing. Him and McCarthy clearly didn't like each other. But now with this new coach, you'd go, well, maybe he does a little self-reflection and goes, you know what? Maybe I have to be a nicer teammate. But then you read a comment like this, this was just a smear attack. I don't think he's going to look at himself in the mirror and think he needs to change.

Now, he doesn't really need to change as a player. He's a great player. Now he needs to probably be a little more fundamentally sound. I've talked about that in the past. But he probably has to do a better job because one thing's clear that him and younger players didn't always see eye to eye. Well, I got news for you, Aaron. as you get 35, 36, 37, your teammates on the other end of the roster are going to consistently be pretty young. You're going to, hell, this year you've got two first-round draft picks.

Potentially, who knows what they draft, but it might be a tight end and it might be a wide receiver. So it might be two guys you're throwing to both at 22 or 23. You better make a conscious effort to get along with those guys. And, you know, say what you want about Brady, and if you can't learn his playbook, he kind of shuns you, right? doesn't throw you the ball, but at least he makes an effort. He makes a big time effort as a teammate. So you can say whatever line you stand, whether you're pro McCarthy, whether you're pro-Rodgers, whether you think they're both in the wrong.

However, Greg Jennings, Jamichael Finley, right, whatever. To me, it's not even as much about that. It's just Aaron step back at all and go, you know what, for the guy that they gave $100 million guaranteed to, that actually the way the contract work, you got $80 million through the last like six months, do I need to adapt and change a little bit? And from the comment about a smear attack, I'm taking it.

No, I don't think he's in the wrong at all. So I struggle to bet against Aaron Rogers because he's such a good player. I do bet against this Matt LaFleur character. I watch this press conference. I've talked about this before. I was blown away. It looked like he was not just nervous,

but over his head. Now, it is an enormous job. It was, I'm not going to judge you in one press conference. because I did go to Tennessee Titans practice last OTA. I thought he was pretty impressive on the field. Now, to be impressive on the field when you're kind of just a bystander, it's really just kind of yelling at guys, right? You stand out if you're screaming and staying on guys.

And he was. He was yelling at the wide receivers and the tight ends and Marriota. I was like, God, this guy's got a presence to him. Now, that's been one of the knocks on the coach. He doesn't have a presence to him. But Will Rogers make a conscious effort with his coach and definitely his younger players? Because potentially, depending on how this draft shift,

shakes out. He might have two skill guys that are 22 years old that they just drafted in the first round. And I would bet against it. Just like I bet against Chip Kelly changing when he kept getting hired. Just like I'd bet against John Gruden changing because when you're paid so much money. And even if people crush you, the direct deposit always makes you feel and I've never experienced this. And I hope that I can always be self-reflective and take a step back. I think We all do. But it's human nature when you're getting enormous amounts of money. For guys, it kind of defines your success.

Right or wrong. And I'd probably lean it's not necessarily right. Now, Roger's success has been defined on the field where he's been a fantastic player and he deserved the money. But in his mind, he goes, I've been so damn good and we've won, if anything, because of me. So I do understand why he would say maybe I don't have to change. But this is a good opportunity for maybe to take a deep breath and like, is there anything I can improve on? because when you stop improving,

whether it's just with your basic fundamentals, which he's terrible at, I mean, his fundamentals are awful and it gets them in trouble, or even as a teammate or a leader. Hell, you can read any leadership book. You always have to be evolving. You're going to get yourself into rough situations. And the division's probably never been better.

With the Bears are going to be really good. I think the Vikings are going to be really good. And even the lions are going to be improved. But those two teams are just better. Clearly better on paper, and they were better on the field than the Packers. So as a fan of football and as a lover of Rogers, the player, not necessarily the person,

I do hope they're relevant and I hope they're good this year. But I just don't feel that confident that he's going to make a willing change. Okay, let's get into them cowboys. You know, you probably argue the biggest brand in the NFL and anything they do is a story. This weekend, I think it was Friday night. It might have been Saturday. I don't know.

The weekend when you're... when you're letting loose and getting after it, all kind of runs together. But they signed DeMarcus Lawrence for a lot of money. And Peter King actually had some really good nuggets this morning and his, I wanted to call it MMQB, but it's like football morning in America now because he went to NBC,

about how Stephen Jones got on the phone with DeMarcus Lawrence. And typically the way it works in the NFL, I've never negotiated a deal, but I talk to enough of these guys. They just deal with the agent, right? You just deal with the agent. and you don't often talk to the player and that's where some issues often happen

well, DeMarcus Lawrence's representation told him you should call Stephen Jones it will help make the deal go through and they talk and I think clearly it worked out because he got paid well Dak Prescott and Stephen Jones made a comment that they need to sign a team friendly deal basically if the deal's going to get done it's got to be team friendly and I was thinking like

for how many people in a lot of you you guys and the expansion of this podcast has really grown over last year. The reason you know who I am is because of Colin Coward. I'm on Colin Coward's podcast feed. If it wasn't for that, a lot of you guys maybe eventually would have found me. I believe the cream usually rises, but you might not be listening to me right now. So without Colin Coward, this podcast, even if I would have started it completely on my own, probably would have had a lot less people listening. I know for a fact, a lot less people would have listened. And more than likely, many of you that have your ear pods in at work, whatever, would not be listening to this. I need Colin Kaepernick much more than, or I call him

Colin Kaepernick, Colin Coward, not Colin Kaepernick, much more than he needs me. I'll promise you that. I got news for you, Dak. You need the Dallas Cowboys much more than they need you. Now, they do need you too. And to me, that's why the analogy of me and Colin doesn't work. Like, they do need Dak. He is a good quarterback and he's a good player. But I know Colin has talked about this on his show. He benefits a lot. And let me repeat, a lot from being the Dallas Cowboys quarterback. And that's the one thing that Dallas has that other teams, like when Khalil Mack left, he upgraded teams. The Bears are a bigger deal in the NFL than the Raiders. There is not a team that Dak could go to. unless he took over for Tom Brady,

there would be a bigger deal than the Dallas Cowboys. So whether he takes a little less money. And when I say less money, I'm talking like a five-year, $100 million deal, so average about $20 million a year and guarantee him like $60 million. Now, would Dak sign that?

Probably not. But if he was smart, he would. Because the amount of money that he could make as the Dallas Cowboys quarterback is basically infinite, especially if they win. And they're going to be good. The roster is loaded.

You want to keep this roster going. And his two key pieces on offense, Zeke, the best player on the team, needs to get paid. I'm sorry, Dak, he's much better than you as a player. Amari, I probably wouldn't pay Amari this year. I'd make him play out the fifth year option, but he's going to get paid too, especially if he has a good year. But Dak has to realize the Cowboys have a lot of leverage in this. Now, how do they find a quarterback? It's not like they have an unlimited amount of leverage because they do need what he

brings to the table. But the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the with Dak and the elephant on the room with with Dak, I think when you talk to Dallas Cowboy fans, they go, how good is he? He's never going to be a top five quarterback in the NFL. He probably on his best day is like 7 to 12. And he has some days where he's like

15 to 20. But because the team is so talented, you can get by. And like Colin Kaepardick, when he was with the 49ers, and I would say Colin was more talented than Dak, faster runner, bigger arm, the whole deal. He benefited a lot

because he was also like Dak, a flawed player, very inaccurate, could not just throw basic routes, and Dak's downfall is usually the deep ball he's terrible at. Collins' team was loaded. The defense was absolutely stacked. They were paying a lot of people, a lot of money. Patrick Willis, Navarro Bowman, Joe Staley, Frank Gore, Vernon Davis, Michael Crabtree, Justin Smith, Alden Smith, Ray McDonald.

I mean, they had a lot of good players. Some of them turned out to be questionable characters, but they could ball. And that's a big part of the Colin Kaepernick hype, which he made happen, just like Dak is a big part of the Cowboys winning, because when they're playing well, he usually is playing decent, even if it's with his legs. That's fine. Their defense is so good and down the stretch. But he wasn't good enough in that playoff game. He wasn't. That's why, me, in the peak of Colin Kaepernick was a better player than Dak. Like, you could win playoff games with Kaepernick. As long as your team was really good. Can you do that with Dak? so far he's one and two in the playoffs. And in two of the three playoff games,

I guess his rookie year when they lost the Packers, he was good in that game. This year, he wasn't very good in the game against the Rams and he was fine against the game in Seattle. But they need better. And to me, that's why I'm not rushing. And I agree with Steven.

Like, Dak, if you're willing to sign a team-friendly deal, we'll sign you right now. But let's not act like you don't need us. We're not the Jaguars. This isn't the Houston Texans. This isn't the Arizona Cardinals. This is Dallas freaking Cowboys. and you've been the quarterback here since you were a rookie.

And you weren't some first rounder, you were a mid-rounder. And you, you know, you were a high character guy, but you did have DUI right before the Combine that probably cost you a round. And we took you. We didn't really believe in you off the bat because you were like a third and fourth-string quarterback. It took Tony getting hurt. Then it took Kellan Moore getting hurt. It took some things happening.

But you took advantage of it. You took advantage of the opportunity like any human has to do in life. And you ran with it. And you've been damn good. But you're still flawed. And you have to admit that. And you can, the one thing about where I always side with players, you got to get your money while you can.

Well, when you're the Cowboys quarterback, you can make so much money. Would he be on the Campbell Soup if he was the Arizona Cardinals quarterback? Of course not. They would not have chosen. But he's a Dallas Cowboys quarterback. And he's good. And I actually think he's got room to improve. But I would recommend.

I don't think it's crazy to sign a team-friendly deal. Because unlike some of these organizations where they can get cheap, I know the Cowboys, they're all in with their chips. And they need you to sign a team-friendly deal, not so they can pocket some money, because they want to sign all your sweet teammates to deals, as they just did with DeMarcus Lawrence. They want to do it with Zeke.

They probably want to do with Amari. They want to do with all these guys. That's where Kaepernick got screwed. He signed a team-friendly deal, and they started letting guys walk, like Mike Yupati, Michael Crabtree, Frank Gore, they just let him walk. Jerry ain't going to do that.

Jerry, every guy that you want him to keep and that you would think, Like, I'd want Zika on my team. So does Jerry. Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind. Highlights are trending. Opinions are flying.

And nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where sports slice comes in. I'm Timbo. Every episode, we're cutting through the noise. Breaking down the plays, the controversies, and the stories behind the headlines. We go straight to the source, the athlete themselves. Their locker room stories, their reactions, the stuff nobody gets to hear. The laughs, the drama, the triumphs, the moments that never make the high

violate reel. From viral moments to historic games, from buzzer beaters to controversial calls, we break it down, give you context, and ask the questions everybody wants answered. Sports Slice brings you closer to the action with stories told by the people who live them. Listen to Sports Slice on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Slicelife-12 and the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hardway with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Kier Games. nation of Mental Health Awareness Month. I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience in the

mental health field and conversations with so many incredible guests. I'm talking. Trip Fontaine, Ryan Clark. Sometimes when we're in the pursuit of the thing, we get so wrapped up in the chase that we don't realize that we are in possession of the thing. And we're still chasing it. And we don't know when we've done enough. Because people scoreboard watch. Life becomes about wins and losses. Steve Burns, Dustin Ross, because you find an important. to be a good person while you hear on earth? Or are you a good person because you're afraid? Because that's two different intentions, bro.

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The question is, how do you conquer them? On Hurtle with Emily Abadi, we sit down with the most inspiring women in sports and wellness, professional athletes, coaches, and Olympic champions to talk about the challenges that shaped them and the mindset that keeps them going. From the WNBA standout Kate Martin and rising hockey star Layla Edwards. If a boy can do it, I don't see why a girl can't. Like, I've never understood that. Like, it didn't make sense in my brain.

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I can do anything. Because resilience isn't just about winning. It's about showing up, even when it's hard. Listen to Hurtle with Emily Abadi on the IHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts for wherever you get your podcasts. Presented by Capital One, founding partner of I Heart Women's Sports. That's why Jerry drafted them really high. They're going to want to keep them already.

They just traded a first round pick for him. DeMarcus Lawrence became a franchise level player. They broke them off. But, Dak, if you want to, if you're adamant that you're an $85 million guarantee guy, which you're not. And if you make the playoffs this year, you'll probably get that. Your team is not going to be as good. and that is going to reflect your ability because I saw it firsthand with Colin Kaepernick

the first couple years when they started letting guys go he wasn't good enough to carry him and Dak is not good enough to carry him but if your team's really good and it is and it's complete it's good on offense you can run the ball now that you have Amari Gallop's not terrible

you have a little bit of a passing game if your team stays complete you got a chance Dak to win a Super Bowl as a Dallas cowboy quarterback again not the Cardinals not even the Seattle Seahawks not the Minnesota, the Dallas freaking Cowboys. You will be a lifetime legend.

And every, let's say you sign for 60, when you couldn't sign for 75 million, I promise you. You'll easily make that much money times tenfold. And you'll never look back and you'll be a lifetime legend. So listen to Stephen Jones. He's not trying to screw you. Do you own or rent your home?

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to Shopify's entire suite of features. Grow your business with Shopify today. Go to Shopify.com slash J-O-H-N, Shopify.com slash John. There's a recipe for getting your car running just right. And whatever you're cooking up in the garage, you'll find what you need at eBaymotors.com. They have over 122 million car parts and accessories in stock, all at the right prices.

And that can help you turn your ride into something really tasty. The parts you need are just to click away at eBaymotors.com. Let's ride. Okay, let's get into the Middilkoff mailbag. Got a lot of good Middilkoff mailbag, Instagram. You can always get a hold of me. At John Middlecoff is my Instagram handle.

And it's the easiest way to get on the show. You just fire into my DMs and I'll answer your question. Good insight on Charlie Embersaw. You're the only one so far. which sounds like the correct take on him. Sounds like he is a party boy and dated Britney Spears not too long ago. Not even a question, just reading a positive comment. Try to keep a positive on here.

Hey, John, do you think that Vince McMahon throws a shitload of money at Gronk and he ends up at XFL either as the face of it or as the face of a franchise? That is a hell of a question. I never thought about that. the only thing I would say for Gronk is money hasn't been an issue. He's been making a ton for the last five or six years. Everyone close to him is adamant that he saved it all.

So he's not in financial, you know, he's not anywhere near financial hardships. He's retiring because he has a bunch of money in the bank. He doesn't need the physical wear and tear. Now, does he make some sense as like a face of the league? Yes. he's not playing that only goes so far but I definitely think it would make some sense right for Vince to get Gronk involved in the WWE and then kind of use him with the XFL I've lot that's

genius so yeah I absolutely love that idea I just I have a hard time seeing him playing in even if the XFL is cool that first year it's not going to be great football I mean let's call it what it is. I watched them A.A.F. It wasn't that great. Is Gronk, who's going to be a Hall of Fame are going to come back for a season or two on the field for the XFL? Have a hard time seeing that. Now, if they gave him $15 or $20 million, even if he's got money in the bank, like, listen, we've all been doing well at certain points in time in your life where you're like, you know, I don't need the money. And then someone offered you a number. You're like, ah, well, actually do it. Like, we all got a number.

So would he play one season in the XFL for $20 million? I wouldn't put it past Vince. I would say that I have a hard time seeing him do it, but you never know. I definitely think there's already some connections with him and wrestling, him and Vince. I was thinking more with just the WWE, but why wouldn't you get Gronk involved in football?

So best question I think we've ever had in the middle-off mailback. Love it. so hey john enjoyed your last podcast so in your mind who's the bigger dirt bag for enjoying their family patrick reed or aaron rogers pretty good question for me to have a dirt bag ranking i have to know the reason you don't talk to your family uh patrick reed felt was more his wife patrick reed's defending masters champion golfer jordan speed hates does not talk to his parents but he's got kind of a sketchy past. Rogers doesn't have a sketchy past.

He's never been in trouble or anything. He just kind of has a pass where people think he's kind of a dick. So I would lean Patrick Reed. I think there are two different animals. But I've been saying to a lot of people that have been texting me about the Aaron Rogers thing, like again, man, unless she had like criminal activity against you or, you know, left you when you were a child, not talking to your mother. If you're a guy and she's still alive.

That one's hard to justify. I really don't see how it is justifiable. So they're both, to me, I got massive red flags. Now, from the little information I have a little more on read, I go read, bigger questionable individual. I think Rogers, and from people in the know, acted like Olivia Munn, played some role. But Rogers today, when he talked to the media,

I mean, was adamant. One thing he kept saying was claiming that he doesn't hold grudges or that he thought that him still holding a grudge over Alex Smith was like preposterous. Preposterous. Well, wouldn't it be kind of crazy holding a grudge with your parents over something that happened years ago? Like, they're your parents, man. And you're in your late 30s, meaning they're probably, I don't know, 65, 70. Like, they're not going to be around forever.

You might want to get on that and just call her and see how she's doing. Hey, John, not a really big Barry sports fan seeing that I'm from Northern Ohio, but since I've been listening to you and watching your live streams, I've gained an interest in the Bay Area as a whole. What are the chances that Gruden and Mayock take Devin White over Josh Allen? On Twitter, it seems like Josh Allen is a lock to go to Oakland if Williams and Bosa are gone at 2 and 3. I definitely think it's on the table.

I personally would take probably Devin White. I'm going to write something this week on Josh Allen. I really only watch Josh Allen hardcore in the bowl game. so a lot of my thoughts on Josh Allen have been through friends in the NFL that they've been adamant about two things whenever I go, Alan or Bosa, people that I trust the most,

guys that I work with that I know know what they're talking about and don't have a skin in the game, they're not getting these players because most of my friends are in the playoffs. They say that they don't even think it's close. That Bosa is a much more natural pass rusher. Josh Allen, if you talk to certain people, they'll go, you know, he's really more of an overachiever.

Now he's a talented overachiever, like he plays really hard. There's nothing wrong with playing hard. Like Khalil Mack plays really hard. Von Miller plays hard. But they have elite attributes. I got to dive in and watch Josh Allen. 6'4.

He's long. He's productive. But how's it going to translate? And also, he is a, from what I've talked to, more of a 3-4 outside linebacker. Think Alden Smith. Now, Alden could play 4-3 and 3-4, and you could argue nowadays. You're in, you know, passing situation so much. Your hands in the dirt, or you can stand it doesn't necessarily.

necessarily matter. But, you know, the Raiders, are they an ideal fit for them? I'm going to have to look at that later. I think Devin White's really good. The one knock I've heard on Devin White from my people in the league, and I watch a lot of Devin White, and he makes him just incredible flash plays. He's a freak athlete and can fly. Is that like, think Roquan last year? What made Roquan so special, he was a heat-seeking missile because he was so instinctive. So he was always in the right place. And I got a front row seat in the prime of their careers, Willis and Bowman. what made them so dominant, and I think Kikley was like this too, it is like this when he's on the field, is their athletic ability is elite, and their instincts are elite, and then their physicality is elite.

So it's like, they're always around the ball. And my buddy was like, you know, Devin White sometimes he just, he makes some plays, even though he's taking wrong angles or he's in the wrong spot because he's a freak athlete. Now you can get away with that in college, but every step you take it gets a little harder. Now, he is really young, can you coach him up for sure? Like, I watch Devin Bush, who is not going to go as high as Devin White. I'd say Devin Bush's best attribute from him that I've seen is his instincts. Elite instincts.

And to me, that matters at linebacker. That matters, you know, a lot. You have to admit that the Steelers, Raiders, rivalry is renewed. Yeah, I mean, I don't think there's much of a rivalry there. DeMarcus Lawrence has a new deal. Since he won't play under the franchise tag, could the team technically use a franchise tag on someone else? No, I think there's a date that you have to franchise them by

before the season ends. Or not the season ends before the league year starts. So whenever free agency starts, like the week before the franchise tag, there's a deadline that you have to franchise them. And then once you franchise them, there's that deadline in the middle of June or July they have to sign it by. But, yeah, I don't think they can franchise

I'm no cap guru and I don't know all the rules, but I'm like 98% positive that once free agency starts, you can't retroactively franchise. Now, you can yank the franchise tag or yank the transition tag like happened to Josh Norman. Did it happen to Fools or they just never franchised them? But you can yank it at any time, but you can't add it. Now, luckily for them, they would have been in a tough position

had like Zeke and DeMarcus been a free agent. And if that had been the case, I think they would have been more active and got one of them done. That's a part thing about the Cowboys. Like next year, what year is this for Zeke? Is this going to be his fourth and it's going to be Amari's fifth? So yeah, I guess next year, technically, they would have Amari and Dak would be free agents. So you can only franchise one. That's why I think it's fair to say and safe to say that they are 100, because Dak is going to be

Dax's fourth year and he was a mid-round pick, fourth-round pick. he's a four-year contract. This is Amari's fifth-year option. So that's where you get a situation where if you want to keep them both, you better get one signed this off-season. So then worst-case scenario, to me, I'd rather sign Amari. Because I think I can get Amari a little cheaper, probably 16-17 a year. If Dak's not signing the team-friendly deal,

like, I'm sorry, Dak, you're playing out this year, and then I'll franchise you next year. Unless we win the Super Bowl or something, I'm not giving you a huge catch. You don't deserve it. Everyone in this planet, beside Dak and his agent and maybe his family, know that. And I also, like I said earlier, I think it can be a win-win with Dak. I really do. I think him making $20 to $22 million is not a bad deal at all.

If you're UCLA, why aren't you sending the house at Chris Beard from Tech? Seems like a no-brainer. Well, now that I'm way deeper in the podcast, let me flip on the national championship game, it was just reported that Rick Barnes, former Texas coach, now at Tennessee, who had them number one in the country. Virginia, as I'm recording, this is up 3729. I feel like Virginia's going to win. But Rick Barnes, when I grew up, I grew up in Davis, and it's about 45 minutes away from Berkeley. And my dad, we used to go to a lot of Cal football games, but we were also big Cal basketball fans.

I became a pretty big UCLA basketball fan because I had a family friend that played. on some of those teams with Steve Lavin. And it used to, I mean, the West Coast, we actually weren't a very good football conference. Like when I was growing up, Stanford wasn't good, Cal wasn't good, UCLA was okay, USC was down, Arizona was okay, like Oregon was solid, Washington was okay, Oregon State was decent.

Like the Pact 12 wasn't great in football, it was much more of a basketball school. Because UCLA was good, UCLA was really good, Arizona was really good. Stanford with Mike Montgomery was excellent. Oregon was solid. Washington and Washington State had their moments. So this conference was a basketball conference.

We'd laugh at the SEC. Now the SEC, UCLA, who is like the equivalent for basketball on the Pack 12, I wouldn't go with, I mean, they're basically our Kentucky, can't even get Tennessee's head coach. It's crazy. It really, to me, it's a reflection of the country. conference and I say it all the time and it's part of its bias, part of its anger, but part of it's just facts. There are four major conferences right now in college sports and it's, and let's call it what it is. When I say college sports, I mean basketball and football. And really the main thing is

football, but basketball is big too. The SEC is the cream of the crop. The Big Ten is right there. The ACC is damn good because they're a basketball conference, but they also, their best football team is Clemson, so they've won two or three national championships. So they're a pretty good shape. And the, what team, Big 12? Well, I don't know. They got Oklahoma. I mean, shit, Texas, Texan the national championship.

And then you got us. So you got the Big Four, and then, like, there's a tier, and then there's the Pack 12. And they're, like, right behind the Pac-12. And, hell, you can even argue might not even be that big of a difference. Like the Mountain West, whatever the health conference, they call that one that Houston and UCF's in. Like, you could argue the last couple of years. years, those conferences have been every bit of the equal in basketball and football as the

Pact 12. And it's all about money. Like, the highest paid coach out West is Chris Peterson. I think he makes like $4, $4.4.5 million. That's like what, I don't know, Ole Miss pays their coach. You know, what do you think Kirby Smart and Dan Mullen? I'm not even talking Sabin. Mark Stoops or Mike Stoops or whatever the Stoops brother is at Kentucky. I remember I had a buddy that was coaching a position in the SEC.

A position was making like 450 gur. That's like what we pay offensive coordinators out here. Financially, we've fallen completely behind. Because you can coach basketball, definitely football, in like the Big 12 or the SEC or the ACC. I mean, Dabble makes like $8 million. Dabble's coordinator makes two. That's NFL money.

You say you'd always go to the NFL because you'd make way more money. Well, you don't need to leave Ohio State for the NFL. The Ohio State for the coordinator pays you $1.5 million. dollars. Do the coordinator at Clemshire. The coordinator at Alabama. Coordinator at Florida. Coordinator at Oklahoma. You make huge cash. It was always like, you got to go to the NFL. That's the private sector. That's where the big money is. Now these colleges pay so much unless you're in the PAC 12, then you always leave. Because the money's not there. And again, these are first world problems. These guys all make

a lot of cash. Even a lower, I mean, no one's crying for an offensive coordinator in the pack 12 making $750,000. But when you're just factoring in the industry, they're not competitive. And now it's football failures have now bled into basketball. UCLA can't land a coach. It's save their life. It's kind of sad. It kind of pissing me off, to be honest with you. I'm a huge Seahawk fan,

and I was wondering how they might go about building a team around Russell Wilson if they sign them to a new mega deal. And how much you think the new deal would be worth? I think I might have talked about this on the last podcast. To me, a fair deal would be, no math major, let me pull out my calculator, five years times $35 million a year, that's $175 million. So he's 31 years old. I give you a five-year deal at $175 million per, and 120 to $130 million. I'd start at $120, I'd give $125 million. How you build a team? The salary cap is no longer $70 million.

We're talking $200 million. This year it's 188. So by next, year it'll be like 198. It's gone up 10 million a year for the last five or six years. So it's only going to go up. And they have a ton of money. Now their owner just died, but I'd have no problem given him five years, $35 million per and guaranteeing 120 to $130 million. Here's my problem. And people, it feels like there's some smoke and people are like, oh, they're going to trade him? And I don't Collins talk. Trade him for what? Like how do you replace him? He's basically the Michael Jordan of their franchise. The best player is. they've ever had. Now you could argue Earl

Thomas, they've had some really good players, even with the early Russell Wilson team. But the most important, he's a quarterback. So you're going to trade them for even if you traded them, let's say, again, some crazy hypothetical. The Raiders would offer you six first round picks. How are you going to find Russell Wilson

with one of those first round picks? I give you six first rounders, but how do I fill the Russell Wilson void? I got news for you. You don't. That's why you don't trade them. Why you don't even entertain trading them? It's just why you pay them. You make them your quarterback for the rest of Pete Carroll and John Snyder's career. Just wondering why the NFL doesn't have a sponsorship patch yet on their jerseys like the NBA.

Studies have shown that sponsorship patch alone has brought in over $150 million to the league. Seems like the NFL owners should talk about this at the league-wide meeting, but I'm not hearing any information about it. What are your thoughts? Well, I know the Niners, the Cowboys, and the Eagles off top of my head, and I'm sure countless, I think the Vikings, a lot of teams, a lot of teams on their practice jersey so like during training camp during OTAs

while their players are interviewed have them. I don't know if there's like league bylaws anyone that's involved in some sort of club and that's basically what the NFL is just a you know a $15 billion a year club. There are bylaws and maybe they had stuff written in for the jerseys

I'm not exactly sure I'm the wrong guy to ask on that but I do know for a fact that many teams and probably you guys listening because I get so many DMs from all you guys. Probably every single team is representative that listens to this podcast. You know, oh, you go, oh, yeah, the Bengals have one. Oh, the Saints have one.

Most teams on their practice jerseys now have one. Now, why don't they have them on the Game Ward jerseys? I would guess, and this is just an educated guess, it's in like the NFL bylaws that you can't mess with the jersey. Maybe it's easier in the NBA to put them on the side. Like in baseball, they don't have them either. I mean, in golf and like NASCAR, those guys are walking just sponsors. I'd be all for it.

I mean, that's what, you know, really what did basketball steal it from, right? The EPL and the soccer clubs, they have a bunch of shit all over their jerseys. And, you know, fans don't care if the team's good. So we're headed that way. Whether that's next year, whether that's in five years, we're going to be there for sure. And you know, if it's $150 million for the NBA, think of what the NFL would. Think of what a major company. Netflix or

whoever, Gatorade, or I guess Gatorade's already represented, but just any of these companies would pay to be on the Cowboys jersey, to pay to be on the Patriot jersey, to pay to be on the Eagles jersey. Think how much money they could make off that. So they're definitely talking about that. But they're also at the point

like, you know, to me it's not necessarily that, adding that is not like pigs get fed, hogs get slaughtered, that's just good business. But you got to be a little careful of that because they already have this kind of public perception that they're all about the money, and they are, as they should be. It's their business model is to make money. But I would imagine we're headed toward, you know,

Google being on the Arizona Cardinals jersey or whoever. But you can always hit me up at John Middlecoff. Middlecoff mailbag. We'll answer your questions. Thanks for them all. They're pretty good this week. Watch the end of this game and I will talk to you Friday. We're not that far away from the draft. We're right around the corner. Godspeed. Enjoy the week. Talk to y'all soon. See it. Get right to the romance and find the way to wow this valentines with 1-800 flowers.com. From classic roses and bouquets to decadent chocolate-covered berries, gourmet treats, and more. Surprise your valentine with 1-800flowers.com.

Right now, get the 18-stem enchanted rose medley for $3999, or upgrade to 24 red roses for $10 more. Go to 1-800flowers.com slash tune in. That's 1800flowers.com slash tune in. Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where SportsSlice comes in.

I'm Timbo, and every episode we're cutting through the noise, breaking down the biggest moments in sports and giving you the real story behind the headlines. And we're going straight to the source, the athletes themselves, their locker room stories, their reactions in the moment, and the stuff nobody gets to hear. Listen to SportsSlicse. on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast.

And for more, follow Timbo Sliced Life 12 and the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. Another podcast from some SNL, late-night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smigel and friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer Streeter Seidel, help an a cappella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform? We do some retirement home.

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, guys? This is Clivert Taylor the Fourth. And on my podcast, The Cliverts Show, I'm bringing you conversations about all kinds of stuff. Like being an internet famous referee. We're in the middle of a game. This linebacker walks up to me, he goes, hey, ref, my mom wants you to wave at her. What?

Time out. Look. Quarterback on office blue with 42. Hey, Brett. My mama want you to weigh better. What? Hey, Ms. Parker. Listen to the Clippers show on the IHeart Radio app,

Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. 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. And I'm looking back on some of my greatest playoff moments. If we didn't talk ever.

again, I was crying. You just understood. That's how personal it got. Wow. Then after that game seven, Marquis come in to, 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. This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed human.