The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Colin Cowherd Podcast - Caitlin Clark Is “Magical”, John Calipari To Arkansas, You Can’t Pay Tua, UFC #300

Episode Date: April 8, 2024

Colin is joined by John Middlekauff, host of “3 and Out”! They react to South Carolina beating Iowa to win the national championship in Caitlin Clark’s final collegiate game, and break down why Clark is a transcendent “must see TV” athlete like MJ and Tiger (3:00). They pour over the ratings for both the women’s and men’s tournaments and why they feel “big” while the NBA is suffering from self-inflicted wounds (10:30). They also address the reports that John Calipari will take over as the head coach at Arkansas and debate whether his tenure at Kentucky was a failure (22:30). Colin predicts that Washington will pick Jayden Daniels at #2 overall in the NFL draft (31:15) and a flurry of moves on draft day with quarterback needy teams making trades (36:30). They break down the process for NFL teams vetting draft prospects character and intangibles (41:00) Finally, they preview UFC #300 and talk about why Dana White has been so successful in building UFC into a must-see spectacle (49:30). They address the reasons behind the layoffs at the NFL Network (56:30) and John lays out his argument for why the Dolphins CAN’T pay Tua (01:00:00) (Timestamps may vary based on advertisements.) Follow Colin and The Volume on Twitter for the latest content and updates! #Volume #Herd #3andOutSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Issued as one bonus bet based on amount of initial losing bet. Bonus bets expire 168 hours after issuance. See dkng.com slash promos for deposit wagering in eligibility restrictions, terms, and responsible gaming resources. As we usually do on a Sunday night, you hear it Monday or maybe Sunday night. Former NFL Scout, three announced the podcast, and we chatted up for about 55 minutes to an hour. Let's start with Caitlin Clark. I watched it on a plane. Generally, the great team beats the great player.

I think Yukon is going to beat Zach Ead. I think, I mean, South Carolina's bench at one point had 30 points. Iowa's had none. So the better team. Frankly, I thought Yukon women were better than Iowa. I thought the last two games, Caitlin Clark just kept them close. I've heard Trey Young, she's a better passer than Trey Young. Yeah, I mean, it's at this point, even LeBron came on X and said, listen, if you don't like your game, stay away from those people.

Those people are crazy people. Between the continuity and chemistry of women's basketball, because they're all coming back, juniors and seniors, the quality of basketball is really good. I mean, but the product's good when I watch it. I thought these last two games, and listen, beside a couple of times last year, it's not like I've been glued to Caitlin Clark's season.

I was riveted. I mean, that Yukon game, one, because you think she's going to lose. Clearly, you're playing Gino an all-time program, and she wield her team to win. Colin, I was tempted. They were a big underdog. I almost gambled on women's college basketball game.

And it wasn't going to be a small amount. But I got, obviously, South Carolina hadn't lost. And you knew earlier like, God, this South Carolina team is loaded with athletes. They had five new starters from last year. It's like the Alabama of college basketball right now. But she is, what I don't understand, and I get it. Like, I defend the guys in the NBA from the 80s and 90s who could be negative toward the newer guys.

They're not talking about Steph Curry and Yannis. They're talking about the percentage of guys making these $200 million contracts that should not be making that. I'd be bitter too if I was them. You saw a lot of former women stars come out. It's like, guys, this is,

I'm going to pay attention to what she does in the WNBA. Not claiming I'm going to get the WNBA package here, but she's the first player to get me to pay attention. Obviously, college basketball, women's or men's, their brand Iowa brand is infinitely bigger than the WNBA as a whole right right so it's not it's hard to compare but she clearly has transcended it all and she just we don't feel and see this that often right it happens every so often and especially in a sport like women's college bat is cool yeah I mean Cheryl Miller got 12 million viewers back in 83 I went and looked it up on YouTube the women's

game is much better but but it is a phenomena and phenomenons don't grow to the sky. Like the numbers will come back down to Earth. The games they get ratings are ones with Caitlin and the game following one with Caitlin, which retains about, you know, about 60% of the 15 million people are watching these women's college basketball games. I mean, that's an incredible accomplishment. Yeah, and the quality is just better. But I think Cheryl Miller, I can remember being fascinated with Cheryl Miller. Nancy Lieberman was great, but I don't know if I was, I wasn't fascinated by her. She was just great. But I think Caitlin's got the magic dust. And I don't think you get it very often. I think Michael had it. I think Tiger had it. Tiger changed my

viewing habits on Sunday. The Sopranos and Tiger Woods changed my viewing habits. I mean, Otani, I'll tell you a guy that had it. I don't know how long he had it. But when Jose Canseco, all the steroid rumors came into Major League Baseball, I can remember getting off a plane in San Diego going down to the luggage carousel, go down the escalator. And everybody's gathered around the bar. And I'm like, what does it mean like more five? deep at an airport luggage, Jose Konseko was at the plate. And I can remember going to a Mariners game. I got great seats like A1, two, three, four. And the A's were in town. Mariner games didn't sell out back then. There were 50,000 people in the ugly kingdom. So there are,

for various reasons. Some people are controversial. Connor McGregor, Jose Konseco. But I think she falls under, it's magical. It just doesn't look. I mean, she did a, she missed a shot today, but she took a step back. I'm like, that's a 28-foot shot. That's Steph and only Steph's range. Well, I think when Steph did that at Davidson, it was unlike anything we'd ever seen. And obviously, he went on to become,

I don't know, a top 10 player of all time. But it was clear. Like, I've never quite seen anything like this. And maybe this has happened in women's college basketball to some form or fashion before, but people weren't watching. That's not being mean or anything. That's just a fact.

Yeah. And for whatever reason, girl got people. I mean, my mom, I'm driving around the day. I see random people walking around with Iowa T-shirts all over Scottsdale. It is, John. It's a powerful thing. I don't know what else to say. Yeah, I was flying back from Chicago. So the game started. And then at halftime, that was about the time that I could board the flight. But I was sitting there in the lounge. And I looked over, and every single person was on their phone watching and I went to grab something to eat. And I just kind of looked at everybody.

Everybody. You don't see that in the NBA playoffs. You see it in the NFL where I can literally drive down the street in Los Angeles. And if I could see inside houses on a Sunday night or a Saturday night with the NFL playoffs, everybody's watching. Like every television in L.A., sometimes a dispassionate football town, everybody's watching. Everybody in the lounge I was in. two men, women, young, old.

So if it got 24 million people, I would not be shocked. I think there's something that resonates with people. I mean, Tiger is a good example. When Phil Knight was falling his career in high school, right? I mean, Peyton Manning could have gone wherever he wanted in high school. Steph Curry, remember, couldn't even get recruited to his dad's alma mater of Virginia Tech. Now, Caden Clark, I think, was a different level high school project, but like, Gino wouldn't call her back. Yeah.

So, I mean, clearly, she feels like one of the great girls. that would have been at Yukon that would have been at Tennessee under Pat Summit or at South Carolina. But she ended up at Iowa with, I don't have the scouting report on all the top colleges. It doesn't quite feel like their squad is as good as some of these other squads from a talent standpoint, definitely from a size standpoint. So what she did is just something that we will,

however her career goes on from here, it'll be something that no one will ever forget, which is cool. Like, isn't that what sports is about, having some fun? Well, yeah, I mean, it's what boxing needs. You know, boxing's been dying. Ali, Tyson, they just don't have anybody.

And, you know, the great male athletes aren't going into boxing. If they want to fight, they go UFC. For sure. But it's just, you don't get these stories very often. You get them, I mean, I just, I can count, you know, two hands in my lifetime. I mean, as good as Phil Mickelson is, and he drives me to a TV, but I'm a sportscaster. Tiger was different. I always said my mom, my late mother did know sport.

She was from Great Britain. She had no idea who Derek Jeter was. She knew who Arod was. That's a superstar. Sports fans, you know, they know who Josh Allen is. My mom knew who Brett Farrb was or Peyton Manning was or Tom Brady was. There's a big difference between there's a lot of good basketball, Sue Bird. I mean, there's been like dominant players before.

Sure. Yeah. Caitlin Clark's different. That's a comment. That's a whole different ballgame. So it's one thing to see Caitlin Clark and women's basketball driving numbers. It's another when the men are getting pretty good numbers. And they're not getting like Caitlin Clark numbers, but the March Madness for the men,

you're not getting the continuity or the chemistry. Zach Eadie was not changing channels last year. Yukon is the most anonymous great program in the country's history. They've had multiple coaches, Kevin Ali, Jim Calhoun, Dan Hurley. They don't have one coach K. And I was thinking about this. I've gone back and forth on, I understand the Caitlin Clark number.

But the college basketball number is maintaining its strength this year. And I thought, well, we have legalized gambling in more and more states. That's something. There's more and more people gambling on these games. It's not a quality argument. Women's is a quality and icon argument. Caitlin's an icon, the quality's better. Men's college basketball quality is not very good.

And there's no, Zach Edie's a seven foot four guy. He's not going to sell shoes like Caitlin Clark. And a lot of it is, I think, is that we like basketball in this country. We like Olympic basketball. We like women's now. We've always, you know, magic, Steph, Michael, there's been iconic players. And we always like men's march madness. But I do think for a variety of reasons, the NBA field,

like it's just not it. There's not a, you know, a lot of these stars, Yokic, Janus, they're not real and braceable. They're just gifted. They're just fantastic players. And, you know, LeBron, there's a LeBron fatigue, John. I mean, let's be honest. We've watched it for 20 years. We've been the league 21 years. Yeah, there's a LeBron fatigue and I love LeBron. Also, Steph's on an average team. I mean, they're slightly better than average. And New York, I watched them Friday night in Chicago. going nowhere. So I think it'd be one thing if there were these riveting, compelling NBA stories, Kevin Garnett, Kevin Durant's great, but he's never been somebody like we get up and

cheer for. He's a wanderer. He's sort of a his own cat. He's a different dude. And I think to myself, we want basketball. Like, we love football so much now that we need a little break. And the NFL draft will come pouring in. The country's looking for basketball. And I'm an NBA fan, but it just feels like it's that Spurs dynasty where it's like, I'm not in love with anybody. I think this gets back to the way society is in 24 are options. And the women's tournament felt really big. It did. I mean, these last, her last three games, when the elite eight to the final four to the championship game, you just couldn't miss if you like sports. March Madness. does and continue.

It is a big event. Yeah. Right. We're going to see the Masters this weekend. Even with the split of golf, like people are going to pay attention. Why? It's a big event. And I think the NBA, two things.

One, the brands, like, Yogic is, it's one of the greatest players I've ever seen. The nuggets, no one has. You say the nuggets, no one cares. Yeah. OKC. The clippers. OKC. These brands.

Yeah. It's just, that's where the Warriors and Lakers, you know, I mean, the Warriors are going to be the 10th seat. They easily could be won and done. Yeah. The Lakers actually probably should win a game and be a factor. That'll be big for the NBA. And like you said, I mean, the Knicks now with Julius Randall being injured,

they're not going anywhere. The Celtics could just run through the east. I do think it just doesn't feel that big. Yeah. I kind of just pay attention to the Dodgers because I just know they're big and important. Like, what's Otani and Mookie Betts doing today? Yep. And I've kind of changed the way, like, I watch less and less NBA basketball, definitely.

and I just focus on big things, right? And I just pay attention to the things that matter. I'm not a huge UFC guy, but like when Connor McGregor, his next fight, I'm going to buy it. I'm going to watch it because I feel like I can't Jake Paul and Mike Tyson. I'm not going to miss it. And neither are most people in my life. Well, but a lot of people aren't going to watch the first round of the NBA. I'll promise you that.

Yeah, and college football this year ratings, Michigan and Harbaugh felt huge. There was a Mass. Bama fatigue, Georgia fatigue. Hardball was controversial. Their numbers were unbelievable. He got suspended twice in the season, twice, beginning and end. If you look at what's happened to society since the iPhone came around, we are so distracted. Regular seasons in hockey, baseball, and the NBA.

If you don't have a star, people aren't interested. They just move on to other shit. My wife's on TikTok for an hour every morning. I'm sitting there. She'll go to CNN. She'll play Wordle. She'll go CNN. And then she's on TikTok for her.

for 45 minutes having a coffee. And I'm, you know, I'm going through sports stuff. And it's just like, I think in a distracted market, Otani feels big. UFC 300 doesn't have a superstar, but it's got 12 champions or former champions. It'll get talked about this weekend. Caitlin Clark felt big.

And I think to your point, Zach Eady and Purdue is a Big Ten team in the final, that feels big. The Big Ten's always been a ratings monster when they get a great team. I think the brands I was texting with a buddy who played golf at Oregon, who now works in the golf industry, and he's just like can't wait for the schedule to come out. I mean, the games that are going to be played in football.

And that only benefits. I'll never forget Calipari. I was watching an interview. He's like, I'm the Wildcats' biggest football fan. The better they do, the more money for us. I'm not an idiot. We may be a basketball school, but I want the football program to be good. Stoops wins.

We all make money. We all benefit. And I think the explosion of college football and just football in general has benefited the brands in college basketball because the casual fan, I would fall under that, and I'm a high-end sports fan. I don't know these players in men's college basketball. And I've been watching men's college basketball for 30 years. But I know all the schools and the schools draw me. And that's why it was pretty easy to watch the women's tournament. Like I knew Caitlin Carrick, didn't know anyone else, but I know South Carolina. I can name 15 NFL guys.

You know, Steve Spurrier. I feel I recognize the brand. That's the one thing in the NBA. I care nothing about the clippers. They do nothing for me. I mean, they just, and their players don't, it doesn't, you know, it's just, that's one thing the NBA really battles is, is the brands. And I do think just, it's turned a lot of people off over the last couple years with the effort. Oh, the load management stuff is horses shit. I hate it. It's one of the worst business decisions.

David Stern would never, you talk shit about them all you want. That's, that's something that would never would have flown because it, it hurt the, it hurt. hurt your consumer and you're only as strong. The reason we talk about these ratings, I mean, that's where all the money comes from. That's the health of the business, right? Well, I watched Friday night Bulls Nix. If Julius Randall, who's a B-level player, is in that game, it feels bigger. It didn't feel as big. It was Jalen Brunson and a bunch of guys, and then it was Demardorosen and kind of a bunch of guys. If Julius Randall, just one more guy was on the floor, the game would have felt bigger. Nix would have probably been able to win the game.

So, yeah, it's, and I also feel the NBA, it's interesting. So the NFL media is critical of the NFL. College football media is critical. Baseball media can be harsh. The NBA is different. There's about six players that matter, two, three agents that matter. It's a lot of cushy, soft reporting. And so instead of banging on these guys for load management, we'd bang on hot.

It was celebrated, a lot of it. A lot of it. And now data's come out and said, guys, it doesn't. make healthier. It doesn't, there's no data that says you're, you're being healthy. So I think what has happened is load management ticks off fans, but the media has to protect their sourcing on the NBA, because in the NBA, it's one thing in baseball. If you cover baseball, you get around the batting cage, there's no team or, or you just, you, you don't need any one team or player. Same in the NFL, unless you're like the Chiefs beat writer Mahomes. But in basketball,

you need LeBron and Rich Paul and his seven clients. And if you start ticking them off, you may not get them. They cut you off. They cut you off. And so I look at load management, I'm like, it's really an eye. And again, a lot of people out there just don't like the NBA. I do. I go to my third game this year in person.

I get the NBA package. I watch it constantly. So I think it hurts it. 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. 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.

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this is right where you need to be. Listen to The Clifford show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, 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 a little Kim? 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're just so you're not. y'all know. I mean, at this point, this is the second episode where we've discussed crack. So I'm starting to see that there's a through line. We also have AIDS on the table right now. Thank you for finishing that sentence. 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. The everything I was thinking about this weekend, we'll segue back to football. is that when when Belichick got let go, it's a little like John Calipari, the culture changes and you kind of dig your feet in, Calipari said,

this is who I am. Calipari's rumored to be going to Arkansas, by the way. There's a big rumor tonight he's going to Arkansas. And he would take the Kentucky money that have to pay him out and he did the Arkansas money.

You'd be making, a guy who can make 25 million a year or something. So whether or not that comes to fruition, Calipari to Arkansas, Arkansas because Musselman took the USC job. U.S.C. job, yeah. But it's interesting. So they're basically the same.

The world changes for football. After they wrote the billion dollar check for CTE, NFL's like, we're cleaning this game up. It's all offense. They pivoted exit stage right on all those defensive stuff you could do. And so the game changed. It benefited now Andy Reid and not Pete Carroll, Mike Tomlin, Belichick. College basketball, the one and done thing.

You can't win with freshmen. The teams that are winning in this tournament are junior, senior, late, and it's 22-year-olds. And in both instances, Belichick's like, you know, this is what I do. Look at my rings. Calipari was quoted as saying, I don't know if I can change. And I'm like, John, you can't not win in March. The world changes and you dig your feet in.

If Calipari leaves Kentucky, because I'm watching Belichair in Husky gear, Belichick is cemented. He's a top three coach ever. If Calipari gets, leaves Kentucky, don't I think you fail? You failed. That you didn't win. I was hanging out with a buddy yesterday who's from the SEC and he went to Arkansas. And one of the things, I mean, they have a lot of money at that program.

Yes. I mean, a lot of money. And there were rumors, he's like, one thing people started noticing in the middle of the season, and Musselman's wife stopped sitting next to a couple of the big money people. Yes. There were some rifts. And, you know, he was going to go somewhere, whether it was Louisville or USC. We were talking about how Kalapari brags that he has $3 billion worth of NBA contracts, right?

That's always been his thing. Look at a, like, John, these guys spent three months with you. Anthony Davis was getting $500 million in the NBA, whether Colin Coward, John Middlecock, or John Calipari coached him. Right. I mean, the majority of your players. What are we talking about? Right. And to me, it just, I think it gets back to the power of the money down there

and the pressure of the cash flowing into these programs in basketball and football. And if Arkansas, if it pulls us off because my guy thought it was going to be Chris Beard, remember, got fired from Texas, was it at Ole Miss, who was a couple years ago was viewed as like a rocket ship and had that incident with his, I don't know if she's his ex-wife now, but got fired. It turns out it wasn't as bad. but they will cut enormous chance. I mean, we're talking, they'll 50 million dollars and not even blink.

So, listen, maybe he's one, I think he's tad bit overrated. I mean, the tournament's a little weird, right? When I lived in Philadelphia, we, you know, around the tournament time, Jay, uh, Jay Wright was obviously coales with Andy, everyone was rooting for him. And I remember they were losing early. And this was in the early 2010s. And they could not, like, advancing the tournament. And finally he turns, we all acknowledged,

one of the best coaches of the last several decades. tournament's weird. But to lose consistently. To St. Peter's. To Oakland. I mean, give me a break. Yeah. So I think it's a little bit maybe I'm just over it.

I'm leaving. I'm going to go to someone who will like me. Sometimes you just, you know, you break up with someone, you leave a company because someone else is showing you a little bit more love. You're tired of, let's face it, Kentucky basketball, Alabama football. I would imagine North Carolina basketball, LSU football. It's a different beast, you know. it's the pressure or the and if you're not getting it done

once they start paying you a lot and you're hanging your hat on a championship from 2010 or 11 like it's 2024. Yeah. Right? Yeah. Yeah.

Musselman apparently, I was told his wife, Danielle, Musselman ticked off one of the boosters. It wasn't Tyson's Foods. The Tyson Foods is one of the big ones. He's a big money guy. But it was somebody else. There's a third sponsor there.

And I was told that it, you know, Musselman's intense. He's not for everybody. I know Jen Cohen very well. She wanted somebody that was, you know, a grinder and was really about basketball, and I think she got it. Tom Crean is Jim Harbaugh text to me. You know, a lot of people were in the Tom Crean corner. You know, they really, really like Tom.

I thought Tom would have been a fine choice, but I think Musselman's a good choice. But it'll be interesting with Calipari because it would be like Nick Saban was winning Natties every other year. And Calipari was getting dusted every other year. tournament. And those were the two programs of note. Bama football and Kentucky basketball. And I could argue it's easier in basketball because if you have one or two NBA players, you're going to run through a conference. I think the hard part about basketball relative to football, like he just had the equivalent of like a 10 and 2 or 11 and one year season, but you get bounced in the first round and it is just, it's, it equals all your games from

the regular season where in college football, well, it's going to change now with the expanded playoff. But if you lost in the final four, it was still a very successful season, right? But I do think, and you're going to see it this year in college football, Brian Kelly, who just might have the number two pick in the draft, had an incredible, they went nine and three, and they lost to Ole Miss and Lane Kiffin. It's not going to fly down there for a long time. I mean, we've seen it. We're Jim McIlwain guys. Once that snowball and negativity, they start coming for you, whether it's fair or not, there is no stopping it. And I would say Kentucky basketball is probably the closest thing in who wouldn't you say to like Alabama,

Ellish football. Absolutely. Oh, they're gorgeous arena. It's like North Carolina in Kentucky. It's the revenue, the facilities. I look at Calipari. My knock on him was I used to joke Caliponsi. I'm like, okay, I get the one and done scheme. Like, it's not working anymore. Let's like get juniors and seniors. But if you and I were an AD, like who would you rather be in business with? Jay Wright, Bill Self. I mean, he started going to. the other five guys. There's not many. Dan Hurley, you would choose them all over Calipari. Well, even when Saban was a pain in your ass, everyone's like, well, I'd go with Nick, right? He'd be a no-brainer. Well, a lot of time, Mark Fu's not going to go there. So a lot of the college basketball coaches, like Jay Wright was not leaving Villanova.

Mark Few is not leaving Gonzaga. UCLA's offered him the job twice and Oregon once. Self ain't leaving Kansas. Nope. So what happens in college basketball more than these football coaches, will bounce anywhere. But in college basketball, these guys that are, they've got to got a, they've kind of, they know they're getting into the tournament every year, like Beheim. You got it kind of baked in. You're getting into the tournament. In college football, you can have a hell of a season.

You're Alabama. You lose to Georgia. You're not in the tournament. And you're getting, remember the time he lost to Auburn. He had to go, he had to go to Texas because there were, his boosters were like, you know, Nick, I don't know if it's working. You're like, I got like three titles. What are you doing?

Basketball guys will stay. So you're not going to get Jay Wright. or Bill Self or Mark Fute. They're not leaving. They're getting into the tournament every year, and they like their wives, like it. They've got a social circle. So, and I understand that for Calipari. I do think he's a good coach.

But the Kentucky thing, if he leaves, is very interesting because he doesn't want to budge on that one and done stuff. That's, that's his thing. And by the way, I've always... It's easier, right? Wouldn't you say it's easier? Well, it's... They're in, they're out. I think if you...

You know, it's the inner scoreboard out or scoreboard. A lot of guys talk shit. but do you really have confidence? If you really trust your coaching, like Jay Wright trusts his coaching, he gets three-star guys and develop. He doesn't need... They know they're good coaching.

Does Calipari have self-doubt and think, I just need better dudes? Because name a coach in any sport that has ever said, you know, I'm willing to give up complete continuity. No coach likes that. There's not a high school coach. There's no coach in the history of any sport

that says, I want a revolving door of players. Calipari is doing it because might take his deep down, he questions his coaching. No coach wants to cycle through players every year. He runs the most expensive AAU program in the country, essentially. Yeah, it's a good way to put. I mean, I don't know what they generate, probably $100 million. I mean, that's what he's running, where you watch Purdue or Dan Hurley. I mean, they're running a college basketball program.

He's running like a bed and breakfast. You're in and you're out. So I feel with some confidence that the first two players picked in this draft are going to be Caleb Williams and Jaden Daniel. Based on what I'm hearing on Jaden Daniel's playing style and Cliff Kingsbury's history, that Washington thinks that's a better fit for the current staff. And they also believe Jaden Daniel's ability, and you've seen this, to move. buys you a couple of years of figuring out complex NFL defenses. We saw it with Lamar, which Jalen Hertz, where you run around for Russell Wilson, you run around for a couple years until you kind of figure out Josh Allen.

You know, it's like I'm going to run around for a couple years on third and six, and it buys you drives, it buys you wins, buys you time to figure out complex defenses. Most quarterback saying year three, Mahomes, I think, said beginning of year three. Everything slowed down. I get it now. So I am, this is what I'm hearing that I ask two executives in the league. They said their feeling was Caleb one, Jaden, Daniels, two, Drake May's inconsistency scares them. But if you go back a year to a year ago.

He was good two years ago, yeah. If you go back to it, it's a lot like Jordan Love. There's a lot to like if you go back to the previous year, he ran for six, seven hundred yards, anticipatory throws. Sometimes you lose a coordinator, a left tackle, an NFL receiver, whatever it is. Jordan Love lost a lot of people. Good junior tape or sophomore tape, bad junior tape. So anyway, Cliff Kingsbury, Jaden Daniels is what I'm hearing. I think two things can be true.

I think the, Caleb's in his own universe in this class. So whoever goes to, it's hard to make an argument that they made the wrong decision, right? Because like you said, Drake kind of fell off this year. Jaden Daniels somewhat of a one-year wonder.

J.J. McCarthy, his statistical profile, the way he's been, what he's been asked to do is no, I mean, they could win games with him throwing nine attempts a game. It was like Jimmy Garapolo,

2019 against the Packers. Yeah. I do think, though, in knowing, Adam Peters, and this is why it's kind of been a little cloak and dagger. He's kind of from the Belichick. He's not a big talker to the media, letting know what's going on. Obviously, he's worked at places that are very beholden to the head coach, and it's smart to give the head coach and the operation who you want. But Cliff Kingsbury, if they were to have success,

like, he could get a college job. Like, so anytime you draft because of your coordinator, it's one thing if you draft, if Sean McVeigh is like, let's take Michael Pennix in the first round. Well, I know, as long as Sean McVeigh's there, he's the guy calling the place, or LaFleur or Kyle or Andy. But is Cliff Kingsbury, if they have success guaranteed to be there? I always find that their head coach is a defensive guy. And you've seen before he's very predicated. His success was on Kyle.

And then they had a little success with Sark. And then it kind of fell apart once they all left. So I think you should take whoever you feel the best player is. And it's hard if you throw on some, just go to YouTube, Watch Jaden Daniels and Malik Davis. He's really good. I mean, there's no disputing. He's got a big time arm.

He's obviously an elite athlete. He's accurate down the field. The knock is size. Weight, that being, not height. But the way he plays, he's, one of Lamar's great attributes is he doesn't take big hits. Yeah. Michael Vic was kind of the opposite.

He kind of took on. Jaden takes that on. And in the NFL, this might not be 1983, but you still get hit hard. But if Dan Quinn says, Cliff, I'm going to, I'm going to give you a lot of saying this. And Cliff, let's just say it selfish, says, well, I've had the Jaden Daniels style before. I can win with that style. Yeah, the way knows he can.

Yeah. So I could see Dan relinquishing some to Adam and Cliff and saying, okay, you guys, I want input. And Cliff saying, well, I've worked with that before. The Jaden thing I can use, I can do. I'm just told that style, Kingsbury, Jaden, Daniels. Right now, that's the feeling that. that's where they're going. I was talking to a buddy who's a high up guy with a team that does not need a quarterback. And his comment was after Caleb Williams, I'm glad I'm not in that business

because it's, it's just not that, I mean, all these guys are talented. I'm even pro J.J. McCarthy because my comp to him is a little Alex Smith. Yeah. Clearly he's a high level guy, physical attributes. He goes to the right place he can have success. But history shows more than half of these guys fail. Right. And it's an overwhelming position. Even these guys come from LSU, Michigan, even North Carolina, it's a whole different ball game now. The popularity of the NFL, the pressure of the NFL. You've talked about it by the second Thanksgiving.

It's like either shit or get off the pot here. So it's a, it's pedal to the metal. Money doesn't matter anymore. We can pay you to leave. We'll cut you. I mean, the Jets, there's a decent chance the Jets cut Zach Wilson. Clearly they're hoping to trade up. No one's trading for an $8 million backup that can't play.

Well, this is one of the most, um, circumstantial drafts, I remember, and I'll give you the team. The New York Giants, I was told this two days ago by a higher up in the NFL in a front office. He said, take a look at the New York Giants. He goes, if Jaden Daniels or Drake may fall, they will take them. They're not moving up. They don't have, they don't want to give up draft capital. They're stuck with Daniel Jones. But they could either take Jaden Daniels or Drake May. This executive said, that would make a lot of sense if they felled-e. If they don't, they would also potentially take a star receiver if Harrison or neighbors is available.

Or they look at it and think, oh, those two receivers are now both gone. The chargers can't get out of five. They take. Harrison goes to Arizona. The chargers can't move back. They take a receiver, which they need. And the Giants trade down. And this executive said, the Giants are a great example of, you can't.

can do a million mock drafts, it's going to depend on what happens above them because his take is it's really rich. When you have an average roster and the Giants offensive roster is below average. Below. And then you cannot give up multiple firsts. Like, you need hits. And the safest hits in any draft is a first round pick in the top 12. So this person was just saying the Giants are a classic example. They could take, they'll take a quarterback if they fall, probably won't. but they would. They'll take a receiver if the chargers don't. They'll move down potentially. And he says, he goes, this draft is going to be outside of the top couple of picks. He said, Washington and Chicago aren't moving. After that, it's all circumstantial.

It's who's is, if Minnesota goes hyper aggressive, he goes, the other thing he says, keep your eye on Denver. Everybody's talking about falling back. He said, if you like Bo Nicks and the Raiders jump ahead of you two spots and these quarterbacks start drying, up. McCarthy got four of them gone and you're not into Penix, which if you look at Peyton's offense, Penix isn't a good fit. So I think we're just going to have kind of a wild draft. I do think there's going to be multiple teams trading down and I can't wait for it. Well, to me, the visits that you see come across the wire like so-and-so visited a theme. Random guys,

sometimes it can be smokescreens or whatever. But when you see the top 10 guys when like all the receivers are going to meet Harbaugh, when all the receivers are going to New York, when Pennix and Bo Knicks are going to the Raiders and going to Denver. Those are enormous job interviews, right? I mean, there's already been parts of the job interview, but that's sitting down with the owner, eating a meal, spending time with the entire staff for large portions of a day. You feel one way or another when that guy leaves because you already know him as a player. So it's like, do I trust this guy?

And that can be the swing for a lot of these guys, right? Because this does not feel like a draft, like you said, where anyone's hiding. anything. We all know who needs the receivers. We know who needs the quarterbacks. The dayball thing, though, after his first year, it's hard not to go, God, this guy's a star. What he did with a pretty average roster. Last year was pretty embarrassing. Right? They doubled down on Daniel Jones. It was immediately ugly. The coaches weren't getting along. It's pretty embarrassing. It's not something that the old school owner likes. There's pressure. He can't just have another crappy season and everything, the Kumbaya,

especially Cowboys and the Eagles are having. Now Washington starts trending up. You got McVeigh and Shanahan crushing. Packers are good. It's like, what the hell are the giants doing? Getting lapped in obscurity and embarrassment. So I would imagine if you're able, you want players. You don't want a quarterback, right? Because if you get a rookie quarterback, the guy comes in maybe by late October. You're already kind of bad. Your offensive weapons suck. And then you're going to want one of those wide receivers. Maybe the second round take another offensive weapon and try to be competitive this year. Now that's and that's where in the NFL Some of these

Sometimes these teams coming off bad years The coach and the front office and the ownership Can have different visions and that's where things can get weird So if I was dable I would not want a quarterback Because there's no guarantee I'm lasted four years The Giants ran through like three coaches six years When you um As we get ready for the draft in a couple of weeks

When you Were the Eagle From what I can tell is people are scouting up until the draft. You just keep scouting, you keep digging, you keep getting reports. And there are teams that will, two days before the draft, they just won't like something they hear. I mean, give me your insight on a player, a year where you felt like it was up to the

draft. People were still looking for information. Well, I just think anytime there are question marks off the field, and I think around this time of year, you and I've been talking about it. forever. The media can be so disingenuous. Like some, not everyone's a criminal, but people have questionable. The Texas defensive tackle. Just got a DWI.

Well, think about that. And I looked right before we hopped on, from what I read, he was arrested at like, I think around lunchtime. Like to me, it's like, what's this guy drinking in the morning? I mean, it'd be one thing. Like, was he playing golf with his buddies? Or was he just at a bar with some people. What the hell's going on?

That's a good example. Most people I know, if they didn't start last week, right up until pro days, that ends and you've accumulated all the information and then you go to meetings. And now a lot of these meetings, I think, are kind of hybrid Zoom and guys come in. The high end guys come in. The other guys are on Zoom. And a lot of it is not going out, you know, over like how much they can bend, how strong they are at this point.

It's what is this kid's deal, especially with a top, I would say 75 pick, right, guy that you would invest a first two-day pick. obviously the top guys you're a very, very fine toothed going, but even a second rounder. I mean, that could change your franchise if it's AJ Brown or Debo Samuel or Nick Chubb or whoever. I mean, those are, but you better know the person. So it's, it's easy when a guy gets at DUI

because it's like, okay, we got to really, are we sure we trust this guy? I think it's a lot harder when it's like, well, hey, I've talked to some of his teachers or his academic advisor, and they just don't really trust them. Or sometimes it's the opposite. a coach can have a bad experience with the player.

We're all humans. You just don't like guys more than other guys. But then the people that you've trusted that you've developed relationships in the program swear by them. So you really try to figure that out. And this is why you're not drafting widgets. You're drafting humans.

And everyone has a different opinion on every single person. How many people do you meet that someone's like, oh, that guy's a dick? And then you meet him like, I kind of like the guy. Right. Or vice versa. You're like, you know, I didn't really like the guy. But you know someone's like,

I'm really close friends with him. We all have individual interactions with people. And biases. The thing, yeah, and the thing with football now, which makes it hard, and my scouting buddies that I didn't have to deal with is the transfer portal. So it's like, you know, you're at Texas one day. You're like, oh, I should ask that coach because he was with this kid at Washington who now transferred to Florida.

But that's hard too because usually when a guy transfers, like, oh, he was kind of a diva. He wouldn't listen. But then he goes to the other program, people love him. Right. So that balancing act, I actually think it's probably more difficult trying to keep up with that because usually Bo Nix is a good example.

Like Michael Pennix is transferred because his coach went there. It wasn't that crazy. Bo Nix had a bad experience at Auburn. And then he goes to Oregon and has an incredible experience. So maybe if you're around some of the people at Auburn, their experience around him wasn't great. I don't know that. I'm just saying using this as example.

You're not going to hear a negative thing at Oregon about that. They loved him. Right. So you try to balance that and you can just go, well, he's matured, got to do a good place, put him around the right people. So that can make a difficult. and trying to, you got to be careful with the head coaches because the head coaches have an agenda. The higher their guys get drafted, the more they can put them up on the board, you know, when you enter the program and the recruits come in.

You got to get with the assistant coaches, the graduate assistants, the people off the field. And that just takes years of knowing who you can trust and who you can't because most of these guys that are drafted high have the talent to play in the NFL. What separates them is all the off the field stuff, right? the character, the work ethic. Football sucks beside the games. Yeah. You lift really hard, you train really hard, you get screamed at nonstop in a meeting. You don't show up to work at noon.

I mean, you're getting there bright and early. You don't leave late. You play it once a week, and it's only in the fall. Well, you're still like, Harbaugh, the charges are having practiced right now. They're doing OTA. It's a lot of work. And it separates the men from the boys mentally. So to me, those conversations are just nonstop in these meetings about the kid, about the kid,

what drives how he's wired. And you're just trying to figure out to make the best educated guess humanly possible because that's ultimately what you're doing. You're getting a 20 to 22 year old who a lot of guys grow. Tyron Matthew was kicked off his college team, unless you kicked him off. He's been a team captain of four different teams. So it's like, you know,

but you got to be careful. Like that could be an outlier situation. It's like, well, this guy could be the next Josh Allen or he could be the next trellance. So it's, this is always a fascinating time of year. Because within six months, mid-season, you're like, God, I've got to regret this one. Or God, love this.

We got lucky on this. You're just trying to mitigate all the potential landmines and take the best educated guests with all the information possible. 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? I do a little Kim. Well, you can find out on the Look Back at it podcast. I'm Sam J. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick it here, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. Including a recent episode with Mark Lamont Hill waxing all about crack in the 80s.

To be clear, 84 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 for finishing that sentence. I don't think there's a more important year for black people.

Really? Yeah. For me, it's one of the most important years for black people in American history. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. So I want to talk about this. I'm taking my wife to UFC 300, which is probably the... Where is it? It's in Vegas.

I think there's 12 current or former champions. great under card. It's a stack. I mean, they, it's 300. They stacked it. Dana White stacked it. Dana's got it rolling. Yeah, he does. No Dana well, like Dana. Doesn't take anybody's crap. I mean, basically leased an island during COVID. I love that. Yeah. That is. Yeah. And it's interesting. So I was I was telling somebody this the other day, you could not get my wife to a baseball game. She's not going to a football game. NBA and UFC, there are events. Loves going to NBA games, and I've taken her to UFC. And she likes fights.

And, you know, you have a girlfriend. I don't know if she's a sports fan. But I was telling a buddy about this. I said, you know, my wife's not a sports fan. She's an event fan. So if it was a daredevil of a hysterical magician, a singing act, UFC is, it's crazy. Like Trump will probably walk in, the place are up,

It's nuts. There's movie stars. And she likes the spectacle of it all. Plus, I mean, the UFC fights are like, they're jarring to watch. I mean, you're getting guys are kicking the, you know, what out of each other. Do you, and I've said before, UFC's in my top five. World Cup, NFL, college football, UFC. I would say March Madness rekindled my interest this year.

I've had a blast watching. I kind of had two or three years with the men's game I thought was too deluge. too many transfers. I've loved men's and women's this year. Where does UFC rank for you? And by the way, if your girlfriend could choose, all right, John, we're going to this. What would it be?

Yeah, I mean, she's a huge 49er fan. She loves football. I mean, she follows the 49ers. I mean, every player very closely. I mean, she hasn't missed a snap since I've met her. She grew up. In Northern California, her dad was a big 49er fan. She just, and that's, I think, she represents a lot of people.

We talk about this, a lot of the female. fan base the NFL has now. It's not just like someone's wife watching the game. It's like, no, they're a fan of the bill. It's like 50% of the fan base. Yeah. I have, when I was, I went to Cal Poly where Chuck Lydell went and my first couple years there, Chuck was becoming a star. And he also trained there. So it was a really, really big deal. And Chad Mendez, who ended up fighting Connor McGregor was my year, was my college roommates. They lived in the dorms together and I watched him beat the shit out of some people at a party. And I had never been around wrestlers in high school.

And then Cal Poly, I wouldn't put him in like Iowa or Penn State. But Chad ended up being like the runner up for the national championship his senior year. Had some good wrestlers. Chuck wrestled there once upon a time. And I just remember these guys are crazy. They were insane. And it was just in following Chad Mendez's career, he fought Connor, he fought Aldo. And he just, he didn't win.

but he was just, he's the toughest guy I've ever seen. He weighs 155 pounds. I mean, he would be, he could beat up. I mean, he could handle Aaron Donald. I'm not saying he'd win the fight, but he wouldn't hesitate these guys. The respect I have for never being around these guys and then watching them, just in a fist fight at a party, take down 10 people before you could blink. And I have, listen, you get in that octagon.

You are such a badass. I watched the last fight because I started doing CrossFit a couple days a week. I haven't done it in a while. but Sugar Sean was working out at that gym And so I was like, oh, this guy had pink hair So I ordered the fight when he fought last time And it was just it was excellent I mean he was just like God, this guy's fucking badass

Yeah So that's part of it. I just like I'm not like a fight diehard But I have nothing but appreciation Because I've seen it firsthand The level of craziness that it takes And how talented these guys The training levels of

When these guys are preparing for a fight right oh it's it's insane and you know it's what's interesting about ufc is you know you always knew the top fighters you know made a fortune the promoters made a lot of money and and in the end it was like the sport didn't have a central figure like dana white and you know whenever i they remember they battle a lot of the political wins i was just talking about this on the golf court john mccain was pushing back against i remember being like junior high and they couldn't do it and they tried to do it in san ozay i remember in like the late 90s and got in trouble. But McCain was like the driving force. Like this is barbaric. Remember that? And they just

couldn't get. And then they finally somehow crossed that threshold. And they've never looked back. Well, I mean, we have, you know, we have a rich history of boxing in this country and fighting in this country. And I think one of the things that Dana did very quickly to get in the Budwisers and the big brands was they had to clean it up about 20 years ago. They cleaned that. There was eye gouging and shit. They got out of that stuff. Dana very smartly said, listen, we want our guys are tough. We don't want their eyes getting gouged out. We need them, you know, nine weeks later to be in another fight. I think they cleaned it up. And then I just think you have to be forceful. I mean, running the volume. Every day is a challenge. You got to be forceful. You got to have a plan of attack. And I think if you look at what is hurt

college football, the quality of the product is great. There's no leadership. Boxing. There's no leadership. And so when you look at sports, Roger Goodell, I've been saying this forever. There's something about media doesn't like people that don't need them. Roger Goodell and the NFL do not need newspapers. They do not need radio guys. They don't even barely need TV networks now with streaming. Is the NFL has almost no missteps.

It's just really well run. They've made their schedule release a day. The combined is effective. Like they have done the best, and now they've said to the NBA, no, we're going to knock you off Christmas. We're going to take your ratings there. Can we talk about something a little inside baseball with the NFL? They clearly just laid off a lot of people and they are trimming down what they do.

And the media's take is consistently, this business is making so much money. What are you doing? Yet I'm someone who literally makes a living off the NFL who couldn't follow it any more closely. And I never watch NFL network. So just because your business of the games. And one thing I've noticed, at the gym I go to, you know, they have 10 TVs. And one's always on Fox News, the other's on CNN, the other's on ESPN, the other's on Fox Sports, the other's on NFL Network. The only thing NFL Network now is playing is just games.

Like I looked out, I went this afternoon and I looked up and it was the Colts, the Rams game from earlier this year overtime game and they're just replaying it. They're probably getting the same rating. So it's like just because the WNBA, I don't know if they make money now, never made any money. The NBA just subsidized them. Right. forever. Yeah. Like the NFL, just because the games are making money, the other entities, they shouldn't just, if it's not working, I don't, people don't watch NFL network. NFL network has been up for sale. It doesn't mean they don't have talented people or whatever

working for the network, but it's not making any money. They've been, that thing's been up for sale for seven years. They've been trying to sell that thing. I know somebody inside NBA TV. That's dead. Nobody watches that. Nobody watches. Now, MLB network is different because shows like mine, ESPN Fox, We don't talk baseball. So the discussions you have on the MLB network are unique. Nobody else is having that. Golf channel. Golf channel work.

Yep. Yep. And so NBA and NFL network, all those debates, they're on television all day. There's too much duplication. And then, I mean, listen, I don't watch the NFL network. I think I know Peter Schrager very, very well. Kyle. Yeah, he does a great job.

They're good. When you move a show to the West Coast, you can't do a morning show out west, an effective morning show. because you can't, when I came from ESPN to Fox, and they asked me, what time, I was asked by my radio network, my TV network, what time do you want to do? You pick the time slot. And I said, well, you can't, I can't do anything earlier than 9 a.m. Pacific, which is noon Eastern. I said, because you can't get, I can't ask my staff to get up at 250. And in Los Angeles, in New York, a lot of people come down a building and walk to work. In Los Angeles, everybody drives to work. So I have to, if you get, if you, if you

need to be there by in my show right now you have to be there about five 55 to six I get there about six 10 staff gets there about maybe six to six we all get in the same time if I was doing uh meaning they have to get up probably at five-ish shower at 35 minute drive that's reasonable you get into four three forty five people have to get up you can't get to staff so when if I was a betting man the NFL network will not have a morning show in the fall they will just Replays the games. Well, I, there's no way if I live out east and you move the show and you're asking me to get up at 3.45, it's like, I'm out. It's nothing against the people.

It's like, they're just doing that as a cost-saving move. And it's not a knock on the people. I mean, I know Eisen. I know Schrager really well. But it's like these people get caught up in, they just tend to forget is that once there's duplication and you're not special, all these, all these, all these. sports created these networks. But nobody talks hockey, except the NHL network. Nobody talks baseball on a syndicated national level, except like local stations and the MLB network. Guys like me, Stephen A, skip, doesn't matter who it is, ESPN Fox all day. We talk NFL and NBA. You don't

need the networks. They're dead. Nothing against anybody. So, and I, listen, even at the volume, we're doing very well. You're always, you're always. You're always. looking for ways to put your best people on your best shows to make sure you have the most efficiency. I'm not blaming anybody for it. I just know the NFL network's been for sale for like seven years. It's quietly been anybody want it. Can I give you a theory I had on what the Dolphins should do after what just happened? So the bills who I've said the overreaction that they're just going to suck, which maybe they take a huge step back. But they'll be fine.

Yeah. By far have the best quarterback who. to me is the second best quarterback in the league and clearly one of the great quarterbacks we've seen in recent memory. Yeah. The Dolphins have a big question mark with their quarterback who's turned out to be solid,

but in the biggest moments these last couple of years has crumbled like a cookie. Yeah. And this year, I remember talking to Veach and Andy at the Combine, and they said, and Veach specifically said, when you walked out on that playoff game,

he's like, that's the coldest thing I've ever encountered. I was even nervous just for my own guys, even though I knew we had Mahomes versus them, but I was like, God, and it wasn't even close. And they had no shot, the dolphins. So now, before you give a guy a couple hundred million dollars, wouldn't you go, no excuses now, Belichick's with his kid in Seattle, you got, who knows what New England's doing?

The Jets, I mean, are three pulled hamstrings and Achilles from being everyone getting fired. And the bills lost a lot of talent. Yes. If we can't do it this year, I mean, we just had, it felt like a 20-game lead, halfway through the season and then somehow we didn't win the division and they did. If we can't win it this year, we can't pay this guy. And then that means a home playoff game, we should win a playoff game. Wouldn't you just play this year out?

You're already under the cap. Like he's already, his money's his money this year. Why pay him this year? Let's kind of do a pruvent year, a little flaco style almost. Dack and Tua, in my opinion, will be available on the market potentially next year. There's no doubt in my mind. I would not pay Tua right now, given everything that just happened. No, I wouldn't pay back.

If you start to look. I think they're hesitant to do that, clearly. Yeah. So I think, I think, I think two is going to be on the market next year. By the way, there's going to be a Kirk Cousins level guy in the market, one minimum, two probably for the rest of the years we do this for a living because it's pretty clear in the NFL now. Two quarterbacks get you to a Super Bowl. A superstar. There's six.

You know, Stafford Allen, whoever, Malmes. or a really talented young guy on a rookie contract. That's it. That's the only thing that gets in. So good guys getting paid handsomely, Kirk Cousins, Dak, Tua, you can't pay Tua. So I think Tua will be on the market. And there'll be a team that's like, listen, we're stacked everywhere else. Or competency gets rewarded.

Kirk Cousins has made more money than Tom Brady playing quarterback. Competency plus. And that's what Dack and Kirk are. Competency plus. it's paid in every business. For sure. I mean, I think Houston's a good example. They go, we got the young quarterback who actually might be a top five guy,

all chips in the middle of the table. All of our chips are in the middle of the table. And one of my takes last week was like, that's kind of what all sports fans want. It's just teams to be really aggressive. I mean, look at the most popular teams over the last 20 years. The Heat, the Warriors, right? The Dodgers.

Randy Moss teams, the Dodgers, the Chiefs over the last five years. Like, that's what we want. So I commend them for doing this. and because it's polarizing all the, you either win or if you don't, it's a disaster. Why the Jets last year, they went all in for Aaron Rogers, and then it was the all-time shit show. And part of the story is it gets even crazier when you don't win once you put all your chips in the middle of the table. So like I, listen, I think that Houston Texans, they have had one of the great 12-month stretches. I would say they lucked in a little bit because I do think they would have taken Bryce Young if they would have the number one pick.

But hey, Tua went ahead Justin Herbert and the Chargers. got him, who cares how you got the guy, you just got the guy. Right. And now they have a chance. That division's a little wonky, right? The Jags have a lot going on, a lot of pressure on Trevor Lawrence, the Titans that have no quarterback. Colts, I was actually peeking at the TV today when the NFL network was replaying that. Anthony Richardson, when he was healthy in this.

Oh, my God. Good. You know, he looked pretty talented. So they just got to keep him on the field. He's pretty intriguing. I was like, God, I kind of forgot about this guy. But it's, I think they're trying to throw their hat in the ring, right, with the Ravens with the Chiefs and just give themselves a chance. Now, there's also, you know, part of

being a great player in any sport or being successful in anything in life. It's not just about one hit or just one solid year of sales. Like, can you do it year in, year out? There is just a lot of pressure on. Everyone's gunning for you now. You're not sneaking up on anybody. Everyone's studying your tape a little harder. It's no longer, oh, yeah, we're playing the tape. No, they're doing deep dives on you in the offseason how to stop you. So I'm fascinated to watch this Texas team how they kind of handle it because talent is not going to be their issue. John Middilkoff is always on a Sunday night, buddy. Great seeing you. See you, Colin.

The volume. Thanks so much for listening. If you've enjoyed the podcast, take a moment, rate and review. 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.

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