The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Colin Cowherd Podcast - INSTANT REACTION: NFL Schedule Release!

Episode Date: May 16, 2024

Colin is joined by John Middlekauff, host of “3 and Out” to break down the NFL schedule release! 5:00 - NFL took care of the streaming services 8:15 - Best MNF schedule in years 11:30 - Jets  16:30 - Chargers  17:30 - Bears 24:00 - Cowboys 26:30 - Steelers got the toughest schedule 30:30 - Eagles 33:30 - NFC resurgence? 39:00 - The standalone games are HUGE 41:00 - Could streamers push out the broadcast networks? (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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This is cotton candy when I was nine. I just eat it until my teeth rot. So, and I know I like it way more than the average person. But Colin, can we push back against all the haters? Because there is a lot of people, especially considered the sports media. They're like, this isn't that? The NFL is an event business. When Dana White announces a fight card, it's a big deal.

That's what the NFL is. Like the games, do you know what the NBA and Major League Baseball would give to have their games in the regular season matter? This matters. Yeah, we knew the opponents, but we didn't know the days, the times, the by weeks, the setup. This is an event sport. I mean, it's why it's taken off the way it has, right? Listen, you can tell they want Jim Harbaugh to start 2 and 0. The Chargers get the Raiders at home, one of the weaker teams, and then the Panthers on the road.

They want a 2-0 Jim Harbaugh. They want, listen, there are certain things the NFL, they're going to take care of, like, let's take companies, for instance. This is the strongest Amazon Thursday night schedule. Remember the first few years of Amazon? It was awful. Oh, my God. It was like Titans, Texans when the Texans were bad. It was every week.

So the first, now Thursday, they start with Josh Allen and Tua. The next week, it's Aaron Rod. The next week, it's Dak Prescott and Dallas. Week six, you get the Niners, Seattle. Week eight, it's Harbaugh, Jim, Week 10, Burrow against Lamar Jackson. We know the NFL, Netflix, got Christmas games streaming service. They're taking care. Amazon clearly said, listen, what's your future? What are we going to pay? What can a network pay? I thought they took care of Amazon as much as you can. I mean, you don't want to, you got to be careful on Thursday because you want some close geographical matchups. Yeah.

Like New England Jets is a really easy trip for both teams. That's an easy trip. Buffalo, Miami's not, but it's the first one. There's a Niners Rams Thursday night game. They like doing that, divisional games. One of the things that jumped out to me is that, you know, Netflix, they did a solid. They give them Christmas games. Amazon Thursday.

I mean, I'll be honest with you. Monday night football, John, there is a what I would call a star or high profile quarterback in 17 weeks. Now, I'm counting Caleb Williams and Tua as high profile. It's the best Monday night football schedule I've seen. So again, Disney money, Amazon money, Monday and Thursday night are going to weaken Sunday to some degree. There are star quarterbacks being taken out of Sunday games. Well, in a weird way, that's Sunday morning for us on the West Coast, the 10 a.m. kickoff for the NFL is a little bit of a throwaway at this point. It is. Right. The afternoon, the Fox main game and the CBS game matter. They're all in on Sunday night football. Monday night, once they hired Troy and Joe became a really, really big deal. Peyton's involved. And let's face it, I mean, Amazon's top two or three company in the world. So they're not going away. Streaming's not going away. To me, what jumped out, though, is Netflix reportedly paid $75 million a game, and they got two of them. They are, I looked at their market cap, top 40 company in the world.

Well, are they going to grow or are they going to shrink over the next 10, 20 years? And how you're in the business, broadcast television, the cable bundle. We know how that's going. We know the change of everything. We see it in our podcast business compared to traditional radio. To me, what I saw, what they did in Netflix, they didn't just give them two random games on Christmas. They gave them chiefs at the Steelers and the Ravens at the Texas. Yep. So equivalent for playoff teams. You could argue the biggest star in the sport in Mahomes. The Ravens were right there to go to the Super Bowl last year. The Texans are a trajectory like this and the Steelers are a top five brand. To me, Netflix, a little bit of a precursor. Are we looking at the next television deal? Is there just a package on Netflix? On Sunday maybe. Because let's face it, when I get in bed and she grabs the remote, we don't turn on, we have YouTube TV, which are, she goes to Netflix.

And I looked right before we hopped on, they have 80 million subscribers in America. Maybe they're saying we get the NFL is that number 100 within a couple years. Well, you and I saw the same thing, is that we know streaming services are going to gobble up some of these games. The NFL rewards who rewards the NFL. Roger Goodell has 32 bosses. They're called owners. I thought it was easily the best Thursday schedule. I thought Netflix got great games.

And I think you, and I thought Monday night football, you know, it is interesting when Buck and Aikman went to ESPN, I thought for years and years. And this is not a shot at anybody at any company. But I thought the NFL didn't love some of, you know, Booger McFarlane on a crane. It looked kind of, it was Jason Whitten missed. It kind of felt like ESPN when John Skipper ran it just didn't understand that the NFL's king, not the NBA. John just to me did not create a strong alliance. John Skippers out, Patero's in, Bodenheimer came in for a while, Jimmy Patero, you can see. They treat the NFL like it needs to be treated. They upgrade the Monday night football crew, and they were rewarded with 17 weeks of high-profile quarterback. So, you know, I said this today on the air. Nothing the NFL does is random or without thought. Like baseball can't, I mean, baseball. literally networks go to baseball and say, you know, Fox is like, can you create some events? Like that the game they did in Iowa, like, oh, that's really watchable. That's fun. The NFL, they, they, they know who butters the bread. And I think it's pretty telling. And I told you this a long time, you know, a couple months ago, the Belichick changed his perception, go on television. What's he doing now? Monday night football with Peyton and Eli. but they did it in the first quarter

because the last couple of years since they got Joe and Troy, I just want to watch the game. They're a high-level broadcaster. I haven't watched Peyton and Eli, even though I like hanging out with Peyton and Eli. Well, now, during the first quarter, if Bill's on, I might flip over. But the meat of the game, when it's doing a higher rating,

I'm going to go back. So they have gone all in Monday Night Football. You've been watching your whole life. For me, in the 90s, when I was a kid, used to really matter, and it felt like it really dipped, and it feels like it's back. And I know everyone's pushed back against Thursday night.

It's like, guys, you do know the players split the revenue with the owners, and that is a complete cash cow. And I've heard like Jason Kelsey and Travis Kelsey say they like it because if you do your job and you win that game, you get a mini buy the following week. Yes. So it's pretty advantageous if you're a good team. You win that game. You take care of business and boom. You get the weekend off and you let your body recover. One of the things I wrote down today, by the way, Sunday night football, there's a star or a star or a game.

high profile quarterback every week except week 15, but that's the Packers against Seattle. So Jordan Love may not be high profile yet, but the Packers are a huge brand. So one of the things I wrote down, early Sunday afternoon will be weaker than usual between Monday night, Sunday night, Amazon, the CBS and Fox games are always great. Those are always great. Didn't it feel like that last year? A lot of the 10 a.m. kickoff games, you could kind of just, there might be one game you really had to pay attention.

we do this for a living. I had four boxes. I'm like, I don't really even need to watch the Panthers and the Falcons. Yep. So it's, that's interesting to me that, that you jumped on that.

So can I all throw, give me, give me a team individual, give me a couple teams individually that jumped out to you. Well, I heard your theory in you talking about the Rogers situation. I think it's just simple. And I know coaches and executives like GMs,

You know, the league, all they care about is money. I mean, that's their job, right? So the ratings, I think Rogers is still a massive, massive needle mover. Yeah. And like the week one, I thought when I was looking at the potentials, because I thought the Niners were going to get Sunday night or Monday night football, you kind of feel once you knew Thursday night. A lot of stars.

We already knew the Friday night game. We didn't know the Sunday night game, but I was like, I think the Niners are getting one of those. You looked at their schedule. It's like, I could see them. throwing the Cowboys or the Jets. And then once it was reported that the Cowboys did the Brady thing, which is genius. I mean, how many people are going to watch that game?

35 million people on Sunday afternoon. The Niners, I mean, the Niners, when they're winning, are a top two or three brand in the league rating was. Yes. And Aaron Rogers by himself, especially coming off this injury, you know, controversial to some, but he's just a polarizing player. And the Jets are a New York major brand. I don't know if the Jets are going to be very good. I'm sure we'll dive into it.

But you put that thing on, just like they did last year. I remember, like all of us around the country, sitting there, Jets, bills. It's going to feel really big and do a huge number. But tough game for them. It does get a little easy off the bat. Then he goes to the Titans. Then he plays the Pats, who I think are going to be terrible. Denver rookie quarterback.

McGlinchie's their right tackle. The Jets have a good pass rush. Minnesota. We'll see. They're in a little transitional period. So the Monday night game, if they can just get through that healthy, I do think they could rattle off a couple wins early. See, now, I saw it the opposite.

My take was that you can only do so much because the Jets, the schedule is what the schedule is, right? You know the teams, yeah. Right, right. And a lot of it's baked in. You play the bills twice, Miami twice, New England twice, your conference, your division plays certain divisions. But I thought they made Aaron's season as tough as you could make it. So they start. It's weak, right?

So, first of all, the last thing you want to do in a rebuild O line is face the Niners' Defense front in week one. That's a tough draw. Three games in 11 days to start, again, with a rebuilt O'Line. They have five short weeks and an international game in weeks one through 11. So the schedule, the quarterbacks they face isn't daunting. They could have done them way more rest favors. older quarterbacks and older people tend to be creatures of habit.

As I've aged, you know, I really like. Peyton Manning hated Sunday night football games. Hated. You're waiting around all day. So Aaron Rogers, they give him three games and 11 days to start, five short weeks, an international game, and Niners with an O-line rebuild. The quality of the opponent isn't great. It is Will Levis and Jacoby Percette.

No question. I will acknowledge that. The games are the games. But old quarterback rebuild old line in a lot of short weeks, it's like for older quarterbacks, like Brady would tell you, like I want to get gone. Those old quarterbacks love one o'clock games. They love one.

And there is not a harder travel than playing Monday night football if you're a coastal team, but on the east coast to the west coast and flying home. Because what time are they, you know, the game ends at 815. By the time they get out of there, they're getting home. five, six in the morning. So it is, and then it's difficult on your coach. It's a very, very difficult stretch. But if you had to draft, if you knew you were playing the Niners across the country Monday

night football, I think we could all acknowledge the Titans might be a top five team you would pick. Yes. Just independently. So, and then the paths on a short week, your home opener, I mean, I think the pass is going to be pretty bad. Plus, you just have a lot of, I mean, your divisional opponent. and then you get Denver rookie quarterback off that kind of mini-buy.

So if they can find a way to be two-and-one, I think they're in pretty good shape going to Denver. Though, and I've been, I would say, very hesitant, and I was very bullish on them last year. Like you said, a lot of older players. And these aren't just like older, these are older often injured players. And I, listen, clearly modern medicine and these surgeries have improved greatly.

I mean, my dad had the same injury Chris Finch had in the mid-90s, He did it in New Zealand fishing, and they told him he would never walk straight again. Now he's like, send me back to America. But still, it was a much different procedure in 1996 than it is for him. I mean, he's up on the bench a week, two weeks later, not saying that he can walk. But my point is, I think we just accept cousins and Rogers. I mean, both these guys are old. And Rogers is really old because he's been playing a lot longer.

And his game is much more predicated on moving around. So maybe modern medicine is just incredible. We won't notice it as much, but I would be hesitant. I say the same thing with Atlanta. I think most people that fall football, Atlanta's going to win the division. They are? I like Raheim Morris, but we have no clue what he's going to look like as a head coach.

Cousins coming off the Achilles, the weirdness with the penics. Their defense is more than a question mark. And there's a healing process. Remember Tom coming off the ACL that next year? He was very hesitant. And he's Tom fucking Brady. So we're talking. Now Rogers is much more accomplished than cousins.

Yeah. So if he is just, I think we would both agree, if he's playing at a B or B plus level, they would be a real team. But if he's a C plus-ish level and not the movement-wise, the other factor with them is, and I know I think we've both talked about it on our shows, that leak about the coordinator situation, like, regardless, the Jets are always a mess because of the ownership, their coordinators is not very good. Yeah. So I know Aaron's friendly with them, but it's not like he's Sean McVeigh or Kyle Shanahan or Andy Reed. I mean, that's a huge part about the sport, right? Who's calling the place? Maybe Aaron just ends up essentially calling the place.

So I said, I think the NFL wants to see Jim Harbaugh get up to a good start. They open with arguably the two easiest games on their schedule, Raiders at home and Panthers. That's about the, you know, Raiders aren't good. They get them at home and then the Panthers. So those are good. That's a two and no start probably. I also looked at the NFL with Chicago. Again, Fox would love Chicago.

go to pop. I mean, just a huge market. What do they get with a rookie quarterback? Tennessee at home to start. New coach, new staff. And then week five, home Carolina, a very winnable game against Washington early. They get a buy into it. So two weeks to prepare for a very winnable game. Those feel like wins to me for Chicago. I do think, again, you could have stacked Green Bay on the road early. You could stack this schedule. You know, Detroit, open at Detroit. Because, you know, Chicago's a big brand. They gave them a couple of layups early.

I do think when it comes to a rookie quarterback, let's use Jaden Daniels and Boe Nicks, for example. They're playing the long game. Sean Payton's not going anywhere, this new operation in Washington's. So if there's up and downs and you got to lose his confidence, takes them a couple weeks to gain it back, whatever. We're okay winning six games this first year. there is tangible pressure on the coach in Chicago, right?

He can't afford to go 7 and 10 or he'll be fired. Yes. I agree with you on the Titan situation. But then their next three games for a young quarterback who is extremely talented, like it's not like he's coming off an 11-win season. Yes. I mean, it was a lot. At the Texans, at the Colts, I think both those teams are going to be really good.

Yeah. They both loaded up, you know, Indy just drafted a pass rusher in the top 15. the Texans added one during free agency. And then you play the Rams. That's just a tough early stretch. I don't care how talented you are. Young people, confidence can ebb and flow. Yeah.

The pressure, Chicago, the hype. I do think that's just a tough early stretch. Now, if all of a sudden they're three and two, I mean, we might be looking at 10 or 11 win team. The NBA playoffs are heating up. Man, they have been so good. I know it's over, but Lakers Nuggets may have been a five-game series. It was great.

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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.

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episodes. Join us as we tackle science and culture topics from a galaxy far, far away, such as the biology of tauntons and wampas on the ice planet hot, or the practicality and corporate business sense of the Sith rule of two. Listen to stuff to blow your mind on the iHeart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Did you notice with the cowboy schedule? And we know in the last month, mostly the NFL wants division games. You know, you want your mind. Miami Buffalo's, although Miami Buffalo. Especially your good teams that you think are going to be competed for the last.

Now, Miami Buffalo both play pretty early. But Dallas has three out of division games that are pretty tough. The Niners, the Ravens, and the Lions. They're done with all of them by week eight. So with Dallas, again, McCarthy, DAC, this is an experienced team. They don't backload it because they know the Giants in Washington won't be great. They get their three toughest, to me, the three games that you look at and go, the three best rosters they play will probably be San Francisco, Baltimore, and Detroit.

And those are all done by week eight. So even if you go one and two on those, they could have stacked a couple of those, you know, week 14, week 13. So you go into these tough, brutal, cold weather, road games, and division. No, they got rid of their tough games early. Again, what do I? Like Harbaugh getting a two and oh start. Listen, Dallas is. I thought it went in their favor.

That was my take. I do think that Cleveland, I'm not expecting the same what we saw last year. I mean, obviously they're all into Deshawn Watson. His cap hit has really kicked in. The roster is, I don't think,

going to be as good. Just moving forward, obviously. And I'm not sure he's still a good player. But even if they take a huge step back, we all know week one is tough. Right? You could play the worst team in the league in week one,

everyone has the same hopes and dreams. Everyone's O and O, especially at home. And Cleveland is a tough place to play. And the hype on that game with Brady calling it, that's a sneaky big game because then all of a sudden, like, I think most people think the Saints were really shitty last year. They did go 9 and 8, and their offense was mainly putrid.

Well, they had Kubiak's kid who comes from Shanahan. I think the Saints are going to be better. And then you got Baltimore. It's just a tough little early stretch for a team that, I don't want to say they're walking on a. eggshells, but the McCarthy story, the DAC, they don't extend them, it could get weird and it could get weird fast. I just got that Cleveland game circled. I think that is going to be very, I can see Cleveland winning that thing and Cleveland being a six-seven win team. I'm going to make an argument that the toughest schedule in the league I saw was the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Oh, it's really hard. Okay. So you start. You have better rosters than these teams, but they load them up at Atlanta, at Denver, at Indy, and hard. Harbaugh. That's a rough start. I mean, again, you have better rosters than Atlanta, Denver, the Chargers, Nindi. Three of the four on the road, and you come out of that road street with Dallas, two weeks later, Aaron Rogers. Like, that's rough. And did you see the last six quarterbacks, Pittsburgh faces? Burrow, Deshawn Watson, Jalen Hertz, Lamar Jackson, Mahomes, and Burrow. Like, Mike Tomlin is going to be on a network. Broadcasting. And by the way, I predict he'll be great. I've talked to two network execs who would hire Mike Tomlin tomorrow. Are you shorten the Steelers this year? I am shorting them. I mean, did you have to put at the end of the year the last three quarterbacks, Lamar Mahomes and Burrough in the last month? Did you see the story, though, about Burroughs hand surgery, the percentage of it keeping? You know, most surgeries are 90 to 95 percent. That wrist hand surgery is like 70 to 75 percent success rate.

And then no matter how well it goes, there's basically guaranteed inflammation. It's a little trickier than just your ACL or your broken leg. I do think that's something to keep a heavy eye on. Now, if he plays 17 games, I think we'd all acknowledge they're going to be one of the better teams in the NFL. But if that thing crops up where it is, I mean, it would be a major problem. I thought the moment that they signed Russ before we even knew their schedule or who they were playing, one, they're not financially invested in them at all, right? They're paying them about a million dollars. Where even Denver last year, let's say hypothetically Sean Payton was out on him by October 1st.

Financially, he had to see if he could make it work. And then the lease there is not going to be long. They have no draft capital invested. They have nothing invested. And they do have another guy in a one-year contract who might not be good either. But at least this physically brings a lot more to the table. And we saw Arthur Smith, you know, win with Ryan. in Tanny Hill and Marks Marriota. So it's like, I just don't think this guy's getting a long leash. He's not going to be Dinkin and Duncan and they're one and three and he gets to keep his job. No, I mean, I just, I look to, Mom, you move teams and they're not paying anything. He better play well and they better have success where he will go to the pine. I looked at Pittsburgh today and I thought, I know Mike Tomlin's never had a losing season. That last six game stretch,

you'll have the second best quarterback in all of those games, all of them. You know, one of the things I always look at is how many great quarterbacks do you face? The Jets don't face a lot of great quarterbacks. But again, they have seven standalone games, six night games, five short weeks, an international game. So the Jets schedule is pretty easy. The NFL didn't do them any favors with night stand-alone international. I look at Pittsburgh and there's just no way, if the Jets have the easiest schedule in terms of facing elite quarterbacks, the Steelers got hope. That last month and a half, they'll be underdogs potentially in all those games.

Well, I mean, if everyone's healthy, they easily could lose to the Ravens twice. I mean, the Bengals, the Eagles, the Chiefs, yeah, it's just, that's really, really brutal. And let's face it, by that time, you're not 100%. You're going to have some injuries. They've kind of been at a similar spot the last several years. They usually don't have some huge margin for error, right? They don't start the seasons nine and three that they've been hovering around 500 right till the bitter end these last couple years. So I understand what they did.

I would have done what they their moves at quarterback, getting rid of Kenny Pickett, getting rid of the group they had for Russell Wilson and Justin Fields. But just because those guys are much more famous doesn't mean they're going to be much more effective. And I'm not a Deshaun Watson guy, but obviously if Lamar is healthy and Joe Burrow is healthy, the gap between. Russell Wilson, Justin Fields' quarterback room is a mile long. Hey, Philadelphia is one of the real blue bloods in terms of at Fox. Like, we like Philadelphia winning. Yeah. Philadelphia winning.

And Philadelphia usually does. So Philadelphia is really good for Fox. Boy, the NFL could have made that. Now, they opened with Green Bay, you know, week two. Eight hours away. I mean, in international territory. Right, right. So it's tough for both.

home game. But then week two, Atlanta, week three, New Orleans, week four, Tampa, week five by into Cleveland, the Giants. Philadelphia is going to get off to a good start. That's a pretty favorable schedule. And even at the end of the year, they end with the Giants. I mean, Giants could be the worst team in the league. And, you know, they also end. They've got Carolina in week 14. They've got Washington in week 16. Like, Again, like if this is where the schedule matters, like I do think Nick Seriani, this is a pressure year, right? Mike McCarthy is a pressure year. Philadelphia looks like they should at least start and finish the season on winning notes. I mean, come on, week two, Atlanta, week three, New Orleans, week four, Tampa, you've got a much better roster than those teams. Well, they get a huge advantage from the simple fact of Washington starting a rookie quarterback. It feel like should beat them twice. And they have. owned the Giants. This is one of the weaker Giants teams. Yeah, I mean, the Giants, I think, have a chance to be one of the worst teams in the league. And let's face it, I mean, the Cowboy Eagles games have been really good for the most part, but I think we all have to acknowledge sitting here today. The two rosters, the gap widened over the offseason. Do you agree with

that between the Cowboys and the Eagles? The Eagles should be the heavy favorite. I don't look at the current odds. I have Washington finishing second. So you know what's really interesting? I don't think that's out of the realm. Honestly, both teams could be seven, eight wins, right? Them and the Cowboys kind of range. Here's one of the things. Two years ago and last year, I really felt like the AFC with, they hit on so many young quarterbacks. The AFC CBS finally, even though they have smaller markets than the NFC and Fox, like I was finding myself watching a lot of AFC games. And then a lot of the quarterbacks got dinged up or hurt. If Caleb and Jaden Daniels hit. you know, Washington and Chicago, those are big TV markets. And they've been dormant for about 15 years is very quietly, and it's good for my employer. The NFC, big markets, Chicago, Philadelphia, Washington could be back. Because I think Caleb and Jaden Daniels are going to be hits.

I mean, you know this. I mean, Washington 20 years ago, John, was arguably not only a blue blood. It was a third best TV draw in the sport. It was, I mean, the Joe Gibbs years, 90, 91, 92. Those were like high profile, quirky fun, crazy Super Bowl. And they just, due to bad ownership, went into the tank. That's why that RG3 year was such a big year. It felt bigger, you know, it felt longer than just a 12-month span.

Yep. So it's interesting. me. If Caleb and Jaden hit, it's not just good for the teams, it helps the NFC. Because the AFC, in the last six, seven years, they just keep hitting on these guys. Herbert,

Burrow, Lamar, Mahomes, Josh Allen, Trevor Lawrence, C.J. Stroud. It changes the league. It changes your conference. So I think Jaden and Caleb are hits. They feel like, I mean, I don't know if Iber Fluse lasts, but

I have Philadelphia feel Washington, Dallas, third, Giants, fourth. I would probably agree with you sitting here right now. And I would probably put Dallas. I think they could take a big step back. And when I say a big step back, I mean, they've been winning 12 games for three straight years. So all of a sudden you win eight.

That'd be a disaster. Adios McCarthy. But they're going to be dependent on a young offensive line, a lot of moving pieces. You and I have talked about, you've been hammering this forever DAC dependence on the running game. I mean, they're going back to the Zico. Elliott well. They don't have a choice, right? They need a running back. The NFC's pretty top heavy, right? I mean, the 49ers have dominated for five years. Now the lions are really good.

The Packers have kind of consistently been good. The Eagles. So if the Cowboys step back, there's going to be an opening. I think Tampa's pretty good. I mean, I think Jason Light did a really good job of keeping that team together. Baker does not need to be the number one pick. He just has to play, I don't know, like a Derek Carr did with the Raiders or cousins, you know, has done with Minnesota. He does not need to be Aaron Rogers in his prime, which is ideal for him. And I think Tampa feels pretty good. And just from a talent standpoint, high-end players, Tampa has a lot of them. Tampa has a lot of them. And I know everyone's talking about Atlanta. I can see Tampa win in 10-plus games. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal, but encouraged. It's the

enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the I-Hard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win.

A win is a win. I don't care what I'm saying. Yep, that's me. Clever 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. Hey, this is Robert from the Stuff to Blow Your Mind podcast. Joe and I are both lifelong Star Wars fan, so we're celebrating May the 4th with a brand,

new week of fun, thought-provoking Star Wars-related episodes. Join us as we tackle science and culture topics from a galaxy far, far away, such as the biology of taun-tons and wampas on the ice planet hot, or the practicality and corporate business sense of the Sith Rule of Two. Listen to Stuff to Bo Your Mind on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. So let's circle back to what we initially said. It does look like that the NFL really made more than I remember the standalone game bigs. Now, Fox has always owned Sunday afternoon. That game's been big forever.

So they'll always do fine. But Monday night. Tom won't hurt. Yeah. Monday night football schedule is the best I've ever seen. Sunday night football, star quarterback in every week except week 15, Amazon best Thursday. So I think what the league is saying is, as we circle back on this,

Sunday early is a little bit of an appetizer. We're going to go, Fox CBS, big Sunday afternoon, big Sunday night, big money night, and a massively improved Amazon Thursday and then Netflix on Christmas. So in terms of, you know, one of the things I don't love, I think it's hurt other leagues. It's really hurt baseball. And NBA is now moving into it. You're making it harder for consumers to find the games. Now, the NFL is fairly bulletproof. Listen, and almost everybody I know has Netflix.

I mean, they really do. Netflix is everywhere. Amazon. I don't know a soul who doesn't have it. Right. Amazon, I have. I don't know if I would without the NFL. I definitely would not have Peacock without the NFL.

I definitely would not. I don't think I'd have Amazon. They offer it every time I go to Whole Foods, but I don't go there a lot. But I would say Netflix is, I just think I know some things in life, like I'll give an example. It used to be so easy to turn on a fucking television. I got three things to turn on, four or five. If you move anymore and go into a new place, I can't imagine being 70 years old and you just want to watch 60 minutes. It is such a pain in the ass to watch TV now, but it's what's happened with technology. It'll be easier in 20 years. It's not always easy. All the streaming is a pain in

the butt, especially for older consumers. But my takeaway, like baseball is so desperate. They're on Roku now on like Sunday mornings, which is embarrassing. But I think we just have to come to terms with it is that at some point, you have to get, like ESPN Plus is hemorrhaging. They have the UFC, which I buy four or five packages a year. But other than that, I don't buy anything on ESPN Plus. It's hemorrhaging 35 million a year. I think the reality is like Netflix, they stopped growing internationally.

Like they hit a ceiling with subscribers. What's the only way to add 30 million domestic subscribers? the NFL. Isn't NBC currently kind of losing their ass? Aren't they struggling? Well, have you seen the NBA schedule? They may win? You're just signing a check to lose 800 million a year.

So I get for them to survive over the next 10 years, I'm with you. I've defended, I'm a bad guy to ask because I cut the cord and I have YouTube TV. So my transition to the NFL package was pretty seamless. Like I'm with you, Netflix everyone has. If you're an Amazon Prime, subscriber, meaning you get free shipping, you get it free.

Yeah. So, like, I have them and she watches so many shows on Bravo. Peacock is connected with them, so we have them. So it's harder for me to understand. Like, I understand if a guy doesn't have a lot of money, NBC, CBS, Fox's always been so easy. But these channels aren't going to exist in the next 10 or 20 years. And Netflix is going nowhere. And Apple TV is going nowhere.

And Amazon is, they have all the money. So like you said, NBC is going to lose their ass. Netflix could have done it loads their ass not even noticed. They just chose not to because they realized how many people are actually going to watch. Well, I think NBC's NBA deal, which I don't think is a good deal. I mean, if they don't get any finals and they only get a conference final every other year. Plus, the league's getting very international. So I honestly think, and I love the NBA.

I love the NBA. I have forever. But the league is becoming a little, it's becoming a little like baseball and hockey. A lot of the stars are guys we don't. follow in college. So it's getting very international. And now you're going to force people to watch it on Amazon and Peacock. And I'm sorry. It's not going to help their domestic ratings or domestic popularity. Now, the NBA, because it has stars, will not be baseball or hockey. It'll always draw people because of stars. But I think a lot of these cable, like NBC going NBA, it's just a hail Mary. It keeps them

relevant for about six to eight more years and that's it. I just think technology. change so quickly, it feels like we've been doing this for so long. I look, Netflix had 70 million total subscribers less than 10 years ago. They have 270 million now. I'm getting new blinds in my house. It's all automated on my phone. And I looked at the guy, I said, I opened my garage on my phone, my pool sweepers on my phone, I can do my ice maker on my phone. There's going to come a day in our lives where everything's on this. It's no different with streaming. Everything we do is going to be some umbrella under Netflix, Amazon, Apple TV. It's not, when's it going to happen? It's happening now. And I think I give the credit to the, and I think it's a lot of the owner's kids, because I do think the older guard is very, very loyal because they've made them all of their money off the old guard TV, right? The money, CBS, NBC.

Yeah. Let's face it, generationally, you're just not going to be as loyal because you'll just start looking at the books and see who has the money. And they want in. You don't even need to really beg them. They want in. And then you give them a taste. What happens with the NFL they're going to want? They're not going to regret it. Yeah, but I also think there is such power. I mean, I know what time all the NFL games are on right now as we speak.

I have no clue when baseball, MLS, NBA. Well, their games don't matter, but the regular season, games don't matter. They're irrelevant. The NFL does have something where I think it will help Fox and CBS. and Monday night football is, I know the schedule. It's baked into my life. I know. I literally do travel.

So I travel a lot during the football season. I'll go, Anne and I'll go to Chicago. I've already bought those flights. I've bought those flights based on the NFL schedule. So I think the traditional, you know, your power TV networks, old school media, traditional media, Fox CBS, you can never give that up. Because by the way, do you know, a lot of the fans in the NFL, NFL or 55 plus.

55 plus people, the older you get, you watch three things. Politics, news and sports on traditional TV. And that's not going away. I would say the difference, though, is, and I'm a YouTube TV subscriber, I don't ever go forever, right? You go to a guide. Yeah. I don't have a guide.

It just shows me, it knows what I like. It just has the things I watch. So I never go to a guide and search. With the NFL, you don't have to search because you know exactly what you're looking for. But other sports, I don't know baseball games on where I used to 10 years ago. I'm with you. If the NFL did, if the NBA did NFL numbers and baseball did too, these networks would have it and be fine. I think where it's troubling is the NFL is just the one day a week, right?

And you have all this empty space. And that's where Netflix and Amazon have such an advantage because they don't give a shit. Their stuff just lives. Yeah. I saw a study that Netflix gets much more of a retention base on a show when they release all 10 episodes immediately with the show. Because you're much more, the consumer is so much more used to, especially their consumer, of watching a minimum two or three episodes immediately. Where whenever you watch a show, let's say on HBO or like a weekly, it throws you off. Yeah.

Like, I'm ready for the next episode. I just think our consumer habits, especially with people under 50, have just changed dramatically in a short, short period of time. And it's just going to be fascinating. I just think these owners, though, especially their children have proven whenever this next deal, like whoever has the most money, like they're going to lean that way. That's been Roger's big claim. I'm going to get us $25 billion one day, right? That's what they keep going for and they keep growing and growing. And that's where just the state of the economy, the amount of money Netflix and Amazon have to throw around, it's not a fair fight.

If Apple wanted to get involved, they could lap everybody. Right. It's just really, and you're talking about such high numbers. It's why when these teams come for sale, how many people are really involved? Like, who has that type money? It's a very, very small percentage of people. Yeah. It's kind of no different here.

Like, when this next TV deal is up in three or four years, it's pretty clear if they want to get involved and some of them already are, they can just write checks that other people can't even fathom. Yeah. All right. This has been good. So John Midlough, former NFL Scout 3 and out, little instant reaction for 35. I have 40 minutes on the NFL schedule. I loved it. Great start to, I think, opening weekend, Thursday night game, the Friday night game in Brazil, Sunday night, Rams at Detroit, and then Niners Jets.

That's just a great, just let's hit the ground running. Yeah. All right, buddy. Good talk to you. See you. The volume. Thanks so much for listening. If you've enjoyed the podcast, take a moment, rate and review.

Hey, everyone. is Jason Tip, host of Hoops Tonight. Make sure you check us out live after games on the Hoops Tonight YouTube channel as we provide instant reaction and analysis of all the big NBA playoff games. Again, that's the Hoops Tonight YouTube channel and wherever you get your podcasts. 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 homes. Those people are starving for banter.

Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and friends on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all,

embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the I-Hard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, what's good, y'all? You're listening to Learn the Hardweight with your favorite therapist and host, Kear Games.

This space is about black men's experiences, having honest conversations that's really not safe to have anywhere, but you're having them with a license, professional who knows what he's doing. How many men carry a suit or armor. It signals to the world that you not to be played with. And just because you have the capability that does not mean that you need to, listen to learn the hard way on the iHeart radio app, Apple podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. This is an iHeart podcast. Guaranteed human.