The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Colin Cowherd Podcast Prime Cuts -  Nick Wright on NFL Predictions, UFO’s, Matt Mosley on Cowboys Camp Vibes, Rams Regression w/ Middlekauff

Episode Date: August 5, 2023

It’s Prime Cuts. The best of The Colin Cowherd Podcast. First Colin’s top takes of the week, including why he’s in favor of Aaron Rodgers defending his OC Nathaniel Hackett after getting trashed by Sean Payton, and the likelihood of Zach Wilson or Trey Lance finding NFL success at a second stop if they’re eventually dealt. Then, First Things First co-host - and host of the What's Wright? podcast - Nick Wright on summer movies, the similarities between Tom Cruise and Aaron Rodgers, if recent congressional hearings on UFO’s should be getting more coverage, their biggest NFL Week 1 upset, their surprise team that will exceed expectations, which team will underperform, and Nick’s most shocking prediction for the season. Then, longtime Dallas Cowboys writer - and host of The Doomsday Podcast - Matt Mosley on why the vibe out of Cowboys camp was different than past years, if All-Pro G Zach Martin's contract holdout will get uglier, and the noticeable absence of Zeke Elliott in the locker room. Finally, Colin is joined by 3 and Out podcast Host John Middlekauff on ‘Dak friendly’ proves they have doubts about their QB, if the Rams are closer to picking Caleb Williams than a return to the playoffs, if Baker Mayfield is better off retiring than starting a second act of his NFL career as a backup, and if Trey Lance is the odd man out with the Niners.  Follow Colin and The Volume on Twitter for the latest content and updates! #Herd #VolumeSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an I-Heart podcast. Guaranteed Human. Another podcast from some SNL, late-night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smygel and friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer, Streeter Seidel, help an a cappella band with their between songs banter.

Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and friends on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. 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. The Volume. This is Prime Cuts, the best of a Colin Coward podcast. Nick Wright and I had a wild conversation, bunch of topics, boldest week one NFL predictions to UFOs. My go-to cowboy insider Matt Mosley said why this training camp is absolutely different than others. John Middilkoff stops by.

We discuss why he's very bullish on Aaron Rogers. But first, my top takes. So Sean Payton fires at Nathaniel Hackett. Day later, regrets saying it and apologizes. Aaron Rogers, talking to Peter Schrager, fires back at Sean Payton, calls him insecure and should keep his favorite coach's name out of his mouth. This is good old-fashioned 1985 media.

Before everybody was terrified to be. canceled and criticized and the avalanche that follows. This happened all the time. People were outspoken. Buddy Ryan would rip Mike Ditka. Buddy Ryan would rip Jimmy Johnson. Jimmy Johnson would rip Buddy Ryan. And it was wildly entertaining.

But there's so much money in sports now. Everybody's afraid to lose their position, their job, their tenure, their gig. Sean Payton was in one of those moods. An intense guy said something. He regretted a day later. Aaron Rogers defended his coach. I loved both Peyton's willingness to offend and Aaron Rogers' tenacity on defending Nathaniel Hackett.

I think Hackett, from what I've been told, many of my contemporaries, I've got a lot of sources in the league. Hackett's one of the nicest guys in the league. Good dad, good father, wonderful guy. Just doesn't have an edge, doesn't have a bite to him. And you kind of sort of have to have that. I mean, the five best head coaches in my lifetime, I think Walsh and Belichick and Andy Reed and Jimmy Johnson and Bill Parcells,

they've all got an edge. Bill Walsh had a bite. Andy Reed had a bite. We all know Belichick Parcells and Jimmy Johnson had a bite. Hackett doesn't. He's a coordinator. He's a position coach. Nothing wrong with that at all.

Kyle Shanahan was a great coordinator, became a great coach. Dan Quinn's a great coordinator. Try the coaching. okay, probably gets a second chance. We don't know if he's a great head coach. We know he's a great coordinator defensively. With the Cowboys, with Atlanta, with Seattle, or with the Cowboys and Seattle before he got the Falcons kick.

So I like these little whizzing matches, media scrums. I think they're healthy. I think they're fun. Nobody gets hurt. And the winner is you and me and the consumer. When we lose is when people are terrified to be authentic. and afraid to be honest. I've been doing radio for 30 years, almost, almost 30 years, 25 years.

I'm on the air live. Some things I say don't come out right. Some things I say are a little harsh. Some things aren't as funny as I think. It's an imperfect world. You take some big swings. It's not edited. Not every time you ask a quarterback or a coach an opinion,

it should be fully edited. I don't want PR people around it. Peyton didn't have a PR person around him, and Aaron Rogers didn't have a PR person around him. And it was really, really interesting raw content. Loved them both. I kind of feel like first round quarterback picks fall into three categories. The first is the most ideal.

You got yourself a star, Justin Herbert, Joe Burrow, Mahomes, Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson. And in most cases, you can, I. identify it, even if they're not playing. Mahomes. Even if they've got some growth needed, Josh Allen Lamar Jackson. So that's ideal. We know who those guys are. Trevor Lawrence, bad first year, you knew he was a star. The second one is he's not going to be a franchise quarterback for us, but can we salvage the first round pick, show him off? The third is, we got to miss. So I think Trey Lance and Zach Wilson are both in category two. I don't think Trey Lance will ever be the starting quarterback answer for the Niners,

nor will Zach Wilson ever be the starting quarterback answer for the Jets. I think Aaron's around for two or three years. I think they're both in the salvage stage and the showoff stage. If I was the Niners, I would play Trey Lance a ton in the preseason. And I would set them up for success. I'd use a couple of starting offensive linemen. use some of your starters briefly or top backups, make him look good, get a fourth round pick.

I've been watching this league forever, so of you. There's always seven teams, six teams, eight teams at the bottom that by the trade deadline can use a quarterback, especially a young one. I think Zach Wilson's in the same spot. He'll never be the franchise quarterback. Size, style, lack of self-awareness. he's got what Lance doesn't, a world-class arm.

But I think Trey's probably a more mature guy. So if I was the Jets, I would play Zach Wilson every available snap. I think Zach Wilson has the talent in the arm. It fooled Joe Douglas and many others. Somebody will give him a run. Especially a team at the trade deadline maybe that's off to like a three-and-three start. And they're looking at it thinking, listen, the GM and the coach may get fired if they don't make the playoffs.

You find a team that says, we got to go for it. I think it's very possible you could move Zach Wilson at the trade deadline. He's had moments and games that have been impressive. Trey Lance really necessarily hasn't, so I think you have to take a flyer on him. But Trey's a good guy, quick learner, big body, moves well, salvage him. So I think for Trey Lance and Zach Wilson, I thought last year's biggest story, in the preseason at quarterback was Kenny Pickett. And by the end of the year, I was impressed with Kenny Pickett.

I think Trey Lans and Zach Wilson, I'm interested to watch their preseason. Sean McVey changed preseason for the best or worse, depending on how you look at it. Nobody plays their stars. Nobody plays their starters. But I think Trey Lance and Zach Wilson are really interesting stories. Maybe not traded now, but they're in the salvage stage. somebody's going to probably by the trade deadline, a three and three team loses a starter, I can see somebody rolling the dice.

I mean, let's be honest. If you've quarterback with Kyle Shanahan, a lot of people will say, man, you bring all that intellectual offensive capital to our franchise. You could sell that. You could sell that to a coach. All right, we bring on Nick Wright first things first, his podcast, What's Right with Nick Wright. So, first of all, First of all, I'm interrupting you. First of all, since you keep making fun of my hair, I pulled it back.

I'm wearing, I got a ponytail just for you because you keep making fun of my hair on television. It's very hurtful. And I listened back to our previous podcast, which was the first one I had done with you while I was drinking. I drank a couple glasses of wine while I were talking. I thought it was outstanding. So now I've upped it to a nice glass of Lobos tequila. Shout out to our friends at Lobos. You're always drinking during these podcasts.

I know that. I know what a little sauce Colin sounds like. So I figure this should be dynamite. But now go ahead. Hey, I saw Oppenheim on Sunday night. Have you seen it yet? So I am not. I was trying to get someone in my family to go with me.

But it's three hours long. No one will go with me. So I'm just going to have to go by myself. But I want to see. So I want to see Oppenheimer. And you know my favorite movies. trilogy, you know, multi-series is Mission Impossible. The same.

And I haven't seen Mission Impossible yet either because I'm such a nerd. When I knew it was coming out, I had to rewatch the whole six leading up to it to really fully prepare. And so I finished that this weekend. So I know everyone was talking about doing a Barbie Oppenheimer double feature. I want to do a Mission Impossible Oppenheimer double feature and just be blacked. doubt for seven hours be amazing. Yeah, no, I'm the same way. You know, Tom Cruise is fascinating that he basically has saved theaters and now, I mean,

for about seven years. He's the last great movie star. And because of the Scientology, a lot of people, my wife included, are just out, just will not even consider talking about him. But he is really, really interesting in that he's been very real about his beliefs on psychology and Scientology. And that authentic belief has not at all hurt him in the theater. So it's interesting.

It's not hurting him at all. It hurts his reputation. But people could easily cancel or protest him. And many hate him. And my takeaway is if this is how popular he is with Scientology, how popular would he be? Or is Scientology like? Scientology like Twitter, that story, that it's like 1% of people that actually care about it. Well, I think it also, he, this is going to sound, I don't know, this might be bad.

He was almost grandfathered in as call him an odd guy before people started getting really under the microscope for stuff. And so it would have, it feels like if he would have come out with all of the things that we learned about him 20 years ago, 18 months ago, it maybe could have gone really bad for him. But we've known this about Tom Cruise for so long. Yeah. No, people cared briefly and then didn't. And he is a such a dynamite talent.

And that I think people, I think people typically can separate the art from the artist to a degree. Like, And then there's different lines for different people. And then there, so for for a long time, I would have told you my favorite musician ever was Kanye. Kanye and there was at no, you know, for a long time Kanye was odd or a little annoying or whatever. And then at some point he went to me six steps beyond the pale and the art to me, the music, got considerably worse. And I'm like not, you know what I mean?

I did not worth it. Tom Cruise is still awesome in every movie he makes. Yeah. And has been like the same level of weird guy since I was a kid. It feels like, you know what I mean? How long ago was he jumping on Oprah's couch? 25 years ago. Yeah.

And so, yeah, there, I mean, there aren't very many movie stars. Like, you know, Will Smith and Tom Cruise probably two biggest movie stars. Will Smith, not exactly a normal fella up there punching people at the Oscars. Like, so I don't know. Well, it does prove that mostly the noise doesn't matter. Cruz is the most criticized

actor in Hollywood for his personal views has zero impact. And that, you and I have discussed this, it really doesn't matter what people say about you on social media. You either create a show that's entertaining or you don't.

Nobody cares. It just, they don't care. So, and this, I think, where it matters is if the people let it affect them. I think that I think it becomes somewhat almost circular in that I think the folks who get criticized by the anonymous masses and then it changes how they act or what they do, then it does matter because then they're not you're not getting the same person really. Like for instance, we talked about Aaron Rogers on your showing on my show today, where I will give him credit is he, for a guy who historically,

I think, was quite thin skinned. He has not, he has leaned in into some of the non-football things that he has been heavily criticized for and not run from it at all and simply said, yeah, I think my biggest critics are the people who could benefit the most from the things I do. Like he said that to Peter King. He was like, one of his favorite lines. And again, I'll give him credit for this. It's a smart line. And I think there is some wisdom to it.

He says, I wish people were less judgmental and more curious. And, you know, so I don't judge him for the ayahuasca or the darkness retreat. I think some of his views on modern medicine are potentially dangerous. And I'm not a big fan of that. but I he does not run from that and because he doesn't run from it like how much can it actually affect him and the answer is not really much at all uh you are puzzled or dismayed by the lack of UFO coverage and yeah yeah so i first of all do not believe in UFOs i think what happens is much like cell phone technology where like Norway was ahead of us we don't always have the best ideas

that's first of all, there are people that have, like, this whole thing about no exhaust. If there was exhaust with any of these Pentagon pieces of video, then we would know it's not outside the galaxy. Is it possible that some other country, by the way, like China doesn't treat its citizens well? They spend every penny on weaponry. Is it possible that a Russia or a China, a non-ali, went out and created it- Is ahead of us? Yeah. That's the first thing.

Second of all, there are so many satellites in the air now. Many of them Elon Musk created. There's just more in the sky, more moving, more blinking. And it's very easy for something like even a plane going overhead in Los Angeles. I'll sit there, have a cigar and show my wife and be like, what is that? And then she's like, after 10 minutes, she's like, oh, oh, it's a helicopter. So I think there's two things. people could be ahead of us and there's just more crap in the sky it would also help if one legitimate person you know like bill clinton came out and said yeah we got UFOs it's always like a whistleblower who heard from another whistleblower so that's my take now i want you to take from there you do believe in UFOs apparently no hold on oh wait well i i want to be very clear about what i believe in i i if i am not

a deeply religious person. And I feel like it's almost man, if you're not a religious person, then it is just almost logically impossible that we are the only intelligent life form in a universe that the expanse of it is, it's beyond our own mental comprehension. There are more stars in the sky

than there are grains of sand on every beach in the world. So there are trillions of sand. stars in the sky. Our sun is just one of them. So the expanse of it, so I do I believe there's intelligent life form out there past us. Of course I do. It's impossible for me and not believe that. Now, that is a giant leap from there to they have visited us and they've stopped by and there's, you know, you oppose the land. I don't know that I believe that. What I, what was so concerning to me was not that I'm convinced. aliens are here. What was concerning to me is the United States Congress had a hearing.

The people testifying were from the Navy, from other branches of the military. They were not some whack ado, you know what I mean, coming out of off a bender. They seem to be like reputable people. They clearly believed that they had either seen or, had some contact. Again, they could be wrong. Their testimony didn't concern. What concerned me was, no one cared. What concerned me was, I went the next day to the New York Times homepage.

It was not, I scrolled to the bottom, Colin. There wasn't a fucking story. It wasn't there. They had a long thing about the Appalachian Trail. They had three articles on Trump, two on Ukraine. They had two, they had columns about diversity, equity, and inclusion programs, all of this. Nothing on our Congresspeople interviewed our military. They said, we have the UFOs or UAPs, as they called them, didn't have an article in their front page.

I went to the Washington Post. It's like, all right, maybe the Times is late. I don't know. Washington Post had one article. The headline was, uh, Congress hears that UAPs have visited Earth. Americans react. And I'm like, this is not, I'm not saying the movies of real life,

but I watched Independence Day as a kid. And you know what was reassuring about that? It was not that Will Smith was going to kick the alien's ass, but it was the aliens showed up and everybody came together. It was like, this is an existential threat. We all need to set everything aside. and unite. So what scared me was,

it seemed to be a bit of a canary in the coal mine for, do we as a general public have the capability anymore if something major were to happen, to set everything down, to turn off, like to get off our apps, to stop yelling at each other, and be like, oh, we all need to pay attention and pull together for a common good.

And I don't know that we can't. I saw, it was the same thing that the Times, I think it was the Times this morning. It might not have been the Times, not the Wall Street Journal. I don't know. But one of their polling, one of the major reputable polling things, asked the question, is it hotter than normal this summer? and the answer, whether you said yes or no, lined up directly with your political affiliation.

I know. I'm like, oh, we might just be fucked here. Like, even it's like, hey, what's the weather like? And the answer is, well, how do you vote? Because it's saying it's hot seems awful liberal and saying that feels the same. It's awful conservative. And that's what, it wasn't so much that I'm convinced aliens are here. It was if we get the, you know, the alarms go off and all of a sudden the president of the United States is on TV and is like, there's an asteroid.

It's 72 days away from hitting us. Would we all be like, all right, everybody stop? How are we going to fix this? Yeah. Or would we spend the first 68 days being like, that's peaceful of it? No, he's not full of it and just yelling at each other. That's what concerned me about the thing. Do we still have the capability to pay attention to important things and come together?

And I don't, I'm not convinced we do. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds.

I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the I-Hard radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care which I'm saying. Yep, that's me, Cliver Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, the reactions,

my journey from basketball to college football, or my career in sports media. Well, somewhere along the way, this platform became bigger than I ever imagined. And now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast. The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, unfiltered conversations with some of your favorite athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated.

One week, I'll take you behind the scenes of the biggest moments in sports and entertainment, and the next we'll talk about life, mental health, purpose, and even music. The Clifford Show isn't just a podcast, it's a space for honest conversations, stories that don't always get told, and for people who are chasing something bigger. So, if you've ever supported me, or you're just chasing down a dream, this is right what 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. So I'm going to ask you, but there's going to be an upsetting week one that is a shocker. I'm going to tell you mine. And then there's going to be a team that's a shocker. So I'm going to give you my upset. Shane Steichen goes to Indy.

We don't know what the hell that offense is going to. going to look like in Anthony Richardson. Jacksonville has got some new pieces, Calvin Redley. They come in very confident as a heavy favorite. It's a division rival game on the road. And we have no idea what Shane Steichen, who with Justin Herbert and Jalen Hertz turned him into superstars, is that the Colts are going to upset the Jags in week one. Colts are not a good team. but you can be good for three hours in week one when the locker room is still convinced you're a really good team. Bad teams have a lot of fight for about five weeks

until they're 0 and 5 or 1 and 4. So my upset of the week, I'm going to go with it. Colts shock the world and beat Jacksonville. What's yours? Okay. So I don't think that's terrible. I obviously love the Jags this year and Trevor Lawrence.

if I were to pick a major week one upset, again, even though I do not believe in this team or this quarterback at all, with a whole offseason to prepare, with the real thing that is a Super Bowl hangover, is it impossible to believe Bill Belichick and the Patriots at home beat Philadelphia? That's not impossible to believe. And people freak out and Philly will be fine. They have too much talent.

And I don't think New England's going to be any good. I shouldn't say any good. They're not going to be a really good team. But that's that I certainly like, here's the thing. That's the Patriots getting five at home. And that to me feels like that there's real value there in the Patriots. its money line because if that, maybe they lose by 21 and it's like, oh, Mac is not going to be good.

The Patriots, you know, whatever. But if that's close, they can win that game. A thousand percent they can win that game. And for Philadelphia, there is the, I think the real hurdle of everything is going to feel a little slow motiony until later in the year, which wouldn't exist if they were in the AFC, there is, as you were talking earlier in a different way, the sense of urgency of there's too many good goddamn quarterbacks.

Like, we better not screw around here because there's going to be some great quarterbacks that are on our heels or ahead of us. In the NFC, the Eagles got to be like, okay. There's us. There's San Francisco. There's Dallas. And then who are we talking about? A Vikings team who we annihilated last year and then fell.

You know, so I think that that would be a weak one upset. Again, I haven't really dove into this entirely. I'm trying to look at the other ones that would make sense. Go ahead. So I think we both picked one because that was my second choice, by the way. That was my second one.

Really? Yeah. That's fine. Okay. Now you have to have a wow prediction on a team. Okay. Like somebody's going to shock us. I'm going to argue Carolina.

So I think Frank Reich is really good. They built an excellent staff. It's a bad division. I don't trust the coach of the Saints. They have an excellent front seven. The corners are good but beat up and are now healthy. They ran the ball effectively last year. The O-Lon is young and emerging.

And Bryce Young is really smart and capable. He may have a lower ceiling, but he'll be good in week one. I think week one, week two, week three, you're going to look at Carolina. And you forget last year. That defense was nasty. I think Carolina has a chance to win their division. That is my wow pick. Okay.

So my only anti on that is I don't like tiny football players. And Bryce Young is tiny. That's my concern. It just a general belief. So I'm not going to tell you the team. But if I were to tell you a team's first handful of games are against the bears, Falcons, Saints, Lions, Raiders, Broncos, that is their first, what was that, five, six games? Green Bay.

Could they get out to a great start? I think the answer is yes. Do I think that that team is, there is going to be a bit of a deep breath sigh of relief that the Aaron Rogers stuff is just done with? Do I think there is going to be a real chip on their shoulder of, man, this guy sure love it. almost the the person who's, you know, spouse left them. And then you see that

the spouse and, you know, is giving interviews talking about how in love they are with their new person. Like, hey, I was great to you. Like, and like a little bit of oh, really? I think LaFour is a good coach. I think that

division is open in this regard. I think the Vikings are good. I think the lions are good. I don't think there's a great team. And the lions, you know, everyone gasped to the floor on the lions concerns me a bit. So I think Green Bay being, you know, a nine win, 10 win team and maybe finding a way into the playoffs. Because in the NFC, finding seven playoff teams is not easy.

So I think Green Bay is a viable. thing. I want to kind of turn it on its head because everybody, I shouldn't say everybody, people talk a lot about who's going to do the team that jumps up and shocks people. It's like, oh, man, they're good. We rarely put out there, who's the team everyone thinks is going to be good that is going to fall flat on its face? I think it's going to be the Jets. I think that people have, and the Jets, it's the exact, by the way, same reason. The Broncos were my pick for that last year, and I was right, but it's a lot of the same recipe.

A wide receiver core that is wildly being all of a sudden overrated. People last year were talking about the Broncos were like, oh my God, all these weapons. And I'm like, I like Jerry Judy fine, but in the wide receiver position, it's never been better than it is right now. He's not even close to one of the 10 best in the league. And then I, and then it was like, oh, no, all these guys that people are talking about the jet's weapons, like they're great.

Garrett Wilson had an awesome rookie year. Okay. Alan Lazard was a below average number two with Green Bay last year. Hardman's, they're three. And so if we're talking about weapons just in the AFC, Cincinnati's is better, the chargers are better, the dolphins are better. I would argue the Raiders are better. The bills are right in line with them. So they're running backs coming off in ACL.

They have two left tackles. One has barely played in two years because of injury. The other is 38 years old, literally 38 years old and Dwayne Brown. I don't think the coach is great. The Jets, and also the other thing for the Jets is, while the end of the year is very soft, how are the Jets, who are, keep in mind, on a six-game losing streak from last year,

going to react, if they start, what are they going to start when it is Bills, Cowboys, Patriots, chiefs, and all of a sudden, big game against the Broncos, then Eagles. That first six games, you have the Bills, the Cowboys, the Chiefs, and the Eagles, and your easy games are the Patriots who have beaten you for seven years in a row every single time. And then the Broncos that all of a sudden is a blood feud because your dear friend, Sean Payton,

went scorched earth on them. That is not an easy opening six. So I think the Jets are the team that is not going to meet expectations. This was fun. We did an hour almost. We did 50. You got to think about which team's going to sometime either on the volume or on the show.

You don't have to tell me now. I think Philadelphia is going to be good, but nine win good, not 13 win good. I think they're going to be in a dog fight with Dallas for the title. I think they're pulling back. And by the way, Shane Steichen leaves.

They lost multiple linebackers. Jonathan Gannon leaves. Yeah. They, O lines old. still good, but it's older. They faced a conveyor belt of awful quarterbacks. Awful. Terrible.

And then they got a broad pretty break in the playoffs. And every good quarterback after week two lit them up, every single one. My takeaway is Philadelphia is really good, but they don't feel like the bully, you know, the Broad Street bully, that former Flyers team. Like last year, they were beating teams like a. college team, beating teams by 30. Yeah. I think they're going to be in a lot of close games.

I think Dallas can line up with them. I think there's a lot of teams that can line up with them. And I think Jalen Hertz is terrific, but I think he'll pull back. And I think he'll have to play from behind occasionally. I mean, I love Jalen. But good God, when you play with a 20 point lead in the second quarter, it's just a different environment than trailing late in the third. It's a different position.

So I think Philadelphia is good, but doesn't look nearly as good as last year. I think that's the I, by the way, I by the way agree with that. I am, I'm going to say this. Hold on. You can keep this in, but don't have your people put this specific thing on social. This is a special thing for you, for me to you, for the people that made it at the end of the podcast. I am 90% sure. I'm obviously picking the chiefs in the AFC.

It's going to be hard to pick against a team that's literally going to win three straight Super Bowls. So I'm going to go ahead and go with them. In the NFC, I really think I'm picking Dallas. Like, I don't think the Niners, like, I just, I don't think the Niners can, you can't just have nobody's at quarterback for every year and just have it work. At some point, it's got to just bite you. And the fact that your guy Mike Silver's like, hey, Trey Lance, he's throwing 120 passes. They might cut him. I'm like, are you what?

And man, and Shannon's like, hey, I'll turn Sam Darnold into Steve Young. I'm like, okay, I picked the Niners to go to Super Bowl last year. I'm not doing it this year. So if I'm not doing the Niners. And the Eagles, I thought were a good, but not great team last year that got hot, had, you know, they had more sacks than any team since 85 bears. They're going to duplicate that? I don't think so.

The quarterback thing is real. So if it's not Niners Eagles, who is it? Like literally, am I picking Geno Smith to go to the Super Bowl? No. Am I picking Jared Goff to go to the Super Bowl? No. Am I picking Kirk Cousins? No.

I know it's become very invoked to say Justin Fields, one of the five best quarterbacks in football. I'd like to see him play five great quarters before I'm ready to say that. So we're running out of teams. I think I'm going to pick the Cowboys, which is so weird. Because I'm not, the corner of people in sports media that are either, I feel like 85% of sports media is well-established pro or anti-cowboys. And then there's a handful of you, me, a couple others that's like, I, you know, I find them interesting, but I don't love them or hate them.

But I think I'm going to pick them to go to the Super Bowl. I just think I am. I'm running out of teams in the NFC. So I think Chief's Cowboys Super Bowl, highest rated ever. Mahomes going for back-to-back. Cowboys in for the first. It would be a diet. Chiefs going for 20 and O versus the Cowboys.

Oh, boy. Oh, boy. All right, my guy, Matt Mosley, Doomsday Podcast with Edwarder. He's been embedded with the Cowboys in Oxnard. It's hot as you know what in California. We usually, first of all, it rained like Seattle in the winter. And now it feels like Louisiana in the summer. It's humid and hot.

So, you know, you've been to so many of these things. this feel like just another one? No. I mean, and I have been to a lot of them. And by the way, nobody cares about any Southern California heat wave. I landed back in Dallas in 105,

all right? It was 101 at about 9 o'clock when I landed, about 100 or something like that. Oh, yeah. So speaking 100, I just came from my grandmother's 100th birthday celebration. All right. Wow.

Francis Hendricks Lawrence has turned 100. So pretty neat. Pretty neat. What's the secret to her life? Boy, it's been a lot of clean living involved in that. Church secretary for many, many years. We had about a 25-year run there. But just she comes from a long line of people who live a long time.

And when my grandfather passed away, I don't know, 16, 17 years ago, just never missed a beat. It was just kind of like, you know what, I got to keep rolling here. And so as of today, even, I mean, she's just, she was the bell of the ball. Everybody came, you know, she had something to say to everybody. She knew who everybody was. And so it's pretty awesome to watch. And we're extremely fortunate.

So how does this camp feel different? You know, I think the McCarthy thing makes it different with the play calling. he's handling himself in a different manner than when I've been around him. And I think Jerry, with each passing year, and Jerry's into his 80s now, I think Jerry sometimes has a little bit different way about him. I don't want to call it an edge, really. But Jerry, for one of the first times that I can recall was all business at the State of the Union addressed to start. you know, he's generally known for saying something off the wall in that, in that setting.

And he didn't even make an opening statement. I mean, we're all set, you know, we're set up to hear him talk before anybody ask a question for at least 20 minutes. And literally, they just started the news conference and he said, okay, let's go. Let's go with some questions. What do you all have? So I, there's always, it's, I think it's hard to have a sense of urgency. there are better places to have a sense of urgency than in Oxnard because of where we're used to being and how it feels

and how much nicer it is and the surroundings and everything. But, I mean, McCarthy met with his player counsel the night before that State of the Union and got a vibe that, I mean, the team sort of has a little edge and they don't even have the pads on yet. Pads come on tomorrow. So to me, there was a little more edginess from the team to start a training camp. It's usually very laid back, not much going on.

And I think they've since that, you know, a couple of 12 wins seasons, not being able to get by San Francisco, like if they're ever going to do it, like it almost has to be this season. Well, Zach Martin, 10th year in Dallas, eight-time all pro. Jerry said I'm not budging on the contract. this is one of the rare times I support Jerry. They made him the highest paid guard when he signed. He was for many of the years of his contract. He has made more money than any guard in the NFL that's been in the league for 10 years.

And he's got a couple of years left on his contract. And, you know, Patrick Mahomes right now is the seventh highest paid quarterback. Do you think that's a – I don't think Jerry should budge, but do you think this could get ugly, surly? No, because Zach is not really – he's not up to that. Zeke was willing a few years ago to stare Jerry down. And Zach doesn't have that in him. And I'm not even saying what Zeke did was wrong. Zeke did it because he knew his value and the Cowboys cratered.

They know they don't have to. I mean, like, if Zach truly didn't show up, I mean, that's a big problem. You can't start this season without your all pro right guard. I mean, they don't really have anybody to turn to in that regard. Yeah. You heard in Jerry's voice was the fact that, there's two years left on his contract. What's he talking about?

And to your point, Colin, he got his rookie contract. He's a first round pick. And then he got another contract. And so Jerry's kind of right. I mean, everybody loves Zach. And it's not like, and the other thing is he's a veteran and he's so good. And he's so good at staying prepared that I don't know any other position. You know, and Zeke came in and was kind of ready to go at the last minute.

This guy could be. So I don't sense any worry. And I think, you know, you heard Dak say, Dak was quoted saying, pay the man, talking about Zach. And Jerry was asked about that. And Jerry had a very funny answer, which was, well, we pay the quarterbacks all the money. That is funny. By the way, I saw that Zeke visited the Patriots.

You know, you always said Zeke was a little bit the soft. of the locker room. Now that he's gone, do you still believe that? Oh, yeah. Yeah. He was sending messages to the team on the eve of their first practice. I think in the meeting room, the running backs, they're still hearing from him. Tony Pollard still brings him up. I mean, people are still, there's still an aura about him. Now, he had faded some of his playing ability. So you're okay moving away from that. But yeah, there's still some. They're still, and that's what the call that Bill Belichick made was to Stephen Jones. And he just wanted to know kind of where Zeke was.

And Ed and I had a chance to go one-on-one with Stephen or two-on-one. And that was one of the things Stephen talked about, was just his, how he went on and on about Zeke and what he could mean in one of those running back rooms. So, I mean, it tells you all you need to know, though, on how much he has left into the tank. on the fact that he's still out there. He's a workhorse. He's played through all sorts of injuries. I mean, he's not, I don't know if he's anywhere close to a lead back anymore.

I mean, it's one of the few positions you can go from, think about that. Last year, the starter, even though Pollard took over, he was almost a symbolic starter. This year he can't even get a role on a team. He can't even get out there. Right. But Belichick has had a way over the years of taking charge. chances on certain veteran players that maybe have some deans on their character. This guy, he had some issues, obviously, he was suspended for several years ago.

But in terms of what the players think of him and the coaches, other than maybe DAC, there's no one who approaches Zeke in that regard. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year.

Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the I-Hard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what I'm saying. Yep, that's me, Clifford Taylor the 4th.

You might have seen the skits, the reactions, my journey from basketball to college football, or my career in sports media. Well, somewhere along the way, this platform became bigger than I ever imagined. And now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, unfiltered conversations with some of your favorite athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. One week, I'll take you behind the scenes of the biggest moments in sports and entertainment. And the next we'll talk about life, mental health, purpose, and even music.

The 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. Colin, pads are a popping football. It's kind of unofficially here in preseason games, but week one, we're almost a month away from that Thursday night doozy of Dan Campbell versus Andy Reid. Yeah, I wouldn't want to be Dan Campbell.

Andy's been the best September coach in football. You know, I thought there was something interesting. So Andy, all offseason, has been saying, we're going to put more on Patrick Mahomes plate. okay we're going to put more on his plate the chargers get kellyn more inside the building the feeling is with with lombardy they weren't they weren't giving him enough on his plate calin more is going to put more on his plate i read a quote today about dac prescott where they're trying to make the cowboy offense dack friendly take more off his plate and my takeaway on that john you're a scout in this league is timeout the great great ones, the Mannings, the Mahomes, you just keep throwing layers of stuff at him. Dak, they're pulling stuff off the table. I hate the sound of that.

So Schottenheimer's a conservative OC. Mike tends to be a conservative OC, 7-12 and one in his last 20 games play calling. That was one of those, doesn't sound like much. Didn't love the comment by Dallas. I would say this, Colin. Just because you pay a guy, a premium doesn't mean he's a premium player. And once Dak got that $40 million a year contract didn't change his limitations. I would, though, the last two years, the Cowboys have lost right in the two years ago

in the first round and this year and the second round to the 49ers. And I think they started seeing themselves. We're a defensive team because we could hang with their physicality. And last year they did. They went blow for blow. It was like two Mike Tyson's hitting each other. It was the most physical game of the playoffs. But they lost because Dak did what Kyle Shanahan never allows his quarterback to do for the

part is ruin the game. He threw the picks. So you always had the stat when Zeke, before he fell off a cliff was like, run the ball. Don't get too pass happy with deck. That's when he, you know, kind of turns into more of an average quarterback. If you can keep him probably in the high 20s attempts, you got a chance, especially with how good their defense is. And I would say that their defensive coordinator has turned in right there with Vic Fangio, right, and just their defensive personnel as one of the betters in the league. So they can play a game that most teams can't because most teams don't have very good defenses. So if you don't turn the ball over,

I think I'm going to pick the Cowboys to win the division. And not because I think Dak Prescott is better than Jalen. I just think they have, like they kind of know who they are for the first time in a long time with the Cowboys. They're always kind of fighting one side of the other. And they don't have a clear identity. I think they do have an identity now.

And to me, it just comes down to Dak Prescott, not turning the ball over. Because if he doesn't turn the ball over against the 49ers, The 49ers lose that game. Well, there's a number. I don't have it in front of me with Dak Prescott. He wins almost 80% of his starts when he doesn't have a turnover, which is not abnormal for many quarterbacks.

But what happens when he has just one or more? He wins like 30% of his games. It's like LeBron James. LeBron James could have a bad shooting night and still be the most impactful player on the floor because he does so many things well. Dax not talented enough to overcome a turnover. He's just not. Brady has won Super Bowls with pick sixes.

All right. Mannings, both Mannings have had high interception years, Farrv, huge interception years, and they win the division. Dak, the margins are tight. It's a little Mac Jones. It's a little Kirk Cousins. Turnover brings down the wind total. Well, it's where Matt Stafford is, I think, sometimes talked about not in that top five, six,

but in that next crew guys, his physical attributes and talent is far superior from kind of that group. He, because he's going to turn the ball over, but at any moment he can throw four touchdowns and a half. He can stretch the field in one play, throw the ball, you know, 40, 50 plus yards with his eyes close. It's why you remember a couple years ago when the Warriors, I think they won 15 games. Steph got hurt, Clay got hurt, Kevin had just left, and they just fell apart. I know you're down in L.A. You're close to the Rams. Cooper Cup already injured. They are very dependent on like three guys. And if those three guys are healthy, they can be competitive because they got a really good coach.

I think the Rams have a better chance of competing for Caleb Williams than they do a playoff spot. I think they're going to be really bad because I just think it's inevitable. Their players are a little older now. Stafford with the elbow. How often, you know, we see it all the time in baseball players. Once the elbow starts getting messed up, it kind of goes. We saw it in Rothesburg, the elbow never the same. So Stafford's been Cooper Cup now injured last year, injured again now. Aaron Donald, all-time great player, but he can only do so much.

We've seen great defensive players on shitty teams. I mean, JJ Watts has been a great player on bat. You can't. This isn't the NBA. So to me, the Rams, their margin for error is so thin just with the depth of their team. And we're already seeing the injuries. happened. And last year it happened and they were god awful. They just happened to not have their pick. I don't see why they think about the division. We know Seattle's going to be really competitive.

Obviously, the 49ers are good. Even if Arizona stinks, they play the NFC East. So you get three playoff teams and Washington's feisty. And they play the AFC North. So you're getting the Steelers, the Ravens. I mean, the Browns, even if they're not a playoff team, have a lot of talent. And then obviously, uh, what team, the Bengals. So. I mean, you just got a really, really good, that's a lot. That's a tough schedule. So I came out and said, I had a very good source. So did Jason McIntyre that we heard the Rams tried to restructure the Matt Stafer

contract. I was shocked when a member of the executive team for the Rams came out and made a point of a Times, LA Times article saying, this is not true. These reporting taking a shot at me. two days later, Matt Stafford announces, yeah, we tried to restructure my deal in the offseason. The Rams are trying to fool us. They had discussions. They wanted to restructure the deal.

They couldn't and had to move off people. They like Matt, but Bucky Brooks told me yesterday, and I've heard this, if Matt gets banged up, they're drafting a quarterback with the first pick. They know how good this draft is. They look three years ahead of time, and the feeling is this is the best draft in a four-year window, the best quarterback draft next year. Last year wasn't good. The following year after is not great. So you get about two great quarterback drafts every decade, like four first-round guys.

Next year is that draft. And there's a belief, even if Stafford plays pretty well, and they're like a seven, eight-win team, they'll be four guys. they'll be able to get a Quinn Ewers, a Michael Pennix Jr., at like 12 or 13 or 15 in the draft. So I think the Rams, you know, if you go like and look at Kansas City last year, they had a star offensive coach, a star quarterback, a good enough O line, one star weapon, great defensive player, good linebacker and kids everywhere. That's a little Rams-ish. Ernest Jones, Aaron Donald, Cooper Cup, Matt Stafford.

The difference is, Ann McVeigh, is that the Chiefs players are all in their prime. And to your point, the Ram Star players are all coming off injuries. So I do think their margins are thin. I'm just fascinated to watch Matt Stafford because he took a lot of hits in Detroit. He just rented a gorgeous house on the beach in Los Angeles. And the feeling is last year to an L.A., he wants to have some fun. he knows it's not going to last forever. Can I, sometimes it's unfair, right, when a social clip comes out of your show,

I didn't see the whole take, but you've had, you nailed the Baker Mayfield thing from the start. You had a take, he's part of probably the most irrelevant quarterback competition in the history of the league right now in Tampa. I mean, absolutely, no one cares. And you, I think you came out and said, you know, he should retire. Yeah. Because he's got, he's head right to college football and be a start. I think that's kind of crazy just because he's making $4 million. Right.

He wouldn't make $4 million right away on TV. And he's got a chance if he can do this for a couple more years. But clearly he's headed toward it. And overall, and think about college football, I never saw Kirk Herb Street throw a pass. I don't remember a clatt pass. And Matt Leiner, who I think's really good, obviously had a very, very, you know, underwhelming NFL career for his college status. I think Baker.

But clearly Baker's career is headed nowhere fast. And this Tampa team. I mean, they're definitely circling the Caleb wagons. Right. They want a big part of that. It's, I guess there's twofold. Were you being dead serious on that, the retirement? And two, have you ever nailed to take harder than, because I think the Johnny Mansell, a lot of people were out.

Baker was a guy number one overall. Yeah. I was wrong because I thought it really taught me over the last couple of years. I thought he could be Drew Brees. Well, a huge part of Drew Brees was the character and the intangibles. And look at all the star quarterbacks. Now, the intangibles are, have to be off the charts. even for the average guys, let alone the stars.

Well, you know, first of all, NFL scouts liked Sam Darnold too. So I missed on Darnold. I think Johnny Mansell, I kneeled, Baker I kneeled. I didn't like Zach Wilson at all. I said he was going to be a boss. No, you didn't. So, but I like Sam Darnold. And I still think if Darnold got competent coaching and started in San Francisco,

he could be a playoff quarterback. But he does have a slower delivery. And he tends to be a hero ball quarterback. He was at USC. and he's not that athletic. He's athletic. He's not Josh. It's like a poor man's Josh Allen athletically.

He's big, strong. He's not that big and strong. I was being serious. My takeaway is there are people that aren't built to be backups. Cam Newton. Baker Mayfield. Tim Tebow. They're too big.

Too many commercials. They're too big. You want Colt McCoy. You want Tyrod Taylor. Baker is too big to be a backup. So if he loses to Kyle Trask, he's still got a chip on his shoulder a mile long. Last week, he was quoted saying in front of a camera,

I don't need anybody to tell me how to play quarterback. It's who he is. So he's too big of a personality, too much edge to be a backup, right? I always said a backup quarterback should be able to put a baseball hat on in a mall and dark sunglasses and be unnoticeable. Colt McCoy melt. Tebow can't do that.

Cam can't do that and Baker can't do that. Secondly, he's making $4 million a year. but to be a top analyst at a football network, you'd make about two, two and a half. And the truth is, you don't want to become a punchline. And if Baker plays for two or three more years and this year starts and goes one and eight and gets hurt, and by the way, he's led the NFL an interception

since he entered the league, two and eight last year, if he went 0 and 6 this year, and that means he went two and 14 in his last 16 NFL starts, he becomes a complete utter punchline. Sam Darnold failed. Baker failed. They're not punch lines. Like people still like Sam and Baker got to a playoff.

So my takeaway is protect your brand. Also, money's not that big for him because he took every available penny with all those insurance commercials. So if I was his agent, I'd be like, dude, if you lose the job to Kyle Trask, they're trying to lose privately in Tampa. You get to one in five. John, they're moving pieces at the trade deadline. They've got players. Yeah, for sure. Now, Arizona may not do that because if Kyler Murray comes back in week six, they don't want to bail on him and get him hurt, right?

They don't want him to get hurt because even if they were moving off him, hard to trade him if he's injury-plegged. If they lose their first four in Tampa, I mean, that front office, they're playing Trask. Baker couldn't beat out Trask. They're moving pieces. Guys can get hurt. So I'm dead serious. I would say if you can't beat out Kyle, I'd retire, I'd call the networks, take a year off, practice, go to these companies, say, I want to get good at this and go be a rock star. I'm in agreement on the backup quarterback.

You get too famous. I also think that happens sometimes when you're a former really, really high pick in a short period of time, right? Zach Wilson would fall under that. But Aaron is such a star. He's already irrelevant. No one cares. That's where Trey Lance is kind of interesting, right? because you got Brock Purdy, who was Mr. Relevant, and even Sam Darnold's making $3 million.

Well, Brock Purdy's the starter. And I'm a big believer. And they still got a lot of camp left. They got some joint practices. And like you said, the preseason games, I would imagine, Tray's going to get a lot of juice. And maybe clearly he's improved his mechanics a little bit. But through a bad pick today at practice, you never know. It's a fluid situation.

I'm a believer that Sam's going to win the job because Kyle had already had that in his mind coming into the year. It's why they convinced Sam, who had other opportunities to come. to a place with like 10 quarterbacks. He didn't just randomly come. So is Trey Lance, and it's not his fault, he makes $9 million. That's his draft slot. But there's not going to be a team in the NFL that's going to have a $9 million third string quarterback.

But the 49ers have had all these quarterback injuries that they're probably just roll with it. And he's a high character guy. So they're not really worried about that. But it is a bizarre situation. It really is for a team that, let's face it has kind of one goal in mind. And that's, you know, to get to the big dance and win the thing. I mean, they're not.

Anthony Richardson's playing. They don't care if they're just going to try to figure it out, right? You see a lot of these young quarter. That is not what the Niners are in. They're in win now mode and win big. There are a lot of these young coaches, McVeigh and Shanahan among them. They kind of want you to do what they tell you to do. Like they both love Kirk Cousins.

McVeigh and Shanahan both love Kirk Cousins. Lamar Jackson's a great athlete. Josh Allen's a great athlete. I mean, you take Josh Allen. But the takeaway is a lot of these young coaches, Andy Reed is different. Andy Reid wanted Michael Vic. Andy Reid wanted Mahomes. Andy wants playmakers. That's why he's the great coach.

But a lot of these young coaches just want somebody, Bill Walsh had this, who can simply deliver on my play call. Sean Payton's a lot like that. Russell Wilson's going to be a challenge for Sean Payton. He's done. He's trying to mold Russell. Russell would rather go deep. Breeze didn't throw deep. Breeze was 18 yards and in. So the play design and the play golf by Sean Payton was essential. Russell will run out of the play call. He'll run out of the play design.

So that's a really interesting situation. Sean Peyton, McVeigh, Shanahan. They kind of like you to do what they say. And you know, you know this. Whatever gift God gives you a great singing voice, you're going to use it in the shower, in your car, in a chorus. if God gives you a great arm, Josh Allen, you're going to use it. Far big interceptions. Nameeth big interceptions. Bradshaw. And so I kind of think McVeigh, I think Stafford mostly does what Sean wants, but he drives Sean crazy with the picks ad libing.

He wasn't as athletic. I was told very early. They established he wasn't as athletic as they thought. It was evident. Right. But they were okay with that. So their takeaway, he was kind of a physical runner, not nimble and twitchy. But I was told Kyle was okay with that.

I don't need too much Twitch. By the end of the first camp, they were like, man, we got a throwing issue. So what happens with Trey is not only isn't he athletic enough, but he doesn't give you the distribution excellence. So it doesn't work. Now, Darnold is a little more athletic than Trey can struggle with distribution. Pretty isn't that athletic, great at distribution. And they both love Kirk Cousins, McVan-Shannahan. So you can see the model here.

A lot of these young coaches, John, you know this, you scout it. Some of these coaches want you to run their play. That's what they want. Well, see, Andy is much more, it's weird offensive linemen. When you think of them tend to be just like conservative tough guys. He's really more of a free spirit, let it flow. And it comes back. He was taught in the early 80s at the BYU.

program that was well ahead of its time throwing the ball all the time. And then his NFL stardom came with Brett Forf, right? The ultimate freelance gunslinger. So a lot of coaches, the Shanahan tree was all raised in. It's a lot of boot and play actions dumping the ball off to a guy five feet in front of you. So I just now eventually it's the NFL. You got to hurt. You have to hit a third and 10. But there is a lot of first and 10 of a little flick to Debo or to Christian McCaffrey that if you put it at his feet, it's a disaster because that's an easy 13 yards. And that's where I think Purdy came in and immediately did that. And it was almost like they became BFFs immediately because that is what he's really looking for.

Most quarterbacks in the NFL can throw the ball 50 yards, right? But that's not, the majority of the game is not deep bombs. And that to me is the most fascinating part about all this quarterback. Like what makes Mahomes really special, obviously he's instinctive and the physical attributes. the guy is very, very accurate when he has to be, and he's very, very football smart. So Andy's always said this about even when Tyree Kill was on the team is I could tell him to do whatever I need to do when he'd pick it up like that. You know, we talk a lot about in football, all the physical characteristics and then all the schemes. We don't talk enough about the intelligence because it's like teaching some of these guys, they can never get it.

And that limits their potential in the sport because the game is so complex. And as the seat, like the preseason now is a joke, right? But once the season comes in, you're putting in a new game plan every single week. The volume. Another podcast from some SNL, late night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smygel and friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer Streeter Seidel,

help an a cappella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and friends on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. 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 IHart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an IHart podcast. Guaranteed Human.