The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Middlekauff – 3 & Out – Brady Contract Conspiracy Theories; Can Arians Save Jameis?; Managing Preseason Injuries; Holdouts; Mailbag

Episode Date: August 6, 2019

Subscribe here to the 3 and Out with John Middlekauff Podcast https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/3-and-out-with-john-middlekauff/id1352730623?mt=2 In this episode, Middlekauff looks at why it's not crazy to think the discount Tom Brady is giving in his contract is being made up on the back end, if Bruce Arians can resurrect Jameis Winston's career; philosophies on managing preseason injuries, why most players crack way to early during holdouts, answers listener questions in Middlekauff's Mailbag. Follow John on twitter @JohnMiddlekauff and go to www.theherdnow.com to find the latest content. Subscribe now! Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and Friends on the I-Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. What's up, guys? This is Clever Taylor the 4th. And on my podcast, The Cliverts Show, I'm bringing you conversations about all kinds of stuff. Like being an internet famous referee. We're in the middle of a game. This linebacker, this linebacker walks up to me.

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you just understood. That's how personal it got. Wow. Then after that game seven, Mark keep coming to, he's like, you know I love you, dog, you know,

it's all love. This was just playoffs. This was just basketball. So listen to Point Game on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. If you work in IT,

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Because with State Farm, you don't have to give up what you love for great insurance. For surprisingly great rates, like a good vecino, State Farm is there. My grandmother had posters on her wall of old school matches at the Carlos Colon Arena in San Juan. And we would watch American wrestling and Lucha Wrestling pretty much every day. And she, as did many back then, was fully convinced that wrestling was 100% real. Listen to the My Cultur Podcast Network, available on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to podcasts. What's going on, everybody? Happy Tuesday or Wednesday or whenever the hell you're listening to this.

I'm me, that's John Middlecalf, three and out podcast, Colin Coward Podcast Network, recording this on a Monday night, August 5th. I guess I saw the Fox Sports Radio tweeted out. we had huge, huge numbers in terms of listeners. I know this specific show is doing really well. Appreciate everyone listening that downloads it on Colin's feed, obviously, which is the cash cow. If you subscribe to just my normal feed, appreciate that too. It's all the same for me, so I'm glad this show's awesome.

I mean, it's been, I'm lucky enough, hell, honored that Colin even asked me to do this last year, whenever, I guess maybe it was two years ago now, two falls ago, is when he reached out. And it's been very professionally and creatively, you know, it's just been an awesome experience. It's cool to interact with you guys, everything we do through Instagram, Midlough Mailbag. Do that on this show too today. Got a lot more questions. We've got a lot going on. There's nothing like fall football season.

So if we can crush it in a random month in July, I'm ready for August, September, October. November, December, and just the fall. I mean, it's the best time of year by a mile for sports because we get football, and I can't wait. So today, you know, Tom Brady, I guess, re-signed, extended, kind of a bizarre contract. We'll dive into that. Read some interesting stuff from Peter King. He went down to Tampa Bay with James, with Bruce Ariens, just some of the buzz that's coming out of there. You know, we've had, at least here in the Bay area,

Antonio Brown, D. Ford are now on the shelf. Antonio came with the messed up feet. D. Ford got hurt at practice. Tendinitis. But I think there's a right way and a wrong way to manage injuries when you get veteran players. We'll obviously dive into the middle-coft mailbag, and I'll jump a little bit with some stories that I saw around the league. But I want to start with this. Tom Brady and Robert Kraft.

I mean, it might be the most powerful financial marriage we've ever seen in pro sports. because what is going on there just doesn't make sense. And I want to start by laying this out. I believe in following laws, like laws that can make you go to jail. Like, yeah, if you want to make money, do something legal. Like, if you sell cocaine to make a lot of money, you deserve to go to jail. Right? If you commit murder, like, you're breaking laws.

If you commit white-collar crime, you're a criminal. But if you push the envelope on things that maybe in your business are arbitrary rules for a given industry, it doesn't bother me as much. Like, I'm kind of in the internet business. I run another podcast. I do an internet show every day on Periscope. There aren't really any rules.

I can kind of do whatever I want. One day, it'll be regulated and there will be rules. Right now, if I want to rip video off Twitter and post it on my Instagram, I can't. And I do it. It's the Wild Wild West. Hell, Barstool created kind of an empire by doing that. You can take advantage being kind of an early entry into certain things. i.e. the internet. Now it's been around 20 years, but in 200 years, we'll be like, damn,

the internet was crazy back in the day. Yeah, it's the Wild Wild West right now. So are there rules, like Robert Kraft, if he got a hand job at Orchitz of Asia, like that, and he paid for it, yeah, he's breaking the law there. Now, we can go down a whole other discussion, should prostitution be legal or illegal, but there's a difference between right and wrong. Now, there's also just like there's an arbitrary law down the street from where I'm at right now, not down the street, but a four-hour drive, you can go to Dennis Hoff's Bunny Ranch and it's legal. So is prostitution a little bit of an arbitrary law, sure, but in certain states, it's a black and white law. If you pay, you know, a prostitute, you're going to jail or you're getting in trouble.

Now, he's so rich, he can avoid it. But my ultimate point is, they've been paying Tom Brady, pennies on the dollar, relative to what all these other quarterbacks were making, and something doesn't add up. Like, clearly, I think we all acknowledge something shady is going on. And if it ever comes out that he was siphoning money through TB12 in the commercial real estate property that Robert Kraft owned to pay Tom Brady on the side, it would not bother me at all. Not one bit. No different than like when a college kid takes $100,000 from a booster. Why should he give a shit?

Because the NCAA rules say you can't. He's not breaking a law. He's breaking NCAA rules. Now, would Robert Kraft be circumventing the salary cap rules? Sure. But in his mind, rules are meant to be broken. Especially if I'm not going to jail for it.

What are you going to do? Take away a first round pick. So what? I've gotten Tom Brady on the cheap for 10 plus years. And you could have probably only pulled this off if you had just this unreal trust with the player. It's probably just an owner-player thing that they know about it.

Now, I'm not saying it's going on, but it's never added up how they did business. And again, I would promote and I would want my owner to do the same thing. The Patriots have benefited from Tom Brady taking these really cheap deals. It doesn't make any sense in a sport where every guy is trying to get the most amount of money. And I often hear, well, his wife's worth all this. Well, yeah, a lot of people, Peyton Manning comes from money.

Russell Wilson's wife has a little cash. I mean, it has nothing to do with Giselle having money. It is simply, more than likely, something shady is going on. And you know what? I say, welcome to capitalism. A lot of shady shit happens. Now, are you breaking a law? Like an actual law written by the government? Are you breaking a league rule? Because if you break league rules, I don't get as bothered. Because I think league rules, just like I know a lot of owners, GMs, coaches, think a lot of league rules are stupid. Think they're kind of arbitrary. Think they're kind of random. Think they had an agenda when they were passed. So I'm not as bothered by it if something shady is going on. And if you go to Brady's contract history, when you look, I saw this great tweet, and it basically got all the quarterbacks of his era since the new CBA, and it was like, I'm going to pull it up right now. It was Brady, Rogers, Wilson, Breeze. Okay, here it is.

Let's group Brady with the eight other quarterbacks for this analysis, Rogers, Breeze, Stafford, Matt Ryan, Joe Flacco, Eli Manning, Ben Rothersberger, Philip Rivers, and obviously TB12. all were rookies before the CBA agreement in 2011. All have started at least 75% of the same teams regular season games since 2011. Obviously, Flacco's on a different team. The other guys are still with their original team. Brady ranks last in cash earnings among those nine players since 2011.

Explain that one to me. I mean, you're talking about the greatest quarterback ever is making less money than Eli Manning and Joe Flacko. So I applaud Robert Kraft for figuring this out, and I applaud for Tom Brady. And if they did this above board, Tom Brady's just truly one of the great humans. If they did this blowboard, and it's a little shady, welcome to the real world. Well, welcome to a capitalistic society. This stuff's always happening and always will.

And I'd argue, well, shouldn't Paul Allen in Seattle maybe tried to work out with something with Russell Wilson so they could attack their team in a different way? Shouldn't the Lions have tried to figure out, maybe you could give Matt Saffir, some Fordstocks on the low. I mean, in all seriousness, if they were able to pull this off, it's incredible. I grew up on Eddie de Bartolo. He brown bagged, every good player in sight took care of him, mob style. And he eventually got caught.

And it eventually cost him, and obviously he got in more trouble, again, with the law and was kicked out of the league. But you're not getting in trouble with the law? It doesn't bother me if you break quote-unquote league rules as much, to be honest with you. Now, the other big element of this, It's one of the more bizarre contracts we've ever seen. Because at first over the weekend, it was like, it's a two-year extension worth 70 million. And then Rapsheet tweeted out something earlier today,

which I'm still kind of struggling to come to grips with because it doesn't really make that much sense. It's almost like he didn't even sign a deal. Rapsheet said, sources. Patriots quarterback Tom Brady's new deal includes a provision that does not allow New England to franchise or transition tag him in 2020. The final two years automatically void on the last day of the 2019 league year. But he cannot be tagged.

Brady will be a free agent. How does that even make sense? So he just signed a fake deal. What Brady, Kraft, and maybe Belichick's involved, maybe he's not. Maybe he's Belichick. I don't even want to be involved. You guys deal with this. It's one of the greatest mysteries.

I got some conspiracy theories. Something weird's going on, but they've figured it out, and they're running circles around the rest of the league. I also think that it's a little weird, that it's not even weird, that a 42-year-old just signed a contract extension. How long is this thing going to go forever? I was thinking about it today. I was at multiple games, Peyton Manning's live,

Peyton Manning's last season. I was at a Raider game, and I was at the Super Bowl. And at the Raider game, it was mid-year, it was when it was. season was kind of falling apart. And one of the big stories was Charles Woodson, who was still playing then, had never picked off Peyton Manning. Well, in that game, Charles picked them off twice.

And I'll vividly remember the second pick, it was like this long bomb, and he just had no zip on it. And it just floated up in the air like a duck. And Woodson, who still could play at like 38? Came from the middle of the field, high pointed that ball, and made just an incredible pick.

DJ Hayden, I think, was quoted being like, Charles Woodson was flying, like if you've ever seen the movie Angels in the outfield, when the angels pick up the players, that's what DJ Hayden said he looked like. He just floated like Peyton Manning's ball. Payton was a shell of himself. Now, history would tell us Father Time, that normally happens. When Peyton fell off a cliff, Brett Farve fell off, like injuries just ruin you. You either get carted off the field, and that's how your career ends, like a Troy Aikman,

like a Steve Young, or you just fall off a cliff play-wise. Brett Farr, Peyton Manning, and it's clear it's over. I don't know which one's going to happen to Farrf, or excuse me, to Tom Brady. Now, I would say it'd be more likely that he has a catastrophic injury, because unlike Peyton, he still has well enough arm strength. So it's hard to fall off a cliff if you still have a really good arm strength because he's never been a great athlete. So I would say he'd have a catastrophic injury, like a random injury, right?

Shattered leg, broken shoulder, something. But it could have happened in the last couple years. really good at avoiding hits now, almost like there's no end in sight. But for us is to be like, oh yeah, of course they resigned Tom Brady to an extension, even though it's not really extension. He's a free agent. Oh yeah, Tom Brady. He's 42. Is this guy really going to play until he's 43, 44? We're talking about in 100 years, knock on wood, America's still around, that we're going to be talking about this as just one of the craziest careers ever. It's just not going to make sense. be like, yeah, the greatest quarterback ever.

He was married to Supermodel. There might have been some shady shit because he was making way less than he should have made. He played for like 25 years. How many Super Bowl did he win? Well, like eight. He went to 12. Is this thing ever going to end? Because I thought, I actually had heard some people in the know,

and I think it's kind of well established at this point, that Belichick was just in the mindset to get rid of Brady for Garoppolo, Steve Young to Joe Montana style. but Brady kind of felt it coming, went to Kraft, who clearly they're in bed with financially, knows where the bodies are buried, kind of forced Jimmy out, why the Niners kind of lucked into Jimmy Garoppolo,

in theory, if he says healthy, for a second round pick mid-season because Belichick never waits that long to get rid of a guy. He would have got rid of them in the off-season. It didn't quite add up. But then Tom keeps playing well. I started thinking today like, how many Super Bowls have they won?

Have they won three straight? Well, they won one, and then they lost. to the Eagles and they beat the falcons. It's hard to even keep up with how many what years they won the Super Bowl. I just know they've won a lot. And a big reason is because this guy's play. Now, this year's going to be a little unique. They lost Grinkowski.

Edelman's banged up right now. I assume he comes back. They have a rookie receiver. Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind. Highlights are trending. Opinions are flying. And nobody's telling you exactly what happened.

That's where Sports Slice comes in. I'm Timbo. Every episode we're cutting through. the noise. Breaking down the plays, the controversies, and the stories behind the headlines. We go straight to the source, the athlete themselves, their locker room stories, their reactions, the stuff nobody gets to hear. The laughs, the drama, the triumphs, the moments that never make the highlight real. From viral moments to historic games, from buzzer beaters to controversial calls, we break it down, give you context and ask the questions everybody wants answered.

Sports slice brings you closer to the action with stories told by the people who live them. Listen to Sports Slice on the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Sliced Life 12 in the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hardway with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Kear Games. And in recognition of mental health awareness month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience in the mental health field and conversations with so many incredible guests. I'm talking, Tripp Fontaine, Ryan Clark. Sometimes when we're in the pursuit of the thing, we get so rapid.

up in the chase, that we don't realize that we are in possession of the thing. And we're still chasing it. And we don't know when we've done enough. Because people scoreboard watch. Life becomes about wins and losses. Steve Burns, Dustin Ross, because you find it important to be a good person while you hear on earth. Are you a good person because you're afraid? Because that's two different intentions, bro. Absolutely. And that's two different levels of trust. I want you to just really be a good person. Join me, Kear Gaines, is we have real conversations about All healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast, Learn the Hardway.

Open your free iHeartRadio app. Search Learn the Hardway and listen now. What's up, guys? This is Clivert Taylor the Fourth. And on my podcast, The Cliverts Show, I'm bringing you conversations about all kinds of stuff. Like being an internet famous referee. We're in the middle of a game. This linebacker, this linebacker walks up to me.

He goes, hey, ref, my mom wants you to wave at her. What? Time out. Quarterback on office blue with 42. Hey, Wreck, my mama want you to weigh better. What? Hey, Ms. Parker. Listen to the Clippers show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast.

What's up, fam? It's Isaiah Thomas. And I'm C.J. Toledano, and our podcast Point Game is about defining the odds. Like LeBron heading into the playoffs without Luca and Austin Reed. And finding ways to win no matter what. He's the smartest player to ever play the game. His IQ is at a level that we've never seen before. And he knows without Luca and Austin Reeves, I got to manipulate the game.

We get a player's perspective on the challenges of the playoffs. I think Joker's going to be exhausted this series because when they don't have Rudy in the lineup, he has to really guard guys like Nas Reid. He has to guard Julius Randall. And then he has to give us everything he gives us on the night-to-night basis on offense. And when IT's friends stop by like Quentin Richardson,

we dive into some playoff history too. Steve Nash will get that thing. That man, hell get the flying. He running up the court, licking his fingers why he got the ball, like, after you go through a training camp with that, Isaad, you figure it out real quick. Get your ass up and down the court,

and you're going to get the ball. So listen to Point Game on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. You know, they got a couple young, stable of running backs, and Sony and Michelle, and Damien Harris, the kid they drafted from Al Alabama, still to go with Dionne Lewis, who's one of the best past catching backs in the league, and Burkhard, who's just a good role player.

So you think they're just, they're a Patriots, they'll figure it out. But one of these days, one of these days, it's like a depression's not going to hit, but a recession, hopefully a depression doesn't hit. But a recession is inevitable, right? Every economist will tell you every eight to ten years, it's cyclical. It gets high, it gets high, then it slows down, then it slows down. Then it gets high, that it slows down. It's been like that since the history of, you know, the Great Depression.

been pretty consistent, give or take a year or two here and there. So you would say the history of quarterbacks, like 40 is about the end. So this guy is an uncharted territory, but he's also involved with the best coach, who he also gives this discount to so they can sign other players, kind of, in theory. They don't always do that. But they've done a good job drafting. I just think the Patriots, you can't even make this shit up. I mean, you really can't.

It's why when a book comes out about them, It's a must read. When the Belichick book comes out, it's fascinating. They're just the most interesting, head scratching, just you can't believe jaw-dropping stories have been part of this dynasty and they just continue with this contract extension. These days, it can be hard to find and hire the right candidates

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And I got to start kind of paying attention because obviously here in the Bay, I'll focus in on the Niners' opponent every week. And the 49ers first opponent, and this is not why I ended up reading it, but is the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who typically on the West Coast, when you play an East Coast game, and it's not a primetime game, the game for us is usually in the morning. So it's a 10 a.m. kickoff, wherever you live, you know, relative, 10 a.m. Pacific time.

So it's usually a 1 o'clock East Coast kickoff. But for some reason, the 49ers' first game is a prime time relative to an East Coast like a 130 game. It might be Fox's standalone game, 49ers versus Bruce Ariens and James Winston. And there are a lot of positive things coming out of Tampa Bay. And you got to take this with a grain of salt Because any time a training camp Right Just starts or anytime you're in the offseason

With a new coaching staff than to training camp It's going to be positive Everything that you did poorly in your past That new coaching staff is going to be working on correcting Right? It's like you should never read about some startup company That was given $50 million in seed money You know they're really screwing up

It's usually pretty positive Everything you hear in the initial stages of anything that's kind of big financially. And any time that you hire a new coaching staff like Bruce Ariens and they, I think, lead the league with 30 coaches, it's going to be good. A lot, you know, they're working on James, blah, blah, blah. Teams looking good. They're working on this. They're working on that. They're going to be better here.

They're going to be, that's just a natural reaction. Typically good teams. Like, what's going on with the Chiefs? What's going on with the Patriots? I don't know, just getting better like they normally do. They'll be ready to be a playoff team. But whenever you've got shitty teams, they get new coaches. Oh, my God.

Have you seen Kyler Murray? Have you seen the new James? I love reading the stories from Minnesota. They are giving Kirk Cousins all these brand new looks defensively. Like, hey, guys, Cousins isn't a rookie. He's been in the league for like eight years. He's seen them all. He's just not good enough.

But James is kind of fascinating because he's right in that sweet spot of where most humans get in a profession. will you get to the point where you're still open to improving? And I think for the most part, in any profession, including football, smart people are always open to improving, especially when they get around other smart people. Sometimes it can be tough if the guy you're working for or the coach you have, maybe you don't respect, maybe you think you're smarter than,

maybe you just don't mesh. I mean, that's usually where you get issues. But Bruce Ariens, who I always thought was the perfect coach for James, Now, granted, I sold my James stock when he got into that thing with the Uber driver. Because it's been drip, drip, drip, and then when you touch an Uber driver, I would imagine every single person listening to this, every single one of you, has been in an Uber. And I would imagine every single one of you haven't come close to having any issues

with the Uber driver in terms of sexual touching. Now, you might argue with them because they won't take you through Taco Bell when you're kind of drunk, you know, late night coming home from a concert, or maybe that's just me. And I get some Uber drivers don't want you to eat in their car, but, you know, I'm hungry. But, you know, I'm maybe a little drunk too, but I want to eat. But I get it. I respect your rules.

But if you say, no, I'm not going to argue with you. I just, okay, I'll sit here, get me home. And James couldn't get it. So I backed off. And then he has more picks than he does career game started. That's a massive red flag. And he hasn't been in the league one or two years. He's a four-year starter.

So I got issues with James. But the one thing that Peter King wrote about today, is that they are really hammering home, bro, you have to learn to live another down. You can't just try to make the big play every play. And James used the quote to Peter King, like, I've got to be a better game manager. So I am open to the possibility that Ariens saves his career. Because right now, he was going down a very, very bad spot. And I would imagine all of us have watched James over the last couple years on the right game,

where you go, God, this guy's pretty good. The one thing that can't be disputed about their team, drafted OJ Howard, have Mike Evans who's a stud. I'm a big Ronald Jones guy, and I liked him a lot at SC. And he's one of those guys. I'm not giving up after one year. I did the same thing with Devante Adams. You want to get rid of your stock?

I'll take it all. Now, I'm not as high as Ronald Jones as I was Devante Adams, but similar vein. I know the way Ronald Jones plays he can play in the NFL. And I think Bruce Ariens is the first, perfect coach for him. There's just too many weapons if James can kind of corral some of his natural instincts to screw up to make things happen.

Because don't forget, Carson Palmer was in a very, very weird spot in his career when Bruce Arian's got him. And when Bruce Arians got him, got him rolling back, the train back on the tracks. Now Carson had had much more success and been a better player in the league than James had before B.A. got him and clearly was an older player and much more mature human. but I don't think it can't be discounted that there might be something there. And I think really this game is going to be marked on my calendar, but I do think the 49ers, Tampa,

I have to give Tampa a little more respect in that game. The 49ers are not good enough just to chalk it up as a W. Jimmy has not played enough. And Bruce Ariens, we cannot forget, for all the coaches that were hired this offseason, Kingsbury couldn't win at Texas Tech, LaFour was widely viewed as the one guy, McVeigh didn't view that highly, even though he's put in with the McVeigh guys.

What other new coaches are around? I always forget the new coaches. Trent Taylor, or not Trent Taylor, but Zach Taylor. I honestly know nothing about the Cincinnati Bengals coach. You know, a lot of the new coaching staffs that are all these young, hot shot offensive guys, I got red flags up on a lot of them. And even the last couple years, like I don't think that highly a Pat Schumer. I don't think that highly.

I'm trying to think, I can't, well, how am I blanking out here? Freddy Kitchens. I know nothing about Freddy Kitchens. I kind of like them. Kind of like the draw, the southern type. I'm rooting for Freddie. Seems like a nice guy. Seems like a good guy to, you know, grab dinner with and talk ball.

I would imagine if we all knew Freddy Kitchens, we like the guy. Can he coach? We're about to find out. Can Bruce Ariens coach? You bet your ass he can. Because I've seen him. Line up against Pete Carroll and Jim Harbaugh for years. and hit them right in the teeth and go to war with those guys.

I saw Bruce Arias walking to the NFC West when Seattle and the 49ers got it together and were winning big and go 10 and 6 his first year with the Arizona Cardinals, which is a lifetime joke franchise. Joke franchise. Bruce Ariens came in there and made them real in a big-time division. Not the NFC West when 7 and 9 won it back in 2010 when you had Harbaugh and Seattle humming. So Aryans is the real deal. Now, does he have some flaws? Does he want to throw and maybe he should run?

Sure. But B.A. can coach. And B.A., the staff that he's bringing, Todd Bowles and all the other defensive guys and some of his offensive coaches, they were with him in Arizona. So it's the same staff, the same group thought that kicked ass seven years ago, or whenever he first got to Arizona, I think, 2013. Now in Tampa, which I promise you this, they inherited a lot more talent in Tampa than he's inheriting, that he inherited in Arizona. So I guess I'm just leaving it with,

keep an eye on this. While I'm out on James, I officially said that when he got suspended for the Uber driver, I'm not out on the fact that BA might be able to resurrect his career. Now, that won't me. I'm rooting for him.

You know, I hope anyone matures. We don't all mature at the same time. James, I don't know how many second chances you get, but don't be surprised if you see James put up some numbers this year. Okay, I want to dive into something that bothers me in the NFL. And I think sometimes with football coaches,

there is a disconnect of how important the players are financially. Like, they are high, high-priced assets. And most of the older coaches get this. Think about this. Like Belichick, Pete Carroll, Andy Reid, all the guys that are 60-plus have been in the league since you ran double-double. days for weeks on end. Hell, I'm 35. When I was in high school football, we had two straight

weeks of double days. A double day is not allowed in the NFL. Training camps are pretty easy. But I think a lot of times younger coaches, because the nature of the sport is you practice way more and you play. And if you've ever met a football coach, really at any level, they really value practice. Practice means a lot to football coaches because it matters. Because it's not like baseball where it's like, you'll get them tomorrow, just be in the lineup. We're basketball. We play another game tomorrow. You only play once a week.

You only play once a week. And unlike, especially basketball, the offseason, unless you have the entire team together, it's hard to practice. Like football, you can't just randomly practice. It takes organization. It's just a complicated sport. So coaches put a huge value on practice, which I completely understand, especially offensively. a lot of reps, timing, and chemistry. But, and I was around Andy, and he's been really good at this.

I mean, crush it in Kansas City. Tom Ball-Lee, I remember reading a couple years ago, he credited him with saving his career. Did not make him practice. And when I first got to the media, I used to go to Niners practice with those Harbaugh teams. Justin Smith did not practice that much. I completely understand the NFL trying to make young players, even high draft picks like Nick Bosa, for example, who has an injury history, making him practice, making him earn his toughness, get his reps.

Like, he's got to, he hasn't done anything in the league. He's been paid $30 million signing bonus for whatever the hell he got without doing a goddamn thing. We hope he's going to be good. He's dominated practice. I think he's going to be, actually, might be wrong, he might be an elite player, we'll see. He's been kicking McGlinchies and Joe Staley's butt every day.

But, like, he's got to prove some stuff. D. Ford, who the 49ers, traded for, and I think it's symbolic to a lot of players around the NFL, is going into a six-year. He spent five years. He's drafted in the first round, four years, and then his fifth-year option. Double-digit sacks multiple times was a pro-bowler last year. I understand why he's going to want to practice and while the coaches are going to want to make him practice, but if you're the 49ers, you give up a second round pick for him. He has a long injury history of soft tissue issues, of back issues, you have to be very careful with him.

There is zero reason to make him prove anything in practice. When you traded a second round pick for him and gave him $35 million in guaranteed money, you're showing him, you know what he is. He's proven to you what he's worth, the reason you're giving out the draft pick and paying him the cash. I don't need to see anything at practice. And the 49ers, when I was at OTAs, I'm like, God,

they're making him do a lot. And then the pads come on. He's practicing a lot. I wouldn't have him practiced that much. And it's not like some positions, especially in offense. He plays, he's a designated pass rusher. Now, technically, he's a starting pass rusher in the wide nine. He's got one gap, the ball snapped, and he chased the quarterback.

I have to have him for Sundays. And it's not just Kyle Shanahan. It's just younger coaches just in general. And it's just a coach thing. Sometimes you get so short-sighted, you don't realize, no one's ever won a Super Bowl in early August. So we're all the players all over the league. Joe Staley, the third practice of the 49ers training camp, he got off.

I was texting with a buddy in Chicago today. He's like, yeah, Khalil gets a vet day, like, once a week. He gets a vet day once a week, plus he gets a day off once a week because the entire team does. So he doesn't practice that much. And when he practices, he practices hard. But the only thing that matters with Kalil Mack is on Sundays he's ready to roll. He doesn't need to learn the defense. He doesn't need to prove anything in practice.

And I'm not saying DeFords Kalil Mack because he promised you he's not. But he is in the sense that I can't, he gets injured a lot, I can't lose him in practice him. I'm going to lose him, I have to lose him in the game. Why, tip my hat to Sean McVeigh and the Rams. You know what he's done with training camp? Punted on the whole damn thing. Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind.

Highlights are trending, opinions are flying, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where Sports Slice comes in. I'm Timbo. Every episode we're cutting through the noise. breaking down the plays, the controversies, and the stories behind the headlines. We go straight to the source, the athlete themselves, their locker room stories, their reactions, the stuff nobody gets to hear. The laughs, the drama, the triumphs, the moments that never make the highlight real.

From viral moments to historic games, from buzzer beaters to controversial calls, we break it down, give you context, and ask the questions everybody wants answered. Sports slice brings you closer to the action with stories told by the people who live them. Listen to Sports Slice on the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Sliced Life 12 in the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hardway with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Kear Games. And in recognition of mental health awareness month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience in the mental health field and conversations with so many incredible guests. I'm talking, Tripp Fontaine, Ryan Clark.

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The World Cup is almost here. Experience it all with us. Listen, Inside American Soccer with Tom Bogart and Tab Ramos and the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, wherever you get your podcast. Texting with a buddy today in the league. Kind of picking his brain because part of training camp, you're following all these teams. He's like, yeah, I make a Twitter list for all the teams

that I have to kind of keep track of. I'm like, I was kind of pretty smart. You follow the beat reporters. It's much easier to keep kind of information. But there's never been, but I was like, God, you know, one thing I've noticed, just casually, is have the game's ever been worse? Like, when I first got to the league, some preseason games were not that terrible. You have veteran guys play.

No one really plays anymore. Nobody. I think the preseason is just completely unwatchable. It's poop. It's awful. It's nuts that 7 million people watch the Hall of Fame game. That's the worst football game I've ever seen in my life. Now, the broadcast was excellent.

Al, in rare form, not even paying attention to what's going on in the field, just talking to Dick Eversoll. and Elway, it was fantastic. But the actual game couldn't have been worse. Why would you play anyone in the preseason? It doesn't make any sense. There is no risk. But to me, even the bigger thing is,

when you have veteran players that have battled injuries and have proven their worth, either you've given them money or you've traded for them to acquire, you have to be very, very careful. And it's on the front office to work with the coaching staff because once you're on the field, you kind of get tunnel vision.

You want to see the guy work? And I'm just as guilty. I'm at practice. Like, I want to see more D. Ford. He should be on the sideline. And all these players around the league that have battled with injuries that are older, like, I understand, I saw D.K. Metcalf's hurt. Like, yeah, you got, D.K. Metcalf has got to practice.

Rookies, young players have to practice. But when you get six, seven, eighth year guys that you're paying a lot of money to, I'm sorry, I don't put much emphasis. And I know most people in the front offices in practice is in August. I actually think they get over-analyzed sometimes. and we consistently see guys that dominate in practice get to the games and aren't the same with young players, let alone veterans, my only concern with a 7th, 8th year guy that's in the peak of his powers is how am I going to keep him healthy? I know he knows the scheme.

I know that he's competitive. I've seen him play for however many games I have in the Rolodex of being able to look at every game he's ever played. If you're a seventh-year guy, do the math. 16 times 6, even if you've missed some games like D. Ford, We have a long, long resume of D. Ford playing in NFL games. So I just, it pisses me off when coaches press older guys too much. No other business would you take such an asset and push them to levels once they've already proved something into an area that's meaningless.

Now, I'm all for the games, pushing through it, playing an injured guy. I get it. You know, you're paid to play on Sundays, and Sundays matter. And I'm also not saying practice doesn't matter. It clearly does in the sport of football. But certain positions with certain players that are relatively basic, like the wide nine defensive end, like D. Ford probably has it in one week.

You know, I just need to see him healthy. And I think this goes for a lot of older players around the league that I think sometimes coaches get in their own way and then they get pissed off when the guy can't practice. This clip is brought to you by State Farm. At State Farm, they know it's important to ensure the things you love. They also get that everyone has a budget. That's why they have options, like insuring your car and your home, getting you great rates on both. It's a good idea to consider

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And I talked about it a while back that not all holdouts. are equal. And on the most basic level, the premise of a holdout, right, is to create some leverage, like in any human in any business, they try to create a little leverage, because if you have leverage, if you let the market economy, whoever's your employer, think that you can go somewhere else and get more money, they'll pay you money. Well, in football, it's a little more complicated because often you're under contract. They kind of got you by the balls. You can't just go out and get another offer. You just hold out. to hope that they miss you and they give you a pay bump.

Sometimes it works. Sometimes it doesn't. To me, if you're going to hold out, if you're going to hold out, it's why I always say the most powerful words, and I've been in business for a short period of time, been around in my whole life with my dad, and just have family, friends in business, and every person that's successful on any level,

and I've found this out, and I think it works a little bit personally too with relationships, but definitely professionally. I'm not into playing games, but just professionally for sure. Say no. Hey, we'll hire you for X. No. Even if you, you know, sometimes you've got a bluff.

Now, it can be nerve-wracking. Like, calling someone's bluff is tough. A holdout is difficult because a lot of these guys want to play. But if you are going to hold out, like, I can never quite say his name, Yonik in Daqwe, the really good pass rusher for the Jags. You know, a top six or seven edge rusher in the league. There's a short list of guys. I don't know

Vaughn, Khalil Frank Clark I mean it's a short list You know maybe clowny Obviously Watt It's kind of unique That are better than this guy

He has crushed it the last couple years Basically average double-digit sacks since he came in the league He was a third round pick So he hasn't made that much money He's got a career basically 30 sacks in his career Once you're holding out Reports are that he showed back up I mean, he's back.

And he basically said, I don't really want to talk about it. And I started to think, it's August 5th. I said August 5th. You know what I meant. August 5th. What was the point of the holdout? Part of your holdout should have been going Khalil Mack. Because you do have some leverage.

They drafted you. You're clearly one of their best players. You're arguably their second best young player behind Jalen. Don't show up. Like, what is the point if you're going to hold out? Now, I wouldn't recommend a hold out. though I know where this guy's coming from. Because unlike Jalen Ramsey, who, as I've talked about before,

has already got the bag, he was a top five player, and he's going to get another bag, he's already been paid a lot of money. That's why I never lose sleep over, like I'm not losing sleep over Clownie's holdout. Clowny's already made a lot of money. But if you're Clowny, do not show back up. There was a report today I saw on PFT that Clownie's going to show up after the third preseason game. For who?

For what? You're trying to get paid. Do not show up at minimum until week one. You have to put them in a position where they're like, God, this guy really might miss some games. Even if you're not planning on it, but if you get that close, you might freak them out. I thought, I'd give Cam Chancellor credit. Remember a couple years ago he held out? It might have been four or five now.

It was like, you know, he'll be back by the third preseasoning game. Because that's what teams assume. Oh, he'll be back. Like in Dockway. Yeah, he'll come back. And he did come back. So what was the point of your holdout? To get a couple days just at home, chilling with the girlfriend?

Like, you lost. They won. When you go Cam Chancellor? Yeah, I'm calling your bluff, C. You think I'm going to show up week one? Screw you. Then he held out week one, week two, and he got some money. Hell, if I was an endocque, I can't really, I struggle to say his name.

I might hold out week one. You have to create some leverage. This is a business. Be cold-hearted. If I'm clowny, I ain't showing back up. Screw you. Trade me or pay me. Like you do have some leverage if you're clowning.

You are flawed, but still a top five or six edge player where you factor in how good he is against the run. That's the tough part about Melvin Gordon. he doesn't have much leverage. Like Melvin, it's why I recommend. They're offering you a contract. Come sign it. They want you.

They're offering you a pay bump. If I'm Zique, now I've been critical of the Zieg holdout because I think it's a low-level slapy move when you've been in a lot of trouble and your owner has stood by you. He's already paid you a lot of money because he drafted you for overall.

You should show up because he wants to pay you. But he just wants you to prove that you're a good guy. He wants to trust that when he pays you a lot of money, he can sleep at night, and you're not going to get in trouble doing some stupid thing that you've proven over and over that you struggle to avoid. But when you're Clowny and you're in Dockway and it's strictly over money, part of now it's to be a little harder for Clowny because the Texans' defensive line's good,

but you lost Malik Jackson, Callais Campbell's a little older, you're their best pass rusher. I would not have shown up. Who's giving these guys' advice? Because to me, if I'm the agent and I'm in a Dockway's agent and we're going to hold out for training camp, I say, listen, we're either showing up day one and try to negotiate and operate in good faith.

You're one of their best young players. I don't know much about him. I'm going to assume he's a good character guy. They draft you, they like you, they want to build around you. We're going to do that. But if we're not going to operate in quote-unquote good faith and we're going to hold out, you have to be willing to do this for the long haul.

You can't get emotional. You can't read their players tweeting at you, or the fans tweeting at you. We're digging in our heels. This is business. This is not, you can't be emotional. when it comes to dollars and cents because they won't be with you, you shouldn't be with them. But when you crack and you go back before the first preseason game, what the hell was the

point of it all? I do not get it. If I'm Zeke Elliott, again, I would never have held out. But once I hold out, I'm not showing back up until I get a new contract. Otherwise, the holdout was completely pointless. It made zero sense. None, just to get some time off. Again, these practices are really easy.

Like they're not very difficult. There's not much hitting, especially if you're one of these guys. If you don't want to play in the preseason, they won't make you play in the preseason. It's just, it boggles my mind that these guys go in these holdout situations, and there's really not a plan of attack. It's why I'm critical sometimes of agents, and I get Richard Sherman's back when he goes, I'm cutting the agent out. I'm cutting the middleman out.

Why am I giving a guy 2% when I could do this on my own? I can pay a lawyer or a flat fee for a quarter of the price and negotiate my contract? It's not that difficult. And there's too many middlemen in these guys' lives. too many people telling these guys in their ear, poor advice. Because I just, I do not get it. My recommendation would be to Clownie, do not show up. Once you're in on the holdout.

Now, the reason, like I said, Leveon Bell was making a poor mistake, it's like, Levyon, you're a running back, and they're offering you $14.5 million. For Clownie, I do get, if Clownie was on the open market, he wouldn't get Khalil money, but he'd get $70 million. in guaranteed cash. So the difference between whatever he'd get this year, 15 or whatever, to 70, that is a big gap.

That's why I supported Khalil Mack, who dug in his heels. Aaron Donald did the same thing. Like, to me, Clowny and And Aduckway have some of that leverage. Either pay me or trade me. I'm not playing for you. You have to be cold-hearted in business. You gotta be almost cut-throat. You can't get emotional with this even though it's a team game.

So I just hope some of these guys in the future have a plan of attack when they go into these holdouts because there's no point in a holdout for a week. Literally zero point. Okay, let's dive into the Middlecough mailbox. At John Middlecough, my Instagram handle. It's where I interact with the people. I'm going to get to a bunch of new questions here. And you guys can always slide up in my DMs, ask me a question, and I'll answer it right here. Three and out question.

Is it preferable to have a mix of strong bull rush, Khalil Mack, on one end, and contrasting speed rush, Vaughn Miller on the other? Good question. Yes, I would like Khalil on one end and Vaughn on another. Can you rank one through four for lead color analysts, Romo, Collinsworth, Aikman, McFarlane, and give a few seconds why?

I can't wait for that one. Okay, let's go one. I don't necessarily know if you need contrasting style. Like, I'm being tongue-in-cheek. I mean, of course, any team would take Vaughn Miller and Khalil Mack on both ends. But I think you can have two bull rushers, two speed rushers. You just want good rushers. I don't think teams necessarily look like, I got D-Ford on one side,

I need to get a power rusher on the other side. You know, I got Khalil Mack, I need this on the other side. If you can get Khalil Mack, you just take Khalil-Mack. If you can get Clowny, you just take Clowny. You know, it's just, they're just hard to come by, so you can't really be choosing. Now, specific schemes with later round picks, you know, speed rushers that aren't great, you know, bull rushers that are strong are better in certain schemes. Like the speed rusher guy, I mean, Vaughn's very, very unique.

But you can't just have a strictly speed rusher probably in like a 3-4 defense. He has to be able to hold up against the run. I think a couple years ago, which I thought was one of the best front seven. I've ever seen. The front consisted of Justin Smith, Ian Williams at Nose tackle, Ray McDonald, who turned out to be a terrible human being,

very underrated player. Alden Smith, Patrick Willis, Navarro Bowman, and Amad Brooks. Amad was a true power rusher. And Alden was probably more of a speed rusher, but he was just an overall rusher. I don't think teams necessarily take that into account when they draft a pass rusher.

If the pass rusher is really talented, especially in the first round, you know, like Josh Allen to go wrong with Mduckway. I forgot that they have Josh Allen to now go with Mdokwe. Maybe my theory of him holding out, maybe they're not going to pay him. They're just going to keep Josh Allen. I don't know why you wouldn't want them both. But you look at the bears, they got Floyd and Mack and Akeem Hicks.

You just want as many pass rushers as you can get. It made me think, though. Maybe I'm not deep enough in the way I look at. it. Maybe teams do look at it that way. It shows you maybe I'm out of touch. Maybe you're the smart one. Is it Zay Smooth, 22? Can you rank 1 through 4 lead color analysts?

Romo Collinsworth, Aikman, McFarland. McFarland is clearly last. Though, I don't mind Booger as a person and just when he was on the SEC network. I thought he was good. I don't think he knows the NFL that well. He just felt like he just didn't really know the NFL. Now, maybe it was just Jason Whitten,

who turned out, I think I listened to him on a podcast with Ryan Rosillo, who's now going over to Bill Simmons the Ringer, I guess he's leaving ESPN, hard to blame him, that you go, God, Jason Winton's pretty smart, pretty impressive guy, but he was just terrible as an analyst. Now, McFarland, I just put him dead as last.

I'm not the biggest Collinsworth guy. I think Al carries that broadcast, who I'd say is the greatest play-by-play guy in the history of America, Al Michaels. I like Shelter for it. really like Collinsworth that much. I don't really know why. I don't have a great reason. I think he's kind of shoved PFF in all of our faces, and though I don't have a problem with PFF. But I'd put Collinsworth third. I'm a sucker for Aikman. I've just always liked Troy. I think

there's just less fluff with him. Him and Buck to me are the best tandem. They just work the best. Those two big game. You give me Cowboys Eagles. You give me you know, Niners, Seattle, I want those two guys on Fox. I think they're the best tandem, though I'd put Aikman behind Romo. I'm a sucker for Tony Romo. I just, I love Tony Romo as a player. I love him even more as a broadcaster. I love him as a golfer.

I wish Tony Romo was like my friend. I really do. I'd want to play golf with Tony. I'd want to drink beers and eat food with Tony. I'd want to just talk football with Tony. Any Jerry Jones loves Tony. I love Tony. Now, Nance, I'm a big golf guy.

If you follow me on Twitter, Instagram, you probably know that I tweet a lot about it. I love the PGA tour. I mean, I follow the PGA tour like I do the NFL. I love the PGA tour. Jim Nance, to me, is a little cheese bowl. You know, he's a little much. I respect he's got a stick, and it might not even be a stick. It's just his deal.

I'll give Romo credit. He's really loosened Nance up, and that broadcast has become pretty good. So I'd go Romo, Aikman, Collinsworth, and Booger is a distant last. Now, I'd say Romo's the best, but Buck and Akeman are the best tandem, and probably Al is the best individual,

and the Monday Night Football, just a disaster. If Dak becomes a free agent, what team would give him $30 million a year? Between teams with quarterbacks, the incoming draft, where you get a rookie contract, which has... Sorry, I misread that.

Oh, incoming rookie class, where you can get one on a rookie contract, which is proven to be a Super Bowl-winning formula, what team would want him? From Tua to Herbert to all these guys, Trevor Lawrence in a year, why would any team give up that much cap space for Dak? They wouldn't. I mean, they just wouldn't.

I think I said it on this podcast last week. Maybe I said it on my other podcast to Haberman Middlecopf. I just talk, we talk a lot about quarterback contracts. If I'm Jerry Jones, can I look Dak in the eye and go, listen, I can franchise you next year, you can make really nothing this year, or we can just do a deal that suits us both. I'll give you four years, $85 million.

So it's an average of $21 million per year. But I'm going to guarantee you every penny, every stinking penny. And that $25 million that I save relative to what Wentz signed for, I will sign Zeke and Amari and our offense will be awesome to go along with our loaded defense. And we will win. Now, Dak, I get he wants to make $30 million a year, but like you said, who's paying them $30 million a year? How many teams in the NFL need quarterbacks?

Saw a story that Josh Rosen lit it up in a scrimmage. What if he works out in Miami? Like the dolphins? Why are the dolphins want Dak Prescott? Or not the dolphins, I mean the Bengals. They're the only team that's really missing one. Even teams like the Giants that hate their starter, they have a backup. All these teams, when you look at the amount of quarterbacks drafted in the first

couple rounds the last three or four years, it's a lot. It's like 12 to 15 players. I mean, I've gone over it several times. here, it's a lot of guys. Even if you go back to like Jimmy, Carr that year, and then to all the way forward, just last year alone, there were five guys in the first round.

The previous year, I think it was three. Previous year was three. That's five, that's eight. You're talking 11 quarterbacks on rookie contracts in the last however many years. And then the previous year was golf and Wentz. So you're up to 15, basically, quarterbacks and throw in DAC

in the last 15 drafts. Or I mean, the last four drafts. 15 quarterbacks. It's basically half the league. And then you have the group of the Russell Wilson's, Cam Newton's, Andrew Lucks, Aaron Rogers, Kirk Cousins, the older guys that are under contract. So yeah, I'm with you. Podcast question.

And then I don't see a question. Maybe it disappeared. Cowboy fan here. Many claim the Cowboys' offense runs through Zeke. I say the offense runs through the O line. DeMarco Murray and Darren McFadden had good years behind this line. Zeke is great, no doubt. But I think the Cowboys would be okay even if he doesn't play.

What do you think? I don't know. Zeke's holdout drives me nuts, but I will never dispute how good he is. He is a Mack truck. He's like the modern day version of, I mean, it's a little different of Adrian Peterson in terms he will run you over. He is so powerful as between the tackles runner. He's such a good outside runner. He's a natural pass catcher.

and he's a hammer as a blocker. It's crazy to say because Adrian Peterson is a Hall of Famer, and we don't know about that Zeke yet, but Zeke's more complete, so I don't even like that comparison. He's like, I'm trying to think of a comp. He'd be like a stronger version. Now, I'm not saying he's going to be as good as this player, but he's like the tank version of LT,

because he can do it all. I think he's that good. I hold Zeke on that type of reverence. I think he's a future Hall of Famer if he can stay healthy. Now, he's a sloppy off the field. He's got to get his life together. But I would agree their offensive line has been an area that they've kind of hung your hat on, you know, this last four or five years.

But Zach Martin now bulging just like offensive linemen, you don't keep your five guys together for usually longer in two or three years because guys get hurt, guys age, guys leaving free agency. Zeke to me is more important in the offensive line. I hear you, and I think you have a valid point because Darren McFadden stinks. But Zeke, Zeke would call. crush it behind me, you, and three other guys blocking. If the Packers have another underachieving season,

could you see Rogers demanding a trade? Also, would you rather get him at the end of next year, assuming he's healthy, or Peyton, when he became a free agent? That's a hell of a question. Knowing what we know now, like at the time, Peyton was coming out the neck surgery, no one knew if he could play. Peyton had an unreal four years. I mean, he led the best offense in the league,

I think two of the four of them. He was a starting quarterback on two super Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind. Highlights are trending, opinions are flying, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where Sports Slice comes in. I'm Timbo. Every

episode, we're cutting through the noise. Breaking down the plays, the controversies, and the stories behind the headlines. We go straight to the source, the athlete themselves. Their locker room stories, their reactions, the stuff nobody gets to hear. The laughs, the drama, the triumphs, the moments that never make the highlight real.

From viral moments to historic games, from buzzer beaters to controversial calls, we break it down, give you context, and ask the questions everybody wants answered. Sports Slice brings you closer to the action with stories told by the people who live them. Listen to Sports Slice on the IHeart Radio app,

Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Sliced Life 12 and the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hardway with me, your host, and your favorite therapist. Kier Games. And in recognition of mental health awareness month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience in the mental health field and conversations with so many incredible guests. I'm talking. Trip Fontaine, Ryan Clark. Sometimes when we're in the pursuit of the thing, we get so wrapped up in the chase that we don't realize that we are in possession of the thing. And we're still chasing it. And we don't know when we've done enough. Because people scoreboard watch. Life becomes about wins and losses. Steve Burns, Dustin Ross, because you find it important to be a good person while you hear on earth,

or are you a good person because you're afraid? Because that's two different intentions, bro. Absolutely. And that's two different levels of trust. I want you to just really be a good person. Join me, Kear Gaines, is we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast, learn the hard way. Open your free iHeartRadio app.

Search Learn the Hardway and listen now. What's up, guys? this is Clivert Taylor the 4th. And on my podcast, The Clivert Show, I'm bringing you conversations about all kinds of stuff. Like being an internet famous referee. We're in the middle of a game.

This linebacker, this linebacker walks up to me, he goes, hey, ref, my mom wants you to wave at her. What? Time out. Quarterback on office blue of 42. Hey, rep, my mama want you to wave at her. What? Hey, Miss Parker.

Listen to the Clifert. show on the I Heart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. What's up, fam? It's Isaiah Thomas. And I'm C.J. Toledano, and our podcast, Point Game is about defying the odds. Like LeBron heading into the playoffs without Luca and Austin Reed. And finding ways to win no matter what. He's the smartest player to ever play the game. His IQ is at a level that we've never seen before. And he knows. Without Luca and Austin Rees, I got to manipulate the game. We get a player's perspective on the challenges of the playoffs. Joker's going to be exhausted this series because when they don't have Rudy in the lineup,

he has to really guard guys like Nas Reid. He has to guard Julius Randall. And then he has to give us everything he gives us on the night-to-night basis on offense. And when IT's friends stop by, like Quentin Richardson, we dive into some playoff history too. Steve Nash would get that thing. That man, hell get to fly. He running up the court, licking his fingers, why he got the bar. Like, you go through a training camp with that, Isaiah, you figure it out real quick.

Get your ass up and down the court, and you're going to get the ball. So listen to Point Game on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Both teams, now they got blown out in the one, but the chances that Rogers would leave and go to another team, a random team. Because at the time, like, the Broncos were a little random and then have success. To me, I'd say, knowing what I know now, I would take that paid Manning four-year run. Now, the fourth year was pretty crappy. luckily their defense was so good but those first three years

and I witnessed a couple live games at the Raiders one against the Niners that offense was unstoppable Peyton Manning was like I don't even know like Picasso in his prime painting it was just unfair

you know just how in control he was like the sheriff in his old age on a mission you know Ray Lewis remember if you guys have ever seen the clip when he talks to the Stanford basketball team getting ready for the

NIT Johnny Dawkins the coach like I don't know six seven years ago and his main message was you got to be pissed off for greatness I think Peyton Manning was on a on a bleeping mission to be pissed off for greatness

and everyone in his way he was trying to destroy now does Rogers still quite have that edge I don't know because those first three years of Peyton was just that was a badass Hall of Famer on a mission.

And, you know, he was bad the last year. He was just shot. But I'll say this. Peyton Manning deserved to end his career with multiple Super Bowls. He was too good of a player. I'd argue Aaron Rogers does too. But, you know, their team on paper is pretty good this year. Now, is their coach good enough?

That's not his fault. They hired Matt LaFleur. So I hear what you're saying. I'm currently a student at Cal Poly. Hell yeah, go Mustangs. I know good about a people. people who study sports management at Polly, and I was wondering if you ever want to come speak at Polly about your sports career world. I personally don't study that major. I study data

and computer science, but I would love to listen to you speak. God, this is padden my ego here. Yeah, I'd love to speak. They just got to reach out, and I haven't received an email yet. So I'd always be open. And hell, I'd love to fire down to Cal Poly. But trust me, no one's asking me to speak anytime soon. Since you're open to talking about college football, I think if you aren't already, you need to keep an eye on Ronald, Ron Dale Moore.

This guy is going to be a Heisman sleeper. Reggie Bush himself even tweeted it more and said he reminds him of himself. Regardless of being part of a smaller football program, what is your take on him? Scout-minded opinions. Well, I'm going to be honest, I have never heard of Ron Dale Moore.

So I'm going to type him Great part about having a phone is Purdue Boilermaker. 5-9-175. First team all Big Ten last year. Let's see how many yards you rush for? Rush for 1,100 yards, 12 touchdowns.

You want a little live scouting report on YouTube on Ron Dale Moore? Now, he's not draft eligible because he is a freshman. but I'll find a little highlight tape of Rondale Moore. The great part about YouTube is I like some good beats in the back of my Rondale Moore.

So this guy looks like he's a little receiver, playing in the slot. He's got some jukes. Change the direction. He can fly. Is he a slot receiver or is he a running back? I think he's a running... Is he a slot receiver?

That's what he looks like. Yeah, I mean, he's a playmaker. I like him. I'm going to keep an eye on them. Appreciate you with the heads up there. I honestly had never heard of them, but I'm not quite as locked in as I once was on Big Ten sleepers right now. What are the chances KC brings in another veteran running back

assuming Damien Williams can't stay healthy throughout the season? I read a headline. I haven't talked to anyone there about him, but I guess Carlos Hyde's been having a really good training camp. Carlos Hyde, to me, is somewhat of an underachiever, but he is talented, and I do think with Andy, in that offense, Mahomes, Tyra Kill, Kelsey, Sammy Watkins,

might not be a bad spot for him to kind of resurrect his career. So I would say Carlos Hyde, Damien Williams, claim a guy that's in 2019 in the NFL, that's good enough. Hey John, Eagles fan here. Assuming he comes back 100% from a shoulder injury last year and continues to progress, what do you think Derek Barnett's ceiling is as an NFL player? Thanks, love the podcast. Uh, that's a hell of a question.

I haven't watched him that much in the pros, loved him as a college player coming out of Tennessee. To me, he kind of had the poor man's version of Vaughn Miller, really explosive edge rusher, kind of short and squattyer could bend the edge. He's in a place where they love getting up field, they play fast on the defensive line in terms of, there's not much messing around. You're not too gaping. You're not dropping into coverage. You're getting up the field.

And Jim Schwartz, attack, attack, attack. I like this player a lot. He has, I'm pretty sure he's missing games, right? Did he tear his ACL last year or two years ago? That would be my only concern. I'm looking up his page right now because he's born in 1996. God, I feel old when I look at this stuff. So, Barnett, he finished his college crew at 13 sacks.

I mean, he was a double-digit sack guy every year. As a rookie, he was basically a backup, right, and the Super Bowl winning team that had a bunch of loaded. Okay, last year he had the, he was placed on injured reserve with the shoulder injury. So it shouldn't be that concerning. I mean, he's played two years. He missed half the season last year.

He's got eight career sacks. Seven games last year, he had five sacks. Or excuse me, five, no, he had two and a half sacks. So they're going to depend on him. You take a guy in the first round, I would say coming off an injury, you're going to want double-digit sacks.

This is a big year for that guy, man. First-round pick, because after this year, you've got to decide if you're going to pick up the fifth-year option, and the Eagles are cutthroat, so if he's not good enough, they'll move on, or they'll put pressure on him. This is a big season for the kid, for sure. I liked him a lot coming out of Tennessee,

but to be completely honest, I haven't really studied that much as he's been in the pros. Because I watched a lot of Eagles games, but last year he didn't play that much, or the previous year he was just a backup. Imagine fighting climate change every time you buy groceries or pizza. Now you can. With the Aspiration Zero credit card, you can reduce your carbon footprint by making the same purchases you always make.

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Hey John, big supporter. I was wondering if there are any tips you can give to me into starting my own podcast with my brother. We are two really huge sports fans who would love to get a podcast going locally and then able to expand it one day becoming a scout for a college or professional team. So you want to do podcasts and scouting? That's a unique professional career path. Even if you don't respond, thanks for reading.

Just give me hope. My idea when everyone asks me about like, how do you do a pod, how do you do a pod? There's never been an easier time to do anything. thing media-wise. Just start recording yourself. Talk and tweet it out. Put it on Instagram. Put it on YouTube. There are all these websites that will just host your content. Just go to Twitter and post a two-minute video of you talking. Do a podcast, tweet it out. Go to Instagram. Show the link. Go to YouTube. Link it with Facebook. If you got 500 Facebook friends, put it up there. See if people listen. It takes time. You know, I've been doing media stuff now since 2013.

And it just takes time. I'm still going. It's a work in progress. You're not going to figure it out overnight, but there's never been an easier time. Like, I use Instagram, for those of you that follow me on Instagram, I just post videos on there. Short, you know, probably two to three minute videos talking about football.

There's no, like, no one told me to do it. I just do it. Try to grow a following on Instagram. It's a much happier place in Twitter. I enjoy it. I like talking, short blurbs, good for millennials. Just mess around. See what works.

See what doesn't work. That's always my advice. Hey, John Middilkoff, how did you get your start with an NFL team? I worked in college football. And this is another question. When everyone asked me, like, hey, I want to work in the NFL. How do I do it? How do I do it?

I want to work in the NFL. How do I do it? Go to college football and try to get with a Division 1 program in scouting or coaching. And that's usually the way. Like, check all these guys' bios beside Bill Belichick who started in the NFL at 22 years old. Sean McVeigh, I think, did too. But it's very rare. Like even Kyle Shanahan.

was a GA in college football. Now, he had, he's names Kyle Shanahan, but you get my drift. Start in college. That's the way to do it. As a 49er fan, I'm looking forward to the start of the season with a healthy Jimmy G. I think with Jimmy Healthy and the additions of wide receiver, plus Bosa and 4 on the D-line, we can make a playoff run. How many more years do you have before Shanahan and Jimmy make the 49ers true Super Bowl contenders?

They're probably a couple core players away, but I say it all the time. If you are a good coach in the NFL, you make the playoffs in your first couple years. So if Kyle Shanahan, who I think is a high-level coach, and if they had a draft from scratch with GMs picking coaches, he'd go a lot higher than people think. Definitely a lot higher than his record would justify.

I think he's a really good coach. But the time is now. He has to make the playoffs this year. He has to have a winning record this year. Like there's no excuses anymore. A couple years in, like Sean McVeigh gets to L.A., they win. Bill O'Brien gets to the Houston, they go to the playoffs. Andy Reid shows up, Chiefs are terrible, they win.

When he showed up to Philly, it took him a couple years during the playoffs. Tom Coughlin gets the Giants a couple years, they're in the playoffs. Good coaches, you don't need to win the Super Bowl, you know, but you get to the playoffs. It's just the way this league works, proven over and over, check coaches' resumes within their first three years, good coaches make the playoffs. A lot of them do it within their first two. So this is a massive, massive year for Kyle Shanahan. I don't think the 49ers' best case scenario would probably be like win the division

and maybe win a playoff game. But if they won the division, they would probably still play in the first weekend because it would be hard for them to win over 10 games. I think they're a year away from adding like a blue chip wide receiver and maybe just another impact defensive player. But I think that they have no excuse. Let me repeat, no excuse to not be competitive in a legit playoff contender if Jimmy plays all the games.

I'm assuming Jimmy's going to play all the games. If he doesn't, that situation is a disaster. You're probably looking at Jimmy Garoppos last year in San Francisco. But if Jimmy plays 16 games, I'm not saying they should be in the playoffs because the NFC is stacked and their division's pretty good. even though I think 10 wins, hell, I think nine wins could win the NFC West this year. Though, like, I still have a lot of respect for the Rams, ton of respect for Seattle.

The time is now. The time is now for Kyle, John Lynch, and just the 49ers in general. Appreciate everyone listening. Thanks for making the Middilcoff mailback fun again. Do it every week. Do it every show. I mean, slide up in those DMs. Let me know if you have any thoughts, ideas.

Always open to whatever you got. Hit me up. And enjoy the week. We got football. I think we got preseason games on Thursday night. So get ready, baby. Talk to you guys soon. Adios. May the peace be with you. Godspeed. See ya. Do you own or rent your home?

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That's events and adventures.com. Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where Sports Slice comes in. I'm Timbo, and every episode we're cutting through the noise, breaking down the biggest moments in sports and giving you the real story behind the headline. And we're going straight to the source, the athletes themselves, their locker room stories, their reactions in the moment, and the stuff nobody gets to hear.

Listen to SportsSlic on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Sliced Life 12 in the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. Another podcast from some SNL, late-night comedy guide, not quite on human. me with Robert Smygel and friends, me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, S&L'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. What's up, guys? This is Clivert Taylor the 4th. And on my podcast, The Cliverts Show, I'm bringing you conversations about all kinds of stuff. Like being an internet famous referee. We're in the middle of a game. This linebacker walks up to me. He goes, hey, ref, my mom wants you to wave at her. What?

Quarterback on office blue 42. Hey, rep, my mama want you to wave at her. What? Hey, Miss Parker. Listen to the Clippers show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get. your podcast. Will Ferrell's

Big Money Players and IHeart Podcast presents soccer moms. So I'm Leanne. Yeah. This is my best friend Janet. Hey. And we have been joined

at the hips since high school. Absolutely. A redacted amount of years later, we're still joined at the hip. Just a little bit bigger hips. This is a podcast we're recording it as we tailgate

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radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed Human.