The Josh Innes Show - Does He Love Football?

Episode Date: April 24, 2025

Pro Football Talk had a piece this morning about teams wanting to make sure draft picks love football. Part of the concern is that in the NIL era, dudes are getting paid early and aren't as hungry. I think it's a valid concern. I also don't know how you would truly determine if someone truly loves football. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

So we have the NFL draft tonight. Whoever your favorite team is, I hope they pick someone you enjoy. I wish the best to you. I'm rooting for the Saints, of course, and the Saints will probably not draft anybody worth a shit because I have no faith in the organization. They may move back in the draft, actually. They have the number nine pick, and we'll see what they end up doing there.

Cam Ward is going to go number one overall, and you start to look at the Tennessee Titans, and you're like, well, what are they going to do? They made a move to bring in Tyler Lockett, and you would assume that if the Titans are bringing in someone like Tyler Lockett, who is fine, like he's still a solid player, perhaps they're trying to build a team of professional football men around their young quarterback, which is probably a smart thing to do.

You don't want to get into a situation where you've got a young quarterback and a bunch of morons around him. That's obvious. I'm not telling you anything you don't already know, but sometimes the obvious thing is the thing that needs to be said. I was talking to a friend of mine who is in Detroit, and we were texting about the Pistons and stuff and what kind of crowd they're going to have tonight at the Pistons game for their first home playoff game in a billion years. And he starts talking about the Lions. He's like, hell, people might be more into

the Pistons game tonight than the Lions draft, which I thought was unheard of. And he starts talking about the Lions in general. And he's like, do you think they're going to trade Jamison Williams? And I'm like, I don't think so. And of course you think they're going to trade Jamison Williams and I'm like I don't think so and of course if you don't know Jamison Williams is their big you know they say big he's like an explosive big play guy in that Lions offense if you've got Amon Ross St. Brown who's a guy that's just a steady playmaker and you've got the weapons out of the backfield like uh Jameer Gibbs and David Montgomery and you've got the weapons out of the backfield like uh jameer gibbs and david montgomery

and you've got solid tight end play that they've got uh their big play threat their guy that can stretch the field for them is jameson williams and he was like hey do you think that jameson williams is is going to get traded i'm like no to which he says well i mean he unfollowed the team on instagram and twitter I'm like yes because that's what dipshit diva wide receivers do that's what these young immature people do is they do shit like unfollow the team on Instagram he was at practice he was at a voluntary workout I should say I don't think they're gonna trade him that's just what these guys do and it kind of gets us into the discussion we have on this show a lot which which is, do you have to be a mental case to be an elite wide receiver or does being

an elite wide receiver somehow turn you into a mental case? And I mean, maybe it's part of both because I think you have to have an arrogance, obviously, to be able to play such a one-on-one, on-an-island type of position. But also, you become popular, but you become famous. It's you versus the corner. You talk shit. You start to believe your own bullshit, and these guys get nuts. And I'm sure a lot of them just have CTE at this point, and they're just crazy. But that goes to the point about building around young quarterback and young player

and the kind of players you need to put around these guys. And if they're going to draft Cam Ward in Tennessee, which they're going to do presumably, if Cam Ward's taken number one, they're already going in and putting in work and bringing in guys like Tyler Lockett, who at this point in his career is not some sort of spectacular player. His heyday was obviously when Rusty Wilson was his dude, and that was like his number one guy. Lockett's the sure-handed professional,

and sometimes you just need freaking professional football players surrounding guys. That's in any sport. I was listening to a show that I enjoy called The Chris Vernon Show. It's in Memphis. They're employees of the Grizzlies, but like they're, they're very like, it's a rare thing, man, where you get guys who are paid by a team and they're doing their podcast on like this team owned network thing called grind city media.

And they'll go at them. Like you don't hear that very often. Right. And, um, one of the downfalls of the Memphis Grizzlies in their view is that they don't have a lot of professional dudes, adult dudes, grown up dudes around them that have been there before and can help steady the ship. Whenever the young guys are in a playoff series and it's something new to them and something goes off the rails, you've got dudes that just kind of know what to do, right? Like guys who have been there before, guys that can steady the ship. And that's what you need when you get young dude at quarterback. So obviously that's what they're looking to do in Tennessee. Now, I like Cam Ward. I think Cam Ward's going to be really good. I don't know why I think Cam

Ward's going to be really good. I think he put up a lot of numbers in kind of weird situations. He had some really good weapons in Miami as well, but I think Cam Ward is going to be good. I think he's going to be a baller. I think Tennessee's got a good one. And I think that's a smart move. Again, it's a very small move. I'm not going to dedicate a ton of time to talking about Tyler Lockett to Tennessee, but Tyler Lockett to Tennessee is a good move if you are looking to surround. Basically, here's what you need, right? You need a good stable place. This is always the risk when you take a quarterback, number one. You want to have a good organization. You need to make sure the guy is protected and isn't running for his life in his first year in the league, and you got to make

sure he's got dudes that are professionals that can show you how to be a pro. I think in everything in life, that's a benefit. Let me play a couple commercials. We'll continue. All right, if you're ready to win some real cash during the basketball playoffs, you've got to check out Pick 6 from DraftKings. When it comes to basketball payouts, DraftKings Pick 6 posterizes the competition, including price picks. It's a very simple concept. Hit all your picks and score higher minimum payouts on Pick 6, plus even more cash if you outscore the competition. Pick 6 is available in most states, including Missouri, California, Texas, Georgia, and more. And I absolutely love it.

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Alcohol and select markets. See app for details. The following was recorded from inside an ice plunge. Okay. Alright. When a Coors Light is cold enough, the mountains on the can turn blue. So the next time you want a cold lager, cold filter,

cold package, Coors Light. Just wait until those glorious mountains on the can turn blue. Woo! It's easy to say that fast when you're freezing gold like people i think understate these kind of things because it's kind of lame and passe and it's not very sexy to say everybody needs a mentor it helps to have a mentor it helps you mature and become an adult and become a better player a better professional better at whatever your job is.

If you have someone that's been around the block before and has seen how it works, that can show you the ropes on how to do things and how to be a fucking pro. A Crash Davis, if you will. A journeyman type of guy like that that's been in the minors for 20 years and might break the minor league baseball home run record. You know, like you need somebody I've had people like that in my life doesn't mean I've always made the right decisions but you want to go into a good situation I don't know how good of a situation the Titans are because I don't believe

in their coach I don't really believe in their front office I don't believe in their owner but I do believe in Cam Ward so we'll see that I just I mean look the Titans fired Mike Vrabel who I'm not a huge Vrabel guy but that guy's about the most successful coach they've ever had for the most part outside of of going to the Super Bowl in 99 that's the most successful coach they've had they just fired him essentially for no reason and they're firing other people like they're a mess of an organization. As time goes on, Amy Adams' strunk is kind of devolving into Bud Adams. And that's kind of fun to watch because they're about to have this brand new, big, beautiful stadium and everything. And their franchise just kind of sucks. It's kind of eroding. And I'm

enjoying watching it. But I like Cam Ward and I think Cam Ward can play. So we'll see. You look at it on the other side you wonder in that division what are the Texans going to do the Texans are in a position where I'd be a big fan of them I think the number one thing they need to do is address offensive line I think they know they need to address offensive line obviously they let Tunsell go they're in a position now where they have to protect the quarterback I think that is a large part of why the franchise stunk. When I say stunk, that's not fair. Why offensively they took a major step back last year is because the quarterback's running for his life most of the time. Give him some time to throw.

You'll win more football games. You are the best team in that division. You will continue to be the best team in that division. Strangely, you might be the most well-run organization. It is wild what the Texans are now, isn't it? We talk about the Texans the most well-run organization it is wild what the Texans are now isn't it we talk about the Texans being a well-run organization with a coach people like with ownership people like it's fucking bizarre and you kind of trust them to make the right decision on this you trust Amiko Ryan's and you trust their front office to make a good move uh offensive line is important I'd love to see them get somebody I think they need another receiver obviously because you don't know what tank is going to be gets like again I don't know

the likelihood of this I'm not a draft Nick I don't follow it religiously but like a guy like uh Emeka Agbuka somebody like that you know somebody who um in uh in Ohio State who is just a guy that puts up yards, solid player playing alongside Smith at Ohio state last year. He didn't get as much of the glory. Uh, dude can ball though. Like there are guys like that who are fun players to watch and guys that, uh, I think could help the Texans as well. I think wide receiver solid. I think that offensive line is a solid position to go for them as well. Again, I'm not going to name everybody because I can't tell you who all these fucking people are. I don't follow

the draft that closely. It's just not really my huge thing, but I think that's what the Texans need to address in that as well. I was reading a story. This is pro football talk and the headline reads, are teams avoiding players who quote, don't love football? All right, let's read this story. Football fans are often surprised to learn that some of their favorite football players don't love the sport as much as they do. They love what football can give them, mainly the money. There's nothing wrong with that. Few possess the physical skills to play football at the highest level. Those God-given abilities don't always come with an innate passion for the game. Whether and to what extent a guy loves football has been a factor in scouting

incoming players for years. As noted recently by Jay Glazer, the absence of love for the game has risen to the level of prompting teams to remove such players from the board. For years, teams have pulled players off the board for A, injury concerns, B, character concerns, Glazer tweeted on Wednesday. A third category reason has been added, and most teams I talked to had guys off their board for quote, doesn't love football. This was the first year it was so prevalent. I asked around why that is, and the thought was because of the NIL money.

Guys have already been paid, and some feel they don't need to grind to get paid. So the guys who love football. Are probably appreciated more. It's basically the difference between Rocky 2 and Rocky 3. Hey. Someone finally made the Rocky reference. That I've been making forever. Like Rocky 1 and Rocky 2. He's out there grinding Rocky 3.

He's on the Muppet Show. You don't have the same eye of the tiger. It's the eye of the tiger man. That edge. But I think that's fair. And I think that this is one where a generational gap, there's an evident generational gap in the way people handle things. I think a lot more people genuinely love the game before the game gave them so much at such an early age. I agree with that. I think as guys start getting paid a million dollars coming right out of high school,

it is impossible to not get more comfortable when you come out of high school and someone's like, here's $500,000, here's a million dollars. Now, some people are wired that way. Some people are just driven. But I think we're going to get to a point in life where more people more young people who are given things more at an early age like how many dudes that were you know coming up like Michael Jordan you look at pictures of Michael Jordan when Michael Jordan was in high school just looks like a dude playing high school basketball you look at dudes who are in high school now and they got like 13 gym bags and warmup suits and AAU this, and they're on TV here. Like I think when you get shit at an early age, it eliminates part of your drive. I heard, um, Oh, I think this was on the out the mud podcast and the out the mud podcast is a great one with Tony Allen and Zach Randolph. I think it was on

this podcast. It may have been on another basketball podcast, but this was really good. And a lot of the problems you're running into with NIL dudes is actually, I think it was out the mud because this was a Zach Randolph thing. Like guys like Zach Randolph, when they were in college, he was at Michigan state early 2000s, late nineties, early 2000s. Zach Randolph was probably getting shit under the table and Zach Randolph probably got, you know, the perks of being a big-time college basketball player at a big-time college basketball program. But Zach Randolph viewed the NBA as a way of,

or the college game as a way of getting to the NBA and getting rich. Like, that was the goal. The goal was to get there, get the bag. Now, you can go to college. There are marginal, like decent college players. What's the kid's name that plays at the Hagerty? PJ Hagerty, who's the player at the University of Memphis, who's looking for $4 million in NIL money. Do you know what PJ Hagerty did in the NCAA tournament last year? Nothing. But he's going to get $ million on the open market or Carson Beck who got what,

$4 million to go to Miami when you're 18, 19 years old. And there's a chance that you're, I mean, I don't want to say set for life in theory, 4 million can get you on the right path. Maybe 4 million doesn't set you for life, but when you're given everything and you have the opportunity to make so much early on, you question how much people are driven by the game itself versus how much people are driven by the wealth and the fame and fortune that football can give to you. Like there are some people, like, especially if you're at the quarterback position, if you're at the quarterback position, you want to know that your quarterback loves the game and would die for the game like you look at drew

breeze there is zero question that drew breeze tom brady guys like that just fucking flat out love football they're driven by it they're driven by the desire to be successful they're driven by the uh just the game they love the game but there are a lot like jamarcus russell super talented cat was in no way driven by football. Seemingly went to college, got fat and happy, got drafted, never watched film was terrible. Some guys have all the talent and don't do it. Uh, what was the dude's name? Todd Marinovich. Todd Marinovich was supposed to be the big shit coming out of USC, right? He was like, he was created in a lab by his dad, basically.

Got into the NFL, had no interest in it. It just wasn't for him. Wanted to sit around, smoke pot, whatever. And that was his life. But I guess my question would be, how do you determine that? How do you determine whether or not somebody has a true love for something?

Because somebody can sell you on anything, man. Anybody can sell you if you're a good salesman. And sometimes you get caught up in the moment and you really get to selling. I'll be honest with you about my situation. Sometimes I turn on a mode that I do it unintentionally, but when I think I have a chance to get something, I go into this mode where I'm hell bent on getting that, even though I don't know if it's the right thing. For example, I'll look at the St. Louis situation. Like when they reached out and they were like, St. Louis might have a chance. Do you want to work in St. Louis? I'm like, fuck yeah. Like I got excited about that. I just get excited anytime someone's

interested in me and I, and I want to prove to them why they should want to have me. So I flew here. I met with these guys and I fucking wowed them. Let me tell you, I don't know that anybody interviews slash drinks beer with potential employers better than I do. I'm really fucking good at it because in the moment, my singular purpose is to impress them to the point that they want to hire me. Not that I'm lying about stuff, but I'm really like, you know, like selling shit. And then I'm, I'm slightly different once I get it. It's a strange thing, but I think people are like that, you know? Um, but how do you, how do you tell, like if you're a team, how do you know if you're trying to get a Shadur Sanders or a Cam Ward or a Jackson Dart or whatever, what is it those guys can do to legitimately prove to you

that they actually love football versus love what it can do for them? Like, you're GMs of a football team. You're not fucking psychiatrists. You don't know what their daddy issues are. You don't know their... So how do you know? How do you know when you sit there with a potential franchise quarterback if he truly has a passion for football?

What is it about them because anybody can lie any man in the world has lied to a woman before about how much he likes her to hook up with her how great she is every guy has put up a false front about what he's into like no I don't like hanging out with the boys I'm here to hang out with you until he gets the chick and then he wants to get back to golfing and hanging out with the boys everybody can be full of shit so how do you differentiate who's full of shit versus who isn't is there like a Rorschach test for that is there a written test you take for that do you get out a Scantron and fill out answers like what do you do how does a team sit there and go you clearly love football is it just something you see? And that's the hard part because they're in an audition for you when they're talking. The way to tell if

somebody really loves something and they're really passionate about it is you see what they do when they don't know you're looking. When they know you're looking, anybody can put on a fucking show. Anybody can put up a front. Is there an eye in the sky that watches them? Did they bug their hotel rooms? Do they have hidden cameras on people that watch these guys and see what kind of training and everything they do when no one's looking? Well, they talk to their coach in college. Yeah, but they're probably putting up a fucking front for their college coach too.

So like this idea that, that no I'm not saying that there aren't dudes that love football plenty of people do there are people that are just fucking passionate football players like there are dudes I watch and I'm like they wouldn't play for free but you almost believe they would right like I watched Demario Davis play football and I'm like I think that dude would play it just cuz you know he wouldn't but I think that dude would play it just cause. You know, he wouldn't, but I think he would. Ray Lewis, you watch Ray Lewis, you're like, I think that guy might just play football because he fucking loves football.

He wouldn't, but you buy that. But I think that's a different breed of dude, and that's something these teams have to navigate for the future. I think the NIL thing is real. I think that's totally real. You know, if you're, like, Arian Foster played at one of the biggest college football programs in the country at Tennessee. And he would tell you that he would have to eat ramen noodles.

He's playing in front of 100,000 people at Tennessee. And he's eating ramen noodles because he ain't got any money. Ain't got a car or whatever. Well, now those dudes are eating steak. Good steak. Not just shit steak. They ain't going to, you know, low. They ain't going to Bonanza. You know, they're going out.

They're going to fucking, they're Ruth's prison. They're getting high-end steaks. They're driving nice cars. They're slaying sick ass. They're all over TV. They're famous. They're in video games. They're in commercials.

And a lot of those guys might lose their edge not everybody but some do and I think and especially at the quarterback position you have to know that you have to know if you're getting someone who's truly passionate and I would argue and this isn't a rip on on Shadur Sanders I would imagine that's kind of the vibe that people may get from him whether it's his his fault or not, whether it's true or not, I think there's an element of Shader Sanders looks like he kind of glides through shit, and you wonder what his passion level is for it. I think that'd be fair.

I also only say that about Shader Sanders because he's got a reality show, and we see him every day. Maybe Cam Ward does the same shit, but we don't see Cam Ward every day because Cam Ward's been out shit, but we don't see Cam Ward every day because Cam Ward's been out of sight, out of mind outside of hearing his name in the draft talks since November. We haven't heard shit about Cam Ward as a player. We don't see him in reality TV shows. We don't see him alongside his dad. So like to back to the Shadur point, you know, people talk about, you know, Shadur and why is he getting an unfair treatment, whatever. It's because you're

on fucking TV, dude. People see everything about you. And people will then have questions about what your passion is. Are you passionate about football or are you passionate about fame? Are you passionate about making your dad happy because your dad is Dion? I'm not saying these are all right or wrong. I'm saying these are questions that will be asked. Why are people not asking these questions about Jackson Dart?

Because you don't fucking see or hear anything about Jackson Dart because Jackson Dart's not on TV on an Amazon Prime series and his dad's not Deion Sanders. This isn't hard. It's not because Jackson Dart is white and Cam Ward ain't white. And Cam Ward doesn't get these questions. It's just shudder. So people probably have those questions because you, and by the way,

they're entitled to feel this way because they're about to give some guy millions of dollars that can either propel their organization to being amazing or could set them back. You can either take Peyton Manning, who clearly is obsessed with football. Watch Peyton Manning when he's watching football on the Manning cast. This dude lives this shit. Compare him to Ryan Leaf, who was a clusterfuck and didn't love football seemingly. At least after the fact. At least after he came out of college. He just didn't have the same passion. Shit happens that way, man. So I don't know. I find that interesting though. Does he love football? How do you quantify that?

How do you confirm that? How do you know that? How do you know if somebody is truly passionate about that or anything they do? Like, I love radio. I talk about radio all the time. I'm passionate about it. But then I'll find myself when I'm in a job somewhere and I'm bored. Does it mean I'm not passionate about radio?

Or does it just mean I'm not passionate about that job? Like don't know. It's hard to gauge. It would be impossible to talk with me about radio, which has been my passion my whole life, and not go, okay, this guy fucking loves radio. I clearly do. But then when I'm in it, I get kind of bored if it's not what I'm enjoying. So you hire me, you get me there, you put me in a bad situation. Does it mean I don't love radio or does it mean that this situation sucks? When you draft a quarterback or a linebacker or a wide receiver, does it mean they don't love football because your situation's terrible and your coach sucks? Like, I don't know. Anyway, more to come.