Ryan Leaf talks Recovery, Surprises from The Big Game, and Being “Jacked”

this week, right. I did not put any money on it because I don't trust myself. I don't trust you either. That's trust me. Yeah, So I didn't put any money on it. But let's just say I believe Oh b J does not have the unfortunate injury. He was already a touchdown in fifty two yards in. He looked like he had to beat on his man. And you know that Ram's offense with him as a second or third option.

My prediction could have been right. They could have run away with it if Destiny had didn't have other plans. So I'm gonna say I was half right about a Rams blowout. I agree. I think you're totally right. Oh b J was cooking up something special and that was too bad. Really sucks for him too, though, And and of all the flak that man has gotten throughout the years, Like I even found myself cheering for him. I really liked him in that game. So that was too bad.

And yeah, you would have looked much smarter today than you look now. But I'm feeling pretty good because I went on all these shows for two weeks preaching the Bengals are going to keep it close. Take the Bengals with the spread, take Ram's money line. Not to mention, a lot of my props hit too, So can you tell him just like I'm gloating, I'm excited, I'm feeling really crowd. You know. This is my first season in

the betting world, and I ended on a high. You certainly did, and I have to give it up to you. You called everything, You called everything right, and it's not how you play the game, it's how you finish. You lost to me all year, but you finished strong and you redeemed yourself. Oh D, I now can call you the great. Oh D, what an amazing set of calls you made. Until next season where you kick my ass again. Oh,

don't forget Pro Bowl. I should have put my life savings on the Pro Bowl over We were sitting there at that game in like early third quarter the overheit, and I was like, man, why did I only put a hundred bucks on? I should have put like ten dollars on that? Right, you made a little money. We walked over and we collected, and then I went and took money out intending to gabbling. But then I just spent it on cocaine. So that's what you do it for.

I'm just kidding. I've never done cocaine in my life. Kids do not do it. That's a joke. I spent it at the buffet. I'm a fat, fat kid, be honest, is a walking liability, and I the stuff like that makes me so uncomfortable, and he knows it. So I just turned red. Every walking around Vegas, he just says stuff, and just I turned red. Okay, So we're not done with football just yet. We have a great guest coming up.

Former NFL quarterback Ryan Leaf will join us going to talk about the big game and with NFL Draft right around the corner, let's get his thoughts on the big name quarterbacks available. Yeah. Man, I just missed football already, and it's crazy the odds for next year's Super Bowl champion, it's already up on bed MGM. Be honest, it's very early. But do you have any bets you like? Uh? Right now? No, I'm taking a little break with my money. I'm gonna

try to maybe horse racing. Maybe I'll talk to Peter Andrew about some horse racing horses. Maybe I'll throw some some juice on some uh some races. But other than that, I'm just gear enough for us to focus on basketball, and I'm gonna start putting a little money on hoops. Yeah, no, I hear. Yeah, We're gonna have a lot of fun with the NBA. Now we can kind of dial in. You know, there's an old adage in sports that no one really pays attention to the NBA until after the

Super Bowl. I know that's a major generalization, but I think there's some truth to it. So now our show, we are going to pivot to hoops, and especially with March Madness coming up, come on, We're gonna have so much fun with that. Absolutely, and we'll also be covering the Turkish League for you fans out there in Turkey who've been listening. There's a player out there who's doing big, big things and his team is doing well. So we'll be covering the Turkish league as well for those fans,

and by that I mean you and your family. All right, So we got bet MGM betting expert Peter and you joining us later on to discuss this week's action. But for now, it is time for us to lead. It's time to leach. Oh my gosh, where do we start with this game? It was such a good Super Bowl. I gotta say, honest, we both flew out of there. You Wednesday night meet Thursday morning. I'm glad I watched it on TV. I like watching the Super Bowl on TV.

I've been to so many of my life, and you just pick up on more when you're watching it on TV. Like the halftime show was incredible, but the performances off the field, I feel like could win an Oscar. The celebrities were all over the place. Martha Stewart, Guy Theory, Charlie's thrown. You had Antonio Brown sitting next to Kanye and a full mask look Kanye like went on one the Super Bowl Sunday. He was trending, he was in a commercial, he was being his normal weird self. But

I loved it. But I think the Super Bowl was filled with great storylines. You know a lot of people leading up to the Super Bowl talked about how likable Joe Burrow is and the Bengals are, and I agree, like, I'm totally on that bandwagon. But I thought, you know, when you have to jump on one team and just defy it when your team isn't in the super Bowl, the Rams were about as likable as you could get. So for a two week span, I was all in on the Rams. I was really excited, perhaps no one

more than Cooper Cup. He nearly carried the Rams on that final drive, converting a huge fourth and one, then catching the game winning touchdown after nearly being knocked out. He capped off one of the greatest seasons we've ever seen from a wide receiver. He got Offensive Player of the Year honors. I love that, and a Super Bowl m v P. Of course, his story about how his now wife was supporting him through college at Eastern Washington so he could pursue his NFL dreams. That's I mean,

just straight out of Hollywood. He had almost no offers out of high school. He was very looked. So that's a great story. And he had one of the most dominant defensive players of all time, three time Defensive Player of the Year Aaron Donald trying to get his first ring one of the only things he had left to do in his career, really, and now he's kind of flirting with retirement. I don't know, he might come back, might not, but either way, what a way to end

his career if that's what he does. Von Miller, you know, he was traded from Denver. He wins his second Super Bowl. He had only been with the Broncos, so that was a big deal. And now there's kind of talk does he go back to the Broncos if they're going to put together a little super team here. But for this year, he was an incredible story and incredible edition for the Rams. O b J. How can I overlook? O b J. He resurrected his career after getting out of Cleveland, fans

saying he was washed. He came out dominating the game until he was injured right before the half. That was that was really hard to watch. I hope he's okay. It's looking now like it is an a c L. Hope not, but that's uh, that's what happened in the honest I know, you feel passionately about the way that changed the game. I loved the end of the game. He's on the field crying, hugging his mom and his girlfriend who is nine months pregnant. She's due this week

with their first baby. And I wasn't sure if she'd even go to the game. You know, I was social media checking if she was there, and she did, and he was kissing her belly and hugging her. I mean, that was a very sweet moment. And then of course Andrew Whitworth Walter Payton Man of the Year who at forty years old, won his first Super Bowl against his former team. I want to say he's one of three players to play in his forties, Brady, Jerry, Rice and him.

So that's very cool. Eric Weddle coming out of retirement at age thirty seven, he last played in the NFL in twenty nineteen. He goes ahead, wins himself a Super Bowl, goes back to retirement. I mean, that story is awesome. And then I've been saying this for a couple of weeks now Matt Stafford and his awesome wife, Kelly, who got diagnosed with a brain tumor a couple of years ago.

They overcame that they've been such great role models. They have four beautiful children, and he was just wasting away in Detroit for twelve seasons, he never won a playoff game. He comes to l A and wins the whole damn thing in his first season. So I just I love their story. She's been on all these podcast and everything this week, and she's just so relatable and funny, and I just love them. So got to talk about a

night you'll never forget to. Van Jefferson wins the Super Bowl racist to the hospital where his son was born. Just hours later. His wife actually left the game at halftime on a stretcher. So I don't know what's in the water in l A. But a lot of these rams wives are are popping out babies, like on Super Bowl Night. That's uh, that's not good. But you know, I'm a sucker for a good story. This team was just riddled with them and so many players to get

behind and love. So my ramdom is now done. Now I'm back on to my Packers and Chiefs but boy were they an easy team and cheer for. That was a great unleashed and vintage classic oh D having another team to root for, I mean talk about the I mean, you will just go wherever the good story is, like a good journalist, and I respect you for that. Yeah, it was an amazing game with tons of good stories. You almost feel like the Rams were the team of Destiny with all those stories that they had and that

they fulfilled. It is kind of fitting. Yeah, I'm Kanye West, of course, trying to steal the microphone from the game was trending, putting the math Fund, doing whatever he could to get attention because he's upset that my friend Pete Davidson is pork and his ex wife. What can do Pete Davidson is Helena Staten Island. He's causing wars with

that big old piece that he has. Anyway, anyway, Yeah, I mean I kind of had enough of Kanye West in his fencing helmet, you know, sitting there in l a E. We get it, Kanye, you like to make news, alright, Yes, so this is what I want on Leshawn this week. It's really that I believe the Rams should have covered Okay, the game was heading, like we said, towards the possible blowout it until my man O b J got injured.

The kid had like fifty two yards and a touchdown, major contributor in that playoff run, and was probably about to explode and be the m v P, which I did call in our episode with Terrell Owens. I said he was gonna be the m v P and I think he still should have been the m v P again if Destiny didn't have something else in mind. So,

but here's what I really want to talk about. We saw some questionable coaching all season, and the only person that made a worst call than Kanye West wearing that goddamn fencing helmet on a ninety degree day in l A was Bengals coach Zach Taylor. I'm putting the spotlight on you, my friend. I mean me as a casual fan. If I'm sitting there drinking Trulie's with my friend Paul Versey and I'm screaming at the TV, it's obvious. First of all, what happened to the John Madden old adage

Take the points. Take the points. One of the first places of the game, they get all the way down close to the red zone, kick the field goal, take the points that ended up going the other way, and oh b Jake scored that touchdown, So that's a ten point turnaround right there. I mean. And then of course let's talk about the end of the game. In that final drive third and one, every play there you're trying

to get yards to get into field goal range. You do have two time outs, but why would you run the ball, especially with that line on the other side. Sam Donald, hungry as hell looking, eat up whatever, tries to run through it, and why wouldn't you use Nixon? Okay, this is ridiculous. So they end up running the ball it don't they don't get it. Then they're forced to a fourth and one and Sam Donald makes his heroic sack to end the game. It was a horrible call.

Keep passing the ball, don't force yourself to have to take a time out. In that situation, they should have been thrown towards the sidelines or at least throwing you know, if they were taking the sidelines away defensively, they should have thrown it and trying to get out of bounds to keep events in the ball into field goal range. They weren't there yet stupid, stupid call. It should have went into overtime. I say the refs are not the

villain here. I'm saying the play calling is. I'm ready to be hired as a coach because I could probably do a better job. Well, you would do a better job as a coach than a fact checker, because I caught like three different players names said wrong. Well, reality, and I'm just dying. You said Sam Donald, not Aaron Donald. He said Joe Nixon not mixing? Did he say mixing? I probably got them both wrong, but that's what happens when I get perturbed. And I just said perturbed wrong.

So I was perturbed and I said a few names wrong, just like that play calling was wrong from Zach Taylor And did I you say his name wrong? To John Taylor? There you go. You know I love you, and you know it's just a theme of our show is how you say a lot of players names wrong. But to be fair, I say a bunch of weird phrases wrong all the time and you call me out on that. But yeah, I just I can't get it right. I'm

just you know, I just can't get it right. But that was a great unleashed, and I think a lot of people agree with you. Let's see if our guest this week agrees with you. Ryan Leaf is joining us now. Our guest today led Washington State to the Rose Bowl and was the number two pick of the NFL Draft, behind a guy named Peyton Manning. It's too bad nothing ever came of him, but his biggest comeback has been in life itself. NFL and college football analyst Ryan Leaf

is here. Ryan, thanks for joining us. You bet happy to be here, happy that super Bowl Week went so well. We got such a great game, and uh, you know, ready to ready to start and attack the offseason. I guess absolutely. I was just saying you were everywhere super Bowl week. You were on Radio Row, on all the TV shows. L A. Times did a piece on you. Tell us what your week was like. That was that looked busy? Yeah, I mean super Bowl week usually is, you know. I I I started this back. It's Super

Bowl fifty in San Francisco. I had recently been released from prison. I had gone up there to get a health check through the NFL screening process, and when I was up there, ran into some close friends and they brought me onto Radio Row and it kind of became this thing. I was starting to tell my story a bit and share it in the hopes that somebody needed to hear it would hear it. And it's such a

huge platform. Super Bowl is even if you don't haven't watched football, you're long you tune into that game and everybody's listening into the build up and stuff. So every Super Bowl has been pretty pretty busy, you know, opportunities. I mentioned how I watched the Ellen Show when I was in prison and the Houston Super Bowl, and a week later their producers were calling me and I was on Ellen with my family and everything like that. So I mean, it's it's been pretty crazy how far that reaches.

And luckily for me and my family, I don't know if we would have traveled, if it would have been anywhere but l A, since we live in l A. So it made it very convenient to do all the things that I was being asked to do over the

last week. In particularly, you talked about, you know, my work with Serious x M, which it is amazing coverage they have, They probably had the best set up on radio role a week long, and and then working with Sam Farmer at the l a times with this speaker series that was huge, and yeah, I just had a great week. Ironically enough, I find myself smack dab in the middle of the media now and I think it's a bit of karma for how poorly I treated the media my whole life, I think when I was a player.

So it is what it is. I enjoy talking the game. That's what I had gone to school for. UM. I have a communications degree there at Washington State. So I just took me a long time to figure out how to use it as a comedian. We you know, we spoke before we went on live, and I'm a comedian. So I got so many friends who were in recovery,

and I always tell them. A few of them are really close to me that they're you know, they're my role models because I know what they have to go through and on a day to day basis, and I just respect what they go through. So for anyone who doesn't know, that's your story, right, you struggled with that, You've come through the other end. Now you inspire others.

I was curious, UM, do you guys, those of you who played professional sports and who were in recovery, do you guys communicate with each other, like I know Chris Herring and basketball is a big story. He travels and talks. Do you guys talk to each other? You're aware of his story? Oh yeah, Chris Aaron's story was incredibly meaningful. And early on when I was trying to figure out how to live this, this public sober life, he was

a huge mentor of mine. Right, We talked on the phone a bunch, and we've kept up with one another. You know, he started his own nonprofit and which has ultimately turned into a recovery community and a treatment center, and so he's a role model for sure. And then you know, I got a chance at Super Bowl to to see Max Crosby and Darren Waller and over the last year and stuff. Their stories are so impressive to me, especially being able to do it while they're still at

the top of their game. I would have loved to have been able to address my behavioral issues and my mental illness when I was playing, because maybe I could have been a better football player at that level. Right, That's what led to the substance use, the failure with all the expectation, and I started wanting to numb that

feeling of being a failure and all those things. And so those guys are so impressive to address the issues that are going on in their lives while they're playing the most difficult professional sport there is in professional football. Just hats off to the likes of all those guys. Yeah, you mentioned mental illness and just at that high level, and even if it's Simone Biles talking about it at the Olympics of the mental block, and then you mentioned

football players this year bringing up addiction issues. It's something that's been more mainstream. When you went through all this, no one was talking about this. And I'm kind of curious as you watch in college football, especially that we love so much, these guys are now getting money, they're getting exposure, opportunities are bigger than they've ever been. What do you think about these athletes at the pro in now college level dealing with this big world at a

young age and the pitfalls that come with that. Well, I think, like anybody, you're going to have to address it at some point. And the idea that these young men and women were propping up their universities and making them a ton of money and not being compensated was the problem. And so no matter what you do, people complain that you're setting them down a wrong path. If you're gonna make poor choices, You're gonna make poor choices.

There's nothing you can do about it. We can educate them, we can show them the path, but people are going to make the decisions they want to make. I had many of those come to Jesus moments with mentors and coaches and family when I was going through everything. If you're not willing to surrender and accept the help, it doesn't matter. You can't coddle everybody who goes through this process.

People are gonna make mistakes and people are gonna flourish because of it, and you shouldn't disallow those individuals from flourishing. Because some people can't make the right choices and and never take any accountability for their actions when they do make poor choices. And that I think that was the biggest problem for me. I just I never could look

in the mirror and go, dude, it's you. You're the problem here, not the fact that somebody's paying you money, or or the media is writing stories about you, or online people are commenting on you. None of that matters. It's entirely up to you. That's why there's such a pull and what I talk about in terms of accountability, owning your part. So many of my friends who are in recovery, they put that energy in other places. They become great stand ups, very successful. A lot of them

are are jack. They're get in the gym and they go crazy. Where do you put that energy now? Because you look kind of jack. All I can see is your shoulders, but you look jacked. I am jacked. I'm always, you know, I'm always. I'm a professional football player. Come on now, I'm six ft seven pounds. I'm a beast um. You know. I put it into helping others. I mean,

that's the purposeful part of all this. Right when I walked out of that prison, cell I fully understood that if I were to have to change it would it could never be about me again. It had to be about everybody else. And ironically enough, when you make it about other people, like the life of your dreams comes from that. So in a way it's selfish, but it may be the best recipe for success that there is. You make it about other people, not about yourself. Because

I was a a narcissist like no other. Right, it was always about me. Everything that had to be about me. It was nothing about anybody else. And you know, I still have those tendencies and that. So it's a daily fight,

not the substance. The substance is a byproduct. It's the symptom of the underlying mental health diagnosis, the depression, the narcissism, all of those, those are the things you have to address and and that's what I do on a daily basis, and a big part of that is traveling around sharing my story, like I said, in the hopes that somebody who who is still struggling may need to hear it, or a family member or something like that. It's all about purpose. And I think a lot of former players

can attest to that. Regardless of how successful their careers were, their identity is tied up with being a football player. What do you do when that's all said and done, where's your purpose? How does it get redefined? And how do you transition? So that's a huge part of all of all of what I do on a daily basis too. I eat well, I exercise, I see a therapist. My wife and I go to a couple of syrapy. Even though we just want to be better at communicating with

one another because I'm a terrible communicator. I seek out anger management better tools to deal with that because I believe I'm I'm living with CTE. I just had to address it because I got in trouble and I got sent prison, and I didn't do this in the shadows and in the dark and and allow the stigma to

take it over. So I'm really blessed. So I have to understand why my brain, which has been put through trauma, is functioning, how it functions, and how I relate to things, and how impulsive I am and why do I just get angry all of a sudden or all those things. So I have to address these things all the time.

It's not like anybody else. I mean, there's some unique quantifiers for me because of of the fact that I played in the NFL and some of the issues that exist, but it's like every other flawed human being who was just trying to be better every single day. It's an amazing perspective. Man. Man, Yeah, that's really moving. Talk about making your mess your message. That's such a cheesy quote, but you embody it. That's that's incredible. I know you

have kids, do you have boys. I got a little boy. Yeah, I got a I got a four year old who uh okay, it was it was the absolute best. His name is mcguy. Ever, probably he's gonna be as and probably gonna be like six ft nine. That's the way we're looking. So Olivia, might have to talk to your husband about some some some lessons down the line here, all right. The reason I ask is will you let him play football? You mentioned CT Is that a concern

of yours? Yeah? Most likely not my wife and I've discussed he can't wear a helmet until he's at least sixteen. You know, by that point your brain is more developed. We watched these Pop Warner kids bang around and and what now that we fully know what a concussion is, right, It's where your brain bangs into your skull on the inside, and there's nothing you can do to protect that. No matter how great the protection gets or the technology gets.

Unless you are able to put something around the brain inside the skull, it's still going to bang against the interior of your skull. So I have a few friends that are that are neual neurosurgeons and neurologists and brain trauma coming in with kids these days. Fellow alumna us at Washington State, Tyler Helenski, took his own life a few years back. He had only played up until his sophomore year of college, and when the autopsy came back, he had the brain of a sixty five year old.

You know, the reason I went and succeeded and did what I had to do was for me to make the future generations of my family not have to sacrifice as much. And so we're going to give him every bit of knowledge, every bit of information we can for when he turned sixteen, if he wants to and understand the consequences that may come from it, and that's the

choice he decides to make. It will be entirely up to him having not played football up to that point, especially with with a helmet and pads and stuff like that. I don't even know if that will interest him right now. He's more into ninja training, which is which is Yeah, So my wife and I are coherent and we have a plan when it comes to that, and most likely no,

to answer your original question, yeah right, be honest. Remember we had Merril Hodge on the Great Pittsburgh Steeler and that that was such a big part of his story is diagnosed with a concussion way too late. And you know they stack up in football, as you know. And I'm expecting a little boy in May, and I know sports is going to be a part of his life. But Taurists, he paused, Yeah, got it. They're the best. My husband's a Taurists too, so am mine. So is

my wife. I love it. Tourists are cool. I'm a virgo. I don't know what that means, do it don't? Yeah, all right, let's put with the football a little bit. This game last week U Rams three Bengals twenty. That was the final score. It was an interesting game. Ramps came out strong, Bengals kept it close. Then the Rams really struggled in the second half until they were able to wear down the Bengals defense. Were you surprised by anything in this Super Bowl? Not much. I was a

little surprised. I felt like Joe Burrow, there was a little bit of nerves there. He missed some throws that he normally doesn't miss. And it's fully understandable. I mean, it's the biggest stage ever, no matter how many big

stages you've been on. Heisman Trophy, Winternational championship everything. You know, it's his first gotta have it game that he's lost, and uh and you can't place it all on him, right, but you gotta give a ton of credit to Raheem Morris and the adjustments he made at halftime to allow that defensive line, in particular Aaron Donald to get off because they were not making hay in the first half and they overloaded on sometimes on the side of the

line of scrimmage and got Aaron Donald in more one on one matchups. In a matter of three series, he was sacked five times and that that really I think made him you know, he was he was inundated all week long about getting that ball out quickly and there were some guys that were open in that second half that he just wasn't able to get to through his progression because he didn't have the time. So incredibly impressed

with that. Didn't like the fact that the officials swallowed their whistle the entire football game, and then all of a sudden thought it was important for them to interject their their personality to the end of the game. Logan was so good in that defensive play, I thought, you can't make that. It's now does the game still end up in the Rams hands? Yeah, they still would have had a couple of downs, and Matthew Stafford was playing at such an elite level there in the fourth quarter.

Who knows, right, But I hate it when the officials become a part of the conversation because then it allows for so much nuance from fan bases to talk about this, that or the other. Just let the teams play. Logan made the play knock the ball down, move on to the next down, and see if they can make it go.

That was unfortunate some play calling. Of course. The Bengals decision to run it on third and one right into Aaron Donald, especially with p Ryan rather than Joe Mixon, was a little interesting, maybe because they were in a passing situation and thought they would maybe get catched up by surprise by running their third down back on a on a draw down the middle. So don't get your hona started, don't get youranna started. I just went wild

on that. I couldn't believe that. Yeah, so thank you for confirming more and poor only since we are doing this with bet EDGM, I had the Bengals plus four and a half and Tyler Boyd with over forty yards receiving, so that I had a good day even though I wanted my Bengals to uh to win in that game because I was just rooting for Joe Burrow. And but the other storyline with Matthew Stafford and and everything that that went into that is is so great. It was. It was a great It was a great super Bowl.

The halftime show, I mean, all of it was a wonderful game to watch. Yeah, it was a great super Bowl. You mentioned Joe Burrow. It was his first postseason loss ever going back to college. He was seven and oh in playoff games and so yeah, a little a little slice of humble pie. But he didn't have much help. He was sacked seven times. Was that ultimately the difference maker? You hinted a little bit just about that Rams defensive line, how tough they were. Yeah, they just that he just

didn't have the time. You know, I wasn't able to get that connection with Jamaar Chase like he's had in the past. See, Higgins played tremendous once again, but unfortunately

he just didn't have the time. And you know, you go back to draft night, right in the decision to take Jamar Chase over pinas Sewell was a bit controversial because they said, the quarterback of your dreams just got knocked out out of the season last year with a knee injury, and you want to go get him a Ferrari instead of the you know, very a safe minivan that you need in pinas Seul And right, it was kind of rebuked when Jamar Chase was offensive Rookie of

the year. But ultimately, what was the difference maker in this game? If you can't get the ball to Jamar Chase? If your quarterbacks getting swallowed up in a matter of one point two seconds, right, I mean, what was the point in all this? They have to address? Because they are very very good football team, they have to address that poorest offensive line or nothing or nothing's gonna change. I mean, sixty three sacks during the regular season. I think it's only third to me and David Carr in

terms of how many times sacked in a season. And it's it's brutal, right, if you don't if you don't feel comfortable back there, how are you going to execute what you do best? Also, I should say this too, like it's not like the Bengals, Uh, you know, didn't belong there. I mean they're leading by four points with two minutes to go in the game, so you know

it's every bit there game to take. In fact, if they were able to protect just a split second longer on Aaron Donald there at the end, he probably finds a guy or maybe even finds chase down the fields after Jalen Ramsey fell down. So I mean, this wasn't like it was an overmatched game. In fact, they dominated for most of this game, at least a second and third quarters portions of it. Yeah, that matchup was good. Do you think if O b J doesn't get hurt though,

the Rams could run away with that. I mean he had fifty two yards to that point A T D. Yeah, I mean that was significant. I don't know if they would have run away with it. I just feel like Burrow and that team wouldn't find a way to hang around. But they were overwhelming with Cup and O. B J. Ever, since he came in, they have to fight tooth and nail to try to see if they if he can get a reduced contract, kind of hometown deal to keep him there. I think that's a huge You had Robert

Woods to the mix. I mean this l A RAMS team offensively has a chance for the next two years, at least the next year with Matthew Stafford's expiring contract, to be really really, really good, not that they weren't this year, So yeah, it could have got at hand.

I think logically everybody assumed this game should have been l A that would be the final I said, I threw logic out the window, just like the Bengals have all postseason, and I said the Bengals were gonna win that game seventeen, and sure enough it was twenty six with two minutes ago. And I thought I was pretty pretty good there in that in that sense, but not to be a clairvoyant that makes a really good better. I also took the Bengals to cover Rams money lines.

So I'm feeling really good about myself Anti Higgins anytime touchdown, feeling really good about that. But kind of looking forward, we've seen two years in a row now a quarterback come into a new team, some big free agents joined the team, win a super Bowl right away at home. Is there a situation this year, not the at home part, but that you could see that happening. Is a veteran quarterback Aaron Rodgers comes to mind, Russell Wilson that you think can be one and done essentially and win a

Super Bowl next year. Yeah, I would argue that that people probably would speculate that Denver's a destination place for Aaron Rodgers in terms of familiarity with the offense, and they have got incredible skill position players, their defense is really good, and maybe they add another free agent somewhere else. You know, maybe they signed Von millerback who knows, you know,

Von's a free agent. I was just thinking that that would be the I think the logical next step in terms of if you're trying to match those types of things, you know, can lightning strike three times? Where you get a new quarterback and there has to be a special quarterback, right Matthew Stafford clearly was special in Detroit. Never got the opportunity because I just didn't have the team around him.

You put him with a team that it was as talented as as the Los Angeles Rams, and boy, you know, he takes off and wins him a championship in his first year. So incredible that that would probably be the best landing spot I could see in Denver with their new head coach and their quarterback coaches in no offensive coordinator who who worked with with Aaron. I just don't think that the Green Bay Packers ultimately are gonna I mean that they're the ones that make the decision there.

I just don't think they're gonna get an offer that's gonna be big enough for them to compensate for that. All right, let's go to the position you know the most about. With the exception of Mac Jones, this year rookie quarterbacks really seemed to struggle. Which one of them do you think will take the next step this coming season? Oh? I thought since you were a comedian, you would go like team doctor, you know, because of my pill pop it is. But all right, yeah, I'm pretty familiar with

the quarterback position. To um. Yeah, I loved, loved what Matt Jones brought to the table, was incredible in his first year. Was the best rookie quarterback this season. I thought Davis Mills came in a close second. I really did. I thought Trevor Lawrence improved quite a bit down the stretch. So we'll see what Trey Lands brings to the table. Because you guys do know, like the betting odds on Tom Brady being the m v P next year is

like still pretty high. That's San Francisco forty Niners situation right now is just lingering, lingering in his hometown, Uh, you know, his favorite team growing up. I mean, it's just it's there. I don't buy it. I don't buy into it, I think as much as anybody else does. But we'll see. Tray Lance is a big part of that, justin fields in Chicagolan. Then you know, with the new rookies coming in this year, who's gonna replace Ben Roethlisberger,

Who's gonna replace Tom Brady? You know, who ultimately is going to replace Drew Brees in New Orleans. I mean, there's so many great opportunities at the quarterback position. What we do know is that the a f C is solidified with five great guys that are gonna be, you know, battling back and forth for an an f C championship for the next decade. Well, let's talk about that. The draft coming up in April, which quarterbacks and pressy the

most because everyone's kind of poop pooing this quarterback class. Yeah, I mean I expect now that the season is over and scouts and teams can do deeper dives, and teams are gonna be looking and dealing with fomo fear that missing out on the guy that they need, that they're gonna be a couple of guys that start to really kind of crawl up the the draft board. I really do believe that. I think Matt corral his I think he not having a chance to work out at the

Senior Bowl had a big impact. When he's ready to have his pro day, I think he's gonna impress a lot of people. It's a little bit undersized, but his incredibly athletic, has a great arm, is smart, has been well coached by Lane Kiffin, has overcome a ton adversity and and everything that he's gone through. I like him a ton. I like Carson Strong out of Nevada, big, physical, strong on quarterback. He did not perform well at the Senior Bowl. He seemed overwhelmed, had difficulty call in plays.

So that may set him back a little bit and a team may be able to get a steal in a later round, but I like him a lot. Leek Willis is another guy. Kenny Pickett Pittsburgh Steelers got to see him firsthand right there in their own stadium for a bunch of years. He had one of those most prolific seasons at quarterback for the Pittsburgh team this year. And you know it wouldn't surprise me if he if he's in a position where the Steelers are drafting, if they don't stay home grown and try to find the

replacement for Ben Roethlisberger. Jimmy Garoppolo is also an option there to Matt Canada and him I think would be incredible. Mike McDaniel down in Miami and Jimmy Garoppolo are are of course a fit if he doesn't feel like to a far and away is the guy and wants a little competition from a veteran who's got a lot a lot of experience playing that position in big time games. So it's gonna be a fun off season like it

is always. Everybody will get ramped up and there will be a quarterback or two that jump up the board because general managers are just fearful of missing out on the next guy. Right, don't forget Roethlisberger, Mahomes, all those guys went right around ten, Josh Allen eleven twelve. That's where that some of these guys who have made the most impact were drafted. And if there's a quarterback available and a team thinks that they got to move up to the site ten or or or so like that

to get their guy, they'll do it. You mentioned Kenny Pickett maybe staying in the same stadium but also the same practice facility. I don't know if you've done a pit game recently, but I I didn't remember James Conner they would say, even though he played a pitt and the Steelers, he would go across to the pit side because he liked their coffee machine better. And then I mean, your honest, it's the same facility, but there's two parking lots.

You can very much tell the difference when you look at the cars in the parking lot which one is which. But that's such a unique situation. It is a unique situation. It's rare, right, playing a professional stadium, you know, with facilities and everything like that. I mean, good for pit paton Ardoozy and and what their future holds, especially the new Arms race. Right, you can say you're, you know,

hand in hand with a professional football team. That's gonna be helpful in your recruiting process, Right, I never heard that about Tom Brady. Yeah, I mean, you know, maybe that was why he had such a halfhearted retirement. He was just kind of saying, hey, I'm I'm done over here, but I'm still I mean, you know, he looks great, He's still got more football in him, and you know he's gonna get bored just sitting around watching Netflix with Giselle. I think he I think he will follow in the

footsteps of the Manning brothers. You know, they understand building content and we saw that ramp up a ton for Tom Brady over the last two years being in Tampa, outside the bubble of New England. So the reason why I don't think he'll come back is because he understands the calendar of the NFL in that I mean, what it takes. He's not a guy that has the same talent as let's say Brett Farve, who could just go away and then make a decision right before the season

starts to I'm coming back. Tom Brady has a calendar that he goes through and what the preparation looks like to make him ready and make him the most efficient quarterback he can be each year. So if he takes away more time than he normally does, and he can't be at his best, as most optimal. He's not going to come back and do it. He's not gonna do this halfheartedly. And he really commented on about you know, it's not the I don't think I can do it

at a very high level. I just have different priorities now. My family is at the forefront, and the things I want to do in the business side of it is something that I gotta think of. So unless we see something pretty quickly right around the free agent signing period and stuff like that, I believe wholeheartedly that he has done and we've seen the greatest of all time. Call

it quits. M all right. I like that opinion. But I gotta say, all three of us are married, and we also know the commitment it requires to be home when you're married. I mean that takes a lot too. So you know, I'm a purple belt in the marital arts. It takes a lot of training. So sometimes it's nice to be away on the road. I'm just saying, you know,

they're both hard, That's all I'm saying. Oh it's incredible, Yeah, especially when you got a four year old who's still continue who We're still trying to stop, you know, you know, pooping in his pants. Right, we gotta it's it's it's it's all hands on deck right now here in the leaf household. Yeah, I got a sixteen month old. I know, we all got Yeah, Olivia, just get just get ready. You know, she's got a bun in the oven. She's carrying around a six ft nine my boy. Olivia was

at birth two. Yeah, he was born in his amniotic sack. And it's like one out of every twenty thousand does it happen. It means good luck. So he was. He was really compact, and it made it for an easy, easier delivery. I should never say the word easy when I'm talking about livery. Women are amazing. You are amazing. You are amazing women. But when they cut him out of his amniotic sack, his arms just went and he

was just like this. It was like the Hulk watching it all happen, and I'm just like, oh my god, oh my god. Your wife must have been huge at the end of her pregnancy. There's a picture with me and her and Roger Goodell like we're at a game, and we both looked at the picture of the day. We just you don't realize it in the moment, but I looked at picture just like, oh my, look how big your belly was. He's just he was two weeks late too, So I mean, it's it's two weeks late.

Oh good God. Yeah, my my husband. They say when they put him out as a baby on that measuring thing that the nurses all just started laughing. I don't know how like the exact centimeters or anything, but they said they've just never seen a baby so long. So I've I've got my work cut out for me. Okay, Ryan, My last question completely not football or baby related. I know you're from Montana. Do you watch Yellowstone? I do?

I do watch Yellostone? So what do you think of everyone now just realizing how amazing Montana is and so many people are moving there. Yeah, we've been kind of watching the influx of people over the years come in and realize, well, yeah, you know, I learned pretty quickly growing up. It's the most beautiful setting in our country, I believe. Yeah, we just just went over a million people.

Were the fourth largest state in the Union outside of California Alaska, in Texas, and there's a lot of space, a lot of space. The TV show, of course, is gorgeous, and how it film, the cinematography and everything like that. The storyline, you know, it doesn't paint Montana's very well. I guarantee you theod it doesn't remind me of any of my child I will say that, you know, the degregation of the Native American is spot on and has to change. And I love the fact that they're they're

pointing a spotlight on that. I've watched it my whole entire life, visiting reservations while while I grew up there. Montana has you know, two of the best national parks in the country, and Yellowstone National Park in Glacier National Park a kind of top end of Montana the bottom end, and so it's an entertaining show. Loved me some. Kevin Costner, my brother just auditioned for it recently, so hopefully he'll

get it. He always he looks like a rugged casey, but he also you know, he puts it on and he's able to put it on his his bio, his resume, right, he can ride horses. We grew up on a cattle ranch and my grandfather ran, so you know he's got that inform like he can ride horses with the best of them, that that'll get you on that show in a hurry. Oh for sure. I know that was a total twist, but I had to ask, it's like my favorite show. I had to ask, why is it your

favorite show? Well? I like season one the best. It's gone downhill. They've switched production companies, I believe, and it's gotten a little like music video Isha, Do you agree, Like now there's like long scenes that are they're selling products, the selling products they give, you know, I understand. I understand that. Yeah, I like Rip. He reminds me a lot of some of the cowboys my grandpa's ranch when I was growing up, you know, some of the hired

hands and things like that. So it's it's interesting. Cowboy cultures is crazy. I think it's stimies people a lot of the time, not to showcase any weaknesses and things like that. So and then I can't get over the young hand that gets sent down to Texas. That dude just just absolutely rolls rolls out of bed and falls down and bumps his head against beautiful women. Like it, What the hell is going on here? I mean that that's that for sure is not a real thing that

happens in Montown. I can tell you that much. I wouldn't think so. Yeah, Jimmy's storyline was a little far fetched. Just rides into like like manure piles and comes out the other end with beautiful women. Yeah. I can't get enough of old Jimmy. Yeah it is his his face leaves something to be desired, but his line up there isn't too bad. Oh, this is fun, Ryan. I really appreciate you coming on you bet, thanks for having me guys. Always good to see you, Olivia and the best of luck.

Ryan is a great name for a boy. Just putting that out there. Okay, remember that Peter Andrew, Peter Andrew, Peter Andrew a man of many talents. Drinking spicy mango margharitas is just one of them. We are so glad to see you here virtually, but we had way more fun with you in person in l A. That was a lot of fun, Jannice. What do you think our man Pee can throw down? I love me some Peter Andrew. It was good to finally see him from head to toe. He's a nice tall drink water, not hard on the eyes.

He's a cute kid with good hair who knows how to throw back some Margharita's. It was damn good to see you, baby. Can we just clip that and just make sure pay back for my funeral, my wedding, my first baby. Yeah, that's your best man speech at your wedding right there. It was fun with having some time with you guys. Fortunately I left before the picture Margharita was done, or also things could have gotten a little bit crazy. Yes, I know you were a little upset.

That's why you were drowning yourself at Margharita's because you did not get a picture with t O. Well we got a picture, but it looks like it looks like my dog took it. Yeah, not get the one you needed as a Niners fan. I mean, I'm sorry about that. What you can do is you can take the one with me and Olivian t O and you can photoshop out Olivia. You know, because you guys got the same build right now, You got the same body build. Yeah,

you know, right now. Check my Instagram in about three hours because that's already in progress with our design team here. You guys, all three of us got a little bit of a baby bump. So you could just put your face on hers and just throw yourself in pick It's okay, three and sixty three days till the next Super Bowl, Arizona partner of bet MGM. We'll get it then. Don't worry that that's exciting. That's exciting. We're gonna do that big next year. I'm not going to be pregnant. I mean,

this is gonna be a lot of fun. But no. It was a great week in l A. Our coverage of Pro Bowl and Super Bowl is still all up on bet MGM social media if you want to check out, well we were up to We had a ton of fun that t O episode. If you haven't listened to that, you guys, that was live, just go back to the episode right before this one and give that a listen. Because t O is a man of many opinions and characters. He is. He's unique, right, Yeah, t O loves him

some t O. It was. It was amazing. It was amazing interview. He's an amazing, charismatic, funny guy and we had a great time with him and Olivia. I just want to say, don't say for sure you won't be pregnant. You could be pregnant. My man, Sammy, he shoots from three, He shoots from three. He's got a high percentage. He's a shooter. Shoot shot shoot. Dam's gonna want to clip that one little part and say that. Okay, but let's recap Super Bowl from a betting perspective, because I I'm

feeling really good about myself. I'm kind of bummed NFL seasons over because my confidence is soaring. I took mangles to cover. Be honest, I told you for two weeks Bengals are going to keep this close, and they did. Rams win. Um a bunch of my props hit. But how did it play out for the sports book? Yeah, so last minute I decided to tease down to minus two and a half the Rams. Thank god I did because it was close, so I was lucky one there.

Over All, the book did really well. If the Bengals would have won so outright money line and and or if the game would have went to overtime, a lot of the books, including US, massive liability against that, so we're able to get by that. The result was great. You know, a couple of unfortunate things happened that I

think helps some folks. O. B J. Obviously, I think it would confirmed tor ac lu the under yards and that which is it's unfortunate, but that was a big liability for us, and Aaron Donalds MVP was a big liability. So I don't necessarily agree with the call that Cooper Cup got it. You can't knock them, but Aaron donald was a monster of that game. But that in our favorite kitting uh MVP for Cup. So, looking at NFL futures which are already out, Bills and Chiefs are the

favorites to win the Super Bowl next year. We were just talking with Ryan who thinks that the Rams can put together another Super Bowl run, that they're so stacked. We know they don't have draft picks, but they still have a couple of these big free agent signings for a couple of years. Do you like the Rams already? I mean, is it way too early to be talking about this? You know, I think it's too early for

some of the favorites. I think these are the opportunities and I think, I said the Slasher, these are the opportunities where you cherry pick some people who are maybe against the odds right now. So I look at a Ravens at plus two thousand, something like that is something appetizing right now because you never know what could happen over the course of the next six months, a big move, something to get them kind of pushed to the top. But when it comes to the Rams, I mean, they

have everything it takes to to repeat. I think there's a couple open end questions. Whitworth likely retiring, so you have to address your tackle position again, doing it without draft picks a little bit. Captain Straint Donald Aaron Donald. They keep saying there's a chance that he retires on top. I personally think he maybe stays an extra year or two. I mean, he's still probably the best defensive tackle I've ever seen, and he's still at such a high level

as he saw on Sunday. But they have a lot of the tools to healthy. Cam Akers Stafford for a couple of years, probably the best wider saving the league, Cooper Cup, Jalen Ramsey. I mean, the list goes on. They are a legitimate threat for at least the next two to probably three years. What does an A c L T do for O b J And what's his contract look like and what's that situation look like next year for O b J. Yeah, poor guy I think this is the second time he's torn an a c

l or had a significant injury. I believe he only signed a one year deal for the Rams, so this this is tough for him. I mean, he's gonna have to come back and prove himself. He's probably gonna have to put him himself on another cheap one year deal that's very bonus driven, and then work his way up to another contract. But you know, as you guys know, the shelf life for a wide receiver of running back in the NFL is only four or five years anyway,

So it's gonna be really tough. And I feel for him, and I saw I think you saw a different side of him. I'm a New Yorker here, so I saw the Giants drama, if you will, But you saw the type of person he's kind of matured to be, whether it's yeah, visibly upset after the win. I think what he did with Deebo Samuel after the NFC Championship where he went up to him first before anything. So he's

a matured guy. So I think a lot of people are rooting for him switching over to NBA because now a lot of our talk is going to switch to March Madness n b A, and we kick off with All Star this weekend, and it's always so much fun to watch. I personally much prefer Saturday All Star Skills Competition, three point competition, everything dunk contest, but the actual game is Sunday. What as of now again, we record Tuesday.

What does bet MGM have available right now? Yeah, so a little bit of a new format this year is most people know. So we're in the process of getting everything approved by all of our state regulators as of right now confirmed. Obviously, we will have the All Star Game on Sunday, and then we're getting odds as we speak for three point so you're seeing guys like Patty Mills, Luke Caannard, Zach Lavine kind of leading the charge in terms of three point contest. Personally, Patty Mills one that

strikes me as a as a big time favorite. I think he's highest three point percentage out of anybody playing, and I think Luke Nard just shortly behind him. Both those guys around the plus six fifty plus five fifty range, so that gets here sixty bucks not too shabby, and those guys are legit threats shooting, so it's all about who catches fire and and it's a fun event. So I do think they take it seriously, and I think probably more seriously than than Sundays Allstar Game. I am

pumped for hoops. I am a failed Division one basketball player. I'm off. I'm a walk on that did not make the team on a low D one squad at American But I tell you what. I got my MBA League pass and I am psyched. And you could just tell me haul that my expense for the NBA League pass in the male bet MGMs pay for it. I need a new computer and I need Nicks tickets. Well, lucky for you, having lead passed, you get to see my Charlotte Hornets now a little bit more often with their big,

big edition of Montres Harrold. So the out of well, well, well, well, why are the Hornets your team? I've never heard you say this. Oh boy, this is you know. I have some ridiculous stories as sports fans here huge. I hated the interesting life of Peter Andrew. I mean, Peter and You had a couple of kids in North Carolina. We don't know about um. You guys heard some stories that are not suitable for Radio the other day. But I

hated the Knicks growing up. I despised the team for whatever reason, and I was a huge Gonzaga basketball fan. So I loved Adam Morrison. I basically told myself, I was like, wherever this guy goes, whether it's to the Knicks or to the Lakers or whoever, it was like, I'm following him third overall two thousand four. I think it was Charlotte Bobcats. So I just popped. Okay, that is probably one of the mo pathetic reasons I've ever heard anyone say they became a fan of a team.

Adam Morrison, that's the reason why you became a fan of the NBA. I mean here, look, I wish I could say Adam Morrison had a drug problem because he was the bust. He was just a bust. Can you addressed him as NBA champion? Okay, yeah, yeah, I forgot about that. Yeah, I forgot about that. He did ride the pine pony in l A with that nice brown jacket that he wore during the entire NBA Finals. Yeah, I mean, yeah, it's it's par for the course for me. I got some crazy stories of these teams. I followed.

But but I've been loyal to them since, gotten a chance to meet Camba and a couple of the players. Camba was on the Hornet, so yeah, I ride with him, all right, because he's Adam Morrison. That's I'll never hear that again. I've never heard that before, and I've never heard that again, that somebody's team became their team because of Adam Morrison. You are a loyal You are a loyal fan to whomever you like. I'll tell you that

right now. Talk about something clip worthy. If I'm ever looking for a job with the Hornets, I'll just I'll take a little smike that seriously, all right, Pete, Well, we wish every week we were in person like last week. But thanks for joining us again. And next week we'll get even further into the NBA. As we recap, i'll start break. Thanks so much, Thanks you guys, peace, Pete. Okay, that was such a fun show. Thanks again to Ryan

Leaf for joining us. His story is just incredible. Make sure you follow him on Twitter at Ryan D. Leaf. Thanks as always Peter Andrew for joining us, and make sure you follow bet MGM on all social media platforms at bet MGM and be honest, we can't let this fall to the waistside. But we are still nominated for Best Sports Comedy Podcast, and people can still vote on that through March. We're gonna make sure Alex, who's editing this as we speak, puts it in the show description.

You can just click the link. There s