In this episode, John explains why he's fine with Dan Snyder choosing Washington Football Team as a 2020 placeholder before choosing a permanent new nickname, and why there could be considerably less preseason buzz because of a lack of constant training camp media coverage fans love to consume. He also answers listener questions in the Middlekauff Mailbag. Follow John on twitter @JohnMiddlekauff and go to theherdnow.com to find the latest content. Subscribe now!
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
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hundred flowers dot com. Slash tune in. What is going on? Everybody?
John middle Coop three in album podcast. Hope everyone is
(00:45):
having a good Friday Saturday weekend. As we come, I
want to say the homestretch till we get football. But
as with the rules, they got a test and go
away and come back and then they don't really practice.
So this training camp, as someone that's been going to
train NFL training camp practices either working in the league
(01:06):
or talking about the league. Now, for I guess going
on a decade, and this is not gonna be a
normal year. It would be the first year I won't
attend to a training camp practice in that time. Really
since Fresno State, probably in thirteen years, I won't be
going to a training camp just because they're gonna limit
the media availability. It's not even worth it for me.
(01:28):
I have some thoughts on how that's going to impact
the league. Now the no preseason games. The big news
of the day is Washington is going to keep their name.
I have some thoughts on that off the jump, because
the outrage on Twitter and Lebron James, I don't think
everyone was on the same page what was going to
happen here, But that's typical, especially with social media. And
(01:51):
then of course Middlecoff mail back at John Middlecoff is
the Instagram and follow along. You can allow Twitter as well,
but Instagram is where the dms wide open. Leave a
question in my direct messages and you will get it
read here on the podcast. Also appreciate everyone who has
listened or excuse me, followed the podcast on Apple or
(02:16):
iTunes left a review. If you haven't, would greatly appreciate
you leave in a review. It helps us monetize the
whole deal. Followed the podcast as well, and tip my
hats you great appreciation. Let's start with Daniel Snyder. I'm
a little this topic doesn't do that much for me.
You know, the watch some of the bad teams in
(02:37):
the Northeast, like I just don't care about I get
their big markets and they get talked about. But like
when the Jets suck, when the Giants suck, when Washington sucks,
like I really don't care. I wish they were good
because I like watching good football. Like I liked it
when Eli Mannings teams were good, right, I like it
when Rex Ryan's team was good. The Washington team has
(02:58):
really not been good. I guess my entire adult life,
they've been you know, like the Browns or the Raiders
kind of a joke. But now this situation where they
don't have a name, and it became official today that
they're just going to be called the Washington football team.
I actually thought the logo looked pretty good. I think
sometimes in life, when emotion is really high and you
(03:22):
see it so much on social media with politics, it's
all emotion and you know one thing, and it hurts
me some places in life. But I tell my mom
sometimes when it gets something involved in business, and I'm like, Mom,
you can't get so emotional that this is not the
way it works. You know, until you have something signed
on the bottom line on a piece of paper, they
(03:42):
can change the price. You're allowed to negotiate. You know,
it's not you know that the older generation is used
to kind of the loyalty of friendships when you're in business.
It's just it's not like that at all, that there's
not much loyalty. It involved. It's sad, but it's kind
of true. Like my generation, we'll just do business with
whoever gives us the best price. That's why Bezos is
(04:03):
kicking the shit out of everybody. He just has better
prices than everybody, and he'll deliver it to your tour
like it feels it says twenty four hours or forty
eight hours. Sometimes it feels like I press a button
and two hours later Bezos is dropping off my off
a package in front of my house. It's incredible. I mean,
he runs a great service. That's why he's the richest
man in the world. He runs one of the best
services I've ever seen in my life. Let's just call
(04:24):
a spade a spade. But when you see the redskins,
I don't know how if I got off on that
tangent and they don't have a name anymore. I think
people thought that. I guess they're not that name anymore.
They're just the Washington football team. That they were going
to come out with an official name before the season,
when it was clear that they got pressured. And let's
be real, the reason they changed it is because money
(04:46):
and they're huge sponsors, you know, started causing a fuss.
Money makes things happen, nothing else does, and whether we
like it or not, that's just the way the world works.
Is that he if he listened, he did not want
to change the name. If he would not have got
his hands forced, this would not have happened. So if
you don't want to change the name and you're forced to,
(05:09):
you probably don't have a secondary name. Now. If you
live in DC and you follow this more closely, maybe
you have better information on this. But just reading from
an outside perspective, it does not feel like he had
two or three names lined up if this ever became inevitable.
It's crazy as that sounds, because it kind of felt
to be inevitable. I would say, over the last five
years like we were headed that way. But when I
(05:31):
saw to day that they were just going to be
called the Washington football team this year and figure it
out later. I said, of course they were, because you
don't want to get married to the wrong person right now.
The great part about getting married to the wrong person.
They got this thing if you have to do, you
can get divorced if you pick the wrong team name
and you label it. Your jerseys are that color, you
sell a bunch of merchandise. You can't really pivot a
(05:54):
couple of years from today. And let's be real, whatever
they end up naming it, and I'm just gonna go
off the names that I've seen from people like thrown
out in articles or on social media, the RedHawks, the
Red Tails, the Warrior or something like that, and for
whatever reason, because do you think it's gonna be universal
approval if they just came out with the Washington RedHawks.
(06:16):
Do you think everyone would be like, Oh, that name's cool,
or some people like I don't like it. I wish
it was something different. Probably be that it's gonna be
like that no matter what he names it. And if
he's not comfortable with a name, and the Redskins brass,
I guess they're not called that anymore. It's hard to
do this stuff. We know, the Washington football team doesn't
have a name, and they can't decide on it. There's
(06:37):
a time on their side, like what is the rush?
Why did they have to have a new name this year,
especially when their hand was forced a month before the season.
The Washington football team and just the word Washington. I
think it looks pretty good. You could argue just keep it,
just call it that, just be called the Washington Football Club.
I think they'll eventually pick a name, but if you
(06:58):
told me they didn't, just kind of like a European
soccer team like Chelsea. And maybe I'm wrong. I'm not
super locked in on the EPL, but it feels like
they're all soccer clubs. That'd be fine with me, because
I promise you this, whatever name they pick, there is
gonna be outrage and people that are gonna have it
(07:19):
might be fake, but there will be a percentage of
the population that will not like it. I think it's
really hard. Have you ever just tried to, you know,
pick a brand name. I think about it all the
time for just different business endeavors. It's it's difficult to
figure out something for every Nike and Apple. You're like, God,
that's so easy. McDonald's taco bell. You just think of,
(07:41):
you know, uh, Coca Cola, pepsi the titleists callaway. I'm
just looking around my desk, you know, in my office.
It's yetti like it's it's that sounds like, oh the
YETI that sounds really easy to figure out. It's not
Rainbow Sandals, the San Francisco Giants like it. It's probably
a little harder than you think. So of course Lebron
(08:04):
James assumed they were going to have a new name. No,
they were not going to have a new name this year.
And maybe this year goes well, maybe they get some
good juju from Ron Rivera and they just are called
the Washington football team, and honestly, maybe it wouldn't be
that bad. Okay, let's dive into I saw this morning
Tom Brady pulled up to one buccaneer place or way
(08:27):
in a truck. I just read my guy Vic Tayfrew
covers the Raiders, said Derek Carr, and all the quarterbacks
tested for Corona. They have to stay away for three days,
get retested Sunday, and then I think they're allowing the
facility like Monday hard to keep up with everything that's
going on right now because typically the preseason and the
(08:50):
buzz of preseason helps lead into opening you know that
Thursday night game, and also the preseason games, and for
as crappy as they are, the Hall of Fame game,
the buzz of the sport, it's how we get our
juices flowing and listen. Can we overreact to training camp practices,
of course we can. But overreaction and creating emotion is
(09:14):
a good thing. It's why the NFL right now is king.
Most sports fans could not name every team in the bubble.
The only thing they know is like Lebron's there, all
the top teams are there. They can't name the crappy
teams that also got to go the twenty two teams.
There's no chance they could name like the other six
seven teams on the outside. Looking at the Blue Jays,
(09:35):
for example, in baseball, we're banned from playing you know
this sixty game season for in Toronto. We're not allowed
to play in Canada. So I think they're gonna have
to play. I think in Pittsburgh is the last thing
I read. Again, Most people don't know because now there's
part of just the pandemic coronavirus it's a weird year.
(09:56):
It's I mean baseball, I got Yankees Nationals on behind me.
Stan just hit a home run. They're playing in front
of no fans opening days July twenty third, So we
got thrown a curveball in life. But still a big
part one thing baseball had for a long period of
time is just the negotiation. So it's kind of there's
been a build up in basketball. We've been talking about
(10:18):
the bubble, I swear to God, for like four months.
They've been planning this bubble and then executing the bubble
for two months, and now they're finally I think Lebron
James is playing a night starting to play some like
exhibition games. But for football, like OTAs well. It's cool
stories and stuff, it doesn't really do much. Like you
still didn't get a long extended period of time in
(10:38):
the summer before training camp starts. Training camp is when
kind of all of our attention starts drawing to the NFL.
Who's playing well, who's gonna start, what veteran might be
on the cut bubble, who could a player that might
need to be traded, how's the first round player looking?
And this is the like I said, the first time
(10:58):
in a long period time that I haven't able to
go to a camp, and my timeline during training camp
on social media is usually packed with reporters at various
camps tweeting videos of plays, tweeting out quotes of coaches,
and it helps me, just like it helps when I
worked in the NFL, I followed it really closely because
(11:19):
you were usually as a scout, as a pro scout,
given five or six teams, where you had to follow
every single word coming out of that camp, good and bad.
And now I do it a little more, i would say, liberally,
and not as intently on every team, but I'm pretty
locked into the league and there is going to be
a limited information because the media is not going to
(11:43):
be there a camp. There is not going to be
constant tweeting of plays and who's looking good and who's
looking especially who's looking bad, because we know if the
teams control that message, which they are going to do
this year, we're not going to get a great feel
for what is happening at practice. And I'm not talking
even about it from a competitive standpoint, so other teams
(12:05):
can stay locked in. I'm just talking about a build
up standpoint for us as fans and for people to
talk about it can really dive deep into stories, right
because typically once training camp gets going and guys are
making plays, I'm able to do a topic just based
on two videos I saw coming out of Tampa Bay
camp that is not going to exist this year. And
(12:29):
a huge part of that is going to be just
because training camp is kind of like a glorified OTAs
they're not going to be in pads for another twenty
days whenever the veterans officially report, like the twenty eighth.
So I do wonder. I've started to think, and I'm
giving everyone a pass. Basketball Baseball, like once you get
your sport up and running, I tip my hat. It's
(12:51):
this is not a far less from an ideal situation.
Baseball is doing this because they're trying to make money.
Basketball what the bubble because they're trying to make money.
Football is doing everything desperately to keep playing because they're
trying to keep money. If money didn't matter, you'd probably
just take off the season. But for a lot of
people that don't realize money matters, and as your business
(13:14):
gets a lot bigger as all these pro sports are
billion dollars, you know, endeavors, you actually have more on
the line because if you go from ten billion to
like three billion, you go under. Right, if I go
from a year while I'm doing, you know, four hundred
thousand in revenue to three hundred thousand in revenue, I
(13:35):
can pivot pretty easily. My costs aren't is high. It's
why the NFL, their costs are absurdly high. All these
pro sports are. Just look at how much the players
and coaches are making. Those are set costs. And once
this league gets going, and especially once a week one
kicks in, all those contracts on these for these players
are guaranteed of any veteran players, which are the majority
(13:57):
of your high price which actually are all your high
priced players, because even your rookies, their contract was already
guaranteed the moment they signed him. But I just wonder
how this training camp is going to feel with and listening.
I'm not trying to be like pro media, but they
do help add a huge element during camp just with
(14:19):
their videos, just with their tweets, just with their articles
and their videos. Whether they're right or wrong with what
they see, they just create a lot of conversation. And
the one thing we know about football right now is
it's the number one sport in America because we give
it a lot of attention. I know Gary V. I'm
sure many of you follow him or seeing them on
(14:41):
social media. He's, you know, an entrepreneur, and he's so right.
The number one thing everyone is looking for right now
is attention. Whether you're a TV channel, whether you're a
media member, whether you're a pro sports league, whether you're Nike,
you're just trying to get people's attention. If you get
at your attention, then you can sell them what you
need to sell them. And for football, all I need
(15:04):
if I'm the NFL, I just need to get you
to the couch, and we've proven if I can set
you there and you start watching, you're going to continue
to watch. And that's what the other leagues have really fought.
Baseball has really struggled to keep attention. The NBA definitely has.
They've lost a lot of viewers. The one thing the
NFL has kind of flexed their muscles is they've kept
gaining viewers and they obviously already had a lot. Now
(15:26):
they have things going for them, and we've talked about
a million times, from gambling to the setup of the
urgency of the sport. To Also, college football probably never
has been more popular than it is right now, and
it's always been big, but a look at basketball, like
a huge reason basketball I think has fallen off the
map a little bit is college basketball is irrelevant now. It's,
as Colin says, it's a one month sport. It's March madness.
(15:48):
When I was growing up in the nineties, college basketball
like the like college football. Now, you paid attention because
twenty five people that were going to be you know,
first and high second round picks, we're playing college basketball.
That's not even the case. Hell now that like half
the top ten went to Australia, didn't play college basketball,
went to Europe, went to like random leagues. And the
(16:11):
one reason college football is so popular right now is
because the NFL is so big. So if I'm a
Miami Dolphins fan, I was locked into Oregon in Alabama
last year, and then once LSU started killing it, I
was watching Joe Burrow. Same with the Bengals. And even
if I'm like the forty nine ers, I'm keeping an
eye on what position do I need even though we're
gonna draft thirty two. You know, in theory, they ended
(16:33):
up not drafting there, but like, we need a wide receiver.
Who are the sweet wide receivers? And it's really helped
the popularity of the league. And I just wonder you
start combining if college football happens or doesn't doesn't happen,
has limited you know, who knows? I think that's it's
up for debate, and it's a major no one knows.
(16:54):
It's it's definitely on much shaker ground than the NFL
and then the NFL. Just how different's it gonna look like?
I'm watching baseball right now, the no fans. You know,
it's not an ideal situation. Does it take it away
from the viewing product? I mean it's still the Yankees
and the Nationals. I mean two elite teams. I guess
the Yankees are. We'll see how the good the Nationals are.
(17:15):
They lost a couple of players and their best young
player got Corona. But it's just part of watching pro
sports are seeing people a lot of people there. That's
a huge part of college sports. Right you watch college
football a lot of people in the stance. It's not
gonna be the case this year. So I'm just already
kind of preparing. I wonder if it's gonna be and
then we've we've heard a bunch about it. I don't know.
There's an election this fall. You know a lot of
(17:37):
people are fighting for their economic life right now. Unemployed
could still be searching for jobs in the fall. Could
just be a weird year for the NFL of just
creating buzz, of just creating I still think they're gonna
be the number one sport. I mean, they're so far
ahead of these other sports. I just something it might
be a little more difficult than you think. With the
(17:59):
limited acts sys no fans, things could get weird. If
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the AD Council. If I could be you and you
(19:07):
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(19:29):
you by the AD Council. Welcome out in the shoes. Okay,
let's get a little Middlecoff mail bag time. Add John
Middlecoff Instagram handle and come in, Come in Firing, Come
in Firing with those questions would changing the way the
(19:51):
NBA views their stats help with load management. They're the
only sport that seems to go by averages, where the
other three major sports go by total I know it
would be a little silly at first Lebron's leading the
league with three three thousand points this season, but if
major awards in all NBA selections which determine contracts, looked
(20:11):
into more totals than per game averages, players might be
more likely to play more games, especially star players who
battle for those accolades. Honestly, you're kind of onto something here,
not a terrible idea at all. You're right. In baseball,
we go you hit fifty home runs, or in football
he has five touchdowns through ten games, You're right. Seems
(20:35):
like the NHL, which is also an eighty two game season,
doesn't have load management issues, and many would feel is
a more physically brutal sport. Star players play the last
game of the season with no implication on the playoffs
if they're still striking distance of one hundred points, fifty goals,
or other statistical milestones. Even when they're not, all players
typically play every game they can. Sorry for the super
(20:57):
long message, I actually think that's one of the more
intelligent theory slash ideas I've seen regarding load management to date.
That makes a lot of sense. Now, I think this
is always the problem, and that's why we talk about
whenever you talk about change in sports, because typically they've
(21:18):
been doing something for a long period of time. It's
hard to enact that. Players push back, historians push back
because it throws everything off. I would have no problem now.
It is like the difference in baseball. The biggest stat
you're ever going to see is right, he has one
(21:40):
hundred I guess. I guess in football you see guys
with a thousand yards. That's not a normal, that's not abnormal.
So if you have I don't know, twenty five hundred assists, yeah, now,
I think you'd have to pull up some of the
great seasons and pull up the totals to kind of
compare it, because a huge thing is like, well, Patrick
(22:01):
Mahomes through fifty touchdowns? What other quarterbacks have thrown fifty touchdowns?
And you'd be like Marino, Brady, Peyton, Manning. I think
that's the list and you can kind of equate it.
Or I ran for two thousand yards as a running back?
Who else did that well? O? J. Simpson, Adrian Peterson,
Barry Sanders, Terrell Davis. I might be missing something, but
you get my drift, so you can always compare, Well,
(22:24):
I hit sixty five home runs? Who else have done this?
I think it's it's hard when it comes to that
because in the vernacular the way we talk about it,
you just know, right if I tell you you get
to forty touchdowns, you know that's a big number. Or
I tell you you get to eighteen hundred yards rushing,
you know that's a big number. If you hit, you know,
(22:44):
two hundred hits is a big deal in baseball, right
Twenty I know wins isn't as big a deal in
baseball for pitchers, but if I say you've got twenty wins,
that's typically a big deal. What direction do you see
the Colts going after quarterback after this season? With Rivers
on a one year deal, does that leave the door
open for Luck to return or do you think they
(23:06):
look to free agency in the draft? I never say never,
but if I was a Colts fan, and I'm assuming
Drew that you are, I would not think about Andrew
Luck ever coming back. Kind of false hope there. I
would probably get that out of my mind. Andrew Luck
isn't coming back now, maybe he does, but I would
(23:27):
I would not assume that, and I would just we
were off Andrew Luck. I think Rivers, I would lean
he's over the hill. Now. Maybe I'm wrong, but what
I saw last year was a disaster. Now clearly their
offensive line is dramatically better in Indie. So maybe if
the season were to go well, he just signs another
one year deal. I could see that. Like, I don't
(23:49):
think Rivers is playing for another team beside the Colts.
You know this, He's gonna end his career as a Colt.
That would be my educated guess. They drafted Jacob Eason
from Washington, who I think is not a very good
football player. Now. They took him in the fourth round,
so by no means to see the future. You know,
you got Jacobe under contract, but I don't know what
that means. I think this is his last year, right,
(24:11):
So yeah, I would say draft. The good thing is
there are a lot of quarterbacks in the NFL right now.
You just never know. You know, as Jamie has become
available after next year, you know, Derek Carr does that
something go off there with the Raiders. They're Nick Foles.
Is he just one year in Chicago and done? There
are band aid band aids too, you know, kind of
(24:33):
negative award, but there are gonna be options for you know,
teams and knee quarterbacks. Big fan of the show, hope
you're doing well. My question is this, do you think
Jalen Hurtz will be used in a Taysom Hill type role?
And if so, do you think there's a large number
of teams that were follow suit if this is successful.
(24:53):
If Jalen isn't a Taysom Hill role, which he's gonna
be the backup quarterback unless the backup arter back that
they had last year, I think the kid from is
he from Indiana Northwestern who the reason they had to
sign McCown because he broke his wrist, is the backup
quarterback and then you can basically keep three quarterbacks. But
if Jalen is your number two, that was the thing
(25:14):
Like Taysom Hill was not the number two quarterback for
the Saints, Teddy Bridgewater was, so you could play Taysom
Hill like a football player, right cover, kicks, running back,
tight end, whatever. If Jalen Hurts is your backup quarterback
on game day. You can't have him out there lead
blocking for Jalen Sanders, right or covering kicks. To me,
(25:37):
that's the biggest question mark. I don't know the answer.
I don't know if the Eagles quite know the answer,
and it's not like they're gonna get training camp to
figure it out. So to me, it's gonna come down
to is Jalen their backup quarterback? If he is, I
would say no. If he's not, and he does play
a Taysom Hill type role and it works like Jalen's
making plays, which he's a fantastic runner. He was a
(25:58):
much better runner in college than Taysomall. Now, I don't
think he's quite as fast as Taystom, but he is shifty.
He's a natural open field runner. You could I think
he could be a starting running back in the NFL.
He's that good. So yeah, if it goes well, whenever
trends start to happen and things start to work, I
would say in football or any business, people copy people
fall suit, So yes, it would be one on the
(26:20):
table that he changes the game a little bit. Question,
huge Steelers fan, why is everyone giving the AFC north
to Baltimore. Steelers were a juju fumble away from beating
the Ravens in overtime with Rudolph got knocked out by
an illegal hit and no flag by dirty Earl Thomas
and Duck Hodges in Week five. Week seventeen, a fumble
(26:42):
that led to a quick Ravens TV before the half,
and a fumble sixteen points giveaway to make the score
look even worse. Twenty eight ten with Big Ben, Steelers
have not been under top five in offense efficiency the
last five seasons. Steelers were thirty two in that stat
last year, I feel like no one is giving the
Steelers a chance, and I really don't see the Ravens
running away with the division. Even if Ben's at seventy
(27:04):
percent of his Hall of Fame self, He's still a
better quarterback than Lamar Baker in Borough. Am I biased? Well,
I would throw out the Week seventeen game. I don't
think I was watching, but the Ravens had everything wrapped
up right, so it was they had nothing to play
for Week five. Probably some merit there for sure. To me,
(27:29):
the biggest question mark is the guy towards his elbow.
Last year, he's thirty seven, thirty eight years old. He
is a guy that struggled to play in sixteen games
over the last decade. Now I'm with you. If you
have a healthy quarterback and a good quarterback on this team,
they're a playoff team. They had one of the best
defense in the league. They have one of the best
(27:50):
pass rushes in the league. Minka is now a star.
They drafted the tackling machine from Michigan last year. When
they trade it up their offense, they got good wide
receivers or offensive line solid. It's just a question on
Ben now, he can't get much worse. Like you said,
you were dead last and offensive efficiency last year. Mason
Rudolph is not a good player. Duck Hodges is probably
(28:12):
not a fifty three man roster guy. So it's Ben
could probably be fifty percent and he's better than those
two guys. But as we saw last year, his arm shattered.
Basically he could not throw a football. So at any
moment with Ben like these, these injuries can just go
and he could just be he can't play. I like,
(28:33):
I have a hard time seeing him play like twelve
games this season. I just do like when we were
growing up and guys would get to his age right
thirty five, thirty six, it would just end. And now
guys like you know Brady and Breeze. We think these
guys can say to the play to their forty it's
just not normal. And Ben has a lot of wear
(28:54):
and terror on his body. I mean, I kind of
like a Cam. Now Cam ran a little bit more,
but once Cam got to his early thirties, like he
was physically shot. And I just think you've seen the
wear and tear for those years like nine, ten, eleven,
twelve thirteen, when Ben was getting destroyed just catches up
to you when you get to your late thirties. I
was just wondering what the NFL becoming such an international platform,
(29:17):
if you could see any more European Asian players being
able to come over and really doing well in the
league without having gone through an American high school college experience.
Would love to hear your thoughts on whether it would
be too challenging or even if it be worthwhile for
teams to look outside the US in the first place.
Love the show, well, it's one thing when a guy's
(29:40):
playing rugby and I have tape of him in New
Zealand or Australia moving around with a ball in his
hands or tackling people. If a guy, let's just say
you have some big athlete in China, well what sport
unless he's playing rugby? If he's just like a big athlete,
how can I see? It'd be difficult. So I don't
(30:04):
see how you scout a guy without him playing a sport,
how he'd even come on the radar or Europe. To me,
you would just have to play rugby. If you're playing rugby,
then people can find you or hear about you. If
you're not playing rugby, to me, it's borderline impossible for
me to figure out who you are because they're I mean,
(30:24):
hundreds of millions of people in this world, especially in
these other countries. They're like a billion people in China.
Like I just I don't know how I figure out
who you are as like a scout or a front office.
If you're not playing an athletic endeavor, I can't. I
can't just find you on the street, you know. I
mean those stories make for like fun legendary tales, like
(30:46):
I think it was Tony Braxton was discovered, maybe it
was Whitney Houston at a gas station just singing like
you're probably not gonna be like you know. I found
my outside linebacker was just on vacation in Spain. Saw
this dude, look six two two fifty. I ask him, Yo,
you want to play football? And the guy's like sure,
and then we bring him back and he plays like
(31:07):
that just not gonna happen. So I think you got
to play a sport to be discovered. I'm a big
Minnesota Vikings fan. I believe Digs and Adam Feeling were
an underrated NFL best wide receiver duo in the past years.
What are your thoughts on that and what do you
believe that Adam Feeling and the new rookie Jordan Jefferson
could do better. Well, I'm pretty sure that Justin Jefferson
(31:28):
will not be as good a player Stefan Dicks because
the last several years he's been one of the best
deep threats in the league. He has elite play speed.
He's just an elite deep threat target. I think he
has fifteen touchdowns the last two years he has. He's
averaging over eighty catches a year. He's just he's not
maybe a top five player, but he's he might I might,
I call him elite, but he's damn good and feeling
(31:50):
is just solid. So you put an elite guy, a
borderline elite guy with feeling you can kick people's asses,
and a good running game and productive tight ends. What
I saw of Justin Jefferson and talking to people in
the league, they saw more of a slot wide receiver
than an outside guy. So Thielen, who's a solid outside
wide receiver, you put with Justin Jefferson in the slot,
(32:10):
and with a couple tight ends IRF Smith and Kyle Rudolph.
You know, you can just play a little bit different.
You might not be as explosive as an offense. Like
down the field. I remember several times last year play
action boom cousins and digs forty yard bomb touchdown. Yeah.
I don't know if that's gonna be happening as much,
but you can matriculate the ball down the field, hit
(32:32):
ten and fifteen yard games with those two guys. Justin
Jefferson's a good player, But is he gonna have the
impact this year of Digs that has had the last
couple of years. I don't see a chance. Now. Can
Cooks do more? I think Madison's the backup running back,
the kid they draft from a Boise State who I like.
I mean, that guy runs his ass off. You got
two good tight ends, cousins, solid player. I think the
(32:53):
offense might have to be better because their defense might
not be as good. I think someone tweeted at me,
I think the Vikings are replacing six starters on defense.
That's a lot for a team that's arguably had one
of the most consistent defensive units in the league last
what six seven years. I think Julio Jones super Bowl
catch has to be one of the best ever. It
was a very critical situation as well, and had the
(33:14):
most skill of a catch I've ever seen a Super Bowl.
Obviously the loss of no one cares. What do you
think do you have any Super Bowl catches above it?
I think during Corona I watched the second half of
that game and it was an insane catch. I would say,
at my lifetime just thinking about it, the catch would
be Santonio Holmes that won the Super Bowl. Ben to
(33:36):
Santonio Holmes in the corner of the end zone and
that's you basically a winning touchdown catch in the corner
of the end zone, keeping both feet in and like
you said, you just get remembered when you win the
Super Bowl. Whether that's fair or not, I'd say the
David Tyree catch would have to be right up there too. Now,
the difference I think Santonio Holmes and Julio Jones feels
(34:00):
a little more like elite skill in a natural position.
I'm not trying to diminish what David Tyree did, but
I think even diehard Giants fans can admit and listen,
I had money on the Giants. There's an element of
luck there right there was just I saw a clip
I was watching some Antonio Brown highlights. Antonio Brown was
so good. If you guys remember there was a Titan
(34:22):
They played the Titans on a Monday night football game,
and he caught a ball, a fade pass against his helmet.
It was a remarkable catch. I mean, it has to
be one of the better catches the last four or
five years. Like, I don't think that was luck. I
think that was skill. I think he'd practice it. I
don't know if David Tyree had ever practiced that, But
the final result, I don't know how you. I mean,
(34:43):
you could argue to one of the great catches in
football history. Hell beside, like Willie Mays and Jim Edmonds,
it might be like a top five catch of all time.
I mean it led to the Giants win the Super
Bowl and me winning fifteen hundred dollars, which in two
thousand and seven my junior senior year in college, might
as well I have been one hundred thousand dollars. Fantastic win.
So I'm indebted to the guy, But I would go
(35:04):
Santonio Holmes one. When you factor in what was on
the line. Now, it's like I hear myself say that
I don't know how David Tyree just he did catch it,
you know, in traffic. So probably one of those. Julio's
a freak, though. Get right to the romance and find
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And we're live here outside the Perez family home, just
waiting for them. And there they go, almost on time.
This morning. Mom is coming off the front door strong
with a double arm kid carry. Looks like Dad has
the bags. Daughter is bringing up the rear. Oh, but
the diaper bag wasn't closed. Diapers and toys are everywhere. Ooh,
(36:10):
but mom has just nailed the perfect car seat buckle
for the toddler. And now the eldest daughter, who looks
to be about nine or ten, has secured herself in
the booster seat. Dad zips the bag clothes and they're off,
But looks like Mom doesn't realize her coffee cup is
still on the roof of the car, and there it goes. Oh,
(36:31):
that's a shame. That mug was a fam favorite. Don't
sweat the small stuff, just nail the big stuff, like
making sure your kids are buckle correctly in the right
seat for their agent's eyes. Learn more at NHTSA dot
gov slash the right Seat visits NHTSA dot gov slash
the Right Seat. Brought to you by Nitza and the
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(36:53):
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Find a forest near you and start exploring. I discover
(37:14):
the Forest dot Org. Brought to you by the United
States Forest Service and the AD Council. First of all,
I want to say I love the podcast. I'm a
Charger fan in the Bay Area and want to know
your thoughts on the Chargers making the playoffs this year.
Taylor was a pretty good quarterback for Buffalo, but I'm
hesitant to think that he can take us to the playoffs.
In the FC, Coward says, we have a great roster,
but I think but I would like a former scouts
(37:37):
thoughts also like Herbert, but just think the best situation
for rookies to sit for a year. Just think about this.
How many teams can say their top six or seven
players are this good. Bosa, Derwin, James Ingram Keenan Allen Hunter, Henry,
Mike Williams. I'm probably missing I'm probably missing some guys
(37:59):
casey a word like, they have elite impact players, elite
impact players, even Kenneth Murray, the guy they draft him
from Oklahoma late in the first round. That guy is
gonna be a stud. Now. Their offensive line is not great,
but that's why they want a mobile quarterback. I'm not
the biggest Tyrod Taylor guy. If Tyrod Taylor's a starting quarterback,
like at most, you're gonna win nine or ten games,
(38:21):
and that's if your team is loaded, and their team's
pretty loaded. But the guy hasn't played much really the
last couple of years, obviously because he's been back up
for Rivers. Are we sure that Justin Herbert's not better
than him right now? It's not like Justin Herbert was
a redshirt sophomore's he was a senior. He was a
four year starter in Oregon four years. Just put him
in the game, let him play. You got Hunter Henry,
(38:43):
you got Keenan Allen. You got what's the little running
back's name, Austin Ekeler. You got Mike Williams who's a
jump all wide receiver. The deck's pretty loaded for him
and he's mobile, So unlike Rivers, who was a statue.
Justin Herbert can run and move. I would just start
Justin Herbert from the jump. I used to be a
(39:03):
decade ago. Let the guy sit, let the guy sit,
Let the guy sit in twenty twenty four year starter,
spread offenses, let the kids play. Man. Just put him
in there. You drafted him six overall. Worst case scenario,
Tyrod's got to come in if it's he's a little overwhelmed.
But I think we just have too much information over
the last four or five years. These guys play early,
(39:25):
and these guys succeed early. You know, you put young
quarterbacks in now. This year is a little weird. There're
no offseason, so maybe I'm being a little too bullish,
but I would have a quick trigger finger to have
Herbert in there. I don't draft guys in the top
ten at quarterback to watch him sit now. Two up
is a little different to meet. Two Ah had a
(39:46):
dislocated hip. It could have like ended his career. I'm
being cautious with him. He couldn't work out during the
combine or whatever. Herbert's ready to roll. I lean throw
Herbert in as quickly as possible and get him playing.
Appreciate everyone listening, have a great weekend, enjoy some baseball,
Enjoy the weekend, enjoy the summer as much as possibly
(40:09):
can during these trying times. And as Hank Williams Junior said,
let's get ready for some football. It's right around the corner. Peace.
(40:38):
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(00:21):
four red roses for ten dollars. More. Go to one
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hundred flowers dot com. Slash tune in. What is going on? Everybody?
John middle Coop three in album podcast. Hope everyone is
(00:45):
having a good Friday Saturday weekend. As we come, I
want to say the homestretch till we get football. But
as with the rules, they got a test and go
away and come back and then they don't really practice.
So this training camp, as someone that's been going to
train NFL training camp practices either working in the league
(01:06):
or talking about the league. Now, for I guess going
on a decade, and this is not gonna be a
normal year. It would be the first year I won't
attend to a training camp practice in that time. Really
since Fresno State, probably in thirteen years, I won't be
going to a training camp just because they're gonna limit
the media availability. It's not even worth it for me.
(01:28):
I have some thoughts on how that's going to impact
the league. Now the no preseason games. The big news
of the day is Washington is going to keep their name.
I have some thoughts on that off the jump, because
the outrage on Twitter and Lebron James, I don't think
everyone was on the same page what was going to
happen here, But that's typical, especially with social media. And
(01:51):
then of course Middlecoff mail back at John Middlecoff is
the Instagram and follow along. You can allow Twitter as well,
but Instagram is where the dms wide open. Leave a
question in my direct messages and you will get it
read here on the podcast. Also appreciate everyone who has
listened or excuse me, followed the podcast on Apple or
(02:16):
iTunes left a review. If you haven't, would greatly appreciate
you leave in a review. It helps us monetize the
whole deal. Followed the podcast as well, and tip my
hats you great appreciation. Let's start with Daniel Snyder. I'm
a little this topic doesn't do that much for me.
You know, the watch some of the bad teams in
(02:37):
the Northeast, like I just don't care about I get
their big markets and they get talked about. But like
when the Jets suck, when the Giants suck, when Washington sucks,
like I really don't care. I wish they were good
because I like watching good football. Like I liked it
when Eli Mannings teams were good, right, I like it
when Rex Ryan's team was good. The Washington team has
(02:58):
really not been good. I guess my entire adult life,
they've been you know, like the Browns or the Raiders
kind of a joke. But now this situation where they
don't have a name, and it became official today that
they're just going to be called the Washington football team.
I actually thought the logo looked pretty good. I think
sometimes in life, when emotion is really high and you
(03:22):
see it so much on social media with politics, it's
all emotion and you know one thing, and it hurts
me some places in life. But I tell my mom
sometimes when it gets something involved in business, and I'm like, Mom,
you can't get so emotional that this is not the
way it works. You know, until you have something signed
on the bottom line on a piece of paper, they
(03:42):
can change the price. You're allowed to negotiate. You know,
it's not you know that the older generation is used
to kind of the loyalty of friendships when you're in business.
It's just it's not like that at all, that there's
not much loyalty. It involved. It's sad, but it's kind
of true. Like my generation, we'll just do business with
whoever gives us the best price. That's why Bezos is
(04:03):
kicking the shit out of everybody. He just has better
prices than everybody, and he'll deliver it to your tour
like it feels it says twenty four hours or forty
eight hours. Sometimes it feels like I press a button
and two hours later Bezos is dropping off my off
a package in front of my house. It's incredible. I mean,
he runs a great service. That's why he's the richest
man in the world. He runs one of the best
services I've ever seen in my life. Let's just call
(04:24):
a spade a spade. But when you see the redskins,
I don't know how if I got off on that
tangent and they don't have a name anymore. I think
people thought that. I guess they're not that name anymore.
They're just the Washington football team. That they were going
to come out with an official name before the season,
when it was clear that they got pressured. And let's
be real, the reason they changed it is because money
(04:46):
and they're huge sponsors, you know, started causing a fuss.
Money makes things happen, nothing else does, and whether we
like it or not, that's just the way the world works.
Is that he if he listened, he did not want
to change the name. If he would not have got
his hands forced, this would not have happened. So if
you don't want to change the name and you're forced to,
(05:09):
you probably don't have a secondary name. Now. If you
live in DC and you follow this more closely, maybe
you have better information on this. But just reading from
an outside perspective, it does not feel like he had
two or three names lined up if this ever became inevitable.
It's crazy as that sounds, because it kind of felt
to be inevitable. I would say, over the last five
years like we were headed that way. But when I
(05:31):
saw to day that they were just going to be
called the Washington football team this year and figure it
out later. I said, of course they were, because you
don't want to get married to the wrong person right now.
The great part about getting married to the wrong person.
They got this thing if you have to do, you
can get divorced if you pick the wrong team name
and you label it. Your jerseys are that color, you
sell a bunch of merchandise. You can't really pivot a
(05:54):
couple of years from today. And let's be real, whatever
they end up naming it, and I'm just gonna go
off the names that I've seen from people like thrown
out in articles or on social media, the RedHawks, the
Red Tails, the Warrior or something like that, and for
whatever reason, because do you think it's gonna be universal
approval if they just came out with the Washington RedHawks.
(06:16):
Do you think everyone would be like, Oh, that name's cool,
or some people like I don't like it. I wish
it was something different. Probably be that it's gonna be
like that no matter what he names it. And if
he's not comfortable with a name, and the Redskins brass,
I guess they're not called that anymore. It's hard to
do this stuff. We know, the Washington football team doesn't
have a name, and they can't decide on it. There's
(06:37):
a time on their side, like what is the rush?
Why did they have to have a new name this year,
especially when their hand was forced a month before the season.
The Washington football team and just the word Washington. I
think it looks pretty good. You could argue just keep it,
just call it that, just be called the Washington Football Club.
I think they'll eventually pick a name, but if you
(06:58):
told me they didn't, just kind of like a European
soccer team like Chelsea. And maybe I'm wrong. I'm not
super locked in on the EPL, but it feels like
they're all soccer clubs. That'd be fine with me, because
I promise you this, whatever name they pick, there is
gonna be outrage and people that are gonna have it
(07:19):
might be fake, but there will be a percentage of
the population that will not like it. I think it's
really hard. Have you ever just tried to, you know,
pick a brand name. I think about it all the
time for just different business endeavors. It's it's difficult to
figure out something for every Nike and Apple. You're like, God,
that's so easy. McDonald's taco bell. You just think of,
(07:41):
you know, uh, Coca Cola, pepsi the titleists callaway. I'm
just looking around my desk, you know, in my office.
It's yetti like it's it's that sounds like, oh the
YETI that sounds really easy to figure out. It's not
Rainbow Sandals, the San Francisco Giants like it. It's probably
a little harder than you think. So of course Lebron
(08:04):
James assumed they were going to have a new name. No,
they were not going to have a new name this year.
And maybe this year goes well, maybe they get some
good juju from Ron Rivera and they just are called
the Washington football team, and honestly, maybe it wouldn't be
that bad. Okay, let's dive into I saw this morning
Tom Brady pulled up to one buccaneer place or way
(08:27):
in a truck. I just read my guy Vic Tayfrew
covers the Raiders, said Derek Carr, and all the quarterbacks
tested for Corona. They have to stay away for three days,
get retested Sunday, and then I think they're allowing the
facility like Monday hard to keep up with everything that's
going on right now because typically the preseason and the
(08:50):
buzz of preseason helps lead into opening you know that
Thursday night game, and also the preseason games, and for
as crappy as they are, the Hall of Fame game,
the buzz of the sport, it's how we get our
juices flowing and listen. Can we overreact to training camp practices,
of course we can. But overreaction and creating emotion is
(09:14):
a good thing. It's why the NFL right now is king.
Most sports fans could not name every team in the bubble.
The only thing they know is like Lebron's there, all
the top teams are there. They can't name the crappy
teams that also got to go the twenty two teams.
There's no chance they could name like the other six
seven teams on the outside. Looking at the Blue Jays,
(09:35):
for example, in baseball, we're banned from playing you know
this sixty game season for in Toronto. We're not allowed
to play in Canada. So I think they're gonna have
to play. I think in Pittsburgh is the last thing
I read. Again, Most people don't know because now there's
part of just the pandemic coronavirus it's a weird year.
(09:56):
It's I mean baseball, I got Yankees Nationals on behind me.
Stan just hit a home run. They're playing in front
of no fans opening days July twenty third, So we
got thrown a curveball in life. But still a big
part one thing baseball had for a long period of
time is just the negotiation. So it's kind of there's
been a build up in basketball. We've been talking about
(10:18):
the bubble, I swear to God, for like four months.
They've been planning this bubble and then executing the bubble
for two months, and now they're finally I think Lebron
James is playing a night starting to play some like
exhibition games. But for football, like OTAs well. It's cool
stories and stuff, it doesn't really do much. Like you
still didn't get a long extended period of time in
(10:38):
the summer before training camp starts. Training camp is when
kind of all of our attention starts drawing to the NFL.
Who's playing well, who's gonna start, what veteran might be
on the cut bubble, who could a player that might
need to be traded, how's the first round player looking?
And this is the like I said, the first time
(10:58):
in a long period time that I haven't able to
go to a camp, and my timeline during training camp
on social media is usually packed with reporters at various
camps tweeting videos of plays, tweeting out quotes of coaches,
and it helps me, just like it helps when I
worked in the NFL, I followed it really closely because
(11:19):
you were usually as a scout, as a pro scout,
given five or six teams, where you had to follow
every single word coming out of that camp, good and bad.
And now I do it a little more, i would say, liberally,
and not as intently on every team, but I'm pretty
locked into the league and there is going to be
a limited information because the media is not going to
(11:43):
be there a camp. There is not going to be
constant tweeting of plays and who's looking good and who's
looking especially who's looking bad, because we know if the
teams control that message, which they are going to do
this year, we're not going to get a great feel
for what is happening at practice. And I'm not talking
even about it from a competitive standpoint, so other teams
(12:05):
can stay locked in. I'm just talking about a build
up standpoint for us as fans and for people to
talk about it can really dive deep into stories, right
because typically once training camp gets going and guys are
making plays, I'm able to do a topic just based
on two videos I saw coming out of Tampa Bay
camp that is not going to exist this year. And
(12:29):
a huge part of that is going to be just
because training camp is kind of like a glorified OTAs
they're not going to be in pads for another twenty
days whenever the veterans officially report, like the twenty eighth.
So I do wonder. I've started to think, and I'm
giving everyone a pass. Basketball Baseball, like once you get
your sport up and running, I tip my hat. It's
(12:51):
this is not a far less from an ideal situation.
Baseball is doing this because they're trying to make money.
Basketball what the bubble because they're trying to make money.
Football is doing everything desperately to keep playing because they're
trying to keep money. If money didn't matter, you'd probably
just take off the season. But for a lot of
people that don't realize money matters, and as your business
(13:14):
gets a lot bigger as all these pro sports are
billion dollars, you know, endeavors, you actually have more on
the line because if you go from ten billion to
like three billion, you go under. Right, if I go
from a year while I'm doing, you know, four hundred
thousand in revenue to three hundred thousand in revenue, I
(13:35):
can pivot pretty easily. My costs aren't is high. It's
why the NFL, their costs are absurdly high. All these
pro sports are. Just look at how much the players
and coaches are making. Those are set costs. And once
this league gets going, and especially once a week one
kicks in, all those contracts on these for these players
are guaranteed of any veteran players, which are the majority
(13:57):
of your high price which actually are all your high
priced players, because even your rookies, their contract was already
guaranteed the moment they signed him. But I just wonder
how this training camp is going to feel with and listening.
I'm not trying to be like pro media, but they
do help add a huge element during camp just with
(14:19):
their videos, just with their tweets, just with their articles
and their videos. Whether they're right or wrong with what
they see, they just create a lot of conversation. And
the one thing we know about football right now is
it's the number one sport in America because we give
it a lot of attention. I know Gary V. I'm
sure many of you follow him or seeing them on
(14:41):
social media. He's, you know, an entrepreneur, and he's so right.
The number one thing everyone is looking for right now
is attention. Whether you're a TV channel, whether you're a
media member, whether you're a pro sports league, whether you're Nike,
you're just trying to get people's attention. If you get
at your attention, then you can sell them what you
need to sell them. And for football, all I need
(15:04):
if I'm the NFL, I just need to get you
to the couch, and we've proven if I can set
you there and you start watching, you're going to continue
to watch. And that's what the other leagues have really fought.
Baseball has really struggled to keep attention. The NBA definitely has.
They've lost a lot of viewers. The one thing the
NFL has kind of flexed their muscles is they've kept
gaining viewers and they obviously already had a lot. Now
(15:26):
they have things going for them, and we've talked about
a million times, from gambling to the setup of the
urgency of the sport. To Also, college football probably never
has been more popular than it is right now, and
it's always been big, but a look at basketball, like
a huge reason basketball I think has fallen off the
map a little bit is college basketball is irrelevant now. It's,
as Colin says, it's a one month sport. It's March madness.
(15:48):
When I was growing up in the nineties, college basketball
like the like college football. Now, you paid attention because
twenty five people that were going to be you know,
first and high second round picks, we're playing college basketball.
That's not even the case. Hell now that like half
the top ten went to Australia, didn't play college basketball,
went to Europe, went to like random leagues. And the
(16:11):
one reason college football is so popular right now is
because the NFL is so big. So if I'm a
Miami Dolphins fan, I was locked into Oregon in Alabama
last year, and then once LSU started killing it, I
was watching Joe Burrow. Same with the Bengals. And even
if I'm like the forty nine ers, I'm keeping an
eye on what position do I need even though we're
gonna draft thirty two. You know, in theory, they ended
(16:33):
up not drafting there, but like, we need a wide receiver.
Who are the sweet wide receivers? And it's really helped
the popularity of the league. And I just wonder you
start combining if college football happens or doesn't doesn't happen,
has limited you know, who knows? I think that's it's
up for debate, and it's a major no one knows.
(16:54):
It's it's definitely on much shaker ground than the NFL
and then the NFL. Just how different's it gonna look like?
I'm watching baseball right now, the no fans. You know,
it's not an ideal situation. Does it take it away
from the viewing product? I mean it's still the Yankees
and the Nationals. I mean two elite teams. I guess
the Yankees are. We'll see how the good the Nationals are.
(17:15):
They lost a couple of players and their best young
player got Corona. But it's just part of watching pro
sports are seeing people a lot of people there. That's
a huge part of college sports. Right you watch college
football a lot of people in the stance. It's not
gonna be the case this year. So I'm just already
kind of preparing. I wonder if it's gonna be and
then we've we've heard a bunch about it. I don't know.
There's an election this fall. You know a lot of
(17:37):
people are fighting for their economic life right now. Unemployed
could still be searching for jobs in the fall. Could
just be a weird year for the NFL of just
creating buzz, of just creating I still think they're gonna
be the number one sport. I mean, they're so far
ahead of these other sports. I just something it might
be a little more difficult than you think. With the
(17:59):
limited acts sys no fans, things could get weird. If
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(18:21):
Shop thousands of unique gifts at one eight hundred flowers
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one eight hundred flowers dot com slash tune in adoption
of teams from foster care is a topic not enough
people know about, and we're here to change that. I'm
April Dinuity, host of the new podcast Navigating Adoption, presented
(18:45):
by adopt us Kids. Each episode brings you compelling, real
life adoption stories told by the families that live them,
with commentary from experts. Visit adopt us Kids dot org
slash podcast or subscribe to Navigating Adoption presented by adopt
us Kids, brought to you by the US Department of
Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, and
the AD Council. If I could be you and you
(19:07):
could be me for just one hour, if you could
find a way to get inside each other's mind. Welcome
mile in my shoes. Welcome mile in my shoes. Shoes.
We've all felt left out, and for some that feeling
lasts more than a moment. We can change that. Learn
how it Belonging begins with us dot org, brought to
(19:29):
you by the AD Council. Welcome out in the shoes. Okay,
let's get a little Middlecoff mail bag time. Add John
Middlecoff Instagram handle and come in, Come in Firing, Come
in Firing with those questions would changing the way the
(19:51):
NBA views their stats help with load management. They're the
only sport that seems to go by averages, where the
other three major sports go by total I know it
would be a little silly at first Lebron's leading the
league with three three thousand points this season, but if
major awards in all NBA selections which determine contracts, looked
(20:11):
into more totals than per game averages, players might be
more likely to play more games, especially star players who
battle for those accolades. Honestly, you're kind of onto something here,
not a terrible idea at all. You're right. In baseball,
we go you hit fifty home runs, or in football
he has five touchdowns through ten games, You're right. Seems
(20:35):
like the NHL, which is also an eighty two game season,
doesn't have load management issues, and many would feel is
a more physically brutal sport. Star players play the last
game of the season with no implication on the playoffs
if they're still striking distance of one hundred points, fifty goals,
or other statistical milestones. Even when they're not, all players
typically play every game they can. Sorry for the super
(20:57):
long message, I actually think that's one of the more
intelligent theory slash ideas I've seen regarding load management to date.
That makes a lot of sense. Now, I think this
is always the problem, and that's why we talk about
whenever you talk about change in sports, because typically they've
(21:18):
been doing something for a long period of time. It's
hard to enact that. Players push back, historians push back
because it throws everything off. I would have no problem now.
It is like the difference in baseball. The biggest stat
you're ever going to see is right, he has one
(21:40):
hundred I guess. I guess in football you see guys
with a thousand yards. That's not a normal, that's not abnormal.
So if you have I don't know, twenty five hundred assists, yeah, now,
I think you'd have to pull up some of the
great seasons and pull up the totals to kind of
compare it, because a huge thing is like, well, Patrick
(22:01):
Mahomes through fifty touchdowns? What other quarterbacks have thrown fifty touchdowns?
And you'd be like Marino, Brady, Peyton, Manning. I think
that's the list and you can kind of equate it.
Or I ran for two thousand yards as a running back?
Who else did that well? O? J. Simpson, Adrian Peterson,
Barry Sanders, Terrell Davis. I might be missing something, but
you get my drift, so you can always compare, Well,
(22:24):
I hit sixty five home runs? Who else have done this?
I think it's it's hard when it comes to that
because in the vernacular the way we talk about it,
you just know, right if I tell you you get
to forty touchdowns, you know that's a big number. Or
I tell you you get to eighteen hundred yards rushing,
you know that's a big number. If you hit, you know,
(22:44):
two hundred hits is a big deal in baseball, right
Twenty I know wins isn't as big a deal in
baseball for pitchers, but if I say you've got twenty wins,
that's typically a big deal. What direction do you see
the Colts going after quarterback after this season? With Rivers
on a one year deal, does that leave the door
open for Luck to return or do you think they
(23:06):
look to free agency in the draft? I never say never,
but if I was a Colts fan, and I'm assuming
Drew that you are, I would not think about Andrew
Luck ever coming back. Kind of false hope there. I
would probably get that out of my mind. Andrew Luck
isn't coming back now, maybe he does, but I would
(23:27):
I would not assume that, and I would just we
were off Andrew Luck. I think Rivers, I would lean
he's over the hill. Now. Maybe I'm wrong, but what
I saw last year was a disaster. Now clearly their
offensive line is dramatically better in Indie. So maybe if
the season were to go well, he just signs another
one year deal. I could see that. Like, I don't
(23:49):
think Rivers is playing for another team beside the Colts.
You know this, He's gonna end his career as a Colt.
That would be my educated guess. They drafted Jacob Eason
from Washington, who I think is not a very good
football player. Now. They took him in the fourth round,
so by no means to see the future. You know,
you got Jacobe under contract, but I don't know what
that means. I think this is his last year, right,
(24:11):
So yeah, I would say draft. The good thing is
there are a lot of quarterbacks in the NFL right now.
You just never know. You know, as Jamie has become
available after next year, you know, Derek Carr does that
something go off there with the Raiders. They're Nick Foles.
Is he just one year in Chicago and done? There
are band aid band aids too, you know, kind of
(24:33):
negative award, but there are gonna be options for you know,
teams and knee quarterbacks. Big fan of the show, hope
you're doing well. My question is this, do you think
Jalen Hurtz will be used in a Taysom Hill type role?
And if so, do you think there's a large number
of teams that were follow suit if this is successful.
(24:53):
If Jalen isn't a Taysom Hill role, which he's gonna
be the backup quarterback unless the backup arter back that
they had last year, I think the kid from is
he from Indiana Northwestern who the reason they had to
sign McCown because he broke his wrist, is the backup
quarterback and then you can basically keep three quarterbacks. But
if Jalen is your number two, that was the thing
(25:14):
Like Taysom Hill was not the number two quarterback for
the Saints, Teddy Bridgewater was, so you could play Taysom
Hill like a football player, right cover, kicks, running back,
tight end, whatever. If Jalen Hurts is your backup quarterback
on game day. You can't have him out there lead
blocking for Jalen Sanders, right or covering kicks. To me,
(25:37):
that's the biggest question mark. I don't know the answer.
I don't know if the Eagles quite know the answer,
and it's not like they're gonna get training camp to
figure it out. So to me, it's gonna come down
to is Jalen their backup quarterback? If he is, I
would say no. If he's not, and he does play
a Taysom Hill type role and it works like Jalen's
making plays, which he's a fantastic runner. He was a
(25:58):
much better runner in college than Taysomall. Now, I don't
think he's quite as fast as Taystom, but he is shifty.
He's a natural open field runner. You could I think
he could be a starting running back in the NFL.
He's that good. So yeah, if it goes well, whenever
trends start to happen and things start to work, I
would say in football or any business, people copy people
fall suit, So yes, it would be one on the
(26:20):
table that he changes the game a little bit. Question,
huge Steelers fan, why is everyone giving the AFC north
to Baltimore. Steelers were a juju fumble away from beating
the Ravens in overtime with Rudolph got knocked out by
an illegal hit and no flag by dirty Earl Thomas
and Duck Hodges in Week five. Week seventeen, a fumble
(26:42):
that led to a quick Ravens TV before the half,
and a fumble sixteen points giveaway to make the score
look even worse. Twenty eight ten with Big Ben, Steelers
have not been under top five in offense efficiency the
last five seasons. Steelers were thirty two in that stat
last year, I feel like no one is giving the
Steelers a chance, and I really don't see the Ravens
running away with the division. Even if Ben's at seventy
(27:04):
percent of his Hall of Fame self, He's still a
better quarterback than Lamar Baker in Borough. Am I biased? Well,
I would throw out the Week seventeen game. I don't
think I was watching, but the Ravens had everything wrapped
up right, so it was they had nothing to play
for Week five. Probably some merit there for sure. To me,
(27:29):
the biggest question mark is the guy towards his elbow.
Last year, he's thirty seven, thirty eight years old. He
is a guy that struggled to play in sixteen games
over the last decade. Now I'm with you. If you
have a healthy quarterback and a good quarterback on this team,
they're a playoff team. They had one of the best
defense in the league. They have one of the best
(27:50):
pass rushes in the league. Minka is now a star.
They drafted the tackling machine from Michigan last year. When
they trade it up their offense, they got good wide
receivers or offensive line solid. It's just a question on
Ben now, he can't get much worse. Like you said,
you were dead last and offensive efficiency last year. Mason
Rudolph is not a good player. Duck Hodges is probably
(28:12):
not a fifty three man roster guy. So it's Ben
could probably be fifty percent and he's better than those
two guys. But as we saw last year, his arm shattered.
Basically he could not throw a football. So at any
moment with Ben like these, these injuries can just go
and he could just be he can't play. I like,
(28:33):
I have a hard time seeing him play like twelve
games this season. I just do like when we were
growing up and guys would get to his age right
thirty five, thirty six, it would just end. And now
guys like you know Brady and Breeze. We think these
guys can say to the play to their forty it's
just not normal. And Ben has a lot of wear
(28:54):
and terror on his body. I mean, I kind of
like a Cam. Now Cam ran a little bit more,
but once Cam got to his early thirties, like he
was physically shot. And I just think you've seen the
wear and tear for those years like nine, ten, eleven,
twelve thirteen, when Ben was getting destroyed just catches up
to you when you get to your late thirties. I
was just wondering what the NFL becoming such an international platform,
(29:17):
if you could see any more European Asian players being
able to come over and really doing well in the
league without having gone through an American high school college experience.
Would love to hear your thoughts on whether it would
be too challenging or even if it be worthwhile for
teams to look outside the US in the first place.
Love the show, well, it's one thing when a guy's
(29:40):
playing rugby and I have tape of him in New
Zealand or Australia moving around with a ball in his
hands or tackling people. If a guy, let's just say
you have some big athlete in China, well what sport
unless he's playing rugby? If he's just like a big athlete,
how can I see? It'd be difficult. So I don't
(30:04):
see how you scout a guy without him playing a sport,
how he'd even come on the radar or Europe. To me,
you would just have to play rugby. If you're playing rugby,
then people can find you or hear about you. If
you're not playing rugby, to me, it's borderline impossible for
me to figure out who you are because they're I mean,
(30:24):
hundreds of millions of people in this world, especially in
these other countries. They're like a billion people in China.
Like I just I don't know how I figure out
who you are as like a scout or a front office.
If you're not playing an athletic endeavor, I can't. I
can't just find you on the street, you know. I
mean those stories make for like fun legendary tales, like
(30:46):
I think it was Tony Braxton was discovered, maybe it
was Whitney Houston at a gas station just singing like
you're probably not gonna be like you know. I found
my outside linebacker was just on vacation in Spain. Saw
this dude, look six two two fifty. I ask him, Yo,
you want to play football? And the guy's like sure,
and then we bring him back and he plays like
(31:07):
that just not gonna happen. So I think you got
to play a sport to be discovered. I'm a big
Minnesota Vikings fan. I believe Digs and Adam Feeling were
an underrated NFL best wide receiver duo in the past years.
What are your thoughts on that and what do you
believe that Adam Feeling and the new rookie Jordan Jefferson
could do better. Well, I'm pretty sure that Justin Jefferson
(31:28):
will not be as good a player Stefan Dicks because
the last several years he's been one of the best
deep threats in the league. He has elite play speed.
He's just an elite deep threat target. I think he
has fifteen touchdowns the last two years he has. He's
averaging over eighty catches a year. He's just he's not
maybe a top five player, but he's he might I might,
I call him elite, but he's damn good and feeling
(31:50):
is just solid. So you put an elite guy, a
borderline elite guy with feeling you can kick people's asses,
and a good running game and productive tight ends. What
I saw of Justin Jefferson and talking to people in
the league, they saw more of a slot wide receiver
than an outside guy. So Thielen, who's a solid outside
wide receiver, you put with Justin Jefferson in the slot,
(32:10):
and with a couple tight ends IRF Smith and Kyle Rudolph.
You know, you can just play a little bit different.
You might not be as explosive as an offense. Like
down the field. I remember several times last year play
action boom cousins and digs forty yard bomb touchdown. Yeah.
I don't know if that's gonna be happening as much,
but you can matriculate the ball down the field, hit
(32:32):
ten and fifteen yard games with those two guys. Justin
Jefferson's a good player, But is he gonna have the
impact this year of Digs that has had the last
couple of years. I don't see a chance. Now. Can
Cooks do more? I think Madison's the backup running back,
the kid they draft from a Boise State who I like.
I mean, that guy runs his ass off. You got
two good tight ends, cousins, solid player. I think the
(32:53):
offense might have to be better because their defense might
not be as good. I think someone tweeted at me,
I think the Vikings are replacing six starters on defense.
That's a lot for a team that's arguably had one
of the most consistent defensive units in the league last
what six seven years. I think Julio Jones super Bowl
catch has to be one of the best ever. It
was a very critical situation as well, and had the
(33:14):
most skill of a catch I've ever seen a Super Bowl.
Obviously the loss of no one cares. What do you
think do you have any Super Bowl catches above it?
I think during Corona I watched the second half of
that game and it was an insane catch. I would say,
at my lifetime just thinking about it, the catch would
be Santonio Holmes that won the Super Bowl. Ben to
(33:36):
Santonio Holmes in the corner of the end zone and
that's you basically a winning touchdown catch in the corner
of the end zone, keeping both feet in and like
you said, you just get remembered when you win the
Super Bowl. Whether that's fair or not, I'd say the
David Tyree catch would have to be right up there too. Now,
the difference I think Santonio Holmes and Julio Jones feels
(34:00):
a little more like elite skill in a natural position.
I'm not trying to diminish what David Tyree did, but
I think even diehard Giants fans can admit and listen,
I had money on the Giants. There's an element of
luck there right there was just I saw a clip
I was watching some Antonio Brown highlights. Antonio Brown was
so good. If you guys remember there was a Titan
(34:22):
They played the Titans on a Monday night football game,
and he caught a ball, a fade pass against his helmet.
It was a remarkable catch. I mean, it has to
be one of the better catches the last four or
five years. Like, I don't think that was luck. I
think that was skill. I think he'd practice it. I
don't know if David Tyree had ever practiced that, But
the final result, I don't know how you. I mean,
(34:43):
you could argue to one of the great catches in
football history. Hell beside, like Willie Mays and Jim Edmonds,
it might be like a top five catch of all time.
I mean it led to the Giants win the Super
Bowl and me winning fifteen hundred dollars, which in two
thousand and seven my junior senior year in college, might
as well I have been one hundred thousand dollars. Fantastic win.
So I'm indebted to the guy, But I would go
(35:04):
Santonio Holmes one. When you factor in what was on
the line. Now, it's like I hear myself say that
I don't know how David Tyree just he did catch it,
you know, in traffic. So probably one of those. Julio's
a freak, though. Get right to the romance and find
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(35:49):
And we're live here outside the Perez family home, just
waiting for them. And there they go, almost on time.
This morning. Mom is coming off the front door strong
with a double arm kid carry. Looks like Dad has
the bags. Daughter is bringing up the rear. Oh, but
the diaper bag wasn't closed. Diapers and toys are everywhere. Ooh,
(36:10):
but mom has just nailed the perfect car seat buckle
for the toddler. And now the eldest daughter, who looks
to be about nine or ten, has secured herself in
the booster seat. Dad zips the bag clothes and they're off,
But looks like Mom doesn't realize her coffee cup is
still on the roof of the car, and there it goes. Oh,
(36:31):
that's a shame. That mug was a fam favorite. Don't
sweat the small stuff, just nail the big stuff, like
making sure your kids are buckle correctly in the right
seat for their agent's eyes. Learn more at NHTSA dot
gov slash the right Seat visits NHTSA dot gov slash
the Right Seat. Brought to you by Nitza and the
AD Council. What grows in the forest trees, Sure no
(36:53):
one else grows in the forest. Our imagination, our sense
of wonder, and our family bonds grow too, because when
we disconnect from this and connect with this, we reconnect
with each other. The forest is closer than you think.
Find a forest near you and start exploring. I discover
(37:14):
the Forest dot Org. Brought to you by the United
States Forest Service and the AD Council. First of all,
I want to say I love the podcast. I'm a
Charger fan in the Bay Area and want to know
your thoughts on the Chargers making the playoffs this year.
Taylor was a pretty good quarterback for Buffalo, but I'm
hesitant to think that he can take us to the playoffs.
In the FC, Coward says, we have a great roster,
but I think but I would like a former scouts
(37:37):
thoughts also like Herbert, but just think the best situation
for rookies to sit for a year. Just think about this.
How many teams can say their top six or seven
players are this good. Bosa, Derwin, James Ingram Keenan Allen Hunter, Henry,
Mike Williams. I'm probably missing I'm probably missing some guys
(37:59):
casey a word like, they have elite impact players, elite
impact players, even Kenneth Murray, the guy they draft him
from Oklahoma late in the first round. That guy is
gonna be a stud. Now. Their offensive line is not great,
but that's why they want a mobile quarterback. I'm not
the biggest Tyrod Taylor guy. If Tyrod Taylor's a starting quarterback,
like at most, you're gonna win nine or ten games,
(38:21):
and that's if your team is loaded, and their team's
pretty loaded. But the guy hasn't played much really the
last couple of years, obviously because he's been back up
for Rivers. Are we sure that Justin Herbert's not better
than him right now? It's not like Justin Herbert was
a redshirt sophomore's he was a senior. He was a
four year starter in Oregon four years. Just put him
in the game, let him play. You got Hunter Henry,
(38:43):
you got Keenan Allen. You got what's the little running
back's name, Austin Ekeler. You got Mike Williams who's a
jump all wide receiver. The deck's pretty loaded for him
and he's mobile, So unlike Rivers, who was a statue.
Justin Herbert can run and move. I would just start
Justin Herbert from the jump. I used to be a
(39:03):
decade ago. Let the guy sit, let the guy sit,
Let the guy sit in twenty twenty four year starter,
spread offenses, let the kids play. Man. Just put him
in there. You drafted him six overall. Worst case scenario,
Tyrod's got to come in if it's he's a little overwhelmed.
But I think we just have too much information over
the last four or five years. These guys play early,
(39:25):
and these guys succeed early. You know, you put young
quarterbacks in now. This year is a little weird. There're
no offseason, so maybe I'm being a little too bullish,
but I would have a quick trigger finger to have
Herbert in there. I don't draft guys in the top
ten at quarterback to watch him sit now. Two up
is a little different to meet. Two Ah had a
(39:46):
dislocated hip. It could have like ended his career. I'm
being cautious with him. He couldn't work out during the
combine or whatever. Herbert's ready to roll. I lean throw
Herbert in as quickly as possible and get him playing.
Appreciate everyone listening, have a great weekend, enjoy some baseball,
Enjoy the weekend, enjoy the summer as much as possibly
(40:09):
can during these trying times. And as Hank Williams Junior said,
let's get ready for some football. It's right around the corner. Peace.
(40:38):
If you love to be remembered as the person who
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that one eight hundred flowers dot com is your ultimate
birthday gifting destination. One eight hundred flowers has thoughtful and
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(41:02):
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