October 19, 2024 • 39 mins
John opens the weekend with a massive mailbag. He answers your questions about inter-conference London games, what the Colts QB situation should look like next season, how should Seattle handle their future and much more during today's podcast that is exclusively mailbag questions.
Follow John on Twitter, Instagram and YouTube for the latest. Check out Gametime - the fastest growing ticketing app in the US, and the official ticketing app of 3 & Out and GoLow - for tickets to all of your favorite NFL, NBA, NHL, NCAA teams. Concert and comedy show tickets, too. Go to Gametime now to create an account, download the app and use code JOHN for $20 off your first purchase. #Volume #Herd
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
The volume. The roller coaster of an NFL season is
moving right along, and it promises to be a month
full of tricks, treats, and of course, touchdowns. At DraftKings
Sportsbook and official sports betting partner of the NFL, is
the number one place to bet touchdowns. Running it from
the one or an eighty yard bomb. We don't care
(00:23):
how they score touchdowns. We want to bet on them.
DraftKings hurt us and is delivering Ready to place your
first bet. Try betting on something simple like a player
to score a touchdown. Go to DraftKings Sportsbook app and
make your pick. Here's a reason for new customers to
do a touchdown dance of their own. Bet five bucks
to get two hundred in bonus bets. Instantly score big
(00:44):
with DraftKings Sportsbook, the number one place to bet touchdowns.
Download the Draftking Sportsbook app and use the code John.
That's code John for new customers to get two hundred
in bonus bets when you bet just five bucks only on.
Speaker 2 (00:57):
DraftKings gambling problem call Hendred Gambler in New York call
eight seven seven eight Hope and Y or text hope
and Y four six seven three six nine In Connecticut.
Help is available for problem gambling call eight eight eight
seven eight nine seven seven seven seven or visit CCPG
dot org. Please play responsibly on behalf of Boothill, Casino
and Resorting Kansas twenty one and over. Agent eligibility varies
by jurisdiction. Void in New Hampshire, Oregon. In Ontario, bonus
(01:20):
bets expire one hundred and sixty eight hours after issuance.
For additional terms and responsible gaming resources, see DKNG dot co.
Slash ft Ball. NFL Plus Premium offer available only to
new and former NFL Plus subscribers. Additional NFL Plus premium
terms at NFL dot com slash terms.
Speaker 1 (01:45):
Okay, let's do a little weekend mail bag because I
just had so many questions. Wanted to bank some out
and uh, sometimes some of them don't hold as well
after a weekend of games, so I need to get
them through. And we didn't have any put on Friday's podcast,
so sometimes we put out a Saturday morning mail bag.
(02:06):
And that's kind of what this is. Well, no, not
kind of that, that is exactly what this is. I
wanted to go through, you guys know the drill my
instagram DMS at John Middlecoff is my Instagram. Fire in
those dms and get your questions answered here on the show.
I'm gonna start with Jeffrey, do you think that Ashton
Genty will become a top ten pick in this year's draft.
(02:30):
I understand that draft wise teams don't pick running backs
high anymore because of their short careers. However, this season
is shown if you have a running game, everything else
will follow. I was texting with a scouting buddy probably
a month ago, and we were talking about him, and
(02:51):
I don't know if he was joking or not, but
he claimed that Genty was closer to five to six
than he was, like five eight, five nine. There are
question marks about the height of this player. I need
to text some people that have been to practice and
seen how tall he is, because he's not very tall,
so let's even give him the benefit of doubt. Of
(03:13):
me in five seven or five eight, you're not going
to see a player that short get drafted that high.
And when I did some digging, like the running backs
at Ohio State are pretty highly thought of, Washington and Iowa, like,
there are some really good running backs in this class.
I'm a Mountain West guy. It was the whack when
(03:35):
I was a prisoner State and I have a soft
spot for Boise State, but like they are playing shitty programs. Now,
this guy is incredible and he is dominating. But two
things I feel pretty confident on one. There is no
(03:56):
chance that a Boise State player, he could rush for
seven million yards, is going to get the Heisman. And
it's not his fault, but it's just they are going
to discriminate against this competition, which is fair, Like it's
you're playing some of these teams. It's just not the
same Like, that's just that's a reality of the level
(04:18):
of football they're at. Not necessarily the program. Historically boys,
he's been really really good, but if they had played
you know, power for conference schedule, they would get more credit.
It is much more difficult playing in the Big ten,
the SEC. I was gonna say, the Pac twelve. It
doesn't even exist, these conferences that are playing real teams.
(04:40):
So that's gonna hurt him, and his heights is gonna
hurt him. Now I gotta do more digging to get
his exact measurements. But I think there's a chance that
there are other running backs that are also drafted. He
might not be the first running back off the board.
It's crazy as that sounds, and I'm a huge fan.
I mean, I think what he's doing is incredible. Every
time he looks Saturday, because I'm not watching the Bois games,
(05:01):
it's like, Oh, let's check in on him. First quarter,
He's got ninety five yards and two touchdowns, like seven
minutes into the game. But I think there are some
other prospects. From what I've heard, it's an excellent running
back draft with dudes that are massive and dominant, so
the gent knock is going to be level of competition.
Like I was at Fresno State when Ryan Matthews got drafted,
(05:24):
I think he was twelve. I'm pretty sure he was
the highest drafted running back in his draft in twenty ten,
and he was a smaller school guy. But Ryan Matthews
was also almost six feet tall and two hundred and
twenty five pounds, so it's it's just difficult when you
are a smaller player. My comp for genty is Darren Sproles,
(05:48):
and Darren Sproles played in the league for like fifteen
years now. He went in the fourth round because it
was viewed a lot differently. I think this guy could
easily go depending on how tall he is. Like, if
you're you're just not getting a short running back getting
drafted in like top fifteen, it's just not happening. And
(06:09):
then you go, Okay, once we get to like eighteen
to thirty two, are these playoff teams gonna draft them?
It just these conversations are not easy, you know. I mean,
if the Falcons could do it all over again, be
John Robinson's a stud, sa Quan's a stud? Would you
draft these guys as high as they did? Christian McCaffrey's
(06:31):
like a Hall of Fame level talent. Do you think
the Panthers would like to read you on that pick?
Question for the back about the London Games? What are
your thoughts on the NFC versus AFC London games? An
inter conference London game being scheduled beans the teams can
possibly go sixteen years without playing in one city. The
(06:55):
Steelers didn't play in Minnesota from two thousand and five
to twenty twenty one because they're twenty thirteen meeting at
Minnesota was in London. I'm not a huge fan of
that and think that the London Games for that reason
should be limited to teams from within the same conference
and maybe even divisional rivalries. I think that to me,
(07:20):
that only impacts people that are season ticket holders or
people that go to games right or live. If you're
if I'm using your example, the Steelers didn't play in Minnesota.
Are you a Steeler fan that lives in Minnesota? So
it's very personal to you. Because to me, as someone
that just I consume my football ninety nine point nine
(07:43):
percent on the couch, the venue, if it's in London
or if it's in Minnesota or Pittsburgh doesn't impact my
watching like this Chiefs Niner game. Can't wait for it.
If you told me it was in Mexico City, it
wouldn't impact the way I viewed it, right, But if
I was a Bay Area guy and I was he's
a ticket holder, it's like I don't get the Chiefs game,
(08:06):
I'd be pissed off. I also think, you know where
it's changed a little bit is the seventeenth game has
added an AFC opponent, which is obviously still a little random.
It's you know, based on a rotation of where you
finished on that given year. With that, you know, separate
division in a different conference. But I hear what you're saying, I,
(08:32):
I'm kind of indifferent. I don't really care. It's not
something that bothers me. But I can understand from the
fan side of it is a big deal to host
uncommon opponents from the other conference. It's really cool, right
if you're Minnesota hosting the Steelers, the Chiefs, the Bills,
(08:53):
the Ravens, it means something. So I have no problem
if it was just visional games hypothetical for you. My
brother in law and myself were discussing a mythological college
football matchup the twenty twenty two Georgia Bulldogs and the
(09:15):
two thousand and one Miami Hurricanes. Now, I know this
Miami team is widely considered the best college football team
of all time, but I find it hard to believe
that they would be able to keep up with the
swiftness and complexity of the twenty two Georgia team, as
in like Taylor Swift if the game was played within
(09:37):
the current college football rules. I think it's hard to
do these matchups college or pro these hypotheticals, because in
two thousand and one, I could fucking murder you. I
could murder you on the field. I could I could
destroy you helmet to helmet and then look over your
(09:57):
body and laugh at you. Now, if I tackle you
a little bit hard, I get a fifteen yard penalty
and I get tossed out of the game. So it's
it's very difficult to do the hypotheticals based on the rules, right.
I would say, similar quarterback situation Dorsey Bennett. I feel
(10:19):
like Miami, it's early, we'll see how this ages. But
had more higher end players then. I mean two of
Georgia's think about this, George's best player or best NFL
prospect was widely considered Jalen Carter. Now Walker also went
(10:41):
number one, and he's kind of coming into his own.
It's a good question. Yeah, Ken Dorsey's quarterback running back
room was pretty good. I would say Portis mcgahey and
Gore not bad. Wide receiver wise, Andre Johnson pretty good,
Jeremy Shockey not bad. Ton of talent. I think offensively,
(11:04):
I would give the nod to Miami defensively. Is there
one player on that Georgia team that will be viewed
as good as ed Reed? I would probably say no,
Antre role Vilma. I mean Jordan Davis, Jalen Carter. I
just I wonder if that team was elite college and
(11:27):
those guys were big time NFL prospects. I think part
of the way we look at two thousand and one
was like, all those dudes went to the league and dominated,
Like and I mean Ed Reid's one of the greatest
players of all time. Keep up the fantastic work, and please,
for the love of God, get Big Dom and Sirianni
out of my life. I gotta push back on Big Dom. Honestly,
(11:49):
Big Dom, I know he's become so famous now and
he's on TV a lot, and now everyone knows his name.
He is as cool as I can't describe to you,
you know. Being someone from California that went to Philadelphia,
I didn't know a soul. Honestly. The only guy I
knew was the guy that got me the job, and
(12:11):
he was a college scout. He didn't work at the office,
so I didn't know anybody. And Big Dom is as
down to earth and cool and helpful. I mean, you
hear all these guys like the Jason Kelces and the
older players. Chris Long talks a lot about it, how
much they love Dom. Obviously, guys like Dom help out
the players anything. I ever needed. My first year in
(12:34):
Philly in twenty ten, I don't know if it was
twenty or twenty five K. It was one of those
two numbers, no health benefits. I was fucking the easily,
coaching wise and personnel wise, and we were all in
the same office. The lowest guy in the totem pole,
the only guy who was my equal, who was also
(12:54):
an intern, who obviously wasn't my equal. When you hear
the name was Douce Daley, so me and both. He
was the lowest guy in the coaching totem pole. I
was the lowest guy in the personnel totem pole. The
difference is Duce to play in the league for about
a decade and Uh immediately rose up the chains. Duice
to the man. But Dom he treated me and still
(13:15):
does when I see him. Hell, if I shot him
a text, text me right back. He's cool. Like if
you knew Dom or around Dom, you love. I don't
know anyone who's been around that worked for the Eagles
as a scout, as a coach, as a player that
doesn't really like him. I know it may feel, I
guess to you, like he's annoying to me. He's just not,
Sirianni is dom is not. I love that fucking dude
(13:38):
question for the pod. With the landscape of college football
changing with NIL and the portal, do you think the
NCAA or whatever governing body should put more regulations into
those or do you think it's fine the way it is.
It's a good question. One the NIL think how stupid
it was that guys weren't allowed to make money off
their name, image and likeness like the NCAA and the
(14:01):
money they make, or in the schools from television, which
is a lot. Right if I have a deal with
Fox or CBS or ABC, I don't give any of
that to the players, so any of the money they make.
Maybe schools were scared that that money would take away
from the money they would also get from boosters. Clearly
it hasn't changed anything, and it is zero sweat off
(14:25):
the school or the network's back. Think about the NFL
or the NBA or any sports. It's like Tiger Woods,
the PGA Tour didn't have to pay him a penny
that Buick and Nike and all the like Patrick Mahomes
or Curry. You don't have to do all the money
they make off the field has nothing to do with
(14:46):
the sports league. And to me, the transfer portal, I
could understand working in the business would drive you nuts.
It would make it very, very difficult on a staff.
And think how impossible it would be to keep as
second and third string are happy. It just be human nature.
It'd be like some hot chick having three boyfriends. A
(15:07):
couple guys are gonna be like, you know, this kind
of sucks, right, So obviously the person getting the most
attention is gonna be the most happy. You're the starters
like life's good. But if you're the second stringer, like
I want to play, And then you got constant people
in your dms like, hey man, we might not be Georgia,
but it ain't bad here at Florida State, or it's
not bad here. You know. I know you're backing up
(15:29):
at Clemson, but you come here to old miss Shit,
be a starter. We'll give you a little, give you
a couple hundred g's too. What are you supposed to
do against that? It's like, well, we can pay you,
but you're still not gonna start because Middlekoff is still here.
He's got one more year of eligibility. So I think
it's it's difficult on coaching staffs that way, but it
(15:52):
has made the sport more enjoyable because, let's face it,
I can just speak to like the last twenty five
years when I've watched college football really closely, and even
when I was really young, the same three or four
teams dominated. Think of what a huge upset it was,
like when Florida State would lose one game or Miami
(16:15):
I mean honestly, on any given game. I'm recording this
before Georgia Texas, like when shock you if Georgia wins
and Texas lose loses, or Tennessee beats Alabama or Bama
beats Tennessee or all these who knows, like anything can
happen anyway because there's so much more talent. Isn't that
the NFL's greatest strength. It's like, yeah, the it's not crazy.
(16:37):
The Giants could be like the equivalent in college of
the Giants playing the Eagles. That spread would be like
fifteen points, twenty points since the NFL, So yeah, they
got good players too, they got a good coach three points,
And I want college to become more and more like that.
It makes it more interesting to watch the games when
you know, it's just not fun to watch watch Team
(17:01):
X play Team Y with a thirty point point spread
and it have would be forty to three at half time.
No one wins in that environment, Nobody like. Part of
what makes football so awesome at the highest level is like,
obviously the Chiefs have won a couple of Super Bowls,
but it is they've had this skate bye by the
skin of their teeth. So I actually think the nil whatever. Obviously,
(17:27):
the nil and the transfer portal are directly correlated because
guys get in the transfer porter to get paid. I
think Stefanski is a very good coach. Do you think
this whole Watson situation causes him to resign even if
(17:47):
he isn't fired. I think he has a I think
he would be a hot commodity for other teams. Here's
the problem. If you're the Browns, Let's say Stefanski wanted
to pull like a uh Sean Payton and just say
I quit. I think you'd have to entice them to stay,
because who in their right mind would want that job?
(18:12):
It's like, what you mean, Okay, he quit? Why because
of the quarterback that now you have to coach? They
owe him forty five million dollars guaranteed for the next
two years. I think it's forty six. But the money
that that doesn't matter as much to the coach or
the GM. It's the owner's money. It's the cap implications.
So you're just stuck with this guy that no one
(18:34):
wants to play that let's face it, no one really likes.
Feels very scummy. When you just talk about him or
think about him, it's a disaster. So I I when
you tell me the Cleveland brown you just say the
Cleveland Browns. I just say everything's on the table. They're
one of those franchises right now. Nothing would shock me,
(18:55):
absolutely nothing. Is it crazy to say that qu yours
is the biggest weakness on the Texas roster. No, I
think thee is. I'm not saying that he's bad in
any way, but I think the only big question mark
is how he will perform in these big games. Last
year for Washington, he had a fifty five percent completion
(19:16):
percentage and only had one one yard TD to Ady Mitchell.
I am not confident in him being a top quarterback
when the pocket breaks down and he has to make plays. Yeah,
the Oklahoma game, he had a couple of plays where
the pocket broke down and he scrambled. One air mailed
that led to a I mean it was a bad
(19:36):
air mail too that was an interception, and another one
while the game was somewhat still in the balance in
the first half, he just completely air mailed. So now
he was coming off a long absence. One thing that
was clear being at the Texas game was the size
and speed of everyone. So you just removed the quarterback,
(19:58):
I would be hard pressed. I don't know Ohio State's
roster as well as some if you're listening in your
diehod Ohio State fan, but if that's considered, you know
in Oregon went toe to toe with them. I mean,
these are the best rosters in college football. I would
say Texas at worst has the equal to whoever has
(20:19):
the best roster, and then more than likely they have
the best roster. Their team's speed on defense was pretty
eye opening. The linebackers, I mean range and physicality. Their
dbs could cover all their wide receivers. It wasn't just
that they had wide receivers, it was the body types
on the wide receivers, like they could break tackles. They
(20:41):
had a tight end that made a couple of plays.
The running back twenty six was sweet. I was blown away.
I mean I had heard about it, But once you
go to a game live, you're like, Jesus, this team
looks good. So if Quinn Yewers plays well, Sarks an
excellent play caller, and one he did in the Oklahoma
game is like, yeah, Quinn was a little offerly. You
(21:02):
know what he did. Started running the ball, It started
throwing quick screens. You know what happened. They score touchdowns. Now,
if you're listening to this before the Georgia game, can
they get by and win a game? But here's the thing,
like think of like Georgia's quarterback, like that he's I'd
probably rather have Quinn yours than Carson back. So it's
not like their quarterback, but what the hell is the
(21:23):
difference of the two guys. That's the thing, Like you're
not playing. When you think of some of the great
national championship teams, like if the twenty nineteen LSU Tigers
were playing, you'd be like, well, no one's gonna beat
him because no one can go to tote with them
quarterback wise, right, you think of some of those like
(21:45):
Trevor Lawrence and Deshaun Watson Clemson teams. Those guys were
actually good in college or Tua at at Alabama. They
could just score a lot of points because they could
really pick you apart. I just don't know if anyone
in college football can consistently in a big game. We're
gonna find out this weekend's a good one to do that.
I was listening to your take on the Colts Flackoversus Richardson,
(22:05):
and as a diehard Colts fan, I couldn't disagree more.
Everyone is hopping on the Flacco bandwagon because he's hit
a few big touchdowns, But last time I checked, he's
almost forty and just lost to the Jags. The fucking Jags.
What was the final score of that game? Though? It
was thirty seven to thirty four, So he just lost
(22:27):
to the Jags. He went thirty three of forty four
for three hundred and sixty yards and three touchdowns in
that game. I would put it that Stike in and
Gus Bradley lost to the Jags. Joe Flacco did not.
Joe Flacco played winning football. He offers absolutely no benefit
to the Colts beyond this season. I would disagree there too.
(22:47):
I think you're resigning him in a heartbeat, and with
our worst in the league defense, we aren't winning anything
of consequence this year with Flacco or Richardson. It's weird
to me that the media in general is praisy Flacco
right after ripping Ballard and the Colts for going with
older quarterbacks the last five years. It makes no sense
(23:08):
give Richardson the reps in hope to improve consistency. Passer,
I think you're missing the plot here. Ballard gets crushed
because one they just don't win at all, and the
old quarterbacks he signed, h Jacoby, Matty Ice Rivers actually
wasn't terrible that year, even though he was kind of
(23:29):
he was somewhat of a shell of himself, not to
the levels of Matty Ice. But Joe Flacco's better than
all those guys the way he's playing right now, and
he does give you the best chance to win on
a weekly basis. No one disagrees that. Listen, you draft
this guy fourth overall, you got to see what he has.
You got to invest in him, and the only way
to invest in him is to let him play. I
(23:51):
don't I don't disagree with you. Are you winning anything
in the playoffs, of course not, but would making the
playoffs be a pretty big deal for your franchise kinda
do they need to make the playoffs if you're Chris
Balder to keep your job. I don't know, but I
think there are a lot of different variables here. And
you use the Jags game, No, the defense and the
head coach lost because I'm looking at Flacco. He was.
(24:15):
I mean, you had no business being in that game
if it wasn't for him. I think the scary thing is,
which I think is fair to bring up if you're
a Colts fan, It's like, okay, we just Anthony Richardson.
Now you could argue if he goes down in flames
over the next couple of years, everyone screwed. But like,
what if you roll him back out and he struggles. Obviously,
best case you roll him back out and he's awesome.
(24:37):
But I think Flacco should be just the whole situation
should be praised for him being there. How he talks about,
like listen, if they need me to go back to
the bench. He's the ultimate teammate. He's everything the Browns
should want, and they had, and he carried them to
the playoffs and then they booted him out. So if
I I think it's less controversial about like this Flacco
(25:00):
conversation and more like, I think it's a pretty awesome
deal the way it's played out. Because you know, for
most backups that you would have had, your season might
be over because it Richson went out, you guys are
already kind of struggling. You could have just lost all
the games. But I hear you like, I don't think
(25:20):
anyone's crazy for going. Why don't we just play Anthony Richardson? Like, yeah, fine.
My whole point is just be prepared to lose. If
the Bears beat the Commanders, Diard Bears fan, If the
Bears beat the Commanders, are they legit? In your opinion?
This game has my interest at an all time high
(25:43):
because of the constant comparisons between Jayden Daniels and Caleb Williams.
If we beat the Commanders, there is a great chance
that we could be seven and two before Green Bay
in week eleven. What are your thoughts, So let's bring
up the old Chicago schedule, so they are currently on
(26:05):
a buy then they played at Washington. That would be
an excellent win. That would be by far of all
four of your wins Titans, Rams, Panthers, Jags considerably more
impactful in my opinion to judging your future of the season,
best win by far. Then you go to the Arizona
(26:27):
come out here to play the Cards, probably a win, Patriots,
probably a win. And then your schedule gets tough Packers,
Vikings at home, at Lions, at Niners at Minnesota, Lions,
Seahawks at Packers. So here's the key. If you can
(26:50):
get to seven and two or six and three. If
you get to seven and two, you're almost like, how
are you not gonna get minimum nine to eight? If
you get to six in three, you got a pretty
good shot to get to I would say nine and
eight's as well, because if you're six and three, you
got eight games left. All you'd have to do is
(27:10):
go three and five and you'd be nine and eight,
which would be which would be impressive, especially if you know,
we'll see how it plays out over the next couple
of weeks, but you're probably gonna be an underdog in
a lot of those games with the Packers, with the Lions,
and with Minnesota. So part of taking a step as
a franchise, even if you lose a lot of those
(27:32):
games in the Niner game included if you're able to
beat the shit out of the teams you're supposed to
beat the shit out of and have an upset or
two down the stretch getting to nine and eight, think
how much better you'd feel about this team than the
situation last year, which was the fakest run I've ever seen.
(27:53):
So yeah, I mean I I think you should be
pretty excited about the future. I keep here hearing you
say the Raiders should have a fire sale for all
the blue chip players. I get sometimes it's best to
get as many picks as possible. But haven't we seen
in recent years teams pick a quarterback in the top
five and become a playoff team that year. The Texans
(28:15):
and the Commanders come to mind, Why can't Vegas do
the same? I don't feel like the cupboards are bare.
We still have a pass catcher, a star defensive end,
and a left tackle, along with some emerging offensive line pieces. Well,
if you think about it, what did the Let's use
the Commanders as an example. Think who they traded Montes Sweat.
(28:36):
They got a second round pick for Chase Young, they
got a third round pick for so They literally traded
those two guys last year the part of having a
rookie quarterback, and the Texans have Tamiko Ryans, who I'm
sorry is just dramatically better than your coach. So I
(28:58):
also think that how did they also the Texans get better? Well,
they hit on Nico Collins, who was already on the team,
in a later round draft pick, and they drafted Tank
Dell in the third round. So my point is that
if you can get more, I'm not just giving away
Crosby for a second round pick, but if the Lions
(29:18):
would give me two ones for Max Crosby, I drive
him to the airport. The left tackle thing, you can
convince me just keep Colton Miller. Okay, I'm not against that,
but like Max Crosby on this team, when the defense
is just hideous and going nowhere fast, what does it
(29:40):
do for you? The other thing is like how much
longer can Max just dominate? If you felt good about it,
like six or seven years? Okay, but the way he
plays already starting to get a little banged up. Do
you maximize now and just turn the page now? Listen.
I'll be the first to always argue when you trade
these guys, the whole point of a draft is to
(30:01):
land to Max Crosby. But you didn't have to get
the top five pick to land Max Crosby. What did
you get them the fifth round? Did you draft a
pass rusher in the top ten? Tyree Wilson from the
text sec Kid, how's that working out for you? So
it just sometimes having more, you know, bites at the
Apple is the way to do this. And again I'm
(30:24):
talking about premium picks. There's a difference between having a
fire sale like just giving away Amari Cooper for a
third round pick, like the Browns, just get some value,
move on. That's not what I'm talking about here. I'm
talking about if you can get a boatload of compensation.
Max Crosby, here's two ones, Cold Miller, here's a first
round pick. If you can do that type stuff, I
(30:46):
think one, you're just it's gross negligence if you're just
not immediately having a big time meeting in two. You know,
if they lose a couple more games, like could argue
it's just be the right move and then just start
from scratch. Now, the problem is Antonio Pierce, Like, is
(31:09):
he gonna be your coach for the next five years?
When you just say that out loud. It's hard to
It's like, I don't know, been watching the pod for
a couple of years now. I came across this post
on Instagram and it got me thinking about how there
was no number one picks in the graphic. After looking
into the past number one overall picks and seeing teams
(31:34):
move down a couple spots, do you think more teams
may do this in the future of drafts with no
Locke generational talents like Caleb Williams or Trevor Lawrence. So basically,
this graphic is the best picks in each NFL draft,
and it starts with like twenty twenty four, which I
was I'm not even gonna read the Person twenty twenty three,
(31:56):
c J. Stroud twenty twenty two, Sauce Gardner twenty twenty one,
Pine Sewell twenty twenty, Justin Jefferson twenty nineteen, Max Crosby
twenty eighteen, Lamar Jackson twenty seventeen, Patrick Mahomes, you guys
get where I'm going. Tyreek Hill, Stefan dis Aaron Donald,
Travis Kelce. I think part of trading down is easy
(32:22):
when you have a quarterback. So if I have a
quarterback that I like. It's easy to move back when
I don't have a quarterback that I like. I feel
my franchise is just kind of spinning in the wind
and we're not gaining any traction. We're not moving forward.
So part of trading up for a quarterback, even though
the risk is well established, at best, it's a coin flip,
(32:47):
and in recent memory it's the stats are actually much
lower than coin flips. But it doesn't it make sense
why all these people do it? And it's gonna happen again.
People are gonna trade up for Shadoor, people are gonna
trade up for Camps, just kind of the way the
business works. So I hear you. I think it's easy
to say once you look back, but at the time,
(33:08):
it's like, well, why don't I just trade back for
the next Aaron Donald or Justin Jefferson, or maybe I
trade up and I land Jaden Daniels, diired Hawks fan.
Like many other teams, right now, the Seahawks are stuck
in a dark place of being good, being too good
for a premium pick, but not good enough to truly
compete for Super Bowl. With the way the draft is
(33:31):
looking right now, I don't see any quarterbacks have that
elite arm talent that Schneider seems to cove it to
succeed Gino, who Schneider obviously is hesitant to commit to.
Hesitant Schneider ain't committing to him long term. But I
know what you mean. With the new coaching staff coming in,
what do you think a mid team like the Seahawks
should do to get out of this eight nine win
(33:55):
season range? Well, let's use an example of the Chiefs,
who were a better version of you with Alex Smith.
How did they change their fortunes? They didn't have the
number one overall pick, they were going to the playoffs,
so they were drafting. They weren't winning in the playoffs,
(34:16):
but they were drafting typically somewhere between nineteen and twenty four,
and they traded up twelve spots or ten spots to
get Patrick Mahomes and for a year he sat behind
Alex Smith. Couldn't you guys do something like that, find
a quarterback that these guys like you don't have to
(34:37):
trade up to one, just go from like twenty to ten,
or what if johns Shonnier like Sam Donald? Is Sam
Donald better than this Geno Smith? And the argument might
be no, too very close under the same umbrella. The
answer is is hard. It's really really hard. The only
(34:59):
way you make it out. The only way you make
it out has either become like an all time great
defense and where Gino can just have you be like
an eleven twelve win team, which is probably not gonna happen,
or upgraded quarterback. And I think the only way you
upgrade a quarterback is laying someone in the draft, And
(35:20):
obviously there's gotta be some luck to it, but he's
gonna like one of these quarterbacks sooner or later. And
the other thing is Ryan Grubb has success with Pennix,
who a couple of years ago people thought would be
like a not even a drafted player. A couple years
later he goes eighth overall. So maybe you you know,
part of having a great offensive coordinator. Now the problem
(35:42):
would be if he has success, he probably would get hired.
But it's like, why can't you find your brock party.
You're Dak Prescott, You're Russell Wilson. Again, let's face it,
how did Seattle get good. They hit on a bunch
of defensive guys who defense became elite, and they got
Russells in the third round, So I think I think
(36:03):
sometimes we overthink it with how difficult it is, like
there's luck involved. But yeah, uh, time to discuss revamping
the NFL penalty system. Automatic first downs are incredibly, incredibly punitive.
Defensive holding results in an auto first down, even on
(36:24):
fourth down. When the offense holds, the d has to
choose whether to accept the penalty and give them another
chance without losing it down. What the f are we
even doing here? Totally agree. I feel like this guy's
my spirit animal. The rules have become one sided that
I don't even respect great offensive performances. The table is
(36:45):
so slanted, by the way. The red line discussion after
Mike and Aaron gave me a thought, paint the red
lines on the field. If a quarterback goes past them,
the play is dead, but they can get hit unless
they slide or reach the side long. That would stop
the slimy crawling along the sideline looking for flax. They
(37:06):
should be a buffer. Listen, all this stuff is so true,
and these penalties are driving us all nuts. But the
reality of where we stand with the rules, with the game,
with the league office, it's not going to change so
we either stop watching it, which numbers would say more
(37:27):
people are watching than ever, or we just accept it
and be pissed off all the time, which is kind
of where I land. But it's just not going to change.
It's just not because the only thing the league cares about,
the only I'm not talking about like coaches or gms
or players. I'm talking about roj and as business people
(37:50):
money and they're about to sell I would bet in
the next couple of years a London package. There's a billy.
What if they sell to Sunday night games? What if
they sell to Monday night games? It ain't slowing down.
Thoroughly enjoy the pod. Thanks for giving us entertainment suggestion
(38:11):
for the pod. I really like penthouse out house. Maybe
it would be even more fun if you say, divvyed
it up the penthouse and the outhouse, in the areas
within the penthouse in the outhouse. So we'll let you
talk about more teams. I don't mind that. What's the
number one area in a house slash penthouse, the kitchen,
(38:31):
the living room, the master bedroom slash bathroom. What would
be the I think you're onto something there, So maybe
they're in the roped off VIP section other teams who
earned the spot in the penhouse. Yeah, I think I
like this guy, Tony. You're a smart man, Lions cutting
(38:52):
it up, hitting on girls who are in the elevator
on the way to the top floor. Let the room
be flexible. Uh. This would allow you to talk about
literally any team you want and have an opinion on,
and will allow you to tell stories and crack a
bunch of fucking jokes. I think we'll end on Tony.
I think he might have figured something out. Have a
(39:13):
great weekend. Talk to you guys Sunday night. The Volume
The volume. The roller coaster of an NFL season is
moving right along, and it promises to be a month
full of tricks, treats, and of course, touchdowns. At DraftKings
Sportsbook and official sports betting partner of the NFL, is
the number one place to bet touchdowns. Running it from
the one or an eighty yard bomb. We don't care
(00:23):
how they score touchdowns. We want to bet on them.
DraftKings hurt us and is delivering Ready to place your
first bet. Try betting on something simple like a player
to score a touchdown. Go to DraftKings Sportsbook app and
make your pick. Here's a reason for new customers to
do a touchdown dance of their own. Bet five bucks
to get two hundred in bonus bets. Instantly score big
(00:44):
with DraftKings Sportsbook, the number one place to bet touchdowns.
Download the Draftking Sportsbook app and use the code John.
That's code John for new customers to get two hundred
in bonus bets when you bet just five bucks only on.
Speaker 2 (00:57):
DraftKings gambling problem call Hendred Gambler in New York call
eight seven seven eight Hope and Y or text hope
and Y four six seven three six nine In Connecticut.
Help is available for problem gambling call eight eight eight
seven eight nine seven seven seven seven or visit CCPG
dot org. Please play responsibly on behalf of Boothill, Casino
and Resorting Kansas twenty one and over. Agent eligibility varies
by jurisdiction. Void in New Hampshire, Oregon. In Ontario, bonus
(01:20):
bets expire one hundred and sixty eight hours after issuance.
For additional terms and responsible gaming resources, see DKNG dot co.
Slash ft Ball. NFL Plus Premium offer available only to
new and former NFL Plus subscribers. Additional NFL Plus premium
terms at NFL dot com slash terms.
Speaker 1 (01:45):
Okay, let's do a little weekend mail bag because I
just had so many questions. Wanted to bank some out
and uh, sometimes some of them don't hold as well
after a weekend of games, so I need to get
them through. And we didn't have any put on Friday's podcast,
so sometimes we put out a Saturday morning mail bag.
(02:06):
And that's kind of what this is. Well, no, not
kind of that, that is exactly what this is. I
wanted to go through, you guys know the drill my
instagram DMS at John Middlecoff is my Instagram. Fire in
those dms and get your questions answered here on the show.
I'm gonna start with Jeffrey, do you think that Ashton
Genty will become a top ten pick in this year's draft.
(02:30):
I understand that draft wise teams don't pick running backs
high anymore because of their short careers. However, this season
is shown if you have a running game, everything else
will follow. I was texting with a scouting buddy probably
a month ago, and we were talking about him, and
(02:51):
I don't know if he was joking or not, but
he claimed that Genty was closer to five to six
than he was, like five eight, five nine. There are
question marks about the height of this player. I need
to text some people that have been to practice and
seen how tall he is, because he's not very tall,
so let's even give him the benefit of doubt. Of
(03:13):
me in five seven or five eight, you're not going
to see a player that short get drafted that high.
And when I did some digging, like the running backs
at Ohio State are pretty highly thought of, Washington and Iowa, like,
there are some really good running backs in this class.
I'm a Mountain West guy. It was the whack when
(03:35):
I was a prisoner State and I have a soft
spot for Boise State, but like they are playing shitty programs. Now,
this guy is incredible and he is dominating. But two
things I feel pretty confident on one. There is no
(03:56):
chance that a Boise State player, he could rush for
seven million yards, is going to get the Heisman. And
it's not his fault, but it's just they are going
to discriminate against this competition, which is fair, Like it's
you're playing some of these teams. It's just not the
same Like, that's just that's a reality of the level
(04:18):
of football they're at. Not necessarily the program. Historically boys,
he's been really really good, but if they had played
you know, power for conference schedule, they would get more credit.
It is much more difficult playing in the Big ten,
the SEC. I was gonna say, the Pac twelve. It
doesn't even exist, these conferences that are playing real teams.
(04:40):
So that's gonna hurt him, and his heights is gonna
hurt him. Now I gotta do more digging to get
his exact measurements. But I think there's a chance that
there are other running backs that are also drafted. He
might not be the first running back off the board.
It's crazy as that sounds, and I'm a huge fan.
I mean, I think what he's doing is incredible. Every
time he looks Saturday, because I'm not watching the Bois games,
(05:01):
it's like, Oh, let's check in on him. First quarter,
He's got ninety five yards and two touchdowns, like seven
minutes into the game. But I think there are some
other prospects. From what I've heard, it's an excellent running
back draft with dudes that are massive and dominant, so
the gent knock is going to be level of competition.
Like I was at Fresno State when Ryan Matthews got drafted,
(05:24):
I think he was twelve. I'm pretty sure he was
the highest drafted running back in his draft in twenty ten,
and he was a smaller school guy. But Ryan Matthews
was also almost six feet tall and two hundred and
twenty five pounds, so it's it's just difficult when you
are a smaller player. My comp for genty is Darren Sproles,
(05:48):
and Darren Sproles played in the league for like fifteen
years now. He went in the fourth round because it
was viewed a lot differently. I think this guy could
easily go depending on how tall he is. Like, if
you're you're just not getting a short running back getting
drafted in like top fifteen, it's just not happening. And
(06:09):
then you go, Okay, once we get to like eighteen
to thirty two, are these playoff teams gonna draft them?
It just these conversations are not easy, you know. I mean,
if the Falcons could do it all over again, be
John Robinson's a stud, sa Quan's a stud? Would you
draft these guys as high as they did? Christian McCaffrey's
(06:31):
like a Hall of Fame level talent. Do you think
the Panthers would like to read you on that pick?
Question for the back about the London Games? What are
your thoughts on the NFC versus AFC London games? An
inter conference London game being scheduled beans the teams can
possibly go sixteen years without playing in one city. The
(06:55):
Steelers didn't play in Minnesota from two thousand and five
to twenty twenty one because they're twenty thirteen meeting at
Minnesota was in London. I'm not a huge fan of
that and think that the London Games for that reason
should be limited to teams from within the same conference
and maybe even divisional rivalries. I think that to me,
(07:20):
that only impacts people that are season ticket holders or
people that go to games right or live. If you're
if I'm using your example, the Steelers didn't play in Minnesota.
Are you a Steeler fan that lives in Minnesota? So
it's very personal to you. Because to me, as someone
that just I consume my football ninety nine point nine
(07:43):
percent on the couch, the venue, if it's in London
or if it's in Minnesota or Pittsburgh doesn't impact my
watching like this Chiefs Niner game. Can't wait for it.
If you told me it was in Mexico City, it
wouldn't impact the way I viewed it, right, But if
I was a Bay Area guy and I was he's
a ticket holder, it's like I don't get the Chiefs game,
(08:06):
I'd be pissed off. I also think, you know where
it's changed a little bit is the seventeenth game has
added an AFC opponent, which is obviously still a little random.
It's you know, based on a rotation of where you
finished on that given year. With that, you know, separate
division in a different conference. But I hear what you're saying, I,
(08:32):
I'm kind of indifferent. I don't really care. It's not
something that bothers me. But I can understand from the
fan side of it is a big deal to host
uncommon opponents from the other conference. It's really cool, right
if you're Minnesota hosting the Steelers, the Chiefs, the Bills,
(08:53):
the Ravens, it means something. So I have no problem
if it was just visional games hypothetical for you. My
brother in law and myself were discussing a mythological college
football matchup the twenty twenty two Georgia Bulldogs and the
(09:15):
two thousand and one Miami Hurricanes. Now, I know this
Miami team is widely considered the best college football team
of all time, but I find it hard to believe
that they would be able to keep up with the
swiftness and complexity of the twenty two Georgia team, as
in like Taylor Swift if the game was played within
(09:37):
the current college football rules. I think it's hard to
do these matchups college or pro these hypotheticals, because in
two thousand and one, I could fucking murder you. I
could murder you on the field. I could I could
destroy you helmet to helmet and then look over your
(09:57):
body and laugh at you. Now, if I tackle you
a little bit hard, I get a fifteen yard penalty
and I get tossed out of the game. So it's
it's very difficult to do the hypotheticals based on the rules, right.
I would say, similar quarterback situation Dorsey Bennett. I feel
(10:19):
like Miami, it's early, we'll see how this ages. But
had more higher end players then. I mean two of
Georgia's think about this, George's best player or best NFL
prospect was widely considered Jalen Carter. Now Walker also went
(10:41):
number one, and he's kind of coming into his own.
It's a good question. Yeah, Ken Dorsey's quarterback running back
room was pretty good. I would say Portis mcgahey and
Gore not bad. Wide receiver wise, Andre Johnson pretty good,
Jeremy Shockey not bad. Ton of talent. I think offensively,
(11:04):
I would give the nod to Miami defensively. Is there
one player on that Georgia team that will be viewed
as good as ed Reed? I would probably say no,
Antre role Vilma. I mean Jordan Davis, Jalen Carter. I
just I wonder if that team was elite college and
(11:27):
those guys were big time NFL prospects. I think part
of the way we look at two thousand and one
was like, all those dudes went to the league and dominated,
Like and I mean Ed Reid's one of the greatest
players of all time. Keep up the fantastic work, and please,
for the love of God, get Big Dom and Sirianni
out of my life. I gotta push back on Big Dom. Honestly,
(11:49):
Big Dom, I know he's become so famous now and
he's on TV a lot, and now everyone knows his name.
He is as cool as I can't describe to you,
you know. Being someone from California that went to Philadelphia,
I didn't know a soul. Honestly. The only guy I
knew was the guy that got me the job, and
(12:11):
he was a college scout. He didn't work at the office,
so I didn't know anybody. And Big Dom is as
down to earth and cool and helpful. I mean, you
hear all these guys like the Jason Kelces and the
older players. Chris Long talks a lot about it, how
much they love Dom. Obviously, guys like Dom help out
the players anything. I ever needed. My first year in
(12:34):
Philly in twenty ten, I don't know if it was
twenty or twenty five K. It was one of those
two numbers, no health benefits. I was fucking the easily,
coaching wise and personnel wise, and we were all in
the same office. The lowest guy in the totem pole,
the only guy who was my equal, who was also
(12:54):
an intern, who obviously wasn't my equal. When you hear
the name was Douce Daley, so me and both. He
was the lowest guy in the coaching totem pole. I
was the lowest guy in the personnel totem pole. The
difference is Duce to play in the league for about
a decade and Uh immediately rose up the chains. Duice
to the man. But Dom he treated me and still
(13:15):
does when I see him. Hell, if I shot him
a text, text me right back. He's cool. Like if
you knew Dom or around Dom, you love. I don't
know anyone who's been around that worked for the Eagles
as a scout, as a coach, as a player that
doesn't really like him. I know it may feel, I
guess to you, like he's annoying to me. He's just not,
Sirianni is dom is not. I love that fucking dude
(13:38):
question for the pod. With the landscape of college football
changing with NIL and the portal, do you think the
NCAA or whatever governing body should put more regulations into
those or do you think it's fine the way it is.
It's a good question. One the NIL think how stupid
it was that guys weren't allowed to make money off
their name, image and likeness like the NCAA and the
(14:01):
money they make, or in the schools from television, which
is a lot. Right if I have a deal with
Fox or CBS or ABC, I don't give any of
that to the players, so any of the money they make.
Maybe schools were scared that that money would take away
from the money they would also get from boosters. Clearly
it hasn't changed anything, and it is zero sweat off
(14:25):
the school or the network's back. Think about the NFL
or the NBA or any sports. It's like Tiger Woods,
the PGA Tour didn't have to pay him a penny
that Buick and Nike and all the like Patrick Mahomes
or Curry. You don't have to do all the money
they make off the field has nothing to do with
(14:46):
the sports league. And to me, the transfer portal, I
could understand working in the business would drive you nuts.
It would make it very, very difficult on a staff.
And think how impossible it would be to keep as
second and third string are happy. It just be human nature.
It'd be like some hot chick having three boyfriends. A
(15:07):
couple guys are gonna be like, you know, this kind
of sucks, right, So obviously the person getting the most
attention is gonna be the most happy. You're the starters
like life's good. But if you're the second stringer, like
I want to play, And then you got constant people
in your dms like, hey man, we might not be Georgia,
but it ain't bad here at Florida State, or it's
not bad here. You know. I know you're backing up
(15:29):
at Clemson, but you come here to old miss Shit,
be a starter. We'll give you a little, give you
a couple hundred g's too. What are you supposed to
do against that? It's like, well, we can pay you,
but you're still not gonna start because Middlekoff is still here.
He's got one more year of eligibility. So I think
it's it's difficult on coaching staffs that way, but it
(15:52):
has made the sport more enjoyable because, let's face it,
I can just speak to like the last twenty five
years when I've watched college football really closely, and even
when I was really young, the same three or four
teams dominated. Think of what a huge upset it was,
like when Florida State would lose one game or Miami
(16:15):
I mean honestly, on any given game. I'm recording this
before Georgia Texas, like when shock you if Georgia wins
and Texas lose loses, or Tennessee beats Alabama or Bama
beats Tennessee or all these who knows, like anything can
happen anyway because there's so much more talent. Isn't that
the NFL's greatest strength. It's like, yeah, the it's not crazy.
(16:37):
The Giants could be like the equivalent in college of
the Giants playing the Eagles. That spread would be like
fifteen points, twenty points since the NFL, So yeah, they
got good players too, they got a good coach three points,
And I want college to become more and more like that.
It makes it more interesting to watch the games when
you know, it's just not fun to watch watch Team
(17:01):
X play Team Y with a thirty point point spread
and it have would be forty to three at half time.
No one wins in that environment, Nobody like. Part of
what makes football so awesome at the highest level is like,
obviously the Chiefs have won a couple of Super Bowls,
but it is they've had this skate bye by the
skin of their teeth. So I actually think the nil whatever. Obviously,
(17:27):
the nil and the transfer portal are directly correlated because
guys get in the transfer porter to get paid. I
think Stefanski is a very good coach. Do you think
this whole Watson situation causes him to resign even if
(17:47):
he isn't fired. I think he has a I think
he would be a hot commodity for other teams. Here's
the problem. If you're the Browns, Let's say Stefanski wanted
to pull like a uh Sean Payton and just say
I quit. I think you'd have to entice them to stay,
because who in their right mind would want that job?
(18:12):
It's like, what you mean, Okay, he quit? Why because
of the quarterback that now you have to coach? They
owe him forty five million dollars guaranteed for the next
two years. I think it's forty six. But the money
that that doesn't matter as much to the coach or
the GM. It's the owner's money. It's the cap implications.
So you're just stuck with this guy that no one
(18:34):
wants to play that let's face it, no one really likes.
Feels very scummy. When you just talk about him or
think about him, it's a disaster. So I I when
you tell me the Cleveland brown you just say the
Cleveland Browns. I just say everything's on the table. They're
one of those franchises right now. Nothing would shock me,
(18:55):
absolutely nothing. Is it crazy to say that qu yours
is the biggest weakness on the Texas roster. No, I
think thee is. I'm not saying that he's bad in
any way, but I think the only big question mark
is how he will perform in these big games. Last
year for Washington, he had a fifty five percent completion
(19:16):
percentage and only had one one yard TD to Ady Mitchell.
I am not confident in him being a top quarterback
when the pocket breaks down and he has to make plays. Yeah,
the Oklahoma game, he had a couple of plays where
the pocket broke down and he scrambled. One air mailed
that led to a I mean it was a bad
(19:36):
air mail too that was an interception, and another one
while the game was somewhat still in the balance in
the first half, he just completely air mailed. So now
he was coming off a long absence. One thing that
was clear being at the Texas game was the size
and speed of everyone. So you just removed the quarterback,
(19:58):
I would be hard pressed. I don't know Ohio State's
roster as well as some if you're listening in your
diehod Ohio State fan, but if that's considered, you know
in Oregon went toe to toe with them. I mean,
these are the best rosters in college football. I would
say Texas at worst has the equal to whoever has
(20:19):
the best roster, and then more than likely they have
the best roster. Their team's speed on defense was pretty
eye opening. The linebackers, I mean range and physicality. Their
dbs could cover all their wide receivers. It wasn't just
that they had wide receivers, it was the body types
on the wide receivers, like they could break tackles. They
(20:41):
had a tight end that made a couple of plays.
The running back twenty six was sweet. I was blown away.
I mean I had heard about it, But once you
go to a game live, you're like, Jesus, this team
looks good. So if Quinn Yewers plays well, Sarks an
excellent play caller, and one he did in the Oklahoma
game is like, yeah, Quinn was a little offerly. You
(21:02):
know what he did. Started running the ball, It started
throwing quick screens. You know what happened. They score touchdowns. Now,
if you're listening to this before the Georgia game, can
they get by and win a game? But here's the thing,
like think of like Georgia's quarterback, like that he's I'd
probably rather have Quinn yours than Carson back. So it's
not like their quarterback, but what the hell is the
(21:23):
difference of the two guys. That's the thing, Like you're
not playing. When you think of some of the great
national championship teams, like if the twenty nineteen LSU Tigers
were playing, you'd be like, well, no one's gonna beat
him because no one can go to tote with them
quarterback wise, right, you think of some of those like
(21:45):
Trevor Lawrence and Deshaun Watson Clemson teams. Those guys were
actually good in college or Tua at at Alabama. They
could just score a lot of points because they could
really pick you apart. I just don't know if anyone
in college football can consistently in a big game. We're
gonna find out this weekend's a good one to do that.
I was listening to your take on the Colts Flackoversus Richardson,
(22:05):
and as a diehard Colts fan, I couldn't disagree more.
Everyone is hopping on the Flacco bandwagon because he's hit
a few big touchdowns, But last time I checked, he's
almost forty and just lost to the Jags. The fucking Jags.
What was the final score of that game? Though? It
was thirty seven to thirty four, So he just lost
(22:27):
to the Jags. He went thirty three of forty four
for three hundred and sixty yards and three touchdowns in
that game. I would put it that Stike in and
Gus Bradley lost to the Jags. Joe Flacco did not.
Joe Flacco played winning football. He offers absolutely no benefit
to the Colts beyond this season. I would disagree there too.
(22:47):
I think you're resigning him in a heartbeat, and with
our worst in the league defense, we aren't winning anything
of consequence this year with Flacco or Richardson. It's weird
to me that the media in general is praisy Flacco
right after ripping Ballard and the Colts for going with
older quarterbacks the last five years. It makes no sense
(23:08):
give Richardson the reps in hope to improve consistency. Passer,
I think you're missing the plot here. Ballard gets crushed
because one they just don't win at all, and the
old quarterbacks he signed, h Jacoby, Matty Ice Rivers actually
wasn't terrible that year, even though he was kind of
(23:29):
he was somewhat of a shell of himself, not to
the levels of Matty Ice. But Joe Flacco's better than
all those guys the way he's playing right now, and
he does give you the best chance to win on
a weekly basis. No one disagrees that. Listen, you draft
this guy fourth overall, you got to see what he has.
You got to invest in him, and the only way
to invest in him is to let him play. I
(23:51):
don't I don't disagree with you. Are you winning anything
in the playoffs, of course not, but would making the
playoffs be a pretty big deal for your franchise kinda
do they need to make the playoffs if you're Chris
Balder to keep your job. I don't know, but I
think there are a lot of different variables here. And
you use the Jags game, No, the defense and the
head coach lost because I'm looking at Flacco. He was.
(24:15):
I mean, you had no business being in that game
if it wasn't for him. I think the scary thing is,
which I think is fair to bring up if you're
a Colts fan, It's like, okay, we just Anthony Richardson.
Now you could argue if he goes down in flames
over the next couple of years, everyone screwed. But like,
what if you roll him back out and he struggles. Obviously,
best case you roll him back out and he's awesome.
(24:37):
But I think Flacco should be just the whole situation
should be praised for him being there. How he talks about,
like listen, if they need me to go back to
the bench. He's the ultimate teammate. He's everything the Browns
should want, and they had, and he carried them to
the playoffs and then they booted him out. So if
I I think it's less controversial about like this Flacco
(25:00):
conversation and more like, I think it's a pretty awesome
deal the way it's played out. Because you know, for
most backups that you would have had, your season might
be over because it Richson went out, you guys are
already kind of struggling. You could have just lost all
the games. But I hear you like, I don't think
(25:20):
anyone's crazy for going. Why don't we just play Anthony Richardson? Like, yeah, fine.
My whole point is just be prepared to lose. If
the Bears beat the Commanders, Diard Bears fan, If the
Bears beat the Commanders, are they legit? In your opinion?
This game has my interest at an all time high
(25:43):
because of the constant comparisons between Jayden Daniels and Caleb Williams.
If we beat the Commanders, there is a great chance
that we could be seven and two before Green Bay
in week eleven. What are your thoughts, So let's bring
up the old Chicago schedule, so they are currently on
(26:05):
a buy then they played at Washington. That would be
an excellent win. That would be by far of all
four of your wins Titans, Rams, Panthers, Jags considerably more
impactful in my opinion to judging your future of the season,
best win by far. Then you go to the Arizona
(26:27):
come out here to play the Cards, probably a win, Patriots,
probably a win. And then your schedule gets tough Packers,
Vikings at home, at Lions, at Niners at Minnesota, Lions,
Seahawks at Packers. So here's the key. If you can
(26:50):
get to seven and two or six and three. If
you get to seven and two, you're almost like, how
are you not gonna get minimum nine to eight? If
you get to six in three, you got a pretty
good shot to get to I would say nine and
eight's as well, because if you're six and three, you
got eight games left. All you'd have to do is
(27:10):
go three and five and you'd be nine and eight,
which would be which would be impressive, especially if you know,
we'll see how it plays out over the next couple
of weeks, but you're probably gonna be an underdog in
a lot of those games with the Packers, with the Lions,
and with Minnesota. So part of taking a step as
a franchise, even if you lose a lot of those
(27:32):
games in the Niner game included if you're able to
beat the shit out of the teams you're supposed to
beat the shit out of and have an upset or
two down the stretch getting to nine and eight, think
how much better you'd feel about this team than the
situation last year, which was the fakest run I've ever seen.
(27:53):
So yeah, I mean I I think you should be
pretty excited about the future. I keep here hearing you
say the Raiders should have a fire sale for all
the blue chip players. I get sometimes it's best to
get as many picks as possible. But haven't we seen
in recent years teams pick a quarterback in the top
five and become a playoff team that year. The Texans
(28:15):
and the Commanders come to mind, Why can't Vegas do
the same? I don't feel like the cupboards are bare.
We still have a pass catcher, a star defensive end,
and a left tackle, along with some emerging offensive line pieces. Well,
if you think about it, what did the Let's use
the Commanders as an example. Think who they traded Montes Sweat.
(28:36):
They got a second round pick for Chase Young, they
got a third round pick for so They literally traded
those two guys last year the part of having a
rookie quarterback, and the Texans have Tamiko Ryans, who I'm
sorry is just dramatically better than your coach. So I
(28:58):
also think that how did they also the Texans get better? Well,
they hit on Nico Collins, who was already on the team,
in a later round draft pick, and they drafted Tank
Dell in the third round. So my point is that
if you can get more, I'm not just giving away
Crosby for a second round pick, but if the Lions
(29:18):
would give me two ones for Max Crosby, I drive
him to the airport. The left tackle thing, you can
convince me just keep Colton Miller. Okay, I'm not against that,
but like Max Crosby on this team, when the defense
is just hideous and going nowhere fast, what does it
(29:40):
do for you? The other thing is like how much
longer can Max just dominate? If you felt good about it,
like six or seven years? Okay, but the way he
plays already starting to get a little banged up. Do
you maximize now and just turn the page now? Listen.
I'll be the first to always argue when you trade
these guys, the whole point of a draft is to
(30:01):
land to Max Crosby. But you didn't have to get
the top five pick to land Max Crosby. What did
you get them the fifth round? Did you draft a
pass rusher in the top ten? Tyree Wilson from the
text sec Kid, how's that working out for you? So
it just sometimes having more, you know, bites at the
Apple is the way to do this. And again I'm
(30:24):
talking about premium picks. There's a difference between having a
fire sale like just giving away Amari Cooper for a
third round pick, like the Browns, just get some value,
move on. That's not what I'm talking about here. I'm
talking about if you can get a boatload of compensation.
Max Crosby, here's two ones, Cold Miller, here's a first
round pick. If you can do that type stuff, I
(30:46):
think one, you're just it's gross negligence if you're just
not immediately having a big time meeting in two. You know,
if they lose a couple more games, like could argue
it's just be the right move and then just start
from scratch. Now, the problem is Antonio Pierce, Like, is
(31:09):
he gonna be your coach for the next five years?
When you just say that out loud. It's hard to
It's like, I don't know, been watching the pod for
a couple of years now. I came across this post
on Instagram and it got me thinking about how there
was no number one picks in the graphic. After looking
into the past number one overall picks and seeing teams
(31:34):
move down a couple spots, do you think more teams
may do this in the future of drafts with no
Locke generational talents like Caleb Williams or Trevor Lawrence. So basically,
this graphic is the best picks in each NFL draft,
and it starts with like twenty twenty four, which I
was I'm not even gonna read the Person twenty twenty three,
(31:56):
c J. Stroud twenty twenty two, Sauce Gardner twenty twenty one,
Pine Sewell twenty twenty, Justin Jefferson twenty nineteen, Max Crosby
twenty eighteen, Lamar Jackson twenty seventeen, Patrick Mahomes, you guys
get where I'm going. Tyreek Hill, Stefan dis Aaron Donald,
Travis Kelce. I think part of trading down is easy
(32:22):
when you have a quarterback. So if I have a
quarterback that I like. It's easy to move back when
I don't have a quarterback that I like. I feel
my franchise is just kind of spinning in the wind
and we're not gaining any traction. We're not moving forward.
So part of trading up for a quarterback, even though
the risk is well established, at best, it's a coin flip,
(32:47):
and in recent memory it's the stats are actually much
lower than coin flips. But it doesn't it make sense
why all these people do it? And it's gonna happen again.
People are gonna trade up for Shadoor, people are gonna
trade up for Camps, just kind of the way the
business works. So I hear you. I think it's easy
to say once you look back, but at the time,
(33:08):
it's like, well, why don't I just trade back for
the next Aaron Donald or Justin Jefferson, or maybe I
trade up and I land Jaden Daniels, diired Hawks fan.
Like many other teams, right now, the Seahawks are stuck
in a dark place of being good, being too good
for a premium pick, but not good enough to truly
compete for Super Bowl. With the way the draft is
(33:31):
looking right now, I don't see any quarterbacks have that
elite arm talent that Schneider seems to cove it to
succeed Gino, who Schneider obviously is hesitant to commit to.
Hesitant Schneider ain't committing to him long term. But I
know what you mean. With the new coaching staff coming in,
what do you think a mid team like the Seahawks
should do to get out of this eight nine win
(33:55):
season range? Well, let's use an example of the Chiefs,
who were a better version of you with Alex Smith.
How did they change their fortunes? They didn't have the
number one overall pick, they were going to the playoffs,
so they were drafting. They weren't winning in the playoffs,
(34:16):
but they were drafting typically somewhere between nineteen and twenty four,
and they traded up twelve spots or ten spots to
get Patrick Mahomes and for a year he sat behind
Alex Smith. Couldn't you guys do something like that, find
a quarterback that these guys like you don't have to
(34:37):
trade up to one, just go from like twenty to ten,
or what if johns Shonnier like Sam Donald? Is Sam
Donald better than this Geno Smith? And the argument might
be no, too very close under the same umbrella. The
answer is is hard. It's really really hard. The only
(34:59):
way you make it out. The only way you make
it out has either become like an all time great
defense and where Gino can just have you be like
an eleven twelve win team, which is probably not gonna happen,
or upgraded quarterback. And I think the only way you
upgrade a quarterback is laying someone in the draft, And
(35:20):
obviously there's gotta be some luck to it, but he's
gonna like one of these quarterbacks sooner or later. And
the other thing is Ryan Grubb has success with Pennix,
who a couple of years ago people thought would be
like a not even a drafted player. A couple years
later he goes eighth overall. So maybe you you know,
part of having a great offensive coordinator. Now the problem
(35:42):
would be if he has success, he probably would get hired.
But it's like, why can't you find your brock party.
You're Dak Prescott, You're Russell Wilson. Again, let's face it,
how did Seattle get good. They hit on a bunch
of defensive guys who defense became elite, and they got
Russells in the third round, So I think I think
(36:03):
sometimes we overthink it with how difficult it is, like
there's luck involved. But yeah, uh, time to discuss revamping
the NFL penalty system. Automatic first downs are incredibly, incredibly punitive.
Defensive holding results in an auto first down, even on
(36:24):
fourth down. When the offense holds, the d has to
choose whether to accept the penalty and give them another
chance without losing it down. What the f are we
even doing here? Totally agree. I feel like this guy's
my spirit animal. The rules have become one sided that
I don't even respect great offensive performances. The table is
(36:45):
so slanted, by the way. The red line discussion after
Mike and Aaron gave me a thought, paint the red
lines on the field. If a quarterback goes past them,
the play is dead, but they can get hit unless
they slide or reach the side long. That would stop
the slimy crawling along the sideline looking for flax. They
(37:06):
should be a buffer. Listen, all this stuff is so true,
and these penalties are driving us all nuts. But the
reality of where we stand with the rules, with the game,
with the league office, it's not going to change so
we either stop watching it, which numbers would say more
(37:27):
people are watching than ever, or we just accept it
and be pissed off all the time, which is kind
of where I land. But it's just not going to change.
It's just not because the only thing the league cares about,
the only I'm not talking about like coaches or gms
or players. I'm talking about roj and as business people
(37:50):
money and they're about to sell I would bet in
the next couple of years a London package. There's a billy.
What if they sell to Sunday night games? What if
they sell to Monday night games? It ain't slowing down.
Thoroughly enjoy the pod. Thanks for giving us entertainment suggestion
(38:11):
for the pod. I really like penthouse out house. Maybe
it would be even more fun if you say, divvyed
it up the penthouse and the outhouse, in the areas
within the penthouse in the outhouse. So we'll let you
talk about more teams. I don't mind that. What's the
number one area in a house slash penthouse, the kitchen,
(38:31):
the living room, the master bedroom slash bathroom. What would
be the I think you're onto something there, So maybe
they're in the roped off VIP section other teams who
earned the spot in the penhouse. Yeah, I think I
like this guy, Tony. You're a smart man, Lions cutting
(38:52):
it up, hitting on girls who are in the elevator
on the way to the top floor. Let the room
be flexible. Uh. This would allow you to talk about
literally any team you want and have an opinion on,
and will allow you to tell stories and crack a
bunch of fucking jokes. I think we'll end on Tony.
I think he might have figured something out. Have a
(39:13):
great weekend. Talk to you guys Sunday night. The Volume
Hosts And Creators
Colin Cowherd
Jason McIntyre
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
The Breakfast Club
The World's Most Dangerous Morning Show, The Breakfast Club, With DJ Envy, Jess Hilarious, And Charlamagne Tha God!