December 13, 2025 • 49 mins
Former NFL scout John Middlekauff reacts to Colts signing Phillip Rivers and how despite Phillip's age, this is a signing that should get people excited. Later, John answers your mailbag questions by talking about Jordan Love being an MVP candidate, if the Ravens should look to move on from Harbaugh, and is it time for the Eagles to bench Hurts, all that and more!
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
The volume. What is going on everybody, John middlecop that's
me three and our podcast. That's the show. We are
(00:21):
brought to you by my friends at Zone Pouches. Hopefully
everyone is doing well. We've had had a lot of
stuff going on, obviously, Colin on Sunday Chiefs Reaction Sunday
Night as a podcast, Eagles Reaction Monday Night as a podcast.
Today will be a big mail bag at John Middlecoff
at John middlecoff Is the Instagram, as well as reacting
(00:43):
to Philip Rivers, who is forty four I'd say coming
out of retirement. He's really coming off the sideline in
high school where he's been coaching. Turns out he's been
running Shane Stiken's offense. So some quick thoughts there as
well as the mail bag, and that will be the
game today. I'm recording this Tuesday afternoon. And yeah, so
(01:05):
you guys know the drill. If you listen on Collin Speed,
make sure you subscribe, subscribe to that YouTube channel. We
appreciate all you guys. But before we dive into Philip Rivers,
you know, I gotta tell you about my friends. You know,
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day last minute to take as lowest price guarantee. Philip Rivers. Honestly,
this story is one of those that just makes you smile,
(02:11):
partly because it's so ridiculous, partly because it's Philip Rivers
who I've been banging the table forever, and I get it.
He's got twenty five kids and he loves coaching high
school ball. Turns out he's running Shane Stiken's offense and
they talk every week, which makes sense. A couple of
just football junkies. But I think we see Drew Brees
on television, we see Tom Brady on television. Philip Rivers
(02:32):
would have been a stud. He would have been, you know,
a mixture of like a Madden meets Gruden with a
with no swear words. Obviously Madden didn't cuss. Gruden didn't
either on TV, though you could tell he always wanted to.
So I've missed Philip Rivers in my life. There are
certain athletes that whenever they come back in your life,
like we've been very lucky, right, We've had Charles Barkley
(02:53):
in my life, my entire life. When I was a kid,
he played, He played in the NBA, and then he
immediately went into in the television and we just get
to consume him and he makes me smile. It's one
of Charles's best characteristics. So many people want to be
like him. It's like bro, he makes you laugh. That
is his key like that is what he brings the
(03:15):
table beside just whatever else he's you know, talking hoops
or being a dude, and just he's fun. And John
Madden was fun. Philip Rivers is fun. And I've you know,
back when I was around the Raiders and doing radio,
going to all those Charger Raider games at the Coliseum
up in Oakland. You know, I've seen him have great games.
(03:37):
I've seen him shit the bed and have terrible games.
I think the last game ever in the Coliseum was
against the Chargers, and Rivers I think ended the game
on an interception to Charles Woodson. If I could be
remembering this incorrectly, but it kind of feels in that world.
But I think this also shows one of my first
football reactions is is this safe? Like, if Philip Rivers
(04:02):
ends up their starting quarterback moving forward, is this safe?
He hasn't played in the NFL in years. He obviously
was never a great athlete to begin with. He does
not have a great arm. And you look at their schedule.
They get Seattle this week at Seattle, not an ideal
landing spot. Elite team, speed pass rush dbs and linebackers
(04:26):
that can blitz against an elite defensive coach. That is
not an easy landing spot in theory. Because the Niners
have a bunch of injuries, that's a little bit easier
of a team. But I don't care who plays for
the Niners. They have a standard and they are looking
to hit people and hit people hard. The Jags clearly
have a good pass rush, and the Texans are probably
as ferocious of a defense as they're in the NFL.
(04:48):
So two of the four of these opponents, I mean
big time defenses, The Jags pretty good and the forty
nine ers have one of the best, if not you know,
a top two or three defensive coordinator in the league.
Is he safe out there? Right? He cannot run, he
can't get away. There is just if I don't care
what you do in life. If you and this is
where I disagreed with Colin years ago, his whole thing.
(05:11):
When John Gruden came back, He's like, you can't leave
an industry for a decade and come back and know
what you're doing. Not in the business, it's really competitive, right,
You couldn't just leave the media landscape in twenty fifteen
and come back in twenty twenty five and have a
shot people be running circles around you. Right in Wall Street.
You couldn't just disappear and come back. There is a
(05:32):
massive curve because of the speed in which things change. Now, well,
football is the same thing, and I get it. You know,
Philip would say, hey, it's still you know, ten yards
to get a first down. The concepts, you know from
the offense haven't necessarily changed. And as they have. I've
known about him because I talked to the coach. But like,
you're not used to the speed and Collins all things,
(05:52):
John Gruden, this isn't gonna work. I was like, I
think it will, but I kind of bought the kool
aid and I was wrong. It was not working. And
I do believe that Rivers. You know, they went through
that stretch with when Luck retired of having to get
a lot of you know, older veteran quarterbacks, and they
multiple of the guys had something in common. They were washed.
(06:16):
They were older players whose prime was well behind them,
and arm strength wise, Matt Ryan and Philip Rivers never
had great arms to begin with, but by the time
they played for the Colts, their arms were diminishing. Now,
River's numbers actually weren't terrible when he was in Indianapolis.
But it just shows you how desperate this team is.
(06:36):
And sometimes listen like the old adages like never make
big decisions out of desperation. That's all well and good
until you don't have a choice and you're in a
desperate mode and you have to pull the trigger and
make a decision. And that's where they're at. But I
do think when it comes to Indy Is, I do
give them. I do respect the fact that they did
(06:58):
this and they didn't roll out some like random Desmond
Ritter type, some random guy on a practice squad. Right.
They're in this predicament because they've had major injuries. Daniel
Jones is a broken leg and a torn achilles. That's
not funny, even though it is like usually when a
guy's a major injuries. I tell my acl this guy's
a broken leg and a torn achilles on two different legs.
It's pretty crazy. It's almost like a skiing accident when
(07:20):
a guy slams into a rock or something. But I
don't know, man, this is a fun story. I hope
he plays against the forty nine ers. That would be
really entertaining. I kind of hope he doesn't play against Seattle,
because I think that could be really ugly. But they
might not have a choice. And I mean clearly they
don't have a choice when they signed him. And I
(07:40):
said this on Monday night, and I believe this more.
Do you know who's very jealous right now? Do you
know jealous Tom Brady is? Do you know jealous Paid
Manning is? Do you know jealous Drew Brees is? Not
that they would want to play in a game, because
they would. They are no dummies, they know, like I
would get killed. I can't move. But like just getting
that call, like Philip, you want to come work out
(08:02):
for us? Like that had to get his juices going.
You know, it's like one last ride, cowboy. I remember
the famous story Tim Flannery, who was Bruce Bochie's third
base coach in San Diego. When Bruce Bochie got the
job with San Francisco, I think in like you know,
the late two thousands, he called Tim Flannery, who I
(08:23):
think he had fired in San Diego and said, you
know what, cowboy, we got one last ride in US
and they won three World Series. And just just that
call of like someone believes in me. I don't I
don't care what you do, but as an athlete, you know,
as a if you're Philip Rivers, you would say, I'm
a has been I don't have it anymore, but maybe
(08:45):
I do, you know. Let's see, are you sure I don't? Am? I? Am?
I sure I don't. We're about to find out so
very very uh entertaining story, that's for sure. Today's show
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New Jersey, Ohio, Tennessee, Virginia. Okay, let's let's fire into
the mail bag. We will start with Dominic with the
(10:54):
Bills glaring problem at wide receiver and pass rushers. I'm
assuming they will be picking up one this off season.
What do you think is more vital for the Bills,
and who do you think would be the best fit
for the Bills, whether that be a trade or a
draft in the off season. The line of scrimmage to
the if I'm Buffalo is what I invest in. Like
(11:15):
I Shakir was a mid round pick, right Cook was
not a first round pick. Kincaid was, but I mean
he hasn't exactly lit the world on fire. Keon Coleman,
we drafted really high and that's been very up and down.
I'm investing in Lineman, so I wouldn't get ahead of ourselves, Like,
let's just they have an enormous game. I mean, one
(11:37):
of the biggest NFL games of the year is this
weekend in New England, New England versus Buffalo. Like I
would spend less time worrying about like who we're going
to get in the draft and in free agency. I mean,
who even knows who's gonna become available. Older guys get cut,
older guys are on the trade deadline, or I mean
on the trade block is you know, coaches get fired,
(11:59):
so you just there's so much unknown on December ninth.
But if I'm a Bills fan, the only thing I'm
worrying about is can we beat the Patriots. Look, we're
favored in that game, but do I feel great about it?
I don't. I mean, I actually kind of think the
play is New England just coming off of bye. You
know that game against Buffalo is in major trouble against Cincinnati,
now you would say, Burrow, you know it's kind of
(12:21):
the Bill's killer. But their defense has major, major question marks,
and the easiest way to make a defense better is
to have awesome defensive linemen. So I would I would
worry less about the offseason and kind of enjoy the ride.
Like you're playing. You've had this run with Josh Allen,
who just had a massive game against Cincinnati. Your defense
(12:43):
came through a two enormous plays that saved the season.
Part of saving the season now is like, well you
can take advantage of it if you lose the Patriots.
It was almost like, well that kind of that kind
of was a tease. Ryan. Do you think we'll see
more larger foot programs offer their top prospect college tuition
(13:03):
in cash to pay for college rather than give them
cash and a scholarship, so they can leverage the limited
amounts of scholarships to those who they don't have to
give cash to. That way, they can't get around their
limited scholarships due to Title nine. Well, if you run
a you know, Ohio State or Alabama, they get eighty
(13:24):
five scholarships. So scholarships don't really matter. I would say,
like they're not being talked about in the conversation of
landing a player, because if I'm gonna give a guy
five hundred grand his tuition of forty grand a year,
I'm also covering his housing costs, you know, his meals
(13:44):
with the team, Like the scholarship is part of the deal.
I hear what you're saying. I think the scholarship now
is viewed as such an irrelevant piece of the puzzle
that it's all about the nil and that's just part
of the package. I'm pretty sure. I don't know the
details of this, but I don't think walk ons exist anymore.
So everyone on the team technically has to be on
(14:06):
scholarship or that's gonna happen very soon with the revenue
sharing agreement. So I hear what you're saying, but I
think the way it's going to work moving forward with
the quote unquote revenue share is not even a possibility
if you're on the team, you're technically a scholarship player,
and you're on revenue share. Where do you think CJ.
Stroud ranks amongst quarterbacks? He has shown signs of incredible talent,
(14:30):
but has been inconsistent since his rookie season. Also, I
think detections should extend him. But it's tough to say
what the price would be. Sometimes you can watch a
guy and I don't even know what his numbers were
against the Chiefs, but like, that was an impressive game.
He missed a couple, but he made some big time
plays and to me, moments like that against a team
(14:54):
like that, who's backs against the wall on the road,
there's a small limited guys that don't. They can't function
in that environment, and he can, Like I know, like
you said, he's been up and down the last couple
of years because of the offensive line. Obviously got injured
this year. I was impressed, Like, to me, he's a
guy that you should like. At worst, he could have
(15:17):
a Dak Prescott like career. It's on Casario, it's on
Demico Ryans to basically build this thing up and you know,
protect him. But he's I was really impressed, Like, honestly,
I thought he outplayed Patrick or every bit as good
as him in that game. So I think CJ's pretty
(15:37):
good ranking. You know, I don't have him like with
Josh or Joe Burrow, but I think he's he should
be a consistent top ten quarterback for the next ten years.
What had the scouts NFL personnel said about Mendoza recently.
I remember a few months ago, they weren't saying he
(15:59):
they were saying he wouldn't even be a top ten pick.
Did he did? He need to prove it. He's still
the same six or five good arm kid who beat
Oregon a few months ago. I think when he beat Oregon,
the buzz grew. I think when he beat Oregon that's
when it kind of changed a little bit. I think
that was I'm real, guys, and that was a moment
(16:22):
that I do think he kind of went from interesting
prospect to like, this is a real, real prospect. And
then that game against Ohio State was just you know,
some of those throws, some of those plays he made,
the toughness he showed getting hit. I would be hard
pressed to probably meet many people in the NFL. They
don't view him as a top again, like I understand
(16:43):
people going I wouldn't take him number one overall, but
if you take him twelve overall, what the fuck's the difference?
If he's the number one quarterback and you need a quarterback.
This is the argument from NFL personnel people. It's like,
you take the guy at four that you would take
at twelve, right if he if he's your best option, right,
if you're picking between three or four guys, okay, but
(17:04):
if he's if the other quarterbacks are not first round
quarterbacks and you need a quarterback, Like, if someone's gonna
take him at seven, then you can take him in two,
and my gut, again, things can change. This is a
fluid business. Injuries, poor play against better opponents. I would say,
(17:24):
as of December ninth, I would bet on him being
the number one pick in the draft. Like you said,
six five, two hundred and thirty pounds, big arm, high
character kid, you know, good family, kind of goofy like
cousins luck, which is actually a plus. You don't have
to worry about him screwing around, get in trouble. I
love people being like, yeah, he's kind of goofy. He
(17:46):
kind of reminds me of Kirk Cousins, you don't think
teams like that, like his teammates clearly like him. So
would I rather have like, you know, kind of goofy
dude and just kind of nerdy like Luck Cousins, or
do this party and drinking all the time? That also
his teammates like now. Granted, most of these guys in
(18:07):
the NFL in twenty twenty five are pretty focused cats,
but I think that's a that's working in his favor.
Do you think the Giants can easily become the standard
in the NFC East? Well, did my producer Shane write this?
I think we got to pump the brakes here a
little bit standard in the NFC East. They are currently
(18:30):
what's the Giants record? Oh, they're two and eleven. So
last year they drafted abdual Carter third. Overall, let's just
let's walk before we run, let's get a real coach,
let's get some better players, let's keep elevating the guys
we got, and just try to become an eight win team.
(18:50):
So I do think the standard to be the standard
in the NFC East. Listen, Phillies and Shambles, they are
what do they have a I guess, they only have
one less loss than the Cowboys, but the Cowboys have
two less wins, so they would have to lose another game.
And even if the Cowboys win out. So if the
(19:13):
Cowboys won out ten six and one, and if the
Eagles won out at eight, they'd have twelve, they'd have
to lose two of their last four. Probably pretty unlikely.
I would say the Eagles, they've won the division what
two of the last three years, They're probably gonna win
it again. I think, listen, we can make fun of
(19:35):
them all we want. They're pretty clearly the standard. I
have a Jordan Love MVP ticket at four thousand to one,
so or I guess plus yeah, four thousand and one,
so basically forty to one. So if you bet one
hundred bucks, you win four K. If you bet one
thousand and you win forty be a nice hit if
you did. Would you cash it out now or let
it ride? I can double up with a cash out now.
(19:57):
This weekend's kind of tricky because he could throw three
touchdowns in Denver they win in Denver, that cash out
could double. From where you're at, he throws for one
hundred and forty yards a couple of picks, they lose,
kind of comes back to earth. Now, he could vault
back up in a week against the Bears, but this
is kind of a pivotal point for him, right, So
(20:19):
if I we'll bring up the Packers' schedule, if we
assume he plays well in this game, he could really
drive it home. The next couple weeks they go to Chicago,
he plays well, they win it. I think he'd be
right there. Then the Ravens and Vikings, he can kind
of hammer it home toward the end. Plays bad this week, though,
I think it would be a little unlikely that he
(20:41):
wins it. So if you want to take the logic
of you never go broke taking a profit, I think
you can't be mad at yourself for cashing out. Now.
I don't know your financial situation, but I'm just gonna
let's just assume you put one hundred dollars on him,
(21:02):
so you have the opportunity and one hundred dollars into
forty thousand, the enjoyment and the fun. Now, if you
need the two hundred dollars, I get it. If you,
I don't know what you can even get for two
hundred dollars and twenty twenty five and that buys you
like a sandwich and bag of chips, and like, you know,
a quarter tank of gas. But if you need that
two hundred dollars today, then cash out. But if you don't,
(21:26):
and one hundred dollars is something that you can handle losing,
it makes the last month of the season really fun.
I say. Sometimes, like when I do some of these
like one hundred dollars parlays, you know that pay I
don't know, thirty to one that would win three grand.
Even if I don't win, the enjoyment I got out
of that game was worth one hundred dollars of entertainment.
(21:47):
Like nothing this what do I get for entertainment anymore? Right?
Like when I bet on these PGA Tour events and
I get a guy thirty to one or forty to one,
and I put fifty dollars on him if he's in
the mix on Sunday. Even if I don't get my
money back, that fifty dollars has me glued to the
couch in the middle of May when there's nothing else
going on, and that entertainment's worth it for me. So
(22:12):
I personally, again, assuming it's not a large amount of money,
or amount of money relative that's going to impact you.
I'd let it ride for the enjoyment. I'm a second
gen Lions fan and I rep hard, go to games,
buy swag. Heck, my friends made me a Lion's cake
(22:33):
for my fortieth Check my g and you'll see the
Lions logos everywhere. I was never into college football, but
I now, because of college football playoff, have a lot
of love to give. But I need a team. I
want one I can grow with, but not a current
front runner because I hate bandwagoners. I'm open to being
(22:54):
I'm open to being open any suggestions. Until I read
the part about front runner, my first response was just
you're already Detroit guy. Just go with Michigan. Now. You know,
Michigan is down a little bit relative to what they
were a couple of years ago, but they're not going anywhere.
That would be my first response. It's an easy carryover.
You get Michigan alliance, right, it's like a Browns fan,
(23:16):
Ohio State right, Niner fan, cow fan, you know, Cowboy fan,
Texas fan. It's an easy transit. Now, if you want
to go a little off the beaten path, I think
you still need to root for a team that has
a chance to get in the playoffs, right, You wouldn't
(23:36):
want to just be a fan of like Mississippi State
to be counterculture and have them never make the playoffs.
That would suck. So you need more of a team
in like the fifteen to thirty range, and I think
the team would be I think it would be a couple.
If you want to bet on the changing landscape of
(23:57):
the sport, I think Vanderbilt would be pretty cool. Their
head coach Clark Lee, who had an awesome comment today
about like, yeah, this program plays football. They was asked
if they were gonna opt out of the bowl game.
He's like, no, We're a football program. We played football.
I mean, if Pete Leavauqua says one more fucking thing,
I'm gonna puke in my mouth. But respect to Clark Lee,
(24:19):
I think Vanderbilt the ever changing world with nil could
really benefit them. I think they just landed the number
one quarterback in the country to replace. You know, if
it wasn't for Fernando Diego Pavia would have won the
Heisman Trophy. And I'm a sucker for this program. Now
they're gonna have a new coach in the next year
or two because Whittingham's gonna retire. I do think Utah
(24:42):
is a team that you can just kind of be
proud of. They're usually good on defense, they're usually pound
the ball running it, and if they get a decent
quarterback like they can be a top ten team. They
went ten to two this year. Their two losses were
to Tech and BYU and Tech. They got worked, but
be I use it was a close game. It was
a fun game on Saturday night. I would go with
(25:04):
Vandy or Utah if you want to go no on
like Notre Dame, Oklahoma Oregon types. I think those two
would be cool. And on a yearly basis, Utah I
think you have a better chance on a yearly basis
to make the playoffs. Vandy would be fun if it
does turn around. Question for the mailbag, what do you
(25:25):
think people talk about coaches being good at making halftime adjustments.
I heard someone ask Ben Johnson after the game on
Sunday about how he managed to make his halftime adjustments,
and he responded by saying he didn't make any at all.
Is this normal thing or misunderstood? I think where all
these guys have always pushed back on that is you're
making adjustments based on every play, every series. So just
(25:49):
because you come in at half, you have been making
adjustments throughout the first In the second quarter, right the
first couple series, you guys are kind of feeling each
other out. By the time you've each had three or
four possession and it's seven minutes left in the second quarter,
like you're on the headsets, You're like, hey, let's scrap this.
This was a game plan play there, let's take this away.
Let's keep running this because clearly they're buying into it
(26:11):
and we can hit him with the counter. So I
think when like Brady and Peyton Manning and those guys
always say like halftime adjustments don't exist because you adjust
every single snap, you adjust every single series. So halftimes
more about like everyone gather yourself, maybe like a big
picture message and maybe like you could be a little
calmer and do specific adjustments that you were already talking
(26:33):
about out on the field. But I think a quote
unquote adjustment in football in the NFL in college is
like a fluid thing throughout the game after the first
series or two. So I don't think he's acting like
they don't adjust. They just don't adjust, like they don't
talk about they just run the game plan and they
(26:55):
go into halftime and they either throw away the game
plan or adjust the game plan. Where I think he
would tell you is like it's just a constant thing,
start to finish in the game. In theory, I feel
like the conversation around CJ is always he's been a
shell of himself since the rookie year. Since I'm a
Texans fan, I watch every snap and give my biased opinion,
(27:17):
but he's extremely accurate and the Chiefs game shows he
has a lot of playmaking ability. When Caleb Williams has
one good half against the Packers, the narratives look how
talented he is, And the narrative around CJ is when
will we see rookie CJ again? Just curious your thoughts.
I think Chief's game was a pretty big moment for
the guy I think he was. That was impressive, That
(27:38):
was like, Okay, let's win this division, baby, let's do it.
I have a parlay, a pretty aggressive one with Houston,
with Denver, who's going to do it? With the Packers
who still can do it? With Seattle which was five
to one, that still can do it, And my parlays
(28:00):
to win the division was Houston, Denver, Green Bay, Tampa,
Seattle fifty dollars to pay ten k. Also have one
I made middle of the season with Denver, New England,
Seattle and Pittsburgh. That's one hundred bucks to pay seven k.
So let's see. I'm a Houston Texans fan and I
(28:21):
have Denver Green Bay eighty three to one with a
hundred bucks to pay eighty four hundred dollars to make
the Super Bowl. So that's who I'm rooting for right now.
That's who I'm rooting for. In Houston. I was dead.
We were all dead until we're not. Now. We're gonna
need Jacksonville to lose a game, and you look at
(28:41):
our schedule, they might not. Do you think the College
Football Committee are having nightmares of Tulane and James Madison
actually winning. No, I think that's I would say they have. No,
They're not worried those teams are both getting their ass
(29:02):
kicked in the first round. I'm a Ravens fan, so
I need your opinion. We love to put blame on Lamar,
We love to put it on the players. We love
to blame the coordinators. When are we gonna hold John
Harbaugh accountable. I know he's a good coach, but we
are very, very poorly coached team, and it starts with him,
like nobody ever calls him out. I feel like we
(29:24):
could bring in a Brian Flores or Clint Kobiak and
they'll turn the team completely around. Plus that a line
of ours is very bad, but he keeps saying they're
doing a good job. I mean, it's I think with
drys fans nuts and I see it because I'm pretty
in deep with Niner blogs and stuff falling on social
media is when everyone agrees like the O line's terrible,
(29:47):
or like a couple offensive linemen are bad. I remember
everyone thought the forty nine Ers center sucked the last
couple of years, and then their own line coach said
he was like one of their highest graded guys in
the league. It's like, are we are we all idiots?
In The answer is sometimes yes and sometimes like they
can be biased, I think they also need to build
up their players. They're in the business of like making
(30:10):
these guys believe they're actually better than they are. But
if John misses the playoffs, it's it'll get louder, It'll
get louder for sure. I think you know the reason
Tomlin's under more. He hasn't won a playoff game in
ten years. John Harbaugh was in the AFC Championship Game
two years ago, hosting it. He's been the number one
(30:32):
seed multiple times on the last couple of years, so
I think that that's why he gets treated a little
bit differently. Giants have the number one overall pick currently.
If that stands, do you think they trade back and
get a haul. I think they would definitely trade out
of it now a hall. You know, it depends how
(30:54):
many people are bidding for it, but it would at
this point in time. If you're a Giants fan, you
might as well who's out and get that number one pick,
because if Fernando comes out, let's see right now, if
you go to the league standing, they would be one,
the Titans being two, which is good for you too,
Like you want the Titans to keep losing. So teams
(31:15):
like the Raiders, the Browns, the Cardinals, the Jets getting
a bidding war. I think the best case scenario I
see with my wife in real estate, you get a
couple of people that want the house and that house goes.
I was on the market for a million, all of
a sudden it sells for one point two and he
just takes two. Baby, But if you just get one,
(31:38):
luckily there's not just one, and you're just better off
at this point losing out. Assuming that Fernando is viewed
as the number one or or Dante more, I think
the best case scenario for the Giants is only one
of those two guys comes out, and so it's just
(31:58):
them versus a group of guys that aren't even viewed
as first round picks. So if you want to get
the quarterback, you got to come up and get him.
If there's multiple guys, then the it's like multiple homes
on the block. The negotiating power isn't quite the same.
I think that's what you got a roof for. If
you're a Giants fan, only one quote unquote star quarterback
(32:20):
comes out. Pretty sure, Fernando doesn't have a choice. But
let me what's his eligibility. I just I don't know why,
I've just been talking about him like a senior. But
so he's his first year at Cal, he red shirted.
I mean, technically he could come back to Indiana twenty two.
(32:40):
He red shirted twenty three, played twenty four. Obviously he's
full time starter at col and then this year got
his numbers. He has more touchdowns this year at Indiana
thirty three than he did the last two years combined
to started at Cow twenty. Now, granted he only played
he started nineteen games. He's played thirteen this year. But
(33:04):
I would say, like I said, I would say Fernando
is going to be the top pick in the draft.
With Jalen Hurts regressing, it seems like every game how
long until the Eagles move on to Tanner McKee. Clearly
they like McKee and he's shown some flashes during preseason games.
There's one little problem when it comes to Jalen Hurts,
(33:24):
and it's called this thing called a contract. Now, I'm
not trying to bury him off a weird season in
these weird games, but Jalen Hurts is what you would
call in the mob, a made man. He's basically these
next couple of years, he's going to be on the team.
So I would say, under no circumstance, even if they
(33:47):
lose out and he keeps playing shitty, he's on the team.
In twenty twenty six. He is one hundred percent the
quarterback at least next year. Now, Philly their cutthroat as
any organization, and how he proved it with Carson Wentz. Now,
this guy won you the super Bowl, right, I mean
he didn't just win the Super Bowl, but he was
(34:08):
a starting quarterback. You know, it was easier on the
Wents thing. It's like, well, he didn't even win it
folds did. I do think he's a little bit of
a made man, at least for sure twenty six, especially
because what are they gonna do this? They're gonna get
rid of a J. Brown this offseason, so they'll they'll
get rid of a J. Brown. They'll probably draft a
guy high and kind of give him a new look offense.
(34:28):
They'll probably try to improve the offensive line for sure. Actually,
they're probably more likely draft offensive lineman. Well, I guess
they could sign him in free agency, but they're expensive
and I don't think. I don't know how much money
they're gonna have. Tanner McKee. What year is he in? Three?
So he is? He was drafted in twenty three, so
(34:51):
this his third year in the league. I mean, he'll
be on the team next year. Who are the dark
horse super Bowl contenders? I got the Texans of the Niners.
(35:13):
Texans case easy defense against mediogre AFC. The Niners case
would be having the best coaching staff in the Shanahan era.
He's had some great ones, but Kyle finally gave up
and decided specially the teams matter Kyle and Sala, and
Kyle frequently start drives in favorable positions. I do think
from a personnel staff or standpoint, it would be really
(35:37):
difficult if they're a wild card team to win three
games with that defense. Their margin for ERA on offense
would be slim to none. They'd have to be the
best offense in the playoffs to have a chance to
make a Super Bowl run because defensively, like listen, they
play really hard and they're well schemed, they do not
have the bodies. Their best pass rusher by a mile
(35:58):
is is Hough, who is a situational pass rusher that
they're having to play a lot more. Who's a good
pass rusher. I mean he'd be really good if they
had Bosa and Michael Williams. I mean he'd be good
for like a sack of game. But now it's like
you just kind of know if you can just kind
of double team him who else is beating you. They
What both those two teams have is you'd want no
(36:21):
part of either one in a playoff game, and you
would want no part of either one in that first
round because in that first round, let's face it, like
you just won your division, unless you're the Bucks or
the Panthers. Like if they're the three seed and you're
the Eagles and you're like eleven and six and you're
playing the forty nine Ers who are twelve and five,
it's like, yeah, they got some issues, but they ain't
(36:42):
gonna be scared of playing you, and all the pressure
is going to be on you, and that crowd will
turn on you. If you're the Texans and you're playing
you know, the Patriots and Broncos and some order probably
one two, then they don't probably be the Jags or
the Texans. I guess it could just be Texans Jacks.
(37:03):
If you're the Jags, you don't want you. You'd rather
play the Chargers than the than the Texans in that game.
I think, how fucked are the Colts? I heard they're
trying to call Philip Rivers. At what point you might
as well try Nikole Jokic to be your quarterback. Where
do the Colts go from here? Yeah, man, they're in trouble.
(37:23):
I mean, the just you just find yourself in some
of these situations once upon a time where you just
have some injuries. I mean, there's a famous story I
think in like two thousand and two that Donovan McNabb
got hurt and Andy Reid called Trey aigman and he
was calling games and he thought about it, but he
ended up saying no. But sometimes you find yourselves in
these situations where you're just completely desperate. And if you
(37:45):
were five and eight, you would just sign some dude
off practice squad and you wouldn't even care. But when
you're eight and five, you're like, if we can just
get to ten and seven, you know, we can be
in the playoffs. We could still win this division, right,
And that's what they're thinking. And the answer is, actually,
you can't. You guys are too close to the sun.
(38:06):
My mother could tell you you're screwed. It sucks, but
you're screwed. But that's not how you think when you're
in a team, when you're in the environment, you can't
tell your players that it just sucks. If you're them,
I don't really care I'm rooting for Houston. I have
a question, with honestly no agenda at all, four to bag,
if you could to informally pull some of your NFL
(38:29):
exec connections. I think that would be wonderful. This guy
wants me to grind out here, start sending some text messages.
If this past year's NFL draft was conducted all over again,
in which round do most people feel Shadore would be
selected this time around? Sincerely curious? I would say watching
him play, he shouldn't have been a fifth rounder one
(38:53):
to begin with, right, but he did that to himself
by saying, do not draft me. All these the Ravens
and the he go these teams were gonna draft him
in the fourth round, he said, no, I think one
if you redo it, he goes on the second day,
where on the second day it's hard to get you know,
(39:13):
if I pulled these guys, A huge part of the
draft is like what's happening leading up to the draft.
So if you know now, he'd just be cool with
coming to your team. Yeah, I mean, I think he
could go somewhere between like middle of the second round
and middle of the third round, depending on your quarterback needs. Uh,
depending on who your quarterback is, right, if you if
(39:33):
you have an established starter, you know, it's you got
to feel, you know, like the Chiefs, they wouldn't waste
to pick, but like you don't have to if you
take him in the second round. But that was the
whole thing. Shed Or didn't want to go to Lamar
Jackson because he would never play, even though ironically he
would have because Lamar missed games this year, so he
should have gone last year based on the talent. I
(39:54):
thought on the second day, Dylan Gabriel going in the
third round is insane. So you know, historically we've seen
a lot of guys. Russell Wilson went in the third round.
Dak Prescott went in the fourth. But part of the
reason he fell he's got a DUI right before the draft.
Cousins the fourth. Now it's almost like saying, well, yeah,
(40:17):
that home used to cost four hundred grand, it costs
one point two million dollars. Now there's quarterback inflation. It's
like the Dak Prescott's, the Cousins, those guys would never
go that late now, right, they would go somewhere between
pick twenty and fifty. That's probably where Shidor goes. It's
like you're an investment banking, high finance guy meets cooler
version of Mike Mayock. That's quite the fucking compliment. I
(40:39):
like that question for you, though, What was the moment
you realized you weren't scouting, you weren't for the scouting
personnel game, and why did you decide to stick it
out and stay in the sports media space given all
the adversity from the sector and the sport in the
media industry. I uh, you know, I got relieved in
(41:00):
my duties. My contract ended. It just didn't get extended
by the Eagles in twenty thirteen after the draft, So
that's like, you know, may one. I started doing radio
stuff by that summer and into the fall. And when
I started doing that, you know, in football, I could
love a guy and we could sign them, but it's
(41:23):
not like I get a bonus off that you get like,
good job and you just move on, right, And part
of it was you get in the radio, You're like, God,
I'm doing some shows like we're rating really well, getting
a lot of positive feedback, and it kind of hit
me that I control my own destiny doing this right,
Like even at the time, I didn't have a radio
(41:46):
show or whatever. I was going on as a guest,
but I remember the boss who had come from ESPN,
was like, your segment's rate really well, and it's like
I had control. Now again, I didn't control the ratings,
but luckily people enjoyed listening to me part of it.
They probably never I was kind of a unique voice
at the time, and I was unique because I was
(42:07):
from you know, I was doing local Bayry radio, Like
I'm from northern California, so it's like I grew up
rooting for these teams. It was. It was a pretty
easy landing spot for me in terms of the knowledge
of what I was talking about. And I just remember thinking,
like I control my own destiny here. It's almost like
when you hear an entrepreneur guy who'd worked at a
corporate job and goes The thing I wanted was no
(42:30):
longer I want to do control. I wanted to have
control of where I went win or loose. And once
I started doing this, I realized, like, as you do
it longer, like anything, there are things out of your control.
But I control way more of doing this than I
did as the scouting world, right, I mean a huge
(42:52):
part of say this all the time, Tim Skipper is
I've been around Andy freaking Read. He is one of
the best coaches I've ever been around. He big time
and he just had He just took the cow Paly job.
And you see some of these guys that end up
in like Auburn or Urban. You know Ryan Day at
Ohio State. It's all about getting hitched with the right guy.
(43:12):
Once upon a time, when his career was taken off,
he got on with Jim mcawain. Jim mcawayan went to Florida.
He was Jim mcawaan's assistant head coach at Florida. They
were making the SEC championship game and they got fired.
I mean he was if it had gone a little
bit better, maybe he's an SEC head coach. So much
stuff as coaching or scouting. They're probably great scouts on
(43:34):
the Cleveland Browns, on the Raiders wherever. But in this business,
I'm essentially a salesman for myself. I'm selling John Middlecoff's
the products. It's impossible to get any easier than go well,
do I believe in what I'm selling. I'm literally selling
(43:54):
my own body, not technically my body, you know, unless
for the right price, but just like me, and it
hit me kind of early on doing that that I
was like, God, I'm pretty good at this. And I
remember the feedback it really kind of clicked in. They're like, god,
I'm kind of in the driver's seat. I'm no longer
in the backseat, right, you know, you see what the
(44:16):
eagles like guy gets fired all of a sudden, chip
comes in a bunch of new people that you don't
really know, and it's like where are you in? Are
you out? It's like, if I do a good job
doing this, and you know, over the years, I feel
like I've got a pretty good idea of what I'm doing,
Like I'm in complete control of what happens to you know,
(44:37):
for the consumer to enjoy it or not right. And
then you just get with the right people, the right
infrastructure or the sales, the financial aspect, the distribution aspect.
Obviously you got to be smart about that, and I've
been lucky. The relationship with Colin is definitely in this
career of mine is the most important thing that's ever
happened to me. Why I would say that's too. The
(45:01):
guy that officiated my wedding, guy Haveberman, got me into
the business in the Bay Area, had me on. He's
the reason that it took off. Then we had a
radio show and we did a podcast without that starting point,
who knows, who knows? I mean that was it all
got started there, and that was integral. It doesn't exist
(45:25):
without me getting my foot in the door. And I
got my foot in the door because of him. And
then we had a radio show that did well, but
then that thing got canceled. Won't start pissing people off, Well,
somehow I pissed people off, even though he was kind
of saying the same things too. But you know, he's
probably a little nicer about it. And the Raiders held
it against me more. But it is what it is,
(45:47):
all in good fun, well not really at the time.
I was pissed, but so were they doing a the
one thing in the radio business or any of Like
I see this with ESPN where you know the the
analysts they get they love to push back, like the
SEC is not telling us what to say when you're
(46:11):
in business with someone, regardless at that level. No different
with radio and business with the Yankees or the Lakers,
even if you're paying the Yankees or the Lakers to
have their product. What they say really matters because they're
really important to your business model. And there are one
pressures of like you know they in this in this
(46:34):
line of work, they always say, don't get personal. Well,
that's kind of entertaining to do that. You know, now,
if you're just getting personal twenty four seven, three sixty five,
you don't even know the guy. It's like you're kind
of a douche. Like I often say, like, if I
don't know the guy, this isn't personal. I don't know
the human. But I can also just I don't have
to know you, do not like you or think you stink, right,
But you got to be very careful when you're in business.
(46:56):
And I saw it forever with the big radio station
in the Bay Area. They had the canb Are, they
had the San Franco Giants, and the giants got very
very They get very sensitive about what you say. It's like, guys,
you've lost twenty twenty the last twenty five games, what
am I supposed to do? Three a fucking party? Send
you guys cookies. I mean, it's it's it's a very
(47:16):
difficult business to do if you are connected with leagues,
because like what if you truly believe you're sitting up
there like I don't think Alabama's that good. Like what
if you believe that, but you're in business with the SEC,
like they're not gonna watch you to say that. It's like, yeah,
I think I think Bama sucks. I don't think Bama
is the top fifteen team right now. I don't know
(47:38):
if you're hearing many people say that, but there has
to be some people that believe that, right No. Different
at Fox, like they take care of the Big Ten,
you wouldn't you never hear any negative Ryan Day stuff.
It's like it's why they kind of get very sensitive
with Portnoy. Now portan NOI i'd argue. I mean it's
(47:59):
like even my wife says, God, he's always talking about
Ohio State, and like it's kind of this thing. But
I do get if you're Fox, like Ohio State, if
they had to choose the entire Big Ten, right, all
the teams, not Ohio State or just Ohio State and
lose all the teams, they would choose Ohio State. That's
how powerful that brand is. In Michigan and Oregon and
USC are huge, but Ohio State is that powerful that
(48:22):
they're essentially like a big NFL team, and you know,
you just gotta be careful what you say. Now, I
do believe that like Klatt likes these guys and stuff,
but you know, I've heard him be really negative on
the SEC like he's not. He wouldn't throw those type
flames at Lincoln Riley. He wouldn't throw those type flames
that you know, Matt rule. You know, it's just part
(48:43):
of the thing. And one thing I realized in getting
in the podcast business, like I can say whatever I
want about teams. Again, I'm just saying what I think anyway.
But if we had a partnership with you know, Major
League Baseball and Rob Manfred, we would it would be hard,
right and I don't even talk baseball, But my point
(49:04):
is you just wouldn't just be shitting on them constantly.
They would be pissed. That happened with ESPN. That was
the issue at the end with ESPN of like you
guys don't even talk about us, and when you do,
it's like negative. So I think these things get very complicated,
and it's easiest to just be kind of independent and
say whatever you want because it's easy to be authentic.
And that's what resonates with the most people. I don't
(49:24):
know why that was so long winded and why I
talked about it for so long, but I appreciate my
You guys. Listen to my Ted Talk audios. The volume
The volume. What is going on everybody, John middlecop that's
me three and our podcast. That's the show. We are
(00:21):
brought to you by my friends at Zone Pouches. Hopefully
everyone is doing well. We've had had a lot of
stuff going on, obviously, Colin on Sunday Chiefs Reaction Sunday
Night as a podcast, Eagles Reaction Monday Night as a podcast.
Today will be a big mail bag at John Middlecoff
at John middlecoff Is the Instagram, as well as reacting
(00:43):
to Philip Rivers, who is forty four I'd say coming
out of retirement. He's really coming off the sideline in
high school where he's been coaching. Turns out he's been
running Shane Stiken's offense. So some quick thoughts there as
well as the mail bag, and that will be the
game today. I'm recording this Tuesday afternoon. And yeah, so
(01:05):
you guys know the drill. If you listen on Collin Speed,
make sure you subscribe, subscribe to that YouTube channel. We
appreciate all you guys. But before we dive into Philip Rivers,
you know, I gotta tell you about my friends. You know,
I gotta tell you about my partners and their game
Time because they're the best ticketing app that you've ever seen.
I've been a user of game Time now for I've
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and you can find tickets for as low as one
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(01:47):
Not a game Time because they want you to take
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Download the game Time app, create an account and use
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day last minute to take as lowest price guarantee. Philip Rivers. Honestly,
this story is one of those that just makes you smile,
(02:11):
partly because it's so ridiculous, partly because it's Philip Rivers
who I've been banging the table forever, and I get it.
He's got twenty five kids and he loves coaching high
school ball. Turns out he's running Shane Stiken's offense and
they talk every week, which makes sense. A couple of
just football junkies. But I think we see Drew Brees
on television, we see Tom Brady on television. Philip Rivers
(02:32):
would have been a stud. He would have been, you know,
a mixture of like a Madden meets Gruden with a
with no swear words. Obviously Madden didn't cuss. Gruden didn't
either on TV, though you could tell he always wanted to.
So I've missed Philip Rivers in my life. There are
certain athletes that whenever they come back in your life,
like we've been very lucky, right, We've had Charles Barkley
(02:53):
in my life, my entire life. When I was a kid,
he played, He played in the NBA, and then he
immediately went into in the television and we just get
to consume him and he makes me smile. It's one
of Charles's best characteristics. So many people want to be
like him. It's like bro, he makes you laugh. That
is his key like that is what he brings the
(03:15):
table beside just whatever else he's you know, talking hoops
or being a dude, and just he's fun. And John
Madden was fun. Philip Rivers is fun. And I've you know,
back when I was around the Raiders and doing radio,
going to all those Charger Raider games at the Coliseum
up in Oakland. You know, I've seen him have great games.
(03:37):
I've seen him shit the bed and have terrible games.
I think the last game ever in the Coliseum was
against the Chargers, and Rivers I think ended the game
on an interception to Charles Woodson. If I could be
remembering this incorrectly, but it kind of feels in that world.
But I think this also shows one of my first
football reactions is is this safe? Like, if Philip Rivers
(04:02):
ends up their starting quarterback moving forward, is this safe?
He hasn't played in the NFL in years. He obviously
was never a great athlete to begin with. He does
not have a great arm. And you look at their schedule.
They get Seattle this week at Seattle, not an ideal
landing spot. Elite team, speed pass rush dbs and linebackers
(04:26):
that can blitz against an elite defensive coach. That is
not an easy landing spot in theory. Because the Niners
have a bunch of injuries, that's a little bit easier
of a team. But I don't care who plays for
the Niners. They have a standard and they are looking
to hit people and hit people hard. The Jags clearly
have a good pass rush, and the Texans are probably
as ferocious of a defense as they're in the NFL.
(04:48):
So two of the four of these opponents, I mean
big time defenses, The Jags pretty good and the forty
nine ers have one of the best, if not you know,
a top two or three defensive coordinator in the league.
Is he safe out there? Right? He cannot run, he
can't get away. There is just if I don't care
what you do in life. If you and this is
where I disagreed with Colin years ago, his whole thing.
(05:11):
When John Gruden came back, He's like, you can't leave
an industry for a decade and come back and know
what you're doing. Not in the business, it's really competitive, right,
You couldn't just leave the media landscape in twenty fifteen
and come back in twenty twenty five and have a
shot people be running circles around you. Right in Wall Street.
You couldn't just disappear and come back. There is a
(05:32):
massive curve because of the speed in which things change. Now, well,
football is the same thing, and I get it. You know,
Philip would say, hey, it's still you know, ten yards
to get a first down. The concepts, you know from
the offense haven't necessarily changed. And as they have. I've
known about him because I talked to the coach. But like,
you're not used to the speed and Collins all things,
(05:52):
John Gruden, this isn't gonna work. I was like, I
think it will, but I kind of bought the kool
aid and I was wrong. It was not working. And
I do believe that Rivers. You know, they went through
that stretch with when Luck retired of having to get
a lot of you know, older veteran quarterbacks, and they
multiple of the guys had something in common. They were washed.
(06:16):
They were older players whose prime was well behind them,
and arm strength wise, Matt Ryan and Philip Rivers never
had great arms to begin with, but by the time
they played for the Colts, their arms were diminishing. Now,
River's numbers actually weren't terrible when he was in Indianapolis.
But it just shows you how desperate this team is.
(06:36):
And sometimes listen like the old adages like never make
big decisions out of desperation. That's all well and good
until you don't have a choice and you're in a
desperate mode and you have to pull the trigger and
make a decision. And that's where they're at. But I
do think when it comes to Indy Is, I do
give them. I do respect the fact that they did
(06:58):
this and they didn't roll out some like random Desmond
Ritter type, some random guy on a practice squad. Right.
They're in this predicament because they've had major injuries. Daniel
Jones is a broken leg and a torn achilles. That's
not funny, even though it is like usually when a
guy's a major injuries. I tell my acl this guy's
a broken leg and a torn achilles on two different legs.
It's pretty crazy. It's almost like a skiing accident when
(07:20):
a guy slams into a rock or something. But I
don't know, man, this is a fun story. I hope
he plays against the forty nine ers. That would be
really entertaining. I kind of hope he doesn't play against Seattle,
because I think that could be really ugly. But they
might not have a choice. And I mean clearly they
don't have a choice when they signed him. And I
(07:40):
said this on Monday night, and I believe this more.
Do you know who's very jealous right now? Do you
know jealous Tom Brady is? Do you know jealous Paid
Manning is? Do you know jealous Drew Brees is? Not
that they would want to play in a game, because
they would. They are no dummies, they know, like I
would get killed. I can't move. But like just getting
that call, like Philip, you want to come work out
(08:02):
for us? Like that had to get his juices going.
You know, it's like one last ride, cowboy. I remember
the famous story Tim Flannery, who was Bruce Bochie's third
base coach in San Diego. When Bruce Bochie got the
job with San Francisco, I think in like you know,
the late two thousands, he called Tim Flannery, who I
(08:23):
think he had fired in San Diego and said, you
know what, cowboy, we got one last ride in US
and they won three World Series. And just just that
call of like someone believes in me. I don't I
don't care what you do, but as an athlete, you know,
as a if you're Philip Rivers, you would say, I'm
a has been I don't have it anymore, but maybe
(08:45):
I do, you know. Let's see, are you sure I don't? Am? I? Am?
I sure I don't. We're about to find out so
very very uh entertaining story, that's for sure. Today's show
is brought to you by our new presenting sponsor, hard
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nine with it. Gambling problem call one hundred Gambler Arizona, Colorado, Illinois,
New Jersey, Ohio, Tennessee, Virginia. Okay, let's let's fire into
the mail bag. We will start with Dominic with the
(10:54):
Bills glaring problem at wide receiver and pass rushers. I'm
assuming they will be picking up one this off season.
What do you think is more vital for the Bills,
and who do you think would be the best fit
for the Bills, whether that be a trade or a
draft in the off season. The line of scrimmage to
the if I'm Buffalo is what I invest in. Like
(11:15):
I Shakir was a mid round pick, right Cook was
not a first round pick. Kincaid was, but I mean
he hasn't exactly lit the world on fire. Keon Coleman,
we drafted really high and that's been very up and down.
I'm investing in Lineman, so I wouldn't get ahead of ourselves, Like,
let's just they have an enormous game. I mean, one
(11:37):
of the biggest NFL games of the year is this
weekend in New England, New England versus Buffalo. Like I
would spend less time worrying about like who we're going
to get in the draft and in free agency. I mean,
who even knows who's gonna become available. Older guys get cut,
older guys are on the trade deadline, or I mean
on the trade block is you know, coaches get fired,
(11:59):
so you just there's so much unknown on December ninth.
But if I'm a Bills fan, the only thing I'm
worrying about is can we beat the Patriots. Look, we're
favored in that game, but do I feel great about it?
I don't. I mean, I actually kind of think the
play is New England just coming off of bye. You
know that game against Buffalo is in major trouble against Cincinnati,
now you would say, Burrow, you know it's kind of
(12:21):
the Bill's killer. But their defense has major, major question marks,
and the easiest way to make a defense better is
to have awesome defensive linemen. So I would I would
worry less about the offseason and kind of enjoy the ride.
Like you're playing. You've had this run with Josh Allen,
who just had a massive game against Cincinnati. Your defense
(12:43):
came through a two enormous plays that saved the season.
Part of saving the season now is like, well you
can take advantage of it if you lose the Patriots.
It was almost like, well that kind of that kind
of was a tease. Ryan. Do you think we'll see
more larger foot programs offer their top prospect college tuition
(13:03):
in cash to pay for college rather than give them
cash and a scholarship, so they can leverage the limited
amounts of scholarships to those who they don't have to
give cash to. That way, they can't get around their
limited scholarships due to Title nine. Well, if you run
a you know, Ohio State or Alabama, they get eighty
(13:24):
five scholarships. So scholarships don't really matter. I would say,
like they're not being talked about in the conversation of
landing a player, because if I'm gonna give a guy
five hundred grand his tuition of forty grand a year,
I'm also covering his housing costs, you know, his meals
(13:44):
with the team, Like the scholarship is part of the deal.
I hear what you're saying. I think the scholarship now
is viewed as such an irrelevant piece of the puzzle
that it's all about the nil and that's just part
of the package. I'm pretty sure. I don't know the
details of this, but I don't think walk ons exist anymore.
So everyone on the team technically has to be on
(14:06):
scholarship or that's gonna happen very soon with the revenue
sharing agreement. So I hear what you're saying, but I
think the way it's going to work moving forward with
the quote unquote revenue share is not even a possibility
if you're on the team, you're technically a scholarship player,
and you're on revenue share. Where do you think CJ.
Stroud ranks amongst quarterbacks? He has shown signs of incredible talent,
(14:30):
but has been inconsistent since his rookie season. Also, I
think detections should extend him. But it's tough to say
what the price would be. Sometimes you can watch a
guy and I don't even know what his numbers were
against the Chiefs, but like, that was an impressive game.
He missed a couple, but he made some big time
plays and to me, moments like that against a team
(14:54):
like that, who's backs against the wall on the road,
there's a small limited guys that don't. They can't function
in that environment, and he can, Like I know, like
you said, he's been up and down the last couple
of years because of the offensive line. Obviously got injured
this year. I was impressed, Like, to me, he's a
guy that you should like. At worst, he could have
(15:17):
a Dak Prescott like career. It's on Casario, it's on
Demico Ryans to basically build this thing up and you know,
protect him. But he's I was really impressed, Like, honestly,
I thought he outplayed Patrick or every bit as good
as him in that game. So I think CJ's pretty
(15:37):
good ranking. You know, I don't have him like with
Josh or Joe Burrow, but I think he's he should
be a consistent top ten quarterback for the next ten years.
What had the scouts NFL personnel said about Mendoza recently.
I remember a few months ago, they weren't saying he
(15:59):
they were saying he wouldn't even be a top ten pick.
Did he did? He need to prove it. He's still
the same six or five good arm kid who beat
Oregon a few months ago. I think when he beat Oregon,
the buzz grew. I think when he beat Oregon that's
when it kind of changed a little bit. I think
that was I'm real, guys, and that was a moment
(16:22):
that I do think he kind of went from interesting
prospect to like, this is a real, real prospect. And
then that game against Ohio State was just you know,
some of those throws, some of those plays he made,
the toughness he showed getting hit. I would be hard
pressed to probably meet many people in the NFL. They
don't view him as a top again, like I understand
(16:43):
people going I wouldn't take him number one overall, but
if you take him twelve overall, what the fuck's the difference?
If he's the number one quarterback and you need a quarterback.
This is the argument from NFL personnel people. It's like,
you take the guy at four that you would take
at twelve, right if he if he's your best option, right,
if you're picking between three or four guys, okay, but
(17:04):
if he's if the other quarterbacks are not first round
quarterbacks and you need a quarterback, Like, if someone's gonna
take him at seven, then you can take him in two,
and my gut, again, things can change. This is a
fluid business. Injuries, poor play against better opponents. I would say,
(17:24):
as of December ninth, I would bet on him being
the number one pick in the draft. Like you said,
six five, two hundred and thirty pounds, big arm, high
character kid, you know, good family, kind of goofy like
cousins luck, which is actually a plus. You don't have
to worry about him screwing around, get in trouble. I
love people being like, yeah, he's kind of goofy. He
(17:46):
kind of reminds me of Kirk Cousins, you don't think
teams like that, like his teammates clearly like him. So
would I rather have like, you know, kind of goofy
dude and just kind of nerdy like Luck Cousins, or
do this party and drinking all the time? That also
his teammates like now. Granted, most of these guys in
(18:07):
the NFL in twenty twenty five are pretty focused cats,
but I think that's a that's working in his favor.
Do you think the Giants can easily become the standard
in the NFC East? Well, did my producer Shane write this?
I think we got to pump the brakes here a
little bit standard in the NFC East. They are currently
(18:30):
what's the Giants record? Oh, they're two and eleven. So
last year they drafted abdual Carter third. Overall, let's just
let's walk before we run, let's get a real coach,
let's get some better players, let's keep elevating the guys
we got, and just try to become an eight win team.
(18:50):
So I do think the standard to be the standard
in the NFC East. Listen, Phillies and Shambles, they are
what do they have a I guess, they only have
one less loss than the Cowboys, but the Cowboys have
two less wins, so they would have to lose another game.
And even if the Cowboys win out. So if the
(19:13):
Cowboys won out ten six and one, and if the
Eagles won out at eight, they'd have twelve, they'd have
to lose two of their last four. Probably pretty unlikely.
I would say the Eagles, they've won the division what
two of the last three years, They're probably gonna win
it again. I think, listen, we can make fun of
(19:35):
them all we want. They're pretty clearly the standard. I
have a Jordan Love MVP ticket at four thousand to one,
so or I guess plus yeah, four thousand and one,
so basically forty to one. So if you bet one
hundred bucks, you win four K. If you bet one
thousand and you win forty be a nice hit if
you did. Would you cash it out now or let
it ride? I can double up with a cash out now.
(19:57):
This weekend's kind of tricky because he could throw three
touchdowns in Denver they win in Denver, that cash out
could double. From where you're at, he throws for one
hundred and forty yards a couple of picks, they lose,
kind of comes back to earth. Now, he could vault
back up in a week against the Bears, but this
is kind of a pivotal point for him, right, So
(20:19):
if I we'll bring up the Packers' schedule, if we
assume he plays well in this game, he could really
drive it home. The next couple weeks they go to Chicago,
he plays well, they win it. I think he'd be
right there. Then the Ravens and Vikings, he can kind
of hammer it home toward the end. Plays bad this week, though,
I think it would be a little unlikely that he
(20:41):
wins it. So if you want to take the logic
of you never go broke taking a profit, I think
you can't be mad at yourself for cashing out. Now.
I don't know your financial situation, but I'm just gonna
let's just assume you put one hundred dollars on him,
(21:02):
so you have the opportunity and one hundred dollars into
forty thousand, the enjoyment and the fun. Now, if you
need the two hundred dollars, I get it. If you,
I don't know what you can even get for two
hundred dollars and twenty twenty five and that buys you
like a sandwich and bag of chips, and like, you know,
a quarter tank of gas. But if you need that
two hundred dollars today, then cash out. But if you don't,
(21:26):
and one hundred dollars is something that you can handle losing,
it makes the last month of the season really fun.
I say. Sometimes, like when I do some of these
like one hundred dollars parlays, you know that pay I
don't know, thirty to one that would win three grand.
Even if I don't win, the enjoyment I got out
of that game was worth one hundred dollars of entertainment.
(21:47):
Like nothing this what do I get for entertainment anymore? Right?
Like when I bet on these PGA Tour events and
I get a guy thirty to one or forty to one,
and I put fifty dollars on him if he's in
the mix on Sunday. Even if I don't get my
money back, that fifty dollars has me glued to the
couch in the middle of May when there's nothing else
going on, and that entertainment's worth it for me. So
(22:12):
I personally, again, assuming it's not a large amount of money,
or amount of money relative that's going to impact you.
I'd let it ride for the enjoyment. I'm a second
gen Lions fan and I rep hard, go to games,
buy swag. Heck, my friends made me a Lion's cake
(22:33):
for my fortieth Check my g and you'll see the
Lions logos everywhere. I was never into college football, but
I now, because of college football playoff, have a lot
of love to give. But I need a team. I
want one I can grow with, but not a current
front runner because I hate bandwagoners. I'm open to being
(22:54):
I'm open to being open any suggestions. Until I read
the part about front runner, my first response was just
you're already Detroit guy. Just go with Michigan. Now. You know,
Michigan is down a little bit relative to what they
were a couple of years ago, but they're not going anywhere.
That would be my first response. It's an easy carryover.
You get Michigan alliance, right, it's like a Browns fan,
(23:16):
Ohio State right, Niner fan, cow fan, you know, Cowboy fan,
Texas fan. It's an easy transit. Now, if you want
to go a little off the beaten path, I think
you still need to root for a team that has
a chance to get in the playoffs, right, You wouldn't
(23:36):
want to just be a fan of like Mississippi State
to be counterculture and have them never make the playoffs.
That would suck. So you need more of a team
in like the fifteen to thirty range, and I think
the team would be I think it would be a couple.
If you want to bet on the changing landscape of
(23:57):
the sport, I think Vanderbilt would be pretty cool. Their
head coach Clark Lee, who had an awesome comment today
about like, yeah, this program plays football. They was asked
if they were gonna opt out of the bowl game.
He's like, no, We're a football program. We played football.
I mean, if Pete Leavauqua says one more fucking thing,
I'm gonna puke in my mouth. But respect to Clark Lee,
(24:19):
I think Vanderbilt the ever changing world with nil could
really benefit them. I think they just landed the number
one quarterback in the country to replace. You know, if
it wasn't for Fernando Diego Pavia would have won the
Heisman Trophy. And I'm a sucker for this program. Now
they're gonna have a new coach in the next year
or two because Whittingham's gonna retire. I do think Utah
(24:42):
is a team that you can just kind of be
proud of. They're usually good on defense, they're usually pound
the ball running it, and if they get a decent
quarterback like they can be a top ten team. They
went ten to two this year. Their two losses were
to Tech and BYU and Tech. They got worked, but
be I use it was a close game. It was
a fun game on Saturday night. I would go with
(25:04):
Vandy or Utah if you want to go no on
like Notre Dame, Oklahoma Oregon types. I think those two
would be cool. And on a yearly basis, Utah I
think you have a better chance on a yearly basis
to make the playoffs. Vandy would be fun if it
does turn around. Question for the mailbag, what do you
(25:25):
think people talk about coaches being good at making halftime adjustments.
I heard someone ask Ben Johnson after the game on
Sunday about how he managed to make his halftime adjustments,
and he responded by saying he didn't make any at all.
Is this normal thing or misunderstood? I think where all
these guys have always pushed back on that is you're
making adjustments based on every play, every series. So just
(25:49):
because you come in at half, you have been making
adjustments throughout the first In the second quarter, right the
first couple series, you guys are kind of feeling each
other out. By the time you've each had three or
four possession and it's seven minutes left in the second quarter,
like you're on the headsets, You're like, hey, let's scrap this.
This was a game plan play there, let's take this away.
Let's keep running this because clearly they're buying into it
(26:11):
and we can hit him with the counter. So I
think when like Brady and Peyton Manning and those guys
always say like halftime adjustments don't exist because you adjust
every single snap, you adjust every single series. So halftimes
more about like everyone gather yourself, maybe like a big
picture message and maybe like you could be a little
calmer and do specific adjustments that you were already talking
(26:33):
about out on the field. But I think a quote
unquote adjustment in football in the NFL in college is
like a fluid thing throughout the game after the first
series or two. So I don't think he's acting like
they don't adjust. They just don't adjust, like they don't
talk about they just run the game plan and they
(26:55):
go into halftime and they either throw away the game
plan or adjust the game plan. Where I think he
would tell you is like it's just a constant thing,
start to finish in the game. In theory, I feel
like the conversation around CJ is always he's been a
shell of himself since the rookie year. Since I'm a
Texans fan, I watch every snap and give my biased opinion,
(27:17):
but he's extremely accurate and the Chiefs game shows he
has a lot of playmaking ability. When Caleb Williams has
one good half against the Packers, the narratives look how
talented he is, And the narrative around CJ is when
will we see rookie CJ again? Just curious your thoughts.
I think Chief's game was a pretty big moment for
the guy I think he was. That was impressive, That
(27:38):
was like, Okay, let's win this division, baby, let's do it.
I have a parlay, a pretty aggressive one with Houston,
with Denver, who's going to do it? With the Packers
who still can do it? With Seattle which was five
to one, that still can do it, And my parlays
(28:00):
to win the division was Houston, Denver, Green Bay, Tampa,
Seattle fifty dollars to pay ten k. Also have one
I made middle of the season with Denver, New England,
Seattle and Pittsburgh. That's one hundred bucks to pay seven k.
So let's see. I'm a Houston Texans fan and I
(28:21):
have Denver Green Bay eighty three to one with a
hundred bucks to pay eighty four hundred dollars to make
the Super Bowl. So that's who I'm rooting for right now.
That's who I'm rooting for. In Houston. I was dead.
We were all dead until we're not. Now. We're gonna
need Jacksonville to lose a game, and you look at
(28:41):
our schedule, they might not. Do you think the College
Football Committee are having nightmares of Tulane and James Madison
actually winning. No, I think that's I would say they have. No,
They're not worried those teams are both getting their ass
(29:02):
kicked in the first round. I'm a Ravens fan, so
I need your opinion. We love to put blame on Lamar,
We love to put it on the players. We love
to blame the coordinators. When are we gonna hold John
Harbaugh accountable. I know he's a good coach, but we
are very, very poorly coached team, and it starts with him,
like nobody ever calls him out. I feel like we
(29:24):
could bring in a Brian Flores or Clint Kobiak and
they'll turn the team completely around. Plus that a line
of ours is very bad, but he keeps saying they're
doing a good job. I mean, it's I think with
drys fans nuts and I see it because I'm pretty
in deep with Niner blogs and stuff falling on social
media is when everyone agrees like the O line's terrible,
(29:47):
or like a couple offensive linemen are bad. I remember
everyone thought the forty nine Ers center sucked the last
couple of years, and then their own line coach said
he was like one of their highest graded guys in
the league. It's like, are we are we all idiots?
In The answer is sometimes yes and sometimes like they
can be biased, I think they also need to build
up their players. They're in the business of like making
(30:10):
these guys believe they're actually better than they are. But
if John misses the playoffs, it's it'll get louder, It'll
get louder for sure. I think you know the reason
Tomlin's under more. He hasn't won a playoff game in
ten years. John Harbaugh was in the AFC Championship Game
two years ago, hosting it. He's been the number one
(30:32):
seed multiple times on the last couple of years, so
I think that that's why he gets treated a little
bit differently. Giants have the number one overall pick currently.
If that stands, do you think they trade back and
get a haul. I think they would definitely trade out
of it now a hall. You know, it depends how
(30:54):
many people are bidding for it, but it would at
this point in time. If you're a Giants fan, you
might as well who's out and get that number one pick,
because if Fernando comes out, let's see right now, if
you go to the league standing, they would be one,
the Titans being two, which is good for you too,
Like you want the Titans to keep losing. So teams
(31:15):
like the Raiders, the Browns, the Cardinals, the Jets getting
a bidding war. I think the best case scenario I
see with my wife in real estate, you get a
couple of people that want the house and that house goes.
I was on the market for a million, all of
a sudden it sells for one point two and he
just takes two. Baby, But if you just get one,
(31:38):
luckily there's not just one, and you're just better off
at this point losing out. Assuming that Fernando is viewed
as the number one or or Dante more, I think
the best case scenario for the Giants is only one
of those two guys comes out, and so it's just
(31:58):
them versus a group of guys that aren't even viewed
as first round picks. So if you want to get
the quarterback, you got to come up and get him.
If there's multiple guys, then the it's like multiple homes
on the block. The negotiating power isn't quite the same.
I think that's what you got a roof for. If
you're a Giants fan, only one quote unquote star quarterback
(32:20):
comes out. Pretty sure, Fernando doesn't have a choice. But
let me what's his eligibility. I just I don't know why,
I've just been talking about him like a senior. But
so he's his first year at Cal, he red shirted.
I mean, technically he could come back to Indiana twenty two.
(32:40):
He red shirted twenty three, played twenty four. Obviously he's
full time starter at col and then this year got
his numbers. He has more touchdowns this year at Indiana
thirty three than he did the last two years combined
to started at Cow twenty. Now, granted he only played
he started nineteen games. He's played thirteen this year. But
(33:04):
I would say, like I said, I would say Fernando
is going to be the top pick in the draft.
With Jalen Hurts regressing, it seems like every game how
long until the Eagles move on to Tanner McKee. Clearly
they like McKee and he's shown some flashes during preseason games.
There's one little problem when it comes to Jalen Hurts,
(33:24):
and it's called this thing called a contract. Now, I'm
not trying to bury him off a weird season in
these weird games, but Jalen Hurts is what you would
call in the mob, a made man. He's basically these
next couple of years, he's going to be on the team.
So I would say, under no circumstance, even if they
(33:47):
lose out and he keeps playing shitty, he's on the team.
In twenty twenty six. He is one hundred percent the
quarterback at least next year. Now, Philly their cutthroat as
any organization, and how he proved it with Carson Wentz. Now,
this guy won you the super Bowl, right, I mean
he didn't just win the Super Bowl, but he was
(34:08):
a starting quarterback. You know, it was easier on the
Wents thing. It's like, well, he didn't even win it
folds did. I do think he's a little bit of
a made man, at least for sure twenty six, especially
because what are they gonna do this? They're gonna get
rid of a J. Brown this offseason, so they'll they'll
get rid of a J. Brown. They'll probably draft a
guy high and kind of give him a new look offense.
(34:28):
They'll probably try to improve the offensive line for sure. Actually,
they're probably more likely draft offensive lineman. Well, I guess
they could sign him in free agency, but they're expensive
and I don't think. I don't know how much money
they're gonna have. Tanner McKee. What year is he in? Three?
So he is? He was drafted in twenty three, so
(34:51):
this his third year in the league. I mean, he'll
be on the team next year. Who are the dark
horse super Bowl contenders? I got the Texans of the Niners.
(35:13):
Texans case easy defense against mediogre AFC. The Niners case
would be having the best coaching staff in the Shanahan era.
He's had some great ones, but Kyle finally gave up
and decided specially the teams matter Kyle and Sala, and
Kyle frequently start drives in favorable positions. I do think
from a personnel staff or standpoint, it would be really
(35:37):
difficult if they're a wild card team to win three
games with that defense. Their margin for ERA on offense
would be slim to none. They'd have to be the
best offense in the playoffs to have a chance to
make a Super Bowl run because defensively, like listen, they
play really hard and they're well schemed, they do not
have the bodies. Their best pass rusher by a mile
(35:58):
is is Hough, who is a situational pass rusher that
they're having to play a lot more. Who's a good
pass rusher. I mean he'd be really good if they
had Bosa and Michael Williams. I mean he'd be good
for like a sack of game. But now it's like
you just kind of know if you can just kind
of double team him who else is beating you. They
What both those two teams have is you'd want no
(36:21):
part of either one in a playoff game, and you
would want no part of either one in that first
round because in that first round, let's face it, like
you just won your division, unless you're the Bucks or
the Panthers. Like if they're the three seed and you're
the Eagles and you're like eleven and six and you're
playing the forty nine Ers who are twelve and five,
it's like, yeah, they got some issues, but they ain't
(36:42):
gonna be scared of playing you, and all the pressure
is going to be on you, and that crowd will
turn on you. If you're the Texans and you're playing
you know, the Patriots and Broncos and some order probably
one two, then they don't probably be the Jags or
the Texans. I guess it could just be Texans Jacks.
(37:03):
If you're the Jags, you don't want you. You'd rather
play the Chargers than the than the Texans in that game.
I think, how fucked are the Colts? I heard they're
trying to call Philip Rivers. At what point you might
as well try Nikole Jokic to be your quarterback. Where
do the Colts go from here? Yeah, man, they're in trouble.
(37:23):
I mean, the just you just find yourself in some
of these situations once upon a time where you just
have some injuries. I mean, there's a famous story I
think in like two thousand and two that Donovan McNabb
got hurt and Andy Reid called Trey aigman and he
was calling games and he thought about it, but he
ended up saying no. But sometimes you find yourselves in
these situations where you're just completely desperate. And if you
(37:45):
were five and eight, you would just sign some dude
off practice squad and you wouldn't even care. But when
you're eight and five, you're like, if we can just
get to ten and seven, you know, we can be
in the playoffs. We could still win this division, right,
And that's what they're thinking. And the answer is, actually,
you can't. You guys are too close to the sun.
(38:06):
My mother could tell you you're screwed. It sucks, but
you're screwed. But that's not how you think when you're
in a team, when you're in the environment, you can't
tell your players that it just sucks. If you're them,
I don't really care I'm rooting for Houston. I have
a question, with honestly no agenda at all, four to bag,
if you could to informally pull some of your NFL
(38:29):
exec connections. I think that would be wonderful. This guy
wants me to grind out here, start sending some text messages.
If this past year's NFL draft was conducted all over again,
in which round do most people feel Shadore would be
selected this time around? Sincerely curious? I would say watching
him play, he shouldn't have been a fifth rounder one
(38:53):
to begin with, right, but he did that to himself
by saying, do not draft me. All these the Ravens
and the he go these teams were gonna draft him
in the fourth round, he said, no, I think one
if you redo it, he goes on the second day,
where on the second day it's hard to get you know,
(39:13):
if I pulled these guys, A huge part of the
draft is like what's happening leading up to the draft.
So if you know now, he'd just be cool with
coming to your team. Yeah, I mean, I think he
could go somewhere between like middle of the second round
and middle of the third round, depending on your quarterback needs. Uh,
depending on who your quarterback is, right, if you if
(39:33):
you have an established starter, you know, it's you got
to feel, you know, like the Chiefs, they wouldn't waste
to pick, but like you don't have to if you
take him in the second round. But that was the
whole thing. Shed Or didn't want to go to Lamar
Jackson because he would never play, even though ironically he
would have because Lamar missed games this year, so he
should have gone last year based on the talent. I
(39:54):
thought on the second day, Dylan Gabriel going in the
third round is insane. So you know, historically we've seen
a lot of guys. Russell Wilson went in the third round.
Dak Prescott went in the fourth. But part of the
reason he fell he's got a DUI right before the draft.
Cousins the fourth. Now it's almost like saying, well, yeah,
(40:17):
that home used to cost four hundred grand, it costs
one point two million dollars. Now there's quarterback inflation. It's
like the Dak Prescott's, the Cousins, those guys would never
go that late now, right, they would go somewhere between
pick twenty and fifty. That's probably where Shidor goes. It's
like you're an investment banking, high finance guy meets cooler
version of Mike Mayock. That's quite the fucking compliment. I
(40:39):
like that question for you, though, What was the moment
you realized you weren't scouting, you weren't for the scouting
personnel game, and why did you decide to stick it
out and stay in the sports media space given all
the adversity from the sector and the sport in the
media industry. I uh, you know, I got relieved in
(41:00):
my duties. My contract ended. It just didn't get extended
by the Eagles in twenty thirteen after the draft, So
that's like, you know, may one. I started doing radio
stuff by that summer and into the fall. And when
I started doing that, you know, in football, I could
love a guy and we could sign them, but it's
(41:23):
not like I get a bonus off that you get like,
good job and you just move on, right, And part
of it was you get in the radio, You're like, God,
I'm doing some shows like we're rating really well, getting
a lot of positive feedback, and it kind of hit
me that I control my own destiny doing this right,
Like even at the time, I didn't have a radio
(41:46):
show or whatever. I was going on as a guest,
but I remember the boss who had come from ESPN,
was like, your segment's rate really well, and it's like
I had control. Now again, I didn't control the ratings,
but luckily people enjoyed listening to me part of it.
They probably never I was kind of a unique voice
at the time, and I was unique because I was
(42:07):
from you know, I was doing local Bayry radio, Like
I'm from northern California, so it's like I grew up
rooting for these teams. It was. It was a pretty
easy landing spot for me in terms of the knowledge
of what I was talking about. And I just remember thinking,
like I control my own destiny here. It's almost like
when you hear an entrepreneur guy who'd worked at a
corporate job and goes The thing I wanted was no
(42:30):
longer I want to do control. I wanted to have
control of where I went win or loose. And once
I started doing this, I realized, like, as you do
it longer, like anything, there are things out of your control.
But I control way more of doing this than I
did as the scouting world, right, I mean a huge
(42:52):
part of say this all the time, Tim Skipper is
I've been around Andy freaking Read. He is one of
the best coaches I've ever been around. He big time
and he just had He just took the cow Paly job.
And you see some of these guys that end up
in like Auburn or Urban. You know Ryan Day at
Ohio State. It's all about getting hitched with the right guy.
(43:12):
Once upon a time, when his career was taken off,
he got on with Jim mcawain. Jim mcawayan went to Florida.
He was Jim mcawaan's assistant head coach at Florida. They
were making the SEC championship game and they got fired.
I mean he was if it had gone a little
bit better, maybe he's an SEC head coach. So much
stuff as coaching or scouting. They're probably great scouts on
(43:34):
the Cleveland Browns, on the Raiders wherever. But in this business,
I'm essentially a salesman for myself. I'm selling John Middlecoff's
the products. It's impossible to get any easier than go well,
do I believe in what I'm selling. I'm literally selling
(43:54):
my own body, not technically my body, you know, unless
for the right price, but just like me, and it
hit me kind of early on doing that that I
was like, God, I'm pretty good at this. And I
remember the feedback it really kind of clicked in. They're like, god,
I'm kind of in the driver's seat. I'm no longer
in the backseat, right, you know, you see what the
(44:16):
eagles like guy gets fired all of a sudden, chip
comes in a bunch of new people that you don't
really know, and it's like where are you in? Are
you out? It's like, if I do a good job
doing this, and you know, over the years, I feel
like I've got a pretty good idea of what I'm doing,
Like I'm in complete control of what happens to you know,
(44:37):
for the consumer to enjoy it or not right. And
then you just get with the right people, the right
infrastructure or the sales, the financial aspect, the distribution aspect.
Obviously you got to be smart about that, and I've
been lucky. The relationship with Colin is definitely in this
career of mine is the most important thing that's ever
happened to me. Why I would say that's too. The
(45:01):
guy that officiated my wedding, guy Haveberman, got me into
the business in the Bay Area, had me on. He's
the reason that it took off. Then we had a
radio show and we did a podcast without that starting point,
who knows, who knows? I mean that was it all
got started there, and that was integral. It doesn't exist
(45:25):
without me getting my foot in the door. And I
got my foot in the door because of him. And
then we had a radio show that did well, but
then that thing got canceled. Won't start pissing people off, Well,
somehow I pissed people off, even though he was kind
of saying the same things too. But you know, he's
probably a little nicer about it. And the Raiders held
it against me more. But it is what it is,
(45:47):
all in good fun, well not really at the time.
I was pissed, but so were they doing a the
one thing in the radio business or any of Like
I see this with ESPN where you know the the
analysts they get they love to push back, like the
SEC is not telling us what to say when you're
(46:11):
in business with someone, regardless at that level. No different
with radio and business with the Yankees or the Lakers,
even if you're paying the Yankees or the Lakers to
have their product. What they say really matters because they're
really important to your business model. And there are one
pressures of like you know they in this in this
(46:34):
line of work, they always say, don't get personal. Well,
that's kind of entertaining to do that. You know, now,
if you're just getting personal twenty four seven, three sixty five,
you don't even know the guy. It's like you're kind
of a douche. Like I often say, like, if I
don't know the guy, this isn't personal. I don't know
the human. But I can also just I don't have
to know you, do not like you or think you stink, right,
But you got to be very careful when you're in business.
(46:56):
And I saw it forever with the big radio station
in the Bay Area. They had the canb Are, they
had the San Franco Giants, and the giants got very
very They get very sensitive about what you say. It's like, guys,
you've lost twenty twenty the last twenty five games, what
am I supposed to do? Three a fucking party? Send
you guys cookies. I mean, it's it's it's a very
(47:16):
difficult business to do if you are connected with leagues,
because like what if you truly believe you're sitting up
there like I don't think Alabama's that good. Like what
if you believe that, but you're in business with the SEC,
like they're not gonna watch you to say that. It's like, yeah,
I think I think Bama sucks. I don't think Bama
is the top fifteen team right now. I don't know
(47:38):
if you're hearing many people say that, but there has
to be some people that believe that, right No. Different
at Fox, like they take care of the Big Ten,
you wouldn't you never hear any negative Ryan Day stuff.
It's like it's why they kind of get very sensitive
with Portnoy. Now portan NOI i'd argue. I mean it's
(47:59):
like even my wife says, God, he's always talking about
Ohio State, and like it's kind of this thing. But
I do get if you're Fox, like Ohio State, if
they had to choose the entire Big Ten, right, all
the teams, not Ohio State or just Ohio State and
lose all the teams, they would choose Ohio State. That's
how powerful that brand is. In Michigan and Oregon and
USC are huge, but Ohio State is that powerful that
(48:22):
they're essentially like a big NFL team, and you know,
you just gotta be careful what you say. Now, I
do believe that like Klatt likes these guys and stuff,
but you know, I've heard him be really negative on
the SEC like he's not. He wouldn't throw those type
flames at Lincoln Riley. He wouldn't throw those type flames
that you know, Matt rule. You know, it's just part
(48:43):
of the thing. And one thing I realized in getting
in the podcast business, like I can say whatever I
want about teams. Again, I'm just saying what I think anyway.
But if we had a partnership with you know, Major
League Baseball and Rob Manfred, we would it would be hard,
right and I don't even talk baseball, But my point
(49:04):
is you just wouldn't just be shitting on them constantly.
They would be pissed. That happened with ESPN. That was
the issue at the end with ESPN of like you
guys don't even talk about us, and when you do,
it's like negative. So I think these things get very complicated,
and it's easiest to just be kind of independent and
say whatever you want because it's easy to be authentic.
And that's what resonates with the most people. I don't
(49:24):
know why that was so long winded and why I
talked about it for so long, but I appreciate my
You guys. Listen to my Ted Talk audios. The volume
Hosts And Creators
Colin Cowherd
Jason McIntyre
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