John dives into the news from the weekend that saw the Raiders releasing Christian Wilkins and reacts to the latest information from this situation that says that Wilkins kissed a teammate on the top of the head. Next, John discusses contract extensions for both Rashawn Slater and Courtland Sutton. After, John dives into the QB situation in LA with the Rams and if we could see a surprise with who starts multiple games this season. Later, John talks about Baker Mayfield and how he wants to stay in Tampa for years.
Finally, John answers your questions in this episode's mailbag segment.
05:11 - Raiders cut Christian Wilkins
13:27 - Rashawn Slater get extension
14:44 - Courtland Sutton signs new deal
16:16 - Rams QB situation
23:16 - Baker wants to stay in Tampa
26:44 - What makes football different
38:51 - Mailbag
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
The volume. What is going on everybody? How are we doing?
Hopefully you're doing great because football is back. Every team
(00:23):
in the league putting on pads or hitting, maybe not
tackling to the ground. You can't touch the quarterback, but
pads are popping. And we had a story break on Monday,
or at least details to one that was happened over
the weekend. Christian Wilkins has been cut from the Raiders
and Adam Schefter gave some details and I think this
(00:47):
I do want to talk about how this serves as
a lesson be very careful when free agency comes about,
and paying premiums for players that their own team didn't want.
We had some contra sign from Rashaun Slater to Courtland Sutton.
Sean McVeigh gave an update about Matt Stafford and some
(01:09):
kind words about Jimmy Garoppolo. Baker Mayfield said that the
Bucks have given him more guaranteed money. Talk about Baker
and we'll do a little mailbag at job Middlecoffin is
the Instagram. Fire in those dms, get your questions answered
here on the show. We will make sure you fire
in those dms. I need a bunch of mailbag questions.
(01:31):
I will have a football slash golf podcast probably tomorrow.
I'll give my review on Happy Gilmour, which I watched
on Sunday night, So check that out because I'm spoilers.
Be damned. It's been on Netflix now for about three days.
I know. We got busy life, so I understand if
you missed. It's a couple hours if you can't watch
(01:53):
tonight because I'm gonna talk about tomorrow. Other than that,
you guys know the drill. Subscribe to The Three and
our podcasts. If you listen on Collins Feed, make sure
you subscribe to our YouTube channel. We're gonna have a big,
big fall, so buckle up. So before we talk some football, though,
you know, I got to tell you about my friends,
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(02:14):
Game Time best in the business. What do you guys
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(02:34):
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Game Time app last minute ticket's lowest prices guaranteed. Let's
dive into the Christian Wilkins situation. Now, first and foremost,
(03:16):
I'm not a contract negotiator. I'm not an arbitrator. I
don't know how this thing will play out. When the NFL,
the NFLPA, which obviously has some issues, Wilkins, the Raiders,
they all get involved, fighting over the money and the
semantics and the details over what you owe me and
what I don't owe you. Obviously, the Raiders don't want
(03:38):
to pay this player who got well over eighty million
dollars last year in guaranteed money as high as you
will see a unrestricted free agent signed for honestly non
quarterback over the last several years. It has to be
the most money, right, a unrestricted free agent got on
(03:59):
the open mark. Now, typically, I would say not even Typically,
good high end defensive linemen, whether their defensive tackles or
pass rushers, do not hit after their rookie contract. If
they are elite players, big time players the open market,
that does not happen. So overall, I think this is
(04:20):
a very good lesson. Guards hit the open market, linebackers
hit the open market. Hell second wide receivers sometimes hit
the open market. Tight ends can hit the open market.
But typically awesome tackles and awesome defensive linemen never hit
the unrestricted free agent market in their mid twenties. Why.
That's not how the NFL works, And I think this
(04:41):
serves as a good example. Tom Telesco is currently on
the street. I don't blame him for signing this contract, right,
but there was a reason he was available. We can
say a lot about the Miami Dolphins, and I don't
think they're well run. You gotta give him credit on
this one. They could have franchised him, they could have
extended them, and they said, we're out of the Christian
Wilkins business. Now, obviously there was an injury that took
(05:04):
part to help create this weird situation. If he was
fully healthy and had a good year, who knows. I
doubt they're cutting him. But he gets injured, he's not
able to participate. And clearly they were very uncomfortable with
being in business with this player because that when you're
paying a guy this type money, like the Raiders like
(05:25):
being in business with Max Crosby, right, the forty nine
Ers liked being in business with George Kittle and Fred Warner,
The Chargers like being in business with Justin Herbert and
Rashaun Slater and Derwin James, the Raiders and John spy
Tech and Pete Carroll and Listen. I said this last week,
this would have been a difficult move for John spy
(05:45):
Tech if John Middlecoff or Bill Middlecoff or James Middlecoff
was the first time head coach and the coach of
the Raiders that spy Tech had hired this offseason. It
becomes a lot you like how I just try different
names with my last name. It became a lot easier
to do business this way when Pete Carroll goes. I've
(06:09):
been coaching this league for decades. I've won a Super Bowl.
Look at my resume. I know what I'm doing. I've
also been in some weird situations with contracts with guys.
I've drafted guys whose numbers will be retired by the
Seattle Seahawks. We can handle this, but this guy's not
going to be on the team anymore now. Schefter had
(06:31):
some comments today that were kind of funny. I mean,
in a way. I'm just gonna read it to you.
I'm sure many of you have either seen the clips
or read some headlines over what happened, but I just
want to hammer this home so we're all on the
same page. This was an article that Schefter tweeted out.
(06:52):
Christian Wilkins, who was released by the Raiders, kissed a
fellow player on the head and the teammate took a
to it. A source told Adam Schefter the incident was
not the sole reason that Wilkins was cut. Sources say
Wilkins has been recovering from a Jones fracture while he suffered.
He suffered in his left foot last October, last week's incident. This,
(07:16):
obviously the kissing incident happened a week ago. Happened inside
the Raiders' locker room. One source told ESPN dot com
that the interaction was playful, but the teammate did not
see it that way. It's not known what the fellow
player did following the incident. A complaint was filed to
the Raiders HR department, which investigated the incident. A source
(07:41):
told Shifter the Raiders, through a team spokesman, have declined
to comment. When you were getting into business with people
in free agency, especially nowadays where the cap is huge,
the money for these guys that are available, you have
to pay extra because the supply and demand on the
(08:02):
open market Miles Garrett, Max Crosby, Jalen Carter, Nick Bosa,
those type guys in their prime are never available. So
the guys that are available Christian Wilkins always get probably
twenty thirty percent more on the open market than they
would have got if they just would have got an
extension with the team, but they are available for a reason.
Their team didn't want them. There's a reason. Typically you
(08:25):
date someone before you marry them. It's a pretty big
commitment in in free agency now, the money that is
on the line, it's an enormous commitment to make to
a player like this, and clearly this administration wanted no
part of it. Now, we will see how it plays
out with the money, with the dead cap, and obviously
(08:46):
there are some stuff in flux, but this is a
good example that John Spytech and especially Pete Carroll, who
guess what the defense and physicality and the defensive line
and the defensive backfield which are intertwined. His baby couldn't
stand this guy. Who knows And maybe we will get
more information with this kissing incident in the locker room,
(09:10):
but here's what I know. The players on the team
and the head coach, who probably is going to be
a Hall of Famer one day, didn't want to look
at this guy anymore. And this is why, right when
you talk about extending guys, coaches come and go, administrations
come and go. Look at some of these guys that
just got extended. Cortland, Sutten, Rashaan Slater. They have new coaches,
(09:34):
they have new gms from the guys that actually picked
them coming out of college, but there are still people
in that infrastructure, specifically the owner who through the transition
has been around a guy and go, I like this guy.
I want to be in business with this individual. And obviously,
depending on the position you play, depends on how much
money you are arguing for, and they're willing to pay you.
(09:57):
But people have no problem paying guys they're good guys
that are trustworthy guys. Obviously you've got to be a
good player, but that I feel comfortable with. And clearly
the Raiders don't feel comfortable with this player and couldn't
get him to pack his bags fast enough. And I
think this move becomes a lot easier when you got
(10:18):
Pete Carroll as the poster child for your organization. So
it would have been a very difficult thing for a
guy like Liam Cohen to do. We would have been like,
does this guy know what he's doing? But when Pete
Carroll does it, no one thinks it's weird at all.
And then this information comes out, it's like, yeah, the
team doesn't even like the guy, So let this be
a warning when you were going to get into business
(10:39):
with people in free agency, it's extremely risky. There is
a reason that guy is on the open market because
unlike some sports. In baseball, maybe the team doesn't have
the money. The A's the Rays, they're never going to
pay certain guys. In basketball, if I have a couple
of max guys, now with these new rules, I can't
sign you. I have to let you go. In football,
(11:01):
we can always manipulate the cap. If I want you,
I can keep you. And typically teams want defensive linemen,
especially once they draft. And the Dolphins said I'm out,
and then Pete Carroll how many months have they even
been together? Now three or four said I'm out, pack
(11:22):
your shit and get out of my locker room. Speaking
of guys that I want you to make sure you
buy a house in this area, Rashaun Slater, the star
tackle for the Chargers, gets an enormous extension. These tackles.
These pass rushers aren't quite quarterbacks, but you're getting guys
that are encroaching on one hundred plus I mean, some
(11:45):
of these pass rushers have flown by one hundred plus
million dollars. I think we will see pretty quickly a
offensive tackle, get one hundred plus million dollars in guarantees.
And you know this is a good example. Jim Harbad
did not draft this player. Jim Harbaugh did not pick
this player. But Jim Harbaugh values offensive line as much,
(12:06):
if not more, than any coach in the NFL. He
gave his reasoning last year when they drafted Joe Alton.
They said, why didn't you tack? Why didn't you pick
a wide receiver? He said, because I believe offensive linemen
are weapons, and they are the tip of the spear
and the spear in this offense, and in Jim Harbaugh's
(12:27):
offense that has always been predicated on the run, starts
with the line of scrimmage. So they pay their guy,
they got all. They're probably gonna have one of, if
not the best tackle combination in the league. And listen,
I think a lot of people are high on the
Chargers rightfully, So Courtland Sudden speaking about guys again. When
(12:47):
you're a new coach, Aaron Glenn, Liam Cohen, Schottenheimer doesn't
really count because Jerry does whatever he wants. But you
can go around the league get these new guys. A
good coach gives everyone a fresh start. But is open
minded to anything. I'll keep this guy if it's worth it,
or all get rid of this guy if it's not.
Regardless how good you are, how many Pro Bowls you made,
(13:08):
how many Pro Bowls you've never sniffed. And I think
Sean Payton went into this like, hey, we're open minded here,
Russell Wilson, I'm gonna give you opportunity. Couldn't get rid
of that guy fast enough. Courland Sutton, You're thought, you know,
is this guy long for the Denver Broncos And then
they get a quarterback. He gets eighty one catches, he
has eight touchdowns, he has over a thousand yards receiving.
(13:28):
Boom gets a big extension. And when you're an offensive weapon,
tight end, running back, wide receiver, and your head coach
is the play caller, and you have a young quarterback
that clearly likes you and relies on you, you're gonna have
some job security. Just like Slater, what does he do?
He blocks the blind side of a two hundred million
dollars quarterback. What a sudden do is a safety valve
(13:53):
for what I think Sean Payton hopes becomes the franchise.
So we see guys like Christian Wilkins. I don't care
how much we gave you, get out of here and
then we see other guys we want you to be
a part of this as we move forward. So a
lot of actions so far in terms of money changing
hands or maybe not changing hands. In the AFC West,
(14:15):
I saw a comment probably within the last week, and
it was like a clip that came up on I
think my Instagram feed of Sean McVay calling Jimmy Garoppolo
the best backup quarterback in the NFL, and I'll be honest,
I didn't think anything of it. I was like, shit,
it's coaches like gassing up their own guy. He likes Jimmy.
(14:36):
Jimmy's been with the team now a couple of years.
Jimmy's been a guy who's had a lot of success
against him. Likable guy, players, teammates, people have always really
liked Jimmy. Now, is he the best backup quarterback in
the league. I think if we went around the league,
it's a pretty low bar. But yeah, in terms of resume,
probably one of the better ones. I think looking back,
(14:59):
why he said that is because he knows there's a
decent chance he's gonna have to play some games this
year with Jimmy Garoppolo. And I didn't realize that when
he said that because a couple days ago Sean McVay
has to come back to the podium and say, listen, guys,
I said that Matt Stafford was going to be back
sooner than later, probably this week. I was wrong. We're
(15:21):
taking him now week to week. Like obviously day to day.
Day to day could be two weeks, day to day
could be a month. But day to day sounds a
lot better than week to week cuz you're three weeks
away from being out the entire month. So when I
see Matt Stafford, who played in the league forever, one
of the toughest dudes in the entire league in terms
(15:44):
of like, is it make or break July twenty eighth,
Matt Stafford practicing, of course not. I think the scary
thing with this is when they are injuries like soreness.
When I see that, regardless of where what area is sore,
I go that can be something that just doesn't go away.
And then I see back soreness. I like the Rams
(16:07):
and I think they're gonna be pretty damn good this year.
But I'll promise you this. If Matt Stafford at any
point has to miss significant time, I'm out on them.
That team that went toe to toe with the Eagles
a big reason why Matt freaking Stafford, I promise you,
at this point in time in his career, at thirty
three years old, it will not be Jimmy Garoppolo. I
think there are some similarities with Jimmy Garoppolo as there
(16:28):
was with Derek Carr. You have a couple of major injuries,
which Jimmy has had, and you're never quite the same
because that comfortability in the pocket, and I would say
Jimmy was never the most comfortable individual in the pocket
completely goes away and you can get a little what
they would say in you know, NFL for an offices
or NFL coaching Staff's a little gunshot. And again I
(16:50):
understand why why Sean McVay is hyping this guy up
because there's a decent chance he might need him at
some point this year. But I know this, if any
of this back stuff creeps into the season at any
point and Matt Stafford had to miss significant time, even
with an easier schedule, I do not like the rams. Okay,
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Speaker 1 (18:49):
Uh Baker Mayfield. When you're a quarterback, how when you're
a star player in the NFL at a position player
and obviously the quarterback, you're in business with the team.
You should view it as a partnership, not like Lebron
did forever. Patrick Mahomes does not approach his relationship with Bretfeach,
the Hunt family and Andy Reid, like some of these
(19:11):
NBA star players, becomes very adversarial. Right, I'm in charge,
you're not. You listen to me, which would be easy
for them to do because the chiefs could not operate
with them without them, and they know that, but when
you show we will do whatever it takes. We got
your back. We are pro. We want to be in
the Patrick Mahomes business. And being in the business with
(19:33):
a star quarterback like Lamar, like Josh Allen, like Joe Burrow,
means helping you out in every way possible. And Baker
Mayfield had some comments to Pete Prisco of CBS about
his situation. He's obviously relative to guy throwing forty plus
touchdowns not making that much money. He signed a three
year on hundred million dollar contract, and he mentioned that
(19:56):
his contract was changed to where he got a bunch
of guaranteed money in twenty twenty six. And even though
that that guaranteed money still means he's an underpaid quarterback
relative to guys at his position who he's much better than.
He wants to be in business with Tampa. He wants
(20:17):
to play there. And I think it's easy for a guy,
just like any human being, when you've seen some shit
through experience, through adversity, and through struggles, helps you realize
I got it pretty good now. I don't want to
ever risk going back to what happened. Look at Kirk Cousins,
Kirk cousins like I gotta get the most money humanly
(20:38):
possible every fucking time. Okay, Kirk, welcome to the Atlanta Falcons. Godspeed, homie.
How'd that go? And I think Baker, and obviously Kirk,
I'm not saying he's not responsible for poor play, but
as he said the other day, if I would have known,
I would have stay with the Minnesota Vikings, even if
it would have been for less money. It's easy to
say now, but you've never thought that way, and you've
(20:58):
never operated that way. And when you have a bunch
of money, and Baker does at this point in time,
and if he keeps playing well, he's gonna have a
bunch more, you can't always make your decisions based on
who's gonna pay me the most, because sometimes that decision
leads to problems in the NFL, leads to not playing well,
leads to losing. And I think Baker Mayfield at this
(21:22):
point in time in his career, has a pretty good
understanding of like Jason light building this team, the infrastructure
we have, the type guys we have on this team
kind of know what we're doing around here. They obviously
like me. I like being here, and even if in
a year. They may not offer me two hundred million
dollars and that number is one hundred and seventy five
(21:42):
million dollars. This is where I want to be because
unlike most positions, even the guaranteed money for a quarterback
to a tongue of I loo is a good example. Right.
He got this huge contract, well over two hundred million dollars,
but his guaranteed number I think was like one fifty
or one sixty plays two is gonna see every penny
of his contract. I saw it with Jimmy Garoppo when
(22:04):
he sign up for one hundred and twenty five million dollars,
like seventy of it was guaranteed. Guess what he saw
every penny. Because all these other positions they try to
get rid of you quickly as possible. At quarterback, if
you are just pretty solid, you typically stay and last,
but not least before we get out of here. I
think I'm gonna do do a go low happy Gilmore review.
(22:28):
I watched it on Sunday night, so we'll talk about that.
No spoiler alerts today, but I recommend seeing that because
I'm just gonna I'm gonna give my full thoughts on
tomorrow's podcast. One thing that differentiates football from any other
sports slash activity is that you can't actually play it
unless they are literally literally coaches, referees and pads. Every
(22:53):
other sport, I could get into the box against whoever
is the starting pitcher and simulate in a bat. We
can just I could have an umpire behind us, and
I don't even need people in the infield or outfield.
We can just simulate abs. Right in basketball, I get
nine other people if I'm an NBA player or a
(23:15):
college player, and we can legitimately play a game. In
golf and tennis, like you can just play other people
the actual rules and have a real match like you
would at Wimbledon, like you would at the US Open.
You can play Oh, you can play the same course,
you can play the same court. Football. You have all
these practices in the spring and then even at the
(23:37):
start in training camp that are nothing like the actual
sport because the pads aren't on, And any coach or
GM will tell you know, it's really really hard to
evaluate our offensive linemen, our running backs, even our linebackers,
because it's one thing to run fit when everyone's in
shorts and T shirts. What about when people are running
full speed and we're tackling to the ground. Can you
(23:57):
actually bring that guy to the ground. I don't know.
We're gonna find out. And in football, most guys that
have years upon years of tape, you feel pretty confident.
Right if the guy's still moving at the same speed
in shorts and t shirt, you go, he can still
play at a high level. We have a body of work.
But there are a lot of guys returning, young players
(24:18):
that might might have been on the practice squad, and
then all the guys that you just drafted. You don't
truly know. You can be bullish on a guy being like, god,
I guess this guy's gonna be pretty freaking good. He's
flying around. Then the pads come on and it's like, uh,
a little overwhelmed, and listen, as time goes on, maybe
he gets more comfortable. No one's judging you purely on
(24:40):
the first day of pads in training camp, but it
does separate players, and it does go from a place
where a team can be really high on a player
based on the off season activities and the way he
came into shape and training camp, and then the pads
come on and a week goes by and you go,
this guy's not gonna be able to help us out
this year, and it can work on the on the
(25:01):
flip side of Hey, this guy was on our practice
squad last year. We didn't have high hopes. But he's
kicking ass and taking names right now. He knows the offense,
he knows the defense. He's playing fast like this guy
could he start and you start repping in really quick,
and it's the best part of training camp by far. Now.
Ideally no one gets injured. We know that's kind of impossible.
(25:23):
We've seen a bunch of guys get injured so far.
But I think it is a time for NFL front
offices when the practice tape really really matters, and the
evaluations with your scouting department, with your coaching staff, anyone
that's watched hard knocks over the years. They don't show
it as much anymore. But back in the day, those
(25:43):
big conference rooms where the coaching staff and maybe a
GM and assistant GM were all sitting at and people
on the outside, you know, the younger coaches and some
of the younger scouts, and they're just evaluating people. Because
a huge part of football right now, and this is
gonna happen in college. College is a little different because
you don't have any preseason games, so you start if
you're Texas or Ohio State or some of these programs,
(26:07):
you're a weekend. You know, you start kind of implementing
some of the game plan. But for the first couple
of weeks of an NFL training camp, when the pads
come on, it's really all about evaluation. How you handle
the scheme, how you handle the information, and what you
look like versus you know, your own team. It's not
a lot of like getting ready for a week one,
(26:27):
it's purely evaluating the roster and you know, and that
goes for veteran players too, like, God, this guy's slipping.
This guy isn't quite what he once was. And once
you start having those thoughts, you go, listen, his money
this year is not guaranteed, So will we pay this
guy twelve million dollars if he makes your opening day
(26:47):
roster his salary. If he's an invested veteran, his salary
becomes guaranteed. So you have to think twice, like do
we cut him and just go with the sixth rounder
who might be eighty five percent as good as this guy?
But he only costs us a million dollars and in
two years they he might be even with the guy.
And these are decisions that start really kind of materializing,
(27:11):
you know, in these meeting rooms and in people's heads,
and these conversations start happening right now now, it doesn't
mean that it's going to come to fruition. And maybe
that veteran guy, it's like, hey, we still feel good
about this guy. Maybe the position coaches arguing for him,
maybe the coordinators honoring for him. Maybe the head coach
is arguing against them. So you get all these different factions,
(27:32):
which is good, which is healthy. You don't want everyone
on the same page right now. You want everyone bringing
their opinions. But once you start getting close to that
cutdown date, there's going to be a decision made and
everyone's got to be on the same page. But for
the next couple of weeks, and you know, the Chargers
and Lions, because they got to camp earlier, they've been
in past for a while, so these conversations have been
happening with those teams for a little little longer. Now
(27:54):
both those two teams, especially the Lions, are a little
more established of a roster, but some of these teams,
you know, have the forty nine ers have like eight
spots open. For the last like four or five years,
the forty nine ers have had like one starting spot
maybe open, and it's like anything in the NFL, rosters churn.
You get to a point where a lot of guys
leave and boom. Eagles are a good example. Not as
(28:15):
many openings. A couple on defense, really not on offense,
maybe one one position. Some of these teams, hell, you know,
the Chiefs, the Bills, like you might get three or four,
but it's not even just the starters, because if the
starting spots open and the backup wins the job, well,
now who's the backup? So you kind of get this
domino effect, which you know, basically, you get up early
(28:38):
in the morning, you eat breakfast, you go to practice,
you evaluate that practice film, you go to meetings, you
keep evaluating that practice film, and you're just kind of
doing that because there's no other film to evaluate. There
are no preseason games yet, there's obviously just nothing else
going on, so you're kind of keeping tabs with the league.
If you're a GM or an assistant GM, but your
(28:59):
number one job right now, the number one thing you
have to do with your head coach and your coaching
staff is nail the evaluation of your own team. And listen,
some of it's hard. Some of these decisions might be
a coin flip, and you just pray to God that
you don't select keep the guy, and the guy that
you let go goes on somewhere else, and then a
(29:20):
couple years later he's like a high end player and
the guy that you kept is not even on your team.
But that's that's the risk you take, and it's why
the more information you have, hopefully the better decision you
can make. But these these are fun times. These are
tense times. These are just there's a lot of just
(29:42):
a lot of stress. I mean when you have a
job that's like, hey, this job is available, and you realize, like,
if someone loses this job, especially if it's the veteran,
he's not gonna be on this team anymore. So these
guys aren't idiots, you know. If you've been in the
league long enough, you realize like, if I don't win
this starting job, I'm going to get cut because they're
not gonna pay me seven million dollars to be the
(30:04):
backup guard, which is not gonna happen. Buckle up, if
you're a fan, you know you're reading all these articles
about these these competitions. It's it's as real as can be. Okay,
(30:31):
let's do a little thing. We call the mail bag
at John Middlecoff at John Middlecoff is the Instagram. Fire
in those dms. Get your questions answer here on the
show again. It's just my name, fire in the dms,
and we will start with Patrick. Question for the bag.
Schefter today reported that mcclaurin will not take less than
thirty three million dollars a year. And that's the deal
(30:52):
that DK just got from the Steelers. Schefter said he
wants considerably more than that. Terry is a better player
than in my opinion, so starting with that number makes sense.
It does not seem like the Commanders agree. Given what
you know about Adam Peters and his background with the
Patriots and the Niners, who seem to have plenty of
(31:14):
these kind of holdouts in recent years, how do you
see this playing out? I think this is complicated, you know,
I think we discussed earlier. When you come into a
situation and you really like the player one, you know,
the Chargers giving Slater a lot of money. It's not
that's every single coach in the history of the league
(31:37):
would have done that. I think Courtland Sutton's a better example.
Sean Payton comes in, he gets this young quarterback and
immediately his young quarterback has a rapport with Sutton. Now,
as of recording this, I haven't seen the guaranteed money,
but he got like four years ninety five million bucks
or whatever, right so under and twenty five a year,
(31:59):
which always factors into the guarantee. So's it's a relatively
easy deal to do if you really like the player.
You like the guy, and you go, we're getting this
guy under market rate, you know, with the top guys.
He's six seven eight million dollars off the top guys.
And we love the player, he knows our scheme, and
we feel, at twenty eight twenty nine years old, for
the next several years gonna be the prime of his career.
(32:21):
I think when you start talking forty million dollars a year,
it's like, I'm sorry, I'm out. I get thirty five
million dollars a year. Let's just say, like that's that
would wet his beak. You give me thirty five million
dollars a year. So let's just do the math. Is
he signing like a two year extension. Let's just say
that guarantee every penny, two years, seventy million dollars every penny, Like,
(32:44):
do you feel comfortable? Given? Again, he really good player,
and I get DK got that. I think the Steelers
giving him that type of money is kind of crazy, right.
I do think that Terry McLaurin is really really good player,
but I think he got to be very very careful.
Is Terry McLaurin a top six seven wide receiver in
the league? You know, probably in the discussion last season,
(33:08):
which was his best year ever, But he's no one
would take him over the top guys. So it's like
you're gonna pay him more than the top guys who
are younger than him, and he wasn't my guy. I
just think this is the start the type questions you
start asking yourself. The problem is is you go, we
got this guy on a rookie contract the quarterback. This
guy helps out my rookie quarterback. You know, Deebo's pretty
(33:31):
big risk. Now if it doesn't work out, who cares?
He's unrestricted free agent, He's gone. What's Terry gonna do
just not play. Obviously, he showed up. He's he's holding in.
He's a high character guy, so you feel good about
the person. But I think the situation's I think there's
a decent chance he's making play on the money. Speaking
(33:52):
of Washington, is Jaden Daniels the next up in Washington's
cursed quarterback cycle? We've seen it before. Rookie quarterbacks take
the league him, then year two hits in the brick wall,
RG three Rookie of the Year and twelve benched by
year three. Jason Campbell flashes in six inconsistent BIO seven,
Kirk Cousins took years before consistency, Dwayne Haskins RIP seven,
(34:17):
TV seven nine, and T's in his sophomore year. Washington's
quarterbacks historically crash hard in year two, and the NFL
always adjusts. So is Jayden built different? I would say,
I mean, obviously he's way better in Dwayne Haskins rip Cousins.
I mean was a fourth round pick. Jason Campbell little
(34:40):
before my time of being super dialed, but better player.
RG three was pretty awesome, but he tore his knee,
so he was never the same. I would say he's
a better player than all those guys, and I would
expect him to have a good year. I think the
bigger question is less about the quarterback and more about
the offensive coordinator, because like every single time with Cliff,
(35:00):
like he has a big year and then he kind
of comes back to earth a little bit because teams
figure out his offensive scheme. So it's not apples to apples.
And I don't pretend to be some schematic genius, but
I do think that spread offense in the pros, Chip, Kelly,
Cliff Kingsbury. It's just when that's your bread and butter.
As time goes on, defensive coordinators go buckle up, Buttercup,
(35:24):
because it's fucking on and we plan on kicking your ass.
And I would say that's happened in recent memory to
Cliff and a Chip. Now can they adjust, can they adapt?
We'll see, because there's no excuse with this quarterback's pretty
freaking good. I'd be stunned if he's not really good.
For the mailbag. I saw Bill Simmons on his pod
(35:44):
with Zach Lowe talking about how talks about expansion in
the NBA have slowed because teams don't want to lose
money in TV deals because they'd have to share revenue
with whatever new teams there would be. Could you see
this also being the case potentially in the future of
the NFL if they've ever were to expand. For context,
(36:08):
Simmons has been banging the drum that the NBA was
going to expand because he's pretty dialed in with the owners,
you know, Lee office people, and it was like Vegas
and Seattle's gonna get a team. And then I would say,
based on the last like six months, turns out James Dolan,
the Knicks guy, has been at the forefront of being
anti expansion and clearly got people to agree with them
(36:31):
and their main stances. We just got a historic television deal.
If we add two teams and we go to thirty two,
we'd have the same right now they're at thirty they'd
have thirty two like the NFL. Well, the piece of
the pie we get in the national television contract we
have to split up with two more teams, so it's
less money coming in to us. Even if these teams
(36:53):
give us a couple hundred million dollars each with an
expansion fee, I think it'd even be greater with the
NFL because NFL teams are already splitting it with thirty
one other teams if you own the team. So if
we add two more, especially a couple international teams, it
doesn't even matter where they'd be at. My piece of
the pie gets cut dramatically more because now we're talking
(37:14):
thirty three to thirty four teams, so it's even a
bigger cut then the NBA would be right. So I
think one million percent the natural reaction to some of
these guys. Even if you there's a greater, good, big picture,
it's hard to not think short term and over the
next three, four or five years, it's gonna cost me
(37:37):
hundreds of millions of dollars. Again, assuming that's the math. Yeah,
I mean I think that would be the number one.
I think there'd be a lot of variables. I think
anytime you're talking expansion, there should be a lot of
variables beside just the money. The one thing I disagree
with Simmons is like the league has never been more talented.
It's like Bill, I've been watching the NBA for thirty years.
(37:58):
I feel we've never had worse teams. This isn't an
individual sport, it's a team sport. So yeah, it's like
the AAU of the NBA. It's like I'm watching all
these teams, like I feel like all these teams, and
part of it is the transactional nature of the sport.
Feels like these teams aren't any good. There's like four
or five good teams total max. Sometimes less than that.
(38:19):
In the NFL, you're so predicated on quarterbacks, there aren't
enough quarterbacks to go around. So I'd be anti expansion
in both. The NBA does not need more teams. The
NFL does not need more teams. So that's where I stand,
even before the arguments about the money. Congrats on the
(38:39):
wedding and the baby. Big year for me, I know
question for the POD. I'm a broad go van and
I hear all the time in the conversation about bo
Nicks how old he is relative to rookie and second
year quarterbacks. It seems like it is constantly brought up.
But when the media talks about Jaydon Daniels, his age
never gets brought up in conversations about him, even though
he is literally only ten months younger than bo X.
(39:03):
Might it just be biased? For me? You know what
I appreciate, and I you know, I had this just
so hardcore. When I was young, and I was like
in my peak as a sportsman of like high school
into college, you have such a chip on your shoulder
for arguments like this, And for me, it's not as
tight with like any specific team anymore like my my
(39:28):
happiness or my daily and listen. I listened to multiple
podcasts on the forty nine ers. I still follow the
team closely, but I'm not as emotionally moved by the
arguments one way or the other. On a lot of
this stuff. I miss that I miss going this is bullshit.
Everyone keeps calling my guy old. Jaden Daniels is ten.
They'd be in the same grade. So listen. Sometimes you
(39:51):
get a perception and you get a way you're gonna
be discussed and it's not gonna change. Like Jaden Daniels
within a year was like, are we sure the Bears
picked the right guy? And listen, I'm sorry, that's a
conversation this year. Caleb can shut everyone up, including myself,
But right now, like I, the Washington would not trade
(40:12):
their guide. I don't know how the Bears who knows,
you know, early in training camp, but there's a chance
by like Halloween, they're like, god, that was a bad decision.
Where Bo Knicks, everyone's like, this guy should not going
the first round. Sean Payton's crazy, this is nuts. So
anytime your first reaction is like this is stupid, people
don't want to believe right. It's like most people that
(40:33):
talked about football or were in the NFL viewed bo
Nicks not as a top fifteen pick. Help. Most people
debuted him as like third fourth rounder. It's go back
to Kirk Cousins or Dak Prescott or Russell Wilson. Early
in his career, when you're drafted in the third round,
half the league didn't even like you as a prospect,
so it's like it's hard for you to get the respect.
(40:55):
It's Purty's arguments. Same with Jalen Hurts. I know one
was a second round pick, one was a seventh round pick,
but it's like it's hard for you to shape that.
So yeah, I don't I don't really know what to
tell you beside it just is what it is. Win games.
I was thinking about it today, not today, but over
(41:17):
the course of the last week. Is I do think
there is some sleeper like looking at some of the
gambling odds, Obviously, the Chiefs have won the division for
whatever seven straight years. But I don't think Broncos could
be pretty good. I don't think they can be pretty good.
Last mail bag, you were talking about the fact that
(41:38):
having pads for training really do make a difference. So
my question is, knowing this year that Chargers got to
it early because of the Hall of Fame game, with
a coach as good as hardball, could you expect an
early advantage for them first month of the season, for example.
Hadn't thought about that, hadn't thought about that at all?
(41:59):
But you still get you know, some of your core guys,
Alt Maconkey, you know Herbert's second year with this group
extra reps. Don't hate that. I don't. I haven't thought
about that at all. Could that be a big advantage
for the Chargers. Let's look at this from a gambling standpoint.
(42:19):
Week one in Brazil against the Chiefs. Because the Chargers
most teams they play, I think they're gonna have a
coaching advantage. The one game for sure they do not
have a coaching advantage is the Chiefs. But the Chiefs
are breaking in all signs point to be in a
left tackle Josh Simmons, who's repping with the ones. Obviously,
(42:40):
some new players will see what happens with the skill guys.
You know, Rashi Rice getting suspended, a couple of new
guys defense potentially, But yeah, I like where your heads
at there. That's good knowledge, good good thinking. Now that
brock Purty assigned a mega deal and is one of
the highest paid quarterbacks in the NFL, is it time
for the MEETIA has stop covering them like a plucky
(43:01):
underdog and start covering them like a franchise quarterback. Guys,
this does not just because you get paid just because
you're Jalen Hurts and you win a Super Bowl, unless
you're Patrick Mahomes or like Josh Allen or Lamar if
they just won a Super Bowl, there's nothing to even
argue anymore. All these guys, basically everyone beside the top
(43:22):
couple guys, are gonna be argued constantly. It's never gonna end.
Jalen Hurts will have to win three super Bowls is
like an MVP to show people up. Even if perty
won the Super Bowl and like, well, Kyle had his
best year ever. Oh, they've hit on all these draft picks.
I'm just these conversations, the bow Knicks, the Parties, Dak Prescott.
(43:43):
We argue about Dak Prescott for a decade. Now you
could say that people arguing against him were right, But
I'm just saying, like, Dak Prescott's gonna be argued about
this year. Same with the Cousins, unless you're Mahomes like,
you're just gonna get argued about. A big fan of
the show. Do you think it's possible that cam Ward
is absolutely horrible for the Titans? We see a Rosen
(44:03):
Kyler Murray situation. The upcoming draft class seemingly has a
three to four player with the same talent as cam Ward.
What are your thoughts? I think I think cam Ward
is a lock to be their quarterback for several years,
and I have a hard time seeing him be absolutely horrible.
(44:24):
I really do now how good I don't know. I
don't know how good their team's going to be. Could
they be a sleeper this year if he's really good?
I do think so because their defense is pretty good.
But their GM who was just hired from the Chiefs,
he made that pick. So when you Josh Rosen was
the tenth overall pick, so he went from the tenth
(44:44):
overall pick to the number one overall pick. They took
cam Ward number one overall. It was crazy with the
Josh Rosen even though it really wasn't a couple years later.
I do think getting rid of the number one overall
pick after one year would be I'd be stunned. I
don't think it's going to happen at all. I know
(45:06):
you're more of an NFL guy than college football, but
you are still very knowledgeable. I appreciate that. Obviously, the
NFL pays the bills around here, but I love college football.
It's just harder, you know, if you don't fall recruiting,
it's easier to follow the NFL than it is college football,
especially now with the transfer portal. I was doing college
(45:29):
football research and found the dating back to fifteen, excluding
Burrows LSU breakout year, the champion has come from the
top four odds favorites each August before the season, LSU
was number six that year. As of right now, the
pool to select from would be Ohio State, Texas, Georgia,
(45:50):
and Penn State. I don't buy Ohio State or Penn State,
leaving Texas and Georgia in my book, I think there's
great value in Texas at plus six fifty. What are
your predictions. I do think the likelihood of Ohio State
going back to back, given they lost so many guys
on defense and their quarterback. Like I listen, I've been
(46:16):
known to be Ohio State hater. Their team was fucking
good last year. I mean, the best team money could buy,
and they backed it up down the stretch after they
lost to Michigan entering that bad boy. I'm with you.
You know Patricia's coach in the defense. I would say
Ohio State, if Ryan Day were to win that it'd
(46:37):
be be a hell of a coaching job. I would
I would put more stock into Penn State. I would
put more. You could argue Penn State has a better
chance than Texas given just how physically demanding the SEC
can be. And like this is gonna sound crazy, we
(46:59):
do have more and from and Drew Aller, who actually
played pretty well last year. They were returning their coordinators.
I guess they added Knowles, who Ohio State came from
Ohio State. He's a PA guy. Their defense is gonna
be unreal. Penn State's defense is going to dominate this year. Offensively,
they brought back both their running backs, their quarterback, they're
OC and I'm pretty sure they've added some dudes in
(47:21):
the transfer portal at wide receiver. Now they did lose
Tyler Warren. I think Penn State's gonna be fucking good.
I'd be I'm gonna pick them to win the Big Ten.
Georgia is gunner stocked in their quarterback. I just hard
for me to pick them. I would go and rank
(47:42):
of Penn State, Texas, Georgia, Ohio State. Obviously, Ohio State
and Ryan Day are a better programmed than Penn State.
They've proven a lot more. But it's like this team,
they're pretty good. You see the highlights of LeVar Arrington's
kid who's gonna be the next Abdul Carter and Michael Parsons. Jesus,
(48:02):
he's eighteen years old, he looks like a NFL player.
After a week of Josh Simmons checking all the boxes
(48:24):
in Kansas City, even in pads, and there seemingly being
no competition at left tackle anymore. Is this outcome more
of a failure on the league to let such a
talent fall to Kansas City and bail them out, or
is it more about how capitalistic of an operation the
Chiefs have going right now seems like the type of
pick where we look up and see him in the
(48:45):
Super Bowl next February and it's like, yeah, probably because
Mahomes isn't worried about his blindside anymore. I think two
things can be true. One, he's one of the more
talented guys in the draft, and if he had been healthy,
he's a lock, top tennish pick lock. He was not
(49:05):
healthy coming out of the draft, so that right away
makes people a little squirmish. The other thing that is true,
he had red flags. Now I wouldn't go as far
as like Jalen Carter red flags, but I know he
was off some boards. Where I think it benefits the
Chiefs is their coach is a little liberal, more liberal
(49:30):
with veach of who's on and off the board, you know,
And I think sometimes maybe where a front office would
be like, I'm not quite comfortable, Coach Rie goes, we're good.
I can handle the guy. It doesn't mean it's always
going to work, but I think you gotta be careful
playing that game. Right. Did Atlanta screw up by not
drafting Jalen Carter? Atlanta was not equiped to handle that guy,
(49:54):
Not at all, So I think sometimes when we play
that game, I don't know. I think sometimes it's unfair.
He was there at thirty two for a reason. He
plays the most coveted position on offense beside quarterback, left tackle,
So for every team to pass on him, I think
there were a ton of question marks. I also think
(50:18):
we gotta be careful. Is he gonna be good? I
would probably bet on it, but it's July twenty eighth.
I mean, let's we got a long way to go.
But he got pretty lucky. I would say it worked
out pretty well for him. Now, in the short term,
you go thirty second instead of fourteenth or tenth or eighth,
(50:39):
you make a lot less money. But I think in
the long term he can make a lot more money.
So the Chiefs, if this works out, I mean, it'll
be a steal, not even a steal. I mean he
was there. Of course the Chiefs are gonna take him.
He's left tackle. My wife and I just welcomed our
(51:01):
son last month as well, So congrats on the announcement
of the baby boy. Question for the mailbag, I've heard
you describe Philip Rivers and Deebo as war daddies what's
your definition for a player that fits the bill and
who would be your all war Daddy team quarterback, running back,
wide receiver, tight end, defensive player. Will limit it to
current and recently retired players. I think Wardaddy is one
(51:28):
of those like you know when you see it, And
I think part of being a war Daddy as someone
that you feel comfortable with and listen, whoever's listening to this,
whoever you're a fan of. You know there are certain
players on your team do you just feel really comfortable
going into a big game with You know, this guy
is ready. And I honestly I think the quarterbacks, right
(51:53):
Philip Rivers, he was just listen, win or lose. You
just felt good being in the trenches with them. I
think it's what makes this top quarterback group pretty special
is because I think all of them. Now they may
not play well, but I'll tell you this, the top
four guys Mahomes, Josh Lamar, and Joe Burrow, those fucking
guys are scared to lick. I mean, those are guys
(52:16):
that you just feel comfortable going to battle with. I
think a war daddy typically your best players, that are
your toughest players are gonna stand out. So it's like, yeah,
I mean Trent Williams or you know Lane Johnson, Right,
I mean some of these wide receivers. Part of the
(52:37):
two is a physicality like what made Debo is like
Deepo will break tackles, right, Like George Kittle when you
watch him play, is a lot different than Travis Kelcey. Right,
Travis Kelcey's numbers dwarf George's in terms of the receiving game.
But when you watch George, there's a physicality that Travis
just can't bring to the table. Right, He's just he's
(53:00):
not gonna do what George does. You know, back to Gronk,
So certain position players, you know, McLaurin is like Terry
McLaurin is a war Daddy, And I think you got
to be very careful, Like I'm not gonna list maybe
I'll do my all Wardaddy team before the season starts.
But this is like with the Raiders, Spy Tech and
Pete get there, and I was guilty of this too.
(53:20):
I'm like, I pivot kind of restart, trade Max, trade
him two ones in a two, Like you get a
haul for Max Crosby. The Lions would trade you a
shitload for Max, But I think Pete John would be
like he is everything we want in a guy like
Max Crosby is the ultimate warddaddy. So the physicality, the toughness,
(53:41):
the relentlessness. I think when the lights get the brightest,
right Monday night football, Sunday night football against the best competition,
you know that guy, if he's healthy, is gonna be
give everything you have. Doesn't mean you're always gonna play
the best games. To me, it's about effort, physicality, toughness.
It's almost like an intangible thing, right, and there's a
(54:03):
hitting aspect to it, especially defensive players like dra Greenlaw.
That guy's a war daddy. That guy is just an
old school cut from the nineteen nineties badass and some
of these guys just art. Doesn't mean you can't be
a really good player and be quote unquote a little
softer than other guys. Awesome. I listen to your podcast
(54:25):
every day. Experience is the reason why I side with
mostly everything you say. But San Jose is an awesome city.
We got the Sharks and a lot of nightlife. The
food is amazing. In a weekend here may change your mind,
It's just gonna be a hard disagreement. On my side.
I'm just I'm not a San Jose guy. My question
would have been for my Pittsburgh Steelers. You and especially
(54:48):
Colin have been bashing their offseason and trading for DK
without having a franchise quarterback. But is it insane to
think that they can draft or trade up to a
higher position to get a franchise quarterback of their choice.
If you had to pick between Drew Aller, Leonora Sellers,
or Nika, I'm a oliva. I can't say that last name.
Who has the highest upside? I would say, right now,
(55:11):
as we sit here today, Nico is not even in
the conversation to sniff the first round, let alone trading
up for so I would remove Nico. I would say
Aler is a very interesting prospect, the taste that he
left in our mouse, especially if you had a thousand
dollars wagered on Penn State and he threw that interception
(55:32):
against Notre Dame. We got to bounce back from that
bad boy. I don't feel as comfortable talking about Lenora Sellers.
I'd be lying if I said I was super dialed
in to all of his games for South Carolina. I
would say he is a guy him and Arch are
the guys and probably DJ Lagway as well, like really
excited to watch this year. But I would say Sellers
(55:54):
and Al are immediately in that conversation of guys. To me,
if I'm a Pittsburgh Steeler fan, RAMS fan for sure,
because I got the two picks the Browns they got
a couple first rounders. I think you're I mean, you're
watching all these guys. I Nico as well, but you're
watching Alur Lagway, Sellers Arch, all the good quarterbacks and
(56:23):
any guy that starts playing, well, you're keeping an eye on,
probably leaving some guys off. So I'm nineteen years old
and I just became the head coach of a West
Seattle eighth grade football team. The players seem to look
at me as an adult, but my assistant coaches seem
harder to convince. So far, all we had is the
skills showcase. Any tips for when I go to the
(56:45):
first practice to get everybody bought in and behind me
even though I'm nineteen. You want to rattle one of
those assistant coaches cages, fire one of them before you
even get there, show everyone who's boss. Just kidding, Don't
do that unless the guy sucks at his job. But no,
I think the best thing you can do, Like you
(57:07):
can't change your age, you can't change your experience. Just
be authentic. Be who you are. I think anytime, like
you're doing dealing with eighth grade kids, they're gonna look
up to you no matter what. You got them right.
The assistant coaches, who I think is fair to say
many of them are going to be older and you
some way older than you. Like, just i'd be a
(57:31):
little careful of like screaming at them immediately. Not that
I don't even know if your coaching style, but don't
try to act like a coach that you've seen on TV.
Just be who you are. I think, anytime at any level.
This could be the pros, this could be college, this
could be D two, This could be high school football,
this could be eighth grade football. You have to be
(57:52):
authentic to who you are. I think the best coaches,
Nick Saban, didn't fake it. That's Nick Saban's personality, Andy Reid,
Pete Carroll. They're authentic to the Mike Tomlin, the Hardbob Brother,
you go around, you go, Kirby Smart, Lincoln Riley. Be
true to who you are because if you just act
be consistent, and that's being authentic. If you act like
(58:12):
you do normally would every single day, if you know
what you're talking about, they'll respect you. So like you're
not going to gain respect by screaming at him, by
you know, boss them around, because you're the top of
the totem pole. But I think you gotta just whatever
your personality is, try to be consistent with that. I'd
(58:35):
also try to know your shit because the more quote
unquote schematic motive you know, motivating eighth graders actually might
be kind of important. Ideally they're ready to roll up
practice charts. But yeah, it's tough. There's not right or
wrong way to do things. But I would say anytime
(58:57):
you're a younger person and people are answering to you
and you kind of start throwing around authority, it's the
easiest way, you know, in terms of your fellow workers,
to get them to turn on you. And if you're
gonna want to win games in the eighth grade league
it's football, you need a good staff. A question, do
(59:19):
you enjoy special teams? A friend who just started watching
football last year tells me it's gimmicky and boring, And
I found it hard to defend. Why was it an
interesting part of the game Even though it is, I
found it interesting in the NFL has made big changes
to it, more than any side of the ball in
the last fifteen years. Well because offensive defense besides like
(59:42):
officiating the violence right, the hits because they didn't want
to get sued for concussions. Like offensive defense is why
you watch right, like when you play golf, hitting drivers
and seven irons are fun. Putting sucks like, yeah, do
I care about special teams? No, like kicker, punter, kickoff
return Like no, it's it's really boring. I do not
(01:00:06):
care at all. Help Most NFL coaches aren't that interested.
They just want their special teams coach to handle those guys,
and their kicker to make kicks, and their punter to
be good at directional punting, and whoever's on the special
teams unit to be sound in their lanes and make tackles. Yeah, sucks,
but it's I mean, it's part of the sport. Because
(01:00:29):
let's just say you took it out and if you
got past like the thirty five yard line, you can
just give a thumbs up automatic three points. You could
just start every drive at the twenty five, like that
is exciting. I mean there can be exciting plays, a
kickoff block, a punt block, a fake punt, but the
overall run of the mill forty yard punt or thirty
(01:00:54):
yard field goal right down the middle. Yeah, it doesn't
do anything to me as a consumer, And there is
a gimmick yell them into it, of course, but it
is pretty interwoven and connected to football at this point
in time in twenty twenty five. Do I see them
scrapping special teams. I don't. Maybe one day. I guess
(01:01:15):
you'd never say never, But there are enough coaches in
the league, older coaches, that would definitely fight for it
to keep it as part of an integral part of
the game, even if it quote unquote can be a
little gimmicky at times. The volume
The volume. What is going on everybody? How are we doing?
Hopefully you're doing great because football is back. Every team
(00:23):
in the league putting on pads or hitting, maybe not
tackling to the ground. You can't touch the quarterback, but
pads are popping. And we had a story break on Monday,
or at least details to one that was happened over
the weekend. Christian Wilkins has been cut from the Raiders
and Adam Schefter gave some details and I think this
(00:47):
I do want to talk about how this serves as
a lesson be very careful when free agency comes about,
and paying premiums for players that their own team didn't want.
We had some contra sign from Rashaun Slater to Courtland Sutton.
Sean McVeigh gave an update about Matt Stafford and some
(01:09):
kind words about Jimmy Garoppolo. Baker Mayfield said that the
Bucks have given him more guaranteed money. Talk about Baker
and we'll do a little mailbag at job Middlecoffin is
the Instagram. Fire in those dms, get your questions answered
here on the show. We will make sure you fire
in those dms. I need a bunch of mailbag questions.
(01:31):
I will have a football slash golf podcast probably tomorrow.
I'll give my review on Happy Gilmour, which I watched
on Sunday night, So check that out because I'm spoilers.
Be damned. It's been on Netflix now for about three days.
I know. We got busy life, so I understand if
you missed. It's a couple hours if you can't watch
(01:53):
tonight because I'm gonna talk about tomorrow. Other than that,
you guys know the drill. Subscribe to The Three and
our podcasts. If you listen on Collins Feed, make sure
you subscribe to our YouTube channel. We're gonna have a big,
big fall, so buckle up. So before we talk some football, though,
you know, I got to tell you about my friends,
my partners, and the official ticketing app of this podcast,
(02:14):
Game Time best in the business. What do you guys
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we're obviously down the home stretch of baseball. See the
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Game Time app last minute ticket's lowest prices guaranteed. Let's
dive into the Christian Wilkins situation. Now, first and foremost,
(03:16):
I'm not a contract negotiator. I'm not an arbitrator. I
don't know how this thing will play out. When the NFL,
the NFLPA, which obviously has some issues, Wilkins, the Raiders,
they all get involved, fighting over the money and the
semantics and the details over what you owe me and
what I don't owe you. Obviously, the Raiders don't want
(03:38):
to pay this player who got well over eighty million
dollars last year in guaranteed money as high as you
will see a unrestricted free agent signed for honestly non
quarterback over the last several years. It has to be
the most money, right, a unrestricted free agent got on
(03:59):
the open mark. Now, typically, I would say not even Typically,
good high end defensive linemen, whether their defensive tackles or
pass rushers, do not hit after their rookie contract. If
they are elite players, big time players the open market,
that does not happen. So overall, I think this is
(04:20):
a very good lesson. Guards hit the open market, linebackers
hit the open market. Hell second wide receivers sometimes hit
the open market. Tight ends can hit the open market.
But typically awesome tackles and awesome defensive linemen never hit
the unrestricted free agent market in their mid twenties. Why.
That's not how the NFL works, And I think this
(04:41):
serves as a good example. Tom Telesco is currently on
the street. I don't blame him for signing this contract, right,
but there was a reason he was available. We can
say a lot about the Miami Dolphins, and I don't
think they're well run. You gotta give him credit on
this one. They could have franchised him, they could have
extended them, and they said, we're out of the Christian
Wilkins business. Now, obviously there was an injury that took
(05:04):
part to help create this weird situation. If he was
fully healthy and had a good year, who knows. I
doubt they're cutting him. But he gets injured, he's not
able to participate. And clearly they were very uncomfortable with
being in business with this player because that when you're
paying a guy this type money, like the Raiders like
(05:25):
being in business with Max Crosby, right, the forty nine
Ers liked being in business with George Kittle and Fred Warner,
The Chargers like being in business with Justin Herbert and
Rashaun Slater and Derwin James, the Raiders and John spy
Tech and Pete Carroll and Listen. I said this last week,
this would have been a difficult move for John spy
(05:45):
Tech if John Middlecoff or Bill Middlecoff or James Middlecoff
was the first time head coach and the coach of
the Raiders that spy Tech had hired this offseason. It
becomes a lot you like how I just try different
names with my last name. It became a lot easier
to do business this way when Pete Carroll goes. I've
(06:09):
been coaching this league for decades. I've won a Super Bowl.
Look at my resume. I know what I'm doing. I've
also been in some weird situations with contracts with guys.
I've drafted guys whose numbers will be retired by the
Seattle Seahawks. We can handle this, but this guy's not
going to be on the team anymore now. Schefter had
(06:31):
some comments today that were kind of funny. I mean,
in a way. I'm just gonna read it to you.
I'm sure many of you have either seen the clips
or read some headlines over what happened, but I just
want to hammer this home so we're all on the
same page. This was an article that Schefter tweeted out.
(06:52):
Christian Wilkins, who was released by the Raiders, kissed a
fellow player on the head and the teammate took a
to it. A source told Adam Schefter the incident was
not the sole reason that Wilkins was cut. Sources say
Wilkins has been recovering from a Jones fracture while he suffered.
He suffered in his left foot last October, last week's incident. This,
(07:16):
obviously the kissing incident happened a week ago. Happened inside
the Raiders' locker room. One source told ESPN dot com
that the interaction was playful, but the teammate did not
see it that way. It's not known what the fellow
player did following the incident. A complaint was filed to
the Raiders HR department, which investigated the incident. A source
(07:41):
told Shifter the Raiders, through a team spokesman, have declined
to comment. When you were getting into business with people
in free agency, especially nowadays where the cap is huge,
the money for these guys that are available, you have
to pay extra because the supply and demand on the
(08:02):
open market Miles Garrett, Max Crosby, Jalen Carter, Nick Bosa,
those type guys in their prime are never available. So
the guys that are available Christian Wilkins always get probably
twenty thirty percent more on the open market than they
would have got if they just would have got an
extension with the team, but they are available for a reason.
Their team didn't want them. There's a reason. Typically you
(08:25):
date someone before you marry them. It's a pretty big
commitment in in free agency now, the money that is
on the line, it's an enormous commitment to make to
a player like this, and clearly this administration wanted no
part of it. Now, we will see how it plays
out with the money, with the dead cap, and obviously
(08:46):
there are some stuff in flux, but this is a
good example that John Spytech and especially Pete Carroll, who
guess what the defense and physicality and the defensive line
and the defensive backfield which are intertwined. His baby couldn't
stand this guy. Who knows And maybe we will get
more information with this kissing incident in the locker room,
(09:10):
but here's what I know. The players on the team
and the head coach, who probably is going to be
a Hall of Famer one day, didn't want to look
at this guy anymore. And this is why, right when
you talk about extending guys, coaches come and go, administrations
come and go. Look at some of these guys that
just got extended. Cortland, Sutten, Rashaan Slater. They have new coaches,
(09:34):
they have new gms from the guys that actually picked
them coming out of college, but there are still people
in that infrastructure, specifically the owner who through the transition
has been around a guy and go, I like this guy.
I want to be in business with this individual. And obviously,
depending on the position you play, depends on how much
money you are arguing for, and they're willing to pay you.
(09:57):
But people have no problem paying guys they're good guys
that are trustworthy guys. Obviously you've got to be a
good player, but that I feel comfortable with. And clearly
the Raiders don't feel comfortable with this player and couldn't
get him to pack his bags fast enough. And I
think this move becomes a lot easier when you got
(10:18):
Pete Carroll as the poster child for your organization. So
it would have been a very difficult thing for a
guy like Liam Cohen to do. We would have been like,
does this guy know what he's doing? But when Pete
Carroll does it, no one thinks it's weird at all.
And then this information comes out, it's like, yeah, the
team doesn't even like the guy, So let this be
a warning when you were going to get into business
(10:39):
with people in free agency, it's extremely risky. There is
a reason that guy is on the open market because
unlike some sports. In baseball, maybe the team doesn't have
the money. The A's the Rays, they're never going to
pay certain guys. In basketball, if I have a couple
of max guys, now with these new rules, I can't
sign you. I have to let you go. In football,
(11:01):
we can always manipulate the cap. If I want you,
I can keep you. And typically teams want defensive linemen,
especially once they draft. And the Dolphins said I'm out,
and then Pete Carroll how many months have they even
been together? Now three or four said I'm out, pack
(11:22):
your shit and get out of my locker room. Speaking
of guys that I want you to make sure you
buy a house in this area, Rashaun Slater, the star
tackle for the Chargers, gets an enormous extension. These tackles.
These pass rushers aren't quite quarterbacks, but you're getting guys
that are encroaching on one hundred plus I mean, some
(11:45):
of these pass rushers have flown by one hundred plus
million dollars. I think we will see pretty quickly a
offensive tackle, get one hundred plus million dollars in guarantees.
And you know this is a good example. Jim Harbad
did not draft this player. Jim Harbaugh did not pick
this player. But Jim Harbaugh values offensive line as much,
(12:06):
if not more, than any coach in the NFL. He
gave his reasoning last year when they drafted Joe Alton.
They said, why didn't you tack? Why didn't you pick
a wide receiver? He said, because I believe offensive linemen
are weapons, and they are the tip of the spear
and the spear in this offense, and in Jim Harbaugh's
(12:27):
offense that has always been predicated on the run, starts
with the line of scrimmage. So they pay their guy,
they got all. They're probably gonna have one of, if
not the best tackle combination in the league. And listen,
I think a lot of people are high on the
Chargers rightfully, So Courtland Sudden speaking about guys again. When
(12:47):
you're a new coach, Aaron Glenn, Liam Cohen, Schottenheimer doesn't
really count because Jerry does whatever he wants. But you
can go around the league get these new guys. A
good coach gives everyone a fresh start. But is open
minded to anything. I'll keep this guy if it's worth it,
or all get rid of this guy if it's not.
Regardless how good you are, how many Pro Bowls you made,
(13:08):
how many Pro Bowls you've never sniffed. And I think
Sean Payton went into this like, hey, we're open minded here,
Russell Wilson, I'm gonna give you opportunity. Couldn't get rid
of that guy fast enough. Courland Sutton, You're thought, you know,
is this guy long for the Denver Broncos And then
they get a quarterback. He gets eighty one catches, he
has eight touchdowns, he has over a thousand yards receiving.
(13:28):
Boom gets a big extension. And when you're an offensive weapon,
tight end, running back, wide receiver, and your head coach
is the play caller, and you have a young quarterback
that clearly likes you and relies on you, you're gonna have
some job security. Just like Slater, what does he do?
He blocks the blind side of a two hundred million
dollars quarterback. What a sudden do is a safety valve
(13:53):
for what I think Sean Payton hopes becomes the franchise.
So we see guys like Christian Wilkins. I don't care
how much we gave you, get out of here and
then we see other guys we want you to be
a part of this as we move forward. So a
lot of actions so far in terms of money changing
hands or maybe not changing hands. In the AFC West,
(14:15):
I saw a comment probably within the last week, and
it was like a clip that came up on I
think my Instagram feed of Sean McVay calling Jimmy Garoppolo
the best backup quarterback in the NFL, and I'll be honest,
I didn't think anything of it. I was like, shit,
it's coaches like gassing up their own guy. He likes Jimmy.
(14:36):
Jimmy's been with the team now a couple of years.
Jimmy's been a guy who's had a lot of success
against him. Likable guy, players, teammates, people have always really
liked Jimmy. Now, is he the best backup quarterback in
the league. I think if we went around the league,
it's a pretty low bar. But yeah, in terms of resume,
probably one of the better ones. I think looking back,
(14:59):
why he said that is because he knows there's a
decent chance he's gonna have to play some games this
year with Jimmy Garoppolo. And I didn't realize that when
he said that because a couple days ago Sean McVay
has to come back to the podium and say, listen, guys,
I said that Matt Stafford was going to be back
sooner than later, probably this week. I was wrong. We're
(15:21):
taking him now week to week. Like obviously day to day.
Day to day could be two weeks, day to day
could be a month. But day to day sounds a
lot better than week to week cuz you're three weeks
away from being out the entire month. So when I
see Matt Stafford, who played in the league forever, one
of the toughest dudes in the entire league in terms
(15:44):
of like, is it make or break July twenty eighth,
Matt Stafford practicing, of course not. I think the scary
thing with this is when they are injuries like soreness.
When I see that, regardless of where what area is sore,
I go that can be something that just doesn't go away.
And then I see back soreness. I like the Rams
(16:07):
and I think they're gonna be pretty damn good this year.
But I'll promise you this. If Matt Stafford at any
point has to miss significant time, I'm out on them.
That team that went toe to toe with the Eagles
a big reason why Matt freaking Stafford, I promise you,
at this point in time in his career, at thirty
three years old, it will not be Jimmy Garoppolo. I
think there are some similarities with Jimmy Garoppolo as there
(16:28):
was with Derek Carr. You have a couple of major injuries,
which Jimmy has had, and you're never quite the same
because that comfortability in the pocket, and I would say
Jimmy was never the most comfortable individual in the pocket
completely goes away and you can get a little what
they would say in you know, NFL for an offices
or NFL coaching Staff's a little gunshot. And again I
(16:50):
understand why why Sean McVay is hyping this guy up
because there's a decent chance he might need him at
some point this year. But I know this, if any
of this back stuff creeps into the season at any
point and Matt Stafford had to miss significant time, even
with an easier schedule, I do not like the rams. Okay,
(17:17):
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Speaker 1 (18:49):
Uh Baker Mayfield. When you're a quarterback, how when you're
a star player in the NFL at a position player
and obviously the quarterback, you're in business with the team.
You should view it as a partnership, not like Lebron
did forever. Patrick Mahomes does not approach his relationship with Bretfeach,
the Hunt family and Andy Reid, like some of these
(19:11):
NBA star players, becomes very adversarial. Right, I'm in charge,
you're not. You listen to me, which would be easy
for them to do because the chiefs could not operate
with them without them, and they know that, but when
you show we will do whatever it takes. We got
your back. We are pro. We want to be in
the Patrick Mahomes business. And being in the business with
(19:33):
a star quarterback like Lamar, like Josh Allen, like Joe Burrow,
means helping you out in every way possible. And Baker
Mayfield had some comments to Pete Prisco of CBS about
his situation. He's obviously relative to guy throwing forty plus
touchdowns not making that much money. He signed a three
year on hundred million dollar contract, and he mentioned that
(19:56):
his contract was changed to where he got a bunch
of guaranteed money in twenty twenty six. And even though
that that guaranteed money still means he's an underpaid quarterback
relative to guys at his position who he's much better than.
He wants to be in business with Tampa. He wants
(20:17):
to play there. And I think it's easy for a guy,
just like any human being, when you've seen some shit
through experience, through adversity, and through struggles, helps you realize
I got it pretty good now. I don't want to
ever risk going back to what happened. Look at Kirk Cousins,
Kirk cousins like I gotta get the most money humanly
(20:38):
possible every fucking time. Okay, Kirk, welcome to the Atlanta Falcons. Godspeed, homie.
How'd that go? And I think Baker, and obviously Kirk,
I'm not saying he's not responsible for poor play, but
as he said the other day, if I would have known,
I would have stay with the Minnesota Vikings, even if
it would have been for less money. It's easy to
say now, but you've never thought that way, and you've
(20:58):
never operated that way. And when you have a bunch
of money, and Baker does at this point in time,
and if he keeps playing well, he's gonna have a
bunch more, you can't always make your decisions based on
who's gonna pay me the most, because sometimes that decision
leads to problems in the NFL, leads to not playing well,
leads to losing. And I think Baker Mayfield at this
(21:22):
point in time in his career, has a pretty good
understanding of like Jason light building this team, the infrastructure
we have, the type guys we have on this team
kind of know what we're doing around here. They obviously
like me. I like being here, and even if in
a year. They may not offer me two hundred million
dollars and that number is one hundred and seventy five
(21:42):
million dollars. This is where I want to be because
unlike most positions, even the guaranteed money for a quarterback
to a tongue of I loo is a good example. Right.
He got this huge contract, well over two hundred million dollars,
but his guaranteed number I think was like one fifty
or one sixty plays two is gonna see every penny
of his contract. I saw it with Jimmy Garoppo when
(22:04):
he sign up for one hundred and twenty five million dollars,
like seventy of it was guaranteed. Guess what he saw
every penny. Because all these other positions they try to
get rid of you quickly as possible. At quarterback, if
you are just pretty solid, you typically stay and last,
but not least before we get out of here. I
think I'm gonna do do a go low happy Gilmore review.
(22:28):
I watched it on Sunday night, so we'll talk about that.
No spoiler alerts today, but I recommend seeing that because
I'm just gonna I'm gonna give my full thoughts on
tomorrow's podcast. One thing that differentiates football from any other
sports slash activity is that you can't actually play it
unless they are literally literally coaches, referees and pads. Every
(22:53):
other sport, I could get into the box against whoever
is the starting pitcher and simulate in a bat. We
can just I could have an umpire behind us, and
I don't even need people in the infield or outfield.
We can just simulate abs. Right in basketball, I get
nine other people if I'm an NBA player or a
(23:15):
college player, and we can legitimately play a game. In
golf and tennis, like you can just play other people
the actual rules and have a real match like you
would at Wimbledon, like you would at the US Open.
You can play Oh, you can play the same course,
you can play the same court. Football. You have all
these practices in the spring and then even at the
(23:37):
start in training camp that are nothing like the actual
sport because the pads aren't on, And any coach or
GM will tell you know, it's really really hard to
evaluate our offensive linemen, our running backs, even our linebackers,
because it's one thing to run fit when everyone's in
shorts and T shirts. What about when people are running
full speed and we're tackling to the ground. Can you
(23:57):
actually bring that guy to the ground. I don't know.
We're gonna find out. And in football, most guys that
have years upon years of tape, you feel pretty confident.
Right if the guy's still moving at the same speed
in shorts and t shirt, you go, he can still
play at a high level. We have a body of work.
But there are a lot of guys returning, young players
(24:18):
that might might have been on the practice squad, and
then all the guys that you just drafted. You don't
truly know. You can be bullish on a guy being like, god,
I guess this guy's gonna be pretty freaking good. He's
flying around. Then the pads come on and it's like, uh,
a little overwhelmed, and listen, as time goes on, maybe
he gets more comfortable. No one's judging you purely on
(24:40):
the first day of pads in training camp, but it
does separate players, and it does go from a place
where a team can be really high on a player
based on the off season activities and the way he
came into shape and training camp, and then the pads
come on and a week goes by and you go,
this guy's not gonna be able to help us out
this year, and it can work on the on the
(25:01):
flip side of Hey, this guy was on our practice
squad last year. We didn't have high hopes. But he's
kicking ass and taking names right now. He knows the offense,
he knows the defense. He's playing fast like this guy
could he start and you start repping in really quick,
and it's the best part of training camp by far. Now.
Ideally no one gets injured. We know that's kind of impossible.
(25:23):
We've seen a bunch of guys get injured so far.
But I think it is a time for NFL front
offices when the practice tape really really matters, and the
evaluations with your scouting department, with your coaching staff, anyone
that's watched hard knocks over the years. They don't show
it as much anymore. But back in the day, those
(25:43):
big conference rooms where the coaching staff and maybe a
GM and assistant GM were all sitting at and people
on the outside, you know, the younger coaches and some
of the younger scouts, and they're just evaluating people. Because
a huge part of football right now, and this is
gonna happen in college. College is a little different because
you don't have any preseason games, so you start if
you're Texas or Ohio State or some of these programs,
(26:07):
you're a weekend. You know, you start kind of implementing
some of the game plan. But for the first couple
of weeks of an NFL training camp, when the pads
come on, it's really all about evaluation. How you handle
the scheme, how you handle the information, and what you
look like versus you know, your own team. It's not
a lot of like getting ready for a week one,
(26:27):
it's purely evaluating the roster and you know, and that
goes for veteran players too, like, God, this guy's slipping.
This guy isn't quite what he once was. And once
you start having those thoughts, you go, listen, his money
this year is not guaranteed, So will we pay this
guy twelve million dollars if he makes your opening day
(26:47):
roster his salary. If he's an invested veteran, his salary
becomes guaranteed. So you have to think twice, like do
we cut him and just go with the sixth rounder
who might be eighty five percent as good as this guy?
But he only costs us a million dollars and in
two years they he might be even with the guy.
And these are decisions that start really kind of materializing,
(27:11):
you know, in these meeting rooms and in people's heads,
and these conversations start happening right now now, it doesn't
mean that it's going to come to fruition. And maybe
that veteran guy, it's like, hey, we still feel good
about this guy. Maybe the position coaches arguing for him,
maybe the coordinators honoring for him. Maybe the head coach
is arguing against them. So you get all these different factions,
(27:32):
which is good, which is healthy. You don't want everyone
on the same page right now. You want everyone bringing
their opinions. But once you start getting close to that
cutdown date, there's going to be a decision made and
everyone's got to be on the same page. But for
the next couple of weeks, and you know, the Chargers
and Lions, because they got to camp earlier, they've been
in past for a while, so these conversations have been
happening with those teams for a little little longer. Now
(27:54):
both those two teams, especially the Lions, are a little
more established of a roster, but some of these teams,
you know, have the forty nine ers have like eight
spots open. For the last like four or five years,
the forty nine ers have had like one starting spot
maybe open, and it's like anything in the NFL, rosters churn.
You get to a point where a lot of guys
leave and boom. Eagles are a good example. Not as
(28:15):
many openings. A couple on defense, really not on offense,
maybe one one position. Some of these teams, hell, you know,
the Chiefs, the Bills, like you might get three or four,
but it's not even just the starters, because if the
starting spots open and the backup wins the job, well,
now who's the backup? So you kind of get this
domino effect, which you know, basically, you get up early
(28:38):
in the morning, you eat breakfast, you go to practice,
you evaluate that practice film, you go to meetings, you
keep evaluating that practice film, and you're just kind of
doing that because there's no other film to evaluate. There
are no preseason games yet, there's obviously just nothing else
going on, so you're kind of keeping tabs with the league.
If you're a GM or an assistant GM, but your
(28:59):
number one job right now, the number one thing you
have to do with your head coach and your coaching
staff is nail the evaluation of your own team. And listen,
some of it's hard. Some of these decisions might be
a coin flip, and you just pray to God that
you don't select keep the guy, and the guy that
you let go goes on somewhere else, and then a
(29:20):
couple years later he's like a high end player and
the guy that you kept is not even on your team.
But that's that's the risk you take, and it's why
the more information you have, hopefully the better decision you
can make. But these these are fun times. These are
tense times. These are just there's a lot of just
(29:42):
a lot of stress. I mean when you have a
job that's like, hey, this job is available, and you realize, like,
if someone loses this job, especially if it's the veteran,
he's not gonna be on this team anymore. So these
guys aren't idiots, you know. If you've been in the
league long enough, you realize like, if I don't win
this starting job, I'm going to get cut because they're
not gonna pay me seven million dollars to be the
(30:04):
backup guard, which is not gonna happen. Buckle up, if
you're a fan, you know you're reading all these articles
about these these competitions. It's it's as real as can be. Okay,
(30:31):
let's do a little thing. We call the mail bag
at John Middlecoff at John Middlecoff is the Instagram. Fire
in those dms. Get your questions answer here on the
show again. It's just my name, fire in the dms,
and we will start with Patrick. Question for the bag.
Schefter today reported that mcclaurin will not take less than
thirty three million dollars a year. And that's the deal
(30:52):
that DK just got from the Steelers. Schefter said he
wants considerably more than that. Terry is a better player
than in my opinion, so starting with that number makes sense.
It does not seem like the Commanders agree. Given what
you know about Adam Peters and his background with the
Patriots and the Niners, who seem to have plenty of
(31:14):
these kind of holdouts in recent years, how do you
see this playing out? I think this is complicated, you know,
I think we discussed earlier. When you come into a
situation and you really like the player one, you know,
the Chargers giving Slater a lot of money. It's not
that's every single coach in the history of the league
(31:37):
would have done that. I think Courtland Sutton's a better example.
Sean Payton comes in, he gets this young quarterback and
immediately his young quarterback has a rapport with Sutton. Now,
as of recording this, I haven't seen the guaranteed money,
but he got like four years ninety five million bucks
or whatever, right so under and twenty five a year,
(31:59):
which always factors into the guarantee. So's it's a relatively
easy deal to do if you really like the player.
You like the guy, and you go, we're getting this
guy under market rate, you know, with the top guys.
He's six seven eight million dollars off the top guys.
And we love the player, he knows our scheme, and
we feel, at twenty eight twenty nine years old, for
the next several years gonna be the prime of his career.
(32:21):
I think when you start talking forty million dollars a year,
it's like, I'm sorry, I'm out. I get thirty five
million dollars a year. Let's just say, like that's that
would wet his beak. You give me thirty five million
dollars a year. So let's just do the math. Is
he signing like a two year extension. Let's just say
that guarantee every penny, two years, seventy million dollars every penny, Like,
(32:44):
do you feel comfortable? Given? Again, he really good player,
and I get DK got that. I think the Steelers
giving him that type of money is kind of crazy, right.
I do think that Terry McLaurin is really really good player,
but I think he got to be very very careful.
Is Terry McLaurin a top six seven wide receiver in
the league? You know, probably in the discussion last season,
(33:08):
which was his best year ever, But he's no one
would take him over the top guys. So it's like
you're gonna pay him more than the top guys who
are younger than him, and he wasn't my guy. I
just think this is the start the type questions you
start asking yourself. The problem is is you go, we
got this guy on a rookie contract the quarterback. This
guy helps out my rookie quarterback. You know, Deebo's pretty
(33:31):
big risk. Now if it doesn't work out, who cares?
He's unrestricted free agent, He's gone. What's Terry gonna do
just not play. Obviously, he showed up. He's he's holding in.
He's a high character guy, so you feel good about
the person. But I think the situation's I think there's
a decent chance he's making play on the money. Speaking
(33:52):
of Washington, is Jaden Daniels the next up in Washington's
cursed quarterback cycle? We've seen it before. Rookie quarterbacks take
the league him, then year two hits in the brick wall,
RG three Rookie of the Year and twelve benched by
year three. Jason Campbell flashes in six inconsistent BIO seven,
Kirk Cousins took years before consistency, Dwayne Haskins RIP seven,
(34:17):
TV seven nine, and T's in his sophomore year. Washington's
quarterbacks historically crash hard in year two, and the NFL
always adjusts. So is Jayden built different? I would say,
I mean, obviously he's way better in Dwayne Haskins rip Cousins.
I mean was a fourth round pick. Jason Campbell little
(34:40):
before my time of being super dialed, but better player.
RG three was pretty awesome, but he tore his knee,
so he was never the same. I would say he's
a better player than all those guys, and I would
expect him to have a good year. I think the
bigger question is less about the quarterback and more about
the offensive coordinator, because like every single time with Cliff,
(35:00):
like he has a big year and then he kind
of comes back to earth a little bit because teams
figure out his offensive scheme. So it's not apples to apples.
And I don't pretend to be some schematic genius, but
I do think that spread offense in the pros, Chip, Kelly,
Cliff Kingsbury. It's just when that's your bread and butter.
As time goes on, defensive coordinators go buckle up, Buttercup,
(35:24):
because it's fucking on and we plan on kicking your ass.
And I would say that's happened in recent memory to
Cliff and a Chip. Now can they adjust, can they adapt?
We'll see, because there's no excuse with this quarterback's pretty
freaking good. I'd be stunned if he's not really good.
For the mailbag. I saw Bill Simmons on his pod
(35:44):
with Zach Lowe talking about how talks about expansion in
the NBA have slowed because teams don't want to lose
money in TV deals because they'd have to share revenue
with whatever new teams there would be. Could you see
this also being the case potentially in the future of
the NFL if they've ever were to expand. For context,
(36:08):
Simmons has been banging the drum that the NBA was
going to expand because he's pretty dialed in with the owners,
you know, Lee office people, and it was like Vegas
and Seattle's gonna get a team. And then I would say,
based on the last like six months, turns out James Dolan,
the Knicks guy, has been at the forefront of being
anti expansion and clearly got people to agree with them
(36:31):
and their main stances. We just got a historic television deal.
If we add two teams and we go to thirty two,
we'd have the same right now they're at thirty they'd
have thirty two like the NFL. Well, the piece of
the pie we get in the national television contract we
have to split up with two more teams, so it's
less money coming in to us. Even if these teams
(36:53):
give us a couple hundred million dollars each with an
expansion fee, I think it'd even be greater with the
NFL because NFL teams are already splitting it with thirty
one other teams if you own the team. So if
we add two more, especially a couple international teams, it
doesn't even matter where they'd be at. My piece of
the pie gets cut dramatically more because now we're talking
(37:14):
thirty three to thirty four teams, so it's even a
bigger cut then the NBA would be right. So I
think one million percent the natural reaction to some of
these guys. Even if you there's a greater, good, big picture,
it's hard to not think short term and over the
next three, four or five years, it's gonna cost me
(37:37):
hundreds of millions of dollars. Again, assuming that's the math. Yeah,
I mean I think that would be the number one.
I think there'd be a lot of variables. I think
anytime you're talking expansion, there should be a lot of
variables beside just the money. The one thing I disagree
with Simmons is like the league has never been more talented.
It's like Bill, I've been watching the NBA for thirty years.
(37:58):
I feel we've never had worse teams. This isn't an
individual sport, it's a team sport. So yeah, it's like
the AAU of the NBA. It's like I'm watching all
these teams, like I feel like all these teams, and
part of it is the transactional nature of the sport.
Feels like these teams aren't any good. There's like four
or five good teams total max. Sometimes less than that.
(38:19):
In the NFL, you're so predicated on quarterbacks, there aren't
enough quarterbacks to go around. So I'd be anti expansion
in both. The NBA does not need more teams. The
NFL does not need more teams. So that's where I stand,
even before the arguments about the money. Congrats on the
(38:39):
wedding and the baby. Big year for me, I know
question for the POD. I'm a broad go van and
I hear all the time in the conversation about bo
Nicks how old he is relative to rookie and second
year quarterbacks. It seems like it is constantly brought up.
But when the media talks about Jaydon Daniels, his age
never gets brought up in conversations about him, even though
he is literally only ten months younger than bo X.
(39:03):
Might it just be biased? For me? You know what
I appreciate, and I you know, I had this just
so hardcore. When I was young, and I was like
in my peak as a sportsman of like high school
into college, you have such a chip on your shoulder
for arguments like this, And for me, it's not as
tight with like any specific team anymore like my my
(39:28):
happiness or my daily and listen. I listened to multiple
podcasts on the forty nine ers. I still follow the
team closely, but I'm not as emotionally moved by the
arguments one way or the other. On a lot of
this stuff. I miss that I miss going this is bullshit.
Everyone keeps calling my guy old. Jaden Daniels is ten.
They'd be in the same grade. So listen. Sometimes you
(39:51):
get a perception and you get a way you're gonna
be discussed and it's not gonna change. Like Jaden Daniels
within a year was like, are we sure the Bears
picked the right guy? And listen, I'm sorry, that's a
conversation this year. Caleb can shut everyone up, including myself,
But right now, like I, the Washington would not trade
(40:12):
their guide. I don't know how the Bears who knows,
you know, early in training camp, but there's a chance
by like Halloween, they're like, god, that was a bad decision.
Where Bo Knicks, everyone's like, this guy should not going
the first round. Sean Payton's crazy, this is nuts. So
anytime your first reaction is like this is stupid, people
don't want to believe right. It's like most people that
(40:33):
talked about football or were in the NFL viewed bo
Nicks not as a top fifteen pick. Help. Most people
debuted him as like third fourth rounder. It's go back
to Kirk Cousins or Dak Prescott or Russell Wilson. Early
in his career, when you're drafted in the third round,
half the league didn't even like you as a prospect,
so it's like it's hard for you to get the respect.
(40:55):
It's Purty's arguments. Same with Jalen Hurts. I know one
was a second round pick, one was a seventh round pick,
but it's like it's hard for you to shape that.
So yeah, I don't I don't really know what to
tell you beside it just is what it is. Win games.
I was thinking about it today, not today, but over
(41:17):
the course of the last week. Is I do think
there is some sleeper like looking at some of the
gambling odds, Obviously, the Chiefs have won the division for
whatever seven straight years. But I don't think Broncos could
be pretty good. I don't think they can be pretty good.
Last mail bag, you were talking about the fact that
(41:38):
having pads for training really do make a difference. So
my question is, knowing this year that Chargers got to
it early because of the Hall of Fame game, with
a coach as good as hardball, could you expect an
early advantage for them first month of the season, for example.
Hadn't thought about that, hadn't thought about that at all?
(41:59):
But you still get you know, some of your core guys,
Alt Maconkey, you know Herbert's second year with this group
extra reps. Don't hate that. I don't. I haven't thought
about that at all. Could that be a big advantage
for the Chargers. Let's look at this from a gambling standpoint.
(42:19):
Week one in Brazil against the Chiefs. Because the Chargers
most teams they play, I think they're gonna have a
coaching advantage. The one game for sure they do not
have a coaching advantage is the Chiefs. But the Chiefs
are breaking in all signs point to be in a
left tackle Josh Simmons, who's repping with the ones. Obviously,
(42:40):
some new players will see what happens with the skill guys.
You know, Rashi Rice getting suspended, a couple of new
guys defense potentially, But yeah, I like where your heads
at there. That's good knowledge, good good thinking. Now that
brock Purty assigned a mega deal and is one of
the highest paid quarterbacks in the NFL, is it time
for the MEETIA has stop covering them like a plucky
(43:01):
underdog and start covering them like a franchise quarterback. Guys,
this does not just because you get paid just because
you're Jalen Hurts and you win a Super Bowl, unless
you're Patrick Mahomes or like Josh Allen or Lamar if
they just won a Super Bowl, there's nothing to even
argue anymore. All these guys, basically everyone beside the top
(43:22):
couple guys, are gonna be argued constantly. It's never gonna end.
Jalen Hurts will have to win three super Bowls is
like an MVP to show people up. Even if perty
won the Super Bowl and like, well, Kyle had his
best year ever. Oh, they've hit on all these draft picks.
I'm just these conversations, the bow Knicks, the Parties, Dak Prescott.
(43:43):
We argue about Dak Prescott for a decade. Now you
could say that people arguing against him were right, But
I'm just saying, like, Dak Prescott's gonna be argued about
this year. Same with the Cousins, unless you're Mahomes like,
you're just gonna get argued about. A big fan of
the show. Do you think it's possible that cam Ward
is absolutely horrible for the Titans? We see a Rosen
(44:03):
Kyler Murray situation. The upcoming draft class seemingly has a
three to four player with the same talent as cam Ward.
What are your thoughts? I think I think cam Ward
is a lock to be their quarterback for several years,
and I have a hard time seeing him be absolutely horrible.
(44:24):
I really do now how good I don't know. I
don't know how good their team's going to be. Could
they be a sleeper this year if he's really good?
I do think so because their defense is pretty good.
But their GM who was just hired from the Chiefs,
he made that pick. So when you Josh Rosen was
the tenth overall pick, so he went from the tenth
(44:44):
overall pick to the number one overall pick. They took
cam Ward number one overall. It was crazy with the
Josh Rosen even though it really wasn't a couple years later.
I do think getting rid of the number one overall
pick after one year would be I'd be stunned. I
don't think it's going to happen at all. I know
(45:06):
you're more of an NFL guy than college football, but
you are still very knowledgeable. I appreciate that. Obviously, the
NFL pays the bills around here, but I love college football.
It's just harder, you know, if you don't fall recruiting,
it's easier to follow the NFL than it is college football,
especially now with the transfer portal. I was doing college
(45:29):
football research and found the dating back to fifteen, excluding
Burrows LSU breakout year, the champion has come from the
top four odds favorites each August before the season, LSU
was number six that year. As of right now, the
pool to select from would be Ohio State, Texas, Georgia,
(45:50):
and Penn State. I don't buy Ohio State or Penn State,
leaving Texas and Georgia in my book, I think there's
great value in Texas at plus six fifty. What are
your predictions. I do think the likelihood of Ohio State
going back to back, given they lost so many guys
on defense and their quarterback. Like I listen, I've been
(46:16):
known to be Ohio State hater. Their team was fucking
good last year. I mean, the best team money could buy,
and they backed it up down the stretch after they
lost to Michigan entering that bad boy. I'm with you.
You know Patricia's coach in the defense. I would say
Ohio State, if Ryan Day were to win that it'd
(46:37):
be be a hell of a coaching job. I would
I would put more stock into Penn State. I would
put more. You could argue Penn State has a better
chance than Texas given just how physically demanding the SEC
can be. And like this is gonna sound crazy, we
(46:59):
do have more and from and Drew Aller, who actually
played pretty well last year. They were returning their coordinators.
I guess they added Knowles, who Ohio State came from
Ohio State. He's a PA guy. Their defense is gonna
be unreal. Penn State's defense is going to dominate this year. Offensively,
they brought back both their running backs, their quarterback, they're
OC and I'm pretty sure they've added some dudes in
(47:21):
the transfer portal at wide receiver. Now they did lose
Tyler Warren. I think Penn State's gonna be fucking good.
I'd be I'm gonna pick them to win the Big Ten.
Georgia is gunner stocked in their quarterback. I just hard
for me to pick them. I would go and rank
(47:42):
of Penn State, Texas, Georgia, Ohio State. Obviously, Ohio State
and Ryan Day are a better programmed than Penn State.
They've proven a lot more. But it's like this team,
they're pretty good. You see the highlights of LeVar Arrington's
kid who's gonna be the next Abdul Carter and Michael Parsons. Jesus,
(48:02):
he's eighteen years old, he looks like a NFL player.
After a week of Josh Simmons checking all the boxes
(48:24):
in Kansas City, even in pads, and there seemingly being
no competition at left tackle anymore. Is this outcome more
of a failure on the league to let such a
talent fall to Kansas City and bail them out, or
is it more about how capitalistic of an operation the
Chiefs have going right now seems like the type of
pick where we look up and see him in the
(48:45):
Super Bowl next February and it's like, yeah, probably because
Mahomes isn't worried about his blindside anymore. I think two
things can be true. One, he's one of the more
talented guys in the draft, and if he had been healthy,
he's a lock, top tennish pick lock. He was not
(49:05):
healthy coming out of the draft, so that right away
makes people a little squirmish. The other thing that is true,
he had red flags. Now I wouldn't go as far
as like Jalen Carter red flags, but I know he
was off some boards. Where I think it benefits the
Chiefs is their coach is a little liberal, more liberal
(49:30):
with veach of who's on and off the board, you know,
And I think sometimes maybe where a front office would
be like, I'm not quite comfortable, Coach Rie goes, we're good.
I can handle the guy. It doesn't mean it's always
going to work, but I think you gotta be careful
playing that game. Right. Did Atlanta screw up by not
drafting Jalen Carter? Atlanta was not equiped to handle that guy,
(49:54):
Not at all, So I think sometimes when we play
that game, I don't know. I think sometimes it's unfair.
He was there at thirty two for a reason. He
plays the most coveted position on offense beside quarterback, left tackle,
So for every team to pass on him, I think
there were a ton of question marks. I also think
(50:18):
we gotta be careful. Is he gonna be good? I
would probably bet on it, but it's July twenty eighth.
I mean, let's we got a long way to go.
But he got pretty lucky. I would say it worked
out pretty well for him. Now, in the short term,
you go thirty second instead of fourteenth or tenth or eighth,
(50:39):
you make a lot less money. But I think in
the long term he can make a lot more money.
So the Chiefs, if this works out, I mean, it'll
be a steal, not even a steal. I mean he
was there. Of course the Chiefs are gonna take him.
He's left tackle. My wife and I just welcomed our
(51:01):
son last month as well, So congrats on the announcement
of the baby boy. Question for the mailbag, I've heard
you describe Philip Rivers and Deebo as war daddies what's
your definition for a player that fits the bill and
who would be your all war Daddy team quarterback, running back,
wide receiver, tight end, defensive player. Will limit it to
current and recently retired players. I think Wardaddy is one
(51:28):
of those like you know when you see it, And
I think part of being a war Daddy as someone
that you feel comfortable with and listen, whoever's listening to this,
whoever you're a fan of. You know there are certain
players on your team do you just feel really comfortable
going into a big game with You know, this guy
is ready. And I honestly I think the quarterbacks, right
(51:53):
Philip Rivers, he was just listen, win or lose. You
just felt good being in the trenches with them. I
think it's what makes this top quarterback group pretty special
is because I think all of them. Now they may
not play well, but I'll tell you this, the top
four guys Mahomes, Josh Lamar, and Joe Burrow, those fucking
guys are scared to lick. I mean, those are guys
(52:16):
that you just feel comfortable going to battle with. I
think a war daddy typically your best players, that are
your toughest players are gonna stand out. So it's like, yeah,
I mean Trent Williams or you know Lane Johnson, Right,
I mean some of these wide receivers. Part of the
(52:37):
two is a physicality like what made Debo is like
Deepo will break tackles, right, Like George Kittle when you
watch him play, is a lot different than Travis Kelcey. Right,
Travis Kelcey's numbers dwarf George's in terms of the receiving game.
But when you watch George, there's a physicality that Travis
just can't bring to the table. Right, He's just he's
(53:00):
not gonna do what George does. You know, back to Gronk,
So certain position players, you know, McLaurin is like Terry
McLaurin is a war Daddy, And I think you got
to be very careful, Like I'm not gonna list maybe
I'll do my all Wardaddy team before the season starts.
But this is like with the Raiders, Spy Tech and
Pete get there, and I was guilty of this too.
(53:20):
I'm like, I pivot kind of restart, trade Max, trade
him two ones in a two, Like you get a
haul for Max Crosby. The Lions would trade you a
shitload for Max, But I think Pete John would be
like he is everything we want in a guy like
Max Crosby is the ultimate warddaddy. So the physicality, the toughness,
(53:41):
the relentlessness. I think when the lights get the brightest,
right Monday night football, Sunday night football against the best competition,
you know that guy, if he's healthy, is gonna be
give everything you have. Doesn't mean you're always gonna play
the best games. To me, it's about effort, physicality, toughness.
It's almost like an intangible thing, right, and there's a
(54:03):
hitting aspect to it, especially defensive players like dra Greenlaw.
That guy's a war daddy. That guy is just an
old school cut from the nineteen nineties badass and some
of these guys just art. Doesn't mean you can't be
a really good player and be quote unquote a little
softer than other guys. Awesome. I listen to your podcast
(54:25):
every day. Experience is the reason why I side with
mostly everything you say. But San Jose is an awesome city.
We got the Sharks and a lot of nightlife. The
food is amazing. In a weekend here may change your mind,
It's just gonna be a hard disagreement. On my side.
I'm just I'm not a San Jose guy. My question
would have been for my Pittsburgh Steelers. You and especially
(54:48):
Colin have been bashing their offseason and trading for DK
without having a franchise quarterback. But is it insane to
think that they can draft or trade up to a
higher position to get a franchise quarterback of their choice.
If you had to pick between Drew Aller, Leonora Sellers,
or Nika, I'm a oliva. I can't say that last name.
Who has the highest upside? I would say, right now,
(55:11):
as we sit here today, Nico is not even in
the conversation to sniff the first round, let alone trading
up for so I would remove Nico. I would say
Aler is a very interesting prospect, the taste that he
left in our mouse, especially if you had a thousand
dollars wagered on Penn State and he threw that interception
(55:32):
against Notre Dame. We got to bounce back from that
bad boy. I don't feel as comfortable talking about Lenora Sellers.
I'd be lying if I said I was super dialed
in to all of his games for South Carolina. I
would say he is a guy him and Arch are
the guys and probably DJ Lagway as well, like really
excited to watch this year. But I would say Sellers
(55:54):
and Al are immediately in that conversation of guys. To me,
if I'm a Pittsburgh Steeler fan, RAMS fan for sure,
because I got the two picks the Browns they got
a couple first rounders. I think you're I mean, you're
watching all these guys. I Nico as well, but you're
watching Alur Lagway, Sellers Arch, all the good quarterbacks and
(56:23):
any guy that starts playing, well, you're keeping an eye on,
probably leaving some guys off. So I'm nineteen years old
and I just became the head coach of a West
Seattle eighth grade football team. The players seem to look
at me as an adult, but my assistant coaches seem
harder to convince. So far, all we had is the
skills showcase. Any tips for when I go to the
(56:45):
first practice to get everybody bought in and behind me
even though I'm nineteen. You want to rattle one of
those assistant coaches cages, fire one of them before you
even get there, show everyone who's boss. Just kidding, Don't
do that unless the guy sucks at his job. But no,
I think the best thing you can do, Like you
(57:07):
can't change your age, you can't change your experience. Just
be authentic. Be who you are. I think anytime, like
you're doing dealing with eighth grade kids, they're gonna look
up to you no matter what. You got them right.
The assistant coaches, who I think is fair to say
many of them are going to be older and you
some way older than you. Like, just i'd be a
(57:31):
little careful of like screaming at them immediately. Not that
I don't even know if your coaching style, but don't
try to act like a coach that you've seen on TV.
Just be who you are. I think, anytime at any level.
This could be the pros, this could be college, this
could be D two, This could be high school football,
this could be eighth grade football. You have to be
(57:52):
authentic to who you are. I think the best coaches,
Nick Saban, didn't fake it. That's Nick Saban's personality, Andy Reid,
Pete Carroll. They're authentic to the Mike Tomlin, the Hardbob Brother,
you go around, you go, Kirby Smart, Lincoln Riley. Be
true to who you are because if you just act
be consistent, and that's being authentic. If you act like
(58:12):
you do normally would every single day, if you know
what you're talking about, they'll respect you. So like you're
not going to gain respect by screaming at him, by
you know, boss them around, because you're the top of
the totem pole. But I think you gotta just whatever
your personality is, try to be consistent with that. I'd
(58:35):
also try to know your shit because the more quote
unquote schematic motive you know, motivating eighth graders actually might
be kind of important. Ideally they're ready to roll up
practice charts. But yeah, it's tough. There's not right or
wrong way to do things. But I would say anytime
(58:57):
you're a younger person and people are answering to you
and you kind of start throwing around authority, it's the
easiest way, you know, in terms of your fellow workers,
to get them to turn on you. And if you're
gonna want to win games in the eighth grade league
it's football, you need a good staff. A question, do
(59:19):
you enjoy special teams? A friend who just started watching
football last year tells me it's gimmicky and boring, And
I found it hard to defend. Why was it an
interesting part of the game Even though it is, I
found it interesting in the NFL has made big changes
to it, more than any side of the ball in
the last fifteen years. Well because offensive defense besides like
(59:42):
officiating the violence right, the hits because they didn't want
to get sued for concussions. Like offensive defense is why
you watch right, like when you play golf, hitting drivers
and seven irons are fun. Putting sucks like, yeah, do
I care about special teams? No, like kicker, punter, kickoff
return Like no, it's it's really boring. I do not
(01:00:06):
care at all. Help Most NFL coaches aren't that interested.
They just want their special teams coach to handle those guys,
and their kicker to make kicks, and their punter to
be good at directional punting, and whoever's on the special
teams unit to be sound in their lanes and make tackles. Yeah, sucks,
but it's I mean, it's part of the sport. Because
(01:00:29):
let's just say you took it out and if you
got past like the thirty five yard line, you can
just give a thumbs up automatic three points. You could
just start every drive at the twenty five, like that
is exciting. I mean there can be exciting plays, a
kickoff block, a punt block, a fake punt, but the
overall run of the mill forty yard punt or thirty
(01:00:54):
yard field goal right down the middle. Yeah, it doesn't
do anything to me as a consumer, And there is
a gimmick yell them into it, of course, but it
is pretty interwoven and connected to football at this point
in time in twenty twenty five. Do I see them
scrapping special teams. I don't. Maybe one day. I guess
(01:01:15):
you'd never say never, But there are enough coaches in
the league, older coaches, that would definitely fight for it
to keep it as part of an integral part of
the game, even if it quote unquote can be a
little gimmicky at times. The volume
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Colin Cowherd
Jason McIntyre
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