3 & Out - Still shocked by Atlanta, Draft Grades, Tangent Tuesday - The Herd with Colin Cowherd

Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (01:29):
What is up Everybody? John middlecop three and Out podcast?
How are we doing? Beautiful Monday recording this. I just
can't get away from the Atlanta situation. So I want
to dive deeper into that Pennix cousins, the different variables,
all the angles, because texts around my buddies, and you know,

(01:51):
it comes up no matter what team you're a part of,
whether you're just in the super Bowl, whether you're a
playoff team. You have nothing to do with the Atlanta Falcons.
Everyone I know has an opinion on it. So something
I've been thinking a lot about, So we will talk
about that. Josh Allen did a little scouting for the
Bills and he wanted Keon Coleman draft grades. I want

(02:13):
to talk about draft grades because I think they're pretty dumb.
And some network shakeups. Some guys were fired today, Phil Simms, Boomer, Asiason,
Matt Ryan is going to take a bigger role. Jason
Kelsey will join ESPN. Travis Kelsey got a little contract extension,

(02:36):
well earned seventeen plus million dollars a year, future Hall
of Famer, and a little tangent Tuesday, something I noticed
with the draft and Roger Goodell I wanted to hit on.
And then of course the middle coffin mailbag. You guys
know how to get involved at John Middlecoff is the
Instagram fire in those dms. It's just my Instagram account
dms wide open. Also, if you listen on Collins feed,

(02:58):
make sure you subscribe to three and out. We have
a YouTube channel where I did some specific draft YouTube
content separate from this feeds up there and this podcast,
like all of our podcasts are up there, so all
of our content is up on YouTube as well. I
think that about covers it. So let's talk a little football.

(03:20):
But first, where's my phone? Game Time? I need you
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(03:41):
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(04:03):
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download the Game Time ticket a gap. Now, the Atlanta Falcons,
they really are the talk of the league. I texted

(04:24):
with countless teams that were in the playoffs, all of them.
All of them brought up this situation because it's baffling,
and I think the one thing as a general manager
that's a lot different. Obviously, the two most important non
players in your organization. There's the owner who signs the check.
Clearly he's important, but ideally he just kind of stays

(04:46):
out of the way and gives you whatever you need.
Are the coach in the GM, And like a lot
of businesses, the incentives for the two are not always
the same. Obviously, winning is the most important thing the
GM and the coach. They want to win week one

(05:06):
week eight in the playoffs, right, That's the clear goal
of the organization to win. But the coach is consumed
with week one in the season. He is not thinking
big picture. For the most part. You have some of
these ten yured coaches like an Andy Reid, like a

(05:27):
John Harbaugh, who definitely thinks a little big picture, but
they are completely judged on the immediacy of the season
success or failure. The GM's job is to balance the
present and the future, no different than like a CEO
in the private sector. Right, Jamie Diamond is trying to

(05:50):
have successful quarters. He's also worried about the health of
JP Morgan over the next five years. He's not just
always living in the present. And I think you go
around Tim Cook, Elon Musk, you name it, Tesla's having
a good couple of days. And I think as a GM, planning,

(06:11):
strategic planning is something that separates the good from the
bad at that position, and as a GM, like the
draft for coaches, for a lot of coaches, including guys
that missed the playoffs, really gets going early February. The
coaching staff gets involved, typically at the combine or rafter.

(06:35):
I mean they go to the Senior Bowl. They haven't
watched the soul. The scouting staff, starting with the GM,
because he's the guy at the highest, you know, part
of the hierarchy, starts watching these players in like a week.
They start watching the prospects for next year's draft in
a week. And the reality is when they've scouted these
guys that they've just drafted, they were keeping an eye

(06:58):
on a lot of the top player for next year.
You're always thinking big picture. Why did Howie trade this
year to get a third, a fourth, and a fifth
extra for next year? He said it in his press
conference because next year's draft is gonna be a lot
deeper because a lot of guys went back to school.

(07:20):
I had a scout tell me whenever this gets to
the draft grades, everyone freaking out, like the Lions are
getting crushed, and he's like, yeah, this was the type
draft where you take an offensive lineman from British Columbia
or wherever the hell he's from in Canada in the
fourth round. Not that weird. This was that type draft.

(07:41):
So if you are Terry Fontino, the GM for the
Atlanta Falcons, you have been scouting this crop of players
since last May. You have been really dialed in on
them since the season. You have a very very good
feel for especially the top for the draft. Later in
the draft gets weird, but the top fifty players, the

(08:04):
ebb and flow of those guys from late August till
the end of the college football season when you miss
the playoffs as the Falcons, did you know where you're drafting?
Like the first week in January. They've had the eighth
pick now for four months. This wasn't something that changed

(08:25):
in free agency. A lot of things are fluid, right.
You cut guys, guys take pay cuts, your cap changes.
Weird shit happens. You saw with the Chargers went into
the offseason like who are they gonna keep between the
big four, the two receivers and the two pass rushers,
No one really know. It's like could Bosa be traded?
Could mac be cut? Could keen in restructure? And then
it played out kept the two d lineman, the two

(08:47):
wide receivers. It's very fluid process. The draft in terms
of your pick is not now when you're at like
Chris Ballard, for example, he said lat Too La Tu
was the number umber one defensive player on his draft
that's probably been set for a couple months. But he
has no clue at pick fifteen if that guy's gonna

(09:08):
be there or not. All the stories before the draft
Howie Roseman trying to trade up for the corner, probably
that he inevitably got why because he's like, I'm not
sure if that guy's gonna be there when we pick.
A lot is out of your control when you're at fifteen,
at eighteen, definitely in the twenties, but when you're in
the top ten and it is very clear who the

(09:30):
first five picks are going to be. I don't have
Jim Harbaugh's number, but I know enough people in the
league and A followed his career like he's taking an
alignment everyone and their mother. Even though Mandy ausin Fort
was like, we're open for a trade. Clearly he even
said like it's gonna take a lot for us to move,
but we are open. Knew that he was gonna take

(09:51):
the wide receiver and it was gonna be Marvin Harrison,
So you knew all the wide receiver or the quarterbacks
are gonna go, and shit, we've known that for a
long time. No, Kayleb Williams was going number one like
two years ago, and then with Jaden's success and either
Drake may or JJ McCarthy. You knew five like you
had a pretty good idea who the first five picks

(10:12):
were going to be. And it picks six, you're like
the Giants, what are they gonna do? Well, it's pretty
clear the coach needs to win this year, not gonna
take a quarterback if he didn't trade up, well, he
couldn't trade up, and he ended up taking a wide receiver.
And at seven with the Titans, they weren't taking a quarterback.
Why because ran Carthin loves will Levis so the GM

(10:33):
Terry Foutin though, who says, you know, things change. We
had to think big picture. You've known or had a
damn good idea for a long period of time. Then
Michael Pennix was gonna be there at number eight. Every
team has the same amount of resources. They all have
the same amount of cap space, They all the same
amount of draft capital. You just get to choose how
you want to use it. If you want to trade

(10:54):
three first rounders for Deshaun Watson or Trey Lanceer, that's
your choice. If you want to give Christian Wilkins eighty
five million. If you want to trade two first rounders
and pay Jalen Ramsey like the Rams did or Matt Stafford,
you can do whatever the fuck you want. But this
is not baseball, where the As spend no money, the
Ray spend little money, The Yankees spent a ton, the
Dodgers spend even more. This is football. The Bengals and

(11:20):
the Vikings and the Rams and the Cowboys. They all
have the same amount of capital. How you choose to
allocate that capital makes or breaks you. The Atlanta Falcons
quarterback situation last year was an embarrassment. It was they
started a guy who's probably a fringe backup as their
full time starter, and it wrecked their season. They needed

(11:43):
a quarterback. They knew it. We knew it, My mother
knew it. It's not a complicated situation they were in,
but figuring out how you're going to allocate your resources
for your quarterback is a game changer. The Vikings were
in the same scenario. They figured out a way. Now,
I'm kind of with Colin. JJ is a pretty risky player,

(12:06):
but they didn't go out and resigned Kirk Cousins to
also sign JJ. McCarthy. Why that would make no sense.
What did they do? They gave ten million dollars to
Sam Darnold that if JJ needs the red shirt and
Sam's having a good year, we'll play him and then
we'll transition after the year. The Raiders who got left
at the altar A tempted to do the same thing.

(12:28):
We'll give Gardner Minshew whatever eight ten million dollars to
hold us over, and we'll figure out if we can
draft a quarterback. We have no clue. The Falcons went
all in on Kirk Cousins. That move in a vacuum
totally makes sense. A little risky because he's coming off
the Achilles, but like, hey, you want to get Kirk Cousins, okay,

(12:50):
Then to draft a guy at eight who is already
made player. This is not like when the Packers drafted
Jordan Law of one, he was a project two. They
had a guy who had won several MVPs on their
team and nobody, including Jordan Love, his family, his girlfriend,

(13:10):
and everyone in his life said you got a chance
to beat out Aaron Rodgers. It was honestly laughed at
by a lot of people, and Packer like, what are
we doing here? Here's the thing with Kirk Cousins, and
this is what happens when you jump around teams. You
have no equity with this team. You do with the
owner because he gave you money. The fans don't give
a shit. The players definitely do not. And I've said

(13:32):
this a couple of times because I thought this was
one of the best tweets I saw this weekend. Is
Kirk Cousins is not going to be available at OT eight's,
So who's going to be getting the reps? It ain't
gonna be some random guy on the roster. It's gonna
be Michael Pennox. Well, what are the Falcons full of
on offense? Young impressionable players b John Robinson, Drake London,

(13:55):
Kyle Pitts. These guys have no connection to Kirk Cousins.
So all of a sudden, Michael Pennix looks good in practice.
They don't care how much money you gave them. Michael
Lombardi said it on his podcast today. You can't lie
to the players. Now. You're obligated to initially start this
guy because of the money you're giving them, But you
have created a locker room dynamic that is really, really awkward.

(14:20):
Going back to the Packers in Jordan Love a little
weird because it pisses off Aaron Rodgers. But there's no
weird locker room dynamic. DeVante Adams, all the offensive linemen,
Aaron Jones, you name it, every offensive skilled guy on
that team doesn't even need to see Jordan Love practice

(14:40):
to go. No way he's better than this other guy.
No way. Is it even a question mark? But this
the question marks immediately start. What if Kirk Cousins is
not near what he once was because of this injury.
What if he starts rusty? What if it's just a
weird transition. What if his emotions, as Colt McCoy said,

(15:00):
because Colt spent time around him in Washington, like ye
kind of sensitive? What if this rattles him? So I
totally understand the logic of investing in the quarterback position.
The Packers did it with a late first round pick.
The Eagles did it with Jalen Hurts in the second round.
Bill Belichick did it once upon a time with a

(15:22):
second round pick of Jimmy Garoppolo. You can go back
to Bill Walsh when he traded little to nothing for
Steve Young. When you invest the eighth overall pick into
a player in twenty twenty four. No one wants to
watch that guy sit on the bench. Not a fucking soul,
especially when he started for half a decade in college football.

(15:44):
This isn't some project. No one knows if Michael Pennock
is going to be any good, including Michael Pennix or
the Atlanta Falcons. I think he's a pretty damn good player.
I liked him a lot. I have no issue if
you want to draft him eighth overall, But if you
just guaranteed a quarterback hundred million dollars, it just doesn't
make any sense. And Coward's big thing is like, it's

(16:05):
like buying insurance. I hear that. The difference is you
would never allocate that much money to cousins and then
buy insurance that costs as much as Pennix does. Because
this is the and what you gave up the ability
to draft a very impactful defensive player. It does not
add up. It simply does not. And it gets back

(16:27):
to the Falcons have no plan. They didn't have a plan.
They are flying by the seat of their pants because
this would have been one heading into free agency, going guys,
we don't need to give Cousins all this money. Why
don't we just draft or sign one of these guys
for ten to twelve million dollars for one season to

(16:48):
give us a little breathing room. But I'm like ninety
percent confident, hell, ninety five percent confident on March fifteenth,
that Michael Pennox is going to be there at eight
the worst case scenario. Over the next month, we start
getting a little rattled. This something's gonna happen. It's way
easier for us at eight to trade up to four

(17:11):
with the Cardinals to get them than any of those
guys in the early teens, like the Raiders or Seattle
or whoever. We are much closer and it allows Monty. Okay,
maybe he can't get Marvin Harrison, but he could draft
Roma Dunza, who is the wide receiver they would have
drafted if they would have done a trade back, because
they were never gonna trade four out of there. So
to me, this speaks to embarrassing planning. This is a joke,

(17:36):
it really is. And this feels like I'm all for
being influenced like over the last month, but the GM
should have been all over this in December. That's his job.
This is not Raheem Morris's job or not Zach Robinson's
job to be locked in. So clearly they fell in
love with the guy. This is a coach influence pick, right,

(17:57):
They really liked the guy. Does the GM not like
the guy? I just don't understand. Now. I've only worked
for one GM, Hobbie Roseman, and it's always big picture planning.
That's the way he operates. I can't even relate. I mean,
I honestly can't. And I'm not acting like the draft
is easy or this is some exact science. But I
think we all agree that if you're gonna give Cousins

(18:20):
that money to draft this player at eight, when you
would have known that before you gave Cousins this money,
is fucking moronic. It really is, because you didn't have
to allocate. And what's the most powerful thing about a
rookie quarterback? Bo Knicks, Drake May, Caleb Williams, go around,
JJ McCarthy, all these guys that got drafted high their

(18:41):
contract Why because they don't make that much money and
if they turn into a solid starter or a high
end player, it's the best deal in all of sports.
It's been the number one thing. Obviously, you would say
the number one thing is perty's played well. But you
would say one b is he makes a million dollars
a year. We could argue, is he a fifty million

(19:04):
dollar players a thirty million dollar player? He's sure as
hell is worth more than one million dollars. But the
forty nine ers have had way more wiggle room because
of that deal, and the Falcons just wasted that because
the one hundred million dollars they just gave the Cousins
is the tight contract you would give to Christian Wilkins,
to a sweet defensive player, to a sweet offensive lineman. Whatever,

(19:27):
make a trade next year with your first round pick
and go get a Jalen Ramsey. But now they've used
that bullet at least these first couple of years on
the same position. In quarterback, like kickers, there's only one.
You don't get to mix them in. So if I'm

(19:47):
one of these teams that just took if I'm the Vikings,
I just took Dallas Turner, let's say he's not ready
your one. He still gets to play. He still gets
to give me maybe ten designated pass rushes or corner
Some of these guys that were drafted early. What if
that's they're slow to figure it out, you still use
them on special teams. Maybe bump them into nickel throughout

(20:10):
the season if they're more comfortable there early on than outside.
Can't do that with quarterback. Cousin's just playing. Pennix just
sits there, and he was I would say of all
the players not named, Caleb was the last player who
just needs to quote unquote sit there. So I'll never
get behind this because I don't think they had a plan,
and I think you're there just freewheeling that. And whether

(20:33):
you're running Apple Tesla or JP Morgan Chase or running
a football team, if you are in management and don't
have a plan, I'm gonna bet against you. I don't
think you have any chance. So the Falcons, if just
I can't get over it. I think it's one of

(20:53):
the dumbest set of you know, moves, Cousins and Penix,
the combination I think we've seen in recent memory. Empowering
your people. It's something around the NFL for the most part,

(21:15):
like in the NBA. Let's say the Suns, by the
time you're listening this have fired their coach. Why they
fire him because Kevin Durant, Devin Booker want him gone.
Why did the Lakers trade for Russell Westbrook because Lebron
James wanted him? The NBA? Whatever your star player wants.
Look at the Bucks. Why did they trade for Damian
Lillard and fire multiple coaches in six months? Because he honest, like,

(21:38):
you don't do anything without getting not only their blessing,
but typically asking them first. That is not the way
the NFL works. The dynasty of the last twenty years happened.
Tom Brady was never consulted with anything. He was shocked
with the majority of moves like wait, we're getting rid
of Wes Welker, Wait, who do we trade? Happened? Constant

(22:00):
Bill never asks for his approval. Why you don't have to.
It's not the way it works, and it never has.
But the Bills are in a situation where they're going
through a huge transitional period. They've gotten rid of a
ton of players, and what did they do? They gave
a group I don't know. Maybe he'll know illuminate this
when he talks whenever Ota start clearly of a group

(22:23):
of wide receivers for Josh Allen to watch. We want
to hear what you think, now, this can be complicated
because if he likes a wide receiver that you don't
and then you take a different guy, thinks get weird.
But you've been in business with this guy long enough.
He is your franchise. Now. He's one of the best
players in the league. He's one of the most talented

(22:44):
players I think we've ever seen. And you're gonna go
as far as he can go and you can build
the team right. And Keon Coleman on his press conference
said that Josh Allen texted him and said, you're the
guy I wanted watch the receiver, and I chose you.
I don't think it's random that the Bills their group

(23:05):
of receivers, they came to the conclusion with Josh Allen,
this was the guy they targeted. And I think that's
a powerful thing because the Bills went through a rocky
time last year when they were six and six and
articles were coming out about him, you know, talking about
like al Qaeda nine to eleven, and then they won

(23:27):
five straight games, won the division, and won a playoff
game and were right there with the Chiefs in Round two.
So when you empower your players, like in this situation, Now,
who knows, maybe he would have come back with a
weird ranking. I'm not sure he's like mastered the art
of just knowing what in college is going to look
like when they're in the pros. But I can see

(23:50):
why Josh Allen liked this player. I like this player.
When's the last time he had a big body, fifty
to fifty type wide receiver who was just a fucking monster.
I mean, this guy's a beast back. Well, he played
in Florida State, now he's going up to New York.
Started his career at Michigan State. Was one of the
biggest transfer portal gets in the country last year by

(24:12):
my guy Dereck Ray and Mike Norvel in the Florida
State football program. So I give the Bills a lot
of credit here for including empowering and making this about
Josh Allen's decision when you agree like, yeah, it's a
good decision, we're on board, let's do it. And then
because that was the player. Now, I still am hesitant

(24:34):
to trade with the Kansaite Chiefs, even if you're not
taking that wide receiver, like you're giving them an easy rep. Now,
like I said during the you know, I think on Friday.
If you kind of look at who, they probably would
have got him at thirty two anyways, So you just
go listen, we're gonna accumulate some picks here. They're gonna
get this guy no matter what. The forty nine ers

(24:55):
are not taking him, the Ravens are not taking them,
the Lions are not taking them. So you start doing
the like he's gonna be there thirty two. We might
as well do this deal, even though everyone's gonna shit
on us, because like, you can't do a deal with
the Chiefs and get more picks, and that's ultimately what
they did. So I see both sides of it. I
have no problem with anyone going you can't be trading

(25:16):
with the Chiefs, and I understand their side, like he's
gonna be there thirty two for them anyway. So if
they want to get aggressive for this guy, let's pull
the trigger and get the guy that we're gonna get
no matter what, because these other teams are not drafting them,
and we got them, and we accumulate a lot of
picks because of it. The other thing I've noticed, and
I haven't watched every team's press conference, but I've watched

(25:36):
a decent amount of them. One thing that really stood
out to me during the press conferences is when a
GM brings his assistant GM with them. Happens with a
lot of teams after day three, a lot of teams,
I've noticed with the Colts, I saw the forty nine
ers do this, and I'm sure a ton of other
teams did this. They had their area of scouts or

(25:58):
their college directors to the press commerce they got to
speak Colts. One's pretty funny. One of the Colt scouts
was like swearing. I was laughing. That's cool because in
this business, and I'll never forget this. When I got
let go by the Eagles, I'm like, no one has
any clue if I'm good or not. The only people

(26:20):
that know are the people inside my building. I just
worked one hundred hour weeks, driving all over pounding you know,
the pavement, writing up reports till all hours of the night,
watching hundreds of players for who for what? To quote
my guy Ricky Waters. It doesn't even feel like I'm
a part of anything. And listen, a lot of teams

(26:43):
don't include those guys, and any team that did, I
can't even imagine what it feels like to be those scouts,
like that's a powerful thing. It really is. It's something
that most of you wouldn't notice, and I don't blame you.
That's something that all those scouts notice, and that's a
place where other people around the league are gonna want

(27:03):
to work. So I think any of the gms that
send their assistant GM out, that send their scouts out,
probably have a pretty good work environment. Draft grades. They're
flying around everywhere, and I understand why people do it,
Like the written word has never generated less money. Everyone's like,
you're just doing this for clicks. Like you guys understand,

(27:25):
clicks don't get any money. Clicks is a dying business model.
You could argue it's dead, but it does get a
lot of engagement, definitely on social in some of these
companies like ESPN or whatever. Fucking does a reach around
for that. It couldn't be any dumber, It really couldn't.

(27:46):
You could put an F and A C, A B.
None of it means anything. I've been going to training
camps for almost fifteen years. Beside, like the top fifty
picks in the draft, no one has any clue. Like,
for the most part, I would say the top fifty
players not in the same order. But if you went

(28:06):
team by team, I'd say eighty to ninety percent. Have
forty of the fifty guys all grouped in some order.
We're all on board, like that's their value, that's where
they're gonna get pick, give or take. And that's what happened.
Once you get past pick one hundred, no one has
any clue. Listen. I remember going to a Raider Ota

(28:30):
and my buddy on the staff after like two practices
was like, Khalil Mack is the best player on our team.
Now the team the roster wasn't as good. But the
point is, like the high end guys like Joe Walt
is probably gonna look good right away, Malik Neighbors is
gonna run around DB's in practice. But trying to give
a grade on four, fifth, six, seventh, even third round picks.

(28:55):
Do you know how often I've gone to training camps
and you're like, who's that guy making all these plays? Oh,
he's the undrafted free agent from Illinois, Like is he
already better than the fourth rounder? Or who the hell
is that guy? Oh, that's the seventh rounder from last year.
He's on the practice squad. He put on some weight,
he's a lot more comfortable, he looks really good, and
all of a sudden, that guy's taking the fourth rounders job,

(29:18):
and we love to talk about and rightfully so I
was like, eh, Jason Kelsey sixth rounder, George Kittle, Richard Sherman,
fifth rounders, Cousins, Dak fourth rounders. Those guys are outliers.
I mean, Purdy is the greatest outlier in the history
of the league. So most guys in the middle rounds,

(29:39):
you have absolutely no clue. Some of them will have
five year careers, be special teamers, some of them will
turn into Pro bowlers. A lot of them will get
cut and just bounce around the league, or if they
do become good players, might not do it for that team.
We'll get cut, go on a practice squad, get pluck,
go to a different team, and get replaced on that

(30:01):
draft class by an undrafted free agent. Happens every single year.
It's not random that on average, like multiple undrafted free
agents make the team for every team. Well, they're taking
a spot. So just because you like a player mel
Kiper or Daniel Jeremiah, whoever, no different one than I

(30:23):
was a scout, Like, hey, I love this guy in
the fifth round. I have no clue how things are
going to play out. Injuries derailed careers. So trying to
give a draft grade on one of the great hell,
half the first round don't get second contracts with their
next team. That's not an opinion, that's a fact. Chefter

(30:43):
ran the study. I just think and I get it.
I understand it. I'm in the business too, we're all
into entertainment. I read some of them, but I just
don't think any of it matters. Now, if we want
to talk about you had to draft this guy there,
totally understand. Could you have got this guy in the
fifth round and you took him in the third round?

(31:04):
Why did you take this player over that player? That's fair,
But giving a C grade or an A grade on
a group that we have half the guys we know
for a fact won't amount to shit. And how many
guys around the league like, oh, that's sixth rounder of
the team that didn't get a good grade all of
a sudden as they're starting corner for the next five

(31:25):
years and makes a couple of Pro Bowls, because that's
going to happen. Or the group of undrafted free agents, Wait,
you got three years as a starter from your undrafted
free agent, or this guy became your starting punt returner.
No one knows that, not even the teams. That's what
makes this fun is the great unknown, because Thursday, Friday,

(31:48):
Saturday is an entertainment product and it's cool. I mean
those videos of guys crying. Maria's like in tears watching
some of it. It's a powerful visual when the g
when the coach calls the player and he's there, especially
at his house with his mom, his dad, his grandparents,
his girlfriends, his buddies from high school in college. It

(32:10):
is really cool. It's a very genuine moment in a
day and age when it feels like everything we do
is a giant fugazi bullshit. It's cool. It's hard not
to really enjoy those videos. The Jared Verse video of
him running up the stairs to get on the phone
with his teammate from Florida State and having that guy

(32:32):
break out in tears is as good of a video
as you'll see in years in the draft. If you
don't get a little choked up on that, maybe we
don't have that much in common. The video where Chris
Ballard called a guy and he's like, am I getting
prank called right now, and it was like a legit question,
Are you prank calling me right now? He said no,
this is I'm the gym and he starts laughing. But

(32:57):
for anyone to have any clue what the nobody knows,
not a soul. Happens every year with coaching hires. Remember
Doug Peterson was the worst coaching hier of his class.
Two years later outdueled Bill Belichick in the Super Bowl.
Joe Judge got like a B. Plus Joe Judge ran

(33:19):
a quarterback sneak on fourth and seven, backed up in
his own end zone. So I just think I get it,
but we all have to agree it is the dumbest
exercise in all of sports. I want to hit on
this because I saw this video go viral of Charles
Barkley on NBA T and T. He was wearing this

(33:43):
bracelet and Kenny Smith asked him where he got the bracelet,
and he said he got it in the steam room.
Because he was sitting in the steamer room. He started
talking to the guy and the guy told him all
about this bracelet, how it has different sands from different
beaches all over the world, and Charles's like God that's
the coolest bracelet I ever seen. Like ten minutes later,
the dude came up to him in the locker room.

(34:03):
They're both in towels, sweating their ass off after the
steam room gives him the bracelet and Shaq is dying.
Charles doesn't know the guy's name. And people in the business,
especially former players, you see this a lot in the
Nba'm just trying to educate, like this is not educational.
That's what school is for. This is entertainment. When I

(34:26):
turn on my television for something a non game, I
want to be entertained. It's why I don't watch many
of the pre or postgame shows. They're boring. They don't
entertain me. That's why a couple of years ago, when
the NBC hired Drew Brees, my first reaction was, this
will fail. Not because Drew Brees isn't like one of

(34:49):
the highest character guys in league history, not because he's
not one of the great players of all time. He's
just kind of boring. Matt Ryan today replaced Boomerasison. Boomer
Sisin has been a part of one of the biggest
radio shows in America for a long time. I don't
know the exact date, but I would guess twenty plus

(35:10):
years on WFAN in New York. He's not a former
quarterback anymore. He's an entertainer. And when I hear Boomer
on TV on his radio show, any clips sometimes all
be in the car he calls games for radio. He's
just entertaining, you know why. He's a lot like Troy Aikman.
He'll talk a little shit, and I just mean, like,

(35:32):
when he sees something, he'll just say it, where so
many former quarterbacks or former players who are fresh out
of the game refuse to ever say anything. It's like, guys,
we're all sitting here on our couch, we all just
witnessed the dumbest play call of all time. If you
can't acknowledge it, like, I don't want to listen to you.

(35:53):
I'm not looking for you to educate me on where
the right tackles feet should be snoozefest. So Matt Ryan
replaced Boomerasison. Matt Ryan a lot like Drew Brees, super smart,
high character, good looking, long resume in the NFL. He's
kind of boring, kind of boring, same cut from the

(36:18):
same cloth, not giving me anything. Won't say a word listen.
A lot of people think Fox's pregame show a little
out there terry. You know my loss is fastball. The
reason they like those guys entertainment. No one's looking to
break down the route tree on a given play. I've

(36:42):
seen those numbers of podcasts. They fail. So these networks
are all looking for new blood, and I think TNT
is a great example. Charles Barkley hasn't played in the
NBA in twenty five years. He's the most entertaining guy
on TV by a mile. He even myths like I
don't watch these teams. I don't care. Neither do I

(37:06):
so when I see these networks and CBS is a
little stiffer, but NBC kind of is too. Jason Garrett,
Drew Brees, give me a fucking break. Who's making these decisions?
Definitely not us the consumer, because not in a million
years would we have made these decisions. Makes no sense.
These guys aren't entertaining now. Jason Kelsey is a good example.

(37:31):
Jason Kelsey has a massive podcast, He's a huge personality.
ESPN signing him. That makes a lot of sense. Why
he's a combination of them. Both Hall of Fame player
Long resume champion and entertaining. Totally get it. I would

(37:51):
hire that guy too. No one knows if it'll work,
but I bet it does. But just because you're entertaining,
Like I thought Rex Ryan would be good walks Rex Ryan,
I changed the channel. I think it's awful. So just
because a guy is quote unquote old or you didn't
watch him. I didn't watch Boomer Sizon win an MVP
in the eighties. I don't remember a snap and the

(38:14):
majority of you guys listening didn't either. No one cares.
If it's good and entertaining, entertaining, it's fine. If you're
thirty years old watching football. You never watched Troy Aikman play.
He's the biggest play by play analyst in America. Look
at Romo Fresh New Fun five years later, everyone's like, yeah,

(38:36):
it kind of sucks now. So new blood isn't always
better blood. This is entertainment. This is not education. Just
because you have quote unquote star power guys that have
established voices and are willing to say some stuff, that's
really Whenever someone asked me if they're gonna transition, like hey,
work in the league, kind of getting bored, or you know,

(38:56):
if kind of plateau should I go in the media.
I said, listen, if you're gonna do it, if you
want to be successful, you can't hold back. You gotta
let it rip, because that's how fans talk. And fans
are the ones that pay all of our salaries because
they think like us, sit on the sit on the couch,
talk shit about coaches when they make dumb decisions or
when their team loses, they get mad, they get emotional,

(39:19):
and some people just refuse to do it. I'll give
Peyton Manning credit, he's kind of dipped his toe in.
But even he said, like, I'm not gonna be one
ripping people constantly. I don't want to do that. He
at least acknowledged it. Most of these people won't acknowledge it,
but deep down they don't want to do it, and
they won't do it. And to me, limit your ability
to be very entertaining. End with this tangent Tuesday. I'll

(39:52):
never forget years ago. It started really at ESPN when
everyone thought that the NFL was gonna end. The NFL
was over CTE, the lawsuits, football was gonna fail, it
was gonna sink like the Titanic, and ESPN celebrated it.
They had a lot of big j's with useless degrees,

(40:15):
hooting and hollering, you guys are done. It's over for Roger,
and it started with Goodell. They didn't like him. Let's
face it, Roger doesn't need the media at all, and
there's like a weird identity politics when it comes to
people in journalism. It's why I think they gravitate toward

(40:37):
Adam Silver because politically, socially they view him much more
like them, and he's nice to them, texts a lot
of them back, and they celebrate him. Even though this
NBA Playoffs is down about ten percent, and once the
Lakers are gone, good luck getting random people to watch
OKC in Minnesota, despite how much young talent they have. Objectively,

(41:02):
if Adam Silver ran any fortune five hundred company, he
would be run out. He would not have a job. Meanwhile,
Roger Goodell has turned the NFL into, I mean, the
biggest thing I've ever seen. I've seen big things in sports,
Michael Jordan, Tiger Woods, but I've never seen a league
this powerful and this willing to constantly change, and it

(41:24):
constantly works. Moving to draft, I went to Radio City
when it was in New York City when I worked
for the Eagles, and it was cool my first time
ever in New York City. I remember going into Radio
City Music Hall. I'm like, this thing's badass, and they realized,
why don't we move this thing around the country? And
now I heard Peter Schrager tell the part of my take. Guys,

(41:47):
they had the national anthem. They had a flyover with
hundreds of thousands of people for an event where you
literally turn in a card with someone's name on it
and announce it. I remember being at Radio City Music Hall.
I'm like, this event's really cool, but like it's not
like there's really anything going on. A dude just walks

(42:08):
up stage. And the draft I went to was like
was an all time great draft. It was twenty eleven,
so it was like Cam Newton, JJ Watt, Julio Jones,
AJ Green, Alden Smith, just some great players. I'm even
leaving something I think Tyron Smith. I mean it was
just an absolutely loaded group of future Pro bowlers and

(42:33):
even some Hall of famers and good Day. I was like, yeah,
this isn't good enough. Even though it was dominating. He's like,
let's go around the country. Even I thought like this
is kind of weird, and it hasn't just worked, it's
been a massive success. And the other thing I think
is when you turn on television on the draft and

(42:55):
you see all these people, whether it's Detroit, whether it's
in Ohio, whether it's in camp the city, it feels
even bigger than Radio City because of the fans. One
thing we learned in twenty twenty is like if fans
aren't there, the games just aren't as good. It actually sucks.
Part of watching sports on television is the arena is

(43:17):
the vibe of the crowd. It matters. It changes our
experience as someone watching television. So why I've always said, listen,
I don't watch that much NBA anymore. But the playoffs
aren't bad. If you give me a good home court,
it's fun because you feel it on television. No different
in hockey. I don't watch any hockey playoffs like I'll
stop on a hockey game. Why the crowds are nuts?

(43:40):
It adds and that's what we've added with these crowds.
So I get the media hates Roger Goodell. A lot
of different variables there, but he's been a dominant, dominant
commissioner and he's He's just lapping people at this point.
It's like not even a fair fight. It's like Mike
Tyson in his prime getting in the ring with me
or you, So we might as well just jump out

(44:01):
of the ring. We got no shot. He's bullying everybody,
I mean literally, So the draft, the vibes this again
will be one of the probably the most washed NFL
season ever, and that's gonna continue. I've said it forever,
not gonna continue forever. Not the way the world works. Eventually,

(44:22):
Rome Fell, eventually we will too. But for the foreseeable future,
Roger has this thing humming. Okay, mail back time. You
guys know. The drill at John Middlecoff is my Instagram

(44:45):
Fire in those dms at John Middlecoff DM, fire in
start with Danny longtime listener, first time DM. Or Assuming
that Caleb Williams can achieve his potential and become a
top ten quarterback, what do you believe is the ceiling
and floor for the Bears over the next three years? Well,

(45:11):
I think there are a couple elements here. If his
rookie season goes really really well, like CJ. Stroud, Let's
say let's say they make the playoffs. This year, ebra
Flus will get an extension and then you will be
tied to him running the operation for the foreseeable future.
If he becomes a really good player, but it takes

(45:33):
like a year like this season, he's just kind of
as the kids would say, mid ebra Flues gets fired
and it depends who the next coach is. Now. To me,
if they go eight to nine and ebra Flus is fired,
I think it's fair to assume that they would hire
an offensive coach. Right you have this young quarterback, You've
invested all this in your offense, that you would want

(45:54):
an offensive coach who could also call place, which would
be the ideal set up I think in modern day football.
So I think eber Flus is now the question. Caleb
is no longer the question now. If he becomes really good,
regardless who the coach is, you're just gonna have a
good franchise. I mean, when you have a really good

(46:15):
quarterback who plays at a high level, the only way
you fail is if your coach is bad. Look at
the Chargers Brandon Staley. They had no shot when Brandon
Staley's your head coach. But if you get a high
end quarterback with a good coach, you're good every year.
The Ravens Lamar Jackson, Andy and Mahomes, Josh Allen and McDermott.

(46:36):
I'm talking playoffs every year in the playoffs are weird.
One game scenario, who's healthy? Home games, away games? Obviously
in that conference, there's a huge benefit if you're in Chicago,
if you're playing at home and you've built a good
outdoor team that you know, you get the Niners with
the Rams that aren't used to that weather. Right. But

(46:58):
so I think a lot is gonna hinge on this
specific season for the head coach. They make the playoffs,
he gets an extension. They missed the playoffs, I think
he's gone. You're not giving him extension if they missed
the playoffs. This isn't like I'm not anti or pro Iberflus.
I think he's been fine, but now we get to
really judge him and fair or not. There is a

(47:22):
ton of pressure to make the playoffs, which is a
lot to ask. I don't care if you're Kayleb Williams,
Peyton Manning or me rookie quarterback NFL. It's hard with
quarterbacks going so high in the draft, how long until
the media catches up to front offices and starts ranking

(47:43):
even mediocre quarterbacks higher in the draft. Thanks keep up
the great content. I think in this draft, I think
everyone kind of acknowledged all these guys are gonna go high, right,
I think everyone Caleb had been the number one pick
for years. Jaden Daniels after the season was definitely viewed

(48:04):
like a top three or four pick. Drake May was
a top five pick coming into the season. JJ McCarthy
was a guy that it was clear the Vikings liked
a lot. Pennix just had a historic season. I thought
he was a first rounder, and the connections of Bo Knicks,
which might have been the only place he would have
gone but Sean Payton, were something people had been connecting

(48:27):
for two months. It felt like so. I actually think
for the first time the vibe on the quarterbacks now
we can argue is JJ twented enough to draft in
the top fifteen. I'm hesitant to draft guys with his
skill set in that mix because for every Alex Smith

(48:47):
we've seen, we've seen a lot of Candy Pickets, We've
seen a lot of Mac Jones. It is difficult, it is,
and Drake May's always get drafted in the top ten.
Guys that are that big with that much arm talent,
even if their film is a little up and down,
there's a long history those guys getting picked. Eye Peni's
a little bit of a late riser given his injury

(49:09):
history and how good he was his you know, six
season in college. But I think for the most part,
I feel like we'd been talking about quarterbacks going. I
mean a lot of people thought four quarterbacks were going
to go one through four. That would have been an
NFL record. But four quarterbacks go on the top whatever fourteen,
first time in NFL history. John, how long before we

(49:31):
see other NFL owners want to see Tepper sell the team?
He sent me the visual of David Tepper. I said
this on what would it have been Friday night, reacting
the second round. When I saw the video, Like most
people going viral, you could argue that it's you know,
he took off the guy's hat in jest, messing around

(49:52):
with him. It was it wasn't even that serious. But
I think he has enough incidents now where it's like, bro,
you're kind of embarrassing us, Like this whole thing is,
we don't need you here. There's a long line of
rich guys that we kick you out for now. They're
not gonna kick him out, but this is one of
those where he's getting a phone call and some owners
not being happy. You're allowed to say stupid things as

(50:16):
gems or his owners. Jerry Jones said he went all in,
clearly did not. Jed york Since said once upon a
time that character in terms of players means everything to him.
They drafted constantly questionable character. Guys. You're allowed to say
dumb things in press conferences when you're throwing drinks at fans,

(50:38):
when you're going into a small business owner and essentially
talking some shit. I don't think it was that big
a dease. It's not like he was bullying him to
sell his restaurant. Just becomes a bad look. And let's
face it, he's a little under the microscope now. As
I've said before, like he's used to doing whatever he wants,
whenever he wants, and if you get into his way

(50:59):
in business, he ruins your life. He can buy your business,
put you on the street. Remember the guy. I think
there was a famous story of one of his comp
his competitors back in the day. He bought his house
and then immediately leveled it. I forget the exact details
of the story, but he's not used to random people

(51:23):
that he does not view his equals being able to
call him an idiot and they don't care what he thinks.
And they're right to do that because so far his
ownership has been an embarrassment. Doesn't mean it can't change.
But it doesn't look like David Tepper is going to change.
It doesn't view like he thinks he's been wrong. I
can't imagine a lot of people are in the league

(51:44):
are happy because it becomes kind of an embarrassing thing.
Imagine if a player threw a drink on a fan.
If a player did that, they'd get crushed and the
team would say something. But who who is gonna say
No one on the Panthers containing the thing to David Tepper.
So it's the owners in rage, which I would guarantee

(52:08):
you he's already been contacted. Now, ultimately, if you're David Tepper, like,
what are you gonna do? You're gonna take away with
my team? No, you're gonna reprimand me with a fine.
I have unlimited money, so I say, the only way
to make an impact on temper take away a draft
pick hurt the team that'll slow him down, or maybe

(52:32):
it won't. Would you be able to rate the Chargers
overall draft? Love the direction of the new team, and
Brendan Rice as well. I struggle with this one because,
like the draft grades, I think philosophically, you saw them do.
Jim Harbaugh thinks offensive tackle pick five, which was the

(52:56):
most obvious thing. I thought they would take all if
they would have taken it late them would have understood
that as well. But taken all, Like that's Jim Harball.
Why don't you take Mitchell from Texas? Yeah, he doesn't
really like playing with those guys. Give me a sweet
slot receiver who can get me on third and six,
Get me a first down because on first second down

(53:16):
I might be running the football. He takes the linebacker
from Michigan that he knows really well. That's all I have.
I don't have their draft in front of my head.
But Brandon Rice a big, physical wide receiver, not the
sexiest guy. A couple of years ago, he's playing at Colorado,
transferre to USC Jerry Sun. He played with a lot
of like Peebles Jones, Michael Crabtrees, Doug Baldwins. He does

(53:42):
not need sexy wide receivers to win. I like sexy
wide receivers like some of my favorite players in the NFL, Davante, Justin, Jefferson,
Jamar Chase, Tyreek Kill Like these guys are fun to watch.
It's not who Jim Harbaugh has on his team. Look
at John won a lot of games with some random
wide receivers. You could argue Za Flowers is like their

(54:06):
first kind of sexy wide receiver in a long time.
Didn't he go to the Super Bowl with and Kwan?
Who are two wide receivers and Kwan like Tory Smith.
This isn't a mail bag because I've always wanted to
do one but can't come up with a question. But
either way, I needed you to see this grade. On
the first pick from Pete Prisco, I would have taken

(54:28):
Jayden Daniels. He gave the Bears inn a minus. Draft grades.
First round Giants earned a plus from Elik Neighbors Vikings
get C plus for JJ McCarthy. You guys know where
I stand. Draft grades moronic. There were people that thought
Jayden Daniels in twenty twenty three. There were people that

(54:48):
think he was better than Caleb Williams in twenty twenty three.
Now the body of work for two and a half
years because Caleb played half of his freshman season when
they benched Spencer Rattler. Uh, it's not even close. But
just this year, in a vacuum, you could make the
argument Jaden was better. I saw Lewis Riddick, who I

(55:11):
worked for with the Eagles. He said he liked Jayden
Moore as a player. One thing was Spencer Rattler. Uh.
He was drafted I think in the fifth round by
the Saints. Pretty sure it was the Saints, and you know,
it kind of went viral after he was picked. I
think rap sheet said that he talked to a lot

(55:33):
of teams and every time he talked to the team,
the Netflix special came up and he did a Netflix
special when he was in high school. He went to
high school here in Arizona. And if you watch that
Netflix special and I did, I mean, this is whatever
four years ago, five years ago, it was it was cringe.
It was a rough watch and a lot of people

(55:55):
in the league said it was hard to shake that.
And I think there are two to look at that. One.
If you do something as a player when you're young.
Things now are documented. I am very very fortunate, just
like I'm sure many people listening that camera phones and

(56:16):
videos and social media did not exist when I was
in high school and college. Very very lucky. There are
a lot of things that they would have gone on
there for ninety nine percent of my generation and definitely
generations before that would have been a problem. Well, that's
what these guys have to deal with. And when you

(56:39):
when you accept to do a Netflix special and it
makes you look bad, like that's there forever now. I'd
also say, like we all look back and say something
I did in two thousand and five when I was
twenty one years old, I don't even know that person. Hell,
it's hard for me to relate to John Middlecoff. I
just went third person at thirty two years old. At

(57:02):
twenty five years you should constantly be changing and getting
better and proving as a human. So Shane Beemer at
South Carolina, I think has gone on record have said, like, listen,
the guy we've had around, ask his teammates, ask the
people in the building, like people change. I don't think
he's that good of a player, but in the fifth

(57:24):
round whatever, the Netflix thing if Shane Biemer in the
South Carolina programs, Like, I'm telling you, this guy's a
lot different. Like we grow, sometimes men mature a little slow.
Welcome to life wouldn't have bothered me that much, but
I do understand where people do get a little bothered
by it because of the position he plays. If it

(57:44):
was wide receiver or safety, no one would have cared
for the mailbag. Do you think the Chargers did a
good job in the draft. I was never in the
wide receiver at five unless Harrison Junior was there. I
like the coroner cam Hart. He lacked ball instincts, but
he's amazing in coverage. He gave up zero touchdowns this

(58:04):
season and is a willing tackler. Getting him in the
fifth looks like a steal. I think the key to
a lot of players on the third day, what makes
or breaks them is the scheme fit. Like, if you
don't run that fast as a corner, well, if a
man demand team drafts you, you're gonna look terrible. But

(58:26):
if you don't run that fast and you have a
defensive coordinator that sits in zone defense, Richard Sherman went
to Seattle. It was the perfect spot. Zone defender, great tackler,
elite ball skills. George Kittle drafted in the fifth round.
He went to a team that runs the ball a lot.

(58:47):
So what happened. Immediately lined up with the line of
scrimmage and blocked, and then from there because of the scheme,
the play action, he's fast, he got a lot of
wide open routes and started excelling. I remember remember talking
to George years ago and he's like, early on, you realize, Kyle,
how special the places was for me because when he
call my routes when I was a young player, he'd

(59:10):
be like, George, you're gonna be wide open after we
run these seven run plays and everyone bites and the
linebacker won't even see you go buy him because he's
gonna hit the whole so hard thing and it's a run.
And George would be like, Yeah, this can't be that easy.
And then the game would come and I'd be wide
open and he's fast, and he'd have a seventy yard run.
You know, touchdown is George Kittle. George Kittle, if he

(59:32):
goes to a different team, he's obviously an elite talent,
same with Richard Sherman. But the scheme matters a lot
for your early success. So offensive lineman, right, if I'm
not a powerful guy and I go to a team
that is asking me to run like gap schematic, like
I need you to push this guy back four yards

(59:56):
for this to succeed, or you to pull and kick
this guy out, it might be a problem. But if
I'm not that powerful but a great athlete, and I'm
in a zone running scheme and I'm not asking you
to push the guy backwards, I'm asking you to use
your feet and positional block and then the running back
picks the hole after that much easier for you to succeed,

(01:00:18):
and vice versa. The power guys who don't have the
foot quickness can struggle in some of the zone schemes. Now,
a lot of teams do it all now, but there's
a reason some offensive linemen are better with certain teams
and not as good with other teams. And that works
at every position. What am I asking you to do?

(01:00:39):
And as a player being drafted, especially on you know, fifth, sixth,
seventh round, I have no control over any of this.
That's why as an undrafted free agent, they often say
it's better to be an undrafted free agent than a
late seventh round pick. Because if I'm a tight end
and they're drafting me in the seventh round, if I'm

(01:01:01):
going to a team with an all pro tight end,
a really good backup, and a dude they drafted the
previous year in the fourth round, I'm never gonna make
the team. But if I'm an undrafted free agent, my
agent would never let me go to that team. He'd
be like, let's sign with this other team that has
only one good tight end. He's gonna be a free
agent after this year. Hell, you have a good training camp,

(01:01:21):
you might be the backup. Obviously, sometimes it works out,
sometimes it doesn't. Now big picture, I always think the
cream rises and you're gonna find a spot with a
different team. But it makes the path a little harder.
Question for the Mailbang long time Panther fan Slash Suffer
after free agency in the recent draft, what are some

(01:01:44):
realistic expectations for the Panthers this year and do you
think they would move off Brice Is if he has
another year like last year. In regards to they upgraded
the weapons at a running back High Brooks. They drafted
the South Carolina wide receiver. This is off the top

(01:02:05):
of my head pick thirty two Lagette Who. A lot
of people like I think this is a unique case
given what they gave up. You know, we just saw
this last crop at quarterbacks. You know, Justin Fields was
in trouble early on this season. Mac Jones almost got
benched in the offseason, right. I think this guy's getting

(01:02:29):
three years because of what they traded for. Now, if
his year looks like it looked last year, just like
unplayable at times, then I do think in the off
season they would be in the mix to sign, you know,
a bridge type quarterback and just quote unquote compete. But
I think this is the rare case where even if

(01:02:53):
he's atrocious through two seasons, that he's almost getting at
least half of the second or the third year. Think
of what they traded for. You could argue right now
it's one of the worst trades of all time because
you can put players to it. The tackle last year,
DJ Moore, Caleb Williams that alone, because think about this,

(01:03:18):
you wouldn't trade straight up Caleb Williams for Braishow. There's
not a soul in the NFL, including the Panthers, that
would do that trade. You would not trade Dj Moore
straight up for Caleb Williams. And I'm pretty sure the
Bears have a second round pick next year because of
the Panthers. So they've invested so much. You got to

(01:03:40):
give it a little time. And I think this year,
I don't know, six wins and just look like you're
kind of trending in the right direction. I think you're
the lockworst team in that division. I mean, the Bucks
bring everyone back, they had a good draft. I mean
they're just good. They're solid, they're you know, if Baker's

(01:04:02):
just solid, they should be nine ten wins. Again, the
Saints were right there this year. If Derek is just
better now with Kubiak as the offensive coordinator, they could
be nine to ten wins. Whom I'm missing Saints Falcons.
Of the Falcons, they were right there too to the
last couple of weeks. They didn't have a quarterback. Now
they got two, so they usually could be nine ten wins. Like,

(01:04:26):
there's a gap between you and those three teams. Well,
I think we all acknowledge that six six and eleven, Like,
would you sign up for six and eleven right now?
Because is there a chance you're the worst team in
the NFL? Again, is your coach any good? Look at
his resumes? It was a lifetime position coach. One year

(01:04:48):
at offensive coordinator, then becomes a head coach. Love the Pod,
longtime listener, first time mailbagger. I too, live in Arizona,
Gilbert and curious your current thoughts on the local franchise.
I'm traditionally a Seahawks Broncos fan, but this year I'm
most excited to see how the Cardinals play. I've heard

(01:05:08):
you speak Kylie Jonathan Gannon. Given their recent draft twelve selections,
offseason moves, Jonah Williams, Murphy Bunning, Mac Wilson, is it
feasible to think the Cardinals could finish second in the division.
I think there's a pretty wide gap. I think the
Niners and Rams are both. One team wins twelve thirteen,

(01:05:30):
the other wins eleven. The Rams are very you know
Stafford who's been banged up before. If he got hurt,
they would be in a little trouble. They did signed
Jimmy Garoppolo, but Jimmy was terrible last year, but he'll
be better with the Rams. Uh. I think there's a
wide gap. Now. I like you more than Seattle because
of your quarterback situation. You both have young defensive coaches,

(01:05:53):
but Jonathan Gannon now has a year under his belt. Kyler,
I take Kyler over Gino Smith. I don't care what
the stats say over the course of the year. I
think there's a lot of pressure on Marvin Harrison. I
really do, and I think he's a good player. I'm
not some Marvin Harrison hater, but this is a text

(01:06:13):
I got from one of the top wide receiver coaches
in the league. My question about Rome and Marvin Harrison
Junior is are they ready to be the guy from
day one? This is a text I got. Are they
ready to be the best wide receiver in the room
starting in OTAs? Because now they get Ramsey the first

(01:06:38):
play of the game. It's different when you're the first rounder,
but you're not the best white out in the room
right away. But when you're the best white out in
the room from day one, it's on immediately now. Obviously, Rome,
because he went to the Bears, doesn't have to deal
with that. He said, if Junior goes to Arizona, he
better get his mind right. These dudes ain't on nil

(01:07:02):
money watching tiktoks all day. You're going against a dude
that is twenty eight to twenty nine years old, two
kids at home, three g wagons, and three Pro Bowls
under his belt. And his point was, and Marvin Harrison
was his top wide receiver. But it's the mentality, like
you're showing up and you're playing probe guys who are

(01:07:24):
making fifteen to twenty million dollars most weeks, and because
of the team you're on, that guy's coming at you.
And the defensive coordinator, who on any given week could
be making three to five million dollars, is spending all
week knowing Kyler is gonna want to throw it to you.
It's difficult, Like there aren't purdues and ruckers on the schedule.

(01:07:47):
So Marvin Harrison could go on to be a great
player in the NFL. Your one could be kind of tough.
It's not like he's Marvin Harrison junior, along with Larry Fitzgerald,
along with an Kwon Bolden, along with AJ Green. I mean,
they've had some really good wide receivers over the years.
But right now, it's like Martin Harrison Junior, He's gonna

(01:08:08):
get a lot of targets and you who knows that
the other team and this is just another level which
this is where Rome really benefits. He's like, I get
to be the third wide receiver. If you tell me
Rome has fifty catches and seven touchdowns, you're one. Very believable.
I would like Rome less as a rookie if DJ

(01:08:29):
Moore and Keenan Allen weren't on the team and it
was just some other random wide receivers. It's hard because
they scheme and they develop the game plan all for you. Well,
if we hold you under five catches this, you've got
no shot, no trade. McBride's a good player. Yeah, I'm

(01:08:49):
interested in Arizona for sure. I think I think Mani
Asinford's pretty good, and I think Kyler is kind of
a unique head scratching player. But no one can argue
as talent. There the pressure on Marvin Harrison starting day one,
and a lot has to do with his name. His
dad's one of the best players of all time. I

(01:09:10):
saw this clip, I think from ESPN where they did
a sit down with Senior and Junior and Marvin Harrison.
The dad said told Marty Smith, He's like, you know
the difference of me, me and my son. He said
on Monday when I didn't have. I had five catches
for seventy I was the first guy in the room saying,

(01:09:32):
what the fuck is going on? Get me the football, Payton, Hey, coach,
this ain't good enough. They always knew where I stood
when I wasn't getting the ball, Give me the rock.
And then they asked Marvin Junior, have you ever done that?
And he kind of laughed. He's like, guesh, It's not
really my style. And that's kind of what this coach
is talking about. Like, you gotta be wired like a

(01:09:54):
nut job in the NFL to be a great player,
whether you're a wide receiver, whether a d lineman or
whether you are a quarter. And part of being a wide receiver,
especially with the hype and being the number one, guys
like you got to demand that pill like DeVante Adams,
Tyreek Hill, justin Jefferson jamar Cha demanding the ball from
the moment they step in the huddle and the pressure

(01:10:17):
when you're the fourth overall pick and you're the arguably,
I mean, how many players do the Cardinals have that
are better than Marvin Harrison Junior. Probably less than three.
So he's immediately one of the best players, if not
the best player on the team tough spot, it's easier
like Tank Dell. You just kind of get to ease in.
Then you become a really good player. Slid with the

(01:10:38):
Niners like Deebo and a youth, they kind of got
to ease in and then they kind of be. There's
no easing in for Marvin Harrison Junior. If I tell
you right now, Marvin Harrison Junior's rookie years like forty
eight catches, four touchdowns. I got expected a little more. Hey,
John big fan, seventeen years old and just started my
own podcast. What advice can you give? Just keep doing

(01:10:59):
the baby consistency. The number one can key to me
is can just do it NonStop, whether that's every day,
whether it's every other day, and don't like, oh I
don't really feel like doing it today, or oh there's
nothing to talk about the only way to get better
is to constantly do it. Don't worry early on you're
seventeen years old, how many people are listening. Put it

(01:11:21):
on YouTube, Put it on obviously the podcast feed, cut
it up, put it on an Instagram feed. Put it
on TikTok for all the kids. While TikTok is still legal, LinkedIn.
But you gotta do it. You can't just like, oh,
we'll do two podcasts this week and then no podcasts
for two weeks. If you notice, like I do these

(01:11:42):
things every day now, I approach it like a daily
radio show. I don't have to do that, but I
just do. And I've been doing podcasts now for a decade,
and there are days, like anyone else, like I don't
really feel like doing it today. I'm not really that
I didn't do it. You just gotta do it. Okay, Last,
but not least, Raider Fan Big Fan Raiders had a

(01:12:04):
solid draft quick question. I was watching all the highlights
I could find on Bowers and noticed he was wearing
an armband in which he plays just like a quarterback wears.
I haven't seen this before. Is this a new thing?
That's some good scouting by you. Maybe it's I don't know.

(01:12:24):
I'd have to ask my friends that went through the
SEC what he wears the armband for. Maybe he's like
the quarterback has the play calls on there so they
can do special audibles for him. I don't know. I mean,
I'm honest to god, I can't answer your question. But
that's a great pick. I told Colin the other day,
I think two teams that would do anything for Redo

(01:12:46):
this offseason would be the Raiders and the Falcons. The
Raiders would have given the money they gave to Christian
Wilkins to Kirk Cousins, and the Falcons would have given
the money they gave to Kirk Cousins to Christian Wilkins.
They would have flip flopped. Michael Pennix would be the
Falcons quarterback and Kirk Cousins would be the Raiders quarterback.

(01:13:06):
Because if I told you right now the Raiders had Kirk Cousins,
like seriously, with all those players, Raiders would be pretty interesting.
And if I told you the Falcons Penix was their starter,
Christian Wilkins was out of the defense. God, it's an
interesting team too. Instead, one team's got two quarterbacks, Raiders

(01:13:26):
kind of have none. I know Minshew was solid last year,
but I don't think the Raiders can compete in the
AFC with Minshew. You could argue the Colts did, but
Shane Stikeen is an elite play caller. Isn't Luke Getzi
your guys play caller? I like what the Raiders do.
I mean their first two picks were excellent, and they

(01:13:47):
already have some high end players, but they have no
quarterback that I can believe in, and it's not even
their fault, Like, what are they supposed to do? They can't,
They couldn't have taken Bo Nicks, and they probably didn't
expect the Falcons to Michael Pennix because the Falcons don't
take Michael Penix. I think Michael Penix ends up on
the Raiders and Brock Bowers is one of my favorite
players in the draft. But I think we all agree

(01:14:09):
you would give up Brock Bowers to have Panicks so
you have a quarterback. But that's not the way the
cookie crumbles sometimes. So I don't know why Bowers is
wearing that thing, but he's a stud now. They just
got to find a way to get him the ball,
the volume

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