March 21, 2025 • 41 mins
John answers your questions in today's massive mailbag starting with what the Patriots should do in the upcoming draft, understanding how it takes two teams to make trades actually work, who the best QB in the NFL is, and what the greatest sports movie is. All that and more!
10:27 - Patriots and the draft
18:02 - Understanding trades
25:14 - Greatest sports movies
40:36 - Best QB in the NFL
Follow John on Twitter, Instagram and YouTube for the latest. Check out Gametime - the fastest growing ticketing app in the US, and the official ticketing app of 3 & Out and GoLow - for tickets to all of your favorite NFL, NBA, NHL, NCAA teams. Concert and comedy show tickets, too. Go to Gametime now to create an account, download the app and use code JOHN for $20 off your first purchase. #Volume #Herd
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
The volume. What is happening everybody, How are we doing?
Hopefully everyone is having a great day wherever you are springtime,
(00:22):
it's officially spring where I'm at. It's supposed to be
ninety degrees in Scottsdale next week, but it actually has
been kind of cold. So if you are in a
cold area, hopefully that sun comes out sooner than later.
And if you're in a sunny area, hopefully you enjoy
the weekend. So we got the NCAA tournament in full swing.
As I'm recording this, I looked up at the gym
(00:42):
earlier and I had Louisville Creighton. Louisville's getting worked. So
hopefully you're having a good weekend, watching some hoops, hanging out,
enjoying the fans, enjoying some friends, maybe a few cocktails.
But here's the game plan today. We are going to
just do a heavy mail bag at John middlecoff is
the Instagram fire in those dms. Free agency has come
(01:03):
to a screeching halt. Majority of players that are interesting
or you know all, I have landed with the team.
We're not just gonna wait minute by minute for Aaron Rodgers.
I mean, I don't really give a shit. At this point,
I would say the draft, the meetings for teams is
right around the corner. So we probably have another week
(01:24):
of pro days. A lot of the big ones have
been checked off. I mean yesterday was Bama and Oregon.
So then the teams will get together with their scouting
staffs and you know, their coaching staffs and really try
to hammer home that draft board at the final couple
weeks or the first couple weeks of April as they
head into the draft. But today Middlecoff Mailbag at John
(01:45):
Middlecoff Instagram. Fire in those dms and get your questions
answered here on this little old podcast. But before we
dive in to our friends, our partners, and the best
ticketing app I've ever used, game Time, Here's what I
need you to do. Do you want to go do something?
Do you want to go have a good time. Maybe
(02:05):
go to a game, maybe go to a concert, go
to a comedy show, and enjoy yourself. That's where my
friends at game Time come in. Get out of the house.
You want to do something on a Thursday night, a
Friday night, a Saturday night, sometimes you just gotta you know,
let your hair down, go enjoy yourself. You can't be
stuck at home. And they have the best, most competitive prices.
They have the easiest app and I've used them all
(02:28):
to search by venue, to search by artists, to search
by team, you name it. They got you covered. So
take the guest work out of buying tickets with game Time.
Download the game Time App, create an account, use the
code John jog John for twenty dollars off your first
purchase terms apply again, create an account, redeem the code
John John. Download the game Time app today, last minute
(02:49):
ticket's lowest prices guaranteed. Okay, we'll start with Quinn, lifelong
Bengals fan. I saw that Cincinnati once again ranked toward
the bottom of the nflpa's annual report card, specifically dead
last in treatment of families as well as food and dining.
Do you think the NFL should require every team to
(03:11):
spend a certain percentage of their media check each year
four hundred plus million last year on improving these initiatives?
I feel like there would be an equitable way to
always almost forced owners to reinvest in their franchise rather
than pocketing the money themselves. I give the Bengals credit
for upgrading their locker room. I noticed that when Burrow
(03:35):
was given Chase in Higgins a hug. I'm like this,
this doesn't was a three Rivers or is at Pittsburgh
whatever their stadium was called, which they've now added a
naming rights to the locker room, looked like they were
at LSU or something. I'm like, this looks incredible. So,
but improving the treatment of player's family, putting daycare center
in the stadium, and improving I think this is a
(03:57):
tough one because it's not really the league's job to
make sure that like, your food tastes better than the
Ravens or the Steelers or as good, like they're not
feeding them shit. I do think it's difficult for some
of these owners that came up in a league that
(04:18):
did not have money, that they have struggled to make
the transition to like, guys, you can spend let's say,
two hundred and fifty thousand dollars on the upgrade of
your family dining and paying for you probably need multiple
quote unquote you know people in the daycare area that
might cost you. Let's just pick an even number for
(04:40):
totality of some of these improvements. Half a million dollars
for some of these people that number because they go
back to the seventies and the eighties that that was
a huge number, and it was that that's an irrelevant number.
Now you could find that money in your couch cushion
in the training room of the facility. And I think
(05:00):
it's hard for them to get behind. Now. Some people
go above and beyond, but that's always been the case.
Some companies go above and beyond in all of our industries.
Other companies don't care. I'm of the mindset, like, I
am paying you so much fucking money that like if
we're complaining that like the chickens a little dry, I
got a problem with that. Like if you're complaining that
(05:22):
the box at the stadium's not free, like, yeah, we
pay for that, now is it? Like every team in
the league has daycare available and you don't like, yeah,
that's kind of loser behavior. But like I do think
we get a little caught up. And let's face, some
of these guys are that they are coming in. College
is about recruiting. The NFL is not about recruiting. I
pay you for your services. College is kind of doing
(05:43):
that now with nil. But I think there's a fine line.
I think clearly, the Bengals, the Cardinals, some of these teams,
you know, the Patriots have been getting knocked relative. Because
the other thing is, how would these guys know what's
good and bad besides like coming from college, but you
know some of them have kids in college, but the
majority of them in college, they're living pretty well. If
(06:04):
you're in Texas, Bama, Georgia, all the top fifty programs,
even the random programs like Minnesota, right and you know UCLA, Like,
these guys have it pretty good. I think when they
start talking to their friends, like if I'm on the
Bengals or I'm on the Cardinals and my college teammate
is playing on the Rams or the Eagles and I
hear about what they're doing, I'm like, this sucks. So
(06:25):
I think it's a lot of that, But I don't
think the league is going to get involved unless it
was something just egregious. And again, like remember they used
to complain about the chairs in the locker room for
the Chiefs were too small. I'm sorry, Like, I can't
get worked up over that because clearly it's not limiting
your ability to win, Like the moment it limits your
ability to win. Then we got a problem. Are these
(06:48):
first class problems? I think a little bit, uh because
I listen. I'm not saying I agree with this, but
I think Mike Brown would be like, it's not It's
not my issue to figure out daycare for you on
game day, Like I'm paying you Joe Burrow fifty million dollars,
he doesn't have a kid, But Jamar Chase, whoever t Higgins, Like,
you can't get a babysitter, that's my problem. But you
(07:12):
know Jeffrey Lurie or Steve Buscatti's doing it. It's like, well,
maybe he should. But then again, like Eddie de Bartelow
used to do shit above and beyond everyone else in
the Ages. That's that's part of life. Some people do
things that other people are not willing to do. Longtime
Patriot fan, I'm not sure. I like the Garrett Bradbury signing.
I know Vrabel is a defensive minded coach, but I
(07:34):
feel as if the Patriots are going a little too
far on defense. What do you think we should do
with the fourth pick? I don't think mac Hollins helps us,
but I also think there's a hole to phill at
tackle well. I do think if there was a super
high end tackle in this draft, someone viewed as can't miss,
(07:56):
you know, and they don't happen as much as they
used to, like the Pinay Seoul types. Just a guy
that was going to go really high that everyone you
never truly know, but like more than likely this guy's
gonna be a pro bowler. I think they would one
percent Joe Alt. If Joe Al was in this draft,
the Patriots would take him a number four. That guy
doesn't exist. There are a lot of question marks with
(08:17):
all these offensive linemen, the Missouri guy, obviously, Texas guy,
the uh Well Campbell at LSU. I think there were
just a lot of question marks. And the guy with
the least amount of question marks, just because he's probably
many considered the second best player in this draft is
Travis Hunter. And I think when you find yourself in
(08:38):
a position where I would always take a lineman over
a Travis Hunter if all things are equal, but things
are not equal. It was why I supported the Lions
taking Jamiir Gibbs at twelve. It was an awful draft.
Like if they had passed on other sweet defensive linemen
who were viewed as like top seven picks, I'd be like, yeah, stupid,
(08:58):
they did not do that, So like to me, I
think you can easily justify Travis Hunter and go listen.
We clearly value the line of scrimmage, but like we'd
rather like the risk on all these guys is pretty high.
So why don't we take the number one recruit coming
out of high school three years ago, the guy that
went on to set like snap records in Division I
(09:19):
football and he won the Heisman Trophy. I don't think
who can play multiple positions, So I don't think it's
that crazy gotta Fugayzy Friday for you. It's actually a
two for one and it is free agency related. The
initial reporting of any deal is completely fake. The reporting
numbers are never as high as they report, and now
(09:40):
they're reporting who negotiated the deal, a detail that no
one cares about. Complete fugaysy. I do think people in
the media, like old school Jays, get very angry. It's
like Schefter just quoted their agent us as the consumer.
None of us actually care. We are not bob like
(10:01):
the big j's at that information. Just tell me who
signs where now. I do think we have all come
to grips with these numbers are fake. But when you're
given hey, they just signed this guy for three years
sixty million dollars, you're like, oh, Jonathan Allen twenty million
dollars a year, and then you find out like, oh,
he got guaranteed seventeen million dollars, so it's actually a
one year contract, right, And that is by far the
(10:24):
biggest different difference in football than the other two sports.
Like if you sign Juan Soto to ten years, six
hundred million dollars, like he's getting six hundred million dollars
unless he chooses to opt out. So I just think
we've kind of come to grips with it. It's like
Sam Darnold one hundred million dollars fifty five guaranteed. Well,
it's actually a one year, thirty seven million dollar contract.
(10:46):
So it's like, yeah, I think we're just we don't
really care. I think a lot of people, you know,
Jordan Schultz is constantly going back like, we don't care
who breaks the news. We really don't. Adam Is I'm
a huge Adam Schefter guy, but like, whether Schefter breaks
it or whether Tom Pallis are it doesn't matter to
(11:08):
us the consumer. Just give me the information. I also
think I like my newsbreakers to not just rely on agents.
So if you're only relying on agents, I don't take
you that seriously. I need my newsbreakers to be talking
to head coaches in the gms because ultimately they're the
guys making the decision. And one, I know, if Schefter
(11:29):
knows every coach in GM, I would say rap sheet
at this point in time does two I'll tell you
who knows a ton of coaches and scouts as Diana Russini,
I mean she is fucking dialed in with people. And
that's if you're not talking to them. The agents, they
they don't control anything. And here's the other thing is
like the teams, when the numbers come out, they're not
(11:50):
going to push back against it because they want everyone
to be happy, right. They don't give a shit whether
you think it's one hundred million or if it's actually
five million, Like they just want the agent and the
players to be happy. But I agree that the numbers
are completely fake. I mean completely fake. The only thing
that's not fake in a transaction is a trade, right
(12:12):
Like DK Metcalf, I have no I still haven't seen,
like how much money did the Steelers actually give them
clearly a lot. But like, the only thing I know
is what they traded for him second round pick, Like
that's no one can debate that. And I don't know
the number. But whatever number pick that is, let's say,
I'll just guess fifty eight, we'll probably be a little
(12:33):
higher than that sixty whatever it is, like, that is
the pick for DK metcalf. I'm twenty three year old
Browns fan. Thus I've only known losing. Oh, you know,
you made the playoffs two years ago. You made the
playoffs in twenty twenty. You made the playoffs a couple times.
I was adam at the Brown should trade Miles Garrett,
maximize your return to first round picks and rebuild with
(12:56):
us in a vision with Burrow and Lamar, What should
the Brown do with number two? Hunter seems like a
generational prospect, but quarterback is unclear. Cousins, Rogers or Wilson
will not win this division. Would you roll with the
dice with Shador in past prospects like Carter and Hunter?
I agree with Colin, it is a quarterback league, and
if you don't have a guy, you're not winning. Well,
(13:21):
I think if I'm gonna take Shador the GM and
the coach have to like him. So if Stefanski in
his offense thinks that Chador can function at a high level,
then take him. You know, I was talking to people like, Oh,
the crazy thing about Shador Sanders is his comp I mean,
(13:41):
what's weird about the player is his dad is like
one of the greatest athletes in the history of the world.
I mean pound for pound, I mean on the short
list of like Bo Jackson, Jim Brown, Michael Jordan, Dion Sanders,
Like it is not a long list before you say
Deon Sanders name, and his son is just not a
great athlete. His Shadoor Sanders is much closer to a
(14:05):
Jimmy Garoppolo or Derek Carror and Andy Dalton level player.
And there's nothing wrong with that. I mean those guys.
Andy Dalton was going to the playoffs every year. Derek
Carr took the Raiders to the playoffs. Jimmy Garoppolo was
a starting quarterback on a Super Bowl team. So it's like,
can Shadour play like those guys? If you put him
on a good team, he can be solid. And if
the answer is yes, then you got to pull the trigger.
(14:26):
Right Like if I told you right now that they
could get Andy Dalton, Derek Carr, Jimmy Garoppolo. You know
that that was going to be him in his prime
for several years. I think the Browns would do it.
People would be like, middle, go if you're a hater
better than Jimmy. Like no, ten years ago, Shadu were
Sanders a second round pick. There's nothing wrong with that.
(14:48):
He used to be very normal for guys to go
in the second round. And then we got out of
whack and just guys got to get over drafted and shit,
Mac Jones went fifteen. Mac Jones should have gone like
the fourth round. John Avid Listener. The frustration for me
is when the NFL fans this time of year continue
(15:08):
to comment that their team should go out and pick
up a player or a player, not remembering that it
takes two teams to make a deal. I'm a diehard
Jets fan, so I understand the frustration of losing, but
I was wondering how you feel when you hear people
thinking that because trades make sense for their team, that
the team is not doing anything to improve. I think
(15:30):
one thing that's really out of whack this time of year,
especially when we get to the draftic why didn't they
trade back?
Speaker 2 (15:40):
So?
Speaker 1 (15:40):
Why would have loved to? I would have loved to
move back seven spots and accumulate two more second round picks.
Guess what? No one picked up the phone. No one
called me, so I yeah, I want to go on
a date. Well, you gotta find someone to go on
a date with you, or else you're just gonna be
sitting at the bar eating dinner alone. Takes two to
(16:01):
tango baby. I think it would be a bad move
about Aaron Rodgers. Let's be real, Minnesota is a very,
very liberal city, and I have a hard time seeing
them be okay with a free thinker like Aaron. My
question is how long until politics has a foothold on
all things sports, not just the NFL. I would say
(16:23):
that if you spend a lot of time online, you
think it's everything. If you just close your phone and
go out and live life, people are just pretty normal
and everyone is just living life, I also think you'd
be pretty I would imagine. I remember asking teams around
the election what they thought like the split was in
(16:44):
their locker room. I couldn't find a team that wasn't
like seventy five to eighty percent Trump. The NFL players, coaches,
executives leans heavy to one way. It's a Republican league,
and based on the demos of fans, it also leans
that way. Well, hell, just based on the demost currently
of younger people. They all are currently leaning right. So
(17:06):
I think you'd be naive to think that the large
percentage of people on the Minnesota vikings right now aren't
opposite of what the city. The city doesn't care if
Aaron Rodgers is good, it wouldn't matter. Now, I think
it's more of a risk because he's forty one years
old and he hasn't played well. I don't think Aaron
Rodgers is kind of, you know, in this weird spot
(17:26):
of like he is being talked about like I think
five six years ago, he's kind of like the Rogan
of athletes. He would have been considered like a hippie
liberal like I think, like earlier on in his career,
and now he's considered some right wing lunatic. I mean,
it's just but again, that's the Internet, you know, if
you just turn off. Now he does some other shit
(17:47):
that I mean, clearly there's some football locker room stuff
that rubs some people the wrong way. But I don't think.
I think society's kind of just moved on. People are
just living life. And I think if you turn off
the phone and just go out, like society's pretty normal
right now, just like it mostly always is. I think
(18:07):
it's easy to get consumed when you're just online a
lot and think the world is a lot different than
it actually is. So I would lean that most of
these players, which I find funny because the sports media
leans heavily left, yet the people they cover clearly or not.
(18:28):
But yeah, ultimately doesn't matter, like who cares, it doesn't matter.
That'd be my overall take. Who gives a flying fuck?
If you were a GM, what position would you consistently
look to draft high and what position would you wait on?
For example, wide receivers have a pretty high bust rate
(18:48):
in the first round, so many teams pass and strike
it rich later in the draft. I think running back
for sure. I think pretty consistently running back guards and centers.
I think you can find really good guards and centers
all throughout the draft. Safety. I mean, it's not like
safety doesn't tend to get drafted high and for whatever reason,
(19:12):
like you just don't need to take linebackers that high. Now, granted,
there aren't many worthy of being high, but you find
a lot of starting linebackers in the third, fourth, fifth round.
I think these wide receivers get drafted consistently so high,
and then we see guys in the third round become
really good players. I think it's a lot of the
skill guys. I mean, I would have a strong inclination
(19:33):
to draft lineman, lineman, lineman high the end of the day. Though,
whoever you pick high, if that guy becomes a great player,
it doesn't really matter. So like if I draft a
wide receiver in the top ten and he becomes Jamar Chase,
(19:54):
no one says, well, you should have drafted Pane Sewel,
even though the Bengals offensive line is not good. But
if Jamar Chase had just been okay, it would be
a major problem. But it's like, is Jamar Chase going
to the Hall of Fame with Penaesol? That's a big
a deal. What is the conversation on physical growth when
(20:15):
the draft comes around? Talking about jenty on your last mailbag,
he's five to eight. But a lot of these guys
are coming in to the NFL two or three years
before they biologically stop growing at twenty five? Is there
talks about people having a chance to get stronger, bigger,
and become taller. When you prospect out a player, I
(20:39):
think there's a major gap between a guy has growth potential,
you know, meaning let's say I find a dB Travis
Hunter I think is a guy you know what is
Travis Hunter? Way one hundred eighty pounds one hundred and
eighty five pounds. Well, do you believe that Travis Hunter
can be add ten pounds? No problem, I would imagine
most people do. Travis Hunter did he go to the combine?
(21:02):
I know he did, where his miserables earned sixty five
pounds in high school. He was one hundred and eighty
eight pounds at the combine. So if you think Travis
Hunter can still maintain the speed in athleticism and be
one hundred and ninety eight pounds at another ten pounds,
there's growth potential of finding an offensive lineman who might
(21:24):
be a little slim but weighs two hundred ninety five
pounds that you think can become three hundred and ten pounds. Right,
But I don't think we talk in the NFL about
guys getting taller like if you think Ashton Genty, how
often do guys grow at twenty five years old? I
(21:47):
that does not get factored in size wise. Can he
add muscle if he needs it? And he doesn't feel
like he does. But I don't think people think that
Ashton Genty is gonna get taller. At the combine he
was five eight and a half and two hundred and
ten pounds, So like girth is not an issue, it's
just height, and it's just more height. Like do small
(22:08):
players become superstars? Because if you're gonna draft this guy
in the top ten, you better hope he's a superstar.
Big fan of the show, My dad, my brother and
I just did a podcast where we use a sixty
four movie bracket to decide the greatest sports movies of
all time. What is your favorite sports movie of all time?
And what qualities do you think makes a good sport movie?
(22:33):
I think the easy answer would be Rudy as just
an undersized pulling guard at Davis High School. It always
resonated with me, Rudy Rudiger. I always had a soft
spot for Blue Chips with Nick Nolty, Shaquille O'Neal, and
Penny Hardaway. I fucking love that movie. Uh you know,
(22:54):
remember the Titans. You're not gonna have many people push
back on that. Mighty Ducks when I was a kid
is a pretty big deal. Little Giants as well. You know,
is Happy Gilmour a sports movie. I'd say that would
be pretty high on the list. Sucker for water Boy
like that. So but I mean, if you had to
say what's your favorite sports movie of all time, I
(23:15):
think it would be between Rudy and Blue Chips. Now,
Blue Chips to me, was a legitimate movie. Rudy's your
classic story that they basically made up a lot of
elements to it. You know. I Joe Montana, I don't
think is a big fan of Rudy Rudiger who he
was a quarterback on those teams. I think he thinks
(23:37):
that the movie was kind of BS, But who cares.
That's part of Hollywood. When it comes to college basketball
in March Mania, one thing is for sure. Nothing's for sure. Upsets,
buzzer beaters, Cinderella's top seeds going home early, It's all
(24:00):
gonna happen. Bet the unexpected, every upset, every day with
DraftKings Sportsbook with live betting, exclusive.
Speaker 2 (24:08):
Content, promos, and parlays. Draftking is the ultimate college basketball
destination from March. Ready to make your first bet, check
out matchups and pick a team to win. It's that
simple first time. Here's something special just for you. New
DraftKings customers. Bet five to get two hundred in bonus bets.
(24:28):
Instantly bet the unexpected with Draftking Sportsbook. Download the Draftking
Sportsbook app. Use the code John that's Joagen, that's code
Jawn for new customers to get two hundred and bonus
bets when you bet just five bucks only on DraftKings.
Speaker 1 (24:43):
The Crown is yours.
Speaker 3 (24:45):
Gambling problem called one eight hundred gambler in New York
called eight seven to seven eight hope and Why, or
text hope and Why four six seven, three six nine.
In Connecticut, help is available for a problem gambling called
eight eight eight seven eight nine seven seven seven seven
or visit CCPG dot org. Please play risk responsibly on
behalf of Boothill Casino when resorting Kansas twenty one on
over agent eligibility varies by jurisdiction Voyd and Ontario Bonas
(25:06):
Betskspire one hundred and sixty eight hours zephter Richuins four
additional terms and responsible gaming resources see dkang dot co
slash audio.
Speaker 1 (25:21):
Question for the mailback was having a debate with some
friends about whether quarterbacks nowadays need to be dual threat
guys in order to win a Super Bowl. In the past,
pocket guys like Tom Breese, Peyton Elive, big Ben big
Ben could move when he was younger won super Bowls.
But now at the top, guys like Mahomes, Allen Lamar,
Herbert Hurts, and Jayden being threat to run at least
seems like the times have changed. Burrow, of course, being
(25:42):
an outlier. Do you think we'll see a pocket quarterback
win a Super Bowl in the near future or do
you think these teams need a quarterback who at least
is a threat to run in order to win it all?
You know, I think Peyton Manning or Tom Brady or
Drew Brees and their prime would be fine. None of
those players exist in college. Like, look at what's cam Ward.
(26:05):
He's an athlete. Shadoor is known as not a good
athlete because he's compared to his dad. But Shadoor can move,
Jackson Dark can move, Will Howard, Riley Lanyard like, so
it's just all these guys coming into those guys don't exist.
When's the last time we saw like a Jared Goff,
I mean Jared Goff. I mean, they just don't come
into the NFL like that anymore. So I don't know
(26:27):
what's happened. Maybe they're playing baseball or golf. But if
you can't move, maybe just don't get to start in
high school anymore. They just don't exist. I mean the
quarterbacks I grew up on, besides Steve Young, were all
pretty like pocket quarterbacks. And I would say definitely, like
when I got into like high school, you know, in
the early two thousands, the influx of Manning Brady, Carson Palmer,
(26:50):
you know, Matt Stafford had some athleticism. I would say
Aaron Rodgers was kind of a hybrid far of younger
Farv could move, but again that they were not looking
to run. They were throwers, so maybe they were like Mahomes.
I mean, I would consider Josh Allen a dual threat.
Lamar clearly a question for the bag, kind of a
(27:12):
niche question. But do you think of a team maybe
Denver drafting Montana States quarterback Tommy Milow in the sixth
or seventh round, using him in a Taysom Hill played
in two national championships and it has proven to be
an elite athlete. I'll be honest, haven't broken down much
film in Montana State, but I actually remember watching some
(27:34):
of the playoffs and getting a text from a scouting
buddy that liked the guy. So I know nothing about him,
but the highest level guys at D one double A,
you know, the Montana Montana State, North Dakota State, South
Dakota State, those guys are being scouted heavily. So I'll
take your word for it. Next Taysom Hill, Montana State.
(27:57):
What determines the hierarchy between guys and NFL locker rooms?
Is it salary age, staff's production or something else? Uh? Well,
it's not like I think a lot of locker rooms
people are just kind of hanging, you know. It's there's
not like some This isn't rome, you know. I mean, clearly,
(28:19):
when you get guys like Brady Manning Mahomes at this level,
it's pretty clear who your best players are. But I
think that's what makes football pretty special in my experience,
Like most guys are just obviously there are some people
that are just angry and edgy, and you just kind
of leave them alone. Most kids are pretty just kind
(28:40):
of enjoying life. I don't know when you say hierarchy,
all lockers are kind of the same. You know, Trent
Williams actually had multiple lockers. But for the most part,
it's not like, you know, if you work at Morgan Stanley,
or you know a banking firm and you're on a
certain floor of a high rise in Chicago, or there
(29:00):
are only so many corner offices right where you work
at Apple, you might have a cubicle in the middle.
Like some lockers are a little better than others, like
logistically in the locker room, but like your locker is
still the size of my locker. If I want to
use a toilet and you want to use a toilet,
we're both using the same toilets. We all shower from
the same shower heads, so we both all deal with
(29:23):
the same equipment. Guy, I think it's it's more of
like a respect. You know, some people are just less
likely to kind of pop off to certain individuals. But
I also think that the locker room is like, in
a weird way, a great equalizer, right. I mean, there
are some people in these locker rooms now making worth
(29:43):
hundreds of millions of dollars, hundreds of millions of dollars, right,
and then there are guys in the locker room making
ten grand a week that can be cut at any moment,
and they could just be eating a sandwich at the
same table together and have a long conversation because they
both play aid in the sec hell. They might have
both played at Alabama or Iowa or wherever and be
(30:07):
having a conversation about like their girlfriends. I mean, we're
just dudes. I mean I think I think the hierarchy
thing of now there's a way to act and to me,
the people that kind of you know, you've heard the
Patriot guys talk about this over the years of like,
there're certain people it's hard to be, you know, mister disciplinarian.
If you are the last guy in the roster, you
(30:31):
can't be telling everyone how to act if you're not
a hard worker. So it's like I would say the
quote unquote leaders have to be your better players. But
I think well run teams don't have a lot of
slapticks on their team, don't have a lot of guys
doing stupid shit. Now again, we're guys, we will do
dumb things, But I think there's in a weird way,
(30:52):
a lot of like equality in a locker room, regardless
of who's rich and who's not. Just because people are
just friends with each other doesn't mean listen, you work
out a place, you might hate some people on your team.
But I don't think it's I don't think it's quite
like you might envision, at least in my experience. And
(31:14):
I've said over and over it gets a huge headline
when a guy gets in trouble, when a guy gets arrested.
The overwhelming majority of dudes in the league are pretty
high level cats, and I think a large percentage of
them are just really impressive good guys. It's become my
favorite over the last couple of years. My question is
in regards to the top five quarterback debate, I feel
(31:36):
like a lot of the discussion about how this and
while recency bias obviously has a huge impact in most discussions,
I feel it should be the five best quarterbacks as
a collective talent wise. Mames, Allen, Burrow, Lamar Herbert, where
do you stand on this topic? Should it be quarterbacks
who just had the best season or true top five talents?
(31:58):
I think once you establish yourself as the top dog,
like you stay there. Mahomes did not have a better
season than Josh Allen or Lamar Jackson. It is undeniable
that Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson were better players than
Patrick Mahomes this season. Undeniable. Yet Mahomes like he's entrenched
at the number one spot. Why He's been to five
(32:20):
Super Bowls in six years and he's made enormous plays
against both those guys in the biggest moments when it
all matters. It's like James Harden had better individual seasons.
You know, I guess one individual season than Steph Curry
and Lebron James. You would have to be high on fentanyl.
And Darryl Mory might have been because he was calling
him the greatest offensive player ever. It's like no human
(32:42):
being would bet on this guy to win a big game.
He's not a better player than this guy, even though
he had a better individual season. Now I was texting
with a buddy or talking to him on the phone,
like I think current today, Josh Allen is the best
player in the NFL. But he's never even been to
a super Bowl, let alone one one. But I think
today he's the best player in the NFL. And if
(33:05):
I could choose, like if all things were equal, right,
I don't have Andy Reid, I don't have Veach like
every team, all coaches and gms are equal. Would I
would take Josh Allen number one overall, but like, I'm
not gonna act like he's the I would have Mahomes
one right now too, because every single year he finds
(33:26):
a way to beat those guys. Uh, congrats on the wedding.
Look like y'all had a blast. I think I'm like
still hung over and it's three weeks later, maybe not
three two one, I don't even know times times like
going really fast but also not moving at all. So question,
(33:47):
what are your expectations you have for the Falcons? As
a Diard Falcons fan, it's just been nothing but griefs
and Super Bowl? Also, should we let Kyle Pitts go?
You know, it's funny and listen. I like the draft
as much as any human being. When media hype gets
to a certain level, and it did with Kyle Pitts,
is like this guy can't miss. This guy is gonna
be like Travis Kelce meets Tony Gonzalez meets Jerry Rice,
(34:09):
and then you watch him, You're like, is this guy
even good? Clearly he's not bad. He actually had a
couple of moments last year. But he's twenty four years old.
He's going in to his fifth season. God, he is
just not produced. His career year was his rookie year,
(34:30):
sixty eight catches a thousand yards. Last season he had
forty seven catches, six hundred yards and four touchdowns. He
has ten career touchdowns. Even if he was catching fifty
sixty balls, you would think Kyle Pitts would be like
a ten touchdown guy because he's tall, he's athletic. Kyle
Pitts is six'. Five Kyle pitts is almost six foot.
(34:52):
Six this guy is a. FREAK i mean he's six
foot five and five. Eighths this is at the combine
two hundred and forty five pounds his he ran a
four four. FORTY i guess that was from this pro.
Day BUT i don't, know, MAN i don't quite Get Kyle.
PITTS i listened to every. Episode i'm From. Germany if
(35:27):
THE nfl would restart, tomorrow who would be your top
five ten non quarterback players to start a franchise? With
mine would list like, this in no particular. Order, Garrett, Aiden,
HUTCHSON Tj, Watt Michael, Parsons Sewel, Worse, Jefferson Jamar. CHASE
i think you'd have to factor in. Age you, know it's,
(35:47):
crazy Like Jamar chase And Justin jefferson are. Incredible but
if you could, choose like if you had if you
had the number one overall, pick AND i gave you
three Players Justin, Jefferson Jamar chase Or Pine, Sewell it'd
be really hard for me to pass on the. Alignment
it really, would because would you rather Have Panee sewell
IN Aj brown or an average tackle In Justin. Jefferson it's, like,
(36:14):
well if your quarterback's getting peppered every, game and then, Listen,
Miles garrett is about to be thirty years. OLD i.
Couldn't TJ's thirty. One he's kind of getting to that.
Point you. Know crosby's a little. Older he WAS i
think a senior in, college so he's you, know played
a long time in college and been THE. Nfl, however
many years, now six seven YEARS Ad hutchson'd be a
pretty good. ONE A hutchinson might if he hadn't broken his,
(36:36):
leg he might be the number one. PICK i mean
when he broke his, leg he wasn't on pace for
like twenty. Sacks twenty four years. Old he had seven
and a half sacks through five. Games SO i think
it's safe to say you could make the argument if
all things are, healthy two of the top five picks
(36:58):
would Be Pine seol And Aiden. Hutchinson. Shocker The lions are.
Good look why they're. Good we talk so much about
their explosive offense or. COORDINATORS i, mean their two best
players are their past rushering their. Tackle we've heard some
interesting clauses in THE nfl contracts Before kyler's video. Games
we always hear certain players have to stay within certain.
Weights is there any limit to what these clauses can?
(37:21):
Be for, instance would THE nfl allow a team to
say PLAYER x has to be drug tested at six
am every every week for weed or, alcohol or that
a player can't go to certain places during the. Season,
well weed and alcohol are, legal so THE nfl no
longer tests for. Weed you, KNOW i guess you could have.
(37:42):
Back once you've got in the. Program what was the guy's,
Named Josh? Gordon you've got in the? Program they tested
you a lot. Forward but you, know weed's a legal
substance in THE, nfl WHICH i always thought was, funny
like you don't think the coaches are smogging every once
in a, while you don't. Think you don't think the
owners are, smoking and the players, can't you, know smoke a.
Joint but that that's Over AND i always defended like
(38:02):
the reason the only reason THE nfl cared because it
was for insurance, purposes because it was federally illegal or.
Illegal so they've changed. THAT i the outcol thing would
probably be more if you've got a duy and the
court ordered. It you, know the THE nfl doesn't want
to be in the business of doing this. STUFF i
think a lot of the clauses include things like you're
(38:25):
not allowed to play, basketball you're not allowed to go snow.
Skiing it's, like let's SAY i like to snow ski
And i'm a. QUARTERBACK i Think Matt stafford or someone
made a, comment Maybe Tom, brady like he couldn't ski
when he was. Playing don't blame, you like If i'm the, team,
LIKE i can't have you, skiing, no you, know, motorcycles jet,
(38:46):
skis things of that. Nature can you imagine if like
you're starting running back shatters his leg on a dirt,
bike and some of these guys obviously enjoy that. Stuff
SO i think it's a lot of you'd have to
talk to a contract, negotiator but there might even be
some like universal language about certain things and then specifically
(39:07):
WHEN i know that you like doing. SOMETHING i also
think they can tell. People Remember Miles garrett had that
clip of him playing basketball and he looked, LIKE i,
mean he looked Like Lebron. James it was. Incredible it's,
like could this guy be in THE nba right? Now
and The browns immediately called him and, like you can't
be playing. Basketball it's like you can pop an achilles
or tear an acl or break an. Ankle SO i
(39:29):
think it's more related to the body than it is
like you're not allowed to go To i'm a bad
guy to ask on. This i'm not a big quote
unquote club, guy but, like if you live In, miami
you can't go to these five. CLUBS i don't think
that's necessarily ever taking, place BUT i would imagine it's
(39:51):
a lot of like it's a lot of, skiing, skydiving
rock climbing, stuff like that that it is. SUBSTANCES i,
mean the part of the and The Kyler murray thing
went so viral is because no one had ever heard
of that. Before and it was also because a lot
of guys played video. Games WHEN i was his, AGE
i played a ton of video. Games, Now i've always
defended the video game. Crowd video games. Now WHEN i
(40:14):
was a, kid or even like in, college you could
only play somebody if they were sitting right next to.
You so IF i wanted to Play madden OR nba
TWO k Or Mario kart or Whatever call Of DUTY
i had to play, you you had to be in
the room with. Me, well NOW i can sit in
my house AND i can play you in. Whatever you
could be In, india you could be In, china you
(40:36):
could be In. Europe it doesn't. Matter and the graphics are.
Incredible THOUGH i always Thought FORTNITE i never quite. UNDERSTOOD
i thought it was. Not the graphics look, terrible but you,
Know call Of DUTY i does look kind of. Fun
IF i was twenty two and didn't have much going
on AND i could just go shoot up a bunch of.
PEOPLE i, MEAN i grew up in an era where
(40:58):
gonna date. Me but we played do and all you
could see was a gun and he just walked around
and the graphics were. Terrible when when what's it Called
Grand Theft auto came, out it felt like we had
like hit the. Jackpot and looking back at those graphics
twenty years ago compared to, now it's not even. CLOSE
i think that was more of, like, bro we just
need you to study. Film and that's the. Thing if
(41:20):
a guy doesn't like studying, film he's not gonna like studying.
Film if you, know it's usually not something that if
by your third or fourth year you don't enjoy at that,
position it's probably never gonna. Happen but kind of likes
Playing call Of. Duty the volume
The volume. What is happening everybody, How are we doing?
Hopefully everyone is having a great day wherever you are springtime,
(00:22):
it's officially spring where I'm at. It's supposed to be
ninety degrees in Scottsdale next week, but it actually has
been kind of cold. So if you are in a
cold area, hopefully that sun comes out sooner than later.
And if you're in a sunny area, hopefully you enjoy
the weekend. So we got the NCAA tournament in full swing.
As I'm recording this, I looked up at the gym
(00:42):
earlier and I had Louisville Creighton. Louisville's getting worked. So
hopefully you're having a good weekend, watching some hoops, hanging out,
enjoying the fans, enjoying some friends, maybe a few cocktails.
But here's the game plan today. We are going to
just do a heavy mail bag at John middlecoff is
the Instagram fire in those dms. Free agency has come
(01:03):
to a screeching halt. Majority of players that are interesting
or you know all, I have landed with the team.
We're not just gonna wait minute by minute for Aaron Rodgers.
I mean, I don't really give a shit. At this point,
I would say the draft, the meetings for teams is
right around the corner. So we probably have another week
(01:24):
of pro days. A lot of the big ones have
been checked off. I mean yesterday was Bama and Oregon.
So then the teams will get together with their scouting
staffs and you know, their coaching staffs and really try
to hammer home that draft board at the final couple
weeks or the first couple weeks of April as they
head into the draft. But today Middlecoff Mailbag at John
(01:45):
Middlecoff Instagram. Fire in those dms and get your questions
answered here on this little old podcast. But before we
dive in to our friends, our partners, and the best
ticketing app I've ever used, game Time, Here's what I
need you to do. Do you want to go do something?
Do you want to go have a good time. Maybe
(02:05):
go to a game, maybe go to a concert, go
to a comedy show, and enjoy yourself. That's where my
friends at game Time come in. Get out of the house.
You want to do something on a Thursday night, a
Friday night, a Saturday night, sometimes you just gotta you know,
let your hair down, go enjoy yourself. You can't be
stuck at home. And they have the best, most competitive prices.
They have the easiest app and I've used them all
(02:28):
to search by venue, to search by artists, to search
by team, you name it. They got you covered. So
take the guest work out of buying tickets with game Time.
Download the game Time App, create an account, use the
code John jog John for twenty dollars off your first
purchase terms apply again, create an account, redeem the code
John John. Download the game Time app today, last minute
(02:49):
ticket's lowest prices guaranteed. Okay, we'll start with Quinn, lifelong
Bengals fan. I saw that Cincinnati once again ranked toward
the bottom of the nflpa's annual report card, specifically dead
last in treatment of families as well as food and dining.
Do you think the NFL should require every team to
(03:11):
spend a certain percentage of their media check each year
four hundred plus million last year on improving these initiatives?
I feel like there would be an equitable way to
always almost forced owners to reinvest in their franchise rather
than pocketing the money themselves. I give the Bengals credit
for upgrading their locker room. I noticed that when Burrow
(03:35):
was given Chase in Higgins a hug. I'm like this,
this doesn't was a three Rivers or is at Pittsburgh
whatever their stadium was called, which they've now added a
naming rights to the locker room, looked like they were
at LSU or something. I'm like, this looks incredible. So,
but improving the treatment of player's family, putting daycare center
in the stadium, and improving I think this is a
(03:57):
tough one because it's not really the league's job to
make sure that like, your food tastes better than the
Ravens or the Steelers or as good, like they're not
feeding them shit. I do think it's difficult for some
of these owners that came up in a league that
(04:18):
did not have money, that they have struggled to make
the transition to like, guys, you can spend let's say,
two hundred and fifty thousand dollars on the upgrade of
your family dining and paying for you probably need multiple
quote unquote you know people in the daycare area that
might cost you. Let's just pick an even number for
(04:40):
totality of some of these improvements. Half a million dollars
for some of these people that number because they go
back to the seventies and the eighties that that was
a huge number, and it was that that's an irrelevant number.
Now you could find that money in your couch cushion
in the training room of the facility. And I think
(05:00):
it's hard for them to get behind. Now. Some people
go above and beyond, but that's always been the case.
Some companies go above and beyond in all of our industries.
Other companies don't care. I'm of the mindset, like, I
am paying you so much fucking money that like if
we're complaining that like the chickens a little dry, I
got a problem with that. Like if you're complaining that
(05:22):
the box at the stadium's not free, like, yeah, we
pay for that, now is it? Like every team in
the league has daycare available and you don't like, yeah,
that's kind of loser behavior. But like I do think
we get a little caught up. And let's face, some
of these guys are that they are coming in. College
is about recruiting. The NFL is not about recruiting. I
pay you for your services. College is kind of doing
(05:43):
that now with nil. But I think there's a fine line.
I think clearly, the Bengals, the Cardinals, some of these teams,
you know, the Patriots have been getting knocked relative. Because
the other thing is, how would these guys know what's
good and bad besides like coming from college, but you
know some of them have kids in college, but the
majority of them in college, they're living pretty well. If
(06:04):
you're in Texas, Bama, Georgia, all the top fifty programs,
even the random programs like Minnesota, right and you know UCLA, Like,
these guys have it pretty good. I think when they
start talking to their friends, like if I'm on the
Bengals or I'm on the Cardinals and my college teammate
is playing on the Rams or the Eagles and I
hear about what they're doing, I'm like, this sucks. So
(06:25):
I think it's a lot of that, But I don't
think the league is going to get involved unless it
was something just egregious. And again, like remember they used
to complain about the chairs in the locker room for
the Chiefs were too small. I'm sorry, Like, I can't
get worked up over that because clearly it's not limiting
your ability to win, Like the moment it limits your
ability to win. Then we got a problem. Are these
(06:48):
first class problems? I think a little bit, uh because
I listen. I'm not saying I agree with this, but
I think Mike Brown would be like, it's not It's
not my issue to figure out daycare for you on
game day, Like I'm paying you Joe Burrow fifty million dollars,
he doesn't have a kid, But Jamar Chase, whoever t Higgins, Like,
you can't get a babysitter, that's my problem. But you
(07:12):
know Jeffrey Lurie or Steve Buscatti's doing it. It's like, well,
maybe he should. But then again, like Eddie de Bartelow
used to do shit above and beyond everyone else in
the Ages. That's that's part of life. Some people do
things that other people are not willing to do. Longtime
Patriot fan, I'm not sure. I like the Garrett Bradbury signing.
I know Vrabel is a defensive minded coach, but I
(07:34):
feel as if the Patriots are going a little too
far on defense. What do you think we should do
with the fourth pick? I don't think mac Hollins helps us,
but I also think there's a hole to phill at
tackle well. I do think if there was a super
high end tackle in this draft, someone viewed as can't miss,
(07:56):
you know, and they don't happen as much as they
used to, like the Pinay Seoul types. Just a guy
that was going to go really high that everyone you
never truly know, but like more than likely this guy's
gonna be a pro bowler. I think they would one
percent Joe Alt. If Joe Al was in this draft,
the Patriots would take him a number four. That guy
doesn't exist. There are a lot of question marks with
(08:17):
all these offensive linemen, the Missouri guy, obviously, Texas guy,
the uh Well Campbell at LSU. I think there were
just a lot of question marks. And the guy with
the least amount of question marks, just because he's probably
many considered the second best player in this draft is
Travis Hunter. And I think when you find yourself in
(08:38):
a position where I would always take a lineman over
a Travis Hunter if all things are equal, but things
are not equal. It was why I supported the Lions
taking Jamiir Gibbs at twelve. It was an awful draft.
Like if they had passed on other sweet defensive linemen
who were viewed as like top seven picks, I'd be like, yeah, stupid,
(08:58):
they did not do that, So like to me, I
think you can easily justify Travis Hunter and go listen.
We clearly value the line of scrimmage, but like we'd
rather like the risk on all these guys is pretty high.
So why don't we take the number one recruit coming
out of high school three years ago, the guy that
went on to set like snap records in Division I
(09:19):
football and he won the Heisman Trophy. I don't think
who can play multiple positions, So I don't think it's
that crazy gotta Fugayzy Friday for you. It's actually a
two for one and it is free agency related. The
initial reporting of any deal is completely fake. The reporting
numbers are never as high as they report, and now
(09:40):
they're reporting who negotiated the deal, a detail that no
one cares about. Complete fugaysy. I do think people in
the media, like old school Jays, get very angry. It's
like Schefter just quoted their agent us as the consumer.
None of us actually care. We are not bob like
(10:01):
the big j's at that information. Just tell me who
signs where now. I do think we have all come
to grips with these numbers are fake. But when you're
given hey, they just signed this guy for three years
sixty million dollars, you're like, oh, Jonathan Allen twenty million
dollars a year, and then you find out like, oh,
he got guaranteed seventeen million dollars, so it's actually a
one year contract, right, And that is by far the
(10:24):
biggest different difference in football than the other two sports.
Like if you sign Juan Soto to ten years, six
hundred million dollars, like he's getting six hundred million dollars
unless he chooses to opt out. So I just think
we've kind of come to grips with it. It's like
Sam Darnold one hundred million dollars fifty five guaranteed. Well,
it's actually a one year, thirty seven million dollar contract.
(10:46):
So it's like, yeah, I think we're just we don't
really care. I think a lot of people, you know,
Jordan Schultz is constantly going back like, we don't care
who breaks the news. We really don't. Adam Is I'm
a huge Adam Schefter guy, but like, whether Schefter breaks
it or whether Tom Pallis are it doesn't matter to
(11:08):
us the consumer. Just give me the information. I also
think I like my newsbreakers to not just rely on agents.
So if you're only relying on agents, I don't take
you that seriously. I need my newsbreakers to be talking
to head coaches in the gms because ultimately they're the
guys making the decision. And one, I know, if Schefter
(11:29):
knows every coach in GM, I would say rap sheet
at this point in time does two I'll tell you
who knows a ton of coaches and scouts as Diana Russini,
I mean she is fucking dialed in with people. And
that's if you're not talking to them. The agents, they
they don't control anything. And here's the other thing is
like the teams, when the numbers come out, they're not
(11:50):
going to push back against it because they want everyone
to be happy, right. They don't give a shit whether
you think it's one hundred million or if it's actually
five million, Like they just want the agent and the
players to be happy. But I agree that the numbers
are completely fake. I mean completely fake. The only thing
that's not fake in a transaction is a trade, right
(12:12):
Like DK Metcalf, I have no I still haven't seen,
like how much money did the Steelers actually give them
clearly a lot. But like, the only thing I know
is what they traded for him second round pick, Like
that's no one can debate that. And I don't know
the number. But whatever number pick that is, let's say,
I'll just guess fifty eight, we'll probably be a little
(12:33):
higher than that sixty whatever it is, like, that is
the pick for DK metcalf. I'm twenty three year old
Browns fan. Thus I've only known losing. Oh, you know,
you made the playoffs two years ago. You made the
playoffs in twenty twenty. You made the playoffs a couple times.
I was adam at the Brown should trade Miles Garrett,
maximize your return to first round picks and rebuild with
(12:56):
us in a vision with Burrow and Lamar, What should
the Brown do with number two? Hunter seems like a
generational prospect, but quarterback is unclear. Cousins, Rogers or Wilson
will not win this division. Would you roll with the
dice with Shador in past prospects like Carter and Hunter?
I agree with Colin, it is a quarterback league, and
if you don't have a guy, you're not winning. Well,
(13:21):
I think if I'm gonna take Shador the GM and
the coach have to like him. So if Stefanski in
his offense thinks that Chador can function at a high level,
then take him. You know, I was talking to people like, Oh,
the crazy thing about Shador Sanders is his comp I mean,
(13:41):
what's weird about the player is his dad is like
one of the greatest athletes in the history of the world.
I mean pound for pound, I mean on the short
list of like Bo Jackson, Jim Brown, Michael Jordan, Dion Sanders,
Like it is not a long list before you say
Deon Sanders name, and his son is just not a
great athlete. His Shadoor Sanders is much closer to a
(14:05):
Jimmy Garoppolo or Derek Carror and Andy Dalton level player.
And there's nothing wrong with that. I mean those guys.
Andy Dalton was going to the playoffs every year. Derek
Carr took the Raiders to the playoffs. Jimmy Garoppolo was
a starting quarterback on a Super Bowl team. So it's like,
can Shadour play like those guys? If you put him
on a good team, he can be solid. And if
the answer is yes, then you got to pull the trigger.
(14:26):
Right Like if I told you right now that they
could get Andy Dalton, Derek Carr, Jimmy Garoppolo. You know
that that was going to be him in his prime
for several years. I think the Browns would do it.
People would be like, middle, go if you're a hater
better than Jimmy. Like no, ten years ago, Shadu were
Sanders a second round pick. There's nothing wrong with that.
(14:48):
He used to be very normal for guys to go
in the second round. And then we got out of
whack and just guys got to get over drafted and shit,
Mac Jones went fifteen. Mac Jones should have gone like
the fourth round. John Avid Listener. The frustration for me
is when the NFL fans this time of year continue
(15:08):
to comment that their team should go out and pick
up a player or a player, not remembering that it
takes two teams to make a deal. I'm a diehard
Jets fan, so I understand the frustration of losing, but
I was wondering how you feel when you hear people
thinking that because trades make sense for their team, that
the team is not doing anything to improve. I think
(15:30):
one thing that's really out of whack this time of year,
especially when we get to the draftic why didn't they
trade back?
Speaker 2 (15:40):
So?
Speaker 1 (15:40):
Why would have loved to? I would have loved to
move back seven spots and accumulate two more second round picks.
Guess what? No one picked up the phone. No one
called me, so I yeah, I want to go on
a date. Well, you gotta find someone to go on
a date with you, or else you're just gonna be
sitting at the bar eating dinner alone. Takes two to
(16:01):
tango baby. I think it would be a bad move
about Aaron Rodgers. Let's be real, Minnesota is a very,
very liberal city, and I have a hard time seeing
them be okay with a free thinker like Aaron. My
question is how long until politics has a foothold on
all things sports, not just the NFL. I would say
(16:23):
that if you spend a lot of time online, you
think it's everything. If you just close your phone and
go out and live life, people are just pretty normal
and everyone is just living life, I also think you'd
be pretty I would imagine. I remember asking teams around
the election what they thought like the split was in
(16:44):
their locker room. I couldn't find a team that wasn't
like seventy five to eighty percent Trump. The NFL players, coaches,
executives leans heavy to one way. It's a Republican league,
and based on the demos of fans, it also leans
that way. Well, hell, just based on the demost currently
of younger people. They all are currently leaning right. So
(17:06):
I think you'd be naive to think that the large
percentage of people on the Minnesota vikings right now aren't
opposite of what the city. The city doesn't care if
Aaron Rodgers is good, it wouldn't matter. Now, I think
it's more of a risk because he's forty one years
old and he hasn't played well. I don't think Aaron
Rodgers is kind of, you know, in this weird spot
(17:26):
of like he is being talked about like I think
five six years ago, he's kind of like the Rogan
of athletes. He would have been considered like a hippie
liberal like I think, like earlier on in his career,
and now he's considered some right wing lunatic. I mean,
it's just but again, that's the Internet, you know, if
you just turn off. Now he does some other shit
(17:47):
that I mean, clearly there's some football locker room stuff
that rubs some people the wrong way. But I don't think.
I think society's kind of just moved on. People are
just living life. And I think if you turn off
the phone and just go out, like society's pretty normal
right now, just like it mostly always is. I think
(18:07):
it's easy to get consumed when you're just online a
lot and think the world is a lot different than
it actually is. So I would lean that most of
these players, which I find funny because the sports media
leans heavily left, yet the people they cover clearly or not.
(18:28):
But yeah, ultimately doesn't matter, like who cares, it doesn't matter.
That'd be my overall take. Who gives a flying fuck?
If you were a GM, what position would you consistently
look to draft high and what position would you wait on?
For example, wide receivers have a pretty high bust rate
(18:48):
in the first round, so many teams pass and strike
it rich later in the draft. I think running back
for sure. I think pretty consistently running back guards and centers.
I think you can find really good guards and centers
all throughout the draft. Safety. I mean, it's not like
safety doesn't tend to get drafted high and for whatever reason,
(19:12):
like you just don't need to take linebackers that high. Now, granted,
there aren't many worthy of being high, but you find
a lot of starting linebackers in the third, fourth, fifth round.
I think these wide receivers get drafted consistently so high,
and then we see guys in the third round become
really good players. I think it's a lot of the
skill guys. I mean, I would have a strong inclination
(19:33):
to draft lineman, lineman, lineman high the end of the day. Though,
whoever you pick high, if that guy becomes a great player,
it doesn't really matter. So like if I draft a
wide receiver in the top ten and he becomes Jamar Chase,
(19:54):
no one says, well, you should have drafted Pane Sewel,
even though the Bengals offensive line is not good. But
if Jamar Chase had just been okay, it would be
a major problem. But it's like, is Jamar Chase going
to the Hall of Fame with Penaesol? That's a big
a deal. What is the conversation on physical growth when
(20:15):
the draft comes around? Talking about jenty on your last mailbag,
he's five to eight. But a lot of these guys
are coming in to the NFL two or three years
before they biologically stop growing at twenty five? Is there
talks about people having a chance to get stronger, bigger,
and become taller. When you prospect out a player, I
(20:39):
think there's a major gap between a guy has growth potential,
you know, meaning let's say I find a dB Travis
Hunter I think is a guy you know what is
Travis Hunter? Way one hundred eighty pounds one hundred and
eighty five pounds. Well, do you believe that Travis Hunter
can be add ten pounds? No problem, I would imagine
most people do. Travis Hunter did he go to the combine?
(21:02):
I know he did, where his miserables earned sixty five
pounds in high school. He was one hundred and eighty
eight pounds at the combine. So if you think Travis
Hunter can still maintain the speed in athleticism and be
one hundred and ninety eight pounds at another ten pounds,
there's growth potential of finding an offensive lineman who might
(21:24):
be a little slim but weighs two hundred ninety five
pounds that you think can become three hundred and ten pounds. Right,
But I don't think we talk in the NFL about
guys getting taller like if you think Ashton Genty, how
often do guys grow at twenty five years old? I
(21:47):
that does not get factored in size wise. Can he
add muscle if he needs it? And he doesn't feel
like he does. But I don't think people think that
Ashton Genty is gonna get taller. At the combine he
was five eight and a half and two hundred and
ten pounds, So like girth is not an issue, it's
just height, and it's just more height. Like do small
(22:08):
players become superstars? Because if you're gonna draft this guy
in the top ten, you better hope he's a superstar.
Big fan of the show, My dad, my brother and
I just did a podcast where we use a sixty
four movie bracket to decide the greatest sports movies of
all time. What is your favorite sports movie of all time?
And what qualities do you think makes a good sport movie?
(22:33):
I think the easy answer would be Rudy as just
an undersized pulling guard at Davis High School. It always
resonated with me, Rudy Rudiger. I always had a soft
spot for Blue Chips with Nick Nolty, Shaquille O'Neal, and
Penny Hardaway. I fucking love that movie. Uh you know,
(22:54):
remember the Titans. You're not gonna have many people push
back on that. Mighty Ducks when I was a kid
is a pretty big deal. Little Giants as well. You know,
is Happy Gilmour a sports movie. I'd say that would
be pretty high on the list. Sucker for water Boy
like that. So but I mean, if you had to
say what's your favorite sports movie of all time, I
(23:15):
think it would be between Rudy and Blue Chips. Now,
Blue Chips to me, was a legitimate movie. Rudy's your
classic story that they basically made up a lot of
elements to it. You know. I Joe Montana, I don't
think is a big fan of Rudy Rudiger who he
was a quarterback on those teams. I think he thinks
(23:37):
that the movie was kind of BS, But who cares.
That's part of Hollywood. When it comes to college basketball
in March Mania, one thing is for sure. Nothing's for sure. Upsets,
buzzer beaters, Cinderella's top seeds going home early, It's all
(24:00):
gonna happen. Bet the unexpected, every upset, every day with
DraftKings Sportsbook with live betting, exclusive.
Speaker 2 (24:08):
Content, promos, and parlays. Draftking is the ultimate college basketball
destination from March. Ready to make your first bet, check
out matchups and pick a team to win. It's that
simple first time. Here's something special just for you. New
DraftKings customers. Bet five to get two hundred in bonus bets.
(24:28):
Instantly bet the unexpected with Draftking Sportsbook. Download the Draftking
Sportsbook app. Use the code John that's Joagen, that's code
Jawn for new customers to get two hundred and bonus
bets when you bet just five bucks only on DraftKings.
Speaker 1 (24:43):
The Crown is yours.
Speaker 3 (24:45):
Gambling problem called one eight hundred gambler in New York
called eight seven to seven eight hope and Why, or
text hope and Why four six seven, three six nine.
In Connecticut, help is available for a problem gambling called
eight eight eight seven eight nine seven seven seven seven
or visit CCPG dot org. Please play risk responsibly on
behalf of Boothill Casino when resorting Kansas twenty one on
over agent eligibility varies by jurisdiction Voyd and Ontario Bonas
(25:06):
Betskspire one hundred and sixty eight hours zephter Richuins four
additional terms and responsible gaming resources see dkang dot co
slash audio.
Speaker 1 (25:21):
Question for the mailback was having a debate with some
friends about whether quarterbacks nowadays need to be dual threat
guys in order to win a Super Bowl. In the past,
pocket guys like Tom Breese, Peyton Elive, big Ben big
Ben could move when he was younger won super Bowls.
But now at the top, guys like Mahomes, Allen Lamar,
Herbert Hurts, and Jayden being threat to run at least
seems like the times have changed. Burrow, of course, being
(25:42):
an outlier. Do you think we'll see a pocket quarterback
win a Super Bowl in the near future or do
you think these teams need a quarterback who at least
is a threat to run in order to win it all?
You know, I think Peyton Manning or Tom Brady or
Drew Brees and their prime would be fine. None of
those players exist in college. Like, look at what's cam Ward.
(26:05):
He's an athlete. Shadoor is known as not a good
athlete because he's compared to his dad. But Shadoor can move,
Jackson Dark can move, Will Howard, Riley Lanyard like, so
it's just all these guys coming into those guys don't exist.
When's the last time we saw like a Jared Goff,
I mean Jared Goff. I mean, they just don't come
into the NFL like that anymore. So I don't know
(26:27):
what's happened. Maybe they're playing baseball or golf. But if
you can't move, maybe just don't get to start in
high school anymore. They just don't exist. I mean the
quarterbacks I grew up on, besides Steve Young, were all
pretty like pocket quarterbacks. And I would say definitely, like
when I got into like high school, you know, in
the early two thousands, the influx of Manning Brady, Carson Palmer,
(26:50):
you know, Matt Stafford had some athleticism. I would say
Aaron Rodgers was kind of a hybrid far of younger
Farv could move, but again that they were not looking
to run. They were throwers, so maybe they were like Mahomes.
I mean, I would consider Josh Allen a dual threat.
Lamar clearly a question for the bag, kind of a
(27:12):
niche question. But do you think of a team maybe
Denver drafting Montana States quarterback Tommy Milow in the sixth
or seventh round, using him in a Taysom Hill played
in two national championships and it has proven to be
an elite athlete. I'll be honest, haven't broken down much
film in Montana State, but I actually remember watching some
(27:34):
of the playoffs and getting a text from a scouting
buddy that liked the guy. So I know nothing about him,
but the highest level guys at D one double A,
you know, the Montana Montana State, North Dakota State, South
Dakota State, those guys are being scouted heavily. So I'll
take your word for it. Next Taysom Hill, Montana State.
(27:57):
What determines the hierarchy between guys and NFL locker rooms?
Is it salary age, staff's production or something else? Uh? Well,
it's not like I think a lot of locker rooms
people are just kind of hanging, you know. It's there's
not like some This isn't rome, you know. I mean, clearly,
(28:19):
when you get guys like Brady Manning Mahomes at this level,
it's pretty clear who your best players are. But I
think that's what makes football pretty special in my experience,
Like most guys are just obviously there are some people
that are just angry and edgy, and you just kind
of leave them alone. Most kids are pretty just kind
(28:40):
of enjoying life. I don't know when you say hierarchy,
all lockers are kind of the same. You know, Trent
Williams actually had multiple lockers. But for the most part,
it's not like, you know, if you work at Morgan Stanley,
or you know a banking firm and you're on a
certain floor of a high rise in Chicago, or there
(29:00):
are only so many corner offices right where you work
at Apple, you might have a cubicle in the middle.
Like some lockers are a little better than others, like
logistically in the locker room, but like your locker is
still the size of my locker. If I want to
use a toilet and you want to use a toilet,
we're both using the same toilets. We all shower from
the same shower heads, so we both all deal with
(29:23):
the same equipment. Guy, I think it's it's more of
like a respect. You know, some people are just less
likely to kind of pop off to certain individuals. But
I also think that the locker room is like, in
a weird way, a great equalizer, right. I mean, there
are some people in these locker rooms now making worth
(29:43):
hundreds of millions of dollars, hundreds of millions of dollars, right,
and then there are guys in the locker room making
ten grand a week that can be cut at any moment,
and they could just be eating a sandwich at the
same table together and have a long conversation because they
both play aid in the sec hell. They might have
both played at Alabama or Iowa or wherever and be
(30:07):
having a conversation about like their girlfriends. I mean, we're
just dudes. I mean I think I think the hierarchy
thing of now there's a way to act and to me,
the people that kind of you know, you've heard the
Patriot guys talk about this over the years of like,
there're certain people it's hard to be, you know, mister disciplinarian.
If you are the last guy in the roster, you
(30:31):
can't be telling everyone how to act if you're not
a hard worker. So it's like I would say the
quote unquote leaders have to be your better players. But
I think well run teams don't have a lot of
slapticks on their team, don't have a lot of guys
doing stupid shit. Now again, we're guys, we will do
dumb things, But I think there's in a weird way,
(30:52):
a lot of like equality in a locker room, regardless
of who's rich and who's not. Just because people are
just friends with each other doesn't mean listen, you work
out a place, you might hate some people on your team.
But I don't think it's I don't think it's quite
like you might envision, at least in my experience. And
(31:14):
I've said over and over it gets a huge headline
when a guy gets in trouble, when a guy gets arrested.
The overwhelming majority of dudes in the league are pretty
high level cats, and I think a large percentage of
them are just really impressive good guys. It's become my
favorite over the last couple of years. My question is
in regards to the top five quarterback debate, I feel
(31:36):
like a lot of the discussion about how this and
while recency bias obviously has a huge impact in most discussions,
I feel it should be the five best quarterbacks as
a collective talent wise. Mames, Allen, Burrow, Lamar Herbert, where
do you stand on this topic? Should it be quarterbacks
who just had the best season or true top five talents?
(31:58):
I think once you establish yourself as the top dog,
like you stay there. Mahomes did not have a better
season than Josh Allen or Lamar Jackson. It is undeniable
that Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson were better players than
Patrick Mahomes this season. Undeniable. Yet Mahomes like he's entrenched
at the number one spot. Why He's been to five
(32:20):
Super Bowls in six years and he's made enormous plays
against both those guys in the biggest moments when it
all matters. It's like James Harden had better individual seasons.
You know, I guess one individual season than Steph Curry
and Lebron James. You would have to be high on fentanyl.
And Darryl Mory might have been because he was calling
him the greatest offensive player ever. It's like no human
(32:42):
being would bet on this guy to win a big game.
He's not a better player than this guy, even though
he had a better individual season. Now I was texting
with a buddy or talking to him on the phone,
like I think current today, Josh Allen is the best
player in the NFL. But he's never even been to
a super Bowl, let alone one one. But I think
today he's the best player in the NFL. And if
(33:05):
I could choose, like if all things were equal, right,
I don't have Andy Reid, I don't have Veach like
every team, all coaches and gms are equal. Would I
would take Josh Allen number one overall, but like, I'm
not gonna act like he's the I would have Mahomes
one right now too, because every single year he finds
(33:26):
a way to beat those guys. Uh, congrats on the wedding.
Look like y'all had a blast. I think I'm like
still hung over and it's three weeks later, maybe not
three two one, I don't even know times times like
going really fast but also not moving at all. So question,
(33:47):
what are your expectations you have for the Falcons? As
a Diard Falcons fan, it's just been nothing but griefs
and Super Bowl? Also, should we let Kyle Pitts go?
You know, it's funny and listen. I like the draft
as much as any human being. When media hype gets
to a certain level, and it did with Kyle Pitts,
is like this guy can't miss. This guy is gonna
be like Travis Kelce meets Tony Gonzalez meets Jerry Rice,
(34:09):
and then you watch him, You're like, is this guy
even good? Clearly he's not bad. He actually had a
couple of moments last year. But he's twenty four years old.
He's going in to his fifth season. God, he is
just not produced. His career year was his rookie year,
(34:30):
sixty eight catches a thousand yards. Last season he had
forty seven catches, six hundred yards and four touchdowns. He
has ten career touchdowns. Even if he was catching fifty
sixty balls, you would think Kyle Pitts would be like
a ten touchdown guy because he's tall, he's athletic. Kyle
Pitts is six'. Five Kyle pitts is almost six foot.
(34:52):
Six this guy is a. FREAK i mean he's six
foot five and five. Eighths this is at the combine
two hundred and forty five pounds his he ran a
four four. FORTY i guess that was from this pro.
Day BUT i don't, know, MAN i don't quite Get Kyle.
PITTS i listened to every. Episode i'm From. Germany if
(35:27):
THE nfl would restart, tomorrow who would be your top
five ten non quarterback players to start a franchise? With
mine would list like, this in no particular. Order, Garrett, Aiden,
HUTCHSON Tj, Watt Michael, Parsons Sewel, Worse, Jefferson Jamar. CHASE
i think you'd have to factor in. Age you, know it's,
(35:47):
crazy Like Jamar chase And Justin jefferson are. Incredible but
if you could, choose like if you had if you
had the number one overall, pick AND i gave you
three Players Justin, Jefferson Jamar chase Or Pine, Sewell it'd
be really hard for me to pass on the. Alignment
it really, would because would you rather Have Panee sewell
IN Aj brown or an average tackle In Justin. Jefferson it's, like,
(36:14):
well if your quarterback's getting peppered every, game and then, Listen,
Miles garrett is about to be thirty years. OLD i.
Couldn't TJ's thirty. One he's kind of getting to that.
Point you. Know crosby's a little. Older he WAS i
think a senior in, college so he's you, know played
a long time in college and been THE. Nfl, however
many years, now six seven YEARS Ad hutchson'd be a
pretty good. ONE A hutchinson might if he hadn't broken his,
(36:36):
leg he might be the number one. PICK i mean
when he broke his, leg he wasn't on pace for
like twenty. Sacks twenty four years. Old he had seven
and a half sacks through five. Games SO i think
it's safe to say you could make the argument if
all things are, healthy two of the top five picks
(36:58):
would Be Pine seol And Aiden. Hutchinson. Shocker The lions are.
Good look why they're. Good we talk so much about
their explosive offense or. COORDINATORS i, mean their two best
players are their past rushering their. Tackle we've heard some
interesting clauses in THE nfl contracts Before kyler's video. Games
we always hear certain players have to stay within certain.
Weights is there any limit to what these clauses can?
(37:21):
Be for, instance would THE nfl allow a team to
say PLAYER x has to be drug tested at six
am every every week for weed or, alcohol or that
a player can't go to certain places during the. Season,
well weed and alcohol are, legal so THE nfl no
longer tests for. Weed you, KNOW i guess you could have.
(37:42):
Back once you've got in the. Program what was the guy's,
Named Josh? Gordon you've got in the? Program they tested
you a lot. Forward but you, know weed's a legal
substance in THE, nfl WHICH i always thought was, funny
like you don't think the coaches are smogging every once
in a, while you don't. Think you don't think the
owners are, smoking and the players, can't you, know smoke a.
Joint but that that's Over AND i always defended like
(38:02):
the reason the only reason THE nfl cared because it
was for insurance, purposes because it was federally illegal or.
Illegal so they've changed. THAT i the outcol thing would
probably be more if you've got a duy and the
court ordered. It you, know the THE nfl doesn't want
to be in the business of doing this. STUFF i
think a lot of the clauses include things like you're
(38:25):
not allowed to play, basketball you're not allowed to go snow.
Skiing it's, like let's SAY i like to snow ski
And i'm a. QUARTERBACK i Think Matt stafford or someone
made a, comment Maybe Tom, brady like he couldn't ski
when he was. Playing don't blame, you like If i'm the, team,
LIKE i can't have you, skiing, no you, know, motorcycles jet,
(38:46):
skis things of that. Nature can you imagine if like
you're starting running back shatters his leg on a dirt,
bike and some of these guys obviously enjoy that. Stuff
SO i think it's a lot of you'd have to
talk to a contract, negotiator but there might even be
some like universal language about certain things and then specifically
(39:07):
WHEN i know that you like doing. SOMETHING i also
think they can tell. People Remember Miles garrett had that
clip of him playing basketball and he looked, LIKE i,
mean he looked Like Lebron. James it was. Incredible it's,
like could this guy be in THE nba right? Now
and The browns immediately called him and, like you can't
be playing. Basketball it's like you can pop an achilles
or tear an acl or break an. Ankle SO i
(39:29):
think it's more related to the body than it is
like you're not allowed to go To i'm a bad
guy to ask on. This i'm not a big quote
unquote club, guy but, like if you live In, miami
you can't go to these five. CLUBS i don't think
that's necessarily ever taking, place BUT i would imagine it's
(39:51):
a lot of like it's a lot of, skiing, skydiving
rock climbing, stuff like that that it is. SUBSTANCES i,
mean the part of the and The Kyler murray thing
went so viral is because no one had ever heard
of that. Before and it was also because a lot
of guys played video. Games WHEN i was his, AGE
i played a ton of video. Games, Now i've always
defended the video game. Crowd video games. Now WHEN i
(40:14):
was a, kid or even like in, college you could
only play somebody if they were sitting right next to.
You so IF i wanted to Play madden OR nba
TWO k Or Mario kart or Whatever call Of DUTY
i had to play, you you had to be in
the room with. Me, well NOW i can sit in
my house AND i can play you in. Whatever you
could be In, india you could be In, china you
(40:36):
could be In. Europe it doesn't. Matter and the graphics are.
Incredible THOUGH i always Thought FORTNITE i never quite. UNDERSTOOD
i thought it was. Not the graphics look, terrible but you,
Know call Of DUTY i does look kind of. Fun
IF i was twenty two and didn't have much going
on AND i could just go shoot up a bunch of.
PEOPLE i, MEAN i grew up in an era where
(40:58):
gonna date. Me but we played do and all you
could see was a gun and he just walked around
and the graphics were. Terrible when when what's it Called
Grand Theft auto came, out it felt like we had
like hit the. Jackpot and looking back at those graphics
twenty years ago compared to, now it's not even. CLOSE
i think that was more of, like, bro we just
need you to study. Film and that's the. Thing if
(41:20):
a guy doesn't like studying, film he's not gonna like studying.
Film if you, know it's usually not something that if
by your third or fourth year you don't enjoy at that,
position it's probably never gonna. Happen but kind of likes
Playing call Of. Duty the volume
Hosts And Creators
Colin Cowherd
Jason McIntyre
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
24/7 News: The Latest
The latest news in 4 minutes updated every hour, every day.