November 1, 2021 • 25 mins
John reacts to the Cowboys impressive win with backup Cooper Rush stepping in for Dak Prescott out, why the Saints proved again they're one of the best run franchises in the NFL, why Sean Payton proved again why he's still somehow underrated, and why he's optimistic about Justin Fields in Chicago despite a disappointing loss to the Niners, and what USC potential 1st rounder Drake London's ankle injury could do to his draft stock.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
The volume one is going on. Everybody just watched a
pretty incredible Sunday night game, despite it being a relatively
(00:24):
low scoring game in today's NFL, and despite the referees,
And I'm not gonna be too negative. I refuse to
be negative on a great Sunday Halloween Trick or treaters
everywhere snickers, Rhesus baby Russ getting slammed right now. But God,
I've had this feeling for a long time. There are
(00:48):
two professions where in competence doesn't just thrive, it is
consistent time and time again. Yet like me and you,
if we were incompetent as referees and politicians, our businesses
would either go under or we would be fired from
our job. Yet in those two professions, incompetence is celebrated
(01:11):
and it never ends. But I'm not gonna spend too
much time on the referees and the flags really all
day long. It's just it is atrocious. I've said it,
but we'll get into Cooper Rush, the Cowboys, cousins, Sean Peyton.
You know, listen, he's one of the best coaches in
(01:32):
the league. For a reason. To beat the Bucks with
jamis looks like tearing his acl. I saw Jane Slater
report that incredible. I have some I have some positive
news for Bears fans. I know you're going through a rough,
long year, feels like everyone's gonna get fired, the teams
and shambles. But locked in on that game to day
(01:53):
with the forty nine ers and the Bears, I saw
something to be excited for. And then something that you
know was probably the worst part of Saturday. Drake London,
the star wide receiver, was injured at USC and he's
a high potential draft pick. So hit on that really quick.
But I thought about this. I went to a game.
I went to cal Oregon State. I got up on Saturday.
(02:16):
I watched football Michigan Michigan State. I then went to
a football game. I then left that football game and
went to a bar and watched more football. I arose
on Sunday morning, had breakfast, had coffee, and watched football
all day long until I walked in the office and
press record. And let's just start with a serious note.
(02:41):
Sports are fun, and a huge part of sports is
the ultimate reality show. Especially the NFL is the number
one reality show in America. You get some heartwarming stories, right,
and I think Cooper Rush. The visual of his parents
and his mom and his dad putting his hands over
(03:02):
his head saying, you know you could read his lips,
don't screw it up. Be smart, his wife right next
to them. In his first career start, an undrafted free
agent who fills in for Dak Prescott last second, throws
for over three hundred yards. There's a game winning touchdown
to Amari. That's really cool. You know, I think most
(03:22):
of us can relate. Whether it was you grew up
with your parents, your grandparents, your ant and uncles. Someone
for you to make it in life has to support you,
and those people I know for me those were my
mom and dad. I would not have been able to
be doing what I'm doing right now without my mom
and dad. I don't care what you do. You have
a support system, and deep down there are several people
(03:46):
that you just care more about and have more meaning,
mainly because they have been there for longer. And that
visual of his parents, like is still cool. I don't
care how many millions of dollars in television ratings and
all that bullshit goes out the window. That is still
pretty pure. And I know, for me, having lost my
father a couple of years ago like that. That's awesome.
(04:09):
What a night for Cooper Rush to get to be
shared with his family, to do that for the Dallas
Cowboys on the road in a very just difficult environment.
And let's face it, the Cowboys are good. Even if
they didn't win that game. What an impressive performance. And
I get the Cowboys a lot of credit. I have
nothing but respect for big picture, long term thinkers because
(04:31):
I think it's so it's human nature to think short term, right,
But the smartest, most successful people always think long term.
Why do you invest? Why do you why do you
eat right? Why do you work out? You don't do
it just for the next day. You do it long term,
You do it for your older age, you do it.
You think big picture. That's what successful people think. Like
(04:54):
But we're all, you know, tested at different points in
time in our lives, like the take the shortcut, do
what feels right at the moment, right, And the Cowboys
didn't do that. They didn't push the envelope. Now they
had margin for ever being six and one going into
this game. So they lose a road game Sunday Night
(05:14):
football without their starting quarterback. It wouldn't have been that weird.
But the character of this team is, let's face a
non offense. They have stars everywhere. Amari Cooper stud He's
been worth every penny of that five year, one hundred
million dollar contract. Seedee Lamb walk off home run, draft
pick Zeke Elliott still can make plays. Jarwin good player.
(05:38):
Gallops nowhere to be found because he's injured, and Wilson
had a sweet touchdown today. He makes plays every game.
He also had a sweet pass to Seedee Lamb. Offensively,
they are as talented as any team, and now we
find out their backups not bad. Holy shit, the Cowboys
are I thought they were good. They're better than I thought.
And defensively, Randygory now that weeds legal, Thank god, it
(06:02):
should have been legal a long time ago. Kicking ass
and taking names. Michael Parsons absolute badass. I mean, how
good is that guy? You don't need to be a
former NFL scout to see his physicality, his play speed,
his explosion. They did that breakdown. He can line up everywhere.
He can play defensive end. He can play outside linebacker,
he can play middle linebacker. He can you know, cover
(06:23):
the flat, he can make open field tackles. He can
bend the edge. Holy shit, is that guy a dominant player.
Hopefully treyvon Dix is okay. It looks like he hit
his foot pretty hard. I think it was Dalvin Cook's
knee on that tackle right at the end of the game.
Hopefully he didn't break his foot or anything, and it's
just you know, a lot of pain. He'll be okay.
But the Cowboys are stacked. And to find out that
(06:45):
you have a competent backup quarterback, I mean, the best
player on their team was on the sideline at night.
Think about that, the best player on the Cowboys did
not play. And then I think on the flip side,
is like Cousins makes a ton of money. And I've
said for a while that I've come around on Cousins
a lot because I think he's better than ever I
thought that he would have been. He's been a very
very good quarterback the last several years. But he has
(07:08):
a huge downfall, and it's that he's a marginal athlete
at best, and unlike Brady and Manning and some of
these other guys that were terrible athletes again for the
NFL level, when it breaks down, he clearly just doesn't
have the ability to do anything. He's short circuits and forever.
Like when he was at Washington in his first couple
of years in Minnesota, he had this primetime thing. Couldn't
(07:30):
win on primetime Like Cousins crushes it on these ten
am games. He crushes on these morning games where there's
seven other games going at the same time. But when
we're all watching them and Sunday night football is the
number one show in America, It's like, what's going on?
And you'll be like, oh, if you're a Biking, the
offensive line sucks. Yeah, most offensive line suck. Why when
everything breaks down does he just look terrible? He looks
(07:54):
God awful? Is it because he presses? Is because ultimately
physically he doesn't actually possess that much talent. I don't know,
I can't quite put my finger on it, but tonight's
like tonight when I watch it, go, yeah, it's I
think the Niners avoided a, you know, a big time.
You know, they got lucky that he ended up not
on their team. And ultimately, this is where Vikings fans go, Yeah,
(08:15):
you know, he's okay, but you know we'd want better
because that's what he is. When it's truly nutcutting time
in the biggest game, in the biggest environment, when every
single eyeball in the country is watching you, you just go, yeah,
you got thoroughly outplayed by Cooper Rush. He just looks
every bit is better than you. I mean, it's just
a fact. It's not like he doesn't have wide receiver
stealing Jefferson, Dalvin Cook. I mean, holy Moley, But just
(08:39):
just something to be desired, you know with that player
when you factor in the money, I mean he makes
thirty five million dollars a year. If he made ten
million dollars a year, I would not have the same complaint.
But his ten year with the Vikings, he'll have made
signed for ninety signed another sixty million dollars. You're talking
one hundred fifty million dollars player, and it's just leaves
something to be desired. I think the most impressive performance
(09:02):
of the day goes to Sean Payton. What Sean Payton,
Mickey loomis that for ant office and coaching staff has
done and built with that franchise. I tip my hat
because that is a well rounded team. It's one thing forever.
It's like, oh, they and Drew Brees, they can just
put up all these yards. They're just consistent playoff team.
(09:23):
They went through that stretch I think in like the
mid two thousands, mid two thousand and tens when their
defense was really bad, but early on in the two
thousand and tens, and really what they've been in the
last four or five years just a juggernaut team. Now
they don't win Super Bowls. Hello, sometimes they don't even
win a playoff game. But that is a well run franchise.
But ultimately that coach is why when I talk to
(09:43):
my friends in the NFL, he's held to such high regard.
It's why when Mike Tomlin went off to the media
would ask about the USC job, and he says, why
don't you go ask Andy Reid and Sean Payton Because
Mike Tomlin views obviously Belichick, but have views the next
class of elite coaches as Mike Omlin, Sean Payton, and
Andy Reid. Because that's what Sean Payton is. He's an
(10:04):
elite coach. He has won games over the last several
years with Teddy Bridgewater, who, let's face it sucks, is
a backup. He's won games with Taysom Hill, who I mean,
he's I think he's got a concussion. Now. They said
on the broadcast. He is not a quarterback. I mean
he's basically a full back slash tight end. He's won
games with Jamis Winston, who I think we all agreed
(10:24):
was kind of a disaster and then, which sucks. I mean,
I wanted to see him play with Jamis. What he's
been able to accomplish this year with Jamis has been
really impressive. But according to James Slayer, it looks like
he tours ACL and then he gets Trevor Simeon, who
I'll be honest, I did not know was on the Saints.
I would have guessed he was out of the league.
I would have guessed that, you know, he's probably coaching,
you know, he's like an assistant coach for Northwestern now
(10:46):
or something. And then he goes and beats the Bucks
the majority of the game. With Trevor Simeon, it's just
it's very, very impressive. I'm not by four. I mean
the Jets beating the Cincinnati Bengals, like that's an impressive win.
But you know, the Jets have nothing to play for.
They don't even care, like the Saints are playing for something.
They're trying to make the playoffs. They're four and two,
they're playing their divisional rival, and to win that game,
(11:07):
and for Brady and the Bucks to come back and
for them still to win that game was just, to me,
the most impressive thing I saw it. Now, is he
gonna be able to maintain this with Simeon? Do they
need to do something? They need to trade for a quarterback?
Do they call about Marcus Mariota, you know, Jimmy Garoppolo
with the Niners even think about that? I doubt it.
They can't even afford to because of the cap It's
(11:27):
complicated because the Saints aren't gonna have any cap space.
You can't trade for a player who makes any money. Now,
Mariota doesn't make any money. They're they're in a tough spot.
But if he's able to make the playoffs this year,
that'd be one of the most impressive playoff teams I've
ever seen. Jamis Simeon and whoever they potentially trade for.
That's crazy, And that speaks to why a guy likes
(11:47):
John Payton makes ten twelve million dollars a year because
he's worth every fucking penny he really is. And Mickey
Loomis and Jeff Ireland and the team they've built from
a personnel standpoint is awesome as well because they're doing
it out. Michael Thomas, who you know went healthy, should
be one of their best players. He's nowhere to be
found right because he got the knee surgery right before
training camp is a big fu. He pulled the shack.
(12:07):
If I'm gonna get hurt on company time, I'm gonna
rehab on company time. I'm gonna enjoy my summer. Don't
totally blame him, you know, I like the summer to
play golf. I wouldn't want to be rehabbing my knee
someone who might need knee surgery, you know. I've I'm
gonna do it in the winner, you know, but luckily
I don't play NFL football, so it doesn't really matter
when I do it. But that was to beat the
Bucks with Trevor Bleep and Simeon. Are you kidding me?
(12:32):
That is just I just kept watching the TV. I'm like,
this is really gonna happen. No, No, And I know
Antonio Brown's hurt. Gronk got knocked out with a bad back.
I don't care. I don't care if he's got Richard Sherman,
Billy Sherman, and Richard Sherman's mom, I'm in the defensive backfield.
That that is a that's a big boy win, all right.
(12:54):
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And I want to I want to say something because
this franchise has taken a lot of heat. There's a
lot of negativity surrounding the Chicago Bears, and let's face it,
they get treated, I think by the national media and
(14:40):
by their fans like they've won three games a year
for the last five years. They win eight in eight
last year, and because the Arizona Cardinals crumbled down the stretch,
they were able to make the playoffs. Now, when you're
an eight and eight team and you make the playoffs,
let's face it, we don't really view you like a
normal playoff team. And the previous year they missed the playoffs,
think they went seven nine. In the year before they
(15:01):
went twelve and four. But this year they're not only
not gonna make the playoffs, they're probably gonna win six games. Right.
They stink? Now. Khalil Mack, who is the best player
on the team, missed today. Who knows, maybe this week
they put him on injured reserve. Their offensive line is bad,
Eddie Jackson got hurt today. They're not very good. Khalil
(15:23):
Herbert the running back that they got I think Kansas
then he transferred to like Virginia Tech. I guy's pretty good,
so he's a little bright spot. But I saw a
lot today with Justin Fields, and there was a reason
for me. Trevor Lawrence was one. Fields was two. Now
I don't know, we'll see, you know, Trey Lance won't
even probably play too next year. We won't be able
(15:43):
to evaluate him for a couple of years. Mac Jones
was on a Ready May team and he's been fine.
He looks like Jimmy Garoppolo or something. Zach Wilson's hurt.
So as we know with Josh Allen, you can never
evaluate eman Sam Donald, you got. It takes a couple
of years, but I see a lot to like about
Justin Fields. He's gotten better every week. I watched him
to day against the Niners, who have a you know,
(16:05):
pretty aggressive defense, especially the front. He's very calm, cool
and collected. You know. His running ability. We give so
much credit to Kyler Murray and Lamar because of their
running ability, and rightfully so they are. Lamar's the greatest
running quarterback in the history of the league. You know,
I know those stats actually don't equal that right now,
but I think we all agree he's even a better
(16:25):
runner than Michael Vick, and that's saying something. He is
the greatest runner in the history of the league. Kyler,
We've never seen a guy at that size be that good.
This guy is the third fastest quarterback in the NFL.
Justin Fields. He runs a four four flat forty that
is hauling ass that's faster than most dbs and wide receivers.
He made a play today where he ran around that
(16:47):
if Lamar or Kyler have done that, I mean, we've
seen it before and we fall out of our chairs
and a plot I did when Justin Fields did that.
But he made so many throws a day when I went, yeah,
this guy is gonna be okay. You know, whether it's
Naggy coaching him, whether they get a new coach, that's
what I'd want to work with. That guy's physical tools,
you know why, because he has them all. He's six
(17:09):
two six two and a half, he's two twenty. He
can run like a wide receiver. He's got an absolute hose.
I thought, for the most party, he was pretty accurate
today in a spot where they had the lead and
then they lost the lead. And I watched him the
entire time and I went, I see a lot in
this guy. Now again I'm biased. I liked him a
shitload coming out, so anytime that you already have a
(17:31):
preconceived decision on a human, you're either going to root
for them or root against them. Though I'm not a
big mac Jones guy, and I'll be the first to
say he was. I watched that whole game. He was
awesome today. He was really good. You know. Actually he
missed some throws, but I was impressed. He's been very
good for the Patriots, you know. But Justin Fields has
been up and down. But I saw to day where
(17:52):
if you can keep building on games like today, you're
gonna have a franchise quarterback. Now it's on the organization
to get Ryan Pace the hell out of there. One
of the worst gms in the league. Under no circumstances
is he allowed to build around Justin Fields zero. He's
gotta go. Audios, Bye bye, Thanks for your efforts. I
(18:14):
get a real GM in there and I start putting
pieces around him. Now, you had to give up a
first round pick to get him. Whatever. The Bears in
my lifetime have never had a quarterback. Any Bears fans
listening agree they've never had a guy with these physical tools. Now,
he's got a long way to go. So if Matt
Naggie is fired, you have to hire an offensive coach.
(18:35):
Under no circumstances can you hire a defensive or special
teams coach. You have to hire a coach who is
also the offensive play caller. That to me is a
must like Daggie was. Now I know Naggie's given up
offensive play calling. You get a guy who can coach
that position, because I don't know what else you can
(18:56):
ask for out of your young quarterback. He has all
the tools. The job of the coach is to make
guys better and then use the guy's talents in their
scheme to then go win games. But I understand this
year is gonna suck for the Bears. Your team is
not good. You're not the Lions, you're not the Jags,
(19:17):
but you're not very good. Like you're not even Minnesota.
I mean, you stink. But you got a quarterback and
you've got a young quarterback to build on who's twenty one,
twenty two years old, who's you know, start at Ohio State.
And I think we can all agree brings a lot
to the table. It's also incumbent upon him, right, because
it's not just on the it's also on the players
(19:38):
to work hard to dedicate himself to his craft, to
want to improve in the offseason. You know, a big
reason Dak Prescott got so good is because of how focused,
how determined he is. His character separated him, right, Patrick Mahomes,
Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson, Justin Herbert. Their character separates them
(20:00):
because when you improve when no one is watching, you
don't just improve on game day. You improve January, February,
March April, early in the morning in the gym, lonely days,
in the film room in April with your offensive coordinator.
You don't get any credit for that publicly, none, nobody
sees it. That's when you separate. So if he has
(20:21):
that and so it's an incumbent upon him and then
incumbent upon the organization, they have a chance to succeed.
They obviously the best quarterback in that division is Aaron Rodgers,
but the Vikings have at the end of the day
just kind of an average guy and the Lions have nobody.
And even if the Lions get the number one pick,
there's no good quarterback in this draft. There's no quarterback
(20:42):
it even is remotely deserving of the number. You know,
a top ten pick, let alone the number one overall pick.
So I think the Bears fans even on a dark day,
and that's a dark day because the Niners had lost
four straight games and they got to kick your asses
in the second half. But I still think there are
some positive moments potentially in the future. You gotta get
(21:05):
the offseason, and again, Justin Fields has to want it,
has to want it, and then I'm just kind of
a negative note. Drake London, who I was talking to
a buddy who's a college scouting director for a good team,
and I was asking about Drake London a couple of
weeks ago because USC was playing Notre Dame. USC their
interim coach is a joke. I mean, it's their coaching
(21:26):
staff is an embarrassment. They are in shambles. They're in shambles.
Their team stinks. They have one guy who is a
fucking monster, and that's Drake London. He I think he
has eighty eight catches through eight games. I mean, he
is just a beast. And he broke his ankle. He's
out for the season. He had to be putting an
(21:47):
air cast and it's over and he's the guy I
was told that he's by far the number one wide
receiver in this class. And I don't think it's a
great wide receiver class. You know, there's not you know,
Jerry Judy's and Ceedee Lamb's and Justin Jefferson's and Jamar Chases.
But he's a guy that I think was going to
compete to be a top ten player in the draft.
Now I don't know how fast he was gonna run,
(22:09):
and this won't help his cause, and maybe he'll drop
a little bit. But he's a first round lock. I mean,
he's big, he's got incredible ball skills, he's incredibly productive
from what I've been told by the scouting community. His
characters off the charts. He's a total package. But he
broke his ankle, and you know, it sucks, and there's
no way around it. Playing football here and in football,
(22:30):
you get hurt, you know, an innocuous plays like it
happened to Treyvon Dig's day in a tackle that he
didn't even make. He just hits his foot on a knee.
You can get hurting practice, you can get hurting games.
You know, when I didn't even see the Drake Lennon
in injury. But you know, these are the things as
a scout in the front offices. Now. You know, I'm
sure most teams had him as a top fifteen player.
(22:51):
It's just one of those waiting sees and I think
he got to pray that it's just a clean break.
He can rehabit and everything will be okay. And sometimes,
you know, for guy, maybe he goes from being the
eighth overall pick to the eighteenth overall pick and he
ends up on a better team. He ends up in
a better situation. But it's it's easy for me to
say right now, you know, sitting in my office healthy.
(23:14):
It's another thing for him probably laying in a hospital
bed right now, so that that's just something to kind
of keep an eye on because he was I think
he was gonna be a top ten pick, and I
think he would have been worthy of being a top
ten pick. You know, he's kind of like a Jamar
Chase mixed with a Ceedee Lamb. He's not as fast
as Jamar Chase, but he's got some ced he's got
got a combination of you know, that physicality with the
(23:35):
Ceedee lamb. He's a stud man, he really is. But
broken ankle for a guy that you know, we just
keep our fingers crossed because I reading about him in
his character, he's type player I root for. I don't
root for Slappy's. I don't root for assholes. I don't
roove for bad guys, even the great players. I enjoy
watching them, but I'm not a fan of them as people.
I root for good people, you know. I root for
(23:56):
Dak Prescott, right, I root for Adam feeling like I
want to root for good, good people who were great
players that my future unborn hopefully boy can root for,
can buy his jersey, and I from everything that I've
been told and read about Drake London, that's him. So yeah,
wend on On a negative note, I guess, but that
(24:18):
ends my football watching. I have consumed. I can't consume
any more football. I really can't. I've consumed as much football.
I attended a game, watch football from sun up till
sundown for two straight days. It's nine o'clock at night
and I've been watching football strong since ten am. I
didn't even work out. I ate a lot of food today,
A lot of food. I called today a cheat day,
(24:38):
and I just kept doubling down and kept eating and
now I feel fantastic. So I can't wait till Monday,
while the podcasts come out on Tuesday, and we'll keep
rocking and rolling. Hope everyone has a great week. And
if you're listening this, I hope your team won. And
if they didn't, that sucks. Peace out, audios. The volume
The volume one is going on. Everybody just watched a
pretty incredible Sunday night game, despite it being a relatively
(00:24):
low scoring game in today's NFL, and despite the referees,
And I'm not gonna be too negative. I refuse to
be negative on a great Sunday Halloween Trick or treaters
everywhere snickers, Rhesus baby Russ getting slammed right now. But God,
I've had this feeling for a long time. There are
(00:48):
two professions where in competence doesn't just thrive, it is
consistent time and time again. Yet like me and you,
if we were incompetent as referees and politicians, our businesses
would either go under or we would be fired from
our job. Yet in those two professions, incompetence is celebrated
(01:11):
and it never ends. But I'm not gonna spend too
much time on the referees and the flags really all
day long. It's just it is atrocious. I've said it,
but we'll get into Cooper Rush, the Cowboys, cousins, Sean Peyton.
You know, listen, he's one of the best coaches in
(01:32):
the league. For a reason. To beat the Bucks with
jamis looks like tearing his acl. I saw Jane Slater
report that incredible. I have some I have some positive
news for Bears fans. I know you're going through a rough,
long year, feels like everyone's gonna get fired, the teams
and shambles. But locked in on that game to day
(01:53):
with the forty nine ers and the Bears, I saw
something to be excited for. And then something that you
know was probably the worst part of Saturday. Drake London,
the star wide receiver, was injured at USC and he's
a high potential draft pick. So hit on that really quick.
But I thought about this. I went to a game.
I went to cal Oregon State. I got up on Saturday.
(02:16):
I watched football Michigan Michigan State. I then went to
a football game. I then left that football game and
went to a bar and watched more football. I arose
on Sunday morning, had breakfast, had coffee, and watched football
all day long until I walked in the office and
press record. And let's just start with a serious note.
(02:41):
Sports are fun, and a huge part of sports is
the ultimate reality show. Especially the NFL is the number
one reality show in America. You get some heartwarming stories, right,
and I think Cooper Rush. The visual of his parents
and his mom and his dad putting his hands over
(03:02):
his head saying, you know you could read his lips,
don't screw it up. Be smart, his wife right next
to them. In his first career start, an undrafted free
agent who fills in for Dak Prescott last second, throws
for over three hundred yards. There's a game winning touchdown
to Amari. That's really cool. You know, I think most
(03:22):
of us can relate. Whether it was you grew up
with your parents, your grandparents, your ant and uncles. Someone
for you to make it in life has to support you,
and those people I know for me those were my
mom and dad. I would not have been able to
be doing what I'm doing right now without my mom
and dad. I don't care what you do. You have
a support system, and deep down there are several people
(03:46):
that you just care more about and have more meaning,
mainly because they have been there for longer. And that
visual of his parents, like is still cool. I don't
care how many millions of dollars in television ratings and
all that bullshit goes out the window. That is still
pretty pure. And I know, for me, having lost my
father a couple of years ago like that. That's awesome.
(04:09):
What a night for Cooper Rush to get to be
shared with his family, to do that for the Dallas
Cowboys on the road in a very just difficult environment.
And let's face it, the Cowboys are good. Even if
they didn't win that game. What an impressive performance. And
I get the Cowboys a lot of credit. I have
nothing but respect for big picture, long term thinkers because
(04:31):
I think it's so it's human nature to think short term, right,
But the smartest, most successful people always think long term.
Why do you invest? Why do you why do you
eat right? Why do you work out? You don't do
it just for the next day. You do it long term,
You do it for your older age, you do it.
You think big picture. That's what successful people think. Like
(04:54):
But we're all, you know, tested at different points in
time in our lives, like the take the shortcut, do
what feels right at the moment, right, And the Cowboys
didn't do that. They didn't push the envelope. Now they
had margin for ever being six and one going into
this game. So they lose a road game Sunday Night
(05:14):
football without their starting quarterback. It wouldn't have been that weird.
But the character of this team is, let's face a
non offense. They have stars everywhere. Amari Cooper stud He's
been worth every penny of that five year, one hundred
million dollar contract. Seedee Lamb walk off home run, draft
pick Zeke Elliott still can make plays. Jarwin good player.
(05:38):
Gallops nowhere to be found because he's injured, and Wilson
had a sweet touchdown today. He makes plays every game.
He also had a sweet pass to Seedee Lamb. Offensively,
they are as talented as any team, and now we
find out their backups not bad. Holy shit, the Cowboys
are I thought they were good. They're better than I thought.
And defensively, Randygory now that weeds legal, Thank god, it
(06:02):
should have been legal a long time ago. Kicking ass
and taking names. Michael Parsons absolute badass. I mean, how
good is that guy? You don't need to be a
former NFL scout to see his physicality, his play speed,
his explosion. They did that breakdown. He can line up everywhere.
He can play defensive end. He can play outside linebacker,
he can play middle linebacker. He can you know, cover
(06:23):
the flat, he can make open field tackles. He can
bend the edge. Holy shit, is that guy a dominant player.
Hopefully treyvon Dix is okay. It looks like he hit
his foot pretty hard. I think it was Dalvin Cook's
knee on that tackle right at the end of the game.
Hopefully he didn't break his foot or anything, and it's
just you know, a lot of pain. He'll be okay.
But the Cowboys are stacked. And to find out that
(06:45):
you have a competent backup quarterback, I mean, the best
player on their team was on the sideline at night.
Think about that, the best player on the Cowboys did
not play. And then I think on the flip side,
is like Cousins makes a ton of money. And I've
said for a while that I've come around on Cousins
a lot because I think he's better than ever I
thought that he would have been. He's been a very
very good quarterback the last several years. But he has
(07:08):
a huge downfall, and it's that he's a marginal athlete
at best, and unlike Brady and Manning and some of
these other guys that were terrible athletes again for the
NFL level, when it breaks down, he clearly just doesn't
have the ability to do anything. He's short circuits and forever.
Like when he was at Washington in his first couple
of years in Minnesota, he had this primetime thing. Couldn't
(07:30):
win on primetime Like Cousins crushes it on these ten
am games. He crushes on these morning games where there's
seven other games going at the same time. But when
we're all watching them and Sunday night football is the
number one show in America, It's like, what's going on?
And you'll be like, oh, if you're a Biking, the
offensive line sucks. Yeah, most offensive line suck. Why when
everything breaks down does he just look terrible? He looks
(07:54):
God awful? Is it because he presses? Is because ultimately
physically he doesn't actually possess that much talent. I don't know,
I can't quite put my finger on it, but tonight's
like tonight when I watch it, go, yeah, it's I
think the Niners avoided a, you know, a big time.
You know, they got lucky that he ended up not
on their team. And ultimately, this is where Vikings fans go, Yeah,
(08:15):
you know, he's okay, but you know we'd want better
because that's what he is. When it's truly nutcutting time
in the biggest game, in the biggest environment, when every
single eyeball in the country is watching you, you just go, yeah,
you got thoroughly outplayed by Cooper Rush. He just looks
every bit is better than you. I mean, it's just
a fact. It's not like he doesn't have wide receiver
stealing Jefferson, Dalvin Cook. I mean, holy Moley, But just
(08:39):
just something to be desired, you know with that player
when you factor in the money, I mean he makes
thirty five million dollars a year. If he made ten
million dollars a year, I would not have the same complaint.
But his ten year with the Vikings, he'll have made
signed for ninety signed another sixty million dollars. You're talking
one hundred fifty million dollars player, and it's just leaves
something to be desired. I think the most impressive performance
(09:02):
of the day goes to Sean Payton. What Sean Payton,
Mickey loomis that for ant office and coaching staff has
done and built with that franchise. I tip my hat
because that is a well rounded team. It's one thing forever.
It's like, oh, they and Drew Brees, they can just
put up all these yards. They're just consistent playoff team.
(09:23):
They went through that stretch I think in like the
mid two thousands, mid two thousand and tens when their
defense was really bad, but early on in the two
thousand and tens, and really what they've been in the
last four or five years just a juggernaut team. Now
they don't win Super Bowls. Hello, sometimes they don't even
win a playoff game. But that is a well run franchise.
But ultimately that coach is why when I talk to
(09:43):
my friends in the NFL, he's held to such high regard.
It's why when Mike Tomlin went off to the media
would ask about the USC job, and he says, why
don't you go ask Andy Reid and Sean Payton Because
Mike Tomlin views obviously Belichick, but have views the next
class of elite coaches as Mike Omlin, Sean Payton, and
Andy Reid. Because that's what Sean Payton is. He's an
(10:04):
elite coach. He has won games over the last several
years with Teddy Bridgewater, who, let's face it sucks, is
a backup. He's won games with Taysom Hill, who I mean,
he's I think he's got a concussion. Now. They said
on the broadcast. He is not a quarterback. I mean
he's basically a full back slash tight end. He's won
games with Jamis Winston, who I think we all agreed
(10:24):
was kind of a disaster and then, which sucks. I mean,
I wanted to see him play with Jamis. What he's
been able to accomplish this year with Jamis has been
really impressive. But according to James Slayer, it looks like
he tours ACL and then he gets Trevor Simeon, who
I'll be honest, I did not know was on the Saints.
I would have guessed he was out of the league.
I would have guessed that, you know, he's probably coaching,
you know, he's like an assistant coach for Northwestern now
(10:46):
or something. And then he goes and beats the Bucks
the majority of the game. With Trevor Simeon, it's just
it's very, very impressive. I'm not by four. I mean
the Jets beating the Cincinnati Bengals, like that's an impressive win.
But you know, the Jets have nothing to play for.
They don't even care, like the Saints are playing for something.
They're trying to make the playoffs. They're four and two,
they're playing their divisional rival, and to win that game,
(11:07):
and for Brady and the Bucks to come back and
for them still to win that game was just, to me,
the most impressive thing I saw it. Now, is he
gonna be able to maintain this with Simeon? Do they
need to do something? They need to trade for a quarterback?
Do they call about Marcus Mariota, you know, Jimmy Garoppolo
with the Niners even think about that? I doubt it.
They can't even afford to because of the cap It's
(11:27):
complicated because the Saints aren't gonna have any cap space.
You can't trade for a player who makes any money. Now,
Mariota doesn't make any money. They're they're in a tough spot.
But if he's able to make the playoffs this year,
that'd be one of the most impressive playoff teams I've
ever seen. Jamis Simeon and whoever they potentially trade for.
That's crazy, And that speaks to why a guy likes
(11:47):
John Payton makes ten twelve million dollars a year because
he's worth every fucking penny he really is. And Mickey
Loomis and Jeff Ireland and the team they've built from
a personnel standpoint is awesome as well because they're doing
it out. Michael Thomas, who you know went healthy, should
be one of their best players. He's nowhere to be
found right because he got the knee surgery right before
training camp is a big fu. He pulled the shack.
(12:07):
If I'm gonna get hurt on company time, I'm gonna
rehab on company time. I'm gonna enjoy my summer. Don't
totally blame him, you know, I like the summer to
play golf. I wouldn't want to be rehabbing my knee
someone who might need knee surgery, you know. I've I'm
gonna do it in the winner, you know, but luckily
I don't play NFL football, so it doesn't really matter
when I do it. But that was to beat the
Bucks with Trevor Bleep and Simeon. Are you kidding me?
(12:32):
That is just I just kept watching the TV. I'm like,
this is really gonna happen. No, No, And I know
Antonio Brown's hurt. Gronk got knocked out with a bad back.
I don't care. I don't care if he's got Richard Sherman,
Billy Sherman, and Richard Sherman's mom, I'm in the defensive backfield.
That that is a that's a big boy win, all right.
(12:54):
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And I want to I want to say something because
this franchise has taken a lot of heat. There's a
lot of negativity surrounding the Chicago Bears, and let's face it,
they get treated, I think by the national media and
(14:40):
by their fans like they've won three games a year
for the last five years. They win eight in eight
last year, and because the Arizona Cardinals crumbled down the stretch,
they were able to make the playoffs. Now, when you're
an eight and eight team and you make the playoffs,
let's face it, we don't really view you like a
normal playoff team. And the previous year they missed the playoffs,
think they went seven nine. In the year before they
(15:01):
went twelve and four. But this year they're not only
not gonna make the playoffs, they're probably gonna win six games. Right.
They stink? Now. Khalil Mack, who is the best player
on the team, missed today. Who knows, maybe this week
they put him on injured reserve. Their offensive line is bad,
Eddie Jackson got hurt today. They're not very good. Khalil
(15:23):
Herbert the running back that they got I think Kansas
then he transferred to like Virginia Tech. I guy's pretty good,
so he's a little bright spot. But I saw a
lot today with Justin Fields, and there was a reason
for me. Trevor Lawrence was one. Fields was two. Now
I don't know, we'll see, you know, Trey Lance won't
even probably play too next year. We won't be able
(15:43):
to evaluate him for a couple of years. Mac Jones
was on a Ready May team and he's been fine.
He looks like Jimmy Garoppolo or something. Zach Wilson's hurt.
So as we know with Josh Allen, you can never
evaluate eman Sam Donald, you got. It takes a couple
of years, but I see a lot to like about
Justin Fields. He's gotten better every week. I watched him
to day against the Niners, who have a you know,
(16:05):
pretty aggressive defense, especially the front. He's very calm, cool
and collected. You know. His running ability. We give so
much credit to Kyler Murray and Lamar because of their
running ability, and rightfully so they are. Lamar's the greatest
running quarterback in the history of the league. You know,
I know those stats actually don't equal that right now,
but I think we all agree he's even a better
(16:25):
runner than Michael Vick, and that's saying something. He is
the greatest runner in the history of the league. Kyler,
We've never seen a guy at that size be that good.
This guy is the third fastest quarterback in the NFL.
Justin Fields. He runs a four four flat forty that
is hauling ass that's faster than most dbs and wide receivers.
He made a play today where he ran around that
(16:47):
if Lamar or Kyler have done that, I mean, we've
seen it before and we fall out of our chairs
and a plot I did when Justin Fields did that.
But he made so many throws a day when I went, yeah,
this guy is gonna be okay. You know, whether it's
Naggy coaching him, whether they get a new coach, that's
what I'd want to work with. That guy's physical tools,
you know why, because he has them all. He's six
(17:09):
two six two and a half, he's two twenty. He
can run like a wide receiver. He's got an absolute hose.
I thought, for the most party, he was pretty accurate
today in a spot where they had the lead and
then they lost the lead. And I watched him the
entire time and I went, I see a lot in
this guy. Now again I'm biased. I liked him a
shitload coming out, so anytime that you already have a
(17:31):
preconceived decision on a human, you're either going to root
for them or root against them. Though I'm not a
big mac Jones guy, and I'll be the first to
say he was. I watched that whole game. He was
awesome today. He was really good. You know. Actually he
missed some throws, but I was impressed. He's been very
good for the Patriots, you know. But Justin Fields has
been up and down. But I saw to day where
(17:52):
if you can keep building on games like today, you're
gonna have a franchise quarterback. Now it's on the organization
to get Ryan Pace the hell out of there. One
of the worst gms in the league. Under no circumstances
is he allowed to build around Justin Fields zero. He's
gotta go. Audios, Bye bye, Thanks for your efforts. I
(18:14):
get a real GM in there and I start putting
pieces around him. Now, you had to give up a
first round pick to get him. Whatever. The Bears in
my lifetime have never had a quarterback. Any Bears fans
listening agree they've never had a guy with these physical tools. Now,
he's got a long way to go. So if Matt
Naggie is fired, you have to hire an offensive coach.
(18:35):
Under no circumstances can you hire a defensive or special
teams coach. You have to hire a coach who is
also the offensive play caller. That to me is a
must like Daggie was. Now I know Naggie's given up
offensive play calling. You get a guy who can coach
that position, because I don't know what else you can
(18:56):
ask for out of your young quarterback. He has all
the tools. The job of the coach is to make
guys better and then use the guy's talents in their
scheme to then go win games. But I understand this
year is gonna suck for the Bears. Your team is
not good. You're not the Lions, you're not the Jags,
(19:17):
but you're not very good. Like you're not even Minnesota.
I mean, you stink. But you got a quarterback and
you've got a young quarterback to build on who's twenty one,
twenty two years old, who's you know, start at Ohio State.
And I think we can all agree brings a lot
to the table. It's also incumbent upon him, right, because
it's not just on the it's also on the players
(19:38):
to work hard to dedicate himself to his craft, to
want to improve in the offseason. You know, a big
reason Dak Prescott got so good is because of how focused,
how determined he is. His character separated him, right, Patrick Mahomes,
Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson, Justin Herbert. Their character separates them
(20:00):
because when you improve when no one is watching, you
don't just improve on game day. You improve January, February,
March April, early in the morning in the gym, lonely days,
in the film room in April with your offensive coordinator.
You don't get any credit for that publicly, none, nobody
sees it. That's when you separate. So if he has
(20:21):
that and so it's an incumbent upon him and then
incumbent upon the organization, they have a chance to succeed.
They obviously the best quarterback in that division is Aaron Rodgers,
but the Vikings have at the end of the day
just kind of an average guy and the Lions have nobody.
And even if the Lions get the number one pick,
there's no good quarterback in this draft. There's no quarterback
(20:42):
it even is remotely deserving of the number. You know,
a top ten pick, let alone the number one overall pick.
So I think the Bears fans even on a dark day,
and that's a dark day because the Niners had lost
four straight games and they got to kick your asses
in the second half. But I still think there are
some positive moments potentially in the future. You gotta get
(21:05):
the offseason, and again, Justin Fields has to want it,
has to want it, and then I'm just kind of
a negative note. Drake London, who I was talking to
a buddy who's a college scouting director for a good team,
and I was asking about Drake London a couple of
weeks ago because USC was playing Notre Dame. USC their
interim coach is a joke. I mean, it's their coaching
(21:26):
staff is an embarrassment. They are in shambles. They're in shambles.
Their team stinks. They have one guy who is a
fucking monster, and that's Drake London. He I think he
has eighty eight catches through eight games. I mean, he
is just a beast. And he broke his ankle. He's
out for the season. He had to be putting an
(21:47):
air cast and it's over and he's the guy I
was told that he's by far the number one wide
receiver in this class. And I don't think it's a
great wide receiver class. You know, there's not you know,
Jerry Judy's and Ceedee Lamb's and Justin Jefferson's and Jamar Chases.
But he's a guy that I think was going to
compete to be a top ten player in the draft.
Now I don't know how fast he was gonna run,
(22:09):
and this won't help his cause, and maybe he'll drop
a little bit. But he's a first round lock. I mean,
he's big, he's got incredible ball skills, he's incredibly productive
from what I've been told by the scouting community. His
characters off the charts. He's a total package. But he
broke his ankle, and you know, it sucks, and there's
no way around it. Playing football here and in football,
(22:30):
you get hurt, you know, an innocuous plays like it
happened to Treyvon Dig's day in a tackle that he
didn't even make. He just hits his foot on a knee.
You can get hurting practice, you can get hurting games.
You know, when I didn't even see the Drake Lennon
in injury. But you know, these are the things as
a scout in the front offices. Now. You know, I'm
sure most teams had him as a top fifteen player.
(22:51):
It's just one of those waiting sees and I think
he got to pray that it's just a clean break.
He can rehabit and everything will be okay. And sometimes,
you know, for guy, maybe he goes from being the
eighth overall pick to the eighteenth overall pick and he
ends up on a better team. He ends up in
a better situation. But it's it's easy for me to
say right now, you know, sitting in my office healthy.
(23:14):
It's another thing for him probably laying in a hospital
bed right now, so that that's just something to kind
of keep an eye on because he was I think
he was gonna be a top ten pick, and I
think he would have been worthy of being a top
ten pick. You know, he's kind of like a Jamar
Chase mixed with a Ceedee Lamb. He's not as fast
as Jamar Chase, but he's got some ced he's got
got a combination of you know, that physicality with the
(23:35):
Ceedee lamb. He's a stud man, he really is. But
broken ankle for a guy that you know, we just
keep our fingers crossed because I reading about him in
his character, he's type player I root for. I don't
root for Slappy's. I don't root for assholes. I don't
roove for bad guys, even the great players. I enjoy
watching them, but I'm not a fan of them as people.
I root for good people, you know. I root for
(23:56):
Dak Prescott, right, I root for Adam feeling like I
want to root for good, good people who were great
players that my future unborn hopefully boy can root for,
can buy his jersey, and I from everything that I've
been told and read about Drake London, that's him. So yeah,
wend on On a negative note, I guess, but that
(24:18):
ends my football watching. I have consumed. I can't consume
any more football. I really can't. I've consumed as much football.
I attended a game, watch football from sun up till
sundown for two straight days. It's nine o'clock at night
and I've been watching football strong since ten am. I
didn't even work out. I ate a lot of food today,
A lot of food. I called today a cheat day,
(24:38):
and I just kept doubling down and kept eating and
now I feel fantastic. So I can't wait till Monday,
while the podcasts come out on Tuesday, and we'll keep
rocking and rolling. Hope everyone has a great week. And
if you're listening this, I hope your team won. And
if they didn't, that sucks. Peace out, audios. The volume
Host
John Middlekauff
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