April 3, 2020 • 49 mins
In this episode, Middlekauff discusses the dark reality of the massive job losses and far reaching impact of the coronavirus pandemic, the huge risk/reward with the Cowboys signing former Pro Bowl pass rusher Aldon Smith, and the most revealing GM comments on free agency from Mike Sando's (The Athletic) recent article. He also looks at the top headlines from around the league and answers listener questions in Middlekauff's Mailbag. Follow John on twitter @JohnMiddlekauff and go to theherdnow.com to find the latest content. Subscribe now!
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:09):
What is going on everybody? John Middlecoff three and out podcast,
That's Me, That's the Show, Thursday, April two, late afternoon recording.
This got a decent amount going on in the NFL.
Alton Smith signs. I went through a Mike Sando article
he talked to a bunch of executives around the league
(00:31):
and just their thoughts on every team in free agency.
I pulled some of the more interesting quotes, uh, some
other stuff just in terms of the draft obviously, some
topics flying around in terms of two up is Jannick
and Doc Way gonna get traded? What's gonna happen with
Laramie Tunzil And then of course the Middlecoff mailbag at
(00:51):
John Middlecoff is my Instagram handle. You can slide right
into the d m s and ask me anything you want.
Be a little honest. It's a little weird, you know,
doing a football podcast in the middle of listen in
my adult life. Probably one of the darkest days in
American history, right, I mean, we had ten million people
(01:13):
filed filed for unemployment. And I'm keeping it positive here.
I I'm feeling good. Luckily, I happen to be lucky
to do a job that I basically work for myself
that I can do it at home. I basically quarantined
before quarantine became a thing. But my friends and family
are small business people. Uh my my brother works in
(01:35):
a small business. Luckily he's a farmer, and you need
to keep the food going. But I know a lot
of you guys listening are in industries, whether you're you
work for someone and you're losing your job or getting furloughed,
whether you are run a business that's shut down. These
are you know, crazy times. And I don't really know
(01:56):
what to say. I mean, you can say keep your
head up and it's all that stuff, but it's tough.
You know, you gotta shut down the doors. You're losing
your business, you're losing your job. Uh, these are this
is wild. I mean, it's it's really that simple. It's
really really a wild time. I know, for me personally,
to two incidents that really stand out in my life
would be nine eleven. To be completely honest, nine eleven
(02:19):
did not hit me like it would now, not even close.
I was in high school. I think I was. I
think it wasn't. Sophomore year of high school. You're just
so naive to the way the world works and the impact.
Obviously you understand the impact of people dying in the planes,
but the overall impact of society, I couldn't even begin
to grasp it. And then in two thousand and eight,
(02:41):
when the housing crisis, I just graduated college. I was
a graduate assistant frist and say I had no money.
I was not a homeowner. I had no money in
the stock market. I was worth nothing. So that that
affected me. Obviously, nine eleven was the probably the most
powerful event of my lifetime. Like you just see people dying.
In two thousand eight nine Fresno State, we started furlowing
(03:04):
people and people were over their head in their house
and having to short sale their house. Like you understand,
I could kind of see it was crazy, But again
it didn't impact me. This one impacts me because I
see it with my friends, all my friends now that
I went to college with, or grew up with, or
my age, They're working jobs, getting laid off, their companies
are holding on by a thread. People, my people that
(03:26):
listen to me, that I interact with on social media,
I feel it. I I get it. Hell, it's impacted me.
On my other podcast, advertisers moving around. It's crazy at times.
And just know, if you going through tough times, I'm
thinking about you, We're all thinking about you, and you
just you know me. I'm I'm a big capitalist economy guy.
(03:46):
It's I hate this coronavirus. We all do. And starting
to see the impact of what it's doing now to
our society is pretty eye opening. It was clear that
it was coming this way when everything shut down. Uh
and I talk about football and there is It's really
the only thing that's happened over the last two weeks
(04:07):
was free agency, and luckily, you know, I was someone
that thought maybe they should push it back, because I
don't necessarily think free agency or the draft. I don't know.
Colin went on a brand about it gives hope to me.
The Corona going away gives hope to me. Saying people
can open up their businesses, or consumers feeling okay gives hope.
I think the draft is a little bit more of
(04:28):
a band aid. And again I'm not you know me,
I'm not a moral high horse guy. I'm fine with
them hosting the draft, even though it is, like my
big thing is if they're gonna make your horse to
the draft. If you're a general manager, you got what
you got to understand and attack the best way possible
to figure out a way to run your draft, even
if you've got to do it over zoom, if you've
(04:50):
got to do it from your kitchen table. But I
also the last couple of days, I understand that I
get every general manager. The NFL is not a lazy league.
The NFL is not a league it loves time off.
It's it's a league full of grinders, general managers, head
coaches that they're working countless hours seven three sixty five.
Coaches and gms live in the office. Scouts work year round.
(05:14):
These guys love to work, mainly because if you work
in football, even as you become jaded to the sport,
you do love it. You know. It's not one of
those jobs like, yeah, I just became an insurance salesman,
you know, I just I got into real estate business,
been good or what. I usually don't just just got
into football. I mean, it's something you kind of have
to even if you are a player, to ultimately get
(05:34):
into coaching or into obviously executive work with scouting takes
some efforts and usually gotta start at the ground floor.
So these guys love what they do, and I think
all of them, if they could vote, could you move
it back a little bit? Would vote thirty two to nothing.
Now the owners, the the league office, I understand because
(05:56):
the television networks know this. The Michael Jordan documentary has
got of up. Twitter love to take credit for the
Michael Jordan. Twitter forced ESPN's hand. You know what forced
ESPN's hand. They don't have any inventory, they have nothing
to show nothing. You know what I watched the other
day the nine World Series Kirby Pucket, John Smoltz. It
(06:20):
was zero zero in the eleventh inning. It was it
was an unreal game. Well, I can't forget even the
picture for the twins US guy name escapes me again.
I was, you know, date me and I was born
eighty four Jack Morris, who went in the extras that
it was. I was watching that game. I was like, actually,
know what's kind of entertaining. But that's what I'm doing
right now because I I watched those arcs, I watched
(06:43):
Tiger Key. I had nothing to watch, so I get
it like it's it's gonna get enormous ratings, probably the
highest rated, you know draft ever, but I do understand
both sides of the argument. The more intense this thing goes, right,
there was an agent, a prominent agent who lost his parents,
who represents Doug Baldwin, a couple other I think the
Griffin brothers that are on the Seahawks, other players throughout
(07:05):
the league like this, this is going to impact other
people in the NFL. And it's just a crazy time.
And I don't really I don't know what else to
say besides like talking about Alden Smith when all this
is going on. Like even me, who I've been talking
sports my entire life. I'm thirty five for as long
as I could talk. I've been talking sports. Like maybe
(07:26):
it's you're just growing up, You're just older. I'm at
a different place in my life. I find it a
little difficult. I'm gonna be completely honest. Uh, but I
know that people like to listen to something else listen.
I I I can only watch so much news in general,
let alone right now. Right, so you just the draft.
But at the end of the day, the draft ends
(07:46):
and we're quarantined for another month. You know it Just
I guess it is what it is. And I'm not
trying to think like I get asked all the time
football in the fall, it's I'm recording this on April second,
Let's just see what happens. And in April early May,
let's just take a month by month, day by day,
just follow the rules and see what happens. And and luckily,
(08:08):
you know I I say this where I was probably
wrong is the NFL allowing teams to do business has
just given us stories like Alden Smith he signs with
the Cowboys. I mean that if they just wouldn't have
allowed that, none of this would have happened. And you know,
a lot of people have been asking me, what do
you think about all the Smith joining the Cowboys. My
first response is I haven't seen up to this point
(08:31):
how much they guaranteed him. I would imagine zero, because
he didn't have any other offers. He hasn't played in
the league since two thousand five or excuse me, fifteen.
But I had a front row seat for like three
years of Alden Smith. I went to basically every Niner
game from thirteen, fourteen and fifteen. Uh. Some of those games, hell,
he didn't even play in because he was suspended. I
remember going to the game against the Carolina Panthers when
(08:54):
he got a d u I. He got a d
u I on Friday morning, was arrested clearly because they
found him asleep in front of the I think it
was a it was either a telephone pole or a tree.
He passed out in the car, gets arrested, goes to
the drunk tank. By the time he gets out by
ten or eleven, they bring him to the practic facility.
(09:16):
He's on the practice field by noon, probably still wasted
in plays on Sunday. It was wild, it was crazy,
but it happened, and Alden Smith has just one of
the probably what could have been careers in NFL history.
I've walked by him before in a league full of freaks.
When I say this about Cam Newton, he's on the
high end of freaks. Six five six six, arms hang
(09:39):
down to the ground, explosive athlete, he's a fluid athlete.
He's a powerful guy. I don't know what he is now,
but Jim tom Seula is the defensive line coach for
the Cowboys at the end of the day. Jerry Jones,
he's taken gambles his entire life. So a gamble that
has lower like to me signing a Marie Cooper. That's
that's a pretty risky gamble, because if a Marie Cooper
is not elite, that's a big time him overpay taking
(10:02):
no risk flyers on guys like all the can be
bad for your brand. You know, he gets it, he
gets a d U I he gets in trouble, that's
on you, Jerry, Like you had enough of a resume
and a history of this player to go. No one
to blame but the cowboys. If this guy gets in trouble,
I don't give a ship what he told you. I've
turned around my life. I'm a better human. Every person
(10:22):
says that when they're trying to get a job and
they're at rock bottom. Some guys turn their life around.
And maybe this guy has had enough rock bottoms. But
I always struggle with guys that have a history of addiction.
When you're in a situation like this and it's I'm
all for help, I'm all for multiple chances. If it's
not like you know, violent criminals and now there were
(10:43):
some domestic violence with this stuff that are a little
you know, I don't know how substance they are, substantive
they are, It's not like he you know it for
sure happened. It was he said, she said, but that's
also there. So there are multiple red flags with this
individual big time. But Jerry Jones would say, I've hung
my career on taking chances. And really that's what the
(11:04):
NFL is. It is not the place where morals are set.
It's not a place in society that, like, you know what, kids,
this is the way to do things. Certain players are
I got no problem pointing number like Dak Prescott, right, Hey,
you follow Dak Prescott or you follow Shan Lee right.
You live your life like that guy. You live your
(11:26):
life like Jason Witten. Would you say you live your
life like Zeke? You know, Zeke's got a little trouble.
You say you live your life like Aldon Smith? Hell no, so,
but you need as Moose Johnson, who back when I
had a radio show six or seven years ago in
San Francisco, he can't used to come on. And the
way he described his team and he believes this is
in general, you need players of character. A great team
(11:49):
has this players of character and characters that can play
and you mess it together. And that's where it's on
the players of character. You need some the guy certain
guys to be really good. Right on his team's it
was Troy Aigmant, And then you need a great coach
to kind of corral them. Ale and Mike McCarthy, you know,
has a history of coaching just about everybody. I would
(12:10):
say the Packers, just thinking off the top of my head,
didn't take too many chances. But you know it's just
the counter would be, Okay, he gets a d U
I the Cowboys cut him? Who really cares? What does
that mean? And I think history would show you it
doesn't really mean that much. Like they get crushed on
social media and the Dallas Morning News writes a headline, Oh,
(12:32):
Jerry Jones screws up again. Does that mean less people
are gonna watch the Cowboy game the next week? Of
course not? So what does like? What does bad press now?
If it's something like Alden Smith, I don't even know.
I don't even want to go into hypotheticals, but you
could argue there's probably a line that if he jumps over,
it's just it's just a bad look for the NFL,
because this is not a second chance for the player.
(12:54):
This is like a fourth. He probably had four or
five with the Niners. He had some sketchy things happened
with the Raiders or just questionable things, and they kind
of stock by them until the league took it out
of their control. But you know, guys like Alden Smith,
even at this point three or four years, when you
have that much talent, talented people get a longer rope.
(13:16):
It's just in life in the private sector, in big,
big business, right, it's just gonna happen because let's say this,
Jim tom Seul, the defensive line coach, somehow gets all
then on the straight and narrow. He's cleaned up his life,
he's sober. Alden has eight nine sacks. He's like the
story of the year. And if the cowboys are good.
And that's the way that teams always convince themselves, well,
(13:37):
this is the time he figures it out. There's an
arrogance to front offices, to teams two coaches. They believe
it's always them, Just like I'm sure many of you
that these crazy times like I'll figure it out, I'll
get through it. Hell, I'm telling myself that, I'm sure
many of you are telling yourself that even and when
it doesn't pencil, you're like, I don't know how I'm
gonna last. You just keep telling yourself that, and I
(13:57):
think that's what happens with these troubled players. But they
have to be talented the moment, they are just average.
They just out of the league. See it gone by
later and this guy might be average or whatever. There's
no given guarantee Alden's gonna make the team, but there's
been in the history of the NFL, and I'd even
say just sports in general. Aldon Smith's keep resurfacing, and
(14:18):
there'll be another guy in five years, ten years that
will have a similar career path and will get seven
eight chances. You know, Antonio Brown probably be in the
league this year. As crazy as that is. For as
crazy I mean his batshit crazy as he went over
the last calendar year, Someone's gonna give him another chance.
Why because for a six year period, average like catches
(14:40):
and nine and a half touchdowns again a year it
was uncoverable. And it's thirty one or thirty two years
old right now, So yeah, he might be the biggest
loon in the last twenty years. Someone's gonna give m
a chance. Just the reality of the NFL. Okay, let's
dive into this. Mike Sando Rights for the Athletic shameless plug.
I do too. I highly recommend get involved reading their
(15:03):
stuff if you like football. They cover every NFL team,
especially once football comes back. I mean, it's it's excellent stuff.
He's a national writer. I've been following him. I think
we follow each other on Twitter. I've met him a
couple of times. A really good guy, but knows his
stuff and it's very very well connected. He's also the
guy that does the quarterback tears right every year. I
(15:24):
think right before the season. Maybe it does in the
off season. I don't even know what day it is,
so it's hard for me to figure out that the calendar.
But he does that article. I know Colin talks about
it on the show. Everyone that talks about football talks
about his tier article. In this article. What he does
he goes team by team and anonymously general managers, coaches,
and executives give their opinion on that team's free agency.
(15:48):
So what I thought I'd do is I read the
whole thing skin read like a like a lawyer does
in law school. Just fire through it, and I picked
just certain things that jumped out to me, and I
just wanted to hit on him. Let's start with the
first thing. I'm not trying to be a dead horse
on this, but the number one theme when the Arizona
Cardinals and the Houston Texans on both their rite ups
came up. For the Arizona Cardinals, how the hell did
(16:08):
they get rid of David Johnson and get Hopkins back?
How's it even possible you had a running back that
is trending the wrong way who makes over ten million dollars.
No one was trading for that contract. What did I
say when Todd Gurley? Remember Mike Silver report and again
Mike Silver is my guy. Davis guys, when he wrote
a lot of a lot of trade buzz about Todd Gurley. Yeah,
(16:30):
the trade buzz was Sean McVeigh and less need talking
about it. No one touches toxic running back contracts. Nobody.
You can trade for a toxic d line contract, hopefully
you can resurrect the guy like Olivier Vernon. You can
trade for overpriced offensive lineman happens all the time. You
can trade for hell over priced wide receivers. No one
(16:52):
touches running backs, especially a running back that's making over
ten million dollars and has some injury concerns, Yet the
Arizona Cardinals got Hopkins back. I mean it was highway robbery.
I mean it was crazy. I was thinking, like, I
bet there's one executive that's gonna say the media is overhyped.
All of them said, it's just it's baffling and the reality.
(17:13):
One thing they mentioned in there is they've been trying
to trade this guy for a year and a half.
And I think sometimes coaches, you know, it's weird and
maybe we're all like this. You get when you have
an employee, a girlfriend, your kid. They can just someone
gets into your doghouse. I'm a big believer in the faster.
That's different when it's your wife or your kid. But
(17:35):
we're we all get mad at different people. It's no
different than a coach. When when a players in a
coaches doghouse, that's the equivalent of saying the coach is
mad at the player. That's one thing that the player sucks.
But I'm saying, if it's one of your best players,
you can still get in your doghouse, have a bad game,
not practice. One of the knocks on Hopkins was like,
you know, he just doesn't practice during the week. My
question is honestly, who gives a damn he has? He's
(17:59):
average over hunter just back to back of years. You know,
who doesn't fans the opposing team that he's catching seven
balls a game on in the playoff game, when he's
scoring touchdowns, Like I one thing that doesn't fly in
in the league is your practice habits once you're an
elite player. To me, as you know, as a media
guy when I was a scout, I get it if
(18:20):
he's a bad guy, but Hopkins never been in trouble
Like okay, he doesn't have the greatest work habits anymore
during the work week because he's banged up or he
just nurses injury. I'm sorry. Like I, I can get
if you produce on Sunday. That's the whole point of
this whole thing. And he's a winning player because clearly
the Texans have been doing a lot of winning. And
beside like when J. J. Watts healthy and Deshaun Watson, like,
(18:42):
he's our best player, so you trade him for a
running back in a decent second round pick, it doesn't
make sense. Now, I get it. He's not a speed demon.
He's not a guy that consistently gets open. But it
doesn't matter. He's a type player like and Kwan Bolden
couldn't get open for like the last ten years of
his career. Crabtree had a bunch of good years in Oakland,
and obviously Hopkins better than both those two guys. Okay,
(19:05):
you can't run whatever. Davante Adams isn't Mr Fast. I watched, uh,
we did this thing on my other podcast. We did
a real watchable. I watched the Saints game. We watched
the Saints game in the Niners game from weeks at
Week fourteen last year. You know, I think the final
score was the it was six game probably best, right,
He's the game of the year. Michael Thomas isn't getting
open really like Richard Shermans all over him. He just
(19:27):
makes contested catches. Because's a monster. That's Hopkins Monster winning player. Okay,
he dogs it on Thursday. I'm sorry, I just don't.
I don't care. That's that. That deals insane. Amari Cooper
getting twenty million dollars is I just don't like paying
premiums for non premium players. What makes no sense If
I'm Jerry Jones, the moment you trade a first round
(19:48):
pick for him, and then that year. You know, they
made the playoffs and Amory kind of remember saved their season.
You should have signed him after that offseason and quote
unquote overpay and an overpay then might have been like
million dollar others. Instead two years later you end up
giving him. I guess it was a year later, so
it should have been last offseason. You could have get
him for fifty million dollars instead of a year later
(20:10):
you're paying him twenty million a year and you guarantee
him sixty I like Amari Cooper and to show you
his his talent, like he's more talented coming out of college.
For for as much as we all kind of blow
Jerry Judy and rightfully so I like Jerry Judy. I
like Henry Rugs. I like Ceedee Lamb. I like I mean,
these guys are gonna be couple, maybe two or three
of them are gonna be pro bowlers. Maori was a
(20:32):
better prospect than all of them, easily. Maybe not easily,
but like note like if Amory coming out of Alabama
was in this class with all these other guys, am
aready be the top guy. A Mari has underachieved through
five years, averaging basically seventy five catches, a thousand yards
and about six and a half touchdowns a year underachieved.
(20:52):
I think that speaks to his talent, freak talent, but
one of them Ari's issues. And I see this all
the time, like once, what makes great NFL wide receivers
Like there are a lot of talented NFL wide receivers, right,
But what makes the truth? Like Julio is a freak,
But what makes Julio truly great? He's a dog, he
ain't scared, he's fearless, he's relentless. Think about all the
(21:16):
topic Michael Thomas rewatching that Saints game. Michael Thomas is
a monster. Hein't the fastest guy on the field, and
he's not even wide open half the time. He just
he's a beast. Davante Adams monster, Keenan Allen monster, the
Tampa Bay guys beasts. When I watched Deebo Samuel kind
of come into his own. He just a physical he
just ain't scared. And I love Doug Baldwin for years
(21:42):
in Seattle. Fearless and he was never an elite guy,
but he was a damn good player. Amari, He's just
you know, I wouldn't call him soft. But I wouldn't
call him, like from NFL standards, tough. He ain't Michael Irvin,
he ain't Terrell Owens like. He's just a little softer
and he's gonna be fine. You'll get balls. He's a
(22:02):
freak talent. But it's just sixty million dollars. It's like, Jerry,
why did you wait so long to sign him? Especially
once you give the first round pick for him. I'm
a big believer in this, and maybe general managers would say, well,
John easier said than done. The moment I'm gonna trade
a first round pick for a guy, I have to
have a contract extension done, like the Forest Buckner done
(22:24):
the moment they got him. Chicago Bears get Khalil Mack done.
You know what I don't like doing what the Houston
Texans are doing with Laramy Tunzil. We'll talk about that later.
What the l A Rams are doing with Jalen Ramsey.
I like trading for you and signing you immediately. The
Forest Buckner Seattle did it a couple of times when
they traded for like Jimmy Graham extend him. I like
(22:46):
doing that, like getting a guy under contract the moment
Howie Roseman trades for Darius Slight extends him. Now, obviously
he didn't trade a first round pick. But when I
trade for a guy I really like, I extend and
then I get him at a at a cheaper rate
than I do at a market rate. Once his contract ends,
the number skyrockets. The Colton Rivers one thing, a couple
(23:08):
executives said, and I think we have to be aware
of this. I love Philip Rivers. He's a badass. I've
watched way too many Charger games over the last decade now.
He's been hit or missed over the years, but when
he's on, he's an awesome player to root for as
a fan. And that's the first and foremost what I
am when it comes to football. That's that's why I
talk about it. Like if I wasn't a fan of football,
(23:31):
it just this wouldn't be. I wouldn't do this. I
love football at my core. It's like I love sports.
I'm a fan. I'm a big sports fan, and I
think as sports fans we really value when guys we
feel like they give a ship as much as we do,
they care as much as we do. It's why the
biggest legends, right Brady Jordan's, Kobe Manning, Tiger. It's like, yeah,
(23:56):
those guys care more than I do. If you're like
the die hard Patriot and even you'd be like, yeah,
Brady liked football more than me, and I love and
I love the Pats, right, Or you're a Bulls fan,
you like, yeah, Michael liked it more than me. But
then there are guys you're just like, I don't know,
Rivers always a guy. He's given you everything he has.
You can't like football any more than Phillip Rivers like football.
(24:16):
But he's thirty eight, thirty nine years old. His arm
strength has never been great, and he looked really really
old last year, and he's always kind of had an
old game. There's a chance he shot. And I think
the point in this article was like they kind of
sold out all for this year, right, and then they
give away their first round pick to get the Forest Buck,
like they gotta be good and if you're just a
(24:37):
one and done team in the playoffs, you go, was
it worth it? That's a good question. We're gonna find out.
But there's a chance that Rivers is just by about
I don't know, November one, you know, eight nine games
and we realize, yeah, it's just he's shot. We forget
sometimes in two thousand and twenty, like, being old is
not easy in pro sports. It's not normal to be
in your forties and playing pro sports. Hell, it's not
(25:00):
able to do like what Lebron is doing at thirty five,
seventeen years in and still look like the best player
in the world. It's not normal. Usually, Like I get
modern medicine. I mean, Tiger Woods had backfused knee and
he's still when the Master's last year. Like some of
these I get it at times have changed, so you
gotta look at age a little differently. I still am
a believer, though, is like, not every thirty eight year
(25:20):
old is the same. Roethlisberger at thirty eight and Tom
Brady at thirty eight are not the same. Even Philip
Rivers has taken a lot of hits. He is a
weathered older guy. Now. I don't think he's I don't
think he drinks, clearly doesn't smoke or anything. But to me,
the wear and tear on the body is big. One
thing someone said, I disagree with this. Marcus Mariotta, one
(25:42):
of the executives, said that he thinks he'll start ten games.
I don't think that will happen, but it's a pretty
big red flag that I think a general manager brought up.
If you thought Derek Carr was your franchise quarterback, why
would you make Marcus Mariotta the highest paid backup in
the league. Like if you have a young franchise quarterback,
a guy under thirty who's under contract, why wouldn't you
buy like a case Keenum or something for like two
(26:04):
or three million or three or four million and use
that extra money on other players. It's pretty and I
was like, I didn't really think about that because I
think car is better than Mariota. But does gridn't think that?
Because why would you have a contingency such a highly
highly paid contingency plan You could easily just get a
lower level guy. Maybe they don't think Derek is their
(26:26):
franchise guy, and you know, knowing people in the organization,
I think they go back and forth. I don't think
with o t As being gone, there's no way Mario
like Derek starting week one. That's a lock. There's just
no way for Mariota to learn the offense. They won't
have any practice till training camp. To me, the question
is what happens if there two and three or three
(26:47):
and five in the new stadium and it's just not
good Vegas. Is you talk about a recession. No economy
gets hit harder in you know, tough times than Vegas,
especially now. I mean the casinos are shut down first time.
Sin's like JFK Sash Nation. There's gonna be pressure on
(27:07):
them to win and Derek to play well, and if
he doesn't, they got a guy that started a lot
of games. The Jets. The executives kind of crushed Joe
Douglas for like fan and McGovern I think it's how
you say his name again. At this point in my
scouting career, I'm not locked in. I mean, obviously I've
seen a lot of fan because he played for Seattle,
(27:28):
but McGovern like, I'm not breaking down every offensive lineman,
but they kind of crushed him for these guys being
pretty average. The point is this offensive line is not fixed,
and their offensive line last year then the Cardinals probably
missing some teams, but they probably the two worst offensive
lines in the league, and picking out eleven. When I
(27:48):
did a mock draft on the Athletic I was like, yeah,
you know what, I'm gonna give the New York Jets
Jerry Judy because they need a star wide receiver form
to throw. To the way of reading this, the executives
thinks their offensive line still stay, so you could probably
justify taking a tackle. Pretty interesting take on Brady to Tampa.
And when Peyton Manning fell off a cliff in two thousand,
(28:11):
a year sixteen, it was it the fifteen season and
then it was the sixteen Super Bowl. So he's been
done now for four or five years. His arm was
done and he never had a great arm, but he
could not throw that year. He could never move. But
Brady could never move either. Neither could Philip rivers the
difference between Brady and some of those guys and Breeze.
He has a big arm. Now he doesn't have like
(28:32):
Aaron Rodgers arm, but he got a pretty damn good arm.
He has a different level arm than those guys. Is
if he was a picture, is he throwing nine? No,
but he's cruising in five where Manning was like even
in his prime, probably like ninety, but he was so
accurate it didn't matter. It's a great Maddox pinpoint, right,
(28:53):
you can get away with throwing ninety if you know
exactly where it's gonna go. If you throw five, you
get a lot room for error. Now, if you factor
and you throw and you can paint, it's a rap.
And the point these executives were saying is like Brady
is a multiplier, like Peyton when he showed him to Denver,
He'll elevate everyone, just from a standard standpoint and a
(29:14):
work ethics standpoint. And a lot of people are like,
is he shot? Is he shot? His arm is not shot.
So if they can protect them, they definitely have the weapons.
They can win with them. Now can they kind of
meld this offense of Bruce Arians and what Tom wants
to do with the wide receivers in the middle of Corona?
There are going to be challenges. But every executive said,
(29:36):
which I think every human that has common sense that
watched Tom last year, Hugh shot, Well, what do you mean,
like he gets sacked because he can't move. Well, he's
never been able to move. He's been slow since he
came in the league in two thousands. But his arm
is still good. Now is he throwing ninety five? Now? Okay,
maybe he's throwing ninety three. You can still get guys
out throwing ninety three. And when you add Mike Evans,
(29:57):
you had O. J. Howard, you had Godwin, you keep
cam Bright. Maybe you drafted him a good running back.
Now if you can protect him like you can win
with them now the offense and the one the one
thing they brought up is like Bruce Arian Staff. They're
not Belichick. They're not in the office sun up till sundown,
burning the midnight. Oh Arians tells guys to go home,
(30:18):
which I do think in some realm it's healthy. Brady's
used to I can text Josh Mthdaniels at five thirty
in the morning, I can text him at midnight. Peyton
was notorious. I remember when I when I got on
the road, I'd run into people that were in Denver
and Indy and I just, I just, I mean it
was Peyton Manning. I want to know all about him there,
Like he could wear people out. We had to give
(30:39):
him specific coaches to break down his film, you know,
like he got his own quality control guys. He's just maniacal,
you know, in a good way, in a way of
like he's got high freaking standards. And Peyton's point of
difference always was I gottaut think you because I can't
out physically you. I'm not gonna throw these Aaron Rodgers
sixty yard ropes. I gotta know exactly what you're doing.
(31:01):
You know, the the football I I guess it was
a football life. But the top one hundred when Brady
was in there, I guess was Ed Reid and Belichick
and and Belichick saying the greatest player ever saw was
Ed Reid full and Peyton mannings all they're playing chess
and Tom Brady I would say definitely the second half
of his career. He was the ultimate combo. It's why
(31:21):
he passed Peyton of being physically more superior, because they
had a much better arm and the same level work
ethic in mind film officionado and just the ultimate grinder.
He could text Josh McDaniels at all hours of the
night and I just wonder the mesh, like, is Tampa
ready for what they're getting? Because because Tom is a
grinder and we're about to find out. Okay, let's bang
(31:41):
out another just I'm gonna go rapid fire on just
stories that I saw today. I guess maybe over the
last couple of days. Mike Garifolo of NFL Network bald
Guy Beard one of the one of the rare guys
that can pull out younger guy can pull off a
col de sac. Some of us were gonna shave our heads,
said that to A medical check looks outstanding. I think
(32:05):
there's a lot of unknown information with TOA. We're going
to find out on draft day what the NFL thinks
of him. I assume he's gonna get drafted somewhere between
two and three and four. Right, A team is gonna
trade up to ensure they get him if he's healthy,
if he's got some major red flag not out of
the Roman possibility he drops, and if he drops, it
(32:27):
would just be clearly the hip which this is gonna
be a type of scenario or situation that teams aren't
gonna show their hand right now. So we won't know
until the draft what the NFL thinks of tah Jack's
want a first round pick for Yannick in doc way,
I just don't get the Jaguars one of the better
players they've drafted in recent memory. I think he was
(32:49):
a third round pick, so he's going into his I
guess he just finished his fourth year, right, he's franchise, right, now,
I just I don't get it. I mean, they are
just a disaster as a Franchi, absolute disaster. They draft
in the top six seven picks every freaking year except
the one outlier season they've had. All these premium picks,
(33:10):
all of them are gone. Then they land a guy
not in the first round who's sweet and he wants
to leave. It's just what a what a just train
wreck franchise. Laramie Tunzel wants to be the highest paid
offensive lineman in the league. Here's my issue. The moment
you trade two ones and a two, this happened to
(33:31):
Jalen Ramsey and this happened to Laramie Tunzel. They obviously
got Kenny Stills in the deal as well with Laramie Tunzel,
but still, that was a little more add on that.
You could say Kenny Still is probably worth a third
or fourth, where Laramie Tunzel was worth the majority of
that fright, that was for Laramie Tunzil. The moment you
(33:51):
trade that much for Laramie Tunzel or I put Jalen
Ramsey in this category too, you have to extend him immediately.
You don't wait until after the season to start figuring
it out. If the Rams were going to trade for
Jalen Ramsey, they should have had a deal set in place.
It's not worth giving up that much unless he's signing
on the dotted line. You just can't do it like
(34:15):
Laramie Tunzel. Now, granted, Laramie Tunel was under contract, a
little easier to deal with. I guess Jalen Ramsey is
two in his fifth year. But you let these guys
get to the final year their contract, they start getting
leverage the moment you trade all these picks. It's one
thing to like trade a second or third round pick.
You could argue, like how he could have just played
it out once he trades the third in the fifth form.
(34:37):
But when you get when you trade that much first
round picks, multiple first round picks, and you don't extend
them on the spot, it's bad business, period, point blank,
end of story. Bad NFL business. Because if you're willing
to trade multiple ones for a player, you want to
make that guy a long term, valuable asset for your team, Well,
you want to get him under contract immediately so that
(34:59):
deal looks cheaper the faster and the longer you have
him on your team. Khalil Mack right, you get him,
you sign him. Laremy Tunzel, you get him, and then
you wait to sign him, and now he's got you.
Kind of been over the barrel. He's in control. Clowney,
his asking prices dropping, no ship Like Clowney, the market
was the market, like we just that was the market.
(35:22):
Well I'm worth this, No, actually you're not. You literally
hit free agency, countless teams that needed pass rushers, breaking
guys off. The Colts who desperately needed pass rush traded
their first round pick and then paid Buckner kind of
a less money than I would have imagined. Fifty seven
total guaranteed. Did sign a shorter deal though four years
(35:44):
twenty one per can become a free agent when he's
like twenty nine and a half thirty years old, so
he's probably thinking I'll cash in again. Like we're seeing
the market here, Clowney, You're not an eighteen million dollar player.
Buckner is much more consistent, a better player than you,
and he's an interior player. Like i'd say, Clowney, probably
fifteen million feels about fair for him. I'd feel comfortable
(36:05):
giving him like four years sixty million, fifteen a year.
It's like, well, he never signed that well, and I
won't get clowning because I ain't given him five years
eighteen a year not doing it. Can't do it, won't
do it, just I couldn't do it. Derrick Henry signs
(36:25):
his tender. Smart move. You know we saw with Levan
Bell sat out when his franchise didn't get any of
the cash. We saw with Melvin Gordon bitching aman and
didn't get any of the cash or missed out on something.
Derrick Henry, when someone's offering you over ten million dollars
to play running back, even if you're worth more than that,
because you're a really good player and on a one
(36:45):
year deal you're probably worth fifteen million dollars to at
least definitely the Titans. You gotta sign franchise tag money.
It's all guaranteed. You get every penny. Uh and even
if you play the next two years on the franchise tag,
which is beneficial for Tennessee, it's been a fig for
you too. You could rack up twenty two million dollars
in two seasons. Look at Melvin Gordon, he could barely
(37:06):
get like ten million dollars guaranteed. Levian Bell, who has
a much longer track record, than you only got twenty
seven total when he hit the open market. The market
for running backs unless Jerry Jones is your general manager
slash owner. Just isn't that good? Eli Apple Vegas? You know,
kind of think Michael Brocker's and the Ravens, and we
see another one with Eli Apple just contract. I don't
(37:27):
really know all the details. Besides, he's just not going
there anymore. Weird times with Corona man. No, uh, people
aren't signing actual contracts. I guess, even though some are,
like Tom Brady signed the actual contract. I might have
to text some people in the league, like why are
some guys putting pen to paper and other guys aren't?
Is it because the maybe the physical scared off the team?
(37:49):
There was some unknown I don't know, but Eli Apple's
no longer a Raider. Okay, let's get to the Middlecoff
mail bag at John Middlecoff Instagram handle d M why
it open slide right in same as a Twitter handle.
How come teams like the Dolphins or the Chargers aren't
jumping on Jamis Winston for a one year deal if
you're gonna take a draft chance and draft to ah
(38:11):
not knowing if he's gonna be a percent. You could
have a decent starter to play at least for this
year and allow to it to learn and get healthy.
Worst case scenario to it doesn't pan out, but you
have a legit starter for the next few years, and
who knows. They make his lightning in a bottle and
Jamis is a totally different player after lazing. We've seen
time and time again a young player getting thrown into
a bad situation they never developed. I agree. I I
(38:36):
think there's a lot of upside there with Jamis. I'm
googling his name right now. I think Jamis is younger
than a lot of people think. People will probably like
how old Jamis. A lot of people be like, oh,
he's twenty nine. Jamis Winston just turned twenty six, had
a ton of head coaches. The one thing all the
guys in Tampa do is they rave about how hard
he works. Now, his decision making is not good, but
(38:59):
there is some off the field questions. Here's it to
be fair, he he got in troubled by having an
interaction with an Uber driver, a female Uber driver. I'm
entertained by watching Jamis. If I was a decision maker,
it would be hard to overcome that I know he.
I think I saw Clyde Christiansan. Christiansen, the quarterback coach
(39:20):
for Bruce Arians, was on Pat McAfee show. McAfee retweeted
it and he loves them. But I I don't know, man.
I get he just got married. I get he's married
his high school girlfriend. He's had some issues, so there
are some maturity issues. Now, sometimes guys mature a little slower,
and maybe he finally figured it out. But I think
(39:43):
there are some fair criticisms now just his talent in
a bottle. I'm with you. If he could figure it out,
if he big if but if he could, you'd have
a legitimate starter. Uh. I know you were asking for questions,
so I have one. What are your thoughts on the
state of the quarterbacks in the a f C East.
(40:03):
Which quarterback will run the tables this year? Who could
fall off? Well, it's kind of a weird group, right.
You got Josh Allen, who's the most physically gifted, but
he's inaccurate down the field. But they've given Stefan Dicks,
who can be a deva and we'll see it's the
most inaccurate quarterback he's ever played with. Then you got
(40:24):
Sam Donald, who I'm a big Sam Donald guy. I
think he's really really talented. Hard to totally judge him.
Last year did get Mono? Uh, offensive line stinks. They
don't have any skill guys. Adam Gaze might just be
an idiot. They got issues, the franchise got issues. And
the Dolphins, I just don't know who the quarterback is
because a Toa is a Herbert. Could somehow they land
(40:47):
Joe Burrow by trading their entire draft to get to one.
I don't know, so there to me is a question.
And Jared Stidham, I've never seen him take a snap,
so it's hard for me to say anything about Jared
Stidham and anything about Miami's quarterback. I like in theory,
Sam darnaldmore, but I'll be honest Jo Josh Allen's growing
on me a lot. And if you've listened to this podcast,
when Sean McDermott came on, I just believe in Sean McDermott.
(41:10):
I think he's the right coach, that that type guy
to be around Josh. They clearly believe in him a lot,
so I would probably go right now Josh, Sam and
then just unknowns huge been listening for over a year,
appreciate that. My white question for you is, as a
huge Texans fan, looking back now a year after the trade,
do you think Laramie Tunzil trade in a vacuum was
(41:32):
worth it? Considering the first round pick is in the
late twenties, Kenny Stills is a productive player. I think
there's an argument to be made the Texans came out
on top. Yeah. To me, if Laramie Tunzil is your
starting left tackle for the next six seven years and
is a Pro Bowler every year, like easily one of
(41:54):
the best players in the league when he plays, Like
when you trade for Cleil Mack or Jalen Ramsey, those
guys are the best players in the league. Even I
thought Khalil was down and he was still pretty damn good.
Larry Tunzel needs to be elite. There can't be. Yeah,
you know there's four or five tackles, but no, he's
gotta be elite. When you trade multiple ones in a
two for a guy, he's gotta be elite. So they
gotta get him under contract. He's gotta be elite. I
(42:16):
think it's unknown. I just time will tell. If he's
just a solid starting left tackle. It's terrible, not good.
He's got to be elite. He was good, he's a
good player. He's gotta be better, Like they need to
take him. He's become one of the best players in
the league. When you think Laramie Tunzel, you should go yeah,
it's one of the best non quarterbacks in the league
any position. That's what you should think about him when
(42:38):
you get traded for that type. Hall And I think
he's a good player. He's he's better than a good player,
but I wouldn't call him a great player. Now, Bill
O'Brien coach him up, Deshaun Watson. Can he become a
great player on their watch? Be cool if he did.
(43:00):
Can Kyler Murray win the m v P this year
like Lamar took the leap his rookie year. I would
say no, and not because I actually believe. I believe
in Kyler Murray more going into a second year than
I definitely did Lamar. Now, I don't know if Kyler
Murray is gonna have Lamar's year, but I think Kyler
Murray is a better passer of the football I would
(43:21):
bet on over the next decade than Lamar Jackson. Lamar
Jackson's success clearly through two years is predicated on the
running the ball, and I like Lamar Jackson. He made
Hughes tries passing the ball the biggest reason though they
want he was the MVP. His team was the number
one overall seed. Part of being an m v P
is you obviously have to have a great year. Usually
(43:42):
your team has to kick ass. Look at Mattie Ice
a couple of years back, Cam Newton a couple of
years back. It's gotta go hand in hand. You gotta
dominate and your team's gotta win. I just don't see
any scenario the Cardinals win more than seven games. Their
defense stinks. They're defense is really bad. And I love Hopkins,
(44:03):
you know idea if you've listened to this, but is
he enough? Like who else they really have? On offense?
Christian Kirk's solid. Larry is an all time great, but
he's like almost forty. Their offensive line is not good.
Running backs in that offense should be pretty easy. But
they can't stop anybody. And they're clearly the fourth best
team in the division. Even the Rams, who have some issues.
(44:23):
I still believe in them more than I do the Cardinals.
And even if the Cardinals, you argue, let's say them
in the Rams are a coin flip this year. Well,
the Niners in Seattle are better. The divisions is so hard.
I just don't see any scenario where they're in the playoffs.
Cliff Kingsbury could barely win seven games in the Big Twelve.
He's gonna win tan in the NFL. I just nice guy.
(44:46):
I mean I ran into him in the combine, didn't
just head nodded, you know, a little overrated. I used
to think everyone hypes him up like the best looking guy.
I mean, he's a good looking dude. But you know,
I wouldn't call him like Ryan Gosling, the actual Ryan Gosling,
better looking dude like I just again, I'm not trying
to diminish Cliff. I actually think he's a good offensive coach.
(45:07):
The hype on him is just just great looking dude. Yeah,
he's solid, I mean, good looking dude. But I was,
I was, I'll be honest with you a little like, yeah,
a little overrated, but no, I'd go no on the
m v P. Now one day, if their teams ever
good enough, they probably you know, if you go in
eleven twelve games and put up stupid numbers then yeah. Uh,
(45:29):
do you think the Saints made the right choice with
keeping Breeze for the most two years instead of seeing
if Teddy would look like full season with Kamara healthy
and more Michael Thomas more than Michael Thomas at wide receiver. Yeah,
I just don't think they have a choice. You know,
Breeze is better than Teddy. I think Teddy's a little overrated.
When you look back at Breeze this season, he missed
(45:51):
six games and was twenty seven and four. He was
pretty damn good. I think he got kind of shipped
on for the playoff game, but he had a pretty
good season even for his standards. If he had been healthy,
he probably would have been like thirty five and six.
Think about that, like he's He's just a much better
player than Teddy. Now when you factor in the money, now,
Drew's only making twenty five this year and Teddy's making twenty,
(46:14):
So the money once Teddy's getting paid, his market's going up.
I see what you're saying. It's just a complicated situation.
I mean, Drew Drew is still really good. Peyton loves him.
This is their year. I thought last year was their year,
but to me, they gotta win Super Bowl this year,
like they are. Football happens, but let's this is their
(46:36):
year to take advantage of it. You got you had
Emmanuel Sanders, Michael Thomas in the peak of his powers,
still got Jared Cook, you got Kamara, you got Latavius Murray.
Your offense is stacked. You got the little returner Harris
that runs like ninety. You've got good defensive players. You've
had the same coaching staff forever now, like no excuses.
You can't lose the Kirk Cousins at home in the
(46:57):
first round. You can't lose the Rams at home. I
get the ref screwed him. They should have kicked a
crap out of him that game. I'll never forget watching
on my couch thinking Jared Goff does not belong in
this game and they kind of just let him hang around.
The Saints have had a lot of bad losses in
the playoffs, given they've been more talented than a lot
of their opponents. Think how many times the Saints, like
(47:20):
at least when you look back, like some of Peyton
Manning's tough losses, like he lost a Belichick a bunch
of times in Indy and then even you'd say as
toughest loss in Denver would be that first year when
they lost to Baltimore in Denver. Well, Baltimore won the
Super Bowl. And another year I'm trying to think that
they lost to they lost the Super Bowl to Seattle. Yeah,
(47:40):
Seattle was an all time great team like those those
actually lost is kind of where better? Like the Saints
this year lost to the freaking Minnesota Vikings at home
when they were almost a ten point favor I think
it was like eight and a half points they lost.
How how does that happen? Two years ago? You're at
home against the Rams. Shouldn't even be a tight game
(48:02):
in the second half, you're better. The Ramps scored three
points in the Super Bowl. I have to look at
the score that game, but you should drop thirty five
on them. So I think the Saints, of you could
argue they've underachieved a little bit. I thought their team
the last handful of years has been stacked even for Yeah,
I mean they've been missing a second receiver, but you
had Jared Cooks the running game. Kamar operates like a
(48:23):
wide receiver. I think he's had what's is gonna be
a third year in the league. He's had eighty one
catches pretty sure in both years. So he's if you're
getting your second receivers catching eighty one balls, even if
he's a running back, it's pretty good shape. So the
Saints time is now, man, because the time is now.
Appreciate everyone listening, even during these crazy times. Uh, keep
(48:47):
your head up, We'll keep her head up, and we'll
just try to get through it together. And I'm glad
I could talk football for about forty five minutes for
you and have a safe weekend, and I'll talk to
you guys next week.
What is going on everybody? John Middlecoff three and out podcast,
That's Me, That's the Show, Thursday, April two, late afternoon recording.
This got a decent amount going on in the NFL.
Alton Smith signs. I went through a Mike Sando article
he talked to a bunch of executives around the league
(00:31):
and just their thoughts on every team in free agency.
I pulled some of the more interesting quotes, uh, some
other stuff just in terms of the draft obviously, some
topics flying around in terms of two up is Jannick
and Doc Way gonna get traded? What's gonna happen with
Laramie Tunzil And then of course the Middlecoff mailbag at
(00:51):
John Middlecoff is my Instagram handle. You can slide right
into the d m s and ask me anything you want.
Be a little honest. It's a little weird, you know,
doing a football podcast in the middle of listen in
my adult life. Probably one of the darkest days in
American history, right, I mean, we had ten million people
(01:13):
filed filed for unemployment. And I'm keeping it positive here.
I I'm feeling good. Luckily, I happen to be lucky
to do a job that I basically work for myself
that I can do it at home. I basically quarantined
before quarantine became a thing. But my friends and family
are small business people. Uh my my brother works in
(01:35):
a small business. Luckily he's a farmer, and you need
to keep the food going. But I know a lot
of you guys listening are in industries, whether you're you
work for someone and you're losing your job or getting furloughed,
whether you are run a business that's shut down. These
are you know, crazy times. And I don't really know
(01:56):
what to say. I mean, you can say keep your
head up and it's all that stuff, but it's tough.
You know, you gotta shut down the doors. You're losing
your business, you're losing your job. Uh, these are this
is wild. I mean, it's it's really that simple. It's
really really a wild time. I know, for me personally,
to two incidents that really stand out in my life
would be nine eleven. To be completely honest, nine eleven
(02:19):
did not hit me like it would now, not even close.
I was in high school. I think I was. I
think it wasn't. Sophomore year of high school. You're just
so naive to the way the world works and the impact.
Obviously you understand the impact of people dying in the planes,
but the overall impact of society, I couldn't even begin
to grasp it. And then in two thousand and eight,
(02:41):
when the housing crisis, I just graduated college. I was
a graduate assistant frist and say I had no money.
I was not a homeowner. I had no money in
the stock market. I was worth nothing. So that that
affected me. Obviously, nine eleven was the probably the most
powerful event of my lifetime. Like you just see people dying.
In two thousand eight nine Fresno State, we started furlowing
(03:04):
people and people were over their head in their house
and having to short sale their house. Like you understand,
I could kind of see it was crazy, But again
it didn't impact me. This one impacts me because I
see it with my friends, all my friends now that
I went to college with, or grew up with, or
my age, They're working jobs, getting laid off, their companies
are holding on by a thread. People, my people that
(03:26):
listen to me, that I interact with on social media,
I feel it. I I get it. Hell, it's impacted me.
On my other podcast, advertisers moving around. It's crazy at times.
And just know, if you going through tough times, I'm
thinking about you, We're all thinking about you, and you
just you know me. I'm I'm a big capitalist economy guy.
(03:46):
It's I hate this coronavirus. We all do. And starting
to see the impact of what it's doing now to
our society is pretty eye opening. It was clear that
it was coming this way when everything shut down. Uh
and I talk about football and there is It's really
the only thing that's happened over the last two weeks
(04:07):
was free agency, and luckily, you know, I was someone
that thought maybe they should push it back, because I
don't necessarily think free agency or the draft. I don't know.
Colin went on a brand about it gives hope to me.
The Corona going away gives hope to me. Saying people
can open up their businesses, or consumers feeling okay gives hope.
I think the draft is a little bit more of
(04:28):
a band aid. And again I'm not you know me,
I'm not a moral high horse guy. I'm fine with
them hosting the draft, even though it is, like my
big thing is if they're gonna make your horse to
the draft. If you're a general manager, you got what
you got to understand and attack the best way possible
to figure out a way to run your draft, even
if you've got to do it over zoom, if you've
(04:50):
got to do it from your kitchen table. But I
also the last couple of days, I understand that I
get every general manager. The NFL is not a lazy league.
The NFL is not a league it loves time off.
It's it's a league full of grinders, general managers, head
coaches that they're working countless hours seven three sixty five.
Coaches and gms live in the office. Scouts work year round.
(05:14):
These guys love to work, mainly because if you work
in football, even as you become jaded to the sport,
you do love it. You know. It's not one of
those jobs like, yeah, I just became an insurance salesman,
you know, I just I got into real estate business,
been good or what. I usually don't just just got
into football. I mean, it's something you kind of have
to even if you are a player, to ultimately get
(05:34):
into coaching or into obviously executive work with scouting takes
some efforts and usually gotta start at the ground floor.
So these guys love what they do, and I think
all of them, if they could vote, could you move
it back a little bit? Would vote thirty two to nothing.
Now the owners, the the league office, I understand because
(05:56):
the television networks know this. The Michael Jordan documentary has
got of up. Twitter love to take credit for the
Michael Jordan. Twitter forced ESPN's hand. You know what forced
ESPN's hand. They don't have any inventory, they have nothing
to show nothing. You know what I watched the other
day the nine World Series Kirby Pucket, John Smoltz. It
(06:20):
was zero zero in the eleventh inning. It was it
was an unreal game. Well, I can't forget even the
picture for the twins US guy name escapes me again.
I was, you know, date me and I was born
eighty four Jack Morris, who went in the extras that
it was. I was watching that game. I was like, actually,
know what's kind of entertaining. But that's what I'm doing
right now because I I watched those arcs, I watched
(06:43):
Tiger Key. I had nothing to watch, so I get
it like it's it's gonna get enormous ratings, probably the
highest rated, you know draft ever, but I do understand
both sides of the argument. The more intense this thing goes, right,
there was an agent, a prominent agent who lost his parents,
who represents Doug Baldwin, a couple other I think the
Griffin brothers that are on the Seahawks, other players throughout
(07:05):
the league like this, this is going to impact other
people in the NFL. And it's just a crazy time.
And I don't really I don't know what else to
say besides like talking about Alden Smith when all this
is going on. Like even me, who I've been talking
sports my entire life. I'm thirty five for as long
as I could talk. I've been talking sports. Like maybe
(07:26):
it's you're just growing up, You're just older. I'm at
a different place in my life. I find it a
little difficult. I'm gonna be completely honest. Uh, but I
know that people like to listen to something else listen.
I I I can only watch so much news in general,
let alone right now. Right, so you just the draft.
But at the end of the day, the draft ends
(07:46):
and we're quarantined for another month. You know it Just
I guess it is what it is. And I'm not
trying to think like I get asked all the time
football in the fall, it's I'm recording this on April second,
Let's just see what happens. And in April early May,
let's just take a month by month, day by day,
just follow the rules and see what happens. And and luckily,
(08:08):
you know I I say this where I was probably
wrong is the NFL allowing teams to do business has
just given us stories like Alden Smith he signs with
the Cowboys. I mean that if they just wouldn't have
allowed that, none of this would have happened. And you know,
a lot of people have been asking me, what do
you think about all the Smith joining the Cowboys. My
first response is I haven't seen up to this point
(08:31):
how much they guaranteed him. I would imagine zero, because
he didn't have any other offers. He hasn't played in
the league since two thousand five or excuse me, fifteen.
But I had a front row seat for like three
years of Alden Smith. I went to basically every Niner
game from thirteen, fourteen and fifteen. Uh. Some of those games, hell,
he didn't even play in because he was suspended. I
remember going to the game against the Carolina Panthers when
(08:54):
he got a d u I. He got a d
u I on Friday morning, was arrested clearly because they
found him asleep in front of the I think it
was a it was either a telephone pole or a tree.
He passed out in the car, gets arrested, goes to
the drunk tank. By the time he gets out by
ten or eleven, they bring him to the practic facility.
(09:16):
He's on the practice field by noon, probably still wasted
in plays on Sunday. It was wild, it was crazy,
but it happened, and Alden Smith has just one of
the probably what could have been careers in NFL history.
I've walked by him before in a league full of freaks.
When I say this about Cam Newton, he's on the
high end of freaks. Six five six six, arms hang
(09:39):
down to the ground, explosive athlete, he's a fluid athlete.
He's a powerful guy. I don't know what he is now,
but Jim tom Seula is the defensive line coach for
the Cowboys at the end of the day. Jerry Jones,
he's taken gambles his entire life. So a gamble that
has lower like to me signing a Marie Cooper. That's
that's a pretty risky gamble, because if a Marie Cooper
is not elite, that's a big time him overpay taking
(10:02):
no risk flyers on guys like all the can be
bad for your brand. You know, he gets it, he
gets a d U I he gets in trouble, that's
on you, Jerry, Like you had enough of a resume
and a history of this player to go. No one
to blame but the cowboys. If this guy gets in trouble,
I don't give a ship what he told you. I've
turned around my life. I'm a better human. Every person
(10:22):
says that when they're trying to get a job and
they're at rock bottom. Some guys turn their life around.
And maybe this guy has had enough rock bottoms. But
I always struggle with guys that have a history of addiction.
When you're in a situation like this and it's I'm
all for help, I'm all for multiple chances. If it's
not like you know, violent criminals and now there were
(10:43):
some domestic violence with this stuff that are a little
you know, I don't know how substance they are, substantive
they are, It's not like he you know it for
sure happened. It was he said, she said, but that's
also there. So there are multiple red flags with this
individual big time. But Jerry Jones would say, I've hung
my career on taking chances. And really that's what the
(11:04):
NFL is. It is not the place where morals are set.
It's not a place in society that, like, you know what, kids,
this is the way to do things. Certain players are
I got no problem pointing number like Dak Prescott, right, Hey,
you follow Dak Prescott or you follow Shan Lee right.
You live your life like that guy. You live your
(11:26):
life like Jason Witten. Would you say you live your
life like Zeke? You know, Zeke's got a little trouble.
You say you live your life like Aldon Smith? Hell no, so,
but you need as Moose Johnson, who back when I
had a radio show six or seven years ago in
San Francisco, he can't used to come on. And the
way he described his team and he believes this is
in general, you need players of character. A great team
(11:49):
has this players of character and characters that can play
and you mess it together. And that's where it's on
the players of character. You need some the guy certain
guys to be really good. Right on his team's it
was Troy Aigmant, And then you need a great coach
to kind of corral them. Ale and Mike McCarthy, you know,
has a history of coaching just about everybody. I would
(12:10):
say the Packers, just thinking off the top of my head,
didn't take too many chances. But you know it's just
the counter would be, Okay, he gets a d U
I the Cowboys cut him? Who really cares? What does
that mean? And I think history would show you it
doesn't really mean that much. Like they get crushed on
social media and the Dallas Morning News writes a headline, Oh,
(12:32):
Jerry Jones screws up again. Does that mean less people
are gonna watch the Cowboy game the next week? Of
course not? So what does like? What does bad press now?
If it's something like Alden Smith, I don't even know.
I don't even want to go into hypotheticals, but you
could argue there's probably a line that if he jumps over,
it's just it's just a bad look for the NFL,
because this is not a second chance for the player.
(12:54):
This is like a fourth. He probably had four or
five with the Niners. He had some sketchy things happened
with the Raiders or just questionable things, and they kind
of stock by them until the league took it out
of their control. But you know, guys like Alden Smith,
even at this point three or four years, when you
have that much talent, talented people get a longer rope.
(13:16):
It's just in life in the private sector, in big,
big business, right, it's just gonna happen because let's say this,
Jim tom Seul, the defensive line coach, somehow gets all
then on the straight and narrow. He's cleaned up his life,
he's sober. Alden has eight nine sacks. He's like the
story of the year. And if the cowboys are good.
And that's the way that teams always convince themselves, well,
(13:37):
this is the time he figures it out. There's an
arrogance to front offices, to teams two coaches. They believe
it's always them, Just like I'm sure many of you
that these crazy times like I'll figure it out, I'll
get through it. Hell, I'm telling myself that, I'm sure
many of you are telling yourself that even and when
it doesn't pencil, you're like, I don't know how I'm
gonna last. You just keep telling yourself that, and I
(13:57):
think that's what happens with these troubled players. But they
have to be talented the moment, they are just average.
They just out of the league. See it gone by
later and this guy might be average or whatever. There's
no given guarantee Alden's gonna make the team, but there's
been in the history of the NFL, and I'd even
say just sports in general. Aldon Smith's keep resurfacing, and
(14:18):
there'll be another guy in five years, ten years that
will have a similar career path and will get seven
eight chances. You know, Antonio Brown probably be in the
league this year. As crazy as that is. For as
crazy I mean his batshit crazy as he went over
the last calendar year, Someone's gonna give him another chance.
Why because for a six year period, average like catches
(14:40):
and nine and a half touchdowns again a year it
was uncoverable. And it's thirty one or thirty two years
old right now, So yeah, he might be the biggest
loon in the last twenty years. Someone's gonna give m
a chance. Just the reality of the NFL. Okay, let's
dive into this. Mike Sando Rights for the Athletic shameless plug.
I do too. I highly recommend get involved reading their
(15:03):
stuff if you like football. They cover every NFL team,
especially once football comes back. I mean, it's it's excellent stuff.
He's a national writer. I've been following him. I think
we follow each other on Twitter. I've met him a
couple of times. A really good guy, but knows his
stuff and it's very very well connected. He's also the
guy that does the quarterback tears right every year. I
(15:24):
think right before the season. Maybe it does in the
off season. I don't even know what day it is,
so it's hard for me to figure out that the calendar.
But he does that article. I know Colin talks about
it on the show. Everyone that talks about football talks
about his tier article. In this article. What he does
he goes team by team and anonymously general managers, coaches,
and executives give their opinion on that team's free agency.
(15:48):
So what I thought I'd do is I read the
whole thing skin read like a like a lawyer does
in law school. Just fire through it, and I picked
just certain things that jumped out to me, and I
just wanted to hit on him. Let's start with the
first thing. I'm not trying to be a dead horse
on this, but the number one theme when the Arizona
Cardinals and the Houston Texans on both their rite ups
came up. For the Arizona Cardinals, how the hell did
(16:08):
they get rid of David Johnson and get Hopkins back?
How's it even possible you had a running back that
is trending the wrong way who makes over ten million dollars.
No one was trading for that contract. What did I
say when Todd Gurley? Remember Mike Silver report and again
Mike Silver is my guy. Davis guys, when he wrote
a lot of a lot of trade buzz about Todd Gurley. Yeah,
(16:30):
the trade buzz was Sean McVeigh and less need talking
about it. No one touches toxic running back contracts. Nobody.
You can trade for a toxic d line contract, hopefully
you can resurrect the guy like Olivier Vernon. You can
trade for overpriced offensive lineman happens all the time. You
can trade for hell over priced wide receivers. No one
(16:52):
touches running backs, especially a running back that's making over
ten million dollars and has some injury concerns, Yet the
Arizona Cardinals got Hopkins back. I mean it was highway robbery.
I mean it was crazy. I was thinking, like, I
bet there's one executive that's gonna say the media is overhyped.
All of them said, it's just it's baffling and the reality.
(17:13):
One thing they mentioned in there is they've been trying
to trade this guy for a year and a half.
And I think sometimes coaches, you know, it's weird and
maybe we're all like this. You get when you have
an employee, a girlfriend, your kid. They can just someone
gets into your doghouse. I'm a big believer in the faster.
That's different when it's your wife or your kid. But
(17:35):
we're we all get mad at different people. It's no
different than a coach. When when a players in a
coaches doghouse, that's the equivalent of saying the coach is
mad at the player. That's one thing that the player sucks.
But I'm saying, if it's one of your best players,
you can still get in your doghouse, have a bad game,
not practice. One of the knocks on Hopkins was like,
you know, he just doesn't practice during the week. My
question is honestly, who gives a damn he has? He's
(17:59):
average over hunter just back to back of years. You know,
who doesn't fans the opposing team that he's catching seven
balls a game on in the playoff game, when he's
scoring touchdowns, Like I one thing that doesn't fly in
in the league is your practice habits once you're an
elite player. To me, as you know, as a media
guy when I was a scout, I get it if
(18:20):
he's a bad guy, but Hopkins never been in trouble
Like okay, he doesn't have the greatest work habits anymore
during the work week because he's banged up or he
just nurses injury. I'm sorry. Like I, I can get
if you produce on Sunday. That's the whole point of
this whole thing. And he's a winning player because clearly
the Texans have been doing a lot of winning. And
beside like when J. J. Watts healthy and Deshaun Watson, like,
(18:42):
he's our best player, so you trade him for a
running back in a decent second round pick, it doesn't
make sense. Now, I get it. He's not a speed demon.
He's not a guy that consistently gets open. But it
doesn't matter. He's a type player like and Kwan Bolden
couldn't get open for like the last ten years of
his career. Crabtree had a bunch of good years in Oakland,
and obviously Hopkins better than both those two guys. Okay,
(19:05):
you can't run whatever. Davante Adams isn't Mr Fast. I watched, uh,
we did this thing on my other podcast. We did
a real watchable. I watched the Saints game. We watched
the Saints game in the Niners game from weeks at
Week fourteen last year. You know, I think the final
score was the it was six game probably best, right,
He's the game of the year. Michael Thomas isn't getting
open really like Richard Shermans all over him. He just
(19:27):
makes contested catches. Because's a monster. That's Hopkins Monster winning player. Okay,
he dogs it on Thursday. I'm sorry, I just don't.
I don't care. That's that. That deals insane. Amari Cooper
getting twenty million dollars is I just don't like paying
premiums for non premium players. What makes no sense If
I'm Jerry Jones, the moment you trade a first round
(19:48):
pick for him, and then that year. You know, they
made the playoffs and Amory kind of remember saved their season.
You should have signed him after that offseason and quote
unquote overpay and an overpay then might have been like
million dollar others. Instead two years later you end up
giving him. I guess it was a year later, so
it should have been last offseason. You could have get
him for fifty million dollars instead of a year later
(20:10):
you're paying him twenty million a year and you guarantee
him sixty I like Amari Cooper and to show you
his his talent, like he's more talented coming out of college.
For for as much as we all kind of blow
Jerry Judy and rightfully so I like Jerry Judy. I
like Henry Rugs. I like Ceedee Lamb. I like I mean,
these guys are gonna be couple, maybe two or three
of them are gonna be pro bowlers. Maori was a
(20:32):
better prospect than all of them, easily. Maybe not easily,
but like note like if Amory coming out of Alabama
was in this class with all these other guys, am
aready be the top guy. A Mari has underachieved through
five years, averaging basically seventy five catches, a thousand yards
and about six and a half touchdowns a year underachieved.
(20:52):
I think that speaks to his talent, freak talent, but
one of them Ari's issues. And I see this all
the time, like once, what makes great NFL wide receivers
Like there are a lot of talented NFL wide receivers, right,
But what makes the truth? Like Julio is a freak,
But what makes Julio truly great? He's a dog, he
ain't scared, he's fearless, he's relentless. Think about all the
(21:16):
topic Michael Thomas rewatching that Saints game. Michael Thomas is
a monster. Hein't the fastest guy on the field, and
he's not even wide open half the time. He just
he's a beast. Davante Adams monster, Keenan Allen monster, the
Tampa Bay guys beasts. When I watched Deebo Samuel kind
of come into his own. He just a physical he
just ain't scared. And I love Doug Baldwin for years
(21:42):
in Seattle. Fearless and he was never an elite guy,
but he was a damn good player. Amari, He's just
you know, I wouldn't call him soft. But I wouldn't
call him, like from NFL standards, tough. He ain't Michael Irvin,
he ain't Terrell Owens like. He's just a little softer
and he's gonna be fine. You'll get balls. He's a
(22:02):
freak talent. But it's just sixty million dollars. It's like, Jerry,
why did you wait so long to sign him? Especially
once you give the first round pick for him. I'm
a big believer in this, and maybe general managers would say, well,
John easier said than done. The moment I'm gonna trade
a first round pick for a guy, I have to
have a contract extension done, like the Forest Buckner done
(22:24):
the moment they got him. Chicago Bears get Khalil Mack done.
You know what I don't like doing what the Houston
Texans are doing with Laramy Tunzil. We'll talk about that later.
What the l A Rams are doing with Jalen Ramsey.
I like trading for you and signing you immediately. The
Forest Buckner Seattle did it a couple of times when
they traded for like Jimmy Graham extend him. I like
(22:46):
doing that, like getting a guy under contract the moment
Howie Roseman trades for Darius Slight extends him. Now, obviously
he didn't trade a first round pick. But when I
trade for a guy I really like, I extend and
then I get him at a at a cheaper rate
than I do at a market rate. Once his contract ends,
the number skyrockets. The Colton Rivers one thing, a couple
(23:08):
executives said, and I think we have to be aware
of this. I love Philip Rivers. He's a badass. I've
watched way too many Charger games over the last decade now.
He's been hit or missed over the years, but when
he's on, he's an awesome player to root for as
a fan. And that's the first and foremost what I
am when it comes to football. That's that's why I
talk about it. Like if I wasn't a fan of football,
(23:31):
it just this wouldn't be. I wouldn't do this. I
love football at my core. It's like I love sports.
I'm a fan. I'm a big sports fan, and I
think as sports fans we really value when guys we
feel like they give a ship as much as we do,
they care as much as we do. It's why the
biggest legends, right Brady Jordan's, Kobe Manning, Tiger. It's like, yeah,
(23:56):
those guys care more than I do. If you're like
the die hard Patriot and even you'd be like, yeah,
Brady liked football more than me, and I love and
I love the Pats, right, Or you're a Bulls fan,
you like, yeah, Michael liked it more than me. But
then there are guys you're just like, I don't know,
Rivers always a guy. He's given you everything he has.
You can't like football any more than Phillip Rivers like football.
(24:16):
But he's thirty eight, thirty nine years old. His arm
strength has never been great, and he looked really really
old last year, and he's always kind of had an
old game. There's a chance he shot. And I think
the point in this article was like they kind of
sold out all for this year, right, and then they
give away their first round pick to get the Forest Buck,
like they gotta be good and if you're just a
(24:37):
one and done team in the playoffs, you go, was
it worth it? That's a good question. We're gonna find out.
But there's a chance that Rivers is just by about
I don't know, November one, you know, eight nine games
and we realize, yeah, it's just he's shot. We forget
sometimes in two thousand and twenty, like, being old is
not easy in pro sports. It's not normal to be
in your forties and playing pro sports. Hell, it's not
(25:00):
able to do like what Lebron is doing at thirty five,
seventeen years in and still look like the best player
in the world. It's not normal. Usually, Like I get
modern medicine. I mean, Tiger Woods had backfused knee and
he's still when the Master's last year. Like some of
these I get it at times have changed, so you
gotta look at age a little differently. I still am
a believer, though, is like, not every thirty eight year
(25:20):
old is the same. Roethlisberger at thirty eight and Tom
Brady at thirty eight are not the same. Even Philip
Rivers has taken a lot of hits. He is a
weathered older guy. Now. I don't think he's I don't
think he drinks, clearly doesn't smoke or anything. But to me,
the wear and tear on the body is big. One
thing someone said, I disagree with this. Marcus Mariotta, one
(25:42):
of the executives, said that he thinks he'll start ten games.
I don't think that will happen, but it's a pretty
big red flag that I think a general manager brought up.
If you thought Derek Carr was your franchise quarterback, why
would you make Marcus Mariotta the highest paid backup in
the league. Like if you have a young franchise quarterback,
a guy under thirty who's under contract, why wouldn't you
buy like a case Keenum or something for like two
(26:04):
or three million or three or four million and use
that extra money on other players. It's pretty and I
was like, I didn't really think about that because I
think car is better than Mariota. But does gridn't think that?
Because why would you have a contingency such a highly
highly paid contingency plan You could easily just get a
lower level guy. Maybe they don't think Derek is their
(26:26):
franchise guy, and you know, knowing people in the organization,
I think they go back and forth. I don't think
with o t As being gone, there's no way Mario
like Derek starting week one. That's a lock. There's just
no way for Mariota to learn the offense. They won't
have any practice till training camp. To me, the question
is what happens if there two and three or three
(26:47):
and five in the new stadium and it's just not
good Vegas. Is you talk about a recession. No economy
gets hit harder in you know, tough times than Vegas,
especially now. I mean the casinos are shut down first time.
Sin's like JFK Sash Nation. There's gonna be pressure on
(27:07):
them to win and Derek to play well, and if
he doesn't, they got a guy that started a lot
of games. The Jets. The executives kind of crushed Joe
Douglas for like fan and McGovern I think it's how
you say his name again. At this point in my
scouting career, I'm not locked in. I mean, obviously I've
seen a lot of fan because he played for Seattle,
(27:28):
but McGovern like, I'm not breaking down every offensive lineman,
but they kind of crushed him for these guys being
pretty average. The point is this offensive line is not fixed,
and their offensive line last year then the Cardinals probably
missing some teams, but they probably the two worst offensive
lines in the league, and picking out eleven. When I
(27:48):
did a mock draft on the Athletic I was like, yeah,
you know what, I'm gonna give the New York Jets
Jerry Judy because they need a star wide receiver form
to throw. To the way of reading this, the executives
thinks their offensive line still stay, so you could probably
justify taking a tackle. Pretty interesting take on Brady to Tampa.
And when Peyton Manning fell off a cliff in two thousand,
(28:11):
a year sixteen, it was it the fifteen season and
then it was the sixteen Super Bowl. So he's been
done now for four or five years. His arm was
done and he never had a great arm, but he
could not throw that year. He could never move. But
Brady could never move either. Neither could Philip rivers the
difference between Brady and some of those guys and Breeze.
He has a big arm. Now he doesn't have like
(28:32):
Aaron Rodgers arm, but he got a pretty damn good arm.
He has a different level arm than those guys. Is
if he was a picture, is he throwing nine? No,
but he's cruising in five where Manning was like even
in his prime, probably like ninety, but he was so
accurate it didn't matter. It's a great Maddox pinpoint, right,
(28:53):
you can get away with throwing ninety if you know
exactly where it's gonna go. If you throw five, you
get a lot room for error. Now, if you factor
and you throw and you can paint, it's a rap.
And the point these executives were saying is like Brady
is a multiplier, like Peyton when he showed him to Denver,
He'll elevate everyone, just from a standard standpoint and a
(29:14):
work ethics standpoint. And a lot of people are like,
is he shot? Is he shot? His arm is not shot.
So if they can protect them, they definitely have the weapons.
They can win with them. Now can they kind of
meld this offense of Bruce Arians and what Tom wants
to do with the wide receivers in the middle of Corona?
There are going to be challenges. But every executive said,
(29:36):
which I think every human that has common sense that
watched Tom last year, Hugh shot, Well, what do you mean,
like he gets sacked because he can't move. Well, he's
never been able to move. He's been slow since he
came in the league in two thousands. But his arm
is still good. Now is he throwing ninety five? Now? Okay,
maybe he's throwing ninety three. You can still get guys
out throwing ninety three. And when you add Mike Evans,
(29:57):
you had O. J. Howard, you had Godwin, you keep
cam Bright. Maybe you drafted him a good running back.
Now if you can protect him like you can win
with them now the offense and the one the one
thing they brought up is like Bruce Arian Staff. They're
not Belichick. They're not in the office sun up till sundown,
burning the midnight. Oh Arians tells guys to go home,
(30:18):
which I do think in some realm it's healthy. Brady's
used to I can text Josh Mthdaniels at five thirty
in the morning, I can text him at midnight. Peyton
was notorious. I remember when I when I got on
the road, I'd run into people that were in Denver
and Indy and I just, I just, I mean it
was Peyton Manning. I want to know all about him there,
Like he could wear people out. We had to give
(30:39):
him specific coaches to break down his film, you know,
like he got his own quality control guys. He's just maniacal,
you know, in a good way, in a way of
like he's got high freaking standards. And Peyton's point of
difference always was I gottaut think you because I can't
out physically you. I'm not gonna throw these Aaron Rodgers
sixty yard ropes. I gotta know exactly what you're doing.
(31:01):
You know, the the football I I guess it was
a football life. But the top one hundred when Brady
was in there, I guess was Ed Reid and Belichick
and and Belichick saying the greatest player ever saw was
Ed Reid full and Peyton mannings all they're playing chess
and Tom Brady I would say definitely the second half
of his career. He was the ultimate combo. It's why
(31:21):
he passed Peyton of being physically more superior, because they
had a much better arm and the same level work
ethic in mind film officionado and just the ultimate grinder.
He could text Josh McDaniels at all hours of the
night and I just wonder the mesh, like, is Tampa
ready for what they're getting? Because because Tom is a
grinder and we're about to find out. Okay, let's bang
(31:41):
out another just I'm gonna go rapid fire on just
stories that I saw today. I guess maybe over the
last couple of days. Mike Garifolo of NFL Network bald
Guy Beard one of the one of the rare guys
that can pull out younger guy can pull off a
col de sac. Some of us were gonna shave our heads,
said that to A medical check looks outstanding. I think
(32:05):
there's a lot of unknown information with TOA. We're going
to find out on draft day what the NFL thinks
of him. I assume he's gonna get drafted somewhere between
two and three and four. Right, A team is gonna
trade up to ensure they get him if he's healthy,
if he's got some major red flag not out of
the Roman possibility he drops, and if he drops, it
(32:27):
would just be clearly the hip which this is gonna
be a type of scenario or situation that teams aren't
gonna show their hand right now. So we won't know
until the draft what the NFL thinks of tah Jack's
want a first round pick for Yannick in doc way,
I just don't get the Jaguars one of the better
players they've drafted in recent memory. I think he was
(32:49):
a third round pick, so he's going into his I
guess he just finished his fourth year, right, he's franchise, right, now,
I just I don't get it. I mean, they are
just a disaster as a Franchi, absolute disaster. They draft
in the top six seven picks every freaking year except
the one outlier season they've had. All these premium picks,
(33:10):
all of them are gone. Then they land a guy
not in the first round who's sweet and he wants
to leave. It's just what a what a just train
wreck franchise. Laramie Tunzel wants to be the highest paid
offensive lineman in the league. Here's my issue. The moment
you trade two ones and a two, this happened to
(33:31):
Jalen Ramsey and this happened to Laramie Tunzel. They obviously
got Kenny Stills in the deal as well with Laramie Tunzel,
but still, that was a little more add on that.
You could say Kenny Still is probably worth a third
or fourth, where Laramie Tunzel was worth the majority of
that fright, that was for Laramie Tunzil. The moment you
(33:51):
trade that much for Laramie Tunzel or I put Jalen
Ramsey in this category too, you have to extend him immediately.
You don't wait until after the season to start figuring
it out. If the Rams were going to trade for
Jalen Ramsey, they should have had a deal set in place.
It's not worth giving up that much unless he's signing
on the dotted line. You just can't do it like
(34:15):
Laramie Tunzel. Now, granted, Laramie Tunel was under contract, a
little easier to deal with. I guess Jalen Ramsey is
two in his fifth year. But you let these guys
get to the final year their contract, they start getting
leverage the moment you trade all these picks. It's one
thing to like trade a second or third round pick.
You could argue, like how he could have just played
it out once he trades the third in the fifth form.
(34:37):
But when you get when you trade that much first
round picks, multiple first round picks, and you don't extend
them on the spot, it's bad business, period, point blank,
end of story. Bad NFL business. Because if you're willing
to trade multiple ones for a player, you want to
make that guy a long term, valuable asset for your team, Well,
you want to get him under contract immediately so that
(34:59):
deal looks cheaper the faster and the longer you have
him on your team. Khalil Mack right, you get him,
you sign him. Laremy Tunzel, you get him, and then
you wait to sign him, and now he's got you.
Kind of been over the barrel. He's in control. Clowney,
his asking prices dropping, no ship Like Clowney, the market
was the market, like we just that was the market.
(35:22):
Well I'm worth this, No, actually you're not. You literally
hit free agency, countless teams that needed pass rushers, breaking
guys off. The Colts who desperately needed pass rush traded
their first round pick and then paid Buckner kind of
a less money than I would have imagined. Fifty seven
total guaranteed. Did sign a shorter deal though four years
(35:44):
twenty one per can become a free agent when he's
like twenty nine and a half thirty years old, so
he's probably thinking I'll cash in again. Like we're seeing
the market here, Clowney, You're not an eighteen million dollar player.
Buckner is much more consistent, a better player than you,
and he's an interior player. Like i'd say, Clowney, probably
fifteen million feels about fair for him. I'd feel comfortable
(36:05):
giving him like four years sixty million, fifteen a year.
It's like, well, he never signed that well, and I
won't get clowning because I ain't given him five years
eighteen a year not doing it. Can't do it, won't
do it, just I couldn't do it. Derrick Henry signs
(36:25):
his tender. Smart move. You know we saw with Levan
Bell sat out when his franchise didn't get any of
the cash. We saw with Melvin Gordon bitching aman and
didn't get any of the cash or missed out on something.
Derrick Henry, when someone's offering you over ten million dollars
to play running back, even if you're worth more than that,
because you're a really good player and on a one
(36:45):
year deal you're probably worth fifteen million dollars to at
least definitely the Titans. You gotta sign franchise tag money.
It's all guaranteed. You get every penny. Uh and even
if you play the next two years on the franchise tag,
which is beneficial for Tennessee, it's been a fig for
you too. You could rack up twenty two million dollars
in two seasons. Look at Melvin Gordon, he could barely
(37:06):
get like ten million dollars guaranteed. Levian Bell, who has
a much longer track record, than you only got twenty
seven total when he hit the open market. The market
for running backs unless Jerry Jones is your general manager
slash owner. Just isn't that good? Eli Apple Vegas? You know,
kind of think Michael Brocker's and the Ravens, and we
see another one with Eli Apple just contract. I don't
(37:27):
really know all the details. Besides, he's just not going
there anymore. Weird times with Corona man. No, uh, people
aren't signing actual contracts. I guess, even though some are,
like Tom Brady signed the actual contract. I might have
to text some people in the league, like why are
some guys putting pen to paper and other guys aren't?
Is it because the maybe the physical scared off the team?
(37:49):
There was some unknown I don't know, but Eli Apple's
no longer a Raider. Okay, let's get to the Middlecoff
mail bag at John Middlecoff Instagram handle d M why
it open slide right in same as a Twitter handle.
How come teams like the Dolphins or the Chargers aren't
jumping on Jamis Winston for a one year deal if
you're gonna take a draft chance and draft to ah
(38:11):
not knowing if he's gonna be a percent. You could
have a decent starter to play at least for this
year and allow to it to learn and get healthy.
Worst case scenario to it doesn't pan out, but you
have a legit starter for the next few years, and
who knows. They make his lightning in a bottle and
Jamis is a totally different player after lazing. We've seen
time and time again a young player getting thrown into
a bad situation they never developed. I agree. I I
(38:36):
think there's a lot of upside there with Jamis. I'm
googling his name right now. I think Jamis is younger
than a lot of people think. People will probably like
how old Jamis. A lot of people be like, oh,
he's twenty nine. Jamis Winston just turned twenty six, had
a ton of head coaches. The one thing all the
guys in Tampa do is they rave about how hard
he works. Now, his decision making is not good, but
(38:59):
there is some off the field questions. Here's it to
be fair, he he got in troubled by having an
interaction with an Uber driver, a female Uber driver. I'm
entertained by watching Jamis. If I was a decision maker,
it would be hard to overcome that I know he.
I think I saw Clyde Christiansan. Christiansen, the quarterback coach
(39:20):
for Bruce Arians, was on Pat McAfee show. McAfee retweeted
it and he loves them. But I I don't know, man.
I get he just got married. I get he's married
his high school girlfriend. He's had some issues, so there
are some maturity issues. Now, sometimes guys mature a little slower,
and maybe he finally figured it out. But I think
(39:43):
there are some fair criticisms now just his talent in
a bottle. I'm with you. If he could figure it out,
if he big if but if he could, you'd have
a legitimate starter. Uh. I know you were asking for questions,
so I have one. What are your thoughts on the
state of the quarterbacks in the a f C East.
(40:03):
Which quarterback will run the tables this year? Who could
fall off? Well, it's kind of a weird group, right.
You got Josh Allen, who's the most physically gifted, but
he's inaccurate down the field. But they've given Stefan Dicks,
who can be a deva and we'll see it's the
most inaccurate quarterback he's ever played with. Then you got
(40:24):
Sam Donald, who I'm a big Sam Donald guy. I
think he's really really talented. Hard to totally judge him.
Last year did get Mono? Uh, offensive line stinks. They
don't have any skill guys. Adam Gaze might just be
an idiot. They got issues, the franchise got issues. And
the Dolphins, I just don't know who the quarterback is
because a Toa is a Herbert. Could somehow they land
(40:47):
Joe Burrow by trading their entire draft to get to one.
I don't know, so there to me is a question.
And Jared Stidham, I've never seen him take a snap,
so it's hard for me to say anything about Jared
Stidham and anything about Miami's quarterback. I like in theory,
Sam darnaldmore, but I'll be honest Jo Josh Allen's growing
on me a lot. And if you've listened to this podcast,
when Sean McDermott came on, I just believe in Sean McDermott.
(41:10):
I think he's the right coach, that that type guy
to be around Josh. They clearly believe in him a lot,
so I would probably go right now Josh, Sam and
then just unknowns huge been listening for over a year,
appreciate that. My white question for you is, as a
huge Texans fan, looking back now a year after the trade,
do you think Laramie Tunzil trade in a vacuum was
(41:32):
worth it? Considering the first round pick is in the
late twenties, Kenny Stills is a productive player. I think
there's an argument to be made the Texans came out
on top. Yeah. To me, if Laramie Tunzil is your
starting left tackle for the next six seven years and
is a Pro Bowler every year, like easily one of
(41:54):
the best players in the league when he plays, Like
when you trade for Cleil Mack or Jalen Ramsey, those
guys are the best players in the league. Even I
thought Khalil was down and he was still pretty damn good.
Larry Tunzel needs to be elite. There can't be. Yeah,
you know there's four or five tackles, but no, he's
gotta be elite. When you trade multiple ones in a
two for a guy, he's gotta be elite. So they
gotta get him under contract. He's gotta be elite. I
(42:16):
think it's unknown. I just time will tell. If he's
just a solid starting left tackle. It's terrible, not good.
He's got to be elite. He was good, he's a
good player. He's gotta be better, Like they need to
take him. He's become one of the best players in
the league. When you think Laramie Tunzel, you should go yeah,
it's one of the best non quarterbacks in the league
any position. That's what you should think about him when
(42:38):
you get traded for that type. Hall And I think
he's a good player. He's he's better than a good player,
but I wouldn't call him a great player. Now, Bill
O'Brien coach him up, Deshaun Watson. Can he become a
great player on their watch? Be cool if he did.
(43:00):
Can Kyler Murray win the m v P this year
like Lamar took the leap his rookie year. I would
say no, and not because I actually believe. I believe
in Kyler Murray more going into a second year than
I definitely did Lamar. Now, I don't know if Kyler
Murray is gonna have Lamar's year, but I think Kyler
Murray is a better passer of the football I would
(43:21):
bet on over the next decade than Lamar Jackson. Lamar
Jackson's success clearly through two years is predicated on the
running the ball, and I like Lamar Jackson. He made
Hughes tries passing the ball the biggest reason though they
want he was the MVP. His team was the number
one overall seed. Part of being an m v P
is you obviously have to have a great year. Usually
(43:42):
your team has to kick ass. Look at Mattie Ice
a couple of years back, Cam Newton a couple of
years back. It's gotta go hand in hand. You gotta
dominate and your team's gotta win. I just don't see
any scenario the Cardinals win more than seven games. Their
defense stinks. They're defense is really bad. And I love Hopkins,
(44:03):
you know idea if you've listened to this, but is
he enough? Like who else they really have? On offense?
Christian Kirk's solid. Larry is an all time great, but
he's like almost forty. Their offensive line is not good.
Running backs in that offense should be pretty easy. But
they can't stop anybody. And they're clearly the fourth best
team in the division. Even the Rams, who have some issues.
(44:23):
I still believe in them more than I do the Cardinals.
And even if the Cardinals, you argue, let's say them
in the Rams are a coin flip this year. Well,
the Niners in Seattle are better. The divisions is so hard.
I just don't see any scenario where they're in the playoffs.
Cliff Kingsbury could barely win seven games in the Big Twelve.
He's gonna win tan in the NFL. I just nice guy.
(44:46):
I mean I ran into him in the combine, didn't
just head nodded, you know, a little overrated. I used
to think everyone hypes him up like the best looking guy.
I mean, he's a good looking dude. But you know,
I wouldn't call him like Ryan Gosling, the actual Ryan Gosling,
better looking dude like I just again, I'm not trying
to diminish Cliff. I actually think he's a good offensive coach.
(45:07):
The hype on him is just just great looking dude. Yeah,
he's solid, I mean, good looking dude. But I was,
I was, I'll be honest with you a little like, yeah,
a little overrated, but no, I'd go no on the
m v P. Now one day, if their teams ever
good enough, they probably you know, if you go in
eleven twelve games and put up stupid numbers then yeah. Uh,
(45:29):
do you think the Saints made the right choice with
keeping Breeze for the most two years instead of seeing
if Teddy would look like full season with Kamara healthy
and more Michael Thomas more than Michael Thomas at wide receiver. Yeah,
I just don't think they have a choice. You know,
Breeze is better than Teddy. I think Teddy's a little overrated.
When you look back at Breeze this season, he missed
(45:51):
six games and was twenty seven and four. He was
pretty damn good. I think he got kind of shipped
on for the playoff game, but he had a pretty
good season even for his standards. If he had been healthy,
he probably would have been like thirty five and six.
Think about that, like he's He's just a much better
player than Teddy. Now when you factor in the money, now,
Drew's only making twenty five this year and Teddy's making twenty,
(46:14):
So the money once Teddy's getting paid, his market's going up.
I see what you're saying. It's just a complicated situation.
I mean, Drew Drew is still really good. Peyton loves him.
This is their year. I thought last year was their year,
but to me, they gotta win Super Bowl this year,
like they are. Football happens, but let's this is their
(46:36):
year to take advantage of it. You got you had
Emmanuel Sanders, Michael Thomas in the peak of his powers,
still got Jared Cook, you got Kamara, you got Latavius Murray.
Your offense is stacked. You got the little returner Harris
that runs like ninety. You've got good defensive players. You've
had the same coaching staff forever now, like no excuses.
You can't lose the Kirk Cousins at home in the
(46:57):
first round. You can't lose the Rams at home. I
get the ref screwed him. They should have kicked a
crap out of him that game. I'll never forget watching
on my couch thinking Jared Goff does not belong in
this game and they kind of just let him hang around.
The Saints have had a lot of bad losses in
the playoffs, given they've been more talented than a lot
of their opponents. Think how many times the Saints, like
(47:20):
at least when you look back, like some of Peyton
Manning's tough losses, like he lost a Belichick a bunch
of times in Indy and then even you'd say as
toughest loss in Denver would be that first year when
they lost to Baltimore in Denver. Well, Baltimore won the
Super Bowl. And another year I'm trying to think that
they lost to they lost the Super Bowl to Seattle. Yeah,
(47:40):
Seattle was an all time great team like those those
actually lost is kind of where better? Like the Saints
this year lost to the freaking Minnesota Vikings at home
when they were almost a ten point favor I think
it was like eight and a half points they lost.
How how does that happen? Two years ago? You're at
home against the Rams. Shouldn't even be a tight game
(48:02):
in the second half, you're better. The Ramps scored three
points in the Super Bowl. I have to look at
the score that game, but you should drop thirty five
on them. So I think the Saints, of you could
argue they've underachieved a little bit. I thought their team
the last handful of years has been stacked even for Yeah,
I mean they've been missing a second receiver, but you
had Jared Cooks the running game. Kamar operates like a
(48:23):
wide receiver. I think he's had what's is gonna be
a third year in the league. He's had eighty one
catches pretty sure in both years. So he's if you're
getting your second receivers catching eighty one balls, even if
he's a running back, it's pretty good shape. So the
Saints time is now, man, because the time is now.
Appreciate everyone listening, even during these crazy times. Uh, keep
(48:47):
your head up, We'll keep her head up, and we'll
just try to get through it together. And I'm glad
I could talk football for about forty five minutes for
you and have a safe weekend, and I'll talk to
you guys next week.
Host
John Middlekauff
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