In this episode, Middlekauff puts the SEC's total dominance in the Draft into perspective, why it will only continue to separate, and why declining or exercising the 5th-year option is ultimate judge of a team's draft class. He also looks at Cam Newton's future is more uncertain ever as teams fill QB slots, and why it's only a matter of time before Nick Foles starts over Mitchell Trubisky, and answers questions in the Middlekauff Mailbag. Follow John on twitter @JohnMiddlekauff and go to theherdnow.com to find the latest content. Subscribe now!
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:09):
What is going on? Everybody? John middle Cop three and
Out podcast, Back at it again April about three o'clock.
Recording this on a Thursday. I hope you guys if
you're listening to this going into a weekend, good weekend.
In these quarantine bizarre times, we'll just keep on swinging. Luckily,
(00:30):
we still got stuff to talk about in the NFL.
College football obviously collided, you know, last week with the
draft something that I'm just doing some research and looking
for things to talk about over the next several weeks.
One thing really stood out to me, and we're gonna
dive into that right off the bat. About the SEC
A bunch of players in the NFL have either had
(00:52):
their fifth year options picked up, some have had them declined,
some are waiting in the wings, which I think it's
pretty clear which ones are gonna get declined. And we're
gonna dive into what, ultimately what you're really looking for
first and foremost in a first rounder. Uh, we'll go
around the league. NFL stories had a lot going on
(01:13):
this week in terms of just little stories here and there,
and then of course at middle Cop, well, excuse me, Middlecoff,
middl bag at John middlecoff is my Instagram. Slide up
into those d m s and get your questions answered.
We got a bunch of questions. I'm gonna try to
bang a bunch out just because over the last probably
(01:34):
week with the draft, I haven't been able to get
to a bunch. So hopefully I'll be able to bang
about fifteen out today. But again at John Middlecoff is
my Instagram. Do a lot of stuff up there, but
I mainly use it for this show to get answered
on the question. To get your question answered on the show. Uh.
You know, during these quarantine times, I've been doing a
bunch of stuff on YouTube. You can find the page
(01:54):
Haybram Middlecoff putting a bunch of different content up there
separate from the podcast that I do, just kind of
unique things that me and my my YouTube and other
podcast partner guy are just working on, just screwing around.
We put up a Michael Pittman video today. We've done,
you know, various videos on Judy, Ceedee Lamb, some of
(02:14):
the prominent players from this draft. And we're just gonna
keep pumping out stuff. I mean, if you're a creative
media person in quarantine, there's no excuse to just be
sitting on your ass. Uh, So we're trying to just
mix it up a little bit on top of everything
else I'm doing. So, uh well, let's start with this.
The SEC had more players drafted in this last draft
(02:37):
than any other conference by far, but I think if
you dive deeper into it, it's even more glaring than
just the basic number. I think they had sixty three
total players drafted, because you know, once you get to
the fifth, six, seventh round, that does speak to the
depth of your conference. But I always put a lot
of stock into the first two days. The first round
you pay a premium to those players for a reason,
(03:00):
and then the second and third round guys make a
lot of money as well. But I think there are
constant arguments going on that are pretty hard to ever
come to a final conclusion. Like, you know, Michael Jordan's
the greatest player ever. The documentary is going I think
most people agree, but if you want to come with
Kareem Abdul Jabar, Wilt Chamberlain, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Lebron James,
(03:21):
Like we can argue all day long, Like we can
have legitimate arguments. Who makes the best pizza? Is it
New York, is it Chicago? Is it Tony's Pizza in
the Bay Area? And we can argue it's all personal preference.
I always get angry when I used to have a
good friend when I was growing up. You know, his
dad would always cook steaks, and I always put a
(03:42):
one steak steak sauce on it. I'd always get screamed
at because it was a nicer steak. And I never
understand why people get mad about meats or whatever when
someone else wants to eat in a specific way, like no,
this is going into my mouth. Now as I've gotten older,
I do understand the argument, but I never get on people.
You want to eat put ketchup on something that I
(04:02):
wouldn't put, catchup on, have at it. You know what
that's going in your mouth, not mine. I don't care.
You know, politics, we argue about it. I mean I
don't necessarily, but Twitter and TV shows all day long,
like you can argue both sides, so the cows come home.
If we're never going to agree, so what's the point
of the argument. But there there's an argument in football
(04:23):
that's just it's over. You know, just put it. It's
it's done. Put it in sharpie. There's no more arguing
and for a long period of time, definitely in the
media and I think the fans. There's just been this
argument about the SEC. The SEC the bottom of the
SEC conference is just like the bottom of the Big
(04:44):
Ten conference. And I've always argued, or the packed twelve
or whatever, who cares about the bottom of your conference?
Like the bottom of all of our society in America
is just as bad as any bottom of any other
society all over the world, but the top of it
is just better. Like our don't class is much different
than the middle class in India in some of these
other countries, just like our high end companies are the
(05:07):
most dominant companies in the world. I judge you on
the middle to the high end. And also the one
thing about the bottom of the SEC, like you're still
gonna get a first round pick occasionally at a Mississippi State,
it's like Dave Vanderbilt had a second round quarterback, Like
that's still gonna happen. But where they really separate themselves.
They set a record in this draft. They had forty
(05:28):
players taken in the first three rounds. Forty. The previous
record was thirty two. By the SEC in two thousand.
The next closest conference this year was seventeen through the
first three rounds, so they more than doubled the next
closest conference all the talent, It's not even disputable, It's
(05:50):
clear right. NFL teams, NFL general managers, they don't give
a damn if they could find Khalil Mack at Buffalo
or Davante Adams at Fresno State, they will go wherever
the players. They do not care if a sweet players
coming out of the pack twell over the SEC, whoever
they think can help them. They've spoken, the best players
(06:11):
by a mile are coming out of the SEC at
a rate that is just lapping the field. Forty players
in the first three rounds we're taking think about that
the next closest conference was seventeen. You gotta do a
say it out loud. This might be the craziest stat though,
from the entire draft. And again, this argument has been
(06:32):
going on. I feel like for definitely since the playoffs started,
like the SEC the big time in the Big twelve
and there might be given years, but on a whole
over this past decade, the premium players come from the
SEC and just the South in general. Right, they just do.
And now here's the scary part about a California guy
in California producing a bunch of pros. They're starting to
(06:54):
head out west, or excuse me, head out east. They're
going to the SEC. They're going to Clemson, and to
say the South in general, like Clemson has done a
good job Florida in Miami historically, but they've fallen off.
And that's where Georgia, now Texas A, and m some
of those schools has risen. The SEC West. So that's Auburn, Alabama,
(07:14):
l s U, Texas A, and M and Ole Miss
in Mississippi State, they had more first round picks eleven.
Let me just listen to this. The SEC West had
more first round picks with eleven. Then the Big Ten
in the A, C C combined they had eight. It
(07:35):
really is glaring when you just start saying these numbers.
So anyone that tells you there's not a separation, it's
people in the NFL. Don't argue. It's the college football fans.
And I thought the Big Ten was clearly the second
best conference, and the PAC twelve is has his moments,
it's clearly lost a lot of depth over the last
you know, five or six years. But the a CEC
(07:57):
is trash. It has one pro Graham work that's legitimate
right now, and that's Clemson, who's a big boy program.
They're elite, but it's one. The rest of the conference
is a joke. This pains me to say because I
like this conference. I grew up on it. I mean,
I grew up out west, but this is probably my
second favorite conference growing up, just because their games were
(08:18):
on TV a lot. The Big Twelve sucks. The Big
Twelve is just not producing the players that they once did.
Oklahoma is Texas. Where where are you Texas? Since Mike
leached less Texas Tech? What's going on there? Guys? What's happening? Like?
The Kansas State's not quite the same? Kansas actually could
be better with less miles. So right now, the SEC
(08:40):
at sixty three draft picks the Big Ten, which was close,
and they you know, Michigan, Ohio, State, Wisconsin, Iowa that
they have NFL programs well second by a wide margin.
And then it fell off a cliff at the PAC
twelve at thirty two, the a SEC at seven and
the Big twelve had had one. I mean, the Big twelve,
(09:02):
which I would say a large percentage of my life
was a powerhouse conference. When it came to funneling people
into the NFL, it's kind of hit rock bottom. And
if it wasn't for Oklahoma these last several years, can
you imagine how bad that number would be. It's it's
pretty glaring, and there is an economic impact to this,
(09:24):
the growth of the SEC, the fervor of their fan basis.
They're all they all have a fan base that economically
can't support them like an NFL team, and they're starting
to lap the field that their games get enormous ratings
on SEC, and I think in a couple of years
it's going to ABC that number will either. I mean,
it's just it's gonna grow because casual people like myself
(09:46):
now find myself as like, oh yeah, I'm gonna watch
the SEC game of the day. I just do because
it's typically the best game and it's got the most
NFL players. Now, I'm a college football nerds, so I'm
watching college football from nine am till you know, the
last pack twelve games off. But the casual fan now
is watching the SEC who lives in Pennsylvania, that lives
(10:06):
in Oregon. They're just keeping track of the SEC because
it's cool. And I know, I had a kid who's
starting running back for Alabama. He grew up fifteen minutes
away from where I'm sitting recording this podcast right now.
He plays at Alabama the number one Uh. They have
several guys going to Georgia from California, Clemson who you know.
Phil Savage told me about this. And when Jimbo had
(10:27):
Florida State running, if you've listened to podcasts, you've heard
this fills now Joe Douglas is like one of his
right hand men working for the New York Jets. Is
that where Jimbo Fisher really had a point of difference
when he was at Florida State, Is he recruited an
SEC player. He just played an a SEC schedule. And
then when Florida State and Jimbo kind of mailed it
in and went Texas, A and M. Dabbo took off
(10:48):
like a rocket ship. And Dabbo is an elite coach,
but he's running an SEC program in the a SEC
and he's getting an SEC player playing a SEC competition.
And as we've seen these last four or five years,
it's not a fair fight. He's kicking the ship out
of everyone he's playing and then he'll just take a
chance in the playoffs. And it's just just the reality
of a situation. And I don't the pact well. I
(11:11):
I maybe with these new rules of being able to
pay for likeness that resurrects a program like USC. Maybe
it helps the University of Washington. I don't know, but
we are We're falling behind, and the sec to me
is only going to continue to separate. You know that
the The World Is Flat? Was it Michael Lewis that
(11:32):
wrote that book? Uh? No, I don't think Michael Lewis
wrote Moneyball. Whoever wrote The World Is Flat? I think
sports has really become that in this country when it
comes to college sports and the big programs. I mean forever,
Like when I was growing up. D J. Williams, who was,
you know, arguably still the best player to ever come
out of daylys Out went to Miami. Tom Brady, who
(11:53):
grew up in the Bay Area, went to Michigan. I mean,
we've seen it before, but now it's not even weird
when you see it. And I'd say, as Pete Carroll
kind of took you a seat of New Heights and
he was going totally national. It kind of flipped. He
was the first West Coast program that was just going
into SEC territory, that was going into Ohio state, Penn State,
Michigan territory. And now it's kind of gone vice versa.
(12:15):
Like if you're a kid in California, whether you're in
l a or whether you're in Oakland, or whether you're
in Fresno, and Lincoln Riley calls and Nick Saban calls,
Kirby Smart calls, you leave, and that's I think, you know,
had a huge You's had ramifications on the numbers we
see in this draft. It also shows to me, though
(12:36):
that the highest level of competition cream always rises. Think
about whatever you do as a job when you're going
against If you're a sales guy and your competition the
other sales guy is that company's best sales guy. You
better bring your a game or you're gonna get destroyed.
If I in the business, I'm in. If I have
a podcast, well you have a million options, right you
(12:58):
could listen to You could literally type into Apple just football,
and countless podcasts are gonna come up. Whoever, your local
radio shows are I bet a lot of money. They're
talking football right now. The competition for me to get
your earballs is really high. I have to be creative.
I have to bring attempt to bring my a game
every single show, or you know what you might do.
(13:19):
You might just listen to something else. And the SEC
right now feels like their effort is just at a
much higher level. And I give Urban Meyers some credit.
When he went from Florida to Ohio State, remember he
ruffled some feathers. He kind of up the game and recruiting,
and ever since he's left like the game the bar
had just been raised. I actually think he everyone should
kind of tip their hat and give him a thank you.
(13:40):
The reason they are the clear number two UH conference
right now in the country, but behind the SEC, I
think Urban Meyer played a huge part in that kind
of put the pressure on Michigan to go get hard ball.
James Franklin making a bunch of money at Penn State
Wisconsin got somewhat lucky in Chris, but he's just they
just had a really consistent program. Iowa's had parents forever,
kind of an NFL little factory, and it's just it's
(14:03):
pretty glaring. The numbers speak for themselves another element of
the draft. People have hit me on I gotta I
gotta several middlecoff mailback questions on this. I guess the
last like seven or eight years, the average of f
c S players and I went to an FCS school
in cal Poly. The prominent ones that would be like
Montana would be North Dakota State, you know, McNee State,
(14:27):
in Louisiana, Appalachian State forever. Typically those conference or those
schools in that division produced on average around seventeen players
a year in the draft. Now a large percentage of
them right where probably third day picks. This year only
six guys were taken, And people kind of asking me,
why do you think that number fell off? And I
think it's simple. A large percentage of those guys are
(14:49):
not going to go to the combine. They might be
friends draft picks, so you're gonna go to their pro
day and see them work out. You're gonna get their numbers. Well,
if you have a guy and you're trying to pound
the table to your general manager, even if it's over
zoom in the six or seventh round, you go, hey,
we should take this guy. He is a burner, and
your GM goes well, how fast is he? And we go, well,
(15:09):
we don't have a time. I think he would run
four four. Oh. Well, if he had actually run four
four oh, maybe your GM would be more inclined to
take him. Maybe you're coaching staff would have taken him
more seriously when they were evaluating. So I I do
think that just because you know, on average, seventeen of
those guys were drafted only six this year, that doesn't
mean that those guys won't eventually get their shot or
(15:31):
make the team that we're supposed to make their team.
It just had huge you know, it was the reason
why those guys go and draft. I don't have any
tangible information because it's easy for me to watch Clyde
and Joe Burrow against two uh and you know Xavier
McKinney and all the delpit and all these players on
(15:52):
the same field as each other. Well, if I'm just
watching one NFL player for U C. Davis, if he
only plays three other NFL players all season long, there's
a lot of unknown and there's a huge guessing game
to that. That's why the tangible numbers of a Pro
Day i'd say impact them more than typically, Like what
did Joe Burrow run. I got no clue did even run?
(16:13):
Who even gives a ship like even like Ceedee Lamb,
Jerry Judy. I mean those guys run four four, six, five,
four or five. But whatever, I mean, those guys are
asked kickers, right. I'm not saying that forty times or
jumps or whatever measurables don't impact those guys a little bit,
but it's incremental. It has huge, huge, um implications on
(16:35):
a guy at a smaller school because that's information that
you would really kind of pound the table on to
push your GM. Okay. I think one thing, and we
talked a lot about this leading up to the draft,
is the hype on first round picks is pretty outrageous, right,
and then the moment everyone's picked, we all think, whoever
(16:55):
your team is, that individual player is gonna be sweet.
You think best case scenario. If you're a Bronco fan
and you draft Jerry Judy, you're thinking he's gonna be
the best wide receiver we have drafted. If you think
we just got your Cowboys, Ceedee Lamb, you're like Boom
des Bryant two point oh Niners, Brandon Aiyuk like shit,
(17:17):
Jerry Rice Jr. You know Eagles, Jalen reagor DeShawn It's
just the nature of the beach. You get. Uh, the
Jets draft the big fella from Louisville Beckton, you're thinking
you got the British off Ferguson. It's just it's a
it's a natural reaction to every organization, in every fan base.
(17:38):
I'm not even hating on it. You should be You
should be positive, like we should be during quarantine. If
you are positive, it's easier to get through the day.
If you're negative and you think everyone of your picks sucks, like,
that's a miserable way to live. Now, once the guy
establishes who he is. I got a text today from
a buddy that works in the league. That's I think
doing some follow up work, trying to get some off done,
(18:01):
and he's like evaluating the Niners. He's like, God, just
watched Solomon Thomas. That guy stinks. He didn't say that,
he just said, just a guy. He's just an average player.
And when every when the forty Niners drafted Solomon Thomas,
they got a lot of credit, was like, oh, got
their next pass rusher. You know what, turns out not
any good? Miss with and really back to back Mr
Biscuit Solomon Thomas major whiffs. Well that that draft class,
(18:24):
the two thousand and seventeen class. After year three, going
into year four, you have to pick up their fifth
year option, and best case scenario when you draft in
the first round, definitely high. When you draft in the
top ten, you're looking for a franchise changing player. But
if you just get a guy that's gonna be on
your team for eight plus years, you're in pretty good shape.
(18:46):
If you get a legitimate starter, even if he's just
a fringe Pro Bowl guy, you're in great shape. Like
the forty Niners several years ago drafted to Forrest Bucker.
I think he's made one Pro Bowl and it was
this year, but he had a really good career. It
was a no doubt about it hit. Was it a
walk off home run like J. J. Watt or Khalil Mack. No,
but it was probably I mean at worst now because
(19:10):
it was a triple because it ended up netting you
pick their team, and what we see all the time
major misses that are disasters, and then you see some
guys like that are somewhere in the middle, like a
Nelson Aguilar for Philly. Chip Kelly drafted him. He was
kind of a disaster early on. Then he helped out
their Super Bowl team. He lasted on the squad five years,
but ultimately he went a separate ways. That's not ideal,
(19:32):
but that's not worst case scenario. It's a worst case scenarios.
Taco Charlton, who the Cowboys cut last year. Who's now?
I think I just read before I hit record the
Miami Dolphins cut him. Well, all these fifth year options
are being picked up over the next I don't know
exactly what the deadline is. It might be mid May,
it might be coming up right around the corner, but
(19:54):
it has to happen this summer. And Patrick Mahomes, Deshaun Watson,
those couldn't be. Those are no brainers. T J. Watt,
Derek Barnett with the Eagles, Mike Williams with the Chargers,
Marlon Humphrey, Myles, Garrett Evan Ingram, David Najoku like jabro Peppers. Uh,
I get why they did it. They traded Odell back
(20:14):
and forth, Ryan rams Check and I would imagine a
decent amount of these players their teams are gonna try
to extend this season, right Mahomes, DeShawn Myles, Garrett Najoku,
Ryan Rams Check, Marlon Humphries. To me, the key in
the first round, it's just to get a guy that
(20:35):
you don't even need to think twice about picking up
his fifth year option. You know, Mr Bisky, it hasn't beneficial.
I can break the news here they're not gonna pick
up his fifth year option, and if they do, Ryan
Pace should just put in his resignation letter. But then
there are guys like John Ross under no circumstances. Can
the Bengals pick up his fiftyear option? Hassan Reddick. I
don't think he's gonna get his fifth year option picked
(20:56):
up with the Arizona Cardinals. You have guy like Corey
Davis with the Tennessee Titans. I think he's gonna be
a challenge Leonard Fournette where they just tried to trade him.
So i'd imagine the Jacksonville Jaguars. You're not gonna pick
up the option on Leonard Fournette. And then there are
the guys like garyon Conley. He's already on a second team,
no fifth year option picked up, like these guys Tack McKinley,
(21:18):
no fifth year option. I don't want to go as
far as they're a bust because garyon Conley, attack McKinley
could play. They're gonna have a six, seven, eight year career.
But when you draft a guy in a fifth year
career in the first round, you're not looking for a
guy to have an eight year career on other teams
or just be like a fringe, you know, make minimum.
DJ Hayden was once upon a time drafted by the
(21:39):
Oakland Raiders. I think it picked twelve once all said dead,
he's gonna have a tenure NFL career, it will played
on four teams. That's not ideal. Now, asking for Patrick
Mahomes as every one of your first round picks, it's
not ideal either. I mean, it's just that's unrealistic. But
you do want a guy like a Mike Williams. Mike
Williams when the dust set, I would guess, will play
(22:02):
eight to ten years on the Chargers. They will give
him a contract extension next year and he'll play as
long as he's healthy, until he's like thirty thirty one,
and then we'll see financially where they're at. Myles Garrett,
I mean, his ideal, but he was a first overall pick,
So that's probably Ryan ramps checks a good example. He
was one of the last picks in that draft, in
(22:22):
the first round, and it's gonna be he's arguably a
top five player on his own team. Like that, that's
what you're looking for. When when you don't even need
to think twice, like, yeah, I'm not picking up his
fifth year option. That's a problem. That's a whiff, Like
that's Solomon Thomas, Mr bisky. Those are major, major whiffs.
John Ross, major major with Tach McKinley, and any time,
(22:44):
to me, you have a player, like if you miss
on a guy at pick four or eight or thirty one,
I can understand it, Like I people are like middle counts,
just a nine or homer. I understand the forty nine
ers on Reuben Foster. They traded back into the first round.
They drafted him at thirty one. His talent would have
(23:06):
he would have if he just stayed on the field,
been a no brain or fifth year option guy. But
he gets arrested twice. He gets arrested at a team
hotel on the road. Then they trade him to the Redskins,
and his legs shatters and then I think today or
the other day the Redskins officially made they're not gonna
pick up his thick your option. That's a disaster. That's
that's a disaster. But I also I view the disaster
at thirty one the fortys. Bigger disaster is Solomon Thomas,
(23:30):
because they could have Jamal Adams, who also had his
fifth year option picked up. So they got a guy
that we'll have a four year career on the forty
niners and then we'll bounce around the league. And again,
these guys aren't like a scrub where he's gonna be
in the XFL or the A a F. But you
have to have a guy that you don't even think
twice about or else you need to seriously as a
(23:50):
general manager, as a staff, you know, do some internal
have some internal dialogue, do a deep dive on why
you screwed up that pick, Because that you do that
back to back years, you're gonna find yourself unemployed pretty fast. Okay,
let's fire around a couple of just NFL topics that
are floating around out there. Ron Rivera said that Dwayne
(24:12):
Haskins showed enough two enable them to pass on to
a for Chase Young. I don't know if that's necessarily
true or not. I just wonder this if I was
going into a new job and the guy I worked
for and was paying me a boatload of money really
liked an employee, and that employee in this situation happens
(24:35):
to be Dwayne Haskins. You get a long term contract,
you clearly have some stability. Helped Jay Gruden lasted there,
you know, longer than you think. If you're around Rivera,
why wouldn't you do your owner solid and just go,
you know what, Well, let's see what this guy has.
But they've already had a contingency plan because they traded
for their guy in Carolina, Kyle Allen that the offensive
(24:57):
coordinator likes. And it's easy to justify it. Go, I'm
a defensive guy, the best player that I've had over
the last you know, ten years. Obviously Cam was the
most important player. Luke Keickley was the better player, and
Luke keickle is the lock Hall of Famer. Is Cam
going to Hall of Fame? Probably not. You go, I'll
draft a Hall of Famer. And if we need to
reconvene next year and get a quarterback, we're at a
(25:19):
unique time in NFL history where most teams are turning
down quarterbacks. How Cam can't find a job, Jamis becomes
a backup. We'll be okay, we'll figure this thing out.
I think it might have been an easy concession. Do
I truly believe that Ron Rivera likes Dwayne Haskins. I
don't because I heard things that the combine. I'm pretty
(25:39):
confident that he's leary. But he's also like any football coach.
If Dwayne Haskins was good this fall and shows a
lot of improvements and looks like the guy that had
a great statistical year his one year starting at Ohio State,
maybe they'll roll with him. If he's terrible and crappy,
then this will be his one shot and they'll either
trade him at the end of the next offseason or
will be in the backup. Really pretty simple. So I
(26:02):
think Ron is a pretty practical guy that there are
certain battles we all choose to fight and ones that
aren't worth it quite yet. Now, if this had been
three or four years in and this was forced on him,
maybe be different. But I think your first year on
the job, I don't think you're gonna be an attack
mode on everything to Cam Newton. Where the hell is
(26:22):
he gonna play? Where is Cam Newton going to play?
Find me a spot? Do they exist? Well? Where's he going?
I mean, where is he going? Hell? The Saints. Jamis Winston,
who threw thirty three touchdowns last year lead the league
in yardage, just signed a contract for one point one
million dollars. Cam can say always wants he's much more
(26:45):
accomplished than Jamis, and that is true, that is a fact.
But here's the one thing Jamis has on Cam. He's healthy. Cam,
your last two seasons shoulder foot checkmate, you're injured. And
does any one believe that Cam Newton would sign a
contract for one point one million dollars? I have a
hard time seeing that. But I also have a hard
(27:07):
time seeing who's who's really offering him a contract? Is
there is there a chance? Is there an outside chance
that Cam Newton is unemployed going into the season? As
crazy as that sounds, now, I think if Cam Newton
is healthy, he should be in the NFL for sure.
Who's making a starting quarterback like even just crappy teams
(27:27):
like the Jets, Giants, Donald Daniel Jones both draft in
the top six Cardinals Kyler Murray. I mean, just go
go to the teams that drafted the top ten the Jaguars,
But I mean, are they gonna sign Andy Dalton now
that he's been cut? We'll dive into him in a second.
The Chargers drafted a guy, Dolphins drafted a guy, Bengals
drafted a guy, the Redskins. You know. Ron Rivera is like, yeah,
(27:51):
I'm probably not doing that at this point, because again,
they drafted a guy two years ago in the top fifteen,
and Dwayne Haskins, who's getting a shot. Where does the guy?
I don't see the landing spot though, I don't know
if the landing spot exists. Carolina another top ten team,
who's terrible. They just signed Teddy Bridgewater sixty million dollars.
(28:11):
Just keep working our way up, Raiders. I guess that
you can never discount John Bruden, Kyle Shanahan Nope, Atlanta
Falcons nope, Dallas Cowboys Nope. Well you wouldn't think. I
guess if Dak Dak think is a little weird. He
just held the Eagles. I mean he drafted Jalen Hurts.
(28:33):
I don't see where he's going. And trust me, I've
thought about it. Nick Foles restructured his contract, which is interesting.
I just pressure burst pipes for makes diamonds and maybe
that Mitch just with Nick Foles being there, you know
his Backs against the Wall has his best season ever
(28:55):
and just becomes, you know, like his version of Alex
Smith for a couple of years. Alex Smith sucked with
the Niners, harbag out there, resurrect his career. I have
a hard time seeing that because he was terrible a
second year under Matt Naggy. Like this offense, He's just
not very good. He can't hit guys that are wide open.
So it's fifth year option. I, like I said, I'd
(29:18):
be floored if they pick it up. I'll be Florida
if Mr Biscuit is a starter on opening Day. I
really will, and I hope I'm wrong. I mean, I
like seeing young guys resurrect their career, become good players.
The more good players at quarterback that there are in
the NFL, the better it is for all of us
to talk about it that watch the NFL. It just
makes the NFL more interesting. He's not very good, and
(29:40):
I just don't think he can fix his issues. He's
not He's just not very accurate. I mean, I don't
know what else to say. Pep Hamilton's the XFL folded
and all the coaches lost their jobs somehow. I didn't
know this, but I guess the Chargers had a didn't
have a quarterback coach. He's not the quarterback coach for
for the l A Chargers. He's been He's worked for
(30:02):
six different NFL teams. It's crazy part about the NFL
is if you are just one of those coaches that
bounced around a lot, usually means just whether you're unlucky.
Maybe you're just not that great of a coach, because
if you are a really good coach for the most
part as an assistant coach, that team wants to keep
you unless you get go from a position coach to
a coordinator, and then you're probably a better position coach.
(30:25):
I mean there are I guess ever, every individual is
a little different. But yeah, just you know, he benefited
from the XFL folding. He got himself a job with
the with the Los Angeles Chargers. Now, how much does
this impact much Anthony Lynn's offensive guy. Uh. I think
they have a younger coordinator, so maybe this, you know,
gives a guy with a little experience to to work
(30:46):
around Herbert and Tyrod Taylor. Okay, let's dive into Middlecoff.
Mail back at John Middlecoff Twitter, Instagram, but my Instagram
d ms. You slide up in him, ask a question
and you get an answer. Here on the show, this
is the People's Show three and out. We could rename
it three and out with John Middlcoff the People's Show
(31:07):
or three and out the People Show. Hell, you don't
even need my name in it? Could you provide a
little insight into your weekly schedule? Well, during quarantine, I
guess it depends, you know, if quarantine wasn't going on Monday,
I tried to get up some time between six and seven. Uh,
(31:31):
if it was normal like during quarantine. Sometimes I just
watch TV or I'm I am playing on the iPad
way too late, you know, probably midnight. But I tried
to get to bed. To me, the key is I'm
not someone that like, I'm not Kobe or Donald Trump.
I don't operate off three hours sleep. I need like
six to seven and a half. Maybe don't need eight,
(31:53):
but I need I need like six to seven. I
try to go to bed by thirty up by some
time between six and seven. My office is in my home,
so I just walk into my office. I have the
I take double shots, those Starbucks double shots, the light ones.
I pound two right when I get up. I don't
coffee takes too long. I'd like to hit the ground running.
(32:15):
And I usually if it's Monday, I usually read stuff,
get stuff ready for the three and Out podcast. Uh
do some work that way, uh, if it wasn't quarantine. Also,
depending on what part of the month it is, sent
invoices for my other podcast or am doing business stuff.
Usually in the morning. I usually work out mid morning
(32:38):
sometime between depending on what's going on that day, nine
to eleven, sometime in that range, eat lunch, shower, So
my three and Out podcast is put together. Uh usually
do a periscope Monday through Friday, you know, of what
the big stories are, sometime between two and three. Uh,
then record the podcast usually at after that. Right now,
(33:01):
we've been doing a lot of YouTube's like uh instead
of doing We've just been doing a couple of podcasts.
I usually do. My other podcast is Monday, Wednesday, Friday,
give or take this one's you know Tuesday Friday. Uh, yeah,
and try to mix in you know work out. It's
nothing too crazy, you know. I guess it kind of
(33:22):
depends what time of year it is. I also, you know,
I'm chased, spend a lot of decent amount of time,
you know, probably ten hours a week chasing business in
terms of uh, emailing people, working with the ad agencies
we work of trying to establish new business. So that's
that takes up a lot of my time. But when
(33:43):
you run your own business, you kind of have to
do it, which I don't even I don't mind doing
because ultimately, when I do land the deal, I get
the revenue or I split the revenue with a partner
or whatever. But it's like it's not I don't look
at it. I get some people with the sales job.
It's probably you gotta get kicked in the ascid to
do a little bit more if you're not getting a
huge amount of money. But all the cash comes to me.
(34:05):
And then you know, depending on what time of year
it is, and I watch a lot of games, and
then you know, try to have a little free time
to play golf or whatever. But right now, hell, I'm
not doing anything. Uh So I don't know that probably
sounds kind of boring. You gotta mix in, you know,
doing some other stuff. Hanging out with babes. Eating eating
is a huge you know, there's definitely a couple of
meals in there. Yeah, so that's it's not too crazy.
(34:28):
Thoughts on Drew Lock being somewhat of a question mark
and the Broncos seven and a half wins by Vegas standards,
I actually think the Danver Broncos could be a little
bit of a sleeper this fall. They went They went
uh seven and nine last year after a horrendous start
to the season. I think Vic Fangio is one of
the better defensive coordinators, not just in the league, but
in the last twenty years. I think they do have
(34:49):
a very talented roster. If Drew Lock is good, they
have a bunch of offensive weapons now with Sutton Judy
and and kJ Handler. They signed Melvin Gordon, they have
Philip Lindsay. Their offensive lines still a little bit of
a question mark, but their defense should be really good.
It would not shock me at all if they're a
playoff team. I like him a lot. Actually, I like
(35:11):
what I saw at Drew Lock now was only four
or five games or whatever he obviously had. I think
it was the game against the Texans, where he was unreal.
I think he's got a chance to be pretty good.
Why are people so hard on Lamar not winning a
playoff game yet he only had played one full season.
It seems like in today's world you have to win
right away or you're not respected. People don't seeven Remember
it took Peyton Manning eight years to finally win a
(35:33):
Super Bowl. Well. Lamar said the other day when he
was got announced as the Madden Front cover guy that
he was disappointed himself. He's had two playoff games and
they were both at home, and he's played terrible. And
this year he won the m v P. So I
get he's new to the league, but you're the m
v P of the league and you host a playoff
(35:53):
game and you're the what were they? Yeah, they were
the number one seed and you get kind of outraced
by the sixth seed. I guess bad loss and last year.
I don't hold the first year against the Chargers as
much as over his head as much like that's charges
were hot, they were the better team. That's whatever that happens.
(36:15):
It was a first round game, but the loss of
Tennessee Titans is on him. He was terrible, and but
what I like about him he admitted it. I was
think Peyton Manning got a lot of ship early in
his career. Peyton Manning lost a lot of playoff games
where he put up a lot of sweet stats and
once some m vps and he took a lot of heat.
Peyton Manning was i'd say one of the more polarizing players.
(36:38):
So he won that Super Bowl. And remember the year
he won the Super Bowl, they were down big in
the a f C Championship game. You could argue, for
as sweet as Super Bowl was, the defining game in
Peyton Manning's career, is really that? I guess it would
have been January of oh seven, the a f C
Championship game against the Pats. Were they down to ten
at halftime three? I forget the exact score, but it
(37:01):
might be the defining game of his career. Been listening
since I found you on Collins Feed. What are your
thoughts on the whole? Al Shan Jeffrey went saga air
quotes because nobody wants to talk about it. How you
would expect Howie to handle a disgruntled wide receiver talking
shit about your franchise quarterback? Will the Birds be able
to move on from au Sean. Yeah, I think it's
(37:22):
one of those that they were stuck with him contractually.
They still need wide receivers like they need al Shan
to be good. When they were good, au Sean played
a big role on the team. Now, I don't know
the dynamics exactly beside people think that it was all
Sean leaking the quotes about Carson. I would try to
sit him down and see what I could do, and
I would imagine they have. But if the Eagles want
(37:44):
to be good in two thousand twenty, al Sean should
play a role in that team. Having a six ft
four guy that can high point balls and be a
red zone target should help your team out, especially when
you can balance them out. You draft Jalen reagor trade
for uh Markee's good one. You have to Sean Jackson
like you have some speed. Now, al Sean should be
able to thrive a little bit. So I would tell
(38:05):
al Sean to accept your huge contract. Let's be quiet,
Let's be a good guy and just go out there
and play. That's that's what i'd say. Always a big
fan of the pod. Always fun to hear cutting grass
in the background. What do you think will be the
biggest bust of this year's NFL draft? Is it too
early to tell? Yeah, I mean it's we're a weekend.
(38:26):
I mean, I I I got no take there. It's
just unfair. But I do think you have somewhat of
an idea after year one, you go, this guy's trending
in the bad way, or this guy is in a
bad situation. But I mean, right now i'd be pulling
stuff out of my ask to pretend like, yeah, I
think this guy is gonna be a bust. Now. I
do think there there's pressure on all these guys. I
(38:48):
think a couple of the tackles are just not gonna work.
I think one of the high corners is just not
going to turn out to be a great player for
whatever reason. You would say Akuda going to the Detroit
like that's a dysfunctional place. How often do you guys
go there and thrive? And I'd say Slay did, and
he did, but they got rid of him. But Atkuda,
(39:09):
I mean, he was good in college. I'm not trying
to take anything away from when scouting for the draft.
How much film are you watching? Is it just college film?
Only when they started. Well. As a media guy, I'm
mainly just watching highlight tapes. I'm watching games live during
the fall. I watched a lot of college football, and
then I'm texting my friends. As a scout, you're watching
(39:31):
if I'm you know, Brett Veach and I'm watching Clyde.
You know, I've probably watched a couple of L s
U games live during the fall, but I if I'm
really breaking him down in the All twenty two film,
I'm probably picking out four or five of his games
against Alabama, against Georgia and the two playoff games, and
I'm just I probably go to my computer and every
(39:55):
time he's on the field, I do a little query
and I just watch all his snaps. So you're watching
four if I games against the Leach competition now with
big time guys that have been big time for a
couple of years. You've watched them over a period of time,
but you're watching a lot of plays, man. I mean
it's I know the media thinks that they're you know,
great scouts at home, but watching guys on YouTube and
(40:17):
sitting in an office watching All twenty two tape all
day long, day after day after day after day. He's
a little different animal because I've done both. I know
you already touched on Clyde Edwards Hilaire, But what do
you think the Chiefs second and third round picks? Did
they get players who can make an impact on rookie deals? Well?
I had a buddy on another staff that watched. I
(40:39):
think his name is is it Willie Gay Jr. The
linebacker from Mississippi State they draft in the second round.
People I know loved him. They think he's a really
really good player, a modern day linebacker, sideline to sideline
and athletic guy. When they drafted him, I thought ESPN
did a good job of showing his highlights. This guy
can really run and that's something the Chiefs. Chiefs lacked
their third round pick, the TCU tackle. People, I don't
(41:02):
really like him. High character, tough guy. Wouldn't shock me
if he's starting for the Chiefs in a couple of years,
you know, whether Fisher just gets too expensive, or Mitchell
Schwartz believes or just whatever like that he'll be their
third tackle and maybe they have an injury. Uh That
from people I know. I can't pretend to like study
the guy's film, but people I don't like him. Everyone
(41:23):
Brett Vach is good. Like Brett Andnany are just on
the same page. They just they kind of just know
what they're doing, you know. And I think when you're
a head coach of of Coach Reid's level, and you
have a guy that you trust that much who was
that good at personnel, you're you're in pretty good shape.
I'm not just saying this because I know the guys,
but Brett Vach is good. You know. It's not random
(41:47):
that he was a big part of drafting and he
loved my homes or Marcus Peters or all these guys
like it's He's just good. I have a question for
your mail bag. Last year, many analysts said that the
Cleveland Uns were loaded, but the team ultimately greatly underperformed.
Those few who are correctly predicted that the Browns would
underperform last year are now stating the Browns have a
(42:08):
legitimate team and could make the playoffs. What is different
about the Browns this year as opposed to last year. Well,
the major difference would be the coach. Freddy Kitchens was
the Jim tom Sula of hires. Last year. It was
I mean, it was a joke. You couldn't hire Freddy Kitchens,
(42:29):
and they did and it was a disaster. I also
think that they hired Freddy Kitchens then they acquired Odell Beckham.
It was just kind of a ticking time bomb. Well,
you get Kevin Stefanski, who I still think is a
big unknown. He was a one year coordinator. Now they
had a great statistical year in Minnesota, Cousins had a
career year. Their running game kicked, ask dig stealing, they
were awesome. So you just think you get a little
(42:51):
more of a steady individual who has at least coordinated
plays for a full season for a playoff team that
won a playoff game. Now out why I don't feel
as confident and everyone I know in the league that
the Browns had a really really good draft is I'm
a little insurance. Baker Mayfield like, are we sure he's good?
Because I saw enough last year I was like, what
(43:12):
is wrong with this guy? Now that gets back to
the coach. They do have a ton of talent, but
football comes down to coaching. It's not like if the
if the Cleveland Browns were an NBA team, they'd be
a lock playoff team. You'd be like, yeah, they're a
lock like home court advantage team. That's not the way
football works. Now the team is going to be dramatically better,
but we'll see. Man. I think there's a lot of
(43:33):
pressure just because they have O'Dell, they have Baker. They're
just a polarizing team. But I think people just probably
look more at the coach and just think that they're better.
Situation situated with with Stefanski, how do you feel about
the direction of the Miami Dolphins and what do you
predict their record is going to be? Well, I mean,
(43:57):
they had a good draft. They drafted a bunch of
good players. They now have a franchise quarterback. I think
the guests there record, Uh, I'd probably have to know
more about to a situation. If they just roll back Fitzpatrick,
maybe they win five or six games if two is
fully healthy, you know, and the way that they played
(44:19):
down the stretch. They have an influx of talent. They've
signed a couple of free agents, they have a multiple
starting corners. You know, could they win seven games if
two is fully healthy and he's you, You and I.
We all know as much as anybody. We don't know.
No one knows at least if O T A s
were going like, would would two be able to do
rookie minicamp? Would he just sit on the side. I
(44:40):
don't know. I would assume he wouldn't. But are they
just gonna red shirt him and play Fitzpatrick and have
Rosen as the backup? Is who we're gonna be the backup?
How's it gonna work? Is he's just the starter? I
have no clue, but I would say they're definitely trending
in the right direction. If the Steelers go five hundred
or worse, how bunch of fans panic with the quarterback
(45:01):
coach situation? To me, the coach situation, he's kind of
established himself right. We learned that Antonio Brown is one
of the craziest humans who's ever played in the NFL,
and under Mike Tomlin, he handled him last year. Ben
tears his arm like he's Jacob deGrom or just excuse me,
no A synderguards the guy that had Tommy John and
(45:25):
Tomlin went eight and eight with Mason Rudolph and Duck Hodges.
Like Mike Tomlin's good is Mike Tomlin, Belichick is Mike Tomlin.
Sean Payton is Mike tomin Andy Reid. No, he doesn't
call either side of the ball. But is he a
damn good coach? Hell yes? Is he a top ten
in NFL coach? Hell yes. If I'm the Steelers, I
want Mike Tomlin to be my coach because if Mike
Tomlin gets fired at the end of the year, whoever
needs to coach, He's the number one option. Think how
(45:47):
eat fast Ron Rivera got hired. Well, Mike Tomlin is
way more accomplished than Ron Rivera, and I like Ron
river is a good coach. But the quarterback situation to
me already is a question mark. You've got an old
ben who kind of looks fat, who's coming back from
a major injury. That there's a chance he's not good anymore.
There's chance he's is old it's over. And if that's
(46:09):
the case, luckily their defense is still good enough that
they could probably compete, but they would have to be
then be in the uh, you know, in the quarterback
market next year. Found your pot through the herd. I'm
a fan. My question is about the Vikings. Do you
see them as rebuilding? They let a bunch of key
players walk this offseason, but it was clear that many
(46:29):
of them either problems in the locker room like Dicks
passed their prime Rhodes Griffin, or just not that good
waynes in Alexander. Yeah, I think the Vikings are trying
to win. I mean, they got Cousin the contract, they's
got feeling, they got Digs. They draft Justin Jefferson, who's
gonna play immediately. They draft a corner I think Gladly
from TCU, who should start immediately. They still have Danil Hunter,
(46:51):
they still have Kendricks, they still have Harrison Smith. They
still have a coach who is, you know, like Fangio,
one of the better defensive coordinators in the league. I
think they're trying to I think they are a French
playoff team, you know, just depending on how how good
these young players are. Alone's trying to get me to
(47:12):
be of their financial planner. H Two questions concerning the
quarterback situation in Dallas and New England. If Dak refuses
to play this season without a new, absurdly expensive contract,
are the Cowboys a potential landing spot for relatively cheap
Cam Newton And is the only reason they would do
(47:33):
that because it would sever ties with Dac and push
him into free agency the following season two. How unlikely
is that the Patriots start the season with more than
two quarterbacks Stidham Howyer that they have right now. They
signed the Michigan State bum and Jamar Smith Louisiana Tech,
who I believe has pro potential if they can coach
him up the accuracy as you d f a s
start with the Cowboys. I don't think you draft Ceedee Lamb.
(47:56):
I don't think you signed a Marie Cooper for sixty
million to not figure it out with Dak though, like
I've talked about, I would play him on the one
year franchise tag. I'd be shocked, and MacArthur would want
to work with Cam Newton. I I don't see that
happening the Patriots. I think they're just gonna play with
Jared Sidham. I think they're gonna give jeared to him
a sixteen game tryout and just see what the hell
(48:17):
they got. If they win nine games, they make the
seventh seed. Great. If they win sixth, great and they'll reconvene.
But I think it's gonna be that simple. They're gonna
play with Jared Sidham and just see what happens. Uh.
The U D f A S. Maybe one of those
guys could beat out Brian Horrier. Probably not though, so
I just think that that's that's the plan. Appreciate everyone listening,
(48:39):
have a good weekend, and uh stay safe out there,
and uh stay busy, I don't know, doing what I guess,
going on walks, you know, and enjoy looking out the
window at the sun. Hopefully it's ends sooner or later.
But thanks for listening again, and uh, talk to you
guys soon.
What is going on? Everybody? John middle Cop three and
Out podcast, Back at it again April about three o'clock.
Recording this on a Thursday. I hope you guys if
you're listening to this going into a weekend, good weekend.
In these quarantine bizarre times, we'll just keep on swinging. Luckily,
(00:30):
we still got stuff to talk about in the NFL.
College football obviously collided, you know, last week with the
draft something that I'm just doing some research and looking
for things to talk about over the next several weeks.
One thing really stood out to me, and we're gonna
dive into that right off the bat. About the SEC
A bunch of players in the NFL have either had
(00:52):
their fifth year options picked up, some have had them declined,
some are waiting in the wings, which I think it's
pretty clear which ones are gonna get declined. And we're
gonna dive into what, ultimately what you're really looking for
first and foremost in a first rounder. Uh, we'll go
around the league. NFL stories had a lot going on
(01:13):
this week in terms of just little stories here and there,
and then of course at middle Cop, well, excuse me, Middlecoff,
middl bag at John middlecoff is my Instagram. Slide up
into those d m s and get your questions answered.
We got a bunch of questions. I'm gonna try to
bang a bunch out just because over the last probably
(01:34):
week with the draft, I haven't been able to get
to a bunch. So hopefully I'll be able to bang
about fifteen out today. But again at John Middlecoff is
my Instagram. Do a lot of stuff up there, but
I mainly use it for this show to get answered
on the question. To get your question answered on the show. Uh.
You know, during these quarantine times, I've been doing a
bunch of stuff on YouTube. You can find the page
(01:54):
Haybram Middlecoff putting a bunch of different content up there
separate from the podcast that I do, just kind of
unique things that me and my my YouTube and other
podcast partner guy are just working on, just screwing around.
We put up a Michael Pittman video today. We've done,
you know, various videos on Judy, Ceedee Lamb, some of
(02:14):
the prominent players from this draft. And we're just gonna
keep pumping out stuff. I mean, if you're a creative
media person in quarantine, there's no excuse to just be
sitting on your ass. Uh, So we're trying to just
mix it up a little bit on top of everything
else I'm doing. So, uh well, let's start with this.
The SEC had more players drafted in this last draft
(02:37):
than any other conference by far, but I think if
you dive deeper into it, it's even more glaring than
just the basic number. I think they had sixty three
total players drafted, because you know, once you get to
the fifth, six, seventh round, that does speak to the
depth of your conference. But I always put a lot
of stock into the first two days. The first round
you pay a premium to those players for a reason,
(03:00):
and then the second and third round guys make a
lot of money as well. But I think there are
constant arguments going on that are pretty hard to ever
come to a final conclusion. Like, you know, Michael Jordan's
the greatest player ever. The documentary is going I think
most people agree, but if you want to come with
Kareem Abdul Jabar, Wilt Chamberlain, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Lebron James,
(03:21):
Like we can argue all day long, Like we can
have legitimate arguments. Who makes the best pizza? Is it
New York, is it Chicago? Is it Tony's Pizza in
the Bay Area? And we can argue it's all personal preference.
I always get angry when I used to have a
good friend when I was growing up. You know, his
dad would always cook steaks, and I always put a
(03:42):
one steak steak sauce on it. I'd always get screamed
at because it was a nicer steak. And I never
understand why people get mad about meats or whatever when
someone else wants to eat in a specific way, like no,
this is going into my mouth. Now as I've gotten older,
I do understand the argument, but I never get on people.
You want to eat put ketchup on something that I
(04:02):
wouldn't put, catchup on, have at it. You know what
that's going in your mouth, not mine. I don't care.
You know, politics, we argue about it. I mean I
don't necessarily, but Twitter and TV shows all day long,
like you can argue both sides, so the cows come home.
If we're never going to agree, so what's the point
of the argument. But there there's an argument in football
(04:23):
that's just it's over. You know, just put it. It's
it's done. Put it in sharpie. There's no more arguing
and for a long period of time, definitely in the
media and I think the fans. There's just been this
argument about the SEC. The SEC the bottom of the
SEC conference is just like the bottom of the Big
(04:44):
Ten conference. And I've always argued, or the packed twelve
or whatever, who cares about the bottom of your conference?
Like the bottom of all of our society in America
is just as bad as any bottom of any other
society all over the world, but the top of it
is just better. Like our don't class is much different
than the middle class in India in some of these
other countries, just like our high end companies are the
(05:07):
most dominant companies in the world. I judge you on
the middle to the high end. And also the one
thing about the bottom of the SEC, like you're still
gonna get a first round pick occasionally at a Mississippi State,
it's like Dave Vanderbilt had a second round quarterback, Like
that's still gonna happen. But where they really separate themselves.
They set a record in this draft. They had forty
(05:28):
players taken in the first three rounds. Forty. The previous
record was thirty two. By the SEC in two thousand.
The next closest conference this year was seventeen through the
first three rounds, so they more than doubled the next
closest conference all the talent, It's not even disputable, It's
(05:50):
clear right. NFL teams, NFL general managers, they don't give
a damn if they could find Khalil Mack at Buffalo
or Davante Adams at Fresno State, they will go wherever
the players. They do not care if a sweet players
coming out of the pack twell over the SEC, whoever
they think can help them. They've spoken, the best players
(06:11):
by a mile are coming out of the SEC at
a rate that is just lapping the field. Forty players
in the first three rounds we're taking think about that
the next closest conference was seventeen. You gotta do a
say it out loud. This might be the craziest stat though,
from the entire draft. And again, this argument has been
(06:32):
going on. I feel like for definitely since the playoffs started,
like the SEC the big time in the Big twelve
and there might be given years, but on a whole
over this past decade, the premium players come from the
SEC and just the South in general. Right, they just do.
And now here's the scary part about a California guy
in California producing a bunch of pros. They're starting to
(06:54):
head out west, or excuse me, head out east. They're
going to the SEC. They're going to Clemson, and to
say the South in general, like Clemson has done a
good job Florida in Miami historically, but they've fallen off.
And that's where Georgia, now Texas A, and m some
of those schools has risen. The SEC West. So that's Auburn, Alabama,
(07:14):
l s U, Texas A, and M and Ole Miss
in Mississippi State, they had more first round picks eleven.
Let me just listen to this. The SEC West had
more first round picks with eleven. Then the Big Ten
in the A, C C combined they had eight. It
(07:35):
really is glaring when you just start saying these numbers.
So anyone that tells you there's not a separation, it's
people in the NFL. Don't argue. It's the college football fans.
And I thought the Big Ten was clearly the second
best conference, and the PAC twelve is has his moments,
it's clearly lost a lot of depth over the last
you know, five or six years. But the a CEC
(07:57):
is trash. It has one pro Graham work that's legitimate
right now, and that's Clemson, who's a big boy program.
They're elite, but it's one. The rest of the conference
is a joke. This pains me to say because I
like this conference. I grew up on it. I mean,
I grew up out west, but this is probably my
second favorite conference growing up, just because their games were
(08:18):
on TV a lot. The Big Twelve sucks. The Big
Twelve is just not producing the players that they once did.
Oklahoma is Texas. Where where are you Texas? Since Mike
leached less Texas Tech? What's going on there? Guys? What's happening? Like?
The Kansas State's not quite the same? Kansas actually could
be better with less miles. So right now, the SEC
(08:40):
at sixty three draft picks the Big Ten, which was close,
and they you know, Michigan, Ohio, State, Wisconsin, Iowa that
they have NFL programs well second by a wide margin.
And then it fell off a cliff at the PAC
twelve at thirty two, the a SEC at seven and
the Big twelve had had one. I mean, the Big twelve,
(09:02):
which I would say a large percentage of my life
was a powerhouse conference. When it came to funneling people
into the NFL, it's kind of hit rock bottom. And
if it wasn't for Oklahoma these last several years, can
you imagine how bad that number would be. It's it's
pretty glaring, and there is an economic impact to this,
(09:24):
the growth of the SEC, the fervor of their fan basis.
They're all they all have a fan base that economically
can't support them like an NFL team, and they're starting
to lap the field that their games get enormous ratings
on SEC, and I think in a couple of years
it's going to ABC that number will either. I mean,
it's just it's gonna grow because casual people like myself
(09:46):
now find myself as like, oh yeah, I'm gonna watch
the SEC game of the day. I just do because
it's typically the best game and it's got the most
NFL players. Now, I'm a college football nerds, so I'm
watching college football from nine am till you know, the
last pack twelve games off. But the casual fan now
is watching the SEC who lives in Pennsylvania, that lives
(10:06):
in Oregon. They're just keeping track of the SEC because
it's cool. And I know, I had a kid who's
starting running back for Alabama. He grew up fifteen minutes
away from where I'm sitting recording this podcast right now.
He plays at Alabama the number one Uh. They have
several guys going to Georgia from California, Clemson who you know.
Phil Savage told me about this. And when Jimbo had
(10:27):
Florida State running, if you've listened to podcasts, you've heard
this fills now Joe Douglas is like one of his
right hand men working for the New York Jets. Is
that where Jimbo Fisher really had a point of difference
when he was at Florida State, Is he recruited an
SEC player. He just played an a SEC schedule. And
then when Florida State and Jimbo kind of mailed it
in and went Texas, A and M. Dabbo took off
(10:48):
like a rocket ship. And Dabbo is an elite coach,
but he's running an SEC program in the a SEC
and he's getting an SEC player playing a SEC competition.
And as we've seen these last four or five years,
it's not a fair fight. He's kicking the ship out
of everyone he's playing and then he'll just take a
chance in the playoffs. And it's just just the reality
of a situation. And I don't the pact well. I
(11:11):
I maybe with these new rules of being able to
pay for likeness that resurrects a program like USC. Maybe
it helps the University of Washington. I don't know, but
we are We're falling behind, and the sec to me
is only going to continue to separate. You know that
the The World Is Flat? Was it Michael Lewis that
(11:32):
wrote that book? Uh? No, I don't think Michael Lewis
wrote Moneyball. Whoever wrote The World Is Flat? I think
sports has really become that in this country when it
comes to college sports and the big programs. I mean forever,
Like when I was growing up. D J. Williams, who was,
you know, arguably still the best player to ever come
out of daylys Out went to Miami. Tom Brady, who
(11:53):
grew up in the Bay Area, went to Michigan. I mean,
we've seen it before, but now it's not even weird
when you see it. And I'd say, as Pete Carroll
kind of took you a seat of New Heights and
he was going totally national. It kind of flipped. He
was the first West Coast program that was just going
into SEC territory, that was going into Ohio state, Penn State,
Michigan territory. And now it's kind of gone vice versa.
(12:15):
Like if you're a kid in California, whether you're in
l a or whether you're in Oakland, or whether you're
in Fresno, and Lincoln Riley calls and Nick Saban calls,
Kirby Smart calls, you leave, and that's I think, you know,
had a huge You's had ramifications on the numbers we
see in this draft. It also shows to me, though
(12:36):
that the highest level of competition cream always rises. Think
about whatever you do as a job when you're going
against If you're a sales guy and your competition the
other sales guy is that company's best sales guy. You
better bring your a game or you're gonna get destroyed.
If I in the business, I'm in. If I have
a podcast, well you have a million options, right you
(12:58):
could listen to You could literally type into Apple just football,
and countless podcasts are gonna come up. Whoever, your local
radio shows are I bet a lot of money. They're
talking football right now. The competition for me to get
your earballs is really high. I have to be creative.
I have to bring attempt to bring my a game
every single show, or you know what you might do.
(13:19):
You might just listen to something else. And the SEC
right now feels like their effort is just at a
much higher level. And I give Urban Meyers some credit.
When he went from Florida to Ohio State, remember he
ruffled some feathers. He kind of up the game and recruiting,
and ever since he's left like the game the bar
had just been raised. I actually think he everyone should
kind of tip their hat and give him a thank you.
(13:40):
The reason they are the clear number two UH conference
right now in the country, but behind the SEC, I
think Urban Meyer played a huge part in that kind
of put the pressure on Michigan to go get hard ball.
James Franklin making a bunch of money at Penn State
Wisconsin got somewhat lucky in Chris, but he's just they
just had a really consistent program. Iowa's had parents forever,
kind of an NFL little factory, and it's just it's
(14:03):
pretty glaring. The numbers speak for themselves another element of
the draft. People have hit me on I gotta I
gotta several middlecoff mailback questions on this. I guess the
last like seven or eight years, the average of f
c S players and I went to an FCS school
in cal Poly. The prominent ones that would be like
Montana would be North Dakota State, you know, McNee State,
(14:27):
in Louisiana, Appalachian State forever. Typically those conference or those
schools in that division produced on average around seventeen players
a year in the draft. Now a large percentage of
them right where probably third day picks. This year only
six guys were taken, And people kind of asking me,
why do you think that number fell off? And I
think it's simple. A large percentage of those guys are
(14:49):
not going to go to the combine. They might be
friends draft picks, so you're gonna go to their pro
day and see them work out. You're gonna get their numbers. Well,
if you have a guy and you're trying to pound
the table to your general manager, even if it's over
zoom in the six or seventh round, you go, hey,
we should take this guy. He is a burner, and
your GM goes well, how fast is he? And we go, well,
(15:09):
we don't have a time. I think he would run
four four. Oh. Well, if he had actually run four
four oh, maybe your GM would be more inclined to
take him. Maybe you're coaching staff would have taken him
more seriously when they were evaluating. So I I do
think that just because you know, on average, seventeen of
those guys were drafted only six this year, that doesn't
mean that those guys won't eventually get their shot or
(15:31):
make the team that we're supposed to make their team.
It just had huge you know, it was the reason
why those guys go and draft. I don't have any
tangible information because it's easy for me to watch Clyde
and Joe Burrow against two uh and you know Xavier
McKinney and all the delpit and all these players on
(15:52):
the same field as each other. Well, if I'm just
watching one NFL player for U C. Davis, if he
only plays three other NFL players all season long, there's
a lot of unknown and there's a huge guessing game
to that. That's why the tangible numbers of a Pro
Day i'd say impact them more than typically, Like what
did Joe Burrow run. I got no clue did even run?
(16:13):
Who even gives a ship like even like Ceedee Lamb,
Jerry Judy. I mean those guys run four four, six, five,
four or five. But whatever, I mean, those guys are
asked kickers, right. I'm not saying that forty times or
jumps or whatever measurables don't impact those guys a little bit,
but it's incremental. It has huge, huge, um implications on
(16:35):
a guy at a smaller school because that's information that
you would really kind of pound the table on to
push your GM. Okay. I think one thing, and we
talked a lot about this leading up to the draft,
is the hype on first round picks is pretty outrageous, right,
and then the moment everyone's picked, we all think, whoever
(16:55):
your team is, that individual player is gonna be sweet.
You think best case scenario. If you're a Bronco fan
and you draft Jerry Judy, you're thinking he's gonna be
the best wide receiver we have drafted. If you think
we just got your Cowboys, Ceedee Lamb, you're like Boom
des Bryant two point oh Niners, Brandon Aiyuk like shit,
(17:17):
Jerry Rice Jr. You know Eagles, Jalen reagor DeShawn It's
just the nature of the beach. You get. Uh, the
Jets draft the big fella from Louisville Beckton, you're thinking
you got the British off Ferguson. It's just it's a
it's a natural reaction to every organization, in every fan base.
(17:38):
I'm not even hating on it. You should be You
should be positive, like we should be during quarantine. If
you are positive, it's easier to get through the day.
If you're negative and you think everyone of your picks sucks, like,
that's a miserable way to live. Now, once the guy
establishes who he is. I got a text today from
a buddy that works in the league. That's I think
doing some follow up work, trying to get some off done,
(18:01):
and he's like evaluating the Niners. He's like, God, just
watched Solomon Thomas. That guy stinks. He didn't say that,
he just said, just a guy. He's just an average player.
And when every when the forty Niners drafted Solomon Thomas,
they got a lot of credit, was like, oh, got
their next pass rusher. You know what, turns out not
any good? Miss with and really back to back Mr
Biscuit Solomon Thomas major whiffs. Well that that draft class,
(18:24):
the two thousand and seventeen class. After year three, going
into year four, you have to pick up their fifth
year option, and best case scenario when you draft in
the first round, definitely high. When you draft in the
top ten, you're looking for a franchise changing player. But
if you just get a guy that's gonna be on
your team for eight plus years, you're in pretty good shape.
(18:46):
If you get a legitimate starter, even if he's just
a fringe Pro Bowl guy, you're in great shape. Like
the forty Niners several years ago drafted to Forrest Bucker.
I think he's made one Pro Bowl and it was
this year, but he had a really good career. It
was a no doubt about it hit. Was it a
walk off home run like J. J. Watt or Khalil Mack. No,
but it was probably I mean at worst now because
(19:10):
it was a triple because it ended up netting you
pick their team, and what we see all the time
major misses that are disasters, and then you see some
guys like that are somewhere in the middle, like a
Nelson Aguilar for Philly. Chip Kelly drafted him. He was
kind of a disaster early on. Then he helped out
their Super Bowl team. He lasted on the squad five years,
but ultimately he went a separate ways. That's not ideal,
(19:32):
but that's not worst case scenario. It's a worst case scenarios.
Taco Charlton, who the Cowboys cut last year. Who's now?
I think I just read before I hit record the
Miami Dolphins cut him. Well, all these fifth year options
are being picked up over the next I don't know
exactly what the deadline is. It might be mid May,
it might be coming up right around the corner, but
(19:54):
it has to happen this summer. And Patrick Mahomes, Deshaun Watson,
those couldn't be. Those are no brainers. T J. Watt,
Derek Barnett with the Eagles, Mike Williams with the Chargers,
Marlon Humphrey, Myles, Garrett Evan Ingram, David Najoku like jabro Peppers. Uh,
I get why they did it. They traded Odell back
(20:14):
and forth, Ryan rams Check and I would imagine a
decent amount of these players their teams are gonna try
to extend this season, right Mahomes, DeShawn Myles, Garrett Najoku,
Ryan Rams Check, Marlon Humphries. To me, the key in
the first round, it's just to get a guy that
(20:35):
you don't even need to think twice about picking up
his fifth year option. You know, Mr Bisky, it hasn't beneficial.
I can break the news here they're not gonna pick
up his fifth year option, and if they do, Ryan
Pace should just put in his resignation letter. But then
there are guys like John Ross under no circumstances. Can
the Bengals pick up his fiftyear option? Hassan Reddick. I
don't think he's gonna get his fifth year option picked
(20:56):
up with the Arizona Cardinals. You have guy like Corey
Davis with the Tennessee Titans. I think he's gonna be
a challenge Leonard Fournette where they just tried to trade him.
So i'd imagine the Jacksonville Jaguars. You're not gonna pick
up the option on Leonard Fournette. And then there are
the guys like garyon Conley. He's already on a second team,
no fifth year option picked up, like these guys Tack McKinley,
(21:18):
no fifth year option. I don't want to go as
far as they're a bust because garyon Conley, attack McKinley
could play. They're gonna have a six, seven, eight year career.
But when you draft a guy in a fifth year
career in the first round, you're not looking for a
guy to have an eight year career on other teams
or just be like a fringe, you know, make minimum.
DJ Hayden was once upon a time drafted by the
(21:39):
Oakland Raiders. I think it picked twelve once all said dead,
he's gonna have a tenure NFL career, it will played
on four teams. That's not ideal. Now, asking for Patrick
Mahomes as every one of your first round picks, it's
not ideal either. I mean, it's just that's unrealistic. But
you do want a guy like a Mike Williams. Mike
Williams when the dust set, I would guess, will play
(22:02):
eight to ten years on the Chargers. They will give
him a contract extension next year and he'll play as
long as he's healthy, until he's like thirty thirty one,
and then we'll see financially where they're at. Myles Garrett,
I mean, his ideal, but he was a first overall pick,
So that's probably Ryan ramps checks a good example. He
was one of the last picks in that draft, in
(22:22):
the first round, and it's gonna be he's arguably a
top five player on his own team. Like that, that's
what you're looking for. When when you don't even need
to think twice, like, yeah, I'm not picking up his
fifth year option. That's a problem. That's a whiff, Like
that's Solomon Thomas, Mr bisky. Those are major, major whiffs.
John Ross, major major with Tach McKinley, and any time,
(22:44):
to me, you have a player, like if you miss
on a guy at pick four or eight or thirty one,
I can understand it, Like I people are like middle counts,
just a nine or homer. I understand the forty nine
ers on Reuben Foster. They traded back into the first round.
They drafted him at thirty one. His talent would have
(23:06):
he would have if he just stayed on the field,
been a no brain or fifth year option guy. But
he gets arrested twice. He gets arrested at a team
hotel on the road. Then they trade him to the Redskins,
and his legs shatters and then I think today or
the other day the Redskins officially made they're not gonna
pick up his thick your option. That's a disaster. That's
that's a disaster. But I also I view the disaster
at thirty one the fortys. Bigger disaster is Solomon Thomas,
(23:30):
because they could have Jamal Adams, who also had his
fifth year option picked up. So they got a guy
that we'll have a four year career on the forty
niners and then we'll bounce around the league. And again,
these guys aren't like a scrub where he's gonna be
in the XFL or the A a F. But you
have to have a guy that you don't even think
twice about or else you need to seriously as a
(23:50):
general manager, as a staff, you know, do some internal
have some internal dialogue, do a deep dive on why
you screwed up that pick, Because that you do that
back to back years, you're gonna find yourself unemployed pretty fast. Okay,
let's fire around a couple of just NFL topics that
are floating around out there. Ron Rivera said that Dwayne
(24:12):
Haskins showed enough two enable them to pass on to
a for Chase Young. I don't know if that's necessarily
true or not. I just wonder this if I was
going into a new job and the guy I worked
for and was paying me a boatload of money really
liked an employee, and that employee in this situation happens
(24:35):
to be Dwayne Haskins. You get a long term contract,
you clearly have some stability. Helped Jay Gruden lasted there,
you know, longer than you think. If you're around Rivera,
why wouldn't you do your owner solid and just go,
you know what, Well, let's see what this guy has.
But they've already had a contingency plan because they traded
for their guy in Carolina, Kyle Allen that the offensive
(24:57):
coordinator likes. And it's easy to justify it. Go, I'm
a defensive guy, the best player that I've had over
the last you know, ten years. Obviously Cam was the
most important player. Luke Keickley was the better player, and
Luke keickle is the lock Hall of Famer. Is Cam
going to Hall of Fame? Probably not. You go, I'll
draft a Hall of Famer. And if we need to
reconvene next year and get a quarterback, we're at a
(25:19):
unique time in NFL history where most teams are turning
down quarterbacks. How Cam can't find a job, Jamis becomes
a backup. We'll be okay, we'll figure this thing out.
I think it might have been an easy concession. Do
I truly believe that Ron Rivera likes Dwayne Haskins. I
don't because I heard things that the combine. I'm pretty
(25:39):
confident that he's leary. But he's also like any football coach.
If Dwayne Haskins was good this fall and shows a
lot of improvements and looks like the guy that had
a great statistical year his one year starting at Ohio State,
maybe they'll roll with him. If he's terrible and crappy,
then this will be his one shot and they'll either
trade him at the end of the next offseason or
will be in the backup. Really pretty simple. So I
(26:02):
think Ron is a pretty practical guy that there are
certain battles we all choose to fight and ones that
aren't worth it quite yet. Now, if this had been
three or four years in and this was forced on him,
maybe be different. But I think your first year on
the job, I don't think you're gonna be an attack
mode on everything to Cam Newton. Where the hell is
(26:22):
he gonna play? Where is Cam Newton going to play?
Find me a spot? Do they exist? Well? Where's he going?
I mean, where is he going? Hell? The Saints. Jamis Winston,
who threw thirty three touchdowns last year lead the league
in yardage, just signed a contract for one point one
million dollars. Cam can say always wants he's much more
(26:45):
accomplished than Jamis, and that is true, that is a fact.
But here's the one thing Jamis has on Cam. He's healthy. Cam,
your last two seasons shoulder foot checkmate, you're injured. And
does any one believe that Cam Newton would sign a
contract for one point one million dollars? I have a
hard time seeing that. But I also have a hard
(27:07):
time seeing who's who's really offering him a contract? Is
there is there a chance? Is there an outside chance
that Cam Newton is unemployed going into the season? As
crazy as that sounds, now, I think if Cam Newton
is healthy, he should be in the NFL for sure.
Who's making a starting quarterback like even just crappy teams
(27:27):
like the Jets, Giants, Donald Daniel Jones both draft in
the top six Cardinals Kyler Murray. I mean, just go
go to the teams that drafted the top ten the Jaguars,
But I mean, are they gonna sign Andy Dalton now
that he's been cut? We'll dive into him in a second.
The Chargers drafted a guy, Dolphins drafted a guy, Bengals
drafted a guy, the Redskins. You know. Ron Rivera is like, yeah,
(27:51):
I'm probably not doing that at this point, because again,
they drafted a guy two years ago in the top fifteen,
and Dwayne Haskins, who's getting a shot. Where does the guy?
I don't see the landing spot though, I don't know
if the landing spot exists. Carolina another top ten team,
who's terrible. They just signed Teddy Bridgewater sixty million dollars.
(28:11):
Just keep working our way up, Raiders. I guess that
you can never discount John Bruden, Kyle Shanahan Nope, Atlanta
Falcons nope, Dallas Cowboys Nope. Well you wouldn't think. I
guess if Dak Dak think is a little weird. He
just held the Eagles. I mean he drafted Jalen Hurts.
(28:33):
I don't see where he's going. And trust me, I've
thought about it. Nick Foles restructured his contract, which is interesting.
I just pressure burst pipes for makes diamonds and maybe
that Mitch just with Nick Foles being there, you know
his Backs against the Wall has his best season ever
(28:55):
and just becomes, you know, like his version of Alex
Smith for a couple of years. Alex Smith sucked with
the Niners, harbag out there, resurrect his career. I have
a hard time seeing that because he was terrible a
second year under Matt Naggy. Like this offense, He's just
not very good. He can't hit guys that are wide open.
So it's fifth year option. I, like I said, I'd
(29:18):
be floored if they pick it up. I'll be Florida
if Mr Biscuit is a starter on opening Day. I
really will, and I hope I'm wrong. I mean, I
like seeing young guys resurrect their career, become good players.
The more good players at quarterback that there are in
the NFL, the better it is for all of us
to talk about it that watch the NFL. It just
makes the NFL more interesting. He's not very good, and
(29:40):
I just don't think he can fix his issues. He's
not He's just not very accurate. I mean, I don't
know what else to say. Pep Hamilton's the XFL folded
and all the coaches lost their jobs somehow. I didn't
know this, but I guess the Chargers had a didn't
have a quarterback coach. He's not the quarterback coach for
for the l A Chargers. He's been He's worked for
(30:02):
six different NFL teams. It's crazy part about the NFL
is if you are just one of those coaches that
bounced around a lot, usually means just whether you're unlucky.
Maybe you're just not that great of a coach, because
if you are a really good coach for the most
part as an assistant coach, that team wants to keep
you unless you get go from a position coach to
a coordinator, and then you're probably a better position coach.
(30:25):
I mean there are I guess ever, every individual is
a little different. But yeah, just you know, he benefited
from the XFL folding. He got himself a job with
the with the Los Angeles Chargers. Now, how much does
this impact much Anthony Lynn's offensive guy. Uh. I think
they have a younger coordinator, so maybe this, you know,
gives a guy with a little experience to to work
(30:46):
around Herbert and Tyrod Taylor. Okay, let's dive into Middlecoff.
Mail back at John Middlecoff Twitter, Instagram, but my Instagram
d ms. You slide up in him, ask a question
and you get an answer. Here on the show, this
is the People's Show three and out. We could rename
it three and out with John Middlcoff the People's Show
(31:07):
or three and out the People Show. Hell, you don't
even need my name in it? Could you provide a
little insight into your weekly schedule? Well, during quarantine, I
guess it depends, you know, if quarantine wasn't going on Monday,
I tried to get up some time between six and seven. Uh,
(31:31):
if it was normal like during quarantine. Sometimes I just
watch TV or I'm I am playing on the iPad
way too late, you know, probably midnight. But I tried
to get to bed. To me, the key is I'm
not someone that like, I'm not Kobe or Donald Trump.
I don't operate off three hours sleep. I need like
six to seven and a half. Maybe don't need eight,
(31:53):
but I need I need like six to seven. I
try to go to bed by thirty up by some
time between six and seven. My office is in my home,
so I just walk into my office. I have the
I take double shots, those Starbucks double shots, the light ones.
I pound two right when I get up. I don't
coffee takes too long. I'd like to hit the ground running.
(32:15):
And I usually if it's Monday, I usually read stuff,
get stuff ready for the three and Out podcast. Uh
do some work that way, uh, if it wasn't quarantine. Also,
depending on what part of the month it is, sent
invoices for my other podcast or am doing business stuff.
Usually in the morning. I usually work out mid morning
(32:38):
sometime between depending on what's going on that day, nine
to eleven, sometime in that range, eat lunch, shower, So
my three and Out podcast is put together. Uh usually
do a periscope Monday through Friday, you know, of what
the big stories are, sometime between two and three. Uh,
then record the podcast usually at after that. Right now,
(33:01):
we've been doing a lot of YouTube's like uh instead
of doing We've just been doing a couple of podcasts.
I usually do. My other podcast is Monday, Wednesday, Friday,
give or take this one's you know Tuesday Friday. Uh, yeah,
and try to mix in you know work out. It's
nothing too crazy, you know. I guess it kind of
(33:22):
depends what time of year it is. I also, you know,
I'm chased, spend a lot of decent amount of time,
you know, probably ten hours a week chasing business in
terms of uh, emailing people, working with the ad agencies
we work of trying to establish new business. So that's
that takes up a lot of my time. But when
(33:43):
you run your own business, you kind of have to
do it, which I don't even I don't mind doing
because ultimately, when I do land the deal, I get
the revenue or I split the revenue with a partner
or whatever. But it's like it's not I don't look
at it. I get some people with the sales job.
It's probably you gotta get kicked in the ascid to
do a little bit more if you're not getting a
huge amount of money. But all the cash comes to me.
(34:05):
And then you know, depending on what time of year
it is, and I watch a lot of games, and
then you know, try to have a little free time
to play golf or whatever. But right now, hell, I'm
not doing anything. Uh So I don't know that probably
sounds kind of boring. You gotta mix in, you know,
doing some other stuff. Hanging out with babes. Eating eating
is a huge you know, there's definitely a couple of
meals in there. Yeah, so that's it's not too crazy.
(34:28):
Thoughts on Drew Lock being somewhat of a question mark
and the Broncos seven and a half wins by Vegas standards,
I actually think the Danver Broncos could be a little
bit of a sleeper this fall. They went They went
uh seven and nine last year after a horrendous start
to the season. I think Vic Fangio is one of
the better defensive coordinators, not just in the league, but
in the last twenty years. I think they do have
(34:49):
a very talented roster. If Drew Lock is good, they
have a bunch of offensive weapons now with Sutton Judy
and and kJ Handler. They signed Melvin Gordon, they have
Philip Lindsay. Their offensive lines still a little bit of
a question mark, but their defense should be really good.
It would not shock me at all if they're a
playoff team. I like him a lot. Actually, I like
(35:11):
what I saw at Drew Lock now was only four
or five games or whatever he obviously had. I think
it was the game against the Texans, where he was unreal.
I think he's got a chance to be pretty good.
Why are people so hard on Lamar not winning a
playoff game yet he only had played one full season.
It seems like in today's world you have to win
right away or you're not respected. People don't seeven Remember
it took Peyton Manning eight years to finally win a
(35:33):
Super Bowl. Well. Lamar said the other day when he
was got announced as the Madden Front cover guy that
he was disappointed himself. He's had two playoff games and
they were both at home, and he's played terrible. And
this year he won the m v P. So I
get he's new to the league, but you're the m
v P of the league and you host a playoff
(35:53):
game and you're the what were they? Yeah, they were
the number one seed and you get kind of outraced
by the sixth seed. I guess bad loss and last year.
I don't hold the first year against the Chargers as
much as over his head as much like that's charges
were hot, they were the better team. That's whatever that happens.
(36:15):
It was a first round game, but the loss of
Tennessee Titans is on him. He was terrible, and but
what I like about him he admitted it. I was
think Peyton Manning got a lot of ship early in
his career. Peyton Manning lost a lot of playoff games
where he put up a lot of sweet stats and
once some m vps and he took a lot of heat.
Peyton Manning was i'd say one of the more polarizing players.
(36:38):
So he won that Super Bowl. And remember the year
he won the Super Bowl, they were down big in
the a f C Championship game. You could argue, for
as sweet as Super Bowl was, the defining game in
Peyton Manning's career, is really that? I guess it would
have been January of oh seven, the a f C
Championship game against the Pats. Were they down to ten
at halftime three? I forget the exact score, but it
(37:01):
might be the defining game of his career. Been listening
since I found you on Collins Feed. What are your
thoughts on the whole? Al Shan Jeffrey went saga air
quotes because nobody wants to talk about it. How you
would expect Howie to handle a disgruntled wide receiver talking
shit about your franchise quarterback? Will the Birds be able
to move on from au Sean. Yeah, I think it's
(37:22):
one of those that they were stuck with him contractually.
They still need wide receivers like they need al Shan
to be good. When they were good, au Sean played
a big role on the team. Now, I don't know
the dynamics exactly beside people think that it was all
Sean leaking the quotes about Carson. I would try to
sit him down and see what I could do, and
I would imagine they have. But if the Eagles want
(37:44):
to be good in two thousand twenty, al Sean should
play a role in that team. Having a six ft
four guy that can high point balls and be a
red zone target should help your team out, especially when
you can balance them out. You draft Jalen reagor trade
for uh Markee's good one. You have to Sean Jackson
like you have some speed. Now, al Sean should be
able to thrive a little bit. So I would tell
(38:05):
al Sean to accept your huge contract. Let's be quiet,
Let's be a good guy and just go out there
and play. That's that's what i'd say. Always a big
fan of the pod. Always fun to hear cutting grass
in the background. What do you think will be the
biggest bust of this year's NFL draft? Is it too
early to tell? Yeah, I mean it's we're a weekend.
(38:26):
I mean, I I I got no take there. It's
just unfair. But I do think you have somewhat of
an idea after year one, you go, this guy's trending
in the bad way, or this guy is in a
bad situation. But I mean, right now i'd be pulling
stuff out of my ask to pretend like, yeah, I
think this guy is gonna be a bust. Now. I
do think there there's pressure on all these guys. I
(38:48):
think a couple of the tackles are just not gonna work.
I think one of the high corners is just not
going to turn out to be a great player for
whatever reason. You would say Akuda going to the Detroit
like that's a dysfunctional place. How often do you guys
go there and thrive? And I'd say Slay did, and
he did, but they got rid of him. But Atkuda,
(39:09):
I mean, he was good in college. I'm not trying
to take anything away from when scouting for the draft.
How much film are you watching? Is it just college film?
Only when they started. Well. As a media guy, I'm
mainly just watching highlight tapes. I'm watching games live during
the fall. I watched a lot of college football, and
then I'm texting my friends. As a scout, you're watching
(39:31):
if I'm you know, Brett Veach and I'm watching Clyde.
You know, I've probably watched a couple of L s
U games live during the fall, but I if I'm
really breaking him down in the All twenty two film,
I'm probably picking out four or five of his games
against Alabama, against Georgia and the two playoff games, and
I'm just I probably go to my computer and every
(39:55):
time he's on the field, I do a little query
and I just watch all his snaps. So you're watching
four if I games against the Leach competition now with
big time guys that have been big time for a
couple of years. You've watched them over a period of time,
but you're watching a lot of plays, man. I mean
it's I know the media thinks that they're you know,
great scouts at home, but watching guys on YouTube and
(40:17):
sitting in an office watching All twenty two tape all
day long, day after day after day after day. He's
a little different animal because I've done both. I know
you already touched on Clyde Edwards Hilaire, But what do
you think the Chiefs second and third round picks? Did
they get players who can make an impact on rookie deals? Well?
I had a buddy on another staff that watched. I
(40:39):
think his name is is it Willie Gay Jr. The
linebacker from Mississippi State they draft in the second round.
People I know loved him. They think he's a really
really good player, a modern day linebacker, sideline to sideline
and athletic guy. When they drafted him, I thought ESPN
did a good job of showing his highlights. This guy
can really run and that's something the Chiefs. Chiefs lacked
their third round pick, the TCU tackle. People, I don't
(41:02):
really like him. High character, tough guy. Wouldn't shock me
if he's starting for the Chiefs in a couple of years,
you know, whether Fisher just gets too expensive, or Mitchell
Schwartz believes or just whatever like that he'll be their
third tackle and maybe they have an injury. Uh That
from people I know. I can't pretend to like study
the guy's film, but people I don't like him. Everyone
(41:23):
Brett Vach is good. Like Brett Andnany are just on
the same page. They just they kind of just know
what they're doing, you know. And I think when you're
a head coach of of Coach Reid's level, and you
have a guy that you trust that much who was
that good at personnel, you're you're in pretty good shape.
I'm not just saying this because I know the guys,
but Brett Vach is good. You know. It's not random
(41:47):
that he was a big part of drafting and he
loved my homes or Marcus Peters or all these guys
like it's He's just good. I have a question for
your mail bag. Last year, many analysts said that the
Cleveland Uns were loaded, but the team ultimately greatly underperformed.
Those few who are correctly predicted that the Browns would
underperform last year are now stating the Browns have a
(42:08):
legitimate team and could make the playoffs. What is different
about the Browns this year as opposed to last year. Well,
the major difference would be the coach. Freddy Kitchens was
the Jim tom Sula of hires. Last year. It was
I mean, it was a joke. You couldn't hire Freddy Kitchens,
(42:29):
and they did and it was a disaster. I also
think that they hired Freddy Kitchens then they acquired Odell Beckham.
It was just kind of a ticking time bomb. Well,
you get Kevin Stefanski, who I still think is a
big unknown. He was a one year coordinator. Now they
had a great statistical year in Minnesota, Cousins had a
career year. Their running game kicked, ask dig stealing, they
were awesome. So you just think you get a little
(42:51):
more of a steady individual who has at least coordinated
plays for a full season for a playoff team that
won a playoff game. Now out why I don't feel
as confident and everyone I know in the league that
the Browns had a really really good draft is I'm
a little insurance. Baker Mayfield like, are we sure he's good?
Because I saw enough last year I was like, what
(43:12):
is wrong with this guy? Now that gets back to
the coach. They do have a ton of talent, but
football comes down to coaching. It's not like if the
if the Cleveland Browns were an NBA team, they'd be
a lock playoff team. You'd be like, yeah, they're a
lock like home court advantage team. That's not the way
football works. Now the team is going to be dramatically better,
but we'll see. Man. I think there's a lot of
(43:33):
pressure just because they have O'Dell, they have Baker. They're
just a polarizing team. But I think people just probably
look more at the coach and just think that they're better.
Situation situated with with Stefanski, how do you feel about
the direction of the Miami Dolphins and what do you
predict their record is going to be? Well, I mean,
(43:57):
they had a good draft. They drafted a bunch of
good players. They now have a franchise quarterback. I think
the guests there record, Uh, I'd probably have to know
more about to a situation. If they just roll back Fitzpatrick,
maybe they win five or six games if two is
fully healthy, you know, and the way that they played
(44:19):
down the stretch. They have an influx of talent. They've
signed a couple of free agents, they have a multiple
starting corners. You know, could they win seven games if
two is fully healthy and he's you, You and I.
We all know as much as anybody. We don't know.
No one knows at least if O T A s
were going like, would would two be able to do
rookie minicamp? Would he just sit on the side. I
(44:40):
don't know. I would assume he wouldn't. But are they
just gonna red shirt him and play Fitzpatrick and have
Rosen as the backup? Is who we're gonna be the backup?
How's it gonna work? Is he's just the starter? I
have no clue, but I would say they're definitely trending
in the right direction. If the Steelers go five hundred
or worse, how bunch of fans panic with the quarterback
(45:01):
coach situation? To me, the coach situation, he's kind of
established himself right. We learned that Antonio Brown is one
of the craziest humans who's ever played in the NFL,
and under Mike Tomlin, he handled him last year. Ben
tears his arm like he's Jacob deGrom or just excuse me,
no A synderguards the guy that had Tommy John and
(45:25):
Tomlin went eight and eight with Mason Rudolph and Duck Hodges.
Like Mike Tomlin's good is Mike Tomlin, Belichick is Mike Tomlin.
Sean Payton is Mike tomin Andy Reid. No, he doesn't
call either side of the ball. But is he a
damn good coach? Hell yes? Is he a top ten
in NFL coach? Hell yes. If I'm the Steelers, I
want Mike Tomlin to be my coach because if Mike
Tomlin gets fired at the end of the year, whoever
needs to coach, He's the number one option. Think how
(45:47):
eat fast Ron Rivera got hired. Well, Mike Tomlin is
way more accomplished than Ron Rivera, and I like Ron
river is a good coach. But the quarterback situation to
me already is a question mark. You've got an old
ben who kind of looks fat, who's coming back from
a major injury. That there's a chance he's not good anymore.
There's chance he's is old it's over. And if that's
(46:09):
the case, luckily their defense is still good enough that
they could probably compete, but they would have to be
then be in the uh, you know, in the quarterback
market next year. Found your pot through the herd. I'm
a fan. My question is about the Vikings. Do you
see them as rebuilding? They let a bunch of key
players walk this offseason, but it was clear that many
(46:29):
of them either problems in the locker room like Dicks
passed their prime Rhodes Griffin, or just not that good
waynes in Alexander. Yeah, I think the Vikings are trying
to win. I mean, they got Cousin the contract, they's
got feeling, they got Digs. They draft Justin Jefferson, who's
gonna play immediately. They draft a corner I think Gladly
from TCU, who should start immediately. They still have Danil Hunter,
(46:51):
they still have Kendricks, they still have Harrison Smith. They
still have a coach who is, you know, like Fangio,
one of the better defensive coordinators in the league. I
think they're trying to I think they are a French
playoff team, you know, just depending on how how good
these young players are. Alone's trying to get me to
(47:12):
be of their financial planner. H Two questions concerning the
quarterback situation in Dallas and New England. If Dak refuses
to play this season without a new, absurdly expensive contract,
are the Cowboys a potential landing spot for relatively cheap
Cam Newton And is the only reason they would do
(47:33):
that because it would sever ties with Dac and push
him into free agency the following season two. How unlikely
is that the Patriots start the season with more than
two quarterbacks Stidham Howyer that they have right now. They
signed the Michigan State bum and Jamar Smith Louisiana Tech,
who I believe has pro potential if they can coach
him up the accuracy as you d f a s
start with the Cowboys. I don't think you draft Ceedee Lamb.
(47:56):
I don't think you signed a Marie Cooper for sixty
million to not figure it out with Dak though, like
I've talked about, I would play him on the one
year franchise tag. I'd be shocked, and MacArthur would want
to work with Cam Newton. I I don't see that
happening the Patriots. I think they're just gonna play with
Jared Sidham. I think they're gonna give jeared to him
a sixteen game tryout and just see what the hell
(48:17):
they got. If they win nine games, they make the
seventh seed. Great. If they win sixth, great and they'll reconvene.
But I think it's gonna be that simple. They're gonna
play with Jared Sidham and just see what happens. Uh.
The U D f A S. Maybe one of those
guys could beat out Brian Horrier. Probably not though, so
I just think that that's that's the plan. Appreciate everyone listening,
(48:39):
have a good weekend, and uh stay safe out there,
and uh stay busy, I don't know, doing what I guess,
going on walks, you know, and enjoy looking out the
window at the sun. Hopefully it's ends sooner or later.
But thanks for listening again, and uh, talk to you
guys soon.
Host
John Middlekauff
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