June 21, 2024 • 53 mins
Colin is joined by John Middlekauff, host of “3 and Out” to talk NFL offseason and golf!
They start with Kyler Murray and Colin offers up his theory as to why NFL evaluators have bailed on him… his gaming habit (5:00). Then, they pivot to the quarterback “bubble”... and identify the guys that can win a championship based on their talent or the size of their contract (13:00) which is bad news for one NFC North quarterback.
They talk about Tom Brady’s recent appearance on “The Herd” and Colin explains why Tom is incredibly normal and thoughtful for a star of his stature (19:00) and compares his demeanor to that of a current star NFL quarterback (21:30).
They debate whether or not the 49ers should pay Brandon Aiyuk what he wants (33:00) and list their most undervalued (37:00) and overvalued NFL teams (43:00).
Finally, they talk about Rory McIlroy’s meltdown at the US Open (53:00) and Bryson DeChambeau’s ascension to the top of the sport (01:00:00)
(Timestamps may vary based on advertisements.)
Follow Colin and The Volume on Twitter for the latest content and updates!
#Volume #Herd
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
The volume. Get ready for a great night of fights
UFC three to OHO three. It can be even bigger
if you sign up. You know, it doesn't take long
to the Draftking sportsbook at the official sports betting partner
of the UFC. Make it simple. Go to DraftKings, select
a fighter, place your first bet. A lot of people
(00:22):
can get intimidated by this stuff. How it's you know,
there's same game parlays and live betting odds. Just pick
a fighter. Who do you like to win? At the volume?
You know Daniel Cormier will give your heads up on
that stuff. Middle coff on golf, basketball, football will help
you out. Uh. Speaking of amazing opportunities, DraftKings New customers,
(00:42):
all you have to do is bet five dollars to
get one hundred and fifty dollars in bonus bets instantly. Okay,
so you just download the app now, takes ninety seconds.
Do it on your phone, takes ninety seconds. Put in
the code colin that would be me C L I
N and there you go five bucks. You've got one
hundred and fifty bucks. That's a pretty sweet deal. Only
on DraftKings.
Speaker 2 (01:02):
The Crown is yours gambling problem called one eight hundred
gambler or in West Virginia visit one eight hundred gambler
dot net. In New York called eight seven seven eight
hope and wire text hope and y four six seven
three six nine. In Connecticut, help is available for problem
gambling called eight eight eight seven eight nine seven seven
seven seven or visit CCPG dot org. Please play responsibly
on behalf of Boothill Casino in Resorting, Kansas twenty one
(01:25):
and over age varies by jurisdiction. Bonus bets expire one
hundred sixty eight hours after issuance. Deposit and eligibility restrictions apply.
See terms and responsible gaming resources at DKNNG dot co
slash MMA.
Speaker 1 (01:42):
All right, let's bring in my buddy John Middlecoff, former
NFL scout his podcasts The Football One is three and out,
and we're not ready to go every week quite yet.
But when we start humming, get out of the way, folks,
We're like a fullback from the sixties. We're just gonna
run your ass over. Yeah. So I was reading a
(02:07):
story today and I thought of you, and I know
Steve Kyme really well. They got out and smoked a
few cigars and had dinner with Steve kai In the
former Arizona Cardinal GM who after you know, twenty five
years working for Michael Bidwell, you know, he's he doesn't
want to do it again. You know, he's like burnt
out still and people only knew the stories that fans
have no idea. But so I was thinking about this.
(02:32):
Bruce Arians was commenting about Kyder Murray and he was saying,
you know, he's still in the evaluation process, and I've
always backed him because my takeaway is that Jesus in
a division that had Pete Carroll, Sean McVay, Kyle Shanahan,
he had Cliff Kingsbury and took him to the playoffs,
It's like and mostly pretty mediocre, ol liones. And I'm like,
are you guys, this is the best coaching division in
football at the top of Pete and Shanny and McVeigh
(02:56):
and Kyle got him in there. Kyler did. But I
as I was reading that with Bruce Arians, he had
real doubts on him. I mean real doubts that you know,
he's more legs than pocket and he completed sixty seven
percent of his throws and I can't find anybody anybody
I ever asked about Kyler Murray in the league is
(03:16):
like Noah out, and I'm like Jesus. He throws a
beautiful ball. He's elusive as hell. He's a playmaker, he's accurate.
People stuck with Justin fields to the last game against
Green Bay. People have bailed on Kyler and he can
freaking play the position. And I have this theory. So
I have a therapist friend, a lady, and she has
(03:39):
said there's there's a little bit. It's not an epidemic,
but it is an issue with men who are gamers
are bad for marriages. And this person has said she
has seen it repeatedly. People think, you know, guys get
into porn and it ruins a marriage. She's like, no
(04:00):
gaming gamers. She said, it's it's addictive.
Speaker 3 (04:04):
Well, now it's communal because you can communicate with the
people you're playing with.
Speaker 1 (04:09):
And you know, and I will be honest when I
hear a guy's a gamer and he's older, you know,
he's out of his teen years or he's passed like
twenty twenty one. You know, I tend to be like,
it's time to grow up. Come on, and you know,
most guys get married, have kids, even if they love
(04:29):
that stuff, they get out of it, they move on,
but a lot don't, and it's like an issue. Therapists
are seeing this and they've been seeing it for years,
like it's blowing up marriages, like guys that just can't stop.
It's not like getting a book John and going reading
it for thirty minutes or it's well, you know.
Speaker 3 (04:46):
You can play continuous for ten twelve hours, no problem.
Speaker 1 (04:49):
And so I think the stigma he's accurate. He's a playmaker.
He got a poorly owned franchise to the playoffs and
a tough division. I think the gaming thing is a
huge stigma, and I think older gms look at it
and think, Jesus, grow the fop Like this guy, you can't.
This guy's addicted to gaming.
Speaker 3 (05:09):
Yeah, I think the gaming thing represents something that a
lot of people had questioned marks how hard was he
willing to work and how much did football mean to him?
Because there were some question marks early on in his career.
And the NFL is a lot like high school. There
aren't that many people there and everyone knows everybody, and
word travels fast because there is no disputing. Remember the
last one of the last games of the season he
(05:30):
played the Eagles. I mean he's single handed. He was
running around kicking their ass. He is, yes, you know,
Bryce Young also a small player, can't hold a candle.
Speaker 1 (05:39):
Talent wise to that, not a candle.
Speaker 3 (05:41):
Daniel Jones, same thing. I mean, this guy is a
This guy's a legitimate top ten talent at the position
in the NFL that some people would say it's a
no go with his height, but he's kind of overcoming
it moments. And like you said, he's had a really
good year before quarterback.
Speaker 1 (05:58):
People says the best Texas high school for well player. Ever.
He wins the Heisman, he gets Arizona the playoffs. The
fans don't like him, the media doesn't like him. Execs
don't like him. His owner doesn't like him. Like there's
something I've never seen a player this talented. Nobody's saying
be patient. People have bailed on him.
Speaker 3 (06:14):
I always support, I mean I might criticize, but support
young guys Like I'm so much different of a human
than I was five years ago, let alone at twenty
two years old. So guys, not everyone is Peyton Manning
and Tom Brady at twenty three years old, Like Kyler
is much closer, especially to people at the other position,
but at quarterback there's no margin. Frere and I would
(06:35):
say this, I haven't played video games since college. But
maybe he just needs a girlfriend. Maybe he just maybe
he has one. But I'm with you. Other positions, though,
I would imagine a lot of people, yeah, under thirty
in pro sports are playing video games.
Speaker 1 (06:50):
It doesn't bother me.
Speaker 3 (06:51):
Is Mahomes spending much time on the video games during
the season. Probably not, Josh Allen justin Herbert Jalen hurts.
You know. That's then other thing. How much does this
like to work? You know, even Jalen Right had a
bump a year last year. No one ever questions his
love of football and hard he's willing to work. Now.
Is he gonna be good enough next couple of years.
We'll find out, but no one. And I think that's
(07:12):
the big question mark with Kyler. And you know these
gms and personnel people that's like, I'm out, Yeah, I'm
out because I can't risk it. I can't bet on
you that you will figure it out before it's too late.
Speaker 1 (07:26):
Yeah. I guess my take on Kyler is he is
the most talented quarterback in my life that has no
support groupe. I've never said, I mean people have. I
mean Jordan Love didn't play for three years, was terrible
in September in his fourth year, and everybody was yelling
give him time.
Speaker 3 (07:45):
The difference, though, is Jordan Love not a highly recruited guy.
Goes to Utah State. I've been their beautiful place, but
it's not the first choice for many quarterbacks, sits for
three and a half years, right, A lot of guys
Patrick Mahomes, he has to go to Texas Tech. Josh
Allen Kung a scholarship offer. This guy didn't lose a
freaking game in high school. Like you said, a five
to nine player in the history of that state is
(08:06):
widely considered the best player. Then goes to Texas A
and M and at the time they were recruiting with
Kevin someblon just like Alabama or Georgia. Doesn't work out there,
goes immediately to Lincoln Riley, kicks everyone's ass, and then
goes to Arizona, who just drafted a quarterback. They're like,
get the hell out of here, we're going with this,
and then three years in they gave him a max contract.
(08:27):
It has a little NBA feel to it, and a
lot of NBA guys never snipped their potential because they
were given everything everything, and Arizona did. It never made
sense to me to pay him without like, hey, Kyler,
let's just see another year, and it backfired. I do
think the guys like I know a lot of Philly
guys that know Jonathan Gannon really well. They have a
young staff. I think both of his coordinators are under
(08:49):
thirty five. They do like him because they're coming in
fresh and he's been good. So people change. But you
have to spend so much time as a quarterback. The difference.
You hear all these stories about these coaches working twenty hours,
and it's true. Quarterbacks aren't far behind, you know, the
wide receiver not even close, right, The dB doesn't have
(09:09):
to spend that time the quarterback is working. They're hours
the Saint Banker hours. You're not checking in the union
nine to five here, I mean, these are long you're
working for Steve Cohen on Wall Street up all night.
These guys are up at five am and they're not
going to bed, turning the you know the telegon. He
doesn't have kids or anything yet. So yeah, this is
a big year for him, but he's under contract. He
(09:30):
got paid like he won Colin, he won financially, now
proving whether he can hang. It's tough division. We know
Seattle's gonna be tough. And the Niners and Rams, I mean,
are those two twelve win teams.
Speaker 1 (09:43):
Yeah, it's it really jumps fast.
Speaker 3 (09:47):
I enjoy watching him like I don't want to watch
Daniel Jones. Right, Derek doesn't do much for me anymore
in New Orleans. Like, yes, boy, Kyler is an entertaining watch.
Speaker 1 (09:57):
Oh, no question? Yeah, the you know, you know, it's
funny about I got into this conversation about quarterbacks that
the last twelve years, only two quarterbacks have won Super
Bowls stars Peyton, Brady Mahomes or guys who are talented
(10:19):
but yet to be paid. Russell Wilson and Flacco were
on the last year of their non their first year contract,
and then the Wentz Nick Foles team where those guys
weren't making any money. So essentially like that, that's it,
you know, Tua Dak good quarterbacks, big money, no chance.
And so I looked at all the teams. I came
(10:42):
up with twelve quarterbacks who were either I considered like
throw the ball, elite fashion, and it was Stafford and
Mahomes and Allen. I put Aaron Rodgers on there. I
put Lamar Jackson because I think he's elite, and Joe Burrow.
Those are the six, so they're in the Super Bowl bubble.
And then there were six other guys who I consider
really talented and inexpensive, all under twenty million dollars. A
(11:04):
cap hit Herbert. I think it was Jalen Hurtz, Jordan love,
brock Purty, I'm missing somebody else, but it was that group.
Speaker 3 (11:13):
Would you throw GoF in there?
Speaker 1 (11:16):
That's interesting? So Goff was the one quarterback on the
one team I didn't. He is not great and he's
too damn expensive. So over the last twelve years, there
are no Jared Goffs. There are no aus B plus
quarterbacks and with no history. I mean, Peyton Manning was
(11:39):
older in Denver, but his brain was functioning. It's Peyton Manning.
He could still play. There are no golf winners. And
it was interesting because I came away and I said,
I actually liked this bubble. It was you know, Ravens, Bengals,
it was all the teams we like, you know Texans.
I think we both agree, and Packers are young, but
you wouldn't be shocked if they end up at a
conference championship and Detroit was my takeaway. And I also
(12:01):
love Dan Campbell's ability to build a culture. I don't
know if you get him in a game with a
Shanahan or Nany Reid if I feel so great about
highly emotional Dan Campbell. So here's a franchise. I love
a quarterback. I've been higher on Goff. You and I have,
I think than almost anybody in the media. Love their roster.
It's a younger version of the Niners, but there are
(12:21):
no examples of Jared Goff winning a Super Bowl that
kind of pay and quarterback. And you know, it wouldn't
shock you if I said in five years they didn't
win a Super Bowl.
Speaker 3 (12:32):
No, I mean, well, they're the Lions. But I do
think they have a unique window because of the trade
they met made with Stafford and how well they drafted
their team roster wise, feels more like a Ravens, right.
They always toe to toe with the Niners, and they
didn't have to lose any of those guys to sign
this contract. That's right now when the bill comes due
and his number starts hitting whatever. On a yearly basis,
(12:54):
twenty percent of the calf it's a little different, but
right now, on a man demand basis, I would say
they easily have a top five roster because the other
thing they have. I was talking to our guy, Jeff Schwartz,
who Oregon Duck. He's like, do you realize that Piney
Sewell is like twenty three to twenty four years old?
You know the players their young talent. That Jamier Gibbs,
the wide receiver, meets running back like he's a Christian McCaffrey,
(13:17):
Alvin Kamara, we saw Laporta. I'mon Saint Brown. They do
have a question mark at defensive back. Yeah, if you
have question marks at defensive back in twenty twenty four,
it can be a problem. But they did add in
the draft. They added Carlton Davis from Tampa Bay. So
if they're just the other thing, Colin is a lot
of times when you're a team that sucks and then
(13:39):
a couple of years later has success, people steal your
coaches for whatever reason. Ben Johnson doesn't want to be
a head coach. I mean he's turning down Josh Harris
as they're flying to see him. It's a unique situation
with him. So yeah, Dan is not mister schematic right,
he's not calling the place, but he didn't lose his
start coordinator and now they're defense just personnel wise, like,
I think they got a chance this year. They got
(14:01):
a real chance because there's a ton of pressure in
San Francisco. I have to see how this IU thing
plays out. Jordan Loves got to do it for seventeen games, right,
So you look around Philly, we still got question marks
with Siriani. Now the roster is good, but I think
the lot it's this year now. Over the course of
the next three or four years, it gets more difficult
if you're not the fourth best quarterback, if you're closer
(14:22):
to eleven and you're making huge money. But I do
think you've you've seen if you can protect the guy
he's he's mentally tough. He's like a better version. He's
a different type player, but a lot like Alex Smith,
but I think better. Yeah, mentally tough, and that matters
in these playoff games. Alex is just so physically limited.
When Andy would get him to the playoffs, Jared has
(14:45):
more physical cap He can't run like that. But he
can throw and if you can protect him the NFC,
I mean, they should have won that game, and like
you said, it was a I thought it was pretty
reckless by Dan Campbell with the kick of the field goals.
But yeah, I think this year they got a legit chance.
If you tell me the Lions, is it inconceivable? They're
the number one seed? Their division's hard, But I mean,
(15:07):
why couldn't they win. I don't know if San Francisco
is gonna win thirteen fourteen again, maybe they win eleven
because them in the Rams both eleven. What if the
Lions get to twelve or thirteen, have the one seed
and then they get to everything's in a dome.
Speaker 1 (15:18):
I would argue the two best rosters in the NFL
are San Francisco and Detroit. The best teams are almost
all in the AFC. It's like when USC dominated the
Pac twelve. The conference was just awful, but USC was
the best program and basically they got every California recruit
they wanted. I think the Niners. If I said this
before last year, if you took the Niners and the
(15:40):
Lions and just we're gonna make a Pro Bowl team
out of these two teams it could compete with. I
mean literally the offensive line Trent Williams one side, Pinasal
the other. You literally, yeah, they would have hurt people.
So you know, it's I had Tom Brady on this week.
I saw that Tommy was good. He was good and and.
Speaker 3 (16:03):
He's really.
Speaker 1 (16:06):
I found people like Tom because everybody wants a piece
of Tom, Like when you get to that big and
and I know somebody that has that knows, uh, you
know President Barack Obama, former president pretty well, and it's
the same trait. They both have the same trait is
that you know, everybody wants a picture, everybody wants to
(16:31):
say hi, I remember this game.
Speaker 3 (16:33):
And is he the most famous NFL player ever? Pretty
by a wide margin, you think at this point in time.
Speaker 1 (16:38):
I think so, yeah, Yeah. Tom is really very very
normal and it's it's really interesting how efficient he is
in social situations, Like he like he meets you, it's
eye to eye. He responds, very cordial, very human, very personable,
(16:58):
and then you know he he's Escordon didn't come with
a big entourage, but it was really interesting to watch him.
Tom is a highly functional, very normal, really incredibly thoughtful guy.
And as I sat there for the interview. He has
a personality trait that I've always admired in people. Anything
(17:22):
you asked Tom about football anything, I was throwing these
goofy theories I have. Oh, he's thought about it. And
I've said this before in my life. One of the
people a couple of the people that are involved with
a volume and one of the reasons I was always
impressed with people that I included in this company is
when you ask somebody about, you know, media, and they
(17:46):
have an answer. Because I'm obsessed by not just sports,
but by the business of sports, and so I think
about stuff all the time that I don't talk about,
but I just think about it. And it was really
impressive to me that Brady I'm throwing zany theory at him,
and Tom's literally he's thought of everything. And I think
he'll be a very good broadcaster like a player. I
(18:06):
think he'll just get better and better and better and
better because he's very hard on himself. Did you take
anything away from the interview that was kind of my
take that Tom's just literally thought of everything.
Speaker 3 (18:15):
Well, it's about one hundred and twenty degrees here, So
I was in the pool a couple hours ago, and
you have a lot of time in the pool. You're
just kind of thinking. I was think about the most
famous athletes. I would say the last twenty five years.
You obviously Michael would probably be number one. Tiger be
right up there. And I think both those even what
Lebron is now, they do struggle when they're just in
(18:38):
a situation like that to feel relatable. I mean, Michael
never has Tiger's gotten a little better. I think with
his child he can be a little calmer. Lebron is
just in his own little world, just because that's the
way it's been for twenty plus years. I would put
Peyton in this category. Two. Both those two guys can
be in a situation like that and you go have
(19:00):
a beer with that guy. Yeah, and l and they are.
You would never say that about Michael Jackson or Leonardo DiCaprio.
Like the level of fame and Tom's higher than Peyton,
But I is it crazy? And I've always said that
Tom and Peyton were the Magic and Larry of my
generation what they meant for the NFL. And Tom's just
(19:20):
a very very unique person. If just to sit like that,
I looked at some of the YouTube comments because I
watched the interview on YouTube and everyone's like, how likable
is this guy? And I think it gets back to
the sport. How one he went to whatever the highest
level of education is in America, he went to the
equivalent in New England for twenty years with Bill.
Speaker 1 (19:42):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (19:42):
I mean, is it should any ls to be shocked
that all those former Patriots when you hear them talk
football can do it at a really high level, from
Matt like to Edelman to even Gronk when he's not
screwing around. I mean, yeah, they've just been inundated with this,
but they were all held in the same level, and
there's a there's a humility because you didn't have a choice,
(20:02):
right and most of their teams were not super stacked.
The teams that were didn't win the Super Bowl, like
I mean, their core. Now, Julian Edelman was their best
wide receiver. Like Julian Edelman. I love the guy, but
he's never going to Canton or anything. And I just
think Tom it gets back to his family, how he
was grown up. This is what people are looking for. Obviously,
(20:22):
his success, you're not looking for that when you draft
a player, but his love of football, how good he
is with other people, how much he cares. Like these
traits that he displays and Peyton does this too, is
like everything you look for when you draft a player.
I mean, he's the highest level. He's like the mensa
whatever it becomes. But I just find him very easy
(20:44):
to listen to. And let's face it, most people that
are like Michael Jordan is not like that, right because
usually how could Tom relate to anybody? But he is
able to do that. He transitioned to Tampa, It's like
everyone loved him. It was like the practice squad guys
like he's taking pictures with kid. The star players are like,
He's the coolest guy we've ever been around. It's just
(21:04):
a trait that not many people have. I think Mahomes
clearly has that. They have that going in Kansas City
right now, where everyone obviously some people make more money,
some people have more fame. Travis Kelsey has it. I
know he does. I mean the way that they view him,
and it's just.
Speaker 1 (21:19):
Think about think about Mahomes's life. He's got a brother
that makes the news, he's got a wife, he's got yeah,
he's got young kids. He's the best football player on
the planet. He's the face of a franchise, he's got
thirty eight endorsements, and he is just in a good mood.
(21:39):
I mean, you watch him on that Netflix thing. He
is able to compartmentalize shit like I've never seen in
my life. Some people, John, some people just have it.
Mahomes has got wackiness and neediness and maintenance around him.
None of it bothers him.
Speaker 3 (21:57):
You know. The other thing is, you know college football,
once you get to like Ohio State this year over
under in their regular season, how many tight games are
gonna be in when you put it in, Probably two,
like they're gonna be so much better, Or Georgia they
might be in two or three big games in the NFL,
And Thomas been saying this for twenty five years, and
every player, does you better come correct every single week,
(22:21):
like I don't get to just mail it in. Obviously
with that franchise, how hard Bill was on everybody. But
you will get beat by a four win team beats
a couple of playoff teams. Right. So when Tom was
talking about how serious he prepared, he never knew. He
never take an opponent lightly, He never took a series
off like you gotta be careful, and the preparation that
you were ready for in the first quarter might not
(22:42):
show till late in the game, and all of a
sudden you're tied against a four win team, and it's
it might be on Monday night football, it might be
their super Bowl. And I think that's what the NFL
has that the other sports don't like. I'm playing the
Lakers in February, winna, lose, whatever. Who cares you know?
In fairness that they got eighty two games? Or baseball?
Every baseball game tonight, we're recording this on Thursday. Does
(23:02):
any do any of them matter? Do any of them
actually matter? Today's games? They just don't, But every Sunday
it does because it could be the difference of winning
your division not making a wild card. Is it getting
fired keeping your job?
Speaker 1 (23:21):
Well, think about this, Think about the parody in the NFL.
There's there's there's about ten awful teams in baseball, ten
awful teams in the NBA. Take out New England. It's
a bad football team, awful And I imagine the Giants
are not going to be pretty bad. Carolina, I do
think will be much improved. And their schedule, boy, it's
it's it's got some potential wins. There. You got about
(23:44):
two teams that I think feel kind of hopeless. I
think the Raiders are talented. I just don't know rookie
coach Gardner Minshew. So let's say three teams that it
could be pretty scrappy. But I mean, if Minnesota is
a fourth place team, I think they have one of
the best young coaches, one of the best left tackles,
(24:05):
the best wide receiver, a top back, a top tight end,
edge rusher is better than you think. That's a fourth
place team. A fourth fifth place team in baseball or
the NBA, like Detroit is not even shit. They can't score.
Nobody can shoot. They have no shooters.
Speaker 3 (24:19):
I think the thing people forget about Minnesota. They also
they added an edge rusher. They also drafted one. Remember
they had two first round picks, JJ and the kid
from Alabama. So yeah, I just think anytime you've been
around football your whole life, it's unlike any of these
other sports, and to do it over a long period
(24:40):
of time, you've just been humbled so many times. Even
if you're Tom. I mean Tom's had some of the
most historic losses in league history, right lost to the
Giants twice. I mean those are that he had an
undefeated team in the Super Bowl. So for all his
twenty eight to three they did not lose a game,
and a lot of those were not close. And then
(25:00):
Eli got him again, and then the Eagles with Nick
freaking fools beat him when he threw five hundred yards.
So yeah, I just think he's a unique character in
the communication, which clearly you know, resonates and comes through
when he sits down with you. I just think it's cool.
Obviously got a lot of money, but he's got a
lot of money already. It's pretty cool that he wants
(25:22):
to do this. I just think that we don't get
very often, Like is Lebron ever calling a game on
one of these networks one day? No chance, right, So
it's just is Patrick Mahomes probably not, you know, So
I think it's it's gonna be a very very cool
experience and like everything, and it comes through when he's
talking to you, he takes his shit very seriously because
(25:45):
he takes on everything very seriously.
Speaker 1 (25:47):
Yeah, you know, I was bouncing around. I wanted to
ask you a Niners question because you're so tied into
them that you used to live there and did radio
in the Bay Area. At you know, I was thinking
about Brandon Ayuk and I like Brandon Ayuk a lot.
I think. I think he's a top five six receiver
talent in the league. But it's really interesting because I
(26:10):
always say this a lot of what you make in life.
You know, I I how valuable forget your talent and productivity,
How valuable you are to a company. That's your leverage.
You can be talented companies. I mean, you know, Joe
Buck and Troigman are fantastic. You know in Fox at
(26:32):
some point made a decision, and so talent alone is
not getting you paid. It's your value. There's a lot
of great tight ends who have never made great money.
There's a lot of great running backs. Sae Kwon Barkley
is a stud and you know there's not a huge
market for that. But if I look at the Niners,
here's my knock on Brandon Ayuk. The most important person
(26:56):
with the Niners is the brain of Kyle Shanahan, then
the of Christian McCaffrey, the pass rush of Bosa, I
would say, the versatility of Debo, and then the protection
of Trent Williams. I also think Kittle is a culture
center his physical style of play. So I'm at like
six people and they drafted two receivers I don't think
(27:20):
and Purdy's not a big deep ball thrower, nor do
really good teams allow a lot of deep balls when
you play them.
Speaker 3 (27:27):
They're just not throwing go routes like most teams.
Speaker 1 (27:30):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, How valuable is he?
Speaker 3 (27:33):
Well? I think it's they're in a tough spot. Let's
use this example. Let's say you're Kyle Shanahan and someone
wrote an article that at the volume John Middlecoff is
making more money than Shannon Sharp, you might have a
problem on your hands, right, Shannon might be on the
horn with you and Logan Well, Trent Williams makes twenty
(27:55):
million dollars a year. He is widely considered one of
the most talented left tackles in the history of the sport,
and he's dominating right now. Christian McCaffrey got a raise,
but it was twenty million dollars. Fred Warner doesn't make
anywhere close to twenty million dollars. Brandy ACK's a really
good player, scheduled to make almost fifteen million dollars, but
they're offering him twenty five, twenty six. He's like, no,
(28:15):
I'm thirty one. Well you make thirty one in that
locker room. What you're double the value of Fred Warner
if you're Trent Williams, Like, we're all human beings, Like
I understand the market. Ever, I played left tackle and
this guy's making nine million dollars more than me. You
just you got potential problems. I think it's a tough spot. Obviously,
in a perfect world, I think what you would do now,
with the emergence of Christian McCaffrey last year and a half,
(28:38):
you would just get rid of debo. But deals have
already in, contracts have already been signed, so you're kind
of stuck right now. And his value on the open market,
given that he's so Kyle Shanahan dependent, Brandon Aate's a
really good player, He's a winning player. I would struggle
given the way they play, given the way they're built.
They also have some big picture question marks. We just
saw Trevor Lawrence. He got two hundred million dollars guaranteed,
(29:00):
has been objectively better. And I know Doug I talked
to him at the combine. Doug Love Trevor so Doug
was pushing that Kyle likes Purdy more than Doug likes
Trevor Lawrence, and Doug likes Trevor Lawrence a lot. You know,
he's Kyle's in love with Broug Purdy here, So that
number is gonna be huge, Trent Williams is getting You're
gonna have to figure out this left tackle thing. They
do not come cheap, whether you trade for a guy,
(29:22):
whether you mortgage a lot in the draft. I think
they're just in a weird spot right now. They have
a lot of really good players under contract making a
lot of money, and then they got this situation. A
couple of years ago. He was in the doghouse and
he's proven he's a winning player. But the way they play,
he's never catching ninety five balls get you never, Never,
you get paid for production. There's a reason, guys, whether
(29:43):
you're a winning player or losing player. You scored thirty
points in the NBA, you're getting a max contract. Right
Saint Brown is catching one hundred and twenty balls a year, Like,
give me my eighty million dollars. It's part of the deal.
So he catches seventy five Now he has a lot
of yards and he's a really really good player. Is
is he ever a top seven wide receiver in the NFL.
So because they paid premiums for Williams best left tackle,
(30:06):
Fred Warner, best linebacker, Kittle second or first tight end, McCaffrey,
best running back, so it's like they are comfortable doing that, Deebo.
They were in a tough spot. Yeah, I think they
kind of got pushed against the wall. He had just
carried them with Jimmy Garoppolo being terrible to the NFC chair.
Speaker 1 (30:24):
And I think I do think his versatility is unique.
Speaker 3 (30:27):
But then they six months later they got to trade
for Christian McCaffrey. If they would have known McCaffrey was coming,
they probably just would have unloaded him that offseason, but
it hadn't happened yet. I don't know. I could see
a scenario where they play this out, which they're not
gonna want to do because the drama that comes with that.
I could definitely see a trade. And I could definitely
just see because sometimes a coach just get it done.
(30:49):
Let's over quote unquote pay. But then you have to
worry about the locker room dynamics. And I think the
forty nine ers one thing they've really had and Kyle
does a great job of this. He's been around his
whole life with his dad, New England. Everyone's pretty tight.
Everyone's rowing in the same way. They don't do a
lot of bs, you know, and when it comes, it
just doesn't they get rid of it fast. So I
(31:10):
this is a weird spot because he's now vlogging his
off season. You know, Kashi Andhan might be young, but
he's an old soul. He's not really into all that
crap and it's probably a headache to him right now.
Speaker 1 (31:22):
Yeah, I think so too. So I want you to
pick a team that is considered a bad team. And
you know I've done this every year. A couple of
years ago, I beat on this drum, I swear for
six months. The Minnesota Vikings. I'm like, this is a
this is a ten eleven, twelve win team, and they
(31:43):
were like they were undervalued.
Speaker 3 (31:45):
They were headed to the playoffs last year until Cousins
ripped his achilles.
Speaker 1 (31:48):
Yeah, so I am. I think I'm in the minority here.
I want you to think I'll go first of a
team you thinks undervalued. I think it's Denver. So they
drafted a edge rusher that is an area of need.
If you go back to last year, the defense was
the issue. They got the most you could get if
you go really look at Russell Wilson's stats. Now, Russell
(32:12):
doesn't see the field particularly well, but they've got a
number one receiver in Courtland Sutton. The offensive line was
rated seven. I like their backs capable at tight end again,
a number one receiver. I think the old lines better
than people think. One of the smartest play designers and
callers in the sport. The Raiders are not going to
be great. The Chargers will probably take a while to
(32:34):
get where they want to get. They're not going to
be terribly explosive vertically. The Chargers can beat teams, but
they're a little bit like Kansas City last year. They're
not blowing people out.
Speaker 3 (32:45):
He's going to try to play in twenty to seventeen
type games.
Speaker 1 (32:47):
Oh, every week. They're going to be in games with
Kansas City. Kansas City doesn't blow people out anymore, or
she Rice is a bit of a mess. They have
a rookie. Chargers won't blow people out. They could absolutely
beat both of those team once. They could beat the
Raiders twice. They're over unders five and a half, if
the kid they drafted, if the edge rusher works. By
the way, Mems last year became a really nice piece.
(33:09):
That's why they moved off Jerry Judy. They went and
got another receiver. I it's hard when I when you
say smart coach, good offensive line, automatic wins in division.
Bo Nicks had sixty one starts. If he's capable, if
he's Russell Wilson capable, I think they're like an eight
(33:30):
win team. I'm not saying playoffs, but five Jesus John
five and twelve is Carolina. It's unwatchable. I don't think
Denver's gonna be unwatchable.
Speaker 3 (33:43):
Yeah, I think bo Nicks. I remember watching him right
after the draft. He kind of had some like Jimmy
Garoppolo Derek Carr coming out of college, and when those
guys were young, they would have been perfect for Sean
Payton when he was transitioning away from Drew Brees. You know,
this team win loss wise. They've been in the mix,
but no one really took them that seriously. Seattle's offensive
(34:06):
personnel is pretty awesome. I mean, Dk Metcalf's like Terrell Owens,
Jackson Walker. They've improved the offensive line. Their defense for
a team that's drafted defense that's traded for defense has
been a kneemick these last two years, which is crazy
because you remove the last like three year stretch. Pete
Carroll's easily one of the best defensive minds over the
last thirty plus years, right, but it it fell apart
(34:28):
at the end. Gino Smith, I'm not the biggest believer,
but he has not really been their issue of just
being competed. It's their defense. They couldn't stop the soul. Well,
they get the boy genius from Baltimore who easily had
the best defense in the league last year. Listen, Stafford's
already kind of bitching and moaning and I need a
little more money. And Stafford was awesome last year, but
that elbow goes. We've seen what happens. If he's on
(34:50):
the shelf. It's one thing. If he misses one game,
it's another thing. If he misses a month and a half.
You know, he's the lynchpin of the whole operation. If
if something were to have happened to Stafford, I could
see Seattle being right there because you can already tell
like are the rams, Like do you really want to
double down on this. It was an awesome season. Can we
just play out the contract? To me, Seattle is a
(35:12):
quarterback away in the next couple of years. I'm sure
Schneider is going to be all over him in the
draft this year. I think that they are a very
unique spot equipped in the future. If they could ever
find just even get their Brock purty 'or just a
guy that's really good, cheap contract, they would be a problem.
Because what Mike McDaniel or Mike McDonald did these last
two years, and specifically last year, I mean they Colin
(35:36):
he embarrassed Kyle Shanahan. On Christmas night, I had a
buddy on the Baltimore Ravens staff. They were all calling
him boy genius around the room like he is a
special defensive schematic guy, and he listened. We questioned that
that side of the ball running a team, but he
does inherit players everywhere on offense and we'll see. I mean,
(35:56):
Ryan Grubb a lot of success coaching now going to
the NFL is a little bit different. But what he
just did in Washington, a lot of NFL people are watching.
I'm not shocked to John, you know, and uh, they
hired him to be the offensive coordinator. So they're a
team I would say this year is going to be interesting,
but they're they're a bo Knicks whoever their guy is
over the next couple of years away from being like
(36:17):
they could be a problem.
Speaker 1 (36:19):
All right, let's flip it. Let's find a team that
we think is a bit overvalued. I want to pull
back on Houston so badly, but Jesus, I just love
everything they're doing, every move they make, every draft pick.
Speaker 3 (36:34):
I love what well run, and they got a good coach,
and what their quarterback does is sustainable. He's a pocket quarterback.
Speaker 1 (36:41):
So you know, I think, I think about this. I
really do wonder if Aaron Rodgers is upright. The Miami
Dolphins concerned me. Basically, it's a It's a three headed team.
It's Jalen Wan Tyreek Hill and Tua. Tua was healthy
(37:03):
last year, one of the only healthy years of his life.
The Jets, if Aaron's upright, are going to be much better.
New England's bad. Those are two wins. Buffalo's Buffalo. Their
schedule is not easy. The AFC. Here comes Burrow, Deshaun
Watson's coming back. Aaron Rodgers is coming back. Shit man,
last year was the year the getting was good. If
(37:25):
you're an AFC team like it was, it was everybody's
banged up. Trevor Lawrence wasn't healthy, Anthony Richardson got hurt. CJ.
Stroud's a baby, didn't a Dolphins have.
Speaker 3 (37:36):
Like a four game lead after Thanksgiving? I mean, how
the hell did they blow that division?
Speaker 1 (37:40):
And I look at Miami and I'm like, I could
see them just I could just see this thing with
a little injury to too early, I could see it
nose diving. I think Miami's the team that I think,
to myself, God, last year was I mean, they're literally
weather affected when they go north and later in this season,
Miami's the team that everybody's high on. I could see
(38:03):
it being a bit of a mess with yours.
Speaker 3 (38:05):
I don't take them seriously at all. I don't care
what their record is in September. Go four and zero
in September, seeing that then they've done that. The best
teams in their conference all playing freezing cold weather, not
like cold weather, frigid weather, so they have no shot.
I think the coult Are team that I'm high on.
(38:28):
Their coaches stud your guy Ballard has done a really
good job. I think their roster's really good. They were
a bad Gardner Minshew swing route from beating the Houston
Texans and winning the division. Yeah, but their quarterback has played.
He's much more physically gifted and much more talented. But
a little Trey Lancy, he just hasn't played much football
(38:49):
over several years now, So you're you're very dependent on
this guy. It's like, well, if he's awesome, well yeah,
I mean I haven't really seen him on the field.
And then last year it's one thing to get hit
by Ray Lewis writer John Lynch in their prime and
get a broken shoulder or whatever. He had some injuries
where you're like, I didn't even think that hit was
(39:10):
that violent. And the thing about football is some guys
are just durable. They just this guy, this guy never
missed a game and fifteen years. Yeah, yeah, look at
Jerry Rice's career, sixteen for sixteen. So it just goes
on forever. The occasional you break a leg or whatever,
but like you start having concussions shoulder issues, that concerns me.
(39:30):
I'm probably gonna pick them to make the playoffs, but
I can't feel good. I mean, their quarterback has played
a combined I don't know how many games he played
last year, three or four, and then before coming out
of college he had played thirteen career games. That's the
thing with this class, right. Henks has been playing for
six years. Bo Nick's sixty one career starts. Caleb Williams
started every game after Oklahoma told Spencer Rattler to go,
(39:53):
you know, to the pine. JJ McCarthy like, you've seen
these guys be on the field for a long time.
People get very like you with Kyler, Murray lazy, not
into it, terrifies teams. Half the leaks is out. The
injury stuff is tough because you're like, well, what if
it's just a weird couple of years stretch and then
he plays seven straight years, or what if it's just
(40:14):
something that snowballs. You really don't know. You're just completely
taking in an educated guess. Half the times the doctors
tell you we can't draft this guy. This guy goes
on Navin eight your career and the doctor tells you
to draft this guy. He's got a degenerate knee. So
it's just it's tough. But that is going to concern
me picking them. But if I picked the Bengals. Isn't
Joe Burrow's wrist injury that I don't know if you
(40:35):
read about it, Yea, It's not like a broken leg
or an ACL that's basically feels like one hundred percent recovery.
It's a much smaller percentage. Not arthritis, but pain and
just the throbbing as you're working back from it is unavoidable.
He's a quarterback, so he kind of needs to use it.
I love watching the guy play, and he's the only
(40:57):
guy in the AFC that went toe to toe with
Mahmes and took him down on the road. Yeah, but
like that, that injury is has a little baseball feel
to it, where you're like that picture was never the same, right.
I hope that's not the case, but it's it's it's scary.
Speaker 1 (41:19):
All right. I gotta ask you a golf question, go
lo Is John's podcast. John is first of all, not
only a great golf analyst, a good golf better. But
I'm a huge Rory McElroy fan and I was just
I was really pulling for him. I think Bryson to
Shamba has done a really good job to pivot and
(41:41):
he's become incredibly likable, and especially when Rory peeled out
and left early, I guarantee it. Deshambo heard that and
decided I'm saying here for three hours signing every autograph.
I just to Shambo's personality is Oh, Rory split and
didn't dodge anybody. I'm beer all night. So these guys
are all competitive, if they're all alphas, it's interesting. So
(42:03):
in defense of Rory, golf is so strange. I think
it's the USGA. They put a tournament right before a
major and right after a major in the summer sun Like,
It's just that's not like these guys. So he skips
out on the Hartford, and I'm thinking to myself, you
know after a major, the intensity in the summer of
a major. These guys are worn out fans. I don't
(42:28):
think understand Sometimes maybe they do a golf major in
the summer. That shit, you're losing weight. I mean you are,
it is, Oh it is You're losing eight pounds over
the course of four days. It is a grind in
that heat. So I kind of understood saying, guys, I
need rest, But I also in a weird way, he
(42:49):
is the face of the PGA. Better or worse now
is kind of.
Speaker 3 (42:55):
Of all of golf. I would include Live. I mean,
he's the most famous golfer right now that's not named
Tiger or Phil.
Speaker 1 (43:00):
I didn't love him bailing without congratulations. The Hartford I get,
missing the Hartford I get. I think that's some of
the structural bizarreness of golf, and some of their schedule
is weird. But in the golf community, how was that
viewed him? Just basically I'm out of here peeling off well.
Speaker 3 (43:23):
I think the unique thing about golf is when the
forty nine ers right guard blows it against Chris Jones
and the Niners lose a Super Bowl, no one can
relate to that. No one could block them, no one
could play guard. You can make fun of Luke all
you want, not playing defense, no one can do that.
But anyone can go to Pinehurst for like four hundred
dollars and play the golf course, and a lot of
(43:44):
people have. They play golf and it's extremely hard, and
that putt was really hard. He's not the first and
he won't be the last to have an incredible moment
of just the worst moment of his career. It's happening
before happen again in that sport. Because of the pace
of the sport, right, there's a lot of time between shots.
(44:05):
There's a lot of build up to every shot, especially
on Sunday. You become one reason Bryson d Chambeau has
become very sympathetic. He lost his dad a couple of
years ago and he talks about it a lot. A
lot of people have lost their dad and it's just
whether you think he's kind of weird quirky. It's a
very relatable trait. The most relatable thing in golf is
when you fuck up, have a bad moment, blow a tournament.
(44:28):
Most people suck at golf. The average handycat's like eighteen.
Everyone can relate to missing that putt because ninety nine
percent of people miss it. When Phil Mickelson and I
think in six at wingfoot pumped it out of bounds
when he was gonna win, that was his best chance ever.
He faced the music and he became a very sympathetic
figure because it's a very relatable thing. Now everyone's like, well,
(44:49):
we know what they're gonna ask him. Yeah, him saying
this is awful, this sucks. I obviously wanted to make
that putt maybe even cries. I actually think it would
have drawn on even more people to him. I think
he's a kind of polarizing guy because he went all
in on Anti Live and now he's saying we should
get together, which he's right, I mean, they need to
(45:10):
get back. But I think a lot of people think
he can be full of shit. And yeah, that was
a moment I think would have really ingratiated himself with
everybody because it's the most relatable thing ever. He missed
a three foot downhill. Every human being does it seven
times around, and Bryson has really embraced this. Bryson lost
the PGA Championship by a shot, and war like, you know,
(45:33):
stood up there, took the questions at the Masters, he
was winning I think after two days, and then kind
of fell apart at the weekend. Bryson's kind of really
embraced this whole entertaining entertainer thing. You know what, you
know what he does And I was thinking about this
the other day. It's a very novel concept, he smiles.
Think about the funnest player you could argue, beside Michael
(45:56):
Jordan of my life, just most fun Steph. What does
he do a lot smiles. Why did everyone like Brett
Farr looked like he was having fun? You know, Tiger's unique.
He could be an asshole and not talk to everybody.
I mean, he was a rocket ship of dominance.
Speaker 1 (46:10):
Michael Jordan also was not terribly likable. It didn't matter.
Speaker 3 (46:13):
Those guys are all time outliers. Most homes might end
up with like five super Bowls. Have a lot of fun.
He's enjoyable. Bryson's just smiling a lot. We don't lose.
He easily could have lost that, and I think Rory
kind of if he could have that back, it would
have been a real easy moment to just say what
(46:34):
everyone has experience that plays the sport and it's watching
missed the putt. It sucks. I'm devastated, you know, And
I he avoided Greg Norman talked after ninety six, which
was way worse. He had a six shot lead. Rory
only had a lead of the back nine with like
five holes to go, and Bryson was behind him, So
it was really it wasn't like a true five holes
(46:56):
to go because Bryson had the extra hole. But I thought,
I think he'd like to have that one back. But
it's also golf. Right in the NBA, the MAVs, they lost,
it's win or loose. Rory did beat everybody else, and
he has been really good these last couple of years.
He's beating literally everybody else. But part of golf is
like you gotta beat that one last guy or else.
(47:18):
We all kind of go.
Speaker 1 (47:20):
Yeah, golf, golf. Golf kicks everybody's ass at one point,
even Tiger. I mean, Tiger had the greatest run ever.
It it will eventually, I mean you can barely operate. Yeah,
So it's you know, you know the funny part about Tiger.
I remember this just as an aside. It's it's always
laughed when Tiger was in his kind of that eight
(47:42):
to ten year just it was different. I said this
today on FS one. This happens infrequently, but occasionally you
will see an athlete. Michael qualified it as this Lebron
did in his prime that and Tiger didn't golf that.
Even amongst all stars, John Jones UFC does this, even
(48:07):
among the toughest guys in UFC, John is different. John
is tougher than all of them that take the toughest
guys and John Jones like literally just is faster and
more violent. And I when Tiger was in his prime.
One of the things I always because I love golf,
I'll play it. I'm going on vacation, I'll play it
(48:27):
three or four times. I love golf, but just just
Northeast golfer, No northern California. But I hit enough shots
that I'm proud of that it brings me back every time.
Speaker 3 (48:37):
Have a Vodkasoda out there, kick your feet up and.
Speaker 1 (48:39):
Oh more than one yeah, and you know how they'll
do a slow mow of the golf swing and the
analysts will break it down. Tiger was coming out of
his shoes.
Speaker 3 (48:52):
It was.
Speaker 1 (48:54):
If he wasn't named Tiger Woods, if he was Bob
Woods and Tapeka, you'd be like, holy crap, this.
Speaker 3 (48:59):
Is a mess.
Speaker 1 (49:00):
He's over swinging. Tiger was the level of the torque
in his swing. In his prime. He broke rules, but
he was Tiger and it was like, okay, it was.
It was different. And I always think about that when
(49:21):
I think of greatness. Is I mean mahomes is doing
behind the back stuff, left handed stuff, the stuff stuff
took shots in his prime you would have been benched
for ten years earlier.
Speaker 3 (49:33):
Well, part of golf too, is equipment. The equipment over
the last I'd say twelve plus years has gotten so extreme.
All these guys can hit it three hundred and forty yards.
I mean Bryson's hit at three to eighty. Tiger was
hitting it three hundred and thirty, three hundred and forty
yards with clubs that had no business going over two
hundred and ninety yards. So what he was able to
(49:55):
do with his power, his velocity, and as he got
a little older, that linebacker strength. It's like if you
could play eighty two games ten straight years in the
seventies when you were wearing those little shitty shoes and
no tape on your ankle, like that is remarkable accomplishment.
What Tiger did with his equipment, like what Bryson's doing
with his equipment, is impressive, but he's specifically training for it.
(50:17):
He specifically made these clubs like it is Taylor made
to do that. That did not exist in nineteen ninety
seven or two thousand, even up through Tiger's like prime
probably four five six. Now, the reason Tiger at forty
five could win the Masters in twenty nineteen is equipment.
You know, if he had the old equipment, he wouldn't
probably wouldn't been able to won at that age. But yeah,
(50:39):
I mean I think he he's a lot. You know,
you hear these stories of Stevie Williams. I'll fall into
it on YouTube on the algorithm and he'll be like, yeah,
we won the Arnold Palmer and Tiger had to hit
a twenty five foot putt to make it. And after
we got all the hooplau and he except at the trophy,
he looked at me. He said, I'm so fucking pissed.
(51:00):
I should have been three feet, not twenty feet. So
we flew right back to Orlando. The next morning at
seven am, he's practicing that shot for three hours in
the dead of summer sweating. Is that you know that
that drive that you hear to talk? No one has that?
And I do actually think Bryson. If Bryson was a
football player, he would have been the number one pick
in the draft. This guy, him, Jack and Tiger are
(51:22):
the only guys to win the US Amateur and multiple
US Opens. Three guys, Jack Nicholas, Tiger was Bryson d Champeau.
He also won the national championship in college. I mean,
this guy's a blue Chipper in the sport of golf.
It's different. He's quirky, but I think we talk about maturity.
He's kind of just come into his own the YouTube
stuff Live allows him to do that. He's having a blast.
(51:42):
He's popular, but he's really good. I mean he's really good,
and I feel like he's more likely to win five
majors when his career is over than stick at the two.
Like he ain't going away.
Speaker 1 (51:55):
Yeah, what's his world golf ranking right now?
Speaker 3 (51:57):
Well, it doesn't exist because he'll not live behind Scottie
Scheffler and Rory Like he's there's no difference of those
three guys.
Speaker 1 (52:06):
I don't get it.
Speaker 3 (52:07):
Well, the Olympics, he can't go to the Olympics because
he doesn't get any points. It's like, what are we doing?
Speaker 1 (52:14):
I Gulfs of Barnyard musical? But God, Major, I love
majors so much, John, I'm gonna be for I've never
taken a two week vacation while I'm on the air.
This is the first. My bosses have been incredibly accommodating,
(52:34):
and I told both of them. I just said, I'm
a little burned out and I just need two weeks
with my family, and thank god people at Fox. Literally
they came to me and said, take the month off.
I'm like, I can't take a month off. I'm not
built that way. I gotta work, so I'll be infrequent,
but I will be posting stuff on the volume and
we will connect soon.
Speaker 3 (52:53):
Buddy, keep on rock and enjoy the summer the Volume.
Speaker 1 (52:59):
Thanks so much much for listening. If you've enjoyed the podcast,
take a moment rate and review
The volume. Get ready for a great night of fights
UFC three to OHO three. It can be even bigger
if you sign up. You know, it doesn't take long
to the Draftking sportsbook at the official sports betting partner
of the UFC. Make it simple. Go to DraftKings, select
a fighter, place your first bet. A lot of people
(00:22):
can get intimidated by this stuff. How it's you know,
there's same game parlays and live betting odds. Just pick
a fighter. Who do you like to win? At the volume?
You know Daniel Cormier will give your heads up on
that stuff. Middle coff on golf, basketball, football will help
you out. Uh. Speaking of amazing opportunities, DraftKings New customers,
(00:42):
all you have to do is bet five dollars to
get one hundred and fifty dollars in bonus bets instantly. Okay,
so you just download the app now, takes ninety seconds.
Do it on your phone, takes ninety seconds. Put in
the code colin that would be me C L I
N and there you go five bucks. You've got one
hundred and fifty bucks. That's a pretty sweet deal. Only
on DraftKings.
Speaker 2 (01:02):
The Crown is yours gambling problem called one eight hundred
gambler or in West Virginia visit one eight hundred gambler
dot net. In New York called eight seven seven eight
hope and wire text hope and y four six seven
three six nine. In Connecticut, help is available for problem
gambling called eight eight eight seven eight nine seven seven
seven seven or visit CCPG dot org. Please play responsibly
on behalf of Boothill Casino in Resorting, Kansas twenty one
(01:25):
and over age varies by jurisdiction. Bonus bets expire one
hundred sixty eight hours after issuance. Deposit and eligibility restrictions apply.
See terms and responsible gaming resources at DKNNG dot co
slash MMA.
Speaker 1 (01:42):
All right, let's bring in my buddy John Middlecoff, former
NFL scout his podcasts The Football One is three and out,
and we're not ready to go every week quite yet.
But when we start humming, get out of the way, folks,
We're like a fullback from the sixties. We're just gonna
run your ass over. Yeah. So I was reading a
(02:07):
story today and I thought of you, and I know
Steve Kyme really well. They got out and smoked a
few cigars and had dinner with Steve kai In the
former Arizona Cardinal GM who after you know, twenty five
years working for Michael Bidwell, you know, he's he doesn't
want to do it again. You know, he's like burnt
out still and people only knew the stories that fans
have no idea. But so I was thinking about this.
(02:32):
Bruce Arians was commenting about Kyder Murray and he was saying,
you know, he's still in the evaluation process, and I've
always backed him because my takeaway is that Jesus in
a division that had Pete Carroll, Sean McVay, Kyle Shanahan,
he had Cliff Kingsbury and took him to the playoffs,
It's like and mostly pretty mediocre, ol liones. And I'm like,
are you guys, this is the best coaching division in
football at the top of Pete and Shanny and McVeigh
(02:56):
and Kyle got him in there. Kyler did. But I
as I was reading that with Bruce Arians, he had
real doubts on him. I mean real doubts that you know,
he's more legs than pocket and he completed sixty seven
percent of his throws and I can't find anybody anybody
I ever asked about Kyler Murray in the league is
(03:16):
like Noah out, and I'm like Jesus. He throws a
beautiful ball. He's elusive as hell. He's a playmaker, he's accurate.
People stuck with Justin fields to the last game against
Green Bay. People have bailed on Kyler and he can
freaking play the position. And I have this theory. So
I have a therapist friend, a lady, and she has
(03:39):
said there's there's a little bit. It's not an epidemic,
but it is an issue with men who are gamers
are bad for marriages. And this person has said she
has seen it repeatedly. People think, you know, guys get
into porn and it ruins a marriage. She's like, no
(04:00):
gaming gamers. She said, it's it's addictive.
Speaker 3 (04:04):
Well, now it's communal because you can communicate with the
people you're playing with.
Speaker 1 (04:09):
And you know, and I will be honest when I
hear a guy's a gamer and he's older, you know,
he's out of his teen years or he's passed like
twenty twenty one. You know, I tend to be like,
it's time to grow up. Come on, and you know,
most guys get married, have kids, even if they love
(04:29):
that stuff, they get out of it, they move on,
but a lot don't, and it's like an issue. Therapists
are seeing this and they've been seeing it for years,
like it's blowing up marriages, like guys that just can't stop.
It's not like getting a book John and going reading
it for thirty minutes or it's well, you know.
Speaker 3 (04:46):
You can play continuous for ten twelve hours, no problem.
Speaker 1 (04:49):
And so I think the stigma he's accurate. He's a playmaker.
He got a poorly owned franchise to the playoffs and
a tough division. I think the gaming thing is a
huge stigma, and I think older gms look at it
and think, Jesus, grow the fop Like this guy, you can't.
This guy's addicted to gaming.
Speaker 3 (05:09):
Yeah, I think the gaming thing represents something that a
lot of people had questioned marks how hard was he
willing to work and how much did football mean to him?
Because there were some question marks early on in his career.
And the NFL is a lot like high school. There
aren't that many people there and everyone knows everybody, and
word travels fast because there is no disputing. Remember the
last one of the last games of the season he
(05:30):
played the Eagles. I mean he's single handed. He was
running around kicking their ass. He is, yes, you know,
Bryce Young also a small player, can't hold a candle.
Speaker 1 (05:39):
Talent wise to that, not a candle.
Speaker 3 (05:41):
Daniel Jones, same thing. I mean, this guy is a
This guy's a legitimate top ten talent at the position
in the NFL that some people would say it's a
no go with his height, but he's kind of overcoming
it moments. And like you said, he's had a really
good year before quarterback.
Speaker 1 (05:58):
People says the best Texas high school for well player. Ever.
He wins the Heisman, he gets Arizona the playoffs. The
fans don't like him, the media doesn't like him. Execs
don't like him. His owner doesn't like him. Like there's
something I've never seen a player this talented. Nobody's saying
be patient. People have bailed on him.
Speaker 3 (06:14):
I always support, I mean I might criticize, but support
young guys Like I'm so much different of a human
than I was five years ago, let alone at twenty
two years old. So guys, not everyone is Peyton Manning
and Tom Brady at twenty three years old, Like Kyler
is much closer, especially to people at the other position,
but at quarterback there's no margin. Frere and I would
(06:35):
say this, I haven't played video games since college. But
maybe he just needs a girlfriend. Maybe he just maybe
he has one. But I'm with you. Other positions, though,
I would imagine a lot of people, yeah, under thirty
in pro sports are playing video games.
Speaker 1 (06:50):
It doesn't bother me.
Speaker 3 (06:51):
Is Mahomes spending much time on the video games during
the season. Probably not, Josh Allen justin Herbert Jalen hurts.
You know. That's then other thing. How much does this
like to work? You know, even Jalen Right had a
bump a year last year. No one ever questions his
love of football and hard he's willing to work. Now.
Is he gonna be good enough next couple of years.
We'll find out, but no one. And I think that's
(07:12):
the big question mark with Kyler. And you know these
gms and personnel people that's like, I'm out, Yeah, I'm
out because I can't risk it. I can't bet on
you that you will figure it out before it's too late.
Speaker 1 (07:26):
Yeah. I guess my take on Kyler is he is
the most talented quarterback in my life that has no
support groupe. I've never said, I mean people have. I
mean Jordan Love didn't play for three years, was terrible
in September in his fourth year, and everybody was yelling
give him time.
Speaker 3 (07:45):
The difference, though, is Jordan Love not a highly recruited guy.
Goes to Utah State. I've been their beautiful place, but
it's not the first choice for many quarterbacks, sits for
three and a half years, right, A lot of guys
Patrick Mahomes, he has to go to Texas Tech. Josh
Allen Kung a scholarship offer. This guy didn't lose a
freaking game in high school. Like you said, a five
to nine player in the history of that state is
(08:06):
widely considered the best player. Then goes to Texas A
and M and at the time they were recruiting with
Kevin someblon just like Alabama or Georgia. Doesn't work out there,
goes immediately to Lincoln Riley, kicks everyone's ass, and then
goes to Arizona, who just drafted a quarterback. They're like,
get the hell out of here, we're going with this,
and then three years in they gave him a max contract.
(08:27):
It has a little NBA feel to it, and a
lot of NBA guys never snipped their potential because they
were given everything everything, and Arizona did. It never made
sense to me to pay him without like, hey, Kyler,
let's just see another year, and it backfired. I do
think the guys like I know a lot of Philly
guys that know Jonathan Gannon really well. They have a
young staff. I think both of his coordinators are under
(08:49):
thirty five. They do like him because they're coming in
fresh and he's been good. So people change. But you
have to spend so much time as a quarterback. The difference.
You hear all these stories about these coaches working twenty hours,
and it's true. Quarterbacks aren't far behind, you know, the
wide receiver not even close, right, The dB doesn't have
(09:09):
to spend that time the quarterback is working. They're hours
the Saint Banker hours. You're not checking in the union
nine to five here, I mean, these are long you're
working for Steve Cohen on Wall Street up all night.
These guys are up at five am and they're not
going to bed, turning the you know the telegon. He
doesn't have kids or anything yet. So yeah, this is
a big year for him, but he's under contract. He
(09:30):
got paid like he won Colin, he won financially, now
proving whether he can hang. It's tough division. We know
Seattle's gonna be tough. And the Niners and Rams, I mean,
are those two twelve win teams.
Speaker 1 (09:43):
Yeah, it's it really jumps fast.
Speaker 3 (09:47):
I enjoy watching him like I don't want to watch
Daniel Jones. Right, Derek doesn't do much for me anymore
in New Orleans. Like, yes, boy, Kyler is an entertaining watch.
Speaker 1 (09:57):
Oh, no question? Yeah, the you know, you know, it's
funny about I got into this conversation about quarterbacks that
the last twelve years, only two quarterbacks have won Super
Bowls stars Peyton, Brady Mahomes or guys who are talented
(10:19):
but yet to be paid. Russell Wilson and Flacco were
on the last year of their non their first year contract,
and then the Wentz Nick Foles team where those guys
weren't making any money. So essentially like that, that's it,
you know, Tua Dak good quarterbacks, big money, no chance.
And so I looked at all the teams. I came
(10:42):
up with twelve quarterbacks who were either I considered like
throw the ball, elite fashion, and it was Stafford and
Mahomes and Allen. I put Aaron Rodgers on there. I
put Lamar Jackson because I think he's elite, and Joe Burrow.
Those are the six, so they're in the Super Bowl bubble.
And then there were six other guys who I consider
really talented and inexpensive, all under twenty million dollars. A
(11:04):
cap hit Herbert. I think it was Jalen Hurtz, Jordan love,
brock Purty, I'm missing somebody else, but it was that group.
Speaker 3 (11:13):
Would you throw GoF in there?
Speaker 1 (11:16):
That's interesting? So Goff was the one quarterback on the
one team I didn't. He is not great and he's
too damn expensive. So over the last twelve years, there
are no Jared Goffs. There are no aus B plus
quarterbacks and with no history. I mean, Peyton Manning was
(11:39):
older in Denver, but his brain was functioning. It's Peyton Manning.
He could still play. There are no golf winners. And
it was interesting because I came away and I said,
I actually liked this bubble. It was you know, Ravens, Bengals,
it was all the teams we like, you know Texans.
I think we both agree, and Packers are young, but
you wouldn't be shocked if they end up at a
conference championship and Detroit was my takeaway. And I also
(12:01):
love Dan Campbell's ability to build a culture. I don't
know if you get him in a game with a
Shanahan or Nany Reid if I feel so great about
highly emotional Dan Campbell. So here's a franchise. I love
a quarterback. I've been higher on Goff. You and I have,
I think than almost anybody in the media. Love their roster.
It's a younger version of the Niners, but there are
(12:21):
no examples of Jared Goff winning a Super Bowl that
kind of pay and quarterback. And you know, it wouldn't
shock you if I said in five years they didn't
win a Super Bowl.
Speaker 3 (12:32):
No, I mean, well, they're the Lions. But I do
think they have a unique window because of the trade
they met made with Stafford and how well they drafted
their team roster wise, feels more like a Ravens, right.
They always toe to toe with the Niners, and they
didn't have to lose any of those guys to sign
this contract. That's right now when the bill comes due
and his number starts hitting whatever. On a yearly basis,
(12:54):
twenty percent of the calf it's a little different, but
right now, on a man demand basis, I would say
they easily have a top five roster because the other
thing they have. I was talking to our guy, Jeff Schwartz,
who Oregon Duck. He's like, do you realize that Piney
Sewell is like twenty three to twenty four years old?
You know the players their young talent. That Jamier Gibbs,
the wide receiver, meets running back like he's a Christian McCaffrey,
(13:17):
Alvin Kamara, we saw Laporta. I'mon Saint Brown. They do
have a question mark at defensive back. Yeah, if you
have question marks at defensive back in twenty twenty four,
it can be a problem. But they did add in
the draft. They added Carlton Davis from Tampa Bay. So
if they're just the other thing, Colin is a lot
of times when you're a team that sucks and then
(13:39):
a couple of years later has success, people steal your
coaches for whatever reason. Ben Johnson doesn't want to be
a head coach. I mean he's turning down Josh Harris
as they're flying to see him. It's a unique situation
with him. So yeah, Dan is not mister schematic right,
he's not calling the place, but he didn't lose his
start coordinator and now they're defense just personnel wise, like,
I think they got a chance this year. They got
(14:01):
a real chance because there's a ton of pressure in
San Francisco. I have to see how this IU thing
plays out. Jordan Loves got to do it for seventeen games, right,
So you look around Philly, we still got question marks
with Siriani. Now the roster is good, but I think
the lot it's this year now. Over the course of
the next three or four years, it gets more difficult
if you're not the fourth best quarterback, if you're closer
(14:22):
to eleven and you're making huge money. But I do
think you've you've seen if you can protect the guy
he's he's mentally tough. He's like a better version. He's
a different type player, but a lot like Alex Smith,
but I think better. Yeah, mentally tough, and that matters
in these playoff games. Alex is just so physically limited.
When Andy would get him to the playoffs, Jared has
(14:45):
more physical cap He can't run like that. But he
can throw and if you can protect him the NFC,
I mean, they should have won that game, and like
you said, it was a I thought it was pretty
reckless by Dan Campbell with the kick of the field goals.
But yeah, I think this year they got a legit chance.
If you tell me the Lions, is it inconceivable? They're
the number one seed? Their division's hard, But I mean,
(15:07):
why couldn't they win. I don't know if San Francisco
is gonna win thirteen fourteen again, maybe they win eleven
because them in the Rams both eleven. What if the
Lions get to twelve or thirteen, have the one seed
and then they get to everything's in a dome.
Speaker 1 (15:18):
I would argue the two best rosters in the NFL
are San Francisco and Detroit. The best teams are almost
all in the AFC. It's like when USC dominated the
Pac twelve. The conference was just awful, but USC was
the best program and basically they got every California recruit
they wanted. I think the Niners. If I said this
before last year, if you took the Niners and the
(15:40):
Lions and just we're gonna make a Pro Bowl team
out of these two teams it could compete with. I
mean literally the offensive line Trent Williams one side, Pinasal
the other. You literally, yeah, they would have hurt people.
So you know, it's I had Tom Brady on this week.
I saw that Tommy was good. He was good and and.
Speaker 3 (16:03):
He's really.
Speaker 1 (16:06):
I found people like Tom because everybody wants a piece
of Tom, Like when you get to that big and
and I know somebody that has that knows, uh, you
know President Barack Obama, former president pretty well, and it's
the same trait. They both have the same trait is
that you know, everybody wants a picture, everybody wants to
(16:31):
say hi, I remember this game.
Speaker 3 (16:33):
And is he the most famous NFL player ever? Pretty
by a wide margin, you think at this point in time.
Speaker 1 (16:38):
I think so, yeah, Yeah. Tom is really very very
normal and it's it's really interesting how efficient he is
in social situations, Like he like he meets you, it's
eye to eye. He responds, very cordial, very human, very personable,
(16:58):
and then you know he he's Escordon didn't come with
a big entourage, but it was really interesting to watch him.
Tom is a highly functional, very normal, really incredibly thoughtful guy.
And as I sat there for the interview. He has
a personality trait that I've always admired in people. Anything
(17:22):
you asked Tom about football anything, I was throwing these
goofy theories I have. Oh, he's thought about it. And
I've said this before in my life. One of the
people a couple of the people that are involved with
a volume and one of the reasons I was always
impressed with people that I included in this company is
when you ask somebody about, you know, media, and they
(17:46):
have an answer. Because I'm obsessed by not just sports,
but by the business of sports, and so I think
about stuff all the time that I don't talk about,
but I just think about it. And it was really
impressive to me that Brady I'm throwing zany theory at him,
and Tom's literally he's thought of everything. And I think
he'll be a very good broadcaster like a player. I
(18:06):
think he'll just get better and better and better and
better because he's very hard on himself. Did you take
anything away from the interview that was kind of my
take that Tom's just literally thought of everything.
Speaker 3 (18:15):
Well, it's about one hundred and twenty degrees here, So
I was in the pool a couple hours ago, and
you have a lot of time in the pool. You're
just kind of thinking. I was think about the most
famous athletes. I would say the last twenty five years.
You obviously Michael would probably be number one. Tiger be
right up there. And I think both those even what
Lebron is now, they do struggle when they're just in
(18:38):
a situation like that to feel relatable. I mean, Michael
never has Tiger's gotten a little better. I think with
his child he can be a little calmer. Lebron is
just in his own little world, just because that's the
way it's been for twenty plus years. I would put
Peyton in this category. Two. Both those two guys can
be in a situation like that and you go have
(19:00):
a beer with that guy. Yeah, and l and they are.
You would never say that about Michael Jackson or Leonardo DiCaprio.
Like the level of fame and Tom's higher than Peyton,
But I is it crazy? And I've always said that
Tom and Peyton were the Magic and Larry of my
generation what they meant for the NFL. And Tom's just
(19:20):
a very very unique person. If just to sit like that,
I looked at some of the YouTube comments because I
watched the interview on YouTube and everyone's like, how likable
is this guy? And I think it gets back to
the sport. How one he went to whatever the highest
level of education is in America, he went to the
equivalent in New England for twenty years with Bill.
Speaker 1 (19:42):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (19:42):
I mean, is it should any ls to be shocked
that all those former Patriots when you hear them talk
football can do it at a really high level, from
Matt like to Edelman to even Gronk when he's not
screwing around. I mean, yeah, they've just been inundated with this,
but they were all held in the same level, and
there's a there's a humility because you didn't have a choice,
(20:02):
right and most of their teams were not super stacked.
The teams that were didn't win the Super Bowl, like
I mean, their core. Now, Julian Edelman was their best
wide receiver. Like Julian Edelman. I love the guy, but
he's never going to Canton or anything. And I just
think Tom it gets back to his family, how he
was grown up. This is what people are looking for. Obviously,
(20:22):
his success, you're not looking for that when you draft
a player, but his love of football, how good he
is with other people, how much he cares. Like these
traits that he displays and Peyton does this too, is
like everything you look for when you draft a player.
I mean, he's the highest level. He's like the mensa
whatever it becomes. But I just find him very easy
(20:44):
to listen to. And let's face it, most people that
are like Michael Jordan is not like that, right because
usually how could Tom relate to anybody? But he is
able to do that. He transitioned to Tampa, It's like
everyone loved him. It was like the practice squad guys
like he's taking pictures with kid. The star players are like,
He's the coolest guy we've ever been around. It's just
(21:04):
a trait that not many people have. I think Mahomes
clearly has that. They have that going in Kansas City
right now, where everyone obviously some people make more money,
some people have more fame. Travis Kelsey has it. I
know he does. I mean the way that they view him,
and it's just.
Speaker 1 (21:19):
Think about think about Mahomes's life. He's got a brother
that makes the news, he's got a wife, he's got yeah,
he's got young kids. He's the best football player on
the planet. He's the face of a franchise, he's got
thirty eight endorsements, and he is just in a good mood.
(21:39):
I mean, you watch him on that Netflix thing. He
is able to compartmentalize shit like I've never seen in
my life. Some people, John, some people just have it.
Mahomes has got wackiness and neediness and maintenance around him.
None of it bothers him.
Speaker 3 (21:57):
You know. The other thing is, you know college football,
once you get to like Ohio State this year over
under in their regular season, how many tight games are
gonna be in when you put it in, Probably two,
like they're gonna be so much better, Or Georgia they
might be in two or three big games in the NFL,
And Thomas been saying this for twenty five years, and
every player, does you better come correct every single week,
(22:21):
like I don't get to just mail it in. Obviously
with that franchise, how hard Bill was on everybody. But
you will get beat by a four win team beats
a couple of playoff teams. Right. So when Tom was
talking about how serious he prepared, he never knew. He
never take an opponent lightly, He never took a series
off like you gotta be careful, and the preparation that
you were ready for in the first quarter might not
(22:42):
show till late in the game, and all of a
sudden you're tied against a four win team, and it's
it might be on Monday night football, it might be
their super Bowl. And I think that's what the NFL
has that the other sports don't like. I'm playing the
Lakers in February, winna, lose, whatever. Who cares you know?
In fairness that they got eighty two games? Or baseball?
Every baseball game tonight, we're recording this on Thursday. Does
(23:02):
any do any of them matter? Do any of them
actually matter? Today's games? They just don't, But every Sunday
it does because it could be the difference of winning
your division not making a wild card. Is it getting
fired keeping your job?
Speaker 1 (23:21):
Well, think about this, Think about the parody in the NFL.
There's there's there's about ten awful teams in baseball, ten
awful teams in the NBA. Take out New England. It's
a bad football team, awful And I imagine the Giants
are not going to be pretty bad. Carolina, I do
think will be much improved. And their schedule, boy, it's
it's it's got some potential wins. There. You got about
(23:44):
two teams that I think feel kind of hopeless. I
think the Raiders are talented. I just don't know rookie
coach Gardner Minshew. So let's say three teams that it
could be pretty scrappy. But I mean, if Minnesota is
a fourth place team, I think they have one of
the best young coaches, one of the best left tackles,
(24:05):
the best wide receiver, a top back, a top tight end,
edge rusher is better than you think. That's a fourth
place team. A fourth fifth place team in baseball or
the NBA, like Detroit is not even shit. They can't score.
Nobody can shoot. They have no shooters.
Speaker 3 (24:19):
I think the thing people forget about Minnesota. They also
they added an edge rusher. They also drafted one. Remember
they had two first round picks, JJ and the kid
from Alabama. So yeah, I just think anytime you've been
around football your whole life, it's unlike any of these
other sports, and to do it over a long period
(24:40):
of time, you've just been humbled so many times. Even
if you're Tom. I mean Tom's had some of the
most historic losses in league history, right lost to the
Giants twice. I mean those are that he had an
undefeated team in the Super Bowl. So for all his
twenty eight to three they did not lose a game,
and a lot of those were not close. And then
(25:00):
Eli got him again, and then the Eagles with Nick
freaking fools beat him when he threw five hundred yards.
So yeah, I just think he's a unique character in
the communication, which clearly you know, resonates and comes through
when he sits down with you. I just think it's cool.
Obviously got a lot of money, but he's got a
lot of money already. It's pretty cool that he wants
(25:22):
to do this. I just think that we don't get
very often, Like is Lebron ever calling a game on
one of these networks one day? No chance, right, So
it's just is Patrick Mahomes probably not, you know, So
I think it's it's gonna be a very very cool
experience and like everything, and it comes through when he's
talking to you, he takes his shit very seriously because
(25:45):
he takes on everything very seriously.
Speaker 1 (25:47):
Yeah, you know, I was bouncing around. I wanted to
ask you a Niners question because you're so tied into
them that you used to live there and did radio
in the Bay Area. At you know, I was thinking
about Brandon Ayuk and I like Brandon Ayuk a lot.
I think. I think he's a top five six receiver
talent in the league. But it's really interesting because I
(26:10):
always say this a lot of what you make in life.
You know, I I how valuable forget your talent and productivity,
How valuable you are to a company. That's your leverage.
You can be talented companies. I mean, you know, Joe
Buck and Troigman are fantastic. You know in Fox at
(26:32):
some point made a decision, and so talent alone is
not getting you paid. It's your value. There's a lot
of great tight ends who have never made great money.
There's a lot of great running backs. Sae Kwon Barkley
is a stud and you know there's not a huge
market for that. But if I look at the Niners,
here's my knock on Brandon Ayuk. The most important person
(26:56):
with the Niners is the brain of Kyle Shanahan, then
the of Christian McCaffrey, the pass rush of Bosa, I
would say, the versatility of Debo, and then the protection
of Trent Williams. I also think Kittle is a culture
center his physical style of play. So I'm at like
six people and they drafted two receivers I don't think
(27:20):
and Purdy's not a big deep ball thrower, nor do
really good teams allow a lot of deep balls when
you play them.
Speaker 3 (27:27):
They're just not throwing go routes like most teams.
Speaker 1 (27:30):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, How valuable is he?
Speaker 3 (27:33):
Well? I think it's they're in a tough spot. Let's
use this example. Let's say you're Kyle Shanahan and someone
wrote an article that at the volume John Middlecoff is
making more money than Shannon Sharp, you might have a
problem on your hands, right, Shannon might be on the
horn with you and Logan Well, Trent Williams makes twenty
(27:55):
million dollars a year. He is widely considered one of
the most talented left tackles in the history of the sport,
and he's dominating right now. Christian McCaffrey got a raise,
but it was twenty million dollars. Fred Warner doesn't make
anywhere close to twenty million dollars. Brandy ACK's a really
good player, scheduled to make almost fifteen million dollars, but
they're offering him twenty five, twenty six. He's like, no,
(28:15):
I'm thirty one. Well you make thirty one in that
locker room. What you're double the value of Fred Warner
if you're Trent Williams, Like, we're all human beings, Like
I understand the market. Ever, I played left tackle and
this guy's making nine million dollars more than me. You
just you got potential problems. I think it's a tough spot. Obviously,
in a perfect world, I think what you would do now,
with the emergence of Christian McCaffrey last year and a half,
(28:38):
you would just get rid of debo. But deals have
already in, contracts have already been signed, so you're kind
of stuck right now. And his value on the open market,
given that he's so Kyle Shanahan dependent, Brandon Aate's a
really good player, He's a winning player. I would struggle
given the way they play, given the way they're built.
They also have some big picture question marks. We just
saw Trevor Lawrence. He got two hundred million dollars guaranteed,
(29:00):
has been objectively better. And I know Doug I talked
to him at the combine. Doug Love Trevor so Doug
was pushing that Kyle likes Purdy more than Doug likes
Trevor Lawrence, and Doug likes Trevor Lawrence a lot. You know,
he's Kyle's in love with Broug Purdy here, So that
number is gonna be huge, Trent Williams is getting You're
gonna have to figure out this left tackle thing. They
do not come cheap, whether you trade for a guy,
(29:22):
whether you mortgage a lot in the draft. I think
they're just in a weird spot right now. They have
a lot of really good players under contract making a
lot of money, and then they got this situation. A
couple of years ago. He was in the doghouse and
he's proven he's a winning player. But the way they play,
he's never catching ninety five balls get you never, Never,
you get paid for production. There's a reason, guys, whether
(29:43):
you're a winning player or losing player. You scored thirty
points in the NBA, you're getting a max contract. Right
Saint Brown is catching one hundred and twenty balls a year, Like,
give me my eighty million dollars. It's part of the deal.
So he catches seventy five Now he has a lot
of yards and he's a really really good player. Is
is he ever a top seven wide receiver in the NFL.
So because they paid premiums for Williams best left tackle,
(30:06):
Fred Warner, best linebacker, Kittle second or first tight end, McCaffrey,
best running back, so it's like they are comfortable doing that, Deebo.
They were in a tough spot. Yeah, I think they
kind of got pushed against the wall. He had just
carried them with Jimmy Garoppolo being terrible to the NFC chair.
Speaker 1 (30:24):
And I think I do think his versatility is unique.
Speaker 3 (30:27):
But then they six months later they got to trade
for Christian McCaffrey. If they would have known McCaffrey was coming,
they probably just would have unloaded him that offseason, but
it hadn't happened yet. I don't know. I could see
a scenario where they play this out, which they're not
gonna want to do because the drama that comes with that.
I could definitely see a trade. And I could definitely
just see because sometimes a coach just get it done.
(30:49):
Let's over quote unquote pay. But then you have to
worry about the locker room dynamics. And I think the
forty nine ers one thing they've really had and Kyle
does a great job of this. He's been around his
whole life with his dad, New England. Everyone's pretty tight.
Everyone's rowing in the same way. They don't do a
lot of bs, you know, and when it comes, it
just doesn't they get rid of it fast. So I
(31:10):
this is a weird spot because he's now vlogging his
off season. You know, Kashi Andhan might be young, but
he's an old soul. He's not really into all that
crap and it's probably a headache to him right now.
Speaker 1 (31:22):
Yeah, I think so too. So I want you to
pick a team that is considered a bad team. And
you know I've done this every year. A couple of
years ago, I beat on this drum, I swear for
six months. The Minnesota Vikings. I'm like, this is a
this is a ten eleven, twelve win team, and they
(31:43):
were like they were undervalued.
Speaker 3 (31:45):
They were headed to the playoffs last year until Cousins
ripped his achilles.
Speaker 1 (31:48):
Yeah, so I am. I think I'm in the minority here.
I want you to think I'll go first of a
team you thinks undervalued. I think it's Denver. So they
drafted a edge rusher that is an area of need.
If you go back to last year, the defense was
the issue. They got the most you could get if
you go really look at Russell Wilson's stats. Now, Russell
(32:12):
doesn't see the field particularly well, but they've got a
number one receiver in Courtland Sutton. The offensive line was
rated seven. I like their backs capable at tight end again,
a number one receiver. I think the old lines better
than people think. One of the smartest play designers and
callers in the sport. The Raiders are not going to
be great. The Chargers will probably take a while to
(32:34):
get where they want to get. They're not going to
be terribly explosive vertically. The Chargers can beat teams, but
they're a little bit like Kansas City last year. They're
not blowing people out.
Speaker 3 (32:45):
He's going to try to play in twenty to seventeen
type games.
Speaker 1 (32:47):
Oh, every week. They're going to be in games with
Kansas City. Kansas City doesn't blow people out anymore, or
she Rice is a bit of a mess. They have
a rookie. Chargers won't blow people out. They could absolutely
beat both of those team once. They could beat the
Raiders twice. They're over unders five and a half, if
the kid they drafted, if the edge rusher works. By
the way, Mems last year became a really nice piece.
(33:09):
That's why they moved off Jerry Judy. They went and
got another receiver. I it's hard when I when you
say smart coach, good offensive line, automatic wins in division.
Bo Nicks had sixty one starts. If he's capable, if
he's Russell Wilson capable, I think they're like an eight
(33:30):
win team. I'm not saying playoffs, but five Jesus John
five and twelve is Carolina. It's unwatchable. I don't think
Denver's gonna be unwatchable.
Speaker 3 (33:43):
Yeah, I think bo Nicks. I remember watching him right
after the draft. He kind of had some like Jimmy
Garoppolo Derek Carr coming out of college, and when those
guys were young, they would have been perfect for Sean
Payton when he was transitioning away from Drew Brees. You know,
this team win loss wise. They've been in the mix,
but no one really took them that seriously. Seattle's offensive
(34:06):
personnel is pretty awesome. I mean, Dk Metcalf's like Terrell Owens,
Jackson Walker. They've improved the offensive line. Their defense for
a team that's drafted defense that's traded for defense has
been a kneemick these last two years, which is crazy
because you remove the last like three year stretch. Pete
Carroll's easily one of the best defensive minds over the
last thirty plus years, right, but it it fell apart
(34:28):
at the end. Gino Smith, I'm not the biggest believer,
but he has not really been their issue of just
being competed. It's their defense. They couldn't stop the soul. Well,
they get the boy genius from Baltimore who easily had
the best defense in the league last year. Listen, Stafford's
already kind of bitching and moaning and I need a
little more money. And Stafford was awesome last year, but
that elbow goes. We've seen what happens. If he's on
(34:50):
the shelf. It's one thing. If he misses one game,
it's another thing. If he misses a month and a half.
You know, he's the lynchpin of the whole operation. If
if something were to have happened to Stafford, I could
see Seattle being right there because you can already tell
like are the rams, Like do you really want to
double down on this. It was an awesome season. Can we
just play out the contract? To me, Seattle is a
(35:12):
quarterback away in the next couple of years. I'm sure
Schneider is going to be all over him in the
draft this year. I think that they are a very
unique spot equipped in the future. If they could ever
find just even get their Brock purty 'or just a
guy that's really good, cheap contract, they would be a problem.
Because what Mike McDaniel or Mike McDonald did these last
two years, and specifically last year, I mean they Colin
(35:36):
he embarrassed Kyle Shanahan. On Christmas night, I had a
buddy on the Baltimore Ravens staff. They were all calling
him boy genius around the room like he is a
special defensive schematic guy, and he listened. We questioned that
that side of the ball running a team, but he
does inherit players everywhere on offense and we'll see. I mean,
(35:56):
Ryan Grubb a lot of success coaching now going to
the NFL is a little bit different. But what he
just did in Washington, a lot of NFL people are watching.
I'm not shocked to John, you know, and uh, they
hired him to be the offensive coordinator. So they're a
team I would say this year is going to be interesting,
but they're they're a bo Knicks whoever their guy is
over the next couple of years away from being like
(36:17):
they could be a problem.
Speaker 1 (36:19):
All right, let's flip it. Let's find a team that
we think is a bit overvalued. I want to pull
back on Houston so badly, but Jesus, I just love
everything they're doing, every move they make, every draft pick.
Speaker 3 (36:34):
I love what well run, and they got a good coach,
and what their quarterback does is sustainable. He's a pocket quarterback.
Speaker 1 (36:41):
So you know, I think, I think about this. I
really do wonder if Aaron Rodgers is upright. The Miami
Dolphins concerned me. Basically, it's a It's a three headed team.
It's Jalen Wan Tyreek Hill and Tua. Tua was healthy
(37:03):
last year, one of the only healthy years of his life.
The Jets, if Aaron's upright, are going to be much better.
New England's bad. Those are two wins. Buffalo's Buffalo. Their
schedule is not easy. The AFC. Here comes Burrow, Deshaun
Watson's coming back. Aaron Rodgers is coming back. Shit man,
last year was the year the getting was good. If
(37:25):
you're an AFC team like it was, it was everybody's
banged up. Trevor Lawrence wasn't healthy, Anthony Richardson got hurt. CJ.
Stroud's a baby, didn't a Dolphins have.
Speaker 3 (37:36):
Like a four game lead after Thanksgiving? I mean, how
the hell did they blow that division?
Speaker 1 (37:40):
And I look at Miami and I'm like, I could
see them just I could just see this thing with
a little injury to too early, I could see it
nose diving. I think Miami's the team that I think,
to myself, God, last year was I mean, they're literally
weather affected when they go north and later in this season,
Miami's the team that everybody's high on. I could see
(38:03):
it being a bit of a mess with yours.
Speaker 3 (38:05):
I don't take them seriously at all. I don't care
what their record is in September. Go four and zero
in September, seeing that then they've done that. The best
teams in their conference all playing freezing cold weather, not
like cold weather, frigid weather, so they have no shot.
I think the coult Are team that I'm high on.
(38:28):
Their coaches stud your guy Ballard has done a really
good job. I think their roster's really good. They were
a bad Gardner Minshew swing route from beating the Houston
Texans and winning the division. Yeah, but their quarterback has played.
He's much more physically gifted and much more talented. But
a little Trey Lancy, he just hasn't played much football
(38:49):
over several years now, So you're you're very dependent on
this guy. It's like, well, if he's awesome, well yeah,
I mean I haven't really seen him on the field.
And then last year it's one thing to get hit
by Ray Lewis writer John Lynch in their prime and
get a broken shoulder or whatever. He had some injuries
where you're like, I didn't even think that hit was
(39:10):
that violent. And the thing about football is some guys
are just durable. They just this guy, this guy never
missed a game and fifteen years. Yeah, yeah, look at
Jerry Rice's career, sixteen for sixteen. So it just goes
on forever. The occasional you break a leg or whatever,
but like you start having concussions shoulder issues, that concerns me.
(39:30):
I'm probably gonna pick them to make the playoffs, but
I can't feel good. I mean, their quarterback has played
a combined I don't know how many games he played
last year, three or four, and then before coming out
of college he had played thirteen career games. That's the
thing with this class, right. Henks has been playing for
six years. Bo Nick's sixty one career starts. Caleb Williams
started every game after Oklahoma told Spencer Rattler to go,
(39:53):
you know, to the pine. JJ McCarthy like, you've seen
these guys be on the field for a long time.
People get very like you with Kyler, Murray lazy, not
into it, terrifies teams. Half the leaks is out. The
injury stuff is tough because you're like, well, what if
it's just a weird couple of years stretch and then
he plays seven straight years, or what if it's just
(40:14):
something that snowballs. You really don't know. You're just completely
taking in an educated guess. Half the times the doctors
tell you we can't draft this guy. This guy goes
on Navin eight your career and the doctor tells you
to draft this guy. He's got a degenerate knee. So
it's just it's tough. But that is going to concern
me picking them. But if I picked the Bengals. Isn't
Joe Burrow's wrist injury that I don't know if you
(40:35):
read about it, Yea, It's not like a broken leg
or an ACL that's basically feels like one hundred percent recovery.
It's a much smaller percentage. Not arthritis, but pain and
just the throbbing as you're working back from it is unavoidable.
He's a quarterback, so he kind of needs to use it.
I love watching the guy play, and he's the only
(40:57):
guy in the AFC that went toe to toe with
Mahmes and took him down on the road. Yeah, but
like that, that injury is has a little baseball feel
to it, where you're like that picture was never the same, right.
I hope that's not the case, but it's it's it's scary.
Speaker 1 (41:19):
All right. I gotta ask you a golf question, go
lo Is John's podcast. John is first of all, not
only a great golf analyst, a good golf better. But
I'm a huge Rory McElroy fan and I was just
I was really pulling for him. I think Bryson to
Shamba has done a really good job to pivot and
(41:41):
he's become incredibly likable, and especially when Rory peeled out
and left early, I guarantee it. Deshambo heard that and
decided I'm saying here for three hours signing every autograph.
I just to Shambo's personality is Oh, Rory split and
didn't dodge anybody. I'm beer all night. So these guys
are all competitive, if they're all alphas, it's interesting. So
(42:03):
in defense of Rory, golf is so strange. I think
it's the USGA. They put a tournament right before a
major and right after a major in the summer sun Like,
It's just that's not like these guys. So he skips
out on the Hartford, and I'm thinking to myself, you
know after a major, the intensity in the summer of
a major. These guys are worn out fans. I don't
(42:28):
think understand Sometimes maybe they do a golf major in
the summer. That shit, you're losing weight. I mean you are,
it is, Oh it is You're losing eight pounds over
the course of four days. It is a grind in
that heat. So I kind of understood saying, guys, I
need rest, But I also in a weird way, he
(42:49):
is the face of the PGA. Better or worse now
is kind of.
Speaker 3 (42:55):
Of all of golf. I would include Live. I mean,
he's the most famous golfer right now that's not named
Tiger or Phil.
Speaker 1 (43:00):
I didn't love him bailing without congratulations. The Hartford I get,
missing the Hartford I get. I think that's some of
the structural bizarreness of golf, and some of their schedule
is weird. But in the golf community, how was that
viewed him? Just basically I'm out of here peeling off well.
Speaker 3 (43:23):
I think the unique thing about golf is when the
forty nine ers right guard blows it against Chris Jones
and the Niners lose a Super Bowl, no one can
relate to that. No one could block them, no one
could play guard. You can make fun of Luke all
you want, not playing defense, no one can do that.
But anyone can go to Pinehurst for like four hundred
dollars and play the golf course, and a lot of
(43:44):
people have. They play golf and it's extremely hard, and
that putt was really hard. He's not the first and
he won't be the last to have an incredible moment
of just the worst moment of his career. It's happening
before happen again in that sport. Because of the pace
of the sport, right, there's a lot of time between shots.
(44:05):
There's a lot of build up to every shot, especially
on Sunday. You become one reason Bryson d Chambeau has
become very sympathetic. He lost his dad a couple of
years ago and he talks about it a lot. A
lot of people have lost their dad and it's just
whether you think he's kind of weird quirky. It's a
very relatable trait. The most relatable thing in golf is
when you fuck up, have a bad moment, blow a tournament.
(44:28):
Most people suck at golf. The average handycat's like eighteen.
Everyone can relate to missing that putt because ninety nine
percent of people miss it. When Phil Mickelson and I
think in six at wingfoot pumped it out of bounds
when he was gonna win, that was his best chance ever.
He faced the music and he became a very sympathetic
figure because it's a very relatable thing. Now everyone's like, well,
(44:49):
we know what they're gonna ask him. Yeah, him saying
this is awful, this sucks. I obviously wanted to make
that putt maybe even cries. I actually think it would
have drawn on even more people to him. I think
he's a kind of polarizing guy because he went all
in on Anti Live and now he's saying we should
get together, which he's right, I mean, they need to
(45:10):
get back. But I think a lot of people think
he can be full of shit. And yeah, that was
a moment I think would have really ingratiated himself with
everybody because it's the most relatable thing ever. He missed
a three foot downhill. Every human being does it seven
times around, and Bryson has really embraced this. Bryson lost
the PGA Championship by a shot, and war like, you know,
(45:33):
stood up there, took the questions at the Masters, he
was winning I think after two days, and then kind
of fell apart at the weekend. Bryson's kind of really
embraced this whole entertaining entertainer thing. You know what, you
know what he does And I was thinking about this
the other day. It's a very novel concept, he smiles.
Think about the funnest player you could argue, beside Michael
(45:56):
Jordan of my life, just most fun Steph. What does
he do a lot smiles. Why did everyone like Brett
Farr looked like he was having fun? You know, Tiger's unique.
He could be an asshole and not talk to everybody.
I mean, he was a rocket ship of dominance.
Speaker 1 (46:10):
Michael Jordan also was not terribly likable. It didn't matter.
Speaker 3 (46:13):
Those guys are all time outliers. Most homes might end
up with like five super Bowls. Have a lot of fun.
He's enjoyable. Bryson's just smiling a lot. We don't lose.
He easily could have lost that, and I think Rory
kind of if he could have that back, it would
have been a real easy moment to just say what
(46:34):
everyone has experience that plays the sport and it's watching
missed the putt. It sucks. I'm devastated, you know, And
I he avoided Greg Norman talked after ninety six, which
was way worse. He had a six shot lead. Rory
only had a lead of the back nine with like
five holes to go, and Bryson was behind him, So
it was really it wasn't like a true five holes
(46:56):
to go because Bryson had the extra hole. But I thought,
I think he'd like to have that one back. But
it's also golf. Right in the NBA, the MAVs, they lost,
it's win or loose. Rory did beat everybody else, and
he has been really good these last couple of years.
He's beating literally everybody else. But part of golf is
like you gotta beat that one last guy or else.
(47:18):
We all kind of go.
Speaker 1 (47:20):
Yeah, golf, golf. Golf kicks everybody's ass at one point,
even Tiger. I mean, Tiger had the greatest run ever.
It it will eventually, I mean you can barely operate. Yeah,
So it's you know, you know the funny part about Tiger.
I remember this just as an aside. It's it's always
laughed when Tiger was in his kind of that eight
(47:42):
to ten year just it was different. I said this
today on FS one. This happens infrequently, but occasionally you
will see an athlete. Michael qualified it as this Lebron
did in his prime that and Tiger didn't golf that.
Even amongst all stars, John Jones UFC does this, even
(48:07):
among the toughest guys in UFC, John is different. John
is tougher than all of them that take the toughest
guys and John Jones like literally just is faster and
more violent. And I when Tiger was in his prime.
One of the things I always because I love golf,
I'll play it. I'm going on vacation, I'll play it
(48:27):
three or four times. I love golf, but just just
Northeast golfer, No northern California. But I hit enough shots
that I'm proud of that it brings me back every time.
Speaker 3 (48:37):
Have a Vodkasoda out there, kick your feet up and.
Speaker 1 (48:39):
Oh more than one yeah, and you know how they'll
do a slow mow of the golf swing and the
analysts will break it down. Tiger was coming out of
his shoes.
Speaker 3 (48:52):
It was.
Speaker 1 (48:54):
If he wasn't named Tiger Woods, if he was Bob
Woods and Tapeka, you'd be like, holy crap, this.
Speaker 3 (48:59):
Is a mess.
Speaker 1 (49:00):
He's over swinging. Tiger was the level of the torque
in his swing. In his prime. He broke rules, but
he was Tiger and it was like, okay, it was.
It was different. And I always think about that when
(49:21):
I think of greatness. Is I mean mahomes is doing
behind the back stuff, left handed stuff, the stuff stuff
took shots in his prime you would have been benched
for ten years earlier.
Speaker 3 (49:33):
Well, part of golf too, is equipment. The equipment over
the last I'd say twelve plus years has gotten so extreme.
All these guys can hit it three hundred and forty yards.
I mean Bryson's hit at three to eighty. Tiger was
hitting it three hundred and thirty, three hundred and forty
yards with clubs that had no business going over two
hundred and ninety yards. So what he was able to
(49:55):
do with his power, his velocity, and as he got
a little older, that linebacker strength. It's like if you
could play eighty two games ten straight years in the
seventies when you were wearing those little shitty shoes and
no tape on your ankle, like that is remarkable accomplishment.
What Tiger did with his equipment, like what Bryson's doing
with his equipment, is impressive, but he's specifically training for it.
(50:17):
He specifically made these clubs like it is Taylor made
to do that. That did not exist in nineteen ninety
seven or two thousand, even up through Tiger's like prime
probably four five six. Now, the reason Tiger at forty
five could win the Masters in twenty nineteen is equipment.
You know, if he had the old equipment, he wouldn't
probably wouldn't been able to won at that age. But yeah,
(50:39):
I mean I think he he's a lot. You know,
you hear these stories of Stevie Williams. I'll fall into
it on YouTube on the algorithm and he'll be like, yeah,
we won the Arnold Palmer and Tiger had to hit
a twenty five foot putt to make it. And after
we got all the hooplau and he except at the trophy,
he looked at me. He said, I'm so fucking pissed.
(51:00):
I should have been three feet, not twenty feet. So
we flew right back to Orlando. The next morning at
seven am, he's practicing that shot for three hours in
the dead of summer sweating. Is that you know that
that drive that you hear to talk? No one has that?
And I do actually think Bryson. If Bryson was a
football player, he would have been the number one pick
in the draft. This guy, him, Jack and Tiger are
(51:22):
the only guys to win the US Amateur and multiple
US Opens. Three guys, Jack Nicholas, Tiger was Bryson d Champeau.
He also won the national championship in college. I mean,
this guy's a blue Chipper in the sport of golf.
It's different. He's quirky, but I think we talk about maturity.
He's kind of just come into his own the YouTube
stuff Live allows him to do that. He's having a blast.
(51:42):
He's popular, but he's really good. I mean he's really good,
and I feel like he's more likely to win five
majors when his career is over than stick at the two.
Like he ain't going away.
Speaker 1 (51:55):
Yeah, what's his world golf ranking right now?
Speaker 3 (51:57):
Well, it doesn't exist because he'll not live behind Scottie
Scheffler and Rory Like he's there's no difference of those
three guys.
Speaker 1 (52:06):
I don't get it.
Speaker 3 (52:07):
Well, the Olympics, he can't go to the Olympics because
he doesn't get any points. It's like, what are we doing?
Speaker 1 (52:14):
I Gulfs of Barnyard musical? But God, Major, I love
majors so much, John, I'm gonna be for I've never
taken a two week vacation while I'm on the air.
This is the first. My bosses have been incredibly accommodating,
(52:34):
and I told both of them. I just said, I'm
a little burned out and I just need two weeks
with my family, and thank god people at Fox. Literally
they came to me and said, take the month off.
I'm like, I can't take a month off. I'm not
built that way. I gotta work, so I'll be infrequent,
but I will be posting stuff on the volume and
we will connect soon.
Speaker 3 (52:53):
Buddy, keep on rock and enjoy the summer the Volume.
Speaker 1 (52:59):
Thanks so much much for listening. If you've enjoyed the podcast,
take a moment rate and review
Host
Colin Cowherd
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
24/7 News: The Latest
The latest news in 4 minutes updated every hour, every day.
Crime Junkie
Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by audiochuck Media Company.