Should the Bengals consider a new coach, Fields isn't the problem in NY, Does Jerry regret trading Micah

Former NFL scout John Middlekauff is back with a massive mailbag. John dives into the Bengals coaching situation and considers if they are in need of a new coach to help get them over the hump, should the Vikings think about trading for Burrows, should longer FG's be worth more, and do the Rams regret letting Baker go. All that and more!

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:01):
The volume. What is going on, everybody? How are we doing?
John Middlecoff Three and Out podcast. I didn't get the
chance to record till way later in the day and

(00:24):
I sat down at my desk and I was looking
at my dms. I said, you know what, I have
so many questions in the mail bag. Let's just do
a big one. So at John Middlecoff is the Instagram
firing those dms. Get your questions answered here on the show.
That's what we're doing, and just a massive, like an
hour long mail bag, and that'll be today's show. Well,
we'll have some other stuff obviously as the week goes on.

(00:45):
And clearly on Thursday night, Big Game, forty nine ers
who are like a you know, like a medical they
might as well just bring seven blue tenths to that
game because I don't even know if they're gonna be
able to feel a roster playing the Rams in theories
be a big game, but the Niners are injured and
the Rams look like pretty good team right now, so
we will react to that on Thursday night. I'm actually

(01:09):
gonna be in California. Got a buddy getting almost getting married.
He's not getting married, he is married with multiple kids.
He's having his fortieth birthday, so we're doing a blowout
party somewhere in Napa, which should be fun. Have a
few cocktails, let it flow. But I will be Nothing
will change in terms of Thursday Night reacting to the
forty nine or in ram game. Fired up for that

(01:30):
thing regardless if you know Kyle Shanahan might play quarterback
for the forty nine ers in that thing. But again
at John Midcoff Instagram firing those dms. Subscribe to the
podcast if you listen on Collins Feed also YouTube. All
of our content is up there as well. Make sure
you subscribe to that. But before we dive in any
football you know, I gotta tell you on Friends. My
partner's in the official ticketing app of this podcast, Game

(01:53):
time best in the business. What do you want to do?
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If you like sports, you don't even need to be
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I would gladly go to a playoff baseball game. There's
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(02:14):
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down in the Game Time app. Today last minute takets
lowest price care tape. Let's go rapid fire. We will
start with Damian. If the Bengals part ways was Zach Taylor,
could you see them going after Brian Flores. They need
a defensive coach to tweak the defense and he can
let Joe Burrow run the offense. Fair question. I would

(03:00):
say last year, if they would have fired Zach Taylor
after nine to eight, it would have been one of
the most coveted jobs in recent memory. It would have
been people lined up just because Joe Burrow that offense.
You just don't get the opportunity to coach a guy
like Joe Burrow very often, I do wonder if looking
at that gig, now, Joe another major injury. The way

(03:22):
they've allocated the resources, the roster's not great. You got
to deal with the owner factoring into it'll be interesting.
Now to me, Brian Flores has proven to be an
excellent defensive coordinator. Obviously, his defense is in Miami when
it was the head coach is good. He was awful
with offense. He didn't treat the quarterback well. He copied
the Belichick thing, just be a complete asshole to the guy,

(03:44):
and he treated the offensive staff. I mean, everyone couldn't
stand the guy. So I just think that's a major
question mark because in twenty twenty five, listen, defense is
really important. But like, if I have question marks with
your ability to deal with the offense, specifically the quarterback,
it would be a non starter for me. So to me,
that's something that obviously Kevin O'Connell is a quarterback I

(04:08):
would imagine. But the Belichick guys have all proven I mean,
Josh McDaniels did the same thing. Now, Brian was a
better head coach than Josh McDaniels, but they just become
head coaches and they just can't deal with anybody. It's
like a tried and true formula, all of them because
they just copy the guy. Now. Flora spent some time
around Tomlin, spent some time around Kevin O'Connell. Maybe he's changed,

(04:30):
but honestly, if I owned a team, I would have
just a no Belichick guy rule. We just wouldn't mess
with them. That just would be a non starter. And
they've proven, you know, Marvin Lewis was like, they've hired
good coaches before. But I don't know. I think the Bengals.
If you're a Bengals fan right now, you gotta feel
a little cursed. I would say Zach Taylor's in trouble,

(04:51):
and I don't even blame him, like he ain't picking
the players for the back. How do you feel about
Seahawks roster and what would it take for them to
be considered a legit contender? Well, I watched some Week
one against the forty nine Ers. First time, you know,
start for the brand new quarterback, new offensive coordinator. Obviously,
they've been really good since they beat the crap out
of the Steelers. Watch that game. They were just humiliating

(05:15):
the Saint so I kind of stopped paying attention after
like a quarter and a half, and last week being
in New York City on the Thursday night game, it
was just I was trying to kind of pay attention
at this party, but I didn't get a chance to
lock in. Obviously, they were up I think was a
seventeen to three late in the game, and Kyler scored
a couple of late touchdowns and then they kicked the
game winning field goal. But they I bet on them

(05:37):
to win the division. And if you win the division,
meaning you get a home game, especially if you're in
a place like Seattle where the home game is really loud, Obviously,
it's going to be hard for them to win the division,
just like it is for most teams, right especially I
mean the Rams are three and one. Let's assume the
Rams beat the forty nine ers. Like I think the
Rams are looking like a thirteen ish twelve thirteen win team,

(05:57):
So that's kind of Seattle just has to hold pace
and then when they Lamb beat them. So yeah, I mean,
if you win the division, meaning you have you beat
the Rams, especially had to head. I would like their
chances in the playoffs. They have extremely fast defense. They
have an excellent head coach, you know, in terms of
a defensive coordinator, and then offensively, like this scheme has
been proven to work and Sam's playing really well. So

(06:19):
nice win, short week on the road. Yeah, I mean
I'm high in Seattle Vikings fan here. If JJ doesn't
work out by the end of the season and the
Bengals are still not making the playoffs, would you send
everything you have to the Bengals to trade for Burrow.
I'd send them three first three seconds and a player
if needed. The Vikings roster is good enough to win

(06:40):
and we just don't have a top quarterback. I think
if you told me that Burrow had just had the
season that he had and was completely healthy and they
won like six games and he wanted out, I do
believe that injury has to terrify you. He has had
a major knee injury. He's had the wrist injury or

(07:01):
hand injury or whatever that was a couple of years ago,
and then he had this year the toe. And you
could say they're all a little random, but they are
three pretty significant injuries. They've essentially ended a season each time,
and I would have a hard time trading a freight,
like if you told me I would you know he's
not available. But like Herbert no hesitation obviously a Lamar

(07:25):
or Mahomes or Allan no hesitation, I think the borrow
thing with the injuries now has to terrify you. So
could you take the risk? Sure? But I do wonder
because the GM and the coach picked JJ, which is
rare for this time. But I do think he would
get three years. The shitty part for JJ's year one

(07:47):
didn't even count because he didn't even play. Nothing happened.
So he basically gets this year and next year, which
is tough because you're spending a bunch of money. You
have a ready made team to win. In theory, they're
just in a weird situation and it's got a sting
if spam Darnold. You know, it's one thing. If he's
winning fourteen games for you, well, if he goes to
Seattle and they win twelve games, they're a playoff team.

(08:08):
Even if they don't win the division. They win eleven games,
they're a wildcard team. You're gonna regret it. You just
are a question for the pod. McVeigh and Shanahan are
often compared since they are in the same division and
good friends as Sean worked under him. However, I think
the big difference between them is a Super Bowl win.
Now that Mick they got his in twenty one and

(08:32):
went through the disaster in twenty two, he seems to
be more free and just loves coaching and team and
kicking ass. It's almost as if they're playing with house
money compared to Kyle, who has gotten close but still
doesn't have the ring. He frankly just seems kind of
as if if it's wearing on him, his best chances
it appears to be behind him. The forty nine ers

(08:53):
can't seem to stay healthy and their roster isn't as
stacked as it once was. I mean, if you just
physically look, he looks tired. However, there is a large
age gap between him and McVeigh, so what might be
a part of it? And Sean, I got to imagine,
has had some work done since being in Hollywood. He
definitely does. He looks the exact same as he did
at thirty at thirty nine years old, I mean the

(09:15):
exact same now. I text with a I worked one
of their coaches is married to a girl lady, you know,
she's like a mother of three that I know pretty
I mean, I knew her much better, probably fifteen years ago,
but I still we follow each other on Instagram DM
every once in a while about like I just we

(09:35):
just bs. And she congratulated me on my kids or
my future kid. My wife's pregnant, and she had laughed
at the something I had shared about him, And I'm like,
is he like on HGH or something like what She's like?
He does eat really healthy and he takes really good
care of himself. Obviously he's got good genetics. I mean,

(09:56):
he's just a good looking guy, but I think he
is pretty health conscious in Los Angeles. I think Kyle,
I also think your personality is your personality. McVeigh is
much more of an optimistic uplifter where you know, kind
of like McVeigh and I'm just gonna use these these
are not perfect parallels, but it's more Pete Carroll, right,

(10:17):
He's more positive, he's more uplifting. Kyle personality is I mean, again,
it's not saying he's Belichick, but he's much more grumpy
than a lot of these guys. Like I've been around
Andy Reid, a little happier. You know, it doesn't mean
you can't have bad days. It doesn't mean that you're
not serious and like Stern, but like over the course

(10:37):
of the year, I don't think Kyle's mister happy, go lucky.
It's just not his personality. Like your personality is your personality.
And like you said, he's a little older. I mean,
what's called forty five years old. I think Kevin O'Connell's
a good example. I think Kevin O'Connell's a pretty optimistic guy. Right. Laflora,
who you know is he looks like he's got some
work done as well. Good looking dude. I would say

(10:58):
Laflora leans a little like negative, which I appreciate. Like
my natural inclination is to be negative, and I've really
had to work on trying to be more positive to
And I'm not even talking about like this, I'm just
talking about in general and life. Get it from my dad,
you know, it's like it's something hereditary probably, But even
though my grandpa would he his dad was a very

(11:19):
optimistic human. It's just I just think you're wired like
you're wired and uh yeah, I mean I think factor
in alcohol, factor in no sleep, factor in age, stress,
but I hear you. I do feel there's a looseness
with Sean. I mean it's team's good that helps, But
I also think, which I really respect, we would have

(11:43):
been worse off if he had taken all the money
from Amazon and called games, even though he probably have
been really good, but like we would have lost football
fans because having him involved with the team is big.
It's important, Like we need coaching personalities, coaching stars. It
matters to have Jim Harwall back in the NFL. It's
cool that Dan Campbell's become a big deal in a store, right,

(12:05):
It's awesome to have this legendary guy and Andy Reid
be at the peak of his profession and then all
these other kind of younger offensive coaches trying to figure
it out, and O'Connell and Lafleur and Kyle and trying
to win a super Bowl. So it's like, I'm glad
that he denied it. And like you said, like I've
never really had adversity since I've been the head coach,

(12:26):
and they lost all those games and it was wearing
on him. He was like gonna have a kid, But
like Tom mcvay's meant to coach like that, that's his skill.
I hope you're having a great evening. I never submit
topics on podcasts, but I'm watching the Jets and I
can't understand how people think Fields is the problem. Oline sucks,

(12:47):
play calling sucks, the defense sucks, and yet Fields is
playing his heart out. I think he could have been
a koc type revived quarterback if he leaves the Jets.
What are your thoughts? One thing Fields has proven over
the years is like mentally he's really tough and he
can be and he has been in some really crappy

(13:08):
situations and he keeps battling and trying. He is not
mister like. He's the opposite of tap out, not giving
you everything he has. I have a lot of respect
for the way he's handled his career. I don't think
he's the most natural thrower of the football, and I
don't mean like ability to actually throw the ball. Like

(13:29):
he does have a powerful arm. He just has a
powerful I mean he has a powerful arm, but I
don't think you like sitting in the pocket, Like just
just a feel and a rhythm to his game doesn't
really exist. Now, he's an incredible athlete, so he can
take off. So I think he's he's got some flaws
that are hard to overcome. Can he be revived to

(13:50):
be some stud I wouldn't go that far, but he's
gonna play in the NFL for a long time. And
I'm with you. You watch the Jets. I mean, there's
just the penalties, the preestaft penalties. There's an organizational like
character that needs to be reset, revamped and started over.
And right now the Raiders have that too, And Aaron

(14:14):
Glenn's coming from a place where they revitalize the freaking
Lions and he's realizing, like this is not an easy
culture to flip. I think Spy Tech and Pete Carroll
are learning that too now. I also think the Jets
roster's really overrated. I mean, I think SaaS Gardner is
like the most overrated player in the league, which is
an indictment on the Jets. They did not need to

(14:34):
pay him. I would have traded him. When should the
Browns start Dylan Gabriel? This defense is ridiculously talented, and
I think we need a spark on offense. Do you
think Shador will see the field? I saw a report
about an hour ago that all indication is that Dylan
Gabriel is going to start against Minnesota this week in Europe,

(14:55):
which listen, Flacco, I'm honestly surprised he made it this far.
You know, I Chadors playing this year. I would imagine.
I think there is going to be a contingent and
it's gonna be pretty sad rooting against Dylan Gabriel and
being like, how is this guy playing? And listen, I

(15:15):
was not a fan of Dylan Gabriel as an NFL prospect,
but I also think the discussion around him. People talk
about Dylan Gabriel if you just turn on the shows,
especially Dion's buddies, like how is Chadur not playing over
this guy? Dylan Gabriel started at Oklahoma and then he
transferred to Oregon where he started again. Let me repeat

(15:36):
Oklahoma and Oregon, and last year Oregon, up until Ohio
State beat their breaks off in the Rose Bowl, was
widely considered one of, if not the best team in
the country, the Oregon Ducks. He was our starter and
more the kid that just looked incredible against Penn State
and is having a great year. Was his backup couldn't

(15:58):
beat him out like that happened? Right, So I think
Gabriel Again, I don't like him as a prospect. Doesn't
have the greatest arm in short but in terms of
like his resume, it is pretty freaking impressive. Like won
a lot of big games played against the big boys
and beat them at Oklahoma and at Oregon, So I

(16:20):
think he now the NFL is a different ballgame. I
don't really like either one of these guys as prospects.
I think it's gonna be a tough year for them all.
I think the Browns offense is gonna be just atrocious.
I think they're both screwed. I'd be stunned if either
of them looks good. To be honest with you, the
Cowboys Packer game ending sucked. We need overtime rules. How

(16:44):
can the NFL look at tie games as an enjoyable
experience because the tie doesn't happen to the last possible second,
So throughout the game it's you know, especially toward the
end the fourth quarter overtime, it's kind of a riveting
experience because you're just thinking who's gonna win. So when
the tie happens, as it did in this last game,

(17:06):
when Love bounces the ball off the linebacker's back, you
don't think the tie is gonna happen, So listen, do
I agree that the ending of a tie is, as
they would say, like kissing your sister. I've never had
a sister, and I would imagine you don't want to
kiss her, But I don't know what the analogy for
those of us without sisters are. It obviously sucks. It's

(17:27):
not a fun experience, but it only happens at the end,
and then everyone complains about it throughout the game. You're
kind of like, who's gonna win this thing.

Speaker 2 (17:41):
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Speaker 1 (19:26):
With the Bears, Titans, Commanders building or about to build
new domed stadiums. How do you feel about the trend
of almost every new stadium construction being a dome. Do
you think football will miss the bad weather games? And
do you think it will be a major disadvantage or
excuse me, a major advantage for the remaining teams that

(19:47):
still play in the elements. Well, the latter part of
your question one thousand percent, assuming that who would those
teams be? The Bears and Commanders are consistently good, you
start playing in a dome as those teams, Well, when
you have to go on the road to Philly to
who are the who are the other teams in the NFC?

(20:09):
If the Giants ever got good, who would have bad
weather in the NFC? The Vikings are indoors, the Lions
are indoors. Forty nine ers Rams don't have bad weather.
I guess Seattle can rain. You know, the AFC has
much more teams in the inclement situation. The Titans. I
know it gets cold. Even though when I mean I

(20:30):
got married in Nashville where the stadium, I mean I
got married right across the bridge. It's not exactly Kansas
City or right or Baltimore or Pittsburgh. But I do agree.
I don't love that now, Like I get if you're
Tennessee or your Chicago or your Washington, you want to
host super Bowls, and Tennessee specifically, it is really cold

(20:53):
and could be snowing. Well, if it's a dome like Broadway,
you're hosting the super Bowl. Same thing with Chicago, I
mean she could Yago. I can't imagine in late January,
early February, like doesn't get any colder anywhere in America.
So who hosted a super Bowl? I remember my buddies
when they worked for the Eagles, the Super Bowl was
hosted in Minnesota. So I think that's a huge element

(21:15):
of it. I don't love it. I love the elements
in football. To me, there's nothing like watching I don't know,
a game in Kansas City, a game in Buffalo. It's
just a huge part of what we love about football.
I mean, part of the legend is like, damn, they
just went on the road. Sorry, I'm trying to turn

(21:36):
off this TV behind me and won a road game
in the freezing cold. And it does feel like there's
an element of that that's about to end, which sucks.
Do you think the NFL could eventually make sixty plus
yard field goals worth four points? Love that if they
did that tomorrow. I don't think anyone can plain if

(21:56):
you hit a sixty one yard field goal, does anyone say, yeah,
you shouldn't get four points? I have no problem with that.
I also think that adds to then you know, Brandon Audrey,
I'm not sure when his contract is coming up. Brandon
Aubrey Audrey, I am I screwing up his name? Think
of his Yeah it's Audrey, No, it's Aubrey, Brandon Aubrey,

(22:21):
He's thirty years old. He I'm sure is about to
come up for a contract. I heard someone talking about
it that his contract negotiation next year. Well, if a
sixty yard is worth four points, I mean if he's
a four or five million dollar player, is he a
six to seven million dollar player? I mean he's got
to make a lot of money, especially now they got
it with Mike A bouncing. Curious what your thoughts were

(22:42):
on the sophomore slumps. My theory is anytime a quarterback
has a breakout year, rookie or not, the league pays
more attention and respects their game. For example, after Hert's
first year going to the Super Bowl, team started to
respect his deep ball way more, leading to a slump
in production. I think that's just the way society works
in any one of our industries. The moment you gain momentum,

(23:07):
your competition pays more attention to you and tries to
do things to counteract that. I just think that's business.
One on one, when you're a nobody and you're a
guy kind of sleep you know, kind of people are
sleeping on, flying under the radar. It's like, here's this guy,
no need to worry, and then all of a sudden
they start stealing your business, or in football, they start

(23:29):
beating you. You're like, what the fuck, No, this is
not gonna happen right. Most people did not, and I
was guilty of this. I think Jalen Hurts. I would
never have drafted Jalen Hurts ever, not an any round
to play quarterback for me. And I'm not alone. Like
I watch Oklahoma football. I didn't think it was a
very good player relative to being an NFL prospect, and

(23:52):
so most people don't take them seriously. And then all
of a sudden he starts beating you. You're like, what
do we gotta do? Look at this year, people already respect.
But once you win the Super Bowl and you kick
everyone's ass, people are throwing the kitchen sink. Think how
much more like that extra hour? It's like, should I
go home it's nine o'clock? If I'm a defensive coach, No,
I want to beat the Eagles because if I beat

(24:12):
the Eagles, if I beat Tom Brady, if I beat
Peyton Manning, you know, if I beat Steph Curry, Like,
it's a big deal for me. Like, we get a
lot of credit. So you beat Bryce Young in the
Carolina Panthers, right, who cares? I three and out takes
a advertiser away from pardon my take. They're like, hey,

(24:36):
we got X number of dollars. We're gonna give it
to him instead of you guys. It's a big fucking
win for me. People start paying attention. Question for the
pod hearing all the trash talk Rory and the rest
of the euros received, is there a restriction on noise
canceling headphones for golfers? I feel like the bows or
beats would make killing with that marketing perhaps a bit

(25:00):
stupid but it would undoubtedly be hilarious to see Rory
pop in some earbuds, drain a putt and then smile
at the crowd. Uh shit, yeah, do you work for
one of these brands? Always be closing. I think part
of it is, here's the thing in football, in basketball,

(25:21):
in baseball, especially in the playoffs, when you go on
the road, you hear bad things, like you hear outrageous things.
Is it appropriate? Who's to say? Probably not? Would I
personally do I personally, since I've been in like high
school or maybe college, could even see myself saying anything
that even begins to quote unquote cross the line. No,

(25:44):
I wouldn't. But at the Ryder Cup, you know, you
have a few pops, people start getting really aggressive. You
get the dude who's you know, making half a mill
at some hedge fund, who's had about seven Vodkas just
start saying shit that he would never say anywhere else.
And it's just part of the environment. I mean, it's
part of now. I do think there's a line like

(26:05):
you shouldn't say that, but you can say that at
a lot of events, like you shouldn't say that, stuff
gets said, and part of being the competitor and which
I respect. Honestly, they got better the more shit people
talk to them, And there can't be enter any better
feeling in sports, whether it's the Ryder Cup, whether it's
in football, like think out. Can you imagine some of

(26:27):
the stuff Georgia fans were yelling at Alabama players or
Penn State fans that had been drinking all day, or
saying to some of the organ players, do you know
how sweet it must have felt when that game hits
double when the clock heits double zero and you win
the game. I have no problem with going double middle
fingers as I'm walking off like that. That's all part
of sports. Like this is this is not a normal business.

(26:50):
So I think if you're a player, like I'd want
to hear it. Now if my wife's around, you're throwing
drinks on her. Yeah, we got major problems, but like,
say anything you want to me, and when I win,
I'm gonna say anything I want to you, and anyone
worth their salt should want that and respect that, like
I got. I saw some people like how does Rory say?

(27:11):
They're saying mean stuff to him and then he's screaming
f you to them. It's like yeah, this is this
is real life. People swear, people scream at each other,
people say dumb shit. I was completely like, I'm less
bothered by any of that than some people. Uh, can
you speak on the Ryder Cup this week? I love
the pod. You're the most relatable boys. I'll say this.

(27:36):
I had been to New York one time and Hoboken
one time, so my experience in that area was very small.
And because I'd said this before, I think I said
this on the Golf podcast because living in Philly, I
had just naturally hated New York City. You know, I
was just around all those people, so they like, we
just hated New York City. And I went back to Manhattan.

(27:56):
I was blown away. I thought, like, this is in'tcrect.
I had a good buddy, a guy that my college roommate,
who was also there. We didn't realize each other were there.
You know when you when you like live in different cities.
He lives in Texas, I live in Scottsdale. We had
no clue each other was going to be there. Right.
He was there with the client doing some stuff and
he saw I posted something and yeah, he was getting

(28:19):
blasted and having a good time and We talked to
each other that night because he had to I had
to fly out really early the next day, and he
was like, I don't think I would survive in this city.
I'm like, it's like Vegas meets a big city. I
mean never sleeps. You just like I don't even think
there are just no Like three in the morning is

(28:39):
not that much different than seven at night. Lights are
on people everywhere. It's just it's just vibrant. And you know,
you talk about a place like you get on lines
like that place is bounced back from whatever the hell
happened five years ago. I'll promise you that. You just
look around the commerce that's moving. I mean, I get
New York City now. I'm not a city guy. I

(29:00):
like the suburbs. I like my space. I lived in
San Francisco for a year. I hated it, and that's
when San Francisco was booming and clean. It's the space,
not being able to park, not being able to drive.
It's not my thing. But I was like, I gotta
go because my wife loves New York City and she
like really wanted me to take her. I like, I,
this is a business trip. It's not it's not for

(29:22):
that even though you know, closed down the bars, like
multiple times went to bed at like four am, back
to back nights. But again, she can't drink. She's pregnant,
so it just wasn't really the place we were trying
to lock up deals, and it was just it was incredible.
I'm a New York City guy. I get it. I
say the same thing about LA. I grew up in
northern California. It's like northern California, Northern California. And then

(29:45):
you get older, you like, go to Newport Beach, you
go play, you get invited to play, like a country
club down in Beverly Hills. You're like, listen, I I
don't want to live here and I have no desire
and I would not live here. But I you get it,
like I understand it. Like I mean, this is southern California.

(30:07):
Everyone's like, the weather's so great in California. Yeah, in
southern California, San Francisco, the weather it's fucking freezing up there.
The weather is not great in northern California relative to
southern California. The weather in northern California is way better
than most of America, but relative Southern California, we got
family friends that live in San Diego that blows like

(30:27):
the Bay Area out of the water, you know.

Speaker 2 (30:30):
So it's like as you get older, you get a
little more. You just get some more life experience. You realize,
you know, I just hated this because I thought I
was supposed to, but I kind of like it.

Speaker 1 (30:42):
It. It's hard to go to Newport Beach and not
go Damn, this place is sick. And I'd say the
same thing about New York City blown away. It also
helps you know, last time I was there, I had
no money. So it's like everything. The one knock is
it is outrageously priced like it is. I don't don't
know how anyone affords to do anything. I couldn't have

(31:02):
lived there in like in my twenties. Haven't seen anyone
have their take. Have this take. But considering Baker's success
with his numbers and his clutch nests, do you think
the Rams regret letting Baker Mayfield go. It's a good question.
I think.

Speaker 3 (31:24):
Of all the hindsights, like it's like, well, it's easy
to say now about Sam Darnold, Well, the Minnesota Vikings
is not he threw thirty five touchdowns for him you know,
he wasn't very good on the Carolina Panthers.

Speaker 1 (31:35):
Right, Mayfield wasn't very good on the Carolina Panthers. Matt
Stafford was coming back, So I don't think you can
play Hindsight's twenty twenty on that. The other thing is
the Rams have made the playoffs the last two years
with Matt Stafford. Stafford's been good. I mean, Stafford almost
beat the Eagles last year in the playoffs, So yeah,

(31:59):
I don't think they did. I actually give them more
respect that they even signed him. A huge fan. Since
the Ravens lost on Monday to the Lions, there's a
lot of chatter about how Lamar needs to throw the
ball away, and a lot of people are suggesting suggesting
he's looking to boost his stats. It doesn't make sense
to me. Lamar is a playmaker. He does this thing

(32:20):
in the pocket looking for his receivers, and if it's
not there, he's taken off running. Why would he throw
the ball away when he can make almost every throw.
If not, he can beat ninety percent of the players
in the league with his legs. Ravens never got the
run game going. Lamar couldn't sit in the pocket. If
you remember last year our defense was bad. We even
lost to the goddamn Gardner Minshew Raiders. What are your

(32:40):
thoughts on the Ravens trajectory this year. I think they're screwed. You.
You can't lose that many defensive players and overcome it
and you lose Metabouquet for the year. Humphrey and Rokwan
now are out several games. I don't know the latest.
I'm recording this on Tuesday on Kyle Vanoy. You just
can't lose that many impact defensive players, even with the

(33:03):
culture and as well as you guys have drafted historically
and sustain it, and you're one to three, you're giving
up a historic amount of points. I also think your
team is used to playing good defense because your team
typically what do you lead the league in rushing or
top five team in rushing for probably the last five
or six years. Well, it's hard to run the ball

(33:26):
and stick with running the ball, separate from Lamar running
around when you're losing. You're down like twenty to seven,
right or you're down ten points, and you just it
kind of forces you to pass. So pardon I was
saying this to someone the other day. Is that like
the good teams in the league, the Lions, the Ravens
over the last several years, trying to think who else.

(33:49):
Eagles don't really fall under this category. You know, they
can blow people out. Well, the Lions, they got so
many playmakers, they're just kind of spreading it around. I
feel like when they're blowing people out, a lot of
it is like Lamar and Derrick Henry going nuts in
the second half. It's like, we're just gonna lean on you,
run on your ass. And obviously Lamar has proven to

(34:11):
be a high end thrower as well, but like they
just run the ball down your throat. Well that part,
and then all of a sudden you look up in
the Ravens have won forty two to thirteen. You're not
running the ball when you're down twelve points or fifteen points. Well,
that's what's gonna happen with your defense. It sucks. So,
as Bill Simmons would say, it might be a year

(34:33):
from hell. It might be it was the Niners last year.
It could be you guys this year. I was listening
to your recent pod and you included Troy Aikman on
your list of no doubt about It Hall of Famers
but he was objectively very bad in terms of stats.
When did the Hall of Fame or the NFL in
general turn into a Quarterback's Win Award. Love to hear

(34:55):
your thoughts. I'll be honest. I mean, I I was
pretty young when Troy was at his peak, and to me,
just watching Troy, I felt like he was really good. Now,
if I had watched Troy in his peak as me
right now, maybe I would view him differently. So there
may be is a little like nostalgic element of the

(35:18):
way that I view him. But I hear you. I mean,
statistically he doesn't compare to some people. I do think
people that played him, and I've been around people that
played him, think very highly of him. I think he
was a really really good player. Now relative, was Steve
Young a better individual player than Troy Aikman, Yes, was
Brett fav an individual player than Troy Aikman? Yes? Was

(35:41):
Jim Kelly. Now, obviously he won more than these guys,
but I do think he's viewed as a really really
good player. They had a running offense as well. What
are some quarterbacks that, if they had been drafted into
a better situation, would have worked, I asked this as
I see what happened with Baker, and I'm worried about Dart.

(36:07):
I think there are a lot of players. You look
at Jim Harbaugh. Jim Harbaugh got Alex Smith five or
six years into his career, and there was a point,
I think the year before Jim got there, the entire
stadium in San Francisco chanted Derek, not Derek, David Carr's
name because they thought Alex Smith sucked that bad and

(36:27):
David Carr was the backup. And then he got there
and Alex led him to the didn't lead them, but
was their starting quarterback for a team to win the
NFC Championship and became a playoff quarterback for the next
seven eight years, right with Andy Reid. So I think
there are a lot of guys that kind of fault.
Daniel Jones a good example. What if Daniel Jones had

(36:47):
been drafted by I don't know, like Patrick Mahomes didn't exist.
Andy Reid got him, Guess what, he'd be good, you know?
And I think you go to places that are chaotic,
that don't know what they're doing, that have a lot
of staff turnover because part of it, and I the
one thing that we never discussed in that Brian day

(37:09):
ball Joe Shane hard knocks is we spent so much
time on the free agency Saquon Barkley. Remember when they
hired the defensive coordinator and Brian Davile didn't even know him.
He's like, oh, look at his stats. And then they
started doing like draft prep and they just asked, like,
what players do you like? Who do you want us

(37:30):
to draft? You guys just hire this guy? Like does
your organization have philosophies? Is your head coach at philosophies?
Or are you just gonna do what an assistant do
you don't even know before you hired him three months ago?
What's going? That's that's chaos. That's not a successful organization.

(37:50):
Like the Eagles when they hire coaches, don't just start
doing exactly what they want them to do. Why because
that wouldn't be good business. The Ravens have draft who
Assi and Dacostev won it for twenty five years. Obviously
Hardbob plays a role. But yeah, I mean, I think
it's hard to overcome chaos. And I would say this

(38:13):
about the Giants. Your star receiver tears his acl your
owner is now I mean i'd have to. I didn't
reread the entire statement, but did he say he was
going into chemotherapy? So he's gonna be obviously a little
mia battling cancer. You have a coach and a GM
that would presumed to be on the hot seat, Like,

(38:35):
that's just a chaotic situation. You know, Tennessee is a
good example. It's like, is Brian Callahan gonna make it
through the season? So you just you kept Brian Callahan
to know your team might not be that good to
then fire him and then start a new Like, that's
just not a healthy organization. It's just not so. I mean,
I would say these two rookies this year, you know,

(38:57):
I know Shador didn't want to go to the Ravens. Well,
gods speed with the Browns. Tell me how that goes.
Promise you probably not. Well, I'm a Bears fan and

(39:20):
I was curious what your thought was about Colin Stake.
The Bears trade DJ Moore with Rome breaking out and
all their other weapons, do you think it's possible they
would ship him to a contender like the Bills or
Chiefs at some point? Also, what do you think the
return would be for a player of DJ's caliber. Thanks,
and would also like to see her swing the clubs

(39:43):
again soon on go Low. I think it would be cool.
That's my game plan is to start playing a little
golf on camera a little more. It's just sometimes harder
in football season, but I just have to make time.
I got a just a just a goal of mine
that I got to emphasize. I just pulled up DJ
Moore's sheet. DJ Moore has not missed a game since

(40:07):
two thousand and twenty. That was the VID season, and
there's a chance in those games maybe he got the
VID and they didn't even love him around twenty twenty one,
seventeen to seventeen, Caro those last two years in Carolina
didn't miss a game. In his last two years with
the Bears did not miss a game. He only has
three catches this year. I mean he had ninety eight

(40:29):
last year and ninety six the year before. You know,
he makes a lot of money. I think you can
get like a third round pick for him that if
you make it to the conference championship game or he
gets so many catches bumps up to a two. But
I definitely think for sure you would get a third
round pick. I think when you factor in the money,

(40:50):
it gets a little complicated because I think his contract
the Bears actually, I mean if they win this week,
they'd be three three in two. So DJ, I mean
his contract is it's not small, so he's got big
cap hits the next three years. If you cut him
the next two years, you're not you wouldn't cut them.

(41:13):
But he makes twenty million, twenty four, twenty four, so
it's not like now he's a productive player, but he's expensive.
So it's in the NFL, it's a little more complicated.
He'd be like, oh, get a second for djmore well
in factor in the money, factor in his age question

(41:35):
for the back, NFL expansion talks have to be overright.
Hard to imagine two teams finding a viable offensive line
and quarterback with the way the season is already looking.
Totally agree one, I just don't know any cities in
America that would make sense, so you'd have to go
to Europe. In two. The offensive line situation in the

(41:55):
NFL is an embarrassment, and it's no one's fault. Beside,
no one practices anymore because the body size of these
guys all look the same size, but they're not as
developed because no one works in training camp and during
the season in pasts, it just doesn't happen, and it's
not going to happen. And obviously the quarterback play, I mean,
we struggle think about this. People think Tua. If you

(42:16):
just ask a casual NFL fan about Tua, they'd all
be like, he sucks. Tua's better than half the league.
Say what you want about Tua, like he's better than
half the league. So if Tua is kind of the
the line where the league splits, you cannot add two teams.

(42:37):
But that's where money comes in. Sure you could if
you wanted to, which I wouldn't, but who knows what
these guys and they go, well, we'll go to London,
and we'll go to you know, Ireland or wherever the
big cities are they want to go. Then all of
a sudden they get what fifteen million dollars two expansion

(42:59):
fees at like seven and a half. What do you
think it would mean for the Bears to beat the
Commanders coming out of the bye? Personally, I'm feeling pretty
good about being two and two. If not for that
blown fourth quarter, we could easily be three and one.
I think The bye week is hitting at the perfect time.
We finally got got it out of ugly win, which
gives us a chance to reset, regroup and hopefully get

(43:20):
a handful of key guys back and in motivation from
what a season ending loss to Washington last year. I
have a feeling that this team is gonna come out swing.
Let's let's pull up the Bears. You guys have a
bye they're already buys kind of sneaks up on Yankees

(43:40):
lost NFL. It's a bad loss. They were up late
in the game. The Bears. Where are my Chicago Bears? Okay,
so you gotta buy this week, Conston early buy and
then you go at Commanders, which is Sunday night football.
Then you got the Saints, then you got the Ravens,
and then you got the Bengals, then you got the Giants.

(44:03):
Before the ending stretch that gets a little tough. You
beat the Commanders, you could be in pretty good shape
now by then you think Jaden Daniels is back. It's weird,
right if you're Ben Johnson, you're gonna use that as motivation.
Last year, but you weren't there, and a lot of

(44:24):
your new players weren't there. Some of your new offensive linemen,
your coaching staff, but like a lot of those guys
were a part of it. I don't know. You can't
win that game. I'm a lifelong Vikings fan, so I
get it. They aren't a team that moves the needle. However,
when you speak about the team, at least adds some

(44:45):
facts for proper context. On Monday, you mentioned a list
of injuries, but none of the Vikings players. Cool. I
let it slide, you know. Then on your Tuesday nine
thirty show doing the mail bag, the Dufus says the
Vikings have the worst offensive line in the league. Here's
where I thought you would add some facts. The five
starters have not played a single down together, all due

(45:08):
to injuries. It's so frustrating listening to these takes. God,
you don't need to be so offended. You know, you
just don't. You're right. You just got your ass kicked
by the Steelers. You have injuries. Every fucking team has injuries.
Like I said, all week, you look up, every team's hurt.
No one's healthy. Not a soul is healthy. People are suspended,
people are injured. Tyreek Hill's leg fell off, everyone's injured.

(45:30):
Everyone's injured. You're starting Carson Wentz. Why because you're starting
quarterbacks injured? Who might suck? So yeah, I mean, I
can't list context. I'm not a journalist. This isn't like
a fact fact checking podcast. Sometimes just talk. I don't
go over the injury report for every team you got injuries.
Your starting left tackle was out to begin the season.
Now you're right tackles missing. Yeah, welcome to the NFL.

(45:54):
You're starting Carson Wentz. Like I would say that is
as big as your out. Your offensive line is, you know,
in theory is pretty good when healthy, but what if
they're never healthy? So you're playing with an unhealthy offensive line.
I'm watching the Packers against the Cowboys. How many guys
are they missing? On a play to play basis? It's football.
I mean, backup start Lane Johnson all of a sudden,

(46:14):
out of the game, the backup comes in, he sucks,
his backup comes in. That's just what happens. Like we're
not gonna be like, oh, just a bunch of backups,
like that's Roger Goodell's NFL twenty twenty five. I'm not
trying to be an asshole here, but I don't know
what we're supposed to say, we can't break it down

(46:36):
like you know, yeah, I don't know how else to
preface it by. Why are we still talking about the
Ravens and the Chiefs. Lamar can't win a big game
and their team is decimated by injuries. The Chiefs can't
stay out of jail and they're getting old fast. The
AFC is done. Call it Bills, come on down. Time
for Josh Allen to be the next chopping block to

(46:57):
the undeniable, unstoppable, best big game quarterback they ever play
the game. Jalen hurts hashtag go Birds, We're going twenty
and oh uh, I thought it was gonna be a
Bills fan. That was a good tweet. I don't trust
their defense honestly to just you know, like, obviously, Josh

(47:19):
and their offense can get you the Super Bowl, but
I don't know something about the Bills. It's like, are
they gonna get big stops and big games for back
to back games to make it the Super Bowl? I
think it'd be pretty cool. I don't think you guys
are gonna go twenty. You know, if you can't complete
passes in the second half, but you're gonna win a
lot of games. We'll see What if AJ Brown tanks

(47:44):
your season by keeps tweeting and saying shit? What if
a J Brown eventually in a press conference goes you
remember Brandon Graham last year, what he said was real.
I was just told by Howie and Jeffrey Lowry to lie,
So I lied. Doesn't seem like he's happy. We's got
to acknowledge that, which I do? You know what? Sometimes
like everyone's like, be a team guy? Yeah, what if
I'm not a team guy? What if I'm selfish? What

(48:05):
if I'm narcissistic? What if I only give a shit
about my catches? Do you want me to fake it? Aren't?
We talk about society like being authentic, be who you
really are. I want the ball. Throw me the fucking football.
That's what he That's essentially what he wants to say.
We all know it. I mean, let's let's call a
spat as bade he hates not getting the ball. Clearly

(48:26):
not a popular opinion, but I absolutely love the two
Monday night football games. I had a couple of people
reach out and say, I'm a big daily fantasy guy
and I really like the games. And I had a
couple other people say like, I play a lot of
prop bets and I really like the extra action. And
I went, you know what, I'm not as huge a

(48:47):
fantasy guy, and even prop bets doesn't hold my attention,
but I get it, and I might like the doubleheader
is not for me, but it's not made for me.
The doubleheader is about a huge reason the NFL has
exploded is because of fantasy football in gambling. So if

(49:09):
I give you two games instead of one, you got
more action going on, so more people are paying attention.
I listened to a gambling show, not a gambling show,
but about it's called like the Underbelly, the Something Underbelly
on YouTube, and they interviewed the guy he kind of
made the media rounds, who was the bookie for Shoho

(49:30):
Tani's translator. And this guy ran like this, I mean
huge gambling ring based out of Newport Beach, and he
talked about his story, and part of his story was
he thought, now again he was balls deep as a bookie,
that if gambling just ceased to exist, like it just

(49:53):
you were not allowed to gamble legally or illegally, that
the ratings would dip it half. And I was like,
I don't know if that's true, but it would definitely
have a major impact. And there is no disputing that.
A lot of people that don't love football, like you know,
Nick Saban or Bill Belichick for the purity of blocking, tackling,

(50:14):
and catching, but want to have watch their fantasy players
or want to see if Jamar Chase can get over
five and a half catches, see if they can make
a hundred bucks. Right, it plays a huge role. So
I want to change. I want to take back my take.
I personally don't like it. That's not gonna change. But
if it means more people care, which means more people

(50:37):
care about this, which is how I'm gonna feed my
unborn child, then shit, I better embrace it. You know,
I'm not gonna be one of those people. I've said
forever when I first got into this world. So many
media people are just so bitter and so angry and
live in their own little bubble about how much they
hate their life. And it's like, do you even like

(50:57):
watching sports? And they answered a lot of them is no.
And I've always said, like, I like watching the games,
and then I'm complaining about two games. Now you could
argue Dolphins Jets is a rough Watch. But I actually
feel like I don't hate watching Tua when he's playing decent.
I thought he played pretty good last night. Okay, last question.

(51:17):
I was listening to you before the gym and you
were talking about the Bengals spending on wide receivers and
how they just had the draft to acquire talent, how
they just had the draft. I got it got me
thinking that Michael was a luxury for the Cowboys and
a necessity for Green Bay. Even with Micah and that

(51:39):
big contract, the Cowboys weren't gonna get any better. What
do you think love the show? I think I saw
a quote today Where was I that I saw it
flashed across something the Jerry Jones. It must have been
the interview that he does with the fan in Dallas
one O five to three. I think the radio station

(51:59):
is that said that Dak Prescott was a necessity Micah
Parsons was not. And what he's saying is like the
quarterback Dak Prescott is way more important to our team
than Michah Parsons. I mean, that's one hundred percent true.
And Micah Parsons is a better player than Dak Prescott.
We all agree, right, Whether I'm not even talking about

(52:20):
like just independently Micah if if on Madden ratings, Micah
Parsons is like a ninety four. Dak Prescott's like an
eighty two. Yet Dak Prescott is more important to any
football team than Michah Parsons, right, if Dak Prescott's your quarterback.
I said this, like, I completely respect Gudikins and why
he did the trade. Sometimes in life you gotta put

(52:41):
your nuts on the table in whatever you do, especially
once you get like it's easy to just be conservative.
Once you get to the top and the Packers just
make the playoffs, it's going well, and then you get
an opportunity to take a big swing, And it would
have been easy for him to be like, oh, we'll
just use these picks and we'll just use this cap space.
He's like, fuck it, So I expect it. But that

(53:02):
was a game against the Cowboys where it's like, hey, Micah,
I remember I had a front row seat when Khalil
Mack won the Defensive Player of the Year. There was
one game against Denver Broncos or I think he had
five sacks. There was a game against the Panthers where
he had like a strip, sack and a pick six.
I mean, it was just he would just take over games,

(53:22):
and it's like that's a game.

Speaker 2 (53:23):
Like.

Speaker 1 (53:25):
Can you just do some miraculous stuff and just win
us the game because our defense is terrible and you
just take over And he just kind of couldn't do it.
But he's gonna get his fourteen sacks. He's gonna be
a productive player. He's a really good player. But if
you're Green Bay and I'm paying you one hundred and
eighty eight million dollars, one hundred and eighty eight million
dollars for four years, I guaranteed you, like one hundred

(53:48):
and thirty or whatever, I need you to be great.
And I watched him that game and I was like,
I don't see great. And the Cowboys if they would
have gave him that contract, I don't think they would
look that much different at all. They would get the
you know, however many sacks he would get for them
throughout the course of the season. So occasionally on third
down they get off the field because he gets a sack,

(54:10):
but their defense would get shredded every single week because
you would just double team him. So yeah, I hear you,
and uh, I'm glad. You know, I think Gudakins does
not regret it now. Honestly, I think four games in,
I think Jerry not only doesn't regret it, it's like,
I'm glad we did it. The volume