April 13, 2024 • 52 mins
John's best of the week!
This week John dove into the Commanders bringing in a bunch of the top QB prospects in the draft and how that is the right decision since their pick could be franchise changing (5:05), how the Vikings may be blowing smoke with all the chatter coming out of Minnesota (32:50), and later, Hunter Mahan stopped by to talk about playing at Augusta and what it was like playing with Tiger in his prime 41:56.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 2 (01:31):
What is happening in My People? John Middlecoff Three and
Out podcast, a little Saturday edition of Best of Welcome
to the Weekend, Dj Jon, I wanted to hit on
or I did this week what the Vikings are really doing?
Are they fooling us with their quote unquote love of
(01:53):
JJ McCarthy. Hunter Mahan joined the show this week. He's
won six times on the PGA Tour, played in the
Masters ten, finished in the top ten of the Masters
three different times, so he has a lot of experience
given his thoughts on the golf course and just playing
with peak Tiger in the two thousands. The Commanders are
(02:14):
bringing in all the quarterbacks this upcoming week. Some thoughts
there on their last round of interviews as well as
kind of scatting reports on all the guys, so we
will hit on that. All was a fun week of shows,
All up on iTunes, Spotify as well as the YouTube
page has all of our content and the volume coming
(02:37):
fast and furious, so make sure you go check that out.
Appreciate everyone that listens, And before we dive in to
the week, I wanted to tell you about my good
friends at game Time. Grab your iPhone, grab your iPad,
and download a little app called game Time. They're the
official ticketing app. If you want to go to a game,
if you want to go to a concert, if you
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the app now, promo code John John. I was thinking
about it today. I'm thirty nine years old and I've
(03:41):
had one interview in my entire life. Not that I've
interviewed somebody, I'm saying interviewed for a job. It happened
to me one time. Fresno State didn't even have to
interview anything in radio or obviously podcasts, zero interviews. I
interviewed for the Eagles and I flew back there and
you boy got the job that day. But that's the
(04:04):
only interview I ever had. So when it comes to
what these players are going through, a lot of people listening,
I've had a lot of friends and know a lot
of people that work in more corporate structures, And when
you interview for bigger jobs, it's usually not a one
time thing. When I interviewed for the Eagles, now, granted
you know big ego boost, I got it that day.
(04:24):
It was a twenty five thousand dollars job. Now, there
were several other people there interviewing for the same position,
but there were also other people interviewing for higher level jobs,
and it was a multiple step process. Me got a
couple recommendations, interviewed well, met a couple people, smiled, they
liked my personality. That's not usual. That's not typical for
(04:44):
big jobs. Entry level jobs much easier to pivot if
the guy fails. But how many of you listening right
now did have interviewed for a big upgrade position with
a company? To leave a company, if you are the
person interviewing for high, high price jobs, whatever, that may be,
whether that's going from eighty grand to one hundred and
fifty grand, whether that's a three hundred and four one
(05:06):
thousand dollar job, whatever it may be. Usually it's not
just a one off scenario. They usually interview you multiple times.
There's initial meetings, there may be a secondary meeting, and
maybe there's a final like out to dinner, meet with
the board of directors or whatever you may be doing.
That's part of business when you are investing a lot
(05:27):
of money, and for most companies, even multi million dollar companies,
hiring someone making hundreds of thousands of dollars is a big,
you know, big hire. Well, in the NFL, the biggest
hire you can make, obviously is a high draft pick,
right because not only are you investing a ton of
(05:48):
like what we consider draft capital at first, second, or
third round pick, you're making that pick in hopes to
one day pay that guy hundreds of millions of dollars
because of what they did after the last CBA. Whoever
gets drafted second will make thirty five to forty million
dollars guaranteed. But when I make that pick, as Adam Peters,
(06:11):
just like the Bears, when they inevitably take Caleb Williams.
In my mind, I'm already thinking about the second contract.
You're not drafting them thinking worst case scenario. Let's face it,
you're thinking best case scenario. It's why Caleb Williams gets
compared to Patrick Mahomes and not random quarterbacks throughout the league. Right,
we'll get into some of the scattering reports. The Michael
(06:34):
Vicks and the Justin Herbert's are getting thrown around. Not
Daniel Jones. Well maybe, and we'll get into that. But
my point is that all the commanders are bringing these
three guys in, and I saw a lot of people
that cover the NFL as like, if you haven't figured
it out by now, what the hell are you doing.
Of course, when you bring a guy in or multiple
(06:55):
people in for final interviews, you are leaning some way.
We're all human beings. You're gonna like one guy maybe
more than the other. No different when you see these
coaching searches usually starts out, let's just pick up number
ten people. You interview ten guys, and then you cut
it down to your final three. Well, guess what when
(07:15):
they go to the final three interviews, they probably are
leaning a certain way going into it. Now that can change.
The defining thing for all these guys, obviously is their
ability to play the game, and that has been defined
over several years playing football. Drake May multiple year starter,
Jaden Daniels several year starter, and JJ McCarthy multiple year starter.
(07:36):
Tape speaks for itself, and we all know as quarterbacks
the intangible aspect of it all is very, very important.
Not many fucking losers excel at the quarterback position, right.
It's usually smart, hardworking, driven human beings. And if you
are gonna be a little immature and maybe not have
the best work ethic, you've got to have elite physical
(07:57):
skills i e. Ben Roethlisberg. But typically the guys that grind,
the guys that work the hardest, the guys who are
the best leaders, are the best players at that position. Consistently.
There are some outliers. Brett Favre's work ethic wasn't as
great as some. He also had the greatest arm of
all time. The other quarterbacks in his generation, Steve Young,
(08:18):
Troy Aikman checked all the boxes off the field right.
Aaron Rodgers probably could get away with some stuff. Tom
Brady and Peyton Manning couldn't because of his physical gifts,
but I would imagine even if Aaron Rodgers' work ethic
didn't equal Peyton and Tom's, it was still pretty damn good.
So everyone going, I can't believe they're bringing these guys
(08:38):
in for like one final round. You can't. I would
take an educated guess that they are leaning a certain
way with this pick and the player that they're gonna pick.
But wouldn't you want to get one final sit down
with them all to go? Are we really sure? Because
let's face it, when you make this selection, just like
anyone that makes a selection, no matter how excited you are.
(09:01):
And these videos in a couple weeks are going to
go viral. People hugging people, chest bumping people, saying f yeah,
hell yeah, and huge high fives. It's awesome. It's one
of the coolest parts about Draft Night. Remember last year
Dan Campbell and and his GM Brad Holmes, when they
traded back and they still got Gibbs the running back.
(09:22):
They went nuts because they were as confident as humanly possible.
But you still don't know, right, You're only as confident
as you can be when the pick. But we've seen
all the time people be confident in the guy not
turn out to be really good, so you better be
as confident. And making a pick at quarterback is way
more complicated, right, because even if I miss on a
(09:42):
wide receiver, well maybe he's not our number one. Can
the guy be a number two? Even when I miss
on defensive lineman. Yeah, he may not be a star,
but he still gets to rotate in. If my quarterback
sucks and this guy isn't the one, let's face it,
we're screwed. It's just that simple. It's a major problem.
In couple of years, he will not be on the
team and we'll be looking for another guy. Me, Colin
(10:04):
and I talk about it all the time. The timeline
of getting three or four years at that position is done.
You get like two and a half max. Some guys
get one and a half. Trey Lance got four starts.
They're like, get out of here. You're not good enough.
Zach Wilson they knew after a year two, but because
they brought in Aaron Rodgers, he got like, uh, kind
(10:25):
of an extra year that they clearly regretted. Mac Jones
got three fields got three and really they didn't. Mac
Jones we knew early on in the season was not
going to be back and Justin Field's the moment they
were getting the number one overall pick around. I would
say November was done in the Chicago Bear. That's how
fast it happens. So I have no problem, just like
(10:46):
any human being hiring, if you're a small business and
you're gonna hire someone that's going to play an important
role in your company, a CFO, a CEO, a marketing manager, whatever,
doing several interviews with multiple people, and that's what the
commanders are doing. I would bring all these guys in. Now,
I don't know you, we don't have all the details.
(11:07):
Are they all coming together? Is one coming Monday, one
coming Tuesday, one coming Wednesday, which I would imagine is
probably what ends up happening, because be a little awkward
if they're all like the steakhouse on a Tuesday night together.
But I think this is the right move and I
don't think this is weird at all. I wanted to
dive into some scouting reports in this article that I
(11:29):
found in the Athletic. Basically, shit, I didn't write down
the guy's name. My bad. I'm not trying to just
aggregate your stuff without giving you credit. But it's on
the athletic It's basically breaks down the top quarterbacks and
it gets a bunch of unnamed scouts, assistant coaches, GMS,
scouting directors. I love this type stuff. The media is like,
put your name on it. It's like, guys, they're not
(11:50):
allowed to put their name on it. That's not how
it works. But we yearn for this content. And let's
start with Jayden Daniels, who in this article was universally
considered the number two quarterback as in Fantasyland. You guys
QB two, right, Caleb's QB one. It's pointless to even
talk about any of his quotes. He's going number one.
We don't even need to waste any time. Like he's
(12:11):
gonna be on. The Bears will evaluate him as a
player whenever the game start. But I think all these
other players, what's fascinating is like, which one are you
gonna choose? Part of last year with Bryce and CJ
was like, listen, the Panthers had a choice, right, and
they chose the wrong guy. The Dolphins once upon a
time had the choice Herbert or Tua. They took Tua,
(12:31):
even though in fairness to them at the time it
wasn't as crazy as its age. Dolphins fans were like,
middle goff, what the fuck are you talking about Tua playoffs?
Not a soul in the league who would take Tua
over Herbert. But this is not about those guys. This
is about Jaden Daniels. And one thing stood out to
me in this little blurb from a scout. Jayden probably
(12:52):
made more progress than any quarterback coming out in the
last five or six years. He can anticipate, make all
the throws and is an explosive at athlete. As a scrambler.
He's not Lamar or Vic, but his ability to process
pre snap has improved as a passer, which is hard
to do in one year. Here's what I found interesting.
We know he started working with virtual reality this season.
(13:16):
He got those VR reps and that's when he took off.
Is it I honestly, maybe I've missed it. I didn't
see this story. I remember years ago when Stanford started
doing it with their quarterbacks. How you could take these
mental reps right? Historically have always been in a classroom
watching film with your position coach, your coordinator, your head coach,
(13:37):
going over what you should do. But I don't know
about you. When I was in school, and they would
do power points. It was harder to focus. I never
learned like that caw poly We learned by doing some
of you are can you know, take that information and
then take it back to the field. I do think
this middle ground of you're not actually on the field,
(13:58):
but this VR is just gonna be. And I would
imagine a lot of teams now you know, participate with
virtual reality in their operation. It's kind of genius. I mean,
we all learn differently. Some guys can only learn from
the field. Some guys can learn in the classroom and
go to the field and need one rep and they're good.
(14:19):
And most people are somewhere in the middle, a little
bit of everything. I think that's how I am, That's
how you are, Like most people aren't one way or
the other. It's kind of hearing it over and over,
repping it out in whatever you're doing. Practice the ten
thousand hours. And he's a guy, little bit of a
late bloomer, got around really good players, a really good coach,
and excelled. Now here's the thing. Lamar Jackson's the best
(14:41):
running quarterback I've ever seen in terms of explosion, in
terms of instincts, and in terms of not getting hits,
like he can avoid these hits. Michael Vick was probably
the most explosive runner we've ever seen, but he could
not avoid hits. He actually like yearned to hit people,
which is a problem when you're actually kind of small.
Michael's not the biggest guy, and you get hurt a lot.
(15:02):
I think Jaden is just a really good athletic quarterback.
But that's where it gets back to the concerns of
the weight. But if you don't have concerns on anticipatory throws,
layering throws, processing information, like if the commanders feel good
about that, like this guy's gonna go number two, overall
some more stuff. Jaden is quarterback too. He can start
(15:23):
immediately better learn to protect himself, or he'll be in
the cold tub. Often. That's the thing, that's the Michael
Vick thing. If you can't avoid the hits or seek
the hits out, you are done in this league. I
don't care if you're Cam Newton. Cam Newton was out
of the league in his early thirties. Sometimes you see
these highlights of Cam Newton early on in Carolina or
(15:43):
at Auburn, you're like, is this the greatest athlete factoring
in the size I've ever seen in the position, but
just taking a pounding, taking a pounding, taking a pounding
fucking wears on you. I don't care if like the
you know, me and Joe Greens and the John Lynn
and those type players are out of the league. It's
still a vicious game and these guys are running faster
(16:06):
than ever, So that to me is a huge concern.
Even if you feel good about the processing and stuff,
can you teach that now? I've always believed that you
kind of are who you are as an instinctive player
at whatever you do. It's hard to completely change and
take that out. You're either fearless, or you kind of hesitate,
and or you're just naturally avoiding. Frank Gore is a
(16:29):
running back, was elite and he played for fifty years
because he never, you know, went out of his way
for contact. He avoided it, and that helped the longevity
of his career. When you're banging, banging, banging banging, it's
just brutal. Listen, I grew up, you know, I didn't
grow up on a ranch, but I was going to
(16:49):
the ranch a lot as a kid. Wear and tear
ranch miles on trucks is a lot different than me
driving my tahoe around town. So the wear and tear
of getting blasted all the time as a quarterback we're
running back is a reason so many running backs fall
off a cliff. So the reason Cam Newton fall off
a cliff. So I think you got to try it,
and there's no way to know. You just have to
(17:10):
get a feel for the guy. If you think he
can change a little bit, if it was him trying
to prove something, if we can, well, that's just kind
of how he is when he's instinctively playing. To me,
that's probably the biggest concern, and that's where the weight
comes in people like him. I mean that's pretty clear.
And listen, I remember just throwing on the YouTube on
Malik Neighbors. I'm like, how good is this guy? And
it's hard not to just be wowed. With Jayden Daniels
(17:33):
last but not least, he could end up being the
best one, very good athlete, arm talent. I think he
sees it and can process big drop off after him
and Caleb. Here's where I think it gets interesting with
Drake may is everything is a projection and for what
Herbert kind of has become. I don't think he was
viewed that coming out. He is way better than anyone
(17:56):
thought he would be. Were Josh Allen, there were people
if you were betting on Josh Allen you thought he
would be a star. You were getting at you know,
is basically like walking into home plate, you're down a
run or two and you have to hit a home
run to extend the game. You're either gonna strike out
or hit a home run. There was no middle ground
with him. Now. Josh Allen is much more talented in
(18:19):
my opinion than Drake May, but he is in the
mold of like you're either gonna hit one off the
wall here, maybe it won't be a home run, but
you're either getting a double or triple or this is
gonna be a disaster, and those are the riskiest picks.
But part of life is risking it. Like if you
stay in the slow lane your entire life, you were
gonna get fucking lapped.
Speaker 3 (18:40):
You're like, oh, the.
Speaker 2 (18:41):
Mortgage racer too high. I can't afford this. Well you
sure cause if you can't, maybe you'll rent your whole life.
You know, obviously, if you don't have the money, don't
have the money. But how often you hear I wish,
you know, I should have bought then I should There's
always I guy, I wish I would have done this,
Then I should have invested in that stock. Then I've
met a million of those and they're telling the same
(19:01):
story forever, and it never changes now in the NFL,
Like sometimes in real life, if you don't invest in
something whatever, you get more opportunities. You might only get
one in the NFL. So if you're Adam Peters and
you take this and it backfires, it could be a disaster.
It could cost you your one shot as a GM,
especially if it's really ugly. And if you take Drake
(19:23):
May over Jayden Daniels and then Jayden becomes a star,
that's the problem it is. And he knows that, like
that's part of the business. But here's a very interesting
quote on Drake May. Because we only talk about the ceiling.
I say this all the time with comps. It's always like, oh,
this this wide receiver. He reminds me a lot of
Keenan Allen. I see Keenan Allen. You know, I see
(19:46):
some Mike Evans. We're never like you know, this dude
reminds me of like the fourth wide receiver on the
Carolina Panthers. Remember that rotational guy for the New York
Giants two years ago, he was like kind of moved
to the slots sometimes he had thirty catches. That's who
he kind of if you say that in the draft rooms,
like what so you're always compared him. He's got a
little Davante with a little Tyreek speed. It's always like,
(20:08):
you know, he's got a little Herbert meets a little
Josh Allen. You would never be like, you know, he's
got like Cleveland Baker mixed in with a little Vegas
Derek Carr, and he'd be like, oh, don't feel as good.
That's why you always hear like with Jayden Lamar's vis
you know, I mean you don't hear all the scrubs
that couldn't play. I know a lot of people that
(20:31):
look at the ceiling, but you've got to look how
low the floor is. A guy like Drake May has
a lot of room to grow. He's young, he hasn't
played nearly as much football only two years of starting.
May reminds me a lot of Herbert May is Herbert Light.
Take everything Herbert does and make it less they'll be
(20:52):
compared because of the size, but there's no comparison. I
like may but when I see the amount of work
it will take to have him reach potential, we'll be
fired first. I have no problem taking big swings. I
really don't with these. You know, when you're high in
the draft. But the risk is astronomical because the pace
(21:16):
of the pressure has never been higher. The amount that
we all talk about this, the league talks about this,
and ultimately how fast the owner will want to pivot.
What I'm paying one of these quarterbacks, it doesn't hinder
me from moving on. It doesn't stop me from cutting them,
trading them, getting rid of them for nothing. We have
(21:37):
seen it over and over. Now all these quarterbacks have failed.
We're on other teams very very fast, in recent memory,
very very fast. I mean Baker Mayfield's on US fourteen.
Sam Darnold's on US fourteen. Think about that. All those
guys from the Zack Wilson draft. Other teams, they're begging
someone to give them a seventh round pick for Zack
Wilson right now, begging. No one will do it because
(21:59):
no one wants for seven eight million dollars as their
backup quarterback, they're gonna have to eat some money ultimately
unload them. And when you talk about potential, which is
what you have to do in a draft, it's one
thing with a position player, it's another thing with quarterback.
And even if you have Marcus Mariota, Jacobe Burssett or
whatever on your roster, if you're not good early on,
(22:23):
there is not a fucking soul that watches your team
that is gonna want to watch that guy play. And
they will scream and scream and scream, and you can
say all you want, we don't listen to the outside noise.
We're insulated. Your owner does. He listens to sports talk
radio podcasts and watched the shows every single day because
(22:43):
if I own a team, I would too, and so
would you. So the coaches may not, even though a
lot of them do. The gms definitely do a little
bit more. But the owner is the only one that matters.
And when his fans are screaming, I can't watch this
night year retread backup quarterback anymore. Throw the young guy in,
(23:04):
which is the right move. But when you get these
huge projects, it can derail you immediately, it really can. Listen,
the masters is going on right now. Some of the
guys crushing it right now in golf. I was talking
to a buddy who played at Oregon who now works Robbie,
who works for Adidas, and we were talking about how
(23:26):
good Max Homa was in college. When Max Hooma left college,
he was the national champion. He's currently as I turned
the TV off, he was four under actually just boged.
Maybe he's three hundred. Max Homa sucked as a pro,
was holding on for dear life. He didn't pop till
his late twenties, early thirties. He got eaten alive. Now,
(23:50):
golf's a little different than football, but we're seeing it
happen in football, Guys who aren't quite ready at that
position get destroyed. Where when I was a in like
the nineties, you got several years, you got time to learn.
Sit hell, even Carson Palmer got a year. It's why
what happened to Patrick Mahomes. We will not see that anymore.
(24:11):
That just is not happening because nobody wants to watch it.
And now with the money the owner, let's just play
the kid. Though. You get a huge project like Drake
May and it's clearly like pretty big project. Better be
ready to go. Here's what I say about Justin Herbert,
who I liked a lot. Now, I'd never thought he
(24:31):
would be this good. It's like a four year starter
in college at Oregon who was competing in Rose Bulls.
Herbert was a starting quarterback for a team that literally
won the Rose Bull. I mean he'd been in a
lot of big games at a really I would say,
high profile school. So comparing him to Drake May, I
(24:52):
just putting those guys in the same sentence. I don't
love that. Here's the thing with JJ McCarthy and the
same thing with May. I don't love McCarthy. He's a winner,
he has all the intangibles, but I wouldn't say I
like his arm, and I think the athlete is a
little overrated. He reminds me of Daniel Jones. You know
(25:15):
what's funny is when I looked at the numbers for
and I've been saying this for a while now of
JJ McCarthy, his numbers kind of reminded me of Alex Smith. Now,
he's a little shorter, I think he's got a little
bit better armed than but I think he's in a
similar mold. Well, there's nothing wrong the Alex Smith, the
Chief guy. The last year with the Niners guy and
before he got injured in Washington. Guy guy was a
(25:37):
good player. You could make the playoffs with that guy.
But he was the best case version of that guy.
The comp for Daniel Jones coming out of school was
Alex Smith. That was his comp and what happened to
Daniel Jones he simply wasn't good enough. Now in defense
of him, Alex Smith finally got Jim Harbaugh and Andy Reid,
(26:00):
which is clearly better than any situation he's been in,
even with Brian Abele. So to maximize a guy like
Alex you need everything great around him, especially on defense,
and a great head coach. So to me, JJ McCarthy
has had that in college. He's been the version what
Alex was with the Chiefs and with the forty nine
(26:22):
ers they had an elite defense, have like seventy five
guys they're gonna get drafted on the defensive side alone,
and had six offensive linemen. Go to the combine NFL
running back and just an NFL head coach. So I'm
not anti JJ McCarthy. I think he's a fascinating prospect,
but I think when you compare him, and you think
about drafting him really high a lot like Drake may
(26:43):
You're just thinking of the best case scenario. And unlike Drake,
who has more physical skills, his floor is just not
as high. And when it doesn't go well for Daniel Jones,
that type player Alex Smith earlier in his career, it
doesn't get any uglier. That's as ugly as it gets.
So I think this JJ McCarthy situation is gonna be
(27:05):
fascinating now he goes to Minnesota, like the situation a
lot more offensive weapons, good head coach, floor is a
good defensive coach. But if he goes to the Patriots,
I'm out last, but not least on Pennix. Here's an
assistant coach. Pennix is better now than may or McCarthy
for NFL football. He can read defenses, throw accurately, is quick,
(27:27):
and has strong enough arm. He's more of a sure
thing to play in the NFL. But I'm not sure
where he goes from here because he doesn't have the
same upside. It's a great line. It's not about where
you are today. If you had no if you were
playing NFL football next week and it was a winner,
get in game. For the Commanders, they would be better
off with Michael Pennix than any of the other guys.
(27:50):
But like we talked about, you're drafting not even for
this rookie contract. You're drafting ultimately to try to give
him two hundred and fifty three hundred million dollars in
four or five years. And that's the thing that concerns
teams with Michael PENNOCKX. He's older, the injury history, no
one can argue. When you watch him play beside Caleb.
He throws the ball and he's more accurate, and his
deep ball is better than everybody. I mean, it's just
(28:11):
speaks for itself. But there are other factors in here.
And here's a scout. I think bo Nis is much
better in Pennix. I disagree there. Pennix is serviceable and
a different player when he's playing on schedule, but he's
not a good foot at athlete. I worry about him
when he gets traffick in his face. The fascinating thing
to me with Pennix is if he goes to the
(28:32):
right spot, good offensive line, good coach. I think he
can be good. But the one thing that you saw
in that Michigan game, which people could go in middle cooff.
You once put him number two in the draft. You've pivoted.
No one's arguing that he's not a really good player,
but his speed at his pro day. He never really
did that and played like that right now? Can he?
(28:54):
We saw CJ. Stroud much better playmaker in the pros
than we saw in college. We knew he was great
in the pocket. I know Pennix is great in the
pocket elite. Michael Penis is an NFL caliber pocket passer,
but you get hit a lot in the NFL, I
don't care who you are. And when Michael Penicks played
NFL level teams Oregon Michigan, both times, I thought he
(29:16):
wasn't going to finish the game, and that concerns me.
I like the player a lot, but I think it
is fair to be concerned. And it's pretty clear like
he's not going ahead of those three guys. But I
think he has the chance to have the most fascinating career.
I would be stunned if he had a long career,
but I could see if he gets in the right situation,
having a fantastic couple of years because he's kind of
(29:36):
ready made very old school. It doesn't happen as much anymore.
He's quarterbacks man, fascinating times. One thing around the draft
that I am always very leery of and throw a
big red flag over is when someone goes one one
(30:00):
hundred percent. It's one thing if you're the first or
second drafting team. Right, so and so team is going
to take Caleb Williams at number two, They're gonna take
Nick Bosas. Like, okay, I totally My mom can figure
that out. When you start getting farther down the draft
and you go, this team will do whatever it takes
to get this player. I go two things. One, you
(30:20):
have a very leaky front office and that is not
a way to run a draft room. Or two you're
throwing out a lot of bullshit to throw people off
the scent. And I think Minnesota, you got to look
at all their moves, right. They had Kirk Cousins, who
I think a lot of people go. They let him walk,
he did tear his achilles, and he wanted a lot
(30:41):
of money. Now. They had been thinking about it last
year when they had offered the forty nine ers, and
the forty nine ers didn't want the trade because they
trusted that brock Perdy could come back, but they clearly
were moving were open to moving on from Cousins a
year before, so it had been on top of mind.
Probably an easy decision once he tears his achilles, even
though they went back and forth with his agent, but
(31:03):
everybody and their mother just goes. The Minnesota Vikings want
JJ McCarthy. I even saw Rick Spielman, who was on
this podcast, said I don't know where he said it,
but he basically said that I expect them to do
a dramatic overpay to get JJ McCarthy. If you told
me right now that Adam Peters in Washington and Colin
(31:25):
believes they're going to take Jayden Daniels. I was told
Drake May, I don't know. I'm expecting them to take
one of those two guys. I honestly don't really give
a shit. I just hope whoever they draft is good
and the team's entertaining. I don't really have a dog,
you know, a horse in this race. I don't care
that much in terms of like, I don't have a
strong opinion on either guys. I'd be nervous drafting either,
(31:46):
but you got to pick one or the other, and
they're eventually going to pick one or the other, but
they're also drafting two, so beside Kayleb Williams, they have
the pick of the litter. Minnesota currently is an eleven,
so if they want to dive into the big time
quarterback mark, they got to trade up really, really high.
Why would you want all these other teams that could
theoretically also like JJ McCarthy to know you love them.
(32:11):
What if it's trying to throw everybody off the scent
of the guy that they actually like. I'm not saying
that's what they're doing, but it would be terrible business
when it is dramatically out of your control. One. You
need teams not only willing to trade, but willing to
accept your offer for a trade and willing to move
down a lot. Right, even the Cardinals are a good example.
(32:35):
Manti Austin Ford when he gave his press conference a
couple weeks ago before the owner's meetings, we are open
for business, come trade. There's a difference when we're open
for business and we're willing to move back a ton
of spots. What if I go from four to six,
get the player I wanted all along at four, and
add a second round pick I'm not even saying the
(32:57):
Giants are willing to make that trade, but I'm open
to everything if I'm the cardinal guy. Right, So when
I see that they're in love with JJ McCarthy, I
just hesitate to truly believe that. You know, I said
this all along with Mac Jones and the forty nine ers.
I believe Kyle Shanahan liked Mac Jones, but anyone with
a brain had to be in his ear, Like, you
(33:19):
can't take a guy with this limited of a skill
set at number three overall. Now, they ultimately drafted a
guy who's even worse than Mac Jones. But totally understand
why they took a huge swing, right Mac Jones. You
draft a guy like Mac Jones or Kenny Pickett in
the top five, you are completely fucked if it doesn't
work out. They're great examples, both of them not on
(33:43):
the team a couple of years later. I just think,
what if Minnesota really likes another player, and honestly, if
you're them. Albert Breer wrote today that Michael Pennix is
a guy, and he said this He kind of was
careful way he worded this is moving up draft boards
because you don't at this time move up draft boards.
(34:05):
You don't go from like a third round or to
a first round or over the last month. But if
you're a guy that people view is like, yeah, we
could see you in the first round. Then I see
at your pro day, I take you to dinner, I
have you, invite you on a thirty visit, we spend
all day with you, and we go, holy shit, that
guy is really really impressive because these guys have been
(34:26):
making the rounds, and when you're a quarterback, the standard
is so high for when you make a team's visit,
right you're meeting not just with the head coach, the coordinators,
the general managers, the executives, with the owner. You kind
of need universal sign off when you make that visit.
Now historically tends to be a little, you know, pretty
(34:50):
high level group of people play in that position. But
what if you're in Minnesota, would you rather just sit
at eleven, take pennix, and then use that other pick
I don't know on a player, or would you take
eleven twenty three and next year's one to try.
Speaker 4 (35:07):
To move up into the top five to get a
guy who's kind of, let's face it, his ceiling is
stronger armed Alex Smith, So I just I hesitate to
write and Sharpie Minnesota is going to mortgage the farm
for this specific player, because if that is true, I'd argue,
even if they pull it off, it was pretty reckless
(35:29):
to kind of let everyone know. And maybe it's just
as simple as everyone put, you know, the pieces to
the puzzle together, but you don't. You can't put the
pieces of the puzzle together without some of those pieces
leaking out of the operation. Even Kyle Shanahan had met Yeah,
I really like mac Jones, and obviously that was.
Speaker 2 (35:48):
Being leaked out before that draft. It's why a lot
of people had mocked and said that mac Jones was
going to be his pick, because you couldn't keep your
mouth shut. And I think anytime around this year you
got to be very careful about telling people what you
are inclined to do. Like it's not hard to go. Yeah,
the Chargers probably could use a wide receiver, right, that's
(36:09):
probably a position that if they get stuck at five,
not crazy to think who they should draft, But I
think it's healthy that I don't know out of the
three guys, let's say all three of them are on
the board. And I tell you right now, one hundred
percent lock the Chargers are gonna pick a wide receiver.
It's not crazy if they picked one of the three,
Like if I told you they picked Roma Dunes, they'd
(36:30):
be like whoa. But ultimately it's not that nuts. Obviously,
if they picked one of the other two guys, Neighbors
or Marvin Harrison, totally, you know, we can envision that,
but I shouldn't have an idea of like they love
this guy, and if you do, at least through the media,
always question that because around this time of year, you
want teams to try to make moves believing you're doing
(36:52):
something when you're actually never gonna do that. So I
just I have Minnesota as just like I struggle to
just assume everything we're reading and hearing is the way
it's going to go. One they have like a Wall
Street guy running their operation, and this should kind of
be his cup of tea, right working the media, leaking
things out. So just just keep an eye on that group,
(37:15):
trying to keep people off the scent. As a kid,
obviously you were a highly touted amateur player, played at
a high level in college. But to get to go
to Augusta, you know, three before you became professionally, became normal.
(37:37):
What was that like driving down Magnolia Lane. You go
with your parents, you go with, you.
Speaker 1 (37:43):
Go with Yeah. So I remember winning my semifinal match
and that got me into Augusta, Like I knew that,
and that was the first thing I thought of when
I won. It wasn't even you know, because I actually
won the US Junior and I had a chance to
do something only a Tiger has done, which is when
the US Junior in the US sammetur So I was
on the prespice of that. But soon as I got
(38:04):
as soon as I won my match, I knew, like,
oh I'm in Augusta. Like it was wild. It was
a wild just moment. And then we went and played.
As soon as you get that invite, as soon as
you know you're in the tournament, you're allowed to play
kind of as much as you want. You just have
to play with a member, so you can go call
the club and say hey, I'd like to go, and
they'll they'll help you out and they set you up.
(38:26):
And so yeah, driving down for the first time with
no fans, no one there, just like I don't even
know what day it was, might have been a Monday
or something like that, and it's just eerily quiet. It's
just you see, you're feeling everything that you've seen on
TV and now you're experiencing it. And some when they
have the old range, it was wild. It was just
(38:48):
such a I mean, it was truly like a dream
come true because everything that was fake is now real
and you're seeing it and experiencing it. And then you
get to see the golf course and in three D right,
you're not seeing it from a one die just from
a flat perspective. You actually get to see the slopes
and feel the slopes and see how the course is
(39:08):
actually and how you're gonna have to play it. It
was really and as an amateur there, I think that's
so special. That is so unique, and that is a
real honor because you really you didn't qualify. You really
had to like I don't see you're not qualifying for
but you're really earning your opportunity to play that. And
there's only like eighty nine guys this year, and sometimes
(39:29):
they've had like low eighties, and so it's really really
hard to get into this event. And so it was
awesome and I felt very proud to be there as
an amateur and play there as long as I.
Speaker 2 (39:39):
Did that round that you played the practice round with
a member, did you approach that just like a normal
round of golf or was like a practice Do you
remember what you shot?
Speaker 1 (39:48):
No? I don't remember. I mean I just was like,
I mean, I was just getting a feel for everything,
and so like the whole course is just slopped, like
every shot you're gonna have, every kind of lie you're
gonna have uphill, downhill side, hilp. I mean, you're just
taking it all in that first time and you've got
to figure out You're just figuring out angles the course
is so angular and how you need to attack certain
(40:09):
pins and everything. So I mean I was hitting I
was kind of like, can I hit another ball here?
And they're super nice, the staff, everybody, And I was
getting tips from the caddies who are there because they've
seen that place for a really long time and that
was fun. The caddies of amazing stories and you can
get a lot of information from them. So I just
was taking it all in that kind of that first
(40:29):
round and experiencing and everything that I could that could
maybe help me in the tournament, even though the course
changes drastically even from Monday of the week to the day,
just to feel it and to understand what's actually going
to happen when you start on Thursday.
Speaker 2 (40:46):
Why is the course so hard?
Speaker 1 (40:48):
It requires your attention on every single shot, right, Like
the dreams are real slow and you have to really
put yourself in position. If you get out of position,
it's really really challenging just to get up and down.
And big numbers can have and really fast there, and
that's one of the things that you have to do.
There is just not three button not bake big numbers.
If you do that, you're going to have your opportunities
for birdies and even eagles. But you just have to
(41:11):
be You just can't take a whole off. You have
to be engaged on every single shot and you can't
get frustrated with the golf course because the wind swirls it.
You do want you do want experience when you're sort
of playing this golf course.
Speaker 2 (41:27):
Did you get nervous as you became a pro? I mean, oh, nine, T, ten, ten, TA, twelve,
T twelve, Are you nervous in the mix or does
it just become like a normal tournament as a professional
after a while.
Speaker 1 (41:43):
I think you're nervous the first time, but I think
the more you play it, the more comfortable you get.
It doesn't change a lot. The weather obviously is a
little you know, We've seen like Zach Johnson play there
and it was freezing cold, right and it changed the
course drastically. But it is such a it's such a
comforting feeling for a pro to play there because they
(42:03):
only allow one person per player on the range. Like
if you want your swing instructor, then he can come up.
If you want your psychology, well then they have to
switch out. If you want your physio, they have to
switch out. So it's a very calm. It's it's strange,
but it's a very calm place.
Speaker 2 (42:18):
And is that not normal at a even a US
Open or a British You can.
Speaker 1 (42:22):
Play you want in the US, Like it's your family,
your cousins, your friends, your teachers, their teachers, swing putting
chipping guy, they're all in the range. There's a thousand
people on the range and there's a thousand manufacturers in
media and it's like the great thing about guessay, it's
so like defined and everyone's so respectable of everything, but
(42:43):
it's just such a It really does feel like it's
all about the players and the player experience, and so
everything you're doing that week is sort of wrapped around that.
And it's just like I said, it's eerily calm, and
it just feels like it's all about the golf and
you're just that's what you're there for. And I don't know,
I just always it just was such a relaxing place,
(43:05):
even though you know you're at the Masters, it felt
therapeutic in a wig because it just felt like you
didn't have to deal with a lot of stuff other
than just playing and handling yourself.
Speaker 2 (43:14):
Did you get nervous more there than you did in
other places, or at least all like off the first
tee on Thursday.
Speaker 1 (43:23):
I don't know. I don't think so. I just so happy.
I just enjoyed the experience. It was so cool to
be at Augusta and playing the Masters, these signature holes,
those signature moments. I don't know, I just felt like
I just enjoyed it so much. You know, everything, the
part three contests, the specters, that people, you didn't have
to worry about anything. There was not going to be
(43:43):
any nonsense out there. There's not going to be any
fans yelling or It's like everything was just controlled and
it just it felt easy in a way that all
you have to do is just try to play your
best and play really good golf.
Speaker 2 (43:55):
Is it harder because I was looking at some of
the scores. Besides, if you take the fall Masters out,
it's kind of hovered between ten to thirteen under which
in this modern golf I don't want to say it's
US Open, but it's not. These guys aren't shooting twenty
four under par.
Speaker 1 (44:10):
Well.
Speaker 2 (44:10):
What makes it so difficult, like, is just the slopes?
Is it your approach shots, which clearly is a big
deal at Augusta. Is there a flat lie out there?
Speaker 1 (44:18):
There's not many. There's not many flat lies. I think
what they do well there is they adjust year to year, right,
and they have a lot of control over that. Golfers like,
they have all the control that golf courst you'd ever want,
so they're able to adjust it at some length here,
move this back. You know, they have a great sense
(44:40):
and great feel of it because they host the same
course the same place over and over and over again.
So that helps a ton. If you're going to a
different golf course like the USGA does PGA. There's no rhythm,
there's no feel to what's happening and how the weather's
going to play into the golf course. So they can
they can hit the gas on the greens when they want,
which is obviously really challenging, right, Like you don't see
(45:02):
great putters seem to win at Agussa, even though putting
is so important. You just have to not three putts.
You just have to not be a disaster on the greens.
The course is all about ball striking, and now it's
becoming much more of a bomber's golf burst where you
really got to hit an eye and far to carry.
There's a bunch of carries there over these little mounds
(45:22):
on a lot of these part fours where if you
do carry it and then it's going to bounce on
a flat surface other than bouncing into into a hill
which then equates to twenty five thirty yards and so
and like I said, they can still hit the gas
on these greens into where if you can where you
hit your second shots, it's I mean, we're talking about
(45:44):
two to three yard gaps like this is I've got
to land it in this area or it's going to
hit a hill, roll down and I want to be
struggling for part. But if I hit it on top
of there and it rolls over, I've got a great
look for Berdie. So it's just the difference between where
you hit your approach shots on a lot of these holes.
Is a different between a five foot putt and a
thirty thirty foot are open over a four foot mount.
Speaker 2 (46:06):
Would the average like five to ten handicap have any
freaking shot on those greens because they always say they're
like the hardest greens in America.
Speaker 1 (46:14):
No, they would have no. Like I mean, I'm coaching
in high school here in the kids three poot all
the time, Like that's like five ten handicappers are going
to three pot a lot.
Speaker 2 (46:23):
And is it because they're like concrete, they're just super
fast or they're undulated? Is the combination of it all?
Speaker 1 (46:29):
A combination of it all? They're super fast, which is
one thing. But the greens, like the course sits like
on a hill, like from the first T eight you know,
first T eighteen green, it just goes like this down
to twelve, Like it's steep, steep, steep, and that's how
the whole golf course. It's oddly in a bowl when
everything goes down to twelve, and so even when you
(46:49):
think you have a flat putt, it's still going to
break a lot, right, And so amateurs just aren't used
to playing three four five feet a break and having
the ball and just thinking that I've got a twelve
foot and I just need to too, buddy. I just
need to get it around there and give it a chance,
but not be super aggressive. There's not many aggressive putts
(47:10):
you have. There's not really many flat greens. Twelve irons
about the flattest green you're going to have there. But
it's you know, you can get at it at certain
times and certainly give you that opportunity. I guess that
which is so great. There's a stretch in that back
nine on Sunday right where you can get to that
golf course and you have to make hey when you
when you have that opportunity.
Speaker 2 (47:31):
Did you ever have a chance on these on your
top tens to like legitimately win on the weekend?
Speaker 1 (47:38):
Yeah? I think, I mean I think I had it.
Teeing off on Sunday, I had a chance to win.
I needed to play really well, and I just didn't
get it done. But I felt like I was there,
and you have those opportunities in the background Sunday, and
you got to take advantage of those. I mean the
best I remember playing with Freddy one year and that
was my favorite time with Freddy. Sunday at the mass
(48:00):
was just so cool. And so he's the best guy
to play with in a stressful environment because he is
he's sort of just like this, you know in your read, calm,
confident coach on the sideline, just doing his thing, and
and and and Freddie has just this way about him
that nothing seems too big.
Speaker 2 (48:18):
You know, you played in the era before we dive
into some of the favorites and just what we're thinking
this weekend in peak Tiger, I mean when you first
got on only two thousands, and obviously once Phil got
over the hump and became an all time great starting
with Tiger. I mean, you see him to day, He's smiley,
He's definitely a different person in his late forties, the
(48:38):
guy you saw. I remember texting with you years ago
when it was like COVID shutdown just watching all these youtubes.
I mean, how much better was he than everyone else,
Like do you what's your when you when I when
you close your eyes and think like your Tiger story
being around and playing with him in his heyday. What
stands out to you about Tiger was.
Speaker 1 (49:01):
It's crazy to think, but he was the best at everything.
Like there was like he was winning tournaments, playing okay,
and that's guy's whole dream and their life was to
win a PJA Tour event. And it wasn't like he
was toying with anybody. He just was like he was
just on a different planet of work, ethic and desire
(49:23):
and what he was willing to do to win. But
like his like he was the best driver of the
golf while he was the best putter, and the short
game was ridiculous, and what you have to do is
hit your long iron as well. And we'd never seen
anybody be able to hit three irons as far and
as high as he could. And so when you go
to Augusta and you go to these major type places
(49:45):
and he's just playing a different type of golf when
he's hitting these five and long irons straight up in
the air and just landing it perfectly soft on the
green with incredible distance control. But when you take that
and you take that to really tough golf courses, the
advantage is just you know, what we've learned is that
ball striking, iron play is what's going to separate you
(50:05):
from being a really very great player. And it takes
you from course to course, country to country, it doesn't
really matter. And the way he was able to do
those things and hit those irons, and the way the
sound it made, the lack of it just looked and felt,
and the way he can shape it just slightly, it
was unlike anything we've ever seen before. Guys would struggle
(50:28):
to just get up and to win events, and it
was just like he was. He was such an a
rhythm and just toying with everybody else a lot of
the time.
Speaker 2 (50:36):
You know, the thing I've always said about him, and listen,
obviously he's had a crazy life, I mean an insane life,
but he said it today, like I just love golf. Yes,
to be as rich as he is, to be as
injured as he is, it's like to still want to
some grind. It's I just think ninety nine percent of
(50:58):
people in his shoes, with his resume, his money, his
now family, I just don't think would continue to do it,
and I just admire his drive, which, like you said,
was on the forefront for twenty years for guys like
you just watching it was it was unprecedented. I don't
know if we'll ever quite see anything like it again.
Speaker 1 (51:18):
No, it's a like you said, it's a pure joy
to the simplest things. I think he loves. He loves
just the feeling, you know, of a pure strike, the
high draw, the manipulation that hit it left and right,
the feeling like of hitting a perfect wedge from like
(51:38):
sixty yards and watching it spin, and the control that
he has. He loves the simplicity of the things. It's
sort of like, Brady, you can't like Thursdays and Saturdays
and Sundays. You got to like hitting balls at home
at like seven am and just feeling the way the
ball rolls off the putter. Like, he loves all those things.
It's his passion, it's his drive, it's his work ethic.
(51:59):
He just loves all those things. And I don't think
people even understand what he has to do now just
to play around the golf. I mean it's hours of
warm up and work and then it's post work, and
he's willing to do it, which is crazy. He's almost
fifty and he's been doing and I mean the last
what he wanted twenty nineteen, so like the last five
(52:19):
years of his it's been such a struggle for him
just to get on a golf course and play four rounds.
And it doesn't phase him. He's just like, well, this
is what I have to do. I have to add
this hour of stretching and inkle mobility work. That's what
I'm going to do. Do I have to wake him
at four, okay, three, whatever, it doesn't matter because I
want to be on that first d competing because that's
what he loves.
Speaker 4 (52:42):
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Speaker 2 (01:31):
What is happening in My People? John Middlecoff Three and
Out podcast, a little Saturday edition of Best of Welcome
to the Weekend, Dj Jon, I wanted to hit on
or I did this week what the Vikings are really doing?
Are they fooling us with their quote unquote love of
(01:53):
JJ McCarthy. Hunter Mahan joined the show this week. He's
won six times on the PGA Tour, played in the
Masters ten, finished in the top ten of the Masters
three different times, so he has a lot of experience
given his thoughts on the golf course and just playing
with peak Tiger in the two thousands. The Commanders are
(02:14):
bringing in all the quarterbacks this upcoming week. Some thoughts
there on their last round of interviews as well as
kind of scatting reports on all the guys, so we
will hit on that. All was a fun week of shows,
All up on iTunes, Spotify as well as the YouTube
page has all of our content and the volume coming
(02:37):
fast and furious, so make sure you go check that out.
Appreciate everyone that listens, And before we dive in to
the week, I wanted to tell you about my good
friends at game Time. Grab your iPhone, grab your iPad,
and download a little app called game Time. They're the
official ticketing app. If you want to go to a game,
if you want to go to a concert, if you
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the app now, promo code John John. I was thinking
about it today. I'm thirty nine years old and I've
(03:41):
had one interview in my entire life. Not that I've
interviewed somebody, I'm saying interviewed for a job. It happened
to me one time. Fresno State didn't even have to
interview anything in radio or obviously podcasts, zero interviews. I
interviewed for the Eagles and I flew back there and
you boy got the job that day. But that's the
(04:04):
only interview I ever had. So when it comes to
what these players are going through, a lot of people listening,
I've had a lot of friends and know a lot
of people that work in more corporate structures, And when
you interview for bigger jobs, it's usually not a one
time thing. When I interviewed for the Eagles, now, granted
you know big ego boost, I got it that day.
(04:24):
It was a twenty five thousand dollars job. Now, there
were several other people there interviewing for the same position,
but there were also other people interviewing for higher level jobs,
and it was a multiple step process. Me got a
couple recommendations, interviewed well, met a couple people, smiled, they
liked my personality. That's not usual. That's not typical for
(04:44):
big jobs. Entry level jobs much easier to pivot if
the guy fails. But how many of you listening right
now did have interviewed for a big upgrade position with
a company? To leave a company, if you are the
person interviewing for high, high price jobs, whatever, that may be,
whether that's going from eighty grand to one hundred and
fifty grand, whether that's a three hundred and four one
(05:06):
thousand dollar job, whatever it may be. Usually it's not
just a one off scenario. They usually interview you multiple times.
There's initial meetings, there may be a secondary meeting, and
maybe there's a final like out to dinner, meet with
the board of directors or whatever you may be doing.
That's part of business when you are investing a lot
(05:27):
of money, and for most companies, even multi million dollar companies,
hiring someone making hundreds of thousands of dollars is a big,
you know, big hire. Well, in the NFL, the biggest
hire you can make, obviously is a high draft pick,
right because not only are you investing a ton of
(05:48):
like what we consider draft capital at first, second, or
third round pick, you're making that pick in hopes to
one day pay that guy hundreds of millions of dollars
because of what they did after the last CBA. Whoever
gets drafted second will make thirty five to forty million
dollars guaranteed. But when I make that pick, as Adam Peters,
(06:11):
just like the Bears, when they inevitably take Caleb Williams.
In my mind, I'm already thinking about the second contract.
You're not drafting them thinking worst case scenario. Let's face it,
you're thinking best case scenario. It's why Caleb Williams gets
compared to Patrick Mahomes and not random quarterbacks throughout the league. Right,
we'll get into some of the scattering reports. The Michael
(06:34):
Vicks and the Justin Herbert's are getting thrown around. Not
Daniel Jones. Well maybe, and we'll get into that. But
my point is that all the commanders are bringing these
three guys in, and I saw a lot of people
that cover the NFL as like, if you haven't figured
it out by now, what the hell are you doing.
Of course, when you bring a guy in or multiple
(06:55):
people in for final interviews, you are leaning some way.
We're all human beings. You're gonna like one guy maybe
more than the other. No different when you see these
coaching searches usually starts out, let's just pick up number
ten people. You interview ten guys, and then you cut
it down to your final three. Well, guess what when
(07:15):
they go to the final three interviews, they probably are
leaning a certain way going into it. Now that can change.
The defining thing for all these guys, obviously is their
ability to play the game, and that has been defined
over several years playing football. Drake May multiple year starter,
Jaden Daniels several year starter, and JJ McCarthy multiple year starter.
(07:36):
Tape speaks for itself, and we all know as quarterbacks
the intangible aspect of it all is very, very important.
Not many fucking losers excel at the quarterback position, right.
It's usually smart, hardworking, driven human beings. And if you
are gonna be a little immature and maybe not have
the best work ethic, you've got to have elite physical
(07:57):
skills i e. Ben Roethlisberg. But typically the guys that grind,
the guys that work the hardest, the guys who are
the best leaders, are the best players at that position. Consistently.
There are some outliers. Brett Favre's work ethic wasn't as
great as some. He also had the greatest arm of
all time. The other quarterbacks in his generation, Steve Young,
(08:18):
Troy Aikman checked all the boxes off the field right.
Aaron Rodgers probably could get away with some stuff. Tom
Brady and Peyton Manning couldn't because of his physical gifts,
but I would imagine even if Aaron Rodgers' work ethic
didn't equal Peyton and Tom's, it was still pretty damn good.
So everyone going, I can't believe they're bringing these guys
(08:38):
in for like one final round. You can't. I would
take an educated guess that they are leaning a certain
way with this pick and the player that they're gonna pick.
But wouldn't you want to get one final sit down
with them all to go? Are we really sure? Because
let's face it, when you make this selection, just like
anyone that makes a selection, no matter how excited you are.
(09:01):
And these videos in a couple weeks are going to
go viral. People hugging people, chest bumping people, saying f yeah,
hell yeah, and huge high fives. It's awesome. It's one
of the coolest parts about Draft Night. Remember last year
Dan Campbell and and his GM Brad Holmes, when they
traded back and they still got Gibbs the running back.
(09:22):
They went nuts because they were as confident as humanly possible.
But you still don't know, right, You're only as confident
as you can be when the pick. But we've seen
all the time people be confident in the guy not
turn out to be really good, so you better be
as confident. And making a pick at quarterback is way
more complicated, right, because even if I miss on a
(09:42):
wide receiver, well maybe he's not our number one. Can
the guy be a number two? Even when I miss
on defensive lineman. Yeah, he may not be a star,
but he still gets to rotate in. If my quarterback
sucks and this guy isn't the one, let's face it,
we're screwed. It's just that simple. It's a major problem.
In couple of years, he will not be on the
team and we'll be looking for another guy. Me, Colin
(10:04):
and I talk about it all the time. The timeline
of getting three or four years at that position is done.
You get like two and a half max. Some guys
get one and a half. Trey Lance got four starts.
They're like, get out of here. You're not good enough.
Zach Wilson they knew after a year two, but because
they brought in Aaron Rodgers, he got like, uh, kind
(10:25):
of an extra year that they clearly regretted. Mac Jones
got three fields got three and really they didn't. Mac
Jones we knew early on in the season was not
going to be back and Justin Field's the moment they
were getting the number one overall pick around. I would
say November was done in the Chicago Bear. That's how
fast it happens. So I have no problem, just like
(10:46):
any human being hiring, if you're a small business and
you're gonna hire someone that's going to play an important
role in your company, a CFO, a CEO, a marketing manager, whatever,
doing several interviews with multiple people, and that's what the
commanders are doing. I would bring all these guys in. Now,
I don't know you, we don't have all the details.
(11:07):
Are they all coming together? Is one coming Monday, one
coming Tuesday, one coming Wednesday, which I would imagine is
probably what ends up happening, because be a little awkward
if they're all like the steakhouse on a Tuesday night together.
But I think this is the right move and I
don't think this is weird at all. I wanted to
dive into some scouting reports in this article that I
(11:29):
found in the Athletic. Basically, shit, I didn't write down
the guy's name. My bad. I'm not trying to just
aggregate your stuff without giving you credit. But it's on
the athletic It's basically breaks down the top quarterbacks and
it gets a bunch of unnamed scouts, assistant coaches, GMS,
scouting directors. I love this type stuff. The media is like,
put your name on it. It's like, guys, they're not
(11:50):
allowed to put their name on it. That's not how
it works. But we yearn for this content. And let's
start with Jayden Daniels, who in this article was universally
considered the number two quarterback as in Fantasyland. You guys
QB two, right, Caleb's QB one. It's pointless to even
talk about any of his quotes. He's going number one.
We don't even need to waste any time. Like he's
(12:11):
gonna be on. The Bears will evaluate him as a
player whenever the game start. But I think all these
other players, what's fascinating is like, which one are you
gonna choose? Part of last year with Bryce and CJ
was like, listen, the Panthers had a choice, right, and
they chose the wrong guy. The Dolphins once upon a
time had the choice Herbert or Tua. They took Tua,
(12:31):
even though in fairness to them at the time it
wasn't as crazy as its age. Dolphins fans were like,
middle goff, what the fuck are you talking about Tua playoffs?
Not a soul in the league who would take Tua
over Herbert. But this is not about those guys. This
is about Jaden Daniels. And one thing stood out to
me in this little blurb from a scout. Jayden probably
(12:52):
made more progress than any quarterback coming out in the
last five or six years. He can anticipate, make all
the throws and is an explosive at athlete. As a scrambler.
He's not Lamar or Vic, but his ability to process
pre snap has improved as a passer, which is hard
to do in one year. Here's what I found interesting.
We know he started working with virtual reality this season.
(13:16):
He got those VR reps and that's when he took off.
Is it I honestly, maybe I've missed it. I didn't
see this story. I remember years ago when Stanford started
doing it with their quarterbacks. How you could take these
mental reps right? Historically have always been in a classroom
watching film with your position coach, your coordinator, your head coach,
(13:37):
going over what you should do. But I don't know
about you. When I was in school, and they would
do power points. It was harder to focus. I never
learned like that caw poly We learned by doing some
of you are can you know, take that information and
then take it back to the field. I do think
this middle ground of you're not actually on the field,
(13:58):
but this VR is just gonna be. And I would
imagine a lot of teams now you know, participate with
virtual reality in their operation. It's kind of genius. I mean,
we all learn differently. Some guys can only learn from
the field. Some guys can learn in the classroom and
go to the field and need one rep and they're good.
(14:19):
And most people are somewhere in the middle, a little
bit of everything. I think that's how I am, That's
how you are, Like most people aren't one way or
the other. It's kind of hearing it over and over,
repping it out in whatever you're doing. Practice the ten
thousand hours. And he's a guy, little bit of a
late bloomer, got around really good players, a really good coach,
and excelled. Now here's the thing. Lamar Jackson's the best
(14:41):
running quarterback I've ever seen in terms of explosion, in
terms of instincts, and in terms of not getting hits,
like he can avoid these hits. Michael Vick was probably
the most explosive runner we've ever seen, but he could
not avoid hits. He actually like yearned to hit people,
which is a problem when you're actually kind of small.
Michael's not the biggest guy, and you get hurt a lot.
(15:02):
I think Jaden is just a really good athletic quarterback.
But that's where it gets back to the concerns of
the weight. But if you don't have concerns on anticipatory throws,
layering throws, processing information, like if the commanders feel good
about that, like this guy's gonna go number two, overall
some more stuff. Jaden is quarterback too. He can start
(15:23):
immediately better learn to protect himself, or he'll be in
the cold tub. Often. That's the thing, that's the Michael
Vick thing. If you can't avoid the hits or seek
the hits out, you are done in this league. I
don't care if you're Cam Newton. Cam Newton was out
of the league in his early thirties. Sometimes you see
these highlights of Cam Newton early on in Carolina or
(15:43):
at Auburn, you're like, is this the greatest athlete factoring
in the size I've ever seen in the position, but
just taking a pounding, taking a pounding, taking a pounding
fucking wears on you. I don't care if like the
you know, me and Joe Greens and the John Lynn
and those type players are out of the league. It's
still a vicious game and these guys are running faster
(16:06):
than ever, So that to me is a huge concern.
Even if you feel good about the processing and stuff,
can you teach that now? I've always believed that you
kind of are who you are as an instinctive player
at whatever you do. It's hard to completely change and
take that out. You're either fearless, or you kind of hesitate,
and or you're just naturally avoiding. Frank Gore is a
(16:29):
running back, was elite and he played for fifty years
because he never, you know, went out of his way
for contact. He avoided it, and that helped the longevity
of his career. When you're banging, banging, banging banging, it's
just brutal. Listen, I grew up, you know, I didn't
grow up on a ranch, but I was going to
(16:49):
the ranch a lot as a kid. Wear and tear
ranch miles on trucks is a lot different than me
driving my tahoe around town. So the wear and tear
of getting blasted all the time as a quarterback we're
running back is a reason so many running backs fall
off a cliff. So the reason Cam Newton fall off
a cliff. So I think you got to try it,
and there's no way to know. You just have to
(17:10):
get a feel for the guy. If you think he
can change a little bit, if it was him trying
to prove something, if we can, well, that's just kind
of how he is when he's instinctively playing. To me,
that's probably the biggest concern, and that's where the weight
comes in people like him. I mean that's pretty clear.
And listen, I remember just throwing on the YouTube on
Malik Neighbors. I'm like, how good is this guy? And
it's hard not to just be wowed. With Jayden Daniels
(17:33):
last but not least, he could end up being the
best one, very good athlete, arm talent. I think he
sees it and can process big drop off after him
and Caleb. Here's where I think it gets interesting with
Drake may is everything is a projection and for what
Herbert kind of has become. I don't think he was
viewed that coming out. He is way better than anyone
(17:56):
thought he would be. Were Josh Allen, there were people
if you were betting on Josh Allen you thought he
would be a star. You were getting at you know,
is basically like walking into home plate, you're down a
run or two and you have to hit a home
run to extend the game. You're either gonna strike out
or hit a home run. There was no middle ground
with him. Now. Josh Allen is much more talented in
(18:19):
my opinion than Drake May, but he is in the
mold of like you're either gonna hit one off the
wall here, maybe it won't be a home run, but
you're either getting a double or triple or this is
gonna be a disaster, and those are the riskiest picks.
But part of life is risking it. Like if you
stay in the slow lane your entire life, you were
gonna get fucking lapped.
Speaker 3 (18:40):
You're like, oh, the.
Speaker 2 (18:41):
Mortgage racer too high. I can't afford this. Well you
sure cause if you can't, maybe you'll rent your whole life.
You know, obviously, if you don't have the money, don't
have the money. But how often you hear I wish,
you know, I should have bought then I should There's
always I guy, I wish I would have done this,
Then I should have invested in that stock. Then I've
met a million of those and they're telling the same
(19:01):
story forever, and it never changes now in the NFL,
Like sometimes in real life, if you don't invest in
something whatever, you get more opportunities. You might only get
one in the NFL. So if you're Adam Peters and
you take this and it backfires, it could be a disaster.
It could cost you your one shot as a GM,
especially if it's really ugly. And if you take Drake
(19:23):
May over Jayden Daniels and then Jayden becomes a star,
that's the problem it is. And he knows that, like
that's part of the business. But here's a very interesting
quote on Drake May. Because we only talk about the ceiling.
I say this all the time with comps. It's always like, oh,
this this wide receiver. He reminds me a lot of
Keenan Allen. I see Keenan Allen. You know, I see
(19:46):
some Mike Evans. We're never like you know, this dude
reminds me of like the fourth wide receiver on the
Carolina Panthers. Remember that rotational guy for the New York
Giants two years ago, he was like kind of moved
to the slots sometimes he had thirty catches. That's who
he kind of if you say that in the draft rooms,
like what so you're always compared him. He's got a
little Davante with a little Tyreek speed. It's always like,
(20:08):
you know, he's got a little Herbert meets a little
Josh Allen. You would never be like, you know, he's
got like Cleveland Baker mixed in with a little Vegas
Derek Carr, and he'd be like, oh, don't feel as good.
That's why you always hear like with Jayden Lamar's vis
you know, I mean you don't hear all the scrubs
that couldn't play. I know a lot of people that
(20:31):
look at the ceiling, but you've got to look how
low the floor is. A guy like Drake May has
a lot of room to grow. He's young, he hasn't
played nearly as much football only two years of starting.
May reminds me a lot of Herbert May is Herbert Light.
Take everything Herbert does and make it less they'll be
(20:52):
compared because of the size, but there's no comparison. I
like may but when I see the amount of work
it will take to have him reach potential, we'll be
fired first. I have no problem taking big swings. I
really don't with these. You know, when you're high in
the draft. But the risk is astronomical because the pace
(21:16):
of the pressure has never been higher. The amount that
we all talk about this, the league talks about this,
and ultimately how fast the owner will want to pivot.
What I'm paying one of these quarterbacks, it doesn't hinder
me from moving on. It doesn't stop me from cutting them,
trading them, getting rid of them for nothing. We have
(21:37):
seen it over and over. Now all these quarterbacks have failed.
We're on other teams very very fast, in recent memory,
very very fast. I mean Baker Mayfield's on US fourteen.
Sam Darnold's on US fourteen. Think about that. All those
guys from the Zack Wilson draft. Other teams, they're begging
someone to give them a seventh round pick for Zack
Wilson right now, begging. No one will do it because
(21:59):
no one wants for seven eight million dollars as their
backup quarterback, they're gonna have to eat some money ultimately
unload them. And when you talk about potential, which is
what you have to do in a draft, it's one
thing with a position player, it's another thing with quarterback.
And even if you have Marcus Mariota, Jacobe Burssett or
whatever on your roster, if you're not good early on,
(22:23):
there is not a fucking soul that watches your team
that is gonna want to watch that guy play. And
they will scream and scream and scream, and you can
say all you want, we don't listen to the outside noise.
We're insulated. Your owner does. He listens to sports talk
radio podcasts and watched the shows every single day because
(22:43):
if I own a team, I would too, and so
would you. So the coaches may not, even though a
lot of them do. The gms definitely do a little
bit more. But the owner is the only one that matters.
And when his fans are screaming, I can't watch this
night year retread backup quarterback anymore. Throw the young guy in,
(23:04):
which is the right move. But when you get these
huge projects, it can derail you immediately, it really can. Listen,
the masters is going on right now. Some of the
guys crushing it right now in golf. I was talking
to a buddy who played at Oregon who now works Robbie,
who works for Adidas, and we were talking about how
(23:26):
good Max Homa was in college. When Max Hooma left college,
he was the national champion. He's currently as I turned
the TV off, he was four under actually just boged.
Maybe he's three hundred. Max Homa sucked as a pro,
was holding on for dear life. He didn't pop till
his late twenties, early thirties. He got eaten alive. Now,
(23:50):
golf's a little different than football, but we're seeing it
happen in football, Guys who aren't quite ready at that
position get destroyed. Where when I was a in like
the nineties, you got several years, you got time to learn.
Sit hell, even Carson Palmer got a year. It's why
what happened to Patrick Mahomes. We will not see that anymore.
(24:11):
That just is not happening because nobody wants to watch it.
And now with the money the owner, let's just play
the kid. Though. You get a huge project like Drake
May and it's clearly like pretty big project. Better be
ready to go. Here's what I say about Justin Herbert,
who I liked a lot. Now, I'd never thought he
(24:31):
would be this good. It's like a four year starter
in college at Oregon who was competing in Rose Bulls.
Herbert was a starting quarterback for a team that literally
won the Rose Bull. I mean he'd been in a
lot of big games at a really I would say,
high profile school. So comparing him to Drake May, I
(24:52):
just putting those guys in the same sentence. I don't
love that. Here's the thing with JJ McCarthy and the
same thing with May. I don't love McCarthy. He's a winner,
he has all the intangibles, but I wouldn't say I
like his arm, and I think the athlete is a
little overrated. He reminds me of Daniel Jones. You know
(25:15):
what's funny is when I looked at the numbers for
and I've been saying this for a while now of
JJ McCarthy, his numbers kind of reminded me of Alex Smith. Now,
he's a little shorter, I think he's got a little
bit better armed than but I think he's in a
similar mold. Well, there's nothing wrong the Alex Smith, the
Chief guy. The last year with the Niners guy and
before he got injured in Washington. Guy guy was a
(25:37):
good player. You could make the playoffs with that guy.
But he was the best case version of that guy.
The comp for Daniel Jones coming out of school was
Alex Smith. That was his comp and what happened to
Daniel Jones he simply wasn't good enough. Now in defense
of him, Alex Smith finally got Jim Harbaugh and Andy Reid,
(26:00):
which is clearly better than any situation he's been in,
even with Brian Abele. So to maximize a guy like
Alex you need everything great around him, especially on defense,
and a great head coach. So to me, JJ McCarthy
has had that in college. He's been the version what
Alex was with the Chiefs and with the forty nine
(26:22):
ers they had an elite defense, have like seventy five
guys they're gonna get drafted on the defensive side alone,
and had six offensive linemen. Go to the combine NFL
running back and just an NFL head coach. So I'm
not anti JJ McCarthy. I think he's a fascinating prospect,
but I think when you compare him, and you think
about drafting him really high a lot like Drake may
(26:43):
You're just thinking of the best case scenario. And unlike Drake,
who has more physical skills, his floor is just not
as high. And when it doesn't go well for Daniel Jones,
that type player Alex Smith earlier in his career, it
doesn't get any uglier. That's as ugly as it gets.
So I think this JJ McCarthy situation is gonna be
(27:05):
fascinating now he goes to Minnesota, like the situation a
lot more offensive weapons, good head coach, floor is a
good defensive coach. But if he goes to the Patriots,
I'm out last, but not least on Pennix. Here's an
assistant coach. Pennix is better now than may or McCarthy
for NFL football. He can read defenses, throw accurately, is quick,
(27:27):
and has strong enough arm. He's more of a sure
thing to play in the NFL. But I'm not sure
where he goes from here because he doesn't have the
same upside. It's a great line. It's not about where
you are today. If you had no if you were
playing NFL football next week and it was a winner,
get in game. For the Commanders, they would be better
off with Michael Pennix than any of the other guys.
(27:50):
But like we talked about, you're drafting not even for
this rookie contract. You're drafting ultimately to try to give
him two hundred and fifty three hundred million dollars in
four or five years. And that's the thing that concerns
teams with Michael PENNOCKX. He's older, the injury history, no
one can argue. When you watch him play beside Caleb.
He throws the ball and he's more accurate, and his
deep ball is better than everybody. I mean, it's just
(28:11):
speaks for itself. But there are other factors in here.
And here's a scout. I think bo Nis is much
better in Pennix. I disagree there. Pennix is serviceable and
a different player when he's playing on schedule, but he's
not a good foot at athlete. I worry about him
when he gets traffick in his face. The fascinating thing
to me with Pennix is if he goes to the
(28:32):
right spot, good offensive line, good coach. I think he
can be good. But the one thing that you saw
in that Michigan game, which people could go in middle cooff.
You once put him number two in the draft. You've pivoted.
No one's arguing that he's not a really good player,
but his speed at his pro day. He never really
did that and played like that right now? Can he?
(28:54):
We saw CJ. Stroud much better playmaker in the pros
than we saw in college. We knew he was great
in the pocket. I know Pennix is great in the
pocket elite. Michael Penis is an NFL caliber pocket passer,
but you get hit a lot in the NFL, I
don't care who you are. And when Michael Penicks played
NFL level teams Oregon Michigan, both times, I thought he
(29:16):
wasn't going to finish the game, and that concerns me.
I like the player a lot, but I think it
is fair to be concerned. And it's pretty clear like
he's not going ahead of those three guys. But I
think he has the chance to have the most fascinating career.
I would be stunned if he had a long career,
but I could see if he gets in the right situation,
having a fantastic couple of years because he's kind of
(29:36):
ready made very old school. It doesn't happen as much anymore.
He's quarterbacks man, fascinating times. One thing around the draft
that I am always very leery of and throw a
big red flag over is when someone goes one one
(30:00):
hundred percent. It's one thing if you're the first or
second drafting team. Right, so and so team is going
to take Caleb Williams at number two, They're gonna take
Nick Bosas. Like, okay, I totally My mom can figure
that out. When you start getting farther down the draft
and you go, this team will do whatever it takes
to get this player. I go two things. One, you
(30:20):
have a very leaky front office and that is not
a way to run a draft room. Or two you're
throwing out a lot of bullshit to throw people off
the scent. And I think Minnesota, you got to look
at all their moves, right. They had Kirk Cousins, who
I think a lot of people go. They let him walk,
he did tear his achilles, and he wanted a lot
(30:41):
of money. Now. They had been thinking about it last
year when they had offered the forty nine ers, and
the forty nine ers didn't want the trade because they
trusted that brock Perdy could come back, but they clearly
were moving were open to moving on from Cousins a
year before, so it had been on top of mind.
Probably an easy decision once he tears his achilles, even
though they went back and forth with his agent, but
(31:03):
everybody and their mother just goes. The Minnesota Vikings want
JJ McCarthy. I even saw Rick Spielman, who was on
this podcast, said I don't know where he said it,
but he basically said that I expect them to do
a dramatic overpay to get JJ McCarthy. If you told
me right now that Adam Peters in Washington and Colin
(31:25):
believes they're going to take Jayden Daniels. I was told
Drake May, I don't know. I'm expecting them to take
one of those two guys. I honestly don't really give
a shit. I just hope whoever they draft is good
and the team's entertaining. I don't really have a dog,
you know, a horse in this race. I don't care
that much in terms of like, I don't have a
strong opinion on either guys. I'd be nervous drafting either,
(31:46):
but you got to pick one or the other, and
they're eventually going to pick one or the other, but
they're also drafting two, so beside Kayleb Williams, they have
the pick of the litter. Minnesota currently is an eleven,
so if they want to dive into the big time
quarterback mark, they got to trade up really, really high.
Why would you want all these other teams that could
theoretically also like JJ McCarthy to know you love them.
(32:11):
What if it's trying to throw everybody off the scent
of the guy that they actually like. I'm not saying
that's what they're doing, but it would be terrible business
when it is dramatically out of your control. One. You
need teams not only willing to trade, but willing to
accept your offer for a trade and willing to move
down a lot. Right, even the Cardinals are a good example.
(32:35):
Manti Austin Ford when he gave his press conference a
couple weeks ago before the owner's meetings, we are open
for business, come trade. There's a difference when we're open
for business and we're willing to move back a ton
of spots. What if I go from four to six,
get the player I wanted all along at four, and
add a second round pick I'm not even saying the
(32:57):
Giants are willing to make that trade, but I'm open
to everything if I'm the cardinal guy. Right, So when
I see that they're in love with JJ McCarthy, I
just hesitate to truly believe that. You know, I said
this all along with Mac Jones and the forty nine ers.
I believe Kyle Shanahan liked Mac Jones, but anyone with
a brain had to be in his ear, Like, you
(33:19):
can't take a guy with this limited of a skill
set at number three overall. Now, they ultimately drafted a
guy who's even worse than Mac Jones. But totally understand
why they took a huge swing, right Mac Jones. You
draft a guy like Mac Jones or Kenny Pickett in
the top five, you are completely fucked if it doesn't
work out. They're great examples, both of them not on
(33:43):
the team a couple of years later. I just think,
what if Minnesota really likes another player, and honestly, if
you're them. Albert Breer wrote today that Michael Pennix is
a guy, and he said this He kind of was
careful way he worded this is moving up draft boards
because you don't at this time move up draft boards.
(34:05):
You don't go from like a third round or to
a first round or over the last month. But if
you're a guy that people view is like, yeah, we
could see you in the first round. Then I see
at your pro day, I take you to dinner, I
have you, invite you on a thirty visit, we spend
all day with you, and we go, holy shit, that
guy is really really impressive because these guys have been
(34:26):
making the rounds, and when you're a quarterback, the standard
is so high for when you make a team's visit,
right you're meeting not just with the head coach, the coordinators,
the general managers, the executives, with the owner. You kind
of need universal sign off when you make that visit.
Now historically tends to be a little, you know, pretty
(34:50):
high level group of people play in that position. But
what if you're in Minnesota, would you rather just sit
at eleven, take pennix, and then use that other pick
I don't know on a player, or would you take
eleven twenty three and next year's one to try.
Speaker 4 (35:07):
To move up into the top five to get a
guy who's kind of, let's face it, his ceiling is
stronger armed Alex Smith, So I just I hesitate to
write and Sharpie Minnesota is going to mortgage the farm
for this specific player, because if that is true, I'd argue,
even if they pull it off, it was pretty reckless
(35:29):
to kind of let everyone know. And maybe it's just
as simple as everyone put, you know, the pieces to
the puzzle together, but you don't. You can't put the
pieces of the puzzle together without some of those pieces
leaking out of the operation. Even Kyle Shanahan had met Yeah,
I really like mac Jones, and obviously that was.
Speaker 2 (35:48):
Being leaked out before that draft. It's why a lot
of people had mocked and said that mac Jones was
going to be his pick, because you couldn't keep your
mouth shut. And I think anytime around this year you
got to be very careful about telling people what you
are inclined to do. Like it's not hard to go. Yeah,
the Chargers probably could use a wide receiver, right, that's
(36:09):
probably a position that if they get stuck at five,
not crazy to think who they should draft, But I
think it's healthy that I don't know out of the
three guys, let's say all three of them are on
the board. And I tell you right now, one hundred
percent lock the Chargers are gonna pick a wide receiver.
It's not crazy if they picked one of the three,
Like if I told you they picked Roma Dunes, they'd
(36:30):
be like whoa. But ultimately it's not that nuts. Obviously,
if they picked one of the other two guys, Neighbors
or Marvin Harrison, totally, you know, we can envision that,
but I shouldn't have an idea of like they love
this guy, and if you do, at least through the media,
always question that because around this time of year, you
want teams to try to make moves believing you're doing
(36:52):
something when you're actually never gonna do that. So I
just I have Minnesota as just like I struggle to
just assume everything we're reading and hearing is the way
it's going to go. One they have like a Wall
Street guy running their operation, and this should kind of
be his cup of tea, right working the media, leaking
things out. So just just keep an eye on that group,
(37:15):
trying to keep people off the scent. As a kid,
obviously you were a highly touted amateur player, played at
a high level in college. But to get to go
to Augusta, you know, three before you became professionally, became normal.
(37:37):
What was that like driving down Magnolia Lane. You go
with your parents, you go with, you.
Speaker 1 (37:43):
Go with Yeah. So I remember winning my semifinal match
and that got me into Augusta, Like I knew that,
and that was the first thing I thought of when
I won. It wasn't even you know, because I actually
won the US Junior and I had a chance to
do something only a Tiger has done, which is when
the US Junior in the US sammetur So I was
on the prespice of that. But soon as I got
(38:04):
as soon as I won my match, I knew, like,
oh I'm in Augusta. Like it was wild. It was
a wild just moment. And then we went and played.
As soon as you get that invite, as soon as
you know you're in the tournament, you're allowed to play
kind of as much as you want. You just have
to play with a member, so you can go call
the club and say hey, I'd like to go, and
they'll they'll help you out and they set you up.
(38:26):
And so yeah, driving down for the first time with
no fans, no one there, just like I don't even
know what day it was, might have been a Monday
or something like that, and it's just eerily quiet. It's
just you see, you're feeling everything that you've seen on
TV and now you're experiencing it. And some when they
have the old range, it was wild. It was just
(38:48):
such a I mean, it was truly like a dream
come true because everything that was fake is now real
and you're seeing it and experiencing it. And then you
get to see the golf course and in three D right,
you're not seeing it from a one die just from
a flat perspective. You actually get to see the slopes
and feel the slopes and see how the course is
(39:08):
actually and how you're gonna have to play it. It
was really and as an amateur there, I think that's
so special. That is so unique, and that is a
real honor because you really you didn't qualify. You really
had to like I don't see you're not qualifying for
but you're really earning your opportunity to play that. And
there's only like eighty nine guys this year, and sometimes
(39:29):
they've had like low eighties, and so it's really really
hard to get into this event. And so it was
awesome and I felt very proud to be there as
an amateur and play there as long as I.
Speaker 2 (39:39):
Did that round that you played the practice round with
a member, did you approach that just like a normal
round of golf or was like a practice Do you
remember what you shot?
Speaker 1 (39:48):
No? I don't remember. I mean I just was like,
I mean, I was just getting a feel for everything,
and so like the whole course is just slopped, like
every shot you're gonna have, every kind of lie you're
gonna have uphill, downhill side, hilp. I mean, you're just
taking it all in that first time and you've got
to figure out You're just figuring out angles the course
is so angular and how you need to attack certain
(40:09):
pins and everything. So I mean I was hitting I
was kind of like, can I hit another ball here?
And they're super nice, the staff, everybody, And I was
getting tips from the caddies who are there because they've
seen that place for a really long time and that
was fun. The caddies of amazing stories and you can
get a lot of information from them. So I just
was taking it all in that kind of that first
(40:29):
round and experiencing and everything that I could that could
maybe help me in the tournament, even though the course
changes drastically even from Monday of the week to the day,
just to feel it and to understand what's actually going
to happen when you start on Thursday.
Speaker 2 (40:46):
Why is the course so hard?
Speaker 1 (40:48):
It requires your attention on every single shot, right, Like
the dreams are real slow and you have to really
put yourself in position. If you get out of position,
it's really really challenging just to get up and down.
And big numbers can have and really fast there, and
that's one of the things that you have to do.
There is just not three button not bake big numbers.
If you do that, you're going to have your opportunities
for birdies and even eagles. But you just have to
(41:11):
be You just can't take a whole off. You have
to be engaged on every single shot and you can't
get frustrated with the golf course because the wind swirls it.
You do want you do want experience when you're sort
of playing this golf course.
Speaker 2 (41:27):
Did you get nervous as you became a pro? I mean, oh, nine, T, ten, ten, TA, twelve,
T twelve, Are you nervous in the mix or does
it just become like a normal tournament as a professional
after a while.
Speaker 1 (41:43):
I think you're nervous the first time, but I think
the more you play it, the more comfortable you get.
It doesn't change a lot. The weather obviously is a
little you know, We've seen like Zach Johnson play there
and it was freezing cold, right and it changed the
course drastically. But it is such a it's such a
comforting feeling for a pro to play there because they
(42:03):
only allow one person per player on the range. Like
if you want your swing instructor, then he can come up.
If you want your psychology, well then they have to
switch out. If you want your physio, they have to
switch out. So it's a very calm. It's it's strange,
but it's a very calm place.
Speaker 2 (42:18):
And is that not normal at a even a US
Open or a British You can.
Speaker 1 (42:22):
Play you want in the US, Like it's your family,
your cousins, your friends, your teachers, their teachers, swing putting
chipping guy, they're all in the range. There's a thousand
people on the range and there's a thousand manufacturers in
media and it's like the great thing about guessay, it's
so like defined and everyone's so respectable of everything, but
(42:43):
it's just such a It really does feel like it's
all about the players and the player experience, and so
everything you're doing that week is sort of wrapped around that.
And it's just like I said, it's eerily calm, and
it just feels like it's all about the golf and
you're just that's what you're there for. And I don't know,
I just always it just was such a relaxing place,
(43:05):
even though you know you're at the Masters, it felt
therapeutic in a wig because it just felt like you
didn't have to deal with a lot of stuff other
than just playing and handling yourself.
Speaker 2 (43:14):
Did you get nervous more there than you did in
other places, or at least all like off the first
tee on Thursday.
Speaker 1 (43:23):
I don't know. I don't think so. I just so happy.
I just enjoyed the experience. It was so cool to
be at Augusta and playing the Masters, these signature holes,
those signature moments. I don't know, I just felt like
I just enjoyed it so much. You know, everything, the
part three contests, the specters, that people, you didn't have
to worry about anything. There was not going to be
(43:43):
any nonsense out there. There's not going to be any
fans yelling or It's like everything was just controlled and
it just it felt easy in a way that all
you have to do is just try to play your
best and play really good golf.
Speaker 2 (43:55):
Is it harder because I was looking at some of
the scores. Besides, if you take the fall Masters out,
it's kind of hovered between ten to thirteen under which
in this modern golf I don't want to say it's
US Open, but it's not. These guys aren't shooting twenty
four under par.
Speaker 1 (44:10):
Well.
Speaker 2 (44:10):
What makes it so difficult, like, is just the slopes?
Is it your approach shots, which clearly is a big
deal at Augusta. Is there a flat lie out there?
Speaker 1 (44:18):
There's not many. There's not many flat lies. I think
what they do well there is they adjust year to year, right,
and they have a lot of control over that. Golfers like,
they have all the control that golf courst you'd ever want,
so they're able to adjust it at some length here,
move this back. You know, they have a great sense
(44:40):
and great feel of it because they host the same
course the same place over and over and over again.
So that helps a ton. If you're going to a
different golf course like the USGA does PGA. There's no rhythm,
there's no feel to what's happening and how the weather's
going to play into the golf course. So they can
they can hit the gas on the greens when they want,
which is obviously really challenging, right, Like you don't see
(45:02):
great putters seem to win at Agussa, even though putting
is so important. You just have to not three putts.
You just have to not be a disaster on the greens.
The course is all about ball striking, and now it's
becoming much more of a bomber's golf burst where you
really got to hit an eye and far to carry.
There's a bunch of carries there over these little mounds
(45:22):
on a lot of these part fours where if you
do carry it and then it's going to bounce on
a flat surface other than bouncing into into a hill
which then equates to twenty five thirty yards and so
and like I said, they can still hit the gas
on these greens into where if you can where you
hit your second shots, it's I mean, we're talking about
(45:44):
two to three yard gaps like this is I've got
to land it in this area or it's going to
hit a hill, roll down and I want to be
struggling for part. But if I hit it on top
of there and it rolls over, I've got a great
look for Berdie. So it's just the difference between where
you hit your approach shots on a lot of these holes.
Is a different between a five foot putt and a
thirty thirty foot are open over a four foot mount.
Speaker 2 (46:06):
Would the average like five to ten handicap have any
freaking shot on those greens because they always say they're
like the hardest greens in America.
Speaker 1 (46:14):
No, they would have no. Like I mean, I'm coaching
in high school here in the kids three poot all
the time, Like that's like five ten handicappers are going
to three pot a lot.
Speaker 2 (46:23):
And is it because they're like concrete, they're just super
fast or they're undulated? Is the combination of it all?
Speaker 1 (46:29):
A combination of it all? They're super fast, which is
one thing. But the greens, like the course sits like
on a hill, like from the first T eight you know,
first T eighteen green, it just goes like this down
to twelve, Like it's steep, steep, steep, and that's how
the whole golf course. It's oddly in a bowl when
everything goes down to twelve, and so even when you
(46:49):
think you have a flat putt, it's still going to
break a lot, right, And so amateurs just aren't used
to playing three four five feet a break and having
the ball and just thinking that I've got a twelve
foot and I just need to too, buddy. I just
need to get it around there and give it a chance,
but not be super aggressive. There's not many aggressive putts
(47:10):
you have. There's not really many flat greens. Twelve irons
about the flattest green you're going to have there. But
it's you know, you can get at it at certain
times and certainly give you that opportunity. I guess that
which is so great. There's a stretch in that back
nine on Sunday right where you can get to that
golf course and you have to make hey when you
when you have that opportunity.
Speaker 2 (47:31):
Did you ever have a chance on these on your
top tens to like legitimately win on the weekend?
Speaker 1 (47:38):
Yeah? I think, I mean I think I had it.
Teeing off on Sunday, I had a chance to win.
I needed to play really well, and I just didn't
get it done. But I felt like I was there,
and you have those opportunities in the background Sunday, and
you got to take advantage of those. I mean the
best I remember playing with Freddy one year and that
was my favorite time with Freddy. Sunday at the mass
(48:00):
was just so cool. And so he's the best guy
to play with in a stressful environment because he is
he's sort of just like this, you know in your read, calm,
confident coach on the sideline, just doing his thing, and
and and and Freddie has just this way about him
that nothing seems too big.
Speaker 2 (48:18):
You know, you played in the era before we dive
into some of the favorites and just what we're thinking
this weekend in peak Tiger, I mean when you first
got on only two thousands, and obviously once Phil got
over the hump and became an all time great starting
with Tiger. I mean, you see him to day, He's smiley,
He's definitely a different person in his late forties, the
(48:38):
guy you saw. I remember texting with you years ago
when it was like COVID shutdown just watching all these youtubes.
I mean, how much better was he than everyone else,
Like do you what's your when you when I when
you close your eyes and think like your Tiger story
being around and playing with him in his heyday. What
stands out to you about Tiger was.
Speaker 1 (49:01):
It's crazy to think, but he was the best at everything.
Like there was like he was winning tournaments, playing okay,
and that's guy's whole dream and their life was to
win a PJA Tour event. And it wasn't like he
was toying with anybody. He just was like he was
just on a different planet of work, ethic and desire
(49:23):
and what he was willing to do to win. But
like his like he was the best driver of the
golf while he was the best putter, and the short
game was ridiculous, and what you have to do is
hit your long iron as well. And we'd never seen
anybody be able to hit three irons as far and
as high as he could. And so when you go
to Augusta and you go to these major type places
(49:45):
and he's just playing a different type of golf when
he's hitting these five and long irons straight up in
the air and just landing it perfectly soft on the
green with incredible distance control. But when you take that
and you take that to really tough golf courses, the
advantage is just you know, what we've learned is that
ball striking, iron play is what's going to separate you
(50:05):
from being a really very great player. And it takes
you from course to course, country to country, it doesn't
really matter. And the way he was able to do
those things and hit those irons, and the way the
sound it made, the lack of it just looked and felt,
and the way he can shape it just slightly, it
was unlike anything we've ever seen before. Guys would struggle
(50:28):
to just get up and to win events, and it
was just like he was. He was such an a
rhythm and just toying with everybody else a lot of
the time.
Speaker 2 (50:36):
You know, the thing I've always said about him, and listen,
obviously he's had a crazy life, I mean an insane life,
but he said it today, like I just love golf. Yes,
to be as rich as he is, to be as
injured as he is, it's like to still want to
some grind. It's I just think ninety nine percent of
(50:58):
people in his shoes, with his resume, his money, his
now family, I just don't think would continue to do it,
and I just admire his drive, which, like you said,
was on the forefront for twenty years for guys like
you just watching it was it was unprecedented. I don't
know if we'll ever quite see anything like it again.
Speaker 1 (51:18):
No, it's a like you said, it's a pure joy
to the simplest things. I think he loves. He loves
just the feeling, you know, of a pure strike, the
high draw, the manipulation that hit it left and right,
the feeling like of hitting a perfect wedge from like
(51:38):
sixty yards and watching it spin, and the control that
he has. He loves the simplicity of the things. It's
sort of like, Brady, you can't like Thursdays and Saturdays
and Sundays. You got to like hitting balls at home
at like seven am and just feeling the way the
ball rolls off the putter. Like, he loves all those things.
It's his passion, it's his drive, it's his work ethic.
(51:59):
He just loves all those things. And I don't think
people even understand what he has to do now just
to play around the golf. I mean it's hours of
warm up and work and then it's post work, and
he's willing to do it, which is crazy. He's almost
fifty and he's been doing and I mean the last
what he wanted twenty nineteen, so like the last five
(52:19):
years of his it's been such a struggle for him
just to get on a golf course and play four rounds.
And it doesn't phase him. He's just like, well, this
is what I have to do. I have to add
this hour of stretching and inkle mobility work. That's what
I'm going to do. Do I have to wake him
at four, okay, three, whatever, it doesn't matter because I
want to be on that first d competing because that's
what he loves.
Speaker 4 (52:42):
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