August 28, 2024 • 59 mins
John dives into cut-down day by talking about what goes on inside the building and how it's a hard day for both the players and the coaches. He takes you inside the mind of the player when they are on the bubble and what happens if you end up getting cut. Next, John reacts to the news that Travis and Jason Kelce are getting PAID for their podcast, and he gives you his three college football takes.
Later, John answers your questions in this episode's mailbag segment.
7:28 - Roster cuts
26:25 - The Kelce Brothers
34:34 - Three College Football takes
40:35 - Mailbag
Follow John on Twitter, Instagram and YouTube for the latest. Check out Gametime - the fastest growing ticketing app in the US, and the official ticketing app of 3 & Out and GoLow - for tickets to all of your favorite NFL, NBA, NHL, NCAA teams. Concert and comedy show tickets, too. Go to Gametime now to create an account, download the app and use code JOHN for $20 off your first purchase. #Volume #Herd
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
The volume Ben Hungary versus in college football. Well, we
finally get a taste this weekend. Don't miss any of
the action. Jump in at DraftKings Sportsbook. It's a small
but mighty slate of games for Week zero, including a
big matchup in Ireland. This is going to be DraftKings'
(00:21):
biggest college football season to date. Enjoy the rye now
all the way through the expanded playoffs, plus all newbies
getting into the college spirit. Here's something extra special new
draftking customers, bet just five bucks to get two hundred
in bonus bets. Instantly score big with DraftKings all college
football season long. Download the DraftKings Sportsbook gap now and
(00:46):
use the code John. That's code JHN for new customers
to get two hundred in bonus bets when you bet
just five bucks only on DraftKings.
Speaker 2 (00:56):
Crown is Yours gambling problem called one eight hundred gambler
In New York call eight seven seven eight hope and Y,
or text hope and Y four six seven three six
nine In Connecticut. Help is available for problem gambling. Call
eight eight eight seven eight nine seven seven seven seven
or visit CCPG dot org. Please play responsibly on behalf
of Boothill Casino in a resorting Kansas twenty one and
over plus agent eligibility varies by jurisdiction, Void and Ontario.
(01:19):
Bonus bets expire one hundred and sixty eight hours after
issueins four. Additional terms and responsible gaming resources see DKNNG,
dot co, slash ft ball.
Speaker 1 (01:37):
What is up? Everybody? John Middlecoff three and Out podcasts.
Back at it again. Hopefully everyone's doing well, not as
well as some of these guys get cut, but a
lot of them get to go to the practice squad.
So the game plan today is we will go over
every fifty three man roster guy by guy. Just kidding.
(01:59):
We're not gonna do that, but do have some thoughts
just on the day, how things transpire, and just some
big picture thoughts with how crazy it is to me
how fast guys get replaced. You know, former second and
third round picks two and three years in just get
kicked to the side because the six rounder beats them out,
(02:20):
because an undrafted free agent beats them out because they're
just not good enough, and it just happens at rapid speed.
So we'll discuss some of that. The Kelsey Brothers get
one hundred plus million dollars for the podcast. Incredible you
can get a hundred million dollars once a week podcast
(02:41):
props to the two Hall of famers. A couple college
football thoughts as well. We're gonna have a big college
football preview tomorrow, a big college football preview with John
Cazano and Darry Noka. One covers Oregon, the other in
the Big Ten and the SEC. So we will do
that on Thirdday. Probably nothing on Fugazi Friday, long weekend.
(03:03):
Take a deep breath before we really hit the ground
running with football. You can find us on YouTube. All
of our contents up there. You obviously if you listen
on Collins feed, make sure you subscribe to three and
out Feet. Appreciate everyone that has. And it's kind of
the game plan. So we've had podcasts all week, had
a gambling one with Stucky on Monday. I think me
(03:24):
and Colin will do something for next Tuesday. The game
plan right now is to do some sort of reaction
to lsu USC, which I would imagine a lot of
people are gonna be watching because the five million people
watch Week zero kick off at nine am Pacific, so
I can't even imagine Sunday night primetime in Vegas. LSU
(03:46):
USC a game link and wanted out of so you better.
I think he's in a little trouble. I have a
quick thought on USC coming up later on the podcast,
and also a little Middlecoff mailbag at John Middlecoff at
John middlecof is the Instagram fire in those dms. Get
your questions answered on the show. But first I gotta
(04:07):
tell you I'm really torn on going to a college
football game. It's hard for me to go to games
because my business is talking on Sunday and I gotta
be here or I gotta be able to watch every
football game on Sunday, even Saturday a little bit now
as college football becomes way bigger, but I gotta do it.
(04:29):
I gotta go to one of these games, and I'm
leaning Texas Oklahoma. Obviously there are quote unquote bigger, you know,
cooler games to a night game at LSU, Bama, Georgia,
you know, Ohio State, Michigan's a little cold for me.
But I need the ability to travel in and out
and I can get back here Sunday morning before kickoff.
(04:49):
So if you want to do that, watch your NFL
team go to a college football game. Maybe go to
a different state and watch something. Hell, you want to
get to Vegas if you live on the West coast
lsu USC Sunday Night Football cannot wait? Why got you covered?
Because game Time the official ticketing ap of this podcast.
Just take the guesswork out of buying tickets. Come on, guys,
(05:10):
download the game Time app right now, create an account
and use the code John for twenty dollars off your
first purchase. Terms of playing again, create an account. Redeem
the code Joagen for twenty dollars off down in the
game Time app. Today last minute tickets, lowest price is guaranteed.
Today is obviously a massive, massive day. Four teams and
(05:31):
the future of your roster heading in to week one. Clearly,
all the famous players in the league aren't really associated
with today, right, I mean the biggest like oh, James
Bradberry made the Eagles. But all the guys that we
really talk about consistently starting in a week have nothing
(05:51):
to do with today, Like Howie Roseman doesn't need to
get on the phone and call Lane Johnson and AJ Brown, right,
Like Dak Prescott didn't get a phone call all the day.
So today's about the bottom of your roster, and guys
that are fighting for their jobs. And I've talked about
this before and I'm still amazed to see it today.
(06:11):
A lot of industries and many of you work for companies,
especially if you work in big corporations where a lot
of people can get by and never get noticed, you know,
middle management, you know, especially in corporate America, some of
these Fortune five hundred companies. If the stock's doing well
and the economy is doing well, you get these guys
making two, three, four hundred thousand dollars. You're like, what
(06:34):
the hell is this guy doing? That is not the
way football works. You get exposed, and you get exposed fast.
And obviously when you make a decent amount of money,
you know there's a magnifying glass on you if you
start playing poorly. It's why when you see big layoffs
like at some of these companies, what why has that
(06:54):
usually happen? It's usually in recessionary times. It's usually when
the stock is plummeting. Right, things go bad. When things
go good, no one pays attention. In the NFL, even
when things go good. If you play poorly, you will
get a circle drawn around you by the GM and
the head coach heading into the offseason. Just the way
of the business. And it's because so much cheap labor
(07:17):
comes into the sport every single year. Right, we'll talk
about the Rams. They kept five undrafted free agents. That
means five guys not even making a total of a
million dollars. Now, over the next couple of days, one
of those guys could get cut, but I think it's
fair to say at minimum four of those guys probably
are going to be on the fifty three come week one.
(07:40):
And that's not the case. You know, in most of
our businesses, right, you don't have plug and play people
that you can put at very very important spots. That
happens in football, and it's why everyone's kind of on
eggshells once training camp starts, because you know the coaches
are on your ass and they're evaluating you on a
(08:00):
daily that's not just on the practice field, that's in
the meeting. That's how you act, that's how you treat
people like g it's all factored in. Now clearly, if
you're good enough, some of that other stuff like means
a little less. But for anyone on the bubble, like
every step you take throughout the day, people are watching
and people are judging. And I've said this forever, the
(08:21):
craziest part about the NFL. If you're a first round pick,
you're on scholarship for a couple of years, partly because
of your money and partly because of just they invested
a lot of capital. Like if I use a sixteenth
pick on you, that was really valuable because I could
have used that sixteenth pick trade back acquire more picks.
That's worth a lot to my organization. And historically, second
(08:44):
day picks are really valuable too, because you can get
high end Pro Bowl Hall of Fame level players for
cheap contracts. It's why teams whenever they talk. I was
watching the Eagles press conference and how he was like,
you know, I know we swapped picks eventually, like we
gave a third, they gave a fifth, but it was
still hard to give up a second day pick for
(09:05):
a former first round pick. But we did it at
the end of the day. And GMS, I don't care
what press conference you're you're listening to or watching, they
always talked about the second day picks because they view
they can get starters making a million bucks, and anytime
you got multiple starters making a million dollars easier to
build your team. But I remember, I'm gonna use this example.
(09:27):
A couple of years ago, I think it was twenty
twenty two. I was at an Ota practice, forty nine
ers and me and Guy Haveerman, who's gonna be working
for Big ten Network. He's calling the organ game this week.
We were on the sideline bullshitting with John Lynch. And
this is the year after they had traded for Trey Lance,
so they didn't have first round picks, so their third
(09:49):
round picks were really really valuable to them. And I
remember we were talking to him how excited he was
about Danny Gray and ty Davis Price. Danny Gray he
was a wide receiver out of SMU, and ty Davis
Price was a running back out of LSU, and they
were excited rightfully. So I remember texting a buddy that
did the area in Texas. He's like, I like Danny
(10:10):
Gray a lot, and he could run, he could stretch
the field, he could break tackles. Ty Davis Price ran,
I think game against Florida had like four hundred yards,
big physical back. It's like, yeah, might be able to
get a guy that'd be your second or third running
back and a guy that could eventually be your third
wide receiver behind Brandon Ayuk and Deebo Samuel. Then within
(10:32):
less than like six months, it was pretty clear that
ty Davis Price had been lapped by their sixth round pick,
Elijah Mitchell, who's now an injured reserve and kind of irrelevant,
and an undrafted free agent, Jordan Mason who's now the
forty nine ers backup, and Danny Gray immediately the seventh
(10:53):
rounder who's kind of coming into his own. Juwan Jennings
kind of became a staple. And what happened two years later?
Ty Davis Price was cut, ended up on the Eagles,
was cut again today, and Danny Gray, you know, a
guy that was drafted ahead of him, I think picked
ninety something was cut today. And every single year, if
(11:15):
you don't establish yourself as like a starter, you are
in trouble. If you are not a first round pick.
The talent that comes in on a yearly basis, in
every round and after the draft with undrafted free agents
are coming for your jobs. And there I really don't
(11:35):
believe there's any industry quite like this now. It pays
a lot, and obviously if you become a good player.
It is extremely lucrative. You can make money on and
off the field. There are a lot of benefits and
we talk a lot about those guys. The majority of
the league, though, is not the Ceedee Lambs, Jamar Chases,
(11:56):
Lamar Jackson's and Patrick Mahomes. The majority of the league
are friends, starters, second stringers, and these new guys getting drafted,
fighting for a job, fighting for that statistic to be
a three four five year NFL pro And there's football
used to be a lot like the Junction Boys Double days.
(12:17):
The physicality, I mean, it was almost like a Buds training.
People would just tap out and get exposed. Now there's
less of that because of the rules the practice schedule.
But if you do not perform in practice and then
you get shot spots in the game and do not perform,
you got no shot. And if you are struggling, there
is going to be somebody who also does not make
(12:40):
a lot of money who will take your spot. So
anyone listening to this right now, and I can't go
through every example because I don't know them all, but
all these fifty three man rosters that were set today,
there are so many former second and third round picks
by that team, who then will go on to somewhere else.
The other thing is, note will ever have more invested
(13:02):
in you when you are a top second or third
round pick than the team that drafted you. After you
are released, you are no longer look the same. Your
career then is on a different trajectory. You're in the
boat of like everyone else. Now, maybe it was a
bad fit, maybe there were injuries. There are a lot
(13:24):
of different variables and circumstances that can derail a guy.
And it does not. We talked about this yesterday. Does
not determine your future. But you are then fighting an
uphill battle because deep down for that team, when you're
a former second or former third round pick, then within
two or three years they cut you. There's a stink
(13:49):
in a red flag that comes along with your name
in the other buildings, somethink's up. This guy can't cut
it now I can rely on. I listened to Howie
talk about trading for Dotson, and he said, we liked
him a lot coming out of college, and we had
done a lot of work. He was a local guy
Penn State, and we felt pretty good about it. But like,
(14:13):
why were they willing to trade him to us, Right,
That's that can be weird, and sometimes you can just
chalk it up to new administration, new team, not their guy.
You definitely feel more comfortable trading for a guy in
that situation, second round pick, a third round pick, whatever,
if it's not their guy. But I was talking to
(14:34):
I texted a bunch of scouts today. I said, I've
watched a decent amount of rams the last couple of years,
and you know, one guy liked a lot, Ernest Jones.
And I'm not breaking down the All twenty two like
I once did, but he sure jumps off the TV
a lot. And I said, why would they trade him?
And a couple of people said, well, they didn't plan
(14:55):
on giving him a contract after this year. He clearly
thinks he's gonna get paid. And two, they like they're
young guys a lot. But that they had to attach
a pick to send him to the Titans was pretty crazy.
Multiple people thought like he would just get traded for
a fourth round pick straight up. But this was a
guy who became a stalwart on their defense over the
(15:17):
last couple of years when they've been good, played a
bunch for the Super Bowl team, obviously had one hundred
plus tackles last year on one of the better teams
in the NFC. It's like he's gone. It's just it
happens that fast, and it's happening all around the league.
You just can't cut it and you'd go, well, the
one thing with Dotson's like, wasn't Adam Peters, wasn't Dan Quinn,
(15:40):
wasn't Cliff Kingsbury's guy, Ernest Jones was less snead and
Sean mcvay's guy, like they drafted him, they started him,
they played with him, and he just kind of never know.
And this it's hard perception becomes reality fast. And this
is not one of those you know, industries that's so
big and you know, you cross pass like you don't
(16:01):
really know that many people. Everyone kind of knows everybody,
and people talk and sometimes they're facts behind it and
sometimes and can kind of be manipulated, and then it
just kind of grows like a high school rumor, you know,
and you don't you know, you play the game of
telephone and you talk to the fifth person who heard
something and the story is kind of weird. And some
of these guys got to shake that and the hard
(16:22):
part is once you kind of get in the practice
squad cycle, as like a fifth round pick that gets
cut and go on the practice squad, you don't have
any stink on you. It's like, well, I just wasn't
good enough to make the team. Happens to a lot
of people. But when you're like a former second round
pick that's been the league three years, it's like, what's
up with that guy? What's going on there? Fair or not?
(16:42):
And it just turns a lot of people out. It
just can you can get your career upside down because
it's like, hey, I couldn't cut it. And it's one
thing to get cut from a good team. It's like, wow,
they won twelve games. It's hard to make the Ravens, right,
It's it's hard to make the Chiefs, and that's a fact.
But when you're a former relatively high pick, it's like
he couldn't make the Panthers like the Giants got them
(17:05):
offensive linemen. It's hard, man, and perception becomes reality really fast.
So today awesome for all the young guys that beat
out dudes, because that's the thing. It's the ultimate meritocracy.
Unless you're a first rounder, then you're kind of on
scholarship or even a second rounder, but for any fourth, fifth, sixth,
seventh rounder or undrafted free agent that made it that
(17:26):
that's really really cool. So I mean the Rams kept
five undrafted free agents on defense three DB's two linebackers.
That's pretty nuts. You know, this team's been pretty good
on defense that shouldn't be a should be a difficult
unit to make, and you just you just never know.
(17:48):
And that's the cool. That's the hard part. I think
when you see whatever you follow with training camp, the
people that the fans want to talk about are the
high picks, and then all of a sudden, that guy's
not playing and some undrafted free agent is. It's why
I never when I was going to training camps a
lot like get super excited about like a third or
(18:09):
fourth rounder, because when the season comes, that guy can
be completely irrelevant. And some undrafted free agent out of
Georgia Tech or out of Washington State is like a
special teamer who becomes a starter by the middle of
the season. It happens all the time. Maybe he's just
more mature, maybe he understands the defense more. Maybe he
(18:29):
just fell because there were some injury concerns or he
ran a slow forty or was injured as senior year.
I mean, there's just the quantity of guys every year
that come into football is unlike these other sports because
even in baseball, a lot of guys get drafted. I
forget how many rounds there is. It used to be
(18:50):
like forty. I think they cut it down a little bit.
Those guys go to the miners and they're just out
of sight, out of mind. Or in football, it's like
ninety guys show up in camp and the eighty seventh
guy by the second or third week can take out
that sixth round or quick And at the end of
the day, you've got to be able to remove the
(19:10):
emotion because and this is the hard part about today,
like no one is tighter with the players than the
individual position coach. And when the individual position coach, he's
gonna have a huge agenda's probably the wrong way to
put it, but a bias, a closeness, emotional attachment that
(19:31):
he can't separate. And that is the job of the GM,
the front office and the head coach is to kind
of remove that emotion because I want my position coaches
fighting for their guys, especially if he truly believes this
guy's a good player, this guy can help us, this
guy should make the team. But if you listen to
every position coach on every team, you'd have seventy five
(19:52):
man rosters. So you got to make tough decisions and
you kind of got to drop the hammer and something else.
How he stayed today in his press conference, like, yeah,
we didn't agree on every player, and then Sirianni chimed in.
He's like, yeah, position coaches get very emotional, as they should,
and that happens all around the NFL. It's why, I mean,
Belichick's the greatest of all time. There is no emotion.
(20:15):
He did not give a shit. It's why the good
coaches really rely on their GM, Like you'd be the
the swing vote here because this position coach is pounding
the table for this guy. It's like, listen, we like him.
We easily can get him to the practice squad. It's
more important for us to not keep this whatever extra
(20:38):
linebacker and keep this extra offensive lineman because this guy's
way more likely to get claimed if we put him
through waivers. And those guys just don't understand that that's
not their job to be a master in that part
of the business. Who's gonna get claimed? How many claimable
offensive linemen? Because that's the one thing. If you have
an offensive lineman they can play a little bit and
(20:58):
has like any fringe fifty three man ability right now,
and you put him on the waivers, I'd say there's
like a ninety percent chance to get clamped. Everyone listening,
whoever your team is. There is not a team in
the league, from the Super Bowl champs to the shittiest
team that can't use offensive linehelp. Obviously, past rushers, no
(21:21):
one's given up anyone, but offensive lineman can be tricky.
It's like, if this guy's showing out in the preseason,
other teams are gonna be interested. Especially it's like, well,
this guy can play guard and tackle. This guy can
play both guard spots, and he played center in college.
This guy started games before at right tackle and left guard.
It's like, damn, but that brings a lot of value
(21:41):
to the table in a league that's just desperate for
offensive linemen. So you got to be very careful about that.
And sometimes, like your DV coach is screaming, it's like, guys,
we can find backup safeties, I can find a slot receiver.
I can find. There's a million running backs out there.
I can't find a guard that if week two I
need to be my starter. Like offensive linemen, we're keeping
(22:04):
an extra one. It's why I think you see teams
like I think I saw the Packers kept ten offensive linemen,
which pretty crazy, But don't blame them. If you're gonna
if you're gonna overkeep a position, you do that. The
(22:25):
Kelsey Brothers one of the greatest meteoric rises you'll ever
see in the media entertainment space. You know, call her
Daddy who Alex Cooper is just a rock star. I mean,
she's made sixty million, she's signed another one hundred and
(22:46):
twenty million. I remember when that show first started and
they were going viral. You know, you had to turn
it on check out what they were doing, and I
mean it was pretty entertaining. At first. You're like, I've
never heard anything quite like this. It was clear right
away that like, this other chick is pretty worthless. And
then she obviously ended up making Sophia with an F
(23:06):
one of the worst business decisions in the history of humanity.
I mean, but I think the cream usually rises and
it was meant to happen that Alex would have kicked
her to the side. She's a solo act, right, and
she became right there next to Joe Rogan as someone
doing ten plus million listens in episode That's fucking insane.
(23:29):
The Kelsey Brothers are this like incredible combo. And let's
face it, they really took off two years ago when
they started their podcast. They ended up both in the
Super Bowl. I mean it was the perfect storm. They
did one podcast a week, right, one of the biggest,
the biggest sports podcast, pardon my take, does three, like
(23:51):
two and a half hour podcasts a week, So the
Kelsey Brothers do one podcast a week. And you know,
I've seen that are well in or two hours, so
it could be wrong. There haven't looked in a long time.
They're both very relatable humans. Travis not as much now
because he's dating the most famous probably female on the planet,
(24:13):
but Jason feels like in every Man. Travis had that
vibe for a long period of time with a little
like coolness factor. They played in the Super Bowl. They
parlayed that into just a lot of people paying attention.
Then Travis started Dayton Taylor Swift. It's just a good
life lesson whenever you get an opportunity to strike while
(24:35):
the iron's hot, you gotta do it because you never know.
There have been a lot of athletes that have tried
podcasting and are trying it currently that are just never
going to be big. And these guys, I think most
people would have thought, when they may, it'll be kind
of entertaining. Send one hundred million dollar contract, now is
it really worth that. I talked to someone in the
(24:56):
space that said, I don't know how any company could
even break even given the quantity of content they're producing. Now,
maybe that changes. Jason's now retired, maybe he starts doing
stuff for Amazon because that's technically the parent company that
owns Wondery. But props to those guys, because that's freaking awesome.
(25:18):
They are. They've been a rocket ship operation. There's no
question about it. And I saw that one thing's going
to be pretty clear. Heading into this weekend with college football,
five million people watch Florida State, Georgia Tech. It was
the most watched. I heard McAfee say this week zero
(25:39):
game in the history of Week zero games. Now, if
I remember correctly, there have been some bad Week zero games,
But regardless, I think college football this year is going
to do massive numbers. My friends of State Bulldogs play
Michigan on Saturday night NBC. I'm on a text chain
(26:03):
with a bunch of guys that live in Fresne. A
couple guys played there, and I said, I hope everyone
realizes there will be more eyeballs on this game than
any game Fresne State has ever played, and it will
not even be close. And Fresne's played Wisconsin, Tennessee, Ohio State,
Nebraska played big team USC. They have played big games
(26:24):
for decades. In the amount of people, They're gonna turn
that thing on and turn on these games this weekend,
the next couple of weekends, LSU USC on Sunday night.
It might not do an NFL number like twenty twenty
five million people that typically watch Today Night football, but
I bet it breaks a record. And listen, people ask
(26:46):
me all the time, like do you play fantasy? And
it's like, I never really got into fantasy. I respect
it and I know how big it is, but I gamble.
That's kind of what I do. And clearly, now with
the ability for more people to dabble in that space
and I'm not I get turned off a little bit
by all these media guys talking about gambling, like have
you really been gambling? Or are you just doing it
(27:08):
now for the money? Like some of us, it's in
our blood. I start sneaking into a casino when I
was like fifteen, sixteen years old, Cash Creek, Northern California.
I love it. I like the juice, and so does
anyone listen to this. If you like the gamble, you
just kind of get that itch. But a lot of
people talk about it now and you can tell, like
this guy. This guy wouldn't bet a fucking dollar on
a game, but a lot of people will. It's why
(27:31):
Michael Jordan resonates with us unlike Lebron because we can relate.
He's got gambling problems, likes to booze, likes to smoke cigars.
It's like like a lot of people. I know, Michael's
my goat, always will be, always has been. That'll never
change part just because I think his relatability and every
time you hear a story it's about him gambling on
(27:52):
the golf course, drinking booze. I'm like, shit, like to
hang out with this guy, but I think the gambling
out The NFL has always had it. The NFL is
just bigger than college football. It's just in bigger cities.
But now that it's kind of made its way to
college football on just this national level, that you get
(28:12):
people in these urban areas that might not care that
much about college football betting on the games. And we
better buckle up because it's gonna be big. And that's
why I want to hit on three things really quick
as we headed into this college football season that I
feel pretty strongly about. First and foremost, I root for
West Coast teams. I was a PAC twelve homer. I
(28:37):
want like when USC was awesome, it was sweet, it
was fun. I'm not anti USC, but I think they're
gonna stink this year. I think they are a six
to seven win team. They're going to be way worse
at quarterback. How could they not be losing Caleb Williams
(28:58):
and I just and I've said this for a while now,
I don't think it's a fit. And sometimes I was
thinking about this the other day, Like Lincoln at Oklahoma,
and Lincoln clearly knows what he's doing calling offense a
lot like Ryan Day knows how to call offense. They
both inherited a Mercedes, like Oklahoma was rolling. Ohio State
(29:24):
had won national championship with Urban Meyer. They were recruiting
the best of the best, and listen, they maintained it
and they did a great job, both of them. Their records, obviously,
Ryan Day's record at Ohio State and Lincoln Riley's record
Oklahoma speak for themselves. Winning conferences, going to BCS games,
going to the Final four. I'm not arguing that they
(29:44):
can't handle that, but going to programs that are in disarray.
That's what Jim Harbaugh did when he got to Michigan
and started winning ten games and then won a national championship.
That's why everyone freaked out when he said the dude
was born on third base. All he's saying is the
guy took over a program. It wasn't that difficult to
(30:04):
do what he did. A lot of people have done it.
When Nick Saban got to Alabama, it was bad. It
was not easy. Like that was a tough, tough turnaround.
If anyone can get Florida rolling again, if it doesn't
work out this year and they hire a new coach,
that's difficult. What Lane Kiffin is doing at Ole Miss,
that's impressive, right, What Kaylin do bore when he got
(30:28):
to Washington and they were a disaster and then flipped
him and had him in the national championship two years ago.
It's like, that's why he got the Alabama job. That's
not for everybody. If you put Lincoln right now, at
if Lincoln Riley had taken over for Alabama, like Alabama
be fine. Are they gonna rattle off seven national championships
(30:49):
in fifteen years? Probably not, but they'll be good. That'll
be top ten team every year. I just don't. I
don't see it, and I do not think it's gonna work.
And I'm not some USC hater because there are a
lot of them that ain't me. I'm really more of
a Notre Dame Ohio State hater. But I respect those
brands in those programs, and I think college football is
(31:09):
better when they're all good. But I always kind of
celebrate when they lose, but they don't, especially Ohio State,
they don't lose very often. Nebraska, I think they have
a chance to be the most fascinating team in the
country this year simply because this quarterback. Now, this happens
a lot in college football. A young five star rumors
(31:31):
that he got three four million dollars, never taking a snap.
You know, part of the reason I think he's not
at Georgia is because Kirby smart rightfully so doesn't go
hit certain amounts with high school recruits. I mean, they'll
pay them, but they weren't willing to pay what Nebraska's
willing to pay. They'll pay established starters, which to me
(31:52):
is the move. I would be very hesitant paying high
school recruits, especially at quarterback, millions of dollars, because over
half of them are not gonna turn into NFL players
or superstars. But Nebraska had no choice. His dad had
played there and he was a legit five star could
have got Ohio State Georgia like they both wanted him.
(32:12):
If this guy is good, I think Nebraska's gonna be
really interesting. This is why when I look at USC
like they're not beating Penn State, I don't know how
good Michigan's gonna be, but like I can't just chuck
them up to beat Michigan. And when they play random
teams like Wisconsin Minnesota, like are they just a lock
to win these games? No chance? The other team that
(32:35):
I think everyone's kind of written off because he needs
to make fun of he says some random stuff and
he's anti the portal, so everyone's kind of ripped him
for it is Clemson, and I do wonder if we're
gonna see Clemson this year. We see Florida State. DJ stinks,
so they're gonna have problems. Miami's coach is just it's
(32:56):
hard to trust, you know that people are the high
behind Miami is putting a lot of faith in Mario Chrystobal.
Whenever Mario had to play real coach at Oregon, he lost.
And then on top of that, he does some of
the dumbest shit you'll ever see, taving him twice now,
not kneeling the ball, running the ball, and sled to
fumbles and losses. And the other thing is cam Ward,
(33:19):
who I watched a lot at Washington State, is a
pretty big wild card. Like he might be good, he
also might throw three picks in two of the biggest
games in Miami loose. What if Clemson is good this
year because they yeah, they don't do the transfer portal,
but they recruit at an elite level. So what if
(33:39):
this is the year that, like some of the teams
that won national titles, they're just stacked with future NFL players,
which they always are, but like it kind of clicks
and everybody, and I mean everybody is going Georgia is
gonna kill them, gonna destroy them. And I'm not saying
they're gonna be Georgia, but I think this is a
pretty easy year for Davo to kind of motivate and
(34:03):
rally the troops. They had some momentum coming off last
year because they actually played pretty well with some major
question marks at quarterback. So I would say USC. I
think they're gonna suck relative to the standard there. I'm
not saying two three wins, but I think they're much
closer to a six to seven win team than a
ten win team. I can't wait to watch Nebraska, and
(34:24):
I think people are sleeping on Clemson. Okay, mail back
time at John Middlecoff. At John Middlecoff, it's the Instagram
firing those dms. Get your question answered on the show,
diehard Pats fan, and I was wondering what your take
(34:47):
on this would be. Swap out Mac Jones and Drake
by So Mac out Drake in with Josh as the
OC and Belichick running the D meaning Belichick's head coach.
Where would they be at right now. I believe that
Drake's talent plus some time to grow under Josh would
(35:07):
be a better spot than we are in now. Well,
would you take Joh would take head coach Belichick and
Josh McDaniels, would Drake may or Drod Mayo and Alex
van Pelt. It's I mean, what are we talking about here?
I think the problem one, Yeah, you would, it would now.
(35:28):
They they struggled with drafting receivers. They still had some issues,
but clearly once Josh left Bill it kind of derailed
everything and he got a head coaching job. He made
six years. I mean I heard Mark Davis owed him
and Ziegler like eighty million dollars remaining on the two
contracts because he had paid Josh a lot. Ziegler was
(35:50):
making a lot, they were on long term deals. It
was time for a change. So it's hard to argue
that like they're not they didn't do the right thing,
because they did by just breaking up with Bill now
hiring a guy who feels like he's over his head.
And this is the scary part for Drake May. You
(36:12):
get in a situation where, even though you're physically gifted,
the offensive line is gonna be awful. Are you thrust
into action really soon? Is your team just getting their
teeth kicked in? It feels like it could be an
uphill battle, and the only the mentally tough make it
through that. It takes out a lot of people because
(36:35):
most people aren't Peyton manning to just that are gonna
be good no matter what I saw it with Alex Smith,
Mike Nolan, Mike Singletary. The teams were bad. It was hard,
and it was ugly, and he was going through new
offensive coordinators every year. And for most people in Alex
Smith's situation, they just washed out of the league. But
(36:57):
somehow he just persevered. He was mentally tough, and then
Jim Harbaugh came and saved him. So I would imagine
if Drake may does become a really good player, it
won't be with this head coach and offensive coordinator. Kickoff idea.
The mailback people can't seem to agree on the thirty
yard line or the thirty five yard line for touchbacks.
(37:20):
Teams kickoff five to six times per game. What if
each touchback adds one yard to the ball placement on
the next kickoff for each team. This will lead to
more late game kickoff returns and even more exciting overtime kickoffs.
It gives the NFL a look at what touchbacks look
like at the thirty yards and also the thirty five
(37:41):
yard line. It's also slightly handicapped team that score a
lot and provide parody the NFL wants if it is
a problem early on, which Bill Belichick expects it to be,
and to me, he's saying that from an educated standpoint,
like I would imagine a lot of coaches or bs
and with Bill over the last couple months, especially about
(38:04):
special teams, I think the NFL will change it because
a touchback has to be more putative because at the
end of the day, the thirty it's just worth going
to the thirty and not thirty five. I mean, obviously,
but I'm just saying, like, if there is any question
about the guy back, think about a ty game and
(38:24):
you're playing the Dolphins and they put Tyreek Hill back there.
Think about a ty game and you're playing the forty
nine ers and they put Deebo Samuel back there. Right,
I mean, you get in some of these situations, and
I mean there are countless players all over the league
that you could do this with what if Andy did
it with Xavier Worthy, What if, you know, trying to
(38:44):
think just you're starting running, what if the Eagles did
it with Sakwon Barkley, you know, ty game Dallas Cowboys
for the Division. Now, that would be a long way
down the road, but you know what I mean, And
I just think the teams are just gonna wave the
white flag on it, which is exactly, you know, counterproductive
from what the NFL wanted. Was this to be a
(39:05):
real play. And if it turns into the same exact
result of people just kicking it through, whether it's at
the thirty or the twenty, it's still the same thing.
The play doesn't matter, and it's just a complete waste.
I think Week one is gonna be fascinating. I honestly,
I think Thursday and Friday Night with the Eagles and
the Packer Eagle and Eagles Packers and Chiefs Ravens is
(39:29):
gonna give us a pretty good insight because if in
those two games they're just booting it forward. I thought
Bill had the best idea, just go normal kickoff and
move them back, have the kicker be at a spot
where it would take the greatest kicker of all time
to get it halfway through the end zone, let alone
through the end zone. I still don't feel great about
(39:49):
the rules, Like I don't learn by studying. I learned
by watching or I learned by doing so like I
feel like I've learned more watching it. But it's also
the preseason, so you're totally not locked in. I think
once the regular season week one of a pretty good
idea on exactly what is going on, but I couldn't
give like a tutorial on the kickoff right now. Very
(40:14):
native living in Raleigh, North Carolina. I first heard you
a decade ago on the radio question about holdouts and injuries.
Is there any data showing the significance of holding out
of training camp and the impact of season long nagging injuries.
I feel like there's a high correlation between the two.
I could be wrong. It's just my instinctive belief. For instance,
(40:39):
see Lamb and Brandon Ayuk both have missed pretty much
all of training camp. I know they're working out on
their own, but I feel like working out and practicing
football are two totally different things. When I see guys
sit out all of training camp, my thought is, watch
them get hurt in the next few weeks. I would
imagine that they are definitely more susceptiol to an injury
(41:01):
than a guy that's been practicing since July twenty fifth.
You don't even need data to go. This guy has
not been doing what everyone else is going to be doing,
and then he's gonna be thrust into a situation where
we know that week one is way faster than any practice,
let alone any preseason games. I saw today that CD's
(41:21):
now in like a phase where they get them back
up to speed so they don't just throw them out
there right away. But they don't have that much time
because Thursday, Friday, Saturday Sunday are off, so there is
no practice. And yeah, but what are you supposed to do?
Like Seed Lamb's holding out until you give him the
number he wants. Brandon Ayuk, I don't even know how to.
(41:44):
I mean, how would you even describe the situation? I
feel like Brandon Ayuke's situation is unprecedented. They've offered him money,
he says no, he said he wanted a trade. They
found him trades and he said no, I don't I
don't really understand what's going on. He wants to be
a Niner and he wants CD Lambs contract. The forty
(42:04):
Niners want him as a Niner, but they want to
pay him twenty seven million dollars a year and they
will never pay him CD Lambs contract. Question for the mailbag,
what was ultimately wrong with your dog? Did you get
a diagnosis? I'm a veterinarian in Michigan who listens to
your show. It's called like I am, I am h A.
(42:27):
It's some immune disorder that I guess smaller dogs get.
She's had it now since Wednesday. We're on Tuesday. She
is doing a lot better when you look at her
and moving around, but we took her to the doctor today.
Her red blood cell count is still really low and
she might have to get a blood transfusion tomorrow. So
(42:48):
I might be saying that name wrong, but she has
an immune disorder that screws with her blood count, and
she's kind of been a shell of herself. She can't move,
she breeze hard. They say that like thirty forty percent
of dogs die within the first week. So yeah, fun times.
(43:11):
Lions fan here, been listening to you for about a
year now. I wanted to know what your thoughts are
about the Lions' chances of making it back to the
conference championship. I know Colin has the Packers winning the
division and the Lions still making the playoffs. I want
to know what your thoughts are and if you think
they have a chance to get back to the super Bowl.
(43:32):
I think they have a very good chance to be
the number one seed. I'm gonna I'll probably do I
guess division picks next week, but I'm picking the Lions.
I actually think there are a lot of easy to
do divisions to pick Lions the Chiefs. I'm picking the
Bills until they don't win that division. There are obviously
(43:52):
some tough divisions. I don't think your division is that tough.
I think the Lions are just better than the other teams.
Your major question mark was defensive backs. Well you double
down on that position in the draft and in free
agency trades. So your front seven we know is going
to be good. Aiden Hutchson is one of the best
(44:13):
pass rushers. I think he'll establish himself as that this year.
And we know how loaded your offenses, best offensive line
arguably in the NFL, A veteran quarterback who's proven he
can win in the playoffs, let alone be an excellent
regular season player, star tight end, stud wide receiver, a
(44:33):
deep threat that feels like maybe he's coming into his
own Jamis and Williams awesome backfield. I don't see what's
not to like about the Lions. I think the Packers
still have two question marks. One is this just who
Jordan Love is? He's had a grade eight games, Like
is he's just gonna play at a pro bowl level
all season? I like Jordan Love a lot, but until
(44:56):
you do it, who knows? And defense? And defense? I
would say sitting here, I wouldn't be shocked if the
Bears are better than the Packers. I wouldn't bet on that,
but it wouldn't be shocking. I think the Lions win
twelve thirteen games. Again, Hey John, lifelong Pats fan. Here,
(45:19):
been a great twenty five years so far. As a
football fan, have been very privileged to watch the grandest
dynasty of all time. My question is the Pats handling
of the current quarterback situation. I understand the reasoning behind
sitting May and I understand it's only preseason, but Drake
(45:40):
has looked miles better than any other quarterback we have,
so why not just start him when Mahomes sat for
a year. The Chiefs were very successful and had a
very good quarterback in place ahead of them. Same with Rogers,
same with Jordan Love. I think the main problem with
the Patsite situation with Drake May because there is no
(46:01):
disputing Jacoby presents not very good. You could argue a
ten million dollars he's stealing, but that's what the pastor
we're willing to pay him. And he's a good guy,
so you know you're paying like an extra three or
four million for vibes. But he can't move like. He's
not an athlete, he's a statue back there. He's going
to get killed. Their O line sucks, it is really bad.
(46:23):
So yeah, he's way better, and I'm a huge proponent
of learn by doing, But would this guy get killed
being Drake May? Now? Is Jacoby gonna last a month?
Let's say Jacoby is healthy, the shoulder injury is not
a big deal, and he starts week one. What's the
over under of games he plays before he's injured three
(46:46):
and a half, two and a half. It's not very big.
So it's inevitable that Drake's gonna play because there's no
way on God's Green Earth that Jacoby can play seventeen
games as a pocket quarterback behind this offensive line, especially
because not good. So what does that mean they're gonna
be behind? What does that mean they gotta throw They're
gonna be in a lot of second and third and lungs,
(47:08):
So he's gonna be in compromise situations. I think in
theory they're doing the right thing, but it's unavoidable. It's
unavoidable to throw them out there. The concern is is if,
like he's still in their minds a pretty big project,
you throw them out there. He's running for his life.
Young people lose confidence fast. Humans lose confidence fast, so
(47:30):
it takes a while to build it. It does not
take long to lose it in any walk of life.
It's always a big thing in golf. When you got
it going on, you think you'll never you know, you're
always nervous you're gonna lose it. And when you lost it,
you think you're never gonna get it back. And I
think you're very concerned about throwing him in at a
(47:52):
disadvantage to just get killed. It's one thing like we're
gonna struggle whatever, what if Bryce Young's never the same
after last year. I appreciate your realistic and not so
off the wall takes. Maybe I should be a little
more off the wall. I was wondering if you had
a chance, if you had a take on Jason Bean
(48:15):
out of Indy. I'm a KC and KU fan, so
I've watched quite a bit of Bean over the last
few years, filling in for Jalen Daniels. I've always thought
Bean was a better quarterback, considering how unreliable Daniels has
been due to injury. I've watched him return to a
quarterback he is today. I kind of thought he had
the potential to be a starting quarterback. And Shane Stiken
(48:36):
as head coach in OC, Yeah, I don't have a
take there. Considering the rumors that have gone out about
Richardson choosing to run rather than throw the ball, what
do you think the odds are Bean would ever get
a start? They're all in on Anthony Richardson. I watched
Shane Steiken on rich Eisen the other day. He's gonna
(48:56):
go the ship is gonna sync with Anthony Richardson, and
I was a big believer. I was like, should I
I was thinking about picking the Colts I'm still gonna
pick the Colts, I think to make the playoffs because
I think Shane Sychen is such a star coach and
he'll work with it. And I know it's only preseason,
but the one thing you see with Anthony Richardson touch
(49:19):
and accuracy is going to be a work in progress. Now,
he's a great runner, but can he stay healthy while running?
And can he function enough in the passing game when
stuff's open and hit guys? Like, if you're telling me
the Colts don't make the playoffs, I'd be like, I
bet he has a really inaccurate season and Anthony Richardson
plays all year. I bet his completion percentages in like
(49:41):
the mid to high fifties, which is a problem in
this modern day NFL. But can they run the ball enough,
play defense, ride Jonathan Taylor, ride the quarterback run game
while keeping him healthy, which is tough, man. But your
guy's ceiling is Anthony Richardson, and you see it, like
(50:02):
when you watch him in the preseason game. Who are
they playing the Bengals? I think it was the Bengals.
He is oozing with talent. It's like, this is everything
you want in a project. Good guy, physically. I mean,
he throws the ball effortlessly with like effortlessly and it's going,
(50:22):
but it's going one hundred miles an hour. So can
he develop a change up? Can he just develop He
doesn't have to be Peyton Manning or Drew Brees, but
just some sort of touch and accuracy and he can
be a really good player. But if you can't do that,
it's gonna be a problem. But I have no take
on your Kansas quarterback I'm sorry. Your whole offensive defensive
(50:44):
coach theory is bullshit. You prop up Shanahan mcveag like
they are superior guys like Tomlin when I don't see
him getting to the playoffs with a below average quarterback play.
Shanahan's offense with Nick Mullens not the same. And not
only did those teams not make the playoffs, they were
one of the worst teams in the McVeigh couldn't even
make the playoffs with Baker Mayfield. In fact, he already
missed the playoffs twice. As great of a head coach,
(51:07):
he is, Listen, Mike Tomlin in these defensive guys. When
there are questions at quarterback, Kyle Shanahan is winning big
with Brock Purty, who was the last pick in the draft.
Kyle Shanahan won playoff games with Jimmy Garoppolo, who I
got news for You might just stink now, he didn't
(51:30):
stink when he was playing with him, but he was
always pretty average. The offensive head coach can manipulate the
quarterback position. Yeah, No one can win with the shittiest
quarterback possible. Sean McVeigh got Baker Mayfield late in the season.
Sean McVay didn't play off season with Baker Mayfield. Remember
he was playing with a bunch of random guys. And
(51:53):
then they got Baker later in the regular season when
he beat the Raiders. But that was that was either
a late November early December. The theory is not bullshit.
It's an offensive leak. So I want my coach to
be able to coach the quarterback. It kind of matters.
(52:14):
How's that even debatable at this point? It really is not.
We have seen Andy Reid for two decades, two and
a half decades, win with countless players. Why because he's
a quarterback greer and he's the offensive play color. Yeah,
it matters defense, and it used to matter a lot
more on a weekly basis, when teams ran the ball
(52:36):
all the time, scoring was lower. Though scoring was technically
lower last year, but in twenty twenty four. In twenty
twenty four, I'm not disputing Mike Thomas not a good coach,
or that if he was fired he wouldn't immediately be hired.
But if we did a coaching draft tomorrow and it
(52:58):
was based on the draft order so started with Carolina
all the way to thirty two, think of the coaches
that would go in the top ten. Andy would go one.
I think Kyle and McVeigh would be locks for at
least two of the next three picks. I think Shane
(53:21):
Steiken would go really high. Obviously, Jim Harbaugh. I think
Jim Harbaugh would go above his brother. Before Lamar Jackson
the Ravens started struggling. John Harbaugh couldn't do anything with
the quarterback. Joe Flaka looked like a complete scrub. You
saw Joe Flacco with Robert Sala didn't look that good.
(53:42):
So I'm with Shane Sikein or Stefanski all of a
sudden good. You know why, because Stefanski and Shane Steikin
can manipulate that position. So yeah, it's easier to win
when you've got John Elway or Peyton Manning, no shit,
But can you win with random guys like Eric Spolster
(54:03):
can kind of compete with just random guys. Most NBA
coaches can't sniff wins if they don't have a star.
So you take defensive coaches. I'll take offensive coaches in
twenty twenty four, moving forward, and we'll see where the
dust settles. I feel pretty confident Mike Tomlin hasn't won
a playoff game in a decade almost. It's not even
(54:28):
a theory. These are the guys dominating Dan Campbell. What's
his background offense? I love the show in your takes.
Why was it that Jeff Fisher was so good at
the Titans coach there for sixteen years and almost won
a Super Bowl and got to multiple AFC Championships, but
when he went to the Rams he was mediocre. Well,
(54:52):
he had a really good quarterback, like he had Steve
McNair for whatever from ninety five to two thousand and five.
So he had a guy that won an MVP. He
had a guy going to Pro Bowls in the league
like this was an old school defensive guy who learned
from Buddy Ryan. So in the nineties and even the
two thousands, Like whenever on Instagram it comes up like
(55:15):
enjoy highlights from the nineties or highlights from the two thousands,
it looks like a different sport. So what he did
was very important to the way the game was officiated. Toughness, leadership,
run the ball, old school conservative coach. That's not really
football the last ten fifteen years, once Brady and Manning
(55:38):
got older, Rogers came into the league, it became a
throwing league. That's not him. He's really he was built
for a different time and he was good and his
shit translated, and then the league changed on him with
(56:01):
the successive young quarterbacks. Could Jerry Jones be eyeing a
complete overhaul. I can see paying an up and coming
o see enough money they can't refuse to be the
head coach, having him pick a guy in the draft
yours Milroe whoever, and maybe trading CD to the AFC
for the capitol to do so. Once you give CD
(56:21):
that amount of money, he's on the team. I don't
think Jerry is okay with being the second most popular
football team in Texas. Your thoughts, I think you have
to rephrase that he has a potent. We'll see how
this year plays out. He would be the second best
team in Texas. They are by far, not just the
most popular team in Texas, they're the most popular team
(56:42):
in America and definitely the most talked about. Jerry's eighty
one years old, so I have a hard time seeing
him do a complete overall. To me, if he was
sixty eight, it's on the table. You do a complete
overhaul at eighty one, you might not be alive to
(57:02):
ever see the thing turn around. And the thing with
Jerry is like they are pretty good right now, and
what if they win ten eleven games again? That's four
straight years of double digit wins. Part of the reason
they fired Garrett is like he was the king of
the eight and eight king of the almost Like Mike
McCarthy is getting you to the playoffs. What if Mike
McCarthy wins the division again, even if they lose in
(57:24):
the first or second round. So he's won the division
three out of four years, you're gonna fire him. I
feel like this year I'm gonna come to Mike McCarthy's defense.
How are you gonna fight? How are you gonna upgrade
off Mike McCarthy. He's the offensive play caller, he's winning games.
He's really good with quarterbacks, like really good with quarterbacks.
(57:47):
So it's like, Okay, we're gonna fire him for some
up and coming OC. Well, there's no guarantee that guy
can be the head coach and handle the quarterbacks because
some guys get overwhelmed or Mike's proven he knows how
to be a head coach and he knows had to
coach a quarterback. I mean, Dak had the best year
of his career, and really since he's been the head coach,
Tack's been really good. Not in the playoffs obviously, but
(58:11):
I don't know. I feel like I'm gonna be on
the opposite side of what I've been when it comes
to McCarthy, Like fire McCarthy for who I think we've
kind of acknowledged, like belichicking work for Jerry. Hard time
seeing that Mike Vrabel is a good coaching candidate, but
you're gonna hire a defensive guy. I have a hard
(58:32):
time seeing that. So I feel like McCarthy's gonna end
up surviving if they win double DIGG games again, especially
if they win the division. Regardless of what happens in
the playoffs. That'll do it. Thanks for listening to everybody,
and have a great rest of your week. We'll have
one more podcast coming out on Thursday, a little college
football preview with a couple of college football guys, and
(58:56):
then we'll just enjoy the weekend watch some football. The
volume
The volume Ben Hungary versus in college football. Well, we
finally get a taste this weekend. Don't miss any of
the action. Jump in at DraftKings Sportsbook. It's a small
but mighty slate of games for Week zero, including a
big matchup in Ireland. This is going to be DraftKings'
(00:21):
biggest college football season to date. Enjoy the rye now
all the way through the expanded playoffs, plus all newbies
getting into the college spirit. Here's something extra special new
draftking customers, bet just five bucks to get two hundred
in bonus bets. Instantly score big with DraftKings all college
football season long. Download the DraftKings Sportsbook gap now and
(00:46):
use the code John. That's code JHN for new customers
to get two hundred in bonus bets when you bet
just five bucks only on DraftKings.
Speaker 2 (00:56):
Crown is Yours gambling problem called one eight hundred gambler
In New York call eight seven seven eight hope and Y,
or text hope and Y four six seven three six
nine In Connecticut. Help is available for problem gambling. Call
eight eight eight seven eight nine seven seven seven seven
or visit CCPG dot org. Please play responsibly on behalf
of Boothill Casino in a resorting Kansas twenty one and
over plus agent eligibility varies by jurisdiction, Void and Ontario.
(01:19):
Bonus bets expire one hundred and sixty eight hours after
issueins four. Additional terms and responsible gaming resources see DKNNG,
dot co, slash ft ball.
Speaker 1 (01:37):
What is up? Everybody? John Middlecoff three and Out podcasts.
Back at it again. Hopefully everyone's doing well, not as
well as some of these guys get cut, but a
lot of them get to go to the practice squad.
So the game plan today is we will go over
every fifty three man roster guy by guy. Just kidding.
(01:59):
We're not gonna do that, but do have some thoughts
just on the day, how things transpire, and just some
big picture thoughts with how crazy it is to me
how fast guys get replaced. You know, former second and
third round picks two and three years in just get
kicked to the side because the six rounder beats them out,
(02:20):
because an undrafted free agent beats them out because they're
just not good enough, and it just happens at rapid speed.
So we'll discuss some of that. The Kelsey Brothers get
one hundred plus million dollars for the podcast. Incredible you
can get a hundred million dollars once a week podcast
(02:41):
props to the two Hall of famers. A couple college
football thoughts as well. We're gonna have a big college
football preview tomorrow, a big college football preview with John
Cazano and Darry Noka. One covers Oregon, the other in
the Big Ten and the SEC. So we will do
that on Thirdday. Probably nothing on Fugazi Friday, long weekend.
(03:03):
Take a deep breath before we really hit the ground
running with football. You can find us on YouTube. All
of our contents up there. You obviously if you listen
on Collins feed, make sure you subscribe to three and
out Feet. Appreciate everyone that has. And it's kind of
the game plan. So we've had podcasts all week, had
a gambling one with Stucky on Monday. I think me
(03:24):
and Colin will do something for next Tuesday. The game
plan right now is to do some sort of reaction
to lsu USC, which I would imagine a lot of
people are gonna be watching because the five million people
watch Week zero kick off at nine am Pacific, so
I can't even imagine Sunday night primetime in Vegas. LSU
(03:46):
USC a game link and wanted out of so you better.
I think he's in a little trouble. I have a
quick thought on USC coming up later on the podcast,
and also a little Middlecoff mailbag at John Middlecoff at
John middlecof is the Instagram fire in those dms. Get
your questions answered on the show. But first I gotta
(04:07):
tell you I'm really torn on going to a college
football game. It's hard for me to go to games
because my business is talking on Sunday and I gotta
be here or I gotta be able to watch every
football game on Sunday, even Saturday a little bit now
as college football becomes way bigger, but I gotta do it.
(04:29):
I gotta go to one of these games, and I'm
leaning Texas Oklahoma. Obviously there are quote unquote bigger, you know,
cooler games to a night game at LSU, Bama, Georgia,
you know, Ohio State, Michigan's a little cold for me.
But I need the ability to travel in and out
and I can get back here Sunday morning before kickoff.
(04:49):
So if you want to do that, watch your NFL
team go to a college football game. Maybe go to
a different state and watch something. Hell, you want to
get to Vegas if you live on the West coast
lsu USC Sunday Night Football cannot wait? Why got you covered?
Because game Time the official ticketing ap of this podcast.
Just take the guesswork out of buying tickets. Come on, guys,
(05:10):
download the game Time app right now, create an account
and use the code John for twenty dollars off your
first purchase. Terms of playing again, create an account. Redeem
the code Joagen for twenty dollars off down in the
game Time app. Today last minute tickets, lowest price is guaranteed.
Today is obviously a massive, massive day. Four teams and
(05:31):
the future of your roster heading in to week one. Clearly,
all the famous players in the league aren't really associated
with today, right, I mean the biggest like oh, James
Bradberry made the Eagles. But all the guys that we
really talk about consistently starting in a week have nothing
(05:51):
to do with today, Like Howie Roseman doesn't need to
get on the phone and call Lane Johnson and AJ Brown, right,
Like Dak Prescott didn't get a phone call all the day.
So today's about the bottom of your roster, and guys
that are fighting for their jobs. And I've talked about
this before and I'm still amazed to see it today.
(06:11):
A lot of industries and many of you work for companies,
especially if you work in big corporations where a lot
of people can get by and never get noticed, you know,
middle management, you know, especially in corporate America, some of
these Fortune five hundred companies. If the stock's doing well
and the economy is doing well, you get these guys
making two, three, four hundred thousand dollars. You're like, what
(06:34):
the hell is this guy doing? That is not the
way football works. You get exposed, and you get exposed fast.
And obviously when you make a decent amount of money,
you know there's a magnifying glass on you if you
start playing poorly. It's why when you see big layoffs
like at some of these companies, what why has that
(06:54):
usually happen? It's usually in recessionary times. It's usually when
the stock is plummeting. Right, things go bad. When things
go good, no one pays attention. In the NFL, even
when things go good. If you play poorly, you will
get a circle drawn around you by the GM and
the head coach heading into the offseason. Just the way
of the business. And it's because so much cheap labor
(07:17):
comes into the sport every single year. Right, we'll talk
about the Rams. They kept five undrafted free agents. That
means five guys not even making a total of a
million dollars. Now, over the next couple of days, one
of those guys could get cut, but I think it's
fair to say at minimum four of those guys probably
are going to be on the fifty three come week one.
(07:40):
And that's not the case. You know, in most of
our businesses, right, you don't have plug and play people
that you can put at very very important spots. That
happens in football, and it's why everyone's kind of on
eggshells once training camp starts, because you know the coaches
are on your ass and they're evaluating you on a
(08:00):
daily that's not just on the practice field, that's in
the meeting. That's how you act, that's how you treat
people like g it's all factored in. Now clearly, if
you're good enough, some of that other stuff like means
a little less. But for anyone on the bubble, like
every step you take throughout the day, people are watching
and people are judging. And I've said this forever, the
(08:21):
craziest part about the NFL. If you're a first round pick,
you're on scholarship for a couple of years, partly because
of your money and partly because of just they invested
a lot of capital. Like if I use a sixteenth
pick on you, that was really valuable because I could
have used that sixteenth pick trade back acquire more picks.
That's worth a lot to my organization. And historically, second
(08:44):
day picks are really valuable too, because you can get
high end Pro Bowl Hall of Fame level players for
cheap contracts. It's why teams whenever they talk. I was
watching the Eagles press conference and how he was like,
you know, I know we swapped picks eventually, like we
gave a third, they gave a fifth, but it was
still hard to give up a second day pick for
(09:05):
a former first round pick. But we did it at
the end of the day. And GMS, I don't care
what press conference you're you're listening to or watching, they
always talked about the second day picks because they view
they can get starters making a million bucks, and anytime
you got multiple starters making a million dollars easier to
build your team. But I remember, I'm gonna use this example.
(09:27):
A couple of years ago, I think it was twenty
twenty two. I was at an Ota practice, forty nine
ers and me and Guy Haveerman, who's gonna be working
for Big ten Network. He's calling the organ game this week.
We were on the sideline bullshitting with John Lynch. And
this is the year after they had traded for Trey Lance,
so they didn't have first round picks, so their third
(09:49):
round picks were really really valuable to them. And I
remember we were talking to him how excited he was
about Danny Gray and ty Davis Price. Danny Gray he
was a wide receiver out of SMU, and ty Davis
Price was a running back out of LSU, and they
were excited rightfully. So I remember texting a buddy that
did the area in Texas. He's like, I like Danny
(10:10):
Gray a lot, and he could run, he could stretch
the field, he could break tackles. Ty Davis Price ran,
I think game against Florida had like four hundred yards,
big physical back. It's like, yeah, might be able to
get a guy that'd be your second or third running
back and a guy that could eventually be your third
wide receiver behind Brandon Ayuk and Deebo Samuel. Then within
(10:32):
less than like six months, it was pretty clear that
ty Davis Price had been lapped by their sixth round pick,
Elijah Mitchell, who's now an injured reserve and kind of irrelevant,
and an undrafted free agent, Jordan Mason who's now the
forty nine ers backup, and Danny Gray immediately the seventh
(10:53):
rounder who's kind of coming into his own. Juwan Jennings
kind of became a staple. And what happened two years later?
Ty Davis Price was cut, ended up on the Eagles,
was cut again today, and Danny Gray, you know, a
guy that was drafted ahead of him, I think picked
ninety something was cut today. And every single year, if
(11:15):
you don't establish yourself as like a starter, you are
in trouble. If you are not a first round pick.
The talent that comes in on a yearly basis, in
every round and after the draft with undrafted free agents
are coming for your jobs. And there I really don't
(11:35):
believe there's any industry quite like this now. It pays
a lot, and obviously if you become a good player.
It is extremely lucrative. You can make money on and
off the field. There are a lot of benefits and
we talk a lot about those guys. The majority of
the league, though, is not the Ceedee Lambs, Jamar Chases,
(11:56):
Lamar Jackson's and Patrick Mahomes. The majority of the league
are friends, starters, second stringers, and these new guys getting drafted,
fighting for a job, fighting for that statistic to be
a three four five year NFL pro And there's football
used to be a lot like the Junction Boys Double days.
(12:17):
The physicality, I mean, it was almost like a Buds training.
People would just tap out and get exposed. Now there's
less of that because of the rules the practice schedule.
But if you do not perform in practice and then
you get shot spots in the game and do not perform,
you got no shot. And if you are struggling, there
is going to be somebody who also does not make
(12:40):
a lot of money who will take your spot. So
anyone listening to this right now, and I can't go
through every example because I don't know them all, but
all these fifty three man rosters that were set today,
there are so many former second and third round picks
by that team, who then will go on to somewhere else.
The other thing is, note will ever have more invested
(13:02):
in you when you are a top second or third
round pick than the team that drafted you. After you
are released, you are no longer look the same. Your
career then is on a different trajectory. You're in the
boat of like everyone else. Now, maybe it was a
bad fit, maybe there were injuries. There are a lot
(13:24):
of different variables and circumstances that can derail a guy.
And it does not. We talked about this yesterday. Does
not determine your future. But you are then fighting an
uphill battle because deep down for that team, when you're
a former second or former third round pick, then within
two or three years they cut you. There's a stink
(13:49):
in a red flag that comes along with your name
in the other buildings, somethink's up. This guy can't cut
it now I can rely on. I listened to Howie
talk about trading for Dotson, and he said, we liked
him a lot coming out of college, and we had
done a lot of work. He was a local guy
Penn State, and we felt pretty good about it. But like,
(14:13):
why were they willing to trade him to us, Right,
That's that can be weird, and sometimes you can just
chalk it up to new administration, new team, not their guy.
You definitely feel more comfortable trading for a guy in
that situation, second round pick, a third round pick, whatever,
if it's not their guy. But I was talking to
(14:34):
I texted a bunch of scouts today. I said, I've
watched a decent amount of rams the last couple of years,
and you know, one guy liked a lot, Ernest Jones.
And I'm not breaking down the All twenty two like
I once did, but he sure jumps off the TV
a lot. And I said, why would they trade him?
And a couple of people said, well, they didn't plan
(14:55):
on giving him a contract after this year. He clearly
thinks he's gonna get paid. And two, they like they're
young guys a lot. But that they had to attach
a pick to send him to the Titans was pretty crazy.
Multiple people thought like he would just get traded for
a fourth round pick straight up. But this was a
guy who became a stalwart on their defense over the
(15:17):
last couple of years when they've been good, played a
bunch for the Super Bowl team, obviously had one hundred
plus tackles last year on one of the better teams
in the NFC. It's like he's gone. It's just it
happens that fast, and it's happening all around the league.
You just can't cut it and you'd go, well, the
one thing with Dotson's like, wasn't Adam Peters, wasn't Dan Quinn,
(15:40):
wasn't Cliff Kingsbury's guy, Ernest Jones was less snead and
Sean mcvay's guy, like they drafted him, they started him,
they played with him, and he just kind of never know.
And this it's hard perception becomes reality fast. And this
is not one of those you know, industries that's so
big and you know, you cross pass like you don't
(16:01):
really know that many people. Everyone kind of knows everybody,
and people talk and sometimes they're facts behind it and
sometimes and can kind of be manipulated, and then it
just kind of grows like a high school rumor, you know,
and you don't you know, you play the game of
telephone and you talk to the fifth person who heard
something and the story is kind of weird. And some
of these guys got to shake that and the hard
(16:22):
part is once you kind of get in the practice
squad cycle, as like a fifth round pick that gets
cut and go on the practice squad, you don't have
any stink on you. It's like, well, I just wasn't
good enough to make the team. Happens to a lot
of people. But when you're like a former second round
pick that's been the league three years, it's like, what's
up with that guy? What's going on there? Fair or not?
(16:42):
And it just turns a lot of people out. It
just can you can get your career upside down because
it's like, hey, I couldn't cut it. And it's one
thing to get cut from a good team. It's like, wow,
they won twelve games. It's hard to make the Ravens, right,
It's it's hard to make the Chiefs, and that's a fact.
But when you're a former relatively high pick, it's like
he couldn't make the Panthers like the Giants got them
(17:05):
offensive linemen. It's hard, man, and perception becomes reality really fast.
So today awesome for all the young guys that beat
out dudes, because that's the thing. It's the ultimate meritocracy.
Unless you're a first rounder, then you're kind of on
scholarship or even a second rounder, but for any fourth, fifth, sixth,
seventh rounder or undrafted free agent that made it that
(17:26):
that's really really cool. So I mean the Rams kept
five undrafted free agents on defense three DB's two linebackers.
That's pretty nuts. You know, this team's been pretty good
on defense that shouldn't be a should be a difficult
unit to make, and you just you just never know.
(17:48):
And that's the cool. That's the hard part. I think
when you see whatever you follow with training camp, the
people that the fans want to talk about are the
high picks, and then all of a sudden, that guy's
not playing and some undrafted free agent is. It's why
I never when I was going to training camps a
lot like get super excited about like a third or
(18:09):
fourth rounder, because when the season comes, that guy can
be completely irrelevant. And some undrafted free agent out of
Georgia Tech or out of Washington State is like a
special teamer who becomes a starter by the middle of
the season. It happens all the time. Maybe he's just
more mature, maybe he understands the defense more. Maybe he
(18:29):
just fell because there were some injury concerns or he
ran a slow forty or was injured as senior year.
I mean, there's just the quantity of guys every year
that come into football is unlike these other sports because
even in baseball, a lot of guys get drafted. I
forget how many rounds there is. It used to be
(18:50):
like forty. I think they cut it down a little bit.
Those guys go to the miners and they're just out
of sight, out of mind. Or in football, it's like
ninety guys show up in camp and the eighty seventh
guy by the second or third week can take out
that sixth round or quick And at the end of
the day, you've got to be able to remove the
(19:10):
emotion because and this is the hard part about today,
like no one is tighter with the players than the
individual position coach. And when the individual position coach, he's
gonna have a huge agenda's probably the wrong way to
put it, but a bias, a closeness, emotional attachment that
(19:31):
he can't separate. And that is the job of the GM,
the front office and the head coach is to kind
of remove that emotion because I want my position coaches
fighting for their guys, especially if he truly believes this
guy's a good player, this guy can help us, this
guy should make the team. But if you listen to
every position coach on every team, you'd have seventy five
(19:52):
man rosters. So you got to make tough decisions and
you kind of got to drop the hammer and something else.
How he stayed today in his press conference, like, yeah,
we didn't agree on every player, and then Sirianni chimed in.
He's like, yeah, position coaches get very emotional, as they should,
and that happens all around the NFL. It's why, I mean,
Belichick's the greatest of all time. There is no emotion.
(20:15):
He did not give a shit. It's why the good
coaches really rely on their GM, Like you'd be the
the swing vote here because this position coach is pounding
the table for this guy. It's like, listen, we like him.
We easily can get him to the practice squad. It's
more important for us to not keep this whatever extra
(20:38):
linebacker and keep this extra offensive lineman because this guy's
way more likely to get claimed if we put him
through waivers. And those guys just don't understand that that's
not their job to be a master in that part
of the business. Who's gonna get claimed? How many claimable
offensive linemen? Because that's the one thing. If you have
an offensive lineman they can play a little bit and
(20:58):
has like any fringe fifty three man ability right now,
and you put him on the waivers, I'd say there's
like a ninety percent chance to get clamped. Everyone listening,
whoever your team is. There is not a team in
the league, from the Super Bowl champs to the shittiest
team that can't use offensive linehelp. Obviously, past rushers, no
(21:21):
one's given up anyone, but offensive lineman can be tricky.
It's like, if this guy's showing out in the preseason,
other teams are gonna be interested. Especially it's like, well,
this guy can play guard and tackle. This guy can
play both guard spots, and he played center in college.
This guy started games before at right tackle and left guard.
It's like, damn, but that brings a lot of value
(21:41):
to the table in a league that's just desperate for
offensive linemen. So you got to be very careful about that.
And sometimes, like your DV coach is screaming, it's like, guys,
we can find backup safeties, I can find a slot receiver.
I can find. There's a million running backs out there.
I can't find a guard that if week two I
need to be my starter. Like offensive linemen, we're keeping
(22:04):
an extra one. It's why I think you see teams
like I think I saw the Packers kept ten offensive linemen,
which pretty crazy, But don't blame them. If you're gonna
if you're gonna overkeep a position, you do that. The
(22:25):
Kelsey Brothers one of the greatest meteoric rises you'll ever
see in the media entertainment space. You know, call her
Daddy who Alex Cooper is just a rock star. I mean,
she's made sixty million, she's signed another one hundred and
(22:46):
twenty million. I remember when that show first started and
they were going viral. You know, you had to turn
it on check out what they were doing, and I
mean it was pretty entertaining. At first. You're like, I've
never heard anything quite like this. It was clear right
away that like, this other chick is pretty worthless. And
then she obviously ended up making Sophia with an F
(23:06):
one of the worst business decisions in the history of humanity.
I mean, but I think the cream usually rises and
it was meant to happen that Alex would have kicked
her to the side. She's a solo act, right, and
she became right there next to Joe Rogan as someone
doing ten plus million listens in episode That's fucking insane.
(23:29):
The Kelsey Brothers are this like incredible combo. And let's
face it, they really took off two years ago when
they started their podcast. They ended up both in the
Super Bowl. I mean it was the perfect storm. They
did one podcast a week, right, one of the biggest,
the biggest sports podcast, pardon my take, does three, like
(23:51):
two and a half hour podcasts a week, So the
Kelsey Brothers do one podcast a week. And you know,
I've seen that are well in or two hours, so
it could be wrong. There haven't looked in a long time.
They're both very relatable humans. Travis not as much now
because he's dating the most famous probably female on the planet,
(24:13):
but Jason feels like in every Man. Travis had that
vibe for a long period of time with a little
like coolness factor. They played in the Super Bowl. They
parlayed that into just a lot of people paying attention.
Then Travis started Dayton Taylor Swift. It's just a good
life lesson whenever you get an opportunity to strike while
(24:35):
the iron's hot, you gotta do it because you never know.
There have been a lot of athletes that have tried
podcasting and are trying it currently that are just never
going to be big. And these guys, I think most
people would have thought, when they may, it'll be kind
of entertaining. Send one hundred million dollar contract, now is
it really worth that. I talked to someone in the
(24:56):
space that said, I don't know how any company could
even break even given the quantity of content they're producing. Now,
maybe that changes. Jason's now retired, maybe he starts doing
stuff for Amazon because that's technically the parent company that
owns Wondery. But props to those guys, because that's freaking awesome.
(25:18):
They are. They've been a rocket ship operation. There's no
question about it. And I saw that one thing's going
to be pretty clear. Heading into this weekend with college football,
five million people watch Florida State, Georgia Tech. It was
the most watched. I heard McAfee say this week zero
(25:39):
game in the history of Week zero games. Now, if
I remember correctly, there have been some bad Week zero games,
But regardless, I think college football this year is going
to do massive numbers. My friends of State Bulldogs play
Michigan on Saturday night NBC. I'm on a text chain
(26:03):
with a bunch of guys that live in Fresne. A
couple guys played there, and I said, I hope everyone
realizes there will be more eyeballs on this game than
any game Fresne State has ever played, and it will
not even be close. And Fresne's played Wisconsin, Tennessee, Ohio State,
Nebraska played big team USC. They have played big games
(26:24):
for decades. In the amount of people, They're gonna turn
that thing on and turn on these games this weekend,
the next couple of weekends, LSU USC on Sunday night.
It might not do an NFL number like twenty twenty
five million people that typically watch Today Night football, but
I bet it breaks a record. And listen, people ask
(26:46):
me all the time, like do you play fantasy? And
it's like, I never really got into fantasy. I respect
it and I know how big it is, but I gamble.
That's kind of what I do. And clearly, now with
the ability for more people to dabble in that space
and I'm not I get turned off a little bit
by all these media guys talking about gambling, like have
you really been gambling? Or are you just doing it
(27:08):
now for the money? Like some of us, it's in
our blood. I start sneaking into a casino when I
was like fifteen, sixteen years old, Cash Creek, Northern California.
I love it. I like the juice, and so does
anyone listen to this. If you like the gamble, you
just kind of get that itch. But a lot of
people talk about it now and you can tell, like
this guy. This guy wouldn't bet a fucking dollar on
a game, but a lot of people will. It's why
(27:31):
Michael Jordan resonates with us unlike Lebron because we can relate.
He's got gambling problems, likes to booze, likes to smoke cigars.
It's like like a lot of people. I know, Michael's
my goat, always will be, always has been. That'll never
change part just because I think his relatability and every
time you hear a story it's about him gambling on
(27:52):
the golf course, drinking booze. I'm like, shit, like to
hang out with this guy, but I think the gambling
out The NFL has always had it. The NFL is
just bigger than college football. It's just in bigger cities.
But now that it's kind of made its way to
college football on just this national level, that you get
(28:12):
people in these urban areas that might not care that
much about college football betting on the games. And we
better buckle up because it's gonna be big. And that's
why I want to hit on three things really quick
as we headed into this college football season that I
feel pretty strongly about. First and foremost, I root for
West Coast teams. I was a PAC twelve homer. I
(28:37):
want like when USC was awesome, it was sweet, it
was fun. I'm not anti USC, but I think they're
gonna stink this year. I think they are a six
to seven win team. They're going to be way worse
at quarterback. How could they not be losing Caleb Williams
(28:58):
and I just and I've said this for a while now,
I don't think it's a fit. And sometimes I was
thinking about this the other day, Like Lincoln at Oklahoma,
and Lincoln clearly knows what he's doing calling offense a
lot like Ryan Day knows how to call offense. They
both inherited a Mercedes, like Oklahoma was rolling. Ohio State
(29:24):
had won national championship with Urban Meyer. They were recruiting
the best of the best, and listen, they maintained it
and they did a great job, both of them. Their records, obviously,
Ryan Day's record at Ohio State and Lincoln Riley's record
Oklahoma speak for themselves. Winning conferences, going to BCS games,
going to the Final four. I'm not arguing that they
(29:44):
can't handle that, but going to programs that are in disarray.
That's what Jim Harbaugh did when he got to Michigan
and started winning ten games and then won a national championship.
That's why everyone freaked out when he said the dude
was born on third base. All he's saying is the
guy took over a program. It wasn't that difficult to
(30:04):
do what he did. A lot of people have done it.
When Nick Saban got to Alabama, it was bad. It
was not easy. Like that was a tough, tough turnaround.
If anyone can get Florida rolling again, if it doesn't
work out this year and they hire a new coach,
that's difficult. What Lane Kiffin is doing at Ole Miss,
that's impressive, right, What Kaylin do bore when he got
(30:28):
to Washington and they were a disaster and then flipped
him and had him in the national championship two years ago.
It's like, that's why he got the Alabama job. That's
not for everybody. If you put Lincoln right now, at
if Lincoln Riley had taken over for Alabama, like Alabama
be fine. Are they gonna rattle off seven national championships
(30:49):
in fifteen years? Probably not, but they'll be good. That'll
be top ten team every year. I just don't. I
don't see it, and I do not think it's gonna work.
And I'm not some USC hater because there are a
lot of them that ain't me. I'm really more of
a Notre Dame Ohio State hater. But I respect those
brands in those programs, and I think college football is
(31:09):
better when they're all good. But I always kind of
celebrate when they lose, but they don't, especially Ohio State,
they don't lose very often. Nebraska, I think they have
a chance to be the most fascinating team in the
country this year simply because this quarterback. Now, this happens
a lot in college football. A young five star rumors
(31:31):
that he got three four million dollars, never taking a snap.
You know, part of the reason I think he's not
at Georgia is because Kirby smart rightfully so doesn't go
hit certain amounts with high school recruits. I mean, they'll
pay them, but they weren't willing to pay what Nebraska's
willing to pay. They'll pay established starters, which to me
(31:52):
is the move. I would be very hesitant paying high
school recruits, especially at quarterback, millions of dollars, because over
half of them are not gonna turn into NFL players
or superstars. But Nebraska had no choice. His dad had
played there and he was a legit five star could
have got Ohio State Georgia like they both wanted him.
(32:12):
If this guy is good, I think Nebraska's gonna be
really interesting. This is why when I look at USC
like they're not beating Penn State, I don't know how
good Michigan's gonna be, but like I can't just chuck
them up to beat Michigan. And when they play random
teams like Wisconsin Minnesota, like are they just a lock
to win these games? No chance? The other team that
(32:35):
I think everyone's kind of written off because he needs
to make fun of he says some random stuff and
he's anti the portal, so everyone's kind of ripped him
for it is Clemson, and I do wonder if we're
gonna see Clemson this year. We see Florida State. DJ stinks,
so they're gonna have problems. Miami's coach is just it's
(32:56):
hard to trust, you know that people are the high
behind Miami is putting a lot of faith in Mario Chrystobal.
Whenever Mario had to play real coach at Oregon, he lost.
And then on top of that, he does some of
the dumbest shit you'll ever see, taving him twice now,
not kneeling the ball, running the ball, and sled to
fumbles and losses. And the other thing is cam Ward,
(33:19):
who I watched a lot at Washington State, is a
pretty big wild card. Like he might be good, he
also might throw three picks in two of the biggest
games in Miami loose. What if Clemson is good this
year because they yeah, they don't do the transfer portal,
but they recruit at an elite level. So what if
(33:39):
this is the year that, like some of the teams
that won national titles, they're just stacked with future NFL players,
which they always are, but like it kind of clicks
and everybody, and I mean everybody is going Georgia is
gonna kill them, gonna destroy them. And I'm not saying
they're gonna be Georgia, but I think this is a
pretty easy year for Davo to kind of motivate and
(34:03):
rally the troops. They had some momentum coming off last
year because they actually played pretty well with some major
question marks at quarterback. So I would say USC. I
think they're gonna suck relative to the standard there. I'm
not saying two three wins, but I think they're much
closer to a six to seven win team than a
ten win team. I can't wait to watch Nebraska, and
(34:24):
I think people are sleeping on Clemson. Okay, mail back
time at John Middlecoff. At John Middlecoff, it's the Instagram
firing those dms. Get your question answered on the show,
diehard Pats fan, and I was wondering what your take
(34:47):
on this would be. Swap out Mac Jones and Drake
by So Mac out Drake in with Josh as the
OC and Belichick running the D meaning Belichick's head coach.
Where would they be at right now. I believe that
Drake's talent plus some time to grow under Josh would
(35:07):
be a better spot than we are in now. Well,
would you take Joh would take head coach Belichick and
Josh McDaniels, would Drake may or Drod Mayo and Alex
van Pelt. It's I mean, what are we talking about here?
I think the problem one, Yeah, you would, it would now.
(35:28):
They they struggled with drafting receivers. They still had some issues,
but clearly once Josh left Bill it kind of derailed
everything and he got a head coaching job. He made
six years. I mean I heard Mark Davis owed him
and Ziegler like eighty million dollars remaining on the two
contracts because he had paid Josh a lot. Ziegler was
(35:50):
making a lot, they were on long term deals. It
was time for a change. So it's hard to argue
that like they're not they didn't do the right thing,
because they did by just breaking up with Bill now
hiring a guy who feels like he's over his head.
And this is the scary part for Drake May. You
(36:12):
get in a situation where, even though you're physically gifted,
the offensive line is gonna be awful. Are you thrust
into action really soon? Is your team just getting their
teeth kicked in? It feels like it could be an
uphill battle, and the only the mentally tough make it
through that. It takes out a lot of people because
(36:35):
most people aren't Peyton manning to just that are gonna
be good no matter what I saw it with Alex Smith,
Mike Nolan, Mike Singletary. The teams were bad. It was hard,
and it was ugly, and he was going through new
offensive coordinators every year. And for most people in Alex
Smith's situation, they just washed out of the league. But
(36:57):
somehow he just persevered. He was mentally tough, and then
Jim Harbaugh came and saved him. So I would imagine
if Drake may does become a really good player, it
won't be with this head coach and offensive coordinator. Kickoff idea.
The mailback people can't seem to agree on the thirty
yard line or the thirty five yard line for touchbacks.
(37:20):
Teams kickoff five to six times per game. What if
each touchback adds one yard to the ball placement on
the next kickoff for each team. This will lead to
more late game kickoff returns and even more exciting overtime kickoffs.
It gives the NFL a look at what touchbacks look
like at the thirty yards and also the thirty five
(37:41):
yard line. It's also slightly handicapped team that score a
lot and provide parody the NFL wants if it is
a problem early on, which Bill Belichick expects it to be,
and to me, he's saying that from an educated standpoint,
like I would imagine a lot of coaches or bs
and with Bill over the last couple months, especially about
(38:04):
special teams, I think the NFL will change it because
a touchback has to be more putative because at the
end of the day, the thirty it's just worth going
to the thirty and not thirty five. I mean, obviously,
but I'm just saying, like, if there is any question
about the guy back, think about a ty game and
(38:24):
you're playing the Dolphins and they put Tyreek Hill back there.
Think about a ty game and you're playing the forty
nine ers and they put Deebo Samuel back there. Right,
I mean, you get in some of these situations, and
I mean there are countless players all over the league
that you could do this with what if Andy did
it with Xavier Worthy, What if, you know, trying to
(38:44):
think just you're starting running, what if the Eagles did
it with Sakwon Barkley, you know, ty game Dallas Cowboys
for the Division. Now, that would be a long way
down the road, but you know what I mean, And
I just think the teams are just gonna wave the
white flag on it, which is exactly, you know, counterproductive
from what the NFL wanted. Was this to be a
(39:05):
real play. And if it turns into the same exact
result of people just kicking it through, whether it's at
the thirty or the twenty, it's still the same thing.
The play doesn't matter, and it's just a complete waste.
I think Week one is gonna be fascinating. I honestly,
I think Thursday and Friday Night with the Eagles and
the Packer Eagle and Eagles Packers and Chiefs Ravens is
(39:29):
gonna give us a pretty good insight because if in
those two games they're just booting it forward. I thought
Bill had the best idea, just go normal kickoff and
move them back, have the kicker be at a spot
where it would take the greatest kicker of all time
to get it halfway through the end zone, let alone
through the end zone. I still don't feel great about
(39:49):
the rules, Like I don't learn by studying. I learned
by watching or I learned by doing so like I
feel like I've learned more watching it. But it's also
the preseason, so you're totally not locked in. I think
once the regular season week one of a pretty good
idea on exactly what is going on, but I couldn't
give like a tutorial on the kickoff right now. Very
(40:14):
native living in Raleigh, North Carolina. I first heard you
a decade ago on the radio question about holdouts and injuries.
Is there any data showing the significance of holding out
of training camp and the impact of season long nagging injuries.
I feel like there's a high correlation between the two.
I could be wrong. It's just my instinctive belief. For instance,
(40:39):
see Lamb and Brandon Ayuk both have missed pretty much
all of training camp. I know they're working out on
their own, but I feel like working out and practicing
football are two totally different things. When I see guys
sit out all of training camp, my thought is, watch
them get hurt in the next few weeks. I would
imagine that they are definitely more susceptiol to an injury
(41:01):
than a guy that's been practicing since July twenty fifth.
You don't even need data to go. This guy has
not been doing what everyone else is going to be doing,
and then he's gonna be thrust into a situation where
we know that week one is way faster than any practice,
let alone any preseason games. I saw today that CD's
(41:21):
now in like a phase where they get them back
up to speed so they don't just throw them out
there right away. But they don't have that much time
because Thursday, Friday, Saturday Sunday are off, so there is
no practice. And yeah, but what are you supposed to do?
Like Seed Lamb's holding out until you give him the
number he wants. Brandon Ayuk, I don't even know how to.
(41:44):
I mean, how would you even describe the situation? I
feel like Brandon Ayuke's situation is unprecedented. They've offered him money,
he says no, he said he wanted a trade. They
found him trades and he said no, I don't I
don't really understand what's going on. He wants to be
a Niner and he wants CD Lambs contract. The forty
(42:04):
Niners want him as a Niner, but they want to
pay him twenty seven million dollars a year and they
will never pay him CD Lambs contract. Question for the mailbag,
what was ultimately wrong with your dog? Did you get
a diagnosis? I'm a veterinarian in Michigan who listens to
your show. It's called like I am, I am h A.
(42:27):
It's some immune disorder that I guess smaller dogs get.
She's had it now since Wednesday. We're on Tuesday. She
is doing a lot better when you look at her
and moving around, but we took her to the doctor today.
Her red blood cell count is still really low and
she might have to get a blood transfusion tomorrow. So
(42:48):
I might be saying that name wrong, but she has
an immune disorder that screws with her blood count, and
she's kind of been a shell of herself. She can't move,
she breeze hard. They say that like thirty forty percent
of dogs die within the first week. So yeah, fun times.
(43:11):
Lions fan here, been listening to you for about a
year now. I wanted to know what your thoughts are
about the Lions' chances of making it back to the
conference championship. I know Colin has the Packers winning the
division and the Lions still making the playoffs. I want
to know what your thoughts are and if you think
they have a chance to get back to the super Bowl.
(43:32):
I think they have a very good chance to be
the number one seed. I'm gonna I'll probably do I
guess division picks next week, but I'm picking the Lions.
I actually think there are a lot of easy to
do divisions to pick Lions the Chiefs. I'm picking the
Bills until they don't win that division. There are obviously
(43:52):
some tough divisions. I don't think your division is that tough.
I think the Lions are just better than the other teams.
Your major question mark was defensive backs. Well you double
down on that position in the draft and in free
agency trades. So your front seven we know is going
to be good. Aiden Hutchson is one of the best
(44:13):
pass rushers. I think he'll establish himself as that this year.
And we know how loaded your offenses, best offensive line
arguably in the NFL, A veteran quarterback who's proven he
can win in the playoffs, let alone be an excellent
regular season player, star tight end, stud wide receiver, a
(44:33):
deep threat that feels like maybe he's coming into his
own Jamis and Williams awesome backfield. I don't see what's
not to like about the Lions. I think the Packers
still have two question marks. One is this just who
Jordan Love is? He's had a grade eight games, Like
is he's just gonna play at a pro bowl level
all season? I like Jordan Love a lot, but until
(44:56):
you do it, who knows? And defense? And defense? I
would say sitting here, I wouldn't be shocked if the
Bears are better than the Packers. I wouldn't bet on that,
but it wouldn't be shocking. I think the Lions win
twelve thirteen games. Again, Hey John, lifelong Pats fan. Here,
(45:19):
been a great twenty five years so far. As a
football fan, have been very privileged to watch the grandest
dynasty of all time. My question is the Pats handling
of the current quarterback situation. I understand the reasoning behind
sitting May and I understand it's only preseason, but Drake
(45:40):
has looked miles better than any other quarterback we have,
so why not just start him when Mahomes sat for
a year. The Chiefs were very successful and had a
very good quarterback in place ahead of them. Same with Rogers,
same with Jordan Love. I think the main problem with
the Patsite situation with Drake May because there is no
(46:01):
disputing Jacoby presents not very good. You could argue a
ten million dollars he's stealing, but that's what the pastor
we're willing to pay him. And he's a good guy,
so you know you're paying like an extra three or
four million for vibes. But he can't move like. He's
not an athlete, he's a statue back there. He's going
to get killed. Their O line sucks, it is really bad.
(46:23):
So yeah, he's way better, and I'm a huge proponent
of learn by doing, But would this guy get killed
being Drake May? Now? Is Jacoby gonna last a month?
Let's say Jacoby is healthy, the shoulder injury is not
a big deal, and he starts week one. What's the
over under of games he plays before he's injured three
(46:46):
and a half, two and a half. It's not very big.
So it's inevitable that Drake's gonna play because there's no
way on God's Green Earth that Jacoby can play seventeen
games as a pocket quarterback behind this offensive line, especially
because not good. So what does that mean they're gonna
be behind? What does that mean they gotta throw They're
gonna be in a lot of second and third and lungs,
(47:08):
So he's gonna be in compromise situations. I think in
theory they're doing the right thing, but it's unavoidable. It's
unavoidable to throw them out there. The concern is is if,
like he's still in their minds a pretty big project,
you throw them out there. He's running for his life.
Young people lose confidence fast. Humans lose confidence fast, so
(47:30):
it takes a while to build it. It does not
take long to lose it in any walk of life.
It's always a big thing in golf. When you got
it going on, you think you'll never you know, you're
always nervous you're gonna lose it. And when you lost it,
you think you're never gonna get it back. And I
think you're very concerned about throwing him in at a
(47:52):
disadvantage to just get killed. It's one thing like we're
gonna struggle whatever, what if Bryce Young's never the same
after last year. I appreciate your realistic and not so
off the wall takes. Maybe I should be a little
more off the wall. I was wondering if you had
a chance, if you had a take on Jason Bean
(48:15):
out of Indy. I'm a KC and KU fan, so
I've watched quite a bit of Bean over the last
few years, filling in for Jalen Daniels. I've always thought
Bean was a better quarterback, considering how unreliable Daniels has
been due to injury. I've watched him return to a
quarterback he is today. I kind of thought he had
the potential to be a starting quarterback. And Shane Stiken
(48:36):
as head coach in OC, Yeah, I don't have a
take there. Considering the rumors that have gone out about
Richardson choosing to run rather than throw the ball, what
do you think the odds are Bean would ever get
a start? They're all in on Anthony Richardson. I watched
Shane Steiken on rich Eisen the other day. He's gonna
(48:56):
go the ship is gonna sync with Anthony Richardson, and
I was a big believer. I was like, should I
I was thinking about picking the Colts I'm still gonna
pick the Colts, I think to make the playoffs because
I think Shane Sychen is such a star coach and
he'll work with it. And I know it's only preseason,
but the one thing you see with Anthony Richardson touch
(49:19):
and accuracy is going to be a work in progress. Now,
he's a great runner, but can he stay healthy while running?
And can he function enough in the passing game when
stuff's open and hit guys? Like, if you're telling me
the Colts don't make the playoffs, I'd be like, I
bet he has a really inaccurate season and Anthony Richardson
plays all year. I bet his completion percentages in like
(49:41):
the mid to high fifties, which is a problem in
this modern day NFL. But can they run the ball enough,
play defense, ride Jonathan Taylor, ride the quarterback run game
while keeping him healthy, which is tough, man. But your
guy's ceiling is Anthony Richardson, and you see it, like
(50:02):
when you watch him in the preseason game. Who are
they playing the Bengals? I think it was the Bengals.
He is oozing with talent. It's like, this is everything
you want in a project. Good guy, physically. I mean,
he throws the ball effortlessly with like effortlessly and it's going,
(50:22):
but it's going one hundred miles an hour. So can
he develop a change up? Can he just develop He
doesn't have to be Peyton Manning or Drew Brees, but
just some sort of touch and accuracy and he can
be a really good player. But if you can't do that,
it's gonna be a problem. But I have no take
on your Kansas quarterback I'm sorry. Your whole offensive defensive
(50:44):
coach theory is bullshit. You prop up Shanahan mcveag like
they are superior guys like Tomlin when I don't see
him getting to the playoffs with a below average quarterback play.
Shanahan's offense with Nick Mullens not the same. And not
only did those teams not make the playoffs, they were
one of the worst teams in the McVeigh couldn't even
make the playoffs with Baker Mayfield. In fact, he already
missed the playoffs twice. As great of a head coach,
(51:07):
he is, Listen, Mike Tomlin in these defensive guys. When
there are questions at quarterback, Kyle Shanahan is winning big
with Brock Purty, who was the last pick in the draft.
Kyle Shanahan won playoff games with Jimmy Garoppolo, who I
got news for You might just stink now, he didn't
(51:30):
stink when he was playing with him, but he was
always pretty average. The offensive head coach can manipulate the
quarterback position. Yeah, No one can win with the shittiest
quarterback possible. Sean McVeigh got Baker Mayfield late in the season.
Sean McVay didn't play off season with Baker Mayfield. Remember
he was playing with a bunch of random guys. And
(51:53):
then they got Baker later in the regular season when
he beat the Raiders. But that was that was either
a late November early December. The theory is not bullshit.
It's an offensive leak. So I want my coach to
be able to coach the quarterback. It kind of matters.
(52:14):
How's that even debatable at this point? It really is not.
We have seen Andy Reid for two decades, two and
a half decades, win with countless players. Why because he's
a quarterback greer and he's the offensive play color. Yeah,
it matters defense, and it used to matter a lot
more on a weekly basis, when teams ran the ball
(52:36):
all the time, scoring was lower. Though scoring was technically
lower last year, but in twenty twenty four. In twenty
twenty four, I'm not disputing Mike Thomas not a good coach,
or that if he was fired he wouldn't immediately be hired.
But if we did a coaching draft tomorrow and it
(52:58):
was based on the draft order so started with Carolina
all the way to thirty two, think of the coaches
that would go in the top ten. Andy would go one.
I think Kyle and McVeigh would be locks for at
least two of the next three picks. I think Shane
(53:21):
Steiken would go really high. Obviously, Jim Harbaugh. I think
Jim Harbaugh would go above his brother. Before Lamar Jackson
the Ravens started struggling. John Harbaugh couldn't do anything with
the quarterback. Joe Flaka looked like a complete scrub. You
saw Joe Flacco with Robert Sala didn't look that good.
(53:42):
So I'm with Shane Sikein or Stefanski all of a
sudden good. You know why, because Stefanski and Shane Steikin
can manipulate that position. So yeah, it's easier to win
when you've got John Elway or Peyton Manning, no shit,
But can you win with random guys like Eric Spolster
(54:03):
can kind of compete with just random guys. Most NBA
coaches can't sniff wins if they don't have a star.
So you take defensive coaches. I'll take offensive coaches in
twenty twenty four, moving forward, and we'll see where the
dust settles. I feel pretty confident Mike Tomlin hasn't won
a playoff game in a decade almost. It's not even
(54:28):
a theory. These are the guys dominating Dan Campbell. What's
his background offense? I love the show in your takes.
Why was it that Jeff Fisher was so good at
the Titans coach there for sixteen years and almost won
a Super Bowl and got to multiple AFC Championships, but
when he went to the Rams he was mediocre. Well,
(54:52):
he had a really good quarterback, like he had Steve
McNair for whatever from ninety five to two thousand and five.
So he had a guy that won an MVP. He
had a guy going to Pro Bowls in the league
like this was an old school defensive guy who learned
from Buddy Ryan. So in the nineties and even the
two thousands, Like whenever on Instagram it comes up like
(55:15):
enjoy highlights from the nineties or highlights from the two thousands,
it looks like a different sport. So what he did
was very important to the way the game was officiated. Toughness, leadership,
run the ball, old school conservative coach. That's not really
football the last ten fifteen years, once Brady and Manning
(55:38):
got older, Rogers came into the league, it became a
throwing league. That's not him. He's really he was built
for a different time and he was good and his
shit translated, and then the league changed on him with
(56:01):
the successive young quarterbacks. Could Jerry Jones be eyeing a
complete overhaul. I can see paying an up and coming
o see enough money they can't refuse to be the
head coach, having him pick a guy in the draft
yours Milroe whoever, and maybe trading CD to the AFC
for the capitol to do so. Once you give CD
(56:21):
that amount of money, he's on the team. I don't
think Jerry is okay with being the second most popular
football team in Texas. Your thoughts, I think you have
to rephrase that he has a potent. We'll see how
this year plays out. He would be the second best
team in Texas. They are by far, not just the
most popular team in Texas, they're the most popular team
(56:42):
in America and definitely the most talked about. Jerry's eighty
one years old, so I have a hard time seeing
him do a complete overall. To me, if he was
sixty eight, it's on the table. You do a complete
overhaul at eighty one, you might not be alive to
(57:02):
ever see the thing turn around. And the thing with
Jerry is like they are pretty good right now, and
what if they win ten eleven games again? That's four
straight years of double digit wins. Part of the reason
they fired Garrett is like he was the king of
the eight and eight king of the almost Like Mike
McCarthy is getting you to the playoffs. What if Mike
McCarthy wins the division again, even if they lose in
(57:24):
the first or second round. So he's won the division
three out of four years, you're gonna fire him. I
feel like this year I'm gonna come to Mike McCarthy's defense.
How are you gonna fight? How are you gonna upgrade
off Mike McCarthy. He's the offensive play caller, he's winning games.
He's really good with quarterbacks, like really good with quarterbacks.
(57:47):
So it's like, Okay, we're gonna fire him for some
up and coming OC. Well, there's no guarantee that guy
can be the head coach and handle the quarterbacks because
some guys get overwhelmed or Mike's proven he knows how
to be a head coach and he knows had to
coach a quarterback. I mean, Dak had the best year
of his career, and really since he's been the head coach,
Tack's been really good. Not in the playoffs obviously, but
(58:11):
I don't know. I feel like I'm gonna be on
the opposite side of what I've been when it comes
to McCarthy, Like fire McCarthy for who I think we've
kind of acknowledged, like belichicking work for Jerry. Hard time
seeing that Mike Vrabel is a good coaching candidate, but
you're gonna hire a defensive guy. I have a hard
(58:32):
time seeing that. So I feel like McCarthy's gonna end
up surviving if they win double DIGG games again, especially
if they win the division. Regardless of what happens in
the playoffs. That'll do it. Thanks for listening to everybody,
and have a great rest of your week. We'll have
one more podcast coming out on Thursday, a little college
football preview with a couple of college football guys, and
(58:56):
then we'll just enjoy the weekend watch some football. The
volume
Hosts And Creators
Colin Cowherd
Jason McIntyre
Popular Podcasts
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Special Summer Offer: Exclusively on Apple Podcasts, try our Dateline Premium subscription completely free for one month! With Dateline Premium, you get every episode ad-free plus exclusive bonus content.
The Breakfast Club
The World's Most Dangerous Morning Show, The Breakfast Club, With DJ Envy, Jess Hilarious, And Charlamagne Tha God!
Crime Junkie
Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by audiochuck Media Company.