3 & Out - Belichick to UNC, TNF Preview, Wilson and the Steelers

John reacts to the news of the day that saw Bill Belichick and UNC agree to terms to make him the next head coach of the Tar Heels. Will Belichick succeed at UNC or has the college landscape changed so much that he won't be able to adjust. Next, John previews the Thursday night game between the 49ers and Rams, and is it okay that Russell Wilson isn't a leader in the Steelers locker room because of who their coach is.

Lastly, John answers your questions in this episode's mailbag segment.

6:00 - Belichick to UNC

16:07 - TNF Preview

26:45 - Wilson and the Steelers

43:56 - Mailbag

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:01):
The volume. What is going on everybody? How are we doing?
John middlecoff three and Out podcast, What a Day to

(00:21):
be Alive if your North Carolina tar Heel. Yesterday, when
it was announced that Belichick was the head coach, I
did an instant reaction that is just YouTube only, so
it's on our YouTube page. I just did an instant reaction.
We'll talk a little bit about it today because I
do think there's a college team that might be kicking

(00:42):
themselves a little bit that would have the opportunity to
do this, because clearly he was ready to head to college,
and an option for a team that is of much
much higher stature in the world of Saturday football that
should have been all over him if given the chance.
Sometimes timing doesn't work out, And we'll talk about some

(01:03):
other stuff. We've got a Thursday night game Shanahan and McVeigh,
we got Tomblin and the Steelers, and something I missed
on that franchise this year with Russell Wilson that it's
really crystallized watching the hard knocks and just seeing the
clips and kicking myself because that was you just got
a bet on leadership, and of course mail bag at

(01:24):
John Middlecoff at John Middlecoff is the Instagram fire in
those dms at John Middlecoff. We'll do a long mail
bag today. I got a lot more questions. I think
we'll put out probably a Saturday mail bag only on
the podcast for everyone to consume. Other than that, what

(01:44):
a world. If I would have told you a year
ago that Belichick would be the next head coach at
North Carolina Tar Hills, you never would No one would
have believed you. Michael Jordan wouldn't have believed you. But
here we are. So make sure you subscribe to podcasts,
if you listen on Collins Feed, make sure you subscribe
to the YouTube channel because sometimes I'll just, you know, afternoon,

(02:06):
just throw up a video like I did today, so
we get we got some extra content up there as well,
and before we dive into some football though, I know this,
if I had gone to North Carolina, if I was
a North Carolina fan, there is no way on God's
green Earth, I wouldn't attend a game next year I
got Bill Belichick as my head coach. If I went
to one of these other schools in the ACC and

(02:27):
we were playing North Carolina, I would go to that game.
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guaranteed well well, well Belichick to North Carolina. I was
thinking about I think about this a lot of the importance,

(03:31):
and I've benefited greatly from this the just when you
say the word timing and timing being on your side.
It's benefited me personally, you know, in a professional way greatly,
and obviously some of the great business stories in the
history of America, from Steve Jobs to Jeff Bezos to Elon,

(03:52):
timing has been a huge part of their success. Like
Tesla doesn't exist if it's nineteen eighty, but he has
the idea the way every things worked. You know, I
would say economically where some of these states are moving,
you know, in terms of what they're pushing. It benefited him.
He got huge tax breaks from California to build this
and start his company, and it helped lead Tesla into

(04:16):
just great, great, a very fruitful time. Obviously, Jeff Bezos
starts a company that is selling books online. Well, part
of the idea behind that was he realized the brick
and mortar was in trouble, and then as time went
he adapted his company and now they sell everything. But
it really wouldn't have worked without I don't know, the Internet,

(04:39):
which changed the game. Think of Apple, like you could
argue the most important invention of my lifetime, like the car,
the wheel, fire lights, all that shit was already invented
by before I was born. Definitely, the most impactful one
has to be this phone, which they clearly have a
market share on. Right if you sit down with one
hundred people, I would say close to it's shocking when

(05:04):
you don't see one of them having an iPhone. Now,
obviously it wouldn't be one hundred percent, but I would
guess if you just grabbed one hundred people, that number
is much closer to ninety than it is seventy, and
potentially closer to one hundred than it is eighty. So
I've benefited from that what I'm doing now. When I
got out of radio, if it would have been nineteen

(05:26):
ninety three, this would not have existed. I couldn't have
done a radio show, which are podcasts. Obviously that is different,
but in create a studio from my home, it wouldn't
have been possible, partly because the Internet didn't exist. I
wouldn't have been able to distribute it. You wouldn't have
been able to find me. I remember the first time
I heard who Chris Russo and Mike Francesa were, and

(05:47):
I started listening to them on the internet. Well when
I was a kid, when they were crushing it in
New York in the late nineties. I was a sports
radio junkie, but you didn't have access to people outside
of your market. You didn't even know who they were.
I remember the first time I ever saw Jim Rome's picture,
I'm like, that's what he looks like. Imagine now listening

(06:07):
to someone in an audio form and not knowing what
they look like. The access we have to a visual
of what a guy looks like is so easy. You
google them, you go to their Instagram account. Basically you
pull up their podcasts, see their picture. When I was
a kid, you listen to the radio. You had no
clue what anyone looked like. In talk radio, obviously musicians
you did. And timing has changed the world right when

(06:31):
it comes to Internet and the businesses associated with the Internet. Well,
when you look at North Carolina like they benefited a
lot from They're one of the only jobs open right
now that has a lot of money behind them. And
Bill Belichick clearly was looking ahead and realizing I'm probably
not going to get an NFL job, or it's not

(06:51):
worth the risk of I might only have one or
two interviews and there's no guarantee. I am so the
old adage of bird in the hand is better than
two in the bush, and he jumped at it. But
there is no disputing that North Carolina historically is not
a great college football job. It's not bad. It's had
its moments. But when you think of top I don't

(07:12):
know forty college football jobs, I don't even think you
would listen North Carolina. Now the world has changed with nil.
There is a giant elephant in the room with a
massive job potentially opening Ryan Day after he lost to Michigan. Listen,
there were already some question marks, regardless of what the
media wanted to tell you. Once he lost that game,

(07:33):
no one surrounded with that program, alumni, booster or people
working as chancellors, board of directors or athletic directors could
look at the guy that say they just can't. He's
got a game here in about eight nine days at
home against Tennessee. If he loses that game, you can't
convince me that they wouldn't rather have Bill Belichick than
Ryan Day coaching. Though, here's the problem. You can't fire

(07:54):
Ryan Day today because you still have this game. But
there is a very very good chance that if he
loses that game, You're like we would have easily fired
him for Bill Belichick. Now we'll see as the information
comes out, was a huge sticking point for Bill, making
his son the coach in waiting. I don't have this
information at the time I'm recording this, but even if
they wouldn't, you can't convince me if Bill goes because

(08:15):
he's willing to take a college job. Obviously he literally
just did. He's cool with it. He's all in that.
He wouldn't have taken Ohio State, and Ohio State people
wouldn't want him over Ryan Day because what is the
big question mark right now with Ohio State. It's not money,
It's not a nil. I just read a report that
North Carolina one of their sales pitches to Bill was,
we'll go from four to five million, nil. We'll get

(08:37):
that bad boy up to twenty. Ohio State paid twenty
this year. Without blinking an eye, I saw the print
out of the highest paid coaches assistant coaches this year
in college football. Two of them won. Ohio State staff
Chip Kelly makes two million dollars and their defensive coordinator
makes about two and a half, so as two coordinators
make NFL coordinator money, and they also have a wide

(08:57):
receiver coach, who's the recruiting coordinator making well of a million.
So in terms of staff budget, in terms of nil,
and in terms of prominence, standing, everything surrounded with it.
Ohio State has it all. Part of taking the North
Carolina job is there's gonna be some effort Bill's gonna
have to put in to get the top players even
with nil and you can sign the biggest checks, but
it's still gonna take some time. Ohio Sate recruits itself.

(09:19):
That has never been an issue my entire life. They've
always got the best players. You give them Bill Belichick
because the question mark with the program has been toughness, physicality.
Where do they wilt when they play Michigan. Why because
they're just not as tough. It's not in their souls,
not in their ethos. What do you say when you
think Bill Belichick, you think defense, that is truly his baby,

(09:41):
building a program of tough guys. Honestly, when you think
his offense, same thing. Tom Brady an underrated intangible he
has tough motherfucker. Julian Edelman, Logan Mankins, Rob Gronkowski, all
the guys they had in the early the iteration in
the early two thousands tough guys North Carolina. I don't

(10:01):
know how good he's gonna be. Like, I think their
team's gonna be, you know, above five hundred next year,
but I'm not predicting they're making the playoffs or anything.
I think in the next couple of years they are
going to be something to be reckoned with. But if
you put him at Ohio State next year, like, what
is honestly Bill's biggest advantage. He's smarter at football than everybody.
Maybe Andy Reid's probably the one guy now who's elevated

(10:23):
to his level. But Bill's x's and no's ability at
every position is better than everybody. When you watch Ryan Day,
it's like, well, he's a pretty good passing game guy,
but the rest of the team defense little hit or
miss toughness. Definitely hit her miss. And it's like the
running game since urban Meyer left has just not been
the same and it's not because of players. So I

(10:45):
wonder if Ohio State and listen, there's nothing they could do.
It's just kind of bad timing. They were a week
away of why wouldn't they immediately call this guy? Can
we fire Ryan Day and hire this guy? The problem
is as of December eleventh, it would be difficult to
fire Ryan Day. And I think timing was on their
side because I wonder if this was a little different that,
you know, if Bill was willing and there's some pressure

(11:07):
on Bill to take this job because recruiting, the transfer
portals open. If he was a week away, that he
could be the head coach at Ohio State. And even
if they wouldn't acquiesce to your sons, the coach in waiting, well,
if Bill wins a national championship, they'd probably let him
do whatever he wants. You want to make Steve the
next coach. They literally just did it with Urban Meyer.
Ryan Day had never done shit. He'd been a position
coach coordinator kinda you know, before he got to Ohio

(11:31):
State a couple of years with Urban boom, he's the
head coach. So if Belichick were to win a title
with is what Urban did, they'd be cool with letting
him hand it off. They literally just did it, and
for their standards, they wish it was a little better.
It's still not bad, but I wonder, if you're an
Ohio State fan, you go, God, couldn't we just ahead Belichick?

(11:53):
If I told you right now, if you're an Ohio
State fan, would you fire Ryan Day to day even
going into this playoffs to hire Belichick, even if it
meant losing to Tennessee. Of course you would, because the
reality is you might lose that game anyway, and then
you'll probably be stuck with the guy for another year.
And if I also told Michigan, or definitely if I

(12:13):
told Michigan Charon Moore, the ad and everyone associated with
that program. If I told Penn State and James Franklin,
if I told Oregon, if I told Alabama, if I
told Georgia, would you rather play Ryan Day or would
you rather play Bill Belichick? Would it take them a
second or two seconds to answer that question? So massive
day for UNC. And if I was an Ohio State fan,

(12:35):
I'd be like, so Belichick's cool with coming to college,
Like he's actually doing the jump and we're stuck with
Ryan Day and Chip Kelly. We might lose it home
in a week to Tennessee. After Michigan just beat us
when their quarterback through for sixty yards, it's gotta suck. Okay,
let's get into the Thursday night game. When you think

(12:59):
marquee games, especially primetime games, they always show up that
visual of like, you know, like when the Chiefs play
the Bills, it's like Josh Allen versus Patrick Mahomes, right,
you throw on the Eagles this week, Pittsburgh against the Eagles,
it's like Saquon and TJ Watt right, or Russell Wilson
versus Jalen Hurts. It's like players. What has really helped

(13:22):
football separate from everyone else because ultimately it's a reality
television show. That's what sports are. It's reality television. When
I was a kid, all three major sports, basketball, baseball,
and football, the players weren't just the stars. Coaches were massive.
Phil Jackson and pat Riley were every bit as popular

(13:42):
is the wrong way to put it, but as famous.
Phil Jackson was as famous as basically every player in
the league at certain times. Besides maybe like Michael Jordan
and Kobe Bryant who were on his team. Pat Riley
is one of the most famous basketball figures of all time. Obviously,
in college basketball forever, the most famous people were the coaches.
In baseball, When I was a kid, the managers were
really big deal. Now they make less than an offensive

(14:05):
line coach does. At the University of Georgia. They don't
really play a part in the whole thing in football,
what they really got going for them. Obviously it's popular
because the scarcity of the inventory and you only get
one game a week, every game matters. We know all that,
but it's the power of the characters. The owners are
really famous, the assistant coaches are really famous. The head

(14:27):
coaches are equivalent to players. And the unique part of
this Niner Rams matchup is I would say the two
poster childs, like if you're just going Niners versus the
Rams this entire time. This is a team. One's won
a Super Bowl. Both of them have been to two.
They've been really good. They are by far if every

(14:49):
coach got fired, if every guy under fifty, they would
be the first two hires. They are the poster childs
Sean McVay Kyle Shanahan, And obviously they have a connection.
They work together. They're all under this umbrella. Their cronies
are all over the league. Even though they do it differently.
I think McVeigh is much more inclined to run like
a drop back passing game, when Kyle really wants to

(15:11):
play like nineteen to eighty five football and run it
forty times a game, So they are on the opposite
ends of the spectrum in terms of I think deep
down their offensive philosophy, Like if they could call one play,
what would it be. Kyle would be a run, Sean
would be a pass. But they both come from the
football school of they love tough, physical players. I was

(15:32):
thinking about today at the gym, like I wonder if
what they hoped Ricky Piersall would become. And part of
the reason they drafted him is because they just saw
Pooka Nakua. When you look at the Rams, like their
defensive line, Jared Verse and Fist, the two defensive linemen
from Florida State are guys Kyle Shanahan and John Lynch
would like they like old school football players despite being

(15:53):
two young guys. But when you think the forty nine ers,
and when you think the La Rams over the last
seven eight years, despite I mean the Rams have one
of the greatest players in the history of the sport
that just retired in Aaron Donald, and you still think
Sean McVay. The forty nine Ers of the last three
or four years are littered with some of the best
players in the league. George Kiittle, Trent Williams, Nick Bosa,
Fred Warner, I'd say DBO, but he's falling off cliff

(16:16):
a little bit. Christian McCaffrey, and you still think Kyle shanahan.
And that's what's cool about this matchup. Now, from a
game perspective, there's a lot on the line. I thought
the Niners are dead. I still am not that confident, right,
I don't put that much stock against the Bears, a
team that just went one, two, three Cancun. I mean, listen,
I'm not one. I have a lot of respect for

(16:37):
any player in the NFL. I have a lot of
respect for anyone that plays football. It's very tough sport
in college, definitely the NFL. Any good high school player,
it's hard. But that was as shitty of an effort
like they looked early on that Bears team like we
don't want to play this game, like we're just over
this season. So it's hard for me to know to

(16:58):
put how much stock into that game. But if the
Niners had any sort of slim slim chance to just
make their season, have an opportunity to make, they had
to win that game, and they did. Then they get
a short week against the Rams, who historically Shanahan his
own McVeigh beside the one game that really mattered the
NFC Championship game when Coski Tart dropped a pick, but
that's another story for another day. I still think the

(17:20):
Niners have some question marks. Obviously, their top two running
backs are injured. That's a problem for a coach that
wants to run it. Trent Williams is out of this game.
Nick Bosa up in the air. We'll see if he's
able to play on Thursday. Fred Warner hasn't been the
same guy. Why he's dealing with a broken bone in
his foot. They're starting running back last week Grenda, who
is a good player, sprained his foot and he's also

(17:43):
a question mark to play this week. So I still
think the Niners have a ton of question marks. Though
brock Purty looked dramatically better against a gutlass Bears team
than he had the previous weeks, so if they get
that version of party with Juwan Jennings with de Bout,
they still would have a chance. I think the are
a weird team because when everyone came back, I'm like,
get ready, this team is coming, and then for like

(18:05):
three weeks that Miami Dolphin game. Hell last week against
the Saints. They just were two weeks ago against Saints.
They just don't look right. Something just looks off, and
I was like, I'm kind of out on this, and
then you watch them against the Bills, You're like, this
is the team I thought we were getting off season.
I have no clue who's gonna win this game. I'm
not gonna put any money on this game because I
honestly don't know. You'd be like, maybe the Niners are

(18:25):
back and they just blast McVeigh. Wouldn't shock me if
you told me the Niners lost by ten points. We
saw them play the Rams a lot earlier in this
game in the season when the Rams had injuries. Somehow
the Rams came from ten points back in the second half,
and honestly, that's kind of started the season off on
the wrong foot. So I don't know, but I just
know that this is easily one of the best matchups

(18:47):
in the NFL, regardless who's playing, because of the two
head coaches who are the two stars of the team.
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Speaker 1 (20:45):
Speaking of head coaches who started the team, this is
where I got the Steeler Russell Wilson situation Wronguh, Russell's
not really you know, he's he just feels too much
of a politician for me, And I get it, like
part of being a public quarterback coach, like sometimes you
just being authentic doesn't benefit you, so being a bullshit artist.

(21:05):
And I'm not even saying he's a bullshit artist, but
the cliche answers and just saying nothing is not a
bad thing to do, Like I understand the mindset behind
doing that. It just felt like he just never breaks
character every time you see him twenty four to seven,
three sixty five. And I've never argued that Russell in
his heyday in Seattle wasn't just an elite player. But

(21:28):
I was like, this guy's gonna go to Pittsburgh, this
blue collar, tough guy operation that is just defense first,
that just has a bunch of dudes, also has a
couple of crazies that Tomlin can handle, and it's gonna work.
Obviously I was wrong, cause it's worked really really well.
Hell it goes back. I thought they should have kept
going with Fields. I think a lot of people agreed
with me, and clearly that was one hundred percent the

(21:50):
right decision. Russell is a dramatically better passer. But I
haven't watched the New Hard Knocks, but I watched the
first episode, and obviously, like any human being a false fool,
you've watched a lot of Mike Tomlins. You know where
he got it wrong is. I don't know if it
really matters if Russell's like some galvanizing great leader like
Peyton Manning or Tom Brady or Drew Brees, because that's

(22:11):
Tomlin's job and that's kind of his gig with this
squad so as long as Russell played well, regardless of
he's getting beers with the boys. You know, he's like, hey,
you guys want to hit the night club on Thursday.
He's clearly not doing that. But it doesn't matter because
the main voice for the squad is the head coach,
who is probably improving again. One of the most unique

(22:33):
leaders we have ever seen in the history of sports.
He's pretty special. And I also got it wrong. I
thought it was time for a divorce last year. I
thought he should. I didn't think he should get fired
and like be out of the league. I thought it
was just like go somewhere else started, go to the Bears,
you know, just go to a new team, go to
the Cowboys, start a new you just need a fresh start.
I was wrong because I think the Steelers can win

(22:54):
this week, and I think they're gonna be in a
position to win this week. I think it's going to
be an excellent game. I'm as excited for this game.
I mean, there can't be five games going into a
weekend so far this NFL season that I'm more excited
to watch than the Steelers at the Eagles. And if
Russell just plays under control, which he has. I thought

(23:14):
he made two of the better throws this season. We
know we can throw the go route, we know we
can throw the lollipop down the sideline, but he's making
some touch throws on the move. I'm fascinated to watch
this and listen this team. The heartbeat of this team
starts and ends with Mike in a little like Kyle
and McVeigh, like, you could argue now TJ. Watt is,

(23:36):
I would say one of the more famous non quarterbacks,
partly because of the last name, partly because he's one
of the best players in the league. But you could
easily like, I don't think anyone would argue with you.
Who's the poster child of the Steelers. When you close
your eyes, you might say it's Mike Tomlin. And that's
why this situation has been so great for Russell. And
if he keeps playing well, you know Cam Like, I
think this is a good spot for Russell to just

(23:58):
stay and play for this team, right because where else
is he gonna play that is better equipped and set
up for the guy? And speaking of leadership, there was
a story last week. Obviously, the Niners were in free
fall and they had just lost two games by a
combined seventy three to twenty. Now, granted that was on
the road Green Bay and on the road in Buffalo

(24:19):
to playoff teams, but I mean the ninersers in the
Super Bowl and they got shellacked and it was embarrassing,
and Purdy just looked and the whole thing. They just
look completely overwhelmed. And Kyle had two players speak to
the team on Saturday night to try to just kind
of rally the troops before the Bears game, and Diamadoor Lenore,

(24:39):
who just got a ninety million dollar extension, who's been
one of the better young dbs in the NFL, spoke
and it ended with Brock perty and John Lynch was
on local radio in the Bay Area this week and
just said it was just Brock's good. I mean, he's
good in front of the team because everyone on the
team respects him. And you know, when you're one of

(24:59):
the top three or four guys in the league, Mahomes,
Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson, Joe Burrow, your talent is so
immense even if you have and obviously all these guys
I think are widely considered high character guys, great leaders,
but like historically, like Roethlisberger or whoever. You don't have
to be mister Peyton Manning to like gout, you're the

(25:20):
best player. Everyone follows your lead. The majority of good
quarterbacks are not viewed as like the top three or
four guys. It's the next five to twelve. And I
think the separating factor of that group is like everyone
freaking loves Jared Goff, everyone loves Dak Prescott. Like these
guys are universally considered by their teammates as high level

(25:41):
guys and well respected. And this is where I knew
Trey Lance was in trouble a couple of years ago
because the way their teammates talked about Jimmy Garoppolo when
he was starting, It's like they didn't even want Trey starting.
And then once Perdy began starting, it was like, got
the defensive guys because they've gone against him on Scout
team forever love them. I mean, they just they love
this guy. And then during the bye week, where's Brock Purty.

(26:04):
He's on vacation with George Kittle in Montana. And part
of being a quarterback is like part of being you know,
a CEO or general, you need people to follow your lead.
You need people in a weird way to not just
respect you, but like you. And I think Tom Brady's
widely considered the greatest teammate in the history of the league.

(26:25):
I remember texta with a guy who played at Fresno
State when I was there, who played on the Chargers
forever when Philip Rivers retired, and he's like him and
Stafford he also played in the Lions, Kenny Wiggins. He's like,
those are two of my favorite teammates of my life.
They're just they're beloved in the locker room, and it's
a quality that, like, listen, it's hard to have. I
bet you know some people that know me probably don't

(26:45):
like me. Some people that if you're listening to this,
don't like you. Like you know, you don't act, but
when you're the quarterback. And I remember Carson Palmer telling
me this at this Fox Retreat thing in like twenty
nineteen in Laguna Beach. You know, a bunch of Fox
iHeart people were there, and I remember they flew me
out and I actually that was the first time I

(27:06):
ever went on Jet SX. And anyone that's flown that,
it's not like it's like commercial private you're on the
plane with a bunch of other people, but you can
walk in five minutes before and I thought, they send
me the private fucking jet. Is this I didn't even
understand what I was getting on at first, and then
I realized, like, no, not kinda, not really. It's just
said I spend a two hundred dollars on a ticket.

(27:27):
They spent four hundred and fifty. But it was cool,
and it's if you ever get the chance to fly JETSX,
highly recommend it. It's hard to ever go back into
the main airport after that. But Palmer, Carson Palmer was
at the event. Whie range of people everywhere from like
Steve Garvey, Coward, Sean Hannity, Carson Palmer, a lot of
different people there. But I remember just Chris Bussard. I

(27:47):
remember talking hoofs with him. We were having cocktails and
talked to Carson, and he later came on this podcast actually,
and this is before I'm sure a lot of people
listening now listen to the show, and one thing he
mentioned is like the one thing he misses the most
about being a quarterback wasn't a touchdown throw, wasn't even
like game day or a practice. It was every day

(28:08):
walking into that building in Arizona in Cincinnati and knowing
that everyone in the building was relying on you, and
that pressure was like inspiring, and you felt it every
day that everyone's looking at you, defense included. And being
a quarterback is really really hard. It's why only a
small percentage of guys excel at it in college and

(28:30):
definitely in the pros. And I watched Sirianni's press conference today.
I thought you did a good job. I mean, it
was a tough spot. I mean, he's no, he's like, listen,
I playing the Steelers, a good team. I know none
of you're gonna ask about me fire away. It's all
Jalen and aj. And one thing Sirianni said in that
press conference was whether it's a coach or whether it's

(28:51):
a player to player or coach to player, when I
respect you and I like you, we're all more likely
to go that extra mile for that guy. And obviously,
as a teammate, when you really respect the guy next
to you, you're much more likely to just work two
percent harder. When you like that coach or you respect
that coach, you're just willing to push yourself a little

(29:12):
bit more. It's why you know, my dad was in
the army. His brother died in Vietnam. Both my grandparents
grandpas were in World War Two. I went to high
school with a lot of people that were in the
Iraq War. It feels like pretty consistently, any veteran will
tell you that ultimately in a war situation, you're not

(29:32):
fighting for the politician back in Washington. You're not fighting
for the general back of the base. You'll do whatever
it takes for the guys on your right and to
your left. And obviously that is a life and death situation.
But in football, you definitely can get injured. You your
life's not on the line, but there is a physical
toll offensive defensive line, wide receivers going over the middle,

(29:56):
linebackers laying on the line that you are more willing
to to do whatever it takes when you have the
ultimate respect for whoever your leader is, for whoever your
unit leader is, for whoever your position coach is, and
like they can try to walk it back all they want.
Brandon Graham has been with the Eagles since I got hired.
When I got hired in twenty ten and went to

(30:17):
spring ball, you know, like second Ota of the Year
in I don't know when it was late May, early June.
Brandon Graham was our first round pick. He is the
I didn't know this but when he was when Jeffrey
Leury went out to practice a couple weeks ago and
announced that Brandon Graham was going to be their nominee
for the Man of the Year, which the Walter Payton

(30:39):
Man of the Years I would say is as prestigious
of an NFL honor as the MVP. It's I mean,
you get that award like a Cam Hayward. I think J. J.
Watts got it, Russell Will. It's something that is a
really really big deal, you know, in the NFL. Brandon
Graham's a high level guy and no human in the
history of the Eagle has ever played more seasons for

(31:02):
the franchise than him. So when he said the comment,
which I understand, maybe he you know, maybe had a
few beers or cocktail or something. He's not super locked in.
He's out for the year, so he's not super in
like media, I gotta say the right thing. I think
he's being pretty authentic and genuine and listen, you myself,
we've all been in situations where we work with someone,

(31:23):
maybe our relation starts out good and then it gets weird,
And I know AJ Brown said we're good, Like, yeah,
it's pretty clear your relationship with Jalen Hurts something's off.
And listen, I know enough you know to know it.
Just it's not great. But you can have a relationship
with someone that isn't great and still be successful. I

(31:44):
don't put this on AJ Brown. I put this on
the quarterback because it's the quarterback's job. Part of Jalen
Hurts's thing was I'm the ultimate leader. Everyone rallies around me.
Like That's been Stafford's claim to fame when he was
in Detroit. Like, listen, he's not doesn't have the wins
even some years he doesn't have the stats. But there's
never been a dude that played with Matt Stafford. They

(32:05):
wouldn't fucking run through a wall for that guy. That's
what we say about coaches sometimes. But if I'm not
saying that about the quarterback, and I'm saying that about
my guard, my tight end, Like here's what I can
say about brock Perty Like listen, we can argue till
we're blowing the face about how much money he deserves
to be paid, and I agree, like I'm not comfortable
paying him fifty. Ideally I'd like to pay him thirty.
I don't really know how we worked this out, but
it has never been questioned from Debo who can be

(32:28):
up and down? To George Kittle, to Trent Williams to
Fred Warner. Those guys would run through a wall for
brock Perty. Every guy Matt Stafford ever plays with has
his back. Same thing with Jared Goff, the same thing
with Dak Prescott, Kirk Cousins. You know, it felt like
he developed that now he might just be shitty and
everyone turns on. I do think it's a little bit
of a red flag on Jalen, like, like, what's going

(32:48):
on here? Man? Like, how do you change a little
bit after he got paid? Uh? Because clearly, like Jalen's
not a great passer of the ball, Like that's not
really arguable he's not. He's a flaw pocket passer. That
ain't his game. That doesn't mean he's not a really
good player. He's an awesome runner of the ball. He's
a big time run threat, which opens up their offense,

(33:09):
and he's a great playmaker outside of the pocket. But
inside the pocket, if he could not run, like if
against the Steelers, we just said, we're gonna give him
Jared Goff's athleticism for one game. I would bet I
would cash out hundreds of thousands of dollars from stocks
and put it all on the Steelers because they would
not be able to function. But that's not his game.

(33:30):
So is it just as simple as aj Brown's not
getting the ball because he's jealous a Saquan or is
it like no, there's it's not quite the same as
it was a couple of years ago, and that is
just something to monitor. And they're gonna poo poo it
and they're gonna roll it back and they're gonna say
all the right things and winning. There have been a
lot of players in the history of the sports that
don't always get along, just like human beings. A lot

(33:51):
of people you work with, I work with over the years,
like you don't always see I die with. You don't
even like I do. Think it's pretty difficult in this situation,
and it's always on the quarterback to make sure that
relationship works. That's the job of Peyton Manning, of Tom Brady,
of Drew Brees with a guy of this talent, even
if he's up and down and a weird guy. I
don't know. I don't know a J. Brown. Clearly he
can be a little emotional, but like that's on the quarterback.

(34:13):
That's his job to lead everybody. He's the guy, he's
the guy everyone's looking at, and he's the most important
guy beside the coach in terms of leadership. And honestly,
you could argue his voice sometimes goes farther because they're
in the trenches with that guy. They got the pads on,
chin strap buckled when it's a tie game in the
fourth quarter, coaches in a jacket and a you know,

(34:35):
a beanie on the sideline with handwarmers. It just ain't
the same. So it's just this game's big, and I
just think, Jalen, it's just something to monitor, all I say,
something to mind, something to keep an eye on. That's
why I'm so excited to watch this game. Okay, let's

(35:06):
dive into the mail bag at John Middlecoff. At John
Middlecoff is the Instagram fire in those dms, very very
easy to get in on the show. I have a
ton of questions, so I probably have to push some
off maybe for a Saturday mail bag, because I just
there's no way we can't do a seven hour podcast.

(35:27):
This is from Anthony. I hope you're doing well. You too, Anthony.
Do you think Belichick chose to coach college so he
can eventually draft better players when he returns to the NFL.
I'll lat Pete Carroll. Can't imagine him doing him giving
up on chasing that record. It's a great question. I don't.

(35:49):
I think Mike Lombardi, who I actually just saw chefter
tweeted he's been on this podcast before. I just said
him a text, congrats. Maybe in the spring we go
out to North Carolina, get Mike. Maybe Bill, you know,
see got to do podcast. You gotta promote the program.
I think he's just living in the moment. You know,
by the time, let's say in a couple of years,

(36:11):
is someone hiring him seventy five years old. Maybe maybe
he's just cool with doing this and maybe he's not
looking back. Maybe this is his moment to kind of
do something different. What if he likes it, what if
he's having success. I think people would still want to
hire him back in the NFL. Let's say, if he
like won a national championship. But if it took him
like four years to do that, by then he's seventy

(36:32):
six seventy seven years old. Is someone hiring to be
the head coach? I don't know. I don't know, so
I would probably say no. I think he's just trying
to go to college to win. Well, I think that's
his goal right now, go to college to try to win.
I don't think he's looking at it from all the
other angles. Honestly, we know the forty nine ers like Donald,
and assuming they are uncomfortable with paying Purty top quarterback money,

(36:57):
is there a chance that they bring back Donald to
be their starting quarterback? And if they did that, what
would they do with Perty. I don't think that's an option.
I think if they were uncomfortable, like if they had
contentious negotiations, I think he would just play on the
fourth year. He's not a free agent, right so they're
not forced to tag him or not. He's in his

(37:19):
third year, he has one more year on his contract,
and he's making a ton off the field. Listen, he
wants to play for Kyle. Kyle wants him to be here.
I don't think they're in the business of given Donald forty. Like,
I just think that that's not really an option. Though.
If Donald's gonna play like he's playing right now, he's

(37:39):
like a better version of Party because he's got a
bigger arm, just as mobile and bigger. But it's just
not an option, It's really not. I mentioned this on
the podcast, but Kyle had Purty talk to the team
before a must win game on Saturday night. So I
think that tells you everything you know about his thought
with brock question for so, I recently saw a list

(38:02):
of the top nil collectives. My alma mater, Virginia is
in the top fifteen with a with a recent huge donation.
Do you think non football powerhouses like my Wahoos can
turn things around easily when they get nil bags like
this or will they always be stuck in the mud.

(38:25):
How can a team like that become like other academic
football powers Notre Dame, Michigan, Stanford in the past. You
sent me the link to it. I can't click on
it because I'll get lost here in If you have
the money, you should be able to win. So if
you have top ten, top fifteen nil, you should be

(38:47):
a top twenty five football team. You should, especially in
the acc competing to win nine ten games, no excuse
for that to not be a dominant team, because that's
what it's all about now. I was at the gym
and I looked up and I see Steven A. They
have him on one of the TV so it's I
don't have audio, but he's talking to this kid with

(39:07):
a BYU had on, Like, what is they're doing? Football? Nil?
And it turns out he was. He was like the
Cooper flag or Zion Williamson up basketball, the number one
high school recruit in basketball going to BYU. Mormon's got
some coin, baby. And then later in the day I
saw that it was seven million dollars. You think he

(39:29):
went to BYU for you know, the Mountain air and uh,
you know, no caffeine, no sextial marriage, doubt it. Seven
million large if any program you know, I bet some
programs just couldn't go that high or wouldn't go that high.
It's all about the money now, man. So I if
you have your your collective is top fifteen, you should

(39:51):
be buying sweet players left and right. I think the
problem for you guys, though different than like Ohio State
or LSU, like can you get anyone into school. It's like, Okay,
I want to buy this receiver. We'll give him a
million dollars, but his academics don't meet. I think I
mentioned this to Jackson. What I don't understand and listen,
I'm no one hates academia more than this guy with

(40:14):
multiple degrees. So I got a graduate degree and I
mock academia, but I respect like Virginia is a really
good school. I couldn't have gone to school there like me,
and academia didn't see iydiye. I got so bored it
just it wasn't for me again, even though I got
multiple degrees. I have some people do my homework. I
don't know exactly how I accomplished it, but I did

(40:36):
kind of a hustler. But at these schools that have
tough academic requirements, it's hard to get guys into school.
Notre Dame. You know. I'm I don't want to say
a player's name. I was just gonna pick a random
receiver in the NFL. But it's probably easier for Justin
Jefferson and Jamar Chase, you know, academically to thrive, thrive,

(40:57):
I'm not even saying thrive, but like, can that guy
transfer an academic s getting like that's been a problem
for Stanford. Look at Notre Dame. Look who they got
in a transferportal, Riley Leonard, a quarterback. Are they getting
sweet wide receivers or dbs? Some schools don't give a shit,
which is right up my alley. You think Texas cares
or alabamacares No. So that's where the football program you

(41:20):
got to get on. See an ey'd i with the
with the kind of the academic personnel that at those
schools like have all the control. I watched Andrew Lucke's
interview with Dan Patrick and he talked about getting the
program back, and he was like, one thing we're not
gonna do. And this Andrew Locke talking is I believe
we can get good student who or good players because

(41:41):
we did it. And I'd say, ah, I'd say you're
a little bit of an outlier. You and Christian McCaffrey
are somewhat outliers. Like if you want to be good
and compete against Florida State, Miami and Clemson, like, you're
gonna have to change your recruiting because you went through
a pretty unique time. Notre Dame was down, Northwestern was down.
I'm trying to think of Michigan was definitely down. There

(42:03):
are only so many players that fit that mold mail
bag question a bit late, but in response to the
college football school flag planning, I think rather than ban
the flag planning, the NCAA should embrace it. They should
make it a rival's weak post game ceremony, force the
losing team to stand and watch and defeat as the

(42:26):
victor plants their flag. I think it would be must
see television and it would ramp up the intensity of
the games. Am I crazy? Ron? I am all fucking
in on this. You talk about like the Roman games,
you know, some of these medieval moments their equivalent of entertainment.

(42:46):
This has that written all over it. Ultimately, what this
all is, why all this money is getting paid to
these coaches and now to these players, Like this is entertainment, boys, This,
as John Ham once said, that is what the money
is for. What we gotta do. The NCAA would never
agree to this because there are a bunch of fucking losers,

(43:07):
I mean, a group of pussies. We get business people
behind this, television people behind this, Let's do it. I
think this is a genius idea line up. Can you
imagine if Jack Sawyer wasn't allowed to attack, you just
gotta watch it. That would be sweet. Totally in Biggles fan,

(43:29):
I've been thinking of how I know this is crazy,
but would Howie be open to signing Darnold and moving
off Hurts in the off season. Not sure this would
be possible, but I'm curious your answer. Know this, when
it comes to the Eagles, Jeffrey Leary and Habbie Roseman,
if you do not win big, everything will be on

(43:50):
the table every single season. These guys a lot like Belichick.
You talk about numb new emotion. If they are one
and done in the playoffs and Jalen throws for one
hundred yards, obviously Siriani will probably get fired. But do
not think just because Jalen has a big contract, he's
on scholarship, he would definitely be a trade candidate. Now

(44:16):
let's go to Jalen Hurt's contract. I do think it
would be pretty prohibitive to get rid of him. His
cap hit nextra's twenty one million dollars and his dead
cap is one hundred and seven million dollars. I'm not

(44:36):
a cap guy. I don't know all the details. To
how this works. I do think that could be pretty
difficult for them if they could do it, though, and
signed Darnold, which again not a cap guy. These numbers
are complicated. Usually stuff accelerates. It might not be an
option if he could do it, though he would if

(44:58):
he had to, or if he thought like it was
an upgrade. I don't think he would hesitate. Again, Jaylen's
gotta play well and he's gotta win, and they've been winning,
and I think a lot of people would argue it's
not really him. They're last in the league in pass attempts,
they have a running back who were comparing to like
Barry Sanders and Walter Payton, and their defense is playing awesome.

(45:19):
Do you honestly believe that Jim Harbaugh wanted to go
to the Bears or Raiders over the Chargers. At first,
the only way I could believe this doesn't really make
sense was he was using it as leverage over the Chargers.
But with signs pointing to Belichick going to college, he's
in college now, I guess anything as possible. Why do
you think he considered the dumpster fire in Las Vegas
and dysfunctional Bears over Justin Herbert and the Chargers. I

(45:42):
think this is pretty simple. Jim Harbaugh went to the
forty nine Ers when Alex Smith was a quarterback. Jim
Harbaugh took over Stamford when they were one and eleven.
In a complete afterthought and joke, Jim Harbaugh went to
Michigan when it was really bleak. Jim Harbaugh last year
interviewed with the Minnesota Vikings and wanted the job. They
just hired Kevin O'Connell or two years ago. Jim Harbaugh

(46:02):
is not beholden to a quarterback. So why would Jim
Harbaugh be interested in the Bears because he played there
and he knows the power of the city. Why would
he be interested in the Raiders because that's where he
got his coaching start in two thousand and two and
two thousand and three and worked for Al Davis, a
guy he revered, Revers who's gone, but like the history football,
that means a lot to him. So he is not

(46:25):
worried about you got no quarterback. His response would be like,
we'll find one. We'll get one. That's what he's always done.
So yeah, I think that those teams, if they would
have been aggressive, it's not even leverage. It's a story
like he would have been interested. They didn't even call him.
Doesn't mean he still wouldn't have taken the Chargers job.

(46:46):
They're gonna pay a fifteen million and he's got Justin Herbert,
but he would definitely be have been interested to me
and the Raiders for sure. The Bears, like he would
never work for Kevin Warren watching here from Sweden. All
this Drew Aller talk has made me question why the
league has seemingly given up on Carson Wentz. Was his
personality that bad or do teams just think he's washed?

(47:08):
He has some low moments, but also has some high moments.
He sure is better than some of these guys we've
seen in the draft. I think his athletic ability. The
guy we saw before the ACL is no longer there,
and he's not a great rhythm pocket passer, so like
he's kind of got to be, you know, a version

(47:30):
of like Jalen Hurts a little bit. It's a little different,
but it's run around, makes some plays and he's not
really that anymore so to me, he's just he's one
of those guys who had elite physical skills, got injured
and then was never quite the same and is not
a good decision maker. So if you get a guy

(47:51):
that's not a good decision maker, like part of Sam Darnold,
big time athlete, Like you see that guy moving around,
You're like, holy shit, Carson Wentz, that's kind of gone.
But I actually think like he can go on now.
I mean he could be if Andy and Veitch like him,
he could be their backup. Look, look how long Chad
Henney was their backup. He could do that for like
seven eight years. I feel bad being mean about the

(48:15):
the writing. I screw up sentences all the time. Question
for the back do you think the cartoons, Simpsons or
Toy Story football games will do better in the offseason.
I'd much rather watch these when I'm missing ball in
May than a regular season when we have plenty to watch.

(48:36):
I'm probably a bad person to ask. I didn't watch
any of it as of right now. No, kids, I
wasn't a huge Simpsons guy. It's just it's not really made.
It's just not my problem. I'm not their consumer. Like,
it's just I wouldn't watch that in May. I wouldn't
watch that in November. So I'm just the wrong guy

(48:57):
to ask. I think you're probably better doing an end season.
I think if you did that in the off season
and played it when like at night on a Sunday.
I don't know if people were watching Love the Pod
been listening for a couple of years. Wanted to get
your thoughts on the state of college quarterbacks. Are the

(49:19):
days of Herbert stories, Okay, tier recruit, then a long
time starter for the same school over it seems like
all the great quarterbacks at the top of these drafts
are either six year starters at a ton of schools
or a one year guy with a high potential. Also
wanted to tell you a name to write down for
the future. CJ. Bailey, the NC State freshman quarterback six '

(49:43):
six and can sling it. Belichick should DM that guy
Seafield transfer. I think you got to be hesitant saying
never you know, I mean, I think when you look
at Shadore, was gonna if Dion had been a Colorado
the whole time. Shu a three year starter in Colorado,

(50:03):
right cam Ward, you know, the PAC twelve died, so
he left Washington State, Like the Washington State didn't even
have a conference this year. They called it the PAC twelve.
It was two teams. Who else are we talking about?
You know Quen you Weres. Really when you close your
eyes you think Quen. Youers think Texas. He was at

(50:24):
Ohio State for a minute, but he's Carson Bexman there
the whole time. So I I think if you go
to the right school, you can easily stay. But if
you if you do become trying to think in recent memory,
a guy, uh, if you become a big time prospect
at a school that's probably not gonna win in Division one,
Like if you're at Auburn or you're at NC State.

(50:46):
You know Drake Mayla a couple of years ago at
North Carolina like Nick Saban wanted him. So like the
top five or six court programs when you're at UCLA,
UCLA or you're gonna call you when you're at Texas Tech,
and it's like the guy, this guy might be Patrick
Mahomes Well, Texas, tex A and m and Alabama and

(51:07):
LSU are going to be all over them, and it's
going to be very difficult, you know, to keep that guy.
But I think you'll still see. Look at Austin genty, right,
he stayed at Boising. He could have left for a
million dollars to who knows where sweet schools and he stayed.
I think it's all personality. I think if if you

(51:29):
had really good friends on a team and your team
was good, right, if you're on a competitive team, right,
it's like, well, I could go to Ohio State or
I could go to Alabama, but I'm at let's say Texas,
A and M. That's a bad example because they got money.
But it's hard because there's there's kind of a clear

(51:49):
line of haves and have nots. You would have said
back in the day, like well you're at Wisconsin. It's like, well,
I'm at Wisconsin. We're struggling to get to six and six.
What if Michigan wants me. They didn't want me out
high scho but they want me. Now. What if I'm
at Illinois. It's like we went nine and three and
Ohio State calls. It's like, yeah, it's fun to be

(52:09):
at Illinois. These are my boys. But they offer me
a million dollars. I'm only making two hundred grand here
and I can win the national championship. It's tough. Who
do you think is a Heisman winner? I think it's
a lock. Travis Hunter, I mean, is it even a question?
The guy plays at one hundred and ten plays a game.
I think he deserves it as well. Love the topic

(52:33):
on today's show about dating. I think he's alluding to
me and Jackson. I told Jackson the DMS, DMS or TikTok, DMS, Instagram, DMS, Twitter, DMS.
I think it's mostly dudes, but DMS baby. I think
I haven't been on a dating app in years, but
I think those are dead or dying. Ugh. But then

(52:57):
I've also heard instagrams for old people now, so it's
like new Facebook for forty to fifty year olds and
all the cool kids are on TikTok and Snapchat. Lifelong
ASU fan here, I've never gotten my hopes up in
the last twenty years because ASU loses conference championship games
and always disappoints. I'm actually shocked this time by the

(53:20):
beatdown they put on Iowa State after watching the game.
Do you think ASU has a legit chance with the
risk or with the rise of Skataboo to possibly get
an upset of Texas or Clemson or am I dreaming? Also?
Should Skataboo be at the Heisman ceremony? I believe he
should have been. He got jobbed a little bit. If

(53:41):
he had done the same thing in the Big Ten
or the SEC or even the ACC for a conference champion,
I think he would be there. Like if he was
Miami's running back or Clemson's running back into that, he
would be there. If he was Penn State's running back,
he would be there. So I think he definitely got
jobbed because unlike Gent had a lot of momentum coming

(54:03):
into the season, this guy just didn't. So I think
it's unfair. I don't know, man, I think I think
you'd be an underdog clearly against Texas. And if Clemson
won that game, they would have just beat SMU in Texas.
They'd be rolling. They're just bigger and stronger and faster
than you. But hell, I mean, I wouldn't say never.

(54:25):
I would say you would have a better chance if
that round. Like, shouldn't we have home playoff games after
the bye? Here'd be a change that I would throw
out there, first round home playoff games? How about the
second round? All the teams them by get a home
playoff game. Now, maybe they would push back schools off

(54:48):
because of Christmas and Christmas break, But you're telling me
ASU Attempee on January first, wouldn't sell out that game
against Clemson or Texas, Boise State hosting, you know, Penn State.
It'd be full, like it would be full, So maybe
the weather plays a part. I don't know. I would

(55:08):
recommend playing those teams getting home playoff game. I think
you guys are probably won and done. Hell, there's nothing
what an you gotta buy and then play Texas? If
you just keep the game close, it's just an incredible accomplishment.
I think it'd be a bigger upset for you to
win than Boise. I think you and Boise are very

(55:30):
similar team both good. I mean, both deserve to be
in the playoffs, But can you beat Texas or Clemson?
I don't know. I'd have to ask my scouting buddies,
like how many NFL guys do you have a starters?
Remove the running back? Because that that that I might
have to do some digging on that, because if you
just said how many guys you think ASU this year
has drafted beside Scataboo, I don't know. I mean a couple.

(55:58):
I mean you talk Texan, Clemson might have like twenty combined.
That's just a big mismatching talent. Now football scheme, heart, toughness,
that's what makes the sports so great. There, you know
that matters in a game? Fum, you know, turnover, who
knows shit gets weird. If you guys were to beat Texas,

(56:19):
that'd be one of the coolest upsets ever. Most of
what I've been seeing discussed in regards to McCarthy is
whether Jerry Jones will or won't decide to give him
a new contract. However, I haven't seen any discussion on
whether McCarthy would actually want to stay with Jerry causing
so many headaches and in an inadequate roster For actual contention,

(56:42):
do you think McCarthy would rather go somewhere else. I
love to know your thoughts. That's a great question. You
are the first person even bringing this up. McCarthy's a
free agent, so his agent can talk. What if the
Bears were like, hey, we'll give you a four year contract.
We'll give you four years forty five million dollars, and

(57:03):
Jerry's like, I'll give you two year extension twenty five
million dollars. I'm just throwing random numbers here, but like,
if you're McCarthy, you go, well, hey, Jerry. I mean,
I got this. The Jags and the Bears want me
to be their head coach. If the Bears can't get Vrabel,
and it won't get Vrabel, why would they not want
Mike McCarthy. He coaches the quarterback really well, he calls

(57:26):
the offense, and he knows how to run a team.
You could argue Mike McCarthy is a better candidate than
Vrabel or equally as good, and when you factor in
the rookie quarterback like he's probably better. So why wouldn't
the Bears be interested in McCarthy? Now? I would rather
be the head coach of the Dallas Cowboys, even with

(57:47):
Jerry annoying me, than the head coach of probably most teams.
It's a very fastigious job, right, There's a difference between
being the manager of most baseball team and being the
manager of the Yankees. Like North Carolina basketball means a
little bit more than Texas Tech basketball, So I think
there's something to be the cachet of the Dallas Cowboys.

(58:10):
It just matters more. And he's been the coach of
two places, the Packers and the Cowboys, so to me,
like the Jags, like those type teams, the Jets. I
do think the Bears would be unique if they were
interested because of the young quarterback. So maybe as crazy
as a sound, what if McCarthy has options? What if

(58:30):
Jerry then has to match? So yeah, Mike McCarthy ended
up getting a four year, fifty eight million dollar extension.
You'd be like, didn't see that coming. I guess it's
on the table for the bag if the Falcons drop
their fifth straight game to the Raiders, especially if it's
a Desmond Ritter. How is Raheem mooreri still the coach

(58:54):
after this season, especially with the decision to stick with Kirk. Well,
the decision to stick with kirk was made when they
gave him a hundred million dollars. So part of sticking
with Kirk is the owner just gave him ninety million
dollars guaranteed, no matter what. That's real cash that he
has to have in escrows whatever. The difference is of

(59:17):
what you actually give him as a signing bonus, which
was like thirty forty million dollars. So it's if I
give someone ninety million dollars, even if I'm a super
rich guy, ninety million dollars, did I no matter what?
He could never play another snap. I have to pay him,
and you guys are the one that told me to
get him. He's playing all season long on principle. If

(59:43):
they lose the Raiders, it'd be one of the biggest collapses.
I mean, the Eagles was pretty bad. Last year was
really bad, but like they were good before, they're good now.
It's like the Falcons were like, okay, they're kind looking
good and now they're just in a free fall. Losing

(01:00:03):
the Raiders would be really bad. You'd have to be
a degenerate to bet on that game because you'd feel
like you have to bet on the Falcons. But there
might be a little little underdog there with the Raiders.
The Bengals have had a rough season, and it's fair

(01:00:25):
to say that it's not on the offense. It might
also be tricky firing Taylor giving out good of a
bond he has with Joe Burrow. Why is nobody discussing
the possibility of getting Robert Sala as a defensive coordinator
for the Bengals. The rise and fall of the Jets
defense before and after the Sola era clearly shows how

(01:00:48):
good of a DC is. Speaking of Joe burrowy it
is crazy. This crime ring that is robbing these NFL
players homes, which obviously if if you were in a
crime ring, well it's like, hey, we need really rich
people that we know aren't going to be home. Who
would be the easiest person. Well, these guys make fifty
million dollars a year and I know for a fact

(01:01:10):
they are not at their home, let alone the state
right now because they're playing a football game. And what's
funny is, uh, you know Maria working with this luxury
homes real estate stuff. You know a lot of people
and my brother who's in farming and has this app
where you can like see different people's property, Like it

(01:01:31):
would be a no brainer one if you're a famous person.
Most of them make the real estate agencign nbas and
a lot of people that live in their homes you
know again that are famous. Put it in like there
was this famous actor that got that had a situation.
So my brother tried to figure out where he lived

(01:01:52):
because this was an area which he went a lot.
I don't I don't want to give it away. And
he he has this app you know, through farming that
he can see who owns the land. And obviously you
can find stuff with mls, and real estate agents have
can figure out who's paying the loan. But you know
a lot of famous people put stuff in LLCs. So
you know, if you looked at my house or your house,

(01:02:12):
most people's homes, you can just find its under John Middlecoff,
Bill Williamson, whoever you are, right, well, sometimes you put
him under little LLC. Can't figure out. It's like a
desk brown LLC. It's like, who owns this house? I
got no clue, and I do wonder. I don't know
why I hit the decord there if some of these
guys don't even realize that despite maybe their financial guys
put it. But definitely if I were any of these guys,

(01:02:35):
my name wouldn't be on any of this stuff because
any property I owned, because people are able to figure
it out. The modern day criminal is using the internet,
using these apps, paying for them to figure out who
owns what. But the bottom line is this celebrity that
was in the situation, his his house is under this.
He's like, I'm pretty sure this is his house because

(01:02:56):
it's the only house that I can find under the LLC.
And I knew the situation happened there, so it's out
of his but he told me the name of the LC.
It's like you would never know. Okay, why is nobody
discussing the possibility of getting Robert Salaz the DC for
the Bengals. The rise and fall of the Jets defense?
So I think I think one thing, you know, part

(01:03:16):
of sala was with the Niners when they were good
on defen they had really good players. When the Jets
were good the last couple of years on defense, they
had really good players. I watched the Bengals and like
pass rushers, sweet ninety one's a beast, but like are
the rest of your players are good? Part of defense
is double whammy. It's coaching, you know, in the pros

(01:03:38):
in college, like if you just got NFL guys everywhere,
you're gonna be awesome on defense. In the pros you
need Jimmy's and Joe's and you need the x's nose.
I can't just outschemeing on defense with bad players. I
cannot do that now. Just because I got good players,
I got bad scheme. I'll lose too, But I gotta
have them both. And to me, the Bengals personnel is

(01:03:58):
just not great. You take ninety one off the field.
It's like, how many guys on this defense? Wuld I
want right now? I know they've had injuries, but diehard
Vikings fan and just wanted to throw my two cents
about keeping Donald or letting him walk debate. This is
a great debate. This is This is a great sports conversation.

(01:04:22):
Sam Donald is like a truly intriguing NFL sports conversation.
So many of them are so stupid and you just
like want to pull your hair out. This one's fascinating
because you could make an argument on every single angle.
I think extending Donald could be a mistake if the
Vikings do next season, unless he wins the Super Bowl,

(01:04:43):
and at that point I don't care anymore. Pay him whatever.
As a Vikings fan, I just got done watching six
disappointing years with us paying a good but not great
quarterback top of the line money and don't want to
repeat the cycle. I know Sam probably won't command top
of the line money, but I think over thirty plus
million a year is wild for one good year of production.

(01:05:06):
We have an elite trio of pass catchers and a
genius offensive play caller. The Vikes are projected to have
the fifth or sixth most salary cap room this upcoming
offseason and have major holes to fill if we want
to be serious contenders coming up. Obviously I'm no scout,
but I think McCarthy possesses a lot of the same

(01:05:26):
traits Sam does and can be elevated. If I was
a betting man right now, I would say Sam Donald's
not in your team next year and JJ McCarthy's your
starting quarterback. I think where the risk is this. He's
already been hurt, so you have absolutely no clue about

(01:05:47):
this guy's durability and he's never been asked throughout his
career to carry you. Part of Donald it was disappointing
with the Jets was because we saw him carry Clay
Helton in USC, so he has been used to doing
it all on offense. JJ's never had to play that way,
so you have to force him to play away that
he's never played. And then two like you just never know,

(01:06:12):
You never know people not Caleb William's gonna have the
greatest rookie season of all and I understand his coaching
has been up and down, but it has been a
very disappointing season just with his play. He's made some
great plays. He's been a very average, too below player,
So I think there's a huge risk. Like the whole

(01:06:33):
point of the sport is to land the players, right,
whether you get them in free agency, or whether you
get them in the draft or undrafted, free agency or
via trade. However you get TJ. Watt or JJ Watt
or Justin Jefferson or Sam Darnold or it doesn't matter.

(01:06:53):
But once you get them and they play at a
high level, like it's on you to go. Is this
sustainable because, like you said, big advantage you got. I
think this year he's the second best wide receiver behind
Chase but one of the best players in the league. Obviously,
Addison's a stud. Aaron Jones is a really good, great
play caller. But it works. It's the pretty argument like
it works. And I think once you have something, it's

(01:07:17):
almost like you're chasing the rainbow for the pot of gold.
What if you get the end of the rainbow and
the cloud's clear and there's no pot of gold, and
you're like, oh, this is a disaster. I hear you, Like,
I'm not giving him two hundred million dollars. But if
he plays well in the playoffs, because what he's doing too,
is like part of Cousins. Cousins couldn't move, so Cousins

(01:07:40):
had a flaw that if you got around him. This
was pre injury. He was in trouble because he could
not add lib. He was bad. He's a bad athlete
for NFL standards. Jay Gruden told us great seven on
seven quarterback. When he has time, he's awesome. But most
of the NFL is not that. And as he's older

(01:08:02):
now and he's been hurt like it's not it looks awful.
But I think when you look at Sam Donald, what
is one of his best traits mobility? It's part of
why you drafted JJ McCarthy. He's like big time athlete,
but Sam has a high end arm. JJ's arms good.
I think a lot of people compare JJ closer to
like Alex Smith. Sam is more like the light light

(01:08:25):
version of like Josh Allen. I think we got to
watch how this plays out. I don't have like a
definitive take. You gotta extend him now, you gotta cut
him now. I do think down the stretch these games
are huge, and obviously the playoff. What if he wins
two playoff games? If I tell you Sam Donald wins

(01:08:45):
two playoff games and you lose in the AFC championship game.
And it's not like he plays bad. He just lose.
He throws a couple of touchdowns and you lose by
a touchdown or whatever. But it's not. No one's blaming him.
It's gonna let him walk. What would be the likely
if here's a litmus test, I use take one thousand
dollars and you had to bet one thousand dollars in

(01:09:07):
the next three years. Using this hypothetical, Sam wins two
playoff games, you lose in the championship game, so you
don't make Super Bowl, but you win multiple playoff games.
Playoff wins worth like tenant regular season wins. It's an
incredible moment for a franchise, right, and you win two
of them. What would you place that thousand dollars on
over the course of the next three years of J. J.

(01:09:27):
McCarthy his rookie contract, not counting the fifth year option.
Does he win two playoff games? Let's face it, the
safe bet would be no. That's why I think like
it went from like, oh, this is kind of a
cool story to like, no, this is this is a
legit conversation that they're having internally that the fans are having,

(01:09:49):
Like there's substance behind this. Look how many teams, Like
what would the Raiders do to have Sam Donald? What
would the Giants do to have Sam Donald? Even if
he's not this good, just to have a guy who's
infinitely better than their guy. Some people think that he'll
suck when he leaves. I don't know. I wonder if
we see a different guy now. He talked about it
this offseason, like I learned when he took a step back.

(01:10:12):
He said he'd learned from Purty not to play the sport,
but how to train for the sport Monday through Friday,
how to prepare, how to watch film like it went
to another level with the Niners, and now he's taken
that and put it with his physical gifts the rest. Obviously,
he benefits from good wide receivers. Joe Montana had Jerry Rice,

(01:10:36):
Tom Brady had, Gregkowski, Randy Moss like Peyton Manny had,
Marvin Harrison, Reggie Wayne like, you're not going to be
a good quarterback without some sweet weapons, Rogers, Jordy Nelson,
DeVante Adams, Donald Driver, you know Greg Jenning, like you
kind of need some good players to be a good
to be a good quarterback. Mahomes struggling this year, Well,

(01:10:57):
look at his weapons. What do you think of Rob
Parker of Fox Sports saying Dan Campbell's worse coach than
Brandon Staley for his reckless fourth down calls? Is that
not completely idiotic? Fourth down calls are punning? Aside, Brandon
Staley couldn't sniff. Brandon Staley should be like Division two college.
Comparing Dan Campbell to Brandon Staley, Brandon Staley is one

(01:11:20):
of the biggest frauds to ever enter the National Football League.
I wouldn't compare. Brandon Staley is like Jim tom Sula.
A couple more questions. My brother and I are huge fans.
I appreciate that we're big Lions guys, but we're worried

(01:11:43):
that our success may not be sustainable after the season
doing two reoccurring injuries and upcoming paydays for several players,
do you think they will fall susceptible to the issues
currently facing a team built very similarly like the forty
nine ers sooner than expected. I feel like most of

(01:12:04):
your top players are paid Goff's under contracts, stools under
contract Montgomery's under contract, Laporta Gibbs, second year players, Jamison
Williams young player, he's not getting paid. Hutchinson's going into
his third year. Branch is a rookie. I feel like
the core of your team is young guys or under contract.

(01:12:27):
To me, the question with you guys, and there your
issue is not your roster. Injuries happened nothing you could do.
Your issues your coordinators. You know Ben Johnson how he'll
be as a head coach. Who knows? You know, it's
it's a coin flip. Most of these guys fail, But
as an offensive coordinator with your personnel, he's elite. He's

(01:12:50):
fucking elite. So losing him is a big blow. It's
a big problem. So I that's a problem. You know,
Aaron Glenn like, your defense plays their balls off for
that guy. Part of being a coach, he is replacing coordinators.

(01:13:12):
Shanahan's done it. Mcvaye's done it. Belichick's done it countless times,
Andy Reid's done it. It's part of the business, but
it's hard so by far to me, there's not even
a close second. That is the biggest question mark with
the Detroit Lions. If Ben Johnson's a head coach, which
all signs point to him being coming one. And I

(01:13:34):
do think that Aaron Glenn is going to be a
head coach and probably the head coach of the New
Orleans Saints, who are as two coordinators, because replacing those
two guys, I mean they've been with him the whole time.
I know Ben Johnson hasn't been the offensive coordinator the
whole time, but I'm pretty sure Aaron Glenn has right.
So I pull up Aaron Glenn's little wiki. He Aaron

(01:14:00):
Glenn sneaky was a scout in twenty twelve and twenty thirteen. Yeah,
Glenn's been with the whole time. So that's that to me,
would be the biggest question mark with the Lions. Appreciate
everyone listening. We will be back reacting to Niners rams
on Thursday and Stuck you will join us as well,
talk some gambling, Army, Navy, Army, Navy, God Love America.

(01:14:23):
Will be uh Saturday, and obviously we got a pretty
good We got Lions, Bills, Steelers, Eagles. We we got
some good games this weekend. So very very excited, So
talk to you guys soon. The volume