Colin Cowherd Podcast Prime Cuts - Championship Previews, Jayden Daniels Making History, Ohio State Wins The Natty, Betting The AFC + NFC Championship! - The Herd with Colin Cowherd

Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:01):
The volume. Our divisional reaction is presented by uber Eat.
Get game day deals all season long on uber eat.
All Right, here we go, let's chop it up. John Middlecoff,
former NFL scout, has his own podcasts three and Out.

(00:22):
So I mean, listen, Kansas City Buffalo is I think
what most of us. I mean, I do think Josh
Allen and Patrick Mahomes, I think we can say this now.
And I feel bad for Joe Burrow. They had to
sell naming rights to pay him. It is an antiquated
front office. I mean, it's really sad. And Tobin the
GM is kind of a powerless guy. So the Chiefs

(00:45):
are minus one and a half against the Bills. I'll
take Buffalo plus one and a half. I took Buffalo
plus one and a half today. I think Buffalo is
going to go into Arrowhead and win. They're pretty healthy.
Boy Milano again making nice plays. You know that guy
doesn't get a ton of credit football. People know he

(01:06):
made a couple of big plays near the goal line tonight.
So I think I think it's been established obviously where
you land matters, And you know Brady got Belichick and
Joe Montana got Bill Walsh, but that's just the way
it works. I think Josh Allen and Mahomes, to me, John,
have separated themselves as the best two quarterbacks.

Speaker 2 (01:26):
In the league.

Speaker 1 (01:27):
I like Joe Burrow a lot, but he gets hurt
and that's you know, genetics are what they are. You
get hurt, it's it's it's part of your legacy. And
then I think the next tier of quarterbacks after those
two starts with Joe Burrow and Jaden Daniels may be
right behind him. We'll get to that later in the podcast.
But I kind of feel like I've watched these NFC teams, John,

(01:50):
I do not believe. I think Kansas City and Buffalo
are going to win the super Bowl one of those two.
I just don't think Philadelphia has buttoned up. I think
Washington season well, and if it doesn't, they're just not
talented enough.

Speaker 2 (02:04):
Agree or disagree, totally agree. This game feels like forty
nine Ers Cowboys nineteen ninety three at Arrowhead and listen.
The Chiefs are my people. I probably wouldn't be sitting
here with you if it wasn't for them. I do
think this is the Bill's year. I think the Bills
are gonna win next week, and I think they're gonna
win the Super Bowl. And you know, for one year
when I was with Philadelphia, Sean was there, and he's

(02:24):
just I mean, he's a really really impressive guy. I
think he's become a really good head coach. And he
hired the right coordinator. I mean, going from Dorsey to
Joe Brady has changed their offense. But let's be real
about this. The Bills. You know, if you look back
when I was younger, Manning Brady was a rivalry. But
up until six oh seven, Manning could not beat him

(02:46):
and Brady at three Super Bowls. That's kind of what
this feels like.

Speaker 1 (02:49):
This.

Speaker 2 (02:51):
Lamar Mahomes is not a rivalry. This is the third
time in recent memory and the Bills have lost these games,
like last year the overtime game where they went three
plays fifty yards or whatever. But this is the game.
It's Josh versus Moms. And listen, you could make the
argument because of the last lack of playoff success, we
got to reorder this is it goes Mahomes, Josh, then

(03:13):
Joe Burrow and then Lamar Jackson and the one thing
and you just mentioned about Joe Burrow. He does not
have the infrastructure that Lamar has. I mean the team
that he took to the Super Bowl and went toe
to toe with Mahomes in the other playoff game that
he lost in the AFC Championship game. Like I'm sorry,
Like he's just accomplished way more now. I think, you know,
I used the NBA comps sometimes, like James Harden or

(03:36):
Joel Embiid in that individual sport. I would much rather
have Lamar in football than if I was in basketball
and have one of those guys. So I and I
think big picture, right, I still think the Ravens can
win a Super Bowl. But as we sit here in
twenty twenty five, like it's been a pretty big letdown
given a guy that I mean, the guy could have
like four MVPs and he easily could get his third.

(03:56):
So it's this is tough. But the Ravens put them
so in this position, having to go on the road.
They lost a terrible game to Cleveland. The second did
the Raiders that first half against the Chiefs. They didn't
play very well. I mean that Raiders loss was really
really bad. So I mean the Ravens and John Arba
put himself in this position.

Speaker 1 (04:17):
Philadelphia going to the NFC Championship against Washington again. We'll
get the Jade and Daniels later. Philadelphia twenty eight, Rams
twenty two. It was thirteen to ten Philly at half,
closer than I thought, and I'll give the Rams credit.
I still feel they are about four players away. I
think again, like I felt last year, they're just incredibly coached,

(04:38):
smartly quarterbacked, a little pooka reliant Kyron Williams again a
big fumble. He doesn't he fumbles too much. Remember cam Akers,
they shipped him out of town. He fumbled too much.
I feel like Kyron Williams is getting that point where
he's fumbling in big games. But Philadelphia Jalen Carter was spectacular,
Sakwan Barkley was spectacular. And when I watched philadelph I

(05:00):
mean they have the best interior D lineman in the
league along with Chris Jones. They have the best running
back in the league, along with McCaffrey, who's hurt it.
This team is not led by Jalen Hurts and it's
not a knock. I just feel like it's their physicality
on that defensive front. I feel like it's these young corners.
You know, I was thinking about this with Saquon Barkley.

(05:21):
I always root for great players to play with great teams.
Lebron to Miami. Otani needed to be a Dodger or
a Yankee, not an Angel, and I look at Saquon
Barkley and he was just too damn good to be
stuck in a circus in New York. Now he maybe
he doesn't rise to Otani or Lebron, but I will

(05:41):
say this, I really believe this, just in terms of
jumping over people. Remember when he jumped over that player backwards. John,
he is on a short list of the best running
backs I've ever seen. Maybe he's not Walter Payton and
Barry Sanders, maybe he doesn't have the dexterity at Christian McCaffrey. John,
he's one of the five or six seminal running backs

(06:03):
I've seen in my life. In terms of just talent,
I think he's sensational.

Speaker 2 (06:07):
Yeah, I mean I think in recent memory, just as
a pure runner between the tackles, when you talk about vision,
power and speed, I think he's got to be on
the short list with Derrick Henry and Adrian Peterson, who
are two lock Hall of Famers. The difference is Adrian
Peterson got to plan some pretty good teams in Minnesota,
and obviously Derek Henry had Rabel the Titans, and now
he has the Ravens. I thought today and I said this,

(06:27):
I did a quick reaction after that game. I thought
today was a pretty big Howie Roseman muscle flex because
the quarterback. We watch four quarterbacks today, three of them
all have something in common when they passed. And then
there's Jalen Hurts, who just feels like everyone's so critical
of Kellen Moore. It's like, guys, you can call any
play you want in the pockets. He's a coin flip.
You have no clue what's coming in and usually it's

(06:48):
more tails than heads. Sakuon Barkley they got for under
thirty million dollars guaranteed in a day and age. When
guards you're getting fifty million dollars. Jalen Carter is a
good example of let's face it. He was drafted ninth.
He was the best player in that draft by a
country mile, pure talent, but like from like four to eight,
everyone was terrified and it took balls to draft them.

(07:11):
But you not only needed balls to take them you
needed the infrastructure then of high character leaders. They had
Fletcher Cox, Jason Kelce. They had a bunch of Georgia guys.
So they took the risk, but they had the infrastructure there.
I mean Saquon and Jalen Carter and Jared Verse were
the two best players. But Jared Verse, you could argue
relatively easy pick if you need a defensive lineman, high

(07:31):
character guy, great player. I mean, Jalen Carter was a
He had to leave the combine to go to the
police station. I mean remember that story. This was a
walking red flag. Who is an all time great talent.
I mean, honestly one of the more talented guys in
the last like five years of the NFL draft. I
mean today it was just what is going on their
talent with just those two guys, and then on top

(07:53):
of the rest of the talent that they have on
the team, like how well they can play with their quarterback.
They I mean it is conceivable they could win a
Super Bowl and he could not throw one hundred and
fifty yards in any playoff game or the Super Bowl,
like that could be on the table because how good
they are.

Speaker 1 (08:08):
Josh Harris in twenty eleven buys with a group the Sixers.
He still hasn't gotten to an Eastern Conference championship with
Joel Embiid, who's always hurt. He buys the Commander's first
year NFC championship, which shows you why this league is
so great. Houston was the embarrassment of the league playoffs.

(08:31):
Washington had a fifteen year smell with Dan Snyder NFC Championship.
One of the reasons I love this league. I mean
two a year ago, we thought Denver was just you know,
they were a heap of tires on the freeway on fire.
The Commanders for the next three years can just surround
Jaden Daniels with talent, and I want to talk about him.

(08:53):
He had a five game stretch middle of the season,
he got banged up, bow Nick started to surge and
you were like, Okay, Jaden's more athletic maybe, but you know,
but his last like eight games, his ability, I've never
seen anything like this. His last ten games. It says here,
twenty touchdowns, seven picks, ninety eight passer rating and they

(09:16):
played some good teams. His ability to he's not Lamar
the runner. And I'll tell you why. It's an advantage
Lamar is so gifted as a runner, So was Michael Vick.
Steve Young was to a large degree to and Josh

(09:36):
Allen that you're so great as a runner, it's always
an easy out, especially in high school and college. It's
just an easy Jaden's fast, but he's not quite a
vic or a Josh Allen when he can roll over you.
But what he is he's evasive more so than like
Kyler Murray. So he's he's fast enough to get out

(09:59):
of trouble, but he's not as big and strong as Allen,
or as shifty or pure speed as Lamar. So he's
never He's always relied on the pocket right like he
sits in the pocket. He feels so advanced to me,
is a late game pocket passer. I thought Andrew Lucke
was the best rookie quarterback I ever saw, but you

(10:19):
got downside with him. He was a risk taker. He
had little Sam Donold and Carson Wentz. I get no
downside with this kid.

Speaker 2 (10:26):
None. If you just look at the best players in
the NFL at quarterback, there's like three or four guys,
and you know, I think Mahomes and Josh Allen are
much more playmakers than Drew pocket quarterbacks. Obviously Lamar's a hybrid.
It would really be Burrow and what to Burrow and
Jayden have in common. They both had a transfer to LSU.

(10:48):
Their first year at LSU did not go well, and
their second year they kind of mastered it. Well, think
about this. You know, Burrow's the talent he went against
on defense every day in practice was better than Jaden's.
But think about you play every year Alabama a Nick
Saban Alabama, So with several NFL guys on the front,
you play A and M who's always loaded with talent,

(11:08):
and you just play an SEC schedule. So over the
course of a couple of years, after you had already
been in another school, got some reps Jayden had played
today as U Burrow hadn't, and you kind of get
to master your craft because I watched Jayden Daniels and
you go, he's pretty calm like Joe Burrow in the pocket,
you know which, And he was considered this dual threat
because last year was like, well, he's really good neat
ball thrower, that was like his Russell Wilson thing. But

(11:31):
over the middle of the field blitzes can get him.
He looks completely under control. That's the craziest part about
his game is how cool, calm and collected he is.
To me, he's the more athletic running version of Burrow
because he really plays much more like a pocket quarterback.
How good is he throwing over the middle of the field.
I mean, that's he's the crazy part.

Speaker 1 (11:52):
In congested areas, He's just incredible. It's just incredible. And
you know what my favorite part of this is, I
love I thought like cam Ward was a winner this weekend.
You know you're watching, You're watching Jade and Daniels come
out of that draft, and Tennessee's probably thinking, well, I mean,

(12:14):
cam Ward's like a thicker version of him, like Jade
and Daniels' ability to just improvise. I mean, Cliff Kingsbury.
Steve Kaiin was texting me, He's like Cliff Kingsbury, you know,
after that mess at USC in Arizona. He's like, he
earned this and deserved it. But I just think sometimes
people are special. And whereas Mahomes gott to sit for

(12:37):
his first year and Lamar didn't play until week eleven,
this kid was inserted onto a really I would argue
at best, second, probably third best roster in that division.
And and the other thing is that Brian Kelly said
us in college, he said, he's just he's just a
great student of the game. He was good early, little
turbulent middle of the season, got banged up. He's he's

(13:00):
just gotten better. He's a better quarterback now than he
was ten weeks ago.

Speaker 2 (13:03):
He's just totally I was thinking about this, think about
the first three quarterbacks, Caleb, him and Drake. You know,
Caleb goes to a place where every coach got fired
halfway through the season. Drake goes to a place where
clearly the guy was in over his head. And this
guy gets to go to dan Quinn, who had taken
a team to a Super Bowl, had gone to Kingsbury,

(13:24):
who had coached in the NF had been a head
coach for a long long time as the play caller,
head coach in college, and the pros of just a
very stable place immediately because they don't have that much talent.
Mclaurin's a good player, but Zach Hurtz is like my age,
the brown guy. Most people that follow the NFL don't
know that much about. Defensively, Bobby Wagner's been in the

(13:47):
league forever. I mean he's on whole seventeen or eighteen
of his career.

Speaker 1 (13:52):
It gets best John. At best, it's the twelfth to
fifteenth best roster in the league.

Speaker 2 (13:56):
At best, I think it's probably closer to low twenties.
And what he's doing and the coaching staff's doing. And
there's something in football, right, more than these other sports,
Like in baseball, I can't even if Bochie's my manager,
if I don't have the talent. I can't overachieve against
the Dodgers over six seven games.

Speaker 1 (14:12):
Right.

Speaker 2 (14:13):
If I'm playing the Kadie Warriors or the Shaq Kobe Lakers,
I'm fucked. Phil Jackson and doesn't John Wooden could be
the coach in football coaching staffs won just the belief
coming into a game. I think we saw it today
with McDermott and the Bills. They believe they could win
that game. That matters a lot. The Lions have had
this for a couple of years with Dan Campbell and
then the schematics of everything, but there is just an

(14:35):
element that they just got this guy. I mean they
go for it a lot on these fourth and shorts
because they got this guy that's right fourth and two
with Jamis Winston or some random quarterbacks is not the same. Like,
I think part of the reason he's going for it
constantly is this guy. The Lions do it a lot.
They got the best offensive line in the league, they
got a star tight end, they got a star wide receiver,

(14:56):
they got multiple backs. It's a high percentage play. It's
not the same if you've got Tommy DeVito in that
offensive line, right, So things aren't all equal. I don't
think he's this crazy gun slinger. He's just going we
have one of the most dynamic players I've probably ever seen.

Speaker 1 (15:11):
Yeah, and I said this yesterday in my pod, you
knew you had something special when a veteran coach, Dan
Quinn and you know, a guy who had been a
head coach in two plays is Cliff Kingsbury in camp
were effusive with their praise. I mean, the rule with
rookie quarterbacks is he'll get there. Let's lower expectations. And

(15:32):
they kept talking to Dan Quinn. Zach Ertz told me
this last week. He's like, yeah, this is different. This
doesn't look like this is way better than a rookie quarterback.
And I remember people saying that about Andrew lock how
he memorized the Colts playbook in like two and a
half days. The instincts, the poise. To me, it's just unprecedented.
I've never seen anything like it. And again, I wouldn't

(15:54):
have guessed he would be the greatest rookie quarterback of
all time. In Week eight, he had played bad against Pittsburgh,
a couple of picks against the Cowboys. He was banged
up his last like eight weeks. It's like, is he
a top five quarterback in the league.

Speaker 2 (16:08):
He may be. I had a scouting buddy texted me
last night and said, you know, the Bears didn't even
bring in Jade Daniels for a visit. And listen, I'm
not trying to write off Caleb's career. We've seen Peyton
Manning as bad as a rookie by all means he
can give.

Speaker 1 (16:24):
Caleb is not this accurate, no way.

Speaker 2 (16:26):
But your job as a GM Adam Peters took a
lot of crap because remember he had like all five
quarterbacks not named Caleb Williams. He took him to top golf.
That's kind of his job. Do we evaluate everybody who's
going to be available? So I think you look back
at Ryan Poles. It would have taken a lot of
balls to not take Caleb Williams. It was the easy pick.

(16:46):
But his job isn't to play caate to the media.
His job is to get it right and get the
right player. And they didn't even look at this guy
and listen, Caleb can become a good player. This guy is.
It's mind blowing because his team's not that talented. It'd
be one thing. It's like, well, he inherited this great roster.
They actually traded up from pick twenty to pick two
to get them. No, like this team was terrible. It's
essentially the same roster that we all made fun of

(17:08):
last year with Ron Rivera that ended up at number two.
And it's actually not because remember they traded Sweat mid season.
They traded Sweat Chase Young. They don't even have a
great defensive line. I mean, they don't have many defensive
line beside the tackles. It's crazy what he's doing. They're
the running backs for Eckler, who's a good little scat back.
Yeah McNichols, who Adam Peters likes. And Brian Robinson, who
a couple you know. Mid seas started fumbling, so they

(17:29):
kind of kicked to the curve. It's not like they're
handing the ball to Saquon h That's not what's going
on here. It's crazy.

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Speaker 1 (19:03):
Big favorites generally in these national championship games roll and
after a great opening drive by Notre Dame, they could
never duplicate it. And Ohio State nil should stand for
not in our league. You can just you know, listen,
the number that matters now is sixty six thousand. That's
how many kids go to Ohio State. What does that matter?

(19:26):
Because big ten graduates don't stay. Lots of them don't
stand the Midwest, not enough jobs. They go to the coast,
they go make money and they pour it back into
the school. And so these gigantic Big ten schools, they're
not holding bake sales like Alabama and car washes like
Auburn to afford the NIL. I mean, they're fan bases.

(19:49):
They've got a lot of Ohio State grads. I know
two of them that are big funders of the NIL collective.
And you watch that offense sean off defense is I mean,
and their offensive lines dinged up. They just got pros everywhere.
I mean, it's just it, just I mean, Notre Dame
is well coached, good defensively, cannot compete.

Speaker 2 (20:12):
Well, think about this, we get back to back years
now Michigan Ohio State dominate and win the national championship.
Just full of NFL guys. When you look this year,
Penn State is in the final four, Texas is now
an SEC team, but come on, I mean they've been
there for ten minutes. Last year, Washington's in the final four.

(20:32):
We know Oregon's not going away. I think when you
look at the SEC, Alabama got there last year and
Saban's like two days later. I'm out. So I think
the lessen all these rulings are constantly coming out as
a fluid situation. But one thing we know, nuts is
ever going to go back to the way. It was
more money, more funding, more cutting checks for these players,

(20:54):
and not just Ohio State. I would say the Big
Ten in general Michigan. When I lived in philadel and
works for the Eagles, you know, usually local radio in
a pro city, they talked a lot of Penn State.
Why a lot of graduates live in that area. A
lot of people went there and a lot of people
watched the game. So I'm with you. I think the
Big Ten have a huge advantage moving forward.

Speaker 1 (21:15):
Yeah, I mean, I have a place in Naples floor.
It's a beautiful beach community, very very high end Sarasota
Naples area. My wife introduced me to it. It's all
Big Ten fans and it I mean, believe me. It
is Badger, Buckeye, Wolverine, Spartan flags all over town. And
let me just tell you, there is a lot of

(21:35):
money in the Big Ten. Those graduates make a lot
of money. Because I've been in Naples for about a
decade now and I'm always amazed by it. I mean,
Tho'll say Rodeo drive downtown and that is absolutely you know,
SEC fans go to what they I think they call
it the riviera, the redneck rivier or something.

Speaker 2 (21:55):
I've never been there.

Speaker 1 (21:56):
But then you go down to Sarasota in Naples and
that's a different level of money, and that is big
ten money. And I'll say this, A lot of people
are pushing back. I'm saying this is a one off. No,
it's not you and I talked about this, Penn State.
Look at the size of these schools, Wisconsin, Ohio State, Michigan,

(22:17):
Washington's a huge school.

Speaker 2 (22:18):
They're not and.

Speaker 1 (22:21):
Those graduates they leave a lot of times their area
and they're loyal. And the SEC schools, like when Alabama
is think about this. Nick saban is one of the
smartest coaches ever. Look how great of a coach he was.
NFL teams would fly down and look at how Alabama
ran their program, including Belichick. Look how good of a

(22:44):
broadcaster he is. Saban Is, He's literally made game day
feel huge. And everybody on that's talented. Reese, Pat Herb Street, Howard.
I mean, those guys are all talented. Nick is just
makes it feel huge, car dealerships, the way he has
leveraged his career. Just how smart this guy is the

(23:08):
first year the nil opened up. Nick Saban saw it
and he got very nervous. I was told about Texas.
He told his guys, we can't compete with Texas. That
is oil money, it's tech money. Alabama cannot compete with Texas.

Speaker 2 (23:25):
He knew it.

Speaker 1 (23:26):
He sounded the alarms the first year. And if Saban,
who's the smartest coach arguably in college football, he's certainly
on a short list, saw it coming and he got
the hell out. Nick could coach today if he wanted to.
God the guy come. I look at him on TV.
He's just so magnetic and dynamic. Nick's a sharp dude.

(23:48):
He knows the truth is that George's got some money.
Tennessee's got some money. I think the tide remember Washington's
in Seattle. They don't have a huge collective, but Jedfish
can recruit. Last year was a rebuilding year. They're going
to be closer to Oregon than Iowa going forward. USC's
can listen to this. USC's collective now is over twenty million.

(24:13):
They've already spent thirty million over the next For the
next eighteen months, they have to figure out how to
pay all these bills. I think the SEC knows it.
I think the smart people in that conference can see
it before it's happened. But this year and last year
watched the games. There is a game Notre Dame beat
Georgia and control Georgia. They got far off the field

(24:34):
tonight totally.

Speaker 2 (24:36):
I think listen, you and I and I turned into
an SEC fan during the Saving era. Why was the
best players, It was the best games. They still have
the best talent. The reality now is when Kirby back
in the day, Bobby Bowden, Dabo Sweeney, all the Southern
coaches knocked on your door, you were going to go
to one of those schools. Now they just call your
agent and say, hey, they're offering your five hundred grand,

(24:57):
will offer you eight to fifty and some sidecap. So
you wanted to pay taxes on. It's not a fair fight,
and that's what this has turned into. It is strictly
paid to play. It's why I laugh, like forever a
great recruiter. Obviously to become a great recruiter, you had
to have a personality, but you also had to be
at a program that offered you a lot. Right they might
even could pay you a little under the table. Now

(25:18):
there's we don't even you know, beat around the bush
on that. It's like, no, a great recruiter is someone
that can offer me eight hundred thousand dollars. I mean,
the guy was the quarterback that was going to play
for Brian Kelly Underwood. He was going to LSU and
then he ended up at Michigan. Not because he loves
Sharon Moore and Tom Brady and Dave Portnoy, because they

(25:40):
paid him like twelve to fifteen million dollars. Even Brian
Kelly's like, yeah, we can't pay him that much. We
don't have the money. Look at Nebraska last year.

Speaker 1 (25:47):
Now Michigan States boosters. One of them is the guy
that owns the Cavs. The other ones the guy that
owns the Suns.

Speaker 2 (25:55):
So it's like this, it is going to be they
got the talent, but these big tens. Rbit started years ago,
right when he went from Florida to Ohio State said
we got to get in the South and recruit the players.
Well now everyone knows that, but they can just cut
the check. So I'm going to be I think Texas,
like you mentioned Saban, I didn't know that he said that,
but I mean he's got ears eyes and a brain.

(26:17):
I mean, it's not hard to figure out. I think
A and M as well. I think the two Texas
schools that are in the SEC have a massive advantage
financially because that's the world we're in. Can you pay
the players or not the most? That's where they're going
to go.

Speaker 1 (26:30):
Look at this. I was talking to a during the
course of this season. I was talking to a general
manager and he said, let me tell you he's going
to be number one next year. Take quarterbacks out. He goes,
Caleb Downs is going to be number one next year.
He goes, that kid would start for every single NFL
team as a sophomore in college. He goes, there's not

(26:52):
an NFL team he wouldn't start for. And then I
texted him. That was mid season. I texted him before
this game and he said, if because it's a very
weak draft, he said, if Jeremiah Smith, the receiver for
Ohio State, and Caleb Downs were available, He's like, these
quarterbacks are not good enough. He goes, Cam would probably
go over those players because Tennessee needs a quarterback. He said,

(27:14):
would they go two and three? He's like, these kids
are I mean, we watched Jeremiah Smith and and Caleb
dew They don't even look like college players. It reminds
me when Jamar Chase was at LSU, like a sophomore year,
You're like, Okay, this is a pro receiver. Who would
who would start? He would make he would start for
every team in the NFL. The year before he went

(27:36):
and left LSU.

Speaker 2 (27:38):
You could argue, I mean, what's really going to separate
are the top five or six programs because of the money,
And obviously Ohio State and Oregon are in clearly the
top tier. Texas and I would throw Texas A and
m in there. I mean they got a little taste
of being back this year, of being good and being
right there. They have unlimited money. That's that's the sport. Now,

(27:58):
what happened to Michigan this shar year? They finally won
a national championship. Then they started getting embarrassed and they said,
what do you need? What do we need? We or
don't want to do this ever again. So that's what
And listen, I started at Fresno State, that program wouldn't
have existed. I don't know how they maintain it. The
Logan Mankins, the Ryan Matthews Washington State. How are they
going to function moving forward? The moment you get a guy, yeah,

(28:21):
that guy might be a third rounder, Oh he's a sophomore.
Every school worth their salts in his DM saying hey,
how much you want and they leave. They just automatically leave.
What we saw last year with Austin Genty, I don't
think we'll ever see again. Even the head coach this
year said it. He's like, he turned down seven figures
to stay here and all we could offer him was
three hundred thousand dollars. I mean, that's that's the world.

(28:41):
One day, I was at the gym, probably a couple
months ago, and I look up and his first take
is just on one of the big TVs and it's
a kid, and I'm like, what's going on. I think
Shannon and steven A were talking to him, and it's
the number one basketball recruit. When I got home, I
googled him. He's going to BYU next year. It's like,
it's not hard to figure out the Mormons cut that

(29:03):
get a massive check and that listen. I have no
problem with that. I mean, that's in a weird way,
That's what I would say. The sport has always been
basketball and football. You know, financing the I got no
problem with it, but that that is one hundred percent
the world we're living in now, and it's really separating
at the top. I mean, think about your guy Lane
Ole miss this year, they break the bank and then

(29:24):
they don't even make the playoffs. Are they less likely
to keep breaking the bank when you don't have results? Yeah?

Speaker 1 (29:30):
And I and I also think this is coaches will
get poached. You know, A prime example is John It's
harder to fire a college basketball coach because he can
go to his boosters as donors and his ad and go,
I've made the tournament twelve straight years. Okay, you can't
get rid of Sark. If Stark makes the playoff, and

(29:50):
he will ten to the next eleven years, you're not
going to get rid of him if he can win
a game or two here and there. And my point
being is, so these coaches now are going to make
in enormous money, like better than NFL money for a
lot of these guys. Can the SEC schools pay for that?
I mean, let's just say tomorrow, let's say one of
the coaches in the Big Ten doesn't work. Ryan Day's fine,

(30:15):
Ryan Franklin's gone. I mean, most of the guys are fine.
But let's say, for instance, a school goes and offers
Lane Kiffen a job and in the Big ten they say,
here's twelve million dollars. Can an sec school fund their
collective and pay the football head coach, not the staff
twenty million dollars? This is going to funnel down to

(30:38):
the coaches? Is now a lot of these guys are
suiting giving up for money. Colin Brian Kelly gave a
million dollars to help fund the collective. Did you see
that story?

Speaker 2 (30:46):
A couple like a month ago? He gave a million
dollars of his own salary to the collective? Why because
elis do you think you have to do that? Ohio State?
But no, it's hard for him to say, I'm making
nine and a half million dollars and the collective were
a little short. And then you start getting heat. When
Underwood goes to Michigan, It's like, well, I got to
give in a little bit. That's that to me was

(31:07):
a pretty big red flag for LSU. He had to
give a million dollars of a sell.

Speaker 1 (31:10):
Well, if so, if you telling me that I didn't
hear that story, so Saban saying, get me out of here.
Brian Kelly giving up a million listen for years and
years the SEC, and it was just it was just
everybody knew it. They were paying kids through the churches.
But I'm talking paying a kid one hundred thousand buck fifty.
That is doesn't even I mean, it just doesn't even compete.

(31:33):
And I think I'll just say it now. The SEC
may never get worse than the second best conference, but
if the Big Ten truly cares going forward, they will
control college football going forward. And you know, for the record,
Michigan won last year, Ohio State won this year. You

(31:57):
see Penn State outside of Carter, and that tight end
returns everybody Penn States and they're gonna be back.

Speaker 2 (32:03):
Drew Aller.

Speaker 1 (32:04):
Penn State next year loses a great tight end and
a great then these are first round players. But Michigan
next year, Washington, Ohio State, Oregon, Oregon's still really good.
Like the Big Ten, this was a little bit of
a down year. Let's be honest. Michigan in a rebuild,
Washington to rebuild, Caleb william leaves USC in a rebuild,

(32:26):
all those teams should be better next year.

Speaker 2 (32:29):
Well, the other thing is, and you mentioned Michigan State
with their big boosters. I mean, I'm sure you agree.
I think Jonathan Smith's a stud and this is the
worst team He's gonna have coach in there so they
will be better. I mean, he's a high level coach,
Nebraska funneling and a bunch of money. I think the
problem for the SEC is for about fifteen years in
the saving era and when other teams would kind of

(32:50):
match them, like LSU want to give a year obviously
Georgia at the end, Clemson was basically, as my buddy
Phil Savage used to tell me, they were an SEC
in their heyday, an SEC school playing an ACC schedule.
But they had SEC players, well, their backups right when
you start training camp, and you don't know who, like
at the time, a freshman or sophomore, who's gonna kind

(33:10):
of separate. You just let them battle it out, and
then the one guy that wins the job ends up
being the first round pick, Well, his backup is still
a fourth rounder. And if that guy gets injured, you know,
in the seventh game of the season, your backup still
a fourth rounder. Well, now that guy goes I'm out
and all these other programs are lined up to take them,

(33:31):
and he's like, well, I might as well make the
same amount of money and go start then be a backup.
That was their biggest advantage I always thought is they're
too deep. Was the last like right at the beginning
of the NIL, right before the NL, when Kirby was
basically turned Georgia into Alabama, he went too deep with like,
my first rounder is my starter and my backup is

(33:52):
a second rounder. Good luck touching me. And you didn't. Well,
we saw this year they were a shell of themselves
and it's going to be difficult to just maintain that
dominance because they do have the talent in the region.
But these other schools just we got technology. Now can
just send you the offer contract on docu sign. I
was like, here's the money, buddy, you want to come

(34:12):
And what do you think Their parents and agents are
clearly saying, Ohio State's been doing it since Urban got there.
But then Hardboss start getting involved. We know Oregon's going
to keep funneling out of the SEC in the South. Really,
Mario started that Penn State, Like the one thing you say,
all those guys going back to Penn State. One thing
James Franklin is is a great recruiter. Yeah, if you
give him money, his energy and his effort. I do

(34:34):
think Texas is going to run the SEC moving forward.

Speaker 1 (34:36):
So yeah, fans can say what they want. Bama is
in big trouble. LSU is in big trouble. Big trouble
Georgia because they're close to Atlanta. There's some big boosters there.
But remember Atlanta's got the Braves, the Falcons. I mean,
they've got you know that, They've got a lot of

(34:59):
things happening in Atlanta. It's a very splintered market. Yeah,
I think we're.

Speaker 2 (35:04):
Talking when we stay trouble right the day of going
twelve and zero and winning that is, you still might
win eight nine games, but you're never going to be
what probably we've seen in the past.

Speaker 1 (35:14):
Oh yeah, I don't even think. I mean, that's not
even a take. That's not a hot take. I mean,
the SEC, the days of running it are over, back
to back years and again I'll say it again, Ohio
State next year, Jeremiah Smith and Caleb Downs, the two
best players in the college football, likextup, are both back.
And you know, I mean, and now you're going to

(35:34):
how you think the recruiting is going to go transfer
portal is going to go off this win. I mean
the players, listen, man, those star players, they watch what
Ohio State is tonight. It's a factory up there. Their
role in it looks like Ryan Day and Chip Kelly.
I mean, I thought the game plan tonight for Ohio
State looked like a pro game plan. I mean the
way if you watch the game plan tonight for Ohio State,

(35:55):
those first two drives, it was so Chip Kelly. Let's
build up, Will Howard's confidence, easy completions, get the ball
to the playmaker. It was just I mean, I watched
enough Chip Kelly games and I'm like, oh, this is
a clinic. This is Chip Kelly who doesn't probably doesn't
think Will Howard's an elite player. But within the system,

(36:17):
he can get those twelve yard and in completions. He's accurate.
Notre Dame never made Will Howard uncomfortable. I mean, and
this is a beat up bowl line. I mean he was.
Will Howard was sitting back there at one point, I
don't know what he was six for six, seven for
seven on third down. Notre Dame just couldn't make him uncomfortable.

Speaker 2 (36:34):
I would say this, if you've watched Chip Kelly since Oregon,
if he's busting explosive runs, you got no shot. And
the moment they start hitting big runs, you're in trouble.
Especially with the firepower. They have to throw the ball,
because then what are you gonna do? Stack the box
and let them exploit you and say what you want
about Will Howard, I questioned it coming into this playoff

(36:54):
run Colin in the first half he was fourteen to
fifteen for two touchdowns and he's just you remove the
Texas game, which was difficult just endeavor for him, given
how good Texas is on defense. He was dominant in
the three matches against Tennessee, which has NFL personnel on defense. Obviously,
Oregon is loaded with NFL players, and tonight just National

(37:14):
Championship Notre Dame to come out. He's played. Really, he's
made himself some money. I'm not saying he's gonna get
drafted in the second day, but I think he's got
to get a drafted in the somewhere between the fourth
and the sixth round.

Speaker 1 (37:26):
First of all, I think the kid at Syracuse, Kyle
McCord and Will Howard are going to get drafted late third, fourth,
early fifth round. But both big, strong, sturdy kids who
throw a nice ball with velocity.

Speaker 2 (37:41):
They'll think I think McCord if he has a good
you know this post season before the draft process, could
go on the second day of the draft. Or I
think Will Howard just because he throws more of a
pure ball.

Speaker 1 (37:54):
Just I looked at him on YouTube today.

Speaker 2 (37:58):
Yeah, and you know how these quarterback coaches are, these
offensive coordinators are they when you're just sitting out there.
I think there's just an element to Will Howard and
I would say the same about Riley Leonard. They're just
kind of good football players. I don't know how good
they would look just in a just shorts T shirts,
throwing routes on air in front of the head coach.
I mean, they're not exactly throwing it like Josh Allen
out there. And they're good runners, but they're not running.

(38:21):
You know what Riley Leonard does and it's fun to watch.
Is that does that translate to the NFL? Just running
over guys? That's hard and that's that's but he listen,
he grew on me over this run. He's clearly the
high level guy and I think both of them are
going to be loved by once the coaches get into
the draft process, because they're clearly like just high level kids.

Speaker 1 (38:51):
Chad Millman, co host of the Favorites Sharper Square. All
odds provided by DraftKings. So I had a rare I
don't think I had an undefeated this year three and
ozero last week. And I think it's actually easier in
the playoffs. I've had back to back weeks because the
quarterbacks are all you know, it's sudden death, it's the
best quarterbacks. It's going to start with this before we

(39:13):
start with anything. You know, there's this sense that, you know,
Kansas City, Jason McIntyre's on this thing about the calls
going a certain way, and I always point back, Kansas
City's gotten the benefit of the calls. Well, my argument is,
we all know coaching matters more in football than managing
in baseball or coaching in basketball. We know coaching college

(39:37):
or pro. We've seen Jim Harbaugh take over the worst
defense make it the best. Coaching matters in football more
than other sports. You have like a phone book that
offensive players have to memorize, and system scheme, culture building.
And I remember when I lived in Connecticut watching all
the Patriot games, and I can remember watching for years
and it just popping into my head when they were

(39:59):
playing a team team fumbled. I'm like, God, I don't
think the Patriots have fumbled since Thanksgiving. And you went
back and looked and they literally were the team in
the league that didn't fumble. And I'd asked Patriot players
about this, They're like, oh, yeah, Bill would not let
you stretch for extra yards. That was a fine, that
was a suspension. You could only do it if it

(40:21):
was fourth down in the ends. Otherwise you were not
allowed to stretch. And I look at the Chiefs and
I say to myself, really good coaches are really good teachers,
and you can teach your way out of penalties with
good communication, thorough repetition. Damian Woody always told me Patriot
practice was different than every other practice has Detroit his

(40:43):
Jets practices. So what your take on the Chiefs get
all the calls, because if you go back and look
at the penalties during the New England era, they were
last penalies as well.

Speaker 2 (40:55):
I think it's bullshit.

Speaker 4 (40:57):
I think it's a media can instructed argument because people
are looking for reasons as to why the Chiefs keep
winning other than they have a generationally great quarterback, a
generationally if not historically great coach. Our mutual friend Ryan

(41:21):
Rosillo had a great stat on his podcast the other day.
The past two years, Kansas City opponents have been flagged
for forty eight penalties in the fourth quarter and ot
of one score games. Colin, how many have the Chiefs
had in the same period, twelve forty seven. So let's

(41:48):
not get off. Okay, Well, you have in the Chiefs
are a coach who has found the perfect cheak code
for his ski. He's got a guy who is ultra competitive,
who can make magical plays. Who, by the way, as
Tom Brady pointed out on your show, having to defend

(42:12):
Patrick Mahomes for four downs in the playoffs is just
so freaking hard. You don't get to seven conference championship
games because people are calling penalties against the opponents more often.
Ask Lamar Jackson. Lamar Jackson has two MVPs. He might
get a third, He should get a third. How many

(42:34):
AFC title games has he played in? How many Super
Bowls has he played in? He is as brilliant an
athlete and as brilliant a quarterback as there is in
the NFL. He's not getting there. Patrick Mahomes and the
Chiefs do something different, and I think it's in the
head of every single team they play.

Speaker 1 (42:53):
Well, let's start off with the Commanders and the Eagles.
I'm going to take Philadelphia minus six. I'm also going
to take the over. I do think they've played twice.
Philadelphia should have won twice, but Jalen got hurt, Kenny
Pickett came in. So I think the number I look
at over two games is average yards per carry, and

(43:13):
it's five and a half yards for Philadelphia. Well, that's
just that's a physical mismatch. The O line for Philadelphia
is almost better to a man than the D line
for Washington. That's not going to change. That's not scheme.
The guards for Philadelphia are like six seven and a half,
it's like the biggest guards in league history are four.
Of Their offensive linemen are like arguably the best in

(43:36):
the NFL at their position. So they will run the
ball and they will move the ball. But I do
think the Commanders will have to score and know what
going in, so they'll take chances. They'll do some four
down stuff, so My take is it's a fairly high
scoring game, which makes me more comfortable laying the six

(43:57):
with Philadelphia sharper score.

Speaker 4 (43:58):
So it was sharp at four and a half, it's
gotten to six. It actually got up to six and
a half, and wise guys have been buying back and
in a lot of the conversations I've had this week,
and Simon Hunter and I talked about this on the
Favorites today when we sort of bring in the feedback
from professional betters, they were liking Washington and it honestly
doesn't make sense to me or to Simon and apparently

(44:21):
to you either. Last week people were coming in and
they were hammering the Rams. I loved the Eagles all
week and if not for Jake Elliott missing a couple
extra points, that game is not a push, it's a
cover for the Eagles. Same thing this week. I don't
get it. I feel like there's so much recency bias

(44:44):
in relation to Jaden Daniels and both of these games. Weirdly,
there is so much public support for the road underdogs
against the higher seeds because of the status of the
quarterbacks and the seasons there having Josh Allen is having
a better year than Patrick Mahomes, Jane Daniels having a
better year than Jalen Hurts. But people are forgetting that

(45:06):
this Eagles team is not built around Jalen Hurts, right,
It's built around Saquon Barkley. And one of the things
that I tried to unpack this week when I was
thinking about this game is the Eagles win so often
with explosive plays. We saw this past weekend two huge
runs from Barkley, a great run from Hurtz. That's how
they're scoring touchdowns right. Earlier in the season in November

(45:29):
in Philadelphia against the Commanders, the Eagles were losing most
of that game. I was at that game. They won
that game because Saquon Bardley had two long touchdown runs.
So you think about explosive play as well. Is that random?
Can you predict it? I think is more random when
it's quarterbacks throwing long touchdown passes with the circumstances have

(45:50):
to be perfect. It's less random when it's your running
back who has an offensive line that is as dominant
as you.

Speaker 2 (45:57):
Just talked about.

Speaker 4 (45:58):
Who's by the way, his rushing prope is one hundred
north of one hundred and thirty yards, which DraftKings has
announced is the highest total they've ever had for a
rushing prop in the years that they've been doing business.
So I'm with you, man, I like the Eagles. I
think it's the right spot. I think they're the better team.
I tend to favor the dominant, physical team.

Speaker 1 (46:20):
So yeah, is there a prop you could give our
audience that you like? I like the over in this game,
but a prop.

Speaker 4 (46:28):
You zach Ertz over three and a half receptions. I
think that the Eagles defensively on the edges at cornerback
Quinnyon Mitchell is supposed to play. We already know about
Cooper Degene and the slot Darius Slayh obviously. On the
other side, that's where Jaden Daniels, who was already predisposed
to wanting to go to zach Ertz if Terry McLaurin
isn't available, isn't open. I think that that's where the

(46:51):
offensive opportunities are going to be. So zach Ertz over
three and a half.

Speaker 1 (46:56):
You know, it's interesting I was talking on the show
today ten years ago pay Manning, big Ben and Brady,
where these iconic legends past their prime. In fact, Peyton
was in Denver, But I remember thinking at the time,
she's what is the league gonna do? What is the
league gonna do? And now we've got Lamar, Mahomes, Allen
and Throwing Burrow. But in the NFC ten quarterbacks in

(47:21):
the last ten Super Bowl appearances for NFC teams, it's
a lot of rotational quarterbacks. That's why it almost feels
like Jayden Daniels has a shot. Hurts would be the
second time for him, So I do. I said this
today as I watched Jaden Daniels, and I feel like
the NFC got their Mahomes that everybody will they'll be
tailing Washington going forward. I don't think it's a particularly

(47:45):
warm take. I feel like he is either Lamar or Mahomes.
But the NFC has had this sort of goff an
Older Stafford, a prickly Aaron Russell, Wilson, aging Kyler. Murray's talented,
but there's just been a lot of these qualifiers and
they haven't had their no issues, low maintenance, high thrower,

(48:07):
good mover. I think he's the Mahomes of the NFC.

Speaker 4 (48:11):
What's really going to be interesting. I agree with everything
you said. What's going to be interesting is next year.
Next year, the Commanders are already sixteen to one to
win the Super Bowl. That feels very aggressive. Weren't we
saying the same things about c J. Stroud exactly a

(48:32):
year ago? And did c J. Stroud not come back
down to earth that defenses not spend an off season
figuring out that he's not great against certain defenses, that
it's going to be challenging for him to succeed at
the level that he did in his rookie year and
he didn't. Not saying he's not great, not saying he's

(48:52):
going to be great. But of all the great quarterbacks
you just mentioned when the season began, c J. Stroud
was on that list. Now he's not. So next year
is there going to be an opportunity to fade the Commanders?
Like in reality, the Commander should probably be seven seven
and a half point underdogs in this game. The Eagles

(49:13):
are dominant physically on the defensive side of the ball
and on the offensive side of the ball. The Commanders
are not going to have their right guard Sam Cosmy,
who's their best offensive lineman. The eagles best defensive lineman
is Jalen Carter, And normally you're not going to worry
about a right guard being out as being a challenge
for your pass protection. But when Jalen Carter is rushing

(49:34):
up the middle, your right guard might be the guy
who needs to grab a piece of him every once
in a while. You're now not going to have a guy,
and so all of a sudden these things change. You're
already getting the benefit. I think of Jaden Daniels being
someone who people believe is a cheat code, and they're
overvaluing that in the scope of the entire game.

Speaker 1 (49:56):
Yeah. I will say though, that CJ. Stroud didn't have
the mobility edge, which I've always thought mobility's best for
a quarterback in the first two years because as you're
learning NFL coverages and waiting for the light to go on,
you can just pick up first downs moving, whereas c J.

(50:18):
Stroud is going to pick up first downs throwing, and
so he is much more susceptible. As coverages get more sophisticated,
you face better teams. He had injuries on the O line.
They didn't have protection. I think running quarterbacks Lamar he
never really dipped mahomes Allen. They just kept getting better.

Speaker 2 (50:39):
Goff was.

Speaker 1 (50:42):
Beholden to how good his O line was, yeah, you know, bad,
Whitworth's good, Whitworth leaves not as good, or around that
time when Whitworth was aging, and then he goes to Detroit,
not good. Early line got better, He's better. So I
think I think Jayden, I think CJ. Stroud's NFL comp
was golf, and like golf, he deteriorates with really bad

(51:05):
line play significantly, whereas I think Jaden is Lamar and
Mahomes where it's just ascension because he moves the chains
while he's figuring out defenses and it takes about even
Mahomes said it was the beginning of year three when
everything just sort of slowed down. So I don't think
I think he's I think we're really looking at something specially.

Speaker 4 (51:28):
I don't disagree. I think the guy is a brilliant player,
and I think it's more evidence that you want to
get quarterbacks who have a lot of experience playing in college,
who've taken a lot of snaps, who've played a lot
of games. That's always been a threshold for GMS and
coaches who are looking to draft quarterbacks. I remember when
Philip Rivers came out, he had played so many games

(51:50):
in college people didn't really know who he was at
NC State. I know I'm throwing a name out there
from like twenty five years ago, but I remember this
so clearly. I was at ESPN the Mat magazine, and
we were doing a draft issue, and it was the
first time I ever heard a scout talk about the
importance of seeing quarterbacks on tape with a lot of
games as they get older. And we're seeing that with

(52:13):
Jadeen Daniels, Like his experience level keeps him from being
really frightened in these experiences because he's so much older
than the average quarterback coming out, and he's had so
many more snaps, and he understands the rhythm of the
game and understands the moment a little bit better in
addition to his unbelievable talent. But I can guarantee you

(52:35):
right now we can set a number on it. The
number of times will set it at seven and a
half at this time next year. How many times over
the course of Sharper Square have I said to you, well,
the commanders are overvalued here because Jaden Daniels is getting
too much credit and too much attention. I guarantee you

(52:56):
I'm going to say that an every other week basis
to you on this show.

Speaker 1 (53:00):
Show Let's go AFC. I'm riding with the Bills. I
have for the last month. I feel they're the best
team in football. The Rams had to play a perfect
game at home to slip by in the Rams, I
think we're a very good team at the end. I'll
take the one and a half again. I think there's
going to be points scored. I think there's limitations on
stopping Allan and Mahomes. I think you get into these games.

(53:25):
Coaches are more willing. Brady and Andy Reid are more
willing to take risks. It's sudden death. You empty the
playbook because you have two weeks to prepare for the
Super Bowl, So just empty the playbook. I'd take the
over forty seven and a half Bills plus one and
a half. I can absolutely see Kansas City winning. I
think this is the best version of Buffalo for two reasons. One,
they do not turn it over, they're not heavily penalized,

(53:49):
and you can't get to Josh Allen. They're the mature version,
which Baltimore hasn't become yet with Lamar. They're still, like
I said this before, Buffalo's always been a Ferrari with
Josh Allen. They just no longer at speeding tickets. They
don't make the mistakes, they don't get caught like they
slow down in front of the cops. So they have
all the talent, but they don't have that sort of

(54:09):
in Baltimore's trying to work theirself out of this. That's
sort of like, we can't slow down. We just we
go one hundred miles an hour. So I think they've
become they become the Chiefs, and I think eventually they're
going to beat the Chiefs, which they have in the
regular season. Sharper square bills plus the point sharp ish.

Speaker 4 (54:28):
It's been an interesting number. It opened at one and
a half, and even though the majority of the money,
which indicates professional betters like the bills, and the majority
of the tickets, which also indicates the public likes the bills,
it's kind of stuck at one and a half. In fact,

(54:48):
there's been a little bit of sort of juice movement,
meaning they're making it more expensive to bet the one
and a half on the Chiefs because they want you
to take the one and a half because pretty soon
they're going to go to two. I think that you're
on the professional side, not in a dominant way. I'm

(55:10):
gonna play devil's advocate. Everything you're saying is right. Josh
Allen gets out of the pocket. To me, he's as
frightening as and frustrating as Lamar Jackson and Patrick Mahomes,
and their running game this year has been so freaking good.
They played the number one team in defensive rush success

(55:32):
rate in the Broncos and rush them on the ground.
They played the number two team in defensive rush success
rate in the Ravens, and crush them on the ground.
The Chiefs are not nearly as good at defending the
run as either the Ravens or the Broncos. And they're
going to have to figure out how to manage Josh
Allen when it's third and one or fourth and one,

(55:52):
who's clearly unstoppable. How they're going to have to manage
James Cook. All that is true. Zero evidence colin that
Patrick Mahomes is going to lose this game. Zero like
in November on in games where the weather is forty

(56:13):
degrees or less, twenty three and two in his career.
The last loss was to Tom Brady in twenty nineteen.
He's won twenty in a row Andy Reid with Mahomes
with an extra day of rest, just one extra day
of rest, which he has twenty and three, fourteen and

(56:36):
one at home. Like, It's just why would I want
to do this? I've been given every opportunity to bet
the Chiefs as a.

Speaker 2 (56:47):
Short home dog.

Speaker 4 (56:49):
Patrick Mahomes seven straight AFC title games, three Super Bowls
in the past five years, going for third in a row.
He is going to challenge Tom Brady as the greatest
quarterback who's ever played, and he might do it before
he's thirty two years old? Like what am I doing here?

(57:13):
Why would I bet against Patrick Mahomes. I had a
buddy call the other day and tell me I'm all
over the bills. I'm like why and why would you
do that? With confidence? Like you just can't. It's it's hard.
I get it. I'm afraid of it. But there's no
way I'm betting against Patrick Mahomes. There is no way.

(57:33):
But yeah, I like the OVERTWO.

Speaker 1 (57:44):
So I saw a story this week and apparently sometimes
in the media, well I think media people like to
be viewed as smart and they try to figure stuff out.
I'm guilty of this. I'm always trying to figure out
theories or why, and sometimes the answer is always the
simple answer. So I saw a story this week and

(58:07):
it just made me laugh where the college football game
was down three million viewers and everybody was flummixed, and
I'm like, guys, men like Trump statistically in this election.
Young men love Trump, young men love football. Inauguration Day
was Monday, that's the day of the National Championship, and

(58:30):
so the number was down about three million viewers, especially
when Notre Dame fell behind thirty one to seven. That's
the answer, right, Like, it wasn't that we hate Ohio
State and Notre Dame. It was every four years in
inauguration with a polarizing Trump, who, for the record, does
very well in this election with young men.

Speaker 4 (58:51):
Yeah.

Speaker 2 (58:51):
I saw the numbers too.

Speaker 4 (58:52):
It's so funny you say that, because I saw the
numbers this morning and I saw a story, just a line,
you know, down whatever percent it was ten percent or whatever,
it was, right, twelve percent.

Speaker 2 (59:06):
And as soon as.

Speaker 4 (59:07):
I clicked out, and I'm like, someone's going to try
to explain why this is. This isn't rocket science trying
to find patterns when you do year over year comps.
You can do year over comps, year over year comps
with every podcast in the Volume network. You can do
it with your show. The circumstances are always different. We

(59:29):
do this at Action all the time too. How come
this Monday night game is down from the year before? Well,
who was the matchup? Was it a game where you
had Was it a night where you had two Monday
night games play being played instead of one? Because when
you have two Monday night games, traffic sometimes dips a
little bit because attention is diverted and games start a
little bit earlier, so people aren't online as early. Like,

(59:51):
there's so many easy to unpack answers to so many
of the questions that are asked in sports. It's phenomenal.
We try to make it as complicated as we do.
And to your point about politics mixing with sports and
impacting sports. Two years ago, ninety three of the top

(01:00:12):
one hundred broadcasts in the United States were sports. This
past year in twenty twenty four, eighty one of the
top one hundred. Do you know why, because there were
so many debates and so many political events that were
leading the coverage that we're getting so many more viewers,
so of course there's going to be changes on a

(01:00:34):
year to year basis because of the overall world and
what's happening, not because of anything about myopically what we
think of Ohio State or Notre Dame.

Speaker 1 (01:00:44):
Well, I had, I have. I worked in local TV
for over a decade, and so I still you know,
I still have friends in local TV. Not as many.
Many have retired or dodd or things or moved on.
But you know, it's like you're going to notice over
the next ten years there'll be a little bit of
renaissance in local TV ratings. Why because of climate change

(01:01:07):
and whenever you have severe weather or disasters. Local reporters
are better than national reporters. They've built trust for the
audience and they know the terrain. A Dallas reporter, a Chicago, Minneapolis,
Los Angeles, New York reporter. If something happened to the
Brooklyn Bridge forgets CNN. I'm watching the local guys, right.

(01:01:30):
So LA local news ratings went up four hundred percent
over the last two weeks. And I watched the coverage.
It was significantly better than CNN. And it's not a
political It was significantly better than all national coverage because
the local reporters. They all live in these towns and
they knew They just know the topography and the canyons

(01:01:51):
and the history, and so you know, it's you're gonna
watch local TV ratings and you can call it whatever
you want. But we're just getting more severe weather. It
snowed in Pensacola, have a foot whatever, La had a
blizzard two years ago, whatever. So yeah, I think most
of the stuff is fairly explainable. So when local TV
ratings have a renaissance here in the next decade, that's

(01:02:14):
mostly what it's going to be.

Speaker 4 (01:02:15):
I love that you talk about the weather component of it,
because those are the only people I remember growing up
when I watched local TV, and even here in West
Hertford where you used to live, like Stacy and I,
my wife and I, we love the local weather guy.
And I love the local weather guy because he knows

(01:02:37):
our town and he knows all the towns around us,
and he knows the difference between here we're in a valley. Here,
you're a little bit on a hill, so it's going
to be a little bit colder here in the morning,
you might have a little more frost. I live by
what this guy says and I completely connect with what
you're saying. What's actually frightening. I don't know if you
saw it this week, but there is one broadcast that

(01:03:00):
owns a lot of local stations that is letting go
of all their local weather people and having a singular
sort of source of weather information and segments that is
then being distributed out to the local channels. It's sort
of like the single service provider within an organization, which

(01:03:23):
is idiotic.

Speaker 1 (01:03:25):
That is the opposite of what I would do over
the next ten years. Get rid of the local sports guys,
love them to death, but everybody's watching some other platform.
I want massive weather people locally for the next decade,
whatever you want to call it. We're just getting more
combustible weather, hot, cold, wind, rain, whatever.

Speaker 2 (01:03:45):
It makes no sense.

Speaker 4 (01:03:46):
I saw it. I'm like, the one thing people care
about is weather. It's the only thing people are checking
for in the morning, Like that is what can save
local television. And you're going out there, you're firing all
the weather people. So it made zero sense to me.

Speaker 2 (01:04:02):
Zero.

Speaker 1 (01:04:04):
Sometimes I wish sometimes I wish I was a billionaire,
not because I'd buy a bunch of stuff, because I've
never had a second car. I'm not a boat guy.
I'm not a jewelry guy or a watch guy. I'm
not a collector. I'm really not.

Speaker 2 (01:04:20):
I don't care.

Speaker 1 (01:04:22):
But there are things I would like. Things I would
like to do in society they can't afford to do.
Like I'll be honest with you, when Fox created a
weather channel, I wish I could have been the CEO
of Fox's Weather Channel. I would have loved that job.
And if it paid what I make and I can
still make my mortgage, I was I've always wanted like

(01:04:44):
Byron Allen, the former comedian who became a wildly successful entrepreneur,
bought the Weather Channel, and I think it's the only
time I've ever been jealous of another member of the
American media. Was Byron Allen bought the Weather Channel, and
I'm like, damn it.

Speaker 4 (01:04:59):
By the way, it might be Byron Allen who fired
off a local weather people because he wants all the
weather to come from the Weather Channel.

Speaker 2 (01:05:11):
Like that.

Speaker 1 (01:05:12):
All I know that is forget Oprah. That's the most
successful local media person in the history of our business.
He's the one guy I'm jealous of.

Speaker 4 (01:05:24):
I'm just checking right now. Yeah, Alan Media Group replaces meteorologists,
dozens of meteorologists with pre recorded feats.

Speaker 2 (01:05:34):
So I don't know.

Speaker 4 (01:05:35):
I think we've got to call brought Byron and we
got to tell him we think this is a bad idea.
And we are very respected and admired members of the media.

Speaker 2 (01:05:44):
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