← The Herd with Colin Cowherd
The Herd with Colin Cowherd
3 and Out - Top QB/Coach Combos, Will Stafford Injury Derail Rams? Biggest Draft BUST, Rookie RB’s, Any Hope For The Jets?
01:00:32
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- [00:00]
Dr. Leah Tritate
This is an iHeart podcast.
- [00:05]
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- [01:05]
John Middlekauff
So in the last month the Midas Touch Network beat Rogan, Tucker Carlson, Candace Owens, Charlie Kirk and Ben Shapiro all combined.
- [01:13]
Katie Couric
What happens when three brothers take on right wing media and start winning? I find out on the latest episode of Next Question with me Katie Couric.
- [01:22]
John Middlekauff
We just want people to live their lives and be happy and be able to enjoy it without some, you know, lunatics screaming in their face every three seconds.
- [01:30]
Katie Couric
Listen to Next Question with me Katie Couric on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.
- [01:37]
John Middlekauff
I'm Jake Hofer and this is back 40, a limited series show on Wire to Hunt, part of Meat Eaters Podcast Network. Each episode I'll be asking eight whitetail hunting pros a focused, thought provoking question about hunting and land management. How do I hunt the best part of the farm with less than ideal access? Should you? That's what the real question is. Stand without good access is not a good stand. Listen to Back 40 on iHeartRadio app, Apple podcast or wherever you get your podcast.
- [02:09]
Ebony
Welcome to Pretty Private with ebony, the podcast where silence is broken and stories are set free. I'm Ebony and every Tuesday I'll be sharing all new anonymous stories that would challenge your perceptions and and give you new insight on the people around you. Every Tuesday, make sure you listen to Pretty Private from the Black Effect Podcast Network. Tune in on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.
- [02:38]
John Middlekauff
The volume what is going on everyone? How are we doing? Hopefully everyone is is doing well. We have a football game tonight. A lot of backups. Backups. The Chargers take on the Lions in Canton, Ohio. So listen, I'm not going to complain about watching third stringers play football. I'm going to enjoy it, so should you. Trey Lance and DJ Ungoole will play for the Chargers. Harbaugh said Trey Lance gonna play a lot. So what I decided to do is I did this. I'm gonna do a massive mailbag. A lot of you guys have asked questions. I have not answered them yet. And I'm gonna do that today. So we did about an hour long mailbag at John Middlekopf is the Instagram fire in those dms. That's how you get your questions answered here on the show. So if you want to participate, you slide in my DMs and I attempt to read them all. And if I haven't read yours, you know, sometimes you got to follow up. But I try to read as many as possible. So that will be today. Massive mailbag. And tomorrow we'll have a fugazi Friday. But you guys know the drills. If you subscribe to Collins feed, that's how you found us. Make sure you subscribe to three and out Apple Spotify. Find it wherever you listen to podcasts and YouTube as well. We have a YouTube channel. All of our content is up there. So go check that out right now. Just type in my name, you can find it and make sure you subscribe. Okay. Before we dive into the mailbag though, you know I got to tell you about my friends, my partners official ticketing app of this podcast. Best ticketing app I've ever used. You want to go to a football game this fall, College or pro? You want to go to a concert, you want to go to a comedy show. You want to go to any sporting event. It does not get any easier. Search by the venue, search by the team, search by the artist. Take the guesswork out of buying tickets with game time down the Game Time app, create an account and use the code JOHN for $20 off your first purchase Terms apply again. Create an account, redeem the code Johen for $20 off. Download the game Time app today. Last minute take his lowest prices guaranteed. Okay, let's start with start with this question. Zach Taylor. He's entering his seventh season as the coach of the Cincinnati Bengals. His record, if you include the playoffs, is 51, 54 and 1. What's the bare minimum he needs to achieve to ensure he returns in 26? It's a good question. I watched an interview of Shamar Stewart's agents with some local podcasters. It looked like it actually made the Bengals look a lot better. This guy's a idiot. I mean I, I can't even imagine negotiating with this individual. Obviously he lost because he was negotiating something that is slotted and I, I just can't even, you got to look it up yourself. I think his name's like Zach Hiller or something. I, I, I actually sided with Mike Brown when watching this and Shemar Stewart's obviously at practice now and on the team. We got Trey Hendrickson back. Hold in. Nothing's changed. Mike Brown is like not budging in these negotiations. But there's a lot going on with the Bengals. Ton of pressure on this team. Obviously the quarterback is a star. So anytime you have a star quarterback not making the playoffs is a fireball offense. And I think if they were to miss the playoffs again, I think he's a 100% lock to get fired. Now can they make the playoffs as a wild card and be one and done and keep the job? It happened to Marvin Lewis for a long, long time. He made the playoffs, would lose in the first round and kept his job forever. So I wouldn't say he'd be a lock to be fired. Would he get an extension? I don't know. There's a lot on the line this year with this team. He just hires out golden from Penn State. You know, the offense clearly wasn't the issue last year. So can the offense just maintain and their defense be better? And you would think they're going to win double digit games, but I don't know. I mean it's hard to get a feel for how this organization works. My cue keeps growing with every time I tune in. Must have a low iq. Just kidding. Just kidding. Grew up in Green Bay and still a big Rogers fan. I had an epiphany the other day when thinking about the greatest quarterbacks to ever play the game. All the all time greats had hall of Fame coaches in their prime. Brady Belichick, Mahomes Reed, Montana, Walsh Breeze, Payton Manning, on and on and on. McCarthy was a great offensive coach, but he's not a Hall of Famer. And lafleur is another good offensive mind, but not even the best coach from the Shanahan tree. My question is, do you think Rogers would have been more successful in the postseason with a Belichick or Reed in his prime? I think it's fair to assume that after they won the suit because they won the super bowl right. In 2010. But then their teams were healthier, were better in years moving forward. And I do think it's fair to say that they get over the hump in how many NFC championship games they lose. They lost to Seattle, they lost to Tampa, they lost the 49ers, they lost to. I think Dallas is a really high seed. They lost the Falcons, but that was a year they kind of made a run. They lost a lot of playoff games. Where you go, if they had a better coach, could that have been the difference? I mean some of those McCarthy years, the defense was terrible when the Niners and Kaepernick ran all over them. Wasn't Rogers fault. But I do think it's fair to look at the LaFleur loss to Tampa was pretty bad at home. The loss to Seattle was pretty bad. So yeah, I mean I think it's fair to assume that if you gave Rogers in the peak of his powers those four or five years, I mean when he was from like 2010 to 2015, 16, could they have won two or three Super Bowls if they had Belichick or Andy Reid or Bill Walsh? 100%. I think it's fair to ask yourself that question, Texans fan here and you're a high IQ guy. I'm curious. And listen, most hall of Fame coaches have hall of Fame quarterbacks and vice versa, right? Most great coaches have a great quarterback. The exception is Parcells and he had the equivalent at quarterback on defense in Lawrence Taylor. But in the last 45 years, every quote unquote great coach that you know won multiple Super Bowls, had Mike Shanahan, Elway obviously Andy Mahomes, Bill Brady, they all had dynamic quarterbacks. I mean all time great quarterbacks. Shows you McCarthy you could argue underachieved. And I think his Dallas kind of run McCarthy solid. McCarthy is not bad. But like where is, at what level would you rate him being really good? You know, I mean there is a cut off where you're like yeah, I wouldn't put them above 10 of these guys. Texans fan, I'm curious how you should go about handling their upcoming cap situation with CJ and Will Anderson due to extensions and now we know both are top five picks in the same draft class. I think I've already answered this question. I did a couple of weeks ago. I do think sometimes, and we're all guilty of this, especially in football, like how are they going to handle the next three years? Who cares? It's 2025, right? So like what's going to happen in 2027 with the cap. To me, as an NFL fan, you should never be worried about that. It is on your organization to manipulate the cap and figure it out. But like, once you get to the start of the season, worrying about future years is kind of a waste. I mean, The Eagles, the 49ers, they've shown like, you can pay a bunch of people. You can figure this out if you want to, if you, if you choose to. Like, if the Texans want to get really aggressive, they can pay a lot of people and really take advantage of this. If those guys are stars, congratulations on life. I remember you talking about how Sublime was one of your favorite albums. I would love to hear your thoughts of your favorite songs from that album and your musical taste in general. When I was probably, I mean, when did Bradley die? Mid 96, 97, 95 range. I would say what I got when that hit the airways on the radio, back when radio really mattered, that was a really, really big deal. Now I, you know, I would say they have several songs that I would put up near the top doing Time. Santeria are pretty good bangers. Yeah, I mean I, I'm a big, I'm a big musical fan. I mean I grew up what I'd say is the greatest musical run in the history of America. The 90s elite rock, elite country music. Hip hop was really the foundation of greatness of rap. You know, R B is something that doesn't really exist anymore, was thriving in the 90s. So I, I feel I never understand people that have like, you know, I don't really like that type music. I can understand if it's like classical music. Right. But like if someone's talented, I can listen to anything. So I, I would. I lean. I tend to lean like kind of rock, grunge country is my go to. But I put on 50 cent Pandora the other day and has been jamming to that working out the last couple weeks for the Mailbag. I don't understand why Matt Stafford isn't being talked about more. The way McVeigh talks about injuries. Feels like 2022 elbow issue that he downplayed and the the Jackson situation, it's their offensive lineman feels like the Ram season could fall apart very quickly. How concerned should they be with Stafford's injury? I mean anytime an older player is just week to week, especially when he didn't tweak it at practice, it's one thing, it's like this didn't happen. But like, you know, Lane Johnson rolled his ankle. We're just going to give him some Time off and a couple days turns into a week, like, he's going to be okay. Okay, fine. Like, that's not that weird. I just use him as an example. Could be T.J. watt, could be Trent Williams. Go around the league, an older veteran player. If they tweak something in practice, you're like, listen, we're not. It's August 2nd. Take a deep breath, guys. This guy wasn't playing in the preseason anyway. When you show up after the summer and it's like, yeah, I can't go. And then, and then you say like, hey, he's going to, he's going to go soon. And then you have to come back and be like, yeah, you know, he's just going to be. Week to week. I kind of over. I overspoke. Oh, yeah. Jimmy Garoppolo, best backup quarterback. I go, massive red flag. So I think it's very, very concerning because even if, if you were told me, hey, you got to bet a thousand dollars today, does Matt Stafford start week one? I. I would lean, yes. Even though I have no more information than anyone else, but just, I'd be like, yeah, I bet he's able to try to go week one even. Worst case scenario, what if this pops back up in the season? And this is not like, anytime you get like sore elbow or back or some of these guys that get sore. Achilles, like, to me, soreness, I would rather have like, you know, he just broke two fingers or, you know what? He. He broke his leg. So it's like a very concrete, hey, this is five weeks. This is what it is. We fix it, we move on, right? Hey, he broke his clavicle. Stuff like that sucks. But it's like, okay, I can see the light at the end of the tunnel when it's like, yeah, his knees is really sore. It's like his Achilles are really sore. That's why I heard of McCaffrey, you know, Achilles, Achilles, Achilles. And then all of a sudden it's like, he played three games in the season. Like, what the hell just happened? So I. That type stuff makes me nervous. And I'm pro, trust me, I want the Niners to win the division. But, like, I enjoy the Rams being good and I want to see Stafford play. I really like watching him play. And I want the Rams to be a playoff factor as well. Like, I don't root against their situation. I'm a big McVeigh fan, but I, I am very concerned. Like, I'm going to, I was going to bet on the Niners and win the Division anyway. Obviously the value actually is probably with the Cardinals in the in Seattle, but have a hard time pulling the trigger on that though. My guy, John Schneider, fan of the pod, frequent guest now he's been a guest one time he got an extension, so congrats to him. Mailbag when do you think players improve the most? Is it during the off season, training camp or during the season? Well, I don't think you can really improve during the off. When you say the off season, like I was taught and I do believe this, this guy's got to improve his strength. It's like guys usually don't get stronger. They might get weight stronger. Maybe instead of benching this or squatting this, they now added 50, 75 pounds. But that doesn't equate like an offensive lineman or defensive lineman strength. When they're at Georgia, Alabama, USC in like five years, they're usually not really like they couldn't shove guys then and now they're shoving guys. So to me, sometimes the weight room training stuff is a little overrated. Obviously you got to stay in shape. I think where you really improve is from year one where you're just drinking out of a fire hose, you get drafted, you try to learn the plays. If you're playing, you're just trying to survive, get in shape, a lot's going on. Think how much easier and this is relatable in any one of our jobs. Whatever you do for a living, once you've been doing it for a while, you become much more comfortable. You don't have to think as much, whether it's just like, where do I go to lunch? Where you know, I don't need to be there today, I really need to take care of this. And when you're new to a job, when you're new to a situation, especially a pressure packed one, it's a lot going on. Well, by year two, you don't have to worry about all these things because they just become second nature. Where you live, the route to the frax facility, what it's like to get ready for a game week, how a game plan works in the NFL different from how you did in college. So you can just play football instead of thinking and playing football. So the game in theory should slow down a lot for you as a second year guy. And you can just quote, unquote, play fast. And you, especially if a coach is, you know, a position coach, defensive coordinator, your offensive coordinator is returning, you have all the information, like you already kind of know the answers to the test. They're going to give you. So think how much easier training camp is almost like we're installing our place. Well, if I'm Jalen Carter, it's like, well I know the plays with Vic Angio so I can just play. So it's really just on me to be in shape, stay healthy and boom, I should be able to kick ass because I know exactly what they're going to ask me to do and then just figure out how do I adjust from my opponents. So I think most people in the league would tell you the biggest jump would be from year one to year two because it's just way easier in terms of all the external stuff that were a huge factor in year one are just more second nature. And then I think you should always be improving, right? Whether that's, I think the percentage becomes smaller and it's more of like an incremental gain year three to year four, year five to year six. But I think if you got with like Devonte Adams right now or you got with you know, some of these older players, Tyron Matthew, before he retired, he's like, I can always improve on little things, but I think your greatest jump is probably early in your career. So I. Most guys like Jason Kelsey is a huge outlier. A guy that didn't start making pro Bowls in all pros till he was like five or six years into the league. Most guys really establish themselves in the first couple years of their career, year two or year three. And sometimes it's your three as well, you know, depending on the team are you playing, are you on the roster, on the practice squad? Because if you're on the practice squad or you're a backup, you're not getting a lot of reps once the season starts. So if you're not playing that much, if you're just like a special teams guy, you actually are probably doing scout team reps. So you probably not as improving as much like when I was at Fresno State, Coach Hill on Sunday nights would take all the guys red shirting and everyone on the big roster that doesn't really play or as a backup and they would have full on scrimmages. So like in college football you play on Saturday. I don't even know if it's allowed anymore. And on Sunday night after, you know, basically you don't really have a practice in college football on Sunday. You sometimes you just run gassers to get the like lactic acid and the soreness and they'd have a lift but they would pad up basically the 20, 30 guys red shirting and then maybe 15 more, 20 more that are on the big roster, but they don't really play. And then they would just play a scrimmage. I forget how many plays it would be, but it would like you would get to work on it because that guy, once the season's going, doesn't really get to work on his craft, which that definitely does not happen in the NFL. So it's hard, it's hard to improve. That's why in college, you know, spring practice is in pads so you can take huge jumps. You can only take so many jumps in the pros. In OTAs, which I think most of these coaches, I think if you got Andy Reid or Pete Carroll or some of these guys, they would say what OTAs have become is just like a mental walkthrough.
- [20:52]
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- [21:52]
Ebony
I think Democrats have for a very long time allowed Republicans to play them. So essentially Republicans came up with a narrative and Democrats decided to play into that and that only hurt the Democrats.
- [22:07]
Katie Couric
I'm Katie Couric. Jasmine Crockett, Democratic Representative of Texas, is not known for holding back and our recent chat on Next Question is no exception. But when you hear how she got to where she is, her intensity makes perfect sense.
- [22:23]
Ebony
It's just hard to imagine a world where you don't have enough people that care to do right by people. And so that same passion that carried me through as a public defender that led me to want to change laws and thinking about the harm that will happen not just to my constituents, but just generally like I carry that weight with me.
- [22:48]
Katie Couric
Because you've seen it up close.
- [22:50]
Ebony
Yeah.
- [22:51]
Katie Couric
Listen to next question with me, Katie Couric on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.
- [23:00]
San Diego FC Podcast Host
Check out behind the Flow, a podcast documentary series following the launch of San Diego Football Club. We go behind the scenes and explore the stories of those involved.
- [23:12]
San Diego FC Podcast Guest
San Diego coming to MLS is going to be a game changer because this region has been hungry for a men's professional soccer team.
- [23:19]
John Middlekauff
We need veteran players and we need young players. Like you're building a team from scratch and so the succession plan of long term success needs to be defined. We need to embrace this community.
- [23:30]
San Diego FC Podcast Guest
When I was 13, my uncle took me to a qualifier and we watched Paraguay against Chicken of the Pouring Rain. Just watching the fans jumping up and down, I think that was definitely a watershed moment for me. Not only was that going to be my game, but it was going to be my life.
- [23:48]
San Diego FC Podcast Host
Listen to San Diego FC behind the flow now on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.
- [23:59]
Dr. Leah Tritate
Sometimes it's hard to remember, but going.
- [24:01]
John Middlekauff
Through something like that is a traumatic experience, but it's also not the end of your life.
- [24:07]
Dr. Leah Tritate
That was my dad reminding me and so many others who need to hear it that our trauma is not our shame to carry and that we have big, bold and beautiful lives to live after what happened to us. I'm your host and co president of this organization, Dr. Lea Tritate. On my new podcast, the Unwanted Sorority, we wade through transformation to peel back healing and reveal what it actually looks like and sounds like in real time. Each week I sit down with people who've lived through harm, carried silence, and are now reshaping the systems that failed us. We're going to talk about the adultification of black girls mothering as resistance and the tools we use for healing. The Unwanted Sorority is a safe space, not a quiet space. So let's lock in. We're moving towards liberation together. Listen to the Unwanted Sorority. New episodes every Thursday on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
- [25:09]
John Middlekauff
Expectations for each team change each season. Success can vary a lot depending from the perspective that we look at it. Making the playoffs as the four seed and winning a wild card game before being bounced in the divisional round would be great for the Chargers of the Broncos. The Chiefs would see that as a letdown. Similar. Similarly, each quarterback has held to different standards. My question is, how would you define success for each of the year? Each of the year, two Quarterbacks who started week one for their team, Williams, Daniels and Knicks. I would say for Caleb, it would be to establish himself as a really good player, right? And if he establishes them as a really good player, they should be team above.500. Now, I think if you. If Ben Johnson's first year, Caleb is just good. Let's say he throws 30 touchdowns, 10 picks, and they win nine games, like that would be a successful year. And it's like, okay, Caleb's a franchise quarterback. This guy's a really good player. Has some down moments as any. Patrick Mahomes has bad games. But as some games were like, oh, shit, this guy can. This guy can play a couple of big upsets throughout the year. I think for Knicks and Daniels, I mean, I think it's fair to say the expectations fair or not, is like, can Jaden Daniels compete to win the mvp? You know, Patrick Mahomes won an MVP in his first year starting, which was year two. Lamar Jackson won the MVP in his second year. It's like, if he's going to be that great of a player, can he win the MVP? We were talking about that with C.J. stroud last year. It's like, this guy going to win the MVP year two, and obviously did not. He didn't play very well last year for me. Bo Nix, as a lot of Bronco fans will tell you, look at his stats. They're better or just as good as Jaden Daniels. They're going to play real teams this year. So it's like, can you beat some people that matter? You know, last year, as a lot of people have pointed out, I don't think they've beat that many good teams. So it's like, can he outplay Justin Herbert? Obviously Joe Burrow. I'm looking at their schedule. Jalen Hurts, Dak Prescott, CJ Stroud, Jaden Daniels, Jordan. Love their schedules harder now. I think the Bronx is gonna be pretty good. And if he's good and you have an elite defense, they're gonna win 11, 12 games. Question for the bag. If you were GM right now and had to pick one quarterback to start your franchise with, would you rather have Cam Ward or Trevor Lawrence? I know you've never seen Cam play an NFL game, but we've also seen the highs and lows of Lawrence. It wouldn't even be a question for me. I take Cam Ward. I just don't think Trevor Lawrence that good. Now, like you said, I don't know about Cam Ward, but I would 100% take the especially. I mean, one thing you got to do. I'm getting a guy on a rookie quarterback on a rookie contract so if it does fail in a couple years, three years, I can pivot out of it. Trevor Lawrence he gave $200 million to. I wouldn't even hesitate. The unknown of Cam Ward is dramatically better than the known from what we've seen of Trevor Lawrence. I can't imagine there'd be many GMs in the league that would you got to factor in the contract would choose any different. Haven't missed a show in two plus years. Kind of like this guy. Jared Question Couple running rookie running backs I'm excited about Henderson, Hampton, Harvey. Do you have a favorite out of that group to make the biggest impact this year? How do you see contributing in the run in the pass game? Topic Suggestion it is always difficult to know how college players translate to the NFL. Big names don't pan out and less recognized names are studs. Who is one rookie second year player from each team or division that you or your buddies around the league think could make a big impact this year? I think this is the hard thing on your topic suggestion One thing I've learned over the last 15 years of being around the NFL, going to these practices, just talking about this league for a living is I don't get that excited beside, you know, first round picks. But I have seen so much hype on a third rounder and by the end of camp an undrafted free agent is way better than that guy. And I think the underrated part is most people don't put that much stock in 6th, 7th and undrafted free agents. And every single year on the majority of teams those guys not only make teams they end up starting, they end up becoming good players. So it's honestly impossible to even guess. Honestly, I don't really talk about most guys got drafted in the top like 50 until the season starts because I got no clue. It's a complete guess. I know it's kind of a fun exercise, but I don't follow the draft close enough to even take educated guesses on fifth, sixth, seventh rounders. I would say this, I don't know how good the Patriots offense is going to be. Henderson's a home run hitter. You know I read something Josh McDaniels like I don't know if this was AI or fake but I kind of believed it that after he got fired from the Raiders he like found a deep spiritual, he found God or something. Again, could be fake but like kind of tried to change his personality because for the second time in his career becoming a head coach, everyone hated him. And like, watch out. He thinks his offense can be pretty dynamic this year. I don't know how great their offensive line is going to be. I think the other two guys, Najee Harris, did he blow out his eyeball? I mean, I know they tried in his agent, who I know Doug tried to underplay, like, hey, it's not that serious. It's clearly pretty serious. He can't practice. And I think he's a great unknown now. I, I've always thought Najee as a player and I followed him since high school and I was really excited when he went to Alabama. I, I, you know, I think it's easy to be like, oh, the Steelers. I, I think he's a little overrated in terms of a guy that was drafted in the first round. You know, I think if you could redo a draft, he's like a third round pick. So Hampton was going to start over him regardless, now that he's not even going to be a factor. Who's even splitting carries with, assuming that, who knows, maybe Najee can't really maybe start the season on pop. So I think Harbaugh would ride Hampton like a, like Secretariat. And their offensive line has two sweet tackles, a sweet guard. I would think Hampton's going to be really good. I was watching Sean Payton's press conference for, for some reason it comes up on my YouTube feed. Sean Payton all the time. He had a comment, would have been like, Tuesday, he's like, RJ Hampton busted out or not RJ Hampton, but RJ Harvey had a run in practice where he's like, we kind of looked at each other and he's either talking about the quarterback coach or, you know, his offensive coordinator or whatever. I know Sean's technically the offensive coordinator, but one of his other coaches, like, holy shit. So two things, Harbaugh and Sean Payton, like, the team's there, baby. Like, they're in complete control. And Harbaugh drafted this guy in the first round to play running back and Sean Payton drafted this guy. Where was RJ Taking the second round? Clearly loves the player. I, I think both those two guys, if you're into fantasy football, if you're gambling this year on like prop bets, those guys have hard ons for those two guys. So Harbaugh loves to run the football. He just drafted guy in the first round and Sean Payton talks about this guy like he fucking loves him. He talked about him when he was, when they drafted him. Huge fan. I've been a big fan of colin the best 20 years. And I found you through his podcast. I'm curious if you could give any insight into his obsession with the wnba. I'm a huge sports fan and I've never met one person who has ever watched WNBA game. He never talks about hockey or golf and rarely baseball because he says that people don't listen for those sports, but he talks WNBA almost daily. The Tiger woods and Caitlin Clark comparisons are ludicrous. Where I agree with that. It's like now that she's injured, she is where they are fair is she is a transcendent name that took a sport that didn't have as many eyeballs and created. I mean, they were. They had 100,000 people watching a couple of years ago in her draft. I think like 3 or 4 million people watched. So Colin does a television show and I'm just curious if he tried to buy a WNBA team or another reason. He has the metrics of who's listening and who's not listening. So when you turn on these television shows and people are talking about the Cowboys and people are talking about LeBron, they're not doing it randomly. They have all the metrics. The reason they've never talked about the WNBA is because absolutely no one gave a shit. And do you know what Caitlin Clark has done? I've probably watched in her WNBA career, I mean, start to finish one of her games, but I feel like I follow her career relatively closely. Like I know what's going on with her. She's created like people just casually follow her. The reason you can talk about the NFL every single day, 365, if you want to. Want to. Because people casually follow football like LeBron James or Steph Curry. I don't have to watch LeBron James play a game in basketball. Like, I don't watch that many Laker games right throughout the course of the season. But like, if something happens to him, people casually follow LeBron James. They kind of know why. Because he's like this really famous guy. And that's what she became. She became really famous. So like, when he's talking about her on the television show, are most people that are interested in Caitlin Clark watching all of her games? No fucking chance, right? So it's like she has become. She's just a pretty transcendent individual. Like Tiger, like you said, Tiger went pro in 96. In 1997, he won the. He won the Masters. Within a couple years, he had like five or six majors and was beating the shit out of everybody. Is Caitlin Clark Tiger woods in terms of on the court or on the course, no, she's not as good as him. But in terms of moving the needle, I do think she has proven she can move the needle because people, no one's ever watched WNBA games in the history of the league. It was a dog shit product that the NBA subsidized and still does. Now they have a lot of people watching and she's the main reason. Because she got injured, their ratings went in the tank. So like for whatever reason, you can hear a million people argue a million things. To me she's just kind of interesting and she's fun to watch play. But no one talks anything on television without knowing that this is working in 2025. And really for a long time they have the information like I have the metrics of what kind of works and what doesn't work for us. You mentioned earlier that you thought D.J. would win the starting job because they gave him $14 million. From what I've seen so far in training camp, A.R. looks like he's outplaying Jones. He's taking the layups and making some tight window throws and is more explosive overall in both arm strength and running. Daniel has played okay, but given that they've invested a fourth overall pick in Anthony Richardson, I believe Jones would need to clearly outplay AR to win the job. Has your opinion changed at all on Richardson vs Jones going into the season? I'll be honest, I haven't followed the camp of the Indianapolis Colts that carefully so I can't speak to like who's splitting reps, who's made plays. I saw McAfee posted some clips of AR that look kind of sweet. He's always been a highlight guy. I'm with you. If he is like hitting the layup throws and hitting wheel routes and stays healthy, he should win the job. But it's July 30th, so yeah, I mean you have more information than me in terms of how things have gone the last week. I, I honestly I don't even, I haven't even seen that many headlines on the Colts. I feel like so I will stick with what I said. I think Daniel Jones can be the starting quarterback. Can Anthony Richardson say healthy for a month in training camp? How does he look at some of these preseason games? Do they even going to play him in the preseason games? I don't know. I might as well stick with my opinion until I'm proven wrong. Mainly because I just haven't seen or heard anything. But you're more dialed in than me. If And Andy Richardson's making sweet plays. I where I do agree with you. If like if he is, if it's close and he's like better like Ty's going to go to Anthony Richardson. I just felt like there was no way that he would be that good given everything that happened. But maybe, I don't know, maybe he finally figured it out which would change their trajectory, which usually doesn't happen that way. But all I've been hearing is how this year is the Chargers or Broncos are going to take the AFC West. And honestly I love it. Keep fueling the fire.
- [38:01]
Ebony
Keep.
- [38:02]
John Middlekauff
My question is almost for the Chargers. I saw they have the furthest distance traveled schedule in the league this year. Curious if that actually has an effect on the rest and recovery of players. Meanwhile, the Bengals have the shortest distance traveled. Is this the most irrelevant or is this something to take into consideration? I do think if you looked at the history of travel, most teams that are on the coasts. Right. If you're the Dallas Cowboys are never going to lead the league in travel. The Houston Texans or the Green Bay Packers. Right. Because they're. Their travel is always kind of cut in half. Where if you draw do I have the Denver Broncos? Let's pull up the Chargers. So the Chargers, you know, even factoring in the. I mean they're playing a. An extra preseason game in Canton, Ohio. But they have games at New York, at Miami, at Tennessee, at Jacksonville. Yeah. I mean it's just when you play certain divisions you just have to travel a little bit farther. So they got. They drew the east and two of their games are the Giants and the Cowboys, which isn't terrible. Listen, I think it can be a little overrated on the aggregate. Right. You get a private plane. It's not even a pr. You charter a massive jet. The amount of food recovery stuff, I mean you have everything for you get to the hotel, you can take care of your body. Where it does impact you is on the shorter weeks. So if you have I think past like the first couple of weeks, if you're Thursday night game, if you're the Chargers or the Broncos and you got to play the Dolphins or the Giants, I'm just making these up. That to me is a huge disadvantage. If you have a road short week game that is a far travel. If you're the Chargers and your short week is playing the Niners, not that crazy. Now it's never ideal to have to get on a plane. The other thing where it does impact you is like if you play Monday Night Football or Sunday Night Football on the road, far away. That to me is more if you have a 10am kickoff and you're the Chargers against like let's see how their schedule starts. Chiefs at home or Chiefs in Brazil? I forgot about the Brazil game. That, that sucks. But that sucks for the Chiefs too. Broncos like at the Giants 9:28, but that's a morning game. Even the Chiefs game, the Brazil game sucks, but they don't play again till Monday Night Football. Ten days later. They get Thursday Night Football at home against Minnesota. They get the Steelers, Sunday Night Football, but that's at home. They get the Eagles Monday Night Football, but that's at home. They have a lot of 11 o' clock kickoffs, I guess mountain time, 10 o'. Clock. Like they have a lot of morning kickoffs. In Arizona we go from 10 to 11. It's kind of weird. Okay, congrats on the kid. Well, I don't have the kid yet, but the kids kid's growing by the day. Maria showed me a picture of what the kid, my son looks like today. So he's a grown boy. Not the actual picture from the ultrasound, but like a computer version of like how big he is. I have a six month old son and it's a great honor making him a Cleveland Brown fan and having a full life of pain. My question with your son, are you going to let him pick his own teams or will you influence him to a certain team? I will have no influence. He can, he can root for and watch whoever he wants. Who knows, maybe. Listen, what if he doesn't like sports? What if sports aren't part of his world? He can do whatever he wants now if he ends up watching a lot of games with me, which I'm sure he will do, I'm sure he'll gravitate to someone. But you know, one thing about like the way I grew up loving the Niners and the Giants is I lived in Northern California so I would go to Giants games. I went to Candlestick to watch Barry Bonds and Matt Williams play baseball in 1993, in 1995, in 1996, right before they ever built Oracle. I never went to a 49er game as a kid, but there wasn't a human being that I was around that wasn't watching Steve Young and Jerry Rice when I was kind of coming into my own at 9, 10, 11 years old. So my son is going to grow up in Arizona, so who knows? I mean his, the impact of the teams is going to like the Cardinals. I hope not, but. Or he likes cowboys.
- [42:57]
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- [43:55]
Ebony
I think Democrats have for a very long time allowed Republicans to play them. So essentially Republicans came up with a narrative and Democrats decided to play into that and that only hurt the Democrats.
- [44:10]
Katie Couric
I'm Katie Couric. Jasmine Crockett, Democratic Representative of Texas, is not known for holding back and our recent chat on Next Question is no exception. But when you hear how she got to where she is, her intensity makes perfect sense.
- [44:26]
Ebony
It's just hard to imagine a world where you don't have enough people that care to do right by people. And so that same same passion that carried me through as a public defender that led me to want to change laws and thinking about the harm that will happen not just to my constituents, but just generally like I carry that weight with me because you've seen it up close. Yeah.
- [44:54]
Katie Couric
Listen to Next Question with me, Katie Couric on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.
- [45:03]
San Diego FC Podcast Host
Check out behind the Flow, a podcast documentary series following the launch of San Diego Football Club. We go behind the scenes and explore the stories of those involved.
- [45:15]
San Diego FC Podcast Guest
San Diego coming to MLS is going to be a game changer because this region has been hungry for a men's professional soccer team.
- [45:22]
John Middlekauff
We need veteran players and we need young players. Like you're building a team from scratch and so the succession plan of long term success needs to be defined. We need to embrace this community.
- [45:33]
San Diego FC Podcast Guest
When I was 13, my uncle took me to a qualifier and we watched Paraguay against Chile. Pouring rain. Just watching the fans jumping up and down, I think that was definitely a watershed moment for me. Not only was that going to be my game, but it was going to be my life.
- [45:51]
San Diego FC Podcast Host
Listen to San Diego FC see Behind the Flow now on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.
- [46:02]
Dr. Leah Tritate
Sometimes it's hard to remember, but going.
- [46:04]
John Middlekauff
Through something like that is a traumatic experience. But it's also not the end of your life.
- [46:10]
Dr. Leah Tritate
That was my dad reminding me and so many others who need to hear it that our trauma is not our shame to carry and that we have big, bold and beautiful lives to live after what happened to us. And I'm your host and co president of this organization, Dr. Leah Tritate. On my new podcast, the Unwanted Sorority, we wade through transformation to peel back healing and reveal what it actually looks like and sounds like in real time. Each week I sit down with people who've lived through harm, carried silence, and are now reshaping the systems that failed us. We're going to talk about the adultification of black girls mothering as resistance and the tools we use for healing. The Unwanted Sorority is a safe space, not a quiet space. So let's lock in. We're moving towards liberation together. Listen to the Unwanted Sorority. New episodes every Thursday on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcast.
- [47:13]
John Middlekauff
Who is the biggest draft bust of all time? My vote is Trey Lance. He's playing in the hall of Fame game for the Chargers. Not the Niners or the Cowboys, but the Chargers. They spent three first round picks to get them. My dad is a big Niner fan, couldn't accept that answer and said it had to be jamarcus Russell. What is your opinion? This is a good question and I think here's the key. I'm not putting Trey Lance and jamarcus Russell in the same lane. Jamarcus Russell played at lsu, had big time talent, didn't try, was on the purple drink, didn't study, didn't give a you know what and was terrible and was out of league in a couple years. But no one disputed, especially back then, the way the league was, his physical attributes and his ability to play. He just did not care. He did not try. But he guy had played at lsu. He had won big games in college. Like this guy was a real prospect. Trey Lance to me a little bit of a fugazi prospect, played at a small school, did not have Division 1 offers to play quarterback and I'm not talking the small school division, played in D1 double A at North Dakota State and he, he was a backup to other guys that played in the NFL. Started for one year in 2019, they did not lose a game because their ability, they dominate that that level. Well, 2020 happened. He did not have a season because in D1 double A with the Wuhan Lab and the Rona ripping, they canceled football. This is not the SEC or the Big Ten. This was D1 double A. They canceled it. So he did not play. He actually played one game and it was a joke. So I do think if he had played more D1 double A, would he really have gone in the top five? Because he's just not very good. And like you said, he's playing in the hall of Fame game. Starting Harbaugh is actually throwing him a bone. He can't win the backup job anywhere. He can't be a backup in the NFL. But that's not his fault. He just wasn't that good. And I think in a normal circumstance in 2025, a guy that played multiple years in D1, I don't know if he would have been drafted that high. Like a huge part of the reason the Niners drafted him. Weird year. They were desperate. They loved his character. But physically, I was going to practices early on his career, not very accurate. His athleticism doesn't really translate. Like I put his failure on the 49ers. And just this 2020, like I, Jamarcus Russell failed not because the Raiders, because of Jamarcus Russell. Like some guys just, you know, Johnny Manziel, like, he just didn't try. If you watch his documentary on Netflix, he's like, yeah, I just didn't give a shit. Was getting wasted, went to Vegas. He's like, quit. You know, Trey Lance is trying. Traylance is really try trail. It's like a high character guy. People like him. He just isn't good enough. Like that to me is more on the team. So when I think the word draft bust, I think of a guy that like did not live up to his potential. Like some guys like that guy should not have been drafted there. Like Solomon Thomas. The 49ers drafted him third overall. Solomon Thomas should have been like a third round pick and he would have. Like he's going to have a 12, 13 year career, but he just never should have been drafted that high. Mr. Bisky, like, is it. Is he a bust? He was number two overall. He's not that good. Kind of like Trey Lance, I put that more in the Bears. He has no touch. He's not very instinctive. So it's like he never was going to be that good. Where it's like Jamarcus Russell could have been good. There are players that could have been good that if you do not try and that's the reason you live up to it. Like are you a bust if you're, if you get injured? That one's hard for me. But I do think when you literally just don't try like that to me is a bust on the player. Good question. I put jamarcus Russell or Ryan Leaf, like Ryan Leaf was a real prospect, right? That was, he was a real talent. Trey Lance was not at the, at the level in which he was traded for and drafted. I mean he's a, he's an NFL, you know, fringe third string practice squad guy. Question for the pot. With the possibility of Netflix being a part of the NFL TV rights deal, is it safe to assume Netflix stock would skyrocket? Why? It's a good question. Let's check in on a Netflix stock right now. One of my great regrets is never going all in this like five years ago Netflix. So it's 52 week low is $587. It's 52 week high is $1,300. It's currently sitting at a shade under $1,200 a share. So it has gone up in a five year period, 150% in a 10 year period, almost well over 9x. So I I. Is buying the NFL going to dramatically change the amount of people that subscribe to Netflix? It would definitely help. I do wonder, let's just say, let's say opening night Chiefs. Not Chiefs, Chiefs, chargers play week two. I actually think that's a good example. It's on YouTube. What is the difference in terms of the amount of people that watch opening night, which I would imagine Cowboys Eagles is on NBC Thursday night and the YouTube game two in Brazil on Friday because it's different, you got to subscribe to Netflix. But I do think there is anyone will tell you in the business, being on Fox, being on cbs, being on abc, NBC is a game changer. There are still people that don't I guess have the Internet or cable or whatever. I just don't know any human being in my life, any human being that includes my mother who's in her mid late 70s who does not have Netflix watch it. So I don't know what that it won't hurt, but I don't know if it's like a 30% increase. Do you believe Odell Beckham's junior's career is over? If not, what organization and roster can you believe he can contribute to? How would you assess his career, I, I think he underachieved given the talent that he had. And part of that was the Giants, they fell apart when they, they traded him to Cleveland and that thing did not work out. But if you go YouTube, the first couple years of Odell Beckham, he was an elite talent. Punt returner, deep threat, could break tackles. His play speed, he was pretty special. Like, it wasn't just some flash in the pan. It was like, this guy can play, then he gets injured and he's never quite the same. But I do think Cleveland, you know, over the Internet era has been a place where people's careers can go to die. And I do think that really, really derailed his career. Is this now or never for Jordan Love? Will packers fans see the controversial draft pick and ousting of Rogers pay off? It's a great question. I don't think it's now or never for the guy, but there is tangible pressure on this franchise new president. He did not hire the coach in the GM. The coach in the GM's futures are tied to this quarterback who they paid a lot of money, who's coming off a weird season that was banged up. Are they going to be good enough on offense to take the next step? You know, is this a team that went one in five in the division? So I don't, I don't think it's now or never, but I do think it's kind of now. Okay, it's, it's time, like it's time for LaFleur. It's time for Jordan Love. It's time for this team. Like this is a good year for them to win 12, 13 games and be a major factor in the playoffs. So desperate for football. I'm watching the Brady and Mahomes AFC championship. How long until NFL teams adopt, adopt the golf like simulator on the sideline for kickers. Right now the guys kick into a net with no feedback. Is trackman like technology on the sideline against the rules? It's a great fucking question. I don't see how it would be given that they have iPads on the sidelines now. If you told me 10 years ago, you know, whatever the year was that they started allowing like technology on the sideline. I don't see why you can have an iPad and look at the plays on offense or defense, but I can't have a track man for a guy to kick to know where it would go. I'm totally with you. Why can the kicker not have the ability to go, God, I'm missing That a little left and honestly, I don't know. Is there trackman technology? They could do it with a football? Because if there is, I think we should institute that immediately. And there would be some owners like I don't want to pay for this because it ain't cheap but I'd be interested if there are kickers in the league that utilize any sort of technological advances like that either in the off season or with their team. But that's never thought about that. Great question. What are your expectations for Omarion Hampton and in year one in Harbaugh's version of the Chargers with Nai, with Najee can't even speak. We talked about this a little earlier. I don't think it's outrageous to go offensive rookie of the year. Could Hampton be a 1300 yard rusher and have 10 plus touchdowns? Because he's pretty freaking good. So I would say offensive rookie of the year would be on the table for sure. In a recent interview at the Manning Passing Academy, Arch Manning said Burrow and Josh Allen are his favorite quarterbacks to watch. Even with the small sample size we've seen so far of Arch, do you notice any similarities in their style of playing showing up in his game? I've noticed that his footwork is crisp and he throws a nice accurate deep ball and he's got nice speed. But other than that, I'm curious to hear your take. I, maybe I'm being too harsh. I thought his arm, you know, Josh Allen has an elite arm. Burrow does not. But Burrow is such a natural player and his motion is kind of over the top to me. Arch again, I have to study it a little stronger. Feels a little lower than Burrows. Similar. Like Burrow doesn't have a hose but has a good enough arm. One thing that Arch has that's probably closer to Josh, different from Joe's. He can really move. He's a really, really good athlete, which makes sense. His dad, Cooper, I forget the exact disease or sickness he got, but he was going to Ole Miss to play wide receiver. So I think Arch is like a trying to think who a player I mean Josh is. Josh Allen's a superb athlete. Art's a really good athlete. You know, maybe a young Aaron Rodgers who could really, really move and throw but he doesn't have the, the arm of Aaron. I'm trying to think of like physical comps. He's taller than that. I don't know. I, I gotta, I, I, I don't have a comp right now. That makes sense in my head. In yesterday, Jimmy Haslam said he knows the Mannings really well. He said he expects Arch to play multiple seasons of Texas. I would imagine Arch who, what year is he now? It's going to be a redshirt sophomore. I think he's going to graduate from college would be my guess. So part of staying two years would be like, I want to be a two year starter and I want to graduate from college. John Dor Mailbag Question John Dorsey. I've been following this guy because of his personality and second, because of how little credit this guy gets from drafting some of the best players in the NFL. Baker, Kelsey Tyreek, Nick Chubb, Mahomes, even was the head scout for Aaron Rodgers. His ability to draft players early in late rounds is undeniable. But the fact he can't keep a job as a GM doesn't make sense. Every time he can, he's hired the next day as a head advisor or scout to another team. How I now I understand he failed badly with coaches, but most of the time that's not a GM's decision. He drafted the first Chief Super bowl team, but nobody talks about that. What are your thoughts on him and did you ever know John? Never met the guy. Maybe I have met him at the combine, like really briefly when I was young. But there is no disputing John Dorsey's ability to evaluate football players. There was a reason when Andy went to Kansas City and was like, I'm not going to be the GM anymore. Hire John Dorsey and said you run the personnel department and the only guy they took from Kansas City was or from Philly was Veach. He's like, I'm not stealing any of the guys. Give me one. Veech is my guy and took them. But I think Veech and Dorsey are similar in the sense of like they're very, very good at evaluating players. Now part of being a gm, it's like, is John Dorsey good enough with the finances? Is John Dorsey good enough at dealing with the owners? Is John Dorsey good enough at dealing with the agents? You know, being a GM, the reason John Schneider is going to have a 20 year career in Seattle, the reason Howie Roseman is unreal. The reason Jason Light, Nick Castario these guys have to do a lot of things. You know, one problem with Trent Balke did you know what Trent Balki wanted to do? Close the door, turn off the lights and watch film 24 7, 365 and then he realized, I kind of got to play the politician. But he wasn't good at working with coaches. He was terrible at working with staffs. You got to be good at everything. And I do think, and again, I'm projecting a little bit. You know, the reason he was fired in Kansas City was financially wasn't good at managing the cap. And the owner, who is a money guy, finance major, was like, you're fired. I can't speak to what happened in Cleveland, but like just picking players. John Dorsey is good at that. But football's about a lot more than just picking players. I've been a Jets fan since 09. I'm 26. We haven't made the NFL playoffs since I was in middle school. I'm in the minority and I'm not buying Aaron Glenn at all. A brilliant owner. Just hired a good DC out of sf. The last hire and his first NFL head coaching gig. And how did that go? I'm not forgetting they needed something different. Aaron Glenn is talking hot to the media, Aaron, and that's what these guys all do. They say they can handle it, but everyone's a hot shot till they get their ass kicked. I'm an OSU grad, so I'm excited to see Fields and Wilson this season. But other than that, my question is, why would I have any hope this year? We are the worst franchise at sports. I would say this about Aaron Glenn. That's different than Robert Sala. You know, Aaron Glenn was a high level player, scouted, became a position coach and then became one of the best defensive coordinators. Robert Sala did not play in the NFL for 15, 20 years. I mean, Aaron Glenn's career I think was like 15, 16 years playing. I do think last year was kind of a masterpiece. Him winning that game with the random guys to win the division was remarkable to watch. So his ability to deal with players is pretty impressive. You know, Robert sala had like two good years, honestly, one 2019 for the 49ers. The team was not good in 2020. It's hard to even judge 2020 now. Robert Salah is a good defensive coordinator, but was completely over his head with a lot of stuff and hadn't really been in a high level position for long in the NFL. I mean, he wasn't that far removed from being like a quality control assistant. Aaron Glenn, like Google his resume. It's pretty impressive. Been with Sean Payton, been with Dan Campbell. You know, Robert Solace on that. Far removed from like working for Gus Bradley. Kyle hired him because he couldn't get Vic Fangio. So I think Aaron Glenn is much more prepared for this job. That being said, I don't think you can win games with Justin Fields. Like, I do not expect the jets to be good on offense. I just don't think. I think he's kind of. He's kind of proven like he just struggles in just a normal passing attack like Garrett Wilson. It's. How's that going to go? I don't know. Now he's got so much money he might not care as much anymore. But most wide receivers want the Rock. I'm interested in your thoughts on the trajectory of Jalen into his career. You would be a fool to put Tua above Jalen in any quarterback ranking. But not too long ago they were on the exact same team and it was Jalen being benched and had a transfer in favor of Tua. Tua looked like clearly the better quarterback, at least in my eyes. I would say in everyone's eyes, including Nick Sabins. Do their completely different paths at this point surprise you? It's just a matter of where they landed to his injuries or is there something about Jalen's game that makes him a better fit in the NFL? Well, 201 is just a small bad athlete so that doesn't always translate to the NFL right to it can be accurate but he's not super dynamic player. Like what is to his best skill? Getting rid of the ball really quickly, accurately. He throws a decent deep ball. But like Jalen is a elite. Elite would be strong. That's like Michael Vick. But he is an excellent, excellent NFL athlete and runner of the football. He is a dynamic player with the ball in his hands and he is an exceptional deep ball thrower. Then he plays on a team like obviously a quarterback. Who are your teammates? He has better teammates but he has way more physical skills than Tua right into a like okay, are you going to pick you apart like the left handed Drew Brees. We've seen him. He can't really do that. So I actually think Jalen has more physical attributes to have a higher ceiling than Tua. Right. Even though at the same time like I struggle with this because I don't respect many people that like love talking about the past because I think it's easy to be like, well in 2015, you know I was doing really well. My dad was a farmer in like the 70s and 80s and 90s and like economic recessions back in the day would cripple people. So I knew a lot of people through my dad that had had great times, were crushing it and then would go bankrupt. Some people would be unfazed and they would just battle back and keep, keep kicking ass and keep making money. And there were some people that like, if I say like a family dinner, these names, they just resonate, like, still hold on to like what you did in 1988. It's like it's 20, 25 and they're still talking about this. And I think, I'm not saying to us that way, but my point is this. We all get to a point in life where you might be with someone that that person is better than you. There's no guarantee that they're still going to be better than you in 5 or 10 or 20 years. Right? All of our professions are a little bit different. But like Jalen didn't let that moment when Tua was better than him define him. Now, part of that team, specifically Alabama had the best roster in the league, right? In the country. They had dominant offensive lines and elite wide receivers. So Tua was a way better passer those couple years. It was a no brainer for Nick Saban to transition to Tua, but some guys get better. Listen, I didn't think Jalen, I thought Howie was insane for taking him in the second round. I would have taken him on like the fourth or fifth round and moved him to running back. I would have been wrong. Guys improve and why? A lot of people miss on players in the pros because they go, this guy's not good enough. Well, he's not good enough right now, but what can he be in three or four years? And if you get to the right place, you get with the right coach, you just naturally improve. All of a sudden you're a nine year starter. It's like, God, I didn't realize this guy was going to be that good. Part of the business. If there was an NFL draft of current coach quarterback combo packages taking into account only for two years, 25 and 26 to try to go on a run. Given that all the teams have equal rosters, which tandem would be the first 10 off the draft board? The purpose of this exercise that my buddies and I had to take into account both value of quarterback and head coach together and not separated. Well, I think you would just find guys with track records because if everything's equal, it's advantage the coach, right? Like one disadvantage a co a quarterback would have is if my team is not as good, right? But a coach can overcome guys because I can scheme you open. So if everything's the same, huge advantage for Andy Reid, huge advantage for Kyle and Sean McVeigh. Right? Huge advantage For Jim Harbaugh. Right. It's not a big as big of advantage for average coaches. Right. And that's where, you know, it's clear who would go one. But I think, like, Sean McVeigh or, excuse me, Sean McDermott's proven, like, he's been a pretty good coach with random guys with Josh. So how would they not be two? Same thing with John Harbaugh. Like, I think those. It'd be 1, 2, 3, those three combos. It'd be Josh, Lamar, Mahomes. Obviously Mahomes would be one. But, like, do you trust Zach Taylor if you don't have Jamar Chase? I don't. I like Burrow, but I don't trust Zach Taylor. I'll tell you who'd go higher than you think. Would be like, well, everything's equal. I like my chances with Sean Payton and he loves his quarterback. I'd say the same thing with Kyle and Purdy. He'd be like, well, there are big guys better than Purdy. Okay, but everything's equal. Like, I've seen Dak when he doesn't have a stack team. Like, I'm out on that. I've seen Jared Goff where he doesn't have the best offensive line in the league, out on that. You know, Jalen's a good example. Like, Jalen is AJ Fucking Brown and Devonte Smith. What would he look like if he had a couple random guys? And Sirianni don't like that as much. I see. I think Dan Campbell and Goff wouldn't go as high in this exercise. McVeigh and Stafford, assuming Stafford's back was good, would go high. Dan Quinn, Jaden Daniels probably go high, too. It's a good question. We're gonna end on that. That is. That is a good question. Tell you who would go near the bottom would be like, day ball. Russell Wilson, Kellen Moore, whoever. Oh, Demi demo and CJ would go high. Harbaugh Herbert would go high. Tua McDaniel would go low. Colts would go low. Titans would go low. I think the biggest swing would be the Lions just because I like Dan Campbell motivating, whoever. But like Jared Goff, if everything's equal, don't love can't move. Jared Goff on a stack. Team excellence. I'd say the same thing for Jalen, which again, they. I'm not bitching and moaning like, well, his team's. His team won the Super Bowl. Jared Goff's team's team, they win a bunch of games these last couple years, but if you put one of these guys on. You know, you. You put Jared Goff on the Jags. Don't like him as much. The volume.
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Ebony
This is an I heart podcast.