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What is going on, everybody? How are we doing? I'm John Mittlekof. This is the 3Now podcast and hopefully you're doing well out there in the real world and hopefully you're not in an area that's too cold. We're having a frigid ice storm or something coming through certain parts of the country. So stay safe, stay warm, and let's enjoy football because we only have three games left to this weekend in the super bowl. So buckle up. We have obviously a lot on the line. So what I did is I said, you know what, let's just do who has the most to gain what's on the line. And I just listed things and I went in kind of no particular order, but just things that excite me about this weekend because in these games and even last week, but in the second round in the championship game and obviously the super bowl are kind of when coaches and quarterbacks and franchises and general managers really define their career. So I wanted to look at just what's on the line for these guys from a big picture standpoint. And I didn't go in any particular order, but I just wrote down a bunch of stuff and just kind of going to rattle through it. Obviously it's fugazi Friday. I need to apologize to something that I said when it came to a fugazi that turned out to just be something you need. So we'll dive into that and then Stucky will join the show. We'll talk about the two games from a gambling perspective and some other football stuff. But that, that will be the show today. Bunch of you guys have sent me stuff for mailbag questions. We will probably go heavy mailbag next week with it being the, with it being the off week might just be like four straight mailbags Tuesday through Friday especially might I can bang out a bunch on one day and just release them throughout the week, which might allow me to help my wife a little bit more try to figure out this baby because it's a It's a fluid situation and a work in progress. It's not easy, as many of you know, but very, very fun and rewarding. So if you listen on Collins feed, make sure you subscribe to 3Now, Apple, Spotify, wherever you may listen. We also happen to be on Netflix. They had us back for the second week, which is very exciting. So we have now two weeks worth of shows up on Netflix. Check us out. If you want to watch his and hers or you want to watch Netflix, you got options. So you can find us there. And that'll be the show today. So let's just. Let's just dive in, I guess. Let's just start. The headline is going to be who has the most to gain because you win this weekend. You're off to the Super Bowl. You have the opportunity to change your life forever, right? You become a Super bowl champ. And the headliners in this sport are the quarterbacks and the coaches. So. And kind of the franchises, which include the general manager. So this is not in any order. I didn't rank it in importance. I just wrote down the things that fascinate and interest me the most. There is no disputing that the Denver Broncos are in an unprecedented situation. We have seen backup quarterbacks make runs in the playoffs, most famously Nick Foles, who has a statue with Doug Peterson. But Carson Wentz got hurt in the regular season. It was in the game against the Rams. Remember, Joe Buck told the story, he was taking a leak and Howie Roseman was taking a leak next to him and looked at him and said, carson Wentz towards acl. So Nick Foles had played games. Hell, he had played a playoff game the week before. So he had had momentum coming in to this weekend, to the Final Four. That is not the case with Jared Stidham, who hasn't thrown a pass this year, pretty sure didn't throw a pass last year. Now, this is a guy who was once drafted in the fourth round, who clearly Sean Payton has talked about glowingly now for a long time, multiple years. Josh McDaniels, who we would all agree, not a good head coach, one of the best offensive coordinators of his generation, loved him. Patriots drafted stidham in the fourth round. Then Josh McDaniels, when he became the head coach of the Raiders, traded for Stidham. So I'm always a believer in, like, who. Who believes in you? Who believes in you? And Jared Sit up, can say, well, Josh McDaniels and Sean Payton believe in me. And I go, that's, that's pretty Impressive. Who is the one backing you? And in football it's like the GMs and the coaches that believe in you in life it's like you know, you're. When you're trying to get a job and you put your references are. Some references are better than others. You know. And I would say this, the two offensive minds that think Jared Stum can play are pretty prominent NFL people now. Sean Payton, if you can win a AFC championship game with the backup quarterback who did not play all season long and hasn't thrown a rate a pass since the preseason after losing your quarterback, not in like normal football fashion, like guy breaks his leg, he leaves in the middle of the game. We've seen some of those this playoffs, right? Charbonnet just got injured, leaves the game, he's out. Kittle tears Achilles just out for the game. And you understand it in the moment but then the game goes on. You gotta can people replace them. Bodix has played the whole game shitty, walked off the field. So it's. We've never seen this before. And to me if Sean Payton can win a playoff game, an AFC championship game with a backup quarterback, who is it? Is this isn't a backup quarterback who had been a full time starter somewhere else, an older player like a Flacco type. That's not this case. This is not a former top 10 ish pick who had fallen on hard times like Daniel Jones, what he had become before he got injured or even what Sam Darnold has done resurrecting his career. This guy was drafted in the fourth round. Most people viewed just a backup quarter. You're a third day pick, you're going to be a backup quarterback and there's nothing wrong with that. You can be a backup quarterback for a long period of time, make a ton of money. Didn't Chase Daniels make like $15 million and through a very small amount of passes. But if you're able to win this game, I think you would argue clearly there is no topping beating Peyton Manning in the super bowl for the New Orleans Saints. But I think this would have to be the second most important win of his career. It would be something that would take his status as a coach to a completely different level. And you know what, in a weird way, in this offensive explosion of a league, I feel like Sean Payton, and maybe it's because Bo Nick's been a little up and down, doesn't quite get the same credit as he used to with the New Orleans Saints. It doesn't feel like he's held in the same regard Coward does. That's his guy. But like, just casual, people think of who we talk about. Offensive coaching, right? Obviously, Andy stole the show over the last five or six years, but it's clearly the younger guys. When discussing the offensive coaches, I mean, I mean, Kyle and McVey take way more energy and we exhaust way more conversation than we do on Sean Payton. So this would be a moment, like, pretty big muscle flex. Remember me? The guy who was the offensive wizard? The guy that turned Drew Brees into a first ballot hall of Famer? That guy whose offense dominated for 15 plus years down in the bayou. And this would be a moment that would just never be forgotten and would just solidify. I mean, Sean Payton's probably going to be a Hall of Famer no matter what, but this would be like rubber stamping it. To take Denver to the super bowl and win a game as a big dog with a backup quarterback that hadn't played would be pretty nuts. So Sean Payton to me can just be like double middle fingers to everybody. And given that it's Sean Payton, he might actually do that. Speaking of his opponent at coach, you know, it's weird, like, the way it ended in Tennessee. You can always tell, like, where the media is getting their information. I feel like a lot of people kind of were like, yeah, you know, he's just tough guy to deal with. I kind of understood where Tennessee was coming. You see, with Jeannie Buss, I've heard forever, like, Jeannie Buss, you know, just great person, really nice lady. I read this article, like, she would throw all of her brothers and sisters to great white sharks and not even think twice. She doesn't give a shit. She's ruthless. But over the years, like, oh, Jeannie Buss, great person, high character, great person to deal with. She hates her family. She's ruthless. And I felt like Vrabel at the end. Like, I've heard stories. I knew people that worked in Tennessee the last couple years. That owner's a buffoon, a moron. And one thing that has aged really well is Mike Vrabel was right. He deserved to make people uncomfortable. Like, he did a really good job. Him and John Robinson built the team. People forget this in Tennessee because I was, I was texting someone the other day, I was like, you know, Salah takes this job. I think the job's terrible. But you'd be like, well, they were winning a bunch of games not that long ago in Tennessee. It's like, yeah, they had Derek Henry, A.J. brown, Jeffrey Simmons, Taylor, Luan was one of the best tackles in the league. They had a Pro bowl center like they had really. Kevin Byard was a Pro bowl level guy. They had high end impact players, right? This Tennessee job is not that. And clearly the organization just fell apart the moment Variable walked out the door. And now you see him in New England, which a buddy of mine that's a Bills fan was like, I don't know if I could sleep if the Patriots win another Super Bowl. I mean they had a two decade dynasty. Even when I hear like, well, they didn't make a Super bowl or they didn't win a Super bowl for 10 years, they were always good even in that gap. I mean, shit, they lost a couple, oh seven. They literally didn't lose a game till the super bowl. And in 11 when they lost to the Giants, again, like they were fucking there. So a lot of teams like, hey, we haven't won a Super bowl in 25 years and haven't been there. Well, like they were always in the mix, always in these championship games. And now they're just back and it just starts thinking, are they going to be dramatically better over the next couple of years. And Mike Vrabel, you know, it used to happen a lot. A lot of the guys that were coaching in the 70s and 80s were former NFL players, right? And good ones, Ditka, Dan Reaves, like these guys played in the NFL and then just transition right to coaching. And this was a day and age before guys made the amount. I mean even money's all relative. But the, the, you weren't making huge cash coaching football in the NFL in the 70s or the 80s. Right now, you know, Mike Variable's making 15 plus million dollars a year. So you're making player money. He, hell, he makes more money now coaching the Patriots than he ever did per year playing. Probably not even close. But you resurrect the paths. I mean that's. He already has. But I don't care what your path is, you get to the super bowl. That's remarkable. And even if you're a dog going into that game, it would be a pretty incredible accomplishment. And listen, is it luck? Is it randomness? Like obviously Robert Kraft once upon a time didn't sign Mike Vrabel as a free agent like Bill did. So he came to the team because of Bill. You do get credit though for hiring Bill. It was pretty, I don't know if it was controversial at the time. I mean, it was for the jets because he quit, made a trade for him. But I don't Think teams were lined up around the block to hire Bill Belichick. So hiring Bill led them to getting Mike as a coach or as a player. And that relationship grew. And that's why he's coaching now, because of the relationship the Craft family has with Mike. And now Mike's just going to resurrect the Pats. And I think it's fair to say, even if he doesn't win this game, like their team, that's not going away. You would chalk the Patriots up to be really good moving forward. So Mike Vrabel, you get to the Super Bowl, I mean, he once told the busing guys he'd cut off his. Cut off his dick to win a Super Bowl. Now he's. He's walked that back a little bit, but he probably cut off a pinky toe, that's for sure. And he wins the Super Bowl. I think a lot of people around football would be like, the Patriots just won a Super Bowl. What. What are we doing? And this, to me leads to Drake May, like, you win this game and you're just in the Super Bowl. Is Drake May just one of the elites? Is Drake May just one of the. Is he a top five quarterback in the NFL? Is he a guy that's just going to be a top five quarterback moving forward? Because if that's the case, we know Vrabel is a good coach. If they have a top five, six quarterback, are they going to be, I don't want to say dynasty, but are they just going to be a powerhouse? And New England fans, yep, we're back. Bills fans would be like, God, we better get this coach right? So, you know, Drake May, all of a sudden you win this game. How many quarterbacks in the history of the league, year two been to a Super bowl list is pretty short. And obviously it changes the course of your career when that happens. And if you are to win one like Dan Marino got to one, I think it was in year two in 1984. Now, they lost to the 49ers, but it clearly took him to superstardom and he never looked back. Not from a winning standpoint, but of the way he was talked about. And obviously he deserved it because he was one of the best players in the league. Russell Wilson, right, Gets the league, wins the job, and then within a couple years, super bowl champion and became one of the superstars of the NFL for a decade plus. So you win one early. It also, you know, Rogers had this. Rogers hasn't been back to the super bowl since February of 2011. But once you check that box, like no one can put the pressure. He can't win the big one. You check that one off next to your name. Like everyone kind of leaves you alone. So Drake May wins this. Think of all the guys that he's compared to. And it's not even just his draft class. Caleb and, and Jaden Daniels, which Jaden is a rookie, had playoff success. Caleb this year had playoff success. You win the super bowl, hell, you get to the Super Bowl. That's that, that's Josh Allen. I mean we're talking, he's going to be in year nine. Still hasn't got there. So it's very difficult to do. Even if you tell me. Well, their path kind of broke. Yeah, you can give me all the lines and angles you want. It's, it's result oriented business. And if he's taking the first snap in Santa Clara here in a couple of weeks, like no one's really gonna be able to say, I do, I do think to the Sean Payton thing with Jared Stidham, I think Sean would get the most credit, right? Because of his game plan, because of his leadership. Maybe they run some trick plays, maybe they run a fake field goal or a fake punt or just do something. Like he's been liable to do something like that over the course of his career. But like Jared Stidham would be a guy that would kind of be remembered for a long time. It's like, remember when Jared Stum just came out of nowhere because Bo Nix broke his ankle and won the AFC championship game? He would just be one of those people considered in this weird bucket right now. If you were to win the championship, he would kind of elevate himself into this rare error of I don't even know how you, what you'd comp them to. You wouldn't comp him to Trent Dill for Brad Johnson because those guys played the entire year. Maybe you would, there would be some similarities to Nick Foles because you're like, well, they're definitely going to go back to Bo Nix. Now. Could Jared Stidham, who is, I think he signed a one year contract this year, could he, could he be a free agent? Like would people sign him if he has big moments, could he get more money on the open market? Would people sign him to be like a bridge quarterback? But all that stuff is secondary to. You kind of could just gain legendary status. Remember when Jared Stidham won the AFC championship game? I think it's safe to say no one would have saw that coming. Today's show is brought to you by our presenting sponsor, Hard Rock Bet. Folks, Playoffs. They've been nuts and I hope you've been cashing in on these unexpected moments on Hard Rock Bet. Two teams this weekend will punch their tickets to the big game. And when it comes to these standalone matchups, there's nothing better than betting a same game parlay. Lock in one game, stack your picks and build your script. And if you miss kickoff, don't worry. Hard Rock Bet has live in game betting, so you're never too late to find the action. If you haven't tried your first bet yet on Hard Rock Bet, there's still time for you to get 150 in bonus bets. 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Call 1-800- Gambler Arizona, Colorado, Illinois, New Jersey, Ohio, Tennessee, Virginia. Now the things that really fascinate me about the NFC Championship game start on the lower end. Mike McDonald. I if he was an offensive coach, we would be speaking about him. Like McVeigh on steroids. We we really would. But he's a defensive guy. And the other part about Mike, he's not that he's pretty understated. He doesn't come off as cocky. He doesn't part of Ben Johnson kind of ruffles some feathers, talk some he always looks angry. He he's always just fucking on edge. I mean he just looks like he hasn't slept much, doesn't eat much besides some protein and some peptide shots. Maybe, maybe pops like 60 millis of Adderall. He just looks like he's on Mike McDonald just seems like a buttoned up, well put together guy who really likes Football, Just a good football coach. Honestly, I know nothing about him as a human being. Seems like he's just a high character, normal guy. Could be wrong. I mean, you got to be careful about just judging people. But I just feel Mike McDonald, in this weird way for being this great coach, feels as normal of like, Mike, Sean Payton is nuts. Mike Vrabel is batshit crazy. Same thing with Sean McVay. Like, I feel like I don't even know that much about Mike Donald. Does he go to bed early? Like, what. What's his coaching style? I saw his pregame or his speech to the team a couple years ago when he got hired. Felt pretty normal. Seattle did a pretty good job of cutting it up with some music, but doesn't even feel like he's a yeller and a screamer. He clearly is really smart. And there is somewhat of a comeback for these defensive coaches. And he's leading the charge because Vrabel is truly like, obviously he knows football, right? He's a very, very intelligent football guy. In terms of schematics, no one talks about Mike. Like, I don't really know how much scheme he knows. He knows. Clearly, Mike McDonald's notice is like a genius, like a defensive wizard, which pretty rare. A lot of those guys, you know, beside Belichick, most of the guys having the success were either the CEO types, like true CEO types, not dealing with either side of the ball, or the offensive guys. And now you're just having this true defensive guru who's also a head coach, lead the Seattle Seahawks to the Super Bowl. And if you think about it, John Schneider would get a ton of credit because he hired him. He would also accomplish the Howie Roseman to make it to multiple Super Bowls with two different coaches and two different quarterbacks. Think how impressive that is. Like, if the Rams win, Les need will go to his third Super bowl since whatever year that is. 2017. But it's been with the same coach. They've had two different quarterbacks, but it's been with the same coach. I was looking like, how many GMs have made it to multiple Super Bowls with different coaches and quarterbacks? Bill Polian was the GM of the bills in the 90s when they were going to a bunch of Super Bowls. And then he was the GM of the Indianapolis Colts with Peyton Manning. So he's one guy that would check that box. But even he couldn't say how we can. I've won the super bowl with Doug Peterson, Nick Falls, Nick Sirianni, Jalen Hurts, and John Schneider would be Able to say Pete Carroll, Russell Wilson, Mike McDonald, Sam Darnold, that would be an incredible accomplishment. And he would be. I already think he is, but he would be a 100% lock hall of Fame general manager and would go down as one of, if not the best general manager of his generation. So, you know, he's not going anywhere. It's not even like he's an old guy. This combination of Mike and John Schneider and now Sam Darnold, who's kind of, in a weird way, like they're Jimmy Garoppolo. You know, he's a better version, but, like, that's kind of the role that they just need him to play. They're not asking for him to play like Josh Allen or Patrick Mahomes or Lamar Jackson. I don't need you to carry us. I need you to play under control and do the opposite of what C.J. stroud did. And if he's able to do that, I think there's a pretty good chance they win the super bowl, which would be insane. They were a 5 to 1. Their odds were plus 500 to win their own division, start the year, which I thought were crazy. I mean, they just won 10 games the year before. But the 49ers and the Rams were basically both. I mean, close to one to one to win the division in Seattle. Like, I think it's crazy. It's weird to say it now because we watched them play, how well they've operated, but, like, most people did not view this team as a Super bowl contender when the year started. And that sounds crazy now and then on the Rams, I think you have to ask yourself if Matt Stafford wins these next two games. One, he would. He'd be a lock hall of Famer at that point. Two Super Bowls, he would have one of the crazier careers of all time because most people probably a little unfairly don't take his Lions career that seriously because he did a bunch of losing, even though he was with an absolute clown organization, like one of the worst organizations in all of professional sports, which, again, to someone young, sounds a little crazier now. It's like, well, this Dan Campbell success version that they've had where they just went 9 and 8 and it feels like a disaster. 9 and 810 years ago with the Lions would have been a massive, massive win, even though they only played 16 games. So the number would have been eight and eight. But you know what I mean? And I just think Matt Stafford got to a real team with a real coach and a real structure. And started to kick ass and take names. He's probably going to win the mvp. And if he won the super bowl, have two rings in like less than five years, I think you would ask yourself, like, would he retire? I, I googled it today. He's made over $400 million in his career. That's only by teams. He's been pretty marketable since he's been with the Rams, So he's made a ton off the field as well. Like, he has made a boatload of money. And at this age, in his late 30s, he's on a one year contract. Like, what else would he have to prove? I this would really validate and everything. Not that anyone questioned when they made the trade, but. And Jared Goff's worked out pretty well for the Lions as well. But you wouldn't even be able to argue who won that bad boy. Now you could make the argument that the moment the Rams won the Super bowl, they 100% locked it up. But like, the Lions have been a consistent playoff team. Last year they were the one seed. The previous year they were in the NFC Championship game. But you win two Super Bowls. I'd have to wonder if Matt Stafford would seriously contemplate retiring. He's had back issues. I mean, he's just taking a lot of hits in his career. He's obviously got a young family. He just watched his boy Clayton Kershaw kind of go out on top. You have to wonder if that would factor in, which then would be obviously something we would talk about this offseason is like, well, who would be. What would the Rams do? A quarterback. That is a problem they would gladly try to tackle in a couple weeks if they win the Super bowl.
