3 & Out - Jerry is getting old, Latest with Purdy, and NFL rule changes

Summary

Podcast Summary: The Herd with Colin Cowherd Episode: 3 & Out - Jerry is getting old, Latest with Purdy, and NFL Rule Changes
Release Date: April 2, 2025
Host: John Middlekauff with Colin Cowherd
Produced by: iHeartPodcasts and The Volume

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1. Introduction to the Episode

In this episode of The Herd with Colin Cowherd, hosts John Middlekauff and Colin Cowherd delve into pressing topics affecting the NFL, including the aging of Cowboys' owner Jerry Jones, developments surrounding quarterback Brock Purdy, and significant NFL rule changes. The discussion is enriched with listener interactions and expert insights, providing a comprehensive overview for both avid fans and casual followers of the sport.

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2. Jerry Jones: Aging and Its Impact on the Dallas Cowboys

Timestamp: 05:02 - 10:15

Key Points:

• Jerry Jones' Age and Decision-Making:
  John and Colin express concerns over the advanced age of Cowboys' owner Jerry Jones, highlighting how his decision-making style may be affecting the team's performance and financial flexibility.

• Contract Negotiations and Financial Strategy:
  The hosts discuss Jones' approach to player contracts, emphasizing his preference for paying top dollar to secure star players, which limits the team's ability to extend contracts for other key players.

  • Colin Cowherd: "He'll pay Micah Parsons and give him $150 million guaranteed. If he would have done this early, probably could have got them for 20% cheaper."

• Comparison with Rival Teams:
  The Philadelphia Eagles are contrasted with the Cowboys, showcasing how the Eagles' early contract extensions have allowed them to build a robust roster with multiple top-tier players, while the Cowboys are constrained by their high expenditures on a few stars.

  • John Middlekauff: "The Eagles have a quarterback making a ton of money and build a loaded offense with lots of high-priced players. The Cowboys can only have three max players on the whole team."

Insights:

• The hosts argue that Jones' aging leadership may hinder the Cowboys' competitiveness, especially when facing rivals with more strategic financial management.
• There is skepticism about Jones' ability to adapt his management style to modern NFL dynamics, potentially putting the team at a disadvantage.

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3. Brock Purdy and the San Francisco 49ers

Timestamp: 12:26 - 17:16

Key Points:

• Brock Purdy's Contract and Value:
  John and Colin analyze Brock Purdy's contract situation, questioning whether the 49ers are overpaying for his performance and potential.

  • John Middlekauff: "If you make such an aggressive purchase, like pay a quarterback $100 million over a couple years, you're not letting the guy control his own destiny."

• Team Strategy and Draft Implications:
  The discussion extends to the 49ers' draft strategy, emphasizing the importance of securing high-impact players to complement Purdy and avoid mediocrity.

  • Colin Cowherd: "If the 49ers just have an average draft, they're screwed. They need a draft that changes the franchise."

Insights:

• There is concern that the 49ers may lack balance in their roster, risking long-term success by heavily investing in quarterback Purdy without adequately supporting positions.
• The importance of strategic drafting is underscored as crucial for maintaining competitive edge.

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4. NFL Rule Changes: Overtime and the Tush Push

Timestamp: 22:26 - 28:16

Key Points:

• Overtime Rule Modifications:
  The NFL has implemented changes to the overtime rules, ensuring both teams get possession of the ball during regular-season games, aligning playoff rules with these adjustments.

  • John Middlekauff: "You either got to do sudden death or go all in. Both teams get to touch the ball."

• The Tush Push Controversy:
  A significant portion of the episode is dedicated to debating the NFL's adoption of the Tush Push play, a controversial maneuver favored by teams like the Philadelphia Eagles.

  • John Middlekauff: "The Tush Push feels like a guarantee that it's either going to be a first down or touchdown."
  • Colin Cowherd: "Anyone can do it. You just don't happen to have a quarterback that squats 600 pounds."

• Stakeholders' Perspectives:
  Coaches and executives weigh in on the play’s effectiveness and its impact on the game's integrity. The hosts highlight differing opinions, with some praising its strategic value while others criticize its potential to undermine traditional gameplay and player safety.

  • John Middlekauff: "Howie Roseman asked for data showing more injuries due to the play, but there was none."

Insights:

• The Tush Push has ignited debate over innovation versus tradition in football, with arguments centered around fairness, safety, and the evolving nature of the game.
• The rule changes in overtime aim to enhance fairness, though opinions remain divided on their effectiveness.

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5. Hall of Fame Candidacy: Matt Ryan and Others

Timestamp: 37:02 - 39:34

Key Points:

• Matt Ryan’s Hall of Fame Prospects:
  The hosts explore whether Matt Ryan merits induction into the Hall of Fame, citing his MVP award, All-Pro selections, and impressive passer rating, while acknowledging that missing a Super Bowl may tarnish his legacy.

  • John Middlekauff: "Anyone who says no is crazy. Pro Football Focus agrees."
  • Colin Cowherd: "He’s not as good as Mahomes, Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson."

• Comparisons with Peers:
  Matt Ryan is compared to other quarterbacks like Tom Brady and Peyton Manning, discussing how Super Bowl victories and career achievements influence Hall of Fame considerations.

Insights:

• The debate underscores the complex criteria for Hall of Fame induction, balancing individual accolades with team success.
• The conversation reflects broader discussions about legacy, impact, and the metrics used to evaluate player greatness.

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6. Listener Mailbag: Various NFL Topics

Timestamp: 51:03 - 67:38

Key Points:

• Caleb Herbert vs. Jalen Herbert:
  Listeners inquire about the differing receptions of players like Cal Herbert, with the hosts analyzing performance metrics and team support.

• Building a Team in Business vs. NFL Team Building:
  Colin Cowherd shares insights on selecting team members based on qualities like vision, consistency, humility, hunger, and passion, drawing parallels between sports team management and business team building.

• Draft Strategies for the Chicago Bears:
  Advice is given on how the Bears should approach the draft, emphasizing defensive needs over offensive investments like running backs.

• Impact of Cold Weather on NFL Teams:
  Discussion on how teams from cold-weather regions value players with specific physical attributes, particularly quarterbacks who can perform under adverse conditions.

Notable Quotes:

• John Middlekauff: "I think the Cowboys can only have three max players on the whole team. Like, that's just bad business."
• Colin Cowherd: "They’ll give you one less day they play. Just rotate them all and they play on Thursday."
• John Middlekauff: "Matt Ryan’s one MVP award should equal Elway, Peyton Manning, and Terry Bradshaw."

Insights:

• Listener questions provide a platform for in-depth analysis of player performance, team strategies, and broader NFL trends.
• The mailbag segments offer diverse perspectives, enriching the conversation with real-world concerns and strategic considerations.

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7. Conclusion and Final Thoughts

The episode wraps up with a thoughtful reflection on the dynamic nature of the NFL, the challenges of team management, and the ongoing evolution of the game through rule changes and strategic innovations. John and Colin emphasize the importance of adaptability, strategic planning, and balancing individual talent with team cohesion to navigate the competitive landscape of professional football.

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Notable Quotes with Timestamps

• Colin Cowherd (05:21): "He's aging, of course, he's in his 80s."
• John Middlekauff (07:02): "There's a lot of validity to that statement. You are better off paying a little bit more and being happy with your purchase."
• Colin Cowherd (22:49): "They're not going to do that once training camp hits."
• John Middlekauff (28:16): "Anyone can do it. You just don't happen to have a quarterback that squats 600 pounds."
• Colin Cowherd (37:04): "Matt Ryan's one MVP should equal Elway, Manning, and Terry Bradshaw."
• John Middlekauff (51:18): "Can we start being fair when talking about the guy who has shown flashes of a late game clutch gene?"

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Conclusion

This episode of The Herd with Colin Cowherd offers a deep dive into the strategic and managerial aspects of the NFL, blending expert analysis with passionate debate. From the implications of an aging owner to controversial rule changes and the ever-evolving landscape of player contracts, listeners are provided with a nuanced understanding of the factors shaping today's football. Whether you're a die-hard fan or new to the sport, this episode delivers valuable insights and engaging discussions that capture the essence of modern NFL discourse.

Transcript

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[Jeremy Hobson]

We live in a divided country and our media couldn't be more polarizing. That's why we started the Middle with Jeremy Hobson. It's about bringing voices not from the extremes, but from the vast middle into the national conversation. Each week we hear from ordinary Americans from all over the country. And when you subscribe to the Middle, you also get an episode each week called One Thing Trump did that focuses on just one item from the avalanche of news. Listen to the Middle with Jeremy Hobson on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.

[John Middlekauff]

The Volume. What is going on everybody?

[Colin Cowherd]

How are we doing? I'm John, this is 3Now podcast and.

[John Middlekauff]

Originally the plan I was going to do a Go Low golf podcast getting.

[Colin Cowherd]

Ready for the Masters. We've pivoted.

[John Middlekauff]

A lot of football content came out.

[Colin Cowherd]

Of the owners meetings today. So I do want to hit on some of the things that were from Jerry Jones to Purdy to Cousins lot going tush push.

[John Middlekauff]

So I was like, you know what, let's dive into some football today. I'm going out with Colin tomorrow so.

[Colin Cowherd]

We'Ll talk more football on Thursday with him. And then I'll probably do a golf podcast for Thursday because I'm going on with Colin. Obviously there's one tournament this week I'm probably going to spread a little on my guy, Joel Damon. So if you want a golf pick, Joel Damon, top 10, top 20. He's been playing well. Pretty good odds, long shot. You can get him like 120 to 1 but definitely some top tens and top twenties. But other than that, we're going to.

[John Middlekauff]

Talk some football today. Going to do a little mailbag today at John Middlekopf.

[Colin Cowherd]

Is the Instagram flyer in those DMs. Get your questions answered here on the show and. And yeah, we'll just keep on firing.

[John Middlekauff]

But if you listen on Collins feed.

[Colin Cowherd]

Make sure you subscribe to 3Now podcast YouTube channel. Same thing, we got a YouTube channel. Go subscribe to that as well. And before we dive into some football. Got to tell you about my friends.

[John Middlekauff]

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[Colin Cowherd]

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[Colin Cowherd]

At anyone listening to this that's older.

[John Middlekauff]

Than me, you start comparing life moments.

[Colin Cowherd]

To like when individuals die or when you start seeing someone their child is 25 and in the NFL or in the NBA. Hell, I was watching the Final Four in watching Jace Richardson, Jason Richardson's son.

[John Middlekauff]

Star for Michigan State. I remember being at a Kings game, sneaking up to basically courtside a couple.

[Colin Cowherd]

Rows behind with my buddy Mike Ewing that I grew up with, watching a Warriors Kings game and Jason Richardson who at the time felt like he was a first or second year player. I was in high school and him doing a Breakaway360 and I'm watching his.

[John Middlekauff]

Songs like God, I feel old and part of life is aging and as.

[Colin Cowherd]

You get older, you know these people.

[John Middlekauff]

That have been in your life kind of come down the home stretch and if you love sports and if especially where I grew up, 49ers and Cowboys.

[Colin Cowherd]

Were a really big deal and I.

[John Middlekauff]

I Jerry Jones has been in my life like most people that follow football for a long time now and I watched a clip of the the kind.

[Colin Cowherd]

Of quote that went viral that discussing.

[John Middlekauff]

Micah Parsons and you know, the main.

[Colin Cowherd]

Part of the quote was like I'd.

[John Middlekauff]

Rather pay more and get it right. Which I want to dive into that quote. But watching Jerry Is like God, he's.

[Colin Cowherd]

He'S aging and he's aging. Of course, he's, he's in his 80s.

[John Middlekauff]

And I think the Cowboys right now.

[Colin Cowherd]

It'S just going to be a weird little stretch in Jerry's older years.

[John Middlekauff]

There is no disputing. It's not apples to apples, but there does feel a little bit like Al Davis, Jerry Jones, two of the biggest.

[Colin Cowherd]

Names in the history of the league.

[John Middlekauff]

Guys that own the team and ran the team. The end got a little weird. And that's what it feels like right now with Jerry. Even if you listen to him talk.

[Colin Cowherd]

And go, yeah, I'm just going right to Micah Parsons.

[John Middlekauff]

I'm the guy cutting the check.

[Colin Cowherd]

He's the guy that has to accept the deal. Why am I wasting time talking to anyone else?

[John Middlekauff]

That's not that abnormal. It feels kind of weird because Jerry's saying it. T.J. watt did this a couple years ago when he held in and went right to Art Rooney's office. Last year when the negotiations were going.

[Colin Cowherd]

On with Brandon Iuk, it was constantly.

[John Middlekauff]

Kyle John and Brandon Iuk dealing with.

[Colin Cowherd]

Each other on top of the agent.

[John Middlekauff]

Now when you make the quote, I'd rather pay more and get it right.

[Colin Cowherd]

I think there's a lot of validity to that statement. In any walk of life, you are.

[John Middlekauff]

Better off paying a little bit more and being happy with your purchase. I mean, think how many things in life that if you go cheap on, end up costing you more money in the long run. It happens constantly with, you know, purchases under a hundred bucks to purchases like.

[Colin Cowherd]

Cars and homes that you're like, God damn, I should not have done this.

[John Middlekauff]

And it backfires. I would say Jerry has a point when you'd rather pay more and get it right when it comes to free agents, right. When you are shopping with NFL free agents, you would rather pay a guy.

[Colin Cowherd]

$20 million a year and feel very good about him either become being a.

[John Middlekauff]

Pro ball player, a high end starter and feeling good about it. Even if you are making him the.

[Colin Cowherd]

Highest paid player at his position, then.

[John Middlekauff]

Pay an average guy $16 million a.

[Colin Cowherd]

Year and go, we're just filling a need here. This I'm, I'm not comfortable with it.

[John Middlekauff]

Totally understand that and I completely agree. But when you are extending your own players, especially superstar players who are going to make an astronomical amount of money, the Miles Garrett's, you know, the Justin Jeffersons, obviously the quarterbacks, a guy like Micah Parsons, the difference of 10, $15 million on the total guarantee could be the difference of an Extra starter or two. So when Jerry, the last couple deals he's had with CD Lamb, with Dak Prescott has cost him starting players. They don't have the wiggle room because of the way that he does deals. And then his arch rival, the Eagles, are known for doing deals early and saving money over the course of a couple seasons. Like, it's not like the Eagles don't have a lot of high priced players. They've extended a lot of them early, it saved them money a year or two later and it enables them to basically have an offense that has like nine of their 11 starters are max players. And the Cowboys like, well, we can only have three max players on the whole fucking team.

[Colin Cowherd]

Like, that's not normal.

[John Middlekauff]

Like, that's just bad business. And I would imagine, you know, Steven's in a tough spot.

[Colin Cowherd]

I've always, I've never met him, but I've known people that have negotiated with.

[John Middlekauff]

Him, not even for player stuff, but in other walks of life that speak really highly of him. And to say he's pretty level headed guy to do business with. I think Sometimes when you're 80 plus years old, you are as rich as guy a guy like Jerry, and this.

[Colin Cowherd]

Would be true in any walk of.

[John Middlekauff]

Life, but you know, it's hard to maintain your fastball. Usually the guy that throws 100 miles an hour at 28 at 30 years old is not doing it at 45 years old. Dan Marino can throw a tight spiral, but his arm strength probably isn't the.

[Colin Cowherd]

Same at 60 years old.

[John Middlekauff]

And you're watching Jerry now, one of the true mavericks and great businessmen in the history of the NFL, has been a huge part of the growth and the explosion of the marketing and the popularity of football.

[Colin Cowherd]

In terms of the mindset on the business side of the league office, he.

[John Middlekauff]

Deserves a lot of credit for that. But the guy we're seeing now, and it pains me to say this, feels like a shell of himself. And you know, it goes with the Brian Schottenheimer hire. It's just a bizarre place right now. And ultimately he'll pay Micah Parsons and he'll give him $150 million guaranteed.

[Colin Cowherd]

Where, you know, if he would have done this early, probably could have got them for 20% cheaper.

[John Middlekauff]

But that's not the way Jerry does business. And then he'll just complain like, we got three guys making max money. It's like, yeah, probably could have saved on all three of them and they still could have been incredibly wealthy and you would have had a better team.

[Colin Cowherd]

But that's not what happens when you got a guy like Jerry running the team as a GM in his 80s. Like how is he going to compete against Howie Roseman and Adam Peters in his own division? News flash. He can't. Kirk Cousins, this situation is just weird, man.

[John Middlekauff]

I think, and we've talked about this.

[Colin Cowherd]

Before, I get when you make such an aggressive, aggressive purchase, if you're Arthur Blank, another guy in his 80s and you give a quarterback essentially $100 million over a couple years that you just like, I'm not letting this guy control his own destiny when I paid him all this money and I'm not just cutting him and allowing him to go to another team. Well, I give him 27 and a half million dollars this year and then I guarantee 10 million dollars for 2026. FU BS. That's not happening.

[John Middlekauff]

And Arthur Blank essentially told him that.

[Colin Cowherd]

Right when they met. Like we paid you all this money. We plan on you being here. I do think the situation is going to get weird now. Raheem Morris said at the owners meetings he does not expect her cousins to be at minicamp.

[John Middlekauff]

News flag shocker. I mean, okay, I do just wonder.

[Colin Cowherd]

If and I think the hard part is, is Cousins is in line to.

[John Middlekauff]

Make $27.5 million this year. Based on the way he played last year, I don't think he would make.

[Colin Cowherd]

$27.5 million had he been a free agent in March.

[John Middlekauff]

I think he would have got like a Russell Wilson type deal. Here's 10 or 12 million dollars and.

[Colin Cowherd]

We'Ll incentivize you up to 30.

[John Middlekauff]

But how bad that was given his age and given the injury he just had, I think that would have scared off a lot of people. And I do think if they are going to trade him, especially if I trade for him, I also take in that roster bonus that's owed in 2026 if anyone were to sign him. It if he had been a free agent, no one would have guaranteed him anything past 2025. So I think the Falcons are just operating out of spite and we're just going to keep you around.

[Colin Cowherd]

Don't love that once training camp hits. Now we got a long way to go till then and maybe teams will find out after the draft who really needs, you know, an extra veteran quarterback.

[John Middlekauff]

But the situation went from pretty normal.

[Colin Cowherd]

When they signed him in March to then very weird with Kirk Cousins to now being pretty petty and it's going to be fascinating. I don't know how this thing's going to play itself out, but there is a lot of money on the line with a quarterback that is not worth that type money based on the way he played. Talking about guy who is worth a lot of money would be Brock Purdy and Kyle Shanahan.

[John Middlekauff]

John lynch and Jed York spoke about.

[Colin Cowherd]

His situation and the owner who also talked about this last year expects a.

[John Middlekauff]

Deal to get done.

[Colin Cowherd]

Now listen, I've said over the course.

[John Middlekauff]

Of the last month I'm done arguing.

[Colin Cowherd]

Like whether they should or shouldn't pay him. They've already told you they're going to pay him.

[John Middlekauff]

So I will react when we see.

[Colin Cowherd]

The amount of money they gave him relative to these other quarterback contracts.

[John Middlekauff]

But we already know that like he's not a top five quarterback even in the best moments of his career.

[Colin Cowherd]

He's not as good as the Mahomes, the Josh Allens, the Lamar Jacksons.

[John Middlekauff]

He's not on that level Joe Burrow, but he's proven if your team is good enough around him, you can win. And two of the best teams in the NFC are proving that you can have a high priced quarterback and build a loaded team with a lot of high priced guys around them. So it is on John lynch and Kyle Shanahan to figure this the you know what out because the Eagles have a quarterback making a ton of money.

[Colin Cowherd]

And they have a loaded offense.

[John Middlekauff]

The Lions are paying Jared Goff a.

[Colin Cowherd]

Ton of money and they have extremely high priced offense.

[John Middlekauff]

So it's on the 49ers to figure this out because we saw down the stretch of last season he can't turn.

[Colin Cowherd]

Chicken shit into chicken salad.

[John Middlekauff]

That's not Brock Purdy. Just like it's not Jared Goff or Jalen hurts. If I put Jared Goff or Jalen hurts or Brock Purdy on the Chiefs.

[Colin Cowherd]

Last year, they're not the number one seed.

[John Middlekauff]

So like these guys and there's nothing wrong with it. Luckily for brock in the 49ers, he doesn't have to go through Joe Burrow.

[Colin Cowherd]

Or Josh Allen or Lamar Jackson.

[John Middlekauff]

They got the nfc. But like the teams at the top of the NFC are pretty loaded around the quarterback. Hell, look at what the Washington commanders just did. They added a starting left tackle.

[Colin Cowherd]

I would imagine they add more offensive.

[John Middlekauff]

Weapons come the draft. So you got the 11th pick.

[Colin Cowherd]

When you have the 11th pick, that means you have high picks in every round. You better get it right because if the 49ers just have an average draft, they're screwed. They need a draft that's like a moment that changes the franchise. If not given how much they I'm.

[John Middlekauff]

Sure plan on paying this guy.

[Colin Cowherd]

It could set the franchise, you know, into just mediocrity for a while. Obviously, the NFL doesn't control what day holidays fall on.

[John Middlekauff]

Last year they got ultra aggressive with.

[Colin Cowherd]

A Wednesday Christmas and they said, screw it, we're going to give Netflix a package out of thin air.

[John Middlekauff]

And they did.

[Colin Cowherd]

And they gave the teams the ability to play on Saturday. So a Thursday schedule Wednesday. And then clearly they got a long break.

[John Middlekauff]

But.

[Colin Cowherd]

It was pretty unfair to force.

[John Middlekauff]

Teams to play that short a week.

[Colin Cowherd]

That late in the season. Like it's not an ideal thing for these teams.

[John Middlekauff]

This year they get a little reprieve.

[Colin Cowherd]

Because they announced they're going to do a triple header on Christmas because Christmas is on Thursday. So you will have two Netflix games.

[John Middlekauff]

And then an Amazon night game. Sign me up.

[Colin Cowherd]

I'm in.

[John Middlekauff]

But I also think it works out because you could have probably three games on Saturday. So basically all these teams play on Sunday the previous week and then they.

[Colin Cowherd]

Just get one less day they play.

[John Middlekauff]

On Saturday and then you just rotate them all and they play on Thursday. So instead of a short week, instead of four days, you get five days. Still not ideal, but much better than last year. And that's what I would imagine happens is we get three games the Saturday before Christmas and then Christmas on Thursday you get those same three team or.

[Colin Cowherd]

Same three games and just rotate the teams. Just like it happened this year with who was it was the Chiefs, the Steelers, the Texans and the Ravens. And that's what I would imagine happens come this fall.

[John Middlekauff]

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[Jeremy Hobson]

We live in a divided country.

[Caller Anna]

I am a lifelong Republican with all.

[Jeremy Hobson]

Kinds of different people.

[Colin Cowherd]

You know, I'm a mother, I'm a grandmother.

[Jeremy Hobson]

That's why we started the Middle with Jeremy Hobson. It's about bringing voices not from the extremes, but from the vast middle into the national conversation.

[Caller Anna]

Anna, I'm calling from Las Vegas.

[Jeremy Hobson]

Each week we bring together an all star panel. Mark Cuban, so great to have you on the Middle.

[Colin Cowherd]

Thanks for having me.

[Dutch Representative]

Jeremy.

[Jeremy Hobson]

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[Colin Cowherd]

Thanks for having me.

[Jeremy Hobson]

And hear from ordinary Americans from all over the country on the most important issues.

[Caller Anna]

Hi, my name is Venkat. I'm calling you from Atlanta, Georgia.

[Jeremy Hobson]

And when you subscribe to the Middle, you also get an episode each week called One Thing Trump did that focuses on just one item from the avalanche of news.

[Caller Venkat]

We should be examining what our government spends its money on and are these jobs necessary and what are we doing here? But that doesn't seem to be what we're doing in this situation.

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Listen to the Middle with Jeremy Hobson on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Colin Cowherd]

Dallas Goddard, he, he's getting traded. It's pretty clear. Nick Sirianni says he's on the team as of now.

[John Middlekauff]

And essentially like, we can't.

[Colin Cowherd]

This is the NFL. It sucks.

[John Middlekauff]

I watched this thing on YouTube. It was Tannenbaum interviewed John Schneider and Jason Light.

[Colin Cowherd]

It was like a very relaxed setting. I don't know, maybe they did this at the combine. Maybe they did at the owner's meetings. I'm not exactly sure where it took.

[John Middlekauff]

Place, but it was like three of them in a room. And it was just refreshing to watch.

[Colin Cowherd]

Two guys that are GMs now say.

[John Middlekauff]

Most of the Time when we let.

[Colin Cowherd]

Good players go, we get crushed locally, you know, by our fans and everyone's pissed off.

[John Middlekauff]

We never want to let these guys go. If you know the guy's good, we definitely know the guy's good. We want to keep them, but that's not the way the league works. And John Snyder was like, mike, I watch all these shows you're on on ESPN and every former player is like, just pay him. He's like, well, yeah, no shit. If we could just pay everybody and there was no salary cap, most of the big time teams, their salary, you know, their ceiling for salaries would be much higher. They would be spending way more money keeping players. But you're not allowed to do that. Like, do I think the Eagles want to get rid of Dallas Goddard? No. Do I think that they have to make some sort of financial move? Yes. And I also think he's got value because we know a team like the Chargers, they need an offensive weapon. I think teams like, I think you're going to see teams. What about the Chiefs? You know, they got an aging tight end now again, financially, does it work? This stuff is not easy. And then there are going to be teams that missed the playoffs last year who are bullish on their chances moving forward and will sniff around now.

[Colin Cowherd]

Are they getting much of value for Goddard?

[John Middlekauff]

I think they would be lucky to.

[Colin Cowherd]

Get a third round pick given that I'm sure he's going to want a contract extension in the next year or two and he's already an expensive player. But I do think he's going to have a market based on the teams that hopefully draft the tight end in this draft aren't able to because when they pick the guys off the board. So Dallas Goddard will be on another team pretty soon.

[John Middlekauff]

Some rule changes in the NFL overtime.

[Colin Cowherd]

Which, you know, Andy Reid's been beating this drum forever, will change for moving.

[John Middlekauff]

Forward that in the regular season, like the playoffs, both teams will get the opportunity to possess the ball. Cool.

[Colin Cowherd]

I'm in. I think we all agree that's fair.

[John Middlekauff]

You either got to do sudden death or you got to go all in.

[Colin Cowherd]

They both get to touch it.

[John Middlekauff]

You can't do. Well, if we kick a field goal, then you get a chance. But if we score a touchdown like that, I. They were trying to have their cake and eat it too.

[Colin Cowherd]

That was kind of bullshit.

[John Middlekauff]

Like to me, if you're going to have you either do sudden death, it's kind of like the luck of the coin flip.

[Colin Cowherd]

And then if you score, field goal.

[John Middlekauff]

Touchdown, whatever safety Games over or both.

[Colin Cowherd]

Teams get touched the ball.

[John Middlekauff]

And that's the way moving forward, which I'm cool with.

[Colin Cowherd]

If you go on the Internet, a piece of wisdom the older folks often.

[John Middlekauff]

Give is learn to code, kids.

[Colin Cowherd]

Because technology has taken out all of our jobs. AI is coming.

[John Middlekauff]

Well, the NFL will no longer be.

[Colin Cowherd]

Dependent on the chain gang. They will use camera technology to now determine first downs.

[John Middlekauff]

But the chain gang crew, who stands.

[Colin Cowherd]

There with the first down marker and that the other, you know, part of.

[John Middlekauff]

The chain will still be on the sideline. So no one, this isn't Woody Johnson. We're not giving golden parachutes here. We're not firing the chain gang all over the NFL. But they will no longer be in charge of determining first downs, second downs.

[Colin Cowherd]

Down in distance throughout the game.

[John Middlekauff]

So we have camera technology now coming into play.

[Colin Cowherd]

This is what Belichick's been banging the drum forever.

[John Middlekauff]

You know, camera technology, goal line technology. The NFL is like, okay, we're making some profits. We'll start paying a little money here. And the touchback as well will go.

[Colin Cowherd]

From the 30 to the 35 yard line. It feels like they're very bullish and feeling themselves on this new kickoff rule.

[John Middlekauff]

Which again, I'm not opposed to it. Don't love it, but definitely don't hate it. Kind of just like, yeah, it's, it's cool. Like, it's, it's. In theory, it should have given a lot more action. They love saying, like, way less injuries. Like, yeah, I don't know if the consumer cares that much. I just want action. And we definitely got a little bit more of it. But I did want to end on this because chasing challengers brought to you by Microsoft. In the NFL, just like in the business world, overcoming obstacles is key to success. Microsoft empowers business decision makers with AI solutions, simplified cloud and data management, and trustworthy, reasonable technology to turn challenges into opportunities. In this segment, we explore some of the biggest challenges being faced in the NFL and how they can be overcome. Whatever challenge you're facing, Microsoft empowers you with the expertise to say, bring it on. This week, we're discussing the challenge faced by the entire league. The Tush Push. Every single person has a strong opinion. It should be banned, we should keep it. It's a football play. I saw Matt Lafleur hates the play, wants it gone. And then there are people like Jim Harbaugh and Mike Vrabel that are like.

[Colin Cowherd]

I'm for it if you can.

[John Middlekauff]

If you can run it and execute it, it's on the other team to stop it. Howie Roseman got up in the meeting today and said, can you show me the data where there are more injuries because of this play? And there was no data because there haven't been any more injuries. Now, this is a tough spot for the NFL because I think ideally they would not want to play. That is just automatic. And for the most part, I know.

[Colin Cowherd]

They have been stopped by Vita Vea.

[John Middlekauff]

Once or twice, but when they line up in the Tush push, unlike every play in the NFL, it feels like a guarantee that it's either going to be a first down or touchdown. And I think in his heart of hearts, from an entertainment perspective, the NFL, like, if they could just choose and no one would be pissed off, they would just make the play disappear. But like, Howie and the Eagles have a fair point. Look, anyone else can do this. You just don't happen to have a quarterback that squats 600 pounds and because of his body type is lower to the ground and can get low and disappears in the play and forever. It was like, well, you just got the best center. Then he fucking retired and the play didn't skip a beat. I watched Josh Allen in the playoffs against the Chiefs, running short yardage, quarterback sneaks. He's one of the biggest, strongest, most athletic quarterbacks we've ever seen. He got stuff like four out of five times. So, like Eileen, like, I understand, but this is clearly of all the controversies in the NFL right now, and there's a lot of them constantly. This feels like one that a lot of people are very emotional about. And I don't think this would be a big deal if this was the Jags or the Miami Dolphins or the Arizona Cardinals. But it's a team that's been in the super bowl two of the last three years and just kick the Chief's ass on Super Sunday. So the Eagles are finding out when you're the big dog, everyone comes at you. We saw it forever with the Patriots. People are just gunning for you. And they're going to be teams like the Packers. Well, what do they have in common with the Eagles? They played them and what happened? They lost in the playoffs. They can't stop the play. So I think there's a tough one for Roger because he's just letting the teams decide and they get to vote on it. But it's like a lot of people are up in arms and my ultimate.

[Colin Cowherd]

Take is anyone can do it.

[John Middlekauff]

And do. I like watching it.

[Colin Cowherd]

Just as an independent fan of football.

[John Middlekauff]

Like, if it disappeared tomorrow, I wouldn't.

[Colin Cowherd]

Think about it again the rest of my life.

[John Middlekauff]

But from just what's fair is fair. Anyone could do it. No one steals plays and steals information like football people, especially coaches that's constantly stealing other people's stuff off. Phil and the Eagles have been putting this on film now for three plus years. So if you want to do it, you could just do every cut up of every time they run it and install it with your own team. And I would imagine some teams have tried and they don't feel comfortable doing it. Their guy's not good enough doing it. Hell, Patrick Mahomes, one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time after he hurt his knee on a quarterback sneak. Like they don't love quarterback sneaking him so now on short yardage situations like they do rollouts and stuff because they don't want to put him in a compromise situation. But I just think this situation is not going away. And this is when you have this multi billion dollar league with a lot of big egos and a lot of big personalities. These are the type problems when you're rog in the league office that you got to deal with and clearly they just tabled it. It's not going to go away. That's this week's Chasing Challenges. Remember Microsoft's AI solution empower you to take bold steps and make informed decisions, sparking new ideas to help drive your business forward. With Microsoft as your trusted partner, you can navigate your journey with confidence, finding innovative solutions and reaching new possibilities. Visit Microsoft.com challengers to learn more.

[Jeremy Hobson]

We live in a divided country.

[Caller Anna]

I am a lifelong Republican with all.

[Jeremy Hobson]

Kinds of different people.

[Colin Cowherd]

You know, I'm a mother, I'm a grandmother.

[Jeremy Hobson]

That's why we started the Middle with Jeremy Hobson. It's about bringing voices not from the extremes, but from the vast middle into the national conversation.

[Caller Anna]

Anna, the governor calling from Las Vegas.

[Jeremy Hobson]

Each week we bring together an all star panel. Mark Cuban, so great to have you on the Middle.

[Colin Cowherd]

Thanks for having me.

[Jeremy Hobson]

Jeremy Neil Degrasse Tyson, welcome to the Middle.

[Colin Cowherd]

Thanks for having me.

[Jeremy Hobson]

And hear from ordinary Americans from all over the country on the most important issues.

[Caller Anna]

Hi, my name is Venkat. I'm calling you from Atlanta, Georgia.

[Jeremy Hobson]

And when you subscribe to the Middle, you also get an episode each week called One Thing Trump did that focuses on just one item from the avalanche of news.

[Caller Venkat]

We should be examining what our government spends its money on and are these jobs necessary and what are we doing here? But that doesn't seem to be what we're doing in this situation, listen to.

[Jeremy Hobson]

The middle with Jeremy Hobson on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.

[John Middlekauff]

Let's do a little mailbag. Ohnmiddlekopf is the Instagram fire in those DMs. Get your questions answered right here on the podcast. We will start with Matt. All this talk about the Tush push brings me back to Brady and the quarterback sneak. We hear how the Eagles and Hurts are uniquely built for this play. But how was a quarterback so automatic like Brady? He isn't uniquely strong, fast or tall.

[Colin Cowherd]

Brady's six huge. But I hear what you're saying.

[John Middlekauff]

Maybe the better question is why do other quarterbacks, why are they so bad at it? I saw Variable came into my YouTube algorithm.

[Colin Cowherd]

He was on like, you know, one.

[John Middlekauff]

Of the local shows on Boston radio.

[Colin Cowherd]

The big, the sports hub or whatever, 98. 5. And I watched his interview and he mentioned that one thing that Tom was so good at is like he could hit like three or four gaps. You know, he would, he would see wherever you weren't and he would attack that gap. Like the Tush push is the same every time, right? They are just shoving you forward and he's going. I think it's fair to say. I mean, I've never broken it down on the All 22, but just in.

[John Middlekauff]

A vertical straight line forward, maybe he.

[Colin Cowherd]

Moves a little bit left to right, but it's just, it's a push forward.

[John Middlekauff]

Tom, like Josh Allen tried to do.

[Colin Cowherd]

In the AFC championship game is like picking lanes. And historically that's kind of what you did. Like if a dude was shaded over the center and shaded over the right guard and you had a little angle to the left guard, you would fire to the left side or vice versa.

[John Middlekauff]

I don't know.

[Colin Cowherd]

I mean, Tom was just elite at it. Some people just have certain skills and are comfortable doing it.

[John Middlekauff]

Maybe it's. There's a push off element.

[Colin Cowherd]

Tom is also.

[John Middlekauff]

Tom is tall.

[Colin Cowherd]

I mean, Tom is 6:5. So I think some people homes, I mean, they just don't even run it. So I don't have a great answer for you. Beside, like.

[John Middlekauff]

I do think the reason.

[Colin Cowherd]

People don't just 100% copy the tush.

[John Middlekauff]

Push, like if I have Jared Goff.

[Colin Cowherd]

Or Patrick Mahomes or some of these.

[John Middlekauff]

Quarterbacks who like Jared Goff is, is not. You're not going to want to put.

[Colin Cowherd]

Him like that low one. He can't. He's tall as well.

[John Middlekauff]

But like he might be liable to get hurt, you know, Part of what.

[Colin Cowherd]

Makes Jalen unique is kind of his body type. He's like the bigger, he's a little bigger version of like Russell Wilson. Russell Wilson in his heyday would have been good at the tush push, I would guess. So it's harder for Peyton Manning or.

[John Middlekauff]

Philip Rivers to get that low.

[Colin Cowherd]

It's crazy how big of a topic the tush pushes has become. And I'll keep saying this, the Torpedo bats. Someone hit me like Judge isn't using them. Like, listen, I enjoy the Yankees. I'm not anti the Yankees. I'm entertained, honestly. Like two baseball teams I kind of loosely follow are the Yankees and Dodgers. Just because you just want to see the best teams. But I guess he's not using the Torpedo bat. But the dude on the on Cincinnati used torpedo bat on Monday night, had like seven RBIs and went four for five. I'm pro the Torpedo bat. I'm not anti the Torpedo bat. Yeah, I don't even know why I brought the torpedo bat.

[John Middlekauff]

But question for the bag. The NCAA is so opposed to having student athletes be employees, even though every university employee employs students for several non athletic campus functions. Why doesn't the NCAA allow college athletes to be employees of the university with contracts that stipulate classroom attendance and other specific terms? Is it simply because the NCAA doesn't want universities to provide health insurance and other benefits? Seems like most of the nil sketchiness we're seeing is because there are no rules. But in my opinion, having contracts would solve the vast majority of the issues.

[Colin Cowherd]

I don't pretend to be like NCAA revenue share like a master on this topic.

[John Middlekauff]

But health insurance, if I shatter my.

[Colin Cowherd]

Leg playing for Wisconsin or playing for UCLA or whatever, ruin my shoulder, ruin.

[John Middlekauff]

My elbow, I get surgery on their dime. So the program insures me.

[Colin Cowherd]

Let's assume like I don't even have parents. My grandparents raised me and they don't have health insurance either. The school covers me as a collegiate athlete. I think their issue, the school's issue, like the Title 9 thing, is kind of the elephant in the room. You know, you couldn't just employ the football players and not employ the soccer players and the softball players. I mean, it's just, it becomes this weird situation of legalities which again, like I don't feel that comfortable talking about. But I know they exist.

[John Middlekauff]

I saw him at Fresno State, the.

[Colin Cowherd]

Softball coach when I was there in.

[John Middlekauff]

2008 and 2009, had sued the school.

[Colin Cowherd]

And was one of, if not the highest paid softball coaches in the country.

[John Middlekauff]

At the Time she was making like 400 grand. Like 08 because she had sued the.

[Colin Cowherd]

School for Title 9 violations. The basketball coach, Stacy Johnson Klein, who's this good looking woman, she, she actually had been fired, had sued the school because she claimed like the AD had.

[John Middlekauff]

Like touched her in a car wash.

[Colin Cowherd]

And it got like ten plus million dollars. So the Title nine situation can be.

[John Middlekauff]

Very financially limiting if you screw something up. Like you can be forced to pay.

[Colin Cowherd]

A lot of money in situations that you don't. Like the softball coach making 400 grand at Fresno State in 2009, I mean it's insane. But like title nine, she got it. The Stacey Johnson Klein, the basketball coach, you know, there were a lot of different opinions on what actually happened. But what did happen is she won a lawsuit for a lot of money.

[John Middlekauff]

Is Matt Ryan a Hall of Fame quarterback? I think anyone who says no is crazy. Pro Football Focus agrees if you look at their hall of Fame rating, but here's why.

[Colin Cowherd]

And then he just rattles off.

[John Middlekauff]

MVP award. Has one MVP award equal to Elway Burrito and Terry Bradshaw. First Team All Pro selection achieved in 16 surpassed legends like Elway Aikman and Warren Moon. Career passer rating higher than Favre, Montana.

[Colin Cowherd]

Roethlisberger, Warner and Aikman.

[John Middlekauff]

Touchdown to interception ratio.

[Colin Cowherd]

It just rattles off.

[John Middlekauff]

When I close my eyes and I think Matt Ryan.

[Colin Cowherd]

Do I think hall of Fame.

[John Middlekauff]

And again my standards are really high. Like when I think hall of Fame.

[Colin Cowherd]

Brady Manning, Rogers, Ray Lewis, Ed Reed, Adrian Peterson, like the greatest players of all time, Trent Williams, Ladanian Townlinson, like just the, just Deion Sanders.

[John Middlekauff]

Reggie White.

[Colin Cowherd]

Lawrence Taylor, Joe Montana, Jerry Rice, like those are the type guys I think about and maybe I have too high of a. Of kind of like my threshold is way higher than some. Matt Ryan is a phenomenal player and like he falls under the.

[John Middlekauff]

You know, Cam Newton's one year was.

[Colin Cowherd]

More of an outlier relative to most of his career.

[John Middlekauff]

But I do think Matt Ryan and.

[Colin Cowherd]

Cam Newton both like they had this remarkable MVP season and they led a team to a Super bowl and then they lost.

[John Middlekauff]

I do think if they had won the super bowl, like won the MVP and then won the super bowl it like you do stuff like that.

[Colin Cowherd]

It's like, yeah, hall of Famer.

[John Middlekauff]

I think when you lose that game.

[Colin Cowherd]

Fair or not, it can kind of rattle your candidacy.

[John Middlekauff]

It's hard to do Pro Bowls.

[Colin Cowherd]

And yeah, he played, you know, in an era with, in the nfc Rodgers really his entire time and Breeze and then Russell Wilson. So I, I just have high standards. I'm not anti Matt Ryan and I respect Matt Ryan's game. But my first reaction is no. But I think the same for a lot of players in his era. Philip Rivers, you know Eli's tough because he did have those two seasons and I just used the example. But Eli wasn't winning the mvp. To me, if Eli had an MVP, he'd be a no brainer. But I understand the arguments on both sides.

[John Middlekauff]

Longtime Coffee member Everyone says that Josh.

[Colin Cowherd]

Allen is an all time talent.

[John Middlekauff]

No argument. People also claim that Day Ball is.

[Colin Cowherd]

The one who fixed Josh.

[John Middlekauff]

What are the chances the majority of people are incorrect in their assessment of Brian Dable? I'm not saying he's necessarily a bad coach, but it seems to me that he got more good coach credits transferred from working with an all time talent in Josh Allen than the bad coach credits for sucking consistently with the Giants. Josh likely would have figured it out. It just happened to be with Day Ball. In the year Daboll went to the playoffs, DJ had 15 touchdowns, five interceptions and seven rushing touchdowns. Not exactly killing it. I do understand that he maximized Daniel Jones, but I can't help but think Allen saved Dable and not sure the other way around. I think the reason he gets a.

[Colin Cowherd]

Lot of credit with Josh Allen is because when the Bills drafted Josh Allen it was an extremely controversial pick. He was not very good in college.

[John Middlekauff]

Now granted he played at Wyoming and.

[Colin Cowherd]

His last year there they had lost a bunch of skill guys so his team wasn't as good.

[John Middlekauff]

But coming out of college he was his two seasons starting at Wyoming 56%.

[Colin Cowherd]

56%. He had a pretty solid 2016 season with 28 touchdowns, but he threw 15 interceptions and then his senior year he threw 16 touchdowns.

[John Middlekauff]

So I just think it's not it looked like he got a project and this is the best part or the.

[Colin Cowherd]

Most fascinating part about arguing this stuff we'll never know. Like is Patrick Mahomes Patrick Mahomes if some random if Todd Bowles gets him? I don't Robert Sala gets him? I don't know. I think it's fair to say he would not have won't rattle off all the Super Bowls. But does he win a Super Bowl? Would Josh Allen been great no matter where he goes? I don't know the answer to that. Could you make the argument that Josh Allen made Brian Day Ball 100% because I saw Brian Day Ball coach a lot of offenses before he got to Buffalo and it was not pretty. Now maybe he learned in his one stint from Saban. But I don't have a great answer for you beside like I don't know. One thing's clear. Josh Allen is now a dominant player and anyone who coaches him is going to get a lot of credit. But Brian Dayball is. I think he was asked today on Tuesday that if he'll call plays and he still didn't have an answer. He's just the Giant situation has just been weird. It really has.

[John Middlekauff]

Huge Charger fan A lot of people talk about the Chargers need weapons. While I agree, I look at the new regime as building for through their identity build inside out. I see you say Jim was never going to pay $30 million for a receiver. My question is what is your viewpoint on the value of weapon pieces after the interior is built? Can a lesser of talented player be evaluated to a superstar level with strong foundation built first? The most popular example is Alliance.

[Colin Cowherd]

Well, I do believe that like when you build a great offensive line, if you hit on a solid running back, he's going to look way better. I would have bet. I would imagine Najee Harris has a good season. I would guess they draft a running back with their first three or four picks. I'd be a little shocked if that guy's not good. So it's much easier to be a running back behind a good offensive line than a bad one. Look at Saquon. But I would say that, you know, part of having great wide receivers is like if you don't throw it all the time, who really cares?

[John Middlekauff]

Like Jim Harbaugh wants to run the ball. He wants to run the ball, slow.

[Colin Cowherd]

Down the game and play defense.

[John Middlekauff]

What he's been doing for 15 plus.

[Colin Cowherd]

Years at Stanford 49ers in Michigan. So like having DK Metcalf and allocating that much money to one player feels like a misuse of funds and misuse of resources.

[John Middlekauff]

That's why he doesn't usually do it.

[Colin Cowherd]

Like to me, the Chargers need tight end running back.

[John Middlekauff]

Question for the Mailbag what are your thoughts on Trager leaving the NFL Network? Are you friends?

[Colin Cowherd]

I wouldn't call him a friend, but I know him. I think the NFL Network is just not going to exist. I don't know when or how or.

[John Middlekauff]

When you turn on television, it won't.

[Colin Cowherd]

Be there or it'll be morphed into espn.

[John Middlekauff]

But the NFL Network that we knew.

[Colin Cowherd]

A decade ago or five years ago.

[John Middlekauff]

Is not going to exist over the.

[Colin Cowherd]

Next three or four years.

[John Middlekauff]

They have been trying to sell it forever.

[Colin Cowherd]

So I think Schrager is very, very Tied in with the NFL, you know, in terms of coaches and just. He's good, he's, he's entertaining. I enjoy him. Got off a sinking ship like the.

[John Middlekauff]

NFL Network is, is just not going.

[Colin Cowherd]

To be around over the next several years. I don't know when, but as it's.

[John Middlekauff]

As we know it, it's really just.

[Colin Cowherd]

Not going to be near the same. And you know, he's a New York guy. They move Good morning football to LA. You know, I think Jason McCourty, who was part of that show, or Devin, one of the two, I think it was Jason, like refused to go. He's like, no, I think Kyle Brandt's really talented, kind of in a tough spot. I don't know. I mean, it's just you're part of these shows and you're, you're one of the talents. Well, this is the thing of like, you know, quote unquote legacy, old school media. You're, you're. If they want to move studios to a different state, what are you going to do in the podcast business? Can't do it from your house. Even though he kind of did at times. But, but I mean, it was clear that that show is coming down the home stretch. I don't watch it, but it gets good reviews. People enjoy it. It's just an easy show to consume when I have seen it.

[John Middlekauff]

How much stock do you put in cold weather NFL teams, Bills, Pats, packers, et cetera, put into players that came from cold weather schools? It's a good question. I think it matters at quarterback. You know, if you take a guy.

[Colin Cowherd]

To New England or you take a guy to Philly and they don't have.

[John Middlekauff]

A strong arm and don't function well.

[Colin Cowherd]

In inclement weather or New York or Pittsburgh, it's going to be difficult. It is dramatically easier to play your home games in Los Angeles or San Francisco or a dome than it is in freezing cold conditions. Can you imagine playing Kansas City home games in December? It's going to be hard to have a weak arm. Now, Alex Smith, like, they could kind of manage it, but it was difficult and they had limitations.

[John Middlekauff]

I think when it comes to other.

[Colin Cowherd]

Positions, like tough guys translate.

[John Middlekauff]

Like if you're a tough, physical linebacker.

[Colin Cowherd]

And you played at USC or Texas.

[John Middlekauff]

You'Re going to be okay, right?

[Colin Cowherd]

Same with guards and defense, tackles and corners.

[John Middlekauff]

That's where the scouting aspect of your.

[Colin Cowherd]

Football character of your personality come into play. Like it's not, it's not anyone's fault. You played Alabama, A lot of guys from Alabama have gone on to cold weather cities and been just fine. Or Georgia or Florida. I think it's much more difficult for.

[John Middlekauff]

Quarterbacks.

[Colin Cowherd]

Especially arm strength. I mean, if you play like it's hard to play in Chicago if you have a weak arm. Part of the reason they love Caleb.

[John Middlekauff]

He has a hose.

[Colin Cowherd]

It gets fucking windy and cold there. You're not going to be throwing 80 miles an hour. In Excel. You got to have a fastball. I mean, who's look at the Packers. There's a reason their last three quarterbacks big arms, you need it. Josh, Josh Allen, Baltimore or Buffalo, Freezing cold, inclement weather. Lamar has a pretty good arm. So I think it's more personality for most positions.

[John Middlekauff]

You know, receivers if you get a little bit of a diva.

[Colin Cowherd]

But again, like desean Jackson was from la, played a Cal and went to Philly and was just fine. I think for most positions it's a pretty easy transition.

[John Middlekauff]

Plus your body.

[Colin Cowherd]

You know, I've been living in Arizona for a while.

[John Middlekauff]

The Bay Area is just much colder. People say California, great weather.

[Colin Cowherd]

The Bay Area does not have great weather. They talk about Northern California like it's Southern California. It is not.

[John Middlekauff]

San Francisco's freezing cold.

[Colin Cowherd]

I think Mark Twain said the coldest day of the year is a summer in San Francisco. Summer night in San Francisco.

[John Middlekauff]

It's a cold place.

[Colin Cowherd]

So like you kind of adapt your surroundings. Since I've been here, like it's 60 degrees or under, I get really cold. Not that I ever truly embraced it, but when you live in Philly, you.

[John Middlekauff]

Kind of get a little more used to the cold. But if you have small hands, you have a weak arm.

[Colin Cowherd]

I don't care how mentally and physically tough you are, they're just limitations.

[John Middlekauff]

Lifelong Bears fan, I know you've gotten a lot of mailbag questions about Caleb, but here's one more I completely agree with your outlook on him. Next year will be a big tale about his future. Last year is tough to judge him and how he'll be as an NFL quarterback because of the lack of of the team's competitiveness and maybe the worst coaching staff of all time.

[Colin Cowherd]

I've seen a few worse, but it's bad.

[John Middlekauff]

I've heard you say he was getting all his stats in the second half of games that were already over. It's definitely true. But on multiple occasions during one score games against the Commanders, the Packers and the Vikings force overtime and the Thanksgiving game against the Lions, he was able to drive the ball down the field in the fourth quarter and fell short due to his team or coaching staff letting him down. Can we start being fair when talking about the guy who has shown flashes of a late game clutch gene?

[Colin Cowherd]

I don't think anyone's shitting on him.

[John Middlekauff]

I'm just the guy presented his stats.

[Colin Cowherd]

Of his touchdowns and his yards and I just did. A lot of those were accumulated down a lot of scores. I mean that Lions game when Eber flus fucked him by not calling the timeout. I forget the exact score but I mean wasn't like 24 nothing in half, 28 nothing.

[John Middlekauff]

I mean it was a blowout. So I think when you're in those moments you get to accumulate a lot of stats because the team loses, the other team loses focus. Especially by then everyone viewed the Bears as terrible. Now I'm with you.

[Colin Cowherd]

Once the game becomes tight, you either got to make the plays or you don't.

[John Middlekauff]

He made a lot of plays.

[Colin Cowherd]

I'm not acting like Caleb some scrub. No one's saying that. Just we'll see what it looks like. I don't know the answer. I. I would not.

[John Middlekauff]

All these guys are going to hit.

[Colin Cowherd]

And who knows from year to year.

[John Middlekauff]

Like we saw C.J. stroud, it looked like he was top five quarterback.

[Colin Cowherd]

Then he had a bad second year.

[John Middlekauff]

So things change really quickly. All of a sudden Caleb can become a star.

[Colin Cowherd]

I don't know everyone, everyone as the kids say, love glazing Ben Johnson. We'll see how he is a head coach. I don't know everyone thought Dan Campbell.

[John Middlekauff]

Is going to be Jim Tomsua and.

[Colin Cowherd]

It'S like Dan Campbell's one of the.

[John Middlekauff]

Best coaches in the league right now. Been listening to POD since my since my brother who's a Fnatic fan sent it to me mid season. I love your takes. I'm in the process of building a team for a company to launch a new product. Some days I feel like a GM trying to bring in all types, internal, external, outside the box thinkers. My non negotiable qualities I look for in each person are vision, consistency and humility. They can all show in different ways and they don't have to be strong and all but need to show potential. If you are picking a team for business, what are some non negotiable qualities you would look for in each individual team member?

[Colin Cowherd]

Obviously there are certain industries like you can't make the NFL without meeting certain requirements. Like there is no mere use in the NFL.

[John Middlekauff]

You can't just show up like I'm going to make the NFL, right?

[Colin Cowherd]

So you need to have size Physical characteristics. You have to have played football in college. Jordan Mylotta, withstanding like, and even he was like, probably one of the great rugby players in Australia. You can't just normal people can't play. Same thing with basketball, same thing with baseball. You have to possess certain skills. So not knowing your industry, there are certain, like, you can't just be an architect without a background in it, right? You can do what I'm doing just with a big personality. I guess even if you didn't have a background working in sports or journalism, you could just be a commentator or a broadcaster.

[John Middlekauff]

You could just learn.

[Colin Cowherd]

You could learn that vocation.

[John Middlekauff]

There are.

[Colin Cowherd]

You can't just show up and just like learn how to become a doctor without the schooling, right? So not knowing your industry clearly there might be a box you have to check to understand if I need an engineer or a coder. No matter how bad I want it, I would never be able to figure out how to code. It's just not in my wheelhouse. So if you're looking for younger people, I would say in my experience in football and now, you know, we bring Jackson on in the fall and I want to develop a bigger role for him here. I like young, hungry people and you can just sense their energy. I once upon a time, 20 plus years ago, was as hungry and ambitious as like any young kid that just wants an in. I value, I would say hunger, willingness to do whatever and passion very, very highly. You know, when you say humility with a young person, I don't want them coming in. I don't need all their ideas.

[John Middlekauff]

I do think when you're hiring experienced people, like, I don't really mind an ego. Like if you're bringing something to the table and whatever we're gonna do, you're gonna help us print money, you're gonna help us succeed. Like, you know, you gotta deal with some egos. So humility, there's a difference of like.

[Colin Cowherd]

Treating people well and like assholes and people being, you know, treating whoever that are lower than them on the totem pole. In an. Especially if you're in an office setting, you get a pretty good feel for that. That would be something I wouldn't want to deal with if there's a bad guy or girl. But humility to me is not as big a deal. But I would just say hunger, passion, willingness to do whatever. And let's face it, some people are just kind of, they just produce. It's my favorite part about like the business world. Some people just produce more than others. And we all can figure it out pretty quickly who those individuals are in whatever field we're in. Some people are cash cows. Some people bring a lot of added value to whatever you're doing. And it's. It's hard. I mean, it's no different than scouting. It's no different than hiring people. You're just taking an educated guess, and you can call a million people to get recommendations. You never really know until you start working with them. I was driving around yesterday, listen to Brian Callahan talk, and he's like, listen, I've been around my dad, obviously, 18 years growing up, he's one of the closest people to my life. But I've never worked with my father until this year, right? So Bill Callahan, he's like, this was the first year we'd ever worked together. So there is like, yeah, we know each other really well. He's my father. But, like, as the play caller on game day, we had to figure out how to work with each other. I also think there is so much value in, you know, being around the other person. For those of you that have work in office settings, there's just a value there that cannot be disputed. It's much easier to be productive with ideas to figure out, you know, if you have people working under you, how good or bad they are. Something I miss dearly, to be honest with you.

[Jeremy Hobson]

We live in a divided country.

[Caller Anna]

I am a lifelong Republican with all.

[Jeremy Hobson]

Kinds of different people.

[Colin Cowherd]

You know, I'm a mother, I'm a grandmother.

[Jeremy Hobson]

That's why we started the Middle with Jeremy Hobson. It's about bringing voices not from the extremes, but from the vast middle into the national conversation.

[Caller Anna]

Anna, I'm calling from Las Vegas.

[Jeremy Hobson]

Each week we bring together an all star panel. Mark Cuban, so great to have you on the Middle.

[Colin Cowherd]

Thanks for having me, Jeremy.

[Jeremy Hobson]

Neil Degrasse Tyson, welcome to the Middle.

[Colin Cowherd]

Thanks for having me.

[Jeremy Hobson]

And hear from ordinary Americans from all over the country on the most important issues.

[Caller Anna]

Hi, my name is Venkat. I'm calling you from Atlanta, Georgia.

[Jeremy Hobson]

And when you subscribe to the Middle, you also get an episode each week called One Thing Trump did that focuses on just one item from the avalanche of news.

[Caller Venkat]

We should be examining what our government spends its money on and are these jobs necessary and what are we doing here? But that doesn't seem to be what we're doing in this situation.

[Jeremy Hobson]

Listen to the Middle with Jeremy Hobson on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[John Middlekauff]

Love the podcast question. What do you think the Bear should.

[Colin Cowherd]

Do with the 10th pick.

[John Middlekauff]

I personally think the Bear should be.

[Colin Cowherd]

Aggressive and move up to get Abdul Carter.

[John Middlekauff]

Otherwise, I think they should draft Tyler Warren or Genty.

[Colin Cowherd]

I think drafting A running back 10th overall is nuts. I think that's pretty crazy. I really do. People think I'm a hater on the guy. He's an excellent player. I just. In a draft where you can get a running back in the second or third round, I would take a defensive lineman. Look who you're playing great offenses, right? You have to assume the Bears are going to be much better on offense. You got to assume the Lions are going to be explosive and they got sweet players everywhere. And Minnesota has incredible players and a rookie quarterback. I would want to hit the quarterback as many times as I could. And if they're a defensive lineman like you said, Abdul Carter be awesome. You're not going to get him unless he has major medical issues and he falls. But he's going two or three. And I would not trade up to two or three. I would just take whoever, Jalen Walker, whoever the best defensive lineman is on the board. That's probably what I would do if I was the Bears.

[John Middlekauff]

You know, I think the thing with.

[Colin Cowherd]

Tyler Warren is he obviously is. His size is pretty special. I mean, he's. He's huge. Let me get his exact measurements here. Tyler Warren. So he was six, five and a half, 260 pounds. I mean he's massive.

[John Middlekauff]

He's not the twitchiest guy.

[Colin Cowherd]

And from a change of direction, fluidity. I mean he's not Kelsey, Mark Andrews Kittle. He's really just a kind of a jump ball. He's got great ball skills. He's a good player.

[John Middlekauff]

You know, I've talked to some people in the NFL.

[Colin Cowherd]

I think the way he's talked about is a little strong. I would say in a good draft.

[John Middlekauff]

Guy like him goes in like the 20s, 10 would be.

[Colin Cowherd]

There'd be a lot of pressure on him to become a good player. You take a tight end at 10, he better be a Pro Bowler because you're paying him a lot of money immediately.

[John Middlekauff]

Question for the Mailbag Heard your topic.

[Colin Cowherd]

About Hertz versus Herbert and I think.

[John Middlekauff]

It'S a very unique situation when you.

[Colin Cowherd]

Compare them fairly easily because they've shared two coordinators.

[John Middlekauff]

Herbert with Shane Steichen went 4,300 yards, 31 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. And Jalen went 3,700 yards, 22 touchdowns, six picks. And with Kellen Moore, Herbert went 20 and seven. Jalen went 18 and five. They both missed some time. Why do you think people discount Herbert's situation and weapons he's had in his career? With the exception of lad McConkey, the only weapon not a Rivers leftover is Quentin Johnson. Herbert with A.J. brown and Devonte would cook.

[Colin Cowherd]

I agree.

[John Middlekauff]

The only people that hate on Herbert.

[Colin Cowherd]

Are people on the Internet.

[John Middlekauff]

Like you won't find people in the Internet or excuse me, the NFL executives.

[Colin Cowherd]

Coaches that talk poorly about the guy.

[John Middlekauff]

He's a really good, talented player. Is he perfect? No. Is he better than the top guys?

[Colin Cowherd]

No.

[John Middlekauff]

Would like 85, 90% of the league take him immediately. 100%. Also comparing like he doesn't play. He has to beat Joe burrow, Lamar Jackson, C.J. stroud, Patrick Mahomes. Like those are. He doesn't. Jalen's in a different conference. Comparing him to Jalen, stupid. Jalen's comps are the NFC guys. Jaden, Purdy, Dak, Jared Goff, Jordan Love like that's his. That's who he has to worry about. The NFC is a different.

[Colin Cowherd]

It's like a different neighborhood.

[John Middlekauff]

The AFC is like the richest neighborhood.

[Colin Cowherd]

In the entire state. It doesn't get any better.

[John Middlekauff]

You got all these guys are going right to the hall of Fame, especially the top three. The NFC is like yeah. I mean a couple years ago people thought Jared Goff sucked. Jalen Hurts has been more than up.

[Colin Cowherd]

For debate over the last couple years.

[John Middlekauff]

Purdy's the number one debated quarterback going right now. Most people think that Dak Prescott's the most overpaid quarterback in the history of the NFL. He's gotten two max contracts. Jordan Love. I like him, but I mean maybe I won't by the end of next season. NFC's got a lot of question marks. Derek Carr's and Bryce Youngs, I mean Baker.

[Colin Cowherd]

I forget about him.

[John Middlekauff]

It's not, not exactly, you know, Favre, Young and Aikman.

[Colin Cowherd]

Let's pretend you and I are on Shark Tank. You are one of the sharks.

[John Middlekauff]

I'm an entrepreneur pitching you a company to invest in. My best friends from college and I are building a sports betting app for the app store that offers a safer and more social alternative to traditional house betting. We are calling it League Bet. It's a tournament style skill based sports betting app where players participate by joining a public or private league. Enrolling in low cost buy in which converts to high ratio virtual bankroll and you compete head to head against their peers with the goal of being the top performing sports bettor. The player with the most correct sports bets with the League requirements wins the prize pool. Our target audience is college students, 21 plus workplace environments, athletes and traditional sports wagers at casinos. As a frequent sports bettor yourself, what do you think about the concept and what and would you use it?

[Colin Cowherd]

Well, I would be considered like most people that gamble a traditionalist. I like betting $100 on Joel Damon 9 to 1 to top 10 in the Valero. I like betting on a three team parlay in the sweet 16 for teams to make the final four. I like getting 9 to 1 odds on Arkansas to make the final four and putting 100 bucks on them. Like I just like me against the game. So I've never, I'm not a big fantasy football guy so I've never been a part like where everyone buys in for 50 bucks, 100 bucks. I mean I've had friends that buy in for four figures like have these huge leagues where the winner gets 10,000 or you know, you read these stories about like the celebrities, enormous cash prizes. So clearly there's some intrigue in that.

[John Middlekauff]

But like when my friends or people in my life text about gambling, we.

[Colin Cowherd]

Text about who we should bet on. Like do you like the Chiefs as an underdog against the bills in the second round? Do you like, you know, USC is getting 10 points at Notre Dame? Like I don't know. So I've never bet beside when I play golf against other individuals, I bet against a team or in golf on a player. And I've been doing that, you know, for 15 plus years since college really. But I just, my gambling habits as a sports better would never lean to that. Now I can't speak if you're 20 years old and listen, there's something like in college betting someone 50 bucks when your team's playing their team. Totally. I mean I'm not acting like I've never done something like that, but as a consistent gambler, I like gambling on the game more than I do against other individuals. So like there's a reason that, you know, the DraftKings sponsorship that we have works so well for me personally. One, I invested in the company in my brokerage account. Two, I've, I gamble heavily on sports just because I like to. I mean I've gambled Pretty probably put 7, 8 bets on the March Madness and I don't even watch college basketball. But I'm a fucking American and I.

[John Middlekauff]

Like to gamble and it's like I.

[Colin Cowherd]

Gotta have a little action on this and it's fun but it also for.

[John Middlekauff]

Me and we're all different.

[Colin Cowherd]

Like when I put 100 bucks on Arkansas to make the Final Four. I was on the edge of my seat watching Arkansas play Texas Tech and while they lost and I didn't even get the opportunity to see that bet through one more game, that $100 was worth the price. It was like I was at the game. It was incredible. For me, I get highs from entertainment. You know, I've been watching sports for.

[John Middlekauff]

So long that besides football, which is.

[Colin Cowherd]

Extremely intriguing to me because I'm going to do podcast topics off it. So I do this for a living. But it's just I'm always thinking like how can I make something interesting off what Mike Vrabel just said or what the 49ers just did.

[John Middlekauff]

A lot of especially when it comes.

[Colin Cowherd]

To basketball or baseball or even the hockey playoffs. Like, listen, it's I do want to pay attention to the NBA playoffs. Well, it's much easier if I place a couple bets on teams to win like the the Western and Eastern Conference. So I like gambling from an entertainment standpoint because I don't care. I do not care who wins.

[John Middlekauff]

I have no horse in the race.

[Colin Cowherd]

When it came to March Madness, I didn't give a shit who won beside.

[John Middlekauff]

The teams that I bet on.

[Colin Cowherd]

So that that's how I gamble when it comes to sports is I gamble less to like oh I beat my buddy and more like I just won money. It's honestly one of the last things in this in my life that kind of gets my juices flowing like I would not having just one. I think I put 150 bucks on Arkansas would have paid like 1500 dollars. I it was riveting. I can't still can't believe they blew it. But it's like that's how I get my entertainment.

[John Middlekauff]

And as you get older like I.

[Colin Cowherd]

Don'T not many things entertain me anymore. That'll do a good question.

[John Middlekauff]

The volume Whether you're teeing off, headed into the office or kicking back to watch the big game, Travis Matthew has you covered. They create versatile apparel designed to make.

[Colin Cowherd]

You look and feel your best wherever life takes you.

[John Middlekauff]

From performance driven styles to everyday essentials for men and women, Travis Matthew bridges the gap between style and comfort I.

[Colin Cowherd]

Was just in Nashville, got married and we had some parties to attend. I rocked the Travis Matthew jeans the entire time.

[John Middlekauff]

Extremely versatile, can wear with tennis shoes, with dress shoes, with boots. The style makes me look better ready to elevate your everyday visit travismathieu.com and get 20% off your first order when.

[Colin Cowherd]

You sign up for email.

[Jeremy Hobson]

We live in a divided country, and our media couldn't be more polarizing. That's why we started the Middle with Jeremy Hobson. It's about bringing voices not from the extremes, but from the vast middle into the national conversation. Each week, we hear from ordinary Americans from all over the country. And when you subscribe to the Middle, you also get an episode each week called One Thing Trump did that focuses on just one item from the avalanche of news. Listen to the Middle with Jeremy Hobson on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.