← The Herd with Colin Cowherd
The Herd with Colin Cowherd
Justin Tucker suspended, NBA Draft vs. NFL Draft, NFL players are more relatable
01:09:25
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- [00:00]
John Middlecoff
This is an I Heart podcast. You know we love talking stats here on the Odd Couple with Rob Parker and Kelvin Washington. Here's one that's super simple to remember. Discover automatically doubles the cash back you've earned on your credit card at the end of your first year with Cash Back Match. That means with Discover you could turn $150 cash back to $300. That's right, you could put it towards some memorabilia you've had your eye on. Or treat yourself to a premium sports network you earn and Discover doubles see terms@discover.com Credit Card AI is redefining what's possible for your business. With more unique challenges to solve and higher stakes than ever, Microsoft helps you stay ahead. Our trustworthy AI tools and guidance can empower leaders like you to drive greater impact. And with Azure's simplified platform management, we're helping businesses go further, faster, unlocking up to 150% improved output. Whatever challenge comes next, let Microsoft help you keep pushing forward. For more details, visit Microsoft.com challengers Time.
- [01:17]
Zoe Saldana
Is precious and so are our pets. So time with our pets is extra precious. That's why we started Dutch. Dutch provides 247 access to life licensed vets with unlimited virtual visits and follow ups for up to five pets. You can message a vet at any time and schedule a video visit the same day. Our vets can even prescribe medication for many ailments and shipping is always free. With Dutch, you'll get more time with your pets and year round peace of mind when it comes to their vet care.
- [01:47]
Katie Couric
On the latest episode of Next Question with me, Katie Couric. I sat down with Jasmine Crockett, Democratic Representative of Texas, and she's holding down the fort for her party in one of the most conservative states in the union.
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Jasmine Crockett
I think that ultimately who will become the Democratic nominee for president will be someone that has been out there and has shown that they won't allow themselves to be punched and just say thank you like they will punch back.
- [02:13]
Katie Couric
Listen to Next Question with me, Katie Couric on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.
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Unknown
The volume.
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John Middlecoff
What is going on everybody? John Middlecoft Arena Podcast back in the studios in Scottsdale, Arizona where it's really hot and today we'll talk a little football because Justin Tucker was suspended by the NFL, probably ending his career. So we'll dive off to into that off the top couple things. Arch Manning some parallels with Cooper Flag. I thought there was a symbolic moment in the Oklahoma City Thunders celebration and how it relates to the popularity between football and basketball. Robert Kraft had some comments and terms of his franchise. Aaron Rodgers obviously always the topic. We'll do a little mailbag as well. A lot of you guys asking about the the television experience and want to hit on a couple things there. In terms of Colin, I mean it was like I got a front row seat to watch like Steph Curry just shoot threes. It was like, God, this guy's so good at his job. Was inspiring week to see Colin up close and personal. Just cook on a show. So we'll touch on that as well as Fugazi Friday. Plain Internet man, that's I do want to dive into something Fugazi Friday and we'll do a big mailbag at John Middlekop at John Middlekopf. Is the instagram firing those DMs. Get your questions answered here on the show. Fourth of July is next week, my favorite holiday by far. Sun, pool, lake, beers, America. Just combination of everything I love. So we'll get ready for 4th of July next week. I don't quite have my schedule dialed in for next week, but we'll dial it in. I'll keep you updated. We'll have a couple podcasts next week though, for sure. Other than that, make sure you subscribe to 3Now podcast, obviously everything up on YouTube as well and then, yeah, keep you covered. So as long as you're subscribed to the podcast, subscribe to the YouTube channel. You will not miss a thing. But first, before we dive in, do some football. You know, I need to tell you about my friends, my partners and the official ticketing app of this podcast, Game Time. Best ticketing app in America. Do you guys want to do something? The summer is here. I mean, this is a great time to go to a baseball game. Rick Patino said when he was on on with Coward, he's like, you know what I like to do? I like going to a Yankees game and just sitting there and having a beer and just relaxing. Like, you know what? There is something pretty special about going to a Major league baseball game in June, July or August. Sun's out, having a tall, maybe a little overpriced brewski and just chilling. And now, especially with the Nets, you don't even need to worry about the ball coming for your face. So you just get to enjoy it. So if you want to go to a baseball game, football's not that far away. Concerts, comedy shows, they have you covered. So take the guesswork out of buying tickets with GameTime. Download the GameTime app. Now create an account and use the code JOHN for $20 off your first purchase terms apply. Again, create an account, redeem the code JOHN for $20 off. Download the game Timeout today. Last minute tickets, lowest price guaranteed. I've heard that a lot in my career. Let's start with the breaking news today. And I've said this forever. When it comes to these situations, everyone has a million takes, especially with social media. No one actually knows except the people involved. Even the NFL, the teams, they never know, they take educated guesses. I mean, some of these teams and these leagues obviously have, I would say, private investigator type people working for them and trying to glean information, but they're not the police. They can't serve a warrant. And today, when Justin Tucker was suspended for 10 games, I think it unofficially ended his career. Now you could argue his career ended when the Ravens cut him. And I would say it was very much in jeopardy. I would say now it's unofficially over. No one's ever touching him. And I think the league suspended him. Maybe more information comes out by the time that you hear this over the next 12, 18 hours. But it's not like he has said that he's guilty. It's not like that he has made a decision to strike some deal with these women. So his stance hasn't changed. And I think they look back on the DeSean Watson situation. Remember before DeSean got suspended, it played out in the public eye for a long time. And, and guess what? That's bad for business. Now I think we all agree that if you are a multi million millionaire famous athlete and you are dabbling with massage therapists over and over and over, you're a fucking clown. Like you're a loser. You deserve anything that comes your way in terms of if shit hits go sideways, even if they are down, it's like that's probably not a great decision. You don't need to be doing this now. I'm not some moral high horse guy. I don't care. You're married, you're not married. Everyone can make their own decisions. But Justin Tucker put himself in this situation, clearly, and just like Deshaun Watson and the league wants no part of it. And unlike desean Watson years ago he was going to be given other opportunities because at the time people went, well, he's a young quarterback, you're an old kicker who wasn't making kicks last year. See you, adios, sayonara. No one's going to feel bad for you, right, wrong or indifferent, because again, we have no information. I don't think the NFL has information to know, you know, in concrete that the guy's guilty. I don't think they care, you know, what? They want him to go away. And sometimes when your talent exceeds, you know, in terms of what you bring off the field, in terms of problems and issues, you can get away with stuff. We've seen it forever. Actresses, actors, people in music, obviously athletes, but all those people, and specifically in sports, where there is a cut and dry, you either produce or you don't. And the moment you stop producing, see you later. And there is no position that gets quicker thrown over, you know, the side of the boat than a special teams position. So Justin Tucker, who for a long period of time, I think was considered, at least in my life, the best kicker. You would say Vinatieri was the most clutch, but just in terms of talent. A guy that was the ultimate weapon, who could kick in the elements from 60 plus yards. Remember, he had a 65 whatever yard game winner against the Lions. I think it's safe to say that thing is over. Mainly because we don't want to deal with your headlines anymore. So it's going to say former NFL player, former Baltimore Raven in the headlines when Justin Tucker is dealing with this situation moving forward. The draft. I'm a sucker for the draft. There was an incredible shot after the Miami Heat made a draft pick. And Pat Riley, who honestly looks incredible for 80 years old, as someone who just looked at myself on tv, I'm like, God, I am a fattest. I need to go on a massive summer diet. No more sugars, no more desserts. It's over. Like, it's just like I've been eating way too many sugars. I see it. I see some of these guys. It's like, what is Pat Riley eating? I want his diet. And obviously he's got good genetics. But their draft room is literally just on a basketball court in the facility. Now, in fairness, in the NBA, unlike the NFL, the draft's a little different. It's not as important. I mean, good teams sometimes go years without even having picks. It doesn't necessarily matter. In the NFL, the draft room is kind of a special holy place in the. In the building slash facility. Like, it's a really big deal. I remember the first time I ever walked in the draft room when I got hired in Philly. It felt like I had made it, like I had climbed Mount Everest. I'm like, I'm actually in a place where players are drafted. That's not the case in the NBA. It's not an apples to apples comparison, but I do think the power of any draft and it's no different in the NFL or the NBA though the NFL is much deeper. Right. You know, we don't expect you to find a starter, help to find a guy that might be on your roster in the 20s. If you find a rotational guy in the NBA, that's like your eighth or ninth band at pick 26, that's a home run. We expect you to find Pro Bowlers on the second day, several starters on the third day, like undrafted free agents that will make your team. So it's, it's completely different. But drafts are star driven. And we saw last night with Cooper Flag, who is just a big, big time basketball star and a big, big time basketball prospect. And it was interesting. And I was watching though my takeaway and I was watching on my iPad in the, on the plane. It's Fugazi Friday. By the way. I have a good fugazi coming up that I. The draft coverage was terrible. I mean I, I'm not trying to be an asshole or anything. Live tv, tough, I get it. But whatever was going on, I was watching on espn. It's the worst draft coverage I've ever seen. Honestly, I was embarrassed. If I was Adam Silver, like there has to be some sort of discussion, we got to do better. Like this can't, this can't be where we're at. If it was the NFL, people would have freaked. I couldn't get over how terrible, I mean, terrible the product was, truly. And as someone that I watched the Major League Baseball draft, I'm a sucker for drafts. It couldn't have been much worse. I mean, listen, having Kendrick Perkins. What the fuck are you guys doing? Embarrassment. But that's a conversation for another day. I do think when you look at the NFL draft, like pretty dependent. The biggest drafts typically have star quarterbacks. And I think the one thing about this upcoming year in college football. And listen, there are some big name guys that are returning, right? Ness Meyer is one of them. Sellers at South Carolina. Arch Manning is the headliner and he's really not even played. I would say that Arch Manning coming into the season, he's the Heisman favorite. Most people think Texas has the talent to compete slash win a national championship. They opened the season against Ohio State, week one. I mean, what a game. I don't remember a guy getting so much hype coming into the year without ever playing. I mean, typically. And viewed as the number one overall draft pick. If you think in Recent memory, Caleb Williams and Trevor Lawrence, both those guys started playing from their freshman year. Trevor won the job as a true freshman. Caleb Williams came in in the middle of that year with Spencer Rattler and they never look back. And then their hype by their sophomore year became because of what they were doing on the field. The Arch Manning hype is really all, he's a Manning and obviously huge nil, big time recruit. Like he's got the physical characteristics we think, but what's it actually going to look like? And I would expect Ohio State, Texas to, I don't want to say set records because I mean some of these games the last couple of years have had a lot of people watching, but if you told me 15 million people watch that at 9am Pacific Standard Time on August 30th, I'd believe you because everyone's going to want to watch this player. And I will say this. If Arch Manning plays well, let's say it's pretty clear like he's pretty good, win or lose that game. Because now at the College Football Playoff, even if you, even if Texas were to lose, hell, they could probably lose two more games and still make the, the, you know, to the playoffs. But definitely that, that, that win or losing that game for either one of those teams does not determine whether they are going to win the national championship or be in the Final Four. We saw that last year, hell with Ohio State who didn't even play in their conference championship game. But I will say this. If he, if he plays well in that game, if you think the hype's strong now and the hype is huge. And Steve Spurrier said last week, how could a guy be this hyped and not beat out a seventh round pick on his own team? And he's not alone. I've seen other people say that, like how, how could Arch Manning not beat out Quinn yours? Quinn Ewers was lucky to be drafted. It's like, well, there were some variables. The nil factors in Arch Manning being, I mean let's face it, coming from wealth and money and a family that has perspective on the sport in the business is also different. If his name was instead Arch Manning, it was Arch Middle cough. And he was like every other college football player. Yeah, they probably would have had to make a decision last year. You're either starting this guy who's going to go in the transfer portal and he's going to be starting at Alabama, he's going to be starting at Georgia, he's going to be starting in Florida, he's going to be starting wherever, but you better make him the starter or he's gone. They got lucky that they weren't forced. And the other thing was the year before, never forget, it's the biggest bet I've ever made. I put almost $8,000 on the University of Washington Calyn DeBoer against that Texas team. I love their advantage. I came within a couple of yards of losing all that money because Quinn Ewers in Texas was driving to win the game. And at the end of the that was the Final Four. This wasn't a bowl game. This was the final Four to go to the national championship, where obviously Washington wins and then gets her ass kicked by Jim Harbaugh in Michigan. But it's not like Texas had been an 8 and 5 team the year previously. Quinn, yours was coming off a season where they were one of the four best teams in the country and had Washington, who was in the national championship, had a chance to win that game. With a couple minutes left to go. I think it was like actually under a minute. So a lot of variables. I understand why he sat, but now that he's playing, the hype is going to be outrageous. Marcus Thompson, who writes for the Athletic, he's, he's based in the Bay Area. He has covered the warriors ever since I've left the Eagles and come back. And I would say this about Marcus. No one has a better and closer relationship in the media with Steph Curry than Marcus Thompson. And I would say he knows the warriors as well as any human being alive that covers sports. He was covering the Finals, I think, for the Athletic and put something out the other day that said after the celebration for the Oklahoma City Thunder, that he's, he's never seen a more tempered and less enthusiastic celebration, especially when it came to drinking. He's like, the guys didn't even know how to order champagne, let alone half of them had never even drank a beer. And I've been saying this for a while, that one thing the NFL has going for itself right now is relatability. And I think basketball. Rick Pitino said the other day, he's like, 20, 30 years ago, he's like, when I got involved in the NBA in the 90s, basketball, the NBA and the NFL were like this. College football and college basketball were like this. Everything was even. And I agree, in the 90s, the NBA with Michael Jordan and its group of stars surrounding him were fucking enormous. They were more important culturally to the sports consumer than clearly they are now. The ratings speak for themselves. I Also think their guys had a relatability like NFL. Michael Jordan drank beers. Michael Jordan gambled. Dwyane Wade and LeBron James sip wine. Now, these players do not drink. Now, you could argue culturally, Gen Z drinks less than any generation in the history of America. Yet when I watch the NFL guys, hell, you see tight end University. Who are they? Sponsored by Bud Light. What were all the star players that were at that concert the other night? Were Taylor Swift doing shotgunning and slamming beers? I remember for the last couple years when the Kansas City Chiefs have won the AFC championship or a playoff game, Creed Humphries and Trey Smith, they're two linemen, go in to the concourse, go to a bar and order 12, like, 10, 12 packs of Bud Light and carry it all back in the locker room. And you're going to think I'm crazy. But I promise you this, the drinking element of football, knowing that these players just slam beers is an element that the NBA has lost. And when I saw that celebration and these guys have never tried beer, I went, it's kind of weird. I really believe that. And you can say, middle God, you're fucking nuts. This is so stupid. Okay, like, there's a reason that. One thing I think that's so stupid is the LeBron and Jordan debate, because no one's ever changing their mind. But one element of someone like me, and I think most people in my life agree with me on Michael, is we dislike Michael Moore. Michael, in a weird way, for a guy that's actually not that relatable, does more relatable things. Charles Barkley, like, is outspoken about how much he, like, drinks and hangs out, plays golf, just kicks it. And I think there's an element that. To that to the football guys. And I was talking at. When I was at the hotel with Rick Bucher, and we were discussing, like, how the players have changed and how, you know, it's hard for players now to listen to coaches. We're talking about the basketball players, and it's very rare. You just saw Thibodeau getting fired. You know, in football, most. Most of us human beings, right, Whether it's our wife, whether it's who we work for, we're constantly getting either yelled at, coached criticized. We're kind of used to it. Well, basketball players, like, it's never my fault. It's always someone else's fault. So it's like I'm always pointing the blame on someone else and they get fired. And let's face it, in fairness to the basketball players, an average player now makes 25, 30 million dollars. Right. I mean, it's Max Crosby makes 30 million, Miles Garrett makes 30 million dollars. You get mid level stars making 38, 40 million dollars. So from a financial standpoint, they're living in La la land. And then the way their lives work in terms of they don't have to listen to anyone. That is definitely not relatable. Because if you're a football player, literally every position, especially lineman. So even if I'm Trent Williams or Myles Garrett, my coach is on my ass when I screw up. And there's a humility that comes with that. Why? Because I'm used to, I would say getting criticized, getting pushed, getting pointed in a different direction than I believe is true. It's a very humanizing thing. And I'm telling you the symbolism of the basketball guys not drinking at all, which is understandable. They're a league. I would say their weed use is probably 100%. Most of their guys are getting stoned out of their mind and playing video games. Not that that doesn't happen in the NFL, but I would say they have an isolated feel that football still has more of a crossover appeal. And that's something no one ever talks about. But I promise you, I'm a big believer that there is like an unquantifiable part of that that resonates with human beings. And the culture of football resonates with more Americans than the culture of basketball. Pro golfers drive for show in Pufferdale. 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Unknown
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Zoe Saldana
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- [27:27]
John Middlecoff
A couple other things. Robert Kraft called the last two years the worst years of his ownership and it's like, well, yeah, Robert, one. Listen, the Belichick thing got weird at the end. They didn't have a quarterback. It was an embarrassment. But for 20 plus years, the Patriots were the equivalent of like striking oil. It'd be like living in the nicest house in the neighborhood, flying private jets, eating anywhere they wanted, going to any country club they wanted. They were, they were the elites, and everyone idolized what they had. And these last couple years, it's like, it probably felt like they lost everything. And for Robert Kraft, it's like what you went through for 20 years with Bill and Brady, one that's never going to happen again. It's just the equivalent. What they just did would be like the Chiefs maintaining this for another 13. The Chiefs have gone seven years living high on the hog. And ask any Chiefs fan, probably, like, this has been fucking incredible. This has been unreal. This has been awesome. But if it went 15 years, that means more than double what it's already been. That would be insane. It's not going to happen. And listen, the age when Belichick took over for the Patriots, I think he was 49 or 50 years old. You know, Andy is now in his mid-60s, so even for him to go another 10 years, he'd be in his mid-70s. Is he going to be coaching then? You know, I think that's. It's fair to say that might be unlikely. But I think the NFL and these owners are so big on, like, everyone having a good time. And Mike Lombardi, before he went with Belichick, used to talk about this like, they're so big on committees and everyone having a football is not a good time. It just isn't football in a weird way. The games are fun, but the process of the grind of working out, of training, of practicing, of film study, it's not all like, rainbows, unicorns and smiles. It's a lot of F bombs. It's a lot of sleepless nights. It's a lot of people on edge. And even I made a comment when Julian Edelman was on the show and I was like, you know this. The Niner schedule is really easy. He took offense to that. You know why? Because for 15 years, when he was in the Patriots operation and in their building, if you ever mentioned out loud an opponent wasn't good enough, opponents easy, this is going to be an easy win. You would have been lit the fuck up. He can't even comprehend that, which I totally understand. And he's not living in the world I am, where I just look at a schedule, I go, that's an easy win. That's an easy win. That's not how Belichick operated. That's not how most, most coaches operate. And while Vrabel is different than Bill, one of the reasons he was run out of Tennessee is like, people were on edge. It wasn't a fun environment for the owner. So if you want to win in the NFL, most guys are not. Andy Reid, where he's like, pretty happy, in a good mood. Kyle Shanahan is miserable. LaFleur doesn't seem Mr. Happy all the time. You think the Harbaugh brothers are like, smile ear to ear on a daily basis. You think Tomlin's just thrilled every day walking through the front door. Part of winning in the NFL, which brings a ton of money. Ask the Crafts what all those wins meant for their bank account. A lot comes with people being pissed off, comes with people being angry. Comes with an edge to your organization. So I get it sucks to lose. It does. I mean, no one would argue that. But to think, even if you just start winning again, it's going to be fun. I mean, part of the reason you ran Belichick out because he wouldn't listen to you, but you couldn't fire him when he was winning, even though you didn't like him. So I think sometimes people want their cake and to eat it, too. It's like, I love this beautiful girl who's tall, cooks, cleans, who makes a bunch of money, who leaves me alone on the weekends, let me play golf great in bed. It's like, yeah, good luck, have fun. Probably not going to find that. Last but not least, Rogers. We have seen the end of some of these quarterbacks, his contemporaries, right? Tom, Peyton, Breeze, Roethlisberger, all these guys are going to go hall of Fame, and they've all ended a little bit differently. And I would say the one thing Tom differs from Peyton, Breeze and Ben is those guys fell apart physically. Peyton Manning, his last year, could not throw the ball. Drew Brees, I think I saw a headline the other day that said when he plays catch with his children, he has to use his left hand because his right. His right arm doesn't work. He has such bad arthritis in his shoulder. Obviously, Roethlisberger, once he had the Tommy John, it kind of stopped working. And Tom Brady was 45. He no longer wanted to get hit. Don't blame him. But physically, he was the same as he was at 40 or 35 years old. His arm still worked as well as it had been for years. The problem is, team wasn't as good. Remember, they couldn't run the ball his last season with Tampa, and they. He had to throw the ball nonstop and their offensive line had some injuries and he was getting peppered. So when I look at Aaron Rodgers, to me there are only just two outcomes. Like one, his body in terms of his arm is fine. He can still throw the ball. Maybe he doesn't throw the ball as well as when he was 30 years old. But like his arm strength relative to the rest of the NFL is not only more than capable, he probably is still top six seven arm in the league. So to me, I'm not worried about like Breeze, Peyton Manning and Drew Brees, his arm not working. But I do think it's fair to say can you stay healthy? I mean, last year clearly he got injured a couple times, he kind of battled through it and he was a shell of himself. Obviously two years ago he tore his Achilles. So to me it's like, can he stay healthy for 17 games? Because if you tell me right now that Aaron Rodgers starts 17 games, I go, yeah, I can see them being pretty good. But you know, when you compare him to the far of year with Minnesota or even that Peyton Manning year with his last year when his arm didn't work, those teams were loaded. Peyton Manning had the best defense in the NFL that year. That defense is one of the best defenses I've ever seen. And clearly he didn't have to do that much, right? Favre had Adrian Peterson, who was like 23 years old, rushing for 15, 20 touchdowns a year. So when you look and I texted a buddy in the league, I said, how good do you think the Steelers are? He's like, I think their roster this year compared to last year is pretty similar. He's like, I, you're a little higher on the the Iowa running back than me, but he should be good for them. The defensive tackle they drafted in the first round, solid. Obviously if TJ is healthy, their defense should be pretty good if TJ and Minka can stay on the field. But yeah, I mean, that's probably pretty similar to what they've been. So really their only hope for them to be improved would be Rogers being healthy and playing well. And one thing that's difficult, and this is where the fav comparison with Minnesota is. When you're old, playing in a dome is a lot easier playing outside in the AFC north in games that are 20, 30 degrees are hard on your body or hard on your joints, even if you're used to doing it. I don't think it's random that Tom Brady excelled for a couple years, leaving New England down to a warm weather climate. Like, obviously Rogers and Tom flourished in cold weather for a long time. Right. But once you get older and listen, I can speak to this like, I hate the cold. I don't want to be part of it. Especially as your body, like, parts of your body that hurt, that used to not hurt. Heat is easier on it. Playing inside is easier on it. It's why we can be critical of certain quarterbacks over the years. Like, yeah, Jared Goff has some limitations outside. Guess what? He played for LA and now Detroit in a dome. Yeah, Brock Purdy's not a great weather quarterback. He plays in fucking Santa Clara. Doesn't impact him as much. So that to me is something to keep an eye on the cold, how it's on his body and can the guy stay healthy? Because listen, he's going to be a huge story all season long. Everything he says, everyone has an opinion on it. He also says some things like, you're never going to see me again. I saw someone's like, aaron, you tried to become the Jeopardy. Host while you were an NFL quarterback. Like, let's not act like you don't love the limelight. And listen, I got no problem with him loving the limelight, but just embrace it. I always say this about LeBron. Just, just embrace that. You get people traded all the time. You can't take the, you know, the stance. Like, I got nothing to do with it. I'm just a player. Just along for the ride. No, just embrace it, bro. We all know it's okay. Aaron, you like being up in the lights, it's fine. I don't blame you. Just, just put your arms around it. Quick. Fugazi Friday for those that are my age and older. We grew up in a time when the Internet didn't exist, or at least the Internet didn't exist in all of our homes. And then we went through a transition where we had this thing called dial up Internet. And back in the late 90s, early 2000s, the thought of streaming television shows or streaming movies wasn't just foreign, it was. You couldn't even comprehend it. Within, you know, middle end of the decade, all that stuff was rocking and rolling. It was a big deal when you could download songs. But we have come accustomed to, if you say you have Internet, right? Especially even a hotel, right? If you say, hey, we provide the Internet. I do have standards of like, okay, I understand that I might not be able to stream a podcast or a draft show from a hotel room. I get that. But if I can't stream Netflix from my iPad. From your hotel Internet you should basically just say you don't have Internet. One thing with planes is, you know, a couple. It was last year when I went to the Ohio, the Oklahoma, Texas game. I flew back on jsx, which you pay a little bit more. It's like you kind of get treated like a private airport. You just. You don't have to wait in line. You walk right in. It's like instead of paying $200 for a flight, maybe it's 350, $400. It's an incredible experience. They don't fly everywhere, but they had Starlink Internet. And I remember me and Maria were flying back and it was Sunday morning and I watched, I think it was who was playing. Was it Chicago, Minnesota? It was some international game. So we flew at 6:37 in the morning. Watch the Internet, Starlink Internet. It was like I was at my house, but I'm flying on Delta and they charge you $10 for Internet. So you're like, hey, listen, I don't even fly Delta. So I'm like, I bet this Internet's pretty good. And I actually rarely pay for Internet because my expectations are pretty low. Like, I'll pay 1099 for Internet and then you get the Internet and nothing works. I do have a hard time in 2025. Any company charging for Internet, if the Internet, literally, I can't even like bring up fucking Instagram. Like, that's not Internet. That's a fugazi you're charging me for. If you are going to charge someone for Internet, it better at least have the basic capabilities. I better be able to like type in Google and it just show up. I'm not asking to download 17 movies up in the air. I get it, you're gonna have some limitations. But I was like, I downloaded it and thought, this is fucking nuts. This really is crazy. It does not work yet. I just paid 9.95 or 10.95. It's like, you shouldn't be able to charge for something that would with the Internet that does not stream anything or has no capabilities to get to the Internet. So kind of drove me nuts. But before we get out of here, I wanted to welcome everyone to Chasing Challenges 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, responsible technology to turn challenges into opportunities. In this segment, we'll explore some of the biggest challenges being faced in the NFL and how they can overcome what challenge you're facing Microsoft empowers you with the expertise to say, bring it on. This week we're discussing the challenge faced to you by NFL teams with lame duck GMs and head coaches. I saw a story today that Jason Light and Todd Bowles have been extended and the gm, you know, Todd, I think is flirted with retirement the last couple years. Obviously, he just got paid. The GM in football now with the cap rising, with the complexity of these contracts has never been more important. If you look at the best teams, they all got the best GMs. Obviously, coach is extremely important as well, but the GM position in the NFL to me has never been more important. You could argue the NBA too, with all the different, you know, salary cap floors and different aprons. Like, you have to be really dynamic. You need to understand money, you need to understand player, the ability to evaluate talent. You got to be able to kind of put it all under one umbrella and kind of balance it all. So it's, it's very, very important. And I think one thing, these owners, you know, let's face it, they have proven at times to be cheap over the grass on the field. It's like, guys, your highest paid employees are on that grass or that turf. Wouldn't you want the best possible thing on the ground to limit the injuries to their lower extremities? They're like, no, we'll just, we'll take the cheaper turf. Like, what are you doing? Tampa is a good example for a long time, you know, for most of my adult life, from Gruden to a bunch of different guys in the 2010s to now, Jason Light going through some different coaches, they've kind of bounced around. And I think the Glazers realize, like, we got a star at gm. We are going to build our organization. Obviously, whenever Todd retires, Jason will hire another coach around this guy. And you have seen teams like the Cowboys that are like, yeah, we're just going to let Mike McCarthy's contract, let's take him into a lame duck year. That is such bad business. Either fire the guy or extend the guy. And sometimes I think it's stupid. It's like, listen, it's, it's sports. A lot of players playing the last year of their contract. But it's also like, is this how you want to operate a business worth 5 billion, 8 billion, 6 billion? Pretty bad management. So Tampa under Jason Light, extending them is the right thing to do. And props to them that is this week for chasing challenges. Remember, Microsoft's AI Solutions 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. You know, we all have a bunch of credit cards, connections to hotels or airlines or a number of things, and I don't think we realize that those points and miles, they lose value when they collect dust. So think about this. A credit card with rewards that actually grows. Introducing the Gemini Credit Card. And with this credit card, you can earn Bitcoin or one of over 50 other cryptos instantly with no annual fee. So every time you go to the grocery store, you. You go to the gas station, you go out for a night on the town, you earn instant rewards deposited straight into your account. Plus sign up now for a $200 bitcoin bonus to kickstart your rewards. Go to gemini.comjohn to learn more and start earning today. Terms apply again. Visit gemini.comjohan now. Terms apply. The Gemini credit card is issued by Web Bank. In order to Qualify for the Intro 200 crypto bonus, your application must be approved by June 30, 2025 and spend 3,000 your first 90 days. Terms apply. Some exclusions apply to instant rewards, in which rewards are deposited when the transaction posts. This content is not investment advice and Trading Crypto involves risk. For more details on rates, fees and other Gemini credit card terms, see Rates and fees. Go to gemini.comjohn to learn more and start earning today.
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Unknown
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Thanks. And here's my old phone to trade in.
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I feel like I have to give you something in return for karma.
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That's okay.
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I don't really have much in my purse. Oh, let's see. Hand sanitizer. It's lavender.
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I'm good. Seriously?
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John Middlecoff
Hmm.
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Unknown
Let me check this pocket. Oh, mints.
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Really, I'm fine.
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Oh, I have raisins. I'm a mom. Wait, wait one sec. I've got cupcakes in the car.
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- [45:04]
Jasmine Crockett
Cancel CT mobile.com I think Democrats have for a very long time allowed Republicans to play them. So essentially Republicans came up with a narrative and Democrats decided to play into that. And that only hurt the Democrats.
- [45:20]
Katie Couric
I'm Katie Couric. Jasmine Crockett, Democratic representative of Texas, is not known for holding back. And our recent chat on Next Question is no exception. But when you hear how she got to where she is, her intensity makes perfect sense.
- [45:37]
Jasmine Crockett
It's just hard to imagine a world where you don't have enough people that care to do right by people. And so that same passion that carried me through as a public defender, that led me to want to change laws and thinking about the harm that will happen not just to my constituents, but just generally like I carry that weight.
- [46:01]
Katie Couric
With me because you've seen it up close.
- [46:04]
Jasmine Crockett
Yeah.
- [46:05]
Katie Couric
Listen to Next question with me, Katie Couric on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.
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Unknown
I know a lot of cops and they get asked all the time, have you ever had to shoot your gun? Sometimes the answer is yes. But there's a company dedicated to a future where the answer will always be no.
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Across the country, cops call this Taser the revolution.
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John Middlecoff
I get right back there and it's bad. It's really, really, really bad.
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Unknown
Listen to new episodes of Absolute Season 1 Taser Incorporated on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. Binge episodes 1, 2 and 3 on May 21 and episodes 4, 5 and 6 on June 4 ad free at Lava for Good plus on Apple podcast.
- [47:29]
John Middlecoff
Okay, let's do a little mailbag for the people here @johnmittlecoff. @johnmittlecoff. Is the Instagram firing those DMs. Get your questions answered here on this little old podcast. Question for the pot Senior recently on the herd. You did a good job. Appreciate you buddy. What is it why is everyone underselling the Vikings? I understand winning 14 games isn't realistic, especially with a new quarterback. But they improved both their offensive and defensive lines. Still have Brian Flores and a defense that is secretly one of the best last year with a handful of pro Bowlers obviously plenty of fire on offense and not to mention they resigned the reigning head coach of the year to a new five year deal. So what is missing? Does the quarterback change matter that much? Why does this team's coaching staff organization get as much respect and benefit? Why don't they get as much respect and benefit the doubt as others? You're making a major change. I mean a major change for let's just say the last five years or since o' Connell's been there. You guys, I think two years ago or three years ago when you lost the Giants nine and eight, you know, Kevin o' Connell, unreal. Regular season coach, playoffs, needs to win a playoff game. But listen, I'm not trying to shield on the guy, he's a good coach. Floor is their coaching staff's awesome. Cousins was throwing a bunch of touchdowns, right? Cousins was really good player for them. Pro bowl level guy Sam Darnold last year. I don't have the stats in front of me. He throw 35, 36 touchdowns like he was excellent. He basically just replaced Cousins and if anything was more mobile. Now you have a guy who's never played an NFL game ever, who's coming from an offense in college where he didn't play like they have played. So I do think it's fair to go. How's this going to go? What happens in some of these tie games in the fourth quarter packers like how does he play? What happens when he gets blitzed? He's never seen that blitz before. I just don't know. So I do think it's fair to go. It's not an indictment on the organization. Head coach is good, defensive coordinator is good, roster is good. You could obviously they're better than good. They're all high end. If we did a coach draft, Kevin o' Connell get drafted in like the top five floor is I don't know him and Fangio Salah, I mean some of the best defensive coordinator in the league roster's top two or three. But the fucking quarterback, I got no clue. And I'm not anti JJ McCarthy but I can't just chalk a quarterback that I've never seen play up to 12, 13 wins or make the playoffs. You can't do that. I mean, you just do not know. Usually young Quarterbacks get to like a soft landing spot, right? Like typically if, if I hire you even out of college, out of Harvard or Stanford or whatever, I'm not giving you are like the biggest meeting day one, it's like, yeah, we need you to land this Goldman Sachs deal. He's just, you better, you better do it. And this is not college. The coach can only do so much. He can help you out and maybe he can run the ball a little bit more. But philosophically, I've seen Kevin, he likes to pass because he had chances to run the ball a little bit more last year when Sam was imploding, kept going passes. So he's going to call passes. Rightfully so. He's got the best wide receiver in the league. Excellent tight end, awesome number two wide receiver. Can JJ do that? I. I don't know. I don't know. So that's, that's, that's my only reservation. And that's everyone's reservation. What's up with the quarterback? Can he play? No one knows. Including them? Including them. I saw that you said on the Herd that your prediction about Kyler not being on the Cardinals, it got me thinking, where would he go next year? I think the Steelers could be a great fit with Tomlin having a no bullshit coaching style. But I could also see a team like the Raiders picking him up. Do you think the Steelers is the best fit for Kyler? Should the Cardinals move on after this year? Me and Coward did a couple things where we did the AFC and NFC and we each like picked three different stories, like kind of quote unquote bold predictions or whatever. And one of mine was that this will be Kyler Murray's last year on the Cardinals. And let me say this, I don't think Kyler's bad. Like I think he's actually one of the more polarizings the wrong way to head scratching quarterbacks because on an individual play basis, on a highlight package basis, he's good as any quarterback in the league. The individual plays he can make are elite. But like over the course of a game sometimes you'll just be watching me like, what is going on? He makes a ton of money. This is a team that I think it's incredible you being a coward. They got all these like stats guys feeding your stats. They finished like second or last in the division five of the last six years. So they have not won a lot. He's making a ton of money. Next year is like the last year where his contracts I think like $38 million guaranteed or something he still. Even if they win seven, eight games again, his value because he's going to make so many plays is not terrible. You'd still be able to trade him for like a second round pick. But how often can a guy go and not make the playoffs year after year at quarterback when he's making a lot of money with a GM and a head coach that didn't draft him? So now the Cardinals could make the play. Like they actually could be decent. They got a lot of good players, but it's like, I don't know, am I taking Jonathan gannon over? Like McVeigh and Kyle? Obviously McVeigh is going to be the favorite to win the division. I think the Niners are going to be good. So I just think something. Something's got to give. With the Kyler Murray situation and the Steelers, I think his market would be pretty interesting. Trying to think who else would be out there. Steelers, definitely. The Jets. I could see. I mean, this Fields thing is going to be a disaster. The Giants, I guess they got Jackson Dart, but who knows? Yeah, I mean, the Steelers, Aaron Rodgers, he's playing one more season. He basically just said the Steelers have no backup plan at quarterback. So they're kind of in the situation that the Colts have been in for a long time. Just year to year. We'll just. And I don't blame them. Like, what are they supposed to do? We'll just figure it out next year. That's their mindset. We'll just. We'll figure it out in February. Which division do you think is going to be the strongest this year? AFC west or North? NFC west or North? It's probably going to be the AFC west because the vast improvements of the Chargers and the Broncos. With Carroll being a Seahawks fan, I think the NFC west could be a sleeper depending on Darnold and Kyler. With the Niners, if they're healthy, I think the west is going to be really good. You could convince me you could make a case in the NFC west for any of the four teams making the playoffs. I don't think the Raiders could make the playoffs, but like you said, they got Pete Carroll, they got Geno Smith, they have a good draft. You got Brock Bowers coming back. Max Crosby's happy and healthy. They're going to be much improved in that division. With Denver, I mean, three legit playoff teams coming into the season. Denver, even if you're not the biggest Bo Knicks guy, you're like, well, they got one of the best offensive coaches in the league and they have an elite defense. We the Chiefs just go to the playoffs every single year and with the division every single year and the Chargers google Jim Harbaugh second year usually, usually gets better. So I actually think the AFC north comes back a little bit. You know the Bengals got a lot of weird shit going on. Their best pass rusher hates the team and just refuses to show up. We could argue who's right and who's wrong there. Their rookie pass rusher that they drafted to replace that guy, that one, we don't even know if he's that good because he didn't have that many sacks in college. He's leaving practice all the time because there's contract stipulation is out of left field compared, you know, claiming his agent, whatever. I don't want to get into the minutiae of all this bullshit but like they got problems. Yeah, their offense is awesome. Their offense was awesome last year. Gotta play defense. So I would say the AFC north, the Ravens are going to be really good. The Browns are not. Their quarterback situation sucks. And Pittsburgh, they are a rolled Aaron Rodgers ankle away from being fucked. So I would go, I think the west is going to be good. The both Wests are going to be good. If the Cowboys are solid, which I wouldn't just assume the Cowboys are going to suck. Would it shock me if the Cowboys were a nine win team? It would not. So then you would have the Cowboys who do have some really good players if Dak can stay healthy. Let's just say the coach is solid and we know Washington's good and we know the Eagles are unreal. So maybe the east could be pretty solid. If the Giants defense is good, their offense probably sucked. But I'm 28 and getting married in September. Now that it's been a couple months since your wedding, I'm curious if there are any noticeable differences from life before and after the marriage. That's a good question and the answer is no. Now granted I'm older than you and we have lived together for a long time. So our day to day life, I would say the biggest change is that my last name is now on her business card, on her credit cards, on her id. But in terms of like day to day life, of like who's gonna walk the dog, who's gonna take out the trash, how we operate of like hey, we need you know, the vacuum, the, the kitchen, whatever, it's the same business as usual. So I, I could see where it would, it would be a big change if now I would imagine in 2025 more people than ever before they get married have lived together for a decent substantial amount of time Obviously some of you guys old school religious people, maybe not but I don't know none of my friends or no one in my life has ever gotten married without living with the other person before and I would say most of those people lived with their significant other for a long time so I would say the biggest change in someone's relationship in my experience is living with someone else that that is there's some getting used and even me and Maria like there was things like she's much cleanlier than me I mean I would say I'm not the cleanest person but I'd be like I'll hit the cleaner twice a week, bring her over like I don't really want to do it I don't want to waste my time doing it she's big on being clean that's a little thing but for the most part and listen I get better I mean I can improve I mean I'll be the first to admit have room for growth but once you live with someone for a year, two years whether you're married or not, like you either find out like are we compatible or not so I would say that was figured out years, years ago and changes that had to be made to sustain were made I speak you killed on the herd speak out of curiosity the majority of us enjoyed the watching My question is hypothetically speaking is that if a spot were ever open up full time would you do it? I understand if you can't answer this in the peak of the herd content in the middle of the offseason very engaging. I saw so many comments and I do just want to address this I've been thinking about like sending Jason McIntyre a text the only reason I did this because out of the blue Coward texts me and he goes hey McIntyre's on vacation we don't have a second, we don't have a fill in Would you be interested? Colin could ask me hey, I forgot something in New York could you go to New York and pick up my Stanley that I forgot? Do you know what my answer would have been? Yes. Why? He not only personally has meant a lot to me professionally, he's changed my life financially over the course of the last half decade it's game changing for me and my family so he could ask hey you want to we need you to fill in for McIntyre or I need you to go to my house in Chicago and pick up my two pair of socks that I need to wear Here in Los Angeles, I said, no problem. So I think a lot of people are like middle cop. I have zero, and I mean zero desire for another person's job to take a job. This is my job. This is my life. This podcast is. I'm lucky enough the way these businesses work. Ownership like this is mine. It's been financially very viable. This is all I think about 24, 7, 365 now. When Colin asked me to do things, I just say yes. And I think that's a good piece of advice to anyone young listening. When you get involved with someone professionally and it goes, well, be a yes man, make their life easier. But this was not like I never even crossed my mind to attempt to do this. Not gonna. It was cool. I mean, I was glad that I was asked to do it, but I don't want to take anyone's job. I fucking want. No, there is no amount. I mean, I never say no amount because I could keep residents here. I would never move back to California, live there for 35 years. I actively chose to cross an imaginary line to sit where I'm sitting now. I mean, going to la and obviously I spend a lot more time in Northern California. It is insane. Obviously I've been there over the years for short periods of time. How many fucking people are there? It's crazy. Clearly, if you have an ungodly amount of money, cool place to live, but absolutely zero desire. 1. I'm also, I'm not a corporate guy. Like I have thrived and I've worked in the corporate world. In radio, I thrive getting out of that. That's what I do best. Now again, Colin needs something. I say yes. But you know, I. And I appreciate all the kind words. I've also worked in radio somewhat similar to this of like when someone fills in for you, people are always like, is this guy angling for something? There is no angling, there is no desire. I got fucking. I just do. If he needs anything, I'm there. Said, hey John, need you tomorrow. I'm there. That's the type of relationship that we have. From my perspective, right? It's. This isn't two way street. I don't ask anything of him really. Anything he asks of me, I'm in. So. But in terms of like, I do feel and I get it, it's like typically I pay no attention to social media comments. Obviously there's a lot of positive ones, but negative just in general about most things that I do. This one I was a little uncomfortable because this is not. It's not my seat. I don't want the seat. I'm not gunning for the seat. They paid me to come out there in terms of flew me out there. I would. If Colin like it. He just said, hey, you got to pay your way. I just need you here for a couple days. I would have done it. This wasn't. I just feel. I feel a little uncomfortable. You know, I'm a podcaster. This is my baby. This is what I do. And if anything, I'm quadrupling down here. And that's been my mindset. This came out of the blue and it was again, cool. Thankful everyone. It's one of the great fugazi. And I realized this sitting there is people that think they could do, specifically him. Some of you could probably do a group setting on a TV studio and just talk back and forth. Most human beings, if you just knew football, could have a football conversation on camera. Obviously some would be better than others, but I do think after a couple reps, most people could just formulate conversations again. I'm not saying you'd be entertaining or good, but because the average person that goes, I could do that. Here's what I know, and I know this for a fact. 99.9999% of people wouldn't have a snowball's chance in hell to attempt to do what Colin does. Having a front row seat and watching him truly cook by himself for just segment after segment after segment. No one else in the business could do what he's doing. No fucking chance. None. Not live on television. I was thinking, like, could I do this? I'm pretty good. Like, I'm pretty confident in my skills. But I also podcasting like, I'm recording this. I'm not live. I have no time constraints. I don't have a 12 minute segment where I gotta hit three different things while opening up with an ad and ending with an ad and then transitioning. It's like the skill he has, his talent obviously, to formulate his thoughts, to bring the different analogies to, to weave in and out of stuff, to be there. I mean, he's. It's like watching Jordan and Pippen, you know, run the fast breaks. Like, this is. This is fucking awesome. A couple times just because the way that desk is set, it's like, this is badass. Like this guy is. And listen, I've done a million podcasts with him, known him forever, been on his show before, his guests sitting there watching him do that was just like, it was inspiring. It honestly made me think like, I got to step up my game. I got to be better because this. In. In my. This medium that. That I do. And he profits off as well. He. It's a different deal. But what he does on television, slash, this radio show, it's a skill that like most other people in the industry, if you put most other people and like ESPN just sat him in that seat and say, replicate this, it would be a tire fire. It'd be. It'd be an embarrassment. It was. It fired me up a couple times. Watched him like, this is. This guy's just cooking right now. Talent, man. Now he's been. He'd be the first tell. He's been doing it for a long time, the reps and everything. But his. His. His capabilities and abilities and just how excited he still is, you know, I hope, you know, as time goes and I keep doing this, like, I'm still as fired up to do this as I am right now, because I still obviously really enjoy talking for a living. But, man, he's. I'm very lucky to be associated with that, man. That's my number one takeaway and taint trying to take nobody's job. I don't. I have a job. It's called this. My podcast. This is my life. It's not even my job. It's my life. This is my family, my life, Los Angeles. Fuck that. As a Bills fan and Buffalo native, one of the few things we can hang our hat on is incredible food. I remember you in the past talking about certain college game and how the atmosphere was unmatched. Since the Bills are good this year and have a loaded schedule, I'd highly recommend you come here for a game. Everything from drinks to randoms. It'd be badass. People ask me all the time. You know, I think the. The shitty part about my job is like, I can't. And I've been. I've been lucky enough to. Been to a lot of NFL games in my life. Like, I just. I can't afford to go to the games because the way Sundays work out, the way me and Colin record after the afternoon games, and then the way I record after the Sunday night game, it's just. I wouldn't be able even if, like the 49ers played here and came played the Cardinals. Like, I can't. I don't have time to travel. It just doesn't work. So it's. I would love to go to a Bills game. I. Maybe I could pull it off on like a Monday night. But the travel. It just. Listen, this is a first world podcasting problems. But like I haven't been to really NFL game in a long, long time and looking forward I don't envision myself going to a game for a long, long time which is fine. What do you think the reputation is for Mike McDaniel? I'm asking because I think he will, this will be his last season with the Dolphins. Do you think he would be in high demand if he was available? I do think he'd be in high demand as an assistant coach. And the reputation like obviously the 49ers guys I remember talking to use check and George Kittle like he was very, very well respected with the 49ers players because from a run game mind Mike McDaniel is kind of a genius. I think he's a really good scheme assistant coach as a head coach. I mean it doesn't look like the teams takes him that seriously. He's run through defensive coordinators, his players don't show up on time. So I would say I've never heard anything bad about him. I do think the look and the, you know, wearing the expensive glasses and the expensive watch and I get it like you know, I know some people, it's like I'm rich. Why do I care if like people judge me that drive a Range Rover? I'd still be rich if I drove a fucking Honda Civic. Like yeah, he's making millions of dollars. So if he has a hundred thousand dollar watch or pair of $2,000 sunglasses and again, I don't even know if that's what these things cost, how much his watch costs. But I think it's a little, little off putting for some. I, you know, I. But it's his prerogative at the end of the day. If you can coach, you can coach. It doesn't matter. I don't think he, I think it's safe to say he's not a head coach. And I'm with you. I think the Dolphins are going to be a disaster this year. If the 49ers finish under 500, who gets blamed? With a schedule like this, there can be no excuse. It's a good question. I would say that I think Kyle and John would take a lot of heat. You know, I think the drafts over the last couple of years, the way they've built this team, you know, they were going to pay Perdy no matter what and they got Purdy relative to some of these other quarterbacks for relatively cheap. If you have a coach who's a top five, six, seven coach, a GM that is one of the highest paid GMs in the league. Like, it's on them to win. And I'm with you. The schedule, it's just not that difficult. It's just not. And you can tell me, like, Julian Edelman can be like. You can never say that. It's P.S. i'm sorry, playing the Titans and playing the Saints is different than playing the Bills and the Ravens. It just is. We all know that. So Belichick can tell me how great the fucking special teams unit is. Like the team's own 10. They're owing 10. So the 49ers, even with the schedule, I'm not expecting them to win 14 games. But, like, if you're a $20 million coach, $15 million coach. Kyle's one of the highest paid coaches in the league. They're general managers. I think just him, Howie, he's on the short list of highest paid GMs in the league. If not the highest paid GM in the league, you should win 10 games. And they know that. They'd be the first to tell you that. And I expect them. I expect them to be good. I do. I think they're going to be good. You know, we all have a bunch of credit cards, connections to hotels or airlines or a number of things, and I don't think we realize that those points and miles, they lose value when they collect dust. So think about this. A credit card with rewards that actually grows. Introducing the Gemini credit card. And with this credit card, you can earn Bitcoin or one of over 50 other cryptos instantly with no annual fee. So every time you go to the grocery store, you go to the gas station, you go out for a night on the town, you earn instant rewards deposited straight into your account. Plus sign up now for a $200 bitcoin bonus. To kickstart your rewards, go to gemini.comjohn to learn more and start earning today. Terms apply. Again. Visit gemini.comjohan now. Terms apply. The Gemini credit card is issued by Web bank. In order to Qualify for the Intro 200 crypto bonus, your application must be approved by June 30, 2025 and spend 3,000 your first 90 days. Terms apply. Some exclusions apply to instant rewards in which rewards are deposited when the transaction posts. This content is not investment advice and trading Crypto involves risk. For more details on rates, fees and other Gemini credit card terms, see Rates and fees go to gemini.com john to learn more and start earning today.
- [71:57]
Unknown
Hi Zoe Saldana. Welcome to T Mobile. Here's your new iPhone 16 Pro on us.
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Thanks. And here's my old phone to trade in.
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You don't need a trade in. When you switch. Switch to T mobile will give you a new iPhone 16 Pro. Plus we'll help you pay off your old Phone up to 800 bucks and you still get to keep it.
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There's always a trade in.
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Not right now. @ T Mobile.
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I feel like I have to give you something in return for karma.
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That's okay.
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I don't really have much in my purse. Oh, let's see. Hand sanitizer. It's lavender.
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I'm good. Seriously.
- [72:24]
Hmm. Let me check this pocket. Oh, mints.
- [72:27]
Really, I'm fine.
- [72:28]
Oh, I have raisins. I'm a mom. Wait, wait one sec. I've got cupcakes in the car.
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- [72:55]
Jasmine Crockett
Cancel t mobile.com I think Democrats have for a very long time allowed Republicans to play them. So essentially Republicans came up with a narrative and Democrats decided to play into that. And that only hurt the Democrats.
- [73:12]
Katie Couric
I'm Kitty Couric. Jasmine Crockett, Democratic representative of Texas, is not known for holding back. And our recent chat on Next question is no exception. But when you hear how she got to where she is, her intensity makes perfect sense.
- [73:28]
Jasmine Crockett
It's just hard to imagine a world where you don't have enough people that care to do right by people. And so that same passion that carried me through as a public defender that led me to want to change laws and thinking about the harm that will happen not just to my constituents, but just generally. Like, I carry that weight with me.
- [73:54]
Katie Couric
Because you've seen it up close.
- [73:55]
Jasmine Crockett
Yeah.
- [73:56]
Katie Couric
Listen to next question with me, Katie Couric on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.
- [74:05]
Unknown
I know a lot of cops and they get asked all the time, have you ever had to shoot your gun? Sometimes the answer is yes. But there's a company dedicated to a future where the answer will always be no.
- [74:20]
Across the country, cops called this taser the revolution.
- [74:24]
But not everyone was convinced it was that simple.
- [74:26]
John Middlecoff
Cops believed everything that Taser told them.
- [74:30]
Unknown
From Lava For Good and the team that brought you Bone Valley comes a story about what happened when a multi billion dollar company dedicated itself to one visionary mission. This is Absolute Season one Taser in Incorporated.
- [74:46]
John Middlecoff
I get right back there and it's bad. It's really, really really bad.
- [74:52]
Unknown
Listen to new episodes of Absolute Season 1 Taser incorporated on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. Binge episodes 1, 2 and 3 on May 21 and episodes 4, 5 and 6 on June 4 ad free at Lava for Good. Plus on Apple Podcasts.
- [75:21]
John Middlecoff
After watching Nick Wright go on the Herd and since you both work for the Volume, wouldn't it be nice to collaborate maybe before the NFL season starts? I actually just got his number today from the big boss man. Not Colin, but Logan at the Volume and I was going to shoot him a text maybe after 4th of July. I plan on having him on for sure. I've planned on it even before recently or you sent me this dm but he'll he'll come on the show. Well, I mean he if he says yes, but I plan on texting him and ask him to come on for sure. Great job on Collins Show. Even Nick Wright gave you some props, only advice and your wife will agree. Wear a darker colored shirt like a navy blue and most important, iron the collar with a little starch so it stays up. You're making a first impression. Be impressive. Your vocal skills and knowledge are shining. Trust me on the shirt. I mean the I appreciate that I only have some. I'm a podcaster man. I wear T shirts, pullovers. Plus I'm a little fat right now. I didn't fit in some of my stuff so I had to improvise. Listening to you and Colin had me thinking of topics for this upcoming slow period. A ranking of quality of fan life for every city with three major teams. Things to consider current ownership, fan bases, competent front offices, performance in the last 25 years, what are the best cities to be a sports fan and what are the worst? Well, I would say LA would be up there. The Dodgers are elite. I mean the Lakers, they were the 3 seed this year and they've been good the last five years with LeBron and the Rams have won a Super bowl and go the playoffs every year. The Chargers are now good with Harbaugh. USC football is the only problem and I would imagine I talked to someone in the in the Fox building who's a big USC guy and they are spending so much Money right now on nil, like usc, they're not going to be down for long. They just have too much money. So they're going to be fine. I would say LA would be pretty high up there. You know, Philly, the Phillies are good, obviously the Eagles are the champs. Sixers are a joke, not a big hockey guy. So can't speak on the 76ers. New York feels low. The Bears had a decent run. You know, they had Steph Curry, won four titles. The Niners went to a couple Super Bowls, Giants. It kind of sucked to me. The key is like obviously best case scenario, you get like the Chiefs, you get the Dodgers, you get this team that's unstoppable. I think what most fans would sign up for, like if you live in Chicago or you live in Dallas or you live wherever. Can all my teens be good? Can just all my teams going into the season have a chance to be a contender even if I get bounced in the first round or the second round? Like if every year part of the reason what sucks. If you're a Cowboy fan, obviously you let down in the playoffs a couple times and then last year you didn't even you drafted 12th. If you just one of those years would have been like the NFC Championship. And like, you know what, we've been pretty good lately. Been pretty good lately. I think that's what most people want. We've been pretty good lately. And then once you've been pretty good for a while, it's like, can we win a title? Like if you're a Detroit Lions fan, I'd say that, I'd say their spirits are pretty high right now. Lions have been good, the Pistons are now good. Pretty sure. Tigers pretty good this year. I think they are. I just think you want your teams to all be good. You don't have to be the Patriots, they don't have to be the Chiefs, they don't have to be the Dodgers, they don't have to be okc. Can they just be like all my teams in the playoffs? It's pretty fun. It makes watching all the games enjoyable. Longtime listener, first time mailback. Could be the devil's advocate and make a case for putting Bo Nix above Jason Jaden Daniels. I will fully agree that Jaden's rookie season was impressive. And to take a team to the NFC title needs deep big time price. That being said, it's only one year in and he's magically a top five quarterback in most analysts lists. If the Commanders face the Bills in Buffalo for their first playoff game, would they have a playoff win? The nfc, with the very little debate, is an easier conference. It seems a little unfair that Bo's rookie year is so overlooked by everybody. But as a Bronco fan, because Jaden's was a little bit better. I do know having Sean Payton as a head coach doesn't hurt, but Bo is now the 14th quarterback under center since the sheriff retired. I also think back to Peyton Manning's rookie season not being the greatest and Ryan Leaf having a better one. I don't remember that. I know Peyton had a bad rookie season, but let's just. Let's just bring up the numbers really quick. I'm with you. Obviously, if the commanders had to play the Bills or the Ravens in the first round, they would not have won a playoff game. I don't. I do not disagree there, but when you look at Bo Nix, three more touchdowns than you think he had. He threw 29 touchdowns, 12 picks, ran for four touchdowns, ran for almost 430 yards. Jaden threw 25 and nine ran for six touchdowns. I'm with you. They were closer. I think Bo Nix is good. I think Bo Nix is good. I would say one thing, you know, I think when you look at the teams that Denver beat, I'd have to go back and look at their schedule. You know, Washington did win two playoff games on the road. Now you can say, hey, Detroit was injured still. I mean, I saw Minnesota play him, fucking lose last game of the season. I think when you just watched, like, with the eye test, you just went, jaden Daniels a better player in Bo Nicks. That can also be true, that Bo Nick's a good player. And if I was a Denver Bronco fan, I'd be really happy. And like you said, he's the best quarterback since the sheriff retired. In the quarterback situation since Peyton Manning retired, couldn't have been much worse. So I think sometimes we get so caught up and like, this guy versus that guy, it's like, who even cares? They don't parallel. One team plays in the nfc, one team plays in the afc. Your path is harder, your path is more difficult, your division is more difficult. But, like, things can still be good and things can still be. You can be really optimistic. Who cares like what Dan Orlovsky or. I don't even. I'm sure he likes Bonix, but whoever says, like, don't get caught up in that. Your fucking team's good. Your coach loves the squat. I watched a decent amount of Sean Payton's press conferences. Like, he's pretty positive on This, I think he thinks they're going to be pretty good. I think he's going to be really good. That to me is all that matters. Okay, last question. Nice to see on tv. Question for the pod. How can Dak Prescott go from second MVP voting to somehow Baker may feel better than him. If it wasn't for an injury, this wouldn't be a take. Seeing that Baker has never been considered better than Dak up until this year. Dak is hurt. Secondly, the pendulum has swung too far to think Dallas with its schedule, won't win at least 10 games with more wide receiver help and more running back help. A revamped online top five edge rusher run stopping edge from last year who was good in games he played back from injury, top five corner. Okay, I hear you. I actually think Dallas going to be okay. But based on last year, even if Dak had been healthy, Baker was a better player. Baker was one of the better quarterbacks in the NFL. Like that's not arguable. I think he was second in the league in touchdowns and he was just a high end player. Baker looked excellent. And again, this is the Bo Knicks, Jaden Daniels thing when you just watch the two guys play. Baker is a better arm at this point in time. Baker's more mobile, which would have sounded crazy a couple years ago, but Dax not mobile anymore. So yeah, Dak of three years ago that put up the big time season. Like that's we're in 2025. This isn't 2022 or 23, it's 25. And the other thing is Dak's coming off a major injury, shattered his ankle and then he ripped his hammy. Now I was watching the good, good guys who are a golf YouTube channel had on Dak and Will Greer and just watching Dak play golf, which is cool. Again, this is what I talked about. In the NBA, football players are pretty relatable. I mean they're just good at doing relatable things. And Dak, you watch them on this video is fun. Having a good time, swearing and look good again playing golf. But looks like he's healthy. But I would say if you told me right now, if you're like, hey, John, you run an NFL team for the next three years, would you rather have Dak Prescott or Baker Mayfield? I would rather have Baker Mayfield. Could be wrong. Maybe you're right. Maybe I'm just going off one year, but for the next three years, I'm taking Baker Mayfield. The other thing is, what is the difference? Baker is 30 years old. How old is Dak? Dak Prescott is. Yeah. Turns 32. So there's only a couple years similar age. I do think the wear and tear though is no joke. I mean Dak multiple lower body injuries and bakers has a better arm. Always has. I mean Dak doesn't have a great arm and I would say now his arm gonna pain you to hear this. And I I've always been pro Dak. Like I'm not as some Dak Prescott haters. His arm's closer to Alex Smith than it is one of the top guys. So he's going to be Schottenheimer. I'm with you. I don't think they're going to be. People are acting like they're just coward thinks, you know, Schottenheimer is going to be one and done. When's the last time Jerry had a one and done, Coach? If I had to bet right now, I bet Dallas wins between they're more likely to win nine or 10 than they are four or five. Now if you told me they went seven, I think that's believable. But I if you told me they went nine and eight, I definitely could believe that. Appreciate everyone watching. Thanks for all the kind words and we'll talk soon.
- [85:31]
Unknown
The volume.
- [85:35]
Katie Couric
On the latest episode of Next Question with me, Katie Couric, I sat down with Jasmine Crockett, Democratic representative of Texas. She's holding down the fort for her party in one of the most conservative states in the union.
- [85:48]
Jasmine Crockett
I think that ultimately who will become the Democratic nominee for president will be someone that has been out there and has shown that they won't allow themselves to be punched and just say thank you like they will punch back.
- [86:02]
Katie Couric
Listen to Next Question with me, Katie Couric on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
- [86:10]
John Middlecoff
Why is a soap opera western like Yellowstone so wildly successful? The American west with Dan Flores is the latest show from the Meat Eater Podcast Network. So join me starting Tuesday, May 6, where we'll delve into stories of the west and come to understand how it helps inform the ways in which we experience the region today. Listen to the American west with Dan Flores on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
- [86:40]
Unknown
I know a lot of cops. They get asked all the time, have you ever had to shoot your gun? Sometimes the answer is Y. But there's a company dedicated to a future where the answer will always be no. This is absolute Season one, Taser Incorporated.
- [86:57]
John Middlecoff
I get right back there and it's bad.
- [87:00]
Unknown
Listen to Absolute Season 1 Taser incorporated on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
- [87:10]
Jasmine Crockett
I'm Jemele Hill, host of the sports and politics podcast Spolitics. And on the latest episode of Spoletics, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries joins me for a kid candid conversation about the state of the Democratic Party. What do Republicans say to you privately that they won't say publicly?
- [87:24]
Zoe Saldana
Many of them are in fear of their political lives. We continue to say to them, you were elected to defend your constituents and there's life after Congress.
- [87:33]
Jasmine Crockett
Make sure to listen to this episode of spoletics on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. This is an iHeart podcast.