← The Herd with Colin Cowherd
The Herd with Colin Cowherd
3 & Out - Philly is a powerhouse, KC is still a great team, What's going on with Deebo
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John Middlekauff
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No stress about the latest malware because with Threat Locker you block it by default, take charge of your cybersecurity and gain control of your environment. Visit threatlocker.com today and stay one step ahead of cyber threats. Some might say homes.com is the best home shopping site. But why? Could it be their sleek, beautiful design, ad free interface, a distraction free search is certainly a breath of fresh air. Or maybe it's their in depth school info, perfect for parents wanting the best for their kids. With district details and reviews from multiple sources, they've got you covered. Or Perhaps it's the homes.com is the only site that always connect you directly with the listing agent who knows the home best? Is home shopping the way it should be? Homes.com we've done your homework. Calling all Yellowstone fans. Let's go to work. Join Bobby Bones on the official Yellowstone Podcast for exclusive cast interviews, behind the scenes insights and a deep dive into the themes that have made Yellowstone a cultural phenomenon. Our family legacy is this ranch. My protector of my life. Listen to the official Yellowstone Podcast now on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. The Volume what is going on everybody? How are we doing? John Mittelcoff to renow Podcast hopefully everyone is doing better than me because on Saturday morning I woke up and I thought it was a little just hungover. I had had a long week and then went to the golf tournament on Friday and had a long day like you know I'll shake off the cobwebs and be okay by by lunchtime and it just got worse and worse and then Sunday I felt like I had the flu and I felt like that again on Monday and I was like I thought I shook this thing two months ago. How is it back? What, what is going on here? And that is just not the case because I, I think I got hit with 2.0 version of it. I thought I had the immunity, but I guess the immunity doesn't work with a flu because it kind of came back. And on Tuesday afternoon here I'm definitely feeling better, but I would say still I, I don't feel great. So it's kind of sucked. That's why I haven't done a podcast in the last couple days because I was just feeling terrible. I mean I was kind of bedridden on Monday. Not as stuffy and, and have it as bad as I did a couple months ago, but definitely the body aches and lethargic. It sucks. I hate getting sick. But I said I'm doing a podcast today because I, I've had a couple days to let the super bowl marinate, see everyone's takes. I've seen it all. So we'll go, we'll talk about the Eagles, the Chiefs, halftime, some other NFL stories as well. We also will do a little mailbag at John Middlekopf. Is the Instagram fire in those dms? Get your questions answered here on the show. Very, very easy to get involved with the coffee or the, the outsiders or the Middlemen or we haven't quite picked the name but, but kind of, I'm kind of leaning Coffee kind of like the coffee, but we'll see. We still got, we still got time because we don't have a deadline. But if you listen on Collins feed, make sure you subscribe to the podcast. If you want to watch on YouTube, fire to three and out on YouTube. Subscribe to there as well. We have all of our content up online video wise. Got you covered every single way. And let's talk a little football. I did want to start with this because I had, I have lived in Philadelphia. I moved there in 2010 and I lived in South Philadelphia probably, I mean, I don't know, five minute bike ride to the facility, a two minute car ride. And then my second year I lived downtown very, very close to the art museum which are the steps that that Rocky runs up. So I spent 24 months living in a city coming from California that I had never been to and that honestly I didn't know that much about. And I found myself beside the winters which are extremely cold like all these northeast cities, finding myself loving the place and a big reason for that was I loved the people and I think people of Philadelphia I could relate to kind of a chip on their shoulder. They viewed themselves as the underdog. And there was just, I don't know, there was an underlying toughness to the city that I really appreciated that really resonated with me. I don't know if it was the way I grew up, the people I was around through my dad, my friends and family growing up, something about it, it just, I really, really. And still to this day have a. I admire the city of Philadelphia in terms of what the people stand for, the toughness, kind of the small business oriented operation, how so many generations have grown up and the close knit community. You know, Big Dom has become such a fixture in football talk. But I do think he represents a lot of. When you think about Philadelphia, like Dom knows everyone in the city. And I bet most people that have lived in the city of Philadelphia for several decades could play like one degree of separation to Dom, to Sandro. And that can't be said like where I'm sitting right now in Scottsdale, that's not like that. Los Angeles is not like that. San Francisco was not like that. Vegas is not like that. And that's what you get in Philadelphia. And there was this ethos and this soul of we are a big, big underdog. We know it, we embrace it, and fuck it, let's roll. I think the problem for Philadelphia, who treats their football team, they love their sports, it is a great sports city. But the Eagles are held to a much higher regard in the city than the other teams. And that this was based on my experience in 2010, 11 and 12, in 2025, it ain't even close. The Eagles would be treated like they would treat Alabama football in Tuscaloosa or LSU football in Baton Rouge. And they love the Phillies. They probably don't really like the Sixers now and they like the Flyers when they're good. But the Eagles are no longer the underdog, you know, and a huge part I think of that mentality was we're not New York. The big number one market, the glamorous market, a market where people aspire to move to and live. A city that is viewed in much higher regard than our city. And I personally, there was something that, you know, growing up in Northern California, part of San Francisco, that makes it pretty special. Definitely did when I was a kid. Going there a lot and living there in 2013 is for one of the major cities in the world, it is kind of small. And Philadelphia has that. Well, it's a big major market in America. It doesn't have like some overwhelming feel like New York. But you polled the average American to rank New York or Philadelphia. They would always rank New York ahead of Philadelphia. And think about Washington, D.C. i mean, that's where the President lives. So people always hold D.C. in a higher regard than Philadelphia. So they have like this chip. We're not as good as those other places. And like I said that for whatever reason, I, I, I can relate to that and I appreciate that. But when it comes to sports and when it comes to the National Football League, like, you're no longer some little underdog. Like, you're the top dog. You're the bully. You have not only one of the best owners in the National Football League, but I'd argue Jeffrey Lurie is now pretty well established as one of the best owners in all of professional sports, not just in America, but worldwide. Your general manager, I would say if you did a poll right now, he would clearly be the number one ranked general manager. And even on some of his bad years, like, he's a lock top two or three GM in the NFL. So you have an elite owner, you have an elite GM in a personnel based operation. And then we look at the quarterback and the coach like, this is not the AFC. You're in the NFC where if you remove Sean McVay, look at the playoff teams. Dan Quinn never won a Super bowl as a head coach. Kevin OConnell's never won a playoff game. Matt LaFleur hasn't won a Super Bowl. Kyle Shanahan's lost a couple. Dan Campbell, like, couldn't even win a playoff game this year against the Washington Commanders. So Sirianni, at the end of the day and listen, I'm guilty of this. I've said some things that if I ever talk to him, I'd have to be honest and be like, listen, shut me up. He's a Super bowl champ. Like, that ain't never changing. Same thing with the quarterback. Like, the quarterback has been a polarizing player and we nitpick him and that's what happens when you make $50 million. But holy shitty, he played pretty well in that Super Bowl. He was awesome. And now that's two Super Bowls where he's been excellent. Where do we judge players very harshly in high leverage situations? And he's excelled. He's been good in the playoffs and especially in the biggest game in the world. Definitely in America. He's been good in two Super Bowls and now he's won one. So both of them put a ring on their finger, like, what are you going to say. There's nothing you can say to them. So you look at this operation, their team is absolutely loaded with star players everywhere. Got the best running back in the NFL. They have the best offensive line in the NFL. They obviously have. I mean, potentially the best dual wide receiver in the NFL. They have probably the best young defensive lineman in the NFL. And Jalen Carter, probably the best young duo at corner with Cooper and Mitchell in the NFL, at db. Your team's just loaded like, you are kind of the Yankees now. And it's going to be interesting to see how they transition from, like, this little underdog, this little fu. Watch us. Wait till we prove you wrong. To, like, yeah, you're just the best team in the league, and you're going to be consistently and you're going to be a heavily favored team going into 2025 this fall. Why? Because most of your best players are young and under contract. And like I said, if you have an elite gm. Yeah. Josh Wet hits free agency. Milton Williams hits free agency. Maybe you figure out a way to keep Zach Bond, but you'll recoup, you'll make moves, because that's what the Eagles do. And I just wonder how the city whose soul is tied in to that mindset in life, because that's how it's always been, and it's true. And. And there was substance behind that. It's not like they faked it. They didn't need to. But now you can't hide from being the big dog. You've won two Super Bowls in eight years. You've been to another. You're the powerhouse team in a conference or in a division that historically has been one of the most powerful divisions in football in terms of the business. The Giants, the Cowboys, you guys, like, you're the division that prints money for the league for a long period of time. It was Cowboys, Giants, Sunday Night Football, Week one. Why? Because that was going to be the highest rated game in early September, and it usually was. Well, now the Giants are a joke. The Cowboys have a lot of issues, and it feels like you're hitting your stride. So this notion that the Eagles, the little underdog, the little rocky, running up the steps like you guys are like Mike Tyson or Muhammad Ali. The other thing that the franchise has always been defined by is having balls. And I think I was just thinking about, they have been really, really good at knowing when to take big swings and doing things that are, quote, unquote, controversial and having conviction and belief in it. And it's paid off huge during The Jeffrey Lurie ownership, people forget, but one of Andy Reid's first big moves as a head coach was he drafted Donovan McNapp. And it's a long time. And Donovan went on to have a really good career making Pro Bowls and becoming a really, really good player. Pretty sure that got booed because everyone wanted Ricky Williams. Shows you how much times have changed in 25 years if you didn't take the star running back over the star quarterback. Fans were pissed. Safe to say that was the right move, but it kind of hit me. And I mentioned this to Colin on Sunday night. Like, think about the moment. There was a. I think probably in the third quarter when the Fox cameras went to Patrick Mahomes and he's talking to Carson Wentz. Carson Wentz wasn't just the savior of the Eagles. He was the guy they were going to build around and compete to win championships with. Until they weren't, and they won a championship without him. And then things got weird. And then Howie Roseman drafted Jalen Hurts in the second round. People forget this. Even though Carson was struggling then. I would say universally, but specifically the people that cover the Eagles and former players thought it was an insane move. I thought it was an insane move because I thought Jalen Hurts was never going to be able to play NFL quarterback. Not only was it the right move, it literally saved the franchise because you could trade Carson Wentz, which how he would do a year later, and build around Jalen Hurts, which has led to two super bowl appearances in three years in a championship last year, when every human being alive, including probably Jeffrey Lurie and Howie Roseman, thought, like, we got to move on from Nick Sirianni somehow. Usually they're aggressive and they pull the trigger. They were the same people. Well, Howie, not technically, but Jeffrey that had Big Dom remove Chip Kelly from the building, that a couple years after Doug Peterson beat Belichick and Brady in the super bowl, fired him. And I think most of us thought like, Sirianni's done. But they took a deep breath and they didn't make the move, which I'd argue was just as polarizing as all these other things. And they got him two coordinators, and Fangio came in after Miami, and all the players thought that Vic Fangio was not only just an asshole, but didn't know what he was doing, came in and kicked everyone's ass. So it's like, I would say one thing that defines the Jeffrey Lurie, Howie Roseman partnership and this, I would say, Andy Reid as well, when he was there Was the franchise just as balls? You know, I say this all the time, like it's easy to draft Caleb Williams number one overall in late April. Every single human will give you an applause, including myself. I'm not acting like I'm any different. That's the easy thing to do. But you're not paid to do the easy thing. You're paid to get it right. And time will tell. But. And I'm not saying that we have that information. They still have a long Runway to prove themselves. But Ryan Paul's didn't even bring in Jaden Daniels to the building. Didn't even bring him in yet. Adam Peters with the number two overall pick. When it was universally agreed upon, Jaden's the second best prospect. Brought the other six guys into OR five guys in together and took a lot of shit for it. Like, what are you doing? It's like, well, I'm doing my fucking job. That's what I'm doing. And I think one thing you see with the Eagles is like, their job is to not make everyone happy at the time of the move. Because when do these moves happen? They happen in January, February, in March, and in April. Games are played September through January. So it's like, you're going to make some things. No one cares what. And listen, I have. I'm not trying to shit on this guy. I have nothing but respect for Mel Kiefer. His draft grades don't mean anything. He'd give you an F if, you know, three years later, that guy's an all Pro for you. And no one's talking about that F. And I think the Eagles are just unafraid to do some things that most franchises just are not. And so when I see, like, how are you going to. What are the. And I used to do this. And they've gotten much more digital now. But how we used to have whoever was in the final four, the two AFC teams and the two NFC teams he'd have up in his. In his office. And I would imagine he still has something similar to that somewhere in his office. It's probably digitally now, but like I said, is everyone's like, how do we. How do we build a team like the Eagles? I don't know, Just hit on a bunch of sweet players. It's not like that complicated. Make some sweet moves to be in position to land some of those players. But the one thing that they will do that you probably won't do is like, they'll do some things that people will be like, what the hell are they doing, because that's usually what you have to do to be successful. I see people saying that all the time about people in business. It happens all the time you get on the Internet. It's like, oh, Elon Musk is a idiot. Google is net worth. Sure doesn't seem like that to me. But they've been saying that about people on the forefront of the business community forever. Whether it's Steve Jobs, whether it's Jeff Bezos. There are points in times in all of their career where everyone's like, writing them off. Can't believe he did that. That's not going to work. And you have to make some of those moves that where everyone on the outside goes, you're an idiot. That's going to get you fired. They ultimately make you a legend. And that's what happens inside the Philadelphia Eagles building a lot. Who's scoring big in the NBA this season? 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Join me and former NFL quarterback Matt Castle every Wednesday for our new podcast, Lots to say With Bobby Bones and Matt Castle. Between us, we have over 17,500 passing yards, multiple New York Times bestsellers and one mirrorball trophy from Dancing with the Star. So where else you gonna find a show with that much athleticism and football insight? Based in Nashville? We're more than just your basic NFL show. We talk sports, but we talk pop culture and music and a little bit of everything because we got lots to say. I, I texted you and you texted me back. Now, I don't know if you have the update, but like all the little thumbs up and heart and stuff, like, it's all colored. They changed it and the, the heart's a little pink. Felt like I told you I loved you. I'm going to be honest, it was a little pink. There was something sentimental. When you, like when, when you send it, you, it's like, do I send the heart now? I don't like the color edition. It's extremely pink. Listen to Lots to say with Bobby Bones and Matt Castle on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcasts. Seen a lot of takes with the Kansas City Chiefs and Andy Reid and Patrick Mahomes. It's like, guys, the goat and the Tom Brady debate is fun and I understand why it was happening. And listen, if he had won three straight, even if he never got to seven, I, I, I don't think three straight is one. If, if they couldn't pull it off, it's never happening. No one's ever winning three straight Super Bowls. We just saw how difficult it is. One, it's hard to even make it that far three straight years. It's hard enough to win back to back Super Bowls. But like, it's part of what makes sports fun is having these conversations. Because there is no right or wrong answer. Like, there is no actual place where I'll go to my deathbed thinking Michael Jordan is the best basketball player I've ever seen. But there are going to be people, especially younger generations, arguing for LeBron James, probably people in Los Angeles that would say, hey, what about Kobe Bryant? There actually is no list. It doesn't, it doesn't exist anywhere. There's not like some room where it sits. So these conversations are just what drives our interest in sports. They're enjoyable to have. I love Peyton Manning when I was in junior high and high school and early on in college he couldn't beat the Patriots and it wasn't looking good until finally he won a Super bowl. And then he got to another. Then he went to Denver and he went to another, and then he finally won another one and all of a sudden he went to four Super Bowls. And won a couple. Like, things in sports take time. But the thing with Patrick Mahomes, he played a shitty game. They got worked. It happens. It's happened to them before. It happened to them, obviously, Sunday, and it probably will happen to them again. But when you win three Super Bowls in five years, if Patrick Mahomes were to never play another game, he's had one of the greatest careers in the history of the sport. Multiple MVPs, three Super Bowls, and multiple Super Bowl MVPs. Guys like Terrell Davis and Kurt Warner got into the hall of Fame with, like, little short bursts in their career. And obviously when they were on, they were as good as any we've ever seen. Shannon's brother Sterling just made it to the Pro Football hall of Fame, whose career was basically stopped early on. I think he didn't even make it to 29 years old because of a neck injury. Like, it happens in part a football. I would say much more than these other sports is injuries play such a big role. And so it's hard to go. Like, if Patrick Mahomes is going to be 30 years old, has another 10 years in him. Let's say it's hard to play that in football because you never know with injuries. But honestly, I'd argue it doesn't really matter. He's clearly already one of the great quarterbacks we have ever seen, ever seen. And to act like just because you have one shitty game, it's like, oh, see? Overrated. Not Tom Brady. Yeah, he. Not Tom Brady. Tom Brady won seven fucking of these things. Seven of them went to 10. Like, it's pretty nuts for Patrick Mahomes to go to 10 Super Bowls. He'd have to go to five more. Like, it's. It's pretty crazy. We're not seeing the Patriot dynasty probably happen again because that thing went from 2001 to 2018. So Mahomes, to match that, it have to go from the 18 season basically to the mid-2030s. I'm not sure that's happening with the same coach who's already in his mid-60s. But, like, sometimes you got to tip your cap. Like, it's been an incredible run. They have earned all the hype. Why? Because they took down everyone in their path. And in the afc, you're facing some of the most talented quarterbacks we've ever seen. And whenever I see, like, well, people are going to start catching them. People are going to catch up to the Chiefs. What is going to happen now? I go, well, here's the thing. The other teams in the AFC are also paying their quarterbacks an astronomical amount of money. Lamar Jackson, Josh Allen, Justin Herbert, Joe Burrow, Google their contracts. They're all huge. So their biggest foes in the AFC are teams. They don't have rookie quarterbacks, they don't have some huge flexibility. And a lot of those teams have other high priced guys on the team. So a lot like Kansas City, like you don't just have unlimited Runway to sign guys because you have allocated cash into two or three players at really, really high numbers. Well, you go, there are two teams in the afc. Two, two playoff teams that have rookie quarterbacks. We go, okay, Denver, Sean Payton, Bo Nix, they still are eating a large chunk of dead cat money next year because of Russell Wilson. And like, I'm sorry, Bo Nix isn't even remotely on any of those other guys. I just listed level and CJ who had a down season is going to have a lot to prove next year, so. And the other thing is they clearly need to improve their offensive line and we'll see what happens with their offensive coordinator in terms of like does it work out or not? You never know. So I just think everyone needs to pump the brakes on the Chiefs. You know, we have seen in other sports it's pretty rare for like Michael Jordan was 6 for 6, never lost. A lot of other greats get to championships and get worked. Happened to Peyton Manning, happened to John Elway. I remember it happened to Kobe and Shaq. Google the Detroit Pistons. It happened to Kobe and Pau Gasol. Google the big three, Boston Celtics. Sometimes you get there and you get your ass kicked. Like this is not abnormal. This is actually kind of consistent what usually happens in pro sports every once in a while like the big bad wolf, the top dog loses. It's pretty rare that like Joe Montana, Tiger woods, when they get into the arena and when they got a chance, they, they always want it. The Chiefs are actually much more like some of these other teams. Now you can give me the point differential, the difference of them or the Giants? I don't know. I mean what I remember about the Giants beating the Patriots is they beat him twice. Close game, blowout. Like, who cares? You lost the game right? Now is it easier to stop? I'd argue it's easier to stomach getting your ass kicked because at least especially in that game, it was over before halftime. Then like ask Patriot fans about those two losses. The Giants. Like those are hard as Seattle about the Malcolm Butler pick. Like that's something you never forget. Chiefs, you'll forget this game pretty Quick, like week one can't get here fast enough. So I'm not trying to simp here for Andy and Mahomes, but everyone's acting like it's just over. Give me a break. Some other things in the National Football League. I think the Debo thing's interesting because at this point in time, given how he's played the last couple years, some of the injuries had, He's a more famous player than he is a productive player and he also makes a lot of money. So the reports last week that in his exit meeting he asked for a trade and a lot of people that covered the 49ers said it's like someone trying to break up with their significant other before their significant other breaks up with them. A lot of people thought that Debo Samuel would have been cut or traded before the season even ended. Not like during 2024, but like as the Niners season was unraveling, it was like, well, Debo's not gonna be on the team next year. Honestly, that conversation started happening last year when they drafted Ricky Pierce all in the first round. So you got a first round receiver. They were like dead set on paying Brandon Ayuk, which they ended up doing, and then his leg snapped midway through the season. They're in contract negotiations with George Kittle. They have Juwan Jennings, who's one of the best third wide receivers in the league under contract and in theory, Christian McCaffrey comes back from an injury. So like, yeah, Debos was kind of going to be the odd man out. The problem is I don't see what his value is. And we talked about this with Cooper Cup. When you're an older player and you've had some injuries and you make a lot of money, it is difficult to trade you. Now Debo, like Cooper cup, they have been major figures on winning teams. So there are going to be a lot of teams that want to bring in that guy that just knows how to win and knows how to compete and is not scared of the moment. So I think there was going to be value in Debo, but I don't know how much. And I think you're looking at a guy getting traded for a fifth or sixth round pick. Jed York also mentioned at the Super Bowl, a lot of owners go there. You know, it's like a, it's time to mix with the other owners and corporate sponsors and it's kind of like, you know, everyone's rubbing elbows with everybody, kind of glad handed and scratching each other's back and just a lot of Good to see you. Good to see you. Thanks for paying us. What do you need? So he was quoted essentially, I think he ran into Brock Purdy's agent as well. Like this contract is going to happen and I would imagine this contract probably happens in the next two or three weeks. The only thing that's going to be fascinating is like, what are the actual numbers? But he's going to get paid and he's going to get paid a lot of money and this franchise is going to go as he goes. So, like if this franchise is going to continue to be good, I've said it over and over, this draft is huge for them. Look at the Eagles when they had the draft of Jalen Carter, they were drafting high. So when the Eagles 2024 draft, I guess it would have been 2023 draft, they were drafted, they had the 9th pick because of a previous trade that they got Jalen Carter. Well, their first two picks were Jalen Carter and Nolan Smith. So part of drafting high is you can take advantage of it in every round. And I think when you look at the 49ers like they have the 11th pick, that also means they have a high pick in the second round. So I'm not expecting them to come out of this draft with Jalen Carter. He's not, you know, there is no Jalen Carter in this draft. Maybe Abdul Carter becomes some version of like Micah Parsons, but he's not going to be there at 11. I mean, the only reason Jalen Carter was there at 9 was because of the incident that happened in the car crash. With the car crash and people dying. Right. But if the Niners are going to maintain a high level of play, like I don't know if you've seen some of the highlights Brian Baldinger has put out. Nolan Smith looked like a fucking dominant football player in that super bowl and he was making plays all down the stretch of the season, definitely in the playoffs. So if you're going to pay your quarterback a lot of money and he's not going to be like some all time great player because he's not, you need your team to be good. And to me, for the 49ers, it starts this April with the draft, a lot of takes on the halftime show. My overall opinion on is this. I think Kendrick Lamar is probably more famous on the Internet and with younger people than like those people realize on the outside with normal people, especially older people. When I think of like 2022, when LA had the Super bowl and it was Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Eminem and 50 Cent, Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg, you could argue had two of, if not the two most important rap slash hip hop albums in the history of the genre in the Chronic and Doggy Cell. Doggy Style I think was the second or third CD I ever purchased as a kid. It still to this day is, I would say banger for banger. As good of a CD that's ever been made in the history of music. I'd put it ahead of the Chronic and the Chronic was sweet but like those guys had been famous at the time of that performance for 30 plus years. Eminem, because he's a white guy, rapping is like one of the most unique talents in the history of America. And obviously 50 Cent was just an all time rocket ship and very mainstream. I would say I. And listen, I loved rap and hip hop growing up and I listened to it all through college. I would say the last 10 plus years I'm not as locked in and don't like it as much. I kind of find out who things are through the Internet. I, I enjoy. I wouldn't say I'm like a Drake loyalist, but I know way more about Drake than I do Kendrick Lamar. And I also think Drake is way more famous than Kendrick Lamar, even though they're viewed as rivals and they've had this beef. The other thing is, I remember, I don't know if you watch this, but a couple years ago Kanye and Drake did this concert at, in Los Angeles. I think it was at the Coliseum and it was on like Amazon Prime. Remember watching it was like unreal. TR is an awesome performer. He also like part of Kendrick, like his style. When people keep saying I didn't know what he was saying, I would say the average human being like doesn't know many Kendrick songs. And by all accounts he didn't play most of his most popular songs. I also think like this beef the two have going because people are on Twitter and a lot of media people are. I think it feels a lot bigger. And I'm not saying that people didn't talk about it, but like back to SNOOP Dogg and Dr. Dre, they were part of a national beef that literally everyone knew about. People ended up getting killed because of it. I don't know two of the greatest rappers in the history of music in Biggie and Tupac. So I, I just think that we overrated like how popular and mainstream this guy was and like it didn't do much for me. I thought it was kind of boring. I don't really know many of his songs. But like I just look back to a couple years ago, like universally Dr. Dre and that performance in Los Angeles was just awesome. We also have followed those guys careers for decades and I think the average person, especially in like sports media, especially a younger guy who's like really into the Drake, Kendrick Lamar beef thinks Kendrick is like way more famous than he actually is. It'd be like Jared Goff walking into a room and then Tom Brady and Peyton Manning walking into a room. So I think it was a weird pick to begin with. I think it would have been way easier to, I don't know, go like Lil Wayne, Cash money and Master P out there in New Orleans. But I'd be honest, I, I seen a lot of this. Like, oh, Drake, how does he ever recover from this? All he has to think is like, I would have been way better as a halftime show. He's probably right. Couple other quick stories, Matt. Patricia interviewing with Ohio State for their defensive coordinator position. Kind of crazy that Ohio State wins the Natty they lose Chip Kelly. They lose their defensive coordinator Chip Kelly. Understandable. He got $6 million a year goes to the Raiders couldn't turn down, I mean who's he was making two and a half million. They're going to offer me six in Vegas. I'm there. The losing the defensive coordinator to Penn State was a little weird, but maybe there's more to the story that I haven't seen yet. Obviously he got paid a lot of money, but you would think like Ohio State is every bit as, I mean it's literally we beat Penn State all the time, but he's gone. So I, you know, Patricia, during any NFL defensive coordinator jobs open and all signs point to Kellen Moore, who officially became the head coach today. Going with Brandon Staley, who's his guy. I think that'd be, that'd be an interesting fit for Patricia, who I don't know is known as the biggest personality, who I think is really, really tried a lot like Belichick to kind of show his personality more would imagine he would want that job. One, because you can do good things there. You get loaded, you know your roster is full of NFL players and two, they pay you a lot of money. Okay, it's now time for the Chasing Challenges segment. The spotlights the biggest hurdles faced by athletes, teams and organizations. These segments draw parallels between the resilience of sports figures and the innovative mindset of business leaders. Just as athletes push boundaries and redefine what's possible, business decision makers navigate complex challenges with Microsoft's AI solutions, simplified cloud and data management, and trustworthy AI. By showcasing the Challenger mindset, these segments reinforce that Microsoft empowers visionaries to tackle their biggest challenges with confidence, speaking new ideas and driving impactful change. I'll never forget, I think NFL Films they had followed Belichick and the Patriots around in like 2009 or 2010, and it was the final game of the season. They were playing the Ravens in the playoffs and they were getting killed. And Belichick and Brady are standing right next to each other and Belichick's just talking to him like, we just got to get better. I got to do a better job. I got to bring in better players. And it was right around the transition of when they started getting rid of the Randy Mosses, the West Welkers, and they kind of changed to their new group. Gronkowski, Edelman, McCourty and those got Hightowers and those guys became basically the finishing part of their dynasty over the next six, seven, eight years. And I think with the Chiefs, you get your ass kicked like that, everyone is going to keep gunning for you in the afc. You kind of got to take a step back and it's not as difficult. Like, the Chiefs don't have a motivational problem like their, their guys, especially their, their lead players, just a motivated individual. But from a team building standpoint, it's like, what do we got to do? How do we take what just happened? And this season was for a season where they won 15 games and were in the super bowl, was not as smooth as some of their previous years. It's like, how do we improve? Not how do we make improvements on the margins, but like, do we need to make something big happen? Do we need to take a big swing for the fence? Do we need to make a dramatic change? Because they've done that over the years. A couple years ago when they lost to the Cincinnati Bengals, what did they do that offseason? They traded Tyreek Hill. When they lost to the Patriots back in the day, what did they do? They fired Bob Sutton and they went to get Steve Spagnola. So one thing I know about Andy Reid and Brett Veach is like, they, they embrace adversity and they'll figure out a way to do something big. Because I've already texted with some people in the operation. They said, hey, we're already on to next season. And that's the mindset in that operation. And over the next month, I don't think any team will be as aggressive in trying to make a change that not only puts them right back in the situation, but gives them an opportunity to host a hoist, another Lombardi, where I bet they feel like right now it's like we were close, but we actually weren't that close because we just got beat by multiple touchdowns in the super bowl and we're down like a hundred and nothing at halftime. So I think the Chiefs sometimes I I think it's widely agreed upon that you only learn so much from success. Where you really learn is through adversity and failure. Look at the Eagles last year, the way the season ended. They lost all those games, they got their butt kicked in the playoffs and they kind of had to hit the reset button and they changed a bunch of players on defense, they changed a bunch of coordinators, and it really paid dividends. And I think the Chiefs are going to have to do it's probably not going to be as big of a wholesale change last year as the Eagles, but they're going to have to make some personnel moves that, you know, people be like, damn, they really did that. And I think that's what it takes sometimes to turn the thing around. So that's it for this week's 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 challenges to learn more. Okay, let's, let's dive into a little thing we like to call the Middle Cough Mailbag at John Middlecoff at John Middlecoff is the Instagram fire in I saw this story I just want to hit on before we get some mailbag questions, that one of the things the jets told Rogers when he had flown back to the Big Apple to meet with Glenn and company was that he could no longer go on Pat McAfee on Tuesday. And I, I just think, I think Aaron Rodgers jets career ended during the season when the owner and his sons and they were all taking jabs at each other like it was clearly over. And I think information travels in 2025 pretty easily to others. And if you're interviewing for the jets job and you're a guy like Aaron Glenn, where you go going into the interview like, I got a good chance to get this job, you're using your agent and other people in your circle to find out whether it's through Tannenbaum and the crew that was associated with the jets running the search where Woody's head's at what he wants to know. Part of interviewing with somebody, especially in a situation like becoming a head coach, you're not going to go in and pussyfoot your way around and be scared to say what you really believe. But you also don't want to go in blind and, like, have a pretty good idea of some key things that mean a lot to the owner. So you can hammer that home. I would imagine Aaron Rodgers and Woody. Woody Johnson, their relationship, I mean, give me a break. And so when you tell Aaron Rodgers that he can't go on Pat McAfee, you know, you see this sometimes. Like, big college football programs don't let freshmen talk. Some coaches are very hesitant how much rookies are allowed to speak. Aaron Rodgers, 40 years old, he's one of the greatest players in the history of the league. You know, you don't tell, like, what he can and can't do on his off day unless, you know that's really going to piss him off, and that's going to just end it right there. So it's almost like you're not just going to go into the meeting saying, like, pack up your shit and leave, but you're going to say things to him that you know is going to make him go, I don't want to be here. I'm not playing under these restrictions. Aaron Rodgers has made hundreds of millions of dollars playing football. He has been at a point in his career where, I mean, hell, the jets let him dictate everything going on. Now, that's no longer the case. But still, to say what I can and can't say or do on my day off and go on Pat McAfee show, that's clearly something they knew was going to get under a skin and essentially end the relationship. And that that's what happened. Now, you could argue it's the right thing to do, regardless, like, end the relationship with the. With Aaron Rodgers, move on. I think it. But I think that story is going to get a lot more steam. Like they told him, you are not allowed to say things to Pat and AJ Hawk. It's like, no, bro. It's like he's going to be doing Pat show no matter where he goes. It ain't that big a deal. Now, you could argue at this point in time in his career, it's, it's, it's one thing when he was humming and competing for MVPs or going to get traded out of the packers, like, it's probably pretty exhausting on the national platform. You know, Brady and Roethlisberger and all the coaches usually go on, like, their local radio affiliate, typically the station that has your broadcast, like, wherever your team's games are on on Sundays. But, like, just a lot of people pay attention, that McAfee interview, and it gets cut up. It goes viral. I do understand where they're coming from, and it can be a little exhausting. You know, it's like, Aaron, you're still playing in this thing. Obviously, players and coaches go on that show, but literally not every Tuesday during the season. So, yeah, I just think that that story, it feels a little, you know, more of a headline grabber than the actual substance behind it. Like, it wasn't about Pat McAfee in the show. It was more about, like, if you are going to stay, which we don't want you to stay, you're going to do literally everything we tell you to do. And Aaron Rodgers goes, I, I don't do what everyone tells me to do. So it's like this, this ain't gonna work. It was almost like, I'm breaking up with you before you break up with me. Which was inevitable. A little like Debo requesting a trade. Well, they were probably gonna trade you anyway, so it makes for a sexy headline. But the inevitable was written out three months ago. Tom Brady has sucked in year one for one reason and one reason only. 100% of his games he has called this season have been blowouts. I cannot remember a close game that he has called. If the games were better, he would be better from the middlemen. Actually, I've started to come around on the coffee. We're all part of the coffea I There's something about the coffee. I I kind, I kind of. I got a soft spot for Costro. It's our cafe. But middlemen obviously sticks something about middleman. I I, I don't love, I don't hate it. You're right. I mean, calling, being in your first year doing the job. And if games aren't close, it is hard to be good at the gig. It is much easier to call a game in the ebb and flow of the action when it's back and forth. And you're right. It does feel like he's called a lot of games that were pretty lopsided. I'd have to go back and, like, look game by game. But there's definitely merit to what you're saying. I'll give him credit on the super bowl. Like, I didn't the game so big and it was out of hand so fast. I had no issue, you know, with anything he did during the Super Bowl. My whole thing with Brady, and maybe this is lost and maybe this is impossible, but I just think one of his great characteristics and qualities is when the camera's off talking with someone else about football, about just BSing of being a guy and he's just always been one of the great guys because he's been one of the great teammates in the history of the league. But when the camera goes on, because he's morphed into this businessman for the last, I don't know, 15 plus years, he's very corporate and it's just, I don't know if he can ever strike that balance. I've probably been too harsh on him at times, but I'm just giving my real reaction on a Sunday night after I watch one of his games. But then I watch him like with Colin just talking about football and he can relax a little bit. I, I don't know, I, I, I don't know if that's a balance he'll ever be able to strike. You know, Aikman and Collinsworth and some of the other guys, you know, John Madden, even Gruden, they just kind of, their personality shined a little bit more through it. Some people have said, you know, Brady's voice can be a little high pitched and that's, you know, I would say off putting a little bit. I don't know, I don't, most people don't have like a perfect broadcast voice. I think it's less about the voice. You know, Romo's voice is all over the place. I think it's more just being relatable on the broadcast. Like Tom, just do like when you're talking to Edelman without the swear words in the locker room when the cameras are off. I think that will be one key for him moving forward. You could argue it's not a key because he doesn't have to. He's making $37 million a year and Fox is going to ride him like Secretariat. If you're McVeigh and less need, you have to feel pretty good about losing to the Eagles by 12 yards. And when the rest of the field got dismantled, do you think Snead should say fuck them picks again and lay down the red carpet for Stafford to can Feels like there's some weird vibes with Stafford and the Rams and it feels like it's been like this for a couple years, which is weird because I would say the rams and Sean McVay have completely changed the conversation on Matthew Stafford's career, not that, you know, I, I would say in Detroit he was viewed as this really talented guy that never wins and makes a shitload of money. He's really rich. He has no impactful games that anyone thinks about. But he's got a lot of talent, big arm and a lot of money. But that's it. Then he comes to the Rams and he's constantly playing in big games. He's constantly playing for a team in the playoffs, obviously won a Super bowl. And it's like their relationship and maybe it's just simple as like they're trying to pivot off of them. But whenever I see, like they could trade them. For who? For what? Like who would play quarterback. They drafted Stetson Bennett last year in the middle rounds and he was gone all season long. He clearly wasn't good enough. And they made a trade for Jimmy Garoppolo to be their backup. So it's like, I get you don't want to give Stafford $50 million a year even on a short term contract. If you're Stafford, you're like, I'm playing for like $30 million a year when some of these other guys are making 55. What the hell are we doing? And it's a complicated situation and I think in an ideal world they would like to have a kind of a transitional period. Maybe even a guy sit behind him for a year. Would Stafford handle that? Well, you know, his wife was like talking shit about them moving on from Cooper Cup. She's like, my husband wants to win. Like, well, yeah, your husband's only ever won here. If I was less neat, I'd say, hey listen, Kelly, for you act like we don't want to win. All you guys know is losing. You guys came here and all we've done is win. So yeah, we're moving off Cooper cup. Not because we're just some like raging assholes. He's 32 years old. He is not worth $20 million. This is a business. And the reason your husband has made 400 plus million dollars, it's a lucrative business, but you got to produce when we're paying you that much money. And Puka now is our ace in the hole. So yeah, we got to make some tough decisions, but it's not because we don't want to win. All we do here is win. So I, I wonder if, like, if I was less need and I saw Kelly Stafford's comments, like I'd be kind of mad, like, oh yeah, we're just, we're trying to tank the season. That's really what we do around here. Give me a break. So, yeah, I don't know. I feel like everything's on the table there. I, I don't know what their backup plan would be if they were to trade Stafford. Uh, I think they're less likely to do what you think and do some crazy trade and build around Stafford. At 37 years old, avid listener to your podcast. And I would love to be on the podcast one day. Vice versa. Question for the Mailbag. When you spoke about your time in nola, you mentioned all the people you met and had an opportunity to speak with. My question is, given your profession, how do you balance being a fan of someone you once watched work with vers being strictly professional? Curious your thoughts? I don't even, doesn't even cross my mind. I just act normal. I, I, I, I just act like I normally would and like, I'm, I'm not a big, like, give you a piece of paper, get an autograph guy. I, but I've never been that guy. I'm not, you know, let's take a picture in the hotel gym while you're trying to get a workout in. But I wouldn't have done that if I was selling insurance. Well, maybe I would have, but I just act like myself. I'm also not a journalist. Like, I don't. There's not some, like, unwritten rule book that I'm supposed to be following. I do whatever the fuck I want to do. And I don't mean that, like, in an arrogant way. I'm just saying, like, there aren't, like, professional rules that I have to follow. Right. I'm in a space where there aren't really rules. We kind of get to do whatever we want. And if I'm a fan of someone, I just go up and tell them that, like, I admire what you've done. Like, I, I, in 2020, at the Miami Super bowl, it was the Niners versus the Chiefs, and I flew out there and hung out for the week. It was cool. I had never been to Miami. I was like, yeah, I get it. This place is badass. One thing I'd like to, that I do regret is I was walking in one day to kind of the Radio Row era area, and I was walking right next to Little John. It's just me and Little John strive for stride. And I look at him and I go, my name's John too. Or maybe it's like, I'm also with John. And I remember him looking at me. I'm like, that's the stupidest thing I've ever said in my life. I can't believe I just said that. I don't even think he responded. I felt like an idiot. I was like, that was dumb. And we just kind of went our separate ways. But I saw Dana White in there and like, I'm not a big UFC guy, but I don't order the fights. Not because I don't appreciate how tough these guys are. It's just like, I'm not. I just don't really now if I'm with friends or people in their order, I will. But a lot of you that order all the fights, like, it's not necessarily me. But having grown up, you know, going to college when Chuck was big and he lived in San Luis where I went to college, I just really admire the business he built. And I remember him just walking by and I just went up to him and fellow bald guy, and I was like, hey, man, I really admire everything you guys have done at the UFC. And he stopped start talking. We started BSing for a minute. I think he was kind of taken back by me just saying that. And I just. When you see someone, just say what you think. I guess now I also have been around because of the job I'm in, enough famous people, like, I'm kind of knowing to leave people alone. So I think, I don't know. I don't really follow any rules because there are no rules in this world that I'm in. As a Cowboy fan, the past year has been rough. Resigning Dak and hiring Shotty, I'm sure will give us a couple more nine to 11 win seasons, but we have no shot at winning big. This is the least interested I've ever been in the team and would have preferred to reboot and tank and build off cd. And Micah, as an NFL fan, what do you think of the Cowboys direction? I will say there's never a worse time in the business model that is the NFL than when your fans start feeling, I don't hate it, I'm not fired up, I just don't really give a shit. And I think the Cowboys kind of felt a little like that this year. And I think if things continue on the path, they could feel like that the next couple years. Kind of the know, the last couple years potentially of like Jerry's life, which would be kind of crazy given his whole thing has always been like, we dominate the headlines, we're interesting whether we win it all and they don't ever win at all. We're going to Be interesting. And it feels like the Cowboys aren't really that interesting now. One thing I think is going to be on the table is I, I think Micah Parsons is going to be discussed. Now whether they actually pull the trigger or not, I don't know. But think about the Browns, their general manager, who has been adamant. I don't blame him. We are not doing this. Even though Miles Garrett's like, listen, no hard feelings. Trade me. Trade me. Trade me. Come get me. Trade me. We're clearly. Micah Parsons doesn't want to leave the Cowboys. But like, I think Stephen Jones said it in the fall and rumors have been flying during super bowl week. Like, this dude's gonna be, quote, unquote, available, but, like, open for a discussion, right? You could call the Eagles for Jalen Carter. Like, they're not having a discussion with you. Like, in theory, you would call about Michael Parsons and they would hang up on you. They're having discussions. So if you get two ones, two twos and kind of help reset your franchise, is that the right move? The problem is if you just get a bunch of young guys and they're a couple years away from being really high end players, it doesn't necessarily help you now. And I just, I don't know, man. I think it's going to be a long, long season for, for Dallas. Not because they're going to be terrible. I mean, clearly last year with, with they had so many injuries and they were still pretty competitive when they had enough guys on the field, even with Dakout. And I think if you're healthy and depending on how the draft goes, you could compete for a wild card spot, but it's just going to feel like we're not winning a playoff game. And I think it's got to hurt. You know, part of the Dallas Cowboy brand was we're just the biggest brand in the NFL. And now it's like you're second fiddle by a mile to the Eagles in your own division. Not because they have, quote, unquote, more fans worldwide or whatever, but, like, they're winning Super Bowls. You haven't even been to the conference championship game. Have not been to the conference championship game in two and a half decades. This was a question that was asked before the super bowl, but I, I just wanted to include it. What do you think the spread would be for tears cried before the national anthem or during the national anthem? I think Chris Jones ought to be a half tier favorite over Sirianni. He cries more frequently, but I could see Sirianni saving up More for the big moment. Yeah, I think Chris Jones is the dick for meal of players. Chris Jones, you just give him a big moment, he takes it in and cries and you know, I wonder if Sirianni there was more focus. I wonder if Sirianni and I haven't seen any quotes on this when he did it the first time. You're just coaching the super bowl, however old he was. 39, 40 years old, 38 at the time. You've been a head coach for two years. You're in the super bowl facing Andy Reid and Mahomes. You just kind of overcome with emotion where, where Chris Jones to me he's just, he's crying at Super Bowl. He's crying at his daughter's first grade graduation. He probably cries some post games. Like he's just, you just emotionally moved. It's kind of dick for a meal. I mean I, I felt like Dick Vermeil cried every other press conference he ever had. This is a professional question. I've always wanted to get a job in football, but due to some family stuff, I had to work as soon as high school ended. I've been considering going back to college as I've been in a sales role for the past four years. Of course your network matters, but how much emphasis do teams put on the requirement of a degree when becoming a scout or member of the front office? I truly want to pursue this and just want to pursue and just want to know what I should focus on. 23 year old Browns fan from South Texas. I don't think necessarily like having a degree is the reason you get hired in jobs in the NFL, specifically scouting. But I, I can't imagine there are many scouts or people working in the front office that didn't go to college. You know, some former players that maybe left school early to go play in the NFL or when they left college to go pursue an NFL career, didn't quote unquote, graduate. Like no one's checking. Like if I was a fifth year guy and I left Oklahoma to train for the draft and I still 10 credit short, no one cares. I think it would be very, very difficult to not have attended college and get hired in the NFL. So if that is truly a desire of yours, I think it would be basically impossible to do now. You could circumvent that by maybe getting in sales, ticket sales or one of those jobs and maybe they require. I, I don't know. It's hard for me to know because when I got hired, I got hired from college football. I was working, you know, I already had a college degree, not that it came up. I don't remember the interview. But I couldn't have got hired in college football without my degree at Cal Poly. So you're talking to someone who, who thinks, you know, college education can be extremely overrated. And people that, I would say go around it and never experience does not dictate your future success. We obviously know a lot of people that not only never graduated college, that dropped out of college, that went on to have a lot of success. Now, overall, I think statistics back up that you are more likely to earn more money going to college because like you said, you network and you meet different. A new level of people that you just wouldn't have known otherwise. But I think in this situation, just like a lot of situations, you know, whether it's certain industries, it is very difficult to just get your foot in the door if on your resume you didn't go to college, fair or not. Those are just kind of the. The price of admission of the current quote, unquote rules to get accepted, to even have a chance to get entry as an opportunity. So, you know, I'm not trying to recommend or not, but you're. You're really young. You know, you're 23 years old. I would imagine you can do now college a lot online. Probably pretty easy. We would have had online classes when I was in school 15, 20 years ago. Been incredible. We had to actually go to class. Well, go to class to be strong. You're supposed to go to class. Mailbag. Name for the fans, the coordinators. You're the head coach and your fans are the coordinators. We have a very, very. You guys got good ideas. You. You guys come up with a lot of good ideas, and I appreciate that. Wanted to send a question for the bag. I was just watching your podcast where you talked about Miles Garrett and the NFL expanding to Australia in the 18 games. I'm from Canada and a huge fan. Do you have any thoughts on why the NFL is so inclined to expand to so many other countries and not coming back to Canada at all? We are a country that is. That has football as part of our sporting culture and of many Canadian players currently in the league. Would love to hear your thoughts. I think if the podcast you're referring to, I think my theory is pretty simple. Why they're going to Ireland or why they're going to Brazil or I think Australia is. Because Netflix and streaming, it's just the land grab, right? They've got America and I would imagine a decent amount of people in some of these Canadian markets watch the NFL. Where they're really trying to expand is, is England, is Ireland, is Germany, is South America, Australia, New Zealand. So when a game goes on Netflix, it's not just a dude in Dallas or a dude in Seattle or even a guy in British Columbia. It's like the dude in Sydney, Australia, guy in New Zealand, guy in Germany, got a cat in Spain, is watching. And I do wonder if that is kind of their move on this because I think they're expanding worldwide because these streamers have the capability to stream worldwide. You know, like, don't quote me on this, but. And for those of you that live internationally, know better. I, I've, I haven't been international, like lived internationally. I went for like a month when I was 2006 to Spain. They didn't have Fox and CBS. So now granted I went in the summer, football wasn't even being played. But I'm not sure you could watch. Now obviously it's 2025, it's dramatically different. And maybe YouTube TV. I, I just think Netflix and Amazon prime and these streaming services are just game changing, game changing. Okay, we'll end on this. This is an interesting question. I took some questions before, like the recent batch, so I'll answer over the next couple days. Some of you guys that have, that have hit me recently, but I'm trying to backtrack a little bit. I've heard you mention a few times in the last few weeks. Do you think the only team in the playoffs that believed they could beat the Chiefs was the Bills? The Eagles did go into Arrowhead last year and beat them in November. My question would be, is one game not enough to give them that belief? Well, one thing's clear, the Eagles went into that game believing they can win. And you're right. You know, sometimes when you get the AFC NFC matchups, you play them once every, you know, quarter. Once every four years. Right. So the Eagles and the Chiefs played and they won't play again for a couple more seasons. It's kind of a unique one off situation, which is cool, which keeps the NFL fresh as you get these new matchups every year. My take on the Bills was they've just played them so many times and they've beat him multiple times. Now it's in the regular season now. Just because you believe they can win, they can't beat them. Now the Eagles defensively are in a different stratosphere than the Bills. And you know, one thing really hit me and I've been saying this For a while, the league has changed the rules. So the John Lynch's and the Ray Lewis's and honestly, even the way like Cam Chancellor and Richard Sherman, like guys aren't getting hit like that anymore in the NFL. And if you do 15 yellow flags fly out and that's just a fact and it's not going to change moving forward. The one area where you can still be really violent is the line of scrimmage. Not with the quarterback, but with each other. O lineman and D lineman get after it. So when you have great physical, dominant players up there, you can really dictate the terms of a game. And what the Philadelphia Eagles did on Sunday is like their defensive line dictated the terms of that game. And they were, it felt like they were picking up the Chiefs offensive lineman picking them up and just shoving them around. It was like, how did they block for this guy all season long? And I know it's been up and down, but Josh Sweat, it felt like was just lifting Thuney into the air. Their defensive tackles were given the left guard and center problems. They were just, they dominated. And obviously the offensive line, they're just an excellent offensive line. They play well against anyone. But whenever I see a headline like the 49ers, should they be interested in Devonte Adams? Like, what are we doing? O line, D line, O line, D line, O line, D line. Anytime that you hear, like, that's one thing when your team sucks and you're going to sign T. Higgins, okay, but if you're a playoff team and it is not about offensive and defensive line, it's like, what are we wasting our time on? Why? Why are we having this conversation? What a waste of breath. And I think people ask me this a lot is like, from the fans to the GMs, like, we all know how to build the team, but why once they get in these situations, do they pivot? And I was talking to some buddies when I was at the Super Bowl. It's like, you know, if you don't think this guy's going to be a star offensive lineman and you can draft Malik neighbors, like if you're the Giants, the Chiefs and the Eagles have Malik neighbors, like one of the best players in the draft. It's like, okay, you take a guy like Malik neighbors, Julio Jones, right? There are certain players like, listen, we feel good about taking this guy high, but if you take Malik neighbors and you could have taken Joe Alt, it's like, well, I think Joe Alt can be a five time Pro Bowler. That's a mistake, right? Or, you know, an impact defensive lineman. That's a mistake. And think of the teams that benefited last year. The Rams. Jared Verse was sitting down. You know, I think The Rams drafted 17th or 18th. How was he there? Now? Part of it were a bunch of quarterbacks went. But like, you're telling me, like, think about this. With the Bears, everyone's like, you know, the Bears, their offensive line sucked. And it's true. I think they should have taken an offensive lineman over Roma Dunze. They should have taken, like, Jared Verse over Roma Dunes. You got it. The line of scrimmage is where you impact the game. Obviously, your quarterback play matters a lot. That's on the quarterback coach the coordinator. But when you could dominate the line of scrimmage, you can hang with a lot of teams. Look at the Texans. Their offensive line sucked, but their D line was good and the defense was good. Because usually when you have a good defensive line, your defense can be pretty good. It makes your DBs look a lot better. So I think sometimes people talk that way and they believe that way, and then they get put in the situation and you're just like, ah, we'll just take the wide receiver. It's crazy. It's like studying for the test. You know the answers, and then you get the test. It's like A, B, C or D. And you see the answer and you're like, I'm just gonna go with D instead of B. Even though I. I'm pretty sure B's the right answer. Something that happens. I don't know if it's like, human psychology, if it's like, under the gun. Certain people just stick to it more often than others. And for whatever reason, people talk about it and they don't act about it consistently. It's weird. But offensive, defensive line, that's where you gotta live when it comes to football. The volume.