3 & Out - Preseason PREVIEW, Rashawn Slater INJURED, Fugazi Friday

Summary

Summary of Episode: 3 & Out - Preseason PREVIEW, Rashawn Slater INJURED, Fugazi Friday

Released on August 8, 2025, "The Herd with Colin Cowherd" hosted by iHeartPodcasts and The Volume, delves into the top sports stories of the day with insightful discussions and expert opinions. In this episode, Colin Cowherd and co-host John Middlekauff provide a comprehensive preview of the NFL preseason, analyze the impact of Rashawn Slater's injury on the Chargers, and explore the nuances of preseason statistics in their Fugazi Friday segment.

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1. Preseason Preview

Overview: Colin Cowherd initiates the episode by setting the stage for the NFL preseason, aiming to dissect what to observe, dismiss, and prioritize during these games.

Key Points:

• Different Team Approaches: Teams vary significantly in their preseason strategies. For instance, Andy Reid’s approach contrasts with Sean McVay’s, highlighting the absence of a one-size-fits-all method.

• Player Utilization: The discussion emphasizes that some teams rule differently in preseason games, affecting how starters and fringe players are managed.

Notable Quote:

Colin Cowherd [03:08]: "Obviously some teams operate different in these preseason games than others. We'll discuss that."

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2. Coaching Philosophies During Preseason

Overview: The hosts delve into how different coaching styles influence preseason gameplay and player evaluations.

Key Points:

• Andy Reid vs. Sean McVay: Reid is noted for his traditional approach, often easing starters into games, whereas McVay may adopt a more aggressive strategy.

• Joint Practices: A growing trend of joint practices between teams is discussed. Reid's reluctance to participate in joint practices is highlighted as a strategy to prevent exposing fringe players to other teams.

Notable Quote:

John Middlekauff [07:46]: "Andy would tell you I've never asked him, but, like, I've never done it. I'm not comfortable with another team seeing my fringe players."

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3. Player Evaluation and the Importance of Preseason Performance

Overview: A deep dive into how players are assessed during the preseason and the significance of their performances in securing a spot on the team.

Key Points:

• Evaluation Metrics: Emphasis on physical attributes, play execution, and the ability to make impactful plays. The conversation underscores that consistent performance can outweigh previous college accolades.

• Example of Victory Cruz: The story of Victor Cruz is used to illustrate how impressive preseason performances can lead to significant contributions during the regular season.

Notable Quotes:

John Middlekauff [10:17]: "I'm evaluating his physical characteristics, how they look in an NFL uniform."

Colin Cowherd [12:24]: "The easiest way to jump out."

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4. Impact of Rashawn Slater's Injury on the Chargers

Overview: The episode takes a somber turn discussing Rashawn Slater's significant knee injury, exploring its repercussions on the Chargers' offensive line and overall team dynamics.

Key Points:

• Severity of Injury: Slater's torn patellar tendon is detailed, comparing its impact to ACL injuries but noting the different recovery trajectories.

• Team's Offensive Line: The Chargers were praised for their robust offensive line, and Slater's injury poses a challenge in maintaining their status as one of the league's best.

• Coaching Response: Colin reflects on the emotional and strategic fallout from the injury, emphasizing the adaptability required from the coaching staff and players.

Notable Quotes:

Colin Cowherd [35:32]: "What the Chargers drafted him high. They just paid him a boatload of money. The reason I like the Chargers..."

John Middlekauff [37:36]: "But this is the risk of football. This is why these guys hold out for the guaranteed money."

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5. Fugazi Friday: The Misinterpretation of Preseason Statistics

Overview: In the Fugazi Friday segment, Colin and John discuss the pitfalls of overanalyzing preseason stats and how they can be misleading without proper context.

Key Points:

• J.J. Watt's Critique: The conversation references J.J. Watt's dissatisfaction with how preseason stats are presented, arguing that they don't accurately reflect a player's potential in regular-season games.

• Contextual Analysis: Emphasis on understanding the quality of opposition and the limited number of games when evaluating player performances.

• Media Influence: The role of social media and media outlets in amplifying certain statistics without conveying their true significance is critiqued.

Notable Quotes:

Colin Cowherd [24:45]: "It's just like we live in a different era where everyone is so obsessed with what's going on on social media."

John Middlekauff [43:20]: "But we can't convince me that the backup quarterback, the third string quarterback, all the skill guys who aren't starters, the defensive players are a little harder to get statistics..."

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6. Conclusion and Final Thoughts

Overview: Wrapping up the episode, Colin and John reflect on the complexities of the preseason, the emotional toll of player injuries, and the importance of a holistic approach to evaluating talent.

Key Points:

• Human Element in Sports: Acknowledgment that behind every statistic and game tape are human emotions and the unpredictable nature of sports.

• Forecasting Team Success: Predictions are made regarding how injuries and preseason performances might influence the upcoming regular season.

Notable Quotes:

Colin Cowherd [47:35]: "Because if they don't, it doesn't matter."

John Middlekauff [48:13]: "It'S just not true."

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Conclusion: This episode of "The Herd with Colin Cowherd" offers an in-depth analysis of the NFL preseason, highlighting the strategic differences among coaching philosophies, the critical nature of player evaluations, and the unpredictable impact of injuries like that of Rashawn Slater. The Fugazi Friday segment serves as a caution against the superficial interpretation of preseason statistics, urging listeners to consider the broader context. Overall, Colin and John provide valuable insights for fans aiming to understand the intricacies of preseason football and its implications for the regular season ahead.

Transcript

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The volume.

[Colin Cowherd]

What is going on everybody. How are we doing? Happy fugazi Friday and today I thought we would do a little preview for the preseason.

[John Middlekauff]

Just what to look for, what not to look for, what matters, what doesn't matter.

[Colin Cowherd]

Obviously some teams operate different in these preseason games than others. We'll discuss that.

[John Middlekauff]

Andy Reid's philosophy is a lot different.

[Colin Cowherd]

Than Sean McVay's and we've seen over the years there's no right or wrong way to do this. And we also had a major, major injury to a highly paid player today, Rashawn Slater for the Chargers or start left tackle who just got a huge contract, had a devastating knee injury. So we'll dive into that.

[John Middlekauff]

No mailbag today.

[Colin Cowherd]

I'm probably going to save it for next week. We'll do a big, big mailbag coming out of the weekend for sure. So keep firing in those DMS at John Middlekopf. At John Middlekopf is the Instagram and get your questions answered on the show. But other than that, you guys know the drill. If you listen on Collins feed, make sure you subscribe to three and out. We have a podcast feed, Apple Spotify, we got you covered. Also have a YouTube feed, all of our contents on there as well. Make sure you jump on that subscribe. All our content is up and I will be in Chicago this weekend with with Coward. So I'm looking forward to it.

[John Middlekauff]

Never been to Chicago even though it's.

[Colin Cowherd]

Like a 24 hour trip. But I'm excited and I will report back to what goes down.

[John Middlekauff]

But first I got to tell you about my friends, my partners and the official ticketing app of this podcast.

[Colin Cowherd]

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[John Middlekauff]

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[John Middlekauff]

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[Colin Cowherd]

The team, the coaches, the Front office to kind of get out of the.

[John Middlekauff]

Monotony of just every day same thing. Wake up, breakfast meetings, practice, lunch meetings, walk through meetings, bed, day in and.

[Colin Cowherd]

Day out to actually play someone else.

[John Middlekauff]

And the broadcasts are enjoyable in the.

[Colin Cowherd]

Sense that usually your local radio, television or local radio is.

[John Middlekauff]

Crew is doing your TV, your GMs in the booth, the team president's in the booth, the owner might be in the booth. It's just. It's just an easy environment for a lot being on the line. Now, big picture with a preseason game, there's not a right or wrong way to do it. Historically, before this last cba, coaches when there were four games, would ease their starters in. Guys might play a series or two, Game one, guys might play a quarter, game two. And typically they would try to get guys to play a full half and sometimes come out of halftime to get in that rhythm, play one more series and then yank them Game three. And then everyone was down.

[Colin Cowherd]

Game four.

[John Middlekauff]

I remember the year Derek Carr was drafted and he won the job against Matt Schaub, Pete Carroll and Lob in the height and peak of their powers, played their starters for a series in game four. It was a big reason Derek won the starting job, because the first series of the game, he went right down the field against Cam Chancellor, Richard Sherman, Earl Thomas and let a touchdown drive. So old school coaches, Pete Carroll, Andy Reid, they have no problem playing these guys. It was reported day I saw a headline, which Andy's been doing forever. Patrick Mahomes, he plans on playing a quarter. Now, if you score a touchdown, if you have two good drives, maybe I yank you after one. But those guys play. It's the one thing nice about a Chiefs game you expect. When you sit down on the couch, you watch those guys play. But what does Andy Reid not do? He doesn't do joint practices. He does not go up against other teams. In that scenario, which I think the joint practice throughout the league, which the overwhelming majority of teams do, 49ers Broncos had one today, Washington had one against the Patriots. I saw the Ravens and the Colts, the Raiders and Niners will do one next. It's happening all over. The place has become the new preseason game. So my starters, my veteran players, that's where they get their work.

[Colin Cowherd]

And then I don't need to play.

[John Middlekauff]

Them in the preseason. Now, I think Andy would tell you I've never asked him, but, like, I've never done it. I'm not comfortable with another team seeing my fringe players, you know, in that environment is different. In A game where I somewhat control. When they come in and out in a practice, everyone's repping throughout, especially against another team. Everyone in the league talks. It's kind of like a high school. They get on the phone, they start Talking to other GMs, like, I'm not doing that. Which I completely understand. And for a guy with his resume, can do whatever he wants. I do think it's harder for younger coaches to pull off. And clearly they're more numb to the fact that the game of telephone can get out about your players. Because this is the time of year where the reason these preseason games have a lot of value is every personnel.

[Colin Cowherd]

Department, all 32, if they're doing a good job.

[John Middlekauff]

But I would imagine every team does evaluates literally every guy that plays in the game. Now, if you're playing, like, if Patrick Mahomes ends up playing, the only reason he's getting evaluated is because, like, for.

[Colin Cowherd]

Example, the Chargers who are playing him week one, are looking for scheme stuff. They're not evaluating like Patrick. He's.

[John Middlekauff]

He went three steps back.

[Colin Cowherd]

Like, they're not evaluating like these other players.

[John Middlekauff]

But every team in the league, especially second string and third string, is you are getting a grade no different than a college scout going into a program. Evaluate the film. Now, because it's only three games, you potentially get 20, 30, 50, 100. Who knows how many plays you end up playing. But every play that you play is being watched by personnel people and then graded. And obviously the majority of guys that play a large portion are guys that were either drafted this year or undrafted free agents or drafted last year or within the last two years and have been on practice squads. So from a lot of these guys, they don't have week one through week 17 film. They have not played in regular season games. So this is their resume. This is their chance to prove themselves. And I think when you look at these preseason games, I thought we'd do a little like, what matters and what doesn't matter. Because there's always a lot of banter about, like, this Guy ran for 300 yards in three games and he got cut and he's on a practice squad. How did he not make a team? You got to be very careful about this because I learned this. I'm no different. I remember when I was at Cal Poly, a guy, I forget his name, he was an undrafted free agent to.

[Colin Cowherd]

The Raiders, a middle linebacker who.

[John Middlekauff]

He had just won the Blitnikov Award, and he led the team in tackles during the preseason. I'm like, this guy's not only going to make the team, he's going to, I don't know, he's going to be a starter in the league and he got cut and he was out of the league. So you got to be very, very careful about watching these games and understanding.

[Colin Cowherd]

What actually is evaluated.

[John Middlekauff]

Now I think big picture wise, when I'm evaluating a fifth round pick, a.

[Colin Cowherd]

Six round pick, a seventh round pick.

[John Middlekauff]

I'm looking at him a little bit.

[Colin Cowherd]

Like a college player from, from a scouting perspective because I don't necessarily have.

[John Middlekauff]

The playbook if I don't work for that team. So I don't know exactly what he's trying to do. And I'm not going to have access to calling up the coordinator like I would as a college scout and be like, how's this guy learn? Does he know what's going on? So I'm evaluating his physical characteristics, how they look in an NFL uniform. Because it is crazy how often a guy that you really liked in college or didn't like and then you see him in this scenario playing, hey, he's a two, going up against a two, a guy that's going to make a roster and he looks pretty good, like.

[Colin Cowherd]

God, I was a little low on this guy.

[John Middlekauff]

He looks pretty solid. But hey, what you did in college and your draft evaluation once these games.

[Colin Cowherd]

Start don't have that much merit.

[John Middlekauff]

Now where they do is once you get cut, even if you've struggled a little in the preseason, maybe we entertain claiming you because like, oh, we had like a third round grade on this guy.

[Colin Cowherd]

You got drafted in the sixth round.

[John Middlekauff]

We like him, but you got to.

[Colin Cowherd]

Be careful with that.

[John Middlekauff]

And I think in these moments for these players, the number one thing you.

[Colin Cowherd]

Can do, like whether you're playing up.

[John Middlekauff]

Against a guy that's going to play in the league for 10 years or a guy within a year is going.

[Colin Cowherd]

To be selling insurance, is to make plays.

[John Middlekauff]

Make plays, obviously as a skill guy, as a tight end, as a wide receiver, as a running back, anytime the ball's in your hand, if you do something good, break a tackle, make a guy miss, just make a positive play. There's nothing wrong with that. Regardless of the context, regardless, that is the number one goal. Make things happen. As an offensive player and to me as a defensive player, it's one playing fast, like looking fast on tape is.

[Colin Cowherd]

Something the easiest way to jump out.

[John Middlekauff]

Obviously depending on your position, like if you're an end, being able to bend.

[Colin Cowherd]

The edge, if you're a defensive tackle, being able to, you Know, hold the.

[John Middlekauff]

Point and stuff the run. There's position specific shit you got to be able to do, but looking fast. If you're a corner, can you run with whoever? And do you look like you are going stride for stride with whoever they put out there? If you're a safety, can you cover ground? If you're a linebacker, can you go sideline to sideline? Because that is the easiest, quickest way to gain someone's just like, kind of attention. And then obviously from there, making open field tackles, being violent, being physical, but no one will ever complain. It doesn't guarantee you making a roster or even getting claimed. But to me, the number one thing that does matter is making plays. It's like I remember, and again, I use the Niners as a lot of examples because I don't watch that much preseason football. But I remember watching Brock Purdy in that time and like, the reason he made the team is because when you put them on the field with like random dudes, that fucking guy was making plays. And it's happened to the first game I ever went to, the first NFL game I ever went to, when I got hired by the Eagles, actually went.

[Colin Cowherd]

There with Lewis Riddick.

[John Middlekauff]

It was a Monday Night Football game.

[Colin Cowherd]

Against the in MetLife Stadium, right? We, I don't think the Eagles, we'd even played a game, maybe we had played the previous day, but I went there with Lewis and it was like kind of teaching me how to scout and like kind of what NFL people do and how to handle and conduct yourself in that scenario. And it was Jets versus the Giants.

[John Middlekauff]

And this undrafted free agent from UMass.

[Colin Cowherd]

That, of course, I mean, I'm coming from Fresno State. I know, I didn't even know UMass. I just thought of him, about John Calipari and a basketball team.

[John Middlekauff]

Didn't even know they had a football team. And this undrafted free agent wide receiver named Victor Cruz had one of the greatest games you'll ever see.

[Colin Cowherd]

I'm pretty sure he had three touchdowns in that game. And it was like, Jesus.

[John Middlekauff]

And I think it's fair to say.

[Colin Cowherd]

Looking back, like, he, he made the.

[John Middlekauff]

Team that night alone, but obviously he had a really good preseason, made a.

[Colin Cowherd]

Bunch of plays, and the rest is history. And then by the middle of the season, they had some injuries and Victor Cruz is born. I think by the next year they.

[John Middlekauff]

They win the super bowl that year. They won it the next year.

[Colin Cowherd]

I can't remember. But he, he obviously played a big role because he got thrust in based on injuries. But he made the Team simply because, like, this guy's a play, this guy can do shit. So I think the simplicity of this is like, just do positive things, right?

[John Middlekauff]

And I think if you want to try to make your own team separate from everyone evaluating you, because as a scout watching on tape, I don't ne. I have a pretty good idea depending on the team, I'm watching, like, type plays they run, but I don't have the actual play call in front of me. If I am coach X, right?

[Colin Cowherd]

If I am the offensive coordinator for the. If I'm Brian Schottenheimer, I guess he's not even in control, but whatever, coach, right? Mike McDonald in Seattle, Kyle Shanahan, Sean McVeigh.

[John Middlekauff]

Do you know what you're doing? Do you know where to line up? Do you know the play calls? Do you know, right, If a defensive player, are you lined up in the right spot once the play is run, do you know what your assignment is? Even if you screw up in terms of like, the ball was there, I missed it, or I missed an open field tackle or I slipped on a route, Do I know the actual route? Did I break off the route at the right distance? Do I know what I'm doing? Because the easiest way to just be like for the coaching staff to get down on you even more than the personnel guys is not having a clue.

[Colin Cowherd]

What the play calls are.

[John Middlekauff]

And obviously there's a lot going on. This is intense time of year. I think it's a little bit, you know, the football version for young players.

[Colin Cowherd]

Of like, you know, SEAL training or, you know, you know, hell week for.

[John Middlekauff]

The army, the Marines, whoever, to try to throw a lot at you, seeing, like how much you can handle. And some guys absolutely crumble in that environment. And some guys, even if you screw up occasionally, it's like, okay, I'm okay the next play. I bounce back, I know what I'm doing. I make a play. Like, can you mentally handle stuff? And the more and more tired you get because, listen, you're obviously in good shape. You've been at training camp, it's been hot. You go in a game, your adrenaline is going extra hard. If you're a sixth, seventh undrafted free agent, a fifth round pick, how fourth.

[Colin Cowherd]

Round picks get cut, you kind of.

[John Middlekauff]

Know what's on the line. Can you handle yourself?

[Colin Cowherd]

Can you?

[John Middlekauff]

Because the moment I think Jimmy Johnson coward makes or fatigue makes cowards of us all, I don't think it just.

[Colin Cowherd]

Makes cowards football players. Because when you can't breathe, you just, your physical nature goes. Your head Goes too.

[John Middlekauff]

You can't think straight, right? You go right now, if you're in shape or out of shape, do something physically to the level of where you can barely breathe and your heart's pounding. It's hard to think, right?

[Colin Cowherd]

All you care about is, how do I get air? How do I get fluids in me?

[John Middlekauff]

And these games are a little bit like that with these younger players, where a coach goes, hey, call.

[Colin Cowherd]

Play that.

[John Middlekauff]

We've only ran it once, Coach.

[Colin Cowherd]

I want to see if these guys can handle it. Can they process it and then can they execute it? So. And that is. That's how you make an individual team.

[John Middlekauff]

Like, you can look good on tape and have no clue what you're doing and run the wrong play. Call. And look good to me sitting in the booth or sitting in my office.

[Colin Cowherd]

Evaluating you a week later. But if I talk to your position.

[John Middlekauff]

Coach, your coordinator, your head coach, two days later, when they're going over the film as a team, he might have.

[Colin Cowherd]

Got his ass ripped and got lit up and got called an idiot because he's like, we've done this 10 times.

[John Middlekauff]

And you lined up in the wrong spot, or you didn't come in motion. We've talked about this 15 times. Yet on that play, he catches the ball, he breaks the tackle, and he goes for 20 yards, right? Or a linebacker lined up in the completely wrong spot goes the wrong way. But he's a great athlete. Turns around, makes the tackle. And in that team meeting two days later, Mike Vrabel, Todd Bowles, Mike McDonald.

[Colin Cowherd]

Is like, what are you doing?

[John Middlekauff]

It's like, great, you're an athlete. But from an evaluation standpoint, other teams.

[Colin Cowherd]

Like, look at this guy move. Little do they know. Doesn't know what's going on.

[John Middlekauff]

So I think that's key. And overall, it always stands out. It stands out in the regular season. It stands out in any level of football, from high school to college to the pros. Energy, effort, and violence. Like, when you are flying around, you do stand out. And this is what we talked about. Like, you cannot know what's going on, so your own team does you. But if you are flying around, it's.

[Colin Cowherd]

Hard not to jump off the screen.

[John Middlekauff]

And that's back to, like, play.

[Colin Cowherd]

Speed never turns people off, because if.

[John Middlekauff]

You play fast, it's the best defenses I've ever seen.

[Colin Cowherd]

You know, we talk so much about, like, physicality, like, how hard they hit you. I saw the Denver team that was.

[John Middlekauff]

Elite with Peyton Manning.

[Colin Cowherd]

I saw Lob. That was, you know, one of the best defenses. Ever. I saw those Harbaugh teams with Bowman and Willis. I'd say one thing they've all had in common, obviously the Eagles last year, team speed. And that always translates obviously to offense. It translates. So playing fast and when you're thinking a lot, it's no different in any line of work, right?

[John Middlekauff]

It's hard to be confident. Part of confidence, I think, whatever you're doing is when you actually don't have.

[Colin Cowherd]

To think that much. You're just reacting. Whether it's in a business meeting, whether it's now in a podcast, whether it's.

[John Middlekauff]

On the football field playing safety or corner or linebacker. It's like, you know, the play call and then you can just play. Coaches have been talking about this forever at every level. It's why they're so big on, like, studying, knowing your assignments. So you go out there, you not even thinking about what to do.

[Colin Cowherd]

Listen, I did not thrive in academia. I would have thrived in this era when Chad, GPT and GROK and AI and all that shit and I could just get all the answers. But back we didn't have that in my day.

[John Middlekauff]

You know, it makes me feel really.

[Colin Cowherd]

Old because I would have died for that. I saw some chart about, like, open.

[John Middlekauff]

AI, the usage, falling off a cliff in early June. It's like, yeah, school's out for the summer. College and high school.

[Colin Cowherd]

And it's like, God, I would have loved that. It also shows you, like, is academia in some trouble? Is it going to be rendered kind of irrelevant?

[John Middlekauff]

That's a conversation for a different day. But my point is, you don't.

[Colin Cowherd]

There's no cheat code when you're out on the field. You either know the play, call that.

[John Middlekauff]

The middle linebacker, the quarterback is telling.

[Colin Cowherd]

You in the huddle, or you don't.

[John Middlekauff]

And then from there, if you don't.

[Colin Cowherd]

You better play fast.

[John Middlekauff]

Because I think coaches can at least attempt to look past and give you more of an opportunity. It's like he doesn't know what's going.

[Colin Cowherd]

On, but, God, he's the fastest guy on the field.

[John Middlekauff]

So it sounds. Sometimes we overanalyze and over complicate this sport. Like, this sport is played by strong, fast, physical people, you know, and they all come in different shapes and sizes, right? Adrian Peterson looks a lot different. Darren Sprouls, both guys that got some.

[Colin Cowherd]

Open grass were fucking gone. And like, this is the time of.

[John Middlekauff]

Year where you do Victor Cruz.

[Colin Cowherd]

Like, you do things that whether you.

[John Middlekauff]

Knew the playbook or you didn't, you score a couple touchdowns in a Game. Because here's the thing, here's what doesn't matter necessarily. Just because you score one touchdown or have a big run or sack the quarterback, it doesn't mean it's that impressive, right? Like in, in, in an NFL regular season game, if I score a touchdown on the Baltimore Ravens guy, blue assignment.

[Colin Cowherd]

Or not, like that's a big deal.

[John Middlekauff]

If you score a touchdown in the preseason, there's a chance that the entire defensive backfield has no clue what's going on. They all run the wrong way and.

[Colin Cowherd]

You just walk right in.

[John Middlekauff]

And all those guys are not going.

[Colin Cowherd]

To even be on practice squads if it's in the fourth quarter, right?

[John Middlekauff]

This happens sometimes in college. Like, oh, this guy had 12 sacks. He played in the SEC, right? He played at Missouri, he played at Mississippi State and he had double digit sacks. And then you, and then you look into it, you're like, well, eight of those 11 sacks came against D1 Double A opponents and the other three sacks came against the worst team in the SEC. When he played up against Bama, LSU, Georgia, in Tennessee, he had one total tackle. You're like kind of a red flag.

[Colin Cowherd]

In preseason can be like that a little bit, right?

[John Middlekauff]

So it's like, yeah, he had two sacks and you look at both the.

[Colin Cowherd]

Sacks, you're like, well, the offensive lineman completely whiffed on one and on the other one he went the wrong way and no one even touched him.

[John Middlekauff]

It's like, well, if you are smoking guys and you're like making moves and you know, driving guys into the ground to the quarterback, okay? So the context of your production, because every team in the league over the.

[Colin Cowherd]

Course of the preseason will print out statistic leaders like who's leading the league.

[John Middlekauff]

In rushing yards, who's leading the lead in tackles, who's leading, this is the preseason. Who's leading the league in catches, who's leading the league in completion percentage. And that alerts you. But then you got to break it down. You do that same stuff in college, right? Who's leading the Big Ten, the ACC, the SEC, Division 1 AA, the Mountain West. Just because you're the league leader in whatever doesn't mean you're necessarily a high.

[Colin Cowherd]

End draft pick or an NFL player.

[John Middlekauff]

Sometimes it does. So that's where you really got to.

[Colin Cowherd]

Dive in and that's where context in the preseason matters.

[John Middlekauff]

But like I said, no one ever complains for making plays. So even if the guy falls down.

[Colin Cowherd]

You better get to the quarterback, right?

[John Middlekauff]

If the corner trips and that ball's coming your way, you better catch it and score. So this is where there's a lot of pressure. I'll never forget Phil Savage, who was a GM in the league, ran the Senior bowl and worked for the Joe.

[Colin Cowherd]

Douglas forever when he was at the Jets. Joe Douglas's guy from the Ravens. Phil was originally. That's where he met Joe.

[John Middlekauff]

And I remember talking to him one.

[Colin Cowherd]

Time and he said, this is when he was the GM of the Browns back in like 2006, 2007, 2008. He said he walked around before the.

[John Middlekauff]

Game of the preseason.

[Colin Cowherd]

He saw some of these guys, like, so nervous they couldn't even walk straight.

[John Middlekauff]

And wanted to throw up.

[Colin Cowherd]

And he's thinking to himself, he's like, guys, we just drafted you in the third round. You are coming from USC or Texas or Alabama.

[John Middlekauff]

You've been playing in front of 80,000 people for the last three years, dominating all American. You just got drafted, right? And you're nervous about this environment. The stadium is going to be half full. It's not, but you just.

[Colin Cowherd]

It's part of.

[John Middlekauff]

It's the uniform. Part of it is the NFL.

[Katie Couric]

The.

[John Middlekauff]

It's actually very understandable because once you know, you red shirt or whatever and you become a starter, even if it's at Alabama or Ohio State or Texas, you gain some confidence. It just becomes part of the deal. And then you're like, I'm good. But then you come to the NFL, you've never done this before. You just practice for a couple of weeks. You're like, I totally understand where the players are coming from. The irony, though, is they have played in games. Maybe not the personal pressure on them, but the overall pressure of playing like Alabama against Tennessee is way more intense and way more on the line.

[Colin Cowherd]

You know, just in terms of your.

[John Middlekauff]

Team and what's going on.

[Colin Cowherd]

Than the Redskins playing the Patriots, right?

[John Middlekauff]

But that's where the preseason has a.

[Colin Cowherd]

Little bit of minor league baseball to it.

[John Middlekauff]

It's almost like you're not playing for yourself. Totally, because it's still like you need the other 10 guys, but you're kind of focused on yourself where in a regular season game, it's all about the team. It's all about doing your job to help out the other guys in the preseason. It's like kind of about that. But it's like, you, you better do.

[Colin Cowherd]

The right thing because three of the.

[John Middlekauff]

Other 10, 11 guys might suck. They might have no clue what's going on.

[Colin Cowherd]

You can't really worry about them.

[John Middlekauff]

We're in a regular season game. If your teammates are struggling, you're doing everything you can to help them out. Get everyone on the same page. This is, this got a little triple.

[Colin Cowherd]

A baseball to it in terms of.

[John Middlekauff]

The mentality and mindset, which is understandable because your only goal if you're a fifth round pick is like, how come.

[Colin Cowherd]

September 1st am I in that 53 man roster? And I, and I have, I play week one and I make a million dollars veteran minimum, you know, or the rookie contract, whatever, but I make this team. I do not want to be on the practice squad, which at the end.

[John Middlekauff]

Of the day is not the worst thing in the world because most practice.

[Colin Cowherd]

Squad guys, you know, throughout the course of the year, if they're good, get opportunities through injuries, get plucked off other teams. Like it's being on the practice squad. Like way worse things could happen. But this is a time where you get on other people's radar. And we talked about this with Shador, I'm recording this the day before Shedeur's game is you put this film out.

[John Middlekauff]

There right now, even if you make your team and you're on your team.

[Colin Cowherd]

If the team gets rid of you next year, this is really important for other people to like you. And the evaluations go a long way.

[John Middlekauff]

I remember being in the league and.

[Colin Cowherd]

Guys would, you know, be three or four years into the league, but they don't, They've been on a 53 man roster, but they don't really play besides special teams. And the only time you can see them on offense or defense is in the preseason. So that preseason film is really, really important. If that guy gets cut, if that guy's like, hey, we could trade for this guy. If we need like a backup cornerback, would you give a seventh round pick for this guy? But you have to go off that preseason film and that's the only time you really have to evaluate them.

[John Middlekauff]

That's where it's changed a little bit.

[Colin Cowherd]

With the, with the joint practices. And I think that gets back to why Andy Reid would probably not want a joint practice.

[John Middlekauff]

Because like word gets out of my guys, you know, I don't, I don't want people. Because football, everyone talks to everybody, okay? You don't need to sink a 30.

[Colin Cowherd]

Foot putt score big this weekend.

[John Middlekauff]

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[Colin Cowherd]

Round a little more exciting.

[John Middlekauff]

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[Colin Cowherd]

Something Tommy does really well.

[John Middlekauff]

You can get them at plus 2200 to win.

[Colin Cowherd]

You get him at plus 362, top.

[John Middlekauff]

Five and plus 170 to top 10. Another name I like a lot.

[Colin Cowherd]

He was very good in this tournament last year. Victor Hovland.

[John Middlekauff]

Remember smaller fields, the playoff starting, no cuts. Victor Hovland. Plus three. 500 to win.

[Colin Cowherd]

I love and I I love hovel.

[John Middlekauff]

In the top five this weekend at plus 500. So take your swing at winning some dough this weekend. Download the DraftKings sportsbook app and use the Code John. That's Code Johan. That's my name for new customers to get a bonus of 200 and bonus bets instantly. When you bet just five bucks only on DraftKings, the crown is yours.

[Unknown]

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[Colin Cowherd]

Void.

[Unknown]

In Ontario, bonus bets expire seven days after issuance. For additional terms and responsible gaming resources, see DKNG Co audio.

[Colin Cowherd]

You showed up for a quick nine.

[John Middlekauff]

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[Unknown]

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[Will Lucas]

So in the last month, the Midas Touch Network beat Rogan, Tucker Carlson, Candace Owens, Charlie Kirk and Ben Shapiro all.

[Katie Couric]

Combined Conservative podcasts can have a major political impact, but the Meisellis brothers, three siblings with a serious media strategy, are building an alternative to that. On the latest episode of Next Question with Katie Couric, I sat down with the brothers behind the Midas Touch Network to talk about how they built a progressive media powerhouse from the ground up, why audience interaction is the key to political influence, and what it takes to fight disinformation at scale. One download at a time.

[Will Lucas]

We should be focusing on the issues that actually occupy a lot of the mental space in Americans minds but are filled with conspiracies and we should fill it with the truth and solutions.

[Katie Couric]

Listen to Next Question with me, Katie Couric on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Maria Hinojosa]

When I became a journalist, I was the first Latina in the newsrooms where I worked. I'm Maria Hinojosa. I dreamt of having a place where voices that have been historically sidelined would instead instead be centered. For over 30 years now, Latino USA has been that place. This is Latino USA, the radio journal of News and Cultura. As the longest running Latino news and culture show in the United States, Latino USA delivers the stories that truly matter to all of us. From sharp and deep analysis of the.

[Jemele Hill]

Most pressing news, they're creating this narrative that immigrants are criminals.

[Colin Cowherd]

This is about everyone's freedom of speech.

[Maria Hinojosa]

Nobody expected two popes from the American continent to stories about our cultures and our identities.

[Colin Cowherd]

When you do get a trans character like Emilia Perez, the trans community is.

[Maria Hinojosa]

Going to push Back on that colorism.

[Jemele Hill]

All of these things that exist in Mexican culture and Latino culture.

[Maria Hinojosa]

You'll hear from people like Congresswoman Aoc.

[John Middlekauff]

I don't want to give them my fear.

[Jemele Hill]

I'm not going to give them my fear.

[Maria Hinojosa]

Listen to Latino USA as part of the My Cultura podcast network, available on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Colin Cowherd]

I'd say the other thing that doesn't matter is you can't nitpick like, just because a guy plays in the second quarter or a guy's playing in the second half. It's hard to exactly quantify what that means in terms of the vibe in their organization. Just because you play in the second, you know, the second quarter doesn't mean you're some lock to make the team, right? And just because you're playing in the second half doesn't mean they don't like you, right? So it's, it's, it's very hard to play that game, which we all try to do. It's like, oh, this guy's playing the fourth quarter, he must suck.

[John Middlekauff]

Or they just, he just needed a.

[Colin Cowherd]

Bunch of reps and they just wanted to see him get a bunch of time and they actually really like this guy. Worst case scenario, he's going to be on the practice squad. And just because you start a game like, doesn't mean that you're some lock to make the team. So you got to be very careful about playing that, like, you know, trying to put the piece of the puzzle together just based on the time of game guys are playing. Now, for the most part, if you're playing in the fourth quarter of some of these preseason games, you're probably not going to be a starter week one. But who knows? You're on the practice squad and by the end of September, you're on the team and playing a little bit. So you just, you just never know, and we've talked about this before, that the sick part of training camp is the injuries. And when a guy goes down, especially if you're not right near the play, whether you're a coach, whether you're a player, and definitely whether you're, you know, the scouts and the GMs, who are kind of, you know, much more on the sideline, when you can't get a direct view of you, it is, you just pray it's not an important player. I mean, that's a sick mindset. But you, you just rather have it be a backup or third stringer. I mean, it makes logical Sense and today, you know Rashawn Slater is, is a pretty special player. And the Chargers drafted him high. They just paid him a boatload of money. And the reason I like the Chargers.

[John Middlekauff]

Because their roster still got a little.

[Colin Cowherd]

Something to be desired, you know overall top to bottom to be like a Super bowl contender was like they're going to have one of the best offensive lines of the league. They might right there with the Eagles have the best left tackle, right tackle combo with you know, my Lotta and Lane and they got Slater and Joe Alt and to lose Rashawn Slater what looked like I saw a couple times like I don't even want to watch this. It kind of looked like his knee buckled before the defensive lineman even made contact. And it was reported the Chargers put this out about 2 seconds after Schefter reported it that he tore his Patel attendant. Which happened to my dad when I was probably in like I don't know, fifth, sixth grade. Now again he was 50 year old guy, he was never quite the same and probably neat later in life. Should have got a knee replacement but it was a devastating injury. Again he's not, I'm not comparing my dad at 50 to Rashawn Slater. But my point is that tearing that is a lot different than tearing your ACL which if you told me towards ACL that sucks.

[John Middlekauff]

He's out for the season but it's.

[Colin Cowherd]

Like he's going to be okay. That today was a devastating day. And this is the risk of football. This is why these guys hold out for the guaranteed money. But this is also why the teams you just never know and at the end of the day you got to play and you can the injury risk in football because of how hard you lift, right? You've seen guys get injured lifting. You've seen guys get injured and walk through. You see guys get injured like this. What looks like in more of a non contact, I mean it was a contact drill. I think they were playing 11:11 but I looked like he went out before the guy even touched him. It just, it sucks. And it's the thing I, I don't.

[John Middlekauff]

Miss much about the NFL. Besides there is some camaraderie about everyone.

[Colin Cowherd]

In the bunker together. Players, coaches, front office, you're all kind of pulling in the same way. Which there's something you know, in theory special about that. It's awesome when you're on like sweet teams sucks when you're on bad teams.

[John Middlekauff]

But I'll never forget and I even.

[Colin Cowherd]

When I go to training camp doing what I do now that feeling of training camp, especially when it's a marquee guy and the whole place just goes silent when you can hear a pin drop, no one's moving, they call for the cart. And it's just, it's silence and devastation. And this is what why these coaches get paid so much money. Because Jim Harbaugh now has to go in front of the team leading up to the season and act like everything's going to be okay. And we are going to find a way to figure this out when it's just there is no replacing a high end left tackle. Now, technically, because they have Joe Alt on the right side, you can move him to the left tackle. Okay, that's true. So you can still have a good left tackle, a really good left. I mean, Joe all could make a pro ball left tackle, but then your right tackle, that's not ideal. And then you could be like, well, you can move Makai Becton back to this tackle position.

[John Middlekauff]

You're like, well, he just resurrect his career at guard. So usually a backup tackle, like the gap between starting tackle and backup tackle.

[Colin Cowherd]

Tends to be as big, sometimes bigger than like starting quarterback to backup quarterback. Especially when you're talking high end guys, right? If you're just talking average tackle to backup tackle might not be that big of a difference. No different than like, what the hell's the difference between, you know, pick some random quarterback, especially like a low end starter, and the backup, right? Like Jimmy Garoppolo is the backup. I don't think he's that good anymore. But if he's one of the better backups in the league or Mac Jones against whoever is the worst starter, Russell Wilson, like, it's. You could argue in 2025, there's not much difference, right? Jameis Winston, Russell Wilson, what the hell's the difference? And I just think it's really, really hard because we're dealing with humans here, not AI robots. These people have emotions, they have a brain. They understand, like, this is a problem. And obviously from a business standpoint, you just invest all this money and lose this player. It's pretty gutting. And I was really high on the Chargers last year.

[John Middlekauff]

Not that I was down on them necessarily, because anytime you got Jim Harbaugh.

[Colin Cowherd]

And you got a really good quarterback and you got a physical mentality like they're going to be good.

[John Middlekauff]

But I was like, I could see them, you know, be a little closer to average this year than what they were last year. And I kind of like the Broncos.

[Colin Cowherd]

More and Then today it's like, this is the type move because the one.

[John Middlekauff]

Thing they hung on their hat on.

[Colin Cowherd]

Last year, it's like, well, hey, you know, no receivers like offensive line, Jim Harbaugh, run the ball, lose a tackle, that's, that's a major problem. That sucks. You feel for the player, you feel for the team. I mean, the Chargers have gotten so much good, positive momentum. This guy's such a high level guy. It's a really good feeling as a team, as a coaching staff, as a.

[John Middlekauff]

Fan base, when it's like we got a high end star player who's just a good dude.

[Colin Cowherd]

Like those type people you like, you want to build around. And then the guy has a devastating knee injury, which I'm not even trying to get ahead of myself. But when you, when you have that injury relative to some others, even if it's season ending, you're like, are we sure this guy's ever going to be the same?

[John Middlekauff]

I want to end on this fugazi Friday. I don't think I've talked about this.

[Colin Cowherd]

Yet, but this, this is like couple weeks old. J.J. watt was going at it with a bunch of people on social media.

[John Middlekauff]

About training camp stats being stupid.

[Colin Cowherd]

He also didn't love like training camp videos coming out and then a bunch.

[John Middlekauff]

Of reporters that take those stats were fighting back. And I think, listen, in training camp, every team is recording the stats of completion, percentage of catches, of win rate.

[Colin Cowherd]

In practice between offensive and defensive line.

[John Middlekauff]

No one is acting like if you.

[Colin Cowherd]

Catch two touchdowns in a practice, it's the same as doing it on Sunday or Monday Night Football. But do you think that does not matter?

[John Middlekauff]

And again, we're not talking about like if Jamar Chase, no one cares about.

[Colin Cowherd]

Jamar Chase's stats in a, in training camp, right?

[John Middlekauff]

Did he have 50 touchdowns? Did he have two? Like it doesn't matter. We're not talking about established veteran players. No one's judging Saquon Barkley's run per.

[Colin Cowherd]

Attempt, your yards per attempt, or how many catches he had on wheel routes. I mean the Eagles might technically be.

[John Middlekauff]

Taking that information, but no one, no fan the Eagles, like we're not judging that. But you can't convince me that the backup quarterback, the third string quarterback, all the skill guys who aren't starters, the defensive players are a little harder to get statistics because you're not tackling to the ground for most teams every.

[Colin Cowherd]

Some teams do like a session or two doing that.

[John Middlekauff]

But offensive statistics in practice for guys that aren't starters, they matter because why would they take them now. They are put into context with the.

[Colin Cowherd]

Team when they're evaluating.

[John Middlekauff]

But I'm sorry, like, they're doing that for a reason. These practices matter. Some coaches will tell you, especially if, you know, the joint practices might hold a little more weight than some of the games. So I understand where JJ is coming from because players get really mad when.

[Colin Cowherd]

A video comes out and some drills like the O line, D line, one on one pass rush, obviously that's advantage defensive lineman because offensive linemen don't quote, unquote, play one on one. They play as a unit with five. So if the guard is going up.

[John Middlekauff]

Against, even if he's going up against.

[Colin Cowherd]

Aaron Donald or Jalen Carter or, you.

[John Middlekauff]

Know, you name it, he typically has a center there to help him out. If he pushes him over, that guy.

[Colin Cowherd]

That guy's just standing there.

[John Middlekauff]

No different than one on one.

[Colin Cowherd]

Routes on air or not routes on air, but like one on one wide receiver, corner with the quarterback.

[John Middlekauff]

Well, there's no pass rush, so sometimes the corner, or excuse me, the wide receiver runs like an out an in and up and comes back and catches.

[Colin Cowherd]

It like 17 seconds later.

[John Middlekauff]

Like, no one's talking about those stats. But in team situations, seven on seven even, but definitely team situations statistics with the skill guys kind of matter and the teams keep track of it. And I'm sure, you know, defensive coaches and the defensive coaching staff, because now these staffs are huge. Take inventory on like, yeah, we'll give you a tackle, but like, can I keep tracks of like, this would tackle, this would be a missed tackle.

[Colin Cowherd]

This was a misassignment.

[John Middlekauff]

Like, all this stuff really matters. This is. You are trying to earn a job just like, no different than like in an interview, probably most things you say matter. Even if you look back a year later after getting the job, like, that was kind of stupid. It mattered at the time. And you might go on, you know, like a guy like Victor Cruz to have a great career, but those catches he made in preseason, which led or in practice, which led to him getting reps in the game, that making plays like, it all kind of builds on one another, right? If you, if you don't make plays in practice, you know, you're probably not going to move up the depth chart and get an opportunity to play a lot of snaps in the games. And then the pressure on those game reps will be huge. And if you screw up, it might just be like, we might cut you. So I think we got to be very careful about saying none of them matter. They're all stupid. That's just not true. Do they mean everything? Of course not. But like, just players getting so advanced. So like, I'm so embarrassed because I got. I got mossed in a practice. Yeah, like, the coaches, like, whatever. If you trip, like, it happens. Can we have a little thicker skin? I can't like, even I've seen some. Where did I watch this recently? Who was saying was like, Tracy McGrady.

[Colin Cowherd]

It was some older NBA player. It was someone else. It was like a guy that just retired recently. And he said that one thing, it might have been like Joe Johnson. I forget who it was.

[John Middlekauff]

But he said one thing that changed dramatically. That when he first got in the league in like 2000 or 2005 or whenever to now was that you come into halftime.

[Colin Cowherd]

Oh, it was.

[John Middlekauff]

Kevin Garnett was even saying this. And you know, usually coming to halftime.

[Colin Cowherd]

Everyone like takes a deep breath, slam.

[John Middlekauff]

A Gatorade or whatever. You start going over, hey, we need to start doing this against this guy.

[Colin Cowherd]

Hey, I'm out.

[John Middlekauff]

You're in. You take this guy and you kind of start basketball strategy for 10, 15 minutes. He was saying, you come in the locker room now. Place is silent. Everyone's on their phone. And it wasn't kg, but one guy.

[Colin Cowherd]

Said that, like one of the dudes.

[John Middlekauff]

It might have been Chauncey Billups. It was Chauncey, who's a coach, who's the coach of the Trailblazers. He said, dude had a huge dunk.

[Colin Cowherd]

In like the first or second quarter.

[John Middlekauff]

And he said it was sweet. It was like a big time, you know, like a dunk that you would see all over, like highlight Twitter accounts and stuff. And he said by the time they were coming out to the second half and he learned about it after the game, the dude had taken that dunk.

[Colin Cowherd]

And posted it all over social media during the game, you know, at halftime during the game.

[John Middlekauff]

And it's just like we live in a different era where everyone is so obsessed with what's going on on social media.

[Colin Cowherd]

You know, these young athletes, which I.

[John Middlekauff]

Do understand, you've grown up, but like, you get to a point you should.

[Colin Cowherd]

It's like it's kind of irrelevant.

[John Middlekauff]

Even if people are making fun of.

[Colin Cowherd]

You, just don't go on.

[John Middlekauff]

And people will go. It's so easy for you to say don't go on. I actually don't think it should be that hard.

[Colin Cowherd]

You know, it really shouldn't.

[John Middlekauff]

And especially some of these guys that have been, you know, around big time college programs, you realize, like, the only people that matter, you know, in college.

[Colin Cowherd]

Is the head coach, right?

[John Middlekauff]

Does that guy believe in you or in your coordinators? Are they playing you? And in the pros, it's like what Joe Blow is saying on Twitter or Instagram making fun of you. Does your coach or GM think that about you?

[Colin Cowherd]

Because if they don't, it doesn't matter.

[John Middlekauff]

And they're the ones that hold the.

[Colin Cowherd]

Keys to millions upon millions of dollars in playing time in the National Football League, not some guy talking shit in your Instagram comments.

[John Middlekauff]

So I just, I think we've overblown.

[Colin Cowherd]

Like, how bad the training camp coverage is. I'd argue it's better than it's ever been in the information, which is king is important.

[John Middlekauff]

The NFL people are following it. I'll promise you that. Every team in the league, their director of player personnel, their pro scouts are.

[Colin Cowherd]

All over all this information.

[John Middlekauff]

So to say it doesn't matter, it's.

[Colin Cowherd]

Just that's actually kind of uninformed because.

[John Middlekauff]

It'S just not true.

[Will Lucas]

The volume.

[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.

[Jemele Hill]

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.

[Katie Couric]

Listen to Next Question with me, Katie Couric on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Maria Hinojosa]

When I became a journalist, I was the first Latina in the newsrooms where I worked. I'm Maria Hinojosa. I spent my career creating journalism that centers voices who have been historically sidelined. From the most pressing news stories to to deep cultural explorations. Latino USA is journalism with Hart. Listen to Latino usa, the longest running Latino news and culture show in the United States. Hear it on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Will Lucas]

It's Black Business Month and Black tech green money is tapping in. I'm Will Lucas spotlighting black founders, investors and innovators building the future one idea at a time. Let's talk legacy tech and generational wealth.

[Unknown]

I had the skill and I had the talent. I didn't have the opportunity. Yeah, we all know, right? Genius is evenly distributed. Opportunity is not to hear this and.

[Will Lucas]

More on the power of black innovation and ownership. Listen to Black Tech green money from the Black Effect Podcast Network on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Jemele Hill]

I'm Jemele Hill, host of the sports and politics podcast Spolitics. On this week's episode, I'm joined by all time great Hooper and basketball analys Candace Parker, who gives insight into her candid new book, including why she waited two years into marriage to come out.

[John Middlekauff]

I never envisioned being with a woman. I'll just be honest. Like when I close my eyes at night every night I was like, I.

[Maria Hinojosa]

Need to find my Prince Charming. Like it was never a princess.

[Jemele Hill]

Make sure you listen to this episode of Spolitics on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcast. This is an iHeart podcast.