← The Herd with Colin Cowherd
The Herd with Colin Cowherd
3 & Out - Rueben Bain news REACTION, Sonny Styles is an ELITE prospect + NFL Offseason Mailbag
01:19:15
Loading summary
Transcript43 lines
- [00:00]
John Middlekauff
This is an iHeart podcast. Guaranteed Human. Today's podcast is brought to you by Ferguson Home, where it all comes together. Whether you're a homeowner creating your dream space or a pro managing multiple projects, Ferguson Home is where you'll find the top products by brands like KitchenAid. Visit your local showroom or visit FergusonHome.com
- [00:20]
Colin
Everyone deserves to be connected T Mobile and US Cellular are joining forces Our networks are coming together bringing more T Mobile coverage all over the country. Switch to T Mobile and save up to 20% versus Verizon by getting built in benef they leave out. Check the math@t mobile.com Switch and now T Mobile is available in the US Cellular Store in Pasco. Bigger network the combination of T Mobile and US Cellular's network footprints will enhance the T Mobile network's coverage savings versus comparable Verizon plans plus the costs of options, benefits, plan features and taxes and fees vary. Savings with three plus lines include third free line free via monthly bill credits Credit stop if you cancel any lines qualifying credit required.
- [00:51]
John Middlekauff
The best moments aren't always about where you're going, they're about who's with you on the way. That's why Toyota believes people are the destination. The Toyota RAV4 is built for busy days and spontaneous plans from practice runs to last minute road trips and everything in between with space, comfort and flexibility. It helps turn everyday drives into quality time because when the right people riding with you, every trip matters. Learn more@toyota.com and find the vehicle that fits your people.
- [01:20]
Colin
Spring is starting at the Home Depot and bringing you everyday low prices so you can wake up your yard this season. Shape up your lawn with top brand outdoor power tools like Ryobi 40 volt mowers that have up to 50 minutes of runtime. Bring in a splash of color with
- [01:37]
John Middlekauff
spring blooms and fresh plants from the
- [01:39]
Colin
Home Depot Garden Center. Then refresh your garden beds and keep them clear of weeds with EarthGrow mulch. Five bags for $10 to make your
- [01:48]
John Middlekauff
yard feel like new.
- [01:50]
Colin
Start your spring with low Prices now
- [01:52]
John Middlekauff
through April 2nd only at the Home Depot.
- [01:55]
Colin
Exclusions apply.
- [01:56]
John Middlekauff
See home depot.com price match for details. Shop now the volume. What is going on everybody? John Middelkoff three and out Podcast We Anytime the Masters ends up, you kind of can see the draft light at the end of the tunnel. So Rory wins the Masters and we're two weeks away from the draft, which less than that we are. If you listen to this on Tuesday it's like nine and a half days away. So Buckle up, get ready. We'll dive into the story that came out today about Miami star pass rusher. Some thoughts on Sonny Styles Ohio State's star linebacker Mike Vrabel skips media some dad diaries some middle cuff mailbag at John Middlecoff at John Middelkoff Is the Instagram firing those dms? If you listen on Collins feed, make sure you subscribe to three and out. If we did a golf podcast yesterday that we posted. If you want to hear my reaction to the Masters and if you want to watch, we are every single episode is up on this app called Netflix. You can check out the podcast. You can hit alert so you never miss an episode. Appreciate everyone watching. Let's just dive into some football. So let's start with Reuben Bain who just based on the eye test, based on when you throw on the old 22 and based on just a purely dominant performance in the biggest games, Reuben Bain is one of the best prospects in this draft. Now he's a polarizing player on the field because he doesn't have the measurables as the top couple pass rushers. But just based on physical dominance, he is a pretty damn good player and should go in the top 10. Now it came out today. There's a difference between public information and the information the teams have. And listen around this time of year you gotta be, you gotta have your spidey senses and your tinfoil hat on a little bit when stories break a week or two before the draft, especially with a guy as famous as this in terms of this class, given that his team was just in the national championship and honestly easily could have won the thing. And Reuben Bain was their best player that a couple years ago, I guess it's 26 now, so 24, he was involved in a car accident where someone died in the other car. They went into a coma, 22 year old and they did not make it. Now if you remember a couple years ago there was also a car accident and it involved Jalen Carter who was pound for pound the best player in his draft. Jalen Carter a couple years ago was the best player in his draft. Now he went ninth overall. He also at the combine that year had to leave to turn himself in. And there were a lot of other things being a red flag as a player coming out of college beside that incident. But that incident when someone dies and you leave the scene, it was a major story that was public information kind of from the jump. This was not right. Most fans did not know about this. And here's the thing that the Scouting community. When you go into these smaller schools, there are, and listen, Miami is kind of unique because it's in a big city. But a lot of these SEC programs and Big Ten programs and Big 12 programs are in smaller little towns where they are very insulated. When something happens with a top player that never becomes public. And that is the job of the scouting community, the boots on the ground, to not only find out that information but to get to the bottom of it. And I've talked to a lot of friends that the majority of their job is not just writing reports. This guy can play, this guy can't play. I like this guy. Most people don't like this guy. Whatever his strengths and weaknesses, how will fit on the team. It's to get the background information on the human being. Now there's nothing easier than a prospect who is just clean, right? A guy with no issues, team captain, high character guy. There are guys like that in this draft. Jeremiah Love, Sonny Styles, Fernando Mendoza, to name a couple, that are going to go really high, that are easy write ups. That is where you're spending all your time, evaluating the player because they check every box off the field, they're everything you would want in your building. They have no incidents. If anything, they go above and beyond from a positive standpoint. You know, it's the old scouting adage is, I'd want him to marry my daughter. When you give that vote of confidence in the draft room, it's like this, this is a high level cat. This is the type guy we want. And then it's just like, does the player fit what we do? Reuben Bain is the guy that when someone dies and he's behind the wheel, like, it becomes a major conversation. And if he wasn't an average player in this draft, I think a lot of people would take him off the draft board, right? If he was a guy that's like, yeah, he's probably going to go in the fourth, fifth round just based on play, you would go, not even worth it, not even messing with it. This is like not worth the PR headache. But as we saw with Jalen Carter a couple years ago, whose situation was way more public. And listen, he's a, he was a better prospect. But I'll never forget when he had to leave the combine to go check himself in to, to the local precinct down in Georgia, you went, I don't think I've ever seen that before. And I'm pretty sure that was an unprecedented event. But guess what? His talent outweighed any of the PR issues and that's where I think we find Reuben Bane. Because is he the top pass rusher in this draft? No. Is he clearly one of the best 10 to 15 prospects in this draft? 100%. I think you could make an argument is one of the best four or five players in this draft just based on, on the field production and that overweighs it. I mean whether you like it or not, I've said it forever that and listen, I, I don't even think I've really even ever been in a car accident, right? So it's like I, I, I can't, I, I've never been handcuffed, I've never been to jail. Now not saying there were situations that if I got caught I wouldn't have got in trouble. I, I'm not sitting here on an ivory tower preaching that myself or yourself if you haven't got in trouble having done some stupid things. I was just at a wedding with a bunch of high school friends and we talked about God, the things if we would have got caught for, it would have been bad or the situations where, God, you look back, we avoided disaster on that one and I think a lot of us as you age can look back on situations to go thank God on that. I thank my lucky stars I, oh you big man upstairs. But in a situation like this I, I've always said bad PR can be a little overrated, right? And I think nowadays so much of the news bases their coverage on like what the comment sections are. It's like I, I, I don't think that's a proper representation but we would all agree if someone loses their life because of reckless driving, it's like bad situation, really, really bad situation. We just saw several years ago, Henry Ruggs doing 150 mile an hour and a woman and her dog blew up in the car, right? And obviously he's still in prison. So these teams take this shit very seriously and I think the majority of their work on this player from really probably the jets to like the, the Chiefs, Bengals range has been trying to figure out this guy for the last three or four months. What is this guy's deal? Is this a one time incident? Is he a bad guy? I saw a report today that, not that I've heard of but there are some other incidents, you know, that, that are not public that teams have been digging on and that is the job of a front office to figure out if this guy is a major red flag and if you take him he's going to be a problem for you or if that was a situation as a young person, obviously not only regrettable, but he's lucky. Probably not in jail or prison for a situation that caused the young person to not be around. Right. That if that doesn't, like, hurt your heart and go, God, their life just ends at 22 years old. But like I said, this is a league based on two things, money and winning. That's the only thing that matters. We'll get into Vrabel a little bit longer, but I see some of these takes. It's like, guys, he just led his team to the Super Bowl. He has one role, and that's to win games. The moment you don't win games, the other issues become a problem. But there have been a lot of players and coaches who are a problem or tough to deal with or. Or not an ideal manager or guy in the building. But if they're ass kickers when it comes to Sundays, Mondays or Thursdays or now Wednesdays or Fridays, depending on the time of year, that's all that matters. That, that's. I think sometimes we look at this league and hold it to a standard in which we would hold our own family, our own children. That's not the way this works. So, Reuben Bain, unless there are things that I haven't heard about, because Brad Holmes was asked about this today, and he goes, well, we've known about this forever. Like, this is what we've been talking about in our draft rooms. Now, obviously the Lions, you wouldn't think, unless they traded up, would have the opportunity to draft this player, but this is not new information to them. So they have been talking with him. I would imagine he's done a lot of 30 visits going into the facility. I'm sure every visit he had at the combine was not based on, like, what do you do on third and seven when you were in this? No, it's all the evaluation of the human being. And that's a huge part of the role of teams, is figuring out the people. Figuring out the guy. If you're going to draft really high, are we comfortable thinking that this guy's going to be on our team for the next 10 years? He's going to be a second contract guy. And typically a defensive lineman, if he's a second contract guy is going to be very expensive. So he's a polarizing guy on and off the field. Because certain teams have metrics that they try not to budge on. Right. You know, we. We don't love making exceptions. Parcells used to say this. If you take exceptions, sooner or later you will have a team full of them. Right? But there are individuals where you go, listen, we have some certain standards for measurables, but this guy we think can overcome them. And then it all becomes off the field stuff. And I had a friend recently tell me that he heard a story about a guy and this was a guy that's going to go, he said, like the fifth to seventh round. So this is a late round pick about an off the field incident that was very troubling. And he's like, I haven't heard many scouts or people talking about it, but he got wind of it. And in their, in their organization, they, you know, they have a Dom type guy who looks into things one before he's even tipped off to it. But anytime a scout hears about a troubling incident, they funnel it right to this guy. And then they do like deep, deep background checks on those type guys. And something else came up when they were alerted to it on a separate incident. And he's like, the reality is when we're in this draft room, my evaluation on this player, what, I don't even know what position he plays, but it's not based on no, don't really love his feet and the ability to hold the point as a center or like his range as a linebacker is a little limited. Obviously you talk about that when you go through the evaluations, but your job is you better get that character information right. Because people often ask me, you know, like in sales, I'm sure a lot of people listening are in sales or some form of fashion, you know, in your business world, whether it's a public company and every quarter, whether it's a monthly quota, however you're operating, it's very black and white. Are you hitting the expectation? Are you doing what you are supposed to be doing? Are you exceeding it? Are you underwhelming? You know, you know, you know where you stand. I've heard a lot of stories about a lot of different teams that goes, listen, this guy kind of sucks as a scout, but the general manager really likes him. He's a good team guy. We just like him in the room. And listen, we're not depending on him to draft our team, but he's kind of a made guy. It's not quite the mob, but like, there's a reason some scouts have been on teams for a long period of time because they're very, very well liked and they may be average, they may not exactly be, you know, the greatest evaluator people have ever seen, but they stick around and there are a lot of people that rub people the wrong way and who are pretty good at their job. Not to toot my own horn, like I was pretty good at it. I felt pretty confident, but I couldn't really keep my mouth shut. And I got into an argument with Chip Kelly in the draft room because we disagreed. And most people will tell you, especially younger scouts, like it's not. You got to be careful about arguing with the GM and definitely a new head coach. Right. But some people are just great company men. They will never ruffle feathers. But the one way to get exposed is if you acquire a player. And this the Bain situation, like everyone knows. But there are a lot of guys that it's super private. And nowadays because of Nil, because of the transfer portal. When you see these back with Colin and listen, it's not like he has bad guys, but Marcus Freeman is just. And he's no different than all the top coaches. They are not going to publicly and even privately, if they don't know you extremely well, give you negative information, they're just not. Because if that blows back on them, they can look bad. You know, I'll never forget a story. Remember desean Jackson for a long time on Monday Night Football, Sunday Night Football, when they go through the starting lineups, he wouldn't say Cal, he'd say where. I think he went to Long Beach Poly. Anytime you see a call or an NFL player, especially a good one, use their high school, it's typically because they had a bad experience in college or they think the program them now Rogers did it forever because they fired Jeff Tedford and Tedford was his guy and it pissed him off. Desean did it because Jeff Tedford was an open book with him and didn't exactly give him rave reviews in the program. There was a reason to Sean Jackson, who probably should have gone. He was, you know, like 165 pounds. So I. I'm not saying he would have gone top five, but he's probably a top 15 pick just based on the field. And he went in the second round and there's a famous video of Andy Reid on the phone with him that basically said, like, nothing's going to be tolerated here. And the. The NFL Network, it used to be a story in Philadelphia. They showed DeShawn's face and Andy's on the phone with them and it kind of just, you know, his. His eyes open up, he kind of goes quiet because Andy's kind of reading the riot act a little bit. And this all gets back and There's a million stories like this back in the day, before social media and information age where coaches would just actually give you the truth. But if you don't know the guy like Urban Meyer or some of these, you know, if I don't know Dan Lanning as a scout, he's not going to crush one of his guys because he doesn't want to get that back. Now if I have a personal relationship with him or a coordinator, maybe they will be forthright and be, be truthful. But you have to be very, very careful. I've always thought that head coaches are some of the worst sources. Look at Belichick for a long, long time. The reason the Patriots started drafting not that well, because that those would be the guys he would call Urban Meyer, Nick Saban, Herm Edwards. Like, yeah, they're just going to give him kind of the run around. And honestly they don't always know the players the best. So I, I think this Bain situation is just kind of sheds a light on the majority of these guys. Jobs are just to act like detectives. And when you're a detective, you better do everything humanly possible to get all the information. And the hard part about this information, a lot like a detective. It's not always easy to acquire and it takes many years to establish sources. But the reality is in college football, coaches are always leaving, coordinators are always leaving. There's a lot of turnover. So it can be difficult. But you better not miss. And when you draft a guy in the third round and then a week later something comes out, the owner, the head coach and the GM are going to be looking at you side eyed. Today's show is brought to you by our presenting sponsor, Hard Rock Bet, the official sports betting partner of the Miami Heat and Orlando Magic. We talk football on the show, but the NBA playoffs are right around the corner. And with Hard Rock Bet, every night is a shot to build the same game parlay and score a major bucket. Maybe you like a hot hand to drop 30, the big man to control the glass with the double double point guard to dish out five assists. You can set it all up on Hard Rock Bet. Gives you tons of ways to stack your picks for an epic same game parlay. You miss the tip off of the big game. No problem. Hard Rock Bet lets you live bet all game long from the first bucket to the end of the game. So you're never too late to find a winner or grab that player prop that you had circled. If you haven't joined Hard Rock Bet yet, now's the time check in the game. New signups can double their winnings on their first 10 bets. Max $50. That means if you would have won a hundred bucks on your bet, now that's 200. So don't sit on the bench. Download the Hard Rock Bet app today and get the party started. Payable and bonus bets Not a cash offer Offered by Seminole Tribe of Florida in Florida. Offered by Seminole Hard Rock Digital LLC in all other states. You must be 21 plus and physically present in Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Jersey, Ohio, Tennessee and Virginia to play. Terms and conditions apply. Concerned about gambling in Florida? Call 1-833-Playwise in Indiana. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem and wants help, call 1-800-9 with it gambling problem. Call 1-800-GAMBLER Arizona, Colorado, Illinois, New Jersey, Ohio, Tennessee, Virginia Today's podcast is brought to you by Ferguson Home. Whether you're a homeowner creating your dream space or a pro managing multiple projects, Ferguson Home is where it all comes together. Ferguson Home is designed for the way you want to shop. Experience today's top products by brands like KitchenAid first hand by visiting a Ferguson Home showroom where you'll explore stunning displays featuring today's latest products and innovations, or browser their extended selection of products online. Ferguson Home understands that every project is made up of countless decisions, and that's why their expert consultants are committed to helping homeowners, builders, contractors and designers bring all the details together. You can count on support from them start to finish, from choosing the right products to coordinating deliveries with your project schedule. Book a one on one consultation at your local Ferguson Home showroom or shop online at Ferguson Home. Whether you're working on a new kitchen, a new bathroom, or a whole home remodel, you'll find the latest designs and technologies from the brands you trust at Ferguson Home. Can I tell you about my friends at Factor? You know, for me, eating healthy, it's not a willpower problem, it's a setup problem. That's until I found Factor. Because especially with a young child podcasting running around, it's like don't have time to meal prep. And that's where my friends at Factor come in. They have meals built around my goals. Every meal is crafted with functional ingredients. Lean proteins, veggies, whole foods, healthy fats. Fresh, never frozen. That's key. So if you want to try the newly launched Ready to Eat salads with vibrant ingredients like elote corn and miso edamame, they got you covered. Head to factor meals.com John50OFF and use the code John. 50 off to get 50% off and free daily greens per box with new subscription only while supplies last until September 27, 2026. See website for more details. We're lost and kickoff's coming up. I don't want to miss the lineup. I'm gonna ask that man for directions. Hi there. We're trying to get to the stadium.
- [23:47]
Colin
Well, you're going to take a left at the old oak tree at this here road.
- [23:51]
John Middlekauff
Nah, I'm just kidding.
- [23:52]
Colin
Let me get my phone out.
- [23:53]
John Middlekauff
How is there signal out here?
- [23:56]
Colin
T Mobile and US Cellular are coming together so the network out here is huge. We get the same great signal as the city, saving a boatload with benefits. And there's a five year price guarantee too. Okay, here's the turn.
- [24:08]
John Middlekauff
Actually, can you pull up the way to a T Mobile store?
- [24:11]
Colin
America's best network just got bigger. Switch to T Mobile today and get built in benefits the other guys leave out plus our five year price guarantee. And now T Mobile is available at US Cellular stores in Hermiston. Best mobile network based on analysis by Ooklove Speed test intelligence data second half of 2025 bigger network. The combination of T Mobile's and US Cellular's network footprints will enhance the T Mobile network's coverage price guarantee on talk text and data exclusions like taxes and fees apply. See t mobile.com for details.
- [24:37]
John Middlekauff
Foreign. I've talked to a couple buddies. One guy isn't as high, but I've talked to a couple assistant GMs that think Sonny Styles is one of the best prospects in this draft. I, I, I had one who's won Super Bowls, say John, he's six, five, he runs a four four four. He is like a genius in terms of football intelligence. His character is off the charts and I mean he's, he's got to be just pound for pound one of the best athletes in this draft, if not the best. He jumped 43 inches. He's 6 foot 5 and for a long period of time middle linebacker. A little like running backs. The running backs has shifted. Right? If you're a great running back prospect now, no one has an issue with you getting drafted. I, it wasn't that long ago like the Saquon Barkleys are like ah, little risky and you can look back and go it's not a great fit if your team sucks. But Gettleman did a terrible job. Obviously Saquon is an elite prospect. Same with McCaffrey. Same with Bijan Robinson. That's why all these guys Go really, really high. We'll see. On Ash and Genti, I don't put him in the class as those guys. His draft was shitty. I'm rooting for him. But Jeremiah Love is a better prospect than Ashton Genti and probably as equal as Bijan Robinson, who's one of the truly great running back prospects in a long time. Just in terms of he, there's nothing he can't do and you watch how good he is on a poorly run organization. I mean he, he's a badass. Was it Monday Night Football? Who were they playing? Were they playing the Rams? It was like, is this one of the best games I've ever seen? I, I think Sonny Styles is. I, I don't know if he's going to go in the top five, but I think we could look back in four or five years and go, he was one of, if not the best player in this draft because like Luke Keakley and Roquan Smith were two guys that were drafted in the top 10. And as it was told to me, and it's true from just now, I'm not saying he's a better player because both those two guys were elite players. But this guy you could argue is a better prospect. He's taller, he's faster, he's more explosive. We just saw him playing for a Super bowl winning defensive guy in Patricia and the things you hear about him a lot like Roquan and Urlocker off the field are pretty special. So there's a pretty good chance a lot of people think he's going to go to the New York Giants. And if you tell me the New York Giants take him in five, I'd go, that's got a chance to be an all time pick. And forever was like, well, you can get really good linebackers in the second and third round. Well, the game has dramatically changed. It's a space game, right? When we talk about basketball, who got the NBA probably had their worst season of all time with the tanking, but it's, it's like positionless, right? It's the center actually is kind of coming back, but for a long time it was like positionless basketball. You got to be able to do everything. You'll be able to shoot, you got to be able to dribble, you got to be able to guard multiple positions, you got to be a score at different levels and that's kind of football, right? These running backs can play slot receivers, these tight ends can play slot receiver. The game is spread. So when the game is spread out it becomes a space game. And for a linebacker, when you think about probably the best linebacker in the league the last six, seven years has Brett has been Fred Warner. Now Fred, if you put him in like the 90s, is not just some downhill stack and shed linebacker. He's not Lavon Kirkland, right? That's not his style. His style is speed, anticipation and instincts. Now the one knock on Sonny is like his instincts aren't KE clear Roquan right now. Well, he transitioned from safety a couple years ago. You know a guy that transitioned from safety once upon a time, Brian Urlocker, who also in terms of length and athleticism was pretty elite. Last time I checked. Earl Akers in the hall of Fame, right Questionable bust with, with the hair. But I actually thought he was a pretty good looking bald guy. He just refused to say that way, which I can respect. And he did the procedure that was not the turkey one. So his hair kind of looks shitty. But that, that's a different conversation for a different day. Most teams now are running some sort or a large majority are running the Shanahan Kubiak offense. Well, what is the go to play in that offense? It's the zone run and specifically the outside zone run left or right. Because that run is not just destined for one hole. It's basically on the running back to do what he feels is the best opportunity to gain yards that could be going outside the tackle, that could be going inside the tackle, that could be cutting back a on the backside guard. Well, what do you need to defend that play? You need range and athleticism. It's why all the offensive linemen that those teams like are good feet athletes, guys with quick feet, not necessarily Larry Allen power right now some offensive linemen historically could do any scheme, right? Trent Williams, Lane Johnson, it doesn't necessarily matter, Quentin Nelson. But a lot of guys are, are very scheme specific. Especially in that offense. You can't be a bad athlete and really function because it's a lot of just running. It's much more positional blocking than it is road grading. And it's, it's what makes Trent so unique in that scheme because he's so powerful, right? Or, or a Panay Sewell running zone because he can grab you and you're not moving. Most guys are not, they're just positionally blocking you. So when you're a great athlete like this guy, you can slip and go around guys because you're so much faster. And then in the passing game think of most teams are funneling the ball constantly to tight ends, slot receivers over the middle and the running back out of the backfield. Well, who's tackling those guys a lot of the time? The middle linebacker. So I, I do think this position, with a guy like this, I, I don't think you need to overthink it. And from what I've heard, I, I don't think he's going to last far. And if the Giants take him at 5, that could be an incredible pick. And even, you know, I, I, I've said this forever, I have no problem. There is no such thing as a high floor. It does not exist. It truly doesn't. It's like, well, Mac Jones floor is high. He's a lifetime backup now, right? So when I hear this about Ty Simpson, his floor is really high. There's no guarantee he can ever be a starter. Zero. That's not the way it works. Right. Marcus Mariota is going to be a 10 plus year backup. He was drafted number two overall. You see this at all sorts of positions. So I hate that term high floor because a couple years in you're like, ah, this guy's not nearly good enough. Well, yeah, because it's really difficult for, you know, to evaluate these guys because of the people. Right. You just never know. You're not just getting the player, you're getting the person. It's a complicated, it's not a scientific formula. And when I look at Sonny Styles, to me, the ceiling sky high. No different than Reese. Right? Their ceiling is extremely high. But there's no guarantee. And you know, I, I, I just, I would take this guy extremely high. Mike Vrabel. Now I, I don't think he would have spoke anyway. A lot of coaches do not speak in this situation. But I was getting alerts from news stations that Mike Vrabel avoided the media and over the Rossini situation. Now obviously it's gonna be very difficult for him to do that in a week. And I, I've seen and I've gotten some dms like middle cough. What about, what about Sharon Moore? It's like, well, Sharon Moore was banging his assistant and then had an incident where he threatened to kill himself with a butter knife, which probably been pretty difficult. But like, what about Mel Tucker? I heard that, well, Mel Tucker got into a situation with a lady who speaks to teams about rape because she was gang raped years ago. And then she claimed whether it's true or not, that they were not in a consensual relationship. He was stalking him. Like if that situation happens happen with Vrabel And Rossini Vrabel would have a problem on his hands. But his job is to win games. It truly is. If you think Mike Vrabel is the only football, you know, in college, we, Lane Kiffin, we've been, well, he's just sleeping with everyone that moves. Lane Kiffin would not be employable. And a couple years ago he wasn't. Teams like Oregon would not even interview him. Think about this. A couple years ago, Alabama had an opening. Lane Kiffin was not a candidate. He had to go to Ole Miss, who historically is like a renegade school. And it took and look where he ended up now at lsu. A lot of teams aren't comfortable with the off the field stuff. With Lane Kiffin, it's no different in the pros. You have a lot of scumbag coaches, you know you do. And like this notion that Mike Vrabel is being held to a different standard. Me and Coward talked about this and I've been thinking about this for a week. His job, like off the field, that's between him and his wife. And if Mike Vrabel was going six, five wins every year and creating negative headlines for the franchise, then yeah, he'd have a problem on his hands. But as long as he's winning double digit games and going to the playoffs, nobody gives a shit. The NFL, this goes back to Ruben Bane. It doesn't care about any of this stuff if you're making money and winning games. It really doesn't. And if you're uncomfortable with that, then you're going to be uncomfortable with pro sports. You just simply are. So we'll see where this goes. Obviously she's been suspended. Her job is to get information. Like that's her role. Her job is to get information. And people start questioning like, well, how's she actually getting the information? Right? And that's why that becomes a separate incident from Mike. If like, it just, it's just a reality of the situation. And I know some people like, it's not fair. Life ain't fair. You know, it's, it's simply not. And his owner, it's like, what is Robert Kraft? You mean Robert Kraft, they got the handy at the massage parlor in, in Palm beach the day of the AFC championship game. That was in Kansas City. You mean that guy, you, you think he gives a flying, you know, what about what his coach is doing, you know, in terms of like off the field with women? That is consensual. I promise you he does not. And as long as he wins, this simply will not matter for Mike Vrabel and the Patriots, but during the draft situation, he's not going to be able to avoid this topic forever. And if she is fired or not renewed or who, who knows what's going on with the New York Times, who's trying to act like there's some moral, moral superior operation, you know, lets her go, it's going to be pretty clear what, you know, I, I think it already is to any of us with a brain, what was going on. Again, I don't care. And people keep asking, like, what's your take? I don't give a. Who you sleep with. I've said this forever. I, I don't. Your relationship in your bedroom. Like, everyone's different. I, Some relationships are open. Mine definitely is not. Like, that's, that's on you, buddy. I, I don't have the energy or the wherewithal to, to care about my own friends, let alone other people. Like, you sleep around. Maybe his wife doesn't care. Maybe he's been doing it for 20 years. I don't know. But I, I know this. I've been around this business long enough. He ain't the first coach and he definitely won't be the last that is involved in situations outside of his marriage. Before we dive into the mailbag, dad diaries, we just. Jack made his first airplane trip. He's pretty good. He's pretty good. One thing you know, when you travel, there's like this, there's like the step you make, right? When you're a single guy, traveling's cake. You just throw some in the bag. You head to the airport. Whether you like being there early so you can have a few, few airport beers, whether you like being there five minutes before you're in complete control of that situation. Then, then you get, start dating someone or, you know, you get married. Then you travel as a tandem, which immediately becomes more expensive because you're buying two tickets. Underrated part about being in a serious relationship, whether you're married or not, all the, the food orders are way more expensive because you just double it. And for me, like, I, I could eat the same two or three restaurants all the time. Chipotle Cafe Rio. Like, I, I keep it pretty simple, right? That's not her. She likes mixing it up all the time. No different than when we, when we cook. It's like, I, I could just make the same thing over and over and over. She likes variety, so you start getting used to that. But then you start traveling with a child and it is an ordeal. You got to take a Stroller, you got to either bring the base to put in the car to put the stroller on top, or buy a base wherever you're going, especially if you have family that lives in a different area. It becomes. But he's good. He just sleeps kind of, kind of the whole time. Drinks a bottle. We basically we went home for my buddy Brian's wedding and it was awesome. Had a few too many cocktails, actually contained myself pretty well. Did. Wasn't hurting that bad the next day, but it was more. They had gotten married previously at the courthouse and then essentially just threw a party that had a dinner and an open bar, which was fun. Very, very close to where my mom lives. So it. Which we were sleeping at her house, which made it very easy, which all four. And the next day we had an Easter party with my wife's family, you know, a week later, because we were coming home and we wanted to get all of her cousin's kids together. There's probably eight, nine kids under five years old, right? Whether it's her brother, whether it's us, whether it's your cousins. And her grandma, which would be my son's great grandmother, is still alive in her mid-90s. And she looks fantastic. She was wearing leather pants, she's just skinny. I mean, I, I would die to have that type health when, when I'm that age. And who knows? I mean, I'm probably, you know, bed man might not even be around. But all the kids were there, you know, they did an Easter egg hunt. Obviously Jack can't crawl, let alone walk, so he just kind of watches. And at one moment, all of a sudden we hear a couple noises coming from Jack, which listen, the kid likes to fart. He's, you know, a young baby. Then it just kind of persists and it gets aggressive. We're like, oh, we got to change that diaper, right? As any parent knows, there's a certain sound. You go, that's a diaper change. Then all of a sudden we look, Maria's leg is covered in brown. And we look at the floor and there is like a 10 to 15 foot stretch of just Jack. And I went, oh my. It wasn't just a blowout, it was an explosion. But you're in this environment with all these other dads, like my brother in law, some of her cousins that all are very comfortable in that situation. I went, I was like, hey, I'll let me clean it up. They immediately grab paper towels, they grab cleaning supplies and like three of us are on the ground. Luckily it was like tile or hardwood, so it wasn't rugged, which would have been a disaster. And we're all just scrubbing away and they're like, I've been there, man. Don't worry about it. If you would have told me a couple years ago, I would have freaked. It was just to see the other dads in action. You kind of become numb to the situation. And I used to always think this, like, I don't know how I'm ever going to change a diaper. And then you start changing your first couple diapers. You're like, this is actually pretty easy. Honestly, it's the easiest thing you could argue of the infant operation. A diaper change. If you do it right, it's like a, like a pit stop in nascar. You're in and you're out, Do a couple swipes, lift up the back if you got any run up. And I, I don't have a girl. But you know, you kind of do. You know, it gets around the, the balls. You know, you don't want any carryover because then it gets hard and it kind of gets gross. So you just kind of know what you're doing, lock it up and you move on. So. So jack shit all over the ground. Fun times. Today's podcast is brought to you by Ferguson Home. Whether you're a homeowner creating your dream space or a pro managing multiple projects, Ferguson Home is where it all comes together. Ferguson Home is designed for the way you want to shop. Experience today's top products by brands like KitchenAid firsthand by visiting a Ferguson Home showroom, where you'll explore stunning displays featuring today's latest products and innovations, or browse their extended selection of products online. Ferguson Home understands that every project is made up of countless decisions. And that's why their expert consultants are committed to helping homeowners, builders, contractors and designers bring all the details together. You can count on support from them start to finish. From choosing the right products to coordinating deliveries with your project schedule. Book a one on one consultation at your local Ferguson Home showroom or shop online@fergusonhome.com whether you're working on a new kitchen, a new bathroom, or a whole home remodel, you'll find the latest designs and technologies from the brands you trust at Ferguson Home. This is Julian Edelman from Games With Names. You know, I always got something going on. Lifting, chasing my kid, or heading on a family road trip where I'm somehow both the snack guy and the dj. But no matter what's going on in my schedule, one Thing never changes. I make sure I stay hydrated. That's where liquid IV shows up. Clutch. We've said it before. It's the key to faster hydration. You gotta have a liquid IV on you. Gym bag, glove box, the pantry you swear is organized. Toss one in. Just a stick and 16 ounces of water hydrates you faster than water alone. Boom. Efficiency. It's powered by liquid IV hydro Science sounds like a playbook term but it's an optimized ratio of electrolytes, vitamins and clinically tested nutrients turning water into a game changer. Worried it tastes like science? Don't. Liquid IV hydration multiplier flavors are delicious. Lemon lime popsicle, firecracker and cotton candy. Plus sugar free favorites like white peach and rainbow sherbet. That's a win tear pour. Enjoy. Even I can handle that. Go to liquid IV.com and use the promo code nuthouse for 20% off your first purchase. We're lost and kickoff's coming up. I don't want to miss the lineup. I'm gonna ask that man for directions. Hi there. We're trying to get to the stadium.
- [44:17]
Colin
Well, you're gonna take a left at the old oak tree at this here road.
- [44:22]
John Middlekauff
Nah, I'm just kidding.
- [44:23]
Colin
Let me get my phone out.
- [44:24]
John Middlekauff
How is there signal out here?
- [44:26]
Colin
T mobile and US Cellular are coming together so the network out here is huge. We get the same great signal as the city. City Saving a boatload with benefits. And there's a five year price guarantee too. Okay, here's the turn.
- [44:38]
John Middlekauff
Actually, can you pull up the way to a T mobile store?
- [44:41]
Colin
America's best network just got bigger. Switch to T mobile today and get built in benefits the other guys leave out. Plus our five year price guarantee. And now T mobile is available at U S Cellular stores in hermiston. Best mobile network based on analysis by Ooklo speed test intelligence data. Second half of 2025 bigger network. The combination of T Mobile's and US Cellular's network footprints will enhance the T mobile network's coverage price guarantee on talk text and data exclusions like taxes and fees apply. See t mobile.com for details.
- [45:13]
John Middlekauff
Okay, add John Middlekopf. Question for the bag. We will start with Sean. Are there any sport topics or debates you are tired of or won't talk about on the show? I'm 26. Feels like I spent half my life Jordan or Lebron. It's always the exact exact same talking points to the point where I won't even engage with it. Now that almost feels is that Even a topic anymore. Jordan lebron feels like Democrat or Republican. Like, no one's changing. You're not. You're not gonna find someone on the opposite point of view and change their opinion. Like, I, I just. Those days are done. Like, I. To me, I don't know if there are enough football ones. But, like, sometimes when I'll look up, I'll be at. I'll be at the gym and you just look up at the, at the headline of first take. It's like, how do you do this every day? What. It's like, week two. What is Dak Prescott's legacy? It's like, Dak Prescott, I don't know. He could. What if he gets hot in the playoffs? Eli Manning did. Joe Flacco did. If those guys can do it, there is a large group of quarterbacks who can do it, right? And you can have bad playoff stretch and then be good. Justin Herbert, what, had some bad playoff games. He'll eventually probably have a good playoff game, maybe two. Hell, maybe win a Super Bowl. Or maybe you won't. I don't know. I. To me, some of the hypothetical stuff with, like, legacies while you get guys in the middle of their career, it's just, I. That's not what I do here. Like, I. I'm not really into that. And honestly, I could probably go more viral on some social clips if I did like that. It just does not interest me. I. I simply do not care. And the I. I think why I like doing this so much is I just react to what's happening. If you play a good game, we just say, you play a good game and we talk about it. If you didn't, like, I. I don't believe any of these guys, like, they are defined by what they've previously done, especially if they're still young. Like, Lamar could have a playoff stretch where he's incredible, or he could just have shitty games. I don't know. I know this. I'll be watching about, watching the game and then talking about it. Josh Allen, there's no guarantee he's going to win Super Bowl. Kyle Shanahan, he always blows it in the big games. I don't know. He was up in two Super Bowls. It's like, well, he blew the 28 to 3 game. He wasn't the head coach. I've watched Kyle Shanahan now very closely, especially since 2019. He's had good teams. He's fucking good. Narratives change so fast in sports, right? Andy Reid can't win the big one, and then he wins three, and now it's like Andy Reid. He's like Bill Walsh. So it's like, I just did the Michael LeBron thing. You're 26, so you were born in, what, 2000? You never even saw Michael play in his prime. Here's. You know, the crazy part about Michael Jordan is I would say he's most known for, by a large percentage of people, for the post baseball stretch. When he played with Rodman, he was a much better and more explosive player in like 89, 90, 91, 92, 93. If you just YouTube the 91 or 92 bulls and watch him and Scottie Pippen, it. It's like watching two Lions. The speed and the ferocity in which those two operate, especially Michael. It was like this guy was playing a different sport athletically. And like, listen, he won six championships. He got. He probably should have multiple more MVPs that got taken by other guys. I'm a Michael guy, but I also grew up on Michael, and I grew up on the Michael mania. It's like, I can't relate to the 80s. When I go to Fox. When I get picked up and taken to the airport, Fox has a service, right? So usually during the week or during that day, I just have an Uber because I got to get to the facility or whatever. But from the airport, it's usually a long drive to the hotel and then leaving the facility when I'm taking off that they have, like Fox and they, obviously, they're in the entertainment business. So I'm always talking to the, to the drivers about celebrities, like, what's this guy like? What's this? Tell me stories. And they always say, like, Eddie Murphy is the coolest guy, or Mike Tyson, the last guy I was with, he's like, I. I love Mike Tyson when I drive him around. I can't relate to Mike Tyson's fame in the height of the 80s. Or Eddie Murphy, I was too young, right? Or Magic and Bird. I, I don't, I don't really remember that, right? Because I, I wasn't old enough, right? I don't remember Joe Montana and John Elway and Dan marino in the 80s, but if you talk to people that are older than me that lived through it, they go, that was incredible. So it's also based on what, you know, I feel very comfortable Talking about Rory McElroy, Tom Brady, right? Steph Curry, you know, Barry Bonds. Guys, I watched Steve Young, Aaron Rodgers. I, I could argue about people that I didn't really see. Who cares? Here's the other Thing about these debates, especially if it's an ERA thing, we'll never know. We'll never know because if we could know, it's like, if we could take the 2017 warriors and LeBron's Heat and Michael's team, here's what I know. It would save the NBA ratings. 30 million people would watch Michael and Scotty in their prime playing LeBron in his prime. I'll promise you that. We'll never know. It's like the draft. Well, he should have drafted this guy five years later. Well, there's never been a redraft in the history of life, because that's not how it works. My. My wife and friends watched the Masters. Absolutely loved it. We found ourselves rooting for other players over Rory, especially after knowing that Rory had been practicing at Augusta national leading up to the Masters. It made us think he should. He should win this tournament. It wasn't as impressive. Are we wrong? These guys play this tournament every year. And Scotty. Scotty Scheffler, who just finished second, which he was incredible on Saturday and Sunday. I mean, he's Scottish in a weird way. Rory was 12 under on Thursday and Friday. Scotty was 11 under on Saturday and Sunday, and that the difference was clear. I mean, literally one shot. But if you watch Rory on Friday, Thursday and Friday, and Scotty over the weekend, Scotty was better. Rory pulled some shots out of his ass on Friday. I said this yesterday on the golf pod, like, Rory had a C plus game. Scotty's had his even on Saturday or on Friday when Rory went low because he's, like, chipping out and he's making some great wedge shots, birdies. Scotty was incredible. How many times Scotty played this course. And Scotty, as a champion, can go play whenever he wants. So I. All these guys play it before they have access to it, especially the guys who have won the tournament or own a green jacket. So I don't think it takes away from it at all. This is the one major that goes there every single year. Now, if you told me he had just won the US Open and everyone else was playing two or three weeks leading up, and he didn't, and all he was doing is playing there. But, like, Phil and Tiger did that all the time, so it doesn't take away from it at all. Golf is not like that. Here's the other thing. Engulf the course changes. So if you play the course a month before, it is not the course you play. Which sounds crazy, because for most of us, it wouldn't matter. But for these guys, I, I see it at TBC Scottsdale. If you play TBC Scottsdale a month before, it is not the same course that they play during the tournament or two weeks before because they may be watering it more, they may be watering it less, they may cut down the rough, they may leave it up. So they make subtle changes even around the tournament. Roy's been playing in the master since 2019. I mean, I don't know the math, but I, I'm sure just tournament rounds, he probably has as many rounds. He, he has more rounds on the course than anyone. I would imagine if we looked it just finished in the top 20 beside maybe like Justin Rose. So no, it does not take away from it. It's. That's not a thing in golf. With all the talk of how bad a quarterback class this is, I know everyone is hyping up Ty Simpson, but he's small, mid tier arm and okay mobility. I think Aller may be the second best quarterback. While he is not particularly polished, arm strength is elite and ideal size. Also. Who do you think is a better prospect? Fernando Mendoza or Cam Ward? I would say this, I wanted to like Drew Aller. I have, you know, when I lived in Philly, I, I know multiple Penn State guys who were telling me like four years ago, rumor is we got Josh Allen 2.0 on the roster. And I just remember I, I gave him a little bit of pass his first year starting, but the second year I thought that team should have won the national championship or at least been in the national championship against Ohio State. And there's just something missing when you watch him. There just is. There's like an instinctive element to his game that I don't know. I, I'm kind of out on. I'm not a Drew Aller guy and, and I'm typically size big arm, but you got to be able to play the position and I don't see it. So to me, I would not draft Ty Simpson. Probably like before the third day of the draft. I, I don't know if I'd do Drew Aller. He, he's got a little Hackenberg 2.0. To me, to me, the Mendoza Ward thing is what kind of offense do I run? Because if I run the Kubiak Shanahan offense, I do think that Fernando Mendoza makes more sense. Sense if I'm Andy Reid. I think Andy Reid would rather have Cam Ward. Clearly Brian Dbal likes Cam Ward a lot too. So some of these guys, I think they're pretty similar. I, I've heard nothing but bad things about Cam Ward off the field. He definitely has more giddy up in the arm. Probably a better athlete though. Fernando Mendoza is probably an underrated athlete. Mendoza's bigger. There's a freelance element to Cam Ward. I, I just think it depends on, on the scheme. I think the Raiders if they had the choice between the two guys would take Fernando Mendoza. Can we get an update update on the BPC peptide 29 and think it could optimize my gut and recovery. What is your take on how it's been? I haven't, I think I've lost a little weight but I, I don't know if I've noticed substantial changes but they also told me it can take six to eight weeks in the dissolvable the way in which I'm taking it I think I'm in my this is going to be week five, maybe week six. Maybe I'm going into week six. So I, I, I've definitely felt some differences in my gut health but a lot of that to me is, is diet and when I eat the right foods I, I get good flow when I don't, I don't so a lot of it's on me. I have, I mean I, I enjoy taking the Peptides I, I guess I feel like I have more energy but I, I can't say like through four or five weeks I, I can tell you specific differences. It's not like where you just, you know, I started looking like a skeleton two months later. In past years why have bad teams drafted quarterbacks when they had terrible O line and weapons? I feel like a team could get a haul by trading back and then they get draft pieces before you get a quarterback. Well, twofold. One, if you really like the quarterback you just take the quarterback and two, there is a lot of pressure. There's pressure from your owner, there's pressure from the fans like your job status. I think it's a lot easier said than done to go like we don't have a quarterback. We need a quarterback this guy that we like, the team likes. But our team sucks. Another team wants to trade up and get and we're going to trade back this to draft guards and linebackers and wide receivers. Well if that guy becomes a top 12 quarterback and we don't have a quarterback, we're going to get fired. Look at how many guys the, the jets drafted who are good players but they couldn't figure out the quarterback and it blew up in their face. If they would have picked the right quarterback now granted I, you know, Trey Lance, Justin Field, Zach, well, they, Mac Jones, they, all the guys they would have picked probably would have failed. But you can draft well and if you don't have a quarterback, you are done. So that's why I, I hear what you're saying and I think there's logic to what you're saying. It's just not going to happen. Are folks starting to wonder if Malik Neighbors is injury prone or a possible bust? I know he's talented, but he can't stay healthy. I think this is a massive year from Malik Neighbors. I think Malik Neighbor's a little out of sight, out of mind. But you get Harbaugh, you get Nagy, who passing offense, you got this young quarterback. This is the type of year where it's like Malik neighbors, 1500 yards, 95 catches, 8 to 10 touchdowns and just be a complete ass kicker. So I, I think the one thing that takes a little of the negative surrounding, like no one wants to get injured. Like you think he wants to tear his ACL or get a concussion. The other guys in his class drafted high, you know, did have not set the world on fire. I mean, Marvin Harrison has been extremely underwhelming and this is a huge year for Rome. So I, I, I think that helps if one of those two guys had been like Justin Jefferson or Jamar Chase. Now granted, Marvin went before Malik. So let's say if Rome had been like a top 7, 8, top 10 wide receiver in the league, then I think it'd be a bigger talking point. My question is, how does the studio setup work with you in LA and Colin in Chicago? Is there a big screen in both studios so you can see each other and does that make it more difficult than when you're in the same place? Been wondering about this since Colin. Colin moved. I don't know what it looks like from his vantage point, but for mine, I just look into a camera and there's like, I would guess 50 inch TV or monitor right below it and I can just see him. So it's, it's a little farther away than when I record a podcast with them on, on, on Zoom. But it's essentially the same thing. And I've done it enough. I've watched a show forever. I, I know the cadence and the rhythm, so you just kind of know and there's no, there's no delay so I, I can just have a conversation with them. So it's, it's not that difficult from my end, I, I would say, but I basically just talk into a Camera and look at a monitor. How do you think the Saints will do this year? We cleared some dead cap money and a good draft away from being relevant again. Are we some clear dead cap money in a good draft away? I'm picking the Saints to win the division. As I sit here on April 13, they, they got a high pick. I would imagine they're going to have some good players after this draft. If I really like their draft, I'm going to feel very confident about it. But as I sit here April 13th in the afternoon, the Saints are my pick to win the NFC South. You mentioned that it's not a star studded draft because there aren't any quarterbacks. Could this draft instead be prep for next year's potential quarterback draft loading up on O linemen and other players to help those future quarterbacks? If so, which team do you think could benefit the most from this approach? Well, I think the jets and the Browns are just, I mean they got multiple picks. You got the jets having the Colts pick next year. I, I think those teams are circling. How do we get one of those quarterbacks next year? I'm always hesitant to say that because things change so dramatically. You just never know. But also on the positive, you get a guy like no one had Fernando Mendoza going number one last year at this time. No one had Baker Mayfield or Joe Burrow going number one. So you just never know. I this isn't basketball where you can be a year out and you go up, you know, Cooper flag, AJ debona, Darren Peterson. You just know these guys in football I think sometimes you know, at positions Jeremiah Smith right now, sometimes there's like some incredible like the Bosa brothers or a tackle like a Trent Williams or you know, some incredible corner Derek Stingley after his freshman year. Like this guy's a top 10 talent quarterback can be very hit or miss because the pressure you play shitty. Just things change really quick. So I, I'm always extremely reluctant to just announce so and so as a top 23 pick next year I would say Dante Moore locked top three or four pick. But hey, who knows. Comment for the mailbag welcome to fatherhood. Nothing better and more challenging. I enjoy it when you just say Navy. All caps, Seals. Maybe because I'm just a. Has been former seal. Sneaky, badass. Anyway, I'm excited about the draft. It will be the first time in the past five years that I actually will be able to watch it. Too busy big doing missions, kicking ass. Did you know that we had a draft of sorts at Seal Team 6. Jesus. Seal Team 6 member and at the end of our selection, each of the squadrons drafted operators off of certain measurables reputation and fit. That's pretty cool. You don't want to with Seal Team 6. Do you see any scenario where Ty Simpson could be drafted by the Rams? He's local where I live and I know for a fact that the UT Martin quarterback who signed with was cut from the Rams practice squad last year was his mentor in high school. Also, with Matt Stafford nearing retirement and Jimmy Garapple, Jimmy Garoppolo potentially having some trade value, could that open the door for a young quarterback like Simpson? Jimmy Garoppolo is technically a free agent right now. He's not on the Rams. But everyone I see is like they're going to take Makai Lemon. They're going to take a wide receiver. I mentioned this to Colin last week. When do the one they've had like three picks in 15 years so they, they rarely have first round picks and they definitely rarely draft this high. So if they get the opportunity, you never know how the draft's going to shake out. What if a really good offensive lineman is there a tackle? You're going to take a wide receiver over the tackle. Get a wide receiver later in the draft. The two best Rams wide receivers in the McVeigh era are a third round pick Cooper cup and a fifth round pick almost said Makai Lemon Puka Nakua. So you have a guy who can find wide receivers and turn them into Superstars, Super Bowl MVPs and All Pro players and you're going to use your 13th pick when you can get a lineman on a wide receiver? I. I don't know, man. With Vrabel and Rossini, do you think he is feeding her A.J. brown to the pat's rumors? Well, I think it's fair to assume that some of her Vrabel reporting is coming from Mike Vrabel. I also think this, it's like, well how's she getting this information? Well, that doesn't change Howie Roseman. I have AJ Brown and this is what I'm willing to trade him for. Part of the Mike Vrabel AJ Brown thing is Mike Vrabel loved AJ Brown with the Titans. He did not want to trade A.J. brown to the Eagles, which was pretty clear. Right. So the connection, whether they're sleeping together, whether she didn't even exist would have been pretty evident. Oh, oh yeah. They don't really have wide receivers. You know, they got Kyle Williams. They just drafted Dos. They could kind of use AJ Brown. They have this young quarterback. Need to get some help. I. I just think that. I think media is way more worried now. You could argue like sleeping to get information is. What if they're in love? Seriously, what if they're in love? Does it. Would that change the conversation if they both leave each other significant others and just start dating? Okay, I get it. You love who you love. But here's my thing as a consumer and doing what I do, whether it's a dude who. Dudes are doing shady shit to get information, too. They might have to do sexual favors. But, like, how do you think this world works? I. I don't care how you get the information. Give me the information. I'm in the. I'm in the business of reacting to it. I don't care how a story breaks. Just break the story and then I'll talk about it. The media is really. Because there was a story today. There are employees at the New York Times who are pissed. Sure there are, because it makes them look bad, takes away their credibility. But where I'm sitting as a podcaster who does this for a bit, I don't give a shit how Adam Schefter breaks his news. I. I don't. I don't care. Diane Receipt. Just give me the story, right? Tweet it out. That's the business I'm in. So whether you question my. My morals. Yeah, I. I don't care. I actually don't think most fans care. The reason fans like this story, it's, like, salacious. You know, these two people who were married. Because again, I said this all the time. Most people like myself, you guys listening are if. If you're married, it's. It's like baseball. You don't have, like, rules in the house. What you're allowed and not allowed to do, it's unwritten rules. But, you know, and let's face it, if any of us were caught in that situation and you showed my wife me holding hands, I'd be just like you would. It would not be good. But. And that's why most of us are just enamored with this. And then the element that she's a reporter and variable who just, I don't know, had his team in the Super Bowl. It's a salacious story. But I. I saw someone say this the other day. Like, they have to feel. I'm. Vrabel might not care. She has to feel like her world is collapsing when most people talking about it just find it funny and are texting each other back and forth making fun of the situation because I'm on text threads with that. No one actually cares that much. I'm going to a bachelor trip for my brother in law and his best man. I'm his best man in the wedding. Currently projected to be a third or fourth rounder. As a die hard NFL fan, I have so many questions I want to ask about the NFL draft process. Nil in college and talking with NFL teams. However, I'm not trying to hound a guy like you. You ever been in the situation before where you meet someone kind of famous outside of work and all you do is talk strictly about football? I would say most humans I have an interaction with, whether they're famous or whether they're not. If we spend some time talking, we end up talking about football. It is my great connector. It's the way to interact with other people. Talk about football, sports. It's always been my love language with other men, right? It's the easiest way to establish a relationship, talk about sports. The older I've gotten, talk a little business. But sports and business are the easiest way to have a conversation for me. That's, that's my end to make because let's face it, you meet some people, if you have nothing in common, you don't know each other. If you find yourself in a situation where you're talking like a lot of men, common interest is like that talks in football. It's an easy conversation sorter. And obviously for me it comes up like what do you do? And you start telling them and then you end up talking about it. Chance they don't take Mendoza. Slash, he sits for a year. Cameron sent me this graphic that 51% under Kubiak snaps under center for the quarterback. For Fernando Mendoza, five snaps under center his entire college career. I think that's why they brought in Cousins, to not only mentor him from just what it's like to be a pro, but on the field stuff, show them how to make the transition. Now if I remember correctly, Cousins coming out of college was under center at Michigan State. So yeah, it's always a question mark. But most scouts will tell you when you go to the Senior bowl, when a lot of these schools, these guys aren't under center, you know, so if you are worth, you know, I, I would say most quarterbacks can make the transition, but it's always a question. You spent a lot of time on dad Diaries and it got me thinking. How would you compare getting married, ideally a lifetime commitment, with having your first child? Another lifetime commitment that shifts after they're 18 years old. Obviously both bring big senses of responsibility, love, and so on. Getting married and dating someone to me is relatively easy. Obviously you have different phases in your relationship. To me, the child thing is just. It's hard to even describe one, the sense of responsibility, the intensity, the strain it has on your relationship, just from a sense of not sleeping, the burden it puts on her. It's really hard. Being married and dating was easy. You're human beings. You, you know, you have good times, you have bad times, but it was not very difficult. This is just intense. I also think it's really hard when they're super young to, like, think about what they're going to be like when they're 15 years old. You're just trying to, like, make it to the next month so you're not. I, I told someone this week at the wedding, I said, I do think a big difference between men and women is, like, someone asked me, is it harder than you thought it was going to be? Like, I just always thought I wanted kids. I never thought what it was going to be like with kids. It's like, I wanted to be married one day. I wasn't thinking about the wedding. I just wanted to be married right where women, I think, think about their wedding day. I never once thought about my wedding day my entire life until I got engaged. And then you have to, like, prepare for the wedding. But I just thought about getting married. Right. No different. Like, I always wanted children. I didn't think of what it was going to be like once you had the children beside, you know, some basic, like, this is what I want to teach them. This is how I kind of want to be a parent. But I didn't, like, what's the, what's the three months been like? I was like, I don't. It's been hard as. But I never thought about, like, every single human that had kids that I knew. I wasn't, like, taking notes 7, 8, 10, 12 years ago. So I, you're just kind of in survival mode early on. I. It's hard for me to think probably like a football team in training camp. You're not thinking about week eight. Week eight in August 8th. I, I'm in, like, early training camp. It's hard for me to think about the season. Just trying to just get by day to day, not have any injuries, not have any crazy headline stories of negative stuff. Today's podcast is brought to you by Ferguson Home. Whether you're a homeowner creating your dream space or a pro managing multiple projects, Ferguson Home is where it all comes together Ferguson Home is designed for the way you want to shop. Experience today's top products by brands like KitchenAid first hand by visiting a Ferguson Home showroom where you'll explore stunning displays featuring today's latest products and innovations, or browse their extended selection of products online. Ferguson Home understands that every project is made up of countless decisions, and that's why their expert consultants are committed to helping homeowners, builders, contractors and designers bring all the details together. You can count on support from them start to finish, from choosing the right products to coordinating deliveries with your project schedule. Book a one on one consultation at your local Ferguson Home showroom or shop online@fergusonhome.com whether you're working on a new kitchen, a new bathroom or a whole home remodel, you'll find the latest designs and technologies from the brands you trust at Ferguson Home. We're lost and kickoff's coming up. I don't want to miss the lineup. I'm going to ask that man for directions. Hi there. We're trying to get to the stadium.
- [75:38]
Colin
Well, you're going to take a left at the old oak tree at this here road.
- [75:42]
John Middlekauff
Nah, I'm just kidding.
- [75:43]
Colin
Let me get my phone out.
- [75:44]
John Middlekauff
How is their signal out here?
- [75:46]
Colin
T Mobile and US Cellular are coming together so the network out here is huge. We get the same great signal as the city, saving a boatload with benefits. And there's a five year price guarantee too. Okay, here's the turn.
- [75:58]
John Middlekauff
Actually, can you pull up the way to a T Mobile store?
- [76:02]
Colin
America's best network just got bigger. Switch to T Mobile today and get built in benefits the other guys leave out. Plus our five year price guarantee. And now T Mobile is available at US Cellular stores in Hermiston. Best Mobile Network based on analysis by Ooklo Speed test intelligence data second half of 2025 bigger network the combination of T Mobile's and US Cellular's network footprints will enhance the T Mobile network's coverage price guarantee on talk text and data exclusions like taxes and fees apply. See t mobile.com for details.
- [76:27]
John Middlekauff
Geico presents a 30 second podcast between your podcast Today's story is shared by one of our listeners. It's called Betrayed by Bill. It was in that moment I caught who was staring back at me in betrayal or more like what, my insurance Bill. With trembling hands, I grabbed my phone and switched to Geico, saving about $900 in the process and never to be betrayed again. Now that was bloody riveting. It feels good when the story ends with savings. It feels good to geico. The point of school and education or comment for the podcast is not just to learn when the Declaration of Independence was signed as you can learn anything you want online now, it's to help develop your critical thinking and problem solving abilities. While AI will certainly help, you will still need to problem solve and learn how to better use those tools. Sorry, I keep hearing you mention that use that the use of school will be for your future son and hope my explanation explanation helps. I'd push back a little bit on that though. You know, I was talking to a buddy like a lot of times in high school, I cheated copying homework. Like I've never after probably elementary school and junior high, learning basic stuff got any value in the classroom because most of my teachers just got up there at PowerPoint, PowerPoint, PowerPoint. And this was through college. And then you just had a test and you kind of had to regurgitate what you learned. I. I just don't think for me, maybe for some of you, and obviously I've never acted like school doesn't benefit one of the dudes that just went to the moon. Victor Glover was an engineering student at Cal Poly. His experience in college learning whatever he was being taught in those really difficult classes was a lot different than mine. I don't remember one thing from a classroom, from college or high school. Not one you know. And my point is, I learned to problem solve actually through playing sports on the football team with my friends. He's kind of figured it out. Not in school. I'm not anti education. It's pretty well established, historically educated people, especially with college degrees or master's degrees versus those of them without them in terms of their earning power. That's undeniable. It's not an opinion, it's a fact. So I'm not acting like you just should drop out of junior high. No. But I am also like, this is a lived experience. I lived it. It's like, we can't argue about COVID anymore. I lived it. You lived it. Like, these aren't opinions. I. I went through it. Hell, I was going to different states. So I can give you opinions on what was going on in Southern California, Northern California and Arizona. And for whatever reason, they were fucking dramatically different in this state than that one. I lived it. It wasn't a. It wasn't just like, well, these are opinions. No, this is what actually happened. I see people still arguing about it. It's like the arguments are over. Like, the evidence is in, like we did it the evidence on these on education for a lot of people and you're seeing it right now that a lot of people took out huge and I'm talking more especially college these huge loans to get these worthless degrees and can't get a job now. So it's like I, I just think these questions have to be asked as we move forward. I, I, I'm not anti learning I say it all the time. I've never learned more than I do now but it's because a podcast, the ability to find stuff on the Internet like it's just, it's changed my life. Chad GPT also how do Pukas rehab impact his contract? I mean I, I think he's not contract didn't happen in for a while and also everyone's experience is different. I was with my buddy who I went to high school with Drew Coker who was in the military who's now like has like a essentially like a secret service job for a pretty prominent politician. His wife is a doctor you know so her outlook on education is different than mine. But also in a lot of you can relate like if you're in a lot of different. Most humans are in some form or fashion in sales Most of these degrees and maybe they will start having degrees based on sales aren't really teaching that you just kind of I don't know figure it out on your own and it's like well you figured out the problem solving skills you learned in junior high? No, I just kind of figured those out on my own through interacting with other humans, playing sports, having friends. I learned in the trenches of life. When you co host Colin's show is that something that's paid through Fox amount per appearance like a 1099 employee or is that something where Colin goes John come co host my show. Side note, I understand where Jack Jack was coming from on Easter. The bunny is a creep. My, my mother in law put on a bunny suit the other day. I, I think I mentioned this the other day that it's, it's through Fox. Everything that I do for this podcast is paid through a company that I created that then I pay myself. It's pretty you know could you know advantageous especially in this low state income tax that I live in. But I was talking to my accountant and we were gonna do get just paid through a 1099 but he's like it's in California. It becomes complicated. That story that went viral on, on Sam Darnold with like days that you're there and he's like just because Fox just naturally when you do something like that, whatever Your rate is 100 bucks, a thousand bucks. Tom Brady 37 they just pay you as a W2 employee and you can go through a process of going through an llc, but the amount, I don't do it that many times. Like, you know, it's just easier. Just have them take out the taxes W2 and it's just whatever. So I was like, yeah, I just get paid through them. The tax is already taken out, which is. I mean, I haven't been a W and two employee. I'm. I'm not like their employee. But I get paid W2 style when I do essentially 1099 work. And it doesn't necessarily matter for me because my entire Life is a 1099 job. Which was weird. I was pretty rattled because we established a rate and I first get paid. I'm used to like yo me x, I cx, then I expense everything out. That's the big advantage you have when you own a business. You know, you kind of live through it and listen, you're taking all the risk. Like, you're not guaranteed anything. So you, you first, you do this and you see the number, you're like, something's off here. So then you start emailing that you're talking to the accounting services. Then my accountant's like, it's not enough to even worry about. Just have them take out the taxes and let's move on. Say, okay, Quick comment question for the bag Packer fan and constantly hear Green Bay draft and develop. But recent history would seem to prove otherwise. They have been disappointing at best. Golden Morgan, Van Ness, Wyatt Quay, Walker Stokes combined for zero Pro Bowls. My question is this. Do you think the packers reputation needs to be reevaluated? We have our first round picks. They've been so underwhelming. In an era when teams like the Lions and the Eagles have drafted superstars left and right, I can't help but feel the packers edge is becoming their Achilles heel. I would say this. The league is about spending cash. So if you look at the teams who spend the most, the majority of them are good. It's like the Eagles, the Niners, the Bills, I think the Chiefs, the Broncos. So there's a difference between salary cap and spending cash. I have to look where the packers fall probably a little higher after acquiring Micah. But historically they've only, you know, their two claim to fame's free agency have been Reggie White and Aaron. And I almost said Aaron Rodgers and Charles Woodson. Now Reggie White was a big deal relative to the time. I mean he was like one of the greatest players of all time. Charles was like an undervalued asset at the time. But they don't like the Micah Parsons trade was kind of out of character. Right. So I, I think they're gonna have to. Drafting is hard and you know, every one of those individual players, you know, Van S wasn't even a starter. Morgan I think is going to be fine. Who the other guy I, I golden, I think is going to be a good player too. Quay Walker now is on the Raiders. Drafting is hard but they are going to have to get aggressive with spending and only Gudikens truly knows how complicated that can be with his organizational structure. But yeah, I mean they're, they're gonna have a lot of new players on the team this year. Like a lot of their core group that they won a lot of games with. A lot of them are on different teams now. You know, they just traded another dude to the Eagles for the mailbag. What do you think of this ABS idea? What if every time you get an ABS challenge, right, you get a plus one challenge. Teams would incentivize to use them early, adding a new strategic element. Also, if you have more CB situations, would you stack challenges? I think the crowd reaction on challenge 27 would be electric. Oh, in the ninth. So you're just simply talking baseball, not relating to football. I think there's a fine balance. You know, we are talking human beings playing other human beings and like I, I do miss the human element a little bit but I, I Wonder if in 10 years is everything truly going to be automated where it's like 100, you know, that's right or wrong. Now football, it can be subjective. In baseball, if you see the box, it's a striker ball, right? The guy's either safe or he's out. Like it's very black and white, right? We're in football, like holding catches, some pass interference. It's way more subjective. I haven't watched that much baseball to start this season. I've seen a lot of people talk about it saying that this is an incredible technology, which essentially I think I was reading about it, you start the game with two, right? And you can challenge it at any time and it goes really fast. One problem with football and basketball is sometimes the replay technology takes too long. It's like, guys, we gotta pick. In basketball, it's insane in college basketball, in the NBA, how long end of game situations happen. So I'm a huge pace of play Guy I played golf when I was in Los Angeles. We played in three hours and 10 minutes. It was super nice club. We just member, took my buddy who works for the guy and it was just kind of like hit and go. Honestly, played pretty good and it was just go, go, go. And it was, it was awesome. It's like you don't even have that much time to think. You get around the hole, you just kind of tap in and you just move. He's just, you know, you mark your ball and stuff at like longer putts. But it, it was about pace of play. And I, I that I think that's what people are looking for now. Let's be efficient, let's move. And I think sometimes when the replay gets involved on subjective stuff, it can be really hard. You know, when a guy slides into second base and they do the, you know, circle their hands or whatever, it can go pretty quick. He's out, Boom, gone. Football in basketball just, it's just not the case. Golf could be like that. You're calling a rules official. You know, the Masters, you're waiting forever. It's like, oh my God. I, I saw the guy Scotty Scheffler was playing with on Sunday. How Tong Lee, who got a 10 on hole 13 was like in the trees, called over rules official. I think it took him like eight or nine minutes to hit a shot. And Scotty's just, Scotty just went for a walk because he had to wait. No one wants to do that now. Obviously sometimes you need to figure some stuff out, but I think a huge element to modern day sports is go, go, go. Hurry, hurry. They'll get it right. But like P.E. people like action. And the moment that you halt the action for long periods of time might lose a consumer you, you might lose the eyeballs, which is what all these people are in business now for. Keep people watching. Adios. Talk to you tomorrow. The Volume Geigo presents a 30 second podcast between your podcast, today's story is shared by one of our listeners. It's called Betrayed by Bill. It was in that moment I caught who was staring back at me in betrayal or more like what, my insurance bill. With trembling hands, I grabbed my phone and switched to geico, saving about $900 in the process and never to be betrayed again. Now that was bloody riveting.
- [90:43]
Colin
It feels good when the story ends with savings.
- [90:45]
John Middlekauff
It feels good to Geico, the best moments aren't always about where you're going. They're about who's with you on the way. That's why Toyota Believes People Are the Destination the Toyota RAV4 is built for busy days and spontaneous plans, from practice runs to last minute road trips and everything in between. With space, comfort and flexibility. It helps turn everyday drives into quality time because when the right people are riding with you, every trip matters. Learn more@toyota.com and find the vehicle that fits your people.
- [91:15]
Colin
Liberty Mutual customizes your car and home insurance. And now we're customizing this ad for your morning commute to wake you up, which could help your driving. Science says that stimulating the brain increases alertness, so here's a pop quiz. How many months have 28 days? What gets wetter as it dries? What has keys but can't open Locks? If you don't want to hear the answers, turn off this Liberty mutual AD. Now 12 months a towel piano Enjoy Being fully alert to Covis is the Go to for premium handcrafted Western boots. Stop by any store location for a
- [91:52]
John Middlekauff
warm welcome, a cold drink in hand
- [91:54]
Colin
and a truly one of a kind shopping experience. Let our friendly staff help you find
- [91:59]
John Middlekauff
your new Go to boots, whether your
- [92:02]
Colin
first pair or your 50th. Finish things off with a complimentary boot brand to make them extra special.
- [92:08]
John Middlekauff
Come for the boots, Stay for the good times. To Covis Forever west this is an iHeart podcast. Guaranteed Human.