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John Middlekoff
This is an iHeart podcast. Guaranteed Human.
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The Volume. What is going on everybody? John Midkoff three and out podcast. How are we doing? Hopefully everyone's having a good Fugazi Friday. We'll just dive right into it. You guys know the drill. Subscribe to the podcast if you listen on Collins feed. Also Netflix. We are rocking on rolling. All of our videos are up there. We talked to Justin Jefferson yesterday. We talked to Kendrick Bourne yesterday. I listened. The audio wasn't great. My bad. Not that I had anything to do with it, but hey, I'm not pointing the finger. It's no one's fault. It just kind of is what it is in those situations. As you can tell, my voice, you know, it's holding on. I, I don't, you know, I'm, I'm 40 now. I'm not quite throwing at the same speed I once was. I wouldn't say I hit the town last night, but definitely enjoyed myself for the first time in a long time and made an executive decision. It could have got crazy. Last year I went with the kind of some of the I Heart crew to the. We went to the Volume party and then the after party was Club Shake Shake which is basically some version of like Techmo Bowl. Every famous player from like 1992 meets like Madden 2001. It's, it's a trip and I, they all went and they were begging me to go and I said, you know, it was about 11 o', clock, I had an early, early flight and I, I was, I showed maturity. I, I did not go. Hopefully I didn't miss out. I haven't texted anyone because last year it was in New Orleans I an incredible experience. So from Stephen A to Michael Irvin to Timber. I mean I'm telling you every player that was good in the, in my entire childhood and Ocho Cinco, my you know, college years. So yeah, I mean now we got the super bowl and that's what we're going to do today. I'll give some thoughts on the super bowl is Fugazi Friday and I got a couple fugazi that are just football related that made me shake my head and we'll bang out a little mailbag as well. At John Middle cough. At John middle Cough. I, I didn't sleep that much last couple days. My voice is, I wouldn't say gone. Hanging on a little bit. So got to give it a rest the next couple days so I can podcast after the Super Bowl. All signs point to Drake May said today he was healthy. Eamon worry who got injured at practice. And there was some video of him walking to the hotel, limping around, claimed he'll be good to go. Definitely something to monitor, though. I mean, he. He really takes our defense to another level. He's Mike McDonald's Kyle Hamilton of this team. Not saying he's as good, but you know what I mean? Like, that's the version of player there's not many. Tall, physical, long ball skills, can play safety, can play cover guy. I mean, kind of do it all. Pretty unique player. So that. That would be a big deal if he had got, you know, a major injury. It looks like, you know, he avoided disaster, which would suck. I mean, get injured the week of Super Bowl. I mean, that's. I mean, these practices, I. I can't imagine they are that intense. So it's. It's clearly a freak injury, but we'll dive right in. Because I think the coolest part about the super bowl is the. The Sam Darnold storyline really is what everyone's talking about. It has, like a human interest story type vibe to it. Like, it. Could you meet a human being that follows sports? They would be like, I hate Sam Darnold. Loser. Can't wait to root against him. And that's kind of sports, right? Bring up some famous athlete, you go into a bar, you're going to find mixed reactions. Bring up Tom Brady in a bar. Bring up LeBron James in a bar. Just bring up Patrick Mahomes. Not. Not everyone's like, rah rah on their side. And I think there's an element to Sam Darnold that is hard to kind of root against. I. And unlike Brady, I truly have no dog in this fight. Honestly, I'm. I guess I'm kind of rooting for Seattle in the sense that I'd love to get John Schneider on the show again. I'm a big fan, and I think it'd be cool for him. And we'll dive into. You know what it will be on his resume if he's able to win another Super Bowl. But like, we were talking about it last night, this game in the 60 minutes, if Sam Darnold wins. I. I just think it, like, I. I don't ever think we've quite seen a turnaround in this fashion. Definitely in my life, I'm sure that happened in the 70s and the 80s. We have seen crazy quarterback stories. You know, the video that went viral of Jon Gruden walking down, it must have been like Market street and running into Rich Gannon and them doing like, you know, snap counts and screaming at each other. I mean, Rich Gannon was a guy that bounced around. You got with Jon Gruden and became the league mvp. I actually think he won the league MVP the year after Jon left, but became a high level starter, a Pro Bowler. That's kind of a unique story. You know, Steve Young got traded for a fourth round pick to the 49ers and later became a Hall of Famer. Now granted, he had been a top pick and played in the ufl. You know, Plunkett was a little before my time, but he was a number one overall pick. Was viewed as a guy that didn't live up to the hype, then got with Al Davis and won Super Bowls. This situation feels the most different of any that I can remember because most of the prominent quarterbacks are kind of good immediately. Like it's pretty rare that someone comes out of nowhere anymore. People go through dips in their career. Like Philip Rivers had a couple down years in the middle of his career, right. Jared Goff had a weird little stint in the middle of it, but like by his second year they were in the playoffs and he was good and he got a big contract extension. It's the other thing most of these guys in the Brady Manning era we've kind of known immediately, right from Cam Newton to Roethlisberger to, you name it, Brock Purdy, like happens immediately. It's pretty rare where everyone goes, yeah, this guy's not that good. He's just not that good to and what the league thought that because remember when his career pivoted, when he became a backup for Kyle Shanahan, it's not like they gave him one year, $20 million. They had a bidding prop. They gave him like one year, $3 million to be the backup. So teams all over the league could had access to Sam Darnold. He was not, relative to NFL terms, that expensive of a player. He was there to be had and no one wanted him. And now a couple years later, think of the ramifications. I mean, I was talking to Jefferson yesterday. We got a bunch of people at the volume that are Vikings fans. You know, the Vikings, just a prominent organization in this league. Their general manager just got fired. And people think that there are ripple effects of the Sam Darnold success. I mean he threw 35 touchdowns for them and they were 60 minutes away from being the number one seed. And then he goes to Seattle and listen, he hasn't had some perfect season. Led the league in turnovers in the regular season, but in the NFC Championship game against Matt Stafford, which we can debate. And listen, the hall of Fame's all over the map. I mean, pretty good chance Matt Stafford makes it to the hall of Fame. And if he's not, like, he just won the mvp. So let's not even take away the hall of Fame. Look, he's just playing the league mvp, the number one offense in the league. And he went toe to toe, if not out dueled him, did not have a turnover and was freaking awesome. And now he has a chance, as now I think sometimes, and I'm guilty of this too, when you're like, he's the betting favorite to be the super bowl mvp. Well, yeah. I mean, the starting quarterback on the team that's favored by almost five points is going to be favored to win the mvp. That. That would be the case in any scenario. Right? These quarterbacks win this award the majority of the time. And can you imagine if Sam Darnold on Monday years like, he. Sam Darnold in Seattle won the super bowl and Sam Darnold won the super bowl mvp. Like, let's face it, there would be validations, the wrong word. Because how long have we been trying to validate the guy? Honestly, it would be more of an issue, more for Minnesota trying to, like, overcome that narrative, which would never go away. Like, there are things that just never go away. Letting a guy walk for a young quarterback who's been a epic disaster, leading to a GM getting fired while the other guy leads the Seattle Seahawks, who were 5 to 1 to win their own division in August, which odds makers were off on that one. Listen, it wasn't. It wasn't easy. I mean, they came down to the last game of the season to win the division, but still, like, they should have been more like +250, not +500. But regardless, it's just an incredible story. And I think the. And back to the human interest part, there's just a genuine, like, hey, seems like a great guy, never heard a bad word about him. In a league that gossips about everybody, in a league that talks shit about people constantly. And I'm as guilty as anybody because I get this information and I kind of put my own spin on it. And listen, I got my own opinions. I got no problem blasting people and be like, I don't like this guy until half these guys don't even know. I just watch the way they operate. It's like, turns me off. And she's like, tim Donald seems like a great guy. And McCaffrey on. On Coward yesterday, Who I, I, I was, I was trying to get his handler, and that's part of the super bowl is you're like begging these handlers to get like 10 minutes with the guy. It's, it's just not my vibe, not my scene. I, I appreciate the hoopla behind it, but Radio Row, which eventually is going to have to be renamed, I don't know, Podcast way or, you know, Digital Drive, I don't exactly know. But we're going to need to rename that bad boy in a little bit regardless. People just like this person. And McCaffrey was like, you know, it would have been very easy to get some bitterness out of Sam. I got the short end of the stick. I got screwed. And he's like, I've been around him in Carolina. I've obviously now was around him in San Francisco, and I never heard him utter any negativity toward anyone else. I saw in his press conference earlier this week, they kind of asked him. They, they people were trying to get him to take shots at the jets and he just wouldn't. He was like, if anything, he was humbled to be drafted that high. And I think anytime you just constantly say the right things and it'd be really easy. And listen, I, I got no issue with the Rogers, with the Baker Mayfield. Like, we're all wired differently. We can't all be wired the same. You know, part of like, part of the reason football is entertaining is we got some just straight arrow guy and we got some crazy guys. As someone that's a fan of golf, like when Liv, I want all these guys from Live to come back because we need some crazy guys. You can't just have everyone with a big smile on their face, high character. You need some wild cards. You know, this is entertainment. And Sam Darnold falls under the category of like, just a good guy, you know, who happens to be 65 with a big arm. And John Schneider was talking to Ty, Ty Dunn, who was just his substacks. Awesome. He was at the Volume party and we were talking. It's, it's some people are just good at their jobs. And I was telling him last night, like, you know what? You have a really, really good talent of, of just getting people to talk to you, like the coaches, the executives. You know, he, he covered Buffalo when Richie Incognito was with the Bills. And Richie came right up to him at the party last night and started talking to like, he's just, some people just have a knack for connecting and interacting and Ty clearly has that that talent. But so does Darnold. Like, I mean, Darnold comes to the 49ers. He's immediately at like the warriors games with Purdy, McCaffrey, Kittle and us. Check who. I saw Juice yesterday walking around the. He looks fantastic. God, guys, he's in great shape. Good looking dude, you know, just a legendary fullback. So good to see Juice. But congrats to Darnold, who just flipped his, you know, career around. I'm rooting for him. I'm not gonna lie. I'm rooting for Seattle because I also think, you know, John Schneider, I was thinking about this, like, Less need or John lynch or some of these guys. You know, think of other GMs, veach with Andy, most of them that have had success and got to Super Bowls or got to a bunch of champion NFC Championship or AFC championship games. It's the same crew of guys doing it. Like, it's been less needed Sean McVay the entire time. Right? So anytime. Like, one thing that Howie can hang his hat on is he won multiple Super Bowls with two different coaches and two different quarterbacks. I don't know where you fall, but I think it's pretty hard to argue against Belichick being a Hall of Famer. Like, if you don't think Belichick's a Hall of Famer, it'd probably be hard for us to have a conversation. But if you did want to make the argument, like, move, remove Brady and look what he does. And it's not great. My comeback would be like Bill Walsh at Joe Montana. Like most great Phil Jackson had Michael and Kobe. There usually aren't great coaches without great players. But regardless, is Belichick success all came with Tom. Right? And you're looking at John Schneider, who has a chance to pull the Howie of winning multiple Super Bowls with two different coaches and two different quarterbacks, that is a remarkable accomplishment. Like, Veech will probably have a pretty good chance to win another super bowl in the next couple years. It will be with Patrick Mahomes and Andy Reed. And there's nothing wrong with that. But, like, to be able to. If I just told Veech, hey, you're gonna go to a Super bowl in like four years in Kansas City, but Mahomes won't be your quarterback and Andy won't be your coach, people be like, what? And if he did, it would just take his status to like legendary status because it's really, really difficult to do. And you could. He already is because he's won a bunch of Super Bowls. My Point is, it's. It's not easy to win these things ever. Right? It's hard for Belichick and Andy Reid and whoever to win them. But it's really hard to rehaul a coach because when you get a new coach, you completely change the coaching staff. And then when you get a new quarterback, like, that's a dramatic change. And I just think John Schneider, I think he's a Hall of Famer, but this would just be a no doubt about it. Just all time unique resume. I mean, even guys like Bill Polian who was in the super bowl, like he won one super bowl with Peyton Manning and Tony Dungy. He went to a lot of them in Buffalo, but he never won it. And to do it at the same franchise with multiple iterations just, it's just an incredible potential accomplishment for John. And obviously, before we get in the, you know, The Pats, Mike McDonald will be on the short list of young star coaches. And the thing that would separate him is like McVeigh champion, sirianni champion, some of the other young guys who have been close, like, obviously Kyle, you know, LaFleur's been to a bunch of championship games. Kevin O' Connell's never won a playoff game. You know, the way we talk about him, you think he's got three rings but never won a playoff game. But regardless, like, I'm not anti Kevin o'. Connell. My point is that if I told you Kevin o' Connell was Super bowl champion or Kyle Shanahan was Super bowl champion, it would just, it would take their status to another level. But because Mike's a defensive coach, I just don't think it. He's been properly discussed most of this. I mean, the last couple weeks he's gotten more buzz, but let's face it, the Sam Darnold conversation kind of clouds it a little bit. And you win a Super bowl at like 39, 40 years old as a defensive guy, you'd be in a division where Kyle doesn't have one. Just you and McVeigh, and you win it in your rival stadium. Listen, I. There's no denying that the guy's pretty special when it comes to a defensive mind. And there's no denying, like, his personality really, really works. Very level headed, very. Just consistent emotionally. He. He never seems like emotionally unwound or, or losing his, his kind of stability. Right? He's just very consistent. When you see like his body language and that matters, and you win a Super bowl at a young age, you're kind of playing with house money from then on out you really are. It's kind of like a player, right? Rogers knocked it out early, Brady knocked it out early. Then you're just kind of chasing like can you get two or three now? It's not easy. McVeigh's been chasing number two for a long time now. I guess not that long. He only wanted a couple years ago. But you know, I think you saw the devastation on his face this year because he knows how hard it is to get to this point. So. And once you're in this game, like anything can happen. Today's show is brought to you by our presenting sponsor, Hard Rock bet, Florida's sportsbook. It's the Big Game week, baby. On Hard Rock Bet, Seattle is a 4 1/2 point favorite over the Patriots for games like this. Basic bets do not cover. Hard Rock Bet is loaded with special props. 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That's right, Hard Rock Bet. Download the Hard Rock Bet app and make your first deposit today. 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-PLAY-WISE 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. This month, iHeartRadio is celebrating the stars of the 2026 Winter Games. Ocala, Florida might seem like an unlikely high home for a Winter Olympian, but Erin Jackson is a sprinter in a league of her own. After making history as the first black woman to win an individual Winter Olympic gold medal, she returns to the ice faster than ever. A former inline skater, she dominates the 500 meter sprint with explosive power and arrives in Italy to defend her crown. For more Winter Games Gold Search olympics.
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Narrator/Host (Valley of Shadows)
On the iHeartRadio app on June 11, 1998, a deputy from the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department went missing. It's an all out manhunt for John Ajay.
- [20:01]
John Middlekoff
Every search and rescue team in LA.
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Narrator/Host (Valley of Shadows)
County has been called in to help. Within days, tips started flooding into the Sheriff's department.
- [20:09]
John Middlekoff
They ruler around the drug scene.
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Narrator/Host (Valley of Shadows)
Was that a deputy was taken care of. Is this the story of a man who just got lost in the desert? Or of a cover up inside the nation's largest sheriff's department?
- [20:24]
Robert Smith
A homicide captain saying detective, do not find out if this guy's guilty or innocent.
- [20:30]
John Middlekoff
Who does that?
- [20:31]
Narrator/Host (Valley of Shadows)
Valley of Shadows a new series from Pushkin Industries about crime and corruption in California's high desert. Do you have any advice for us while looking into this disappearance?
- [20:44]
John Middlekoff
I wouldn't do it alone.
- [20:46]
Narrator/Host (Valley of Shadows)
Listen to Valley of shadows on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.
- [20:53]
John Middlekoff
Segregation in the day, Integration at night.
- [20:58]
When segregation was the law, one mysterious black club owner had his own rules.
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We didn't worry about what was going on outside. It was like stepping in another world.
- [21:09]
Inside Charlie's Place, black and white people danced together. But not everyone was happy about it.
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You saw the kkk. Yeah. They were dressed up in their uniform.
- [21:21]
Nav Green
The KKK set out to raid Charlie, take him away from here.
- [21:26]
John Middlekoff
Charlie was an example of power. They had to crush him.
- [21:34]
From Atlas Obscura, Rococo Punch and visit Myrtle beach comes Charlie's Place, a story that was nearly lost to time. Until now. Listen to Charlie's place on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.
- [21:53]
Nav Green
This show contains information subject to but not limited to personal takes, rumors not so accurate stats, and plenty more. What's up man? This your boy Nav Green from the Broken Play podcast. Look, it's the end of the season. The playoffs are here. But get guess what? It ain't the end of your season. You can always tune in with Broken Play Podcast with Nav Green on the Black Effect podcast network. Another team who ain't going to the playoffs. The Chiefs. What's a wrap? It's time to rebuild. Who your MVP right now then Drake May up there. Josh Allen up there still. Oh, my boy Matthew Stafford. Where did Nick said he ain't too far behind.
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John Middlekoff
He did all this talking.
- [22:32]
Nav Green
What Matthew Stafford is doing statistically, bro is crazy. Bro, you know I ain't no Josh Allen fan, but Matthew Stafford got better weapon. Caleb Williams. Hey, he should be in that conversation.
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John Middlekoff
In what conversation?
- [22:44]
Nav Green
Listen to Broken Play with Nav Green from the Black Effect podcast Network on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast.
- [22:53]
Jacob Goldstein
The Volkswagen Beetle started out as Hitler's dream car. It wound up as a beloved hippie icon and the bestselling car of all time.
- [23:01]
John Middlekoff
How did that happen? I'm Jacob Goldstein.
- [23:03]
Robert Smith
And I'm Robert Smith. On business history, we tell the surprising stories behind the inventions and entrepreneurs that shaped our economy.
- [23:10]
Jacob Goldstein
And the story of the Beatle is truly surprising. It has so much in it. It has Nazis, it has the German economic miracle.
- [23:17]
Robert Smith
And it features one of the most famous ads of all time, an ad that really redefined what advertising was in the United States.
- [23:25]
Jacob Goldstein
The calculation was that there was some number of Americans who were ready for something different, who were ready for something that was counter to the culture, if you will. Perfect timing decade of the 1960s.
- [23:38]
Robert Smith
Listen to Business History on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts and watch episodes on YouTube.
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John Middlekoff
I actually think the bigger story on the Pats is more vor than Drake may and part of it's his youth. Like, I think we all agree Drake, you never know in football. Health, you know, can crop up on anyone. Injuries has a chance to be an elite player for a long, long time in the NFL, right? If you did a draft when you, if you factored in contracts and age, he would go really, really high. If you factor it in contract and age, because technically you could roll out a couple more years on this rookie contract. You could argue he'd go one. And listen, I'm not saying he's perfect, but the upside is enormous. So it's like. And listen, Dan Marino got to a Super bowl as rookie year, never made it back. So there's no guarantees in this sport. You can't let guys like, you know, Mahomes or Brady cloud your, you know, you're thinking of just. It's easy because obviously it's not. But to me, Vrabel, I think has more to gain than May because he would immediately go on the short list of guys who have won a Super Bowl. I can't remember we talked about this last week, but if he'd be the first player to win a Super bowl for the team that he played for and also won a Super bowl, so the connection there would be pretty special. And it would immediately vault him. Like in terms of important Patriots. Obviously it's, it's pretty hard to supplant Belichick and Tom, but. And obviously, you know, you put Tom probably one Belichick one B, I think, I think Rabel would be pretty, pretty set at number three of a franchise who's been to a lot of freaking Super Bowls, who have a lot of legendary players. But you win three rings as a player, as clearly one of the key guys in the operation. You know, awesome defensive player, catching touchdowns and Super Bowls, you know, a big part of like the heart and soul of the team. And then you come back and you resurrect the franchise and who cares? Like, in terms of, oh, they've had the easiest schedule in 30 years. Okay, well, they're here. There have been teams with easy schedules that haven't made the Super Bowl. Like, if you're them, why do I give a. Sometimes we play our schedules, sometimes we play easy schedules. Still got to win the playoff games, still have to go on the road. And in a. I, I saw Portnoy calling it some like crazy name, but whatever the blizzard was and win a game now Grandos against the backup quarterback. But what are the people going to say now? Well, even worry was 75%. Yeah, you're playing Sam Darnold. You know, it's not exactly Peyton Manning. Who gives a. And variable would get pretty legendary status. And it used to happen more, you know, really good players. Well before I was alive in like the 60s, in the 50s would become coaches, right? You know, Bill Cower, you know, Tony Dungy was, was a longtime player. Mike Ditka. It doesn't happen as much anymore, which is understandable. These guys make too much money. The equivalent of Mike Vrabel now in the NFL would have. Would make $100 million. So it's like, do I want to work 80 hour work weeks when I am already filthy rich? If anything, I'll just start a podcast. I'll go work for ESPN or Fox. Right? Hell, I'll call Coward and start something on the volume and for Mike to get back into this also, like, I think you win the super bowl if you're variable that. That Tennessee tenure looks better. He was the number one seed and he. The one year in 2019, he won multiple road playoff games as big underdogs, beat the Pats, ended Brady's career in New England and went on the road. I forget the number, but they were big, big dogs. Playing Baltimore when Derrick Henry went for like 700 yards, like that would age great on his resumes. I see. I'm a Super bowl champ. Once I got a better owner, and I already had three as a player. Top. Top that, baby. Not many people can, like, look at the best coaches in the NFL right now. Most of them did not play. Andy Reeden didn't play in the NFL. Sean Payton didn't play in the NFL. McVeigh. Kyle didn't sniff the NFL. There's nothing wrong with that. Most people don't. But you just to have that many rings on. On a dynasty and then just do it as a coach, it's. It's pretty unique. And obviously, you know, Craft's legacy to the move he made. Now he. I did see him make the comment that when he fired Mayo, it was very cost intense to fire everybody. It's like, Robert, it's like, okay, Mayo's making six, seven million dollars. You paying some assistance. A combined three or four million dollars to go away. That's. That's a rounding error to you, man. It does not matter at all. So I just think when you look at Robert Kraft, you know, him and Belichick have been at odds, right? And the documentary that came out on Apple was pretty embarrassing. Yeah, I thought it was kind of unneeded. It was almost a campaign for Robert. Like, Robert, you don't need to. My dad always tried to teach me this, and I wasn't like a cocky kid and tell you how great I was at something because I wasn't that great at most things. But whenever my friends or people I knew would be big talkers, it'd be like, that's not the way to do it. Show them with your actions, like, keep your mouth shut and go and go dominate and go win and go. Be successful at whatever you're doing. Right. And that was kind of a different generation. I mean, now we show you everything we do on social media. But my point is that Kraft didn't need to do any of that. Like, his resume speaks for itself. And now he's got, like, icing on the cake with this Vrabel Drake May operation, which is going nowhere. I mean, they're. They're going into next year. They will be Definitely one of the favorites to win the super bowl again. They, I would guess win or lose this game, they are a top five gambling odds to win the Super bowl in 2027, you know, the 26 season and then, you know, in February of 2027, I think the game's in LA, so. And there was a story that, you know, Jay Glazer said that Max Crosby's done with the Raiders after that situation where they wouldn't let him play. Diana Rossini said that he's going to be hell bent on trying to get to Mike Vrabel. What if I tell you they've added Max Crosby this off season for like a one and two twos, all of a sudden Max Crosby's on the New England Patriots. You don't like it more then, I mean, because I, because I would. So yeah, I just think that this I, I do get. And I was around at the volume party. We got so many people from Boston. I mean a lot of our sales crew came from Barstool. So there is a large contingent of Boston people. Collins, main guy who runs this entire operation, Jamie Horowitz, the Boston guy, I was talking to him like he's going to the game. You know, it's just Boston's loud and proud and they're kind of cocky because they should be because their team fucking goes all the time. And if they win this game, they are going to be, it's going to be tough, you know, and I, I get it. I, you know, if I was a die hard fan and my team always had this much success, I'd probably be cocky too. You know, I mean I, I was around when I was young. I. Every single person I knew walked around high school or, or junior high with a 49er gear one all the time. You just expected them to be in the Super Bowl. And especially when I was in like you know, elementary school and junior high, I mean they were 13, 14 wins every single season. So you start having that type success, it builds a false sense of like it's kind of easy. And you would have been like, oh, the Patriots kind of dead. Now you look up and they're in the Super Bowl. And Robert Kraft, who got denied for the hall of Fame with Bill, which I think next year there's a chance that it's Bill, it's Robert and it's Tom. I could be wrong, but I'm pretty sure Tom's going to be eligible next year. And I think it'd be pretty stunning if Bill and Kraft don't get in so it could be the hall of Fame next year. Could be like an entire Patriot celebration which feels. If I was a betting man, I would guess that happens. I like Seattle in this game, but as I've said over and over, I do not feel great about it simply because the Patriots biggest advantage is their coaching. Stuckey talked about this. Variables in game adjustments, his understanding of the rules and is Belichickian and what he did. Sean Payton is a great example. He's like, hey, we went for it because we got the look we wanted. They just didn't run the same play. Well, no shit. He's. I mean, he's been part of some of the great defensive game plans in the history of the league. Of course he didn't run the same play. Mike. Variable, smart. Oh, they also have an offensive coordinator who's coached like 50 playoff games, including. I think this is. I think this is Josh McDaniels. Ninth Super bowl as a Patriot assistant coach. Ninth Super Bowl. Think about that. I mean, how do you match that? How do you match that type experience? You don't. You simply do not. So couldn't be his night. Superbooks, they only want. Yeah, I guess they lost a couple, but he would have not been there.07. Maybe they went to nine. This would be his. Now I'm confused because I heard someone say nine, but is it eight? He's been to a lot. He's been to a lot, which is hell, he's been to more Super Bowls just in the NFL than Vrabel has. So the experience factor is massive on the side of New England. And to me that matters because these aren't just random coaches. I think the combination of Vrabel and Josh is elite. And anytime you get a defensive kind of guy with an elite offensive coordinator like that is a valuable, valuable skill. And I think the reason people question it sometimes is you think the offensive coordinator is going to leave, right? Look, Clint Kubiak, Sam Darnold have success. He goes, he gets a Raiders job. Well, who's going to hire Josh McDaniels? You could argue he's not really hireable as a head coach, so they don't really need to worry about that. He probably could just coach out his career working for Vrabel and be there for years. Now things change. Big egos, money. You never just say it's inevitable he's going to be there for a decade. A lot can change at a moment's notice. Losing can expose personalities. But I would bet on him being there for the foreseeable future.
- [34:45]
Narrator/Host (Valley of Shadows)
On June 11, 1998, a deputy from the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department went missing. It's an all out manhunt for John Ajay.
- [34:53]
John Middlekoff
Every search and rescue team in LA.
- [34:54]
Narrator/Host (Valley of Shadows)
County has been called in to help. Within days, tips started flooding into the Sheriff's department.
- [35:00]
John Middlekoff
They rumor around the drug scene was.
- [35:03]
Narrator/Host (Valley of Shadows)
That a deputy was taken care of. Is this the story of a man who just got lost in the desert? Or of a cover up inside the nation's largest sheriff's department?
- [35:15]
Robert Smith
A homicide captain saying detective, do not find out if this guy's guilty or innocent.
- [35:21]
John Middlekoff
Who does that?
- [35:23]
Narrator/Host (Valley of Shadows)
Valley of Shadows a new series from Pushkin Industries about crime and corruption in California's high desert. Do you have any advice for us while looking into this disappearance?
- [35:35]
John Middlekoff
I wouldn't do it alone.
- [35:38]
Narrator/Host (Valley of Shadows)
Listen to Valley of shadows on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.
- [35:44]
Nav Green
This show contains information subject to but not limited to personal takes, rumors, not so accurate stats and plenty more. What's up man? This your boy Nav Green from the Broken Play podcast. Look, it's the end of the season. The playoffs are here. But guess what? It ain't the end of your season. You can always tune in with Broken Play podcast with N Dab Green on the Black Effect podcast network. Another team who ain't going to the playoff? The Chiefs. What's a wrap? It's time to rebuild. Who your MVP right now then Drake May up there, Josh Allen up there still. Oh my boy. Matthew Stafford.
- [36:19]
John Middlekoff
Where did Nicks at?
- [36:21]
Nav Green
He ain't too far behind.
- [36:22]
John Middlekoff
He did all this talking.
- [36:23]
Nav Green
Hey, what Matthew Stafford is doing statistically bro is crazy. Bro, you know I ain't no Josh Allen fan, but Matthew Staff forgot better weapon. Caleb Williams. Hey, he should be in that conversation.
- [36:34]
John Middlekoff
In what conversation?
- [36:35]
Nav Green
He should be in it. Listen to Broken Play with Nav Green from the Black Effect podcast Network on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcast or wherever you get your podcast.
- [36:45]
John Middlekoff
Segregation in the day, Integration at night.
- [36:50]
When segregation was the law, one mysterious black club owner had his own rules.
- [36:55]
We didn't worry about what was going on outside. It was like stepping in another world.
- [37:01]
Inside Charlie's place, black and white people danced together. But not everyone was happy about it.
- [37:08]
You saw the kkk? Yeah. They was dressed up in their uniform.
- [37:13]
Nav Green
The KKK set out to raid Charlie, take him away from here.
- [37:18]
John Middlekoff
Charlie was an example of power. They had to crush him.
- [37:25]
From Atlas Obscura, Rococo Punch and visit Myrtle beach. Comes Charlie's place A story that was nearly lost to time. Until now. Listen to Charlie's place on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.
- [37:44]
Jacob Goldstein
The Volkswagen Beetle started out as Hitler's dream car. It wound up as a beloved hippie icon and the best selling car of all time.
- [37:52]
John Middlekoff
How did that happen? I'm Jacob Goldstein.
- [37:55]
Robert Smith
And I'm Robert Smith. On business history, we tell the surprising stories behind the inventions and entrepreneurs that shaped our economy.
- [38:01]
Jacob Goldstein
And the story of the Beatle is truly surprising. It has so much in it. It has Nazis, it has the German economic miracle.
- [38:08]
Robert Smith
And it features one of the most famous ads of all time. An ad that really redefined what advertising was in the United States.
- [38:16]
Jacob Goldstein
The calculation was that there was some number of Americans who were ready for something different, who were ready for something that was counter to the culture, if you will. Perfect timing decade of the 1960s.
- [38:30]
Robert Smith
Listen to Business History on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts and watch episodes on YouTube.
- [38:38]
RingCentral Announcer
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- [39:45]
John Middlekoff
Couple Fugazi Fridays that are are football related and I'm going to start with Tom. That'd be Tom Brady who I he has improved dramatically on the microphone I got last year which you could say it's unfair. It was his first year. Well you get paid $37 million. My, my expectations are pretty high and I'm a professional football watcher so I got a pretty good feel for what's good and bad and I think we all agree like it was, it was rough and totally understand. Learn by Doing, you get better with experience. I get that. But like, he just got thrown on the A team and we had to watch it and it was, it was a roller coaster this year. Much smoother. He's clearly more comfortable. We've got a better vibe of like more normal, relatable time. He's been really good. But part of having. And anyone listening to this knows if you have, you know, you're a Packer fan, you're an Eagle fan, you're a Niner fan, you're whoever, the Cowboys, when your prominent former players who are older and retired support you, it really indebts them to the fans and, and they become, they feel like a huge part of the community years after they're gone. Right. Like, it works in college too. Like the pride Michael Irvin and Ray Lewis and all those guys have in Miami. I see it with the 49ers, the pride Ronnie Lott and Steve Young and Brent Jones and Joe Montana taking the 49ers, that, that means something to the fan base. And it's all around hell. Even Aaron Rodgers, as he left the packers, he's like, he always said, like, I'm really rooting for Jordan Love. I'm rooting for Matt LaFleur. I really like and care about those guys. It's like, okay, at least it meant something to you beside like, you're just doing this for a job because you're getting paid a bunch of money and no player. I mean, look at Peyton Manning, played for Denver for four years. Every time I look, he's at a Denver Bronco game. It feels like he kicked the, the Colts to the curb and just put all his chips in the middle of the table in the Denver Broncos. Now the colts, like Pat McAfee, became a rock star in terms of the media landscape and, and he's always at the Colts game. He plays a huge role of like supporting that franchise. And that means something to the people because you become embedded in that community. When me and Jackson went to the thing on the, the 1989 champions thing with Chris Berman, Joe Montana, Ronnie Lott, John Taylor, Harris Barton, Joe Montana had a great quote. He's like, let's face it, all five of us up here could live anywhere in America. Like, we don't have to live here, but because of these people and the support we've gotten for 40 plus years, we choose to stay here. And when Tom Brady, who is known as the greatest player in the history of football and is synonymous with the New England Patriots, has a statute, calls like Robert Kraft, a father figure, came out immediately when Bill Belichick was snubbed. Feels like Edelman and Gronkowski are like brothers to him. Still feels really close to Vrabel, just like interwoven in the fabric of Boston sports. Is asked about who he's rooting for. It says he has no dog in the fight. I, I, I gotta red flag that. That's, that's absolutely embarrassing. And you can go, well, he's a part owner. He calls games. I don't think anyone would hold it against him. He doesn't have to say, well, I'm going to put on my Patriot jersey. But he could easily say, of course, Robert Kraft is a close, close friend of mine. Means a lot in my life. I've known Mike Vrabel for 25 years. I'm rooting for the Patriots. Do you think, like being a partial owner of the Raiders or working for Fox, anyone would be like, I don't know if you can say that or do you think most people would go, totally understand, I get it. For him to go corporate. I got no dog in the fight. That is something that should irk the fans because it kind of feels like he doesn't give a about Boston. Like truly doesn't. You know, moved out, left, never came back, not even thinking about coming back. And I, I could be wrong on this. Peyton's done that a little with Indy. I do feel like Peyton's time in Denver was more interwoven with Elway. Made multiple Super Bowls. Was a little different than Tom's in Tampa, which they obviously won 12. You could argue it was a fugazi season. 2020. I mean, the 49ers got kicked out of Wackoville and Santa Clara and had to come to Arizona because they just weren't allowed to do anything there. And Arizona was just rocking and rolling like nothing was weird. And you know, December of 2020, like it, half the stadiums couldn't have fans. And the others that had fans, most of the media called them super spreader events. That actually happened. That was a time and place that happened in this country. But I just think Tom Brady saying that to me, it's like, come on, man, you don't, you can be a human on this. And maybe he's not. And that to me would be kind of telling. Maybe he doesn't give a shit. Maybe he doesn't want the Patriots to win. Maybe he doesn't want the Patriots and Drake may to be a Super bowl champion. I don't know how that would impact him at all but maybe he's not rooting for them. Which I think if you take that kind of angle and put that in your mind, if you're a Patriot fan, like that would suck. Like what? This guy's not even a root for you guys. Doesn't even care. He's just, he's just not on our team anymore. Not a part of our franchise. Just doesn't give a shit that that would suck. And that feels like it might be at play the other gigantic fugazi today we've been talking. I've been hammering this international thing, right? Uk, France, Spain, Brazil, Mexico. So Jed York was like, we want to play one of our. If we're going to get a home game taken away, we want to go to Mexico. We have a big fan base. Jerry said the same thing, the Cowboys, big fan base. Those two teams desperately want to play games in Mexico. And I listen, it's hard to avoid. You're going to get put in some of these games. If you. I would have guessed that. Yeah. Four daughters going to end up in a game in Mexico. Well, got announced today that them and the Rams are playing A game in 2026 in Melbourne, Australia. I googled it. I've been in New Zealand one time with my dad for a couple weeks. Back when I was like 13 years old. It was. He was actually there. I came by myself, which I don't even know if they'd allow you. Maybe I was 12. And it was a long flight. I think it was like 13, 14 hours. I've never been to Australia, so I googled it. SFO to Australia, it said 15 hours and 20 minutes. So if you say it's give or take 50 minutes from SFO to lax, it's about 14 and a half hours from Los Angeles to Australia. That is absurd. What are we. And this is nothing against Australia. And I would imagine it's going to be really cool. These are very passionate people about sports. Like I, it's gonna work. But to force teams to take a 15 hour plus flight to play one of the best games on both their schedules, to me seems pretty insane. It really does. And if I was McVeigh, if I was Les need, if I was John lynch and I was Kyle Shanahan, I would be really pissed. Like, what are we doing, guys? If you're going to make us play in London or Mexico, okay, everyone's had to do it, but you're going to make us play in Australia, which you have to take a west coast team because if that you took like Philadelphia versus the Giants. That I, my guess would be that'd be a 20 plus hour flight. So you couldn't do that. But like you're going over 15 hours. I was talking to a couple guys on our staff. Logan, who's one of our big wigs, he's flying from Boston to, you know, to sfo. Like all these guys coming out to the super bowl and Mitch, who is Sherman's guy, flew from Detroit to sfo and they both said both their flights were like five and a half to six hours, something with the wind. But it was a long flight. And I said, you don't. I think the five hour flight really sucks because you're like three hours in. Maybe you watched a movie, maybe you listen to something, trying to be okay, we're probably pretty close and then you look and you still got two plus hours, a 15 hour flight. You could watch the Godfather trilogy and still have time to read a book. Like it's. I, I don't care who you are. I think we have to be in agreement. Seems like a tad greedy. Seems like a tad much and seems like it really, really the teams that are playing and that being the rams and the 49ers, which is a really important game for the league and both those two teams, I would guess because of the time difference, this is going to be 6:30am Pacific Standard Time kickoff, which to me just sucks. And I don't really know what else to say beside feels like a massive fugazi. Okay, let's. Let's do a little mailbag. At John Middelkoff. At John Middelkoff is the Instagram fire in those DMS questions answered here on the show. Congrats on the new baby. I have a six month old. To your point, it's the greatest thing ever. I feel like nobody is discussing how much of a coaching advantage the Pats have in this game. McDaniels and Vrabel have tons of super bowl experience and it comes when it comes to dealing with things like the extended halftime. Do you agree either way, lifelong SC fan rooting for Darnold. It definitely doesn't hurt. It definitely doesn't hurt. I. I've said this earlier. I will say this over again. I. It's the thing that gives me pause for making an uncomfortable bet on Seattle and I'm not going to do it because I'm, I'm not going to bet the farm against the coaching staff, even though I think Seattle's going to win and it wouldn't shock me if they do control a victory. But it's a. The players and every good coach has always said this. You need good players. Of course, you know, variable. They have good players. Christian Gonzalez, stud corner, Milton Williams has been awesome for them. I mean, Drake May has had a great second season. You know, Booty's. Come on. Diggs has made plays. Henderson's had big runs. Like, they've, they've just. They've had a lot going for him in a positive way. But I think there's a talent gap between these two teams. But coaching matters and that can. This is not basketball. We're. If I got Steph Curry and Kevin Durant and Klay Thompson as prime, good luck. I'm going to kick your ass in football. Like, we've seen Belichick do this before. We saw Eli Manning and Tom Coughlin do this before. You can overcome with scheme and some big fluke plays or some trick plays. And I would imagine, you know, Josh McDaniel's been a part of a lot of big trick plays over the years with Bill and I would guess they're going to run some in this game. Maybe a fake punt, maybe a double pass. Hell, maybe something you don't see coming. So I that's the thing that gives me pause. And that way, if I was a Seattle fan, I would be more nervous of the the variable McDaniels, like, what am I going to get? Than I would just, you know, booty looking like Jerry Rice. Congrats on being a dad. My wife and I are both 34 with our first child on the way. Congratulations. So it's really nice getting a little bit of a roadmap buckle as. As my former producer who left me for Joe, that'd be Fat Joe and Jada Kiss, which is a massive podcast, this now on Netflix as well, has been telling me for a while and officially said it when I had the baby. Buckle up. And that's what I would say to you. Buckle up. It's. It's a good buckle up. It's like buckling up in a. In a sweet new car. Right? You got to buckle up in a shitty Pinto. You'd rather buckle up in a. In a Ferrari or whatever. But it's. You better make sure you're buckled in because no looking back with a Super Bowl. Who is going to look worse, Woody Johnson or Amy Strunk? The jets had their first true franchise quarterback since Namath on the roster and effed it up while the Titans literally dropped Vrabel, who won big with Tannehill. I. I think The Titans. Sam Darnold was not playing well. Like, it was not working and he never had success. You know, Vrabel had two bad years, definitely one really bad year, especially after A.J. brown, you know, got traded. So, like, coaches have been fired for losing, but players like Sam Darnold never stick around when they get drafted high and they're really bad. They're consistently moved. So I, I think it's easy to go. The jets made a mistake, looking back, but he never would have played like that on the jets, and he literally did not. So I, I think the jets is more understandable. I think with the Titans, it's like, guys, he got fired for being mean. Think about that. He got fired for being mean. It's like, well, I mean, part of. Listen, Vrabel doesn't own the business. He's an employee, but he's a football coach. Football coaches are angry and honoring. Kendrick Bourne told me yesterday, Kyle Shanahan is grumpier than Belichick. Even Sherman's like, yeah, he can be a little grumpy. You know, sometimes coaches are grumpy that, that everyone's Belichick or I mean Andy Reid or Pete Carroll that are more upbeat. Your personality is your personality. Congrats on the new gig on Netflix. Question for the mailbag. I'm a big time pass fan. Why does nobody give us the credit we deserve? I understand the schedule argument, but what can the Patriots do to earn the respect that we deserve? You win the super bowl, they can't say bleep. They can never take away your ring. And this ring in a weird way, you know, like when you guys first won it in 2001, no one saw coming. You guys came out of nowhere. Big underdogs in the super bowl game winning kick. John Madden on the call, like, that's got to be number one. Just like the Red Sox, I think have won four World Series this, this century. The first one was the best one by far because no, no one saw it coming. They were down three nothing to the Yankees. You could never take that moment away. The Patriots, I would say 28 to 3 was, was pretty remarkable. The Malcolm Butler pick, like they've had huge moments, but they were favored in those games. Like they were favored against the Atlanta Falcons. I don't have the line off top of my head. Against Seattle, they were definitely, I mean, stuck even said they were. That they were four and a half point favorite against the Falcons, who were the one seed and who just had the MVP. And they came back for 28 to three. You guys win the super bowl, no one's going to care about strength of schedule. Beating Stidham, who cares? You think anyone goes, hey, Trent Dilfer, you had a great defense. Like, yeah, I won the Super Bowl. Starting quarterback. I read a story how Goodell said the Rooney rule needs some work. But then he proceeded to say all 10 teams this hiring cycle met the Rooney rule. So if all the teams met the Rooney rule and still hired the quote, unquote, best candidate, nine of 10 were not minorities, what does there need to be work on? Because in my mind, the hiring of a candidate that is or isn't a minority, if it's not a good fit, will result in a worse football product. I think this, you know, I think the Flores thing, to me, Flores is clearly an elite candidate. He failed one place, kinda like he had as good. He had better success in Salah. I think the thing that makes it complicated for him is he's literally suing the league. Now. Again, Flores didn't get. He's making $6 million. Like there are, there are head coaches in the league that do not make $6 million. So it's not like he's in the poor house. And I, I think if he wasn't actively suing the league, I'd be a little surprised if Brian Flores wasn't head coach. But I'm not sure. Like, you know, part of it is we can debate Mike McCarthy, like, is, are the Steelers crazy? None of these coordinators are a better candidate than him. He's won a Super bowl and he literally went to the Cowboys and won 12 straight games or 12 games three years in a row and won the division two out of three years. Like, he can bring things to a resume. He knows how to run an operation, he knows how to call the offense. He knows how to run drafts and free agency with the gm. So it's like people talk a bunch of shit about him. Like no one's sitting there. Like, Vance Joseph can't sit in a, in a meeting room and say he's and be a better candidate. Now, you could argue that maybe the upside and, but like Vance Joseph was one of the main candidates. To me seems like a good guy and he's done a good job in Denver. When he was head coach, it did not go well. Now you'd say the same thing for Robert Sala, but I don't know. I mean, John Harbaugh obviously takes a spot. We could argue Stefanski, you know, and it does feel like they were just all in Stefanski and that's fair. You know, Minter, like they were hiring Minter the whole time. I think Jesse Minter was going to be the Baltimore Ravens coach no matter what Arizona. I wouldn't take that job if I was Vance Joseph. And maybe he wouldn't. I mean, some of these guys were yanking their names out of the, like, no one wanted the Cleveland Brown job. Like, would Brian Flores taken the Cleveland Brown job? Hopefully not. He'd be crazy if he would. No one wanted the Arizona Cardinal job. And when you look at it, when you look at the Raiders like they needed an offensive coach and they were going to hire an offensive coach, they're drafting this quarterback. So I, I think sometimes cycles are just based on the candidates who's available. Like last year, Mike Vrabel was getting a job. This year, John Harbaugh, once He got fired, was 100 getting a job next year. Assuming Mike Tomlin wants to come back. And I, I don't think he's a lock to come back. I do think there's a chance he never comes back, but he will be the number one candidate, I would say, by a wide margin, and we'll have his pick of a job. So I, I don't think there's any easy way to do this. But like, this, this year was pretty terrible in terms of the candidates. Some of the guys that were hired, like, I LaFleur, I mean, his haircut is atrocious. He's going to get fired in a couple years. Todd Monkin is going to get fired. Those are fucking terrible jobs. I mean, awful jobs. I mean, God awful. Both those guys, I would give over under two and a half years and I would take the under. Todd Monkins first comments were clearly, this Jim Schwartz thing has become kind of emotional. But part of it is he's like, I didn't, I didn't game plan against Jim Schwartz. I game I, I or I didn't double team Jim Schwartz. I double teamed Miles Garrett. It's like, oh my God, this guy. So, yeah, I mean, I think some of these hires were terrible, but I think the jobs are terrible. If, if I knew Brian Flores, like middle Coff, you think I should take the Browns job? I'd be like, no, do not take the John. How you like living in Arizona? Should I take the Cardinals? No, do not take that job. So it's not like, how much do you think the Cardinals are playing Matt LaFleur or Mike LaFleur? My guess would be Brian Flores makes more money in Minnesota than Mike LaFleur makes with the Arizona Cardinals. My guess is Brian Flores makes more money than Todd Monkin makes with the Cleveland Browns. I got a piece of advice for you. You know, I, I, I think sometimes titles now you, you're, you get to be the boss but like we're all doing this for money whatever our professions are. There are some people that don't get the notoriety or get known as some other people that double their salary in all different types of industries. So right for has got a pretty good gig now. Who knows? Maybe I, I don't, I don't pretend to know everything with his lawsuit but you know, it's probably why Gruden's never going to get rehired. He's suing the league, you know, so it's just once you become like a head coach and that, that's the one thing that you could argue is un like it. How come you know, Robert Saul is a minority but like he immediately like oh the Jet stink didn't kind of follow him where it felt like Vance Joseph's first go around followed him but Raheem Morris took him a little bit longer and that's fair but like I saw Raheem Morris be a head coach not very good but again Raheem Morris making like $5 million now to be the def. Raheem Morris is making more this year than Michael Flor. I would, I, I feel pretty confident saying that it'd be one thing it's like God, Floor is really getting. He's only making 200 grand. It's like no, it's not really the way it's working here. He got a pretty good gig. I mean hell, he just played a role in getting the GM fired. Caleb gets a lot of hate for his completion percentage, but this team also led the league in drops. Do you think this is a freak stat that will regress to the mean or is his ball speed going to result in a higher drop percentage? Well, I think if you look at Farve, you know when you throw the ball that hard and I think that's a good thing to bring up is it's much easier to catch Alex Smith's ball. Philip Rivers and Peyton Manning three very catchable ball. Caleb Williams like it's hard to be a catcher for Randy Johnson. So yeah he's going to have some drops even on days that aren't freezing cold. So yes to me completion percentage not as I, I'm not looking for 68% from Caleb Williams. But to me what I, what I think is fair is like some of the layup throws that he, that he overthrows. Because if he can start hitting those with just a little bit more touch, then to me, you, you could really cook with gas. And you could have like the number one offense in the league. You could have a team that's competing to be the number one seed. But right now they're kind of like a feast or famine. It's like, when it's on, it's on, and when he's off, it just. They can go like, they can look like the Eagles from a passing game standpoint, but he's going to have more drops than, let's say, Dak Prescott. It's much easier to catch Dak Prescott's ball than it is Caleb Williams ball. And obviously these are NFL receivers. If they're looking at it in stride, they're going to catch the ball. But on plays where you're just a little late to turn around, where he's got to get rid of it a little quicker than he wants to, in your reaction time, the ball's on you faster. So that's. That's a great point. It's a great point. Tough season for my Chiefs. What would you prioritize for KC this off season? What would you do with the 9th pick? I've fallen in love with love, but I still have the scars from Clyde Edwards Allaire. I also like the idea of going after Breeze hall and drafting the best D lineman available. I hate the idea of drafting Caleb Downs. I'm sure he is great, but positional value and money, I, I think they're going to draft a lineman. I'd be stunned if they don't draft the defensive lineman. I was talking to Sherman about this last night. We were talking about the super bowl when they were playing the Chiefs and how, you know, he knew what was coming and they kind of screwed up on. On the play that Mahomes had a big third down late in that game, the 49ers were up 10. But we were just talking about Coach Reed and that offense, and we both agreed it would be stunning if Andy Reid and Brett Veach took Jeremiah Love. Not because Jeremiah Love's not a great player, but Jeremiah Love is one. Andy wants to throw the ball to the. The running backs in which he ideally wants would be Jamal Charles, Shady McCoy, Brian Westbrook, a versatile guy that I can actually throw you. I can give you eight carries and I can throw you the ball eight times, so I can give you 16 touches, but I, I do it a lot through the passing game. Jeremiah Love is like Kyle Shanahan, the way LaFleur treats Josh Jacobs, like I'm going to ride you like in theory Vrabel did with Derrick Henry. I'm going to ride you between the tackles. And to me that's not what the Chiefs need. So I my guess, as of February 5th, I do not expect the Kansas City Chiefs draft Jeremiah Love and I would expect them to draft one of the defensive linemen. Whoever the best defensive lineman on the board is what I would expect them to do. Or offensive lineman. Both. The top offensive lineman technically are right tackles. So they could put in a guy at right tackle, they get Simmons at left tackle and all of a sudden they go, we have an extremely talented young rookie contract tackles. I think, I think you could easily justify doing that. I don't think it would be crazy at all to take one of the tackles if they're there or one of the pass rushers. Am I crazy to think that deshaun Watson career isn't over and he could be the next quarterback that goes to a new team and is good? If you look past the off field stuff, when he wasn't Houston, he was elite. The problem is that's a long time ago. Like what year do you think desean Watson was last with the Houston Texans and playing football? Because remember he was the one year he got in trouble, he got injured. Remember he missed like essentially two straight years. My guess would be DeSean Watson's last year for the Houston Texans was like 2019. So looking. Yeah, he did not play in 2021. So his last year was 2020 when they went 4 and 12. And he had a great season. He threw 33 touchdowns, but his team lost a bunch of games. He has been. The crazy part is he has started six. Six. That's 12. And he started 19 games in his career for Cleveland. 22, 23, 24, 25. They paid $230 million for 19 games. 14, 19 touchdowns and 12 interceptions and a completion percentage around 60. He's been objectively bad with Cleveland. So he has not been a good quarterback for five seasons. Like that's a wide gap. And then you factor in injuries, I'd be stunned. I think if they cut him, no one touches them now. I wouldn't say no chance. No one touches him. You never say that in the NFL. Maybe someone gives him a training camp invite, but I think there's a decent chance he never plays in the NFL again once Cleveland gets rid of him. And he's so rich, it doesn't matter. I mean, he's The Texans gave him a big contract and then he got the $230 million. He's made multiple big contracts. Perhaps I can sway your opinion on Stefanski. You recently stated Monkin doesn't have a chance on God's green earth with the Browns function at an average level due to ownership. GM knowing this, doesn't that make Stefanski's tenure more impressive? In 21 he nearly beat the Chiefs to advance the AFC championship. In 23 he led a team with Massage Watson and a week 12 signing Joe Flacco to an 11 and 6 record. These two seasons are always brought up but they are literally two of the best brown seasons since 1994. I, I just push back against that. He's just a no brainer immediately get hired like he did Coach. I'm not acting like he's a village idiot. I am not acting like he's Freddy Kitchens or Jim Tomsula. That's not what I'm doing. I just think that he is discussed like I mean one of the top offensive coaches and I just witnessed him this year have statistically one of the worst offenses of all time where it's like he couldn't manipulate anything. And clearly from the evaluation standpoint he chose Dylan. Like that was him. He picked Dylan Gabriel in the third round. It's one of the craziest things in league history. Really is. I'm not trying to be hyperbolic either. I truly believe that. But, but I agree. Like it's I this is why I'm not acting like he totally sucks. What he's had some impressive years. He's clearly a smart guy. I'm not acting like he sucks. So if, if I come off that way sometimes I don't necessarily mean to think he's think he's fine. He's better than he's going to be way better. Monkin, Modkin, Mudkin with Andrew Barry and that thing. No and Shador and Watson. That thing is going to be a nightmare. When he got up there and started talking about Jim Schwartz, it's like bro, you see his outfit with the baggy jeans. I mean he looked like a classic. Like you know, 60 year old dad with like, you know, a daughter who's just engaged in like her mid-20s and he just that that thing's got disaster written all. Would I rather have Stefanski as my head coach than Todd? Yes. I am not arguing that. Do you think Muff Buffalo is going to make the same mistake Cleveland made in 19? It was heavily reported at the time that Baker influenced the Decision. Seems like history is repeating itself with Josh in the hiring of Joe Brady. Not saying the Bills and Browns are in the same situation, but I'm reminded that Collins says all the time, your replacement solution should usually not come from down the hall. I tend to agree. I have a hard time comparing Joe Brady to Freddy Kitchens. I think Freddie Kitchens, who was just fired again by Bill Belichick, is just not someone you would pay to coordinate your offense. Like you would not want Freddy Kitchens to coordinate your offense. I'm not talking head coach. I'm saying coordinate your offense. And before he was the head coach of the Browns, he had never been a coordinator. He was a running back coach, tight end coach, a quarterback coach, a running back coach. He had never called place. And since he left the Browns, tight end coach, senior analyst, interim head coach, tight end coach. Like he's not a coordinator. So Joe Brady has established like Joe Brady can call place. And I, I don't know him personally. I can just go off watching his press conference. Seems like an impressive guy. I think Joe Brady is much smarter in a higher level cat than Freddie Kitchens. Joe Brady's upside is dramatically different. But here's the key. Josh Allen in 2026 is in a different freaking universe than Baker Mayfield was then. So he's inheriting in the prime of his career one of the best players of his generation and they've already worked together. Is it risky? 100%. I was in a conversation with a former Bill last night and he thought the move was insane. He thinks it's going to fail now. He's a big Sean McDermott guy. He didn't play. He wasn't there when Joe Brady was there. He was there earlier in the late 2010s. He, he thought it was stupid. He loved Sean McDermott. Now listen, I'm a Sean McDermott guy too, but I do think that it can work. I do think that it can work. They hired Jim Leonard, who's a very impressive defensive coordinator. The former Jet safety, just stud that could, they could just be a well coached team. Now when it comes to leading the group, being the head coach, he's gonna have to prove that he can do that. And that's much harder to do than it is being a coordinator. So that would be my question. I think calling plays, they'll be fine. They'll be good on defense. If Josh plays well, they're going to be a compete for the number one seed. But you know, being a head coach is hard. When to call timeouts, when to, you know, the feel of a team just working the sideline differently. I mean, Joe Brady's just been in a box calling place. Now he's on the sideline running the entire team. So that, to me, gives me pause. But I would not compare this to Freddie Kitchens and Baker Mayfield 2019. I, I would not. I, I know what you're saying and I know there are some parallels, the way it played out. But Freddy Kitchens, when he was named the the head coach to start the previous season, he was the running back coach. Think about that. He was the running back coach. So I, I would say it's different for sure. Adios. The volume.
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