← The Herd with Colin Cowherd
The Herd with Colin Cowherd
3 & Out - Will the Bears trade for a head coach, TNF Preview, Tom Brady on QB hits
01:21:39
Loading summary
Transcript43 lines
- [00:00]
Chase Freedom Advertiser
As we gather together during this holiday season, let me share a gift that keeps on giving. Chase Freedom With Chase Freedom Unlimited, you'll not only experience the joy of 1.5% unlimited cash back, but also the freedom to create cherished memories with your loved ones. Discover the magic and learn more@chaseasefreedom.com and let this season be filled with love, laughter and the delight of extra cash in your pocket.
- [00:25]
JPMorgan Chase Bank Representative
Cards issued by JPMorgan Chase Bank NA.
- [00:27]
Chase Freedom Advertiser
Member FDIC.
- [00:30]
Jon Stewart
Jon Stewart is back at the Daily show, and he's bringing his signature wit and insight straight to your ears with the Daily Show Ears Edition podcast. Dive into John's unique take on the biggest topics in politics, entertainment, sports and more. Joined by the sharp voices of the show's correspondents and contributors, and with extended interviews and exclusive weekly headline roundups, this podcast gives you content you won't find anywhere else. Ready to laugh and stay informed? Listen on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.
- [01:08]
JPMorgan Chase Bank Representative
Had enough of this country? Ever dreamt about starting your own? I planted the flag. This is mine. I own this. It's surprisingly easy. We have 55 gallons of water, 500 pounds of concrete. Or maybe not. No country willingly gives up their territory. Oh my God, what is that? Bullas Listen to Escape from Zak.
- [01:28]
Chase Freedom Advertiser
We need help.
- [01:30]
JPMorgan Chase Bank Representative
That's Escape from Z AQ is Stan on the iHeartRadio app, Apple podcast, or wherever you get your podcasts. The Volume what is going on my people? How are we doing on this? Beautiful, beautiful. It's Wednesday afternoon. I'm recording this and we got conversations happening out there on the Internet about the Bears diving into the world of trading for a coach. Names like Kyle Shanahan, John Harbaugh. So I was like, you know, this is so crazy and egregious. That might as well talk about it because Florio wrote about it. I saw Coward. I saw a bunch of people given opining and given their takes on it. So I'll dive in. The Detroit Lions host the Green Bay Packers. Fantastic Thursday night game. Can Dan Campbell and the Lions overcome their defensive injuries? We'll discuss that and then just fly a little bit around some some just football stories, college stories as well, but just things that I saw today that kind of interest me. We'll do a little mailbag at John Middle Coffee. Is the Instagram fire in those dms? Get your question answered here on the show. I think I mentioned it when we recorded that. I recorded the mailbag earlier, but thanks for everyone that listens on Spotify that included me. You know, tweeted at me, Instagrammed me. I thank you guys very much for listening. We also have a YouTube page where I just. I played 18 holes and we split two videos. We're going to do nine and nine on the. Where the waste management course is. There's a second course across the street. It's called Champs. TPC Champs. I played that. Tried to break 80. Actually played pretty well. It's basically cut by the DraftKings sports book. Like there's an actual DraftKings sports book. If you're ever out here, I recommend going. It's fun. It's got a restaurant and it's like a. It's like a sports book in a casino, but it's just sitting there on the street. And so we played a little golf. It's up on the YouTube page. Subscribe to that page for sure. Also, if you listen on Collins feed, make sure you subscribe to the three and out podcast. Before we dive into anything, I need to tell you about my friends, my partners, and the official ticketing app of this podcast. Here's the thing. Do you know what's right around the corner? Hanukkah, Christmas, the holidays. You need to get someone you love something special. And I did this last year and I made their Christmas because I said my brother, who I call Little Jeff, who actually is bigger than me, I got him concert tickets and he loved it. And any of you that have a parent, that have a brother, that cousins maybe do some family secret Santa type event and want to bring something to the table that everyone's gonna like. So you can search by venue, you can search by event, whether it's a team, you can search by when they're playing, who they're playing. Very, very easy to use. So take the guesswork out of buying tickets with Game Time. Download the Game Time app, create an account, use a code JOHN for $20 off your first purchase terms apply. Again, create an account, redeem the code johan for $20 off. Download the game Time app today. Last minute tickets, lowest prices guaranteed. Okay, let's start with the Bears and the trade possibilities. Now, I don't want to beat on a dead horse because I do think it kind of gets boring and repetitive after a while. But I do think we need to lay something out when it comes to the Bears job opening. When you look at the franchise, like if you look around the landscape of the league, all these jobs they're going to open, typically red flags can be ownership. Because if you're a GM or you're a head coach, that is an individual that not only you have to deal with potentially on a daily basis, you do have to answer to him because he pays for everything. The players, your salary, your coaching staff. Anything you want, you have to go through him. So there is no bigger red flag in an organization in one that is ownership. And obviously that's not the case in every organization. But as we see this off season, if the Raiders come open, the Cowboys come open, the jets are open. You see these situations. The Bears currently ownership is a, is a massive and usually the first question mark, then a red flag is your salary cap situation. Do you have players on the roster that are under big contracts that I'm not going to want that are going to limit our ability to be flexible? Right. But that is something I can control because I can. Can we trade that player? If we cut that player, how much dead cap do we have to eat? Those are discussions that any coach worth their salt is having. And listen, those red flags do exist. When Sean Payton took the Denver Bronco job, Russell Wilson was a massive red flag for him. And a year later, even though he has Bo Nicks and he's headed to the playoffs, like that dead cap space did have limitations on what they could do. But it's not the end all be all. It's like if Stefanski is fired, which anyone with a working brain would agree that'd be kind of crazy. DeSean Watson's contract is the greatest liability in the history of the NFL. But I do think, and again, I just hate even talking about this guy. But it's, it's impossible not to because I had multiple people in the league text me like, yeah, man, that, that Warren press conference was cringe because it was because the coach got fired after a very embarrassing moment of they let the guy speak to the media on Friday morning after one of the most embarrassing losses in franchise history. And he basically just discussed the upcoming game against the Niners like he was going to be the boss and then he got fired an hour later. And it's been well reported that they were meeting well before that media availability even happened. So like what's going on in the meeting? Are there dissenting voices that want to keep Eberfluss alive? Like how could that have been a complicated, should have been a five minute deal. Close the door. Anyone around. If not, let's talk. Boom. Decision made. But I could argue that Kevin Warren is the biggest red flag of any of these job openings because at least if I take the jets job. Even if Woody doesn't go back across the pond to work for, you know, the Trump administration and stay, he's like, I know what I'm getting into. It's his team. He cuts the checks. Like, I have to deal with them. No different with the Khan family. No different with anything. Jerry Jones, you name it. But, like, I got this guy who is going to dictate what I have to do. When we want to do a contract extension to a player like DJ Moore, I have to read him the details. That's why it's fucking laughable that Florio floated guys like John Harbaugh and Kyle Shanahan. Let me read you a text from a very high ranking person in the NFL when it came to Kyle and the rumors, Kyle sure as fuck ain't working for Kevin Warren or Ryan polls. When the 49ers wanted to hire Kyle Shanahan in 2017, one of their big dilemmas were trying to find him a essentially glorified scout that was going to become a general manager and they were going to try to do this arranged marriage. So they had a bunch of guys that they interviewed talk to him. Kyle's not that big on the scouting community. It would be very, very difficult. Like him and Adam Peters butted heads over the years, he is not an easy individual to deal with. But the one thing with the 49ers, really, there are two people that he has to answer to and deal with consistently. That would be the owner and his general manager, who is a Hall of Fame player and just a pretty natural leader, can get along with people and can figure out problems and is not shoving players down Kyle's throat because at the end of the day in the contract, Kyle is in full control of the organization. There's one human being, or I guess a family that can stop Kyle from doing something, and that is the Yorks, Jed and his parents. He answers to nobody. Football wise, business wise. Not saying that they don't have discussions that maybe he gets talked out of something. But if he wants to do something and he's not going to change his mind unless the ownership tells him no, they do it, he has never once, and I promise you at this point in time now with the resume, he has ever will get into a situation where he is answering to a human being like Kevin Warren, who does not own the team and knows nothing about football, he would fucking retire, quit football, which he's not going to because he has no hobbies or life. I mean, football is kind of his thing. Before he got involved with that. And when you trade a coach, which Kyle just signed a contract extension in 2023 and is under contract in 2025, 2026 and 2027. So while the season is kind of a disaster for the 49ers, relative to them, relative to a lot of teams in the NFL, I mean, hell, they got more wins than the Bears. Even though I kind of like the Bears this weekend. But that's beautiful. The reality is this, to trade a coach, you need them to sign off on it. This is not a player situation. You can't like. If the 49ers this offseason want to trade Debo, they don't need to get Debo's thumbs up. They just need to get someone that will take his contract and then he'll be traded. Which happens a lot in sports, right? It's what makes Kirk Cousins kind of unique. He has a no trade clause. Now if they're going to bench him and go with Penix this offseason, it doesn't make any sense for him just to stay. But like if there are a couple options, they can't just trade him to whoever he has to give them the thumbs up. It's why the Raiders a couple years ago cut Derek Carr. He had a no trade clause. He had a lot of leverage. It's no different here with the coach. Let's just say in a world, and I don't know this to be true, and if anything I've heard that it's not, Kyle Shanahan is not looking to leave. But if he was and he wanted to, quote, unquote, get traded, he would pick his destination. So yeah, I completely understand. If I was the Bears, I would call the 49ers too. But know this, if you wanted to even have a chance, under the slim percentage chance that Kyle would want to coach your team, Kevin Warren would have to be fired, period, point blank, end of story. And Ryan polls would immediately be neutered, Slash, probably get fired as well because Kyle would want his own gm. Just the way it works, you know. And this is where I think this bear situation of going into the off season trying to hire people and claim they have the most coveted job. That's impossible when you have a president, a non football guy running your press conference after you fire Matt Eberfluss. What happened yesterday or two days ago when the Texans had their player suspended and it was a really big story. Aziz Al Shire suspended for three games, who got in front of everybody and went on one of the truly great rants. You can agree or disagree with everything, casario said. But the face of the organization because when something is going to happen with the Texans, two people control that when it comes to football. Nick Casario, D'Amico Ryan's now ownership can say yes or no, but they answer to the guy that signs their check and they don't answer to anybody else. That is the way healthy football organizations operate. So I'm sorry, I don't take any of this shit seriously. Because of that guy. Because of the guy that if it wasn't for Justin Fields and if it wasn't for Jim Harbaugh, football in the Big Ten would have been canceled. And because the Presidents out west in the Pac12 are gigantic pussies as well, they would have copied them and not played football as well. So it would have been the Big 12 playing the SEC and the ACC and national championship, which I guess essentially happened because it was Alabama. Was it Alabama? Clemson. I forget the game in 2020. Obviously Alabama won. That was the Mac Jones manipulated year that somehow got him drafted in the top 15, which is one of the worst draft picks of all time. John Harbaugh and the thing with Kyle Shanahan is like he's the 49ers best asset. If you, if you just said everybody in the organization including coaches and GMs are available for trade, well you could argue their best player when healthy is a 36 year old left tackle. His value because of his age and now he's banged up has limitations. Nick Bosa, incredible player. Well he makes 30 plus million dollars and a year into his contract both hips are injured. Not saying that like he can't go on to have a great career but like makes a ton of money. Injured, can't play right now. Debo Samuel, value in the tank kid. Old is a 30 plus year old with a lot of wear and tear. Could they get a first round pick for Brock Purdy? Like Brock Purdy's value to Kyle Shanahan and the niners is probably worth 5x than it is to any other team in the league and he needs to be paid as well. Brandon IU knee cut in half. Fred Warner has a broken bone in his foot. I think it's not even close. Kyle Shanahan is their most valuable asset by a pretty wide margin. So the 49ers would have to be high on some serious drugs to even take it seriously. Did not hang up the phone call immediately. Now the Ravens are at a position where it's like is it just time For a change. And we could argue is like time for a change. Do we force that narrative too often? Because I thought that last year with the Steelers, it's just time. Tomlin's a really good coach, you're a great organization. But has this run its course and they've proven no. Now we'll see how the playoffs go. But you could probably make the same argument with John Harbaugh. Really good. No one's arguing. These guys aren't really good coaches. And I said the same thing about Mike Tomlin. If the Steelers and him had got a divorce last year, there'd be 10 teams lined up begging him to take the job. There would be teams with head coaches, fire their coach, try to hire him. I think the same thing with John Harbaugh, but I do understand, like, is it just time? Now the question is, who do you get to replace him? Because that's the thing with the 49ers. One, he's our most valuable asset. Two, where could we find the version of Kyle Shanahan 2.0 doesn't exist. Thing with John Harbaugh, it's like, well, you just had that guy on your staff, boy genius who is going to lead Seattle more than likely to the playoffs in a division championship this year, who's fucking excellent. And if he coached offense instead of defense, I think we talk about him like Kevin O'Connell, Sean McVeigh LaFleur and Kyle Shanahan. But he coaches defense. So he gets lost in the shuffle. Let's face it, D'Amico, who's going to win 10, 11 games again, he does not get discussed like the offensive guys because we discriminate. We spend way, you know, on the pie chart, way more time on quarterbacks and offense than we do defensive guys. But there's no disputing Tamikos is a big time coach. Mike McDonald, I would bet on him, I would bet on both those two guys to be consistent winners for the next decade. But he's gone. He left and your defense fell off a cliff. So it's like, yeah, even if you were entertaining, like, yeah, maybe it's just time. Maybe it's just get some new blood in here. Not because we think John sucks, it's just time. I'm just doing in a hypothetical world, well, who's your replacement? Like Vrabel? Well, it's basically just getting the same thing and you're getting an outsider who knows a little risky. At least with Mike McDonald, if you had made that move, you would have known, like, this guy fits Our culture little younger, a little more vibrant, maybe some different ideas. So I don't know. And if you're John Harbaugh, where for the last 20 years and really the last 25 years you have answered to three people for nine years in Philadelphia it was to Andy Reid, then in Baltimore it was to Ozzie Newsom and Eric DaCosta. And obviously he answered more to Ozzy than I think him and Eric are more equals. And they answered the ownership. You think he's getting in bed with that? What we just witnessed at that press conference, like you don't leave Goldman Sachs for the little mom and pop financial spot doesn't make any sense. He works for the best organization. So even if he got win like hey, maybe it's time, I can't imagine he would put himself in that situation where football takes a backseat to a non football guy because that's the way the org chart works. We talk about it over and over. The best teams are not set up like that. It's why we discuss and I had a buddy today, a high ranking scouting buddy with a team who reached out to me about some of my takes about Marcus Freeman turning down in a world where he's offered the job, he's not interested in the Bears job. And he said, I don't know. I think you have to use examples of Chip Kelly who left UCLA to go be an offensive coordinator. Gus Malzon who left UCF to go be the offensive coordinator of Florida State. And the college jobs are way more toxic now and just a way bigger pain in the ass. And if you get an opportunity to go coach in the big leagues where guys are under contract, they can't just walk into your office week four year one of a three or four year contract and say, hey, this number is a little low. I'm going to need more, I'm going to transfer. That's not how it works. So the world is completely different. And there's some subjectivity to making the playoffs as we're seeing right now with Alabama over some of these other teams. We're in the NFL, everything's very black and white. You're under contract, you're not under contract. We have enough wins to make the playoffs or we don't we win the division, we get a home game or we get a wild card spot. It's not. There's not much gray area when it comes to Sundays. My pushback would be Chip has been mailing in college football for a long time and was just tired of doing anything and was already super rich and just went to do less to go work for his buddy Ryan Day. And Gus, probably going to get fired relatively soon, gets a job that pays a couple of million dollars. And both those two guys are already really rich, so. And older, you know, 58, 60 years old, where Marcus Freeman, you're 38 years old, you can take a deep breath. It's not going anywhere in Notre Dame. You're going to be able to win. Do you have some different obstacles in 20, 25? 100%. But your one obstacle that you deal with right now, like, you are the boss. You're the top of the org chart. So anything football you need, you go right to essentially the owner of the program, the boosters and the president. Like Marcus Freeman's more powerful than the athletic director at Notre Dame. That wouldn't be the case if you take the Bears job. So listen, I've said over and over, the Bears job from a football standpoint, in terms of the brand, the players on your team, very intriguing. In terms of the setup in the organization, a fucking disaster. It really is. It is not a healthy organization to go work for the way it's currently set up. And I say that like I've seen a lot of people being critical of Ryan polls. I will say this. I have much more faith in a guy that trained under Veach and Andy and the Chiefs organization to do football stuff than a guy that has to ride shotgun and has to, you know, get things checked off, yay or nay on every decision he wants to make from not even the owner. Like, that's not. You're not going to be able to function that way. So I'd argue that the Bear's job separate from the roster is terrible because ultimately to get things done, to make moves, which is the large part of the year. Like if your season ends January 1st and you become the head coach on January 20th. Well, basically January 20th up until training camp is a huge part of the NFL. Who are we signing in free agency? Who are we cutting? Who are we willing to trade? What players are we going to draft and who's in charge of doing that? Because if I take the job, I'm just picking an arbitrary date. January 20, 2025. All those moves over the next couple off seasons, multiple free agencies, multiple drafts, are going to change my life either for the best or for the worst. I'm either going to be a one contract head coach and get fired in three or four years, or I'm going to build up a really good team and be a Dan Campbell, Sean McVeigh, Kyle Shanahan and get contract extensions and look like a high end coach. But for as much as we talk about in the season, and that's true, how good of a coach you are, scheming your coaching staff, all that matters. But you need good players and you need players that fit what you want to do. So like, is everyone on the same page is an arranged marriage. And I just think this stuff gets weird and it gets weird fast. At least if you lose, like, look at the, look at the Jags. They're 2 and 10 or whatever, right? It's like that's on Doug Peterson and Trent Balkey. Those guys get full autonomy to do whatever the hell they want. Doug sticks with coaches that people question. Trent drafts guys that people question. But it's like there's no, it's like, well, the Shaw made him draft this guy in the second or wouldn't give him the go ahead to sign. Now it's just like they got their chances. Same thing with, you know, up until this season with Joe Douglas and Robert Sala. What he's like, you guys do it. Then this year he meddled, took over and it's been even worse. But this notion that either one of these guys are going to accept a trade there, I have a hard time seeing it. I really do. Even if John Harbaugh were to become available, I don't think he would, okay, go in there. I mean, his brother despises Kevin Warren. Who do you think John Harbaugh's like best friend is you think he talks to all the time? The Harbaugh family. But I just. This is going to be a conversation that's not going to go away until they end up hiring a coach. Because it's just a major story in the NFL right now. The NFL season is rolling along and the contenders are separating from the pack. The one thing that hasn't changed this season, DraftKings Sportsbook, an official sportsbook partner of the NFL. And it's the number one place to bet touchdowns. Long bombs, fades to the end zone, big runs, you name it. We do not care how you get them. We just want to Bet touchdowns at DraftKings. And it's the best place to do it. Ready to place your first bet? Try betting on something simple like a player scoring a Touchdown. Go to DraftKings Sportsbook app and make your first pick. Here's a reason for new customers to do a touchdown dance on their own. Bet 5 bucks to get 150 in bonus bets if your bet wins. Score big with DraftKings Sportsbook, the number one place to bet touchdowns. Download the DraftKings Sportsbook app and use the Code John. That's Code John for new customers to get 150 in bonus bets. If your bet wins, just bet five bucks only on DraftKings. The crown is yours. Gambling problem. Call 1-800-Gambler in New York, call 877-8-Hopeny or text hopeny467-369 In Connecticut, help is available for problem gambling. Call 888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org Police play responsibly on behalf of Boothill Casino in Resort in Kansas 21 and over. Age and eligibility varies by jurisdiction. Boyd in Ontario, one bonus bet per customer base on amount of init and expires 168 hours after issuance. One single use boost per customer. That only applies to winnings. See sportsbook.draftkings.com promos for additional terms and responsible gaming resources.
- [26:35]
Jon Stewart
Jon Stewart is back in the host chair at the Daily show, which means he's also back in our ears on the Daily Show Ears Edition podcast. The Daily show podcast has everything you need to stay on top of today's news and pop culture. You get hilarious Satan, satirical takes on entertainment, politics, sports and more from John and the team of correspondents and contributors. The podcast also has content you can't get anywhere else, like extended interviews and a roundup of the weekly headlines. Listen to the Daily Show Ears edition on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcasts.
- [27:14]
Chase Freedom Advertiser
Is your country falling apart? Feeling tired? Depressed? A little bit revolutionary? Consider this Start your own country.
- [27:22]
JPMorgan Chase Bank Representative
I planted the flag and just kind of looked out of like, this is mine. I own this.
- [27:26]
Chase Freedom Advertiser
It's surprisingly easy.
- [27:28]
JPMorgan Chase Bank Representative
We have 55 gallons of water for 500 pounds of concrete.
- [27:31]
Chase Freedom Advertiser
Everybody's doing it.
- [27:32]
JPMorgan Chase Bank Representative
I am King Ernest Emmanuel.
- [27:34]
Chase Freedom Advertiser
I am the Queen of Lidonia.
- [27:35]
JPMorgan Chase Bank Representative
I'm Jackson I, King of Capperburg. I am the Supreme Leader of the Grand Republic of Montonia.
- [27:40]
Chase Freedom Advertiser
Be part of a great colonial tradition.
- [27:42]
JPMorgan Chase Bank Representative
Well, why can't I trade my own country? My forefathers did that themselves.
- [27:45]
Chase Freedom Advertiser
What could go wrong?
- [27:47]
JPMorgan Chase Bank Representative
No country willingly gives up their territory. I was making rocket with a black powder. You know, with explosive warhead. Oh my God, what is that? Bullets? Bullet holes? We need help. We still have the off road portion to go.
- [28:02]
Chase Freedom Advertiser
Listen to Escape from Zakistan and we're losing daylight fast. That's Escape from zaqistan on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or Wherever you get your podcasts.
- [28:17]
JPMorgan Chase Bank Representative
Okay, let's talk about. Stick with the division. The Detroit Lions playing the Green Bay Packers. This game is massive. It really is. And I. The more and more I think about it, the more and more I feel bad for Lions fans. You've waited so long. If you're my age, 35 of your 40 years have just been so bad. Everyone makes fun of you. Your team always loses. Your one moment on Thanksgiving usually doesn't go your way, and someone else is eating turducken on the 50 yard line, usually in Detroit. Finally, your. Your team looks like we're the best team in the NFL and we're going to win the Super Bowl. And you say that out loud a couple weeks ago and everyone kind of agreed. You're like, yeah, I think you guys should win the Super Bowl. I think this is your year. This is. This is your time. And now as you go into this Green Bay Packer game, your entire defensive line is injured. Someone I saw post their injury report of just in terms of guys on injury reserve, guys that are. It's insane. The guys they've lost on defense in their front seven that are probably not going to play tomorrow is pretty outrageous. I mean, hell, when we watch your games, you could argue the best player on your team, him or Penny Sewell is up in a box with his sister and girlfriend, with his leg up because his leg got snapped. And I don't know, I just. If Detroit was fully healthy, I would bet on them to win every single week. But it does feel like they've got to the point now of like, how much can you overcome? They had to sign Jamal Adams this week. That tells you everything you need to know. And I would imagine, I mean, hell, they might play Jamal Adams at like, as a pass rusher. You know, the couple things Jamal Adams does. Well, I don't know if he still does, but like throughout his career, tackle in space and blitz slash, Russ the Pastor, anything going backwards, no go, no dice going forwards, around the line of scrimmage. Impactful player, you could argue. Sign them any second, third and long, bring them in off the edge, put them at like this hybrid linebacker and let them rush. But that is not something a team 11 and one wants to even have to have the discussion, let alone do. And they had to do it. They don't have a choice. They don't have any bodies. And now you get Green Bay, who. You know, it's hard to tell. They had a couple guys on injury report like Josh Jacobs on Tuesday, but sometimes this short week late in the season, I expect all their guys to play. I think Dobbs, you get a concussion. He could be a little up in the air, but clearly would just Tucker and Reed and Watson like, they can easily function on offense if he's not able to go. This is a tough spot for Detroit. And if Dan Campbell can maintain, keep and win this division because Minnesota's on his ass as well and be the number one overall seed with this many injuries. And I understand they were really good last year. They were the 2 seed. They were in the NFC championship game. So it's not a shock that they're good again. I do believe he should get coach of the year. He would 100% get my vote if he not only wins tomorrow, but keeps on winning with the roster he's rolling out now. Their offense is really good, but when you start playing Jamal Adams in December, when you're 11 wins, that shows you how depleted you are. And there's a big spot for LaFleur. Last week, he, I guess two weeks ago against the 49ers, he just. He pillaged them. I mean, he embarrassed them. And we saw them on Thursday, they looked excellent again against Miami. Their offense is just loaded and they're peaking at the right time. Their defense looks a lot better. I like. I like Green Bay, man. I really do. And it's not because I'm some Lions hater. I've believed in Dan Campbell for years. But you get to the line of diminishing returns, and it feels like they're there on defense against an offense like this in Green Bay. So I'm excited to watch this. And if you look at the last five games, obviously Detroit and Green Bay play each other this week. Then the Lions played the Bills at Chicago. And here's the thing about the Bears. They lose a lot of these games. They have been in them all, including the game they just played against Detroit, which they came storming back because they were rolling out me on defense. Then they got to go to San Francisco, and then they finished with Minnesota. And if you look at the packers, they play at Seattle next week. Now they get the extra couple days of, you know, of rest playing on Thursday, and Seattle's on the road this week in Arizona. Then they play the Saints, then they go to Minnesota, and then they get the Bears at Lambeau and Minnesota this week, kind of a easier game against Atlanta and Cousins, who can't play Chicago at Seattle, Green Bay, Detroit. So basically, all these teams essentially play the same schedule, except you could the Bills New Orleans and Atlanta you could take out. So I'm fascinated to watch this. And one kicker here is, you know, the packers and Minnesota play at Seattle down the stretch. That is a game that Detroit won earlier this season. So that could be a little bit of a swing game. And then Detroit plays the Niners, who Green Bay and Minnesota both beat. It's going to be fascinating to watch this play out. Like I said, Dan Campbell, if when the season ends they have the number one seed, I think when you factor in the injuries that he's had now going on several weeks. So he will finish the season six, seven weeks with a ton of guys not playing, especially defensive linemen. I mean, he might not have a starting defensive line. Not like defensive linemen like his starting defensive line all might miss the game. Multiple starting linebackers out. I had to sign Jamal Adams after Thanksgiving to start a game against the packers, which essentially in a roundabout way is kind of for the division. We're going to play a large role in the pie chart down the stretch to win the division and get the number one seed. He's my number. He'd be my coach of the year. Some NFL news notes, it's always funny when a trade happens and I'm guilty of this too. I'm not. I'm not pointing fingers here because you point a fingers, you got three pointing back at you and one pointing upstairs. But when something happens, a personnel transaction, we all got opinions, oh my God, they fleeced that team. Oh my God, What? What kind of idiotic trade was that? Happens all the time. Fun part about sports, I didn't necessarily have an opinion when this move was made because I haven't really watched this player. My only thought on this guy is that like Mike Tomlin didn't like him. So when Deontay Johnson got traded from the Panthers to the Ravens and it was a pick swap and everyone was like, they basically traded 15 to 18 spots for Deontay Johnson. The Ravens absolutely fleeced the Panthers. My takeaway was one, does anyone like this guy? Like the pant The Steelers toward the end couldn't get rid of him fast enough. The Panthers a year in are like, take them, we'll give him to you. And then several weeks into his raven career, he has been suspended. So I think everyone who came out the take of the Ravens fleece the Panthers and when he signs with someone else for a larger contract, they will get a compensatory pick that is better than even what they just traded. I don't know because it sure seems like, this guy is a major red flag because during the Eagles game, Harbaugh tried to put him in the game and he refused. And now three or four days later, he is not going to play this week. So I think sometimes we got to be careful. It's easy if you're like, you know, the Eagles just traded for T.J. watt. I mean, there's some no brainers. Like, holy shit, right? The reaction to Deontay Johnson, like, the Ravens just landed. I don't know. Jerry Rice in his prime felt a little crazy. And I think Mike Tomlin, who took a shot a couple weeks ago when they asked if you're getting ready for him, and he basically wouldn't even acknowledge the player, I think tells you everything you need to know. I watched this interview Andrew Luck did with Dan Patrick. Andrew Luck has been named the general manager of football at Stanford. And for any. It's on YouTube. It was really good. It was like the day after he was named. And it really kind of stuck out to me is, you know, the way Andrew's career ended with him just retiring because his body was so beat up and he was tired of rehabbing and his team, you know, he was getting killed and he didn't believe in the leadership there. And he, every time Dan brought that up, he kept pushing back against that. But here's the one thing I respect about any guy. And you see, you saw this with John Elway, who returned to the, to the Broncos. Andrew Luck obviously is very smart, I think it's fair to say would have minimum, minimum in the bank, 60, 70 million dollars. And when I say in the bank, not just sitting there in cash in things that are growing. So that number could be $100 million. He does not need the money. John Elway, when he returned to be the Broncos gm, had made so much money on car dealerships and steakhouses, he was worth a ton. But you don't get that high from football or just anytime that you're an athlete or a coach in business, because after a while, like money coming into your account, whether it's 100 grand, whether it's 10 million, whatever, you kind of just become numb to it. Your life doesn't change. And it's like I say it all the time, I can bet a hundredth of a direct deposit I'll get from this business we're a part of. And I will get more juices flowing from the bet, having $1,000 bet than I would on anything we can make doing business on this show, which I love doing. But you don't get the same juices flowing sometimes. I miss. I don't miss working in football because I think I was meant to do what I'm doing now. And I have more ownership over everything, literally and figuratively, and I just. I enjoy everything about it. But there are elements of that I miss, and that just gets your heart racing, that few things in life can bring to the table. And when I watched Andrew Luck talk about taking that job, he even. He said, like, you know, I started coaching high school football the last couple years. He moved back around Stanford. His wife is a gymnast from Stanford. And he's like, I hadn't been nervous in a long time as I was before some of these games. And it's like, I appreciate the guys that realize after a while, like, there's no amount of money that can give me the high of what I miss doing. Now. You could argue Andrew didn't need to walk away from the sport. He could have kept playing. That's a separate conversation from this. But I do think Stanford made the right decision. They are in a difficult spot. It's hard to get guys into school for the teams that they play. They cannot get certain players into the school because they will never, ever come down off the academic requirements. And people in college football believe that. Like when Stanford's up, Notre Dame probably going to be down and Northwestern is going to be down. If Northwestern and Notre Dame are up, that's going to mean Stanford's down because there are only so many guys who can play football and meet the academic requirements. But here's the one thing Andrew Luck can do is he can get people on the horn that have money, they will call him back. If I'm worth $100 million and I'm a booster at Stanford and the athletic director calls me, I'll call him back when I feel like it. If I look down at my phone and Andrew Luck's calling me like he's getting a call back in 24 hours. And that that's an element that I think could really, really help the program. Tom Brady discussed sliding in the NFL and we talked about this. The Nick Casario three and a half minute rant about Al Shires is fantastic. Loved it. And I do think he got at the heart of something that a lot of people in football feel that the balance is out of whack. And Dan Campbell, or, you know, ST. Brown has a podcast, I think, with his brother and just went viral that Dan Campbell brought up in the team meeting the week they were playing the Bears that when Caleb Williams goes out of bounds, he often cuts it back. And when he cuts it back, we're going to fucking blast him. And I saw a bunch of people responding again. Social media take it with a complete grain of salt, was like, that's so dirty. Dirty. That is the most football thing I've ever heard. If he's faking going out of bounds and he cuts it back for more yards, we are going to hit him and hit him as hard as we can, just like we would do to any player in football just because he's the quarterback. Should we just. Hey, turn back left. Take another five yards, man, then I'll tackle you. What are we talking about? Trevor Lawrence slid late. That's not debatable. Now we can debate if Al Shire took his forearm, tried to hit him in the neck or the head. Maybe. I don't know what his intent was. He didn't. He hit him in the shoulder and then the ground caused the concussion. But that's a discussion for a separate thing. These quarterbacks have crossed the line of being too protected now and they're taking advantage of it. We see it with Patrick Mahomes, who does fake slides and fake out of bounds and keeps going. We saw it with Caleb Williams on Thursday, kept trying to do cut back in for more yards. We saw with Trevor Lawrence, who could have easily slid 4 or 5 yards before and went late and now got KO'd. I don't know. I don't think Brady's terribly off base because right now only one person faces repercussions. That's the defender. There is zero, zero risk when it comes to playing quarterback. The only risk is your body. But who even cares? All your money is guaranteed. Like my risk as a player on defense is also my body and my contract is guaranteed. So this guy literally has no risk, no financial risk, no risk of ever getting in trouble with the league, no risk of getting suspended without pay. Hell, he can even play like shit and he gets to keep playing in our position. If I play bad as a linebacker, I get benched. So it's. It's jump the Shark. And I do think they need to rein it in a little bit. Do I expect them to? I do not. Because they're in the business right now of making as much money as humanly possible. And they view by a mile the most important person is the quarterback, which I agree. If we're talking Lamar Jackson, Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen and guys like that, half the league, I don't think they matter at all. I really don't. So I don't know how we balance. Like, they don't get to just do whatever they want and the other guy has to worry about getting flagged constantly. We're at. We're out of balance here. I don't have all the solutions, partly because I don't think they're going to change. But I know it's not fair, and I don't even know who would debate that at this point in time. And last but not least, if I would have told you a couple years ago, when the USC Trojans gave Lincoln Riley over $100 million, they bought his house. I remember my buddy Drew Hill, who works for Oklahoma right now. I remember when the rumors were flying. I'm like, you think he's going to leave the usc? He's like, no, he just built a mansion, man. There aren't that many people in Norman, Oklahoma, that can afford the mansion. USC told them, what's your house worth? It's like 3.5 million. We'll pay 500 over asking. They made him an offer so good that no human could have turned it down. And most successful people tell you, you got to be very careful about making decisions strictly for money. I do think there comes a point where if the number gets so big, you almost owe it to your wife, to your parents, to whoever, your immediate family, your friends, anyone that supports you to say yes, I don't want to move out of my house. If you knocked on my door right now and offered me double what it's worth, I would probably say no. But if you knocked on my door and offered me 10 million cash right now, I would have. I'd be obligated to say yes. And I think Lincoln Riley did not want to leave Oklahoma for usc, but they made him a number so big he could not say no. And now he's at a place that he doesn't really want to be and he doesn't fit. And ucf. Ucf. It was well reported on the Athletic by Bruce Feldman that they reached out to USC and said, hey, would you be interested in doing some sort of. Obviously, you know, if you're Lincoln, you're not going to go to UCF. They owe you 90, 80 million dollars. You're just going to ride this out till they fire you or whatever. But that's where we're at. That's where we're at. Can you imagine reading like you wouldn't even report it, you know? UCF called Oregon and asked about Dan Lanning, Fresno State. They called Georgia and just, hey, Kirby, man, you need to change the scenery. We got you, homie. You'd be like, what? That'd be so dumb. You'd. When I read that headline, I'm like, of course they did that ad. Wouldn't have been doing his job if he didn't. And honestly, Lincoln Riley would make a lot more sense at UCF than he does at usc. But financially, once you sell your soul for the money, they got you by the balls and you're kind of stuck now, it could be worse. You're stuck living on a 15 million dollar pad on the water that is essentially USC pays for with your wife. That I just. I've always believed this and I always will believe this. There are outliers, but for the most part, regionality in college football matters. Where are you from? Because that creates the ethos of who you are as a human being. I have elements of my soul, the way I operate, that were developed on the west coast. Now my personality is a little unique. I can go to the Northeast and thrive, I can go to the south and thrive. But I'm most at home in California, Vegas and in Arizona. The Western seaboard is where I thrive, where I feel the most comfortable I've lived. Other places. You look at Kirby, smart southern guy, thrives in the sec. You look at the coaches that have had success on the west coast in college. Pete Carroll. Where's Pete Carroll from? California. He went to school at Pacific. Jeff Tedford, Louisiana Fresno State. Chris Peterson, UC Davis, Boise State, Washington. It's just. Where was Lincoln? Texas, Oklahoma, kind of. That region made a lot of sense. Even Marcus Freeman, now in the Midwest, Ohio State, Notre Dame, like he understands the regionality of the people, their ethos, what they stand for, how they operate. Lincoln is a small town, Texas guy trying to operate in this big city, bright lights. It's a tough thing to overcome. And it never. Let me rephrase that. It made sense to me. From USC standpoint, of course you're going to try to hire Lincoln Riley three years ago, but from Lincoln Riley standpoint, where you had the pick of the litter, I mean, you're turned down, NFL jobs, I don't know, man. And when you make decisions strictly on money, which I will never blame any human being for doing, when the money is so big, I don't think you should do it. If the money, you know, if you make 100 grand right now and you love your job and you think there is areas for you to grow or you're learning enough that maybe in five years, you can go out on your own, but you'll have the skills because of what you're learning. Just because someone offers you 200 grand, especially depending on the state, after taxes and stuff, it's not actually that much of a net pay increase. It's not going to change your life forever. That if you have reservations, it's not crazy to say no. But if you're making 100 grand and someone offers you a million dollars, like, well, shit, if I just ride this out for two years, even if I hate it, it's like, how am I going to make that much money? And then I can do whatever I want. I can quit in two years, right? That's the thing with Lincoln Riley. He can't really quit. He's kind of stuck. And there's just no way around it. It's been a disaster.
- [49:51]
Jon Stewart
Jon Stewart is back in the host chair at the Daily show, which means he's also back in our ears on the Daily Show Ears Edition podcast. The Daily show podcast has everything you need to stay on top of today's news and pop culture. You get hilarious success, satirical takes on entertainment, politics, sports, and more from John and the team of correspondents and contributors. The podcast also has content you can't get anywhere else, like extended interviews and a roundup of the weekly headlines. Listen to the Daily Show Ears edition on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcasts.
- [50:30]
Chase Freedom Advertiser
Is your country falling apart? Feeling tired? Depressed? A little bit revolutionary? Consider this. Start your own country.
- [50:38]
JPMorgan Chase Bank Representative
I planted the flag and just kind of looked out of like, this is mine. I own this.
- [50:43]
Chase Freedom Advertiser
It's surprisingly easy.
- [50:44]
JPMorgan Chase Bank Representative
55 gallons of water for 500 pounds of concrete.
- [50:47]
Chase Freedom Advertiser
Everybody's doing it.
- [50:48]
JPMorgan Chase Bank Representative
I am King Ernest Emmanuel.
- [50:50]
Chase Freedom Advertiser
I am the Queen of Lidonia.
- [50:51]
JPMorgan Chase Bank Representative
I'm Jackson. I King of Capper. I am the supreme leader of the Grand Republic of Montonia.
- [50:56]
Chase Freedom Advertiser
Be part of a great colonial tradition.
- [50:58]
JPMorgan Chase Bank Representative
But why can't I trade my own country? My forefathers did that themselves.
- [51:02]
Chase Freedom Advertiser
What could go wrong?
- [51:03]
JPMorgan Chase Bank Representative
No country willingly gives up their territory. I was making rocket with the black powder, you know, with explosive warhead. Oh, my God. What is that? Bullets? Bullet holes? We need help. We need help. We still have the off road portion to go.
- [51:19]
Chase Freedom Advertiser
Listen to Escape from Zakistan.
- [51:21]
JPMorgan Chase Bank Representative
And we're losing daylight fast.
- [51:23]
Chase Freedom Advertiser
That's Escape from Zaq est on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
- [51:33]
JPMorgan Chase Bank Representative
Okay, Middle Cop Mailbag time at John Middle Cop at John Middle Coff is the Instagram fire in Those DMS at John Middle Cop. Fire in the dms. Sorry, Mark. Diehard Lions fan. I had a question about officiating and how atrocious it's been. The Lions Bears game on Thanksgiving had a ton of bad calls. How can the NFL take away some of the judgment calls to prevent them from manipulating games? I hate it when close games end on touchy pass interference calls. As a Lions fan, I have PTSD from bad officiating. I think one thing that they tried, what was it like a year ago? Maybe it was three years. Two. Three years ago. Was you could throw a challenge flag pass interference, and it was a disaster. I mean, it got canceled after a year. And I also think that they've been very hesitant because Belichick's always been adamant. Why can't we challenge any call? Why can you challenge, you know, a targeting call or you can challenge a catch, you know, in or out of bounds, but I can't challenge a hold. Like, how do we arbitrarily pick what is challengeable and what is not? And I've always thought there was some merit to that. But I also think the league, and if I was in charge on that side, there is an ebb and a flow to a game that you don't want people constantly going to the monitor. It's one thing that's killed basketball. If you watch a basketball game the last couple minutes, college or pro, just take too long. And there has to be a flow because football, there's a very distinct. Play happens, huddle up, play happens. And when you get too much delay can really throw off the, I would say, the rhythm of a game. And flags do that in general. I've said forever. Officiate. Officiating and referees in general are a little bit like government officials. The more incompetent you are, it feels like the more you get elevated and you never get fired. Like, that's what's always bothered me. You know, in pro sports, especially basketball and football, where so many things are very, very subjective, it's like, yeah, you blow that foul call and it cost me a playoff series and we get bounced and I get fired or I get traded, or in the NFL, like, I get cost a couple games because of bad officiating, I get fired or my player gets cut. Nothing happens to these guys. And I don't have an answer. Nothing ever changes. So I've just kind of gotten tired of talking about it because I don't think. I don't really see an outcome. Like certain things. It's like I Realized yesterday. Every time I fold clothes, like T shirts or workout clothes or shorts, when I grab them back a day, a week, whenever, later, they're always wrinkled. I do not know how to fold clothes. I am guaranteed wash, dry, put in my bucket, take to my bed, fold up, put in the drawers. When I regrab to wear, that piece of clothing will be wrinkled. When I watch football or watch sports in general, like I am prepared for bad calls. It is what it is. It never changes, no matter what I do. Roll it up, fold it right, watch a YouTube clip, it's going to be wrinkled. No matter what happens when I'm sitting on the couch, whether I'm betting on the game, whether I'm just enjoying the game, bad calls. It sucks, but it just is what it is. I have a question about the college football playoffs and the bowl games in which they're involved. In your opinion, which bowl game should host the national championship? Personally, I think the championship should be held at the Rose bowl every year. The granddaddy of them all. It has always felt like the biggest bowl game. What's your take? It's funny, you know, part of these questions you guys ask things that I've never thought of because I really don't care as long as the Rose bowl has a playoff game. It doesn't. You could put the national championship in Arizona, in Jerry's palace, in New Orleans, in Atlanta. I don't. It doesn't matter to me. I don't know why the Rose bowl is cool. It's actually better as a independent event like a playoff game than it is for UCLA playing way, you know, miles upon miles outside of campus. But it doesn't like if it's in Arizona, which I think it's was. It was a championship game. They definitely had either one of the two games here last year. I don't care. Just to be completely honest. I just don't care. I have a fugazi Friday. Why are these college football players trying to plan a flag into the turf? I get the symbolism and I'm not against it. I will say it's a little corny when they attempt to plant the flag, but on the other side, it's also kind of corny that they want to fight about it when they just had 60 minutes to fight anyways. The poll can't stick into turf. Yeah, I don't know. I just think everyone's excited. You know, you got that poll, you got the turf, you want to celebrate on opposing, you know, your rivals field. But you're right. No flagpole has ever stuck into the turf. Ever has happened and ever will happen. I think as someone said the pitchfork, it might have been my guy Jackson yesterday talking college football because it literally has like kind of spikes kind of stuck in, which would make a little sense. I mean, the flagpole, even Baker Mayfield, when he kind of started this years ago, he just kept hitting it again, I enjoy. Like, this is college football. There is no disputing the level of play is better in the NFL just in terms of the best players at the sport in the world. Now, granted, it's not a worldwide sport, but you know what I mean, play in the NFL. But there is something. Someone sent me, a buddy of mine, Scotty, sent me this clip of Michigan coming out to the Sicario. Like soundtrack music. It's the movie with. There's a couple of them. It's really good. And when Michigan walks out to the, like to the field on last Saturday at Ohio State and it just kind of opens and you see red everywhere, you're like, this is badass, man. This is the college football atmospheres are second to none, even for as great as the NFL is. And the NFL has great atmospheres too, like Cleveland, Denver, obviously, Lambeau, I mean Philly, I mean they're great places to play. Seattle when they're good. But there is nothing like that. There's nothing like that. The Trevor Lawrence hit is something I agree with you on. It was a bang bang play and at full speed. I don't think we are asking players to make contortion acts to avoid hitting the quarterback. That said, as a rule change, what do you think about this? Behind the line of scrimmage, the quarterback receives all the normal protections, but once he advances past the line of scrimmage, he is just another runner with no rules or protections. No unique rules or protections. This will incentivize quarterbacks to avoid the collision themselves and allow defenders to actually play and not be confused. Thanks for considering my question. Consider your question considered. I think these guys are so emboldened because they know I can't be touched. We talked about this on the podcast. In what world would it cross your mind as a quarterback to get to the sideline like Caleb did and cut it back? You couldn't have paid any quarterback Favre to Elway to think of just whoever Roethlisberger in his prime to do that. Wait, I'm going to fucking take a hit. But now these guys think they'll probably pull up and I'll get some extra yards and then I'll slide. That's insane. I'm not blaming Caleb because he's just playing by the rules. Like, I don't blame anyone who. I root for accountants to take advantage of the code. Right. The code is created and you're following it and you get every loophole humanly possible. Right. And if you're within the letter of the law, like he's not breaking, like he's. There's no rule in which he is, you know, he's breaking by cutting it back in. But he is taking advantage knowing these guys are pulling up where in the history of football you never would have not just kept sprinting to get away because that guy wouldn't stop and that guy would clean your clock and we have to kind of rein it in. I'm with you. Pocket quarterbacks protect these guys. Want to see it even behind the line of scrimmage, like you start running around. Trevor Lawrence is 6 foot 6, 220 pounds. Trevor Lawrence does not run a 640. He runs like, you know, 4, 6, 5 at that size. Like that is big. That's like, that's like a tight end. Tight end is a little bigger in terms of weight, maybe 235, 240 pounds. But that's moving. Any sliding last second. Like you said, Al Shire is coming full speed. Also if you. I'm not against diving headfirst in a situation like that because no one's going to touch you. They'll just, they'll just tap you. But when you kind of slide because you're standing up and you wait till the last second like it brings everything into play. The most egregious by a mile though is the. Is any fake slide or fake, go out of bounds, keep going. That's. You deserve to get destroyed on that. Caleb's got lucky. He didn't get his leg snapped. Question for the bag. If you are the Lions this upcoming off season. Okay, see, we're already, we're already into March. What do you do about Jameson Williams? Brad Holmes has been a spectacular drafter for the Lions, but I feel his play has not been worthy of a first round pick. Plus trade up to get him. Plus they traded up to get him. The Lions knew they were punting on his rookie season due to the knee injury. But afterwards, between the suspensions, Online Sports Gambling 23 PEDS violation this season and I think he just, I actually think he got off on the gun thing. Right? There were two guns in the car. He claimed like he didn't have the concealed carry. I don't even know the rules in Michigan. Obviously not an ideal situation in the middle of the night. And I'm not like, I'm not anti guns here, but in all these players have every right. Just like I have a right. You have a right to have fucking be packing heat and depending on the state you live in, like, I could walk into Safeway right now and this is a open carry state. So it's like, I'm not your media member pushing against that. I do not care. I grew up in a home with way more guns than people. But I do think you have to be smart about what you're doing. And if you're Jameson Williams, like, we got to make some better decisions. I think anytime you take a player like him that I would say is pretty unique, like, he's going to be a speed stretch the field. He's not going to be some total package, right? And the way you guys build your offense, you just need him to stretch the field and his speed is elite. The moment I thought on Thanksgiving, the Thanksgiving moment, way worse than anything happened with his brother getting pulled over by a mile. It's like, because one, I don't even know if they're breaking the law. Two, like, the thing on Thanksgiving, throwing the fucking ball into the guy's face and then coming to the sideline and looking at Antoine Randall and telling him that I. It sure looked like he was trying to convince him that I was throwing it to the ref and Antoine Randall was not having any of it. And he was begging and pleading and Antoine Randall is losing. It was incredible. It was. It was the coolest coach player moment of Thanksgiving by a wide margin. It was awesome. But it's like, bro, what are you doing? And then Dan Campbell said after the game that he apologized to the team. Feels like he's doing a lot of apologizing. Like, I'm not a huge. Like, listen, you screw up once, it's one thing if you're a child, but like, once we get to business and you work with people like, listen, we make a mistake, you don't need to apologize all the time. We're on to the next fucking get it done. No one gives a fuck. Like, don't need your handheld. Same thing with the NFL. Like, if you're constantly apologizing like, we got problems if you apologize more than you make plays, like, if that's the ratio, your status for the team is going to be up in the air. Now he definitely has value. Like the Kansas City Chiefs, would they trade for him? Because I think they would. You know, that's the type guy, andy Reid, he's 23 years old. This is his third season. He's having a career year. Now granted, like you said, he, you know, his rookie year didn't even count. He had one catch. Barely played toward the end of the season. Last year in 12 games, he had 24 catches and two touchdowns. It's crazy. And he had a rushing touchdown. This year he's got 30 catches, four touchdowns. Does. I'll give him this. You know, in his 30 catches, he's averaging 20 yards to catch. Like he is a really explosive player. Like, could you get the. Would you just trade them? It sucks, but like you got to go a little spilled milk. Like it's over. Nothing you're going to do. Do you trade him to the Chiefs for like a third round pick? Because I would the Chiefs trade a second round pick. Now if that pick is like 60, I might. I'd sure think about it. It'd be risky, but he makes more sense with the Chiefs than he does one, his style of play. It was like when Tyreek Hill first got there with the Chiefs with Alex. You know who your quarterback is as a speed demon. Does impact your ability. One thing Tua does, he throws a pretty good deep ball, right? So Tyreek makes sense with him even though he doesn't have the arm strength of Patrick Mahomes. Now he doesn't have a great deep ball when it gets cold and windy, but if it's not cold and windy, he throws a good deep ball to me. He's got traded to the Chiefs written all over him. You get Jameson Williams worthy, maybe you resigned DeAndre Hopkins. Rashid Rice comes back. All of a sudden your offense looks a little more explosive and you can just listen, you tried. You got aggressive. Move on Jameson Williams too. Like you said, you traded up. He was the 12th pick in the draft. You know, looking back, he was at Ohio State and he wasn't as good as. Who'd they have? Jackson Smith. You know, Harrison would have been really young. They had one other wide receiver too. I can't think of off top of my head. Oh, Garrett Wilson. So it's like, well, he wasn't as good as those two guys. Those guys are good, right? So I was like, those guys are. Makes sense why he couldn't beat out. Like, it's like you ain't playing here. It's like, yeah, we got this guy named Jackson Smith. We got Marvin Harrison who's a 17 year old and we got Garrett Wilson. You're not going to play my man. Which in theory teased justify. It's like, well he couldn't play there and now looking back it's like, well it's kind of a problem. You drafted this guy 12th coming off a knee injury. It's like well yeah, he couldn't play there because those guys are really good players who were also drafted in a similar range. Jackson Smith goes What like pick 20, Garrett goes pick 10. This guy goes 12. It's like yeah, those guys are on a different level than him. Same with Marvin. Why do you think the Broncos refused to put certain on Judy last night? It seems like a no brainer to match arguably the number one corner in the league to the opposing team's number one wide receiver. Could it possibly be because 13 and Judy are ex teammates and good friends? Or it's an overall skill thing. I didn't watch any of the post game press conference or maybe Sean I'm recording this on Wednesday, has talked about it. I guess this week they're on a buy house so I don't even know if he's talking on Wednesday. Like it's like a normal game week. I don't think them being friends, obviously, you know, they played together at Alabama has anything to do with it. I think it's a scheme specific thing. They have a game plan. But it did feel like after three or four of the big plays, like what are we doing guys? Listen, it's one thing your defense a little gassed. You're not going to have as good of a game as you normally have. It's another thing where literally this guy's wide open constantly, what's Elijah Moore going to kill you? It's like it's kind of one of those things like hey Steph Curry's not hitting the shot, someone else has to hit it like eventually it's like let's cover Jerry Judy Najoku only gets 10, 15 yards around the line of scrimmage, right. He's not running go routes and Elijah Moore is like a possession receiver. I got Judy going deep on me and if James hadn't missed him on the one Jerry Judy could have like 350 yards. James could have easily had 600 yards offense. So I don't know. You'd have to. My guess not has anything to do with the personal, you know, friends all about scheme and the game plan. I'm also a lifelong Ohio State hater. Here's my take. Ohio State football is the Kentucky basketball of the sport. They are more a collection of individual talents than A collection of a football team. Their focus is clearly on recruiting and showcasing the most blue chip prospects that they can and having those prospects go and succeed in the NFL. The fans clearly care about on the field results, but it seems like the coaching staffs care more about having shiny toys so they can show a track record of future success to make it easier to recruit the next batch. It seems like the exact same problem Calipari had at Kentucky when he continuously lost to teams that had focused on developing an actual team. You could argue that, like, that wasn't the case with Urban Meyer. Like he built teams. Obviously he built teams that had higher level recruits, but they were excellent. Like that team that beat Alabama with shotgun Cardell Jones. They were elite on defense, right from Joey Bosa to Darren lee to their DBs, like they were a unit on defense. I think Ryan Day can build an offense. Now they made the wrong decision. Probably a quarterback that like, yeah, it was easy to point the finger at Kyle McCord, but I think Kyle McCord as we sit here today is just a better player than Will Howard. And if it was 2014, you would have had no choice. Like Kyle McCord still would have been on the team. And even if Will Howard could have transferred, like, is he beating him out? And even then the transfer rules, he would have had to sit out a year. So without the transfer portal, I think Kyle McCord is still the quarterback and they're better off now. They don't have some of these other players that they got, like Caleb Downs and stuff. So it's. It goes both ways. I think it's more of a reflection of Ryan Day. I think what you're talking about specifically is Ryan Day and Calipari. I think Ryan Day recruits like Calipari does in football or in basketball of I want the wide receivers and I want the offense because defensively I never really hated him till Ryan Day took over. Like, I'm not a big Urban Meyer guy, but I respect his teams. And under trestle like they would have. Like every unit would have. NFL guys. Now you're watching their team like, yeah, Caleb Downs, their best defender, but he just came from Alabama, wasn't their guy. So the best players on their team are their wide receivers, which most of my life, Ohio State, dominant offensive and defensive lines, unreal. Linebackers, great running backs. Now the running backs are good now, but like, how did. Where's like Joey Bosa and Nick Bosa and Chase Young. Where are those players? The dude that the Browns just drafted this year in the second round I forget his name. He got in trouble this in training camp. So I think it's a Ryan Day thing. Like Kirby doesn't do that. I think it's. He doesn't know how to, I would say recruit defense. How would he? He's never been. I mean he got handed the job. How does Kirby know how to recruit defense? I don't know. He coached under Nick Saban for most of his life and he's a defensive guy. I'd argue this quarterback's hard. Quarterbacks are but I bet most people listening to this if I picked five listeners and I said we're going to become we're going to run the recruiting for let's just pick USC this year, me and five guys, I think it'd be pretty hard to screw up the skill guys. We would be if you are swimming in the deep end of the pool and I got access and I got nil to the best wide receivers or running backs, we ain't going to miss. We're going to get NFL prospects at 17 years old. Defensive players are a little harder because their wiring, their mindset. Obviously they have to fit certain requirements of height, weight, speed. Right. You're not going to play Power 5 football at defensive end and be 5 10. But I'm just saying like what makes Nick and Joey and some of these guys so good aren't just right just their size. It's also a mindset and a toughness and like does Ryan Dave and know what that looks like? I don't think so. Chip Kelly does not. I think it's a more reflection. It's Kentucky basketball. It was John Calipari basketball. So he's John Calipari. But John has a long resume of like listen, we can nitpick John in the tournament. John's pretty good at his job. Is Ryan I don't know. Also Cal Paris won a national championship. Been a long time listener to the pod but have never sent in a question but the mailbag but here it is. Given how Bryce Young is rebounded since becoming a starter, do you think the Panthers should give him another year to develop, see what he brings to completely start over a quarterback in the draft. So he sent me a. He sent me some stats. Basically Bryce Young has led the Panthers to back to back wins for the first time since 21. Baker Mayfield said, I'm proud of him. This guy has the potential to do anything he wants to do. Bryce Young has a 84.6 passer rating, third in the NFL the last five weeks. He has almost 900 yards, five touchdowns and one interception. Bryce Young is 100% the Panthers quarterback. Next year completely resurrected his career. I still have reservations with a guy that size. And in a weird way, because they were so shitty, you kind of get to fly. Like there's not much pressure on your team. But if you just watch him in a vacuum, he's played much better. He's played like a real player. I talked to a buddy, a scouting buddy the other day and I was like, I'm not going to make like bold statements on Bryce Young, but he's a real NFL player right now. That could not be said. When he got bench for Andy Dalton, he hadn't been a real NFL player. He'd been playing in games, but he was like, if he wasn't the number one overall pick and had been a late round pick or he would have been benched, he would have been cut. This guy's a real player and 1000%, if he keeps maintaining, I would say this level of play, they won't even entertain drafting a quarterback high, which should be very, very positively taken if you look at where they were six games ago. I appreciate everyone that listens on Spotify that has linked me, you know, on the things I guess I'm not, I'm an Apple podcast guy, but I know on Spotify that, you know, every. Maybe the calendar year for them ends December 1st and you guys linked it has three and out with, you know, from everyone to coward to Joe Rogan to, you name it, every big podcast. So I appreciate everyone that has sent me those on Instagram. I'm a big Ravens fan and despite being 8 and 5, I still feel really good about our chances. Tucker has, in my opinion, lost us four games this year and the defense has been bank been playing better of late since they moved Hamilton back to deep safety. I really feel the ravens should be 11 or 2 or 12 and 1. But penalties and uncharacteristically bad special teams have cost us dearly. Do you think that since the Ravens won't go into the postseason as the best team in football, that it might take some pressure off Lamar? I think, I think it adds pressure because you assume, you know, your defense, your defense still is nowhere near what it was. Part of the reason there was so much pressure on Lamar last year is like, you have the best defense, you're the MVP and you have the best defense in football. Like, if I tell you over the last 40 years, I get the quarterback who's the MVP of the league and his defense has the best defense in football and you're the number one seed, will you pick them to win the Super Bowl? You would take them every time. If I told you the playoffs are starting regardless. If you got to go through Joe Montana, Elway, Brady, Favre, Rod, you name it. I don't give a shit the Mahomes if I have the. I got the MVP of the league and the best defense in the league. I will take my chances every day of the week. Like, you have a kicker that's not reliable right now. So these football games even look, last year against the Chiefs, they scored 17 points. So if you had played better, maybe you win the game 20 to 17. But typically, how do you get 20 points, score a couple touchdowns and get two field goals? Can you rely on this guy to kick field goals right now? And I saw Belichick say that, and he's right. It's not like Tucker's balls. Are you going 30 yards and diving into the ground or hitting the center in the back of the ass. It is flying in the air. But Belichick, being the football savant that he is, he's like, you know, the thing about Justin Tucker is he didn't hit a hook or a fade. He had straight balls. It went dead straight. And if you watch him now, he's hooking him left and he's cutting it and slicing it right. So clearly. And I know nothing about kicking, but that was honestly one of the most insightful things I've heard about Justin Tucker, because it's easy for us, he's missing kicks. But for Belichick, who's obviously played this guy and the Ravens in a ton of big games the last decade plus, I would, if I had to guess, several playoff games, five, six regular season games. I mean, he's in. Belichick is like, you know, gets horny for kickers. Like, if Belichick right now, beside John Harbaugh, could give by far of anyone in the NFL, any coach, any position, the best scouting report on Justin Tucker. And him saying that was like, damn, that's good point. Because some guys naturally play a little cut, naturally play a little draw. Justin Tucker, straight ball. Now it's going all. So clearly he's in his own head. I don't know if you fix that in December, because not like he just got in his own head after one week. It's. It's been an accumulation. These playoff games all come down to a point or two because like you say, you have good chance. Oh, yeah. I mean, you got a good team so you can win a playoff game. But if you are the six seed, you are going to have to win three road games just to get to the Super Bowl. And I do think it's fair to say even if your team kicks ass in one game, so let's say you win one game by 15 points like pretty easily. The other two games are probably going to be a one score game. You, hell, one of those games you're going to be down probably in the second half. You are going to rely on your kicker. So you could argue the kicker is a bigger issue than your defense. If your defense, like you said, just listen how many points you give up to the Eagles, not like they scored 50 points. So your defense definitely looked better in that game. Your defense was not the problem. Honestly, you guys were holding Saquon pretty well until he busted a couple second half runs. Okay, last question. Question for the bag. Being a Patriot fan, I'm super excited about what we've seen so far from May. That being said, I'm concerned about what I've seen from the rest of the team. Don't blame you. The defense was supposed to be elite, but now it's looking like the defense of the past were a product of Belichick. The roster is brutal. Is there any chance that they can get the roster turned around next year or are we so far behind player wise that we won't be in the conversation for multiple years? Well, it's a good question because, and this is the thing where Belichick and Mayo kind of went back and forth, right? And the Belichick supporters say, well, they extended a lot of the dudes on defense that were our guys and rightfully so. Why wouldn't they? The defense has been pretty good. So you would want Bar Moore, you would want Duggar, obviously Christian Gonzalez, a young player, but you want him. You want that core group of guys on your squad. The defense is not necessarily going to change, but we've seen those players be solid before. Offensively you guys are putrid. I mean offensively you're really bad. The offensive line is awful. I would say this off season two things should happen. Pay because you're going to have cap space. Buy some skill guys, buy some players. And listen, sometimes you got to overpay. But the Jags, remember a couple years ago, overpaid for Christian Kirk. It's like, yeah, do I want to pay Kirk $18 million a year? Would I rather pay him 12? Of course. But it was clear like right away Kirk's pretty good player. So if you can do a couple moves like that with a wide receiver, tight end. You tried it a couple of years ago with John New and Hunter Henry. Buy a tight end, buy a couple wide receivers and then just draft offensive lineman. I would draft offensive line with like every pick because part of what made Brady and Dante, Skarnickia and Belichick and Josh like their offensive line always felt solid, even when they had guys that they were overachieving with. And listen, I remember like as a Fresno State guy, Ryan Windell who was starting for you guys in the early 2000 and tens, you know, in your super bowl team, like that's crazy. It's like Ryan Wendell starts with the Patriots, but they could take these tough smart guys and make them into solid starters. And obviously over the years from Logan Mankins, also Fresno State guy and Matt Light, like you guys have had really good players as well. But you could mix and match some high end talents with some like overachieving guys. And then Brady and Josh and Dante, it was just a well run operation. It never felt like for the most part obviously you had the one year. I think Dante retired and I forget the guy's name, but Belichick hired this guy and he lasted one year. He got fired. I think it was the year you guys lost to Denver in the AFC championship game, which in fairness like that was a tough matchup for you guys. Vaughn Miller, DeMarcus Ware, Wolf and Malik Jackson, like shit. I mean they're. You could have a offensive line full of five, Trent Williams and that defensive line is going to be a problem. But like Dante coming back helped you out. I do think you got to invest there. I would spend my money even if I quote unquote got to overpay skill guys. Hell, look at Saquon, Josh Jacobs. Running backs become available on the open market. Running backs, full backs, tight ends, wide receivers and draft offensive lineman. I think the first, your first pick. I haven't, I don't have like an updated big board and haven't really been asking guys in the league in terms of offensive linemen. But typically every year there's a couple offensive tackles that are worthy of a top. Last year was a really good year off top of my head. I don't know, I'd have to ask around. But I think you got to be. Ideally you take an offensive tackle high like you get your Lane Johnson, your Trent Williams, your Penis Sewell, like that's. And then the second round draft your Landon Dickerson or Logan Mankins get a guard or center or Quentin Nelson or whoever, you know. So I get a tackle and a guard. I would take, I would take those two positions in the first two rounds. That would be my goal coming into the draft. Can I get a starting tackle and a starting guard in the third round? It's like I might take another guard or tackle or vice versa. Take, take back to back tackles and then a garter center. I would be very aggressive with offensive linemen so that, that's probably to me the key. But like the roster is pretty shitty. I mean part of the reason Belichick took a lot of shit, not because he was a bad coach, awful GM and didn't leave him a lot of talent on offense was putrid. Mac Jones sucks, but the offense he was playing with wasn't that good either. So appreciate everyone for listening. Share with your friends. Share with your enemies. We will talk tomorrow after the Thursday night game. Lions and Packers. Can't wait for that bad boy. Have a good day. Talk soon. See ya. The Volume.
- [86:37]
Chase Freedom Advertiser
As we gather together during this holiday season, let me share a gift that keeps on giving. Chase Freedom With Chase Freedom Unlimited, you'll not only experience the joy of 1.5% unlimited cash back, but also also the freedom to create cherished memories with your loved ones. Discover the magic and learn more@chasefreedom.com and let this season be filled with love, laughter and the delight of extra cash in your pocket.
- [87:02]
JPMorgan Chase Bank Representative
Cards issued by JP Morgan Chase Bank NA Member FDIC.
- [87:07]
Jon Stewart
Jon Stewart is back at the Daily show, and he's bringing his signature wit and insight straight to your ears with the Daily Show Ears Edition podcast. Dive into John's unique take on the biggest topics in politics, entertainment, sports and more. Joined by the sharp voices of the show's correspondents and contributors, and with extended interviews and exclusive weekly headline roundups, this podcast gives you content you won't find anywhere else. Ready to laugh and stay informed? Listen on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
- [87:45]
JPMorgan Chase Bank Representative
Had enough of this country? Ever dreamt about starting your own? I planted the flag. This is mine. I own this. It's surprisingly easy. We have 55 gallons of water, 500 pounds of concrete. Or maybe not. No country willingly gives up their territory. Oh my God, what is that? Bullas Listen to Escape From. That's Escape from Zaq is Stan on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.