← The Herd with Colin Cowherd
The Herd with Colin Cowherd
Colin Cowherd Podcast - Baker For MVP, Jets Coaching Worst Ever? James Franklin FIRED, Steelers Will Win AFC North,
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- [00:00]
Brown Ambition Host
This is an I Heart podcast.
- [00:04]
Colin Coward
If you smoke or dip, I'm going to give you a few good reasons to try Zynn Zyn Nicotine Pouches first, it's America's number one nicotine pouch brand, and Zynn offers a robust rewards program. There's a lot of options for nicotine satisfaction, but there's only one Zyn. So if you go to zyn.com find that's z y n.com find to to find Zyn at a store near you. This product does contain nicotine. Nicotine is an addictive chemical. The Toyota Certified Used Vehicle Sales Event is here. It is packed with great surprises. Choose from a wide selection of low mileage vehicles, all backed by Toyota, with warranties that begin on the date of purchase. Because when it comes to quality, the best new cars make the best used cars. So don't miss your chance. Find your certified Toyota today. But hurry. These Great offers end November 3rd. Toyota Certified used Vehicle Sales Event where every surprise is a great one. Inventory may vary by dealer, participating dealers only. Comprehensive and powertrain are limited warranties. See TCUV Warranty supplement Toyota certified.com or your Toyota dealer for details. Get almost anything you need delivered with UberEats. What do you mean by almost? Well, you can't get a well groomed lawn delivered, but you can get chicken parm delivered. A little escape? No. Delicious bowl of grapes? Yeah. An afternoon stroll? Sorry, no. A burrito bowl? Happily, yes. How about the clear skies? Can't deliver that, but French fries? Yeah. Get almost almost anything delivered with Uber Eats. Order now. Alcohol in select markets. Product availability may vary by region. C app for details Today's episode brought to you by a scent that's made a legendary comeback. Degree Original Cool Rush. The OG is back and better than ever. Cool Rush isn't just a scent, it's a move kind of fragrance guys remember. Ask for by name and rave about online. It's bold. It's fresh all day. Sweat protection, Cool, crisp vibe that made it legendary. So whether you're heading to the gym, the office, or just trying to stay fresh all day long, Cool Rush has your back. So if you haven't tried it yet, head to your local Walmart Grab degree Cool Rush, the fan favorite scent from the world's number one antiperspirant brand. The volume. Now it's time for this week's redeemed team members, brought to you by Hulu's Chad Powers. This week, it's King Miller, the amazing fresh Walk on running back for USC 158 rushing yards in USC's win over Michigan. He became the first walk on to score a touchdown for SC since 1994. Chad Powers is now streaming with new episodes Tuesdays on Hulu and Hulu on Disney Plus 4. Bundle Subscribers Terms Apply. This episode is presented by Uber Eats. When football makes you hungry, order Uber Eats. I do, every weekend. All right, time for our Sunday night podcast with John Middelkoff, host of Three and Out, former NFL scout. I had a 40 day in the blazing five. I have Washington tomorrow, which I feel great about. That was my favorite pick of the week. It's been established the jets may have the worst coach I've ever seen and Tennessee may have the worst personnel I've ever seen. But let's start. Tampa Bay 30, San Francisco 19. Right now, Baker Mayfield. Think about this. They average 7.3 yards of play. No Mike Evans, no Chris Godwin. Ibuka gets hurt. No Bucky Irving. The leading pass catcher was Kate Otten, who, by the way, is a nice tight end out of Washington, Sterling Shepherd. Tez Johnson. Tez had a great catch. I mean, I think Baker has to be your MVP at this point. I mean, he had a. He had a. A magical, emotional, magical scramble for a first down. I mean, listen, San Francisco's all beat up, but I mean, Tampa's going to Seattle and winning. Tampa's in the bay and winning. I think they're as good as anybody in the league right now. And I think Baker's my mvp.
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John Middelkoff
Yeah, to me, I mean, their ceiling rests on those guys being healthy, because if they are healthy, they'd have a chance to beat anybody because they're offense. I mean, how potent it will be with those three wide receivers. Pretty incredible story. I mean, the Cleveland Browns, who have that long history of having a million quarterbacks, finally get a guy and draft him number one overall. And John Dorsey was right, but it didn't quite look right immediately. And now he's fulfilling. Like, I'm the number one overall quarterback. The farvee in qualities, the moxie, the passes. Colin, last year it was like, you know, Baker Mayfield's a really good player. This guy's like a top 10 quarterback to. Right now, he's one of the best players in the league, like MVP or not. I mean, he's just on a weekly basis, one of the best players in the league.
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Colin Coward
Yeah.
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John Middelkoff
And for a smaller quarterback, he's an excellent pocket passer.
- [04:51]
Colin Coward
Great.
- [04:51]
John Middelkoff
Feels like he has no trouble seeing. I don't know if he finds angles. Maybe it's just Some instinctive quality that he has. I mean, you know, Purdy, who didn't play today, another smaller quarterback, struggles a little bit, throw over the middle of the field. Obviously Baker's arm strength. Yeah, he's just playing at an elite level. I mean, he's 25 to 1 Colin to start the season. And, and I looked before this, I think like Thursday or Friday, he was down to 8 to 1. I would imagine he will continue to rise up into the Josh Allen category as the season goes.
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Colin Coward
So I, when I picked the Niners despite an easier than average schedule to finish second or third in their division, I said, I'll take the Rams and the Seahawks to win the division. I said, I love the coach. Purdy's good enough. This is an old, brittle roster. You looked it up today. How much money is not playing right now due to injury?
- [05:39]
John Middelkoff
Well, they gave three contracts this off season. Brock Purdy, you know, in guaranteed, guaranteed money, got $180 million. He's played two games and been. Is injured now. And who knows when he's coming back. They gave Fred Warner and George kittle A combined $96 million, so a total of $277 million. And obviously Fred Warner today shatters his ankle. Kittle has been out since early on in that first game. And Purdy, again, if you told me over under right now, does he play five games this season? I probably take the under. So they gave $277 million to, I mean, two hall of Famers and Warren Warner and Kittle and their starting quarterback. And none of it, like, you just can't overcome that, Colin. And that's not even counting. I mean, Nick Bosa, who, you know, when he's healthy and playing like he was this season, one of the best players in the league who's gone. So it's like what I use nowhere to be found. Ricky Piersol, who looked excellent early in the season, is just gone. Injured knee. Like, I, I've never seen anything like this on, on a weekly basis. The. The constant just guys careers are altered. Not like, hey, he, you know, he rolled an ankle or dinged an elbow. It's like, no, his career is altered. It's. It's almost unfathomable because it. Now we have a history, right? Seven of the last eight years, they have been one of, if not the most injured team in the league. And you look around the league and you go, a bunch of injuries. And Fred Warner had nothing to do with like training or whatever. Someone falls on his ankle, on his ankle from behind but the, The. The amount and the amount of money they've invested in it, it's one thing when it's kind of random guys, it's. It's critical elite hall of Famer guys that set the contract standard at their position. I. What are you supposed to do? You know, I. I don't know.
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Colin Coward
Yeah, I mean, it's. It's. It's one of those things where they've missed on just enough draft picks and they've hit on several. Ricky Piersol. You know, when healthy is really good again, their receiving core over the last three years, it's never healthy. I mean, just ever. No, but, I mean, I'll give the Niners credit. Tampa's a really good team, and they shouldn't with Mac Jones, be this close. And it was a very, very close game throughout. It was one of those games where I felt like Tampa was the better team. Just, they were healthier when Ibuka went out. And I'm thinking, Jesus, they don't have anybody to work with. And it's seven and a half yards of play. So I think. And I, I also think, you know, Baker will say, I'm the same guy I've always been, but all of us are human, all of us learn from. You know, he was pissed when Cleveland got rid of him. He didn't like the way. I mean, not just Cleveland, but Carolina. Right.
- [08:11]
John Middelkoff
Like. Like, yeah.
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Colin Coward
I mean, and then, I mean, LA had Stafford, but, I mean, you start looking around, it's. It's. He got kicked to the curb multiple times, like Mac Jones, similarly. But I think we all know Baker's got more talent than Mack. But it's. It's one of those things where, you know, it's. It's. It's. When you, you know, lost your radio job, you're not a bitter person. But that stuff. I mean, the Dallas Carolina game today, what were. What were they calling that game? That was the Rico Dowdle revenge game. He was a monster. I think professional athletes are like attorneys or in any profession that deals in conflict. That shit is jet fuel for Baker. I don't think there's any question it's helped.
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John Middelkoff
And I'm totally with you. Like his comments, you know, they used to call me cocky, abrasive, and now they say moxie and dog. Well, Baker, you, you, you. One, you're a way better player now, and two, you. You definitely feel a little more calm. And also, you're out of a chaotic situation. Like, there are a lot of different factors, but I'm with you. I Mean, I think any human worth their salt uses motivation and as you mature, you don't let it show as much. And I think that's a good example with Baker. He was cut from, if I remember correctly, in the middle of the season after he was benched by the Panthers. That's how he ended up on the Rams on that Thursday night game. So I just think that one. Baker's always had the arm strength and when you watched him at Oklahoma, he was not a one year wonder. Three years dominated and by the time he left, they were going toe to toe, remember with the Georgia team in the Rose bowl, they easily could have won that game. I thought he was an elite prospect. I thought he was like a more mobile Drew Brees. But you know, part of the reason Dorsey liked him was like the, the bravado, the kind of the farvee. And I don't know, it's not fake confidence but just belief of like, I'm just going to pull this out, even though sometimes you won't. And it shows much better when you're playing well. And he, you know, in Cleveland, I mean, it's pretty clear no one overcomes that. That place, you see the list, they're paying like nine quarterbacks right now. Like that's just. I know they got two Ivy League guys running it, but they are the joke of the league in terms of like this. These two Ivy League guys that constantly lose, they can't find a quarterback. Like I'm watching Kyle and Robert Sallow with nobody compete.
- [10:30]
Colin Coward
Well, I mean I, you and I were talking about this before we went on. Russell Wilson gets coordinators fired. Baker Mayfield has gotten back to back coordinators head jobs like he is. He is a guy that you could, you can pretty much. He's super smart. I've been told at the White Bar board he's brilliant. You can pretty much. Baker will have that playbook down at about six practices. And you can, you can, you know, like Andrew Luck, you can give him any play. I mean, he could. Well, I mean Joe Flacco did it today. You know, he was throwing a lot to Jamar Chase. But you give Joe Flacco two practices and that's like, yeah, he was better than anybody else. You know, Cincinnati could throw out there. He was good enough, made the game competitive. So I think I, I think Baker would be my MVP right now. And Chris Godwin's been hurt a lot. Mike Evans has been dinged up a lot. But when a Buka got hurt, Bucky Irving's out. It was A pretty stellar performance. Now it was because of these double headers on Monday, which I can't stand. In the NFL they mostly do everything right. I didn't even love the European games five or six years ago. Now I look forward to them. I love getting up in and watch a European game. I really do. That was this week's Sunday Night Football brought to you by Uber Eats. When football makes you hungry, get game day deals on Uber Eats. I do every week. The official on demand delivery partner of the NFL. Order now. I just did. But I want to talk about this because I think the New York jets may be the worst coach team I've ever seen. First of all, the organization is so bad. Aaron Rodgers with the Steelers looks good and competent and under control. With the jets he looked old and it was chaotic. He's the same guy, so just. And by the way, Pittsburgh over the last eight years can't get offense right. But Aaron goes from the jets to Pittsburgh and offensively at times, tone deaf organization and he looks really, really good. But I want to talk about the Jets. So Denver beats the Jets 13 to 11. And Denver played like crap. Bo Nix was awful in the second half. But you know what? Kansas City made a living last year out of playing poorly and winning. There is value in going overseas playing poorly and winning 13 to 11. I mean they had a safety in the end zone, there's a holding. I mean Denver did everything wrong and it's why the NFL so popular. Denver was so much better than the jets and won 13 to 11. But at the end of the first half, the Jets Aaron Glenn calls for a fake punt, they convert it and the next play he runs the ball well. Why would you take that risk and then not go into your two minute offense? I've never seen anything like it. Kurt Warner was incredulous. He and Eisen just were like laughing. And then at the end of the game when Justin Fields was atrocious. And one thing we know, Justin Fields does not see the field well. They have him going on deep drops when they can kick a 62 yard field goal or go to Tyrod Taylor in the second half at some point. Tyrod's a pro. Yeah, they don't go to Tyrod Taylor. They don't like to kick the field goal. And in that last drive it's deep drops by. Listen, you need like 8 yards to get into field goal range. If you have to run, do whatever you have to do. But quick drops, tight end, you know, a quick drag route, anything. I think the jets are the worst coach team in the league. And I feel bad, but there are coaches. Rich Cotai, you're just overwhelmed. Freddy Kitchens, it's, it's just too big of an assignment. My interpretation is the jets can't do anything right. They are officially the worst franchise in the league. And I'm including Tennessee.
- [14:14]
John Middelkoff
Yeah, I mean, I would also include the gm, but to me it's a tandem deal. They give Sauce all that money. They, they kind of invest in the team. Justin fields to give $40 million over two years based on his resume was insanity. I mean, some of these get. The 49ers got Mac Jones for two years, $7 million at no point in time during their career. Mac Jones dealt with Belichick and not like the, in the prime Belichick. The Belichick we see now. Like, it's honestly kind of a reflection of like actually Max. Pretty impressive that he was able to overcome kind of that message. Justin Fields can't play within the pocket. He has no feel. Now the jets offensive line is also regressing. They were getting beaten all game long. So you factor in their offensive tackles. Couldn't block the edges. He has no feel for the pocket. I mean, they could have had 50 sacks today. It felt like he was going to get sacked on every drop back. I'm with you calling these long drop backs, but it gets back to investing in him in the first place, that's, that's insanity. If anything, just take a deep breath, you know, higher sign, same thing, a Gardner mint. You just take it. But to give him two years and $30 million guaranteed based on what he, he got benched the previous year, which we could argue if he should have or not. But even before that, like that, that was insane. I mean, they are this franchise. They feel a little, you know, kind of like the Raiders five, six, seven years ago. I mean, really, really rudderless. And the problem is their owner has unlimited money. They have a high priced team. It's not like they have some young. I mean, they're paying Garrett Wilson a lot. They're paying Sauce Garden a lot. They're playing Queen and Williams a lot. They've invested a lot of first round picks in different guys and high picks. They've invested. It's not like their quarterback's cheap, you know, I mean they, they are, they're a disaster. They, the Broncos got really lucky because Bo Nicks. Now, listen, I do agree with you. It's hard to go overseas in general. The Broncos played the Eagles last week and they took all their Stuff with them and then flew to London right after. So they've been gone forever. But three completions in the second half. Yeah, for, you know, a first round pick, a bunch of, you know, good wide receivers and a high level offensive coordinator. And even Bo Nick said after the game, like, we got no rhythm. They got very lucky. They're, they're playing an inept team because they lose that game if they're just playing like the Saints.
- [16:33]
Colin Coward
Well, I was thinking about this. If we go Back to the 2024 quarterback draft class. Jaden Daniels, number one. Drake May has emerged as number two.
- [16:45]
John Middelkoff
He looks good.
- [16:45]
Colin Coward
Bo Nix today is three. Caleb's on his heels at four. I won't even count J.J. mcCarthy. Penix is five. I still think Pennix has a chance to work, but I think Bo Nixon, he, he's had some really bad halves. Not Philadelphia Eagles bad halfs, but pretty bad halfs. And I, I'll say this between Mims and Franklin and Harvey and Evan Ingram had a, a big catch on a fourth down. Denver's got really nice personnel. I'll argue this all day long. I think it's a top, I think the Broncos have a top five roster. Bulls@ left tackle. They have real players. So I think it's, it's, it's. I mean, Bo is 19 of 30, 175 yards. A touchdown, no picks, runs very, very well. But he missed a couple of deep balls. He does not throw the deep ball particularly well. He's got an arm, but it feels like to me on the deep ball, he has no touch on the deep ball. He just lets it go. And maybe because he didn't throw a ton of them, he's a pretty good intermediate thrower. He's exceptional. Under 8 to 10 yards, he's very accurate. He just doesn't throw a good deep ball. And Sean Payton has receivers who can get open deep. So I think it's a. I think Sean Payton privately is frustrated.
- [18:01]
John Middelkoff
I. How could he not be? I also think he's kind of caught because he should use his legs more. Yeah, but Sean Payton, for the most part, I mean, became a superstar with a quarterback that never scrambled. So I mean, part of this offense, timing get rid of the ball. But there are plays where it's like, if the guy's not open, Bo, take off. You're a really good athlete. And the commentators, I would say over the course of this season have been saying that he's very, I would say, hesitant to run on spots. We don't need you running all the time but just take off. He always wants to throw and it's just hurting him. He's scrambling like backwards to the side to keep plays alive with his arm and from a throwing standpoint, it's just not really working out. Now their defense, like you said, their team, their roster is fantastic. Their defense, they're a lot.
- [18:45]
Colin Coward
They don't have Greenlaw yet.
- [18:47]
John Middelkoff
Huanga might have saved the game with that pass breakup on the second to last pass by Fields. They're going to be a playoff, a lock playoff team. They have one of the easiest schedules left. They are going to win. I honestly they should win the division especially based with the Chargers injuries and you know, we're recording this before the Chiefs game but they got no chance to make a real run the playoffs. Their quarterback doesn't play better like this. College football in the NFL once you get the best opponents playing the best opponents, your quarterback has to play well. If he doesn't, you lose. John Matiere, Bad Bo Nicks. That's where they got very lucky. To me they lose this game, I think if they're playing like 30 other NFL teams, they just got like you said, the worst coached, just the worst team in the league whose offense is who's atrocious.
- [19:33]
Colin Coward
Yeah. And I mean Justin Fields isn't good but I said this when he went to the jets, he went from the Bears defensive coach, Steelers defensive coach, jets defensive coach. He's not good enough to overcome bad coaching. Today's show is brought to you by our new presenting sponsor, Hard RockBet. They're a great partner. October baseball is here, baby. The pressure's higher. The moments are bigger. One swing can change everything. Hard Rock Bet lets you get in on every pitch. So if you're a new customer, you place a $5 bet. If it hits, a $5 bet hits, you not only get your winnings but also 150 bucks in extra bonus bets. Plus, every day this week on Hard Rock Bet, you can get a profit boost for a playoff bas parlay. There are new promos every day. Boost your same game parlay or your SGP max so your bet pays extra winnings. So if you want to see what everybody else is betting on tonight, who's going to homer top picks or parlays across any sport. The Hard Rock Bet app literally shows you easy cool. Download the Hard Rock Bet app takes you 90 seconds. Tap Discover and you can see trending picks and parlays at any time. Download the Hard Rock Bet app. Make your first deposit. Have fun. Payable in both bonus bets. Not a cash offer offered by the Seminole Tribe of Florida in Florida offered by Seminole Hard Rock Digital LLC in Alder States. Must be 21 plus and physically present in Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, New Jersey, Ohio, Tennessee or Virginia. To play terms and conditions apply. Concern about gambling in Florida, call 1-888- admit it in Indiana. If you or somebody you know has a problem wants help, call 1-800-9 with it gambling problem call 1-800- gambler Arizona, Colorado, Illinois, New Jersey, Ohio, Tennessee, Virginia.
- [21:16]
John Middelkoff
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- [21:46]
Brown Ambition Host
What if I could promise you you never had to listen to a condescending finance bro tell you how to manage your money again? Welcome to Brown Ambition. This is the hard part when you pay down those credit cards. If you haven't gotten to the bottom of why you were racking up credit or turning to credit cards, you may just recreate the same problem. A year from now when you do feel like you are bleeding from these high interest rates, I would start shopping for a debt consolidation loan starting with your local credit union. Shopping around online looking for some online lenders because they tend to have fewer fees and be more affordable. Listen, I am not here to judge. It is so expensive in these streets. I 100% can see how in just a few months you can have this much credit card debt and it weighs on you. It's really easy to just like stick your head in the sand. It's nice and dark in the sand. Even if it's scary, it's not going to go away just because you're avoiding it. And in fact, it may get even worse. For more judgment free money advice, listen to Brown ambition on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcast.
- [22:46]
Snax from Trap Nerds Podcast
What's up everybody? This is snacks from the Trap Nerds Podcast and we're bringing you the horror every week all October long.
- [22:52]
John Middelkoff
Kicking off this month I'll be bringing you all my greatest fear inducing horror games from Resident Evil to Solid Hill. Me and Tony Bringing Back Fire Team on Left for Dead two and we just gonna be going over some of the great.
- [23:04]
Snax from Trap Nerds Podcast
Also in October, we'll be talking about our favorite horror and Halloween movies and figuring out why black people always gotta die first.
- [23:11]
Psychology Podcast Host
The Umbral Reliquary invites any and all fooling brave enough to peruse its many curiosities. But take heed, all sales are final. Weekly horror side quests written and narrated by yours truly with a full episode read and a commentary special.
- [23:30]
Snax from Trap Nerds Podcast
And we will cap it off with Horror Movie Battle Royale, Jason versus Freddy, Michael Myers versus Alien Thing with the Little Tongue Monster. October. We're doing it Halloween style. Listen to the Traverse Podcast from the Black Effect Podcast Network on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcast.
- [23:47]
Colin Coward
I'm Dr. Scott Barry Kaufman, host of the Psychology Podcast. Here's a clip from an upcoming conversation about exploring human potential.
- [23:55]
Psychology Podcast Host
I was going to schools to try to teach kids these skills and I get eye rolling from teachers or I get students who would be like, it's easier to punch someone in the face. When you think about emotion regulation, like you're not going choose an adaptive strategy which is more effortful to use unless you think there's a good outcome as a result of it, if it's going to be beneficial to you. Because it's easy to just say like, like go blank yourself, right? It's easy. It's easy to just drink the extra beer. It's easy to ignore, to suppress seeing a colleague who's bothering you and just like walk the other way. Avoidance is easier. Ignoring is easier. Denial is easier. Drinking is easier. Yelling, screaming is easy. Complex problem solving, meditating, you know, takes effort.
- [24:40]
Colin Coward
Listen to the Psychology podcast on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. Pittsburgh beats the Browns 23 to nine. I went four and over my picks. It's the one everybody said you got to take that game. I just don't like division rivals and big spreads. But you know, let me defend Aaron Rodgers again. So far this season, nine touchdowns, two picks, 69% completion percentage, 104 passer rating. He made a couple of throws today that were so Aaron running right, throwing back left. He can get away with it. A throw in the end zone to I think Connor Hayward. Aaron has like Baker Mayfield. In a way. It helps that Aaron doesn't have as much horsepower Johnson because what Pittsburgh does have between, you know, they have size, they're, you know, Washington, they have big receivers, they have size, they have big targets. And with catching Radiuses and I think Aaron, they're a team that can do a lot of damage inside of 15 yards and they also have guys that can break tackles. And I think Aaron's smart enough to see that. Like today it was classic. 21 of 30, most of it underneath, a couple of back shoulder throws, one great throw in the end zone. I think Aaron, I mean they average 5.8 yards of play that for Pittsburgh over the last seven years against an excellent defense in a, in a division game. That's a lot. You know these Steelers, Browns, Ravens, Steelers games, you average three and a half, four and a half yards of play. I don't want to buy into Pittsburgh, but it's, it's hard not to because I, I do think Aaron's intelligence and experience has sort of synthesized all these talented parts. They just felt like players the last six years. Now they feel like a real offense with a rhythm. To me.
- [26:38]
John Middelkoff
Yeah, he definitely, I mean feels a good cohesion with DK Metcalf has a touchdown in the last four games. Yeah, he's very comfortable throwing that go route to him or just the, you know, the kind of the over the shoulder ball in the end zone. They have like you said, enormous tight ends. I mean Cam Hayward's brother's big. The kid from Georgia is massive. He's like an offensive tackle that can run. You know, Friarmouth is just a high level tight end.
- [27:02]
Colin Coward
So they have three big target tight ends.
- [27:04]
John Middelkoff
Yeah, I mean the question mark is the running game will gain. Well now is kind of emerged like they feel more comfortable using them. I mean Caleb Johnson, they clearly don't really love but have no choice. Warren was running guys over. The Cleveland Browns defense is pretty high level. Like it's. If they had a good offense, they would be one of the best teams in the league. Their defense is awesome. And as that game went and this is part of football, right. You just kind of get worn out when you're a good defense and your offense stinks. And that's the case with Cleveland. But like the, the Steelers, you know, early on they're getting hit with haymakers. Is like we'll just, we'll stick this out. And Rogers made a lot of throws. He doesn't move. I mean it's pretty clear like he once did, but he knows it. And like you said, he, he actually is more comfortable with his limitations. Yeah. And plays within himself. He's not, you know, last year. It's like any player, any human being as you age, you kind of have to change. I mean, I'M going through it right now with like my metabolism. Like, God, my metabolism at 40 is not the same as it was at 35. Welcome to life. You know, it's like you're 41, Aaron. You tore your Achilles a couple of years ago. You can't scramble. So he, he moves a couple yards where he used to take off lateral to the line of scrimmage. He'll just kind of keep a play alive. But he's not looking for, you know, he used to have the, he's like one of the great hero ball players of all time because he could make something out of nothing into one of the most spectacular. Those days are done. But I think he kind of understands himself. And the other thing is their defense is starting to come on now. I. Cleveland's offensive line is pretty terrible, but as they get healthier up front, Jalen, their defensive line, I mean they had backup. The hair guys making plays. Obviously TJ Watts looked excellent the last three or four games. They are a phys. They, they were hitting hard today on defense. Well, early on I was pretty nervous. I'm like, they got no chance. Here's the other thing, Colin. The AFC North, I mean there's a chance all the other three coaches get fired. That's how bad it's going. Stefanski's in major trouble. Zach Taylor's done and Harbaugh. That thing's going to get louder and louder. They are going. They could have the division wrapped up by like early December and they could be like an 11 win team and win this division by four games.
- [29:02]
Colin Coward
Listen, their, their schedule gets tougher late. But here's the thing. When you, when you start watching players like Aaron Rodgers, I mean Russell Wilson had some decent moments in Pittsburgh. I mean the Giants couldn't sit him fast enough. I mean Brian Dabel's running to the tent to find Jackson Dart. Justin Fields was four and two with the Steelers. He's the worst quarterback in the league right now with the Jets. Like, here's the thing about Pittsburgh. They're not clever offensively. They're not San Francisco, they're not McVeigh. Although the Rams are struggling. But you know what? They're so functional as an organization in terms of drafting and developing. You and I have said this for years, they're going to win nine games because they just, they, it's a well run operation. Tomlin can drive me crazy. They don't get offense. But then when you put a smart guy like Aaron in and Arthur Smith is also bright, it's just good Enough. Now, it wasn't against Seattle and they played poorly in the second half against Seattle. They had that goofy special teams blunder. But you start watching the. I guess it's this. John, you said this three weeks ago. The bottom of this league is awful. Tennessee is awful. And I'm talking. I mean, the Saints are. They're fighting their butt off. New Orleans is fighting hard. It's a bad team. The jets are absolutely awful. There are four or five teams at the bottom and there's no great teams in this league. But you watch Pittsburgh and just on health, Aaron, certain unity within the organization. They're going to win like nine or 10 games. I don't think they're going to go 13, 14 wins. I don't. I don't. You know, by the way, they do have some older players. Older players tend to get hurt around Thanksgiving. You know, it. It. But I think Pittsburgh is going to be a playoff team again if. They'll probably be a one and doner, but I think there'll be a playoff team.
- [31:00]
John Middelkoff
Well, obviously last year their defense fell off a cliff. But also, you know, the quarterback play with Russell, once it got really cold, he looked really, really bad. Old players and Aaron's obviously a lot older than Russell. You go, well, I'm looking at their schedule now. Starting in about mid November, they got home game against the Bengals. Could be cold in Pittsburgh at the Bears, 11:23, bills at home at the Ravens, at. At the Browns, you know, versus the Ravens. I mean, these are a lot of games that could be snowing, could be 20 degrees. And like you said, the bottom of the league is really crappy. Well, they're going to have teams in their division that aren't going to win that many games. But the Browns are not like one of those awful teams that's easy to play. I would say the same about the Bengals, right? Because at any moment they just got some good players. I know Hendrickson got hurt and who knows, I guess he could get traded. But if the Bengals and the Browns are the worst two teams in your division, both teams probably going to win a combined like 10 games. They are just not an e. You're not playing the jets. Right.
- [31:58]
Colin Coward
That's.
- [31:58]
John Middelkoff
That's just hard. Especially the Browns. That is physically taxing. And they played the Ravens twice in the last, like, you know, month and a half. They could be a little healthier by then. It's not going to be. You saw today. I mean, the Ravens have a lot of pride as an organization, even if they're playing Random guys, they, I thought the whole time, like everyone thinks the Rams are going to kill these guys. No, they'll probably win. But this is, they're going to have, they're going to have some like dignity as an organization here that even if we're going to win four games, we're going to do it with our head held high. This is a pretty prideful division. Tomlin. I forget who was calling the game, but they basically said Mike Tomlin tried to tell his rookies, don't get fooled by the records in this division. These inner division games, these six of them are wars. So. And the more an Aaron plays in these, especially against the Ravens, like they're going to hit him. They'll find a way. And it's just, can he maintain? Because if he's healthy, I will say this. They do have a chance to like compete in a playoff game. You know, I think the AFC is pretty wide open. You got Bo Nicks, can't, three completions. The Chargers have a bunch of injuries. You know this. The Jags still got Trevor Lawrence as their quarterback. I think you saw the Colts today. I mean they, they're not a perfect team by any means. They're going to be some playoff teams in the AFC that aren't exactly two years ago. Raven. Some of these Bills teams in the past and some of the prime Chiefs teams. So it's not saying they're going to be in the AFC Championship game, but it's definitely more wide open than I think we imagined when the season started.
- [33:24]
Colin Coward
And now for our next segment, whiskey business. Yes, whiskey business. Brought to you by Green River Whiskey, the official whiskey of the Colin Coward podcast. All right, I want to talk Chargers who end a two game losing streak. Chargers 29, Dolphins 27. So there was, listen, the Miami Dolphins could have drafted Herbert and they drafted Tua. So I was a bigger fan than Herbert, out of college, than Tua, but not a lot of GMs. There were a lot of GMs that like Tua. Chris Greer, who I has been a GM for 10 years and not a lot of Pro Bowlers. I mean they've, they've Battle line gave Tua an extension. It wouldn't have been my call, but Tua had three picks today and Herbert put on a show. 29 of 38. No Quentin Johnson, four backups on the offensive line. There was a play at the end of the game. It's unbelievable. Herbert is just getting attacked. I mean he's, he leads the NFL and getting hit since I think since he was drafted. I think he's. I think he's been hit more than any quarterback in the league. So he's got backups everywhere. No Quentin Johnson. It's LAD McConkey and a number three running back and some backups. Four backups on the offensive line. So as they trail late, the Dolphins score. Here they come back. It looked like the Dolphins were going to win. Herbert breaks a tackle from a defensive lineman. And this is why Traits. You're a former NFL scout. This is why traits matter. Tua doesn't escape that. Brock Purdy doesn't escape that. It's just one of those things that smaller quarterbacks. Kyler Murray doesn't escape it. Herbert at six five and a half, 235 and strong, bounces off a defensive tackle, escapes somehow moving to his left gets lad McConkey who flies down the sideline. They ultimately win it with a field goal. And in. My takeaway in that game is it highlights the Miami problem when you draft Tua, who's a smaller quarterback and not as athletic as Herbert. I mean, and again, Chris Greer wasn't alone. There were people that loved Tua is. I look at Mike McDaniel, Tua said after the game, people are missing meetings. People are late. It's like, holy crap, Tua's calling out Mike McDaniel. But I thought this was overall, this really puts a ribbon on the Dolphins. When you watched Herbert carry only San Francisco's more banged up. When you watch Herbert carry a completely depleted roster on the road from behind to win over to a who's home, who's comfortable, who's got most of his weapons. To me, it was like, this is the definition of why the Dolphins are the Dolphins.
- [36:13]
John Middelkoff
Yeah. I mean, I thought the Herbert play was the play of the day. I mean, given that the injuries that felt like they were going to lose the game, you know, the defense kind of gave it up at the end. I mean, Waller's wide open in the corner of the end zone for two to throw him a little lollipop. And then he breaks that tackle sack for the throw. Then McConkey. I mean, how good have those two guys been since they've linked up? I mean, holy moly. I mean, they. McConkey is. He's like a Wes Welker meets Edelman. I mean, he's a. He's a stud. But Herbert, there was a. You know, I understand what 2 is saying, and we've known about the dysfunction in Miami now for a while. It's pretty embarrassing. But I also think like Tua. You throw a pick. You guys were up 16 to 13 and throw a pick over the middle of the field. And that pick doesn't get thrown if you're Justin Herbert, because he has a much stronger arm. Well, the ball, you know, when you have a weaker arm, like Philip Rivers threw a lot of picks, it's an easier ball to catch. So if his timing's a little off, you know, Peyton Manning's ball, if he's a little late, is much more pickable than Cam Newton throwing a hundred mile an hour fastball. And you just watch Tua's ball kind of floats. And the Charger defender was able to jump right in front of the route. The guy was open. But when we talk about arm strength, obviously that doesn't determine if you're going to be a great player or not. Peyton had an average arm at best, but Tua is nowhere near the guys with average arms that were great players and makes mistakes constantly. And that was 16 to 13. And then boom, three plays later, the Chargers are up 23 to 13. And I just think that, you know, Tua is a pretty average player, which list relative to league. He's still better than a lot of guys, but he is not talented enough. We talk about Baker, Cleveland, can't overcome it. Mack Jones with Belichick and that disaster the last couple years, can't overcome it. Tua, this Miami thing, no chance. You put Tua on, you just gave him to Kevin o' Connell right now. I bet he'd look a lot better, right? And you know, Kevin o' Connell said this over the off season. Most teams fail quarterbacks. We, we know Tua's very limited. We've known Jared Goff's been limited since he was playing at Cal. Can't move. Guess what the Lions don't ask him to do? Move. Guess what they asked him to do. Get rid of the ball fast. You know, I think sometimes Mike McDonald, Mike McDaniels is asking Tua, like these deep drop backs push the ball down the field. Guys, he has an average arm and part of it now he has to carry the team. But they have all these little tiny receivers. Even when Tyreek was there. It's like, I don't know if I would have built a team that way first off. And now it's like Waddle's an excellent player and made a. He had an awesome catch today down the sideline. But like, I would try to get bigger body. Listen, I don't know if it's going to work in Carolina or not. But I do understand the logic of we need to get this big body guy for a little quarterback. McMillan, the wide receiver from Arizona. Why? Because it's harder for him to see. Gives him a better catching radius to his throw and do tiny little guys. And he's a tiny little quarterback. Well, yeah. Herbert can see the tiny little receiver or Brady can see the. They're 6 foot 5. It's the opposite with Tua. It's just a math equation. And then when you factor in his arms weak and I give him like, I actually think too, he's earned my respect of like being mentally tough.
- [39:17]
Colin Coward
Yeah.
- [39:17]
John Middelkoff
You know, he battles through like he doesn't tap out. I mean, he still runs around when he's got a million concussions, but the organization's an embarrassment. I just think that the two of thing, it's. It's more like he turns the ball over a lot and he's got issues, but the whole organization around him is just. I mean it's pretty low level.
- [39:37]
Colin Coward
If you had two as a quarterback, you'd need a good backup quarterback. They've never had that. And you'd need a good offensive line. It stunk since he's been there. They've had good defensive fronts. They don't know what they're doing. Like I think about this all the time when I started the volume. When you start a company, you have to have an identity. What are we? What aren't we? Let's stop chasing this. We're not this. We are this. If two is your quarterback, you have to have a good backup. You also have to have good protection, good pass pro. They've never done a good job with that. So there's two quarterbacks that won today, Baker Mayfield and Justin Herbert, who had no business winning. Both are on the road, both missing multiple starters. Star players Joe Alt, Rashawn Slater, Quentin Johnson or Bucky Irving, Chris Godwin, Mike Evans, Abuka Baker Mayfield and Justin Herbert. If you wondered what the difference between the haves and the have not quarterbacks in this league. Herbert and Baker on the road win games with almost 40% of their starters missing. And I thought when you watch Herbert juxtaposed with TUA today, Tua's throwing pick after pick and guys are bouncing off Herbert. It's like folks, that's a guy that will never pull a team. Herbert and Baker are pulling. They're not, they're not. They're not trailers, they're tractors. They are pulling offenses.
- [41:04]
John Middelkoff
But Mike McDonald, Mike McDaniel said last year that players that the fine system didn't work to team meetings. Right. He couldn't get guys to show up on well to it. You think people that they can't find you are going to show up to players only meetings like that's the culture's already been established. Nothing matters. Right. The standard doesn't exist. And this is what happens when you have a guy that no one respects and you bring him back and listen, that's not a shot at Mike. It's just clearly the players do not view him like an authority figure. And there you can be a nice guy. Right. Andy Reid is good friends and has close relationships with his players. They also view him as an authority figure of if he says something is at 8 o' clock there is a level of respect to show up at 7:55. No one's asking you to be Tom coughlin and be 20 minutes early or you're late. But when a coach says it's not even. It's just basic business. Right. Everyone's there. We're making time. Our time is valuable. We've never had less time with all these rules show up and they weren't showing up to the team meetings last year when they. Why do you think Vic Fangio was like I want out of this.
- [42:10]
Colin Coward
Yeah, joke. Get me out of here.
- [42:12]
John Middelkoff
It's nonsense. Yeah, well Howie, come throw me a lifeline. And I think Steven Ross like I don't even want to deal with this.
- [42:18]
Colin Coward
Go.
- [42:19]
John Middelkoff
You know, this is. But. But that was a reflection of Mike and the organization. And in fairness to Mike, this has been going on even with Flores. No one's ever on the same page in this.
- [42:29]
Colin Coward
Let me throw this at you. I thought about this today. Most of the great culture creators, Vrabel, Mike Tomlin, Dan Campbell, I would say Sean McVay feels bigger than he is.
- [42:41]
John Middelkoff
Yeah, he's an alpha.
- [42:42]
Colin Coward
Alpha is. There's a physical component to them. And you could say, what about Belichick Brady set the culture. Let's be honest about it. Like Brady ran that locker room. Like players were intimidated if Brady. I mean Brady outworked every player. He was a legend. He was the goat. Brady set that culture as much as Belichick. Mike McDaniel. I mean if you walked into Google looks like some guy that would be. And I'm not trying to be mean spirited but you're walking up in front of 6 foot 7, 325 pound Alphas. There is some. You cannot discredit the value. Have you ever stood next to Dan Campbell or Mike Vrabel these are huge men and Mike Tomlin's an intimidating man. So you either have to be intimidating in terms of volume or intensity. Sean Payton's intimidating. Like when you're around him. Sean's expertise and his intelligence. Andy Reid, success, volume. Like Andy's a, he's a yeller or there's the physical component. I said this when he first got hired, he didn't look like a guy that was going to walk up in front of a room and command respect from a bunch of 55 guys that average 6, 4, 2, 20.
- [43:57]
John Middelkoff
No one thinks that. Especially if you go back to like, you know, I was watching early this morning and they doing something on Brian Schottenheimer and they were talking a lot about Marty, you know, or Bill Parcells or some of those guys, Jimmy Johnson. Obviously these guys, if they got into a physical altercation with a player, are going to lose. But I bet if you ask a lot of those players, they'd say, I never knew when the guy might actually snap on me. And again, I knew I could beat the guy up. But like he had an im intimidation factor. You go back, you watch some of those cowboy practices. You know, Jimmy's 50 years old, screaming at Charles Haley. You know, I grew up on, you know, Bill Walsh and retired George Seifert. He was terrifying. It's like this guy is just. No one messed with them. And I think there's an element of that. Obviously these Mike McDaniel is never going to have to fight any of these guys, but they look at him like, in what world would you wouldn't take that guy seriously if he was your friend's dad and he got mad at you over at his house playing video games if you were a 15 year old kid.
- [44:51]
Colin Coward
I mean, let's be honest, there is, if you.
- [44:55]
John Middelkoff
It's football, not softball. I mean, it's part of the deal.
- [44:59]
Colin Coward
It's just like saying, you know, taller people make more money. According to every study, saying the physical component in life doesn't matter is laughable. If you're saying it doesn't, you're probably five' five. It does. Taller, better looking people, more intimidating people. I mean, there's just something that John Taffer bar rescue. Well, he's like 6, 5 and screams. It's intimidating for bar owners, right? Gordon Ramsay in a kitchen. It's intimidating. He's smart and he's loud and he's successful. It matters. When you want to enjoy life's simpler pleasures, reach for green river whiskey. Whether it's rye whiskey or single barrel bourbon. You're getting over a century of craftsmanship packed into every bottle. Hop on over to greenriverwhiskey.com and discover a legend in a bottle today.
- [45:47]
John Middelkoff
Look, if you smoke or dip, I'm gonna give you a few good reasons to try Zyn Nicotine Pouches. First, Zynn is America's number one nicotine pouch brand and Zen offers an unbelievable rewards program. There's a lot of options for nicotine satisfaction, but there's only one Zen. Visit zen.com find to find Zen at a store near you. Again, that's zen.com find zyn spelled z y N this product contains nicotine. Nicotine is an addictive chemical what's up everybody?
- [46:22]
Snax from Trap Nerds Podcast
This is snacks from the Trap Nerds Podcast and we're bringing you the horror everybody every week all October long.
- [46:27]
John Middelkoff
Kicking off this month I'll be bringing you all my greatest fear inducing horror games from Resident Evil to Silent Hill. Me and Tony bringing Backfire team on Left 4 Dead 2 and we just gonna be going over some of the greats.
- [46:39]
Snax from Trap Nerds Podcast
Also in October we'll be talking about our favorite horror and Halloween movie and figure out why black people always gotta die first.
- [46:46]
Psychology Podcast Host
The Umbral reliquary invites any and all foolish brave enough to peruse its many curiosities. But take it all sales are final. Weekly horror side quests written and narrated by yours truly with a full episode read and a commentary special and we.
- [47:06]
Snax from Trap Nerds Podcast
Will cap it off with Horror Movie Battle Royale Jason vs. Freddy Michael Myers vs. The Alien Thing with the Little Tongue Monster. October, we're doing it Halloween style. Listen to the Traverse Podcast from the Black and White Effect Podcast Network on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcast or wherever you get your podcast.
- [47:22]
Brown Ambition Host
Hey sis, what if I could promise you you never had to listen to a condescending finance bro tell you how to manage your money? Again, welcome to Brown Ambition. This is the hard part when you pay down those credit cards. If you haven't gotten to the bottom of why you were racking up credit or turning to credit cards, you may just recreate the same problem a year from now when you do feel like you are bleeding from these high interest rates, I would start shopping for a debt consolidation loan starting with your local credit union. Shopping around online looking for some online lenders because they tend to have fewer fees and be more affordable. Listen, I am not here to judge. It is so expensive in these streets I 100% can see how in just a few months you can have this much credit card debt and it weighs on you. It's really easy to just like stick your head in the sand. It's nice and dark in the sand. Even if it's scary, it's not going to go away just because you're avoiding it. And in fact, it may get even worse. For more judgment free money advice, listen to Brown ambition on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
- [48:23]
Colin Coward
I'm Dr. Scott Barry Kaufman, host of the Psychology Podcast. Here's a clip from an upcoming conversation about exploring human potential.
- [48:31]
Psychology Podcast Host
I was going to schools to try to teach kids these skills and I get eye rolling from teachers or I get students who would be like, it's easier to punch someone in the face when you think about emotion, Reg. Like, you're not going to choose an adaptive strategy which is more effortful to use unless you think there's a good outcome as a result of it, if it's going to be beneficial to you. Because it's easy to say like, like you go blank yourself, right? It's easy. It's easy to just drink the extra beer. It's easy to ignore, to suppress seeing a colleague who's bothering you and just like walk the other way. Avoidance is easier. Ignoring is easier. Denial is easier. Drinking is easier. Yelling, screaming is easy. Complex problem solving, meditating, you know, takes effort.
- [49:15]
Colin Coward
Listen to the psychology podcast on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. Okay, I want to talk a couple more games here before we get into James Franklin. Franklin who got fired at Penn State. Oh, Carolina beats Dallas 30 to 27. Two things to say about Dallas. First of all, Dak Prescott in his last three games has 10 touchdowns and no picks. They can only win one day way. It's a track meet. They got their defense. Bryce Young ate it up. Secondly, George Pickens, for all the criticism the Cowboys get, I mean, he's got, he's got six touchdowns in five games. He has been a steal as a third rounder. He has been unbelievable today. He was incredible. So we can roll our eyes at the Cowboys, but Pickens has been great. Dak has been sensational. But I was watching Bryce Young today, John, and it really came to me is that Carolina dominated first downs like almost double the Cowboys and rico Dowdle had 183 yards, you know, over six yards of carry. Is that. And I said this when they traded Micah, it was going to look bad this year, but two first round picks, Dak playing this well. Go get an edge rusher and go Get a number two receiver and you're going to be fine. In this league, you can get better really, really fast. Plus they're going to have free agent money and cap room next year. But I watched Bryce Young and my takeaway, and I know nobody cares about Carolina, but my takeaway is Bryce Young can look pretty darn good against a bad defense. When I've seen him against good pass rushes, he's totally engulfed. But about half the league doesn't have a pass rush. Most of the league is, isn't Denver.
- [50:57]
John Middelkoff
Right?
- [50:58]
Colin Coward
They're not Denver, they're not the Rams. So I watched Bryce Young and I'm like, do you, do you think Bryce Young gets an extension? Because my take is he's middle of the pack. He may be the 17th best quarterback, but against average defenses, he and that coach, he's capable.
- [51:16]
John Middelkoff
Yeah, I mean I'd probably put him in the TUA category where he probably will and everyone will fall out of their chair when he gets 150 million. Now it has to keep going well. But like you said, the Saints are in their division. You watch them. Their defense is horrendous. You know, Tampa just has to blitz all the time. I mean they have a bunch of injuries and older players and you know, Atlanta in theory has good defense. I mean, we'll see how it translates over. But they're not exactly playing the 85 Bears on a weekly basis. Now again, I would probably rather have TUA than Bryce, but I mean today the thing with the Cowboys, Dowdle had 183 yards. His long run was 15 Colin. I would bet in the history of 180 yard rushing attacks, on average the long run in a game for a running back would have be like 40 plus yards. Because if you think if you ran for 130 yards like that's, you're probably gonna have a couple 20 yard runs in there.
- [52:07]
Colin Coward
He had 30 carries. That's what they did in the 70s.
- [52:12]
John Middelkoff
He, he also had a huge gate. I think he had four catches for 56 yards. I mean he had, I think he has like 500 yards from scrimmage these last couple. He's dominating. The Cowboys defense is horrendous. It shows you how bad the jets are because they made the jets. Their defense actually looked pretty good against them last week. This game, my favorite bet on the board besides Seattle, who won outright was the over in this game started a little slow, but as the game went on. These two defenses are horrendous. They really are. Dallas probably going to have to Feel good if you go. Dallas wants to win a game. I think they have to be above 30. I don't think they have any chance to win a game against a competent team. Not the jets, if they're in the. Even in the high 20s. I think they got. I mean, obviously they lost today, 30, 27. But I would say on average their scoring defense, when the season ends, I bet 28, 29. It's going to be. It's going to be one of the worst in the league, if not the worst.
- [53:00]
Colin Coward
Dallas's defense is a quarterback stimulus package. Everybody, Everybody looks good. No, it's funny because I was, I was watching this today and yeah, rico Dowdle had 30 carries. I mean, that is, that's what Jim Brown was doing. Like when. Now, you wouldn't even think 20.
- [53:15]
John Middelkoff
Emmett Smith.
- [53:16]
Colin Coward
Yeah, 20 is almost inappropriate. But I, But I think it does go to show that you, you. I think people are terrified of driving to the stadium and being bad at quarterback. Like when. Today, Cleveland. That's why Cincinnati's like, let's just get Joe Flacco. We won't be terrible at quarterback. We'll be okay. And they were okay. He just threw to Jamar Chase over and over and over on the big drives, which is smart. Joe Flacco, smart. But I think the league is terrified of being horrible at quarterback. And that's, that's why Brock Purdy or Bryce Young is, Is one gets paid. I think Bryce will get paid. And I, I will say this. As Carolina won, Dak through all of this, he's just putting up unbelievable numbers. He. He. First of all, the surgery. He hasn't moved this well in six years. He's moving well. It really goes to show you, we don't think it's an elite head coach. They don't have a number one receiver or tight end. The O line is being remade. John, in this league, if you have an A quarterback, A minus or B, you can win every Sunday. And that's with Dak Prescott. I mean, there are. If CD Lamb makes a catch against Philadelphia, they win that game. Remember the opener? So it's like, I look at Dallas and I'm like, they're not a good team, but they're fun to watch. And Dak is. I mean, there's. There's 15 quarterbacks in this league that can spin it, and he is one of them.
- [54:47]
John Middelkoff
I'll push back a little on the head coach now. We're not really judging him on timeouts and his defense isn't good. So even the Aggregate of the team, but he is the play caller. And they have been elite on offense and they lost CD Lamb early in the season. They have not skipped a beat. So I would say most people would have been like, brian Schottenheimer is going to call your place. Let's just say that, let's say they had hired Colin Coward to be the head coach, but Schottenheimer was his play caller as the oc. Like, ah, you could do better than that. Like, he's been pretty awesome at that. So I, I will give him that. And part of it's going to be because I'm thinking today you get two first round picks and losing this game isn't the end of the world for them if they're freaking, you know, you'd rather pick 10th than 20th. And you know the packers probably get in. That pick's going to be in the 20s, but you're going to have two picks. Pick a couple of guys on defense. Dak, I just look 32 years old. So the way football's going now, you can't touch the quarterback. Why couldn't he have a couple several more seasons playing at this level? He clearly has good chemistry with Brian. You know, maybe they resigned with some of that extra money. George Picken, they already got CD Lam under contract finally maybe draft a running back in like the second, third, fourth round and all of a sudden you, you have more of a complete team. You get some of these defensive backs healthy over the next couple of years. I got a bunch of them under contract. They just need front seven players. I would draft more if you told me they use both their first round picks this year on defensive lineman. I'd be like, smart, right? I wouldn't even, I wouldn't even veer away from the front seven if I were them early in the draft.
- [56:18]
Colin Coward
Yeah, you're, you're. I looked at mock drafts today and there's a bunch of edge rushers. Yeah, it's a defensive line, defensive edge. It's a very good draft. You know, Dante Moore probably has a chance to go number one, the Oregon quarterback, although he lost this weekend. But they don't care about that. But I looked at it to a lot of defensive players in this year's draft. It's a very good defensive draft. And you know what, I've always been a little reticent to draft a receiver in the first round high because it's an Eagle position. Why feed into that? Yeah, there's a couple of first round cornerbacks, there's a bunch of Edge and defensive linemen. That's what I said about Micah. It's going to look bad for a year. It will. It's like when Shaq Kobe trade Shaq goes to Miami. You were going to get beaten up for two years. But in the end, Kobe was the better, more committed player. He was in better shape, fewer injuries. Kobe got Gasol and the Lakers won two titles. Sometimes you lose, you. You can't worry about winning the press conference, right? Like they always say that in college football, don't win the press conference. Get the right coach, you'll win the press conference. If you hire, you know, the coach leaves, James Franklin's fired and then they'll hire, you know, the interim coach because he wins some games and everybody loves it and they're happy. Was that the best coach? You're winning a press conference because everybody's happy. So I look at next year, two first round and by the way, John, as you know, they don't need a quarterback, but six teams do. They could turn those two first round picks into second and third round picks added by moving down, which they probably will do.
- [57:52]
John Middelkoff
They've also drafted a ton of offensive linemen over the last several years, so they've invested heavily in that position. You could also say like, unless Micah was Lawrence Taylor, what difference is Micah making on this team? Like, it's not like he's turning them into some high end defense. Their defense is atrocious. Guys are wide open constantly. They can't cover a soul. I think if you wanted to argue about it, you should have done it before the draft and you could have gotten more. But at the end of the day, you got multiple first round picks, you got the money. It was a little clunky the way the process played out, but the end result I think is probably going to work out in the Cowboys is long. The Raiders once did this when they traded Khalil Mack. Again, that was a financial thing. They just didn't have the money to pay them. They drafted the wrong players and that bit them in the ass. So you get these picks, you just, if you nail, I don't know if like you said, let's say you turn two picks into four picks, right? Moving back and manipulating the draft. If you hit on three out of the four of them, it's, it's a home run. Because not only are you getting impact players, they're cheap impact players.
- [58:59]
Colin Coward
All right. I think both you and I loved this game. This was my second favorite bet on the board. Seattle plus one and a half. I Said Friday on the Herd blazing five bet the money line. I thought Jacksonville off an emotional win, biggest win in forever for them against Kansas City. They would come to short rest, come back down to earth. Seattle was going to play with her hair on fire in a tougher division, they'd be more desperate. I mean, you had 10 total penalties for the Jags in the first half. They had six penalties, three sacks allowed, four punts. They were just a mess. They weren't really ready to play. They hung around for a while. But you know, I'll say this is a classic example is Trevor Lawrence had a 54 yard touchdown pass taken off the board because of a penalty. It's so Jacksonville. I don't know how to explain this though. Seattle's won nine straight road games. Now, remember, Seattle is geographically. You know, this is why the Vancouver Grizzlies didn't work. This is why the Mariners for years haven't done well in the free agent market. It's like a lot of players don't want those long road trips. You're up jammed up in the Pacific Northwest. It's inconceivable that Seattle again in a tough division, even Arizona is a hard place to go and win, has won nine straight road games. They travel across the country. So let's start with that. Is that just coincidence happenstance? I mean some of those have been with Geno. That's a lot of road wins in a row.
- [60:28]
John Middelkoff
They're ten and one on the road under Mike, Mike McDonald. Ten and one. That's insane. Again, they in theory have one of the best places to play at home. So if they can parlay, which they're going to do because they were today, they sacked him seven times. They were all over Trevor Lawrence. I mean he would scramble in the pocket and there'd be another guy there. He was getting hit all day long. And their dbs hit too. I mean you could tell a couple times. Brian Thomas is like, I don't know if I want to catch this one over.
- [60:57]
Colin Coward
You could tell his body language.
- [60:59]
John Middelkoff
Yeah, he had that early in the season. It felt like he got over that last week and they were talking about in the broadcast like Liam's had some talks with him a couple times. Like, no way. I never blame a player. I wouldn't want to get taken out either. But the days of like Ronnie Lott are over. You're not going to get depleted. But still, he doesn't want to get hit. And the defense was awesome today. I mean their physicality, when you factored in The. I heard, I was in the car maybe last week and Steve Phillips, the baseball guy, the former GM was on and he said by far every year Seattle, no team travels farther in baseball than Seattle. Right. Their travel is consistently the longest. Think about this game for them. I mean, what's that flight? We just say naturally five. Is that, is that a five and a half? Is that a six hour flight? I mean that's just, that's a long trip. Now I'm with you. You know, Tampa, the emotional win. I respect Trevor. Like he's, he's tougher than I think a lot of people want to give him credit for. He's actually shown the last two weeks like he's tough. Like you can't say that he's. Turn it down. I just don't know how good he is. Like he's tough and he has some physical capabilities. He can scramble around. But I like Sam. To me, this is why I love the game. I'm like, I actually think the Jacksonville's coaching, coaching staff is good. I think Liam's been impressive. Their coaching staff's good. Clearly Seattle's got a good coaching staff. But the quarterback mismatch in this game I think pretty well. I mean Sam coming into this game objectively based on stats is like might have been the best quarterback in the league through the first five games.
- [62:24]
Colin Coward
Well, Jackson, Smith Njigba is a monster. He is a fricking monster. 162 yards. Sam had a throw. It'll get no play, no highlights to Cooper cup and it was such a sly, clever little throw. And again Cooper at this point doesn't run. But it was just like one of those, oh, that's a pro throw. Aaron had a couple of these. Aaron Rodgers does these throws where you know, you throw it into the corner and if it gets picked, somebody goes 100 yards. And it was Sam threw it and it was quick to Cooper cup who doesn't separate any longer. But I think the thing about Trevor Lawrence is why. I mean Urban Meyer wasn't a pro coach. That's fine. I mean Bill Pellick's not a college coach. That's fine. But why is Jacksonville always beat themselves? Why do they always have so many penalties? Why do they always have so many big plays and touchdowns called back? That's on Trevor. It's like you can't blame anybody else but Caleb Williams when the operations of the Bears offense looks clunky, like Drake May is a fricking robot, like he's AI. He's not doing that I mean, in New England's a young team with a bunch of new players. They have penalties, too. But Drake Mays figured it out quickly. I mean, Trevor's been in this league a long time, and it's just today, 10 penalties, touchdowns called back. I just always feel like they're a bit of a. They're just never buttoned up. And I think Liam Cohen's a good coach. So I don't know. I just. I look at Seattle as a team like Green Bay. They're young. They are not quite sure how to put people away. I mean, you're watching this game and I'm watching this game. Seattle is the better team. They could have won this thing by four touchdowns. They, you know, young teams struggle. How do you put teams away? They just don't quite know how to do it yet. But I'll tell you, watching Seattle and watching their road record and remember, young players, when they do get hurt, get healthier sooner. I think Seattle blew Pittsburgh out. I think Seattle is live. I still think they can win that. I watched the Rams today. I think Seattle. I'm going to take Seattle to win the division.
- [64:35]
John Middelkoff
Yeah, I did, at the beginning of the year. Five to one. I'm with you. I also think, you know, part of being one of the great prospects of all time, which I think we all agree that was. He's not. But, like, what goes with that at quarterback is not just physical attributes. It's bringing everything to the table. You watch some of these highlights of Peyton Manning or Troy Aikman, these former number one picks, John Elway screaming at guys, holding them. They get to act like a coach. They're the highest paid guy in the building. They're the heartbeat of the building. Everyone's looking at them. And that's just never going to be Trevor Lawrence's thing. So part of the penalties, like, the coach can only yell at you so much. They literally do. Coaches yell at you constantly. But, like, when the quarterback holds you accountable and I just don't think that they have that. I'm sure they respect him because back to the toughness thing, he's really proven that. I always kind of question that he's. He's showing that this year, but, I mean, yeah, they're just. They actually are a pretty talented team. But, like, if their most talented player, Brian Thomas, is not going to catch balls over the middle consistently because Trevor had actually had a couple nice passes in big spots over the middle, they got dropped or he didn't want to catch it. I'm like, yeah, this is, there's just going to be something a little bit. And it goes also back to the Travis Hunter thing. Very talented player. I just feel like they're a little lost with that, you know, with him kind of going both ways. You can't just go all in with him as an offensive player, which I think is probably the right move. But yeah, I mean, I, I would pick the Colts to win that division right now. And I would say, I would say Seattle is a very, very good chance. They just got to be healthy. If they're fully healthy, they're going to be very tough to deal with.
- [66:06]
Colin Coward
By the way, I don't want to spend too much time on the Patriots 25 beating the Saints 25, 19. But Drake may, they are over 300 yards, 18 and 26. They're asking him to throw it. He also had nine scrambles. He's a hit. There is no. Now again, he gets Mike Frable. They spent some money on the O and D line, but if you didn't watch this game and it's a corner TV game, as my friend Chad Millman would say, it's, it's, it's that eighth box or Scott Hanson goes. Here I am in the lower eight. Drake May is a hit. I think we can safely say that Drake May is a hit.
- [66:44]
John Middelkoff
Is it powerful? What confidence will do for young players? You know, early that, that first game against the Raiders, I even, I thought I was like, whoa, whoa, something's a little, something's a little off. They get a couple wins and then you have that moment that could be a career changing moment. Buffalo, Sunday Night Football, it's the number one television show in America. I mean, everyone you're playing, the Bills that have the defending mvp, which I would imagine in Drake May's life, he's never played an environment quite like that.
- [67:10]
Colin Coward
Right.
- [67:10]
John Middelkoff
I mean, that's, you know, some of these teams in the ACC don't. NC State probably doesn't feel like that on a Saturday afternoon. To win and play that well, you saw today. Now listen, Saints got a little cowboy vibe. They are not very good on defense. They're actually a fun team to watch. They will chuck it around offensively, but he looks like a dramatically more confident player. And you could argue is that the most underrated aspect for a young quarterback is like, does he believe in himself? Because a lot of these guys have talent. We see guys year in, year out, but when they go into the tank, look at Sam Darnold. Sam Darnold, we used to be like, guy Turns the ball over all the time. I'm watching him now. He doesn't put the ball in harm's.
- [67:49]
Colin Coward
Way really Well, I think remember Mike Vrabel and camp said he's just got to believe in himself. He has to realize that being a leader means being a leader every day. That was Vrabel's quote in the camp. So Vrabel was telling you he's got it in him, but he's a young guy. I always said this is hard to walk in at 25 years old or 24. I mean Darnold was 21 when he walked into the league in New York and then act like a leader. It's 34 year old men in there. You're 21 and if you have self awareness, you don't want to be a jerk. And I, and I do think the Baker Mayfield, you know, kind of the component that like I believe in myself. Baker's rare. He's an outlier. Most young people come into a room and they're, you know, they're a little, it's a little awe inspiring. It's. These are professional. Nobody looks like Miles Garrett in college or high school. Right? Nobody else in the NFL looks like him. So I just, I think Drake. And by the way, Mike Vrabel's intimidating. And so big time and free agency, they spent $300 million. So they brought in some old dudes, like old dudes making money. And I think Drake May was like Carolina football. You know, Mack Brown is very chill. You know, it's Max, like the most likable guy. You know, Vrabel's a barker. Vrabel's intense. Vrabel smart. Vrabel gets after you. So I think it's.
- [69:08]
John Middelkoff
I don't Same with. Same with Josh. I mean Josh pretty intense guy, isn't.
- [69:12]
Colin Coward
Yeah. So. And I like Josh, but he'll bark. So I think it, I think it's just kind of like, holy shit, this is a lot. But man, those last four games I've watched Drake May. Here's the other thing, John. When he, he throws well, running like when he's moving, he. It's no big deal. Like he doesn't lose his accuracy. A couple of these rolling left, rolling right. It doesn't affect him at all. Not that he throws better that way, but he throws. Moving is irrelevant. Some guys move and their accuracy dips. Yeah, not at all with Drake May from what I can tell.
- [69:47]
John Middelkoff
Well, the modern day quarterback is no longer. We've been talking about this forever. Is the group of The Eli's and the Philip Rivers and the paid Mannings. It is the Jackson darts, it's the Drake maze and it's led by the Mahomes Lamars. I mean even Joe Burrow can move and obviously Josh Allen. So the, you're just not getting Jared Goff coming into the NFL anymore. You know, I mean if, if you can't move, these teams aren't going to be that interested in you in college, let alone in the pros. The best players are out are not. I wouldn't even say Lamar's an outlier. When I say dual threat, I just mean mobility. If you don't have mobility, Mac Jones is kind of got some mobility and he's on the low, low end, right? I mean I would say average mobility is like Baker Mayfield relative and even he feels like lost a little weight a little quicker. But I mean drake is what, six' four, 2:30, he's cut from the Herbert cloth. I mean that's what it's ideally what you would want. And we might look back and go, God, he went third overall.
- [70:51]
Colin Coward
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- [72:06]
Snax from Trap Nerds Podcast
What's up everybody? This is Snax from the Trap Nerds Podcast and we're bringing you the horror every week all October long.
- [72:12]
John Middelkoff
Kicking off this month I'll be bringing you all my greatest fear inducing horror games from Resident Evil to Silent Hill. Me and Tony bringing back Fireteam on Left 4 Dead 2 and we just gonna be going over some of the greats.
- [72:24]
Snax from Trap Nerds Podcast
Also in October we'll be talking about our favorite horror and Halloween movies and figuring out why black people always gotta die first.
- [72:31]
Psychology Podcast Host
The Umbral reliquary invites any and all fooling brave enough to peruse its many curiosities. But take heed, all sales are final. Weekly horror side quests written and narrated by yours truly with a full episode read and a commentary special.
- [72:50]
Snax from Trap Nerds Podcast
And we will cap it off with Horror Movie Battle Royale Jason vs. Freddy Michael Myers vs. The Alien Thing with the Little Tongue Monster. October, we're doing it Halloween style. Listen to the Traverse Podcast from the Black Effect Podcast Network on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcast or wherever you get your podcast.
- [73:06]
Brown Ambition Host
Hey sis, what if I could promise you you never had to listen to a condescending finance bro tell you how to manage your money again? Welcome to Brand Ambition. This is the hard part when you pay down those credit cards. If you haven't gotten to the bottom of why you were racking up credit or turning to credit cards, you may just recreate the same problem. A year from now when you do feel like you are bleeding from these high interest rates. I would start shopping for a debt consolidation loan starting with your local credit union. Shopping around online looking for some online lenders because they tend to have fewer fees and be more affordable. Listen, I am not here to judge. It is so expensive in these streets. I 100% can see how in just a few months you can have this much credit card debt and it weighs on you. It's really easy to just like stick your head in the sand and that's nice and dark in the sand. Even if it's scary, it's not going to go away just because you're avoiding it. And in fact it may get even worse. For more judgment free money advice, listen to Brown ambition on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.
- [74:07]
Colin Coward
I'm Dr. Scott Barry Kaufman, host of the Psychology Podcast. Here's a clip from an upcoming conversation about exploring human potential.
- [74:15]
Psychology Podcast Host
I was going to schools to try to teach kids these skills and I get eye rolling from teachers or I get students who would be like it's easier to punch someone in the face. When you think about emotion regulation, like, you're not going to choose an adaptive strategy which is more effortful to use unless you think there's a good outcome as a result of it, if it's going to be beneficial to you. Because it's easy to say like, like you go blank yourself, right? It's easy. It's easy to just drink the extra beer. It's easy to ignore, to suppress, see seeing a colleague who's bothering you and just like, walk the other way. Avoidance is easier. Ignoring is easier. Denial is easier. Drinking is easier. Yelling, screaming is easy. Complex problem solving, meditating, you know, takes effort.
- [75:00]
Colin Coward
Listen to the psychology podcast on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Okay, let's wrap it with this. James Franklin got fired. 3 and 3 record. They won 13 games last year, but they had lost three close games in a row. You, you may remember last year, even though they ended up number five in the country, they, they barely beat Bowling Green. They won several close games. They lost to Notre Dame at the end on a close loss, but they won several close games last year. This year they're losing all their close games, but it's who they're losing to. You can't lose the Northwestern. You can't lose. You can lose to Oregon, although at home it's rough. But you can't lose to UCLA. UCLA is not a top 40 team, although they have new coaches now. And that, you know, it looks like, it looks like the head coach that left may have been getting in the way of a pretty good staff beneath him, but he's only 53, so somebody's going to hire him. The danger in doing this, because he wasn't getting blown out, he was losing close games. The danger in doing this is what if the interim comes in, wins five of the next six weeks and then you hire the interim because the players, you know, the players go into the 80s office, the players go on social media. The players are telling you they'll transfer. If you don't hire the interim coach, they'll transfer. They'll go into the portal and place in small towns like places like Penn State. They've often bowed to that. You see this all the time, John, the hit rate. Look at Michigan right now on giving the popular assistant the job. It's not very good. Historically, it's poor. It's about a 20% hit rate. So my take is okay, now you've put yourself, Antonio Pierce got his job that way. The popular substitute teacher. I wouldn't have fired him, would you?
- [76:54]
John Middelkoff
I think you had to. I think it's the first time in, you know, since they've been running the numbers in 30 plus years that a team has lost a bat to back teams being a 20 plus point favorite. I mean, the team quit on them, right? They, they approach the Oregon game like the Super Bowl. You know what's pretty crazy is we talk about this a lot with young quarterbacks. They basically got two years now to show in college football. These buyouts, which I thought were going to be something impossible to overcome. I think there's so much money float. Didn't the Big Ten just get a $2 billion investment from Venture capital or somebody online?
- [77:26]
Colin Coward
They are speculating that Adidas bought out.
- [77:29]
John Middelkoff
James Franklin, who starts next year. Because I had, I Googled it immediately. 10 years, $300 million. So if I'm Adidas and I'm in for 10 years, $300 million. Right. For Penn State athletics, obviously, that's Penn State football and everything else gets to piggyback off that. I need them to be really good. And I, I, I, I, I'm kind of a junkie. So I just youtubed last night some penny podcasts. They have been losing a couple massive recruits the last couple weeks. A lot of people think James Franklin, especially after the UCLA game, borderline, just tapped out. Is. Doesn't matter because he's got 50 million even if he's fired. So they almost didn't have a choice. This is not the ad that gave him that big extension. That was Sandy Barber, former Cal ad who's just, I mean, Jimmy Sexton is there. Has there ever been a negotiating, negotiation, mismatch quite like Jimmy Sexton? You can say the ads, but the ads all, you know, answer to the presidents and the provost and the. It's academia versus Jimmy Sexton and he is destroying them. It has been all these guys getting fired and when Mike Norvell gets fired and when the dude at Florida, they're all his clients, he's just, he's, he's owning them. And I just think James Franklin, they didn't have a choice. I also think James Franklin, like, don't be, he's going to like all of a sudden be the Florida State head coach or the Auburn head coach. He is by far one of the best candidates out there. What? I have no problem doing it. I also just wonder, this is not 2015, where you go, Kurt Signetti, 100% leaving Indiana.
- [78:58]
Colin Coward
He leaves Indiana.
- [78:59]
John Middelkoff
Well, they got a bunch of money. He's making $8 million a year. He clearly can buy players. So it's like he would have had to leave 10, 7, 8, pre. Nil. Does he need to now?
- [79:08]
Colin Coward
I don't know. I mean, so also, Indiana is his baby. I mean, it's not Joe Paterno, Penn State. It's his baby. It's a basketball school. If I'm Kurt Signetti. $8 million. By the way, they are so appreciative. Part of college football is being appreciated. Like Oregon's always good. But people were frustrated with Dan, with Mario Cristobal, couldn't win big road games. Oregon fans don't expect you to win national titles, but you got to get up to 10 wins because they know Phil Knight's money and they have previous success doing that, but can't lose Utah. Yeah, that's right. That's right. And so Penn State. I do think Penn State kind of views themselves at a level they're not quite. It's rural. It is a. It's not the easiest place to recruit. It's not nearly as glamorous as Columbus or Ann Arbor or USC in Los Angeles. It's not as cool as Oregon. You lose cell phone coverage out there by the Nittany lion in it's so. And I'm not knocking it, but it's like James Franklin. I don't think Penn State's a top seven program. And I think they're losing. I think Oregon is. I think Michigan is. I think Ohio State is. I think Notre Dame is. Those are top seven, eight, nine programs. I think Penn State's on the outside of that. They view themselves as that. And I. And I think you're probably right. I think he probably tapped out. And Also, I think 10 to 12 years coaching these powerhouses, if you don't win a national championship, I mean, God, Calipari won just one at Kentucky and they ran him out. It's hard. I mean, Mark Few told me this when he was at Gonzaga. He goes, I can recruit nothing but three star guys if I wanted to. He goes, I could win at UCLA at the level I'm winning at Gonzaga, but I would get crushed if I was recruiting only three star guys. Like you go to these blue blood programs. People follow that. Fans are on your ass. So Kurt Signetti, nobody's sitting around going, get five star guys. It's his baby. Also, when you're at Indiana, I mean, I think the portal's changed everything, John. I think Indiana looks the part.
- [81:26]
John Middelkoff
Well, he wouldn't even have Been able to do what he's doing. If it wasn't for the portal because he landed this Mendoza kid from California, he would have had to just recruit either a junior college quarterback or recruit a kid. You literally couldn't have done this five years ago. Now you can turn. This is why Belichick, if he does return is going to be heavily under the micro. You can turn this thing around immediately.
- [81:46]
Colin Coward
Yeah.
- [81:47]
John Middelkoff
Now you don't. He's doing it like the highest level. He's going to go to the playoffs probably back to back years. But you could win 8, 9. You can go from 2 to 3 wins to 8, 9 wins really fast. And that was impossible, I think unless you were at like Ohio State or something ever at one of these random schools. But I think Penn State goes, we were paying, obviously the head coach. They're paying their coordinators, their defensive coordinator, highest paid coordinator in the league. Their offensive coordinator, the guy from Kansas, Colnecki makes a ton their roster. They had a bunch of guys return. You're cutting. This is why I was kind of give him credit. Arch Manning played his best game by far on Saturday against Oklahoma. He was, stats don't reflect that. He was, he was good relative to the way he had been playing. But I was like these boosters and whoever's paying all this money is not going to keep the money flowing. If you do not win, you will get cut off. Now I actually kind of believe the Adidas thing. Even if you were at USC or Notre Dame, who could just find $50 million like even if you got five people, that means $10 million each. I mean unless they're Bezos or whatever, you could be worth a couple hundred million dollars, five million dollars or ten million. We talk. That's a lot of, that's, that's liquid cash. I mean this is, this is a lot of money we're talking. And that's just for the head coach. That's not going to count the staff when you blow them out. All the nil money are paying the players. This is a lot more complicated now with the revenue streams that you need to fund football. Like you know, all these basketball coaches. Basketball is actually much easier to operate economically because I just need you know, five or six million if I want to land three or four good guys. And then I get some transfer portal guys from, you know, mid major schools that cost. But my roster only going to play seven, eight guys in college football. It's like I got multiple running backs, I got multiple wide receivers, I need some D linemen. I also got to pay some of these, especially at a place like Penn State. Like your high school recruits cost money now, let alone the returners, so. And then let alone the coaches. This is. Has there ever been a business, I mean obviously like being a CEO on Wall street, but. But these guys, Jimbo Fisher getting paid $77 million not to work. You know, they say the American dream. I mean how many human beings have ever been these guys, I mean at the end of the day, their job, they have a whistle around their neck. I mean, what a, what an incredible time to be a football coach right now.
- [84:00]
Colin Coward
Yeah, James Franklin's a good looking guy with high energy. I think he'll go into broadcasting and probably be a great fit. He's kind of a magnetic guy. I again, I understand firing him. I think it's really dangerous to fire a coach this early. They've got some better personnel than about 90% of the teams that are playing. Good luck if they go on a winning streak because the interim coach is the substitute teacher. They're the most popular also. Let's throw this in. Usc hammered Michigan 31 13. Didn't feel that close. The truth was USC played physical football. I don't know if Michigan has the right coach. Underwood and Marsh, that receiver are Frickett great talents. But USC actually stepped up now. They're an eight and a half point dog at Notre Dame next week and I don't think they can beat Notre Dame. I don't think they're. It's a great matchup. Notre Dame's quarterback's really good. I think he'll just pick them apart. They, they did get their best player back on the back end of their defense, Kabari Ramsey. So I don't think USC is going to beat Notre Dame or Oregon on the road. I don't think they're good enough to do that. But I thought it was a pretty substantial win because the knock has been. Lincoln Riley's teams are soft and I thought in the trenches, I mean, God, with King Miller walk on, freshman running back, huge holes. I thought it was the kind he looked like.
- [85:26]
John Middelkoff
He looked like Doddle today. I mean he was killing him.
- [85:29]
Colin Coward
I think it meant something to Lincoln Riley. It was a very. I mean it looked like old usc, the lights, the crowd. You know, you saw the. But, you know, it just looked big, the night, the night stuff. But I thought it was big for. I said this on Friday. This was not just a typical USC game. They had to win. I thought they would win. I didn't think it would be that dominating. What was your takeaway?
- [85:54]
John Middelkoff
I looked at the board early Saturday morning and I thought, I don't think there's any individual head coach. It turned out it was Franklin, but I assume they would win that game. That had more pressure on him yesterday than Lincoln Riley. I thought it was like a fork in the road moment for his program. Yeah, he can't because he would have been 0 and 2. He just would have lost Illinois and lost to Michigan. And like you said, they got hard games coming up. It's like you gotta be able to be sure this is not Jim Harbaugh, JJ McCarthy and you gotta be Sharon Moore in a rookie quarterback or freshman quarterback and not only beat him like you said 31 13, that felt like 45 to 7. Yeah, he threw the, he threw the pick in the red zone at the, at the end of the first half. Yeah, they look offensively for the first time and it was, I've watched, I would say 50 to 75% of some of their games I hadn't watched start to finish every snap. That felt a little Oklahoma E. Offensively, I mean that receiver they have, Lemon, the number six is elite. I mean he is, he is looks like, I don't know, Amon Ross, St. Brown or something. He's a dominant player. Their running game was awesome and that was a huge part of Lincoln Riley's thing back with Baker Mayfield, Tyler Murray and Jay was running the ball. So if you can run the ball and you got NFL wide receivers, they can light you up.
- [87:07]
Colin Coward
And listen, they were down to their third running back. That's what's impressive. That's a walk on. They didn't have Jordan, they didn't have Sanders, they didn't have their top two running backs. Now they use Jackson who was a third or a four stringer. He actually, I thought as a freshman last year he's a big, he's kind of a different body composition. He's a big strong kid. I wish they'd play him more, but he didn't, you know, they didn't have their stars in the backfield and they're a run first team.
- [87:34]
John Middelkoff
I give them a fighting chance against Notre Dame, you know, obviously they have no chance to win a lower scoring, tough it out game. They would have to get a little bit of a shootout and try to win like I don't know, 30 to 25 or something. But I was blown away by the efficiency on their offense. Now, you know, Wink's kind of a feast or famine defensive coordinator. I mean he's blitzing every single play. But I thought Lincoln, that was the moment where Lincoln vs Wink Martindale looked like JV vs Varsity. That was a pretty special offensive performance, I will say. And this is your whole thing about the Big Ten and the conference realignment. It's hard to watch that game and not go, that's pretty cool.
- [88:11]
Colin Coward
Yeah. I mean, Listen, I'm a Pac12 guy, but, you know, I'm sorry, watching Oregon, Penn State and watching usc, Michigan, folks, it's worth it. I mean, it's just worth it. It's nothing against Cal, against Arizona, but it was a very. College football is regional to begin with. Pac 12 felt super regional. And it was just like I was done with it. I had told friends five years ago, usc wants to get out of the conference. I mean, there were companies. I don't even know if it was Amazon or some company went to USC and offered to just pay for their games. I know Fox was interested years ago and doing it because they were getting frustrated with the PAC 12 and the leadership at the time.
- [88:57]
John Middelkoff
So I like it like NBC does for Notre Dame. Just give them, like, an exclusive deal.
- [89:01]
Colin Coward
Yeah. I mean, I don't want to speak because I don't have all the information, but I went to Larry Jones, a former exec one time at Fox and I said, have you ever considered just for the night programming on Saturday night, just by USC's games? And he wouldn't tell me if he was doing it or not. He smiled kind of a sly smile. So I thought, you know, he's a smart guy. I know Larry very well. But it's one of those things. They were complaining for years, like, why are we treated no better than Washington State and Oregon State? What are we doing here? Like, we're the LA market. We don't get treated. I mean, Alabama and Saban run the sec, and there's other, you know, LSU and Georgia and Tennessee and Florida. There's big boy football everywhere. So it's. I people, I understand people that love tradition. You know, they're outraged about the live tour. I get it. I'm not that guy. But it's like baseball. I'm sorry, but the Mariners Tigers played 15, and the game would have been seven hours years ago, but with a pitch clock, you can sit and watch 15 innings of baseball and it's pretty compelling. It moves pretty quickly. So I don't know, I just thought it was a huge win. Here's the thing about Lincoln Ryan. Two things. They beat lsu, Texas A and M last year and should have Beaten Penn State and now they've beaten Michigan. So, like he's beating some of the big teams. You can say, well, LSU and Texas. And listen, they're on the schedule. They're well funded programs. I don't think they can win over Oregon or adopts. And Oregon's a bad matchup. I don't think Notre Dame teams with great quarterbacks will give them trouble. You can pick them apart. But the second thing about him is you can't watch USC football and not see the coaching. Jaden Maiva was at unlv. I watched Jaden Maava play because I used to go to every UNLV football game when I was a sportscaster in Vegas. So I kind of follow it. Jaden Mava was not an NFL prospect. I saw a mock draft today. They have him going in the first. That's a product of Lincoln Riley. That kid was so reckless and sloppy last year. That pick he had against Michigan was his first really bad pick of the year. He did that regularly. Last year he had a couple of them against Notre Dame. So when you watch USC's offense, you don't have to like their toughness or their culture. Lincoln Riley's a really smart offensive coach. They use every. They squeeze every ounce out of their talent. They don't have a lot of five star guys. John Lemons are really high end receiver. They got a lot of three star, four star guys. The left tackle, they flip from Notre Dame. But this is not Justin Tunu the right tackle. Raymond the left guard. You know, these are three star recruits. They're not getting a lot of love. So the guy can coach. Can he build a culture? I don't know.
- [91:46]
John Middelkoff
I'd say this. He wins this weekend. You can drop the Jim Morrow playoffs because they'd be in a. They'd have a good shot. I mean, they would start feeling like a serious playoff team.
- [91:55]
Colin Coward
All right, for Hard Rock bet. John. I like. I went four and oh, in my blazing five. I like Washington minus four and a half against Chicago. Number one. Chicago has not been a good road team four years. Washington. If you watch the second half against the Chargers, Jaden Daniels looked like last year's jaden Daniels. Terry McLaurin appears to be healthy. I think Washington right now is a better operation. Now, Chicago was off last week. That can certainly help with your first series or two. But the Bears have been good on their first series or two. I don't expect that to. That's not my issue about Chicago. It's the basic operation. When you get off Script. I don't think extra time necessarily helps. Can only put so many plays on script. So I like Washington at home in this spot. I think it's going to be a wild, loud environment that may not matter in baseball. I think it matters a lot in the NFL when you're a young quarterback and a young team going on the road. I like Washington to win and cover.
- [93:01]
John Middelkoff
I'm going to take the Bears and the points because I think anytime that you have a young quarterback and a first time head coach, they can use that dead time to kind of throw away some stuff that's not working. So I'm with you. They have looked good coming out the game. That doesn't change. But I think a huge part of like Andy Reid or Kyle Shanahan or Sean McVeigh, these guys have a lot of success off the bye week is because they can simplify stuff. They go, this isn't working. We keep doing throw it away, throw it in the garbage. And listen, if we believe Ben Johnson is the $13 million coach and this offensive genius and just this high level guy, I think that they look a little more buttoned up because one knock on them would be even remove. Caleb was like, you know, they've a lot of penalties, a lot of stuff going on. You have the bye week, you take a deep breath and you just get rid of some of the complicated stuff that some of these young coaches like throwing at you. So I like the Bears and the points especially because this has got to be a little bit, you know, the Hail Mary game. If they had to be talking about this for the last two weeks, that a lot of those guys that he's going to roll out on, on on Monday night were a part of that. I mean that's one of the worst losses you'll ever see.
- [94:06]
Colin Coward
John Middelkoff Sunday. Let's go watch some football.
- [94:10]
John Middelkoff
See it.
- [94:14]
Colin Coward
The volume.
- [94:17]
John Middelkoff
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- [94:51]
Colin Coward
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- [96:33]
Brown Ambition Host
This is an I Heart podcast.