← The Herd with Colin Cowherd
The Herd with Colin Cowherd
Colin Cowherd Podcast - Cowboys STUN Eagles, Chiefs Stay Alive, Bears Stay Hot, JJ McCarthy Is NOT An NFL Quarterback, Sheuder Earned Another Start
01:21:38
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- [00:00]
Sophie Cunningham
This is an iHeart podcast.
- [00:04]
Colin Cowherd
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- [00:42]
John Middlekauff
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- [00:49]
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- [01:27]
Colin Cowherd
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- [04:53]
John Middlekauff
I don't see how the game starts and he is just slinging that thing to A.J. brown and you're like okay, they're relaxed. The Cowboys short week about to melt down. It's going to be weird. Eagles win this thing, what, 31 to 10 or something? Yeah, yeah. It just. And then all of a sudden the Cowboys scored at the end of the first half. But even at 217 I, I had no imagination to go, you know what? The Eagles are going to do nothing in the second half because they had looked so good throwing the ball.
- [05:22]
Colin Cowherd
Yes.
- [05:22]
John Middlekauff
And it's one thing like, you know, you've talked about this forcing the ball to AJ and just in the flow AJ Just looked, it just looked natural. It looked like it did at times over the course of the last couple years. But then to have that stretch, I mean if you're the Eagles, they've had a lot of these where they start the game like that and then it kind of gets a little bit better as the game when you start the game as well as they did scoring a bunch of touchdowns and then all of a sudden the second half is as anemic as that on the to the Cowboys. I that one's tough. Colin. That. That's a devastating meltdown for the Eagles. I mean devastating. And here's the thing with the Cowboys. Dak is confident against Philadelphia, historically. Right. And they have some firepower. I mean George pickens, massive day CDs playing like crap and they're still coming back on you. That's the one thing it's, it's not like both those guys are going for 150 yards each CD dropping balls left and right. I that's this is going to test Nick Sirianni these next couple nights. Colin. They got a big game on Friday.
- [06:17]
Colin Cowherd
I got Chicago Bears. Yeah, right. And they're coming off now. It's almost feels like because of this game so late. It's like a short week Friday and the Bears are feeling great about themselves. Yeah. I mean they had, they had two fourth quarter turnovers and they missed a field goal. So George Pickens, by the way, we can say what we want about Jerry Jones. Demarvian overshone that Texas linebacker who is now healthy. He's a really good player. I think he was a third round pick. Second or third round pick?
- [06:46]
John Middlekauff
I think he was second.
- [06:47]
Colin Cowherd
Second. He is a really good player now. He tore his ACL a couple years ago. He was the kid out of Texas. Tons of talent. Quinton Williams, nice pickup. Didn't do a ton today. George Pickens, an absolute steal. That's the fourth game for Pickens this year with Dallas. The fourth game with 100. And remember you got CD Lamb on the other side and they're running the ball this year. Fourth game with 130 plus receiving yards. Steelers have done that zero times this season with Aaron Rodgers. So I think it is easy to lampoon Jerry. But they have hit, they have hit on some draft picks. This offensive line doesn't pass block as well as they run block to this point. They're young, they're inexpensive. But Pickens, I mean, I think we felt this going into the game. Didn't Pickens just earn himself a three year deal in Dallas?
- [07:39]
John Middlekauff
Yeah, I mean, I, if I was Jerry, I'd try to extend him right now. You know, Jerry likes to wait till the last second though. That is, Jerry likes to hold that money in that money market fund or wherever. He's keeping this cash because he does not like to pay guys early. But there is no way at this point in time you, you can let George go. I would say this Colin who in a million years, at the start of the season, the negativity they got. Not to toot our own horn, but I would say universally everyone was like, how could you get rid of Micah Parsons? Like you guys were winning nothing with Micah. They get a couple first round picks and then people like, why you trade for Quinn and Williams? What are you guys doing? He has their defensive tackle play looks dramatically better.
- [08:16]
Colin Cowherd
Oh, it's totally different.
- [08:18]
John Middlekauff
It just split like the Red Sea before these two guys. Especially once you put Quinn in with Kenny Clark. Listen. Yeah. Could they use, you know, some edge, rush power? Well, they got two first round picks. They're going to have some extra cap space because of getting rid of Micah. Now, they might have to use that on George Pickens, but they really, these last two games, right. They played two games now and what, six nights? He has 20 catches for 100 or 290 yards and two touch. George Pickens has been as good as any player in the NFL at skill, you know, at wide receiver, tight end or running back.
- [08:50]
Colin Cowherd
And Logan Wilson, who they brought now is getting tackles because Quinn and Williams and Kenny Clark are eating up their men. So Quinn and didn't have a ton of Kenny and Quinton didn't have a ton of production today. But what they do is they force you to use multiple players to block Quinn and Williams, freeing up Logan Wilson and Overshone. So what you're watching with Dallas and your eyes aren't deceiving you. They're athletic without Micah Parsons. This is a very athletic defense now that it's healthy. And I said this, the brilliance of Jerry giving up a first round pick, but not next year, the following year is he knows this is supposed to be the big quarterback year and he doesn't, he doesn't need one. So the Rams don't necessarily have to draft it with their two firsts, but they probably should because of Stafford's age. They'll probably use the second pick to get like a sellers out of South Carolina. A late first, they move into the second. Dallas doesn't need a quarterback. What they. I mean, they could. I've looked at mock drafts. Edge rusher, Caleb Downs. I mean, can you imagine that? So when everybody crushed. Sometimes trades work for both people. Green Bay is a team that was leading games in the fourth quarter. They needed their Mariano Rivera, they needed a closer. That's Micah and Green Bay and Halfley, they're generating a real pass rush. J.J. mcCarthy saw it today. Dallas wasn't leading games. Dallas was struggling. Dallas could not defend the run at the start of the season. So since the start of the season, Kenny Clark, Quinn and Williams, you watched them today against Philadelphia. Philadelphia couldn't do anything on the ground.
- [10:24]
John Middlekauff
I, I also think, you know, by 2027, Jerry's going to be like 90 years old. So by the time that first rounder becomes a good player, I mean, Jerry's like, I might not even be around. I, I think Jerry deserves a lot of some credit now because I'd even go to the head coach when he made the move, which, let's face it, I think he kind of looked around. He didn't want to pay premiums for Ben Johnson and Mike Vrabel, so he went a little cheaper. But this is, it's not like he hired Brandon Staley. I mean, this guy in his 30s was a guy turning down head coaching offers. His career got derailed. He got with the wrong head coaches. But I would say Brian Schottenheimer, listen, what do you do well, if you're a coach? Well, I'm an offensive coach. I call the offensive plays and my quarterback and my wide receiver who, listen, George Pickens was pretty toxic. Jerry took a lot of shit for that because, like, I don't think you're going to be able to handle this. I even thought putting this on Brian Schottenheimer, Jerry, it's pretty risky. Well, Brian Schottenheimer, Dak Prescott have handled George and kind of made him a star. I mean, Colin, he is, he's a pro Bowler. Like, if, if you go, well, who's going to go to the Pro bowl at wide receiver? It's not CD Lamb, it's George Pickens, Javante Williams again. Jerry takes a lot of heat because he talks a lot. But like, just from a pure GM standpoint, I, I think we got to say over the course, going from the McCarthy era, that stretch of 12, 12, 12. A lot of good players on those rosters.
- [11:43]
Colin Cowherd
Yeah.
- [11:43]
John Middlekauff
Jerry's the one picking them all. And now he's 5, 5 and 1. Who would have thought a month ago, like, this Kansas City, Dallas game on Turkey Day. There's a lot on the line. I mean, the Cowboys are not dead by any means, in terms of, like, the wild card.
- [11:56]
Colin Cowherd
If they.
- [11:56]
John Middlekauff
They win that, all of a sudden, you're 6, 5 and 1. You still got the Giants. And I would imagine the commanders on the schedule, like, those are some winnable games. Colin.
- [12:04]
Colin Cowherd
Yeah. No, and the other thing is 24 unanswered points that says leadership. I mean, to me, you. You trail 21, nothing. You got to. I mean, there are teams that quit in this league. We've seen it. There are teams that quit. You know, Jerry Jones said last week, and I've always felt this about Dak, is that his intangibles are better than the tangibles. He's okay in terms of just a pure passer, he's okay. But his leadership, his toughness, his respect in the locker room. And the other thing is, think about this, John, Zeke, circus, dez, circus. Jerry can sometimes be a circus. There was the cultural. The black lives matter, which was, you know, it was for about a year, people like Dak took stands and not always popular stands. And, you know, we had. It was a very tumultuous, like, year or two. We had Covid. There was just a lot of stuff happening in our country. And, you know, and I remember Dak getting a lot of heat standing behind Jerry Jones. But leadership is not a popular position. And Dak sometimes has always been the most popular teammate. You know, a lot of guys in that locker room love Zeke. They love dez, they're young locker rooms. He's dealt with a lot of noise. George Pickens was trouble in Pittsburgh. George Pickens has been great. He's been absolutely great. I mean, in fact, today, the disappointment was CD Lamb dropping the ball in the end zone. Like, it's not just that Pickens production has been great, but it's been. George has been like a big game performer. He's often played better in the biggest moments.
- [13:41]
John Middlekauff
Well, I also think one of the knocks on the flip side of the team they were playing is like, jalen's not that outspoken. He's not the leader of maybe by his actions, but it's like, Jalen, we're in year six or seven now. You're the highest paid guy on the team. Like, there's no question when it comes to Dallas or most good teams, Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson, like, these guys are very vocal leading in the front. It feels like Jalen hurts. And that's where the Eagles kind of get weird. And that's a moment like, listen, I. Sirianni's record speaks for itself. Coming in this game, I think he was like 55 and 22. So anyone can be critical of him, but there's a bottom line league and he wins a lot. But as a coach, like your star quarterback, you sometimes need that guy right there with you screaming at guys, getting on guys, and they have this A.J. brown thing. It's just, it won't go away. And I think AJ he's not intimidated by Jalen. He's like, well, Jalen's not going to say anything. So it just, it's just gotten weird. And you saw a moment today like they kind of fractured now. You could freak. Things happen. They fumble a couple times, but the offense like they have had now stretches throughout the season. When you have devonte Smith, who is, I mean, I don't know if he's an elite player, but he's a high, high. Oh, he's AJ Today. I mean, I don't know how many catches he had down the stretch, but.
- [14:55]
Colin Cowherd
He had eight catches.
- [14:55]
John Middlekauff
100 yards look like the version of the guy that they trade a first round pick for and trade all this money. They got Dallas Goddard, they got Saquon Barkley, they got multiple other running backs they can roll in and they just do nothing on offense. It's. It's a bizarre experience watching this Eagles team. It really is, because defensively, up until the second half, like Fangio had really had them, they'd become a defensive team.
- [15:16]
Colin Cowherd
Yeah, they. If you took the 10 worst offensive halves in the NFL this year, I bet you the Eagles have four to five of them. That's.
- [15:23]
John Middlekauff
Well, a couple weeks ago they led the league in three and outs. I don't know where they stand at today, but if that's a stat that you lead the league, that's. That's usually reserved for like the Raiders, you know, a team that's going to be drafting in the top two or three. Right. Not a team that up until they lost this game, I was like, ah, the Eagles is going to have the number one seed. It's going to be weird, but it's going to be hard to beat them on the road. And now you go, I don't know. I mean, this today, that was an enlightening experience watching you're up 21, nothing even 21, seven and a half. You're playing a rival. I would have bet a decent amount of money the final score would have been like 31 to 14 or something at halftime to lose 20. I would imagine if we looked at the halftime odds, the Cowboys would have been what, five to one underdog to win the game outright? They would have been a massive underdog. So I, that's, that's, that's one of the crazier outcomes I think we've had this season. Colin, what we just witnessed, Dak is.
- [16:15]
Colin Cowherd
I bet if you went and looked at Dax career splits, he is just damn good at home. He really is. You know, so it's, it's, I found, I have found Dak over the course of my, you know, career covering Dak is, I've, I think I like him more now than I've ever liked him. And it's probably one of the weaker teams he's ever been on. But his ability to take kind of a temperamental player, his ability from COVID through it and all the stuff that was happening to just 12 wins. 12 wins. 12 wins. With Mike McCarthy who was criticized, he's had Jason Garrett, Mike McCarthy, Brian Schottenheimer, most people have been very critical of those coaches. Every time he's been upright and healthy with all three of them, he wins double digit games. And you start looking at their schedule this year. Dallas, Dallas is not that much fun to play. I mean let's, let's be honest about Dallas. It's hard to find one great corner in this league. Dallas has two elite wide receivers. It's just really hard to defend them. George Pickens isn't a burner, but he's got incredible catching radius. CD Lam is a separator. So Dallas is hard to play. And Javante Williams now their run games better because this offensive line is a better run blocking than pass. Blocking line like Dallas is a handful. You have you, you get into track meets with Dallas and they're, they're tough to defend but.
- [17:37]
John Middlekauff
And their tight end can catch four, five, six balls a game. Ferguson today had five catches for 60 yards. I mean think about that story. Was it last year that Jerry would take people on tours throughout the facility? You know, guys are, guys are lifting weights, watching film and Dak has to wave and take pictures. It's not an easy place to operate. You talk about the home splits. Dak doesn't have a big arm. So if, if you put them outside in Pittsburgh in December or outside in Baltimore, it's not going to look as good. Well, who else falls into that category? Jared Goff. Jared Goff doesn't have a huge arm, so he looks better in Southern California, the Bay Area, a dome, a controlled environment. You know, Drew Brees was the best version of this. Drew never had a big arm. Well, where could he dominate in a controlled environment? Peyton Manning. Peyton Manning and Tom Brady had polar opposite arms. Peyton had, I would say, an average arm at best. Now, he had accuracy like Drew Brees at an elite level, but in terms of like piercing through the wind like Dax. Even Dak today threw a couple balls. One went right through Zach Bond's hands. Could have been an interception. I would say from an arm strength standpoint, yeah, it's pretty average. But when he gets into a rhythm, timing, understanding of the offense, all that type stuff, this is why I think, and I'm with you, players like this, they earn my respect over time because I'm like, you know what? You see so many guys ebb and flow and then wash out of the league. Like Dak Prescott, when it's all said and done. Yeah. Is he Josh Allen or Patrick Mahomes? Lamar Jackson? Of course not. But I think his career, he's maximized. He's an overachiever, you know, and when you're an overachiever and you're Tom Brady or Peyton Manning, you're. You have the talent, you're a Hall of Famer. When you're Dak Prescott, a mid round pick that if he was an overachiever, Dak Prescott would have been a backup years ago. So I respect the hell out of him because. And today's a great example of. I think most people would have just punted that game you just won Monday night. You're playing again on Turkey Day. And he. They win. I still can't believe they won, Collin, 24 to 21. That's insane.
- [19:28]
Colin Cowherd
I don't miss doing local radio, although I listen to it. I'm glad I do what I do. I would love to be a radio host in Philadelphia tomorrow and just take calls for three. I would just take calls for three hours in Philadelphia radio. Today's show is brought to you by our new presenting sponsor, Hard Rock bet. Great partners on Hard Rock Bet. You don't have to wait for week nine to kick off all the action and you want to get in on that action. It's a golden time of the year with basketball, homers, hat tricks. Always something to bet on. If you haven't tried your first bet on Hard Rock bet. There's still time to get 150 bucks in bonus bets. If you win, just place a $5 bet. Five bucks. That's it. If it hits you, not only get your winnings but 150 bucks in extra bonus bets from Hard Rock Bet. If you think baseball is slow even when the title's on the line, not when you bet. The average first inning lasts just 17 minutes and first inning bets are one of the most pop popular ones in the entire Hard Rock Bet app. So you can bet if there's a run in the first inning or a no run first inning. Fast, fun, easy. You can parlay first inning bets for a bigger, faster possible payout. Download the Hard Rock Bet app today. Make your first deposit payable and 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 100, 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 football season's here and if you want to go to an NFL or college football game, Game Time is the place for you. The Game Time app just gives you the advantage back to you the fans. It's a hack for unlocking amazing tickets and experiences in a few taps. I love it. Easy to use. The Game Time guarantee means you can Trust you'll get 100% authentic tickets on at the best price. 100% so they even let you preview your seat on the app. That's special. Plus fees are always included so what you see is what you pay every time. Take the guesswork out of buying professional football tickets with GameTime. Just download the GameTime app, create an account. If you use the code Colin C O l I N 20 bucks off your first purchase Terms apply again. Create an account redeem code C o L I N 20 bucks off swipe tap ticket. Go download the Gametime app today.
- [21:58]
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- [26:35]
Colin Cowherd
Okay, it's not the second biggest game, but it's notable. Shador Sanders debuted his Cleveland Browns beat the hapless listless Raiders 24 to 10. Listen, I know it's two, two and eight teams, but there's a Tebow effect here with Shador Sanders. Let's just get it right out of the way. So Cleveland hammered the worst coach team in the league, the Raiders, 24 to 3. Pete Carroll left Seattle. They immediately got better. He arrived in Vegas. They're immediately noticeably worse than Antonio Pierce. Nothing against Pete, but they don't do anything well. Okay, so I'll just. First of all, I thought Kevin Stefanski was really smart. I loved they used the wildcat when they got down to the goal line. So take that out of Shedeur's hands. Congested area. Judkins is an emerging stud out of Ohio State. He and Treveon Henderson both excellent. He is a big strong power back. Shadour was 7 for 11 at half. They moved the pocket a lot. He deserves Credit. He didn't have a lot of running backwards, not a lot of negative plays. You can tell they worked on timing. He got screwed by Jerry Judy, who has zero self awareness in the first half. Overall he was okay. I wrote it down. If Geno Smith is a franchise quarterback, Shedeur deserves to be, at least for a year, a franchise quarterback. I thought it was a smart game plan. I thought he was fine. Had one awful pick. I predicted he would go 13 of 18, one TD and one bad pick. He was pretty close to it. Your thoughts?
- [28:11]
John Middlekauff
Well, to me he brought an explosive element to the offense. He hit a big play that probably easily could have been a touchdown. The guy was tackled at the one yard line. The play to Judy was an explosive play. Dylan Gabriel did not bring him that to me. Just with those two passes alone. Now you're playing the Raiders. He's starting next week. And clearly they talked about it, these articles coming out the last couple weeks. He felt the pressure of you have to show something or we will go back to the other guy. He knew it, he knows it does feel like the organization in a weird way is a little more pro. Dylan Gabriel, right. They drafted him higher, which makes sense. And to me he showed enough to get another start for sure.
- [28:50]
Colin Cowherd
Yes.
- [28:51]
John Middlekauff
So to me, Dylan Gabriel isn't very good. So it's not really a conversation of like going back and forth now. Shador just get starts for the foreseeable future. And God, the Raiders are terrible. I mean that is an organization. You know, people make fun of the Browns and rightfully so. They're in a different universe than the Raiders.
- [29:10]
Colin Cowherd
Listen, the jets and the Giants have fight. Yeah, the Raiders have no fight. I mean, they don't even play hard. They don't do anything. Well, you say what you want about the New York Giants. That was one of the more entertaining games today. It was great. The jets fight their ass off. They just don't have a good coach or many good players. Raiders have nothing. And Pete's got to look in the mirror. I mean, Pete left Seattle and they got really good really fast. And Pete, Antonio Pierce. I talked to Tom Telesco about this. Both got let go. Tom's thing was those guys played hard. He. He got that locker room unified because Josh McDaniels had separated. Couldn't galvanize the locker room. So like Pete's got to look himself in the mirror. Like he's no longer like. Like he's not current. Like his defense isn't current.
- [29:59]
John Middlekauff
Why I think, you know, almost like a draft pick where you go, this guy's floors high. I just assume, you know, Pete would get the train back on the tracks and get them going. It's been the opposite. It feels like they're not only regressing, they've had a lot of bad teams over the last, what, 20 plus years. This is as ugly as it gets, Colin, this, I mean, lifeless. But you remove Max Crosby, the one guy who a lot of respect for him playing his ass off in, given the situation, their offensive line, I mean, it felt like every play Miles Garrett, Miles Garrett could have broke the single sack record in the game, you know, so it, yeah, I'm with you. I know they don't want to do this. They have some new Brady venture capital money. I think you have to think about. This is not the answer. And especially this off season, you know, the Browns, they do have some young pieces. It looks like they got a good young draft, draft class, got players. I think, I think if you're spy Tech, you got to go to Mark and Tom and go, listen, we have the right logic, but this blew up in our face. Do we just need to get a young coach, trademark Crosby this offseason and kind of think to the future? Because what they're doing right now, he has no value on their team. You know, I mean, they're headed toward three wins, so. Yeah, I mean, props to Shador. And it looked like Dion was having a good time.
- [31:14]
Colin Cowherd
Yeah, no, I mean, I, I, I, the final numbers, I, I think it's realistic to think he was going to have one bad pick. But last time I checked in 10 of 17, 143 yards, one TD, one pick, passer rating is about 60 because.
- [31:27]
John Middlekauff
It is a pretty easy opponent, you know, I mean we'll, we'll see him when he plays some more credible opponents. But, you know, it is what it is.
- [31:34]
Colin Cowherd
You're a rookie. Yeah. And to your point, I always push back on the. He's a pocket quarterback. He moves fine. He moves better than Goff or a. Stafford. Kirk Cousins, he moves fine. And by the way, he tends to a couple times today he just moved in the pocket. He just glided left or right. And Stefanski, who I think is excellent, they moved the pocket a lot for him. They baked in some easy completions and he had two big throws down the field. Jerry Jeudy, when Jerry Judy made that play trying to high step people at midfield. Sean Payton, Denver is a bye week, I guarantee you, sees that and just rolls his eyes. He couldn't get Judy out of Denver fast enough. So Cleveland goes on, they hammer the Raiders who right now are absolutely lifeless. Okay, well, Kansas City in overtime beats the Colts 23 to 20. And it really came down to this. Is that when the Colts made the sauce gardener move and they gave up a couple of firsts, people said well where do you get your quarterback? And I think the Colts felt like we have Daniel Jones. Here's some pretty stark numbers. So Indy led 20 to nine start of the fourth quarter and recovered a Kansas City fumble. The game was theirs, the game was in the Colts hand and we know they have a star running back and an above average offensive line and good receivers. Pittman, Pierce, Daniel Jones, four consecutive three and outs, 18 total fourth quarter yards. Now Mahomes fourth quarter in overtime, 13 first downs, the Colts zero. Kansas City 236 yards in that time. Fourth quarter and overtime, the Colts 18. So again you're in the AFC, you're in the Mahomes conference and the Kansas City now maybe on life support, but they get Denver, the Chargers and the Texans three of their toughest games all at home. So this wasn't just a win. They went from life support to a. It looks like this was one of the tougher ones. Colts on a buy. Joan Daniel Jones was so bad, so limited fourth quarter and overtime. I mean it's I. You say what you want about Kansas City, look at their schedule. I'm going to take them to win playoff games and make the playoffs. You?
- [33:55]
John Middlekauff
Yeah, I mean I, my homes had a stretch in that game where I was like, I don't think he's playing that well. This is, you know, I'm talking like the second and third quarter when Kansas City was pretty lifeless. It's not like Indy was running away with the game. I walked out of the room right when the game early on and I come back I'm like Kansas City just had the ball and Indy had the ball in like the five yard line. They just gifted him, you know that, that interception he threw. So Daniel Jones was gifted a touchdown, right? They went up seven not and then they had a good drive after Kansas City punts. And I think it's. It's 14 or it's 14 3. So once it's 14 to 3, they don't even come remotely close to scoring a touchdown. And I actually think a lot of his completions throughout the game are on Shane psych and scheming the ball or schema guys wide open. I mean they do a great job with the tight end who's a really good player but they, I Mean he, to me, he is a game plan specific quarterback.
- [34:45]
Colin Cowherd
Right now, Daniel Jones did not have a single attempt over 20 yards. Not a single attempt. And again, this is an above average offensive line. And Pittman and Pierce both get downfield, as does the tight end. So I think it, what they said, what Kansas City said with that game plan is don't give him anything cheap over the top, make him beat us on 16 play, 13 play drives. We don't trust Daniel Jones and in the second half, he didn't do anything in the fourth quarter.
- [35:17]
John Middlekauff
Yeah. To me they have no chance to win the AFC with that quarterback the way he's playing right now. Especially if they're going to have to be in situations where they have to go outside on the road to Denver. What if it's a 2 7? It's against Kansas City in the first round. Who are you taking? I mean, Kansas City was trying to give them the game. And when I say Kansas City, I mean Mahomes missing guys. I mean, how many. He still misses a lot of guys down the field, but when he had to have it, he settled down, he made some big plays. Rasheed Rice was fantastic. I mean he was, he was an elite player today. Yeah, Kareem Hunt was running his ass off. Listen, Andy is not the, the run is not the go to thing with Andy Reid. And today he didn't have a choice. They leaned on Kareem Hunt. I think they had over 40 carries a day, obviously in short yardage. Kareem Hunt's fantastic. But that Mahomes, they just could not pull away. And whenever you do that, you know, to the great players in my lifetime, you give them an opportunity. At the end, then you lost it. So to me it just comes back to Daniel Jones. When you hit him in big spots. I have no faith sitting on the couch watching him on a third and seven late in the game that he's going to complete the pass. And listen, he's, he's better than the guy who saw low points in New York. Right. Clearly, he's, he's an okay player.
- [36:29]
Colin Cowherd
Yes.
- [36:29]
John Middlekauff
But I think we got a, and I'm guilty of this, we got a little overexcited early on in the season and we, I, you know, I think people would say, well, that happened with Sam Darnold last year. Sam Darnold's a way better player than Daniel Jones.
- [36:42]
Colin Cowherd
Yeah, yeah, yeah. No, and Sam's also a better athlete. Sam, deep ball, bigger arm, throws a better deep ball. Sam, I don't think his confidence doesn't dip much with Daniel Jones. You can feel if he throws a pick, you can see if he's getting pressure. Yeah. I mean it's. I just look at those fourth quarter numbers. I mean it's just incredible. Mahomes in Kansas City, between the fumble and the red zone pick, there's no way that in a 20 to nine fourth quarter lead, there's no way the Colts should lose that football game.
- [37:20]
John Middlekauff
Yes. Score 11 unanswered to go to overtime and then lose on, I think it was 18 yards to Colin all of the fourth quarter and in overtime. So I mean, for the Colts, Yeah, we're talking 25 minutes of game plan or game of actual on the field game. And they got the ball first. Right. They won the coin toss and they accepted and they put it on him and didn't go anywhere. Kansas City, boom. Hit some big plays and all of a sudden, I mean, they truly saved their season. Because at one time, one thing we've learned this year is you can never be too safe with a lead. But you're looking, you're going 20 to nine. But Holmes was a little off. You're like, this is really how this little dynasty is going to come to an end this season. And the answer was no. That's not on the Colts watch.
- [38:05]
Colin Cowherd
No. And I mean if you look at the afc, Trevor Lawrence, oh, he's terrible. Oh God, he's just, it's over. Like, it's just. He's had a college coach, offensive coach, now he's got another offensive coach. Trevor just makes too many bad throws. It's just. And by the way, Jacoby Myers, Brian Thomas, he has a couple of nice backs. He's got an offensive coach, Trevor Lawrence just, you know what I mean? He was just, just never, it never worked. And so, and then you have Daniel Jones. So you start looking around. Right now you have Josh Allen, but Josh Allen doesn't have a defense. So you can sell all your stock you want. They get the Denver Broncos, the Chargers and Texans at home. Kansas City at 6 and 5. My money, they make the playoffs and win games.
- [38:51]
John Middlekauff
I'd even throw. I mean, clearly Lamar is banged up this year. He does not look.
- [38:55]
Colin Cowherd
He's not nearly as elus.
- [38:58]
John Middlekauff
And the Steelers are in a complete free fall right now. And I mean, their starting quarterback can't even play. So I think when you look at that division, which over the last three or four years, you know, has produced burrow, obviously peak Lamar, even the Steelers have been feisty. I'm selling my stock on that division, you look at the, you know, the AFC south, you go not taking the Jags, definitely not the Colts. So to me, it's just, it's back to. The Chargers would have a chance. They didn't have a million injuries.
- [39:23]
Public Investing Announcer
Yeah.
- [39:24]
John Middlekauff
I just think the. The AFC west, but the, the Chiefs, I mean, they did lose the Jags. It's why today, I mean, their season was kind of on the line, but they still got some work to do. Colin, it's not quite over yet. Now they. They play Dallas this upcoming week, which is obviously going to be huge.
- [39:39]
Colin Cowherd
Yeah. And the Jacksonville loss, in fairness, it was a standalone game, probably the biggest regular season game in Jacksonville in a decade. I mean, it felt like one of those rare games where, you know, Jacksonville could have a national imprint.
- [39:53]
John Middlekauff
So freaky play too. When he throws the pick in the end zone and they take it 100 yards for a touchdown. I mean, that's. That happens to a Mahomes, a Brady, a paid Manning, what, once every five years? Something like that.
- [40:04]
Colin Cowherd
Yeah. Okay. Chicago holds on to beat Pittsburgh 31 to 28. The Bears are 8 and 3 in first place. Now, if you don't follow the Bears, to give them credit, Montez Sweat was very good defensively today. They were missing five starters, so there were band aids and Bondo. That was not a Chicago Bears defense. So Aaron Rodgers didn't start and TJ Watt in Pittsburgh. The one thing I'd said all week on FS1 was just play clean football. Don't tease TJ Watt. Well, what did they do? He didn't let go of the ball early. It's a, It's a strip Sack. They trail 14 to 7 to Pittsburgh and then come back. But Chicago was missing a lot of defensive starters, so it just be fair. I wrote some notes down. Now again, this is something John I've been on since he was at USC. Caleb, three touchdowns, no picks. He doesn't throw picks. 104 passer rating, 240 yards. He was solid to above average on third down. Also, Colston Loveland, the tight end from Michigan, the rookie. That connection now over the last two to three weeks is a real connection. So he had that really bad strip sack. Yeah. I also wrote down he missed three throws in the first half. I've come to the conclusion that you just, you get the playmaking, you're. This guy's going to complete 61% of his throws. I mean, if he can't do 64, 65. I wrote this down, John. This is the. I think it's the seventh time this season. Caleb's under 60%, and that's again, with pretty damn good protection. I've. My take is Ben and Caleb. It's winning. It's not a great fit necessarily, but I think you just deal with some inaccuracies because you get the upside, the ceiling so high.
- [42:02]
John Middlekauff
I thought today was the best game he's played probably as a pro. You know, I mean, obviously his rookie season kind of throw away, but this year, once he got sacked by TJ Watt and you kind of felt like, oh, when the Steelers did that to Daniel Jones and The Colts, right, T.J. watt made the play, it flipped that entire game. And then they kind of just bull rushed him. And I was like, is this going to happen? Is he going to go into a shell? He got.
- [42:25]
Colin Cowherd
He.
- [42:26]
John Middlekauff
He was awesome in the second half. He was really good. And to me, the mental toughness after that play, I mean, that was a disastrous play. You know, even J.J. watt was like, that cannot happen. Holding the ball when you're backed up in your own end zone. So I thought, like, oh, this thing could now kind of unravel. If anything, he went the opposite way. He made a ton of plays in the second half. He's not accurate. He's not, you know, Steve Young or Drew Brees. That's not his style. I saw a stat today that he was under 2.7 seconds getting rid of the ball, which is second fastest so far this year, like he was getting rid of the football quickly. And to me, that's going to work with Ben Johnson. So listen, I've been critical of him over the course of this season. Today is not one of those days for me. I was impressed in the second half, especially that. That T.J. watt moment. I can imagine when he's running over, he's like, oh, my God, Ben's going to want to kill me. Because that is a no, no with an offensive coach, right? And he was. He was lights out in the second half. I mean, getting rid of the ball fast, explosive plays. Him and DJ Moore were excellent today. You know, they have, I think, coming into this game, obviously they didn't run the ball well today. I mean, they're one of the best running teams, I think second best in the league today. They couldn't really do it. So if you told me, hey, they're not really going to run the ball, he's going to have a fumble. Six to the Steelers on T.J. watt, I'd be like, oh, this might not be a good day for him. If Anything, it was the opposite. So I think if you're a Bears fan, I'm feeling pretty good now. We got a long way to go to win the division still with the, you know, the Lions kept alive and obviously the packers defense is elite. But you're eight and three. It is pretty incredible little stretch here for Caleb and definitely the head coach, Ben Johnson. That was a massive and a devastating loss for the Steelers.
- [44:07]
Colin Cowherd
Yeah, so they were three and seven in one score games. If you want to see coaching. Three and seven last year in one score games. And they look disorganized in close games. They're now 6 and 1 and that's coaching. That's the touchdown swing you get. Caleb's a touchdown and a half. Like, like seven and a half points better. At least he was a couple of weeks ago when I checked in there. They score about seven and a half points more a game and again, they've probably upped that after today. But I also think what Caleb's showing you. I remember before the season started, you and I both talked about this. You and I didn't care about wins. It was like, cut the sacks in half and that'll be fine. Well, geez, John, they've cut like 75% of the sacks. They don't get sacked at home. I mean, so there's two or three things you just have to say, wow, he doesn't get hurt. The kid doesn't throw picks. High school, college, pro. He doesn't throw picks today. Three touchdowns, no picks. And he's coachable. Anything that you and I. His college issue. I remember talking to two GMs about this. They were like, he's really erratic throwing it. They called. One guy said he's like a streaky NBA shooter. He gets into these streaks where he'll go eight for eight and you're like, oh, he's having. And he'll come out the next series. And you're like, he just misses guys badly. He skips balls. He's a streaky passer. And I don't think it's based on confidence. I just don't think he has the world's best mechanics. You know, like. Like he had a couple today where, you know, it's just. It's the Steelers, it's Soldier Field, it's a big game. He's coming back and he just sailed it. You know, it's like aralis Chapman, everything's 104 miles an hour. He throws absolute gas. But he is clearly coachable. And I mean it. It's. You Know, and, and I'll say it, Chicago's a pretty young team. This is a new staff. It's a growth model. They're ascending. And I mean, I'm looking at all my notes right now. I think Rogers flip flipping off a cameraman before the game. That made me laugh.
- [46:06]
John Middlekauff
I think one thing that's been big for Chicago, too, these last couple weeks, I saw Ben Johnson say, going into this game, Luther Burdens earned a bigger role. He had a bigger role today. I think he had three or four catches. He had an end around for a big first down. Loveland, who I think early on you're looking at Tyler Warren. You're going, this guy looks like the next George Kittle or something. There's going to be added pressure. Well, Loveland's really come on this last month. So you're getting a massive impact from the 10th overall pick. I forget what number he was, but mid second round pick with, with Luther from Missouri. So you're getting those impact guys to go along with DJ and Rome and a head coach who is. I, I think he's like the Midwest version of Kyle Shanahan. Loves to run it, wants to scheme runs. It's all kind of coming together. And like you said, if you're not turned over the ball, I can live with some inaccuracies. If you're scoring touchdowns, you've always said, I live with interceptions. If you throw four touchdowns and one interception, who cares? Yeah, it doesn't matter. Right. It's where it's like, you have no touchdowns, one interception. It's like, well, you threw 70% completion percentage. Great job. You want a cookie? I mean, so he's scoring points, he's moving the ball. And again, to me, the mental kind of fortitude of after that sack, some guys get rattled by that moment. I mean, that you're at home, TJ Watt slams you to the ground. I was like, God, I was kind of expecting it to go the other way. And he battled and he was good. I, I'm telling you, I was. That's, that's the most impressive second half for the Bears and, and, and the quarterback and for the Steelers. I mean, you talk about a team just in a free fall right now. They are, they got a lot of issues and who knows? Not like Rogers bones going to heal overnight. I mean, they got Mason Rudolph wasn't the biggest issue. I mean, he was, oh, fine. But they are, they're just not that good. I mean, let's just call it space.
- [47:51]
Colin Cowherd
And they did an average. They did yeah, they had some ingenuity which is rare for the Steelers. They did that tush push counter which was their play of the game. Yeah, but basically, you know, they, they all they did was dink and dunk. They didn't throw anything down the field big. So I mean when you were watching that game, I don't know how you felt. But Chicago was a better team. Chicago was more explosive. Chicago had a better offensive like symmetry, rhythm. Chicago is a big play offense. You know and I said this, when it comes to Caleb Williams and Bo Nix, they're, they're uneven but they're really good second half quarterbacks. And it's like if you could choose something, you'd choose a great second half quarterback. That was Mahomes. Remember his first two years in the league, he'd fall behind 27 to 10 and come roaring back. So yeah, I mean it's, that's the one thing Drake May is much more even. Like he's good first drive, he's good last. He's separated a little bit. But Caleb and Bo Nick, say whatever you want. They're both exceptional quarterbacks. When you, when, when they have to be great when they have to do it, it drives you nuts. But overall I would say it was a performance for Caleb. This week's Karnstein performer brought to you by McDonald's new buffalo ranch sauce is Jameer Gibbs. Oh man, was he good. He bailed the Lions out from losing to the pesky New York Giants. Jameer Gibbs career high, 219 rushing yards. His performance was satisfying. Just like the first bite of Bacon Crispy Buffalo McCrispy.
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- [53:52]
Colin Cowherd
All right, Green Bay 23, Minnesota 6 It's official. J.J. mcCarthy does not work in this league. So Minnesota had four yards and three turnovers in the second half. Four yards and three turnovers. J.J. mcCarthy sacked five times, no confidence, two picks. The Vikings had 145 total yards. This is with an elite offensive coach, Justin Jefferson, above average O line. I mean I watched today. Green Bay coached this game. This is what the film told you. Emmanuel Wilson I lost track after about 27 carries. 26 carries. Green Bay told you because Jordan Love had a bruised left shoulder so they were going to protect him. They told you in this game as they settled for field goals. You wouldn't do that if you played. If you're playing Detroit or you're playing Caleb Williams, you wouldn't do that. Or Sam Darnold in the nfc. They were telling you we're dominating time of possession. We don't think JJ McCarthy can get into the end zone with our defense. We don't think he can get in there. My takeaway in this whole game was they were protecting Jordan Love, his left, his non throwing shoulder. But their commitment to the run game I think was also a nod because they're not a great running team. Although they had over 100 yards today as they committed to it. But their game plan told me a Jordan Love, we don't want him throwing 40 times. B we can win this game on field goals because it was beyond conservative by Green Bay.
- [55:34]
John Middlekauff
I thought my favorite game on the board coming into this weekend. I don't even know what that number would have had to be for me to take the Vikings against the packers on the road with what we'd seen out of JJ McCarthy. I, you know, a lot of talk about JJ McCarthy changing his mechanics and then working through it. That is impossible when you are actually playing in games, right? When they, if you go back to Aaron Rodgers when they drafted him from Jeff Tedford and he used to hold the ball up high, they spent years changing his mechanics in practice and wiring that muscle memory. They're trying to do this on the fly. With a team full of veterans. It's an epic disaster because this guy's getting worse by the game. I mean, he looked by the game. It was pretty embarrassing today. And if you're. I always defend, like, there's a big difference of acting like, you know, Terrell Owens or Antonio Browns being a full malcontent and just being a wide receiver who's kind of angry like A.J. brown's. Some of his arguments have had some validity behind him. You know, I, I don't think he's always wrong. Now, we can argue how he's handling it, but. But what he's saying is not incorrect. So when I see Justin Jefferson sometimes get a little pouty, like, kind of understandable. He's the best player at his position in the sport, and he's playing with a quarterback who probably wouldn't be a backup on a lot of teams. Colin. I mean, I'm watching the NFL this year because so many. I mean, everyone is. But the amount of backups that play that are just from Mac Jones to Jacoby Brissette, he. He would be one of the worst back. Even Mason rudolph Today, like J.J. mcCarthy can't function. Colin. They can't function.
- [57:10]
Colin Cowherd
Davis Mills, be Josh Allen, Davis Mills, Mac Jones, these guys are more Shador Sanders today. They're functional. They can move the ball down the field.
- [57:20]
John Middlekauff
So listen, this thing is. It feels over before it even started because you're like, well, we got to have patience. It's like, well, this team's not going to have patience because this offseason they're going to have to be aggressive to find some sort of veteran. And how is J.J. mcCarthy beating that guy out? We've seen this time and time again. They will bring in whoever and they'll claim it's a competition and. And that guy will be the starter Week one. You can see this coming from a mile away. They made a bold move and it didn't work. I mean, it just simply didn't work. It backfired in their face. And Sam Darnold, every time I look up there was another bomb to Jackson Smith. It's like there's just no way with your Justin Jefferson. When you get home, you put your feet up after the game and you turn on some highlights and you see that you're not really disappointed because listen, you try to be a team guy, you try to be a company guy, but when you screw up the quarterback position for non. No, I mean, just because you drafted them high. We've seen a lot of guys, I mean, we know for a fact that half the guys that are drafted fail, right?
- [58:20]
Colin Cowherd
Yeah.
- [58:21]
John Middlekauff
So I just think that J.J. mcCarthy today, that was the score doesn't even reflect what we witnessed. I mean half of that is just like you said, the packers are conservative. Slasher, not that explosive an offense. They weren't even trying. They were like, we're not even going to put anyone in position. He. It felt like half this balls could have been intercepted.
- [58:40]
Colin Cowherd
Yeah. I mean Jeff Halfley, the Boston College coach who took the D.C. job. It's a very solid game plan. They don't allow anything over the top. So they didn't give. They didn't give. They were going to force J.J. mcCarthy to throw the ball somewhere between 8 yards and 18 and he can't. He. It's. It's. You know, he actually moves pretty well. Like I thought Stefanski did a good job to really utilize Shador's mobility and I think JJ McCarthy is. Has better mobility, but there's just. There's nothing about J.J. nothing works.
- [59:14]
John Middlekauff
I think with a lot of guys. Like in baseball, if you need to work through things, you go to the minor leagues and they work on mechanics. It happens with pitchers all the time. Right. They work their way through the minor leagues working on mechanics and getting something right. So when they get to the big leagues, they can just play. You see in football, the time guys on practice squads, that's how they develop just in practice. So we can change something that we didn't like from college. They didn't get a chance to do this last year because he was hurt, he couldn't practice. And then this year he just becomes the starter. It's hard to develop a guy when he's starting, when your expectation is to win immediately and it is just backfiring in their face. I mean, you see it on Kevin o' Connell's face. I mean he knows it because of injuries that, you know, Carson Wentz is, you know, his whole body fell apart. They have no one to go to. So it's any other player in his situation that was a Second. You know, a second year player that was just drafted would be benched. Right. But they're kind of screwed that he's going to continue to start. And I, I do think it's one of those spots where it could get worse. Like this thing could keep unraveling, you know, because you are playing, you know, as Caleb's kind of getting better. Obviously the packers defense is awesome. How are you going to get into a scoring contest with the Lions? So it just, it's a tough spot. I don't. This year they're just. It is what it is. You're just stuck with them and you just got to ride it out. And you're going to take a lot of heat because it's going to, it's going to get uglier. Colin. It just is.
- [60:41]
Colin Cowherd
Speaking of Sam Darnold, Seattle 8 and 3. Their defense took the day off. They beat Tennessee 30 to 24. Jackson, Smith and Jigba broke Seattle's season record 1313 yards. He's on pace for 2000 yards as a receiver. It's never been done before. Eight catches today, two touchdowns, 167 yards. Basically, Darnold played clean football. 118 passer rating. So this is why Seattle and John Snyder elected to let DK Metcalf walk out the door. We don't see practice footage, right? You and I don't. We don't see it. Seattle did. Seattle knew in the off season that JSN was a more complete wide receiver than Metcalf. Less moody, more productive, better route tree. Maybe not the home run potential, although it looks like he has it. I love jsn. He's another one of these Ohio State receivers. They've got, I mean, two more coming out. Carnell Tate's coming out this year. He's unbelievable. Then a year after that, it's Jeremiah Smith. Seattle clearly off that wild Rams loss. The defense just didn't. I thought Cam Ward, they dominated time of possession. But my take on JSN and Darnold is. The thing I'll give Sam Darnold credit for is I went and looked up his passer rating today. His passer rating still top six in the league. Like the reality with Sam Darnold is he has these Andrew Luck stink bombs. But when I watched today, he really is hard to defend because Sam is one of those guys where he runs, looking to throw. Mahomes does this. Some guys run to run. Justin Fields, he's running to run. Sam's running to throw. And I don't think he used to do that years ago. But Sam Darnold today is running to throw. His eyes are downfield. He did a couple times today against the Titans. He'd run, he'd pull back, he'd throw it. Seattle's a handful. Are you shocked that JSN is this dominant?
- [62:43]
John Middlekauff
Yeah, I mean I, I, I couldn't have imagined that he'd have a 2,000 yard season. I mean every time you look up, he looks like a mixture of Jerry Rice meets Randy Moss. Because you think this guy was more of a slot receiver. I think that was the knock why he didn't go that high. Typically guys that are more outside, Jamar Chase, Justin Jefferson went in the 20s, but like that's A.J. brian or A.J. green, Julio Jones, like your, your blue chip outside guy can go top five. This guy looks like, how did this guy fall so far in the draft? No one knew he was this good. I mean but John Snyder did. And I think he gets credit as he should for some all time great moves this off season. Punting on Geno Smith to acquire Sam Darnold and punting on DK Metcalf to just kind of feature this guy. I mean it was a double whammy. The money that he saved, I mean Gino costs more than Sam Darnold and D.K. metcalf, the Steelers, which honestly to me it made no sense. Like hey guys, you're not a wide receiver away, let alone a guy. This is his third contract, right? This is not Jamar Chase or Jefferson or CD Lamb. One of these guys, 25, 26 going into their second contract, you're trading this guy. I mean most players is going to have four contracts. Like it's pretty risky for you guys to make this move with a second round pick where you can just find guys like Luther Burden, George Pickens, and that's the other thing they get rid of George Pickens. Every time I look at the Cowboys, George Pickens making plays. So you look at the Steelers, some terrible personnel moves and you look at John Schneider, you know, it goes back to hiring Mike McDonald, which it's not the sexiest thing to hire defensive coaches anymore. Everyone wants the Kevin O', Connells, the Sean McVeighs, and rightfully so. But he hired looks like the right guy. And then he made incredible personnel moves this off season. And I anytime you go on the road against a terrible team, it didn't really shock me that it was three, three kind of lifeless environment. It's just, it's a tough spot for any good team. Once you Get November, December, and you're playing a 2, 3 win team. Like, I give you a little grace if you're down 7, nothing after the first quarter. But then they flip that switch and the team speed, it was like, this thing's over. Once they scored 13 unanswered. You're like, this is the Titans. The Titans are really bad. Like, that's. That's one of those jobs that, that I don't know if I would leave if I was a coordinator. You know, it's pretty risky. It's. That's a place where I know you get more money to be a head coach, but feels like where you get your career kind of goes to get derailed.
- [65:07]
Colin Cowherd
Okay. Detroit 34, New York Giants 27 in overtime. Over a thousand yards of offense. John, I'm gonna. I'm gonna describe this as a bad win for Detroit. Now, Jameer Gibbs had 260 yards of scrimmage. Yards saved him. He was. I mean, he literally, he was. He saved them. But nine penalties surrendered. 520 yards. New York dominated time of possession. Jameis Winston had 360 passing yards with no number one wide receiver. The Lions now Chicago's 8 and 3. Green Bay 7 and 3, Detroit 7 and 4. And they still have to face the Bears in Chicago and the Rams in Lake. They are not. The Lions do not feel as sharp to me. They just don't. They had to be saved by Jameer Gibbs. Omaron St. Brown had a drop today. That never happens. There is a. Listen, I love their personnel and I love the culture that Dan Campbell has created. But the New York Giants, multiple times today, if they had any kind, they've got to make some changes on that staff. Defensively, they couldn't make any stops today. Big holes all through their defense. I didn't love this for Detroit. I thought it was a bad win.
- [66:29]
John Middlekauff
Yeah, I think defensively they are a team that you can't bet on to win a. You know, win the NFC to compete for a Super Bowl. They are. They're falling apart. I mean, for Jameis Winston, who, again, honestly, if he had been the backup instead of Russell Wilson, maybe Brian Dabel still employed by the Giants. I mean, they are a functional offense with him. Now, granted, he's throwing it to Wanda Robinson, who looks like Odell Beckham in his prime out there against the Lions, which is really concerning because offensively, obviously, you know, Gibbs is an elite player at any moment. A lot like Saquon last year. He can take 150, 60, 70 yards. You know, Almond Ross St. Brown is just, he's an exception. He had a huge day. 9 catches for 150 yards offense is not going to be their issue because they just have too much talent. But even offensive line today they were kind of, they were getting after golf a little bit. The problem is, is I don't think they're going to win the division. So do you like Jared Goff to go on the road to Philly, to Green Bay, to whoever in the first round? You can't because outside you talk about Dak Prescott being in a controlled environment. Jared Goff is even more because Dak is not the athlete that he once was, but he still can move a little bit. Derek can't move at all. So we saw a couple weeks ago, I'm getting my weeks whenever he played in Philly. I guess that was last Sunday night. You know, it gets cold. He's got those two gloves on. You're like, this is not going to go well. He is not comfortable in the cold. He just isn't. The numbers speak for themselves. So like you're not going to be playing the big playoff games in the dome like you, your chances really were the last two years, you know, it looked like the Ravens, their windows closed. The Bills, their windows closed. The lions had a 24, 7 lead against the 49ers two years ago. Last year they had a home game against, against Washington who didn't have the. Now granted they had a bunch of injuries, but those two teams were tailor made, you know, given their, their record. What, what is this 11 win team like last year they won what, 15 games? Like this is probably 11 win team.
- [68:22]
Colin Cowherd
John, we know that Dan Campbell's not a scheme guy. So when he had a great scheme guy in Ben Johnson and was been there three years or three or four.
- [68:35]
John Middlekauff
He was there the whole time, but he didn't call plays the whole time.
- [68:39]
Colin Cowherd
So when Ben started calling plays, that's your zenith. That's when you are at your best. Where a culture creator with a great GM has a brilliant play designer and play caller and they had two to three years of that and they were the talk of the league. We talked. I mean Ben Johnson was off of the Washington job or the Indy job and he decided on the plane, I don't want to take it. And then he goes and gets the Bears job because he likes Caleb, he knows the division and they. And so here, this was a, this was a team that was romanticized. We loved this team. We loved Ben Johnson. And it does feel like they're not as sharp offensively. They had to be saved today. They're not as good defensively. I mean, Aaron Glenn may not be a great head coach, but 50% of top coordinators don't make it as head coaches. So when I. When I watch them right now, I feel like I'm getting if last year, the fastball. Two years ago, the fastball was 99. Last year it was 97. Now it's about 93. I just think it's hittable. I don't think they just. I mean, listen, they're just too talented on the offensive side to not score points. Somebody's always hot. But when I watched that game today, I was like, I want. I thought the Giants had it one.
- [69:54]
John Middlekauff
Yeah. I mean, the lion should have lost, like, like you said. I mean, Gibbs bailed them out. Gibbs saved their season. Give. Save their season. Now he's an exceptional player. He can just save any single game. But it felt like the Lions were going to lose that game. All of a sudden, would they not be a lock to be in the playoffs? I mean, they would be in major, major trouble. I just think sometimes you have the perfect combination. You know, it'd be like having, like, General Patton having SEAL Team 6, like, good luck against them. And I think, you know, a couple years ago, Lamar Jackson had Mike McDonald as his defensive coordinator with John Harbaugh leading the troops. It doesn't get any better than that. And now you look back, it's like, well, it's not the same. You know, Dan Quinn once had Kyle Shanahan as offensive coordinators, like, and they had a lead in the super bowl. Like, these windows. Most people are not Andy Reid Mahomes, where you get time and time again, you're in the super bowl, sometimes you look back and you go, God, that was our one shot. And it does feel like the Lions because again, Aiden Hutchinson is going to need a massive, massive contract. They are paying these guys a lot of money, right? Jared Goff makes a lot of money. St. Brown makes a lot of money. Panay Sewell makes a lot of money. Jameer Gibbs is going to need a contract. You know, laporta now, who was an exceptional player, just had back surgery. I love watching the guy. I keep my fingers crossed, but you never know how guys respond to back surgery. You just. Things change really, really fast. So I, as a fan of the Lions and kind of what they stood for, it feels dramatically different this year, personnel wise and definitely coaching wise.
- [71:25]
Colin Cowherd
No Jackson Dart, no Scatter Boo, no Malik neighbors. The Giants had 517 yards dominate time of possession, 25 first downs, 50% on third down. Like, I'm sorry. That's. That's awful. And Jamis is weird. I mean he's just such a bizarre. I mean he really. He. He made a couple throws. I mean he's always been one of those guys. He and Marcus. Marcus Mariota came out. They were the top two quarterbacks. Mariota more of a runner than a thrower. Jamis was a pure thrower, but he was an interception machine. He's always been productive. Nobody. And he's got kind of a spirit and a joyfulness that he's like easy to root for. I watch his games. I'm wildly entertaining same.
- [72:05]
John Middlekauff
Could those guys be any more polar opposite either Mark Mariota says nothing. He's a dink and dunk quarterback. Jameis never stops talking and flings it 50 yards down the field every play.
- [72:15]
Colin Cowherd
Just. Just a wild. But I. Detroit just feels like it's a very hittable fastball. And that's what I feel like now. And that's what. Listen, John, this was my. This was my off season bitch. When you lose two elite coordinators, they had coaching jobs. You have to leave the building. You can't hire both guys in the building. It's one thing, by the way, if you had the next McVeigh behind Ben Johnson, but you lose Ben, you just go to a guy in the building. And I say this because I've worked in newsrooms for years and years and we would lose a news director. And it was like, like, well, go get the best news director, the assistant news director who's been the nine years as the news director. If he was that ambitious, he would have left us and gotten a news director job. Like so just always like giving it to the guy in the building. I'm not a fan of that. I've seen too many college football programs do the same where they hire the popular assistant or coordinator. 90% of the time it never works.
- [73:08]
John Middlekauff
You know, you look at these three teams, the Lions, the Bears and the Packers. You know, looking at their schedules, the Bears still, they got to play the Eagles. They got to play the 49ers. They got to play the packers twice. Yes, the Lions play the packers this week and then the packers, obviously the Bears twice. I can see this thing going any. All three directions. I think the most pressure given that they made that trade and they paid Micah, I think you'd be hard pressed to feel good about yourself if you're the packers and you know, win this division. I think the pressure solely on them. The Bears are kind of like they're in the casino right now and they've won a lot of hands of blackjack and they only came in with a hundred dollars and they look down, they got 5k next to them. They're playing with a little house money, right? Yeah, they have the least amount of pressure on them. Right. But you go 8 and 3, you know, you can't just end the season 9 and 8. So there's the pressure of, okay, that get a wild card. But the, the pressure is squarely on the Lions, Dan Campbell, this high price roster, and the packers, one of those two teams has to win the division. If the Bears do, something's going to happen somewhere.
- [74:07]
Colin Cowherd
Well, and also the Bears, as you and I watch today, the Bears are getting better and that's Caleb's best game. Detroit's going the opposite direction. You know, like if you have an average boss, you get worse over time. Yeah, like, I feel like Detroit had a couple of really good weeks, but I don't feel like consistently I get a good effort from Detroit. I always feel one side of the ball or the other disappoints me. I think Chicago's feeling different.
- [74:30]
John Middlekauff
Well, the other two teams have it. You know, the packers halfly calling the defense, LA floors, the offense. Right. The Bears, Ben Johnson, the offense is baby Dennis, he doesn't even mess with Dennis Allen. And listen, their defensive personnel is not great. They create a lot of turnovers. You got, you got Campbell, who was yanking the play, calling back. I looked today, you know, he didn't have the glasses on, so it's like, is he letting the other guy call plays? It didn't necessarily matter because the offense was humming. But obviously defensively, you know, Aaron Glenn could just kind of route. He just had a lot more experience than the young guy, Kelvin shepherd this year who like, they just have a lot of injuries. And I, I've kind of theorized, I think that the 49ers, I think the Bears, I think the Lions, those programs like to run the ball. I think it wears on you in practice. You know, back in the 80s 90s, guys were much more calloused. You had double days. I think now in the NFL, some of these teams that practice hard throughout the season, the players, there's not like a buildup over time. And I think there might be a little correlation because the lions and the 49ers, two teams that want to run the ball, they have a ton of injuries every single year. And I just wonder if they they practice like pretty physical and I don't know, there's not a right or wrong way to do it. But man, these teams have a lot of injuries every single year. Coming down the stretch.
- [75:46]
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John Middlekauff
Or both. Definitely both.
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- [79:24]
John Middlekauff
And Doug, here we have the Limu Emu in its natural habitat, helping people.
- [79:29]
Colin Cowherd
Customize their car insurance and save hundreds.
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John Middlekauff
Of with Liberty Mutual.
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Colin Cowherd
Fascinating.
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John Middlekauff
It's accompanied by his natural ally, Doug.
- [79:40]
Colin Cowherd
Limu is that guy with the binoculars watching us. Cut the camera.
- [79:43]
John Middlekauff
They see us. Only pay for what you need@libertymutual.com Liberty Liberty, Liberty Liberty Savings.
- [79:50]
Colin Cowherd
Very unwritten by Liberty Mutual Insurance company.
- [79:51]
John Middlekauff
And affiliates, excludes Massachusetts.
- [79:57]
Colin Cowherd
All right, two college topics to finish this will take 10, 15 minutes. Number one, USC in another big game. We all knew the three biggest games for USC this year. At Illinois, they surrendered over 500 yards. At Notre Dame, they gave up 442 yards. And at Oregon, they gave up 42 points, 436 yards. And the Ducks were missing their top three receivers. So once again, here we are in year four and every time USC is in one of these big games, those three are all on the road. They're a very mediocre defense. Their special teams in big games, Iraq, totally inconsistent. And it was interesting. I saw a quote after this loss and Lincoln Riley, once again, really kind of snippy with media, very kind of snarky and you know, just, just not able to get through a press conference with any pointed criticism or anybody questioning anything. His quote was, we're very, very close. So they carried the ball 27 times for 52 yards. What do you think, Kirby? Smart would say four years in, if his Bulldogs had 27 carries for 52 yards in a big game, he would be embarrassed to say we're close. He would be fricking on fire. He would be lamenting the physicality. He would call out his team. I just think four years in, I know Lincoln's smart. I know he's a good offensive coach. I know he's taken Jaden Myava from a reckless UNLV player to like a second round, third round quarterback, draft pick. But I'm watching another big game with USC and they're not close defensively. They're not close. First three years he didn't recruit Southern California efficiently. I mean, he's not going to. They're not letting him go. But it's frustrating to hear right now their bowl proposition. The projection is byu. Now what USC fan wants to play BYU in a bowl game and be satisfied with that.
- [82:10]
John Middlekauff
I think the hard thing too is that Brett Venables In Oklahoma is 60 minutes away from being in the College Football Playoff. And Brett Venable is a good example. Right. He's a defensive guy. His defense dominates and there's a toughness to his team and they have a clear identity. If, if usc, and that was, I mean, did you think they had any chance on the road at Oregon?
- [82:32]
Colin Cowherd
None.
- [82:32]
John Middlekauff
I feel if they played. Let's take Oregon and Notre Dame, two playoff teams. Oregon's obviously had some injuries. Notre Dame looks fantastic. If they play those two teams 10 times, I think they lose nine times to both teams. The it's football, it's a one game scenario. Maybe you fumble a couple times, get a pick, weird things happen. But they aren't even remotely close to those two teams that when you hired Lincoln Riley in the hoopla and I bought it, I said, hey, that's a, that's a coup. Like what you got this guy to come. It's going to be awesome. You're four years in and you're watching these playoff teams. Okay. They have a great recruiting class in 2026. Well, what took so long? Like how so going into the fifth year we finally have have the number one or two recruiting class. I heard some, maybe it was Bruce Feldman mentioned this, that Oregon now granted they have been a better program for a while, but part of bringing Lincoln back and this is what, you know, USC fans like yourself want the Pete Carroll days. Well, Oregon looks like that version and USC just looks like an average, you know, eight, nine win college football team. They look, you could replace USC with just Arizona or you know, Just a random program. That's what a random program looks like. Not someone that you gave 120 million million to and have unlimited nil.
- [83:45]
Colin Cowherd
Now, John, they didn't have to play Indiana this year. They didn't have to play Indiana last year. They didn't have to play Ohio State this year or last year. And they got Harbaugh out of the conference before they joined. This could be so much worse. They've gotten complete breaks. They got Penn State once at home. They got Harbaugh's replacement. We don't know if he's the guy. They didn't face the Buckeyes or the Hoosiers. So next year they face Ohio State and Oregon and Washington and Penn State and Indiana and Notre Dame. So now they get several at home. But it's just four years in. When they play elite teams, especially on the road, special teams are often a disaster and the defense is completely mediocre. That is the reality. They're pretty good at home. I mean they play really different football at home because they're comfortable. Well, that's the Big Ten. The SEC road games are discomfort. That's how you win in the sec in the Big Ten. Ohio State can go into Penn State and win. It's not about winning the comfortable games. So I, you know, and I'm, I am surprised at how efficient and how successful Oklahoma's been because Brett Venables had never been a head coach and he was a defensive coach and the whole world now moves. The rules are all helping offense. But I think at this point, four years in with USC to say we're close. If you face the Buckeyes both years, you'd have two more devastating blowout losses. You're not close.
- [85:35]
John Middlekauff
I like Dan Lanning. He seems like a really impressive guy. He took over kind of a ready made operation. I'd say the same thing. I would imagine Chip would admit to this too. Now Dan took him to another level than Mario. Just like Chip took him to another level from Bellotti. But those things, okay, they went from the 17th ranked team to the 4th ranked team. Right. It's a lot different. Lincoln Riley took over Oklahoma. That was a lot like Dan Lanning kind of tailor made. Now he took it to another level than Stoops had had him. But that's, it's a good landing spot for a job, right? Take over Arkansas tomorrow. If I'm Dan Lanning in four years, would he be. I don't know. You know, Lincoln came to USC like that was a very challenging job. Right. And A small percentage of guys right in the.
- [86:22]
Colin Cowherd
If you.
- [86:23]
John Middlekauff
I don't know if Kirby fits the LA kind of ethos, but any good coach, Urban, Nick, like a high level coach, would be able to handle it, but not everyone can. And there's a level of. To me, it's, There's a craziness to you. You can't just be like, oh, I'm. I have a lot of offensive ingenuity. Create plays. Okay. There's a lot more to that. You, you, you'd be able to score points any college you're coaching. What about the culture you set in practice of physicality? Because that's how it's going to translate in this conference in a lot of places that come October, let alone November, the weather's not going to be great. It might not be freezing cold, but you're going to have to play kind of tough bully ball. Well, that's not really how Lincoln wants to play. Why? Well, who taught Lincoln Riley how to coach football? Mike Leach, once upon a time. That's like his roots. And what was Mike Leach who got to higher highs or as equal? Like, one thing he struggled with that Lincoln struggles with is just defensive guys because the style of offense, it doesn't really create a physical element where what's. Dan Lanning knows. He knows Nick Saban and he knows Kirby Smart. What their ethos is. There's a toughness to their team. You see it when you watch them play. It's why they've transitioned and will transition perfectly with Ohio State. Indy, like their culture is that Michigan, like, they are the same. So when I watch Lincoln Riley, you know, Pete Carroll's greatness was physicality and defense. Now I think when most people just, oh, Matt Leiner, Reggie Bush. But they were defined by their defensive draft picks and their offensive line.
- [87:48]
Colin Cowherd
All pros. They had four linebackers. Clay Matthews couldn't start. I mean, they were just Rivers, a Malaluga and everybody was. They were so good within the front seven.
- [87:58]
John Middlekauff
Yeah, I just, I just think it's going to be very, very challenging. He's lucky Jim's gone because Michigan wouldn't have. And who knows, maybe they upset Ohio State again. But how do they match? Like Signetti, clearly. Listen, he. I know he rubbed me wrong, the F at first with it, but he's backed it up. He's clearly a tough guy. You know, he's, he's, He's a tough guy. Like, you can't. I've always said you can't fake it. You either are. You aren't and some offensive guys just aren't, you know, but like I don't think Sean McVay would be known as like the toughest guy on the block, but he really values defense, drafting those guys, investing in those guys. And it's, it's something that he emphasizes. Right. And it just feels like when you watch Lincoln Riley's teams, like you can't convince me that they emphasize that part of the ball. You can't. Just because you pay a defensive coordinator a lot of money, that doesn't solve your problems.
- [88:48]
Colin Cowherd
Yeah. And I think they went heavy into the nil, spent their money poorly in some instances outside of Jaden Mava and Caleb Williams and Jordan Addison. And they neglected Southern California recruiting in that big pursuit of NIL players. And they have kind of a, I mean, I mean their defense, they were missing Kamari Ramsey this weekend. They just don't have, they don't have any high level pros. I mean it's. Their offense is Makai Lemon and Jaden Mavic two man offense. So they just don't have enough talent. And that is overspending in NIL and spending poorly and under recruiting Southern California. Former USC coach briefly Lane Kiffin this. Nobody exits quite like Lane. You know, the Tennessee situation, like they wanted to burn his house down. The Raiders was messy. USC got fired in a tarmac. I was listening to Rick Neuheisel joke about it this week. Nobody leaves and exits worse than Lane Kiffin. To me, stay at Ole Miss or go pro. I just think for me, I don't want to bounce around a conference. If you can make 12 million at Ole Miss, I'll take that over the 16 million at LSU. The governor's involved at LSU. The pressure is much greater at LSU. Here's what I believe to be true. Lane knows that high school players at NIL recruits will follow an offensive coach. He'll go to the whiteboard and he'll sit down with quarterbacks, tight ends, tackles and receivers backs and draw up plays. Offensive players follow the coach. Defensive players go to the five or six. Clemson, Georgia, Notre Dame, Ohio State. Defensive players aren't as likely to follow coaches and schemes. They want to go get paid at Texas. Right. Or at Georgia, Clemson. That's right.
- [90:38]
John Middlekauff
Right.
- [90:39]
Colin Cowherd
Lane can get those players there. Lane doesn't think consistently. I believe that he can get elite five star defensive in the box players. He knows he can get them offensively where he can go back to USC and get him, it doesn't matter. And so to me, I think Lane's certainly Good enough to do NFL. But I think the Lane has proven over time that when you put him in pressure situations, he doesn't have a filter, he doesn't have a governor. He can be a little bit snarky and off putting and needs to put his phone down probably more often. In the end, I think Ole Miss is a great fit, and I think he'd be excellent in certain NFL cities like Arizona, where he could go back west. Not high pressure. He'd be, you know, an offensive coach with McVeigh and Shanahan. What do you think happens?
- [91:27]
John Middlekauff
Well, I think he feels, you know, he's mastered this college thing because he goes, we just had the greatest three years in the history of the program at Ole Miss, and it's because of me. Like, Lane's feeling himself right now pretty big. So. And I don't blame him. I mean, what he's done at Ole Miss is pretty remarkable. But when I see a lot of people saying he can't leave because they're not going to let him coach the playoffs, by all accounts and all reports, right? So if. If they win against Mississippi State and he's going to leave, like, that will be it. Now, if he loses and leaves Ole Miss misses the playoffs, it would get as ugly of an ending as he had in Tennessee. I mean, it would be pretty. Remember, Nick Saban told him to pack his bags and get the hell out of there going into the national championship game. But by all reports, it looks like he's going to lsu. And I understand, because I think he goes, this is not a sustainable thing at Ole Miss because they're changing the nil. At least, you know, we'll see if it holds. But you're not just going to be able to buy players like Ole Miss has been doing. They have been the leader on the front of just buying guys. And Lane's on the right. Guys, guys. Lane's talent acquisition, and I would say talent evaluation has been pretty lights out. I mean, from Walter Nolan last year to this Division 2 quarterback, he is. So he goes, you put me at lsu. You put me. You know, if Kaylin Dubois were to go to Penn State, you know, some rumors out there on that one. He's just going, I will have the best roster. I'll just have Ohio State 2.0 in the South. And so to me, it does feel like he's going to leave. I do think this thing's going to be ugly. Don't necessarily blame him. I understand people in the south, you know, kind of especially if you're an Ole Miss fan, think you're getting screwed. But up until three years ago, before nil, there's not a coach alive that would have stated Ole Miss over going to LSU or Florida, right? So this has changed recently. And maybe he knows that this is not a sustainable model the way it is. But only Lane Kiffin can create this type drama. I, I also will defend. You know, people go, well, how are you leaving a team that has a chance to win the national championship? My pushback would be Ole Miss has no chance. Their defense isn't good. No team in college or the NFL can win and win a championship with a bad defense. Now, can they win a playoff game?
- [93:39]
Colin Cowherd
100%, absolutely.
- [93:40]
John Middlekauff
But are they going to win four straight games? I mean, look at the two teams last year that were Ohio State and Notre Dame. Defense matters. Texas, Georgia. Look, look at the teams making Penn State runs last year. Your defense, his defense isn't good. So he knows that, like, this might be as good as it gets. Now listen, the timing, this thing is going to be a shit show here come Friday because they play the Egg bowl on Friday. You know how this stuff. I mean, is there an announcement the moment that game ends, if they win, that Lane Kiffin has agreed to a deal with lsu? Feels like Jimmy Sexton's kind of being the puppet master here. The sec, the other thing, Colin, all these schools like the NFL, right, the sec, they're all in business together, and they have a historic television deal making 75, 80 million dollars a year. No different in the NFL, right? The, the Rams and the Niners and the Steelers and the Ravens, they're all in business together, yet they all work together. Like you can't. The Giants, just because they have Jackson Dart, can't just go steal McVeigh or Kyle, right? Because they're all under the same umbrella. Yet in college athletics, the sec, the two other SEC schools that look down upon Ole Miss are trying to steal their coach. So, you know, I hear all this stuff about the business model. You could argue it's all out of whack. You can just steal coordinators. When USC needed a coordinator, what did they do? They just took UCLA's. I. If I just need a defensive coordinator, I just can't steal Robert sala from the 49ers. It doesn't work that way. So I, whenever I hear about the business, one thing, college athletics, whenever they do get to kind of the NFL version of wherever they end up up, there has to be some sort of, if you're under contract with me.
- [95:13]
Colin Cowherd
Right?
- [95:14]
John Middlekauff
You can't just steal go. That's not the way it works. It doesn't work. You know, another broadcaster network can't just steal Colin Coward. If I'm under contract with you, I can't just go to someone else, a podcast network, steal me. That's not the way business works. Yet in college it's like, yeah, I'm lsu. I, I plan on stealing you before the playoffs even start. Like, that's just. Yeah, their whole business model is a little out of whack given the numbers in which they're now generating. They got to figure that out.
- [95:42]
Colin Cowherd
Yeah, well, I mean, they. Listen, it's, it's. They didn't play the same number of. I mean, SEC for years, didn't play the same number of conference games as other conferences. So they can't get their schedule. You know that. That's a podcast all onto itself. So. All right, Hard Rock. Bet. I like Carolina plus seven. The two dogs I liked this week were Dallas. That was the one blazing five pick pick that I left on the edit room floor. I like Carolina plus seven. First of all, they've been a pretty good road team. Second of all, offensively, T. Mac is a star. He is a bonafide number one. Bryce Young has played well at home and on the road. The team is playing well and I think if you go look at the Niners this year, after wins, they've been wildly uneven. They've played some of their worst games this year at just the moment you feel they're focused and getting it back together. So everybody now is all in on the Niners, but they have now. They're healthier. But seven points. I mean, look around the league today. That Pittsburgh, Chicago game went down to the end. There were very few. Seattle, Tennessee was tight. Touchdowns, a lot of points. Carolina fighting for a playoff spot. I'm taking the Panthers to keep it within a field goal though. The Niners win at home.
- [97:06]
John Middlekauff
Yeah, I'm with you with the Panthers and the points. I do like the Niners to win this game. They're a bright lights primetime team. Kyle Shanahan usually does his best work on primetime, but Nick Bosa, Fred Warner, they're missing a lot of bodies. They can't stop a soul. I like the Niners to win this thing about 35 to 30.
- [97:24]
Colin Cowherd
Well, we discussed a lot. Wild win for the Cowboys and the Bears. The Vikings are in trouble. We're not sure what to make of the Lions or the Packers. Shedeur probably better than most thought. Good for him. John is always way to crush it. Let's go watch the rams in bucks.
- [97:41]
John Middlekauff
See you Colin.
- [97:44]
Colin Cowherd
The Volume.
- [97:48]
John Middlekauff
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Colin Cowherd
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John Middlekauff
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John Middlekauff
Or both. Definitely both.
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Colin Cowherd
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