Colin Cowherd Podcast - Micah Parsons Immediate Impact, Purdy Impressive, Dolphins Are DONE, Bo Nix Was BAD, START Jaxson Dart

Summary

The Herd with Colin Cowherd Podcast

Episode: Micah Parsons Immediate Impact, Purdy Impressive, Dolphins Are DONE, Bo Nix Was BAD, START Jaxson Dart
Date: September 8, 2025

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Overview

Colin Cowherd is joined by John Middlekoff (former NFL scout and host of the “Three and Out” podcast) to break down a packed NFL Sunday. This episode focuses on the immediate impact of blockbuster trades, marquee rookie performances (good and bad), questions around prominent QBs and franchises, and which teams look ready to contend—or collapse. The tone is candid, sharp, and often skeptical, with both hosts dissecting not only what happened on the field but also what it signals for the season ahead.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

Detroit Lions vs. Green Bay Packers (Packers 27, Lions 6)

• Lions’ Struggles Coming Out of the Gate
  • Colin and John were worried about the Lions’ in-house coordinator hires after losing Ben Johnson and Aaron Glenn.
  • The offensive line rebuild looks inconsistent, averaging only 2.2 yards per carry.
  • Colin on Detroit's Approach:
    “This is my problem with, you know, you have an opening at a company. Let's hire within the company. This is the NFL. There's 32 teams. Lions are elite. Go get the best OC.” [04:12]
  • John questions the play-calling instinct and inexperience of the new coordinator, Johnny Morton.
• Green Bay’s Roster and New Additions
  • Jordan Love’s poised first half compared to young Favre.
  • Micah Parsons’ trade yields immediate results, energizing the whole defense.
  • “Micah opened it up for other players. That was pretty obvious...his mere presence.” — Colin [06:31]
  • John: “For Micah Parsons this season. So you're watching them, they get a huge upgrade in terms of the edge.... I would imagine by October.” [10:34]
• QB Mobility and NFL Evolution
  • John's analysis: Jared Goff as a “dinosaur” immobile QB in a league trending the other way, limiting Detroit's options.

San Francisco 49ers vs. Seattle Seahawks (Niners 17, Seahawks 13)

• Purdy’s Grit, Stats Don’t Tell the Story
  • Brock Purdy’s two INT box score was deceptive; showed poise on the road amid adversity (injuries, missed kicks, crowd noise).
  • “Stat line…won't speak well of Brock Purdy. I was really impressed.” — Colin [15:27]
  • John: “These guys swear by Brock Purdy because mentally tough does not just go into the tank...he keeps swinging.” [17:00]
• Seahawks and Sam Darnold
  • Sam Darnold flash, but critical fumble in late game; release still problematic.
  • Injuries already hitting SF hard—questioning their durability over the long haul.
• Coaching Matters
  • Robert Saleh’s return to SF as DC lauded for stabilizing unit under adversity:
    “Part of defense isn’t scheme, it’s motivation. I think he’s kind of the total package.” — John, [20:57]

Pittsburgh Steelers vs. New York Jets (Steelers 34, Jets 32)

• Aaron Rodgers is Now a Statue
  • Sacked four times, mobility severely limited post-injury.
  • “He’s Jared Goff mobility.” — John, [27:38]
  • Colin likening Rodgers’ new role to Chris Paul: “I am here to elevate others. And that I'm impressed with.” [26:21]
• Justin Fields' Breakout Game
  • Looked calm, athletic, decisive; best game of his career.
  • “It's the first time I've ever watched him and went, oh, you can build around Justin Fields.” — Colin [27:13]
• Steelers’ Running Game Woes
  • Persistent inability to run the ball; 2.7 yards per carry. Colin anticipates a trade:
    “Steelers are going to look around this league...give up a third or a fourth round pick.” [30:40]
• Jets’ Roster Reason for Hope
  • Fields, Breece Hall, Garrett Wilson, left side of OL developing—Jets fans should be optimistic, especially with Dolphins “cooked” and Pats timid.

Miami Dolphins vs. Indianapolis Colts (Colts 33, Dolphins 8)

• Miami “Done” – Anonymous, Directionless, Out-Coached

  • Tua’s limitations, poor OL, lack of backup QB, and “atrocious” defense.
  • “There’s nothing about this team I like.” — Colin [39:07]
  • Head coach Mike McDaniel’s seat is “a lock” to be fired, Miami ownership likely to swing big with next hire.
  • Possible extreme options floated: Bill Belichick, college stars like Kirby Smart, Lane Kiffin, Ryan Day.

• Colts Looking Viable

  • Daniel Jones efficient under Steichen; Colts’ roster depth shows.
  • John notes Colts have underrated weapons: “Pittman’s a good player...Tyler Warren...Jonathan Taylor” [36:39]

New England Patriots vs. Las Vegas Raiders (Raiders 20, Patriots 13)

• Drake May’s Shaky Debut

  • “I was nervous watching Drake May thinking, is this guy a franchise quarterback?...Like, we got a long way to go.” — John [43:54]
  • Raiders simply had more talent at key positions (Crosby, Bowers, Jacoby Myers).
  • Patriots breaking in potentially 14+ new starters; don’t overreact to slow start, but still significant talent deficit.

• Raiders’ New Identity under Pete Carroll/Chip Kelly

  • Geno Smith sharp, creative playcalling, Raiders energized.
  • Colin: “Chip Kelly...He changed football...They're going to beat teams in their division.” [48:51]

Denver Broncos vs. Tennessee Titans (Broncos 20, Titans 12)

• Bo Nix Struggles Mightily
  • “Bo Nix was atrocious. …That’s as bad of a game as you can play.” — John [57:46]
  • Overwhelmed by complex Sean Payton offense, pressure from Titans’ D.
  • Colin: “This felt like almost a preseason game, that Denver was just behind on the clock too often.” [57:33]
• Titans Effective, But Not Enough
  • Cam Ward played with poise under duress; Titans defense looks nasty, but OL and WR talent is lacking.

New York Giants vs. Washington Commanders (Commanders 21, Giants 6)

• Russell Wilson Looks Finished

  • Complete lack of mobility/creativity; teammates have checked out.
  • Colin: “You lose that defense. First of all, they're going to be on the field too much. So they're going to get hurt if you don't play Jackson Dart by like week three.” [64:20]
  • John: “I don't think we've ever seen such a precipitous drop off.” [65:14]

• Jackson Dart’s Time Near

  • Hosts predict a quick trigger, possibly in three weeks, to see if rookie Dart can inject life or set up for next year’s big QB draft.

• Washington Trending Up

  • Jaden Daniels flashes star potential, offense could be potent when healthy receivers return.
  • “This Washington offense got a chance to be pretty good because that quarterback, he resurrected a dead frame. The franchise was dead dead.” — John [71:07]

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Notable Quotes & Moments

• “Micah opened it up for other players. That was pretty obvious...his mere presence.” — Colin (06:31)
• “It's the first time I've ever watched him (Justin Fields) and went, oh, you can build around Justin Fields.” — Colin (27:13)
• “Bo Nix was atrocious. ...That’s as bad of a game as you can play.” — John (57:46)
• “There’s nothing about this team I like (Dolphins).” — Colin (39:07)
• “This Washington offense got a chance to be pretty good because that quarterback, he resurrected a dead frame. The franchise was dead dead.” — John (71:07)
• “I don't think we've ever seen such a precipitous drop off (Russell).” — John (65:14)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• Green Bay/Detroit deep dive, Micah Parsons impact: 04:00–12:40
• San Francisco/Seattle, Purdy & coaching impacts: 13:49–21:20
• Steelers/Jets, Aaron Rodgers & Justin Fields: 25:22–35:01
• Miami/Colts, Dolphins in free fall, Colts hopes: 35:01–40:58
• Patriots/Raiders, Drake May/roster turnover: 42:05–50:15
• Denver/Tennessee, Bo Nix struggles: 56:53–61:50
• Giants/Commanders, benching Russell for Jackson Dart: 63:11–71:07

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Flow & Tone

• Analysis is sharp, opinionated, and not afraid to call out front office or coaching missteps (especially Miami, New England, Detroit, and Chicago).
• Hosts bounce naturally between macro-trends and micro-decisions (new NFL QB era, administrative turnover, play-calling, coordinator moves).
• Frequent analogies to business and generational change in football ("dinosaur" QBs, need for fresh ideas over “hiring in-house”).
• Mutual respect for proven performers (Micah Parsons, Jaden Daniels, Pete Carroll, Robert Saleh) and skepticism of hype or unearned status.

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Final Takeaways

• Cohesive franchises with the right quarterback and bold moves (Green Bay, San Francisco, Washington, Las Vegas) are positioned for early success.
• Decaying models (Miami, NY Giants with Russell, Patriots’ offensive identity crisis) are in urgent need of major changes or resets.
• Quarterback mobility, adaptability, and leadership—plus fresh, motivated coaching—are tilting the league’s balance.
• The rookie QB class (Caleb Williams, JJ McCarthy, Bo Nix, Jaden Daniels, etc.) is already separating between potential stars and possible busts.

Listeners and NFL fans are left with a clear sense of which teams are real contenders, which are pretenders, and which need to pull the trigger on major changes—fast.

Transcript

[John Middlekoff]

This is an iHeart podcast. This is John Middelkopf from Three and out with John Middelkoff. Thursday Night Football is back. This week the Washington Commanders take on the Green Bay packers. Coverage begins at 7pm Eastern and it's only on Prime Video. Not a Prime member. Simply sign up for a 30 day free trial. Restrictions apply. See Amazon.com Amazon prime for details.

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[Colin Cowherd]

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[John Middlekoff]

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[Colin Cowherd]

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[John Middlekoff]

Well, I think you're the first guy I've ever seen that made a grand proclamation after the hall of Fame game. And you were right. They were a mess. I thought, you know, Colin, we're a little early. But one thing was clear watching the jets today is is Aaron Glenn's a pretty special motivator.

[Colin Cowherd]

Yeah.

[John Middlekoff]

Now I do. I do think replacing defensive coordinators are hard and a lot of times it does happen internally. I mean, the 49ers did it once upon a time with solid to D'. Amico. I think that's what Dan so I don't have a Problem with that one. But anytime you hire basically a first time coordinator, 55 years old in a day and age where 30 something OCS are all over the pros in college, just because you know this guy. And all I kept hearing was he's Sean Payton guy, he's Jon Gruden's guy, it's like, why didn't they make him as coordinator over the years? They never did. So to me, calling plays, most people in the NFL, if you got them on a whiteboard, would blow you away with their knowledge. But there is something instinctive about a play caller, about knowing when to call plays. And today they look like a mess. Now you know where I stood. I thought the packers were going to be good this year. Game was in Green Bay. They were very motivated. How crappy they were last year, especially in the division, this was a huge game for them. You know, remember the Lions, you know, beat him twice last year. So. And historically the Lions never won in Green Bay. So I, I would say Green Bay had a lot to play for. But yeah, I mean it was, it was ugly. I listen, I mean if Jordan Love is going to play like he did in the first half, they would beat a lot of teams going. I mean he was like 12, 16, threw a couple touchdowns. He looked like 2012 or 13 Aaron Rodgers. And I think the way he was playing, the way LaFleur was calling plays, their wide receivers were making plays. Yeah, they would have beat this version of the Lions last year with the coordinators. I think today.

[Colin Cowherd]

Yeah. And you know, the, I will say this about Green Bay's defense. Micah opened it up for other players. That was pretty obvious. He got a sack late. But I do think his mere presence, and I think you see this all the time, if McCaffrey is behind Brock Purdy, it's a different offense whether he touches it or not. And I think with Micah Parsons in the game, Van Ness had more opportunities. I just thought, to me it was like very obvious that the Lions went into this game and the staff talked about, listen, when you see Micah on the field, know where he's at. That's what it felt like to me.

[John Middlekoff]

I do think I'm not going to write out the Lions just yet because this was a road divisional game and this was, I mean they got their ass kicked. If this would have been in Detroit, I would be completely out. I'm going to give them a little bit of grace here. But you're right, the offensive line, to lose your center, to lose a big time guard, they've really hung their hat on that. Right. The last three years.

[Colin Cowherd]

Yeah.

[John Middlekoff]

Best offensive line in the league. Best offensive line in the league. Their quarterback can't move. He's really the last of a dying breed. Right. You watch college football, they all can move. You watch the NFL, all these quarterbacks can move. Watching Darnold and Purdy today and they're average athletes. Right. So a guy like that is something we would have seen 15, 20, 30 years ago. They, they don't exist anymore. So when you can't protect. Golf is a sitting duck. And that is the one thing where a great play caller can help him out. And I think Johnny, Johnny Morton. I was like, God, that name sounds familiar. Oh yeah. He was the wide receiver coach on all those Harbaugh teams with the 49ers.

[Colin Cowherd]

Yeah.

[John Middlekoff]

Well, that everyone was getting jobs then how weren't people interested if that guy couldn't get a job off that staff? Pretty big red flag. And honestly it couldn't come back to bite Dan Campbell big time. If this is, if that's the display that we're going to see throughout the season, they'd be in major trouble, Colin, because that division's too good.

[Colin Cowherd]

Yeah. Well, it was funny. I had, I had Green Bay as a playoff team, but in second place all off season. Then I finally flipped it and put Green Bay winning the division. And I think the thing that I really came back on is if you looked at Green Bay with all the injuries they had to Jordan Love and all the youth they had at tight end and wide receiver and they're still winning double digit games. I mean, they won games with Malik Willis who got thrown onto the squad in like August last year. And it's like that tells you organizationally in coaching, they're a pretty special group. Plus their defensive coordinator now gets a second year that we've seen that a lot where it's a second year for a coordinator. I mean, Mike McDonald, Seahawks in year two look pretty special today at times. So. No, I just, I think Green Bay is a great example. You know, they've, they went after Charles Woodson or a Reggie White or a Micah Parsons. They rarely, very infrequently go out of their comfort zone. Big trades or big, big free agents, but they generally do it and they're right. It's like drafting quarterbacks and big free agent signings. They don't miss a lot. You know, from Aaron to Brett to Jordan, you know, and when I watch Jordan, Love the one thing I like about him. I'd compare him more to Favre than I would Aaron Rodgers where, you know, if he throws a pick, he doesn't, it doesn't change his mood. He's kind of a let it rip guy. He was that at Utah State. He is now. There's a certain, I mean it's kind of cool when your quarterback's young and all his tight ends and receivers are young. Like at the end Brady was playing, you know, he didn't have any patience for young receivers for New England. And Aaron doesn't love playing with young, you know, tight ends or young receivers. I get it. But Jordan love generationally, all these tight ends and all receivers are probably the same music, the same tech, they're the same age.

[John Middlekoff]

Yeah. I thought the first half he looked like the guy that played two years ago down the stretch, those six, seven games which essentially got him a massive contract. But the Micah Parsons move, you know, Reggie White was a true free agent. It was the first year free agency ever existed. So was Charles Woodson. They gave up nothing. While they did give up multiple first round picks, that has no impact on the 2025 season. So they essentially just traded Kenny Clark straight up.

[Colin Cowherd]

Yeah.

[John Middlekoff]

For Micah Parsons this season. So you're watching them, they get a huge upgrade in terms of the edge. You could tell, I mean Micah, I know he was working out on the side in Oxnard and with the Cowboys. He's not in football shape because he hasn't been playing football. But I would imagine by October.

[Colin Cowherd]

Yeah.

[John Middlekoff]

I mean, can you imagine him and Gary coming off the. Because Gary is much more kind of a complete rugged.

[Colin Cowherd]

Yes.

[John Middlekoff]

You know, defensive line presence. Mike, is that true? Ferrari off the edge and this coach, you know, I don't know if Halfley's going to get an NFL job. It's a little more difficult sometimes for defensive coaches. But he's going to be a number one candidate in college.

[Colin Cowherd]

Yeah, right.

[John Middlekoff]

I mean some of the big Power 4 school. I mean he's a big time coach who's putting a pretty impressive resume on the defensive side. A place where the packers have not been good gone. Yeah, I mean they haven't been good for a long, long time on that side of the board.

[Colin Cowherd]

That's why I defended the Micah Parsons move. It's like when's the last time you got a consistent dominant edge rusher? They just don't do it. And it's interesting because through the years they've spent their first round picks on defensive players. But the problem is they're always so good. It's generally late first round and that's kind of no man's. So that you know, you're getting the safety or the corner or you know, the outside linebacker who's like the 24th best, you know, prospect. Well, that you're paying a first round salary for a guy that's GMs prefer you taking the second round. So that's the, that's the downside to being excellent is their draft picks in the first round are late. I just, I look at Green Bay as a place where Micah and I heard some things, you know, last year about Micah off the field and not great in the locker room. A lot of that stuff came out when ESPN threw a slew of excellent reporters. My take was that's, that's Dallas leaking stories to cover their face. Right. Cover their ass on the trade and make Micah look bad. But Micah's going to work in Green Bay. Mike is going to be there. He's. By the way, he got a. In the first half, first of all, his introduction, it was like a Super bowl introduction. Then in the first half he got a good rush. He just, he didn't get anybody but a good rush. The crowd went crazy. So he's going to love that for the, for the next six months he is going to be, you know, the bell of the ball.

[John Middlekoff]

Most human beings aren't natural leaders. Whether you're a football player, whether you work in a company, most human beings, even at the highest level of any industry, are somewhat followers. So you blend in to where you're at. The Cowboys are a pretty chaotic place. I mean, it's not very normal relative to the rest of the league. I think if you put a lot of guys in Green Bay situation. How many people over the last 10, 15, 20 years, honestly, even going back to far, have had problems in Green Bay? It's a pretty easy place to blend in. A lot of people with the Cowboys just have. It's covered a little bit different. The owner has a unique presence not just in the team, but in the. Like you. I heard you talking last week. You have to wave to people on tours. It's not a normal operation for the NFL. He gets to be pretty low key in Green Bay. Yeah, I mean that was, that was Nas kicking today. That, that really was. But even if the Lions, I mean, if the Lions were to miss the playoffs, let's just say this is kind of a year from hell for them. They won 15 games last year. That'd be a pretty big step back, right? If you won nine, eight games, that'd be a Problem. And Campbell would probably have to fire this guy immediately as offensive.

[Colin Cowherd]

I think one of the things you said earlier, golf is, you know, by football terms, kind of a dinosaur. As a non mobile quarterback, he was great when the Rams O line was great. As Whitworth got older, he wasn't as dominant and today he looked out of sorts. So it's one of those things where, you know, Matt Stafford is one of the. Is the only guy in the league under pressure that can shred a defense. He is a different cat. All right, time to look at this weekend's tastiest matchup in this week's Sunday Night Football, brought to you by Uber Eats, a company I use all the time. San Francisco 17, Seattle 13. This. This was a wildly frustrating game if you're a Niner fan. So I my first take is this. Brock Purdy had two picks, but I thought it was one of the more impressive outings I've ever seen for Brock Purdy. I really meant that. Everything's going against him. You're on the road. One of the loudest stadiums. Seattle's defense is really good and really young. Jake Moody. Field goal missed. Field goal blocked. So there's frustration. George Kittle gets hurt. Trent Williams, you've heard of the blue man group. The Niners have a blue tent group. They got old dudes, the head of the blue tent a lot. And I thought 26 of 35, 277. A great last. Right. Well, it's amazing. That touchdown pass to the tight end, Tyreek Wulin, really, when he let it go, you were like, oh, my God, this, this is a terrible throw. But that's the NFL. You have to throw guys open. So he goes, he throws the ball into a crowd. When the ball's released, it looks like a pick. But you know, the, the DB got burned twice on that same drive. So my take is the stat line. Two TDs, two picks won't speak well of Brock Purdy. I was really impressed.

[John Middlekoff]

Yeah, I mean, their offensive line's not great. I mean, he's running for his life. If, if he couldn't move, they would be in major trouble. I mean, his M.O. keeping plays alive. I also think, and I've come to grips with this because I remember when he came out and he started playing well in the NFL. I started texting around, like, how, how I understand he's smaller, but he couldn't go in the fourth or fifth round. People thought he was an awful decision maker, which is ironic because Kyle Shanahan, you'd think Want a great decision maker. He's got a little gunslinger in him. Yeah, I always said like you got to play like breeze. No turning the ball over a little like Rogers, never put the ball in harm's way. We're going on. If you go back to last year, how many second half interceptions this guy throwing, and he's throwing some pretty bad ones. And like you said, that game winning touchdown when the ball left his hands, I thought intercept, intercept, interception of the half, devastating. And, and listen, he gave his guy a chance. He's got to be driving Kyle a little nuts. But part of that is also the playmaking that he comes through because like you said, Kittle's out early in the game. After Kittle, the first drive of the game looked like, you know, a hall of Famer. Juwan Jennings, as the game goes on, hurts his shoulder, he's out. He's throwing to people. I follow this team pretty close. I have no clue who these guys are. I mean, who's he throwing these balls to? Obviously Ricky Pearsall. That, that, that looks like for as bad as the Jake Moody draft pick is. Ricky Piersol was fantastic.

[Colin Cowherd]

He was, he was.

[John Middlekoff]

And I'm with you. Listen, these guys swear by Brock Purdy because mentally tough does not just go into the tank after. I mean he easily could have got into the tank after both interceptions. And he keeps swinging. Yeah. You know, McCaffrey obviously helps. I mean he's.

[Colin Cowherd]

Oh my God, it's amazing how often he makes four out of one. Saquon Barkley does this. We get caught up on the big explosive run. BARKLEY and Christian McCaffrey, I mean, how many times was there nothing there? And he squirts out three and a half, four yards. He's so devastating.

[John Middlekoff]

I think this offense is very, very difficult to operate. And Kyle is not the easiest guy to deal with as a quarterback. And I think he has a lot. Honestly, he should have more faith in Brock there. There were a couple times in the middle of the games, like they're running it right up the middle. It's like, hey, every. If I on my couch know the ball is going up the middle of McCaffrey, have some faith in this guy, let him make some plays, let his mobility come out to play. At the end of the game, they didn't have a choice and Brock came through. Now I do think there's a little element of luck with the touchdown pass. I mean, that's sure. I don't know where you land on that. You know, it's not the greatest Decision. I know it worked. Listen, sometimes in the NFL you got a 6, 4, 65 guy, you got to let him have an opportunity to make a play. And he did, because I'm with you. I thought Brock would have, if they would have lost this game. Now, the interceptions were not ideal. They had a lot of other stuff going on that they had to fix. And whenever you don't have a kicker, it's kind of like having a bad bullpen, you know, having an NBA guy that always has bad fouls, like, it's, sometimes it's hard to overcome that. And that's, that's a big picture problem for the Niners. But hey, listen, you get a win on the road. As Greg Olson was saying, he's like, God, this place is really loud right now. It's hard to hear. So they got to feel pretty good. Though they had some major injuries.

[Colin Cowherd]

Well, they got a little break on the touchdown. And plus Sam Darnold goes up the left sideline for 41. Seattle's poised to win it. And then Darnold, and this was, this has been one of his knocks where he brings the ball down and up. He's got a slower release. That's been one of the knocks. And he brings the ball up and hits a teammate. It's on the carpet. Bosa alertly picks it up and good for Bosa, but I mean, it's, it's, you know, that's a little bit of luck. Sam fumbles it, hitting a teammate because they, he was ready to let it rip. So I think these teams, I took c, I went 3 and 2 in my blazing 5. If Darnold scores there, I'm 4 and 1. So I was pretty happy with it. But the truth is, when I watch that game, the difference is in Thanksgiving, which team do you think is healthier? And that's been my knock on San Francisco. I thought today was a must win for the Niners. I did not think it was a must win for the Seahawks because Seattle's got more athletes that are young. Younger athletes recover more quickly. And over a 17 game schedule, guys get dinged up. So, I mean, game one, Kittle gets hurt, Trent Williams in the blue tent. You know, McCaffrey will miss a game or two. That's the reality of this team. Hufunga's gone, Greenlaw's gone. So, I mean, there's like, you know, Bosa tends to miss a game or two. So I thought it was a, I mean, this, to me, this was a big 49er win. Everybody will go oh, it's the opener. It felt big to me.

[John Middlekoff]

Oh, especially with, you know, felt like the kicker was going to blow it. I thought the big winner today for the 49ers beside Purdy on that game winning throw was Robert Sala. And you talk about coordinators and he was on the fence about coming out or coming back. There were a lot of different reports. They threw a ton of money at the guy. Remember a couple years ago when the Eagles got Fangio? Fangio wanted to go there. Couldn't wait to get to Miami. You know, Robert had a lot of options. He just made a ton of money being a head coach, he could have easily taken six months off. They were begging him. I mean, if the Niners hadn't got him, they would have been in major trouble. Beside Bosa, you know, Fred Warner gets dinged up early in the game. Niners got a lot of random guys out there running around on defense making plays. And I think Robert Sala, one major question mark since the Mikko got the job with Houston, they went through Steve Wilkes who was a weird fit. They had a guy last year who was a special teams coordinator. It didn't work with Sorenson. And now you got Robert Sala, a guy that knows what he's doing. I mean, think about the jets defense. Hell, even the jets defense. I like Aaron Glenn defense getting tripped. But Robert Sala has proven yes. You know, I think we need to talk about him as one of the better defensive guys. Part of defense isn't even just scheme, it's motivation. I think he's kind of the total package. So the Niners, he came big today. He was awesome.

[Colin Cowherd]

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.

[John Middlekoff]

This is John Middelkoff from three and out with John Middelkoff. Thursday Night Football is back and it's only on prime video. This week, the Washington Commanders take on the Green Bay packers with both teams determined to prove their worth. Coverage begins at 7pm Eastern with Football's Best Party TNF tonight presented by Verizon. Not a Prime member. Not a problem. Simply sign up for a 30 day free trial. It's the Commanders and the packers Thursday at 7pm Eastern only on Prime Video. Restrictions apply. See Amazon.com Amazon prime for details.

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[Matt Jones]

Hey, this is Matt Jones and I'm Drew Franklin and this is NFL Cover Zero. We think NFL coverage should be informative and entertaining and twice a week that is exactly what you're going to get. We're just here to try to give you an NFL perspective a little bit different.

[John Middlekoff]

Did you see the Colts Pretzel? That was my other big takeaway from that game.

[Matt Jones]

What was that?

[John Middlekoff]

Looks like something that should not be sold.

[Matt Jones]

Oh my. So that was my other big Colts takeaway. I sold that.

[John Middlekoff]

Yes.

[Matt Jones]

I might want to go back at the Colt Stadium.

[John Middlekoff]

Yeah, I might want to go back to the drawing board on that.

[Matt Jones]

Yeah.

[John Middlekoff]

I thought the shape we had with pretzels was working pretty well. It's worked for generations.

[Matt Jones]

We're just here trying to enjoy it. We hope you all will join us throughout the year. And let's go. I hope I'm as youthful as Pete.

[John Middlekoff]

Carroll is at his age.

[Matt Jones]

He's a young 73.

[John Middlekoff]

He is a young 73.

[Matt Jones]

He is spry.

[Colin Cowherd]

I wouldn't fight him.

[Matt Jones]

I would listen to NFL Cover Zero with Matt Jones and Drew Franklin on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.

[John Middlekoff]

Who cares about truth when the lies More entertaining.

[Angela Rye]

Hey everybody, I'm Angela Rai, co host of Native Lamp with Tiffany Cross and Andrew Gillum. Through the lens of politics and culture, we talk with you every week to make sense of this madness. I've been telling Angela I don't even know how to fight back right now. So what I'm focused on is just looking out for ourselves.

[John Middlekoff]

That's the truth.

[Colin Cowherd]

We're having the same debates that American.

[John Middlekoff]

Households are having all over the country.

[Angela Rye]

Rest is certainly a form of self care. But if you are watching your full neighbors starve, not be able to pay bills, your rest is selfish. But the thing is, Angela, this is not the mess we created. So I do understand black folks feeling like, you know what, y' all got it.

[Colin Cowherd]

We're like family, but we disagree all the time.

[John Middlekoff]

And we love when our listeners chime.

[Angela Rye]

In what would happen if we built our own little Wakandan communities in the rural South.

[John Middlekoff]

Tiffany, do not run to no rural south on the war.

[Angela Rye]

What our audience is asking is, okay, fine, you want me to stop resting? What specifically are you asking me to do? Stay informed and take action.

[Colin Cowherd]

Listen to Nativeland pod on the iHeartRadio.

[John Middlekoff]

App, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your bio Guest welcome home.

[Colin Cowherd]

Y All right, let's talk Pittsburgh 34, Jets 32 in a wildly entertaining game. I this, this was one of the best one o' clock window games I've ever watched. I'm dead serious. It was freaking crazy. So let's talk about, let's talk about Pittsburgh's win. I mean, it's interesting with Aaron. He's a statue. He got sacked four times. He got rocked late in the fourth. I mean, it was brutal. I didn't know if he was going to get up. But I think his mindset with this team is, listen, I'm going to be the distributor. He's going to be a little Chris Paul. He's going to be tough. He's occasionally going to make a great shot, but by and large he's going to distribute lead. And I thought from that vantage point, I mean, again, old Chris Paul can't defend like young Chris Paul, but there is something about guidance and leadership and distribution. I thought overall that it was about considering his immobility. It was in his first game and he's not been great in openers. The last three openers I covered with the jets and the points. But I will say I thought Aaron, overall, his mindset, he said this, I am here to elevate others. And that I'm impressed with.

[John Middlekoff]

Yeah, especially with that defense which if they were going to be good, it was going to have to be a top five defense. They got shredded today. I mean, Justin Fields looked like he was at Ohio State. Again. That's the best game he's ever played.

[Colin Cowherd]

Ever.

[John Middlekoff]

Big time.

[Colin Cowherd]

He didn't.

[John Middlekoff]

He was awful. No. Didn't miss a throw. Look calm in the pocket, was running around like he was Lamar Jackson. He was excellent.

[Colin Cowherd]

He was. I'm going to tell you something. There's a stat. He didn't have a single off target throw. I. I'm sitting there, I'm sitting there and I'm thinking. I've always been. I've always said he's a bounce around the league guy. You can't build around him. It's the first time I've ever watched him and went, oh, you can build around Justin Fields.

[John Middlekoff]

Yeah. I don't know what his numbers were but if they had won the game, I would have had no problem giving him player of the week. He was. You could still give it to him. He was fantastic. One thing we have to come to grips with Rogers because it's easy to do this well. You got to give him that extra year after the keely. It's not the first year after the. It's to. He's. He's Jared Goff mobility. Yeah.

[Colin Cowherd]

He can't. He is.

[John Middlekoff]

His days of moving are done.

[Colin Cowherd]

Yeah.

[John Middlekoff]

You watch Purdy Darnold. Even some guys that average mobility, he's not even close to them. So that's a big problem for him. So some of those back shoulder, you know, or back foot throws which he's always done don't. The zips, not quite the same. Still got a good arm. But I thought some of those back foot throws that he had in Green Bay forever where he could throw 98, probably 91, 92 now. So now he's smart, he's accurate with the ball. So he's still, you know, some of those, you know, balls around the line of scrimmage, get it to his guys. Dk let him run. But. And listen offensively, what did he account for? 4 touchdowns a day. He was not. He was fine. But I did watch this thinking like we have to kind of embrace last year like this is a new player now, right? The hall of Fame. I'm not saying he's Manning and Brady just purely in the pocket, but he's much closer to that than the guy that was Aaron Rodgers for 15 years. And to me, if they're going to be good though, they have to be a top flight defense. I watching that game today, I know they pulled it off. They're still playing the jets who probably going to end up winning six, seven games. They have no chance to be a.

[Colin Cowherd]

Good team and they only average. They only average 2.7 yards of carry and this has been a problem. So Najee Harris has gone. This has been a problem for Pittsburgh for about six years. They have talented offensive linemen. They've used draft capital on their offensive line. I mean the kid from West Virginia, the center is going to be a Pro Bowler if not already. So my take is this is sort of a Steeler dilemma. It's not Arthur Smith's issue. Whatever it is, they don't run the ball well. There's a way Aaron's going to have to win. I mean the jets, let's be honest, were picked for fourth, so now they may be better than that. But they were picked for fourth. But for Aaron to work, he needs a running game and that was one of my issues is the Steelers just haven't done that in forever.

[John Middlekoff]

Well, I got to take the L on this. I like the Iowa kid. He clearly had a disastrous training camp. He had one carry today for negative two yards. And listen, he was a third round pick. Breeze Hall, a second round pick. If you just watch Breeze hall today you went that's an NFL running back. Like that guy making guys miss, making explosive plays. You should be able to find guys on the second day of the draft, second or third that immediately impact. Now I understand Breeze has been in the league for a couple of years, but the Caleb Johnson thing has been a disaster so far and they depended on him because Jalen Warren, he really is a rotational scat back throwing the ball a little bit but he's by far their best back. They can't rely on this other guy.

[Colin Cowherd]

That's right.

[John Middlekoff]

Kenneth Gadewell was like a back end rotational guy for the Eagles. So they do have a starting running back issue. Well and so like luckily they have some, you know, DK that Austin's pretty explosive player. Fryer, they have a lot of weapons in terms of like passing the ball. But the running game, like you said, if Caleb Johnson, let's just say this year is a disaster for him. Not a bust or anything but he's just year one is a, is a negative. Yeah, that's a problem. And I think they would have to start looking around. Listen, they're all in on this season. Do you trade for a running back?

[Colin Cowherd]

Watching the game, my take was before the trade deadline. Steelers are going to look around this league. There's going to be a good running back and a bad team and they're going to give up a third or a fourth round pick. But watching this game I'm like, listen, this jets team is, I mean we thought they were a lottery team next year, a top six pick next year. We don't know if Aaron Glenn's can coach. I mean Aaron Glenn on the defense was a mess. So I think the Steelers Keep your eye on them making a move. And I don't know who that running back is going to be.

[John Middlekoff]

I mean, it could be Breeze Hall. I mean, he wants a new contract. Who knows? What if the jets are 2 and 4, 2 and 5, give him a.

[Colin Cowherd]

Third round pick, get him beyond Justin Fields and Breece hall, the left side of the offensive line, I mean, that's what they attacked. The left side of the jets own line was creating big crevices, big creases. So whatever. Elijah Vera Tucker got hurt. I thought, oh, the Jets O line, what a bummer. He former USC guy gets banged up a lot. But they, some of those holes were substantial, so. And you know, the thing about Justin Fields is that there are certain boxes. John, you're a former scout. If I said, there's this guy, teammates love him. Good size, really good arm, super athletic. I mean, there's no reason he doesn't look like this more often. I mean, we never know. If a guy sees the field, does he process stuff? I don't know, we're not there. But in terms of size, whip movement, he also plays courageously, like he will collide with people. In fact, almost to a fault, he doesn't slide. He did once today, smartly, he slid. But there's. When you, he was 4 and 2 with the Steelers last year, if you extrapolated his numbers last year, you know he was going to be like a 95 quarterback rating guy, which is a starter in the NFL. So I think if you're a Jets fan, you had to come out of this game feeling like, hey, man, this, this Justin Fields, Breeze Hall, Garrett Wilson, they found their left tackle, left side of the offensive line. I'd be pretty optimistic. I mean, Miami is cooked. So, I mean. And by the way, New England offensively looked timid. Like they don't trust Drake May. If I'm the Jets, I come out of this game and I'm like, no, no, we can battle for a playoff spot. That was my big takeaway on that division. We'll watch Buffalo Baltimore tonight. But I mean, New England, they don't trust Rake May or they don't have the juice. But Miami is done.

[John Middlekoff]

Yeah, Miami's God awful. I mean, he was already the first guy to get fired on all the betting markets. That thing's a lock. I mean, that team was going to suck no matter what. I mean, people playing them in joint practices were like, hey, I'm not sure what's going on over there. When you ever hear that, they're like, what, What Is this. I, I, I do think really quick on Fields. One thing we don't talk about enough in, in one, when I was doing your show down in la, I was talking with some of your guys when we were getting coffee. They're like, what's something that if you could do it over again, you would have done differently? And I said, the one thing I've learned, and I think this carries over to, you know, in our business, work with a bunch of different people, is the power of character. And when you are the A quarterback, I mean all the best quarterbacks in the NFL, their character, their character is pretty elite.

[Colin Cowherd]

Yeah.

[John Middlekoff]

I mean, when you, when you look at this group of guys, Fields got replaced in Chicago and then the situation last year in Pittsburgh. Handled himself, I mean, incredibly well.

[Colin Cowherd]

Yes.

[John Middlekoff]

I mean, Russell, this started leaking stuff immediately when the season ended about Arthur Smith and pointing the finger. I've never heard a peep from Justin Fields or his people. Never heard a beep. And you just watch the way the guys carried him. Everyone has ever had high things or good things to say about him. Even when Ryan Poles traded him, he's like, you know, I felt like I owed him something. Just what a good guy he is. Yeah, I've been blown away. I didn't think he was a good enough passer. And today whatever they're doing just calmed him down a little bit because he's already always had the arm, I think, sometimes touch. A lot of people thought, like when he got in the pocket he would get. He just struggled to fluidly read defenses in terms of like, would just. It happens to a lot of guys. Sam Darn. That was a knock on Sam Darnold. Sometimes you get to a place where people believe in you and you can just play instead of think.

[Colin Cowherd]

Yeah.

[John Middlekoff]

You know, and I saw a guy today that was just kind of playing and it looked very fluid, a lot like he did in college because his athletic and just physical tools are pretty elite of the. He had the best physical tools of the group. Like Trevor Lawrence went number one. He had better physical tools.

[Colin Cowherd]

Listen, of the six boxes you check size, movement, quality, guy, arm, four of them, he's like an A. So I mean, to me, they're, they're. And I always said this Baker and Sam Darnold, they check too many boxes to be busts. Justin Fields arguably checks more. So I was really happy for him today. He was fun to watch. Speaking. Let's talk Miami. We're not going to talk too much. Colts beat him 33 to 8. Okay. First of all I've been saying this for years. I like the Colts roster. They can't get the quarterback right. When you watched the roster of Miami today against the roster of the Colts, I'm not sure how many Dolphins could start for Indy. The Tua Tyree Kill thing is done. Mike McDaniel, but I won't blame him entirely. When you have two as a quarterback, there's two things you have to have, a good old line and a backup quarterback. And they don't. So I think it's Chris Greers, the general manager. A lot of this heats on him. It's not a good enough.

[John Middlekoff]

Atrocious.

[Colin Cowherd]

Yeah, he's been atrocious. I mean, you have to have a good O line with Tua. You have to have a good O line with Jared Goff. And so, I mean, Daniel Jones went 7 for 7 on drives. Never been done. Said that red zone. Said not since 1991. They couldn't find it. So this goes back to Shane Steichen. There's two big takeaways. Miami's done. The second one is here's Steichen taking Daniel Jones. And I don't think Daniel's a franchise guy, but if what I watch today in that division, they could be, they could battle for the division.

[John Middlekoff]

I'll start with Indy on this one one. I think Anthony Richardson's starting career was over. I've said it. The moment they signed Daniel Jones like that, that thing was he was in major trouble. The Dolphin secondary is on paper could be one of the worst in the NFL. I mean, their corners are atrocious. And the one thing the Colts, you know, I think we underplay their weapons because their quarterback plays good. Pittman's a good player. Tyler Warren was a top 15 pick. Could have been a top 10 pick. You know the Jonathan Taylor, they have a high end run game. Like they have legitimate offensive weapons. Same with their offensive line is good. But I would say this about Miami. That franchise is in absolute turmoil. And when Mike McDaniel gets fired, I have a hard time seeing their owner just hiring some other random coordinator. Like he's tried it. It hasn't worked. I put this out on Twitter today. I've been thinking about this. I think he's going to go after a big name. And last year Ben Johnson would have fallen under a big name. I don't even think that guy's going to be exist this year. Who's the Mike Vrabel of this class? It sure is. Hell ain't Belichick.

[Colin Cowherd]

I don't know, I don't know if.

[John Middlekoff]

You follow that story. Your boy broke it. It's not looking great, but I, I'd say Kirby Smart, Lane Kiffin, Ryan Day, he's going to go after some big name college guys who maybe just go, you know what? I'm over the thing.

[Colin Cowherd]

What about Belichick? Got a place in Jupiter, doesn't he? I mean, Miami loves sex appeal. All their teams do, even the Heat.

[John Middlekoff]

But does Bill have sex appeal in 2026?

[Colin Cowherd]

Well, I will tell you this. I don't think he's built for college. I said this before, he's not. He and Mike Lombardi are. They're NFL guys. I mean, he can't, he can't draft well. How can he recruit? I don't know. I don't think Belichick's crazy there.

[John Middlekoff]

The one thing, if the owner was interested, which, which is weird because Miami actually had some success against Bill, but obviously he had a front row seat of watching Bill in his division forever. Bill would have to be pretty intrigued if the owner wanted him because he'd get to play the Patriots.

[Colin Cowherd]

That's right.

[John Middlekoff]

Which he clearly despises. So yeah, maybe I just think he's going to go after a big name. I can't see him going after whoever the hot coordinator is for the Broncos or the Texans or whatever. But they are, they're going to be really, really bad. They have no shot if, I mean today to a couple times even before the game really got is like forcing balls. I mean if he plays bad, they will get blown out no matter who they play. Well, good team, average team. If he's off, they are screwed.

[Colin Cowherd]

Yeah. And I think you have to clean out the building. I think two has got a lot of character. I like him, but there's nothing about this team I like. And again, I think there's a gap between the best GMs and the worst. And I just don't think they're a well run operation. Miami fans are so funny. They get so angry when you're critical and it's like guys, you can put the pom poms down. They don't draft well. They overspend in free agency. The Tyreek Hill thing, I mean when Andy Reid moves off somebody, when you have Mahomes, it's pretty good sign it's coming with baggage. There's stuff behind the scenes you don't even. Tyreek struggled with. Personal. I, I just, there's nothing about Miami right now other than like Tua's character. There's nothing I like.

[John Middlekoff]

Okay, let's go back to what you said, though. If. If you're the owner, would you be interested in Belichick knowing that he clearly. I mean, he's proven this now in. It's just his way, the highway. He's not listening to anybody. He's just bringing in his people. You basically just hand Bill the keys for, like, the one thing. You watch Pete Carroll today. Like, he's still got a lot of juice.

[Colin Cowherd]

Yes.

[John Middlekoff]

Pete would have been. Pete could have coached in college, could have coached in the pros. Like, he's. He feels more like he's 55. You watch Bill. He feels a little old. He feels really grumpy at the. I mean, he's always been grumpy. He's extra grumpy. I mean, the resentment and the grudge he's holding on the craft from like 3. Bill, you went 4 and 12. Andy Reid got fired as well. Same record. I mean, 10 years ago. It's the NFL.

[Colin Cowherd]

It happens, right?

[John Middlekoff]

I mean, Tom Landry got fired. Welcome to pro football. What, are you that arrogant to think that you were just untouchable for life? But he is. And, you know, the owner, Miami, maybe he's just that desperate because they're. That franchise is just. I make a lot of fun about the Jacksonville Jags. They got more juice right now. The Dolphins, you can argue the Dolphins are the least. Least amount of juice in the league. A team that if they're just never on TV and you never watch, you don't feel like you're missing anything.

[Colin Cowherd]

And you know what? I'm happy for Chris Ballard, who I know a little bit because it's sad to say there was a lot of things the last couple of years that weren't discussed publicly, but privately in the building. Jim, or say was creating chaos. His daughters now, I think will. Will be less intrusive, less impulsive. I think you stay with. I think if this team could win eight or nine games, sneak in as maybe a wild card team is I. They. I mean, again. And Daniel Jones will have a market. I mean, good God, today, up and down the field. So it's just one of those things where I think Chris Ballard's been on the ropes there for years. But when Andrew Luck retired, he found Carson Wentz, he found Philip Rivers, they bailed water. They were viable. They were fun to watch. Getting Daniel Jones after today looked like, wow. I mean, it looked a little like a more athletic Philip Rivers. You know, you don't have a great player, but you got. You have a Guy that can pick up first downs, he took a shot today to the head. Scrambling off to the right. Daniel Jones.

[John Middlekoff]

He can move.

[Colin Cowherd]

He's a good athlete, no question. Okay, let's. Here's another game I want to talk about. So I thought New England would be the easiest, double your win total. Raiders beat New England 20 to 13. First of all, I had a GM in the NFL text me and say, man, are the Patriots slow and deliberate on offense? And I texted back, I don't know if they trust Drake May now. They don't have a ton of juice. I mean, Jacoby Meyer should be a Patriot, not a Raider. But I will say this, and we've talked about this before about Geno Smith. If you give Geno a little time and if you give Geno Smith a run game, Geno can sit in the pocket. I thought Geno Smith made about four, five, six throws today. Big time throws. And he's not my favorite quarterback. But I looked at the Raiders coaching to your point. I looked at the energy of the staff. The Raiders are going to beat teams in their division.

[John Middlekoff]

Yeah, I mean, I got to give Chip credit. He schemed some passes today where some guys were beelining across the field and Geno just let it rip. You're like, damn, that was a good looking play. He had Bowers. I mean, he schemed some really good plays. Did you get a chance at all to read some of Ty Dunn's article on Ryan polls and the Bears?

[Colin Cowherd]

Oh, Jesus.

[John Middlekoff]

Yeah. Well, I will say this. In defense of Ryan polls, on one guy in that article, it made him. It came off like Ryan polls and hated Drake May thought he couldn't play. I thought there were times a day at Drake May went, this is a little off, floating a couple balls. You know, like you said, Josh not trusting him, I felt I know his numbers don't look terrible. I did not think he would look great.

[Colin Cowherd]

I did not.

[John Middlekoff]

Now if you wanted to defend him, you'd go, well, who's he passing to? Booty, the dude from LSU's his best receiver, you know, Hunter Henry. This isn't exactly Gronk, Edelman, West Walker and Randy Moss. But I thought today was like, we got a long way to go. You know, someone that picked the Patriots to make the playoffs. Part of it was I thought Josh McDaniels, Drake May would be good. I was like, I'm not seeing it.

[Colin Cowherd]

Let me defend him. Is there any team in the league between their free agent signings and draft and I don't know the answer to this. But as I watched them in the first half, I thought, jesus, Christian Gonzalez is out. Are they starting 14 new players? I mean, honestly, even veteran coaches. I mean, I thought the Broncos looked awful offensively today. So my take was, God, New England went and got seven starters in free agency. They probably got five or six or seven draft draftees that are playing. And I'm thinking is, and I'm not saying it as an excuse, they are starting. 50% of this team is that's getting, if not starting, getting significant snaps is brand new. And by the way, starters don't play much in the preseason. So my take is don't go crazy on New England. I'm not sure there's a team in the league that's playing 15 to 18 guys that didn't take a snap for the team last year.

[John Middlekoff]

Yeah. And if you wanted to defend the Patriots in this individual matchup, you'd go, well, the Raiders have better players. Max Crosby, best player on the field. You'd say Brock Bauer, second best player on the field. You know, Geno Smith today is way better player than Drake May. So, you know, I mean, they just drafted a weapon top six. But even if you say Genty and Henderson cross each other out, Raiders, Colt Millers a long time. Yeah, yeah. So like you said, Jacoby Myers now has a couple years. Like he's become a really, really good player. I think we think about him like three years ago, the kind of little afterthought guy on the Patriots. He's a. He's a. I don't know if he's a. He's not like Jamar Chase or anything, but this is a. He had eight catches today for 97 yards. He's going to have enormous numbers this year playing with Chip and Brock Bowers. So, yeah, I mean, the Raiders just a better team.

[Colin Cowherd]

Yeah.

[John Middlekoff]

You know, now I, I thought the Pats with their schedule, but I'm telling you, I was nervous watching Drake may thinking, is this guy a franchise quarterback? Because we've talked over and over about that group, the six guys now. Caleb, JJ play tomorrow. We'll see how they look. You know, Pennix, if you watch him, you go, this guy's an NFL player. How good is he? What's his ceiling? Jaden Daniels, a star. I mean, he's just, he's an excellent elite player. Not all these guys are going to hit. Some of them are going to not be on the team with their second contract. Yeah, we've seen a lot of these guys. The Caney Pickets, the Mac Joneses you know, the Trey Lances we see, they go all over the place. That's, that's most NFL players, even Baker Mayfield, Sam Darnold, who have resurrected their career, think how long it took them to figure it out. So some of these guys are not going to work. And we just thought because Brable. Josh McDaniels. Well, what if it doesn't?

[Colin Cowherd]

I mean, the Raiders have the better quarterback, a Super bowl winning coach, the better left tackle, the star offensive weapon, Geno Smith went 24 of 34 for 362 yards in rain on the road. That's a pretty much an indictment. And I think. And we know Vrabel can coach. My take is New England is breaking in half their roster.

[John Middlekoff]

You know, what I wrote down is for a long time. And listen, a lot of people make fun of Mark and I get it. He has tried. He hired Gruden. He gave 10 years, 100 million. It backfired in his face. He hired Josh McDaniels. People forget the 49ers wanted Josh McDaniels. He turned them down. They got Kyle Shanahan. Like they would have gladly hired Josh McDaniels. It's. It looks terrible looking back, but it's. It was. The Colts tried to hire him. A lot of people. He had kind of changed the narrative on his career. Pete Carroll just made the Raiders look like the Raiders are a real franchise now. Are they going to win 10? Are they going to win 8? I don't know. I, I still think that division so hard that we'll see how it plays out over the course of the season. But I think the Raiders getting Pete Carroll, like, how cool is that, that you know this guy? I can't even imagine how much money he made the last six, seven years of his NFL career. Right? I mean, he was making 15, $20 million. He's in his 70s. He could have easily retired. This guy is addicted to football. He still looks as energetic as ever, chewing that gum, those big white shoes. What a cool moment for him getting a job. The Raiders, a little desperate and just kind of, I mean, kind of kicked.

[Colin Cowherd]

Their ass today, I thought, you know, so Chip Kelly's a friend. He was at my, my 60th birthday party. Chip was there with his wife. I really like Chip and Chip Kelly because of the, his NFL stuff. I always say this. He changed football. He went to Oregon. He was so dominant at college. Remember this? Midway through the second quarter, they were leading people like PAC 12 teams 42 to 10.

[John Middlekoff]

I mean, he was on runs he was, he was calling runs too.

[Colin Cowherd]

And Oregon fans who are as rabid as any on the west coast were leaving games early third quarter they were scoring 56 points. He changed the pace of college football. Then he goes to Philadelphia 10 6, 106 with BNC level quarterbacks. He and Howie Roseman. He lost the tug of war. Goes to San Francisco, doesn't work. Goes to Ohio State and Ryan Day wins in Natty goes to the Raiders. Ashton Jenny Geno Smith, Brock Bowers, Jacoby Myers, excellent left tackle. Actually the Raiders O lines pretty good. And Chip can coach O lines. They're going to be. You know, somebody said this the other day and I apologize for not calling it out. Somebody said keep your eye on the Raiders. When I watched them today, I'm like, I don't know where they're going to finish but if you told me they were going to beat the Broncos, charters and Chiefs once would buy it today. I buy that as a, as a stock.

[John Middlekoff]

Chargers Week two. That's who they play next week in. Where's that game in Vegas? That's a good, that's a really good Monday Night Football. Monday night has a double header next week which kind of sucks. But that, that's an excellent game. That's an excellent. Gino is. He could have moments throughout the season and he has these in Seattle where he kind of drives you nuts. But he, he's a fantastic story because again we talk about traits. His arms pretty elite. You watch him and Drake May today. There's no question who's got the, the more explosive arm. That's not even 36 year old guy. No.

[Colin Cowherd]

Well, I'm fired up to announce Hard Rock Bet as the Volume's new presenting sponsor. Everybody knows Hard Rock hotels and casinos are iconic for entertainment. Well now the Hard Rock Bet app brings more energy and excitement than ever to the world of sports betting. What does it mean for you? Well, here at the Volume, you'll start to see us use Hard Rock Bet's lines when talking about the biggest games, college or pro. We'll give you all the crazy stats from Hard Rock Bet Stats Hub, which is right there in the app. Plus we'll be taking the show on the road doing live broadcasts, meet and greets right from the Hard Rock properties down in Florida. The Hard Rock Bet Sportsbook apps, the only legal sportsbook whenever you're in Florida. It's also live in Arizona, Ohio, New Jersey, Indiana, Tennessee, Virginia, Illinois and Colorado with more states coming soon. So right now is the perfect time to sign up. All you have to do is place your first $5 bet. If it wins, you'll score 150 bucks in bonus bets on top of your winnings. That's $150 more dollars for you to bet this football season. If you're in New Jersey, you can also hit the Hard Rock Bet CAS app. It has all the same casino games you play at one of their properties, all your favorite games from Atlantic City, practically everything you want to bet across every sport all in the same top rated, nearly five star app. So head over. Sign up today. Join us as we get this party started with Hard Rock Bet and Roll with us all football season 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 all their states. Must be 21 plus and physically present in Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, New Jersey, Ohio, Tennessee or Virginia. Terms and conditions apply. Concerned about gambling in Florida? Call-888- admit it in Indiana. If you or somebody you know has a problem wants help, call 1-809 with it gambling problem, call 1-800- gambler Arizona, Colorado, Illinois, New Jersey, Ohio, Tennessee, Virginia.

[John Middlekoff]

This is John Middelkoff from Three and out with Jon Mittelkoff. Thursday Night Football is back and it's only on Prime Video. This week, the Washington Commanders take on the Green Bay packers, with both teams determined to prove their worth. Coverage begins at 7pm Eastern with football's best party TNF tonight presented by Verizon. Not a Prime member, Not a problem. Simply sign up for a 30 day free trial. It's the Commanders and the packers Thursday at 7pm Eastern only on Prime Video. Restrictions apply. See Amazon.com Amazon prime for details.

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[Matt Jones]

Hey, this is Matt Jones. And I'm Drew Franklin, and this is NFL Cover Zero. We think NFL coverage should be informative and entertaining. And twice a week. That is exactly what you're gonna get. We're just here to try to give you an NFL perspective a little bit different.

[John Middlekoff]

Did you see the Colts pretzel? That was my other big takeaway from that game.

[Matt Jones]

What was that?

[John Middlekoff]

Looks like something that should not be sold.

[Matt Jones]

Oh, my. So that was my other big Colts takeaway.

[John Middlekoff]

Yes.

[Matt Jones]

I might want to go back at the Colt Stadium.

[John Middlekoff]

Yeah, I might want to go back to the drawing board on that.

[Matt Jones]

Yeah.

[John Middlekoff]

I thought the shape we had with pretzels was working pretty well. It's worked for generations.

[Matt Jones]

We're just here trying to enjoy it. We hope you all will join us throughout the year. And let's go. I hope I'm as youthful as Pete.

[John Middlekoff]

Carroll is at his age.

[Matt Jones]

He's a young 73.

[John Middlekoff]

He is a young 73.

[Matt Jones]

He is spry.

[Colin Cowherd]

I wouldn't fight him.

[Matt Jones]

I would Listen NFL Cover Zero with Matt and Drew Franklin on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[John Middlekoff]

Who cares about truth when the lies more entertaining.

[Angela Rye]

Hey, everybody, I'm Angela Rye, co host of Native Lampop with Tiffany Cross and Andrew Gillum through the lens of politics and culture. We talk with you every week to make sense of this madness. I've been telling Angela, I don't even know how to fight back right now. So what I'm focused on is just looking out for ourselves.

[John Middlekoff]

That's the truth.

[Colin Cowherd]

We're having the same debates that American.

[John Middlekoff]

Households are having all over the country.

[Angela Rye]

Rest is certainly a form of self care, but if you are watching your full neighbors starve, not be able to pay bills, your rest is selfish. But the thing is, Angela, this is not the mess we created. So I do understand black folks feeling like, you know what? Y' all got it.

[Colin Cowherd]

We're like family, but we disagree all the time.

[John Middlekoff]

And we love when our listeners chime.

[Angela Rye]

What would happen if we built our own little Wakandan communities in the rural South.

[John Middlekoff]

Tiffany, do not run to no rural south on the worst. You're home.

[Angela Rye]

What our audience is asking is, okay, fine. You want me to stop resting? What specifically are you asking me to do? Stay informed and take action.

[Colin Cowherd]

Listen to Native Land pod on the.

[John Middlekoff]

Iheartradio app, Apple podcast, or wherever you.

[Colin Cowherd]

Can get your podcast. Okay. So let's go to a game that many of you did not watch. Denver 20 at home, Titans 12. Cam Ward is not working with anything. He was under. I mean, the Broncos pass rush is as good as any in the league, from what I can tell, because Callahan can coach. We all know that the offensive line coach, Cam Ward, can move. We know he's mobile. He. There were just orange jerseys a second and a half after the snap all game. And he has probably the weakest wide receiving core in the league. So I thought Cam played with a lot of poise, all things considered. Bo Nix had a rough, rough game. But not to defend my position because Denver won and Denver's got the much better roster. But I felt, you know, Sean Payton. Remember when Russell Wilson and Sean Payton, one of the things that drove. I don't know, it kind of. Russell Wilson didn't want to wear the armband, and Sean Payton said, wear the armband, reportedly. I thought Bo Nix today, they were getting to the line with, like 10 seconds. Bo was struggling to get, you know, Peyton and Drew Brees has said this. Peyton will push you to the most you can handle cognitively, the most you can handle intellectually. I thought Bo Nix today. It was almost like I wanted to say scale down the offense. This is where Russell and Sean struggled. Sean's like, where the armband. I need to do more. We need to run more plays. I thought today Bo looked a little overwhelmed just with the sets and the motion. That was my interpretation that it's week one again. Starters don't play much in the preseason anymore. This felt like almost a preseason game, that Denver was just behind on the clock too often.

[John Middlekoff]

Bo Nix was atrocious. I mean, the interception he threw coming out of half after he'd already played a brutal first half, I mean, it could have gone to both the guys. I mean, he threw it a double coverage. He was awful. Colin. Sean Payton's been telling us how great this guy is, though, and how much he can handle. And every report is like, this guy's mastered the offense. And then you watch now, I think the Titans are gonna be pretty good. I don't know if they're a playoff team, but I think they are going to be in the mix as the season goes on. Remember last year, their defense was pretty good early, but Will Levis was so bad that as the season goes on, you just kind of tap out. I do think Cam Ward, like you said, on a given pass rush, there would be orange coming from every angle of your television screen. It's like what's. I can't even imagine being that guy who's been playing like North Carolina and Boston College. Seeing that. What are you even supposed to do this. It shouldn't have been as close. But Bo Nicks that's as bad of a game as you can play. And this is the thing that defense is going to be. They're the fastest defense clearly in the NFL. They are going to probably lead the league in sacks again. They're probably going to be the top defense of the league. You're betting man right now I'd have.

[Colin Cowherd]

And they bring in Hufanga and Greenlawn. They led the league in sacks last year.

[John Middlekoff]

Yeah. So in Greenlock caused a fumble today. We saw how good Herbert was the other night. He's an elite player. Anyone who tells you otherwise A Mahomes is incredible as well. The quarterbacks, I mean Geno Smith like the quarterbacks. He's going to have to play in some of these games. Even if you have a great defense, your defense has some off games, especially on the road. You are going to need him to play a lot like he has some of these games against the better players. During a playoff game you will lose. We saw last year Herbert had an awful game and they got smoked. And this is still a quarterback coach league. I have no questions about their defense. They have good offensive weapons like Sutton's a good player. They sign Evan Ingram. They're two running backs. JK had a good run today. Harvey's explosive player the quarterback looked like. I mean he had to have one of the worst games in the entire league today.

[Colin Cowherd]

But remember last year Boneck struggled in September about game five on he was pretty good again early in September. Sean Payton's offense, Bo doesn't take a lot of preseason snaps. One of my takeaways today watching some of these games is New England. They got 15 new guys getting real snaps starting or on reserves. Sean Payton, Denver Bone. How many snaps is Bo Nicks playing in the preseason? We know Titans have a great defense. We know Jeffrey Simmons is virtually unblockable. So. And I'm not defending it. I thought he looked terrible but I know he can play because I watched last year I might take away watching him was Cam Ward despite that press rush played with a lot of poise. Bo Nix didn't play with a lot of poise and he made a couple of terrible throws. Now he did make a couple of beauties but I really feel talking to Drew Brees last year because he would come on every two weeks in the Herd. And when it comes to Sean Payton, I mean, he just says straight out, he is going to challenge you every practice and he is going to push you. Like he just the minute Russell Wilson and he connected, he was done. They just oil and water and that's a different story with Russian done. But I, I think Bo Nix will get better. Two things have happened in this league. Number one, good players don't play in the preseason. They just don't play many snaps anymore because the season's longer. So even if you do want to play a guy, I mean, you got, what are you going to play him 20 games with a 17 regular season? The second thing, offensive coaching is more sophisticated and it's more demanding. And so that's why Justin Fields impressed me so much. He's not playing that many snaps. He was great today. So I think it was a bad outing by Bo Nix, but man, when I watched that game, I'm not John. Does Denver have a top three or four roster in the league?

[John Middlekoff]

Oh, I think definitely. But that's the thing. Their next three games at the Colts, who just playing pretty well. The Chargers, who are just going to be good. The Bengals, who, you know, divisional game, weird game, but clearly that quarterback and those weapons at the Eagles, I mean, their schedule is hard. They're not just going to be able to depend on their defense making insane plays if they played a better, just a more seasoned quarterback and a better offense. You can't throw multiple picks and have fumbles and win the game. I don't care who's playing defense for you. So they got lucky that their opponent, I mean, I'm high on the Titans, they did just have the number one overall pick. You know, this isn't, you know, Eddie George and Jeff Fisher ain't walking through that door. So I think I'm a little nervous as someone that has money on them to win the division, to potentially win the afc. So it's like they got a long way to go with the quarterback. I'm with you. De defense, elite speed, offensive weapons, that little running back. It looks pretty good. But Sean told me how smart this quarterback is, how good he is on offense. Every report was like their. Their chemistry is elite. I don't know if I was expecting to watch Drew Brees because his style's a little different, but I was expecting to see it just a much, I don't know, more in tune with the offense quarterback, and he looked like he was playing his first game in college, let alone the pros.

[Colin Cowherd]

So I want to talk about A game that wasn't fun to watch. Washington 21 and the New York Giants 6. So, you know, listen, you can tell Brian Dabel got Daniel Jones into the playoffs and won a playoff game. I think Brian Dabel can coach. I don't think he's Kevin o'. Connell. I don't think he's clever like Ben Johnson. But I think, I mean, Washington, Debo got a touchdown on a reverse. Washington's going to be really fun. I do think the Giants defense is pretty special. But my take watching that today was that Russell Wilson, there's just so many three and outs or six and outs, you're going to lose that defense. First of all, they're going to be on the field too much. So they're going to get hurt if you don't play Jackson Dart by like week three. Because this is a little bit like tua. Russell doesn't see the field. Russell's older. The offensive line could not generate guard, center, guard, any openings. They could not run the ball through the middle, scatter. Boo's fun, but there were just no holes. Again, I think, I think that, you know, the receivers, I think it's Ward and Neighbors are pretty special players. They're tight ends, hit and miss, can't really catch consistently. But my take was here. You better figure out if Jackson Dart can play because next year's draft could have six quarterbacks in the first round.

[John Middlekoff]

How?

[Colin Cowherd]

I mean, listen, you know, Jackson Dart is going to get snaps. Can you go six weeks and not play him?

[John Middlekoff]

Yeah. You know, I think the old adage was like, if you listen to the fans, you'll be sitting with them. And I think there's some truth to that. Like, if Jim Harbaugh would have listened to everybody, he would have taken a wide receiver instead of Joe Alton. Like, you got to have conviction. And then there's the Russell Wilson stuff. If I was a Giants fan or just anyone watching that game, everyone's thinking to themselves, how is this yank this guy out of the game? He'd go, well, our offensive lines, atrocious. We had a lot of offensive lines throughout the league aren't great. Like you can't function with this player. It's. I don't think we've ever seen such a precipitous drop off.

[Colin Cowherd]

Not in my life.

[John Middlekoff]

I mean, Colin, he truly seeing him in his prime live, is one of the greatest players I've ever seen any sport. Like, been to a lot of games in the last 15, 20 years. All sports never see anything like this guy in his prime and he looks like if he was like a 9 out of 10 in terms of playmaking it's like a 1 out of 10 now doesn't move that fast looks very unconfident when he scrambles just it just looks bad. It looks off I gave it about the over under three and a half so right around the start of October for Jackson Dart if you told me by the time Monday morning comes around breaking news they told Jackson Dart he's going to be this what are we waiting on Their schedule's hard. It's the NFL everything's difficult as Sean Payton and Bo Nix what it was like playing the Titans I mean what do you what do you want me to tell you at least I feel like Jackson gives him it's not like Jackson's a stiff he can move around but the juice you know Malik neighbors let's face it's got a little Terrell Owens Des Bryant head case to him. You think it was bad today it's only going to get worse as the season goes on and that quarterback's taking terrible sacks and I get Andrew Thomas is injured but it's it's this guy you can't function with that and this is how the team you lose the team and I think he's scared. I think a coach would tell you well I throw him in there loses confidence. It gets ugly. Well I don't your your only other option is to have Russell Wilson Go 17 of 37 and you just get your ass kicked.

[Colin Cowherd]

Last year Brock Purdy was one in six against playoff teams. But his teammates love him. Teammates love Brock Purdy. Russell Wilson is not loved in any locker room he's been in. So he goes one in three that locker room may be done. I mean again how would they not.

[John Middlekoff]

Be out on him now?

[Colin Cowherd]

I mean if if they came out next week and at half they've got a field goal. Don't you have to consider it?

[John Middlekoff]

I I, I think you on the I guess team flight maybe they take the train they had to be thinking on the way home like what do we do what's the point of this right this is this is a guy that was shot a couple years ago and now it feels like it's getting worse and his equity, you know like Aaron Rodgers even if it was going weird in Pittsburgh his equity because he's Aaron Rodgers four time MVP is is really long even with random players on a new team. I do you think Russell Wilson has any equity with Malik Neighbors or Cam Scatter Boo or Brian Burn they don't care at all. So I. Listen, I, I, I would do it now. I don't expect him to do it now, but I, I would be stunned if we make it to October. And Russell Wilson, now here's the thing. Thing. Once you bench, bench Russell Wilson, do you just cut him and just pay him to go away? Because he's not, he's not making backup. No, he makes like $14 million, but I'm just saying. So you just keep him around.

[Colin Cowherd]

We watched Justin Fields in Pittsburgh last year, who's 4 and 2. He got benched for Russell. We watched Justin Fields today. And my takeaway is what happened in Pittsburgh. I mean, Jesus, Justin Fields had a winning record in Pittsburgh. He looked sensational today. I mean, Russell, at the end of last year in Pittsburgh, was probably the worst quarterback in the league. So it's, Listen, I understand people gravitate. It's romancing. But we have a coach in Brian Dable, that refined, cleaned up Josh Allen, got Daniel Jones to win a playoff game, you know, got that Italian kid, Tommy DeVito, that, you know, is, you know, a great story, not a great player, and got him to improve to the point where you're like, oh, he can play a little bit in this league. I mean, I'm watching. This is an opener. Usually offensive coaches, if there's a criticism in an opener, they give the quarterback too much. There wasn't any life to it. It wasn't creative. You could see Dable a couple times, too, in the red zone, kind of shaking his head like, it's there, man, it's there. This is what Sean Payton said. He's not seeing open receivers.

[John Middlekoff]

He just runs into sacks, too. He just kind of runs into a guy. I do think if, you know, owners take a lot of crap from meddling. If I own the Giants, I would be, I would tell Brian on the drive home, like, I don't want to see this player anymore. Our fans don't. I don't. His teammates don't. I know. Just because maybe he knows the offense a little bit better. Coaches always say this stuff that no one can prove. Well, he's a little better in the meeting room. Well, and then you see that you get away when you're winning, right? It's like, well, you won the game. You made some plays. When it looks like that, no one cares about all the stuff that they can't see because that's really all, that's what you get paid to do. Play those 60 minutes. You watch Jaden Daniels and I get Washington's better offensively and he's a much better player. He's in a different universe that you would, you would lose to them 10 out of 10 times if you had a 10 game series simply because the quarterback, even if you played your best game, he's just so much better as a play. Russell, there's, there's no place even just the basic stuff, dink and dunk and then the playmaking is just, it doesn't exist.

[Colin Cowherd]

Yeah. And I thought, I thought in this game, by the second half a Washington defensive players. How many times can you be out in the field? I mean I listen gasped. I mean Terry McLaurin didn't practice a lot. So I give Washington a little pass in the opener. I took the Giants plus six and a half today because I thought McLaurin didn't practice much. Debo's a new piece. You know, they're still to some degree even though they, it's weird they got to the NFC championship but, but to some degree with a roster, John, it's a little bit of a rebuild. This is not a stacked roster. It was the worst conference championship roster since Andrew Luck to the Colts there and got smoked by New England at 11 and 5. Remember that team where they played in the conference championship just got the, you know what kicked out of him. It's not a great roster. So I do think Washington will get better. But I, I, I do think there's a point where Russell's never been. He wasn't popular when he was winning. He wasn't popular in the room. He's not popular now. He's kind of disconnected and now he's got kids, he's married. Not hanging out with the young players. If they trailed 14 to nothing at half next week, I think you'd have to consider Jackson Dart enters the third quarter.

[John Middlekoff]

I'm with you really quick on Washington. I understand he was a second pick. So the expectations were high. He had just been awesome in college. It's watching Jaden Daniels. It's crazy how good the kid is because obviously in the pocket his throws, I mean he's a very natural and then his playmaking is what guys like Russell Wilson used to be. It's only one game, but Deebo Samuel looked pretty reinvigorated. He had seven catches. He had the end around. And this is a contract year guy like you said, Terry McLaurin's been out all training camp, holding out. So once as he gets going, you add McLaren with him. With Jaden, the offense could be a little more even complete than it was last year. Now defensively, I mean, they're playing Russell Wilson, so we'll see him play better teams. But their offense might have, you know, Ertz is still making plays at an older age. So I. This Washington offense got a chance to be pretty good because that quarterback, he resurrected a dead frame. The franchise was dead dead. I mean, he resurrected the franchise.

[Colin Cowherd]

So I want to talk about. There's a couple games I don't think are worthy of great discussion. Rams beating the Texans was pretty sloppy. So Tyler Dunn is a guy that I used to bring on the Herd. I still do about once, twice a year. I brought him on this podcast. He wrote a story about Ryan Poles. Did you read that story about Ryan Poles, the Bears?

[John Middlekoff]

I read about half of it and then I read a lot of the clips of it.

[Colin Cowherd]

Yeah. And so it's pretty damning. So I'm not a huge Ryan Poles fan. I think the ownership's weak. Kevin Warren hasn't, you know, hasn't proven anything yet. I would not have given Ryan Poles a new contract. But be that as it may, he got it. The story basically says that it was rigged. He was taking Caleb Williams. He apparently thought Caleb was the best quarterback in the draft and J.J. mcCarthy was second best. Okay, I understanding like, like in Caleb Williams, there's a lot of horsepower. He's got a big arm. He's sensational talent, but not. And not loving Drake May. I knew people that didn't love him. Apparently he didn't think much of Jaden Daniels, which I think is impossible. I can remember before the draft saying Jaden Daniels is going to. He's going to look like Lamar Jackson. I remember saying this five times on the air. He's going to look a lot like Lamar Jackson, but way better in the pocket early. Like he was virtually can't miss. He was going to be an excellent with Cliff Kingsbury and Terry McLaurin. My thing was he's skinny. I hope he doesn't get hurt, but he's going to be wildly productive. He's just really, really talented. Now he's better than I thought. On third down he's better. Closing drives, he much more. I've never seen a rookie quarterback that poised. I mean if you'd never seen him before, you'd think he's a seven year player. I think he's better than Andrew Luck was as a rookie. I think he makes fewer mistakes. I think he moves better. I think he's better than Andrew Luck, who I thought was sensational. Eleven and five of the Colts with a terrible roster. I think he's better than that, but it comes across really dysfunctional. And some of the reports about how they. Their words, not mine. Dumb down the offense. Ready, set, hike. Basically, I mean, I have never gone into a Monday Night Football game in Week 1 and been more interested in a team that may finish in fourth place. I mean, you have to watch the Vikings tomorrow. I thought that game would be about J.J. mcCarthy. After that article. It's about Caleb Williams. Do you think there's a chance that he's awful? That it doesn't work?

[John Middlekoff]

Yeah, I mean, I think there is 100% a chance that he is one of the worst quarterbacks in his class. I mean, I think it has a chance to get very, very weird. And some of it has to do in that article about the personality.

[Colin Cowherd]

Right.

[John Middlekoff]

A big part of that was he wouldn't listen to the coaches. He would storm off. Then I think that the people pushing back would go, well, it's a bunch of people that got fired. It's clear that all the offensive coaches got fired are saying this. The thing that I heard from my scouting buddies last year that was undefensable is you go, well, it's easy to take Caleb Williams. No one will give you shit because the media, and rightfully so, said he was one of the best prospects in recent memory. His job is not the media. His job is do what's best for the Bears. Remember Adam Peters when he had the second pick and he knew Caleb was going one, which you shouldn't. I mean, he brought in every single quarterback.

[Colin Cowherd]

Yes.

[John Middlekoff]

And he took him to topgolf and people freaked. It said, how could you bring in them all? And he just let them all be and he kind of judged them, how they interacted. You don't think he was leading Jaden Daniels the whole time. But part of doing your due diligence is, hey, this is a great quarterback draft class. So I'm bringing Bo Nix, Drake, May, JJ and Pettix with Jaden and just letting the cream kind of rise with some other players. And he took a ton of. That's his job. They never brought in another quarterback. And even in this article it said, even if you cut it in half, how do you not bring in Jaden Daniels and either Drake, May or JJ McCarthy then to your building? You get 30 people allowed to bring in. And they didn't bring them in. They didn't work out any of these guys. There was no disputing that he was dead set on Caleb Williams. That's where I think some of their freaking out about the VR stuff. You know, him using virtual reality, Jaden Daniels and Ryan Paul's freaking out is we need to get Caleb on that. We'll buy it. And they're like, what if he doesn't use it? And the coaches were like, well, make him use it. This is a mom and pop shop. This is not a high level operation. And while Ryan polls came highly recommended from Andy and the Chiefs, he has felt a little arrogant. I mean you go back to his comment when he got the job back, tell the packers we're going to start dominating this division. It's like no one you think Andy Reid's never talked like that in 30 years being a head coach in the league. Like, come on man, just pump the brakes.

[Colin Cowherd]

He drafted.

[John Middlekoff]

So then you watch last year.

[Colin Cowherd]

Yeah, he drafted Vilas Jones in the third round who could not track the ball. In three years at usc, it was understood he could not track the ball.

[John Middlekoff]

Traded a second round pick for Chase Claypool. I mean once upon a time he's made some atrocious moves. Listen, the trade for Caleb Williams to get the number one pick was fantastic with the Panthers and even taking Caleb Williams is a defensible move. But not bringing in the other guys and getting to know the people. What has Washington said from the moment they have got Jane Daniels obviously on the field? My mom can tell you he's a good player. We freaking love the guy. Like how could this guy be such a hot. It was what they used to say about Lux. Like everyone just loves this human being. Every question I see about Caleb Williams is like, yeah, he holds on the ball a little bit but like, what's his deal? Whenever I hear what's his deal at quarterback, I'm out. Yeah, I'm out. And there have been enough people. That's not something you overcome. Right. Looking back, like what Did Baker really butt heads with Odell Beckham? I think as time went on, maybe it wasn't all Baker, but he was just in a weird spot. This has been. There have been some question marks going back with Caleb in college, you know, in the. Dad, I mean, listen, I understand. I don't. I never had a son with the talent of Caleb. Hopefully my son's talented. We'll find out. But like the dad won equity. It's just been a lot of noise. And when I watch Jaden Daniels, no noise. Hell, JJ McCarthy, he's been injured, not his fault. But there's no noise about the guy. Yeah, there's just Way too much noise with this guy. You can't tell me it's all other people. Like, eventually Caleb has to take some blame. And I'm telling you, we were together when this happened. It was weird extending the backup quarterback when they did not need to. It would not be weird if Patrick Mahomes or Josh Allen was your quarterback and you just went, hey, this is great value. We love this kid. We want an asset. You have this quarterback, which is clearly pretty. I, I would just say there's a lot going on. You would want to quiet everything. So for them to do that. I think part of this article too was like, Ben Johnson's gained more and more juice. You're telling me the, the GM did that?

[Colin Cowherd]

If he loves the starting quarterback, Johnson, when he signed Tyson be remember some of the comments at a press conference, he's like, man, this guy is super sharp, this guy.

[John Middlekoff]

Hardest worker in the building.

[Colin Cowherd]

Yeah, it's like, you shouldn't probably say that. I mean, when, when Sean Payton signed Jared Stidham, I think it was when he had Russell, he's like, oh, he's a good player. And that was it out of respect to Russell. Like, this guy was like, he's the sharpest guy. I mean, it's unbelievable how good he's been. That to me, was a message. People say things for a reason in the NFL. And you know, I. All I know is Vikings, Bears, has these guys could be tied for fourth. It's going to get a monster number. That's all I know.

[John Middlekoff]

It's going to get a lot of juice. I, I do think it's really hard to overcome. You know, you saw like you said today about Sam Darnold, it's kind of a natural movement form to hold the ball low right and bring it up. And that was an undoing. It's been something that he's always battled with. When you hold on to the ball, it's not often like, hey, this guy had a problem. He just held onto the ball forever. And then five years into his career, it's like, well, he just gets rid of it like he's Peyton or Tom. Now that's not usually the way it works, right? You watch Jaden Daniels, he can get rid of it in a. In a heartbeat. Party can get rid of it really quick. If it's like, it's just, it comes natural or it doesn't. I do think there's no one, just no one's ever argued about like Caleb Williams arm, like he's got an explosive arm. He just holds onto the ball for a long time. So even if we just talk strictly football, none of the off the field stuff, that is just a fundamental, I would say that's not the way that Ben Johnson has ever wanted to operate. His success came from a guy that got rid of the ball.

[Colin Cowherd]

Everything with Ben Johnson's offense and Kyle's is timing. They are timing offenses. Caleb doesn't play on time. It's going to be, I think it's going to be problematic. John Middlekoff, former NFL Scout Our first foray. I'm going to go watch the Bills and the Ravens. I know you are as well, buddy. Nice job.

[John Middlekoff]

See you, buddy.

[Colin Cowherd]

The volume from Omaha Productions, NFL Films and Vice TV. NFL Classics after further review relives the NFL's biggest games with the legends who played him and the fans who never forget. Not just a rewatch, but the untold stories behind the plays that made history. This week, host Kyle Brandt is joined by Heidi Gardner and Eric Stonestreet For Super Bowl 54, Chiefs and Niners that game made Patrick Mahomes a household name. It ended Kansas City's 50 year title drought and launched a new dynasty. Don't miss NFL Classics After Further review, Wednesdays at 9 only on Vice TV.

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[Matt Jones]

Hey, this is Matt Jones and I'm Drew Franklin and this is NFL Cover Zero. We're just here to try to give you an NFL perspective a little bit different. Did you see the Colts pretzel?

[John Middlekoff]

That was my other big takeaway from that game.

[Matt Jones]

What was that? Oh my. We think NFL coverage should be informative and entertaining and twice a week. That is exactly what you're going to get. Listen NFL Cover Zero with Matt Jones and Drew Franklin on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast.

[John Middlekoff]

Who cares about truth when the lies More entertaining.

[Angela Rye]

Welcome home. I'm Angela Rye, co host of the Native Lamp with Andrew Gillum and Tiffan, and we want y' all to survive and thrive in this political moment.

[Colin Cowherd]

We're having the same debates that American.

[John Middlekoff]

Households are having all over the country.

[Angela Rye]

I am terrified that in our rest, we're going to miss the moment. You want me to stop resting? What specifically are you asking me to do? Stay informed and take action.

[Colin Cowherd]

Listen to Native Land Pod on the.

[John Middlekoff]

Iheartradio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Colin Cowherd]

I'm Dan.

[John Middlekoff]

He's Ty. Hello.

[Colin Cowherd]

And we're the Solid Verbal College Football Podcast. Tune in for previews, recaps, bits you won't hear anywhere else, and all the emotional support you need as a college football fan.

[John Middlekoff]

Join us all season long as we ride the rollercoaster of this ridiculous sport. Listen to the solid verbal college football podcasts on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. We don't just love college football, Ty.

[Colin Cowherd]

We live it.

[Angela Rye]

This is an iHeart podcast.