Steve Mensch (3:40)

Yes.

Mitch McShay (3:41)

First ever award. Yeah. For the podcast. It's awesome. If you haven't checked it out, please do. Exciting things going on at the Ringer Spotify podcast world and we obviously were announced going to Netflix. I just want to say we're going to be on YouTube for now. We have a, as everyone's calling it, a robust content schedule coming up with the college football playoffs with the Senior bowl coming up. Didn't want to make this transition. We're protecting our audience for the moment and a large chunk of our audience because when we started we were a video podcast and a large chunk of our audience, thankfully, and we appreciate everyone who has been involved and supported this show. Joined us via YouTube on the video there. And we have our live shows and the national championship live show that we'll be doing next Monday night. Come join us. We've been doing it for every Saturday night primetime game, if you're not familiar. And we also have done it throughout the college football playoffs. So we'll be back for one final college football, you know, post game show but also with a break into the late, late in the national championship game. But right now we, we care deeply about our audience and there's some things to work out. I want to let everyone know this isn't like breaking news. It's like what's going on? Why isn't the McShay show gone with, you know, Bill Simmons show and, and, and all the other podcasts that were announced with the ringer with Netflix. We're, we're actually just kind of trying to do the right thing by our audience right now and I want to make it abundantly clear, no person, very few people I've ever worked with have been more supportive. No person has been more supportive of making sure that we're comfortable, this show is comfortable and that our audience is comfortable with the progressions that we're making. We've only been around 315 months, not even 15 full months. So we're just, we're making those progressions. Hopefully things will work out. We'll be part of the second wave, if you will, to Netflix, but for now it's status quo. So I just wanted to give our audience an update. I feel like they deserve that. As yesterday, I believe, was the, was the launch of the, you know, some of the shows going to the. From the ringer, going to Netflix. And I know Bill Simmons had his, his Sunday night show after the Patriots won their playoff game so against the Chargers. And so that's the update. We gotta. We're gonna have the McShay report coming out this week. Everything else, everything is normal. Nothing changes. Google subscribe. All you got to do is Google the McShay Report. It's. We're. We're kind of launching things off for the NFL draft and getting a little deeper into the weeds. Had a huge Mach 1.0. The, you know, the subscriptions and everything in the. And the audience has been wonderful and we're expecting a monster few months here on the show. So with that all said, I want to revisit it and on when. Well, we'll tape probably Wednesday late night and then Thursday morning we'll release the show and do more of a preview to the national championship game with just a few days away. Today though, I promised on Saturday night, Steve and I want to fulfill our promises that we would go back and just kind of, I don't want to say gloss over. We're not going to do this long deep dive into Mendoza versus Becky. But I wanted to point out a couple of things when you go back and watch the coach copy tape, because we said as we were reviewing those games, I'm really excited to watch the tape. Okay. And when we come back on for Thursday's show, we'll get into the defenses and Bain and Macedore and all those other things and preview, preview that national championship game. But today I wanted to get to, to Mendoza and Becky. I started with Mendoza. Okay. Yep. And watch that tape versus Oregon. There were only like 13 key plays. When you, when you do the cut ups. Right. Felt like there would be a lot more. There were 21 for Beck. I watched the whole Game. But I also went and really study those 13 key plays as well. A couple things jumped out. A couple of them are Indiana based and schematic and a couple things are Mendoza. Okay, let me rip through my notes and I want to get your responses to what I'm saying. Okay. I. You offensively loves to go four man receiver sets and sometimes it's three receivers with a tight end. Sometimes they'll flex a running back out there. But they especially like to go two by two, meaning two receivers to the right, two receivers to the left, two guys that are going to go out and run routes. It's a four man route tree if you will or route combination two, two, two by two. Okay. That allows Fernando with a motion typically pre snap to identify manner zone and then have a recognition of who.

Steve Mensch (8:31)

What the.

Mitch McShay (8:31)

What the read is. A lot of times that read is based off of the cornerback, right. So if you motion a guy from one side to the next to the other or within that, you know the structure of right to left, you're going to get a sense whether a linebacker or safety's traveling with. If that's the case, it's man to man. If, if there's no travel, which was the case frequently against Oregon, it's zone. And so with that then it becomes all right, what that. That identifies what my read is and where I'm going to determine.

Steve Mensch (9:02)

Can I interrupt real quick? It also affects safety alignment. So like play two of the game, I'm saying the exact same thing as you're saying, right? You're using motion, you're motioning Cooper left to right. You got Surat a wide left emotion Cooper left to right. And the safety drops. And as soon as that safety drops, Mendoza knows he has access to Surat. The corner's off, he knows he's got Surat underneath if he wants him. So not only affects whether you're seeing man or zone, it's affecting defensive backs alignment and giving him bigger windows to throw into. Sorry, go ahead.

Mitch McShay (9:32)

No, it's exactly it. So if. So if the read is the cornerback, not always, but. But frequently if the re. The initial read is the cornerback, if the cornerback squats right then you're going to work to the perimeter wide receiver some somewhere between that. That corner and the. In the safety in that zone area. We call it like you know, whether It's a Cover 2 beater between the corner and safety along the right or left rail. Whatever it is. If the cornerback carries that perimeter receiver, meaning he turns and runs with which would be man to man or like a Cover 3, right then, then you're going to typically work to the slot receiver and whatever he's doing. Because that typically is a matchup that they're looking to create with their slot receiver versus a running back or a safety advantage. I you right. So with that as the backdrop when Oregon sent five, this is the other thing. When they did pressure Mendoza versus those two by two looks, two receivers to the right and left, two targets each. I saw a calm in Mendoza that I really like. You know, evaluating quarterbacks for 25 years now you really come to appreciate. He knew where his reed was. He knows the pressure's coming. He had his protection set, right. And then it was target typically targeting the outside receiver. Because they're sending five. There's going to be a safety rotation. That safety rotation is going to tell him right or left and it becomes a half field read. And a lot of times in those situation he liked to go that back shoulder to Surat. Because I've got a man, I've got a one on one situation on the outside. Let's go to Surat. And in a throw that he has become a master class at and a route that Surat has become master class at running even like the Charlie Becker touchdown, you remember that, that play there's a 36 yard touchdown catch. Again, it was two by two and after an entire first quarter actually doing the two by two combos, they showed two by two. We kept the number two, number two on the. The outside receiver is the one and then you work inside. So the number two would be the, the. The next receiver in which would be the slot here. And in this case it was the tight end, number 31. They kept that number two on that side into block. So what did that do? Exactly what you're talking about, Mitch. It affected the safety. The safety has to move up. So it's like you always see coaches do this, right? That's, that's the, the safety. It's you know inverted so that this, if this and I learned this a long, long time ago picture when you're reading defensive coverages like when there's a rotation or a blitz every. There's. There's always someone on a string. So if this Safety, if there's two high safeties here, right. If you're watching on YouTube or Spotify, you can see if not just visualize. I've got two fists in the air. If one, if one kind of look weird. If one safety comes rotating down to help cover, he becomes more of an inbox safety, this safety has a string on him and becomes more of a center fielder. Right. Because they've got it, they've got to make sure they have coverage behind it. So when 31 stays in the block, you. You've walked that, that one safety up into the box. And what has that done that has made it harder? If you have two high safeties, the one on that side can get to the sideline a lot easier. By walking him up, you've put one center fielder who's got to kind of COVID deep on both sides. And the second the ball snap, Mendoza's eyes go to his left. That brings that safety cheating just a little to his left. And then he pops his head back around man to man, perfect placement, head top catch. And it was allowed by the offensive structure and by Mendoza's eyes. He's doing a lot of those things.

Steve Mensch (13:36)

Listen, I saw the same thing. It was amazing to me. He saw the. So Becker was into the boundary. So the boundary safety walks up a little bit. Mendoza's like, I don't even need to mess with you. Like, I know when you're here, you can't get back and defend that route. And I know that that and Oregon got into trouble a little bit there too because they try to mask the, the look a little bit. Instead of rotating what you might call the free safety or the deep safety or would you would call the. The field safety. I would call. Instead of rotating him early, they waited try to, I think to try to muddy the look.

Mitch McShay (14:06)

Yep.

Steve Mensch (14:06)

Of course by, by waiting and Mendoza using his eyes to freeze him a little bit. There is zero way that guy can get over and make that play. Now that. That's the mental part of it. But the execution of the throw, there's still a corner running with Becker. I mean that is an absolute dime that he throws to Becker. So you got the mental aspect of it, understanding how they're attacking this defense, what the defense is trying to do to him and, and processing it lightning fast. And then there's the execution of the throw. I mean these, the. I'm seeing a lot of the same plays that are jumping out, are jumping out to me that were jumping out to you.

Mitch McShay (14:44)

And then you like 1423rd quarter. Right recognizes the cat blitz, a cornerback blitz. Again, everyone's on a string. The cornerback's gonna come, there's gonna be. There's gonna be defensive back rotation with it. But the cat blitz comes, he recognizes it. That creates a one on one for the. Of the safety versus Surat. This wasn't a huge play, but it was a 15 yard comeback route. And these are the things as evaluators that you're watching. Like, all right, corner blitz. Is he going to pick up the matchup, the mismatch? Now you got Surat, who's their best receiver versus a safety. Love that matchup all day long. But you've got to identify it. You got to get the ball out on time because now you've got a fifth rusher. And he does both of those things with ease, with a calm about him. Balls out on time, Surat goes to come back. It's right there along the sideline bank. First down. My, my takeaway is schematically I use not reinventing the wheel. They're blocking things up. They don't make, they, they hardly make any mistakes. So yeah, your guy might be bigger, he might be taller, he might be longer, he might be stronger, he might be faster. But if we're always doing the right thing in terms of where we're supposed to be, pre snap recognition, protection, set proper angles, proper technique, buy just enough time for Mendoza. Mendoza's eyes are where they should be. He understands where his reach. There's no indecision and that's where they get opposing college teams.

Steve Mensch (16:20)

There's.

Mitch McShay (16:21)

If you almost always are decisive and making the right reads and blocking with the right technique and making the right throws, the odds are stacked in your favor. And I have to laugh when people are like, you know, they're going to go back and they're going to figure out that there was, there was sign stealing. It's like the Michigan thing or, you know, they're like, get out of here, man.

Steve Mensch (16:42)

I get, I get why people are saying it because not only Mendoza, I, it's ridiculous, you know, without, without any kind of proof, it's ridiculous to say that. Let me, let me start feeding into this.

Mitch McShay (16:54)

When we went back and watched Michigan within that cloud with that information, we could. Oh, they didn't. Oh yeah, they did know this. They don't. That's not normally what they do. But they did this here because you go back and watch Indiana, it's like, no, they're doing what they do. They're just doing it at such a high level of execution. But if you'd like stopping it, if.

Steve Mensch (17:14)

You'Re looking at it and it just. Indiana has all the answers. They have all the answers to what? They had every answer to what Oregon's defense was trying to do to them.

Mitch McShay (17:24)

But they also executed it correct.

Steve Mensch (17:27)

But it's not just Mendoza. It's the offensive line, it's the backs, it's the tight ends, it's the receivers. They. I mean Doza deserves all the credit in the world. That entire offensive unit, whether they, who, who what their responsibilities are in protections, how they need to adjust the route to a certain coverage, if they need to make a contested catcher or just have to make a play, all of them are executing it is, I mean it's just incredible to watch at the, the level that this team is playing at is unique. It's just unique.

Mitch McShay (18:01)

I'll make two final comments and Mendoza and we can swap. When I'm watching him, it's pre snap recognition. It's fast eyes post snap. It's. It's deciphering coverages. It's. It's ball placement, it's precision. It's occasionally utilized that mobility and throw on the run occasionally usually utilize that mobility and take off and run. He's just a machine right now swinging it forward to the NFL. We're not having this conversation today but it's going to be a lot of fun for the next few months when he doesn't have these answers that are, I don't want to say simple but are very like they're drilled into him and what they're doing in defensive structures in the NFL are going to be more complex. That first read is not going to lead to as many answers to the as is happening at Indiana. How far back to the pack does that bring him early in his career? What's that going to look like? Those are conversations I'm excited to have over the next few months. But right now his efficiency level in this system doing what is asked of him is it's, it's as high as you can imagine. Like he's not Joe Burrow. I'm not saying but like it's hard to find a better example of a quarterback within the structure of their offense. It's playing at a level like since Joe Burrow in 2019. Right.

Steve Mensch (19:25)

That's fair. That is that I think that's 100 fair. I will also say this, that every time I criticize Mendoza I catch heat about, you know, I just don't like Mendoza. Which has been, I mean ridiculous. I, I've said all along that I think he's a high end quarterback prospect but I don't give a. So I'm just going to tell you this. He also got away with a couple I think in this game and he's not. He's human. He is human. I mean the, the touchdown pass to Surat where Surat cuts in on the three yard line underneath the outside receiver in the Oregon corners for some reason just reading Surat the whole time and doesn't jump. It kind of shades of the Malcolm Butler play against Seattle where Butler actually jumped the route and picked off the pass. It was a great defensive call by Oregon. It's the exact defensive call you want because the corners aren't getting rubbed. They're not bumping into each other. They're sitting and reading on that. And for some reason the corner, instead of getting his eyes on Mendoza on the ball, just watches Seurat. That's a play that, I mean he got away with one I think there. And it ends up looking like a touchdown. It looks like a great play. True. There was a. There was another one where he had the ball tipped where if I think if the ball hadn't been tipped at the line of scrimmage it was going to be in harm's way. That's two out of the plays. Two of the plays he had. There was also a drop. I think he was unbelievable in this game. But as we're going to spin this forward to next week, let's not pretend that that Fernando Mendoza is, you know, can't be. Can't be stopped or can't be defended or they can't slow him down enough. There's some things that jumped out too that I think are worth noting.

Mitch McShay (20:56)

Pressuring him up the middle while keeping contain and get doing it with a four man rush is about the only way I can think of because you've got to have extra defenders right back in coverage and in Miami it has proven to be capable of that. Which, which makes it an interesting matchup.

Steve Mensch (21:14)

I think we can like Mendoza without putting him and. Or love Mendoza's game and love the way that Indiana's playing right now without like while keeping some perspective. I think that would be nice. Sorry, just thought.

Mitch McShay (21:25)

No, no. I. Yeah. And we'll have this conversation. You know. Is he. He's not. He's not Burrow. He's not Caleb talent wise. He's not Jaden talent wise. He's not Drake May talent wise. So like there. Yeah. There's a lot of conversations to have. So then I go and put on the Beck tape. Carson Beck vs. Ole Miss and what. Which almost isn't fair.

Steve Mensch (21:49)

It's not and it wasn't. It was hard. I had to keep that in mind. I did. I. I wish I had done it the other way around. I did it the same way you.

Mitch McShay (21:56)

Didn'T I started to think that and I said, but you know what? Life isn't fair. So this is a great way to do it actually, you know, because the bar is set really high.

Steve Mensch (22:07)

It is.

Mitch McShay (22:07)

And then, you know, early on he misses that throw to Tony. Tony breaks free. There's a breakdown in coverage. He. He throws the ball and it maybe there was a slight miscommunication on where Tony was supposed to break, but the throw is off target down the field. I'm trying to think there were, there were other. And there's a down the throw. Oh yeah, the skinny post is down. Fourth quarter, 313 remaining. Fourth quarter. That skinny post when he was. Yeah. Play 79 where he. It was a terrible throw. Yeah.

Steve Mensch (22:37)

Receivers got inside leverage on the corner. He's on the inside.

Mitch McShay (22:40)

He's not in position to come back.

Steve Mensch (22:43)

Yeah. You're not dropping the ball over and trying to hit him in stride. You just need to drive that ball and hit the receiver in the numbers. It's a, it's an easier downfield throw. And he was short by a lot.

Mitch McShay (22:54)

At his feet and it felt like no conviction to that throw.

Steve Mensch (22:58)

Right. That's a number. That's a ball you want a pro quarterback to complete nine out of 10 times. And that wasn't, it was not a good throw.

Mitch McShay (23:05)

I'll say this and we'll get back to. There are some positive, a lot of positives to take from Beck too.

Steve Mensch (23:13)

Yes.

Mitch McShay (23:15)

I did like first and foremost, I think Beck and I know we wear it out, but the 2,881 snaps and the most experienced guy. And by the way, I just looked it up now we have had four teams playing the national championship during this 12 team playoff. All four of them with 2100 plus snaps coming into the playoffs. I'm just saying experience is critical in this, in this tournament, if you will. But back to Miami, they like. While Indiana's more high, High percentage of 2 by 2, 4 receiver sets. 2 by 2. When Miami's in a 4 receiver set, which is quite often, it's, it's a lot of three by one. Okay.

Steve Mensch (23:57)

With the bunches.

Mitch McShay (23:58)

Yeah, with the bunch sets. Right. And so they'll have three receivers. It could be a tight end or a fullback or right back. But they'll have three men going out for com, you know, some kind of route combination on one side and that will isolate a receiver on the other side. Right. And by doing that, there's two things you're trying to accomplish. If, if the defense is given too much respect to that isolated receiver on one side, it means they're probably going to be in trouble versus the three on the other side. And the other thing they're trying to accomplish, especially versus man, those bunch sets three guys going out, you know, deploying on one side of the field creates a lot of traffic and a lot of mesh opportunities picks if you want to call them right. And that came to fruition. There was the one Marion, who had a monster game, best of his season, you know, the senior I've talked about, who I think is a day three prospect, but kind of a later round guy, but stepping up big in big moments. Also a return guy, but he, he leaked free due to a miscommunication with a three by one right to the left side. What was interesting on that play and it leads me to something else. Carson Beck starts rolling as pressure starts to come. He starts rolling a little bit to the right which would get him away from those three receivers and would really kind of limit. But then he stops and pops down the field when. When Marion comes open and, and by rolling to his right, that corner, who was for Ole Miss, who was covering Marion early, got his eyes caught in the backfield and it's like, oh, he's not throwing back here. So I'm going to go help out to that side. Cheats over there and Marion breaks free down the middle. So some interesting stuff from Beck. The point that brought me to is he's not Jaden or Caleb or Lamar or any of those guys. Right. But my goodness, the. The added element of mobility in his game since he's come to Miami inside the pocket, sensing pressure, occasionally taking off and running so the defenses are aware, have to be aware of him. Has really opened up things and I think has really given evaluator something to look at with Beck because I felt like at Georgia it was a lot more like confined to pocket, go through the structure just in playing tight and all that stuff. And we started to notice it in the very, you know, very earlier in the season against Notre Dame. Right. I think this about Beck, the maneuvering, anticipating the pressure, all those things. The mobility part is very much improved. Obviously big strong arm, has the ability to make a lot of throws with energy. He's gotten smarter and by playing a little bit more loose and free, but also drawing on his experience, he struck a pretty good balance between when it's time to roll and let it rip and carry. An offense versus our defense is great. We're running the football, let's play smart, efficient ball security brand of football. If you will. I also think I'm seeing a guy who's the biggest difference in favor of Beck. For me, he's more easily and more comfortable comfortably working through full feed field reads. Whereas Mendoza, in part because of the scheme and how, how effective he is making that one read off of what he sees pre snap. It's a lot of half field reads now. I've seen Mendoza plenty of times this year work right to left or left to right. I'm not saying he can't. He's tall, he's got a lot of experience. But Beck is like. It looks more nfle.

Steve Mensch (27:39)

Yeah. Mendoza's a little smaller sample size. We've seen him do it and we're. It's not. It's something we're saying he can't do it, but it's a smaller sample size we've seen of him having to go through those kind of reads.

Mitch McShay (27:50)

So just some things to, to look at, I think. Carson, go ahead.

Steve Mensch (27:56)

Yeah, I was gonna say this. When they. I do like when Miami goes two by two, they do a stacked release and they do a really good job using the guy on the line of scrimmage to clear out space for the guy underneath. A couple things on Beck is that I thought the ball placement could have been better. At times I felt like, you know.

Mitch McShay (28:10)

The downfield stuff is still an issue for a guy who's even good.

Steve Mensch (28:14)

Even some of the completed passes, let's put it in a place where you get a little more yak. I felt like there was a couple of them that he could have been a little more accurate, could have been a little bit crisper with what he was doing. But I will say this play, 93rd and 10 late in the game, they, they run this. They run this kind of concept where Malik. It's almost like play action with how the linebackers are reacting to Malachi Tony. The Ole Miss linebackers are probably kicking themselves for this, but they have Tony in the slot and he runs a whip route and you see the linebackers from Ole Miss jump up. If he catches that ball as good as Malachi Tony is, I would say that's like 70, 30. They're going to tackle him before he gets the first down. But the outside receiver curls behind those linebackers and, and Beck sees it. He waits on it. He doesn't rush it. Wait till the receiver to clear the corner and then delivers an absolute strike for the first down. I mean, seasonal. And he wasn't playing all that well at that point. He was playing okay, but that that ball was like that. I wrote down that maybe the throw of his career, maybe the, the biggest throw he's ever made in his career. It was an unbelievable play. And then on the next play he makes another. I think that was the play you were talking about where he throws outside on the comeback and then he. Then he runs in for the score on the same series. To me I was on the very next play. I wrote. Okay, game started to slow down for him and not as only starting to slow down for him and he's starting to get a rhythm. It's at the biggest point of the game, the biggest point of the season. To me. Carson Beck almost on those two throws showed me more than he had showed me, you know, in a long time.

Mitch McShay (29:49)

Couple things that are interesting for the national championship game and again on Thursday, we'll, we'll do a much bigger breakdown.

Steve Mensch (29:54)

Dying to get into this right now.

Mitch McShay (29:55)

I know, I know but let me just. Let me. This will be a teaser. I think we got to keep the flea flickers and some of the trick stuff that's been really, really effective for, for Miami. Keep it in the bag. Indiana doesn't. They're. Unless you completely catch them off guard and it's completely out of character. Indiana just like it's just not going to work. They're too disciplined. I think this is a game where Miami has to line up and be like our guys are bigger and stronger. Starting with, with Maui Noah at right tackle 61 like and, and pound away and then hit, hit your spots, play actions and create some one on ones with Tony. That matchup against d' Angelo Pons is going to be fascinating to watch. Will they move ponds around? You know all that. But this is a game where you have to walk in and say we're the you. We're bigger, we're stronger, we're faster. We gotta stop with the penalties. Over 100 penalties this season. We gotta stop being cute. We have got to show them we are the most talented team in the country and we're going to win on talent and by just shoving it right up you know where. Okay, the other part that's fascinating to.

Steve Mensch (31:11)

Me still might not be good enough by the way, but go ahead.

Mitch McShay (31:13)

Now don't disagree, but we'll get into that. All right, you know what time it is? It's time to get into a special segment of the show called Home Field Advantage. Brought to you by our good friends at the Home Depot. The place to go build your dream game day setup on your own home field. Whether it's the tailgate. Your backyard or your living room. I've been telling you all for months. I'm in love with Home Depot. I'm also in love with their delivery man. I live in a coastal town. It's like 20 minutes to get on the highway anywhere. I told you. I had a major project in the backyard setting up an outdoor shower. I had some issues going on with my grill. We had a big party for Tate's birthday and we needed a heater because it started to get cold in late October. You know what I did for all three of them? I got in contact with Home Depot. I got a delivery set up. I actually went the first time myself and got about half the things I actually needed. And so I had to do the delivery as well. So I'm a big Home Depot guy. As I'm getting older and I'm starting to try to do things myself around the house. I can't do it without Home Depot. And since we're talking about home field and the advantage that it brings, Mitch, you got to admit, it was a deal with that Oregon game against Indiana, and it's going to be a deal in the national championship game. Home field advantage is a thing, man. Like, we saw Indiana where it was like witness protection for the Oregon fans, right? And Indiana rolls in this. People were saying it was like 80, 20. It might have been more the crowd noise, the, like, you sensed it from when they first walked on the field. Indiana had like this whole. They were in an arena, like gladiator days, you know, and they had everything working for them. Now it's fascinating because you've got this like, it's not like we're going to kneeling. Kneeling stadium or the big house or, you know, or the shoe. We're going to Miami's home stadium. But it has not historically been this massive home field advantage necessarily. And you got that same Indiana fan base that's been waiting almost 100 years for something like this in football. They've seen it in basketball, but they are starved. And we saw it in this, in this most recent game. You're telling like they're. They're going to empty the, the bank accounts to get down to Miami. Good time of year to get down there too, by the way. Let's spend a few days. Let's get in the sun. And then you got Mendoza coming back home, where he grew up half a mile away from the, the. The campus in Coral Gable. So it's going to be home field advantage in the national championship game, is it? Going to be 50, 50. You would think it would be 70, 30 minimum because it's in the home stadium. But this is not an SEC or a Big Ten home stadium advantage. This is Hard Rock Stadium. So I want to see what it's like in the first, like five minutes when we come out, when the teams come out of the tunnel. I want to, I'm going to turn up the volume and listen because home field advantage was a, Indiana was beaten Oregon no matter what, but it certainly, you know, played to their advantage in that game. And I think I could see Indiana coming in and kind of shoving it in their face like, hey, I don't care. You play your home games here. This is our home tonight. You know, that's gonna be fun to.

Steve Mensch (34:28)

Watch, interesting to see. And it, it, it makes a difference. It, it's a, it makes a difference. And again, Oregon was losing that game anyways. But don't tell me that those Indian Air players, after that big hit on the kickoff and the crowds going nuts and then, you know, Dante Moore is going to come out in that first snap and barely hear himself think. I mean, it could be a big thing.

Mitch McShay (34:48)

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Mitch McShay (37:13)

All right, I want to now transition because and I'm excited about. This is your, this is your brainchild. We've never done this before, but I think it's, I think it's brilliant. Mensch texted me yesterday and said, you know what, like the NFL playoffs are going on. We just did a mock draft, mock 1.0. We covered all the bases and where the Pixar. But we've got right now, currently as we sit here on Monday morning, we've got five fan bases that now have have locked in their draft spot. Three of which are the depressed fan bases of teams that lost in the wild card round of the NFL playoffs. The other two, as I said in the open, like it's a double dip of depression because not only did we lose in the wild card round of the playoffs and two teams in Green Bay and Jacksonville that really had, I mean you think to the end of the season for Jacksonville and kind of the early mid season for Green Bay, these are teams that legitimately they got on the right run and won this game and confidence was building. Could have been playing in the super bowl. Truly right.

Steve Mensch (38:17)

If Jacksonville gets by Buffalo, I think they, they make a run.

Mitch McShay (38:20)

But those pitches go to because of trades for Micah Parsons and for for Hunter to Cleveland as you can see here. Tucker, appreciate you putting this together. Last minute Cleveland for the pick 24 and Dallas earlier than that at pick 20 via Green Bay with Micah Parsons. Okay so here's the, here's the wild card round losers and their new draft slots. Carolina now is picking at 19. Dallas with the Green Bay pick is at 20. Pittsburgh * if you're watching this on Tuesday Pittsburgh currently as we sit here before the Wild card game between Houston and Pittsburgh has the 21st pick. I do want to mention this. If Pittsburgh beats Houston tonight, the Chargers will move up to 21, the Eagles will move to 22 and then Houston will be slotted in at 23 with their 12 win regular season. Okay. And then Cleveland with that 24th pick via Jacksonville now has knows where their second pick is. They'll be picking it 6 and 24 in the first round. So with that as the backdrop. Mensch, let's get into this a little.

Steve Mensch (39:30)

Bit. So are we, this is, this is. I should have clarified with you. Are we going to talk about what Cleveland would do with that pick and what Dallas would do with that.

Mitch McShay (39:40)

Pick? Are we gonna talk about.

Steve Mensch (39:41)

What. Oh, okay. I, I was looking at like what Jacksonville White might do.

Mitch McShay (39:45)

After. We can mention that as well. Yeah, whatever you want, but let's.

Steve Mensch (39:48)

Let'S. No, we'll get into.

Mitch McShay (39:49)

It. Carolina now picks at 19. What does that mean for their, for their draft slot? Does it change anything from a week ago? Probably not significantly. I look at it and you tell me it's interesting. They have, they have needs at positions that are not considered high priority. This also was a draft class that has a lot of the most talented players are at some of those positions of non priority, if you.

Steve Mensch (40:16)

Will.

Mitch McShay (40:16)

Right. I view safety, linebacker, tight end as three of the, the higher priority positions for Dan Morgan in that front office for Carolina to address. But I also recognize that edge and probably interior offensive line are more likely spots for them to go maybe with this first pick at 19. What do you see here for.

Steve Mensch (40:40)

Carolina? They got to get that, they got to get the pass rush right. To me, I mean it's, it was 29th in 2024 and it was 20 this year. They got to get an edge guy, someone who fits that 3, 4 scheme too. So a guy who's a little bit smaller and might not be as attractive. All defenses are multiple in the NFL. It drives me crazy. We go 3, 4, 4 3. But they can use a small there for their fit. They could do a smaller outside linebacker tape type like David Bailey from Texas Tech who will be long gone. But there might be a player that pops up at that point.

Mitch McShay (41:13)

Who. Is this too rich for Aem Macedor from Miami? Because I think you agree the guys that could go a little earlier will be David Bailey, as you just mentioned, from Texas Tech. There's a lot of mixed opinions on Ruben Bane. It continues to be, but I, I think he'll be off. I would suspect he'll Be off the board by.

Steve Mensch (41:29)

19. How. Where do you have him? I think he'd be a.

Mitch McShay (41:36)

Great. I'm interested to go back and, and really study his tape and isolate the big, the, the matchups. I've talked to a couple scouts now who are like really go and study him against NFL caliber offensive linemen and it's not as pleasing the tape as, as you know, maybe just if you're watching him in the rest of the games. So I'm interested to go back. There's mixed opinions on, on Bane, there's mixed opinions on Mesador, there's mixed opinions on, on Texas Howells. So it's going to be interesting to see how it plays. The workouts, the arm lengths, the measurables, all those things are actually going to factor into kind of how these guys come off the board. And we got the obviously the combine and pro days following that coming up. But yeah, I would, I would, I would say Messador Cassius Howell will kind of be names that you'll hear right now for.

Steve Mensch (42:29)

Carolina. Do you think our Mason Thomas is more of a day two guy now? That'd be a guy if they got on day.

Mitch McShay (42:34)

Two. I think it's. That's absolutely most.

Steve Mensch (42:37)

Likely. I agree. But I think he's a guy to keep an eye.

Mitch McShay (42:40)

On. I might be pushing. We'll see. I've got. I want to finish up his tape. I've watched a lot of it. I want to get his true measurables. I have a very good sense of it.

Steve Mensch (42:51)

Undersized. Obviously there's a lot to sort out with where guys are going to end up and now we're getting into the information time which is exciting. Right. Like we're going to. Now we can really sort them out. But those are the kind of players I think you want to keep in mind for.

Mitch McShay (43:02)

Carolina. Okay. And then safety. I mean if it's not Caleb Downs, you're not taking one. I think Sonny Stiles would be in the mix here if the right. You know, if we have a run on Caldrick Falk is another name that you're going to hear. I don't, not necessarily the right fit.

Steve Mensch (43:19)

There.

Mitch McShay (43:20)

Right. At six seven two seventy one of the youngest players in the draft class coming out of Auburn. Okay. But I, I think when you're looking at linebacker, if they have a significantly higher grade on A Sonny Styles maybe then, then whatever edge is still available at that spot. Interior offensive line like could have Caden Proctor as a tackle. You could kick into guard, you.

Steve Mensch (43:44)

Know.

Mitch McShay (43:46)

Yeah. What is it? E Own.

Steve Mensch (43:49)

From.

Mitch McShay (43:49)

From. From Penn State. Penn State. So I don't know. Those are things to kind of keep an eye.

Steve Mensch (43:58)

On. Yeah, I think it's a little rich for interior. I don't. I don't love this interior offensive line class. Gotta dig deeper there. I don't love it right now. I think it's good. Emmanuel Pregnon from Oregon's good. I think 19 feels a little rich for one of those.

Mitch McShay (44:11)

Guys.

Steve Mensch (44:11)

But. But we'll.

Mitch McShay (44:12)

See. I talked to a scout recently who absolutely loves pregnant. There's a lot of tough guy, physical, nasty blockers that when I. As. I'm starting to talk to people, they're like, we can. We can get a dude on day two, right? Like, I. We don't have to get mixed up in that. In that first round. We can go address something else. There's some guys on day two that. That were. The Freeling from Georgia is the.

Steve Mensch (44:38)

Name.

Mitch McShay (44:38)

Yeah. Keep hearing. Oh, Blake Miller. I promise the person I talked to, I would whisper.

Steve Mensch (44:46)

It. I got. I'll go back and watch. I gotta go back. No way. But I gotta go back and.

Mitch McShay (44:51)

Watch.

Steve Mensch (44:51)

Okay. And hopefully the tape. This year's better than last year's, but go.

Mitch McShay (44:54)

Ahead. Okay, so now we get to 20 with. With Dallas picking for Green Bay. I'll go through the needs for Dallas because it seems like you maybe were focused more on Green Bay. And you can circle back at the end and tell me about Green Bay. Dallas is picking at 20 with that pick. When is their first selection? Will you look that up? I have it in my mock draft.

Steve Mensch (45:13)

Here. 18. I think it's.

Mitch McShay (45:15)

18. So now they get picks 18 and 20. Great opportunity for the Cowboys. They've got a defense that they've got to address. I look at their needs as. I mean, it's across the board. It's edge, it's cornerback, it's linebacker, it's safety. It's basically everything but interior. Because you brought in Quinn and Williams. Right. Again, picking at 19. We got Carolina looking at edge. It's going to be the same names for. For Dallas at.

Steve Mensch (45:39)

20.

Mitch McShay (45:41)

Right? I mean, what. Yeah.

Steve Mensch (45:43)

So. Yeah, it.

Mitch McShay (45:44)

Is. Is this a spot where they go cornerback? But you just said they pick at 18, so maybe at 18, Dallas has addressed their edge need and they. They scoop up the edge that. That Carolina wanted, you.

Steve Mensch (45:56)

Know?

Mitch McShay (45:57)

Yeah. And then you're sitting at 20 and you. If you've gotten the edge you want, then it's cornerback. Is this where Jermad McCoy from Tennessee, Mansour DeLane from. From LSU? Could this be a Spot where a corner comes off the board. I mentioned Sonny Stiles before. Arvel Reese is going to be a very high draft pick coming out of Ohio State. His teammate has gotten overshadowed. Sonny styles is also 6, 4, 2, 40 plus. Flies like the wind. Like this guy can flat out play. Doesn't have the edge component that Reese has, but has like unbelievably improved in terms of instincts, angles, tackling skills. He became a much more complete player this year. I thought so. That's another spot at the. At the linebacker position where I think Styles can come off the board and. And it won't be for Dallas's safety at this spot. I think you're talking day two for Dallas, but what do you got keeping.

Steve Mensch (46:57)

Up? Keep an eye on that George Pickens situation too. He's a free agent who's going to cost a boatload and I don't know. They're. I don't think their cap space is. Yeah, their cap space isn't good. So they're going to figure out how they're going to keep.

Mitch McShay (47:10)

Pickens. There's.

Steve Mensch (47:11)

Gonna. Dallas is a developing story really how they're going to manage the players that they have. They can they get Pickens done and will other needs open up because of what they can afford to keep or. Or sign. So that's going to be interest. I looked at Green Bay and they're interesting because I think they, they have. Their left tackle is a free agent. Romeo Dobbs is a free agent. They got some needs there. They could definitely go corner. So you got corner, offensive tackle or edge. What I forget what I said, but corner office or wide receiver.

Mitch McShay (47:42)

Yeah, yeah. Golden showed a flash or.

Steve Mensch (47:46)

Two. They have a ton of bodies.

Mitch McShay (47:48)

There. But Watson, Golden, Dobbs, I'm missing.

Steve Mensch (47:54)

Wicks. They have. They have a ton of bodies there. Right. But if the right name were to slide, do they go ahead and pull the trigger? It doesn't seem like they're going to bring.

Mitch McShay (48:03)

Back. I can't imagine. I can't either after that drought. We'll go two years in a row with wide receiver, but I can see them and this is a really deep class on day two. Adding another body to kind of replace dos for a lesser price as you get down the. The list of the receiver. Like a Jeremy Bernard from Alabama would be a good replacement. A Chris.

Steve Mensch (48:22)

Bell.

Mitch McShay (48:23)

Yeah. I don't know that he'll be available. My gut tells me Casey Conception, you know, those kind of guys, they'll.

Steve Mensch (48:30)

Take the best offensive lineman available or they will take a corner if the right corner is.

Mitch McShay (48:34)

There. I don't.

Steve Mensch (48:35)

Disagree. Yeah. So we'll.

Mitch McShay (48:37)

See. Yeah, but they, I failed to break like they're all going to be round two picks because they don't have their first round pick, obviously. Right.

Steve Mensch (48:44)

Right. That's what I'm.

Sponsor Announcer (48:45)

Saying.

Mitch McShay (48:45)

Yeah. In grabbing Micah Parsons, which when healthy, I think we can all agree was. And you see the decline after Parsons injury of that defense. It was.

Steve Mensch (48:54)

Stark.

Mitch McShay (48:55)

Yeah. All right, so that brings us to 21, which is Pittsburgh, which I think we just revisit later once we have a. Whether that's Pittsburgh at 21 or, excuse me, it's Houston. I mean, yeah, or Houston at 23. But that brings us down to the Chargers. I look at the Chargers and I say, my gosh, they drafted the right.

Steve Mensch (49:18)

Guys.

Mitch McShay (49:19)

Yes. They had the offensive tackles. This should have been a healthy Herbert with protection from the two offensive tackles they drafted and developed and they should have been rolling. But for some. I don't know if it's. It's a water out there. I don't know if it's. I read recently there's like this was in San Francisco, like an electrical field nearby the practice field. Like, I don't know what it is, but it seems like the same organizations are dealing with more significant injury bugs year over year. Okay. I think interior offensive line is going to be an important spot and I don't know if it's with this pick at 22 or early in day two. Like I mentioned, there's a lot of guys on day two that are going to fit the bill, but someone who's got some swing potential. So a Kaden Proctor.

Steve Mensch (50:10)

Here, you.

Mitch McShay (50:13)

Know, a Blake Miller, one of those freeling. A guy that if an injury were to become recurring for one of their tackles, could kick outside and give some help, but would be plug and play starter at guard. I also think interior defensive line is a spot and you look at this year's class and you've got obviously Peter Woods. I don't think I'd be shocked if he's still here at 22 for the Chargers. But I, I do look at, at Banks, Caleb Banks from Florida. NFL scouts are still bullish on him even though he only played, you know, fewer than, I think fewer than 50 snaps or whatever it was this year. Banks is a big physical presence. They need someone along that interior defensive line. They also could use edge help cornerback help safety and wide receiver. Some of the positions I looked at. What do you got for the.

Steve Mensch (51:03)

Chargers? I'm with you. I mean, you did name A bunch of positions. And I'm with you the whole way, though. If those offensive tackles come back, I mean, it's easy to say that how much it would have helped Herbert, which is correct, but it also would have helped Amari and Hampton in the rest of that run game. I mean, it's that that was just a monster loss. But Kai Becton has not played well. Bozeman has not played well. They need to get an interior offensive lineman. Feels like it's a little rich.

Mitch McShay (51:25)

There. They hit.

Steve Mensch (51:26)

Again. They talk about the guys that they hit drafted. Right. Jamari Caldwell, the defensive tackle, is played really well. Yeah. They got to figure out my.

Mitch McShay (51:34)

Guy is a Senior.

Steve Mensch (51:34)

Bowl. Yeah, you got to figure out if they're gonna resign Tart, the other defensive tackle. So I'm with you on the positions. It's going to be about what's the best value there. I, I wonder if again, could a receiver sneak in here with Keenan Allen getting older. I like my guy, Trey Harris, I think he's, he kind of flashed a little bit last night. I think he's a good player. But if you saw the right, the right wide receiver, would you go and get him? They got McConkey, they got Johnson. I mean, they've got some players there. But if you could get again, because this is a team that if they get right medically and healthy and they can keep some of the guys that they, they need to keep, they're not far.

Mitch McShay (52:13)

Off. I mean, really, really.

Steve Mensch (52:15)

Close. Actually, watching that team last night was almost tough to watch because it.

Mitch McShay (52:21)

Was just what could have been. It was a shell. It was a.

Steve Mensch (52:23)

Shell. It was what could have been with.

Mitch McShay (52:25)

This. And it has been a shell.

Steve Mensch (52:26)

Yeah. So they are actually in a. They're not as, they're not as need oriented as maybe some of these. Yes, they need to get. But again, interior offensive lineman, I think you can find. I think there's, they can maybe, I don't know, maybe a receiver sneaks in there for.

Mitch McShay (52:40)

Them. Would be interesting to see Philadelphia at 23. Okay, man, you get some. You get some. You got a hangover in Philly. This is not a place that accepts losing. There's going to be a lot of offensive changes, let's put it that way. I, I, I, it'll be. I almost feel like at this point it might be an upset if A.J. brown's back. I know that.

Steve Mensch (53:12)

Was. Sirianni said all the right things after, by the way. I don't.

Mitch McShay (53:16)

Know. Yeah, but he didn't say all the right things in the moment. And quite honestly, with some receivers, I ain't mad at that tactic, but you got to know which buttons to press. Right. But let's also not lose sight. They're still the defending super bowl champions, you know, like. And how he's. How he's always going to be move maneuvering, like not.

Steve Mensch (53:38)

Very. He's. He's got some stuff to do.

Mitch McShay (53:40)

Though. He's got. No, he's got. He recognizes.

Steve Mensch (53:42)

That. Jalen Phillips, the edge rusher, free agent. Reed Blankenship, free agent to Kobe Dean, free agent. Now, he's already addressed some of these with the way he's addressed the roster, but he's got some decisions to make and you're gonna, you're gonna pay Jalen.

Mitch McShay (53:53)

Carter. You have.

Steve Mensch (53:54)

To. You're the Jalen Carter monster contract is coming down. No question how he's. He's got a busy, busy offseason.

Mitch McShay (54:00)

Here. He does. I think picking a 23, believe it or not. I think they could go edge again. I think how he's really comfortable with that. I think they just keep rolling guys in and be prepared for. For another edge. I think cornerback is a possibility. Dallas Goddard is a free agent, right? Yeah. Then tight end is a possibility. So. And he had a monster year and was. Was unhappy about his. His contract situation coming into last year, but maybe they can mend that fence. Safety's another spot. So what's interesting. Go.

Steve Mensch (54:42)

Ahead. They're not going to find a better tight end at where they pick in the draft. So that's going to be. That's going to be interesting for them to see if they bring him.

Mitch McShay (54:49)

Back. I agree. Kenyan Sadiq will be gone and there's not going to be.

Steve Mensch (54:53)

Gone.

Mitch McShay (54:54)

Yeah. There's not going to be a replacement who can provide Goddard production on day two, at least immediately. And this is about filling immediate needs. What we've seen from Howie is he does it the way that all great GMs have done it and we've done. We did extensive work on it last year and explained to our audience and we'll. We'll kind of revisit all that. Build from the inside out. Make sure you're getting offensive lineman, defensive lineman, impact players at those impact spots and then hand pick and pluck in free agency. Saquon Barkley, A.J. brown. You know, I could envision if A.J. brown's gone, that they're going to go pluck another one. Maybe it's a Pickens, which is like, can you imagine the same headache, the.

Steve Mensch (55:41)

Same. You know, but get Saquon from New York one year and then get Pickens from Dallas another year. Oh I mean he's his his status as a.

Mitch McShay (55:49)

Villain. You think how he's not it would be amazing about.

Steve Mensch (55:52)

It. Oh it would be amazing. It would be.

Mitch McShay (55:54)

Great. But to that point I think look for this to be another trenches pick and for them to be active and just maybe one or two splashes and free agency and but I, I but I also know when we talked to him last year before the combine he's like this is going to be two years of shuffling hard times. We're not going to have the free reign to do some of the things because we you know we put this team together to win a Super bowl and that cost, that cost us. But, but that would be fascinating to watch. Excuse me. And then finally Cleveland is picking at 24 thanks to Jacksonville. No no fan base was happier about Jacksonville losing yesterday and so they now have the 24th pick in addition to six Browns needs to me are this Steve these quarterback we'll have a lot of.

Steve Mensch (56:48)

Discussion. You are going to get killed for it but yep go.

Mitch McShay (56:50)

Ahead. Shador tracked Shador outplayed the expectation based on off of a fifth round pick had a fringe first round you know early second round grade on Shador thought But I think for all the progress there still was a lot of questions at the end of the season. New coach new like there's just right now sitting right here. Are they hiring someone who can who can elevate Shador and move forward that way or is this new regime going to come in and say you know can we trade Shador or keep developing him as a backup like I, I don't know. That remains to be seen outside of quarterback receiver and offensive line. Go.

Steve Mensch (57:34)

Ahead. They're not drafting a quarterback in the first round. So we could say that. I mean like we could say.

Mitch McShay (57:42)

Whatever Mendoza and possibly more but will be will be gone by pick.

Steve Mensch (57:48)

Six. So are you. Here's what I would.

Mitch McShay (57:52)

Say. Do you think you played well enough where if the right quarterback was was available you you wouldn't pull the.

Steve Mensch (57:57)

Trigger. This I can't believe I'm saying this to you because I feel like this is something I would say. I feel like the roles are.

Mitch McShay (58:04)

Reversed.

Steve Mensch (58:05)

Good. Yeah yeah. If I if I can get Fernanda Mendoza or a Dante Moore or you know what if the Raiders aren't.

Mitch McShay (58:13)

In love with Mendoza and they recognize we got a lot of holes and Cleveland can patch those picks we now know are 6 and 24 and go.

Steve Mensch (58:23)

Move up you would you would, you would laugh at me if I propose this to you. And. But I'm just saying. Yeah, I hear you. That's not happening. So if it's not happening, I'm not wasting. I'm not wasting is a harsh word. I do believe in drafting quarterbacks in, in the later rounds just to take flyers. But I'm using those picks to build around a quarterback that I'm probably going to bring in in.

Mitch McShay (58:47)

2027.

Steve Mensch (58:48)

Yeah. And if Shador in the meantime improves and great, great. But I'm not saying. This is what I'm saying after maybe the second quarterback of Dante Moore comes out, maybe the third with Ty Simpson, because I'm kind of circling back on him. There's not a quarterback better than Shador Sanders. I don't see that. I. I really don't. Wait. He went way too late last year. And so if that's the case, then what are we doing? Like you give Shador another year. Now if Fernando Mendoza is available, he's a. He's a different kind of cat. Then you take him. But I.

Mitch McShay (59:22)

Just. It's not gonna happen. Okay. It's something no Browns fan. How do we have a conversation about the Browns and that now that we know they pick six. You're right. And 24 and we don't mention the name Shador Sanders? It would be.

Steve Mensch (59:38)

Irresponsible. Yep. How do you. Would you take Ty Simpson at six? No, that's too early.

Mitch McShay (59:43)

Right. Too early.

Steve Mensch (59:45)

Yeah. I.

Mitch McShay (59:46)

Agree. Too early. And now, now if I'm drafting a quarterback with Shador, it better be a clear cut. This is our guy. Let's. Let's maybe move Shador. Let's get some trade value for him and let's move him. And then, and then Gabriel can be our backup as a third round pick which all kind of falls in line. I do think it's a 20, 27. I think this year's about building around. They're not going to go from, from picking 6 overall with that record to playing in the Super Bowl. So let's do this the right thing. Let's. Let's make this a two year reclamation project. And maybe three years from now we're like a serious playoff contender. But let's stop doing the Brady Quinn, Johnny Manziel, throw a band aid at.

Steve Mensch (60:34)

It. And Gabriel, which I know is in later round, but he's a third round. I wish I'd gone back and look at, I looked at who the players were that were drafted around them. You can't tell me that they Couldn't find a player. No. Around. Dylan Gabriel was drafted last year. You can't tell me they couldn't have found someone that could have helped their team in that area. You know, and no offense to Dylan Gabriel. He's just. I didn't understand the pick at the.

Mitch McShay (60:57)

Time. I didn't either. Where are they? Like maybe fourth, fifth, but anyway. But I do think offensive. If we're digging in now, I think offensive tackle, guard, take the best.

Steve Mensch (61:12)

Offensive lineman you can get. That's. That's what I'm.

Mitch McShay (61:14)

Thinking. And maybe that's a six. Maybe it's Maui Noah. Maybe it's.

Steve Mensch (61:16)

Fan.

Mitch McShay (61:16)

Yeah. If you love him as much as Mitch. And then at 20, 24, maybe it's a wide receiver here. Yep. And. And maybe one of those three falls. Maybe Makai Lemon doesn't work out well enough for. For some teams. And go falls to 24. I think all three will be off the board at 24. I think. I think Jordan. In any order. Jordan, Tyson, Carnell, Tate, and. And. And Makai Lemon, it would be for me, Tate, Tyson Lemon, but really closely. Bunched earlier in the top, like 15. Okay. And then after that, are we getting.

Steve Mensch (61:51)

Into maybe.

Mitch McShay (61:54)

What. What about a Denzel Boston.

Steve Mensch (61:56)

Here? He's a 22nd player on my.

Sponsor Announcer (61:58)

Board. I.

Steve Mensch (61:58)

Would. I would be very comfortable with.

Mitch McShay (62:00)

That. So. Perfect fit.

Steve Mensch (62:01)

Okay. Yeah. Casey Concepcion, too, by the way. Your guy who you told me to go back and watch, and I went back and watched. Yeah, I texted you. Uncovers as well as any receiver in this class. I mean, that dude just gets open. So he's another.

Mitch McShay (62:15)

Guy. Tell him. What do you also text.

Steve Mensch (62:17)

Me? What else did I say? He's small and, oh, I don't know if he loves. I don't know if he loves extending and taking big hits. There's a couple of plays that I made me. He made some tough plays, but there are a couple of them that I was like, yeah, he feels that safety coming down on.

Mitch McShay (62:30)

Him. If you're going to reference a text, I'm not going to let you just mention the.

Steve Mensch (62:34)

Positive. Try to stay positive. Come on.

Mitch McShay (62:36)

Man. Speaking of.

Steve Mensch (62:38)

Which. Oh, God, here we.

Mitch McShay (62:40)

Go. Speaking of.

Steve Mensch (62:42)

Which. I'm gonna have technical difficulties all of a.

Mitch McShay (62:45)

Sudden. Take a deep.

Steve Mensch (62:46)

Breath. All.

Mitch McShay (62:46)

Right. I. I don't know why. It hit me. As I'm watching the playoff games yesterday, I was trying to think of something like, what do we want to do tomorrow? And we cover Mendoza back. We'll go through the five teams. Not that we ever run short on time, but I Feel like the. Let's give the people what they want. You got draft Santa. You got men cheer with a, with a nod, literally, of the, of the Grateful Dead.

Steve Mensch (63:12)

Okay. Rest in.

Mitch McShay (63:13)

Peace. I. Well, I, I throw this back out to you in the audience and the supporters of this show. I'm open to a name for this. I came up with Mench's minutes.

Steve Mensch (63:26)

Okay. I'm literally sweating right.

Mitch McShay (63:27)

Now. Good. I came up with Mench's minutes and it essentially like we need to log some minutes with Mensch. I feel like people probably know me a little bit more over the.

Steve Mensch (63:38)

Years. So you're, you're a surprise segment is centered around me. It's a surprise. This is great. This should go.

Mitch McShay (63:45)

Well. It's. It's all about match. It's Mensch's minutes. Okay, here's how it's going to work. We're gonna have a rotating questions for Mensch and I'm hoping this is going to take off and it's going to become the best, the best part of our show. We're going to rotate between questions. I think the audience would be intrigued to find out more about my good friend Steve Mensch. And then also mix in a little content. I don't care if it's one word answers, but get a little draft content in here as well. People, I talk too much on this show. A layer my daughter tells me every single day. So does Marissa, so does everyone on social media. So this is an opportunity to get to know our good friend mentioned a little bit more draft Santa as some call. Are you ready.

Steve Mensch (64:31)

Bench? No.

Mitch McShay (64:33)

Go. Good. Let's start with the fun.

Steve Mensch (64:36)

Stuff. How many of these are.

Mitch McShay (64:41)

There? I'll tell you, just be quiet and answer your question. Let's start with the fun stuff. A trip that you now that you're like a flying madman. You're flying all over the country. All I want the people to know and I know that Montana is a place that you love to go to. And now, yes, flying out to L. A. All that. But if there's one trip like a bucket list trip that Steve Mensch would want to.

Steve Mensch (65:08)

Take. Oh, that I haven't gone.

Mitch McShay (65:11)

On. That you haven't gone on somewhere. You're saying like it. Maybe in the next five years things go well in this gig. Maybe we have get a little bit more scratch and put some money away. And I want to take a dream vacation somewhere. Is there some place you have your eye on that you'd like to go? You know, you and Iris or family, whatever it is. And Just go to that.

Steve Mensch (65:29)

Location. It would, I would say this, that Banff in Canada is a place that I really would like to go check out. It's beautiful. But it would have to be Ireland. My. I am. I have a German last name, but three. Three of my grandparents are Irish. I have family that still live. Like my cousin still lives in Ireland. I really. Yeah, I have.

Mitch McShay (65:51)

Family. Even I didn't know.

Steve Mensch (65:52)

That. Most of my, you know, we go to family. I go to a family I've been in a while. We go to a family reunion. There's Irish accents. And most of my family, or a lot of my family are dual citizens, Irish and American. So it would have to be Ireland to go out and check that.

Mitch McShay (66:08)

Out. Who would have known a McShay and a men. Yeah. Just about the same amount of percentage in their blood.

Steve Mensch (66:16)

Okay. Both my grandmothers were born in Ireland.

Mitch McShay (66:18)

Yeah. Pick a player and we're gonna rotate. Pick a player in this draft that you're kind of bullish on right.

Steve Mensch (66:23)

Now. Bullish on. That's a good.

Mitch McShay (66:28)

Question. It could be second round, third.

Steve Mensch (66:30)

Round. Chris Johnson, the corner from San Diego State. I think he's a first round.

Mitch McShay (66:34)

Talent. Great.

Steve Mensch (66:34)

Job. I just think he's that good. He's a ball hawk. He's. He's tape is awesome. Chris Johnson's in San Diego.

Mitch McShay (66:39)

State. People usually ask this question with the, the death row thing. I don't want to make it morbid. If I were to say to you, you, you're celebrating something coming up, massive signing bonus or promotion or an anniversary. Something about you, though. It's your night, 50th birthday, whatever it is. And I, and I opened up the piggy bank for you and said you can have one meal, anything you want, and you're not going to be on death row the next day. You just like, this is your night match. And what I'm gifting you is it could be the finest chef in the world. Whatever it is, give me one meal experience that you would love to have if you had every opportunity in financial backing.

Steve Mensch (67:27)

Hiking. It would be seafood oriented. It would be somewhere on the coast. There is a place called Cabbage island off of Booth Bay in Maine where you actually take a boat ride out to this island and they do kind of like a clam bake thing where you get clams and you get clam chowder and you get two lobsters that they are literally pulling the lobster out of the ocean as the boat pulls up and they're cooking it on fires. That's the kind of thing that.

Mitch McShay (67:57)

It would be all right. People don't know this about much, but he's. He, He's. He's a culinary connoisseur. Day three quarterback. You're most intrigued by day three.

Steve Mensch (68:11)

Quarterback. I don't know if there's. This one's a good one. I mean, is Nusbauer going? Day.

Mitch McShay (68:23)

Three? Nasmeyer's fine. Let's keep it out of the first round. It's.

Steve Mensch (68:27)

Fine. Sawyer Robertson, your guy from. From Baylor. I'm a little concerned about who's going back and who's. Who's coming out. I wanted to get that sorted out. I think soy Robertson's guy, who's got a ton of tools he's got to keep an eye on. I think Luke Altmeyer is a guy that just flies under the radar out of Illinois. Won a lot of games. Don't think he's going to be a starter in the league, but could be a really good backup. I don't know. There's a couple of those guys. We'll see. There's not. I'm not super excited about this quarterback.

Mitch McShay (68:53)

Class. I. I wrote this question before. Before you put on your Grateful Dead hat. So you can include them in that if you want, or you can go three others. But give. Give people a feel for you. Love music. Play the guitar. You've just. Ever since I've known you when you were 18 years old, you're just a. You just love band. Jam bands and music. Man, I'm noodling, man. I'll be. I'm busy. I'll be back tomorrow. Three bands that are your. Like, if. If you could only listen to three bands the rest of your life or you. You had an opportunity to see three bands in one show, who would they.

Steve Mensch (69:28)

Be? It would be Fish, first and foremost. I've seen them I don't even know how many times. Live trying really hard to figure out a way to go see them at the Sphere the week after the draft. Oh, I love tickets. Tickets are not cheap, but I'm trying to figure out a way to make it happen that would be really cool. The second would be the Lumineers. I've seen the Lumineers a lot. And then the third. Really, as much as I love Fish, the third band is the band that I. I think is the best band around, and that's the National. I think the national are.

Mitch McShay (69:59)

Incredible.

Steve Mensch (70:00)

Incredible. So good. I've seen them once. I need to see them.

Mitch McShay (70:04)

Again. I saw them once live at Boston Calling. Yeah, before they were even like much of a thing. 2010 or something or whatever it was. It was.

Steve Mensch (70:15)

Awesome. My. Yeah. My father in law got me a record player for Christmas, and the first album I got was the Rome, the live Rome show for the National. It's.

Mitch McShay (70:23)

Unbelievable. Love it. Okay. Give me a player that you've watched so far that you think is kind of underrated and you're intrigued to see, like, as we go through this process, the combine pro days, all that that you think could kind of rise a little.

Steve Mensch (70:37)

Bit. I, again, I would go back to Chris Johnson. This is a good one. Eli Stowers, the. The tight end from Vanderbilt. I really want to see how he tests. I'm not necessarily sure that he's gonna be. He's gonna be that guy. We'll see. I. I guess those are two names I would throw out just off the top of my head. That's kind of a tough one. There's. There's other players that I'm sure I'll think about as soon as we get off of here. But on the spot, those are the guys that I'm thinking.

Mitch McShay (71:04)

About. All right, last personal one. And I want you to be honest because I think this is important for the, for the fan base and the audience to actually know the truth. You're making a road trip, let's say driving from New Hampshire down to New York or out west. You decide you're going to drive late at night, easier, less traffic. Get on the highway. You get your snacks right there. You get your drink. Music playing, jamming out, right? You get on the highway. Not a lot. There's almost no traffic. It's you, a couple truckers in the right lane. Which lane are you choosing? And most importantly, and I want an honest answer, when you set that cruise control button, what does it say on the miles per hour where you're most comfortable? You feel like, I'm cruising, I'm good, or I'm in a rush. But you're.

Steve Mensch (72:00)

Not.

Mitch McShay (72:00)

You. You want to get there, and you're going to try to go maximum speed that you're comfortable with on the highway where traffic's not a factor. Which lane and what is the mile per hour?

Steve Mensch (72:10)

Reed? I know you want me to say the right lane because you know how slow I've driven in the past. I've actually gotten better. We're going travel lane. We're going middle lane, and I'm going five over. I am a firm believer in the nine is fine. 10, you're mine. So if a state trooper sees you going nine miles over the Speed limit, they're probably not going to pull you over. But 10 they will. It's worth their.

Mitch McShay (72:29)

While. I.

Steve Mensch (72:30)

Think. The tickets go up. So it's middle lane, and I'm going five over just to play it.

Mitch McShay (72:35)

Safe. So if it's a 60 mile per hour zone, you're going.

Steve Mensch (72:39)

65. Yeah.

Mitch McShay (72:41)

Yeah. In the middle of the night, the highway is all.

Steve Mensch (72:43)

Yours. You're going 65. Yes. Yes. And if I get annoyed that I will. I will. I will pick it up there. There are definitely times where I get frustrated also. Can I quickly tell. And I'll try to be quick here. Our best driving story is early days when we worked for the Sporting News. We did. I think it was my first few months working with you. We did a NFL training camp tour. And because we were going from Buffalo to Detroit, I think people on the north. In the north know this. You have to cut through.

Mitch McShay (73:15)

Canada. I still get Ajita when you tell the.

Steve Mensch (73:17)

Story. So I was driving and I missed some kind of turn, and we were going. All of a sudden we were headed, like towards the Northern province, and I was.

Mitch McShay (73:26)

Dry. I drove 80 of that trip because it's.

Steve Mensch (73:29)

You. You.

Mitch McShay (73:30)

Did. And so I finally said, I gotta take a nap. I'm exhausted. We've been traveling the entire country meant you're in charge. Go.

Steve Mensch (73:37)

Ahead. So we figure it out. And now we're back, but it's congested. And McShay is in a mood. And he just turns to me and I'm like, kind of like just going along with traffic. He goes, I don't care what you have to do, but you have to than the next man. You have to be better than every car out here and find a way to get me to that hotel right now. He was so mad, I fell.

Mitch McShay (73:57)

Asleep. And we're on the. We're heading in the right direction. America. I wake up and we're lost in.

Steve Mensch (74:01)

Canada. We're in the. We're like in the Arctic Circle all of a sudden. It was bad. It wasn't close. It was.

Mitch McShay (74:06)

Bad. So 65 and a 60 in the middle of the night in the middle lane. That's wild. All right, last one, Bob. If you could bet on one quarterback, a futures bet, 20, 27o. And now let's say Dante Moore is in this class. Doesn't count next year. Who would you bet on right now? It can change.

Steve Mensch (74:28)

Obviously. I. I'm gonna say. I'm gonna say arch, because I think that he's gonna. I believe that momentum helps you. And with them getting Cam Coleman, the receiver from Auburn transferring there and Wingo there in his second year of starting. I think he's going to have a lot of momentum going into the draft. I am concerned about South Carolina, Lenora Sellers and Lenore Sellers and what that situation is. But he's still my guy. I still love Sellers. So I gotta mention them. But it's probably. I'm probably taking.

Mitch McShay (74:57)

Manning. This is my new favorite segment. I can't wait. I think I did all right. Responses? It's my new favorite.

Steve Mensch (75:03)

Segment. You did.

Mitch McShay (75:04)

Great. All right. It's not that nerve wracking. You did great. We're back on Thursday, then Monday night. Don't Forget live on YouTube National Championship game. We'll break into that game late, do a whole recap and get things kind of moving forward towards the NFL draft. But match, I mean, is it any question? Five stars for you.

Steve Mensch (75:24)

Today. Thanks.

Mitch McShay (75:26)

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