The volume. The Three Out Podcast with me John Middlecoff is presented by FanDuel Sports Book. There's no better place to make every moment more than with FanDuel, America's number one sports book. Very easy to use, safe and secure. You get your winnings fast. I cannot recommend it enough. Love gambling with FanDuel. If you are a new just download the FanDuel Sports Book app to get started now. Sign up with promo code Colin so they know we sent you. What's going on three and Out podcast? How we doing big show? I'm joined by Coward Colin that is Colin Coward after the Monday night football game. I don't even think we talked about the Monday night football game, but we talked some football, recorded a bunch of other stuff about other parts of football. Middlecoff mail bag at John to cough slide up into those d m s. You listen to Collins podcast through his feed to listen to me, make sure you listen or subscribe to my feed. And let's uh, let's just dive right in first. 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Okay here on a special Monday night edition, I was listening to Today with with j Mac talking a little football. That the news broke right before your show. Uh, I guess we could just go into that. That's bigger news than anything we witnessed tonight. I heard when Frank got fired, and then I think an hour or two later it got announced that your initial reaction here Colin Coward. Uh, Frank right got fired after getting his ass kicked by by Belichick. Yeah, I mean, I think Frank's a good coach. I think the world we live in now with social media is that everybody is willing to join the avalanche. Nobody wants to get buried by it. So nobody wants to ever go on social media and have an opinion that doesn't follow suit to the masses. Um. But the truth is, Frank Reich has already good coach. He took Carson Wentz, who a lot of people thought was shot, and got seven t d s and seven interceptions with a number two receiver Michael Pittman and not a great tight end and a declining offensive line. It's like, that's not terrible in the better a f C. It's not terrible. Um. And then the very impulsive Jimmer Say said, because of that, you know, regrettable performance in Jacksonville cultival was struggled down there, whatever it is. Um er Se flipped the lid on the flat back home and told him get rid of him. Okay, now you're scrambling what you know, you're too good to get a top pick. Do you have to give away multiple picks to move up in the draft? Uh? And now they look around the market and it's like they had to overpay for Matt Ryan and now they're screwed as a franchise. He's a big cap hit this year and next. So you know, again, look at the owners who have meddled Dan Snyder on a quarterback pick, the late Dwayne Haskins. If you remember that, that was his pick um Al Davis at the end of his reign, the late Al Davis. Uh Now, Jim Er say it never worked. He's not even that he's not even that old column. He looks seventy five, but he's actually in his early sixties, and I think he's making a mistake. Care Baller will keep his job, that's my understanding. But somebody had to be the fall guy. They got rid of the offensive play caller two weeks ago. Yeah, and there's some Sean Payton told me today he doesn't think he actually called plays. Somebody had to be the fall guy. My question, though, is, you know, I think Frank had some moments and was handed a rough situation when he first got there, and honestly, when he had Rivers, who was at the end of his career, they had an eleven win season. They were right there in the last couple a year. So there you go Rivers and Wentz. I can argue he got more out of them it last year. I mean they did loose. I mean that last game, calling the Jags game, I mean they got they got their ass kicked by a team that ended up having the number one overall pick. And this year clearly wasn't going well. You know, Matt Ryan, once they traded once they were in a tough situation. But once they get Matt Ryan, he is the former quarterback, offensive coordinator, head coach, you know, do they because he wasn't gonna be the head coach next year, so firing him now Now the Jeff Saturday thing, I guess Ultimately my take is I bet er Say looks at his staff and goes, they all suck. I'm not making any of these guys. You know, the interim coach where temper whatever it was, three or four weeks ago, probably personally, like Steve Wilkes, it'd be like, you know, this is an easy one. Give him a shot. Maybe Ers is like, screw all these guys. Is really kind of up in his feelings and bitter. But this is I mean, it's pretty bizarre, you know. It's it's a little out of left field in the middle of the sea. I mean, how does Jeff Saturday know the majority of the team's name, the guys on the team's names. How he just won't know any of these people well? And also, um, it looks so impulsive and scattered. Any top candidate would pass. Sean Payton won't even look at that job. Um. You know, let's say there was somebody from college football, you wouldn't even look at that job. Now. So you know, if you look at we have on average seven to eight openings a lot of times, John, the key is how attractive you can make it look for the next guy. So with Matt Ryan's contract. Uh, And they have one of their tackles. I think the right tackle Brad Smith. I think I'm getting his name right, Um, DeForrest Muckner the defensive lineman. Um. I think they have a linebacker. They pay a lot to Leonard. They don't have a ton of camp space, they don't have a number one receiver, They have an old quarterback, it's not and they have an impulsive owner. So like when you're gonna move off a job, right if you're gonna if you're gonna fire a coach, you don't want to seem rash or impulsive because you know the marketplace. Let's say the Chargers job is open, well, that's gonna be the most attractive not saying it is, but or the Raider's job. I get all those offensive weapons, that's pretty or Arizona, I get Kyler Murray, DeAndre Hopkins, you know those those are You've got some attractive pieces there. What about Indie today? Owner, weapons, quarterback, cap space, what's attractive about it? I would say the most attractive thing is they have had a talented team and their GM is a pretty consistent human being. You know that that would feel. But you know, in situations like this, if the owner is going to be the modern day kind of Al Davis, Jerry Jones or think he is, it's that Trump's everything because once he starts doing that, Uh, I mean is this did you did you work at all with Jeff Saturday? You've been around the guy? Mean yeah, I mean every he's a pretty highlight. That's my thing. Like the pushback. Haven't seen Howie and Andy. It's easier to be a GM in the sense of you don't have to yell at players or anything. There's an element of being a coach that is just more difficult than the GM. But like Jeff Saturday, like so when Mayok and Gruden kind of came out of nowhere and became GMS, it's an easier transition than if I just took some former player at fifty years old because he played twenty years ago and just made him head coach. That's tough, but this guy did. I mean, I always say that Brady and Manning were the magic and bird of my life. You know, they took the NFL do it and whole New Heights. They were the two best teams and this you know, the Colts were the second best team of the two thousand's, right, They just couldn't really beat New England for a long period time. And he was he was Peyton's hand was in his butt every day for six months a year he saw. I mean, they were the second best team in the basically the league for a decade. This guy's and he came in as an undrafted free agent a little Steve Korish right, came in the hard way, but seen the best of the best, had to deal with the best of the best. Clearly an intelligent guy, so I do think he's gonna be able to relate with everyone. But you know, practice plans that the management of everything, I mean, there's a lot. It's not like Andy Reid just kind of dictates everything or Belichick. Right, there's a lot that goes into the daily life that if you've never worked up at Old and even Mike Rabel. Mike Rabel Digison go from coach to player, works with Urban, then went with Bill O'Brien, kind of cut his teeth as a position coach, recruited, you know, saw a lot of Even though he basically made the jump in six or seven years, he still put in some time to learn some of the nuts and bolts. So to me, I guess my overall take, its borderline impossible to be ready, even if you are super high level guy and a good football guy. I'm not a conspiracy theorist, but the argument could be made that Saturday is a good guy. They won't win a lot of games with him. They need a quarterback. I mean, you get a better draft pick. You lose a lot of games. Jacksonville's in every game they play. Tennessee is clearly better. Um, you know, it wouldn't be the world's worst thing if you've got better draft picks. I think they're really trapped. They've never recovered from Andrew Luck. I think they're one of those trapped franchises. I mean, g M. Chris Ballard smart, there's only so much you can do. Um, can you move? Could you move one of your top pieces? Um? You know, it's it's interesting in the NFL. Now, San Francisco is rare. They have a star in every unit. Linebacker, safety, corner, edge rush, you know, running back, tight end, receiver. They're really really rare. But to me, the best roster when healthy, and they lead their full backs a Pro bowler. Yeah yeah, so, but I mean the reliable, I mean they just they really did. But if you look at Indie, they're good in a lot of places that don't matter. Interior, a line linebacker, safety, you know, you've really gotta if you really go look at what the Chargers did. So the Chargers get Herbert and then Rashaan Slater, then they go buy a center and what did they do this offseason, a corner, an edge rusher. Like, there's six positions you got to get right, and indies good at a lot of them, just not those six. They don't have a great left tackle, a dynamic quarterback, a number one receiver. They could use another corner, uh, an elite edge rusher. They're really good in a lot of spots, but not the key spots. And you know it, it reminds me of a little of Midwest green Bay. You know, back t r is falling apart. They don't have a number one receiver, they don't have a great edge. I like their corner, but they need more weapons. They have really good linebackers. You know, they're great, you know Green Bay. Yeah, I feel like they're great running back. You don't have to be um. I just think the Colts. I've got a kind of reprocess how they draft. They've got to get greater and more dynamic, like five key positions, and you can't do that in a draft unless you're the Seahawks. And like literally as a draft, Yeah, I think sports like acquiring player, especially in the NFL. It's like a lot of things in life. It's easy to talk yourself out of it. Oh, this house is too expensive. You know, you can just you can nitpick things instead of this is where I was wrong on the McCaffrey trainers, like, you know, do you really need to give that extra fourth round pick? Who gives a ship? Because when he's healthy, he's you know, Ladanian Thomlinson in two thousand twenty two, And that's where the Niners and the Rams and I don't know if you saw the story, and maybe you talked about it on the show, but like the Packers were willing to trade a first round pick for DJ Moore? Did you did you see that? I saw that. And it's like if they would have had that mindset over the last five or six years consistently, they might not be in this spot. And they found themselves in a position where really the only guy that kind of wanted wasn't really there to be had, you know, But there have been countless guys like this over the years. You know, Andy Reid is always willing to like, Okay, you want my thirtieth pick, I'll go get your sweet player Sean McVeigh boom. Right, Well, I always I think this makes sense. No man's land early in the draft is like pick twenty to pick thirty two. Right, It's it's because most gms I've talked to tell me there's about sixteen every year, sixteen to seventeen great talent, different makers, like they're gonna start guys. Are you have first round grades on Yeah, and then you go from about the player to about the late second round and they're all kind of the same guy. You know they've got a whole, but you like them. And so I've always believed in the draft I would if I'm a really good playoff team, I would always give up my late first for like a Pro Bowl starter like DJ Moore is better than anybody, at least for the first year and probably two d J. Moore is going to be better in the normal Green Bay year where they have the you know, twenty third pick pick. He's going to be better than any player there, certainly as a rookie and probably even if the kid hits probably the second year. Right, it'll take that receiver, late second, early thirty. Pops. Cooper Cup took four years to pop, so Jamaar Chase is an outlier. So I think Adams took two and a half. So I think I think Green Bay it's of their nature. It's the smallest town in professional sports in America. They don't have an owner, which I never thought. I never thought that was a weakness until about seven eight years ago, where you get these younger owners, these more aggressive gms or Stan Cronky, the Hunt family, Jeffrey Lourie. They'll just go buy a player. They can be talked into it quickly on the tarmac, right Like I mean, that's literally how Sean McVeigh talked Stan Cronky and Matt Stafford. He's on the tarmac and he's like, Stan, we need him, here's why, and stands like, okay, ten thou feet. He's often you know, he's off to Denver wherever he's lying to. So Green Bay doesn't have an owner, and I think Mark Murphy is kind of I think he's very capable, very smart, but the no owner thing kind of the Midwest values don't overspend. People are different in the Midwest. That's more frugal. They're not the capital. They don't spend as freely or as willingly. And that's why Andy Reid is so unique, Like he's just a big market spender. He's going to go and rebuild stuff and that's a lot of a lot of places just don't still don't feel comfortable doing that. Well, I've always thought you are kind of who you are in the business. Who teaches you, you you know. He he kind of cut his teeth in Green Bay with Mike Holmbruin, with Farven Reggie White, so he saw the power of big stars and talent, and then right away he gets to Philly, Donovan McNabb, Brian Dawkins. It's it's a powerful thing to have impact players. I think Sean mcveigh's seen that up close and personal, right, Todd Gurley, Aaron Donald, they get Jalen Ramsey, Kyle Shanahan. It matters because it impacts you in these big games, because in big games, your role players matter, but your stars win you the games or not. You know, one two road playoff games last year because they had studs, you know, because they didn't have great quarterback play. And that's what's crazy. Like I I agreed with you over the years on the Pete and John Schneider, you know, it felt more rustle for a couple of years, really care in the franchise, But I watched them, and I've watched them a lot. This year, but yesterday, I mean playing a franchise that's and shambles, and it was clear like Seattle's buttoned up. They have good players, they're well run, and obviously Arizona is not. And the final score was not indicative of what you witnessed when you watch the game. Seattle kick there but worked them. You know, what are you? I mean, I know you've talked about it, but you've gotta be a little surprised by how well they look. Obviously, Geno is one of the stories of the year. There is no precedent for Seattle at quarterback pops in year eight. I mean rich Gannon maybe, Um, you know, I think for years and years, you know, Seahawk fans today'll say, hey, you guys really whiffed well. But then you Seahawk fans with for the previous five years when you thought they were going to go back to the super Bowl. This defense has been declining for years. The drafts have been really hit and miss, mostly miss for years. And I think this draft felt like John Snyder, not Pete Carroll, and the scouts took it over. It was a It's it's really the best draft since Pete's like second year first year, I mean two starting tackles, a star running back, a star corner in the fifth round, uh, the edge rusher. Their first five draft picks are all elite players. Now the Jets got their first four appeared to be really, really good. But John you did this year a former pro scout. To get four high end starters in a draft is almost unheard of. Seattle may have gotten five. It's crazy. It's crazy. So that's part of it. And I also think Pete's history, Um, you know, Sean Payton today on the show said he's shocked by Seattle. Pete's always been a really good teacher and motivator. I've talked to older players and they're like, listen, pete stories can wear you out. His sort of gum chewing, relentless energy can kind of wear you out after like six or seven years. But there's a reason to cruston college. But the time you get worn out, you graduate. Right. That's the thing about Saban. By the time you're just about done with Saban, you're done with Saban. And I think Pete's energy and his motivation and his teaching qualities are great with young teams. And I think his history shows that this is a really young team, and what an advantage. You don't if I was Seattle and they're gonna have big cap space, I go by the best center on the market, go by the best center on the market. I'd probably go get another corner. But I mean, can you imagine not having to worry about paying at tackle left or right for seven eight years? And edge rusher an elite corner. I mean, those are that's what the Colts need. They've got all of them, and we'll have to pay him for four years. So they are really And next year John because of Russell Wilson trade to first two seconds to fourth. If they if they do fairly well in this draft, this is gonna be a super Bowl roster. I mean that that clearly it'll be. If they get the quarterback right, it's a super bowl team well, and if Gino can just sustain it. I don't know if he's good enough to win a super Bowl, but they're going to be competitive. I had a guy with the Jets tell me that he's like, we have crushed the draft the last couple of years, and you watch him. One of my takeaways at Jets spills game, the talent differential in the two teams, beside the quarterback, you couldn't notice much. Budd He said, we can. Let's pick our top nine picks over the last couple of years because they've had a bunch of first and second rounders. If we hit on eight of the nine and then these guys become Pro Bowlers, impact players, and the one we miss on is Zach Wilson, we might be in trouble big big picture. But if we hit on the one and miss on six of the other eight, but it's Zack Wilson, we're flying high. And that's when I watched them, like they they're playing well as a team, but that quarterback, I mean they they he can't really function. I mean, he's they got a problem if he's not able to take a pretty big step in the next couple of years because every year he's gotta play the Bills. I know they beat him, but it wasn't because of him and Belichick and even now Miami can score like Zach Wilson's a problem for the Jets because you can watch their team if you just know anything about football and go Jesus, they got some players well oh yeah, I mean their past and the coach, and the coach feels like he's kind of like got something going. Yeah, Well, what the Jets really have is maybe the best pure corner in the league. So they could put him on Stefon Diggs take out big play for the Bills. The Bills don't have a running game, so now what are you doing You're throwing on third and seven. Well, that pass rush, they don't have to bring extra men, so Green Bay locks down. Stefon Diggs doesn't bring extra people, gets a tremendous pass rage, doesn't respect Buffalo's run game, doesn't have to and all of a sudden, you know, when you take out I always call the Bills Mike Tyson like, if you take out the knockout punch, not much of a jab there, right, If you take out Stefon Diggs and the Josh Allen home runs and say, okay, beat me on Nuance you watched yesterday, it's not part of Buffalo's game. Well that that was my take on the Chiefs game. The Chiefs had their c minus game yet Andy mahomes that they don't wilt, that they even when they're playing like Ship and Kelsey, they just are able to stay focused and they just find a way. They're down seventeen to nine, they have the big drive, they win in overtime. I don't think the Bills win that game, that's right, and they haven't, you know, but the Chiefs. To me, that's the difference in the two teams and really the two quarterbacks. And hopefully for all of our sake, he doesn't have a major elbow injury. That would be awful because they would be done if if Josh Allen's elbow injury is serious, what a break for Miami, not just in division, but if you if you sort of look at it, the trouble spot for Miami, it would be a road January playoff game was small to a that pass rush, you'd be like wind I mean to underthrows, not occasionally every deep ball. They're all undergrowne. So yeah, so you can see Miami, you can see around the corner and go. The trouble spot for them is that windy, cold weather game in Kansas City. In Buffalo and Cincinnati, because their defense isn't that good. They're not built to play like that. And and that front seven for Buffalo and Healthy is the deepest in the league. So all of a sudden you take Josh Allen out do not winning many football games is a case. Keenum's the backup. Okay, now you win division, you get a Miami home game. So now you only gonna have to go on the road one time, you know one. And by the way, Cincinnati could play a Kansas City they knock each other out. So like this Josh Allen thing, Miami is a huge There are the team in the league that really needs desperately a home field playoff game because in their divisions, the coldest city in the country have sized Buffalo, Chicago and Buffalo. So I looked at that Josh Allen thing and I thought, boy, what of all the teams. People would instinctively think what a break for the Chiefs. But Kansas City could go to Buffalo and win. I don't doubt that for us wherever. But Miami January, they're not winning that game. And so it's like, Wow, what a break. And by the way, Miami is a great watch I'm here for I love watching them play well. Before because I want to ask you about Brian Kelly, but a lot of people, you know, because you look at the stats to a m v P. To me, the MVP of the team is Tyreek Hill. And the one thing I underestimated his competitive character. I thought, you know, he'd be one of these a lot of times, definitely in my life once the money really hit in the mid nineties and the two thousand's guys would get that third contract and then they just kind of whatever. But it kind of you look back at Tyreek no wonder he was so good with the Chiefs because his competitive spirit was just like Kelsey and Patrick Mahomes. He's playing like with twa who's clearly not as good as the guy who's used to like every game really matters. He has been incredible for them, though, And I can imagine when a guy with that many accomplishments, whose super Bowl champ no one else in the team has, that is playing that hard every single week. I mean, call, he's got seventy six catches. It's November seven. I mean he's on pace four. The Cooper CuPy year last year was awesome. This looks a little different. I mean, no one's even around this guy, and it's it's been impressive. And I know Andy always thought like people under Tyreek smart, like his ability to learn football. He goes Mike McDaniel, smart guy. They have hit the ground running, and to me, he not to has carried that team. Yeah, no, I think he was always a field tilter um. You know, I said before this season, I said, Kansas City will be fine, but they won't score as quickly. They'll score, you know, sky More and and scant Ling and Juju Smith Schuster, they'll they'll score, but they're not going to score like that. You know. If you go look at the Tyreek killed Mahomes, Travis Kelsey teams. What was remarkable about them? They trailed Houston once in a playoff game twenty four nothing and I never for a second thought they were out of it. They was like having it was like the Yankees, you know, but there was so much home run power that deficits didn't really matter. This team can't fall behind twenty four. Now they're gonna playoff game. They they they just they're not going to be that fast. They don't have the lightning um. And so, yeah, he's a field tilter. He's there's not many in the league. He's just there's there's no way that I mean, even corners in this league. If you who as I talking to or listening to Oh. Emmanuel Sanders told me the other day he's like, man, he just got out of the sport and he works for the NFL network. He said, when we played the Tyree killed team, you know, like even the corners for us, Like, hey, I need help on the back end that I can't run with this guy. That's NFL corners for Buffalo Football season is underway, So now is the perfect time to download FanDuel, America's number one sports book because right now new customers get a no sweat first bet up to one thousand dollars. That's free bets back if your first bet doesn't win. Just sign up using the promo code Colin. FanDuel has all your favorite bets from money line to point spreads, two player props. 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Gambling problem called one hundred next step or text next step to five three three for two Arizona one eight seven, eight nine seven seven seven seven, or visit CCPG dot org, slash chat Connecticut one hund gamble or visit FanDuel dot com slash RG Colorado, Iowa, Indiana, Illinois, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Virginia one eight seven seven seven seven zero stop Louisiana or one hundred to seven oh seven one one seven for confidential help. Michigan one eight seven seven eight Hope and why or text hope and why for six seven three six nine, New York, Tennessee red Line one eight eight nine seven eight nine Tennessee one hundred five to forty seven hundred Wyoming. Visit www dot one gambler dot net, West Virginia. You know it's funny, we say field Tilter. You know in college there's probably five or six guys that till the country right, and I think Kirby has proven to be that at Georgie's taking that program to another level. And You've always been a big Brian Kelly supporter, who when I was a G at Fresno State, we played him his last year Cincinnati, the year they went to the BCS, and it was then he went to Notre Dame and clearly he realized he could never win a national championship in Notre Dame. He could never beat Alabama with Notre Dame's teams, and he goes to L s U. And I don't even care if you're in Brian Kelly's family. I met Brian Kelly, didn't think you're one. He beat in Alabama one just from a TV product that was as good as college football gets. I mean, it's awesome to watch at night. But what he's done with that team and you and me or West Coast football guys, I mean Jade Daniels to have him play that well this soon after it looks so ugly, I mean, are you shocked by how good the L s U is? I mean, beating Alabama? I know this isn't this isn't. I was told by a scout the difference now of Alabama five years ago is Georgia now flits with Alabama on the top recruits, and then A and M in Texas the last couple of years where the cash has been able to buy some of them, so Alabama doesn't quite monopolize just everything they once had. Yeah, I mean, if you take out their best edge rusher, Will Anderson, it's not it's a good d line, but it's not scary. It's not like George's not what it was. And they don't have like their second corner or their third corner look like everybody else's second corner, the third corner. So I think what's happened is Lane Kiffin, will Steel, the receiver, Kirby Smart, two linebackers. To your point, they're losing about six guys a year, and after about three years of that, you don't have the depth. So because because a couple of those guys never amount to anything, and then a couple of them are three and done, so it's it can add up fast. And I am surprised. I thought year two, Um, you know, but what's interesting somebody told me this about Lincoln Riley so Lincoln has really solved USC's offense. But somebody told me, even with the transfer portal, you can't solve both sides of a team in one year. So Lincoln clearly said, I'm gonna solve my side. I know offense, USC has one NFL player in their front seven. Defensively, it will take him another transfer portal class. By the end of next year. I think USC will be able to play with Caleb in that National Championships. They're not They're not there yet, so I figured it would take I figured it would take Brian Kelly two years. But the truth is l s U has got NFL bodies everywhere. Somebody told me, uh, over the weekend. I got a text yesterday that Brian Kelly basically told l s you listen, you just need a grown up here, You just need an adult in the room. You're fine, We're gonna be fine very quickly. So, you know, one of the things that not that it bothers me about the media, but it's so transparent and the lack of self awareness by the media is a kind of jaw dropping. The media doesn't like Brian Kelly because he's uh, he's outspoken and he's kind of you know, he's kind of that blustery. Well in college, I think we judge you more in your kids. In the NFL, no one cares the Belichicks a dick as as long as you win. In college. You know, sometimes when you think you're fraud I mean, I'm critical to Urban Mayer because I think he's kind of phony. Sometimes you're judged differently, I think as a college guy because it's a little more father figure like, right, But if if you really look at Brian Kelly's resume, but maybe people actually like him that are around him. So I don't know, I've never heard players really bash him. No, no, no, I mean he I know one person that knows him well and he really likes him. He said he's gotten better, Like Tom Coughlin, he's evolved, he's easier now, he's loosened up. He's loosened up over the last ten years. So, um, I knew somebody that dealt with him early at Notre Dame and they, like they said, he changed early to mid to late. Remember there was the death of the student. I think that took a little chunk. Yeah, yeah, I think that that that was rough for his family. And so people evolve um. But it's like, the media has to be honest about this. That was the first time he's ever faced Nick Saban with equal talent, and he out coached him. And this is why I left. Everybody was like, I can't. The media kind of took their swives set up for leaving Notre Dame. Notre Dame's an elite academic institution at a private school in a lousy weather area of the country where you have to convince kids to come play there. L s u you asked them, and so he finally had. Somebody once told me that about mac Brown. They're like, man, mac Brown's problem is everybody wanted to play. He got it rolling so fast that every Texas kid wanted to be a longhorn, and he got a little sloppy and recruiting. But yeah, yeah, you just asked kids, do you want to play? So you know mac came from Carolina, He's he's really working the recruiting. And then all of a sudden, they get rolling and every corner wants to play for and you in protect us, and you get a little sloppy. Pete got a little sloppy at the end of USC where they were taking kind of marginal kids that you know, weren't great character guys, but everybody wanted to be a trojan out west. You were around here, it was they got anybody they wanted to. Yeah, So I just think Brian the media has to come to terms with he is in the top three or four in the country. He's won everywhere. He's won in five different places, and in like four of them fast like quickly. He's really good. Yeah, I mean he's going to compete. I honestly think I think I'm another guy. I think Jim Harback can beat Ohio State this year. So I think his team is really good. And I think Ohio State, clearly, they're just you know, Ryan Day is a good coach, but there's a toughness element that Urban brought to them that they just don't quite have now. And that's years when guys graduate. And at the end of the day, Harbaugh hangs his hat on that. So like his teams, you know, it took him a little longer probably than everyone that I even I thought, but his team's tough. I just watched Ohio State like they're a little too dependent on wide receivers, you know, no Joel Clapp said it today. Ohio State has a higher ceiling. Michigan's got a higher floor. Michigan's bad game, it's still really good. Ohio State has quarters and halfs. They were just tied with a one win team at half time. Yeah, I mean northwester is a decent one win team, but still no they Ohio State has bad halfs. It's like Michigan has okay quarters, They're never bad. And it's also the fastest Michigan team. You know Ryan Day can coach. It reminds me a little of Matt lafleura Green Bay, and I think I was pat on the back. I said this, okay, I'll give you that. I said by year two, I said, is he better than McCarthy or is the division now just awful? Chicago's worst? Remember McCarthy face Detroit with Matt Stafford. McCarthy faced the Chicago t and Rex Grossman that got to the Super Bowl. Minnesota has always been viable, and all these extra wins, these three or four extra wins, they're kind of coming in division. He's not beating anybody good. Well, I look at I look at green Bay. This year the special teams are wobbly. The defense underachieves. They don't give it to Aaron Jones enough, they're gonna get waxed by the Cowboys. And I kind of feel that with Ryan Day, we've just given him, We've given him, annointed him great. It's like I watched Oregon dominate Ohio State and Columbus. I watched Michigan dominate them in both the same way. Ohio State got pushed around, and even this year, I've watched them and I'm like, they're not as physical as Michigan. They're not as physical as Georgia. They're not. Yes, some guys and hardball, some offensive coaches view themselves quarterback wide receivers that that's what they're kind of personality. Hardbus personality is really more O line D line. You know, that's you know, for a former quarterback. He doesn't come off like a former quarterback. And I think that's all always translated into his teams. And last year was the first time when it felt like the talent he had recruited well enough and the quarterback play was somewhat equal. And obviously this quarterback in theory should be better. But you know, C J. Stroud, I think the media thinks he's like some top two players people I talked to. I mean, the top two players are Bryce and Levice. Like c J. Stroud is not gonna be a top I don't think a top five quarterback, top five pick, he's gonna be a top five. Off the air today with my staff we went and there's nothing wrong with that, go and pick twenty. You know, we we had this conversation with my staff today off air. We went to a break and we were taught. I had just said something about Michigan or college football, and I told the staff off air, I just said, I just I just would struggle the draft CJ. Stroud top ten. I just I just don't see that. It Well, he's not a great athlete. He's throwing too. It's a little to a mac jones ish. The guys he's playing, I mean, Marvin Harrison's kid looks incredible. I mean, the guys he was playing with last here. So yeah, I'm with you, and we'll see there's gonna be a lot of you know, pressure, everyone's gonna be watching that game. And that's if Georgia Tennessee and Bama l s U. I mean, i'd say Ohio State Michigan's. You could argue even bigger given that what this is gonna be at stake, right if they're both undefeated, go into that game. But we'll let you get to bed. And uh so this is fun camp. This has been a live so for all the people watching that will I'll put this on my social from time to time. We have a deal it's called AMP with Amazon where we kind of take a podcast style and we just go live with it. It's like radio, and uh it's fun. We just we buzzed through like thirty five minutes like nothing. Man, that was great. I tweeted to Colin, but I'm I'm I'm hacked. I'm locked out. So people have my cryptocurrency, people, they have my stuff. Now. Ellen has got a lot going on right now, so I'm I don't know if I'm high on his on his list to get back to. So, uh, I was just want to see what happens alright, buddy, Okay later Colindy, Okay, let's get to the mail bag at John Middlecoff is the Instagram fire in those d m s. Get your question answered here on the show. You got hack bad on Twitter? You probably know this. I do kind of hope it doesn't never come back. Wouldn't mind it? John, as a fellow bald headed John, I'm a big fan of the show. You were critical of Tah earlier in his career, but now he has a system and a set set of weapons that garner to his skill sets. That being said, do you think Ta deserves some more credit and maybe some m v P conversation? I think we'd all have to agree toa is playing better than I thought he would. But when I watch him, I don't feel like I'm seeing some dynamic player. He throws a very catchable deep ball, hangs up in the air a little for me. If anyone's gonna win the the m v P on the Dolphins, the biggest die hard Dolphin fan would have to admit, Tyreek Hill would have to win the award too. I can't win the ward over Tyreek Hill like that. That just can't happen. So is he better than I thought? Yes? Uh? One thing. I've seen some clips of him with the media like feels like he's pretty getting a lot more comfortable in his own skin, which is cool. Um. I'm a big fan of any human being, whether they're that talented or not like, you know, not being insecure and not saying that he was insecure, But it just feels like he's very comfortable in his role talking to the media with his teammates, and I respect that. Like, if your teammates like you, there's something to be said about that. Hey, John, love the pod. Why do NBA rests continue to call so many touch fouls? Seems like more no calls would make the product better, faster paced, more action. Not sure the business case for this, any idea why the NBA is not cut down on calling so many touch fouls? Brian in Connecticut. I gotta be completely honest, Brian. And maybe it's I haven't bought the NBA package. I probably won't. I haven't really watched that many NBA games. But here's what I tell Adam Silver. Why is your league already started? It's November seven? How about started about Thanksgiving? You used to start at Halloween, which I thought was a little too early. Now you start like the middle of October. Like I love baseball, I love it, but I them playing World Series games against l s U Alabama. It's one thing. If that game was early October, it's fucking early November. Why can't we find a way to finish the season way earlier? Why can't we find a way in basketball to start the season a little bit later? Make your TV product more valuable and get more money. I say it all the time. People think the NBA is some lock to get a big TV deal. I call bullshit. We're in, if not headed into economic chaos. The NBA's ratings have diminished for like the last five years. They've lost half their audience. It's like, well, the NFL keeps quadrupling, their audience keeps growing. Like, how is the NBA going to just get a dramatically bigger media rights deal? Well, life sports, Yeah, they're already making a lot. Why wouldn't I just offer you the same if I'm ESPN, if I'm t n T, if I'm Apple, Why do I need to pay you way more? Because that's just how it works? Bullshit? It like, what why your audience is diminished? I that's why I do not get everyone that covers and I listen to some decent amount of NBA podcast Like, well, this this next media rights deal is gonna be three x. There's gonna be guys making eighty million dollars a year. Is there. Are we sure because this last media deal was horrendous for all the partners, t NT, ESPN, they got throttled. Now they're just gonna pay three times when they just paid and that deal wasn't good for them. There's obviously a value to have the content, but Adam Silver's league, let's face it, is in pretty big shambles. So I can't speak to the refereeing. You know, the officiating in the NBA has always been terrible, but think of what has happened his last couple of weeks, the Kyrie situation. Uh, I mean, the Spurs had a player sending Dick picks two employees, and the Spurs are then trying to act like they shouldn't be they should be absolved from it because she's suing them too. It's like, yeah, it's come on, san Antonio Papovitch, where are you on this one, buddy? Uh? They have another player on the Hornets who just I think going to jail domestic battery. I mean, let's the the NBA. They got some issues with the Steelers looking like they will get a top three pick in the coming draft. What do you think is the most likely scenario for them? Do you think they ride with Picket or draft a new quarterback. Maybe they've trade down for more picks. Any thoughts. I'll be completely honest. I haven't thought about the Steelers draft. Uh, but they would have to get one of the top two picks to me to move off Picket. I just think they are very likely to keep trying to build this team up and build around pick It because it's not like they have a new GM and a new coach. I mean this coach and even the GM was there when they drafted him. So I I think that Kenny Pickett, he's gonna get a couple of years. He just is because in their mind, they can put a really good team around him, get TJ healthy. Maybe you know, if they get the eighth pick, trade back, accumulate some more picks, trying to nail a bunch of picks. They have historically drafted pretty well. Um yeah, I I I wouldn't. I wouldn't assume Kenny pick It would be in any trouble. I'm curious if you think Arizona will clean house with the coaching staff in GM after the extending time in Kingsbury. They're great, underperforming and it seems like big changes are in order. Yeah, I would say that everything's gonna be on the table there because you can't fire a player right like you're not firing. They guaranteed him hundred seventy million dollars, So Kyler is getting a couple of years here, kylerine going anywhere. I think the only question now is do they survive. My gut says no, but win five games and we'll see. And that kind of feels it feels like what they're headed toward, but not really, I don't know. Hey, long time listener. Despite my dad and I living on different coasts California, New York, we both listened religiously and often texts about the show. Well, I appreciate that Dad's a good guy. Was curious, who you think are the top five and bottom five quarterbacks independent rosters? Well, I think the top five quarterbacks. Obviously Mahomes and Allen would be right there. Brady and Rodgers would not be based on this season. I mean, obviously Brady and Rodgers you could grandfather them in. But if I'm excluding them, I would say that Jalen has played like a top five quarterback. So Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen, Jalen Ramsay, uh Lamar's hit some rough times. You know two of to me is I mean the stats look like it, but you know it's the top five quarterback. I don't know uh Dak uh Cousins. I don't know Gina. I mean Gino has had a top five season. I guess you could put two in there. Just when he's played, they've won, which is the goal of the of the team. I would say bottom five quarterbacks this year. Zack Wilson, Davis, Mills, Russell would be in the conversation. I think Jared Goff is pretty terrible, Baker Mayfield, Stafford has been pretty awful. I think there'd be a company. Matt Ryan was pretty bad. It would be a competition for that one. Zack Wilson's team's good, but I think even Jets fans would have to agree. He's probably not a bottom five quarterback. But I don't know. Zack Wilson is a weird one. How about Jaden Daniels. I live in Tempe and always seen the dog in him, just being held back by the below average pack twelve. I think it's about time the world to see I remember him at a s U I guess I never really thought much about like his toughness, which has clearly been pretty strong, right, his his toughness, his competitiveness. I didn't think he was a good enough passer, and I think it speaks to Brian Kelly and how good of a job they've done. He's playing with really good players, He's playing really well. He was really good the other night. He was really good. Now he wasn't the best quarterback on the field. He's playing against the guy that's probably gonna be the number one pick in the draft. And Bryce's Bryce is one of the more fun players in a long time, Like Bryce is like Johnny manzelf Fund, Bryce's Bryce's box office. And Jaden did what he had to do to put his team in position to beat him. So yeah, he's Remember that first game of the season, who they play Florida State? I thought they were headed for a just a terrible season. Last week, he briefly talked about how the NFL distributes revenue from its TV deals to teams to pay players. This is super interesting to me. Can you explain it further? How do incentives and bonuses work in a strict salary cap? Well, so, whatever the DV deal on a yearly basis is right. So three let's say it's like three billion dollars. It might be off. Whatever the number is thirty two times three million. It's my calculator is not big enough. But whatever the number on the annual basis for the media deals, which means what the TV pays you accounts. I think last year it was like three hundred million dollars. Again I have to Google get the exact numbers, but let's just pick that number. Three million dollars. So every team got that from over the year. Now I don't think you get it in one check. It comes over the fall. We'll think about what your payroll is for your team. It can't exceed it's a hard cap. So the cap I'm just gonna pick an even number last year was two hundred million dollars. You get over a hundred million dollars extra guaranteed. Like most of our business is right, I'm not This podcast a good example if we don't sell advertising. If I could have a million people listen to an episode, but if there is no advertising on the episode, there is no revenue. So the only way I'm guaranteed revenue for this podcast is to get advertisers, have us pay them for our audience. That's the way this business works. It's way any podcast works, So any television show works. The way the NFL works. The reason that the CBS is worth it for them to pay two billion dollars a year to get the NFL because they can sell advertising and make more than two billion dollars a year. Right, so they get more than their players. So you could be a team with no revenue, makes zero dollars, and you get guaranteed three hundred million dollars. Now, you obviously have other expenses. We'll think how much your coaching staff costs. Let's say your head coach makes ten, the rest of the staff makes five, the training staff makes another, you know, scouting staff makes another couple of million. You're still under two million dollars. You got eighty to play with. I think of all your employees. Don't cost you know, another couple of million dollars some of your other expenses. So even if you made nothing else, the media money you would you would be in. You'd be making money. Now the bonuses, like when I give you a Pro Bowl bonus or a touchdown bonus, I'm pretty sure and again I didn't work in the CAP. I just know a couple of people that did. They've always told me that follows over to the following year. So it's just that's the way it works, is that if if I owe you, you know, my players, that combine ten million dollars in bonus money that rolls over to the CAP that that next year. But I can't go too and like I don't there are probably different kickers ways for that to work. But but I do know that, uh that the media money pays for the players. Now, you could be making other money and used to pay for the players, but I would imagine that's where the most teams get their money to pay the players. Middlecofp mail back at John Middlecoff Instagram firing those d M audio volume