The volume.

The volume.

What is going on everybody, How are we doing? Hopefully everyone is doing well out there on the streets, wheeling and dealing, living life. And we're gonna do a little football podcast today because that's what we do here and with the combine going on.

What is going on everybody, How are we doing? Hopefully everyone is doing well out there on the streets, wheeling and dealing, living life. And we're gonna do a little football podcast today because that's what we do here and with the combine going on.

We got John Lynch throughout some singers today. Sean McVeigh went on Whitwurst and Fitzpatrick's podcast, talked about the Stafford situation, the contract, the trade, how they're He was very he was very good. I recommend listening because he went in depth discussing the topic of Matthew Stafford and some other stuff, a lot of other stories around. We talked about the Tush push yesterday, so you can go check that out. We did a Go Low football podcast yesterday if you missed it. I kind of combined them both just because the combine was going down. And yeah, we'll talk to some football today. No mailbag. I will save the mail bag for fou Gayzy Friday, which a lot of you guys fired in questions, so we got a bunch. Might just do another huge mail bag unless some big story breaks tomorrow. But we'll see. We go day by day here, so we're just keeping our head above water. If you listen on Collins Feed, make sure you subscribe. You got a YouTube channel, make sure you subscribe to that as well. All of our content is up there, and any other pressing things I need to tell you, I don't think so. So let's talk a little combine. You know, this is the last day for the coaches and the gms to talk now. Granted, they will talk on NFL Network with DJ and Rich and you know, I saw McAfee's in Indianapolis, so other guys will do some interviews, but just in terms of formal interviews with the press. Whenever you say the press sounds so like nineteen eighty with people that talk and report and write about football. That's over. So this cool thing about the NFL, I remember was it a couple of weeks ago. And granted, I mean it's one of the biggest trades in the history of sports. When Luca got traded the Lakers. Everyone's like the NBA is stealing the NFL shine during Super Bowl Week, and the NFL has a few more curveballs up their sleeve. Because the combine is just content out of thin air. It's like, yeah, let's just go to Indianapolis have a bunch of guys work out and basically make every GM talk and ideally every coach will talk, and not everyone does. But we got a lot of good content out of these guys talking, which felt a little like the season because they kind of go into hibernation then un till free agency and then they will do some formal Every coach in GM has to talk before the DRAFTFT as well, so we'll hear from a couple more times before late April. But this is it is a fun time of year for those of us that love the draft, that love transactions, that love the drama. You know, I think the NFL does a good job of balancing the games. The main thing is the main thing, and the drama, which is important player movement, free agency as being a piece of the puzzle, A big piece of the puzzle. I mean, it carries them through several months in the offseason before we get to OTAs, which pretty boring even if you attend them. I've attended OTAs for a long for fifteen plus years. You know, you by about fifteen minutes in you're excited to see some football and then you're like, can I go to the golf course. I would think that if I was working for the team or covering the team. But I do want to start with John Lynch, who, like I said, I I do think it's a major mistake for any head coach, and Kyle's not alone. It's been reported that twenty six or twenty seven of the head coaches are there. But I do believe that every head coach should go to this event because there is importance and you can do your busy work evaluating free agents, catching up on the draft and other stuff in your hotel room. Like Andy Reid is not hitting the bars at night like he's working there as well as doing formal interviews and going to the workouts. So my stance on that will never change. And this isn't the quote unquote scout in me. It's just if if you told me, hey, you know, the volume has a has a sales convention and it's not mandatory, but hey, if you want to come, we would love to see there. We think it's going to be pretty important. We're gonna have a lot of people that invest and advertise on our platforms. It's like, oh, where is it, and they'd be like, well, it's halfway across the country and I'd go, well, who's going? Will Colin and Shannon Sharp are going to be there? Do you know what I'd do? I'd be like, I should probably go. It'd probably be a good idea. And if the guy that's been to five Super Bowls in six years and is heading straight to the Hall of Fame goes every single year, you should probably go. I mean you just should. And I you know, McVeigh I don't know why him and Kyle just do not value this thing. I think they they don't like the the gossiping nature of it. You know, there is a lot of people talking to each other and they're not that into that getting, you know, going out at night. But still like you don't have to do that, like I promise you this. Like Andy Reid's not shutting down the bars. Neither was Bill Belichick. But there just is value here now. It is the general manager is leading the charge during this event, just like during the season, the head coach is leading the charge. And John Lynch hit the podium today representing the forty nine ers and he said some I would say pretty enlightening things. Now I've said for a while the arguing I had no problem having a strong opinion of like I would not give two a money, you know, one hundred and fifty one hundred and eighty million dollars. I thought giving Trevor Lawrence two hundred million dollars is one of the most insane things in the history of sports. It's like, you're gonna give him two hundred million dollars guaranteed. Are we living in the same world now, Brock party, I understand where they're coming from. They have won a ton of games with the guy. They have seen him make huge plays in big playoff games. So the unlike Tua who got whatever one hundred and sixty hundred and seventy million dollars, or even Jordan Love who had only excelled in eight games and won one playoff game, I understood their view on the guy right. They had won playoff games with Brock perty four if memory serves me correct. So you know, you could go into a game and win when forty fifty million people are watching, and if you lose, you get eliminated. And I think the difference between the AFC and the NFC is pretty big because in the AFC it's harder. Why some of the greatest quarterback talents we've ever seen. I mean, Mahomes is already he's like not even thirty, and we already consider him not just a top five quarterback, but like, is he the second best quarterback of all time? Like, if it goes Brady Montana, is he third? I mean, that's that's where we're talking. And Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson are just rattling off MVPs. And if it wasn't for one of the best quarterbacks of all time, one of those two would probably have a Super Bowl. Potentially both of them would have a super Bowl. I mean, it's just it's really that simple. And Joe Burrow, who missed the playoffs, is one of the best quarterbacks in recent memory. The guy's a fucking stut Now. I think Jim Harbaugh can be a little hyperbolic, and he he said today that Herbert has a chance to be one of the greatest quarterbacks ever, not like in the league right now, but like ever. But that's kind of how Jim talks. But he's not wrong, Like I would expect Herbert to have a lot of success under Jim. All those guys are in the AFC and in the NFC. Like, let's face it, now, Jaden, can't he keep it up? We'll see it's gonna be hard. I would bet on it, but like he's done it one year we saw CJ. Stroud quote unquote regress. But when you look at the guys having the most success, Jared Goff and Jalen Hurts, I think they have something in common with what the forty nine ers have excelled at with their team. They built up the team around their quarterback. Jalen makes a ton of money, Jared Goff makes a ton of money. They are on loaded teams, and it is a lot easier to excel when you have a lot of talent around you. It's why this argument, like is it the system? Is it the player? Is it? Like? What would he look like on a shitty team? Well, they're not on a shitty team. Jalen Hurts gets to play with AJ Brown, gets to play with Devonte Smith, Dallas Goddard, oh yeah, and say Kwan Barkley in the best offensive line in the league. He gets that, and through that they win a ton of games. They just won the Super Bowl. Honestly, they probably should have two in three years, right. Jared goff. If it wasn't for some of the craziest injury luck we've ever seen, they probably would have been in the NFC Championship against the Eagles. Now, even healthy, I don't think it's a lock they win that game. Obviously, the Eagles are superloaded, but that's what we're talking about, and the forty nine ers win healthy. A year ago, they were the equivalent loaded team around a quarterback who's really good and proven you could win with and proven you could win the playoffs. So to me, the pressure like he's getting paid, So the argument like should they pay him or not? They're paying him, John Lynch said, were already in contract negotiations. Honestly, they had, you know, decided to pay him last year after the Super Bowl, like this was a done deal because the way the season ended wasn't great. But they'll just chock it up injuries other luck. Kyle Shanahan wasn't good. But to me, the pressure now is on John Lyncher Kyle Shanayan. It just is just like the moment they paid Jalen Hurts, the pressure was on Nick Sirianni and Howie Roseman, and those guys answered the belt. Just like the moment you go all in on Jared Goff and they did a couple of years ago, and you stick with him, and you're gonna write it out the pressures on the coach and the GM and what did Brad Holmes and Dan Campbell do? They answered the belt. They coached well and they built up a good team. So it's like Kyle has to look at last season like that can't happen again. You have to be much better in the red zone. You have to be more innovative, Like you can't just well, this works seven years. We got to change defensively. You've already gone and got more aggressive and got Robert solid good move. Ownership deserves credit too, because he's making you know, rumors are right there with Fanjio, one of the highest paid defensive coordinators in the NFL, if not the highest. And now you have the eleventh pick, and this is my issue with Kyle not being there. It's one thing if like you had just lost the game a couple weeks ago, it's like you're picking thirty second. Your GM scouts can handle that. You got to figure out some stuff you've been off since early January, Like it's pretty important for you and every coach that was asked this yesterday because, like I mentioned on the podcast, Grant Cone who him and Kyle, But he's going around asking every coach why you're here, basically running a bit, taking shots a cop. And I would say all of them, especially the older coaches, said it's to meet the guys, and meeting these players is important. When you have the eleventh pick, you could trade up a couple spots, be in pick seven, pick eight, pick nine, you can trade back a couple spots and go fourteen to fifteen. But like, whoever you're gonna pick has to be a good player. If you want to continue winning, you have to hit on this pick. There is no way around it. There is no like, well, we'll keep our fingers. This has to hit if you're gonna sustain winning. It just has to happen. And there's a ton of pressure. So to me, John Lynch, Kyle Shanahan, like, that's who the pressures on. If brock Purty just keeps playing like he's been playing, it's you know, the pre he is what he is, and you understand that. Now can he incrementally get better? Of course, and to me, there was some decision making this season, which were he can't have because he can't play like that. He is not skilled like Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson or Patrick Mahomes. He has to be an elite decision maker. He has to be a guy that doesn't make mistakes. Obviously, over the course of the season, you're gonna make mistakes. But in a tight game in the fourth quarter, I can't throw a pick. When we're down five points in the fourth quarter, I'm not allowed to throw a throw a pick. We will lose the game. And that's what happened last season. John Lynch also acknowledged Deebo Samuel. He is asked for a change of scenery, start fresh, and he answered, we plan on honoring that. So at Deebo Samuel, which all signs pointed to. It's unofficial now will not be a forty nine er in twenty twenty five. I think the question mark is will they have to cut him because I don't think there's a guarantee that they can trade them now. I do think there are enough teams around the NFL with cap space that go Here's the one thing with Debo. He has proven in big games, in big moments to be a fucking war Daddy. Now is he the same player that he was a couple of years ago? Based on twenty twenty four he was not. But if I'm a team and I want to, I would say, bring in a winning presence, a guy who knows what it's like to win, a guys who knows what it's like to compete at the highest level, and a guy who knows what's expected of a team starting in August through late January. I do think he has some value. Now, when I say it has some value, I'm talking a fifth or sixth round pick. And I would wonder, based on his contract, like, has anyone given him twenty million dollars next year? Because if he was just cut, and what would his market be? I don't think it would sniff that based on the way he played. But I do think there are enough teams with cap space who who are just trying to be not just productive, but like instill a winning culture and listen, Deebo can drive you nuts or whatever, but like Kyle does really like him and still, like I was just talking to Debo at the airport when we were flying out to the Super Bowl, Deebo really likes Kyle, like they have a good relationship, and it's not easy to play for Kyle Shannan, especially on offense at wide receiver, which you know people think of Kyle Shannan quarterback. Actually his baby is the wide receiver. Ask anyone around the forty nine ers, like, it's really really difficult to get on the field as a young wide receiver, and once you prove yourself, like there's a high high standard a physical play in blocking. So I do think if you're a team with some late round picks and you have the cap space, I don't think it's crazy to bring him on just to show some of your young players, like, this is what it takes and this physically is what you need to play like if you want to win big games. Other than that, there was another story yesterday that Brian Greasy it looked like he had been fired and then it was reported and I asked around. I think it's pretty clear. One I'll never understand a guy who's really really rich, especially a former player who gets into broadcasting where if you're calling games, you're working once a week, right, And Brian Greasy for a long time was calling college games and then he became for like a I think it was a year or two. The Monday night football him Lewis and was a Steve Levy did Monday Night football. But you're working once a week, and you know you're doing Monday Night football. You're making seven figs, so you're a rich guy. And then you transition to coaching, Well, if you're a quarterback coach, you're making decent money. Let's just say seven hundred, eight hundred thousand dollars, so you're a top I don't know, two percent or one percenter in America with that job. But that's not your typical eight hundred thousand dollars job. You are working during the season, I would say closer to one hundred hours than eighty. And the one consistent theme in Matt Barrows, who covers the Niners, was like the hours were pretty overwhelming. He was asked to interview for the Jets job and he turned it down, and John Lynch mentioned this today. He thought it would be disingenuous to take a job when he didn't plan on coaching. But I do admire anyone who's willing to take that plunge because this guy had been around football his whole life. Even if you don't quite know what coaching like entails. You got a pretty good idea and he did it for a couple of years, made it to a super Bowl. Then he realized I'm out, let me quit, and Mike Lombardi, who's Belichick's gm son, will be the quarterback coach. But you know, Brian Greasy was one of the driving forces during the draft process for Brock Purty. He was a huge fan and it's I think, I don't want to say the number one reason, but it's definitely played a factor of a guy pounding the table to draft this player. And you know, obviously this is a guy that Kyle Shanahan and John Lynch now say we want around. As long as we're around.

We got John Lynch throughout some singers today. Sean McVeigh went on Whitwurst and Fitzpatrick's podcast, talked about the Stafford situation, the contract, the trade, how they're He was very he was very good. I recommend listening because he went in depth discussing the topic of Matthew Stafford and some other stuff, a lot of other stories around. We talked about the Tush push yesterday, so you can go check that out. We did a Go Low football podcast yesterday if you missed it. I kind of combined them both just because the combine was going down. And yeah, we'll talk to some football today. No mailbag. I will save the mail bag for fou Gayzy Friday, which a lot of you guys fired in questions, so we got a bunch. Might just do another huge mail bag unless some big story breaks tomorrow. But we'll see. We go day by day here, so we're just keeping our head above water. If you listen on Collins Feed, make sure you subscribe. You got a YouTube channel, make sure you subscribe to that as well. All of our content is up there, and any other pressing things I need to tell you, I don't think so. So let's talk a little combine. You know, this is the last day for the coaches and the gms to talk now. Granted, they will talk on NFL Network with DJ and Rich and you know, I saw McAfee's in Indianapolis, so other guys will do some interviews, but just in terms of formal interviews with the press. Whenever you say the press sounds so like nineteen eighty with people that talk and report and write about football. That's over. So this cool thing about the NFL, I remember was it a couple of weeks ago. And granted, I mean it's one of the biggest trades in the history of sports. When Luca got traded the Lakers. Everyone's like the NBA is stealing the NFL shine during Super Bowl Week, and the NFL has a few more curveballs up their sleeve. Because the combine is just content out of thin air. It's like, yeah, let's just go to Indianapolis have a bunch of guys work out and basically make every GM talk and ideally every coach will talk, and not everyone does. But we got a lot of good content out of these guys talking, which felt a little like the season because they kind of go into hibernation then un till free agency and then they will do some formal Every coach in GM has to talk before the DRAFTFT as well, so we'll hear from a couple more times before late April. But this is it is a fun time of year for those of us that love the draft, that love transactions, that love the drama. You know, I think the NFL does a good job of balancing the games. The main thing is the main thing, and the drama, which is important player movement, free agency as being a piece of the puzzle, A big piece of the puzzle. I mean, it carries them through several months in the offseason before we get to OTAs, which pretty boring even if you attend them. I've attended OTAs for a long for fifteen plus years. You know, you by about fifteen minutes in you're excited to see some football and then you're like, can I go to the golf course. I would think that if I was working for the team or covering the team. But I do want to start with John Lynch, who, like I said, I I do think it's a major mistake for any head coach, and Kyle's not alone. It's been reported that twenty six or twenty seven of the head coaches are there. But I do believe that every head coach should go to this event because there is importance and you can do your busy work evaluating free agents, catching up on the draft and other stuff in your hotel room. Like Andy Reid is not hitting the bars at night like he's working there as well as doing formal interviews and going to the workouts. So my stance on that will never change. And this isn't the quote unquote scout in me. It's just if if you told me, hey, you know, the volume has a has a sales convention and it's not mandatory, but hey, if you want to come, we would love to see there. We think it's going to be pretty important. We're gonna have a lot of people that invest and advertise on our platforms. It's like, oh, where is it, and they'd be like, well, it's halfway across the country and I'd go, well, who's going? Will Colin and Shannon Sharp are going to be there? Do you know what I'd do? I'd be like, I should probably go. It'd probably be a good idea. And if the guy that's been to five Super Bowls in six years and is heading straight to the Hall of Fame goes every single year, you should probably go. I mean you just should. And I you know, McVeigh I don't know why him and Kyle just do not value this thing. I think they they don't like the the gossiping nature of it. You know, there is a lot of people talking to each other and they're not that into that getting, you know, going out at night. But still like you don't have to do that, like I promise you this. Like Andy Reid's not shutting down the bars. Neither was Bill Belichick. But there just is value here now. It is the general manager is leading the charge during this event, just like during the season, the head coach is leading the charge. And John Lynch hit the podium today representing the forty nine ers and he said some I would say pretty enlightening things. Now I've said for a while the arguing I had no problem having a strong opinion of like I would not give two a money, you know, one hundred and fifty one hundred and eighty million dollars. I thought giving Trevor Lawrence two hundred million dollars is one of the most insane things in the history of sports. It's like, you're gonna give him two hundred million dollars guaranteed. Are we living in the same world now, Brock party, I understand where they're coming from. They have won a ton of games with the guy. They have seen him make huge plays in big playoff games. So the unlike Tua who got whatever one hundred and sixty hundred and seventy million dollars, or even Jordan Love who had only excelled in eight games and won one playoff game, I understood their view on the guy right. They had won playoff games with Brock perty four if memory serves me correct. So you know, you could go into a game and win when forty fifty million people are watching, and if you lose, you get eliminated. And I think the difference between the AFC and the NFC is pretty big because in the AFC it's harder. Why some of the greatest quarterback talents we've ever seen. I mean, Mahomes is already he's like not even thirty, and we already consider him not just a top five quarterback, but like, is he the second best quarterback of all time? Like, if it goes Brady Montana, is he third? I mean, that's that's where we're talking. And Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson are just rattling off MVPs. And if it wasn't for one of the best quarterbacks of all time, one of those two would probably have a Super Bowl. Potentially both of them would have a super Bowl. I mean, it's just it's really that simple. And Joe Burrow, who missed the playoffs, is one of the best quarterbacks in recent memory. The guy's a fucking stut Now. I think Jim Harbaugh can be a little hyperbolic, and he he said today that Herbert has a chance to be one of the greatest quarterbacks ever, not like in the league right now, but like ever. But that's kind of how Jim talks. But he's not wrong, Like I would expect Herbert to have a lot of success under Jim. All those guys are in the AFC and in the NFC. Like, let's face it, now, Jaden, can't he keep it up? We'll see it's gonna be hard. I would bet on it, but like he's done it one year we saw CJ. Stroud quote unquote regress. But when you look at the guys having the most success, Jared Goff and Jalen Hurts, I think they have something in common with what the forty nine ers have excelled at with their team. They built up the team around their quarterback. Jalen makes a ton of money, Jared Goff makes a ton of money. They are on loaded teams, and it is a lot easier to excel when you have a lot of talent around you. It's why this argument, like is it the system? Is it the player? Is it? Like? What would he look like on a shitty team? Well, they're not on a shitty team. Jalen Hurts gets to play with AJ Brown, gets to play with Devonte Smith, Dallas Goddard, oh yeah, and say Kwan Barkley in the best offensive line in the league. He gets that, and through that they win a ton of games. They just won the Super Bowl. Honestly, they probably should have two in three years, right. Jared goff. If it wasn't for some of the craziest injury luck we've ever seen, they probably would have been in the NFC Championship against the Eagles. Now, even healthy, I don't think it's a lock they win that game. Obviously, the Eagles are superloaded, but that's what we're talking about, and the forty nine ers win healthy. A year ago, they were the equivalent loaded team around a quarterback who's really good and proven you could win with and proven you could win the playoffs. So to me, the pressure like he's getting paid, So the argument like should they pay him or not? They're paying him, John Lynch said, were already in contract negotiations. Honestly, they had, you know, decided to pay him last year after the Super Bowl, like this was a done deal because the way the season ended wasn't great. But they'll just chock it up injuries other luck. Kyle Shanahan wasn't good. But to me, the pressure now is on John Lyncher Kyle Shanayan. It just is just like the moment they paid Jalen Hurts, the pressure was on Nick Sirianni and Howie Roseman, and those guys answered the belt. Just like the moment you go all in on Jared Goff and they did a couple of years ago, and you stick with him, and you're gonna write it out the pressures on the coach and the GM and what did Brad Holmes and Dan Campbell do? They answered the belt. They coached well and they built up a good team. So it's like Kyle has to look at last season like that can't happen again. You have to be much better in the red zone. You have to be more innovative, Like you can't just well, this works seven years. We got to change defensively. You've already gone and got more aggressive and got Robert solid good move. Ownership deserves credit too, because he's making you know, rumors are right there with Fanjio, one of the highest paid defensive coordinators in the NFL, if not the highest. And now you have the eleventh pick, and this is my issue with Kyle not being there. It's one thing if like you had just lost the game a couple weeks ago, it's like you're picking thirty second. Your GM scouts can handle that. You got to figure out some stuff you've been off since early January, Like it's pretty important for you and every coach that was asked this yesterday because, like I mentioned on the podcast, Grant Cone who him and Kyle, But he's going around asking every coach why you're here, basically running a bit, taking shots a cop. And I would say all of them, especially the older coaches, said it's to meet the guys, and meeting these players is important. When you have the eleventh pick, you could trade up a couple spots, be in pick seven, pick eight, pick nine, you can trade back a couple spots and go fourteen to fifteen. But like, whoever you're gonna pick has to be a good player. If you want to continue winning, you have to hit on this pick. There is no way around it. There is no like, well, we'll keep our fingers. This has to hit if you're gonna sustain winning. It just has to happen. And there's a ton of pressure. So to me, John Lynch, Kyle Shanahan, like, that's who the pressures on. If brock Purty just keeps playing like he's been playing, it's you know, the pre he is what he is, and you understand that. Now can he incrementally get better? Of course, and to me, there was some decision making this season, which were he can't have because he can't play like that. He is not skilled like Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson or Patrick Mahomes. He has to be an elite decision maker. He has to be a guy that doesn't make mistakes. Obviously, over the course of the season, you're gonna make mistakes. But in a tight game in the fourth quarter, I can't throw a pick. When we're down five points in the fourth quarter, I'm not allowed to throw a throw a pick. We will lose the game. And that's what happened last season. John Lynch also acknowledged Deebo Samuel. He is asked for a change of scenery, start fresh, and he answered, we plan on honoring that. So at Deebo Samuel, which all signs pointed to. It's unofficial now will not be a forty nine er in twenty twenty five. I think the question mark is will they have to cut him because I don't think there's a guarantee that they can trade them now. I do think there are enough teams around the NFL with cap space that go Here's the one thing with Debo. He has proven in big games, in big moments to be a fucking war Daddy. Now is he the same player that he was a couple of years ago? Based on twenty twenty four he was not. But if I'm a team and I want to, I would say, bring in a winning presence, a guy who knows what it's like to win, a guys who knows what it's like to compete at the highest level, and a guy who knows what's expected of a team starting in August through late January. I do think he has some value. Now, when I say it has some value, I'm talking a fifth or sixth round pick. And I would wonder, based on his contract, like, has anyone given him twenty million dollars next year? Because if he was just cut, and what would his market be? I don't think it would sniff that based on the way he played. But I do think there are enough teams with cap space who who are just trying to be not just productive, but like instill a winning culture and listen, Deebo can drive you nuts or whatever, but like Kyle does really like him and still, like I was just talking to Debo at the airport when we were flying out to the Super Bowl, Deebo really likes Kyle, like they have a good relationship, and it's not easy to play for Kyle Shannan, especially on offense at wide receiver, which you know people think of Kyle Shannan quarterback. Actually his baby is the wide receiver. Ask anyone around the forty nine ers, like, it's really really difficult to get on the field as a young wide receiver, and once you prove yourself, like there's a high high standard a physical play in blocking. So I do think if you're a team with some late round picks and you have the cap space, I don't think it's crazy to bring him on just to show some of your young players, like, this is what it takes and this physically is what you need to play like if you want to win big games. Other than that, there was another story yesterday that Brian Greasy it looked like he had been fired and then it was reported and I asked around. I think it's pretty clear. One I'll never understand a guy who's really really rich, especially a former player who gets into broadcasting where if you're calling games, you're working once a week, right, And Brian Greasy for a long time was calling college games and then he became for like a I think it was a year or two. The Monday night football him Lewis and was a Steve Levy did Monday Night football. But you're working once a week, and you know you're doing Monday Night football. You're making seven figs, so you're a rich guy. And then you transition to coaching, Well, if you're a quarterback coach, you're making decent money. Let's just say seven hundred, eight hundred thousand dollars, so you're a top I don't know, two percent or one percenter in America with that job. But that's not your typical eight hundred thousand dollars job. You are working during the season, I would say closer to one hundred hours than eighty. And the one consistent theme in Matt Barrows, who covers the Niners, was like the hours were pretty overwhelming. He was asked to interview for the Jets job and he turned it down, and John Lynch mentioned this today. He thought it would be disingenuous to take a job when he didn't plan on coaching. But I do admire anyone who's willing to take that plunge because this guy had been around football his whole life. Even if you don't quite know what coaching like entails. You got a pretty good idea and he did it for a couple of years, made it to a super Bowl. Then he realized I'm out, let me quit, and Mike Lombardi, who's Belichick's gm son, will be the quarterback coach. But you know, Brian Greasy was one of the driving forces during the draft process for Brock Purty. He was a huge fan and it's I think, I don't want to say the number one reason, but it's definitely played a factor of a guy pounding the table to draft this player. And you know, obviously this is a guy that Kyle Shanahan and John Lynch now say we want around. As long as we're around.

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A lot of times during I don't want to say controversial but very public potential trades, contract negotiations, coaches and executives, whether it be during the season, you know in press conferences definitely at the combine are just very close to the vest and treat them like their nuclear secrets. Even and they were like, we get it, this guy wants more money. Even if the average fan or I would say ninety nine point nine percent of fans can't relate to negotiating contracts for one hundred two hundred million dollars. We've been watching sports long enough and we understand the push and pull of just basic things of building a team. You can only pay so many guys. I think most fans understand it. Sean McVay, who went on Whitworth and Fitzpatrick's podcast, was as open and candid in a situation regarding a Super Bowl champion star quarterback who has been a big reason the Rams post Goff I would say, took a pretty big step and became like true yearly super Bowl contenders because unlike him going to the Lions and resurrecting his career, their team is not nearly as deep or as good. And Matt Stafford at point in time over the last couple of years, has played like a top five quarterback and down the stretch, and and Sean McVay mentioned this, he's five and two as the Rams quarterback in the playoffs, and those two losses last year against the Lions and this year against the Eagles was not Matt Stafford's fault. He played winning football. So he played and did well enough to basically be seven and zero. And most people are not in the business of breaking up with those people. But as Sean McVay says, this is complicated. They love the guy, they want him to be their quarterback, but this is a business. And can we afford to pay a guy who's thirty seven years old, who I would say has a lot of wear and tear even at his age, given how he had the shit kicked out of him, not just with the Rams but over the course of his career, and who has told and McVeigh mentioned this like kind of goes year to year. And I understand where Matt Stafford's coming from. And you hear a lot of players like I want respect, and I get it, but it's like, bro, you've made three hundred and sixty million dollars. So when I see that the Giants and the Raiders are very, very interested. And I don't blame those two teams for being interested. If I were those two teams, as long as I don't have to give up my first round pick, I'd gladly give up my second round pick. Give you a couple years, one hundred million dollars, guarantee every penny. You are such a massive upgrade for me, and just give me a chance to win. But if I'm Matt Stafford, I'm gonna leave the Rams when like clearly they will keep me. I'm just gonna have to take quote unquote a pay cut. It's like middle coffe. It's easy for you to say take a pay cut. Well, yeah, if I had made three hundred and sixty million dollars, I would be thinking about, and I'm thirty seven years old, like how do I win another championship? That's all Brady ever thought about, how do I win another championship? And he just kept rattling them off, even Patrick Mahomes. It's been widely reported like he took one of the great He kind of took a hometown discount and it has benefited the Chiefs over the years. And that's at Stafford, who's just obsessed with like I need more money than Jared Goff, which we get it, you are a better player, but it's like, Okay, you're gonna go to the fucking giants, Like that's what you want to do, go to the giants. And it was reported today by Jorge Schultz that Brady took him skiing, that they hung out at the Yellowstone Club, which I've never been would love to go to to, where a lot of celebrities and elites like Tom Brady are members. It's basically a year round country club. During the summer, it's an unreal golf course. During the winner, you have your own private ski resort. A lot of actors, actresses, like big wigs, guys like Brady, and you know, clearly there is some muddy water of like have the Rams granted him the ability to meet with other people? You know, Florio's loves this story more than anyone humanly possible? Could that like is this tampering? Like listen, this is fucking business. They granted him the chance to talk with other people. Matt Stafford's worth hundreds of millions of dollars. He probably vacations at the Yellowstone Club too. And if you're Tom Brady, of course you want Matt Stafford there. And if you're the Raiders, I think you would gladly give up your second round pick and give him two years, one hundred and ten million dollars. I don't even think you would hesitate if you are, And listen, I'm a huge John spytech guy. How could you not be a big fan of Pete Carroll? Like they have real people running this organization, but that team isn't close to good And if Matt Stafford for an extra I don't know, twenty thirty million dollars, and listen, that's a lot of money, especially when you factor in no state income taxes. But it's been reported in mcphazing. I don't want him to leave, Like obviously at the price, we can figure it out. I want him to stay. But we got a number and we're not budget, which I really appreciate. Like we all get it, we all get the elephant in the room. I'm like, the Rams aren't giving him a hundred million dollars And even McVeigh says, like he understands that, we understand that he's more valuable than what we're offering, but like we can't build our team and offer him this at his age. It doesn't make business sense. It's not good business. I give the Rams a ton of credit, like this is our number. We're not budgeting. We not only really value you, we love you. We know we need you to win, but like we can't cut that price. We don't think it's good business. And at the end of the day, this is a business that thinks everyone's like you got to No, you don't have to do it, even though, like I think Matt Stafford's stut. I think he's a hall of fame talent, but he has a chance to meet to solidify a hall of fame career. Stay with the Rams for a couple more years, make a couple more NFC Championship games. No one will say anything. You are the Raiders, definitely the Giants, and all of a sudden you win six or seven games the last couple of years. Well awesome, you made an extra twenty thirty million dollars, But like you went back to her relevancy. I just don't get it. And I appreciate McVeigh and I also appreciate McVeigh talked about like how much he regrets how he handled the Jared Goff situation where he got very public of his disdain for Jared and his limitations. It was a bad look for McVeigh, and clearly he's not he's he's going the opposite approach here. Now it's easier. Stafford's a better player and they won a super Bowl together. But I think it was a bad look and McVeigh acknowledged that, and I also think he acknowledged something else, which I'm telling you if you get a chance. It was just a fantastic, like thirty forty minute stretch of McVeigh talking that he talked about a couple of years ago when they were having that terrible season and they didn't have their first round pick. That was the year Stafford was hurt and the Lions were getting it ended up beating the six pick, and a lot of rumors that were that McVeigh wasn't just gonna quit, he was gonna take the Amazon job, which Amazon was gonna pay him like fifteen sixteen million dollars. So he went from working one hundred hour weeks to go work once a week for probably the same money. And it's not like he was flying Southwest. He would fly a private jet everywhere he went. It would be a very very cushy job that paid a premium and would still get to kind of wet his beak talking football, being around football, interacting with football guys, and within three or four years he could easily transition back. And he essentially said like I kind of look myself in the mirror and be like, don't be a pussy. You don't get to just lose and run. And he was about to have a son, and he said, like, how could I look my son in the eye and say times got tough? Because losing was hard on Sean. It clearly was. It's why he wanted to tap out. It's I'm not doing it, and he didn't. And I think the NFL is better off for it that he stayed in coaching. And obviously the rams are I watched the thing and think Sean McVay is just I mean, I already thought it just an absolute stud. Okay, Aaron Rodgers. I was talking to a buddy the other day who lives in the Bay Area, a very good friend, and he's in the tech world and some of these companies. When I graduated, and I've told this story before in two thousand and eight, probably should have graduated in two thousand and seven, but a lot of people I went to college with graduated from two thousand and seven to two thousand and nine range, and the tech boom Silicon Valley was really taking off like a rocket ship at that point in time. Now the country was about to go into this financial and in a financial recession, but that area was kind of loading up like a rocket ship and shooting right to the moon. So I knew a lot of people, some of them friends, some of them just acquaintances that got jobs at these companies pretty early on. So like they were like employee five at Facebook, but they were in quote unquote early and so when you look fifteen eighteen years later, some of these people are these are w two employees in the Bay Area making on the low end five hundred grand and some of these people were making over seven figures. Well, I heard some stories about layoffs, and obviously as these companies are trimming down, whether it be Facebook or you nave an oracle, and well who they come after first, Like, wait, we pay you nine hundred and fifty thousand dollars, it's kind of doge, I mean, it's that's that's why doge is it's you know, business people are doing it right. That's how businesses think, like do we need you? What type revenue do you generate? And I heard these stories about like two or three people getting fired that we're making a ton of money. And I asked my buddy, I said, what are they gonna do? How is that person even though they get a severance for I don't know, six months, nine months, how are they ever gonna find a job that pays that again? And he's like, they're not. They're completely fucked. I mean one person was like an HR director. It's like another word was a recruiter. It's like, well, in a year, AI could be doing all this, like you're in major trouble and it's gonna be a It's not humbling now because you get a huge severance, you're living pretty well, but in six months it could be extremely enlightening to some of these people what is actually out there at the price points that they're used to being paid. And it kind of made me think of Aaron Rodgers because for a long time, Aaron Rodgers was just viewed as like one of the great players of all the time. He was viewed as a quarterback that every single team beside the team that had Tom Brady or maybe Peyton Manning in their prime would have kicked their quarterback to the curb and taken Aaron Rodgers in a New York minute. And listen, I do believe this. He's one of the best players I have ever seen. But then you age and things get weird, and now all of a sudden, there are reports of Aaron Rodgers reaching out to teams. People will probably forget this, but Peyton Manning won the Super Bowl with the Denver Broncos in twenty sixteen. His arm looked like minor years. He could barely throw, and he had had his neck issues again, and he had just been banged up going back to Indy. They felt like it was cropping back up, and you know, his body was betraying him. But he didn't want to retire, and he started reaching out to teams. You know, there were reports that summer and seeing if anyone was interested, and no one was. Now, Aaron Rodgers is better right now, in early or late February twenty twenty five than that version of Peyton Manning, but people are not lined up for him. He is a second choice. A third choice. He is not choice number one. He is not on a free agency board. The guy with the top sticker Matt Stafford, which is you know, crazy because for a long period of time, Matt Stafford was viewed as like the poor man's Aaron Rodgers, all kind of poor man's Brett Farv. But is now every team that is interested in a quarterback are discussing Matt Stafford before Aaron Rodgers. And I mentioned this to Colin the other day, and a lot of people say that if the Rams and Matt Stafford aren't able to figure it out, that Aaron Rodgers would be the replacement. I do think there's a dramatic difference between the two players. And even McVeigh talked about this, and this was a Greg co cell way to describe a quarterback sitting in the pocket, staring down the gun barrel and delivering a strike aka throwing the ball and completing a pass to a wide receiver as you are about to get destroyed by a defensive lineman or a linebacker. Aaron Rodgers will not do that anymore. Tom Brady the last year would not do that anymore. Matt Stafford. One of the things he hangs his hat on still as a player is the ability to do that. And to me, that with a great player is typically like you get to a point, you become so rich, and you get older, and let's face it, I mean your injuries don't go away as quick and pains hurt a little bit more. You don't want to get hit like that if you can't avoid it. And Matt Stafford still has no problem sitting in there. I would say the best in the league, right. I mean, Joe Burr is elite at that. Now, that's why he takes a lot of hits because he will sit in there to the last possible second. It ended Andrew Luck's career early because he refused to not stay there the last possible second for the guy to get an extra step and get open. And it's a quality that separates the men from the boys at the highest level. And I think there would be a dramatic drop off. Now. I understand if you get Stafford. You know, if Stafford's cost you fifty five million, you get Aaron Rodgers for twelve, and you get draft picks, like you got a factor in a lot of things. But there would be a major dip at the quarterback position. When you just factor in plays like that, and that might just be a couple throws a game over the course of a season, it might not be. It's not like it's one hundred, but it's enough in big spots in the second half of ti games. That's the difference of winning and losing. So if you're a ten to eleven win team, it's easy to go to eight nine wins because he's not willing to do that, and Rogers used to be willing and definitely at the cap ability to like get rid of it fast enough to avoid like those days are over and we saw it. The Saints. Mickey Loomis said today that he believes we could win with Derek Carr, and if they keep Derek Carr this year, he will make forty million dollars. I think Derek has kind of looked like a shell of himself for a couple of years now, and he was a pretty polarizing player when he was just I guess quote unquote in his prime. Gets injured a lot now. But if you're the Saints with all your cap issues, it's not crazy like this year. If it kind of goes well and you're competitive and you got a chance to like compete for a wild card spot or depending on how many games it takes to win that division, you're like in the mix in December. That's a huge win. If you have a terrible year, who cares, got a new coaching staff, kind of start over and figure it out from there. But you know, Derek, like Cousins, are two guys with a combined one playoff win and just a hand and full of playoff appearances that when it's all said and done, are going to make it combined. I looked, based on the end of last year, have made it combined five hundred million dollars. Derek's made two hundred and Cousins has made three hundred. Now if you add an extra you know, Cousins getting another twenty seven, Derek's getting another forty. You're talking close to six hundred million dollars between the two of them. Pretty nuts, man, Really is pretty nuts. Good to play quarterback in the NFL during this era. There's never been a time in the history of the world that it's better to play pro sports. We see all the time in the NBA guys getting forty five million dollars a year. You're like, skate. It's not even all NBA. You see mid tier quarterbacks now making forty fifty million dollars a year. So you talk about right timing. These guys are very lucky to be born when they were born. Can I tell you about my friends at Mando that they've taken care of me for a long time now? And listen, it's Arizona. It gets really hot and I get very sweaty, and that's where my friends at Mando they come in with the deodorant wipes. How about the deodorant spray and just the whole body deodorant that you just put a little bit on. You can put it under your pitch, you can put on your arms, you can put it on your balls. And I cannot recommend it enough. It's clinically proven to block odor all day. No one wants to smell created by a doctor. All products baking soda free so clinically proven to control odor better than a shower with soap. How do you beat dead? Twelve hours after a shower, you're still smelling good. I cannot recommend these guys enough. Mando's Starter pack is perfect for new customers. 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The NFLPA gives out a survey and I don't exactly know how it's administered. I think it's during the season and players just give you a letter grade and the Jets and Woody Johnson he got an F. Woody Johnson got an F. Guys like Robert Kraft, Michael Bidwell, the Rooneyes, David Tepper all got d's and D minuses. I do think it's pretty embarrassing if you're an owner, you don't talk to the team. Really. Your name, I guess is a signature on the check. But all these guys get direct deposits. You don't really even interact with the players that often for you to get an F even a D, that's pretty bad. I don't really have like some hot taked How's that even possible? You are paying, like if you're the Roonies, think how many guys on that team you are paying a ton of money to? You just think like, hey, just like him now. I saw Albert Breer say he thinks a lot of it's tied to some of these franchises have like old facilities, and these guys come from college. You know, if you come from LSU or Again or Texas or whatever, you're used to a nice facility. I don't know if it's just that, and maybe it is, But if I'm Woody Johnson and go I got an F, like the Jets have a nice facility. It's not like forty years old. I think they built it in like twenty eleven or ten or thirteen, or it's it's I think less than fifteen years old. And Woody Johnson got an f How often has like a Sauce Gardner or Garrett Wilson or Breese Hall talk to Woody Johnson over the last couple of years. If I had to guess it, I'd probably go under ten. Maybe on the high end. Some of these guys under twenty. Man sucks for these guys. Okay, Welcome to Chasing Challenges, brought to you by Microsoft. In the NFL. Just like the business world, overcoming obstacles is the key to success. Microsoft empowers business decision makers with AI solutions, simplified cloud data and data management, with trustworthy, responsible technology to turn challenges into opportunities. In this segment, we'll explore some of the biggest challenges being faced in the NFL and how they can be overcome. Whatever challenges you're facing, Microsoft empowers you with the expertise to say bring it on. This week, we're discussing the challenge face by all these NFL teams. Like I said, I do believe it's very very valuable for the head coach, for the GM, for the coordinators, for your high level scouting execs to not only be around guys that you're going to draft really high, but interact with them, get to know him, ask him any questions you may have on or off the field. I do think you have to be very very careful, though, to not overvalue a negative interaction, something that for whatever reason doesn't go well, or the opposite an interaction that is just incredible and you fall in love in a twenty minute speed date. Because when you're going to draft a guy in the first round, especially some of these teams right that are drafting really really high, you're investing very very valuable draft equity and draft capital into this individual. And if you hit, you get a star at a relatively cheap price. Even if you draft him in the top five, they're making six to seven eight million dollars a year. Well, if he's a pro bowler, it's an incredible deal. But I do think, let's let's face it, interviewing any person in any line of work, and people listening to this or watching this are in all sorts of industries, it's hard you're dealing with human beings, But when you're dealing with a young person in a situation like this where there is millions of dollars on the line, not only you're going to try to be on your best behavior, but you might not act how you would normally act. Now, Scouts and people through that work for the NFL teams have gone through the school and accumulated information. But if the information you have says this guy's not a great guy, and then you meet him and it's like he's not his best behavior, I kind of like this guy. We're all like that. How many times in life do you hear a story about someone like my buddy hates this guy, said he's just a bad human, and then you meet him at a business function, at a social setting. I kind of like this guy. I mean, I really enjoyed. We had a beer together and it was very enjoyable. It's no different at the scouting combine that it's like, well, my scouts are crushing him. I talked to him in the private meeting we had with him. I saw him in the hallway, I saw him again at lunch. I was like, this guy's growing on me, and I think You've got to take everything at the combine in terms of personal interaction when it comes to these college guys, very very carefully, because we always get into this once the season starts, like well this guy can't play well, it's like, yeah, he was average on tape, or it's like god, how did this guy fall to the third round? It's like, well, his tape was good. And it's no different with physical characteristics. Some people aren't gonna look as good as others. Some people are going to look incredible. Just because you look like Trent Williams right or Jalen Carter or some of these great players doesn't mean you play like them, and that that's the problem at the combine is no football is actually being played. It's all in shorts, t shirts. Everyone's on their best behavior, everyone's got a smile, and sometimes a guy that's a high character, great guy can be exhausted. They have been there for days. They're getting up at the crack of dawn every day, getting taken to medical p tests, NFLPA all over. You're just exhausted. Your season ended, especially if you're on a decent team. Early January, you went right to training somewhere where you don't live in Arizona and Texas and Vegas and Florida. You've been grinding, you've been away from your family and friends, You've been with people you don't really know that well, she's got a lot going on. So I just think overall, you got to be very very careful in these situations to make any just judgments in your head or about an individual as a group that might be off. I would just say, be very very open minded with everything. So that's it for this week's Chasing challenges. Remember Microsoft's AI solutions empower you to take bold steps and make informed decisions, sparking new ideas to help drive your business forward. With Microsoft as your trusted partner, you can navigate your journey with confidence, finding innovative solutions, and reaching new possibilities. Visit Microsoft dot com Slash challengers to learn more.