The Herd with Colin Cowherd - 3 and Out - Brady Looks Old; Taysom Hill/Payton Bond; Colts/Packers Takes; Rookie QB Stock Watch; Week 11 Wrap Up; Mailbag

Episode Date: November 24, 2020

In this episode, John discusses the Rams MNF win over the Bucs, why the age is finally catching up with Tom Brady, why Sean Payton's ego is tied into giving Taysom Hill a shot at QB, his takeaways from the Colts taking down the Packers, and runs down who's up and who's down in his rookie QB stock watch. Middlekauff also recaps the top action and stories from week 11 - including Mike McCarthy smashing watermelons and John Harbaugh playing the tough guy - and answers listener questions in the Middlekauff Mailbag. Follow John on Twitter and SUBSCRIBE now to get all the latest content!! Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an I-Heart podcast. Guaranteed Human. Another podcast from some SNL, late-night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smygel and friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer, Streeter Seidel, help an a cappella band with their between songs banter.

Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and friends on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal, but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year.

Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the IHard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, what's good, y'all? You're listening to Learn the Hard Way with your favorite therapist and host Kear Games. This space is about black men's experiences, having honest conversations that it's really not safe to have anywhere, but you're having them with a licensed professional who knows what he's doing. How many men carry a suit or armor? It signals to the world that you're not to be played with. And just because you have the capability that does not mean that you need to.

Listen and learn the hard way on the AHA radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. On the Look Back at it podcast. From 1979, that was a big moment for me. 84's big to me. I'm Sam Jay. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick a here, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. With our friends, fellow comedians, and favorite authors.

Like Mark Lamont Hill on the 80s. 84 was a wild. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. If you love to be remembered as the person who gives the best birthday gifts, I'm here to tell you that 1-800flowers.com is your ultimate birthday gifting destination. 1-800 flowers has thoughtful and artfully created options that are guaranteed to deliver the best birthday surprise. Shop thousands of unique gifts at 1800flowers.com for exclusive offers and great values. To order today, visit 1800flowers.com slash tune in.

That's 1,800flowers.com slash tune in. What is going on, everybody, John Middlecop, a three-and-out podcast on this Thanksgiving week. Week to give thanks. Eat some turkey, eat some ham, eat whatever the hell you eat. hopefully you're enjoying it with your family or whatever you're doing. I know this year's a little weird. 2020 has just been pretty terrible. So, you know, hopefully everything's okay.

And keep your head up and just we'll grind through it together. Just finished watching this Monday night football game. Actually, there's like 40 seconds left. I just, once Brady threw that pick, I had to fire it up. I got a couple takes on the night. We're going to dive into a lot on what happened this weekend. Taysam Hill, some thoughts on the Colts Packer game, John Harbaugh and Brable Fighting.

We'll do a little rookie quarterback stockwatch. Dive into some of your Middilkoff mailbag questions. At John Middilkoff is my Instagram. Easiest way to get a hold of me. Slide up in my DMs. I'll probably do a large mailbag on Friday, which I'm going to record the next couple days. before Thanksgiving to go out for the weekend.

So anything. Hit me up and we'll do a large mailbag question. Also get ready for the weekend's games. Apologize if anyone took my betting for three and out. I didn't hit on one pick on Friday's picks. I also bet on some other games. I basically missed. I lost a lot of money this weekend.

So I apologize. I also lost. I bet on my picks that did not hit. It was embarrassing. No way around it. I'll just be better. I'll have to be better. I don't know necessarily how to be better.

I'm on a cold streak right now. But we've got to pick ourselves up off the mat and win some games. There are some games to gamble on Thursday, but the games look pretty terrible. Obviously, the Cowboys, the Lions games, I'm just not that interested. And then the night game, who knows, a bunch of Ravens are getting quarantined right now. Their whole backfield and their nose tackle, so we'll see if that Ravens Steeler game goes down. But let's start with the Monday Night Football game. and you hear this when you're young a lot,

just wait till you get old, wait till you get old, wait till you get old, and you never really understand it for a long period of time, and I'm not some by any means, some pristine athlete. I didn't play in anything past high school. But for the most part, in my life, in my like 20s, I've worked out every day since I was like in college. I could eat whatever I wanted. And then two or three years ago,

it kind of hit me when all those people like, hey man, it's about the diet, it's about the diet. It's true. Now it hits everyone in a different age, and they always see, wait till you get old, different pains and aches and pains, and you won't battle back, you'll get a little sore. And then you get older, and you kind of realize,

like, I get sore the first time I play golf in a while. Like, that's like the weakest thing I could ever say in my life. I get sore playing golf. That actually happens when you're 36. And you just, everything works a little slower. I can't imagine what it's like to be in my 40s and 50s. It's just part of growing older. It's why every older athlete says,

Father time is undefeated. And I honestly don't think it really sinks in as a sports watcher until you get of the age that they're talking about. And right now, I'm in an age at 36 years old that a lot of athletes historically kind of just fall off a cliff, 35, 36, 37. Now, some guys, starting with the greatest quarterback

of all time, Tom Brady, has pushed the envelope on that number, right? He's 43 years old. He just won a Super Bowl a couple years ago. He's, you know, still a good player. But I thought tonight, on Monday Night Football, was one of the most alarming games I've ever seen him play. He was like skipping balls,

throwing balls right to the other team. He looked old. And we've been saying it for a long time about Drew Brees, about Philip Rivers. I saw it happen with Peyton Manning. It's not that he looks old. Tom Brady is old. He's 43 years old.

This is not normal. This shouldn't be the norm. What he's doing hopefully is an outlier situation. Because I don't really want to watch 43-year-olds, you know, in theory, especially the greatest quarterback of all time. He shouldn't be able to dominate at the level in which he did five or six years ago. It honestly is one of the most unbelievable things we've ever seen in the history of sports. that Tom Brady passed his 40, you know, like 40 and 41,

then he won an MVP at 40? Like, that's insane. That's crazy. That's nuts. But he can't move in a league that is becoming, there are a lot more pressure on the quarterback to at least be able to roll out to his left or right. Tom cannot do that.

He stays within the pocket. Now, he's the greatest pocket quarterback of all time. But as you saw tonight, the Colts, or excuse me, not the Colts, the Bucks who were missing some offensive lines, Simon, struggle to protect him sometimes. And when you hit Tom in his peak in 07 and 11, it rattles him. Why? Because he's a human.

Like any quarterback. If you hit a quarterback, it's going to rattle him a little bit. And then I thought tonight, whether it's the offense, whether it's not being on the same page as Antonio Brown or Mike Evans or whatever, his deep ball accuracy today was atrocious. I mean, he basically is just a tad over 50%. But to me, the interceptions... even if you don't live in New England, just because he's played in so many national televised games, he's played in so many of those afternoon national games on CBS

with Romo and before that Phil Sims. I feel like I've watched, and I've lived in California, the majority of his career, 85% of Tom Brady's games. I'd have to go back into a deep dive, and I didn't remember that one Kansas City game, but just those two throws, that throw to basically end the game

where he overthrew Brayt. It almost felt like, you know, it's like getting close to midnight, I just want to go home. You've never, ever see him make that throw. Ever. I'm honestly, it happened probably 10 minutes ago as I'm recording this. I'm still at a little bit of loss. I get like, listen, he's old.

I don't hold him to the same standard in which I did in his absolute peak. He shouldn't be in his peak anymore. He's eating avocado ice cream and he's playing. But he still has, they're receiving core with Mike Evans, with Chris Godwin. with Antonio Brown, who's still trying to figure it out, but Antonio Brown's, I don't know if right now he's an elite player, but he's still damn good.

Evans is a monster. Godwin's a monster. I just, I don't even really know what I just witnessed. Is it that him and Arians aren't on the same page? Clearly it's throwing them off. They don't have running backs to dump the ball off to. Tom Brady is used to doing something pretty simple, throwing the ball to running backs on wheel routes.

Tonight, every single, it felt like, the majority of plays on early downs are running like go routes, or running posts, or running deep outs. If you've watched Tom Brady's career with Josh McGaels, that's not really what they do. Not because he can't do it, but he's more comfortable doing other stuff.

The reality is this team is built with thoroughbreds to push the ball down the field. And as we saw tonight, Tom Brady is just not accurate down the field right now. He's just not. Honestly, he wasn't even close on several bowls. Like, they were embarrassingly bad. They just were.

and then I take a step back and I go, well, again, back to Father Time. He's old as hell. Is it really that crazy? Should he be kind of bad? Yeah. Shouldn't that kind of make sense? Of course. Maybe this is just who Tom Brady is.

Some games will be good and some games will be bad. I talk about Philip Rivers. I'll do it later in the show. Like, that's the reality with him. And he's in his late 30s. You know, I mean, this is probably just who he is. Father Time has slowly, the slowest ever, you know, kind of creeped into Tom Brady's life. And I think the Arians discomfort is probably the wrong word,

but it doesn't quite feel like the mesh between Tom and Ariens is a perfect mesh. Would they be better with James Winston? No. I mean, James throws a lot of picks, but the Tom I saw tonight was throwing the ball of the other team. and on the other side it ended up working out because Tom threw the pick at the end of the game but Sean McVeigh with kind of the game on the line

in a tie game drive in the field he has Jared Gough make a great play on third down it's like third and eight he calls a rollout he runs like a deep out to Cooper Cup Gough as Devin White's chasing him throws a dime

and then they get in the field goal range and then he pusses out on second and third down and he just runs the ball. I don't understand getting, I understand if you're always going to be conservative, but I never understand a coach. And Jared Goff had thrown a terrible interception in the second half. But once you call that third down play and you empower him and he comes through, to me, you just got to roll with it.

Because the one thing you saw tonight between Woods and Cup and the rookie Van Jefferson and their wide receivers, they have a dynamic offense. in terms of wide receivers. Those guys can get open. Keep putting the pedal to the medal. Now, ultimately, they played for a field goal. And I'm sitting there at my desk watching the game going, you know, feels a little bit like Tiger Woods after the 10.

He buries five of his last six holes in the Masters. I've seen, you know, Tom Brady's had bad games before and he's had walk-off touchdowns. I think it's pretty risky. Now, it ended up working out because Tom didn't come through. But I did not like the conservative nature from Sean McVeigh, especially after Jared Goff just made a couple nice throws on the drive. It's almost like he showed you, I don't really trust Jared Goff.

I don't want him taking a bad sack. I don't want him turning the ball over. I was a little alarming. I think, you know, I don't know if it was much about the Rams defense tonight because everyone's like, oh, Brandon Staley, he's like the next Vic Fangio meets Bill Porcell. Like, let's just pump the brakes a little bit. Tom was just throwing the ball to the other team. I didn't think like the Rams were just running circles around everyone on defense,

but the result is the result. You could argue that they have the talent. They definitely have the offensive skill guys. They definitely have those couple of blue chip guys on defense to make noise in the NFC. And let's face it, the NFC is wide open. I mean, if Drew Breeze might not be able to come back and Taysham Hill running around, that's going to be your number one seed.

The Packers, we know they're flawed. Like any team can win the NFC this year if you get into the dance. the Rams will have as good a chance as any, right? They really will. But Sean McVeigh cannot get back, you know, to the Super Bowl and win the NFC, if he's going to be conservative. And sometimes weirdly he gets conservative for being this young Hollywood hot shot. The guys like me love putting on a pedestal and blowing and act like this sweet coach

because he is. He just can, when he gets in a rhythm and a flow with that offense, it looks awesome. But then he, you know, turns into a defensive head coach sometimes. It's like, Sean, what are you doing? Keep the pedal of the medal, play for the touchdown. Go for the kill shot. Hit him with a hammer in the head, knock him out, end the game. And he calls two runs against one of the best run defenses in the league.

Like, Sean, you're not going to run it. Are you just playing for the field goal? Is that kind of weird? Are you going to do that against Sean Payton? Are you going to do that against Kyler or Russell Wilson? That would make me a little nervous. Maybe it wouldn't. But I've seen him do that now a couple times the last couple years.

I just got it red flag. Does he get a little tight in big spots? because I hope not. I think he's one of the better coaches in the league, not just young, just better coaches in the league. I thought he was kind of running circles around Aryans. Like, hey, Bruce, tell Lefich, stop calling these go routes and deep posts. Tom's not getting remotely close.

If he was playing, you know, horseshoes, he wouldn't get any points. He's not even in the vicinity. Run some small, short-breaking routes. Put a different running back in there beside Leonard Fournette. that can catch the football because this is not working out. Very, very poor coaching tonight from the Tampa Bay Bucks.

Very bizarre. It really was. And, you know, Sean McVeigh out-coached him, but he got a little lucky there because you cannot get conservative, not in 2020. Too easy to play offense,

too many touchdowns, too easy to drive the field. We saw it on Sunday night football. Derek drives the field. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged. It's the enhancement.

enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the I-Hard Radio app,

Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what I'm saying. Yep, that's me. Cliver Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, the reactions, my journey from basketball to college football, or my career in sports media.

Well, somewhere along the way, this platform became bigger than I ever imagined. And now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, unfiltered conversations with some of your favorite athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. One week, I'll take you behind the scenes of the biggest moments in sports and entertainment, and the next we'll talk about life, mental health, purpose, and even music. The Clifford Show isn't just a podcast. It's a space for honest conversations, stories that don't always get told,

and for people who are chasing something bigger. So if you've ever supported me or you're just chasing down a dream, this is right where you need to be. Listen to the Clifford show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. Do you remember when Diana Ross double-tapped Little Kim's boobs at the VMAs? Or when Kanye said that George Bush didn't like black people.

I know what you're thinking. What the hell does George Bush got to do with Little Kim? Well, you can find out on the Look Back at it podcast. I'm Sam J. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick a here, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. Including a recent episode with Mark Lamont Hill,

waxing all about crack in the 80s. To be clear, 84 is big to me, not just because. of crack. I'm down to talk about crack on day, but just so y'all know. I mean, at this point, Mark, this is the second episode where we've discussed crack. So I'm starting to see that there's a through line. We also have AIDS on the table right now. Thank you finishing that sentence.

Yes. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Really? Yeah. For me, it's one of the most important years for black people in American history. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your Podcasts. Welcome to my new podcast,

Learn the Hard Way with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Kear Games. And in recognition of mental health awareness month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience

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we get so wrapped up in the chase that we don't realize that we are in possession of the thing. And we're still chasing it. And we don't know when we've done enough. Because people scoreboard watch.

Life becomes about wins and losses. Steve Burns, Dustin Ross, because you find it important to be a good person while you hear on earth, or are you a good person because you're afraid? Because that's two different intentions, bro. Absolutely. And that's two different levels of trust. I want you to just really be a good person.

Join me, Kear Gaines, as we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast, learn the hard way. Open your free, our heart radio app. Search learning a hard way and listen now. Teams drive the field. Teams can score so fast now.

It's a possible to play defense. You can't hit anyone in the passing game. You got to be aggressive. To me, whoever wins Super Bowl this year will just be super aggressive. I'm not even talking on fourth downs. I'm just talking the mindset to keep scoring touchdowns, not kick field goals, go for it in short, in fourth and short situations or third in short situation.

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If you could find a way to get inside. Each other's mind. Walk a mile in my shoes. Walk a mile in my shoes. Walk a mile in my shoes. We've all felt left out. And for some, that feeling lasts more

than a moment. We can change that. Learn how at belonging begins with us.org. Brought to you by the ad council. Let's dive into probably the biggest story or definitely one of them of the weekend. And I don't think it's that complicated once you take a step back and look at it. When you just look at it from a quarterback coach perspective, you go, why does he want to play him so much?

When you take a step back and realize we all know that guy, and I've seen all you've got to do is watch TV, some of the most famous investors get a lot of credit for going, you know what, I gave Apple money in the 1980s when no one's. believed in them. I invested in Jeff Bezos in the late 90s. I was one of the initial investors in Facebook or Uber. I saw something that no one else could see. Those guys become really famous. Turn on CNBC. Those guys get interviewed like once a week. It's like, you know, this is the guy that was a third investor into Uber because they saw something. Anyone had the opportunity.

hell people take pride in you know i got this little hole in the wall restaurant no one knows about it but me because when you know something that someone else doesn't know in your own mind it separates you and football is no different it's a talent acquisition business most players you know nick bosa calilmaq aaron donald everyone knows those guys are good but once upon a time no one thought Tom Brady was any good. The Patriots thought clearly enough to draft him, and then they built a franchise around the guy. Joe Montana was once drafted in the third round.

The third round. Mahomes, obviously the Bears drafted a quarterback. Didn't think about drafted him. The Niners, Kyle Shanahan said he didn't even look at Patrick Mahomes. Now, he was a really high pick still, you know, in the top, what, he was picked 10th. but one of the reasons the Chiefs get a lot of credit for Mahomes is it does feel like you know the only two teams that were going to draft Mahomes in the first round were Andy Reid and Sean Payton and it just turns out there are two of the better

offensive minds they saw something that no one else saw I get asked this question sometimes you know when you were scouting who were your diamonds you know I I started scouting when the internet existed there are no diamonds everyone has access to every piece of film. We know about every single player. When you have a pro day, if a guy runs a four-three, that goes viral. Not on Twitter, but in NFL circles. There's no such thing as a diamond. But if you are active and you either draft that guy late in the draft or sign them as an undrafted free agent, you get credit for the player. Like, was Richard Sherman a diamond for Seattle back in the day? No. Everyone had Richard Sherman on their draft board. Seattle just,

just pulled the trigger. But ultimately they get credit still to this day as like, Pete and John Snyder landed him in the third round. Hell, think how much credit they get for Russell Wilson. It's like, you know, anyone else could have had him. And that's true, but everyone knew about the guy. I remember with the Eagles, Andy Reid loved him. We thought about drafting him. We didn't. But I would imagine a ton of teams liked Russell Wilson a lot. But the reason Seattle gets all the credit is they drafted him. He's still on their team. one of the things I realized watching Sean Peyton with Taysam Hill is he like this is his guy for whatever reason he fell in love with him and the irony is they didn't even quote unquote find

them now again everyone knew who Taysam Hill was you know maybe I watch more BYU than some people in the northeast or the southeast just because I don't know I guess they're at West Coast school but I I remember seeing them all the time in like 2013 2014 2015 he was this highly touted guy like their version of Tebow, you know, BYU's, but he kept tearing his ACL and he was there for like six or seven years. He was an undrafted free agent, not to the Saints, but to the Green Bay Packers. They cut him, then the Saints acquired him. And for whatever reason, the moment he got around there, him and Sean Peyton hit it off. And Sean Peyton feels he sees something in this player that no one else sees. Like, this is his diamond. He's been rumored the last couple of

years is they're going to get up to get a quarterback. They're going to try to get this guy. And they haven't been able to do that. He clearly really liked Teddy Bridgewater. Remember, they signed him when a lot of teams could have had him. They paid him a lot as the backup. But eventually he was good enough that he got a contract they couldn't match. And now he has this guy, whether we agree or disagree, whether he's the future Drew Breed's replacement or not. The only person, what do they teach you in business school? You want to get a deal done. You don't waste any time, but get to the people. that make decisions or get to the gatekeepers who can lead you to the decision makers.

All that matters in life, like, we all know if we've been, you know, to a sales guy, buying a car, whatever, if the guy has to go, well, let me go get my manager, that guy's worthless, he's irrelevant. So whether scouts, and I saw the story last week that, you know, a lot of people within the Saints organization didn't agree with Sean Payton, my response was, who gives a shit? Sean Payton's the boss. If you need one person to believe in you and in every franchise, it better be the head coach because the head coach dictates who plays.

And I know Sean Payton, in terms of the hierarchy of head coach in the NFL, is near the top when it comes to juice. He's got a lot in his organization. And watching Taysam Hill, like, it was a little different. He's not like some natural quarterback in the sense of little frenetic with his feet, like kind of scrambling like a runner looks like a guy like a raw product but the thing is

he's not 22 years old he's 30 if you told me god he's 22 I'd be like oh man they got something there but he's 30 I go you know he's got a strong arm actually made a lot of accurate passes really athletic I mean he ran a 4 4 BYU's pro day still plays like that he's really

physical he's tough there's a lot to like and I'm gonna lean with I get social media and people question it hell I question it But Sean Payton is one of the best coaches of the last several decades. Like he knows what he's doing. Now, he might ultimately be wrong on this. A lot of great investors, if you invest in Uber and you invest in Facebook,

you've probably invested in companies that go under, the masses that we never hear of, and your money just disappears. Just like it happens with a lot of coaches that invest in players, that draft players, that believe in players, they turn out to not be very good. There's been a lot of six-round picks, I'll promise you, they didn't look like Tom Brady.

Just nature of the deal. There have been a lot of free agent quarterback signings that didn't work out like Drew Breeze. But I'm going to get behind. If Sean Peyton believes in this guy, he's putting all his chips in the middle of the table, I'll get behind it. I think there's a chance it works.

I also think there's a chance that fails. It's a risky move, but I think he's thinking bigger picture and there's an ego involved. Like I said, you get a little credit. If Taysam Hill becomes a really good quarterback, Sean Payton's getting all the credit. And you can say, well, what does he need to get credit

at this point in time in his career? He's been making $10 million forever. He's won a Super Bowl. His team goes to playoffs every year. We're all humans. We're all competitive. We all have egos that like to be stroked and get more credit for the next thing.

Most achievers don't live in the past. You think he gives a crap about 2019, or I mean 2009 win the Super Bowl? 2020. He's trying to move on. You know, clearly he has. And they haven't been able to get over the hump in the last four or five years with one of the better teams in the league.

Maybe he thinks, and clearly he does, that a mobile quarterback gives them a more dynamic option. The Drew Brees just as a guy that can't run, and let's face it, can't really throw the ball down the field. Maybe this guy gives them a better option. I'd say no, as of right now, November 23rd, recording this, but maybe next year it does. And all that matters is Sean Payton believes that.

Okay, let's dive into what was probably the game. game of the day. Well, I guess Chiefs Raiders was the game of the day. The second best game of the day would have been Colts Packers. And I've used the analogy before when Philip Rivers is off, they have like a $5 million home that doesn't have any water. Yesterday, Philip Rivers was on. When the water works and you're in a super nice home, the house is sweet. The Colts infrastructure is awesome. They have a really good defense, even though it didn't really play very well, definitely in the first half. They have a ton of good young players. They have Jonathan Taylor, who kind of came on for the first time.

Michael Pittman looks like he's got a chance to be really good. I know Frank Reich compared him coming out to Vincent Jackson. I thought that was a little bold, and then he had the sweet play yesterday. I'm like, yeah, maybe he's right. They have a really good offensive line. And if you get good quarterback play, they're a Super Bowl contender. If they had

Phillip Rivers of like 2014, we'd view them like the Chiefs or the Steelers. They'd be viewed as one of the best teams in the league. But instead, we view them as their record's good, and they're good, but they're quarterback, like I don't know what I'm getting week to week. Now, I think Philip Rivers to play his best, he's going to have to play in a dome.

So they're going to have to win the division and have home field advantage, at least in the first round. And then, you know, I think it's going to be very, very difficult for them to win outside in Pittsburgh or Kansas City with Rivers' arm. I don't think it's really possible. But it's clear. We know exactly who they are.

They are a quarterback away, whether that's trading for Sam Darnold, whether that's making some offseason trade for Matt Stafford, whether that's drafting one of the top guys, trading up and getting them, from being a big boy contender. But as long as they have Phillip Rivers, you have no clue what you're going to get week to week.

And if their defense is bad, they're not going to win most of these games. But Chris Ballard's built an excellent roster. I get why they paid, or maybe not paid, who else was paying Rivers. I get why, Frank, they love Rivers, but it is what it is at this point. He probably gives you five, six good games a year,

and you hope a couple of those come in the playoffs. One came yesterday, and he was awesome, and they won the game. I also think they benefited a lot from this. I had money on the game. I bet the under, because I'm like, well, I think the Colts have the best defense in the league. I think the Colts offense, even though the Packers' defense isn't good, it's just going to struggle to score like 25 points.

The final score would be like, 24 to 17. I thought it'd be something like that. Instead, it was 28, 14 and half time. And the Colts defense was getting destroyed. And that was the type game. And I say it all the time, I say the same thing about Seattle. You can make the playoffs with a terrible defense in the NFL. Seattle's done it several years now in a row. Green Bay went to the conference championship last year with it. Their defense wasn't terrible, but a flawed defense. You cannot win the Super Bowl with a bad defense. It is impossible. Why? Because yesterday is a a great example. They're up

28 to 14 in complete control. If they have a good defense, they cruised that win. But their defense just is not dynamic enough. They don't cover well enough. They clearly don't stop to run well enough. Now, obviously their offense made mistakes. They fumbled the ball. But still, like, to me, their defense

is just soft. I know Colin said yesterday they kind of got hit in the mouth and they rolled over. I think that's natural that happens to teams with shitty defenses. It just is. They give up leads. No lead is safe.

No matter how good your quarterback is, there's nothing you can do. Because I thought the first half of the game, Matt LaFleur was having one of his finest moments as a head coach. When that offense is on, the play action, the boots, the naked, the waggles, and then you've got a quarterback like Rogers, you just eviscerate defenses. And the Colts defense is fantastic. They're just, they're like a, whenever you've watched a good fighter, like you're fighting Floyd Mayweather, even though he dances around.

He's so fast. You don't know if he's coming right, whether he's coming left. He can't knock you out, but they're running right, then they play action to the left, and then they dump it off a screen to the left, and then they hit a quick out to the road. You just have no clue what's coming. But eventually, if your offense is going to stall, you're not going to score every drive. If your defense starts giving it up and up and up, it just can wear you down.

Having a bad defense in the NFL is a little bit like having a bad bull, pin in baseball, you kind of know every game you're just going to hold on for your ass. Because at any moment, your DBs can get smoked, you can give up a 17-play drive where you just kind of get shoved around. It just, it is what it is. And we knew coming into the season, the Packers didn't do much to help out their run defense, which was not good last year. It's bad this year.

You know, their secondary, in theory, Jaira Alexander is a really talented player. The young Savage Jr. is a really talented player. But by no means are they some lockdown unit? And then at the end of the day, the two coordinator positions make seven figures for a reason. Your offensive and defensive coordinators really matter. This is a coaching league. It's also a talent league.

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I know what you're thinking. What the hell does George Bush got to do a little kill? Well, you can find out on the Look Back at it podcast. I'm Sam J. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick it here, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. Including a recent episode with Mark Lamont Hill, waxing all about crack in the 80s. To be clear, 84 is big to me, not just because of crack.

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Yeah. For me, it's one of the most important years for black people in American history. Listen to look back at it on the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hard Way with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Kear Games. And in recognition of mental health awareness, you know, your podcast, and in recognition of mental health awareness, this month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience in the middle health field and conversations with so many incredible guests. I'm talking, Tripp Fontaine, Ryan Clark. Sometimes when we're in the pursuit of the thing, we get so wrapped up in the chase that we don't realize that we

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defense is really, really questionable. It continues. It continues to let them down in big games. Now, for example, the Chiefs defense was pretty atrocious on Sunday night. The difference is, I've seen them with that personnel group and that defensive coordinator play really good defense. You're allowed to have bad nights. You're allowed to have bad months.

The Packers now have been pretty inconsistent on defense for a while. And I think it's fair to say that Mike Petten might be the problem. and I would imagine, big picture, remember they forced Matt LaFleur, who was a first time head coach, to hire or keep Mike Petten on the staff. I think it's fair to say because Matt LaFleur has gained a lot of juice

as a play caller. Him and Rogers now have a very good relationship. He will have the power within the organization, the pull to say, if he wants to, I don't know their relationship, I don't know the guy, to say, I don't want this guy on my staff anymore. I would say that Mike Petten's job is in major jeopardy.

For example, Uber Fluse with the Colts, remember, he was hired by Indianapolis when Josh McDaniels was going to be the head coach. They had signed him to a contract before Josh McDaniels had signed the contract. And then when Josh backed out and they had to go hire a new coach, Frank just inherited him. But you know what it turns out? I bet Frank goes, Uber Flus is sweet. Now he had a bad game yesterday.

They were a bad half. But he goes, this guy's really good. I'm lucky to have them. So just because you inherit someone or the organization forces them on you isn't a bad thing. Like some coaches are really good. Deuce Daly has been with the Eagles

with Chip Kelly, Doug Peterson, Andy Reed now. I've been around Duce. I'll tell you this. They should force every coach that comes in to keep Duce Daly. He is an elite position coach. There's a reason he stays.

He's really good. It's not that complicated. I do think Petton, sometimes you force coaches on young coaches that don't really have the leverage or juice or hell may not have a name that's better. Then a couple years later, if they become and grow into their own as a really good coach, and I think LaFleur, I might have been wrong.

I'm really impressed with him as a play caller. He's been good. But his defensive coordinator, which I will defend him on this. It was not his choice. It was basically an ultimatum. You want this job, you got to take him. And what was he supposed to do? Say, no, I don't want to be the head coach of the Green Bay Packers.

Mike Petton's probably coming down the home stretch of his Green Bay Packer career. Becoming a magician takes thousands of hours. Right, Ashley? Oh, I'm not a magician. I'm a design specialist at the container store. But you transform closets and pantries. Well, I turn your most frustrating spaces into ones you love. With a magic wand?

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Every franchise, what's the cheapest NFL franchise worth? Be like the Jaguars would be like 1-5. We know the most expensive franchises, the giants, the cowboys, the Niners. I would imagine the Packers and Steelers would go for a lot, the Patriots. I mean, you're talking anywhere from $3 to $5 billion. So, I mean, these are enormous expensive businesses, right? and the two most important employees for those businesses by far are your coach. He's probably your most important, but he's not your highest paid.

You could argue the most important is your quarterback. And he typically, if he's good, is the highest paid. Here's a reality. When you draft a guy in the top six, you're swinging for a Pro Bowl, All-Star franchise-changing player. And last draft, we had three guys drafted in the top six. Joe Burrow, Tua, Tunga, Tunga Baloa, and Justin Herbert. So let's do a little stock watch on the three guys.

Sunday, we saw one of the most devastating injuries you can see. Joe Burrow got his leg basically snapped from the side. And as Schaefter reported on Monday morning, it's really bad. It's not just a clean ACL, it's an ACL, an MCL, multiple ligaments. Like, it's bad. I mean, it's a year-long recovery. hopefully he's ready for week one, you know, in his second season. But it's a devastating injury for a guy that is just really good.

We all acknowledge, right? We saw him at LSU. We thought, God, it can't be this easy. Then he got to Cincinnati, who couldn't be any worse. I mean, their team is atrocious. Their offensive line is a turnstile. They're not good at all. It's honestly crazy that he didn't get injured sooner.

But it really sucks. I mean, it put a damper in the weekend. On a weekend that just in general, with everything going on in the country, it was just, it puts it in perspective. I mean, we're talking about a guy. He's going to be fine. It's not like he's losing his life or anything. But in terms of football, like, it's devastating.

A devastating blow for a franchise that desperately needs him. He is the savior of that franchise. Because without him, the franchise is a joke. I mean, it's hell with them. They were going to draft in the, top five again. But now they're not going to win another game. No chance. I mean, honestly, they might get rolled from here on out. So stock watch there is just, I would put a little emergency sign next to it. Just hope the guy can come back full strength. Don't rush it.

The problem now is he doesn't get an offseason. Who knows the way the offseason is going to work, you know, depending on the vaccines and corona. I'd imagine OTAs won't happen again. But there is, there are going to be a lot of pressure on this organization to put the right pieces around them. They're probably going to be the number two drafting team in the league. Can they kind of parlay and flip that number two pick for a team that wants a quarterback into several players

into multiple first round picks for years to come? Remember, when they got rid of Carson Palmer they changed their franchise around Andy Dalton and they built a really, really good team around them. Their team is basically the opposite right now. Their one really sweet asset is Joe Burrow and now he's got a torn ACL, a torn MCL, and messed up ligaments. So, Stockwatch,

emergency, no fault of his own, but it's a problem. Stockwatched down, though, would be Tua. Second game in four weeks that he threw for under 100 yards. I was singing his praises last week. I thought it looked good. I thought he was getting rid of the ball quick. I thought he just, I was impressed with Tua last week. This week, it really doesn't matter what I think.

The head coach benched him. The head coach yanked him. You know why? Because he was terrible. He couldn't push the ball downfield. I don't know what the weather was in Denver. It didn't look that cold. But Fangio was taking him to the woodshed.

They had no offense. Trust me, I had Gaseki on my draft king's team. And he had nothing because of Tua was just threw for 83 yards. At one point, I googled like, what was his box score? He had like 60 yards in the middle of third quarter. This isn't 1978. It's 2020. It's never been easier to throw the football.

Like, again, it's irrelevant what I think. his head coach tells you everything you need to know he thought he was terrible yesterday like embarrassingly bad pulled him from ryan fitzpatrick and then fitzpatrick came in the second half and flew right by him in terms of production i'm watching that game on the red zone they keep flipping over there fitzpatrick leads him right down the field something toa couldn't do so that that pretty concerning that you're having to yank because think about this joe burrow before he got injured and justin herbert who i'm going to get into in a minute their head coaches and organizations under zero certain, no chance they would think about yanking their guy.

None. Be impossible. Would not happen. It just wouldn't. It wouldn't yank them. They just even in floors his mind. Now, I get it. It's a little different circumstances.

Their team was in the playoff hunt, and they're just focused on winning the game, which I understand, but pretty big indictment when the head coach benches the guy in his fourth start. Think about that. this four-star, he got benched in the middle of the game, on the road, against a team that didn't have many wins. The one thing of, like, they were just getting their brakes beat in by the Chiefs or the Steelers or the Saints or the Bucks or just some good team.

They were playing the Denver Broncos, and they were getting throttled. And really, Tua was getting throttled. They had no offense. So, stock way down. And then Justin Herbert. I get he's playing the Jets, but he's just a star. I mean, he is an explosion. He's explosive of a passer

as we've seen in the last decade as a rookie since, I mean, we didn't see Mahomes as a rookie. Clearly, Mahomes was doing that in practice, but just in terms of rookie quarterbacks, their first season, I mean, luck was a better player, but he wasn't a more explosive passer. Now, here's the one thing if you are like,

you know, because I get this sometimes, like you're blowing Herbert, you're putting him on this pedestal. he was given a pretty easy landing strip in terms of talent around him. Keenan Allen's one of the best wide receivers in the league. Mike Williams is a monster and Hunter Henry is really good. They have a lot of talent to throw to the ball deal. But just in terms of eye test, like you just watch the guy, he consistently pushes the ball down the field.

He makes throws on the run that are just a rope. He threw a touchdown yesterday to Keenan Allen, roll into his left, Keenan in the back of the end zone for about 25 yards, just an absolute dart, hit Keenan right in the numbers, playing the Jets, but he did what good quarterbacks do.

He destroyed them. He embarrassed them. Through three touchdowns, 350 plus yards, and just looks like what he is, a star. And I talked about it earlier. The only question is now, will Dean Spanos, someone who is notoriously cheap,

someone who lives to save money, even though he's inherited, all of his money and doesn't have any money in rent, has this star quarterback in Los Angeles, a star town. Will he go hire a star coach? Will he go get his Pat Riley, his Phil Jackson, his, you know, when the Dodgers hired Joe Torrey? Will he take a big swing?

Or will he just, his Pete Carroll? Or will he just do what he historically does? Just go hire a coordinator. Take the easy way out. Because if I was him, I already said Urban Meyer, I'd go big game hunting. Because you already got the most important player whose stock goes up every week. It keeps going up every week.

You're like, this guy can't sustain this. And then he does. You're like, no, he's going to have a bad week. And then he balls. The guy just does what good quarterbacks do. They dominate every week. His team sucks, so they lose a lot of games, but it's no fault of his own. I just hope Dean Spanos in an organization that tries to cut corners sometimes financially,

drives the line in the sand and realizes, you know, we got to do everything we can for this guy because if we do, we can be in the mix with Mahomes to just consistently win in this league. If they don't, they'll be where they've always been. Just, you know, make the playoffs one year, miss it a couple years, make the playoffs one year while they have a Pro Bowl quarterback

because we've seen this song and dance with the Chargers before. I love a good motivational story, and one story that came out Monday was how Mike McCarthy got his squad ready for Sunday. So usually on Saturday night, a head coach addresses the team in the hotel on the road. And they do it at home too. Most of these teams stay at a hotel before a home game.

And I guess that he took several watermelons and basically acted like he didn't hammer home some key points throughout the week that he wanted to get done about making sure that they hit Dalvin Cook and contained arguably the best running back in the league. And he whipped out a sledgehammer and he started destroying watermelons. Like he's like Thor or something. And I'm a sucker for those stories.

And I think we had some pretty good moments this weekend with McCarthy doing that. And I don't think that's really why they won. Ultimately, they will come in off a buy. The Vikings defense and the secondary is not very good. The Cowboy. CD Lamb is a stud. Amari Cooper is good. Gallop's good. They should, even with Andy Dalton, should be able to throw. Zeke and Tony Pollard, the offense is really loaded. And actually, their front seven is not bad.

Can they cover anybody? They couldn't cover Thielen. They couldn't cover Justin Jefferson. I don't really think they can, but they should play good run defense and they should score points. It's why going into this week, they should beat Washington on Thanksgiving. That should be a game that they win. and I think that ultimately they win that game.

And you look at, you know, the Vikings, like, you just, once you put yourself in a huge hole, it's hard to rattle off a bunch of wins when you're a flawed team. Because you watch the Vikings, you go, you know, cousins, they do have weapons, he can look pretty good. Cook can, even if he's not running the ball, he can catch the ball too. Eric Hendricks makes a ton of plays,

but they're just, they put themselves in a huge hole. And it was just going to be, their margin for error was nothing, and they ran into the Cowboys, coming off a buy in a costume. The other, you know, thing that I loved is John Harbaugh, and listen, the Harbaugh's are crazy. Jack Harbaugh, their father, raised a couple crazy kids. Jim, I think, is more outwardly crazy, but I always know people that from Philadelphia that worked

with John Harbaugh before he got the Ravens job, like, listen, just because John Harbaugh wears normal clothes and kind of comes off like a little more normal, don't get that twisted. He's a madman. and he's starting fights with the Tennessee Titans he's like trying to act tough to Mike Vrable who listen Jim Harbaugh could probably fight some people John I don't know I like Vrable in that fight

Why are you talking shit to a team that whooped your ass last year in a playoff game To me that's a wasted energy Is Belichick doing that Is Andy Reid doing that Is Pete Carroll doing that Even Sean Peyton Yeah Sean Peyton might

but why is John Harbaugh doing that? Why is he starting confrontation with the Titans before the game? I don't understand it. Especially when his team, and I'm not here to kick a dead horse here, his team's a Chambles. His quarterback can't really pass. He actually made a couple nice passes in that game to Mark Andrews. But at the end of the day, he can't throw up for 300 yards.

It's 2020. I need my star quarterback to be able to throw in the 300-yard mark pretty consistently. It went from like, oh my God, what are they going to pay Lamar Jackson do? Let's pump the brakes. I've been saying all the time, we're always in a rush. Like, what's this guy going to get paid? What's this guy going to get paid? What the hell is the rush to pay anybody?

If you have Patrick Mahomes, I get it. Lamar Jackson's not even Deshawn Watson. He can't win a playoff game because he can't pass. And now his team's in shambles. Their whole team is built around the run, and they just don't get to run it down everyone's throat. I'll tell you a team that's better running the football, the Titans, because they just go,

We got one guy. Our scheme's not that crazy. We run outside and inside zone, and we're going to hand it to the big back from Alabama. You're going to stuff him a lot of the game, but eventually he's going to wear your ass down, and he's going to bust a big run. And you're going to look up there when the dust settles.

He's going to have a buck 20. He's going to have a buck 40. He's going to have a buck 50, and he's going to score a couple touchdowns. And what did he do against the Ravens? They got the game into overtime. He had a walk-off touchdown. Derek Henry and the Tennessee Titans own the Ravens.

But back to what I'm saying, I don't mind McCarthy. McCarthy is motivating his own team. Taking the sledgehammer. It sounds a little cheesy or whatever, but it's just in his own walls, trying to get his guys to give everything he has to attempt to win a game.

Easily the Cowboys, I'd say, are one of the more disappointing teams in recent memory in years, right? So he's kind of desperate. I don't understand when Harbaugh's a little desperate too, why is he picking a fight with the other team? Why is he going after Malcolm Butler? Why is he hooting and hollering at Mike Vrable?

Like, why are you creating something? Just focus on your team. I'm not one to act like I know more about motivation than John Harbaugh. John Harbaugh is a great motivator. That's really what he's best at because he's not a scheme guy. He's not the coordinator on either side of the ball. Special teams guy. They have a kicker who doesn't need any work.

I mean, Tucker is like Dustin Johnson with a five iron. He never misses. I mean, it's just right down the, right in the middle of the goalposts every time. so what's he really doing, Justin Tucker? He's a motivator. I didn't let, that was a motivational tactic that went the wrong way. Especially you're playing a good team. Who, who, like, I just didn't understand that.

And I think that backfire. They can say it didn't matter. I'm going to call bullshit because I think, and I know the Tennessee Titans, I was reading Albert Breers piece, a lot of their players said it kind of added some motivation right before the game. What do you think Rable was saying to that team before they came out after kind of warm-ups?

before they took the field for kickoff. You think they were fired up? Do you think they were ready to roll? I just, sometimes you, you know, you get a little too amped up, and it cost you. And the other thing I've been saying over and over, I think Doug Peterson's in trouble, man. I just, another game, another,

just very, very ugly, a couple more interceptions from Carson Wentz. He's one of the worst players in the sport right now at quarterback, but it's not even arguable. We all know it. And he's not going anywhere. he's under contract, he makes huge money, he's the franchise quarterback,

and they got to get that fixed. Every week we find out Doug Peterson cannot get that fixed. So if you put yourself and Jeffrey Lurie's seat, what would you do? I think it's pretty simple. You got to think about replacing the coach, and I like Doug Peterson a lot.

He's been really, really cool to me over the years from the moment I met him until I saw him at the Combine last year. I'm not, I don't think, I'm not rooting for him to lose his job. But if I put myself in Jeffrey Lurie's seat and just every week, I mean, we play the Browns, we go to Cleveland, who's a flawed team who has a quarterback that struggles to throw for 200 yards,

who all they do is just run the ball. Miles Garrett has Corona or test positive for Corona, so he's not even in the game. Like we can't just win one game. We have a quarterback who's 6'5, he's got a huge arm. I don't care if it's raining or sleeting or whatever. He's built to play in that environment. We get them from the Dakotas.

We play in Philadelphia, and he's just awful. He's God awful. I don't get it. I'm someone who's been singing his praises at this big time talent. At the end of the day, like your talent, eventually you just become a player, right? So he's no longer a talent. He's just the quarterback. And his version of himself right now, Carson Wentz, the player, is awful.

Whether it's bad practice habits, I don't know. I haven't asked. I don't even care. I think it's kind of irrelevant. I'm just judging him on Sunday. whatever he's doing on Sunday, it's like he sees guys that are covered and he still throws it to him. He hits defensive backs right in the hands.

I don't get it. I mean, he throws it right to him. He's not a rookie. He's been in the league a long time now. He's 28, 29 years. He's an older player. If anything, he should hang his hat on like, he's a mature guy, he has everything under control.

I watch him play, I just go, this guy's just reckless. And there's only one thing you can do to contain a wrecking list players, coach them up. And clearly right now the Philadelphia Eagles and Doug is just lost control of Carson Wentz. Because Belichick's famous saying you're either coaching it, allowing it to happen, and clearly the Eagles are allowing this to happen. Week in, week out, week in, week out.

Because it is a absolute debacle right now. For a guy who I thought, if you would ask me three or four years ago, I'm like, this guy's going to win MVP's, this guy's going to dominate in this league. he dominates no one except the interception ledger which he just every week one or two every week you cannot win the you can win a game or two throughout the year like Mahomes has a game where he throws a couple picks right or even a pick last night they won a game which he threw a pick which almost cost him right

that game Sunday night going back and forth Mahomes throws the bad pick even though it's not even his fault but turnovers kill you you cannot when you don't have when you're not scoring that many points turn the ball over multiple times ever get. You have no shot. Zero. And right now the Eagles, they basically have no shot

before the game even starts. He's like, yeah, he's going to turn it over a couple times we're screwed. And they're just constantly, you look up, they're down in the fourth quarter. And then he's trying to play hero ball

and then it usually throws another pick. It's just rinse-wash repeat. It's crazy. I never thought I'd see it. I'm not advocating for Doug to lose his job, but if you think about it from an owner's perspective, it looks worse every week.

So why would it change this offseason? I don't see why it would change Because every time I watch and play, it's just an absolute train wreck. Okay, let's bang out a couple quick mailbag questions. Add John Middlough, Instagram, slide up in those DMs, and leave a little question for me.

I think I might do a big mailbag on Friday. I'm probably going to record the podcast before Thursday. So send me a mailbag question. if you wanted to answer, I'll do a big section for the Friday podcast, but you got to send it to me in the next 24 hours, and I'll probably record it on Wednesday for a little, for the Friday show. I agree Rivers has consistency issues, but the Colts have beat the Packers and Titans back to back under 7 and 3. Rivers cost the Colts the Browns and the Jags game, but still, I said in

the preseason that was a 10-win team with Rivers because even older, he's much better than Berset. I tend to agree. kind of cool how they still use Jacoby though Would it surprise you if the Colts made the AFC championship? Defense is great and team is built for colder weather With good defense in the run game thanks love the pod Well let's look at the AFC I think you have the clear two big guns

In the Chiefs and the Steelers And then you kind of have that next group Which might just be the Titans and the Colts I think the Titans and the Colts could definitely upset Probably not the Chiefs but maybe the Steelers if Rothesberger's off. Now, if the Chief's defense is off like it was against the Raiders,

I would say they definitely could be upset, but how would the rivers expose them? Maybe Tanyhill and Derek Henry could, but probably not. So probably it'd have to be the Steelers in a low-scoring game. That would be the way they get to the AFC championship to go through the Steelers. So basically, if we look at the playoff format, if it's 1 through 7, let's say the Colts finish,

you know, 11 and 5. win the division and are the three seed. They play like the Browns or the Raiders in the first round, win that game. Then in the second round, let's say they play the Steelers. You know, if they play the Chiefs, because if the Chiefs are the two-seed, that'd be hard. If somehow the Steelers lose a couple games

and they played them, maybe it's possible. I think the AFC championship game would be a little shocking if it isn't Steelers' Chiefs. But, you know, if the Chiefs get, if somehow get the one seed and the Steelers or the two-seat, it's not a lock that the Steelers would win both games, but their defense, they're good. I'm not trying to diminish the Steelers at all.

It's just harder if you're the 2C, even the Chiefs. You've got to win multiple games before you get to the AFC. You know, back in the day, back in the day, I mean, literally this year, earlier in 2020, the 1 in 2C got to buy. So think about the Chiefs. They just won the Super Bowl.

They were the 2 seed. You know, they were the 2Ceat, I think, at 11 and 5 last year. Remember because the Patriots lost week 17 to the Dolphin, so the Chiefs, for the two seed. Being the two seed is a pretty big deal. I mean, it was. What's the difference this year with Lamar Jackson

compared to last year? Why does he suck? I think a big reason he just can't run wild against everybody. They're just taking away the run game and making him pass and he can't do it. He can't consistently pass. And their team for just whatever reason isn't as potent. I think Ronnie Stanley, when you lose an elite player,

it's one thing to lose a guard or a center. When you lose a tackle, that's a problem. I mean, losing your left tackle is a big deal. There's a reason left tackles make $20 plus million a year. They matter. You know, that was a major, major injury. And I just think Lamar kind of, you know, bandaded some of his flaws last year

because they ran wild. And he ran wild. You don't get to just run wild every year. The reason Kyler Murray's kicking everyone's ass is because he's throwing the ball. He also makes some runs. right to piggyback on top of that. But like when I watched Kyler, the reason he's so dynamic, his right arm.

His legs are special, but he kills people throwing the ball. Beautiful deep ball passer, throw strikes in that game last week when he was playing Seattle. He just made some big time throws. It's a throwing league, man. It's not a running league. If you want to, you know, that stuff works at Navy and Army. It doesn't work in the pros. Quick question for the pod.

Your top three or five quarterbacks you think would have been better careers if not drafted by the teams they went to. I think Brady Quinn would have been great elsewhere. Colt McCoy could have been Kirk Cousins, thanks. Other names that come to mind, David Carr, Alex Smith, RG3, Matt Liner. I think Matt Liner was probably not made for the NFL, really weak arm and not a great athlete. RG3, his problem wasn't talent. it was just a enormous ego, and he got injured.

So that one, if RG3 had been healthy, he would have been a productive player. Alex Smith's career turned out pretty well. You know, once Harbaugh got there, took him to an NFC championship, got traded to Andy, one playoff games, one every year, like made a pro bowl or two. I think Alex Smith's career has been pretty positive, made a ton of money, besides his leg falling off, and luckily he's able to battle through it because he's one of the more mentally tough guys in the history of the league. But I don't view Alex Smith's career as like a failure by any means.

Brady Quinn, I'll be honest, I don't watch much Notre Dame football, so I don't have a great feel for, I remember watching them against SC, but like I was in college drinking. I don't, I wasn't like a scout then. I don't really know. I would say in recent memory, I, I, I, listen, I'm a big believer just in life. Cream always rises.

I really believe that. Like, I think Colt McCoy has a weak arm. Like, Kirk Cousins is a much better arm. Kirk Cousins just throws the ball a lot better than Colt McCoy. You watch Kirk Cousin throw now? I didn't used to think this three or four years ago. His arm is above average. I mean, he throws some strikes to Thielen and Justin Jefferson.

Now, I wouldn't say he has, like, he's not Mahomes or anything, but he's got a good arm. Kirk Cousins, like, I just don't think Colt McCoy could have turned into Kirk Cousin. Maybe Brady Quinn could have. Maybe. But, again, I struggle. watch him that much. Part of quarterback, man, a big separating factor is like work ethic,

your mind, you kind of become your own coach, manipulating defenses. Like, I think most guys that would have had success have success. I honestly believe that. Maybe there are a few, you know, guys, but

I don't know. Like, I think Johnny Mansell would have failed wherever he went. RG3, but RG3 got hurt. Like our RG3 didn't fail because he just sucked He sucked after he wasn't a dynamic runner Part of what made RG3 special was he was a runner And then once it kind of

He couldn't run it changed the game I love coach LaFleur I like most of the Mike Let me restart I love coach LaFleur I like most Didn't love the draft

However, A.J. Dillon in the second round makes more sense when you realize that both Aaron Jones and Jamal Williams are free agents after this year, and Bactiari needed to get paid, and the cap going down, money is going to be tight? With that being said, why on earth is LaFleur not using a 250-pound running back on 4th and 1 at the goal line? It's driving me insane. I think sometimes coaches, one, LaFleur doesn't pick the players. The GM does. So there's a chance LaFleur is not in love with A.J. Dillon. I had a good buddy in the NFL when they drafted him and everyone was shitting on the Packers draft was like, bro, honest, and this guy,

nails every pick. He's, you know, I've talked to him for a decade. He knows his stuff. He's like, I like that guy. But sometimes, for whatever reason, you draft a guy and you get him in your building, you see it all around the league all the time. And that rookie year, and especially this year when there wasn't training camp, you just kind of get in the doghouse and you're just not in the rotation, whether it's a wide receiver, whether it's a running back, especially with the head coach and he's a play caller. That guy can just be out of the loop. And it can be the opposite. Like I see it Kyle Shannon with Brandon Ayyuk. He was going to get Brandon Iyuk involved.

Debo, like those are his guys. Maybe A.J. Dillon isn't exactly LeFour's guy. But like you said, the thing is, they didn't draft A.J. Dillon just because they love running backs. Those guys are free agents, and they're not going to pay Aaron Jones $10 million a year. Maybe keep Jamal Adams, or Jamal, excuse me, Jamal Williams for cheaper. But Aaron Jones is going to get paid. Aaron Jones is a really good player.

So I just think that he probably doesn't trust him. Maybe the guy doesn't know the offense. Some of these games, like I think Matt Lafour views every game, especially against good teams, like when you're playing the Colts, it's like that's a Super Bowl that week. And you don't put guys in the Super Bowl, you don't trust. In football, you only play so many games. When you're a good team like Green Bay and you're playing against another playoff team,

that game in the heat of the moment feels like the end all be all. It feels like you're playing for all the marbles. And I think a lot of it comes down to these offensive coaches is when they don't trust a player, they just will not put them in. They will not put them in. Now, sometimes like Jonathan Taylor, for example, on the flip side,

the Colts kind of played him sparingly, then he fumbled, and he kind of got out of the rotation, but it's pretty clear that Frank and Chris are on the same page with Pittman and Jonathan Taylor. They're going to get those guys involved. Now, Pittman got hurt,

but they didn't just throw Taylor to the wolves. Like, they kept using them, and then in the Packer game, he started playing a lot. Trust me, I had, on my daily fantasy, I had Heinz. I'm like, give Heinz the ball. And they kept giving it to Taylor, and I'm screaming at the TV. But they believe in them. And I do too.

I loved him in Wisconsin. For whatever reason, Michael Flores just doesn't believe in the running back. I don't know why. How come no one is including Big Ben in the MVP discussion? To me, the Steelers are goes 16 and no, he has to win it. Yet everyone is already coronating Mahomes as the MVP to the point in the season. an undefeated regular season would have meant something for an MVP wouldn't it Ben is 2,500 yards, 6,7%, 24 touchdowns, 5 interceptions.

He's been really good. Like, I just think he's been fantastic. And one thing you know is like their offense last year was a joke, right? They were one of the worst offense in the league when Rathsperger got injured. They had no passing game, Mason and Dobbs and Duck, I guess Dobbs were gone, Duck, Hodges, this guy stink. So yeah, I mean, if they go 16 and 0 and he throws 35 touchdowns, he's going to have to get some MVP votes.

I wholeheartedly agree. Hi, new to the NFL couple years in, welcome. Was watching Kyler and Rusco added on Thursday and thought, man, this is special to have two games of this matchup for the next 10 years. Has there ever been a similarly exciting inter-division quarterback matchup before? Probably not. I mean, they're just, we're really in the age the last decade of these running quarterbacks and really the last four or five years of a lot of them coming into the league.

Russell has kind of been an outlier even the last decade, right? RG3 came in and bum, you know, he got hurt, he's out. Michael Vick's career just kind of got derailed. There haven't been that most of the good quarterbacks, Peyton, Rogers, I mean, he scrambles, but he's not a runner. Brady, Rivers, Eli, Rutherstburg, for a long period of my time, for my life, the 90s, definitely the 2000s. It's a pocket quarterback league.

Montana, Young, Fav, Elway, those are the type quarterbacks that thrive. And I think it's just changing where we're going to see more and more Kyler. So it might be the first of its kind. I say it all the time. Brady and Manning were the bird magic of my life. Bird and magic for people that are older, net 80s, It must have been special. I don't remember it.

I live through half of it, but I was so young. Manning and Brady took the NFL to another level, and the rivalry was fantastic. I mean, it's the greatest quarterback ever and probably a top five guy ever, and they played each other all the time. It was just, it was elite, and it changed the league, and those two guys helped change the league, but those two guys, like, you don't see those guys playing like that anymore.

I think we're going to see, maybe not Kyler. I mean, Kyler's one of the greatest athletes ever, He was drafted in baseball, number one picking football. He's 5-8. He's a quarterback. Even Russell's 5-10. Ironically, both are baseball players. But I think we're going to see more and more and more and more.

Trevor Lawrence is an athlete. Justin Fields is an athlete. Trey Lance is an athlete. Zach Wilson's an athlete. You're just going to start seeing athletes, man, which is cool. Appreciate everyone listening. Leave firing my DMs. You want to get read on Friday show.

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1-800 got junk or visit 1-800 got junk.com. Another podcast from some SNL, late-night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smygel and friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer Streeter Seidel help an a cappella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes.

Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with. Robert Smygel and Friends on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal, but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year.

Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the IHard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, what's good, y'all? You're listening to Learn the Hard Way with your favorite therapist and host Kear Games. This space is about black men's experiences, having honest conversations that it's really not safe to have anywhere, but you're having them with a licensed professional who knows what he's doing. How many men carry a suit or armor? It signals to the world that you're not to be played with.

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You might have seen the skits, my basketball and college football journey, or my career in sports media. Well, now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifers Show. This is a place for raw, unfilled conversations with athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard but celebrated. So let's get to it. Listen to the Clifford show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast.

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