The Herd with Colin Cowherd - 3 and Out - Broncos/Chargers MNF, Packers Problems, Bama Dynasty Wrap, Mailbag

Episode Date: October 18, 2022

John reacts to the Chargers outlasting the Broncos on MNF, and why he didn’t like what he saw from either team. He also discusses why the Packers should have never let Davante Adams walk, how the Jets have turned it around to start the season, and why the NIL era could mark the end of Nick Saban and Bama’s dynasty. He also answers listener questions in the Middlekauff Mailbag. Subscribe NOW and follow Middlekauff and The Volume on Twitter, Instagram and YouTube for the latest content. It's always FanDuel for the best wagering action! #volume #herdSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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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. The Volume. The Three and Out podcast with me, John Middilcoff, is presented by Fandual Sportsbook. There's no better place to make every moment more than with Fandual. America's number one sportsbook, very easy to use, safe and secure, you get your winnings fast. I cannot recommend it enough. Love gambling with Fanduel.

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Also, Middlekopf Mailbag at John Middlecough is the Instagram. Fire in those DMs. I'll bang out a couple at the end of this show after we dive into Packers Jets, some thoughts on the quarterback play, some thoughts on Nick Sabin and Alabama. Of course, this Monday Night Football game. But first, can I tell you about my friends?

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I don't know. I think sometimes it's easy to make fun of everything you watch in a bad game. And then I think there are nights like tonight where I think it's safe to say two of the most polarizing coaches right now in the NFL. You have one coach that I've been consistently making fun of now for basically a year and a half. his just inept coaching decisions at the most inopportune time. And we'll dive into Brandon Staley a little bit later, even though he had a blitz call late in this game that might be his greatest call in the history of his coaching career.

And then you got Nathaniel Hackett, and the Broncos are just a complete disaster. Penalties, the muffed pun at the end, constantly calling timeouts. It's just, it's a disaster. You're just sitting there going, is this the national football league? One thing I learned when I was in the NFL, there are people coaching at non-division-1 schools, at Division 2 schools that are better individual. I'm not talking head coaches, I'm just talking position coaches.

I think we believe, and I know I did before I went to the NFL, that just because you're at the highest level means you're the best. That is not true. just because you're coaching in the NFL does not mean you're the best coach. There are coaches better than other people. The reason a lot of these people get hired is because of their friends, because of a network. No different than life, right? I'm sure you work with a lot of people in whatever industry you are in and you go, yeah,

I work with some high-level people and I work with some slapies. We all have that experience no matter what you do. You can be working on a car lot, you can be working at Google, or you can be working for the Denver Broncos. Just because you're at a place that makes a lot of money or is a public job or a successful does not mean the best and the brightest are there. That is just a fact.

And what we witness tonight, two guys, now they're not making Andy Reid-Belichick Sean Payton money, but being a head coach in the NFL, the starting salary is like six plus million dollars. Now, I would imagine Nathaniel Hackett's the lowest paid head coach in the NFL. Brandon Saly's probably right at. ahead of them, but combined they make, I would guess, around $12 million. Both of them to me, if they were the head coach of my team, I don't know how I could consume my team because I would

be so distraught every single week that they were leading my squad. I think Brandon Staley is a walking talking fraud. I think he's a politician that has no clue what he's doing. A couple defensive calls here and there, but his defense for the most part is not good. And Nathaniel Hackett just has no business being a head coach. But never forget. And let's start with the Broncos. Because now they're two and four. They're headed toward a disastrous season.

Nathaniel Hackett's bad. We all can agree he shouldn't be a head coach. I don't blame him for accepting the job. And ultimately, he was signed off by Aaron Rogers and Russell Wilson for this job. But their biggest issue is not Nathaniel Hackett. As crazy as that sounds, their biggest issue is they gave a massive. max contract. Like, let's face it, there were some max contracts giving out this offseason, and they all look like fucking disasters. Deshawn Watson did who knows what, right? He is,

he's getting sued left and right still. Kyla Murray had no business getting a contract, and so far in 2022 looks like a terrible football player. Now, Russell Wilson, unlike those two guys, never been an issue off the field and been excellent on the field. So unlike Deshawn Watson, no character flaws off the field beside being a weird guy, a little weird for my taste, but never been in any trouble. And unlike Kyler, has actually got it done when it mattered the most. He has a long resume of kicking ass and taking names. So I've said over and over, I understood them giving him the money.

Now, I have some people that fire into my mentions or into my DMs go, John, you haven't been watching him. He's been slipping. No, I've been watching him. I gave him a little bit of a pass when he heard his finger last year. I think I would have taken the risk, just like the majority of people would have taken the risk. Well, the risk is backfiring.

He is not a good player. You heard Troy Aikman tonight who, do you see how big Troy Aikman's hands are? The guy's got massive myths. He's fucking just, his hands are huge. But Russell Wilson just sucks now. He is so terrible. Like on third down,

one, he is nowhere near the mobility and the running aspect of his career is just basically going. He had glimpses early in the game, but as the game goes, it just goes away. And when you call the right blitzes, he can not run away from a soul. And then his accuracy on third down, on these money downs, it feels like he's skipping balls, he's overthrowing balls, behind balls. Like, he is just not, he's not a max player.

And I think the scary thing is every single week we're waiting like, this is the week, this is the week, this is the week, then he gets injured, this is the week. I don't think it's coming. I think we're looking at a guy that every week is going to struggle to throw for 200 yards. Now that they're running game with Javante Williams being injured, several offensive linemen being injured, a head coach that's clearly over his head. This whole thing is just an operating disaster. But here's the kicker.

The owner who paid billions of dollars. Not like Steve Ballmer, $2 billion. Not like David Tepper, $2.5 billion. paid $4.6 billion. Now, they own Walmart, they have unlimited cash. I don't give a shit how much money you have. That's a lot of cash. And I don't know if he knows anything about football.

He did not even know Roger Goodell's name. But, and when you're that rich, you don't have to know Roger's name. And his son-in-law runs the team. But if you come in new to a business and you see the two people at the most important positions, the head coach and the quarterback just being a disaster, people are going to lose their jobs. And General Payton, who has drafted really well, everyone's like, you've got to take Justin Fields. He took Patrick Sertan.

Well, I'll tell you this, so far through a year and a half of their careers, it looks like the corner for Denver's headed to the Hall of Fame. And Justin Fields, I'm still bullish on him, but he's got a long way to go to even become a good starter. So Pat, Peyton is a really good GM, but ultimately he hired Nathaniel Hackett, and he signed off on this massive contract for Russell Wilson. So I would say everyone in Denver right now, beside Russ, because you can't fire the players, especially when you pay them that much money, is got to be walking around on eggshells. It's got to be a pretty tense environment.

And you lose to a team that's trying to give you the game. Like they're trying to give you the game. I was thinking about this tonight. Justin Herbert, who, I don't know, listen, he's got his flaws and he made his mistakes tonight, but he is a fantastic talent. And he's a really good player. But in his career, at Oregon, he played for Mario Cristobal, who is an elite recruiter, very questionable offensive schematic mind.

Not exactly, you know, Mike Shanahan meets Andy Reed. Then he gets drafted. He has Anthony Lynn as his head coach, who obviously lasts a year and then becomes a, no wait, he's a running back coach currently. That was his first head coach. And then he gets Brandon Staley. Think about Mack Jones, for example. Mack Jones has played for two coaches.

Nick Sabin, Bill Belichick. Say it all the time about Jimmy Garaplo. Who do you get to play for? I don't know. Bill Belichick, Kyle Shanahan. So, like, who you play for, and it's weird, like you do kind of get to control who you play for in college, though I'm pretty sure when Herbert originally went to Oregon,

Helfritz was there, he was from Eugene, but he's played for bad coaches. Now, Mario is going to be semi-successful in college because he can really recruit. But he's by no means know what he's doing, offensively. And these other guys, like Brandon Staley tonight, people always do this. Like, he's not the offensive coordinator. I know. He's the head fucking coach. I go back to the Atlanta Falcon. The Kyle Shanahan takes a lot of shit for that 28 to 3. And some of it is deserved. But

ultimately, do you know what name we never hear is Dan Quinn? When you're the head coach, you are the boss. So you at any moment can come across. the headset to your defensive coordinator or your offensive coordinator. And you know what you can say? Do what I want you to do. Run the ball. And tonight, with less than a minute to go in the first half, the Broncos did not have any timeouts.

And they threw the ball on third down the Chargers did in the red zone. It got tipped. The Broncos ended up getting the ball back after they kicked a field goal. And they drove the field and they kicked the field goal. Cost them three points. It almost cost them the game. and it's just basic things like that over and over and over again.

Tonight, at the end of the game, they got to call time out because the punt team's not ready. It's always something. Honestly, they look like mere images of each other. And then there was a moment tonight late in the four, or early in the fourth quarter,

where they're in-field goal range. Now, granted, their kicker is injured and has some wrap around his leg, but they're at like the 30-yard line, and it's fourth and one. Of course, what does Brandon Saley do? Go for. If you wanted to counter it, well, his kicker was hurt, and I'm sure he's talking or he'll talk.

I'm recording this right after the game and he'll say, you know, I didn't want to risk it from that distance with my kicker being banged up. And there might be some truth of that, but I think he would have gone forward if he had Justin Tucker or Adam Vinatieri. I don't think Brandon Staley has any clue how to be a head coach. He shows signs about specific defensive calls, calls a good blitz, takes out rust, calls a good coverage. like he can do that. But there is a difference between doing that and being the head coach. Because being the head coach, like when I hear, and Coward's always on, the lack of complexity and just variety of the Chargers offense,

which I think is more than fair, that is also on the head coach. It is the head coach's job to dictate everything in the organization. You can't just say, well, I'm the head coach, but I'm really the defensive coordinator. this is your problem. Like you could say that if everything's going well. Ultimately, Sean McDermott had been like, listen, Brian Dayball, you handle the offense. Well, everything's fine when the offense is humming.

But if the offense had been shitty and Josh Allen had been a problem, Sean McDermott would have been the one taking the heat. It's on you as the head coach. And it feels watching the night, what they asked Justin Herbert to do is just outrageous. And I can't get my hat, wrap my head around, that this guy, this great talent, like ultimately think how lucky Patrick Mahomes

got to come in and go to Andy Reed. Hell, Brian Dayball's turned out, Josh Allen got to spend the first four years of his career next to Brian Dayball. Tom Brady forever had Josh McDaniels and Bill Belichick. That matters. I feel like Justin Herbert is kind of getting worse. Kind of feels lost out there.

And hell, he's playing injured. and part of this gets back to, I could blame Brandon Staley, but to me it goes bigger than that. It's the organization. And we talk a lot about what would Sean Payton be with this team? He'll never be around this team. The owner never spends money on coaches. Look at his last three coaches. They're all cheap.

Mike McCoy was cheap. Anthony Lynn was cheap. Brandon Staley was cheap. Imagine going cheap on the most of the most of the most. important because when you hire a coach, most of the time, like you're starting from scratch, you're building the team. That guy, obviously the quarterback on the field is the most important guy on a given game. But to me, the value of a coach, if you are not aspiring to get a $15, $20 million coach, that's the going rate. That's the going. The college coaches make 10. I would want, if I was

known, like, how can I get a $15 million dollar coach? Not a guy that I just pay that much money to, but a guy that is worth that much money. Look at what Lincoln Riley has done to USC. USC was a fucking laughing stock. They couldn't recruit. They couldn't win games. Us on the West Coast kept changing the channel. They were so hard to watch.

They get Lincoln Riley. Year one, they're destined for like 10 and 2. Why? They paid $10 million a year to get him to leave Oklahoma. That was the going rate. They could have been like, well, maybe we can find a $6 million dollar coach. No, you can't. You got to go for the best.

and this is always going to be the Chargers problem is the coaching staff. They've been lucky. Now for 20 plus years, they went from Drew Breeze to Philip Rivers to now Justin Herbert. One thing the Chargers have always done a pretty good job of had good GMs.

They have GMs who can pick good players. AJ Smith was able to do that in 2000s. Tom Telesco was now able to do that in the 2010s, but when you have a bad coach, your ceiling's going to be limited. Look at the Chiefs. For the majority of my post-high school, life. In the late 90s, once Marty left, all the way up until Andy got there, they were just

a middling franchise. And then they got Andy Reed and the rest is history. The saints were called the Ains forever. They get Sean Payton and they became a big time franchise. The coach makes or breaks your franchise. And the chargers for the majority of my adult life have always had good players. They got good players now. They got Mike Williams. They got Slater. They got Herbert, they got Derwin James, they trade for Khalil Mack, they got Asante Samuels kit, they got fucking guys all over the field that every team in the league would want on their team. They would immediately start for 99% of the league.

Yet you watch them, they're always struggling, tie game, late in the game, whether they're playing the 85 Bears or whether they're playing the worst team in the league. And to me, that directly reflects the coach. They're always in the same game. They've been in the same game for the last. decade and you can't convince me that's not because they're always going cheap on their coach. Now, they all have different flaws. Anthony Lynn, no one had any clue what was going on. Mike McCoy was just, I don't even know, an uninspiring individual.

Brandon Staley thinks he's the smartest guy in the room. So they all have their own different flaws, but they ultimately equal the same result on our television when we watch them play. It's pretty insane. They have been playing the same game for a long period of time. and the crazy thing is, like, they have the most talented quarterback they've had in the last 22 years. From Breeze to Rivers to Herbert. I'm not saying the best.

Obviously, Drew Breeze going to the Hall of Fame, and Philip Rivers had an incredible career. Herbert's got a long way to go. But of the bunch, he's the most talented, and it scares and pains me to say that they might find a way to ruin them. Like, he might not be able to overcome that operation, which is ultimately pretty sad. Football season is underway. So now is the perfect time to download FanDuel, America's number one sports book. Because right now, new customers get a no-sweat first bet

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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. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what you're 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 Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast.

And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. Let's dive into a little Packers, Aaron Rogers, and my bald brother, Robert Salah, and the Jets. And let's start with the Packers. and I didn't get a chance really to watch much of it Sunday so threw it on my NFL Plus, which I saw as on the docket at the owner's meetings. I get they've been having some problems. I've had no issues with NFL Plus.

Watch games back pretty consistently on the app. Really enjoy it. Very easy to use. And so I threw a little condensed version. You can watch any game in the league in like 30 minutes. It's fantastic. Throw it on my iPad while I was doing some work and watched. And I wanted to start with the Packers.

And it really hit me. It actually, I was thinking about it before I even watched the game because it goes back to last week when Devante shoved the dude on the ground. And I was thinking about this. Most people in my experience, now I've never been married, never been divorced, broken up a fair amount of times. But I think the older you get, you have friends, you have family members that get divorced. When you're younger, you know a lot of your parents' friends. My parents never got divorced, but parents' friends that got divorced. and I would say in my experience of being secondhand in this situation,

every single person I've ever known got divorced was glad they got divorced. They were tired of that other person. The other person and their relationship was no longer a healthy thing. It was the right move to go their separate ways. Now, a lot of times in divorce, it is not, you don't quite know that until after the fact. Sometimes you know it during the fact you have a smooth divorce. It feels like in my experience, a lot of divorce to get ugly, especially when you factor in kids.

There's a lot of complications. And I think most divorces in business can get ugly, right? A lot of money in the line, a lot of emotion. Most people put a lot of emotion into two things. Their significant other slash their family and their job. I mean, that's where we spend most of our energy. So when you go your separate ways from it, it can be a lot. But I think it's finally kind of, it's pretty clear.

This divorce never should have happened. Now, I know some people close to Devonte, Adams, because I'm watching the Packers, and their offense is a joke. They're passing game. They're depending on Randall Cobb, who I think is now banged up. You got Watson, who's banged up, depending on this late round pick from Reno and Dobbs. Lazard actually pretty good player, but he's basically your best wide receiver. They just do not have enough firepower.

We knew this in the offseason. Now it's abundantly clear. And you can say, well, they were successful at times without Devante. I don't think they'd ever lost. Yeah, it's one thing when a guy's missing for a game. because he rolls his ankle. It's another thing when he's not on your team. And you look around your wide receiver room and you don't have anything.

Like, Devante Adams is arguably the best wide receiver in the league. He's definitely like a top two or three guy. So you remove him from your team. You are dramatically worse. And here's a reality. Devante and the Packers, they're both losers in this situation. Now, from talking to some people around Devante, listen, I understand wanting to come back west, be close to your family.

I get it. But as a football player, you all have this small window to win. And listen, I'm not trying to be a hater, but in the internet age, the Raiders always lose. They've had two winning seasons in over 20 years. They really haven't been that relevant since Tom Brady was like 23 years old. He's 45 now. So when you choose to go to the Raiders because you want to play with your buddy, I get it. We all want to do stuff like that.

But from a professional standpoint, because you're already super rich and the Packers were willing to pay you. From a football standpoint, that's a terrible decision. And yeah, he's having a good statistical year. Devante would have good stats with whoever he plays with. They're one in four. And he's being charged with assault. Think about this. Devante Adams, in my opinion, is one of the higher character guys in the league.

There was a viral video going last week about Devante running over a dude on the Packers. Not only picked the guy up on the sideline, put his beanie back on. Then he goes to the Raiders, who let's face it, have kind of a negative connotation that travels with the franchise. And now he's being charged with fucking assault, which we all agree is stupid, but still, that's a fact. And the Packers, who are an abomination on offense,

they are a joke from a passing game. Not because their quarterback's not really good. I don't know. He's just the reigning MVP back to back. He has nobody to throw to. So you can patchwork a game like they did last year when Devante was hurt, and they beat the Arizona Cardinals on a short week.

You can do that. Any team can. You can't sustain over a period of time. the season without this guy and you're seeing it come to fruition. They got problems. Their defense, everyone's like, their defense is fine.

One touchdown in that game was because of a blocked punt. Their defense is not, and Bryce Hall busted out a long run, which the guy's a stud. We'll get into the jets here in a second. The Packers cannot score. They have no firepower on offense. They lose MVS.

Lizards basically they're one. They're depending on these rookies. Clearly their star quarterback is not comfortable throwing to randoms. He was very comfortable with Devante. Devante was very comfortable with him. Do you know what happened when those two guys played together? They won a lot. You know what happens when you go play with your buddy in Vegas?

You lose. Do you know what Derek's been doing a lot of in his career? Losing. I'm not acting like Derek's some scrub, but the franchise, they lose a lot. And the Packers right now are really struggling. They're a disaster at 3 and 3. The Raiders are 1 in 4.

It's like, yeah, just another year for the Raiders. I mean, that's kind of typical, part for the course. And I think when I watch the Packers, I go, their defense is good enough. They definitely have the firepower in terms of a running game. Their firepower in a passing league is a joke. It truly is. Now, we knew it, but it's another thing to see it. And to me, that is the downfall.

It's why they get worked for the Jets. Well, why? Jets have a good pass rush. They have a good D.B. They have linebacker number 56, Quincy Williams. Who is the hell is that? guy. He's a baller. So the Jets took it to him. And let's talk about the Jets. Here's a simple reality with Joe Douglas since he's taken over. He has drafted very well. They have talent all over the place. To me, the two guys in that game that really jumped out,

now he inherited, I'm pretty sure, Quinn and Williams, who's now been on the team for a while, the defensive lineman from Alabama. And he did claim Quincy Williams, the linebacker who was a third round pick years ago from the Panthers, and they've claimed them. And those two guys, number 95 and 56, dominated that game. But as I was told by someone on the jet staff in training camp, they're like, I think our best player might be this running back from Iowa State. In these last two games, he's dominated. They're wide receivers.

Elijah Moore, who's bitching him on Twitter because he's not getting the ball enough, is really good. Garrett Wilson, the wide receiver from Ohio State, really good. Sauce Gardner, Stud. So they have drafted these last couple years really, really well. And clearly, Robert Sala is just a solid, one, he's a solid guy. Anytime you get a solid guy calming influence in a chaotic environment, the Jets are a little like the Raiders, a lot of chaos always, a lot of weirdness.

Their owners have a little more money, but media market's kind of crazy. And Robert Sala is just a pretty consistent human being. I think that helps. He's also a pretty consistent coach. coach. Every player that played for him in San Francisco loved him. Why? He's an impressive guy. And you know what's starting to come to fruition? Pretty good coach. So I think they've drafted well. I think they got a good coach. The only question about the Jets moving forward. And I texted with someone in the league today. They're like, they have been it. We've been able to win games simply because

Zach Wilson does not turn the ball over. Just play within himself, throw the ball less than 20 times a game. do not turn the ball over, do not play hero ball. Maybe three or four times a game, you might have to make a play. Other than that, play with them under the umbrella of the offense. Don't overextend yourself. And they've done that. They just won a game with them throwing for 100 yards. And a big reason for that is they have studs a lot of different places.

That team is very, very talented. The only question mark I have for the franchise moving forward. Roster, good. head coach, solid. Is the quarterback any good? And this year, he just has to kind of steer the ship. But as time goes on, does he mature? Does he get better? Can he play as a game manager? It's not really in like who he was when he was drafted. He was much more of a playmaker. And you still see him want to do that, right? Good athlete, explosive arm. To me, he's the question mark. Because other than that, I think they got a lot going for them. You can't turn on the Jets, win or lose a game and not see the talent.

jump out from the screen. It's all about the quarterback with them. And I don't know. I would, I'm leery because people that I trust in the NFL were not big fans. And I watch him, it's going to be hard to corral him. Like he's not naturally going to play like Mac Jones

or, you know, Jimmy Garapolo. Like ultimately he wants to make plays. And look at those guys. When those guys tried to make plays, what happens? They turn the ball over. So to me, he's a fascinating case.

moving forward. The other thing when it comes to quarterbacks, a lot of quarterbacks are struggling all over the league. A ton of quarterbacks won yesterday throwing for well under 200 yards. And I think where we all thought the league was trending, that everyone was just going to be able to throw for 350 yards every week, just explosive scores.

That has not been the case this year. If anything, let's be honest, it's been pretty ugly a lot of times when you've turned the channel and flipped on different games on these Sundays. It has been a struggle for a lot of quarterbacks and offenses to score the ball, to execute on offense, unless you have Patrick Mahomes or, you know, Josh Allen. Most of these teams, even with just solid quarterbacks, like, what the hell is going on? Joe Burrow actually made a bunch of plays the other day against Saints.

But I have some theories here why this is coming to fruition. because I think for a lot of people, it's like, oh, the NFL is going to become seven on seven. It's just going to be an easy passing league. And that is not taking place. If you've listened to this podcast for a while, you know I like to make fun of academia, which is ironic. I got a couple degrees. My mom's always stopped saying you're so dumb.

You're so smart. Yeah, Mom, I'm not Mr. Intellectual here. But again, got a couple degrees, state schools. But the reality is, one thing I learned when I was at Cal Poly going to different business class, that translates to the real world. My issue with academia is everything you learn in there, it's nothing like that in the trenches of society. Once you get into whatever you're doing for a living,

none of that shit translates, at least in my professions, at least for most people I know. Everyone I know is like, yeah, nothing carries over. Now, maybe if you're an electrical engineer, obviously some accounting stuff, I'm not saying it's a tried and true formula that nothing you learn in the classroom translates to real life, but most things you learn in the classroom

are you're not going to take to the real world besides basic things that you learn in like elementary school like reading and writing. And you can even argue writing now and maybe they're not even teaching writing. I had to learn cursive when I was a kid. Curseve. The only thing I've ever used cursive for in 20 years

is to sign my name. And let's face it, most of it now is with a finger on a electronical thing wherever you're at. It's like, who even cares? But not going to go down that rabbit hole. But here's the thing that I learned in school that I think translates very well to the real world is supply and demand. It's very basic and it translates to basically every industry. Good example.

Last year, housing market, interest rates low, low supply, huge demand. Prices go to historical numbers. That's a perfect example of supply and demand in full, you know, full go here, right? Cars, same thing last year. No chips. No supply. the demand was high. A bunch of people got a bunch of money. And prices of cars, used cars, skyrocketed.

My mom sold a several-year-old car back to the dealership for more money than she purchased it for, which is unheard of. One of the first things you learn as a human being from your parents or friends is like, know this. Whenever you buy a car, the moment you drive it off the lot, it immediately diminishes in value. And it's true. Except for last year, you could sell it back for like $15,000. more than you buy it for. That might change if we ever get some chips, but who knows, I'm not some, that's a form of relation question that won't be answered here on the show because I don't know.

But the supply and demand of defensive linemen that have come into the NFL, relative to the offensive linemen, the last several years have not equaled each other. The demand for both offensive and linemen, offensive linemen, and defensive linemen is very high. There's a reason why tackles and pass rushers always go in the top 10 in the draft when they're viewed as top prospects, rightfully so. And occasionally, a guard, if he's viewed as a Hall of Fame guy,

like Quinn and Williams, goes really high. The top center usually goes somewhere between 25 and 45. Defensive tackles over the last, I would say, decade, have become fantastic pass rushers, so they have also gone very high in the draft.

But if you look at a lot of drafts recently, the amount of pass rushers coming in, one consistently have been very high. And these pass rushers, detackles and outside edge rushers, aren't just really good prospects. They've never been faster. The amount of defensive linemen coming into the NFL running like four sixes, high four fives, is pretty stupid. Like it's like, who is creating these human beings? But have you noticed that the amount of guard centers, and let's face it,

even some of these tackles that are drafted have not turned out to be that good. And all you've got to do is turn on the television. If you're watching your team, most teams go, God, you know, our left tackle is pretty good, center is okay. We would replace the other three offensive linemen. The majority of decent teams, let alone the good ones, all have really good defensive lines. So the amount of defensive linemen that have come into the NFL, let's just pick the last

five years, at a high end. Like, I'm talking impact. players have not equaled the amount of offensive linemen coming in. And just a lot of offensive linemen aren't playing into their mid-30s. So even good ones eventually retire or get washed out of the league. So you are seeing, all you've got to do is flip around the channels. Most quarterbacks half the game are running for their life because their offensive line can't block these defensive linemen. So the equilibrium has just been thrown out of whack. And you watch college football, like I don't know if we'll ever get back to the amount of good guards,

centers, and tackles, maybe tackles, but guards and centers coming in the league. And we've definitely never had, at least in my adult life, more talented interior pass rushers. So the guards and centers can't block these inside pass rushers. And these quarterbacks get thrown off and it makes, you know, them look awful immediately. And then I would also say that practice time, in the NFL has, obviously, they've never practiced less. OTAs, and I've been going to these practices before two CBAs ago, and then I've gone to practices this year.

The OTAs are a joke. Now, you could argue for the last decade they've never been that important, and if you wanted to ultimately argue they're not that necessary, I would somewhat hear that. But in the 70s, the 80s, the 90s, and even the 2000s, OTA practices, while not in pads, you were building for the future that was going to be training camp. But let's even throw that into the trash.

Training camp practices in the history of the sport encompass double days. And offense, more than defense, timing is such a big deal, right? If I'm five steps hitting you before you're out of your break, whether it's an out route, whether it's a deep comeback, whether it's a sland go, whatever it may be. It's a timing element, the passing game. So in football, they've never practiced less in college and definitely the pros. And even in training camp, you have to wait a couple days to get on the pads. And then when pads come on, there are no such thing as double days.

There are only a mandatory or maximum of four straight padded practices before I have to give you a day off. And think about this. Most of these players, your starting players now at the majority of these teams are not playing in training or preseason games. I almost called them training camp games. Preseason games. So if I have a preseason game, let's say, on Saturday,

I don't practice on Friday, right? I might do a quote unquote walk through or traveling or whatever, but there's no real practice on Friday. And then on Saturday, if I'm a starter, I'm not playing in that game either. So I didn't practice on Friday. I don't play in the game on. Saturday, and then Sunday, the day after, and these are just preseason games, is a mandatory

day off. So we don't practice that much as it is, and then I basically get three straight days off. So the amount of practice time has diminished so much in the last five, six, seven years. I think that is leading to more and more of this poor play at the quarterback position. Now, some guys, Mahomes, Rogers, when he's on, right, Josh Allen now can overcome it, but the majority of guys cannot. The supply and demand of your offensive lines and the difference too between a starting offensive lineman and a backup offensive lineman is dramatic.

And here's the other thing with the practice schedules being so just non-existent is I'm a big believer that we're seeing so many injuries on so many teams because of like the sparring factor in fighting. There's a reason UFC fighters and boxers spar to get ready for the fight. Well, you can't tell me, maybe it was excessive, and I'm not even asking for Bear Brian or Bill Parcell's practices, but the amount of times that Bill Walsh, Mike Ditka,

Bill Parcells, the double days their teams would have harden them for the season. Now, and maybe there's another, listen, I'm not pretending to be some athletic trainer to know all the details, here. But the independent, constant training year round, you have to wonder if that hurts guys breaking down because guard, centers, tackles are dropping like flies. Receivers get hurt all the time. So you're asking these quarterbacks when they don't practice as much. Their offensive linemen can't block the defensive lineman. You're just watching football left and right and

the timing is way off. It is very, very poor football. And I think there are some pretty clear reasons why. And I don't think it's going to get any better anytime soon. And last but not least, before we dive into just some positive things that we saw on Sunday, is Nick Saban. And I text with someone around the Alabama football program. I said, what's going on? I actually text with a couple people. And one of the first things I was told is, you know, they don't have as many good players is they used to have relative to their competition. And a big reason why is Georgia takes a lot of guys in recruiting that used to go to Alabama.

So they are no longer a lock to get the... And when I say blue chip guy, there are a lot of blue chip players in college football. I'm talking like 10 guys. In Alabama, if they wanted of the 10, used to be a lock to get like 6 or 7. And now maybe they're only getting 2. because Georgia gets five, A&M pays for a couple, and another dude goes to Texas.

And that's a problem, right? They used to have the deck stacked where they were better. I'm talking from an Alabama perspective. From a college football perspective, I think it's fine. It's enjoyable. Now, they are still the standard and they're still really good. But the other reason that I was told that if you look at Alabama historically over the Sabin run, they were a well-built team with NFL players at every position.

and they weren't necessarily built like an NFL team where it was like the quarterback, we got to ride the quarterback. We could run the ball, we had really good wide receivers, we had a fantastic defense. They were a team. Well, these last couple years,

and the last time they were quote unquote a team, Mack Jones, I don't want to call him a game manager, but that team was well-rounded. If you watch Alabama now, they're just so Bryce dependent. They feel like the Ravens, Not where they're just dependent on Bryce to run,

like the Ravens are dependent on Lamar to run, but basically Bryce to do absolutely everything for them. And for the most part, he's been able to do that. But their margins now, they could have lost several games last year, they easily could have lost a couple games this year, even beside the Tennessee game. They feel much more predicated on the quarterback success. And I don't think that's sustainable.

One, Bryce is going to go pro after this year, so the chances that their next quarterback, I don't care how many stars and how good he is and how much hype he has is going to be as good as Bryce seems to be slim to none just based on the history. Like it's hard to get back-to-back players of that levels, but he might be the number one overall pick. The other thing is NIL has really changed the game.

Like Tex A&M might not win that many games, but they are still getting players that are used to going to Alabama because they cut them big-ass checks. And that's not going to change. As long as they're opening their checkbooks, Texas, Texas A&M, Georgia, they are going to steal players that used to go to Alabama. So I'm not saying Sabin's run of winning is over, because even look at him now, he has a team relative to some of his best teams, which is probably average,

and at worst, he's going to go 10 and 2. But I do think it's fair to say they're just consistent dominance of like they're going to basically win the national championship or be in the national championship every year. I wonder if it's over. And looking back, why Sabin snapped on Jimbo for paying the players is because he kind of knows it. He knows that this is not a sustainable way to go. They can't pay the most. Listen, when you cheat like a couple hundred thousand dollars, there's a big difference

of giving someone a big bag of cash and having to guarantee them millions of dollars. That's what Texas, Texas A&M, USC. Some of the money I've heard that the USC kids are getting is outrageous. But of course, they're in USC. They have enormous money boosters and they're willing to kind of, you know, use it through their businesses. It's LA. It's the second biggest media market in America. If New York had a football program like Ohio State, like Penn State, like Michigan, in the heart of it and they cared about it, they would dominate. They would have more money than everyone else. And that's going to be a huge point of difference for Lincoln Riley moving forward that Sabin just will not have.

And this gets back to his comments at Jimbo Fisher. It makes a lot of sense. A couple things just to fly through that I haven't touched on yet. Somehow Minnesota is 5 in 1. The Minnesota Vikings are 5 in 1. Not totally buying it, but Justin Jefferson's, you know, one of the best players in the league. Dalvin Cook's been healthy. They've won a couple crazy tight games.

they basically knocked off Skyler Thompson and ended up with Teddy Bridgewater who's awful and they're 5 and 1 so you get the 5 and 1 all of a sudden you look up you're going to be 8 and 3 so that they feel unless green bay makes a trade where I might have been wrong is they're going to win the division Matt Ryan I think save Frank Reich's job was not watching that game in the first half because I thought the jags were going to win you look on ESPN.com I'm watching the niners I'm watching the Giants Ravens game. And you just think of yourself, God, Indy's going to lose again to Jacksonville,

but this time at home. And I'm watching the end of the game. And Matt Ryan made probably the best play he's made in years. The touchdown down the sideline to Pierce. He almost threw 400 yards, three touchdowns, a throwback MVP-type game for Maddie Ice. I do think if they lose the Jags and they're two, three, and one with multiple losses of the Jags,

I think Tennessee coming up, I think Frank would have been in major trouble, but sometimes quarterback play and clutch touchdowns can save jobs. The Bengals, I was watching some of that game. I mean, Jamar Chase is just a fucking monster. Burroughs such a stud. I told you Dennis Allen, like, it just ain't going to work. And it hasn't been that ugly. They have been right in games.

They could have won the Minnesota game. They could have won the Bengal game. But they don't. They lose them. Now they're 2 and 4. Now they're playing the Cardinals who are just, an atrocious operation. I mean,

Robbie Anderson goes just full heel on the sideline, screaming at his wide receiver coach, screaming at the head coach, gets booted to the locker room, Vernon Davis, Mike Singletary, you know, same exact thing.

The difference is Vernon Davis is a stud and turned his career around, top five pick. This is Robbie Anderson. Well, of course, Marquise Brown gets injured, who trades for him, the Arizona Cardinals.

The Arizona Cardinals are like the modern-day Al Davis Raiders. They do not give a shit about character. You'd be like, John, character is just Robbie Anderson? Like yelling at the wide receiver coach. Do you think a lot of teams are messing with him when that's what you're doing? Look at the team that ultimately acquired him. Two and four team headed nowhere but the drain. USC lost incredible win by Kyle Whittingham,

who I would say is underachieving a little bit this year. They're four and two. they had high hopes that lost to Florida has not aged well as Florida has just been a disaster but that I listen we are not the SEC

out west not even close we don't have what Tennessee has in the bag we don't have what Michigan has in the bag you know 100 plus thousand everyone in town gives a shit that's really cool it's what I'm jealous about with college football the two places we have that are pretty special at night

are Salt Lake City and Eugene Oregon and think about it they're not pro towns when it comes to pro football. And that place at Utah was rocking, went for two to basically win it. It was sweet. In USC, I think Jordan Addison, I haven't seen what his injury is, but he was on crutches.

That's a big loss. And big win by Utah. Listen, USC was never, you know, they were probably a 9 and 3, 10, and 2 team. They were not some playoff team. Their defense isn't good enough. And last but not least, I got to give this guy credit. Marcus Mariotta's really resurrected as

career. Now, he is not some dynamic, like, top 15 quarterback, but he's better than a lot of bridge quarterbacks. Like, Marcus Marriota has nothing in common with Mitch Trubisky. Marcus Marriota is dramatically better in Mr. Biscay. And given him that Atlanta's not paying him much, Arthur Smith is doing a fantastic job. I mean, he basically just went Kyle Shanahan. He ran the ball down the 49ers' throats. And Marietta was, was brilliant. He was awesome in the game. now they're three and three. I don't think they have a chance to win the division, but who knows? I mean, Tom Brady, he quit at any moment.

I guess last but not least, the Rams. Stafford, nine pick sixes since 2020. Excuse me, 2020. Nine pick sixes. The next quarterback has four. Like, Stafford, I know they won against a god-awful Panther team, but nine pick-sixes. The Rams lost their left tackle. I don't trust them at all.

I think they're going to be hanging on for gear life as this season goes. 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 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 where you're saying. Yep, that's me, Clipper Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, the reactions,

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Okay, quick Middilkoff mailbag. Let's bang out a couple ad John Middlecoff as the Instagram. Fire in those DMs and get your questioning on the show. A big fan of your show. I'm also a Texans fan. I know tough and wanted to get your thoughts on the following. Easterby was fired by the Texans today and there were many reports of him being a jerk

in the Texas front office. Any comments on those recent rumors? I did not see, I just saw he was fired. I didn't read any articles besides the articles that came out previously of him doing weird things in the past. So I have not seen any of those. Usually when you get fired over a bi-week,

I would imagine some weird shit happen. What's weird though is he's a big reason, at least I thought. Cacario is in the building. maybe Casario turned on him. I don't know. I don't have, I need some inside information. I need to do a little digging before I can really,

I don't have any information from what we already knew about the guy like a year ago preaching. And we all kind of made fun of them. But I don't know really anything about this individual situation. But, you know, I give Casario smart move, get rid of this guy. Believe teams have a Super Bowl window depending on contract situations, a span of three or four years, in which the roster can have quality players before losing them in free agency.

Of course, there are anomalies like the Patriots. But do you agree with this notion? For the most part, yes. But I also think good teams can use a core. I think the chiefs are a good example of this. Their core has basically been for five years. Mahomes, Kelsey, Chris Jones, and Tyreek. Now, they also had the Honey Badger for a little bit.

Frank Clark is probably not as good as he used to be. but their core guys are still really good. So as long as Kelsey's really good, Jones is really good, and obviously Mahomes is really good, they can kind of put new pieces around them. So to me, if your core is like Josh Allen, Diggs, and, you know, Milano and Poir,

you can kind of piece mail it around them. So I think it can be a little bit longer if your high-end talent is your quarterback and receiver. What are your thoughts on Nick Casario on what he's done for the Texans from a front office standpoint. Would you mind expanding on the Patriots way? What are your thoughts?

I would say that, like to me, they've drafted pretty well last year. I know a lot of people thought highly of their draft. You just got to start winning some games. And to me, the number one thing they've got to get figured out is a quarterback. You know, I've watched probably six quarters of their games this year. Not the easiest team to watch.

To me, Davis Mills has been a little hitter. miss. So I think the question's going to be, if they're in a position to draft really high, would they take Will Levis or Bryce Young and just kind of pivot that way? Because they can keep, they got a bunch of picks right from the Deshaun Watson trade. So they're going to be able to reload, but they've got to find the quarterback. That division's kind of wide open. I mean, the Colts, Matt Ryan's like 70 years old. The Titans are kind of transitioning. And the Jags still clearly have a long way to go. So I would be excited just from a standpoint of the division's pretty wide open.

I think Casario has done a pretty good job. Got to find a coach too. Like, is Lovie Smith, their long-term coach? Do you think LaFleur becomes a head coach soon? Mike LaFleur? If so, who is the best fit and why? Is it the Steelers? Thanks.

I would say no. I mean, I don't think Mike LaFleur, one, his brother's really struggling right now. Matt, who's the coach of the Packers. Mike is the offensive coordinator for the Jets. Zach Wilson just doesn't look that good. And to me, if he's going to get interviews, it's going to be because Zach Wilson's good. And Zach Wilson just does not look good.

Now, in fairness, he's only a second year player. He got injured. But like, that is his path to get a job. It's to make Zach Wilson be a stud. And he's not close to being a stud. Since Jerry Jones just turned 80, I think, his carrier as an NFL owner, his career as an NFL owner is on the back end.

He even said he wants to win another Super Bowl. With the Cowboys defense starting to click, and it's way better than it's ever been, would it be smart for Jerry to pull in L.A. Rams and try to get McCaffrey to try to add more firepower, another slot receiver to the average offense, might help CD get open. I see all the upside in getting him

having a three-headed backfield. Thoughts. Don't totally hate it. I don't think McCaffrey now, I don't know, as you're asking this question, I have to look at the cap. Does the Cowboys have any space? But like we saw, the Rams didn't have any space and the Rams ate the money, or the Broncos ate the money with Vaughn Miller. Would you pay more to get McCaffrey?

Like, would, to me, McCaffrey's his worth on the open mark is like a third round pick. I saw someone on Twitter said that Shrager said on Fox that they're asking for two ones. Like, that's laughable. And I'm just saying if that's what the Carolina's Fitterer is telling people, like, get the fuck out of here. to me, you wouldn't even offer. I'd honestly say if you gave a second round pick, they would have to eat a lot of the money.

To me, McCaffrey's probably worth a third round pick. He's been injured a lot. His high-end speed isn't quite there. Still a solid player, but he plays running back. Two-ones? I mean, Jalen Ramsey went for two-ones. Cleo Mac went for two-ones. Christopher McAfree banged up is not going for two-ones.

I have never been a believer. in the Jets until Joe Douglas got hired. He continues to absolutely hit on so many picks and free agent signings. From late rounders to first rounders, the guy is really good, got to give him his props. Saul looks like he's instilling a great culture currently. Question is, despite how top

the Jets' schedule is so they could actually make the playoffs this season, my prediction is yes. Though the Jets will only go far as Zach Wilson will take them some point he's going to have to win them some games. I'd love for him to continue his growth. He's looking more poised. For them,

to make a run, he's got to be better. Because right now they're winning despite of him. I think two weeks ago he threw 20 passes. This week he threw 18. No picks. Not turning the ball over. Throw him for 100 yards. That's not sustainable against good teams. Like, you're

not beating the bills with him throwing for 100 yards. Now he doesn't need to throw for 300, but can he throw for 240? I don't know if he has that in him without throwing multiple interceptions. You know, the Patriots are kind of humming now. Is this Zach Wilson going to beat the Patriots? is Zach Wilson going to beat Bill Belichick?

You know, the Patriots are kind of coming now. The Dolphins are in shambles with their quarterback situation, but your team, you're right. I talked about him earlier in the pod. Joe Douglas has done a fantastic job. They've hit on a ton of picks, but they are going to go as far as his quarterback's going to take him. Like, if the quarterback's good, the rest of the year,

they can win 9, 10 games. If the more and more he's got to make plays, he can't answer the bell, then they won't. I actually think they are like ultimately the Giants are just not going to ask Daniel Jones to do anything but the Giants don't have the talent the Jets have the Jets have way more talent than the Giants

as they should right they had multiple first round picks the last couple years so like of course they do but I don't know man I don't Daniel Jones played a lot more football than Zach Wilson now Zach Wilson has got a better arm but I don't know

fascinated to watch that little progression. Okay, last question from Ben. How many top quarterbacks in the NFL that bust Sam Darnold would not have busted with better coaching or needed more time like Carson Palmer? Watching Danny Dimes play under a day ball, he seems improved or Gino Smith, he is better. Not great, but serviceable. How does coaching and time help them? Well, think about this example. Like I said with Herbert, Mario Anthony Lynn.

Brandon Staley. Mack Jones, Saban, Belichick, Jimmy, drafted to Belichick, Kyle Shanahan. It doesn't get any better for those guys. So, like, they've already maximized their ability. Think about Alex Smith, who when Alex, before he got hurt in Washington, had become, like, you know, a top 12 quarterback.

He was never going to be some top five guy, but you could go to the playoffs every year with him as your starting quarterback. He was a joke. with Mike Nolan and Mike Singletary. A laughing stock. Everyone thought he sucked. Then came Jim Harbaugh.

Then they traded him to Andy Reed. And for about five, six years, everyone's like, you know what, Alex Smith? Got some flaws, but he's a damn solid quarterback. But Mike Singletary, Mike Nolan, everyone laughed at him. I think he is one of the best examples of coaching. Because most guys do not have elite talent, right? most guys do not have Josh Allen, Patrick Mahomes,

Justin Herbert level physical talent. Most guys are, let's face it, Tua, Baker, Sam Darnold, Danny Dimes. Most guys have NFL level talent but not high end at quarterback. And Alex is a good example of that. Not a great arm. Good athlete, but nothing special, tall, but not like super powerful. And just needed to get with the right people. when he did, he became a guy that you could win with, make the playoffs with.

Like, to me, ultimately, like, I want Patrick Mahomes or Josh Allen, but most people are never going to find Patrick Mahomes or Josh Allen. So if you can just get Alex Smith, hell, I'd make fun of Dak Prescott, because I don't like paying Dak Prescott $40 million. But if I was paying Dak Prescott $25 million, I'd be fine with it. If I was paying Kirk Cousins, not $43 million, but $30. Like, I like Derek Carr at $25 million. Don't really love Derek Carr at $40,000. million dollars. You can be like, well, that's the going rate. Well, yeah, I don't really like it. Because I can't, like, part of why Alex was valuable is he never cost the high end and you could build around them. So, yeah, I think it's very, very valuable. I mean, I think coaching

for quarterbacks, you know, there are only so many Brett Farves who just could probably play for anybody right in their prime. And even Brett Farb had Mike Holmgren and Mariuci and Andy Reed. Think about that. So, yeah, it's, It's very, very important. Have a good week. Talk to you guys soon. Peace. The volume.

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