The Herd with Colin Cowherd - 3 and Out - CFB Playoff Thoughts + Weekend Mailbag

Episode Date: December 4, 2022

First, John some thoughts on USC getting pushed around by Utah, and which teams should make the CFB Playoff. Then, he responds to listener questions in the Middlekauff Mailbag. Subscribe NOW and follow Middlekauff and The Volume on Twitter, Instagram and YouTube for the latest content and FanDuel for the best wagering action! #Volume #HerdSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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to get started. now sign up with promo code Colin so they know we sent you. What is going on, everybody, John Middlecoff, three and out podcast. A little something we like to call the Sunday mailbag at John Middlecough is the Instagram. Fire in those DMs and get your questions answered here on the show. We didn't do one last week because of Thanksgiving. Little thing we call Turkey Day. Obviously it was on Thursday.

But, you know, the holiday times, you got to spend some time with your family. We have other people working on this show beside myself. And yeah, we, and part of it is I don't think the listening changes a little bit during the holiday. So obviously Thanksgiving. And I would imagine the Christmas weekend because Christmas Eve's on Saturday. Christmas is on Sunday. So there will also probably be a little bit of a change in the podcast schedule. But other than that, we fire out content at John Middlecock, Instagram, firing those DMs.

I got college football in the back. The Georgia games going on. on right now. They're killing LSU and I got my dogs on. They just picked off Boise State, up 7.3 and driving, Jay Canter, just go dogs. Before we dive in the middle cuff mailbag, and if you listen on Collins feed, make sure you subscribe to the Three and Out podcast. I greatly appreciate everyone that listens. You make this all possible. But I wanted to start with Friday night. And we saw Utah beat the living crap out of USC. And I'm not going to hold this roster against Lincoln Riley because he inherited a lot of.

lot, even with the transfer portal, and he's done remarkable things. And I'm not going to say that he should fire his defensive coordinator, even though based on Oklahoma and based on this year at USC, we can say all they want about the players, his defensive coaching has been very questionable. Alex Grinch. But what

I will say about Lincoln Riley is his team, since he's been the head coach at Oklahoma in this one year at USC, have not been the toughest teams. And from a toughness standpoint, that runs on the West Coast through Kyle Winningham. And last year, Mario Cristobal, who had five stars, four stars, eight stars, the most loaded roster out west.

Kyle Whittingham didn't beat once, he beat twice. And he beat the living crap out of. This year, he's 2 and O against USC, who has the guy that will be the number one pick in the draft. And we'll get to Caleb Williams in a second because he painted something on his nails that I thought was pretty, I mean, it was clown activity. But Kyle, toughness always travels. And to me, for USC to take the step that they're ultimately going to want to take,

because you know what's weird, Lincoln Riley, flew by all expectations, had them 11 and 1, and had them within one game of going to the college football playoffs. But that was not a college football playoff team. That was a team with an elite quarterback and a couple sweet wide receivers, but other than that, a lot of holes. And their defense is fucking a joke. And you saw last night, like, they got pushed around

because their culture, and ultimately I like Lincoln Riley. I'm a believer in them more than, let's say, Ryan Day. But like Ryan Day, there's a softness to his operation. You saw it at Oklahoma. He saw it this year with USC. and there's nothing soft about Utah. I tweeted last night, like, you could hit Utah players with a bat

and they'd get back up. Cam Rising got destroyed on that one hit, pop right back up. There's a toughness to the ethos of that program, and it starts with their head coach. Why? Because their head coach is a tough guy. You can't fake being tough or not.

Like me, I walk into a bar. I'm not a tough guy, right? There are certain guys that are just tough guys. You don't fake that as a leader, as a football coach. And I've said this over and over, Most of us in society, being physically tough, it doesn't matter. I don't have to beat anyone up.

In football, you have to physically move people. You have to physically tackle people. And USC was incapable of doing that. And if Lincoln Riley is going to be one day mess with the Georgia's, mess with the Alabama's, you know, beat Ohio State and Michigan, he's got to get tougher. Now, you can argue them in Ohio State are basically going to be the same thing. Can they get good or not enough on defense? When USC was humming under Pete Carroll, like they had Ray Mellman.

Malau Lugah, Brian Cushing, and Clay Matthews were their three linebackers. When they were winning championships with liner, their defense was stacked first rounders every level. And I just, that's my, the unknown with Lincoln Riley. If he just recruits those players and gets those guys to come to USC, he'll have a chance to win national champion. But if he does not, because his team is never going to be the toughest team. They are not going to be Georgia. Like ultimately, Georgia is led by Kirby Smart, who played safety and was taught by Nick Saban defensively. Nick Saban, a defensive back guy.

Jim Harbaugh, one of the rare former quarterbacks who views himself like an offensive lineman or a middle linebacker. He just dreams about toughness. He dreams about imposing his will on the opponent. Lincoln Riley, Ryan Day, you know, let's face it, dream about scoring 75 points, which works against a lot of teams.

But when you face Utah, they're tougher than you. Their players don't have as many stars. Their players aren't going to get drafted as high, but you put them in the octagon, they're going to beat you up. And you saw that last night. Like USC kind of got beat up. They got shoved around.

On the flip side, TCU, who lost, and I guess Alabama's going to jump them, maybe they won't. I was actually pretty impressed with TCU. Like, I watched TCU play Kansas State. Another team, a lot like Utah, tough guys. Not a lot of five star,

not a lot of four stars. They're just tougher than you. That's what they hang their hat on as a program. It's not sexy first round. picks. It's not scoring 80 points. It's we are going to out think and out tough you. And TCU went toe to toe. And their quarterback is clearly tough as nails. And as a buddy of mine in the league texts me a while back, like, don't get it, don't get a twisted with TCU. NFL quarterback, NFL running back. Had a buddy tell me last night that TCU probably is the number one wide receiver

prospect. And they have a couple other wide receiver prospects that are NFL guys. Like that, that is a very talented team. And I saw a lot of toughness. Now, do they get in or not? my gut tells me Alabama. And my gut tells me it's Georgia, Bamma, Michigan, Ohio State, round one TV, you know, ratings galore. Now, you could argue TCU deserves it. I don't actually care. I'll be honest, I'm biased. Give me Ohio State Michigan round one. Give me Georgia Bama. And let's face it, like the two big conferences with all the money will hoard all the money. That's just where we're at right now. Now, I do think this TCU team went healthy is a lot better than I thought.

Are they as good as Alabama? I don't believe that. Now you can go, well, they lost, they only lost one game, Alabama lost two. Yeah, let's just watch the teams play. I would take Alabama, so would Vegas if they played. They would be the heavy favorites. But toughness really matters. Watching Georgia right now shove around it, Georgia's tough. And USC just simply is not.

USC is not going to the playoffs simply because they are not tough. And their defense is a joke. I mean, a joke. So to me, Lincoln Riley, this entire offseason needs to figure out how do I get SEC transfers on defense? defensive linemen, linebackers, secondary guys. People that will tackle and hit other players. Because I'm never going to be worried about Lincoln Riley's ability to score points.

That wasn't even in the issue against Utah. It just, their defense just wilted and even the offense with Caleb Williams kind of banged up. And on Caleb Williams really quick. He wrote, fuck Utah on his nails. And I guess every week he writes like things on his nails, like paints his nails, which, whatever, I don't care. But because he's so damn good. Like, I'm not even going to judge him on that.

But he wrote fuck Utah last night. Like someone on that staff needs to sit with him after the game. Like, bro, you can write whatever you want in your nails, but you can't write stuff like that. That is one beneath you. And two, like, what are you doing? Why are you putting a target on your back? Like I said earlier, that is clown activity. That's pretty embarrassing.

Now, he's the best player in the country went healthy to me by a wide margin. He'd be the number one overall pick in this draft. but to write fuck Utah on your nails like you just don't do that high school pro college you don't write that stuff on your cleats on your pants like what are we doing

you're not playing the sisters of the poor here you're playing a team that easily could have won the Rose Bowl last year and is the defending Pack 12 champions and they beat you like they are better than you I know you're Caleb Williams the number one pick but they they pummeled him last night they really did over and over and over again

now ultimately I don't even know if some of them knew that he had it written on, but by the end of the game they did. And that's just, that's an embarrassing look for the program, for the player, and the whole Lincoln Riley operation. Like, be better than that. God, I love college football. It really is just, it really is the best. I love the NFL.

I mean, I spend most of my time talking about the NFL, but I just have a huge soft spot for, uh, for college football. 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. Yep, that's me. Clever Taylor the 4th.

You might have seen the 6th. 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,

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Thought I had last week was, for the last several years, I constantly have heard people on TV and podcasts and radio all day, talk about how difficult of an offense it is under Josh McDaniels was to learn. Seems like the Raiders have slowly been starting to look better as of late. Is there any thought into maybe it's just taking some time for everyone to be on the same page? Learning one of the more difficult offensive schemes in the league doesn't help their defense's trap. Not a Raiders fan, but just a thought. Side note, coach at Casa Grande and Petaluma and coached against Brock Bowers,

the star tied in for Georgia. Dude was one of the most entertaining players to watch, kick our ass. Do you know what I was thinking today, watch Bowers. He had a touchdown earlier in this game. I would put the over-under on his draft position next year, you know, not knowing what quarterbacks and like what offensive tackles and defensive linemen will come out. Probably at like 6.5.

To me, he's probably in like the 5 to 8. range. The other tight end just caught it. I mean, Georgia's tight ends. They got one tight end that's six seven, two 60. They got another guy that plays like a kid old Kelsey mix. I mean, their team Stents and Ben is pretty good. I would tend to agree a little bit. Anytime you have a new coach, there's a transitional period. But look at Brian Daibald. Brian Daibald is a Patriot guy who literally ran Josh McDaniel's offense when he was assistant coach. Like part of being a good coach is not just implementing your entire thing if your players are struggling with it. you have to give them what they're going to be capable of using, right?

That's ultimately a coach is a teacher. And the difference of like teaching you, like I guess you got to know by the test. Well, every week you got a test. And every week we find out what you know or what you don't know. So to me, Josh McDaniels, if he threw too much at him, and I'm not saying he did. But if that's the reason they lost some of their early games, that's on him. Like, because his goal was to beat the Cardinals early in the season. His goal was to win that Chief's game.

And if it's too complicated for everybody, the Tennessee game. Like, that's doing a poor job coaching. Obviously, you're a high school coach, you know. If you have exotic schemes, whatever that may be, let's just even speak for the high school level. If your player can't figure it out, but he's a talented player,

it's on you to give him something that he can't. Because him not knowing what's going on and you, the coach does, is not, it's one of the things that us people, you know, I don't consider myself, like, I haven't worked in the NFL as a long time, but I look at it through a front office standpoint, point because that's scouted.

We talk about players. And I think sometimes coaches can overcomplicate things. No different than they say, well, you give us players, you don't really worry about their personality. You just tell us to figure it out. Well, yeah, you're the ones getting seven figures. And obviously, as a high school coach or not, but these NFL coaches, you know, assistant coaches now make over a million dollars.

Quarterback coaches make 750 grand. So it's like, yeah, you have to figure out a way to get the best out of them. That's why you're making so much money. And if you can't, I don't think you're a good coach. so I guess that's a long-winded way of saying that like it's always on the coach not the player like Belichick says you're either coaching or allowing it to happen clearly the Patriots are allowing a lot to happen any chance Brady or Giselle broke up because Brady let A.B. stay in their home with their kids

as a parent that just seems like terrible judgment to me. This is a serious question and I actually think listen I'd be lying if I've said got 88 from Georgia is a fucking monster dude looks like Aaron Donald meets Fletcher Cox. I mean, he's huge, but he's fast. I've heard he is a no doubt about it, best player in the league in the draft. I think there's going to be, we'll see the off the field. Not bad, but honestly for defensive linemen, no one really cares.

He'll probably go three or four. Yeah, I mean, I would imagine there were a lot of things. And I think it's pretty clear that football played a big role in their disagreements. Tom's addicted to football. Tom loves football. And I, you know, I argue with my girlfriend sometimes. Like, I always support the hunters and gatherers, right? Because that's the side of the ledger I'm on.

I understand women and wives and girlfriends, sometimes they have different needs than us on the other side. Part of having a healthy relationship is finding ways to meet in the middle. But as someone who, like, I don't miss college football. Like, I don't miss the NFL. I gave up going to weddings this fall. Now, it's just, I, it's, I'm not. not trying to compare myself to Tom Brady, but everyone listening, if your job and your profession,

whether you own the business, whether you are an important employee in your operation, and it means a lot to you, like, you sacrifice things. Like, my dad didn't get to go to all my events when I was a kid. Why? He was working. It meant a lot to him. It was a big part of his life. You know, same with a lot of my friends. You know, it's just, it's just part of the deal. And I think sometimes, if your relationship is not rooted in certain things, whatever that is, it's a, different for different people, but it can strain it. And obviously Tom's situation, given that like he's so old and does he need to play, but I always get back to, he's still good.

Or I mean, you could argue this year, but he almost won the MVP last year. What player in the history of sports, if they could still win the MVP would retire? I got news for you. None. Just like anyone listening, if you have the opportunity to be really successful in your profession, Like most of us, I can't speak for odd, I don't like over generalizing sacrifice stuff. Now, does that mean like sacrificing your first kid's little league game? You know, or a wedding or I don't know.

Like, we all have to make our own decisions. But those decisions have consequences, right? It's just, that's just a reality of the world that we live in. And I think when you are very professionally driven, whether it be football, whether it be sales, whether it be tech, it takes a lot of your time. because to be good at any profession really good takes time. I know that I actually own the book, the four-hour work week. Most people aren't able to do that.

That's just a simple reality. So I don't know if it was just Antonio Brown. Clearly, the guy's a nut job. I mean, I'm pretty sure he had like a worn out for his arrest the other day. But I do think it's more about a deterioration over time. And that's just saying from the outside. I mean, I don't know, Tom. David Tepper, just another crook, rich guy.

Well, I saw the headlines the other day, and my first reaction was, I refused to click on this. If there's a story that, me personally, I can't speak for everybody, that you couldn't pay me to care about, David Tepper and their local government trying to figure out the practice facility. I don't give a shit. I don't care about David Tepper,

uh, owning the Panthers. And I do not care about the local government. officials trying to whatever. That's a story that like I'm out on. I say the same thing about Dan Snyder all the time.

Any new Dan Snyder story, like I'm out. I've already seen enough. I'm just, I'm not going to care. And David Tepper, I'm never going to care either. When it comes to figuring out

who's going to pay for the practice facility, like I just don't give a shit. I've been wondering why more of Urban Myers former players, at least the ones that drafted, at least the ones that played for him exclusively while they were in college haven't spoken out about how much of a dip shitty is on player podcast or otherwise.

Am I missing anything here? Did his Ohio State players actually like or respect them as far as you know? Or is it kind of accepted thing that he's a shitty person but a good college coach? I don't follow college really at all, only the NFL. Well, I think my guess would be, and I haven't asked anyone that played from an Ohio state, is that all those guys, let's use the Ohio State, for example. became great players and had a shitload of success under Urban Myers leadership. So whether you really like him personally or whether you don't, he's made you a lot of money

and helped you, even though these guys were obviously huge recruits, but you went there and you maximized your ability. So him, I see this all the time. I know people that other people hate, but if I have a good relationship with them or if I've done business with them and it's worked out, I might like the guy, right? but if that other person has a bad reputation in a certain business industry or certain community, they might dislike them. We all base our opinions on people's impact on us personally.

First and foremost, right? Now, there are going to be certain things where you just, like if you're Kanye West's friend, you're staying quiet right now, right? But for the situation like Urban Meyer, he's had a positive impact on human beings, right? At Ohio State, at Florida. Now he's also screwed up and he's also full of shit. I'm actually watching him on TV right now.

I think it's pretty crazy. It shows you what an egomaniac narcissist is. Or maybe he just doesn't like his wife. Like bro, you're so rich. You just got embarrassed. Wouldn't you just lay low for a minute? But he had to go right back to college. It's not like it's even his show.

Be one thing like, well, he's just the only guy. He barely even talks. Like when I watch, to me, the show could simply be Liner, Brady Quinn, Reggie Bush. I think he's very, very unneeded. But, yeah, I mean, he's clearly. a great college football coach. And it's just one of those things.

Maybe it doesn't behoove the players to say. I mean, some of them probably still talk to them. Clearly, the Jacksonville guys do not have the same reference for all urban. I asked you before the season about Florida State, and they did it. They won nine games and looked great down the stretch. I think they are one recruiting class away from being a contender. What is the best way to identify a good X's and O's coach? Is it quarter by quarter scoring or is it a proxy for in-game adjustments?

Well, for me personally, it's do you have the ability to outthink the opponent throughout the game? Early on in the game, you have had all week to script your drives, right? It's why in the NFL, for example, and I guess college somewhat too, but I'm more cognizant of in the NFL, you see teams, even bad teams score. score touchdowns, definitely get into field goal range and kick field goals on the first drive. Why? They've spent all week long scheming that drive. And as the game goes on, if you're an offensive coach, do you have certain plays that work against their looks?

Because also, like I said, you've scouted them throughout the week. And then at halftime, if things are going well or not going well, can you pivot or can you continue as they change? and then to me defensively it's pretty clear especially with good teams what team's strengths are can you take away their strength and obviously there are complications

with X's nose depending on your personnel and depending on the scheme that you run but and listen this is surface level talk here I just think there are some basic elements of can you run plays that work against things that they often do and then when you don't aren't prepared for the looks because this football,

they can throw curve balls at you, can you adjust and then figure out ways to gain yards? I'm mainly speaking for offensive coaches, and clearly I'm pretty sure Norville is one, right? And then from a leadership standpoint, like, is your team prepared? Is your team from an effort standpoint? Like, do they play hard?

Like, I didn't watch too much of Florida State. I have a buddy that I worked with at Fresno State, who's now basically their GM. He just said they're pretty talented. I mean, he's done a good job recruiting. Clearly they play hard for them. The ACC isn't great, but they took advantage of it, and then they won a lot of games. I would be pretty bullish on Mike Norville.

I know people that I've met him one time, a long time ago, when he was working at Arizona State. But people that I know that know him like him and think he's an impressive guy. Because I was thinking, I remember Bobby April, who was a special teams coach when I was with Philly. And then he was special teams coach for the Raiders. And I think he works for Ogeron for a year. He coached the Atlanta Falcons back in the 90s. And I remember bullshitting with him one day because when I was a pro scout, I used to help with special teams.

And he told, like, chart some stuff. And he told me that, I remember bicking his brain about Dion Sanders. And he's like, you know the funny part about Dion Sanders is everyone sees him like talks a bunch. And he, you know, back as a player, dances around. And, you know, I think Michael Irvin falls under this a little bit too. Like, he's a big screw around guy. He's like, Dionne Sanders sat in the front row of my meetings every single year. year I coached him. He's like, Dionne Sanders is one of the more impressive preparers I've ever seen

as a football coach. And I think you see Dion Sanders now as a college coach having a lot of success. And a lot of outsiders just see this guy that, you know, big mouth, obviously a great player, but you know, dances. You just, you don't think like super buttoned up. No, Dion Sanders, do not let that fool you. Dion Sanders is locked and loaded. Dion Sanders was a guy that took practice very seriously. Deon Sanders was a guy that took the preparation very seriously. Dion Sanders was a guy that liked to be coached. So when you hear these stories, you're like, yeah, it's not that shocking that Deon Sanders kicked ass to Jackson State.

And think out, I remember a lot of coaches, like a lot of former players, just want to go right to the NFL or like Power 5 to be a head coach. Dion Sanders went to Jackson State. And now he's going to Colorado. I think Colorado is one of the worst Power 5 jobs in the country. And if Deon Sanders can be competitive there, like, I mean, the sky's the limit. Should Alabama hire him? Because, yeah, I mean, it's crazy.

Mike McDaniels might be my spirit animal. You can't tell from these meetings, but I run a broadcast department with similar thoughts. Serious question, though. What percentage of current Miami Dolphin roster actually have seen Ace Ventura? Should be part of the onboarding. Hasn't age well either, but slam it in there.

I was thinking the other day when you were talking about Sean McDermott. and how tidy is. Sports and essentially football is kind of like modern military where young men stay fit for war. But as society progressed, there's still a human value

in watching mankind compete for physical prowess. It's almost still a relic of how animalistic we are. But it's funny because still a game. So a dude like McDaniels can exist. That was an interesting comment. Yeah, obviously football and war

have always been used, you know, football coaches use that. Major difference, people die in war. We know it's used as a, you know, as an example, they use as analogies, they use as motivation. We all know you can't die on the football field. But I hear you. Yeah, I don't really know what to say to that. USC lost.

If TCE loses to Kansas State, do you think Michigan versus Ohio State first round game? Yes, my prediction is Georgia 1. Georgia right now is up 35 to 7. and beating the crap out of LSU. So I would go Georgia, I think Michigan's two, Ohio State's three. My gut tells me Alabama gets in.

I know people think I'm crazy, but Hey John, following USC's loss to Utah in the Pac-12 championship, it was clear that USC's defense struggled against Utah's power offense. USC's tackling in particular looked very poor during the game. Do you think Lincoln Riley can improve their defense going into year two? Well, it's never been easier to turn something around fast. Look at Lincoln Riley.

That team went 4 and 8 last year. He gets all these transfer portal guys, including the quarterback, and they went 11 and 2. Crazy part about the way Lincoln just got clowned is that it puts like a dark cloud over the season when he's had a remarkable season. You know, I wonder if Lincoln Riley would have been better off being 10 and 2 and not even going to that game than losing it.

Because it was remarkable what he did. The program was dead. He saved the program. Now, he's going to be held due. You don't give someone 120 million. They hired him to win national championships, not compete to win them. And it starts with defense. So to me, can he find guys from the SEC?

That's where I'd start. The SEC. Linebackers, defensive linemen in the transfer portal. So in Auburn, if Hugh Fries doesn't want a guy and he's in the transfer portal, does he make your team better? Does he help you potentially win the conference and get to the playoffs? So to me, the number one thing is the front. they have to get better up front

because that defensive line and linebackers from my test is like what is going on in Utah who always has good running backs just ran the ball down their throat I mean it was bad it's got to start with recruiting and recruiting now isn't 18 year olds you can get 20 year olds you can get a guy from Alabama

or Florida or transfer players and to me they really really need to take advantage of the transfer portal on defense defense and join your segment on the Pats and I agree with what you said it's hard to get around the fact that Joe and Matt would not be

coaching the offense if Bill didn't have six Super Bowls as a head coach I think the bigger issue is the fact that the Pats are behind the times when it comes to the front office the COVID year started Pats were not going to make the playoffs also being in Cap Hill any other

franchise would have traded everyone on the roster and gotten a top five pick Bill decided to win as many games as he could, not thinking long term, especially given the fact the team had no chance. Accumulating draft capital is the name of the game. Even the Lions are doing that. After the COVID year, he decided to sign vets, expensive contracts, instead of trying to build through the draft.

The Bengals don't have a good head coach, but are going to be competing for championships because they have the two best top picks in recent history. They're even picked a wide receiver at four, and it still worked. I think he was actually five, but I know what you mean. my pushback is anytime Bill Belichick is your head coach you're not going to punt on a season

and I actually think going 7 and 10 with Cam Newton who couldn't complete a pass is pretty remarkable accomplishment that's just not Bill's style and the reason they stink right now I mean you could argue who would he have traded that season who would he have traded in 2020

McCordy you had a bunch of guys sitting out who was his best player that year on offense was like rookie running backs I don't know if they actually have crazy tradable assets. So when you say they should have tanked and got a top five pick,

I guess you just mean trade everyone and suck. I hear you, but I don't, I just, I don't think that's the guy's mindset. You know, and the difference with the lions, like, the lions rarely ever make the playoffs. Like Bill made the playoffs last year. Do you know what the lions would do everyone always gets mad at me to go 10 and 7?

And I actually bet a buddy dinner. I think the Lions will go, we'll make the playoffs next year. I think they will be very competitive next year. But that would be an outlier season from what they typically have. So I'm betting hopefully just on the talent, which I easily could be wrong because their coach, who knows if he's any good. And if you gave Belichick next year's Lions team, right? James and William's coming back this week with all the guys they have and then a top

five pick and another top 12 pick. Yeah, I would take, we would all pick the Lions to make the playoffs, even with gothic quarterback. But it doesn't guarantee you anything. So Belichick went 10 and 7 last year. Probably go 9 and 8 this year. I would probably miss the playoffs this year. But I think he's just trying to compete.

I mean, isn't that the point of sports to compete? I know everyone wants to tank and suck. Suck for who? Like, even Belichick with a shitty team is, it'd be hard for him to get a top five pick. You gave him the Texans. Like, they're not getting the number one pick. Now, they're not winning seven games,

but they're probably drafting seventh. Or eight, not one. He's just too good of a coach. He just has too many wrinkles. His defense is going to be too good. So I hear what you say. And I think it does have some validity, but I think you've got to factor in Belichick.

And when Belichick's your head coach, you know, your floor is going to be so much higher than crappy teams. Appreciate everyone hitting me up at John Middlecoff's the Instagram. At John Middle Coffs the Instagram. Fire in those DMs. Subscribe, follow. Share it with your friends. Check out the volume on YouTube.

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