The Herd with Colin Cowherd - 3 and Out - Jalen Carter Red Flags, Post-Darkness Rodgers, Daniel Jones Delusion, McCarthy’s Moore Scapegoating

Episode Date: March 3, 2023

John discusses the news from the NFL Scouting Combine, including the major red flags surrounding Georgia pass rusher Jalen Carter due to his involvement in a fatal car crash of a teammate, if there is a shortage of 1st round talent, if Aaron Rodgers needs to embrace going all-in on football in the final stage of his career, how the Giants can can find a compromise with Daniel Jones.  He also runs through other news around the league, including Mike McCarthy’s public scapegoating of Kellen Moore sounds like Jerry Jones messaging, why Cardinals owner Bill Bidwell charging players for meals is moronic, and why the NFL wage freeze on certain employees doesn’t add up. 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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What is going on, everybody? John Middilcoff, 3 and Out podcast. Happy Thursday. Well, I'm recording this on Thursday. You probably listen on Friday. I got the NFL combine on in the background. Will Anderson, Alabama star. Pass Rusher just ran the 40.

Look like a pretty good time. Broke 4-7. Some combine thoughts. Aaron Rogers out of the darkness retreat. Daniel Jones. and the Giants they need to figure this out before the deadline here

Mike McCarthy opened that big mouth again the Arizona Cardinals might be an embarrassment we'll dive into it all a lot going on football-wise this is a great time of year it really is to be a podcaster to talk about football

I mean the free agency for the next really the next month but I mean the next 15 days leading up to free agency then the couple weeks of free agency and then the draft. I love this time of year. I love these stories.

It's the best. So we will be all over it for the next couple months talking, you know, everything that's going on in the league. So make sure you subscribe to the podcast. If you listen through Collins' feet, subscribe to the three and out feed. If you like golf, got you covered there as well. We have a weekly golf show. John Rom looks like a chubby Tiger Woods right now,

kicking everyone's butt. The mailbag, what I think, do for the mailbag. I will put it out on the weekend. I think I'll do one and we'll release it over the weekend, probably on Sunday morning. With a podcast, it doesn't, you know, you can listen on Monday or Tuesday or whatever, but at John Middlecalfe is the Instagram, fire in those DMs, get your question answered. I'll separate it from this show just to make a clean break. And we'll just have a mailbag only show that will come out this weekend. At John Middlecophis, the Instagram, fire in those DMs. Ask me any question you want.

Probably football related. But if you got life questions, you know, I wouldn't call myself a therapist, but, you know, I'm a weathered 38-year-old. Seeing some shit in my day. So firing those DMs and let's rock and roll. Before we dive in

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lineman for the Georgia Bulldogs, back-to-back national champions, is involved potentially, he's being accused, misdemeanors. Listen, I'm not a lawyer of the tragic incident that happened on

the night of the parade when a staffer and an offensive lineman on Georgia lost their life, when their car crashed, He was said to have been racing them. And this story broke. I've talked to a lot of people that had never heard that he was involved. I've tried to get details like that night.

I'd never even heard his name involved. So clearly information, he's not being accused of manslaughter or anything. But there are misdemeanors for street racing, reckless driving. And this is a major problem. There's no way around it. This is a huge red flag.

Now, the way football works, especially when you're an elite player, they let the process play out. But one thing that bothers me about this time of year is the media gets up in arms. And with this player specifically, there was a quote,

within the last month, Todd McShay, who listen, I don't always agree with his takes on the player rankings. But one thing I know about Todd McShay, he talks to people in the NFL. So when he says there are character concerns

with this player, he's not just making this up. You know who he's getting that from? General managers, player personnel guys, college scouting directors. The media always gets up in arms like we live in some fucking utopia.

Guess what? Not all people are good people. Just like not all people are bad people. Some people have some stuff that is questionable about them. Could be maturity. It could be the way they act with others. It could just be an attitude.

That does not define you at 21, 22 years old. But this information all comes from people that go into the school and are told this by staffers, whether it's head coaches, assistant coaches,

personnel guys now that are all over these college staffs, trainers, obviously wait staff. Now, you have to, the reason you pay a general manager and a head coach is to decipher that information, to balance out what's true or not, what is fixable and what is just the no-go zone.

But Jalen Carter, who many thought was the most talented guy, I don't know on one of the most talented defenses we've ever seen two years ago when he was an underclassman and not even draft eligible. So people thought highly of this guy for years now. And this year he had been, I would imagine, just talent in a vacuum, the number one player in this draft. but he's got red flags. And now this situation is something that I don't think anyone saw coming

is one of those that you just kind of got to wait and see what happens here. But we do know now, and it's been said that he's lied to the police, or at least his story keeps changing. This is concerning. And ultimately, my take always is in the draft, especially when you're drafting high in the top 10. You want to get a sweet player, right? You are shooting for non-quarterback, a Nick Bosa, a Jamar Chase, Elaine Johnson, a Trent Williams,

you know, just an elite player at whatever, Patrick Sartan. When you're drafting really high, you're trying to get an impact all pro level guy. That's the number one goal. But you're also drafting the person. And here's what we know right now about Jalen Carter, the person. It's a massive red flag. And there's another player that I would imagine if we would imagine if we would, in around the NFL that every single team would have as a player, not as a person, but as a

player, Jalen Carter above Will Anderson. And I think Will Anderson is widely considered like a top five player in this draft, maybe the second best defensive player in this draft. Here's what I know about Will Anderson. He checks every box off the field, character, work ethic, the whole thing. There is not a question about Will Anderson off the field. The only question I've heard about Will Anderson on the field, you know, he's a little under 230 pounds. We wish he was 245. Well, maybe he can put that weight on as time goes. I would lean if I was going to not take a quarterback one of these top drafting teams and

I'm going to take a defensive player, I'm taking Will Anderson over Jalen Carter. And it's risky because Jalen Carter could be an elite player. Hell, he already is, but he could be, you know, he's a Hall of Fame level physical talent. And you could argue Will Anderson might not be that. But I'm not risking it really high when there are major questions off the field. And this is a situation where the dude literally had to leave the combine, check himself in at, you know, walk into the jail. He was charged on a misdemeanor, and then posted bail on the left and came back to the combine. Like, I'm sorry, that's pretty crazy. I've been following the combine for a living now for 12, 13 years.

going to it as a league employee, going to it as a podcaster, watching it when I'm not there very closely, texting with people there. That's fucking insane. That is nuts. We've seen some insane things. Ruben Foster, Alabama linebacker, was told to go home because of situations that happened during the medical checks of the combine. How did that one work out?

So I'm not saying I'm out on Jalen Carter. Obviously, he's a very talented player. You put him in pads. He's going to be good. but I don't like giving $40 million to humans that I cannot trust. So yeah, he's above Will Anderson, but here's what I know about Will Anderson. I can trust him. That matters a lot when it comes to the draft.

I saw Adam Peters sat down with my guy Matt Barrows of the athletic, who's been covering the 49ers for, I don't know, it feels like multiple decades now. Adam Peters is the number two for John Lynch, has widely considered, you know, a future GM is interviewed for several GM jobs, almost got Carolina, almost got the Giants. And he does this, I think,

during the combine. I've known him since I was at Fresno State. My cousin actually played with him at UCLA 20 plus years ago. And Adam told Matt Barrows something that, you know, I think it's not outwardly talked about a lot. John Schneider has gone down this road sometimes in his press conferences, but it's just,

it's something that's talked about in legal. circles and it depends on the draft, but he told Matt Barros that he thinks there are 15 first round level players in this draft. And, you know, kind of jumped out to me. Now, John Snyder's been saying this for years and for a long period when the Seattle Seahawks were really good, right, when they were competing for one of Super Bowl, went to another one and were going to the playoffs. They're always drafted in the mid to late 20s, sometimes 31 or 32, right? And what did they often do. They either traded for a player with that pick or they traded back into the second round. And one thing John Schneider always said, in a good draft, there might be 20 first round players.

Well, if I'm drafting at 28 or 31, more than likely, I'm drafting a player in the first round. I'm giving him a first round contract, but he's not a first round talent. Now, to make a trade, it takes two to tango. You can't just trade because you want to trade out. No one wants to trade out. that there's no player to trade for, there's nothing you can do. But this is pretty simple. Now, this draft might be deep, might be pretty good in the top like 100, 150, but it's pretty clear if you listen to this and you watch a lot of college football,

there ain't a bunch of Michael Parsons and Jamar Chases and Nick Bosa's in this draft. So when he says 15 first round talents, several of those are quarterbacks. So my thing has always been, and I've always believed this in baseball, I will always trade prospects for elite players. If I can trade for a mooky bets, if I can trade for a Juan Soto, if I could trade for back in the day C.C. Sabathia or Randy Johnson or whoever, I will always trade my sweet prospects who the majority of, I was just at a spring training game.

And when the starters is, I'd never been to a spring training game in my life. I went to watch the Dodgers and the Reds. And the Dodgers, when I got there, hell, I was 40 minutes late. It was already in the fifth inning. I'm like, God, props to you, man, Fred. I love this. This is what we've been asking for. No one wants to watch a seven-hour baseball game.

Get that thing two and a half hour. I'm in. And Freddie Freeman and Mookie Betts and Munchy and all those guys were playing. And then like the fifth inning, they all just leave. And like the prospects come in. And when the prospects come in, it's a little bit like a preseason football game. Balls were flying over the catcher. Balls were flying over second base when guys were stealing.

It was crazy to watch. Cut off guys. were getting missed. It was just, it felt a lot like preseason football. And I've always thought that like the teams, like John Snyder missed a couple times when he traded for Percy Harvin, when he traded for Jimmy Graham, but I thought the logic was right. I will always trade pick 26, 28, 31 for a proven player who can be a pro bowler right now. Now part of it is money has to factor in. Like right now, Jalen Ramsey is available. And in years past,

Devante Adams was available. Tyree Kill was available. If you can't afford to put those guys under contracts, because typically when you make the trade, Khalil Mack, you then have to extend them. If financially they make sense, and you are drafting in the 20s,

to me, it always makes sense to trade for those guys. Because I think it's a tried and true formula more often than not. Look at last year. I mean, the Raiders had a terrible season. It sure it wasn't DeVante's fault. Miami missed the point. playoffs. Tyreek for a large percentage of the year to me was like a top two or three MVP candidates. You're just not getting a player of those caliber, you know, at pick 28.

So this draft, and listen, that doesn't mean a guy that will be drafted 26 or 29 or 22 won't become a Pro Bowl player. Justin Jefferson went after Jalen Rager and he's probably a top two or three, him to Vantan and Tyreek receiver in the league. But I don't think you can just count on that because we see a lot of guys drafted at that spot who never amount for anything. And you guarantee them four years on their contract. So listen, I think most people, if you talk to in the league, would say, yeah, 15 to 17 players max first round level talents in this draft. So we'll see. I mean, Jalen Ramsey is the name that comes to mind.

But there will be others in the next week that come up that, you know, this guy might be available. It happens every year. We got new staffs at several teams. I would be sniffing around those type players for my late first round pick if I'm a playoff level team, and I can't afford it. 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.

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1-800-5-2-4700. Wyoming, visit www.1-800 gambler.net, west Virginia. I didn't know who Aubrey Marcus was until Aaron Rogers went on his podcast with the ayahuasca thing, whatever that was, I think, during the season or during the bi-week or whatever. And then my girlfriend told me about him and other people once I posted something on Instagram, started firing in my DMs. And I understand like what Aubrey Marxists, you know, obviously he's very successful in

terms of his podcast and his reach. Like, I get it. And I understand someone had DM'd me this week or last week that was staying either in Park City or Aspen and was like, you know, someone at the front desk. Ness just told us that the people staying in like one of the rented out sweet places right next to us is Aubrey Marcus and Aaron Rogers. And then when you watch some of the video from the Aubrey Marcus Aaron Rogers podcast, you can tell they're in the snow, nice place. And I'm sure if you listen to their podcast, I have not listened to it, but I watched several

clips of it. And I found one thing very, very interesting. And it's obviously about Aaron coming out of the darkness, which I've said over and over, I'm pro ayahuasca. I would gladly try it. I don't have it on my to-do list to go to South America, but I am not against it. And I originally, I think when that story broke, I probably going back sound like an idiot the way I talked about it because I would have no problem digging. And I also have no problem anyone who looks to find some mental clarity in life. Like our most important attribute, unless you're like, Usain Bolt or even Tom Brady or Aaron Rogers, is your mental capacity. your mental frame of mind.

Like everything kind of revolves around upstairs. So whatever it takes to get that thing going, I get it. And one thing really resonated with me in one of the clips I saw that Aaron said. I've been saying for a while, he needs to be confidently come out and say, I want to play football. And I want to play football for a while. Think about whoever, if you're listening to this and you're a big, you know, whoever your NFL team is, that head coach and that GM.

Or if you're a big fan of LSU football or Alabama football or Georgia football or Ohio State football or Michigan football, to those head coaches in Power 5 college football and those head coaches and GMs in the NFL, football is number one. Obviously, like their wife or their kids, but I'm just saying their priority in life is football. Football means everything. It's why I'm a better podcaster than I ever was ever going to be in the NFL. Because I like football, but I'm not addicted to it. It was never going to be my life. It is Nick Saban's life. It is Bill Belichick, Pete Carroll, Andy Reed, Brett Veach, Howie Rosemans.

It's their life. Kyle Shanahan, Sean McVeigh, they eat, breathe, and sleep that shit. That's why their favorite players also fall under that category. So, Aaron Rogers, who I feel has kind of, listen, I think he's one of the best players I've ever seen. I know we all wish he'd probably have a little more success in the playoffs, especially if you're a Packer fan. but we all have to acknowledge when he's on one of the most special players we've seen

of the last several decades. His talent is just immense. And when he's dialed in, it just doesn't get that much better. But it felt like it was like he wanted to be something that he's not. And it's like, bro,

you're one of the great NFL quarterbacks of all time. And he told Aubrey, he said one thing that in the darkness that helped him just kind of get some clarity was like, instead of worrying so much about I'm not just a football player.

Obviously something a lot of athletes push back against. I'm more than just a football player. Maybe just embrace, I am a football player. And honestly, in a weird way, and I'm not comparing myself

to Aaron Rogers in the sense of way more talented at what he does than as talented at what I do for a profession. But I struggle with that sometimes. I was thinking about it once I heard him say that. People often ask me,

you know, if I meet him on a golf course or, you know, out of dinner, having some cocktails at a bar or whatever, like, what do you do for a living? And I never have a smooth answer. It's like, well, I'm like in the internet space and, you know, I talk for a living. And instead of, why don't I just say I'm a fucking podcaster?

You know, I've done pretty successful here, you know, making pretty good living. Life's going pretty well. And I always struggle. And I never just say, I'm a podcaster. And I know a lot of people, like if you just sell cars for a living, it's, and you're good at it. You're just like, yeah, I'm a car salesman, right? I sell beer. I own a restaurant.

And I clearly, Rogers, like, when you ask Tom Brady, like, what do you do for a living for 22 years? I'm a starting quarterback. Peyton Manning. I'm a,

I'm the starting quarterback for the culture of the Broncos. Took a lot of pride in, like Tiger Woods. What do you do? I play pro golf. And I kick everyone's ass. And it felt like Rogers was kind of on the fence. When I heard him say this,

maybe he didn't get some clarity. Like, bro, you're one of the great quarterbacks of all time. You're 39, but 39 is like the old 35. You still are very healthy. You're still, you know, injury-wise. You never really had any major ones.

You're just coming off a couple years ago, winning back-to-back MVP's. Like, just for a couple years, just go all in. You're not just a football player. You're one of the best fucking players ever. And if you just have that mindset and are confident in saying that, because again, I do struggle with the confidence

because I don't know, am I insecure that someone's going to look at me weird? Like, wait, you're a podcaster? Seriously? Why do I fucking care what this guy thinks? I might as well just say it. And it kind of inspired me. Every single person I meet from now on, I'm just going to say, I'm a podcaster.

Because I never say that, ever. And I'm asked all the time, especially in golf, because I'm always playing with random guys, they're like, what do you do? And I struggle with it. And clearly Rogers, watching him talk, struggles with the mindset of like, yeah, I'm, I'm not just a football player. No, you are a football player. And you're luckily, it's 2003.

And in the NFL, you're making hundreds of millions of dollars. Life couldn't be any better. And your football career will end at 43, 44 if you want to go. sell real estate or sling stocks or run a cannabis company or sling ayahuasca, you can do whatever you want. But really embrace what you have because what you have is pretty special. And if he gives some clarity to these other teams, because again, Robert solid Joe Douglas, football means everything. The Joshman Daniels and Dave Ziegler, they have given their life to the sport. So someone who's going to trade for you, given how much money you make, they have to

feel confident making this move? Because there are already some rumors like Vegas, Josh McDaniels and Ziegler, already a little unsure whether it's worth it. It's like, well, I do understand because Rogers kind of waffles. Like he's on the fence. And no one in the NFL is on the fence. They're not.

I've been around them. They're addicted to football. Football is life. So when Rogers, to most quarterbacks, Drew Brees, Peyton Manning, Pat Mahomes, Josh Allen, It feels like it means everything to him. And you know, that doesn't really feel like that with the Rogers.

But he kind of admitted like maybe it should. Because he definitely prepares and, you know, with the seasons and when he's dialed in, it does mean a lot to him. It just feels sometimes in the off season these last couple of years, he gets in these weird places. And maybe this darkness retreat was good for him. We're about to find out. DJ and the Giants.

I watched a couple interviews with Joe Shane. And I think there's a date next Tuesday where it's like, the final date to extend your own players and the franchise tag for Daniel Jones. And I think he basically said, obviously they got two players that they want to keep in Seekoine Barclay and Daniel Jones, but you can't franchise multiple guys. In a perfect world, they would sign Daniel Jones and franchise Sequin Barclay. But here's the problem with Daniel Jones. Changes his agent.

I'm sure the agent is telling him you're a $35, $40 million quarterback. And I was thinking about it today. like Daniel Jones, I looked up how old he was. He's 25 years old. So a lot like Alex Smith, who really kind of came into his own around 30, Daniel Jones career was like almost headed toward the toilet. It was not going well. And Brian Dayball didn't just resurrected it, but made him very, very respectable and made him viewed as a pretty good player. And the quarterback position naturally is inflated, right? The top guys are worth every penny, but Deshawn Watson, Kyler Murray, they're not worth what they're actually making. They're just not.

Like a $45 million quarterback to me has to be like a lock MVP top three candidate every single year. Aaron Rogers forever, Tom Brady forever, Peyton Manning forever, Patrick Mahomes now forever, what Joe Burrow is becoming. Like I can't pay you $40 million. If you're like, oh, he's the 13th best quarterback. It doesn't add up. No, my franchise like Dak, I'm going to make money. People always like middle coffee, too hard on DAC, yeah, regular season wise, but if I pay a guy $40 million, I want to feel pretty good that I can win playoff games. And do we feel good about Dak winning playoff games? I watch him throw a couple picks against the 49ers.

I would not. But I was thinking about Daniel Jones, like his value right now is pretty solid because he's a high level guy and it showed you with good coaching. He can be a very, you know, he could be above average quarterback. Why not sign like a two-year contract? Be like, hey, listen, I'll play two years. Let's do like, you know, two years, $30 million or $60 million, guarantee me like 40, but you, or 50, you know, so it's, you know, we're not locking ourselves in long term.

We're not signing some outrageous contract. But I believe in this coach. I know you really value me. I know you guys like me. I know the ownership likes me. And then give me a couple years, give you guys the opportunity to bring in some more talent around me. Because clearly right now, I wouldn't say we're inept, but we're definitely.

not, you know, Mario Manningham and Steve Smith and Jeremy Shockey and Victor Cruz ain't walking through that door. So we need to improve around me. I can make some pretty big money right now. But then in two years, you don't, I'll try to shorter term deal, but you don't have the ability to franchise tag me. And then I become a good player. And then I try to break the bank in a couple years. Because right now, my thing would be if I'm the Giants. Now, ultimately, I want to get it done because I'd like to keep Sequan short. term two on the franchise tag, but I cannot afford to overpay this guy. I can't. Maybe in a couple of years he's proven that he's worth more money, but right now I don't

know that for sure. And I just, who's paying him? Like, I do think he would get paid on the open market, right? He would start for the Panthers. He could start for Tampa Bay. He would start for the Colts. But what are they actually paying him? But yeah, they'd want that guy, but they're giving that guy $35 million. Like Jason Light's going to go from Tom Brady to Daniel Jones, make more money than Tom Brady just made. The Frank Reich in his first year in a new franchise is going to stake like his reputation now after those couple years

to Daniel Jones. Hard to see. Shane Steichen, after kicking this guy's ass a couple times, being on the other side with the Philadelphia Eagles is going to pay him with the Colts. It's hard to see. So you go, listen, we got to find some mutual ground. And I do think if you're Daniel Jones, it behooves you to stay and work something out,

but go short term. Because then in a couple years, they had some talent around you. Your statistics look a lot better. You make the playoffs again. All of a sudden, you're viewed. Right now we respect you, but maybe in a couple years like,

yeah, this guy's pretty good. This guy could be like Kirk Cousins, an athletic version. And we know how much those type players make. But right now, based on the one year of respectability, it would be hard for me to cut him a big check. Let's go a little rapid fire around the league. One thing, if you're a cowboy fan,

you've seen the quotes. Mike McCarthy. who, do you know what's funny about Mike McCarthy who says, I just, you know, he kind of took some shots at Ed Kellynne Moore, said, I just want to run the damn ball. It's not about being number one in offense. It's about being the number one team, which you want to be the number one offense.

You were a couple years ago, and you had a home playoff game. It wasn't, you know, you lost, but you're the number one offense in the league. Is that one thing that bothers me about Mike, and this bothers me about any head coach who blames a coordinator, but specifically a head coach who,

blames the offensive coordinator. I wanted him to run more. I wanted him to pass more, whether he says after the game or after the season. I think that's pretty simple. You are the boss. Now, Mike did not hire Kellynmore. Kellynmore is a Jerry Jones guy. So when Mike got the job, he was, you know, let's face it, mandated to not only keep Kellynne Moore, but maintain him as the play caller, which is part of life. You know, until you sign the check, You don't get to set all the rules of a company. And you want to be the head coach of the Cowboys, you're going to have to listen to Jerry a little bit.

But when Kellyn Moore, and let's say a given game situation, is not doing what you want him to do. You are the head coach. And you can get on the headset and go, hey, Kellyn, let's call a run here. Or hey, Kellyn, let's call this play here. Now, there's a difference between micromanaging your assistance

and kind of dictating what you want as the boss. So I feel little to no sympathy that Mike McCarthy is bitching and moaning. So to me, this is either just a terrible look. And in a weird way, McCarthy has this like immaturity to him or what would be even scarier. When I was my first year in the NFL, we lost to the Packers in the playoff game. That was the year they won the Super Bowl. It was the Mike Vic and Rogers, I mean, became kind of a legend and never look back like a stardom shot off. the knock on Mike McCarthy then and all through the Aaron Rogers run of the 2010s. And Packer fans will know this.

Was he got very pass happy. He did not run the ball, which was ironic in that game when we lost to him with the Eagles, was James Starks had a big game on the ground. And they were not a running team, just like they never really were during the 2010s. And I always thought like there was a softness to them, even though I'm pretty sure it was Ted who drafted Eddie Lacey, who had kind of a couple of moments.

for the Packers, but they never just had this reliable run game. Because what does a reliable run game give to you? A physical element to your team, right? And there was always a softness with the Packers. Check his stats over his career with the Packers, where he was the play caller, the majority of it. They were very pass happy. They were never a top 10 rushing offense.

The majority of the times they were in the 20s when it came to rush attempts. So this notion that Mike McCarthy just wants to run the damn ball, like did he just wake up a different, human being. The one thing that would be scary if I'm the Dallas Cowboys, is this Jerry Jones? Is this what Jerry wants? Is this what Jerry's telling him to say? Because when was Jerry's greatest moments in the 90s? Well, what did his teams have? The greatest offensive line and one of the great running backs. Now, we can debate Emmett Smith, where he rakes on the hierarchy, obviously the all-time leading rusher. And they ran the ball down people's throats. It was a huge point

of difference for their team. Maybe that's Jerry talking through Mike. I don't know, but that would be scary because Mike's actions have never been run happy. If anything, he's the opposite. He's much closer to Andy Reid in terms of passing the ball as his primary source of, you know, offense than he is the Shanahan family, which would be run heavy. There was a story. I love that the NFLPA is creating content for us, and this story was fantastic. they gave a survey to all the players in the NFL about different elements of a team from the,

you know, cafeteria to the training room, to the trainers, to the weight room, to team travel. And they basically gave, I'm sure a lot of people listening to this, have seen this. And they like publish this study of different grades. So like, you know, your training staff could be an A. Everyone in the team loved them. Some people's team travel was like an F. Obviously, Dan Snyder's team was like the lowest graded team in the league, which no one's really shocked. But one team that is getting just drug right now on the internet, as the kids would say,

or dragged, drugged. I guess they're not getting drugged. They're getting dragged would be the Arizona Cardinals and Michael Bidwell. And two things really stood out. One, he charges players to eat. And if they take food home with them, they are docked their paycheck. And then in the off season, if they're in there working out, they get charged for meals. Now, the Bidwell family and the Arizona Cardinals are notoriously cheap.

And I can only speak to what it was like when I, Jeffrey Lurie, the way he treated players and coaches during the season. When training camp began till the end of the season, breakfast, lunch, and dinner was free. for the scouts, the coaches, and the players. In the off season, it was like $5. You know, for breakfast and lunch, they didn't serve dinner because most people aren't working until like midnight, right? During, you know, even during the draft time, if we were going to meetings, we'd order food.

But the notion that you're charging players during the season who take food home, I lived. I mean, my first two years, my first year, I think I made 20 grand. my second year I made 40. I took food home year round every single night. Every single night I took food home with me because it was just an incredible deal. Here's my main problem and I have a fundamental issue with rich people who are cheap, especially those that inherit their money. I understand if you come from nothing and you're cheap, it's the way you're wired and then you

make it. It's just ingrained in you. But once you have a lot of money, Being cheap on little stuff when you are, it's one thing like, if you're listening right now and you're worth $10 million and you don't pay for like Apple Music or Pandora, you listen with the ads. I don't think that's that weird. I don't pay for ad free music. Like I listen to Pandora and it gives me ads. And honestly, I kind of like it because it lets me hear new songs, what's kind of playing for the people out there. I easily could afford ad free Apple. I don't do it. But if I. If I. had a company and everyone at that company was, you know, through the company got like was listening to Pandora or Apple Music and it was on me whether to, you know, pay whatever, a hundred bucks for my five, ten, whatever people to have ad free music, be a line item. These NFL teams now get

hundreds of millions of dollars every single year just for the television rights. When I went to the spring training game the other day, the Dodgers. Their stadium is right by State Farm where the Super Bowl was, where the Arizona Cardinals play. Kind of out and BFE in Glendale. Who actually thinks kind of got a chance to be,

reminds me a little bit of like Sacramento 20 years ago. Place might boom. Might buy an investment property there if business keeps going well because I think there's a lot of growth potential there. But you see the stadium, it's massive. And obviously the Cardinals make a lot of money. This guy who comes from a very

cheap guy, but now has wealth that the family never thought they would have. Doesn't even get like, what are you actually saving by charging them $10 to take a, you know, a box of salad, chicken, some pasta home on a, you know, Buddha Baker and DeAndre Hopkins taking some grub home at 630 at night after they watch some film Wednesday and Thursday. Think how stupid that is. This is not, you know, $1,000 individual. individual instances. This is such small potatoes. It's such small level thinking.

It doesn't bother me. Some of these teams that have older facilities, their weight room, relative to these college weight rooms, is not the same. If you went to the University of Tennessee or the University of Texas or USC or University of Oregon, their weight room is going to blow away basically every operation in the NFL,

except maybe Vegas and the Cowboys. what did those two teams do? They just built brand new facilities a couple years ago. Most of these facilities are a little bit older. They have clearly more than enough equipment there to handle it, but they're not there to recruit you. Do they have enough cold tubs and spas if they do? I don't need to go above and beyond if I have everything they're equipped

to make sure my players, a lot of these guys coming from these Power 5 programs are going to downgrade on size. And let's face it, a lot of the reason that stuff's in college is strictly for recruiting. but if you are nitpicking on stuff like food I mean like kind of the lifeblood of your guys or you know weight room staff or training staff

or paying the doctors then I think you're a fucking loser and bidwell charging these guys to eat during the season is an embarrassment and it's just such small time thinking last but not least

there was a story on pro football talk that there was a basically like a wage freeze on executives and a lot of people in NFL buildings. I think this encompasses scouts. And I'm biased here. But in a league that pays random assistant wide receiver coaches, 150 grand, assistant offensive line coaches, 150 grand. average wide receiver and tight end coaches, $400,000. Scouts do not make that much money. There are a ton of road scouts that make $85, $95,000. Yet you have coaches who stink at their job that make $350,000, $500,000.

I get the going rate for a coordinator is seven figures, but let's face it. How many coordinators, offensive and defense, are good in the NFL? Less than half. So if there are 32 offensive coordinators and there's 32 defensive coordinators, so 64, how many of those guys, if you just polled fans, the GM and the owner, do you feel really good about? Total. 30.

So they throw around money like it's nothing. And this goes back to the bidwell. The amount of money these teams are making is astronomical. And the lifeblood of your organization are the people, aka the players, right? And who is at the front lines finding information out about these players? I'm not saying some road scout should be paid $900,000. But having done other jobs and been, you know, around advertisers now and people in different corporations, and I always thought this when I first got into the NFL, when I was making

$40,000, $50,000, you know, at 27, 28, $20,000. years old and I had friends clearing 150 and then these big bonuses. I'm like, God, I am in the wrong profession here is that I think the scouting community is very, very underpaid. Obviously, GMs make a lot and depending on the team, maybe the number two guy makes a lot. But I think the going rate, if you're a road scout or a national scout, I don't see how that guy isn't worth, if he's decent at his job, $200, $250,000. It's a very, very difficult job. You spent so much time on the road, driving city to city. But this notion that higher, you know, wage freeze, you see what all these coaches are getting paid all over the league.

There's no wage freeze on those guys. How many guys that were just hiring on all these different teams are any good? What are the chances that the majority of coaches for the Arizona Cardinals stink? I mean, probably pretty high. And they're all getting 400,000. This guy's getting 600,000. Both coordinators are making a million. The head coach is making seven.

And you can't pay the guy that covers the, you know, the SEC 300 grand. I mean, you're just going to draft multiple players from that conference every single year. Don't you want the guy on the front lines that knows all the coaches? Like, don't you want that guy well compensated? Don't you get in life what you pay for? I think it's really, really embarrassing, to be honest with you, that the wage gap of the coaches. And listen, a valuable coach, Andy Reid, Shaman, McVay, Pete Carroll, Kyle Shanahan, all the, I'm not talking about them. But the amount of assistant

coaches in this league who couldn't sniff what they're making in any other profession is, would blow your mind. And listen, it's the market value. But I don't understand how the market value of assistant coaches has dwarfed the scouting community. It honestly is kind of a joke. and I feel for all my scouts out there. Have a good weekend. Enjoy your family. Stay warm because it's cold, a lot of places right now. It's freezing where I'm at.

And I will talk to everyone soon. Mailbag out this weekend. Adios. Another podcast from some SNL late-night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smygel and friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier.

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