The Herd with Colin Cowherd - 3 and Out - Jimmy G Injury, Hopkins Market, Mailbag

Episode Date: May 30, 2023

John discusses the Raiders limited options if Jimmy Garoppolo can't play with a foot injury, which teams could be in the market for DeAndre Hopkins, and answers listener questions in the Middlekauff Mailbag. Follow John onTwitter, Instagram and YouTube for the latest. Check out Gametime - the fastest growing ticketing app in the US, and the official ticketing app of 3 & Out and GoLow -  for tickets to all of your favorite NFL, NBA, NHL, NCAA teams. Concert and comedy show tickets, too. Go to Gametime now to create an account, download the app and use code JOHN for $20 off your first purchase. #volume See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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

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

Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the IHeart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. The volume. What is going on, everybody? John Middlecough, three and out podcast. Happy Memorial Day to all of our veterans out there. Special place in my heart, my families, I didn't know him. My dad's brother passed in Vietnam.

Both my grandparents fought in World War II. so nothing but appreciation, love and pride from the Middle Coff family in our veterans out there and everyone that's associated with that, listening to that, or this podcast, whoever DMs me, I always have great admiration for you guys and women who serve greatest country in the world, baby. I wasn't planning on doing a podcast today, but, you know, Jimmy Garoppolo's story, DeAndre Hopkins, I was like, yeah, I'll just do a mailbag.

I'll just put out a little content. Some of us, I know it's a holiday, but you got to pay the bills. You got to keep the train rolling down the tracks. So that's what we're going to do. If you ever want to get in the mailbag, at John Middlokoff is my Instagram, and the DMs are wide open, just firing the DMs to get your question and answer here on the show.

And that's what we're going to do. So I will talk about Jimmy Garoplo, who's injured again. DeAndre Hopkins, who is released. And then we'll answer some of your questions. Hopefully everyone had a good weekend, drinking, hanging, barbecuing, kicking it, getting some sun, the lake, the river, the ocean, the pool, I mean, wherever you guys are, in some water. Because that's, I would say Memorial Day, Labor Day, just feel like water events, right? Unless you work in the NFL Labor Day is actually a lot of work because you're cutting down your roster. You're

working. You're inside the entire day. time. But for those of us, normal people, we just get to swim around and hang out. Play some golf. So that's the plan. We will have a golf podcast tomorrow, which will look forward to Memorial Jack Nicholas's tournament. And we will do some gambling thoughts there. And the Michael Block come down story and then probably another podcast later in the week. So we'll keep rocking and rolling. So let's dive in. You want to go to a football game this fall? You want to go to a college football game. You want to go to an NFL game. I got you covered. Here's what you do. You download the GameTime app. Just go to your smartphone, download Game Time. Fastest growing

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Let's start with a story that made the rounds this weekend. And it really goes back to when the Raiders officially signed Jimmy Garoppel. Because typically when you sign a free agent, there's a scheduled press conference, right? One o'clock, Jimmy Garoppel will meet the media, come talk to him. And of course, that press conference got pushed back. And then there were OTA practices that eventually become open to the media. And Jimmy Garapelo was not present. And then there were some comments by Devante Adams.

I'm a little, my timeline's a little messed up. And he made some things like, I'm not on board with what we're doing. And then you start adding all the piece of the puzzles up to the puzzle up and trying to put it all together. What all makes sense. Once the story breaks of Jimmy Garoppolo's league contract that he failed the physical when he was signing with the Oakland or the Las Vegas Raiders. And they had to put clauses in there. He had to get a second surgery, which even goes back to his San Francisco days when

Calh Shannon and the 49ers thought there was a chance that he could have returned for either the NFC championship game or the Super Bowl, which clearly he could not have because his foot was all messed up. And maybe he didn't know it. Clearly, something happened in the MRI. It wasn't good to go. And my big issue is not with Jimmy Garoppolo failing a physical. This is two years in a row.

Jimmy Garoplo could not pass a physical at the time of first. agency. So that is nothing to new. Nothing new with this player. He is a quarterback who is often injured. According to my memory bank, he was traded to the 49ers. He was never a full-time starter, obviously behind Tom Brady. But he got hurt in those four games when Tom Brady was suspended for deflategate. Remember, the second game, he hurt his shoulder. Then he gets traded to the 49ers. His second season, which was his first year as a full-time starter, he tore his ACL. He tore his ACL. Then the Super Bowl year, fully healthy. And then from there on out, always injured. 2020 missed a bunch of games, which led them to drafting Trey Lance. The Tray Lance's rookie year.

He got injured, shoulder, thumb. Obviously last year, foot. So this guy is a long, long history of durability. And here's my thing with the Raiders is they got rid of Derek Carr, okay, I get it. They were not a philosophical match, right? They just didn't work, scheme-wise, Josh McDaniel's him, didn't see eye-to-eye, Derek had one of the worst years of his career, whatever. But you need a quarterback, and clearly they didn't draft one. They don't have other quarterbacks. What's his name, Stidham, signs with the Denver Broncos, who showed a little signs of life last year and one of his two starts against the 49ers.

So they go all in on Jimmy Garoppel, which he's not a type guy that you can go all in on. He's always hurt. And then when he heals, he gets hurt again. And I think the biggest question mark here is all the chips are in the middle of the table for a franchise that is just desperate. Let's face it. I mean, they just never win ever. They got two winning seasons in over two decades in a league full of parity where even the crappiest teams figure out a way for some successful seasons. And their coach now, I think, listen, a lot of success is an offensive coordinator.

A lot of people have a lot of success with Tom Brady. He's gotten two opportunities outside the Belichick umbrella, and it hasn't been pretty. Last year was an embarrassment. And now he is tied at the hip, clearly with Jimmy Garoppel, which, listen, if Jimmy Garaplo can play 17 games, I think the Raiders could be competitive. You know, they could try to go above 500, 9 and 8, right? They lack some talent. They're clearly not as good with the 49ers, but he's proven to be better than half the league at quarterback.

If he's your starting quarterback, he sees eye to eye with your offensive coordinator, you can function. The problem is he's going to get hurt. Like, it is inevitable. History shows us that. To think that Jimmy Garapolo is going to avoid injury would be malpractice from Josh McDaniels and Dave Ziegler. But they don't have a choice now. Like, they don't have other options.

So when I see Florio tweeting about they got out, they don't have to pay them, well, all that is great. And, you know, okay, Jimmy Garoppel can't eventually pass a physical. He never gets on the field. They are fucked. I mean, Brian Hoyer is currently their backup. up quarterback. If Jimmy Garoppel were to disappear and the Raiders had to operate with Brian Hoyer, I think they'd win four games. Max. So when I look back at these quotes from

Devante Adams, listen, I don't necessarily agree. I mean, you can't agree from a football standpoint, leaving the green mid-packers. Said over and over, I understand needing a change of scenery. Hell, I did it last year. Best thing I ever did. So I get where he wanted to move back to the West Coast, play for, you know, his childhood team. I understand. I understand. stand it. Now, from a football standpoint, like, you leave the Green Bay Packers to go to the Raiders, you're going to downgrade. And he immediately did. But I think when you dive into his comments in that Ringer article, was it kind of directed at the Jimmy Garoppel situation? Like, listen, he said over and over, I didn't come for Derek Carr. But I did come like, what's our planet quarterback?

It's not a guy whose foot's all messed up, who needed a second surgery and who's not going to be able to practice his off season. And more than likely, history would show us going to get injured again. What are we going to do? And the answer is, you would, be screwed. It's like, oh, they just, you know, going for Caleb Williams. Does Josh McDaniels have the rope to go for Caleb Williams? Like, let's just say it's a disaster and he wins five, six games. Are we sure that Josh McDaniels in a market? Like, let's face it, the Las Vegas nights come out of nowhere, created an NHL team, boom, kick ass. Hell, Mark Davis holds a WNBA team. Won the championship last year. I just saw someone tweeted it out over the

weekend. They're sitting early records in the WNBA through four games. I'm sure a lot of you have watched some of those games. And like, the problem is in Vegas, kind of a bright light city. You can't be really shitty and expect anyone to care about you. And Mark knows this. And I just think that if this season goes wrong and clearly they're tied to a guy who's often injured, it could be a disaster for Josh McDaniels. So I'm a little surprised. Like, I understood why they were interested in him. But the moment you saw that, do you pivot, not draft a quarterback high? I mean, it feels like they're all in the middle of the ocean and their boats already got some water on it and more, I would bet on it sinking. I just would because history would show I can't bet on Jimmy Garapolo staying healthy.

So I think it's insane that they've gone down this road, regardless of like, oh, the contract gives them out. Well, great, cut them. What the hell are you going to do? And the answer is, it would not be pretty. The other story is that DeAndre Hopkins was released by the Arizona Cardinals. And I think on the most basic level, the reason he was released is they could not trade his contract, clearly, right? No one was taking on basically $20 million for DeAndre Hopkins. Now, a lot of people have slid into my DMs and asked me, like, why would they cut up? Like, what is the point?

And the simple answer is they don't want him on the team. They don't want him around. He clearly hasn't been around like in OTAs, but they want to rid themselves of him as a player. They don't. They value more eating the money to send him away than keeping him around their new fresh culture and their rebuild that they're starting. And I think big picture, they are trying to bottom out. And that's a whole other question. If they are the worst team in the league, which I think it's always easy to say at the beginning of the season.

And I did that last year, like a lot of people did. I'm like, oh, Seattle's going to be the worst team. Oh, the Giants. They both made the playoffs. So I'm not as confident doing that. I'm a little rattled by last season. But I think a lot of people, and rightfully so, and me, myself included, feel pretty confident.

This team's going to stink. I mean, obviously their quarterback's injured. They got a lot of things. Their talent on their team is not really there. But like, they cut this guy and now he's a free agent. So you don't have to take that contract. That is not your problem. you can sign him to whatever contract he wants.

Now, one of his sticking points, which is actually very understandable, is him going, well, if O'Dell Beckham got $15 million, look at my stats the last three or four years compared to that guy who gets injured all the time. Now, Hopkins got some red flags suspended last year, some PED issues, has been banged up, not a big practice player, is pretty productive when he's on the field, never been fast. So it's like, well, speed's diminishing. He's kind of got his game's different, but kind of that Anquan Bolden thing.

Like his game's not predicated on speed. Like his game's aging well because that's just how he's always played. He's always been slow. He's a contested catch, you know, jump ball, productive guy in the red zone. He's just a football player. I mean, when he's playing well, he is a very, very good football player. I think at times, I guess he had some seasons where he was. I wouldn't go elite, but, you know, top five wide receiver.

he's no longer that guy, no one was going to pay him. I think his problem is going to be, because I get where he's going, like, I'm not taking less than $15 million. Who's giving you $15 million? One, the money's not really out there because the teams he'd want to go to, the chiefs, the bills, all the good teams, they're not really flush with cap space. So that's not happening. So would he be willing to do one of those purely non-guaranteed deals? Remember, Dorel Revis did that.

Now, that doesn't give you any security. Things go wrong. At the end of the season, they can cut you. but I think if he wants to go to one of the teams that he's desiring to go to, he's going to have to kind of think outside the box. If he just wants to go to a team, you know, bad teams are not going to sign them. It doesn't make any sense. And if you're him, like, he's not going to be interested in those teams.

Obviously, everyone's talking about the bills and the chiefs. Like, if I am him, he has made an astronomical amount of money. And I'm not one to tell you to take pay cuts or, you know, I don't care how much money you make. Whether you make $100 million or $10, it's irrelevant to me. But from a football standpoint, if you want to have success and money's never going to be an issue in your life, given how much you've made these last five, six years playing in the league, like, I don't think it's crazy to take a little less or an incentive-based deal to go play with Josh Allen, to go play with Patrick Mahomes.

And specifically, if Andy and the chiefs are interested, like, that's probably where I'd go, bro. I mean, that would be the team I'd be sniffing around. Because even with the bills, you go, well, I get Diggs has kind of been up in arms, but they do got Steph on Diggs, who's been one of the best players in the league for, at his position for a while now. They just drafted a tight end really high. They still got Doss and Knox. You know, with the Chiefs, Juju Smith's not on the team anymore.

Obviously, Tyreeks long gone. Beside the tight end and the running back, like, you get a lot of juice. And the guy will clearly throw you the ball. So to me, that's what I would do. obviously financially, you're not going to get what you want. And I get being mad like, well, I'm better an O'Dell Beckham. Well, true. You know, that's true, but that's not always the way the world works.

You know, Jalen Hertz and Lamar Jackson, I would rather have those guys than Deshaun Watson. Well, those guys got way less than Deshaun Watson in terms of guaranteed. You know, it's sometimes the way it works. Just because someone does a terrible contract or a terrible business deal does not mean the next person is going to get that amount. And that's probably the case here. And if he just wants to take the most money, which will be interested, like, I don't totally blame. That's kind of the way football players think because their career is relatively shorter.

But to me, if I'm him, the chiefs, I'm actively working with Veech and Andy. Like, how do we make this happen? Before we dive into what's next, do you know that Angie's list is now Angie, your home for everything home? And as someone who is currently house shopping and who has bought property before you, walk in, you go, well, I need to fix the kitchen. I need to want to improve this bathroom. I want to fix some stuff in the backyard. And then you go, well, I don't do this for a living.

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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 what I'm saying. Yep, that's me. Clipper Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, the reactions, my journey from basketball to college football, or my career in sports media. Well, somewhere along the way, this platform became bigger than I ever imagined.

And now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, unfiltered conversations with some of your favorite athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. One week, I'll take you behind the scenes of the biggest moments in sports and entertainment. and the next we'll talk about life, mental health, purpose, and even music. The Clifford Show isn't just a podcast, it's a space for honest conversations, stories that don't always get told, and for people who are chasing something bigger. So if you've ever supported me or you're just chasing down a dream, this is right where you need to be. Listen to the Clifford show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast.

And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. Okay, let's dive into the mailbag. At John Middlecough, just my name, 2Fs, DM's Instagram. Really easy to get involved. Hey, John, long time listener. This is from Robert. Back in 21, you answered my question regarding the Titans regressing after Arthur Smith moved on and we hired Todd Downing.

You said that Downing was bad for the Raiders and was most likely going to be bad the Titans. I didn't even remember saying that. Why is it that you could see this, but a staff full of people who could not see this coming? I guess my question is, why do teams consistently hire failing coaches when the fan can tell it won't work? Thanks. I was on the golf course yesterday with a buddy of mine who works in the golfing business. And, you know, it's part of a pretty big operation that a big company that's involved with, you know, sponsoring golfers. I mean, they sponsor all athletes, but we were just, he focuses on golf.

And we were talking about, like, you know, how they do deals with players and agents. And it's just, there's a certain agency that they like to work with. and I was like, you know, people like doing business with people they like, you know? Think about most of our own businesses. Who do you end up doing business with? Now, obviously, you have to, it has to make sense, but you lean if you think things are going to work out with people you're comfortable with, people you know, people you like doing business with.

And I think in football coaching, and this is probably true, it's scouting too, is people are hired because I like you or we have the same agent and we know each other. As stupid as that sounds, it happens a lot. And I think Todd Downing now consistently gets these jobs. People like them. I mean, I know people that have worked with them really, really liked the guy. Derek Carr loved him. Right. I think Mike Vrable liked him a lot. But like, and that's the thing in football, you know in some businesses right you can get away with you know he's not as good but it doesn't necessarily matter right like you know your boy might have just closed on a house here in a z i got a little remodel coming up like i want to like the guy who's doing the remodel but you know some of these

quotes i'm getting shit if i'm going to spend this amount of money you better be good like i don't know anything about this so i'm very dependent on you being good ultimately i don't give a shit if we're friends. I want you to do good job. Right. And if I'm a head coach and I'm hiring a coordinator, especially hiring a coordinator at a side of the ball that I don't focus on, like, I'm pretty dependent on you. So whether we're buddies and whether we like having cocktails and shooting the shit watching some games on TV, shouldn't really matter that much. But the sad reality is in this business and in every business, it does matter a lot.

And like, why was Matt Patricia hired for Bill Belichick? Bill liked him. Bill liked him a lot. And it has devastating consequences when that's strictly what you do. Right. Like, now, sometimes it works. Like, why was Domeko Ryan's and Robert Sala, Shanahan's last two defensive coordinators?

First and foremost, because he knew him. He had worked with Robert Sala with the Texans. Sala was best friends with, Matt LaFleur and like I think was best man in his wedding so they had these connections they knew each other

and obviously D'Amico he had coached him and been around him. So he was like on the most basic level he was comfortable with the person. Now I would sure Kyle would tell you and listen I would tell you this about Domeco Domeco's been good at everything he'd ever had been but like Robert Solow the history had said like

this is a pretty risky hire. Now it worked out. But like look at the guys McVeighires. And a lot of it works, but I don't know, man. It's just the way the business works. Tarty apps.

That's the name of this Instagram account. Longtime listener, long time Seahawks fan. I'll be honest, I was one of the guys calling for Pete and John's collective heads the last five years. I thought Pete was done. Overrated, tone deaf, tuned out, whatever. A Russ Ruiner, etc. But looking at Belichick struggled massively without Brady

and the way Pete struggled with Russ By which I mean only go to the playoffs Almost every single year It feels like Pete is almost as good of a coach as Belichick Sure, the rings are differential in all But then again, if Russ hadn't stunned Pete Who knows how many more Seahawks fans could have won

I know you Seahawks fans could have won a lot more If Pete makes it the NFC championship game this year with Gino or minimum annihilates the Shah Mahan debacle down under. Where are the rings, Mr. Harbaugh 2.0? I think it's time. I think that was that a shot at me? Was that the time we all bowed and acknowledged how good of a coach Pete is?

Sorry for the ramp. Do you think the Seahawks will be way better this year? Let's say this. I'm with you. I never crushed Pete for the Russ stuff because I thought let Russ cook. You know, it's like, Pete's down.

has two decades worth of the dude's a winner. The dude won without Russ and the dude's winning again without Russ. So Pete's history is success with or without Russell Wilson. Now, I do think it was fair to think they were going to suck last year because they were banking on Gino Smith and Drew Locke. Now it turns out Gino Smith had a career year. And to me, their team on paper is better around Gino Smith. I think the question is the hardest thing at the highest level

of sports, you could argue any business. It's like anyone can have a good year. Anyone can make money for two quarters. Anyone, hell, Michael Block finished top 15 at a major. And then he shot 81 the next round. Like, can you do it over and over again? I know Pete can. I know D.K. Meccalf can.

I know Tyler Lockett will be good. Right? I expect their defense to continue to improve. Can Gino Smith have another season where he throws 30 touchdowns? I'm rooting for him. Every time you hear him talk, he's fucking impressive. Every time you hear the team talk about him,

Sherman had him on his podcast here in the volume, I'm a Gino Smith fan. I didn't know that much about the guy. Easy to root for. But there's one thing easy to root for a guy. Like, is he going to sustain this career? Is he just going to have a second career renaissance? Maybe.

I don't know. I mean, I wouldn't, you know, if you said, hey, you got to put, let's just pick a number, $5,000. Would you put $5,000 on Gino replicating last season or bet against it? You would say history would say that a guy, you just look at the history of Gino's career, you would probably bet against it. I wouldn't feel great, though, if you told me, I think they'll be, if Gino's good again,

yeah, they'll win 10 games. They're running games going to be really good. We know they got explosive offensive players. I think anyone hating on Pete, though, listen, there's one thing on an individual game to be like, Pete could have been better. Belichick's a better coach. Pete, though, more versatile coach.

Could Belichick have ever gone to college and do what Pete did? No. Pete Carroll is everything Urban Meyer wanted to be. Dominate college and then go to the pros. Urban Meyer was like, get out of here, buddy. You don't belong in the big leagues. So, yeah, I think Pete Carroll has like one of the most unique careers. Like he's a Jimmy Johnson level career, right?

I mean, one in college, one in the pros. Dominated in both. I mean, he had for one of the four-year stretch, one of the greatest defenses we've ever seen. So yeah, I'm with you. I'm with you. I'm with you. My only question for your squad is, Gino. I saw him play the Niners and it was like, you know, he plays a good defense. Didn't quite, as a season went on, you're like, huh? Runed for the guy. I am not. I'm pro Gino Smith.

I like Gino Smith. If you said, hey, would you rather hang out with Gino Smith or Russell Wilson? One million percent of Gino Smith. What do you think about the NFL adapting a contract that only applies to players, the organization drafts, like the bird rule in the NBA. Drafting and developed talent should be rewarded. Side note, I really enjoy any time you talk of any type economics and business. Appreciate it. Listen, it comes up a lot.

I was listening to Bill Simmons podcast. He thought that it should be, people have been talking about it forever in the NBA. Like, you should get rewarded for, like, Steph Curry, his $50 million should not count against a salary cap when he's been on. your team 15 years or Janus or whoever and we say this all the time in football like you should get rewarded for drafting well where in football you can't keep everybody right you got to let guys go but that's never changed and it's something the media harps on forever uh it's a lot of ideas that people have talked about obviously you're bringing it up yeah i just think it's it's one of those

things that never feels even remotely close in NFL circles for whatever reason i don't know why but It never feels like it has any traction. We never go to these NFL owners meetings at one of the local four seasons in some sweet city and be like, you know what they're talking about this year? How, if you have a guy on your team more than eight years,

his salary cap hit should be half as much as a salary or whatever. It never comes up. So yeah, I mean, I'd be all for it. I think it should be rewarded, but it never is. Like, you should be rewarded for drafting well. But I also, like, one thing I,

I've always said, a GM's job is about more than drafting. Like, okay, you miss on a draft pick. Who cares? Can you sign a good free agent? Can you find a good undrafted free agent? Can you find a good guy on some other team's practice squad? Like, building a team is not just about quote unquote drafting. Obviously, it's the lifeblood of the business.

Like college football. Is lifeblood of your business recruiting? Kind of. Now with the transfer portal, like, I can find sweet dudes in the transfer portal. I didn't know until the draft that the dude the lions drafted Gibbs, like he was on Alabama Well it's not like he started Alabama They transferred portal them from Georgia Tech

Talk about a great move by that guy Like see you Georgia Tech I'm going to Alabama Well how's this gonna work out Do you even get any playing time? Yeah not only am I going to kick ass for them I'm gonna get drafted in the top 15 So I hear you

It just doesn't feel like it ever gets remotely close to happening Greetings from Berlin, Germany I'm a Bengals fan is when wondering why playoff teams like the bangles or eagles still have 13, 14 million left in cap space per over the cap.com. If you are a Super Bowl contender, shouldn't you spend all the available cast space

in order to get the best team possible on the field? I suppose there are still capable veterans available at every position group, especially the Bengals still have some depth issues on their defensive line and are not spending the money on a veteran. when you look at the chart over the cap.com, the Bengals and Eagles are the only playoff teams with so much cap space. Why are teams in general not spending cap space?

Well, I think it's pretty simple. It's used to Bengals, for example. They could extend two guys this offseason, Joe Burrow and T. Higgins and immediately use up that cap space. So they have internal candidates to extend to utilize that cap space. And in general, should you just use the cap space to use the cap space?

Right? Like, just because you have, you don't need to buy anything. You don't need to buy a home. You don't need anything. Let's just say you got $50,000 in a savings account. Like, what if that savings account is for a quote unquote rainy day? Or what if it's for, like, you easily could go like, buy a Rolex, buy a new car. Like, you could easily do things. But do you need a new car? Do you need a new car? Do you need a new car? Do you need a need a watch? Would you even wear a watch? Like, yeah, I could go sign some, I could go sign DeAndre Hopkins. But like, is that more important than signing the guy? Here's the other thing. Like the savings analogy. But what if something crazy happens? What if a good deal comes available?

Like, you can always make trades. Sometimes making trades, guys have bigger salaries. Remember a couple years ago, the Rams had to give up a second and third round pick to get Von Miller because they didn't have any salary cap space. So the brand, Broncos had to eat the cap space. They might not have had to give that up if they would have had, obviously, you know, they couldn't have foreseen that happening, but if they would have had more cap space, so there's a give and take with everything. Having cap space, to me, if there are specific players, like if you could assign Player X,

100% improves your team. But most free agents suck. Look at this free agent class. Beside like Javon Hargrave, who was good in the free agent class that got quote unquote a lot of money. McGlinchy, can you imagine giving McGlinchy $50 million? So just because the guy's a free agent

and you never know like guys get cut at any moment. Guys are available trades at any moment. Having flexibility is always smart, right? And it's back to the savings analogy. If you just have endless, and not everyone can save, I'm not saying you should have money saved at all times,

but when you just have nothing in your savings account, you have no flexibility. The moment you get screwed, you get laid off, You don't have a job. You're not making any money. Like, you are in dire straits immediately. But when you got a little nest egg, like, yeah, if something bad happens, there's a medical emergency, you know, you got a little wiggle room.

And that, to me, is salary cap space. It just kind of gives you wiggle room. So, like, if you can give me one specific example, like this player, they should have signed, and sometimes that happens. And then that said player in free agency or that was available, turns out not to be good. So I'm never opposed to. having some salary cap space for good teams

because it does give them a lot of flexibility. Even with as much content as you put out, I am still always looking for podcasts with more football content. What are some podcasts you listen to recommend? I would say the podcast,

football podcast I listen to, I would say the only pure football podcast I listen to would be I listen to Michael Lombardi's podcast. He can be a little angry. Listen, I like him. I know he knows his shit. Can be a little angry for me at times. Not that I'm against negativity. And you know, like, you know, I listen to him today on the Jimmy Garapolo thing. It's like, bro, let's just call a spade of spade. They sign an injured player. I know your boys with Josh McDaniels, but the risk is not the addendum in the contract. It's why are you signing this player in the first place? but yeah, I don't honestly listen to that much football content. Now, the one thing I've started to do, I listen to Chris Long whenever he has on, like,

he had on Jason Kelsey, that was good, when the Kelsey brothers have on a good guess. So I will listen to Players' podcasts when they have guests, because I think their relationship with those guys are something you're not getting anywhere else. Right, they know them, their friends, they played with them. I think it's pretty cool. so I will listen to those interviews. But honestly, I don't listen to that much football content, to be honestly, especially in the off season.

I try to listen to more finance podcasts. I listen to some NBA podcasts. Yeah. I listen to a lot of golf content. I listen to a lot of golf podcasts. Hey, John, Seahawks fan here. Why do you think Seattle decided to invest their fifth overall pick at cornerback when they knew they needed to impact players on the defensive line.

The pass rush was definitely one of the glaring issues last season. Your thoughts? Because I think Seattle over their decade of success with the Russ era had been burned a couple times by character guys. And they've, and Pete Carroll's always been pretty open-minded to that. But one thing I think they learned last year removing Russ, who I don't want to call a cancer, but was clearly an issue for them. And not in like a legal way,

but just in an egomaniac way, that it was like, you know, we had a team that was just full of guys that was just doing whatever it took to win. And just good guys. And they could have taken Jalen Carter. And I think the differences, and I don't know,

maybe you've listened to, I haven't listened to every press conference they've given. Like Witherspoon was the type guy that was like, this guy is just not going to miss. This guy, character, physicality, play, just kind of had like a Cam Chancellor Richard Sherman vibe to him. As a person player, just that, right?

It was just going to work. Where Jalen was a huge, I don't want to say a Hail Mary, but could blow up in your face. And I think what they just experienced, they're like, we don't want to risk what we have. Where the Eagles go, we have so much of that at the highest level that we could take it. So I supported them doing it. I think they saw a lot of, you know, the L-O-B-type mentality, mindset, character type, you know, profile in him. And I can't, I completely understand it. I think it's always easy.

And Jim Washburn, who is one of the best defensive coaches of all time and now his protege, Chris Caserick is the 49er. guy, you know, used to always say this. And listen, Jim had no problem coaching some crazies. But he's like, it's so easy for the scouts to be like, listen, the guy's got some issues. But I'm telling you, this dude can rush the edge. Like double teams, good luck. No one's going to stop him. He's like, yeah, that's great.

But I got to deal with this guy Monday through Saturday when you guys are in your office, listen to sports talk radio watching players BSing with your buddies on the road. Right? I got to coach this guy. I have to deal with him. You don't. So it's, it's easy for the scouts always to say, take this chance, right? See, that's, you know, say, hey, man, you should stay with her, right?

I think we always have, when people get divorces or people get married or whatever, everyone on the outside always has these opinions on relationships. Like, are you the one spending the night with her every night? Are you the one living with her or him? Right. Is that the way? Because, like, that person usually knows better. It's why whenever someone's like, should I get a breakup or whatever?

It's like, only you know. I can't tell you. I ain't laying down at night for the last three years like you are. Right? That's why coaches sometimes. Now, they can be negative and positive in ways that like can be a little over the top just in general. But that is a fair thing. Like the position coach to deal with them and Pete's obviously very hands on with the defense.

Yeah, we'll end on that one. Have a good week. but I'll talk to you tomorrow. And talk soon. See you. Yeah. Volume. Another podcast from some SNL,

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