The Herd with Colin Cowherd - 3 and Out - Khalil Mack's Impact; 'Danny Dimes' Jones; Still Buying Philly; Kitchens' Disaster; Jim Harbaugh Failures; Colts' Character

Episode Date: September 24, 2019

In this episode, Middlekauff looks at how Khalil Mack has changed the Bears' franchise since arriving last year, Daniel Jones lighting up the Bucs in his impressive Giants debut, why he's not ready to bail on the Eagles, despite a slow start to the season, why Freddie Kitchens is a complete disaster, Jim Harbaugh's failures at Michigan, and answers listener questions in Middlekauff's Mailbag. Follow John on twitter @JohnMiddlekauff and go to theherdnow.com to find the latest content. Subscribe now! Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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John Middlecock. That's me. Three and out podcast. That's this podcast. It's halftime of the Monday Night Football game. There is zero reason to wait for this bad boy to end. I mean, zero. So we'll dive into, you know, just the game's over.

It's 28 to 3 at halftime. The Redskins. Just what an all-time joke. and I got a lot going on today. You know, Danny Dimes have some deep thoughts on Danny Dimes. The Eagles, who are in a little trouble, but let's just pump the brakes. I believe in the old gunslinger they have playing quarterback. Kyle Shanahan and just other offensive coaches,

I talk about this is a theme of the show. You know, every game with a big time coach, you should say, wow, multiple times. That's what good offensive coaches do. There was a play on the goal line. in this game against the Redskins where Matt and Aggie ran a great play where he brought this wide receiver from the other end of the field

and it was just a layup throw for Mitch Trubisky. It's what good offensive coaches do. And if you're a good offensive coach in this day and age and you have a decent defense, you're going to win. I think Kyle Shanahan is kind of proven to us that he's a really good coach. And I said that when the season started,

it's time to win. That's what good coached in the NFL doing and he's winning. Jim Harbaugh, probably he's the most polarizing coach college or pro going. You know, I had a front row seat for him for a couple of years here in the Bay Area, and I think people are overreacting just a tad. Now, some call me a Harbaugh Apologist, but you can find out for yourself.

And then the Colts, why they remind me a little bit, it's different, but there are all some similarities of what Billy Bean does with the Oakland A's, and not even necessarily Moneyball, but just the way he builds his team. And then, like always, the Middilcoff mailbag at John M. middle cop is my Instagram. You can find me there. It's the easiest way to get a hold of me. Slide up in my DMs and I answer your questions right here on the show.

And, you know, I interacted a lot of people, text or whatever through my DMs there. Same as my Twitter handle. It's easy to follow me there. But let's start with this game. You know, I don't think it can be overstated how incredible it was that the Chicago Bears were able to take advantage of, you know, whether it's been reported pretty openly now by Chris Mortensen, who's probably besides Schaefter, known as the greatest reporter in the history of the league.

Like, he doesn't just make shit up. That's just not what he does. That Mark Davis did not have the money to pay Cleo Mac. And it was $90 million in guaranteed cash. I think a signing bonus was over $60 million. That means at the moment he signs that you have to have that cash on hand. And Mark Davis, there's a reason he flies coach like Mir You. Now, some of you might not, but I do.

I'm sure many people listening to. Do you understand that most owners, you know, you rent out or you charter a jet for your team. You know, 747, big jet, huge traveling party for football. Every owner in the league flies themselves. You know, they don't fly on the charter. At least, you know, anyone, maybe Virginia McCasky does. But Jerry Jones, you know, John Mara, hell, Jed York,

they fly on their own jet privately. They don't fly with the team. That's because the wealth in the NFL is as an all-time high. These owners are printing cash. Again, Mark flies in the back of airplanes. He just doesn't have the money, which is crazy. You'd be like, well, Mark, I know a couple accountants. You could write this thing off, but they just don't have the cash.

They are as cash poor as any organization in a league that's printing cash that they can't make it. So the Chicago Bears, who aren't really a cash-rich organization, they're not the Cowboys, they're not the Eagles. They're not printing cash at the highest-highest level. but they're smart. They are fiscally responsible, and they're not moving every 10 years, so they aren't always wasting money doing stupid stuff, that they were able to capitalize on what will go down as,

for a historic franchise that has guys in the Hall of Fame on defense, this will go down as one of their best players ever. When Khalil Mack walks into Canton, Ohio, you know, in 15 years or whatever, and he puts on a gold jacket, he will go in as a Chicago bear. and that trade changed the trajectory, really the landscape of the NFC, and changed their franchise forever. Because without Khalil Mack,

they'd still have a good defense. They would have an average offense and a quarterback, which I struggle with. Matt Nagy somehow is able to manipulate stuff and get him to be a productive player. But the Khalil Mack addition took them from a seven or eight win team to a potential double-digit win team every year that he's on. on it because he takes the defense to be in, I mean, they're good.

They would be really good without him. He takes them to the elite, they're the best defense in the league. There is not a defense top to bottom at every level that is that good. Their safety plays top notch, their corner plays top notch, their linebacker plays top notch, and their defensive line play is the best in the NFL. Now, it might not statistically, but I'm just telling you, their front four is better than everyone in the league, because they have Khalil Mack, and they have Akeem Hicks, and they have Floyd, and they just,

They're just so damn good. But Khalil Max worth like four players, a little like Aaron Donald. He's worth multiple players in himself. And there was a reason those two guys got $87 and $90 million guaranteed. And they were worth every penny. They got quarterback money. And neither franchise has flinched once since they did it. And, you know, as I say all the time, because Jerry Jones said it in it's so true,

you never go wrong paying a premium for a premium. It was a lot of money. They gave up multiple first round picks. They clearly gave up a lot of money. and it's the best thing they've ever done, at least in the modern era, you know, beside like drafting good players. But you'll never get that opportunity again, because those players never become available, ever, ever.

That's just not the way the league works. As a guy told me in the league a couple years ago, he said, look at the landscape of defensive players. They always have a red flag, always. Vaughn Miller failed the drug test, torn ACL. Jalen Ramsey never shuts up. Khalil Mack was a team captain off the field, super high character guy, and arguably him and Aaron Donald the best two non-quarterback defensive players in the league.

Like that's never going to happen. When you look at defensive players to get traded, they always have warts. They always have red flags. But this was as clean of a player as there is in the NFL. Like think about it right now. Who's the cleanest player in the NFL? It'd be Mahomes. Super high character, elite talent.

If you went, who's the cleanest player non-concathes? quarterback in the NFL. I think you might go Khalil Mack. Because it'd be him or Aaron Donald. I don't even think it's a question. And at the end of the day in Chicago, they care about defense more than

offense, so it fits the city. It fits him perfectly. He's a bright light, bright star guy. It's called what it is. Him and Amari were somewhat wasting away in Oakland. You know, it's one of the lowest rated franchises in terms of television ratings. It gets dwarfed here where I live by. the 49ers, and both of them deserve to be in major franchises. And Amari Cooper's gone to Dallas.

I mean, I don't have this NFL.com page in front of me, how many total touchdowns? I know he leads the league right now in touchdowns. He has four. Now, they've played crappy teams, but he looks dominant, and he's been awesome since he got to the Cowboys. Now, that was somewhat understandable, but at the end of the day, they traded Amari Cooper, and they got, you know, they got picked 27, which turned out to be a box safety that lasted one game before his shoulder tore off.

They got two first round picks for Khalil Mack. One of them is a running back. You know, and this year, do you know that the Chicago Bears have the Oakland Raiders second round pick this year because they did a pick swap? So the Bears, who surely look like, I don't know if they're a lock playoff team, which I felt like before the season, but they're between an 8-and-a-10 win season, depending on how well Trubisky plays in some of these big games. They are in the playoff hunt.

They will be in the playoff hunt until at worst mid-December. That's happening. and they have the Raiders second round pick. You do understand that the Raiders are going to be drafting in the top five. They are putrid. So the Bears who, yeah, they won't have their first round pick, which will probably be somewhere between 20 and 25. They'll get the Raiders second round pick,

which will probably be about 37. So it's not, would you do that for Cleomack? Every day of the week and twice on Sundays. And listen, I've defended this guy and I've been open. I said I'm biased. He's my guy. He's my friend. But Nagy knows what he's doing.

He learned he was the right-hand man for years, and he worked under him for 10 plus years of the best offensive coach in the league. He naturally thinks like that because he's a quarterback. Now, he's playing with somewhat of an uphill battle when Mitch Trubisky's his quarterback. He wasn't there when they drafted him. He inherited the guy. Would he have been pounding the table for Ms. Trubisky? I don't know. I would doubt it.

But I would say his best attribute as a person and the person. I think it's the way he coaches is he's a very positive guy. And you often see coaches, you know, I think the grooms are like this. They get very negative. They're just like, I don't want this guy. Get rid of him. I don't want this guy. Get rid of him.

Where Nagy did not go in there thinking like that. Now, did he have the juice when he first got hired to say trade tribisky? No, but he wouldn't have. That's not the way he thinks. And I think when you're an optimistic glass half full offensive coach, it's easier to deal with guys. And it's easier to be more open-minded about coaching guys that you put. probably in a perfect world would not want to coach. Because let's call, it is what it is, right?

Matt Nagy, if he could choose, Mr. Ribicki would probably, you know, even if quarterbacks available the last couple off season, probably wouldn't have been his pick, whether it was draft, free agency, trades, whatever. But he's doing it. And he's doing it for the most part, kind of with a smile on his face,

where as we see Jay Gruden during this Monday night game, looks like he's ready to jump off a bridge. He looks miserable. Now, part of that is the Washington Redskins, who are easily, you know, them, the Raiders, and the Browns just lead the league in dysfunction. They are a disaster. Now, unlike the Raiders who are broke,

and unlike the Browns, who their owner has big-time wealth, but, you know, might have stolen it from the hardworking truck drivers of America. Dan Snyder was a business genius, and I've talked about this before. I went off on a segment a couple weeks ago. It really is crazy just how crappy they stay. And this is, to me, a franchise versus franchise game, more than like a player versus player game.

You just watch the Bears are on a completely different level. Just the way they operate. You see there's a, during the Monday night football game, Bruce Allen, who's the GM, and basically Dan Snyder's right-hand guy, is sitting in the coach's box. Sitting in the coaches box. That would be the equivalent.

Let's say you're a sales guy, and whoever your boss is, like the guy that manages all the sales guys, wherever, let's say you have a sales room where a lot of you sit and make calls. It's probably a little different in 2019, not everyone just sitting there on an old school phone making calls. But your boss would just be looking over your shoulder.

Like, hey, Bruce Allen, you're a terrible general manager. You've shown over and over you are not competent at all. You can't land decent players for the life of you. And you're sitting over these coaches, which may be good, they may not be good. I'm not trying to defend their credibility. But you should not be sitting in the coaching box. You know, if John Elway wants to sit in the coaching box, yeah, I can live with that. If Ozzy Newsom had wanted to sit in the coaching box, I can live with that.

If an owner wants to sit in the coaching box, I would understand he has the power. Though, I'd say it's not. Like, that's a little unfair to your employees. Bruce Allen has no business sitting in there. Sit in your own box. Sit in the press box. Get out of there, buddy. Because all you consistently do is you guys sign players that are bigger names,

and they've been doing this basically since Dan Snyder took over the franchise. And I think Josh Norman is the best example. Every single game, Josh Norman has been gaming. getting smoke for the last two years. This year, he started to kind of tap out. And, you know, I'm not really that into it. And not quite, he's not fast just to begin with. He ain't running.

He ain't playing. You could argue he's quitting on some place. And you know what that's a reflection of? What are you going to do? Cut them? No, you owe him too much cash. Can't trade them. No one's trading for that contract.

You constantly have guys like that on your franchise and you wonder why you lose year in and year out. And here's the worst part about it. I really feel for fans, just diehard fans. Sports means a lot to me. Clearly, I've dedicated my life to it. If you're listening to this, it clearly means a lot to you. You're really interested in football, sports, whatever.

But as a sports fan, when you're born, you're just kind of regionally tied to whatever teams around you. So you're going to, if you're born in whatever city, say, the Virginia area, you're probably going to be a Redskins fan. And if you're 30 years old, for the most part, you've lived through the Dan Snyder area. Definitely of your, you know, memories that you can draw back on, it's all been Dan Snyder. It's not your fault that some clown owns your team.

I say it all the time about here about the Raider fans. Can you imagine having Mark Davis as your owner, but yet you're a diehard fan? That sucks. It's why I never blame, like, you can't be a bandwagon guy and leave. Why not? It's not like you chose the ownership. You can root for players and coaches. But if your owner's crappy, your team will, for the most part, be consistently really bad.

I've worked for one NFL team. And Jeffrey Lurie clearly, when I was there, just a high-level guy, was not hanging over people's shoulders, and when he was around, really friendly to everyone, gave everyone every resource you could possibly ask for. And now that I left and have a bigger view of the entire league, no wonder the Eagles kick everyone's ass.

And they've consistently been winning now for 20-plus years. He's a big part of it. And if you asked Andy Reid, or you ask Doug Peterson now, you ask Howie Roseman, it's pretty clear the advantage. manage they have. Same with Kansas City. Look at the way Clark Hunt operates. Look at the way Paul Allen operated forever. You know, with Pete Carroll and John Snyder. Like ownership matters. Same

thing in baseball, in basketball. It's the same thing. The Warriors sucked for my entire life. They were terrible. Joe Lacob buys the team in like, I think 2011 or maybe early 2012, and everything flipped. You think it's random? Now, obviously there were some variables that came into play. He inherited Steph Curry. But if you think that the Warriors, if they would have the same owner before Joe Lacob got there, Steph Curry ever would have turned out to Steph Curry, you're out of your mind.

It had no chance to succeed. Because you can't overcome in most organizations, I would imagine most of you guys can relate in whatever business you work for. If the guy signing your check is a royal clown, either a micromanager, either lacks the funds to operate in

his said business, you have no chance. None. You might have a good year or two, there may be variables on a certain quarter or if you're a pro sports team, a certain year where things go well, but you cannot sustain success if your owner's last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind. Highlights are trending, opinions are flying, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where Sports Slice comes in. I'm Timbo. Every episode, we're cutting through the noise, breaking down the plays, the controversies, and the stories behind the headlines.

We go straight to the source, the athlete themselves, their locker room stories, their reactions, the stuff nobody gets to hear. The laughs, the drama, the triumphs, the moments that never make the highlight real. From viral moments to historic games, from buzzer beaters to controversial calls, we break it down, give you context and ask the questions everybody wants answered. Sports slice brings you closer to the action with stories told by the people who live them. Listen to Sports Slice on the Iheart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Sliced Life 12 in the TikTok podcast network on TikTok.

Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hardway with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Kear Games. And in recognition of mental health awareness month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience in the mental health field and conversations with so many incredible guests. I'm talking, Tripp Fontaine, Ryan Clark. Sometimes when we're in the pursuit of the thing, we get so rapidly. up in the chase, that we don't realize that we are in possession of the thing. And we're still chasing it.

And we don't know when we've done enough. Because people scoreboard watch. Life becomes about wins and losses. Steve Burns, Dustin Ross, because you find it important to be a good person while you hear on earth. Are you a good person because you're afraid? Because that's two different intentions, bro. Absolutely.

And that's two different levels of trust. I want you to just really be a good person. Join me, Kear Gaines, is we have real conversations about How healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast, Learn the Hardway. Open your free iHeartRadio app. Search Learn the Hardway and listen now. What's up, fam, it's Isaiah Thomas. And I'm C.J. Toledano, and our podcast Point Game is about defining the odds.

Like LeBron heading into the playoffs without Luca and Austin Reed. And finding ways to win no matter what. He's the smartest player to ever play the game. His IQ is at a level that we've never seen before. And he knows without Luca and Austin. and Reeves, I got to manipulate the game. We get a player's perspective on the challenges of the playoffs. I think Joker's going to be exhausted this series

because when they don't have Rudy in the lineup, he has to really guard guys like Nas Reid. He has to guard Julius Randall. And then he has to give us everything he gives us on the night-to-night basis on offense. And when IT's friends stop by, like Quentin Richardson, we dive into some playoff history too. Steve Nash would get that thing.

That man, hell get the flying. He run up the court, licking his fingers, why he got the ball like, after you go through a training camp with that Isaiah, you figure it out real quick. Get your ass up and down the court, and you're going to get the ball. So listen to Point Game on the IHeart Radio app,

Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, I'm Deanna Maria Riva, actress, mother, lover, and a Gen X woman walking through life one hot flash and hormonal crying jag at a time. You ladies know what I mean. I'll bet you a perimenaposal chin here you do. So let's talk about it.

Join me on my new podcast. How hard can it be with Deanna Maria where I call on my Gen X squads from Ohio to Hollywood as we navigate Midlife's most fantastic BS. All of a sudden, I'd had hanginess happening on my own. I was like, what the hell is that? I was married when I had her, so I didn't even consider how empty that nest was going to be. Mood swings, night sweats, fupas, sex drive. Wait, what sex?

Dating at 45. How can it be getting naked at 50 with the new guy? That one's kind of hard. Well, that's lighting. They say we can't polish a turd, but we're sure going to try. So let's get blunt with laughs, tears, or tears of laughter, and dive into it, unfiltered and unbothered and ask, How Hard Can It Be? I cannot believe I'm about to say this out loud in public.

Listen to How Hard Can It Be with Diana Maria Riva as part of my Cultura Podcast Network available on the Iheart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I think that is just a blanket statement in America. and Dan Snyder is just a fantastic example of that. Look at the guy he's empowered to basically run his franchise. He's sitting in with the coaches, and you wonder why they always suck. Josh Norman gets cut, they immediately sign.

He's been terrible since he's been there. Albert Haynes, you can go through the list of the 20-plus years of guys that have been robbing the Washington Redskins. Absolutely robbing them. And that's an indictment of the owner. And you look at, I don't know much about Virginia McCasky. I don't know if she's doing that much. finally hired some credible people and knowing people in Chicago, they let them operate. They're pretty smart. Now, they're a little slower than let's say a Jerry Jones or, you know, a Robert

Kraft or Jeffrey Lurie that are really aggressive. That's not really the Bears M.O. But they definitely just, if they will hire the right person and then if you prove that you're, you know, credible, they'll let you roll with it. Like Dan Snyder is always involved. Everyone, at the time of I'm recording it, there's 11 minutes left in the third quarter of the Bears has picked him off again. My Twitter timeline is saying over and over and over. Time to put Dwayne Haskins in. Time to put Dwayne Haskins in.

It is not time to put Dwayne Haskins in. You are playing the best defensive line in football. You will get him killed. That is not fair to Dwayne Haskins at all. Now, by the time that I finish this segment and this game's still got a long way to go, he may be in and he may get killed. And that would be another blunder by the Washington Reds

but Case Keenham has to die for the sins of the franchise right now because you can't put Haskins in against this team. Millions of Americans are getting back to work. CareerBuilder calls it the great rehire. And we want to help you get the best jobs before everyone else. CareerBuilder gives you the competitive edge to get the job you want, at the salary you want, with the benefits you want. We even send job alerts so your perfect job lands right in your inbox.

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Because why? Why? because I have cellulite because I have thick thighs. I can't do that. I can't feel sexy in my own skin. And those are the things that I want to break because there are so many women like me and I want to be and represent us, you know?

Obviously, there's always room for improvement. I always want to look better. I want to work out. I want to lose weight. But in reality, this is the body God gave me and I've never really been skinny. Listen to the My Cultura podcast network available on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts,

or wherever you listen to podcasts. Okay, let's get into. Danny Dimes, which let's just call it what it is an outstanding nickname. I have no clue who came up with it or where it started. I actually saw it for the first time on Sunday,

just on Twitter, and it's incredible. Danny Dimes, aka Daniel Jones, the number six overall pick for the New York Giants. Great nickname. But let's just, let's start before we kind of dive into the game, which I made a, I just saw bits and highlights during the

Sunday, and then once all the games ended, I watched it on my iPad. The NFL, the app, has these great condensed games. You know, Game Pass, I think a lot of people think is like the All-22 tape. If you're an NFL fan, and I'm sure many people listening know about this, I've been using it for years since I've been in the media, the best way I watch games is I go to the NFL app and I watch condensed games so I can watch a television broadcast of every game now in the NFL in like between 30 and 45 minutes. for this show because, you know, it's really hard to watch more than one game at one time. You know, I think a lot of people say they do it, but it's difficult to do it.

And I'm at the point, like, I'm not breaking down X's nose in terms of like individual players all 22. Those days are done for me. But I can watch a television copy of a game and get the information I need for the entertainment standpoint, which is this. So we'll dive into what I saw with Danny Dimes. But I said it last week on Friday, the last show, that there was a lot of form. former players, and I understand former players are usually like-minded people, and especially Eli's teammates that were freaking out over him getting benched and thought he was getting a raw deal.

One thing is clear, Eli, it wasn't all-on Eli. The Giants defense, and as you saw versus Tampa Bay, and I played on Daily Fantasy, heavy James, Mike Evans, who had just had a monster day, their defense is terrible. So it's not all Eli. But the number one thing the NFL has going for it, and it's why the property of the NFL has never been more valuable. It's why individual teams have never been more value. It's not because of the caliber of football.

I got news for you. It's kind of, you know, meaningless. It doesn't really matter. People are like, oh, I can't watch this product. Well, actually, it can't. Because the NFL is all about attention. And anything media-wise, really, the NFL is a television product.

That's where they make the majority of their capital. Now is about keeping your attention. No different than what I'm doing here. I'm trying to get more and more people to listen to this. Can I keep your attention? That's the business model. The more people to listen, the more you charge, more money you make. The more people that watch the NFL,

the more they are able to sell their television rights to these different networks. That's how they make the majority of their cash. That's why the business is such a lucrative proposition. You understand that the other two major sports, baseball and basketball, some of their teams don't generate that much money, if anything, at all. We're in the NFL because of revenue sharing, and even baseball, that revenue shared forever, meaning if you were just one of the partners, one of the teams, you got a check.

And in baseball, it was if you were a low revenue team, like the Oakland A's, the irony is they've never been a low, you know, small market team. They're a low budget team. They're actually owners worth billions of dollars. They've just been a low rev team. And the teams like the Yankees and the Giants and the Dodgers cut them a check. Well, baseball, wipe that out. Where in football, you could have,

it's pretty clear which teams move the needle and generate big television ratings. The Cowboys, the Patriots, the Eagles, the Packers, the Steelers, when the Niners are good, the Niners. It's not as many teams as you think. The Chiefs now, they've been good for a while. The NFC East is big. I mean, even the shitty giants, generate the money.

Like, Mark Davis gets this $275 million check. He's one of the lowest rated teams in the country, and he doesn't play any primetime games. But he's a partner in this thing. They call the National Football League, so he gets a big check like every other owner. Jerry Jones gets the same check. Now those guys make money in other avenues.

But the number one thing you have to do to keep people's attention is either be good. That's probably the goal for every team. Just be good and competitive. And people will watch whether you're in L.A., whether you're in Green Bay. It doesn't matter where you are. If you're good, people will care in any sport.

But more than ever in football. But if you're bad, you have to sell something. Do we have a rookie quarterback? Do we have a new coach? Are we doing something that's kind of fun? And it's why that when Eli's teammates last week, and I get it, there is boys, freaked out, they were somewhat misguided. The reason the Giants made the move was because they needed something for their fans.

And I say this all the time. The business, every dollar in pro sports, whether you own a team, whether you're a player, whether you're someone like me in the media, whether you're a coach, all comes from the fans. That's where all this money is generated. Every penny that a team generates is fan-driven. Whether it's your naming rights,

why do you think someone's willing to pay you $20, $30 million a year to put it on a building? Because a lot of people talk about it, because a lot of people see it. Because of fans. If there wasn't any fans, no one would pay any of this money. People want to be involved

with something a lot of people watch or talk about. That's marketing one-on-one, right? So the Giants needed to kind of breathe some life into what was becoming kind of apathetic around their franchise. The Giants were a terrible watch. If Sequin Barclay was not handed the football, they've become unwatchable the last couple years. So going to Danny Dimes breathed some life into their fan base. It made Sunday, before you knew he was good or bad, interesting. Which if Eli had started that game, the game, someone like me, I wouldn't mention this game at all.

I would not have cared. I wouldn't have watched one snap. That game would have been irrelevant to watch another Eli performance who actually can still throw the ball. He just can't move. And the Giants' offensive line is terrible. So if your offensive line is terrible, you have to be somewhat athletic to avoid some of these hits.

There's never been more pass rushers in the league. There are more pass rushers coming in the league these last five to ten years than are good offensive linemen. It's basic supply and demand. So you're seeing better pass rushers because there's not as good offensive line. And Eli can't move. So insert Danny Dimes

I don't regret being hard on Dave Gettleman during the draft Because I'm pretty confident even looking back How would Danny Dimes not have been there at 17 And their defense, which is probably through three games I don't have the stat in front of me I'd imagine maybe there were some bad Giants teams Before my lifetime

I was born in 1984 I know they went through some probably lean years in the 70s And even the early 80s before Parcells got there But for the most part in my life of consuming football, the Giants have been kind of a defensive team. They've had good defenses. Now, some years have been worse than others, but they've been a defensive heavy team. So imagine if they would have drafted, let's say, Josh Allen at six overall in Danny Dimes 17.

Now, ultimately, if Danny Dines becomes this Hall of Famer, did they do the right thing? Yeah. But you can't tell me because the draft is a stock market. It's not necessarily about, you know, this guy's going to be a Hall of Fame or have, well, you can get that same Hall of Famer in the third round, you don't need to take them in the first round. And just look back the two teams that they were probably scared of most of taking Daniel Jones. We'll call them Daniel Jones, just so you know what I'm talking about. It was the Washington Redskins.

Well, their owner loved Dwayne Haskins, so they were not going to take Daniel Jones. And then John Elway, who clearly has just a love and a desire to have big arm quarterbacks. And look who he took, Drew Locke, look who he traded for, Joe Flacko. It doesn't mean they're good. but Danny Dimes, he's more of an accurate, he's like a better version of Alex Smith. He's athletic, he's accurate, he has a good arm. I wouldn't call him have a great arm, but it's definitely good enough. And back when you used to say Alex Smith, like six or seven years ago, people thought you were saying a bad thing.

Alex Smith was really good. If that's what Danny Dimes becomes, the Giants would be in pretty good shape. And this guy probably has a little more alive of an arm. But I'm hesitant to do this because we've seen so many times when you just watch one game, or even like a month of games, you go, this guy's the next great quarterback. For the most part, like Mahomes, we knew Mahomes was special

after his first game at the end of his rookie year. You just watch that, you're like, whoa, this doesn't really look like anything. But then he had an entire season, through 50 touchdowns and won the MVP. It's hard to discount. This guy might be the best player in the league. And then he's come back,

and there's no way you could even argue that. Even Carson Wentz, he's had some injuries, but if you just watch Carson, you don't need to look at a box court, you go, that guy doesn't look like most other quarterbacks. Same with Deshawn Watson, and same with several young quarterbacks. But Baker Mayfield, as I'll talk about later on the show,

was a guy that short-sit small sample size has kind of been punked so far this year. So it's hard to maintain and sustain playing in the NFL at a high level, week in, week out, the more and more film that gets out on you. But through one game, and that's all we can judge, Danny Dimes, on. He was fantastic. Watching the game, he made some gorgeous throws. But the number one thing that stood out to me was just how cool, calm, and collected he was. You know, I'm watching other quarterbacks yesterday.

Like, for example, Derek Carr, who's in year 7, who freaks out in the pocket. I watched Baker Mayfield, who started several games, freaks out in the pocket. Danny Dimes, just sitting there. Pressure's coming, pressure's not coming. He kind of looks the same. And then his accuracy really stood out. He looks like a really good quarterback. And if you've been listening to me for a long time, you know after the draft, one thing that I was told by a bunch of NFL scouts

is a lot of people, or the people that I knew in the South that did the SEC and Duke's in that region, even though they're not, they're in the ACC, but you get, you know, the Carolinas down to like Alabama, you kind of have that region, maybe Mississippi. I don't even have, I don't have a map in front of me, but, you know, have those SEC states and then a couple of those ACC states. People liked Daniel Jones. They thought he was like a fringe first round pick. I know people that had first round grades on him.

I think there's a difference between thinking the guy's a fringe first round or a guy you'd feel comfortable taking in the late 20s, like in Aaron Rogers or Lamar Jackson, you know, that kind of range where they went. And taking a guy six overall. Especially when you have a guy whose resume in Dave Gettleman that's fair to question. It really is. And Pat Schumer is so arrogant when he gets in front of a microphone, you know, like he's no-all-be-all. Like, Pat, we've seen you be a head coach so far. and it's been an utter train wreck disaster.

So let's just be a little humble like your starting quarterback and your backup quarterback and just see how this thing plays out. Yeah, it was a really good win. In Daniel Jones, once he has the game-winning drive where he runs in the touchdown, to me, that's the big number that stood out.

He threw two touchdowns. Evan Ingram. Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind. Highlights are trending, opinions are flying, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where Sports Slice comes in. I'm Timbo.

Every episode, we're cutting through the noise. Breaking down the plays, the controversies, and the stories behind the headlines. We go straight to the source, the athletes themselves. Their locker room stories, their reactions, the stuff nobody gets to hear. The laughs, the drama, the triumphs, the moments that never make the highlight real. From viral moments to historic games, from buzzer-beaters to controversial calls, we break it down, give you context, and ask the questions everybody wants answered. Sports Slice brings you closer to the action with stories told by the people who live them.

Listen to SportsLice on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Slic Life 12 and the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hardway with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Kear Games. And in recognition of mental health awareness month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience in the mental health field and conversations with so many incredible guests. I'm talking. Trip Fontaine, Ryan Clark. Sometimes when we're in the pursuit of the thing, we get so wrapped up in the chase that we don't realize that we are in possession of the thing. And we're still chasing it.

And we don't know when we've done enough. Because people scoreboard watch. Life becomes about wins and losses. Steve Burns, Dustin Ross. Because you find it important to be a good person while you hear on earth. Are you a good person because you're afraid? Because that's two different intentions, bro. Absolutely.

And that's two different levels of trust. I want you to just really be a good person. Join me, Kear Gaines, as we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast, Learn the Hard Way. Open your free iHeartRadio app. Search Learn the Hardway and listen now.

What's up, fam? It's Isaiah Thomas. And I'm CJ Toledano, and our podcast Point Game is about defying the odds. Like LeBron heading into the playoffs without Luca and Austin Reed. And finding ways to win no matter what. He's the smartest player to ever play the game. His IQ is at a level that we've never seen before. And he knows without Luca and Austin Reeves,

I got to manipulate the game. We get a player's perspective on the challenges of the playoffs. I think Joker's going to be exhausted this series because when they don't have Rudy in the lineup, he has to really guard guys like Nas Reid. He has to guard Julius Randall. And then he has to give us everything he gives us on the night-to-night basis on offense.

And when IT's friends stop by like Quentin Richardson, we dive into some playoff history too. Steve Nash will get that thing. That man, hell get the flying. He running up the court, licking his fingers why he got the ball. Like, you go through a training camp with that, Isaiah. You figure it out real quick. Get your ass up and down the court, and you're going to get the ball.

So listen to Point Game on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, I'm Deanna Maria Riva, actress, mother, lover, and a Gen X woman walking through life, one hot flash and hormonal crying jag at a time. You ladies know what I mean. I'll bet you a perimenopausal chin here you do. So let's talk about it. Join me on my new podcast. How hard can it be with the Adamia Riva,

where I call on my Gen X squads from Ohio to Hollywood as we navigate midlife's most fantastic BS. All of a sudden, I'd had hanginess happening on my own. I was like, what the hell is that? I was married when I had her, so I didn't even consider how empty that nest was going to be. Suit swings, night sweats, fupas, sex drive. Wait, what sex?

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radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. At some just highlight plays, just some wow moments. Just were incredible. Evan Ingram's a star. And probably the most impressive part about the game is Sequin Barclay goes out. I'm pretty sure early, midway through the second quarter, but for the majority of the game, especially as they're coming back in the second half, Sequin Barkley's not on the field.

So that makes it even more impressive. This guy was unaffected by their best player. easily their best playmaker going out and just starts making plays and puts them in a position to win the game. Now, ultimately, a kicker missed a short field goal after the defense again gave up another major pick, or excuse me, a long pass down the sideline to Mike Evans. But that's out of the quarterback's control. The quarterback played a high-level game, winning football in his first start.

Now, can he keep rattling this off? Time will tell. But no one will argue, especially no one in the NFL. If you just throw on that game where you just don't go, wow, this guy is really impressive. And I think more than ever, you have to have some athletic ability. Because back to what I was saying about the offensive linemen. There are so many good pass rushers, and offensive linemen are consistently getting beat like drums on every team, even the good ones. You have to be able to move around.

Unless you're Tom Brady and you just constantly get rid of the ball so fast because you know the offense like the alphabet. It's just you couldn't know the offense any better. I don't even know the offense like an alphabet. You get what I'm saying. Tom Brady's football genius of their own offense. No one knows it better, probably including Belichick and Josh McDaniels. So he's just operating on a higher level. And Danny Dimes can really move.

Obviously, you have the two rushing touchdowns, but you just see it behind the pocket. And I give quarterback's credit that keep plays alive behind the line of scrimmage without, you don't need to be Lamar Jackson necessarily or Kyler Murray to take off. You can be a great player by keeping plays alive just outside of the tackle box, keeping your eyes downfield and looking to throw. And I thought that's what Daniel Jones did a really good job of. He never looked super flustered, which is

really impressive. He's clearly a high level guy. He's clearly a little really smart player from Duke. So I think you'd give his opening debut start an A, or an A plus. Probably couldn't have gotten much better. You'd say, well, they won, yeah, they kind of got lucky for the win. I don't even factor in the win or loss to his performance. His performance in a vacuum was high level.

It was exceptional. Now, can he keep that up? We'll see. It's going to be difficult. They clearly play in hostile environments. The New York media slash fan base can turn on you like Danny Dime in a dime. So you've got to be very, very excited if you're a New York Giants fan. And you should be.

But this notion that like Dave Gettelman deserves some apology or something right now still seems a little crazy. And Albert Breer, who I really like, I saw him during training camp, kind of, he tweeted something this morning, he thought it was kind of group think on Twitter. I really don't believe that. I think it was simple, at least from anyone with common sense, was, Dave, you did not need to draft him at six, and you ended up taking a nose tackle where you could have got Josh Allen and had Danny Dimes. Because I don't think they would have taken as much heat if they had taken Danny Dimes

at 17, which is again, where they could have got him. You know, you couldn't have gotten Kyler Murray at 3. Like, he was going number one in this draft no matter what. The year Wentz and Gophilk. Those guys were going really high. To me, Danny Dye, like, part of what makes the Baltimore Ravens pick of Lamar Jackson so great is they understood the market. They didn't have to trade up and get them like 12.

They knew they could get them at the end of the first round. Once upon time, the Minnesota Vikings did that with Teddy Bridgewater. That's what makes a really fantastic pick for a guy that's not going super high. Now, at the end of the day, like I said, if he just has a Hall of Fame career, no one will really remember that, right? It'll be all right. They took him at six. They should have. but I will, and I'm not changing my tune on that one just quite yet.

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And you're young, you're like, okay, yeah, whatever. And then as you get older, and I'm about to be 35 in a couple weeks, experienced a lot of crazy shit over the last 10 years, you know. Been fired a couple times. Didn't expect it to happen. One time I did. This year, for example, on my other podcast, We had a big sponsor that just all of a sudden went bankrupt.

So I'm just like, okay, when's my, the big check that you owe me coming? And they're like, well, we're in bankruptcy. You're like, uh, what? And I'm sure many people listening to this who are in all sorts of different business. The number one thing you learn in any business, right, is expect the unexpected because things change. You never know what's coming on a daily basis. Just what makes life so crazy.

It makes it somewhat hard, right? the best companies, the best individual people, the most successful teams can handle crazy things. And sometimes crazy shit happens. And in football, the crazy shit that you can't really expect are injuries. Just injuries happen. Now, you hope they happen to players that aren't as important as others. Clearly, if your star quarterback gets hurt, you're screwed. But other positions, like if you're starting left tackle goes down,

If your best player on defense goes down, it's a problem. But what if your top two targets on offense go down? Some of your big free agent acquisition goes down. You've got to be able to adapt. But it's kind of hard. And sometimes young players are thrust into positions they're not ready for. I've watched the Philadelphia Eagles game against the Detroit Lions, and I was pretty impressed.

I think Carson Wentz is playing really, really well. There's just so much you can do. I'm getting DMs from people that are like, Howie drafted JJ and Miles Sanders, and they are not producing at a high enough level. Well, I don't think they expected JJ Artega White's side to have to play this much, this fast. Deshawn Jackson got hurt, Alshan Jeffrey got hurt. Their backup tight end who plays a lot, Goddard, has been banged up. There's only so much you can do.

Malik Jackson, who they signed at a relatively really cheap deal. Boom, gone for the season. Tim Jernigan, right? Is he hurt too? They just lose a lot of bodies. You can only account for so many bodies. Even if you got Carson Wentz, who to me looks fantastic, there's only so much you can do. I came away from the Eagles game yesterday, kind of impressed.

Their best offensive weapon right now by a mile is Nelson Aguilar. And if you watch the funny clip about the dude that saved the babies from the fire, he even made fun of Nelson Aguilar in a time of tragedy. Also, that speaks to how important the NFL is a guy in a time of tragedy. He's thinking about Nelson Aguilar's drops. Luckily, he didn't drop the babies, unlike Nelson Aguilar dropped the footballs. But Nelson Agar had two touchdowns. So you can't make the playoffs in September.

But sometimes you cannot make the playoffs in September in the sense of, if you start 0 and 4, 0 and 5, you're in trouble. Now, we saw last year the Colts were able to overcome it. It's hard to call must-win games for talented teams before, like, November. But this is a massive game for the Eagles on Thursday night. And like I said, crazy stuff happens. You don't control your schedule as an NFL team. So it turns out they have this crazy rash of injuries.

They're playing a Lions team, which is actually much improved. And then it turns out they have a Thursday night game that happens to be in week four. You know, it's just the cards you're dealt. And you just got to overcome it. That's the great part about just our society. It's a pretty black and white society. It's a great part about capitalism. You either make money or you don't.

You either run successful companies or you don't. In football, you either win or you don't. Like, if you're a loser. and there's no tougher place to play in Philly. But I do think you can kind of take a step back and go, we are playing with a gun that's only half-loaded. Luckily, our gun is just led by a coach that has looked Belichick in the face and beat him in the biggest game

with his backup quarterback. A star quarterback who is playing really well. To me, Carson Wentz's game just jumps off the television screen right now. I think he's playing at an elite level. He can't catch the ball for the wide receivers. but he's also throwing it for guys that a month ago they didn't know they were going to depend on. And that's part of why Doug makes a lot of money and their coaching staff is so highly thought of around the league. You've got to get these guys up to speed.

And I think sometimes the thing that people don't understand, just the casual fan, is when you have a major injury to a guy like Alshan Jeffrey and he starts missing games, well, Alshon Jeffrey has just taken so many reps and is such a big part of the plan all August that a guy like Artega Whiteside is running with. twos and threes and who isn't a big part of in the huddle with the ones. Now they get thrust into it because it's just the next band up mentality, but sometimes it takes a minute. Hell, sometimes Nelson Aguilar is a good example.

He wasn't even good for like the first three years of his career. Not everyone. Like you can be a good player in the NFL and not have it figure it out until two or three or four years into your career. Look at Dante Fowler gets traded from the Jags last year and has been a completely different human. So I just think the Eagles, they're at one of those times in their franchise where a lot of shit went wrong. And they've actually adapted as well as you possibly can't.

I mean, two weeks ago, it took a fourth and four wide receiver screen to one of the best wide receivers we've ever seen to beat them. On the road, when they had multiple guys go down in pregame warmups. Not during the game, in pregame warmups. Think how crazy that is. So I've actually learned more about the Eagles I know it was a tough loss last night But or yesterday if you're listening to this a couple days ago But I actually came away pretty impressed

And again back to Carson The number one thing you have to have in this league To really be a player and why the Eagles are going to be a factor this year If they can just get one or two of these guys back It's because that guy is so freaking good I say it all the time There's there's under 30 guys There's Mahomes or as a lot of those

they stay in the state farm commercial. Mahomi, you got Mahomi at the top. I think this guy is the clear next guy, and I don't even know if there's anyone close to his level. I like Deshawn Watson, but he ain't that. Jared Goff clearly ain't that. Baker Mayfield, let's pump the brakes on him. Jimmy G, no.

Derek Carr is not even in the conversation anymore. So, you know, Lamar Jackson had 70 yards through three quarters at Arrowhead. So let's bump the brakes a little there too. I think the Eagles are going to be okay. Everyone in Philly needs to take a deep breath I get you freak out and I think it's awesome What I love about Philly, the standards are high Sky high

It's about winning every week There are only a couple markets That once they know they have a good team Like that's the 60 expectation And it should be That's what happens to you have Carson Wentz That's the way I've been around That's the way how he thinks

Jeffrey Lurie The highest level You know besides like New England There's high level of an organization As you're going to get I'm telling you I think they're going to be okay And but I won't discount that this game Thursday night

is pretty must win. You know, got the Cowboys who are 3 and O or look like Destin to be a 12-win team. The other thing you've got to think if you're Philly is being a wildcard team, probably going to have to take, you know, 10 wins to get there. So if you start 2 and 2,

it's much easier to get 10 wins than 1 and 3. So this is a big game, but I have faith in the birds. Okay, let's get into the tale of two coaches. and, you know, coaching's clearly a really, really hard profession, right? It takes the time these guys spend in the office. I've seen it firsthand, college and pro. You make a lot of money, but you really work.

You spend a lot of time on your craft. It's not your typical job. You're also paid a lot of money. I mean, assistant coaches in this league in the NFL and in college, you know, are making huge cash, four, five, six, $600,000 like coach running backs. You know, the offensive line coach making a million dollars. I don't feel sorry.

No one does in this country. That's not the way society works. But they do work, spend a lot of time and away from their families and earn the cash at least through effort. Now, not all of them are good. I promise you. I mean, if you're listening to this, you know. Not all coaches are created equal. But I saw two guys this weekend, and I think it's the tale of two men.

One, and I think in coaching in general, experience, just like with players, does experience really matter? I think it helps in certain situations, but you're either physically gifted enough or you're not. Like if I put the ball in your hands in a position, can you make a play or not? But most things in life, like coaching, like normal jobs, you get better with time. and Kyle Shanahan, who I had anointed, like most people, as one of the best offensive minds in the league, and I thought he was going to be a star head coach. And even after he had two straight seasons of drafting in the top 10,

he was still considered if they had some hypothetical coaching draft. He would have been a top pick. And I said the one thing about this season is he needed to prove himself. But the one thing that I always was impressed on with Kyle, when things went really poorly, as they did his first two seasons, he handled it pretty well. and he was good with the media in the sense that when he would come after losses,

he was wearing it on his face, but I never saw him snap. And I think he was in a position when he got the head coaching job. One, he's a pretty unique human, right? He was born into a family whose dad was one of the best offensive minds we've ever seen. And then was a head coach for countless years,

won Super Bowls, like was a pretty famous guy. Now, sometimes just being around it doesn't equate to make you successful, But you're around it, you have a front row seat, and then he got into coaching immediately in college. And was coaching, boom, right off the bat, became a GA at Texas, right up until he became an offensive coordinator, I think, in his late 20s. And go back and Google some of those Houston teams where he was the coordinator on,

they were pretty damn good. Now, was Kubiak-Collin plays, I'd have to go Google that. But I'm pretty sure Kyle played a big role, and Kubiak would tell you that. And they had the best offensive running game in the NFL. So this guy at a very young age, and he probably got the benefit of the doubt because of his last name. If his last name had been Middilkoff, does he become an offensive coordinator that early? No.

But he took advantage of a situation. He's clearly really bright and grinded and grinded and then left with his two, become the offensive coordinator for his dad, and then bounced around a little bit, had a lot of experience. So even when he was hired to be the 49er head coach, however old he was at the time when he was hired, 37, 38, whatever it was, he had had a lot of experience. Like I've said with McVeigh, McVeigh was hired at 31 years old,

but he had been coaching the moment he left in college. Now, that's still at warp speed, but it's not like he had been coaching for a couple years of former player or anything. This guy started coaching. Sometimes when you're a shitty player and you know you want to get into coaching, it helps because when you're 21, 22 years old,

you just start, you know, where some of these guys, these former players, where maybe they play to their 27, 28, even if they have a shorter career, they've made a little cash. They might not get into it until they're 31. 132 or whatever. Last night, a blown call changed a game.

This morning, the internet lost its mind. Highlights are trending, opinions are flying, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where Sports Slice comes in. I'm Timbo. Every episode, we're cutting through the noise, breaking down the plays, the controversies, and the stories behind the headlines.

We go straight to the source, the athlete themselves. Their locker room stories, their reactions, the stuff nobody gets to hear. The laughs, the drama, the triumphs, the moments that never make the highlight real. From viral moments to historic games, from buzzer beaters to controversial calls, we break it down, give you context, and ask the questions everybody wants answered. SportsSlice brings you closer to the action with stories told by the people who live them.

Listen to SportsSlice on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Sliced Life 12 in the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hardway with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Kear Games. And in recognition of mental health awareness month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience in the mental health field and conversations with so many incredible guests. I'm talking.

Tripp Fontaine, Ryan Clark. Sometimes when we're in the pursuit of the thing, we get so wrapped up in the chase that we don't realize that we are in possession of the thing. And we're still chasing it, and we don't know when we've done enough. Because people scoreboard watch. Life becomes about wins and losses.

Steve Burns, Dustin Ross. because you find it important to be a good person while you hear on earth? Are you a good person because you're afraid? Because that's two different intentions, bro. Absolutely. And that's two different levels of trust. I want you to just really be a good person. Join me, Keir Gaines, is we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose.

On my new podcast, Learn the Hardway. Open your free, I Heart Radio app. Search Learn the Hardway and listen now. Hey, I'm Deanna Maria Riva, actress, mother, lover, and a Gen X woman walking through life one hot flash and hormonal crying jag at a time. You ladies know what I mean. I'll bet you a perimenopausal chin here you do. So let's talk about it. Join me on my new podcast.

How hard can it be with Deanna Maria Riva, where I call on my Gen X squads from Ohio to Hollywood as we navigate midlife's most fantastic BS. All of a sudden, I'd had hanginess happening on my own. I was like, what the hell is that? I was married when I had her, so I didn't even consider how empty that Ness was going to be. Mood swings, night sweats, fupas, sex drive. Wait, what sex? Dating at 45. How can it be getting naked at 50 with the new guy? That one's kind of hard, you know?

Well, that's lighting. They say we can't polish a turd, but we're sure going to try. So let's get blunt with laughs, tears, or tears of laughter, and dive into it, unfiltered and unbothered and ask, how hard can it be? I cannot believe I'm about to say this out loud in public. Listen to How Hard Can It Be with Deanna Maria Riva as part of My Cultura Podcast Network available on the Iheart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. What's up, fam? It's Isaiah Thomas. And I'm C.J. Toledano, and our podcast Point Game is about defining the odds.

Like LeBron heading into the playoffs without Luca and Austin Reed. And finding ways to win no matter what. He's the smartest player to ever play the game. His IQ is at a level that we've never seen before. And he knows without Luca and Austin Reeves, I got him in it. We get a player's perspective on the challenges of the playoffs. I think Joker's going to be exhausted this series because when they don't have Rudy in the lineup, he has to really guard guys like Nasree.

He has to guard Julius Randall. And then he has to give us everything he gives us on the night-to-night basis on offense. And when IT's friends stop by, like Quentin Richardson, we dive into some playoff history too. Steve Nash would get that thing. That man, hell get the flying. He run up the court, licking his fingers, why he got the ball, like, You go through a training camp with that Isaiah, you figure it out real quick. Get your ass up and down the court, and you're going to get the ball.

So listen to Point Game on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. So Kyle Shanahan was able to handle two first years of things not going very well. And I was always really impressed. One, every game Kyle Shanahan coaches, he has a couple moments. If you're sitting on your couch or you're at the game where you go, whoa. Wow. Didn't see that? Oh, it makes you do that.

And that's what a good offensive coach does. It's what Andy Reid does. It's what Josh McDaniels does. It's what Sean McVey has done throughout his career. It's what good offensive coaches do. And Kyle is consistent at it. So I always thought he's a really good offensive coordinator, but there's more to being a head coach than being the offensive coordinator.

Well, this year he's got a team that's pretty damn good. And they're winning games that aren't always pretty. So far right now they're 3-0. Now, they haven't really played anyone. but clearly they've gotten a lot better. So I've kind of been validated that I anointed Kyle Shanahan as one of the top coaches in the NFL. Yeah, he just needed some better players, but he was equipped because of the experience. And we knew he had a long resume of calling plays.

We knew he could at least do one thing well. He's continued to do that well as a head coach. And clearly the players on his team like them, they rally around them, and they play hard for him. That was the other thing. Even when they were getting smoked in last year when Jimmy G tore his ACL and even the year before, before Jimmy G got there and Brian Hoyer was the coach, the one thing the 49ers consistently did under Kyle Shanahan, win or lose, was play their ass off.

And I think all you guys know, if you've been watching football a long time, that is not just some guarantee for any team, right? Just playing hard. Where I think if you look on the flip side, Freddy Kitchens, who last night gave a press conference a couple nights ago, I guess if you're listening to this on Tuesday or Wednesday, while he was chewing gum. And I'm going to sound a little bit like my dad,

but it was one of the worst looks I've ever seen. He looked like a slob. And, yeah, he's got the bright red face. Kind of looks, you know, like a big drinker. Let's call it what it is. That's usually what a big-time drinker looks like at that red face. Freddie Kitchens ain't that old. His body clearly shows that he might be throwing him back.

But I know a lot of functional people that drink a lot. So I'm not even judging you there. And definitely a lot of football coaches over the years have been big drinkers. But he'd never been an offensive coordinator up until midway through last season when the Browns literally fired everyone in their building that could call plays. So Freddie Kitchens gets the job with limited experience as a play caller. So part of the reason you're hiring him because he's not like some rah-rah harball, right? He's never proven to be some Belichick just because you kind of liked him.

And everyone around the league are like, well, John Dorsey, big ego guy, he wants someone he can control. Now you're seeing Freddy Kitchens, things aren't going quite as planned. one, because he doesn't have experience calling plays, like guys like Kyle had, so even when they got their experience, and there is some learning on the job, Kyle can always resort back to, I know how to do this when they do this,

because I've done it for 10 years. I know how to do this when they do this, or when they do this, I can do this. Freddie doesn't have any of that. He's never called plays up until last season. He's clearly over his head. He looks like a slob. Last night, he's telling the reporters,

like, you can write an article, blame it all on me. is that Southern draw? And don't get me wrong, I love the South. So I'm not making fun of the Southern Draw. It's just one of the only accents that I do well. You can put it all on me. I'm the coach. Yeah, Freddie, we are going to put it on you.

You ran a draw on 4th and 9 in the fourth quarter of a game against the defending NFC champs. You're an idiot. That was one of the most moronic things we've ever seen. But why should we be shocked? The guy has zero experience. The guy is clearly in over his head. The guy has no clue what he's doing.

The quarterback's getting worse. The offense looks discombobulated. It's a disaster. It really is. I said this last week after the Monday night game, even when they beat the crap out of the Jets. They didn't even look good then. Like this team is, the way they're playing right now,

they have no shot. They don't have a snowball's chance in hell to make the playoffs if things don't dramatically improve. And I don't see how you could feel confident if you're a Browns fan or definitely if you're like a Ravens fan. You're like, thank God Freddie Kitchens is the coach. Because with guys like McVeigh,

guys like Kyle, even say what you want, I got the Arizona Cardinals game in the background. I don't think Cliff Kingsbury is a very good NFL head coach, or he's proven to be a good coach at all throughout his career as a head coach. But at least you know he does one thing as well. He can call plays. He can scheme up some

plays. Whether they work or not, he can resort the things he's done in the past. Freddy can't. So the most basic level, you see all this pressure now mounting because the Browns had all these expectations, which were out of whack to begin with, and he's kind of freaking out. He has no clue

what to do. Of course he's freaking out. You and I would freak out if we're putting situations that we have zero experience in. That's a normal human reaction. Part of the reason I think looking back why Kyle hadn't freaked out, he's like, well, I know I'm a really good play caller. So if I can just figure some other things out on the team, I know I'm going to be able to do that well. Like what is Fritty Kitchens when he sits there on his office Monday through Saturday go, you know what, this is what I do well. And I think if he's being honest with himself, there's nothing. There really isn't. And what's crazy, this guy was a former quarterback at Alabama, and he just comes off kind of like a bumbling idiot.

He really does. And it's an embarrassing look. And I thought last night chewing the gum in the postgame press conference was just was a sight to behold. It was like, ugh. They went on Sports Center from Freddie Kitchens to Sean McVeigh. It was like watching, these guys are in the same industry, let alone these guys have the same position in the industry.

It was an eye-opening experience just sitting there on my couch and just, just randomly flipping the channels. Oh, I'm like, oh, Freddie Kitchen's press conference on it. I'm going to watch this. And then it clipped over right to Sean McVeigh. It was like watching one guy that runs a Fortune 500 CEO and the other guy that runs like a mom and pop sandwich shop. You're like, yeah, no wonder the guy in the blue won the game. What up? It's Dramos. You may know me from The Recap on LATV. Now I've got my own podcast, Life as a Gringo, coming to you every Tuesday and Thursday. We'll be talking to you. real and unapologetic about all things like, Latin culture, and everything in between from

someone who's never quite fit in. Listen to Life as a Gringo on the IHeart Radio app or wherever you get your podcasts. Brought to you by State Farm. Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there. Hey, it's Amara from Exactly Amata podcast. This clip is brought to you by State Farm. State Farm offers everyone surprisingly great rates on car insurance. Yes, for real. If you need to insure your car, or your home or both. It may feel like you're getting special treatment, but the truth is, State Farm offers everyone surprisingly great rates,

with solutions to meet your car insurance needs, whatever they may be. So talk to a State Farm agent today and discover surprisingly great rates to fit any budget. Like a good vizino, State Farm, is there. Well, the case was that, long story short, you know, things didn't work out. I ended up living in my car,

and I was there for three months. It was terrible. I would go in there and watch myself with white bees and stuff, my mom never knew that I was struggling because I didn't want to stress her out because she was already in a bad situation where thank God she found a Christian family. Amen. And she asked them. Amen. Hallelujah. And she could, you know, if she could stay there because she didn't have anywhere to go.

And a couple of months later, I ended up sleeping in that same bed with her for like a year. Listen to new episodes of Exactly Amara on the Mycurtura podcast network available on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen to your podcast. winner, there's something for everyone with the Disney bundle. Unforgettable stories on Disney Plus, like Marvel Studios Eternals. It's beautiful, isn't it? And Disney's Enkanto. This is my chance. Fan favorites on Hulu like Penn 15 and The Great.

And epic sports on ESPN Plus, like Man in the Arena, Tom Brady, and over 1,000 NHL games. Get the Disney bundle today for only $13.99 a month. Includes Hulu ads and support and each service separately. Terms apply. See the Disney bundle.com for details. Okay, let's get into Jim Harbaugh. And the disaster that was Saturday morning for me in Madison, Wisconsin.

Jump around, jump around, baby. I actually went, when I was at Fresno State, we played him. Place is badass. It's an awesome place to play. And Harbaugh got his ass kicked. There's no way around it. That's just, that's a fact. You know, if you watch, hell, the game was over at first half.

It was kind of like the Monday Night Football game. but the final score didn't even get as close. It was, they got demolished. And I think we've probably always overreacted. Like in the 60s, people were getting mad when Mickey Mantle was striking out or Joe Namath was throwing an interception. If you're watching it at your house or you were at the game, just no one could see it.

Now, whether it's me, whether it's you, Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat, TikTok. I don't even know what TikTok is. I just think all the kids are talking about it. That's where people react now and you feel everyone's, So on Twitter, on social media, Twitter's like where I live during games. It was Harbaugh's the village idiot. He is the village idiot. And there is no arguing that he hasn't quite lived up to expectations.

He's 0.4 versus Ohio State. That's probably his biggest issue. And he hasn't really competed for a national title. And when they hired Jim Harbaugh, let's not forget, he was just a free agent because the Niners were moving off him. He chose them as much. I mean, obviously they desperately wanted him. He chose them.

And people act like it's been a complete failure at Michigan. And that Harbaugh almost is like some media creation. And to me, a media creation is like John Gruden. John Gruden's this quarterback guru. Check his resume. He's had one good quarterback in the last 25 years. And granted, he took 10 years off. And it was a 34-year-old Rich Gannon.

He's not a quarterback guru. He had a quarterback show on ESPN for 10 years that was fun to watch. But he's not a quarter-old. I mean, Derek Hart's getting worse and worse. He's not a quarterback guru. That, to me, a media. Chip Kelly is this innovative. generational coach.

Well, that's looking like a media creation now. Though, Chip at least backed it up for a little bit at Oregon. When it comes to Jim Harbaugh, since 2009, let me read you something. I'm going to call it his win-loss record. This is starting at Stanford going all the way up until right now.

8 and 5, 12 and 1, 13 and 3, 11 and 5, 11 and 4, 8 and 8, 10 and 3, 10 and 3, 8 and 3, 8 and 3, and currently 2 and 1. And the main numbers there is 10 and 3, 10 and 3, 8 and 5, 10 and 3, 2 and 1. At Michigan, they would have liked 13 in 1 season, right, a playoff year. So that, no way around that, it's been a disappointment. In San Francisco, when he by far had his most success, he went to three straight NFC

championships, he went to a Super Bowl. So meaning he won an NFC and he won the division twice. Like, he's accomplished a lot, and he went to a BCS game when he was at Stanford. But one of his problems right now is the coaching turnover for him is big. And the one thing Jim Harbaugh, like his brother John Harbaugh, are very dependent. They're good coaches, but they're very dependent on their staff. At the end of the day, Sean Payton, Andy Reed, Kyle Shanahan, Sean McVey, when all else fails, they can call the offense. Whether they want to give the play calling duties away, whether they want to keep them.

Ideally, if I'm hiring all those guys, I want them to call plays. they have the ability at any moments notice if they are not doing it to immediately return to form and call the place. So that separates them from, you know, the Harbaas are motivators and they're great at it. Their resumes speak for themselves.

John's won a Super Bowl. Jim's never won a title, but he's been a damn good coach for a long period of time. But they're a little rawhi, they're leading you into battle, they are dependent on their offensive and their defensive coordinator. And right now, Jim Harbaugh,

Someone told me this offseason because I said, God, what's up with this guy named Josh Gaddis? This person from Alabama that was getting all this hype on the internet, I didn't know anything about it. He was Alabama's wide receiver coach. Jim Harbaugh hired him within five hours of talking to him on the phone. Never met the guy. And to criticize Jim, Jim bragged about that.

In the media, because as I've heard, this guy's a big time self-promoter, and part of it now is coaching has become such a big business because, like I said, they make so much money. you can be a running back coach in the SEC and make $450 grand. You're a coordinator in the league. You're making $1.5. You're an offensive coordinator in Michigan. This guy is. He's 35 years old.

He's making $1 million a year. Well, if you're the guy's agent and you're getting 5% of that, you just do the math. You've got 10 clients that are offensive coordinators in college football. It's a big business. So it's an agent-run now business, just like with players, but with coaches, the thing with players, if I'm a general manager of a team, I can watch you on tape and know exactly what you do. it becomes more difficult with coaches, especially coaches, than I'm elevating from position coach to coordinator.

And for Harbaugh's success in San Francisco, he had Greg Roman, and he had Brad Seeley, and he had Vic Fangio the entire time. Look who his defensive coordinator's been at Michigan. He's had the same guy the entire time. Now, granted, they didn't look good on Saturday, but for the most part, they've been a defensive-led team. Don Brown, I think is his name.

The old guy was in All of Nothing on Amazon was fantastic. he's been really good. They've had consistency on that side of the ball. Well, on offense, they have not. And he just hired a guy that, from what I've heard, has no clue what he's doing. And then you watch the game for two weeks in a row now, Army and Wisconsin, it was clear.

Because here's what he went up against. Jim Leonard. You know what Jim Leonard is not a self-promoter? You know what Jim Leonard is? A veteran football guy played in the league for a while, and he was the favorite player of one of the best exes-nosed defensive coaches in the league at the first. time in Rex Ryan. He was Rex's guy. And then right when he got done playing, he became a coach.

And now he's been a coordinator for several years at Wisconsin. And he's been kicking ass and taking names. And it's pretty clear. I mean, you just Google it. They're not getting the same caliber player that like Michigan, Ohio State gets. Yet their defense is on that level. Why? Because he's an elite coach. So when you put an elite coach against a coach that has no clue what they're doing, that's what you get on Saturday morning, Wisconsin, Michigan. Now, it's because Jim Harbaugh's not calling the plays. Now, he is responsible for the entire program. He hired Josh Gattas.

So you can crush him for that. Like, his downfall this season could be hiring Josh Gattis, and that can lead to seven or eight wins, which would be a down year for him. Now, does he fire Josh Gattis? Sure. Is he going to be dependent on the next guy he hires? Same thing.

Rinse, wash, repeat. If that guy's really good, he'll have a chance. If he's average, he won't. So that would be the question mark on Jim. And that would probably separate him. at the end of the day, Sabo Sweeney knows everything you need to know about defense. Dabo Sweeney has been clearly knows offense, right? I don't know if he even necessarily calls the offensive plays.

I don't think he does. But the one thing that dabble's elite at is recruiting wide receivers because he's a wide receiver coach, and that's been a separating factor over the years for Clems. But Jim has hung his hat on motivation. And at that level, when you're trying to beat the best of the best, I mean, Jim Leonard could easily be a defensive coordinator in the NFL. Hell, Jim Leonard might be an NFL. coaching like five years. He might be a head coach in college next year if he wants to be. He

he already could have been. He surely turned down jobs. You have to have high level coaching. And if you want to criticize Jim for not being some scheme, offensive exes and O's guy, go ahead. But he's never been that. And his resume speaks for herself. All he does is win. He made a terrible hire and it's going to be probably the downfall of this season. But acting like Jim Harbaugh is just some village idiot and he doesn't know what he's doing. It's just not true. Because we know you get judged on one thing as a head coach, wins and losses. You either win or you don't. And Jim Harbaugh, everywhere he's gone, has won. Now has he won at a high enough level to make everyone happy at Michigan? No. Is he going to be able to? Like, do I envision when I close

my eyes, Jim Harbaugh, holding up a national championship trophy at Michigan? At this point in time, probably not. I don't. Because one downfall so far for Jim Harbaugh is he also kind of got anointed as his quarterback guru. And the one thing he's done a very, very poor job of at Michigan is finding quarterbacks. And he should have somewhat the pick of the litter at Michigan. He's Jim Harbaugh. He's super famous. He was coming from San Francisco.

And he just swung and missed. He went and got the Shea Patterson character from Ole Miss. And I get that he was good at Old Miss, but he looks like he should be playing at Nevada. You know, he's got Christian McCaffrey's brother, who I don't think's that good because he can't beat out Shea Patterson. Like you eventually got to go find Jacob Eason, you know, two or two.

Justin Herbert, something. Trevor Lawrence, go recruit one of these guys that can change your franchise. Even though college football is probably a little bit less about X's nose and definitely more about talent, when you see when these games get to the playoffs, when it's Oklahoma against Clemson, when it's Alabama against Clemson, when it's Georgia against Alabama, when it's Michigan, Ohio State, when all the players are relatively equal, it becomes an NFL game. And right now Harbaugh, his exes knows clearly aren't good enough, but his players aren't either.

and his quarterback is nowhere up to par. So, yeah, Harbaugh is not coming through because we expected championships. And that might not even happen. But to act like Harbaugh is just some scrub coach, that to me seems a little hot takey and just a little factually incorrect. Now, this is a long podcast.

We just had so much to talk about, and there's so many things I was fired up on that I had to touch on. I'm going to get into this last topic, and then we'll get in the Middoughoughamail bag, and that's how we'll end the show. But before we get in the Middle Coff mail bag, I just wanted to talk briefly because I try to watch the majority of games before I do this podcast.

You know, I watch Thursday night game, obviously, and then multiple games Sunday. But it's really difficult to watch them all at once. Anyone that says they do in that is lying. I mean, you physically can if you have 10 TVs or whatever, but it's impossible to keep up with everything. So usually on Monday morning, I've kind of got a routine. I've been doing this for years anyway. But I try to watch like four or five of the games that I'm interested in. and now the Cowboys, Eagles, the Giants, the Steelers, the Packers, teams you guys care about.

They're the biggest fan base I try to keep an eye on, and then just the teams that I like too. So you try to watch every game in the league before I press record. One team that I've found a lot of joy in watching so far this season has been the Colts. And I would, I guess, you know, a lot of you, if you like sports, read the book Moneyball by Michael Lewis on Billy Bean. And it's one of the best books I've ever read. And then I kind of got to live it. When I had hosted a radio show for three years, we had the ace. They were our broadcast partner.

So during spring training, me and a guy who I still do a podcast with, we'd go down in spring training, we'd be around the ace. And this was a couple years when they had really good teams. They made the playoffs a couple years. Josh Donaldson, Yohanna Cespitas, Sunny Gray was still good then. Like, they had some studs. Brandon Moss was hitting bombs. And it was Billy's like 17.

And no one in baseball has done it like Billy because he doesn't have the money to work with. and he has to change over the squad every three or four years because he can't pay the guys. So they become close to free agency and he has to trade him. And Moneyball, I think it's become like kind of the gold standard, obviously, in sports. It inspired a ton of really smart guys at these Harvard, you know, these high-level institutions that wanted to get in sports but weren't athletes and now a lot of them are running baseball, running basketball, some of them are making hay in football. And it was an inspiring book.

I mean, you read it, Billy. The difference, though, don't ever get it twisted about it. Billy Bean. Despite Billy Bean, actually I think he went out of high school, he went pro. This guy could have gone to Stanford. Like, Billy's really, really sharp, and he was also a first round draft pick. So Billy's a kind of a unique character.

But the one thing I always noticed, two things actually with Billy, is his locker rooms had high character guys. I remember going in there just thinking it was going to be a ton of individuals because the spreadsheet was going to pop out just all these random individuals that were good at doing a specific thing. And then

I remember going to the clubhouse like 14 and 15, when they had. Again, these teams were winning 95 plus games, thinking damn, these guys are really tight. This is like a tight group of guys. He places an emphasis on character. I remember interviewing guys that work for Billy. They're like, yeah, that matters a lot.

We emphasize that. And I think sometimes the analytical guys don't care about that as much. Billy does. He understands the value of having good people in his clubhouse. And the team this year, they're going to host the wild card game. They're probably the fourth

best team in baseball behind the Yankees, the Astros, the Dodgers, and whatever order you want to place them in, then the ace. And his payroll is nothing, and his team is loaded. I actually think this team this year is better than those teams four or five years ago that I thought were damn good. And the other thing is that the big area of difference and separator for Billy relative to the majority of teams in baseball

isn't that he has the best players. I mean, this year he has a couple guys that are elite. But for the most part, his one through nine and really in baseball you have a 25-man roster. So in football, it would be equivalent to your 46-man roster because on any game you can play those guys. Even though you have a 53-man roster, on game day you only have access to the 46 guys.

On game day in baseball, you have access to all 25 guys. And his 25 guys on an everyday basis for six months during the baseball season, his worst player is usually way better than your worst player. Now, you might have better players, you know, one through 10, but where he kills you is like, 11 through 24. His like 17th best player sometimes,

in his individual role that he asked him to do, is so much better than your 17th best player. It's not even funny. And in baseball over time, that separates. I'm telling you that's the most underrated part of the money ball era, is his depth of talent. It's not necessarily his high end. And over this 20 plus year run of Billy Bean being the GM,

he's had high-end guys. It's that his backups are so much, freaking better than your backups. And even like his seventh or eighth guy in a starting lineup is probably better than your seventh or eighth guy, especially the majority of the league. And I'm watching the Indianapolis Colts. And I've talked at length about Chris Ballard and how impressive he is. But the number one thing that when I see and I watch his team play, I flipped on the Colts

against the Falcons. Julio Jones is the best player on the field. I mean, he might be one of the best players we've ever seen the league. Sinoos a monster. I mean, the Atlanta Falcons have some premium players. The Colts, who's like their best player? T.Y. Hilton? Quentin Nelson, a left guard?

For the most part, they're not a star-driven team. But the majority of their starters and the majority of their guys that they play are better than yours. They just out-depth you to death. They just, from a total, one through about 40, however many guys you're playing on game day, they're pretty solid. They don't really have, yeah, that's a shitty player.

I don't really say that when I watch them play. All their guys are good. Now, they don't have Khalil Max and Patrick Mahomes, you know, and guys like that walking through the door. But every guy they're rolling out is at minimum just a functional starter. Then they have above-average starters and some really, a couple really good starters. That's why, and then you watch them, you go, well, they're really good coach. They clearly, if you follow Chris Ballard, plays a high level of emphasis on character.

And you go, no wonder when Andrew Luck retires right before the season, even though, as I've said before, he was not going to play. They were probably going to put him on IR. Most teams, even if they knew the guy was injured, it would have crippled their season just because it would have been so deflating. It hasn't really affected the Colts. If anything, I think they look like a 10 or 11 win team with Jacoby Beset leading them because of the depth, because of how many NFL players they have.

They are just, they're just so deep. And not of just pro bowlers. This isn't the 94-49ers where they're rolling out 11 all pros and 15. pro bowlers and multiple Hall of Famers, what they're rolling out is just really solid NFL starters. And there's a reason when you go, besides like the paths, most teams, quote unquote, have holes. Well, if your holes in your position of weakness are still really solid players, they might not be difference makers, you can get by.

And you can win most weeks if you have a really good coaching staff, which they do. Frank Wright's, some of his play calls just jump off the screen. And if you know Chris Ballard, he takes much, his swings in the, the draft, he's not taking swings for the fences. And that's typically the way I was raised in football, around Pat Hill and then coach reading the Eagles. Like, I like a little more high-end talent. I take some swings.

I even take some character swings. My philosophy of the way I think about football, the way I was raised around the guys that taught me the game in the sport, that's just the way I kind of think. But I'm watching Chris Ballard do it, and I start questioning, should I start going a little his way? because we saw when Bill Pollan's team lost Peyton Manning, they couldn't sniff five wins. This team lost luck, and a couple years into Chris Ballard's building process,

they're going to compete for 8 to 10 wins, no problem. Think how impressive that is. And you can only do that if your roster is really well built. The majority of teams in the league, I'm talking the majority of playoff teams in the league, would crumble, and it wouldn't even be that weird. they would have no chance to win five games if they lost their starting quarterback. Colts loser, like, whatever, let's roll. And their toughness, they're just will to win.

And to me, when you get will to win and the intangible stuff, that is based off the type of guys you're bringing into your locker room, and it just jumps off the screen. I mean, I'm watching a little humble brag on the treadmill this morning. Just like, God, they are kicking the falcons ass. And whether the Falcons are that good or not, they are really talented. And before Neil went down, think how stupid it is, he tears his Achilles. I didn't see today, actually, they thought he tore his Achilles.

By the time you're listening to this, I'm sure it's out. I guess he slams his helmet. I'm listening to music watching the game, so I'm not listening to it. Slams his helmet, he gets a 15-yard penalty. I think how stupid that is. Like, some of these referees, you guys are idiots. I mean, what are you guys doing? But they were just out-tuffed.

They were outclassed with just a will to win. Now, Julio Jones and Mohamed Sunnu and Hooper and some of the offensive weapons that the Falcons have are really talented. I mean, their offensive skill guys beside Matt Ryan are freaking awesome. And Julio did everything in his power to keep them in that game, but the Colts as a whole. And it's just, it's the ultimate team game. One thing that fires me up more and more is when I see running backs hand the ball to their offensive linemen when they score a touchdown. That's something I noticed good teams do. it's the ultimate team game

and they say it's cliche or whatever but they say it for a reason because it is. And the Colts, they're not going to win the Super Bowl. Hell, they might not even win a playoff game. They might get blown out in the first round of the playoffs or they play a Ravens or a Chiefs or a Patriots or I guess they wouldn't play the Chiefs or the Patriots probably in the first round

but whoever they play. They might not, you might lose in the first round of playoff game by double digits. But I am so damn impressed with their operation and the team they've built from top to bottom because they're a great example of If you build the thing right and you just get a functional quarterback

and Jacoby has moments where he's better than that and has moments where he's not as good as that, it's impressive and you can win in this league. If you do it right and you know how to draft and you know the type guys you want in that locker room, my hats off. I couldn't respect Chris Ballard anymore after watching his team through three weeks.

Hey, let's get to the Middlecough mailback. At John Middlecough, my Instagram handle. Slide up in those and ask me questions and we'll bang out a couple. I'll try to keep this short just because we've already, hell, we're already an hour, 10 minutes into this thing. Question for the pot.

Still think Philly is elite, lost two backbreakers that they should have won. Can't keep Carson from getting hit and Carson isn't playing like a god every Eagle fan thinks he is. I disagree. I think Carson's been awesome for, he was awesome in the opening weekend.

Trying to think, who they play. Oh, they played the Falcons two weeks ago. Like I said, I thought he was, took over in the second half. and watching that game against the Lions, I thought for the most part, like he can't hold on to the football. Alshan's gone.

DeShan's gone. I think he's playing pretty well. You can just, like I talked about earlier, you just got to overcome it. You know, sometimes you get handed a shit sandwich and you just have to kind of come out with chicken salad, right? That's just part of the NFL. That what makes it really tough.

It's why Carson gets paid a lot of money. That's why Doug gets paid a lot of money. That's why Fletcher Cox gets paid a lot of money. They just have to figure it out. You know, they just, and I think at the end of the day, they're too well-run an organization. Big game Thursday, but even if they lost, while I do think it's must-win just to kind of keep your head above water,

they could get so many guys back. And, you know, they have the talent on their team if they're healthy to rattle off like four or five straight wins. So even if you're one in three or two and four, if you can win four straight, boom, you're above 500. So is Philly elite right now? Of course not. They're not playing in an elite level.

but there is not an excuse, but there is a reason why they are not. And you can only take so many major injury hits and kind of keep on rolling. And again, I will fight for Carson Wentz and support his play because I think he's been really good. What are the elements of a good play-by-play color commentating crew? What separates the Midday Sunday crews from the primetime guys like Michaels and Collinsworth? Also, I'd be interested to know how these crews are chosen for. their respective assignments. That's a fascinating question.

Maybe I should do an interview with someone at Fox that sets that up, how they do that. I mean, maybe that'd be kind of cool. I could look into that and I actually kind of like that idea. I think that would be kind of cool. For me personally, Al's probably just the coolest, smoothest of them all. I think Mike Tariko is just really good. Same with Joe Buck. They just know how to call a game.

They know when to talk. They know when not to talk. Nance, Nance is a little cheesy for my style, but I love them in golf, because I think I kind of watch them through the golf lens, but I think Tony Romo is kind of loosening them up.

To me, the key with being a good play-by-play guy is you've got to be a little loose. There are two elements for me personally, what I look for. Now, there are other things that play-by-play guys look in other play-by-play guys. I just know for me, as someone that has watched games,

now for a living for a long time, and watch games, like one of the only true things I've ever loved doing, watch games. I would say be just have a good cadence for the plays and when a big play happens, be a big play announcer. That's Al Michaels, right? You believe in miracles, he's a big play announcer. And he can just be loose and have a good time.

There's something to that. And I think what makes a great color commentator, like watching Booger tonight, he's talking like cover two. I don't even know if he's right. Do you understand the average fan has no clue what that means? You have to dumb it down. And that's why John Madden is the greatest commentator of all time. That's why Gruden was so excellent.

They can give you kind of this in-depth analysis in a dummy way that my mom can understand. I think Romo is kind of the modern version of that. I don't like Collinsworth, but I don't hate him either. He's just kind of meh. I actually think Chris Spielman. Is it Chris Spielman? Yeah, because Rick's brothers, the GM, is really good.

I think there's an element of just a crew that it kind of feels like they're friends. I know my favorite crew in the history of sports is Dwayne Kuiper and Mike Kruco, who are the San Francisco Giants guys, and they're just, they're fun. And now baseball is a little different because you've got to tell stories. But you've got to be able to make fun of each other. You've got to be able to make fun of guys. And, you know, I got to meet Dennis Eckersley like a month ago in the gym, and I was introduced to him by actually my doctor,

who does the A's and knows Eck. And I've just watched Eck through like a major league pass. And he's really critical. And I personally like that. Now, granted, I kind of have some of that in me, and I think most fans do. Because if you're sitting at home watching the game, it's different in football because,

and this is what makes Troy Aikman really good, is he'll blast players. Because guess what? The fan of the team that's watching the game when the guy screws up, he's blasting the guy on the couch. That's what the fan relates to. That's what you and me relate to. When we're sitting on the couch watching the game,

we go, what the hell is going on? So we want our announcer to say that. And I don't like cookie cutter commentators that are afraid to say anything. Like, who are you afraid to piss off? Now, I get if you work for a team, and that makes it complicated. But if you're a national announcer, as they all are in professional football, like every game you watch because there's no local broadcast once the season starts. So I like a guy that'll kind of rip a guy and not go out of their way to do it.

But if you screw up, kind of blast them. You know, Dennis Eckersley does it to his guys in Boston, and Troy Aikman will do it in whoever game he's calling. I think that's kind of separated him over the years. Because we're all thinking of it. Do you have the stones to say it? And if you have any what of a playing career, like a lot of these guys do that call games,

if you were a really good player, you have the stature to say something. That, again, we're all thinking. So I'd say the key would be from a play-by-play guy, be loose and be able to kind of make fun of yourself. and make fun of situations and be a big play guy. So when a big play happens, you better be able to get to a 10.

And then the commentator, be able to act like I would want to hang out with you. Be funny and dumb things down because the common fan does not know what Spider 2 wide banana is. They just don't, what cover 7, I don't even know if cover 7 exists. Cover 2 with, they just don't know what that stuff means. Because I've been in football now for 10 plus years

and it's complicated, especially defense. It's really complicated for people. That's what made Madden so great. Can you dumb it down? I've been around a lot of coaches. When we have these conversations, it doesn't get that in depth. Now, their game plan meeting and stuff does, but only super football nerds are in that game plan meeting.

It's coaches and some quarterbacks. Huge fan of the pod, I appreciate it. After seeing the Saints beat Seattle the way they did, do you think they can survive without Drew and make a playoff run? Full disclosure, I haven't watched this game yet. I just saw bits and pieces on the Red Zone channel. But that's no way around it. It's a huge win.

You know, they got what? They got a, was it a fumble six, and they got a punt return? So if you are going to win games without Drew Brees, you're going to need to score that way, right? You're going to need to get defensive scores. You're going to need to get special team scores. You're just going to need to create turnovers so you're in position for your offense. you know, Teddy Bridgewater went 19 to 27, 177 yards, and two touchdowns.

Hell, if he can do that and the defense can play well. I saw Pete Carroll, because a lot of people on Twitter is like, why is Pete Carroll going for it? I guess he went for it in some fourth and short, and it cost him. You know, I don't know if it was Pete Carroll's best game. I did see that the clip of the ball hit him in the eye and he had stitches on his head. That's an impressive win. And there's a reason Sean Payton makes $8, $10 million, whatever he makes. He's a big-time coach.

So I'm not the biggest Teddy Bridgewater guy. but Sean Payton's good enough and I think their team's good enough. Give this guy some credit. Dennis Allen has been a really good defensive coordinator these last couple years for him. He's a stiff guy. He's one of those guys that looks like he only eats

like kale smoothies and chicken salads. But he's a solid defensive coordinator. And ever since that John Peyton's got him, you notice the Saints have been a lot better these last three years with Dennis Allen. Just wondering what you think about Frank Gore still performing at this stage of his career. He's set to pass Barry Sanders

as the third all-time leading rusher in NFL history and it's tied for 21st in touchdowns for running backs. I just think he's the ultimate pro. When I think of a professional running back, I think of Frank Gore. He can run it inside, he can run it outside, he can catch, he can block, and he's an elite teammate. There's a reason you play that many years in the league. And his toughness is through the roof.

I have nothing but the utmost respect for him. I think it's just incredible that he's still doing it. I mean, I don't think anyone besides Frank Gore thought he would still be going at this level still to this day. But it's just an incredible accomplishment. I think, you know, he's going to be, he's kind of like the Jason Taylor of running backs. So he's now becoming close to what looks to be a,

I don't know, first ballot Hall of Famer, but it's going to be hard to keep him out of the Hall of Fame. If he just keeps, you just keep accumulating these stats, even though at the end of the day, Frank Gore's, even in his peak, has probably never been a top three running back in the league. But I don't think that's going to matter just because of the end of the day, his numbers are going to be stupid. Raiders fan here.

Is there any hope for this season we'll get better? Should I just look forward to the draft just three games in? Yeah, I mean, their schedule's brutal. Like I talk, I mean, they play the Colts this week, then they got the Bears, then they got the Texans and the Packers. They're just, they look destined to be a top five drafting team, and is Derek Carr going to be on this team? Like, if he plays like he did the last two weeks, he's not going to be on this team next

year. He's not going to make it to Las Vegas. He just is not. and is it all his fault? No, but he has to play better if he wants to continue to be the quarterback of the Raiders. Gruden did not draft him. Gruden did not sign him to this contract. And again, I hate putting all the blame on him because their offensive lines terrible. Their skill guys are shitty. They put, and I don't blame Gruden once he acquired this guy. Once you acquire Antonio Brown, you build your whole offense around him. So all offseason, they're prepared to have 84, and then it blows up in their face, and they're left kind of just with nothing in their hands. They got Terrell Williams, which is a good, like, you know, complimentary receiver.

Think about Terrell Williams. He had a lot of success in San Diego. I mean, L.A. Maybe, did he start in San Diego? But Keenan Allen was a one, and they had Gates and then Hunter Henry and Melvin Gordon. Like, he had a lot of help around him. Now he's the best player on their offense, and it's a problem. My question for you is the 49ers edge pass rush has been killer to start in winning them games.

Do you think the edge pressure or pressure up the middle causes more problems for quarterbacks? Well, I mean, I know like Drew Breeze and a lot of guys say always their pressure right up their face. Because most good quarterbacks like to slide up. Most good quarterbacks don't like to slide left or right. Tom Brady wants to step up. Drew Breeze wants to step up. Paid Manning wants to step up. You know, some of these new school guys like Mahomes, I don't even think it matters.

You know, I think I bet Coach Reid probably tell you that far of like step up, step right. He'll step wherever. But I think the traditional pocket quarterback likes to step up. You could argue that some of these younger guys that kind of float, I'm just kind of thinking this on the fly. It actually makes sense.

Edge pressure might mess them up because they're naturally inclined to go left or right. Where I think of a lot of the old school kind of prototypical studs have always been step-up guys. But I watch a lot of the Sean Watson's, the Mahomes, even the Wences. it's kind of all over the map.

Now maybe that's just part of being young and just your natural instincts are not, like in 10 years in the league, you just know it's ingrained in you. I think probably earlier on your career, like Jimmy Garoppel, he'll just roll out. And those guys can get away with it. But as you get older, you don't move as fast.

You've got to be careful. I think Roger's a good example of this. He's always been king of rolling out. Russell still does it too. Now Russell has to do it a little bit because he has to see. But I would say edge pressure for some of these younger guys and like Brady or Rogers

or excuse me, Breeze 100% up the middle. That's a good question. It's a good little talking point there. Since the Packers started 3 and O, are you buying them as a legit contender for a championship? Watch their game today. And I mean, Flacco stinks, even though he actually didn't play that bad.

The Broncos defense gets no pressure and they don't really have any wide receivers. But I will give the Packers a lot of credit on this. Their defense right now looks top-notch. Is it Preston Smith or Zaire? Smith, I get the Smith brothers mixed up, but they cause havoc. Kenny Clark is a baller. Blake Martinez is just a tackling machine.

Jaira Alexander is one of the best corners in the league. The Savage Kid they drafted just makes play after play. And they still have Devante Adams. Anytime you got Aaron Rogers, listen, I would not a believer in Matt LaFleur. And it's not like their offense is really knocking the ball out of the park here. But the one thing that can't be denied with them, that if you have a defense like that, and Aaron Rogers is your quarterback, you're going to be in pretty good shape to compete for, I don't know, a championship,

but they're going to be in the mix come playoff time. And if you just keep winning, you get a one or two seed, it's not easy to go into Lambo and win. And it's definitely not easy to go into Lambo and win if they have a defense. Teams like the Niners used to be able to go into Lambo and win or the Giants when their defense wasn't as good. Well, if your defense, you had a top five defense in the league, it's like the Bears.

Good luck going in there and winning a game in the playoffs. Now the Eagles did it. but, I mean, they had a top-notch defense too. You have to have a top-notch defense to play with some of these teams in the freezing cold. Like, ultimately, that's one thing the Chiefs really need to shore up is how do they figure it out where they can play on the Patriots level? Because at the end of the day, that game is going to come down to a play here or a play there, and it's going to come down to an open field tackle, a pressure,

and we know the Patriot's defense is special. I think the Chief's defense is flashed, but, for the most part, it's just not as good as the Patriots. Now, the Chief's offense is probably better, but the playoffs really comes down to me more. That's the one thing that I won't change on, at least when you're playing outside in these cold temperatures. You're going to play in Kansas City in January.

You're going to play in Chicago in January. You're going to play in Philly in January, in New England in January. Defense matters. Now, if you're coming to L.A. or you're playing the Saints in the Dome or the Colts in the Dome, you can probably get by it with not as good of a defense. But you're playing outside in 70s, degrees and it's raining or snowing, you better have some bad MFers on the defensive side.

You better tackle well, you better pressure the quarterback, you better be well coached. And for the most part, it's pretty tried and drew formula. I mean, look at the Chiefs last year. They had one of the best offenses we've ever seen. Now, partly as D. Ford was offside to the game end. But, you know, it was just their defense was ultimately the thing that let them down, not the offense. Okay, we'll call it a day. It was a long podcast.

Adios. Godspeed. Hope you enjoy. See you a little later this week. to all your friends. See you. Teathing can be a real nightmare for your little ones. Highlands Natural's baby oral pain relief tablets can help ease the pain. It's gentle, natural active ingredients like chamomile and arnica,

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IT, you'll want to check out Changemakers, a podcast profiling IT industry leaders. We dive deep into IT profiles and learn what it takes to drive large-scale IT transformations for successful businesses. Visit changemakers.freshworks.com. Last night, a blown

call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where Sports Slice comes in. I'm Timbo, and every episode we're cutting through the noise, breaking down the biggest moments in sports and giving you the real story behind the headline. And we're going straight to the source, the athletes themselves. Their locker room stories, their reactions in the moment, and the stuff nobody gets to hear.

Listen to Sports Slice on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Slical Life 12 in the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. Another podcast from some SNL late-night comedy guy, not quite. on Humor Me with Robert Smygel and Friends, me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, S&L'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. What's up, guys? This is Clever Taylor the Fourth. And on my podcast, The CliverTee. show, I'm bringing you conversations about all kinds of stuff.

Like being an internet famous referee. We're in the middle of a game. This linebacker walks up to me, he goes, hey, ref, my mom wants you to wave at her. What? Time out. Quarterback on office blue of 42. Hey, rep, my mama want you to wave at her. What?

Where's she at? Hey, Miss Parker. Listen to the Clifford show on the I Heart Radio app. Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcast. What's up, fam? It's Isaiah Thomas. And I'm C.J. Toledano. It's our favorite time of the year on our podcast, Point Game, the playoffs.

We're digging into the biggest surprises of the season. And I'm looking back on some of my greatest playoff moments. If we didn't talk ever again, I was funny. You just understood. That's how personal it got. Wow. Then after that game 7, Marquis keep coming to you. He's like, you know, I love you, dog.

You know, it's all love. This was just playoffs. This was just basketball. So listen to Point Game on the Iheart Radio app. Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed Human.