The Herd with Colin Cowherd - 3 and Out -  Mark Davis Allegations, Start Pickett, Pete’s Post-Russ PR, OTA’s

Episode Date: May 10, 2022

John discusses reports of Raiders President Dan Ventrelle being fired for blowing the whistle on Mark Davis for harassment, why the NFL would love to replace Davis with another billionaire owner, why the Steelers should just start Kenny Pickett, why Richard Sherman could be a broadcasting star, why Pete Carroll needs to stop hyping up Drew Lock to make the Russ trade look better, and what NFL teams get out of OTA’s. Follow John and The Volume on Twitter, Instagram and YouTube for the latest content and updates and check out FanDuel for the best wagering and daily fantasy action! #herdSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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

Streeter Seidel, help an a cappella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and friends on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal, but encouraged. It's the enhanced games.

Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the IHard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, what's good, y'all? You're listening to Learn the Hard Way with your favorite therapist and host, Kear Games. This space is about black men's experiences, having honest conversations that it's really not safe to have anywhere, but you're having them with a licensed professional who knows what he's doing. How many men carry a suit or armor?

It signals to the world that you're not to be played with. And just because you have the capability that does not mean that you need to. Listen and learn the hard way on the AHA radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. Hey, this is Robert from the Stuff to Blow Your Mind podcast. Joe and I are both lifelong Star Wars fan, so we're celebrating May the 4th with a brand new week of fun, thought-provoking Star Wars-related episodes. Join us as we tackle science and culture topics from a galaxy far, far away, such as the biology of Tontons and Wampas on the ice planet,

or the practicality and corporate business sense of the Sith rule of two. Listen to stuff to blow your mind on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. The volume. The three-in-out podcast with me, John Middil, is presented by Fandul's Sportsbook. There's no better place to make every moment more than with Fandual. Great odds and markets for baseball, the NBA, NHL, PGA tour, and so much more. awesome new and existing user promotions. America's number one sports book, very easy to use, safe and secure.

You get your winnings fast. I cannot recommend it enough. Love gambling with Fanduel. If you are new, just download the Fandual Sportsbook app to get started. Now sign up with promo code Colin so they know we sent you. What is going on, everybody? John Middlecop, three and out podcast, pack show today. little Mark Davis Raider drama

Richard Sherman Amazon Kenny Pickett starting for Pittsburgh He's not yet but he should be Pete Carroll Trying to sell us on Old Drew Locke And some thoughts on OTAs

Football is happening now Really I mean On the field at least Moving forward right OTAs until summer break So let's buckle up Let's get ready And enjoy it

I mean we're going to start having real practices. They're in shorts and t-shirts, but everyone's on the field, coaches talking, keep us going till the middle of June. So excited. And need you to subscribe to the podcast.

If you listen on Collins' feed, subscribe to the three-out feed. I also need this. We do the Middilcoff mail bag. We do it every Tuesday and we do it every on the weekends. But I'm out of questions because the way I do this,

a lot of you guys have questions, but if you've asked a previous question, you go just into my inbox. When you've never DM me or never asked a question and you ask your first question, you go in this separate inbox so it's easy for me to find. And I'm out of those. So we're not going to have a mailbag on this podcast, but if you haven't asked a question, go to at John Middlecoff is my Instagram,

slide up into those DMs and ask anything you want. It can be football related. It can be life related. It doesn't matter. You know, we're summer, we talk about whatever now. But obviously we do a lot of football questions, but if you've got something else, I don't care. but for those of you that I'm hesitating, this is how we, this is our calls.

This is basically the callers and the podcast game. So, firing those DMs and I'll do a big, big mailbag come this weekend. And yeah, we've got a podcast Tuesday. We'll have another golf podcast Wednesday, some information coming out about Phil and Tiger, and then we'll rock and roll from there the rest of the week. Okay, dokey. Let's start with a franchise. formerly known as the Oakland Raiders,

previously of that known as the Los Angeles Raiders, and before that they were the Oakland Raiders, but they're now the Las Vegas Raiders. And they have had a lot of turmoil, and turnover in the front office. And last week on Friday, something really jumped out to me. The Raiders, I was lucky in my start of this career

when I worked on Terrestrial Radio. I got to be around them a lot. And around these parts for a while, people thought I was a hater. Let me just say this. I have had more interaction with Mark Davis than any other owner in the NFL, and I always enjoyed him. I thought he was pretty cool, very down to earth.

He's pretty unique. You know, I mean, he's probably not your normal NFL owner, but in terms of communicating with, was always very easy. Now, I did not always see eye to eye with the organization. A big reason that I owe them a big thank you, because without them, who knows if my podcast streaming career would be where it's at, When I was on terrestrial radio, I was associated with them. I did their postgame stuff.

And we had a breakup. Well, they divorced me because they didn't like the way I talked about their team. And listen, from their perspective, I completely understand. But here was the thing that I learned when I was in that role. Their team was not like a lot of other NFL teams that had people coming and going. I mean, they fire a lot of people like any NFL team. but their core people in the organization had been there 30, 40, some 50 years. But the people that I dealt with on the business side, who were also Mark Davis's right-hand men,

had been there for multiple decades, had started at the lowest rung in the organization. They were just very loyal to the Raiders. And they'd seen it all, right? The highs of John Gruden, the lows of Al Davis, then the kind of the turnaround of the franchise, the move of the franchise, it's not normal. But also it has its perks of being kind of a cool, unique. It has a collegiate feel. As a lover of sport and as a lover of the NFL,

I enjoyed the power of the brand. But the one thing with Mark Davis, and I've said this over and over and over again, the league wants them out. The league wants to get a rich owner to run that franchise. Just like the Washington football team commanders commanders. The difference, though, is Dan Snyder financially has no issues. Self-made billionaire has a ton of cash.

Mark Davis never had a job until his dad passed away and he took over the team. That's not an opinion. That's a fact. I even think he's got on record and said that. So Dan Snyder and him are completely different, you know, the way they're viewed in the league in terms of their capabilities of money and finances for the league. But I think they're viewed very similarly as we want to remove these guys. But as we've seen in other sport leagues, it's very, very difficult to remove someone.

Very difficult. And these are not public companies where you can like, you know, it's very hard. Even though they are public, but they're privately owned. We all know it's complicated. Well, on Friday, the Raiders had a press release of relieving the duties of Dan Van Trelli, who became the president last year after the Raiders fired the former president, who had been with the Raiders for like 30 years. Mark Badain, who I dealt with and is loyal of a raider as anyone not with the last name Davis.

Love the Raiders. He ate braith and slept it. It was his life. So when that happened, it was a big deal. But then we later found out that he screwed up some money and overpaid Oakland millions of dollars. And the Raiders are not the giants, the Eagles, the Cowboys. They can handle that. Like every penny to them is a big deal, even with this lucrative move.

Well, then on Friday, when they did this. the press release of Ventrilli has been fired, we'll have no further comment. That is not normal. Because even when Mark Badain was fired by Mark Davis, he had a long written statement,

thanking him and wished him the best, even though that he had lost him a ton of money. Because Mark Davis and the Raiders are very close to the people that have been there a long time in their organization. It's like a mom and pop shop, but a billion dollar operation.

So when he did that, my antenna and red flags went off. I went up. Something is up. started texting around. And then a couple hours later, it comes out that the vice president or the president that had been relieved of his duties had turned Mark Davis in for dealing with women inappropriately and had gone to the league office.

And then I started texting around and a couple people said, do you think it's a coincidence that the NFL who is run by people from the northeast, the northeast New York City elites, Roger Goodell and his crew? When Roger Goodell vacations, he goes to Augusta. That's Augusta National. That's where he's a member and plays golf. Probably heads down to Florida or the Bahamas. People in the Northeast stay on the East Coast.

Just like people on the West Coast, we kind of stay on the West Coast or go to Hawaii. We don't kind of cross-pollinate. When I lived in Philadelphia, I knew a lot of people that had never been to Las Vegas. I don't blame them. It's a long flight. You can go to other places on the East Coast and do that. Hell, you can get for the same distance I never made the trip, but I'm pretty sure from New York City to England.

as New York City to Los Angeles, five-hour flight, right? So I understand the difference of mindsets that were two separate cultures. Well, what happened last week? The NFL came to Las Vegas and they saw what, and I'm not saying people from New York or Philly or Boston or whatever or Washington have never been to Vegas, but they just don't spend time like we would. I literally could get in a car when I scouted. I spent a ton of time in Vegas because you could drive five hours from L.A.,

five hours from Arizona, you know, six and a half hours from where I lived in Fresno. It was very easy to get there. Driving. I can hop in a plane right now. It's 45-minute flight. And one thing you notice when you're there, it is a worldwide cash cow. All you think when you're in Las Vegas is cha-ching. Chuching, cha-ching.

Well, Roger Goodell and his crew spent the week in Vegas. What do you think they left realizing? This has to be the most underutilized market. of all of our markets, and we're having success here. This thing should be one of our stalwart brands. Las Vegas Raiders should be, you know, in the next 20, these businessmen are always looking forward, not backwards. Why can't this be one of our cash cow brands?

And we don't think Mark Davis has the capabilities. Because when I was around the Raiders, they always took a lot of shit, and rightfully so, of not having any money, and more than that, not being able to generate any money. Because, and they were in Silicon Valley in Northern California where we have an unlimited amount of money for the rich people. And the 49ers have no problem. Joe Lacob's $700 million in revenue a year at Chase Center.

The Giants are one of the biggest revenue generating teams in all of Major League Baseball. This is an area on the West Coast, also like Vegas, where cash flows. And there are major corporations, but Vegas, or I mean the Raiders at the time could never figure it out. And now I think Roger Goodell and his people see, well, we got ourselves an underutilized asset. And they have been thinking this for a while. But once they lay boots on the ground and kind of feel the experience, they know they got a problem.

Now, listen, he can't make this up. But one thing I had heard about this president that they had just fired, he's his cutthroat as it gets. And he's no dummy. He knows. Now, Mark Davis, there would have to be substantial stuff there for them to get an ouster. What if there was? What if this president realized if I go to Roger and I cut a deal,

if this guy who I've heard is a very cutthroat lawyer turns out in the future to be a lawyer for the NFL if they're able to get rid of Mark Davis with this you'll know that a deal was cut behind the scenes I got dirt on Mark Davis I'll come to you you make me a made man and I'll give you the dirt to be able to remove him but he's going to fire me but you're going to take care of me maybe make me one of your lead councils with the NFL

win win for everybody I think Mark Davis listen this is not good because they have been looking for a reason. Think about Dan Snyder. But the difference with Dan Snyder, Dan Snyder is a self-made billionaire. Dan Snyder created all his wealth. Dan Snyder created all the transactions. Mark Davis didn't create anything. His dad wouldn't even let him be a part of the team when his dad was alive. The only time he got his to be in control, his dad had to die. He was not, they would fly home when his dad was alive and he wasn't allowed to be on the flight. His own dad didn't really like him, which I feel bad. Like it was a toxic relationship. But to this notion that the least, the

Deeg will do anything and everything to get Mark Davis out of there. Because here's the thing. Of all these teams that are becoming available, the Denver Broncos, if they ever could get the commanders on the open market, we saw how much Carolina went for a couple years. Do you understand how much the Las Vegas Raiders would go for in the open market? They would go for more than the Denver Broncos. Tax haven, no state income tax,

the amount of money that comes there, the amount of money you have in the corporations around you, it is a sleeping giant. The stadium, I've never been there, but from whatever I've been told, it is incredible. That place is made for football. Gambling literally was made for the sport of football.

So I would say this, that I don't know, I'm not, you know, I can be a little bit of a conspiracy theorist, but it cannot be a coincidence that a week after the draft went there and Roger Goodell and his crew got to be, just kind of really feel Vegas and realize, God,

we got to do something. And then the story comes out a week later, and his president gets fired after his president, who had been with the Davis family for decades, who this guy had created, that Mark Davis made this guy the president, and they takes him down. I don't know, man.

It's not a good sign for Mark Davis. They're coming after him. They've been coming after Dan Snyder forever, and he's fought him off. He's more capable, as crazy as that sounds, than Mark. I would say Mark's in trouble. They're not even hiding anymore. They're coming for him.

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Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal, but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds.

I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the I-Hard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care which I'm saying. Yep, that's me, Clipper Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, the reactions, my journey from basketball to college football, or my career in sports media.

Well, somewhere along the way, this platform became bigger than I ever imagined. And now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, unfiltered conversations with some of your favorite athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. One week, I'll take you behind the scenes of the biggest moments in sports and entertainment, and the next we'll talk about life, mental health, purpose, and even music. The Clifford Show isn't just a podcast. It's a space for honest conversations,

stories that don't always get told, and for people who are chasing something bigger. So, if you've ever supported me or you're just chasing down a dream, this is right where you need to be. Listen to The Clifford Show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. Do you remember when Diana Ross double-tapped Little Kim's boobs at the VMAs? Or when Kanye said that George Bush didn't like black people.

I know what you're thinking. What the hell does George Bush got? Gotta do a little kill. Well, you can find out on the Look Back at it podcast. I'm Sam J. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick it here, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. Including a recent episode with Mark Lamont Hill waxing all about crack in the 80s.

To be clear, 84 is big to me, not just because of crack. I'm down to talk about crack on day, but yeah, yeah, literally. But just so y'all know. I mean, at this point, Mark, this is the second episode where we've discussed crack. So I'm starting to see that there's a through line. We also have AIDS on the table right now. Thank you for finishing that sentence. Yes.

I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Really? Yeah. For me, it's one of the most important years for black people in American history. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hard Way 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 middle 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, 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, our heart radio app. Search, learn the hard way, and listen now. Another story that I saw today that I just think's kind of been brewing is part of drafting, Pickett. I know Steeler fans have been on me. Like, you don't like Candy Pickett. Listen, I'm not emotional about this stuff. I just don't really like weak-armed quarterbacks. That's not really

Mac Jones, Kirk Cousins, even Dak Prescott. Like, those aren't my style. I like bigger-armed guys. That doesn't mean I didn't like Peyton Manning or Drew Breeze, but those guys are outliers. But most of the type quarterbacks I'm going to like are going to be big-armed guys. I like guys like Justin Herbert. I like guys like Josh Allen. And honestly, I lean even when I fail with the bigger arm guys. So Kenny Pickett is just not my style. But part of drafting a ready-made Mac Jones type player is to start him immediately. Because part of taking a huge swing on a Justin Fields, on a Trey Lance, on a Josh Allen

is the next decade. I am trying to hit a grand slam walk-off in the World Series and get one of the best quarterbacks in the league. When you draft Mac Jones or you draft Kenny Pickett, he's not going to get that much better. you're kind of getting a ready-made player. So part of drafting a ready-made player really high, use him. I'll give the Patriots a lot of credit. Last year, I would not have drafted Mack Jones,

even though obviously Mac Jones is better than anything they had, so it worked out in the short term. But big picture, I don't ever see him being a top 10 quarterback. And I can't take a quarterback in the first round that I don't believe has the upside to be a top 10 quarterback. Now, listen, I could be wrong. Maybe Belichick would argue with me. maybe Mike Tomlin and Kevin Colbert would argue with me.

Obviously, those guys are really accomplished, you know, at their jobs. Now, I would say this to both guys. Beside Brady and beside Rathesberger, you know, I mean, Belichick went with Cam Newton two years ago. So it's not like he really had a pivot. Now, in fairness to Belichick, he was forced to trade Jimmy Garoppel. Jimmy Garaple was supposed to be a Steve Young. And as we've learned, he's not Steve Young, not really even close. But he clearly would have been an upgrade.

and they wouldn't have to go through the Cam Newton in 2020, and it would have been an easy transition, but Tom was still playing well. They were stuck. The Steelers, as I've said over and over, besides Rothesburg, I've seen them draft quarterbacks. They haven't even been remotely close. Dobb stinks.

Mason Rudolph will get cut this year. Well, signing Mitch Trubisky, and we've seen his contract, it's not that much. It's a backup level contract. We also saw Ms. Trubisky play. He's averages the day as long. Good guy, tries hard, athletic, big arm. not very accurate.

I don't trust to make basic throws. So Kenny Pickett, now the difference between Mitch, Mitch can operate as a backup. Cam Newton, you know, it was a tough spot when they drafted Mac Jones. Mitch, who cares? Like, he's not a big enough personality.

Part of Cam had been the previous year starter. You had to get him out of there so it could be Max team. You don't have to do that here. Mitch can stay on the team. But I see no. If I was a betting man, I would 100% bet on Kenny Pickett

starting week one. Because one of the things Kenny Pickett hangs hat on is being an accurate quarterback. One of the thing Mitch Trubisky struggled with was being an accurate quarterback. So the reason you draft Mack Jones, Kenny Pickett, is because of their accuracy, right? The reason you can quote unquote overpay Kirk Cousins is his accuracy. It's my issue with Dak. Like, I remember when Dak was a pinpoint guy and then I watched him like the last month of the season in the playoff game. It's like, where's his pinpoint accuracy?

He feels a little off. Like when you don't have a big time arm and you're going to, to be Philip Rivers, you know, and the Peyton Manning. Obviously, those guys are the best version, but you've got to be pinpoint accurate because you're not going to be some explosive down-the-field thrower. So I think that Kenny Pickett hasn't even been on the field yet. I will be stunned if he's not the starter. One story that broke today from Rapsheet, and I saw some other people in the media realm, was that Richard Sherman is intoxed with Amazon. Obviously, Amazon has the Thursday night football package starting week two. I think they got 16 games or whatever all season long. And I've said

over and over, if you don't have Amazon Prime in 2022, that's a you problem. Like you are, I'm sorry, a little archaic. Like every single human I know has Amazon. They literally get things delivered to their house. And through that, if you get Amazon Prime, you get free delivery. And what does that mean? You get access to Amazon Prime, their streaming service, which can be a little hit or miss, but they got the NFL now. So if you're an NFL fan and you want to watch Thursday night football, you know, get the,

get Amazon Prime. Again, most people have it. Here's the other thing. Well, smart TVs. I don't know that many people that don't have smart TVs. Well, I don't have a smart TV. They're not that expensive.

Even in the time of inflation, you don't an underrated part about TVs in this crazy time of everything's been inflation. Their prices have stayed pretty low. Like you can get, hell, you can get like a 75, 80s TV for $10,000.

And hell, you don't even need to get that big of a TV. You get a $4. 40-inch TV for $500. Go to Target. But one thing, and I say this all the time, just because you're a big name, and this was my issue with Drew Breeze when Drew Breeze was signed with NBC.

Like, Drew Breeze is a fantastic guy. Everything we'd ever seen about Drew Breeze, incredible human being. And one thing, obviously on the field, he was a fantastic quarterback. But in all my years of following the NFL and just watching star players talk and communicate, I had never seen Drew Breeze

and come away thinking like, you know this guy, meant for TV. Drew Breeze, he'll really move the needle. Who's the best former athlete in the history of television? It's Charles Barkley. Why?

Because he does not give a shit. And part of anyone that's good at their job when you talk for a living, you got to say some off-the-wall things. You have to be interesting. And when I say off-the-wall, you just can't worry about what other people think. Why do so many Big Js,

the journalists, the writers, they're not good on television because they're too afraid of offending anyone. They're consumed with the reaction on Twitter. Well, anyone that's good at talking, I mean, look at Coward. You think he gives a shit about Twitter? Of course not. You know, that's Howard Stern literally made his career by offending people. Now he's a completely different human.

But when he created all his wealth and he became so big time, it was because you never knew what he was going to say. People hated him. People loved him. And I mean, Charles Barkley, to me, the most famous thing he's ever said, in like his 20 years that I've been watching them on television is making fun of fat women at San Antonio. Because forever, San Antonio was, you know, basically like the Patriots, they were always going to the, you know, the NBA, the Western Conference finals and the NBA finals.

And he was talking about San Antonio a lot. And forever, he talked about the big women in San Antonio. You think anyone in their right mind would say that now? And he still says to this day, he does not care. He is unafraid to, quote, unquote, be canceled. I don't even know if canceling really exists anymore. That's a Twitter thing. I don't really think it's a real life thing.

But here's a reality. Draymond Green has really separated himself because he's not afraid to quote unquote offend anyone. Because no matter what you say in any walk of life, some people are going to be offended. You can't be consumed with what other people are thinking about you. If you honestly have the opinion. And that's where I think Richard Sherman,

and I saw him really closely when he was with the Niners, he'll just say what he thinks. And listen, I would say that Richard Sherman, I think he's a little older than Dremont. I actually don't think he's that controversial. You know, I mean, hearing him talk. I'm not even acting like he's going to be Charles or hell, even Dremont, but he will say what he thinks. And you see so many of these guys that go into TV and they say nothing. Or they say what is going to be, you know, kosher and work on Twitter.

Tiny percentage of people are on there. Say what us normal people talk about in society. You know, talk like a normal person. And I think Richard is going to be, honestly, I think he's underutilizing his skills. Same with Draymond. I think both guys could be fantastic GMs. I think both of them easily would be fantastic GMs. But you get to control your own destiny much more in this space when you talk for a living.

As a GM, you are predicated on guys getting injured, where you draft, who your coach is. So I don't blame anyone for not wanting to be a GM. though both those two guys wouldn't have to start as like an area scout that they would jump the line and rightfully so. But if they choose, and obviously Draymond's kind of a multi-purpose guy right now for the volume,

and I think Richard is slowly going to become that, though his career, like he might not play football again, even though I saw it was reported that he's going to leave his options open. I think he's made for it. And he's remembered by a lot of older people, I think for the Revis thing,

right, when he was screaming to Skip Bayless, but honestly he's one of the smartest players I've ever heard to speak. I've texted with him or DMed with him about just different players that he's been all over. He's been right. I mean, he just knows his shit. It's just like Draymond. He is a football junkie. And I think sometimes these guys, they go into it because it's easy.

And I don't think he ever got into football. And same with Draymond. And like they wanted this realm where they talk about it because it's easy. They actually like it. They actually watch football in their free time. If you follow Richard on social media, even this year when he was injured, he would just be like tweeting

about the Monday football game. Same with Draymond. He just watches these NBA playoff games. That's not normal. I mean, Julio Jones once said he doesn't watch any football. And honestly, he's not alone. I don't even blame him.

Listen, if you don't want to watch football, I don't blame you. But I just think Richard is going to be fantastic. I think that's a really, really good hire. The irony is Tony Gonzalez, who's going to be part of it too. I don't know if he's calling the game. I guess Kerr, Hurbsh's calling the game.

Maybe he's all. on the crew with Richard. Is that Tony Gonzalez's ex-girlfriend Lauren Sanchez? I just fascinated by the story is now dating Bezos, yet they're still really close. When he got announced, I mean, he announced it the draft about the first Thursday night game, which I think is Chief's Chargers, and she was like reposting it on Insta story. I'm just, I'm always fascinated with those relationships when you break up, but you still stay close, and you run in these circles.

Tony hangs out with Bezos. Pretty cool. Pete Carroll. And I think the Seattle Seahawks, sometimes, and I have this kind of rule in life, the louder you are about like moral high horse stuff, bigger fraud, I think you are. It's why I think so many, you know, especially journalists, the most outspoken people on Twitter about, you know, moral stuff. I think they got a lot of skeletons in their closet. The louder you get, the more I red flag you. And I also think the louder you get in pro sports when you try to justify a pick or this guy wouldn't. got taken, you're kind of getting defensive.

And usually why does any of us get defensive? Because we kind of believe whatever the criticism is coming our way. And one thing Pete Carroll said, I think he said this last week or maybe during, maybe they just had their rookie mini camp, that Drew Locke would have been the first quarterback taken in this year's draft. And in a vacuum, I don't even think he's wrong. Drew Locke coming out of college, which was three and a half years ago, more than likely, or probably, well, the Steelers were looking for an accurate player,

so I don't necessarily know if they would have taken Drew Locke, but he would have been in the mix right there with Kenny Pickett to be the first quarterback taken off the board. I don't disagree with him. But he's saying this because he wants the fans and he wants the outside to like truly believe that they got some diamond in the rough. And here's the problem with that, Pete, is that was a long time ago.

Drew Locke is 25 years old. He's now been in the league for three years. So when you are a second year player, like all the guys will talk to OTAs that are going into the second year, you can still hold your hat on where they were drafted, how great their prospects were coming out of college,

how much upside they had. When a guy's been in the league three or four years, you know, I think that's a little more difficult. Now, if you wanted to justify Drewlock, he was drafted in 19 second round player. rookie year, whatever. Let's even give him a pass. Second year, 2020, COVID. Crazy year, weird year. Give him a little bit of pass there. How about his third year? His third season. And this was a second year in the Pat Schumer

offense. He could not beat out Teddy Bridgewater, who great guy, but he's Teddy two yards. Teddy two gloves is a lifetime backup. He's not a very good quarterback when it comes to starting. Drew Locke could not beat him out. And now Drew Locke. is going to go to Pete Carroll, an offense that, listen, you know, they're going to try to run the ball, use them in play action. But this notion that Drew Locke is some untapped gem feels a little bit of a stretch. And I think Pete and John, and part of it is anytime you trade Russell Wilson, and I don't blame them, just like I don't blame Russell Wilson, 10 years a long time. You start hating each other. You start seeing just, you just grow tired of each other.

and it's not like you're winning championships every year. The one thing with Belichick and Brady, why they could just sustain over the long haul, was because they were winning. They were winning Super Bowls and going to championship games and losing in Super Bowls. Seattle's getting bounced in the first round. I mean, two years ago, they lost at home to the ramps

and Wolford and Jared Gough. So they weren't having as much success as some of these other teams and eventually it just came to an head and they had to get a divorce, which I understand. But as I've said over and over, when you trade a quarterback who is the greatest player in the history of your franchise and more, you know, more likely than not is going to have a couple good years in Denver, you're going to lose the transaction. And deep down, they know it. So they have to keep saying things like he would have been the number, you know, he would have been the first quarterback in this draft. Who cares, Pete? He's been in a league for three seasons. Like I, you know, if Debo Samuel was in this draft, he would have been the first. wide receiver off the board. You know, if I could put Nick Bosa in this draft,

you would have been the number one overall pick. Who gives a shit? This is based on guys that were drafted years ago. And I think they're very defensive right now, because they know, I think Seattle's going to be really, really bad. I mean, I think there's a chance they win four or five games. It's going to be a debacle.

And in a weird way, they know it. Now, part of being a coach, part of being an executive, part of being a general manager is, you know, having false hope, denial might be the wrong way to put it, but you got to stay positive. So I don't blame them for putting on their positive blinders, but it's going to be a debacle. And there's just no way once the season goes in your two and six or your three and six or your season finishes seven and ten, that you can justify this to people, especially if Russell and the Broncos are in the playoffs.

and when I say justify to people make it look like you are right too. It's okay, you had to have a divorce. I think we all acknowledge that. But you got to stop trying to defend the move. You just kind of got to let it be and take the arrows as they come. OTAs is right around the corner.

And I was always taught this in the league that second year players take the biggest jump. Because if you think about it, this first, you know, their rookie season, you know, they have their season ends, then they start training for the combine, then the combine happens, then they go to their pro day, and then they take all the visits. And by the time they get drafted a week later, they're in rookie mini camp, and then you got OTAs for 45 days.

So by the time they get to the summer, I mean, they just got to be wiped out. They're exhausted. Then the season starts. They're trying to get playing time. They're trying to survive. You know, they're trying to be a starter. And once they become a starter or rotation, player. They're just trying to make plays, keep their head above water. A lot's going on.

And I don't, you know, for every Justin Jefferson and Jamar Chase and Nick Bosa, most guys are up and down as rookies, which is understandable. Think about the first time you ever get a job when you're young, right? When you're 22, 23, 24, whatever, hired out of college. It's intense. Like, you're learning new things. You're around older people. There's just a lot going on. You're just trying to figure it out. And by a year in, if you've lasted a year in your job, you become a lot more comfortable. You know where to, you know, you're just confident when you walk into the office in the morning

or when you interact with clients or sales calls or whatever. The longer you do something, the more confident and comfortable you get, because through experience, that's how, you know, improves the wrong word, but just feel more capable in your abilities. And listen, the second year jump is a real thing for the majority of players. Because you come into OTAs, you are, for all the teams that have coaches that are returning, you know the scheme, you know what's asked of you, and who knows?

You know, it's no different than in college. When guys graduate or guys go pros, a lot of guys that redshirted become starters. And that spring is kind of where they establish themselves. Now, the difference between college and the pros is in college in spring practice, they wear pads. And the pros, they do not because of the union and everything. but you do like it's probably not as crazy as even it was five, six years ago, but they're still pretty high speed reps.

You know, you can really separate yourself and hone in on your craft. And then for the older guys, like iron sharpen iron. So you don't, the one thing with football, I can go train, do squats, do all this stuff with personal trainer. But there's nothing like getting a live rep against my starting cornerback if I'm a wide receiver. Or getting a live, just pass rush rep if I'm a guard against my starting defensive tackle, right? Or if I'm my quarterback, reping with my

wide receivers against a seven-on-seven situation where there are linebackers and defensive backs out there. It's much more real than just throwing with me and a wide receiver somewhere in Los Angeles or Texas or Florida. It is very important. And then for the programs

with new coaches, right? The Jags, the Giants, you go around. I'm trying to think who else fired coaches. I don't even, I guess Tampa and, you know, Houston somewhat have some carryover. But any coach with new coaches or new coordinators, the Raiders, this is a time where you put in the scheme, where you teach people the fundamentals.

You can't go to AP calculus until you learn algebra and basic math, right? To know what to do in November against cover two in third down situation in your offense, you have to learn the basis of the offense. you know, in May, in June, and then early on in training camp. Because any time, once we get to training camp, what do coaches always say? We reinstall that first week. Just the basic elements of our offense or defense. So as we grow as camp goes on before the season, we re-hit on all the basics.

And for everyone that plays for McVeigh or plays for Shanahan or Andy Reed, this is just getting back into the swing of things. But if I'm playing for Josh McDaniels or I'm playing for Doug Peter, or I'm playing for Brian Dayball, I have to learn what they expect of me. One, just the expectations of, when I say at meetings at 830, can you roll in at 831? Like, are we on Tom Coughlin time? What is the expectation of speed at practice? What is the expectations in meetings?

And listen, even if you do have some of these carryover coaches, which a lot of the league has, a lot of these coaches got new coach, you know, new assistant coaches. So what does my position coach expect of me? because listen, we're all humans. Not every position coach is going to be the same. Even if I go from a tight end coach to a tight end coach, that guy might teach something dramatically different. That guy might be way more lax

at a certain area in a meeting where the other guy was as stiff, or vice versa. So I think this time is a great learning tool. It's also in a weird way, a nice, easy, relaxed environment relative to football. It's usually three or four day weeks. Scouts included. You know, it's more nine to five.

and you're just kind of feeling each other out. It is truly the onboarding process for new coaches, for new players, for young players, and then for the older veterans, it's about them honing their skills so they can take it right into the off, you know, that summer break, maintain their level of fitness,

and then come back for training camp and hit the ground running. But this is not just some blow it off, fuck around time. But it's much more relaxed than training camp. When training camp starts, sun up till sundown, eat, breathe, sleep football.

This is like you'll see teams will go to local NHL games, local playoff games, they'll be playing golf. It actually has a lot of team bonding elements to it. We're spending time together, no different with the front office and the coaches. I remember when I was with the Eagles, we used to go to baseball games during the week as a staff, have some beers, play some games, fuck around. And it's a very good time to really get to know each other. Because the other thing in football, whether it's the scouting department,

whether it's the coaching staff and definitely the players, there is just a ton of turnover every single year. The majority of teams don't come back. Same scouts, same coaches, same players. Most teams have some new coaches, some new executives, and definitely some new players. You get to know each other, and the better you can get to know each other,

the easier the season is, which is really what this time is for, for honing in the operation so we can try to win games in the fall. I mean, that's the whole goal of this entire thing. So, yeah, I'm excited. OTAs probably get going in the next week or two. Every team will be on the field.

And, you know, fun time to just see how the rookies are doing. I don't make that much of great play or poor play. But I do understand if you're there as a reporter, you know, getting excited. Like, it's okay to get excited for players. Now, that doesn't mean it necessarily translates to training camp because what happens in training camp? You put on pads. And then even if you excel in training camp praxis, well, how do you do in the preseason? season games. And you do well in the preseason games. Well, how's it going to go with the

regular season games? So there are all these kind of benchmarks you're just looking to clear. And yeah, and hope everything is positive and you don't have any injuries. So remember, if you haven't yet, DM me at John Middlecoff, slide up into those DMs, share the podcast with your friends, subscribe to the three and out podcast. And I'll see you. If you like the golf podcast, I'll see you Wednesday. Like the football podcast, see you Friday. Let's keep rocking and rolling. Adios. Are you looking for the hottest gambling advice out there? Check out the Moneyline Monaco podcast powered by Fandul every weekday.

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