The Herd with Colin Cowherd - 3 and Out - New Roster Rules; Watson Deal No-Brainer; Division Winners; 5 Biggest 2020 Questions; Rodgers vs. Love, Trubisky vs. Foles; Mailbag

Episode Date: September 8, 2020

In this episode, John discuses the biggest adjustments teams will have to make for the 2020 season with expanded rosters, and what makes Deshaun Watson worth every penny of his 4-year extension with the Texans. He also gives his division winner picks, his top 5 questions heading into the season, looks at the quarterback pictures for the Packers with Aaron Rodgers and Jordan Love, and the Bears with Mitchell Trubisky beating out Nick Foles, and answers listener questions in the Middlekauff 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.

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

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

Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. On the Look Back at it podcast. From 1979, that was a big moment for me.

84 was big to me. I'm Sam J. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick a year, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. With our friends, fellow comedians, and favorite authors. Like Mark Lamont Hill on the 80s. 84 was a wild year. It was a wild year.

I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what I'm saying. Yep, that's me, Clifford Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, my basketball and college football journey, or my career in sports media. Well, now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifers Show.

This is a place for raw, unfilled conversations with athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. So let's get to it. Listen to the Clifford show on the I Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. Is someone you love in a relationship with somebody who tells the same joke over and over? Somebody who has the audacity to starfish the bed. Now, be honest.

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in sizes extra small to 4xel. Get 25% off your first order of matching pairs, plus free shipping at meandies.com slash vday 25. That's meandies.com slash Vida 25. What is going on, my people? How y'all doing, John Middlecough, three and out podcast? Back at it again from the Middlecoff Studios. On this beautiful Labor Day. It's what we do.

We labor on Labor Day. I've got to pay the bill somehow but I hope everyone's doing well we are officially it's kind of crazy it's been the longest six months in the history of my 35 year life I'll promise you that much

I would imagine most people too it's been hopefully we'd never have to go in through anything even close to this again but we're here the NFL season thank you Jesus I'm not even a religious guy

but thank you Jesus football is here and it's time to roll, baby. Let's get it on. We got football Thursday. We got a full day Sunday. We got multiple Monday night games. It is back.

And I couldn't be any more excited. A lot going on. Just some things that I saw from over this weekend and the way kind of the league changed. Some thoughts on Deshawn Watson got a huge, I mean a massive contract. Biggest question marks going into the 2020 season. I wrote down my five biggest question mark.

Aaron Rogers, Jordan Love, some news and some information coming out of that little relationship. And it feels a little different than Favre and Rogers back 15 years ago or whatever. Now I guess what would have been, 05? About, yeah, 15 years ago. I think I'll get into maybe some predictions, definitely some game talk on Sunday's game come Friday's pod and obviously we'll react to Thursday night's game on Friday's pod as well. So I like the Chiefs. I mean, there's not much to say.

I think the Chiefs are the best team in the league. Turned 20 starters. Got Patrick Mahomes, and they're just freaking loaded. Also, for everyone that has done that, I greatly appreciate it. Apple, iTunes, go to the Three and Out podcast for anyone that listens through Collins feed, subscribe through the Apple feed. Leave a review.

If you like the show, I know many of you have. I appreciate it. Also, Middlekopf Mailbag, how we end every show. At John Middlecoff is my Instagram. handle and you can just ask me a question. It's really easy. Just firing those DMs, leave a question, and we're off and running. Okay, let's dive in to everything that happened over the last couple weeks.

And really, this weekend was a culmination of practice squads, the cut downs, and just an unprecedented time for the NFL. It's an unprecedented time for America. And when the recession hit in 2008, 2009, it didn't really impact me. I was not a homeowner. I didn't have any money. I was fresh out of college. But everyone I was working around,

I was working at Fresno State. It crippled the athletic department. A ton of people got furloughed. A ton of people were forced to short sale their houses. And then ultimately, six or seven years later, when I became a homeowner, it did impact me. Because often recessions and disasters change things forever. And when I bought a house, condo, whatever, same thing.

in 2016, the hoops and the things you had to go through were in, it was insanity. And I remember complaining to my real estate agent, like, how many different things do I have to sign? How many different documents do I have to send? And they're like, well, part of this is because of what happened through, you know, in 08 and 09. They don't want that to happen again. They don't want anyone to buy a place that should not own a place. We don't want to have a disaster like we had. And I knew this.

the moment that I finally moved in. It's, I would imagine anyone can relate who's bought a place over this last decade. You're not buying a place that you can't afford. And maybe there are ways around it, I sure as hell couldn't find them. You know, it was a mother to get the deal done. And everyone I know, they're like, God, it's the biggest pain in the ass. And you know what, it's kind of a good thing. Because what we experience with Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, that whole disaster,

ain't going to happen again because it can't. They set new rules and laws because of that. We saw it with 9-11. I traveled for the first time a couple weeks ago when I went to Vegas. The travel to get through security is pretty intense. And it's been like that now for what? Almost 20 years. And while it sucks to have to wait sometimes and go through and get all your bag checked

and take out your computers and take off your shoes and do all the stupid stuff that we think, God, there's a waste of time. You know what? When you hop on the plane, you're safe. it wasn't like that. I don't even remember what flying was like before 2001. It feels like two decades ago because it was but it was clearly a lot more lax and things are changed now for the better. I do think as we've seen because of the coronavirus

they expanded the practice squads from 10 to 16 people. They should never go back. The practice squad should be 16 people. Here's what else they did because of the coronavirus. They said any person, any player in the league, there are no requirements. You want a 41-year-old Josh McCown on your practice squad. You can sign them to your practice squad. It's on you on how to build the practice squad. There are no limits on age.

There are no limits on playing time. And just, it's up to the individual team. You talk about competitive advantages. Let the cream rise to the top. Let teams, I know the Niners kept like guys like Dionne Jordan. You know, guys that would never have been on the practice squad years ago because they wouldn't have met the requirements. They kept several older veteran guys who Jonathan Siprian was another guy. When I was in the NFL, a guy like Josh Rosen, who's in his third year, would not have even been eligible.

Because like college with a redshirt year, the moment you played in a couple games, your practice squad eligibility was thrown out the window. Now, they changed that a couple years ago. and really I don't think they change this necessarily forever, but they should. I would imagine a lot of coaches are going to like this. 16 guys, even if you bump it back from 16, let's say to 12, there should be zero requirements to be on the practice squad. Whether you're 40 years old, whether you're 20 years old,

whether you're 30 years old, whether you've played a snap in the league, whether you've played 10 years in the league. I can put anyone I want on the practice squad. That should be on the team because you're not paying the guys that much. It's not like you can pay them some astronomical number. You actually can pay certain players. I think you're allowed to play anyone on the practice squad, you know, veteran minimums. It's why Belichick's done it forever.

They've had a couple guys in the practice squad so people can't steal them. They pay them like $500,000. But that's a risk you take. Maybe the guy's not as good. Maybe you're wasting money. It's on the team. Isn't that capitalism? Let teams decide who to have and who not to have.

When we overregulate is when we get problems in society, it's definitely when we get problems in the NFL. I love this. I love the Josh McCowns on a problem. practice squad. Now, I know he's living in Texas, but players like that, I'm all four. I'm all for Josh Rosen having a couple years on the practice squad to see if he can resurrect his career. It's not good. It's not trending in the right way. But sometimes when you're forced into change, you realize it's better. You're going to see it in baseball. The DH and the

NL is never going away. I've been beating the drum forever to end these games and extra innings. There is not a soul beside like Bob Costas that wants to watch a seven inning or 17 inning game. We want to go to bed. Put the runner on second, end the fucking game. And you know what they've done? They've ended the game fast. Put a runner on second. You get more action. The game ends. We don't have an, you know, no human wants to watch a game played for seven hours, especially in 2020. And the baseball, no one wanted to do that. But their hand was forced.

Because of this shortened season, because of this virus. And they're better off for it. just like I think the NFL with these practice squad rules are going to be better off for it. Now, where they won't be better off for it, and I think a lot of people are probably short-sighted on this one is I saw a tweet from Mike Tannenbaum. Former Jets General Manager, actually when I worked in radio is my agent for a couple years.

I don't even know why I had an agent. I don't have one anymore. It's pointless. I might as well just have, do my own deals. I've been doing them for five years, and much more lucrative. You don't have to pay the percentage, which is way too high.

the media gets destroyed by paying their agents way too high of percentages, but that's a whole another topic, that Mike Tandembaum tweeted, and I like Mike, that half the draft class in 2020, this class that was just drafted in whenever it was late April, was cut during the 53-man cutdowns, half, which is not normal. The Vikings cut four draft picks. And Mike Mayock had a very, very interesting quote when he was giving his like 53-man talk with the media, 15-minute session. He said that on a typical year, 42 to 43 players are claimed on Saturday. 17 were claimed this time around. So it shows you about a 35% of what normally is, or a 75% reduction because of the no games. I've talked to some buddies in the league, like, what have you guys

been doing for the last 20, 30 days? Because typically as a scout, you are watching a ton of preseason film. The bubble guys, rookies, undrafted free agents, veterans that may get cut, none of that film existed. I saw Michael Brockers said the way he's been getting ready for the Cowboys is going to their team website and YouTube and watching some practice cutups of just like the Dallas Cowboys put on their YouTube page. The information is very, very limited. I've been saying this the whole time, it was going to be somewhat a crapshoot. But you do have to balance thinking big picture in short term. Because if you used a fourth or fifth round pick on a guy, you liked them.

And to me, if you went with an older guy who's been on your practice squad, and we've been talking about this for a while, that guy was going to have an advantage. Right. But if it was remotely close, you're crazy if you didn't go with the younger guy. Because if you lost that guy and eventually if you put him on your practice squad, now there are rules this year where you can keep four guys throughout the week. And I think this is cool too, where you can, because, it any game or any week, if I put a guy on a practice squad, if John Middilcoff, and I run the Seahawks,

and he's on my practice squad, and John Middellcoff's up-and-coming star wide receiver, but he put him on my practice squad. Throughout the season, any other team, if they cut a guy on their team, can steal John Middilcoff off Seattle's practice squad to put on their 53-man roster. Now, you can't steal him off a practice squad and put him on your own practice squad, but you can steal him off the practice squad and sign him to your roster. Now that said player can decline the offer, right? And that's where I said with Belichick, that guy can get, as you saw McCown, makes $12,000 a week, which is a pretty good solid a week.

Or I think it's almost a little over $200,000 if you play the full year on the practice squad. Well, I can guarantee your full salary of like $500,000, which is the same amount of another team would pay you. But that guy can still go for just the chance to play. Maybe it happens a lot late in the season, like week 14, week 15, week 15, week. week 16, week 17, bad teams take guys off practice squads. Well, this year, you're going to be able to put some sort of tag on four different guys starting on Tuesday,

and those guys cannot be taken off your practice squad, which I think is cool. I think it's smart. I like how the NFL, now they didn't do this just randomly. They were forced into this, but these rules, the expanded practice squad, the allowing anyone of any age of any experience to be on your practice squad, allowing you to tag certain amount of players.

I'm interested to see the way different teams do it. As you've seen some teams went heavy with young guys. Like I said, the Niners went with several guys that have been in the league for like a decade. The Eagles took a guy that's 41 years old that wants to be a coach who actually played in their playoff game. 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 what I'm saying. Yep, that's me, Clever 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 Podcasts, 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-tap 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 to 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 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, in this 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're you hear on earth or are you a good person because you're afraid because that's two different intentions bro absolutely and that that's two different levels of trust i want you to just really be a good person join me keer gains is we have real conversations about healing growth fatherhood pressure and purpose on my new podcast learn the hard way open your free i heart radio app search learn the hard way and listen now so there are a lot of different pitches you can throw as a GM. It's a cool way of team building. Now, ideally, we just would have had a normal year

and none of this would have happened, but their hand was forced, right? Ideally, I wouldn't have to sign a million documents just to buy a freaking condo, but I did. And you know what? Like, I can afford it. So it would suck, but ultimately, I feel good that the economy's not going to crash when it comes to mortgages because of the way that we've set up these restrictions and these are things that you have to pass. Like, I feel safe when I got on the plane. I know no one can get a gun on the the plane now. That clearly wasn't the case 25 years ago. And I feel good if I'm running a team that I can

have 16 guys in my practice squad of any age, of any experience. And I I'll be shocked if coaches and teams after this season don't push for this to stay. And the competition committee tries to meet the NFL and the owners somewhere in the middle

to kind of change these bylaws in their favor. Because this is smart. I like it. Get right to the romance and find the to wow this valentines with 1800 flowers.com. From classic roses and bouquets to decadent chocolate-covered berries, gourmet treats, and more.

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Brought to you by the United States Forest Service and the Ad Council. What grows in the forest? Trees? Sure. Know what else grows in the forest? Our imagination, our sense of wonder, and our family bonds grow too. Because when we disconnect from this

and connect with this, we reconnect with each other. The forest is closer than you think. Find a forest near you and start exploring at Discovertheforest.org. Brought to you by the United States Forest Service and the ad council. Okay, let's dive into our man in Houston, Texas

Deshawn Watson. Dabelsweeney once compared him in Michael Jordan. People, probably including myself, thought he was nuts. Now, as it turns out, Patrick Mahomes is probably more closer to Michael Jordan. But this guy's pretty damn good. This guy, I don't know, Larry Bird,

LeBron James, I mean, he's going to be special. And I've been thinking a lot about Deshawn Watson over the last 24, 48 hours. Just like I just say. I think a lot about quarterbacks in the stock market and my golf swing. But one thing that really bothers the analytical community in business and definitely in sports is in business when you say I have a gut feeling.

And think about over the years when you've heard guys like Elon or Jerry Jones forever just talk about some of their business ventures. They're like, yeah, I could just feel it. It was going to trend this way. I just knew it. Bezos, read Hastings with Netflix. Sometimes it's just clear where we're headed.

People have been pounding the drum for gambling and the change in weed laws for years. In the last couple years, as everyone started profit, it's all started rolling downhill. And it's all inevitable. But certain people were ahead of the curve. Right. Jerry Jones talks about it all the time, how he just has an innate gut feeling

for doing business deals. It doesn't mean you're going to be right every time, but there's just something inside them that they know. Now, sometimes you can quantify it on an Excel spreadsheet and you know if I buy this, more than likely it's going to go up this much, I'm going to make this. Sometimes you just do something and it makes a lot of money, right?

Because, you know, I believe in this guy or I believe in this product. I've always believed investing like that ever since I heard Tony Robbins say one time, buy what you use. If you're a loyal user, of Apple, you're stupid not to buy it. I'm a loyal user of Draft Kings.

I bought a bunch of stock. I own Netflix and Apple forever. I sold it during the pandemic, but because I use them all that stuff, and I know it works, and I know a lot of people use it. Just like, like, when I always, when people acted like Steph, Clay, and Draymond,

they needed Kevin Durant. Like, yeah, Kevin Durant clearly helped them. Would they have won back-to-back championships without them? Probably not. But they would have won one. You know why? Because I can't quite describe what those three when they're humming have,

but they got it. I've been watching sports my entire life. My favorite two athletes are Michael Jordan and Tiger Woods. Both guys sum up having it. Now, they're both free talents, the hardest workers, the most, you know, just driven to win. But when the shit hit the fan,

you wanted those guys in your corner. You wanted to bet on those individuals. And I've seen it for years. with Steph Clay and Draymond. It's hard to describe. I never saw Joe Montana in the peak of his powers. But till my dad's dying days and many people that are older than me, they never budged on saying like Joe Montana was the best quarterback they ever saw.

Obviously it changed a little bit with Brady, but the one thing Brady had like with Joe, they were just, when he had the ball late in the game, playoffs, not the playoffs, whatever, you would have bet the house, the farm that he was going to get it done. You just believed in the guy. He just had it. And certain people have it. And obviously in pro levels of sports,

basketball, baseball, football, golf, hockey, you name it, there is a baseline of talent. Like you can't just have it and no talent and make it. You have to have talent. And Deshawn Watson clearly has talent. Starter for several years at Clemson. They won a national championship. They went to another.

He was an elite player in college. And yeah, he got passed in the draft. He still went 12. The NFL draft is not basketball. There are seven rounds. Over 250 people get picked in an NFL draft. I mean, Brady was in the sixth round and went 199. Sean Watson was the 12th player picked in his draft.

But he clearly should have gone higher. And if we could redo that draft, him and Mahomes are going one and two. Right? There's just no doubt about it. Because Star Quarterbacks, he changed the franchise for the Houston Texans, who were already solid, but now they feel like a consistent playoff. mouth lock because of the guy. But to me, what makes him remarkable

is he's not the fastest player. He definitely does not have the strongest arm. He couldn't hold Mahomes or a Josh Allen or a Russell Wilson. He does not throw it as hard as those guys. And I have friends in the league, they're like, you know, he doesn't necessarily pick you apart like a Manning or a Brady, but they describe him as his instincts

are just elite. he has this innate feel for the position that is just equal stardom. It equals going to the Pro Bowl every year. It equals a special player. And it equals why the Texans don't hesitate giving this guy his money. And then when you factor it on,

and someone asked me recently about quarterback prospects and what separates them, and I don't think I did a good enough job of describing obviously the physical tools. Deshawn's physical tools, like his athleticism is above average, clearly. His arms probably average at best, maybe slightly above average. But where he makes it up at everything I've heard, his work ethic is a plus-plus.

His character, plus-plus. His being a teammate. Because part of being, when you're the quarterback, you have to be the best teammate. Everyone is looking to you. Now, there are different ways to be a teammate, right? Peyton could get on guys. Brady's like a mix of getting in guys' ass with being their friend. Breeze is just like this ultimate kind of lover in the sense of just everyone just

gravitates toward them. Some of the younger guys, like a Dack Prescott, like a Jimmy Garoppel, all his teammates swear by him. Like, being a good teammate at quarterback matters. You can't be a shithead, be an asshole, and be a great player for a long period of time. It just doesn't really work that way. Now, sometimes you have to kind of draw a line and get on guys.

Clearly, it's part of leadership. It's not always, sometimes it gets uncomfortable. But this guy off, like everything off the field, checks every single box. And then when you factor in his elite, instincts, his playmaking ability. And this is another thing the analytic crew just hates. And I do understand part of it because winning as a quarterback, there are things that are

out of your control. But how many, you know, good players in the NFL consistently don't win when you're a good quarterback? It doesn't happen. Good quarterbacks consistently win. And Deshawn Watson, since he's been in college, consistently wins. Now, he had a lot of help in college. but we all sat on our couch

and we all watched him play Sabin back-to-back years. And just like when he lost the national championship the year before, I thought he was one of the big winners in that game because it was clear like it wasn't his fault. And the next year when he won, I didn't think much changed. They just happened to have the ball last and he threw the game winning touchdown.

I think to Hunter Renfro right in the corner of the end zone. The dude's special, man. And it's just the Texans, I mean, I give them credit because they took them at number 12 and they traded up to get them. but there's also a huge element of luck. And same with the Chiefs. And I think Veech and Andy would tell you this.

They needed the guy to fall to 10 and 12. These two teams were in the 20s. If these other shitty teams that are drafting in the single digits just go, you know what, we need a quarterback. You know what Deshaun is? And listen, Mahomes, more of an outlier, only a couple teams liked them. I do give Chiefs a lot of credit on that.

Watson was pretty obvious. He was in the ACC. He was playing in the National Championship. He had played in four playoff games in two years. The dude was putting up huge stats against Sabin. He was making NFL throws. He was a high character guy. His

coach, who was a star coach, is pounding the table for the guy. And no one really listened. And the Texans benefited. Get him at 12. And now they get a quarterback for $155 million or whatever. But it's not even about, when you have a star quarterback, Peyton Manning, Tom

Brady, Drew Brees, Mahomes, Russell Wilson, I think the money's kind of irrelevant. Unless you're paying the guy. 80% of your salary cap, but you pay him 30, 40 million, you know, somewhere in that range. If he's taking into the playoffs every year, who cares? I mean, that's the whole point in paying one of those guys. The whole point of, like, the NBA is to get a star player. Because when you get a star player, they take you to the playoffs.

If your star player can't take you to the playoffs, he's not a star player. It's really that simple in the NBA. If you want to consider the guy a star, all-star player, he might go to the all-star game, but if your team's not making the playoffs and not winning, he ain't a star. Because one thing's clear in the history of the league. players take you to the playoffs. Just like star quarterbacks in the NFL, definitely the last couple decades, pretty consistently.

Now, you could have an off year. You could have a year where guys get hurt. There are situations for every team over a longer period of time. But if you have a Pro Bowl-level quarterback and your GM slash coach aren't bumbling idiots, you're going to be in the playoffs most year. And ask Bill O'Brien, for

everyone that hates him, and listen, I think he's a questionable GM at best. And I think he's kind of a wuss when it comes to late-game situations. For being this badass kind of guy, tough guy, I've seen him do some things about punning the ball and not going for it. It's like, Bill, what are we doing here?

But, one thing you can't take away from him, and you can tell me about the division, say whatever you want, he's in the playoffs every year. And a huge reason why, I mean, a main reason why, is Deshaun Watson. And it's why the Texans, it'll be the easiest contract they've ever signed. Okay, before we get into the five biggest

question marks, the more I thought about it, I'll just go through every division is picking winner. Because I guess when you're in the media, that's what you have to do, even though, let's be real. It's got to be one of the dumbest exercises ever this year. I talked to two teams. They've had a total, like, a 14 or 15 practices, right? So the most physical we got was in, like, one practice,

we never went ones on once. So most teams did not tackle to the ground. It's going to be, it's going to look really weird early on. You just have no clue, especially as the year goes on. If a guy gets Corona, it's like a court if Patrick Mahomes gets it, had some miss a couple weeks i mean fred warner got got put on the covid list like 10 days ago he's still not off it he's one of the 49ers best players middle linebacker like what what's the deal there in the the NFL they they love using like uh hippa we can't tell you well you tell me about when

they break their leg or shattered their shoulder this is not an STD if the guy gets corona you it's okay to say it like it's not that big a deal we can just be honest with everyone especially as a gambling property. I got to know as a gambler. So do it in or out. But I'll do it just for shits and giggles here. The AFC, I'm taking the bills. The AFC East, it's just their time. Like Jim

Kelly said, with Tom Brady gone, there's no excuse. And there is zero excuse. Not buying into the Dolphins. The Jets, just roster's not good enough. The Patriots defense on paper stinks. The bills just, they were a playoff team last year. They should be better this year. They added digs. They should be really good.

The South, I'm going with the Titans. I think of the three teams, which all three could make the playoffs, the Titans, the Colts, and the Houston Texans. It wouldn't shock me if they all three do. I just think the Titans are the most well-rounded. I'm a big Mike Variable guy. I'm a big John Robinson guy. They add Clowny. They got Simmons who's coming off, you know, he's fully healthy now.

Their offense is well-rounded. A.J. Brown's a star. They have an identity. Arthur Smith proved to be a good offensive coordinator. I just think the Titans win the division. I'm going a little bit outside the box on this one, and I don't feel great. I just know everyone's going to pick the Ravens. And I think the Ravens are going to be fantastic.

But if the Steelers can just get Rothesberger to be like a fringe top 15 quarterback, their defense is phenomenal. Like, it is elite. And they have a bunch of skill guys on offense. Their quarterback play last year was atrocious. Now, I don't feel great about Rothesberger. But if he plays, like, they could win 11 or 12 games. I know Coward thinks the Ravens are going to run the table.

Like, to me, I don't think anyone's running the table this year. Especially this year, people have had an entire off season to, study their run game. So with this triple option which they run, which is fantastic, and Lamar is a special, special player, I don't think it's going to just work as easily as it did the previous year.

I saw it years ago with the Niners in Kaepernick and the Zone Reed pistol offense. It slowed down in the regular season. And he was forced to pass. Now, Lamar's a much better passer than Colin ever was. But if they can at least neutralize some of the run game, can he be a dynamic?

McPasurer. It's a question mark. I think if the Steelers get solid quarterback play, it's a coin flip, and I'm just taking the Steelers. The AFC West's easiest pick of the league. I mean, it's Chiefs. The NFC East. The thing that I want to go with the Eagles, but Carson Wentz had an injury last week.

I know he played 60 games last year, and if he's fully healthy, I like him better than Dak. Now, Alshan, what his deal is, we're still unknown. I just, the Eagles, just the injuries. They've already lost their starting left tackle. Jason Peters is now their left tackle. which is a good thing.

But I mean, Jason, I love Jason Peters. He's a Hall of Famer, but he's pretty old. I'm going to lean the Cowboys. I don't feel great. I picked the Cowboys last year. They should be better with Mike McCarthy. To me, it's just the Eagles are Cowboys. Coin Flip Division, I'll go with the Cowboys.

But it's just because the Carson thing makes me a little nervous. The NFC South, I'm going with the Saints. I talked to a couple scouts in the league. They thought they had the best roster in the league. They thought they've improved since last year. They added Emmanuel Sanders. as a wide receiver should help balance out their offense. Their defense was really good last year.

I mean, they easily could have been the one seed last year if, you know, they tackled George Kittle. So I just, I expect the Saints to be fantastic. The NFC Norse tough. I mean, listen, my heart, I'm rooting for the Bears. I'm a Bears fan. But we'll get into Trubisky here in a little bit. You know, I'd be hard-pressed to see them win the division.

The Vikings have a lot of good players, but they're also dealing with some unknowns. You know, Justin Jefferson has. huge shoes to fill in Stefan Diggs. They lost Kevin Stefanski, their offensive coordinator, who was fantastic last year. They have an entirely new corner situation. I think their corners combined have like a total of nine starts. They lost all their starting corners from last year.

Now, Yonix should help out. Zimmer is an excellent defensive coach. So I'm just going with the Packers, just thinking that, you know. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal, but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. say it's unleashing human potential.

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learn the hard way open your free iHeart radio app search learn the hard way and listen now rogers will be on a mission everyone at Acting like Love's going to take his job, and we'll get into that a little bit later. So I'll just go with the Packers. I don't feel great about that division at all. Under no circumstances, though, am I picking the Lions. In the West, I'm going to go with the Niners. I think it's a two-team race.

I think it's the Niners of Seattle. I think Arizona's the most overrated team in the league. Their coach has never won more in seven games in his coaching career. Vance Joseph is a terrible defensive coordinator. I like their quarterback, but they have way too many holes. The Rams, offensively, they have a bunch of skill guys. Their offensive line is not very good, and their quarterback can't. move. Their defense has two elite

players in Jalen and Aaron Donald. Look at the other nine guys. As a buddy in the league told me, that defense got some major freaking holes. Major holes. You should be able to run it down their throat. Well, who likes to run it? Seattle, San Francisco. So I think the Rams,

if one of those two guys on defense gets injured, they are in trouble. So I'm going with the Niners, but listen, I've been to several Niners Seattle games. You can like the Cowboys and the Eagles, it's a coin flip to me. Obviously, Russell's better in Jimmy. I think the Niners roster top to bottom is better.

Seattle has to get better against average opponents. They play up to the good teams, like when they play the Niners, when they play the Cowboys, when they play Minnesota. It's like, okay, Seattle showed up. And then you'll be watching them like they'll be playing the Jags, or they'll be playing the Redskins, or they'll be playing, you know, some random team or the Cardinals. and you'll just be like, they're going through the motions.

And they lay way too many eggs. Now, Russell bailed them out a lot last year, but eventually they have to be better. I think that's more, it's not even a reflection necessarily of their effort. I think it's more of their roster. Like, their roster is just not that great. So they can't just go on cruise control and kick your ass.

If they're not given their A-plus effort and A-plus game plan, they could lose to anybody. Now, their quarterback's so great that they're just, they're a lot. I mean, that's why they make the playoffs every year. So I went bills, Titans, Steelers, Chiefs, Cowboy Saints, Packers, Niners.

I would say the Colts, if Rivers is solid, is a playoff team. I would say we get another team. Obviously, the Ravens are a playoff team, and probably another team from the AFC West, either Denver or the Chargers or the Raiders, whichever one finishes the second. I would go, the Cowboys and Eagles both make the playoffs. I would expect Tampa to make the playoffs,

and I would expect the Niners in Seattle to make the playoffs. Now, luckily this year, we got seven playoff teams. Can't wait. Let's get it on. Did you know Amazon provides ways of working that fit your lifestyle? They know you value your time outside of work, juggling families, school, friends, or other activities. That's why they offer a variety of shifts that work for you. There are full-time, part-time, and even temporary opportunities that can work with your schedule, with great starting pay and sign-on bonuses. If you want a career that fits and adapts to your lifestyle, head to Amazon.com slash apply.

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podcast, Navigating Adoption, presented by Adopt U.S. Kids. Each episode brings you compelling real-life adoption stories told by the families that live them with commentary from experts. Visit Adoptuskids.org slash podcast or subscribe to navigating adoption presented by Adopt U.S. Kids. Brought to you by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Administration for Children and Families and the Ad Council. Okay, now to the five biggest question marks in 2020. And I'm going to start at five and I'll work my way down to one. Starting with five, Cam and Belichick.

Not only will it work, what is it going to look like? I am fascinated. Bill Belichick has had the same quarterback for 20 years. Quarterback that couldn't run. So their offense has looked pretty similar, definitely for the last decade. They obviously had those couple years with Randy Moss when they were just bombs away. and in 07, one of the greatest offenses we've ever seen. They ran the table in the regular season.

I'm just fascinated to watch. Now, I don't know how great their skill guys are. Damian Harris are starting running back. Edelman's not really Cam's type guy. Nikiel Harry kind of is. Jacoby Myers, we'll see. But just Bill, Josh, and Cam, I can't wait. Because it could be one of the great FU years from Bill Belichick.

Imagine them win 9-10 games. Camp, big FU year from Cam Newton. All of a sudden, boom, there are a six-seven. seat in the playoffs, you better believe the magnifying glass then goes to my number four, which is Tom Brady, Bruce Ariens, and Tampa Bay Buccaneers. I think they're directly correlated. These two stories. How does Bill and Cam look? How does Tom look?

Now, Arian is part of that, but Arians has already proven himself, like he's a great coach. Tom's already proven himself he's a great quarterback. Same with Belichick. But this year, it's just a huge talking point. Tom basically said, I've had enough of you, Bill. I'm out. I don't. I don't. want to come back. And I think it's pretty clear. Bill was like, see you later. We don't want you back. We want to start over. I don't think you're worth two years 50 million. He would never admit this and he never will. But if Bill Belichick was like my dad or my close friend and I was

sitting down with him having a beer, I said, Bill, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers gave him two years 50 million. What did you think he was worth? I don't think it would be shocking. Be like Bill would be like, you know John he's he's 43 years old i don't know i can't even do a bill he's 43 years old i thought he would decline last year i don't know one year 18 million like i i wasn't going down the two year 50 million dollar deal i wasn't into that so tom brady he couldn't have gotten to a better situation they have two star wide receivers everyone listening to plays fantasy you're picking those two dudes godwin and evans i mean evans is a monster i didn't know that much about Godwin until last year he started kicking everyone's ass.

Grant comes back. They already have O.J. Howard. They got Cameron Bray. They have an offensive head coach. It's a pretty damn good situation. I like Ronald Johnson. I would not write him on. They just signed Leonard Fournette. I didn't love the signing, but it's more talent for him. Now, can the offensive line protect him? Dante Scarnacki is not walking through that door in Tampa Bay. Like, he's had the best offensive line coach arguably in NFL history beside Howard Mudd, protecting him. That ain't the case anymore. He's playing with average offensive linemen now. And a coach that likes seven-step drops throwing bombs.

And they got wide receivers to do that. So we'll see. But five and four are Bill and Cam and just Tom. Number three, I think two guys that unlike Cam and Breeze, or excuse me, Tom and Breeze, have aged a little more difficult. Like Phillip Rivers and Ben Rothersberger have aged like normal quarterbacks aged. Rivers look shot last year. Rathusberger threw out his elbow.

That's pretty normal for 38-year-old quarterbacks that have got the shit beat out of them for 15 years. Typically, when most of us, if you're my age or older, was growing up, once you got to like 36, 37 in pro sports, career over. You had an incredible career from like 22 to 36, 37 years old. That was normal, 14, 15 years. Brady, these guys have defied logic. It was hard to watch, and I watched it twice live his last year.

Peyton Manning his last season. But that's how usually 38, 39-year-old quarterbacks finish their career, looking pretty crappy. He happened to be on a great team and they won the Super Bowl, but he was not very good. He was awful. He got benched. How do Rivers and Ben look? Because both of them, you'd say, if I put Watson or Russell Wilson or Dak Prescott or just Jimmy Garoppolo on one of those two teams, he'd be like, the Colts or the Steelers are going to be good.

Well, I think there's a decent chance one of those two guys are shot, and maybe both of them. And maybe I'm wrong. Like I said, I'm picking the Steelers. I'm rooting for them both to be good. I like both those players. I love Rothesburg.

I'm a huge fan of Philip Rivers. But are they shot? To me, that's just the question. Are Philip and Ben shot? Number two is a Kansas City's league. because to me if this was a normal season and we had OTAs, if we had preseason games,

I'd be predicting that the Chiefs would go 16 and 0. I would pick them to be like that Packer team in 2011 after they won the Super Bowl and they came back and just dominated. They have 20 of 22 returning starters. They draft this running back in the first round who was just ideal for their scheme. Their coach just has this member of Steve Young

when he won the Super Bowl in 94. And Gary Plummer, he said, take that monkey off my back. That was Andy Reid. The monkey is off his back. Let it rip. He got nothing to prove to anybody. He has his ring and it's time to kick everyone's ass.

He has Patrick Mahomes. He has all of his best players coming back. They're all under contract. Like is Kansas City, in this weird year, I would say like 14 and 2 was like a normal 16 and 0. But I expect them to dominate. I mean, I would be shocked if they're not,

if they don't have several blowout wins. Maybe not Thursday, but just as the season goes, I'm expecting it to be Kansas City's League. And then number one. And this is part of it is just the brand, probably beside the Yankees and the Lakers. It's just the hierarchy of American sports in some order are the Cowboys, the Yankees, and the Lakers.

Now, I would probably go Yankees, Cowboys, Lakers. Now, obviously the Yankees and the Lakers have much more success over the last couple decades than the Dallas Cowboys. The Dallas Cowboys have not been to a championship football game since the mid-90s. Think about that. It's a long time.

It's a very, very long time. But whether you believe they're America's team or not, when you put the Dallas Cowboys on TV, 20 plus million people watch. They are a cash cow for a league that prints money. And I think the last couple of years, as someone last year, that the Cowboys were going to compete to win the Super Bowl,

everyone blamed Jason Garrett, and rightfully so. Listen, I'm a Jason Garrett fan as a human being. I think he is a really, really impressive guy. Met him one time in an elevator. I don't know him personally. I know people that have been around him. They like him.

I've always been impressed with Jason Garrett. Clearly is not a great head coach. I understand where cowboy fans are coming from or anyone that watches the NFL. Not a great head coach. Their roster is good, though. Their offense is absolutely loaded. And McCarthy consistently won with flawed rosters, right?

Remember all those years that when they were winning 13, 12 games, even when they lost in the playoffs, their defense wasn't that great. They had loaded offense. They could really throw the ball. They never had a great running back. Zeke's way better running back than they ever had in Green Bay. When I was in Philly and they beat us in 2010,

I think they're starting running back was James Starks. So they have not been a team that has had a great run. Zeke's by far the best running back McCarthy's had, you know, the last decade in Green Bay. He has a quarterback. He just has a good, definitely a front seven. We'll see about the secondary. But like, was it all Jason Garrett?

or are the Cowboys personnel just the most overrated personnel in recent memory? I think that's the number one story. Is all they've been missing a coach? Because if all you're missing a coach and you're winning eight games, you should now win 12 or 13. If it was just that simple, I don't think there's any excuse for the Cowboys to not be 13 and 3. But we'll see.

Okay, I want to dive into a couple quarterback situations before we get in the Middle Cough mailbag. And I want to start with this. I saw that Aaron Rogers will do the Packers and the Bears. I saw Rogers say that, you know, big part of your legacy, especially as you get older, is how you treat other players and younger players. And he had one of the most polarizing player relationships. I'd say Shaq and Kobe and Farvin Rogers in the last two decades are the ones that come to my mind. I'm just like,

whoof, that didn't end like it should. Now, the difference is Shaq and Kobe could play together, right? They should have won more together with two quarterbacks, like one has to go, like young in Montana. You can't play two quarterbacks. So it's, it's just, naturally going to be a more contentious relationship. It's not like two basketball players that can be on the same court at the same time. You can only have one quarterback on the field. Clearly, though, when Rogers was drafted,

and listen, you Packer fans have a better recollection than me, I vaguely remember, you know, Fav was always threatening to retire. I remember Peter King, always chasing the story, but he was acting weird year after year, and Rogers was supposed to be the number one pick in the draft. And Alex Smith goes one,

and he tumbles to 24, and clearly Fav did not like that. And he didn't treat him well. He just didn't treat him well. Now was it 100% Favs, 0% Rogers? Probably not. When you say most relationships, even when they get contentious,

are not all one-sided. Now was it probably 85, 15? You know, probably. Like Fav was probably a dickon. Right? Because he threatened them. Why did he threaten him? Because that guy was supposed to be the number one pick in the draft.

And I'm sure by about year two, it was clear this guy's pretty freaking good because when they made the move going into his what fourth year to just get rid of farf trade farv and go with rogers they had three years of watching rogers practice you have to be an idiot to watch a guy that's that good to not go this guy's just better slash big picture we're going to move on from you brett

i remember right after the draft steve marriucci asked steve young or yeah they were on nifl network and Steve Young did a call in. It was like Mariucci, Eisen, maybe Warner. And Mariucci's like, did you feel threatened when we drafted Jim Drunken Miller in like 1997? And Steve Young laughed. He said, no.

I watched him practice for two days and realized this guy couldn't play. I would imagine by about after year one, Farve realized this guy is going to be good. And I am screwed. Well, Rogers has said all the right things this training camp. And we've already talked about it. Why? Love's not very good right now. Love is the ultimate project. No one in a million years

would have taken Love number one. Rogers was literally supposed to go number one. He was still a project, but he was way better coming out of college at Cal than Jordan Love was coming out of Utah State. And from all reports and people that have been at Pact or practice, Jordan Love hasn't been very good. So it's easy to be nice to the guy, and I'm not saying Rogers wouldn't be nice to the guy if he was really good. but it might change their relationship. Imagine sitting next to a guy, if you work at an office, and right now most of us don't, and they hired a guy to do your same job,

and you couldn't close certain accounts, and that guy got a shot to close accounts you couldn't close, and he closed the account. Would you be nervous? Like, imagine making a throw at a practice or watching a guy make a throw, and I know Rogers can make throws in the history of the league no one else can make,

but let's just say Jordan Love could make a throw similar to Rod. Then Rogers starts thinking, well, they've already used a draft pick on this guy. I would feel threatened too. But right now he doesn't feel threatened at all. Jordan Love can't hold his jock. You could blindfold Aaron Rogers, tie one hand behind his leg, and he's going to be a better player than him right now. To me, we've got to check in this relationship in a year or two as this guy develops.

Because right now, he's zero threat to Aaron Rogers. So Aaron Rogers seems like he's getting a lot of credit on social media for being a nice guy. Of course he's being nice. He's just another player to him. He's not going to get Wally Pipped or just replaced by this guy right now. Maybe in a year or two, we'll see. Let's check in next off-season as he progresses. And maybe he doesn't.

Because there's no guarantee that he's ever even close to as good as Aaron Rogers. But right now, I would imagine the gaps wider than the Grand Canyon. And then the Bears and Foles. Listen, I'm not a huge Mr. Ribski guy. He was atrocious last year. And I like Foles. as a human being, and he had some great runs in the playoffs. But I was in Philly, I watched him practice,

and I know people that have been around him at several stops. He's not a great practice player. He's kind of slow-footed. He's not going to just wow you just throwing some bee-bees. He's not going to be like a rookie Patrick Mahomes just throwing darts. That's not Nick Foles. Now, he's proven before to be a gamer, but he was never going to come into the Bears and just light up,

especially that defense like a Christmas tree. And the way the Bears practice are twos on ones. So when he takes reps with the twos, he's going against their defense, which personnel-wise, one of the better ones in the league. So it was going to be difficult for him to beat Mitch Trubisky just to begin with. Now, part of it with Mitch,

and I said I would have just gone with the better guy, and clearly, from what I've heard from my recon, is there wasn't a gap. And if anything, Mitch was a little better than Mitch, or was a little better than Nick. So the decision was just, let's go with Mitch And he's got a short leash Their schedule starts off pretty freaking easy

I think it's lions Giants Falcons You know defenses that are not going to be very good Or maybe it's Jets, one of the New York teams Their first three games Like if Mitch is not good in the first three weeks Foles will be in there by probably the end of September

early October It's set up for Mitch to succeed And if he can't succeed he'll be gone it's really that simple. Part of it was you needed to get some competition in there. If Foles would have beat him out, they would have started. From what I've heard, it wasn't some rigged job. They definitely were open-minded.

Matt Nagy did not draft Mitch Trimisky. He spent more time around Nick Foles. So if Nick would have beat him out, he'd be the quarterback. But like I said, Nick is not a great practice player. And here's the reality with the NFL. Unlike baseball and unlike basketball, You practice way more than you play. So if you're not a great practice player

and you're not like Aaron Donald or J.J. Watt or DeAndre Hopkins, you're not going to get the benefit of the doubt always. Practice is a huge part of influencing coaches. That's why us guys from the personnel side are always like, just give the guy a shot in the game. Because just that's where it matters. But for coaches, practice doesn't matter a lot, which is the reason they're coaches.

They get a lot done in practice. But Foles was never going to. could come in and look like Joe Montana. That's not who he is. Now, is he a better game player? History would say hell yes. But I actually think the bears are going to be better, even though I'm not a big believer in Mitch. I just think they're going to have to run the ball. Okay, let's dive into the Middilcoff Mailbag. And like I mentioned earlier, three and out podcast, Apple iTunes, leave a review. Greatly appreciated. Help selling the show. Middlecoff mailbag at John Middellcop is the Instagram handle. And we answer your questions here.

You've probably already recorded for tomorrow, but if not, I'd like to hear your thoughts on Lynn Bowden being traded to the dolphins this week. From what I know, the relationship with the coaches was not good, but how often is a rookie traded before they play a snap? Thanks. We talked about on my other podcast, Haberman Middlecough, a little bit, and rookies often are, you know, I guess traded sometimes

if they don't make the team before a snap, maybe if it was a later round rookie. But you draft a guy in the third round, especially this year you know Mayock's claimed that Lynn Bowden who's played quarterback who played running back

they were trying to I guess he played wide receiver they were moving to running back he had a lot of character flags coming out of college at Kentucky despite being arguably the best player on what Baner says the best Kentucky team of all time

a couple years ago I guess it might have been Josh Allen but Bowden and Josh Allen and he had character red flags and as coaches always told me it's easier to be like well just who cares he can play It's easy for us personnel guys to say that

because eventually the position coach and the coordinators have to be around these guys every day. Like if you're a bad guy, the scouts don't have to be around. The coaches do. Even if they can, ball. And I thought Lynn Bowden coming out of Kentucky was a baller. But clearly there's some character stuff there.

I did some recon. I didn't get a real answer. Mayock said it had nothing to do with character. Well, in what... In no world would you trade a guy who you thought was that you had evaluated, you had years of Kentucky film

to evaluate this player in multiple positions. So if you love the player and the character, you would at worst just make them inactive every game. You wouldn't trade them. And ultimately they traded them

to the dolphins because they had already traded the dolphins a fourth round pick for a player. So the dolphins just traded the Raiders back their own pick because they had traded for this linebacker a week ago.

It's just, it's a bad move. I mean, the Raiders have made, they gave me, Marriota is $7.5 million. I've heard he's terrible, one. And listen, he's a great guy. He's a high character.

He can't play. And he's hurt. They put him on short-term IRA. So, you mean, you trade your third round pick. You trade Mariotta. It's just, God. And I'm a Mayok guy, but that's, and it's not even a Mayok.

It's part of it's Gruden. I think Gruden is just so impatient. And like we talked about earlier with all these draft picks getting cut, it's one thing to cut a fifth or sixth-round player. it's another thing to cut or trade a third-round player. The Dolphins got him for a pick that they didn't even have. They were going to cut the lineback.

Just, I don't even know. Gronk looks 30 or 40 pounds lighter. What effect do you think his stats will have on the field this year? Is it being more of a support system for Brady? Yeah, I don't think he's 30 pounds lighter. I think in New England he played at like 255, 260, and now he's probably in the high 240s. I think he just looks a little leaner.

If you look at Kittle, Kittle doesn't look 250. You know, some guys just wear their weight. Me, you put on, I put 10 pounds on this 510 frame, you see it fast. Some guys, when you're 6'5, adding 10 pounds of muscle, you don't necessarily see it that quick. I think his number one job there is to be a football player, is to contribute on the field. And then I think 1A is to help all the guys around Tom know what makes them click, understand what makes Tom go, understand the offense, and they're kind of melding it together, and be kind of conduit between the skill guys and Brady and the coaches,

and be a good player. I mean, he's arguably one of the greatest quarterback or tight ends of all time. So I don't think he went there to just hang out. Question for the pod. Ben a Russell Westbrook fan since he got into the NBA. He's one of the most athletic dudes I've ever seen and have had the privilege to see him in person. I have his well, and I agree.

He's a freak. I do feel like though he's more of an athlete than a basketball player. However, he's obviously made a shitload of money playing basketball, but my question is, do you think he may have been a better football player? He seems to have had the attitude more of a football player, and again, he's just a freak athlete. What position would you see him being the best at had he been a football player? With his size and speed, I could see him being a badass safety,

fast enough to play in space and big enough to cover tight ends. Thoughts, love the pod, keep up the good work. Peace. well Jordan I agree now he never would have made the money he is currently on a 233 million dollar contract I would imagine when this contract ends Russell Westbrook will have made

$400 million in the NBA so safeties even wide receivers don't make that type money so there is no humanly way possible unless he played quarterback which is safe to say he would not have played quarterback that he could have accumulated the wealth that he had in the NBA.

And also the fame. I mean, he is a more famous basketball player than he is good. Because he, it's weird. I have never been a fan, but I do appreciate his effort. He is not scared. He plays hard. And when his career, when this contract ends, he'll have made $338 million. I would say safety or wide receiver, because you're right.

He has an NFL mindset. He is not scared. he looks at LeBron James just like another basketball player he looks at all these guys that he plays like Kevin Durant, Steph Curry, they're his equals even though they're not like those guys are vastly superior skill-wise

Russell can't shoot he cannot he's a terrible shooter think about that a terrible shooter he's a point guard it's not ideal but he does play hard I would say safety you know I think he'd be a great safety but I think he's more of an instinct player

I think at wide receiver at 6th 6-3-6-4. With those hops and that speed, he'd be like a, like a Terrell Owens. Now, I don't know how much he weighs. You'd have to put on a little weight. You know, he's probably 200 pounds, maybe.

But how much is Randy Mossway? It's not like Randy Mossway, 20-pounds. I think he would be a freak show wide receiver. He's wired like a badass. He'd be great with contested catches. he would he'd be awesome you press him

he'd have no problem going at it with corners at the line if you played off of him and got him the ball in space he's such a great athlete he can make you miss I think he would have been

a great playmaker a great wide receiver that's probably because part of safety is like there's a huge unknown you know there are just football instincts

that you know unless he started playing really young I think wide receiver would be a little bit easier to learn if he just started playing in college. But he's that great of an athlete.

If he just started playing in college, he probably would have been a top pick. Think like Ziggy Ansah. Never played football for in his life until he got to BYU. It was the fifth pick in the draft. And if it wasn't for ankle injuries, he would have had a good career.

Question for the pod. My question is, how does the practice squad player, how does it work for the practice squad players this season? And what are their roles and responsibilities as a practice squad player? Well, I think it depends on your position. You fill in the scout team. I just think it also depends on the team, right?

I mean, some practice squad players, the majority of them are just, you only have 53 guys on the roster. So you need guys to give the other team and the other guys looks. So your offensive linemen sometimes have to line up a defensive line, your safeties, and some of this isn't walk through,

but you need guys to practice. Also, you need wide receivers to give other guys reps. Also a huge part of practice squad player. if you're a recently drafted player is them developing you in practice. So you get to practice with your position group and individual and a group to try to improve. So like if I'm a practice squad wide receiver on the Saints,

I get to be around Michael Thomas and Emmanuel Sanders every day and rep with Drew Brees, right? Maybe not catch all his balls, Michael Tomp, but I mean he can't take every single rep. So it's a balance. And then obviously you help in meetings, you know, practice squad quarterbacks and practice squad middle linebackers

help with the game plan, you know, whatever film study needs to get done with the actual players, if they need to do cutups and stuff. I think it would just vary, you know, a lot team to team. That's a pretty good question. To be honest with you, I don't even know. You know, when I was in the NFL,

I didn't even know what the practice squad players did. I mean, I wasn't paying attention. Just because practice in the NFL, even unlike college, you don't really hit, you don't really tackle. so much of it is game plan oriented. I mean, and this is, it's not trying to diminish what they do because they make a couple hundred grand.

They're kind of operating as like a practice dummy. Who was your favorite safety over the last 20 years? Reed was sweet, Palo Molo. I used to love Adrian Wilson, also Cardinals fan here, how nasty was Bolden. Yeah, I like, I mean, Ed Reed, Troy, Brian Dawkins, probably my three favorite. I mean, Earl Thomas was pretty sweet.

Cam Chance was pretty badass too. Yeah, I'd probably go Ed Reed, Troy, Brian Dawkins, Cam and Earl. I mean, that tandem would have been my favorite group. I'm going to need some more questions. So if you got any questions, fire it in the middle-cloth mailbag.

He'll be the last question. Question for the pod. I'm listening to the most recent episode where you were speaking about Steve Nash and Kevin Durant. What if someone like Patrick Mahomes was on the Jacksonville Jaguars team? How many games do you think they'd win?

For sake of conversation, how many do you think the Chiefs would win with Gardner Minchew? roster is the same. Just switching quarterbacks. I'm a big fan. Keep up the work. I would say if Mahomes was on the Jaguars,

they would compete to make the playoffs. He's that good. Now their defense, I'd have to dive into their roster. I think it's pretty terrible. I mean, they traded every good player. So maybe they'd have a really good offense. Their defense would suck,

and they'd win like seven or eight games. But they would not suck. He's just too good. If you put Minchu with Andy and that roster, I mean, I think they'd pay. probably don't win like 12, 13 games, but I think they'd win 9, 10. They'd be good. And so I think Mahomes could take a team that's a four-win team and turn them into an 8 or 9 win team.

And I think Andy could take a guy that, you know, a 13-win team, which I think it's safe to say the chiefs going into this season are a 13-14 win team. And with a, you know, one of the worst quarterbacks in the league who's actually not terrible and compete to win eight or nine games. Now, maybe it's hard to tell Gardner was playing so much garbage time games last year. He might not be good. I'm not quite sold on that guy. He had some moments last year, but we'll see.

Let's just pump the brakes a little bit on Gardner Minchu. Mnchu mania. Again, I'm a Gardner fan. I root for him at Washington State. I like his story, but we'll see. I think the Jaguars are going to be atrocious this year. But, you know, the Chiefs are so loaded. They could run the ball, get into their playmaker's space.

You got a sweet tight end. I think you compete. So I go to Mahomes. The Jaggs will compete to make the playoffs. And the Chiefs will probably win a wild card. Appreciate everyone listening. Thanks. Like I said, go to three and out in the iTunes, leave a review.

Also, Middlekopf mailback, wide open. Slide in those DMs. Adios, Godspeed. And I will talk to you after the NFL season has started. Peace. On January 19th, 2020 for BBDO and AT&T Radio. Add ID. You are 0975-0-0-0-0. Spot title, Fiber Lifestyles, Meet the Walkers, BAUC-U-60. 60-second radio.

Gorgeous gaming, stunning streams, unbelievable bandwidth. Welcome to another Lifestyles of Gagillionaires. Meet the 18T fiber customers winning at life with hyper-gig speeds. Say hello to the Walkers, a family of not one but four gagillionaires, each living up their gagillionaire life at ludicrous internet speed. First up, Anna Walker. She dominates streaming like the matriarch she is. No show ever goes unwatched under her watch.

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Live like a gillionaire. Get internet that upgrades everything. T&T Fiber. Now with speeds up to five gigs. Limited availability in select areas. Speed's not guaranteed. Single device wire and speed max 4.7 gig per second. Visit ATT.com slash hypergit for details. Another podcast from some SNL late night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smygle 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 I-Heart 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 I-Hard radio app Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts A win is a win A win, I don't care what I'm saying Yep, that's me, Clifford Taylor the 4th

You might have seen the skits, my basketball and college football journey or my career in sports media Well 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 athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. So let's get to it. Listen to The Clifford Show on the IHeard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok podcast network on TikTok.

On the Look Back at it podcast. From 1979, that was a big moment for me. 84's big to me. I'm Sam J. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick you here, unpack what went down, and try to be. to make sense of how we survived it with our friends, fellow comedians, and favorite authors. Like Mark Lamont Hill on the 80s.

It was a wild year. It was a wild year. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed human.