The Herd with Colin Cowherd - 3 and Out - Ravens Dominate; McVay Embarrassed; Niners SB Chances; Cowboys/Pats Reaction; Wentz and Darnold; CFB Playoff

Episode Date: November 26, 2019

In this episode, Middlekauff looks at the Ravens dominant MNF win over the Rams, why Sean McVay's magic has worn off, why he's convinced the Niners can win the Super Bowl, his reaction to the huge Pats/Cowboys matchup, a season of growing pains for Sam Darnold and Carson Wentz, why the College Football Playoff selection criteria is unfair and answers listener questions in Middlekauff's Mailbag. Follow John on twitter @JohnMiddlekauff and go to theherdnow.com to find the latest content. Subscribe now! Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an I-Heart podcast. Guaranteed Human. Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where Sports Slice comes in. I'm Timbo, and every episode, we're cutting through the noise,

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Another podcast from some SNL late night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smigel 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. 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 to learn the hard way on the iha radio app apple podcast or wherever you get your podcast what's up guys

this is clivert taylor the fourth and on my podcast the clivert show i'm bringing you conversations about all kinds of stuff like being an internet famous referee we're in the middle of a game this linebacker this linebacker walks up to me he goes a ref my mom wants you to wave at her what Time out. Quarterback on office blue with 42. Hey, Rhett, my mama want you to weigh better. What? Hey, Ms. Parker.

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What is going on, everybody? John Middellcop to re-enounce podcasts on my guy Colin Coward's podcast network. Just wrapping up. Well, not wrapping up. There's nine minutes left in this Monday night football game. It's 42 to 6 Ravens. I would imagine many of you watched. We will dive into the game.

What a, you know, to me, what's the story of the game? Is it the embarrassment that is McVeigh and the Rams? Or is it Lamar Jackson? I might lean that it's McVeigh and the Rams, just given we talked about it last week, how much the league has invested in L.A., how much Cronkies paying $6 billion potentially for the stadium. Like, we knew Lamar was great.

He's proven this year. Now, he was excellent tonight, and it was a Monday night football game, so I'm taking nothing away from him. They looked, I mean, Coward tweeted, get ready, they're going to the Super Bowl. I wouldn't go that far just quite yet, but I wouldn't dispute the Ravens and Lamar Jackson are ass kickers. But McVeigh's team quit. I mean, I thought the Packers quit last night.

This was a wave-the-white flag and quit. We'll dive into the Niners and Packers game. Cowboys' Pats, of course, got a hit on that. Carson Wentz and Sam Darnold have a couple thoughts there. And then something with college football that's really bothering me, and you saw it this weekend with Auburn and Alabama, you know, playing the Sisters of the Poor and the School of the Mines. You know, it's, they need to get some uniformity there

to make these playoffs a little more, some more equality in college football. Because in college basketball, they have it. They have more of it, at least, when you're kind of putting resumes together. In football, it's a little more difficult. And that, I was having that argument actually before Oregon loss, not Oregon lost, so it changes it a little bit, but still, I mean, they got to figure this out.

And then a couple more, Middilkoff Mailbag at John Middlecoff is my Instagram handle, the same as my Twitter handle. You slide right into those Instagram DMs, and I will answer your question. Any question you have is how we interact here in the podcast. But let's start with the ramps. They were the defending NFC champs.

Let me repeat, the defending NFC champs. Now, it took a crazy call in a Saints game to get them to Super Bowl, but they were 13 and 3. They were awesome. You know, Gough was awesome last year. Todd Gurley was a star until his knee arthritis kicked up. Sean McVeigh was the apple of everyone's eye. If you knew Sean McVeigh, you got a job.

Matt LaFleur, Cliff Kingsbury, literally had met him once. They wrote in his bio, he knows Sean McVeigh. We're friends with Sean McVeigh. We saw it happen all over the league. And it's the great part about pro sports. I'd say it's no different in life. You can go from the outhouse to the penthouse and then back to the outhouse before you even blink.

And it's like all pro sports, but especially in football, it'll humble you so fast. Clearly, Sean McVay didn't become an idiot overnight. But I do think his inexperience is coming into play. he only knows one thing, and those are the plays that the Shanahan family has taught him. He knows nothing about defense. Wade Phillips, whose defense is falling apart, he can't help him. And obviously the special teams coach, which is one of the better ones in the league,

Bones Fossil, John Fossils or Jim Fossil, whatever the former New York Giants coach is, who's John Bones Fossil, I think his name is, really good special teams coach. I mean, McVeigh's had a really good staff, but he's not, we put him on the this pedestal like he was Bill Walsh. People forget when Bill Walsh got the job, I'm pretty sure he was like 60 years old when the 49ers, when he finally became a head coach was in his 60s. Not some 35-year-old Wiz kid. It was in his 60s. So my biggest takeaway from this game was not out-coached, out-schemed, like yeah, it's been happening to Sean kind of all season. To me, his team quit. Like they tapped out. And I'm not talking about tap. Like the

Packers last night quit with like five minutes left. in the game. Well, when you're down 30 points, listen, our parents teach us to never quit, right? There gets to a point in certain situations in life, and sports tends to be won. We're late in game, you're way down. Like, whether you quit or just stop trying a little bit, you're not going to win. So you just kind of concede.

I get it. The Rams quit. It felt like in the first half. I mean, I looked up, it was 28-0. It was like, what is going on? Maybe it was 283. But then as the game goes on, it's just touchdown. touchdown, touchdown, touch. They're not even trying. Are they not listening to what this young hot shot is saying anymore? And I'm not trying to shit on him just because he's lost a couple games. I'm a fan. I wouldn't just write them off.

But they have major, major problems. And there are huge economic ramifications of them sucking. I talked about it the last podcast. Boring does not sell in California. And that's with teams like the San Francisco Giants, one of the biggest brands in all of professional baseball. We're getting like 15,000. people to show up at different times this year.

Now, they'd announced 27,000. That's bullshit. Half as many people were actually in the... What I'd say is, the greatest new stadium in all of baseball. Because they're boring. They were unwatchable. They're my favorite team in the world.

I couldn't watch them. Let alone, if you're the Rams, where, you know, do you have this kind of history and people that will go to the mat for you? You left for 25 years. Now, you were cool the first couple years. But it's fickle society out here. People have already forgot about you.

In a town where LeBron and Anthony Davis are taking the world by storm, they're like 15 and 2. And the Lakers are, on the Lakers' worst day, they're bigger in the Rams on their best day. And the Dodgers are big. Like, they're just fighting for real estate. And the price points, Whisk Cronky is charging people,

unless you were a major, major corporation, and money meant nothing to you. Like, I talked to someone when I was at the Niners game, couple weeks ago and they said the irony of a lot of our sweet sales were not two companies or corporations some of them were but a lot of them were to individuals because the household income of the fan base in the area was so high well it would be the same thing in in uh in l a the difference was when the niners moved into levies and were charging astronomical prices for suites they were coming off three straight nfc championships and jim harbaugh and their brand in this area

is tenfold, whatever the hell the Rams is in L.A. And now the Rams are losing. But worse than they're just losing, they're boring. It's 42 to 6 with seven minutes left. And RG3 is at like the 10-yard line, as I'm speaking. They put RG-3 in the game. So they are just clowning and punking the Rams. The Rams will just quit.

So I don't know what Crocky does. I'm not saying I would fire anyone, but they're in a situation where they don't have any first-round picks for the foreseeable future. They have a ton of money lined up into a quarterback that's not playing very well. Of course, Marcus Peters picked him off tonight who stands no chance with a bad offensive line.

Simply put, the Rams are in Chambles. And now the Ravens are kind of the apple of everyone's eye and rightfully so. Lamar Jackson, I was wrong on him. He's a much better passer than I ever believed he could be. But I got no problem pivoting. Yeah, he's sweet. He's not only sweet.

He's box office. I wasn't going to miss this game for anything. and he delivered. So to me, he's the guy you'd want in L.A. That would sell some tickets. I'd buy a ticket to go watch Lamar Jackson. I always said if you could buy one ticket to watch one player, it'd be Russell Wilson.

Because even when he's average, he's still entertaining. I'd put Lamar Jackson right there too. He just, every time I watch him, he's worth the price of admission. He's worth my time. And my time, like your time is valuable. I say it all the time. Like the NFL and professional sports leagues make all their money off our time.

So if you're willing to give them your time, and time's the most valuable, you know, arguably property, you know, in the world, right, your time. You can do anything with it. You could not watch it. And if we all start watching football, they'd be in trouble.

But when guys like Lamar Jackson are on the television, we're going to give their time. We just are. I mean, that's just a commodity, the NFL knows. That's why they love guys like Lamar Jackson and Deshawn Watson and, you know, and Nick Bosa stars. Well, I thought Jared Gough, and I was a fan, but God, you watch Lamar Jackson and Jared Gough on the same field tonight. Talk about JV and varsity.

They gave him $110 million. Now, is this sustainable? Can Lamar Jackson do it forever? Who cares? You know, who cares? I'm not even going to view him under that lens. I'm going to view him on just this guy's box office entertainment

and you know for a long time Michael Vick was and Florio tweeted a night stop comparing Lamar Jackson to Michael Vick Well who the hell should we compare him to Floreo Rivers Eli his comp is Michael Vick Yeah he could be a better version of Michael Vick

People forget Michael Vick when he was drafted in 2001 Then his second year went to three straight Pro Bowls He's one of the most electrifying players we've ever seen Definitely in my 35 years of life I've ever seen. This guy is like a more buttoned down version. But he just has this innate instinct in the open field to make shit happen. And he's running faster and everyone doing spin moves and 360s and hurtling guys and then just throwing dimes.

I know this when I was young in high school. Do you know what team I'd be for on Madden 2002? I'd pick the Falcons. And then I'd just run around with Vic. If I still played video games, I would be the Ravens. and I would just run around with Lamar Jackson, and I would kick your ass, and it'd be really, really fun.

And Harbaugh, I got a soft spot for the Harbaugh family. I root for him. It's cool to see him with a fun quarterback. You know, this guy went from starting, you know, with the Ravens when their defense was really good, with Ray and Ed and Suggs and Helodi, to now transitioning to what is just this sweet offense,

this unique offense. And a team, I know Colin, tweeted like they're going to the Super Bowl, hell, maybe they are. Now, is Lamar going to beat Belichick twice? That would be an incredible accomplishment, especially if they had to go on the road in Foxborough. But I'll be the first to say, I wasn't just wrong on Lamar Jackson. I couldn't be more of a fan now, especially when you read about the human. I say it all the time. If I didn't like you coming out, but then I read stories and hear like how good of a guy you are, I'll flip immediately. Now, where I will hold you.

firm is when I don't like you coming out and then I hear you're slap dick or think you're immature and don't really like you like Baker you know something about him this year's kind of rubbed me the wrong way and I was a Baker fan coming out but even Josh Allen don't love Josh Allen the player but I root for the guy big fan welcome to my new podcast learn the hard way with me your host and your favorite therapist care games and in recognition of mental health awareness month I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience in the mental health field and conversations with so many incredible guests I'm talking trip for 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 truth. trust. I want you to just really be a good person. Join me, Kear Gaines,

as we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast, learn the hard way. Open your free iHeartRadio app, search learn the hard way, and listen now. Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet

lost its mind. Highlights are trending, opinions are flying, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where sports slice comes in. I'm Timbo. Every episode, we're cutting through the noise. breaking down the plays, the controversies, and the stories behind the headlines. We go straight to the source, the athlete themselves, their locker room stories, their reactions, the stuff nobody gets to hear.

The laughs, the drama, the triumphs, the moments that never make the highlight real. From viral moments to historic games, from buzzer beaters to controversial calls, we break it down, give you context, and ask the questions everybody wants answered. Sports slice brings you closer to the action with stories told by the people who live them. Listen to Sports Slice. Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Slicelife 12 in the TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. What's up, guys?

This is Clivert Taylor the 4th. And on my podcast, The Cliverts show, I'm bringing you conversations about all kinds of stuff. Like being an internet famous referee. We're in the middle of a game. This linebacker walks up to me. He goes, A, ref, my mom wants you to wave at her. What? Time out.

Quarterback on office blue 42. Hey, Wreck, my mama want you to weigh better. What? Hey, Miss Parker. Listen to the Clippers show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. What's up, fam? It's Isaiah Thomas.

And I'm C.J. Toledano, and our podcast Point Game is about defining the odds. Like LeBron heading into the playoffs without Luca and Austin Reed. And finding ways to win no matter what. He's the smartest player to ever play the game. His IQ is at a level that we've never seen before. And he knows without Luca and Austin Reeves, I got to manipulate the game. We get a player's perspective on the challenges of the playoffs.

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

That man, hell get the fly. Man, he running up the court, licking his fingers why he got the ball, like, after you go through a training camp with that, Isaiah, you figure it out real quick. Oh, yeah. Get your ass up and down the court, and you're going to get the ball.

So listen to Point Game on the Iheart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. ...of the person. You know, if you do things the right way and represent the league the right way, you get a fan out of me. Probably like most people. We're all relatively the same.

We like rooting for good people. Now, I can't lie. rude for bad people too. You know, this is pro sports. Some bad people are sweet players and are fun to watch. But Lamar Jackson seems to be one of the rare special players, great kid, kind of the total package. And the Ravens franchise quarterback at Pick 32.

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Brought to you by the ad council. Okay, let's dive into something we saw Sunday night. Packers at Levi Stadium playing the 49ers. And my one major takeaway, not much change on Green Bay. They laid an egg. You know, they lost their right. tackle doing injury. It's like they're going to win.

Their schedule, they got the Redskins, the Giants coming up. They're going to end up with 11 or 12 wins. Now, I don't know if they're going to win the division. I think Minnesota's really good. Huge Monday night game a week from the way where I'm recording this a week from today. Seattle hosting Minnesota, that game's huge. I mean, it has massive, massive ramifications on the playoffs. But my main takeaway was the 49ers are real.

And I wrote an article on the athletic today. it hit me for the first time watching the game against the Packers. This team can win the Super Bowl. I never fully thought that. I mean, I thought they were good before when you're 6 and 0, 7 and 0, 8 and 0. Even being there live to watch the game against Seattle. Like I still, not much change. George Kittle was missing that game.

49ers are the real deal. Because they have a couple things. And these things always translate. One, they have an elite coach. And when I say an elite coach, he's an elite play caller. Kyle Shanahan is as good as it gets when it comes to calling plays. He's an offensive quarterback guru. He's the young version of Sean Payton of Andy Reed.

He really is. He's special. I've been watched, I've had a front row seat now for three and a half years. And even in the years where they didn't win, because Brian Hoyer was their quarterback, the year Jimmy got heard, it was Bethard and Nick Mullins. it was still impressive. Now, his first full year with Jimmy starting every game, I think Jimmy's 17 and 3 when he started for Kyle Shanahan.

So when Jimmy Garabolo starts for Kyle Shanahan, they're going to win a lot. And the other thing this team has, which I really didn't expect, because if you told me Jimmy was healthy, Kyle Shanahan, I'd be like, yeah, the offense could be really good. And it's been more than good enough. But it's the toughness of this team. And I've been saying it forever about the 49ers.

in the history of this franchise, once they flipped a switch with Bill Walsh, and they started winning for 20 years, it's known as this haven of offensive innovation. Walsh, Sefer, Young, now I know Seifor was a defensive guy, but Mike Shanahan was an assistant coach, to Young, to then Marucci, to Garcia,

then Harbaugh, saves Alex Smith's career, Kaepernick. All those teams. In my lifetime, I was born in 84, so I don't really remember Peak Joe. I'm a Steve guy. My favorite team ever is the 94-49ers, and that offense was unreal. Steve Young was the MVP of the league.

Jerry Rice went nuts, Ricky Waters, Brent Jones. They had a ton of all-pros on offense. That team's defense was incredible. They had Bryant Young, rookie of the year. Dana Stubblefield, badass defensive tackle. Merton Hanks and Tim McDonald would destroy you across the middle. They had this one guy named Dionne Sanders, greatest corner of all time.

The other cornerback, Eric Davis, not a slug at all. Their defense was loaded. The Harbaugh years, the first thing you think about is defense. Defense and running the ball. Toughness, something the 49ers have always hung their hat on when they were good. Just asked Ronnie Lott, cut off his pinky to keep playing. Still a fixture in the community where I live.

You feel them all over the Bay Area. He's always his stuff. One of the toughest SOBs to ever walk this earth. Literally. I mean, his dad, I think, was a Marine. If Ronnie Lott's not playing football, he's in the military. There's no doubt in my mind.

He is a military man who just happened to be one of the greatest defensive players in the history of football. You think of the Harbaugh years, those teams would destroy you. I felt uncomfortable sometimes watching teams play them

because they would kill people. They would leave people in figuratively saying body bags, like cracking skulls. This defense right now, is a little bit different, but their physicality and team speed and toughness, every single game they are hitting as hard as any team in the league.

And it's not just one guy because all their guys can run. They are crushing people. Obviously their defensive line is elite. Nick Bosa is a star. I was too harsh on him as a prospect. I would have been wrong. He's far superior than Quinn Williams. The two Oregon guys, Buckner and Armstead, have been dominant.

D. Ford is a part-time play. and he's an ass kicker. Fred Warner, this third rounder from BYU, just gets 10 to 15 tackles a game. But to me, where they separate, and this is always where Seattle separated, and the 49ers are a little bit

in the Harbaugh era, but their corners weren't great. It was just they had Golston and Wittner, and then they got Eric Reed, they had big hitting safeties. Well, the 49ers all their defensive backs tackle. Richard Truman is the greatest tackling corner in the history of the league.

He hits like he's a linebacker. So if you're going to play in that unit, he sets the standard. Everyone else just crushes people. Kwosky Tart, who they've had on the team for a while, crushes. Jimmy Ward, no issue with hitting people. Then the corners they rotate on the other side also hitters. So toughness always travels. So you've got an elite coach who can scheme with any coach in the league.

You have a defense and toughness, and they're one of the best rushing teams in the league. with their offensive line is just okay but they have a dominant fullback and Kyle Eusechequer goes to Pro Bowl every year they argue they have the best tied in in the league in George Kittle who's not just a past catching guy who's the best blocker in the league so they go you want to run it

we got five offensive linemen and basically two other guys because our fullback will crush your linebacker and Kittle will destroy your other linebacker and then Coleman Breda Wilson and Mozart will just run it down your throat and Kyle

which is a unique kind of characteristic for a young coach will dial up runs all day long. And then his favorite play call is a play action. So they're one of the best running teams in the league. Their whole scheme is dedicated off the run and the coach loves play action. That's why they gash people and then they hit these huge bombs. Because Jerry Rice and Julio Jones do not play on this team.

You know, Emmanuel Sanders has like broken ribs. He's their best wide receiver. Actually, Debo's not bad, but he's banged up too. Dante Pattis who they draft in the second round can't even sniff the field. Marquis Goodwin, the guy that's the fastest guy in the league, one of the worst players in the league, was finally a healthy scratch. He stinks. Kendrick Bourne, who I actually sneaky kind of like,

is still Kendrick Bourne. That's the guy they depend on. This team is really, really good. And I don't even think they've fulfilled all their, like what happens in a year when they get good receivers? This team is like a year ahead of time. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hardway with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Kear Games. recognition of mental health awareness month.

I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience in the mental health field and conversations with so many incredible guests. I'm talking. Tripp Fontaine, Ryan Clark. Sometimes when we're in the pursuit of the thing, we get so wrapped up in the chase that we don't realize that we are in possession of the thing. And we're still chasing it. And we don't know when we've done enough.

Because people scoreboard watch. Life becomes about wins and losses. Steve Burns, Dustin Ross, because you find it in. 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 Hardway. Open your free iHeartRadio app. Search Learn the Hardway and listen now. Last night, a blown call changed the game. This morning, the internet lost its mind.

Highlights are trending, opinions are flying, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where Sports Slice comes in. I'm Timbo. Every episode, we're cutting through the noise, breaking down the plays, the controversies, and the stories behind the headlines. We go straight to the source, the athlete themselves, their locker room stories, their reactions, the stuff nobody gets to hear. The laughs, the drama, the triumphs, the moments that never make the highlight real.

From viral moments to historic games, from buzzer beaters to controversial calls, we break it down, give you content. and ask the questions everybody wants answered. Sports Slice brings you closer to the action with stories told by the people who live them. Listen to Sports Slice on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Slices Life 12

and the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. What's up guys? This is Clivert Taylor the 4th. And on my podcast, The Cliverts show, I'm bringing you conversations about all kinds of stuff. Like being an internet famous referee. We're in the middle of a game. This linebacker, this linebacker. This linebacker walks up to me, he goes, hey, ref, my mom wants you to wave at her.

What? Time out. Quarterback on office, blue of 42. Hey, rep, my mama wants you to wave at her. What? Where's she at? Hey, Ms. Parker. Listen to the Cliverts show on the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast.

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

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

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

So listen to Point Game on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Remember when the Warriors that first year, when Steve Kerr showed up, and it's like, ah, they got Steph, Clay, this guy Draymond, you know, Mark Jackson, he's underachieving. Well, in the Bay Area, when they fired Mark Jackson, people like me are like, what is Joe Lacob doing?

This is nuts. The next year, 67 wins in a championship. And you know what it turns out? The following year, they won 73 games, and the team was way better. Like, this 49ers team, everyone's coming back next year. And they got a first round pick. Like, they're and some money.

They're going to be better in 2020. talent-wise. Now, are they going to have as good a record and all that stuff? I don't know. But this team shouldn't have been this good this fast, and they are. So it hit me for the first time Sunday night. They have the talent to win the Super Bowl. And as a guy in the league told me today, and I wrote in the article,

it's going to come down to how well Jimmy plays in big games. And for me, I no longer question Jimmy's ability. Like he has, he can make every throw, he has the pocket awareness, he clearly knows the offense, his toughness to me. His toughness to me is an A plus trait. You can hit him directly in the chin. He'll get right back up and be ready for the next play. The only question mark I have, and it's a big one,

is he is inclined to throw some interceptions. So when you're playing good teams, like the Saints, the Vikings, Seattle, and they still play the Saints in Seattle down the stretch, you can't afford to throw, especially those two teams on the road. You can't throw a pick. So if he throws a pick in one of those games, it'll cost them in one seat. If he throws some big picks in the playoffs, it'll cost him, you know, potentially a victory. But he clearly is talented enough.

And you're going to, Jimmy's going to throw some picks in the next five years. Because he's a playmaker. And he pushes the envelope. That's why sometimes you look up, they can have 45 points. But it's also, he's going to have to balance it. But if he can learn how to balance it and he flash out against the Packers, just be in control. Just kind of manage the game. They can win the Super Bowl.

And I feel pretty confident about that. If you love to be remembered as the person who gives the best birthday gifts, I'm here to tell you that 1-800flowers.com is your ultimate birthday gifting destination. 1-800 Flowers has thoughtful and artfully created options that are guaranteed to deliver the best birthday surprise. Shop thousands of unique gifts at 1-800flowers.com for exclusive offers and great values. To order today, visit 1-800flowers.com. slash tune in. That's 1-800flowers.com slash tune-in.

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Because on Monday, that was leading all the shows. Of course it was. It was two biggest brands in the NFL in a game that looked absolutely miserable. We'll start with the Patriots. It hit me watching that game. Obviously, they have the best coach ever. They have the best quarterback ever. They have, you know, one of the great special teams cover guys ever.

I love Matthew Slater. Obviously, their defensive backs. Gilmore's becoming a star. He is a star. They just figure it out. They win for a reason. They're well-coached. They're a finely buttoned up, highly-tuned operation.

But they have this enormous advantage because they're always the one or two-seed. They're always hosting these games. Foxborough, it seems like, in the last 20 years, the games they've played there late in the season, it's miserable. It's cold, it's snowing, it's freezing, and every team they play.

every single team they play. The Mannings, the Houston Texans, when I say the Manning, I mean Peyton Manning when he was with the Colts. The Chiefs avoided him last year and they got him in Kansas City. And they would be the one team that's kind of equipped to play in terrible, terrible weather. But the Steelers always look uncomfortable there. The Cowboys clearly did. How big of an advantage Foxborough is for the Patriots.

For anyone that plays golf, you know that like you can get a guy. guy at his home course, and he's really, really comfortable. And let's say he's a decent golfer, and you can break 80 or whatever. But then you take him to like some random course, especially tough courses, and the dude just blows up, can't sniff breaking 90, because he gets out of his comfortable environment. That's the thing what makes the Patriots great. If they were a golfer, they shoot par on their own home course. You can take them to Pebble Beach and they're shooting 74.

You take them to the best course in Florida. They're shooting even. Take them to Aron, Mick, and Philly. Shoot one under. you know, take them to Austin Country Club, they shoot one over. They're good everywhere. The Cowboys look miserable in that environment. Belichick, they practice outside.

They look comfortable outside. Even Brady, when he's not playing that well, the weather doesn't phase him. The weather doesn't phase their players because they're just immersed in it. It just becomes part of their culture. You just know when you play for New England, that's going to be where you're going to play. in shitty weather, November, December, and January. Don't even think about complaining. We're just going to be cold, miserable, and win.

The Cowboys, Amari looked freezing, Dak couldn't figure out his gloves, Jason Garrett had 17 layers on, had no clue what was going on with special teams or the kickers or the punters or when to kick or what to do. And Bill's just like, yeah, run another plate. Yeah, call another cover two. Yeah, get another stop.

It was just, Foxborough is one of their, it's something we never talk about, how big of an advantage it is playing at Foxborough for them. Because just how unfazed they are by the cold, I was freezing cold in a condo with the heat on just watching that game. You all would have to agree, that looked miserable. Now, I don't pretend to be anything but a puss when it comes to weather. Anything under 60 is freezing cold to me. I hate the cold.

I love the heat. I could be in 105 all year long. No problem with it. I despise the cold. Now I like skiing or whatever, but I drive to the snow and then I come home. I don't, when I lived in Philly, hated living in the cold.

I like the heat. So I have nothing but respect for the paths and they're built-in home field advantage at Foxborough to go along with all their other advantage about being smarter and being better than you. The Cowboys, by the time you hear this, everything's been said, and I've said over and over,

Jason Garrett, who's an Ivy League guy, who people like me intellectually clearly way smarter, the degrees he has on his wall are much more impressive than mine. But if you're really that smart and you have no balls and are so conservative in every tight spot, does that really make you that smart? Or does that make you just kind of terrified? You're not even really using your intellectual advantages.

Like how come every time he's in a tight spot when it comes to like, God, Jason, and you should probably not kick a field goal here. Because a field goal does nothing for you. The Patriots have done nothing on offense. You're as close to the end zone as you're going to get. Maybe roll the dice on this one. Of course he doesn't.

He kicks the field goal and they end up losing by four. Cool. You know, if you had the Cowboys plus six, not cool if you're trying to win the game. But whatever, that wouldn't even matter because they probably wouldn't have got the fourth and seven. They weren't going to win that game anyway. To me, the thing that defined.

that game is the kicking game. And when you talk about coaching, and obviously Jerry did, Belichick's poaching the kickoff into the wind, and multiple times it felt like the Patriots were going to recover a kickoff that they kicked like 40 yards down the field because the Cowboys didn't know where it was

going to land. And they were not putting a punt returner back, and Slater blocked a punt, created a delay a game again in another situation. Belichick's a former special teams coach. He works on this shit all week long. This is when he's

quote unquote game planning. This is what he's dealing with. Where Jason you know, he's the quote unquote, the CEO. Well, how are you a CEO if you don't know what the CFO does? If you don't know what the CMO does and you don't know what the CFO does? Velichick's quote

unquote the CEO, but he knows what every position under him, their job title is, should be doing and how to do it. Jason Garrett looks clueless. You think Jason Garrett knows anything about the kicking game? No chance. So if you're going to know nothing about the kicking game, nothing about defense, and now no longer

even call offensive plays, how can you be a coach with no balls and never push the envelope in any situation? What are you bringing to the table? Beside a solid waistline, you know, pretty chiseled jaw, and an Ivy League education. And you played in the league for a little while. So you made some money. But I've always defended Jason Garrett, but this year has been a complete abomination. Because you can't tell me player for player that the Cowboys aren't as good as the Patriots.

Now, obviously, DAC is not comfortable in that environment. I'm not even saying the Cowboys should have won, but it shouldn't look like that. Because one thing I've learned this year more than ever, maybe I'm just watching the game a little differently, is there is nothing less indicative of the way a game goes typically in the NFL. than a final score. For every tight game,

there are a lot of tight games that end up 10 point scores, right? Just like there are a lot of blowouts in the NFL that are single digits. That was a four-point game. Four-point game, my ass. That was a dominant Patriots win. The Patriots, I felt,

watching that game, ran circles around the Cowboys. Yet, if you just woke up and didn't watch one snap of the game and you just clicked open the box score, you're like, oh, Cowboys almost won. No, they did not almost win. Never once, in my mind, did I think,

Cowboys are winning this game. Not once. And I was rooting for the Cowboys. I had a little cash on the Cowboys' Plus. So I applauded Jason kicking the field goal. But don't let anyone fool you. And anyone that's listening to this probably watch the game. Y'all know, that was not a close game.

Okay, let's get into a couple quarterbacks here. Carson Wentz and Sam Darnold We'll start with my man in Philadelphia, Carson Wins One, I'm a Carson Wence fan I think he is just Uber talented, physically he's everything you look for And I'm rooting for him

But It doesn't take, you know The man on the moon can tell He's not playing well right now Now there are variables His half his team's injured Skill guys are injured But watching that

game against Seattle, he's all over the place. And talking to a buddy in the league, one thing came up, and I noticed it as well, he has no touch on any pass right now. Everything is a fastball. Everything is a fastball. A little bit, again, non-political. Kaepernick, when Kaepernick fell off a map,

people forget about it because all you see are kind of woke tweets about Kaepernick. But there was a period after Harbaugh left and Tom Sula came in. Google this, if you want. Arizona Cardinals openly mocked Kaepernick said he was terrible, but that would never come up in today's society. But in 2015, I think it was Honey Badger and Tony Jefferson called him a one-reed quarterback and the offense,

I think a high school level offense. Now, granted, that was Jeep Chris and Tom Sula, but still. Carson Wentz right now, like Kaepernick, he can't take anything off the ball. So everything he throws is a hundred mile-in-hour fastball. And he has, I mean, an absolute hose. So everything is a frozen rope And it's really hard to catch when a guy standing 10 feet away from you

Hell, when a guy's standing 15 feet away from you You have to get touch on your passes I don't blame Howie for giving him the contract Because they're always forward thinkers And whenever you talk to contractual people in the league They always say that you sign a contract now In like three years it's under market value This is not the NBA

A contract like Chris Paul's doesn't look bad in a couple years the salary caps keeps rising at, you know, 10% a year, you know, give or take, $9 to $12 million a year. And the NFL contracts, unlike baseball and basketball, are never fully guaranteed. So at most are stuck with a guy for like three years. Now, when you pay a guy that's never really accomplished anything, sometimes, I've never been in that position, where you get $110 million just kind of based off what we think you should do,

and I thought he would do it too. Like I understood why you pay him. Less of what you have done. Because at the end of the day, when Carson got paid this off season, he hadn't done shit. He got injured two years ago. Nick Foles has a statue outside the stadium.

Last year was playing terrible. Now coming back off at ACL, he goes down, team picks it up, make the playoffs again, Nick Foles win another game. There's an elephant in the room with the Eagles that just can't be argued.

There is a statue of Carson Wents's backup quarterback and his head coach in the front of the stadium from when they called the Philly Special and won the Super Bowl. So that's hard to get over. And then you're paid all this money. You know, we're all humans. Maybe you're not as introspective and, you know, is self-critical as maybe you would be if you're driven to try to get that contract or try to prove yourself because he's paid like

he's already proved himself and he hasn't. That being said, I would take him over like five or six quarterbacks in the NFL. Of all the young guys, he'd be one of my first picks. Because there's clearly a lot to work with there right now. But he's clearly in his own head slash. Carson, you can't just play hero ball every single snap. You got to play under control. You have to just throw some layup passes, as in some change-ups.

If everything you throw is a Brett Farv Howitzer, you're not playing with very good wide receivers right now. It's going to fly off their hand. So the Eagles are probably screwed this season. I don't see any chance they make the playoffs. Their quarterback's just playing too bad. And they're already a game behind Dallas. I just think it's over before it's even started for these guys.

I know mathematically they're still in it. I just don't see it. I do think this off season he's going to have to figure out a way to just work on touch balls. I remember Kaepernick, in the peak of his powers, like could not throw the wheel route, struggled to throw screen passes and in the game against Seattle

and I get it, I've been into some of those Eagles games when the wind picks up, it's freezing cold, I understand it. Carson's air-mailing screen passes. So he's just going to have to take a deep breath, look in the mirror, and just go in the lap. And that happens. This is pro sports. This is the highest level.

Guys go through rough times. He's not the first and he surely won't be the last. It happens to, hell, LeBron James was embarrassed at times in the national stage in finals games for the calves, for the heat, go in the lab, get better. It's on you. And everything I've always heard about the guy,

he's driven, he's clearly smart. But I know the broadcast mentioned they're showing him plays where the ball should go. He has a lot of improvement to make. And for the first time in two years, his off-season, at least knock on wood, he's going to be healthy.

So it's not going to be the rehab sitting in the trainer's room and the weight room trying to get his body right. It's going to be mastering the craft of quarterback. Because Drew Breeze always says this, and I think he's a great example of, to think that quarterback is the ratio, it's like 80, 20 mental physical.

Carson, you have every physical gift a human could possibly desire to play in the NFL. It's now about upstairs. If you're ever going to be a consistent player in this league and be a pro bowler, not a flash in the pan, pro bowler, potential MVP candidate, a dominant elite Hall of Famer, because that's the talent that God has given you.

You have to master the craft of touch passes, of knowing the offense, of where every guy's breaking, of every look you're going to see on defense. This is football's chess, it's not checkers. And he got away with playing checkers those first couple years. Because again, I'm watching the Monday Night Football Games on the back ground right now, the end of it. And they showed a clip of Michael Vic.

I think he lives in L.A. and he's at the game. God has given a lot of people free gifts over the years, and they haven't taken full advantage of it because they've left stuff on the table mentally to be desired. And I think Carson has the capability mentally to handle it. It's just on him to really attack it. And he's going to have a long off-season. You know, the great part about Philly,

you know, I personally would love it as a player. Yeah, it's critical, but fuck, that makes you raise your gain. Why would you want to be in a soft market? Wouldn't you want to be in the biggest best market? Wouldn't you want to be in a boss? A Phily, a New York, brings out the best in people. Like some of the best players in the history of sports have played in those markets. Brady, you know, Derek Jeter, hopefully Carson Wentz.

Like, those markets, it's guns blazing every day. Full tilt. All the chips in the middle of the table. Some guys crumble. A lot of the best players in the history of the world, in this, or at least history of America, have played in like some of those markets. It's intense. that's a good thing.

The NFL's intense. Hell, the 49ers is intense. The Bears is intense. The Vikings is intense. Let alone playing in Philly. So he's got to raise his game. And talking about a young player, watching him against the Jets play the Raiders,

and I saw it last week when I watched him play the Redskins, and when he came back from Mono against the Dallas Cowboys, if you want to sell Sam Darnold stock, because he was drafted by the Jets and he's had two coaches in two years, one of the most, you know, just kind of clown show franchises in recent memories that now, you know, with Joe Douglas,

some of the people around him, have some things going for him, and we'll see on Adam Gase. That's still, you know, who knows. But Carson Wentz, or excuse me, Sam Darnold, to me, is like an NBA young player. He's not 26, 27 years old.

He's 22. He just turned 22 this summer. he hasn't even scratched the surface of what he one day is going to be. If you watch him when he plays well and don't just see the physical... Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hardway with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Keer Games. And in recognition of mental health awareness month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience in the mental health field and conversations with so many incredible guests.

I'm talking. Tripp Fontaine, Ryan Clark. Sometimes when we're in the pursuit of the thing, we get so wrapped up in the chase that we don't realize that we are in possession of the thing and we're still chasing it and we don't know when we've done enough because people scoreboard watch life becomes about wins and losses Steve Burns Dustin Ross because you find it important to be a good person while you hear on earth 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, Keir Gaines, as we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast, Learn the Hardway. Open your free iHeartRadio app, search Learn the Hardway, and listen now. Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind. Highlights are trending, opinions are flying, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where Sports Slice comes in. I'm Timbo.

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

Listen to Sports Slice on the Iheart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Sliced Life 12 and the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. What's up, guys? This is Clivert Taylor the 4th. And on my podcast, The Cliverts show, I'm bringing you conversations about all kinds of stuff. Like being an internet famous referee. We're in the middle of a game. This linebacker, this linebacker walks up to me, he goes, hey, ref, my mom wants you to wave at her. What?

Time out. Look. Quarterback on office blue with 42. Hey, Wreck, my mama want you to weigh better. What? Hey, Miss Parker. Listen to the Clifford show on the Iheart radio app,

Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. What's up, fam? It's Isaiah Thomas. And I'm C.J. Toledano, and our podcast Point Game is about defining the odds. Like LeBron heading into the playoffs without Luca and Austin Reed. And finding ways to win no matter what. He's the smartest player to ever play.

game. His IQ is at a level that we've never seen before. And he knows. Without Luca and Austin Reeves, I got to manipulate the game. We get a player's perspective on the challenges of the playoffs. I think Joker's going to be exhausted this series because when they don't have Rudy in the lineup, he has to really guard guys like Nas Reed. He has to guard Julius Randall. And then he has to give us everything he gives us on the night-to-night basis on offense. And when IT's friends stop by, like Quentin Richardson, we dive into some playoff history too. Steve Nass, but get that thing. That man, hell get the flying.

He running up the court, licking his fingers why he got the ball. Like, after you go through a training camp with that, Isaiah, you figure it out real quick. Get your ass up and down the court, and you're going to get the ball. So listen to Point Game on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I don't know what to tell you. Can he improve a boatload? Of course you can. Is there, you know, a Grand Canyon wide gas?

of him to grow mentally. Yes, it's the NFL. We just talked about Carson Wentz, who's been in the league a lot longer and hasn't even scratched the surface. So you're talking about a guy in a second year in the NFL who, you know, got mono.

You know, we've argued before how he got it. It's irrelevant. He's back now. It's on him to master the craft. Another guy who's going to have a long offseason. And as it looks right now,

it's going to be healthy. This offseason should be about mastering the mental game. Because I watched Arnold. He's got the touch. If they get him more weapons, he clearly can throw the deep ball. Like Carson, he can make plays out of nothing because he's a big-time athlete.

He can scramble. He keeps his eyes down the field. He makes plays on the move. Now, a lot now is on the organization. Keep stability with the coaching staff. Adam Gase is going to need to be self-critical and grow. Joe Douglas is going to have to do a good job of getting him offensive linemen, getting him skill guys outside.

They have Levion Bell, improving a defense, building a team around the guy. but if you can't see the talent with Sam Darnold, I don't know what to tell you because I remember texting with Daniel Jeremiah and when he was at USC and he's like, I'm telling you, this guy's like a bigger version of Russell Wilson. Now, obviously Russell Wilson,

who might be the MVP of this league and as a future Hall of Famer, he's just talking about the talent, the ability to keep plays alive, the ability to keep his legs downfield while he's scrambling, the ability to make off-platform throws, the ability to make long throws on the move,

to do special things. Now, part of doing special things, eventually teams, like doing special things are kind of outliers. You have to do the basic things consistently well to be a really good player. You know why Peyton Manning and Tom Brady and Aaron Roger are like all headed for the Hall Fame?

Yeah, the spectacular stuff, sure. They don't miss like eight-yard-out routes. They come through on third and eight. They don't get fooled with third-down pressures or rolling coverages or what the coordinator pulling something out of his back pocket from three years ago

because they know it, they've studied it. So when we talk about Wence and we talk about Darnold, it's now from the neck up. It's about every time they play next year and moving forward having a grasp of every defensive player

strengths and weaknesses, what the coordinator likes to do, what coverage he likes to call on certain down and distances, what his history is in the red zone, what certain players tendencies are in certain situations. You've got to be a genius to do this.

There's only been kind of one, I mean, self-proclaimed lower IQ guy. That's far. And even he'd tell you how much he learned just from Holmgren to Gruden to Gruden to Andy to Mary Uchell. Think of the guys, the coaches he was around. He didn't stay dumb for long.

So these guys, the pressure's on these guys in Philly and New York, and you can become a legend playing. in those cities. But you got to come through in terms of your work ethic about the stuff that's not fun, not sexy. Study in a dark film room. That's what Manning does. That's what Brady does.

Hell, Carson Palmer talked about. That's what he did. So all these good players in this league are doing. And the quicker you learn to do it when you're young, the easier the sport will come as you age. Adoption of teens from foster care is a topic not enough people know about and we're here to change. change that. I'm April Dinnwity host of the new 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 AdoptuS.kids.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. And we're live here outside the Perez family home just waiting for the And there they go. Almost on time this morning. Mom is coming out the front door strong with a double-armed kid carry. Looks like Dad has the bag's daughter is bringing up the rear. Oh, but the diaper bag wasn't closed. Diapers and toys are everywhere.

Ooh, but Mom has just nailed the perfect car seat buckle for the toddler. And now the eldest daughter, who looks to be about nine or ten, has secured herself in the booster seat. Dad zips the bag closed and they're off. Ah, but looks like mom doesn't realize her coffee cup is still on the roof of the car, and there it goes! Oh, that's a shame. That mug was a fam favorite. Don't sweat the small stuff. Just nail the big stuff. Like making sure your kids are buckled correctly in the right seat for their age and size.

Learn more at nhtsa.gov slash the right seat. Visit nhtsa.gov slash the right seat. Brought to you by Nitsa 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 the playoffs. and I guess, you know, the potential playoffs in college football. And something jumped out to me this weekend. Alabama played a D-7 school, and Auburn played the Sisters of the Poor. I mean, it was a joke.

Of course it is. They play eight conference games. The Pac-12, for example, and I'm pretty sure the Big 12 and the Big 10, maybe the ACC is different, I'm pretty sure they're the only conference that plays eight. conference games instead of nine and I Guy Haberman who I do the other

podcast with my barrier one but we talk you know everything but talk a lot of nineers he works for the pack 12 and he does college basketball games and I text him the other day I said in college basketball does every conference play the same amount of games and his response was all the conferences

play 18 so you play uniformity and I think there's one conference either the ace, I think it's the ACC maybe, because they have a bunch more teams, play 20. But they all play. Now, your non-conference is a little more up in the air in basketball, but when the tournament comes, if you don't play, you know, tough non-conference games, you get dinged now, but it's easy to judge in the Power 5 on your conference games.

Well, in college football, one game is pretty important. And the SEC only plays eight conference games, yet they got 14 teams in their conference. So before Alabama and Auburn play each other every year, they have a cupcake game. And there's a major difference in the Pact 12. Because you only get three non-conference games. And for example, this year, Oregon played two of their three. They obviously played a Division 1 or a Cupcake, you know. I got no problem playing a D1-A team.

But of the other two games, they played a Mountain West School, Nevada, who they killed. But Nevada consistently goes to bowl games like every other year. and they played Auburn. To me, it's pretty simple. The NCAA should mandate that the SEC plays nine conference games. Because if they're not going to, there is no point for the other conferences

to keep playing nine conference games. Because it's hugely beneficial for the SEC to only play eight. And then basically schedule one hard opponent and then three cupcakes. And a lot of times two D1AA programs or a D1AA program and another D-1 program that's a complete embarrassment.

Alabama playing Western Carolina and New Mexico State is a joke. But I don't necessarily blame them. They're just following the rules and making it as easy as possible. And they love to claim, well, our division is really hard. In theory, yes, LSU is really good. Mississippi State sucks now. Ole Miss is terrible. Arkansas couldn't be any worse.

Yeah, LSU's good. Texas A&M's solid. Auburn's, you know, okay. Let's not act like a lot of your, I mean, there's a ton of schools in the SEC stink. Vanderbilt's a joke. Kentucky had one good year. Tennessee has been pretty average.

So South Carolina's awful. This notion that like the SEC, and again, I'm an SEC homer. I think that LSU's elite. I think that Georgia's damn good. If Tua hadn't got hurt, I think Alabama could beat anyone on any given week. So I'm not anti-SCC, but it doesn't make any sense.

To me, there's an easy solution. You got the five power conferences. If you're in one of those five power conferences, whether you're SC, whether you're Texas, whether you're Iowa State, whether you're Clemson, any school in those Power 5, here would be my rules. One, you have to play another Power 5 team, which, in fairness, most teams do.

They play one tough non-conference game a year. and Sabin will tell you, don't even do a home-at-home-we-do-neutral-site games. I would mandate you do home-and-homes. I would then mandate you do, you don't have to do home-and-homes with these teams, but you play a non-power-5, but a Division 1 program from Conference USA, Mountain West, you know, the UCFs, the Fresno States, those type schools. And then you can play 1-D-1-A school. But at the end of the year, you've played nine conference games,

One other non-conference power five team One other division one team and then a D1 double a team So we can go well how good is Alabama without Tua? Well, and there are three games that they missed them They played Arkansas who sucks they beat let's just assume they beat Auburn Oh yeah and they played a Fresno State And they killed them all back oh they're pretty good But what am I supposed to think when they play Western Carolina?

What am I I look at some of the schools that LSU and Florida. It's a joke. And again, I am pro SEC. And I completely understand why they're doing it. They're just following the rules. The NCAA, the BCS, who's ever in charge, needs to get everyone on the same page.

Because right now it's not a fair fight. Now, Oregon screwed themselves, losing on the road to Arizona State. But that game wouldn't even have been on the docket if they had played in the SEC. They would have just played Cal Poly, UC Davis. and they would have beat them by 40.

They would have been better off playing Cal Poly or UC Davis at home, kicking the crap out of them in mid-November in a game no one wants to watch, favored by 60 points, then going on the road for their ninth conference game and losing to a team with a bunch of pros who's going to go 7 and 5 with an NFL operation. Because Alabama doesn't play that game. And I'm not arguing Oregon's better in Alabama.

I don't even think that. I think Oregon would have got. killed in the playoffs. But my point is, it's not even fair. And the other differences in basketball, the tournament's big. So there are a ton of spots. In football, you know, you get the power five teams.

And let's be honest, non-power five teams never getting in the final four. And they shouldn't. So, you know, there's 14, 12. You know, you do the math. There's 60 plus whatever teams. You're like, right? 5, 50, 65.

I don't, you know, you have to add it up, but 60 plus power five teams. And they're not all doing the same thing when it's pretty simple. Just make them do the same thing. So we don't get these situations where is Alabama that good? And again, I don't even know if we're going to learn that much more if they had played Fresno State instead of Western Carolina or Western Alabama or whoever they play. It was a joke. It was a 56 point spread.

Meanwhile, Auburn's playing a team, never even heard of, and they're favored by 60. It's like, come on, guys. And again, I'm a West Coast guy who loves the SEC. Why? Because I believe it has the best players. And under Sabin, best coach. When Urban was there, best coach, best program. Now that LSU's humming, NFL squad. But this notion that the way they operate is embarrassing for competition.

Isn't that the point of this whole thing to compete? And let's call it what it is. They're kind of avoiding it a little bit. Okay, let's get to the Middilkoff mailbag, where I answer y'all's questions here upon the podcast. And if you're looking for me over the next week, I may be in the islands of Hawaii celebrating Thanksgiving. But, you know, the sources say my microphone's going in my golf bag,

so, you know, I'll probably do a podcast. Still, nothing will really change. But, yeah, I'll be in the islands. Maui, Waialea. I haven't been to a whole thing. why in a long time. So happy Thanksgiving and enjoy it. So first I'll answer a couple of your questions.

I'm a long time Charger fan and wanted to know your thoughts on if the charges try to tank for the rest of the season and sit Rivers in order to have a better chance to draft Tua. And if so, fire coach Lynn and make a run at Greg Roman. I hate going to games and always seeing the away fans fill at the stadium. I feel like we need some excitement to bring new Charger fans. Not a bad idea at all. I mean, the Chargers are a lifeless brand.

a lifeless team with a lot of talent. I mean, Mike Williams, Keenan Allen, that's a pretty good one-two punch. Hunter Henry's not bad. Gordon's a free agent, he'll be gone, but Echler's still around. It's easy to draft a running back. They need to draft some offensive linemen.

You got Bosa, you got Ingram, you got Derwin James coming back, still got Casey Hayward. They got good players. Just need, you know, move on from Rivers. Hell, I just let them walk. It's over for Rivers, let him go, and go sign or go draft a guy.

I like that idea. Tua, probably not Herbert. Yeah, just draft Tua. I like that idea a lot. This is a fantasy question. Should I start Amari Cooper, Cooper Cup? Now hear me out. Taylor Gabriel against the Giants, my flex.

It's already too late to answer this question, my bad. Not Amari, because I'm pretty sure Amari went catchless. But I wasn't super locked in on the Rams game. Toward the end, it didn't feel like Cooper Cup did much either. After listening about the L.A. team debacle, where do you think the Chargers should go? Considering San Diego is out? Any deserving cities? I'm an Eagles fan, but would still love a team here in Salt Lake City, but might be a stretch. Yeah, I mean, I think the whole part of that kind of L.A. debacle is they're signing all these season tickets.

Like, they've signed these sponsorship deals. They're in bed with L.A. It's not, there is not like some solution where else can get to go. They're not going anywhere. they're stuck in LA. They have too many financial commitments. That's the shitty part. There's no options. Like, they should go back to San Diego.

Salt Lake City, I don't know enough about it. You know, I've been to Salt Lake City multiple times. You have skied there. I've been there for work. You know, scouting, Utah. I'd have to Google, like, the demo.

I don't know if there's enough people there. I mean, clearly works for the university, but could it, you know, is there enough corporate dollars there for an NFL team? Probably not. Trying to think of a major NFL city or a major city that doesn't have an NFL team. I don't think there really is one right now. So, yeah, I just think they're stuck. Diehard Bears fan living in Milwaukee.

Needless to say, sports life sucks right now. I feel you. At least you got the Brewers, unless you're a Cubs fan too, which doesn't suck either. Crazy thought. With no draft capital and the Bears needing a quarterback, Offseason trade Mac for a king's ransom of picks. Love Mac, but love the thought of getting a franchise quarterback more. Yeah, I mean, I would never, beside my quarterback,

I would always be open to trade everyone. So, I mean, what would I trade Khalil Mack for? Would someone give me two first round picks? I don't know if you'd get that after the season Khalil's had. I think someone would give you a first round pick for sure. But could you get two first round picks? I don't think that would be an option. I would just keep the first round pick.

I mean, I would just keep Khalil back, and I would try to sign Philip Rivers or Cam Newton or someone like that. Because Mitch is terrible. We all know that. The Bears need to admit it. Cut Mitch this offseason and go sign a real quarterback. Hi, John.

My name is Darren. This is my girlfriend's account. I have been a lifelong Cowboys fan and after a day, irregardless of how the season ends, who is a realistic coach the Cowboys could target this offseason. I think it's clear they are constantly out-coached

and Jason Garrett has no balls. True. Also, other than Dak becoming more of a franchise quarterback, I'm not sold on Kellynne Moore as a great offensive coordinator. Your thoughts. I don't have inside information on this. I have a close buddy that works for Lincoln Riley, and I just know enough about Oklahoma. I'm telling you, I will be shocked if he leaves.

So I do not think he's going to leave Oklahoma, even if Jerry Jones offers him $100 million. Because I don't think he's coaching for the money, and he already makes a lot. and he's at Oklahoma. You know, he's only 36, 37 years old. He can leave whenever he wants. I just don't think he's in a big.

I think he's a unique character. And Oklahoma's a unique job. It's a top five college job. Like, he's killing it. And they got this stud young quarterback on their roster. Like, Oklahoma's going to be loaded forever. So who else are your other options? Well, who are the, like, the retreads he could get?

There aren't any, right? There are no, like, Andy Reid's out there that are going to get fired. That's not an option, so he's not going to hire any of those guys. Are there any college guys? Well, Matt Ruhl, who has NFL experience and has done a really good job.

I mean, took it right down to the wire against Lincoln Riley. I actually think that'll probably end up being the coach. I think Matt Ruhl, if I had to guess, would be the next coach of the Dallas Cowboys. Because just like, who are the hot offensive coordinators around the league? Think of all the offensive coordinators around the NFL,

like the good ones. Andy Reed, Sean Payton, Kyle Shanahan. What are they all have in common? They're head coaches. Josh McDaniels. Now would Jerry hire Josh McDaniels? Maybe he would.

Would Josh take that job? He'd be high on meth if he turned them down. If Josh McDaniels is turning down this Cowboys roster, maybe he just doesn't want a job. Maybe he just wants to be the second in command in New England. But that's, maybe his best options will be Josh McDaniels, assuming he'd leave. I mean, last time we thought he was going to leave,

he left Chris Ballard at the, at the, at the dais. Right. I mean, it's like he's coming and then he backed out. Now, positive out of that, he left him Matt Uberflus, who was the Cowboys linebacker coach, who's now the defensive coordinator in Indy, who's doing a good job. But yeah, I think Matt Rule,

Josh McDaniel's most realistic options. And I'd say both would be an upgrade over Jason. Again, Josh, last time he was a head coach, it was a disaster. It feels like he's gotten a lot. You know, there's been articles written. He's done a lot of introspection. He's done a lot of soul searching over that time.

He clearly is a good schematic coach. But can you lead men? But is Jason really leading men? Because I've watched their team. They look kind of lifeless. Big fan of the show. What are your thoughts in Seattle? Do you think they are real?

Like Super Bowl contenders. Vikings, Cardinals, Rams, Panthers, and Niners, not in easy games. Well, I think they're the least talented. After the Rams debacle, we unofficially have the NFC playoff picture, except we don't know the seating. The Niners, Seattle, Green Bay, Minnesota, the Saints, that's five.

In some order, those will be the one, two, three, five, and six seats. That's what's crazy about the NFC. Your six seed could be 12 and 4. It's actually kind of realistic. You might need to go 14 and 2 to get the 1 seed, and the 13 and 3 seed might get the 2 seed in a tiebreaker. And then the 3 seed could easily be 12 and 4. And yeah, then the six-seat, yeah, the five-and-sixth seed could be 12 and 4.

And then Dallas, I think the Eagles are enchamble, so Dallas probably wins the NFC East is going to be the four-seat. I think Seattle of Green Bay, Minnesota, San Francisco, and New Orleans, roster-wise, least talented, top-to-bottom. Though I would say Russ is playing the best of that, even including Rogers. And Pete Carroll is one of the more accomplished of that group besides Sean Peyton. So yeah, just anytime you got Russ in big games And if somehow that they keep winning games

And beat San Francisco in that final game at home Games in Seattle, they could be the one or two seat And if you've got to go to Seattle to win playoff games They're going to win playoff games Like when Seattle loses playoff games They're going to lose on the road If Seattle get a home field by If they could be the one seed, I would pick them to win the NFC

But I don't think their roster You know, Chris Carson's solid They're depending on D.K. Metcalfe's hurt. Clowny's banged up. Their defense beside Bobby Wagner is not great. But again, Russell Wilson's a freaking magician. And Pete Carroll's a legend. So I would never discount Seattle.

You're talking about a guy that has nothing but respect for the Seattle Seahawks. Even on teams where I don't think they're as talented as years past. I have a hard time seeing Tua slip in the draft past Miami even after his injury. I keep going back to them passing on Breeze due to his injury and not wanting to repeat this mistake with another potentially franchise changing player. Are previous mistakes like this something front office is taken into consideration? Someone DM me, and I don't have, I don't know this officially, that Danny Connell, his dad was the doctor for the Miami Dolphins. I don't know if he still is, and he was the guy that failed Drew Breeze. I would say things get taken into consideration when that administration has been.

experience with it. But if something happened in like 15 years ago, and they've been three coaches and two GMs since, I don't know if much gets put into consideration. I think each player is his own individual entity, and it's kind of judged that way. So I would say no on does the Bree situation get taken into account. Because the hip injury is really serious,

and if your doctor says, I think he's never going to be the same, what's the GM supposed to say? I don't believe you? I mean, the GM, like, played college football at Iowa State, or I don't even know where their guy, what his background is. But he's not a doctor. So when the doctor looks at you from Miami Med or where the hell the guy got his,

you know, medical degree, it says, I'm telling you. And I don't know anything, but I'm just saying, like, I don't think the hip's going to be okay. Or he goes to the combine and he fails the physical. But some teams don't fail the physical. What do you do? You know, if you're a GM, like Trent Balke forever, was like, he's going to be fine.

and then this guy's never ended up being fine. He kept wasting picks. I think it puts general managers in a very difficult position. Because when all you're doing is evaluating the player, that's easy in the sense. Like, is he good enough or is he not good enough? To me, when the medical comes in, that's where it gets really complicated.

Because a scout, a general manager, a president, they have, they know nothing. You notice when you go into the doctor, you're like, my foot hurts, or I got this weird thing on my ear, or something's in my throat. You know? We don't know anything.

We're like, just save me. You know, it's like, it's like the IT guy at work. When your computer goes down, when your services go down, and you're just like, bro, I don't know what's going on. And then he just works as magic and fix you. No different, like, as a GM with your doctor, you just, he's like, hey, man, he's got a degenerate knee. You're like, cool, we won't mess with him.

Or he's like, hey, his knee's good. You're like, cool, we like him. We like him. I think these situations are very complicated. Huge fan, Cowboys fan. I can't help but think we're stuck in a constant state of mediocrity. Trying not to sound biased, I believe the Cowboys have a top five roster talent-wise. I would tend to agree with that.

But coaching has been a killer on this team. If Garrett is gone following the season, how long in the Super Bowl window do you give this team? I mean, I think they'd compete for Super Bowl next year. If you told me that like Pete Carroll, Sean Peyton, Andy Reed, Kyle Shanahan, I'm not even saying Belichick, just a solid coach. Mike Zimmer. John Harbaugh was a coach of this team, I think they would be a lock playoff team.

Lock, lock playoff team. Do you know the crazy part about the Cowboys if they make the playoffs this year? Is it even that cool making the playoffs when you go 9 and 7? To me, if you win the NFC West this year, it's like we won the NFC West. We had to go 13 and 3.

We won the NFC North. We had to go 13 and 3 or 12 and 4. We limped into the playoffs, barely getting above 8 and 8 if you're the Cowboys and then you lose in like round 1 at home which is even worse there won't feel like a bigger failure

this season besides the Cowboys Big fan of the podcast One question I have What does the offensive and defensive quality control do? I think it's funny when you hear analytics Like analytics are just now coming into football Quality control guys are literally in charge of analytics Their main job is to break down

film. So when you're playing an opponent, that guy is breaking down film late in the week and then early on in the week for your coordinators and head coach. He's breaking down down in distances. He's breaking down plays that they can put in their verbiage so the coaches know. He breaks down tendencies. So when it's every snap of second and seven, what plays do they run? Every snap in third down, what plays they run? Every snap in the red zone, what plays they run? Every snap in the red zone, what plays they run. They are just, they are grinders.

They're working 18 to 20 hours, three or four days a week, you know, Monday through Thursday, just breaking down film till the cows come home on opponents. It's basically the equivalent of like, you know,

a highly paid intern that's kind of like the coaches, either the offensive or defensive coordinator's main assistant. They do everything those guys need. From film breakdown, the special projects to just specific isolating plays for opponents. That's really what it's about.

And it's a tough, long, shitty job. I'll tell you that much. It's hard. It really is. Now, maybe it's gotten a little easier with technology, their ability to bunch plays, put plays together. But I still think, just talking to people around the league, they work just insane hours, insanity.

What do you think this win says about the Niners? What is it the Niners beat down? Was it a Niners beat down or a Packers' Flop? I think it was a Niners beat down. Talked about it earlier, I think the Niners are a legit Super Bowl contender. And I hadn't thought that until that game Sunday night. But I do believe it now. I do believe it now.

A big fan of the pod. Keep up the great work. I just wanted to read the compliments. Can you take a second to talk about the Jets? What are your thoughts about Donald? Is Adam Gase the answer? They're on a three-game winning streak, and they look amazing out there on offense this month, considering the O-line is a joke.

They have the number one rush defense in the NFL, which is going unnoticed. Do you think the Jets fans should be optimistic about the future, or do you think the excitement is premature? Well, I talked a bunch about Darnold earlier. I'm still unsure on Gace, but I do think it's fair to say that Gase knows what he's doing offensively. And the biggest reason why I love the Jets this weekend against the Raiders is the Raiders, if they can't run the ball, they have no chance to win. and I saw Baldinger post one of his videos on the Baldi breakdowns on Twitter

that the Jets were the number one rushing defense. I had no clue. Just because a casual fan, if you're not following the Jets, you just assume they suck at everything. So, like, well, they can stop the run, and then if they can pass a little bit, why couldn't they finish with like six wins? They could win a couple games down the stretch,

win six or seven games. I'm telling you, Donald's 22 years old, been a huge fan. He carried Clay Hilton to the Rose Bowl. Just close your eyes, say that out loud. you got a chance with the guy. Now, the organization has to do a good job around them. The division's going to get a little more difficult, right?

Because the Patriots are always going to be good. And the bills are just going to be tough. Like even, you know, this year it feels like they're going to go 10 or 11 wins. But when you're that good on defense, you're just going to be in the mix. So the Jets have to build their team. The Bills and the Patriots are elite on defense. So they've got to be better up front. You need more skill guys.

And like I said about Sam, he needs to take a big step mentally and stay focused, you know, in the offseason. Now there was a story about him going out and getting wasted. Like, yeah, have fun. You deserve to get wasted after you get a big win like that against the Raiders. But I mean stay focused in the offseason, Monday through Friday, learning your craft, honing your craft. Becoming a master upstairs. So you don't see ghosts because you're like, oh, I knew Belichick was going to do that. Or even when you get fooled, like, okay, I'll learn from that mistake.

And I think that's the next step in his kind of maturation. Again, as long as Sam Darnels is the quarterback of the Jets, I'm a Jets fan. Appreciate everyone listening. Have a great Thanksgiving week. Best time of the year. Love, love Thursday. I mean, there's not a better time than Thursday, Thanksgiving, football. It's the best, man.

Appreciate everyone listening. Share with their friends. Three and Out podcast. Adios. If you love to be remembered as the person who gives the best birthday gifts, I'm here to tell you that 1800 Flowers.com is your ultimate birthday gifting destination. 1,800 Flowers has thoughtful and artfully created options that are guaranteed to deliver the best birthday surprise. Shop thousands of unique gifts at 1,800flowers.com for exclusive offers and great values.

To order today, visit 1,800flowers.com slash tune in. That's 1,800flowers.com slash tune in. Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where SportsSlice comes in. I'm Timbo, and every episode, we're cutting through the noise, breaking down the biggest moments in sports and giving you the real story behind the headline. And we're going straight to the source, the athletes themselves, their locker room stories,

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