The Herd with Colin Cowherd - 3 and Out Weekend Mailbag - Niners, Steelers, Giants, Falcons, Browns + More

Episode Date: June 5, 2022

John answers listener questions in his weekend Mailbag, including who’s in the wrong in the public beef between Jevon Kinlaw and a Niners reporter, if Daniel Jones can turn around his career under the new Giants regime, if Kenny Pickett can win early with the help of the Steelers culture, if the Falcons are close to turning the corner with Arthur Smith, why no team is trading for Baker, and why Bill Belichick can’t draft wide receivers. Subscribe NOW and follow Middlekauff and The Volume on Twitter, Instagram and YouTube for the latest content and updates and check out FanDuel for the best wagering and daily fantasy action! #herdSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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

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

Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the IHard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, what's good, y'all? You're listening to Learn the Hard Way with your favorite therapist and host Kear Games. This space is about black men's experiences, having honest conversations that it's really not safe to have anywhere, but you're having them with a licensed professional who knows what he's doing. How many men carry a suit or armor? It signals to the world that you're not to be played with. And just because you have the capability that does not mean that you need to.

Listen and learn the hard way on the AHA radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. Hey, this is Robert from the Stuff to Blow Your Mind podcast. Joe and I are both lifelong Star Wars fan, so we're celebrating May the 4th with a brand new week of fun, thought-provoking Star Wars-related episodes. Join us as we tackle science and culture topics from a galaxy far, far away, such as the biology of Tontons and Wampas on the ice planet, or the practicality and corporate business sense of the Sith rule of two. Listen to stuff to blow your mind on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

The volume. The three-in-out podcast with me, John Middilcough, is presented by Fandul's Sportsbook. There's no better place to make every moment more than with Fanduel. Great odds and markets for baseball, the NBA, NHL, PGA, tour, and so much more. Awesome, new and existing. user promotions. America's number one sportsbook, very easy to use, safe and secure, you get your winnings fast. I cannot recommend it enough. Love gambling with Fanduel. If you are new, just download the Fandualsportsbook app to get started. Now sign up with promo code Colin so they know

we sent you. What is going on everybody, John Middlecop, three and out podcast, weekend edition, Mailbag edition at John Middlecalf is the Instagram fire up in those direct messages and get your question answered here on the podcast Like I've been saying for a while I have several people That you guys have shot me DMs

That you have got your question answered before I manually have and I'm going to have to respond I am probably three weeks behind That is a project in the next three or four days That I have to attack But right now I will answer your question manually from my inbox, the best that I can. Let's start with Logan.

Longtime listener. Also, subscribe to the podcast. You listen on Collins' feed. Please subscribe to my feed, 3 and out, share with your friends, share it with your enemy, share it with whoever. Longtime listener, haven't missed a 3 and out pod and over a year.

Not a golf guy, so I don't listen to go low. But it's cool to see you carving out another lane for yourself. As a guy who's pretty connected with the Niners, what did you make of Kinlau versus Grant Cohn? I thought that was very strange interaction. I don't know anything about Grant, but he doesn't seem to be well liked in Niners circles. With that said, Kinla seemed to be pretty out of line.

What's your take? Do you know either individual involved? Thanks for taking time to read my question. Well, I know Grant through seeing him obviously at Niners stuff. I don't know Kinlau personally, but I mean, I followed the guy's career, which has not gone well. I think it's a combination of, like Grant, for those of you that aren't around here,

I don't know if there's quite a grant in most markets in the NFL. I mean, really, I don't even know how quite to describe him, but his dad was a legendary columnist around here. Grant's smart. I mean, Grant went to UCLA. UCLA wouldn't even, they lit my application on fire. Grant is an educated smart guy, but he kind of knows what he's doing and he trolls a little bit.

and sometimes, you know, people think it's cross the line, personal, and maybe it does. You can probably say the same about me at times. The difference is, I don't, Grant goes to the team every day, right? He goes, he's like a beat reporter, even though he's really got a really successful YouTube channel, but he goes every day. So he sees these guys, they piss them off, they go back and forth. It's part of the deal, I guess. Even though guys like Eric Armstead don't like it and other guys on the team don't like it. It's just, it is what it is.

Ken Law is a young guy whose career is in tatters. He is, as of two years, it's been a disaster. He's coming off major knee surgery. So in his mind, his career, like, it just, it sucks. So he's on edge because he's trying to prove himself. Grant's saying he's a bust. And Kinla just lost it. Like, I understand, I have no problem.

If I'm going to talk shit about someone, or Grant's going to talk shit about someone, they're allowed to talk shit back at you. If you're going to give it, you got to take it. It's just part of the deal. You know, you can't be a giver and then not a taker. And that's what so much of the media is. Ultimately, Grant did have them on the show.

Now, it didn't really go well. And Kinlaw was really emotional. But, like, if Brandon Staley wants to call me up, call me up. I mean, it's just part of the deal. Now, there was one guy that called me up. I refuse to talk to because I think he's a complete clown. But for the most part, it just, it is what it is. And it's a lot different.

Like, in my shoes, I'm not going to see or be around most of these guys. Grant is around these guys every single week. And a lot of times, like, every day. So it's not like he hides. I mean, he talks shit, but he goes in the locker room. So I do give him some credit there in terms of, like, it's not like he's just an internet troll and they never see him. He sees him daily.

I wanted to start off by saying you're my favorite sports talk show since SVP and Rosillo. A couple years ago, I took part in the Scouting Academy. While the program was great, I found that watching the same linemen for 100 plus snaps dwindled my love for football. I was wondering if you ever felt this way scouting. I think you're looking at it the wrong way. I think you do love football, but you don't love it on the level in which you have to love to be John Schneider or Jason Light or Howie Roseman.

Like those guys get energy from football. I found, I love football. I've made a career out of it, just talking about it. I watch it, you know, Thursday night, Saturday, Sunday, Monday night. And like you, I'm sure anyone listening, you guys watch a ton of football. We all are, you know, I would say in radio terms, it used to be called P1s. like your most die-hard listener. We are high-end football fans.

A lot of this country is. I mean, football is a very, very big deal. You went to the SEC. You'd find people that are so passionate about LSU, A&M, Bama, Georgia, whatever, right? They would consider themselves that you couldn't love football anymore, but you don't love it as much as you think you love it.

And I've, lucky enough to work in football, seeing the true love of football, and that was Andy Reid, that was Pat Hill, that was Sean McDermott, That was, you know, Juan Castillo, that was Matt Nagy, that was the coaches and the executives that love football. It's on a completely different level. I think it just exposed that it wasn't my end-all be-all. And I think to be a great scout, to be a great coach, you got to be absolutely addicted.

Like Kyle Shanahan, I was at a press conference a couple weeks ago after an OTA practice. and they asked him a question about something with schemes, something with other teams. And he's like, oh, that's what I watch in my spare time. I was like, what?

He's like, yeah, I do that on my off time. Like when I'm at home, I'll watch, you know, Patriots offense, right?

Like, he has stuff he watches football at work. And then when he goes home with his family, when they go to sleep, he watches more football. So to get to the highest level of football and be good at. it, it's got to be your life.

I mean, it's, you got to eat, breathe, and sleep it. So I don't think it dwindles your love of football. I think it just exposes that you're not on the level that you need to be to ultimately do it as a career. Because to be really, really good at it, I mean, great at it, I do believe you got to be addicted. It's got to be like deep in your soul. It's crazy as that sounds.

But I've seen it. And I promise you, it just does. You always shit on Daniel Jones. Absolutely love the pod. Your ability to make ordinary sound interesting. You always shit on Daniel Jones. Deservantly so. I shit on him will be strong.

I like that. I mean, he seems like a nice guy. I just, I don't know if he's good enough. I mean, so far he's not. I just don't think he is. You can't turn the ball over, right? It's not personal. I mean, I'm sure he'd be a fun guy to have some beers with.

Is it fair to say Judge is a guy who's had Pat Schumer and Joe Judge? Is it fair to say he's a guy that had Schumer and Judge as his head coaches and inarguable the worst graded offensive line in the past three years. He fumbles, but he's been named captain, and I haven't heard one bad thing of character or work ethic. The guy is a plus arm and can move around. Would you be surprised if he's a poor man's Josh Allen this year? Go big blue. Okay.

Here's what I think is fair to think. He is not even close to Josh Allen. Could he be a version of the way Alex Smith resurrected his career? I would say that would be the best. case to turn his career around at an Alex Smith level. Like when Harbaugh got there and then when he became with the Niners and the Chiefs. Because before that, Alex Smith was, most people thought he sucked. They just did.

Two people really believed in him. When I was with the Eagles before Jim Harbaugh got hired, Andy Reid wanted to sign him as Michael Vick's backup. Andy loved him. And obviously Harbaugh loved him. Like Andy Reid and Jim Harbaugh, you do just need someone to love you and believe in you. Like, Jim Harbaugh believed in Alex Smith. Will Brian Dayball believe in Daniel Jones?

To me, that's half the battle of a resurrection. Because if you're going to resurrect someone, you have to instill confidence in them. I'd argue in any walk of life. And if Dayball's a half-in, half-out guy, then no. But if he's all in on him, like if he falls, you know, if he thinks he's got a chance to be a really good player, then yeah, I would say he could turn his career around.

But poor man's Josh Allen. Josh Allen 6 foot 6 runs like a deer and can throw it 700 yards. I mean, Josh Allen is, he's one of the great physical anomalies in the history of the league. I mean, we're talking Elway, Rathesberger, Cam, Josh Allen. I mean, he's on the short list of just who's also good. Like, I mean, physically, there aren't many of him in the history of the sport. Been listening for a month. Love the pod. Appreciate you, Michael.

Got a question for you. Do you think the NFL is going to switch the draft so the Super Bowl winners get the first pick in the draft to keep teams from tanking on purpose? Therefore, becoming an all-around more competitive league. Thanks. No, I mean, for the most part, tanking is not a big issue. The Jags wanted to win last year.

The Lions tried to win every single week. Think about that. The teams that drafted first and second tried to win every single week. Urban just didn't know how, but toward the end of the year, the Jacks tried. The Jaggs did. The Jags won, week, whatever, 18, right, against the Colts. Ended Wentz's career there.

The Lions, I watched them, if any Lions fans would agree, like, I didn't watch all their games, but they clearly, when I did watch them, I always thought they were trying. They just weren't good enough. So I think the way it's set up right now is good. And what would happen this year? Like the Rams won the Super Bowl, but the Lions had their pick. so would the Lions get the number one overall pick? I don't like that.

I mean, I've seen that kind of bantered around about on the interweb. I think it's fine the way it is right now. Now, you could convince me, should they do some sort of lottery to add an extra event? Maybe the top, instead of all the teams that miss the playoffs, just the top 10 teams that draft, and then they get an equal lottery. Everyone gets 10% chance.

We do that just as a must-see TV event. I'd be in for that. How about we do that? So it's like the top 10 worst records, right? So if you're 1 through 10, and somehow they do tiebreakers, right? If like 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, all of the same record or whatever, you just do a lottery and everyone has the same odds. Something like that.

I'd be cool with that. Found your podcast, pardon with the volume. Love it. Appreciate it. I had to check out the Volume Sports Channel. The whole company is outstanding. Everyone on my dad's side of the family is from Western PA. So obviously Steelers football is like religion to us.

I'm really interested in what you think of picket and is fit in Pittsburgh. I love the accuracy, ball placement, anticipatory throwing, red zone efficiency. He's a good size, leadership ability, and is very good size and athleticism combination. I know you think he's a poor man's Mack Jones, but I think there's enough reasonable evidence to think he's more upside than Mac. I'm going to use some of your phrases. He's got a high-level owner, Rooney, I agree. High-level coach, Tomlin, also agree, and the offense is loaded with weapons. they spent a lot of money on the O line.

So here's where I would agree. Because my buddies that evaluate the shit for a living think that thought, every single one I talked to thought Mac was dramatically better coming out of college than Kenny Pickett. That's just, that's not my opinion. That's people that do it for a living. People with Super Bowl rings. Super Bowl rings had this opinion.

Some of these people were never going to draft either of these quarterbacks. But they evaluated Mac Jones. they evaluated Caney Pickett and they said Mac's better. That's part of my take. Because to me, all those type players are kind of similar. They're not my style. I don't like average-armed quarterbacks. Now, where I will agree with you is that Mack went to a team that did not have many weapons.

But their defense was excellent and the Patriots could run the ball. Now, with their receivers, your receivers are way better. Naji Harris is a stud, but obviously the Patriots had good running backs. you have way better receivers. So I'm with you there. Now, your division is really good. Bengals are in the Super Bowl. Ravens bringing back everyone healthy.

I think we'd all agree they're going to be really good. And the Browns, you know, even if Deshaun Watson gets spent it for the year, their defense is going to be awesome. So it's going to be very, very difficult in the division. Now, their infrastructure there is really good. And they've been, you know, 15 or 18 or however old Rothersberger is, he did the same thing. He got to come to a really good.

good team. So where you go matters. Think about Patrick Mahomes. The 12th overall pick got to go to Andy Reed and the Chiefs. Think about Lamar Jackson ends up with the Ravens. I was sitting at 49er practice and I look at my other podcast partner guy and this another buddy ours, Chris Beaterfman, who covers the 49ers for the Sacramento Bee. And I was like, think how lucky Tray Lance is. He got drafted third overall. It's not like he fell. in the draft. He got drafted third overall. He went to a team where he didn't even have to start. They went to the NFC championship game. He got to start a couple games. His head coach is also the play caller and they've won and his team stacked with weapons. Think how lucky he is. Most guys are

like Trevor Lawrence. You go to the Jags where you go to Urban Meyer and your life sucks. Or Zach Wilson, you go to the Jets where they've been losing for a long time. So, Kenny Pickett should, I'm not that religious of a guy, but if I was Kenny Pickett, I would say a prayer every once a while. Just thank you to the big man upstairs. Like, thank you for putting me in Pittsburgh. So I'm with you there. I just, the physical, I, think how good you've been for 15 years. You had a physical anomaly.

Like, I like physical freaks. Now, I know, there are not many Ben Rothersburgers walking on this earth. But like, he was a big reason for your success. 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 you're saying.

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

And now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, unfiltered conversations with some of your favorite athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated.

One week I'll take you behind the scenes of the biggest moments in sports and entertainment, and the next we'll talk about life, mental health, purpose, and even music. The Clifford Show isn't just a podcast, it's a space for honest conversations, stories that don't always get told,

and for people who are chasing something bigger. So, if you've ever supported me or you're just chasing down a dream, this is right where you need to be. Listen to the Clifford Show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, Follow at Clifford and a 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 with Little Kim? Well, you can find out on the Look Back at it podcast. I'm Sam Jek. 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 was big to me, not just because of crack. I'm down to talk about crack on day, but just so you 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 finishing that sentence. 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 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? Are you a good person because you're afraid? Because that's two different intentions, bro. Absolutely. And that's two different levels of trust.

I want you to just really be a good person. Join me, Kear Gaines, is we have real conversations about 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.

Is there any reason for the Panthers to try to win this year? What's the point of winning five games and winning two and getting Bruce, Bryce Young, or versus winning two and getting Bryce Young or CJ Stroud? Well, the reason is because the head coach, in theory, is coaching for his job. Maybe he doesn't care. He's already so rich.

Maybe he's cool with going back to college. But I'm with you. that there is, you would much, you'd be much better off winning two than five. Now, would you rather win like eight, nine than two? Yes. Because you'd rather be competitive than be in the mix. There's kind of a balance. But I hear you.

Now, you know, if Sam Darnold, every time I say Sam Donald's decent or he's not decent, he's not decent. He's not decent. Anytime I say Sam Darnold could be decent, my inbox is flooded with like, Middlecuff, why are you capable for this guy? He sucks. He's terrible. I agree.

Listen, he's been bad. And maybe I'm holding off what I liked him in college. I am. But I'm holding out hope. But I'm starting to actually jump off the bandwagon. First, a show wreck, Apple TV, Severance. Not going to lie, Matt. I tried to watch that show.

It's not really my thing. It's a little sci-fi-ish, Westworld-ish. And I didn't mind Westworld on HBO because there was killing and there was sex and nudity. So if you give me killing and sex and nudity, like Game of Thrones is not for me. I don't really do dungeons and dragons

and all that stuff, but there was so much violence and so much nudity, you know, I'm a guy, like I watched. Severance, it was just, I don't know, it just didn't do it for me. We own the city, maybe I mentioned this on a previous pod. I'm like three episodes in on HBO Max.

HBO Max is, is HBO Max better than Netflix? I do want to watch the Adam Sandler movie, where he's the NBA Scout in Philly. I feel like that movie was made for me. I can't wait. Is that coming out? When is that thing coming out? Because I really want to watch it.

I'm a big New York Giants fan. It looks like we have a competent coach for the first time in which feels like a decade. Long time. I mean, you guys, Macadoo, Shurmer, Joe Judge. You know, long way away. from Coughlin, Fossil, and the Big Tuna. My biggest concern is if he's good of an offensive guy

that he seems to be that he makes Daniel Jones look like a starting quarterback. I think Jones is a fucking terrible and is no place of being the starter. I think if Dable makes Jones look competent, it would be a disaster to not move on after the season given the immense talent at the quarterback position around the league. If Jones is your quarterback, there's no way you can win. Here's what I would say. going back to the couple previous DMs.

If Dayball is able to make Daniel Jones a top 15-16 quarterback, that's worth it. If somehow he can turn him into Alex Smith of the Chiefs and you guys build up the team, you guys can be competitive. To me, that's his best scenario. He becomes Alex Smith Chiefs, becomes that.

Now, part of Alex Smith on the Chiefs, you got to have a good team. Tibido's got to be good. Who else do they draft? The BAM alignment, the guys they drafted last year got to start being good. Maybe Sequin can be good again. Like, you got to keep building up the squad. But to me, that's the best hope.

And I don't think that's the worst thing. You know, if you just get out, let's face it, Eli, I love Eli. I love the Mannings. But those last couple years of Eli, like, you guys haven't had just a competent quarterback in a while. A big fan, Seahawks fan, with reports of the Seahawks and Trailblazers being up for sale. how important do you think a quality owner is for building a contending team? I also keep seeing that analysts seem to be shocked that Seahawks would go into the season with Smith and Luck or Locke.

But in my mind, it is better to give yourself a chance at a quality quarterback in the draft than to be meteoroker quarterback like Baker. Am I missing something? Well, I saw the Trailblazers, Phil Knight, put it an offer on the Trailblazers? And then I guess, is it Jody Allen? Is that Paul Allen's daughter? I don't know if she put it out of statement or sources said that they do not intend to sell. But you know, you would obviously get, I mean, how much do you think they would get for the Seattle Seahawks?

I know Seattle's not like a top five media market, but it's not small. They now have a real brand because of Russell. I mean, I would say if the Broncos are going for four and a half, is Seattle worth 3.8? I mean, it's had to be worth a lot of money. It's very, very important. It's very, very important. The problem is, though, there are only so many, there's not 8 million people with billions of dollars. So you're, the percentage of people, like, it's pretty easy to sell a $6,000 house.

In a lot of markets, like, it's not easy to sell a $6 million house, right? There are only so many people to buy the home. I saw someone forwarded me the most expensive home in the history of Scottsdale sold. It was like $28 million. Because in the history of Arizona, there haven't been that. that many people that would spend that much money on a home. Plus, it's like, this isn't beachfront property. But in California, I bet there's been $20 million homes in the last like two years.

So it just, I think the league's in a tough spot. Like how many people do they have that can afford to buy these teams? People think I'm nuts. Pete Carroll is not trying to lose. He's not trying to tank. He's 70 years old. John Snyder might be cool with it, but Pete Carroll is not. Pete Carroll thinks they can be competitive.

One million percent. I promise you that. He is not coaching to win four games. Now, they may, and it may be the best thing that happens to them, but that's just not the case. Golfer from Hawaii play D-2 at Dominican University in Marin. Don't look up my scores. They were horrible.

Anyways, Big Falcons fan. I know you're skeptical of Drake London, which is fair. but with London 64, Pitt 66, Tate 65, Edward 63, and Patterson 62, it seems pretty clear that Arthur Smith is trying to get physical on the offensive side of the ball, something the Falcons have been lacking for years. Even though I agree, someone like Jordan Davis probably would have been a better pick, I feel like you can respect Smith sticking with the brand and trying to implement thoughts. If he's 100% trying to do that, and I think it's fair to say that he is, Pitts and then this guy, I appreciate having a philosophical belief and going all in with that.

Now, sometimes you have to change your philosophical beliefs as time goes, but I have no problem with that. Draft big guys, try to overpower people. Now, here's a thing with Kyle Pitts can run. Kyle Pitts is also a tight end. Drake London runs like 4, 6, 8. Now, if Drake London plays fast, Keenan Allen didn't run fast. Devante Adams didn't run fast. They dominate. Now, second round and third round. Now, Drake London, you had to draft, to get Drake London, you had to draft him in the first round. I understand that.

But couldn't they have just taken Garrett Wilson? I just don't see how Drake London is a better player, Garrett Wilson. I just don't believe it. And it sounds like I'm being critical. I like Drake London. I do. I loved watching him play at USC. I just think eight is pretty rich for my blood.

Like, you can love a home. I mean, I would love to buy that. And it's on the market for $2 million. You're like, shit, I'd love it at 1-2, but I don't love it at 2. Right. It's no different how I look at Drake London. Love the guy. Love what he represents.

Love the stories I've heard around the USC program about the guy. I'm rooting for him to succeed. I don't care that I said it was a bad draft pick. I root for good people to have success. I'm not one of those people that root against people. I don't even root against Brandon Staley. I hope the Chargers are good. Right?

I don't want to see the Cardinals be good. I'll be honest there. But the Chargers is like, I love. I love Justin Herbert. Might be my favorite player in the NFL, not name like Mahomes or Josh Allen. So I'm a big fan. But I don't know.

We'll see. I just, I'm skeptical. I'm skeptical. Love the show. Really enjoy the fan interaction. Brown's fan here. Ready to move on from Baker. If you're a GM interested in acquiring Baker,

what's the magic number of salary-wise you would want to commit toward Baker's $19 million guaranteed. I would say at minimum, we got to cut that bad boy in half at minimum. Because part of it is like, I'm not just acquiring the player. Like, we got, what's going on with the guy? Like, what's the deal? Why did Miles Garrett just kind of crush him on his way out?

Why do all these guys? Where did I hear something? One of the corner from Northwestern. Is it Newsom, who they drafted last year? I think said something how Odell Beckham, like they all loved Odell, didn't like, Baker. Something's off, man. So it's like, it's more, I don't like bringing toxic

quarterbacks into my building. I can do it at other positions. I can take, like, Javon Kinlaw was a risk for the 49ers. I can do it at detackle. He's 6'6, 300 pounds. Cool with it. I'll try it. I don't do it at quarterback. It's why so many quarterbacks who stink are on rosters, Chase Daniel, Chad Henney, all these guys. Because they're great guys. You want that energy. So if Baker's not a lock to be my starter, I need positive energy around.

Everyone makes fun of Nate Sudfeld when he got put in, when Doug Peterson put him in the game for tanking against the Giants week 17 a couple years ago. I'm watching a minor practice. Kyle Shanahan loves him. You know why? Doug loves him. Kyle Shanahan loves him. Coaches love backup quarterbacks because usually they're like coaches and good guys. Feels like something's off with Baker.

So I'd argue until I figure out what's his deal, why did the whole team not like him? I wouldn't acquire them. Thoughts for the pod. Also, let's hear some random bowl predictions for the coming NFL season. Mine is the Panthers get nine wins and wildcard into the playoffs. Big fan. So best quarterback from each division. Borough, AFC North.

Agreed. Lamar, Pickett, and Watson, who be suspended, so I agree. AFC South, Tanny Hill. They said Matt Ryan, agreed. AFC East. Josh Allen, AFC West, Patrick Mahomes, Rogers, Brady, Dakota Prescott, and Stafford. Yeah, I mean, I think it's a pretty easy list. Full agreement there.

We'll do some of the... I mean, we got so long to go before the coming season. I mean, it's... I'm recording this is June 3rd. We got a while to go. You know, we got a while, while to go. Heard you talking about music subscription services. I know you have Prime, duh, so you use Amazon...

Prime music. It's great and included with your Prime membership. Occasionally you'll have music that needs Amazon Unlimited, but it's not too uncommon. Honestly, I've never used Amazon music. You know what's crazy? I pay for so many services. I use Pandora, which I do not pay for and still hear ads. So, yeah, that's me. How do you teams evaluate players' character during pre-draft interviews? I assume players experience enough to answer the questions in a way they appear as good teammates, hardworking. How much can you trust their college coaches considering it's in their best interest to have a guy

drafted as high as possible? How do you recognize what's BS and what's not? Seems impossible. Very, very difficult. I was only, I worked in the office for a couple years and was only on the road for one year, but I did it when I was at Fresno State with Drew Hill, who now runs Oklahoma's personnel department, he was a pro-liason. So every program, like if I go to Fresno State, if I go to USC, if I go to Texas, wherever, any college football program. But obviously the Power 5 and the Division 1 programs have the most NFL talent. They have a guy that's called a pro-liason. And over the years, you're going to get to know that guy in theory pretty well. And some guys are different than others. Some programs are different than others. But for the most part, they'll shoot you straight.

So when you go, tell me about John Middilkoff, and the guy will just start telling you about. Not the player, his job is to tell you about the person. He'll go, John Middilkoff, he's from Davis, California. He had two parents. He has a brother, good guy, business major. He's been a hard worker when he's been here. At first, he was a little immature when he showed up. He now is a serious girlfriend.

He's been great in the weight room for the last three years. Just, you know, really, he's going to be a team captain this year. or vice versa. You know, John Middilkoff comes from a tough background. You know, we took somewhat of a chance on him. He obviously was a really talented player, but, you know, we questioned how he'd fit in in the program. And it's been a rocky road.

He's been suspended before. He struggles with coming late to meetings. It went, you know, I would recommend you talk to the DB coach. He's not, you know, he's not great meetings. He doesn't listen. He doesn't always know his assignments. And, you know, who knows? I mean, that's the way, I mean, we could describe anything.

And some guys was hard as like, you know, he's a little immature and he's been in trouble before, but I really love the guy. I think he's a good guy at heart. When they say, like, yeah, I think the guy might be a bad guy. That's when you need to do some digging. And you always have to dig naturally, like talk to, I always like talking to women, try to either find an academic advisor, find someone in the building who was a female and get their opinion on the guy. because like you said, some coaches can blow smoke, but usually like, or an equipment guy or, you know, a trainer, how do they treat people?

Because for the most part, a guy is going to treat a football player is going to treat their coach or their position coach pretty well. But like, how do they treat the academic advisor when the coach isn't around? How do they treat the assistant trainer? How do they treat, you know, some random graduate assistant? That's where you can get some pretty good info. When I was a GA at Fresno State, that's where I got to know a lot of scouts

because they talked to me and I was trying to impress them so I'd give them good shit now most of our guys are good so it's like in terms of character but at the time I mean Fresnos had some hit or miss guys

over the years but you know what I mean so it's just you got to get that information and then you just kind of that's your base and then you work off that but you're right it's like people we all can have biases

we all can have agendas we all can have different interactions with different people. It's not, it's not a, you know, it's an inexact science because it's not black and white. You can't just be like, I went to the doctor today and got my height and weight. Like 510, 170. It was like, actually, I was like, God, I'm doing pretty well in the food department now. I haven't been 170 15 years.

But it was like, it's black and white. That's how tall I am. However many inches, she said, 71.5 or 72 or. 70. I don't even remember what the number was. And 171. There's no arguing that, right? You measure a player. He's 6-2-2-10. But like, is he a good guy? How much does he like football? You have to accumulate information and then just keep talking it out.

And you send multiple people into the school, especially with guys you're going to draft. And then you spend time around them. It's just, it's a long process. And you're going to get some wrong. The other thing, and this might change now with the NIL, is the, uh, the money. Like, okay, if we're gonna, we have the 12th overall pick. If we draft this guy, we're going to give him $23 million and a $15 million signing bonus. If you would have given me a $15 million signing bonus when I was 22, who knows? You know, I mean, at 37, I got a pretty good

idea how I'd allocate some things. 22? Might have buy it like four cars, seven watches, and 80 million PlayStation for all my friends. You know, I don't know. It's just like, it's very hard to know. It really is. You just do the best you can. You know, you just... And it's not like when you date someone, right, before you get engaged,

before you get married, you can spend a lot of time with them. You can eventually move in with them. You can, like, you know, get a good gauge of the person. It's not really like that, right? You get the combine, you get the pro day, and you get a visit if you, you know,

you get 30 of them. So you better use your time wisely. And even at the pro day, you know, If a guy is a pretty highly touted guy and he's got some question marks, everyone's going to be wanting to talk to him. So it's hard to get some time. It's a very, very difficult job. It's why you've got to spend a lot of time and you've got to meet a lot of people.

To me, to be a really, really good scout, you know, if you're a national scout or a college director, you need to know a lot of people at the top programs. And I'm not just talking coaches. I'm talking like the trainer, maybe like a booster type guy, an academic person. You just, you got to be hustling. You're basically a detective. I'd argue your job is more important to find out that stuff than it is the player. Because like, once you get a couple of eyes on it, we can, you know, there might be some

difference of opinions, but we can get a gauge on like, you know, can Garrett Wilson player, can he not? You know, can Devante Smith or can Jamar Chase or Michael Parsons? but like do we want to do we want this person in our building do is this guy going to be like Aaron Donald or Nick Bosa or whatever like you get those guys in your building you feel really George Kittle you know Russell Wilson forever Dak Prescott you feel really good about those guys but like those guys aren't always sometimes you get some bad guys right Deshawn Watson was a really good guy until maybe he's not right and now it's a problem and like in that's stuff like I I can't blame anyone for that.

Like every single human you ever met said good things about Deshaun Watson. And now people are changing their tune. Okay, last one. Love the pod. You're always very insightful and measure your takes. I have a patriot question. Why have we struggled to draft offensive weapons? I can't think of the truly great offensive player we've drafted since Gronk.

It's been bust after bust. The only good receiver the Pats have had been acquired through free agency or in Edelman's case, dumb luck. Drafted as a quarterback. He wasn't drafted as a quarterback. They drafted him to move him to wide receiver. But I know what you mean.

I don't know. I don't. For whatever reason, Bill just can't identify wide receivers. He just can't. I think we could all agree with that. Like, he can't. He can pick linebackers. He can pick linemen.

He can pick quarterbacks. Right? Jimmy, Jacoby, Mac. Like, he can pick kickers, long snappers. You know, special teamers. he cannot draft a wide receiver for the life of him. I don't understand it. I really don't.

I don't have an answer to it. He just clearly, that's his blind spot. It's not even debatable at this point. You know, it's like, if you wrote the Belichick Hall of Fame resume, I would say the, I mean, the couple, to me, deflategate, not on him, spy gate, everyone was spying. I'd say the lack of ability to draft wide receivers is like his true, true flaw. Because other than that, he can scheme, he knows every position, he can coach wide receivers, but he can't draft him.

No explanation on my part. Adios. Hopefully everyone's having a good weekend. See you guys soon. Peace. Another podcast from some SNL late-night comedy guy, not quite, unhumored me with Robert Smygel and friends. me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier.

This week, my guest, S&L's Mikey Day and headwriter, 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 IHard Radio app,

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