The Herd with Colin Cowherd - 3 & Out - Big name trades, KC gets a new weapon, Bryce Young is back,

Episode Date: October 24, 2024

John opens the show diving into some of the trades around the NFL and discusses why it's rare that we see big names get traded i the league like we do in other sports like the NBA and MLB. He also talks about how KC's trade for Hopkins will impact them this season and if the Raiders and Browns should go all-in and have a fire sale. Later, John talks about how Bryce Young is back starting for the Panthers this week and how this is an opportunity to show teams that he can be a starter or solid back-up in the NFL or if he  is going to be fighting for roster spots in the future like Trey Lance. Last, John answers your questions during this episode's mailbag segment. 6:51 - Big name trades in the NFL 15:27 - KC's impact in getting Hopkins 26:57 - Bryce Young is starting again 33:25 - Other NFL news 40:45 - Mailbag Follow John on Twitter, Instagram and YouTube for the latest. Check out Gametime - the fastest growing ticketing app in the US, and the official ticketing app of 3 & Out and GoLow -  for tickets to all of your favorite NFL, NBA, NHL, NCAA teams. Concert and comedy show tickets, too. Go to Gametime now to create an account, download the app and use code JOHN for $20 off your first purchase. #Volume #HerdSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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CCPg. Please play responsibly. On behalf of Boothill Casinoin Resort in Kansas, 21 and over. Agent eligibility varies by jurisdiction. in Ontario. Bonus bets expire 168 hours after issuance. For additional terms and responsible gaming resources, see dkng.com slash B-Ball. What is going on everybody? Hopefully everyone's having a good Thursday. Nice beautiful week. Depending on where you live, it could be cold. It's kind of hot where I am. But hopefully everything is going well. And we got a lot going on today. We had, you know, the trade market in football has never been like the other team sports in this country.

Definitely basketball and baseball where star players get traded in the middle of the season. I guess it happened every once in a while, but not consistently like those sports. Things have changed. And we're starting to get a lot more action, which is awesome. Because some things in the NFL have changed, I would say, for the worst. This is something that has changed for the better. And I want to talk about that. Obviously, we had a big trade, V.

Andy Reid trade for DeAndre Hopkins, so the chiefs get a little help on offense with a, I would say, still a pretty good player. Not maybe what he once was, but he had a productive 2023. Could any other big-name players be on the market? Andy Dalton was in a car accident, hurt his thumb, and is out this week. So Bryce Young will start. And I think he's got a pretty big opportunity to resurrect his career, so we'll dive into that, as well as a Middilkoff mailbag. At John Middilkoff is the Instagram fire in those DMs. We put everything on the YouTube channel. If you missed it yesterday, we had Josh paid on. We obviously earlier in the week had reaction podcast to Sunday night football to Monday

night football. So go check that out as well. If you listen on Collins' feed, make sure you subscribe to the three and out feed. Separate. Subscribe to three and out feed. So you never miss an episode because we are doing content on the daily around here. And yeah, so exciting times. But before we dive into football, do you want to go to a football game? I was talking to a buddy today at the gym. He's like, you know where I was the other week? I said, where? He said, I went to the LSU Ole Miss game.

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If you want to go to one of these college football games, if you want to go to college football playoffs, obviously the NFL games, the NBA is often running. And the World Series, you name it. Concerts, I was watching someone today, oh, Lucas Glover, some golf content I follow, said he went to a Taylor Swift concert with his daughter, who's 16, and said, listen, I'm a rock country guy,

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You know, for a long I mean, basically most of my life, you did not have big name players being traded in football. It happened all the time in baseball. I mean, the trade deadline back when baseball was a really big thing nationally, was an enormous story. Obviously, in the NBA, you have had huge, huge superstars traded in the middle of the season throughout the history of the league. And in football, when you think about big trades, they happen. they usually happen before the season. They tend to happen right after the NFL combine,

and during free agency or right before the draft. Occasionally they happen during training camp, but it's been very rare through the last, I would say, 25 years, that big-name guys, like we've seen just in the last week, get traded in season. Typically the Aaron Rogers, the Khalil Max, I mean, you name it, get traded out. outside of the course of the season.

That's completely changed. And this is one element of the NFL that is a curveball and is a complete positive. Because I think there are a lot of factors here, right? We clearly have a lot of younger, more dynamic GMs. And a lot of these GMs are friends with basketball and baseball GMs. I remember a couple years ago at the Combine talking with Howie on a podcast. and like one of his close buddies is Brian Cashman. Like Brett Veach talks to other GMs in other sports.

These guys are all well connected. And it's not like I would imagine in the 90s or the 2000s. Some of these GMs didn't want to make trades. But I do think the economics of the league, because there's a reason coaches consistently get fired more often now, that paying someone $10, $20, $30 million, they're in. higher staff to go away is a line item now for these NFL owners. It's an extra decimal point that they don't even notice. Well, in the 90s, a lot of coaches probably got more years than the

ownership wanted to give them because they didn't want to pay them to go away. And I think with NFL contracts, it was the same thing. Like, NFL contracts are not structured like baseball or basketball. So a big reason that these players and these other sports got traded, if I sign you to a $100 million deal or $50 million deal, money's all relative, right? So the 80s, 90s, whatever the contract number was, it's kind of a pay as you go. Now, the contract might be fully guaranteed, but if you have 20, 30, $50 million remaining on your contract, you have to be on my team for me to pay that. So why, when you see in the NBA, they just trade this guy, well, I don't know that guy any more money. We're in the NFL, it's completely different because money's not guaranteed and a lot of

higher price guys get big signing bonuses. So if I signed you to a $50 million contract, well, I'm probably historically less inclined to trade you after one year if it's not working out because of that $50 million, I gave you $28 million guaranteed real cash. And if I guaranteed $40 million of the contract, I had to put that away in escrow. So owners were like, well, this isn't a pay-as-you-go situation. It's much more complicated. And I think nowadays, with the explosion of the cap, with the explosion of the television money, they're like, yeah, I know we gave him a big bonus, but whatever, screw it.

Our coach doesn't want him. He doesn't fit here. We can get some draft capital. Send them packing. I mean, we just had a recent example last year when they cut Russell Wilson. Think how much money the Walton family gave him immediately when he signed that contract. Well, they're worth billions upon billions upon billions of dollars. So, yeah, I gave them $80 million or $100 million or whatever the...

I didn't look up the number before I went on this rant. I probably should have. But my point is, they don't care. Where historically, no one would ever do that. Because most of these owners weren't flush with cash like they are now. and they didn't have the windfall of cash consistently coming in from television. So you have the perfect combination of all these variables. The owners have never had more money.

And when you win in the NFL, I'm not even talking to Super Bowl. I'm just saying when you are consistently good, your franchise and you personally make way more money. So you are way more inclined to be aggressive and do whatever it takes to get a good team as quickly as possible. And if that means getting rid of a big salary, if you're losing the game more draft picks in the hope of you can flip those draft picks

into good players for cheaper. Like it makes sense. And if you're the Buffalo Bills, if you're Brett Veach, obviously the Jets are somewhat of a unique circumstance. But the one team in the NFL I worked for was the Philadelphia Eagles, who were kind of ahead of their time

because Howie is probably the most aggressive GM. And Andy, because he's such a good coach, has never been afraid of, being aggressive with personnel acquisitions. Now, historically, a lot of them have happened in the offseason, but you just saw, boom. We need a wide receiver trade for DeAndre Hopkins. The owner, yeah, we'll do it, let's do it. Here's a pick, right?

And we'll get into that specific trade here in a second. But I think we all win, because the NFL, listen, is it perfect right now if you've been watching the league for a long time? No. It feels, and I hate saying this, but like super soft, but it kind of does. because some of these hits are constantly flagged. You're like, this is egregious. But that's not going to change.

So we can keep complaining about that all we want. The amount of flags in some of these games, it does feel like the conspiracy theorists that come out and say, they want more flags because longer games meet more ad times for the television networks. Like, I don't think that's true, but it wouldn't be the craziest thing. These networks are paying so much money. But regardless, like the flags, specifically the hitting and the, The lack of defenders having any chance to have success does feel kind of crazy at times.

But overall, I think this element of some player acquisition and player movement, like this isn't the NBA, where guys just constantly demand to get traded and get their wishes, because you see a lot of guys make demands and it doesn't get met. It to me still is the management, I would say, has the slight upper hand. But I would say that is slowly and slowly changed over the. the, I would say, explosion of contracts and clearly the importance of the quarterback position.

You can argue all you want. The Jets just do everything Aaron Rogers says, but what are they supposed to do? Not listen to him? They're kind of desperate. It all hinges on his right arm. And I think there has been a huge, huge growth of younger guys

that don't care and want to be aggressive. become general managers. And a lot of younger coaches as well that are more like, yeah, we'll figure it out. Get them here and we'll make it happen. I mean, McVeigh, they're pretty famous for making a lot of trades.

Why? Because I'm the boss. We'll make this fit. Right. And I just think that used to not happen because it's so hard to get a guy, change the scheme mid-season, he's not going to know what's going on. And personnel people are like, like, we can't just trade for a corner.

Like, you can't just tell him, hey, on this play, play, play, man. I mean, I know it's more complicated than that, but it's not as complicated, I think, as some coaches make it. And now I think there's just kind of an agreement between the owners, the general managers, the coaching staffs that, like, yeah,

we can trade for, you know, impact starters in the middle of the season, and it's worth it. And we all benefit because it's really, really fun. I mean, we just had Amari Cooper, DeAndre Hopkins, and Devante Adams traded in the last, what? Less than 10 days? So that's cool.

I'm not actually eight because they were both traded on Tuesday morning and then DeAndre Hopkins traded on Wednesday morning. So a week later. I'm glad it happened. And specifically on the Chiefs. I looked at some numbers today. You know, the Chiefs offensively are actually the fourth best third down offense. I think it's only Baltimore, Detroit, and Tampa.

Now, probably going to change with Tampa with the injuries they've had. But I think when we think and talk about it, the Chiefs, we go, their offense has been terrible. Well, scoring-wise, they have not scored as many points as you would think a team led by Andy Reed and Patrick Mahomes would score. But they have been efficient on third down, which is obviously the most important down. And I think there's been talk like Andy Reid doesn't go forward as much on fourth down as some of these other coaches.

Well, he's probably in less fourth down situations than a lot of other than some of these teams that are constantly there because they're not as efficient on third down. One number jumped out to me, though, when looking at the Chief's offense. They are closer to 20 than they are to 10 when it comes to first down pass attempts, which kind of makes sense, right? They don't have full faith in their receiving core. I would say Andy has been more inclined to run the ball these last couple of years with the emergence of Pacheco, but then he shatters his leg.

In watching him against the 49ers, they like worthy a lot, but he's still a rookie. and I don't want to say he's a one-trick pony, but he's got a specific role. They try to get on big explosive plays. You wouldn't exactly call him a possession-wide receiver. Well, they kind of had a version of that until Patrick Mahomes threw an interception and then took him out in Rishi Rice.

And Travis, who they clearly, clearly all they care about with him is the playoff run. So they kind of, like, they're not rushing to just force-feed him 10, 12 targets a game. I do think that could change down the stretch as they're trying to solidify the number one seed and obviously in playoff games. But in October and November,

they're just not treating him like they used to. And Patrick doesn't either. Like, he will throw two other guys. So to me, getting DeAndre Hopkins, who is the ultimate possession wide receiver, like he can't run. But he's never been able to run. He's one of the great contested catch guys,

not just of his generation. I would say the last like 25 years. You just throw it. up in his vicinity, and he tends to make a lot of plays. And I don't even count his, like, whatever his numbers are this year are relevant to me. Look at last year, when he was on the field, played in all the games, he got 75 passes with an anemic quarterback situation. So you get a guy who can give you 75 to 80 catches. He's not in the prime of his career anymore, but he's a guy that Patrick, on first down, like,

can throw the ball do. And I think it balances out their offense a little bit. Now, they didn't just trade for, you know, some Hall of Famer in his prime. But they did get a credible pro who his game translates to colder weather because he's not a speed demon. And I think it's a pretty good fit. And the other thing was, they didn't give up very much. They gave up a fifth round pick. that for it to kick into a fourth round pick,

they have to make the Super Bowl, and he has to play 60% of the snaps. So if you make the Super Bowl again, they will gladly give up a fourth round pick. Worst case scenario, they lose in the AFC championship, gave a fifth round pick to dramatically help our offense and increase our chances of winning playoff games and continuing to win and maybe increase our margin for air.

in these regular season games, because their margin for error so far in these regular season games has not been very big. So I'm glad these trades, like Amari Cooper to the Bills, DeAndre Hopkins. I looked at a couple other names. I read this article today on the athletic about the Cleveland Browns. Two things jumped out. One, the writer wrote that, you know, because James is starting this week, and he basically wrote that Thompson Robinson and James were easily the best two quarterbacks in training. in camp. Think how crazy that is. You have a 200, obviously he's injured now and who knows, we ever see him again playing for the Cleveland Browns, but you have a $230 million quarterback, and he's not even remotely close to your best quarterback in camp. So the guy we saw throughout the

season, we shouldn't be that shocked because he's not even the best quarterback on their own team, which we saw last year when Joe Flacco came was dramatically better. But I do think when you have an asset and you are going nowhere and you're going nowhere and you're, quarterback situation is a disaster. I think the more options you have, you have to entertain. And I think with the Raiders and the Browns, they have the two most powerful assets if they wanted to sell. And you probably could include the Titans with Jeffrey Simmons. I'd be lying if I said I've watched a lot of Titans.

I don't know how Simmons is playing, but if he's healthy, he would have a lot of value as well. you're not talking about a guy that you could just trade midseason for a first round pick if you were willing we've talked a lot about Crosby right I think they could probably get two ones for him I also think Miles Garrett is 28 years old but I think you get two ones I you know to me the minimum you would get would be like a one a two and next year's two so I think you've got to entertain these calls because the one thing we know is these GMs are willing to play ball all these GMs who feel like we're close, we can win the Super Bowl this year or right there,

because you would go, well, you would never trade a guy like that in your division. Well, what if the Ravens offered you two first round picks for Miles Garrett? Like, your team is going nowhere, and there's no end in sight. Hell, Kevin Stefansky, who is an excellent play caller, it's just like, yeah, I'll just go like Ken Dorsey do it. This season's such a joke, such a disaster here.

Like, that's, how is it going to change next year? Like, you're not making the play. playoffs with DTR or James Winston. So I just think that you have to entertain. These calls are being made and these meetings are happening. And I do think you have to get to a point where is there a price where we would pull the trigger? Is there a price? Right.

Like obviously the good teams, there is no price you could pay to like trade for Chris Jones. Because Chiefs want to win the Super Bowl this year, even if it's like, hey, we give you three first rounders. Well, yeah, that's quote unquote an overpay. but his value to the Chiefs is so important and all they care about right now is win the Super Bowl. But you get these terrible teams with the second most important position, arguably, the pass rusher, and they're elite players,

and your franchise is circling the drain. I'm not saying it's an easy decision. I'm not saying it's a no-brainer, but I think once we get in the two first-rounder conversations with guys that are closer to 30 than they are 25, like we got to think long and hard about this, especially because we got to change the quarterback position. And it doesn't necessarily have to be this year.

Like if you end up not drafting one and you think only Shador Sanders worth the number one overall pick, start building the team. But then the following year, you also got two first rounders. And you got some ammo. It gives you optionality. And I'm not one for tanking. I think that's been a huge reason. The NBA ratings have tanked.

load management and tanking. The NFL does not have that, right? The reason if Jayden Daniels doesn't play this week is not because they're giving him a rest, it's because he's hurt. The only time a guy doesn't play in the NFL is he's injured. And we all acknowledge it. It's like, yeah, the guy couldn't play.

Because if he could, most of them play injured, let alone like, or attempt to. They usually work out before the game and beg to play, and sometimes the doctors say no. But I'd have to think long and hard about those two players if I can get two first rounders. And I would imagine these young GMs that are kind of gun slingers and willing, which I appreciate, like, I'm a gambler.

I've gambled my entire life. I'm not even just talking about like on sports. I'm just talking on life. I'm inclined to take more risks, I would say, than most people. I kind of like it. That's the one area in my life to kind of get my juices flowing. I would never, but I would also never go skydiving. Right?

I would never go cage diving for sharks. Like, that's not what gets my blood fucking moving. I would rather just like not work in this industry, start my own shit, and see what I could do. Right? I like taking risks. And I think historically, a lot of GMs in the other sports have been willing to and swing for the fences. And in the NFL, once the season started, it felt like they were very risk adverse. And now it feels the opposite.

So these are two type players that I do think you could get a boatload and completely change the future of your franchise. Now, it also comes down to, like, I saw Cleo Mac was traded for a couple first round picks, and they pick back players. Like, once you make the trade, it is on you to pick the right players or utilize those picks in trades or whatever to accumulate the right talent. So it's not like only 50% of your work is done. but man, I would be inclined to let it fly. 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. A win is a win. A win is a win.

I don't care what you're saying. Yep, that's me, Cliver 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 conversation. 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 I-Hard Rating. app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. The story I've told myself about love or relationships can then shape my behavior, and that can lead me to sabotage the possibility of connection. This Mental Health Awareness Month, tune into the podcast deeply well with Debbie Brown and explore the journey of healing, self-discovery, and returning to yourself. We explore higher consciousness, emotional well-being, and the practices that help you find clarity,

peace, and self-mastery in a world that can feel overwhelming. The world is becoming lonelier. We're not becoming more social and connected. We're becoming more individualized, but we actually meet people in connection. If you've been searching for a soft place to land while doing the work to become whole, this podcast is for you to hear more. Listen to deeply well with Debbie Brom. from the Black Effect Podcast Network

on the Iheart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. If you're watching the latest season of the Real Housewives of Atlanta, you already know there's a lot to break down. Georgia accusing Kelly of sleeping with a merry man.

They holding Kay Michelle back from fighting Drew. Pinky has financial issues. I like the boozy style of Housewives show. I think it looks like to be interesting. On the podcast, Reality with the King, I, Carlos King, recap the biggest moments from your favorite reality shows, including the Real House Wise franchise, the drama, the alliances, and the team everybody's talking about. As an executive producer in reality television, I'm not just watching it, I understand the game.

As somebody who creates shows, I'll even say this. At the end of the day, when people are at home, they want entertainment. To hear this and more, listen to Reality with the King on the IHard Radio app, Apple Podcast or wherever you get your podcast. Hey, it's Edwin Castro, also known as Castro 1021. And I'm Conky, his best friend and business manager. And we've got a new show called The 1021 Podcast. I'm taking you behind the scenes on how I became one of Twitch's most popular streamers.

We also love sports. And with the World Cup right around the corner, we'll be breaking down the biggest storylines ahead of the big tournament here in the USA. Listen to the 1021 podcast on the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Other story today. Andy Dalton was in a car accident, and I saw Canales said that he sprained or hurt his thumb. So he obviously, the headline I saw, I would imagine you can't grip a ball. But all things consider better just hurting your thumb than something serious happening in a car accident. so looks like he avoided disaster.

But that means Bryce Young is going to start. And listen, I'm not acting like playing Monday morning quarterback here. I love Bryce Young in college. I would have taken him number one overall. So by no means am I calling them dumb for drafting him over C.J. Strout. I would have. Now, that aged poorly immediately. And it got even worse this year because he was unplayable.

he looked like a USFL quarterback, which is insane because watching him in college, his instincts, his ability to manipulate the pocket, I just thought a lot of things would translate, and it turns out one thing I underestimated is, goddamn he looks small. He just feels like one of the smallest players in the history of the NFL, definitely at that position.

So I think he has two options now, and I think one of them can get really dire. But let's start with the positive one. he can change the course of his career if he comes back and just looks solid and wins a couple games one he can help them avoid get the number one overall pick in drafting a quarterback

and two he can just at least validate okay we took a step back it's like going on timeout you know when you're a kid or getting grounded it's supposed to like give you a reset you're supposed to go away for a minute

go on timeout get suspended if you get in a little trouble at school come back, new guy sorry, I'll wear it, it was on me, change man here, change kid, which rarely happens. It's like, I'm a big mob movie guy. I follow so much mob stuff, like on Instagram.

It's a tried and true formula. Dude gets in trouble, goes to jail, comes out a couple years later, he's like, change man! And like three minutes later, he's back wheeling and dealing with his boys, and then he gets arrested again. But he really,

has two options. It's either play well and change the discourse about him, which has been 100% fair. Again, they benched him for a reason. He was unplayable. Or you kind of become Tray Lance. Like, Tray Lance is a third quarterback. He can't win backup jobs. And I think if Bryce Young continues to look like he did before he was benched for Andy Dalton, I think that's what you're looking at. You're looking at a third stringer. So this is a... guy within a couple years can go from the number one pick starting quarterback to he couldn't be any worse he's a he's a guy that we bring to camp if he's traded or cut to compete for our backup job and right now if he were to look like he looked earlier in this season you could not make him

your backup quarterback because as we see all over the NFL all it takes is one ankle sprain one sprained one brain shoulder one broken finger and you can't grip a ball and your backup's playing. Not just in that game, but he might have to start several games. And if he's the type player and he keeps proving what he's been in the NFL, I can't even compete with. He couldn't complete wheel routes and outrouts. Like, to even have a chance in the NFL as just to make a roster at quarterback,

obviously you've got to know the playbook, you've got to be a smart guy, and you've got to be tough. But like from a playing standpoint, point, I don't need my backup to be super dynamic, to hit go routes and post routes and run around. But I do need you, if I have to start you, for a short period of time, to be able to hit basic passes, an out route on third and seven, a wheel route on second and eight, a slant route that's open against a specific coverage that we consistently call. I understand that the big play potential if I have a good starter is going to drop dramatically.

No shit, he's the backup quarterback. But I do have to be able to function as an offense to hopefully my defense carries us, we run the ball, and ideally you attempt less than 25 passes on the games you have to start. But I need you to complete 15 to 18 of them. And you watch Bryce Young, he's like, this isn't even close. so I'm fascinated to watch this play out I changed my opinion on him really really fast

because of his size and listen Kyler's tiny but you watch Kyler you go well he's the fastest guy in the field his arm strength looks like fucking Mahomes you know like his really only not because he's short but he makes up for it

with all these elite athletic traits and you watch Bryce you go well he's not very fast his arm looks terrible he's not very accurate. He doesn't really bring anything to the table, tangibly. Maybe he's a good guy. Maybe he knows the offense, and you like him in the meeting room. But like, all that stuff's great.

But if you're going to play, like, you've got to bring some tangible stuff to the field. So this is a big moment for him. Because to me, if he plays well and just shows something, and this is a tough spot too. Like, he's going on the road to Denver. who is not a great team, but their defense is really good. And they're coming off somewhat of a mini-buy because they played on Thursday. So can he go on the road in an environment? I mean, this is probably one of the more optimistic Denver seasons.

It feels like in years, right? Their fans think, like, why can't we win 19 games and get a wildcard spot? Even if we're out in the first round, what an improvement that is from the last several years. So this is going to be tough. It could either unravel fast or you could earn like, oh, shitty. This guy's, that served him well. And if I was a betting man, I would bet it's not going to go well. But, and I probably, I plan on betting against them,

even though it's a massive line, just because from what I've seen, it's been horrendous. Let's bang out a couple other quick things. Shanahan says that McCaffrey not going to play this week, should, or potentially could practice next week. I do believe this is one of the more must. serious injuries we've ever seen. Because clearly it's more than just like Achilles soreness. Obviously, it was in both Achilles.

But to go to almost Halloween, I guess by the time they play next week, we'll be after Halloween. And we haven't seen Christian McCaffrey. Not what I expected. Honestly, I was pretty bullish in training camp. I'm like, they're just holding them out. Kyle keeps saying he could play if they had to. And then by the time the regular season came, it got worse.

So this is one of the big. I would say X factors in the NFL that if he can come back and just be normal, I mean, you talk about the trade deadlines, it's like adding Christian McAfrey. But it's hard to be optimistic when I've seen so many players. I mean, we all have that have Achilles soreness, that have Achilles soreness, and then the thing rips. So it's just something to keep an eye on whenever he does come back. Like, is he completely fine?

And then to me, the big test would be if he does play in a game, and does look good, what's the next day? Like, can he walk? Is a soreness gone? Is he just back to normal? So the other thing that McCarthy was asked about Jerry, talking shit about his play calling and bad designs, and Mike was like, yeah, I guess we'll just have to go back and look.

I mean, it's just, it's difficult. It's, we talked about it yesterday. And I heard Albert Breer with Colin today that he thinks Jerry takes a lot of shit for just kind of willy-nilly saying this stuff. And he thinks some of this is like sly like a fox old guy, you know, holding out on CD and DAC, trying to light a fire under them, saying all this stuff about Mike,

trying to light a fire under them. And I do agree that that's possibility, that he's trying to kind of play some motivational tactics. I don't quite know what, like, saying your play calling sucks. does to really motivate anybody. Because I do think it's fair to assume that Mike McCarthy, so far this season,

has been doing the best of his ability to get guys open and scheme plays. Like, I don't think he's tried any less hard on a Wednesday or a Tuesday designing the game plan Monday breaking down film with his offensive staff than he would have two years ago with years remaining on his contract when he had winning records.

Like, I don't know, like, I don't know. I don't know what good that serves the totality of the operation besides, like, yeah, listen, there's heat on my feet here. Like, I'm walking on, you know, on hot coals because I don't have a contract. Like, if that's not motivation enough, like, clearly you got the wrong guy. And that's kind of what it's feeling like, that if this continues and they lose, that it's just a foregone conclusion that Mike McCarthy will not be the coach of the Dallas Cowboys anymore.

Robert Sala was in Green Bay today, and LaFleur was asked about it and said that he will work with the offense. Sometimes coaches do this. I remember when I first got into radio, Harbaugh did this with Eric Mangini. He had Eric Mangini as like on the offensive side of the ball, working like a defensive guy, helping the offense, what to see. coaches kind of love doing that shit

but ultimately I think it's just a really good friend taking care of his guy and I would expect Robert Sala I think it's still owed money next year if he does want to coach he will be on the Packer staff and if this Packer team continues to do well and Jeff Halfley gets a job as a young defensive coordinator

who's been a head coach at Boston College that Robert Sala would be his next defensive coordinator Last but not least, Alvin Kamara Every once in a while It's like, sater and shampils You know, and they were my team to win the division Which clearly isn't going to happen And then you're just like, God, this is a season from hell

And then all of a sudden you look and it's like, oh, we've signed Alvin Kamara, who looks awesome, by the way, To a two-year, $25 million contract extension. You're like, that's kind of random. Now, I think ultimately he's a guy that you want on your team That is a winning player who's, you know, one of the best running backs in the NFL And when you do this stuff for a team that's historically in cap hell,

in a weird way, it actually lightened your cap because you're able to keep pushing money back. So I would imagine this is the type move where you go, listen, I want Alvin Kamar on my team next year. We give them this contract extension. It actually frees up space for us in the offseason. But I didn't see October 23rd with the Saints, several games under 500, starting Spencer Rattler.

no hope in sight. Yeah, contract extension. Here you go, Alvin. But hey, it's New Orleans for you. 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 ground. Listen to Superhuman on the IHard 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 at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. If you're watching the latest season of the Real Housewives of Atlanta, you already know there's a lot to break down. Gorsha accusing Kelly of sleeping with a merry man. They holding Kay Michelle back from fighting Drew. Pinky has financial issues.

I like the bougie style of Housewives show. I think it looks like it's going to be interesting. On the podcast, Reality with the King, I, Carlos King, recap the biggest moments from your favorite reality shows, including the Real House Wise franchise, the drama, The Alliance is and the T everybody's talking about. As an executive producer in reality television, I'm not just watching it.

I understand the game. As somebody who creates shows, I'll even say this. At the end of the day, when people are at home, they want entertainment. To hear this and more, listen to Reality with the King on the IHard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. The story I've told myself about love or relationships can then shake my behavior, and that can lead me to sabotage the possibility of connection. This Mental Health Awareness Month, tune into the podcast deeply well with Debbie Brown and explore the journey of healing, self-discovery, and returning. to yourself. We explore higher consciousness, emotional well-being, and the practices that help you find clarity, peace, and self-mastery in a world that can feel overwhelming. The world is becoming

lonelier. We're not becoming more social and connected. We're becoming more individualized, but we actually meet people in connection. If you've been searching for a soft place to land while doing the work to become whole, this podcast is for you to hear more. Listen to Deeply well with Debbie Brown from the Black Effect Podcast Network on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Hey, it's Edwin Castro, also known as Castro 1021. And I'm Conky, his best friend and business manager. And we've got a new show called The 1021 Podcast.

I'm taking you behind the scenes on how I became one of Twitch's most popular streamers. We also love sports. And with the World Cup right around the corner, we'll be breaking down the biggest storylines ahead of the big tournament here in the USA. Listen to the 1021 podcast on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Okay, Middilkoff mailbag. At John Middlecoff, two Fs, it's my name. Whoever thought of the at in front of all the handles and like Instagram and Twitter,

that's kind of a genius. Kind of differentiates everything. from Shane. Question for the bag. Last Sunday Mahomes had a long run where he was giving himself up on the sideline so the defensive player stopped. Then he turned up the sideline for a big game. The defensive player would have been called for a late hit

if he would have hit him because Patrick gets every one of those calls, even if he's sniffing the line. Think it's unfair for quarterbacks to get protected when it serves them, but they can take advantage of it. He should be called down the second he slows down and pretends to give himself up. Curious your take on the solution. I think Bosa, when asked about it after the game,

essentially said the same thing, that it's completely unfair. Because these guys are taught now that you can't hit them on the sideline. It was the longest run of Mahomes' career. So I'm in total agreement. Once you get close to the sideline as a quarterback, and you do that cutback, the ball should be downed. Because you get every other advantage.

These guys slow up and don't touch you. So I'm with you. It is completely unfair to the defensive players. What are they supposed to do? Because you're right. If someone in the 49ers safeties were hitting, what if the young safety Mustafa would have lit his world up? We know exactly what would have happened.

He would have got a 15-year penalty. Hell, he might have been thrown out of the game. So I don't blame Mahomes for doing it. You're just taking advantage. It's telling my accountant, like, that's a loophole. Let's fucking use it. I want to keep that money. I don't want to give it away.

So until they fix that loophole, it's going to continue to be used. I've heard rumors about the Vikings potentially trading for Stafford. If this to help a clear path for J.J. McCarthy when he gets back, or is there more to it with them? Well, obviously Cooper Cup is on the trading block. The problem for Cooper Cup is, they want a really high pick because they value him a lot

and if you look at his game logs from the last three years he's missed a ton of games and he's no longer the dominant player that he once was because he's always injured so like Devante gets traded and he goes for what

a third? Well the last two years he's got over 100 catches and I just think even DeAndre Hopkins last year at 75 catches. Cooper Cup's injured two years ago. He's currently injured. I think he's coming back now. Like, he's just injured a lot. So, like, you would have to be high on crack cocaine to give a second round pick for Cooper Cup. And that is the reports that what people want. But I think people go, well,

if Cooper Cup's on the block and they're kind of resetting this thing, what about Matt Stafford? Well, the connection's easy because Kevin O'Connell was with the Rams with Matt Stafford, so they know each other. My question would be, it'd be pretty cutthroat that they've had all offseason, all training camp, and now all season with Darnold, and they've had success. They literally just lost their first game, which they easily could have won. So if Darnold would have been a flop, totally understand it. So it's trade for them, figure it out later. I think sometimes in the NFL, more than these other sports, you just live in the moment.

because you're not really, especially if you're Kevin O'Connell and your Flores and you have this team, it's like, could we make the NFC championship game? You're not worried about J.J. McCarthy's feelings or what are we going to, we'll figure that out when we come to it. What's the worst case scenario? Matt Stafford starts for us next year and J.J. backs them up. And if Stafford gets hurt, JJ just comes in. So I think it would be one of the Stafford's a better player than, Sam Darnel, obviously. But like, it's kind of working.

And to me, this is where Tomlin gets a lot of credit. He knew his locker room. He knew Fields wasn't good enough as a passer. And while Russell is not as good as he once was, is way better than Fields at throwing the go route and the ability to get pickings involved. And that clearly changed their offense, which then opens up their run game,

which their running backs are healthy and they slice and dice the Jets. But like, if you did make this move, you would have to acknowledge, yeah, I don't think the guys love Sam Donald. Which definitely doesn't feel the case. Like, that's not Sam Donald's M.O. People like the guy. So that would be, totally would get it if you weren't,

if you were three and three. It's like, we need to spark. I think it would be pretty, and I get it's pro sports, but I'd be, I'd be a little surprise if that happened. I haven't looked at the, obviously, Stafford makes a ton of money. Do you know what I think the Rams want to do?

I think they want to blow it up. So they've already kind of reset it with a lot of younger players. Their defense is really young, draft a quarterback, and kind of pivot. The problem is McVeigh so good, it would be hard for them ever to win like three or four games. Like they'll always end up winning six or seven, even in worst case scenario. It's clear Kyle is having a down year. But something that isn't talked about much is how many offensive coaches he has lost since he's been a head coach of the 49ers. Do you think that is affecting his game planning and calls?

Well, I think part of being a young star head coach, McVeigh, Kyle, LaFleur, is you are going to lose a lot of coaches, especially when your staff is young. You know, the one thing Kyle had is a lot of young dudes. There were his dudes. Slowick, Kubiak, Mike McDaniel, right, LaFleur's brother. who went with Sala. Like, these, these aren't like 60-year-old retreads.

Like, these are young, hungry guys itching to become OCs. So, like, you get to mold those guys into everything you want, and they become reflections of you. And when you lose those guys, like, you're going to miss every once in a while.

Right? You're going to hire a guy to take over for McDaniel or to take over for Sloick, who might not be as good, But it's human nature. If you hire 10 straight people, some are going to be better than others, even if you're great at hiring. Just based on the candidate pool. And the other thing with a candidate pool is like a lot of guys maybe he would want are under contract and he doesn't have access to.

Because he's not hiring you to call plays. He can give you titles, passing game coordinator, run game coordinator, quarterback coach, assistant head coach. But like, I can't steal anyone if I'm not making you a coordinator. so, which he's not because he's the play caller. I do think, though, yeah, I don't know how to quantify that. Like, it's hard to put a tangible value on what that means one way or the other. But I think Kyle's has been bad in the red zone. Like, is he just having kind of an off year?

Is his offense a little out of sync? Is it all tied together? I think it's very, very possible. But at the end of the day, you're the boss. on you. Like, Andy Reid lost a lot of coaches. Belichick lost a lot of dudes. Like, you get paid all that money for a reason. Jim Harbaugh's lost a shitload of coaches over the last 15 years. Same with John. I mean, they get paid a lot of money for a reason. It's on you to figure it out. It's a hard part about being the boss. Question for the bag. Big, big Vikings fan.

What do you think that Vikings should do with Sam Donald, who has played an elite level four out of the first five games. Elite would be a little strong for the Lions game. I would go elite level the first three. I would say the Jets game, not. And I would say the Lions game, like really good quarterback play. I wouldn't go elite, but I hear what you're saying. I know we're only going into week seven of the season,

but you mentioned with Coward that teams do these conversations very early. Well, think about it. Like, whatever business you're in, you kind of always talk about everything. You talk about short-term, you talk about long-term, you're just constantly having these conversations. I've said it, and I'll say it again, the conversations that, like, the GM and his scouts would have

or the scouts and the offensive coordinator have in their offices today, aren't that much different than the ones you and I would have if we'd cracked a couple beers, watch the game tonight. I don't even know what game's on tonight. I guess the NBA started night, but just bullshitting about football. Like, it's the same things. Like, what do we think about Sam?

Right? Should we keep him next year? Like, what do you think? Like, is JJ going to be ready? Like, you're constantly having those conversations. It's just they have the power to extend them, not extend them. That's back to the question about Stafford that the only way they would trade for Stafford is because their belief in Sam is nowhere near as high as the way he's played.

And they think it's smoke and mirrors. Of course we drafted McCarthy, but my argument is that letting Sam Donald walk and saving 30 or 40 million off the cap doesn't guarantee JJ will play at an elite level in 25. Especially coming off a season-ending injury and taking the fields for the first time in non-preseason action at the highest level of football. It seems risky to me to go that route. I personally would sign Donald if he keeps up even 80% of this level. I'm kind of with you. I think a lot is going to be determined about obviously how he plays in November and December

and then what he looks like in the playoffs. Because let's be real. If you guys win the division and win a playoff game and are in the NFC championship game, even if he just plays okay in that game and you lose, you're just going to get rid of him for a rookie. Now, also, like, what's his price point? Like, do we get a Daniel Jones contract? He's making $10 million this year.

So if he plays, he's got 12 touchdowns and 5 picks. So let's say he ends the season and he is 66%, which is, I would say, you know, pre-softness of the NFL is closer to 60. Like he's not, I wouldn't call him Mr. Accurate, though he's made some big-time throws. Let's say he throws 30 touchdowns this year. It has 11 picks. What is the likelihood next year of J.J. McCarthy doing that? Right?

Who's essentially just going to be a rookie? Played in a couple, was it two preseason games or just one? He did make some sweet plays in the first preseason game played. But the chances that a guy who's never played in the NFL in regular season games is going to throw 30 or have the ability to throw 30 plus touchdowns. Feels pretty extreme. Especially factoring in like, well, Caleb, well, I'm watching Caleb throw a bunch touchdowns.

Dan's throw a bunch of touchdowns. Well, it's like, yeah, in college, they were asked, carry my ass. Chuck that bad boy around. Like, they were used to playing like that. Or Sam's kind of the opposite. He comes in playing like Jimmy Garoppolo in 2019. Man is the game, brother. So, yeah, I think the thing was talking about this stuff, you know, and people get so up

in arms, like, you said this. Now you're taking it back. Like, yeah, all this shit's fluid. Things change. by the week, by the month. It's like stocks. This is stock market on grass. Things go up and things go down. And right now his stock is clearly up. But the reason like Apple or Google or some Costco, like they're up forever, right? They have some downturns. But for the majority, you invest in them over the last 10 years, they go up. Same thing like Peyton Manning and Tom Brady and Aaron Rogers. Like for the large, with guys like this, there's still a lot of unknown.

Did he just turn around his career? He's going to be a good player. I like him. Now, would I sign him to the Daniel Jones contract today? Probably not. But you would also risk, like, what if the season ends? And he throws 34 touchdowns, and you are the number one scene. How much does it cost then?

Are we talking, like, two of numbers? Is that what he would get on the open market? Is that what the Raiders or a team like that? Seattle? Like, who would pay him? So it gets very risky. They're in a good spot. in the short term, because they got Sam Donald, right?

And they drafted a quarterback. But they're in a weird spot in the long term because the dude they drafted needed some work. Even if he wasn't playing, like practice would have been huge for him, hurt his knee out for the season. And this player is not under contract. Now, I'd have to text around, like, I guess, worst case, if you got into a pent, you could franchise them. Do you think Oklahoma could hire Joe Brady as their offensive coordinator?

He will always play second fiddle to Josh Allen and Buffalo, but if you could turn around Oklahoma shit show of an offense and have them competing next year, he would get 100% of the credit. Well, here's the thing. In the NFL, if you're an offensive coordinator with a star quarterback, that job is better than any offensive coordinator. job in college. I've always thought every NFL job, even the worst ones, are better than college jobs. Like Ohio State, Texas, you name it, are better than the Jacks. I think with money,

I think it's changed a little bit. Like you could argue the Ohio State job, the Texas job, now the Georgia job, what Alabama had was Sabin forever, is a better job than the Jacks, is a better job than the Raiders. So there are, we could argue on what that number is, but there are definitely some college jobs that I would understand, like, I would rather have the Ohio State job than that job. But if I'm going to be a coordinator at both spots, being the coordinator for Josh Allen is better than any coordinator job in college.

Every freaking one. And honestly, it's not close. because if I stay with Josh Allen and we win like we're doing and we get hot in the playoffs and we're in the AFC championship game or we make the Super Bowl or hell we win one, my career has changed forever and I'm going to be head coach. In the NFL. And have my pick of the litter in college.

So I think the question mark is, would you hire Joe Brady? I saw Venables is, listen, This is a season from hell. It ain't going to change. They have too many injuries. Talking to my guy on the sideline, well, he was on the sideline.

I was up against the wall because your boy didn't have sideline passes for the game. Didn't want to ask. Wasn't trying a lot going on. Like, the injuries they've had are insane. So I think Venables gets next year to kind of prove like, you know, he's had two of three losing seasons. Last year was good, but his first year and obviously this year are a disaster. Why couldn't Joe Brady be the head coach there?

Assuming he even wants to mess around with college. But I don't think you leave for a college offensive coordinator job. If you're an NFL offensive coordinator job with Josh Allen as your quarterback. Especially with the defensive head coach. You get a lot of, you get a lot of leeway in that situation. Big Packer fan. I am loving the gun-slinging style of love. It's possible he's going to break my heart in the playoffs with an untimely pick.

But for now, I'm enjoying his just let it rip style of play, especially after the more cautious, risk-adverse style of Aaron, in his later years at least. Obviously, turning over the ball is not ideal. But do you think there's a tide turning in the NFL regarding interceptions? I know you're a guy who likes to swing big in life. Is it throwing more interceptions over the course of the season if you're also constantly pushing the ball down the field

as opposed to more conservative dink and dunk play? I think no one has a problem with interceptions as a coaching staff if you're also making a lot of explosive plays and scoring a lot of touchdowns. So interceptions kill you in the red zone. I would say an interception in the red zone as Rich Gannon once said on a broadcast, not my words,

that he was told by a coach, he didn't give the coach's name, it's fair to assume it's when he was on the Raiders, might not even have been a head coach, so it might not have been Gruden, that throwing a pick in the red zone is the equivalent of a baby dying. And so on my other podcast that I had for years

with Guy Haberman, we used to call it the baby zone. That when you throw a pick, you know, in the baby zone, it's a problem. and again, not my words. He said it's on CBS. That I think it was during a Raiders game or might have been during a Niner game when Jimmy Garoppolo threw a pick in the Red Zone.

But to me, Red Zone picks are bad. They are killers. But like, when you're just driving and you're letting it rip and I can live with it. I also think the timing of interceptions, right? I think there's a time in place. If it's a second quarter and it's 10 to 14

and I'm fucking just freelancing and making plays. Like, I can live with it. In the fourth quarter of a tie game or a game where I'm down three and there's six minutes left and this might be one of my last possessions, I do need to be more cautious. But I can always handle picks when you're throwing a lot of touchdowns. Like, if you say, he threw 14 interceptions, wasn't there a big difference?

It was like, well, he only threw 18 touchdowns. Or it's like, yeah, he threw 38 touchdowns. Like, these things aren't equal. And I think that's a huge part of, like, part of with the dink and dunk style, like you're just not going to score as many points. I feel like for the most part, the Packers are a threat to score 30 points in every game. And that's with him turning the ball over. I think one thing the gun slinging style is throwing the ball over the middle.

Willy-nilly is, I would imagine something that drives. the floor nuts. Every once in a while you get tricked on a pick on an out route and a guy playing zone and then he's playing man or you think he's in man. The underneath guy drops in the zone. Like, okay, it's football. It's hard. I mean, those guys drive big cars or nice cars and live in big houses too. To me, some of the picks he throws over the middle of the field, we got to be a little cautious because when you do play a great team, like, you're playing the lines in a tie game, that could be the difference. And that's the difference why you don't win the division. or I haven't looked at your schedule,

but like how many great defenses you play. Let's pull them up really quick. The Green Bay Packers. So you play the Jaguars this week. Then you play the Lions. That's a pretty big game at Lambo. Then you go to Chicago. That's a big game.

Then you play the 49ers. It's a big game. Dolphins, we'll see if Tuah can resurrect them, but you guys are way better than them. Then you go at Detroit, at Seattle, St. Stink, end with at Minnesota versus the Bears. So I think these divisional games, like you guys still control your own destiny. You guys can still win the division. You can still be the number one seed in the conference. You're actually in great shape, even though it's weird.

Like, you guys technically are in third place in the division. I guess you lost to Minnesota at home But you get them again And I actually think you guys are pretty built to play in a dome So right now you've only You've only played the one divisional game Yeah I like gunslingers

But I do think there's a time and a place And like you said Like what Rogers was doing later on his career One it was You know a lot of people sneaky criticize them Like Aaron you can take some shots here But it was working and you guys were winning but then he got in the playoffs sometimes.

He's like, Aaron, you gotta let a rip. Lifelong Broncos fan here. Should fans be worried about Peyton's offense? It looks so simple at times, and I believe he is the lowest motion rate in the NFL by a long shot. Are his times of being a premier offensive mind over? I would say he's been, I can't judge him last year,

so I'm going to throw away last year. And I said this, if you listen to the podcast after the Thursday night game. You guys knew after the preseason night. I'm guilty sometimes I get excited. I was like, God, Bo looks good. And then I've been a little disappointed in the regular season. I actually think for the most part,

he's been below average. Like you said, they're not asking him to do much. And I even thought in that Saints game, it's like, God, he has series where it's like, is this the biggest project you've ever seen? It looks like he's processing slow. It just looks off. Which is weird, no one in the history of college football has started more games.

And it's not like he played at UC Davis and some small school in Texas. I mean, this guy started at Auburn and then Oregon. So, like, basically the overwhelming majority of his conference games for five years mattered a lot. I mean, this guy's played in massive games. From the Iron Bowl against LSU, against DeBore in Washington, against Utah. This guy's been playing real teams for a long time in front of millions of people. and massive crowds. And you watch him in the NFL,

he's an older player, and you're like, listen, I understand why they did it, but I know a lot of people that were not that high on Bo Nix. And I know a lot of people that think Sean Peyton, he's pretty arrogant. And he said over and over, we think we got the best quarterback in the draft. And so far watching, like,

I actually think the quarterback has limited. Now, it's football, it's hard. He's not as physically gifted, But there's a reason that other guys went one and two. Caleb and Jaden are freak talents. I mean, Caleb is, I mean, his arm is, whew, and Jaden's arm. Obviously, Jaden's thinner than Caleb, taller, but so fast. And Caleb's a great athlete, great athlete strong, but a really good athlete.

You know, Bo's a good athlete, really good athlete. Arms, a little hit or miss. Accuracy looks a little off. So I just think he's got a project on his hands. If Bo was playing well in his offense, you thought, was stagnant and the motion rate, then yeah. But I think they're just trying to get some momentum with Bo Nix, who just, again, I mean, I'm the guy that was like, hey, 14 to 1 offensive rookie of the year, your boy might have put a couple hundred bucks on it.

I mean, I lost. I might as well have just burned that money. Sometimes you just can't overthink things. I think it turns out the value preseason, in some people, I'm sure, listening to this might have jumped on it was Jaden Daniels, because Caleb was like, basically one and a half to one. So if you put $100, you win $150. Jaden was like 5 to 1. But I'm a value investor.

Probably value investor sometimes, your money disappears. Huge Seattle fan. I was curious your thoughts were on Gino moving forward. I feel like McDonald will get his defense rolling. And there's no way you pay Gino what quarterbacks go for in the offseason. What do you do if you're John Snyder? Well, I mean, I think Sam Donald's name. name has come up. Would you just go for the younger player?

Right? Sam is 27. What's Gino? Let's just hypothetically in a world that said you could pay them both the same. Gino is 34 years old. So you have like a seven year age difference. And Gino actually turns 35. God, he's older than you think. I guess he just turned 34. I was like October 10th, but that just happened. So Gino next year will be 35. He has been, I give John Schneider a lot of credit. It's one of the best bridge quarterback signings. I can remember in a long time.

I mean, it truly is. Usually when teams sign guys like Gino Smith, it is such a disaster. It is so embarrassing. It just immediately pisses off all the fans. Everyone knows the guy sucks, and he typically gets benched. and Gino is just

been freaking fantastic for them I mean he really has but you're right this is a business and clearly Gino wanted to get paid this off season don't blame him

because in his mind it's like look what I've done for your franchise I've helped keep it afloat and it's like well Gino I watch you play against Atlanta where's that guy when we play the 49ers like the guy that I just saw two weeks ago

what the hell was that and I think think the games against the 49ers, he's now, I think he's 0 and 6. He was 0 and 5 coming into this season, and you lost that Thursday night game, so he's 0.6. He has been atrocious in those games. And listen, you're getting, like, if you're not Tom Brady or Peyton Manning or Rogers in his prime, you get some bad games. Like, it's, you know, even the middle of the road crew, like, they're better middle of the road, but the cousins, the goffs, the Dax,

the guys that make a lot of money that we all acknowledge, even though Goffs, like, kind of having an MVP season, but they've never been like top five quarterbacks. They have stinkers. But I think the problem with Gino is age. It feels like he puts a ceiling on your team. Are you going to win? Part of the Niners thing reflects, like, can we win playoff games with you? And it doesn't feel like the answer is yes.

And let's say you win the division this year, because it's very possible with the Niners having a lot of problems. Let's say you win the division this year. If you lost that playoff game, I think Gino would be done. Now, I think the question mark would be, would they trade up and try to land someone? Is this quarterback class something that would intrigue John? I don't know. Fascinating quarterback team. Really is.

Okay, last question. That's a long question. Do you think divisional realignment in college football will improve the success rate of first round quarterbacks? or reduce the likelihood of drafting buss, where in previous years, top programs like Ohio State, Bama, etc., had only a couple top 15 games on the schedule. The consolidation of power in the SEC and Big Ten now forces more NFL-like matchups. This is a fantastic point here.

This is a good question. A lot of successful college quarterbacks on loaded college rosters flopped in the NFL. Now, take Georgia and Texas game, for example, we already are riding off viewers and Beck as mid-round picks after disappointing performances against other elite defenses. Curious of better talent parity will help teams make more and four draft decisions.

You know, in fairness to years before, on a lot of these busts, like, if you had two years as a starter in your potential top five pick, like if you play at Bama or USC or Texas, or whatever, I can only go off the three or four games that you played against, like, other loaded teams, right? So it is, it was a huge, huge projection always. And now, like, Carson Beck's playing in massive games.

I mean, he's already played, I would say, two NFL level games on the road at Alabama, on the road at Texas. Like, there can't be a better way to evaluate you. The pressure, the intensity. I don't know exactly how many NFL guys Bamma has on defense, but first, crap is their defense is. I bet still a lot of guys end up getting drafted. Obviously, Texas has a bunch of NFL guys defensively.

And it's like they're going to get more of those. And now with the 12-team playoffs as well. So I think you bring up a great point that any player I want to evaluate that's at one of these SEC or Big Ten schools, they're just playing in so many big games against other NFL teams, against other teams, even random games.

Like, oh, you get Iowa this week. And I'm a linebacker. Well, it's like, well, they got a starting running back that's going to be a, I don't know, top 100 pick. That before, like, or, you know, the UCLA middle linebacker. I don't even know if they have one. I'm just using this as an example. That game never would have happened. UCLA would have been playing like Arizona State, right?

Or Utah or just what I, Utah's got NFL players. But you know what I mean? Yeah, I think it 100% helps. for sure. So maybe there will be less draft bus. Maybe, here's the thing. Maybe it's more likely

that these guys don't get drafted as high. I think that's the thing. That instead of Quinn Ewers and Carson Beck in years past where, like, let's face it, if Texas was playing in the Big 12, they would destroy everybody. And then you'd get to the playoffs

and you would put an extraordinary amount of pressure on the playoff games. And if he didn't have a good Final Four game, you would chalk it up. Well, he's had one bad game. It was a big moment. But you would go back, look at his numbers. Well, it turns out that game against Georgia in the Final Four, I'm assuming no realignment here. Texas still in the Big 12. Well, it's like, that's a one-off situation.

Well, no, actually, that is indicative of the guy less than playing Baylor in Oklahoma State on a weekly basis. so 100%. And I do think it's going to really help a lot of guys out. It's like, damn, look at that guy play. Like, you watched, I'll tell you who made a lot of money. You watch Walker from Georgia. Holy shit. Like, and get more eyeballs on them.

Because you play well in the bigger games, more people are paying attention. Hype's great. And listen, hype, real or not matters. But it can dissipate and disappear. quick because when you play good teams, it can just be like, what's going on here? Like, what's happening? And I think we are all huge winners. Seeing some of the ratings numbers on college football, it's pretty crazy.

I mean, some of the biggest games this year, Georgia, Texas, Bama Georgia. I mean, these games are doing like 12, 11 million people. like good, good regular season NBA games do like a couple million people. The World Series this year is unique because it's Dodgers Yankees, but never do those type numbers anymore. Hell, the NBA finals the last couple of years are doing like 9, 10 million, and that's like Warriors Celtics. So props to everyone for realignment.

It has made the sport more interesting, even if I missed the Pac-12 a little bit. Appreciate everyone listening. soon. The volume. 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

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and Friends on the I-heart radio app. podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year.

Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the I-Hard Radio app. Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. 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 hot, or the practicality and corporate business sense of the Sith rule of two. Listen to stuff to blow your mind on the eye, Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. On The Look Back at it podcast. From 1979, that was a big moment for me.

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