The Herd with Colin Cowherd - 3 & Out - Tua’s Respect Problem, Coaching Hot Seats, and Rodgers’ Field Frustration

Episode Date: October 16, 2025

On this episode of 3 & Out with John Middlekauff, John dives into why Tua Tagovailoa still isn’t getting the respect he deserves despite his strong play, and whether some NFL coaches ha...ve officially worn out their welcome. Plus, John reacts to Aaron Rodgers’ latest comments on field conditions and what they reveal about the league’s ongoing turf problem. Finally, John answers your questions in this episode's mailbag segment. Follow John on Twitter, Instagram and YouTube for the latest.  All lines provided by Hard Rock BetSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Starting point is 00:00:00 This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed Human. Hey guys, it's us. The Jonas Brothers. I'm Joe. I'm Kevin. And I'm Nick. And guess what? We created our own podcast called, Hey Jonas.
Starting point is 00:00:12 We invented a podcast? Well, we didn't invent it. We just contributed to it. We're the first people to do podcasts. We get to ask other people questions because we're sick and tired of being asked questions. Well, sick and tired is a strong way to put it. But, you know, tired and sick. Listen to Hey Jonas on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you.
Starting point is 00:00:30 you get your podcast. Just listen. We don't care where you hear it. 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 ice. Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Starting point is 00:01:04 The story I've told myself 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. 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 I Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. This is Saigon, the story of my family and of the country that shaped us.
Starting point is 00:01:40 From My Heart Podcast, Saigon. You don't think I'm serious about a free Vietnam? One city, a divided country, and the war that tore America apart. This is for Vietnam. They're pouring patriots all over here. Freedom for Vietnam! There's a fire coming to this country and it's going to burn out everything. Listen to Saigon.
Starting point is 00:02:00 on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. The volume. What is going on everybody, John Middlecough, three and out podcast? Hopefully everyone is doing well. As we head into Thursday night, Mike Tomlin taking on Flacco and the Baltimore, I mean the Cleveland, the Cincinnati Bengals, his third AFC North team. Tomlin's not happy about it. Do like the Steelers tonight.
Starting point is 00:02:38 And we'll get into something Roger said earlier that just made me shake my head. as well as a couple of things I want to hit on. I want to defend too a little bit. And I think we always think the grass is going to be greener on the other side. And I read an article today that went, before you fire your coach, I just want you to realize the coaching candidates in this cycle. One is Mike McCarthy, who might be the best.
Starting point is 00:03:01 Like that's not exactly Bill Walsh, you know, sitting out there on the open market. So we'll dive into some football stuff. And yeah, we'll also be live. after the Thursday night game like we are after the Sunday night game like we are after the Monday night games. I guess we got another double header, so buckle up. A lot of football going on and let's enjoy it. But I do want to start with Tua because I'm at the point now where I'm going to defend him in this situation. Listen, we know who he is as a player, right? No one's ever compared him to Josh Allen, Patrick Mahomes, Aaron Rogers in his prime.
Starting point is 00:03:38 Like he's a middle of the road quarterback that can play well in decent weather, struggles in bad weather, and he's going to turn the ball over sometimes because he has not the greatest arm. But he's better than, you know, 10 to 15 quarterbacks on a weekly basis if the weather's on his side. But the other day when he said his comments about the players only meeting, people freaked out and said he was throwing people under the bus. One, players only meetings in football are kind of stupid, given that you're at the facility Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday,
Starting point is 00:04:08 Saturday for probably a combined 70 hours. The amount of time, especially like a player's only meeting typically is like offensive guys or defensive guys. You're around your guys constantly. In the meeting room, in the team meeting room, in the cafeteria,
Starting point is 00:04:24 on the practice field. Like your entire life is a player only meeting. Just the position coaches are there some of the time or strength and conditioning coach are there some of the time. you're constantly talking to your teammates. It's kind of stupid when you really think about it. And the other thing is football parallels the military,
Starting point is 00:04:42 not in the sense that you can die. I mean, technically you could die playing football, but it's not life or death like it would be for an Army Ranger or a Navy SEAL or someone in the Air Force. But in terms of the hierarchy, the head coach is the boss and everyone knows it. And a good organization, once the season starts, knows that he's the head of the first.
Starting point is 00:05:04 snake. And I think when you look at this dolphin situation, Mike told you last year, he's like, I can't get people to stop showing up late. Fines do not work. It's like, this thing's done. It's over. So you can run it back. But the moment the head coach acknowledges people will not show up to his team meetings on time, it's never going to function. And the reason guys aren't showing up to the team meeting on time is because my buddies that are scouts right now on the road, They say they spend way more of their time accumulating information on the player off the field, his wiring, his character, all the intangibles than they do sitting there breaking down tape of the player.
Starting point is 00:05:49 Obviously, you want to get the player right. But when you're dealing with first, second day picks, most guys can play. The reason a lot of them fail isn't because they're not strong enough, isn't because they're not fast enough, not saying that doesn't happen. a lot of the time it's the intangible stuff. And that's on the general manager to draft and sign the right type players in your building. Most guys are not
Starting point is 00:06:13 Peyton Manning. Most guys are not Troy Aikman. They can MF every single player unfazed, lead the group to the Promise land, whether a coach is around or he's not around. Most guys need to be led. There's a reason, like, Seal Team 6 doesn't set the mission. Someone does
Starting point is 00:06:30 above their head. And they are just tasked with executing it. It's no different than a football team. Like Patrick Mahomes doesn't need to rally the troops seven days a week. That's what they pay Andy Reid to do. And like the dolphins in a lot of these franchises, I think we have a point and it's almost a problem because these owners are so flush with cash.
Starting point is 00:06:54 They can fire and hire people without hesitation anymore. Paying a guy, five, ten, $20 million to go away. is pocket change to mirror you. And it's created a culture of because these people have no, they don't speak football. They don't understand football. It's why businessmen for organizations that are on their second or third generations, like Kevin Warren with the Bears,
Starting point is 00:07:19 like this president with the Titans, can finagle their way in, Rich McKay with Arthur Blank, and have an incredible amount of power, right? Because those people speak numbers. people speak business, what the owner speaks, and the owner has no clue about football. And if they can fool that owner and thinking they know a lot about football, they can take control of the operation. And that's what's happening all over the league. And Stephen Ross and his
Starting point is 00:07:45 franchise feels like a rudderless ship out there in the Atlantic Ocean, which is kind of warm and nice. And, you know, you got some, you know, string bikinis walking around the beaches. But this football team, thank God Mario resurrected the college team, because this team is just a joke. And it's all falling on Tua, who I'm not trying to act like, and maybe there's been some people online saying he's been late to meetings in his past. I don't know. I'm not there. But this doesn't all fall on him.
Starting point is 00:08:12 He's just attempting to do whatever he can because no one else will. I do think we got to be really careful this offseason about just like, John Harbaugh is a good example. Let's say the Ravens end up with five, six wins and just have a season from hell. There is going to be a large contingent of people saying fire him. I did this last year with Mike Tomlin. I said, listen, no one with a brain would say Mike Tomlin is a bad coach. But has his time run out in Pittsburgh?
Starting point is 00:08:45 Does his message run flat? And we can debate whether that actually happened or not. Obviously, this season's going pretty well. But like, there are a specific candidate. You can resurrect and get your offense into the modern world. Ben Johnson, one of the best O.C. candidates in recent. memory. And you could argue Vrable is just a version of Tomlin, so that would be replacing one guy kind of with the same guy, but maybe he gave a fresh message. I was just open to the possibility.
Starting point is 00:09:11 Clearly, the Steelers were not. Well, kind of a similar situation here in Baltimore, it's like, hey, has his message ran flat? Did he miss his window? If this season continues to go really bad, let's get rid of John Harbaugh and hire Mike McCarthy, Arthur Smith. I love him, but Matt Nagy? Like the crop of coaches, unlike college football, like Penn State is going to go all in probably for Kurt Signetti or Matt Rule, a guy that played linebacker for them and has won at countless schools. When Florida fires Billy Napier, they're probably going to go after Lane Kiffin, a guy who is setting records for the amount of wins in a short period of time at a program that's never good, Ole Miss. Like there are real good candidates in college football due to South Florida, the dude at Tulane, obviously Matt Campbell, like there are legitimate candidates if you're a big school to go land a guy
Starting point is 00:10:08 whether you dominate and win the press conference or not. The resume speaks for itself on a lot of these guys. Not necessarily true when it comes to the NFL. And when I looked at this list that the athletic put out, Mike McCarthy was by far the best candidate. And let me say this. I don't think he's a terrible candidate. He can coach the quarterbacks.
Starting point is 00:10:28 He can be the offensive coordinator while being the head coach. And he's proven he can win a lot of games on the regular season. Now, over the long period of time now, since the early 2010's, his resume in the playoffs hasn't been that great. Lost some big time games that he was favored to win. Even in Dallas, twice. Lost at home in the first round. The Green Bay Packers in San Francisco 49ers.
Starting point is 00:10:48 Pretty devastating losses. Right? So he leaves a little something to be desired. You could argue what the hell is the difference between McCarthy and Harbaugh. and Tomlin and some of these, like, you might as well just keep the guy that you feel comfortable with. But that's what we're dealing with here.
Starting point is 00:11:02 And I think it's universal, get rid of this guy. And some of these guys like Mike McDaniel, obviously you're going to fire him. Zach Taylor, if you keep losing, is going to get fired. But you fire Brian Callahan. Who's taking that job? You were just paying them. And listen, most people in society would give their left, you know what, to make $3 million a year.
Starting point is 00:11:22 If you're a head coach in the National Football League, I mean, what's the average, what's the average rate? $9 million if you average it out. There are 10 probably plus guys making over $13 million. How many people in college football make 7 to 8, let alone 9 or 10? So when you pay someone like that, you're showing, we don't think he's any good. You'd be like, well, it's just negotiation, it's just leverage. Well, it's just showing you, you're getting a guy that has no options and that you won't
Starting point is 00:11:50 hesitate to fire in a couple years because it won't be, you know, very cost prohibitive in terms of you losing money. He's like, whatever, give him a couple of millions, see you later. Well, it's like, if you're the Titans, you have this young quarterback. Like, why don't you just call Steve Sarkisian or Lane Kiffin or someone? Those guys wouldn't even accept your phone call. They make three or four X what you were just paying the head coach that you just fired. And guess who they answered to?
Starting point is 00:12:16 Nobody. They're the boss. So you can't even go down that road. When I was with Philly and they fired Andy Reed. The other sights set on two guys. First they went after Bill O'Brien at Penn State. He turned him down. He'd only been there a year.
Starting point is 00:12:30 And then they got Chip Kelly, a guy that looking back, not a great hire, but at the time everyone wanted. So I just think you look around this class, it's not great. There does not seem to be a Ben Johnson, some offensive coordinator that's just a shooting star. There are guys like Joe Brady that, depending on the week you watch them, pretty good, pretty bad.
Starting point is 00:12:51 Clint Kubiak a couple years ago, fired. You know, it's like, this league's weird. And I think all these teams now, they just are, there's never been more pressure, right, to try to win. Because the amount of money, you're guaranteed to make money win or lose. But if you are a competitive team, it is, it's so lucrative to your bottom line. The aggression from these owners, it's like, well, we just got to upgrade. Well, and when you upgrade, it's awesome.
Starting point is 00:13:18 You know, the Patriots hiring Mike Vrable. Shock, that worked. No shit. that was going to work. But that's not most of these situations. I think Arthur Smith's a pretty impressive guy. His story's pretty cool. Worked his way up the Titans by the end. He was the best offensive coordinator in the league. But he became a head coach, probably not all of his fault, left a lot to be desired. You know, and at the end of the day, when you're the head coach slash offensive coordinator and you're cool with running Desmond Ritter out there, I just don't
Starting point is 00:13:45 take you as seriously anymore. You could argue that Matt Nagy winning some games with Mitch Trubisky that can't complete of like the nine routes on the route tree, like seven of them, not that bad. But if I tell you that you, you know, the Ravens fired John Harbaugh and hired Matt Nagy, you would be like, what? Seriously? So I just think we got to be very, very careful
Starting point is 00:14:07 when it comes to these situations. And listen, some of these guys are going to get a second opportunity. And the other thing is, when you give a guy a second opportunity, you know he knows that he can handle stuff, right? because he has sat at the chair where when a guy gets DUI, when a guy just disappears from your franchise, like the situation with Josh Simmons right now. I have no inside information that you don't have.
Starting point is 00:14:30 I've just seen that he disappeared and they know where he is. They don't know when he's coming back. Guess what Andy Reid has. Experience dealing with situations like that. Maybe not apples to apples this situation, but he's seen this before a time or two. So while some coaches would just freak the, you know what out, I might as well.
Starting point is 00:14:48 Like, what the fuck am I going to do now? Instead, Andy, can take a deep breath. We can handle it. We'll figure out. Here are our options. And no one prepares you to do that as an assistant coach or as a coordinator. Because that's not your job. And this gets back to the Tua thing.
Starting point is 00:15:04 Like Tua asked to act like he's Peyton Manning. What are you doing? He has enough trouble just completing the bang eight over the middle of the field. Can we just have someone else be a leader? I don't know the head coach. but he's wearing these weird-ass capri pants that are up to his knees. I mean, how could you wear those? And I am pro, the jogger pant.
Starting point is 00:15:26 Obviously, they look better on a taller, skinnier guy. I have a pair from Viori that I kind of wear to travel around, but they go down to my ankles. You can't really tell if they were just like kind of, you know, sweat-tight pants or joggers. The way he's wearing them, and Big Cat put this out, You can't be one in five in wearing these pants. I completely agree. Like that look is you can't suck that bad.
Starting point is 00:15:53 You can't be. How is a 28-year-old guy who's a multimillionaire who is married with a kid going to take you seriously? But they just can't. And it's clear by the team that they don't, right? And that's what all these teams are tasked with doing. How can I hire a coach that everyone can follow? Because leadership, that characteristic, which is hard to quantify, It's impossible. No one knows.
Starting point is 00:16:17 But you know it when you see it. You feel a presence. I've been lucky enough to work for Pat Hill and Andy Reed. And when they walked in a room, they had a presence to him. I can't imagine sitting in a room when some of these guys walk in. You're like, I'm supposed to take this guy Mike McDaniel seriously? And people think I'm shitting on the guy. He's a smart offensive mind. He has no business being a head coach.
Starting point is 00:16:36 Hell, Robert Sala has a presence to him. Obviously he's a good leader of men when he's dealing with the defense. Not a good head coach. You know, it's like a quarterback. It's extremely hard to do. We can nitpick Lane, right? He used to have this happen. I watched a documentary.
Starting point is 00:16:53 He's clean and sober. His team's kicking ass. I know he knows how to be a head coach. He's been a head coach of big programs. He's been a head coach of little programs. He's dealt with Nick Saban. Like, I know the guy can handle some stuff. I'd say the same thing for Sark.
Starting point is 00:17:05 Is it perfect? No, but can he handle a lot of stuff? Hell yeah. Ryan Day. I'm Ohio State hater, but I respect what they're doing up there. It's a pressure-packed gig. We saw the pressure with James Franklin.
Starting point is 00:17:16 Cracked the whole program. It's split in half like the Titanic and sunk to the bottom of the ocean. They hit serious adversity because they had built up all season. And I've seen a lot of different people. Should he have been fired? Should you not have been fired? Once your team legitimately quits on you when you've put all your chips into the table, like you've lost all your money, it's over.
Starting point is 00:17:35 You don't have any more hands to play. You don't have any more chips. And that's what happened to Penn State, right? And that's why last week against the Rams, I was like, you know what? We have a long resume of John Hardbaugh. I don't care if he's got me and you out there playing defense. They're going to play hard this game. And what did they do?
Starting point is 00:17:52 For a long period of time, it was 3 to 3. And the Ravens were playing their ass off. They just don't have enough bullets in the gun, and they eventually, you know, lose by double-digit points. But it's like, that was, it's like, okay, I respect that. It's like, listen, I had a couple people forward me the social clip that I sent out about the Browns and Mike Tomlin talking about Andrew Barry treating these players like widgets.
Starting point is 00:18:16 You traded Joe Flacco. You traded Joe Flacco to an indivision rival who, if their quarterback's healthy, is a preseason, I don't know if they're quite a Super Bowl contender, but they're definitely just like a contender in the division, a contender in the conference to win double-digit games, and you just give them a capable quarterback, a guy that you deemed starting quality week one,
Starting point is 00:18:39 and even if he's not going to start because you want to start the younger guys, his value as a leader to teach these guys how to be a pro in the league, but you don't give a shit about that. Because you actually don't care. You're like a stock manager. You're just treating all these guys.
Starting point is 00:18:51 They're all widgets to you and everything's value. And you can say, well, John, Howie kind of operates like that. Clearly not. Have you seen the type guys that they have built that team around? And they balance it with the character, with the crazy guys, with some of the flyers. Like, they cognitively think about that. I know a lot of people in that organization.
Starting point is 00:19:11 So the reason they bring in Jalen Carter, because they knew they had Brandon, Graham, Fletcher Cox, and Jordan Davis right around them. They would not have done that if they didn't have any of that infrastructure there. Yet Andrew Barry, just like in the Cleveland Browns, and I'm not going to beat a dead horse on this one, but they are operating a little bit like the Sam Hinky 76ers. And no one in the NFL takes them seriously.
Starting point is 00:19:33 And clearly I think Kevin Stavancy's kind of caught in the middle because even he, when they traded him, was like, Yes, didn't quite see that one coming. And you look back, you're like, oh, Tomlin worked with Stefansky once upon a time in Minnesota. Because you never hear a coach just shit on someone else in the NFL like that. And I think he's kind of standing up for his guy. Because Andrew Barry, this, you know, Harvard, former player, not an NFL player, but college player, is really much more like a Theo Epstein or, you know, the guys running the Dodgers.
Starting point is 00:20:04 Here's the difference. Those guys win. you can't lose and keep acting like you're smarter than everyone else it ain't working it is not working at all and team building as a front office is really really important and you see some of these people have no fucking clue what they're doing and then these fans i feel bad you watch the games like the same thing every week and it starts with the head coach and the GM that these people are placed in jobs that just have no clue so i guess i come around to maybe mike McCarthy's not that bad of an option you could do way worse We are extremely excited to announce our new presenting sponsor, Hard Rock Bet.
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Starting point is 00:21:58 Arizona, Colorado, Illinois, New Jersey, Ohio, Tennessee, Virginia. Hey, it's us to Jonas Brothers, and guess what? We have some big news. What's the news, huge news? We created our own podcast called, Hey Jonas. We invented a podcast. Well, we didn't invent it. We just contributed to it.
Starting point is 00:22:15 We're the first people to do podcasts. Pretty, yeah, pretty wide range of podcasts. We're starting a trend. But this one's extra special. So how did we actually come up with a name, Hey Jonas, guys? I honestly don't remember. I think it was on a call about what we should call it. Oh, we were thinking I'm originally calling it one of the early names of our band.
Starting point is 00:22:36 Before Jonas Brothers was... This is how you guys remember it going down? Yes. I have a very different memory of this. We were talking about a thing, a bit for the podcast, where people could call in and say, hey, Jonas. And then I wrote down on my little notepad, Hey Jonas, and offered it up as a potential title for the podcast.
Starting point is 00:22:53 But thanks for remembering that, guys. Listen to Hey Jonas on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Just listen. We don't care where you hear it. 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,
Starting point is 00:23:12 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.
Starting point is 00:23:33 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,
Starting point is 00:23:57 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.
Starting point is 00:24:14 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, I'm Jared Adano.
Starting point is 00:24:34 You might know me as that loud guy who yells out, help on the internet. Help! Somebody, please! But there's so much more to me than that. I'm an actor. I'm a comedian, and recently I've become quite the helper myself. And on my new podcast, Hope from a Hypocrite, I'll be changing lives, helping people in need with my sage advice and thoughtful solutions.
Starting point is 00:24:57 Sike, I'm a comedian. I'm not qualified to give good advice. Join me and my comedian friends as we riff rant and recommend some of the most legally dubious advice known to man. If I'm calling you, even if you're on your phone, let it ring twice. One ring is too scary. Cream a chicken suit. Hey, cream a chicken suit. This is Help from a Hypocrite,
Starting point is 00:25:21 the worst advice from the dumbest people you know. Listen to Help from Hypocrite as part of the Mike Coutura Podcast Network available on the IHart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I'll end on a couple quick things. The Steelers, their field. Rogers called it borderline unplayable. The big fella, Ben Rothesberger,
Starting point is 00:25:47 came out and said that the University of Pittsburgh needs to build their own stadium a little small one, like 25K and just get out of there. I don't know obviously the economic situation. I'm sure the university pays the Steelers. I can't imagine
Starting point is 00:26:04 it's a lot of money. It's not like the Roonies are dependent on that income to pay T.J. Watt. If I just had to take an educated guess, a couple hundred thousand dollars a game, maybe. I don't know. So if you play six home games, you do the math.
Starting point is 00:26:19 I mean, we're not talking two million max, maybe a million for the year. I don't know. Whatever the rent is. How does it make sense that I can go on my phone and basically have anything delivered to my front door from food to TVs to a car within 24 hours? Yet these NFL teams
Starting point is 00:26:35 worth billions of dollars. Let me repeat, billions of dollars. If the Pittsburgh Steelers just went on the open market, what would they go for? Whatever the number is, add 50% to it. Because one, they never come on the open market. And if they did, they would be overpaid for, right, based on whatever the quote unquote valuation was. This isn't the 2025 housing market. I see it with my wife right now. Everyone's, you know, it's like, hey, buddy, your house
Starting point is 00:27:04 isn't worth a million dollars anymore. You know, you bought this thing 20 years ago. You paid $300,000 for it. You're desperate to get, you've already paid off the majority of your mortgage. You're thinking you're getting $900,000 profit. No. Lower that bad boy to $8,75. interest rates are high, take your profit and move on. But if you think you're going to be waiting a long, long time, unless interest rates precipitously drop in the next six, 12 months, which doesn't really feel like that's going to happen. All I hear is everyone talking about it, it never happens.
Starting point is 00:27:32 So if you want to get your house sold and you want to still make a profit, like you can drop the price a little bit. This isn't 2021. Times have changed. Adapt. That's not football. Their prices only go up. And I think the Pittsburgh Steelers,
Starting point is 00:27:47 are no different than a lot of these franchise. I've said this forever. These families that bought these teams decades ago, 50s, the 60s, they do struggle with the current valuations of everything because they don't operate like that. Look at the Jets and the Giants when it comes to their turf. Can you imagine paying players hundreds of millions of dollars and go, yeah, we're not on the best turf,
Starting point is 00:28:10 or we're not, we don't take care of our grass. We let someone else play on it the day before. It's like, you know what happens when, a major comes to your golf course, they shut down play a couple weeks before. I play where waste management is. Guess what? They kick us off the course 10 days before the tournament starts.
Starting point is 00:28:27 Why? To get the course ready for the pros. So to have a college team play on your field the day before, it's pretty insane. And it's simply just a money grab that can't be that much money. So I just don't understand where we're still at the point where we're talking about fields, grass, or turf, when it comes to these NFL teams.
Starting point is 00:28:48 But we constantly are. Every single week, it's nuts. I mean, it really is. I just don't comprehend it, but it clearly is not going away because at their soul, that frugal nature
Starting point is 00:29:01 does not change regardless of the money flowing in. And last but not least, I took a gummy last night for the first time. Probably like, I don't know, a year. Maybe not quite a year. Maybe like eight, nine months. And it was like, this thing. this new sponsor we got sent me some of the stuff and it hit me.
Starting point is 00:29:20 I didn't quite look. I thought it was CBD. It was actually THC and I was floating watching the Dodger game. And I was just thinking that it's pretty unfair what they've done, how good they are. And, you know, the thing, and I got a lot of texts when it came to, you know, I know a lot of Giants fans and they don't want to see the Dodgers who I think we all have come to grips with, if they're going to pitch like this, they are going to watch. walk to a World Series championship. And they're rolling out last night, Otani's buddy from Japan that goes a complete game
Starting point is 00:29:54 that they paid $350 million to. They got Blake Stell, who they paid a ton of money. They got Glass now. They have all these guys, they paid a bunch of money. And their business model's broken. And I don't blame the Dodgers. I commend them, right, from making a lot of money, spending a lot of money.
Starting point is 00:30:09 That's the whole point if you're a fan. Like, I want you to be all in. But a lot of these franchises, and I saw it forever, like with the Oakland A's, It's like, why don't we spend more? Because the franchise doesn't make any money. So just because the owner is rich from other business endeavors, if he invests in this franchise,
Starting point is 00:30:25 there's no guarantee he's going to make the money back. And more than likely, he will not. So I think the one thing football has, and we should be, and this is, you know, my mind's just racing and getting all these thoughts. I'm trying to balance, you know, not be too negative in my head and positive thoughts and writing down things that are firing into my head
Starting point is 00:30:41 about what I want to talk about for the next couple weeks on the podcast and these football theories. football really figured it out is their ability to spread the wealth and the partnership of the television revenue and the universal umbrella that everyone financially benefits from the Steelers playing the Bengals. The Arizona Cardinals benefit. The Jacksonville Jaguars benefit. The New York Giants benefit. Or in baseball, they're kind of like independent operators that are combined as a league.
Starting point is 00:31:16 basketball somewhere in the middle, right, because the Lakers don't have much in common with the Memphis Grizzlies. Where at the end of the day, the Cincinnati Bengals wanted to give Joe Burrell $300 million. They gave him $300 million. They wanted to give Jamar Chase $150 million. They gave him $150 million. That's just not the case in baseball. And you're watching, like, the Dodgers, if they win a World Series this year, they're going to be the betting favorite again next year. They're not going away and they'll just going to keep doubling down.
Starting point is 00:31:41 We're in football, like what the Chiefs did, why it's so incredible, them making five. of the six Super Bowls is that shouldn't be the case. Everyone's operating with the same amount of draft picks. Everyone's operating with the same amount of cap space. You just choose how you get to, you know, use those resources. The Dodgers have the ability to have like five, 300 to 400 plus million dollar players. There's like a handful of teams that don't have a payroll
Starting point is 00:32:08 above like $75 million, let alone the capability to sign one of those players. So props to them for just putting all their chips in the middle of the table and utilizing all their assets. And I think football, and this is going to be the question with college football is how do we get everyone operating and rowing in the same direction? Where the television deal for the SEC and the Big Ten and the Big 12 were all together and we're all sharing in these revenues. And the hard part is that they're at the point where they've been, even though they've been in conference, they've been independent in the sense that Ohio State goes were way more valuable than Minnesota, let alone Rutgers. Well, yeah, the Cowboys are more valuable than the Jags and are more valuable
Starting point is 00:32:55 than the Cardinals. Just like the Packers generate more revenue than, you know, the Miami Dolphins for the league in primetime games. But guess what? When the television money gets distributed, they all get the same check in the mail. And that is the strength of the NFL. And that's why I think sports like baseball, which obviously the pace of the sport, unless you're stoned out of your mind on the couch like myself, you're like, this is incredible. It's slow. And as someone that grew up loving baseball, I don't think I watched nine innings all regular season. I've watched a decent amount of the Dodger playoff games just because, listen, I'm supposed to hate him. But, I mean, Otani, who looks at crap right now is just, I mean, he's incredible.
Starting point is 00:33:39 I freaking love mooky bets. And I'm old school. I like watching a pitcher just go 7, 8, 9 innings in a playoff game and just shove it right down your throat. Like, that was badass to watch last night. And yeah, I just pains me to say this, but I think the Dodgers are going to win in a World Series. Hey, it's us to Jonas Brothers, and guess what? We have some big news. What's the news, huge news?
Starting point is 00:34:08 We created our own podcast called, Hey, Jonas. We invented a podcast? Well, we didn't invent it. We just contributed to a first people to do podcasts. Pretty, yeah, pretty wide range of podcasts. trend. But this one's extra special. So how did we actually come up with a name Hey Jonas, guys?
Starting point is 00:34:26 I honestly don't remember. I think it was on a call about what we should call it. Oh, we were thinking I'm originally calling it one of the early names of our band before Jonas Brothers was... This is how you guys remember it going down? Yes. I have a
Starting point is 00:34:42 very different memory of this. We were talking about a thing, a bit for the podcast where people could call in and say, hey Jonas. And then I wrote down on my little notebook. had Hey Jonas and offered it up as a potential title for the podcast. But thanks for remembering that, guys. Listen to Hey Jonas on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Just listen.
Starting point is 00:35:02 We don't care where you hear it. Another podcast from some SNL late night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smigel and Friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer Streeter Seidel. help an a cappella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes.
Starting point is 00:35:25 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. Hey, I'm Jared Adano. You might know me as that loud guy who yells out, help on the internet. Help! Somebody! Please!
Starting point is 00:35:42 But there's so much more to me than me. I'm an actor. I'm a comedian. And recently, I've become quite the helper myself. And on my new podcast, hope from a hypocrite, I'll be changing lives, helping people in need with my sage advice and thoughtful solutions. Sike, I'm a comedian. I'm not qualified to give good advice. Join me and my comedian friends as we riff, rant, recommend some of the most legally dubious advice known to man. If I'm calling you, even if you're on your phone, let it ring twice.
Starting point is 00:36:14 One ring is too scary. Oh, cream of chicken suit. Hey, cream. Cream and chicken soup. This is Help from a Hypocrite, the worst advice from the dumbest people you know. Listen to Help from Hypocrite as part of the Mike Coutura podcast network available on the I-Hart Radio app, Apple Podcasts,
Starting point is 00:36:31 or wherever you get your podcasts. 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.
Starting point is 00:36:56 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.
Starting point is 00:37:16 If you've been searching for, 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. Okay, let's go mailbag at John Middlecough. At John Middlecough is the Instagram fire in those DMs. Questions answered here on this little old podcast.
Starting point is 00:37:50 We will start with, uh, I actually, a bunch of people, forwarded me this and I saw it online is Kyle Shanahan did the injury report today and it took 32 seconds and he took six breasts. So it just shows you the 49ers there never ever been
Starting point is 00:38:09 anything quite like that. Here's the question from Eric. How terrible would the 49ers offensive line, oh, with how terrible the 49ers offensive line has been, do you think Kyle Shanahan will change his philosophy on being able to scheme around
Starting point is 00:38:25 to bat a line. I really don't. I think his organizational philosophy is skill guys over guys up front. Obviously, if he'd get a start left tackle, he'll do that. But he doesn't value those guys over skill guys. He's admitted it. His offensive line coach has admitted it. They value wide receivers, tight ends, running backs guys that can impact with a ball in their hand
Starting point is 00:38:51 more than offensive linemen, which to me is insane. it's harder to find good offensive line, especially now more than ever. But is Kyle Shanahan going to change his philosophy? At the end of the day, he's the boss, right? So John Lynch, they answer to him. Like, he's in control. And what he wants to do, you know, as my dad said,
Starting point is 00:39:13 when you start paying the mortgage, I'll listen to you. I'm going to use that on my child too. And he's right. So it's like, I don't think Kyle's going to change. Not at this point in time. even though the Ravens are 1 in 5 and the defense has been abysmal, I still hope they can make the playoffs. The Bengals and the Browns are terrible,
Starting point is 00:39:33 and the Steelers haven't played anyone. And I would bet a lot of money they start losing when they play tougher teams. They will get Lamar back after the buy and should be able to win their next five games against the Bears, Dolphins, Vikings, Jets, Browns, which would put them at 6 and 5. The defense is obviously a concern, but they get turned around last year
Starting point is 00:39:51 and only gave up 17 points to the Rams, despite the offense being awful with Cooper Rush. I don't think you guys, even if get healthier, obviously you get Lamar back, you're not going to lose every game. But I can't just, you're going to look as abysmal as you've looked with a bunch of injuries to just get Lamar back and rattle off five victories. Like, remember, you lost a lot of games with Lamar Jackson.
Starting point is 00:40:16 Metabuque is not coming back. There's no replacing that individual. You've had other injuries in your secondary. Now, like you said, after the vibe, maybe some guys get healthy. But you guys early on were a little healthier and also losing. So you definitely can just get back into the mix with a couple wins. But I cannot, with a straight face go, five straight wins. I don't care who you're playing.
Starting point is 00:40:41 You have not shown, now, should you beat the Browns and the Jets, sure. But I don't know if you're as a lock to beat the Vikings or the bears. You know, the dolphins can score. the Dolphins just scored what 26? What they lose? 2926 against the Chargers? 26, 23? I forget the final... I forget the final score,
Starting point is 00:41:03 but... Making score. But again, I wouldn't say your season... There's some one in five teams where season's over. Your season's not over, but you're in major trouble. And your margin for error, you can't blow one of those games
Starting point is 00:41:20 that you're going to be favored in. In my opinion, the Chargers, are in stage two of a process rather than stage 10. The building blocks of the team is still young. There's a reason they didn't go nuts in free agency in the last two years. And are you still confident that Jim Harbaugh will win a Super Bowl before he retires? Yes.
Starting point is 00:41:40 I think Jim Harbaugh and Justin Herbert will win a Super Bowl in the next five years. I do believe that. This year, with some of the injuries, it's going to be tough. But I think they're farther along than two, but they're definitely probably in the middle, not at 10. As a Packer fan who lives in the Metro Detroit area, I'm surrounded by Lions fans who always seem to use the transitive property of equality.
Starting point is 00:42:07 We're getting deep now. When telling you how bad your team is. Example, Green Bay lost to Cleveland, and then the following week, Detroit wins against Cleveland, therefore Detroit is better than the Packers. The NFL is one league where this, where this theory is not applicable. There are too many variables that can change on a week to week basis.
Starting point is 00:42:29 Do you use the transitive property to compare teams? And I'm totally in agreement. One thing I've learned being around the NFL on any given Sunday. That's what makes the sport so appealing. It's like even when you're having a bad season, how often does like a four-win team get a cool upset in December? It happens all the time. You're dealing with human beings.
Starting point is 00:42:54 It's very physical. Game plans can just be bad. Obviously teams, especially on like Monday night or Sunday night, if you get primetime games, you're a bad team. Injuries play a huge part. It's very, very difficult to play that game in the sport. I would say the same thing for college football. You know, the other thing is when you're a good team, right?
Starting point is 00:43:18 Detroit, Green Bay, obviously the Chiefs, the Ravens, any team that has sustained success over a while, you're getting everybody's best shot. Every single team is throwing the kitchen sink at you. This year the Eagles, every time they play, what do you think they're saying all week long, talking about the defending champs? We're going to take down the defending champs.
Starting point is 00:43:40 There's a motivational factor here. A big fan of the show. I love when you talk sports, but I like even more when you talk about life. I'm 29 single, make six figs as a project manager. Dude's living. Aerospace Company in the U.S. And part of me feels like a failure,
Starting point is 00:43:56 but I'm not married and don't have any kids. I know you're recently married with a kid on the way, congrats. But did any part of you feel like you were behind in life in your 30s without a family? I would say I have a lot of qualities that I wish I could change about myself. And I'm envious of other people either in my life or that I see from afar that I could add.
Starting point is 00:44:17 I would say one quality I always had, and I still have this even with a family. is I've never really compared my like personal life. Professionally, you're constantly gauging yourself against others. But I never really, my brother got married in 2018. He's five years younger than me.
Starting point is 00:44:36 He has a six year old and a three year old. You know, it honestly did not bother me at all. Now, part of it too, and you sound like, I don't live around my family. Like I moved away when I went to college.
Starting point is 00:44:49 I never came back. Obviously, I've gone back. but I just meant like I don't live in where I grew up. I don't know. I just, that's just one quality that never fazed me. I just was so tunnel vision on myself.
Starting point is 00:45:05 And I'll say this, for anyone that does not have children that are thinking about it, you sound like you're doing pretty well at 29. But to have a child, you better have some financial wherewithal. I would not have been able to have a child at your age. I couldn't have done it. So that part of it was that, you know, for all throughout
Starting point is 00:45:26 my 20s, then even my early 30s, I knew that honestly, I wasn't even set up to get married, you know, financially. I just didn't feel stable. Like, you're stable. Then I was a huge believer, like, some stuff's out of your control in life, you know, professionally, personally. And I've always, like, when you try and you push and you want something so bad, typically the universe gives you the opposite. And it's hard. We're all human beings. You're 29 years old, man. You got a great job. You're making some coin. You'll be fine. You'll age well. Typically men in your situation do. So, you know, just hit the gym. Stay good looking. And you'll be all right. Having listened to a recent episode where a Broncos fan seemed frustrated with the NFL London game,
Starting point is 00:46:15 and I'm curious to know whether you think there would be a point at which fans from the U.S. would actively protest the expansion of international games and whether the league would even care. As a Manchester United fan, I could not imagine the league, a league game being played in the U.S. or anywhere, located abroad. I'm also interested your thoughts on how many GMs, how many quarterbacks GMs across the league
Starting point is 00:46:39 would you draft ahead of, how many quarterbacks GMs, period, or comma, I see what you're saying, would take Drake May. Do you think he has a special talent? Or does this run remind you sort of like a Jordan Love before he got paid? I don't think the league gives one, you know what,
Starting point is 00:47:00 what fans think about these international games. All they care about is a television product. And if people are watching these morning games, which I don't know, I haven't even seen the ratings on them. I'm sure they're not doing bad. They're not going to stop. And I think they plan on selling the package to make the owners and players more money.
Starting point is 00:47:16 And that's what I expect to happen. So I hear you actively boycott. It's just not going to, it won't have any factor. What you said about Drake May, I've been pretty impressed. I mean, he looks pretty good. Schedule's shitty, but the talent on his team's not great. I think part of watching him,
Starting point is 00:47:36 part of watching Caleb the other night or Jaden Daniels, is like it's pretty, like the physical characteristics, it's pretty evident. You know, Caleb, it was clear early. Like, this guy can really move, he's got a huge arm. Then it's about playing winning football, making winning plays, making smart plays. One of the best plays of Caleb's career is on that scramble late in that game when he hit the ground.
Starting point is 00:47:57 Like, that was really impressive. How many guys brain fart and run out of bounce? Happens all the time. So, what game was like? I was watching Ole Miss earlier this season. His quarterback did that. Ran out of bounds. And Lane almost had a conniction.
Starting point is 00:48:12 But, you know, part of playing winning football is more than just throwing a deep bomb. It's about making smart plays. You know, what did Bobby Knight say? dumb loses more games than smart wins. You know, obviously the spectacular plays, the scrambling to your right, throwing the ball deep is impressive. But he seems like he's got a chance to be the total package. And Brable won a lot of games with Ryan Tannyhill.
Starting point is 00:48:43 Ryan Tanyhill is not as good as this guy. Or at least this guy has the opportunity to be way better than Ryan Tanyl. And it does feel like Josh is kind of fine in his stride, Drake, I'd be pretty fired up if I was a Patriot. I think he'd go pretty high. I think he'd go, you know, not factoring in, if you factored in age, you know, Mahomes would, Josh Allen, Lamar would still all go one, two, three in some order. I think Burroughs major curveball now with the injuries, he might not go as high. Herbert would go really, really high. Then I think it'd be up for debate. And, you know, the Jaden Daniels, Drake May, C.J. Stroud a couple years ago,
Starting point is 00:49:17 you say it would have been a lock. You know, I'd have to text around. the vibe on him. It's not all his fault, but he hasn't played as well as I think the hype. So, I mean, things change. Like, I said this the other day. I don't litigate Patrick Mahomes on a weekly basis. People are like, why are we going nuts on Josh Allen? Because he's an elite. You know, I said this the other day, and I'm going to hammer this every day this year. Like, we don't, you know, try to determine the guy's season based on one week when you're Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson. Now, we nitpick them harder in the play. playoffs and stuff, but like on a weekly basis.
Starting point is 00:49:54 It's like, why doesn't he get the same smoke that Tua gets? Do you hear what you just came out of your mouth? Got a mailbag question for you. As a Nebraska guy, what do you think about rule to Penn State? Personally, I think rule is extremely overrated and hasn't won anything and would be happy to see him move on outside of his relationship with the Penn State AD. Don't see how you could sell that to their fan base. You know, I think part of like I played there, it means a lot to me.
Starting point is 00:50:29 I think that's overblown in 2025. I mean, these guys are making $8, 9, $10 million. You know, Mario Cristobal, I'm pretty sure grew up in the area, played there, and then they offered him an unlimited amount of money. And the conference, it was a much easier path at Miami than it ever was going to be at Oregon. So there were more variables than just like Miami's home, which obviously meant something. But I think when you look at Matt Rule, yeah, he played there in the early 90s.
Starting point is 00:50:56 Like the modern day cell phone didn't exist. The internet, nobody had it. So to say, like, I just think, I think that's overblown sometimes. And in 2006, for the next five years, the only thing that matters are NIL, ability to recruit, ability to pay coaches. is if he gets a huge advantage at Penn State, then he should be very interested. If there's not a big advantage for him to go, and he's comfortable at Nebraska and the AD likes him,
Starting point is 00:51:27 and he's got a chance to win 10 games this year at Nebraska, which would be incredible. You just stay. But all my friends in the scouting business loved Matt Ruhl. Obviously, did not go well for him in Carolina. Doesn't really go well for many people there. But people have always thought really high. of Maderole. I've never met the guy.
Starting point is 00:51:49 Kind of like him from afar. I think the other thing is, who are he comparing him to? Sabin's an outlier. You could have put Sabin in his prime at any major program, especially in the South, and he was going to win. He would have done that at LSU. He did it. But he would have done it at Bama. He would have done at Florida. He would have done at Florida State. He would have done at Clemson. He would have done it at all the... At Tennessee, he would have done it all...
Starting point is 00:52:10 Texas would have hired him. He was an unstoppable force. But most guys aren't. Ryan Day is really What he's been doing is really impressive But he's at the number one program in the country They have the most money They have the most prestige At this point in time
Starting point is 00:52:25 They recruit by far the best players He has unlimited resources You know Is Ryan Day if I just put him at the University of Washington Or at the University of Maryland Is he a don't know You know I'm not saying he's going to be bad
Starting point is 00:52:38 But college Kirby has a huge advantage If you put Kirby at, you know, let's just pick at Mississippi State, probably not going to look the same as going to be at Georgia, right? So Georgia has all the resources. They have incredible high school football. They will do anything for football.
Starting point is 00:52:56 He's clearly a good coach. But like, you benefit in college. It's easier to look better when you're at the top programs. You know, it's why it's really impressive what Signetti's doing, even in an NIL era. Like, a lot of people could add Fernando Mendoza. He was all over his ass. Why aren't some of these other programs?
Starting point is 00:53:13 programs. Like, where was Florida State? Why didn't they offer the bag? They went after this dude from Boston College who's been terrible. So I just think that, I think it's all about money. And not just, he makes a ton. I mean, about what you can pay the players and what you can pay your staff and the consistent NIL money moving forward. If there's a huge advantage, he'd be crazy not to take it, especially when he factor in that he played there and he met his wife there. But if there's not, like, stay in Nebraska. You could argue there's not that much difference. because there is, to me there's one program right now that's just in the Big Ten that's head and shoulders above everyone.
Starting point is 00:53:49 That's Ohio State. Then right behind them is Oregon. Then like, listen, Michigan, they have a bunch of money. They have their prestige. I got no clue if their coach is any good. None. Seemly a nice guy, hardball guy, tough guy. But like, is he a head coach in this conference?
Starting point is 00:54:07 Like, is Sharon Moore getting into the playoffs? I got no clue. I mean, I'm watching their young quarterback, and I get, I'm not on rivals.com. The one freshman receiver four is pretty talented, but by all accounts, they're going to get better over the next couple years. But does their coach know he's doing?
Starting point is 00:54:26 I don't know. I really don't. You know, USC feels like they're probably a year away from being a really factor. Maybe they're closer than we think. This week we'll find out in Notre Dame. But like, Lincoln be the first to tell you, I got way more advantages right now with all this money
Starting point is 00:54:41 than I would. some of these other schools. Texas Tech was always like a second, third-tier program. Now they have unlimited money. They're dominating. It is very possible that you'll look up and Texas Tech will be in the final four. Like, how did they do that? Because they have a billionaire paying defensive linemen in the transfer portal to come to their school.
Starting point is 00:55:00 I mean, it's... So the priorities now, it's like... Whenever I hear people talk about facilities at this point in time, like, facilities should... All these facilities are... All these facilities are fine. Let's focus in on what we can pay the players. Because that's how you land the players. And at the end of the day, college, more than the NFL is about the jimmies and the Joe's,
Starting point is 00:55:23 not the exes and those beside a couple games a year. Huge Steelers fan, curious how seriously you're taking the Steelers right now. You seemed a little bearish on them earlier in the season, but with some of the top AFC teams dealing with injuries and the defense starting to look like its usual self, do you see them making a real push? Two questions I got for him. First and foremost, the quarterback, 41 years old, it gets cold, right? Your home games in November, in December, it's frigid.
Starting point is 00:55:50 Now, he's played in Green Bay as a majority of his career. He's a cold weather quarterback. But like, once you get old playing in the... Cold is easier on your body when you're 27, when you're 32, than when you're 41 years old, especially when you've had some injury issues the last couple years. So to me, it's like, what does he look like in some of these freezing cold games, late in the season at home on the road against the browns or the ravens we don't know if he looks just solid you're in good shape defensively if your defense plays well that translates we know that
Starting point is 00:56:26 does but to me what works in the cold two things defense and running the ball to me do trade for a running back in the next couple weeks because depending on gain well that seems a little risky. Clearly Caleb Johnson, I don't want to call it a loss season, but it feels like he's not going to be what you'd hoped when you drafted him in the third round. He's not like you're starting running back. And Warren, talented player, but like you can't ride that guy in a playoff game. If you get a good running attack, I do think you could win a playoff game. Could you compete for the AFC? I guess you never say never, but I would say winning a playoff game when you haven't won one in however many years. And if you win a playoff game, meaning you beat the Chargers or the Chiefs or someone in the first round, that's a pretty incredible win.
Starting point is 00:57:15 Like there's a pretty good chance when the dust settles. The wild cards are like the, in some, you know, former fashion, Denver, Chargers, Chiefs, Jags. Those teams are all going to be hard to beat in the first round because they have a lot of strengths. Good defenses, good coaching. So winning a game, assuming the Steelers win the division at, let's say, 11 or 12 wins, You're going to play Jim Harbaugh, John Harbaugh, not John Harbaugh, Sean Payton, the Jags situation, which that would probably be the team you'd pick. It would be, you would 100% pick the Jags over Denver, the Chiefs, or the Chargers. So yeah, I'd feel pretty good if I were you.
Starting point is 00:57:59 Cowboy fan. I've been following the team for 15 years now. Since I moved to Dallas at 10 years old, what it must feel like to be young again. do you think an elite coach would come to Dallas with Jerry as the owner? I just feel like an elite coach would want more power and decision making and think that's not Jerry. Also, it limits the range of coaches we get. Yeah, I mean, it's not the coaches.
Starting point is 00:58:21 Jerry chooses. This isn't like recruiting. They don't choose you. Jerry's choosing them. So if you just look at the coaches, they've been interested in the last couple cycles, like Mike McCarthy, who didn't have any other options. Schadenheimer definitely didn't have any other options. And Schaenheimer's been fine.
Starting point is 00:58:37 But you're not, like, interviewing the Mike Vrabels of the world. If John Harbaugh or Mike Tomlin were available, like, you're not hiring those guys. Jim Harbaugh was available a couple years ago. Like, Jerry Jones was never going to hire Jim Harbaugh, right? Pete Carroll types. And we can argue how good Pete is at this point in time. But, like, that's, Jerry's going to hire Brian Schottanimer. He's going to hire Jason Garrett.
Starting point is 00:58:59 And, you know, Jerry's in his mid-80s, how much longer he will be going. I think the question mark's going to be when Stephen Jones takes control. and at some point in time, when Jerry passes away, will he approach this differently? And will he not do weekly radio hits? My guess is he probably won't. And he won't want to, you know, copy his dad in those situations. And it'll be a much more desirable place for a quote-unquote top coach to come.
Starting point is 00:59:28 Or a top GM to come. What if Jerry passed and, like, Howie Roseman became a free agent? Or, you know, a guy like that, and you're just like, I'll pay you $20 million a year. Come run my friend. If I'm Stephen, I'm all over stuff like that. This is a question mark about the Steelers. Was wondering your thoughts I had a take on the Steelers when they signed Rogers. My take was this, and it still is.
Starting point is 00:59:57 Why aren't there more people talking about the Steelers team like the 15-16 Denver Broncos with Peyton Manning at quarterback? They won the Super Bowl with a dominant defense and an aging quarterback. Because I was doing Raider stuff, I saw that team for three straight years live. They are, no, I don't go to as many games over the last seven, eight years. But over my course of, you know, basically I would say for seven, eight straight years going to games on a weekly basis. And so seeing teams all over the NFL, obviously I was scouted for a couple of those years, watching all the personnel. They're one of the best defenses of the last 25 years. there was not a player on that defense who was not good.
Starting point is 01:00:41 Their defensive line was just better than your defensive line, right? And that's not a shot of your defensive line. Their defense's line was unstoppable. They had Vaughn Miller in the peak of his powers. DeMarcus Ware was still excellent. Malik Jackson was a monster. And Derek Wolf, the Cincinnati pass rusher, was a good player. And their linebackers were good, and their DBs were otherworldly.
Starting point is 01:01:05 they had like three cover corners you could hit back then they had say their defense was better in your defense so now is Aaron better in that version of Peyton Manning? Yeah so I don't know if that team would parallel it's not an apples to apples comparison
Starting point is 01:01:22 is I guess what I would say I think that team was better than you but Peyton was way worse than Aaron it's pretty remarkable that they won a championship with Peyton Manning that version honestly they should have won earlier when he was like healthy.
Starting point is 01:01:38 Because that defense was just, it's, Seattle's and the 49ers early on with Harbaugh are two of the more physical defenses I've seen in the last 15 years. The Denver defense was by far the fastest. And I knew, you know, I remember talking to the coaches on the Raiders
Starting point is 01:01:53 for a couple years. They just don't have a weakness. You know, they had Akeep Taleb, Chris Harris Jr., Bradley Robey. We had multiple safeties. I think one of them, was it Ward, the Oregon guy, who was just a hammer. Brandon Marshall was a good linebacker, Danny Trevathan,
Starting point is 01:02:12 the kid from Kentucky. Probably a kid now. He's probably in his mid-30s, but he was young then. And DeMarcus Ware, they were really, really good. They were exceptional. So I would say they're better than you guys. But that's, I guess, somewhat of the mold of what you guys need to do. They could just, they could go into a game
Starting point is 01:02:33 and being like the opponent's going to not sniff 20 points. It's like, we're going to find out. I mean, maybe you guys are better than I think, and we'll find out as the season goes, when it gets cold, can you just dominate? Because if your defensive line's going to look, now, it's Cleveland's offensive line right now, one of the worst offensive lines in the league,
Starting point is 01:02:50 because every other play, it felt like there was a guy in the backfield. So if your defensive line, on any defense, if the D line dominates, everyone in the backfield looks good. Like, you could make average corners, look awesome when you're not going to crap out of the quarterback every snap. So that's going to be clearly, clearly your route to being an awesome team is to have the best defensive line in the league and just having an unstoppable front.
Starting point is 01:03:18 And you draft the kid in the first round, you go with T.J. Watt, you got multiple guys on the other side with High Smith and Herrick. Cam still solid at his age. So if that unit just dominates, then yeah, you guys got to be tough. he'll be tough to beat. And as long as Aaron just play smart doesn't turn it over like he normally does, you should be pretty bullish. So I'm excited to watch this game Thursday night. The volume. Hey guys, it's us. The Jonas Brothers. I'm Joe. I'm Kevin. And I'm Nick. And guess what?
Starting point is 01:03:54 We created our own podcast called, Hey Jonas. We invented a podcast? Well, we didn't invent it. We just contributed to it. Oh. We're the first people to do podcasts. We get to ask other people questions because we're sick and tired of being asked questions. Well, sick and tired is a strong way to put it. but, you know, tired and sick, tired and sick. Listen to Hey Jonas on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Just listen. We don't care where you hear it.
Starting point is 01:04:19 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.
Starting point is 01:04:41 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. This is Saigon, the story of my family and of the country that shaped us. From I Heart Podcasts, Saigon. You don't think I'm serious about a free Vietnam? One city, a divided country, and the war that tore America apart. It's for Vietnam. They're pouring patrols all over here.
Starting point is 01:05:07 Freedom for Vietnam! There's a fire coming to this country and it's going to burn out everything. Listen to Saigon on the I Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Joey Dardano, and on my new podcast, Hope from a Hypocrite, I'll be changing lives, helping people in need with thoughtful solutions. Sike, I'm a comedian. I'm not qualified to give good advice. Join me and my comedian friends as we riff, rant, recommend some of the most legally dubious advice known to me. This is Help from a Hypocrite, the worst advice from the dumbest people you know. Listen to Help from a Hypocrite Wednesdays on the IHeart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Starting point is 01:05:50 This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed human.

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