The Herd with Colin Cowherd - All-time Brady/Belichick clinic; Chiefs glass half-full; McVay's statement game; Payton's playcalling costly

Episode Date: January 22, 2019

Subscribe here to the 3 and Out with John Middlekauff Podcast https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/3-and-out-with-john-middlekauff/id1352730623?mt=2.  Middlekauff looks back at Championship Weekend, why the Pats' win may be their most impressive, why the Chiefs need to look at their glass as half-full, McVay's statement game, why Sean Payton's playcalling is more to blame for the Saints' loss than the blown pass interference call, and answers listener mailbag questions. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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

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Another podcast from some SNL late night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smigel and friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer Streeter Seidel, help an a cappella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter.

Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and Friends on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. What's up, guys? This is Clivert Taylor the Fourth. And on my podcast, The Cliverts Show, I'm bringing you conversations about all kinds of stuff. Like being an internet famous referee. We're in the middle of a game. This linebacker, this linebacker walks up to me. He goes, hey, ref, my mom wants you to wave at her.

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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

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Now that's tasty. eBay motors.com. Let's ride. Well, well, well, championship Sunday. What a day. You know, I don't think I've ever felt more accomplished. Having done nothing sitting on my couch for eight hours and exhausted watching football. What an incredible Sunday.

What's up, everybody, three and out podcast with me. That's John Middlkoff. Fresh off, you know, what may go down as the greatest championship Sunday, definitely the, you know, the most intense, given the two overtime games. Just incredible television. You know, if you don't watch football, I don't know if you even know what you're missing. And if you do, since a lot of people do, I saw the television ratings were massive, you know, 55 to 60 million. people watching these games. Just, you know, Tony Romo crushed.

It was just awesome. There's really not much else you can say. There was some controversy in the games, and we'll get to that. There's so much to talk about, just from the four games. I think there's angles on every side. There are going to be topics today that I don't even really get to. I just not going to have time. We'll get with a Middilkoff mailbag at the end.

At John Middlecoff, you can slide up into my DMs. Ask me any question you want, and I'll respond. always do it at the end of the podcast. But I think there's things like today, like Carson Wentz, a story came out on Carson Wentz. I might have to just get to that on Twitter or something later this week because I'm just not going to have the time to talk about it here. But I think I've got to start with the second game first

just because that was the last game, that's Chiefs Patriots. And listen, my big takeaway, and I've been saying it, I've been saying it for a while. And listen, I grew up in Northern California. My younger brother is named Jeffrey Joseph Middlecough. That middle name Joseph comes from a guy named Joe Montana. I grew up around 49er fans.

The 49ers, when I was born in 1984, were in the beginning of their dynasty. They became easily the most important team over a 20-year stretch, arguably in football history to an area. And they became a powerhouse that way. They were an incredible dynasty. And Joe Montana became the greatest quarterback of all time. I think it was very reasonable people all, you know, agreed with that argument.

Well, a couple things here. For me, there hasn't been an argument for years. Tom Brady was the best quarterback ever, probably like two years ago. Now there's not really a side to argue on. I think the only argument now is there's not even a conversation. There's Tom Brady at the top of the mountaintop, and then there's a group of everyone else, probably led by Joe Montana. Elway, Farr, Rogers, Manning, Marino, you name it.

We all know the six to ten guys that are in that group. But Brady's no longer in that conversation. There's a table up one day at football heaven. Like Tom Brady's not just at the head of his own table. He's at his own table. He sits by himself. A little offended yesterday, Joe Montana there for Kansas City. I understand he finished his career with the Chiefs,

but man, that's weird. And we all know it's kind of a running joke. around these parts. In fairness, I've met Joe Montana one time. He couldn't have been any cooler. So I'm not bashing Joe Montana, but he has to be paid to make appearances. So Clark Hunt probably paid him a premium to show up there.

But the championship DNA that we witnessed with a guy that's 41 years old, in freezing temperatures, I mean, absolutely freezing. Now, unlike most California people, like, listen, we have a, you know, kind of a reputation for being soft. It's true when it comes to weather. Why? Because we're not in the cold weather. It doesn't exist. We have to drive hours to get to the snow.

We don't live in it. If you live in Southern California, you rarely even feel the cold, let alone you never feel the rain. We had a historic drought in the last like five years. So we just not used to bad weather. So this is a guy that grew up in California, but he's not a California guy. He spent four years in Ann Arbor,

and then he spent 18 or 19 in New England. This guy is immune to cold weather. He actually played some of his best football in cold weather. And the just championship medal that this guy has on his third down efficiency. And I'm going to lump, like Julian Edelman such a, when I just see Julian Edelman, I think champion. He's a championship player. Same with Grunkowski. And sometimes being a championship player, like even when you don't have it, is your C game still good enough to make plays?

Are you still able, like when Michael Jordan's shot was off, he impacted the game other ways. play defense, gave them all to other players. He was a championship level teammate, made championship level plays that impacted his teammates. Like obviously Brady being a quarterback, you're throwing it to other players. So your teammates are a big part of you. But the, and I'm going to lump Belichick, obviously greatest coach of all time. And Josh McDaniel, some of those plays that they schemed up in must have downs were just incredible. As crazy as it sounds, because they've won.

five Super Bowls. We'll get into the Super Bowl later this week and then next week. Might win a sixth. That might be their second or third best win of all time. Obviously, the first Super Bowl was incredible. The 28 to 3 comeback. Even the Seattle one was pretty nuts. But I'd argue that one's right up there.

On the road, in Arrowhead against the MVP of the league, who was pretty lights out in the second half, against as Belichick said, Coach Reed, you know, is one of the better play callers in NFL history. He had a good game. he struggled before historically with time management he had timeouts at the end of the game and them still find a way to win and crazy shit happened you know weird shit happen in that game it's not arguable weird things happen in patriot games but i thought that was their most valid

win in terms of like even the plays that were quote unquote overturned like edelman didn't touch the ball hogan caught that football you know so now those things it feels like only happens in new england but that's as big of a championship level win and as big a big of as a championship DNA and championship blood. Like that was incredible. Like I don't think anyone else has that in the bag. We say, you know, the golf analogy is like, not everyone has certain clubs in their back.

They literally might have the club in their bag, but they can't hit it. Like the Patriots have things in their bag that just no one else has. They can do it all. They've literally won every different way. Like Leonardo DiCaprio. You could argue he's like the best actor ever.

Why? He's literally played every role. There's not a, a role serious, funny, drama. There's not a role he hasn't played. He's got everything in the bag. There is not a type of game. You know, low scoring, high scoring, shootout overtime, where you got to run it, where you

got a pass, where you got a pass rush, where you got to play good pass defense. Patriots have won every way under the sun imaginable. Like they beat every type team. Ground and pound, throw, you know, deep passing team, short passing teams, Teams with elite tight ends, teams with elite deep threats, teams with MVP quarterbacks, teams on the road, in the dome, outside in the frigid temperature. Like Belichick and Brady have won in every environment. Like, I get it if you're mad.

You don't want to see them. I understand that. You know, it can be somewhat tiresome, but it cannot be disputed. That their greatness is now, it's unprecedented. And I think there's probably a good chance we're never going to see this again. You know, I think I saw a stat yesterday from my guy Field Yates.

This is Brady's ninth Super Bowl. Peyton Manning went one and done in the playoffs nine times. Like it's stupid the amount of success that happens. Is there an element of luck to some of their wins? For sure. But I'm a big believer

and it's cliche and corny or whatever. You do kind of create your own luck. You know, it's not like D. Ford's off size. That's not on the Patriots. Is he a little out of shape? Is he not thinking? thinking straight, is he super cold? Like, is that a little bit of an indictment to the Chiefs?

Like, that little, the game of fucking six inches is the reason they lost. Right there. You know, the Chiefs that beat. And the Patriots just, you know, don't make that mistake. They just don't typically in those spots. And that cost the Chiefs. And the Patriots made winning plays, made championship level plays. It was incredible.

Simply put, incredible. I'm still in all. I can't believe the Patriots won that game. A couple quick thoughts on the Chiefs. One, I mean, that's pretty heartbreaking loss. You know, to score 31 points in the second half, to have the Patriots like that on the ropes, to take a lead late in the game, sucks. I mean, it's a hard one to stomach.

But I think there are two big positives. And people that know me, I'm not exactly positive, Pete. But I will say this. It is clear that Patrick Mahomes has the, sustainable traits to be an all-time great quarterback. You know, I think we all made that assertion once upon a time with like Kaepernick. But for example, like when he was really taken off and that team was about to like, you know, on the cusp of becoming, it felt like they're going to be good forever.

Kaepernick did not do a couple things well. One, he wasn't a very accurate passer. He wasn't a consistent player from the pocket and he got rattled within the pocket as a lot of young quarterbacks do. Like not being comfortable in the pocket is pretty normal for younger players. You know, I haven't worked in the NFL when you evaluate a lot of like, especially preseason tape, you see a lot of rookie quarterbacks undrafted. Like a lot of young players are not natural in the pocket, mainly because now in college

football you're not doing it as much because a lot of teams don't run pro-style offenses. So their pocket is really already manipulated because they're always in the shotgun. They get rid of the ball so fast. So his ability, and this probably. speaks to how he should be so grateful that he got the year off, because clearly that helped him grow immensely. But I also think he just has some natural traits. One, he is incredibly accurate on the move, on like instinctive plays.

Like that is not normal. And that's where I think he's the most Farvian-like is on the move. When you factor in the arm strength, he is just deadly. And two, he is such a tough SOB in the pocket. Like, you see him wait till the last second when he is about to get mollywopped, and no one will ever blame quarterbacks for, you know, this might be the wrong, but flinching it a little bit. It's why a lot of quarterbacks run out of the pocket before they should.

Because they don't want to get hit. It's a natural human reaction, right? Even if you're a fighter or a wrestler, you're trying to avoid hits, right? Let alone if you're playing quarterback, you know, you don't want to get hit. doesn't really mind it. I'm not saying he wants to get hit, but he has no problem standing in there and getting hit as he deliver strikes. And guys that have been, to me, sustained the greatness, the longest, have the ability to do that. And clearly, if he hangs in that extra millisecond, his arm's so great, he is going to make, you know, just so many plays. And he's

also going to benefit, like, his quote-unquote, offensive coordinator is not going to bounce for another job. It's his head coach, who's also the quarterback whisper. who also has a long history of surrounding and sustaining good teams. Now, Coach Reed has never won a Super Bowl. I do think that this team is going to be equipped in the next five, six, eight years with this guy to win one. Like, they don't really have an excuse not to win one over this period of time. He is that good.

So you just chalked this one up as a loss to the Patriots, the greatest dynasty arguably ever in sports, and he lost the game. It was tough. But if I'm going to be a glass half full guy, I go, I clearly have the best. you know, under 20, 27, 28 quarterback in the league, I kind of put that Russell luck, you know, kind of in the middle of the older guys

and then the super young guys. So I would put, of the super young guys, by far you would take Mahomes over everyone. I don't even think you'd hesitate. You're going to win for a long time if you're a Chiefs fan. Now, the negative thing, and this is an indictment like, listen, I am pro offense as much as anyone, and I think that's the way the league would go.

I would not hire a defensive coach. I understood why I didn't love the LaFleur hire I get it I get the Kingsbury higher I get the gays higher I get the What's his name? Zach Taylor higher in Cincinnati I get the mindset behind it all because it's an offensive league But at the end of the day and I think defense is overrated in the sense like you don't need a number one overall defense To make the Super Bowl you know or to win playoff games but you do need a defense to be able to get stops. You do need to play good red zone defense,

and you need to play good third down defense. And usually to play that type defense, you need some good defensive players or a great defensive play caller. And I'm not sure the chiefs have either. I would imagine that Bob Sutton, the defensive coordinator, he's pretty old,

he might retire this offseason, but they also just need better players. But you have to realize one of the reasons they don't have better players is because how do you think they got Patrick, Mahomes. They traded up from 27 to 10 or whatever the jump was to get them. So two years ago, they used a pick on a guy that did not play. Now, he did play week 17, but you get what I'm saying, was going to have zero impact on their playoff lives. Was not going to play in the playoff game

and didn't play all season. Then this season, they're somewhat of a man short, just simply that might have been, you know, an extra lineback or an extra defensive back. They did not have a first round pick, but that was the cost of getting him. So when you trade up and you go all in on a guy, you know, and they trade him Marcus Peters, and I think they were proven that like he is somewhat of a flawed player. They weren't going to pay him. They kind of recoup that this year. They have a second round pick. Now it's not great because the Rams made the Super Bowl, but they're going to have two-toes late in the second round. That's, that's some ammo. And they have their first round pick. So they got to go heavy on defense because last night, a blown call changed a game. This

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

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That man, hell get the flying. He running up the court, licking his fingers why he got the ball. Like, after you go through a training camp with that I said, you figure it out real quick. Get your ass up and down the court, and you're going to get the ball. So listen to Point Game on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. What's up, guys? This is Clever Taylor the Fourth. And on my podcast, The Cliverts Show, I'm bringing you conversations about all.

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Coach Reed's proven he can get offensive players late in the draft. He can coach guys up. They can overachieve. But you do have to realize that this team, they were subtracted just a player that they did not get to have because they got in Mahomes. Like, you do have to look at it like that. Now, every day of the week, they would have done that trade. Hell, if they could do it over, they would have traded multiple first round picks. You know, like three first round picks for him.

He's that important. But when you do that, you do have to be able to take a step back. And one of the reasons, like the Texans are somewhat flawed, right? It's because they didn't have a first round pick either. Like that does impact and affect you. You know, now when the player is so good or your team is in a unique situation, you might be able to overcome it. But like, you'll see the Bears.

Like, it's going to be a little harder for the Bears to build depth. I would have done their trade too. Like, it was the easiest trade they'll ever make. But, like, if a guy gets hurt, their backup might be dramatically worse than some playoff teams because they won't have that extra depth. And a first round pick does just mean a lot. The likelihood of that guy just having an impact on the field, even if he's not great, but just playing more than likely better than the fifth or six-rounder that you end up having

to play at whatever said position just impacts the game. So you never hear that talked about and it is just something you have to think about when these teams have traded up for players. Imagine fighting climate change every time you buy great. groceries or pizza. Now you can. With the Aspiration Zero credit card, you can reduce your carbon footprint by making the same purchases you always make. Aspiration Zero plants one tree every time you make a purchase.

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Grow your business with Shopify today. Go to Shopify.com slash J-O-H-N, Shopify.com slash John. Okay, like the Brady conversation, the conversation is over. There's another conversation that's over. And I get a lot on Twitter that like when McVeigh or the Rams have a bad game, a bad play call, something goes, oh, the boy genius screwing up. Well, I got news for everyone. Like, he is a boy genius.

He's turning 33 this week. And in two years, he's won the division twice and he's headed a Super Bowl. Like, Sean McVeigh's the winner here. Like, there is no arguing if he's a top-notch, elite coach or not. Like, he is. He took over a team that sucked. He took over a team whose quarterback looked, he couldn't even take a snap. Two years later, he gets them to the Super Bowl, goes on the road and arguably, I mean,

the two road teams that just won these two games, those were the two toughest road environments, especially the Saints. I mean, golf couldn't hear. To win that game, like, there's no debating anymore. And one thing, I have another podcast that I had a radio show for a long time in the Bay Area. My partner, Guy Haberman, we've had a show now, Haberman Middle Cop, another podcast I do. That's also very NFL-centric, but it's also a lot of Bay Area ties. So we talk a lot about the Niners and the Raiders.

One topic that kind of came up, I think like two weeks ago, and we've been talking a lot about, and I wouldn't necessarily do it on this show, like Kyle Shanahan versus Sean McVey. And those are the two names when you hear all these guys hired. It's they had Kyle Shanahan ties and they had Sean McVey ties. Obviously a little more about Sean McVey. But you've got a lot of credit if you work for Kyle Shanahan too. And it's kind of a running thing around here where I live in the Bay Area. Like is Kyle Shanahan and Sean McVey's equal or even close?

And it's hard to totally judge Kyle's quarterback's been injured. It's just, it's a difficult conversation because you've got to put some context into it. But I do know this. As of right now, there is no conversation. The likelihood that Kyle Shanahan ever gets the four, even if he starts winning a bunch of games and they win the division, let's say ever gets to a Super Bowl, just make it to the Super Bowl is probably unlikely.

Let alone, this is always my defense of Jim Harbaugh. The most incredible thing about Jim Harbaugh was he would win road playoff games. He'd go into Green Bay. He'd go into Atlanta. He'd beat Cameron. Carolina on the road road playoff games. You know how hard is to win a road one road playoff game? McVeigh just did it to go to the Super Bowl.

Like, there's no arguing anymore. We can make fun of his sweet, manicured beard, his perfect hair. Somehow, despite being a coach and working crazy hours, I don't know, is he eating no carbs? He stays in great shape. He's got a skinny face. I don't know if you haven't seen. Check out some of the pictures of his buddies

after the game celebrating with them on the field. Just a bunch of bros. Just a bunch of dudes that you'd want to go to Vegas with. One dude had a man bun all under 8% body fat, just a bunch of skinny bros. But he's an elite coach. Because there were moments early in that game. Like one thing in the later game,

Belichick and Andy are very even keel. They never get too high, they never get too low. It's why they're able to come back in games. Like, it looked like the Chiefs were done. down 14-0. Coach Reed is not an over-react guy. It's why young players like playing for him. He doesn't freak out.

Belichick clearly is just a flatliner. Like, Sean Payton, for example, is probably, I mean, he was by four of the four coaches the most emotional. And he's calmed down a lot. But he's more of a roller coaster than the other three guys. Like, that would be my question on Kyle gets pretty emotional during games. Like, he's going to have to tone it down a little. Sean McVeigh is even keel.

Like, this guy is a boy genius. There's just no disputing it anymore to win that game. You can say, oh, the luck to luck. We'll get into Sean Payton in a minute. Because I saw one guy's ego cost them the game. Sean Payton, or excuse me, I don't watch Sean McVeigh and ever think his ego gets in the way. And maybe it will one day.

His next contract is going to be stupid. I mean, he'll probably make like $15 million a year, as he should. I mean, he took a team that sucked. that had just moved to L.A. And it didn't feel like it belonged. It felt like it was going to be a royal failure. Two years later, they are headed to the Super Bowl. And are clearly, even for L.A. stand, like, they do matter.

Like, they do have creating a footprint down there. They are the team. How would they not be? Sean McVeigh, Gurley. Think about this also. Sean McVeigh has so much respect that his best player on his team is Aaron Donald. His second best player is Todd Gurley. He's either hurt

Something's up with him Maybe he'll come out in the next week Doubt it because they're still playing the Super Bowl It's probably an injury But his injury affects his play And you see it a lot of times with receivers If they're not, especially speed receivers If they're not 100%

They're basically zero percent Because they suck Now physical guys can play through injuries But speed receivers usually get pretty impacted by an injury So Todd Gurley While he's a powerback He's also his game's very predicated on his speed which is elite, maybe it's throwing them off,

and it bleeds into his mental game because he was shot. McVeigh didn't hesitate on the bench. C.J. Anderson, you're in. Now, they're lucky that you can just pick up a guy like C.J. Anderson late in the season that had been a leading rusher on a team that had won a Super Bowl. Gurley's no dummy. He knows that. I was at that game. C.J. Anderson was good. Peyton Manning couldn't throw from me to the wall in front of me.

His arm was shot. So, C.J., it's not like your typical practice squad edition late in the season. season. Like this guy has some peltz on the wall. It was a starting running back for a team that could not really throw the ball. You know, play defense and run the rock. And he was a good player. He is a good player. A little chubby right now, but hey, so am I. But for McVeigh, the way he handled that game, how even keely was, him never freaking out when it was 13-0 early in that game, it felt like 40 to nothing.

Him, while he doesn't, you know, scheme special teams, it's ultimately on his watch yes or no to go for it. And he said go for it at the ideal time, and they completed that fake punt. It was a big reason to me, if they punt there in the same score, the game is 100% over. It felt borderline over there.

If somehow they incomplete that fake punt, they are screwed. So to me, it's not arguable anymore. The boy genius, whatever, I get we hate, you know, we hate anything new and it's having too much success. We like, we're a world of fives.

A lot of people in business say this. You know, we never want anyone to be a one. We like building them up. But we never want it to be too high because the moment they get to a 10, we like tearing them down. We like everyone to be in the middle. The reality is they're a small percentage of people

that aren't anywhere near the middle in this world. They're the best of what they do. That's why they're usually the highest compensated. They're the top 1%. You know what the top 1% is for the most part? They're better than me and you. like Sean McVay, he's better than his contemporaries. He just is.

Like, he's going to go down. I mean, he doesn't, obviously he's not going to sustain this. But it's clear like he's elite at his job. And it's not fake praise. Like it's real. Now, all these other coaches that were hired because they knew him, they're not him. That's what many teams are going to find out. He's probably a one of a kind.

Okay, one of the biggest topics, it feels like ever, was this PI call. and I'll be honest I don't feel that bad today for the Saints and Sean Peyton specifically Sean Payton not necessarily the Saints players but let me say this coaches egos sometimes can get in their way and I am all for being aggressive like 100% behind being aggressive

though I do think you need to pick your spots like I like going forward in short yard of situations but if it's the NFC championship game and you're down three points kick the field goal. Sean McVeigh, who progressive social media crushed, loved him kicking the field goal.

It is the right move. Sean Payton, they hit a long pass play to Ted Ginn, down into the red zone. The two-minute warning hits, or right under the two-minute warning. So they got the ball. The Rams have two timeouts. So the clock is now to your advantage.

You can use that against the Rams. You run the ball two straight times. They are going to use the timeout both times. Then on third down, you can run the ball again. And the clock would be around, let's say, give or take, 135. You can run the clock all the way down to like 50 seconds, give or take. Then Jared Goff, on the road where he hadn't been that great, would have to, let's just assume they get to the 20-yard line, the kickoff,

would have to go about 40 yards to get them in field goal range with no timeouts. Instead, Sean Payton throws it on first down, and you could be like, middle cuff, it was a layup throw. Drew Breeze, arguably the most accurate passer, statistically actually the most accurate passer in NFL history, even was like 74% or whatever this year. 72%, whatever. I don't have this box score on a season in front of me.

Let's just say 72 for argument's sake. If he's 72%, that means 28% of his passes go incomplete. Guess what percentage of plays the clock stops on when you run the football. Zero, unless you turn it over. That would obviously be a disaster. But you can turn it over on any play. If you run the ball, the clock continues.

If in that 28% of passes, he is incomplete or the ball's dropped or whatever happens, the clock stops. So I cannot defend. And I think Peter King wrote, or someone wrote, that Drew Breeze changed the call at the line. I don't care. The play call, you look at Drew Breeze, and Drew Breed should agree. We are running the ball three straight times.

It has nothing to do with getting yards. You have a chip shot field goal. You run the ball three times. You get the clock around 50 seconds. You have a three point lead. And that quarterback, who has never won a big game on the road, has to go 40 plus yards, maybe more, to get them in field goal range. And they have no timeouts.

Meaning that if they hit one play, let's say it's 20 yards over the middle of the field, that's at least running from 50 seconds to like 25. The time would not be on their side with no timeouts. This is not college football. The clock does not stop after first downs. Anything under a minute and you got to go a long, you know, ways to go. You are in trouble. That's why the Chiefs, they had 39 seconds, but they had a timeout.

So it's kind of like the equivalent probably like a minute, 10 seconds, you know, to get in a field goal range. And their guy returned it, I think, to like the 33 yard line. So they didn't have to go as far as you think. I cannot condone John Payton's play calling. I think it was moronic. One of the reasons, yeah, it was dumb. They also, on third down, it was dumb in terms of the referees, no PI call. And it was, you know, Sean Payton said it was a Super Bowl level call.

You never should have been in that situation in the first place. Your season's on the line. Michael Thomas, all pro-level player. Alvin Kamara, all pro-level player. You have two elite offensive weapons. And you throw it to, as I named him, Tommy Lee Jones, aka real name Tommy Lee Harris. Exactly. We've never heard of Tommy Lee Harris.

Even a diehard Saints fan. I mean, Tommy Lee, that's who you're going to with the game on the line? I can't condone it. Like, why were you even in that situation? It was crazy. It was coaching malpractice. I think Sean Payton is basically a Hall of Fame level coach. I thought that was moronic.

That whole stretch of three plays after you just hit an incredible play to Ted Ginn to go like 40 plus yards to then throw the ball. first down and then you screw then you're just time is no longer to your advantage because they got two time out you get two plays you ran it for nothing and then you throw that ball which again your seasons on the line and you're throwing it to Tommy Lee Harris say that out loud that is insane so I don't feel bad for the Saints losing and let's get into the overtime stuff I'm personally personally not a big believer and like everything has to be fair the world is not fair. And honestly, it worked out pretty well for the Saints. Like, everyone's freaking out

the overtime rules. I kind of like the way the NFL has it situated. I like it more than when like a field goal used to be, you truly sudden death. I like giving both teams a chance. But if you score a touchdown, like both teams shouldn't get the opportunity to touch the ball. I would not want to see the college overtime in the NFL. Maybe we just get a field goal. I like the way it is. And for the argument for the Saints, like I get if you're a cheese fan, you're a little mad, but, like, they had to drive the entire field to score a touchdown, and they couldn't stop them. The Saints got the ball first in overtime. Like, you're at home, you get the ball first. You should be able to score a touchdown. If you

don't, that's on you. I really found myself today waking up because of Sean Payton's egregious coaching, feeling zero compassion toward him. I don't agree with what he did. I think it ultimately cost him the game, and it's why I don't feel bad for this shitty play call. And I And I hate the refs. I think they're terrible in the NFL. And it's a problem. But they should never have been in that place. And never should have gotten there.

Shouldn't have been in that situation. Should have been basically like a kneel down, run the clock down like 50 seconds. So you're not playing Tom Brady or Peyton Man. You're playing Jared Goff. And Todd Gurley had been MIA all game. Should have been a win for the Saints. It's on Sean Payton. This was a huge weekend.

and really playoff the last three weeks. And honestly, the entire season, the ratings bounced back. The NFL, you know, they had always been on top, but just kind of reestablish their dominance of the three leagues. Twitter, progressive Twitter, had been telling me, the NBA's taking them over. You know, the NBA struggles to get a million people to watch a big regular season game on ESPN or TNT.

They struggle to get a million people to watch. And I got news for you. West Coast game doesn't get that many people to watch. But, like, it was never really a question. It was the media, like, listen, I'll be honestly, I haven't voted once in my life. It's probably not a great thing to be, I'm not proud of it. It's just, I'm just being on it. I'm just being, that's just reality of the situation.

I hang my hat on being authentic. I don't vote, mainly because I think they're both frauds. You know, and I think the media, the last couple years, kind of became this anti-establishment. The sports media, it's been proven. We know what they are. The majority of them, the heavily majority, 90% plus, are hardcore left-wingers. Most of us are somewhere in the middle. You know, most people are somewhere in the middle.

They don't have extreme views. And football really, probably two years ago with the Kaepernick stuff, became really extreme. That wears people out. At football's core, it is something that we can all do on Sundays, relax, get with our friends, drink beer and BS about during the week. It's not that serious. You know, it's serious for me. Like, I make a living off it.

I've worked in it. But the reason so many people watch is it's casually you can take it in. And it's the easiest sport of the three to watch. It's only three hours a week. I mean, baseball, there's a reason only old people watch it now. You have to dedicate so much damn time to consuming the product. The NBA plays three or four times a week. and I know they love to tell you like,

player empowerment. Yeah, the players have been empowered my entire life. I mean, Michael Jordan is easily the biggest star of my lifetime. And even in his heyday, the NBA didn't sniff the NFL. So this notion, now the NFL has its own issues. It's a physical sport. CTE is a real thing, concussions. The NFL's proactive in it.

But the one thing I'll always say, and the NFL has it going for them that the other sports never will. baseball really fights against this, is there's an urgency to the sport. Every game in the playoffs is a game seven. Think about that. Every game in the playoffs is a game seven. It's winner go home. Every regular season game, except really the Patriots, matters.

Every game matters. As I'm recording this, I got the Sixers and Rockets on in the background. James Hardin is on this historic stretch of like 40 points in game. I mean, it's incredible. And Embed's, you know, one of the best centers. we've seen the league since like Shaq, and it doesn't mean a goddamn thing. It literally couldn't mean any less. The game is meaningless.

Not probably a lot of people are betting on it. It just, there's something the NFL has that these other leagues just aren't going to be able to sniff. And listen, I like to gamble. A lot of people think, like, what gambling is going to do to baseball, the in-game bets. Yeah, I don't think it's going to do that much, because I'll promise you this. James, the 28-year-old, ain't watching baseball every night. and he's not going to start just because you can bet on a fourth inning at bat. He may watch it once.

He may mess around a little bit, but the one thing he'll do is he's going to gamble on Sundays. Why? Because it's easy to gamble on Sundays. It's just once a week. You have a bunch of information that you can gain throughout the week, from press conferences to reading things about your team. It's an easy thing to follow. And the one thing that the NFL really got back to this year, and they knew it, and the media crushed them.

They want it out of politics badly. They don't use, the NFL is not a vehicle to make political statements. It's a vehicle to make money. It's a business. It's a vehicle to play a sport to generate that cash. It's just that simple. And I know media members have tried to tell you other things forever. It's not that, and it shouldn't be that.

It's the best when it was just like this year. On the field storylines, and I don't mind off the field storylines like who's going to get fired, things relating to the sport. Teammates like each other. I like the drama in that. But, you know, the NFL and Malcolm Jenkins tried to tell Eric Reed this. Like, let's get out of the identity politics. Let's come together and fight for a greater good together instead of being split.

We're in this business together. This is a business. And ultimately, Eric Reed, you know, I think of call them a sellout. Turns out Malcolm Jenkins, like one of the highest character guys in the business. the league and Eric Reed, his own union called him a liar for making up the stories about the drug tests. But at the end of the day, the league moved past that. Not because, no one ever disagreed what they're fighting for.

I've never met any, like most people, the reactions on social media, when you give into social media, it's such a small group, a vocal minority, a very, very loud minority vocally, well, actually through their tweets, that it can consume you and overwhelm, and you think it's like what the majority of people think. But if you just go out to society, I always use the locker room test, like go to the gym,

and just start BS with people in the locker room. And those conversations, because in my locker room there's just big TV, usually a game on, and people like, you know, especially if they know what I do, and someone will start, they just start talking about games, about players, about coaches. You know, no one wants to talk about the politics. Nobody, even people that do it for a living, working the financial sector, you name it.

It just, it wears you out. You just want to talk about like, God, do you see that throw by Tom Brady? God, what do you think about that call by Sean Payton? That at their core is what people want to talk about. Not identity politics and football. And football this year, and the big reason why they've taken back over, they got out of that business. They desperately tried, and it finally kind of worked this year. And I think we've all benefited.

And football was just kind of fun this year. Didn't bitch and moan all year about concussions, didn't talk about kneeling. We just talked about football. And guess what? 55 million people or something watch the CBS game. I'd imagine 50 plus million watch the Fox game. People watch and love football. Okay, let's end the podcast by getting into the Middilkoff mailback.

At John Middilkoff is my Instagram handle. You just slide up into my DMs. I think 99.9% of my DMs over the last year have been men DMing me about football. You know, a lot of people, you know, babes on the internet will say like guys trying to slide up in their DMs. It's basically what my DMs are with you guys, DMing me, just questions about college or the NFL. So, yeah, it's not as fun quite to be me. But, no, I'm kidding.

I like it. You know, it's actually pretty cool. It's a great way to interact, you know, on the show. It's the modern day millennial way of taking calls. Hey, John, big fan of the pod. keep up the good work. I'll try. What is your honest take on Mike Vrable and how would you grade his first year as a head coach? I've never met him in like a social setting. I've been at practices with him. I walked by, I went to a Titans practice.

Always kind of been a fan, obviously as a player, super high level guy, elite teammate in New England, champion. You know, clearly Belichick thinks really highly of him. Obviously, Bill O'Brien loves him and Urban Meyer loves him. I think he's a good coach. I think he's impressive. The players like him, you know, this first year, you know, I'd probably give him, I don't know, a B, B plus. I mean, he did take over a playoff team.

To me, he had them, I think if Marriota can stay on the damn field, they'd be a playoff team. And it's hard to judge them. They basically had a playoff game week 17. He had to start playing Gabber. Even the week before. uh they won remember they played on the saturday week 16 mariotta got knocked out at half time it's like

they can't depend on their quarterback ever playing you know in one year they're i thought their defense was really good uh now their defense had been good you know the year before but their defense i thought was really good their secondary was improved uh i i like them you know i don't know it's hard to tell off one year but i'd say you know it was one year playoff mix basically up until week 17 when I can't expect you to win with your backup quarterback in that situation even if the game's at home especially if the quarterback is playing Gabbard

so I not give you a pass but you know I thought he did a good job I think he's a good coach you know the coaching staff he has seems to be solid this year will be somewhat telling losing LaFleur who really didn't do that great of a job they elevated the tight ends coach you know the question for him is going to be like he's an energy guy, he's a defensive guy,

what's he going to do on offense? And it's always my question, just in general, why I say, you know, I'm not that big on offensive coaches. Because if they, let's say the tight end coach that they just promoted, I saw it really, I don't even have his name in front of me. It might be awesome, something. But let's say this guy crushes it. Let's say Marriota comes back and he's healthy next year.

And they win the division. And Mariotta looks the best he has in this career. well, I would bet my life that that guy gets a head coaching job. He would immediately become a head coach because you go, well, this guy just saved Marriota's career. Save might be strong. Resirected it. And I know Vrabel ain't coaching him.

So that's always my problem with defensive guys. I never have to worry about like Khalil Max or Aaron Donald. I'm not saying those guys coach themselves or Von Miller, but they're easier to coach than the quarterback. It's so much hard to find quarterback whispers. But if I'm going to have a defensive guy, I want him to be a scheme guy, which clearly Braybill, I mean, all those Belichick years,

is really, really smart, right? He understands defense, coverages, he gets it. And he's also a good motivator. So he's two of the three things that I'd ideally want. Now, in a perfect world, I'd want like a quarterback coach that's also a motivator and that knows defense, right? But that guy's name, he's a little shortcut. that works for the New England Patriots, I think his name is Bill Belichick.

So that he might be the only one. Hey John, big fan. I have a question for the mailbag. What position did you play in your playing career? And what was your playing career like? Well, I was a seven-year NFL veteran. No, I'm just kidding. I just played in high school and, you know,

was an overachieving little right guard. It wasn't very good. Small. It wasn't very good at football. I just like a lot of people that are, young. I liked football. I was actually a much better golfer, but golf sucks. You're playing by yourself. You actually like it. The older you get, because it's like one of the only sports you could play was terrible at football, but I liked it. I enjoyed being with my friends. I enjoyed the

schematic stuff, which I'm still not like live and die with scheme, but you enjoy that more as you get older, the, you know, the strategy that goes in to the sport of football. You practice so much more than you played, I was just, I was hooked from the moment I started playing. And I, I knew I wasn't very good. But the reality is, you know, most people involved in the business, you know, great players usually don't want to stay in football. You know, that's what's kind of cool about like Tony Romo is, you know, it's why even most coaches, like the best coaches, weren't the best players.

And obviously, if I had that much money, I probably wouldn't be doing this either. But yeah, it wasn't a very, very marginal high school player. Offensive guard, backup linebacker. Probably hard to find any information about the Middle Cough playing career at Davis Senior High School. We had high hopes my junior year. It didn't work out. Senior year, we were pretty terrible. Quick question.

Why hasn't Todd Haley gotten a job offer this year as an offensive coordinator? Find it a little weird, give it his experience. Yeah, I think his problem is his, you know, and I talk about this with a lot. All coaches have ego. So when I say, like, a guy has an ego, every human worth their salt that's good at anything has a little bit of an ego. But there is a balancing act. And I think people would tell you about, and I also think when you have an ego,

like, if you're Belichick or Sabin and your resume is just so elite and you win every year, you can kind of be an asshole. Like, you know, if you're not the head guy and you're an offensive coordinator that kind of rubs people the wrong way, it's hard to be an asshole. Now, I struggle calling someone that, especially I've never met him. Actually, the one time I saw Todd Haley was last year at the combine, he was getting wasted. He actually seems like a pretty fun guy. But he clearly is pretty difficult to work with.

You know, he's had some pretty famous, you know, with the Chiefs, and this thing with the Cleveland Browns, which didn't kind of feel like his entire fault, but there's something there. Now, and I always kind of defended him because it seems like Ben's a pain in the ass. But then was it last year after the playoff game when Haley got arrested for the tequila? But then you're like, well, did someone? someone pushed his wife, it's hard to blame him. But then it was like, I don't know, it might be Todd.

So my simple answer from, I don't know that much. I don't know him. I don't really talk to people that know him that well. I don't ever talk about Todd Haley. My guess would be it's more self-inflicted. Like it starts with Todd. Now, it's not completely his fault. Maybe it's like probably in any business.

The NFL is relatively small, but it's so public that when you get a reputation, whether it's fair or not, sometimes it's hard to shake. And I think right now he has a terrible reputation as a, you know, I would say teammates the wrong word, but just as like a fellow coworker. And teams are just staying away, you know, because I'm with you. His resume as a play caller is pretty good, right?

He did great work. Remember Kurt Warner in Arizona? Then he, did he make the playoffs one time in Kansas City? I think he did. And then obviously with Ben, I mean, they won a shit ton of games. I mean, all that they did during his time was win games, score points, right? So it's just, I think you've got to be very careful in life. And I try to be cognizant of it.

And it's hard. But your reputation, just the way you treat people, now it's weird because it's also like you could treat people that don't impact your life well and be a good person. But if you butt heads with the wrong person that has political power and whatever you do, they could kind of bad mouth you even though it's not totally true and ruin your career. So it's just, I don't know. I don't have a great answer to that question because it's kind of feels like I don't want to say career over because he's done too much. But he might need to do like a little, a little sabbatical for a year, maybe do a little rehabilitation to, because it feels like his career is just, I don't know, He's kind of down a bad path right now about his personal life.

John, one attribute we hear a lot about with quarterbacks is their accuracy. Another is winning pedigree. Sorry, I'm clicked out. Why then would you say quarterbacks like Colt McCoy and Kellan Moore, who were deadly accurate and won more than anyone in college, struggle as they did in the NFL? Well, I think those two guys are great examples. there is like a I would say like a threshold for arm strength

and I was at Fresno State when Kellyn Moore was in college I'll say this probably the day I die mainly because I was on the sideline to watch him twice and he was on those Boise teams that were so damn good I stand by this the one year that Kaepernick beat him in Nevada I think that team probably could have played with anyone in the country and it took I mean Kaepernick was a pretty unreal college player that game in Nevada was freezing.

It was a crazy-ass game. But I think Kellan Moore, who was deadly accurate, he had, you know, if it was like, if I was grading a guy, one to ten arm strength, let's say like Mahomes and Farve and guys like that are tens. I would say Alex Smith is like, I don't know, five or five and a half. I'd say that Kellynne Moore is like a two. And I'd say that Colin, excuse me, Colt McCoy,

is like a four. So like if you're not at the basic threshold for quarterbacks at arm strength, it's hard to play in the NFL because the windows close so fast, dbs are so fast, coordinators are so good. It's like even if you are deadly accurate as a pitcher, you still for the most part probably in baseball got to throw like 90, maybe 89. Like let's think about, I was watching something on MLB network the other day.

and they were doing like the best, it was on my second TV that I just usually leave the background noise if there's nothing else to watch if I'm like watching a movie or something. Yeah, yeah, I'm a nut. And I looked up and they were going over like Greg Maddox one of his seasons when he was like four straight side yungs.

And I have to look like what his average velocity was in his peak, but I'm pretty sure it was like 90, 91, 89, whatever. So like he was at the threat, but he was like basically the Drew Brees of baseball could just pinpoint the ball. If you are not pinpoint accurate, which these guys, I wouldn't say, Kellan was close to, but his arm strength was so bad. Greg Maddox would not have been Greg Maddox if he threw 81 miles an hour.

Like, he still had to hit like top out high 80s, low, you know, 90, right? If he threw 80, I don't care if you can paint the corner. Uh, dudes are going to rake, right? So, even if you are the most anticipatory, incredibly smart, which I'm telling you, Kellan Moore, I've been saying for a while, keep an eye on him as the next quarterback, or excuse me, head coach of the Dallas Cowboys. He's there, McVeigh, Kyle Shanahan, Cliff Kingsbury type. Dad was a high school coach.

He was a brilliant player, rose through the coaching ranks like a rocket ship. Keep an eye on that. But he just doesn't have a good enough arm. So I think, you know, progressive draft Twitter loves to tell you that arm's rank doesn't matter. And I would say once you get to the threshold, it doesn't matter. as much, but it always mattered for Alex. Like, there was always a limitation for Alex in a playoff game. He'd get away with it in September or October, but when the weather turned, whether it was

the NFC championship, at Candlestick when it was pouring rain, some of those, you know, playoff games, he was great in the playoff game. Oh, yeah, in the dome in Indy, wasn't quite as good outside. Why? Because it's hard to throw in 10 degrees. If you live in the cold, go outside, try to throw football. It's hard. And that's why Bahams and Brady, and it didn't matter for Breeze and golf as much,

who don't have great arms, but they're in a dome. And they got a way above average arms. I think Bree's a great example of, I'd say Breeze's arm in his peak was probably like a seven. Probably now, he actually didn't play very well in the playoffs. It's probably like a six, six and a half, but he's the most accurate quarterback, literally. I said earlier on the pod when I was making the Breeze example that it was 72%. It was actually 74% this year. And part of that, the games change a little bit.

It's easier, and they throw a lot more screens. But still, I mean, he's a 67% career completion percentage. Like, that is pretty incredible. So I think when guys like that fail, and you see him every year, a guy that just incredible stats at smaller schools. I know Colt played at Texas, but it's just arm strength. And arm strength, there is just a base level that it's people love to tell you it doesn't matter, and to me it just does.

Let's see if I can get one more question here. Okay, I got one. Recently started a list of the podcast. I had questions regarding the Patriots future. I believe that Brady plays out his contract, meaning he plays two more seasons, and the Patriots don't have a backup plan. By Taylor Lawrence is expected to come out the year after or the year after. Yeah, he won't be eligible next.

He'll be eligible in two years. I like where this is going. What do you think about the Patriots should give up to draft him? after Brady retires. And what do you think about them drafting him overall, and what are your thoughts on the past future? Well, I'd say this. The problem for the Patriots and Trevor Lawrence is going to be them just getting Trevor

Lawrence because they are going to be drafting, I mean, this year they're drafting 31 or 32. Next year, I got news for everyone. Patriots got everyone coming back. Trent Brown's a free agent, but they got Isaiah Wynn, the guy they drafted to be the left tackle in the first round coming back up in Achilles. They have a first round pick. They got two second round picks and they got three third round picks. So they're going to be really good.

They could think that way. To me, it's a little hard with Brady still kicking this much ass. But you're right. He's 41. They don't have a backup plan. I don't know. I think the Trevor Lawrence to the Patriots feels like basically impossible. Like it's not going to happen.

I guess you never say never of Belichick. Like if he trades out. of first round this year and it gets another first round next year, maybe you keep an eye on that. I don't know. I think they're going to have to draft a guy. I would imagine that they draft a quarterback in this draft. And their future, as long as Bill Belichick is roaming the sideline and why would he quit? Someone texted me the other day, or excuse me, tweeted at me.

And I thought they had a good question because it did cross my mind before the game. Like, when do you think Brady retires? Like, could you imagine Brady going to the Super Bowl? and holding up the Super Bowl trophy and like, I'm retiring. You know, I can't. And the analogy I used is there's a reason like Warren Buffett hasn't retired. It has never been easier. January 21st, 2019, as I'm recording this, whatever Warren Buffett did today.

But today, as tomorrow, will never be easier for him to make more money. As will the next day, and it will only get easier and easier for him to make more money. it has never been easier for the Pats to win. Now, individual games are hard, but it's never been easier for them to be in the mix. Just like they were kind of shitty this year. They were 11 and 5, and boom, they're in the AFC championship. Like, because the division sucks.

It's like, Belichick's kind of mastered the league. Brady's now mastered, kind of relaxing during the regular season to really go pedal the medal in the playoffs. So I don't know. They don't really have a backup plan But I don't think they're gonna go away And I think that both of them

It's just never been easier for them to kick ass Now they have to do it a little differently, right? It's a little more complicated for Belichick To like sign players and trade for players And Brady it takes them a little more time To get ready for games And the regular season is a little more difficult But the end result

Like the Kansas City game was hard for them But the overall season felt relatively easy you know, so relative to, like, other NFL teams. The scratch, claw, and, like, would kill their mom for 10 wins. Like, Belichick can, you know, close his eyes September through December and end up with 10. I mean, he could do that with his eyes close. He could do that with, like, taking two days off a week. So, I don't know.

I think as long as Belichick's around, they're going to be a good shape. And they did it with Jimmy. They'll find a guy in this upcoming draft. I appreciate everyone listening. Another podcast in the books, and I will see you guys a Friday. You know, no football this week. God, it's going to be tough.

But as we get Senior Bowl this week, there'll be good stories coming out of the Senior Bowl. And we'll just keep on flowing. Thanks again for listening. Tell your friends, three and out podcasts with me. John Milko. If you love to be remembered

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

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