The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Colin Cowherd Podcast - Bills Blow Best Championship Shot, Jared Goff Underrated, Packers Primed For Success, Lamar Jackson’s Evolution

Episode Date: January 22, 2024

John Middlekauff, host of “3 and Out” joins Colin to break down the divisional round of the NFL playoffs! They break down Buffalo’s heartbreaking loss to the Chiefs and both agree that THIS was the year for the Bills to beat Patrick Mahomes (3:30), but have reservations about whether a flawed Kansas City team can win in Baltimore (13:00). Colin believes Jared Goff’s lack of flash and physical tools has led many people into undervaluing him (19:00),and they peer into the crystal ball to look at the future for Green Bay and see multiple NFC championship runs in the next few years (24:00).   They find flaws in the 49ers that could cause problems against a talented Lions team (31:00) and marvel at the evolution of Lamar Jackson’s game (48:00). They also weigh in on Jim Harbaugh’s job search in the NFL (01:02:00), what the market for Baker Mayfield looks like (01:04:00) and whether the Raiders chose poorly by making Antonio Pierce their head coach (01:07:00) (Timestamps may vary based on advertisements.) Follow Colin and The Volume on Twitter for the latest content and updates! #Volume #Herd #3andOutSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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game time today. Last minute tickets, lowest prices guaranteed. All right, wild weekend and what a finish to it, Kansas City holds on to beat Buffalo, trailed at half a six. 17 to 13, come back to win 27, 24, a game in which both teams made a lot of mistakes. John Middlkoff, former NFL Scout, host a podcast on the volume, 3 and out. Yeah, I mean, this is, when you get into these classic, you know, Ollie Frazier matchups, you know, you see them multiple times, people get so nervous and so anxious, they want to blame the refs. And there were some stuff today with the officiating, but I also think both teams made a ton of mistakes. I mean, McColl Hardman, why are you giving him the ball down there?

The fake punt. Buffalo fumbles it. Kansas City's on it, and then Buffalo regains it. So, I mean, in the end, I looked at Buffalo in the first half only up four, despite the fact they'd have double the time of possession, double the first downs, 235 yards, and they lead 17 to 13. This game, maybe I'm wrong on this. It felt like Buffalo had their chances, but they just didn't take advantage of it. Yeah, I mean, Buffalo goes up into halftime, 17, 13, and then the Chiefs come right out. out and score, right? They go right down, and then it's 20 to 17, and you felt like, you know, the bills are going to have to make just a stupid amount of plays to win this game because they're going to have to make extra plays because the Chiefs have their number. And they did. I mean, Josh Allen, on that final drive before the kicker missed, multiple big third downs,

multiple plays with his legs. I mean, this is another time when he played really well. I don't exactly know what his final box score was, but I thought he was awesome. Hitting balls. How many times if he make big throws down the field, they dropped some. Obviously, they got a little lucky on the fumble that cancane docked out and they ended up landing on, but to lose on a kick. And who knows? Maybe they would have lost in overtime. Maybe the Chiefs drive. That's tough. I mean, it feels like the same shit different day for three straight years with a team with a quarterback in the peak of his powers. And Andy Mahomes, you just can't get over the hump. Well, and also, I thought if Buffalo won, they were in big trouble against Baltimore, that

two healthy linebackers going to ball. I think Kansas City, so the line is Baltimore minus three. I thought Kansas City has a real shot to win that game. I felt like Buffalo, they were just falling apart physically. And I think that thing that's frustrating, if you're a Bills fan, is that it just becomes so Josh Allen dependent. You can't count on the defense. You can't count on health.

Now you can't count on the kicker. McDermott's fake punt. I can't count on the coach. It just always feels like Josh puts the cape on. And when they lose, you're like, he's not the issue. And it just feels like, you know, in previous years, there was no run game. Now, they have a run game. In previous years, there was weakness in the conference.

This was the year for Buffalo, John. Kansas City doesn't have a number two receiver. They have some undependable Hardman, Tony, some players. Now, Tony didn't play today, right? No, yeah. But they have these players all year long, and you saw it today with a fumble at the goal line. Kansas City opens the door to beat them multiple times a game now. They never did in the previous five years.

And Buffalo at home still can't put them away. Yeah, to me, this is the worst loss. I just don't see how you shake this if you're that franchise. Because like you said, you're playing this team. team that kind of comes limping in relative to what they've been. Who made big play after big play today was Valdez Scantling. He hasn't caught a cold all season long. He had multiple huge catches.

I think when you're a player or two away, like Buffalo was banned, like the 49ers have been like the Chiefs, and you buy a big free agent, you need that guy to hit. So look at the 49ers, right? They get Charvarius, Ward, and Hargrave. Immediately those guys are pro bowlers. Right? The Chiefs, they signed Justin Reed a couple years ago. You feel them all over the field.

they went all in on Von Miller. Now he tore his ACL, but it was an older player, and that was a disaster. And when you are paying a lot of guys money and you go all in on one player, then he gets injured and he's clearly a shelve himself now, you feel that. Like where are their impact players beside, like you said, they're built like a basketball team right now. And they have a superstar player. And when he's incredible like he was today making plays left and right,

but your margin for error is still so tiny. And like you said, they had guys dropping like flies. the injuries were starting to mount up. And some of those guys that got hurt came back in the game. You're like, thank God, I don't know who he would have thrown to. But man, to miss that kick, I mean, this is a franchise that does feel a little snake-bitten. And who knows? I mean, listen, Shaw McDermott going forward on that punt.

They got bailed out, obviously, by the fumble a couple plays later. But that was a questionable move. You're playing a team that's offenses. The entire season has struggled. Like, you just punt, and I get your punters hurt. That was a huge part of this game, right? Their punters hurt. He could barely punt.

So to lose that game at home as the favor, that's something it's hard to shake. Well, and the other thing is, and I know I've been on this ad nauseum, Harbaugh is not your classic defensive coach because he started as a running back coach, then it was a tight end coach, then was a special teams coordinate. He's not your classic defensive coach. He's done secondary special teams. So part of this dynamic is Andy Reid offensive coach, Sean McDermott, defensive coach, Andy's been able to fix problems faster offensively, the O line,

the receiving core, bring Juju Smith, Schuster in for a year. All these teams, once you pay the quarterback, John, you've got liabilities. Andy's done a better job to fix those. Spags, Brett Veach, Andy. I mean, they've had to rebuild the O line twice, rebuild the defense, rebuild the receiving core. And I always feel like the offensive coach can do that a little bit more quickly, at least on the offensive side. I think this is a flawed Kansas City team. But again today, you got guys that didn't make plays all year making huge plays.

I think there's something to be said about the championship culture. I mean, about the thing that you truly can't quantify. It was on full display today. Right. Travis Kelsey, to me, has been a shell of his greatness this season. Yeah. What did he do today? Made some big plays, multiple huge touchdowns.

The other thing, when you have an offensive coach that your head coach, you usually get the best out of guys. So what happened? Their young wide receiver Rice got better and better. Valdez Scantling, they don't just throw him in the doghouse. They keep positivity, they keep his head up, and then he's making big plays for him today. The defensive culture, right? He goes back to Spags a couple years ago.

How well does that team tackle? I mean, they got a lot of random guys in the secondary, mid-to-late-round draft picks, great open-field tacklers, even when they give up a big play, they don't hang their head. That was a team. We've seen them forever win these games at home. Now, back-to-back weeks, but specifically this week, they're down multiple times, unfaced. They didn't wilt. They didn't go into the tank.

they're really unfazed by adversity. I really think this is a mere image. They're different, but of those Patriot teams, you just could never count out. You're like, oh, this is the time, you know, to bet against them, and then they end up winning that game as an underdog on the road in a tough condition when the other quarterback's going nuts, just because the margin for their error on the other team is small. They have the superior coach.

Even if the quarterbacks are a coin flip, their other guys are just going to make, the bills truly believe, like, deep down in their soul they were going to win this game at different points. How could they? They've never won this game where all those guys on the chiefs, even the young guys, are Super Bowl champions. Like, they all have a ring at home, at their house. They know they can win this game. They've literally done it before. And that, that, to me, like, was the difference in the game. No, it's true, too, because if you go back to those Patriot teams, Julian Edelman's told me this couple of times, he goes, everyone had a different personality, everyone had a different weakness. We try to figure out what it was and find our identity, like, by the

end of September, early October. And this team doesn't have the firepower. This team's better defensively. This team's a little younger in Kansas City. But I do think that Andy Reid has come to terms with, listen, we're a flawed offense. But at some point, Scantling, he can run. Nicole Hardman, I'm going to give him opportunities because I think they're sort of limited. But, you know, and if you go back to a lot of those New England teams, they had flaws. Some teams didn't run as well. There were a couple of teams that had no deep threat. And then you just went heavy gronk, you know, heavy gronk, heavy special teams in defense.

I think this was the Kansas City team for Buffalo to beat, though. This one felt like it's still a work in progress with one of the best coaches of all time. I think Andy knows there's real limited. He doesn't want to give that ball to Hardman. He, that's not, I mean, you can see his reaction on the sideline. He's like, I trust you one more time. But I think, you know, it's just like you said, I think there are opportunities to beat certain dynasties and this was one of them. And I.

But isn't that why they are the dynasty, Colin? Like, isn't that why, like that happened to the Patriots? They had moments, some of those Flacco Ravens teams, some of those Peyton teams, and you just can't get it done. Today's a good example, and I think this last couple years, you know, I would say Belichick's greatest, strength as a coach is willing to do anything. You can't stop the run. We'll run it all day on you. Can't stop the past. We'll pass it. You have struggled with something offensively. We'll exploit that area. Well, Andy's always been known past, past, past. Today, Bahomes only had 23 attempts, and they

rode Pacheco for almost 100 yards. And these last two years, minus Tyreek Hill, they've really ridden Pachaco. Why? He's clearly, you could argue he's their best weapon right now with Travis no longer being an A player, probably a B plus player, at least they're equals. And Andy, who at his core wants to pass, rain, snow, sleet in a dome is pounding him the day. And that's added an element that this team, the NFL's lucky they didn't have this guy a couple years ago with all the other weapons in their prime because they never would have been beaten. Now he's had to shift a little bit. They feel like a defensive team, right, which they definitely weren't early on in the Mahomes era,

a very physical team. And that also shows when you run the ball, it adds a physical element to your team. That's why to me, I mean, they're kind of built to go into Buffalo and win. They're built to go into Baltimore and win. If they can keep your offense, you know, below 25, they have a very good chance. Because as long as they're hanging around, like I said, they're going to believe they can win. Like, truly believe. Like, is Baltimore, if this game is 19 to 17 going to the fourth quarter, they'll question, the Chiefs will not flinch.

They might lose, but they will not will. I thought you could argue today is one of their more impressive wins, given who they're playing, the injuries they've had. They lose their star linebacker, Willie Gay, in the middle of the game, whose job was to basically spy Josh Allen. What an incredible just day from Mahomes and Andy Reid. What a championship level win. Yeah, I wrote multiple times. Like, what a beautiful mess with chaos back and forth. Yeah, I think I don't know how, you know, you talked about recovering.

I think Kansas City, their issues are solvable issues. But I also think when you look at a game like this, I really do think there are certain seasons where you get a feeling about something. Some stuff's obvious. San Francisco's roster is the best in the NFC. But I think very early in this season, you kind of felt like it was Detroit. This was a really solid team, the O line. You know, they weren't the team a couple years. years ago that had to win by track meet. Their pass rush now was no longer, it was elite,

which could hide their secondary. And I do feel like watching Baltimore, I think Buffalo would have been in big trouble. I think it's going to be, I don't know if Kansas City can win. I, when I watch Kansas City, as I was watching Baltimore this weekend, I thought to myself, God, it's hard to find a team without a flaw. Yeah. And now that they've added Zay Flowers. And, I mean, just think of how dynamic. Look how many rushing yards Baltimore had against D'Amico Ryan's, a great coach. And they really controlled the game in the second half.

They're on their third running back. Like, you get to a point when I watch San Francisco, and we've always acknowledged them. But when I watched Baltimore this weekend, I don't know if Kansas City matches up. They have this mix of depth and elite talent and veterans. And I do feel that Kansas City is young and talented. I mean, how do you think they match up with the Ravens? Well, if Gay is out, that's a big deal because Lamar, who really got comfortable in the second half, they started running him on the edges. I mean, you can't afford to lose fast explosive linebackers against that team because he is such a weapon.

And he clearly is much calmer. He was a little tight early in that game. They were blitzing him a ton. Came out, and they were very relaxed, and he just went nuts. Right. So to me, if you can't slow him down in the run game, once he gets rolling, you have no shot. The other problem is their physicality on defense, like it's going to be hard for Pacheco. Like today, you got 97 yards.

Like, it's hard to get 97 yards against that defensive line and those linebackers because they tackle so well. They're so physical. Oh, their linebackers are great. To me, the only thing, you know, ultimately at the end of the day, you have Patrick Mahomes. He's just so unfazed by weather. That's, you know, I was a big Peyton Manning guy growing up. and one huge disadvantage for him when he had to go to New England, he wasn't going to be as well in the cold. He had to get that game at home.

And he finally did whatever, 06, and he finally won it. The problem, if you look at the bills, like, everyone's playing in the cold. So it's not a disadvantage. You're getting Patrick Mahomes. He's going to be the same, right? So Patrick, obviously, in Baltimore, colder place, you could see that the Texans, who listen, their roster at this point in time with the injuries. The discrepancy in those two rosters was wide yesterday. No question.

D'Amico had an incredible first half and they just ran out of juice. But I do think they're very comfortable going into a place that's I'm sure going to be really cold. Who knows what the weather is going to be. But the Baltimore Ravens roster is better. Oh, yes. And they have, I mean, Mike McDonald, the defensive coordinator is a star. He might become a head coach. He's 37 years old.

And Todd Munkin is an excellent offensive coordinator. And he's, you know, those weapons, how good is they flowers, that young tight end they have that's like six foot five. And obviously Lamar is just, he's now on these guys level, which I would say, previously in these big spots, you didn't view him as? I feel the same way. So if he's on their level, you would say the rosters, and now the coaching, like, this is not Andy versus Sean McDermott, right? This is Andy versus John Harbaugh. He's got 12 playoff victories, has a Super Bowl, and is comfortable in this environment. And it's at home. I mean, that's, but, I mean, we just saw Kansas City who had never gone into the road, on the road and won a game in the Mahomes era because they hadn't have to, didn't have to, did it today.

Honestly, they felt pretty comfortable most of the game. And they were down, unfazed. So I, I would not just, write them off. I do think it's going to be hard. It would be harder than today. They can't afford fumbling a ball into the end zone or having some drops. But you saw Travis Kelsey, you know, upped it up a notch. And Andy today, I thought, was pretty dialed in. So you're getting this big guy who's, I mean, this is what he coaches for. So I, I would lean Baltimore just based if you go, their two even teams, you know, in terms of the coaching staffs. But their talents a little bit better. it's look back on betting against Brady and Belichick. That usually was not a smart thing to do.

So if you look at it that way, I don't think putting money or getting behind Kansas City or picking Kansas City in this game makes you a crazy man, that's for sure. Let's talk earlier game. You know, I was thinking watching Detroit win. Jared Goff went to like Marin Catholic. The team was terrible in high school. He comes in.

They're excellent. He goes to Cal. They're garbage the two years before. He goes to Cal. They start winning game. The Rams when he first got there were a mess, right? The Jeff Fisher Rams gets McVeigh hits it. Now he goes to the Lions, bump a year and a half, and he's got them in the NFC championship. You know, I know when you watch Lamar and Mahomes and Josh Allen, they do feel like they've sort of separated from the world because Burrough just can't stay healthy and he's not that dynamic of an athlete. but we got to be honest about Jared Goff.

I don't care if it's high school, college, or pro. He is now taking his second team to the NFC championship. And, you know, at first you could say it's McVeigh. Well, now it's Dan Campbell. And we don't consider Dan Campbell to be Sean McVeigh. And the lions. Right. And the truth is when I watched that game today, my big takeaway was, oh, he's way too comfortable.

When you give Jared Goff three beats, Amaran St. Brown, Leporta, I think Gibbs is a sensational player, that old line. You know, I just, I watched them and I'm like, okay, this feels like the Rams team. Jared's got 1001, 1002, 1003. Jared Goff's going to pick you apart. And I think people are just not quite comfortable because he's really one of the last pure pocket guys drafted, number one. Like pure pocket.

They don't really exist. They don't exist in college. And we don't draft them number one. We want to see all this movement. He's one of the last pocket guys. I don't know. I just watched him today and I'm like, Jesus, even my wife doesn't even like football. And she's like, God, that guy has got a, I mean, his over, today he got amped up and overthrew LaPorteur in the end zone.

But I don't know, I'm just a bigger fan of golf than I think the rest of football fans are. I wrote down today, do you think it has a chance to be one of the greatest trades in NFL history? They got two first round picks and Jared Goff. Think about that. And the second first round pick turned into a top five. It was the six overall pick because the Rams were terrible, which they turned in to Gibbs, who looks like Alvin Camaro 2.0 and Leporta. So they got their starting quarterback who makes, and he's on a contract next year,

$25 million a year. In a day and age when every guy's making 45 to 50, he's making 25. He's already proven that he can win, and now he's winning. And they added all this other talent when they already had some ascending young players. That general manager, we talk a lot about golf and we talk a lot about Dan Campbell, but those personnel moves because we've seen Jared Goff. If you put the talent around him, you're going to win. And if you can protect him and he gets comfortable, some of those throws, his accuracy.

He gets back to his personality. You know, he's kind of got the surfer, California, cool. I'm not comparing him to Joe Montana, but he kind of has that easy going feel. And I do think that helps him out because how many guys, a coach of Sean McVeigh status, and even Sean said, I regret saying he crushed him publicly. I mean, completely something you don't really see with a guy. guy that you had some success with. And the Lions and Dan Campbell, and this were, he deserves a lot of credit.

They built him back up. I don't care who you are, especially young men, need people to promote you and have support from behind you. And they gave it to them. And then they surrounded them. I mean, how much talent does that team have? Leporty, Gibbs, Montgomery, the offensive line, St. Brown. I mean, Hutchison, Hitchison, Tampa left him unblocked several times today.

They're more active at linebacker. How about Brant's the safety, their second round pick from Alabama's fantastic? He makes tackles left and right. This team is a corner away from being a legit Super Bowl contender next year. And honestly, like, the way the Niners look, I wouldn't just count them out. Now, they historically have rattled Jared Goff because when, you know, if you have a mobile quarterback, Jordan Love, you don't even need to be Lamar Jackson. You give them a little trouble. But when you sit in the pocket, the cousins, the Dax, definitely golf.

I mean, historically on the ramps, they destroyed them. Now, this Niners defensive line. is not playing as well as it has in years past, because Chase Young is just not that good. And Bosa, you know, he's getting double-teamed. And the other guys are just kind of okay. Now, the rest of their defense is okay, right? Their linebackers are good.

They have some good DBs. But their defensive line is nowhere near what it once was. It actually is much closer to this Lions group that has Hutchinson and a bunch of other random guys, then I think the way that it's perceived of, oh, the Niners, the best defensive line we've ever seen. They got some names, but they are not playing like that. for any, by any means. So I think most people are going to say this Chiefs, you know, Ravens game has a chance to be a big classic. It's like, oh, the Lions, you know, their run's going to come to an end.

The Niners better pick it up a little bit because they did not look very good on Saturday night. No, and, you know, it was really interesting when I went back and let's talk San Francisco Green Bay here, because if you go, statistically, it was an incredibly close game. The time of possession was even, five point three yards of play for Green Bay, five point six for San Francisco. You had two great running backs, two offensive coaches, two young quarterbacks.

The difference is Jordan Love had a couple of picks and Purdy was cleaner. Luckily, I mean, balls were flying all over the place. You could have thrown about three or four. Yeah. Yeah, I mean, and I think that's the reality of Jordan Love. He's erratic, but he's really good. My first takeaway on this game is,

holy shit, if Aaron Rogers would have just not audibled out, of Matt LaFleur's offense. The other thing is crazy about this is that Aaron knew how good Aaron Jones was. He's a stud. He's not McCaffrey, but in an argument is the second best back in the league. And you know how good LaFleur is, and the old line is, and watched it in Romeo Dobbs.

Now, he didn't know. Aaron wouldn't know they would draft two tight ends. Musgraves really talented. But Aaron left that and kind of got his way out of there. I'm watching them today, and I'm like, you could make an argument by next year if Jordan Love just cleans up some of his erratic play. This is going to be a six-year run, four to six-year run of NFC championship-level players, right? One thing I wrote down is, you know, we, and I'm guilty of this, we talk so much about Kyle and McVeigh, those two guys, head and shoulders as the young crew.

I think we got to throw Matt LaFleur in that group. I mean, what he did, he had that team show up and they were kicking the Niners' ass. I don't care what the staff say. He out-coached Shanahan. Oh, all night long. I mean, the Niners got, that's one of the luckier wins, I can remember. I mean, they've had some impressive wins. That was an all-time lucky win.

And I, that's, I had multiple people in the NFL texting me this morning. Like, I can't even imagine being on the Packer staff waking up this morning. I mean, you had, you didn't have them on the ropes. You had them beat. And LaFleur deserves, he's, he's everything you want, right? He is a good head coach, clearly, the guys like him. He is the offensive play caller. And now he's proven he can get along with an absolute superstar.

Aaron really liked him. and now he can also develop a young guy that we had never seen. Like, what else can you ask out of a coach? So Green Bay looks like they have struck oil. I had some question marks just because, you know, he inherited Aaron Rogers. We'll see, well, now you see what he's doing with all these young players. They go on the road to San Francisco. We saw what he did two weeks ago to the Cowboys.

I mean, he beat the shit out of them. What a night. I know there's no moral victories in the National Football League, but what a night for LaFleur. I mean, seriously. I mean, to have that team on the brink. that they were a 10-point underdog against a team that every single human and their mother picked to win that game.

That was incredible effort. What I said before the Dallas and San Francisco Games is, I hope Brock Purdy and Dack can play from behind. They take leads. I don't think they've turned the ball over in the first quarter all season. So again, this was the frustration with, sometimes with Aaron, that he would, and Greg CoSell said this for years. Like there's made plays, they're successful plays, and Aaron's going to kind of blow some of those

off is that what they're doing in their first quarter is it's scripted plays. Matt's like here, run the first eight. They take leads. The DAC did not react well to it. But I mean, for the first half, I was sitting there watching thinking, Green Bay has young talent, San Francisco old talent. Are we seeing like a tipping point moment that San Francisco's old talent never gets a ring? Because I'm telling you, for big chunks in that game, I'm like, no, Green Bay can't win this game. They're too young.

At halftime, I really thought Green Bay was a better team. One major issue that really came to light, and we talked about this last week based on the Strauss article about the inclement weather of the AFC teams, different than the NFC that doesn't really have a lot of weather. While it was 60 degrees, it was raining. Pretty can't grip the ball in the rain. He read Cleveland. He couldn't grip the ball. This game, he couldn't grip the ball. He came out with a glove.

He even said, I was a little uncomfortable. He immediately took it off. There was a play where he has the ball dropping back, going to his towel to dry up. He is not comfortable, and he doesn't have big hands. But neither does Mahomes, but clearly he's comfortable in it. Purdy is not comfortable in inclement weather. Now, he's lucky he plays in Santa Clara. 99% of the games are going to be good weather games.

But if you do get weather, you almost got to short the 49ers, because he's now proven a couple times, not in torrential downpour. It's just a light. Cleveland was raining. This game was raining. This wasn't like sleet or snow or a driving rainstorm. It was just Bay Area wet. And he could not grip the ball. And their offense, Kyle had a weird game. I'd say typically he is very, very, he's one of those guys, right? Like all these coaches that spend 90, 100 hours during the week getting together a game plan. And in his mind, his confidence, and he should be, my game plan is going to dominate. And most of the time it does. But he's not. king of doing the Belichick. Well, this isn't working a quarter in. I'm scrapping everything and I'm changed. That's right. He doesn't want to do that. And yesterday, he came into this game, spreading him out. Well, Kyle, your quarterback can't grip the football. You have Christian McCaffrey,

who's the best running back in the NFL. They're pounding you in the run game. Just run the ball. Slow down, settle down the game. But he kept spreading it out, which is honestly the antithesis of what he stands for and does. It was a bizarre game. And they got lucky some of the turnovers and their defense kind of held some red zone situations held in the field goals, but he just wouldn't pivot off the pass. This has always been my knock on Shanahan, and I think he's great. Whereas Lefleur, McVe of all those young guys, McVeigh is the culture center. He's the great culture coach, gets the most out of everybody.

Shanahan is the scheme master. And then LeFleur is a little of both. but Shanahan is really, really tied and loyal to his game plan. That's why it is. That play sheet is his, that's his baby. And when it, you know, they don't do well when they trail. No. They don't.

He is just somebody that believes in his play sheet. And so there was some record, I think it was finally broken that they, they couldn't win a game when they trailed late in the game. I forget what the number was. It was like seven points heading into the fourth quarter. He was 0 and 38. Technically, they kicked a field goal the first play of the fourth quarter, but yeah, he technically broke the record.

But I think to your point was he, my takeaway was he, he, when I watched San Francisco, I'm like, there's no rhythm to this offense because every time they should have run, they threw, Purdy couldn't grip. I mean, one time, Prudy, a ball out in a flat, he short hopped it. It wasn't even close. You're like, yeah. It was crazy. And to me, football, like in our industry, it's so easy what we do now, like to pivot,

something works, try it, the internet, everything digital. If it doesn't work, you pivot, you change, try something new. That's coaching, right? If something's working, stay with it. If it's not, you change. That's what all the best coaches do. And he was just so tied to that game plan of spreading them out. But his quarterback just could not hold on to the football.

And honestly, that would have been a game if they lost. It would have been really hard to shake. And it would have put then a ton of pressure on the purdy situation. And like you said with Kyle, in a weird way, you know, when you think now with even McVeigh, forever with Goff, McVeigh was the star of the team. But now with Stafford,

you know, Stafford is his equal. You know, in a weird way, Kyle is kind of the star of the offense. Yes. Yeah. And sometimes when everything's going well, everyone else gets to share in it. But when it's not,

it's like he kind of hoards these ideas. Debo gets injured. They clearly had a bunch of plays for him. And he can't just like, okay, we're not going to do these. He's handing balls to their third wide receiver in the backfield. It was crazy.

You know, luckily they have enough talents. Jordan Love was young and threw the ball of the other team, but holy moly. You know, and I was thinking about this is that think about the quarterbacks that are left. Mahomes, Josh Allen, number one pick Jared Goff and Brock Purdy. And as I was watching that game and they pull out the win. I mean, it's funny because Brock had a nice final drive all schemed up by Kyle. And you deserve credit for that. He didn't shrink.

He's mentally tough. Like, that's not Brock Purdy's problem. Maturity, mental toughness. Kyle loves that. Yeah. That's, I mean, obviously, you don't walk into that locker room with Hall of Famers and own the locker room. Exactly. And Sam Darnold acknowledging that he is cognitively the fastest thinker he's ever.

And that's so is Kyle. So it works. But you've got to be honest. If you watch that game and don't see the limitations of Brought Purdy going forward. Like, you know, the great coaches, Sean Paitno has said, the best weeks of coaching are when you play like crap and win. You can just coach the hell out. of them. Sanford's, John Lynch and Shanahan have to have a private conversation and it's like

we're kind of limited. I mean, again, here Burroughs coming back. And by the way, you may have a Caleb Williams and a Drake may go to the NFC. Kyler Murray for a whole season. Stafford's coming back. I don't know. Jordan loves getting better. When I watched that game, even after they won, I thought, it kind of changes how I look at San Francisco. If San Francisco beats Detroit, and I'm with you, I think it's a go either way game. I think it's very competitive game. The Niners' run defense is not good right now, and those two running backs for Detroit look like horses. And they're not getting the pass rush, so they can't with Hufunga and average corners.

You can beat that. I mean, let's be honest, most of the secondaries left in this league, they're not very good. No. I mean, I mean, Buffalo's, you could gash. Detroit isn't very good. I don't think the Niners is. But when the Niners had a great pass rush, like a prime example is the Eagles. Last year they had a great pass rush.

So it kind of masks their deficiencies in the back in. Well, San Francisco's pass rush isn't the same. It's a very average secondary. And I think Goff's going to have some success with it. But I watch Purdy and I'm like, you can't win with shootouts here if it's inclement weather. I mean, there are some limitations with him. Yeah, to me, he's just a Jekyll and Hyde when you put with, if it's going to rain. If you tell me it's raining on Sunday, I would have major reservations pick in the 49ers.

you know, and I think it gets back to this, this Lions team, I think there are some parallels to last year's Eagles team. Yeah. Right. Their head coach, great motivator, the guys really like them. And he's got two great coordinators. I mean, those two guys are interviewing everywhere for head coaching jobs. Yes. I mean, the offensive coordinator looks like the next Shane Steichen.

So you're playing a team that has all in on the head man, who's just clearly a great leader, and two scheme guys, especially their offensive coordinator, that are just in the peak of their powers right now. And you get a team coming with a ton of momentum. And the other thing is a little bit like the Packers. Now, two weeks in a row, the Lions were favored today, but at the end of the day, they're the Lions. You get to play with Little House money. You know, there's a pressure on the Eagles, the Cowboys, and the 49ers, that let's face it just isn't there with the Lions or the Bucks.

Or even the Packers, because once they get rid of Rogers, they kind of release that elephant in the room. There's a tightness. You feel it with the Niners. And you kind of felt today with the Bills, too. Now, the Niners won. The Bills didn't. but it was like anything less than making a run here is devastating.

We all know it. Like, no one's running away from the expectations here. Now, the difference, and this is, it's a black and white league, either winner you don't. The Niners moved on. The Bills didn't. So, you know, you've got to be careful going game to game. Maybe the Niners get a much better effort. They get an extra day of rest.

But holy moly, I mean, if it sprinkles a little bit, I mean, that shouldn't be that big of a problem. Should it call this? This is the National Football League. Yeah, it's, um, it's, it's, It's just for the first time ever. You know how there's these moments? During the season, John, there was a moment. I haven't gotten into the Cowboys forever.

I did. And then they went on this run, and I bought into them. And then I watched them play Miami. And I thought, they are Miami. It's just more obvious that Miami is a little bit of a fake Gucci bag. So is Dallas. So is Dallas. And it changed the way I thought of them.

That Niner game, when I watched them play Baltimore, I'm like, okay, this is, you have some real. I mean, there are just certain moments in a season. It's not always a blowout loss. I thought the Rams lost to Baltimore. I'm like, oh, Rams are for real. This is a real team. But when I watched the Niners lose to that Baltimore team that the Rams had played close,

it took something off the veneer of it. And then I watched them yesterday again, and I'm like, am I overvaluing their talent? Like, you look at the defensive lineman names. And I just look at this and I think to myself, with Detroit's own line and run game, and with the lack of pass rush, I think I'm getting into the situation with the Niners is I'm thinking of the last four years. And they're just not as good. Everybody's getting, the old guys are getting older and the young guys aren't quite as good. But when Christian McCaffrey goes to the bench and they're rubbing out, he don't get a Charlie horse. I'm like, if he's out, they're in huge trouble.

Well, Debo went out and threw him all off and who knows his status, right? Yeah, I think the Niners got to the point and they were doing this because they are a really physical team. They started bullying people. They did it to the Eagles. They did to the Dallas. And then for the first time, they got into the ring and Mike Tyson, Chuck Lidale, hit him right into the square in the jaw. And it was the Ravens. and it rattled them a little bit.

And they kind of haven't had the same swag since, just from I'm tougher than you when I step in. Now, I don't think yesterday was about like a toughness because that was kind of the difference in the game. Their toughness kind of kept them in the game. But this Detroit team, I'm pretty sure they were the best rush defense in the league. They're very hard to run on.

So think about coyote. I mean, that throws them off a little bit if he can't run the ball. So all of a sudden, is he spreading it out? Is the weather kind of bad? Now, I think I looked earlier today. It wasn't supposed to rain. But if Purdy is average, you're in major, trouble. Now, when he's good, major trouble. They still got Iyuk, they got Kiddle, McCaffrey can make

plays, Juan Jennings. They can still score with Detroit. I think it's more likely that we're looking at a game. Maybe both teams are kind of approaching 30, kind of a shootout. And that's what I would kind of expect, because I don't think the 49ers defense right now is stopping much. And clearly the Lions, God, they look, they just look like they got it going on. They really do. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal, but encouraged. It's the end. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential.

Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the IHard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win.

I don't care what I'm saying. Yep, that's me. Clifford Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, the reactions, my journey from basketball to college football, or my career in sports media. Well, somewhere along the way, this platform became bigger than I ever imagined.

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and the next we'll talk about life, mental health, purpose, and even music. The Clifford Show isn't just a podcast. It's a space for honest conversations, stories that don't always get told, and for people who are chasing something bigger. So if you've ever supported me or you're just chasing down a dream,

this is right where you need to be. Listen to the Clifford show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. Hey, this is Robert from the Stuff to Blow Your Mind podcast. Joe and I are both lifelong Star Wars fan, so we're celebrating May the 4th with a brand new week of fun,

thought-provoking Star Wars-related episodes. Join us as we tackle science and culture topics from a galaxy far, far away, such as the biology of taun tons and wampas on the ice planet hot, or the practicality and corporate business sense of the Sith Rule of Two. Listen to Stuff to Blow Your Mind on the iHeart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your point. podcast. So I want to talk a little Baltimore Texans. Listen, the Texans had 11 penalties, only 10 first downs. C.J. Stroud only had 22 minutes time of possession. So I think it's one of those.

It's, it's, it's, it's, they had a great game plan. And after about half time, your game plan only works so far against Lamar Jackson. He disengages from the game plan. They make alterations at half. And you're just, it's just, he's too hard to stop. I think the Texans like Green Bay, they, they, Green Bay just needs a year of seasoning. The Texans need another draft class and another free agency class. They need about six more guys, which, by the way, Baltimore hit on in the last draft.

Seattle's hit on easy quarterback. But you can really go get. I think the Texans have the most cap space this offseason. Yeah. They need to go by a couple of players. They need depth in the draft and a couple of frontline stars. I think their future is great. But I got to tell you, when I look,

when I watched Baltimore, because CJ Stroud's a real quarterback, Baltimore made Goughlin' horrible. Baltimore beat Matt Stafford. Baltimore made C.J. Stroud look really small. You start Baltimore humiliated Miami, Tewan, Mike McDaniel, and Kyle Shanahan. If you start looking at this schedule, I mean, Baltimore's gone into the teeth of brilliant coaches, great run games, highly effective potent offenses, star quarterbacks, and made them look awful, like regularly. If Baltimore, Baltimore, it maybe isn't the Seahawks team that went to the Super Bowl back-to-back. Remember that team that was so talented. Their secondary is not as good as that team, but there's some similarities.

It's not. But I got to tell you, when I watched them, that Roquan Smith move, I had real doubts about. You put him next to Patrick Queen. Home run. I am watching after this draft in Zay Flowers. I'm like, they're doing this without Mark Andrews, the tight end, who probably comes back. This is one of the better rosters. I mean, also, it's not just that you have a quarterback.

You have a superstar quarterback with this roster. And I mean, we could have a John Harbaugh, Jim Harbaugh, National Champion, Super Bowl champ. When I look at this Baltimore team, even compared to San Francisco's roster, I think they're a little twitchier. I think they're significantly better. quarterback. I think we've undervalued Baltimore because we paid so much attention to San Francisco's roster and Mahomes and Allen. I think Baltimore could beat Kansas City badly. I'm just blown away by their physicality, their explosiveness, their twitchiness. Yeah, like I said, you've got to be careful betting against Andy Mahomes. The Ravens should win this game, right? Think about the chiefs

who depend on Kelsey a lot. Well, they got two-star line back. and Kyle Hamilton who are made to, you know, negate that player. Yep. And then they have a defensive line full of massive humans that can slow down Pacheco. And clearly, I think the one reason I was hesitant because, okay, let's see Lamar do it. And that first half, you go, well, D'Amico's one of the best defensive coordinators, was really throwing them off. And then even Lamar said, we went in halftime, we started cussing each other out.

And then he settled down and he looked exactly like the MVP of the regular season. Okay, if he's going to play like that, to me, they would be the favorite. to win this whole thing right now. Because like you said, top to bottom, they can run the ball. Their quarterback is, I mean, I think the best runner of the football we've ever seen. Zay Flowers has added an element there that has taken their offense. Completely changed. And then they have this other kid, 80, they got a couple years ago.

Yeah, the tied end, who's fantastic. And it's just like, oh, my God. It's. And defensively, they're so powerful. I think he was, you know, he's kind of coming back, but they're kind of hesitant. They might not even need them. I mean, you could argue that they don't even need them right now. So their defense is just so physical.

They're what, I think we thought the Niners were early in the season, who clearly are not, they hit so violently. Their two linebackers are absolutely everywhere. And the confidence and the edginess, that's one thing that those teams, like early, what, like 15 years ago, when Harbaugh and Tomlin got there, those two teams, it was like the Ravens and the Steelers just look differently. and they carried themselves differently. It's why both teams could give the Patriots some trouble, right? And they did. Some of those Ravens team beat the Patriot team with that Moss-era team. And this team is not as famous.

There's no Ed Reed or Ray Lewis on the team, but they feel like they got a similar swag. And this quarterback, they know no one has that. So, yeah, I mean, I don't know how if they are in the Super Bowl, they are not. They definitely be favored against the Lions. And I know someone, my guy at the Action Network told me they would technically be an underdog based before these games against the Niners. I don't see how they wouldn't be favored against the Niners.

They already beat. Yeah, badly. You know, it's funny when they went and got Roquan Smith, because I remember saying on the air on FS1, I'm like, you can't pay linebackers this in Chicago. But Chicago didn't have their offense, right? You know, Baltimore, because they know what they are, like all great organizations, they know what they are. They went and spent a ton on a linebacker. He's totally changed their defense. look at the numbers before Roll Con Smith got there and now totally changed. We all knew he was a great. He was a great player in Chicago, but they had to fix offense for Justin Fields. They couldn't pay a linebacker. They had to see if they could get, if Justin Fields could play. So they had to change their spending. Well, if you looked at Baltimore, Baltimore's like, we know we're going to score. We score 27 points with Lamar. We're going to stop people. And nobody can get good corners anymore. So I think Baltimore has a little bit of an old school feel with dominating, bruising linebackers, kind of a

run first offense and kind of a 1980s culture with hardball. It's just a tough physical element. Well, one thing, you know, I know you know, I'm Daniel Jeremiah who I worked with with the Phillies, been on the NFL network forever, worked for Ozzie Newsom for a long time. And they used to have this thing like play like a Raven. And clearly that meant be like tough SOB. And they have these guys, the history of their franchise, right, went from Ozzie Newsom now to DeCosta, who is an Aussie Newsome guy. So the culture had never changed. They've always like, what, think about the wide receivers they used to go after like Anquan Bolden, Steve Smith. Think about when they drafted people like, wait, you're taking Kyle Hamilton?

Well, yeah, that guy is a raven, right? Big can hit, can cover. And they know exactly, like part of being a good organization is more than just coaching. It's also personnel identifying the right guys they're going to work in your culture. And they're as good as anyone in the league. And you watch even Lamar. Think about the way he carries himself as a player, his toughness, his willingness to do whatever it takes. Like, to me, that's an underrated characteristic of his ability because he throws touchdowns.

He's so fast. He can do all these crazy moves. But when I think Lamar, I think a tough dude, you know, and a guy that goes right now with Mahomes and Josh Allen can play in this weather. But it's not like Lamar's from New York City, right? He's completely unfazed by the weather. So, yeah, they have a toughness and a physicality to them. That always works in the playoffs, right? That's one thing in the playoffs.

Why did the Bucks just kind of survive for a couple weeks? Because defensively, their coordinators throw in. guys are hitting people. They're tackling. Like, this isn't college football, right? You can't just score a bunch of points. You get in these weather games. You get in these games. Some of those tackles today with the Chiefs and the bills, like, how do these guys get up?

Look like guys broke their necks. And then the two plays later, they'd be back in the game. So there's a level of physicality in the NFL that it's clear gets amped up once the middle of January comes. And the Ravens have that in spades. Yeah, Lamar Jackson is almost the antithesis of Russell Wilson, where Russell is sort of polished. Some think it's inauthentic and never truly close. You know, you always feel like he's almost a politician in a locker room. It was shocking to see that picture with Pete Carroll's

party that Russell was there, right? Right. Lamar's the opposite. He just is so honest at the podium. He's so honest with his emotions and everybody loves him. Like not every quarterback is beloved. I mean, Brady always thought that a great job. He could chug beer. with Gronk or he could really go academic with Josh McDaniels. He could be tough. There were so many elements to Tom that he always understood as he aged to connect with young guys. Even Peyton Sneaky had that quality too. He was good at it.

I don't know if there's a player. I mean, these quarterbacks all make money. I don't think there's a player in the league that plays quarterback that his teammates love more than Lamar. Like he just feels like Baltimore. A little rough, totally authentic, unapologetic. It's just such a, you know, it's, I always laugh when people, you know, I'll get dinged and people, oh, you didn't think so-and-so was going to be good. Well, first of all, nobody knows. Christ.

The GMs don't know. Everybody passed on, you know, Brady six times and Brock pretty seven times. Everyone passed on Lamar. The Ravens passed on him. They took another guy in the first round. Yeah. But the thing is about Lamar. that I always appreciate about Baltimore is that Baltimore said, listen, we're going to just build a totally different offense.

We're just going to hire a coordinator. We're not going to be great at receiver. And it's just like it really is, most organizations don't have the courage to do that. You know, Harbaugh was in big trouble. He puts me, I mean, Harbaugh, Lamar saved his job. And so I think there's this loyalty with John Harbaugh. It's like, we're just going to make it work. we're just going to figure out, well, he can't throw, okay?

We're going to run it more, and then we're going to get more receivers. I mean, they missed on some receivers now. They had some draft picks they missed on. And I think it's a great, Lamar's a great example when an organization just said, okay, this guy's different, but he's are different. Like, I had a friend that used to live in New York. He said, yeah, I know it's a pain in the ass, but it's my pain in the ass. I'm from New York.

They just said, Lamar, we're going to be here for you, and we're going to figure a way to use your superhuman skills. and I think it's just emboldened the whole culture that it's so pro-Lamar. I also think one thing's clearly changed in the sport of football. Steve Young used to always say this, that though, you know, for running quarterbacks, the way that they were eventually going to take the next step was to become a great pocket passer because that's always what won in the playoffs

in the 80s and 90s. Well, you're watching Josh Allen, even Mahomes today busted off like a 40-yard run, right? Lamar yesterday, like that translates what he was doing if he's going to pass because he's also much more under control, I feel, now when he runs than he was three or four years ago. The game slowed down for him. The games definitely slowed down, but these quarterbacks are so athletic and the hitting on the quarterbacks. In Steve's day, if he ran like some of these guys, they would have tried to kill him, like legitimately. They would have not sent him to the blue tent.

They would have sent him to the hospital. And that's not allowed in the game. And these defensive players know it. So that's a huge advantage for these quarterbacks, like Lamar, like Josh Allen, that the physicality of the hits. And definitely the cheap shots, like when you're sliding, they have to not touch you. So you can run. And Lamar's pretty good at just getting down. He's not taking these enormous Steve Atwater, John Lynch shots where he's laying there and you think he's going to die.

He's getting up. He doesn't even look like he's sweating sometimes. Well, he also, he put on about 15 pounds. Remember the first year he came in, his MVP year, you're like, oh, his traps. He's bigger. And he keeps doing, he's gotten a little bigger and stronger every year. So, you know, Michael Vicks talked about this. Like, he got a hit his.

second year and he's like, yeah, this stuff's punitive. Lamar pretty quick. I mean, Lamar is really, and this is what the great ones do, he was great when he came into the league, but he just added elements like he's better in the pocket. To your point, he's less frenetic. He's gotten thicker. Now he's a full-fledged pocket quarterback whenever he wants to be. Oh, he's very accurate now. Very accurate. So it's like he was always good, but I think sometimes we forget, John. This is also a developmental league. These guys don't come in as is a fully formed refined sandpapered players. Like, Lamar's taken real leaps here in like through his body, his anxiety, his pace.

And you remember his first year and a half, he didn't really know how to slide. He was taking shit. He still doesn't. He just kind of plops down, but he's good at it. He's good at it. Like Michael Vic, Michael Vick's one of the most spectacular players in NFL history to watch. But he had this quality that he would almost turn. into a defensive player when he ran and try to prove his toughness and take on.

And he couldn't slide either. But he couldn't even hit the ground and he would take on shots and he broke ribs. He got injured a lot. Lamar, for a very, very tough guy, we don't need you to prove your toughness. Avoid everything. And that's, I'd argue one of his great skills is being, and this is, I mean, he's probably one of the top five athletes in the NFL. When two guys are coming at full speed, he can just hit the ground and they both miss them.

Because if you do take a shot and you break a rib, the Ravens, would be in major trouble. He knows that. I'm sure he's told that all the time. And now he's just, you know, he's just completely confident of his speed relative to defensive speeds. Now, the one thing with the Chiefs, and you saw it tonight, their DB's hit, right? I mean, Justin Reed, Eric Reed's brother is throwing his shoulders around all their corners hit. So you got to be, and we'll see Willie Gay situation, Bolton. I mean, their back seven, will throw their body around. So I would imagine that's a point this whole week in Baltimore of Let's be very, very careful and pick our spots.

Get out of bounds, extra couple yards, live to fight another down, because we cannot, because they're going to come after him, right? Anytime he's running Spagnola, old school coach, right? He's made history for killing Brady. They're going to come after him when he's running around. So I would imagine part of the game plan is going to be beating them through the air, which he's proven he can do now, which makes him an unsobble player.

So finally, we got about 10 minutes left here. An overarching thing. So we have San Francisco, Detroit. I think it's going to be very competitive. A Baltimore, Kansas City, I think Baltimore wins. But, again, Kansas City's the wild card because they've been in this game so many times. Go back to the Green Bay San Francisco game. One of the things, and I touched on it earlier that I really watched, and I touched on this last week, I said, forget about Aaron Rogers' political comments and vaccines shit.

And people can have their opinions. I don't really care. I really don't care. I mean, COVID, I've got strong feelings. you know, here, there. It doesn't really matter. I don't care. But it is interesting that if you look at Brady and Stafford, how strategic they were, and Russell Wilson to a degree, I'm going to go to an offensive coach. I want to make sure we have a good left tackle. I want to have weapons. Aaron signed off on the Jets. And as I'm, you know, worst left tackle situation in the league. Defensive coach, one weapon, tougher conference, tougher division. Is I, you know, worst. I'm, you know, worst tackle situation in the league. Is I'm, you know, I'm a lot of, you know, is I'm a lot of, I was watching Green Bay. You know, it's like usually when a star quarterback leaves, there's a dip, you know, Peyton Manning leaves or a Brady, there's a clear dip.

Stafford left in the lines. We forget. They were like four and 19, you know, with Dan Campbell and Goff. I watched Green Bay and I'm like, is this the worst Green Bay team we're going to see for the next five years? I honestly, honestly think if this Green Bay team faced last year's with Aaron, it would kick the shit out of it. Like, I watched that team and I'm like, John, they're a matchup problem. Nobody has three corners in this league. And all these young receivers are getting better. Not only did Green Bay not hiccup. I look at it. Is Aaron watching this thinking, what did I leave?

I think if we were having beers right now with Goudicans and LaFleur, do you know what they would say? Our big regret was not trading him when he wanted out in 2022. And when we gave him that $150 million, and we ended up trading him the next year. Because we were already, listen, we already drafted the kid. This guy was already kind of playing with our emotions going back and forth. We should have pulled the trigger right then. And I think if they had a do-over, they would have shipped them to Denver or whatever. Just got just taking the Band-Aid off then.

And they didn't. They got pressured, right? He had won a couple MVP's. It would have been difficult. Sure. But can you imagine if they had this guy two years into it now? Their organization has always been, at least in my life, once Ron Wolf got there in the early 90s, a lot like the Steelers, a lot like this Ravens.

how well does that team just draft? They always get a lot of shit for not paying money. Their organization is not like these other organizations. No. It's not, you don't have an owner you can attack. You got a board. You got this president, but he's not the owner. What the hell is going on?

It's a complicated situation. But they run a high level football team. Right. And so you go, well, they know how to put guys around. I mean, Aaron Rogers went to the Jets. Think about that. He went to the Jets of all places. It'd been one thing like, hey, I'm going to go to the Patriots

and try to reclaim some glory with Bill Belich. He went to the Jets. So now he's old also. The other thing is in the history of sports, most guys like him do fall off a cliff. Like, I'm betting against him ever being good again. Honestly, those three or four plays before he tore his Achilles, he didn't look a step slow. Like he's not as, he's 40 years old, 39 years old. So I think the Packers, listen, it's never the wrong time to do the right thing.

And they got out and they have to feel pretty good about their situation right now. I bet they would wish they would have done in 22 and not paid him all the money and ruined their cap this year. Think about this. Detroit, Ben Johnson's going to leave. Yeah. And they're going to have to pay golf in a year. So it's very possible. We're seeing, I mean, we think this Detroit thing's going to last forever. But golf's going to start getting expensive.

Ben Johnson's going to leave. Look at the Eagles. They couldn't replace an offensive coordinator. It's hard. I think, DAC, you're going to have to pay DAC. DAC, CD Lamb, and Micah are going to be $100 million plus. So there's going to be limitations to that roster. And we don't trust the Cowboys and Benzons.

Can you imagine the pressure on that? I mean, Mike's going to coach on his last year of his contract. That's got disaster written all over. San Francisco, Kittle, Trent Williams-McAfrey, they're getting old in key spots. They're getting really old. They've got to pay Iuke. I mean, it gets complicated. Yeah, I just looked at Green Band.

I was like, let me tell you something. Stafford probably has two years left. I looked at them and I'm like, San Francisco's getting old and it is Brock Purdy. The lions are going to lose Ben Johnson and have to, Dallas is going to have to pay their three stars. Seattle's got a great roster, but doesn't have a quarterback. I just kept watching Green Bay. I'm like, this is the worst version. I mean, all these receivers, all these tight ends, their old lines like top four in the league,

I was just taken back by there. There's no hiccup. This team in Green Bay, and also, I went back to this. I'm like, LeFleur is a great coach. I don't know. I just, you can, if you look around corners and you see over the next two years, even if they redo the Jordan Love contract after next year, I mean, they, I don't know where he'll go with that. But my guess is Jordan Love's not going to end up being a $55 million quarterback.

I just don't think that's not who he is. You wouldn't think, but if he has another 35 touchdown season and they are a top four seed, it's just kind of the going rate, you'd have to pay him a lot of money. Maybe you're better off franchising him. To me, I have no questions with their offense, right? If you just view LaFleur as a star offensive coach, which I don't know how you couldn't, the talent they have around them, I would say on the McCarthy and now the LaFleur era defensively, they've been a question mark. And when you look at the other teams, McVeigh, his defenses are good.

Kyle Shanahan, his defenses are good. Even right now, the Detroit Lions, their defense is flying around. Like, that is an area, like, when I was young and, you know, Holmgren and Andy, their defenses were awesome for Farf. Can they build a defensive culture there that they really have not had with their last two offensive coaches? They've tried. They've gone through a bunch of defensive coordinators. They invest a lot of draft capital and defensive players. But it does not look over the course of the last 15 years with star offensive players like the other top teams. Even the chiefs now.

They rebuilt that defense crushing people, the Ravens, the Steelers forever. And obviously the teams in their division. So to me, if they can get their defense just to be competing to be like a top 10 unit, then they're a double-digit win team for the next five years. But if that's always a question mark, if you get some injuries, you never know. That's been an area of question, though, for that franchise, in my opinion. That's going to be, are they going to fire Joe Barry? There was a lot of pressure.

Now that he save his job. Can they get more out of these players? Do they maybe invest a little bit more on that side of the ball with some money? If they have a cheap quarterback for this upcoming year, to me, if you tell me they have a top 10 defense next year, but like, God, this team can compete to be like the number one seat. Yeah. So as we wrap it up, John Middletkoff, former NFL Scout, three announced his podcast. We do this hour long on Sunday nights.

So Atlanta and the Chargers are announcing everybody they interview. They want it out there. And I think some of that is if they don't land Harbaugh, or Belichick, they want their fans to know, we swung big. I was told by somebody who I trust, he really thinks the Chargers are. going to pay for Harbaugh. He really believes it. Do you think there's, I mean, between the fact that he owns Ohio State, he's losing all those players, the Big Ten is not getting easier. This is maybe the this year is the final year where you can say, we have one big game a year where we have a physical equal. Ohio State just landed half of Alabama's roster. You see that? I saw that. That

quarterback, that high school quarterback, who knows what to be as a collegiate, but I think it's safety's like Ed Reed Jr. Yeah. So Ohio State's back in terms of like high-end players the right positions. Would you be surprised of Harbaugh stayed in college? No, I fully expect him to leave. And I mean, everyone thought that I've been talking to that thinks this Harbaugh just the Chargers deal, as long as he's cool with it, like has been a done deal for a while.

I mean, there were rumors about they talked during that Rose Bowl week, whatever, a couple weeks ago. I think clearly the Chargers, I mean, they faced so. much negativity. How long can you be called cheap and irrelevant before eventually you kind of draw a line in the sand? We've talked so much about the money. I mean, these are just line items to him. I think he had kind of decided on that more than likely a long time ago that he was coming back to the NFL. And once he kind of saw the landscape, that was the choice. I actually find it more fascinating on Belichick and the Falcons. Do you remember around the draft, there were some rumors about Belichick like in Baker Mayfield? Remember he was kind of interested and they were sniffing around? Well, Baker is a

free agent. He needs a quarterback. Are we sure that Belichick wouldn't try to get Baker Mayfield? Baker looks pretty solid, right? Just kind of play within that offense. Yeah. Harbaugh to the Chargers and Baker Mayfield and Belichick to the Atlanta Falcons. If I was a betting man right now, not the Baker thing. I think that would be cool. But I think it's pretty clear that Harbaugh Chargers and really, where else is Belichick going? I mean, that's really his only option, it feels like right now, is Atlanta. Yeah. You know, it's interesting people, and I've said this with Baker, I'd have no problem. signing him up for three to four years. I even thought today, they just don't have the players, but I thought he looked good. I thought he looked good. He, you know, I mean, he gets into trouble

when he thinks he's more athletic than he is, and he moves out of the pocket. And it's like, Baker, throw it away. He'll extend play sometimes, and you're like, come on, Baker, this is not what you're not, that's not your game. But if you give him time, let him sit back and step into it. I think he's tailor made for a dome, too, with some of those weapons in Atlanta. Absolutely. And you know, what's interesting in this league with Baker is that, I mean, Gino Smith's a great example, is it's become such a quarterback-centric league, is that there's reclamation projects. If I can pay you somewhere between 18 and 24, what do I care? The going right now is in the 50s. So I look at Baker and I'm like, if I could get him for 26, I'm paying half of what DAC makes. And I'm not so. sure he doesn't throw a better ball than DAC. So to me, Baker's got a real market. I mean, everybody loves Justin Field, but I'm still not sure he can sit in the pocket

and throw darts. I know Baker can. I take Baker all day long over Justin Fields right now. I think Baker's market's better than people think it is. I totally agree. I also, I've been talked to you since the Raiders named Antonio Pierce, I think anytime in the NFL, and I get Max Crosby's an excellent player, and obviously so is Devante. But when you start letting the players, like this isn't LeBron or stuff.

Curry, when you let them dictate, and listen, Antonio Pierce, team captain, Super Bowl team, no one questions his leadership ability, but they have no offense, they have no quarterback or offensive coordinator in a division that has Andy Reid, who's back in his conference championship for the hundredth time, Jim Harbaugh is going to go with Justin Herbert. And Sean Payton, their team's never going to be worse, and he found a way to win A games, right? So that's, that's, and I understand Mark, I don't know who else he's going to hire, but that's, that seems a little risky when you just.

start listening to your players in this sport. It's because it's so much of a team game. If this was the NBA and Max Crosby was Yonis, okay. But it's like he could have 15 sacks and I can still win seven games. Yeah, John, this is why the interim situation is really tough because what happens is everybody gets a natural energy bounce from an interim coach. Every time. And the Raiders have enough.

I mean, if you go back, the Raiders have enough playmakers. You can be, this is a very competent team. especially when you play those divisional rivals, Kansas City, the Chargers in Denver. Those games are close. They were close three years ago, and the chiefs were stacked. So my takeaway is, once you do that and once you blew out Josh, you knew this team was, because Josh is so despised as a guy. He was just that Antonio, former player, is going to be loved. And so it was just like, it's like the Raiders couldn't quite see around the corner.

It's like, guys, you're just setting yourself. up. And I hope Antonio Pierce works, but we have to admit it. We watch today a defensive coach, Sean McDermott, get beat by an offensive coach on the most at home, finally with a run game, where the most vulnerable Patrick Mahomes is going to be. And so now we have two offensive coaches in the NFC and the championship. We have an offensive coach against kind of a special team. I don't consider Harbaugh defensive coach. I think he's done everything. He's very unique. And so, like, to me, it's like, it's a risk. Harbaugh, Sean Payton, read six games a year.

It's not easy. Sorry. I mean, good luck. I wish them the very best. All right. This is good stuff. Got a great weekend coming up. We'll talk again.

John's great to see you and appreciate it. No problem, Colin. Talk to you soon. The volume. 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

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