The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Colin Cowherd Podcast - Burrow Is “Montana-Esque”, Bills’ Ceiling, Eagles Separate From NFC, Patriots Dynasty Is Dead

Episode Date: November 6, 2023

Colin compares Joe Burrow to an all-time NFL great after a dominant win against Buffalo (3:33), and explains why coaching is keeping the Bills from being a title contender (5:30). John Middlekauff, host of “3 and Out” joins Colin to break down a HUGE win for the Eagles in a game they were outplayed by the Cowboys (17:15) and explains why the hard-nosed, “walking on eggshells” style of coaching of Belichick and his disciples doesn’t work in the modern NFL (34:45). They also dive into the disaster that is USC’s defense under Lincoln Riley (37:22). (Timestamps may vary based on advertisements.) Follow Colin and The Volume on Twitter for the latest content and updates! #Volume #HerdSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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

Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and friends on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal, but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque.

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

I don't care what I'm saying. Yep, that's me, Cliver Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, my basketball and college football journey, or my career in sports media. Well, now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifers Show. This is a place for raw, unfilled conversations with athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. So let's get to it. Listen to the Clifford show on the IHard Radio app,

Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok's podcast network on TikTok. The volume. In sports, the scoreboard doesn't always tell the complete story. The dad who happens to be a world-class quarterback. Untold tales of athletes you thought you knew. The heart racing pressure for the heart,

soul and survival of the multi-billion dollar business of F-1. Stories about college kids who were given a last shot, a last chance at redemption. David Beckham's meteoric rise, not only as a global soccer superstar, but becoming a pop culture icon, upsets, injuries, come from behind victories, you're going to get it all, and I've seen it all with Netflix sports. These are the stories that turn all of us into sports fans and give everybody something to cheer for, to feel for, to hold your breath for, and to get up out of your seat for. Whether you're a diehard or a brand new fan, intense or casual shows like F1, drive to survive,

quarterback, full swing, untold, Beckham, and more. Netflix has a story for every type of fan. Netflix turns us all into fans. All right, welcome in. We're going to have a good 40 minutes or so tonight with John Middlethoff, the former NFL Scout. He's got all sorts of great stuff to talk about. We'll give some cowboy eagle thoughts, Kansas City, Miami thoughts. I want to go in about a 10-minute start here on the Buffalo Bills lost to the Bengals,

a game in which I never, ever felt after the first drive, Buffalo would win. When I watch Buffalo, Greg Cosell talks about this all the time. They just call plays. There's not a lot of rhythm to their offense. I like their first drive in the second half for Buffalo a lot. They mixed it up, tight-end, wide receiver back. It felt like more than just calling plays. Cincinnati always feels like it's a rhythm offense.

And it feels like they have an offensive head coach to get out of ruts very quickly. But, you know, my first thought about Joe Burrow is he reminds me of a little bit of Joe Montana and a little bit of Tony Romo. He moves like Romo. But I can remember watching Joe Montana. And this was, you know, long before I, you know, was a talk show home. host and watching Joe Montana, because I started television. I didn't do this talk show thing until later on my career. Joe Montana, one of my takeaways from him is I could never quite figure out why Joe Montana was so great. It wasn't that big, didn't have a great arm.

I just thought he was sort of situationally, and this is very rare. He was better in crisis than he was in week five. He was better on fourth or third and three than he was on first and ten. Just situationally excellent. Brady often had this. Michael Jordan had this. John Elway had this.

But that's what I see with Burrow. He's almost a better quarterback in crisis. He's more laser-focused, more intentional with his throws. You know, he'll sling one up occasionally, not a wasted throw, but an experimental up the sideline. You get him into third.

and four, fourth down situations, he's just as good as they get. And he's got the Romo movement with the accuracy and the situational kind of excellence of a Joe Montana. And, you know, he doesn't move like Lamar. He's not, he doesn't have the gun of Mahomes, Herbert. He doesn't, I don't think, have the kind of the natural gifts that, you know, 14 years old that Trevor Lawrence had or and has. But Burrow just makes it look so easy all the time. Josh Allen's great. It doesn't look easy. There's effort. He puts on the Superman cape. He jumps over people. He's running past people. He's throwing it over people. It doesn't look easy for him. He's just excellent. But, you know, and, you know, with Buffalo, I just, I don't, I feel like it's just, they still, I've given up hope on the

Buffalo Bills developing a good run game. Defensive head coach, defensive head coach, and offensive lines don't go that well together. You know, if you look at the bottom of the NFL offensive line group, it's a lot of defensive coaches, the tops, a lot of offensive coaches. I've given up on them running the football. So it becomes a very Josh Allen, Stefan Diggs, reliant. And if you look at the Buffalo schedule coming up, this thing's going to get uglier. after Thanksgiving at Philadelphia, at Kansas City, Dallas, Chargers, New England at Miami. This was supposed to be the part of the schedule where they stacked up doubles. But not like their Super Bowl window closed because I don't even know if it was ever open with Mahomes in the AFC.

But I just kind of feel like at some point, I say this all the time about quarterbacks. If you find yourself always blaming the play calling, the cord, Nader or drop passes, like they do with Kenny Pickett in Pittsburgh, you don't have a great quarterback. I mean, C.J. Stroud right now has more career touchdown passes than Kenny Pickett. He's played eight games, eight or nine. C.J. Stroud is it. He's a franchise guy. Kenny Pickett, a little bit of a fraud. Like if you're blaming, that's the New York Giants with Daniel Jones before he was hurt today. It was always play calling. You're blaming the right tackle, drop passes. You don't have the right quarterback. I've said this before. Justin Herbert.

put up record numbers with Anthony Lynn and the lowest rated offensive line in the league, and put up rookie numbers. Well, you had Mike Williams and Kenan Allen. When they were healthy, Mike Williams again out for the year, when they were healthy, either have a guy or you don't. Joe Burrow got to a Super Bowl with a bad offensive line. So I just kind of look at Buffalo and Josh Allen, and again, that's how I feel with quarterbacks, but I also feel that way with coaches.

Like, at some point with Sean McDermott, well, it's not just that the players are injured. It's not on Josh Allen. It's not on the coordinators. Who's running this circus? It's the coach. Again, Zach Taylor, we had questions about he got Burroughs Super Bowl. You know, we all know Andy Reid is a great coach, but you start looking around and the bills have had the best safety tandem for years. They have a star receiver.

Allen's in his, what, sixth or seventh year? They've had a good pass rush. They have a home field advantage. They've got declining New England, the goofy jets, and Miami that doesn't play any defense in their division. And they're battling for their lives right now. So at some point with Sean McDermott, you're running this thing. I don't want to hear excuses. Quarterbacks and coaches, I don't want to hear excuses.

Andy Reid was getting to NFC championships with quarterbacks I didn't even like. Right? Like, I don't want to hear it. I mean, it's taken Sean Payton about eight games, and then you watch Denver with all the issues he had to overcome. Russell Wilson's passer ratings in the 100. They're running the football. And they just beat the Chiefs. And Sean Payton's been asked to change the culture, fix the quarterback, you know, get the receivers to mature.

I mean, he's been asked to do all these things. And then I watch him beat the Chiefs. It takes them about eight weeks. They got a run game. They got younger on defense. He's playing the young guys. Russell Wilson now is a complimentary quarterback. He figured it out.

So I've given up in their run game with Sean McDermott. The offensive line is okay. It's still a Josh Allen reliant offense with no real rhythm. And the defense isn't as good as it was several years ago. So that's kind of my takeaway on Buffalo. A really talented team. I think they have the quarterback. But at some point, you know, I don't want to hear excuses.

I've just seen so many coaches. Look at what D'Amico Ryans is doing with Houston. That's a suboptimal owner, missing offensive linemen the first month of the season, rookie quarterback, rookie play caller. And Houston's just figuring out how to win games in the AFC. They're just figuring out how to win games. Right? Like, I don't want to hear it with Sean McDermott in the Bills.

Right now, this second. The Buffalo bills are ninth in the AFC. Come on. No more finger pointing. Buffalo is a smaller town. Like a Pittsburgh or Green Bay. Owners tend to be more loyal. The media is more supportive.

But, I mean, come on. There's just, you go so many years. And by the way, coaches, like quarter, quarterback's going to have ceilings. Sean McDermott, you know, Chuck Knox, a legendary Buffalo coach, went to the Seahawks later, kind of had a ceiling, right? Marty Schottenheimer felt like he could turn a football operation around. Very conservative, though, ultimately had a ceiling. That's kind of Sean McDermott. I feel like as the sport is pivoted to offense, he does a very good job organizationally to turn the Buffalo bills around. But I think he's sort of, I feel like this. is it. Like, he's not growing. He lost a great coordinator in Daibald. Ken Dorsey's fine, but doesn't feel special. And I don't feel like the team's getting better. Not just players have ceilings. Coaches do too. The Buffalo Bills at this very moment are one game better than the Raiders. Yeah, yeah, one game better than the Raiders. And now for a segment we call Making It Look Easy,

brought to you by Morgan and Morgan America's largest injury law firm. This week, C.J. Stroud certainly made it look easy. The rookie quarterback for the Texans set a rookie quarterback record, 470 yards passing and five touchdowns. He made a couple of absolute on it. Spot on throws today. Just like CJ made it look easy. So does Morgan and Morgan. They make it so easy when you submit a claim over 100 offices nationwide, more than 800 lawyers and over $15 billion in the history of the company in claims. They have a track record. record, a proven track record, getting you your full and fair compensation. Morgan and Morgan has been fighting for the people for over 35 years. If you're ever injured, go to for the people.com

slash colon, for the people.com slash colon or pound 529. Check out America's largest injury law firm. Winning in the NFL is hard. Hiring Morgan and Morgan is easy. Don't miss the action this weekend when the NFL heads to Germany for the Frankfurt. games. These games will air on the NFL network I'll be watching and stream on NFL Plus. Again, streaming on NFL Plus for a limited time Verizon customers can get Netflix Plus NFL Plus for just $25 a month with Plus Play. That's $120 in annual savings. Plus Play is a platform where Verizon customers can shop, manage, and save on the subscriptions you already have like NFL Plus. With NFL Plus, You get access to games on mobile, NFL Red Zone, NFL Network, which means you can catch the Frankfurt games and more.

Just go to Verizon.com slash the volume to bundle and save before the game. Hurry this offer end soon. Again, that's Verizon.com slash the volume before the games. $120 you can save annually. Hurry this offer end soon. Plus play access included for Verizon Postpaid Mobile 5G home and LTE home subscribers, exclusive savings available on select partner subscriptions. All products and services sold on Plus Play require a separate subscription or purchase limited time offer.

Offer only applies to new and qualified returning subscribers of NFL Plus Premium and newer existing subscribers of Netflix premium. Not combinable with any other promos, Netflix and NFL Plus Bundle subscription, $25 a month, and applicable tax. Billing begins from time of activation of first service. Additional terms apply, cancel any time in Plus Play managed dashboard. Savings based on Netflix premium and NFL Plus Premium monthly retail plan prices. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal but in It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque.

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

A win is a win. I don't care what 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. And now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, unfiltered conversations with some of your favorite athletes,

creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. One week, I'll take you behind the scenes of the biggest moments in sports and entertainment, and the next we'll talk about life, mental health, purpose, and even music. The Clifford Show isn't just a podcast, it's a space for honest conversations, stories that don't always get told, and for people who are chasing something bigger. So if you've ever supported me or you're just chasing down a dream, this is right where you need to be. Listen to the Clifford show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok.

Do you remember when Diana Ross double-tapped Little Kim's boobs at the VMAs? Or when Kanye said that George Bush didn't like black people. I know what you're thinking. What the hell does George Bush got to do with Little Kim? Well, you can find out on the Look Back at it podcast. I'm Sam J. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick a here, unpack what went down,

and try to make sense of how we survived it. Including a recent episode with Mark Lamont Hill, waxing all about crack in the 80s. To be clear, 84 is big to me, not just because. of crack. I'm down to talk about crack on day, but just so y'all know. I mean, at this point, Mark, this is the second episode where we've discussed crack. So I'm starting to see that there's a through line.

We also have AIDS on the table right now. Thank you finishing that sentence. Yes. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Really? Yeah. For me, it's one of the most important years for black people in American history. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your

podcasts. All right, it's our customary 30, 35 minutes Sunday night, Monday morning podcast with John Middlekoff, former NFL Scout, three and out podcast on the volume. Let's start with the Cowboys and Philadelphia. I thought Dallas, by and large, outplayed them, got a couple of officiating breaks that didn't go their way. You know, they missed a touchdown by about the length of a football. I thought Philadelphia was super conservative on their last two or three drives. This is one of those rare. What a great loss this was. You may get one of those every year.

I thought Dallas outplayed them. What say you? Yeah, I'd have to agree. I think the thing that hurts, though, if you're Dallas, and this goes back to early in the season losing that Arizona game, now that two game, you got three losses, they got one. I thought coming into this game, Dallas had to prove that they could win a gritty game because the way they win is they blow people out,

and this game was right there for him to win. I mean, Dak, for the most part, was brilliant. I would say that's one of the better games he's played years. Now, the sacks, not totally his fault. I mean, he's under siege, but several sacks on the last two drives are killers. I mean, they really are. It puts you in third and 20. The last, you know, you got to go for the end zone and the last play.

But overall, I'm with you. It's a good loss because Dallas showed a lot. lot of toughness. They showed that their quarterback could match you. But ultimately, it's a numbers game and it almost, I don't want to say the division's over, but I think it's going to be very, very difficult. Now Dallas is just kind of headed back to that wildcard spot again and having a, you know, their trajectory in the playoffs are just road games. Yeah. And I think also, as you point out, this is the kind of game Dallas doesn't win and it's the kind of game Philadelphia constantly wins. So Dallas comes out of this thing and feels pretty good. And you want to say to yourself,

Have you been watching Philadelphia with Jalen Hertz for two years? This is how they win. Any game line, and by the way, I picked Philly to cover and win, and my whole play was best third down team in the league, best fourth down team. Situationalally, they'll pick up enough first downs to win. And I didn't love their last couple of drives, but this really is their formula. They get a lead. They have such a great pass rush.

They're excellent situationally. You know, again, DAC doesn't step out of bounds. they get the two-point conversion. But I think to your point, you know, DAC holding on to the ball just a step too long is the difference. It is interesting. These playoffs, first of all, if you have to go back to Philly, they're great at home. Detroit, great at home.

Seattle, if you have to face them, great at home. Not every team, right? Not every team is really, I mean, the Rams, home in a way, doesn't really matter. Cincinnati's the same team home. away. But when I watch the NFC, these are teams at home. Golf is a much better home quarterback than Road. Philadelphia is special. So I thought this game was crucial. I don't want to overstate it, but it felt big. I think, you know, you talked about them getting conservative at the end. I mean, I think he's a little compromised, the quarterback, Jalen Hurts. Yeah. So you can't run him around,

really. He's not really a great, like, slant, you know, quick passing game guy. He excels on those go routes, but on third and five to ice the game, those aren't ideal routes to run. I mean, even Greg Olson at the end of the game is like, I don't love that, you know, on third and long, you want to run that on first and second or down, but that's kind of their style. Now, ultimately, what separates them is that pass rush, they have so many guys. Think how many guys impacted Dak Prescott, those final two drives. It's not just Hassan Reddick. It's Brandon Graham, Yeah, Jalen Carter. I mean, they just got guy after guy after guy.

Their secondaries flying around. Now, the hard part of your Dallas, I mean, your two-star offensive weapons. I thought Pollard was flying around. C.D. Lamb was dominant. The tight end was playing really good. It's tough. I mean, like you said, it's not a bad loss by any means just in a vacuum, that individual game. But in the grand scheme of things, when you had a chance to win.

And really, let's face it, the game was kind of won. They're leading at halftime. The Eagles come out, score back-to-back touchdowns, and take. complete control again and then the cowboys are on their heels and playing catch up the rest of the game. One of the things that did drive me nuts on that final drive for Dallas is they really outplayed Philadelphia for big chunks, but situationally, a delay of game, an illegal motion. This is where Dallas struggles. It's just in the details. You can't have delay of games when you're down there, right? I know you don't have timeouts. What are you delay? You can't think that's let alone penalties.

Yeah. So again, it's crisis management. That's where I think Philadelphia. is really, really good. And that's strange because they have a young coordinator, a young head coach, a young quarterback. Dak and McCarthy and Schott and I have been around their sport combined forever. And Philadelphia's got all the kids. And yet they're so good situationally. One thing we were talking about, I think it was after the Cowboys got destroyed by the Niners is Dak Prescott's not moving around anymore and his game is not predicated on Dominating

in the pocket. He clearly, the last three or four weeks, his mobility is back. He's become a good playmaker again. I mean, how many plays today that he make, keeping plays alive, extending it with his legs, eyes up, and then throwing the ball down the field countless times. If that's the version, they're going to get out of deck beside the Eagles. I mean, they're going to beat a lot of teams with that version of their quarterback. Yeah, I think, you know, it's, I look at the NFC now, and I think Philadelphia is the best team in the NFC.

I'm not sure there is a second. Seattle, Gino Smith's never going to hoist a trophy. Okay, so San Francisco, I think, we're over-dramatizing their struggles. These next couple weeks are big for them, though. I mean, they got to come out firing again. Yeah, but if they could kick field goals, they win in Cleveland. And you're on a two-game skid. Cincinnati's really good.

The AFC early, the first month, the NFC beat the AFC since then. Jaguars look good. Bengals look good. Chiefs figure out ways to win. All of a sudden, the Ravens are on fire. You know, it just, what happens, John, is eventually the truth comes out. Sunny football can benefit offenses. The really gifted teams, almost all to me outside of Philadelphia, are all AFC.

I do like San Francisco. I think they'll be back. But, you know, one of the reasons I like Philadelphia, I think they're built for November, December football. I think their games are going to look a lot like this, where you're criticizing them a little here. you're criticizing, you don't love their corners. But I think this, what we just watched is why they're going to get to the Super Bowl again, is that this is how they play. John, winning ugly is a talent.

And they win ugly. I mean, God, the Commander's game was a mess. They went ugly. It's like their formula. Well, I got her today. He gets ripped down. Who knows? He's ruled out immediately.

Maybe he breaks his arm. But they'd be able to handle that pretty easily for a four or five week stretch without him because they got A.J. Brown. They got Devante Smith. they got multiple running backs. The one thing that would make you nervous, because I'm with you, the DB play,

a lot of teams in this league that are really good complaint about their corners. You know, if you have a good pass rush, you're going to be in it to win it. The quarterback clearly is just taking a lot of hits. He's pretty banged up.

He is, I was thinking the irony of getting rid of Hardin this week, who constantly weighs a white flag, and then having that guy in the same city, who just, you think for a second, you're like,

God, he just sprained his knee, and he kind of shakes it off, and he comes back. But he's not. quite the same spry player that he was 12 months ago. So his ceiling, I mean, part of the reason they were right in it to win the Super Bowl against Mahomes, because he was brilliant. This version, he still throws a great go ball.

But movement-wise, he's not quite as quick. And probably it's because his knee is banged up. And that, to me, is the only concern the way he plays is pretty predicated on, obviously, throwing the ball, but movement. And right now, movement-wise, they're hesitant to call him runs. And rightfully so, you don't want to get him hurt. but to reach their ceiling and to win the Super Bowl, which clearly they have a Super Bowl level team, to me, it's on his health. Can he be, he's never going to be 100 percent, but can he be 90 percent going to the playoffs?

Or is he more like 75 percent going to the playoffs? Okay, so I do want to talk Kansas City, Miami. I thought Kansas City made a complete statement in the first half. And then, like, Philadelphia, you feel like they're kind of holding on. I will say this about Kansas City, though. They have a clear hole, and it's never going to be a strength. They're just not special at wide receiver. Now, their first drive, they gave you a little bit of everything.

I do think this receiving group will get better. It's young. There's no number one. I'm not sure there's a number two. But I'll tell you, that first half defense against Miami, that was one of the more impressive first halves. I mean, Miami was just the speed. This is without Bolton, the speed of Kansas City's defense.

So as I sat and watched that first half, I thought, oh, does it? This is Baltimore, Kansas City, Cincinnati. That's the conference. And then in the second half, they didn't really have a second, third gear. What did you make a Kansas City? I came away in press because they flew in very late for this thing, totally sees control early. But they can't put people away this year, John. They're not putting people away.

Well, they're going to struggle to score 25 points. I mean, they just are. The underrated part about them because Mahomes, Kelsey now, especially this Kelsey, over the last month and Andy Reid take up so much oxygen. They're kind of a defensive team. I mean, Hill and Waddle had 100, 104 yards total. Like if you're holding those guys to around 100 yards, you're going to beat them. They're 21 nothing at half.

Like, I'm sorry, the game's over. I thought there was a lot more pressure. Kansas City's now proven exactly who they are over a five-year stretch. Like, I'm pretty confident when the dust settles, they're going to be in the mix in the divisional round and more than likely the championship game in the EFC. This was kind of a prove-it game for Miami, right? you lose to Philly and Buffalo. Granted, now both on the road.

You get a neutral site game. You fly out there on Monday. And you're down 21 nothing at half. 21 nothing in half. And like you said, this ain't the Chief's first rodeo. Check out a little bit. They're not explosive enough on offense to just take off. But they make enough plays when they have to.

Miami kind of gets a freak fumble there in the second half for Mahomes. But to me, this was the Chiefs established in the first half. Like, you're not on our level. Just like Buffalo and Philly said that earlier. And listen, Miami's a fun story. Their coaches need to get a route for when they're rolling, they're a fun team to watch. But I think it's pretty clear, whatever the upper echelon tier in the AFC is, obviously Baltimore's in it, Kansas City's in it. I think Cincinnati's in it, Buffalo, they are not, you know.

And that was, we don't even need to argue that anymore. I think the only question now is, could they win a playoff game? I wouldn't bet on them because it's going to be more than likely a road playoff game. That's right. But they're going to get back-to-back playoffs. Obviously, the franchise is heading the right direction. but in terms of like aFC contenders, it is not the Miami Dolphins. No, I mean, and it's, it's, I've always liked to, but I've never loved him.

And I do think when you speed the game up, and he had a couple drops today. But to your point, if you look at the history of football, the great teams have always been able to grind. Even the Niners with Walsh, Taylor, Joe Montana. Defense. Those teams, they have a great defense. We never talked about that defense. And the reason we don't is because it's Joe Montana. Jimmy Johnson's Cowboys, real defense, pro bowlers, everywhere.

Think about some of the home grin packer teams with Reggie White and, you know, Leroy Butler and some of those guys. Yeah, I mean, one of the knocks on the Packers, you say, why don't Farvin Rogers win more? Well, they have when they have their best defenses in those quarterback's careers. And so even Peyton Manning, go back to the Peyton Manning team that won a Super Bowl in Indy. That was one of the best defenses he ever had. So I just think Miami is fun.

I've been saying this, the dolphins are the city. It's a lot of fake Gucci loafers and Rolexes that if you shower turn green, they're fun. They're interesting. But as the season progresses, they're just not built for this. And it's funny, as much as I like Tyree Kill and Jadel and Waddle, you probably are best served to give up Waddle eventually and just go get some more defensive help. That's my take on them is that this coach, this quarterback, Tyreek Hill, you're going to score points in this sport. You've got to get better on your line play because that to me today with Kansas City, it was like, oh, they just can't block certain people. Yeah, I mean, offensive line, when they were healthy, was a good coming to the season.

The good thing you have to feel if you have Miami is sometimes the hardest thing to get, obviously, is the quarterback, but also the coaching staff. Mike McDaniels clearly a very innovative young offensive coach. And Vic Fangio now is kind of proven to the spot. like he's not going to be a head coach anymore. So you got him, keep paying him a premium. You got that in play. Just get more defensive pieces. You have to be good at the line of scrimmage in this conference.

Because one, you've got to rush the passer to beat the Joe Burroughs, Lamar Jackson, Patrick Mahomes, and you have to be able to block. I mean, you watch the Ravens today. Obviously, the Steelers, now the Chiefs have, you know, kind of, you know, revitalize their defense. You have to be able to neutralize other teams fronts. All these Cleveland, all these teams now have multiple pass rushers. You know, every team has like a $100 million guy and then like a guy probably making a $50 million contract.

So if you can't block, you look at Dallas down the stretch. They just, they were relentless with all the pass rushers. And the 49ers, what do they do? They went and got Chase Young. They got another guy. So you just rush the pastor, rush the pastor, rush the pastor. And you can get away sometimes with guys like me and you covering, you know, offensive weapons in the secondary if you can, you know, impact the quarterback. So I had said this when I watched.

Baltimore's first half against Tennessee and London a month ago, I said this is the best Lamar's been and this may be the best team in the league. And I've had them number one last several weeks in her hierarchy, Baltimore and Seattle. Before I get to Baltimore, one of the things that I've always sort of worried about with defensive coaches. They don't do well with O lines. They can't reboot them. I mean, how many years is Pittsburgh and Buffalo those defensive coaches going to get with that offensive line play? The second thing I worry about is sometimes they don't sense urgency with a quarterback. Mike Tomlin, Kenny Pickett, that's just not good enough in the AFC.

It's just simply not good enough. What happens when you can't pay all these defensive players and you have to pay Kenny Pickett? You're going to have to pay both these receivers. So this is the time to win and there's a true ceiling with Pittsburgh. Seattle, Gino Smith. Drew Locke and Gino Smith are not it. I do think Seattle is unique in that they don't have a bunch of needs now after getting a corner and a receiver in the first round last year and they're both really good.

they can go at the end of the first round and get a bow nicks. They can go, yeah, you know, penics won't be available. So that worries me. But the thing about Baltimore, he's now Lamar Jackson, 17 and 1 against the NFC. It's, so think about this. Their concern is the AFC. If he got to a Super Bowl, if you've never faced Lamar, Detroit and Seattle are good teams, absolutely discombobulated.

You have nobody at practice to comp it with. And to me, the only way to beat Lamar is, oh, we've seen him four times. I remember talking to the Chargers people. Remember his rookie year the first time they faced him, they were lost. The second time they had a better sense of it, they're like, there's nobody like him in the league. And I mean, I just watched today, and I'm like Seattle, I don't know why I talked myself out of that game because I love Baltimore. But I kind of feel like if Baltimore gets to a Super Bowl, John, I'm taking them and I'm taking them in a route. because I don't think, I think the Cincinnati's and Kansas cities, that is the only way to beat him.

Well, if you think about it, Seattle and Detroit, two of their last three games, those teams, you know, Seattle probably win 10, 11, Detroit's going to win 12, 13. You're talking 24 wins. You could argue both those games were over in the first quarter. The Detroit game definitely was this game early in the second quarter, this thing was over. So they, like you said, dismantled, embarrassed. Now, they got them both at home, but still, I mean, they're high end. Romo mentioned this on the broadcast.

Lamar's playing at a really high level. The Zay Flowers pick looks awesome. Their defense is playing really, really well. Really well. So we just talked about it with Rogers and Fav. When you get MVP-level quarterback play and you have top-flight defense, we've seen the 49ers make runs with like a quarterback who's hovering between like the 15th and 16th guy. You give me a top-five quarterback and a top-five defense.

Like you really have no excuse if you're playing well to, not being the Super Bowl. So if you're just doing the power rankings, given how they're playing right now, I think I don't know how you would argue that the Raven, no team is playing better than the Ravens as a complete football team. And the thing is Lamar, to me, is just better than he's ever been, just under complete control. It's not all predicated on running.

I was nervous when they brought in the offensive coordinator. They talk passing, passing, passing. You're like, well, you don't want to take away what he does really well. They've, like, blended it perfectly. The one problem is Greg Roman, they couldn't pass. And maybe it was the Zay Flowers edition has really helped. I mean, he's a fantastic addition. He's a really young, awesome player.

And that's a good pick. And they're a good drafting team. So you shouldn't be surprised. You know, can I touch on one day? I just don't want to. What a awful day for the Patriot dynasty. Belichick loses to a team that trades away as to their two best players. Josh McDaniels, bad offense looks like Kenny Stabler was back today.

They get rid of him. And obviously the story that Jay Glazer talked about, they couldn't stand the guy. And then on the other end, Brian Dayball, you know, former Patriot guy gets destroyed in that game. I mean, today, if it wasn't for Casario and C.J. Stroud, the Patriot dynasty would basically be completely dead. I think the one term that you heard with the Josh firing that I've heard forever in New England that people dealt with when you were winning that when you're not, or even if you're just not making playoff runs, people like I'm out, is the walking on eggshells. And that worked historically in football. And listen, even as society changes, you still get yelled at in football,

but it is completely different than what happened in the 70s, 80s, and 90s currently in the NFL. And think about Andy Reid, who's the best coach right now in the sport. He's never really been like that. That's not his style. Hell, even think of Pete Carroll, who's kind of resurrected his team, much more of a positive, optimistic guy. The Belichick guys in general, all they know is kind of negativity, walking on eggshells. that doesn't really work with the guys you're coaching now under 30. Just look at the way society work.

That's not how people respond. But that's all they know. So Belichick right now, everyone's always on edge. Josh McDaniels had everyone on edge. You're not going to be productive. Whether you have the high-end talent or whether you don't, you're nowhere near going to maximize. Look at college now.

Jim Harbaugh lightened up a little bit. They became offensively explosive. Nick Sabin, Kirby Smart, much more pro offense. It just makes you have. happier. Belichick and Josh and they, but these guys are kind of angry. Matt Patricia, Matt Stafford couldn't stand. Matt Patricia. You got to loosen up guys, but they don't. And I think all these guys talk about, I'm going to be my own guy, I'm going to be my own guy. When you work for, I don't care if you work for Steve Jobs or Jeff Bezos, you spent all your time around,

whoever the most successful guy is in your industry for years upon years, how would you not emulate him and try to be like him, even when you're thinking about being yourself and it fails time and time again. Bill's screwed because their team isn't very talented. And these other guys constantly fail because I think they just, they tend to be negative like Bill because they've seen it firsthand and they've seen it work. But I just don't think it works. I think you talked about last week, remove Brady. He is the dynasty.

I think he could just handle the negativity and everyone kind of loosened up below him in the locker room. But it doesn't work once you go to these other places. And now Bill like yelling at Mack Jones, he goes into a shell. Yes. No, I think there's a lot about that. Okay, before we go, I do want to talk about one college. note. So I don't know if Washington can win a national championship, but what a showcase of game. It was for the Huskies. I said their defense is bad, but at least they're usually in the right place.

USC fired Alex Grinch, their defensive coordinator, which, I mean, if you watch the game and if you've watched the last month, he stands alone by himself in the sidelines. They're in the wrong place. And these are guys that have played Kalin Bullock, who is that All-American Safety has regressed. one of the first things I look at is do players get better? USC's offensive guys do. None of their defensive guys do. None of them get better. So I don't know if USC will go out and spend a lot of money on the defensive coordinator. But how do you view this season and Lincoln Riley's sort of legacy?

I know it's early in his career to talk about that. But I always viewed him as potentially an NFL guy. And my takeaway now is he's not. He just has no. McVeigh Chestnut. out alpha loves defense. Shanahan loves physicality. Shanahan don't care about special teams, but he loves defense, right? Andy Reid, spags. Andy realizes what defense is. Lincoln doesn't even, he doesn't have a special teams coach. He's lopsided as a coach. What do you think his legacy

right now is? Well, I think, and listen, it's easy to crush him right now. Like probably most people when they hired them, it was a no-brainer hire. You had to do it. But I think when you look back, the Big 12 is not very good. And no one plays defense. And he was able to take advantage of it. He ran into clearly the best year the Pac-12 has had in a long time. He's kind of getting worked, right? He loses to Utah. He loses this game. He's going to be a huge underdog this upcoming week, you know, to Oregon. UCLA's leaking oil a little bit. But I think it's a disaster, Colin. Simply put, I think it's one of the biggest underachievements given the quarterback play in offense because when you're at a program like this, you have unlimited resources to hire the best and the brightest.

When you look at some of these other college coaches, they go to like the Baltimore Ravens and get their secondary coach and make them, you know, their defensive coordinator. Just hell, Chip Kelly's defensive coordinator is Anthony Lynn's son, who if you look at his resume had been in the NFL for the last decade, came from the Ravens. And what is UCLA? A lot better on defense. So it's like I don't know if you tell me who Lincoln's next defensive coordinator, I would not be very confident that you're going to go, that's a no-brainer choice, right? Because you look at the guys that his, we talked about it last week when they were, you know, lose to Utah. Where do you find this guy? Well, he was a Mike Leach guy, right?

It's a connection thing. And he's not, to me, part of going to the NFL too. Think of some of the coaches that went to the NFL from college most recently beside Harbaugh, who was an NFL guy. Urban Meyer never coached today, didn't know what to do, and he was completely over his head. Chip is a good example of a guy that had some success, but his problem is he didn't know any defensive coaches, so he couldn't hire very good defensive coordinators, and that was always his downfall. And now Lincoln is kind of going through this in college. And I go back to Pete Carroll era, Pete Carroll's staff was really, really good.

It had a perfect blend of young up-and-coming guys, like the Sarks and the lanes, and then the older Norm Chow's, Ken Norton's, the recruiters, the NFL experience, the young offensive innovative guys. And I just look, I go, I don't know. I mean, because when he took over at Oklahoma, it was Bob Stoop's brother. He inherited him. And he ultimately fired him for this guy.

And it's just kind of unraveling. He brings him with him. I don't have much confidence that he's going to hire a guy that people are going to feel very, very good about. Because I also think it's a culture in the way you practice. When you practice like he does with his offensive style, you don't really create a tough physicality. That's always what people have said,

defensive coaches, whenever you met him at the sports. offense schools and specifically the air raid type schools. I know he's not true air raid anymore. It's like hard to improve the toughness on a daily basis on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday in practice. No, I mean, I don't think it's a coincidence. Tomlin, Dan Campbell, Mike Vrable. I think the essence of their physicality, the essence of their personality, the way they structure practice is more physical. I mean, every Vrable team, every Tomlin team. I mean, even though they're an offensive team more than defense, Dan Campbell, it's a physical offense. They can run the ball. I think sometimes with Mike McDaniel and Lincoln Riley, I think they're

really clever offensively and really smart. And I think they structure their culture and their program and their practice like that. And it's really smart and clever. But do they build the toughness? Is that part of the personality? And I just, I don't think it's a coincidence sometimes that the same kind of physical, kind of big physical men. Don't you think they structure practice differently? Yeah, for sure. And I'm not blaming. in Caleb because you got to sign Caleb. You had to pay Caleb to get them. Every team in the country would have done that.

But I do think when the way they built it, it was also Caleb heavy that it almost sucked the oxygen out of everything else. And you watch it this year. And the last couple weeks haven't been his fault, the Notre Dame game, he wasn't very good. But it just feels like if he is not, because even you go back to some of the Hayday Pete Carroll teams or some of those good Harbaugh teams or Chip Kelly teams, it was never all about Marriota or Locke or Matt Leiner. They were a more complete team.

And this thing just felt like a basketball team. It was like Caleb Williams and then everyone else. And that is not the way you win in football. It's just not. And they've been clearly exposed. Even Washington is a good example. Their best players are quarterback. But they don't, he wasn't, I would say, otherworldly against USC.

The running back came through. Defense got some big stops. You watch Oregon. They're a complete team. Look at what Nick Sabin's doing. You talk to any NFL scout. They're like, this is the least talented team in like 15. years. All of a sudden he's going to be back in the SEC championship game. Right. Yeah. And I think

Mike McDaniel and Lincoln, Riley, I do think they're brilliant guys. But both are regressing quickly as the season goes on. This sport always gets back to physicality and toughness and resilience and playing hurt and situational football and making stops. As much fun as it is to watch Caleb or Tua or Tyree Kill, you just got to be better and more physical situationally. And I mean, they had a goal line stand. USC did. They must have had six safeties and cornered. They must have six safeties and on the field. It's like, guys, it's like a track team. I know. Too small. All right, John Middilkoff, former NFL Scout. Great as always, buddy. Appreciate it.

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

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