The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Colin Cowherd Podcast - Chris Mortensen, Kirk Cousins The Top Target? NFL Free Agency, Russ To Steelers? More Turbulence For The Jets

Episode Date: March 4, 2024

Colin is joined by John Middlekauff, host of “3 and Out” to talk offseason football! They start the show on a somber note following the passing of legendary NFL reporter Chris Mortensen and reflect on his life and impact in the football world. (3:30) They weigh in on the future of Kirk Cousins and why he is likely the #1 free agent domino to fall (6:00), and why Justin Fields hasn’t drawn much interest as a trade target (13:00). They talk about the latest episodes of the “Dynasty” documentary with the focus being Aaron Hernandez and why the Patriots weren’t willing to trade him away (15:30). They dive into the Steelers seemingly being willing to lower their high standards if they stick with Kenny Pickett (26:30) and why signing Russell Wilson makes sense for Mike Tomlin’s team (32:00). They point to Washington as next year’s “surprise” team (38:00) and debate the draft status of Michael Penix Jr. (42:00). They look at the Jets rough o-line situation (57:00) and Aaron Rodgers’ suspect choices for teammates (1:02:00) and predict more turbulence ahead for gang green. (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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One no-sweat per new customer. Issued as one bonus bet based on amount of initial losing bet. Bonus bets expire 168 hours after issuance. See dkng.com slash promos for Depository deposit wagering in eligibility restrictions, terms, and responsible gaming resources. All right, welcome in. It's our usual Sunday hour, John Middlough, former NFL scout, who just got back from the Combine, like Thursday night. After spending four or five days there for the volume, we certainly appreciated that. I should mention right off the top, Chris Mortensen passed away

today. He'd been battling cancer for some time. He was 72 years old. Mort was one of the more respected. You know, he was as kind as he was wise. One of those kind of guys that I think transcended era is Paul Zimmerman, Sports Illustrated is the first, like, NFL guy, I remember, like what you would call like your beat columnist, Peter King, Chris Mortensen, he came from the Atlanta Journal Constitution where he was breaking stories down there. Just a really nice guy. How was he viewed in the league, John? I mean, these guys, now it's basically about breaking stories. Shepter took kind of Mortensen's role, and it's like minute-to-minute breaking stories. Chris grew up in a generation without the iPhone, it was more about contextualizing stories and breaking stories. How was he viewed

around the league? Yeah, I think people loved him. I mean, I saw Peyton Manning, who obviously was very close with him and the Manning family in general. You know, when I think about football, like you said, I mean, growing up in the 90s, Chris Mortensen, Peter King, I mean, those guys really, you know, from outside of People broadcasting games like a John Madden played an integral role in all of us that love football. I mean, the access that they had, it's so. I mean, you can find out everything now on social media and all these articles or all these blogs. They had something that not many people had, and that was information. So I think he was a trailblazer that way for sure.

And just an awful day. Obviously, he'd been sick for a while. It sucks. I mean, I think he's one of the key. figures in terms of like NFL reporting, NFL just stories and someone that you had to go to for information before when information was really, really hard to get and it was much more difficult to communicate. Yeah. And, you know, he was one of the first guys that was a beacon right at a major network. I mean, let's remember, sports departments at the network level were just

ABC, NBC, CBS, you didn't get daily stuff. They were basically on for the weekends. And then guys like Mort, who were on this this this initially tiny cable outfit that could give you hour by hour day by day reporting, it made kind of rock stars out of all of them. And Mort always held it in check in terms of gratitude, very, very gracious, you know, rest in peace, Chris Mortonson, one of the all-time greats. You were, you know, at the Combine, I think it's kind of interesting, is that Kirk Cousins, everybody. And somebody the other day said this. They said, you know, everybody talks about Russell Wilson and Justin Fields and Baker Mayfield.

And this person said, you know, he's got like a career 99 passer rating and completed 69% of his throws last year. And, I mean, is a proven high accuracy, high values win a bunch of game quarterback. When you were at the Combine, a lot of stuff, a guy like me in the opinion space, we don't talk about Kirk Cousins because he doesn't make news. You know, he's just very quiet. But when you're at the Combine, how is that Atlanta opening viewed, for instance? Yeah, I mean, I think a lot of people think that Cousins is the biggest domino to fall in terms of he's the number one target for the teams that are aggressively going to try to get a quarterback here in two weeks or whenever the official date is the 13th. because Justin Fields is not viewed very highly. He's viewed highly on Twitter, not by NFL GMs and coaches, right?

Not people that are trying to win nine, ten games next year. And Russell's a little more fascinating because he's a very interesting guy because his money's going to be low, but you always talk about this when you're really famous coming into a place. It's a little more complicated, right, with Russell. Even though actually numbers-wise he wasn't terrible. He resurrected his career based on two years ago. He was terrible.

Cousins, before he tore that Achilles, remember that Monday night game against the 49ers? He looked like Peyton Manning. He had really kind of... Oh, and the year before, he had a game at Buffalo against Josh Allen and out-duled him. He has... He's got a list of six or seven games against Mahomes, Josh Allen, the Niners, where he has been the best player on the field. I think he mastered his talent, right? He knows exactly what he is.

and his mind. A lot of quarterbacks talk about this, right? As they get older, they realize the game becomes easier than the problem is their physical skills diminish. Tom's like, I've never been smarter at football. I just don't want to get hit anymore. Peyton Manning's arm was shot. Drew Breeze's arm was shot.

Cousins did get injured, though, and a pretty major injury. I was with his agent one night, who I've known for a long time. Obviously loves them. I mean, they've made a lot of money together. He got a special contraption that, like, a lot of, I'm sure, facilities have and, like, hospitals have when it comes to rehabbing the Achilles. Because it's so much money, he just bought it for his house. You know, this is a guy that takes this stuff very, very seriously.

And I guess it's gone really well. He's like, we've put out videos of him moving around. They're not bound in their chest like Aaron Rogers, like this is going to be a three-month. But they think all things considered with the injury. Here's the other thing, Colin. His game isn't predicated on running around, right? Like when a corner or a wide receiver tears, in Achilles. You go, even Rogers. Like, a big part of Rogers game is the movement. Coussies is

Peyton Manning, Eli Manning, Phillip, he doesn't move. So when you look at it, you go, well, if he's healthy, it's not like you have to worry. Well, he's not as fast. Well, he never ran to begin with. So you're getting a guy, I think Atlanta, I mean, a lot of signs are pointing to that. Now, he's not cheap, right? And he's proven, like, from a business standpoint, they have been very, like, they don't take discounts. So you're not getting the guy for two years, $60 million. would you be willing to give him, you know, $70, $80, $90 million guaranteed for a short, you know, it's a three, four-year contract. But if he's healthy, I mean, Atlanta could all of a sudden be an intriguing, you know, playoff level contender. I mean, hell, they were kind of right there this year for a long period during the season, but their quarterback play like me or you. Yeah, I mean, it's interesting in this league. There's sort of three levels of successful quarterbacks. The stars, you know, and we all. I'll know who those are.

Mahalms, Lamar, Josh. That's a small handful, too. Yeah, very small. Six, seven. And then the rising young stars people are excited about. You know, C.J. Stroud, you know, Trevor Lawrence, J. Hertz, whoever. And then there's the guys that you know there'll be no chaos. Jared Goff.

Dak Prescott. Kirk Cousins. I think Goff's the most talented of those. But they don't get the fan base necessarily excited. but the minute they land, you start winning double-digit games. I mean, say what you want about, Dak. He may have a lower ceiling. Dak gets you into the playoffs.

Dak wins 12 games three years in a row. So I find like Kirk Cousins, he's almost, you juxtapose him with Justin Fields. He's the opposite. There's no flash, no excitement. There's no topics. But I just get 69% completion percentage and not a lot of, doesn't miss a lot of games. doesn't turn it over a lot, moves the chains. If he doesn't score, he puts your defense in pretty good field position.

So I think within the league, there's a great appreciation for guys like Goff and guys like Kirk Cous. I just don't think in the media there is. I think one thing, too, is this offense from the Shanahan family is so in vogue. Every team's running it. You have to league is, right? The Atlanta Falcons. Rahim Morris, bring Zach Robinson. What are they going to run?

McVeigh-Shanhan's off. offense. And I was talking to Jason Light about it. They just hired Liam Cohen, who used to be with the Rams, McVeigh offense. I said, why do you like this offense so much from a scouting perspective? He said, it's very quarterback friendly. Now, the quarterback still needs to be accurate within that quarterback friend. The Jets ran the Shanahan offense for Zach Wilson. How'd that go? Like, you need to be accurate. Well, what is cousins? Very, very accurate. What is Justin Fields, for example? Not very accurate. Listen, Cam Neu, who is, you know, the conversation about things he has said,

he was an elite talent. I mean, an all-time talent. At that size, that movement, that arm strength, his accuracy was horrendous. I mean, he was not a very, he had to overcome it with all that other stuff. And he had it unlike probably less than two or three guys in league history. But what happened?

Early 30s, if you're not accurate, you can't even function in the league because you're no longer running around. Cousins, as long as you have the arm, right, that Peyton and Bree's lost, you can function late into your career, right? Especially in this league where the quarterback, this isn't 19 to 85 and the Chicago Bears hitting you. Yeah, the other thing I find fascinating with Justin Fields is Lamar Jackson, when 76% of his starts, and I swear to God, I'm constantly defending him. He's just a winning quarterback, and I think he's more nimble athletically than Justin Fields. Justin Fields is like 10 and 28.

eight, turnovers, bad second half quarterback, and he has defenders at every turn. It was interesting in Chicago most of this year they defended him. And then in the final week, he faced Jordan Love, and you just saw this chasm, this gap. And then it all went away. You can go back to weeks 12, 13. There were a lot of Justin Field supporters in Chicago. But I think when he matched up. Look who they were playing on some of those wins.

I mean, it was the level of competition. was a joke. Yeah. So I, yeah, I think Justin Fields, I think in the league, as you pointed out, people are realistic about it. But there is a difference between the public perception and people in the league. And I think back to our initial point, Kirk Cousins, is well, well represented, a lot of fans in the league. Like, I talked to someone who was around Lamar Jackson, who I think has completely changed anyone that had any questions about him after this season. really kind of mastered his skill set. But what happened in the playoff game against the chiefs?

He kind of resorted back to a couple years ago. Talked to someone around the Ravens. He thought the big issue was, is one, the offensive coordinator had a weird day. He tightened up. But Lamar, when he gets around Patrick, he thought it was like playing Tiger Woods, first couple holes, a couple birdies, you get tight. And that threw him off. Because that guy, he's like, I've been around this guy for years now.

But that guy was not the guy that I saw all season long. And we felt it. And let's face it, that's what Michael Jordan did. That's what Tiger Woods does. Yeah, that's what Tom Brady did. They just make you unravel a little bit. And I think that's, like, I think the Ravens, like, I'm not betting against them this year. They're going to be good again, I'm sure.

And they just have to avoid that or have the moment, which never really happened to Michael Jordan in the 90s, like, can you ever take down that guy? And it's on you mentally as much as it is physically. Yeah, no, I think that's a real thing. I said in the Super Bowl with Patrick Mahomes, I thought Kyle Shanahan thought to himself, I want the ball first and third. I don't know if you do that if it's any other quarterback not named Patrick Mahomes. I think if it's like Jalen Hertz, you're like, give him the ball first. We'll react to it.

We can stop. Yeah. I think with Mahomes, it changes. Even Kyle Shanahan's thinking, well, probably won't stop. And at least give us the ball third. Give us another shot to move the rock. So I think your points will take. And by the way, I saw it, you had a tweet, you were critical.

I've watched the dynasty all the episodes. So the book is obviously by Jeff Benedict. It takes a very favorable, you know, the criticism of it. It's very much about the crafts. So the Aaron Hernandez, it was episode six. So the first thing about Aaron Hernandez is Ernie Adams said during that, hey, he was a first round talent and a fourth round pick. We knew there were headaches. It is remarkable that he never even entered his prime in the NFL and average.

60 catches and six touchdowns with gronk on the other side. He was the second best player on the team behind Brady immediately. And if you go back to watch some of those videos, I don't think I've ever seen, including Travis Kelsey or Kellynne-Lenslow. I've never seen a tight-end run like that. Patrick Chung was a guest on my show and I worked at the other place. And I asked him one time, who's the toughest guy in the league to defend? He goes, not even close.

He goes, it's Aaron Hernandez. And he had gronk on the team. He goes, no, Aaron. He goes, Aaron's faster. You can't, Aaron's just different. He's a wide receiver playing tight end. And he's just, you know, he's 25 to 35 pounds bigger than a strong wide receiver. But there is, you know, I mean, Gronk and Belichick want nothing to do with the Aaron Hernandez story.

And you said it bothered you, the portrayal. It was very Bob Kraft supportive on Aaron Hernandez. I actually think it's very Jonathan Kraft, too, who I think it's pretty clear. If you've ever been around the dynamics of an older business owner and maybe his right-hand employee that he's leaned on to make a lot of money, their dynamic is always unique. Well, in any family business, that child underneath the dad, that person that's made the dad all the money does not view the child like the dad, right? And Jonathan Kraft, in that episode, Brady didn't say, was never.

He never interviewed for it. He won't touch it. Has never, right? Has not touched it since it happened. Gromf was not interviewed in that. Belichick, I'll give him credit, was willing to sit there in front of the camera. He didn't really take it. Robert Kraft kind of went back and forced it. I loved him like a child. The moment the murder happened, Robert's like I was going to get him a defense attorney. Jonathan Kraft, who let's face it, is trying to shape the organization of his father's over 80. Belichick's now gone. he's viewing himself like, this is my Clark Hunt time. This is my John Mara time. This is my time. Said, I was telling everybody, get rid of him.

Right? And it's like, give me a break. Even if, like, Belichick doesn't want a murderer on his team. Your dad doesn't either. I just think Jonathan Kraft is really utilizing this documentary. Like, I think Robert is pretty genuine, whatever he says, he said before in the past. This is more shaping it for, this is Jonathan Craft's team. and it's going to be, I'm not, I hope his dad doesn't pass away for a while, but

getting up there in age. Like, this is, he's going to play a very, very prominent role for this squad. And I can imagine it's been reported on a little bit. Doesn't like Belichick. Well, why would he? I bet Belichick treated him like shit. And in fairness to Bill, if you're Bill, like, how do you respect this guy, right? When, when I'm dealing with your dad.

And I think this is, and there have been reports that Bill is not happy with this, the way this makes him look. because it makes him look like a scumbach, which, listen, a lot of people don't view Belichick like his mother Teresa. But was this necessary? It feels a little calculated of the timing. And this is not the players. You know, Tom and Gronk and Edelman, all these guys speak very highly to Bill. I do think Jonathan Kraft, though, wants to start, like, be an anti-Bill and anti-everything that went on beside the Super Bowls and kind of a new sheriff in town, which is human nature.

How most children do when they inherit stuff. They kind of get rid of some of the people that were mean. to him. Mark Davis did the same thing with Al's guys. Yeah. You know, it's funny. West Welker was the one guy that came out and said, yeah, it was obvious. A lot of guys trash talk and talk bullshit in the locker room. He's like, yeah, Aaron would say things that were just not like that. And then they played a piece of audio tape of Aaron talking about something that was pretty obscene. And yeah, I mean, you go back to his family, the whole Aaron Hernandez family. There was a lot of of trouble there. It was a lot going on.

But it's pretty odd. I don't blame the Patriots for the murder. I mean, no one in the right mind I don't either. I just felt like Jonathan Kraft kind of tried to point the finger specifically at Bill. Like Bill would have been cool playing with a murderer. Like no one in that building full of high character guys knew what was going on clearly. Me, murdered the guy right down the street from his house and clearly had murdered people before. Yeah. And the other thing is, You can go to every organization, even that's most of the top college programs. Listen, you can't have 85 guys on scholarship in college. You're going to roll the dice on some guy.

You know, Nick Saban said, what do you want me to do if a guy gets in trouble, throw him out onto the streets or you want me to rehab him? There's a lot of people that get into trouble end up being great dads, great business people. And I completely, you know, defend Saban in college or Belichick in the NFL. Aaron Hernandez, you can't blame anybody but Aaron. He's got to be culpable for him. Chris Carter said when he talks to rookies, they had a speech during the dynasty where he said, you know, I had to look at myself in the mirror because Chris had kind of a turbulent early couple of years in the NFL.

Aaron asked a question directly to Chris at one of those symposiums, as if it was kind of a foretell on what was going to happen. He said basically, how did you turn it around? And Chris is like, I looked myself in the mirror and I told friends that were bad influences, don't call me. Well, I also think when he goes to Bill and asks for a trade to the West Coast and then he doesn't get traded, people like, oh, Bill, Bill's that best player. Bill doesn't know what's going on. There was a lot going on. The other thing, I went out the night before I left with a scouting buddy, and he brought some other scouting buddies. one thing that can be very, very difficult at these big programs, and I would put Florida under this umbrella,

is when you get these famous players and just players in general that are going to get drafted, it's much harder to get the truth nowadays because it gets back to these programs so quickly of the recruiting elements that my friends have said they have to work extra hard to get the on the character guys to really dig. Because you kind of get the PC version. of like, hey, he's got some issues, but everything's fine. It's, it takes a lot of effort. We're back of the day they'd tell you everything. They weren't worried about it. Now everyone with social media, stories getting out, some of these programs are very, very hesitant, and they give you a very watered down version of what is going on. And they know what's truly

going on because they're, you know, helping some of the, sweep some of the stuff under the rug, because it all gets back to them and they don't want their program to look like it's anti-player. So there are just a lot of variables with this stuff. It's not like, you know, obviously those Florida teams, Urban, there was some craziness going on. Right. But they're not just giving out the information at will. I don't care who you are. I mean, Bill's one of his best friends is Urban Meyer.

Yeah, leaned on him heavily through the years he and Sabin, because Bill doesn't watch college football. Herm Edwold, you know, got him, Nikiel Harry. Was it Nikiel Henry? No, it was Harry. It was McKeel Harry. I thought it was pretty good college player, but God, he was terrible in the pros. couldn't separate. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal, but encouraged.

It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the I-Hard Radio app,

Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what you're saying. Yep, that's me, Clifford Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, the reactions, my journey from basketball to college football, or my career in sports media. Well, somewhere along the way, this platform became bigger than I ever imagined.

And now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, unfiltered conversations with some of your favorite athletes, creators and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. One week I'll take you behind the scenes of the biggest moments in sports and entertainment, and the next we'll talk about life, mental health, purpose, and even music. The Clivert 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 Cliverts Show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or we're 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-tap 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 it 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 you 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 for 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. So, you know, you and I have been on this for a while that offensive coaches, McVeigh moved off Gough who got to a Super Bowl, Shanahan moved off Garapolo that got to a Super Bowl, Andy Reid moved off Alex Smith, who consistently could get into the playoffs. The Steelers, defensive culture, are sticking with Kenny Pickett.

when I see that, I think to myself, you understand Burrow, Lamar Jackson, Deshawn Watson, and really some really sharp coaches are in the division. Do you think they're sticking with Kenny Pickett or they just don't want to publicly hammer a local kid? Because you can't watch him and think that's going to win in the AFC. He could be the 14th to 15th best quarterback in the AFC. One thing, I heard a lot of Russell Wilson rumors to Pittsburgh just because, with the Broncos paying almost $40 million, you can get him for a million dollars. So he's relatively cheap.

But the moment you sign that, Russell's not competing for a job, right? And he's better than Kenny Pickett. If that truly happens and they're not interested in these other guys and don't are actively drafting a quarterback, that's insane. One thing I've heard in the league is for a long period of time with Kevin Colbert, who was one of the best general managers in the league and Mike Tomlin, who's a really solid coach. I mean, has some flaws, but Mike Tomlin's better than most. I do think this transition and their new front office, I don't think they're quite viewed like the same powerhouse.

Like the Ravens, transition from Ozzie, who works more than any retired human you'll ever see. I thought I retired three years ago. You see him at the Comby sit right there. The Ravens didn't skip a beat, right? DeCosta right there. I think Steelers, they got a lot going on, right? When it comes to the transition in front office,

which is natural. Most teams don't just go smooth GM to GM or coach to coach. And I just think there are an organization to kind of keep an eye on that I wonder if it's quite as how long can you keep this up? Let's face it, 50 years. They've been pretty consistent. Like it's bound to maybe they'll go through a little downturn right now. But a lot of people in the NFL kind of have them a little red flagged operationally, I would say. Not necessarily Tomlin, just the new GM, just the new thoughts from the front office.

he's more of an analytical guy. It'd come over originally, I think, from the contract stuff. Kevin Colbert, more of an old school Rooney-type scout. It's just something to peek at as we move on toward football. Yeah, I mean, there's been, you know, Tomlin has his defenders, and I like you, I think he, in terms of, you know, developing players, especially defensive players, they get better. He's a good motivator. There's some Pete Carroll there where he does a good job, you know, he's very good. young players, giving them confidence, getting him into a system, and getting ramping young players

up very quickly to play in this league. And I don't think Pete was ever good with O-lines. I don't think Tomlin is. I don't think McDermott necessarily is, where I think Andy Reed and Shanahan and McVeigh, you know, they're rebuilding those O-Lines. Last year, what McVeigh did with the O-Line of the Rams is insane. He had tackles playing guards, guards playing tackle. It was incredible. But I look at Tomlin and I think, you know, the standard of Pittsburgh for most of my life was like Super Bowls and AFC championships. Whenever I hear this never had a losing season, it's so odd to me. Can you imagine McVeigh bragging about that? Like, I don't know.

It's just like Pittsburgh's standard went down. And again, you can go look at Dave Wonstat. one stat when he was in Miami. His four years there had a better winning percentage, I believe, than Tomlin. And he got run. So I think it's one of those things where the Roonies are reticent to make big sweeping changes and Mike secure. But I just off the top of my head, when I think of Super Bowl teams, I haven't thought of the Steelers in seven, eight years. I think of the Ravens immediately.

I think of McVeigh and Shanahan immediately. I think of Andy Reid immediately. There's four, Philadelphia is always in the mix. There's like five or six teams in the league. Baltimore's one. I just think, quarterback or not, it's like that structurally sound. The standard in Pittsburgh, weird. Well, I'm not anti-Pittsburg.

It's just like I consider them to be about like the 20th best football team. If Kenny Pickett starts, 20th best football team in the league. Well, then factor in their division, right? The Ravens have proven with Lamar Jackson. as long as he's playing, even when he missed a couple years ago in Huntley, but they're going to be good with Lamar Jackson, right? They're not going away.

The Bengals, who I had a pro scout, I remember Greg Popper told me this is the Super Bowl. He's been calling games for 25 years, the best game he's ever seen live, Joe Burrell this year against the 49ers. Pro Scout told me it was the best game he saw on tape. Now, injuries are a question with Joe Burrell. What is not a question, if he's on the field,

he's a dominant elite player. And the Bengals haven't lost, they didn't lose their defense of coordinator. So they have the same play caller of the head coach. They have the quarterback. They have this infrastructure of an offense. They have an excellent defensive coordinator. If Joe Burrell plays a full season, which it's fair to question that right now because he's been injured. They're a playoff team.

So Pittsburgh benefited this year because Burrow, how many games did he play? Right? He was by middle of the season, he tore his arm and he was out. And they were still kind of competitive. But if he plays, like Pittsburgh's definitely looking up at those two. and the Browns guy. I talked to Stavansky for a little. Stavansky is an impressive guy.

He's clearly a good play caller. Now, they, you know, Watson's cap hit this year goes from like 19 to 60 these next three years. So they're going to lose a lot of the depth. So they're, I'm not feeling as strong. They're just going to be as good. But I know the Ravens are good and I know the Bengals dominate when they got Joe Burrell. So you just look at the Steelers. They're very dependent on some of these Mika Fitzpatricks and T.

T.J. Watt having 30 sacks. or else you're going to win eventually this is you're not going to have one of those nine and eight seasons where you can pound your chest and you're going to win five games yeah so i'm going to look up here very quickly the free agent period in the NFL so what day does it start here well the negotiations the 11 mark kicks off the 13th so we're about 10 days from it um do you think what do you think so if you had to hedge a bet here give me your three biggest free agent signings? Well, I think I do think Kirk Cousins is going to end up in Atlanta because I think

they're going to throw a lot of money at them. I mean, their owner, another guy over 80, ton of money. There's going to be some urgency on them to win. Financially,

this will be one of the lowest, but I do think it's by far the biggest headlines. Yeah. I do think Russell, Wilson and Pittsburgh makes some sense because Russell's been humbled a lot, right?

And I also think what's he going to do? Go in there with T. Jay Watt and Mika Fitzpatrick and Cam Hayward and act kind of weird. Like it's not. And Mike Tomlin. And even Sean Payton kind of forced it. Like, hey, you just either got to ship in or ship out.

Now, ultimately, he was always going to ship him out. But I think that's a place that is just, I think it makes some sense. Because like you said, the standard, you can't roll back, can he picket. There's pressure on you to win. The AFC. I mean, you got Harbaugh now. The charges are going to be good. Yep.

The chiefs are a dynasty. even Miami that's got some question marks. Like their coach is pretty good. They can score on offense. They're going to be competitive. The Bills. The AFC is really, really hard. And then I think it'll be one of the defensive linemen.

You know, one thing talking to, it's always funny when you talk to pro scouts, because I always assume like, yeah, how's this organization? They're pretty impressive. They're like, yeah, I'm hearing some things. You know, you get that sometimes. We know the Rams, the Niners, the Chiefs, the Ravens. But then there are all these, like, the Dolphs. And one thing I heard is they got a lot of financial cap issues, right?

The Fangio thing was a disaster. A lot of theories at the combine, which makes sense. And you and I have talked about this, hard place to build a culture in Miami. When you have all these young guys in their 20s, beautiful women everywhere, social media, it's easy to find stuff going on. Vic Fangio had had enough. No one would listen to him there. His track record kind of speaks for itself.

He knows what he's doing. So Christian Wilkins, who's one of the better defensive tackles in the NFL, they're probably not going to franchise them because they can't afford them. Right. Because of their cap situation. Very good player. They're elite. And those type guys don't often, it's a second contract hit the open market.

Same thing with the defensive tackle, 92 for the Ravens. I screw up his name. I'd have got coach with the Ravens like, he's like John Randall. So if those type players hit the market, I mean, you're talking $70, 80 million guaranteed. And then, you know, the NFL contracts, you got to decipher him. probably $140 million contract. So anytime defensive lineman hit, offensive linemen usually don't.

You know, the Cowboys, Tyrone Smith, well, he's, what, 35 years old, he's been injured a million times. He's got the chiefs or someone will sign him to a one-year deal, but his name is bigger than what you can, but the young defensive lineman, who are four or five years in, they are going to get an astronomical amount of money

if they truly, Chris Jones, I mean, what Kansas City is going to have to pay them, like Ligerius, need who is a big time corner, but what are the chiefs prove? Well, we just drafted Trent McDuffie. Veach has proven he can draft DBs. So what will they do? I would imagine they're going to try to trade them to a team like the Lions, desperate for a DB. Hey, this guy can be your star DB. He's been a star for us. He's one. You know his character. You know he's smart. You give us your late first round

pick. Here's this guy. You give him $60, 70 million, guaranteed. Those are the type, and that's what happens at the combine, all those type discussions. But look at the Chiefs. They're in position where they can keep a guy, they can't trade a guy. And then you've got a team like the Dolphins, one of their best players that they can't even franchise because financially doesn't even make sense on their book. So a lot of different organizations who are, you know, struggling. One thing I noticed, just because I know so many people with the Chiefs, it turns out I know a a lot of people with the Ravens, the top seven, eight organizations are really just kind of competing with themselves. I know. Yep.

I mean, 10 organizations, you kind of walk around, you see people wearing the logo, you're like, you got no shot, you got no shot. And then a couple teams, if they hit, like the Texans are clearly on the come and moving forward. But a lot of teams, they're just getting that $400 million check from the league. They're making some money, but they have no shot in this league. One of the things I talked about last week on the show, I think it was last week or the week before I was on vacation. I said, yeah, I came back and I talked about this. My takeaway when they said every team got an additional $30 million in cap space because of the TV contracts. So that was a pleasant surprise to these cap-strained NFL teams. And my takeaway is you're going to see the same six, seven teams at the top because now Kansas City gets to, they could franchise tags need or move him. And they get a keep Chris Jones. And so San Francisco, a lot of discussion about what to do with Kittle. What do we do with both linebackers? Now you can keep them. And so I looked at that as the league becomes this surprisingly nimble revenue machine. All it does is make the NFL a bit more like college football where you kind of know the top six to eight programs annually. So I mean, The one team, I think, is very interesting as a breakthrough team is Washington because of all their cap space. I like their – I don't know if I love Dan Quinn.

I like the Kingsbury Dan combo. I think you have a very smart guy in the front office now. The GM. I like the cap space. I like their weapons. It's just – I increasingly think Jaden Daniels is going to get picked over Drake May. And I'm going to pivot to that in a second. But there's very few, if I said to you, give me Houston this year.

Like, give me, because if you really look at what happened, take Cincinnati because they would have been good with Burrough, they always are. The only surprise in the late green, I mean, Detroit wasn't a surprise. I picked them to win the division. You did everybody did. We knew they were good and loaded. The only surprise was Houston. If I said, give me the Houston, the only one I can look at is Washington and the cap space is a big part of it. Yeah, I think it would be more like you.

would pick Green Bay is going to win the Super Bowl. It'd be one of those teams that was a first or second, or the Rams, Super Bowl. It'd be that team that's already kind of, that was won and done. This year takes a big step and it's a 13, 14 win seed, competing to be the number one seed. That's back to what I said about the group. Like, it's, the lions are really well run now. I met a guy who was out to lunch with one of my buddies from the Eagles, the Packers, one of their like number two guys comes over. You're just like, God, this guy's impressive. No wonder they're well run. And you just see some of these other people. You hear

some stories that these guys, you just this league like most industries, the best people usually work for the best teams. And when the shitty teams hire good people, look at what the Lions did. That GM they hired from the Rams is clearly really good. Yes. And Dan Quinn,

is he ever going to be really the mold he's in and the umbrella he's under, he's not a Shanahan McVeigh because he's not a true play caller. He's much more like a hardball brother. He's more of a leader. And you got to give him credit. He's a good coach hire. Look, he hired, and this is where you get credit, Ben Johnson. I'd never heard of Ben Johnson three years ago. And you get a lot of credit for doing that. Like, one thing that was clear with the Eagles,

I've been around him and own these people 15 years. They're a well-run organization. They had a bad year hiring two assistant coaches. Yeah. The two coordinators were whiffs. Well, what did they do? They went out and got Vic Fangio, and they're paying Kell and Moore a ton of money. They have no problem pivoting really fast. They don't go, well, let's just try to make this work. be like, no, you're gone. You're gone. And they're a little more cutthroat than some, but it's why they're able to turn things over and figure it out quicker

where some people hold on for dear life. And the Dan Quinn thing, like, I've known Adam Peters forever. I think Adam Peters is a superstar. I mean, I think he's... The GM. Yeah, Bob Myers, you know, John Lynch. He's in that mold of just kind of has it. Right?

His personality, he played at UCLA. He's worked for Belichick, John Elway, and John Lynch. Yeah. I mean, those are three guys. He's got rings multiple different. teams and was a big part of two Super Bowl teams with the 49ers. I think what Washington's looking for is this isn't apples to apples. But when Mark Jackson took over the Warriors, the Warriors had been shitty for a couple

decades. He just got the train on the tracks. I think they just looking for Dan Quinn. Just get us competitive. We'd love for you to be one of the best coach in the league. But if you just get us in a couple years, we're just winning nine or ten games. That's where I think the Giants are in a little trouble. When you look at that division.

Cowboys are well-run. Obviously, the Eagles have proven. They're pretty consistent in their ability to find talent. Washington's going to be dramatically better than they've been for 20 plus years. So the Giants have a lot of question marks, starting with their quarterback, which is an Albatross, awful contract. And the coach, let's face it, it was an impressive year his first year. Turns out him and the defensive coordinator couldn't stand each other two years ago. He walked out of the building.

A lot of coaching turnover in that building, and the talent is just not great. Kind of wrapping up the combine. I want to talk about this. You know, when I was younger, you know, some women you date and some you look at and think, you know, this could be long term. You could marry. And that's okay. Women look at men just the same way. Some you date, some you marry. And I've thought about this for a long time as I watched the combine and listened to all the quarterback talk. If you told me Michael Panics gave me four years, I would draft him if I was a team that was just sort of stuck. If I was Sean Payton and somebody said, he's available. It's funny. Whereas everybody else is viewed as a long-term solution, this league now, by Thanksgiving of year two, people in the building are making decisions on quarterbacks.

I mean, I think the Giants coaches, they're not Daniel Jones fans. Marais. There's some sort of weird connectivity to Eli Manning and Daniel Jones, Southern kids, tall, dark hair, whatever. But I sort of look at Michael Pennix, and I'm like, not every quarterback you draft has to be Brady. If you're in, Washington's in chaos. Now, they're not going to get him with that pick, obviously. But if you start looking where Pennix could fall to. Is it two of the best example with Miami?

He's not great, but he's just, you just stabilize the franchise. Like, I see Pennix in terms of throwing the football. you know, big, strong kid, he's not going to run. He's clearly a pocket guy. What are you hearing about him? Because, you know, he came out, his hand size, his wingspan. I watched him live. He throws up the sideline like a 12-year pro. Like, he is really a side. You know, a lot of these quarterbacks, like, bow necks I like, doesn't throw a good deep ball. Pinnock's was a great deep ball. He's not going to move at all. What are you hearing? You know, I think Daniel Jeremiah said it yesterday when he was throwing. He throws the most beautiful ball here by far. Of the quarterbacks they were throwing, I mean, half of them

didn't throw. I had friends. I remember watching him a lot. I remember the game you went to and watching that game, thinking like, this is a top 10 pick and started texting around. A lot of people had them in the second and third rounds. Now, when you're a scout, you're closer to it, right? You have all the in-depth medical information. He had basically not completed four straight years, and a couple of those were shoulders. So if you've been scouting for 10, 15 years, that terrifies you. And then in the game against Oregon, in both games against Oregon, and definitely the game against Michigan, which are his best competition and NFL-level players everywhere on the other side of the ball,

he had to be picked up and kind of carried. So physically he's not, his arms are really long and his hands are huge. But he's not a very, I don't want to call him slender. To me, Jaden's more slender. But Jaden's much, Jaden's an elite athlete so he can get away. My Pennix is not a lot like Tua. Their pocket quarterbacks. They're not mobile guys.

They can move a little bit, but you're not running them at all. So I think the size, and he did not play well in that Michigan game, and that's an NFL team. And he had an NFL team in terms of his wide receivers. So I think you could find people like myself. Again, I'm just a couch scout now that went like, I'm with you. I've seen enough shitty quarterbacks in the NFL. If you're Sean Payton just a couple of years,

figured out, can this guy have you competing for the playoffs? And I have a lot of people that go, I wouldn't touch them in the NFL. first round. So he is easily one of the most polarizing guys. Because ultimately Jaden McDaniel or Jaden Daniels and Drake May, they're going two and three in some order. Even Caleb. He's not polarizing at all. He's going number one.

Bo Nicks polarizing a little bit, but he's still going to go pretty high. Yeah. I think, and J.J. McCarthy, a guy people are having a lot of discussions on, is going to get drafted high. I bet you go in some draft rooms and they'll have this guy in the third round and other draft

rooms that have them, you know, competing to be a top 20 pick. I like them because accuracy always matters. Deep ball and this NFL matters. If this was 1992 and we had to play the Cowboys, the 49ers, and the Packers, and Reggie White was tackling, I'm like, this guy's going to get broken in half. The quarterback doesn't get touched that much.

I've seen Brock Ferdie. He's not that big. Doesn't really get touched. I got a lot of small quarterbacks. Right? It's just even some of, Kyler Murray didn't get injured in terms of tearing his ACL tackled, he tore it running. And Michael Penix is not a runner. So the offensive line's going to matter like it will with any young quarterback. But I like Michael Penix. But I don't think a lot of NFL teams, I think a lot of NFL teams lean second day draft pick. Yeah. Andy Reid goes to the Combine,

McVe, Shanahan, not interested. What is that? I think Andy Reid, one defense I've heard of the Shanahan's and the McVease and McCarthy is this events become commercialized. They like prodding around their coaches and almost profiting off them and it pisses off that crew of guys, which I push back and say the reason you guys make $12, $15 million is the commercialization of the NFL. Like, welcome to the deal, guys. Yeah. They also would say, well, I still zoom in to all the interviews at night.

So when we interview 10 guys at night, I'm sitting right there on the computer. and any human being would say it is not the same that being there. Andy Reid told me none of this matters, right? The workouts, the medical I have nothing to do with as the head coach is out of my hands. The only thing that I come here for is when that guy walks into the room, Trent McDuffie, and for the first time I meet him and get to talk to him and just get a feel for. Been to the league long enough, just like all those guys, I get to introduce myself and talk to him and see how he interacts with my coaches.

We tape that too. But you've interviewed people. What's your reaction interviewing someone for your show when they're on Zoom or when you're sitting next to them in person? When you're interviewing someone for the volume in person at, you know, meeting them for lunch, then a telephone call. It's dramatically different. And these are million dollar investments. So I don't agree with them not coming. And I understand some of the stuff.

You're not obligated to talk to the media. You don't have to go to that little thing that Andy goes to. Belichick never did, never went. He still showed up for all the other stuff, the football stuff, which is very important. One thing for the 49ers, like, they've hit on a lot of picks in the third, fourth, and fifth round. They've missed on a lot of high picks. So, you know, if Andy Reid's going to be there, if Belichick went for 40 years, Pete Carroll

never missed it, there's definitely some value there. And I'm not, these guys aren't lazy individuals, but I do think they're wrong. I mean, who am I to tell them? But I just, there's a value there. Clearly, the best coach in the league. If you said, hey, there's a podcasting convention. Coward's going, Rogan's going, and Big Cat's going. Should I go? Probably.

It's like, what are we doing? You know, I would get if Kyle had just won the Super Bowl and he was off with his family, like, you lost. This draft's kind of big. McVeigh, you've been, they got knocked out in the first round. Right. But they just can't stay. I saw a less need somewhere. He didn't even go.

Like, it's not pinched pennies. This league's making so much money. I can't get behind the interview meeting these guys because it is important. And then you talked a lot of it. Then what happens in the middle of the season? Oh, this guy can't learn. This guy can't figure it out. I thought this guy, well, you had the opportunity to meet the guy.

Right. You could have controlled some more of it. So coaches are always quick to complain when they don't want to do some of this. And in fairness, like this is not the combines more about the scouting staff. But ultimately, once the guy's drafted, the coaches around them a lot more than the GM and the scouts. Yeah. No, it's interesting. I'd less needs take was, you know, we do things a little different around here.

I don't have any. My guess was a lot of the young coaches feel like it's an old boys network. You know, like when McVeigh decided I'm not going to play any starters in the preseason and got, you know, some pushback. And then they went eight and no to start the season. And now the young guys, now Bruce Ariens, when he coached, wanted to play starters. Belichick did. Andy did.

But the young coaches, it was like Robin Hood. All the young coaches followed McVeigh. They didn't want to play any of their starters. So I do think there's a division of coaches in the NFL. There's been McVeigh and Lefleur and Shanahan, Rahim Morris. You know, they see the world a little bit differently. Well, that's Shanahan crew for sure. Well, look at all the Parcells guys.

Parcells, Sean Payton, there. Dan Campbell, Parcells under Sean Payton, there. So I think whoever all Andy Reid's guys go to this. Pete Carroll's guys go to this. Dan Quinn was there. So I think whoever your mentor is, if Kyle's not going, I don't need to get. McVeigh's not going, I don't need to go.

Not quite sure on McCarthy. He should probably be there. But Jerry Stephen, that's a little bit of a unique organization. Like, Bain asking McCarthy's opinion, they're going to take whoever they want to take anyway. Robert Salah was a guy. who didn't want to go. And I think some articles were written,

like, you guys aren't good enough to not show up, and he ended up showing up. 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 them. I'm so great. 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. 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 Podcasts, 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-tap 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, so. Thank you finishing that sentence. Yes. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. 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. You know, I had Ian O'Connor on, great author. He's wrote Belichick, Derek Jeter Book, Captain, the rise in rain of Mike Shoshavsky.

He's writing an Aaron Rogers book, Out of the Darkness, which it comes out in September. I cannot wait to read that book. and I think the Jets, I think, first of all, I think Aaron's a very complex, fascinating pro athlete. You know, he's got a little bit of the smartest guy in the room thing, but he's a smart guy. So that's who Aaron is. I've said this before, and I said it last year, I didn't pick him as a playoff team. They got to be good early because that Jets situation, when that McCull Hardman came thing out, he said basically, yeah, I've been with the Chiefs. I've been with the Jets.

You guys don't have to believe me, but I know what winning looks like, and that ain't it, and that offense is just making shit up as they go with Aaron. I got to tell you, you don't have to be a great player to have great access. Like, I thought that was damning. By the way, you could tell it was because multiple jets fired back at a guy who had one catch as a jet. What did you make of that? Well, I said this when the season ended. I am 100% not falling for them again.

I will not pick them to make the playoffs. I don't even give a shit who they sign or draft. I'm not buying it. No chance. None. I think the Rogers thing, five plays or whatever it was, but if you've watched him for a long time,

you could tell he wasn't quite as quick. And you're telling me, and this is the thing with the cousins, Cousins doesn't move outside of a two-yard radius. Rogers' greatness, and the reason you give a first-round pick for a guy 39, and you're paying all this money to was all the ad-libbing and the movement stuff on top of the arm and the accuracy. That's gone.

I'm betting against that. And then the other thing is the organizational, no one I know thinks Nathaniel Hackens any good. And that's not even factoring in. Rogers tells him everything to do. So you got this guy that is not some natural talent. You talk to people in the NFL, and I do agree with this, is most coaches on offense, If you just get a quarterback coach, no coverages and no schemes. There is like an innate ability to call plays.

Some guys have it. Some guys do not. A lot of people have personalities. If you put a microphone in front of them, could they carry a show for an hour? Probably not. But some people would be able to. Just like Shane Stuyken had it. Brian Johnson this year, the Eagles found out, does not have it.

Both of them could get on a whiteboard and tell you different things, right? And you'd be like, God, this guy knows a lot of football. So Nathaniel Hackett is not viewed that way. Rogers kind of is, but he's kind of like this LeBron James figure where he always gets his way. Well, you're not quite the same player. And then there are these weird dynamics in the organization. I mean, the athletic article coming out, people, whatever there is, that never happens to Andy Reid. Why?

Because everyone respects everyone. A lot of organizations, when people don't respect each other, they start stabbing each other in the back, self-preservation. Well, it's like a White House. If there's a lot of leaks, it tells you everything you know about the president of the White House. it's chaotic. And that to me was on full display. And in fairness to everyone in there, if you're leaking, you're like, this is all going down. So you're like, I'm going to get some stuff out there.

And that's what's happening because you realize right away, Aaron can't save us. And even if he was 100% healthy this year, do they make the playoffs? The old line was terrible? Probably not. Well, their own line's not going to be that much better. Their talent's not that great. I think they're headed for complete implosion and a complete disaster. and a lot's going to have to do with a guy.

We've seen it with these other older quarterbacks of his generation, Manning and Breeze. The moment they lost, and those guys weren't dependent on movement at all, but their arms just went, it was done. Roger's arm's still going to be solid. If he can't move, he's going to be much closer to the 15th overall guy than he is the 6th or 7th. And then you've got a problem because they're not good enough to overcome that. Go look at old quarterbacks. So Stafford had Whitworth, Andrew Whitworth, Stafford had a good O-line, older quarterback, won a Super Bowl with the Rams. Brady had a good O-line.

They drafted, they were weak at right tackle Tristan Worf's, won a Super Bowl. Russell and Denver, with Peyton, decent O-line, had a decent year. Rogers' bad O-line out in four snaps. O-lines are significantly more important to older. quarterbacks and that there's no question. By the way, Whitworth retires, Stafford gets hurt and the wheels come off. Then last year, they shore, you know, they get Dotson from the Steelers, they draft another guard, they shore up their middle, they're good enough at center, and Stafford's good again. So I don't think you can say what you want. I mean, to me,

an offensive line matters much less for a hyper athletic quarterback in the first three or four I mean, Kyler Murray made the playoffs running for his life. Russell Wilson never had, they had Tom Cable. Russell Wilson never had great O'Lines in Seattle. In his prime, he got to two Super Bowls. The weakness was the offensive line. That Jets O'Line, let's say they get the third best left tackle, because about eight will get picked in this draft. That guy's, Andrew Thomas of the Giants, is excellent.

He wasn't ready to play as a rookie. These left tackles, none of these guys are great. Trent Williams, Tyrone Smith was for the Cowboys. Outliers. Even successful left tackles, scrap until Thanksgiving. The game is just so fast. The best athletes outside a wide receiver in this league are arguably Russians. So I just think they're going to get a left tackle.

He'll be fine. The rest of the O-line is makeshift. Elijah Barrettucker is never healthy. I think it's going to be a mess. And the other thing is that that city, like Philly, is unlike anything else. And there is a massive bullseye on that organization with Aaron. And just with this operation now, these articles coming out. Like, everyone's paying attention.

So all of a sudden, you're two and four. I mean, we're talking about Robert Sala if they are under 500 throughout the season getting fired in the middle of the season. That's very possible. All of a sudden, Gerard Mayo beat you on Halloween with some random quarterback. and you fall to four and six. You're done. Good luck.

See you later. And Roger starts acting weird. Everyone starts pointing the fingers. That's what happens in New York. You know, it's interesting. It's just, you can see it coming from a mile away with this team. It's interesting. So Brady had some wants when he went to Tampa.

But what he wanted, he wanted Gronk, a winning player that still had juice in the tank. He wanted A, B. You know, a winning player. who could make plays. Aaron befriends like Randall Cobb or an offensive lineman who's rotational or Nat Hackett. Like, I understand an older quarterback wanting to bring an ally. Like, I totally get it on that side of the ball. Coaches do it all the time. Yeah. Just bring a guy that can play. It's like Aaron. Alan Lazzard, Randall Cobb, and Nat Hackett. I mean, Brady came out and said, listen, I need my security blanket.

Even Leonard Fournett, you know, Brady apparently just said, listen, he's a veteran, he's a little undervalued, he'll be fine. He's a grown up. But they were producing in playoff games for the guy. All the guys Rogers brought over, if they were good, could not have produced. They would have been, you know, kicked to the side for younger players. They weren't good enough to, if the team had, if he had been healthy to help them compete. That was clear when they were bad.

So I'm with you. I mean, he likes these guys. Randall Cobb was a really good player. 10 years ago, eight years ago. It's been a while. And the other thing with Gronk, they already had break. He got to kind of rotate in and out. Yes.

And also help teach everyone else the offense with Tom and kind of his quirks. Yeah. It's just, it's interesting is Brady is always strategic. And it felt like Aaron wanted to be comfortable. Tom wanted to be great. You know, Tom's standard is Super Bowls. Tom still had that fire. Tom wanted to be great.

You know, you wouldn't take Nat Hackett. Nobody, I don't think Aaron thinks he's great. I mean, you watched Aaron Roger's reaction multiple times this season because the camera was always on him. Keep shaking his head. Constantly. So, like, Aaron's no dummy. He knows. So it's like, I don't know, it's, you know, I'll say this about like LeBron James.

You know, LeBron James, he wanted Chris Bond. and Dwayne Wade and Kyrie and Kevin Love and Anthony Davis. LeBron's got no loyalty if you can't play. He'll bring his guys, but, you know, he'll bring clutch sports. He'll bring. So, you know, I think, you know, the great players, not only are they strategic, but you've got to elevate them. Like Aaron brought over guys that, I don't know if he drinks, but like, it sounds like they were like drinking buddies or like poker buddies. It's like, Aaron, it's just, you're going to.

going up against Buffalo, Belichick's not good enough. Well, compare that, like how big that headline was last year, Rogers to the Jets and the way everyone talked about it, to now this year's version, it's not a quarterback, it's a coach, Harbaugh of the Chargers. I didn't meet one person at the Combine that didn't go. They're going to be good. This year might be a little bit of a transition.

They got some cap stuff. We'll see how these next couple months play out. But even people, like, I bet he'll figure some of that out and they'll draft enough guys. They're a playoff team next year. No one. I mean, they had 18 guys at the combine. 18.

They had six offensive linemen. You can only play five at one time. This guy, I mean, he's, the Chargers, that is a, that's a team. And on the opposite side, and listen, I know you worked with them. I've never met them. I always, when it comes to someone in football who supports you, and Antonio Pierce, obviously, as a player was really good. Marvin Lewis, really high-level guys.

is his guy and Tom Coughlin loves him. He's a good foot. Antonio Pierce is a good football guy. Being a head coach is a little different animal. And he's been talking a lot. You do know you're going, you got the big version of Andy Bill Walsh right now in Kansas City. And you got Jim Harbaugh,

who's been winning now for 20 plus years at every freaking level. And Sean Payton got paid $90 million for a reason. Like, it's just, it's going to be very, very difficult. So you almost see most people I know think the Raiders are in trouble, not because they even think Antonio Pierce is like some idiot. It's just that's just going to be difficult. And his natural reaction is kind of a little more player talking a lot. It's not really how coaches operate.

And then everyone's like, thinks the charges are going to just be good quick. Yeah, I mean, it's one of the things I've really come to terms with the NFL, there's a saying when you have kids, you don't have any yet. Don't know if you plan to. But the saying, and it's really true is the days are long, but the years fly by. You look up and your kids are like 18. My son had his 18th birthday the other day, and it feels like a few years ago we were at Disneyland on rides laughing our butt off. One of the things I think I've come to terms with is week to week the NFL has surprises, but by the end of the year, it's the same seven to eight coaches and quarterbacks. And, you know, week to week, you're like, oh, my God, I can't believe that team.

You know, owners are going to propose an 18 game schedule here over the next calendar year. I don't think proposed. I think it's coming. So when you have 18 weeks in the NFL, you're just going to have guys beat up. Good teams are going to have bad weeks. I mean, the chief scuffed. I mean, look at the Niners. They got housed by the Ravens.

I mean, it just didn't even show up. So I think the NFL is getting more predictable. I don't think it's a bad thing necessarily for ratings or consumer interest. But that salary cap going up just ensures the really good teams. So what it ensures is the good teams can keep the guys. guys they may have had to move. And the bad teams will overspend in the free agent market. That's the guarantee. Bad teams will overspend, good teams will smartly spend and retain good players. So I think I've already gone through kind of my predictions with all the coaching

hires stuff. After free agency, unless, you know, Atlanta is the one team based on who they land at quarterback. I would significantly alter. I would have them win to the division if they got Russell Wilson or Kirk Cousins. I could win the division. Outside of that, I feel like I'm taking Buffalo, Cincinnati, Baltimore, AFC South's a little wonky. I'll take Kansas City Chargers. I think Washington's going to be the surprise team. I'll take Dallas, Washington, Philadelphia pulls back. I'll take Detroit, Green Bay, San Francisco Rams, and I'm totally comfortable with all that. I mean, so you basically have one or two swings, and that's how it basically is. So everyone talks worse from first, worse for first.

It's usually an injury-based. That happens a lot when you have, or a team with a lot of injuries. The Niners have been to the conference championship for the last five years. In 2020, they lost half their team to injuries. It wasn't like the coach and the organization didn't know what happened. The Bengals missed the playoffs this year because their quarterback played like seven games, you know. This isn't a very complicated. I'm telling you, it was eye-opening at the Combine, talking to just Vech and Andy.

and I've known these guys forever. These organizations, like even Sean Payton, Sean Payton's really good. I'm a believer in them. They got some questions internally in the organization. I mean, sitting next to a guy when the camera goes to him, which is his new hire from personnel guy from the Saints. You know, is he forcing out?

There's just a lot of moving parts as you're taking organ or the chiefs have none of that. The Rams have none of that. You replace a coach here and there. But like the organization is the way you want in players, everything, the Ravens, everything so. streamlined. It's like Amazon. There's no just question marks. It's just and some of these organizations are just trying to walk straight and chew gum at the same time. John Midlakov, former NFL Scout, three and out the volume. Good stuff. We wrapped up the

combine. Next time we talk, it'll be more about quarterbacks moving. There's a lot of discussion about this stuff's going to happen very quickly and it always comes out before March 13th. As always, buddy, good seeing you. Buckle up, Colin. See you soon. The volume. Thanks so much for listening. If you've enjoyed the podcast, take a moment, rate, and review. Another podcast from some SNL late-night comedy guy, not quite.

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