The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Colin Cowherd Podcast - Colin on KD's Baffling Mistake, Pats Insider Tom Curran on Mac Mania & Belichick's Post-Brady Revival

Episode Date: November 18, 2021

Colin dives into why Kevin Durant-to-the-Nets is becoming the weirdest decision in sports history (3:00), why Zac Taylor's gambling comments haven't raised a single eyebrow (7:00), and the major statement Michigan State made by giving Mel Tucker a huge contract (9:00). Then - one of Colin's favorite guests - Patriots Insider Tom Curran of NBC Sports Boston comes on to discuss why Mac Jones' early success took him by surprise (13:00), why Belichick's system has bounced back (15:00), what the Patriots' offense is still missing (25:00), how much the Pats regretted letting Brady get away (28:00), the reason why the Falcons are already outmatched for their Thursday game against New England (30:00), why Belichick's competitors are actually making his job easier (32:00), the worst possible matchup for the Patriots (34:00), and what Brady and Belichick might say to each other today (37:00).Make sure to Subscribe and follow Colin and The Volume on Twitter for the latest content and updates and check out FanDuel for the best wagering and daily fantasy action! Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The volume. 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. On the Look Back at it podcast. From 1979, that was a big moment for me. 84 was big to me. I'm Sam J.

And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick a year, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. With our friends, fellow comedians, and favorite authors. Like Mark Lamont Hill on the 80s. 84 was a wild year. It was a wild year. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart 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, Clever 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, unfiltered 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 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. With Windows 11 and Intel, you get the power to work with more speed, and you can arrange all your Windows, programs, and apps the way you want to see them with Snap Assist. Windows 11 and the Intel Evo platform make working from wherever better. Learn more at Windows.com. Meet Anna Delvey. You may think she's an audacious entrepreneur, or a complete con artist.

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at 877-7-88-6966. Or visit us online at homeinstead.com slash IHeart. Colin Coward Podcasts presented by Fandual Sportsbook. No better place to bet the action than on Fandual Sportsbook during the football season. There's a lot of reasons. It's America's number one sports book. Incredibly easy to use. Super safe, totally secure.

Super fast payouts. In as quick as two hours, you're not going to get that anywhere. Also, same game parlay bets, live betting. it's the best. Hey, if you're new, just download the Fandul Sportsbook app. I did it in 15 seconds. Get started now. Sign up. Please use the promo code, Colin, so they know we sent you. Please use the promo code Colin, C-O-L-I-N. Fand-O-Sportsbook app, sign up. Hi, everybody. Welcome in to the Thursday morning podcast, usually the Wednesday morning podcast. But I had three hours of sitting in a dental chair yesterday. You did not want to hear me. Before I get to Tom Curran who covers the Patriots, we're going to talk some Mac Jones. You know, there are certain times when the media goes overboard on stuff.

Like OBJ, the drama between the Browns and the destination landing spot, the Rams, it's really, he's at best the number two receiver for the Rams. The media has given up more coverage than it deserves. And that happens a lot where the media covers something. It's a player that's interesting, a player that's dramatic. You know, OBJ is just not changing games in the NFL. He's not changing lines. But he is a unique player.

L.A. Rams are an aggressive franchise. The Browns are historically a tire fire. And then there's times that the media doesn't cover something. And I'm shocked by it. I could not believe, and I said it, and I've said it 15 times, when Kevin Durant left a dynasty for the Brooklyn Nets. I thought it was a staggeringly horrible decision. the best arguably after LeBron, the best player in the league, leaving a dynasty, the best run organization for a losing culture, the Brooklyn Nets with no great history, and choosing Kyrie Irving flaky to his core over Steph Curry, the most selfless superstar NBA player probably of my life.

Now you're seeing as Curry goes into Brooklyn drops 37 and the crowd is chanting MVP for an opposing party. player. I have no idea why Katie did this. There is no comp in the history of sports where a player could have stayed with a dynasty. The dynasty had all of its parts, was a significantly, brilliantly run organization, and leaves for an inferior point guard that had baggage and an inferior organization and inferior momentum. You're seeing it now play out. Stephen A. Smith finally addressed it the other day, almost post-mortem. Like the Nets feel like they're sort of, right? They're sort of dead.

Hardin's not the same player due to a rule change. Kyrie's not available. They still really don't have a great bench. I don't know why it wasn't covered. I think it's the most undercovered sports story in the last couple of years. It is unbelievable to me that Kevin Durant. Do you realize if Kevin Durant stayed, they would have drafted Jordan Poole. right? That was the draft after he left. Well, they would have draft him had he stayed. You would have

KD. Jordan Poole is a borderline all-star, Steph, Clay, and Draymond. Now, James Wiseman, that pick you wouldn't have had. That was a number one pick because you tanked. But the media overcovers many things. I'd be the first to admit it. We have under, I haven't, but the media has undercover how unbelievably regrettable KD's decision was to go to Brooklyn. This week, there was an interesting moment during a press conference when Bengals head coach Zach Taylor said that he enjoys every couple of years going to Vegas and doing nothing but playing craps for 72 hours. No dinners, just craps, no shows. And I thought to myself, that's what he should do if he wants to ease the stress of coaching. Can you imagine saying that

five years ago. Tony Romo in 2015 wanted to hold his fantasy football convention in Vegas and was told by the league he couldn't. It's amazing in this country what we fear. Gay marriage. It looks ridiculous now that for years and years that was in some eyes taboo. Sports gambling. Folks, it's a $4 billion industry before.

the Supreme Court ruled it was legal. They're doing it in Europe in stadiums for years. Legalization of pot. Did you know anybody that wanted to get high that couldn't? The things 20 years ago that we feared in America, you look at them now and it's embarrassing. If you ever fear something, ask yourself, what am I actually afraid of?

What were you afraid of in gay marriage? What were you afraid of that the world would become a bunch of potter? heads. Anybody that wanted to get high was getting high. And people that don't smoke pot, remember, 30% of Americans don't drink. Just because you legalize drinking, there's still going to be 30% of people that don't drink. 70% of America's never smoked pot. They're not going to rush to the store to smoke it once it's legal. And the fact that we feared gambling, anybody that wanted to put 50 bucks in a football game was doing it. Whenever you fear something, what are you truly fearing that all of our athletes who are making millions a year would be throwing games again

Europe was ahead of us on gay marriage Europe was ahead of us on legalizing pot Europe was ahead of us on gambling in sports take a deep breath there's nothing to fear I was thinking about this Mel Tucker is close to signing a nine to ten million dollar a year contract with Michigan State Michigan State has always been sort of a very solid tier two program You know, one Rose Bowl win since the 50s. And, you know, if you're a great coaching prospect, you can leave Michigan State and go to a tier one program like a Bama, like Nick Saban did or an LSU.

What Michigan State is saying is what Oregon did about 20 years ago. Oregon about 20 years ago, Phil Knight stepped in as a booster and said, we want to go from a tier two program to a tier one program, which Oregon is now. We'll pay whatever it takes with facilities, stadium, marketing, merchandising, uniforms, coordinators, and coaches. So now when you have an Oregon job, I laugh at these people that say Mario Cristobal would go from Oregon to Miami. Oregon's a better job than Miami. Miami now is actually a tier two job.

Why? Doesn't matter about its history. Nebraska used to be a tier one job. It's now a tier two job. Oregon used to be a tier two job. Now it's a tier one job. What does that mean? You don't go from Oregon to another college job.

It can pay $7, $8 million a year. you can win and compete for national championships. People have Mario Cristobal leaving. To Miami? Why would you go to Miami? The last four coaches have bombed. It's a pro sports town. Lukewarm fan interest.

Leukwarm administration interest. They don't pay top dollar. And frankly, if you're going to be in that part of the country, just go coaching the SEC. You can pay coordinators in the SEC $2 million. What are the Miami Hurricanes going to pay a top defensive coordinator? You know what? The budget, about $600,000 in Miami, a big city. So I love what Michigan State's doing.

They're saying, we're going to pay a coach $9 to $10 million a year. We want Michigan State to be Notre Dame, a northern elite program. There are not many of them anymore. Ohio State is Michigan, despite losing more than people think they should win, they're going to win 10 games for the fourth time during Jim Harbaugh's reign this year. That's a tier one program. Michigan may be the bottom, bottom end of a tier one program, but it's still viewed as a better program than Michigan State. Michigan went and got their coach from the NFL.

He'd been to a Super Bowl. Michigan State got theirs from Colorado, a second tier PAC 12 program. But Michigan State is making a big, big statement by fending off LSU and USC to pay Mel Tucker $9 to $10 million a year and have a and facilities. The last program that made this kind of financial commitment that was a tier two program was Oregon. All right, we bring in Tom Curran, who's been a Patriot insider for NBC Sports Boston. When I lived in the Northeast, there's a lot of Patriots and Red Sock Talk. And he was the guy I really relied on very quickly. If Tom said it, it was true, covering the Patriots in the NFL since the 90s, mid to late 90s, and try to bring him on a few times a year. And I thought this was really

an interesting time because, you know, you get these narratives and they stick. And Tom, I want to start, it might take away on Mack Jones was he got the best landing spot. New England didn't give up picks to get him. Best coach in football, arguably best coordinator, always a top 10 offensive line, good running game. And they've done a good job, especially on the defensive side, to draft and develop players. And they'd spent some money on free agency. So my takeaway is, listen, there's some limitations on off script plays. He's not just in Fields.

But and if you look at the numbers, a lot of checkdowns, a lot of safe stuff. But he's gotten out of the crappy throw portion of the rookie quarterback. And that's a big thing. It's not that rookie quarterbacks can't play. But the first year to two of your career, it's that, oh, good hell, throw. And he had it for about a month. He didn't. He didn't.

He didn't. That's what's whacked about this. You seem very subdued. So let's ratchet it go. He never did it. It was crazy. And that's what I, look, I said, Colin, right before the draft when he was being bandied about, said the Patriots already have Mack Jones on the roster.

His name's Jared Stiddle. I didn't think he was going to be this freaking good. It was like he was shooting fished a barrel in Alabama. Then he gets here and he looks so good during minicamp. And I talk to people who are involved with the team and closely involved with Mac. And they tell me I've never seen a rookie this advanced. And he goes out and he beats back. What was actually a pretty good challenge from Camp Newton in training camp?

By every friggin' day, just making throw after throat, it intersected perfectly with where guys were supposed to be. Yeah, you're right. He had games against Carolina and the Chargers back to back. They were like, why are you getting jumping? What's with the happy feet? It's with the inaccurate throws. That's not you. And then he bounces back against Cleveland.

So to me, honestly, the thing about him as it relates to the other guys who came in, Mac plays like a five-year veteran. A good five-year veteran. Not a great five-year veteran, a good one. And I said this the other day. If you put all these five guys in a class and had Josh McDaniels teach it, and they passed in their tests every week, Mac would always be around 93. You might see Trevor.

It's around 88 at this juncture. You might see Justin Fields at 85. You might see Zach Wilson around 70. And Traleigh, it's around 72. But Matt would always be turning in 93s because he knows WTF he's doing out there at all times. It's wild. I think every great coach has a whole. And one of the power dynamic for coaches that win Super Bowls can change.

So Pete Carroll, Paul Allen, dies the owner. His sister, who's not a sports fan, takes it over. There's a weird power dynamic in Seattle the last couple of years where Pete is controlling the draft. And he's not a great drafter. Belichick, after maybe four, five Super Bowls, I was always told about January. He'd call off the scouts and say, I've got it from here. And I'd been very critical about Bill is that I don't think, I think each job is incredibly strenuously hard, coach and GM. And then I read a story, Tom.

It may have been from you about six months ago where he was going to back off a little and relinquish. some power in the draft. Well, they had a great draft. Three of their top four picks are starters and really high-end starters. Just address that because you've been one of the few voices in that area that has said, hey, man, we don't draft skill people very well. It's a hole in the franchise. What's wild is there is, I hate to say arrogance because it really connotes that, you know, piss on the underling's attitude. I don't think Bill has that. them. But in his, into his 60s, he is so confident in his system, in his ability, in his coaching staff's ability, and in the players that he selects that he's looking for a certain

kind of player. You remember a few years ago, Urban Meyer recounted a story at Ohio State, and he tells the players, he says, look, Bill Belichick told us he doesn't want to coach A-Holes anymore. He's going to coach players he likes to have. So that's why you see a guy like Jordan Richards in the second round from Stanford. Great guy. Well, you see Joanne Williams, a great personality in the second round out of Vanderbilt. Or Cyrus Jones in the second round, or Duke Dawson in the second round. Just this feeling that I can do what I want here with these picks because I feel confident

that I'm going to get it right because I'm not good at it. Well, there was a beautiful safety net in Tom Brady. But Bill felt like, you know, even the Seth Wickersham book. And it was even indicated to me, look, we can succeed. with just about anybody. Tom's great, but we have a system in place. And I think it got to a point where Bill's drafting guys from

different places, and whether it be Rutgers for a long stretch in Arkansas or Michigan. And he never had this wide neck, especially in the last decade. It brings in Elliot Wolfe and Nick Casario leaves and all of a sudden all those hats

that Nick wears where Bill and Nick would get into a room and say, who do you like? And Nick would never say, look, he wouldn't say poop if he had a mouthful half the time with Bill. He just did what Bill wanted. So now, and this was told to me too, Nick would only give his opinion if Bill went to him. And Nick didn't know what Bill's opinion already was. So that was a hard thing. So Bill didn't hear pushback.

And I think Bill voluntarily opened it up and said, we're going to collaborate a little bit more. But, you know, the owner talked about it. Bill talked about it kind of openly. They did. They opened it up and made it more collaborative. And I don't think, as you point out, it's not a coincidence. You're exactly right. I'm not going on to one.

This is a podcast. No, no, I love it. No, I mean, listen, Ramondre Stevenson's a home run. He's been terrific. A Baramore from Alabama who was good as a freshman at Alabama. I saw him as a freshman. I'm like, oh, my God, he's good. And then Max's been good.

So three other four, and Bill's not somebody that is just going to insert a really talented rookie into the starting lineup. These are players. These are really high. high-end players. And I've always said this. I loved Mike Holmgren. Bad drafter.

Pete Carroll's a Hall of Famer. Bad drafter. Belichick. You have to remove yourself emotionally from drafting. Coaches can generally, what will help me win now? GMs are like, okay, it's a developmental player. A.J. Dillon can't help us now. But he's going to be really good in 18 months.

And for Green Bay, you know, a coach would be like, I got Aaron. I don't need AJ Dillon. And the Packers are like, yeah, but Jamal Williams is a free agent in a year. You're going to need him. And so GMs draft differently. It can piss off your quarterback Aaron Rogers. It can drive the coach nuts. But generally speaking, GMs are better at the GMing than coaches are.

And that's what's interesting when the two are folded together because, you know, Bill's spending spree this offseason, Colin, is going to visit on him. You know, next offseason, for instance, J.C. Jackson is going to be a $90 million a year quarterback. They got nobody in the system who's J.C. Jackson level. Maybe he'll emerge. They've already picked up the 50-year option on Isaiah Win for $10 million. So he's played at a C-minus level all year, even though we had a decent game the other day.

You have some massive cap hits from Johnny Smith and Hunter Henry and Nelson Aguilar. So they're not going to be able to shop like they did. What they did, pushing that cart through the aisles and loading it up, that's what they're going to have to play with for a little while. 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.

Hey, this is Robert from the Stuff to Blow Your Mind podcast. Joe and I are both lifelong Star Wars fan, so we're celebrating May the 4th with a brand new week of fun, thought-provoking Star Wars-related episodes. Join us as we tackle science and culture topics from a galaxy far, far away, such as the biology of taun tons and wampas on the ice planet hot, or the practicality and corporate business sense of the Sith rule of two. Listen to Stuff to Blow Your Mind on the iHeart radio app, Apple Podcasts,

or wherever you get your point. podcast. 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 Jett. 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. Are you ready to amp up the excitement every college football Saturday this year? All right. It's called Colin Cowherd's Saturday spreads. It's on Fandle.

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You'll find what you need at eBay motors.com. They have over 122 million car parts and accessories in stock, all at the right prices. And that can help you turn your ride into something really tasty. The parts you need are just to click away at eBaymotors.com. Let's ride. Tom, there was reports, and I've said this, if you look at really who Mac Jones has beaten, it's Darnold, it's Zach Wilson twice, it's Mills in Houston. His big win is over Justin Herbert, where Mac had a 70-passer rating, no TDs, 18 completions.

So the next level for these young quarterbacks, all of them, be it Mahomes or Josh Allen, is, you know, beating other elite quarterbacks. Well, Dak, look, we can say, okay, well, he threw a crunch time pick six, but he answered that on the very next playoff with a touchdown for him. So, I mean, whether it be that or the Tampa Bay game, you've got two of the better quarterbacks in the league that he kind of went eyeball to eyeball with, and it broke the other way. So you're right. You're exactly right.

If you don't want to say whose pelts are on your belt, it's not those guys, but it's close. It's close. So there were talks, and I was thinking about this the other day, is that Belichick acknowledging, hey, man, drafting needs to be more collaborative. He lets go and they have a great draft. I think by going after OBJ and Nelson Aguilar, he may be acknowledging, you know, I'm not good at this college-wide receiver thing. And it does appear, I think New England has a ceiling, and that is that you've got to be able to score multiple ways in this league. You can't just do 13 play drives. And I do think they lack a leverage dynamic over the top. So the OBJ stuff from a source I trust said, they

really wanted him. They really were very interested. Where will they draft that position? Because I think Bill knows we've got to get faster on the perimeter. Where will they get that in your opinion. It's funny because I don't think OBJ would have been the field stretcher. OBJ was going to be Julian Edelman. He was going to come in here and work out of the slot and on those quick whip routes and be kind of that guy that you could use in the red zone to suck coverage away from Hunter Henry. And he's had a great year. But if you look at Kendrick-born Jacobi Myers, the element that's missing in both of their games, they're longer cut guys. They're 6162, skinny guys who are, as Brady used to point out to me, I talked to him about this.

It was really fascinating. I asked him, how come David Patton can't do what Troy does? Brady goes, look at his ass. What do you mean? He goes, look how high it is. He goes, Troy's lower cut. David has really long legs. So he can't be a quick mover inside the way Edelman is, the way OBJ is, those squat guys who could be really quick,

Amandola. So that's what they're missing. And if you get that, that'll bring the defense closer. It opens up the seam for the tight end. And it further opens up. It's a three-level situation. It's like geometry. If you're a threat in that zero to five-yard range where you're almost uncoverable,

then they start having to send somebody to you. There's nobody on the team calling right now that a defensive coordinator has to allocate two guys to. Nobody. Or one and a half guys. Nobody's making them stay up at night. The Patriots have to find a player that can make a defensive forward and their stay up at night. And they had it with Troy Brown and Dionne Branch. Even if those were household names, you knew.

This guy can go off for 8 for 150 if we're not careful. Patriots don't really have him. Yeah. Well, the Edelman was clearly that. Wes Welker was that. You know, it's interesting. I had said this that when Brady and Belichick divorce, Brady was going to win it initially, because he'd planned it for a year.

He picked his destination, and he caught the Patriots about 30% off guard. They were probably 70, 30, thought he would stay. So we knew it. But like the Warriors who lost KD, about 18 months later, you draft well, you develop well, smart people figure shit out quick. And I do wonder now, because I think it's a very positive place.

They've got their quarterback. They're winning. I do feel like about two weeks ago, New England felt like a playoff team. Do you think there was any self-doubt in the building last year at all that we made a huge mistake with Brady? Was there ever a moment of that? Yeah, yeah.

I think there was. I think there was doubt within the organization. I don't know how much rested with Bill. I know that he was desperate to find the answer, but whether it be we should have kept Tom, he was better than we thought. he was more difficult to replace than we thought he would be, or whether it was we had the guy, his name was Jimmy Garapolo, and we moved on. You know, there was rock kicking about that.

If you wanted to delve into the details, what would you have done to keep Jimmy Garapolo? I mean, you needed the Falcons to hold their lead. If you wanted to keep Jimmy Garoppolo, you needed the Falcons to hold the frigging lead. Because once you'd be eight to three, that was by Jim. no frigging way. If that game, Colin 31 to 10, then Jimmy Goropal is still freaking here.

But, you know, yeah, I think that there was doubt. I think there was doubt in this offseason as well. And I think the doubt really evaporated in June and July. I mean, I'm sitting there at those frigging practices. I swear to you, I think we talked then, showed you the stories where I'm like, you got to start Mac Jones. It's ridiculous. He's beating out Cam every single day. It's not a

coincidence anymore. And that's why I think it's so interesting to watch is when we talk about underrated and I did it too, you look at a guy like Mac Jones and you go, okay, that was nice. Do it again. Can't do that again. You can't fit it into that hole again with that noodle arm of yours. Do it again. I did it again. Okay, well, you just got drilled and got up from it. Can you do that again? he did that again. So it's this constant feeling that what you saw wasn't real makes you say, I don't think he's that good. Whereas whether it's Lawrence or Fields or Lance or Zach Wilson, it's all.

But when he fits into the suit, he's going to be so good looking. Meanwhile, you get this old guy over here in the men's warehouse suit. He's already looking pretty good. Yeah. You know, we talk a lot about Brady how long he'll play. But, you know, Bill's been a groundbreakinger for a lot of reasons. I mean, he literally's had two dynasties. Never happened ever in the NFL.

I watched this Mack Jones growth. And I think, God, Belichick could go well into his 70s. He's still nimble. He still loves it. He's still sharp as a tack. And the other thing is, here's the other thing, is that as the league, the coaching gets younger. I mean, he's really in a spot where, like, situationally, he's just better than a lot of these guys buy a lot. Why retire? I'm looking at this game tomorrow on Thursday or today,

as this will probably drop tomorrow. Bill Belichick on a short week versus first year head coach Arthur Smith on a short week. I don't care how smart Arthur Smith is. He is. all the logistics of getting ready for a game on a short week, all the things you have to cover. Those been doing it for 20 years or however one on Thursday night games have been around. Arthur Smith doesn't, nobody doesn't know yet about getting ready for a Thursday night game. It's just such a great point. It's a fish in a barrel.

You probably had guys working on Atlanta three weeks ago. Well, it's funny. You saw it with Cliff Kingsbury. His first year in the league, Tom, Kingsbury would have a great, scripted first half. And then they would just be ass in the second. They were just completely lost. And then in year two, as Kyler grew, you're like, okay, he's putting some games together.

This year was the first time. Third year, I'm like, oh, Cliff, this is a complete game. He's got adjustments at half. He's got scripted plays. Sean McVeigh. Sean McNeese never lost a game. He's let at half. But he is still not a great adjuster.

He comes in with a game and doesn't adjust. And, you know, it was funny. I've talked to people about broadcasting like this. As my industry's gotten younger, because as it's more corporate and corporations want profits, they're getting rid of seasoned reporters, newspapers are too, and it gets very young. So if a Tom Curran, as you age and you have this labyrinth of sources, it gets easier to break stories. I just look at Bellochuk and I think, look at this division. Robert Salon?

I mean, Brian Flores, they're kids. They're kids. And it takes so long to implement things. and the league is more transitory. You know, talking about this, too, it takes so long to develop a team because there's no double sessions. And OTAs are cut back. And padded practices are cut back.

So Bill knows how to skin that onion to get to the team that he wants to have. Whereas, I mean, they're so far behind. All of these teams are relative to where they would have been, even in 2014 or 15, because of the CBA, because of COVID, because of the limitations, because of the mindset. of young players coming in, which is fine. They're not going to, you know, you say jump, they say how high. It's not that way anymore.

So Bill has evolved, but he can meld those two approaches where he could still be the king in his fights. And when he goes, as you were saying, when he goes, there will never be anyone else like it that goes back with that institutional knowledge to the 70s. Look at home grid. He's a frigging contemporary, Bill. He's long gone. He's been gone for like 15 years.

He's home grid. Seriously. I think he's Bill's age, maybe 65, 64. He's got to be older. I'm Googling now while we talk. Google right now. Do it live. Well, podcasts or tape, but do it live to tape.

How old is my guess? 66 is my guess. Holy. You got him in the movie Cacoon. 73! Wow! Wow! He looks good for 70.

He's 15, 1948. So, yeah, so Bill is what, 52, 1952 or something? Yeah. Well, Bill's three years younger. They're our contemporaries. Look how long Mike Hombie can do you. Who is the AFC team that we think of as really good that New England, Mac Jones, Belichick actually really, really match up against?

See, I think Tennessee is a problem for. New England. I think they're a, because they're a ball control team if they got Derek Henry back. So you've got a massive pressure without blitzing on Mac Jones. They get pressure with four. I think Tennessee is the last team they want to play. I think, okay, that's interesting. I think they match up really well with Baltimore, bad secondary, and Lamar is a slow starter.

You take a lead on them. You control, you can, you can death by a thousand cuts in a bad. secondary. Like for anybody else, I mean, to me, the bad matchups, Tennessee. Tennessee is exactly right, because of the toughness and physicality

and the way they're built. And it's not a coincidence that the number of guys who have shared experience with Belichick, whether it be Tom Kaufman or Brian Flores, freaking Matt Patricia, you name it. The only guy who's got shared background

with Bill that Bill had mastery over with Bill O'Brien. That's it. I mean, Jeannie used to have enough success against Belichick with a lesser team. Yeah. You know, okay. So there is that element of they understand how

to attack things with Bill. I mean, Patricia won against Belichick with that Lions team in 2018. Yeah. Didn't they blow them out? And Tennessee blew them out the same year. Yeah.

It's, so, yeah, it's Tennessee. I mean, even when they had Brian Hoyer playing quarterback last year against Kansas City and Mahomes started, they had a plan that kept that game kind of close. Just Hoyer had a bad game. They beat Baltimore last year when they were a bad team. The level of coaching that they get, you know, to go 7 and 9 with the roster they had last year,

with absolutely positively zero tight ends, and Jacoby Myers has their best and only throwing threat or receiving threat. It's absurd. The coaching, it was a three-win team. Three-win team. Do you think if Brady and Belichick sat down today, how would it go? It's funny.

I was talking to somebody about that earlier today, Colin. I think that they both are exactly where they want to be in that meeting that they had for about 20 minutes after their game was probably really cathartic for both of them. You know, Belichick didn't do it on the field where everybody could. see him, he went into the Tampa Bay locker room after the game, knowing that after a night game, your entire team wants to get the hell out of there, get on the buses, get on the plane, and fly back wherever it is, because it's the middle of the night.

But they took 20 minutes and sat there and talked, and Belichick likes to tie things off. And the Patriots at that point still hadn't gotten to a place where they were building momentum. They might have been one in two or one and three at that point. Either way, that was important to Bill because he kind of needed Tom inside the tent, P and out as opposed to outside the tent P and in. So they had the race. Brady loves to have closure. And you even see this with the man in the arena and the Drew Blitz.

So revisionist history that's going on with that was a contentious time. Yeah. Well, that didn't roll over. He handled it as classily as anybody. possibly could have, but he didn't say, wow, I guess the kid's good. He can take it. Cut it out. So, I think that they are both where they want to be, Colin, to answer the question. They're both where they want to be. Bill's on to his next guy and Trump's where he wants to be. Tommy, that's all I need, 25 minutes. You're so good. You're so great. All I want is 20, yeah, 25 minutes of Tom Kern. I'm happy. I got all my insight. You're the best, man.

All right, buddy. Well, maybe someday we'll sit down. We'll have ourselves a coffee together. or whatever you drink, screwdriver or whatever that are you doing. You know what? On the podcast, I always pour one. Just loosens me up, Tommy. That's right. I'll see you.

Great seeing you. All right. Hey, folks, please subscribe to our YouTube channel at the Volume Sports. Please, please, please. We have Draymond Green now. You're going to get great stuff. You won't regret it. I put a bunch of my stuff on there as well.

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