The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Colin Cowherd Podcast - March Madness, Fields To Steelers, Donald Retires, Rodgers Making Headlines, Cowboys Quiet Free Agency

Episode Date: March 18, 2024

Colin is joined by John Middlekauff, host of “3 and Out”! They start with Selection Sunday and why college basketball has lost its luster in recent years (3:30). They react to the news of Justin Fields being traded to the Steelers and wonder if a defensive focused culture is the best place to reboot his career (6:30) They predict that Minnesota is angling to move up in the NFL Draft and why they are the team best suited to develop a young QB (16:00). They look at the impact of Aaron Donald compared to some of the other all-time greats and Colin predicts that players retiring early might become a trend (28:30). They weigh in on the conclusion of the  Patriots “Dynasty” series and lay out why Bill Belichick may have been his own worst enemy (33:15) and why Andy Reid’s lack of ego has allowed the Chiefs to draft so well (40:00) They give kudos to the Jets for signing Tyron Smith (43:30) and making a smart move despite all the chaos unfolding off the field around Aaron Rodgers (52:00). Finally, they question the Cowboys choice to remain quiet during free agency (58:00) and Colin predicts a renaissance year for a veteran journeyman quarterback (01:03:00). (Timestamps may vary based on advertisements.) Follow Colin and The Volume on Twitter for the latest content and updates! #Volume #Herd #3andOutSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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.

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I don't care what I'm saying. Yep, that's me, Clifford 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 Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, unfilled conversations with athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. So let's get to it. Listen to the Clifford show on the IHeard radio app,

Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok's podcast network on TikTok. The volume. John Middletoff is about to stop on by, former NFL Scout. You hear him every Sunday night or Monday morning. We chop it up for about 50 minutes to an hour.

NFL free agency. A lot of things to talk about. It looks like the bears are going with Kayla. the Williams exciting stuff. Before we get there, let's talk about the Game Time app. It takes 90 seconds to download. Grab your phone, download the Game Time app. You know the drill. You shouldn't have to worry about buying tickets when the big event is near you or in town. Game time is fast and easy. It's sports, it's theater, it's comedy, it's concerts. Anything you want, use the Game Time app. Lowest price is guaranteed. They have deals on tickets not only to the start of the game or concert, but up to an hour

after it stars. And they have what they call zone deals. All right, you pick the section, the game time picks the seats for big time savings. Download the GameTime app 90 seconds. Create an account. Use the code, Colin, that's me, C-O-L-I-N, for $20 off your first purchase. Okay, terms apply. Create an account. C-O-L-I-N, Colin, $20 off your first purchase. Download Game Time today. Last minute tickets. Lowest prices. guaranteed. All right, let's welcome in. It's our usual close to an hour long chat with John Midlakov, former NFL Scout, three and out at the volume, his podcast. Before we start on this, years and years ago, you know, 20 years ago when, 25 years ago, when you didn't have the

one and done culture, the transfer portal, you know, college basketball, you would have teams with four to five NBA players on it and they would come back for their junior or senior year in college basketball. So like Bob, No sports eroded quite like college basketball over the last 25 years. I was watching today in the selection show, and people were lamenting that St. John's was left out. And I went and looked because twice this year, Patino said his team lacked athletes. So that's his own coach.

At one point, they lost eight of ten games. They didn't have a big out-of-conference win. And they played Yukon close. And I'm like, if that's the snub, the tournament officially, not as great as it used to be like, I will have a blast watch net this weekend, but I don't know about you, but, you know, I mean, last year the top four picks on the NBA draft were from four different leagues. So when you watch the games, like this year, there's not a dominant player. The kid from Purdue, and people don't even know if they'll make the NBA because he can't guard anybody, the seven-foot-four guy.

What do you make of Selection Sunday? Did you watch it? No, I didn't watch one second. And I'll watch, you know, hours upon hours over the next several weeks of all these games, especially this upcoming weekend. When I first bought this house, I joined a gym down the road. It turns out Bobby Hurley also works out at that gym. And I remember I got on an elliptical and he's right there. And I started thinking to myself, it's crazy how famous when he was young. He was a way more famous college athlete than he ever was. And his pro career got derailed when he got in the accident. But how many players like Bobby Hurley existed? And you know, you were around Tark. I got a bunch of Fresno or family in Fresno when he went to Fresno State.

these college coaches in the 80s and 90s. I mean, there are still some of them hanging on, but the fame of college basketball in the 80s and 90s to what it is now of just, I'm going to watch these. I won't know one player. It won't necessarily matter, but it definitely hurts the sport from what it used to be in its heyday, right? I covered, I think it was Indianapolis, UNLV Duke,

Grant Hill was a freshman, Christian Leitner, Bobby Hurley, Larry Johnson, Stacey Ogman, Greg Anthony, Moses Scurry, Anderson, Hunt, who I think got drafted by the Celtics but didn't make it. There were like nine NBA guys on the floor. Christian Leitner, you know, made a dream team, made an Olympic team. The quality, now the best players in college basketball, and again, I'll watch the tournament like you, but the quality of boxing's gone into the tank because there's so much money in other sports that are great athletes, we don't have a Muhammad Ali anymore in boxing. Like, you know, our great athletes have so many other options. So I, you know, I sit there and I watch this and I listen to people complain and listen to Mountain West got like six teams in.

Well, you know, I actually watched a couple Mountain West games this year for a while. But that sport is, it's hard for me to lose sleep when none of these teams. I watched the Yukon twice this year and I thought they're pretty good. I never thought they were great. Iowa State I saw play and I thought, oh, that's a good college basketball team. But be that as it may, let's segue to some of the biggest stuff. over the weekend, I was hanging out for three, four days in Mexico. And my wife and I decided to go there very rarely, but have good friends.

And the Justin Fields story broke. So apparently two or three teams were interested. He wanted the Pittsburgh Steelers, which is interesting because he has Russell Wilson in front of them. One thing I want to say, John, obviously the Bears, this would have been really interesting. So let's say, because I think the Bears desperately wanted this to work with Justin because they could have moved off Caleb Williams and gotten two first two seconds on a fourth, you'd have been set for five years. So they were begging. They'd dine for Justin Fields to work. And I think had he caught fire at Thanksgiving like Jordan Love did in mid-October and got on like an eight-game heater

with 11 touchdowns, two picks, 64 percent completions, they didn't win all the games, but they were really, you watched them like Jordan Love and you thought, okay, there it is. There's that two-month stretch against multiple teams, AFC, NFC, division games, sellout on the road, and you watch Jordan Love at the end and you're like, all right, dude can play. I'd like to see a few more, but dude can play. I think they kept waiting, John, and they just kept waiting for this six-game heater. So I think they kind of did give it to like December, and then they just went, and then they watched him against Jordan Love, and you're like, okay, Jordan Love's done more

in three months than this guy's done in three years. Do you believe they waited to the end, or do you think they knew at Thanksgiving it was over. Yeah, I don't think they've waited until the end. I think they, coming into the season, they were hopeful. And then as the season materialized and played out, and it was clear they were getting the number one pick, he was done. Because the conviction you have as a general manager when you pick your own player, right? We see it with Chris Ballard right now, Anthony Richardson, or those guys in Houston with C.J. Stroud. Or even the owner with Price Young, you are, you're very invested, right? You put all the work in to draft them. You got to know,

them and then you've gone all in to use your draft capital. Ryan Poles did not do that. He's not the GM that drafted him. So anytime that happens, hell, you and I have been talking about this. Do you know what was on the forefront this weekend? And you've been hammering this home. Year two Thanksgiving as a player. Kenny Pickett got two years. I shipped him out of town. Yep, yep. It was over like that. And that's one of the most loyal organizations. You and I know that Pittsburgh struggled with that because he was a Pittsburgh kid. So 100% they share a stadium. So, yeah, to that point, yeah, I always say now because of all the seven-on-seven drills in the camps, you get, you used to get end of the third year. Like Peyton Manning first couple years, you're like, there's something there, but a lot of interceptions doesn't move.

I think it's Thanksgiving second year and everybody's like, raise your hand in the room and they were kind of, they were done with them. I think making that trade, and it has a chance to be one of the greatest trades of all time, right, the Carolina Panther trade for Ryan Pulse, if Caleb Williams just. becomes, he doesn't even need to become Patrick Mahomes. If he just becomes a top 10 quarterback, which the Bears have never really had, definitely in my lifetime, it's a game changer for the franchise. But let's say they didn't have that pick and just had their ninth pick. They probably don't do this deal, not because they love Justin Fields, because they don't control their own draft. But once you get that number one overall pick, and he's so clearly such a talented player, right? The other thing is it resets the contract. The other thing that was on, it's crazy. I just,

like you just tried to get away this weekend and the quarterback action was insane. The dominoes hit and they all started going. Contracts matter. And the reason Sam Howell and Kenny Pickett went for more than Justin Fields and Mac Jones, those guys have one year left on their contract. Neither of them are going to get their fifth year option, meaning they're a free agent at the end of the year. The Philadelphia Eagles did a pick swap from the third and fourth round because they get a guy

on a two-year contract making $7 million. even Jerry Jones. Well, Tray Lance went for more than these guys. Yeah, because Jerry got him for two seasons. A little bit of an overpay. But the contracts and the money, this is not fantasy football in a vacuum. There are actual contracts. There's a salary cap.

And that was a problem. Once Mack Jones went for the sixth round pick, he has shown to play at a higher level than Justin Fields. Now, if I had to work with one today, I would rather take a chance on Justin Fields. Yeah. But that was the comp. for him. Like, they were never getting like some third round pick. That was the going rate. And I don't quite believe there were a lot of teams beaten down the door. They were interested at this number.

But look at all these quarterbacks. All the action happened Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Thursday. Everyone was just patient. Let's see. We're not going to overpay. If anything, in our minds, we're going to underpay a six-round pick, Colin, that's nothing. Well, and also, um, a defensive coach is where he lands. So if I'm Justin Fields, I was praying that McVeigh wouldn't take Garoppolo, he'd take me. I was praying if Donald goes to Minnesota, maybe Shanahan goes, get over here for a year. Like to me, it's so obvious, especially if you're Justin Fields and you're thinking to yourself, I've had a defensive culture, I have a defensive coach, just watch the league, watch what's happening. Go to an offensive coach. Mack Jones,

say what you want. He played high school in Jacksonville. He'll be close to family. You know, he can kind of reboot the emotional part of the sport. I got mom and dad around. And also, it's an offensive coach. They've spent a shit ton of money in Jacksonville on offense the last several years. It may not work, but it's a better environment for him than defensive-driven Belichick in New England. If Justin Fields really chose Pittsburgh, you got Russell Wilson, who you know and I know is going to get, you know, quarterback one snaps first day of practice. And the second thing is, it's a defensive culture that, once again,

overspends for a linebacker. So I didn't, that part of it, I'm thinking when I read that Justin Fields had options, I'm like, I'd like to know the other options because if one of them was an offensive coach, I take it. I'm going to call BS on the options. I don't know. The Shanahan guys don't like them because in that offense, decision-making accuracy really matter. They're not looking for these crazy plays.

Atlanta became a Shanahan-McVeigh operation. That's right. They wanted no part of field. They could have got Fields for way cheaper than the money they gave a guy coming off an Achilles. So they're not that into them. Now, here's the one thing with Russell Wilson, I'm with you. Everything, OTA's training camp, he's the number one quarterback, not even debatable. But the fan base and his equity in that operation, he's making a lot of money for himself,

but the Steelers are in for $1.2 million. And if you're a fan, that division's really hard, he's dinking and dunking early. Listen, it's not like Justin Fields has been awesome when he's playing. but at least, hey, Jung, there's some hope, Arthur Smith. I think his leash would just people that are, and the Steelers have one of the biggest fan base. I've seen this Russell Wilson situation in the last couple years. If it's going well, great.

But if it's not, it's not like we're in for him for a lot of money. Let's see what we got in the young kid. We brought over Arthur Smith, who resurrected Tanny Hill's career. And let's face it, Tanny Hill, good athlete, not near the athlete, Justin Fields is. Decent arm, not near that arm. And sometimes you can't resurrect. You can't make a guy a really good player. But at least there's hope that maybe there's something there.

And they have both these guys on one-year contracts. So the Fields thing is, if this isn't going well early, they can't afford in that conference to start one in three or two and four. So I wonder the Russell thing, he better start fast. He better start fast, I think. Yeah, well, Baltimore's defense and Cleveland's defense, Browns, especially at home, are top 10 defenses in the league, top five. So my takeaway is if Russell goes on a two-game slide and just dink and dunks it with pickens, the fan base will be.

And it's not that Pittsburgh's reactionary. Again, I thought, I do think there's elements here that work for Russell and Justin Fields. You have a star number one, two nice backs. You don't have to get in shootouts. You can score 23 points in Pittsburgh and win nine games. That defense is going to hold a lot of teams in a regular season. They should be good, on D. They'd be very good.

They went and paid for Queen, another top linebacker. So they've got elements here. And by the way, they've always played Burrow Close. And in that division, those games are low scoring and tight. So you don't have to get in shootouts. So Justin Fields and Russell should. I mean, again, you get to 26 points. You win games in that division.

But it is a defensive culture, man. They're number one in the NFL in defensive spending by 30 million and second lowest on offense. So it's just like you're both. Russell, I get it because I do think it is a big brand. He's into that stuff. Steelers, Packers, those are big brands. For Justin, I'm hoping this was the only team that wanted him because if he had multiple choices and some were offensive coaches, because I'll give you an example of this.

And I'll shift to the Vikings, because I think Kevin O'Connell is really smart, really sharp comes to Vikings. Yeah. So people ask me, who do you think is going to make it and not make it? And I say, I think Caleb Williams is kind of in the Andrew Luck. It'll work to some degree because he's just so damn good. Plus, they bring Keenan Allen over, DJ Moore. Those are two big time receivers.

They've got Gerald Everett and Cole Comet. Those are very above average tight ends. They have a left tackle. They like offensive lines not chaos. It's okay. They'll probably put some draft capital into it, Montez Sweat, Jalen Johnson. There's some dudes there. And it's not a great defensive division.

So Caleb should be able to move the chains. It's not the AFC North. It's the NFC North, which is, offense, Packers, you know, in fact, you could argue Chicago's got the best defensive personnel now with Montez Sweat deal and how he played. So my takeaway is when people ask me, who's going to be the second quarterback that, the second best quarterback in this draft is whoever Minnesota gets. Jesus, John, elite running back, Aaron Jones, left tackle, star receiver, tight end, offensive coach who won a game with Josh Dobbs without a practice. I kind of feel,

I've come to the conclusion over all these years. About every fifth year, we get a quarterback. You know, again, I think Caleb is this, Andrew Luck. They're just going to win some games. They're just different. And then it's basically who lands in mud and who lands, you know, on a clean surface. I tend to think of J.J. McCarthy falls to like 10, 11, 12 in Minnesota's around there. And I don't love J.J. McCarthy.

I think he'd work. Well, I think, I don't know if you saw, I mean, there was a lot happening. this weekend, Minnesota traded some second round picks to get another first round pick. And a lot of people think, remember, the Eagles did this a long time ago when they used capital to get up to get Carson Wentz. They get up to get J.J. McCarthy, who if you just watch him on the surface of what he is right now, you go, that's second, third round pick. But you factor in, he's 20 years old. There are a lot of positive things. I think, you know, I saw Lance Zerline tweeting about this. The more in-depth you study them, there's stuff to like big picture. Like, there's a lot of room to

grow. But Colin, I don't think he wouldn't even start right away. That's right. They signed Sam Donald that's $10 million and they would give him almost the ability. Sam's proven high character guy. People love them. It's one of those perfect things. I think they kind of envy what the chiefs did years ago to let Patrick Mahomes take a deep breath. And I'm not saying JJ McCarthy would become Patrick Mahomes by any means. But historically, a lot of guys in the NFL had success when they didn't get thrown into the action. You know, you kind of get to learn to be a pro. And that's where Minnesota like Caleb is not going to get that. He's going to get thrown into the action. But you could argue, and I wrote this down, usually when you're the number one overall pick, I would say the last,

if we just went over the last 20 years, you go to an awful team, Peyton Manning, Matt Stafford, Trevor Lawrence. Andrew Luck went to a team that did have, like Reggie Wayne was on at Robert Mathis, they had been winning, but they weren't great. It was more his greatness. You could argue this Bears team is one of the best rosters, a number one pick has been. been to in decades. Well, they have five players. I mean, Montes Sweat. People bitched about that trade for a second rounder.

He's better than any second rounder. Arguably, it's going to be in this draft. DJ Moore, Keenan Allen, Jalen Johnson. Those are elite players. I mean, my question now, does Carolina have won now that Burns this trade? They don't have a single.

They don't have a single. That's a good example. Usually you go to a team like the Carolina Panthers where you got no shot. And most guys are not Peyton Manning. they can't overcome it and they just get destroyed. Caleb actually got pretty lucky. This all kind of worked out.

Ryan Poles, he got off to a slow start, the Chase Claypool move, but has made a lot of really good moves. Now, there's a lot of talent, and they have an infrastructure for a young quarterback. Right. Like you said with Minnesota, a couple years ago, they were a legitimate playoff team, a lot of talent on the team. That's a fantastic spot for a young quarterback to go. So not all teams are created equal when they draft.

Zach Wilson, he was probably going to be bad no matter what, but he had no shot early. None. Well, you bring up a good point. So the Vikings trade up. So the Vikings have done a couple of things. They went and signed in free agency, a couple of B-levels defensive players. So their take is, listen, this is about the quarterback. We're not going to, we're not going to spend too much money. We're going to go a little bit like Houston did last year. Nick Casario's first free agency period, they got B guys, character guys, B guys, hardworking guys, good in the locker room guys. Then they make the tray that you pointed out. Now they have the 11 and the 23 pick in the first round. And so I think what they're doing is there's a guy they like. They're not going to

get Caleb and they probably know they're not going to get Drake May. But what they're think, I think to me and your point, if you have the 11 and 23 and you give up both to get to the seven, then all of a sudden, you can get to seven. You're not getting to one. You can get to seven and not have to give up more picks, then all of a sudden, that's probably in the JJ. I mean, you're going to tell me the chargers wouldn't go down from like a five to an 11 for the 11th to 23, because the chargers have about four to five crucial needs. They need another first round pick. Well, I'll give you one.

What if you're the New England Patriots and you love Caleb and you love Jaden Daniels and you're just kind of on the other guys? You need a long way to go. You're resetting your franchise. guys, you go, hey, 11, 23, a couple seconds. That's a ton to just kind of retool the roster, take a deep breath. Maybe you suck again next year or are in position to get another quarterback. You never want to force the quarterback. Now, Minnesota would be doing that with J.J. McCarthy, but I think they saw, if you truly like your guy and you have the conviction, what does it matter? I'll never forget, and I've said this countless times of the Jets example. The Jets hit on a ton of players,

but they whiffed on the quarterback. Yeah. You can hit on a million. players if you whiff on the quarterback, but if you get the right guy, and they are already lucky enough to have, they already have pieces. They have a good left tackle. They have excellent wide receivers. They have a good coaching staff. I mean, Flores is their defensive coordinator. Yeah. Right. With, go with Kevin O'Connell. So they're a, and a little like the Chiefs, when's the last time they had a homegrown quarterback? Most of my life, it's been patchwork, right? Trading for Brett Favre, signing Kirk Cousins from another team. The value of finding your own guy and having him forever will always work in sports. That's ultimately what fans want. And that's

what GMs and team builders want. So I would expect them to make a huge trade right around the draft, if not on draft night. Yeah, I really like Minnesota's future. And again, I'll say it. I felt this way about three years ago with Stefanski. I thought, we're looking at a great coach. He just, he needs to get equity in that building because they're always cycling through coaches. I think Kevin O'Connell is Stefansky. You're going to have a coach of the year guy. When you can take a quarterback without a practice and he's not gifted, he's Josh Dobbs, and win an NFL game, that is McVeigh-level stuff. And McVe, by the way, has told people, you know, they called him the tall McVeigh when he went to Minnesota. Yeah.

Boy, drafted by Belichick, right, once upon a time as a quarterback. I think when you look at Stefansky, for example, he's a really good, I think he's been a stud. I mean, to what he did this year was remarkable. In Minnesota, it's pretty clear, like, they have solid ownership. They stuck with Spielman and Zimmer for a while. They're all in on these guys. It doesn't feel like they're really meddlers. Where the Browns, like, Stafansky's proven to be pretty good.

Does it feel like them hiring Mike Vrable to be a consultant is more of an owner move? Now, listen, I like Mike Vrable. I would hire him to be my head coach. But that's having that guy around when you got Stafansky, who I haven't read, he's got a contract extension anywhere. That's classic owner just doing a little too much. Well, also, the owner's business, if I am right here, is heavy. Warren Buffett's suing them. I know.

Billy, it's Jimmy. It's also very prominent in the south. You know, he's probably been to the south. He's probably been to Nashville. He may have met Vrable. It's a classic, you know, the situation. Because I think his business, flying J or something, it's those truck stops. You have a trucking company.

They're big in the south. Well, Vrable was the coach of, you know, your team based in Nashville. The NBA season is in full swing, coming down the stretch. Then we move right into the playoffs in April, May, and June. I can't wait. Spice things up with Draft King Sportsbook an official sports betting partner of the NBA right now. All you have to do is put down $5 and get $150 instantly in bonus bets. Pretty good tradeoff.

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See dkng.com slash promos for deposit wagering in eligibility restrictions, terms, and responsible gaming resources. 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 podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what I'm saying. Yep, that's me,

Clifford Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, the reactions, my journey from basketball to college football, or my career in sports media. Well, somewhere along the way, this platform became bigger than I ever imagined. And now I'm bringing all of that excitement

to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, unfiltered conversations with some of your favorite athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. One week I'll take you behind the scenes of the biggest moments

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

or you're just chasing down a dream, this is right where you need to be. Listen to the Clifford Show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, Follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. Do you remember when Diana Ross double-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 Jett. 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 was 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. Then you're 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. I thought about this. Let's pivot to this. Aaron Donald retire. So the two best defensive linemen I've ever seen are Reggie White, Aaron Donald. You couldn't block him one-on-one. Even last year, I thought Aaron, anytime anybody singularly blocked him, he was a problem. He was disruptive. So I thought he had a really good year last year. And then I think Lawrence Taylor is the third that, again, on the defensive front, there's been a lot of great pass. rushers, but just to me, L.T., Reggie, Aaron Donald. But it's interesting. I was thinking about this, John, is that one of the advantages and disadvantages to the NFL now as the money's incredible,

the Rams are paying guards, what people played quarterbacks. People paid quarterbacks 10 years ago. They're paying Dotson. And the other guy, I forget his name off the top of my head, the Rams. they're paying two guards huge money. And so the world's changed. The good news about this in the NFL is that it used to be that Aaron Donald 10 years ago would have to play another contract to have kind of generational money. And he doesn't need to anymore. 10 years, you're out.

And what that means is, and I've said this before, I wouldn't allow hitting until the eighth grade. Eighth, then high school you can hit. So you want to shrink the window. And then if interior linemen, and that's a lot of the concussions, tight ends, if those guys can retire without a fourth contract, third, what it does, John, it shrinks the hit window, you know, from like 17 years to 14 or 19 years to 13. And when I looked at Aaron Donald, I thought he just, you and I know, he has two years minimum. It's like Jay Wright retiring from Villanova. He's got like three final fours left.

And he's like, I'm out. I'm not into this transfer stuff. I looked at Aaron Northland retiring, and it's sort of a sign of the times that those interior linemen now are like, listen, man, I'm going to golf. I'm going to leave with all my faculties. I've got my hips, my legs. That's what it kind of, it wasn't anything anti-Rams, anti-McVeigh, because they loved him. And I really think he had a great year, and I think he liked playing with all their young guys. But it felt like to me is this is the new league.

You don't need a fourth or fifth contract, and you leave the sport healthier. And it's not easy to walk away from $30 million a year. Right. I mean, not many humans do it. Isn't Jason Kelsey fall under the same umbrella? Both these guys have flirted with retirement now for a couple years. Both of them are still pro-ball, all pro-level players. The money, obviously, in the NFL, if you're a high-end player, I mean, like you said, guards are making $17, $18, $19 million. Crazy.

That's nuts. Though you could argue with the amount of elite defensive tackles, their value has gone up. True. And you get overpaid in free agency. but I think Kelsey and Donald fall under the umbrella. This isn't a random emotional decision because they had thought about it before. And I think now we look back at Aaron Donald. Obviously, he got a huge raise last year and got some guaranteed money.

But I think this was really, I can't even imagine. I've heard Jason Kelsey talk about the pain he feels on Monday and Tuesday getting out of bed. Hell, I've heard George Kittle talk about he really valued, like most elite players really value practice because that's how they, keep dialed in for Sunday. And sometimes it can be very difficult to feel good by Wednesday. Yes. Right. You're done.

If you play a cross-country game, you're done at one o'clock in the afternoon. I mean, that is several days. And these guys are the cold tubs, the saunas, they're doing everything humanly possible. The game has definitely, you know, softens the wrong way because big hits still happen in terms of the speed in which people are running. but the violence on the defensive and offensive line has not changed. And the strength and the speed of these individuals have never been, right, the size of Trent Williams and Tyron Smith and these guys. I mean, look at Jalen Carter last year.

You got a guy 6-5, 310 pounds who can run like a linebacker. And more and more, these guys are coming into the league. So Aaron Donald, I do think big picture, it's a blow to the Rams. I mean, this is one of their better players. No one could have been more happy than Kyle Shanahan because they don't have very good guards. They can't block that guy. So I still like the Rams, but anytime we talked about this with Fletcher Cox and Kelsey,

it is hard to replace stalwart players. I think Aaron's a little quieter, but just have a guy to lead by example. That's hard to replace. It really is. Yeah, I mean, the good news, they drafted Kobe Turner, Wake Forest Kid third round. He ended up having a tremendous year,

but I think they're going to have to re-address the defensive line. In fact, I think they'll probably take an edge rush over their first pick from UCLA. That's my guess about where he'll fall. they have to address that they need a defensive end, an edge rusher, and now they need another defensive tackle. So I watched the final episode of the Dynasty, and listen, I have Jeff Benedict on my show that heard tomorrow on FS1. So everybody knows that the crafts gave really good access, and so it was a pro-craft documentary. But we also know that Michael Jordan, in Michael Jordan's documentary, it was a pro-MJ documentary, right? Like, to get access, you're going to lean some way.

And, I mean, you could tell in the three-ring circus by Jeff Perlman, the book, you know. So, I mean, and he did exhaustive research, but it wasn't the most Kobe friendly book, right? Like, you understand where access is denied and where it comes from. And that's not a criticism on Jeff or anybody that does it. You can have 500 sources. You need talkers. You need storytellers. You're getting information that nobody has and that can be damaging to people.

But as I watched the dynasty, my whole takeaway was, okay, Kobe Shack dynasty, ugly ending, M.J. Bulls, ugly ending. Brady Belichick, ugly ending. You know who didn't? Duncan and Popovich. And nobody's making a documentary out of it. The truth is, is that almost all dying, even the Hedels, LeBron just leaves D. Wade, Jimmy Johnson at the end with Jerry Jones is that there's two absolute truisms with dynasties.

Hard work builds it. Resilience maintains it. And eventually, credit ruins it. All of them. You know, Jimmy wants more credit than Jerry and deserved it. Kobe wanted more than Shaq, whether he deserved it or not. The Lakers, I mean, at one point, O'Reilly, Phil Jackson, Jerry West, all in the building. It was a battle for credit. All of them brilliant. But as I watched the dynasty, I thought to myself, everybody wants their narrative. But Bill didn't do himself a favor when he still wouldn't be open and clean on the Malcolm Butler thing. So Bill won them the Super Bowl against the Rams.

He literally shut McVeigh down. It was a coaching mismatch. He lost it against the Eagles when he wouldn't play Butler. And I really thought there was a moment I thought, Bill, this is not the time to be stubborn. And he just wouldn't talk about it. And none of the players knew. Had Bill given an answer for that, I think I would have looked at it and thought, you know, I get it.

If you said, the guy had five dog days of practice, totally distracted, wasn't coach. I'd buy into it. But to a player in that thing, everyone was like, yeah, we got screwed by our coach. And that was, and they had to say that on camera, all of them. and they'll see Belichick again down the road. So that was my takeaway is I know where it's leaning on this. I get it. But Bill in the last three years needs a new PR agent.

He's terrible. He really just can't get out of his way. I think it's hard, you know, Bill throughout the documentary when crazy things would happen. He basically stayed on character to as he, did in his press conferences, even talking about the Tom Brady, right, shorting Tom Brady's career. He said, that's my job. It's the right thing to do. And he's not totally wrong. That's right. But he would never say, yeah, I probably regret it. I wish he would net. There's not

a human element, which he might say if he was having a beer with Ernie Adams. Yeah. Right. Yeah, we probably shouldn't have done that. He was never going to give that up. Because ultimately, ultimately, the logic behind that, because the whole part, like this documentary is ultimately really able to cap off that Tom ultimately leaves, goes, has success, and they fall apart and it ends. Yeah. But he made the, I was flipping around channels last night, and Jerry Rice's football life was on.

Bill Walsh was the general manager at the time in 1999 and told Jerry, you're not coming back. We're not resigning you. And Jerry the next year had over 100 catches for the Raiders. That's right. And we're still playing pretty well. And Bill Belichick, wouldn't you say basically copied everything Walsh did in terms of player personnel getting rid of guys a year too early?

He's not, he wasn't. historically, Tom's just an all-time outlier. He shorted his career even way earlier than they ended up like when they signed Jimmy Garoplo

or drafted or drafted him in the second round. It just backfired every time. Like John A. O. Way did that to Peyton Manning. Remember when he made him

get a pay cut that last year and it was kind of football is, there's a lot of just animosity. There's a lot of tension. A whole, to me, a huge theme

and that whole documentary and this, anyone that's followed the Patriots, everyone kind of on their toes, including Tom. And when Tom's suspended and Jimmy has a little success in that first game against Arizona, Tom's no dummy. He's seen every guy he's ever played with get Wally Pipped, replace, cut, traded. And that is the environment that Belichick.

Most guys don't really harbor that environment anymore in the NFL. It doesn't, it exists because it's the nature of the business. But if you walk in the Rams or the Niners and you're like Fred Warner's not constantly looking over his shoulder. But every guy with the Patriots, Edelman still talks about this day. We were always just, you had to stay dialed in, you had to stay focused. You knew Bill at any moment. And the only reason it worked is because they had Tom and he was the first in line and followed the rules and set the tone. It doesn't really work.

So you could argue their whole thing was kind of somewhat of an outlier situation that we'll never see again. I mean, he's constantly screaming at Tom in meetings. Now, Andy coaches Mahomes hard. He's not really a yeller in a screamer. so it's hard to, like, comp those two. But I just don't think you're going to see, you're never going to see a team win six Super Bowl's over 20 years. Like, that's probably not going to happen again with the same quarterbacking coach.

You know what's interesting about Andy Reid, Belichick, he wanted control of personnel. Their drafts went into the tank. Pete Carroll for several years, wanted more control. At one point, Holmgren and Seattle had control. Andy's the one guy, and maybe it's Brett Veach, he respects him. Andy's the one guy that in Philadelphia. Howie, you do.

it. Or pre-Hawie, it was, what's the name of them? They had Tom Hacker. They had some other guys. And in Kansas City, Andy is really about the art of play calling and play design. You know, Sean Payton likes a little control in his personnel with Mickey Loomis, but they work together. Andy's really an outlier. He doesn't appear to have that thirst or need to have a say in the groceries. He'll just make dinner. And I think he's the classic, you know, it's like there are probably chefs that have to get all the ingredients, probably most, but there are probably as a chef somewhere that just, you give me the ingredients. I love the art and the challenge of making something amazing with what I walk into a kitchen

and inherit. And I think one of the reasons I do think Kansas City can sustain this beyond Mahomes' talent, I don't feel there's going, I was even sitting down in Mexico with the president of the chiefs happen to be in, Mark Dominic. Yeah, just a, um, again, all guys will have to edit this, tall, dark-haired. Yeah, I think his last name's Dominic. Yeah. So Andy doesn't seem, they all, one guy does ops, one guy does personnel, one guy's coach, Spag does defense. Mahomes is the great pupil.

There's a real happy balance. The Hunt family, I was asking the gentleman about the Hunt family, and I think I could say this. I'm not breaching any, you know, confidence here. He just basically said, they're great. They support you. They're aware of what you're doing, but they don't meddle. They really have a connectivity to the league and Goodell and craft and other owners, but they kind of let us run the business. You don't get the ego in Kansas City, which, you know, Dallas had some and New England developed some.

So that's why I think Kansas City is unique, is that Andy's just like, hey, this is what I'm inheriting. I love the art of the play design and the play calling. And I think that's rare, in my opinion. Andy told me at the Combine that it's just impossible to do both roles in 2024. One, there's just way too much going on in college to keep track of anyone more than ever with the transfer portal. It's harder even for the scouts now because of the movement of all the prospects. Before you're like, this guy transferred, probably something off. Now it's just normal elite players, constant movement, keeping track.

and I think more and more the league is turning that way of coaches realizing I don't have the bandwidth. And the coaches that attempt to run it over the next, really starting at the combine until the draft end up failing and get mad a couple years later. Well, I made an emotional decision because I knew the head coach and he told me something about this guy and I overvalued him. When my scout that had watched him for two years and my GM who had been on for a year and had been through these schools were telling me, yeah, this is probably not the best idea, but this always gets back to. the highest guy in the org chart is always going to be the coach. He makes the motion. So ultimately, when he gets emotional about it, he always wins out. And he's got to the point.

I mean, he's now in the Bill Walsh category, three Super Bowl is an all-time legend going to the Hall of Fame. He doesn't need to like have his ego stroked of I pick this guy or you picked it. It's a we operation, which honestly is polar opposite of the way the Spurs did it forever. It was always Popovich's way. Belichick did it forever. Some of those old school baseball coaches, Tommy Lasorda. Bochy's somewhat of an outlier. He's still hands on when it matters.

But it's much more, and listen, I think collaborative nature in football can be a little overrated. Not everyone has to be happy, go lucky. That's right. This isn't your run-of-the-mill insurance company where people get screamed at. That's part of the business. But you do, look at the volume. You're not texting, hey, John, I think you should hit on these three things there. Hey, Shannon, you should have this guy on.

That's not the way the world works. Just hire the right people and let them have success or not. And then you figure it out. And Andy's done that for a while now. And I don't think it's random that in this day and age, obviously hit on the quarterback, but like they hit on all these other players because Brett Veach is in charge. And before that, John Dorsey was in charge. And he just goes, listen, I'll coach the team. You pick the groceries.

We'll make a great meal. Let's talk Jets. I actually thought they did something I really liked. So Tyron Smith gives you about 14 games a year now, 13, 14 games. That's about it. But he's certainly got a year left in the tank. And when he does play last year, he just engulfs most ends. I watched a couple cowboy games last year.

He gets his hands on you. It's still over. It's like Aaron Donald. He gets his hands on you. He gets you off balance. It's still over. But Tyron can't give you. You're not going to give you 17 games.

He's not. He's going to give you 13. He may leave one early. But I thought it was really smart with the Jets because first, it's a very good tackle draft. But generally it feels like to me there are. are certain positions corner running back that can come in and play immediately. If you can lock on a guy, I've seen a lot of corners walk into this league, Witherspoon,

Seattle, he could play, week one. You see running backs. It didn't take, it doesn't take long for a running back, hit the hole, get through, McCaffrey, just walks in and can play. Adrian Peterson walks in, but we see this every year with mid-round guys, mid-round running backs. Isaiah Pacheco, seventh round, can play. Tackle, tight-end and tackle or two positions that in college, you know, Iowa makes their tight ends block. That's why Iowa has so many damn tight ends in the NFL. They force you, Utah forces their tight ends to block. That's when Dalton Kincaid was coming out, I talked to you GMs and they're like, you know, a lot of these back 12 schools here, they're not asking guys to block. Utah. They're wide receivers.

They're wide receivers. Utah makes their tight ends block. Well, so does Iowa. So tight ends one of those positions that even the great ones, it takes a year to figure out, oh crap, I'm getting thrown around. but left tackle, there's just not many great outside of the SEC. There's not many great edge rushers. I mean, Pac-12 this year had maybe one or two. And so I think Tyron Smith this year starts. And by Thanksgiving, the Jets still go draft the tackle with the first pick, the 10th pick. But with Aaron's injury, you can't start a rookie left tackle in the NFL.

In that AFC, it would Buffalo's pass rush. So I actually thought the Jets, this is one of those probably, You know, you're not going to make money on this deal, right? But considering the injury, Tyron, they're still going to draft the left tackle. I thought it was kind of a smart move by New York. They also traded for Morgan Moses, who I pulled up his NFL.com page. He's missed like two games in 10 years. So they get two tackles, a left tackle and a right tackle, that let's face it, I do think there would be some pressure if you draft the guy,

and they've done this before with Bechton, and it failed immediately, and you get into a position where you're in trouble. I also think it allows them, if they like a. another player a lot more early in the draft. They could take a tackle in the second or third round. Yeah. And ease him in with, I mean, Tyron is, if he would have been healthy, I think we'd be talking about him right with like Trent Williams as one of the better players the last 20 years at the position.

He just hurt a lot. But I think anytime, let's face it, they're in wind now mode too, right? These guys will get fired if this thing fails. No question. And they could do all the right personnel moves. And if Aaron's a shell of himself, they might be screwed no matter what. but you cannot, you just couldn't roll into the season with a shitty offensive. He'd get killed.

He would not have survived last year. I do think they are more equipped with these two tackles. And then you can also draft a tackle in the first two picks. You don't have to force it in the first round because what if Roma Dunezay is there or someone else to put with Garrett Wilson? Then all of a sudden, okay, now you got a running back, two wide receivers. Brock Bowers, you know, more of an offensive weapon and you feel comfortable having two veteran in tackles and hopefully, you know, you can keep your interior offensive line play a little better. Yeah, I was looking at the first three rounds today. It is the best tackle draft I've ever

seen. I've never seen a tackle. I think you get a guy in the second round. If you love a wide receiver or a Bowers or another player that you have as equal, because there's going to be depth there. Yeah, so Aaron comes in. So I thought it was a good move. I just thought you can't go into this season. I mean, Aaron's, you know it. Remember when Brady got hurt for about a year, he was pissy. you got near his knees. Like, he just didn't. These old quarterbacks coming off injuries, they got, I mean, Aaron's going to be sitting there, you know, you can hear stuff.

So I thought, that's a smart move. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal, but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds.

I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the IHard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what you're saying. Yep, that's me, Cliver Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, the reactions,

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Follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. Do you remember when Diana Ross Double Tapped Little Kim's boobs at the VMAs Or when Kanye said that George Bush didn't like black people I know what you're thinking What the hell does George Bush got to do with Little Kim? Well you can find out on the Look Back at it podcast

I'm Sam J. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick 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 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 for finishing that sentence. 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. I did think it's interesting with Aaron, though. You know, Aaron said something after the year. He says, we got to get this non-football stuff. We got to get it out of the locker room. And I'm like, this week, two different stories, one by a CNN. reporter that Aaron denied. The other one, the vice presidential nominee, RFK puts Aaron's

name out there. And my takeaway was, first of all, you are the company you keep. You know, if you're going on Joe Rogan, if you're, you know, if you're in discussions on podcasts or broadcasts with people who monetize headlines, that's not a knock on McAfee or Rogan. It's the business. Well, you're going to be a topic. You're going to get a headline. But the other thing is, you know, with Aaron, is that I kept thinking to myself, Green Bay is laughing their ass off. Aaron goes, usually when the Star quarterback goes, it's a turbulent ear. I thought Green Bay by the end of the year was better than they were last year with Aaron. Jordan loves got all these young kids, and my take on that presidential nominee thing is,

you know, Green Bay is sitting there thinking, we told you. Like this, you're just going to get headlines. Not all negative, but I don't think you can have a non-football locker room with Aaron. I just think this is who he is. Yeah, I would separate the two. I thought the CNN report, I mean, a decade old hearsay. That's insane thing to report. If I was Aaron Rodger, I'd be fucking pissed. Like half the people in the media tweeting, like, give me a, no one knows. Like, that's, that's extreme. The VP thing, it was like kind of believable because they're boys. That felt, like Aaron, like, we're not doing quite enough. Remember when I took the pay cut? Like, hey guys, I just rehab my ass off and we feel a little bit like the Packers. Like, where are our moves?

That's what that felt like. Because I heard someone say this and they were right. The VP doesn't pay $50 million a year. He ain't going to be the vice president. Rich people don't go into politics until they get older and bored. Aaron's still young and rich and he ain't leaving the NFL. But that did feel a little bit Green Bayish, a little different tactic, but like, oh my God, come on, Aaron. That would have been one if you respected your employer. You just would have just tweeted out. Like, this is the stupidest report ever, guys. I can't wait to see it OTAs. Because he did it about the Sandy Hook, which obviously is a much more powerful headline than being the VP. A lot of people making fun of them. But it's also like you do, like you're making a lot of paid a lot of money.

They've gone all in on you. They threw you a lifeline because you wanted out of Green Bay. and then what happened after that report? They've made some moves. It did feel a little bit. I couldn't do the source gymnastics, the reporter, I don't know, but it did feel like he might have had a little something behind that one. He did it with the Jeopardy. Remember he flirted in the offseason with Jeopardy. We don't think he wanted to do Jeopardy.

That's not what he wanted to do. But I think to your point, does Jeopardy pay $50 million? I don't think it does. I think it pays well, but not 50. It's probably 8 to 10, not 50. Yeah. It's Sam Darnold. Yeah, essentially.

You know, it's a look at the free agency as a whole. And one of the things I've always liked about the NFL is that it's always sort of evolving. And usually there's a team that just goes all in and they win, quote, hash marks. They win free agency. And those teams have been burned. so bad. I mean, Belichick's spent a fortune two years ago. They didn't get anything out of it.

90% of those players he hated immediately. Matthew Judon was like the only one, Hunter Henry a little. But I really thought it was a smart free agency. I thought of most of the good team. I mean, like, you know, just take the Rams, because I watch everything they do. And I'm like, they paid for a guard.

Reason being, they took their guard from TCU. They'll move him to center. So now they're Stafford, older quarterback. Their big rival, great pass rush. They basically solidified the middle of the O line. Matt can step up and move, but older quarterbacks don't like that interior pressure. And then they went and got a corner and then Garapolo. And they did just a lot of B guys, what Houston did last year.

I do feel free agency, there was a time when GMs loved to win it. But a lot of these young GMs, I think they're very thoughtful. I think they're aggressive, but thoughtfully aggressive. I didn't think anybody, I didn't see a single move. Maybe you did that I thought, holy shit, that's a, now I did think Gabe Davis to the Jags. It was a little rich. I think it was like 33 million 39. I thought that was a little rich in my opinion.

I think you had to have a contingency plan if Calvin Ridley had left and he got a little expensive. That was the only, even Kirk Cousins. I'm like, time out. Kirk's value in that division is substantial. If you put Kirk in the AFC West with Harbaugh, Herbert, Andy Mahomes, I'm not paying that money. But that money almost guarantees at least a wild card or division title. I didn't see a move I hated. Gabe Davis, little rich.

Kirk Cousins, I'd like a little smaller number. Everything else felt right to me. And let's face it, I think the reflection, too, of this free agency is the money that's coming to the NFL, the salary cap going up. Unless you sign these enormous quarterback. contracts. Russell Wilson, Deshawn Watson. Most of these, the Houston Texans, let's say Daniel Hunter just shatters his leg. They gave him two years, $50 million. It doesn't hinder you for years to come. Once you give those enormous, even Kirk Cousins, if he's bad, it'll hurt you

initially, but it won't sink your franchise. Yeah, I think the Titans, Calvin Ridley, Tony Paul, let's see what Will Levis has. Let's see what he's got. Right. So we know and we'll pivot off them. I do think the Texans, they are pretty well-run operation right now. And I think what, you know, he traded up last year for Will Anderson. Remember, because they took CJ Stroud and he traded up. Well, he immediately gets more draft capital making this, this trade with Minnesota. Now he's got several second round picks where a lot of GMs will tell you, obviously, if you hit on an Aaron Donald or a great player in the first round, it's, but half the first rounders don't work and you pay him first round money. That's right. The second round is the place where you find

elite players all the time. I mean, half the league's pro bowl are second round, and you pay them nothing. Those second round picks are very, very valuable to NFL general managers, especially the picks like 35 to 50 kind of that range because you're finding the Debo Samuels, like high-end players for a four-year contract at about $5 million. It's easily the best deal in the league, non-like rookie quarterback contract. So, yeah, I think you have a lot of younger GMs. I mean, the day and age of some of these kind of crumudgeon guys that came up in the

70s and 80s are long gone. Most of these GMs, I would imagine the average age of a GM is late 40s, early 50s, and there are several GMs in their mid to late 40s. So I think they just view the game differently, especially economically. They're not is beholden to, we can't pay for this, we can't pay for this. If the starting guard is $16 million, that's what we're going to pay $16 million. Now, once you get that guy, he has to be a good player. Once you pay a premium to me for a guard or a linebacker, that guy then has to be a high-end player. And if he is, you're fine. If he's average, then you're kind of wasting money. So I didn't see a clear winner in this, although I do think the Bears getting Keenan Allen. The winner was Caleb Williams, uh, between DJ Moore, Caleb Williams, DJ Moore, Keenan Allen,

Gerald Everett, Cole Commet, and capable running backs. I'm like, and a good solid left tackle. I'm like, that's pretty good. As you mentioned earlier, Caleb Williams had a good weekend. That's a pretty good team offensively. Um, Dallas is strange. It's a bad running back class. And Dallas really didn't make a big swing. Now, I thought they should have gotten Derek Henry at the trade deadline last year. I thought, Pallard, to me, is kind of an average two.

He's an off-speed pitch. Pallor is not a one. Dallas tends to be insular. Jerry likes to validate his picks. They have always re-signed their picks to a higher level than anybody else in the league. Dallas didn't do a ton. Now, they let go of Michael Gallup. We know they're going to pay C.D. Lamb and Michael Parsons and Dak, a lot of money over the next two years.

But I thought to myself, Dallas, you know, this has been my knock on them. They'll be pretty good. But I've seen this. Go look at Philadelphia's skill people. I mean, from the tight ends, two backs, two receivers, Jalen Hertz, a better offensive line than certainly, the giants. So Sequan should succeed just because the Eagles have a better front than the Giants do and a better quarterback and weapons. So safeties can't crowd the box against the Eagles like they can against the Giants. So Seekwon should be a hit. You start listing Dallas to skill people. You have a B plus quarterback. If C.D. Lamb twists an ankle. You have, there is no elite players there. Like to me, I understand in free agency, you overpay, but I look at Dallas. as an injury away to C.D. Lamb has a lot of dependency on DAC. I think they have a DAC Prescott problem, not because he's some bad player, but because of his

contract situation. He has the second highest cap hit in the league behind Deshaun Watson, $60 million for this one year. That's taken up like 24% of their salary cap. But the problem is you could extend him and get that number way down, but are you comfortable giving him a $200 million Russell Wilson extension. If he had shown you more the last two years when it mattered, they wouldn't hesitate. He would already have an extension. They would have had more wiggle room, and they would have been able to sign players. I think they're a little terrified to give them a huge extent. They can say whatever they want, and Jerry never stops talking. It's entertaining. But their actions are telling you everything. They're at least hesitant. They may end up doing it,

but they're at least for the first time thinking like, are they going to play this year out on the $60 million con? And just, they can't be a one and done. team in the playoffs anymore and give this quarterback $250 million guaranteed money. Because ultimately, Dak, his last contract that he signed how long ago, he was making $40 million. And he has statistically played a lot better since. What do you think he's asking for? At minimum, probably four or five years, a couple hundred million, $200 million, $200 million guaranteed. Have you seen the splits?

So, and I could be wrong on this, DAC has only won, I think, nine games in his career. career when he has under 100 rushing yard support, I think that's the number. I did it last week on the show and I don't have it in front of me. But there is an absolute, I mean, we have Mahomes in the Super Bowl leading the chiefs in rushing. We have Josh Allen Lamar in big games leading the team in rushing. If that does not get 100 yards rushing, his winning percentage is like 35. And I think it was he only He has nine career wins when he has under 100 yards rushing. I think that's the number. He's very dependent.

Remember, he broke into the league with a great run game and a great O-line. And he was 13 and 3. And he really shocked the world. But then people get filmed. They see limitations. Then he dips. Then they get Amari Cooper. He goes back up.

So between the O-line, Zeke and Amari Cooper in his prime, Dax always kind of needed elevation. Whereas the Mahomes, we know this. elevates everybody. I mean, it's Travis Kelsey playing for 80% of the quarterbacks in this league is a really good pro bowler. He's not Travis Kelsey. He's not this. So I just look at Dallas and I'm like, you have these numbers. They're all telling, and it's a bad running back draft. I didn't get it. Yeah, I just think they're with the, you know, they've had success statistically, obviously not in the playoffs. McCarthy's not. He can say whatever he wants about I want to run the ball more. Look at his history. He likes to pass. He did it with Air. Aaron Rogers. He's done it with Dak Prescott. I just don't think he can say whatever he wants, because that's coming from Jerry. He wants to throw the ball around the yard. And we've seen Dak in these spots now in the playoffs. He's thrown to the other team. If you put Dak with one of the Shanahan guys were run first, LaFleur or Kyle, and took the pressure off him, he would be much better situated. But McCarthy, because all of his success in the way I think he fundamentally views offensive football, spread it out and throw it around. And that, and And Dak, like you said, he's not only not Mahomes. He's not Josh Allen. He can't do, like, physically with Justin Herbert.

He is much better to be a balanced quarterback. That's most guys. There's two or three guys that you feel good. Even Trevor Lawrence, more than likely, he's going to need some help. He's not going to be able to carry it, it turns out. Think about this. Think about what the rookie quarterback. Think of what Sam Darnold is inheriting in Minnesota.

An elite running back, an elite left tackle, the number one receiver, Jordan Addison a two, Hawkinson, tight end, and an offensive, a really clever offensive coach. Sam Darnold, I think this year, if he stays healthy and they're kind of patient with him and they watch J.J. McCartney, Sam Darnold could end up, not because he's brilliant. He's got one of the best. I mean, if I, if we ranked left tackle, star receiver, two receiver, tight end running back, they'd be up there. At top 60. Sam Darnold's going to do a Baker. You're going to look up and go, Minnesota's in the playoffs. Not because Baker's great.

Baker's always had talent, Sam's had talent. But I think Darnold has a chance to be the Baker story next year. It's just too many good players here. I look at Dak and I think to myself, Green Bay's young and good, Detroit's young and good. Here comes Minnesota, San Francisco, Rams. Sequin Eagles, my gut is in an offensive league. Dallas doesn't have enough punch.

If I told you C.D. Lamb, week eight, goes down for a month and a half. this is not a playoff team yeah we'll see if i mean maybe they draft a wide receiver high but you know sometimes you hit on them and they become zayflowers and sometimes they become jalen rager right or the dude the chargers took so it's it's a 50-50 coin flip fergus in the tight ends pretty damn good but yeah but you know i'm with you i mean they they are very very dependent and he's really on the two guys and this is why financially i wasn't shocked at all when they signed nobody dac takes 23 percent they're paying demarcus lawrence a ton they got to pay CD, they got to pay Micah Parsons.

No one takes care of his own guys that he drafts like Jerry Joe. It's crazy. If they had space, people would be lined up to go there, but they never have any space because he's overpaid. Now, luckily, he's drafted pretty well. So a lot of Zach Martens and CD Lambs, and you feel pretty good about a lot of Micah Parsons, but you make a wrong decision on Zeke,

or all of a sudden you not only have no cap, you're missing, like, you don't have as many good players as you should. And now they lose Dan Quinn. Now, get Mike Zimmer, but I'd say Dan's a little more positive. Mike's a little more old school negative. I get why Jerry likes him because he was there in the heyday with Dion, but that's something to keep an eye on.

Him and Vic, right? There are two of, I would put them just on a game-to-game basis. No one knows more defensive football now that Belichick's out of the league than those two guys. For this new generation, they are old school. They're a lot to handle for these 23-year-old kids. Unless you're coming from Nick Saban or Kirby, some of these guys are like, what the hell is this? So it's a lot. It is a lot.

All right, free agency talk, John Middlakov, former NFL Scout. His podcast is three and out. Hope you enjoyed it. We'll be back. We may take a couple of weeks break here to give John some time off. We'll see what transpires in the NFL. But free agency is over. I guess we're going to start moving into the draft.

I mean, hell, it's the NFL. There are no last weeks. It's never stopping now. We get June is about it. NBA talk three weeks in June, and then we're back to work. As always, buddy, good seeing you. See you, Colin. The volume.

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