The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Colin Cowherd Podcast - Prime Cuts: Baker's Comps, Jets Mistake, Wentz's Surprise Return?

Episode Date: August 14, 2021

The best of The Colin Cowherd Podcast. Colin rants on why Baker Mayfield is the Keanu Reeves of quarterbacks (0:44), why you can't blame the ownership for the Chargers move to LA (2:22), and why Carmelo Anthony is a terrible teammate (5:52). Colts Head Coach Frank Reich on why we might see Carson Wentz play Week 1, and the player that is unlike anybody he has ever been around before (7:17). John Middlekauff on why the Zach Wilson pick is already looking like a disaster for the Jets (16:40). Plus Rams GM Les Snead on why he loves trading 1st-round picks, and how Jared Goff actually helped bring Matt Stafford to LA (24:25). Make sure you 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 Smigel and Friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer Streeter Seidel help an a cappella band with their between songs banter.

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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 which I'm saying.

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and Rams GM less need on making the Matt Stafford trade and his aggressive approach to free agency and jamming. But first, my top takes of the week. I'm going to always be tied to Baker Mayfield just because of my opinions on him. And listen, like I get, there's a lot of sports fans from Ohio. And they're always interested. Everybody's a tough guy on Twitter, but they always come up and they're very gracious.

And they're like, hey, what do you think? And I always say the same thing. I don't think he's great. I think he's good. I think he's Kirk Cousins. That's what all my NFL guys think. That's what the, you know, the guy Mike Sando, who does that four-tier quarterback list every year. It's the go-to 50 anonymous executives.

And they put Baker Mayfield right next to Kirk Cousins. That is exactly what my scouts and my executives. friends always say he's Kirk Cousins. He can win. He can get to the playoffs. He can win a playoff game. But he's got to be surrounded by extraordinary talent. It's not a criticism. Hell, if you can make the NFL, you're a great talent. But I was thinking about this. You know, it's like Brown fans want me to say that Baker Meade Fields great. But in every business, and he's not, by the way, there is room for somebody who can find tremendous success without being great if they're just good enough. Like in music, to be a lead singer.

You do not have to have a great voice. David Lee Roth Van Halen, Mick Jagger Stones, Vince Neil Motley crew. They do not have a great voice. In movies to be a leading man, you do not have to be a great actor, Keanu Reeves and Vin Diesel. Stephen Seagall for a decade was a leading man. In the NFL, there is a great history of Good Enough. Ken Stabler, Joe Flacco, Jim McMahon.

They've all won Super Bowls by being the best. good enough. When Seattle lost its NBA team, I blame the owner Howard Schultz. He's a billionaire. He bought the Sonics, and he didn't have the stomach for it. He never really fought, really fought for any duration to keep the Sonics once they clearly needed a new arena. And they did. I'd been to Key Arena multiple times, a dozen times, bad parking, downtown Seattle during the NBA season. The winter is dark, poorly lit, wet, damp. They should have gone to the burbs, go to Kirkland, go somewhere, better NBA arena. But Howard Schultz was cheap. If you're going to get into owning a team, then get into it emotionally and fight for it. When the Chargers left San Diego, I didn't necessarily

bash Dean Spanos. He has no intention of selling the team. He's owned the team forever. He loves the team and he fought his ass off to keep it in San Diego. But local politicians are, how can I say this, mostly untalented hacks. And in Cleveland, this is why the Browns left. Because the less popular baseball team got a new stadium and the more popular football team playing in a dump did not. So they left. In San Diego, Qualcomm was falling apart. They didn't have the same day revenue of the top 10 teams in the league. They didn't have enough suites. It was hard to get in and out of. I've been to Qualcomm 50 times in my life.

The Padres and Chargers both played there. But what do you know? The Padres got a new baseball stadium. And the more popular NFL team had a site picked. The Spanos family fought forever for it. And then it came down to a vote. And the vote was a tourist tax, meaning locals didn't really have to foot most of the bill. It would be people like me who rent a car,

and stay in a San Diego hotel every couple years. Vegas has a big tourist tax, 36%, if I recall. The local politicians didn't fight for it, and it failed. And the Spanos family, who's not going to sell the team, who loves the team, who's had it forever, said, okay, what are our options? L.A. came knocking, the fifth biggest economy in the world, a wildly dynamic sports market, a pretty sweet deal with the Rams, they would never get it again or stay in San Diego, cross your fingers that you can get a stadium.

You tell me what businessman would pass on that. They didn't want to move the team anywhere else, but when your neighbor, your wealthy neighbor two-hour drive North says, here's a sweet deal, come on up. And the reason I bring this up, because the chargers now have now blown past their season ticket average in San Diego the last 20 years. Yep, it's officially now the fastest growing season ticket sale base in the entire league. They're at 90%.

I'm a business guy. You've followed my career. Somebody comes knocking, offers you significantly more, and the place you're at's falling apart. What are my options? To die? Go ask any businessman. You have to adapt or die. And so I'm happy for the Chargers.

And I'm not going to take the wildly popular side of, What about the common man? Well, the problem, the common man is represented by the common local politicians, and they mostly stink. There are just certain truths that people don't want to hear. Like parents don't want to hear their kids' friends are going to have more influence on their kids than they will. They did a study back in 2015 that found that young teenagers, 12 to 14, will listen to their peers more than their parents. The kids were asked to rate dangerous activities like bungee jumping or biking without a helmet. Then they were told how adults rated those activities and how their peers rated that activity.

Then they were asked to rate those activities again, and their scores were swayed more by their peers than their adults. Here's another truth. Mello's got no self-awareness. He's a Hall of Fame guy for one thing, shooting two-pointers. Mello lacked so much willingness to be a good teammate that is one of the great mid-range forward shooters of all time. He wouldn't take an extra step back and make it a three. He wouldn't defend.

Jeremy Lynn wouldn't play with him. He just didn't get it. He will make the Basketball Hall of Fame for one thing, shooting twos. Totally selfish, absolute ball hog, never in great shape. close your eyes right now and imagine mellow playing basketball. Odds are a shooting along two, probably from the right side of the court. It's burned into your memory. It's mostly all he did.

Well, Frank, I've had everybody on from your organization. It's about time. I've had Jim Ursay and Chris Ballard and multiple players and Darius Leonard, so it's great to have you. So when you go back to Carson's relationship with you initially, was it connected for sight? Did it take time? What was the breakthrough, the epiphany that you're like, he trusted you, you trusted him in Philly. Yeah, I mean, it was on every level.

You know, there's been a lot of talk that, you know, spiritually we kind of, you know, connect there. That's true. But it, and that's important. And I think that's a big part of why we connect. But from a football standpoint, I can't emphasize to you enough how much we connect just X's nose, the way we see the game, the way we see the passing in, the way we see protections, the philosophy of how to play quarterback.

You know, this is just one of those guys that as soon as I started talking to them, it was like, oh, wow, yeah, we're totally got the same vibe, the same wavelength about how to play, how to play this most important of position. And, you know, for me, that's come from being around a lot of great ones and playing the game myself and at that position, not that I was ever at that level, but I've been around a lot of great ones. And I get excited about when I get around a guy like Carson, who I think things like those guys. You know, it's funny. In golf, they call it the yips. We just saw this Olympian, Simone Biles, they call it the Twisties, where you just, you get in the air and you're like,

I've lost my confidence. You know, we know basketball players. They get in the zone. They get out of the zone. But in football, we also know in baseball, I can remember Steve Sacks struggled making to throw second to first. It happens. Like, we all get it. In football, we just think, oh, these guys just these quarterbacks dropped back. And it's like, no, no, there's anxiety. Last year with Carson Wentz, there were moments. And I thought, oh, shit, he's got a little bit of the golfer yips here on stuff out in the flat, like just easy stuff for him. And he was a little broken. And then the stories come out that, you know, it was not a great situation for Doug Peterson for everybody involved.

How do you, I don't know how often you've dealt with it, how do you get him back in the right tunnel, in the right lane? We get with every other sport. We get that you can get off out of a zone. How do you get him back? Yeah, well, I think that's a great point you're making. And those examples are great examples. You know, most of those examples are a little bit more,

not individual, you know, like the Simone, that's an individual sport that throw to first base. You know, that's kind of one aspect of a deal where, you know, I think what we're talking about here a little bit, what I think you're alluding to is a guy losing confidence and, you know, getting out of his rhythm. And that certainly was said last year. The thing about playing quarterback is you're so dependent on so many other people.

And so, you know, the way to get it back is, first of all, the change of environment, you know, sometimes a change of environment is a good thing. And, you know, we all know that what Doug Peterson did in Philadelphia and helping that and leaving that team and organization to a world championship, we obviously put together a world-class environment. But then over, sometimes things change and people change. And it just doesn't, things go south for whatever the reasons are. And it was just the right time, I think, for further change for Carson. And I think the culture here and the team and the roster here is just built for he's the

right piece to plug in for us. I think he feels that. I even think this area of the country is a guy from North Dakota. So, you know, even in the Midwest, even though I think Carson did a great job of connecting with the Philly fans and becoming part of that city, I think this is a natural home to him. And then as far as a player, Colin, you know, you just go back to the basics. We go back to ground up. I've said here in the media that I don't like to think that he was broken.

It's just a question to resetting, refocusing, put him in the right environment and just go through that process day by day. And I'm expecting big things. Your opening schedule is to be diplomatic, brutal. I mean, you guys got no breaks in your first five weeks. I do think you can win the division and not have Carson once around for a month. I think you're really well coached. I think you have great line play. Some of that drafting, some trades, some just development, but both lines are really solid.

Jonathan Taylor, end of the year, Michael Pittman, really, you know, you really saw stars emerging. I could also make an argument, as good as you are, Frank, you go one in five or, you know, one in four in this league. It is, you are, it is hard to get back. is it possible? Jacob Eason, Sam Onger, young guys don't have a lot of reps, that maybe the answer is not currently in camp. And somebody coming outside in may very well, based on the difficulty of schedule, may be the answer. Yeah, well, you know, first of all, you know, first of all, yeah, it's a legitimate question. I mean, it's a question you have to, I mean, you can't ignore that question.

So, and it's not being ignored. But, you know, we have to have a maturity here and a perspective here that we can do that. We can keep our head down with the guys that we got and feel confident the guys that we got. You know, I understand that Chris Ballard as a GM, he can have that perspective and be thinking, and we're, of course, have those conversations. But 99% of what I'm thinking is, you know, our roster is our roster. Let's get these guys ready to play. And then secondly, I mean, I'm hoping the best with Carson.

We're not eliminating the possibility of him playing week one. We're still a long way from there and not even close to making that determination. But, you know, there's still a chance. So we'll just stay the course here. Chris and I'll have the appropriate conversations at the appropriate time. But we're not there yet. There's a reason Fandall Sportsbook is America's number one sportsbook. The app is really easy to use.

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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. American soccer is about to explode. The World Cup is coming. Ramos sending on to Ernie Stewart the chip.

I'm Tad Ramos. I'm Tom Boe. On our podcast, Inside American Soccer, you'll get the real storylines. I'm not worried about Policic. I'm not worried about Balligan. I'm not worried about McKinney. My only concern is what happens in the back. The biggest decisions.

If you're going to look at stats and numbers, he has no shot at making this World Cup team. And the truth about the U.S. national team. It wouldn't be a huge surprise if our team ends up in the quarterfinals or potentially a great run into the semifinals. The World Cup is almost here. Experience it all with us. Listen, Inside American Soccer with Tom Bogart and Tab Ramos

on the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, wherever you get your podcast. What's up, fam? It's Isaiah Thomas. And I'm C.J. Toledano, and our podcast's Point Game is about defying the odds. Like LeBron heading into the playoffs without Luca and Austin Reed. And finding ways to win no matter what. He's the smartest player to ever play the game. His IQ is at a level that we've never seen before. And he knows.

Without Luca and Austin Reeves, I got to manipulate the game. We get a player's perspective on the challenges of the playoffs. I think Joker's going to be exhausted this series because when they don't have Rudy in the lineup, he has to really guard guys like Nas Reid. He has to guard Julius Randall. And then he has to give us everything he gives us

on the night-to-night basis on offense. And when IT's friends stop by, like Quentin Richardson, we dive into some playoff history too. Steve Nash will get that thing. That man, hell get the flying. He running up the court, licking his fingers while he got the ball.

Like, after you go through a training camp with that, Isaiah, you figure it out real quick. Oh, yeah. Get your ass up and down the court, and you're going to get the ball. So listen to Point Game on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Will Ferrell's Big Money Players

and IHeart Podcast presents soccer moms. So I'm Leanne. Yeah. This is my best friend Janet. Hey. And we have been joined at the hips since high school. Absolutely. Now a redacted amount of years later, we're still joined at the hip.

Just a little bit bigger hips, wider. This is a podcast. We're recording it as we tailgate our youth soccer games in the back of my Honda Odyssey. With all the snacks and drinks. Sidebar. Why did you get hard seltzer instead of beer? Oh, they had a bogo. Well, then you got it.

Do you want a white collar or something here? Just hit it. Oh, what are y'all doing? Microphones? Are you making a rap album? Oh, I would. Come on. Can you imagine.

I would buy it. Cuts through the defense like a hot knife through sponge cake. That sounds delicious. Oh, you're lucky. I'm not a drug addict. You're lucky I'm not an alcoholic. You are. I'm lucky I'm not a killer.

I love this team and I'm really trying to be a figure in their lives that they can rely on. Oh. Listen to soccer moms on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. That doesn't win. Just download the Fandul Sportsbook app. Sign up with the promo code, Colin, to get in on the action. That's Fandul's Sportsbook, promo code, Colin. 21 plus and present in Colorado, Indiana, or New Jersey.

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And, you know, the early reviews are, oh, good Lord, this guy is incredible. When you make the pick, you obviously had seen him, you talked about it. But go back to the first, like a practice with a Darius Leonard, and you're just like, now you don't want to tell him, you don't want to shout it, but you whisper to somebody, oh, what did we get our hands on here? Yeah, it was immediate because of two things. You know, one, like he steps out on the field, and really it's not just on the field, it's anywhere.

And he just had this guy, we talk about juice and energy, nobody has it like Darius. Okay, nobody. I've never been around. anybody like this guy. He steps on the field and the whole field lights up. I mean, he just has, he has that much juice and love and passion for the game that I know we all do, but he just got a way about him that is special. And then secondly, you know, yes, he's physically talented.

There's a lot of guys physically talented, but he's got that gift of seeing a play happen before it happens, you know, like knowing what's going to happen. And he's there. And then he has the length and the attitude to finish plays. And the great thing about Darius is he's proven it in the three years that he's been here. I mean, it's not just making a million tackles. It's causing fumbles, recovering fumbles, making interceptions, and sacking the quarterback. He does everything.

I mean, he can make plays at every level, and he makes them consistently, and he's done that for three straight years. Former NFL scout, my buddy John Middlkoff, three and out podcast. He's a rock star. A lot of stuff to talk about. I took a four-day siesta to Park City, which was amazing. All right, let's start with this. Calvin Johnson didn't thank the Lions.

I was okay with it in his Hall of Fame speech. If you've ever worked for a lousy company, I don't think just because you've employed me at one point, I have spent a lot of time giving you kudos. I also thought Peyton Manning saying he's not done with a game. He wants to be part of the growth was cool. And I also thought, John, you know, one of the things, this sounds probably corny, but I think it's pretty remarkable that Peyton Manning's arch rival Tom Brady is a couple of rows back. And I thought to myself, that is fantastic. Not everybody has to hate everybody.

Not everybody has to be Michael Jordan and Isaiah Thomas. I loved it. And, you know, my takeaway was all these things were really emotional and fantastic. But I'm going to take the, I'm going to take Calvin Johnson side. and I really love that Peyton Manning is all in. I'm not going anywhere. I'm going to be part of this league for a long time. Just your thoughts over all the weekend.

Yeah, I mean, I've been lucky enough, you know, working in football before I got into doing this. And I've always believed that the highest level people in that profession, college and pros, would be the highest level people in society. I mean, there's nothing, I mean, John Lynch, what could John Lynch not have done if he hadn't made it in the NFL, right? Peyton's the same way. Now, they had Hall of Fame careers, but you've been around John Lynch. I mean, they're a higher level guy around. You know, I mean, the- He's just smart, smart and adaptable. Yeah, and Peyton's just a unique, I've always believed this and been saying this for a long time. I think that for the internet age that Peyton and Tom were the magic and Larry of, you know, a football,

taking it to another stratosphere. Now, where the analogy gets weird, Tom also morphed into Michael Jordan. so he kind of played both roles. But Peyton is a very unique personality. And you see the story, I know you detached from social media. The Lions had offered Calvin Johnson $500,000 to become a part of his organization. And he said no. And I saw a lot of people on the internet making a big deal. $500,000.

He's the second most famous player in the history of the franchise. Like this is the franchise, they've got $300 million of their media rights bill. Like if you want to get Calvin Johnson who made, I think like $150 million in his career, who has a thriving weed business now. Like, you got to offer a little bit more than that. Like, that to me is on the line. It's just a low-level franchise. I'm with you.

It's really remarkable. I was thinking about this. I talked about on the three and out. Like Peyton Lynch and Charles Woodson are good examples of three. I mean, Charles and Peyton are all-time talents. John had to be kind of put in the right situation. But even Peyton Manning, who's viewed as one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time, a lot of stuff was out of his control.

Right. He was lucky he got drafted to a team with a whole. Hall of Fame general manager who already had Marvin Harrison. The following year that GM passed on Ricky Williams, drafted Edger and James, who also went into the Hall of Fame that year. Peyton really benefited a lot from Indies structure. They got Tony Dungey when he got fired. He's an all-time grinder worker and controlling what he could control. There's probably never, Brady kind of copied Peyton the second half of his career. But Peyton benefited a lot from those people. Same with Charles. Like he couldn't, you know, the Raiders let him go. He ends up with Green Bay.

thinking he's getting with Farr, if it turns into Rogers, they win the Super Bowl, he's the defensive player of the year. I thought it was just a great Sunday night was pretty special, the lineup of guys that they threw out there. Big night for the NFL. All right. Tell me, is there, you know, we've got camp news every other day. There's something that jumps out. Is there a story to you that's underreported a story you're interested in? Yeah, I got something. They had a, the Jets had a, you know, a scrimmage, you know, thing it met life on Saturday. And Zach Wilson was terrible.

And listen, the media and the fan, and the fans are just going to react to the media and the mock drafts. So when a guy gets drafted too high or too low, their anger is based on what they've read or what they've seen. And maybe some of these really famous guys, they've watched them play. But we got to the point last year going in, like Brian Flores and Chris Greer with the dolphins, whether everyone loved the two-a-pick or not, it doesn't matter. It's their job to get it right.

That's their only job is to pick the right player, not who's going to give them the best draft grades or not. The Jets, it felt like just locked into Zach Wilson from right after the season. They did. Listen, I'm out there with Trey Lance. Listen, I didn't know that much about him like most people in North Dakota State. I'd never seen him play. But by the time the draft process happens,

you get to go meet him and see him. How could you walk around this guy or even watching Justin Fields at some Bears practice and just be like, we have to take, it'd be one thing if he was coming from Alabama, right? Zach Wilson. He was at BYU in a corona year where they weren't playing anyone. And I'm not saying I'm not trying to like write his career resume right now. But he's not as physically talented as traw it. 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 IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Will Ferrell's Big Money Players and IHeart Podcasts presents Soccer Moms. So I'm Leanne. Yeah. This is my best friend Janet.

And we have been joined at the hips since high school. Absolutely. Now a redacted amount of years later, we're still joined at the hip, just a little bit bigger hips, wider. This is a podcast we're recording. it as we tailgate our youth soccer games in the back of my Honda Odyssey with all the snacks and drink sidebar why did you get hard

seltzer instead of beer they had a bogo well then you got it do you want a white color or something here just hit it oh what are y'all doing microphones are you making a rap album oh I would come on could you move I would buy it cuts through the defense like a hot knife through

sponge cake that sounds delicious oh you're lucky I'm not a drug addict you're like I'm not an You are. You're lucky I'm not a killer. I love this team, and I'm really trying to be a figure in their lives that they can rely on. Oh. Listen to soccer moms on the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. American Soccer is about to explode.

The World Cup is coming. Ramos sending on to Ernie Stewart the chip. I'm Tab Ramos. I'm Tom Boe. On our podcast, Inside American Soccer, you'll get to. the real storylines. I'm not worried about Policicic. I'm not worried about Balagan. I'm not worried about McKinney. My only concern is what happens in the back.

The biggest decisions. If you're going to look at stats and numbers, he has no shot at making this World Cup team. And the truth about the U.S. national team. It wouldn't be a huge surprise if our team ends up in the quarterfinals or potentially a great run into the semifinals. The World Cup is almost here. Experience it all with us. Listen, Inside American Soccer with Tom Bogart and Tabramos

on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, wherever you get your podcast. What's up, fam? It's Isaiah Thomas. And I'm C.J. Toledano, and our podcast Point Game is about defining the odds. Like LeBron heading into the playoffs without Luca and Austin Reed. And finding ways to win no matter what. He's the smartest player to ever play the game. His IQ is at a level that we've never seen before. And he knows.

Without Luca and Austin Reeves, I got to manipulate the game. We get a player's perspective on the challenges of the playoffs. I think Joker's going to be exhausted this series because when they don't have Rudy in the lineup, he has to really guard guys like Nas Reid. He has to guard Julius Randall. And then he has to give us everything he gives us on the night-to-night basis on offense.

And when IT's friends stop by, like Quentin Richardson, we dive into some playoff history too. Steve Nass would get that thing. That man, hell get the flying. He run up the court, licking his fingers, why he got the ball, like, You go through a training camp with that Isaiah, you figure it out real quick. Get your ass up and down the court, and you're going to get the ball.

So listen to Point Game on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. No way. And to just think, now, and I don't know maybe the Niners would have taken Zach Wilson over Tray Lance. I don't know. I don't have that information right now. I'm sure we're going to find out as years come if one of them doesn't turn out to be very good. That seems kind of crazy. That's something just to keep an eye on.

Because I know this, that guy with Kyle is more than likely going to be pretty good. And Zach Wilson, turnover in New York, the pressure in New York, lifetime Utah guy going out there, huge jump up, a lot going on. The Jets have a first-time coordinator, a first-time head coach. Someone told me this, because one thing Zach Wilson has like some cockiness, and that turns people off. But Joe Douglas is a Baltimore Raven guy. And they kind of like that, right?

They had been around Ray Lewis and Ed Reed. They kind of eat that up. And someone, I was like, he's really going to like Zach Wilson. And he's like, yeah, they're going to like, he's going to like kind of his arrogance. And just when he walks in the room, he thinks he belongs. But you also have to have the talent to go around with that. I'm not saying he's not talented, but no way he's physically gifted as the Bears and the Niners guy. He's just not.

So, and that market man, and you know, you've lived in the Northeast, it is intense. So you better dial. This could be a long season. They just might not be that talented this year, right? So can you battle through the adversity? I don't know. Well, it's not a good ownership group with the Jets. You also have arguably the best defensive coach in league history in Belichick, the best young defensive coach in Sean McDermott, the second best young defensive coach in Brian Forrest.

So I've said this before, there's nobody, including Tom Braddier, Montana. When you talk about the great quarterbacks, there's nobody that had a shitty coach. I got nothing against Robert Sala. But there is no way for the next two years he is not the fourth best coach in that division. There's, that's what he is with the worst supporting roster. Zach Wilson has. So I think, I've said this every year there's a kid and I have my doubts. I don't think the Zach Wilson thing's going to work.

I don't. Yeah. I think it's going to be very, very difficult. I really do. And again, it's just social media clips. It sure looks like Sam. Like, could they have just roll with Sam and traded that for a bounty and got a bunch of stuff and kind of built up their team fast?

and they had a guy, like, what are the chances that Zach Wilson is more talented than Sam Darnold? Well, he's not as big. He's not as strong. And there were guys, reports in the building that I think some of the coaches were like, let's just take this guy and trade. But the GM and the new head coach always want their young guy, buys you a little more time. But that's just one of those situations, Colin. It feels like something to monitor. That's all I'm going to say. Something to monitor.

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and the ad council. So let's bring in Les Sneed Rams GM now for nine years. made the playoffs three the last four years with a Super Bowl appearance. He was a Falcons director of player personnel, Falcon Scout, New York Daily News called him football's most interesting GM, certainly qualifies as that. So let's start with this. Are you as aggressive in other areas of your life as you are as a GM? When you play golf, do you never lay up? Is that your personality or is it just work?

as a football GM because your scene is very aggressive. Excellent question. So let's take golf. I'll answer it this way. Golf, I might be, why not? If I get a chance to play Augusta, why not go for the green and two? I have nothing to lose. Maybe you're one shot playing Augusta, right?

Let's take real life. I'm not going to go skydiving. I have no interest in bungee jumping off a high bridge or what have you. So, you know, let's take investing. If I'm not an expert, I'll probably be conservative and maybe listen to some advisors and things like that. So I think to sum it up is in our business, I do think it's a very competitive business. If Peter Phil once said, you know, competition is for losers, you don't want to get in the NFL.

So at what point do you right have to make an aggressive move to? take a risk with the bet of maybe gaining an edge on the 31 other competitors in this loop. And you're on pace to go seven years without a first round pick. And I've always had, it's sort of a Malcolm Gladwell take. But I mentioned this about five years ago, is that all these players are of high risk. And the feeling is there's always about 15 guys in the first round who are, if not can't miss, they're physically different.

They're just special players. They're receivers that separate. They're Chase Young. They're Trevor Lawrence. You know, unless barring an injury, it's hard to see them missing. After that, from about the 16th or 17th pick in the first round, you know, to late second, I feel like there's not a huge gap with players. It's more about if the system's good and they're coachable, they're going to be good players.

So my theory's always been, I would always trade a first round pick for a Jalen Ramsey or a Jamal Adams. I don't have a problem with it. Is that kind of, you? your theory the Malcolm Gladwell that for the money you're really better off starting in the second round and having two seconds over one first and that's where the value is very similar to our philosophy and you mentioned chase young there's i mean i don't know if there's 15 of him and i don't think you meant that right so there is even a cut off after after chase young but yes when

and it's the the formula is this if we if we're think we're we're in this phase of contending of having winning seasons, your probability of picking, let's call it top 10 is low, barring any catastrophe, and you can use two first round picks to maybe go get a top five pick, like a Jalen Ramsey,

who has already lived up to top five potential. There's not, the guesswork is out of it, the projections out of it, the development's out of it. And if that player can help our team, We'll probably do it a lot. And we'll try to make up for the rest, right, in the back in the draft, whether it's trading back to acquire more picks in the second, third, fourth, fifth round and using the, you know, the acquisition mechanisms as creative as possible.

So I speculated throughout the year. I said, I had said on the air, I said, McVeigh has lost trust and golf. I just sense it. And it was a San Francisco game. I think it was up there. And I said, this isn't going to work, guys. There's a problem now.

And you're an aggressive GM. Sean's an aggressive coach. And this is not a shot at Jared, but between Russell Wilson twice a year and Kyle Shanahan twice a year, you can't stand pat everything. You guys have to be moving. And so at some point, you know, you guys decide, you know, the got fit, we're going to make a move. Do you remember the conversation, the epiphany the moment when you just sat down and said, okay, this kid got to the Super Bowl two years earlier.

This is going to make news. We're going to have to give up some picks. Take me to that place for you, Les, that moment when you just said, it's a big swing. I'm going for it. Well, I think it was probably sometime after, but the opportunity presented itself, right, where we had a chance to acquire a quarterback with elite skills. And Jared has some elite QB skills, but also a quarterback right that has unique experience. And the unique part of it would be, I hate throwing that word around, but in Max's case,

take the skill out, take the production out, right, going for a lot of touchdowns, like all yards, a lot of comebacks, all of those things. The unique part of the experience was, okay, Matt's been running a pro-style offense probably since he went football. And he did it in junior high high school. He did it at Georgia under Mark Rick. So it was that moment where, wow, there's an opportunity where there's an elite QB with this experience that now messes with Sean. And let's call it, meshes where where we were at in the window where a lot of our skill are in the prime. a lot of our defenders in their prime.

This might be an opportunity we can't patch. And the thing, and now there's a human involved. Jared Galt's a great human being. And he might can get to where Matt's at. That's just going to take time that Matt had and he didn't. And it's a very, very tough decision when you do that. But the thing that I can say is because of Jared and because of what he did for us and helped us get to this point, it enabled someone like Matt to say, you know what, I'd like to be a part of the race. If we didn't have Jared Kaufman, he didn't help us have the success we had.

Matt could have easily said to Detroit because he had options. And Detroit had options. And we all wanted Matt. but hey, I would rather go to the Rams because they're more ready to win than maybe Team B, C, or D. And Jared had a lot to do with that, which is, I guess, ironic.

And is what makes this business extremely tough when you have to make those type phone calls and decisions. That wraps it up for the week. We're heading into another big week here at The Volume. Make sure to subscribe and follow us at the Volume Sports on Twitter and Instagram. The Volume.

Get right to the romance and find the way to wow this valentines with 1800flowers.com. From classic roses and bouquets to decadent chocolate-covered berries, gourmet treats, and more. Surprise your valentine with 1,800flowers.com. Right now, get the 18-stem enchanted rose medley for $39.99, or upgrade to 24 red roses for $10 more. Go to 1-800flowers.com slash tune in. That's 1-800flowers.com slash tune in. 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 I-Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. 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. On the Look Back at it podcast. In 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 podcast. podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what you're saying. Yep, that's me, Clifford Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, my basketball and college football journey, or my career in sports media. Well, now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new

podcast, The Clifers Show. This is a place for raw, unfilled conversations with athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. So let's get to it. Listen to The Cliford Show on the I Heart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get at your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok podcast network on TikTok. This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed human.