The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Colin Cowherd Podcast - Shorthanded 49ers STUN Eagles, Josh Allen Is ALL-TIME Great, Caleb Looks Like Elway, SEC Dominance Is OVER

Episode Date: January 12, 2026

Colin’s joined by John Middlekauff, host of “3 and Out” to break down the wild card round of the NFL playoffs and preview the college football playoff championship game. They start with the shorthanded 49ers beating the Eagles on the road and Colin argues the gap in coaching ability between Kyle Shanahan & Nick Sirianni is massive. He credits Brock Purdy for overcoming two interceptions & finding ways to win the game despite several mistakes and John calls it one of the worst playoff losses of all time for the Eagles (2:30). They move to the Bills beating the Jaguars on the road. Colin declares Josh Allen is one of the greatest NFL players he’s ever seen, and they debate whether Jacksonville being one and done should be considered a success or failure. Colin explains why Trevor Lawrence is a good….but not great quarterback (25:30). They recap the Bears thrilling victory over the Packers and Colin compares Caleb Williams to a young John Elway, and that the Packers fans calling for Matt Lafleur to be fired are getting over their skis. They also preview the Bears divisional round game against the Rams and they agree the Bears could very well pull off the upset in front of a raucous home crowd (36:30). They agree that the Rams look like they peaked six weeks ago, and that their struggles against the Panthers show that they are ripe to be picked off in the playoffs. They also debate what the Panthers should do with Bryce Young going forward (51:00).  Finally, they move to college football & discuss why the era of SEC dominance is over due to NIL(1:02:00).  (Timestamps may vary based on advertisements.) Follow Colin and The Volume on Twitter for the latest content and updates!  #VolumeSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. The Volume. Josh Allen is the Louisiana Hot Sauce Player of the Week. 306 total yards, three touchdowns in Buffalo's win over Jacksonville. The Bill's got their first road playoff win in 33 years. The original Louisiana Hot Sauce. I love this stuff. Perfect balance of pepper.

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Four for four, four great playoff games. The league is just fine without the Kansas City Chiefs in the playoffs. That's the difference between the NBA and the NFL. between baseball and the NFL. Mahomes, Burrell, Lamar Jackson out, best wild card weekend I ever remember. Four for four, San Francisco and a superior coaching staff beat Philadelphia 23 to 19.

By the way, the Eagles went up 13 to 7, and then they went three and out and four of their next five drives. I thought it was really an indictment. This is, you know, John, like the truth eventually comes out. The fact that Kyle Shanahan can go into this game, lose George Kittle early, doesn't have Warner, doesn't have Bosa, hasn't had IUC all year. You go into pretty much a stack roster that you could argue the weather favors Philadelphia. They don't like to throw the ball. Purdy throws two picks and San Francisco wins.

The gap between Shanahan and Siriani, I still contend, Siriani's a corporation. coordinator. But, you know, Doug Peterson won a Super Bowl with Nick Foll. Shit happens. I thought it was such an indictment on the Philadelphia offensive staff. Yeah, I mean, I think that's one of the worst playoff losses you'll ever see. I mean, the 49ers, they lose their best player with what? In the first quarter with the torn Achilles, so the ramifications, the ripple effects that

has means best friends with Eusecheck McCaffrey, they don't flinch. Siriani doesn't do anything to impact the game. He doesn't call the place. So it's Kevin Patola and Vic Fangio against Kyle and Robert Salaf, which is a massive advantage. The Eagles, you know, it's reported this morning, Lane Johnson, right, was going to go, and then he couldn't go. Well, that doesn't impact this game because the 49ers can't rush to the passer. You know, Charles Haley ain't walking through that door. To me, to get two interceptions from Brock, especially the one in the second half, the Niners are up by one point.

They're in full control. There's what, seven, eight minutes left. to go. When he throws that interception, Colin, against a good playoff team, that game would be over on the road. It would. But the Eagles, they're two interceptions. They got three points total out of it. They can't move the bowl. At the end, you can always manipulate a little bit when you go in that two-minute up-tempo. Most teams in the NFL move it more than they normally do. But with that much talent on the field, and listen, A.J. Brown is a fantastic talent. But if you're going to talk that much and hate on your quarterback that much and make that much money, you've got to come through.

Listen, if the Niners lose this game, Purdy would have, you know, bore some responsibility. You can't turn the ball over in the second half because you're in the game. The game's weird. You got a shot. But you got to give him credit. They got the ball back. He drove him right down the field.

He made a big run. He made some big throws. Mental toughness right there, Colin. And great coach. By the way, you know, I've defended Darnold on interceptions. Brock Purdy had two today. He still outplayed Jalen Hertz. I just don't.

And by the way, one of Purdy's picks was awful. The other one, you know, it's windy. I give both these quarterbacks a pass. I mean, A.J. Brown twice that threw the ball down the field. He was like a center fielder that lost it in the lights. Like, you know, the ball's moving. He's a punt returner almost. He can't quite get it.

Again, Purdy throws the ball down the field. You almost have to bake in one bad pick a Sunday for Purdy. Like, that's just kind of who he is. And that's why I always say about Donald, Matt Stafford. He throws some really ugly picks. But I'll tell you this, here's the thing about Purdy. It doesn't affect him. He's not affected by interceptions because he has so much confidence.

First of all, how about the, I mean, the opening drive. Here's the coaching San Francisco, San Francisco, 7-0. I mean, devastatingly brilliant. San Francisco 7-0. The trick play to Jennings, probably the best timing for an over-the-top. I mean, I'm not talking to like a hook and lateral, you know, or there's some stuff in the red zone that's cute, but it's like 12 yards. That was a big trick play.

I'm not sure. You know what I thought of when I saw that? The last time I saw a trick play, so perfectly called, it was Edelman, Patriots Ravens. Remember that? Throwing out to the flat, Edelman throws it to double pass. I think he threw it to either Chris Hogan or... It might have been Amadola.

It was Hogan or Amadola. That's what it reminded me of like, oh my God, that says that takes a special kind of offensive coach. Because, you know, you have that thing in the bag. You probably wanted to use it three times. I thought between the opening drive, the trick play, and Purdy's perseverance to overcome the picks, not care about it. To me, it was just a masterclass in winning a rough, tough, few mistake road game.

That's how you win in the NFL when you don't play perfect. Well, listen, Kyle, in Ninerland, right, it's an intense fan base. The expectations are high can get criticized. He was 8 and 4 coming into this game in the playoffs. Now he's 9 and 4. And the difference, you know, Siriani had a good playoff record coming into this. But we all look at their team and go,

yeah, it's a lot of Howie Roseman. Like you watch this game. You're like, yeah, that's Sala and Kyle. With Purdy and Euse Check. DeMarcus Robinson. Colin, they're throwing a guys number 81. There's not a soul in America beside the guy's family that's ever heard of the player. You know, Eric Kendricks felt like was out of the league a couple years ago.

They're on, as Brady said, they're on their seventh, eighth, the ninth linebackers, they have no pass rush. They are dead last in the league in the league. You know, like the Jets, last in the league in interceptions. 49ers are last in the league in pass rush. But we all go, it's not really their fault. They're just missing everybody. You know that Nick Bose is third on the team in Sacks?

He hasn't been on the, he hasn't played a game in three months. So I think today was, you know, people try to argue for Siriani. And listen, he's won a lot of games. But if you pulled everyone in the NFL, I mean, the two coaches today, it ain't even close. And this was, say what you want about Kyle, and this is the thing I always respect. We'll get into McVeigh. A lot of these young coaches, they get pass happy. These are fantastic coaches.

Kyle's old school, man. He will run it even early in the games. Kyle calls him passes. He is wired much more like a guy from his dad's era. And that plays to the playoffs. And what do they do tonight? They made this game weird. And the Eagles, they've played in that game, what, 17 times this year?

They ended up winning a lot of them. But today they got into a spot where, like, this coaching staff and Brock, a lot of experience, mental toughness. We'll talk about this. I'm sure during the draft time upstairs. You and I have talked about this before just playing the position. But I thought when he threw that pick, I'm like, oh, my God, he's going to. But he's not mental experience. Like, that's why they like him.

You know, even me, I was like, I'm like, they're going to lose this game. And he drove him right down the field. I mean, they also had a really bad punt that Philadelphia got a field goal out of, two interceptions. There was every reason in the world to lose this game. You could have... Sky Moore caught a pun at the five-yard line tonight. What are you doing? I honestly, I will say, I'm not into firing people.

That's not my thing. I mean, there's times when you see certain coaches. You're like, okay, they're totally over their skis. Brandon Staley was about as hard as I've ever been in a coach. Tom Sula. And that's not what we have here. But I do think there's a discussion. Siriani's barking it.

I mean... at A.J. Brown. This is embarrassing. I mean, San Francisco walked in. And remember, Vic Fangio is a respected defensive coordinator. This falls on Siriani and the offensive staff. I mean, you and I both know that Jalen Hertz. I mean, I always laugh. People in Philadelphia, they know the truth. I run into Eagle fans everywhere in this country. And they're always like, you're too nice to Jalen Hertz. And I always say, I love his intangibles. I think he's a great kid, great at the podium, great leader, tough, resilient. And he does throw a nice deep ball. But you can see the limitations here. On that final drive, two balls were almost intercepted. I mean, I thought they were going to

score. I'm like, oh, my God, they got that. Hertz got that huge Dallas Goddard completion. Then Devonte Smith. And I'm like, oh, okay, San Francisco's tired. They're at home. And then all of a sudden he sails one. Then another one's almost intercepted. He is a very limited. If you take out the deep ball. He is a pretty limited pocket quarterback. And Brock Purdy is not. Brock Pretty gets banged up a lot. Brock Pretty can be a bit reckless. Brock's pretty damn good from the pocket. He's pretty good in a muddy pocket. And the other thing is Tom was showing that with the wind, throw it down. Well, it's like Tom, you're 65, six, six. So you could look down. Brock, Brock can't. Like he can't even attempt that to throw it down. He's just not tall enough. But the one thing Purdy does, that Jayland just no longer.

does is leans into his legs. There were times, if the Eagles wanted to win this game, Jalen should have had 15 carries today because the 49ers never would have stopped it. They're playing with third stringers at linebacker. They're playing with a guy that probably thought he was retired two years ago. But he doesn't want to run. The conversation, 49er fans know a lot about this, the Russell thing that happened, right? I want to be a pocket quarterback.

Russell, lean into your skill. Your skill's an all-timer. You're the greatest playmaker we've ever seen. Jalen's a great playmaker. But he just wants to play like Tom Brady in it. It does not work. And the O.C.'s done. I mean, one thing in Philly, they will not tolerate that.

He'll be, I'm sure, fired in the next 48 hours. He was already in trouble. But it's, you could bring in Kellynne Moore. You can bring in Shane Syke. And if he's not going to move, I don't care if Walsh is calling the offense, they're going to have problems. Because look, you know, Kyle's offense is predicated a lot on Purdy. And Pertie has no problem.

He'll take off and run. It's not like, well, I don't, I want to prove I'm a third. What do we got to do to win? Well, Jalen, today, to beat this team, you know, Sequin, they were selling out to stop Sequin. He had some moments. But then he gets banged up. Just take off, bro. They were not going to say, Jalen, you know, unlike Lamar and Michael Vick, these guys that were like track star speed.

Jalen actually is much more like a Frank Gore, but his instincts as a running back are elite when he's in the open field. But he hates doing it clearly. He doesn't want to do it. Brought Purdy now. Four of his five playoff wins are game. winning drives. You got to give him credit, Colin. That was impressed.

I was saying when he threw his second pick. First one was ugly. Second one, it's windy. It's man-the-man coverage. I have always defended Darnold. I remember when Purdy on Monday Night Football game had three picks against Carolina, and I said he's not healthy. You can tell the ball's dying.

Purdy's ball doesn't die. Remember he threw those two over-the-middle picks. They both behind the receiver. And I said, this isn't the real Purdy. Pertie's ball doesn't die. He's got a good arm. He doesn't have a great arm, but he's got a good arm. He also was five for seven, 126 pass a rating.

Once they lost Kittle, by the way, I've seen Purdy in the last month win twice without Kittle. So that to me is growth. They had Trent Williams, but I, this Shanahan has a real offensive philosophy. I'll go back to Nick Seriani. What is his? You don't see, you see the coaching with Kurt Signetti. You saw the coaching today with Kyle Shanahan.

You don't see it with Siriani. What is he? Well, can I and Howie's probably going to get mad at me about this, but they made a mistake. AJ clearly wanted out. It was not going well. They should have traded him at the trade deadline. Because one thing that was very evident today is the 49ers guys, and by the time they were, you know, half time of this game, it's use check.

McCaffrey's probably 60%. Some random wide receivers. They're 10 toes deep all in. They are going to go down swinging. They are all to get Trent Williams is playing probably 70% with a hamstring. It is no point. They really like each other. AJ Browns like drops of balls, like whatever.

You know, I'll be gone anyway in a couple months. Anytime you bring that in, you got him and Siriani barking at each other. And listen, I know Brady's like, hey, emotions. There's this different between just emotions, players. These two, this whole thing now has been something for a while. Two years. Get him out of here. Defonte Smith is a number one.

Goddard is one. top six tied ends in the game. This is a team that doesn't need a number one. They've got one in Devonte's a low one. A.J. is a higher one. But I think what bothered me was the effort. You know, because A.J. Brown complains a lot. And he had that ball that he kind of lost.

So they went back to him. And he did it again. And that's when Siriani raced down. It was as if to say, bro, you are barking a lot. We threw you a ball twice. You went O for two. And those are catchable balls. that thing that thing just catches up to you, you know,

and I think today was very, very evident about the fractures internally. Because the one thing you'd say, their defense is really good. I mean, the Eagles defense took a trick play. I mean, it took, you know, their offense just going three and out, punting constantly. Their defense was fine. They had a defense that you could win a Super Bowl with. They feel like the crappiest talented offense I've ever seen. Because there's no disputing the talent they have on the offense, right?

I mean, it's really hard to watch. but they don't have a coach. The play caller, first time calling plays, just completely outmashed. You saw Robert Sala, who, I mean, it sucks for 49 people. He's probably going to get a head job. You know, I think that his Jets tenure felt like it aged better with every game they played. You know, Sam Darnel, too. I just think that that was one of the best Kyle Shanahan jobs you'll ever see.

They had one against Green Bay, remember, in a cold game against Aaron Rock. Rogers, he had won the MVP and they blocked a punt. But that team was much better. This team had no business. They would have probably been in a game against Carolina, like, let alone the talent of that Eagle team on the road in the under the lights for as great of a win is this for Kyle and the 49ers and it is. That's one of the worst playoff losses you'll ever see. It really is when you factor in the talent. All year, Siriani preaches win the turnover battle.

You're at home. You win the turnover battle. I mean, think about that. You got a second half interception? George Kittle gets hurt. The Niners have a 27-yard punt. Everything lined up, and you still couldn't win. And again, I'll say it.

When you watch great coaching, you can see the coaching through the television. Vic Fangio's coaching, I can see. I can see Brian Flores coaching defensively, hyper-aggressive. I have no idea what the Eagles' offensive philosophy is. That's why they are so coordinator-dependent. like McVey and Shanahan, Andy Reid or not coordinator dependent. Harbonne, his career, hasn't been coordinator dependent. Nick Sherriani is completely utterly coordinator dependent.

And in the end, 2319, Niners win. By the way, so. I got one for you really quick, Colin. I mean, if you were Philly, you know, he worked from 1998 to 2007 for the Philadelphia Eagles. would you be very interested in John Harbaugh? Because he's just a way better version of Siriani. But I don't know if Howie Roseman wants somebody that has that much personality, culture, and power.

Like Howie struggled with Chip Kelly. Remember, he battled with Chip because Chip sees the world differently. Harbaugh's not coming in and having a GM that makes all the calls. I think he'd be great, but I don't think he works. Kevin Stefansky, who doesn't have any interest in the person, personnel, like an Andy Reid. Like, he's very respectful of the position. Stefansky wants the coach.

Oh, I can see Stefansky going there in a heartbeat. They already got the defense set up. You got the defensive coordinator under contract. You got the players. You got players on offense. I think, listen, the OC has been a polarizing individual all season long. I think this Seriani thing will get loud here in the next. I mean, that's Philadelphia.

By the way. It's this one makes the city great. 49ers now will go to Seattle. Seattle is a six and a six. a half point favorite, according to Hard Rock bet. The Rams will be a four and a half point favorite at the Bears. I don't know. I think I would... You said Rams are four and a half point favorite. I think I would probably take both dogs. I would take the Niners plus six and a half to keep it close, although you can prepare now knowing Kittles not going to play. That hurts. Also, this is a really

physical game. We just let's just wait for injuries. on San Francisco. Bears plus four and a half. I'm telling you, Soldier Fields 26 miles from my house. It's like I could hear the place at the end of that game. That place was wild. Four and a half is a lot of points. It's going to be really cold and crappy weather. Yeah. Yeah, I think I like the. I feel like the angels and the football gods are just hanging out in Chicago this year. So I wouldn't touch the bears at this point. The Niners, you know, Chicago, I would say the, with Chicago and the 49ers, their seasons were both validated Saturday night and Sunday afternoon, Sunday night. Like, they're playing with House Money. The thing you would say was Chicago, they just still have more firepower, you know, dressing out on game day.

So you can never count them out because offensively, I mean, Loveland looked like Kelsey and his prime, the other receivers they have. I mean, Caleb's magic, it does feel like the 49ers, it's going to be hard to not be out of gas. after losing George Kittle, who really is the heartbeat of the operation. He's so good. Terries Achilles. It's a pretty good spot for Seattle. You just killed them. I think you'll get some fight, but I would imagine that's not going to be a nice weather game,

Seattle, mid-January. And they don't have the game times do that. No, not yet. I would say that's a pretty good draw. I'm sure we'll get into the Rams, but this might open up a little bit for the Rams. Get the Eagles defense out of there. You know, they get a lineup if they can take care of Chicago, which is going to be difficult with a matchup with a team they know very well in Seattle.

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And guess what? We have some big news. What's the news, huge news? We created our own podcast called, Hey, Jonas. We invented a podcast? Well, we didn't invent it. We just contributed to our first people to do podcasts. Pretty, yeah, pretty wide range of podcasts throughout there.

but this one's extra special. So how do we actually come up with a name Hey Jonas, guys? I honestly don't remember. I think it was on a call about what we should call it. Well, we were thinking I'm originally calling it one of the early names of our band before Jonas Brothers.

This is how you guys remember it going down? Yes. I have a very different memory of this. We were talking about a thing, a bit for the podcast where people could call in and say, hey Jonas. And then I wrote down on my little notepad Hey Jonas and offered it up as a potential title for the podcast. But thanks for remembering that, guys.

Listen to Hey Jonas on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Just listen. We don't care where you hear it. 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.

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Bill's 27, Jaguars 24. By the way, Josh Allen, while trailing today, went 14 of 16 with 133 passer rating and three total touchdowns. You know, Josh Allen was 90% of the Bill's yards, LeBron-esque, five for five and 65 of 66 total yards on the game-winning drive. You know, playing from behind on the road, being totally dependent on one guy, isn't a recipe, for success. You know, somebody had said that whoever won that game is going to win is going to win the AFC. I don't believe it. I mean, listen, Josh Allen is as good a football player have I've ever seen in my life. I mean, I'll just say that. He's as good a football player in the history of the game. I put him, I think he's better than Elway. I think he's

better than Marino. I think he's, I think he's more talented than Mahomes. I just don't know how long. Forget a superhero. He's like Zeus. He's like a god among gods. Like, it's just different level of player. What was your big take? I mean, by the way, he got checked for concussion. He twisted his knee, so he was not playing in 100 percent, and yet he wins in Jacksonville. What'd you make of it? I thought he, like everyone, he was remarkable that that was, the Jags are really good, like really good. Now, their quarterback was a little shaky, and that was a big difference in the game. I thought Josh dominated the game. Cook, who is, you know, one of the better non-quarterback.

offensive players in the league had 46 yards on the ground. But part of that's Jacksonville. It's hard to run against them. I just thought Buffalo, all their chips going into this game were on him being A-plus. And he was, his stats don't even do him justice, right? This is the one touchdown in the air. He ran for two. But the tush pushes, which bit them in the, you know what, against the chiefs, right?

And they were mentioning this on the broadcast. They told Nance Spagnola last year, he likes to go left on the tush push. They knew it was coming. and he was just getting it. I mean, the one that went almost 10 yards. I don't know where you stood, but when they had a minute left and the Jags only had one timeout, I probably would have knelt it and ran that thing down to like 25 seconds and then tried to just three tush pushes because they had the timeouts. Their kicker in Jacksonville can kick it from like 80 yards. The Bill's defense is, obviously they made a great play, but I thought that was pretty bold just to score that fast.

But yeah, I mean, I thought, you know, Yokic, it's much more of a. an NBA operation. Steph Curry, LeBron, Kobe in his prime, just a guy that's completely unstoppable. You don't really see that in the NFL, right? Because Peyton Manning or Tom Brady's teams were much more balanced. That's not the case here. The Bears did it and we'll get to them in a minute, but the Bears scored very, very quickly. And so I think sometimes in these playoff games, I mean, Jacksonville doesn't get to the playoffs much. They just want the points. You know, they're just going to take the point. Chicago doesn't get to the playoffs much. They're facing Green Bay. If we can take a touchdown, that's what Lincoln Riley said when they took the lead on

Illinois. It's like, we're on the road. I'm going to take, we're going to go for the touchdown. So I'll, I'll never rip a staff for doing that. Like, sometimes you're like, guys, this is foreign territory. I'm not, like, I thought Ben Johnson got too cute in his coaching. I think Liam Cohen's like, let's just get in the end zone. Let's not worry about it. If they beat us like that, then, then we lost to an all-time great. You know, it's funny about Buffalo. So, like, I didn't think Jacksonville played poor. they did get beat by the Rams soundly earlier this year. Jacksonville's one of those teams, and I really failed to buy into them all year until the last two weeks.

When they beat Denver, I was like, okay, I can't deny this. Do we take something from this? Because they were, Buffalo was a favorite in this game. And I didn't get the line. I said, I don't understand the line. I think it should be like, I think Jacksonville should be like a three-point favorite, not a point and a half dog. Like I thought the line was four points off.

But I think it flipped by kickoff. I think it was like Jags minus one. So I think a bunch of money came in on Buffalo over the course of the weekend. I did think early in the game, Sean McDermott and his staff, I could see the plan. Like I thought they came and energized because they'd struggled all year as a first half team. But I watched the first half and I was like, I kind of felt like I was watching the plan. And I was like, okay. Because my fear all week was like, oh, I could see it being 21 to 3.

And Jacksonville just coming out, home playoff game, Buffalo's a slow starting team. But I thought Buffalo's first half, it's not just the end of the game. I thought they played a really strong first half. It was imperfect. But, you know, I said all year long, I don't trust Jacksonville. They're just really, they're squirly. I don't trust them. Did you feel like it was like, are you?

disappointed with the Jags, or do you feel like, you know, it's just the first Liam Cohen step, and it's always been about steps and playoff football? Well, their team is really talented, but their quarterback had been lights out the last two months of the season. I mean, he had been, in December, he was, there was not a hotter team coming into the NFL, and he was a massive part of it. Today, I thought he was all over the map. I mean, obviously, he made some nice passes, but there were passes. He was putting it into harm's way constantly. There was a gap.

This happens in NBA series a lot, right? Pick the team with the best player is usually the old adage when gambling on a playoff series in the NBA. That was kind of my logic in this game because I think if you reverse the quarterbacks and push Josh Allen on the Jags, Jags would win this thing like 35 to 10. They would kill them. If you told me Josh Allen was on the Jags roster, I think the Jags would cruise to the Super Bowl in the EFC. And Trevor had taken the step and be like, okay, This is the guy that we had kind of anointed.

They gave $200 million to last year. And today, I thought actually they got a little pass happy. I get when McVeigh does it. It's like, I don't always agree, but it's like he's got Stafford. He leans on him, okay. Or Andy, he's got Mahomes. Like, Trevor was shaky. You were, they were running it for over six yards of carry.

E.N had 10 carries for almost 70 yards. The Tootin guy had four carries for 50 yards. He was, and his longest run was 20. So it's not like he had a 40-yard run. they were having the bills are not they have a lot of guys on defense beside their d lines good but their safeties and linebackers aren't exactly you know john lynch and ray lewis so you can push that's the thing with baltimore when they lost them last year it's like how did you guys not just lean on them when you get pass happy in the nfl look at the diners weird things can happen

db can kind of stay in your hip pocket a ball gets tipped a ball's picked and i thought you know leum cohen i understand his quarterback had a bunch of momentum but you can feel it out in the game like, hey, Trevor's a little off. And the other thing that benefited Buffalo is you watch Chicago, you watch Philly, it's freezing cold. I mean, people are in the pool there. It benefits Josh Allen to play in a 70-degree debt. Yeah.

And the other thing is when I look at that game is that, like, I love Parker Washington. I mean, the fact that he was a six-round pick. There's so much talent in this league. Kittles is a fifth-round pick. Parker Washington is six. I think Brock Purdy's a seventh. I think Jennings is a sixth for a seventh for the 49ers. there's so much damn talent in the NFL.

I mean, there's so much talent just spread across the world. Parker Washington is, I'm trying to think of the great A.B. was a six-round draft pick. The great Mel Gray was a six-round draft pick. Parker Washington, six-round. Like, there's been great players in the sixth round at wide receiver. And that's a position there's just a lot of, you know, especially in the last 10 years. But when I look at Trevor Lawrence is, I think it was one of those things. He was so good as a freshman at Clemson beating. Alabama. He was so good in high school. He was so good in college that I think I always just put him

in this elite Andrew Luck class. And when I watch him play, I think he's really good. He's not a great talent. He's a good quarterback. His arm is good. It's not great. His athletic ability is good. It's not, it's not like a plus plus. I think he's a good quarterback. But I think I've just overvalued him because I liked him so much in college. I mean, you beat Nick Sabin and then the dynasty as a freshman and you're like key to the game. It's like I just couldn't unsee that. And I just for years. And it's funny because Greg CoSell very early came on my show. It was like year two of Josh Allen. And he goes, Trevor Lawrence is not close to Josh Allen. He goes, I'm just telling you what the tape says. Josh Allen is going to be so much better. And I'm like, really? Okay. Well, I mean, Trevor's banged up.

And I think I've just always overvalued Trevor, who is a good quarterback. but he's not, you watch Caleb Williams on a couple of those throws, that fourth and eight throw with 540 left by Caleb Williams is one of the best throws I've ever seen in a football game by a quarterback, a right-hander throwing, moving left. I'm just watching him like, I don't even know what the, and then they show it from behind Caleb and you're like, what the hell did he see? Like, how did he do that? Well, there are three guys, there are three guys in the league that could have pulled that off. Obviously, Caleb, Josh and Justin Herbert. And now looking back, Josh and Justin Herbert, I think we'd all agree, are just pure talent-wise, as talented as any human beings that have played in this league.

When you talk about size, speed, and arm velocity. Thing with Trevor Lawrence, he's much closer to the Manning crew in terms of arm strength, Philip Rivers in his prime. But he's not that accurate. He's not Mr. Accuracy. So, like, part of it is, like, he was with this great prospect, like Luck or Peyton Manning, because that was the buzz when he was coming. coming out. But part luck had a better arm and was much more of a physical player.

You know, Trevor has some times when he's running, he gets tackled. He goes down. You know, Josh gets tackled. He's flying forward. But I'm looking this year, he threw 60%. And I think Brady and Peyton Man to be the first to tell you, like, do you watch this league now? If you're not in the high 60s with the rules on your side, that's a problem. In an offensive oriented league and they're pretty loaded offensively with talent. So listen, he's much improved. I think the thing that you have to be excited for if you're Jacksonville, you know, I had him in like that to a world, like this guy making a lot of money.

You can win with him if you build the team. But like, I ain't betting on this guy in a playoff game when he's playing Josh Allen or Joe Burl or Lamar Jackson. Because there's a gap there that's pretty wide. He's not a first-tier guy. And that's okay. He's not Justin Herbert. I don't think he's C.J. Stroud's accurate. Like, Trevor's, I think to your point,

His delivery is a little long. I just don't think he's a terribly accurate thrower. And by the way, either is Caleb, but Caleb gives you so much horsepower that you can't. I mean, I've said this, and let's just go to that game. Chicago 31, Green Bay 27, 900 total yards is, and I'd said this after the game, I did a, like a YouTube hit. And I said, you know, the boxes that L.A. checked. durable, unbelievable in the fourth quarter, huge arm. We'll throw some picks, but not that many.

You never really looked at him as he was accurate, but that wasn't his game. His game was durable, tough, smart, great in the fourth, doesn't get hurt, doesn't throw picks in the big spots late in games. That's kind of Caleb Williams. Like, I know, you know, Green Bay fans all want to. fire Matt LaFleur. But the truth is, Green Bay fans are a little delusional, John. With Farrvin Aaron Rogers, between those two for 30 years, they got two Super Bowls and only three trips. They don't get free agents. They don't pay like other teams often do for coordinators.

When you don't have an owner, you can't make those decisions on the tarmac like Stan Cronkey can make. And when I look at Green Bay, once they lose Michael Parsons, it's okay. but they lost also Kenny Clark and Micah Parsons because Kenny Clark in the trade of Dallas. And at the end of that game, you know this, John. By the time you get to the end of a playoff game, it's three and a half hours of football, your defense usually isn't at its best. Those big uglies up front are tired. And Caleb Williams had a little extra time.

He moved out of the pocket four or five times, and he just, those guys are tired. These are 330-pound guys. And so, I mean, everybody wants to pile on, but I think what the Bears did Saturday, John, this is what they are. They've done this like six times. This is what they are. Yeah, I mean, listen, you've been talking about this. I talked about it last night on the podcast is, you know, Caleb,

part of when you discuss a draft prospect and you talk sealing, he has one of the great arms we've ever seen. He's one of the great playmakers we've ever seen physically. His ability to move is elite. I'm talking behind the line of scrimmage, move and run. Jordan Love was a first round. pick at the end of the first round. You know what Jordan Love is?

Like Dak Prescott or Kirk Cousins. Good player. Solid. But his physical skills, and he was a project once a lot of time, they're okay. He's got solid arm, pretty accurate when he's in rhythm, can kind of move. Definitely not the best athlete in his own quarterbackery. Right? So he's fine. But like you saw the physical gifts, like both that, both those two teams, shit was kind

of hitting the fan. You need to make some stuff happen. And one thing, Caleb, why you can't really nitpick on the accuracy right now, Listen, he's been inaccurate a little bit, right? Some balls are flying. He makes up for it with these huge plays. And obviously, the play, it might be play the year so far on that four and eight. I mean, save their season, right?

27, 16, fourth and eight. He throws it over. When you really watch it in slow motion, there are three guys in yellow right in front of them, one guy, but you have to put it like layer the throw. It's crazy. That's one of the great throws you've ever seen. But so many other plays as the game went on, he kind of gets rolling. You've been saying he's a momentum player.

Well, his momentum with this. talent is unstoppable. Like Trevor Lawrence, a momentum player too, but he can only do so much. When Josh Allen gets momentum, holy, you know what, the avalanche is coming, and there is no stopping it. And the thing with the bears, even unlike the bills, like Loveland has a chance to be an elite player in the NFL. DJ Moore had some drops, but he's been a high-level NFL player now for what, five, six years. Roma Dunez was a top 10 pick. DeAndre Swift had the best year of his career.

The other running back, seventh round pick has been fantastic. I mean, they got so much talent and they got great guard center guard for smaller, shorter quarterback. Big picture, I think they did lose their left tackle though at the end of the game, ruptured killings or something. So that's not ideal. But luckily, this is the thing with the Josh Allen's, the Caleb's, even Purdy. They've had, you've got to be able to move.

Jordan Love doesn't really, he's not a bad athlete, but he's much closer to me to like 35-year-old Dak Prescott than he is to these mobile quarterbacks. Well, the other thing is, the first half. is a coaching half. To me, the first half, second half, you do need players to make plays because you're off the script. The first half, Green Bay dominated. So don't blame Matt LaFleur. That was basically when Jordan Love was in rhythm on script, on game plan. Jordan Love was really good. In the second half, Ben Johnson overthought the first half, a little desperate on the going for it, deep in his own territory. But in the second half, that's a player's half. That's a Josh Allen half. That's where Caleb Williams

has shined. That's where John Elway shone. that is not a knock on on on on johnson but i thought matt lefleur won the first half okay the second half is okay quarterback versus quarterback the gap between caleb and jordan love was substantial like it was it was a cleanup hitter and a six hitter like it was like wow and i actually thought ben johnson got out coached and that has not happened a lot this year i thought i thought the first two two and a half quarters i thought i thought i thought matt lefleur did a good job But I do think, ask yourself, people right now, and I guess the Bears are more the topic than the Packers, but would Matt LaFleur get a job instantly? Yes, despite blowing a 21 to 3 lead, he'd get a job in 48 hours. Be very careful, Green Bay.

Farve got one Super Bowl title. Aaron Rogers got one. And by the way, the NFC is much better now than three years ago. It's real. Okay, the Detroit Lions team that beat Aaron Rogers. Remember that game when they had a chance to win and go to the planet? Yeah. Detroit's going to land Mike McDaniel and coordinator. They're going to be back. Chicago's for real. The Rams are going nowhere. Philadelphia is going to get a legit coach or an offensive coordinator. So it's like, take a deep breath, Green Bay.

Don't pull a Cleveland fire Stafansky. Stafansky's the leading candidate for half of his jobs. Chicago now will face the Rams. So the Rams, here's the good news for Chicago. Matt Stafford, especially on the road, he'll throw an ugly pick. Their special teams are a liability every other game. Like, also Luther Burton, Roma Dunzee, Colston Loveland, I don't love the corners. I think the Rams' safeties are pretty good.

I think their corners are, it's probably going to be their first or second draft pick. I think Chicago's got a fighter's chance in this game. I really do. I think the Rams are really good. I mean, Pooka will get to that in a state, unstoppable. But I think the Bears match up okay against the Rams at home. Yeah, the one thing Sean McVeigh will do that, you know, LaFleur tried to run the clock out in the second half, kind of. He's in full control, and they couldn't.

And Dennis Allen deserves and the players deserve a lot of credit. They just, I don't know how many Josh J. Yards he ran for minus the kickoff return, but had to be under 20. He had nowhere to go. Sean McVey won't care. He wants to pass. And sometimes he will lean on Stafford too much, but the Bears DBs are pretty bad, right? now, right? Jalen Johnson's show themselves. They also lost their best linebacker. They lost an edge guy. So it's like, oh, brother. Who's the heart and soul of the defense from a, from a leadership

standpoint on the defense? They lose their left tackle, which is not ideal, you know, against a team with some good pass rushers. Listen, the Rams went through a weird stretch yesterday. I mean, they looked like the team that for a couple quarters against Arizona, you're like, Sean McVeigh had to look on his face. Like, I might just go to Amazon here in a week. What are we doing, guys? Like this is, but where you can take advantage of Chicago is those widers. I mean, Puka, I don't think we've ever seen a receiver quite that plays like him. And Devante is a pretty special number two.

Their tight ends all catch the ball well. They got multiple running backs. They can catch the ball. He can call screens. This is a more buttoned up unit than Green Bay. But, like, it's not like you get the Rams coming in with a ton of momentum. I kind of came away from that team. It's like, yeah, I can see the Rams win.

the NFC, I could also see them losing to anybody. And like you said, it's going to be a freezing cold thing. Here's that, that, this fan base, like, there aren't that many Luca Jacksonville today. It just looked like a ho-hum NFL random October Sunday. The Bears game feels like LSU at night. Like, it feels like something pretty, which is cool in this day and age where you get online, everyone hates each other, like everyone coming together. I can't even imagine the experience of those people walking out the stadium, all going to bars after. It had to be like a really, religious experience being at that game against that team. So the crowd is going to be, I would put it against anyone because they have nothing to go back on.

Like, at least Seattle's like a lot of the season ticket holders have seen Super Bowl level teams. Look, this Bears team. I mean, this is like Caleb didn't even get 4,000 yards. He still threw for more yards than any guy in the history of the franchise right this season. So I just think that environment, like you can tell Eagles fans, I don't think they like this team. Because they didn't trust Siriani. they didn't trust Jalen Hertz. This Bears team, I just think that environment is going to be pretty special come next week.

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You know, here's another advantage the bears will have. I was thinking about this today is that, you know, there's not many pocket-only quarterbacks left. Because Purdy actually really moves exceptionally well. He really does. Pertie really moves. He's a real athlete. Jared Goff and Stafford. You and I talked about this.

It could have been last week. If the initial play doesn't work for the Rams, it's over. And sometimes Matt will uncork a really bad throw. You go look at the last two drives for the Bears, John. If the play doesn't work, you have a separate play. Caleb Williams just, you know, Roma Dunzee, Luther Burden, Colston, Loveland. The Bears are young. Those guys are all young.

They haven't dealt with NFL injuries. I mean, Burns a rookie, Loveland, Roma Duns. Dude, they got kids out there. Those guys are high energy guys. And it kind of turns into a seven-on-seven drill when the play breaks down. So you get Ben Johnson's play design and play calling. Oh, it doesn't work. Okay, we have a second play.

The Rams have a play. And if it doesn't work, that's the end. of the play. And so four and a half points at home with that Rams secondary. I just, I mean, I watched Josh Allen today. And then I watched Caleb Williams last night. And I think you and I know this, it feels like the Rams peaked about six weeks ago. They're just not quite tight. They had an injury. Kevin Dotson didn't play. So they had a couple mistakes on the offensive line. They just didn't feel. I mean, I was sitting there at one point thinking, Carolina's going to beat the Rams twice. I don't understand the league. I don't even understand it. Same. They just aren't as

dominant as a pass rush, I think, as we thought they were going to be. I mean, they sack Bryce twice. Okay, I want to talk about this. He's not the, he's not the most mobile guy, and even he got away. Caleb's a completely different animal in terms of movement. 34-31. Rams do beat Carolina. So I keep hearing about Chris Shula. Oh, boy, this is, remember when Brandon's Staley was there. Oh, this, this Staley guy. And I keep saying, guys, Rahim Morris. Oh, he was around McVeigh. This guy's magic. No, he's fired again. I keep hearing about Chris Shula. Carolina went four for four in the red zone. Carolina, there were multiple times. Carolina on third down made huge plays. It's like, I got nothing against Chris Shula, but I felt all year that the Rams pass rush has kind of underachieved. I just, I don't, I have a hard time watching the Rams defense and seeing the great coaching. I see the talent. Young, verse, Kobe Turner, Boone Ford.

I see the talent. Now, in offense, with McVeigh, I see the coaching. But this defense, to me, feels like it should be a little. Now, it was very good on the final drive when they could pin their ears back and Bryce Young was under duress. then you're like, okay, but it should look like that during the first, second, and third quarters more often is my point. You know, one thing that stood out to me in a couple weeks ago, when they lost to Atlanta on Monday night,

Aikman mentioned something on that broadcast. He said that McVeigh called verse into his office because he wanted to show him that he's playing well, even though he doesn't have that much to show for it. To me, that shows like, you know, I mean, I was like, well, not that there's fractures internally, but this guy was. supposed to be one of the next, I don't know, the next Khalil Mack. I would have bet on him to take a huge step and be one of the most dominant players

in the league after last year. And you just watch these games and you don't feel his specific presence. And you know, sometimes power guys, they just I don't know, I thought his power was just so overwhelming. It wouldn't matter. But they are going, if they're going to win the NFC these next couple weeks against two,

you know, it's going to be really hard for the Niners to win. But probably against Sam Darnold and obviously Caleb Williams, they're going to have to just get constant pressure. And it's going to have to start with him. Like he's got to take over these games. And you're watching Carolina.

Now, listen, McMillan's really talented players, that Coker kid's playing out of his mind. Leggett was a high pick. I mean, they got some talent. You're running around. Absolutely. But if you get Bryce, he should fold. He's not very big, and they couldn't get around him.

And he was just making plays. So I'm kind of out on the Rams just because something's just off. I can't put my finger on it. But you know when you watch it, you go, I don't know, something's weird. Because the way the game started, you think they're going to win this thing 30 to 10. And they're up 17 to 7 driving. He goes for it. Doesn't get it. They come back and score. And up until the last like five minutes of the game, they were kind of against the ropes way too much against a team that, listen, give hat tip to Carolina for fighting. But they, man, they should not be able to hold it within three.

The Rams were 10 and a half point favorite. And again, Rico Dowdle, T-Mack, they've got some offensive talent. Here's my question. What do you do with Bryce Young? I mean, he's good enough to win that division. He's not good enough to win a lot of divisions. I feel like he would be one of those great bridge quarterbacks. He's a little small for me. It's about 5.11. He did not have a big arm. He moves exceptionally well. The players like him. He's supposed to be, he's really a good kid. Like he's all in. I don't know what you do with him. I think if you're Carolina, if it was a great quarterback class, maybe that solves it. It's not. So my 10. take is do you just extend him, try to get a team friendly one? What do you do? I think Schaefter said that they're picking up his fifth year option. I did the math. It will work out to about two years, $32 million. That's fine. So I'm not into giving them one of those Tua Jordan Love extensions, but Daniel Jones got $15 million this offseason. So essentially you're buying two years of bridge quarterback play while you keep figuring it out. They do have some talent on their team. Six weeks ago, I'd have been like that since.

insane. You watch him down the stretch. You go, listen, you could do way worse. You clearly like him. Figure it out as you go. But I don't think you can ever give him one of those big contracts. He's just not. It's hard to play in the league at 5-10, a buck 80. You know, when you don't have a great arm, you're not that mobile. It's actually really impressive what he's even able to do. I mean, he was a huge recruit, goes to Alabama, played well. He's a pretty remarkable story when you just look at how good he is with his size. I don't think we'll ever see that again, do you? A guy that small, get drafted that high, and just be a starter in the league for as long as he's going to be. It's kind of an outlier situation, but I think financially, I have a hard time

ever see him getting a massive contract. Yeah, he feels very much a mid-30s, a Baker, a Darnold contract. Darnold at this point is underpaid, regardless of what you think of him. No, I'm with you. I think, you know, again, I think the bears have a real shot against the Rams. I really do. I kind of agree with you that I think Philadelphia is a little bit, or Philadelphia, you took a chunk out of the Niners. I just don't know if the Niners, you fly all the way back home, then you fly up to Seattle, and Seattle's sitting there. Now, the good news is the Niners, you know, fresh off a win will probably be very good in the first couple of drives of the game. Seattle could come out, be very rusty. I didn't like the fact that Seattle had a biweek.

They're too young. They want to play. Those buy weeks are, I mean, we saw this in college football. The buy weeks hurt teams outside of Indiana. Well, that's going to be. because it's young athletes. Young athletes want to play. If you have an old team, you know, like San Francisco this week, they'd be great getting time off. But Philadelphia was, you know, you give somebody like that time off. I don't think Denver or Seattle will be better necessarily. I think it makes them more vulnerable. But I think over the course of a game, I think the Niners, I think they'll just, you know, they're going to take too many shot. That feels like a game that San Francisco could lead like 13, 10 at half. And then Seattle just

relentless, athletes, pressure. Purdy gets hit as a bat. All of a sudden you look up and it's like, okay, now it's 30, 20, and San Francisco's out of gas with about eight minutes to go. Well, typically in the NFL when a team, I think, you know, from a gambling standpoint, when a team gets blown out late in the season by a team and plays them again, the score is much closer, right? And these guys know each other really well.

I do think Kittles a massive blow in their run game situation. That's really, really hard to overcome. But, yeah, I mean, the Niners at this point have nothing to lose. So anytime you play a team, you ask Philadelphia, a team with not much to lose at all, all the pressures on you. Of the pie chart, 100% of the pressure today was on Philadelphia. And as the game got weird and weird, all the 49ers wanted to do is just keep it weird. Keep it close. Same thing with Seattle.

If you're down 13 to 10 at halftime, that is a gigantic wind. I mean, you know, it's just. And you could see, John, you could see Seattle's game plan coming in as guys, we have the better roster. We're at home. Yeah. It's going to be a very conservative game plan. We're going to win this game. You could see Mike McDonald's saying, guys, we're going to win this game in the third quarter. Let's not make any mistakes. So San Francisco probably comes in pretty aggressive. Seattle comes in super conservative. So if I had to bet anything, I would bet the Niners in the first half. But I do think there's just a wave of Seattle athleticism and youth and health. And their roster is completely healthy. I think at some point, rosters, when you have a good head coach. Mike McDonald, several notches above Nick Sariani. They have good coordinators, a good culture. I think Seattle wears them out.

Not shocking really thinking about it, the NFC West, who had the one seed, the five seed and the six seed are three of the four teams left. And there's a pretty good chance, you know, if somehow the Bears football angel doesn't show up when they play the Rams, that it's going to be an NFC West, NFC championship game, which we've seen so many times over the last 10, 15 years, right, going back to Harbaugh and Pete Carroll through McVey and Shanahan. So I just think that the travel for these teams, right?

I mean, look at the 49ers going to Seattle's, what, a couple-hour flight. I mean, the Rams, that's all the one thing I will give the Rams a little bit of. That is a, you're playing this 8-9 team. I don't know, I've never made the flight from L.A.X. To Charlotte, but it's minimum five hours. Like, it's a long trek, right? And George Kittle talked about this last week when they lost. when you play these playoff games against these

the 49ers had a four and a half, five-hour flight to go to Philadelphia. These are long trips. You know, it's why it's such a big advantage for Seattle and Denver. You just kind of sit there and wait. So, and you let the other team get the living, you know what beat out of them. Like even the Rams, it's like, well, they play, they were 10 and a half point favorite.

Yeah, they had to really strain to win that game. So it's just, now sometimes you use that as momentum. We've seen the Eli teams make crazy runs, right, as wild cards. And sometimes you run out of gas. So it's no different with the bears They've had a pretty crazy emotional month plus

wins and loss I mean that nineer loss Then you saw them come out really flat against the lions But then they came storming back And then last night I just don't know how much emotionally they can ride the road I've never Because the commanders didn't have as much

Offensive talent as the Bears do I feel like Both defense is aren't good Offensive talent's exceptional Yeah just so it's They're much more serious but for them to make this one with their defenses, because it did feel when they were down 21 to 3, you're like, they've had a remarkable season.

They have the star coach, but you're going to get destroyed by the hackers like this at home. It was tough. Even Ben Johnson's coaching, he got, he was like, I don't want to give the ball back to Green Bay. I'm going to go for it at a 32-yard line. I mean, that's just basically he was telling you, I'm not giving their defense an opportunity to have a bigger league.

Like, he didn't trust his defense. Dennis Allen does deserve credit. I thought the second half, It was much more aggressive game plan. All right, a couple of college thoughts. So a week from now on Monday, a week from Monday, Indiana is going to be potentially the third straight big 10 team to a national championship. Third straight year, an SEC team doesn't even make it. And it's really interesting.

I went and looked today. Six of the seven top quarterbacks next season. Dante Moore, Mayava, Underwood, San, Sellers, Sorosby, the Big 12 kid that goes from Cincinnati to Texas Tech, six of the top seven outside of Arch Manning are non-SEC quarterbacks. Indiana, Ohio, State, Oregon, Michigan with Winningham is going to be a very good football team immediately. They have a ton of talent. Say what you want. They stock the cupboard. So Indiana, Ohio, State, Oregon, Michigan should be top 10 teams next year. USC Washington are as talented as they have been in the last five or six years. That Washington

had a great recruiting class. They've been good in the portal. SC just had the number one recruiting class. So I think USC, Washington, Penn State are somewhere between 10th and 15th or 16th is I was told this weekend by an agent that he said, listen, SEC coaches privately, they know it's over. Like they just know. You see Alabama lost two stars.

Now, they went to the SEC. They went to Texas, oil money. But it was funny. when I watched Ole Miss, because I watched Georgia this year, not only lose to Ole Miss, lose to Bama once, but they could have lost to Tennessee, Florida, and Auburn. Like, they just weren't the same team, is that it's interesting to watch Indiana now. And I think we have to be honest about it because Mark Cuban just wrote a $12 or $15 million dollar check. Indiana now is a national power. Ohio State's now a national power.

Oregon is not playing Indiana. If Oregon was playing anybody else not in any of Indiana, they're a national power. Michigan with Whittingham will be a really, really, really good team. Like, John, I think when I look at it now, and this is why the world changes. I was watching the story on Boeing today, and everybody's like Boeing now in the last six months. Boeing was a wreck nine months ago. It was just a mess. It was completely dysfunctional. Boeing just turned it around. You can do this in business, and you can now do it in the transfer portal. I think everybody has to just realize right now, Indiana between their coach and their NIL is a better football program than anybody in the SEC. They have a better coach and they have easier access to massive eight-figure capital annually.

That is hard to wrap your brain around. But I'm sitting there watching Indiana and I'm like, just if you put George's uniform on Indiana, you'd be like, this is unbelievable. This is what they are now. Indiana is with Signetti and their, and I, last year they got in, they didn't have big money. They had James Madison players and they made the playoff. So I guess my takeaway on all of this is Indiana is now just give the uniforms to Ohio State. This is what they're going to look like every year, right?

Someone forwarded me a tweet from Connor Stallions, Harba's old guy basically saying that, you know, the local car dealership can no longer just put $20,000 in a bag and handed to a kid, right? Because the minimum, I mean, you're talking, you see some of the prices on these players. I didn't know this until the other night. Indiana has more alumni or, you know, it's disputed, but definitely top two or three than any school in the country. And all the other schools beside Arizona State are all Big Ten. So if you just do the math, if I have the most kids graduating for decades, I'm just going to have a higher percentage of people that are going to do well. And at these schools, even if you don't like sports that much, I had friends from high school that went to Oregon, that went to Arizona.

And I wouldn't call them like sports diehards. They're very passionate about their school. And when Arizona or Oregon, when these schools make runs in basketball or football, they are bound by that school. And like that's a huge advantage for Ohio State and for Michigan, the size of their alumni base. And let's face it, like how many billionaires are SEC graduates? Now, that could change. Their, you know, their application base has dramatically grown over the last 10 and 15 years.

But you know what, John? guys are 30, 28. I mean, it's going to take some time. LSU's number one booster is a personal injury attorney. Well, you can't compete with Larry Ellison at Michigan and Mark Cuban. The biggest Georgia booster, rest in peace, he was a beloved guy. He was a bourbon distributor. Again, awesome career. But you're talking about now, Big Ten schools, this is something I talked about three years ago. Car dealer, a big car dealer is the number one or number two guy in the SEC. That is not. That guy's number eight, number 10. And these Michigan and Notre Dame have endowments that are top 10 in the country.

There's just billionaires everywhere. USC right now, forget the fact they get the $90 million check. They're building a $300 million facility. They're buying the best class in the country. They have more money than they know what to do with. Well, why do you think Cal at Stanford hired Andrew Luck and Ron Rivera? I think Cal has more billionaires than any other school in America. because if they hired John Middokoff to be the GM of Cal Football,

that guy might not going to pick up my phone call. If Ron Rivera calls, not only would pick it up, hey, come down to Google and have lunch with me, right? Andrew Luck's getting all these guys to pick up. So these schools, I'm just talking Cal and Stanford. So think of the advantage they have over every SEC program. So if they can get money in, they immediately can compete with those schools. Like, that's Texas's big advantage.

I think I saw Stuart Mandel or someone said that by all signs, point to them having a 40 plus million dollar roster. They have unlimited money. Same thing with Texas Tech. The Texas Tech quarterback that they just signed, they had to pay Cincinnati a million dollar buyout to get his services. He had a buyout closet in his contract. So they gave him $5 million and they gave Cincinnati or the NIL

or however it worked out a million dollars. Well, they can do it because they got the billionaire guy who is all in. And honestly, I've seen some of their, I saw this interview on Instagram with this guy going around at a Texas Tech away game and a lot of their boosters are oil guys are very successful individuals. Texas Tech, Texas, Texas, Texas A&M. It's Texas. Texas has a massive economy.

So if you, if you, I mean, Texas Tech has far greater money than anybody in the SEC not called Texas and Texas A&M. Alabama just lost, I think it was a star running back. They lost over the course of the weekend. They thought they had him. He committed. Texas came in. Boom, we'll take him.

So, I mean, what would the SEC be now without Texas and Texas A&M? They'd be the big 12. They can't compete. Yeah, when Greg Byrne put up the tweet kind of begging for money a year ago, you knew like, whoa, that's pretty crazy. I mean, that's, can you imagine in some of these other programs doing it? But I don't even blame it. He probably feels desperate. What else is you going to do?

Put a Venmo account, link it to Alabama. Here's two other schools that are loaded, Notre Dame and Miami from the ACC. So they are, so it's not just, you know, three or four Big Ten teams. It's Texas Tech. It's Miami. It's Notre Dame. So, I mean, there's so many great high school programs and coaches and players in the big, in the SEC footprint. They're always going to have their players. But I was told this weekend by somebody, this is, this is, this is somebody that is in, he's like an agent for, I mean, he had a big weekend. this weekend with a couple of players. I can't tell you who they are, but there's a wide receiver that plays in the ACC that's going to get paid by a Big Ten team. And it's a lot of money. And I can't disclose the player or the money. But he's in this world. And it's like, there's so much money in the big ten right now. There is so much money. All right. John Middlecock, former NFL Scout, three and out. Go crush it. Let's go watch the Patriots Chargers.

We got Netflix starting tomorrow, Colin. So with the three and out podcast, will be on Netflix starting tomorrow, so we're rocking and rolling. A lot of people have asked, I will, this doesn't change it all with me and you and doesn't change anything from the audio, but Netflix, we're rocking and rolling tomorrow. So come a long way here. Let's keep it rolling. All right, the hard rock pick, John, I think I'm going to take the Steelers at home, Mike Tomlin on Monday night minus three.

What I worry about Houston is they settle for a lot of field goals in the red zone. And you know I love C.J. Stroud. But between Gainwell, Friermouth, Jalen Horns had a really interesting year. D.K. Metcalfe is back. It's Aaron Rogers at home. He's not making a lot of mistakes. Tomlin is a dog. I think I'm going to take the Steelers plus three. I've been saying all year how dangerous Houston is, but I can't, I can't unsee that second half of the Steelers over the Ravens. I think I like Pittsburgh. Yeah, if this was a Disney movie, I would take Aaron Rogers, but it's not. And I like the Houston, Texas. And I like him big.

So Rogers had a hell of a career. I think it comes to a screeching halt on Monday night. Yeah, well, that Texans pass rush. Gonna be a problem. Great stuff. The volume. Hey, guys, it's us. The Jonas Brothers.

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