The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Middlekauff - 3 and Out - Shanahan keeps impressing; Cowboys closer than you think; It's over for Gronk; Rams and Saints Super Bowl favorites

Episode Date: November 13, 2018

Subscribe here to the 3 and Out with John Middlekauff Podcast https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/3-and-out-with-john-middlekauff/id1352730623?mt=2. 3 and Out with John Middlekauff is part of the Colin Cowherd Podcast Network. 3 and Out is an unfiltered podcast covering the biggest stories in the NFL and college football. John brings his unique perspective as a former NFL scout, NFL analyst and radio host. In this episode, John discusses the Giants MNF win over the Niners and why Kyle Shanahan is the real deal despite his record. John also explains why the Cowboys are closer than everyone thinks, why Belichick should have trusted his instincts and cut Gronk loose, and why the Saints and Rams are the Super Bowl favorites. He also answers listener questions from the Middlekauff Mailbag. Follow John on twitter @JohnMiddlekauff and go to theherdnow.com to find the latest content. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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It wouldn't be a huge surprise if our team ends up in the quarterfinals or potentially a great run into the semifinals. 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, everybody, John Middlekopf, three and out podcast. Back added again, another week. Got a big week coming up. Podcasts. All you guys have been listening, we're going every Tuesday, we're going every Friday, just got done watching the Monday night football game.

Sneaky, I'm a little biased living here in the Bay Area, but pretty good Monday night game for two teams that have zero future this season. We're going to dive into that in my big takeaway. We're going to touch on the Cowboys. They are definitely not dead. Grunkowski's career is over. It's pretty clear and Belichick made an emotional decision over this offseason and I think it's kind of biting them now and then we'll dive into the two alpha dogs in the NFC which I think right now are the clear favorites to win the whole thing. But starting with tonight, you know, there's a reason despite these last couple years, the 49ers have not won many games.

They've won two games this year. They won six last year, but really five came when Jimmy Garoppolo showed up. But as you saw tonight, the reason Kyle Shanahan is so highly thought of in the NFL is he does, really does the two most important things now that you need out of your head coach. One is calling offensive plays. And two, which is the most important, coach up quarterbacks. He just turned Nick Mullins. Before the Raider game two weeks ago on Thursday night football,

no one had any clue who Nick Mullins was. He was an undrafted free agent, an undrafted free agent that no team in the league would have touched. Like he was a, what you call in the business, a camp arm. And he went in somehow stuck around, and Kyle Shanahan, on a Monday night football game, somehow got him to go 27 of 39. Like, Kyle Shanahan does the most important thing that you need a coach to do in the NFL in modern day

with the rules, with the officiating. Can you coach the quarterback? Can you be the quote unquote quarterback whisperer? Like, if you have an accountant, what do you pay him to do? Do your taxes, count the numbers. Figure out ways to manipulate the system. If you have a lawyer, what do you pay him to do? know the law like the back of his hand.

You know, if you go to a restaurant, what do you pay them to do? Especially a nice one, you're paying a lot of money. You're taking your wife out. You're taking your wife out. You're taking your girlfriend out. Taking your buddy out for his birthday. I don't know. Have a nice meal. Be good. Have the chef.

Be talented at what he does. Cook good food. What do I need out of my coach now? Motivational speeches. No. Samurai swords in the middle of the locker room like John Harbaugh. No. Scheme up defense.

It's not even possible in this day. and age with the rules. I need you to be able to coach the quarterback and Kyle Shanahan really can that he's able to even just function. Just think about this. Just function with a third string quarterback is pretty eye-opening. Like no other coach in the NFL can do this. It's what separates guys. It's why even though that the 49ers have basically constantly lost beside a five-game stretch with Jimmy Garoppolo, no one in all the other games with C.J. Besson. with Brian Hoyer and then this year with CJ and a little bit of Nick Mullins. No one has questioned me like, God, is Kyle Shanahan kind of a fraud?

What the hell does this guy know? He's an idiot. No, everyone's going, God, this guy's good. Like, think how fast everyone in Green Bay would trade him for McCarthy. Think how fast every new, look at Pat Schumer. To be I'm watching Pat Schumer that's known as this offensive guy, the kind of, you know, has already had a shot. He's not a good head coach. I've watched him long enough now to know

when he's in the driver's seat as the main guy, he's terrible. As Tommy Lasorda once said, I'd send the bleep and limo to go pick him up to make sure he's there on game day. I want to play Pat Schumer. Now, is he a good offensive coordinator? Yes. Is he a good head coach?

No. He's just not. Eli Manning shot. It's hard to watch the Giants. The Giants are a borderline embarrassment given that they pass. on a quarterback for Eli Manning. That Eli Manning that is so washed, it's not even funny.

I know he made a couple plays on that final drive. I mean, one of them was a basic dump off to say Juan Barkley. The game-winning touchdown pass was not bad, but still. I mean, for Booger even to say that like they had a plan, I mean, BS, they thought Eli was good, and he has shot Dunzo. There was a play, I think, maybe it was early in the fourth quarter, maybe late in the third quarter where O'Dell Beckham was so wide open. Eli revved up, hit the gas pedal all the way down, threw it as far as he can, and it went like 40 yards.

Went 40 yards. I mean, it was an eye-opening pass, and Giants fans know how terrible he is. Like, he shot. Great career, Hall of Famer. That's up for debate, in my personal opinion. No, Hollow really good. Had some incredible playoff moments. But you saw tonight the difference between.

a coach coaching guys up, making guys at what his, you know, specialty is improve in Kyle Shanahan. And then you saw Pat Schumer, this guy with all this talent on the team that doesn't know, he just kind of feels lost there on the sideline. I don't think Pat Schumer's a very good coach. I've never, I wasn't a fan of the hire. It didn't make any sense. Classic kind of Mara. They wanted to get away from that Coughlin. You know, they didn't want too big of a person but they wanted someone that could put words together, unlike McAdoe, so they just went with the easy choice. If I was a Giants fan, I'd be furious. They're headed nowhere fast, and I think that's why 49er fans would tell you, even though these last couple years have been terrible, they've lost a ton of games,

they're surely headed for another top five draft pick because Jimmy Garoppolo's knee tour, their head coach does by far the most important thing you need. elevates quarterbacks and he's just a great play caller he makes guys that you've never heard of Matt Brayda undrafted free agent George Kittle that most in the NFL thought he was basically I mean borderline not even draftable they got him in the fifth he he looks like a top five tight end in the NFL playing with a third string quarterback like what Kyle Shanahan's doing is really really impressive and in this modern I talk about it all the time like John Harbaugh's about to get fired I would not hire him

in the NFL. He can't coach offense. He wouldn't know how to, he couldn't be an offensive coordinator if you paid him $50 million a year. He does not have the capability, let alone being able to coach the quarterback position. It'd be my question with McCarthy. Is he equipped to function in this modern day offense? Now, he does have a skill. He can coach quarterbacks and he can call the offense. I just don't know how dynamic he is in this day and age. Now, would I rather have a skill? He can coach quarterbacks. He can't age. Now, would I rather have Mike McCarthy than Pat Schumer? Of course. But would I rather take a chance with John D. Filippo, a young guy that could work with, that's worked with young quarterbacks, work with old quarterbacks, called an offense. I would take my chances that way before I

touch to John Harbob that doesn't have a skill on the most important side of the ball. And don't get a twisted. In 2018 and next year, 2019, the most important side of the ball is offense. Defense now is we are just in a bend, don't break league. Just make a couple plays when you have to. It's all about scoring points, and we'll get into the Saints and Rams later. This is a scoring points league. It's never been more about the offense. The defense just doesn't matter.

In fairness to the defensive players, the rules aren't there to help them out. You're at such a disadvantage. It's why guys like Kyle Shanahan are so highly thought of, are so, you know, every team is looking for that guy. You know when you see it. And Kyle Shanahan, even in a loss, tonight on Monday night football is proven with Nick Mullins. The guy is a big time football coach. Okay, before we get into my new kind of favorite team to watch the Dallas Cowboys,

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It's a great source of motivation when I'm working out, doing whatever. Drive it in your car. Most cars now are smartphone accessible. Plus your books are yours to keep. With Audible, you can go back and forth and re-listen at any time, even cancel your membership. If that doesn't sound good enough, Audible is offering my list. a free audio book with a 30-day trial membership. Just go to audible.com slash three and out.

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they were on a Sunday or Monday night game, and I was just tired of it. Well, I've watched them a lot over the last, you know, month, and I was wrong. I got to change my tune a little bit. And I know he's taking a lot of crap this year. When is Jerry Jones going to fire Jason Garrett? Well, I'll tell you one thing Jerry Jones has done a good job of, and whether you're going to give him the credit, whether you're going to give his son Stephen the credit, whether you're going to give some of his executives credit for picking these players, is they got a talented ass team.

In the modern day football in 2018, when it's very, very hard to play defense, most defensive coaches look awful. They look like on Sundays or Monday nights. or hell even Thursday night, Ron Rivera last week. They have no clue what they're doing. Like they literally have no chance to stop an offense. The Dallas Cowboys defense right now is a top five scoring defense. They're third overall.

They're giving up less than 20 points a game. And when I watch them play, they are perfectly suited for the modern day football. They can really rush the passer. Their entire defensive line is full of. dudes that get after the quarterback. It's the number one most important thing to have this day. Because it's the one area on the football field defensively where in your secondary, you can't grab them, you can't hold them, you can't be physical, they throw the flag.

Defensive holding and pass interference, I swear to God, it gets thrown every other play. Well, the defensive line, besides you can't sack the quarterback that hard, you're still allowed to sack the quarterback. It's the one area on the football field in that little box, and we call their stack in the box, that's tackle to tackle box, where you can still be physical, where you can throw your body weight around,

at least at each other, and the Cowboys' Defensive Line is excellent. Then what they have is the modern-day version, and I don't know if these guys are going to be this good, I would bet against it. Several years ago, and I had a front-row seat to this tandem. Now, this is before the rules really changed, but these two guys were the perfect linebacker duo.

Navarro Bowman, Patrick Willis. They never came off the field. They could dominate the run. Each probably average, like, you know, if they were both on 15 plus tackles in a game, and they could really cover. They could man up with tight ends. They could cover running backs out of the backfield.

You could drop them in his own coverage, and they covered so much ground. They were the ultimate space players. While I'm watching the Cowboys two linebackers, that Sean Lee's hurt for the 50th million time. And Layden Van derresh, I think I just call him LVE, or Vanderech, from Boise. And Jalen Smith, the Reclamation Project from Notre Dame, who's a reclamation project because it looked like his leg fell off when he got injured.

I think it was against Ohio State. Luckily, Jerry Jones, and this is the way business works, had inside knowledge because their team doctor was the guy that did the surgery on Jalen Smith. And again, I had a front row seat to a guy named Trent Ball, that took a million ACL guys and none of them hit. Well, Jalen Smith is exactly what you want. Now, I don't think he didn't necessarily had an ACL injury. You know, his injury was just his whole knee ripped apart,

and he was never going to be the same. Well, it turns out he may not be the same, but he's damn good. He's a pro-bowl-worthy player. And when you have three, three, or excuse me, you have two, three-down linebackers that never have to come off the field and can do everything for you, you're in pretty good shape. The Cowboys also have a solid secondary. They're very athletic.

They all can run, and the Heath guy can really hit. But their defense is exactly constructed perfectly as you'd want it in 2018. So I'm watching the Cowboys going, you know, this team's really grown on me. Give Jerry some credit. He's built a legit football team. For the first time, it crossed my mind. Now it's crossed my mind a couple times, but it was hammered home. because the Cowboys fans have been freaking out since last Monday night football

when they got beat by the Tennessee Titans. And when they beat the Eagles on Sunday night football, I understand where they're coming from. This is not a 6 and 10 team. Hell, this is not an 8-Nate team. If you have a good coach, and we'll see Jason Garrett's really going to have to prove it here coming down the stretch, and I by no means think they are done,

is this a team that should be 9 or 10 wins? I haven't even mentioned Zeke Amari. who right now Amari since acquiring Mr. Cooper from Oakland who everyone said oh my how could you give a first round pick well I don't know the guy's 24 and just several years ago it looked like he was one of the great fines in the NFL like damn Reggie McKenzie got Amory Cooper as he had back-to-back Pro Bowl seasons as a you know as a his rookie year and then a sophomore year

and now everyone's just acting like the dude sucks Well, through two games, and again, small sample size, I'm no Harvard mathematician. I'm not Will and Goodwill hunting, but I can do a little math and realize if through two games, his 16-game pace is 88 catches, over 1,000 yards, and 8 touchdowns. If that's what the Cowboys get from Amari Cooper, he is worth that first-round pick. They're targeting him a ton. He looks confident out there. He's played now in back-to-back big games.

the Monday night football game, then a game on the road against Philly, where he was excellent, six catches, 75 yards, and he was just really good. He's really impactful. Like, the Cowboys have a lot going for them. If Jason Garrett and Dak Prescott can figure it out, this is a playoff team. This is a team that you can look up. Damn, they were once three and five, and now they're nine and seven. Now nine and seven might not make you the playoffs. It might. but they do have a playoff roster. Top to bottom, even with their offensive line being a little bit, I wouldn't call it a turnstile, but nowhere near what it once was a couple years ago. They've had injuries.

Jason Witten's gone, so their tight end position is not great. But adding Amari Cooper, if Zee can play like he did Sunday in Philadelphia, and Dak can just be a game manager on steroids, and Jason cannot screw it up. Their defense is big time. Like, their defense is excellent. Now, in 2018, it's hard, even if you do have a great defense, the defense can't just carry it to the playoffs.

Like the reason the Bears right now are six and three and are headed to the playoffs, their defense is excellent. I mean, unreal. Now they've benefited from playing a pretty easy schedule. But they're winning games because Ms. Trubisky, in the games they win plays well. When he plays well, they dominate.

When he doesn't, they can be beat. Like when Dak Prescott plays well, just plays solid. This team is not going to be easy to beat. You can't score on them. They can run the ball and control the clock. The good thing about that, in a day and age, and I know Mike Gundy went on a snowflake ramp,

you can say what you want, and I do think there's some validity to this, and no one would even argue. The NFL and football in general has changed a lot. It's softened. But late in the season, in November and December, when you play on the road against Philly, against Washington,

against any of the New Yorks, against New England, against Pittsburgh, against Green Bay, against Chicago. It's cold as shit outside. It's hard to play. Two things will always travel when it's really cold, even as the rules change. Defense and running the football. And the cowboys can do both. They have a blue chip running back and a defense that can travel, just like the bears. The bears can run the ball and they can really play defense. So if they're playing you in a game in December, wherever, either in Chicago, you know, obviously Dallas plays in the dome, but they're playing you

outside, they're going to have a good chance to win. If they got to win 17 to 13, they feel good about that. And I don't think the Cowboys are not only not dead. I actually think they're alive because what they do well is going to translate as this season goes on. Now again, it's a coaching league. And Jason Garrett ain't Bill Walsh 2.0. But I don't think he's as crappy as everyone describes him to be, and a lot falls on Dax's shoulders. Now, is that coaching? Is it not coaching? At the end of the day, DAC is not some former first rounder. He's a dude that went in the fourth round.

Now he probably dropped a round because he got a DUI right before, I think, maybe it's Pro Day or the Combine. I think it was his pro day, or maybe it was right before the draft. Like that affected him a little bit. But at the end of the day, even had he not got the DUI, and he was never going in the top 75, picks. It just, it is what it is with him. And I think Jason Garrett has done a pretty phenomenal job just making DAC ever being viewed at one point in time. And I know he played on a great

team several years ago, his big rookie year. But he's shown enough flashes this year where he shouldn't be this good. And with Amari Cooper, I'm not writing out the Cowboys just yet. Before I get into my main man, Rob Gruncowski, let's talk about my friends at Robin Hood. Robin Hood is an investing app that lets you buy and sell stocks, ETFs, options, and cryptos, all commission-free. They strive to make financial services work for everyone, not just the wealthy, like the common guy or girl, like me and you and all your friends. Simple, and the clear design with data presented is an easy way to digest, but here's the key. There are no commission fees. Other brokers charge up to $10 per every trade. Trust me, I've used many different firms over the

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Okay, one thing I've noticed, watching the Patriots. And I think this is the worst Patriot team of this era, of their dominant Belichick Brady era since I think, 07, and they started making Super Bowls consistently. They started being the one or two seed consistently. They started just wrecking shop on the league. It's clear they're a shell of themselves.

And one big problem, one big X-factor they've had the last five or six, six years was they've had the greatest tight end in the history of football, at least in my lifetime of watching football. Arguably, one of the most dominant chess pieces we've ever seen. He is impossible to cover in Rob Grunkowski. And I just checking back at his NFL.com, like his stats, his second year, after being a second round pick. His second year in 2011, the year they, I guess they lost the Super Bowl that year to the

Giants. He had 90 catches and 17 touchdowns. I forget that sometimes. And then he had a stretch in 2014 and 15 when they were going to Super Bowls where he had 154 catches and 23 touchdowns over a two-year span. Now, he's battled injuries and he's been dinged up. But these last couple years in 2016, the year they did not make of the Super Bowl, that was the year the Broncos got him in the AFC championship game, Gronk was a shell of himself. He was hurt all season. The next year, he was much better last year, kind of came back, looked like Barry Bonds with the big elbow pad. But he's no longer dependable. At any moment, he can miss four or five games, like he's doing right now. There is a reason. And in 2017, they found a way to use them,

not really get him injured. I know Bill Simmons often talks about, and I think he's right. They kind of pick their spots when to send him over the middle to try to preserve him for the playoffs. And that's, I think, somewhat what they're doing right now. But here's the problem. And this is why I treat football like the stock market. You're either ascending or descending. I'm either trying to buy low or sell high on you. You're just an asset.

And no one does a better job of this historically than Bill Belichick. The only guy that's really close would be Bill Walsh. They always get rid of a player one year, too early instead of one year too late. Because when you're a championship caliber team, when your standard is going to the Super Bowl, anything less than going to the Super Bowl is a massive disappointment. When you have a couple guys on your team that you've hesitated to sell too late, it can bite you in the ass.

It really can. And I think clearly with Brady, he's still playing at a high level, even though he wasn't very good against Tennessee. it's if I was Belichick and I'll never probably know this because I don't know Belichick and even if I did I doubt he'd tell me the truth. But I'll always believe that he had planned on getting rid last year of Tom Brady at the end of the season and keeping Jimmy Garoppolo and then building the thing around Jimmy Garapolo. Why? Because that was the Walshian thing to do. Brady was 40-41 even though he was the MVP of league and he was freaking phenomenal.

I mean, threw for 500 plus yards in the Super Bowl. If you were just betting on it like a stock, you would short it. You would bet against it. Now, he still might go a couple more years. Eventually, it's going to end, and it's going to be really ugly. And he had his replacement in Jimmy Garoppel. A little different with Gronk, but I do think he had planned on trading him to the Lions for a first round pick.

And using that first round pick, probably on a tied end. And just replacing him for just someone, again, like Isaiah win this. year, Tora's Achilles and just out for the season, that's football. It's random. Guys get hurt. But Belichick, you could tell he knew this off-season. He had wanted to trade him. And then Gronk, again, this is a little conspiracy theorist, kind of went through Brady

slash Robert and played the emotion on top of Belichick. And I do think that, and people always tweet at me, Middlecock, your conspiracy theories about Belichick, Kraft gives him ultimate authority. And I agree. He always has. But one player, Belichick, is not going to decide his fate, and that's Tom Brady. The other one, there is some emotion involved with Grunkowski with Robert Kraft. And that's also Brady's true guy. And I think Belichick really likes Grunkowski.

So did Belichick get a little emotional on this? Was it forced? I don't know. Now, Grunkowski somewhat had the leverage and screwed them a little bit. by claiming maybe Belichick would tell you over beers. Listen, I had him traded. Rob just found it out about it, went public that he'd retire in Detroit reneged on the trade.

That could easily be possible too. But Belichick has never been won to kind of get, you know, shoved around in this whole deal. And however this got out, it kind of bit him in the ass. Because now he's got Grinkowski, who I have zero faith is going to be dressed on any game day moving forward. He just cannot stay healthy. He looked like a shell of himself to start this year.

The move was, as Belichick knew, to trade him last off season. It was sell, you know? He was somehow put together 69 catches over 1,000 yards and eight touchdowns in 2017. Helped you get back to the Super Bowl. But it was clear, and I'm sure Bill knew this, that he was just, he looked slow when he was playing this year. There's a reason why Belichick had him on the block. He knew. Now, I don't know what was going on behind the scenes.

but clearly Belichick does his best work when he's no emotion and he knows you're done and he gets rid of you and he doesn't care what your resume says and this isn't sometimes is wrong as Dionne Lewis kind of crushed him after the game he probably should have kept Dion Lewis

but it's not like he didn't try to replace him with a premium asset he spent a first round pick on a running back you know just Sony Michelle can't stay on the field you know so Belichick knows what he's doing. And I think for the first time, whether Kraft and Brady were twisting his arm, whether Gronk kind of twisted his arm

by claiming he would retire, which I mean, that happened. But usually Belichick just makes a trade go through. Now, maybe the Lions were like, we got to hear from Rob. If he won't play for us, we're not trading you a first round pick, which is very possible.

You know, and Gronk kind of went NBA player on him, but ultimately now it's screwed the Patriots. because they're in a position where they're already a little underman, this isn't that talented of a team, that they're very dependent on Rob being good. And he's not good right now because he's not around. He's injured all the time.

Like, it's over. Gronk's career is over. I'm betting on it ending. Whether it's this offseason and two off seasons, like his body's given out on him. He was incredible, an absolute war daddy, as talented ball skills for a big player. as in the history of the league.

He's as unique of a player as we'll ever see. He was unreal, fantastic career. But it's over. Bill knew it and he's biting him in the ass. Now he wasn't able to get rid of him. Okay, before we get into my last topic, before the Middilkoff mailbag, you can always slide into my DMs at John Middlecoff,

and I'll answer your Middlekopf mailbag questions at the end of the podcast. And I'm going to hit on the Saints and the Rams. really why they are the perfect teams. You could throw in the chiefs, but I'm sticking with the NFC here for 2018 and really moving forward. They are everything that you want.

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Hell, the Chicago Bears, whose defense is unreal, is still like they're going to go as far as Mitch Trubisky takes them. The two teams in the NFC, and to me, I throw the chiefs there, but I think these two teams are better, are more talented. Now, these two teams play on Monday night in Mexico City. That will be a really fun game. But to me, the two favorites right now are the Rams and the Saints, and they do what's most important.

You have to be able to score points right now, and no team scores more points than the Saints, they average over 36 points. The only team that average more points than the Rams are the Chiefs. And like I said, they play Monday night in Mexico City. But these two teams, they have Sean McVeigh, they have Sean Payton, move the ball better than any team in the league, not named the Chiefs. Rams first in first downs made with over 250, and the Saints are third, again, behind the Chiefs with 235.

Like these teams, as Daniel Jeremiah would tell you, move. the sticks. And in this day and age of being physical, being tough, being able to hide coverages, I don't think any of that crap matters. Can you get guys open? Do you have a quarterback that can make big time throws? Do you have a running back that can also catch the ball, take screen passes, run inside, run outside? Do you have tight ends? Do you have game breaking wide receivers? That's the differentiating factor. nowadays. The rules are on your side. D.Bs can't touch you. DeLyman, when they fall on your quarterback, as we saw on Monday night football, they throw the flag. If you can move the ball in

the air and have running backs that teams can't cover, because if you're running back can catch the football, most teams don't have linebackers that can mirror that guy. You are going to win consistently. And there's a reason that the three top scoring teams have three genius offensive coordinators, Sean Peyton, Andy Reed, and Sean McVeigh, and they're running circles around the NFL. The Saints just put Terrell Austin on the street, unemployed. Sean McVeigh, for some reason Pete Carroll plays them really tight, but they're kicking the crap out of the rest of the league. Andy Reed and the Chiefs slept walk through the game against the Cardinals.

This league is about scoring points. Now more than ever. It used to be my first reaction always, when I worked in a league, when I just was a fan of the league, like whose defense is really good? Who's got the best scoring defense? This wasn't even that long ago.

Remember Seattle had a stretch. I think it was four straight years. They had the number one scoring defense. That really mattered. I just don't think it matters that much anymore. You know, I think it's actually never mattered less. Offense matters. And I think moving forward, it's only going to matter more, more and more.

You know, you got to score points. You've got to move the football. You've got to be at any moment in time, be able to go down the field and score a touchdown. You know, and that's cliche, middle cuff, of course. Well, back in the day, you could just run the ball, punt, play field position. That crap doesn't work anymore. You know, it just, and especially these two teams, the Rams, if they're the number one seat, they are going to have multiple playoff games,

assuming they, I mean, they're definitely going to have one. The weather is going to be like 70 degrees. The Saints, if they're the two-seat, their games indoors. Now, the Chiefs are a little bit different in the story, but the two teams in the NFC, weather ain't a factor. One team weather literally ain't a factor. They have a roof, and the other is 75 degrees, 365 in Los Angeles. So they're going to score points.

This isn't Pittsburgh. This isn't New England. This isn't Kansas City. This isn't New York. Where I live, I mean, where I live, it's a little cold. It's actually colder in the Bay Area, if you remember. I think 2011 when the Niners played the New York Giants in that great NFC championship game, the year that Eli won a second Super Bowl, it was raining and cold.

Like the weather is distinctly different, even though it's pretty great in the Bay Area too, than just Southern California, where it's literally warm and the sun comes out basically at minimum 340 days a year. So the weather's not going to affect either of these teams And the rules are on their side Like to me it's going to be really hard for one of these two teams Unless they play the Chiefs Who you know I think can make the Super Bowl I mean obviously they can because they're going to be in the mix

But you never know I mean Mahomes never played a playoff game Their defense isn't great Like the one thing you'd say about these two teams Is they both have players on defense They can make a difference They both have a couple elite defensive linemen but at the end of the day, and more so the Saints than the Rams,

I have so much trust in Drew Brees. And I got to tip my hat. Jared Goff has come so far in his short career. He has improved so much. But there is not a quarterback. I'm already ready to gamble on the Saints come January, whether they're playing in the dome, whether they have to go to Los Angeles and the sun.

Because I know that the weather is not affecting either one of these teams. but I mean, if we get a rematch of the game that we had in New Orleans in the NFC championship game, I'd pay for that right now because these two teams to me are the clear top dogs in the league. Okay, let's get to the Middilkoff mailbag. The way you get on the Middilkoff mailbag is you go to Instagram at John Middilkoff, you slide up in those DMs, message me, and I'll answer you a question. Like here, when you were a scout, was there a time when you stood up, on the table.

Classic scout term. Stand on the table. Fight for your guy. And they didn't draft him. And then the guy turned out to be a stud. One guy that I liked more than the rest of the building, this would have been, I guess, my last year in Philly, so it would have been the 2013 draft was Ziggy Ansah.

I love Ziggy Ansah. Now, at four, I was going to get fired after that draft. Chip Kelly and I had had kind of a knockdown drag out earlier about Matt Barclay. who I hated Chip liked, argued in a draft room. Turns out, I would say neither of us were wrong, or I mean, excuse me, right? Because I'll give Matt Barkley credit. I would have imagined Matt Barclay would have been at the Pac-12 Network probably three years ago, and he just won an NFL game.

Now, he's nowhere was ever worth a fourth rounder, and Chip liked him because he was beating Chip's ass when he was at USC, when Lane was the coach. but that one was a moot point neither of us were right but ziggie now again we didn't take them because they took lane josson who lane jonson was awesome but ziggi now the injuries have slowed him down but i love me some ziggi and the dude can play uh also really like robert woods was i compared him to reggie wayne and it turns out i really excites me to see him turn around his career in los angeles because he's a really good player. Okay, long-time Eagles fan.

My question is about the off-season. What is their biggest need with available first-round talents in next year's draft? Also, is Jordan Malaya a viable replacement for left tackle? I would say for the Eagles, watching them, they definitely need a running back. They're going to need a running back this off-season, whether they're in the Levion Bell business, whether they're in the business of drafting a guy.

I think they give up their second round pick this year, right, for Carson Wentz because they staggered it. Then they also gave up their third round pick for Golden Tate. Howie Roseman's got big Gahonis. He'll always put his chips in the middle of the table. But they're going to need a running back. And I think their philosophy is pretty clear. Best player available.

They're going to need a replacement for Jason Peters, like you said. When I think about him, Ronald Darby just towards ACL, they probably weren't going to resign him anyway. So you can never have enough defensive backs. They did draft Derek Barnett a couple years ago in the first round pass rusher. He was actually turned into a good player. He got hurt this year's on injured reserve. You can never draft enough defensive linemen.

You know, their wide receivers, Aguilar, Alshon, Zach. To me, in Golden Tate, while he'll walk, I would say in the first round, they probably go offensive or defensive line, maybe corner. But they're a team that when Carson wins is your quarterback, if you stay somewhat healthy and on that Sunday night game against Dallas, they were down to like practice squad defensive backs. If Carson wins your quarterback, you are going to have a chance to start every season. And I've worked with Howie.

I know the way that organization thinks they're always going to be super aggressive. They're always going to, you know, attack the available talent pool, whether that's in the draft, whether that's in free agents. They're going to be in the mix. I love Carson Wentz. I mean, I know he's, I wouldn't say he's struggling, but he's not playing at his MVP level. I mean, stats still pretty good.

But, man, the dude's a stud. Hey, John, love the podcast. Quick questions. Should I play the Chargers defense against the Raiders? Oh, there's a fantasy question. Yeah, you should. The Raiders and John Gruden have scored nine points the last eight quarters. For those of you that are not math majors,

that's not very many points. The Raiders right now are 30th in the NFL in scoring. They gave John Gruden $100 million. They are 30th in the NFL in scoring offense. It's not out of the realm of possibility. Now it'll be a little difficult, but if the bills have a couple more games like they just have, that the Raiders could finish the season at 32nd overall in scoring offense.

They're paying their head coach 10 million. I don't care who you have playing for your team. That is an embarrassment. John Gruden should give back his yearly salary if they finish 30 second in offense. That is a joke. I was looking for the link, blah, blah, blah. Where can I find that? Something different.

Got to work my way through. Middle Coff mail bag. I'm a ride-or-die-dolphed Dolphins fan, and I wanted to know what are the chances Miami moves on from Tanny Hill, and what are the chances of us moving up in the draft to draft a quarterback to sit behind Tanny Hill as the Chiefs deal with Mahomes. I think Tanny Hill's career in Miami died this year. They stuck by him two years ago, remember when they made the playoffs, and Matt Moore came in, and he didn't get surgery.

Then last year, the knee blows, need surgery. Then this year, he just gets injured and disappears for a month and a half. Like, he is now no longer dependable. I like Tanny Hill. Early in the season, before he got hurt, he was playing well. I thought the team, just the AFC was a little down. they easily, if Tanyo play 16 games this season, to me that team can compete for nine-ish wins and the six wild-card spot. But with him being gone and Brock having to start all these games, they aren't very good.

It's over. And I think if you're the Miami Dolphins, you just have to move on. Now, depending on, you could just keep them, you know, if you can draft a young quarterback, but I think you've got to be in the Teddy Bridgewater business. I think you got to call John Gruden. Would he trade Derek Carr? You have to be in the quarter. quarterback business because you can no longer depend on Ryan Tannyhill consistently showing up on

Sundays. You know why? Because most of the time, he's going to be in sweats on the sideline. Like, those were just facts we have now. And I was someone that did not like Ryan Tanny Hill like four years ago. He really grew on me. He was becoming a really solid player, someone that, if you have a good coach, which I think Adam Gase is a good coach, and just have solid players around him, you give him Jarvis Landry, you give him Kenny Stills, Jayah, Jha, you could win games and win, like he could score points with him as your quarterback, but he's just not dependable. It's just like we have, his resume now is kind of established. He gets hurt consistently, and it's not just like misses a game or two.

The dude's out a month, and I don't care who he are. You consistently lose your quarterback a month, two months. You ain't making the playoffs. I mean, Ryan Tannehill may end up getting, I doubt Gase will get fired this year, but it's definitely going to be coming to play. I mean, next year he'll be on the hot seat. Hey, John, during Zeke and Dax rookie season, the Cowboys were dynamic on offense. How much of that do you think, how much do you think was reliant on teams' fear of DES and his ability to catch 50-50 balls down the field? Do you think their offense can regain some of that with the addition of Amari?

Amari, I checked, is on pace right now. Now, it's two games. But if his 16-game pace, 88 catches 1,000 yards, 8 touchdowns. If he does that, he's worth the first-round pick. If he gives them five years around those numbers, Dallas would take that all day long. Amari is much different than this. To me, the key with Dak and Zeeke's rookie year was the offensive line. They road graded.

He had all day to throw, and the most important thing, they could hand it to 21 all day, every day, and run it down people's throats. And he had a security blanket in Jason Witten, ran those little curl routes, and you just dump it to him five yards. He'd end up with nine catches for 60 yards. That's the classic Jason Witten line and a touchdown. You could depend on him. So he's no longer there. Des is no longer there. Now, again, Amari's different.

Amari's more of a route. runner. He's going to be exactly where you tell him to be. He's spectacular plays, a little few and far between, but he can be really consistent. And his talent, like he can consistently get open. Like, Desk couldn't get open, especially last year. Couldn't run. Now he really can't because Achilles storm. But if you can run the ball like they did Sunday night, feed Amari six, seven times a game, and just have Dak play under control that defense, I don't not think this team is dead for the playoffs. Again, I talked about it earlier. They got a good defense. Zeke is a star. Amari is a very, very solid wide receiver. Clearly makes the other two guys look better. Hearns and Beasley.

So I like this Cowboys team and my big red flag is more with Dak than it is with Jason Garrett. I think Dak's a tad bit overrated. Hey John, quick question. The 49ers during the last couple drafts were bad. When the Niners jumped in the late second, actually first, to get Josh Garnett instead of sitting there and get Michael Thomas in the second, bad pick. Or when they were on the clock and traded out of their

third round pick so the Saints could get all Alvin Kamara. God, you got some good draft nuggets here. I think Shannie would be nasty with both Kamara and Thomas. So I was pissed. What are your thoughts? Yeah, I think Alvin Kamaro would be excellent on the Niners. But

One thing I think you see the Niners tonight, and this is the importance of having a great offensive coach in this day and age, that you can find, it's the easiest position to find are running backs, because I can find undrafted guys that can start for my team. The San Francisco 49ers, Matt Brayda, can give you 100 yards every game if he's on the field. His problem is just he's had a bad ankle injury, he couldn't stay on the field. Like, you can consistently, like, listen, Sequin Barclay is fantastic, is unreal. Let me pull up the box score for tonight.

The 49ers pulled out an undrafted free agent. The New York Giants threw out the number two overall pick, a blue chipper. Sequin Barclay, 20 carry, 67 yards, 3.3 yards of carry. He also had four catches, 33 yards, and a big, big catch. Breda. 17 catches, 101 yards, six catches, and his long was 23 yards and a touchdown. He also added three catches for 31 yards and a touchdown.

He had two touchdowns. One on the ground, one in the air. So Alvin Kamara would have been awesome as a third round pick, and that third round pick they ended up drafting. They actually got CJ Bethard and a kill a weatherspoon. But I can find running backs. I can find undrafted free agents that kick ass. It happens every year in the NFL.

So, yeah, I'd rather have Alvin Kamara than Matt Breda. But like Matt Brida's not bad. You know, like he had 100 yards rushing, a touchdown on the ground, 30 more yards in the air, and a touchdown catching. Like that's good enough. Like that's the knock on, why did you guys draft Sekewon Barkley? Why didn't you draft Sam Darnold? And then if you wanted Nick Chub, trade up into the end of the first round and get him.

You wanted Rashad Penny, who actually showed some signs of life against the ramp, trade up in the first round and get them. You can do that. I've been a Ravens fan for 10 years. Again, Middilkoff mailbag, last question, slide up in my DMs. And it seems that this will be the final John Harbaugh season. Agreed. Who should the Ravens target as their next coach?

Sorry, I clicked off. And who would take the job? Second question. Do you think the sixth and final seed for the AFC will go to? The Chiefs and Chargers obviously will take the, yeah. Let's start with the Ravens. I think they're going to be somewhat of a fascinating job. I had a lot of friends in the NFL, position coaches, head coaches, general managers,

that struggled with meeting with Lamar Jackson, just communicating with him. They did not think he was, like, dynamic in terms of when he talked to the other quarterback, just communication. A lot of quarterback coaches and people in the league I knew didn't like him as a prospect. Why? Because he's not accurate. He's not accurate. Now, he's going to play for the Ravens moving forward. We'll see. I'm not a big Lamar Jackson guy.

I think he's glorified running back that can make a couple throws. But that, like, when they drafted him in the first round, so whatever coach they hire is going to have to like him because you're kind of going to be stuck with him. And I would imagine that the general manager goes to Eric DeCosta. like he'll just, Ozzie retires, John Harbaugh gets fired,

Eric DeCosta becomes a general manager. I could be wrong. I don't follow the Ravens on a daily basis. Maybe they've come out, maybe there have been reports that it would be an open job. I always thought that Eric DeCosta was just next in line to get it.

I don't think what's crazy is five years ago John Harbaugh was viewed as a top five coach. The Ravens were one of the standards in the NFL, and I still think they are, just the way they conduct business, the way the franchise operates, the owner's mindset. But I think it will be challenging. Would John D. Filippo want to work with Lamar Jackson?

My guess would be no. Would Mike McCarthy want to work with Lamar Jackson? I mean, would you really fire John Harbaugh for Mike McCarthy? Could you get a college coach? Maybe you could. Maybe you could get a college coach because you would make him the general manager. You know, like he or he get to hire the general manager. I think it would be difficult because if the,

Packers came open, obviously that would be the number one job on the market with Aaron Rogers. If the Jets become open, I mean, they got Sam Donald. You can mold him. Most quarterback coaches and offensive coordinators I know like Sam Donald. If the Browns become open, I know a lot of people that like Baker and their roster is just really good. I think the Ravens would be much worse than all those jobs. Now, the Ravens is a better job than the Tampa Bay Buccaneers job, which is surely to come open too. But I just don't see people knocking down the door like what's great about the Ravens roster? Quarterback that, again, most people don't like, besides Twitter, and I don't put much stock

into Twitter. Defense kind of aging, they got a couple pieces. Run defense, actually their defense is pretty solid. But again, defense, as I've been saying, doesn't matter as much. If this was the 80s, the Ravens would be a sexy job. It's 2019. I don't know if their quarterback can complete basic passes. Like, it's kind of a red flag.

Here's the other thing. as best attribute running around, he can't slide. He's going to get killed. I'm fascinated to watch him run around, but I just don't know if he's going to make it. And on the sixth and final playoff spot, so we got the Chiefs, let's say, are the one seed.

That would mean the Chargers, like you said, would be the fifth seed. The Texans win the division, let's say, at 11 and 5. Steelers easily win that division, let's say, 11, 4 and 1. The Patriots are the 3 seed at 11 and 5. That six seed. The Bengals, not totally dead yet.

I think that's why Marvin Lewis fired some people. Five and four, if they kind of get the train back on the tracks, they could get to 10 wins. They would get it. The Titans at 5 and 4 are pretty alive. I went to their OTAs. I think they're pretty good. I'd probably lean the Titans.

What's crazy is we talk so much crap about the AFC South, how terrible the division was, and they may end up getting two playoff teams. Because I don't think the Texans are bad. And the Texans are going to cruise to like 12 and 4. They're going to be the weirdest 12 and 4 team ever. And the Titans are going to end up 10 and 6. Titans have had a good little run here.

To beat the Cowboys in Dallas and then beat New England. That's a good two-week stretch. I think the Titans are kind of feeling themselves positively as they should be. Titans, they're my pick. So I got the Texans and the Titans. AFC's playoff. AFC is actually coming around. Chiefs are good.

Steelers are really good. The Patriots are the Patriots are sneaky. Titans are sneaky. Texans are not bad their roster. And the Chargers, I mean, I wouldn't want to play the Chargers in the first round. God, football, man. We're coming down the home stretch. I can't wait for the playoffs.

Thanks again for listening. Middlecoff mailbags light up in those DMs at John Middlecoff. If I didn't get to your question, I'll answer them next time. See you Friday. Enjoy the week. Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind. And nobody's telling you exactly what you.

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