The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Middlekauff – 3 & Out – Frank Clark trade reaction; NFL Draft Mailbag

Episode Date: April 24, 2019

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.  In this episode, Middlekauff reacts to the Chiefs trading  answers listener NFL Draft questions in The Middlekauff Mailbag. Follow John on twitter @JohnMiddlekauff and go to www.theherdnow.com to find the latest content. Subscribe now! Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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And then the Frank Clark trade happened. So I'll dive into some of my initial reactions on to everything. My takeaways from the chief side, Seattle side, and just the overall NFL side. Then I will get into the middle cough mailbag. I got a bunch of questions. And then I'm not exactly sure when I'll do a podcast. Maybe I'll do one, maybe Friday night for Saturday.

morning. I'm not exactly sure what makes the most sense, because I'm not going to dive that deep into rounds four and seven, but the problem with doing one on Thursday night is a lot of shit happens than on Friday, so it might make the most sense. I'll burn the midnight oil, I'll swing my pick for everyone, give my takes after Friday, so we'll have obviously the first through three rounds, which are the best. But before I dive into this, I just got to say, just terrible news over the weekend. I met this guy, Reggie Cobb, the 49ers West Coast Scout. He played at Tennessee way back in the day.

He played in the NFL. And I met him when I was a graduate assistant at Fresno State. And then I got to know him pretty well when I was scouting. I kept in touch with him, talked to him a lot. He was just, he was legitimately as cool of a guy as I ever met in the NFL. And he couldn't have been any cooler to me as a mentor. whenever I needed questions when I worked in the league, just bouncing shit off, you know, questions when I do this.

And just whenever I see him at a nighter's practice, we'd always reminisce. And he was just, he was a cool dude, man. He was, I never met anyone that met Reggie that did not like Reggie. It's just, it's terrible. It just shows you, died at 50 years old. You know, this is an NFL level athlete, you know, that played, was an elite player in college.

and he's dead. It's just awful. It was, I'm not shocked very often, but when I read that, I was shocked. And it's pretty cool. The NFL is going to let his son announce the 49er's second round pick. I guess that would be Friday night. So that's, I guess, exciting is probably the wrong word, because you wouldn't want to be there if you're him.

You're there for the wrong reasons, but cool gesture. And I'm telling you, I've been around the NFL. and there's a lot of frauds and just a lot of questionable individuals, a lot of good guys, but this was as good of a guy as I ever came across. Okay, on the trade note, let's get into Frank Clark, the trade.

Everything I see on Twitter, oh my God, how could the Kansas City Chiefs make this trade? Well, let's look at it from their perspective. All we've been talking about for the last couple years is when you have a rookie quarterback, and I think the media really struggles with this, Luckily, I'm not a journalist. I didn't go to journalism school.

I went to business school. I think the more and more I follow all these journals on Twitter, I think it should be mandatory that they take a couple of business classes in college. If you're going to talk about pro sports where the economics are a big factor in everything that's done. Okay, let's start with Frank Clark and let's start with the trade. The Kansas Chiefs have picked 29. Pick 29 is a glorified early second round pick, but you pay for, round prices.

They have a rookie quarterback who makes five or six million dollars. Makes nothing. So as we've been talking about when you have that rookie quarterback and I think it's fair to say since this new CBA, he's the best rookie contract quarterback we've ever seen, the most talented. Russell Wilson probably the most accomplished.

Yeah, but he's the most talented and hell he's already been in his first year starting. They went to the AFC championship game. So you put all your chips in the middle of the table. They traded D. Ford, who was older, not as good of a scheme fit, and just not as good as Frank Clark, because they thought they had to pay Tyree Kill huge money. Then this situation with Tyree Kill where his son's arm gets broken, just terrible, I don't know if he did it or not, I know the kids have been taken away, I don't have any information beside, the contract is no longer

getting paid to him. So he was going to make between $60 and $70 million. So then they realized, well, we were going to allocate these funds to Tyree Kill, we're no longer going to do that. We want to allocate it to someone because we're going all in. We're trying to win a chip next year with Mahomes on a cheap salary. That is our goal. That is our objective. So they trade their first round pick, which is again,

a glorified second round pick, but you pay a first round price at pick 29. There aren't 29 first rounders in an NFL draft. There are 32 players to get drafted in the first round, but as every GM says over the last couple weeks as they give these press conferences, we don't have 32 first round grades. So you trade that, you get an elite player

that's 25 years old. And yes, I said an elite player. He was elite last year. He's a more complete player. So they put all their chips in the middle of the table. When you acquire a top end player in the NFL, usually that guy is going to be a free agent. It's the reason he's available.

You have to double pay. You have to pay in compensation to acquire the player. which in this case was a first round pick, which is a lot. O'Dell Beckham was just traded for a way higher pick. The difference between Odo Beckham, he got paid last year, so you're just acquiring this contract that's paying him like $19 million a year. Well, the thing with Frank Clark, he's a franchise tag player. You have to extend him.

So what did they do? They extended them. They gave him $63 million guaranteed. If Frank Clark would have hit the open market, he would have probably got $75 million guaranteed. So everyone's like, oh, they overpaid. Well, I think they're looking at it. You have to pay a premium for a premium.

That's just part of the deal in the NFL to acquire guys that are 24, 25, 26 years old in the prime of their career. That's just what you have to do. The Rams did it a year ago with Brandon Cooks. How the Patriots did it with Brandon Cooks. You got to give up first routers typically for high-end players. Jimmy Graham, Percy Harvin, those didn't work out, but that's what you have to do.

And then you've got to pay them. It's part of the deal. Now, it makes way more sense to do that when you have a cheap quarterback. One of the reasons Seattle couldn't pay, they just paid Russell Wilson $107 million in guaranteed cash. Bobby Wagner, I'm pretty sure he's going to be a free agent next year. He's going to get huge cash.

He's our second best player. Well, Frank Clark is their third best player. So they can't pay all three of these guys, $60 to $70 million, two guys $60 to $70 million, and then have another guy $100 million. But I thought Chris Mortensen had a good tweet. People freak out about cash on Twitter when it comes to these contracts. This isn't 1999.

This isn't the NBA. The salary cap is not plateaued. It rises by around $10 million every year for the last six years. So in the last six years, it's got up $60-plus million. It's $198 million. So you look at the Chiefs, you go, we're not paying the homes to anyone that much money. Who else can we pay? Well, we're already paying Kelsey.

we're already paying we paid the Honey Badger we're about to pay Chris Jones who's probably our best defensive player we got to pay some guys we might as well take advantage that's the whole point that is why the Cleveland Browns who got a ton of credit

and it was the easiest trade Dorsey will ever make for pick 17 peppers and that late third round pick for Odell Beckham but they also acquired an enormous Odell Beckham contract and again I love Odell I'm just playing the counter argument here that he gets banged

up a lot. I'm pretty sure Frank Clark's missed like no time over the last four years. I think I saw on Twitter, he's missed four games over a four year period of time. D. D. D.L. Possible player. Who fits their scheme perfectly. I also think that were they looking to trade D. Ford if

they would have known Tyreeks' Hill situation was going to happen? Maybe, maybe not. But you can't plan for everything. You have to be light on your feet. You've got to have contingency plans. And when information changes, you can't act like Skip Bayless and say LeBron sucks in perpetuity.

When you get information, LeBron's pretty good, you have to change your opinion. And in the NFL, they got information. Tyree Kiel got nailed and they're no longer paying him. Well, they had already traded D. Ford. So boom, you pivot. Let's use that pick 29 to go get Frank Clark, because he's available. Maybe you could have done it for Patrick Peterson's. Maybe they called.

I think Patrick Peterson's a little overvalued. The difference also is you trade pick 29 for Patrick Peterson. going to want another contract. That would be his third contract. You're giving Frank Clark his second. I don't mind trading for players and giving him their second contract. C.C. Cleo Mac. Now, he's the best version. What did the Bears have to do to get Cleo Mac?

They had to trade two first rounders and a third round pick and then give him $90 million guaranteed. This is the cost of doing business. And in a couple years when the salary cap has risen exponentially, it won't look that terrible. I gave the analogy today on my Twitter show. three and a half years ago I moved into this condo.

It was like the peak of the Bay Area real estate, which is still kind of out of control, but it was super out of control then. The price to pay for the condo, I bid $55,000 over the asking price. And I still came in fourth. And then I had to write a letter and I said how great of a guy I was. The career was taken off.

And they gave it to me. But it was crazy. I remember my dad thinking like, you're nuts. I'm like, this is the person. price of business, Dad. This is what I got to do. Some people recommending, like, bro, just find another place. I'm like, every place is like this. Well, two and a half years later, I've earned, this place has gone up $100,000 of what I ended up paying for it, which was $55,000 over the asking price. And I think you look at premium players

in the NFL, a lot like that. You got to overpay, but then if they're good, it's actually an underpay if you look at the big picture because it's only going, like Bayer or real estate, up, up, up. Here's the thing with Seattle. They went all in on Russell Wilson. Right move. I actually think the contract is kind of cheap. I would have paid him like 130,

140 guaranteed. I would have guaranteed his whole damn contract. I would have done whatever. So I actually think they gave him a pretty good contract. For whatever reason, they don't love Frank Clark. There are some domestic violence in his past. He's had some issues. He had issues coming out.

I don't think he's had any issues, at least publicly, that we know about right now. but they made a decision to move on. They got two first round picks. I will say this, John Snyder historically doesn't use a lot of first round picks. He trades back. So maybe he just wanted this pick 29

to then trade back in the second round for a couple second round picks. I don't know. Because now, unlike the Chiefs who have extra money to pay guys because they cut some older players, Eric Berry, Houston, but because they're quarterbacks cheap.

The Seattle Seahawks in their team-building exercise because they're paying Russell so much money, they're about to pay Bobby Wagner so much money, it's just where they are economically, they could use a couple first-round picks, or maybe a first-round pick and multiple second-round picks. They can use that cost certainty. But the Chiefs are in a completely different phase of their team building.

I also question this. Frank Clark, again, was their third best player last year, Russell, Bobby, and him. It's a big loss. They are not going to get as good of a player at pick 29. for 2019. Now maybe that guy becomes a better player

in a couple years, but that's a negative right now for a team that was in the playoffs last year. I've said it on my other podcast. I've probably said it here. I think Seattle, they would have been my pick

if Frank Clark would have stayed to win the division next year. Not just because they're so young, they're ascending, they had a first round pick. They were going to be really good. Now they have two first round picks, which is, again, good in theory,

but this is a team that's trying to win 11, 12 games this year. and we see it every year. It's hard to ask, like, half the first rounders aren't going to have that big of an impact year one. Some of them take some time. Look at D. Ford. D. Ford's a great example. His career kind of got rolling year three, year four.

And he was a pick in the 20s. Like, it's hard to nail picks in the 20s. It's easier to draft guys in the top 10. So I understand it from Seattle's perspective. Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind. Highlights are trending. opinions are flying, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened.

That's where Sports Slice comes in. I'm Timbo. Every episode, we're cutting through the noise, breaking down the plays, the controversies, and the stories behind the headlines. We go straight to the source, the athlete themselves. Their locker room stories, their reactions, the stuff nobody gets to hear. The laughs, the drama, the triumphs, the moments that never make the highlight real. From viral moments to historic games, from buzzer beaters to controversial calls,

we break it down, give you context, and ask the questions, everybody wants answered. Sports Slice brings you closer to the action with stories told by the people who live them. Listen to Sports Slice on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Sliced Life 12 in the TikTok podcast network on TikTok.

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At our level, at this scale, like being able to fail in front of the entire world. Like, I can do anything. I can do anything. Because resilience isn't just about winning. It's about showing up, even when it's hard. Listen to Hurtle with Emily Abadi on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Presented by Capital One, founding partner of IHart Women's Sports. But everyone thinks the chiefs, at least on social media, are bad shit crazy.

I actually think this was an easy deal for Andy Reid. He's trying to win a championship in 2019 right now. So you put all your chips in the middle of the table. What's pick 29 going to get them? Yeah, you get in a keel hairy or get a corner or whatever. And again, that guy might be good in a couple years. You're trying to win now. Just like, yeah, pick 17 would have helped the Browns.

They're trying to win now. Why? Because they're quarterback's cheap. We've talked about it over and over. and over and over again. Yet whenever these teams do it, we kind of pick and choose whether we like the move. Yet we're all proponents of that philosophy.

So the Chiefs executed that philosophy. They went all in. Their moves are a little weird in the sense that they try to D. Ford for essentially Frank Clark and added a first round pick, but they didn't know the Tyring Hill situation was going to happen. So that kind of changed them. Again, you have to be fluid with your opinions on stuff and with your decision making. New information, whether you run an NFL team, whether you do what I do for a living,

just new information comes and you have to pivot. If you refuse to pivot, you will get screwed and rolled. The Chiefs are better off in 2019, which is their goal right now is to win a Super Bowl this year. As long as they have them homes, they're going to be good for the next 10 years. but their team right now is equipped to win, and I think they made a good trade. I'm always upgrading my car, not because I need to, because I want to. Today it's custom rims from my ride. Tomorrow, it might be a new driver's side seat cushion,

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Really quick, someone just actually sent me this. Another piece of news that came out today was Robbie Gold. Shefter tweeted in a turn of events, 49ers franchise kicker, Robbie Gold, has pulled his contract proposals that he sent to San Francisco and told the team he will not negotiate and sign a

long-term deal. He would like to be traded. Gold said Tuesday. And the question was just thoughts on this in the middle-cloth mailbag. My thoughts on this are simple. The NFL is a management and team league, which means it's a fan-friendly league. Because fans

like teams. They like players, but they like their teams to be able to control those players and not be able to leave. Well, when you're Frank Clark, when you're Khalil, when you're Russell Wilson, you know, Aaron Rogers, the high end, Odell Beckham, you got to leverage, right? Even if you're under contract for more money, when you are the kicker and a 37-year-old kicker to boot, you have zero leverage. I talked to someone I'm close with with the 49ers,

and my text was simple. This was last week. I'm like, is it just me or is this a laughable situation? And he basically responded like, yeah, this is a joke. I'm sorry, Robbie Gold. I get you don't want to live in California. He's lived at the Santa Clara Marriott. The last last couple years. He wants to go back to Chicago. They ran you out of town because you weren't playing well. Then the Niners threw out a lifeline for you. You resurrected your career. You played well. In pretty meaningless games, I got news for you.

Well, they're franchised you. I went to his contract every year he's been paid in his career. He's had like a 14-year career or whatever. He's made over $5 million one time. That is what the franchise tag is. So, Robbie, yeah, we all want our cake and eat it too. you ain't going anywhere, my man. And I'm sorry,

kickers, especially 37-year-old kickers, they dictate the terms. Their leverage equals zero. What's he going to do? Not show up? Seriously, he's not going to show up. He's not going to play for $5 million. I call bullshit on that one.

So my thoughts are, Robbie Gold, sign the damn contract, show up and kick for a year. Maybe they'll let you out next year. But they're going to franchise. you two years in a row. Like, I'm sorry. I got, I don't have any sympathy for Robbie Gold.

You're making $5 million in your 37-year-old kicker. And you haven't kicked a meaningful kick in years. Hi, John. Is there a point to the draft we will know definitely when Gruden isn't listening to Mayock? What is the tell-tale sign? No, I don't know. I think if they were to trade up for Kyler Murray,

I'd be a little shocked if Mayok wanted to do that. So if somehow the Cardinals don't take Kyler Murray, and let's say that he falls to the Niners at two, and the Niners trade two to four for four, 24 in like a second round pick, I would say, yeah, Gruden's in full control. It's like last year, once they traded a third round pick for Martavius Bryant, you just went,

oh, this is Gruden. It's going to be a little harder to tell. I think we got a pretty good feel for the type guys, Mike likes, to me if they go offense, offense, offense, offense, it's Gruden. I think that's the telltale sign is Gruden. I mean, all he's done is sign offensive players this summer. He's brought in, I heard Mike Lombardi say in his podcast, brought in like eight wide receivers in his top 30. You get 30 visits. You sign Antonio Brown and Tyro Williams and Ryan Grant, and you still brought in eight receivers for your top 30 visits. You should bring

every one of your top 30 visits should have been defensive players, maybe a couple offensive linemen. They should have been defensive players. You have three first-round picks in your defense. The last five or six years has been the worst defense I've ever seen. So I think it'll be, if it's all offensive guys, you know, Gruden, yeah, is losing it. Big fan of the pod. Random question. Is Colin ever suggested to you that you host while he's out on weekly vacation?

I think your inside in the NFL will give a good show, change up. Yeah, I mean, no, he hasn't, but I would, I mean, I would be the highlight of my life. So yes. Also, how long you think it will take Miami to rebound with Fitzpatrick? Yeah, he's a little chubby. But as he said, he had, what does he have, six kids? They had a bunch of birthdays, you're eating cake. Yeah, I think Miami's screwed. They're going to be pretty terrible this year. Any chance a factor not talked about with the Niners schedule is there's only one afternoon game at Levi's until late October. The heat issue is real. Yeah, I mean, the side, the way they built the stadium, the heat just pumps right there.

It's a little hotter in the South Bay than it is up, you know, kind of where I live and where the Coliseum is and where the candlestick used to be. I mean, there's a marine layer. There is not a marine layer down there. I'm trying to think, like, when I worked in Philadelphia, we did not have a sun problem. Now, granted, the sun just beats a little harder here. It just, it is what it is.

It's never changing. I would imagine that's something that I unders pushed for. But the thing, this is California. Just because you play a game in late November, it still could be 80 degrees, you know, on a Sunday afternoon. But that's some good knowledge by you to find that out. Okay, huge Eagles fan here. First off, thank you for your hard work within the time of the organization. I feel like you're thinking like a vet in the Marines like I do.

Whenever I see a vet, I get at the airport or something, you try to buy him a beer, and you go, thanks for your service, that's what you're doing here. Yeah, I appreciate it. With baseball and basketball being heavy into analytics, I heard the Eagles have a large analytical staff within the organization. Do you think it is for situations or players, i.e. go for it on fourth down or take a quarterback because he makes third amount of time. Yeah.

So you think it's based on game management stuff or actual players. I think it's a combination of them both. Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind. Highlights are trending. opinions are flying, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where SportsSlice comes in. I'm Timbo.

Every episode, we're cutting through the noise. Breaking down the plays, the controversies, and the stories behind the headlines. We go straight to the source, the athlete themselves. Their locker room stories, their reactions, the stuff nobody gets to hear. The laughs, the drama, the triumphs, the moments that never make the highlight real. From viral moments to historic games, from buzzer beaters to controversial calls, we break it down, give you context, and ask the questions everybody wants answered. Sports Slice brings you closer to the action with stories told by the people who live them.

Listen to Sports Slice on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Slic Life 12 and the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hardway with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Kier Games. And in recognition of mental health awareness month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience in the mental health field and conversations with so many incredible guests. I'm talking. Trip Fontaine, Ryan Clark. Sometimes when we're in the pursuit of the thing, we get so wrapped up in the chase

that we don't realize that we are in possession of the thing. And we're still chasing it. And we don't know when we've done enough. Because people scoreboard watch. Life becomes about wins and losses. Steve Burns, Dustin Ross, because you find it important to be a good person while you hear on earth. Are you a good person because you're afraid? Because that's two different intentions, bro.

Absolutely. And that's two different levels of trust. I want you to just really be a good person. Join me, Kear Gaines, as we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast, Learn the Hard Way. Open your free iHeartRadio app.

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Emily Abadi, we sit down with the most inspiring women in sports and wellness, professional athletes, coaches, and Olympic champions to talk about the challenges that shaped them and the mindset that keeps them going. From the WMBA standout Kate Martin and rising hockey star Lela Edwards. If a boy can do it, I don't see why a girl can't. Like, I've never understood that. Like, it didn't make sense in my brain. It's hard to be in spaces that no one looks like you, but don't ever feel like you don't feel on. Don't let that be the reason you don't do it. An Olympic champs Gabby Thomas and Katie Ladeke. The ability to show a gold medal to someone and have their face light up and smile.

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I think Howie is one of the most unique guys in the league because he has an analytical brain, but he's got a good feel for players. They have one of Howie's right-hand guys named Alec Hallaby. He's a Harvard guy. He's like a mad scientist genius. So I think he works with a lot of that. I think Jeffrey Lurie is a pretty progressive guy. He likes that.

I think he loves going forward on fourth down. That's something that the analytics crew, Howie, Hallaby, and all those people inside the Eagles building. loved going forward on fourth down. When they interviewed Chip, remember Chip at Oregon. We used to always go forward on fourth down. And I remember hearing a story that the analytic guy was like,

ask him like, we love you're doing this, you're so ahead of the curve. And he's like, actually the reason I go for us is my kicker sucks. So I think sometimes you can overthink it a little bit.

But yeah, I mean, going forward on fourth down, who doesn't like going forward on fourth down? I mean, every fan sitting at their couch likes going forward on fourth down. Now, the one I think they're really into is like when you're down 15, you go for two the first time instead of going for it the second time around.

So if you're down 15 points with like five minutes to go, you go for two the first time. I personally don't like that. I like going for two the second time. Maybe I'm analytically wrong. That's just a gut feeling. Maybe I'm a little more gut than I am numbers. What is the dollar amount figure you'd pay for Haberman's head of hair?

My co-host on my other show, Haberman and Middlecop, he was calling the Oregon game. Justin Herbert, he said it was pretty sweet. There was like 35,000 people there. Herbert, I mean, the other ones played. The Oregon's going to be a top 10 team. He reported back, said Herbert, you know, was kind of hit or miss, made some sweet throws,

has some misses. I think he's going to be a pretty picked apart prospect this year. But Haberman just has elite show hair. You know, I'd pay probably, I don't know, 10 grand for that level hair. You know, I've thought about getting hair plugs. But, you know, the bald look is now kind of, defines me.

So, but I'm not against change. You know, if you look at like, I'm in my mid-40s and all of a sudden I got a head of hair, if modern medicine changes, don't be shocked. I'm not afraid to pivot. Hey, John, huge Brown fan here. Thoughts on John Dorsey and what he has been able to do. And is Hugh Jackson the worst head coach of all time? Yes.

I think Hugh Jackson statistically is the worst head coach of all time. I think John Dorsey is just wired exactly like Andy and Vech are doing still in Kansas City. He's aggressive. He has taken swings for the fence. He is a home run hitter. He might bat 280 and strike out a lot, but he's going to hit 55 home runs. And I appreciate that mindset. You can't operate scared. Belichick's the best GM probably ever, but he's also had a unique opportunity where he's had Tom Brady for 20 years. And Tom Brady's never makes that much money. So they're always being able to be pretty agile. Where I think most of the most of GMs, you either got to be really conservative and really aggressive.

And I'll always lean with the guy that's really aggressive. John Dorsey can pick guys. He knows who can play and who can't play. But his best attribute to me is he's got balls. And most people that I personally admire, professionally, personally in life, have balls, have large stones. And John Dorsey does not GM scared. So I do think he made a very, very bold move, though, with that.

the coach hiring Freddy Kitchens. That's putting a lot on a guy that's called plays for eight months, or excuse me, eight games. I mean, he never been a play caller through halfway through the season when they fired Hugh and Todd Haley. But he has a good team for him. I mean, the team on paper is pretty loaded. So I like John Dorsey. A little bit of a meathead, but he's an aggressive meathead. If you're going to be a meathead, don't play scared, and he doesn't.

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With Russell Wilson's new deal, is there any money left on the table to sign Frank Clark? This is a little bit of an old middle-coff mailbag question, and I think we have the answer? No. Resident Bucks fan here. You haven't talked much about the future coach of the year of this upcoming season. What gifts?

I'm predicting him Bruce Ariens is winning. it once again after taking the bucks of the playoffs. What do you think needs to happen for him to win it this season? Playoff birth, wins versus losses. Also, I have seen a trend over the last couple years that first year coaches getting coach of the year. Nagy, McVeigh, why is it that first year coaches seem to get more often? I also think because they're bars lower.

They're usually taking over for a terrible coach. For example, Nagy was taken over for... Who was... Oh, Fox. I mean, Fox had mailed it in. McVeigh was taking over for... taking over for Fisher, who was done. So the bar is super low. So if you make the playoffs, after taking over for a sloppy head coach, you're viewed highly.

My problem with the Ariens thing, their schedule is really hard, their division is difficult, and I'm not the biggest James guy. Though, if anyone was going to fix James, it would be Ariens. I think Bruce Ariens, I've talked about it all the time, is a top 5, 6, 7 coach in the NFL. So whether he wins the division, or excuse me, the award or not, I think they easily had the best high of the offseason. To me, the problem is just that, I don't know, man. Again, their schedule.

I think Jamis is a pretty big question mark, even for Arians. They might be a year or two away from really kind of bouncing back. The division, the Panthers are kind of enchambles, but they're still a better team than the Bucks. The Falcons just had a bunch of injuries. They're going to be really good. And the Saints are one of the league's best teams. Do you think a team will reach for D.K. Metcalfe in the top 10, 10, 15 picks? Considering that Corey Davis and John Ross were picked in the top 10 a few years ago,

I feel like someone will try to get them early. The difference is that Corey Davis year is a bad receiver draft, and the John Ross is just an all-time overdraft. I heard, I think Todd McShay say, a lot of D.K. Metcalf's short shuttle and three-cone drills are equivalent of like Tom Brady. Like, D.K. Metcalf is a straight-line player with questionable hands. Freak athlete, but probably a little too muscled up.

I think at the end of the day, the league has gotten a lot smarter. I'd be a little shocked if he goes in the top 20. Just again, the measurables, all that shit, eye-popping, right? He can run like a cheetah. He can jump like LeBron. He's got some highlight plays if you just go to YouTube. If you just watch his highlights, you're like, Jesus, this guy is unreal. But he can only run a couple routes.

He's a little muscle bound. and I think this draft, while it's not a top heavy draft guys going in the top 20, there are a ton of players that are going to be viewed as better players than D.K. Keehanes Butler, Nikiel Harry, Marquis Brown, A.J. Brown, his own teammate. So to me, Jacksonville, if I was Jacksonville, I would take the tight end from Iowa, Hawkinson, before I'd take D.K. Metcalfe. But I like your question. Now, would it shock me if he goes in the top of his team? No. But most of the GMs, I talk to, not that I talk to.

that many, think that he's a little bit of an overrated prospect. And that was actually when I talked to them about that during the combine. I continue reading mock drafts and so many look alike. And your time as a scout, were you ever blown away by teams drafting players multiple rounds away from where you valued the player? Does it happen often in player evaluations similar team to team? For sure. I remember, like, my second year in Philly, the Patriots took a dude in the second round,

forget his name, safety, was it Tevin Smith or Tevin something, out of Illinois, I think, and we had him as an undrafted free agent. Now, the guy was terrible, but I think once you get probably away from the first round, you see guys drafted in the second and third round that you have as undrafted free agents. And it probably works the other way around too. You might draft, your team might draft a guy in the second or third round than another team wouldn't touch. Scheme fit is part of it. Character plays a big part.

The medical plays a big part. There's so many, like, I think if you just looked at it like this, take the football away. Let's just say I got a guy. I went to, I walked on the Cow's campus, and I went to their business school. And I just grabbed a random kid, you know, that's a junior in college. And he's at the University of Berkeley. So the top public university in America, super smart kid, clearly. Let's say the guy's there in an academic scholarship.

So he's probably going to place. He's going to get a good job. Well, if I took that guy to like 10 different businesses and had that guy interview, half the businesses might not like him. Whatever, personality might not think he's the right fit. One person might love him. The other person, three other people are like, yeah, we'd hire him. There's no different in football.

There's different strokes for different folks. Different people value different people differently. Just from a football standpoint, but the draft, especially the first round, and I'd say the first couple rounds, are about more than football. It's about how you're wired, how much I think you love football, how much I think the money's going to phase you. Because I'm drafting you in the first round. I'm giving you millions of dollars. And as someone that's yet to earn millions of dollars, but it's just started earning like hundreds of thousands of dollars, you know, in my mid-early 30s, I was making nothing in my 20s.

I don't know how I would have reacted if someone would have gave me 500 grand at 22. I would have had no clue what to do, right? Hell, I would have a decent idea what to do if someone handed me $10 million right now. But I'm way more equipped than I was 12 years ago. What, I'm 34 now, so 12 years ago, I would have been 22. No chance. I would have had no clue what to do. None.

So I think, now, some of these guys are just really mature. They have the right people in their life. I think it's all, it's a complicated process. And when you hear, it's so cliche, right? This is not a, this is a, there's no like exact. way to do it. Right? There's just, this is science. They can say that? And now I'm screwed it up. I think it's fair because I don't think it's not an exact science. It was what I was looking for. It's not. There's not some, you can't throw it in some query and say, I'm drafting 16.

Who's the exact player I should draft? It will be a seven-time pro bowler. If it did, it'd be a lot easier. Hey, huge Bucks fan here. If Josh Allen were to fall to five, do you think we should pick him over Devin White? Talk to a buddy in the NFL that thought they were pretty deep at linebacker. This was a pro scout that's like, I don't quite get it. I think they're pretty good at linebacker. They run a 3-4 defense now with Todd Bowles coming. They need a 3-4 outside linebacker. They need a pass-rrusher.

Well, guess who's a 3-4 outside linebacker? Josh Allen. I wonder if they're telling everyone they want Devin White, so maybe the Raiders or someone takes Devin White and Josh Allen falls to them. Because to me, Josh Allen makes a lot of sense for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. To me, that's the ideal fit in the first round. Josh Allen is a Tambay Buccaneers, a 3-4 outside linebacker. That's who I would draft if I was them.

And I like Devin White. I would take Devin White. If I'm the Raiders, I'd rather have Devin White than Josh Allen. But I run a 4-3 defense. He's a stand-up outside pass rusher. What is your opinion on the Chicago Bears schedule? Colin Coward thinks the Bears will only win nine games, and he doesn't believe in Trubisky at all,

even though Trubisky showed major improvements. Colin thinks the Packers will win the division. With the Bears' top five defense, I see the Bears winning 12 or 13 games. I would agree. Maybe not 13, but I see them win in 11. I do not. Yeah, Aaron Rogers is going to be motivated. I don't bet on their coach.

I think he's over his head. I think the lion stink. Maybe not stink, but they're not that good. And terrible what happened. Matt Stafford's wife, they found a tumor. She had surgery. It looks like she's going to be okay. I've always been a Matt Stafford guy.

but Patricia, I'm not a big fan. I do think the Vikings will be better. And if I remember correctly, the Bears beat the Vikings twice. I think they did. So they'll probably split that. Now, they'll be fine. I think the Bears are a 10 or 11 win team.

I think the Packers' best case are probably 9 and 7. And that's even with Rogers. I just, I don't trust the coach, man. What do you think the Steelers need to focus on in the draft to ensure they get back to championship contender? secondary linebacker to try to fill Shazier's spot receiver I think they've been pretty consistent

drafting receivers past the first round and nailing it. You know, Juju, Hell Antonio, Mike Wallace, all those guys were drafted after the first round. To me, it's defense, defense, defense. I'm pretty sure they were, I don't know if they led the league in Sacks. I think the Chiefs did. They were a top three sack team

in the league. Their pass rush is good. Their team speed in the back seven is not good. You're right. I thought they were the best team in the NFL up until the moment that Ryan Chazir, who awesomely looks like he's, I don't even know if awesomely is a word, but it's awesomely that he's bounced back and at least he could walk, and it's just an incredible story. That guy was a badass.

And when he was on the field, their team was awesome. And they haven't quite been the same since they lost that hole. Just a speed, playmaking, just guy that's able to make every tackle. So if they could somehow get Devin Bush, to me, that'd be the pick. And then secondary, whether it's safeties, corners, they need it all. They just, they don't have enough players in the back end. Their coverage is consistently shitty.

So I would say either linebacker or some sort of DB, whether it's safety or whether it's a corner. Okay, last one here. Let's see if I can get another one. Where's Tuesday's pod? That's what I'm getting a lot of. So maybe it's, okay. As a Jets fan, this is one year I don't care,

what they do in the draft. Trade down, take Williams, Alan, both at three. What do you think the Jets should do? I think they need to get Sam Darnold help. Whenever you draft a quarterback really high, or as a guy as a young player proves that he's a legit player, you got to go all in. So to me, they signed some guys on defense. That's why you pay Greg Williams a lot of money. You got to get Sam Donald help. So whether that's trading down, going to sign a tight end, you know, drafting a tight end, whether that's drafting an offensive lineman, you have to be. You have to be. You have to build around Sam Darnold. He is your future. So I ideally would trade back, take an offensive lineman with that pick.

Hopefully in the trade back, I would be able to acquire a second round pick. Obviously, I don't have a second round pick because I traded up last year for Sam Darnold. So I need to try to recoup a second round pick. I would love to go from like three to eight, three to nine, three to ten, drafts an offensive lineman, and then use one of those second round picks just, hell, on a receiver. That would be my plan of attack if I was Mike McCagin. The problem is I don't think Mike McCacken is very good, so who knows what they're going to do. Appreciate everyone listening.

Sorry I was a day late. Not a dollar short, though, and I will see you a little later this week. It's officially draft time, baby. So get ready. It's here, baby. Woo! Thanks for listening. Appreciate it.

And tell all your friends. Talk to you soon. Bye. Get right to the romance and find the way to wow this Valentine's with 1-800flowers.com. From classic roses and bouquets to decadentate. chocolate-covered berries, gourmet treats, and more. Surprise your Valentine with 1-800flowers.com. Right now, get the 18-stem enchanted rose medley for $39.99,

or upgrade to 24 red roses for $10 more. Go to 1-800flowers.com slash tune-in. That's 1-800flowers.com slash tune in. Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the Internet lost its mind, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where Sports Slice comes in. I'm Timbo, and every episode we're cutting through the noise,

breaking down the biggest moments in sports and giving you the real story behind the headline. And we're going straight to the source, the athletes themselves, their locker room stories, their reactions in the moment, and the stuff nobody gets to hear. Listen to Sports Slice on the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Sliced Life 12

in the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. Another podcast from some SNL, late-night comedy, Guy not quite on Humor Me with Robert Smygel and Friends, me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, S&L's Mikey Day and headwriter, Streeter Seidel, help an a cappella band with their Between Songs banter. Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and Friends on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Life is full of hurdles. So how do you keep?

Keep going. On Hurtle with Emily Abadi, we're talking with the most inspiring women in sports and wellness from professional athletes, coaches, and Olympic champions about the challenges that shape them and the mindset that keeps them moving forward. At our level, at this scale, being able to fail in front of the entire world, like, I can do anything. I can do anything. Listen to Hurtle with Emily Abadi on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Presented by Capital One, founding partner of IHart Women's Sports. fee, and I've been unraveling the strangest criminal alliance I've ever reported on, a Mormon polygamist and an Armenian businessman.

Multi-million dollar house, Ferraris and Lamborghinis, private jets, a billion dollar fraud. But how long can this alliance last? Tell me what you know. Is somebody coming after me? Listen to Kingdom of Fraud on the I-Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an I-Heart. Podcasts. Guaranteed human.