The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Middlekauff – 3 & Out – No Melvin Gordon Leverage, WR's Cashing Checks; Long Term Luck Concerns, Dabo's Saban 2.0; Middlekauff Mailbag

Episode Date: August 2, 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 explains why Melvin Gordon doesn't have any leverage in his standoff with the Chargers, why wide receivers are cashing in like never before, how Dabo Swinney is morphing into Nick Saban 2.0, answers listener questions in Middlekauff's 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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What is going on, everybody? It's me, John Middlecob. This is the three and out podcast. Coming at you from my guy, Colin Coward's podcast network. Appreciate everyone listening. I'm recording this. This is about as I press play, about an hour before the Hall of Fame game.

You know, I can't take the Hall of Fame game that seriously. I honestly didn't even realize this was Hall of Fame weekend. It kind of crept up on me. I mean, I knew it was coming. And maybe it's because I don't really love this Hall of Fame class. I think we've diluted it a little of the last three or four years. You know, Kevin Muay, Ty Law. To me, they fall much closer under the umbrella of Hall of Really Good.

I mean, really good players. But, you know, when I think Hall of Fame, I think Dion Sanders, I think Jerry Rice, I think Lawrence Taylor, you know, Kevin Mawai. Again, Tony Gonzalez's first ballot hallfamer, or not first ballot, maybe he was, but Tony Gonzalez is a hall of famer. But that's, I'm not going to talk much about the Hall of Fame, at least this class, not going to talk about the game, at least that's the plan of right now. But we're going to dive into the running backs because we got a couple guys.

We got Zeke in Cabo San Lucas or Cancun or wherever the hell he is down in. Mexico doing who knows what. Training, as Rapsheet said, he's training with other NFL players. No, Ian, he's training with former NFL players, if anything, because actual NFL players are at training camp. But Melvin Gordon officially asked for a trade. That's a problem. We'll talk about that.

Andrew Luck, injured again. I got some just concerns just about his long-term future, and I'm an Andrew Luck guy. you know, there's never been a better time right now in football history to be a wide receiver. I think Michael Thomas showed us that. And then the official top 10 for, I think, the AP USA Today, not exactly. I just saw a top 10 list, maybe top 25 list for college football, Clemson number one. And I think, you know, most of you already know this, but I don't think we quite come to grips yet what we're witnessing with Davos-Sweeney in the Clemson football program. But I was thinking about this today

There's obviously a lot of you hit me up And we'll end the show with the Middlecoff mailbag At John Middlecoff is my Instagram handle I always do a segment at the end Middlecoff mailbag answer your questions I got a bunch of new questions I've answered a bunch It's where I interact

And hang out with you guys Slide up into my direct messages And we'll bullshit about football Whatever you want to talk about But I answer football questions here on the show But I wanted to start with this Because this has been Truly the hottest topic

At least today definitely is that it became official today that Melvin Gordon asked for a trade. He wants a trade. My first response to who for what, to quote my guy Ricky Waters. I just think Melvin Gordon has no leverage, and I think it's pretty simple. You hear this all the time, I'm sure in your business, whatever you do, in the business of football, life's all about leverage. For 18 years of my life, like most people grown up,

up, you have no leverage. Your parents control everything you do. You're dependent on them to eat, to sleep, to do everything, or whoever you're growing up with. If you didn't have parents, maybe your grandparents, your uncle, your aunt, whatever. Whoever you live with growing up, they control your life. Then you got to college, and if you do well in school and you have some high accolades coming out, whether you're an athlete or whether you're a student, maybe some people start coming for you. Maybe you got a little leverage. Like Melvin Gordon had a little leverage when he was coming out of Wisconsin. He was a really good player. He became a top 15 pick. His first year he was borderline royal bust.

But then in a short period of time, in his given profession, his position lost a ton of leverage because it's been, you know, dramatically devalued. We devalue the running back. Right? It's just a fact because it's the easiest position to replace. In any business, if your value at something, you're going to be more valuable if whatever you do,

that position is harder to replace. I think we all can relate in whatever industry you work in, the IT guy has some leverage over every human, right? Because you need that guy. If your computer breaks, if your phone messes up, there's nothing you can do. Like most of us, even if those of us that have grown up in the world of technology, we kind of know the basic levels of stuff. But we are dependent on the IT guy to fix our shit because we can't function without a computer. kind of like the NFL. I can't function without a quarterback.

I can't function without a pass rusher. I can't function without some good wide receivers. But I sure as hell it can function without a good running back because it's the one position that is replaceable. Here's my problem with Melvin Gordon. Twofold. One, I want to trade. To who?

Like, Melvin, you're holding out right now. So if someone trades for you, one, no one's trading a first. first round pick, obviously, and I used a first round pick on you. Okay, maybe I'd trade you for a second round pick. No one, no team in the league is trading for a second, a second round pick from Melvin Gord. That is, that's a 100%. That's not an opinion. That's a fact. Maybe a third round pick, but if I'm the Chargers, like, I'm not giving up Melvin Gordon for a third round pick. But even if you were a team willing, let's say, to give up a third round pick, and let's say the chargers are like, yeah, we'll give them away for a third round pick, which they wouldn't,

you would then have to pay them. And the Chargers are often. offering him a contract, which I think you could argue is bad business. I would not offer him this. But they are somewhat emotionally tied. They drafted them in the first round. They like the guy. They just want him around. I mean, he's a key part to what they do,

even though it's proven that when he's out, Echler, and just they can patch work together like most running backs. And it's pretty clear there's an elite tier of guys and Melvin Gordinate in it. I got news for you. So when Melvin, when they're offering you $9.5 million a year, I don't know who's giving you advice. Whether you believe you're worth more, whether you're greedy little agents telling you you're worth more, whether your friends from home are telling you you're worth more, you're not.

So you should run to the Chargers facility right now and sign that contract. And you can ask for a trade all you want, but here is the problem. No team is trading a high-level asset for you and then using that after they've used that app to pay you. Like Khalil Mack, he had a ton of leverage. and I completely supported his holdout. He knew he was worth a shitload of money. And every team in the league was lined up to do two things. Trade a lot and then pay him a huge contract.

Because when you trade for a player on a holdout, well, once you trade for him, he doesn't just show up for you. He still has the same needs. Melvin Gordon's needs would not have changed once he was traded. He would still want to be paid. So teams know that. He's not showing up for them. That's a problem for Clowny right now.

I talked about this a couple weeks ago. Not all holdouts are equal. Because guess what, Michael Thomas for the New Orleans Saints? We'll get to him a little later today. If he continued to hold out and said, I'm not coming. Let's say the Saints refused to offer him a big contract. There would be a lot of teams in the league that would have no problem probably trading good teams. You don't think the Patriots would trade next year's first for Michael Thomas and then pay them?

They probably would. Maybe the Green Bay Packers? I mean, there would be the 49ers. There would be team, and then they would pay him what he just got. Michael Thomas had leverage. Khalil Mack had leverage. Aaron Donald has leverage. DeViott Clowny, a little bit of a problem.

Because a team might be willing, let's say, to trade a second round pick for Clowney, but they're not going to pay him what he wants. And that's the problem with these guys holding out. Like, no one's trading for you, Melvin, of anything of value that would make it worth the Chargers to trade you. So that's not an option. they're offering you a contract. This victimhood of the running backs are playing, I understand why certain players hate the analytical movement

because the analytical movement is basically saying one of the most highly valued positions in the history of football, the running back, is kind of worthless right now. Now, if he can really catch the ball like Christian McCaffrey or Alvin Kamar, they're not as worthless, but Melvin Gordon is not those guys. Plus, he is often injured.

And I think he's struggling to come to grips with, yeah, I'm kind of closer to the middle tier than I am the top tier. They're offering me money even though I think I'm worth more, but I'm not worth more. Because the market is the market. We just saw a player who is dramatically better than Melvin Gordon hit free agency this off season, off a year where he's completely fresh in Levion Bell. And the best offer by a mile from my sources, and I have a source that was in on the negotiations. because they almost signed him Team X because he was going to come so cheap.

Levion Bell, who is dramatically better than Melvin Gordon? Now, some question marks off the field is been in trouble. Melvin never has. I think that's one of the positive things Melvin has going for. Good teammate, likable guy, no trouble. The only really red flag are injuries. But Levi-on Bell, every single person in the NFL, including the charges, would rather have Levon Bell than Melvin Gordon.

Well, we saw one guy hit the open market, where every team in the league, historic amount of free agent money. I think there was $3 billion worth of money to spend. And the most money, again, by a mile that he was offered, is what Mike McCagden, who then was later fired for it, offered him basically $27 million guaranteed. And I think everyone listening to this, I know a lot of NFL people listen to this, we all know Leveon Bell is much better than Melvin Gordon. He got $27 million. So basically, from what I've heard, are the chargers are offering them give or take with incentives and stuff like 9. and a half to $10 million and basically in the low 20s of guaranteed money. Melvin, I'm telling you, run to the facility and sign that contract.

Don't be an idiot. Don't let your friends who act like you're getting screwed. You're not getting screwed. And I tweeted this earlier today and a lot of people freaked out. You know what's funny? Is agents and players love to do when they feel they're getting screwed they hold out? What happened year one when Melvin Gordon was one of the biggest bust in the league was god-awful? And the moment they signed them, they gave him $7 million.

You think Melvin Gordon is age and ever thought about giving that money back? Like hey, sorry guys. We underachieve this year. We'll give you a million dollars back. Hell no. So it's not a two-way street and people always forgot the players are always getting screwed. Someone was arguing with me on Twitter today. Dean Spanos, and listen, I think Dean Spanos is a clown.

He's never met a dollar that he doesn't want to save. I think he's an embarrassment to rich people and an embarrassment to the state of California. I'm not a Dean Spanos fan. But Dean Spanos is worth two and a half. half billion dollars and Melvin Gordon can't get a little bit. Yeah, just because a guy's worth two and a half million dollars, does that mean he should pay every single player that he has on his team? Because I think we all acknowledge, I would say this. I'd argue that even offering Melvin Gordon this contract is dumb business. I'd make him play on the contract he's on. Because again,

we have facts. He's a replaceable player. They didn't skip a beat when he wasn't in the game. They did skip a beat when Keenan Allen's not around. When Bosa and Ingram get hurt, they'd be in trouble. Melvin Gordon's not in? Whatever. We can replace it. I sure as hell know I can replace Melvin Gordon at $10 million. 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.

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I'm bringing you conversations about all kinds of stuff, like being an internet famous referee. We're in the middle of a game. This linebacker, this linebacker walks up to me, he goes, hey, ref, my mom wants you to wave at her. What? Time out.

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The World Cup is coming. Ramers sending on to Ernie Stewart the chip. I'm Tad Ramos. I'm Tom Bo. On our podcast, Inside American Soccer, you'll get the real storylines. I'm not worried about Policic. I'm not worried about Balligan. I'm not worried about McKinney.

My only concern is what happens. in the back. The biggest decisions. If you're going to look at stats and numbers, he has no shot at making this World Cup team. And the truth about the U.S. national team. It wouldn't be a huge surprise if our team ends up in the quarterfinals

or potentially a great run into the semifinals. The World Cup is almost here. Experience it all with us. Listen, Inside American Soccer with Tom Bogart and Tabramos on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, wherever you get your podcast. I can get a running back for one. million dollars and then get a couple, an undrafted free agent, claim a guy.

And at worst, I'd put 85% of his production together for, I don't know, an eighth of the price. Like, this is a business. You can't just pay everyone, especially, you know, solid players that play a replaceable position. You know what the Chargers did? They'll pay Keyan and Allen. They'll pay Bosa and Ingram. They got no problem doing that. Now, I mean, they do because Dean Spanish doesn't like paying anybody.

but they paid those guys. That's just a fact. So this notion that trade me, no one's trading for you, Melvin, any pick of value that would make them trade you. Two, that team, if they did trade for you, is not going to give you some contract. It's going to make you super happy.

I'm sorry, you have no leverage. So when you have no leverage in life, like, Dad, I'm leaving the house. It's easy to say that when you're 15. you walk out of the house. I remember I did that when I got in some knocked down, drag out arguments. You walked down the street and you realize, I got no money, I got nowhere to go, and I'm kind of hungry. So you walk back to the house. I'll promise you, Melvin, you got to swallow your ego, swallow your pride, go sign this contract they're offering you, because I got news for you. The contract they're offering you is kind of dumb on their part.

You're winning. You're not worth $10 million, and they're willing to pay that to you. anytime someone's willing to pay you more money than you're worth, but just because your ego and as men, we get all up in our feelings, like, I'm worth more. Just take a deep breath, swallow your pride, go sign the contract. They're not going to trade you. No one's trading for you and then paying for you. So please, Melvin, I'm rooting for you to get some more money.

Go sign the contract before they yank it because the contract they have on the table is a dumb one on their part. This clip is brought to you by State Farm. State Farm, they know it's important to ensure the things you love. They also get that everyone has a budget. That's why they have options, like insuring your car and your home, getting you great rates on both. It's a good idea to consider State Farm. For surprisingly great rates, like a good neighbor, State Farm is there. Call or go to StateFarm.com for a quote today. In high school, I never really was like dating around or anything like that. And then I got into a long-term relationship and was dating someone for a few years.

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I don't care as much about the fluff. Like your average per year, I care about real dollars. Odo Beckham, $65 million, Michael Thomas 61. Bottom line, though, five years, $100 million. He got a lot of cash. And one thing is clear.

There has never been a better time in NFL history to be a wide receiver. Just like what I'm doing right now, there's never been a better time to try to get into the media. How I'm doing this podcast, I literally met,

doing it because of Colin Coward. I met him because of Twitter. People often ask me like, how'd you get linked up with Colin? I just met him through Twitter, started DMing, game buddies. This was 20 years ago, it wouldn't have been possible. Like, a dude, there's never been a better time to be a video game player. The dude that won the Fortnite championship, I think just got $3 million. Certain things in life is all about timing. And if you were a running back, you could cash in 20 years ago. If you were a video game player, You could not cash in 20 years ago.

You sure is hell can cash in now. Ninja's crushing it. Just like Michael Thomas is crushing it. There's never been a better time to be a wide receiver. We talk about leverage. Wide receivers have a little, or excuse me, running backs have a little. Wide receivers sure as hell have a lot.

And Michael Thomas had the Saints by the balls. And one thing's clear is the hierarchy of the way you build teams. And I said it last week, three positions are really, really important. The quarterback's been on the pedestal now for a long time. The pass rusher now has been on the pedestal for a long time. But I think the wide receiver has taken a lot of the juice away from the running back. Because the wide receiver, the way the game is officiated,

how easy it is for the top wide receivers to dominate in the league, it's pretty clear that these top guys and texting with a guy in the league was, there's never been a better time financially for a wide receiver. If there's a group of guys, Julio Jones, he ain't playing tonight, but the Falcons tweeted out a video of him making this incredible jump, one-hand catch. It was awesome. He's a freak. Whenever his new contract happens, it's going to be enormous.

If Tyreek Hill can avoid the police for like 10 minutes, he is going to get so much damn money, it's stupid. He's an uncoverable player in 2019. Now, maybe you couldn't cover him in the 70s or 80s either, but you could at least mug him back then. can't even touch the guy anymore. Think about that. Think about O'Dell Beckham Jr.

Got $65 million. And I love O'Dell Beckham Jr., but it was more really on hype and potential than it was off production. Because he had been hurt. He hadn't been producing when he got the contract. Now, don't get me wrong, I think he's worth the money. But the talent, Mike Evans is, you know,

he got paid recently, I think last year. He's worth every penny. These guys, you can't cover the player. And when you look at the league, to me, it's all about how you're building your team financially. Because it has changed dramatically the last three or four years. Quarterback's been at the top of the hierarchy for a long time. I think forever it was build your team inside out. Listen, here's what I know for a fact.

To win big in this league, you need good wide receivers. And you'd be like, oh, the Patriots, yeah, I mean, they had grok. And Edelman's one of the greatest slot receivers we've ever seen. in a big game and Tom Brady. They're to me somewhat of an outlier. When you consistently look at the teams that dominate in the playoffs, they get a lot of production from their wide receiver. And when you have a star wide receiver,

unlike when you have a star running back, you have no choice but to pay them. Remember it wasn't that long ago, you would get rid of guys like Terrell Owens. Even Antonio Brown, who's kind of been in pain in the Steelers' ass for a couple years, they eventually just, like, they paid them multiple times

before they just kind of had enough. but they realized how valuable he was. And they moved on from constant receivers over the years. Think about all the guys over the last 15 years the Steelers moved on for. He was the one guy that they kept for multiple contracts. Because the rules and the game dictated. And I think you're only going to see one thing. The other, Bill Parcells, I think,

it might have been another coach always said. You really can only build your team around what college football gives you. Well, college football now is giving you all these wide receivers. Think about it. It's not giving you as many offensive linemen anymore. The running backs, the league doesn't value it anymore. The corners are very hit or miss. But every year, we're getting several top-notch wide receivers in the league.

Hey, kids, play wide receiver. Because my other big theory and the way I'd build a team financially, I wouldn't pay cornerbacks big money anymore either. And they used to be always a position that you have no, problem given, you know, relative to the money now, probably $12, $13, $14 million a year, I wouldn't pay a corner. I wouldn't pay Jalen Ramsey $14 million a year. Not saying that he's not worth that as a player. He's one of the best corners in the league. I don't want high-price corners. I'd rather have three or four guys not making that much money.

Why? Because my corners, they're going to get beat no matter what. Like I said on Monday about building your team, I'm paying defensive linemen. I'd rather allocate that money for defensive linemen, wide receivers to go along with my quarterback and a couple of offensive linemen. I'll patchwork my cornerbacks. I'll pay a safety. I'll go pay Honey Badger, Earl Thomas. I ain't paying, I'm not

doing that with Jalen. Because if I'm the Jaguars and I got Nick Foles, I'd rather have a top-notch wide receiver right now than Jalen Ramsey. I just would, especially if I'm already paying another cornerback in A.J. Bouye a lot of money. I'd go pay a safety.

So the things just dramatically change. And maybe it's cyclical, maybe it's not. Because if the rules keep going the way there have been going for the last several years, it's only going to dictate the fact that it's easier for wide receivers to dominate.

And it's even harder for corners to play well. And running backs become more devalued. Again, a big reason this is happening is because of the rules. But forever it was like, you paid your quarterback, which will never change. You pay your pass rusher, which will never change.

And, you know, you wouldn't necessarily pay a wide receiver. And that was always a big rant for Colin, like wide receivers, dime a dozen or whatever. I don't think they are anymore, especially when you have a top guy. Because you see it every year now. I mean, look at these teams, when you have a top flight wide receiver, he's unstoppable. And especially the Saints who were in a position where he was really their only good wide receiver. It felt like they target him 12 times a game. He kind of had him by the balls, just like Julio's got the Falcons.

Well, not as much because they drafted Calvin Ridley. They might be a good player. Maybe he's replaceable. But that would be betting on the fact that Calvin Ridley is going to be a star. The Packers, who got a really good deal with Devante Adams, they need Devante Adams. When I'm at 49er practice, I go, I think the biggest issue is here. I don't know the guy that they can just hang their hat on at the end of the day when it's third and seven that I know I can go to. You can tell me all you want about the Patriots not having a star wide receiver the last 10 years.

They've had Grinkowski, who was paid. a premium because at the end of the day, he was an unstoppable force in the passing game. And that's what you have to be in 2019. You didn't have to be that in 1993, in 1984. Hell, in 2007. Nowadays, because I remember when I was in Philly, it was like, should we pay Deshaun Jackson? Should we not? If you had a young Deshaun Jackson on your team, even if he was a little bit of a pain,

in 2019, you wouldn't even think twice about it. He would get the money that he wanted. and you could argue he was just three or four years early. It's like the three-point shot in basketball. Think of his value now when you really can't touch him. It would be a wrap. And I think Michael Thomas and all these wide receivers coming up the pipe are just a great example. The ju-jus, all the young guys that have infiltrated this league the last two or three years

of just the game changing at a perfect time for them to cash in economically. Okay, let's get into, uh, in, to Andrew Luck and the Hall of Fame game has started behind me and I saw Fangio is he's as a kidney stone and he's coaching through it and I remember my dad when I was growing up

maybe had a couple but definitely I remember the one he was bedridden for a couple days in so much pain trying to pass the thing and they just said Fangio's on a couple wonder drops who knows what PEDs he's on. A great part of being a coach you can take PEDs to make the pain go away but I also think and I say

this all the time, any industry you're in, whether it's football, whether it's talking for a living, like a lot of people are on PEDs in some form or fashion, whether it's CBD, whether it's Atterol, whether it's something. I mean, everyone in every profession is looking for an edge. Like, most people don't naturally have a ton of energy the older they get, but if you think about it, like your competition, you might be going up against his 55-year-old with a ton of energy, yeah, he's probably on something, you know, is doctor prescribed or maybe, Maybe he's just sucking down 10 cups of coffee. He's doing something to gain an edge.

They always are. And in football, there's never been an easier time for quarterbacks to gain an edge in terms of playing into their latter years. Now it's pretty normal for a quarterback to play. Like, it feels like Aaron Rogers is young. Aaron Rogers is 35 years old. Back in the day, this career would be over. I mean, it feels like Aaron Rogers got three or four really good years left.

He's going to probably play until he's 40. Drew Breeze is 40. I mean, Brady is the all-time outlier, 42. Peyton Manning overcame that crazy neck surgery and basically played until he was 38, 39 years old. Like, quarterbacks don't leave this league at 35 years old anymore. They play until they're 40. Hell, Eli Manning hasn't even been good for a while, and he's still cranking along at 36 years old. Cranking along would be strong, but you get my drift. Now, when you look at the younger quarterbacks, there's like this middle ground of guys, right?

because there's the young quarterbacks, the Mahomes, the Watson's, the bakers, that whole crew. Then there's just middle crew, and it's really kind of three standouts, in my opinion. Luck, Russell Wilson, and Cam. And I'm not that confident that any of them are going to get to 40. Now, Cam Newton, I would definitely bet against because he's already had a ton of injuries. And just the physical nature and he plays, he feels like a 35-year-old that's actually 30. Russell, who somehow has never missed a game in his career. I looked it up the other day.

I forget the exact number. It was like 112 for 112. You just go across his NFL.com page, 16 for 16, all seven years. The dude is just an Iron Man. Andrew Luck is somewhat the opposite. He's much closer to Cam. If anything, he's been the most injured out of the three guys. He missed an entire season in 2007.

An entire season, excuse me, 2017, missed the entire season. And in 2015, he missed seven games. And right now, it was reported a couple days ago that he has a calf injury. Now, on the surface, a calf injury isn't that big of a deal, right? Just a calf injury. You know, it's August 1st. Who cares whether you practice or not? And yeah, at the end of the day, I don't really.

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Learn the Hardway and listen now. What's up guys? This is Clivert Taylor the 4th. And on my podcast, The Clivert Show, I'm bringing you conversations about all kinds of stuff, like being an internet famous referee. We're in the middle of a game. This linebacker, this linebacker, this Linebacker walks up to me, he goes, hey, ref, my mom wants you to wave at her. What? Time out. Quarterback on office blue of 42.

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But the one thing that concerns me is because, and it's not his fault, and he actually has become a smarter player, but the team that Ryan Grigsman gave him and continued to build around him, almost got him killed. We know that, and that costs Ryan Gricksson his job, and he'll never be a GM in the league again. But Andrew Luck, I hope, and I think he's the best of that group, of the Cam Newton, of the Russell Wilson group.

And what's crazy is, you could argue, he's accomplished the least, right? Russell's won a Super Bowl as a starting quarterback. Now, he was nowhere near as good as he was now, but he's a Super Bowl champion, and he's been to another. Granted he threw the pick at the goal line, but you know what I'm saying. Cam Newton, League MVP, led a team to the Super Bowl. Now, granted, I profited because I bet the house against him, and I want a lot of money

of the Denver Broncos. But MVP, been to Super Bowl. Andrew Locke hasn't. Farthest he got was the AFC championship game with a terrible team. I mean, those guys have played on good teams, his teams, how they made to the conference championship. His third year in the league is beyond me. But he's had serious injuries, and he consistently gets injured.

I am just nervous that the trajectory of his career, how does he make it even close to 40 years old. I'm not even confident that he'll still be humming at 35. It just feels like it's always something with the guy. And again, I don't totally blame him. He got destroyed his first couple years because his offensive line was basically me, you, and three other guys. I mean, it was terrible. It couldn't have been any worse. But just the style that he plays, maybe it's just his body type, and I don't mean actual his physical stature because he's everything you look for, right. He's 6-5, he's 235 pounds. He's building a linebacker. But for whatever reason, maybe his bone density. I'm not a doctor. I don't quite

understand these things. Why Russell Wilson hasn't missed a game, and this guy's missed all these games, they both play with terrible offensive line. It doesn't quite make sense, but I know the one thing that does make sense. If you were treating Andrew Luck like a stock, and you said, will he still be a starting quarterback at 38? When I say starting quarterback, like, will he still be in the league at 38? He'll be 30 here in a month. I would bet no. I would say the number where I would feel confident going over would be 34. Any number over that, I would be a little apprehensive.

I would not be confident in taking the over. Now, it doesn't mean I'm going to be right, but it's just, it's always a nick, it's always a bruise, it's been major injuries. Hell, it wasn't the snowboarding accident. Whatever it was, it's kind of always something with Andrew Luck. So if you're a Colts fan, I would really, really, really. try to enjoy these next couple years. Your team's equipped. Your GM's legit.

Your coach seems good. Your window is now. Your window is 100. The Carolina Panthers window, with Cam kind of being, might be a shot fighter, we'll see. It might already be over. Seattle's window feels like it's longer just because

Russell Moore in life is going to play just longer than those two guys. But if you're indie, you probably need to win a Super Bowl in these next couple years if it's going to happen on the Andrew luck watch because we've seen it'll be a calf then it'll be an arm then it'll be an oblique then his shoulder will go out again you got to put all your chips to the middle of the table and I give Chris Bauer credit he's built a really good team they're equipped to take advantage of it

right now I think they can be a they are a legitimate Super Bowl contender this year and next year they probably should only be even better but just the way this this player has shown us that his durability is somewhat a question mark you got to take advantage I'm bullish on the Colts. I'd be shocked if they're not a one or two seed probably at the end of the day. When you look at the Chiefs, I don't know if the Patriots are going to be quite as good. I think the Colts could win 13 games, but the time is now. And we got to enjoy Andrew Luck when we have them because we might not have them for that much longer.

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Did you know every week nearly 40 million job seekers visit LinkedIn? Post your job for free at LinkedIn.com slash reach. That's LinkedIn.com slash reach to post your job for free. Terms and conditions apply. Can I tell you about my friends at LinkedIn? Listen, it's a new year, 2022. We're all trying to find people that hire, for those of you listening, that are in HR, running small businesses, wherever you are.

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and I got news for you. It's not. Now, I talk a lot of NFL because that's the cash cow, number one sport in America. But college football ain't far behind. I love college football. Big college football fan. For about 12 straight weeks in the fall, I consume it from sunup to sundown on Saturdays. Well after the sun's down because the pack 12 games go late, late into the night. And, you know, I'm always down to talk college football.

Obviously, probably the NFL takes precedent on the game. this show and we got a little more going on and I'm I live on the west coast and the back 12's well down but I love college football and I think a lot of people just in general are somewhat down on it because they feel it's so top heavy it's kind of become like the NBA only two or three teams have a chance to win and I think there's some validity to that which is fair kind of feels somewhat like a two-team race Alabama and Clemson now I think George is going to be really good this year I think this is definitely the year for Michigan and Jim Harbaugh to get the job done. Ohio State is loaded.

I just don't trust the coach. Oregon is somewhat of a wild card, but it can't be disputed. Their team's really talented. Washington is obviously good. But to me, when the top 25 came out today, I don't know if it's USA Today, AP poll, whatever. I don't even look at it past five, really, you know, because it's irrelevant. But one thing that's pretty clear is there's a new number one in 10. and that's the Clemson Tigers.

And I think it's bigger than that. I think there's a new big dog in college football, and that's Davosweeney. With Urban Meyer retired, at least for the year, I think we all think he's going to be Fraudmire, as I like to call him, will be the head coach at USC next year. But when it comes to college football, there is one guy that can match with Urban Gone. I'm not a fan of Urban off the field, but I've never disputed he was an elite coach and every bit of Nick Saban's equal. Well, once he fell off the map and left,

there was, you know, it's like, who's going to be Nick Sabin's equal? Well, it's pretty clear that the Davosweeney is as equal. And a wise man once told me, and it has always stuck with me, his name is Phil Savage. He now works for the New York Jets. When he was running the Senior Bowl,

and, you know, I don't quite understand the southern geography. All I know is you can drive everywhere. Like, he lived in Mobile, He could drive to Florida State. He could drive to Atlanta. He could drive to Tennessee. He could just drive everywhere.

And it wasn't that far. Well, he used to go when he was doing the Senior Bowl, and when he was scouting, but definitely doing the senior ball, to all the major schools down there. And obviously he was working for Alabama, but he used to go to Florida State. And he would always tell me, this is when Jimbo kind of got them rolling. He said the big advantage, and this was before Clemson took off,

the big advantage Florida State has. And remember, when Jimbo won the national championship, that team with James Winston was absolutely loaded with NFL players. He said they are recruiting an SEC player, but they play an ACC schedule. And once Jimbo, you know, some weird shit happened with his wife

and ex-Florita football player and he kind of gave up on the program and left. Florida State fell off the map. Clemson has even taken it to a different level than Jimbo had it going to Florida State. He's won two of the three last national championships. He's five and two in the college football playoffs. But like Jimbo, and even maybe slightly better, he's recruiting an SEC player,

and he's playing an ACC schedule, and he's kicking the living crap out of everyone. And I think you're looking at a guy. I did this little research. When Nick Saban first won his national championship at LSU in 2003, he was over 50 years old. Damo Sweeney is 49 years old and already has two national championships and a team that's heavily favored to win this year's, and they're going to be in the mix these next couple years

because they have a sophomore quarterback who is viewed as a Peyton Manning Andrew Luck level prospect and I think we'd all agree he's pretty damn good so for as much as you know we wish there was a little more parody in college football and I do I wish 15 teams have a shot the reality maybe five do right Clemson Bama probably on a level by themselves Georgia Ohio State and

and maybe Michigan probably maybe Oklahoma. I mean, it's maybe, maybe Texas. I mean, it's a very, very small group. But what Dabo is doing right now should be applauded. Because you know what, in fairness to Dabo, like Jimmy Johnson was kind of a dick. Nick kind of is an asshole. The one thing they say about Dabo, you know, he's pretty friendly. Everyone likes him. Now he's a coach, so he gets on guys, but he runs a family-oriented program. His players clearly really like him. And like Sabin, He's an elite recruiter, and he's an elite recruiter in terms of getting NFL guys. Like even when Jimbo had Florida State humming, or he's going to turn around Texas A&M.

One thing's clear, Jimbo's kind of an ass. Like, he's not the nicest guy to deal with. Dabo seems like a great guy. And he's a big-time football coach. His assistants like working for him. The players play hard for him. They're clearly really well-coached. He's highly compensated.

Wikipedia said he makes over $9 million. worth every penny. 49 years old, his record is 116 and 30 at Clemson, two Natty's, 5 and 2 in the college football playoffs. This guy is a winner at the highest level. This guy's trajectory, like how does he not become Nick Sabin of the sport? I don't see how he doesn't sustain it, because clearly his standards are sky high.

He's probably arguably a little easier to play for than Nick in the sense that you're not getting yelled at maybe quiet as much. much by him. And I don't see Clemson going away anytime soon. Now the curveball in this entire thing is he's an Alabama graduate. He played football at Alabama. Nick Saban's 67 years old. Let's say he coaches until he's 70. Eventually he's going to retire. Well who's going to be Alabama's number one target? It's going to be Davos Sweeney. Now with Clemson winning at such a high level, money's not an issue for them. Dabo's making nine plus million. His defensive coordinator makes a couple million worth every penny the money they generate for the school i don't know if he takes the job

or not and you know they usually say the person to follow you want to be the guy second to follow a parcels you know or a sabin you never want to be the first guy to do it you want to wait for that the guy to get fired and then follow him but if your dabbo and homes home you know i i don't know if at that point it's not going to be about the money i don't know if you had a chance to see the athletic did an in-depth thing on Colin. It was like a 12-minute piece that, you know, like a real sports type piece, the athletics doing that. And I actually got a chance

to see Colin when I went down there during free agency. And the thing that stood out to me the most was I remember I was staying in like a shittier hotel 30 minutes away. I got up at 4.45. I didn't even beat him there. He was there at like 5.30 in the morning. And Colin said on this

athletic piece, at this point in time in my life, I'm not doing this for the money. Like, Dabble Sweeney, Nick Saban, they ain't doing it for the money. They've already made a ton of money. They've already had the accolades. Like, I'm a grinder because I just, it's just woven in me. Deep down, something in me, still watching Colin get ready for a show at what time they get there

is up at this point in time of my life, one of the most inspiring things I've ever seen professionally. Right? It's just how hard that guy grinds despite being at the highest level of his profession, the best talk show radio. host in America, obviously the most famous, most powerful voice. And he grinds like he's a nobody. And that's always what they tell you about.

Belichick, Dabo, Nick. If he did want to follow Nick, Alabama would dominate. So I do think that's on the table. But at the end of the day, what we are witnessing is with Urban retiring, at least for now, Nick coming down the home stretch, this is the new Sabin. This is the new Jimmy Johnson. Tom Osborne. Now, he has his own personality. And as Matt Nagy writes on his play sheet, be you. He doesn't fake it.

Don't be an asshole if you're not an asshole, whether you're a coach or whether you're middle management. Just be yourself. Be yourself. Now hold high standards, professional environment, whatever you're doing, but be you. And I give dabble a lot of credit. He's him. Now they win, and they win at a high level and they benefit, like Phil says, they recruit an SEC player and he recruits at the highest level. goes right toe to toe to toe with Alabama and Georgia, and he plays an easier schedule now that Florida State sucks, Miami sucks, Duke, whatever, Pitt, you know, the schedule's not that hard, but they take advantage of it. And you can't say that they're not on the level once they get

there because once they get to the college football playoffs, they dominate. We're witnessing a younger version of Sabin here. This is what we're witnessing. It's happening in front of our eyes. So you can root for parity in a perfect world I'd like it. But I also enjoy watching Dabo's team play. I like watching the joy and the fire that he gets out of coaching football. I'm a huge Dabo Sweeney fan. And they're not going away anytime soon. The only question is going to be moving forward is would he ever think about replacing Nick?

And my gut, I don't know the guy, just watch him from afar. I would doubt that he does because he could build a legendary, he could build Alabama. Hell, he has built Alabama at the University of Clemson. Let's dive into the Middle Coff mailbag. I got the All-Fame game on the background volume down. It just looks terrible. I mean, looks absolutely awful. Fangio, again, somehow coaching with a kidney stone.

John, love the podcast and your insight. Quick question. I have coached Jukobal in Kansas, Texas, and now I'm in East Mississippi. Whoa, season one, two of the last chance to you. That's pretty cool. how does one get a job in scouting professionally? I know talent. I recruited the coach in coach guys like DeMarcus Lawrence, Michael Gallup, Chris Carson.

You've recruited a lot of people. I always tell people that get involved in college football, you know, college recruiting. Clearly, you're already coaching the JC. So when these college coaches come through your JC, try to get, just move up a program. Or when they come through, especially if you're at, now the Juco and Mississippi that you have big time division one prospects whenever you get a coordinator or definitely a head coach let them know that you want in let them know that if they want a recruiting you know ahead of recruiting you'd be interested you know you just sometimes just got to ask

and the older I've getting that now that I can basically run my own business now it's different and I understand when you're working for someone you're always looking for another job people get unsure, but as a wise man once told me, the only person that truly cares about you, you know, outside of your family, professionally is you. So you got to worry about yourself first. Get involved in college football, college football recruiting. Then if you can get to the right program, all the scouts come through that program, and then you can meet them.

That's usually probably the best way to go. Okay. I'd be interested in your taking on Daniel Jones. I've not read or heard anything positive on the, uh, on the, uh, on the Giants picking this guy. Am I wishful thinking that he had a lot of drops of Duke and can count them as catches that he's on the 70% accuracy?

True, thanks? Yeah, I mean, I'll be the first one to tell you that it's not like I was living and dying with Daniel Jones at Duke. I relied on my scouting buddies that had the SEC. And if I'm going to pick a positive thing for to tell you, the one thing they all said

was they liked him. he was liked in the scouting community. Now, number six overall pick liked, of course not. But as a fringe first round prospect, hell yeah. I got Drew Locke on my television, who went early in the second round of the Denver Broncos. I know a lot of people in the league that liked Daniel Jones more than Drew Locke. Now, again, the Broncos got Drew Locke in the second round. The New York Giants and Dave Gettleman took Drew Locke as the six overall pick, which is pretty nuts.

So I think Daniel Jones, the hardest thing for him to overcome, is the instant negativity, is most fans, fans have never had more information. Fans are the lifeblood of the sport. And now you're informed at levels that you never were in the past. You guys aren't dumb. Why everyone's so pissed is because they say, why would we take this guy at the sixth overall pick?

Not necessarily that he's a scrub, that he wasn't worth the sixth overall pick. That's where all the anger comes from. So it's going to be hard for him to overcome that. it's hard in general to overcome just your draft status when you're drafted really high. You know, it puts a lot of unfair expectations on a lot of players. Now it's easy when you're Mahomes or Khalil Mack or Odell Beckham Jr. But when you're a guy that probably should have been taken in the second round and you go in the top 10,

even if you become a good player, it's hard to overcome that. I'm watching it. I have a front row seat with a couple guys here in the Bay Area. Solomon Thomas never should have been taking at pick three. He may eventually become a better player than he's been, but he's never going to live up to the third overall pick. Just like Colton Miller with the Raiders. No one thought Colton Miller with the Raiders was going to go in the first round,

and then Gruden took him at 15. It's hard to overcome your draft round when it's really high. Do you think the Raiders can actually surprise some people? With the signings this off season, the offense should be much more explosive. If it is a bust, who replaces car? Well, here's what I know about the Raiders. Their offense on paper is pretty good. You know, Derek has played well in this league.

He's got to play better. If he does play better, though, they got a chance. Because their offensive line's pretty good. Trent Brown's a monster. Rodney Hudson's a stud. Gabe Jackson's a good player. Richie Incognito's a nut job, but he's a good player. Colton Miller, question mark, but he should be better than he was last year.

Offensive weapons, you go, well, Antonio Brown's a superstar. His feet are peeling off right now because I think he worked too hard. But Antonio Brown's elite. Tyro Williams is a superstar. a really good second receiver. Hunter Renfro, Ryan Grant, they got some guys to throw in the slot. They drafted some tight ends.

They have a first round running back in Joshua Jacobs. Yeah, I mean, I think they're offense should be pretty good. Their problem is their defense. Their defensive line on paper might be the worst in the NFL. And honestly, it might not be that close. It could be horrendous this year. Their linebackers are pretty big question mark too. Now, their secondary should be solid.

Garron Connolly is a good player. Lamarcus Joyner is a good player. They drafted Jonathan Abram in the first round. They, you know, they drafted a corner in the second round from Clemson. So, yeah, I mean, I think they should be better than some people think. But surprise, when you can't rush the passer at all, you're going to be in trouble. So that would mean their offense would have to be a top five or six offense in the league for them to be around 8 and 8. Now, that's a lot of pressure on Derek and Andrew.

Is there any real reason that, as a Colts fan, I should be concerned about Andrew Luck being held out. Are we looking at a Kevin Durant type risk? I talked about it earlier. Short term, I don't think he should be concerned at all. I would just say big term. It's just, why does he get nicked up so much? Some of that, it's just a style.

Because the Kevin Durant thing, I wasn't there at practice. No one's seen video on Andrew Luck's calf injury. When Kevin Durant had his calf injury, it sure looked like he tore his Achilles the first time against the Houston Rockas in the second round. That's why when he came back and it ended up tearing and his Achilles, it was almost like he partially tore his Achilles the first time.

Where Andrew Luck, I don't, it's just so much unknown. I would just be worried, though, big picture. Like, why can't the guy stay healthy? I just wanted to see what your thoughts about the Cowboy signing Alfred Morris, giving the timing right after Jerry said they can win rings without Zeke. Listen, I think it's, Jerry's going to want Zeke around. He's one of their best players. Jerry drafted him.

Jerry likes them. I think it's more, when a guy is injured or holding out, you still need to practice. You need players to play in preseason games, to take practice reps. Well, it's much easier once you're a week in a training camp to sign a veteran guy that knows your offense, i.e. Alfred Morris, who was in this offense a couple years ago when Zeeq was suspended, then signed some random undrafted free agent off the street. So I wouldn't put that much stock into them. signing Alfred Morris more just the simple fact, you just need bodies.

Now, Alfred Morris has proven he can function in this league. Question looks like was cut off there. I don't even know what the guy was asking. You talked about Monday about the diminishing value of cornerbacks. Would you pay big money for a safety like Eddie Jackson? I think safeties are much more valued than corners. So I'd say yes. Eddie Jackson is a turnover machine, and he plays in the middle of the field.

so I think he has more value than either one of those corners. If you had to pick one defensive back on the bears to keep, I don't even think you'd hesitate. You'd pick Eddie Jackson. So, yeah, I mean, I'd have no problem paying Eddie Jackson. If I had to part with one, I'd say C-A-Fuller and I'd keep Eddie Jackson if it was between one of those two players. Thanks for making a few days of sitting around the office a lot more enjoyable.

It makes a difference. Sincerely a sad Ruskin's fan. Thanks, bro. No question. you know, propping up my ego. Hello, John. In your latest podcast, you talk about corners and secondaries not really mattering anymore. But why are smart-ass teams like the Patriots investing so much in Gilmore and nothing into the D-line?

That's a great question, because someone hit me up and I took a screenshot because I knew I was going to, I wanted to find it once we started talking about it, that the Patriots, listen, Belichick's the best in the business. but this Porter Collins 5 DM me and said I want to support your claim with the NFL secondaries

that have been devalued the Saints, Eagles, and Chiefs ranked 29th, 30th, and 31st in total passing defense last year and the Patriots, despite having a really good defensive back unit, ranked 22nd. Now, the Patriots play good

red zone defense, one, and for whatever reason, I don't understand why Bella Belichick discounts the defensive line so much. I just think the Patriots are somewhat of an outlier. They don't build their team normally, and they make up for it because Belichick is the greatest coach ever, and Tom Brady is the greatest quarterback ever.

But Gilmore's a really good player. He's an all-pro-level player. He's worth the money. McCordy's really good. Their linebackers are a little hit or miss, and their defensive line's clearly going to be worse with Trey Flowers being gone. What do you think of Dallas moving off of deck?

I can't help but feel he's a slightly better version of Tebow, Let me stop you right there. He's much better player than Tebow. I've had this idea, kind of, this is sad. I mean, this is the type of stuff I think about, but why don't the Cowboys do this? Dak Prescott, you're not getting $30 million a year. What if I offered you four years, $85 million,

so 21 a year, the entire contract is guaranteed, basically like Kirk Cousins. Why wouldn't he take that? Especially if I go, Dak, I'll give you $4 years, $85 million. every penny is guaranteed, like an NBA contract. And also, you saving me that $20 plus million, overall, I'm going to go sign Amari, and I'm going to go sign Zique, and we're going to show up week one, plan on winning the Super Bowl.

How does Dax say no? I've talked before about Edelman and Brady. When you win championships, especially with the Dallas Cowboys, you become a legend. It's not like $85 million is nothing. I get Kirk Cousins makes more per year. But who cares? You can become a much bigger deal in the league than Chris.

cousins and be really rich and get another contract in four years. Wanted to get your opinion on the Panthers outlook this season. What do you think about their past few draft classes and the overall view of NFL's executives about Marty Herney? I've never asked anyone about Marty Herney, but Chris McCaffrey, that's a home run. The kid's an absolute superstar. The wide receiver they drafted last year is really good. I have a couple buddies around the league that are really high on DJ Moore.

then this year, Brian Burns, to land that guy in the late teens, I think that guy's a really good player. I think they've hit back to back. Now, we don't know about Burns, but I'm going to assume he was a hit because I like him, and it's my podcast. So you got some impact players. Now, if Cam can stay healthy and Keekly can stay on the field, I'm getting a lot of pushback, like Middle Coffee, two down on the Panthers, two down on the Panthers,

and then I watch All or Nothing, and I love Ron Rivera, and Cam kind of grew on me, I love Luke Keakley. I love Christian McCaffrey. I like DJ Moore. I'm like, yeah, maybe the team's not going to be as bad as I thought. So I'm a little more bullish on the Panthers than maybe I was a month ago. I would be, I don't know, I can't really tell you much about Marty Herney, but I do like their drive class the last couple years.

Is there a difference for the first round bus? I was comparing a Jamarcus Russell to Joey Harrington and David Carr. It seems like players bus for different reasons. Do you see difference and adjust your view? to the players? Yeah, I would say Jamarcus busted because he was lazy. And a wise coach once told me

you can't overcome dumb and lazy in this league. You can overcome lazy if you're really talented. You can overcome dumb if you work really hard. But if you're dumb and you're lazy, you will eventually fail. And Jamarcus did not work hard at all. He was much more talented than the other guys. I was pretty young for Joey Harrington.

and David Carr. I was like in high school when they got drafted, so it's hard for me to, I'd have to go, like, study their YouTube pages. You know, Derek, or I mean, Dave just got destroyed by the defensive line. I know a lot of people, haven't been at Fresno State

that say he was really, really good in college. I think most guys in the first round that fail, it's either because the organization fails them, or they're super lazy and they don't try. and slash they don't love football. And I think when you found out, when you hear about Joey Harrington, the not loving football was a big, something interwoven into the way people described them.

Gambling question from a stat metric, what do you think is the best to focus on? I've been looking at scoring defense, turnover ratio, yards per play, and third down conversion offense defense. Maybe the reason I'm such a shitty gambler is because I'm a gut-feel guy. I don't know. I'm the wrong guy to ask on this. I'm more just, I like this team, and that's why I lose a lot of money.

I'm one of the worst gamblers you'll ever see, though I gamble a lot of money. Now, my one strategy that my go-to strategy that tends to work is bet against the masses. So when the masses are betting on one person, I go the other way. When everyone's hanging the left, always hang a right, and you'll win more than usual. Now, that means when everyone's hammering the Patriots or everyone's betting on the Eagles, you've got to take the Jags or you've got to take the Raiders. but that shit works. Huge Jags fan.

What's your take on this season? I think they're good shot at the wild card spot and being a sleeper. You know what's funny? Is on my other podcast, we got done recording the other day, and I'm like, do you know what's crazy? I basically follow every team in the league on Twitter, and I see videos 24-7 from every team in the league of highlights, of defensive highlights, of press conferences.

I swear to God, as I record, record this right now, I haven't seen one highlight or read one comment on the Jaguars. It's almost like on my Twitter feed, they do not exist. Now, my guy Flip is there as the offensive coordinator. He's a big Foles guy. Their defense has a lot of talent. If Leonard Fournett can kind of get his career back going, Marquis Lee comes back from injury, yeah, I think they could be a really competitive team for sure.

Forgot to mention this take is predicated on Golden Tate missing the first four games with suspension. Something erased. Whatever your comment was before it erased, or I would have read your question. What is the chief ceiling? I feel like if Mahomes is still a god, and the defense can create pressure,

the turnover, they can go 15 and 1 or 16 and 0. Their offense should be elite. So I don't think their offense should come back to Earth at all if everyone can stay healthy. I don't see how their defense doesn't improve. Frank Clark is better than D. Ford. They still got Chris Jones.

They're running a 4. or three defense now. They add the Honey Badger, which would only help just the defensive backs and the communication. There's no way their defense can be as bad as it was last year in terms of coverage. And if their defensive line, they actually might not get the same amount of sacks. Last year, I think they had 52. Let's say they get in the mid-40s, but I think their overall defense can be better. The red zone defense can be better. It's really hard in the NFL to go 15 and 1, but if there was one team in the NFL, if you're like Middlecough, what's the one team in the NFL that go 15 and 1, it would probably be them.

So I would agree there. Raiders fan. Derek Carr's contract 2020 not fully guaranteed. Two first round picks. Think they go after Clemson quarterback if he comes out? He's only a sophomore, so no. But one story today was that Derek Carr bought a house right next to John Gruden in Las Vegas.

My response was bold move, Cotton. They have a bad season. They get out of his contract for, Basically, no dead money. It's risky. Now, it's never risky to invest in real estate, and when you have as much money as Derek, you can buy houses if you want to buy houses.

But for him to be on the Raiders, when they moved to Las Vegas, he has to play better. Because if he plays like he did in 2019, he will not be on the team. Outside the box question for the mailback. Why wasn't Tedford a candidate for the Packers job? He worked with Rogers at Cal and has been great with quarterbacks.

He's also done a good job at Fresnel State the last couple years. One thing I had heard, Tedford's had a lot of health problems. He's in his 60s. He's just going to retire at Fresno State. I think his ambition days of like he should have got the USC job, the Packers job, those days are kind of over because he's kicked ass at Fresno State. They play USC, I think week one, I think they beat him. I think Tedford is just a dramatically better coach than Clay Hilton.

So I think a lot of it is more based on him just being old. Okay, that's going to do it for the middle-off mailbag. If I didn't answer your question, I'll eventually get to it. Either direct message you or I'll read it on the next podcast. 7-0-0 Denver right now. I'm going to go eat dinner. God, the Hall of Fame game, I tweeted this earlier, is much better in theory than it is in reality.

We're all like, oh, we got football back! And then about two snaps in, you realize you're watching Matt Schaub throw picks. Like, this sucks. You know, is something on Netflix? Because I'm not watching this. Flacco didn't play. Drew Locke looks terrible.

when I say, Drew Locke looks terrible. I've peaked up and watched them throw about two passes. But the Hall of Fame game, one of those games, better in theory than it is actually is in reality. Keep hitting me up. Middlecoff mailback at John Middlecoff. Instagram handle. Same thing as my Twitter handle.

Talk to you all later. Enjoy the weekend. Peace. Hey, Singles. Do you feel like a tourist in your own town? Too busy to enjoy all your city has to offer? Events and Adventures organizes up to 30 unique get-togethers around town each and every month. We do all the work.

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IT transformations for successful businesses. Visit changemakers.freshworks.com. 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. Timbo, in 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.

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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. What's up, guys? This is Clifford Taylor the Fourth. And on my podcast, The Cliverts Show, I'm bringing you conversation. conversations about all kinds of stuff.

Like being an internet famous referee. We're in the middle of a game. This linebacker walks up to me, he goes, hey, ref, my mom wants you to wave at her. What? Quarterback on office blue of 42. Hey, ref, my mama want you to wave at her. What?

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You know, it's all love. This was just playoffs. This was just basketball. So listen to Point Game on the I Heart Radio, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed Human.