The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Middlekauff - Jon Gruden, Chip Kelly, Sam Darnold, and the Middlekauff Mailbag

Episode Date: September 13, 2018

Subscribe here to the 3 and Out with John Middlekauff Podcast https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/3-and-out-with-john-middlekauff/id1352730623?mt=2. 3 and Out with John Middlekauff is part of the Colin Cowherd Podcast Network. 3 and Out is an unfiltered podcast covering the biggest stories in the NFL and college football. John brings his unique perspective as a former NFL scout, NFL analyst and radio host. In this week's episode John talks about Jon Gruden and Chip Kelly - what do they have in common, and then it's all about Sam Darnold. John will then take you around the league to highlight what's happened this past week. Each week John also answers listener questions from the Middlekauff Mailbag. Follow John on twitter @JohnMiddlekauff and go to theherdnow.com to find the latest content. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Big show coming up today. I got a hit on John Gruden and Chip Kelly, because I think that, they have a little something in common. You know we're talking Sam Darnold. Looks like a star rookie quarterback. The New York Jets are not bad. I'm going to kind of do something new today. We might start doing a couple podcasts in a week,

but just because this week we're only doing one, I'm kind of going to fly around the league, different things I saw, different things that stood out to me. And then at the end, like always, Middlekopf mailbag, you can slide up into my DMs at John Middlecough on Instagram, or you can go, listen, you can listen to this podcast wherever you listen to podcast. But if you go to iTunes and in the review section, subscribe rate, and in the review section, leave a question,

I will get to that in the Middle Coff mail bag. But first I got to start with Seek. Football is back and Seekek is the smartest, easiest way to get tickets for every game all season long. Whether you're searching for last minute deal, planning a night out, or find the perfect gift, Seekek will help you find the best seats of the best prices fully guaranteed. I have the Seek app on my phone. Been using it for years. Got my little brother Cal tickets this weekend.

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That's promo code John, J-O-H-N, for $20. $40 off your first Seekkeek's purchase. Seekek. It's a live event. We have the tickets. Let's start out with John Gruden and Chip Kelly. Because I think they have a little something in common. And when you look around football and the explosion of money in the league, a ton of coaches make a ton of money.

Bill Belichick, no one knows his salary. I'd be shocked if it's not like over $12 million. Nick Saving, $10 million. Jim Harbaugh, a ton of cash. But the one thing that those got Andy Reid's been making huge money forever. Dabo Sweeney, I mean, Urban Meyer, all these coaches. The one thing they all have in common, though, is they never left the industry. So their edge, while they kept making money, they never kind of left the bubble of football

and just kind of got a feel for, wow, there's more out there. I don't need to kind of work as hard. Wow, you can do other things in life than just sit at the office 24-7. And I think when you see John Gruden and Chip Kelly, John Gruden this offseason, these last 10 days for John Gruden have been an absolute train wreck. I mean an absolute utter train wreck, trading Khalil Mack and then, you know, lying with Lisa Salters for the nation to see that Khalil Mack did not want to be a raider. That's just unequivocally false.

Then to the Monday night football game where he just looked lost in the second half. Then the following day, after an embarrassing loss, signing Martavius Bryant, who he had previously traded for a third round pick and cut before the season. Very Al Davis-like move. And then Chip Kelly, who one of the more hype coaches in recent memory, when I was scouting, I went through the University of Oregon. When I was with the Eagles, it was before we hired him. and the program was absolutely humming.

He was the apple of everyone's eye, not just in the NFL, but around college football, just of everything they were doing at the school. He was kicking ass and taking names. And then over the next five years, think about this. Really quick with Gruden,

Chip has a little different path. For eight, nine years, John Gruden called Monday Night Football Games after he had utterly failed with Tampa Bay, was corded. by every major university in the NFL team for five, six, seven years, offered huge amounts of money. Yet he hadn't done anything over that time, right?

He had not been coaching. Everyone was getting on their knees and kissing his ass. And he kept getting raises, kept getting raises, kept getting raises, he hadn't done a damn thing besides called Monday night football games. So if you're not grinding in the world of football and everyone is kissing your ass, you start getting probably a false sense of reality. And think about this. I know people that work in other industries that told me that would be in the know

that his endorsement deals through corona were astronomically high. And John Gruden loves to hang his hat on, I would coach for free. No, John, actually you wouldn't. It took Mark Davis paying you $100 million for you to return. So not only would you not coach for free, You wouldn't have coach for 50 million. You wouldn't a coach for 75 million.

It cost you $100 million to return to the sideline. And I keep looking up and I keep seeing commercials with you in them. They are paying you a premium to be in those commercials. Yeah, you love football. And I'm not disputing that John Gruden doesn't still work as hard. I've actually heard his work ethic is incredible. But money is the driving factor with John Gruden, where I do not believe with Bill Belichick, with Andy Reid, with Nick Saban,

I'm not saying those guys don't like their money and don't value it as a, you know, as a form of respect in their business. But I know for a fact now, unequivocally, you cannot deny it that Gruden mandates that his employer to do business, they pay him the most. And again, I couldn't be any more pro-capitalism. But Gruden, I read a Dan Pompeii feature. Two weeks ago in Bleacher Report that said, I would coach for free.

I love the game that much. No, Gruden, you won't do anything for free. You made Corona pay you millions. From what my sources say, they saved money on Tony Romo. And now, Gruden might be more, you know, fun of a character to have in those ads in that, you know, 1-800 hotline.

But don't get it twisted. John Gruden, and don't, it's his agent. No, I mean, his agent works for John. John Gruden. John Gruden mandates that you pay him a premium. Mandates it. Chip Kelly. Chip Kelly, Jeffrey Lurie, they got along with a coach for 15 plus years.

The ups and the downs, a lot more ups with Andy Reed. And Andy's much easier got to deal with. Stood by him. They had one of the more consistent organizations in the NFL. Remember Chip and Howie had the famous breakup? Jeffrey Lurie going into Week 17, 17. Chip's third year, said Chip, said the security guard up there, pack your stuff, put it in a box, and get out of my building. Leave.

Chip was fired. I mean, it was a pretty famous firing. Within three weeks, Jed York was offering him another job. So in Chip's mind, yeah, I failed, but Jeffrey was the idiot. Howie was the crazy guy. Jed York lining up to pay him again. Then a year later, after the Niners blow him out because he was good. God-awful. Casey Wasserman, one of the richer heavy hitters in Los Angeles,

and Troy Aikman, NFL royalty, were kissing his ass to come coach at UCLA. So like John Gruden, how would Chip Kelly have any sense of reality and have to do any inward thinking? Like, I got to improve. Every time he fails, people are lined up to hire him. And here's the thing with both those guys. I was a little younger when John Gruden was coming up with the wrong. Raiders, but you watch all those NFL films, even when he was the offensive coordinator

with the Eagles, he had an FU edge to him. When I went through scouting, when he was coaching Oregon, Chip Kelly had a massive edge to him. Both of those guys really had something to prove. It never felt like it was about the money with either. Now, a young John Gruden, the NFL coaches and just coaches in general were not making anywhere near what they make now. Chip Kelly was making more money, but it never felt like when he was a lot of the at Oregon like it wasn't really about the money he had no life remember there were pictures of

like his house he had no furniture just a grinder well over this period of time jeffrey lurie pays him a boatload fires him to go away jed york is immediately there to pay him another 25 million a year later k c c wasterman and troy ackman are lined up to pay him again john gruden has gotten so rich chip kelly has gotten so rich you cannot tell me both those guys that had this massive kind of, you know, chip on their shoulders, proving to the world how great they were going to be. Even as their ego grew in the prime of their coaching careers, they just had a massive edge to them. They carried themselves a little differently, but I think they had a lot of similarities. You cannot tell me that money, and I'm not saying that they still don't work as hard.

Like I said, I don't know if Gruden's quit because there are three in the morning, but he works long hours. I've always heard Chip works hard. I'm not disputing their work ethic, but their edge. The edge that Nick Sabin, that Bill Belichick that Andy Reid still has, the edge for these two guys is gone. And it's because of money. They have gotten too rich. They've gotten too rich, both of them.

I'm watching Chip Kelly get his ass kick by Oklahoma. Listen, I'm not saying UCLA should have beat Oklahoma. He just looks apathetic there on the sideline. Just kind of staring. If Casey Wasserman and Troy Aikman fired him tomorrow, he just accumulated like $90 million in a six-year span. What does he care? Chip Kelly at Oregon, I always heard in a blowout win, if he caught player screwing around on the sideline, he would light them up. The Chip Kelly I see now doesn't have it.

John Gruden, who stood up on the podium early in January when is hired, we're going to win now. I came for this job for Derek, Khalil, and Amari. Nine months later, Khalil's gone. And he's basically waving the white flag. We're in a rebuild. We're in a rebuild. John, you just took over a job that was ready to win now. To me, both those guys, the edge is gone.

And there's only one explanation. They've gotten too rich. Chip Kelly, unlike Gruden, doesn't pretend he'd coach for free. You know, I would recommend Gruden, stop talking about you'd coach for free. It could not be any more disingenuous. Because you wouldn't do anything for free. You wouldn't do anything for a hundred grand. You know, it cost you seven figures to get your ass in the door.

That's the point of entry for you for Chip. Chip is just used to, whether it's Phil Knight, whether it's Jed York, whether it's Jeffrey Lurie, whether it's Casey Wasserman and Troy Aikman, just having his ass kissed. Like, what happened to the edge of Chip Kelly? Do you know the craziest thing I've ever seen? Fresno State, where I actually worked 10 years ago, is going to the Rose Bowl this weekend. Wherever you look, and I look at my bookie, the Fresno State Bulldogs are favored.

The Fresno State Bulldogs, who probably don't have one player who was offered by UCLA, and I get they're not all UCLA's players. But Chip Kelly, if you would have told me 10 years ago that Chip Kelly would be coached at another Pac-12 school, They would be at home playing Fresno State and be an underdog? I would have laughed in your face. But if you would explain to me, well, you know, he's been fired from three jobs.

He's accumulated almost $100 million. He just doesn't quite seem like the same guy. Also, his offense, everyone does what he does now. He doesn't really have a point of difference. And he's just kind of apathetic. I would say, well, that kind of makes sense. because here's the one thing I keep seeing. I've always heard this about Gruden.

Gruden never thought he was the smartest guy in the room is why he worked so hard to overcome it. Chip always kind of thought he was the smartest guy in the room, and many people have told him that, and he's been reading it forever. And I saw a lot of people tweeting, like, Chip is a really smart guy on Saturday. And I would wave a red flag to that a little bit,

because if you are a genius, and everyone's been telling me this for the last, I don't know however long on Chip Kelly, geniuses adapt you know you don't go down as the titanic sinks you start thinking of a way to patch it up to stay above water for a little bit to find a raft chip does the same thing over and over and over again so if you are just this brilliant football mind you'd think you'd have a second pitch like hey chip they know the fastball is coming throw something off speed mix in a change up but he can't so I question and I have people in the NFL that

tell me this all the time like is he really that smart of a football guy Belichick's a smart football guy you know why he's ran every offense and every defense imaginable over the last 10 years you know he's a smart football guy Andy Reed his offense has changed like 15 times in the last five years adapt I look at smart football people that can adapt. Nick Saban, offense change, as the world changed. His 3-4 defense no longer has Terrence Cody nose tackles. Has slimmer, faster, upfield guys to negate the spread offense.

I just see Chip Kelly, same thing, over, over, over, and over again. John Gruden, hey, John, it's not in 1998 anymore. You know why Khalil Mack didn't pick up your phone call? Because that's not his job to negotiate the contract. He pays Joe Siegel 3% of that $100 million that he just earned to do that. So yeah, don't be angry that he didn't pick up your phone call. This is 2018, $100 million in the line. I know when I want to talk to you about business, I go to your agent, I don't go to you.

And I know the answer that I'm going to hear on that phone line from your agent. It's going to say seven figures and he's going to hang up. And that's just an endorsement deal. To get you to coach, it's going to be at minimum, clearly, $100 million. That's what it takes to get you to the 10%. table. So I view both these guys. Money has played a huge role in just them losing their edge. When you're told how great you are, time in and time out, I've never had that happen to me. Most people listening have never had that happen to you. I hope that as I become more successful,

I never lose my edge if I make anywhere near the money those two guys are made. But it's human nature. I get it. I'm not saying it's crazy what's happened to them. I just don't even think it's arguable anymore with both of them. And I think you look at them. Neither of them are adapting. John's living, you know, 20 years ago. Chip has just really struggled. He can't, you know, look, truly look at himself in the mirror and say, what do I need to change? Why would he? He's just constantly told, here's another job. Here's another 25, 30 million dollars. Gruden's constantly offered jobs and offered enormous amounts of money without proving anything. And I think you get this.

You get Khalil Mack traded. You get John Gruden said he wouldn't pick up his phone calls and it's Khalil Max fault. You get Chip Kelly an underdog to Fresno State at home. Money changes lives. And crazy wealth ruins people because most people, whether you're young or old, do not handle extreme wealth very well. Let's get into a little something we saw Monday Night Football. And his name is Sam Donald.

Started off the game with a pick six. Crazy play. Like threw it across the field, pick, dude on the lines took it back. And then went on to absolutely eviscerate with his defense. And I was saying, I think I said last week, the Jets were one of my sleeper teams in the NFL. They are a Tom Brady broken ankle away from winning that division. Now, again, knock on wood, I don't want Tommy Terrific to get hurt. But if he were to, you don't have any major injury, I think the Jets could win that division.

The crazy thing is they're only sniffing what they're going to become because they have the youngest starting quarterback in the history of the NFL. But I've been saying it on this podcast and I've been saying it anywhere you'll look that sometimes in life it's better to be luckier than good. And I hated the trade when they traded up from six to three because they didn't know what they were trading up for. It's one thing to do it on draft night when you know the exact play. player was there. And I think Todd Bowles and Mike McCagden had said after the fact that once they got Sam Donald, that Sam Darnel was the number one player on their board. But they did not know he was going to be there when they made that move.

But he fell into their laps. And there's a reason, listen, I live in the Bay Area. The Golden State Warriors, when it comes to television ratings, when it comes to popularity, are basically right now like the Dallas Cowboys. Now it hasn't been going on long. It's been like a five-year stretch. But the main reason they are that is because of Steph Curry. And the main reason they have Steph Curry is because once upon a time, the Minnesota Timberwolves took two point guards.

I repeat two point guards ahead of Steph Curry. Now, I don't know who in their right mind back-to-back picks takes two point guards. But if you are going to take two point guards in a draft where neither were Steph Curry's in it and you pass on him twice, you're an idiot. And it was crazy then, and it's seven million times crazier now. But the Warriors got lucky. He again fell into their laps, and the rest is history. And you see that there's going to be a ghost of Sam Darnold in the city of New York, because as I'm watching Jacksonville play the New York Giants,

I'm not putting it all on Eli, but he can't move. He's not a dynamic play. Of course he's not. He's never been able to move. He's 37 years old. Last time I checked, like, I'm, God, this hurts to say. I'm about to turn 34 years old. For the last, I would say ever since I left from my 20s to my 30s, I used to be able, as long as I worked out, ate whatever I want, and I could eat pretty dirty. And I mean, when I was younger, I ate really dirty, fast food and stuff. As I got in my 20s, it was more, I still like a good cheeseburger. You know, I still like some good Mexican food. If I have a Cheeseburger now, the next day I feel like I'm five pounds heavier.

I, you know, and everyone always told me, you know, like most people, as you get older, your metabolism slows. As you get older, like bumps and bruises hurt a little more. You know, if you have a, I had a knee injury. It hurts a little more when I'm 33 than it did when I was 25. Eli Manning is dramatically worse than he was five years ago, right? It's just human nature. Father time, unless you're Tomverse time, is undefeated.

they passed on a quarterback for a running back. No one disputed that Sequin Barclay was not a great player. He had one of the highlight plays of the week in his sweet run, but it was really for nothing. He's a running back. I can find sweet running back on the second, fourth round. Sam Darn was sitting there. And the other guy,

all I heard all offseason and hard knocks, which this season, hard knocks, best season hard knocks in a while, the Cleveland Browns were made for hard knocks. but was they got Tyrod Taylor because they needed to win some games. Of course they did. They had won one game in two years. It's like eventually if you're a company, you need to make some money. Eventually, if you're an NFL team, you need to win a damn game.

So I get it. Yet Tyrod Taylor, I think last year the stat was, of course, the Cleveland Browns didn't win a game, but they didn't even have a quarterback on the roster who had won an NFL game. that's a problem. So I get what they're doing. Starting Tyrod Taylor ease into Baker. Well, part of starting Tyrod Taylor is because he's better than Baker, one, and two, he helps

you win games. Tyrod Taylor, in the game against the Pittsburgh Steelers, who let's call it what it is, this saddest moment probably in 2017, when Ryan Shazir went down, and it looks like he's doing fantastic, I don't know if he's ever going to play football again, but he clearly is not a paraplegic or anything. he can walk. So it turned out as well as it could have, given how bad it looked at the time. But he was a special player for them.

He made them, to me, last year before he got hurt, they were going to win the Super Bowl. I felt it to my core. Rathesburg was rolling. Their defense was rolling. They were going to win the Super Bowl. Everything changed when he went down. They were there to be had. The Cleveland Browns cost five turnovers.

I repeat five turnovers. You know their problem? Was Tyrod, T.Rod. Taylor went 15 of 40. I'm not a math major, but that's well under 50%. I am paying Tyrod Taylor from the Cleveland Browns to just be serviceable. Get 60%, not really turned the ball over. He had a crushing turnover in that game.

I drafted Baker Mayfield. If I'm sitting there Jimmy Haslam, Hugh Jackson, John Dorsey, like I'm watching the Monday Night Football game. Again, the Detroit Lions are not as good as the Pittsburgh Steelers, but it's pretty clear like, God, Sam Darnold is pretty goddamn good. What are we doing with Baker Mayfield on the sideline? And it's also not like Baker Mayfield was a third year junior. He was a fifth year senior.

So mentally, he's been in multiple systems in college. Like, we got to get this train on the tracks here. I'm sorry, Tyrod. If Tyrod Taylor starts one more game for the Cleveland Browns, and I was a Browns fan, I'd be furious. This is not 1994. It's why I did think the stat on Sam Donald was a little skew. youngest starting quarterback in the history of the NFL.

That's all I've kept reading since the merger back in the day. Well, here's the problem with that stat. The majority of rookie quarterbacks for a long period of time, two things. In college, they didn't play young, so it took most times, like you didn't get to play as true freshman back of the day. Remember forever, a freshman or a sophomore had never won the Heisman. Well, as times changed, more young players started starting, and in the last 10 years, a lot of underclassmen have won the Heism.

Forever young players, first off, for a long period of time, there was like a JV. I remember reading a story like Ken Stabler wasn't even on the varsity team as a freshman. You had to play like JV football. This wasn't, this was in like the 70s. And then forever in the NFL rookie quarterbacks did not see the field no matter how highly you were drafted. That really didn't change probably within my generation, you know, within the last 15 years. Right in that sweet spot of like, remember,

One of the last blue, blue chip guys was, we're going to sit Carson Palmer for a year behind John Kittna. And it wasn't that crazy. It was like, yeah, give Carson some time. Can you imagine if the equivalent of Carson Palmer, who was one of the better prospects in the last 20 years to come out of college, sat for a year? That would be blasphemy because it doesn't happen anymore.

James, Carr, Dak, you go around the league, Marietota, Sam Darnold. Hell, it was just before I started recording this podcast, Josh Allen is starting. This week, he's starting. So these young quarterbacks play right away. They play right away, mainly because they're ready. It's never been easier to play quarterback because they can't hit you. The game's much more spread out.

The defense, the way the game is officiated is kind of against you. It's easy to play the quarterback position. Not that it's easy to play the position, but it's never been easier for young guys to make the transition. I'm sorry, if I'm a Cleveland Brown, I need Baker-Mayfield in the game this week. I can't see any more a Tyrod Taylor. Like, this team is too talented. I was insane all off-season ever since Hard Knocks. They got premium players at every position.

Difference makers. Nodoku. I don't think I said his name right, but the tight end is sweet. Jarvis Landry, Chubb, the dude they drafted from Georgia, legit running back. Like they have a solid offensive line. Miles Garrett looks like a freak. Denzel Ward, multiple picks. in the game. Top five pick. Time to roll, baby. Tyrod Taylor. Like, I am paying you to, listen,

win loss is not a quarterback stat, but losing is. When you go 15 of 40 and you have a key interception late in the game, that's on you, buddy. 15 of 40? 15 of 40? Like, come on, you can't get 50% completions? We got problems. I'm sorry, Tyrod. You seem like a great guy and for whatever reason social media thinks you're John Elway Jr. But you're not very good. I drafted Baker Mayfield. I didn't draft him in the second round. I drafted him number one

overall. I'm watching Sam Donald, just ball. Because of course he's going to ball. He's a baller. We got to get Baker Mayfield in there. I'm watching Eli. He can't even move. They got O'Dell Beckham that looks better than ever. I mean, how good does O'Dell Beckham Jr.

He looks healthy. He looks fast. He looks on a mission. Props all the guy that got paid this off season. Odo Beckham, huge money, playing his ass off. Kalee Mack, huge money playing his ass off. Aaron Donald, huge money playing his ass off. Millennials take a bad rap, but I'll tell you this. I am an older version of millennial, and my younger brother is right in the sweet

spot of the millennials, they're a nice generation. I do think they get the bad rap on just society. They are friendly. they do what they're told. They're good people. You know, they really are. And the millennials that all got paid this offseason in the NFL, huge money.

And a lot of times people worry like, will money change you? Didn't change any of those three guys. Otto Beckham is ready to roll. Can you imagine if Otto Beckham at Sam Donald? You'd be like, well, you wouldn't have Sequant. So what, I'd have Nick Chubb. Royce Freeman.

I'd have another running back. You know, I'd have Sam Donald, and I wouldn't have Eli. The way Eli is just, I don't know, the false sense of reality they have in that organization on Eli Manning is just, it's troubling. Because if you told me Sam Donald was a quarterback of the New York Giants, I'd say, God, they're going to have one of the best offenses of the league in the next three or four years. But instead they have Eli Manning, and they're going to be looking for a quarterback in the near future. It was travesty that they passed on.

But again, back to the New York Jets. There's a reason the Golden State Warriors got Steph Curry. because idiots and morons were in front of them. Now, I don't know if Baker Mayfield is not as good as Sam Donald. I would bet against it. And I like Baker Mayfield, but I don't think he's going to be that good. And I think if he was that good, again, he's a fifth-year senior. So he's not like a true junior, a young guy that's kind of swimming.

A fifth-year senior who hung his hat on being a smart guy. He can't beat out Tyrod Taylor? This guy's 15 to 40? We got some problems. If I'm a Cleveland Brown fan, I need, I need, uh, Baker Mayfield in the game. If I'm a New York Giants fan, it's going to be a hard year to watch,

especially if Eli continues to just look like meh. Of course he looks like meh. He's been meh for a while. What's the famous thing? Lepers don't change their spots. Well, once you get old and you can't move, you're old and you can't move. You're not all of a sudden going to be, you know,

a fluid athlete again, and Eli never was. So the New York Jets, and if you're a Jets fan, should thank their lucky stars every so often that they were gifted the franchise quarterback. Let's do a little something just because there's so much happened this week. I kind of want to touch on many things. Let's go around the league and just hit on several games or things that really stood out to me

and dive in, you know, spend a couple minutes on each. Let's start with the Bears. everyone and their mother knew that, oh my God, they just got Khalil Mack. And I wrote about it on The Athletic a couple weeks ago. I asked a bunch of NFL executives. There's not another team in the NFL that would have traded Khalil Mack, not after year four. Whether they would have made him play out, year five, I hear this all the time. Belichick, he got rid of Richard Seymour.

Yeah, after eight years. Richard Seymour played for the Belichick from 02 to 08. Julius Peppers played for the Carolina Panthers from 01 to 09 Elite players play a second contract Fletcher Cox look around the NFL, Earl Thomas, Luke Keekeley They all get extended Patrick Peterson

in their prime on their first team Harrison Smith You don't move teams in your prime when you're a future Hall of Famer JJ Watt, Aaron Donald you keep those guys So for the Chicago Bears to land that guy Listen, he hadn't been to a practice

until last Monday. He'd been to four praxis before that game. He's a freak. He's an all-timer. He's basically LT 2.0, not quite as good as peak LT, but without the crack and the hookers. You know, good character guy.

A dude you don't have to worry about. A dude, you feel good paying. The Bears, I know they lost, and it was a devastating loss, but I thought the Bears looked really good. Matt Nagy was the first game Matt Nagy's ever coached. To me, that's at minimum an eight-win team. I think most people thought that going,

in to the season. I think you should feel more confident now after watching that game. They'll learn to win. They have pieces on offense. Their defense, Carl Fuller is not going to play that crappy. He is better than what he showed. Geronimo should not be smoking him down the sideline.

He's a 4-7 guy. Fuller's a 4-4 guy. You can't give up that play. The Randall Cobb is just an embarrassment. They had breakdowns that you don't normally see you have a good defense. But the one thing that stood out to me is they were gifted an all-time great player. And that second-round pick swap

that somehow Johnny Gruden gave them, I mean, in a couple years, the Raiders might suck. That pick might be like 35. So it's not like the Bears have no picks moving forward, but they do have Khalil Mack and that team. If Mitch Trubisky can just keep improving, and I think he showed flashes on Sunday night, the Bears are going to be really good.

Jimmy Garoppolo and the 49ers. See, he sucks. Three picks! You got to put picks in. context. The first pick, pick six, and a pick six is always terrible. Literally came the following play after Jimmy hit his tight end, wide open, which would have been a touchdown, down the sideline, hit his hands and then hit the ground. The next play, he threw a pick six. The second pick was bad that Xavier Rose kind of bounced off his helmet and hit his hand.

It was a good pick. Dante, it was a bad throw. And I'm not saying Jimmy G played a great game. It's probably like a C plus B minus. The only reason the Niners sniffed the best defense in the league was because of Jimmy Garapolo. Jimmy Garapolo is going to throw picks. I want my quarterback to throw picks. That means he has balls. That means he has stones. That means

he's not afraid to take chances. And on a team like the 49ers, Jimmy Garoppel has to take chances. Why? Because their best wide receiver right now is a second round player from Washington Dante Pettis. Marquis Goodwin gets a deep bone bruise or a deep, you know, a Charlie horse, so he misses the rest of the game right the bike like he's Lance Armstrong on the sideline.

It's not act like the 49ers. Their second best option is George Kittle. Say that out loud. George Kittle. So listen, Jimmy Garaplo's going to throw picks this year. I don't care. If you can't just watch Jimmy Garoppel and go,

he's really good, then I can't help you. Jimmy Garoppel and Derek Carr both threw three picks each, total of six picks. If you watch the two games, you go, God, Jimmy Garoppel is way better than Derek Carr. That's not even arguable. And I'm a Derek Carr guy.

but the picks are not all created equal. The Jimmy Garoppel and the 49ers, I've always said I don't know if they're quite a playoff team, but they're going to be just fine. They're playing the Detroit Lions that look like they've quit on their coach already. I mean, hiring Belichick assistants can just turn into an absolute disaster before you blank. Sneaky must win game for the 49ers. You can't lose to the Detroit Lions at home.

And I expect Jimmy Garoppel and Kyle Shanahan to be much better than they were week one against the Minnesota Vikings who, let's get into the Minnesota Vikings really quick and beat the Lions. I think the Minnesota Vikings might be the best team in the league. Top to bottom, they have the best defense in the NFL. I feel very confident saying that. Elite corner, elite safety, elite linebacker, elite defensive line. Offensive line, a little sketchy, but that's the one thing in the NFL you can make up for.

If you get rid of the ball quick, they have a quarterback that's much improved from Case Cam. They're running back. Latavius Murray is an excellent backup. Dalvin Cook looks like a star. Thielen Diggs, studs. Treadwell looks like he's coming on. Like he kind of had a couple of catches against the Niners be like, damn, that kind of reminds me of Michael Crabtree.

So if they get something at a Treadwell to go along with Thelan and Diggs and Rudolph, watch out. That team is stacked. That team would be right now my pick because of the unknown with Carson Wentz and the injury coming back. Who knows when he's going to play? Obviously, if he's playing, the Eagles are really good. The Vikings right now would be my pick for the number one seat.

watching them in the Rams, I think they're better than the Rams. They played them last year they beat them, and I just think the Vikings are better. I mean, it's just really that simple. They have not skipped a beat on offense. They look really explosive with Pat Schumer leaving, John D. Filippo coming in, who will be a head coach, if not next year, within the next two years.

Vikings are legit, absolutely loaded. Mike Zimmer, stud, defensive head coach. That defense will hit you in the mouth. Denver. I don't know how good Denver is going to be. but I will say this. Von Miller is remarkable. Absolutely remarkable. I feel honored as a football fan to have got to watch his entire career. I was at the Super Bowl. Actually, I had a lot of money on the Denver Broncos because I love betting against camp. And I watched that performance. One of the greatest in-game defensive performances I've ever seen.

A couple with the Niners watching Bowman and Willis that I'd throw up there. But the Von Miller performance Sunday, and I know they're playing a shitty offensive line in Seattle, But he looked like, if you ever watch a high school game, when one dude for the high school was like going to SC, Ohio State, or Alabama, and you're like, oh, my God, this is a man playing with boys. It definitely happens in basketball. If you've ever been to a high school basketball game, where the dude's going to, like, Duke or UCLA,

and he's just jamming on, like, the little white guy, just fade away threes, and you're like, that guy looks like Michael Jordan. That's what Vaughn Miller looked like Sunday against Seattle Seahawks. He took over the game. He is just a man on a mission, and he's one of the greatest defense. He's a Locke Hall of Famer, three sacks, two force fumbles, and just stole Seattle's soul as the game went on.

So again, I don't know how good Denver's going to be. They do look improved. To me, probably seven, eight wins. But Vaughn Miller is truly one of not just the all-time greats, but it's as good as it gets. And if you love watching defensive pass rushers, he's a guy to watch. Dallas, listen, the Jason Garrett thing's over. He just, we talked, I talked to earlier about Eli being meh.

Like Jason Garrett, is there a more just meh coach in the NFL? Like just average? Like Jason Garrett, what, I talked earlier about Chip Kelly having one pitch. And at least Chip's high end was much higher in Jason Garrett's. Like, Jason, what do you do? You don't call the offense, you don't call the defense, you just clap all the time. And you are an offensive guy, a quarterback, yet your offense is, are just so boring.

Now, I'm not sure DAC is any good. I would have been the last guy to ever jump on the DAC train. He threw for 170 yards. He was like 19 to 29. Did not have a touchdown. Fairness to him, his wide receivers suck. But I just watch him. I never thought, even when he was kicking ass and taking names that rookie year,

to use Collins term, that he popped. You know, he doesn't have a great arm. He's a good athlete, but he's not like a dynamic picky apart. Going through his progressions, just some, you know, savant as a quarterback. He's not some gunslinger because he does not have the arm strength. And him and Jason Garrett is just, it's not doing it for me. Tony Romo elevated Jason Garrett. Tony Romo is one of those guys going to go down in the hall of really good,

probably underappreciated when it's all said and done. Dak Prescott will never sniff Tony Romo. Couldn't hold Tony Romo's shock. I get why they went with Dak Prescott that year. He was playing so well the team was winning. It was a no-brainer. That doesn't mean that he and I think most people, oh, he's got our next

Tony. No, he ain't the next Tony Romo. I promise you that. He ain't as good. Jason Garrett's terrible. Whether he's got dirt or naked pictures of Jerry, I don't know. It doesn't seem like he's going anywhere. The Cowboys have issues. And then the Baltimore Ravens. My one theory was

John Harbaugh was jealous of Jim, his brother Jim, because his dad lives in Michigan. The family takes a lot of pride in influencing young men. His dad is a college coach, not a pro coach, so he loves the college game. And I thought John would eventually get a little jealous of that. USC, Clay Helton, let's call it what it is. He is a University of Texas loss this weekend away from getting fired. Now, he literally might not get fired in the season, but his career at SC would be done at

the end of the year. and I thought Lynn Swan NFL guy you know rival of the of the Ravens Steeler guy would go after John Harbaugh

because John Harbaugh as his owner said it crossed his mind firing him last year well say one thing for John Harba it looks like his team is on a mission now they played the bills who might be the worst team in the NFL but they beat the living crap out of them

they look good good defense Michael Crabtree John Brown Flacco is motivated for the first time in a long time, it might be a nine or ten win playoff team. Especially if the Steelers regress a little bit. Who's to say they couldn't win the division? I feel

like my theory is taking some hits. I'm not quite as confident that John Harbaugh will be the next coach of USC. Not because USC won't want him because he won't be available. Because he'll get a contract extension. Because Ozzie Newsom will be, is retiring and then John Harbaugh would have all the juice.

He would basically become a Pete Carroll of John Gruden and Andy Reed. He'd run the organization basically. Now he's got to win and he's got to make the playoffs, but that is in play because clearly the Ravens are much improved. Last team, I'm not going to pump the brakes on this team because I do think they're really good. At the end of the day, they probably end up winning the NFC West by two or three games. Because who's going to finish second in the NFC West? The Niners at eight and eight, nine and seven, best case. The Rams probably win the division. You think about it. Hell, they could

win 13. They could win the division by four. They could have the division basically wrapped up in the first week of December. But I think when you watch him, you go, is Jared Gough just going to slice and dice teams week in, week out when he has to? Now, if he can consistently go to Todd Gurley, who is just a remarkable elite talent, like a special player, can catch the football, can run inside, can run outside, has elite top end speed. His vision is much improved, just a special player, worth every penny.

But he is the straw that stirs that drink, not the quarterback. So whenever that's the case, if that guy goes out, it changes everything. If they got into a pinch where Todd Gurley sprained an ankle and was out a month, could they rely on Jared Goff to just bang out wins? I don't know. And I'm a Jared Goff guy. But to me, that would be just watching them Monday night. Sean McVeigh's fantastic.

Todd Gurley's fantastic. Aaron Donald's stud. Wade Phillips, big time. But I think at the end of the day, like their weakness is their quarterback. And again, he's not bad. It's not like he's a Blake Bordels or anything, but I'm talking about the elite, they're held to do a new standard.

Like, they've got to go to war with the Eagles. They got to go to war with the Vikings. Like, that's the level, can they beat a healthy Green Day Packers? Could they beat the Patriots? Like, that's the level we're talking about the Rams now. Like, they're in that category. And I don't know.

I don't see it yet. I'm not saying he can't get there because he does show flashes, and I'm rooting for him. I like Jared Gough. I just don't know. That would be my one red flag on the last.

Angeles Rams is can they depend on their quarterback if shit hits the fan? Can they just rely on him to carry them? Because we've seen it forever that at the end of the day in these big games against the best teams, the quarterback has to make place. Let's get to the Middilkoff mailbag. And like always, you can slide up in my Instagram DMs at John Middlecoff. My DMs are open, slide up in them. And I'll either answer the question directly.

Sometimes I do that if it's not a super long question. or I will get to it here on the Middle Coff mailbag. And I wrote down a bunch. I'm behind a little bit. And also, you can listen to this podcast wherever you listen to podcasts. I'm an Apple guy, so I listen to it on iTunes, but I know not everyone does. If you do listen on iTunes, slide up in iTunes, subscribe, rate. I'm sure you're subscribed if you're listening to this.

And just in the review section, you can leave a question. And just leave a question. And I'll bang out a couple actually right now. see who this. Okay, this is, hello. My name is Michael. What's up, Michael? And I'm curious why most analysts and sportscasters overlook Jordan Howard. He's the only Bears running back to run for a thousand yards in his first two seasons, good stat. And this is a team that has two of the best running backs ever in Walter Payton and Gail Saras. Another good point. Is it because he doesn't catch the passes out of the backfield? Question. Mike, I think the main issue is that the Bears

haven't been good. you're on a really shitty team and you have a great player, you get overlooked just by good teams because we talk about good teams more than we talk about bad teams. But I also think he showed out really good in the Sunday night game. It's pretty crazy. I tweeted this out during the Sunday night game. Like, God, those Jordan Howard trade rumors were fun. He's a really good player. There was just no disputing that. And I think if the Bears have the season that I expect them to have, eight, nine wins competing for a wild card, we're going to talk about Jordan Howard.

If he has another 1,000 yards, we're going to talk about Jordan Howard. But it's also the nature of they have a brand new coach. They're going to talk about Matt Nagy more than they do the running back. They just signed Khalil Mack, one of the great defensive players of the last 20 years, he's going to get a lot of headlines. Mitch Trubisky is just the quarterback. We're going to spend a lot of time talking about him. The running back, like as we see on the financial market,

you know, in the league. It's just an underappreciated position. And if you're not, you know, David Johnson, a Levi-on-Bell, Todd Gurley, you just don't get talked about as much. Even though, you're right, he deserves more pub. And I think if the Bears have a good season, and he continues to dominate,

we will definitely talk about him more. Because I like him. I like him all. I thought he was excellent in that Green Bay game. Running hard, showing he can go inside and outside. But you do bring up a good point. Part of 2018 to be. a really, really dynamic back.

Like, he's not their pass catcher. Cohen is, right? So most of the great backs in this day and age, Levion, Gurley, shady, Zeke, they never come off the field. They do it all. Well, Jordan does share a little bit,

and rightfully so. I mean, Cohen's a stud. John, do players objectively have any leverage in holdouts other than creating media scrutiny and not actually playing? Each week they hold out the player loses a fat page, In sales, it's all about leverage, and it seems that the teams have it all. It's a good point.

I would say, you have leverage if you're a great player that's unreplaceable, right? If you're a great salesman and you produce 10 times in your business what the next best salesman produces, that company needs you around because your business is so important that it's not replaceable that your connections are at the highest end you know wherever you're dealing with you are doing more business than everyone else it's not that you can't argue that where i think like levi on bell for example i'm going to get into this question and i'll mix this in now because garrett on instagram asked like what's my take on the levy on bell situation does that hurt pittsburg thoughts on their o lines comments i think you saw the o line taking shots at levi on because they

went, yo, Leveon, you're making $14.5 million. That's the highest paid running back in the NFL. It's not like you're underpaid. You are highly paid. You are paid a premium. We just saw David Johnson get a contract extension of $30 million guaranteed. Now, Leveon's proven he's a better player, but, yo, Lev, that's the market. Like, what would you, you've been suspended twice.

You've had a DUI and got nailed for PEDs and had your leg snapped. and you in two years will have accumulated about $27 million. You ain't got much leverage, bro. But I'll tell you who did to have leverage? Aaron Donald did, because Aaron Donald goes, I'm the best defensive lineman in the league. So the Rams, you don't have to capitulate and gave him $87 million.

That immediately gave even more leverage to Khalil. The market is set. I will not have a discussion with you if the starting point is not $87 million. guaranteed. Earl Thomas. He showed up. Why? He didn't have any leverage. Like Earl, you're on your second contract. You're making a ton. I don't know what you want, buddy. So I think it all depends on the player. If a quarterback ever were to hold out, they would have enormous leverage. The rare peak guy in their prime, Khalil Mack, Aaron Donald, like Luke Keekley a couple years ago,

Fletcher Cox a couple years ago, they would have leverage. But the one thing about the NFL and the reason the league is so strong is most players don't. It's a owner team league. They are in control. They are in the driver seat, just like most companies. But every so often, certain employees have leverage doing this podcast for the Colin Coward Podcast Network. Guess what?

Colin produces. Howard Stern produces. They got leverage. You know, certain employees have a lot of leverage, even if they work for enormous companies. They are so valuable. If you're a great salesman and you're way better than anyone in your company, you have some leverage. But if you're a player like Levi-on-Bel, like, yo, Lev, your backup just came in.

Guess what he did? He ran for over 100 yards. He had two touchdowns. I can replace your production. Is he as good as you? No. But you know what he is? He's way cheaper than you.

How much does James Connor make? 600 grand? What does Levon make? $14.5 million? I'd rather have the guy making $600,000. me 140 yards, two touchdown, than paying a guy 14 and a half for the same. Because again, the football's

all economics. It's just basic numbers. Now, if Levion was a great guy and had never been in trouble and his teammates liked him, no different than if you're liked inside companies, those guys usually stick around. For Levion's offensive linemen and take a bunch of shots at him,

do you know what that shows me? They don't really like them. Because you know what I know would not have happened if Kaleel Mack hadn't been traded and he was still holding out? none of his teammates would have said anything. They would have said, we need this guy. Why? Because they like him.

It showed me that Ramon Foster and Pouncey, they're not that big on Levi-on-Bell. And maybe if they were, he would have already been paid. So maybe it's a levy on Bell problem. So back to your, the overall answer to this question is, few players have leverage, non-quarterbacks, but the great ones do. And they can force the hand of a team.

But for the most part, every other player is replaced. Chase on Instagram. What are realistic expectations for Mahomes? He actually asked this question before week one, but we saw Mahomes through four touchdowns. Now really, a couple of them wore those crazy handoffs, Andy Reid, just being a magician play caller on the goal line. And the other one was an unreal slant pass sidearm to Tyree Kill, but Tyree Kill did the rest.

One thing's clear, though. Mahomes' talent is just freakish. I think he could throw 30 plus touchdowns. He is going to throw some interceptions. The chargers and their home field advantage are a joke. I will never take the chargers seriously. One thing's clear with the Kansas City Chiefs. Their offense is stacked.

Elite wide receiver. A second wide receiver is damn good and Sammy Watkins. Kareem Hunt, Travis Kelsey, their offensive lines good. Andy Reed is an elite offensive coordinator. He is going to put up big numbers. Now, he's going to go through adversity. Every young quarterback does. So I don't expect every game to look that easy.

Plus their defense is not good. But they are going to score points, man. They are going to have some games when you look up and you go, oh my God, do the Chiefs have 40 points and there's five minutes left in the third quarter. They are going to have some moments when they light up the other team like a Christmas tree. And his arm is so special.

His ability to make something out of nothing is extremely special. And his playmakers around him are just stacked. So my expectations from my homes are high. I think the AFC West will see this Raider Bronco game's going to be telling. I mean, are the Broncos going to start 2 and 0, or the Raiders going to be 0 and 2 and feel out of it? Are the charges going to bounce back? Because to me right now, if I was a betting man after one week, I'd probably put some cash on the Kansas City Chiefs to win the division.

Evan, rank your top 10 coaches and how many of them, how many NCAA guys would you put over NFL guys? I think my top two are pretty easy. Bill Belichick, number one coach of all time. Obviously, active coaches. Number two, I'd have Nick Saban. I mean, five national championships at Alabama. You just watch their program. It's unlike anything I've ever seen. Three's tough because I bumped Urban down

a little bit because he's somewhat of a pain in the ass. Now, he's won a couple national championships, but he left Florida just in absolute shambles. This deal with Ohio State, while they are stacked, he can't coach this week against TCU. It's the prime time game. So I bumped him down. Okay, you know, and people are going to call me a homer for this,

but his resume speaks for itself. And when you factor in how consistent he is, how easy he is to deal with, I'd have Andy Reid number three, because I think he would crush it in college if he wanted to do, and he dominates the NFL. Now, he's had problems in the playoffs. I think that's going to change with Mahomes. They're going to get over the top in the next five years with Patrick Mahomes.

Urban, I'd have four just because a little biased, I just don't like him. I will not dispute he's a great coach, but he's a pain in the ass. Five I've had to Pete Carroll. Pete Carroll won in college and one in the pros. I know he's going through a couple of year tough stretch here in Seattle, but again, his resume speaks for itself. Multiple national championships at USC.

Went to back-to-back Super Bowls in Seattle, big-time football coach. Six out of Mike Tomlin. All he does is win. Win, win, win. Again, bad tie Sunday, but Rathesburg was atrocious. I don't put that on Tomlin.

Five turnovers. That just cannot happen in the NFL. But again, Mike Tomlin's resume speaks for itself. I'd be shocked if they're not in the AFC championship this year. Seven. Pete, University of Washington. All he did at Boise State was kick everyone's ass. All he's doing at the University of Washington was go to the playoffs a couple years ago.

It looks like he's going to go back this year. Or he's going to have a chance to. Absolutely stacked team, stud. I love Chris Peterson. Eight. This guy, a little older. I'm not an ageist here. I got to give older guys a little love, Mike Zimmer.

Took him a long time to get a shot. But look at the Minnesota Vikings. they are kicking ass and taking names. They missed a field goal a couple years ago or they would have been Seattle. I mean, Blair Walsh, come on, you've got to make a chip shot. Last year, I know they lost in the AFC championship game, but it looked like God was finally on Philadelphia's side.

I think Mike Zimmer is big time, and right now they'd probably be my favorites to win the Super Bowl. Nine, I'm going the young gun, John McVeigh. He looks just like the next young John Gruden 20 years ago. Looks like an absolute flat-out star, total package. And I had to put a millennial on this list. 10, I'm going Davos-Sweeney. Clemson is awesome.

Program is basically the Alabama right now of the ACC. The moment Nick Saban retires, he will 100% be Alabama's number one choice. It's just going to be, does he want to go coached Alabama or does he want to stay at Clemson? If I had to pick my gut right now would be that he ends up staying at Clemson, but you never know, Money Talk, Shit Walks. So I think you got Bill Sabin, Andy Urban. Pete Carroll, Mike Tomlin, Pete, Chris Peterson, Mike Zimmer, McVeigh, Dabo.

There are obviously several other guys you could easily throw in. You can argue with this list all day long. It's not an easy list to make. So I got more Middlecoff mailbags questions I'll get to next week. Slide up in my DMs on Instagram at John Middlecoff. Go to iTunes. You can leave a question. In iTunes, I will also get to it that way.

Appreciate everyone listening. Another week of three and out. You go to SeaGeek. Use my promo code J-O-H-N. That's John. You will get $20 off your first seat-key purchase. Listen to all you guys listening. Three-N-Out podcast on the Colin Coward Podcast Network.

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