The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Middlekauff - Khalil Mack, College Football, Lamar Jackson and Middlekauff Mailbag

Episode Date: September 5, 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 questions whether or not the Khalil Mack trade is the the biggest in sports history. He talks about the opening weekend of college football, the outlook for Lamar Jackson, and shares his sleeper picks for this year. 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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John Middlecock, three and out podcast. Another week, the NFL is finally here. You know I'm brought to you by the Colin Coward Podcast Network. Huge show this week. Absolutely massive show. One of the biggest trades. I've said in the NFL, but I really think in my 33 years of life, Soon to be 34, not very far away, about a month away.

Kaleo Max, one of the biggest professional sports trades of my lifetime. We'll get into some of the college football, you know, happenings of last weekend. It was just an incredible weekend. Basically, Friday night right until Monday. It ended with a Monday night game. The Monday and Sunday night games weren't great, but they felt really big on television. The Lamar Jackson Truthers, I think, need to somewhat wave the white flag. pretty embarrassing preseason.

Get out by RG3, get beat out by RG3. We'll dive into that. Some of my sleepers in each division, and then you know I'll get into the Middilkoff mailbag. You can hit me up clearly on iTunes. Just go into the review section, leave a question, and I will get to it. Also rate and review that bad boy.

And then you can also slide up into my DMs. On Twitter, same thing as Instagram, but my DMs on Instagram at John Middilcoff are wide open. He slide up in those DMs and I'll get to it. I think we have to start with this, though. Like I said, I think it's one of the biggest trades in sports history for several reasons. One, John Gruden has become one of the more polarizing figures in all of sports, even before he took the Raiders job.

His fame probably outweighed his coaching ability. He became more famous than he is a coach. And now he's both. He's super famous and he's a coach. But I also think Khalil Mack. and there's so many different variables with this. I really don't even know where to start. Just simply, teams never, I repeat, never trade a player of this caliber

with a player of this character in the prime of their career. It just does not happen. I have texted countless executives and coaches around the NFL, and they're flabbergasted. They're shocked. But we all knew the most. moment Aaron Donald's contract came out at $87 million and the $40 million bonus, the Raiders were not going to pay it. Whether you believe, like myself, that financially they couldn't afford it, or if you

believe that John Gruden just wasn't into paying that, and he even said, like, we weren't going to go to that number. Well, John, what number are you going to go to then? Just with any player? Like, what do you think, because Michael Lombardi, who I respect, and I listen to, he's He's got podcast, and he was writing out for The Athletic. I want to dispel a notion here and a narrative that I think has taken on kind of a life of its own.

Bill Belichick does not pay anybody. Nah, that's not true, actually. He's paid countless guys. I went to Spot Track. It's where you can find the money that NFL players get. Grankowski has been the highest tied in multiple times. Now, again, it's all relative. He's never paid a defensive player 20 plus million.

but he's never had a guy worthy of paying that. That did not have a red flag. That's on or off the field. Devin McCordy made a ton. People forget, and I hear this all the time, he traded Chandler Jones. Chandler Jones walked in naked. Say this out loud.

Walked in naked to a jail high on synthetic marijuana. And listen, I'm not a marijuana hater. You can smoke all you want. I live in California. I've been around it my entire life. It's now legal. It is now no different. Actually, you might only have to be 18 to get it.

I don't think you have to be 21. So it's basically like tobacco. That's what marijuana is in the state I live in. But he walked in in a place where it wasn't legal, naked, high on it. Say that out loud and say, would Belichick resign that guy? Of course not. He traded him for a second round pick.

Here's the other thing. Chandler Jones kind of shows you the market. it's not like Belichick was getting a first round pick for the guy. Logan Mankins once upon a time made the highest paid guard. Say it out loud, guard in the NFL. If you are a high character ass kicker like Kaleel Mack, like Grunkowski, like Logan Mankins, he'd pay you. Remember last year?

He traded Jamie Collins. Yeah, he traded Jamie Collins because Jamie Collins wasn't listening to the coaches. So they shipped him out of town. I do believe that Khalil Mack is the type guy Belichick would build around. I've seen him do it. Logan Mankins. He's probably not a Hall of Famer, but he's the Hall of Damn Good. Grinkowski, Hall of Famer.

Sign those guys. Next year, Amari Koo, like, what's Gruden going to do with Amari Cooper? Now, Amari Cooper's coming off a down year. But I think we all, and I think it's fair, to expect him to bounce back. He should be between a 90 to 100 catch guy, get 11 to 1,200. yards and double-digit touchdowns. That's what Amari Cooper should do. Well, if he does that, Amari Cooper is going to go, again, it's just the market. Whether you work in sales and the going rate for your job is 95 grand, well, if you're really good at your job, you're going to want

110 grand, right? It's all relative. If the going rate for my job is 15 million, and I'm way better than the average guy, I'm going to want 18 million. Again, sometimes we freak out. How could he turn down $50 million? Because he's worth 70. You know, how could Khalil Mack not show up? Because as John Gruden said, they were not going to go to that number. And he knew the market.

Do you know what the market was? Several teams willing to pay him 90 guaranteed. I wouldn't work either. You wouldn't either. This is not a charity. This is a business. I've heard over and over and over from people on Twitter. And listen, anyone that listens to this show, I'm not pro player.

But I am pro-Kleel Mac. I am pro-Aren Donald. As I was texting with an exec the other day, I said, how many players, non-quarterback, would have fetched anywhere near this? Right before I recorded this, one of these stories, Adam Schaefter, best probably NFL reporter in the history of NFL reporters,

tweeted out that Dallas offered a second round pick in Seattle, turned them down. And that's embarrassing for Seattle. Like, hey, guys, you're not going to get anything better than that. But that shows you, Earl Thomas, one of the best, the best safety in the league. Now, a little older, can't, I mean, second round pick, that's as high as you're going to get. Levy on Bell, you couldn't get a second round pick for him. You know, Luke Keekley, he's one of the best linebackers we've ever seen.

I don't know if you'd get a first form just because of the concussion issues. As an exact text, me, like Von Miller. Von Miller had been suspended and had torn an ACL. That's when they made him go to a fifth-year option. All the high character, sweet players, they all get extended in Khalil's time by the team that drafts them. Earl Thomas, his first contract. Patrick Peterson, Luke Keakley, Fletcher Cox, Aaron Donald. You build around high character as kickers.

So this notion that the Raiders, like, no one gets rid of that guy. And here's the other thing I keep hearing. You could never have multiple players making over 20 million. Sure you can. If one player is the best defensive player in the league, which for my money, Khalil, is, and if the other players are quarterback. Now, you can't have two players making 20 million if one's a receiver. and the other's a linebacker,

but if one's my quarterback, who I expect to be a pro bowler, which, let's face it, if Derek is not a pro bowler this year, it's a massive disappointment for Gruden and Derek. He better be good, and I think he will be good. To me, the Raiders don't have excuses on offense.

They should still, you know, light up teams like a Christmas tree. But defensively, the expectations with Khalil gone are out the window. But if you go, well, John, you're a general manager for the day, you have to pay two guys. Who are the two guys you pay?

Of course, we all picked the quarterback first. Who would be the second guy you'd want? You'd want a pass rusher. And if I told you, well, most pass rushers are a little crazy, you've got some red flags, you'd be like, well, it's part of the deal. Well, John, I actually got this one guy. He was a top five pick, just an incredible human, one of the highest character guys in the league,

team captain, you know, all pro at multiple positions. You'd be like, you're making this. That guy doesn't exist. No, he's, you know, broke his foot in the past. He's torn a shoulder. He's been popped with some marijuana. No, actually he hasn't. He's been a model citizen, never been injured, never missed the game.

He's like, no, this is too good to be true. No, his name's Khalil Mack. That's why the bear, easiest trade they've ever made. And then on top of that, because I crushed the bears a year ago, when they traded up from three to two to get Mitchell, as he likes to be called, or his mom likes to call him Mitchell. You call him Mitchell. And they gave up so much to move up one spot.

And ultimately, if Mitchell becomes a top 12 quarterback, it was worth it because you've got to get your quarterback. But I still don't love the trade because the Niners would have taken Solomon Thomas the two and you could have just taken him at three. But I do think, as what was famously said in a movie, just when I thought you couldn't get any dumber, you go and totally redeem yourself. will Ryan Pace double middle fingers up to all the haters goes not only did I just land the best him or Aaron Donald coin flip I'd take Khalil Mack I'd get the Aaron Donald crowd

whatever best top two defensive player in the league I also received a second round pick I got the Raiders second round pick in 2020 and all the Raiders diehards that are defending this it's a pick swap middle as I was texting yesterday with someone in the league. I said, think about this.

If next year the Bears go 10 and 6 are a wild card team, this is 2020, and the Raiders go 4 and 12, they're just a dumpster fire. That pick swap, the Raiders could, or I mean the Bears would get like pick, I don't know, 38, 39, 37, and that Bears pick could be 80. Who the hell does that? I mean, it's just, it's insane. anyone that's ever negotiated anything. And again, back to all being relative.

Whether you're negotiating a $100,000 salary, a million dollar deal, a $50 million deal. I've had experience with this with smaller deals. I'm not making million dollar deals, but I've negotiated some fairly high deals. You know, again, relative to myself, probably people listening have negotiated much higher deals in whatever business you work in. You know, seven-figure deals. Hell, if you work in finance, which I know my listeners are smart, I'm sure many you do, maybe even eight-figure deals. The most powerful thing you can do in a negotiation, when you have the leverage, so if someone's coming after you for a job, if someone wants to buy your house, if someone wants to buy your car, whatever it may be, no matter how big or how small the purchase is, I think this works and it's always worked in relationships too.

when you say no, I'm not interested. If the other party is really interested, it only drives the price up. Why? Because you have the leverage. Say no. Hang up. Even if you ultimately want to get rid of that asset. In this case, it's Killeel Mack. In that example, it's a, I don't know, a building, a hotel, your house, whatever. You say no.

If you have the leverage, which 100% the Raiders did, why? because they had Khalil Mack, you should dominate a transaction. It is the ultimate seller's market. The ultimate sellers market. It's like the Bay Area probably two years ago. You were just giving away crap for millions. I mean, trust me, I bought a condo a couple years ago. Slightly overpaid.

Now, it went up, but still, I was in a position, I was in a disadvantageous position to take advantage of a, lower price. I had to overpay if I wanted a place. It was what it was. And it's no different than when I bought my condo in the Bay Area two years ago, there was a line of 12 people making aggressive offers $50,000 over asking. Well, isn't that pretty similar that six or seven teams, I think Peter Schrager reported on Good Morning Football the other day, that like six teams made legit offers. I know the 49ers made a legit offer. I'm not going to say what they offered because, you know,

wouldn't make everyone super happy if the player knew. But, you know, it was out there. I just know what was offered. It was strong from what I've been told. I know the Packers were strong. The Jets, the bills, the offers were strong. And they gave a second round pick. It's just, it's one of those things in a trade that you've ever seen.

It's insane. It is beyond insane. It's crazy. Tweeted this out a couple days ago. There's a reason that coaches for the not named Bill Belichick do not make good general managers. Because like I just said, in negotiations, part of saying no, right, is having patience. It's just being able to say no and maybe go a couple days without talking. Part of being a good negotiator, I've not negotiated that many things, but the older you get, the more just negotiations,

you realize you kind of have to be patient unless money means nothing to you and you can just like buy it right most people even most successful businesses that have a lot of money don't rush to make payments well it's like the raiders rush to sell calil back as someone in the league texts me if you were going to if it was this ultimate seller's market what was the rush why did you have to do it saturday couldn't you have done it sunday couldn't you have done it monday morning the bear's offer was not going away. They wanted him desperately. Texting with my boy Matt Nagy,

he is doing cartwheels right now, down the hall. Here's the other advantage of the Chiefs, or I mean not the Chiefs, but the Bears had. Matt Nagy, unlike the 49ers, the 49ers are somewhat unique because they're down the street,

so they've seen a lot of Cleo Mac. But the bills, the Jets, the Packers, Matt Nagy has been the offensive coordinator Khalil's entire career so far in the NFL in Khalil's division. So he's played him eight times. Cleo's never missed a game.

So he's played in every game, meaning that Matt has game planned against him. Also, when you play in a team's division, you just see a bunch of the player on cross tape. You know who's really good in that division. You're just exposed to him a lot more. It was a massive advantage for the Bears. So much easier for Nagy to give the thumbs up.

So quote-on-quote will overpay? How are you overpaying for a player that never would have become available in free agency. Why? Because that player never becomes available in free agency. Luke Keekeley ain't becoming available in free agency four years into his career. Earl Thomas, not becoming available four years into his career. I checked Julius Peppers when the Chicago Bears made him the highest paid defensive end, I think it was 2010. The Carolina Panthers did not get rid of him four years into his career. Do you know how many years he played in Carolina from 02 to 09.

I'm all four. I get players ending their career on different teams. But after four years, that's insane. That is crazy. I don't care that you're paying your quarterback $25 million. The cap is rising at exponential rates. Here's the other thing. Kaleel Mack's cap number this year is not that crazy.

Next year is when it jumps. Well, what do the Raiders have next year? They're going to have a lot of flexibility because they can get rid of other players. John Gruden coaches are so. impatient, so stubborn, I'll never ever think this move was smart. No team. And I repeat

no other of the 31 teams. And I'm throwing Bill Belichick in this. Gets rid of Khalil Mack, a player that checks every box on the field, every box off the field going into year five. Just not happening. Maybe you're seven, maybe year eight. Not this year.

No chance on God's green earth. This happens. Let's dive in really quick to my main man, Lamar Jackson. There were five quarterbacks last year selected in the first round. I thought, I had it. To me, Josh Rosen and Sam Darnold were on a different level than everyone else. I thought Josh Rosen's skill set translated the most. Sam Darnal has the special it quality.

I'm a big Baker-Mayfield guy. I think he's going to be a really good pro. I would not have drafted Josh Allen, who I'm a little nervous. We'll see. I think he could make me pay, but still feel pretty good about that. And Lamar Jackson, I wouldn't have touched Lamar Jackson with a 10-foot pole. Twitter, and this is a lot of draft analysts on Twitter, people that I think do it for a living, kept telling me he's QB1.

Lamar Jackson, QB1. I heard it for six months. And just, if I had hair, I'd want to rip it out of my head. I couldn't take it. I said, guys, do you guys watch the NFL? Have you guys watched? Even the great running prospects. Do you guys do comparisons?

Do you realize that Michael Vick, I know Michael tweeted out last year, I think during a Lamar Jackson game, he was a better prospect, that Lamar was a better prospect than himself. And the moment he tweeted that, I just thought to myself, like, Michael, you're wrong. You were an infinite.

better prospect than Lamar Jackson. You were thicker, you had a better arm, I thought you were a little more explosive, you were just a better prospect. That's not even arguable. RG3, who wasn't quite as good of a prospect as Michael Vick, but was on a different level than Lamar Jackson. Under zero circumstances, was Lamar Jackson the top 10 pick.

As the market played out, hell, he was not a top 20 pick. He went the last pick of the first round. but I think when you see that RG3, speaking of RG3, was not involved in the NFL last year. He did not play a game or was on a team in the NFL in 2017. Think about that. Did not play. Was just gone.

Was sitting there with the new Nike spokesman Colin Kaepernick out of the NFL for a season. I think a lot of people thought his career was a lot of. Over. I kind of did. I was like, God, RG3 is a shot. He's done. And then the Raven signed RG3. You're like, whoa, didn't see that one coming. Thought it was just a flyer. He would be long gone. Hell, he might not even make a training camp. Then I remember the first couple of preseason games, you're like, damn, RG3 does not look terrible, especially relative to Lamar. And then it comes out when the big cuts happen that they keep three quarterbacks. And you go, well, before you even look at the depth chart, you go, well, RG3 is probably not

the third stringer, it turns out that Lamar Jackson, Twitter's favorite player in this draft, could not beat out Robert Griffin III, who had been out of football for a season, who was easily one of the most made fun of players in the NFL on social media, and rightfully so, RG3 came back and beat him out. What does that say? Well, I'll tell you what it says. Of course he did. Lamar Jackson was a 57% completion percentage guy in college.

In college, he can't complete basic routes within the pocket. People make such a big deal about his running plays, his running touchdown in the preseason against Miami. Who cares? Honestly, that is not a sustainable attribute in the NFL. He might this year, if they play them in some special package, have a 90-yard run for a touchdown. Great.

That's why people thought he should play a skill position. Because if you do that, let's get the ball in your hand. We don't want you throwing it. Why? Because you don't complete passes. You can't beat out RG3. You cannot beat out RG3. Josh Rosen is the backup.

Baker Mayfield's the backup. Josh Allen's the backup. Sam Darnel's a starter. Lamar Jackson is the third stringer. The third stringer. Why? Because he can't complete. passes. He's not accurate. He's an elite athlete, a special athlete. That's why going back,

should they give him a try at quarterback? Of course. But this talk about trying him at different positions was never crazy. He's not, he's not, it doesn't, skill set does not translate to 2018, hell any year, quarterback in the NFL. He's not accurate. He is not accurate. If you can't complete passes, you can't play in the NFL. Here's the other problem. As a running quarterback, If you are going to be mobile, which he definitely is, you have to avoid hits. Slide. Like not Ricky Henderson style face first, but like a normal baseball player. Slide.

Guess what? Really, Michael Vick, RG3 struggle with this, and Lamar Jackson definitely does. They can't slide. Well, when you dive head first going to the ground, what does that allow defenders to do? Hit you. What happens when you get hit? You get hurt. So you're not accurate and we all know you are going to get hurt.

You will not last. Not only would I not have bought this stock slash drafted him, I couldn't short Lamar Jackson any harder right now. I just can't ever see him being a good NFL player at quarterback. Like, come on guys, he couldn't beat out RG3. Raise your hand if you were a Lamar Jackson truther and admit this is pretty embarrassing. This is a borderline joke. It would have been a joke if we would have said,

God, RG3 is going to beat out. a first round rookie quarterback, we would have made fun of that guy. So we deserve to make fun of Lamar Jackson a little bit. He could not beat out RG3. One of the most under-talked about, because no one on Twitter wants to have a goal over their face, embarrassing moments for a high pick in the last couple years. Couldn't beat out Robert Griffin the 3rd. Okay, before I get into some of my sleepers in each division, I got to bring up something

in college football. I am a believer that some people don't like it. I don't mind it. The preseason rankings that are basically off nothing. Typically, the big programs, the Texas, the Notre Dame's, especially the last like 10 years, have consistently been overvalued in the polls. But I get it. You got to have a poll.

It creates interest. It helps the sport. I'm for it. I am not against it, even though I know you're going to miss a lot of the time. but I do think after the first week you have to be able to adapt immediately and completely change everything so once we have information

you got to be fluid quick on your feet and adapt and I think what we really struggle with now more than anything in life and you see this now because corporate America has never been more powerful analytic movements in all of sports have never been more powerful that we want to quantify everything. If we can't quantify it, we won't talk about it. Here, I got news for you. There's a reason

a lot of people in sports right now love racial topics, love controversial topics about the president or Colin Kaepernick, because they can't talk about sports. You know, like I got into this and I'm doing this and I plan on doing this I still love watching games. A lot of media members, especially older media members, despite having never made more money, they don't really like the games that much anymore. And you know who it is when you listen to them.

They don't want to talk about, they can't talk about sport. They don't know anything. They love the polarizing issues because it's easier to talk about that than, you know, why Bill O'Brien went forward on third down. You know, why Bruce Bochie brought in the reliever, you know, in the seventh inning. Why Steve Kerr left Fessusazilian in the, you know, game seven. Now, the best guys can talk about that, but you see a lot of new age people, a lot of older people that are just down on sports for whatever reason, would much rather not talk about that. I still like talking about the games, because I can watch a game and just see things.

I don't need to look at a box score. I'm not anti-stats, but I don't need to quantify everything to have an opinion. Like, I can watch a player in all three sports and have an opinion. Now, the baseball people crush me because I'll say something. and they'll be like, well, his war, FIP and Schmip don't equal, he is not a good player. They're like, well, I'm watching him. He's pretty good. Or vice versa. Basketball, you can still have the conversations in football. We definitely can. But in college football, like, I can watch the first weekend and go, LSU is a top five team.

It's not even debatable. They haven't had a quarterback that's that good since Jamarcus Russell and their defense is elite. Like, that's an elite team. I don't need an eye test to know like Notre Dame that's a top five team after one week they should be a top five team I'm sorry USC probably shouldn't be in the top 20 and again I'm a Pac-12 homer Oklahoma that's top two or three team in the country

Alabama number one by a mile but they were already number one my issue most people had LSU somewhere between 15 and 20 if you don't have them in your top five right now the exercise wasted again we have games now We have games.

I just watched it with my own eyes. Like Florida State, see you. Get out of the top 25 forever. You're a joke. You know? Miami, see, I give Miami a little more credit because they got blown out by a team that I think is the top five team.

It's why Washington. I got no problem leaving Washington in the top 12, 15. Like, they went toe to toe in the south against Auburn, who again, top five or 16. Like, there are five or six teams to me on a completely different level. I'm not throwing Wisconsin there yet.

Alabama's the best team by a country mile. LSU to me would be the number two team in the country because their quarterback plays like that. They're beating everyone, including Oklahoma. Oklahoma is not beating that LSU team if the quarterback plays like that with that defense. Ohio State, I'd probably have them three. Clemson, four, you know, LSU right there, five.

Notre Dame right there, six. I mean, again, like numbers two through seven, or two through six, no particular order. But I can take away the first week, yeah, that team's winning a lot of games. Like, LSU's beating, you know, like the average Pact 12 or Big Ten team would not be able to score on them, would not be able to move the ball. They would destroy them.

Like, they would leave just like a random team like Arizona or Texas Tech, you know, or, you know, just throw out your run of the mill. in college. They leave them in body bags. It would not be a fair fight. But I think that we get so caught up, well, they were only 15, so we can only move them up to 10 or 11? No.

Like they were only, they were 15, they had a decent win, so just leave them there. No, like, I'm sorry, USC is just average. You know, relative to USC. To me, the only Pac-12 team, like to me, Stanford, fringe top 25 team, Washington's the only team

that could make a legit argument to be in the top. 10, 12 teams. Like the SEC right now is on a completely different level. Why? Because they have good quarterback play. Tua. Kid at Auburn. Kid at LSU. We know the Georgia quarterback last year.

The freshman Fromms, good. South Carolina guy looks pretty solid. They just have good quarterback play. They've always had the athletes. There's a reason the highest paid scout works in the SEC. There's a reason that you spend more scouting resources as an NFL program or organization in the South. You spend your time in the South.

Basically every year, every organization is represented at the SEC Championship game. Why? Because that game typically has like 15 NFL players. Hell, if you want to include underclassmen, guys, they're going to be NFL as the players the following year. It's got like 40. I mean, how many NFL players do you think like Alabama, Georgia, Auburn, Ole Miss have on them combined? 100?

How many NFL players does the University of Arizona, Oregon State, Washington State have it on a combined? Five? And again, I'm a Pact 12 homer. These programs are on a different level from a talent standpoint. Now, the one knock has been, their coaching has been average. I know Colin Coward talked about it a lot. They've had a bunch of gym teachers besides saving.

Now, I'm not the biggest EDIO guy, but his talent is undisputable. It's why if you just get a guy that, you know, can walk straight and chew gum at the same time as a head coach, you're going to be really competitive. It's why LSU with Les Miles, who's closer to Eddie O than you want to think, they won a lot of games for a long time. They're getting, beside Alabama, they get the most talent. There's four or five programs that are on a completely different level recruiting-wise.

Alabama, Ohio State, Clemson, Phil Savage, once famously told me, ran the senior bowl, former NFL GM. Do you know what, Florida State, not as much this year, but when they were kicking ass with Jimbo and definitely now Clemson, do you know what their biggest advantages? They get SEC players, but they have an ACC schedule. Like, they're not playing. Alabama's in the SEC West right now.

In the SEC West, Alabama's going to have to deal with LSU, have to deal with Auburn. We know Texas A&M is pretty solid. Did you watch Ole Miss against Texas Tech? And again, I think Texas Tech is a joke, Cliff Kingsbury, really good looking guy, average coach. Ole Miss had dudes everywhere. I was like, holy shit, where do they find these human beings? Mississippi State last year was a top 25 team.

Now they do have a new coach. But the guy they hired was like, well, the best offensive coordinator in the country from Penn State. Like, I'm sorry, I watched Penn State. They lost Akewon Barkley. They don't have a front seven that sniffed. any of these teams in the SEC. And I like the Big Ten before the season started. I question it now.

Harbaugh struggles adapting with running quarterbacks. He's kind of caught in the middle. I don't think he quite knows what to do on offense. Defensively, they're really good, but, you know, they're not beating an SEC team. Hell, they just lost last year to, who beat them? Was it South Carolina beat him in the bowl game? South Carolina is like the seventh or eighth or eighth best team in the SEC. So, I don't know, man.

If you can't adapt on the fly with the eye test after week one and just go, well, they're a team to keep an eye on. Well, they stink. I'm not saying, like, overreact. Because, like, to me, Michigan, I'm not, Michigan ain't leaving the top 25 in my mind. They're going to win 10 games. They have a ton of talent. But if you can't see that, like, LSU and Notre Dame are elite teams,

again, there is a team at the top of the mountain that's just far head and shoulders above everyone else. That's Alabama. Then there's this group or five or six, seven teams that are just, to me, right there, that on any given day could beat any given buddy. And what they would do to the middle of the pack teams, in the big five, they would kill them if they want to play. And I think LSU, they're my team that I have circled that. If they play like, if their quarterback plays like that, watch out.

Okay, last thing before the Middilkoff mailbag, thought of this this morning and NFL season, kicks off, a lot of people probably listen to this Thursday, so Thursday night, but most of the games are on Sunday, and then we got a couple on Monday. I wanted to go through every division, and we've talked a lot about who's really good in the NFL, but let's pick a sleeper in the division that wouldn't totally shock me, not necessarily if they won the division, but they're like legit in the playoff race late in the season and becomes a playoff team. Now, there is one division, I don't necessarily have one. But I'm going to fly through them, keep this quick, keep this fast moving. Let's start with the AFC East. I think the New York

Jeff, Sam Darnold, really solid defense are going to be good. Now, when I say good, relative to what they've been in the last several years, I could see them winning seven, eight games. Now, they don't have many offensive weapons. That is a concern. But that's part of Sam Darnold's deal. Like, part of what is going to make Sam Donald and I think why Todd Bowles went with him as a starting quarterback because he can make something out of nothing. Here is the ultimate wild card, and I've been saying it over and over, and I'm not rooting for this to happen. But the Patriots are one Brady broken ankle away from being screwed.

I mean, they would be in major trouble. It would be game over. And then I think the Jets, because they're going to be competitive, Todd Bowles has proven a couple years ago, remember when they went 10 to 6, they missed the playoffs, that he can just coach a solid team and he's never had anyone even close to Sam Donald. Now again, Sam Donald's 21, officially the youngest starting quarterback in the history of the NFL. Little skewed stat because only really in the last 10 years have rookie quarterbacks really started starting from day one. But I'm telling you, just watch the New York Jets this year. I do think they're somewhat

of a sleeper in this league and a team that is not a team that's ascending. The arrow is pointing. up. AFC North. I've been talking about them from the jump since I started watching Hard Knocks. They have a legit roster and that's the Cleveland Browns.

Tyrod Taylor made the playoffs last year as a starting quarterback for the Buffalo Bills that had a terrible roster. They had like two blue chip guys. Shady McCoy in the first round corner they took from LSU White, the kid that Gronk late hit.

To me, other than that, they had a bunch of average guys. They had nothing. And they made the playoffs. And this year, Tyrod Taylor gets a much better team. Jarvis Landry, Nodoku, the running backs that they have. Defensively, Miles Garrett looks like a star. They got Jamie Collins.

They drafted Denzo Ward in the first round, hell not in number four overall. They have talent on that team. I think the Cleveland Browns, I don't know if Hugh Jackson's good or not, and that's a huge wild card here. But if he does a good job this year, would it shock if they go eight and eight? Again, Tyrae Taylor went nine and seven last year with a team that does sniff the talent on this squad. I also think the AFC Norse not very good.

The Bengals actually look good in the preseason, but I'm counting the Bengals out. I'm not at all a Baltimore Ravens guy. Steelers got some weird shit going on with Levion Bell. I just think the Browns are a team that are going to win some games this year that they definitely have not won in the last several years. The AFC South, this is a tough one to pick because Jacksonville was arguably a top three or four team

in all the NFL last year. We're really taking it to New England in the, in the AFC championship game to that fourth quarter. But I think they kind of come back to Earth. Look at their skill guys. Marquis Lee going down. Alan Robinson left. Now he wasn't playing last year because he had torn his knee.

But still, I mean, they've lost a lot. They're very dependent on Leonard Fournet. Now their defense is elite. But I think they come back to Earth. The Colts, I just don't like their roster. You know, he just, I can't trust him getting, staying healthy. I think the Deshawn Watson hype is so strong. How does he ever live up to it?

He's coming off a torn ACL. I went to this team's practice in OTAs. Their roster is good. I've seen it firsthand. Their roster is good. I believe in their general manager. I think their head coach is really good. And I just think top to bottom, they have premium players at basically every position.

If Marcus Marriota can just have a solid season, not like last year and not even as good as two years ago, just play like a top 12 quarterback. This team should win 10 or 11 games. I think the Titans, I don't think the Jets win the division. I don't think the Browns win the division. I think the Titans can win the division. Honestly, I kind of expect them to win the division. I like the Tennessee Titans in 2018 to win the division.

The Denver Broncos. The Raiders aren't shambles. They just traded their best player. The Chargers are the Chargers. They consistently blow games in just weird fashion. I love this guy, but I've watched the last couple years in big moments, Philip Rivers somewhat shit the bed. Last year in the Kansas City game, he was terrible.

He was got off, and that was a must-win situation. I know it was a Saturday game, but he was terrible on a defense that Kansas City is not very good. Kansas City is so young. They have Pat Mahomes. I love Andy. I think they're going to be really competitive this year. Honestly, it wouldn't totally shock me if Kansas City wins the division, but I think Denver's going to sneak up on some people.

Case Keenham last year with a great team surrounding him, proved to be a very competent quarterback. They've added one thing that made that people don't talk about, and I watched it firsthand because I covered the Raiders so closely, is what made Denver and those defenses so special. Von Miller was the Killeel Mack four years ago, the best pass rusher in the league. He also had a friend, a guy that's going to go to the Hall of Fame,

DeMarcus Ware, who even in his later stages of his career was really good. Well, they added Bradley Chubb now. To go with Derek Wolf inside, their defensive pass rush is going to be awesome. Bradley Robey, Chris Harris, Jr. They still have good defensive backs. Royce Freeman's starting running back to go along. Emmanuel Sanders looks healthy for the first time in a couple of years.

Demarius Thomas is not a bad second wide receiver. This team's going to be competitive. Vance Joseph can just be solid as a head coach. Not the head coach last year that looked a little bit over his head, but just solid. I think the Broncos can sneak up on themselves. Look how their schedule starts. Starts with Seattle in Denver. Seattle's got some weird stuff going on.

What if they win that game? Then week two, they'd have the Raiders coming in off a short week because the Raiders play Monday night football. I think starting 2-0 is not crazy. And if you let a team like Denver just get a little momentum, why couldn't they be a wild card type team? The AFC's down. NFC, East, I've been saying all along,

the Washington Redskins, Alex Smith has proven that if you just give him a solid team, that team is going to be competitive. That team will more than likely make the play. I think Washington's front seven is excellent on defense. I think offensively, Chris Thompson is one of the more underrated players in the NFL. Last year, he was crushing it before his leg snapped. Their offensive line, when healthy, is really good.

They got two legit offensive tackles, arguably the best tackle combination in the NFL. And again, Alex Smith just brings them some consistency. Here's the other thing. We talk over and over and over about John Gruden. Are we sure that John Gruden is even the best. Gruden head coach in the NFL from an offensive play calling standpoint. We'll see with John Gruden this year. I know Jay Gruden's a big time play caller.

I've watched him wheel and deal the last several years with a ton of injuries. He will score points. I think the Washington Redskins are going to be good this year. AFC North, excuse me, NFC North. This one's a no-brainer for me. I think the Chicago Bears are now a wild card team. Big wild card. The big question mark is Mitchell Trees.

Rubisky, no one knows how good he is. Hell, the bears don't even know how good he is. Was he worth the second overall pick? No. Did I think he was a first round worthy quarterback at coming out that year? Yes, I would have liked him more like pick 25 than pick two. But if you pick a guy at 25, he's still expected him to be your starter year two. And if he's on a team now, just go around the roster.

They got Khalil Mack. They got Roquan Smith. Fuller, they kept. Remember the Packers came after him? They signed him. Look at offensively. Jordan Howard. Trey Burton from the Eagles.

Alan Robinson. Kevin White has looked pretty good this year. The kid they drafted in the second round Miller from Memphis, from everything I've heard has been a star. I've known Matt Nagy for a long time. He is a big-time offensive mind. They are going to be competitive. Oh, another curveball for you.

Vic Fangio did not leave. They kept Vic Fangio, one of the best defensive coordinators in the league, who now has a lot of chess pieces to mess around with. They are going to be, I would imagine this Sunday night, Kaleel Mack plays 25 snaps. Roquan Smith is not even starting yet. Wait till like week five, when Kleeal Mack doesn't leave the field.

When Roquan Smith is the starting middle linebacker, I wouldn't want to play them. The NFC South, I don't really have one. Because three of the teams made the playoffs last year, I think we all would go on record, whichever one you'd pick, whether it's Atlanta, New Orleans, or even if you wanted to pick Carolina. They're all really good rosters.

No one takes Tampa seriously now that James is just, we have evidence, he's just a scumbag loser. I can't take James Winston seriously. You know? So, no one, Tampa's not a sleeper because I think they're going to be terrible. Even though in theory their roster is not terrible. But James being suspended, everything that happened with the Uber driver, I've just written them off. I've sold every piece of Jamis stock I've ever owned. And I was one of the last guys holding shares of James Winston stock, all going.

If you own James Winston stock, God love you, but you're probably going to lose money. And then the NFC West. I think we all acknowledge the Rams probably best roster in the NFL. Everyone's been picking the Niners since Jimmy showed up. Arizona, I just, I can't take them that. I don't know anything about their coach. The team I would keep an eye on, Russell Wilson is still a top five quarterback in the NFL. Defensively, they have a culture, and that's to hit people in the mouth.

Now, do they have enough talent? you know, anywhere near what they did three or four years ago, of course not. Cam Chancellor, Michael Bennett, Cliff Averill, go on and on. Earl Thomas, as I'm recording this, officially showed up. He's the last of a dying breed, and this will be his last year on there.

They are nowhere nearly as talented. But Pete Carroll is a big-time defensive coach. He coaches that position, that unit, the defensive backfield, that's like his baby. I would not just write them off to being really shitty and just being a 4-12 team.

Russell Wilson, first off, is just too good. and then they do have a culture there of toughness. I know we look at last year, like they completely failed. They were the biggest embarrassment, you know, in the NFL for a good team. They did go 9 and 7. They didn't go, you know, 5 and 11. They won 9 games. Who's to say they couldn't win 8 and 9 games again?

Richard Sherman missed all last season. Camp Chancellor got hurt, Cliff Avril got hurt. It's not like they had those guys last year playing a big role. I just keep an eye on Seattle. The two teams, the week one game that looked terrible six months ago, that I'm kind of intrigued, Seattle, Denver. Because I think both those teams could make a little noise. So I got the Jets, the Browns, Tennessee Titans, Denver Broncos, Washington Redskins,

the Bears, none in the South, and Seattle. Just my teams, maybe not to make the playoffs. I mean, I think Tennessee is a lot to make the playoffs. I think the Bears probably make a wild card. But Denver, Seattle, and Washington are teams that, like, if they win eight games, I'm not going to be shocked. and then the Jets, they may be a year away, but you watch,

they'll have a couple big upsets this year for sure. Okay, let's get to the Middlecoff mailbag. You can always slide into iTunes, leave your question, and I will get to it. You can also slide up into my Instagram DMs at John Middlecough. I answer questions on Instagram, but I try to pick,

if you write Middlekopf Mailbag in your question in my DMs, I'll get to them. I got three Instagram questions to get to, but I got to start, because people have gotten mad at me before, starting with iTunes. So go to iTunes if you want to and leave your message there or Instagram. Either one works for me. This is a good one.

I think everyone has a similar top five quarterbacks. Brady, Rogers, Rogers, Brady, whatever. Breeze, Big Ben, and Russell Wilson. But after that, I see guys getting overhyped like Cam and guys getting overlooked like Philip Rivers and Matthew Stafford. My 6 through 10 is Stafford, Matt Ryan, Rivers, Wentz Garapolo with a very close tie

between Stafford, Ryan, and Rivers. I would have Matt Ryan above both those guys. And I'm not completely sold on Wentz and Jimmy yet. Who are my top ten? I agree. Brady Rogers, Rogers, Brady, whatever order you want to go to those top two. To me, Breeze and Russell are in some order

three and four. I'd probably have Breeze above Russell. And then Big Ben kind of grandfathered in is hit or miss now more days than not. But he's earned it. And when he's on, he's as good as those top four guys for sure. The next six to ten are pretty interesting. I'd have Matt Ryan six, and I know he has some flaws.

I put last year more on Sark than on Matt Ryan. I still feel pretty confident with Matt Ryan, you know, in a big spot. He can win road playoff games as he did last year in L.A. Not that L.A. is exactly like Lambo, you know, or some, you know, tough place to play Seattle. But still, that was a upset victory. And then if it wasn't for Steve Sarkesian, I think they'd beat the Eagles in the second round. But I'd have Matt Ryan to.

I still have Cam 7. Because I'm not a Cam guy. But his highs are as high as anyone in the league. When he is on, it's like game over. He's beating you. And in that game against New Orleans, they weren't as good as the Saints. And they ended up losing that game.

but he was so damn good in that game. His highs are super high. And I thought it was just like, wow, this is big boy football right here. And that's why I would still have Cam right in that notion. Plus he's done more than this next guy, Matthew Stafford. I'm a Matthew Stafford guy. But I do think his resume kind of speaks for itself. He can just do some stupid stuff at inopportune times.

His talent is inarguable, though. and I really hope one of these years he makes a run in the playoffs, though I think it's going to be hard and I'm not the biggest Matt Patricia guy. Next would be Rivers. I do think Rivers is slipping a little bit. Like Eli slipped a couple years ago. Flacco might have been not that great. He just had an incredible playoff run.

Philip Rivers was unreal like three and four years ago. Was playing at just such an elite level. Seems like the last couple years in the biggest spots in December. It's like he's just kind of run out of gas. and just made the Philip Rivers, what's kind of made him the Tony Romo of the West Coast. Just, what are you doing, Philip? How are you?

It feels like every game in December ends with them being a game out of the playoff with the last play of the game ending on a pick with Rivers on his knees. I love Philip Rivers. I love everything he stands for. I've enjoyed his career. I would put him at 9,

but I'd say the arrow is pointing down. To me, 10 is just a mix of all these young guys. I think there are four young guys that have a higher ceiling than every other young guy. That's obviously Carson Wentz. If healthy, there is no young quarterback I'd rather have. To me, Andrew Luck, I'm just kind of throwing him out the window. No one knows what we have. Restructured shoulder.

Then after a preseason game, you got a hurt foot. I just don't know. I'm just, I'm leaving that one just kind of been its own little category. So I got Carson Wentz. I have Jimmy Garoppolo, Derek Carr, and Deshawn Watson. I think we all, if healthy, no one would pass on Carson Wentz if you had a real-life GM fantasy draft. I still believe in Derrick Carr.

He was too good in a joke of an organization for several years as a young player. He finally has a good coach. I think he's going to have a big season. Jimmy Garoppel, I've said it over and over here, is just a flat-out superstar. I think he's a stud. And then Deshawn Watson, there's just some,

kind of like Jimmy, there's an it factor to him. Though I do think the hike this year coming back from an ACL, it's going to be hard for him to live up to it. But I'm a Deshawn Watson guy. I think the Texans are going to be really good, and I can't wait to watch him play. So that would kind of be my 10. John, what do you think about SC this year?

I think you're talking about USC fight on. I wasn't that impressed. And now I do think I've known Tony Sanchez, several guys in the UNLV staff. I do think UNLV is actually better than people think. Like when the game was semi-close, people are like, oh, my God, UNLV should never be able to hang.

I can see them win in nine or ten games. That win might look better as time goes on. But I just think you saw J.T. Daniels, his talent is immense. His arm is elite. But he's still a true freshman. They're going to go through growing pains. This week is huge. I mean, they play Stanford.

If you're listening to this before Saturday, I would expect Stanford to win. But if J.T. Daniels can go on the road to Stanford and beat them as a true freshman, that would be pretty incredible. I think it feels like they're a year away. Anytime you have a true freshman quarterback, a bunch of young pieces around them, I think their defense is a little spotty. I watch their defense and I go, you know, it doesn't quite Colin always uses this word, pop. I watch Notre Dame's defense. I watch LSU's defense.

I watch Michigan's defense. You know, I watch Virginia Tech's defense. It just really pops. I watch USC's defense and it just, to me, it just doesn't quite pop. Like, where are your Roquan Smith? Where are your Leonard Williams? I don't quite see it just after one week. Maybe I'm wrong.

I hope I am because I want a Pact 12th team to be in the mix, but if they don't beat Stanford, they probably won't beat Notre Dame. I think they'll beat Texas. This is a team that could, Arizona State's sneaky good, could probably go nine and three, and then Clay Hilton would be in trouble. Let's get to a couple of the Instagram questions.

Again, if you like doing iTunes, go to iTunes, write a comment in there and I'll get to it. Do you worry about Jimmy Garoppelos interceptions? Is this going to be a thing for him? Yes. As it's going to be a thing. Do I worry? No.

I like a gun slayer. One of my favorite quarterbacks ever was Brett Farve. I don't mind throwing interceptions. Throwing interceptions means you're aggressive. You are willing to fail. The best people in any business in any life are willing to fail. Now, clearly not all interceptions are created equal, but I can live with picks. It does not really bother me.

It really does not. So, Jimmy Garopolo is going to have picks that Alex Smith would never throw. I'm okay with that. I'm going to live with that. Jimmy Garoppolo's high end is dominant, is elite. That's why the Niners think they got a steal in the contract. If he throws a couple picks, so be it. You know, the way the cookie crumbles.

Now, if it's five straight years and every year in the playoffs, he has three picks in playoffs, yeah, then it'd be a problem. But if he throws 14 picks this year, it's not going to bother me one bit. Is he going to throw a couple stupid picks? Yes, he plays quarterback. Guess what? Defensive coordinators get paid a lot of money. Guess what?

Defensive players in the NFL drive nice cars too. Why? Because they make a lot of money too. You know, it's not – playing in the NFL is hard at course. quarterback. The windows are small. It's not like he's got Julio Jones and Jerry Rice and O'Dow Beckham as three receivers. So he's got to be more aggressive. It really doesn't bother me at all. I really just could not care less. What would be your four cornerstone positions if you had to build a team? Clearly the number one position we all agree is quarterback.

I mean, it's probably the most important position in any business in America, right? If you have an elite quarterback, your business, given that the NFL is a billion dollar business and these teams are worth $2, $3, $4 billion. If you have that guy, it trumps everything. So that no one would argue that. To me, the second position is somewhat up for debate. It would either be an offensive tackle or a pass rusher. I'd probably lean past rusher.

a Khalil Mac, a Vaughn Miller in his prime, a guy like that, that you would just, that I'm okay, there's three or four guys in the league, really there's probably only three right now, Aaron Donald,

Khalil Mack, and Vaughn Miller that I would be willing to pay that, you know, I say, yeah, Aaron Donald. Fletcher Cox, so it would be Aaron Donald, Vaughn Miller,

Khalil Mack, they're kind of in a category of their own. Fletcher Cox is close, but just guys that I would just absolutely break off. Next would be offensive tackle. Last, I'm going to go a little outside the reservoir. I don't think many people say this. I would take a middle linebacker.

And again, that middle linebacker being, if I can get me a Luke Keechley, if I can get a Patrick Willis, if I can get a Roquan Smith, the game has changed. The best teams now have running backs catching 60, 70, 80 balls. The best teams now have tight ends. If I can get that Luke Kikley, if I can, what I think Roquan will be of what Patrick Willis and Navarro is, could cover a slot guy, they could cover a tight end, they could cover running.

It changes your defense. It's hard to play corner now. The rules are not for cornerbacks. They get called all the time for pass interference. They get called all the time for a defense of holding. It's basically an impossible position to play or play. So if I'm going to pay a premium, am I really getting the results? You can still play a linebacker.

Why? Because you don't get flag for playing the run. You can really hit. In past defense as a linebacker, really because you're more covering in space. not necessarily on them like a press corner would be, you can get away with more stuff. And I think Luke Keeckley is the, you know, beside Aaron Donald and Khalil Mack, when healthy.

Now he's got this huge wild card of concussions is the best player in the NFL defensively. And I think Roquan Smith's going to be a superstar. I thought Patrick Willis was an all-time difference maker, Ray Lewis, Brian Erlock. Those guys changed the game. I really valued the middle linebacker position. I know some people don't,

and a lot of people that talk about it, but if you can get a great one, Bobby Wagner in Seattle is damn good. Those guys are special. Look what Dion Jones is doing to Atlanta. One of the reasons why I think so many people pick Atlanta to be so good is because they go, God, you watch that guy play? He'd cover sideline to sideline. He can obviously check running backs or tight ends,

and then playing the run, he makes every other tackle. Those guys are game changers. So I'd go quarterback. I'd go past rusher, preferably outside. So more, you know, Khalil Mack or Von Miller than Aaron Donald or Fletcher Cox, but I could live with one of those two guys. Offensive tackle and then middle linebacker,

the modern day middle linebacker. Last but not least, can the Rams live up to the hype? What's your expectation for them? I think it's pretty simple. I've kind of come around. I think they can live up to the hype. their roster is just too good. They have too many premium players.

I just found myself. I was a hater. I'm a millennial. But I was like, there's no way a guy 31 years old can coach an NFL team. I was wrong. McVeigh's a superstar. He's legit.

He has an elite defensive coordinator. He has a roster that I just don't know how they fail. Like how Aaron Donald could go down and they still have Nidomkin's sue. I think their middle linebacker if we're really getting football geeky could be the thing that lets them down big picture, but too many weapons on offense, multiple wide receivers.

They got a couple of young tight ends. They obviously got arguably the best running back in football. They have a solid offensive line. They have the number one overall pick a couple years ago as a quarterback. Even if you're not the biggest Jared Gough guy, you still have to admit he's beyond serviceable. Defensively, Wade Phillips' resume speaks for itself. Somewhat of a combustible, for sure, a locker room. But I just think they're going to be too good.

I think this is the team. The more I've thought about it, I've kind of come around that probably is most likely to win 13, 14 games in 2018. It's pretty cool that it happens in L.A. Because being a California guy, to be big time out here on the West Coast, you better win. Because are we fair weather? Yes. Why? Because we have good weather.

Because the sun is always shining. And I think the Rams are going to be, they might end up being the story of 2018, just because I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I'm going on record right now, 14 and 2. The Los Angeles Rams went 14 games. I'm actually pretty excited, and I think I'm already looking forward to gambling on this game. The Rams against the Raiders, I think they win that game by double digits.

Okay, adios. Thanks again, everyone for listening. It's been a long podcast. We covered a lot of things. The three and out podcast, you can get it wherever you subscribe to your podcast. Middlecoff mailbag, slide up into my Instagram, at John Middlecough, slide up in to iTunes.

You can in the review section, leave a question and I'll answer it. Appreciate everyone listening. You guys are making this podcast a big deal. Again, three and out podcast. With me, name's John Middlecoff on the Colin Coward Podcast Network. Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened.

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