The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Tom Brady/Tiger parallels; Russell Wilson's hardball tactics; Middlekauff Mailbag

Episode Date: April 16, 2019

In this episode, Middlekauff looks at the parallels between Tiger Woods and Tom Brady, Russell Wilson playing hardball with Seattle to get a new deal, and answers listener questions in Middlekauff's Mailbag. Follow John on twitter @JohnMiddlekauff and go to www.theherdnow.com to find the latest content. Subscribe now! Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an I-Heart podcast. Guaranteed Human. Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where Sports Slice comes in. I'm Timbo, and every episode, we're cutting through the noise,

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

And for more, follow Timbo Sliced Life 12 in the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. Another podcast from some SNL late-night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smygel and friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer Streeter Seidel, help an a cappella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes.

Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and Friends on the I-Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Michelle McPhee, and I've been unraveling the strangest criminal alliance I've ever reported on. A Mormon polygamist and an Armenian businessman. Multi-million dollar house, Ferraris and Lamborghinis, private jets, a billion dollar fraud. But how long can this alliance last? Tell me. What you know.

Is somebody coming after me? Listen to Kingdom of Fraud on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Life is full of hurdles. So how do you keep going? On Hurtle with Emily Abadi, we're talking with the most inspiring women in sports and wellness from professional athletes, coaches, and Olympic champions about the challenges that shape them and the mindset that keeps them moving forward. At our level, at this scale, being able to fail in front of the entire world.

I can do anything. I can do anything. Listen to Hurtle with Emily Abadi on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Presented by Capital One, founding partner of IHeart Women's Sports. There's a recipe for getting your car running just right. And eBayMoters.com has all the ingredients you need. They have over 122 million car parts and accessories in stock all at the right prices. Now that's tasty.

eBay motors.com. Let's ride. If you work in IT, you'll want to check out Changemakers, a podcast, profiling IT industry leaders. We dive deep into IT profiles and learn what it takes to drive large-scale IT transformations for successful businesses. Visit changemakers.freshworks.com. Using your Aspiration Zero credit card helps fight climate change. It's true. See, Aspiration Zero plants a tree each time you make a purchase. And tree planting is one of the most effective ways to combat global warming. Track your progress in the app and earn 1% cash back each month you reach carbon zero.

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We are, I'm recording this on Tax Day, April. 15th, God this day sucks. Thursday, we are officially a week away from the NFL draft. Does it get any better? Honestly, does it get any better than the NFL draft? Easily post-superball the best thing because

free agency is overrated. The combine's cool and all. A lot of good rumors come out and we get a lot of cool rumors between free agency leading up to the draft. But really the draft is what we were all waiting for. It's right around the corner. I'm going to hit on that today because Daniel Jeremiah, after Peter King wrote some stuff,

just maybe the Arizona Cardinals aren't all in on Kyla Murray. Could the Raiders be interested? I'll touch on that a little later. He told me personally he thought it was 100%. I'd been hearing it was like 100%. He tweeted today that he thought he'd go about 60%. Could a massive draft day trade be done with the Raiders? that would be pretty sweet.

The Masters, obviously, yesterday. I'm going to tie that into a Tom Brady coming up here in a second, and then this Russ Wilson thing that Colin kind of started weeks ago. Clearly there's smoke. Where there's smoke, they say there's fire. It looks like the forest is on fire right now. We'll dive into that. But let's start.

Tiger Woods won his 15th major, his fifth Masters. I would imagine if you listen to this, even if you're not a big golf guy, I mean, you watch that. It was probably one of the coolest. I mean, for me personally, it's the coolest sporting event I've ever seen. And there's top probably three or four things up there. The San Francisco Giants win their first World Series.

I went to game seven. When was that? Like four years ago? Remember when the Cavs came back and LeBron beat the Warriors, the 73 win warriors in Oracle. I mean, I was rooting for the Warriors. But it was cool to experience that that, would be right up there. I've had some, I've been to a Super Bowl, the Broncos, when they played

the Panthers a couple years ago here in the Bay Area, that was pretty cool because I had a lot of money on the Broncos, but that, that was as good as it got yesterday from just sports. And I think what truly makes it special, like why I got into sports, I wrote from my school newspaper in college, when I got, started working in football, and then even when I got into the media, and I've always tell people like, oh, you're just a former NFL scout working the media. No, I was actually a media guy that happened to work in the NFL and now I'm in the media again. Like, I'm a media guy. That's what I am.

That's who I am. That's how I'm wired. But I love sports. Like, I didn't get in it for race baiting to interwove politics into sports. I got in it to talk about the games and the coaches. And even like the salary cap stuff and the draft. I like everything that goes along with. with the league. But not a lot of the way

that we talk about the leagues now and really that gets people evokes emotion now on television. I hate all that crap. I just want to talk about Tiger Woods. That's why I love Michael Jordan. It was just about basketball. And I watched him yesterday and the number one thing that stands out

is the guy's will to win is really in my life there are only three guys I can even put on his level. And it's why we all like sports. It's why some of these guys are like our heroes when we're young. Because it all starts your whole life is based on young experiences kind of the way you think and the way you act.

Now you mature as you get older or whatever, but your sports, if you're listening to this, and I know I get a lot of your guys' DMs, we'll do the Middilcoff mailbag a little bit later, slide up in those DMs at John Middlecoff is my Instagram handle, answer your questions at the end of the podcast. I get a lot, I'm a Titans fan, I'm a Bengal fan, I'm a Cowboy fan, I'm a Jets fan.

You've been that fan since you were really young, you know, since you were six, seven, and you just started watching football, probably with your dad or your brother, your mom, or whoever, your grandpa. That's where it all starts. And for me, what sucks, I grew up a big Niner fan, and I love Steve Young, I love Jerry Rice. But then as you get older and I worked in football,

you kind of become numb to it. So my fandom, I kind of live through you guys when people get super fired up of a playoff win or a playoff loss or a trade. Again, I like all that stuff, and I love talking about it. But I no longer emotional emotional, emotionally think about it the same because now it's like, oh, how can I sell ads with this topic?

How can I make money off this? This is my business. And what was cool about watching Tiger yesterday is it kind of evoked young John's emotion. Because I've been watching this guy. I actually watch him hit balls when I was like 10 years old and he was at Stanford. He's nine years older than me. Casey Martin and Noda Begay were on the Stanford golf team. And it was awesome.

And the thing I love about him most, watching him yesterday, is his just desire and will to win. any means necessary. Now it doesn't mean he's always going to win, but you have to kill him. It's not about the money. Now, he is super rich, and he wins and makes a lot of money. But his number one goal, and there was something that went viral on Twitter the other day, was to dominate. And he said that at 19 years old.

I play golf to dominate. And that's always kind of been his internal wiring. And I think, I'm not a patriot. I didn't grow up in New England or, hell, I spend most of my life in California. I love Tom Brady because at the end of the day, and I think this is why whether you love him, whether you hate him, you respect them, is because Tom, all the fluff, all the BS that goes along with the NFL right now, contracts, talking about money, and that's not even necessarily fluff, but the number one goal for TV12 is to win. And we've seen it. He's at, he tweeted the other, or put it on Instagram, was going out to throw in his backyard, and he grabbed his helmet that he had not put on since the end of the end of it. to the Super Bowl.

I think there are parallels with Tom and Tiger and Michael. Because at the end of the day, let's call it what it is. One thing about LeBron, the money is a huge aspect of it. The power, being power hungry, wanting to fire coaches and be a huge part of LeBron. The number one goal for Tom is to win the Super Bowl. The number one goal for Tiger is to win majors. The number one goal for Michael, he was a little deeper, was to win championships. and kick the living shit out of you while he was doing it.

That's why anyone that watched Michael just loves them, unless you're like a Knicks fan. But I don't think we see that as often anymore. And it's kind of, it's something, like, listen, in the mid-90s, most kids love Brett Farf. It's why most people my age, Brett Farv has kind of a special place in her heart. Just because you had to drag him off the field.

Literally, you had to drag him off the field. He went about it a little differently, but I would put this guy in that category, too, is Peyton. Like his number one goal Now he, the money, he loved it And he does a lot of ads, he makes a lot of cash But it always felt like the only thing he truly Like this number one goal was always winning

And that's something that I think in this day and age With all these NBA players Calling themselves CEOs Baseball players won't shut up About how they're going to strike in a couple years Like good luck having fans come back After you strike a year When the average salary is $4 million

In this economic climate That'll play well. That'll play well. But I think at the end of the day, Tigers worth $5, $700, $700 million. He has kids. He had more injuries than most NFL players will ever have,

and you just couldn't bury him. He just refused to die. And I think you could say the same thing about Tom Brady. Forever, people like, this is going to be his last year, this is going to be his last year. His drive to win, because that's what else is driving him now?

He doesn't need any money. He doesn't need any more. fame. He doesn't need any more Super Bowls. Like, what else does Tom need? He needs one thing, and that's to win, and he's addicted to it. And it's the thing that comes through the screen most when you watch Tom play.

Like, winning is his only goal. If that means handing off 40 times, if that means throwing 50 times, he'll do whatever it takes. And it's why he's the greatest quarterback of all time. It's why, again, I'm a little biased. I didn't watch Jack play. It's why I think Tiger is the greatest golfer of all time.

And I think it just jumped out the screen yesterday was just his burning desire to find a way. He didn't have his best going. The first nine, I mean, he wasn't very good. He was holding on for dear life. Mollinaria kind of fell apart, but you just, you couldn't kill him. And it's cool. I mean, his first big, big, I mean, his first major victory of the Twitter era.

It's been cool about Tiger and even LeBron. We never got to experience Michael Jordan kind of as a group. You know, I get to watch these sporting events now on social media. with everyone. It's one of the few positives about social media, about Twitter especially, is you kind of get to hang out and watch the game. It's cool. And yesterday, what makes an individual sport much different than football is we're all kind of rooting for Tiger. Like, let's call it what it is. Like when the football starts, if the chiefs are playing the Patriots, you know, I have a bunch of chiefs people, fall a bunch of Patriot fans. Everyone's kind of

pulling a different direction, which is still fun. But, you know, it's not, not everyone's kind of united. It's not like football is a national sport, so we never get to be like, you know what, Team USA, we got Brady, we got Rogers as their backup, our receivers are Julio, O'Dell, and Antonio, our running backs, Gurley and Zeke, I mean, no one else has a team. So it's just, it's a unique deal, but I do think that I put Brady right up there with Tiger. I'd even throw, I always felt like that with Farf. And it's really, I think, what made him resonate. and will resonate. Like, I think his career is going to age pretty damn well.

And it was a little different because of how vocal he was, and he went about it a little bit differently. But I think one of the reasons we all respect Peyton. Now, Peyton's a little more of a commercial horror, and he loves his cash. I don't blame him, I do too. I need a little more of the tax bill I just had. But they're just will to win.

And if you're really sports junkie, and I think if a lot of people listening to this are, it separates us. I mean, we have a lot of players on whatever team we rooted for over the years that we like, but there are select few that you just... Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind. Highlights are trending, opinions are flying,

and nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where Sports Slice comes in. I'm Timbo. Every episode, we're cutting through the noise. Breaking down the plays, the controversies, and the stories behind the headlines. We go straight to the source, the athlete themselves. Their locker room stories, their reactions, the stuff nobody gets to hear.

The laughs, the drama, the triumphs, the moments that never make the highlight real. From viral moments to historic games, from buzzer beaters to controversial calls, we break it down, give you context, and ask the questions everybody wants answered. Sports Slice brings you closer to the action

with stories told by the people who live them. Listen to Sports Slice on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Slices Life 12 and the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hardway with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Kear Games. And in recognition of Mental Health Awareness Month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience in the mental health field

and conversations with so many incredible guests. I'm talking, Tripp Fontaine, Ryan Clark. Sometimes when we're in the pursuit of the thing, we get so wrapped up in the chase that we don't realize that we are in possession of the thing. And we're still chasing it. And we don't know when we've done enough. Because people scoreboard watch. Life becomes about wins and losses.

Steve Burns, Dustin Ross, because you find it important to be a good person while you hear on earth? Are you a good person because you're afraid? Because that's two different intentions, bro. Absolutely. And that's two different levels of trust. I want you to just really be a good person.

Join me, Kear Gaines, as we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast, learn the hard way. Open your free, our heart radio app, Search Learn the Hard Way and listen now. Jacob Kingston grew up in an isolated polygamous sect. We were God's chosen kingdom on earth.

He felt destined for greatness. So when a swaggering Armenian businessman catapults Jacob into an extraordinary world, he doesn't look back. Ferraris and Lamborghinis, private jets, meeting the president of Turkey. I'm Michelle McPhee, and this is one of the most shocking criminal conspiracies, I've ever come across. When Jacob met Levan this plant to a billion dollar fraud. But with two kings from entirely different worlds, just how long can their empire survive?

The largest tax investigation in American history. You need to tell me what you know. Is somebody coming after me? Jacob told Levan, you're ruining my life. Listen to Kingdom of Fraud on the I-Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you. you get your podcast. Life throws hurdles big and small.

The question is, how do you conquer them? On hurdle with Emily Abadi, we sit down with the most inspiring women in sports and wellness, professional athletes, coaches, and Olympic champions to talk about the challenges that shaped them and the mindset that keeps them going. From the WNBA standout Kate Martin and rising hockey star, Layla Edwards. If a boy can do it, I don't see why a girl can't. Like, I've never understood that. Like, it didn't make sense in my brain.

It's hard to be in spaces that no one looks like. you, but don't ever feel like you don't feel on. Don't let that be the reason you don't do it. An Olympic champs Gabby Thomas and Katie Ladeki. The ability to show gold medal to someone and have their face light up and smile, that means the world to me. And that's what motivates me to win more gold medals. At our level, at this scale, like being able to fail in front of the entire world. Like, I can do anything. I can do anything. Because resilience isn't just about winning. It's about showing up, even when it's hard.

Listen to Hurtle with Emily Abadi on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Presented by Capital One, founding partner of IHeart Women's Sports. Put on the level of I'd go to war with that dude any day of the week. And it's rare that that guy then is good as Brady. And it's just, it's fun to watch the best. And that's what Sunday at the Masters was, one of the best, if not the best player of all time,

playing at a high level and winning at a high level when he shouldn't be because he's had fused back, broken knees, torn Achilles, nine iron through his face. Somehow he just came up on top, man. There are stuff in sports, even as analytics take a bigger role, and I'm not anti-analytics, that you just can never quantify.

And there's something in Tiger, something in Tom Brady, there's something in Michael. They just had that, whatever it is. It's not even it. I mean, it was just because it's on a different level than they got it. It's like they're on a different level. But they got that something deep down, whether that's in your gut, whether that's in your heart. I don't even know where it is.

I don't have it. But they got it. I'm always upgrading my car. Not because I need to, because I want to. Today, it's custom rims from my ride. Tomorrow, it might be a new driver's side seat cushion. And eBayMoters.com always has what I need. They've got over 122 million car parts, all at the right price.

That's perfect for me, because I'm a car guy. Are you still in the garage? It's two in the morning. Almost done. Okay, I'm a car fanatic. eBay Motors. Let's ride. Can I tell you about my friends at LinkedIn? Listen, it's a new year, 2022. We're all trying to find people that hire, for those of you listening, that are in HR, running small businesses, wherever you.

you are and LinkedIn makes it easier than ever to find people you want to talk to faster and for free create a job posted minutes I've done it on LinkedIn jobs to reach your network and beyond to the world's largest professional network of 770 million people focus on candidates with the right skills and experience use screening questions to get your role in front of the most qualified Then use simple tools to quickly filter and prioritize who you would like to interview and hire. That's why small businesses rate LinkedIn Jobs, number one, in delivering quality hires, first competitors. LinkedIn Jobs helps you find the candidates you want to talk to faster. Did you know that every week nearly 40 million job seekers visit LinkedIn?

Post your job for free at LinkedIn.com slash John. That's LinkedIn.com slash J-O-H-N, John, to post your job for free. Terms and conditions apply. Millions of Americans are getting back to work. CareerBuilder calls it the great rehire. And we want to help you get the best jobs before everyone else. CareerBuilder gives you the competitive edge to get the job you want, at the salary you want, with the benefits you want.

We even send job alerts, so your perfect job lands right in your inbox. Go to careerbuilder.com today or get left with whatever jobs are left. Find your next job fast at careerbuilder.com. Okay, let's get into the other big story, really, of the last couple weeks, and it's really kind of gained steam because Russell, I'm almost called him Russell Westbrook, Russell Wilson had a kind of an arbitrary date that he made that today, if the Seattle Seahawks did not extend his contract, that he would no longer negotiate with me. them. And I was thinking about this, actually last night, I was trying to watch Game of Thrones. I'm

to be honest, not a huge fan. It just doesn't really do it for me. So I was thinking and said about Russell Wilson. And I guess I've been in a couple negotiations. Clearly nothing like this much money. But usually in negotiations, one size has a little more leverage than the other. Now, when you're the quarterback, you have leverage in the sense that your number is going to be really high. But at the end of the day, you don't have that much leverage. This is not the NBA. Because if this was the NBA, we would talk about Russell Wilson, like Kevin Durant. Like, he's going to leave the Seahawks next year.

They have no choice. But they have this thing called the franchise tag. So a team is not going to get shoved around in a negotiation. I know Colin says this all the time, and it's true. The NFL is a management league. management does not get pushed around so you can set these random dates you are going to have a new contract by April 15th

or what will franchise you next year will franchise you again the following year now is there an elephant in the room and I'm a believer beside Brady and Rogers and Breeze but clearly those guys are going nowhere of anyone you know under their age

you know Rogers what 35 36 but anyone 31 or younger, the only guys who their team to me would not trade straight up for Russell Wilson, every other team probably would not hesitate trading their quarterback. That includes Deshawn Watson, Jimmy Garoppolo, Wence, like they're getting traded for Russell Wilson.

Would be luck and Mahomes. Everyone else, their team would trade their quarterback in a blink of an eye. Obviously, would take more than that. So it shows, like Russell is an all. All-time great quarterback. I'm a little biased because I've just watched them so much just in the NFC West against the... I think he's spectacular.

Now, clearly Seattle probably doesn't like him as much as me. Or maybe they just think, what the hell is my rush? Now, is it great business? Like the one issue I have with John Snyder, he's a great talent evaluator. Him and Pete have built a fantastic culture. The one season, they missed the playoffs. They went nine and seven. Boom, right back in the playoffs this year.

a lot of people thought they were the worst team in the league. They're good at what they do. They're not great businessmen. They screwed up everyone on defense's value. Earl Thomas just walked. You know, Richard Sherman, they had to cut. Cliff Averill's career just ended. Cam Chancellor just over.

Michael Bennett, they traded for nothing. They're not, there's a knock on them. Value isn't really their thing. They've made some aggressive trades that have backfired. Jimmy Graham, Percy Harvey. like that's probably their big red flag. They could use a Howie Roseman mind in their building. But when it comes to evaluating, I mean,

the reason Russell Wilson is on Seattle's team is because John Schneider talked Pete Carroll into it. I'm sure most people, if you're listening, probably know the story. Obviously Pete Carroll's a little more old school. He met him, he's like, God, this guy's a midget. Then the more they watched him play, and John Snyder kept pounding the table, pound on the table,

the rest's history. But I don't quite understand, Rust his agent is a baseball agent so they look you know they look at these NFL contracts like

pooey like you're going to guarantee me what I want fully guaranteed money and that was what they tried to do last time around and it didn't work

but the thing is man you just don't get to shove around NFL GMs they shove you around the Antonio Brown situation somewhat of an outlier

he was also saying things publicly that ruined his ability to put him back in the locker room even if they had wanted to. Like, he was just crushing the quarterback. Russell is not going to... Like, okay, if you told me that Russell is going to start saying some shit

about players on the team in Pete Carroll, then I'd go, okay, he's got some leverage. But we all know he's not going to do that. Is there a more image-conscious player in all of sports than Russell Wilson? In all of sports than Russell Wilson. I mean, he was on record, as he was waited until he was virgin.

until he married his first wife, then he dumped her, then he waited again with Ciara, who has a song about my goodies, also had a kid. A little unbelievable. I think that's why Richard Sherman thought he was a fraud.

I think there's some fraudulent elements to Russell, though I might be wrong and I might, you know, is it fair to me to judge? I don't necessarily judge him. I just think sometimes the way he talks at podium, he doesn't say anything, I can see driving guys like Richard Sherman nuts.

So I did understand that. But the one thing I always defended, Russell Wilson, toward LLB, that was always talking crap to him in practice was, hey guys, you need this dude. This is a quarterback league. You need this guy to play well. And when he plays well, you guys are unstoppable.

And then as time went on, he's a better player than all you guys now. But here's, I just don't. Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind. Highlights are trending, opinions are flying, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where Sports Slice comes in. I'm Timbo.

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

Sports slice brings you closer to the action with stories told by the people who live them. Listen to Sports Slice on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. For more, follow Timbo Slic Life 12 and the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hardway with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Kear Games. And in recognition of Mental Health Awareness Month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience in the mental health field and conversations with so many incredible guests. I'm talking, Tripp Fontaine, Ryan Clark.

Sometimes when we're in the pursuit of the thing, we get so wrapped up in the chase that we don't realize that we are in possession of the thing and we're still chasing it and we don't know when we've done enough because people scoreboard watch life becomes about wins and losses Steve Burns Dustin Ross because you find it important to be a good person while you hear on earth or are you a good person because you're afraid because that's two different intentions bro absolutely and that that's two different levels of trust I want you to just really be a good person join me Keer games is we have real conversations about healing growth Powerhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast, Learn the Hardway.

Open your free iHeartRadio app. Search Learn the Hardway and listen now. Jacob Kingston grew up in an isolated polygamous sect. We were God's chosen kingdom on earth. He felt destined for greatness. So when a swaggering Armenian businessman catapults Jacob into an extraordinary world, he doesn't look back. Ferraris and Lamborghinis, private jets, meeting the president of,

of Turkey. I'm Michelle McPhee, and this is one of the most shocking criminal conspiracies I've ever come across. When Jacob met Levin this plant to a billion dollar fraud. But with two kings from entirely different worlds, just how long can their empire survive? The largest tax investigation in American history. You need to tell me what you know. Is somebody coming after me? Jacob told Levan, you're ruining my life. Listen to Kingdom of Fraud on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Life throws hurdles big and small. The question is, how do you conquer them?

On Hurtle with Emily Abadi, we sit down with the most inspiring women in sports and wellness, professional athletes, coaches, and Olympic champions to talk about the challenges that shaped them and the mindset that keeps them going. From the WNBA standout, Kate Martin and rising hockey star Lela Edwards. If a boy can do it, I don't see what. girl can't. Like, I've never understood that. Like, it didn't make sense in my brain. It's hard to be in spaces that no one looks like you, but don't ever feel like you don't belong. Don't let that be the reason you don't do it. An Olympic champs Gabby Thomas and Katie

Ladeke. The ability to show a gold medal to someone and have their face light up and smile, that means the world to me. And that's what motivates me to win more gold medals. At our level, at this scale, like being able to fail in front of the entire world, like, I can do anything. I can do anything. Because resilience isn't just about winning. It's about showing up, even when it's hard. Listen to Hurtle with Emily Abadi on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Presented by Capital One, founding partner of IHart Women's Sports. I don't understand what is ultimately going to be accomplished by this random arbitrary day that if you're listening to this on Tuesday, it was yesterday or Wednesday, it was two days ago. Like, why can't we

negotiate over OTAs or just over the next couple months. What is the rush? I will pay you, clearly. Maybe they think they're not going to get paid. Maybe like Collins' theory that he wants to go to New York. But even if he wants to go to New York, one, you can't trade Russell Wilson without get, like, draft picks mean nothing. I need a quarterback.

You spend your entire career trying to land a franchise, not just a franchise quarterback. Derek Carr is a franchise quarterback. Jimmy Garoppel is a franchise quarterback. Russell Wilson. is a star quarterback, is a top three or four quarterback, is a superstar. Like, this is the whole point of your job, if you're a coach or you're a GM, or you own a franchise, is to get this guy, now you have him. So he's not going anywhere for the foreseeable future.

They could play this year out, then they could tag him, then they could tag him again, and hell, they could tag him a third time. So it's like, okay, Russ, you'll be 35 by then. Like, this is not the NBA. So I don't know quite what's going to be accomplished. I do think in this situation, you know, the saying there's smoke, there's fire, there's clearly some fire here. But John Snyder could just take a bucket of water and just, you know, put the fire out.

Now, maybe it starts again in a year, and then he'll take the bucket and put the fire out again. Then they'll take another bucket and put the fire out again. I just, I'm not sure there's any end in sight unless they want to trade them. And to me, if they want to trade them, then they're both going to get fired. and these are two of the best. I mean, Pete Carroll's the top five head coach in the NFL. I think most people around the league would tell you John Snyder's one of the best at what he does. So when you factor that in, how would they ever trade this guy?

How could they ever trade this guy and get equal value back? To me, even if you got eight first round, five first round draft picks, it's like 60% on the $0.60 on the dollar. Again, your whole job description is to find this player who gets you to the playoffs. improved last year with a roster of like five players that, you know, an NFL fan, not a casual fan. I'm a pretty diehard NFL guy. I don't know.

And I watched the NFC West very closely. But last year with their roster turnover, it was hard to name a bunch of players. Now, I could name more than five, but I don't know if I could name me a 20. I mean, a couple years ago, you could name every starter on the Seahawks. They had one of the more famous teams in the league. Now, I mean, legitimately, it'd be hard to name 10 Seahawks. He didn't just, they didn't just have a good year. He led them to the playoffs.

And I don't quite can wrap my head around why they wouldn't pay them. Now, his demands are a little crazy. Now, crazy is also anytime you try to be a trailblazer. He's trying to, you know, put his contract in relative to the salary cap, which I think has some merit, which I get. But again, regardless of how good he is, I just don't see the rush from Seattle Seahawk management. CareerBuilder is made for people who have that thing. You know, those superpowers that make you good at your job, the skills you bring to work.

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Visit aspiration.com slash zero for more information. You know, before we get in the Middlecoff mailbag, this, this Kyler Murray thing's getting a little weird. Now, I've been saying all along, it's clear they're probably going to happen. It's going to happen on draft day. Now, you know, the league wants to keep the suspense, makes sense. They don't want it just to be a lock a week and a half before the draft. Who's going to go number one? Because right now, we all kind of assume he's going to go one.

But as long as I saw Daniel Jeremiah saying on Pat to the. the draft. They're not going to have Kyla Murray and Josh Rosen. So if they're not trading Josh Rosen, they're going to either trade the pick or just take a player, which is kind of crazy. It doesn't seem inconceivable. Now, the elephant

in the room, and I know Peter King wrote a bunch about it, that he had heard from countless people that Gruden loves Kyler Murray, what would the Raiders be willing to give up for Kyler Murray? Would they trade, pick four, pick 24, and like the next year's pick?

Maybe. I don't think it's inconceivable. Everything's always on the table with John Gruden, but it's going to be fun. I mean, the draft isn't far away. This Kyler Murray thing, taking steam or slowing down, I'm not exactly sure how to quite pinpoint it or even verbalize it. I just don't know. I really just don't, which makes it fun. Okay, Middlecoff Mailbag, at John Middlecoff, my Instagram handle, easiest way to get hold of me, slide up in those DMs, I'll answer your questions. Jason Witten returning to the Dallas Cowboys, and I haven't heard anything on who will be his replacement on Monday Night Football.

Do you know of any leading candidates or former players that may take over? Also, Fox did hire Jay Cutler before he came out of retirement to play with the Dolphins. How do you think he would be as an announcer? He seemed like he was always so miserable while playing and not much of a personality. Yeah, I don't think he'd be an option. there have been reports that what's going to happen is it's just going to be Bougar. It's just going to be Tessitore and Bougar, which is going to be terrible.

Part of the problem, Jason Witten's problem was, is, I listen to him on a podcast with Rassillo, and he was loose, he was cool, he was confident. You know, when he was a player, he was confident. When he was in the booth, he just got tight. and some people, when the lights go on as a media guy, you know, I've never been in the situation on Monday football, but his personality, I don't think his true personality, really ever came out. That's why he kind of fumbled his words.

He never just felt confident. Now, in fairness to him, he had never done it. Anytime you do something for the first time, that's a pretty big, you know, stretch to go right from playing. In 2019 or 18 with social media and how intense it. everything is talked about. I was hard. It was basically impossible.

You know, maybe Romo did it, and he's really an outlier in this to be that good, that fast. It was really unique, but Romo's also a quarterback. So, Booker's going to do it. Booker spent most of his career in the SEC as an SEC analyst. I thought last year he just didn't have a great feel for the league. You know, I don't need crazy statistical, or excuse me, like X's nose breakdowns.

I like to know stuff about, players where they're from. Now granted, we know a lot about a lot of the main players, but I like backstories on guys, backstories on coaches. It's just stuff you have being around the NFL, and I don't think he had a great grasp of the NFL. And then Tessator, it's money of football. This isn't a whack game on a Thursday night. This isn't some mid-level college football game on a Saturday. Testator's clearly a talented announcer, but he's a little cheesy, not like Jim Nance, kind of an undertone cheesy, like an over-the-top cheesy, of just screaming. That's not needed.

It's like, Joe, this is Monday night football. Just let the game take a deep breath. It's okay. Listen to the latest Haberman Milkoff podcast. You guys talked about Russell Wilson's situation. Mentioned that April 15th is an arbitrary date, and it feels that way any juice to the idea that it could be Russell and this team tipping off the Giants on how to handle things just ahead of the draft. Now, that it's a fact that Russell will not be signing a long-term deal in Seattle.

I don't know if that's a fact next year, but right now, yeah. The Giants don't know if they're going to invest in Haskins or whichever quarterback they might want to play for or ramp up trade negotiations with Seattle with the 2019 picks in play. The Giants have shown with Eli that they're comfortable with paying the star quarterback big money, and they will try to build around him with whatever's left. Granted, there's potential for Seattle to franchise him for the next few years, which I talked about earlier in the pod. But with the state of the league these days,

it's easier than ever for players to pull the Kyrie move that you mentioned. Here's the thing, and I talked about it earlier on the podcast. You can pull the Kaii move, or the most extreme is Antonio Brown, but you kind of got to be public about it. And that is just kind of what I'm betting against Russell Wilson doing. I don't think that he'll go Scorch Earth campaign. And when I say Scores Earth campaign for Russell Wilson

would be just level, I want to be traded. Just that simple. I want to be traded. I don't think he has the stones to ruin his public image. Because even if the agent did it, he'd take all the shit for it. You know, it'd be clear that the agent's not doing that without his blessing. So I just, I can't see it. I really cannot see it.

As I said earlier, there's a management league. Seattle has all the leverage in this. Russell has a leverage in the sense that he's going to get a lot of money, but he doesn't control these negotiations of dates and times. It's this thing called the franchise tag. This is not the NBA. You're not Kevin Durant. You're not about to be a free agent.

Because if he was, he would get stupid money. If Russell Wilson was going to be a free agent, I'd be like, yeah, if I was the Giants, I would not draft a quarterback and I would operate like an NBA team, like the Knicks, and try to get Kevin Durant, I would do the same with Russell Wilson. I would have about $120 million and I'd be prepared to pay Russell Wilson. Enormous cash. Give him five-year deal. Hell, five-year deal, $150 million.

So 30 a year, fully guaranteed or something. You know, he would be a giant. That's not the way the league works. So I think he's just stuck. Okay, another question here. Now that Chris Hogan has signed with the Panthers and Gronk has retired, is it safe to say that the Patriots will use more about half of 12 picks in the top

101 on offense, wide receiver tied in. Well, they have the one first round pick and then they got two second round picks. I'd be shocked if two of those three picks aren't offensive skill guys. Now, they took a running back last year in the first round, so they're not going to need that.

When you look at wide receiver, they could easily take a wide receiver late in the first round. They could easily take a wide receiver with one of their two seconds. second round picks. Now the two second round picks aren't great. They have their own second round pick and they have the bear second round pick. So they're late second round picks. Now could they package those two second round picks move up in the second round and get a wide receiver? To me that seems likely, but they're going to need some offensive skill guys. Could they do one of these like package pick 32 and package one of their second to move up in the first and get a, you know, to move to like 20? What are they waiting on here? The hood. ain't getting any younger. So, yeah, I think they have to go offensive skill. John, I've always respected your ability to look at and call out opinions you've had where in

hindsight you struck out. Good characteristic. Appreciate that. Not always right. But as I've learned from Colin, you can't be afraid to be wrong. In line with that, how much of your process and how much of a scouts process is driven by looking back at your misses and I identifying why you miss on a particular player in evaluation. It seems to me that ego gets in the way of developing crucial information. What was it about a player that I missed on and how can I avoid making the mistake moving forward? Most of what I typically hear about in-draft process is forward-looking analysis, looking at this prospect and how he will develop.

Is this a fair assessment or the majority of scouts also going back in analyzing, acknowledging a bot's job to aid in the process, and moving forward. It's a pretty good question. In my experience, I wasn't around it long enough in college scouting to know. I would imagine if you've been doing it for 10, 15, 20 years, maybe every three or four years you look at players. To me, there'd be two different type players.

It'd be the guys you missed on because you thought weren't very good. Now, if you missed on a player going, you know, there's so many variables here. I don't want this player on our team because he's not a scheme fit. That's not saying he's not good enough. I don't want this player on the team because I don't think he's good enough. You go, well, and then that guy becomes a good player, that would be a guy you'd have to look back on. The ones that are difficult are the character ones.

You know, I don't like this guy's personality. I don't like this guy's, you know, he's got too much baggage. What if you're one of these guys? You're a scout. or you're a GM, and you have a zero tolerance policy when it comes to, like, domestic violence. You're like, I'm not messing with Tyree Kills of the world. I'm not messing with Joe Mixons of the world. Well, sometimes those guys are going to be really good players.

So I think you'd have to separate it in bunches. I think sometimes I noticed when I was in Philly some of our mistakes in free agency came with just some name recognition guys rather than probably truly evaluating, you know, maybe the bigger picture because they were older players. But I think they've really done a good job since I've left, and really since they booted Chip out of the room, of, you know, kind of getting over that. And I think the one thing that, you know, just in my experience, that Howie and Andy, they're not afraid to make big splashes. Like, they're going to be aggressive. And I think it's just like a business philosophy.

when you're going to be aggressive in anything, sometimes you're going to miss. Like they really wanted a second wide receiver last year. They overpaid Sammy Watkins. Well, they had the best offense in the league. You know, it was worth the overpay in the sense that Tyree Kill is still cheap. Mahomes is going to be cheap.

Kelsey's under contract. It kind of, it wasn't that big of a deal. You know, how he swung for the fences. He's done it before with, you know, obviously with Carson Wentz and they've done it with other players. I think that every individual player's its own entity and I know the question was about going back and self-evaluating I think the other element that's hard

from a scouting perspective is there's so much coaching turnover you know it's one of those like if I hire you to be a salesman and let's say you know I have a construction business and I need you to sell like pipes or something that's probably a bad example I need you to sell I have a friend who's married, his wife crushes it. She sells, like, data storage.

And you either can kind of sell or you can't. You know, the product is the product. Everyone needs this product, but you have multiple options. At the end of the year, you either sold, you know, $50 million with a product, $20 million with the product. I got a bottom line number. We're in football, if you're a younger player and you play sparingly, but you're doing well in practice,

but the coach doesn't like you. and the guy of playing above you is an all pro. You know, you're kind of immature, but your coach doesn't really feel you, but your front office really liked you. You know, how do you, in a couple years, and then you fire the position coach, you get another position coach in there,

and then the guy becomes a good player, but, you know, I just, I think it's difficult. I really don't have a right or wrong answer for you on this one. I think at the end of the day, it's just really, really complicated. and it's why, you know, in my experience, it's hard to do because the coaches have so much control. Now, sometimes the guy just wasn't talented enough.

Like Danny Watkins when I was in Philly. We drafted him, the Canadian dude. He was really good on college tape. But do you know what was his undoing is much more than his ability? He was like a 10-year-old human being. It was like he just couldn't, it was like, this is the NFL. He was like 15 years old mentally. That was the reason he had no.

No chance. None. It wasn't physical limitations. I don't know if he was ever going to be a great player. We should have been a starter. But mentally, he just, he wasn't there. It wasn't mature enough and was never going to be. My question is, what are the chances that the Seahawks and Giants and Cardinals do a three-way trade? I like where this is going.

Russell, Wilson, Josh Rosen, and the Giants' first round pick. I think it's really unlikely. One trade we talked about on my other podcast, Haberman-Mittalcalf podcast, was what about a three-way trade like this? The Raiders trade two first rounders and Derek Carr from 4 to 1 and they give the Cardinals 4, 27, and Derek.

The Cardinals get Kyler and then the Cardinals trade Rosen, let's say to the Giants. To me, that's more realistic than Russell Wilson. Because to me, there's no way to do a Russell. Let me see if I can figure out this trade. where do you got Russell Wilson going here? To the Cardinals?

They wouldn't trade. They would rather jump in the Pacific Ocean and put red meat all over them with blood everywhere, hoping a Great White Shark would attack them before they would trade. If I'm reading this question, to the Cardinals in the division. That would 1 million percent never happen. Again, might be screwing up the trade. Seahawks, Giants, and Cardinals.

Cardinals do a three-way trade for Russell Wilson, Josh Rosen, and the Giants' first-round pick. So I'm assuming that Russell goes to the Cardinals, Josh Rosen, goes to the Giants. I don't know. I'm even confused now. This is complicated. Hey, mate, I'm a listener from Australia. Is this the DMs for your mailback? That's the question.

Yes, it is. That's it. Those are my mailbag questions. These are my listeners. Appreciate everyone listening. You know, it's calm before the storm right now. I'm getting ready, you're getting ready. Let's do this.

The draft right around the corner, three and out podcast, tell your friends, subscribe, and then subscribe again. See you later. Peace. If you love to be remembered as the person who gives the best birthday gifts, I'm here to tell you that 1-800flowers.com is your ultimate birthday gifting destination. 1-800 flowers has thoughtful and artfully created options that are guaranteed to deliver the best birthday surprise. Shop thousands of unique gifts at 1800flowers.com for exclusive offers and great values. To order today, visit 1800flowers.com slash tune in.

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