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Kansas City, Miami thoughts. I want to go on about a ten minute start here on the Buffalo Bills lost to the Bengals, a game in which I never ever felt after the first drive Buffalo would win. When I watched Buffalo, Greg Cosell talks about this all the time. They just call plays. There's not a lot of rhythms to their offense. I like their first drive in the second half for Buffalo a lot. They mixed it up tight end, wide, receiver back. It felt like more than
just calling plays. Cincinnati always feels like it's a rhythm offense, and it feels like they have an offensive head coach. They get out of ruts very quickly. But you know, my first thought about Joe Burrow is he reminds me of a little bit of Joe Montana and a little bit of Tony Romo. He moves like Romo. But I can remember watching Joe Montana, and this was, you know, long before I know was a talk show host and
watching Joe Montana. Because I started in television. I didn't do this talk show thing until later in my career Joe Montana. One of my takeaways from him is I could never quite figure out why Joe Montana was so great. Wasn't that big, didn't have a great arm. I just thought he was sort of situationally and this is very rare. He was better in crisis than he was in week five. He was better on fourth or third and three than
he was on first and ten, just situationally excellent. Brady often had this, Michael Jordan had this, John Elway had this. But that's what I see with Burrow. He's almost a better quarterback in crisis. He's more laser focused, more intentional with his throws. You know, he'll sling one up occasionally, not a wasted throw, but an experimental up the sideline. You get him into third and four, fourth down situations.
He's just as good as they get. And he's got the Romo movement with the accuracy and the situational kind of excellence of a Joe Montana. And you know, he doesn't move like Lamar. He doesn't have the gun of Mahomes Herbert. He doesn't I don't think have the kind of the natural gifts at you know, fourteen years old, that Trevor Lawrence had and has, but Burrow just makes it look so easy all the time. Josh Allen's great, it doesn't look easy. There's effort he puts on the
Superman cape. He jumps over people, he's running past people, he's throwing it over people. It doesn't look easy for him. He's just excellent. But you know, and you know, with Buffalo, I just I don't. I feel like it's just they still I've given up hope on the Buffalo Bills developing a good run game. Defensive head coach, defensive head coach,
and offensive lines don't go that well together. You know, if you look at the bottom of the NFL offensive line group to a lot of defensive coaches, the tops a lot of offensive coaches. I've given up on them running the football. So it becomes a very Josh Allen Stefon Diggs reliant And if you look at the Buffalo schedule coming up, this thing's going to get uglier. After Thanksgiving at Philadelphia at Kansas City, Dallas Chargers, New England
at Miami. This was supposed to be the part of the schedule where they stacked up w's, but not like not like their super Bowl window closed because I don't even know if it was ever open with Mahomes in the AFC. Just kind of feel like at some point, I say this all the time about quarterbacks. If you find yourself always blaming the play calling, the coordinator or drop passes like they do with Kenny Pickett and Pittsburgh,
you don't have a great quarterback. I mean c J. Stroud right now has more career touchdown passes than Kenny Pickett. He's played eight games, eight or nine. C J. Stroud is it. He's a franchise guy. Kenny Pickett a little bit of a fraud. Like if you're blaming that's the New York Giants with Daniel Jones before he was hurt. Today it was always play calling. You're blaming the right tackle, drop passes. You don't have the right quarterback. I've said
this before. Justin Herbert put up record numbers with Anthony Lynn and the lowest rated offensive line in the league and put up rookie numbers. Well, you had Mike Williams and Keenan Allen when they were healthy. Mike Williams again out for the year when they were healthy. Either have a guy or you don't Joe Burrow got to a super Bowl with a bad offensive line. I just kind of look at Buffalo and Josh Allen and I and again,
that's how I feel with quarterbacks. But I also feel that way with coaches, Like, at some point with Sean McDermott, well, it's not just that the players are injured. It's not on Josh Allen, it's not on the coordinators. Who's running this circus. It's the coach again, Zach Taylor, we had questions about he got Brown to a super Bowl. You know, you know, we all know Andy Reid is a great coach. But you start looking around and the Bills have had
the best safety tandem for years. They have a star receiver, Alan's in is what sixth or seventh year, They've had a good pass rush, they have a home field advantage, They've got declining New England, the goofy Jets and Miami that doesn't play any defense in their division, and they're battling for their lives right now. So at some point with Sean McDermott, you're running this thing. I don't want
to hear excuses quarterbacks and coaches. I don't want to hear excuses Andy Reid was getting the NFC championships with quarterbacks. I didn't even like right, like, I don't want to hear it. I mean, it's taken Sean Payton about eight games, and then you watch Denver with all the issues he had to overcome. Russell Wilson's passer ratings in the one hundred. They're running the football and they just beat the Chiefs, and Sean Payton's been asked to change the culture, fix
the quarterback, you know, get the receivers to mature. I mean, he's been asked to do all these things, and then I watch him beat the Chiefs. Takes them about eight weeks. They got a run game, they got younger on defense. He's playing the young guys. Russell Wilson now is a complimentary quarterback. He figured it out. So I've given up in their run game with Sean McDermott. The offensive line is okay, it's still a Josh Allen reliant offense with no real rhythm, and the defense isn't as good as
it was several years ago. So that's kind of my takeaway. Buffalo a really talented team. I think they have the quarterback, but at some point you know, I don't want to hear excuses. I've just seen so many coaches. Look go what Demko Ryans is doing with Houston. That's a suboptimal owner, missing offensive lineman the first month of the season, rookie quarterback, rookie play caller, and Houston just figuring out how to
win games in the AFC. They're just figuring out how to win games, right Like, I don't want to hear it with Sean McDermott. The Bills right now, this second, the Buffalo Bills are ninth in the AFC. Come on, no more finger pointing. Buffalo is a smaller town like a Pittsburgh or a Green Bay. Owners tend to be
more loyal, the media is more supportive. But I mean, come on, there's just you go so many years and by the way, coaches, like quarterbacks can have ceilings, Sean McDermott, you know, Chuck Knox, a legendary Buffalo coach, went to the Seahawks later kind of had a ceiling, right Marty Schottenheimer felt like he could turn a football operation around, very conservative though ultimately had a ceiling. That's kind of Sean McDermott. I feel like as the sport is pivoted
to offense. He does a very good job organizationally to turn the Buffalo Bills around, But I think he's sort of I feel like this is it, Like he's not growing. He lost a great coordinator and dable Ken Dorsey's fine, but doesn't feel special. And I don't feel like the team's getting better. Not just players have ceilings, coaches do too. The Buffalo Bills at this very moment are one game better than the Raiders. Yeah, yeah, one game better than
the Raiders. And now for a segment we call making it look brought to you by Morgan and Morgan, America's largest injury law firm. This week, CJ. Stroud certainly made it look easy. The rookie quarterback for the Texans set a rookie quarterback record four hundred seventy yards passing in five touchdowns. He made a couple of absolute on it, spot on throws today. Just like CJ made it look easy, so does Morgan and Morgan. They make it so easy
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from time of activation of first service. Additional terms apply cancel anytime in plus Play Managed Dashboard Savings based on Netflix Premium and NFL Plus Premium monthly retail plan prices. All right, it's our customary thirty thirty five minute Sunday Night Monday morning podcast with John Middlecoff, former NFL Scout three and out podcast on the volume. Let's start with the Cowboys and Philadelphia I thought Dallas buy and large outplayed them, got a couple of officiating breaks that didn't
go their way. You know, they missed a touchdown by about the length of a football. I thought Philadelphia was super conservative on their last two or three drives. This is one of those rare What a great loss this was. You may get one of those every year. I thought Dallas outplayed him.
What say you, yeah, I'd have to agree.
I think the thing that hurts though, if you're Dallas and this goes back to early in the season losing that Arizona game. Now that two game, you got three losses, they got one. I thought coming into this game, Dallas had to prove that they could win a gritty game, because the way they win is they blow people out. And this game was right there for him to win. I mean, Dak for the most part was brilliant. I would say that's one of the better games he's played
years now that the sacks not totally his fault. I mean, he's under siege, but several sacks on the last two drives are killers. I mean they really are. Put you in third and twenty the last you know, you got to go for the end zone. And the last play. But overall, I'm with you. It's a good loss because Dallas showed a lot of toughness. They showed that their
quarterback could match you. But ultimately it's a numbers game and it almost I don't want to say the division's over, but I think it's going to be very, very difficult.
Now.
Dallas is just kind of headed back to that wild card spot again and having a you know, their trajectory in the playoffs are.
Just road games.
Yeah, And I think also, as you point out, this is the kind of game Dallas doesn't win, and it's the kind of game Philadelphia constantly wins. So Dallas comes out of this thing and feels pretty good. And you want to say to yourself, have you been watching Philadelphia with Jalen Hurts for two years? This is how they win any game. Line And by the way, I picked
Philly to cover and win. And my whole play was best third down team in the league, best fourth down team Situationally, they'll pick up enough first downs to win. And I didn't love their last couple of drives, but this really is their formula. They get a lead, they have such a great pass rush, they're excellent Situationally, you know, again, Dak doesn't step out of bounds, they get the two point conversion. But I think to your point, you know, Dak holding onto the ball just a step too long
is the difference. It is interesting this these playoffs. First of all, if you have to go back to Philly, they're great at home. Detroit great at home. Seattle if you have to face them, great at home. Not every team, right, not every team is really. I mean the Rams home and away doesn't really matter. Cincinnati is the same team Homer away. But when I watch the NFC, these are teams at home. Golf is a much better home quarterback than road. Philadelphia is special. So I thought this game
was crucial. I don't want to overstate it, but it felt big.
I think, you know, you talked about them getting conservative at the end. I mean, I think he's a little compromised the quarterback. Jalen Hurts. Yeah, so you can't run him around. Really, he's not really a great like slant, you know, quick passing game guy. He excels on those go routes, but on third and five to ice the game, those aren't ideal routes to run.
I mean even greg Olsen at the end of the games. I don't love that.
You know, on on third and long, you want to run that on first and second or down, But that's kind of their style. Now, Ultimately, what separates them is that pass rush. They have so many guys. They think how many guys impacted Dak Prescott those final two drives. It's not just Hassan Reddickdick, It's Brandon yeah, Jalen Carter. I mean, they just got guy after guy after guy, their secondaries flying around. Now the hard part of your Dallas,
I mean your two star offensive weapons. I thought Polard was flying around, Ceedee Lamb was dominant, the tight end was playing really good.
It's tough.
I mean, I like you said, it's not a bad loss by any means, just in a vacuum that individual game, but in the grand scheme of things, when you had a chance to win, and really, let's face it, the game was kind of one. They're leading at halftime, the Eagles come out, score back to back touchdowns and take complete control again, and then the Cowboys are on their heels and playing catch up the rest of the game.
One of the things that did drive me nuts on that final drive for Dallas is they really played Philadelphia for big chunks. But situationally, a delay of game an illegal motion. This is where Dallas struggles. It's just in the details. You can't have delay of games when you're down there, right, I know you don't have timeouts.
What are you delaying, let alone penalties.
Yeah, so again it's crisis management. That's where I think Philadelphia is really really good. And that's and that's strange because they have a young coordinator, a young head coach, a young quarterback. Dak and McCarthy and Shot and I have ever been around their sport combined forever, and Philadelphia has got all the kids, and yet they're so good situationally.
One thing we were talking about, I think it was after the Cowboys got destroyed by the Niners, is Dak Prescott's not moving around anymore and his game is not predicated on dominating the pocket. He clearly the last three or four weeks his mobility is back. He's become a good playmaker again. I mean, how many plays today did he make? Keeping plays alive, extending it with his legs, eyes up, and then throwing the ball down the field
countless times? If that's the version they're going to get out of deck beside the Eagles.
I mean they're gonna beat a lot of teams with that version of their quarterback.
Yeah, I think, you know it's I look at the NFC now and I think Philadelphia is the best team in the NFC. I'm not sure there is a second Seattle Gino Smith's never gonna host a trophy. Okay, So San Francisco, I think we're over dramatizing their struggles.
The next couple of weeks are big for them, though. I mean, they got they gotta come out firing again.
Yeah, but if they could kick field goals. They went in Cleveland and you're on a two game skid. Cincinnati's really good at the AFC. Early the first month, the NFC beat the AFC. Since then, Jaguars look good, Bengals look good. Chiefs figure out ways to win. All of a sudden, the Ravens are on fire. You know it, just what happens, John is Eventually the truth comes out. Sunny football can benefit offenses. They're really gifted teams. Almost
all to me outside of Philadelphia are all AFC. I do like San Francisco, I think they'll be back but you know, one of the reasons I like Philadelphia. I think they're built for November December football. I think their dames are going to look a lot like this where you're criticizing them a little here, you're criticizing you don't love their corners. But I think this, what we just watched is why they're going to get to the super Bowl again. Is that this is how they play. John
winning ugly is a talent, and they win ugly. I mean, God, the Commander's game was a mess. They win ugly. It's like their formula.
Well I got her today, he gets ripped down, who knows, he's ruled out immediately, maybe breaks his arm. But they'd be able to handle that pretty easily for a four or five week stretch without him, because they got aj Brown, they got Devonte Smith, they got multiple running backs. The one thing that would make you nervous, because I'm with you, the dB play a lot of teams in this league that are really good. Complaint about their corners. You know, if you have a good pass rush, you're going to
be in it to win it. The quarterback literally is just taking a lot of hits. He's pretty banged up.
He is.
I was thinking the irony of getting rid of Harden this week, who constantly weigs a white flag, and then having that guy in the same city who just you think for a second, you're like, got it. He just sprained his knee and he kind of shakes it off and he comes back. But he's not quite the same spry player that he was right twelve months ago. So his ceiling, I mean, part of the reason they were right in it to win the Super Bowl against Mahomes because he was brilliant this version.
He still throws a great.
Go ball, but movement wise, he's not quite as quick, and probably it's because his knee is banged up, and that to me is the only concern. The way he plays is pretty predicated on obviously throwing the ball, but movement and right now, movement wise, they're hesitant to call him runs and rightfully, so you don't want to get him hurt, but to reach their ceiling and to win the Super Bowl, which clearly they have a super Bowl
level team. To me, it's on his health. Can he be He's never going to be one hundred percent, but can he be ninety percent going into the playoffs, or is he more like seventy five percent going to the play.
Okay, so I do want to talk Kansas City Miami. I thought Kansas City made a complete statement in the first half, and then, like Philadelphia, you feel like they're kind of holding on. I will say this about Kansas City though, they have a clear hole and it's never going to be a strength. They're just not special wide receiver. Now their first drive, they gave you a little bit of everything. I do think this receiving group will get better. It's young, there's no number one. I'm not sure there's
a number two. But I'll tell you that first half defense against Miami that was one of the more impressive first halfs. I mean, Miami was just the speed this is without Bolton, the speed of Kansas City's defense. So I as I sat and watched that first half, I thought, oh, this is Baltimore, Kansas City, Cincinnati, that's the conference. And then in the second half they didn't already have a second third gear. What did you make of Kansas City. I came away and pressed because they flew in very
late for this thing. Totally sees control early. But they can't put people away this year. John, They're not putting people away.
Well, they're gonna struggle to score twenty five points. I mean they just are the underrated part about them because Mahomes Kelsey now, especially this Kelsey over the last month, and Andy Reid take up so much oxygen. They're kind of a defensive team. I mean, Hill and Waddle had one hundred yards one hundred and four yards total. Like, if you're holding those guys to around one hundred yards, you're gonna beat them. They're twenty one nothing in half. Like,
I'm sorry, the game's over. I thought there was a lot more pressure. Kansas City's now proven exactly who they are over a five year stretch. Like, I'm pretty confident when the dust settles, they're gonna be in the mix in the divisional round and more than likely the championship game in the AFC. This was kind of a proven game for Miami, right you lose to Philly in Buffalo. Granted,
now both on the road. You get a neutral site game, you fly out there on Monday and you're down twenty one nothing at half, twenty one nothing in half, and.
Like you said, this ain't the Chiefs first rodeo. Check out a little bit.
They're not explosive enough on off to just take off, but they make enough plays when they have to. Miami kind of gets a freak fumble there in the second half for Mahomes, right, But to me, this was the Chiefs established in the first half, like you're not on our level, just like Buffalo and Philly said that earlier. And listen, Miami's a fun story their coaches and needs to get to root for when they're rolling their fun team to watch. But I think it's pretty clear whatever
the upper echelant tier in the AFC is. Obviously, Baltimore's in it, Kansas City's in it. I think Cincinnati's in it. Buffalo they are not. You know, yeah, and that was we don't even need to argue that anymore. I think the only question now is could they win a playoff game. I wouldn't bet on them because it's going to be more likely a road playoff game. That's what they're going
to get back to back playoffs. Obviously the franchise is head in the right direction, but in terms of like AFC contenders, it is not the Miami Dolphins.
No.
I mean, and it's I've always liked to but I've never loved him, and I do think when you speed the game up, and he had a couple drops today. But to your point, if you look at the history of football, the great teams have always been able to grind. Even the Niners with Walsh Taylor, Joe Montana defense, those teams, those are great defense. And we never talked about that defense. And the reason we don't is because it's Joe Montana, Jimmy Johnson's Cowboys, real defense, Pro bowlers everywhere.
About some of the home grin Packer teams with Reggie White and you know, Leroy Butler and some of those guys.
Yeah, I mean one of the knocks on the Packers. You say, why not Farvan Rodgers win more? Well, they have when they have their best defenses in those quarterbacks careers. And so even Peyton Manning go back to the Peyton Manning team that won a Super Bowl in Indy that was one of the best defenses he ever had. So I just think Miami is fun. I've been saying this. The Dolphins are the city. It's a lot of fake Gucci loafers, and you know Rolex is that if you
shower turn green. They're fun. They're interesting, But as the season progresses, they're just not built for this. And it's funny. As much as I like Tyreek Hill and Jadall and Waddle, you probably are best served to give up Waddle eventually and just go get some more defensive help. That's my take on them, is that this coach, this quarterback, Tyreek Hill,
you're gonna score points in this sport. You've got to get better on your line play because that to me today with Kansas City it was like, oh, they they just can't block certain people.
Yeah, I mean offensive line when they were healthy was a good coming into the season. The good thing you have to feel if you have Miami is sometimes the hardest thing to get obviously is the quarterback, but also the coaching staff. Mike McDaniel was clearly a very innovative, young offensive coach, and Vic Fangio now has kind of proven to the spot like he's not gonna be head coach anymore. So you got him, keep paying him a premium. You got that in play. Just get more defensive pieces.
You have to be good at the line of scrimmage in this conference, because one, you got to rush the passer to beat the Joe Burrows, Lamar Jackson's Patrick Mahomes. And you have to be able to block. I mean, you watch the Ravens today, obviously, the Steelers. Now the Chiefs have you know, kind of you know, revitalize their defense. You have to be able to neutralize other teams fronts, all these Cleveland, all these teams now have.
Multiple pass rushers.
You know, every team has like one hundred million dollar guy and then like a guy probably making a fifty million dollar contract. So if you can't block, you look at Dallas down the stretch. They just they were relentless with all the pass rushers. And it's the forty nine ers.
What do they do.
They went and got Chase Young, they got another guy. So you just rushed the pass or rushed the pass to rushed the passer and you can get away sometimes with guys like me and you covering you know, offensive weapons in the secondary if you can, you know, impact the quarterback.
So I had said this when I watched Baltimore's first half against Tennessee and London a month ago, I said this, this is the best Lamar has been and this may be the best team in the league. And I've had them number one last several weeks and heard hierarchy Baltimore and Seattle before I get to Baltimore. One of the things that I've always sort of worried about with defensive coaches, they don't do well with o lines. They can't reboot them.
I mean, how many years is Pittsburgh Buffalo those defensive coaches going to get with that offensive line play. The second thing I worry about is sometimes they don't sense urgency with a quarterback Mike Tomlin Kenny Pickett. That's just not good enough in the AFC, It's just simply not good enough. What happens when you can't pay all these defensive players and you have to pay Kenny Pickett, You're
gonna have to pay both these receivers. Like, so, this is the time to win, and there's a true ceiling with Pittsburgh Seattle. Gino Smith, Drew Locke and Gino Smith are not it. I do think Seattle is unique in that they don't have a bunch of needs. Now after getting a corner and a receiver in the first round last year and they're both really good, they can go at the end of the first round and get a bow Nicks. They can go, Yeah, you know, Pennix won't
be available, so that worries me. But the thing about Baltimore, he's now Lamar Jackson seventeen and one against the NFC, So think about this. Their concern is the AFC if he got to a Super Bowl. If you've never faced Lamar, Detroit and Seattle teams absolutely discombobulated. You have nobody at practice to comp it with. And to me, the only way to beat Lamar is, oh, we've seen him four times. I remember talking to the Chargers people remember his rookie year.
The first time they faced him, they were lost. The second time they had a better sense of it. They're like, there's nobody like him in the league. And I I mean, I just watched today and I'm like, Seattle. I don't know why I talk myself out of that game because I love Baltimore, but I kind of feel like, if Baltimore gets to a Super Bowl, John, I'm taking them, and I'm taking them in a route because I don't think I think the Cincinnatis and Kansas City's that is the only way to beat him.
Well, if you think about it, Seattle in Detroit two of their last three games. Those teams, you know, Seattle probably win ten to eleven. Detroit's gonna win twelve thirteen. You're talking twenty four wins. You could argue both those games were over in the first quarter. The Detroit game definitely was this game early in the second quarter. This thing was over. So they, like you said, dismantled, embarrassed. Now they got them both at home, but still, I
mean their high end. Romo mentioned this on the broadcast, Lamar's playing at a really high level. The Za Flowers pick looks awesome. Their defense is playing really, really well, really well. So we just talked about it with Rogers and Farv. When you get now with Mahomes, when you get MVP level quarterback play and you have top flight defense. We've seen the forty nine ers make runs with like a quarterback who's hovering between like the fifteenth and sixteenth guy.
You give me a top five quarterback and a top five defense, like, you really have no excuse if you're playing well to not be in the Super Bowl. So if you're just doing the power rankings, given how they're playing right now, I think I don't know how you would argue that the rave No team is playing better than the Ravens as a complete football team. And the thing is Lamar to me, is just better than he's ever been, just in under complete control. It's not all
predicated on running. I was nervous when they brought in the offensive coordinator. They talk passing, passing, passing, and you're like, well, you don't want to take away what he does. Really well, they've like blended it perfectly.
The one problem is Greg Roman.
They couldn't pass and maybe it was the Za Flowers edition has really helped.
I mean, he's really fantastic.
Addition, he's he's a really young, awesome player, and that's a good pick. And they're good drafting teams, so you shouldn't shouldn't be surprised. You know, I can I touch on one day.
I I don't want to. What a awful day for the Patriot dynasty.
Belichick loses to a team that trades away as to their two best players. Josh McDaniel's bet offense looks like Kenny Stabler was back today. They get rid of him and obviously the story that Jay Glazer talked about, they couldn't stand the guy. And then on the other end, Brian day Ball, you know former Patriot guy gets destroyed in that game. I mean today, if it wasn't for Cassario and C. J. Stroud, the Patriot dynasty would basically
be completely dead. I think the one term that you heard with the Josh firing that I've heard forever in New England that people dealt with when you were winning, that when you're not, or even if you're just not making playoff runs, people like I'm out is the walking on eggshells.
And that worked historically in football.
And listen, even as society changes, you still get yelled at in football, but it is completely different than what happened in the seventies, eighties and nineties. Currently in the NFL, and think about Andy Reid, who's the best coach right now in the sport, He's never really been like that.
That's not his style. Hell, even think of Pete Carroll, who's kind of resurrected his team much more of a positive, optimistic guy. The Belichick guys in general, all they know is kind of negativity, walking on eggshells.
That doesn't really work with the coach. With the guys you're coaching now under thirty, just look at the way society work. That's not how people respond. But that's all they know. So Belichick right now, everyone's always on edge. Josh McDaniels had everyone on edge. That's you're not going to be productive. Whether you have the high end talent or whether you don't, you nowhere near gonna maximize loot. Look at college now, Jim Harbaugh lightened up a little bit.
They became offensively explosive. Nick Sabe and Kirby Smart much more pro offense just kind of it just makes you happier Belichick and Josh and Dab. But these guys are kind angry.
Matt Patricia Matt Stafford couldn't stand Matt Patria.
Loosen up guys, but they don't. And I think all these guys talk about I'm gonna be my own guy. I'm gonna be my own guy when you work for I don't care if you work for Steve Jobs or Jeff Bezos. If you spent all your time around whoever the most successful guy is in your industry for years upon years, how would you not emulate him and try to be like him even when you're thinking about being
yourself And it fails time and time again. Bill screwed because their team isn't very talented, and these other guys constantly fail because I think they just they tend to be negative like Bill, because they've seen it firsthand and they've seen it work. But I just don't think it works. I think you talked about last week.
Remove Brady. He is the dynasty. I think he could just.
Handle the negativity and everyone kind of loosened up below him in the locker room. But it doesn't work once you go to these other places, and now Bill like yelling at mac Jones, he goes into a shell.
Yes, no, I think there's a lot about that. Okay, before we go, I do want to talk about one college note. So I don't know if Washington can win a national champion ship, but what a showcase of game it was for the Huskies. I said, their defense is bad, but at least they're usually in the right place. USC fired Alex Grinch, their defensive coordinator, which I mean, if you watch the game, and if you've watched the last month, he stands alone by himself in the sidelines. They're in
the wrong place. And these are guys that have played Kaylon Bullock, who is that all American safety has regressed. One of The first things I look at is do players get better? USC's offensive guys do none of their defensive guys do none of them get better? So I don't know if USC will go out and spend a lot of money on the defensive coordinator. But how do you view this season and Lincoln Riley's sort of legacy.
I know it's early in his career to talk about that, but I always viewed him as potentially an NFL guy, and my takeaway now is he's not. He just has no McVeigh chest out Alpha loves defense, Shanahan loves physicality. Shanahan don't care about special teams, but he loves defense. Right Andy Reid spags Andy accept realizes what defense is. Lincoln doesn't even he didn't have a special teams coach. He's lobsided as a coach. What do you think his legacy right now is?
Well, I think and listen.
I it's easy to crush him right now, Like probably most people, when they hired him, it was a no brainer hire you had to do it.
But I think when you look back, the Big twelve.
Is not very good and no one plays defense, and he was able to take advantage of it. He ran into clearly the best year the Pac twelve has had in a long time. He's kind of getting worked right. He loses to Utah, he loses this game, He's going to be a huge underdog this upcoming week. You know, to Oregon. UCLA's leaking oil a little bit. But I think it's a disaster Colin. Simply put, I think it's one of the biggest underachievements given the quarterback playing offense.
Because when you're at a program like this, you have unlimited resources to hire the best and the brightest. You know, when you look at some of these other college coaches, they go to like the Baltimore raven to get their secondary coach and make him, you know, their defensive coordinator. Just hell, Chip Kelly's defensive coordinators, Anthony Lynn's sun who if you look at his resume, had been in the NFL for the last decade, came from the Ravens, And what is UCLA.
A lot better on defense.
So it's like, I don't know, if you tell me who Lincoln's next defensive coordinator, I would not be very confident that you're going to go.
That's a no brainer choice, right because you.
Look at the guys that his We talked about it last week when they were, you know, lose to Utah.
Where'd he find this guy?
Well, he was a Mike Leech guy, right, That's it's a connection thing. And he's not to me part of going to the NFL too. Think of some of the coaches that went to the NFL from college, most recently, Beside Harbaugh, who was an NFL guy, Urban Meyer never coached today. Didn't know what to do, and he was
completely over his head. Chip is a good example of a guy that had some success, but his problem is he didn't know any defensive coaches, so he couldn't hire very good defensive coordinators and that was always his downfall. And now Lincoln is kind of going through the in college and I go back to Pete Carroll era.
Pete Carroll's staff was really, really good.
It had a perfect blend of like young up and coming guys like the Sarks and the Lanes, and then the older Norm Chows, Ken Norton's, the recruiters, the NFL experience, the young offensive, innovative guys. And I just look, I go, I don't know. I mean, because when he took over at Oklahoma, it was Bob Stoop's brother.
He inherited.
They ultimately fired him for this guy, and it's just kind of unraveled and he brings them with him. I don't have much confidence that he's going to hire a guy that people are going to feel very, very good about, because I also think it's a culture in the way you practice. When you practice like he does with his
offensive style, you don't really create a tough physicality. That's always what people have said defensive coaches whenever you met him at these spread offensive schools, and specifically the air raid type schools. And I know he's not true air raid anymore. It's like hard to improve the toughness on a daily basis on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday in practice.
No, I mean it's I don't think it's a coincidence. Tomlin, Dan Campbell, Mike Rablink. The essence of their physicality, the essence of their personality, The way they structure practice is more physical. I mean every verbal team, every Tomlin team. I mean, even though they're an offensive team more than defense, Dan Campbell, it's a physical offense. They can run the ball, is think I think sometimes with Mike McDaniel and Lincoln Riley.
I think they're really clever offensively and really smart, and I think they structure their culture and their program and their practice like that, and it's really smart and clever. But do they build the toughness? Is that part of the personality? And I just I don't think it's a coincidence sometimes that the same kind of physical, kind of big physical men. Don't you think they structure practice differently.
Yeah, for sure, I'm not blaming Caleb because you gotta sign Caleb. You had to pay Caleb to get them. Every team in the country would have done that. But I do think when the way they've built it, it was also Caleb heavy that it almost sucked the oxygen out of everything else. And you watch it this year
and the last couple weeks haven't been his fault. The Notre Dame game, he wasn't very good, but it just feels like if he is not because even you go back to some of the heyday Pete Carroll teams or some of those good Harball teams or Chip Kelly teams, it was never all about Mariota or Lucke or Matt Lion or it was a they were more complete team and this thing just felt like a basketball team. It was like Kayleb Williams and then everyone else. And that is not the way you win in football.
It's just not.
And they've been clearly exploited. Even Washington is a good example. They're best players are quarterback, but they don't. He wasn't I would say otherworldly against USC. Running back came through defense, got some big stops. You watch Oregon, they're complete team. Look at what Nick Saban's doing. You talk to any NFL scout, They're like, this is the least talented team in like fifteen years.
All of a sudden, he's gonna be back in the SEC championship game, right, Yeah.
And I think Mike McDaniel and Lincoln Riley, I do think they're brilliant guys. Sure are regressing quickly as the season goes on. This sport always gets back to physicality and toughness and resilience and playing hurt and situational football and making stops. As much fun as it is to watch, Caleb or Tua or Tyreek Hill just got to be better and more physical situationally. And I mean they had a goal line stand USC did They must have had six safeties and corners on the field. It's like, guys,
it's like a two team too small. Great John Middlecoff, former NFL's gout great as always, Buddy, appreciate it.
Have good week on see the volume all right.
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