Colin Cowherd Podcast - Ohio State COOKS The Ducks, Texas Barely Escapes ASU, Can PSU Win It All? Saquon Sitting Out

edition Wednesday afternoon podcast. It'll range from will Chris Ballard survive with the Colts, brought Purdy's dismal showing against the Lions in the second half, Saquon Barkley resting that's at the end of it. Let's start with college football. So listen to Ohio State's leading thirty four to nothing at half, and John and I decided it's a good time to do the podcast, So listen to thirteen member committee selected,

you know, the teams to get in. And this is what bureau crats and you know, people who are political create, is that nobody thought SMU and Boise State they didn't look the part in the regular season. You know, they play in weaker conferences. But the thing that really outraged me was Oregon's first game against the winner of Ohio State Tennessee, which is a much tougher path than Penn

State gets against SMU and Boise State. So the failing of the committee and committees are created to innately fail. I mean, it's thirteen different people with thirteen different opinions. We know juries in this country have let the wrong people walk in my life. I just look at Oregon season and they were the best team on the field, and it's very hard to ask somebody to beat somebody for a second time. I picked Ohio State to win it. I didn't think it would look like this. But that's

not the inclusion of Boise State or SMU. This is what bothered me.

showed out decently. I thought, yeah, right, And so today a shoe who plays in a Power five conference, but we all look at Big twelve like, are they any good? Right? I think you could argue also Oregon, these teams, you're all tied in with the bulls, with this money, so many people with their hands in the cookie jar. How does Oregon not get a home game? How do these teams Texas? I mean, it's a pretty big advantage to play in these neutral site games. What's the point of playing all season?

and dies out, you never feel satisfied. College football now has a bigger, more dynamic ending to the season. But it does, and we knew this was coming. John. It's not that the regular season doesn't matter, but Ohio State not only lost a horrible game, they lost it late, and they looked like garbage against Michigan, and they still got in. Now, I don't have a problem with them getting in. I don't mind the regular season meaningless because I'm still going to watch the games. I watch the NFL.

I know that you can start off one and four and make the playoffs. I still watch the games. I think we put I think the narrative that it's going to kill college football. College football ratings this year were good. It's just what it means is if you're a good team with lots of blowouts, you can even lose a really ugly game late and.

of the biggest rivalries in college football. Tennessee is a big rivalry, but it never felt any different than when they played Ole Miss than when they played LSU. He was BELICHICKI in that way, every opponent meant a lot. At Ohio State, it just doesn't. I mean even Ryan Day said like this can never happen again. That was three days before they lost, you know, so the emphasis that has been put on that game, and I think

Harbaugh helped take it to another level. And then Ryan Day starting to lose, and I just think that game feels like five games in one and then the way they lost, and in fairness, you watch Michigan twenty four hours ago against Alabama. Now, I understand Alabama had some opt outs. They look pretty good, They're coming to play. They have a defensive coordinator that makes two and a half million dollars that was just coaching at Baltimore a couple of years ago and was viewed as one of

the best defensive minds in football. So it's like, that's a real, real defense, and I just think, you look at that game, it was hard not to overreact. Yeah, but it might have just been as simple as the coaching staff, specifically Ryan, the players they got a little tight because the way they've looked now, it's like a looseness. We have been talking about their roster and the talent on their team. Like, to me, the difference of them in Texas Texas man for man is low is as

well their quarterback. I'm sorry, I just don't trust on a play and play. Yeah, Will Howard's playing pretty well right now. Yeah, but the Will Howard we have seen in the first playoff game and the second playoff game is gonna look like this. They're just not gonna lose, right, And they have a wide receiver, an eighteen year old kid. It looks like you weighs two hundred and thirty pounds. That is unstoppable. Listen, Like Oregon's not trying to cover him, they just can't.

I'm not kidding when I say this. I was told by an NFL general manager that Caleb Downs will be the number one pick next year. He said, I don't care who in proofs he goes outside of a star quarterback, and we may have one. If Drew Allert Penn State flourishes, he may come out this year, next year, whatever. But Jeremiah Smith and Caleb Downs, and they're not eligible for the draft. Those guys are not college players. They're pros playing on Saturday. Like So, my takeaway is Ohio State

has two players, one on both sides. They're just not college players. I felt this about Jamar Chase at LSU. It's like, Okay, that's not a college player. It's a pro playing on Saturdays. If he was a basketball player, he'd be in the NBA.

I understand that. Said, I don't believe it can work because of the wear and tear. Same you know same. But like you say, those other two guys like just have defined roles. It's very defined because I my thing with Travis Hunter is if you're my best corner, my best wide receiver, If you get injured, I lose two players. You know were those other guys you also get rest?

So I yeah, I hear you, Jeremiah Smith thing, I don't remember seeing a wide receiver this dominant this early, where his body type was that physically developed.

just on second opportunities. He weighs. He weighed forty five pounds more than other forwards and was stronger than all of them.

of your talent. But I don't think we're overreacting to say that the last two games, Ohio State's hitting harder, they're more explosive. They don't look these these games. They're intimidating Oregon. They intimidated Tennessee. They look like Tyson at twenty one years old, like other big men fear him in the ring. Ohio State looks. I think Oregon like surrendered about eight minutes in. It was like it was over.

Ohio State, their foot never came off the pedal. I do wonder if after because they tried to get into a heavyweight fight with Michigan instead of just slinging the rock around where Michigan wouldn't slow them down, and they lost in a bit them and I think everyone called out their manhood and their toughness, like you think you're

a tough program. We've seen you against this Harbaugh level operation, and I would say Michigan still has that soul in them the way they play, and you're not as tough as them, and they go, we are a tough team. We've paid a premium for all these guys. I mean, you see the physicality and the speed in which they have and it's almost like they got to reset and take it personal because they've come out with a violence that you just haven't seen in college football.

to beat because they can score points. If their defense is gonna look like this, I mean, good good luck. Because Georgia doesn't have that explosion. Obviously, Notre Dame doesn't have that explosion. Texas, you just can't trust. Their offense just goes through terrible spurts. Penn State. I think it's probably the one team would be comfortable because they've seen them,

they know their personnel wouldn't be intimidated by them. But that's they still got a You know, we got a long way to go before we get that matchup.

you can't lead with a helmet. It was helmet on helmet. Yeah, I felt like officials thought, you know what, it wasn't necessarily the crown of the helmet. It was more helmet on helmet. And there are helmet on helmet hits a lot in college football and pro football that aren't called. But I thought the officials, I think in the first quarter that's more of a targeting. I think in the third quarter it's targeting. I thought in that moment, refs were like, it's almost like NBA refs in a playoff game,

Game seven, they're gonna give you more contact. They do not want. The NBA Finals decided the free throw.

honestly they didn't. But I think the moment they didn't call that, and you could say, well he turned last yek, he still took him out. His head flew back. They called that. I watched college football for three straight months. That's called every single every time, which I hate. I hate targeting because I hate the rule. In general. College football is way more punitive than the NFL because they kicked these kids out for a game and then they

missed the half of the next game. Most of these guys aren't ed reed, they're not going to the NFL, so they only get to start a couple of years in college. I think we have moved past this point of five ten years ago. The CTE, the lawsuits, It has been coached out of the game. No one is trying to injure anybody. And I think all this stuff, it's the game has played so quickly. We saw it a couple weeks ago when Trevor Lawrence slid and the dude from the Houston Texans al Shire took him out.

No one's trying to hurt anybody these things. It's so easy to judge everything from your couch. This has been coached out of the game, actively coached out of the game, from the lowest levels up through the NFL. I think we need to get rid of it, honestly. Yeah, in general,

I hate even having these debates. It should just be like forever it wasn't called and then they overreacted because the CTE lawsuits and now the level of hard hits to me are so few and far between, and even when they happen, it's more just because you have two athletes running at rapid speed and that play when yours was picked and that kid ran into him, like what was he supposed to do? Float away? And even on the Texas kid, the balls tipped like he's not trying

to hurt him, he's just trying to tackle him. He's trying to make a play. You and I, I just think we need to get rid of that rule in general. I freaking hate it.

preseason in early September, and then they'll scale back. In college. You know you don't before this year, you kick a great player out of a big game, you lose the game, you're done, you can't play for a Natty. So you and I both agree, is I thought it was targeting.

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he's gonna end up getting drafted. As you've talked about, this is the best running back draft in a long time. Jesus, I mean, good God, the Penn State has that Singleton kid. He didn't get talked about instead of Ashton Genty. If Singleton goes to the right team with a better offensive line, he could end up being the better running back in the NFL. So there's just running backs everywhere. But I mean, I like Sam Levitt a lot. He's a very young quarterback. He will be a pro six two and a half

to ten dual threat mobile. You know. Again, you can see him and think, oh, that's what a pro is going to look like in two years. I think he's like twenty years old in two years, and so the quarterback's good. But to have that kind of dominance thirty seven to twenty two minute time of advantage when Texas has I bet you at least sixteen fourteen to sixteen five star guys and forty four star guys. To me, I thought if I was Sart coming out of that game,

I'd be a little embarrassed. I thought it was a coaching mismatch.

toughness to him. The quarterback was really fantastic. I mean he had to pull plays out of his you know what, just to give them an opportunity. Yeah, and that running back, I mean, I thought, listen to hype on him. This kind of easy for everyone to latch onto this white guy running guys over. He might have had the flu or something today because he was clearly sucking some win

and thrown up. He single handedly gives them an edge and obviously the double pass, but he was freaking fantastic and frank against those guys.

States always been one of those programs. We think it's a little bit of a sleeping giant, like why aren't they better? And I think they found they're Chris Peterson. I think they found a brilliant coach. But the Texas thing and I wrote this down and listen, Sark Saban loved him. Washington had a good ad that loved him. USC hired him. Texas is ad. Chris Decante is maybe the smartest ad in the country. Smart people higher sark okay, John like three schools with big football brands have hired him.

NFL teams liked him, Saban loved him. We know he's a good coach, but one of the things, and we know he can plays. I mean they have. I thought today they had a couple of different crisis situations where they had good scheme plays. But I will say his teams feel loose. So it's easy from a couch from somebody to say he's overrated. But if Saban thinks you're

a good coach, and he won. He won an Assistant of the Year in college under Saban, and he's had three different programs hire him, and again he may end up in the national you know, I mean this, this guy is in the right spot, right he's in the playoff. How do you define him? My knock on him is that his teams always look loose, like they're just not buttoned up, which is interesting because he coached under Saban,

who's the opposite. That's my take, and I don't know, I don't know what his comp is, but I just feel like too many times on the passing game, it's a jump ball, like he doesn't have defined reads. Too often it's just like, let's just get better players and throw a ball at the sideline. Is that yours are sark?

He's twenty to thirty three, twenty two. To me, he's a liability, and I just I mean it for the talent that they have, because the one knock you've had on sark, if you've just watched them coach over the year's like a kind of a soft operation, a little like Lincoln Riley, Well, he pivoted pretty well, use that check book. Their defense is not soft. I mean look today. I mean the way they got back into the game was a freak double pass where the guy's covered and

he comes back. Scottaboo underthrows him. You know, I I the kicker missed a couple kicks. I mean it hadn't he been nails all season long? Yeah, so it's a little freakish the way they came back. I mean that game was one for the ages with the stuff. I think you look at quinn Ewers, who again, if you just look at the box score, doesn't look that terrible. This a national championship roster without a National championship quarterback. I actually think Sark has grown a lot. I think

he tries to call plays around this player. Sometimes. I think he gets into situations where he doesn't trust him. You know, that's the thing with Dilley Ham Like they have full trust in that court doesn't have a choice, you know. I think sometimes you just like, hey, we

could just run some bubble screens. Our athletes are better than your athletes, right and sometimes for whatever reason, how this team fifty three yards rushing fifty three yards rushing as ansu like you would think with the amount of talent they have on their offensive line and the talent they have it running back. If you would have said what do they rush for coming into this ASU game, I would have said easily one hundred and forty yards

and they just had it wasn't working. They just abandoned it and Asu selling out, like make Quinn, you weers beat us, which ironically kind of did in the overtime because you didn't cover anyone in the end zone. But for most part, the reason they got back into it the interception. How many times this year have Texas been in a position where they can really put the nail on the coffin and Quinn you were, turns the ball over, or they're down in a game against George they're coming

back and he turns the ball over. There is just an element of I mean, if he was an NFL player, he would be highly highly criticized, and I would imagine the Texas reddit community, in the football community. He's a pretty polarizing guy, and everyone's like, we're going to arch banding next year. Know if fans or budts about it. If I was a Texas fan, I'd be like, well,

why is he just playing right now? Because if he's as good as everyone says he's going to be and he's a manning, I mean, who the only team that I've seen that could even remotely play with us would be Ohio State. We can't beat Ohio State with this player. That's what I would be thinking. And there's a loyalty and listen, I think this is where coaches sometimes are different than personnel people, definitely different fans. They're very loyal to a guy. Clearly, him and Quinn have a long

standing relationship. Now he's roaded with them this long. They've had a lot of success. Right last year they were in the playoffs. This year they're now in the Final four. But man, I think you have this great I mean, they're defense. How many of those guys look like NFL players and they have freshmen that look like they're gonna be top ten picks. And what are they going to be against Ohio State? Would you guess a six point underdog?

they their standard and the way they're playing. I mean, if they had some of these quarterbacks that we've seen in college football over the years, the guys Bama has had, the Joe Burrows, the Trevor Lawrence's, I mean, I think this we'd be looking at Texas, Ohio State like equals. But when you have a quarterback who's just not I mean that picky through was just terrible. And even who's Jesse Palmer's, like, you can't put that much air under

the ball. And ASU's DB's are not. You know, Deon Sanders ned Reid back there, you just make he does it all the time. His interceptions are really really bad. Guy.

so it's really interesting. So first of all, Carter is a top five player. He got banged up. Great player Nick Singleton, who was like a Gatorade player the year in high school. He's going to be a stud Pro running back Drew Aller is fascinating, big guy, big arm. There are stories out there that NFL scouts think he may still go pro, and many say he would go

number one simply on arm, strength and size. Can I look at Penn State and I have great respect for the program, but they remind me a little bit of a poor man's Ohio State. They're just never quite they don't have quite as many NFL guys, They're just not quite as good. People criticize James Franklin, but the guy wonted Vandy, so he's fine. He's a great recruiter. Can Penn State win the Natty?

the quarterbacks playing great? Is to you just trust James Franklin. I think the one thing we saw with ASU and Boise there's a gritty dis in, a toughness that just even Ohio State. Ohio State's showing it now, but they go for a long period of time without it because

they don't need it. Yeah, Boise State for twenty five years is built on that, and I think Kenny Dillinghan has brought that to Arizona State, and that's why they can go toe to toe with a team where they don't have one guy that would start for the other team. I mean, that's that's truly if you remove Genty, which I mean gent would technically start for Penn State, but they would rotate the other guys in.

He always has the center of gravity and he always has sort of leverage on you hips down and so it's like Penn State guys held him to three and a half yards to carry, but he broke so many arm tackles and I so it's like I look at him as a first round running back in a week draft. I don't look at him as an NFL superstar. I don't think he has the juice of Saquon I don't think he has the strength or speed of Adrian Peterson. I don't think he's his talent that is McCaffrey, who's

also small. I think part of the package with him is you just can't get under him and his size is and I think in the NFL he'll have success, but I don't know as I watch him. My take is he'll need the right fit in the NFL to be a star. But he is a starter.

supply demand. It's always why a lot of people why did Jim Harbaugh take the tackle at five and then take lad McConkey in the second round. Because there's a ton of wide receivers in every draft, So I'm gonna get a guy that starts in the second round. We see it every year with wide receivers. Like, you know, would you take a wide receiver in the top ten? Well, if I'm drafting after you, I hope you do, so I can take another position. I can take a wide

receiver later. So I mean every game I watch Henderson for Ohio State, he's an NFL player. All these teams have NFL players and running back. So why would I take a running back in the first round? If I think I get ninety five percent or ninety percent of that guy? Maybe in a third round. Yeah, if I get Skataboo, Skataboo's gonna run like a four to seven to five. What if I can get the guy in the third run. You don't think Jim Harbaugh's gonna like skataboo.

Does that guy have charger written all over?

player would go much higher. It is difficult to pull the trigger on a guy in the teams or the low twenties that is five to eight, no matter how dominant he is, you know, and again, I think the teams are gonna hesitate. They're gonna really like that. I haven't texted a scout that doesn't love the player. But that hight thing is just something with gms and coaches. That is just That's where Drew Aller right now today.

You know, I know Drew Aller is committed to go back to school, right, which is worth millions of dollars. I'm sure I would say a month ago he was not viewed as a lock first round pick. I don't see how he would not go in the first round today. I don't know what pick he would be a first rounder, right, no question, no question. So now we start going, well, we know quarterback inflation, they go higher. People are gonna

nitpick these other two quarterbacks. I mean, he's bigger, he's stronger, and now he's playing really well under the brightest lights. He wins another game. He's playing with all these other guys, Abduell Carter. If he's healthy, he's going in the top five or six picks. How much has Warren helped his draft stock the second half of this year. I mean, that guy's gonna be it's not a great draft. You're telling me he can't go in the top ten or twelve pick.

Number one, Saquon Barkley. They're not going to play him in the final game. So I've said this before, John, I'm not an awards guy. I just don't care. I mean, I just do not care. I don't know how many Pro Bowls and All Pros Tom Brady had. I know his Super Bowls, So I don't care. I don't think most athletes care. If my athletes care too much about Pro Bowls unless they have bonuses I'm worried about him. I would not play Saquon. I didn't like them feeding

him the ball thirty one times. The only position left in football, college or pro that you can hit anybody, anywhere, anytime is a running back coming through the line. If you hit and nobody's gonna throw a targeting foul. If a running back squeezes through and you go helmet to helmet from the side. So to me, it's the last position in football that's a little bit of a piniata,

and you have to consider that when they play. I remember years ago Leonard Fournett and McCaffrey bowed out of bowl games, and I said, quarterback bothered me, star receiver. I'd wonder if he's soft running back in the Liberty.

he's gonna play either. So right off the bat, my star quarterback and the running element with him and Saquan is a huge, you know, addition to our success, and my two star offensive linemen are out and I'm going to play my running back in week in a game that up until how long have we been playing? This last game for an extra three years, didn't even exist.

So we already won. We stole them from the Giants for not much money, and no one will ever forget when we probably got everyone and the Giants fired and he ran for two thousand yards. You know, football is not really a record sport. What's the most record for yards? No one could tell me the exact yards. No one cares. But if you run for two thousand yards like that's a historic moment. They already got the record, even if

it doesn't actually count. It happened stolen from the Giants, He ran from two It was one of the great wins of all time. Howie the Eagles Sirianni Saquon, this was a home run. Can you imagine if you were going for this record, which is not apples to apples because they did not play the same amount of games, we can argue should we care not? It is kind of a big deal. If you didn't. It was a gent Barry Sanders thing. It was like, well, he played

way more games than Barry Sanders. But if Saquon Barkley broke his ankle in a game, that literally means nothing. Even if other guys were pulled can how would the only thing that matters, The only thing that mattered from the start of the season for the Eagles was January. We all knew that they were going to get there, and then it actually they got way hotter than we thought,

and it's like, God, they're incredible. But if he got injured in this moment, or let's say Lane Johnson got injured in the game trying to get him the record is, there's too much on the line. This team has been building this thing for three or four years to get this good that they won Colin like they the Giants lost. They won.

people were saying running backs have no future. You know, the winner in an eighteen game schedule, dual John is running backs. I think every team will carry another running back. You won't carry another you won't carry another Mike linebacker. I think every team now will say probably need another running back on the roster, and I do think with

eighteen games, roster expansion will happen. And I'm gonna want an extra I mean, let's be honest, I'm gonna want an extra running back, probably an extra offensive lineman, and maybe an extra linebacker because of the hits they you know, they incur. But running backs are doing quite fine. The league is obviously pivoted to more of a running league with many of the best teams, so I know everybody was freaking out about that, But running backs are back.

of these coaches make a double triple that. Yeah, you know so and how he's got a lot of juice. But listen, you pay me twenty million dollars a year. You know, gms don't usually get leverage like coaches that often to really put the hammer down and get paid. So listen, this could be a little bit of a leverage play by Howie who's you know him? And tann Obomber closer. Just if I was the Jets, I'd take a hail Mary on a guy like Howie to you know,

he's from Brooklyn, that's where he grew up. I was like, yeah, I think if you're Woody Johnson that you could do way worse than that.

he's and I just think there aren't many people like that. So, you know, I mean, great endures, great separates, and I don't care if it's if you're you know, a firm in New York on Wall Street, if you have a great stockbroker, you can get me three good ones. They don't equal one great one. So to me, Howie Roseman, if he broke the bank, would deserve it. Okay, let's

go two more topics. Brock Pretty. So you're obviously an NFL scout, and whenever you know, I tend to let you lead on that stuff because it's what you do and know much more about it. I've never been a huge Pretty fan. I have kind of a base belief that if the great quarterbacks are not if quarterbacks Joe Burrow's great battle line, shitty defense coach can't figure the clock out. He wins, and he produces. You're not always going to win if you don't have good people around you,

but you'll be wildly productive. Burrow's a great example of that. Even Herbert finally has a good coach, but he was breaking rookie records as a rookie with a bad coach in the thirty second ranked offensive line. Purty to me, has always been an if quarterback, if the protection's good, if he's got a lead, he's now. I think we have to acknowledge he is not a good fourth quarter quarterback. He's not a good quarterback trailing now. That's not six

games or eight. It's a pretty big sample now. And I do think the separator in this league beyond some traits size movement, hand size, arm, but beyond some of that is how do you play from behind? Some guys have hit, some don't. I could not pay pretty early. I could not pay him a number at five. But he's going to have leverage because Trey Lance didn't work.

If the Vikings franchise, darnold, what do you do Aaron Rodgers Kirk Cousins as somebody who has done this for a living, as somebody who was a fan of Purty and has peeled back a little bit. If you ran the Niners, what you do do you draft Riley Leonard in the third round and just I mean, what do you do?

His elbow nerve issue, Like, I don't think that he has a nerve issue with his hand, just randomly with the UCL thing a couple of years ago. Now luckily he didn't tear his UCL, but he's already had Tommy John and then he has I would say a relatively I don't want to say innocuous, might be a little light, but he was not throttled. They kind of he tackled him as he was rolling. It wasn't just he didn't just get molly wop sitting there in the pocket and he couldn't grip it, and he said his arm was

on fire. Right, So you're telling me your arm's on fire, you can't grip it when you've already had an elbow issue. That would gravely concerned me, Collin. So the play had already really disturbed me. The second half performance this year had not been good, specifically these last three games. They were six and seven. In that Rams game, they win it. Boom, they're playing Miami, they're playing this game, they have a

chance to make the playoffs. And he throws five interceptions or four interceptions, two picks that lose the Miami game and the Rams game, and then the two interceptions in this last game. So the game's kind of unraveled on his watch. The other thing is over the middle of the field sometimes when the pockets a little muddied, I don't think he can see that well. And sometimes I think balls balloon on him and he gets lucky. Sometimes.

Kittle's tall and can make some miraculous catches, but some of his picks happen when Deebo, little shorter guy not able to you know, overcorrect in the air and balls fly and his picks feel like he did throw the one to Juwan out outside a lot of them in the middle of the field. It goes back to last year, and I do think that's an eye issue. Can't see. If you can't see, you let it go and you're like,

oh shit, But he doesn't know that. When there are guys in front of him in this notion, everyone's like, well, he's having a great game. Well the ram or excuse me, the Lions defense was a practice squad unit beside two or three players, that's right, and he was a viscerating him, which is he's a good player, I hope, so everyone's been a viscerating them. But then the picks happened in the fourth quarter. It's like that can't that just can't.

I've told you before, he's got to hang his hat on decision making because the skill set is not going to be outrageously special.

there's a cultural shift happening with quarterbacks. If you go back to the twenty eighteen draft class, now that's the one I think with Darnold, Baker, Lamar, Josh, Josh, Okay So and Rool four guys who are STAPs so. And that's not the only draft class that that's happened in. We also had the Herbert Tua Burrow draft class. I think Jalen Hurts was second round in that draft class, and may be wrong, but I think he was. We

now have you and I growing up. They always talked about that one great draft class, Oh Marino in lway since twenty eighteen, now we have multiple quarterback draft classes. We're four guys hit four okay, like it's now a regular occurrence. This is a week draft class. Last year's we may have the best draft class ever last year. Jaden's unbelievable, Bonix is good, Pennix looks good in brief duty, Caleb's a sensational talent, Drake may will be good when

he gets players, and JJ McCarthy look unbelievable. In the preseason, we may have a five for five. So you go back to the Donald Baker, Lamar Josh class, you go to the Herbert Tua Jalen Hurtsborough class. You go to this last class. This is a week class. But now we have three draft classes. You get four high end starters or more. And my take is next year, if you really do your homework, I think Riley Leonard is going to be the late mid round guy that pops

this year. Maybe I'm wrong, but somebody I think will pop third fourth round. I think it's Notre Dame's quarterback. Next year is supposed to be a much better quarterback, especially if Drew Aller comes out next year. Is what

about this? You just roll the dice and say, we're not signing Donald do a huge deal, Aaron doesn't interest us, Cousins isn't playing well, we're not signing Perny, and you just roll the dice and say we're gonna have We think it's going to be another four quarterback draft class. I know that you don't like to do that, but Pep, you know as scouts you're two years ahead of where I'm at. I think culturally We're just getting these four quarterback classes on a regular basis, why not roll the dice?

it out. You're making millions off the field. You benefit from being the starting quarterback of the forty nine ers if you're a great player and you're a fifty million dollar player. I just thowt their schedule came out there playing a last play schedule that forty nine ers should dominate. The other thing was what make Kyle shan Hansel special One with Jimmy Garoppolo, one with Brock Perty. Should he be able to find some other guy to win with? Right?

I mean it's like, if you're not gonna get a Patrick Mahomes or Josh Allen, you should just be able to with any kind of quarterback and a pretty decent clip. Your team's pretty good. So I'm with you, I would personally just roll it out another year. But it feels

like these teams. When you talk to some of these contract negotiators now, they say it has turned into a little bit more, you know, the players, because the money's so big now that they're so hesitant to like, fuck you, I'm not gonna show up, which we've always seen some holdouts. They are a lot more prevalent now because even a random player is getting sixty seventy million dollars guaranteed. And you know, these quarterbacks that minimum are getting one hundred

and fifty million dollars guaranteed. But I would play hardball, especially if he's injured. It's the conversation's made already. It's like, yeah, we can't sign an injured player, or there's question marks about the injury. So I've said forever the forty nine ers, I have a hard bargain. I'd be stunned if this thing is easy. And I think everything's on the table

right now. I think, Kyle, you know, I think they were so desperate for the Trey Lance thing and it blew up in their face, and I think that's kind of a one off. That twenty twenty draft with COVID. That's we're not gonna see anything like that again. And I think he feels comfortable with this. But I think he's not an idiot like he kind of You saw his face when perty through one of those picks and he puts the thing over because he know Monday night football.

He doesn't want to go viral of him just going nuts. Who knows what he was saying, but he did that specifically to cover his mouth because he was like, we can't, how can you throw that ball? He was hanging his hat on it up here like he was gonna be like a Drew Brees with a little more mobility Drew Brees. This separating factor was decision making right. Some of these other guys can get away with some dumb throws because

they also make ten incredible throws. Purty has to not turn the ball over and four turnovers in the last three games with their season on the line. In winnable games, it'd be one thing if you're down twenty or up twenty like these are Ty game, you're playing the best and the one thing I do respect and why I think the NFL is just crushing Lions had nothing to play for, whether they lost that game. Minnesota game meant

the same thing. The forty nine Ers are dead and going season's over, and you had all these star players playing that game like it's means everything to them, and it was just like, I just I just enjoy the level of spirit and energy that the star players in this league give us on a weekly basis. I mean, the Lions have one of the biggest games in the franchise's history coming up in six games, they have to fly five hours home in the middle of the night.

They're at a huge disadvantage, and they're guys laid it on the line like that was a playoff game. I mean, that's if anyone wonders why the NFL is king you turn on Monday night football, everyone knows game means nothing, definitely for the forty nine ers, and it's just like these team teams are throwing the kitchen stick at each other.

It put Chris Ballard in the entire organization behind the eight ball. I think the Cultu are one of those teams that we think are well run because Ballard does a really good job, but they're not because basically Ersay is one of the more impulsive owners. He's likable, but his personal life is well documented, and when I look at that franchise, I think that Carson Wentz they had to go in and get Philip Rivers, and they've been

basically bailing water. They've had the worst quarterback Luck Andrew Luck retires right before a season.

he's talented. We know he struggled Anthony Richardson. He was a total question mark, not a great college quarterback, and now he's struggling here. I think you have to cut ties with him. I don't think it's a Chris Ballard issue. I think if this team had c. J. Stroud, even it made the eighth best quarterback in the league. I think they're a playoff team, but I think it wears on a team when you have to constantly overcome a quarterback. And I think in that Giants game, you saw you

constantly literally as a coaching staff. I mean you talked about this with Sark and quinn Ewers. I watched the Colts and they coach around and Tony Richardson, and I think that when you do that, you can win games, but you will eventually have stinkers. You're just constantly coaching around the most important position. I have a relationship with Bounder. I like him, I like the roster. Do you think he survives.

a loosey goosey ship. And to me less that's on the coach, Yeah, when it comes to meetings and stuff, And you just wonder this transition from being a coordinator, which he was a hot shot coordinator and being the lead guy. Everything's on the table when the quarterback taps out of the game and that becomes the biggest controversy in the NFL. You have to answer for that three times a week instead of the coordinator just once, Like, that's your problem. How do you handle it? Do you

bench them? Your decision when a guy gets in trouble, when a guy says something stupid on a podcast, it's on the defensive side of the ball. And I do just wonder if Shane stiche's a little bit over his head as a head coach because when a story comes out that he had that, hey, you guys are showing up late, You're like, you better shoot that down. And then we've had guys show up late. But hey, people

show up late all over the place. No, I don't think so like, because I think that snowballs into other things. Then are you not practicing well or guys screwing around? And I think this all gets back to the Anthony Richardson tap out thing. People questioning like he gets injured

a lot, but are they serious injuries? There's all and no one really knows what's going on, and they feel like they've taken on back to what you say, Jim Orsay's personality well, unreliable and who knows what the hell's gonna happen.

And it's quite possible that Shane Steichen is one of these sort of modern coaches that is softer on players. He's pro players. I mean, Brandon Staley was a very good defensive coordinator. I mean he the Rams defense was excellent. He was a disaster, and it just got worse and worse and worse, and the details and it got looser and looser. And I think, you know, it's quite possible that Stichen, Like I've said this about Ben Johnson, I

think Ben Johnson is a great coordinator. Now it is easier when you have like eight Pro Bowl players on your offense. And I don't when I see him talk and when I listen to him, I don't see I've said this about Mike McDaniel, I don't see a culture changer and a leader of men. What I see as a really smart guy. And by the way, Mike McDaniels is a very modern, progressive pro player coach. What's our knock on Miami they're soft. Shane Steichen, modern progressive guy.

What's our knock on him? Pro player? He's soft. So I think that there is this hard ass component to football coaches, this Harbaugh Vrabel, this sort of intense Tomlin Belichick that still stands true, like, yeah, he said this the other day. Very rarely do these culture changer coaches flail. They don't all have great seasons, but very rarely do you hire a culture changer and it's a disaster. You know, these coordinators, John, these brilliant offensive coordinators, about one out

of two flame out fast. They just don't work. So I think there's a possibility that Stikeen maybe is a little bit Mike McDaniel, who the media loves because he was kind of doroky and a little nerdy and very smart, looked like a sport like they kind of related to him. But in the end, is Miami to me is maybe the least trustable team in the league if it's over forty over under forty degrees.

anyone's going to hire him. I mean, I think I was a big part of Belichick too. You look at these guys seventy two, seventy three years old, and you just go, well, in five years, it'll be seventy. I think it's really working against him, even though Pete is the youngest seventy three year old the history of human beings. But if Pete Carroll took over the Bears next year, I think they are guaranteed to make the playoffs in

one of the next three years. Yeah. If Ben Johnson takes over the I think there's a fifty to fifty chance it's an all time flame out, yep, because you just don't overcome it. And like you said, you watch his personality, watch the way he carries himself. The toughness of the team is built through Dan Campbell and the drafting and he's done a good job with schemes in the place. He's a brilliant play caller. We have seen Pat Schrmer, remember him on the Minnesota Vikings the year

with a case Keenum. It's like, this guy's a brilliant play caller, and then he becomes a head coach for the second time. It's the same thing, a disaster. Not everyone has meant for that role, and most guys are not. Just like in life, like the older you get kind of I try to look at myself like what do I want to do, where do I want to go?

What are my strengths and weaknesses? And the best part about the NFL if you're a number two your whole life, it pays you five million dollars a year to be the offensive coordinator and listen to someone's gonna pay him ten to fifteen million dollars trip. I get it, and he's it sure feels like it. But two years ago, rumors that I had heard was he was scared to he thought he was overwhelmed, so he didn't even really

entertain it. Last year was pretty embarrassing. I mean, the Washington football team clearly not your old Dan Snider operation. Pretty high level group was flying in a private jet to come talk to him, and he called them on the flight to say, hey, I'm out. Pretty low level thing like that feels like something that no one Pete Carroll, Mike vveriebel are doing that, even if they're going to go in a different direction the way he handled it.

And I just think you hire these coordinators everyone thinks you're getting the next Kyle or McVeigh. Mcveigh's a good example, like he's really built more like Tomlin and Kyle really is built like more like the whiz kid. But Kyle is kind of like this old school hard ass, like keeps everyone on their toes. I mean, he's miked and he's got video cameras in every room. Like everyone's kind of on edge in that building because he look at him.

He's high stressed. He's just he's an intense he's kind of a dick, which is a compliment sometimes for football coaches. And he's built up the equity now people know he knows what he's doing, so he can ride guys in the building. I think it's hard for a young coordinator who's never had any success outside of being a coordinator. If things don't go right early. And the other thing is the you know, the elephant in the room with the Bears is like this Caleb Williams situation is like

there's so much pressure on making him good. Let's just say there's a chance. I mean, his history would say that five out of the five guys in the draft are not gonna become like ten year starters, right, some of them are gonna miss.

for all the things that we want. The offensive line is not Cayleb's fault, but the holding onto the ball for way too, that was something Russell always battled. But Russell was I don't know. Their defense was a lot better. He had Pete Carroll. Their infrastructure was better, so they could kind of coach around it, but they always butted heads over that. It's like Russell let it go, but he became a star playing that way. Not many guys can play like that and consistently. Deshaun Watson for a

brief moment played like that. Yeah, and then it unraveled because most coaches go play within the offense and they just don't want it. And Caleb, I think, struggles with that a little bit. It's why I pushed back sometimes this year on the Caleb, like, well, some of these throws, well, yeah, he's down thirty to seven, so he just made a couple of throws. Who cares? That's I wonder if that job as much as the administration, that Kevin larn thing. If the Caleb, Yeah, he's like this ball of clay,

but is he really a ball of player? Some of those the way that he plays going to be always the way he plays, and that holding onto the ball, you know, accuracy I think is something we've seen, like you can't improve a little bit. Especially in this modern day NFL guys are a little more open. There's no John Lynch's and at Water's killing people, So you can you can be a little more inaccurate still complete balls. I do think the like the feel in the pocket

of holding that ball. Some guys just do it for whatever and some guys just have a knack to get rid of it. I mean, that's one reason Kyle loves Purty. You know, now it's going to the other team sometimes, but he will get rid of the football. You watch Caleb throw the ball, and Russell used to take a lot of sacks. Remember the offensive line used to get crushed. And you'd hear people in the NFL so like, yeah,

the offensive line, half those sacks are on him. Naturally would always tell you It's like it wasn't always on the offensive line, but they always got shit on.

fifteen dead at this time. Again, just incredibly unspeakable college football fans down in you know what has always been sort of an outdoor city in the winter, you go outdoors, you're in the streets, Bourbon Street. So just a grotesque tragedy. And so that game has been moved. I like Notre Dame, but I'm not sure how strong I feel about that.

I don't after watching Ohio State dismantled Oregon in Tennessee, I think the only strong opinion I have is Ohio State is the best balance of talent and coaching right now. And I also think i'm I'm I am happy for Ohio State because I think everybody thought Ryan Day was a good coach. But you know, good coaches have bad saturdays and Sundays.

It becomes so difficult logistically. Just hope it gets played and everyone could stay safe, because I know if I was going to the game, I'd be a little I'd be hesitant at this point. I mean, I've I've only been to Bourbon Street one time when I was in college. It is not very wide. You know. This isn't the Vegas Strip where there's just a lot of room. This is a pretty tight quarter where you would be a sitting duck. And I'm with you. I watched that video.

It's one of those you just turn off your phone. You just you just can't even fathom where you witnessed.