Dak Looks Like An MVP, 49ers Beat Broncos, Chargers + Texans Are Cooked, Jags Look Great, Raiders A Playoff Team

0:01 All right, welcome into our Sunday podcast brought to you by Bud Light. Easy to drink, easy to enjoy. Time for the anything for moment. The Denver Broncos would do anything for Bo Nix to be productive in the first half. You know, it's interesting watching the Niners beat Denver 24-14. First of all, San Francisco played cleaner. One penalty, no turnovers, no sacks allowed. Broke it open late. George Kittle off the blitz. Brock Purdy found him. It's nice to have a tight end that runs a 4-5 or faster. But my takeaway on this is you're playing with fire. Bo Nix, it's 3-3 at half, which is strange for the 49ers.

0:53 But it's not. It is just basically the prototype Bo Nix performance. Until the end, where was Jalen Waddell? Cortland Sutton, I think, had one catch. A lot of throws to the running backs. You know, I said this a couple of weeks ago and got pushback on it, but you can't win this way. You can't sustain. This is a good roster. You can't sustain this trailing... slow start. I mean, we're seeing it in the NFC with Philadelphia. You just can't have that many bad third down games, that many three and out games. Are you more impressed with San Francisco or less impressed with Denver and Bo Nix?

1:32 Well, I think it's a combination of them both. I mean, when you look at the game, the Niners have Kyle Shanahan, they have Davis Webb. And Sean Payton's not calling the plays anymore. So you watch, it's kind of been the same song and dance the first you know, four games of the season that they have not played that many good quarters.

1:49 Right.

1:50 So far through the first quarter, you know, through the first essentially quarter of the season. But, you know, the one thing, the 49, Debo Samuel has been a massive, massive sign for the Niners. Five catches today. He came with a chip on his shoulder. He's made huge plays for him. You know, Kittle has bounced back faster than any human you'll ever see. Not named Adrian Peterson from a major injury. He looks fantastic. And, you know, the 49ers core group of guys now have played together for a while. So, I mean, I think the Niners are just good. They're missing a lot of guys. You know, obviously the Broncos had a bunch of injuries, but it was 10-6 with essentially a quarter to go in the game.

2:29 Niners went seven plays, like 80 yards right down the field and scored a touchdown. And you felt when it was 17-6, you're like, are the Broncos scoring 18 points?

2:37 Yeah.

2:39 So I know they would go on to score, but right when they got to 17, it just feels like a huge uphill battle for Denver. Obviously, they lost their top, I mean, one of the best players in the game. But the 49ers, Mike Evans has probably 50%. Debo's not exactly Marvin Harrison running routes. So I don't think that did it in for them in the game. It's just their offense is putrid, Colin. I mean, it doesn't move.

3:03 Where the Niners at any given moment, Because of Kyle, because of Purdy. I mean, Brock's, the difference in the two quarterbacks, would you agree, was pretty evident as the game went on? I mean, Brock is dramatically better than Bo Nix right now. Not even close. Then the gap got wider by the series, I felt.

3:22 Well, I feel like just, I mean, I looked at it like Debo five catches, Evans five catches, Kittle four catches, no pre-snap penalties. I feel like Bo Nix needs to be coached up. I'm not saying Brock doesn't, but I think there's just a fluidity with Brock. He feels very comfortable within the offense. Now, having Kittle, Debo, McCaffrey, like Mike Evans, he's got, these are Hall of Fame players.

3:48 Like you forget San Francisco's old, But this is why, for the record, why Shanahan keeps signing these older players. He knows Mike Evans, he could have brought in, he could have drafted another wide receiver. He probably thought if I can get Mike Evans for 12 regular season games and two playoff games, he would have signed up for it then.

4:11 That's why I brought Debo back.

4:12 Can I get Debo for 13 of the 17 in the playoff games? It's almost like when the Dodgers signed these older guys like Blake Snell, the pitcher, Tyler Glasnow. You're getting them for September and October. You're not getting them for June. You're not getting them, you know, April. And so, you know, I just kind of look at San Francisco as they are built for the playoffs if they can stay healthy. And I think there are issues in Denver right now is, you know, they played a very clean game. It was 3-3 at half. But watching that game, I just felt like there are just more ways that Kyle Shanahan can get his playmakers the ball than Davis Webb can get his Denver playmakers the ball.

4:56 Yeah, I mean, you look at the 49ers defensive line on paper coming into the game, it's not exactly a murderer's row. So you would think that Bo Nix and his mobility would be able to. I mean, listen, most people in my life are 49er fans. Like, I'm kind of nervous about this game. A lot of injuries. Bosa can't go. And you just go, I don't know. I mean, I've been watching the Broncos. They struggled to score. Fred Warner early in that game said the tone. It was a really physical game, I thought, early on. It was like, geez, you better have your chin strap buckled for both sides.

5:28 I mean, the 49ers got stopped on, I think, on a fourth and one. Might have been a little bit longer on a quarterback sneak. You could just tell, a 3-3. Like, this was– these guys were probably feeling it at halftime. The 49ers just more explosive on offense. And Kyle is– You know, Purdy's with Josh Allen was kind of hit or miss today, probably the MVP leader in the clubhouse right now. I think Kyle Shanahan, after the big car wreck, the concussion, a lot of question marks, has been fantastic, Colin, through the first four games. And the difference of him and some of these– and McVay's like this too– They got a new defensive coordinator in, a bunch of bodies in and out of the game. They have not skipped

6:07 a beat, I would say. Now, going against Seattle, different level next week up there. It's going to be an uphill battle. I'm sure they'll be an underdog. But even if they lose that game, the 49ers would have signed up for 4-1 a month ago in a heartbeat. Right.

6:21 I would take San Francisco and Seattle, the two best teams I've seen in the NFL. I think Kansas City is pretty interesting to watch. That environment was tough today in Las Vegas and they played well. There's multiple lead changes in the fourth quarter in that game. The Raiders are for real, by the way. They're not great, but they're absolutely for real.

6:39 No, I think.

6:40 I mean, I just look at San Francisco and it's kind of a fingers cross. You know, can everybody stay healthy? But I think I look at this game because I knew this was one of my blazing five picks. I really felt this was a good matchup for San Francisco at home. And I'm just to the point with Denver that they're becoming the Philadelphia Eagles. Their roster's really good.

7:05 And I watched this quarterback, and I'm sorry, you just have these droughts, these half droughts, and you can't win at the highest level. The coaching's too good in this league. I mean, you saw it. What you saw in Philadelphia, let's go to that game today. So the Rams beat the Eagles 24-20. The Eagles were 0-12 on third down.

7:29 Worst in Philadelphia history. Ten penalties, three yards of play. The Rams were dead in this game. But the Eagles' offense just kept giving the Rams short field. And so it really, I mean, this was a game where the Rams came in, John, and looked tired. They had low energy. Melbourne, Arizona, Philadelphia, they looked really low energy. Stafford had a pick before half.

7:54 And then Philadelphia goes deep, gets a pass interference, and then they follow it with a touchdown. And I'm thinking, boy, McVay's getting tired of this act. But again, the defense played well. Hurts couldn't move it. They couldn't move the chains. And the Rams just getting, you know, I mean, what can a defense do when they're on? You know, everybody's defense looks good in the first quarter. You start getting these 0 for 12 on third downs in the Eagles' defense over the course of time. Well, what do you know?

8:22 The DBs are tired. They get somebody dinged up. Philadelphia did have multiple starters out. But I thought this was almost more of an indictment of the Eagles' offense than it was any superlatives on the Rams' offense.

8:36 When McVay rallied the troop on the sideline and Brady's like, you don't see this very often, the head coach getting a whole unit together. I wrote down he's going to be at Amazon in 2027 because it felt like their season was imploding. How old did Stafford look in that first half, in the rain, in the inclement weather? I mean, the last five minutes, they, I think, almost had 200 yards and two touchdown drives. The Eagles, I added it up, had seven three-and-outs. And two of those seven were actually four-and-outs.

9:06 So I think– I understand they had a million injuries. They had a bunch coming into the game, like Johnson a late scratch. They lost– Multiple defenders throughout the game. Saquon gets hurt. You're up 10 points. The Rams were dead. Stafford was old. They couldn't move the ball. And then all of a sudden, Sirianni goes for it on like the two-yard line on fourth down. They're up 10. You kick a field goal 23-10 at that point in time.

9:31 20-10 felt insurmountable. 23-10 would have felt like ball game. And then they drive right down the field in a couple minutes, 98 yards, and the game completely flipped. And clearly, I was thinking about this. When you're imploding and you have injuries, like Denver, for example, they got some weird stuff going on. They pay Sean Payton $ 15, $ 20 million to figure it out. And you go, I think I've seen him last year. They'll make some tweaks. They'll get something done. You have this new quarterback. who's i think 34 35 years old never called plays was playing not that you know relatively recently he's in a situation i mean this city is i can you imagine talk radio in philadelphia tomorrow it's gonna do some big numbers going

10:14 it's gonna be ugly and how does he know how to manipulate? We don't need a touchdown. We just need a couple first downs, and he can't do it. I said this last year when they were egging the dude's house. I think it's easy to point fingers at the offensive coordinator. I mean, the quarterback looks rattled. Hey, Jalen, sometimes I know Lamar got hurt, but Lamar will say F it and just take off and get a first down. He just doesn't do that enough. He'll run around. Kind of like Russell as he got older, he's like, I'm going to throw. Well, it's like Jalen, your best wide receivers in street clothes, your rookie who actually, Makai made a couple of plays early in the game, but then kind of went MIA. Just get 17 yards with your legs.

10:56 You are a great runner of the football. And they won't do it. They can't run the ball. And defensively, they just imploded as the game went on. Sirianni, Colin, you can tell me his record and all you want, but what's his pitch? Do you know they play Jacksonville this week in London? Jacksonville has been exceptional the majority of the season, Colin. They are one bad half away from being undefeated. I'm blown away with how good– I like the Jags in that game, Colin. I'll say that right here on Sunday.

11:25 Well– And the Eagles' defense was on the field for 77 plays. So that is– well, listen, I always felt that eventually Nick Sirianni was going to unravel this thing. It was a matter of time. I had my doubts about Dan Campbell, but I do think Dan's a legitimate coach. I don't think Sirianni. There's lots of quarterbacks and coaches that have gotten into Super Bowls and even won them that aren't elite. So, I mean, I will say this, Kyron Williams, 10 catches, 16 carries was a workhorse for the Rams and Puka Nakua, 125 yards. Devante had a big drop, doesn't get a lot of those, but I thought Puka and Kyron Williams, I felt like the Rams had a, they were a healthier football team. So I, you know, I did feel like that did matter, but those.

12:15 Two- Puka was exceptional today. I thought Puka was a big impact. You felt him on the touchdown, but just throughout the game on just 7, 8, 9, 10-yard completions. I mean, he's a $ 150 million player if he gets his act right off the field.

12:28 Yeah, I mean, and I also think Puka adds a physical dimension to the offense. Devontae's a great player, but Puka really makes the— They're not as physical as the 49ers. That's not their style. But when Puka's playing, he is a combination of Kittle and Debo. He adds a physical component to kind of a pretty offense. So the Rams were, the Eagles are a poorly coached, very high-end roster. And I feel like every Eagle game I have watched, John, for the last two years, they're all the same. They look exactly the same. That you look up and you think, too many penalties, bad on third down, can't sustain drives.

13:11 I mean, it's embarrassing. And blame who you want to have that many three and outs. Seven. Jesus.

13:18 Well, if you go three and out constantly, like let's use the Yankees yesterday, right? They couldn't score a run. When you watch a team, and they're a bad example because they're actually good, but when you watch a baseball team that can't hit, someone taught me this a long time ago, you feel like a baseball team isn't trying.

13:34 It's like, well, they're just getting mowed down, but it's hard to watch a team that can't make contact, get mowed down inning after inning. When you watch a team go three and out, series after series after series, it feels like the worst possible football you can consume.

13:48 Right.

13:48 And I can't even imagine. The other thing is, That building, you know, they've obviously been one of the most successful teams, what, over the last 10 years. Right. They've been very consistently good. But that building, I would say more than most, like Buffalo's not going to turn on Josh Allen after a loss or in the middle of a game. Seattle could get weird. They're not going to turn on him. Philly will turn on you after a couple series. And I will support them. It's expensive to go to these games.

14:14 And they're not dummies. They know what it looks like. you're not even gaining yards. I mean, the tush push is dead. That thing is no longer working. And listen, I think this is, you can't replace the coordinator and have Sirianni still have like this bulletproof vest on. People are going to come for him. And today, you know, I thought, just going for it. He's been kind of hit or miss with that. He's, he's punted once he's gone for another time. He went forward down to the goal line and backfired when it's like, get some points would get some momentum at this point. You cannot, you know, a lot of coaches often say this, like, you know, the guy in my headset is telling me to do this.

14:52 And I'm like, well, seven of my guys are injured. We're not moving the ball. And I don't trust our play options here. So you get the three points. I just, and I know it's, well, it's still going to last 24 to 23. I, I think that was a huge, huge momentum swing. I've never, I don't remember a Rams game where they felt as dead and came back. And that has to be an incredible flight home for McVay and the boys. Because we've both watched a lot of McVay.

15:19 I don't remember him rallying the troops on the sideline like that and screaming at him because he could feel his season unwrapped. They lose this game. They've got some injuries. Who knows when Myles Garrett's coming back. Stafford was looking terrible in the inclement weather. You just go. Is this an 8-9 team? You win this game, you get some momentum, all of a sudden they're feeling pretty good about themselves.

15:38 And you've got to hold serve with the Niners in Seattle. They both keep winning.

15:42 Dallas Cowboys 34, Houston 30. Cowboys trailed 16-6 at half. Second half, Dak was remarkable. 32-45. CeeDee Lamb had 17 catches. Dak finished with a passer rating over 100. We can talk about this defense all we want. This organization... For the last 10 years, eight years, however long Dak has played, they're as good as Dak is. I thought in the second half he was absolutely, absolutely great. I mean, he looked like an MVP in the second half. That's what an MVP quarterback looks like. They also, in the third quarter, there was a huge moment. This was kind of a game changer where there was a pass interference on Lassiter or the Texans, so they got a fresh set of downs, first and goal, and Dak delivered.

16:29 Yeah.

16:31 On first and goal, he got a touchdown. But I mean, they had Dallas had 28 first downs. They were four for four in the red zone. That is hard to do. The Texans defense, I guess it's lack of communication, according to their players. But we know this, the offense generally, if you have a great offense, you have a you know, you have a smart like a Liam Cohen in Jacksonville.

16:52 You can you can repeat that year after year after year. A lot of great defenses just don't show up the next year. First of all, defense is more violent. Defensive players get hurt. And also, offense is constantly creating and inventing. And sometimes defenses, you know, they go into a season, they get a three-game stretch where they don't match up particularly well. I thought C.J. Stroud was effective. But Houston had 13 penalties. They're now 0-4. I mean, they're not winning that division. Listen, say what you want about the Colts.

17:24 We're not going to spend any time on them. But the Colts have a roster. And Daniel Jones and Shane Syken, you can say what you want, you get 28 points plus. They eventually, with Jonathan Taylor, the tight end, they find their way into the end zone. They find their way to points. Houston, the season's over. What I liked about Dallas in the second half, John, they basically came out and just said, we're going to feed CeeDee Lamb the ball.

17:53 And shockingly, he was open for most of those second-half catches.

17:59 I thought it would be hard to top Jeremiah Smith's performance yesterday. CeeDee Lamb might have at least matched that. A great defense doesn't give a guy 17 catches. And just, you know... it felt like snap after snap, he was open, you know, the game winning touchdown open, not, not making miraculous catches. I mean, he not saying he didn't, but some of those it felt like are just hitting them in the numbers. And to me, a great defense. It's kind of like when a guy's going for 50, once he gets to like 38, you start double teaming them.

18:30 You're like, you're not lighting this up. I've seen it forever with the warriors. It's like, we're taking you out. At least we'll hold our head high. We might lose, but you're not going to go for 50 or 60 in this game. And Houston had no answers. Now, part of that to me, I mean, Pickens had an incredible deep ball catch that kind of got Dallas back in the game. Yeah. And like those two guys are as dominant when they are on as anyone because of their size, their physicality. That's the other thing. CD is not just like walking out of bounds. Like he will turn it up.

18:58 He gets vertical, goes through tackles. Tight ends good. Javante Williams has been fantastic for them. Big win for Dallas because I wrote down and not take shots here, but they kind of had a USC vibe, like really good offense. Their defense looked terrible. Did kind of settle in a little bit and got some stops. Quinn and Williams had a big sack. Listen, I give Jerry credit. He gave a second rounder in two years. It's not until 2028.

19:26 Jerry might tell you, I don't even know I'm going to be here in 2028. So as that goes, it's a massive upgrade for them over time. I mean, the guy just got there. He hadn't been practicing. You would think their defense will just be a little more serviceable because their offense now through two weeks. I mean, it is.

19:43 They can score at will. That's what frustrated me so much last week about that. And I understand. I saw the report today. that he got up in front of the team and said it was on him. Well, of course it was on him. I mean, we all, we all want, what do you think he's going to say? But yeah, I was high on Dallas coming into the season, a little nervous, big picture with their defense, but look at their division Eagles and free fall. I mean, the entire city is going to want Sirianni fired. The giants are a little smoke and mirrors right now. Yeah. Their opponents and their quarterback situation in Washington is dead. So Dallas, if you can just play serviceable defense, you can win 10, 11 games and win this division, right?

20:21 And it's not only a big playoff offense. They had Dak had a 14-play drive in the fourth quarter. Javante Williams, what a big day today. I think he had three touchdowns. So what Dallas can do to you, they can road grade you. They can take the clock and change time of possession, keep their defense off the field. That's one of the things I like about Dallas is that their defense, again, there's new faces, there's new parts. You have a new coordinator.

20:47 We didn't expect it to be great in September. We didn't expect that. But when you watch Dallas grind out a 14-play drive against the Texans on the road, and then they have big plays over the top, you're like, okay, they give you a little bit of everything. I mean, it's so interesting that. You know, shoddy, I may even roll my eyes, but the bottom line is the offense is effective. I thought they gave the game to Baltimore. I thought they had it at the goal line. I thought they were done.

21:17 My takeaway on that game today, though, on Thursday, I said it was one of my favorite picks of the week. It didn't look like it in the first half, but Dak put on an absolute clinic in the second, and if I had an MVP vote today, he'd be near the top. Tell you about this new prediction market called Polymarket.

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23:21 So if you're running a small biz like me and you want a simpler way to stay on top of the financial side, check it out. Learn more, X-E-R-O.com. New England 29, Buffalo 26. Listen, Sean McDermott was a very solid coach. Most of us felt it was time. But somebody's got to put guardrails on Josh Allen because he has gotten over the last couple of weeks. I talked about this about a month ago with Baker Mayfield. Like he needs his Liam Cohen back or Dave Canales. You got to get some guardrails on some of these personalities.

23:56 Baker's just making stuff up and running everywhere. He didn't play today, but I watched Josh Allen a couple of times today and I'm like, I need some guardrails on this stuff. He's making, you know, he's making some mistakes, but I thought this game was mostly about Drake May. Again, this is like Dak. He was three for three in the red zone. Romeo Dobbs had a nice day. I felt, I don't know. I thought, It was a little hysterical on Drake May. I'd argued Stephon Diggs and Booty out.

24:27 Here comes A.J. Brown, hurt after 31 snaps. Those are three really good number one receivers, or at least high-end receivers, luxury receivers. We lost all of them between last year and this year. So they're kind of making it up. I thought, John, the key for New England today, Ramondre Stevenson, And Travian Henderson both played. They had 27 carries. And Drake May ran eight times. So I really felt that gave him a cushion that he was throwing on second and short or a third and short. And to me...

24:56 Like you said about Jalen Hurts, Drake May, it was pretty obvious, had made his mind up or Josh McDaniels had nudged him in the take-off lane. Like, bro, two or three times in this game, he'd get down and close to the red zone. It's like, I'm just going to run it. And I'm like, yes, these young quarterbacks, when you have that energy and you don't have multiple injuries on your resume yet, run, move the chains. And I thought Drake did that today.

25:26 Yeah, one theme today that I wrote down big picture for a lot of these wins was mental toughness. And, you know, I get on my YouTube algorithm a lot of the Zolax 98.5 in Boston, and it was fireworks for Drake. I mean, obviously the stories of the rift between him and Bray Bull, his shoulder issues. I mean, there were a lot of– that was probably an ugly week, probably the ugliest week the kids ever had. And this guy comes from a family of athletes. Dad played quarterback.

25:53 Brothers played hoops. I thought today was, given the circumstances and how much negativity surrounded you, like, I'd bet on that guy. Because I think some mentally weak people break under those circumstances. In that area, how shitty he'd been playing, I thought he was exceptional today. Just in terms of, like you said, taking off when he needed to take off, but even some of his throws, the accuracy, staying in there, making throws on the run. his one interception was not his fault at all and went around on Dobbs as he hit the ground. That was as good of a game, I mean, if we factor in the playoffs, as he's played in probably like 11 months. I mean, I was blown away because, again, I had been consuming so much

26:34 of these people, crushing them, questioning them. Him kind of stepping in with the shoulder issue, I went, man, this is Arizona, Miami, some cities, even the Chargers, you can fly a little under the radar. Philly, Boston, there's no flying under the radar. And then you're playing the Bills in Buffalo. He outplayed Josh Allen today. I mean, it's not even debatable. He was, of all the guys I watched today, he was as good, you know, Dak's stats are probably better than his. But that was as good as you're going to see, Colin. And especially with how poorly he's been playing. And then early in the game, he has a turnover. And you're like, oh, here we go again. And, you know, for a fumble, you know,

27:15 you had one over overturned because his arm was going forward. You pick you could just see early on like this kind of get away from you. They're losing at halftime. He I was blown away by him because it's easy, you know, when everyone is down on you. And who knows, you know, internally, like Mike's a defensive guy from the nineties, smoke cigarettes. Like Mike's not, he's probably closer to bill in terms of personality in terms of, I mean, this is an old school defensive guy. This isn't some, this isn't Kevin O'Connell, some former quarterback from San Diego state.

27:51 And it's just Josh intense guy, right? You're, you're making him look like an idiot. And Drake was exceptional. I mean, I don't know who's going to be the AFC defensive player of the week or offensive player of the week. I, Of all the guys I saw, he jumps to my mind fast.

28:06 And how about that eight-play, 73-yard drive in the fourth quarter, Eastern Washington's That Chisholm guy with the one hand.

28:15 Never even heard of him. Had to Google him. What a catch.

28:18 That was a great catch. After the game, the Buffalo guy, one of the secondary guys, like he's a scout team guy. That's never going to happen again. But I felt like you. I thought there was a little hysteria around it. It's like, guys, he lost to Von Diggs. Booty, the receiver, who was a nice player, athletic player. He loses after 31 snaps. A.J.

28:38 Brown.

28:38 And it's not a great run game, but I thought again. 27 carries between Stevenson and Travion Henderson. It's like, okay, Drake May rushing. It's like, okay, I thought it was really good coaching today. Let's go on the road. Let's take some heat off Drake May. I think the Chargers would love to do that. I just don't think they trust their run game much. And speaking of that, Seattle 30, Chargers 23. First two throws of the games were picks.

29:06 But the Seahawks pulled away, led 20-6 at half. Sam Darnold, two for two in the red zone. Multiple scoring drives. I will say this about Seattle. You know, again, Emmanuel Watson, a running back from Fort Valley State. This is the GM, John Snyder. Like, you think, oh, they lose Kenneth Walker. This is going to be a problem. Well, they draft one running back. They find this kid. I think it was an undrafted free agent a couple years ago. It may have been by Denver. I forget. But Seattle threw three quarters with seven yards of play. Chargers pretty anemic.

29:41 Ladd McConkie hurt. Joe Alt hurt. They're like San Francisco, that they have injuries. But they're young players. Derwin James. They're younger players get hurt. My takeaway on this is when I watch Seattle today, they have so much speed. You see they had Rashid Shaheed. They put him in the backfield. Without Kenneth Walker, there's a little mix and match right now as they're trying to kind of find their way. They have not run the ball particularly well this season vis-a-vis last year. But as I watched them today, Herbert had a really bad pick at the end of the first half. Seattle pivots, turns that into a touchdown.

30:24 The fact that the Chargers fought and kept it to a touchdown, it didn't feel that close. But I watching, here's what I worry about. Seattle's, I think they'll find their way running the ball. But they went from Clint Kubiak, who's clearly legitimate head coach, to a 47-year-old on the Niner staff who used to coach defense. And I've always kind of, you know, this is my professional opinion. When people don't get their first big break professionally until they're close to 50, my thing is, what were you doing screwing around? Clint Kubiak and most of the great coaches offensively, you hear of them younger. They've got a dad in the business. They were into football when they were 12 years old, right? So I do worry about going like

31:07 Detroit when they lost Ben Johnson.

31:09 It's hard to replace a great coordinator.

31:13 I don't want to make too many big judgments because even with Kubiak last year, John, Sam has bad games. But I didn't think he played badly. I think he played very, very well today. And I thought they're kind of mixing and matching the run game. They're kind of trying to find their way. Chargers, again, it ends as a touchdown game. It didn't feel like that to me.

31:34 Well, they're not built. They're down 20 to six at halftime. It fell over at halftime. You're like, Chargers aren't storming back. Herbert's getting the living shit kicked out of him in the second half, getting hit. I mean, every other play, you think that he just break his ankle. He just break his rib. He's getting crushed. This charger thing, like Seattle, you're up 20 to six. You're playing this team. That's kind of dead. Like I, I don't judge them on the situation. They just put yesterday or two days ago, Jadarian price on the IR. So he's going to be gone a month. He's drafted a guy in the first round.

32:05 I mean, it's tough to tough to replace. You know, Darnold had completed 13 balls today. So he's definitely showed signs. Like, it doesn't look like his arm is not working or anything. But they've just– something's been a little off offensively, I would say. But their defense, the physicality in which they hit is just like, oh, my God. I mean, the Chargers are not set up to block these guys. I know there is– and this Charger team feels destined to be like 3-14 right now. I mean, how are they just going to win games? And their schedule is so hard.

32:36 it's going to get really, really ugly. So all of a sudden you find yourself one and eight kind of hard to battle. They've never paid this much for a head coach and they've, and his staff makes a lot of money, you know, bringing in Mike, I by no means think they're going to fire Jim, but he's not really a three and 14 type guy, right? One, he's never had experience losing like that. I mean, his disastrous season in Michigan was like an eight and five or a nine and four. And with the Niners, uh, He essentially got fired on an 8-8 season because I remember, you know, being in local radio and it's like, you know, it could be a lot worse. And then they got Jim Tomsula and it got worse. He's never been a

33:16 part of it. Even when he gets to the Chargers, they're a disaster and boom, playoff, playoff, you know, with kind of some flawed rosters. I just wonder how Jim's going to handle this. You know, people behind the scenes, all he knows how to do is extra time, extra work, hit harder. I don't know if that's always the pitch in these situations. This is a weird spot for the Spanos family. It's not like Jim has other options. He can't go back to college because everything that happened in Michigan.

33:41 Show cause.

33:41 So he's kind of stuck in the pros. But would he have a huge market right now? Would a lot of GMs be lined up? Well, we'll take them off your hands. I think the Chargers are in a weird spot. You know, this McDaniel thing is not working well. You know, in theory, he wants to run the ball, but his run game goes back to Jim's run game, I think are a little different.

34:02 Yeah.

34:03 And they can't run the ball because their offensive line's terrible. So this thing is, I wouldn't have envisioned this a month ago. It's not even just being 0-4. It's like, I don't really have a chance to win, especially against good teams. Like you said, 30-23, I didn't watch the 30-23 game. The game got weird in the second half.

34:20 They were never going to win that thing. They covered. But I just think this– is Herbert going to make through the season? One, they can't afford– he's got to be perfect for them. He hasn't been perfect. And he's just getting the crap kicked out of him. And their offensive line is bad. Which is weird. That is a hard ball. You go back to Michigan in the 49ers. Yeah, we'll win with random wide receivers. We'll run the ball because our offensive line is going to be our bread and butter. He said it when they drafted Joe Alt.

34:47 He's like, why didn't you take Malik Nabors? Because the offensive line is the tip of the spear. Well, it sure is not the tip of the spear right now. It looks like a dull knife.

34:58 Jags 22. Bengals 17. So since Liam Cohen arrived. Okay, let's go to the last 12 games for Trevor Lawrence. He has become the quarterback we thought he would be out of Clemson. He's 11-1 in his last 12. That's the best for any quarterback in the league. He has 27 touchdown passes. That's tied for the most of any quarterback in the league. He has 107 passer rating. Second best in the league. Tampa is 2-10 in their last 12.

35:30 without Liam Cohen, right? Like you start looking at Tampa and it just, Baker Mayfield started getting looser, more interceptions, more frustrated. Cincinnati is a very uneven team. They literally have no run game today. And yet Burrow's throwing for 400 yards. Here is a Burrow stat that is, I would have never guessed. It's a little Aaron Rodgers feeling.

35:57 Burrow is 1-35 in his career when trailing in the last eight minutes of a game. Is that nuts? I would have never guessed that. And that may be a lot of different things, but my takeaway on this game is that I thought the Bengals are a wildcard team because I still don't like their offensive line, and they are very Jamar Chase Burrow driven. But I think the story here is if Jacksonville played in New York, or Chicago or Philadelphia, Dallas, we would be talking about them constantly.

36:32 What Liam Cohen has done. Liam Cohen is the best coach in this league that nobody talks about. Ben Johnson's in Chicago. We're going to talk about him. Kyle's in San Francisco. McVay in LA. We're going to talk about him. Liam Cohen has turned Trevor Lawrence's career around. It wasn't a bust, but it was really, really about 50% of what we thought it would be. I'm watching him today.

36:57 he just doesn't turn the ball over. He just, it's a very decisive offense. When you watch Jacksonville, John, you ever turn the TV on and Kyle Shanahan's like this, you can see his game plan. You know exactly what he's trying to do. And that's why Brock Purdy and Trevor Lawrence succeed. It's very decisive. There's, they're designing plays.

37:16 There's a first and a secondary wide receiver. And I'm, I just, I think Trevor Lawrence has become a top 10 quarterback in this league over the last year to me.

37:26 Well, Well, if you flipped, if you said Liam Cohen was the head coach of the Bengals, I'll promise you this, they win this game. If you just flip-flop the two coaches. Now, Burrow also, listen, he threw for 428 yards. I had the Bengals in this game. I mean, he had a massive, massive interception down in the red zone that killed him.

37:44 He threw two. One, you could argue he got hit. But that one, they're down 16-10. They're driving. It felt like they were going to take the lead. Chase has been knocked out. He's out of the game. But they were driving right down the field. I don't know if he doesn't see him, but he hits the guy in the numbers. And that's the thing with the Bengals, or I mean the Jacks. And here's where I will give Liam credit. They made that Travis Hunter move, which I thought has aged poorly because it's impossible to do. You can't play both. Deion Sanders couldn't do it. This guy's not Deion Sanders. Well, what have they done the last couple weeks? You're just going to play defense, my man.

38:20 He's all over the place on defense. He's not playing offense anymore. You know why? We don't need you. All manipulated over there. That's my baby. How many teams in the league would die to have Travis Hunter play defensive back for them? So focus him on defensive back. You feel his presence. He's nearly tipping balls, making plays. And Liam said it this week. He's like, listen, I am not obsessed with trying to justify the value of this trade.

38:45 We're trying to win games. And yeah, if you could take Travis Hunter number two overall to just play DB, is he going to? Probably not. But is he a top 15, 20 pick? For sure. So stop worrying about trying to justify it. Have him pick a lane. And it just helps the team out. Because when I watch the Jags, it's not like they're scoring 40 points a game.

39:06 It's not. It's just they're a well-buttoned up team.

39:08 Yes.

39:08 You know, think about it like Lincoln Riley. Clearly knows offense. But his team's soft. And he's not alone. A lot of offensive, you know, he comes from Mike Leach, a lot of offensive coaches historically, Matt LaFleur, right? You don't, Matt LaFleur is not a tough guy. I would say Liam Cohen is much more of the mold of Kyle, McVay.

39:26 His team, whatever he does in practice, the tone he sets in the meetings, they are not a... I'm blown away by them week in, week out. I've compared it, if it was college, and you can't steal anyone in the NFL, right? If it was college, the equivalent of the brand for the Jags, you'd be like, oh, the Packers are going to go after Liam Cohen this offseason, right?

39:47 Because he would be the equivalent of some star coach at a smaller university, right? But that's not the way the NFL works. The Jags have him, and he's got a quarterback. And I would say the Jags look headed right back toward the playoffs. And the way they play, like, their game translates.

40:03 Oh, yes.

40:03 Physicality. We're not dependent on scoring 40 a game. Like, the Bears, one thing you feel better about them the last couple weeks, like, they're just tackling better. They feel like a better defense. You have to play defense in the NFL and in the highest level of college sports. to make runs late in the season. You can't have a joke defense. And that to me is like Trevor Lawrence threw for 227 yards today, but he is just much more under control. Like you said, besides he, I think you go back to his freshman year. I think they won the national championship. It was really good. You know, he was a little, he was so well established his sophomore junior year, but it's not like game in game out.

40:42 He was just destroying everybody. He feels as good as he's ever played in his career. I even think this season, I know last year statistically he took a big jump, but just to complete, like you used to talk about Purdy, confident, control, understanding the offense. this symbiotic relationship with the play caller, which is extremely important, which I think you go back to the Drake May thing. You're like, well, it's Vrabel.

41:05 Who's not the play caller kind of overlooking them. And I think that's just the power of this offensive head coaches. When you hit on them, you see it with Ben Johnson. You see it with, you saw it with McVay when it mattered the most, it matters. I mean, it matters a lot. So I, I'm with you. If I had to bet right now, Jacksonville might win like 13 games this year.

41:23 Yep. I think Jacksonville and Kansas City in the AFC right now, I would pick for the AFC championship. And then I would pick San Francisco and Seattle. Here's the truth about modern work. Most people aren't overwhelmed because they need better ideas. They're overwhelmed because work has become fragmented.

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43:22 New Cash App customers can earn $ 10 if they use the code CASHAPP10 in their profile at signup. And send $ 5 to a friend within 14 days. Terms apply. Download Cash App today. Make your money work for you. Visit our link in bio. Speaking of Kansas City, 30-27 over the Raiders. It almost felt like a win for the Raiders.

43:47 440 yards.

43:48 365 passing yards, 28 first downs, dominated time of possession, 78 total plays. The Raiders are a legitimate team. Kansas City's good, and they have much more. franchise momentum, Spags and Andy Reid and Mahomes and the GM, like they've been doing this now for years. And, you know, they just kind of this is a team in Kansas City that, you know, three for four in the red zone. The Raiders were over two in the red zone. And that's kind of the difference in the game is that the Chiefs have been doing this for a long time. Situationally, John, Kansas City is a very good situational football team on both sides of the ball. Over the course of this game, they just made more big plays. But I thought the Raiders,

44:34 tip your cap to them. Kenneth Walker, for his size, that guy can run. He peeled a 77-yard run down the sideline.

44:44 I'm like.

44:45 Big guys aren't supposed to run like that. He looks like a fullback, and he runs like that. But it has allowed Mahomes to have play-action passes now that are magical because you can't cheat with Mahomes, which you've largely done, just dropped into coverage for the last four or five years. You can't do that anymore. But I come out of this game thinking Kansas City's very good. But if you're a Raider fan, this was a very even, multiple fourth quarter lead change game. You have to hang your hat on this and say, this is a step in the evolution of the organization because I thought the Raiders completely looked the part.

45:28 Colin, this is a massive win for the Raiders. Good teams will tell you, listen, there's no moral victories. When you've been the Raiders for 20 plus years, I mean, they've had two winning seasons since like 2002. This is a– they're good. And I bet the Chiefs, I haven't seen like their press conferences, I bet they were blown away.

45:46 I mean, their defense is dramatically better. Cousins, he's a revelation this season. I thought he was done washed. I was like, I totally get you bringing this veteran guy, probably win five games maybe, and just let him get the crap beat out of him. He's been exceptional. I mean, he– I've been blown away. Kenneth Walker, I would say, parallels two years ago when the Eagles signed Saquon Barkley.

46:10 Yeah.

46:11 He has been, at least through four games, he has been that good. I mean, he had 177 yards, obviously blew the game. I mean, they were in trouble. And then he bust that long run, they score. The one problem is, is Tyquan Thornton, who was having the game of his life, he shattered his ankle. And he's... He has been really good for them, just stretching the field, making big plays. Obviously, I mean, Andy's running red zone plays for him today. So, I mean, he was gaining a rapport and a trust with the quarterback, who Patrick looks way– they show the stats– through four games last year and this year, he just, the eye test, it's just, he looks way better, way under control.

46:49 Yeah.

46:49 Well, why do you think that is? Why did Jalen Hurts look way better two years ago? When you have a 2,000-yard running back, Elway's been saying it for 20 years. How'd you start winning? When we found Terrell Davis. They help you out a lot. And did you have any idea that he was this good, Kenneth Walker? I mean, I've always liked him, but his impact and his speed, I'm just like, Jesus.

47:11 I remember at Michigan State, he led the nation in yards after contact. So Kenneth Walker, since the start of the playoffs last year to today, 7-0, 10 touchdowns, over 1,000 yards. He always had an injury bug because he ran so hard.

47:29 Yeah. It's funny.

47:32 It's it's almost like he's faster in Kansas City, you know, and some of this is Travis Kelsey and Mahomes and Andy Reid. You're getting like really smart, high functioning offensive ecosystem in Kansas City. But I thought he was a really, really good player. But, you know, in Seattle, he would struggle to stay healthy. And, you know, Seattle, again, is sort of making it up as they go in the running back room. I thought they would overcome it because I did think the Notre Dame back. He's kind of struggled to find his rhythm and now he's banged up.

48:05 But I think we.

48:06 Forget this, that as much as Mahomes has been given in Kansas City, Andy, Tyreek Hill, he started with, remember, Eric Fisher and Mitchell Schwartz.

48:18 Mitchell Schwartz, yeah.

48:19 He had two Pro Bowl tackles. He's had Joe Tooney, Creed Humphrey. He's been given a lot. He never had a great run game. I mean, there were years they were pathetic. And we've never seen Patrick this good on play action. And it's just– it's like Sam Darnold last year. You know, Mike McDonald, just don't turn it over. You're going to make big plays. JSN, Kenneth Walker– I just, I look at him and I think this right now, if, if again, I think San Francisco today, I'd pick them to beat Seattle in the NFC championship. I'd probably pick Kansas city because of their experience to, um, especially if they're playing at home and it's Kansas City and it's 13 degrees to beat Jacksonville. I don't know who I'd

49:06 take in that matchup. But right now, the Kansas City I'm watching is so good situationally. If they need a sack, they get it. If they need a red zone play, they get it. The Raiders today were very good. They're not quite there yet. They don't have like... you know, it's like the baseball pitcher. It's Verlander. It's one of these Clayton Kershaw guys where you're like, they've been in these big eighth inning jams before and they can wiggle their way out of it. Nobody out too on. And I kind of feel like the Raiders aren't there yet.

49:34 But I think Kansas City situationally, they've got their mojo back.

49:39 I think one issue for the Raiders is the big difference today is the running back situation. They draft Jenty, whatever, six overall. He doesn't even have 60 yards. If they could control the clock a little bit more, they were pretty dependent on the pass, and they're lucky that Cousins is so good. And Cousins, a lot like Stafford, he wasn't sacked today. So if you don't move him around, he can eat you alive. I would imagine next time they play in Kansas City, it'll be a different animal, whether you've got to blitz them, whether you've got to generate some pressure. Because if you're just going to let him sit there, they've got two– I mean, Bowers is obviously an all-time special player. But what's the Notre Dame kid?

50:21 The other tight end is really good. The Raiders do not have wide receivers. So they are basically– they've got the two running backs who are good, and they can throw to them, and the two tight ends. And then their defense kind of just plays their balls off.

50:33 Yeah.

50:34 I would say after that game– I mean, I already assumed Kansas City was going to be excellent this year. But I think the Raiders are a playoff team. You know, right now watching the Raiders, they have a true identity. Like, I watch Denver. I'm more– and we'll see if Sertan has a serious injury. Like, the Raiders are not going away. Like, that's a 10-7 team. They're well-coached. They're physical. They're defensive front.

50:59 The other thing is the offensive line– I'm not trying to just shit on this guy, but, I mean, the Pete Carroll, his son's situation last year, offensive line, is inside football circles all-time embarrassment. And you watch this year, you get Kubiak, who, what's his background? Offensive football, offensive line, running the ball, knows what he's doing.

51:19 They get Tyler Linderbaum.

51:21 They just look like a well-run, and even Cousins, I was listening to the broadcast, he's like, the best thing I feel about when I go to the line of scrimmage, I don't have to worry about the protections where I know he has it handled. And I even feel like the other guys that I don't know that much about feel like they're pretty capable. Now, the Chiefs, I don't think sack numbers haven't been great. But, you know, they got the kid from Oklahoma who they drafted in the second round. Carl Loftus has been better.

51:46 Chris Jones had a couple plays today. Yeah.

51:48 So it's like that was– I bet the Chiefs came away, and I bet Andy's like, that was a real team. This is not– the Raiders have beat them over the years. Yeah, but it's been– But a lot of times they've been four or five wins, you know, and beaten them on Christmas. You know, random games that meant nothing to them and kind of hurt the Chiefs. This was– there was a lot on the line today, you know what I mean?

52:09 And the other thing that was cool, and you've lived there, I've spent a lot of time there over the years– It's like, I don't know. It's just this stadium is incredible, but it's just going to be all the away fans. It did feel, for the first time, a little Raider-y when they were making plays. You could hear it over the broadcast. I'm like, okay, this is turning into a real franchise. Amazing how that can happen when you get a real coach.

52:31 Bears 23, Jets 12. Geno Smith non-factor. The Jets defense just frankly got worked. I tell you, the Bears, these offensive coaches, John– They always fix the O-line first. That interior O-line for the Bears now with Ben Johnson in year two can be nasty. There were some holes, and Jets have some personnel. So Ben Johnson, the last two weeks, with a backup quarterback and a third-string quarterback, has had a 78- to 41-minute time of possession advantage over the team they played 433 times. 433 yards per game average. Today, it was Kyle Menunga who just every time I looked up, he was carrying the ball. Roma Dunze has absolutely become, I think, the player they thought a long, not thick, but a long, strong wide receiver target. Again, Menunga today

53:28 was phenomenal. was the go-to. I mean, again, very intentional offense. You knew what they were trying to do. Their takeaway was they obviously saw something and that we can run on this team, interior line runs. It's just one of those games where they have now won with three different quarterbacks this year. And I mean, been productive with three different quarterbacks this year. This is not happening with a defensive head coach.

53:57 I'm sorry.

53:58 People say, well, everybody's got an offensive coordinator. It is different when you have an offensive head coach. The language, the lexicon, the practice, the schedule. I mean, I'm watching this team offensively. It's the best quarterback room in the league. I mean, it's... I mean, Case Keenum the week before is perfect against the Eagles. He looked better against the Eagles than Matt Stafford today looked against the Eagles with Devontae Adams and Puka Nakua and Kyron Williams. So my takeaway on this was, yes, the Bears were better. Yes, they were going to win. But good teams don't always have to be beautiful. They're highly productive and effective. And it was just a different way they can win. It

54:39 was the run game today.

54:41 Do you remember a couple years ago when Ben Johnson's name really got hot leading up to when people were going to interview? It's like, rumors are he's going to want $ 13 million a year. And I think that's what he ended up getting with the Bears. Turns out he's severely underpaid and should ask for double. Because what's the value of a coach who can just consistently win with backup quarterbacks? Their value immediately jolts to the highest in the league. Because if you have a good starter, when that guy's on the field, you're going to win What, 65, 70% of the game?

55:11 Right.

55:12 They ran the last two weeks for hundreds of yards. Today they ran for 232 yards. God. Their long run was 26. If I told you someone runs for almost 250 yards, you're like, oh, they probably have like a 50 or 60 yarder. No, they just gas you. Play in and play out. Most young coaches want to pass the ball. They just do. It's it's in there. I think they're wired that way because a lot of young offensive coaches tend to be former quarterback.

55:39 Yeah. Right.

55:40 Sean McVay, Liam Cohen, Liam Cohen, LaFleur is a former quarterback. Kevin O'Connell is a former quarterback. It's pretty rare. Andy Reid's an offensive lineman, but historically he really likes to pass. For the first time, you change the running. It makes your defense look better. I don't think the personnel is any different than last year, but the Bears' defense feels more physical. They're not on the field as much. You're more well-rested. And here's where I will give Ben credit.

56:08 Dennis Allen's a real defensive coordinator hire. When he peaked a couple years ago before he became the head coach of the Saints, the Saints' defense was excellent those last couple years of him as defensive coordinator. And you go back before he got the Raiders job in Denver, So their coaching staff probably– we don't talk about them as a coaching staff because Ben takes the oxygen, but when you mirror up the offensive coordinator and the defensive coordinator, that's a pretty powerful combo. But you're winning– did you think when Case won that game and you watched him talk– I mean, they gave Tyson Badgett an extension a year ago.

56:43 It's like, Case, that was your one shot. I think that's why he was so emotional. He's no dummy. He's like, I'm not going to start again.

56:48 Right.

56:49 Once this guy's he's been cleared to play, he's going to get to start the next game. So he was kind of mum about it till the story kind of broke a couple of days ago. It was pretty clear to me after the Monday night game. It was like, yeah, the case is never this is it. But, like, they won with a guy who said he was retired two years ago who hadn't played forever pretty easily. I mean, they killed the Eagles. Like, think how hard it was for the Rams. The Bears destroyed them. And Tyson didn't throw a touchdown today, but you could see, like, physically, as an undrafted free agent, to have that size, the arm strength, and mobility, there's a lot there to work with.

57:26 And he's clearly way better than he was a couple years ago when he got thrust in to play on the crappy teams.

57:31 And when you're a Northern team, And you're going to play starting in about two weeks to three weeks in bad weather. The Bears are built between Caleb's legs and this run game, John. This is like we talked about with Jacksonville. Jacksonville is a physical warm weather team. And I think Liam Cohen understands it because Liam Cohen played college football, small college football. I think I'm from the Northeast.

57:54 So, again, he gets it.

57:55 Yeah. So Liam Cohen gets it. You have to build physical teams. You don't want to be a dome or a Florida team. And when I look at the Bears, I'm like, this is what Green Bay can't do. Like the Packers have rarely had. That's one of the knocks on the floor is they've never been a physical kick-ass, punch-in-the-mouth offense. It's been pretty. Chicago can be pretty. But that's why he drafted. Everybody wanted him to draft an edge.

58:21 He went and got that blocking tight end Roush from Stanford. He's like, no, I want another tight end. Cole Komet can block. So it's like, I just look at the Bears. They're not just winning. They're building a team that's capable of playing cold weather football in the last eight weeks of the regular season.

58:41 Well, you should tell Cosell that NFL film should erase that Packer Bucks game from the history. No one should ever. Oh God, it was awful. The Bears go in there next week, right? To Lambeau. You know, I don't think Packer fans are thrilled. I mean, having to watch one of the worst games you will ever see against the Buccaneers with an undrafted free agent that, I mean, fantastic story.

59:02 Seems like a great kid, but NFL player, not quite sure. Can you imagine if the Bears go in and handle them the way they've been playing? I'm going to assume Caleb's not going to play this week and you do it with an undrafted free agent and Tyson Badgett and just shove them around. Cause right now the Packers physically are one of the weakest teams. I mean, they're, they're offensive lines, atrocious. They're not a, They're just not a good team. They're not good.

59:30 They're not fun to watch. I mean, even Tucker Kraft dropped a touchdown in the end, so they came back. Matt Bolin, Golden, caught one following, but they're just not a fun team to watch. Presented by J-Lab. Head to Amazon. The code is COLINCOWARD for 20% off any J-Lab products, and they are all awesome. Feel alive with J-Lab.

59:56 All right.

59:57 We have to talk about this. USC 25, University of Washington 21. It was ugly. 19 total penalties combined six for 26. Both teams are very young. Washington's super young. Washington's not good. Their own line, which they projected to be their best part of their team is, is not good. Um, It is remarkable how reliant USC is on Trent Mosley, a freshman receiver who's been, I guess, banged up for about two weeks. They're just not the same offense without him.

1:00:31 But it's interesting. So USC's opponents this year, they beat a team from Louisiana. That team's 4-1. They beat Fresno State. Fresno State's 4-1. Oregon's 3-1. So you could say to yourself, you know what? We're losing. We're beating good teams, and we lost to a great team in Oregon this But I was thinking about this, John, and I talked about it last week. There are three coaches that went heavy into the transfer portal. Dion when he got to Colorado, Lincoln when he got to USC, and Brian Kelly when he got to LSU. Brian didn't want to do the legwork of high school. And there's an argument. I was talking to a coach about this recently. He said, what you should really do, college basketball or football, your first

1:01:15 class should be all freshmen. Build your culture. Build loyalty and culture. Then fill it in every year with NIL players, but build through high school. So Lane, Lincoln Riley comes in and there's not a ton of players there, but he wasn't going to get fired after a year, right? But he gets Caleb and Jordan Addison. So it's like, wow, they go 11 and I think three. And it's like, wow.

1:01:40 And so he doubles down in the transfer portal. Those are the two best players he ever got out of the transfer portal. Caleb Williams and Jordan Addison. Those were the two best. He never met that. And you looked up three or four years later and you're like, I don't have any good high school players. Well, now they do.

1:01:58 But it feels like it's too late. And, you know, you can't you can't win Big Ten football games on the road with 18 year old Southern California high school kids one year. Last year, they're in high school football. And so, you know, it's. Even though they have a winning record, they're, I think, 5-1. And Penn State's a mess offensively. Their pass protection, I think, is their quarterback gets pressured 30% of the time, pass protection. And USC's defensive front is pretty talented. So it's a good matchup for USC. But I come out of that game and I'm like, boy, it feels inevitable. Lincoln didn't even do the walk-in with the team. He didn't get on the field until 47 minutes before kickoff because I don't think

1:02:44 he wanted to hear the catcalls from the fans. So that's my only guess. But I don't think they would fire him in season. And they do have a winning record. And I do think they'll beat, I don't know what the line is on Penn State. But, I mean, God, Indiana beat Rutgers this weekend. Didn't have a penalty. They're so well coached. Even Northwestern's good. Minnesota's good. How do you think the USC situation unfolds here over the next two months?

1:03:12 Well, I mean, they play Indiana. They play Ohio State, correct?

1:03:16 Yeah.

1:03:17 I mean, they're in some trouble in those games. No one would argue Lincoln's offensive aptitude, right? He knows offense. I didn't think his quarterback played that well in that game throughout the stretches. He didn't. I don't think Washington's very good. They're not. Bryce Underwood's taking a lot of crap for being an all-ski-mass team, taking a lot of money.

1:03:38 I think Desmond Williams, for the amount of money they're paying him, I don't really see it. And I think Lane Kiffin's kind of lucky because if that player would have gone to him like he wanted to before he got Leavitt, and I'm not saying Leavitt's the perfect player, I don't think it would have gone well. I know he made the one great play at the end of the game.

1:03:57 He's small.

1:03:57 He is. He looks tiny.

1:03:59 Tiny. Tiny.

1:04:00 This goes back to Leach. I just think there's ingrained in them the way they practice, and I think their offensive philosophy doesn't mirror with playing good defense for whatever reason. I don't know the specifics. Maybe coaches that have been around him could articulate it better, but we have a long track record going back to when he was at Oklahoma with way better offenses than he had now. I mean, he had CeeDee Lamb, Hollywood Brown, P. Ryan. Joe Mixon, first rounders on the offensive line, Baker Mayfield, and their defenses were putrid. They were terrible.

1:04:37 Yeah.

1:04:39 You can't convince me that it's the way they practice, specifically against that offense. You can't build any physicality. There's no tackling. I mean, that one, when it was, what was it? They made it 21 to 10 when the tight end scored for Washington. That's just bad of a tackle. You'd see better tackling in peewee football. This is USC.

1:04:59 I saw Taylor Mays. I think he's on Jed Fish's staff. I thought to myself, I remember when Taylor Mays would kill people going across. He had his flaws as a player, but the physicality USC used to have, these guys were playing two-hand touch and not even shoving the guy out. And Gary Patterson, whether the personality, whatever, I do think it's a physical mindset that's set Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday of practice that however Lincoln's done it now for a long period of time does not translate to defense. Even if he had Georgia or whoever the best defensive teams are in the country. they would be worse practicing against his offense every single week. I feel very confident making that statement. Now, if he gets some young guys, their

1:05:44 offense keeps getting better. They'll have a 10-2 team where they have the number one offense in the country and they score 45 points a game. But I don't think it's possible for him to win a national championship because I don't think he's physical enough to go with the big boys in the big games.

1:05:57 When he got hired, he was in the Pac-12. And my take was he's going to win 10 games a year, 11 games a year in the Pac-12. He's going to outscore everybody. And they've got a lot of money at USC. And then all of a sudden, uh-oh, we're not in that conference anymore. And I do think there's something to be said, I think, in the Big 12. I think USC tends to be better at home. It's warm weather.

1:06:16 In the ACC, maybe. But I just don't think stylistically it works. I mean, you talk these cold-weather games that you're going to have to play year after year in Minnesota and Iowa and Ohio State and Michigan and Penn State. I mean, listen, it's the proof's in the pudding. I thought that play up the sidelines where the two defenders tried to push them out of bounds. I mean, that just summed up. They have been a poor tackling team.

1:06:45 The through line on that is indisputable. USC has been a poor tackling team. from the first game of Lincoln Riley's run. And that's all about physicality. Look at the teams that are physical. It's Kyle Shanahan's team, the Ravens teams, like Seattle, like the teams, John, the teams that are physical in the NFL are consistently physical. Harbaugh teams, John or Jim, right? Like we know the coaches, if you say physical football, I mean, Andy Reid, hard practices. excellent tackling teams. It's the same seven or eight teams every year that you kind of feel like, oh, those teams.

1:07:27 I mean, when I watch a Niners game, they don't hit like other teams. They are more physical. They're offensively seeking collisions. You look at USC, it is a pretty finesse team. They have not been even a mediocre tackling team. I'm sure somebody's got numbers on it, but I watched that Washington play, and I'm like, it was just one of those hands in the air. It's like, this has been going on now for five-plus years.

1:07:53 Well, did you notice that as the game went on, or I mean as the week, like Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, as the clips came out from the Oregon program, and they do a good job of getting Dan Lanning's message at the beginning of the week, pregame, halftime, his message toward the USC program. And then after, a couple days later, you know, they're on a bye week, but they're playing USC.

1:08:16 I don't think it's just randomly he threw out that UCLA, that they're playing him this week, that he goes, yeah, they remind me of Indiana. I felt that was a double jab at USC. Like, I respect the way that guy's operating from a physical standpoint. We don't respect USC. the juice boxes, the whole thing, and specifically the offense.

1:08:39 We don't respect that mentality of football. Where did Dan Lanning learn football? Saban, Kirby. How does Oregon want to play? Physical style of football. And look at Ryan Day. I've been an Ohio State hater. I can have nothing but respect for the way they operate their program. They're fantastic.

1:08:58 Yeah.

1:08:59 And like, does he have longstanding relationships with Matt Patricia and Arthur Smith? But it's like, I'm going to go hire the best. You're USC. You know, you should have the pick of the league. How much does a coordinator cost? Well, pay him a million dollars more than he wants. Get him. And it just feels like that's never been Lincoln's thing.

1:09:18 Back to Oklahoma. He just has. I don't think he's a great identifier of coaches. And offensively, he doesn't have to worry about it because that's his baby.

1:09:27 That's right.

1:09:28 Defensively, like Lincoln, and who knows? Maybe guys go, I don't want to be in that operation. I don't want to coach there. Let's face it. Who else is hiring Rob Ryan at this point? And Gary Pat. Who is hiring these guys? And you look at Ryan Day. Those guys go there. They thrive. And then they go on.

1:09:46 Like Arthur Smith, if Belichick gets fired, I bet he's the next coach in North Carolina. Patricia has been a revelation for him the last two years hiring him. Could you ever envision Lincoln Riley hiring the equivalent of a Matt Patricia? Someone like, God, that guy's got a long resume of success, been around the best. No, he hired Gary Patterson, who had essentially been retired for years. And I'm pro Gary Patterson in his heyday, but I don't know what's going on. It's a tough watch, Colin. They are...

1:10:16 At Wisconsin, Ohio State, at Indiana, even that at UCLA game.

1:10:20 Oh, no, they'd lose today to UCLA. Yeah, yeah. And these are teams that don't commit a lot of penalties. They don't match up at all with Ohio State or Indiana because those teams tend to be highly physical, can beat you down the field. They're not good in the secondary. Their defensive front's okay, but they're not good in the secondary.

1:10:38 You can trade the Saints to win against the Falcons at 54% right now. I think this is a go-either-way game. The Falcons are 9-1 in their last 10 Monday Night Football games. Everybody loves the Falcons. I think it's an interesting game because Shuck and Penix look like franchise guys. I picked the Saints to win the division, so I'm going to go with them here. But I think it's a coin flip. Your thoughts?

1:11:04 Yeah, I'm going to go with the Saints. I think this is going to be a raucous environment down in the bayou. And the Saints have had their moments early in the season. They haven't been able to kind of seal the deal. But Tyler Shuck, Kellen Moore, I'm going to go with the Saints.

1:11:18 Former NFL scout John Middlecoff, three and out is his podcast, as always. Crushed it for an hour on Sunday. Good talking to you, bud.

1:11:25 See you, Kellen.

1:11:31 This podcast presented by Bud Light. Easy to drink, easy to enjoy.