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Speaker 1: What is going on? Everybody? John Middlecop three and Out

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Speaker 1: podcast brought to you live, not really live because it's

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Speaker 1: recorded on the Colin Coward podcast network. We're almost a

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Speaker 1: football you know. We got and probably under two weeks

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Speaker 1: every training camp in America, NFL College we're still probably

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Speaker 1: three or four weeks away. We'll be kicked off. Guys

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Speaker 1: will be in pads. Not very far away. Football is

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Speaker 1: basically here. It's not very far away. Thank god, there's

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Speaker 1: nothing really going on today. I got a big guest,

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Speaker 1: Phil Savage, former NFL GM. He used to run the

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Speaker 1: Senior Bowl for the last six years. He replaced Kenny

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Speaker 1: the Snake Stabler in the booth calling Alabama football. He

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Speaker 1: was He witnessed five championships. He also witnessed the year

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Speaker 1: that they lost to Clemson a couple of years back,

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Speaker 1: so he's kind of seen it all. Worked for Belichick,

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Speaker 1: worked for Asie Doso, was a GM in the NFL.

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Speaker 1: He's now a part of the Alliance of American Football.

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Speaker 1: It's this It's basically like the G League, uh for

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Speaker 1: the NBA is what they're trying to make it with

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Speaker 1: the NFL. It's not a competition. They're not trying to

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Speaker 1: take out the NFL. They're trying to be a developmental league.

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Speaker 1: He is now a GM in that league. He's gonna

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Speaker 1: tell us a little bit about that, and then at

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Speaker 1: the end I'll get into the Middlecoff mail bag as

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Speaker 1: I always do. You can follow me on Twitter and Instagram.

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Speaker 1: I've been answering a lot of questions on Instagram, just

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Speaker 1: kind of messing around football wise. Anything you've got, slide

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Speaker 1: into my d m s on Instagram. It's wide open

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Speaker 1: at John Middlecoff. Same as my Twitter handle and uh

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Speaker 1: I'll reply either through Insta story or just an Instagram post.

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Speaker 1: So doing a lot of different digital stuff, you know,

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Speaker 1: slow times in the summer, playing around. I'm easy to

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Speaker 1: get at. You know, you can instagram me, you can

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Speaker 1: tweet me. If you listening to this podcast, you can

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Speaker 1: always leave a review in iTunes. Just go to iTunes, subscribe, rate,

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Speaker 1: and then the review section and leave a question. Like

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Speaker 1: I said after the Savage interview, I will get to

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Speaker 1: the middle Coff mail back as always, But let's get

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Speaker 1: to my main man. A GM for the Alliance of

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Speaker 1: American Football League, the a F in Phoenix. Is that correct?

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Speaker 1: That's correct? John? Yeah, It's been a summer of transition

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Speaker 1: down here in Lower Alabama for me. After six years

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Speaker 1: at the recent Senior Bowl, had an opportunity to join

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Speaker 1: the Alliance with the Phoenix franchise. And you know, Bill

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Speaker 1: Polian is one of the co founders of the league,

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Speaker 1: and he's a Hall of Fame general manager himself, and

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Speaker 1: when he reached out to me, you know, that makes

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Speaker 1: you sit up straight in your share, so to speak.

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Speaker 1: And I just feel like that this league has a

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Speaker 1: real opportunity to fulfill a role in addition to the NFL,

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Speaker 1: as an augmentation to the NFL in terms of trying

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Speaker 1: to develop players. And you know, going back to our

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Speaker 1: days in Philly together, uh, I've always enjoyed trying to

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Speaker 1: help people with their careers, whether it was players on

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Speaker 1: the field, or scouts or trainers or you know, media

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Speaker 1: people off the field and trying to advance their own lives.

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Speaker 1: And so this league is is going to get give

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Speaker 1: me and others a real opportunity to do just that.

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Speaker 1: I think you said it perfectly, feel an augmentation. This

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Speaker 1: league is not trying to necessarily take over the NFL.

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Speaker 1: Before I talked to you, I just started reading up

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Speaker 1: on the league. I watched the video of Dick Ever

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Speaker 1: Saul's kid is kind of in charge of the league, right,

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Speaker 1: So he is a high powered guy in Hollywood, a

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Speaker 1: couple of years older than me, a young up and comer.

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Speaker 1: It feels like the backing and vision of this league,

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Speaker 1: Like you said, Bill Polian football wise, Ever saw TV

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Speaker 1: media wise, I mean it's it's not your typical just

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Speaker 1: swinging for the fences here. I mean, this is this

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Speaker 1: league has some substance to it. Yeah. I think it's

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Speaker 1: going to work for three reasons. John. Number one, the

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Speaker 1: people at the top you mentioned Charlie ever Saw. He's

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Speaker 1: sort of the brains behind the operation, and he and

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Speaker 1: Bill Polly and Or are co founders of the league.

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Speaker 1: Bill brings obviously years and years of experience in the

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Speaker 1: football part of the game. Charlie comes from the TV side,

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Speaker 1: the media side, the tech side of things. And so

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Speaker 1: it's really on the surface it's an it's an odd mix,

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Speaker 1: but in reality it's an ingenious mix of people and

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Speaker 1: personalities and abilities. And then you you include J. K. McKay,

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Speaker 1: who's part of that triumvirate. I guess that people at

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Speaker 1: the top of the of the league and how things

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Speaker 1: are going to be managed, and I think they're off

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Speaker 1: to a great star in that way. Secondly, the timeline

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Speaker 1: the games are going to be played from the week

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Speaker 1: after the Super Bowl, so starting February nine of for

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Speaker 1: ten weeks through the middle of April. Then there'll be

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Speaker 1: a couple of playoff games and a championship that would

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Speaker 1: be played the Sunday after the NFL Draft. So that

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Speaker 1: window will allow players two come in practice, hone their craft,

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Speaker 1: develop their skills further, get more game experience, and then

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Speaker 1: they can go back resign with an NFL team and

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Speaker 1: be available for the O T A s and the

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Speaker 1: mini camps uh and and not miss anything. And then

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Speaker 1: the third piece of the puzzle in my mind is

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Speaker 1: that when you look at the landscape of football right now,

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Speaker 1: from high school to college even to the end to

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Speaker 1: the NFL with the current c b A, there just

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Speaker 1: isn't a lot of development that goes on. High schools

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Speaker 1: are limited, and practicing colleges are limited. In spring ball

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Speaker 1: and training camp the pros same thing. I mean, you

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Speaker 1: can't even work with an individual defensive back or wide

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Speaker 1: receive or offense of lineman. In February March or basically

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Speaker 1: half of April if you're an NFL club, This league

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Speaker 1: is going to uh allow that to happen, and it's

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Speaker 1: going to give the number of players a real opportunity

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Speaker 1: to mature more physically, mentally, emotionally before they try to

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Speaker 1: go take a second or third bite at the apple

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Speaker 1: called the NFL. Well, Phil, here and you talk if

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Speaker 1: you are a practice squad level player like I'm watching

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Speaker 1: right now the Warrior Summer League team play and all

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Speaker 1: these teams. You know in the NBA, a lot of guys,

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Speaker 1: you know, third fourth year guys that have been bouncing

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Speaker 1: around the NBA are playing in the Summer League. Why

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Speaker 1: because every GM is watching live reps against young NBA talent.

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Speaker 1: Same deal here, If you were a practice squad guy,

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Speaker 1: you know, once you get no t as, you don't

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Speaker 1: really get any reps, right, you'd be better off in

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Speaker 1: this league you're talking about. You know, why wouldn't you

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Speaker 1: just go play? You know you're getting for all the

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Speaker 1: GMS and all the pro scouting departments of thirty two

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Speaker 1: teams are gonna be evaluating this league. Is that? Is

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Speaker 1: that who you want? Those type guys? Yes, so right

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Speaker 1: now they're ninety players on every NFL roster, so thirty

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Speaker 1: two teams ninety players. When September one rolls around and

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Speaker 1: the NFL cuts down to the fifty three man active

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Speaker 1: roster plus ten on the practice squad, plus a handful

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Speaker 1: of I R Engine reserve guys, you're talking about sixty

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Speaker 1: five to seventy players that will be on the payroll

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Speaker 1: in the NFL. That leaves twenty to twenty five players,

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Speaker 1: so that sixty six man I I would venture to

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Speaker 1: guess that eight percent of the Alliance League participants will

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Speaker 1: be in in that group of players. So guys that

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Speaker 1: are currently on NFL teams right now, we're going to

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Speaker 1: end up in the Alliance. In terms of the back

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Speaker 1: part of that roster, I think that one of the

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Speaker 1: question marks for the agent community will be that kid

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Speaker 1: that's on the practice squad or has been released and

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Speaker 1: maybe was on a team for an NFL team for

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Speaker 1: part of the season. Now it's January and an NFL

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Speaker 1: club says, hey, we want to sign you to a

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Speaker 1: futures deal. Well, as we both know, you don't get

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Speaker 1: paid on a futures deal until you make the team

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Speaker 1: in September. Gally, it's going to be. Yeah, that's exactly right.

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Speaker 1: And so with the Alliance, the agent and that that

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Speaker 1: player that fits into this category is going to say, hey,

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Speaker 1: I can go play and actually give him the field

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Speaker 1: and make probably in the range of seventy tho dollars.

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Speaker 1: I mean, that's kind of what's been floated out there

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Speaker 1: as the potential uh minimum salary. It's gonna be somewhere

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Speaker 1: between sixty and eighty I feel certain about that. Is

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Speaker 1: there is there a high is there a high end?

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Speaker 1: Is there a high end if you can get a guy,

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Speaker 1: let's say a famous Johnny Menzel or something, you know

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Speaker 1: that's trying to I'm just using him as an example. Yeah,

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Speaker 1: I think that those kinds of higher profile players uh uh,

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Speaker 1: you know would be handled through the league. They won't

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Speaker 1: be handled by us at the club level, so to speak,

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Speaker 1: so they could conceivably be on a different type deal.

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Speaker 1: But for the rank and file player in the Alliance League,

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Speaker 1: it's going to be a minimum salary somewhere in that

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Speaker 1: range with some potential upside either team wins or individual

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Speaker 1: stats or what have you. But let's just let's just

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Speaker 1: call it eighty grand. So a guy goes and makes

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Speaker 1: eighty thou dollars and gets a chance to play ten games,

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Speaker 1: put himself back on the field video All those tapes

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Speaker 1: are going to be watched by the NFL. Now you

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Speaker 1: may actually increase your value to the NFL and perhaps

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Speaker 1: you could get a signing bonus or another crack at it.

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Speaker 1: And now you go there in May, you don't miss

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Speaker 1: any of the O t A or the mini camps.

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Speaker 1: You know, that was one of the issues with NFL

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Speaker 1: Europe that that expired ten years ago. When we would

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Speaker 1: allocate players to that league, the guys would come back

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Speaker 1: at the end of June or early July and may

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Speaker 1: be worn out and then be they would have missed

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Speaker 1: all of our installation with our own teams. So I

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Speaker 1: think that the timeline, the people, the timeline, and then

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Speaker 1: the development of prospects will be the three main reasons

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Speaker 1: this thing goes. And you know, just to to dogtail

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Speaker 1: on on the conversation of Bill Polling from the football side,

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Speaker 1: and then Charlie ever saw was sort of this modern era,

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Speaker 1: this new generation of people. They they showed us some

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Speaker 1: technology on it's gonna be rolled out with this league.

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Speaker 1: That's gonna be just you know, so forward thinking and

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Speaker 1: groundbreaking for the fan in terms of fantasy football, in

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Speaker 1: terms of now all the legalized gaming that can take place.

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Speaker 1: I'm telling you the Alliance is going to be way

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Speaker 1: out ahead of the curve in a number of different areas,

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Speaker 1: and I think technology is going to be one of them.

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Speaker 1: I'm super excited to see it because that's not my world,

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Speaker 1: but it was really fascinating to sit in those meetings

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Speaker 1: a few weeks ago. The biggest and off I'm just

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Speaker 1: gonna play, you know, Devil's Advocate outsider here is if

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Speaker 1: I'm just a fan and I want to like the

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Speaker 1: hardest thing about watching football is watching bad football, right?

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Speaker 1: You know, quarterbacks and you practice so much more than

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Speaker 1: you play. How how do you guys coach up the

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Speaker 1: players enough to make the games and especially the quarterback play.

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Speaker 1: You know where the quarterback can move the offense and

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Speaker 1: the game can be you know, I guess easy on

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Speaker 1: the eyes just from an offensive standpoint, sure, yeah, I

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Speaker 1: think well. First, of all the eight coaches that have

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Speaker 1: been hired, six of them have offensive backgrounds, and specifically

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Speaker 1: quarterback backgrounds. Steve Spurrier, Brad Children's, Mike Wiley, Rick new

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Speaker 1: Heizel who will be our coach in Phoenix, and was

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Speaker 1: really the main reason I wanted to go to that

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Speaker 1: particular because Rick and I worked together at U C

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Speaker 1: l A, you know, almost thirty years ago, and we've

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Speaker 1: maintained a friendship through the years. I just think he's

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Speaker 1: the best quarterback coach that I've been around, this side

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Speaker 1: of Homer Smith, but Mike Marks in San Diego and

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Speaker 1: so all of those guys with that pedigree of quarterback coaching.

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Speaker 1: I think that shows you the focus of where this

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Speaker 1: league will be is going to be on quarterback and

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Speaker 1: offensive line play. I would venture to say that deep

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Speaker 1: into back play will be important as well. But those

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Speaker 1: are three physician groups that I think the training and

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Speaker 1: the jump from college to the NFL is just almost

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Speaker 1: insurmountable for some for these kids now because of the

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Speaker 1: the lack of knowledge and the lack of of of

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Speaker 1: of depth in their own resume. So this is gonna

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Speaker 1: give them a chance to fill in some of the gaps.

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Speaker 1: How do I watch the games? Have you guys determined

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Speaker 1: that where you guys are gonna be you know, Digital

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Speaker 1: New York? Yep, they have a uh, the Alliance has

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Speaker 1: a contract with CBS Sports and so for the first

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Speaker 1: time ever, CBS and a national network will be allowed

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Speaker 1: to cross remote a different football league during the NFL contests. So,

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Speaker 1: in other words, the two weeks leading up to the

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Speaker 1: Super Bowl and Super Bowl Sunday, since CBS has the game,

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Speaker 1: you're gonna see and hear a lot about the alliance.

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Speaker 1: CBS will do the opening game of which we don't

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Speaker 1: know the matchup yet, and then the other games for

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Speaker 1: the remaining part of the season will be on the

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Speaker 1: CBS Sports Network and available on streaming and apps and

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Speaker 1: all that kind of stuff, and then the championship game

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Speaker 1: will return back to CBS at the end of the year.

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Speaker 1: So one of the things that they're gonna do, John

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Speaker 1: that's sort of interesting is is they're going to really

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Speaker 1: rate everyone's progress during training camp, and you know, obviously

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Speaker 1: they're going to try to create as level of the

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Speaker 1: playing field as possible, and so it's gotten into the

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Speaker 1: allocation of players. There's gonna be some geography involved in

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Speaker 1: terms of colleges are you know, in the surrounding areas

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Speaker 1: of the eight clubs, and then they'll also be a

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Speaker 1: level of allocation that goes through you know, the NFL

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Speaker 1: and CFL teams, and so that's just a way for

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Speaker 1: us to get organized and get this thing off the

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Speaker 1: ground this year, where you know the teams will be

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Speaker 1: relatively equal is the hope. Got your sounds. I'm actually

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Speaker 1: pretty interested you. You sold me on this leaf. So

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Speaker 1: I want to talk a couple of things before you

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Speaker 1: get out of here. Uh, the Senior Bowl. Just I

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Speaker 1: just jotted down some quarterbacks while you were at the

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Speaker 1: Senior Bowl. That I mean, Jimmy Garoppolo and Derek Carr

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Speaker 1: in the last two years have signed two contracts and

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Speaker 1: you know, almost three hundred million dollars. Uh. Carson Wentz

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Speaker 1: looks like he's got a chance to be the best

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Speaker 1: of the group. This year was pretty fascinating. I mean,

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Speaker 1: Josh Allen has more talent probably than anyone. If he

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Speaker 1: can figure out just how to complete some balls, he's

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Speaker 1: gonna be a pretty good player. And then Baker Mayfield

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Speaker 1: ended up going number one in the draft. That's five

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Speaker 1: quarterbacks that you've had in the last five years, right

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Speaker 1: right right there. You seen it all, Phil, Yeah, we uh,

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Speaker 1: we were fortunate in in terms of being able to

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Speaker 1: sell the idea to these college quarterbacks that the Senior

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Speaker 1: Bowl would be an excellent bridge to a professional career,

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Speaker 1: and just the exposure of of going under center Colin

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Speaker 1: plays in a huddle, working with the pro staff that

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Speaker 1: would and John, you know, it's a small fraternity, and

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Speaker 1: so if you do a good job in mobile, it's

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Speaker 1: gonna spread like wildfire across the league. And we saw

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Speaker 1: that happen with Dak Prescott not on your not on

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Speaker 1: your list there. But we were fortunate that in that regard. Uh,

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Speaker 1: you know, we had some exceptional players come through, but man,

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Speaker 1: even some of the qbs that were here before my time,

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Speaker 1: the Kirk Cousins and Russell Wilson's, those guys have cashed

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Speaker 1: in in a big way. Is well. But you know,

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Speaker 1: the whole All Star venue and then the combine, and

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Speaker 1: you know, our our goal when I got here was

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Speaker 1: to try to turn the Senior Bowl into the first

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Speaker 1: leg of the Triple Crown. Let's let's make the Senior

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Speaker 1: Bowl to Kentucky derby of NFL scouting, and I think

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Speaker 1: we really were able to achieve that, especially we saw

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Speaker 1: the results this year with with Baker going number one overall,

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Speaker 1: Josh Allen going seven, that's the first time that's the

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Speaker 1: that the Senior Bowl had two quarterbacks taken in the

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Speaker 1: top ten, and so that was significant for us. And

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Speaker 1: as I was sitting there at this draft doing some

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Speaker 1: work for Serious x M, you know, it really dawned

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Speaker 1: on me. I'm like, Wow, I'm sitting here at the

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Speaker 1: top of a T n T stadium. We just had

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Speaker 1: two quarterbacks going to top ten. We had eighty four

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Speaker 1: eighty five players get drafted. I'm just not sure we

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Speaker 1: do much better than that. And obviously, with this aliant

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Speaker 1: thing hanging out there, I felt like it would be

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Speaker 1: a good time to to try to jump over and

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Speaker 1: do something else. But very fortunate, you know, being a

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Speaker 1: former NFL gym, you don't get a lot of second

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Speaker 1: chances or fresh opportunities. And and man, I've been able

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Speaker 1: to do that in the last nine years at the

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Speaker 1: Senior Bowl in Alabama, and now it's led to this

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Speaker 1: a f opportunity with some incredible, incredibly smart people that

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Speaker 1: I think will really provide the right guide it's to

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Speaker 1: make a go of it. Well, it's kind of crazy

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Speaker 1: looking back that this year, going into the Senior Bowl,

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Speaker 1: it was pretty damn obvious, maybe not that Baker would

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Speaker 1: go number one or Josh would go in the top ten.

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Speaker 1: But those guys were going in the first round, where

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Speaker 1: just four years removed Car and Jimmy. I mean they

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Speaker 1: went to the Senior Bowl. They had good Senior bowls, right,

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Speaker 1: and and no one really viewed them maybe as fringe

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Speaker 1: first round prospects. I mean, how do people miss on that? Phil?

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Speaker 1: How did those two guys? Was it the spread offense?

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Speaker 1: Was it just did as quarterback to the emphasis on

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Speaker 1: the position changed that much. And you know in five years,

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Speaker 1: you know, I think part of it was Derek was

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Speaker 1: the fact that, remember he had played in a pro

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Speaker 1: style offense in high school in the first couple of

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Speaker 1: years at Fresno, and then they switched to the spread.

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Speaker 1: And remember his last game in in bowl season against

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Speaker 1: USC did not go well, and I think that left

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Speaker 1: a bad face in people's mouth. But I will tell

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Speaker 1: you down here in Mole Built during that week, he

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Speaker 1: did something I've never seen another quarterback do before or since.

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Speaker 1: He gathered his receivers up and despite all the scouts

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Speaker 1: and agents and media wanted to interview the players on

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Speaker 1: the field after practice, he glabbed up two or three

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Speaker 1: of them and they went and worked extra for five

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Speaker 1: or ten or fifteen minutes, and I thought that was impressive.

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Speaker 1: It showed the work ethic that he's got. It showed

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Speaker 1: the leadership that he has, the connectivity with his teammates,

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Speaker 1: and so you know, he probably, as as you look

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Speaker 1: back on it should have gone higher. But I do think,

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Speaker 1: you know, for some we all had. We're all humans,

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Speaker 1: and I think when you end your career on a

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Speaker 1: bad note like he did again usc that happened now

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Speaker 1: with Jimmy Garoppolo, I think, honestly, it was just it

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Speaker 1: was level of competition. Remember he was playing FCS level football,

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Speaker 1: and he had some real growing pains his first two

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Speaker 1: years at Eastern Illinois. You know, his his touchdown interception

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Speaker 1: ratio wasn't all that hot the first two years. Then

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Speaker 1: Dino Baber's comes in there, and that high flying Baylor

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Speaker 1: you know, arn't Ryle's type of offense, and he set

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Speaker 1: records there. Uh, And he had a little bit of

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Speaker 1: a of a different kind of release. You know, he's

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Speaker 1: been trained by Jeff Christensen throughout his career and it's

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Speaker 1: more of what I call a shoulder relief. And uh,

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Speaker 1: I'll tell you when he got to mobile though his practices,

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Speaker 1: he showed that he belonged and there was some talk

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Speaker 1: amongst scouts that he should be a late one. He

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Speaker 1: end up going the second round. Was obviously a wise

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Speaker 1: picked by the Patriots. And there's you know the trade

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Speaker 1: that John Lynch pulled off. Uh, John can make a

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Speaker 1: lot of mistakes because of what he did at that

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Speaker 1: quarterback Paul, No, no, no question. Well, let's you've seen

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Speaker 1: five national championships, you've been to another one. So many

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Speaker 1: things I could ask you about Alabama just within the

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Speaker 1: last month, read your book. It was anyone that likes

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Speaker 1: SEC football or fascinated by Nick Saban, It's it's fantastic

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Speaker 1: and just on the way he built the program. But

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Speaker 1: just let's living the moment for a second. They have

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Speaker 1: you lived out in Alabama? Is there a quarterback controversy?

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Speaker 1: I know Ta was hurt in the spring? Is he

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Speaker 1: the starting quarterback going into the season? I mean, is

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Speaker 1: that you live it probably more on a daily basis

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Speaker 1: than we do on the web. Is that what's the

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Speaker 1: status there of the quarterback position at the University of Alabama? Well,

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Speaker 1: it's it's the story that's dominated the theme down here

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Speaker 1: outside of the program, inside the program. I think it's

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Speaker 1: business as usual. I don't think there's any chance that

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Speaker 1: to A tongue of below goes into training camp as

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Speaker 1: the star Jalen Hurts job because to A was injured

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Speaker 1: in the spring, wasn't played really a half of he

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Speaker 1: had a broken hand. He suffered a broken hand like

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Speaker 1: the first practice of the spring, so that the quarterback

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Speaker 1: Derby never really got out of the gate in the spring.

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Speaker 1: But John, I will tell you this, I think that

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Speaker 1: you know, Bama operates in a hierarchical system. I mean,

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Speaker 1: you have to earn your way, and so two has

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Speaker 1: got to get off to a fast start in training camp.

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Speaker 1: In those scrimmages, he's got to play well. I think

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Speaker 1: that they will play boat quarterbacks in the first part

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Speaker 1: of the schedule, first game or two, maybe even the

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Speaker 1: first three or four games. But I would venture to

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Speaker 1: say because of the way, because of this, these two reasons,

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Speaker 1: Bama had seven new coaches at a tent Okay, They've

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Speaker 1: got new coordinators on both sides of the ball. They

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Speaker 1: lose their entire defensive secondary, six defensive backs that vacated

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Speaker 1: the premises, and so their offense is going to have

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Speaker 1: to carry the defense starting starting middle linebacker or early

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Speaker 1: in the early in the year. And so when you

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Speaker 1: look at vama's offensive skill set, the stable running backs

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Speaker 1: led by Naji Harris and Damien Harris, there's this group

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Speaker 1: of receivers that are coming back despite the loss of

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Speaker 1: Calvin Ridley. They've got an exceptional talent at white out,

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Speaker 1: They've got multiple tight ends. I'm saying all this to

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Speaker 1: say this, VAMA needs a point guard style of quarterback,

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Speaker 1: a guy that can distribute the ball and spread around

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Speaker 1: to everybody to a tongue of ALOA. Is that guy,

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Speaker 1: clearly more so than Jalen Hurts. Can VAMA win with Jalen.

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Speaker 1: They've won twenty six games and lost two with Jalen,

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Speaker 1: but they didn't get over the hump on the road

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Speaker 1: at Auburn or in the National Championship game against Clemson.

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Speaker 1: Those are the two losses with Hurts. He can get

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Speaker 1: them there. It was two of that pushed him over

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Speaker 1: the top last year in a similar situation against Georgia.

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Speaker 1: So where I'm going with this is I think by

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Speaker 1: this on, you get to October one, barring injuries and setbacks,

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Speaker 1: and they get into the heart of their SEC schedule.

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Speaker 1: I think too will be in the lineup as the starter,

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Speaker 1: but I don't think it'll start that way. When when

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Speaker 1: August practice rolls around, I agree, I I know, you

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Speaker 1: gotta get out of here. I got I got one

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Speaker 1: quick question. Where I'm recording this podcast, about fifteen miles

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Speaker 1: away is where Naji Harris played high school football and

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Speaker 1: now he's the starting running back of the University of Alabama.

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Speaker 1: He kind of flashed with that National championship game, right

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Speaker 1: is when he had some big runs. He looks like

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Speaker 1: I mean, he clearly is a special, special talent. I mean,

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Speaker 1: are we looking at a future top twenty pick? And

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Speaker 1: I mean he's been a he's been a grown man

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Speaker 1: since he was a sixteen year old out on the

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Speaker 1: West Coast. I think that grown man concept, uh is

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Speaker 1: interesting because he is light years ahead of his current

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Speaker 1: competition in terms of guys that came from high school

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Speaker 1: of college last year. It'll be interesting to see if

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Speaker 1: he stays ahead of the curve. You know, his other

431
00:23:57,680 --> 00:24:00,320
Speaker 1: guys start to catch up and mature physically. But he

432
00:24:00,440 --> 00:24:04,360
Speaker 1: is a gifted runner. He's a very classy receiver out

433
00:24:04,400 --> 00:24:07,840
Speaker 1: of the backfield. And John you mentioned him last year

434
00:24:07,840 --> 00:24:11,240
Speaker 1: in that second half of the National title game against Georgia,

435
00:24:11,640 --> 00:24:15,520
Speaker 1: you had two at quarterback. You had Naji Harris in

436
00:24:15,600 --> 00:24:19,240
Speaker 1: the backfield. Alex Leatherwood was a true freshman at left

437
00:24:19,280 --> 00:24:22,119
Speaker 1: tackle after Jonah Williams and other California went down with

438
00:24:22,160 --> 00:24:24,800
Speaker 1: an injury, and then of course DeVante Smith and that

439
00:24:24,840 --> 00:24:28,680
Speaker 1: group of receivers he caught the winning uh touchdown path.

440
00:24:29,160 --> 00:24:33,600
Speaker 1: They had true freshman that played key roles in that

441
00:24:33,680 --> 00:24:37,240
Speaker 1: national title. And that's why people are excited about Alabama again,

442
00:24:37,800 --> 00:24:40,679
Speaker 1: uh this year as they try to defend their national

443
00:24:40,800 --> 00:24:44,919
Speaker 1: championship from seam, but really defend the decade. I would say,

444
00:24:45,119 --> 00:24:48,320
Speaker 1: we're having won five in nine years. Well, you know

445
00:24:48,320 --> 00:24:51,680
Speaker 1: why freshman are ready philed because at Alabama it's fourth

446
00:24:51,680 --> 00:24:56,719
Speaker 1: and goal every day. For those of you don't know,

447
00:24:56,760 --> 00:24:59,360
Speaker 1: that's Phil Savage's book, go get it on shelves now,

448
00:24:59,400 --> 00:25:03,560
Speaker 1: Amazon Dot. Huh yeah, John, I appreciate you're reading the

449
00:25:03,600 --> 00:25:05,960
Speaker 1: book and uh, man, I just felt like I wanted

450
00:25:06,000 --> 00:25:07,600
Speaker 1: to write it for two reasons. I thought we were

451
00:25:07,640 --> 00:25:12,240
Speaker 1: were witnessing history and and then the two reasons I

452
00:25:12,240 --> 00:25:14,560
Speaker 1: wrote at number one is a tribute to the players,

453
00:25:14,600 --> 00:25:18,040
Speaker 1: the coaches, and Nick Saban himself because what they've done

454
00:25:18,160 --> 00:25:22,520
Speaker 1: is nothing short of remarkable. And then secondly, because of

455
00:25:22,560 --> 00:25:26,679
Speaker 1: my background with the original Browns, Bill Belichick and Nick Saban.

456
00:25:28,480 --> 00:25:34,639
Speaker 1: Nick threw Bill through a lot of what is now

457
00:25:34,680 --> 00:25:38,720
Speaker 1: known as the process. It was really sort of formulated

458
00:25:38,840 --> 00:25:42,040
Speaker 1: during those years in Barrie, Ohio, and I felt like

459
00:25:42,080 --> 00:25:44,080
Speaker 1: it could be a bit of a Paul Harvey, a

460
00:25:44,119 --> 00:25:47,240
Speaker 1: bit of telling the rest of the story for the

461
00:25:47,280 --> 00:25:50,239
Speaker 1: fans out there so they would really understand where all

462
00:25:50,280 --> 00:25:52,760
Speaker 1: of this came from. Well, you did a great job, Phil,

463
00:25:52,840 --> 00:25:54,919
Speaker 1: and I I'm not just saying this because I know you.

464
00:25:54,960 --> 00:25:57,119
Speaker 1: It was if you like football, you like Nick Saban,

465
00:25:57,160 --> 00:26:00,480
Speaker 1: you like the SEC, you like championship football, it's uh,

466
00:26:00,520 --> 00:26:02,880
Speaker 1: it's a great read. I know you've got a conference

467
00:26:02,880 --> 00:26:06,160
Speaker 1: call with the a F. Good luck, Phil, and I'm

468
00:26:06,160 --> 00:26:08,280
Speaker 1: excited you've kind of sold me. I mean, I'm pretty

469
00:26:08,320 --> 00:26:11,040
Speaker 1: interested in this league. And you know I'm jealous of

470
00:26:11,240 --> 00:26:13,080
Speaker 1: you know, the state of Alabama. Guess just to get

471
00:26:13,080 --> 00:26:15,480
Speaker 1: ready for you know, not just a national championship this

472
00:26:15,560 --> 00:26:17,960
Speaker 1: year with to a NAGY, why wouldn't they win the

473
00:26:18,000 --> 00:26:22,080
Speaker 1: next couple. Yeah, there's there's no doubt they're gonna be

474
00:26:22,119 --> 00:26:24,800
Speaker 1: in the next for the next couple of years, especially

475
00:26:24,880 --> 00:26:28,160
Speaker 1: if those guys can stay healthy. But John always enjoy

476
00:26:28,200 --> 00:26:30,960
Speaker 1: our conversation. I'm so happy for you. I'm glad things

477
00:26:30,960 --> 00:26:33,800
Speaker 1: are going well, and you know, let's stay connected throughout

478
00:26:33,800 --> 00:26:35,879
Speaker 1: the fall season. Thanks a lot of phil have a

479
00:26:35,880 --> 00:26:39,120
Speaker 1: good day, all right, good deal? Thank you by Phil?

480
00:26:39,200 --> 00:26:41,560
Speaker 1: Is the best? Uh, you know, done it, seen it,

481
00:26:42,320 --> 00:26:44,679
Speaker 1: seen it all done at all. I I think it's

482
00:26:44,720 --> 00:26:48,080
Speaker 1: pretty fascinating that league. I'm usually you know, the XFL.

483
00:26:48,280 --> 00:26:50,439
Speaker 1: I know Vince McMahon put a lot of cash into it,

484
00:26:50,480 --> 00:26:55,080
Speaker 1: and you know, Andrew Luck's dad is making an absolute shitload.

485
00:26:55,119 --> 00:26:56,960
Speaker 1: I think they signed him like a twenty million dollar

486
00:26:57,000 --> 00:26:59,159
Speaker 1: contract to be the commissioner of the league. That's just

487
00:26:59,200 --> 00:27:03,280
Speaker 1: not gonna work, uh to me, the the a F

488
00:27:04,040 --> 00:27:07,359
Speaker 1: if it's a supplemental you know league in terms of

489
00:27:08,800 --> 00:27:12,639
Speaker 1: a basically a developmental league, not that a ton of

490
00:27:12,640 --> 00:27:14,639
Speaker 1: people are gonna watch like they do the NFL. But

491
00:27:14,720 --> 00:27:16,840
Speaker 1: I do think it's interesting and I do think it'll

492
00:27:16,840 --> 00:27:20,359
Speaker 1: be good for football to develop the players. I definitely

493
00:27:20,400 --> 00:27:22,960
Speaker 1: think it has a chance, and it's it's it's got

494
00:27:22,960 --> 00:27:25,880
Speaker 1: a lot more substance, it feels like than previous leagues.

495
00:27:25,920 --> 00:27:29,280
Speaker 1: And then they're not trying to be something they're not. Okay,

496
00:27:29,840 --> 00:27:34,600
Speaker 1: let's get to the Middle Cough mail bag and uh

497
00:27:34,680 --> 00:27:37,800
Speaker 1: let's bang out some questions and lead you into your

498
00:27:38,040 --> 00:27:41,280
Speaker 1: If you're listening to this this Wednesday, Thursday, whenever, you can

499
00:27:41,359 --> 00:27:44,600
Speaker 1: always go to iTunes subscribe rate and in the review section.

500
00:27:44,720 --> 00:27:46,320
Speaker 1: This is the only place that I read the mail

501
00:27:46,359 --> 00:27:48,200
Speaker 1: back questions. So if you listen to it other places,

502
00:27:48,640 --> 00:27:51,359
Speaker 1: I don't know, tweet at me or instagram, d m

503
00:27:51,440 --> 00:27:54,120
Speaker 1: me your question, I'll try to get to it that way.

504
00:27:54,160 --> 00:27:56,960
Speaker 1: But I read the questions for the Middle Coff mail

505
00:27:57,000 --> 00:28:00,320
Speaker 1: Bag off the iTunes review sections, so leave questions in there.

506
00:28:00,920 --> 00:28:04,320
Speaker 1: Let's get to uh college football mail back question, Which

507
00:28:04,400 --> 00:28:08,160
Speaker 1: historically dominant team is closer to being quote unquote back

508
00:28:08,520 --> 00:28:12,320
Speaker 1: as in competing for national titles, Nebraska or Texas? Thanks

509
00:28:12,440 --> 00:28:15,480
Speaker 1: Joe and C d C. You know, if you ever

510
00:28:15,520 --> 00:28:18,800
Speaker 1: go to the Wikipedia page and look at Texas like

511
00:28:18,840 --> 00:28:23,160
Speaker 1: the last thirty years, they're not quite as dominant as

512
00:28:23,240 --> 00:28:25,840
Speaker 1: you think. I think we often talk about them like

513
00:28:25,880 --> 00:28:29,600
Speaker 1: their sc like their Alabama, you know, like their Florida,

514
00:28:29,800 --> 00:28:32,639
Speaker 1: or or even like their rival Oklahoma, and the facts

515
00:28:32,640 --> 00:28:35,800
Speaker 1: are just they're they're not there. You know, they had

516
00:28:35,840 --> 00:28:38,440
Speaker 1: a couple of good years under Mac Brown during his tenure,

517
00:28:38,880 --> 00:28:40,600
Speaker 1: but for the most part, you look at the nineties,

518
00:28:40,640 --> 00:28:42,880
Speaker 1: even go back to the eighties, the difference between Oklahoma

519
00:28:42,920 --> 00:28:46,360
Speaker 1: and Texas is wider than the Grand Canyon in terms

520
00:28:46,360 --> 00:28:49,760
Speaker 1: of eliteness as a as a program. So I think

521
00:28:49,760 --> 00:28:52,280
Speaker 1: the hype on Texas is always so strong, but the

522
00:28:52,280 --> 00:28:56,200
Speaker 1: actual substance behind the meat of the program is not

523
00:28:56,360 --> 00:28:59,480
Speaker 1: quite as great as you think. And so when I

524
00:28:59,520 --> 00:29:02,560
Speaker 1: look at the Araska I would take top Scott Frost

525
00:29:02,680 --> 00:29:06,200
Speaker 1: over Tom Herman. I talked about I think last week.

526
00:29:06,280 --> 00:29:08,160
Speaker 1: I don't know if it was on here or I

527
00:29:08,240 --> 00:29:10,040
Speaker 1: did talk about it actually on here. I wrote about

528
00:29:10,040 --> 00:29:13,800
Speaker 1: it in the Athletic. The quarterback that they signed from Fresno,

529
00:29:13,880 --> 00:29:16,040
Speaker 1: Adrian Martinez, I think has a chance to be a

530
00:29:16,120 --> 00:29:19,120
Speaker 1: Marcus Mario to Cologne, especially for Scott Frost that has

531
00:29:19,160 --> 00:29:23,520
Speaker 1: a long history of making quarterbacks be awesome. Uh So

532
00:29:23,680 --> 00:29:26,840
Speaker 1: I would definitely go to Nebraska just because when you

533
00:29:26,880 --> 00:29:29,760
Speaker 1: simply look at now, Nebraska conference is tough. I mean

534
00:29:29,960 --> 00:29:32,960
Speaker 1: that they are in a conference now with obviously Ohio State,

535
00:29:33,320 --> 00:29:36,840
Speaker 1: Penn State's role in James Franklin's big time Jim Harbaugh

536
00:29:36,920 --> 00:29:41,480
Speaker 1: is no slouch. Uh Iowa and Kirk Ferren's are very

537
00:29:41,520 --> 00:29:44,680
Speaker 1: solid program. So it's not gonna be easy by by

538
00:29:44,720 --> 00:29:48,280
Speaker 1: any means. I mean, Michigan State is good that their teams,

539
00:29:48,640 --> 00:29:52,440
Speaker 1: the whole conference is legit. But I I really think

540
00:29:52,440 --> 00:29:54,880
Speaker 1: that Nebraska Scott Frost is a chance to be special.

541
00:29:55,040 --> 00:29:58,440
Speaker 1: And I think Adrian Martinez, the young quarterback. You never

542
00:29:58,480 --> 00:30:01,760
Speaker 1: know with high school players as they will transition to college.

543
00:30:02,160 --> 00:30:05,760
Speaker 1: It's a huge jump clearly, going from playing at Clovis

544
00:30:05,800 --> 00:30:07,880
Speaker 1: High School and for us NO to playing Nebraska and

545
00:30:07,960 --> 00:30:11,080
Speaker 1: playing you know, playing at Nebraska, playing Ohio State, Michigan,

546
00:30:11,480 --> 00:30:14,800
Speaker 1: you name it. It's it's a big difference. But I

547
00:30:14,840 --> 00:30:16,840
Speaker 1: I do think there are a lot of characteristics in

548
00:30:16,880 --> 00:30:20,960
Speaker 1: that guy's game there are gonna transition perfectly to what

549
00:30:21,000 --> 00:30:24,760
Speaker 1: Scott wants out of his quarterback. Great insight from a

550
00:30:24,800 --> 00:30:28,160
Speaker 1: man who knows the inner workings of NFL franchises, Yeah,

551
00:30:28,240 --> 00:30:30,400
Speaker 1: that's me. I would love for you to bring on

552
00:30:30,520 --> 00:30:33,200
Speaker 1: Colin on the podcast and talk about the offseason headlines

553
00:30:33,200 --> 00:30:35,480
Speaker 1: in the outlook of the two eighteen season. It's not

554
00:30:35,520 --> 00:30:37,640
Speaker 1: a bad idea. Maybe we have to do that. Who

555
00:30:37,680 --> 00:30:40,040
Speaker 1: do you believe are the five best current coaches in

556
00:30:40,080 --> 00:30:42,520
Speaker 1: the NFL, and who do you consider the five worst?

557
00:30:42,800 --> 00:30:45,040
Speaker 1: In order? It's a pretty good question. Okay, if you

558
00:30:45,080 --> 00:30:48,160
Speaker 1: went five best coaches in the NFL, I think the

559
00:30:48,200 --> 00:30:50,440
Speaker 1: first one is the easiest one of all time. I

560
00:30:50,440 --> 00:30:53,680
Speaker 1: mean it's Bill Belichick. Number two is tough. Pete Carroll

561
00:30:53,720 --> 00:30:56,760
Speaker 1: had an incredible run. It feels a little dated now.

562
00:30:57,120 --> 00:30:58,960
Speaker 1: John Harbor at one point in time a couple of

563
00:30:59,000 --> 00:31:01,520
Speaker 1: years ago look like the star of the league, and

564
00:31:01,560 --> 00:31:04,680
Speaker 1: now he might get fired. People think I'm biased because

565
00:31:04,720 --> 00:31:06,600
Speaker 1: I worked for the guy and he's also been on

566
00:31:06,600 --> 00:31:09,520
Speaker 1: this podcast. But when you look at consistency, he's never

567
00:31:09,560 --> 00:31:12,760
Speaker 1: won a Super Bowl. Uh, you know, Mike Tomlin's resume

568
00:31:12,840 --> 00:31:15,560
Speaker 1: in terms of Super Bowl is better. I would take

569
00:31:15,680 --> 00:31:19,320
Speaker 1: Randy Andy Reid over Mike Tomlin. But I also am

570
00:31:19,320 --> 00:31:21,479
Speaker 1: a Mike Tomlin defender. I know he takes a lot

571
00:31:21,520 --> 00:31:24,480
Speaker 1: of ship. People think he's, you know, overrated. He's still

572
00:31:24,520 --> 00:31:28,120
Speaker 1: better than ninety five percent of the league. Pete Carroll's

573
00:31:28,160 --> 00:31:30,960
Speaker 1: resume speaks for itself. This is a big year for him.

574
00:31:31,000 --> 00:31:32,400
Speaker 1: I mean, if they take a step back and go

575
00:31:32,480 --> 00:31:35,000
Speaker 1: under five hundred, the shine and it almost feel like

576
00:31:35,160 --> 00:31:39,320
Speaker 1: speak gonna retire. Uh, other than that, you know, I

577
00:31:39,360 --> 00:31:42,040
Speaker 1: think the young guys. There are some bright stars in

578
00:31:42,160 --> 00:31:45,640
Speaker 1: Kyle Shanahan obviously, Doug Peterson, you know, just won a

579
00:31:45,640 --> 00:31:48,240
Speaker 1: Super Bowl, but he's only coached two years. I mean,

580
00:31:48,280 --> 00:31:52,120
Speaker 1: to me, to be considered a top five coach, you

581
00:31:52,160 --> 00:31:54,600
Speaker 1: have to have a resume. It's gonna be interesting to

582
00:31:54,600 --> 00:31:56,200
Speaker 1: see how good John Gruden is. I mean, they just

583
00:31:56,200 --> 00:31:59,760
Speaker 1: gave him a hundred million dollars. Sean Payton, he's an

584
00:31:59,680 --> 00:32:01,840
Speaker 1: act a guy. For God. I was texting with an

585
00:32:01,840 --> 00:32:06,160
Speaker 1: oc earlier this summer and we're just bs and about offense,

586
00:32:06,280 --> 00:32:08,760
Speaker 1: and he thought that Sean Payton is the cream of

587
00:32:08,800 --> 00:32:11,200
Speaker 1: the crop. So yeah, Sean Payton's right up there. He

588
00:32:11,240 --> 00:32:14,040
Speaker 1: obviously had a bounce back season this year with the Saints.

589
00:32:14,040 --> 00:32:16,280
Speaker 1: They're and they're gonna be good again next year. I

590
00:32:16,280 --> 00:32:21,560
Speaker 1: think Mike Zimmer's excellent bottom line with with NFL coaches

591
00:32:21,600 --> 00:32:24,320
Speaker 1: when it comes to the top coaches belichicks in the

592
00:32:24,360 --> 00:32:27,160
Speaker 1: world by himself, and then there's probably five or six

593
00:32:27,200 --> 00:32:30,760
Speaker 1: guys that if there was an open bidding. One reason

594
00:32:30,800 --> 00:32:33,920
Speaker 1: I think that Andy, if you had a draft from scratch,

595
00:32:34,040 --> 00:32:36,920
Speaker 1: would go so high is he's so great to work

596
00:32:36,920 --> 00:32:38,960
Speaker 1: with in terms of the owner, in terms of the

597
00:32:38,960 --> 00:32:42,200
Speaker 1: players love him, yet he can make hard decisions. I

598
00:32:42,240 --> 00:32:44,480
Speaker 1: think he'd be the total package, like kind of like

599
00:32:44,520 --> 00:32:47,400
Speaker 1: Pete Carroll was viewed several years ago. He's just an

600
00:32:47,400 --> 00:32:49,600
Speaker 1: easy person to get along with and there is something

601
00:32:49,640 --> 00:32:51,600
Speaker 1: to be said there. I think Mike Tomlin has that

602
00:32:51,720 --> 00:32:55,320
Speaker 1: going for him too. Sean Payton does not. I mean,

603
00:32:55,320 --> 00:32:58,000
Speaker 1: he's a huge ego guy, and rightfully so. He's earned

604
00:32:58,040 --> 00:33:01,080
Speaker 1: and deserves that big ego. I mean he's he's great

605
00:33:01,120 --> 00:33:03,200
Speaker 1: at his job, but he's paid a premium for it.

606
00:33:04,280 --> 00:33:07,560
Speaker 1: I think the young guys, they do not have the resume.

607
00:33:07,720 --> 00:33:10,680
Speaker 1: But if Doug Peterson Hammer's out another you know, thirteen

608
00:33:10,680 --> 00:33:13,280
Speaker 1: win season, if Kyle were to make the playoffs, as

609
00:33:13,280 --> 00:33:15,240
Speaker 1: Sean McVeigh gets the rams of the playoffs, there are

610
00:33:15,280 --> 00:33:17,760
Speaker 1: some young offensive minds around the NFL that I think

611
00:33:17,800 --> 00:33:19,600
Speaker 1: have a chance to kind of break that top five

612
00:33:20,240 --> 00:33:23,920
Speaker 1: the bottom five. You know, I'm not gonna go in

613
00:33:23,960 --> 00:33:28,440
Speaker 1: any specific order, you know, I guess seven through thirty two.

614
00:33:28,880 --> 00:33:31,720
Speaker 1: I thought Jack del Rio and what was the worst

615
00:33:31,760 --> 00:33:34,320
Speaker 1: coach in the NFL last year? I thought he was terrible.

616
00:33:34,720 --> 00:33:38,920
Speaker 1: Hugh Jackson has been atrocious. Now Jack's obviously gone. Uh,

617
00:33:38,960 --> 00:33:44,160
Speaker 1: Dirk Cutter is not very good. Uh you go around

618
00:33:44,680 --> 00:33:48,719
Speaker 1: Todd Bowles is okay. I'm not writing off Adam Gates

619
00:33:48,720 --> 00:33:51,320
Speaker 1: just yet. I think he was kind of in. He

620
00:33:51,400 --> 00:33:54,640
Speaker 1: was a great offensive coordinator, but when he's the top dog,

621
00:33:55,000 --> 00:33:59,120
Speaker 1: I don't know, man, I I just I don't see it.

622
00:33:59,640 --> 00:34:03,160
Speaker 1: John Elway had to sleep on it week seventeen to

623
00:34:03,200 --> 00:34:05,959
Speaker 1: think about this. He had a coach that he personally

624
00:34:06,080 --> 00:34:08,560
Speaker 1: hired in Vance Joseph, that had a lot of hype.

625
00:34:09,320 --> 00:34:13,120
Speaker 1: He had to sleep on it after week seventeen of

626
00:34:13,200 --> 00:34:16,200
Speaker 1: the guy's first year about firing him. That's not a

627
00:34:16,239 --> 00:34:18,840
Speaker 1: great look. I mean there's a chance that Vance Joseph

628
00:34:18,920 --> 00:34:22,680
Speaker 1: is just an abomination, you know, of a coach. I

629
00:34:22,719 --> 00:34:26,480
Speaker 1: don't people think Jason Garrett is just king slap. Maybe

630
00:34:26,480 --> 00:34:28,640
Speaker 1: he's not a great coach. I mean, clearly he's not,

631
00:34:28,760 --> 00:34:30,960
Speaker 1: and he'll never be a top five NFL coach, But

632
00:34:31,000 --> 00:34:34,840
Speaker 1: I don't think he's as terrible as the hype of

633
00:34:35,040 --> 00:34:38,280
Speaker 1: negativity that surrounds him on social media. So I'd probably

634
00:34:38,280 --> 00:34:41,759
Speaker 1: go Hugh Jackson and advanced Joseph. And what's crazy is

635
00:34:42,120 --> 00:34:45,600
Speaker 1: Vance wasn't a good defensive coordinator in Miami and clearly

636
00:34:45,640 --> 00:34:48,400
Speaker 1: wasn't a good head coach in Denver. The one thing

637
00:34:48,480 --> 00:34:50,399
Speaker 1: Hugh has going for him is he is a good

638
00:34:50,400 --> 00:34:52,799
Speaker 1: offensive play caller. We saw what he did in Cincinnati.

639
00:34:52,840 --> 00:34:56,840
Speaker 1: He was incredible, He was unreal. I mean, that offense

640
00:34:56,920 --> 00:35:00,319
Speaker 1: before Andy Dalton broke his thumb, remember, was dominant. So

641
00:35:00,400 --> 00:35:02,880
Speaker 1: I don't think he was a bad coach. There's just

642
00:35:02,920 --> 00:35:05,920
Speaker 1: a big difference between being a coordinator and being a coach,

643
00:35:06,320 --> 00:35:08,560
Speaker 1: and I think clearly you see that. You know with

644
00:35:08,640 --> 00:35:14,279
Speaker 1: Hugh Jackson. Do the Giants signed Bryce Harper? Yeah, I

645
00:35:14,280 --> 00:35:16,920
Speaker 1: mean they're they're gonna throw huge money at Bryce Harper.

646
00:35:17,360 --> 00:35:19,760
Speaker 1: That the amount of money that the San Francsco Giants

647
00:35:19,760 --> 00:35:22,360
Speaker 1: paid Bryce Harper, or maybe the Phillies or the Yankees

648
00:35:22,480 --> 00:35:24,839
Speaker 1: or you know the bottom line, the amount of money

649
00:35:24,840 --> 00:35:27,920
Speaker 1: that Bryce Harper is going to get uh this offseason

650
00:35:28,760 --> 00:35:34,879
Speaker 1: is gonna make NFL players very, very very angry. John

651
00:35:35,000 --> 00:35:37,840
Speaker 1: huge fan. One question I have about the Oakland Raiders.

652
00:35:38,120 --> 00:35:40,920
Speaker 1: Why do people doubt John Gruden having success in Oakland?

653
00:35:41,000 --> 00:35:43,759
Speaker 1: Do you think he'll have success this upcoming season with

654
00:35:43,840 --> 00:35:46,960
Speaker 1: the knowledge he's learned over the years. I think people

655
00:35:46,960 --> 00:35:49,600
Speaker 1: are right to be you know, just a little hesitant

656
00:35:49,680 --> 00:35:51,959
Speaker 1: to crown him as some great coach. He hasn't coached

657
00:35:52,000 --> 00:35:56,279
Speaker 1: in nine years. They're paying him historic money. I mean,

658
00:35:56,280 --> 00:35:59,040
Speaker 1: they gave him a hundred million dollars. So this notion

659
00:35:59,040 --> 00:36:01,399
Speaker 1: that he just came back because he loved the Raiders, No,

660
00:36:01,480 --> 00:36:03,120
Speaker 1: not really. They had to give him a If he

661
00:36:03,160 --> 00:36:04,879
Speaker 1: just came back for the love of the game, why

662
00:36:04,920 --> 00:36:06,799
Speaker 1: wouldn't he come back for fifty million. It took a

663
00:36:06,920 --> 00:36:10,840
Speaker 1: hundred million dollars to get him to say yes, one

664
00:36:11,000 --> 00:36:17,040
Speaker 1: hundred His last several seasons in Tampa were not great. Now,

665
00:36:17,160 --> 00:36:20,520
Speaker 1: I don't know if that means much because this roster

666
00:36:20,640 --> 00:36:23,240
Speaker 1: is stacked. He has a quarterback, a star defensive player.

667
00:36:23,360 --> 00:36:25,480
Speaker 1: We think they have to sign Cleil and he's I mean,

668
00:36:25,480 --> 00:36:27,160
Speaker 1: I would imagine he's gonna hold out if he doesn't

669
00:36:27,160 --> 00:36:29,359
Speaker 1: have a new contract. They have a good offensive line,

670
00:36:29,400 --> 00:36:32,879
Speaker 1: you have a Marie Cooper, they have a good coaching staff. Uh.

671
00:36:33,080 --> 00:36:35,719
Speaker 1: They have no excuse this season not to win ten

672
00:36:35,760 --> 00:36:38,480
Speaker 1: plus games. I don't think they have to win thirteen

673
00:36:38,560 --> 00:36:41,319
Speaker 1: and be a super Bowl team, but they should make

674
00:36:41,360 --> 00:36:44,439
Speaker 1: the playoffs. To me, it's it's playoff. Anytime you pay

675
00:36:44,440 --> 00:36:47,240
Speaker 1: a coach ten plus million dollars a year, and his

676
00:36:47,360 --> 00:36:49,520
Speaker 1: name is John Gruden. I mean, he's famous for a reason.

677
00:36:49,560 --> 00:36:51,600
Speaker 1: He was Super Bowl coach. He's one of the biggest

678
00:36:51,600 --> 00:36:55,080
Speaker 1: personalities in the league. I thought it was an incredible

679
00:36:55,120 --> 00:36:57,560
Speaker 1: move by Mark Davis because I, like I said earlier,

680
00:36:57,640 --> 00:37:00,200
Speaker 1: Jack del Rio was the worst coach probably was Hugh

681
00:37:00,320 --> 00:37:03,120
Speaker 1: Jackson in the NFL last year. What was was an

682
00:37:03,160 --> 00:37:07,800
Speaker 1: atrocious abomination of of coaching. So it's a massive upgrade,

683
00:37:08,000 --> 00:37:10,640
Speaker 1: and the roster is good. I mean, they have the

684
00:37:10,719 --> 00:37:15,239
Speaker 1: most important position settled in Derek. They have arguably the

685
00:37:15,280 --> 00:37:18,359
Speaker 1: best defensive player in the league in Khalil, and they

686
00:37:18,360 --> 00:37:20,200
Speaker 1: have a division this wide open. I mean, Alex Smith

687
00:37:20,239 --> 00:37:22,080
Speaker 1: is no longer the coach and he's breaking in a

688
00:37:22,080 --> 00:37:26,280
Speaker 1: new quarterback. Their defense hasn't been good. They traded Marcus Peters.

689
00:37:26,640 --> 00:37:28,920
Speaker 1: San Diego is probably the best roster on paper, But

690
00:37:28,960 --> 00:37:31,040
Speaker 1: I'm not the biggest fan of their coach. And let's

691
00:37:31,080 --> 00:37:33,839
Speaker 1: call what it is. They they've been an underachieving team.

692
00:37:33,840 --> 00:37:35,799
Speaker 1: They can't figure out a way to you know, not

693
00:37:36,000 --> 00:37:39,799
Speaker 1: start like one and four, and the Denver Broncos are

694
00:37:39,800 --> 00:37:43,080
Speaker 1: a train wreck. So to me, it's it's pretty black

695
00:37:43,080 --> 00:37:45,560
Speaker 1: and white. I mean, the Raiders. I don't think it's

696
00:37:45,640 --> 00:37:48,920
Speaker 1: division or busts, but it's definitely wild Carter bust. And

697
00:37:48,920 --> 00:37:51,040
Speaker 1: if gun Gruden weren't to make the playoffs this year,

698
00:37:51,880 --> 00:37:54,640
Speaker 1: and if Derek were, if he didn't, if he does

699
00:37:54,719 --> 00:37:57,440
Speaker 1: not make the playoffs and Derek plays all sixteen games,

700
00:37:58,520 --> 00:38:04,840
Speaker 1: he's gonna get destroyed. And rightfully so, uh thing. I

701
00:38:04,880 --> 00:38:09,120
Speaker 1: love my Falcons. Let's get to uh Captain Savage. I

702
00:38:09,200 --> 00:38:11,719
Speaker 1: love my Falcons, but it's been frustrating to see them

703
00:38:11,760 --> 00:38:14,240
Speaker 1: come up short. Who do you see as the dominant

704
00:38:14,360 --> 00:38:16,719
Speaker 1: NFC South team over the next five years. That's a

705
00:38:16,719 --> 00:38:19,680
Speaker 1: good question. New Orleans and Carolina sure seemed closing the

706
00:38:19,719 --> 00:38:24,160
Speaker 1: gap against Atlanta. Division is absolutely stacked. Thanks again, Todd

707
00:38:24,400 --> 00:38:28,319
Speaker 1: in uh from Georgia. That's a great question. Matt Ryan

708
00:38:28,320 --> 00:38:30,440
Speaker 1: just signed for a hundred million dollars. I've never been

709
00:38:30,440 --> 00:38:33,400
Speaker 1: the biggest cam guy in Drew Brees is what almost

710
00:38:33,400 --> 00:38:36,319
Speaker 1: thirty nine years old. I would still say the long

711
00:38:36,400 --> 00:38:40,840
Speaker 1: term health of of Atlanta. They have a young, explosive roster.

712
00:38:40,960 --> 00:38:44,080
Speaker 1: They have a young explosive players on defense and Vic Beasley,

713
00:38:44,440 --> 00:38:49,279
Speaker 1: Dion Jones, young corner from Washington Truffont. Matt Ryan is

714
00:38:49,320 --> 00:38:53,680
Speaker 1: still early mid thirties Julio. I know he wants more money,

715
00:38:53,680 --> 00:38:57,760
Speaker 1: but they just drafted Calvin Ridley. Davonte Freeman is really good.

716
00:38:58,080 --> 00:39:00,360
Speaker 1: Dan Quinn is an excellent coach. He would actually be

717
00:39:00,360 --> 00:39:02,080
Speaker 1: in the conversation if he rittles off a couple more

718
00:39:02,120 --> 00:39:04,120
Speaker 1: playoff years as a top five coach. I'm a big

719
00:39:04,200 --> 00:39:06,600
Speaker 1: dan Quinn guy. But there's a lot of pressure this

720
00:39:06,680 --> 00:39:11,359
Speaker 1: year on Sark you know, Caroline a new ownership. I

721
00:39:11,480 --> 00:39:14,960
Speaker 1: don't love their roster. I mean, anytime Luke Keickley goes down,

722
00:39:15,000 --> 00:39:17,640
Speaker 1: they are not the same team. And don't forget Thomas Davis.

723
00:39:17,760 --> 00:39:19,759
Speaker 1: I know he's the man of the year. He got

724
00:39:19,800 --> 00:39:21,840
Speaker 1: spending for taking p e d s, which again I

725
00:39:22,239 --> 00:39:24,000
Speaker 1: doesn't bother me if you take p ds. He just

726
00:39:24,040 --> 00:39:26,799
Speaker 1: had one of those classic stupid social media posts like

727
00:39:27,040 --> 00:39:29,280
Speaker 1: I didn't know what I was taking, blah blah blah. Bs.

728
00:39:29,440 --> 00:39:31,719
Speaker 1: You knew what you did, bro. Uh so he's out

729
00:39:31,760 --> 00:39:34,279
Speaker 1: the first four games. Luke Kickley. I heard on the

730
00:39:34,400 --> 00:39:36,200
Speaker 1: radio the other day he hadn't even been cleared from

731
00:39:36,200 --> 00:39:39,239
Speaker 1: his shoulder surgery that he had this offseason. Uh, their

732
00:39:39,280 --> 00:39:42,560
Speaker 1: offense should be better, you know. Christian McCaffrey is ever

733
00:39:42,560 --> 00:39:44,719
Speaker 1: gonna live up to being a top ten pick. Probably not.

734
00:39:46,080 --> 00:39:48,720
Speaker 1: And New Orleans are just so dependent on the quarterback

735
00:39:48,760 --> 00:39:50,640
Speaker 1: who is old, but who's still damn good. I would

736
00:39:50,640 --> 00:39:52,800
Speaker 1: say for the next two years, the Saints could easily

737
00:39:52,800 --> 00:39:56,120
Speaker 1: win this division. But I do think the Atlanta Falcons,

738
00:39:56,120 --> 00:39:57,880
Speaker 1: as long as dan Quinn's there and they can just

739
00:39:57,920 --> 00:40:01,200
Speaker 1: get a solid offensive coordinator, they don't need Kyle Shanahan

740
00:40:01,280 --> 00:40:03,520
Speaker 1: level eliteness if they just get a solid guy. And

741
00:40:03,560 --> 00:40:06,040
Speaker 1: Stark was not solid last year. He was below average.

742
00:40:06,600 --> 00:40:10,120
Speaker 1: They should, you know, compete to make the playoffs, and

743
00:40:10,160 --> 00:40:13,040
Speaker 1: they proved last year. Now they've all come up short,

744
00:40:13,080 --> 00:40:15,239
Speaker 1: like come up short in the Super Bowl. They do

745
00:40:15,400 --> 00:40:17,120
Speaker 1: like they went on the road last year and won

746
00:40:17,120 --> 00:40:19,960
Speaker 1: a playoff game. You went road playoff games in the NFL.

747
00:40:20,040 --> 00:40:22,799
Speaker 1: That's big time. I I don't care what round it is.

748
00:40:23,000 --> 00:40:26,120
Speaker 1: That that's impressive. And there were four plays for shitty

749
00:40:26,160 --> 00:40:28,880
Speaker 1: play calls from Steve Sarkis and away from being in

750
00:40:28,920 --> 00:40:32,239
Speaker 1: the NFC Championship game, I think they're right there. The

751
00:40:32,520 --> 00:40:35,560
Speaker 1: NFL is a game of it's cliche game inches a

752
00:40:35,640 --> 00:40:37,920
Speaker 1: play here, play there, and that's literally what it came

753
00:40:37,960 --> 00:40:40,960
Speaker 1: down for. The ATLANTAFL because I thought they thoroughly outplay

754
00:40:41,040 --> 00:40:43,520
Speaker 1: the l A Rams, who were damn good on the road.

755
00:40:43,640 --> 00:40:46,200
Speaker 1: Now l A they have a big home field advantage,

756
00:40:46,200 --> 00:40:48,800
Speaker 1: but the Philly game. Atlanta was good in that Philly

757
00:40:48,840 --> 00:40:51,160
Speaker 1: game and it wasn't for Nick Foles getting hot in

758
00:40:51,160 --> 00:40:54,080
Speaker 1: the second half. And again, I mean Stark just boxed

759
00:40:54,719 --> 00:41:01,840
Speaker 1: those last four plays. Just an atrocious display of play calling. Okay,

760
00:41:02,480 --> 00:41:05,720
Speaker 1: huge Raider fan from Fresno, so love Derek. I actually

761
00:41:05,760 --> 00:41:09,120
Speaker 1: answer this question on Instagram the other day, but I

762
00:41:09,120 --> 00:41:11,600
Speaker 1: think this is good here for the podcast too. I

763
00:41:11,640 --> 00:41:13,680
Speaker 1: think Derek is a great team guy. I also think

764
00:41:13,719 --> 00:41:15,879
Speaker 1: he's a little soft when it comes to leadership. When

765
00:41:15,920 --> 00:41:18,239
Speaker 1: balls are dropped, he says the passes aren't good enough,

766
00:41:18,600 --> 00:41:22,080
Speaker 1: blah blah blah. With Coop and Crab over the years,

767
00:41:22,160 --> 00:41:24,240
Speaker 1: I think there should be a level of holding teammates

768
00:41:24,239 --> 00:41:27,719
Speaker 1: accountable and push responsibility on them to become better. Do

769
00:41:27,800 --> 00:41:30,920
Speaker 1: you view Derek's leadership as a weakness or a strength?

770
00:41:31,360 --> 00:41:36,560
Speaker 1: Said the same thing on Instagram. Young players, young quarterbacks

771
00:41:36,600 --> 00:41:39,280
Speaker 1: And when I say young quarterbacks under thirty and really

772
00:41:39,320 --> 00:41:42,399
Speaker 1: most quarterbacks in the NFL are not Peyton Manning, are

773
00:41:42,440 --> 00:41:45,080
Speaker 1: not Tom Brady. They're not gonna m f the wide

774
00:41:45,120 --> 00:41:48,000
Speaker 1: receiver when he drops the ball. A Marii Cooper the

775
00:41:48,080 --> 00:41:52,560
Speaker 1: last several years has had countless I mean, any Raider fan, anyone,

776
00:41:52,800 --> 00:41:55,359
Speaker 1: definitely everyone in the a f C. West. He has

777
00:41:55,400 --> 00:41:59,000
Speaker 1: dropped so many damn balls, balls that are hitting his hands.

778
00:41:59,080 --> 00:42:00,799
Speaker 1: I'm not talking about as where he has to become

779
00:42:00,840 --> 00:42:03,040
Speaker 1: Odell Beckham and as to pull a rabbit out of

780
00:42:03,040 --> 00:42:05,560
Speaker 1: the hat. I'm talking about balls that hit him in stride,

781
00:42:05,840 --> 00:42:08,000
Speaker 1: that hit his hands and he just dropped. That's on

782
00:42:08,120 --> 00:42:09,880
Speaker 1: him to catch the ball. And that's where I think

783
00:42:09,920 --> 00:42:12,719
Speaker 1: Gruden's gonna come through and just kind of coaches us

784
00:42:12,800 --> 00:42:15,600
Speaker 1: up and be on him to make those plays. I

785
00:42:15,640 --> 00:42:20,560
Speaker 1: also think that it's not realistic to think your quarterback

786
00:42:20,760 --> 00:42:23,240
Speaker 1: is just gonna light up wide receivers after they dropped

787
00:42:23,239 --> 00:42:26,640
Speaker 1: the ball. It's just it's not fair to assume that.

788
00:42:26,719 --> 00:42:29,279
Speaker 1: I think that Tom Brady and Peyton Manning have kind

789
00:42:29,280 --> 00:42:32,640
Speaker 1: of spoiled us. I mean, Aaron Rodgers kind of passive

790
00:42:32,640 --> 00:42:36,360
Speaker 1: aggressively does it. Drew Brees does not do it. You know,

791
00:42:36,400 --> 00:42:39,000
Speaker 1: it's not look at all the young who does Russell

792
00:42:39,040 --> 00:42:42,960
Speaker 1: Wilson do it? It's to me Amar Cooper specifically, it's

793
00:42:42,960 --> 00:42:46,400
Speaker 1: on him. Crabtree, it's not really a problem anymore. He's gone.

794
00:42:46,440 --> 00:42:49,200
Speaker 1: They now have Jordy Nelson that's probably a little more

795
00:42:49,200 --> 00:42:51,880
Speaker 1: sure handed than Michael Crabtree, though I don't know if

796
00:42:51,880 --> 00:42:55,839
Speaker 1: he's is good. So I think Derek Derek's leadership from

797
00:42:56,000 --> 00:42:58,279
Speaker 1: coaches I've known on the staff the last several years

798
00:42:58,320 --> 00:43:00,000
Speaker 1: and talking to guys now on the staff this year,

799
00:43:00,560 --> 00:43:04,399
Speaker 1: that they feel one dent. That's a strength and it's

800
00:43:04,480 --> 00:43:08,800
Speaker 1: clearly a John Gruden strength. That's very important when your coach.

801
00:43:09,080 --> 00:43:13,239
Speaker 1: I was around Andy Reid. He holds the offense and

802
00:43:13,320 --> 00:43:15,160
Speaker 1: just players in general. You saw it last year with

803
00:43:15,200 --> 00:43:18,239
Speaker 1: Mike Marcus Peters. Your coach needs to hold them to

804
00:43:18,280 --> 00:43:21,080
Speaker 1: the highest standard. Now in theory that you always say

805
00:43:21,120 --> 00:43:23,560
Speaker 1: the players need to hold themselves. Yeah, we're all humans.

806
00:43:23,840 --> 00:43:26,600
Speaker 1: That's there's a reason the coaches make millions of dollars.

807
00:43:26,800 --> 00:43:29,400
Speaker 1: That's their job to hold guys to a super high standard.

808
00:43:29,760 --> 00:43:32,120
Speaker 1: Jack del Rio ran a country club. John Gruden is

809
00:43:32,160 --> 00:43:34,400
Speaker 1: not going to run a country club, especially when it

810
00:43:34,400 --> 00:43:37,160
Speaker 1: comes to his offense. I would look for Amari Cooper

811
00:43:37,239 --> 00:43:39,840
Speaker 1: to be under the microscope. Uh, they're gonna light a

812
00:43:39,880 --> 00:43:42,440
Speaker 1: fire under his ass and I would expect him to

813
00:43:42,480 --> 00:43:45,279
Speaker 1: catch more footballs and drop less balls because of the

814
00:43:45,360 --> 00:43:49,160
Speaker 1: coaching staff more than Derek yelling at him or not

815
00:43:49,239 --> 00:43:52,920
Speaker 1: yelling at him. Thanks for listening, just in just another

816
00:43:53,080 --> 00:43:55,200
Speaker 1: edition banging one out here in the off season. I'm

817
00:43:55,239 --> 00:43:59,240
Speaker 1: here for you, Middlecoff mail bag. I always appreciate the questions.

818
00:43:59,280 --> 00:44:01,640
Speaker 1: Go to iTunes leave a review and I will get

819
00:44:01,680 --> 00:44:03,960
Speaker 1: back and I'll answer it here on the on the

820
00:44:03,960 --> 00:44:08,200
Speaker 1: podcast again, subscribe, rate and in the review section, as always,

821
00:44:08,280 --> 00:44:12,719
Speaker 1: leave these questions. Phil Savage was great, fascinating insight to

822
00:44:12,760 --> 00:44:15,080
Speaker 1: this new league. I'm actually kind of excited to watch

823
00:44:15,080 --> 00:44:17,480
Speaker 1: it here in a couple of years. And uh efforting

824
00:44:17,480 --> 00:44:19,400
Speaker 1: another kind of cool guests going a little outside the

825
00:44:19,400 --> 00:44:22,480
Speaker 1: box next week. Appreciate everyone listening and I will see

826
00:44:22,520 --> 00:44:23,280
Speaker 1: you next week.