May 3, 2024 • 54 mins
John takes a look back at the 2021 quarterback draft class by talking about why this class had a lot of hype but not many of them have made it in the league. John also discusses the importance of learning about the person who you're interested in drafting to understand if that person will be able to fit in with your current team, and how the guys behind the scenes during the offseason are never safe from losing their job.
Lastly, John reads your Fugazi Friday comments during the Fugazi Friday segment.
6:25 - 2021 Draft Class
28:19 - Drafting the right person
41:00 - Fugazi Friday
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:01):
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Speaker 1 (01:29):
What is going on, everybody? How are we doing? Happy
fooghazy Friday? And we had a skip last week because
of a little thing called the draft, about seven days
officially away. I'm recording this Thursday afternoon at about four thirty,
so the draft was starting last week at this time.
Fun times. But today I wanted to dive into the
twenty twenty one draft class because four quarterbacks not named
(01:53):
Trevor Lawrence are on different teams and did not have
their fifth year option picked up. So I want to
discuss why those guys fail and where those teams that
made those selections are now. So thoughts on just the
gms who have spoken a lot over the last seven
days and a consistent theme that they've been saying. I've
seen some unnamed executives talk about certain teams wasting picks
(02:16):
and trade ups. I wanted to dive into that. How
you you can't trade a second round pick to move
up that far in twenty twenty five. It's again not
everyone's bad, like some teams are ready to win now.
And a lot of front office guys throughout the NFL,
because we've had a lot of turnover. This just the
time of year where they get fired. And I'm not
talking gms. I'm talking about a lot of guys that
(02:37):
you don't know, and I just kind of want to
discuss my experience and how it's a lot different than
the coaching world, especially financially. You know, coaches make a
lot more money than the personnel guys, so it's it's
kind of a it's honestly much more relatable to just
normal people because they're not making an insane amount of money.
And then of course for you guys a Friday, which
we'll dive into next no middle Cooff mail bag. This,
(03:00):
We'll get back to it next week. That'll be the
game plan. I might record a pot on Sunday for Monday,
but also might just wait till Monday. We'll see see
how I'm feeling this weekend, see what happens, and so
next week, I got a bunch of questions. Keep firing
at John middlecoff as the Instagram. Make sure if you
listen on Collin's feed, subscribe to three and out feed.
Everything's on YouTube. Appreciate everyone listening to the volume dot com.
We got merch they had three and out hats. It's
(03:21):
wearing one earlier and uh yeah, have a great weekend.
But before we dive into football, So I got to
tell you about my friends. I was a couple of
weeks ago. I was taking the dog for a walk
and my neighbors were outside. I'm like, where are you
guys going? And because she had a cocktail on, they
were a cocktail in her hand. They were dressed up, like, oh,
we're going down the road to a comedy show. Like god,
(03:42):
that sounds amazing in this negative world we live in.
Go to a comedy show, get some laughs, have a Bruski,
enjoy yourself. Well guess what if you download the game
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last minute ticket's lowest prices guaranteed. There is no excitement
like the draft. Especially high in the draft, everyone thinks
they hit a home run. Unless you're the Falcons, You're like,
what are we doing? Even if you like the pick.
But for the most part, there's a reason every video
you see put out by these teams on social media
(05:12):
is excitement. Half the people in America get a divorce,
Yet if you see their wedding pictures, they couldn't be happier, right,
So the moment the draft happens, the excitement is at
an all time high. Now, if you hit it right
and that guy becomes a star, if you draft Aaron Donald,
if you draft JJ Watt, if you draft Michael Parsons, whoever,
(05:32):
we know all the star players that have been drafted,
clearly the quarterbacks. That excitement lasts for a long time.
But as Schefter put out the kind of the breakdown
on his little Excel spreadsheet, that we know that under
fifty percent of these players will get a second contract
based on the last twenty years of data, and depending
(05:53):
on the position, that number even goes down. So when
a player was drafted in two thousand two, that quarterback
draft was highly touted. It turned out to be a
fucking disaster. Trevor Lawrence, while he's still in question, is
clearly a starting quarterback in the NFL. The only question
is is he just a mid guy? As the kids
(06:15):
would say, is he worth a big contract? He's got
a lot riding on the season. If he gets the
Jags back to the playoffs, win another playoff game, he'll
get a big contract. If he has a season like
he did last year. He won't, but he clearly is
an NFL player. I don't know if we can say
of that, I mean, an NFL starter. We can't say
that about the other four guys, And they all had
their fifth year options declined. They all were traded, and
(06:38):
I honestly think there's a chance Trey Lance is the
worst one of the bunch, and he got traded for
the most well contracts. Playing to this, the Cowboys got
him for two seasons. These other guys got traded on
their last season, so you only have them under contract
for one year. And they were all declined. Because these
guys are all currently backups. Trey Lance technically is a
(07:01):
third string quarterback. You're not paying twenty plus million dollars
for that position. But I wanted to go over. I
wanted to start with why each guy failed, because there's
always a reason, and let's face it, there are usually
a lot of reasons young people fail. Some stuff's out
of your control. But let's start with Zach Wilson that
(07:22):
year BYU, the season in twenty twenty. If you look,
typically BYU plays really good teams, plays a ton of
other Power five teams, plays of other top teams and
other conferences. Obviously they have some I wouldn't call them Patsy's,
but some lower end competition. But on a given year,
they could be playing Notre Dame, they could be playing UCLA,
(07:43):
they could be playing Oregon, they could be playing Oklahoma.
They play real teams that year. They did.
Speaker 2 (07:49):
Not.
Speaker 1 (07:49):
Their schedule in twenty twenty was a joke, not their fault.
A lot of these conferences canceled all these out of
conference games. And because BYU's an independent, maybe they're in
the Big two now, but at the time, I can't
keep up with all the conference re alignment, you know
what I'm saying. And the best team they had on
their schedule in twenty twenty was Coastal Carolina, and I
(08:10):
watched that game because there was a ton of hype
on Zach Wilson. Didn't play that well, didn't play that
well at all. Was not debatable about his physical skills,
good movement, good arm, talent, could fling the ball around,
But why did he fail with the Jets. Well, first
and foremost, he was very immature, and I remember talking
to Colin about this years ago, the jump going from Provo,
(08:34):
Utah to New York is probably about as big as
you would get in America. Seriously, because even if you're
from a small town, like a lot of dudes are
in the South, like a lot of guys that play
SEC football are from rural towns, are from smaller towns.
But once you go play at LSU, at Alabama, at Georgia,
(08:56):
at Florida, well that town, you know, tuscal loose, that
might be big. But some of these, you know, we're
all misplays. You were under a microscope and you were
covered like the NFL light at BYU, it's a lot different.
And that jump clearly he was overwhelmed by a second season.
He's thrown teammates under the bus and it was a disaster.
Then from a football standpoint, his talents never translated because
(09:20):
you watch the guy that we talk a lot about
these physical gifts part of playing quarterback. We talk about
this in other positions, like this corner's really instinctive. This
running back has a great feel for where to hit
the hole. That's also at quarterback. Like you watch Patrick Mahomes,
he has the physical gifts, but his innate ability to
(09:44):
just feel things and make things happen. His football instincts
are elite. Most of the best quarterbacks are. Zach Wilson
lacks those, does not have them. He's a very, very
frenetic player. You can't run an offense with at player
because you can watch an individual play with Zact and
go god. I think the most remarkable plays ever made.
(10:06):
They were playing the Raiders and it was like a
last second Hail Mary, and he rolled left. He's a
right handed quarterback and he like did this three sixty
to juke Max Crosby in space, who's clearly one of
the best players in the NFL, rolling left toward the sideline,
turned his body, contwarded his body and hucked that ball
like sixty plus yards in the air. Like his physical
(10:29):
gifts are high end, but his actual ability to play
the quarterback simply is not. And when you don't have
that capability right, when you don't have a good feel.
I'll never forget talking to dude with the Jets a
couple of years ago, and he'd be like, you watch
him practice, he's skipping easy balls. You don't need to
make the Josh Allen sixty yard bombs. I heard Slais
(10:53):
say this with a coward yesterday. Those plays don't happen
a lot. Do you know most of the plays in football,
wheel routes to the running back, a quick slant to
the wide receiver, a ten yard out on third and eight.
You have to have the timing, the rhythm, the feel
of the position, and he never had it. So when
you factor in questions with his maturity factoring his limitations,
(11:17):
it's an utter disaster. Trey Lance, unlike Zach Wilson, high character,
hard worker, never questioned. Even when he went through some
weird shit with the forty nine ers, that was never
an issue they had with him. One problem I think
the Niners had because Zach Wilson's schedule was a joke.
(11:39):
Trey Lance didn't have a season. It did not exist,
It got canceled. They played some one off game that honestly,
no one counts as anything. You can't even use that
to evaluate anything. So he had no season. He also
came from while he plays for the Alabama of D
one dole A definitely at the time North Dakota State.
(12:01):
It ain't the SEC or the Big ten or the
Pac twelve. So the level of competition, if you watch
me like god, this is a pretty good prospect he
was completely overwhelmed physically. One of the reasons they drafted
him because they thought they were getting this hybrid player. Well,
his athleticism will get in the fields, which clearly translated
(12:22):
his did not. And you watch him run, you go,
this guy's not even very fast, which is ironic as
Purty who. If you just looked at the two of
them standing there, and I did because I went to
these practices, you go, you'd rather have the big guy.
Perdy plays a lot faster just moving around than Trey Lance,
and then when it comes to throwing the football, it's
(12:42):
just kind of ugly. He does not throw a good ball.
And then when you factor in he's not that accurate
and a lot like Zach Wilson, there's a feel for
the position because he's never really played that much that
he doesn't have. And a huge part to me of
the failure with Trey Lance was the pressure on a
(13:02):
guy from a tiny little school that was like, this
guy was traded for three first round picks, which I
hate that he was traded for two independent first round
picks and a swap of a first round but that's
not the way people talk about it. Three first round
picks and it was a disaster immediately. And I think
Kyle had turned on him by early on in his
second year, because Kyle even tried to change the offense
(13:26):
for him when he had to spot start his rookie year.
Kyle successful because of his offense, not some hybrid running
he tried to like institute some RG three stuff. The
problem is RG three could run. This guy can't run.
So I just don't think he's any good, really good guy.
I think a huge factor into his failures was his
(13:47):
limited talent, the pressure, and just a disaster. But unlike
Zach Wilson that went to the herky jerky all over
the place, weird organization jets, this guy got to go
to Kyle Shanahan in a loaded rock us. The other
thing that I'll never forget. And these players didn't do
it publicly, but it was clear and I know enough
people they never supported him. You know why they didn't
(14:10):
think he could play. And the cutthroat nature of football,
everyone tries to like everyone. I've been in these when
I worked with the Eagles during the season, you'd eat
lunch with everybody and at night a lot of the
players like the cohesion between players. Obviously some guys are
better than other guys, but everyone's trying to lift everyone up.
You get to a certain point when you view a
(14:31):
guy as a liability in your goal and you're a
team like the Niners trying to win the Super Bowl.
They weren't messing with it. They just were not messing
with it. And it was clear very early that one
Jimmy Garoppolo is not even good anymore. They knew Jimmy
was dramatically better, and Kyle rigged it the second year
for Trey Lance to win the job. Trey Lance could
(14:53):
never have beat out Jimmy Garoppolo, and then clearly once
Brock Purdy got in, Brock Purty's in a different universe
than Trey Lance as a player, and he was picked
two sixty two. So I think it just gets back
to I don't think he really knows how to play football,
and if you want to push back development and this
is the pros, and obviously development matters, but there's a
baseline you have to have to work with, and I
(15:14):
don't even think he's there. So just an ultimate organizational
failure justin fields. To me, he is by far the
most talented guy out of this group. But his downfall
is a major issue. Right, Like you can have a
house that has a messed up bathroom, it's like, oh,
we can fix that over time, retile it, put in
(15:35):
a new shower head, whatever. If your foundation is fucked up,
the house is a problem. I mean, if you're like, yeah,
we got some major issues on the foundation, it's not
gonna work. If you can't throw from within the pocket.
In the National Football League, you just can't be a
consistent quarterback. You can make splash plays, and because he's
(15:56):
such a great runner, he makes other plays on top
of that. Because he's I had a big arm when
he scrambling around, he can made great plays when he's
running down the field. Elite athlete. It's why they're talking
about him returning kicks, which I think is kind of
tongue in cheek but also kind of serious. He'd probably
be an elite kick return but he can't play from
within the pocket. And that was never more evident that
(16:16):
final game against the Packers. Whereas you watch Jordan Love
and you watched him and you're like, one guy's playing
a different sport than the other guy. Now, most coaches
would tell you, especially at this point, that's not really improvable.
He's gonna be a good test case. We'll see him
with Arthur Smith, maybe in a different offense, maybe he
can look a little bit better. But that was an issue.
(16:37):
And listen, Kyle, they clearly missed on Trey Lance, but
it was between Trey Lance and Mac Jones for a reason.
They thought that Justin Fields had no pocket awareness. They
didn't think he was natural. There wasn't. They didn't even
entertain taking him at pick three. So I'm rooting for
partly because I liked him coming out of college. But
(16:57):
I'm also honest with myself going that's probably not fixable.
Though I've said before, if I'm a Steeler fan, I'd
rather see if it is than watch Russell Wilson dink
and dunk down the field. Mac Jones, I think this
has a little bit of Zach Wilson. His maturity clearly
popped up, which you go, well, Belichick forced him to
(17:19):
work with Joe Judge, a special teams coach, and Matt Patricia,
defensive coordinator, as the guy coaching him and running his offense.
I go, I hear you, But when you're Mac fucking Jones,
I don't need you pouting on the sideline twenty four
to seven, three sixty five. Now, this year was an embarrassment,
and I think, like any young person, I've been there.
(17:39):
I would imagine a lot of people listening have been
there as well. When you lose your confidence, I don't
care what you do for a living, it's it's hard
to function. And he was lost at sea playing football.
He was a guy even I think he has limited
physical characteristics, no different than Kenny Pickett, no different than
Alex Smith, you know, no different than Kirk Cousins. To
(18:02):
maximize that ability, Clearly you need more help around you.
Dak Prescott to a fall under this. But confidence is
a big, big thing. Look at McDaniel with Tua. I'm
not the biggest to a guy. Well, I like the person,
I just mean the player. They do everything humanly possible
to prop him up and do everything humanly possible to
(18:23):
build around him with weapons and obviously have a great
play caller. That's not quite the way it went with
Mac Jones. Now, once you start seeing it, you go
these physical limitations. He can't lift us up either. But
I'm a Belichick guy. But once you get in bed
with a player like this, they are a little more
dependent on the pieces around them. Like Josh Allen could
(18:43):
win some games with me, you and three other people,
this guy cannot. And I think I actually like mac Jones.
You could argue the most. Unless Fields is salvageable. Mac
Jones is a legitimate backup quarterback to me. He's a
guy going to much more of a place with Doug
if Trevor plays well. Like I could see mac Jones
being a backup quarterback in the NFL for like fifteen years.
(19:07):
Same thing with Kenny Pickett. The problem is that guy
was drafted. One was drafted at fifteen and the other
was drafted at twenty. I got news for you Kenny
Pickett's fifth year option and can we picked up either?
Could have seen that one coming from a mile away.
But sometimes physical characteristics, if you don't have the instincts
and the feel for the position, you got no chance.
And then when you factor on poor maturity around that,
(19:30):
like Zach Wilson, they can't stand you. With Trey Lance,
it's weird. It's like I'm rooting for you, but like
we're trying to win, Like we're fucking playing the Rams
this weekend. Can you complete sixty five percent of your
balls because if you can't, we can't play with you.
And that's how it became. I said this before. Obviously,
Trey broke his ankle two years ago in Week two.
I think he was trending toward getting benched. By the
(19:51):
end of September. I do not think he was gonna
be the starting quarterback very long. You could see it.
I know the team too well. I've been at these
practices like was it was not trending well. I don't
root for anyone to get injured, but it was an
easy one for Kyle because I believe he would have
been benched and benched pretty quickly. Let's talk about where
are they now. Let's rank the teams, because these four teams,
(20:11):
I mean, the Jets used the second overall pick, the
Niners gave three first round picks, the Bears traded next
year's first round pick to trade up for fields, and
obviously Belichick, you could argue that mac Jones was a
huge reason that ended his career. We'll see if it
ended his career, he might come back next year. But
you know what I mean, and it is Patriots tenure.
I think, by far the team in the best spot
(20:32):
right now is the Niners because brock Purty is proven
to be a more than capable I mean, he was
in the MVP discussion. He was probably gonna win the
MVP up until that Baltimore Ravens game, which then tilted
it to Lamar Jackson. But Lamar Jackson makes fifty million dollars,
pretty makes nine hundred thousand dollars. So when you factor in,
(20:53):
he's a seventh round player who could throw thirty touchdowns
and lead a team to back to back NFC championship
and to a Super Bowl. And you could argue, who
knows how that Eagle game would be if he didn't
get hurt, because I saw the Eagles. Now, they were
different both years. The Eagles clearly were better that year,
but we all know the game. It was gonna be
a real football game, and it wasn't because he got injured.
(21:16):
But a time you can get a guy and you
know he's good. You know he's good. And the thing
with the forty nine ers, they have the most important piece,
the head coach slash play caller that in a weird way,
is the face of the franchise. Now it does get
a little more complicated when you got to pay him.
But I would say Brock Purty through a year and
a half has been one of the greatest stories we've
ever seen in the NFL. To me a close second
(21:38):
and the reason I put this team second and not
first because we haven't seen him play down of NFL football.
But no one right now feels better about themselves beside
Chiefs fans than Bears fans. And to go from justin
fields and having the first pick in your back pocket
to end up with Caleb Williams, but also having a
(21:58):
high pick and getting another wide receiver adding Keenan Allen
anding Montes sweat. The Bears are feeling pretty good now.
The difference between the Bears and the Niners. Why the
Bears ain't getting number one? Kyle Shanahan's a big time coach,
Eva Flus, I don't know how's your offense gonna look.
How's Caleb gonna be as a rookie. I think he's
gonna be pretty good, but who knows. I mean, we've
seen this all the time. I thought some of these
(22:18):
guys in the twenty twenty one drive class are gonna
be pretty good. They're all on different fucking teams. Three
six rounders and a fourth rounder, so you barely give
them away. So things change fast. I'm not trying to
be negative. I can't wait to watch the Bears. I
think they're one of the biggest stories in the NFL.
But you you got to prove it on the field,
Like Purty's not better than Caleb. Yeah, well we'll see.
(22:39):
I've seen Purty be in the MVP discussion at the
end of December. Middleicoff, you're being a homer. Well, one
team was just in the Super Bowl with the lead
in overtime. I would say three. This is gonna sound crazy.
Is just the hope of Drake may It's just the
hope of Drake may I don't like anything about the Patriots.
I think there are an organization in turmoil. I mean
they have a GM that they can't name, a GM
(23:01):
that has like prove his worth. The owner's son wants
to have all this power. First time head coach who
hasn't even been coaching that long. The talent on the
roster is not great. Their offensive line isn't very good.
Who knows if Drake may Is is even gonna play
this year. But at least you got the hope of
a young player and you know for a fact that
you have him under a four year contract and if
(23:23):
he's good, he'll be on your team for a second contract.
That's why I have to put the Jets forth, because
they had an opportunity to change their franchise. It turns
out they didn't because any of these guys they would
have picked would have been a failure. But they get
rid of Wilson and now they have a forty year
old quarterback that, let's face it, if this year doesn't
go well, could easily retire. I mean he's openly talked
(23:44):
about it before. So even if Rogers is good this year,
what happens after this year? Like part of the way
I rank, this is the big picture. You know, the
Jets really have a band aid on the situation. Now,
you would gladly to win ten eleven games or to
win the division. It'd be incredible to host a playoff game.
(24:05):
It'd all be worth it, and you would think if
they have success, Rogers would come back for another year.
But let's face it, the way he talks and maybe
just talks a big game, but you are on borrow
time with the guy and you have no future answer
at the position. So I think the Jets are in
the most tumultuous situation given just the status of his contract,
(24:26):
his age, his injury now and let's face it, and
I would have done this deal. I don't blame you
for trading for Aaron Rodgers, but it wasn't exactly coming
off a great year, you know, it was trending down.
Broncos traded for Russell Wilson coming off a pretty bad
year in Seattle, and it proved to be like the
downward trajectory. So I would go Niners pretty one, Chicago,
(24:47):
Caleb Williams two, Drake May just based on the hope
and the youth three and the Jets in this weird
Aaron Rodgers situation for.
Speaker 3 (25:02):
The NBA playoffs are here. Will be breaking down all
the action on the Colin Coward podcast. You'll get my
best takes, great guests like my buddy Nick Wright. Check
out the Colin Coward Podcast, part of the Volume Network,
available on Spotify, Apple, wherever you get your podcasts.
Speaker 1 (25:20):
One thing gms have consistently talked about over this period
of time has been drafting our type guys, and one
thing you consistently hear post draft is toughness, character, leadership,
love of football. I mean every GM says the same thing,
(25:41):
every single one, like we love the I haven't been
ran carthin. Talk about mister Dui. But other than that,
the majority of the guys and this draft seem to
be a pretty high character group. Pretty high character group, right,
Guys that haven't been arrested, Guys that just love football
like I've been this long time. I guess it feels
like a pretty high level top forty five picks of
(26:05):
just pretty good guys, some of them really really good guys.
But one thing I remember Les Needs said after they
i think their third round, their final press conference, was like,
this has become a lot easier doing this with Sean
those our eighth draft, so we know exactly what we're
looking for. This is the draft isn't a fantasy football auction.
(26:27):
You're not just trying to pick the best players. You're
ultimately trying to pick the best people that fit in. Clearly,
you have to have the talent to play on Sundays, Mondays, Thursdays,
and this year I think Wednesday, but we just use
this figure speeches on Sundays. You got to have the
baseline of talent and I would say most guys typically
(26:50):
they get draft in the first couple rounds of a draft,
have some high end physical gifts. I've always thought what
separates people is the stuff that you can't quantify. And
it sounds cheesy, but the heart, the work ethic, the toughness,
and toughness is more than just you know, playing through
a hamstring pull. It's mental toughness, the grind of the
(27:12):
week when you're tired in the off season. Do I
want to do more? Do I get complacent where I'm at?
How much am I willing to do to get better?
And the better I get, the harder it is, the
more money I get, the more fame I get. How
much do I prioritize everything around football? And John Lynch
said it to McAfee today. This was likes Less, Need
(27:34):
and McVeigh. They were all hired. Less was already there,
but McVeigh, Kyle Shanahan, John Lynch same year, we know
exactly what we're looking for. It doesn't mean you're going
to be right on every pick. I mean half the draft.
You out a league in a couple of years, but
you know the traits and the people that fit into
what you do. It's why certain players fit certain places
that don't fit other places. Xavier Worthy makes a lot
(27:58):
of sense with Andy and Veach. You know, Andy and
Veach have worked together for twenty plus years. Twenty plus
years they've been together. Maybe maybe it's like eighteen, but
Veach was his personal assistant. It's a position coach Reda
has had for a long time. Sean McDermott started there
as well in the mid two thousands, so when they're
(28:19):
looking at people slash players, they know what they're looking for.
Eric Tacosta retired, Ozzie Newsom and John Harbaugh have been
together forever. So when they draft Nate Wiggins and everyone's like,
of course they did. Of course they did because they're
all on the same page. And I was watching some
(28:40):
of McAfee with Howie and he's like, the reality is
when you're a GM and a head coach, like, that's
your football marriage. That's your football marriage. And the longer
you're together, I'm essentially married. Boy might have a ring
on the way, but let's probably keep that quiet. But
the reality is, the longer together, you know more about
(29:01):
the other person, what to say, when to say it,
what needs to be said. At certain times you know
when they need support, when they don't need support, you
get to know someone better. It's who do you know
the best in your life? Even the older you get
your family because for eighteen years, whether it's your mom,
(29:22):
your dad, your brothers or sisters, you spend a lot
of time with those people. That's why that relationship is
unlike any other. They're just nothing's even close some of
maybe your childhood friends or your college friends. The older
you get, you've had this long standing bond, but it's
harder and harder the older you get to create that
(29:43):
level connection and when you do it, it's pretty special.
But the time if you meet a close person at
forty is not the same, you know, relationship I would
have with my brother that I've known since I was
four years old. So I think these football teams that
have the coach and the GM in place, have just
(30:03):
been together for have such an advantage on the situation.
It's why when I read these articles about people writing
about I can't believe the Rams gave up next year
second to get the defensive tackle from Florida State. Do
they even read the value chart? What are you guys
talking about? I understand being critical when you give up
(30:24):
first round picks, that is more than fair. That is
a very, very valuable asset. But we just saw the
Rams this year go toe to toe with one of
the best teams in football, the Lions, on the road
in the playoffs. If Matt Stafford is healthy with their roster,
you're talking about eleven plus win team, eleven twelve wins
(30:45):
and a team that a lot of people, if they're
in the playoffs, will pick two win games. So their
second round pick would be somewhere in the early to
mid fifties. Guess what, if you have a first round
pick and a third round pick, you can figure out
a way to get it second round pick. It's not
that big a deal. I can't believe the Lions traded
(31:06):
a future third round pick to get a dude in
the fourth round. Who gives a shit. This is not
the Carolina Panthers. This is not some trash team. These
are teams that have one goal when they step in
OTAs and it's not one of those Brian day Ball
getting in front of the team or Jonathan Gannon get
(31:26):
in front of the team, Like I think we can
compete for the Super Bowl. No, you can't. You got
no shot. Let's just try to get over seven wins, right.
These are teams that look at everyone like, we got
one goal. Fellas to be playing in February, You bet
your ass. We're playing in January, and we plan on
winning those games, and if we're healthy, we'll be favored
(31:50):
in those games. So trading future second and third round
picks when the goal. Sean McVay almost left a couple
years ago, because that's all I've heard about. I can't
believe the Rams traded this much. It's too rich. Sean
McVeigh to me is on a year by year basis.
He literally almost went to Amazon. Had to think long
(32:11):
and hard about it. You were not guaranteed to have
Sean McVay like a John Harbaugh for twenty plus years
or a Mike Tomlin. You're just not. He's already super
rich now as a child. It's an easy transition. Now
he might. I hope he does. I don't want him
to leave the NFL. But every single year, especially for
that organization, chips in the middle of the table. Look
(32:32):
at the Lions, how are they going to upgrade over
Ben Johnson? Like more than likely Ben Johnson isn't just
going to be their offensive coordinator for a decade, probably
be his last year, especially if things go well. So
being aggressive about future picks when your time is now,
never have any issue in this you're talking. It's one
(32:54):
thing like a top thirty pick, where we're talking about
picks in like the fifties, in the sixties. What are
we talking about? Another quick thing? You know, most of
you don't know these people, and I don't even know
a lot of them, but I've seen some headlines about
different teams firing guys. When it comes to assistant coaches
getting fired, it's very easy to quantify their impact, right,
(33:17):
Like you're the wide receiver coach, Your wide receiver suck,
like you're just not doing good enough. Coordinators that get
fired very clear, like this guy not a good coordinator,
and they get fired all the time. But they also
make huge money. So when an offensive coordinator fails and
it's pretty clear he sucks, you know that guy's on
a seven figure contract. You know, when a wide receiver
(33:41):
coach or a linebacker coach gets fired, they're making six
seven hundred thousand dollars. These personnel people that are getting
fired all over the league. It's not a lot of
times based on your results, your your ability at your job.
Because I know a lot of guys who have been
(34:02):
let go, myself included, and he goes, God, guy's really
good at his job. The personnel department is much more
about personalities and did that guy bring you in? Do
you get along with this guy? And you know the
other thing. In personnel, they're much closer to normal people
jobs in terms of pay making eighty grand, make it
one hundred and twenty grand, make one hundred and fifty grand.
(34:23):
And I saw a headline today of a guy that
got fired at an organization that I saw at the combine,
and he had left a very successful team with the
buddy who was then running the team for a pay race.
But you could tell, and he didn't. I don't know
him that well, but he was pretty lit. He'd had
(34:46):
a few and I had a few two, and I
just vividly remember looking into his eyes and you could
just tell, like, God, I made a mistake. This sucks.
And it has nothing to do with like I'm not
good at my job. Because I was with the team
that was rattling off playoff victories, going to Super Bowls
for a decade I know what I'm doing. But when
you're not the decision maker, one, no one has to
(35:07):
listen to you. Two. When you get fired, it's not like,
well he missed on seven of the ten guys we
needed him to hit on. That's not the way it
is where it's like, yeah, we fired our offensive line coach.
Do you see the way our offensive line played? And
the other thing is the money. It's why I feel
no sympathy. I'm much I'll talk shit about coaches all
(35:29):
day long because half of them, to me, are frauds,
and half those frauds are making a ton of money
and could never sniff that money in any other industry.
Or these personnel guys get into it like I did
because you're passionate about it, and then you realize you're
not making that much money. It's a very fickle business,
and if something goes wrong, a GM turns on you.
They got to throw someone to the wolves. I'm not
(35:52):
acting like everyone in the scouting departments are good. That's
not what I'm saying at all. I'm just saying when
these guys get fired, it's never about their ability or
very very rarely, it's usually about personalities and just restructuring,
wanting to bring in your friends. It's wanting to bring
in people you're comfortable with. And it's just it's a
(36:13):
shitty part about the job. And I just something I
don't miss. There's no amount of money you could pay
me to go back, No amount of money, Okay, Fagazi Friday.
We had a skip last week. We got a bunch.
(36:35):
Wanted to dive into that right now because I got
I got a couple of messages I tech, I DMed
you back personally. You know, there's a line here. This
is supposed to be fun and we're having you know,
kind of laughing at stuff. You know some of the
stuff and clearly, you know, impact your life. Someone lose
(36:55):
their life in a situation about a fagazi with insurance companies.
It his is me off too, But this is I
try to keep this lighter. So certain ones I'm just
not gonna read because it is supposed to be fun,
but listen, it is what it is. So I it's like,
if you send me a DM, I'm gonna try to
read it like this one. This is not super positive,
but I was just fired from my job in television.
(37:19):
This Fugazi Friday I'm a weekend reporter and meteorologist. The
company laid off a lot of part timers. I'm using
the job to pay my way through college. Now I'm
stuck with the summer with nothing to do. Right as
the summer begins. The corporate people think laying off on
air talent making twelve dollars an hour will solve the
(37:39):
company's problems. Maybe there are other issues they need to solve.
I hear you. Luckily, which we turn this into a positive.
You're in college, you're young, there's other line of works
you can figure out to just keep your head above water.
And you know, I think it's a good example, and
you know, I think there's probably some parallels when I
worked in radio to television. Middle management never wants to
(38:02):
fire themselves, so it's very easy for these guys where
you go, what is this guy actually doing, who's making
depending on your market three hundred, five hundred, six hundred grand,
they will cut anyone's head off to keep that paycheck
rolling in. So I hear you. I feel for you.
The best thing about getting fired, and I've been fired
twice is being young when you're fired, because you still
(38:24):
got options. And i'd argue, even if you're old, you
got options, but when you're young, especially in college, you
got your whole world ahead of you, and that you
know fugazi that you went through. Getting fired is a
part time employee or laid off or however you want
to you put it is something that kind of shapes
you moving forward. And I think one thing that helps
(38:44):
in life is to realize how if you're gonna work
in the private sector, how just cutthroat and cold this
world is, because that's what business is. And the faster
you get numb to it, the easier it is to
play the game because you're either getting played or you're
playing it. And obviously when you're young, you don't have
(39:05):
as much control, but at least you know what you're
getting into. And the quicker you kind of experience that,
to me, the quicker it hardens and puts those callusies
on you to kind of know what to look for
and know what you want. And I would turn that
experience into a positive experience. I really would, even though
(39:25):
it stings a lot early on because I've been hurt too,
But then looking back, without those moments, it makes you
stronger to attack life. Little Fugazi Friday. In New Jersey
and I think New York, the government officials passed laws
about the use of plastic in stores. They are not
(39:48):
allowed to have plastic bags, and now you have to
buy bags from stores. Whatever. Trust me, I'm from California.
We've been doing that forever. This is a fugazi by itself.
They also banned plastic straws. Now, I have to drink
my beverage with a shitty paper straw that disintegrates after
two minutes and is horrible to use. Certain fast food
(40:10):
places will give me my beverage inside of a styrofoam
cup with a plastic lid. So what's the fucking point.
I know that it's a small thing, but when you
have to drink out of a shitty paper straw, it's
very infuriating. Going to other states is such an eye opener.
Trust me, when I moved there never, I mean. A
big reason I'm in Arizona is because in twenty twenty,
(40:33):
when everything in California was locked down, they would beat
you with a stick if you left your house, let alone,
didn't have a mask on. I came to Arizona for
a golf trip and everything was normal. I'm like, we're
all breathing in the same air. Everyone's here rocking and
rolling and over there. I was like, what is going on?
And last year when I went to Tahoe for the summer,
(40:54):
you know in Arizona, we don't have you just get
a plastic straw, you get a straw, you get a
plastic straw. Went to tap and we went to Starbucks
and they gave us a paper straw. You can't solve
a problem with something that doesn't work. That is not
a solution. A paper straw is not a solution to
the plastic straw because a paper straw melts in water.
(41:20):
It honestly is one of the in California. I mean,
you could do crack on the sidewalk. You can't have
a plastic straw. They give you a paper straw that
does not work. You're like, what are we doing here?
Nothing ever makes sense. But until social media, I have
never heard of people that rooted for the government. That's
(41:41):
what's weird to me, is like the media cheers on
the government. Where I come from, we made fun of
them all, every single one of them. Like one of
the biggest fugazis of all time is the government and
people that work in government. Obviously there are some capable people,
but the way the setup is is like, how is
this solving anything? Hint, it's not, and it never does.
(42:06):
And that's a consistent theme with society. So plastic straws.
It used to drive me up a wall. One thing
I remember, in like twenty twenty one, when everything in
California was still like twenty twenty, I was like, I'm
not gonna complain about this anymore. I'm not. I hate
being angry all the time, so I just left and
(42:28):
I've been happy ever since. So and I know my
situation is different than other people's situation, but I just
one thing I try to get away from is just
complaining about all the things and everything in the Bay
Area used to drive me nuts. Little stuff like that,
paying for the bags. I don't pay for bags. Give
me paper bags, plastic bags, my own bags, whatever. I
(42:50):
can have any bag I want here. So you just
sometimes you gotta move and you realize society operates a
little different if you just cross an imaginary line. But
paper straws are not a solution. They don't work. Fugazi Friday,
NFL Draft rankings immediately after the draft. Tough to get
sold on someone being a good or bad pick without
(43:10):
watching them play a snap in the NFL. Totally agree.
Not much to say fugazi Friday Friday weddings cheaper for
the couple, but a pain for the guests. I've got
five this calendar year, and I've got to take half
or full days off just to attend rehearsal dinners would
(43:31):
be on Thursday. I'm going to defend the Friday wedding
for a hot minute. Wedding costs. Having been to a
lot over the years and just knowing people, knowing the
finances that it costs for weddings, it's outrageous. It really would,
it really is. I'm hammering this home. I will gladly
(43:54):
go to the courthouse next week and get married. And
however much money per side had set away, give it
to me. I'll put in the stock market, I buy something,
do something. But I have now I get it. It's
a big moment for people's family. Everyone's different, and I know,
especially you know, for for her it's a really really
(44:16):
big deal. But the costs on these weddings, I mean,
I think you can't have the lowest budget wedding. You
would struggle to get it for twenty five grand. I mean,
this is all that's a lot of money. So you're
talking fifty eighty one hundred grand. I don't care. Most
people are not upper middle class, let alone rich. That
(44:40):
amount of cash to invest is a lot of money.
And the price is clearly with inflation, is the price
of everything has never been higher. But it's if it's
the difference if you're someone and I get it, and
I understand it's hard for people attending, but put yourself
in their shoes. Let's say they have thirty grand to
put the wedding, and it's the difference of like, we
(45:02):
want to do it here or this is where our
families live, so we want to do in this area.
We can't afford to do it anywhere under fifty grand
for a Saturday wedding. I think it's tough, and I
get it from your side. If it was me, i'd
probably say it can't make it, gotta work. But it
(45:22):
to me, it's the costs. It just gets back to
the outrageous price of everything, which literally everything has never
been higher. And starting with this stuff, the venue, the food,
I mean, it's just it's not cheap man Now, weddings,
you know, relative have never been quote unquote cheap. But
I would say hearing some of these stories these last
(45:43):
couple of years, it's eye opening. You're like, you spent
what so hope you got a lot of pictures. Fugazi Friday,
Annoyingly thick burgers. Burgers at restaurants have gotten too tall
and are impossible to eat properly. All your toppings will
fall out, and you'll need a sink shower for your
(46:05):
hands and face afterwards. Risky meal choices for first dates.
Napkin management is a nightmare. At least with wings or ribs.
You know exactly what you're signing up for. Ordering a
burger in twenty four is paying is playing Russian roulette.
People's jaws can hang, and the toothpick sword doesn't do shit.
(46:28):
I think it's fair to say, unless you're going to
like some diners, drive ins and dines, like a place
that's known for a specific special burger, you should not
need a massive knife to cut the thing in half.
You should be able to grip the burger and fit
it right in your mouth. I'm with you. I think
the perfect size of a burger, even with the toppings. Now,
(46:51):
obviously it comes out if you're at a restaurant. Some
the functuae of the look of everything. They want everything
to look cool, including the food, to have it kind
of layered. But if you can't press it down and
have a crisp bite. And again, there are certain places,
certain barbecue joints in Texas or the South, or you know,
(47:11):
every place has their like specialty. But you're running the
mill restaurant that's just serving a cheeseburger. I'm with you,
because the toppings everything, It's like, I can't this is
not this is not a functional meals and I just
don't want to order the chicken. I want a cheeseburger.
But can we just make it possible to bite into thing?
(47:33):
And as a lover of cheeseburgers who probably over under
cheeseburgers in my life forty years old, three sixty five,
so we're talking, I don't know a thousand. A lot
of times I've eaten too, so it hell could be
fifteen hundred. I've eaten a lot of cheeseburgers. Yeah, I
hear you. There. Here's a little food, GUYSI Airline charges
(47:54):
one hundred and twenty five dollars for my pet to
travel under the seat, zipped in a carrier for the
entire or flight. I don't know what you know. We
fly with little Lolli's on Southwest Airline. She's a service
dog to mitigate panic attacks, and she does a really
good job but doesn't cost you anything. So I don't
know what airline you fly on. Yeah, I don't know
(48:17):
what to say to that. I'm pro. I'm pro little
dogs being on the plane if they're good travelers. Just
sit under, take a little take a little snooze. No
issue with dogs. I would say my experience with dogs
definitely better than kids. And I don't blame anyone you're
traveling with the kids, but obviously little kids sometimes just
freak out on planes and are crying. There's nothing you
(48:38):
can do. Now, there are levels. I sat next to
one where the parents like were like on their iPads
and stuff like, at least try to help, like your
kids crying bloody murder here. I don't think I've ever
had an issue with another dog barking, saying a word.
A lot of times when people come sitting next to
us and Lolli's on the plane, like I didn't even
know what dog was there if she just comes right on,
(48:59):
the lays down, takes a snooze flying back to Southern
California in northern California, So I get it, though if
I ran the airline, I would charge as well. I
played around a golf last Sunday afternoon and the round
cost over one hundred dollars. On top of that, I
had to pay twenty five dollars to take a cart.
(49:22):
The course requires you to take a cart at that time,
and there is no option to even walk. What exactly
am I paying for here? The carts are electric, so
there's no gas that needs to be filled. It just
seems like an extra way the course can screw up.
Am I missing something? Well? I've never seen the books
(49:44):
of a golf course, but in college for a couple
of years I've played in you know, been playing golf
my whole life. If you ever go to a cart
barn right with the electric carts which they all are now,
there are a million chargers, so I would imagine there
is some cost to be speaking out a turn of
charging all the carts for the operation. Anyone running a
(50:06):
golf course listening to this maybe you can chime in,
but maybe it's to compensate that. Maybe it's just the
wear and tear of the golf course. If it's cart
path only and they charge you that, that feels like,
are you fucking kidding me? Now, if you can drive
it anywhere, you know you got to pay them, you know,
the maintenance of the grass. Uh, depending on where you're playing.
(50:29):
One hundred dollars, I mean, if the course is decent,
it seems like a pretty good deal. Now if it's
po dunk nowhere. But if it's one hundred dollars course,
a nice course, they're basically charge one hundred and twenty
five dollars for a round of golf, I'd argue it's
pretty good price point. Again, I have to see the
course and you know where you're living and the different options.
But I'm gonna push back on that a little bit.
I would just view it as the cost of the
(50:50):
round one twenty five. Honestly, that course is stupid. They
should just build the carts price into the round, especially
if they're mandating the take a card. Have a Fugazi
Friday for you. I'm not sure if you have this
in the States, but in New Zealand, we have payless payment.
(51:10):
But the fugazi is the banks are charging businesses who
pass on the customer one point five percent to use
payWave or something similar. I can save that one point
five percent by inserting my bank card and tapping in
my pen. It takes about twenty seconds longer, so isn't
a big deal. But when I'm out and I have
(51:33):
my phone, the fact that an extra one point five
percent is tacked on to payless is a massive ripoff
and a bank fugazi. Your thoughts. I don't know exactly
what that would be in the States. I don't think
it's not called payless. But I'm an investor in this
company called Toast. Whenever you go to a restaurant, some
(51:57):
gas stations have them when you tap your card. That
little mechanism is the brand and the reason I invest in.
They get a cut of every time that a transaction happens.
Like someone has to make money. They're providing a service.
So I've never worked in the banking industry, but we're
(52:18):
all getting dinged someway or another, like that's how all
these people make money. Right. If you have a nice
credit card with you know, usually you're paying a yearly fee,
so it's just in some way or another. I don't
call me old school. Put any of my credit cards
on my phone, like Apple Pay, I guess is something
(52:39):
a lot of people use. I just carry my wallet
with me, so if I have an issue, I just
use my card. But I'm sure I'm getting dinged all
the time. I don't even notice. I guess maybe here
in the States, you're just so numbed all the charges.
I mean, you get taxed on, taxed on tax You're like, fuck,
just here's the money. I was staying at a hotel
the other night when I see a card left from
(53:00):
me on the nightstand with a name on it. The
name was of the housekeeper that cleaned the room I
was staying in, and there was a QR code on
the card. The card stated it's never been easier to
tip and the QR code for a website to tip
the housekeeper that cleaned my room. Fugazi or is this commonplace? Well?
(53:22):
I think with technology, I would imagine this stuff's gonna
come more in vogue. Stuff like that. I do think
whenever you're staying at a hotel and you see the
amount of shit these people have to clean up. I
try always to leave twenty bucks or ten bucks or
hand them the money. I would never put it in
the QR code because who knows how that thing's getting
(53:44):
divvied up. If you just leave the cash, you can
just put it in her pocket. Uh. But yeah, I
mean I think more and more of these QR codes.
They're not going away. I'll promise you that. But I
do think the housekeeping one is an easy one if
you feel you're not obligated, but likes that job sucks.
And I mean I leave my hotel rooms just what
(54:07):
I'm staying by, my towels, everywhere, it's dirt, you know,
you just food, It's just gross. Think of the amount
of people today. It's just that sucks. I always try
to do that, and sometimes I'm not gonna act like
I do it every time. Sometimes you forget. But I
would always leave cash. I would never in a million
years hit the QR code. Zero chance. Will never happen
(54:28):
till the day I die, because you can just there's
always gonna be a human coming in. Just leave the
cash on the desk. When with this fugazi Friday, let
me know if that Drone Donut company goes public, I'd
short that stock into oblivions. I agree the drone Donut
company will never work. Have a good weekend, the volume
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Speaker 1 (01:29):
What is going on, everybody? How are we doing? Happy
fooghazy Friday? And we had a skip last week because
of a little thing called the draft, about seven days
officially away. I'm recording this Thursday afternoon at about four thirty,
so the draft was starting last week at this time.
Fun times. But today I wanted to dive into the
twenty twenty one draft class because four quarterbacks not named
(01:53):
Trevor Lawrence are on different teams and did not have
their fifth year option picked up. So I want to
discuss why those guys fail and where those teams that
made those selections are now. So thoughts on just the
gms who have spoken a lot over the last seven
days and a consistent theme that they've been saying. I've
seen some unnamed executives talk about certain teams wasting picks
(02:16):
and trade ups. I wanted to dive into that. How
you you can't trade a second round pick to move
up that far in twenty twenty five. It's again not
everyone's bad, like some teams are ready to win now.
And a lot of front office guys throughout the NFL,
because we've had a lot of turnover. This just the
time of year where they get fired. And I'm not
talking gms. I'm talking about a lot of guys that
(02:37):
you don't know, and I just kind of want to
discuss my experience and how it's a lot different than
the coaching world, especially financially. You know, coaches make a
lot more money than the personnel guys, so it's it's
kind of a it's honestly much more relatable to just
normal people because they're not making an insane amount of money.
And then of course for you guys a Friday, which
we'll dive into next no middle Cooff mail bag. This,
(03:00):
We'll get back to it next week. That'll be the
game plan. I might record a pot on Sunday for Monday,
but also might just wait till Monday. We'll see see
how I'm feeling this weekend, see what happens, and so
next week, I got a bunch of questions. Keep firing
at John middlecoff as the Instagram. Make sure if you
listen on Collin's feed, subscribe to three and out feed.
Everything's on YouTube. Appreciate everyone listening to the volume dot com.
We got merch they had three and out hats. It's
(03:21):
wearing one earlier and uh yeah, have a great weekend.
But before we dive into football, So I got to
tell you about my friends. I was a couple of
weeks ago. I was taking the dog for a walk
and my neighbors were outside. I'm like, where are you
guys going? And because she had a cocktail on, they
were a cocktail in her hand. They were dressed up, like, oh,
we're going down the road to a comedy show. Like god,
(03:42):
that sounds amazing in this negative world we live in.
Go to a comedy show, get some laughs, have a Bruski,
enjoy yourself. Well guess what if you download the game
Time app right now, the official ticketing app of this podcast,
you can go to a comedy show. You can go
to a concert. Luke holmbs I plan on going because
of Game Time here at the end of the month,
He's coming to Glendale. I'm like, shit, I'll go see him.
(04:03):
Download that app. Search wherever you live, any event you
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You can search by different price points. I cannot recommend
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on my smartphone for over two years now and I
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(04:48):
John for twenty dollars off. Download the game Time App today,
last minute ticket's lowest prices guaranteed. There is no excitement
like the draft. Especially high in the draft, everyone thinks
they hit a home run. Unless you're the Falcons, You're like,
what are we doing? Even if you like the pick.
But for the most part, there's a reason every video
you see put out by these teams on social media
(05:12):
is excitement. Half the people in America get a divorce,
Yet if you see their wedding pictures, they couldn't be happier, right,
So the moment the draft happens, the excitement is at
an all time high. Now, if you hit it right
and that guy becomes a star, if you draft Aaron Donald,
if you draft JJ Watt, if you draft Michael Parsons, whoever,
(05:32):
we know all the star players that have been drafted,
clearly the quarterbacks. That excitement lasts for a long time.
But as Schefter put out the kind of the breakdown
on his little Excel spreadsheet, that we know that under
fifty percent of these players will get a second contract
based on the last twenty years of data, and depending
(05:53):
on the position, that number even goes down. So when
a player was drafted in two thousand two, that quarterback
draft was highly touted. It turned out to be a
fucking disaster. Trevor Lawrence, while he's still in question, is
clearly a starting quarterback in the NFL. The only question
is is he just a mid guy? As the kids
(06:15):
would say, is he worth a big contract? He's got
a lot riding on the season. If he gets the
Jags back to the playoffs, win another playoff game, he'll
get a big contract. If he has a season like
he did last year. He won't, but he clearly is
an NFL player. I don't know if we can say
of that, I mean, an NFL starter. We can't say
that about the other four guys, And they all had
their fifth year options declined. They all were traded, and
(06:38):
I honestly think there's a chance Trey Lance is the
worst one of the bunch, and he got traded for
the most well contracts. Playing to this, the Cowboys got
him for two seasons. These other guys got traded on
their last season, so you only have them under contract
for one year. And they were all declined. Because these
guys are all currently backups. Trey Lance technically is a
(07:01):
third string quarterback. You're not paying twenty plus million dollars
for that position. But I wanted to go over. I
wanted to start with why each guy failed, because there's
always a reason, and let's face it, there are usually
a lot of reasons young people fail. Some stuff's out
of your control. But let's start with Zach Wilson that
(07:22):
year BYU, the season in twenty twenty. If you look,
typically BYU plays really good teams, plays a ton of
other Power five teams, plays of other top teams and
other conferences. Obviously they have some I wouldn't call them Patsy's,
but some lower end competition. But on a given year,
they could be playing Notre Dame, they could be playing UCLA,
(07:43):
they could be playing Oregon, they could be playing Oklahoma.
They play real teams that year. They did.
Speaker 2 (07:49):
Not.
Speaker 1 (07:49):
Their schedule in twenty twenty was a joke, not their fault.
A lot of these conferences canceled all these out of
conference games. And because BYU's an independent, maybe they're in
the Big two now, but at the time, I can't
keep up with all the conference re alignment, you know
what I'm saying. And the best team they had on
their schedule in twenty twenty was Coastal Carolina, and I
(08:10):
watched that game because there was a ton of hype
on Zach Wilson. Didn't play that well, didn't play that
well at all. Was not debatable about his physical skills,
good movement, good arm, talent, could fling the ball around,
But why did he fail with the Jets. Well, first
and foremost, he was very immature, and I remember talking
to Colin about this years ago, the jump going from Provo,
(08:34):
Utah to New York is probably about as big as
you would get in America. Seriously, because even if you're
from a small town, like a lot of dudes are
in the South, like a lot of guys that play
SEC football are from rural towns, are from smaller towns.
But once you go play at LSU, at Alabama, at Georgia,
(08:56):
at Florida, well that town, you know, tuscal loose, that
might be big. But some of these, you know, we're
all misplays. You were under a microscope and you were
covered like the NFL light at BYU, it's a lot different.
And that jump clearly he was overwhelmed by a second season.
He's thrown teammates under the bus and it was a disaster.
Then from a football standpoint, his talents never translated because
(09:20):
you watch the guy that we talk a lot about
these physical gifts part of playing quarterback. We talk about
this in other positions, like this corner's really instinctive. This
running back has a great feel for where to hit
the hole. That's also at quarterback. Like you watch Patrick Mahomes,
he has the physical gifts, but his innate ability to
(09:44):
just feel things and make things happen. His football instincts
are elite. Most of the best quarterbacks are. Zach Wilson
lacks those, does not have them. He's a very, very
frenetic player. You can't run an offense with at player
because you can watch an individual play with Zact and
go god. I think the most remarkable plays ever made.
(10:06):
They were playing the Raiders and it was like a
last second Hail Mary, and he rolled left. He's a
right handed quarterback and he like did this three sixty
to juke Max Crosby in space, who's clearly one of
the best players in the NFL, rolling left toward the sideline,
turned his body, contwarded his body and hucked that ball
like sixty plus yards in the air. Like his physical
(10:29):
gifts are high end, but his actual ability to play
the quarterback simply is not. And when you don't have
that capability right, when you don't have a good feel.
I'll never forget talking to dude with the Jets a
couple of years ago, and he'd be like, you watch
him practice, he's skipping easy balls. You don't need to
make the Josh Allen sixty yard bombs. I heard Slais
(10:53):
say this with a coward yesterday. Those plays don't happen
a lot. Do you know most of the plays in football,
wheel routes to the running back, a quick slant to
the wide receiver, a ten yard out on third and eight.
You have to have the timing, the rhythm, the feel
of the position, and he never had it. So when
you factor in questions with his maturity factoring his limitations,
(11:17):
it's an utter disaster. Trey Lance, unlike Zach Wilson, high character,
hard worker, never questioned. Even when he went through some
weird shit with the forty nine ers, that was never
an issue they had with him. One problem I think
the Niners had because Zach Wilson's schedule was a joke.
(11:39):
Trey Lance didn't have a season. It did not exist,
It got canceled. They played some one off game that honestly,
no one counts as anything. You can't even use that
to evaluate anything. So he had no season. He also
came from while he plays for the Alabama of D
one dole A definitely at the time North Dakota State.
(12:01):
It ain't the SEC or the Big ten or the
Pac twelve. So the level of competition, if you watch
me like god, this is a pretty good prospect he
was completely overwhelmed physically. One of the reasons they drafted
him because they thought they were getting this hybrid player. Well,
his athleticism will get in the fields, which clearly translated
(12:22):
his did not. And you watch him run, you go,
this guy's not even very fast, which is ironic as
Purty who. If you just looked at the two of
them standing there, and I did because I went to
these practices, you go, you'd rather have the big guy.
Perdy plays a lot faster just moving around than Trey Lance,
and then when it comes to throwing the football, it's
(12:42):
just kind of ugly. He does not throw a good ball.
And then when you factor in he's not that accurate
and a lot like Zach Wilson, there's a feel for
the position because he's never really played that much that
he doesn't have. And a huge part to me of
the failure with Trey Lance was the pressure on a
(13:02):
guy from a tiny little school that was like, this
guy was traded for three first round picks, which I
hate that he was traded for two independent first round
picks and a swap of a first round but that's
not the way people talk about it. Three first round
picks and it was a disaster immediately. And I think
Kyle had turned on him by early on in his
second year, because Kyle even tried to change the offense
(13:26):
for him when he had to spot start his rookie year.
Kyle successful because of his offense, not some hybrid running
he tried to like institute some RG three stuff. The
problem is RG three could run. This guy can't run.
So I just don't think he's any good, really good guy.
I think a huge factor into his failures was his
(13:47):
limited talent, the pressure, and just a disaster. But unlike
Zach Wilson that went to the herky jerky all over
the place, weird organization jets, this guy got to go
to Kyle Shanahan in a loaded rock us. The other
thing that I'll never forget. And these players didn't do
it publicly, but it was clear and I know enough
people they never supported him. You know why they didn't
(14:10):
think he could play. And the cutthroat nature of football,
everyone tries to like everyone. I've been in these when
I worked with the Eagles during the season, you'd eat
lunch with everybody and at night a lot of the
players like the cohesion between players. Obviously some guys are
better than other guys, but everyone's trying to lift everyone up.
You get to a certain point when you view a
(14:31):
guy as a liability in your goal and you're a
team like the Niners trying to win the Super Bowl.
They weren't messing with it. They just were not messing
with it. And it was clear very early that one
Jimmy Garoppolo is not even good anymore. They knew Jimmy
was dramatically better, and Kyle rigged it the second year
for Trey Lance to win the job. Trey Lance could
(14:53):
never have beat out Jimmy Garoppolo, and then clearly once
Brock Purdy got in, Brock Purty's in a different universe
than Trey Lance as a player, and he was picked
two sixty two. So I think it just gets back
to I don't think he really knows how to play football,
and if you want to push back development and this
is the pros, and obviously development matters, but there's a
baseline you have to have to work with, and I
(15:14):
don't even think he's there. So just an ultimate organizational
failure justin fields. To me, he is by far the
most talented guy out of this group. But his downfall
is a major issue. Right, Like you can have a
house that has a messed up bathroom, it's like, oh,
we can fix that over time, retile it, put in
(15:35):
a new shower head, whatever. If your foundation is fucked up,
the house is a problem. I mean, if you're like, yeah,
we got some major issues on the foundation, it's not
gonna work. If you can't throw from within the pocket.
In the National Football League, you just can't be a
consistent quarterback. You can make splash plays, and because he's
(15:56):
such a great runner, he makes other plays on top
of that. Because he's I had a big arm when
he scrambling around, he can made great plays when he's
running down the field. Elite athlete. It's why they're talking
about him returning kicks, which I think is kind of
tongue in cheek but also kind of serious. He'd probably
be an elite kick return but he can't play from
within the pocket. And that was never more evident that
(16:16):
final game against the Packers. Whereas you watch Jordan Love
and you watched him and you're like, one guy's playing
a different sport than the other guy. Now, most coaches
would tell you, especially at this point, that's not really improvable.
He's gonna be a good test case. We'll see him
with Arthur Smith, maybe in a different offense, maybe he
can look a little bit better. But that was an issue.
(16:37):
And listen, Kyle, they clearly missed on Trey Lance, but
it was between Trey Lance and Mac Jones for a reason.
They thought that Justin Fields had no pocket awareness. They
didn't think he was natural. There wasn't. They didn't even
entertain taking him at pick three. So I'm rooting for
partly because I liked him coming out of college. But
(16:57):
I'm also honest with myself going that's probably not fixable.
Though I've said before, if I'm a Steeler fan, I'd
rather see if it is than watch Russell Wilson dink
and dunk down the field. Mac Jones, I think this
has a little bit of Zach Wilson. His maturity clearly
popped up, which you go, well, Belichick forced him to
(17:19):
work with Joe Judge, a special teams coach, and Matt Patricia,
defensive coordinator, as the guy coaching him and running his offense.
I go, I hear you, But when you're Mac fucking Jones,
I don't need you pouting on the sideline twenty four
to seven, three sixty five. Now, this year was an embarrassment,
and I think, like any young person, I've been there.
(17:39):
I would imagine a lot of people listening have been
there as well. When you lose your confidence, I don't
care what you do for a living, it's it's hard
to function. And he was lost at sea playing football.
He was a guy even I think he has limited
physical characteristics, no different than Kenny Pickett, no different than
Alex Smith, you know, no different than Kirk Cousins. To
(18:02):
maximize that ability, Clearly you need more help around you.
Dak Prescott to a fall under this. But confidence is
a big, big thing. Look at McDaniel with Tua. I'm
not the biggest to a guy. Well, I like the person,
I just mean the player. They do everything humanly possible
to prop him up and do everything humanly possible to
(18:23):
build around him with weapons and obviously have a great
play caller. That's not quite the way it went with
Mac Jones. Now, once you start seeing it, you go
these physical limitations. He can't lift us up either. But
I'm a Belichick guy. But once you get in bed
with a player like this, they are a little more
dependent on the pieces around them. Like Josh Allen could
(18:43):
win some games with me, you and three other people,
this guy cannot. And I think I actually like mac Jones.
You could argue the most. Unless Fields is salvageable. Mac
Jones is a legitimate backup quarterback to me. He's a
guy going to much more of a place with Doug
if Trevor plays well. Like I could see mac Jones
being a backup quarterback in the NFL for like fifteen years.
(19:07):
Same thing with Kenny Pickett. The problem is that guy
was drafted. One was drafted at fifteen and the other
was drafted at twenty. I got news for you Kenny
Pickett's fifth year option and can we picked up either?
Could have seen that one coming from a mile away.
But sometimes physical characteristics, if you don't have the instincts
and the feel for the position, you got no chance.
And then when you factor on poor maturity around that,
(19:30):
like Zach Wilson, they can't stand you. With Trey Lance,
it's weird. It's like I'm rooting for you, but like
we're trying to win, Like we're fucking playing the Rams
this weekend. Can you complete sixty five percent of your
balls because if you can't, we can't play with you.
And that's how it became. I said this before. Obviously,
Trey broke his ankle two years ago in Week two.
I think he was trending toward getting benched. By the
(19:51):
end of September. I do not think he was gonna
be the starting quarterback very long. You could see it.
I know the team too well. I've been at these
practices like was it was not trending well. I don't
root for anyone to get injured, but it was an
easy one for Kyle because I believe he would have
been benched and benched pretty quickly. Let's talk about where
are they now. Let's rank the teams, because these four teams,
(20:11):
I mean, the Jets used the second overall pick, the
Niners gave three first round picks, the Bears traded next
year's first round pick to trade up for fields, and
obviously Belichick, you could argue that mac Jones was a
huge reason that ended his career. We'll see if it
ended his career, he might come back next year. But
you know what I mean, and it is Patriots tenure.
I think, by far the team in the best spot
(20:32):
right now is the Niners because brock Purty is proven
to be a more than capable I mean, he was
in the MVP discussion. He was probably gonna win the
MVP up until that Baltimore Ravens game, which then tilted
it to Lamar Jackson. But Lamar Jackson makes fifty million dollars,
pretty makes nine hundred thousand dollars. So when you factor in,
(20:53):
he's a seventh round player who could throw thirty touchdowns
and lead a team to back to back NFC championship
and to a Super Bowl. And you could argue, who
knows how that Eagle game would be if he didn't
get hurt, because I saw the Eagles. Now, they were
different both years. The Eagles clearly were better that year,
but we all know the game. It was gonna be
a real football game, and it wasn't because he got injured.
(21:16):
But a time you can get a guy and you
know he's good. You know he's good. And the thing
with the forty nine ers, they have the most important piece,
the head coach slash play caller that in a weird way,
is the face of the franchise. Now it does get
a little more complicated when you got to pay him.
But I would say Brock Purty through a year and
a half has been one of the greatest stories we've
ever seen in the NFL. To me a close second
(21:38):
and the reason I put this team second and not
first because we haven't seen him play down of NFL football.
But no one right now feels better about themselves beside
Chiefs fans than Bears fans. And to go from justin
fields and having the first pick in your back pocket
to end up with Caleb Williams, but also having a
(21:58):
high pick and getting another wide receiver adding Keenan Allen
anding Montes sweat. The Bears are feeling pretty good now.
The difference between the Bears and the Niners. Why the
Bears ain't getting number one? Kyle Shanahan's a big time coach,
Eva Flus, I don't know how's your offense gonna look.
How's Caleb gonna be as a rookie. I think he's
gonna be pretty good, but who knows. I mean, we've
seen this all the time. I thought some of these
(22:18):
guys in the twenty twenty one drive class are gonna
be pretty good. They're all on different fucking teams. Three
six rounders and a fourth rounder, so you barely give
them away. So things change fast. I'm not trying to
be negative. I can't wait to watch the Bears. I
think they're one of the biggest stories in the NFL.
But you you got to prove it on the field,
Like Purty's not better than Caleb. Yeah, well we'll see.
(22:39):
I've seen Purty be in the MVP discussion at the
end of December. Middleicoff, you're being a homer. Well, one
team was just in the Super Bowl with the lead
in overtime. I would say three. This is gonna sound crazy.
Is just the hope of Drake may It's just the
hope of Drake may I don't like anything about the Patriots.
I think there are an organization in turmoil. I mean
they have a GM that they can't name, a GM
(23:01):
that has like prove his worth. The owner's son wants
to have all this power. First time head coach who
hasn't even been coaching that long. The talent on the
roster is not great. Their offensive line isn't very good.
Who knows if Drake may Is is even gonna play
this year. But at least you got the hope of
a young player and you know for a fact that
you have him under a four year contract and if
(23:23):
he's good, he'll be on your team for a second contract.
That's why I have to put the Jets forth, because
they had an opportunity to change their franchise. It turns
out they didn't because any of these guys they would
have picked would have been a failure. But they get
rid of Wilson and now they have a forty year
old quarterback that, let's face it, if this year doesn't
go well, could easily retire. I mean he's openly talked
(23:44):
about it before. So even if Rogers is good this year,
what happens after this year? Like part of the way
I rank, this is the big picture. You know, the
Jets really have a band aid on the situation. Now,
you would gladly to win ten eleven games or to
win the division. It'd be incredible to host a playoff game.
(24:05):
It'd all be worth it, and you would think if
they have success, Rogers would come back for another year.
But let's face it, the way he talks and maybe
just talks a big game, but you are on borrow
time with the guy and you have no future answer
at the position. So I think the Jets are in
the most tumultuous situation given just the status of his contract,
(24:26):
his age, his injury now and let's face it, and
I would have done this deal. I don't blame you
for trading for Aaron Rodgers, but it wasn't exactly coming
off a great year, you know, it was trending down.
Broncos traded for Russell Wilson coming off a pretty bad
year in Seattle, and it proved to be like the
downward trajectory. So I would go Niners pretty one, Chicago,
(24:47):
Caleb Williams two, Drake May just based on the hope
and the youth three and the Jets in this weird
Aaron Rodgers situation for.
Speaker 3 (25:02):
The NBA playoffs are here. Will be breaking down all
the action on the Colin Coward podcast. You'll get my
best takes, great guests like my buddy Nick Wright. Check
out the Colin Coward Podcast, part of the Volume Network,
available on Spotify, Apple, wherever you get your podcasts.
Speaker 1 (25:20):
One thing gms have consistently talked about over this period
of time has been drafting our type guys, and one
thing you consistently hear post draft is toughness, character, leadership,
love of football. I mean every GM says the same thing,
(25:41):
every single one, like we love the I haven't been
ran carthin. Talk about mister Dui. But other than that,
the majority of the guys and this draft seem to
be a pretty high character group. Pretty high character group, right,
Guys that haven't been arrested, Guys that just love football
like I've been this long time. I guess it feels
like a pretty high level top forty five picks of
(26:05):
just pretty good guys, some of them really really good guys.
But one thing I remember Les Needs said after they
i think their third round, their final press conference, was like,
this has become a lot easier doing this with Sean
those our eighth draft, so we know exactly what we're
looking for. This is the draft isn't a fantasy football auction.
(26:27):
You're not just trying to pick the best players. You're
ultimately trying to pick the best people that fit in. Clearly,
you have to have the talent to play on Sundays, Mondays, Thursdays,
and this year I think Wednesday, but we just use
this figure speeches on Sundays. You got to have the
baseline of talent and I would say most guys typically
(26:50):
they get draft in the first couple rounds of a draft,
have some high end physical gifts. I've always thought what
separates people is the stuff that you can't quantify. And
it sounds cheesy, but the heart, the work ethic, the toughness,
and toughness is more than just you know, playing through
a hamstring pull. It's mental toughness, the grind of the
(27:12):
week when you're tired in the off season. Do I
want to do more? Do I get complacent where I'm at?
How much am I willing to do to get better?
And the better I get, the harder it is, the
more money I get, the more fame I get. How
much do I prioritize everything around football? And John Lynch
said it to McAfee today. This was likes Less, Need
(27:34):
and McVeigh. They were all hired. Less was already there,
but McVeigh, Kyle Shanahan, John Lynch same year, we know
exactly what we're looking for. It doesn't mean you're going
to be right on every pick. I mean half the draft.
You out a league in a couple of years, but
you know the traits and the people that fit into
what you do. It's why certain players fit certain places
that don't fit other places. Xavier Worthy makes a lot
(27:58):
of sense with Andy and Veach. You know, Andy and
Veach have worked together for twenty plus years. Twenty plus
years they've been together. Maybe maybe it's like eighteen, but
Veach was his personal assistant. It's a position coach Reda
has had for a long time. Sean McDermott started there
as well in the mid two thousands, so when they're
(28:19):
looking at people slash players, they know what they're looking for.
Eric Tacosta retired, Ozzie Newsom and John Harbaugh have been
together forever. So when they draft Nate Wiggins and everyone's like,
of course they did. Of course they did because they're
all on the same page. And I was watching some
(28:40):
of McAfee with Howie and he's like, the reality is
when you're a GM and a head coach, like, that's
your football marriage. That's your football marriage. And the longer
you're together, I'm essentially married. Boy might have a ring
on the way, but let's probably keep that quiet. But
the reality is, the longer together, you know more about
(29:01):
the other person, what to say, when to say it,
what needs to be said. At certain times you know
when they need support, when they don't need support, you
get to know someone better. It's who do you know
the best in your life? Even the older you get
your family because for eighteen years, whether it's your mom,
(29:22):
your dad, your brothers or sisters, you spend a lot
of time with those people. That's why that relationship is
unlike any other. They're just nothing's even close some of
maybe your childhood friends or your college friends. The older
you get, you've had this long standing bond, but it's
harder and harder the older you get to create that
(29:43):
level connection and when you do it, it's pretty special.
But the time if you meet a close person at
forty is not the same, you know, relationship I would
have with my brother that I've known since I was
four years old. So I think these football teams that
have the coach and the GM in place, have just
(30:03):
been together for have such an advantage on the situation.
It's why when I read these articles about people writing
about I can't believe the Rams gave up next year
second to get the defensive tackle from Florida State. Do
they even read the value chart? What are you guys
talking about? I understand being critical when you give up
(30:24):
first round picks, that is more than fair. That is
a very, very valuable asset. But we just saw the
Rams this year go toe to toe with one of
the best teams in football, the Lions, on the road
in the playoffs. If Matt Stafford is healthy with their roster,
you're talking about eleven plus win team, eleven twelve wins
(30:45):
and a team that a lot of people, if they're
in the playoffs, will pick two win games. So their
second round pick would be somewhere in the early to
mid fifties. Guess what, if you have a first round
pick and a third round pick, you can figure out
a way to get it second round pick. It's not
that big a deal. I can't believe the Lions traded
(31:06):
a future third round pick to get a dude in
the fourth round. Who gives a shit. This is not
the Carolina Panthers. This is not some trash team. These
are teams that have one goal when they step in
OTAs and it's not one of those Brian day Ball
getting in front of the team or Jonathan Gannon get
(31:26):
in front of the team, Like I think we can
compete for the Super Bowl. No, you can't. You got
no shot. Let's just try to get over seven wins, right.
These are teams that look at everyone like, we got
one goal. Fellas to be playing in February, You bet
your ass. We're playing in January, and we plan on
winning those games, and if we're healthy, we'll be favored
(31:50):
in those games. So trading future second and third round
picks when the goal. Sean McVay almost left a couple
years ago, because that's all I've heard about. I can't
believe the Rams traded this much. It's too rich. Sean
McVeigh to me is on a year by year basis.
He literally almost went to Amazon. Had to think long
(32:11):
and hard about it. You were not guaranteed to have
Sean McVay like a John Harbaugh for twenty plus years
or a Mike Tomlin. You're just not. He's already super
rich now as a child. It's an easy transition. Now
he might. I hope he does. I don't want him
to leave the NFL. But every single year, especially for
that organization, chips in the middle of the table. Look
(32:32):
at the Lions, how are they going to upgrade over
Ben Johnson? Like more than likely Ben Johnson isn't just
going to be their offensive coordinator for a decade, probably
be his last year, especially if things go well. So
being aggressive about future picks when your time is now,
never have any issue in this you're talking. It's one
(32:54):
thing like a top thirty pick, where we're talking about
picks in like the fifties, in the sixties. What are
we talking about? Another quick thing? You know, most of
you don't know these people, and I don't even know
a lot of them, but I've seen some headlines about
different teams firing guys. When it comes to assistant coaches
getting fired, it's very easy to quantify their impact, right,
(33:17):
Like you're the wide receiver coach, Your wide receiver suck,
like you're just not doing good enough. Coordinators that get
fired very clear, like this guy not a good coordinator,
and they get fired all the time. But they also
make huge money. So when an offensive coordinator fails and
it's pretty clear he sucks, you know that guy's on
a seven figure contract. You know, when a wide receiver
(33:41):
coach or a linebacker coach gets fired, they're making six
seven hundred thousand dollars. These personnel people that are getting
fired all over the league. It's not a lot of
times based on your results, your your ability at your job.
Because I know a lot of guys who have been
(34:02):
let go, myself included, and he goes, God, guy's really
good at his job. The personnel department is much more
about personalities and did that guy bring you in? Do
you get along with this guy? And you know the
other thing. In personnel, they're much closer to normal people
jobs in terms of pay making eighty grand, make it
one hundred and twenty grand, make one hundred and fifty grand.
(34:23):
And I saw a headline today of a guy that
got fired at an organization that I saw at the combine,
and he had left a very successful team with the
buddy who was then running the team for a pay race.
But you could tell, and he didn't. I don't know
him that well, but he was pretty lit. He'd had
(34:46):
a few and I had a few two, and I
just vividly remember looking into his eyes and you could
just tell, like, God, I made a mistake. This sucks.
And it has nothing to do with like I'm not
good at my job. Because I was with the team
that was rattling off playoff victories, going to Super Bowls
for a decade I know what I'm doing. But when
you're not the decision maker, one, no one has to
(35:07):
listen to you. Two. When you get fired, it's not like,
well he missed on seven of the ten guys we
needed him to hit on. That's not the way it
is where it's like, yeah, we fired our offensive line coach.
Do you see the way our offensive line played? And
the other thing is the money. It's why I feel
no sympathy. I'm much I'll talk shit about coaches all
(35:29):
day long because half of them, to me, are frauds,
and half those frauds are making a ton of money
and could never sniff that money in any other industry.
Or these personnel guys get into it like I did
because you're passionate about it, and then you realize you're
not making that much money. It's a very fickle business,
and if something goes wrong, a GM turns on you.
They got to throw someone to the wolves. I'm not
(35:52):
acting like everyone in the scouting departments are good. That's
not what I'm saying at all. I'm just saying when
these guys get fired, it's never about their ability or
very very rarely, it's usually about personalities and just restructuring,
wanting to bring in your friends. It's wanting to bring
in people you're comfortable with. And it's just it's a
(36:13):
shitty part about the job. And I just something I
don't miss. There's no amount of money you could pay
me to go back, No amount of money, Okay, Fagazi Friday.
We had a skip last week. We got a bunch.
(36:35):
Wanted to dive into that right now because I got
I got a couple of messages I tech, I DMed
you back personally. You know, there's a line here. This
is supposed to be fun and we're having you know,
kind of laughing at stuff. You know some of the
stuff and clearly, you know, impact your life. Someone lose
(36:55):
their life in a situation about a fagazi with insurance companies.
It his is me off too, But this is I
try to keep this lighter. So certain ones I'm just
not gonna read because it is supposed to be fun,
but listen, it is what it is. So I it's like,
if you send me a DM, I'm gonna try to
read it like this one. This is not super positive,
but I was just fired from my job in television.
(37:19):
This Fugazi Friday I'm a weekend reporter and meteorologist. The
company laid off a lot of part timers. I'm using
the job to pay my way through college. Now I'm
stuck with the summer with nothing to do. Right as
the summer begins. The corporate people think laying off on
air talent making twelve dollars an hour will solve the
(37:39):
company's problems. Maybe there are other issues they need to solve.
I hear you. Luckily, which we turn this into a positive.
You're in college, you're young, there's other line of works
you can figure out to just keep your head above water.
And you know, I think it's a good example, and
you know, I think there's probably some parallels when I
worked in radio to television. Middle management never wants to
(38:02):
fire themselves, so it's very easy for these guys where
you go, what is this guy actually doing, who's making
depending on your market three hundred, five hundred, six hundred grand,
they will cut anyone's head off to keep that paycheck
rolling in. So I hear you. I feel for you.
The best thing about getting fired, and I've been fired
twice is being young when you're fired, because you still
(38:24):
got options. And i'd argue, even if you're old, you
got options, but when you're young, especially in college, you
got your whole world ahead of you, and that you
know fugazi that you went through. Getting fired is a
part time employee or laid off or however you want
to you put it is something that kind of shapes
you moving forward. And I think one thing that helps
(38:44):
in life is to realize how if you're gonna work
in the private sector, how just cutthroat and cold this
world is, because that's what business is. And the faster
you get numb to it, the easier it is to
play the game because you're either getting played or you're
playing it. And obviously when you're young, you don't have
(39:05):
as much control, but at least you know what you're
getting into. And the quicker you kind of experience that,
to me, the quicker it hardens and puts those callusies
on you to kind of know what to look for
and know what you want. And I would turn that
experience into a positive experience. I really would, even though
(39:25):
it stings a lot early on because I've been hurt too,
But then looking back, without those moments, it makes you
stronger to attack life. Little Fugazi Friday. In New Jersey
and I think New York, the government officials passed laws
about the use of plastic in stores. They are not
(39:48):
allowed to have plastic bags, and now you have to
buy bags from stores. Whatever. Trust me, I'm from California.
We've been doing that forever. This is a fugazi by itself.
They also banned plastic straws. Now, I have to drink
my beverage with a shitty paper straw that disintegrates after
two minutes and is horrible to use. Certain fast food
(40:10):
places will give me my beverage inside of a styrofoam
cup with a plastic lid. So what's the fucking point.
I know that it's a small thing, but when you
have to drink out of a shitty paper straw, it's
very infuriating. Going to other states is such an eye opener.
Trust me, when I moved there never, I mean. A
big reason I'm in Arizona is because in twenty twenty,
(40:33):
when everything in California was locked down, they would beat
you with a stick if you left your house, let alone,
didn't have a mask on. I came to Arizona for
a golf trip and everything was normal. I'm like, we're
all breathing in the same air. Everyone's here rocking and
rolling and over there. I was like, what is going on?
And last year when I went to Tahoe for the summer,
(40:54):
you know in Arizona, we don't have you just get
a plastic straw, you get a straw, you get a
plastic straw. Went to tap and we went to Starbucks
and they gave us a paper straw. You can't solve
a problem with something that doesn't work. That is not
a solution. A paper straw is not a solution to
the plastic straw because a paper straw melts in water.
(41:20):
It honestly is one of the in California. I mean,
you could do crack on the sidewalk. You can't have
a plastic straw. They give you a paper straw that
does not work. You're like, what are we doing here?
Nothing ever makes sense. But until social media, I have
never heard of people that rooted for the government. That's
(41:41):
what's weird to me, is like the media cheers on
the government. Where I come from, we made fun of
them all, every single one of them. Like one of
the biggest fugazis of all time is the government and
people that work in government. Obviously there are some capable people,
but the way the setup is is like, how is
this solving anything? Hint, it's not, and it never does.
(42:06):
And that's a consistent theme with society. So plastic straws.
It used to drive me up a wall. One thing
I remember, in like twenty twenty one, when everything in
California was still like twenty twenty, I was like, I'm
not gonna complain about this anymore. I'm not. I hate
being angry all the time, so I just left and
(42:28):
I've been happy ever since. So and I know my
situation is different than other people's situation, but I just
one thing I try to get away from is just
complaining about all the things and everything in the Bay
Area used to drive me nuts. Little stuff like that,
paying for the bags. I don't pay for bags. Give
me paper bags, plastic bags, my own bags, whatever. I
(42:50):
can have any bag I want here. So you just
sometimes you gotta move and you realize society operates a
little different if you just cross an imaginary line. But
paper straws are not a solution. They don't work. Fugazi Friday,
NFL Draft rankings immediately after the draft. Tough to get
sold on someone being a good or bad pick without
(43:10):
watching them play a snap in the NFL. Totally agree.
Not much to say fugazi Friday Friday weddings cheaper for
the couple, but a pain for the guests. I've got
five this calendar year, and I've got to take half
or full days off just to attend rehearsal dinners would
(43:31):
be on Thursday. I'm going to defend the Friday wedding
for a hot minute. Wedding costs. Having been to a
lot over the years and just knowing people, knowing the
finances that it costs for weddings, it's outrageous. It really would,
it really is. I'm hammering this home. I will gladly
(43:54):
go to the courthouse next week and get married. And
however much money per side had set away, give it
to me. I'll put in the stock market, I buy something,
do something. But I have now I get it. It's
a big moment for people's family. Everyone's different, and I know,
especially you know, for for her it's a really really
(44:16):
big deal. But the costs on these weddings, I mean,
I think you can't have the lowest budget wedding. You
would struggle to get it for twenty five grand. I mean,
this is all that's a lot of money. So you're
talking fifty eighty one hundred grand. I don't care. Most
people are not upper middle class, let alone rich. That
(44:40):
amount of cash to invest is a lot of money.
And the price is clearly with inflation, is the price
of everything has never been higher. But it's if it's
the difference if you're someone and I get it, and
I understand it's hard for people attending, but put yourself
in their shoes. Let's say they have thirty grand to
put the wedding, and it's the difference of like, we
(45:02):
want to do it here or this is where our
families live, so we want to do in this area.
We can't afford to do it anywhere under fifty grand
for a Saturday wedding. I think it's tough, and I
get it from your side. If it was me, i'd
probably say it can't make it, gotta work. But it
(45:22):
to me, it's the costs. It just gets back to
the outrageous price of everything, which literally everything has never
been higher. And starting with this stuff, the venue, the food,
I mean, it's just it's not cheap man Now, weddings,
you know, relative have never been quote unquote cheap. But
I would say hearing some of these stories these last
(45:43):
couple of years, it's eye opening. You're like, you spent
what so hope you got a lot of pictures. Fugazi Friday,
Annoyingly thick burgers. Burgers at restaurants have gotten too tall
and are impossible to eat properly. All your toppings will
fall out, and you'll need a sink shower for your
(46:05):
hands and face afterwards. Risky meal choices for first dates.
Napkin management is a nightmare. At least with wings or ribs.
You know exactly what you're signing up for. Ordering a
burger in twenty four is paying is playing Russian roulette.
People's jaws can hang, and the toothpick sword doesn't do shit.
(46:28):
I think it's fair to say, unless you're going to
like some diners, drive ins and dines, like a place
that's known for a specific special burger, you should not
need a massive knife to cut the thing in half.
You should be able to grip the burger and fit
it right in your mouth. I'm with you. I think
the perfect size of a burger, even with the toppings. Now,
(46:51):
obviously it comes out if you're at a restaurant. Some
the functuae of the look of everything. They want everything
to look cool, including the food, to have it kind
of layered. But if you can't press it down and
have a crisp bite. And again, there are certain places,
certain barbecue joints in Texas or the South, or you know,
(47:11):
every place has their like specialty. But you're running the
mill restaurant that's just serving a cheeseburger. I'm with you,
because the toppings everything, It's like, I can't this is
not this is not a functional meals and I just
don't want to order the chicken. I want a cheeseburger.
But can we just make it possible to bite into thing?
(47:33):
And as a lover of cheeseburgers who probably over under
cheeseburgers in my life forty years old, three sixty five,
so we're talking, I don't know a thousand. A lot
of times I've eaten too, so it hell could be
fifteen hundred. I've eaten a lot of cheeseburgers. Yeah, I
hear you. There. Here's a little food, GUYSI Airline charges
(47:54):
one hundred and twenty five dollars for my pet to
travel under the seat, zipped in a carrier for the
entire or flight. I don't know what you know. We
fly with little Lolli's on Southwest Airline. She's a service
dog to mitigate panic attacks, and she does a really
good job but doesn't cost you anything. So I don't
know what airline you fly on. Yeah, I don't know
(48:17):
what to say to that. I'm pro. I'm pro little
dogs being on the plane if they're good travelers. Just
sit under, take a little take a little snooze. No
issue with dogs. I would say my experience with dogs
definitely better than kids. And I don't blame anyone you're
traveling with the kids, but obviously little kids sometimes just
freak out on planes and are crying. There's nothing you
(48:38):
can do. Now, there are levels. I sat next to
one where the parents like were like on their iPads
and stuff like, at least try to help, like your
kids crying bloody murder here. I don't think I've ever
had an issue with another dog barking, saying a word.
A lot of times when people come sitting next to
us and Lolli's on the plane, like I didn't even
know what dog was there if she just comes right on,
(48:59):
the lays down, takes a snooze flying back to Southern
California in northern California, So I get it, though if
I ran the airline, I would charge as well. I
played around a golf last Sunday afternoon and the round
cost over one hundred dollars. On top of that, I
had to pay twenty five dollars to take a cart.
(49:22):
The course requires you to take a cart at that time,
and there is no option to even walk. What exactly
am I paying for here? The carts are electric, so
there's no gas that needs to be filled. It just
seems like an extra way the course can screw up.
Am I missing something? Well? I've never seen the books
(49:44):
of a golf course, but in college for a couple
of years I've played in you know, been playing golf
my whole life. If you ever go to a cart
barn right with the electric carts which they all are now,
there are a million chargers, so I would imagine there
is some cost to be speaking out a turn of
charging all the carts for the operation. Anyone running a
(50:06):
golf course listening to this maybe you can chime in,
but maybe it's to compensate that. Maybe it's just the
wear and tear of the golf course. If it's cart
path only and they charge you that, that feels like,
are you fucking kidding me? Now, if you can drive
it anywhere, you know you got to pay them, you know,
the maintenance of the grass. Uh, depending on where you're playing.
(50:29):
One hundred dollars, I mean, if the course is decent,
it seems like a pretty good deal. Now if it's
po dunk nowhere. But if it's one hundred dollars course,
a nice course, they're basically charge one hundred and twenty
five dollars for a round of golf, I'd argue it's
pretty good price point. Again, I have to see the
course and you know where you're living and the different options.
But I'm gonna push back on that a little bit.
I would just view it as the cost of the
(50:50):
round one twenty five. Honestly, that course is stupid. They
should just build the carts price into the round, especially
if they're mandating the take a card. Have a Fugazi
Friday for you. I'm not sure if you have this
in the States, but in New Zealand, we have payless payment.
(51:10):
But the fugazi is the banks are charging businesses who
pass on the customer one point five percent to use
payWave or something similar. I can save that one point
five percent by inserting my bank card and tapping in
my pen. It takes about twenty seconds longer, so isn't
a big deal. But when I'm out and I have
(51:33):
my phone, the fact that an extra one point five
percent is tacked on to payless is a massive ripoff
and a bank fugazi. Your thoughts. I don't know exactly
what that would be in the States. I don't think
it's not called payless. But I'm an investor in this
company called Toast. Whenever you go to a restaurant, some
(51:57):
gas stations have them when you tap your card. That
little mechanism is the brand and the reason I invest in.
They get a cut of every time that a transaction happens.
Like someone has to make money. They're providing a service.
So I've never worked in the banking industry, but we're
(52:18):
all getting dinged someway or another, like that's how all
these people make money. Right. If you have a nice
credit card with you know, usually you're paying a yearly fee,
so it's just in some way or another. I don't
call me old school. Put any of my credit cards
on my phone, like Apple Pay, I guess is something
(52:39):
a lot of people use. I just carry my wallet
with me, so if I have an issue, I just
use my card. But I'm sure I'm getting dinged all
the time. I don't even notice. I guess maybe here
in the States, you're just so numbed all the charges.
I mean, you get taxed on, taxed on tax You're like, fuck,
just here's the money. I was staying at a hotel
the other night when I see a card left from
(53:00):
me on the nightstand with a name on it. The
name was of the housekeeper that cleaned the room I
was staying in, and there was a QR code on
the card. The card stated it's never been easier to
tip and the QR code for a website to tip
the housekeeper that cleaned my room. Fugazi or is this commonplace? Well?
(53:22):
I think with technology, I would imagine this stuff's gonna
come more in vogue. Stuff like that. I do think
whenever you're staying at a hotel and you see the
amount of shit these people have to clean up. I
try always to leave twenty bucks or ten bucks or
hand them the money. I would never put it in
the QR code because who knows how that thing's getting
(53:44):
divvied up. If you just leave the cash, you can
just put it in her pocket. Uh. But yeah, I
mean I think more and more of these QR codes.
They're not going away. I'll promise you that. But I
do think the housekeeping one is an easy one if
you feel you're not obligated, but likes that job sucks.
And I mean I leave my hotel rooms just what
(54:07):
I'm staying by, my towels, everywhere, it's dirt, you know,
you just food, It's just gross. Think of the amount
of people today. It's just that sucks. I always try
to do that, and sometimes I'm not gonna act like
I do it every time. Sometimes you forget. But I
would always leave cash. I would never in a million
years hit the QR code. Zero chance. Will never happen
(54:28):
till the day I die, because you can just there's
always gonna be a human coming in. Just leave the
cash on the desk. When with this fugazi Friday, let
me know if that Drone Donut company goes public, I'd
short that stock into oblivions. I agree the drone Donut
company will never work. Have a good weekend, the volume
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