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1:31

What is going on everybody? John Middlecoff

1:33

Three and Out podcast, A little Saturday special

1:36

here, CJ Stroud, Demico

1:38

Ryans, Houston Texans going to the playoffs.

1:41

Incredible accomplishment, eleven

1:43

wins the last three years to ten

1:45

and seven and in the playoffs,

1:48

awesome. Congrats to them. Congrats

1:50

to the Colts who had absolutely no business

1:52

winning nine games with a chance

1:55

with two minutes left to be right there

1:57

as well. I'll give some thoughts on that

1:59

final drive because I know a lot of people have thoughts

2:01

on Shane Steichen and the

2:03

time out and the play call, and

2:06

obviously just some big picture stuff with those two coaches

2:08

who young guys call

2:10

plays. I mean, if

2:13

you're gonna hire a coach over the next month,

2:15

your team needs one, and he's gonna be a young

2:18

coach, not Belichick or you

2:20

know, was Harball, He better

2:22

call plays. I can't have a CEO head

2:25

coach at thirty nine years old. I

2:27

can't stand that. So we'll dive into that. And

2:29

Mike Tomlin, who the broadcast

2:31

today was giving a lot of praise for

2:34

another ten win, you know, a

2:36

winning season. I have another thought.

2:38

I would say it's a pretty big disappointment that

2:41

the Steelers and their fans have

2:43

to watch games tomorrow and root for

2:46

upsets because they never should

2:48

have been in this position. But a lot

2:50

of people he wins again, well he always wins.

2:52

He's good. But it feels

2:54

like a pretty big let down today, and we will dive

2:56

into that. The plan will

2:58

be of a podcast with Colin,

3:01

like I do every Sunday, I

3:03

will do probably some reaction to this

3:06

Sunday night game. Obviously

3:08

Black Monday firing coaches. We

3:10

already have a bunch of opening so it'll

3:12

be interesting what really happens Monday. We know

3:15

Ron's coming, but if Bell, if something

3:17

happens with Belichick, maybe there'll be

3:19

a couple uh, you know, ones

3:21

we don't see coming. So we

3:24

will be on the lookout for that. And

3:27

so a lot of content coming. This is this busy

3:29

season. Obviously the playoff matchups as well, so

3:32

we will know who's who's playing who.

3:35

But before we do that, subscribe to the podcast

3:37

if you listen on the Herd feed. We

3:40

have a YouTube channel. We put everything up video

3:42

wise and the volume dot com. We got some merch

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so let's rock and roll. I want

3:46

to tell you about my friends at game Time and if

3:49

you want to go to a playoff game. If

3:51

one of your favorite teams is going to be

3:53

hosting a playoff game, maybe you're

3:55

being on the road. Maybe you're a Packer fan and

3:58

they end up playing Dallas and you live in

4:00

Texas and you want to go to that game. Go

4:02

to your app store download the game

4:04

Time app. They are the

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official ticketing app of this podcast, and

4:08

use the promo code John. That's my name John,

4:11

John twenty dollars off your first pair

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comedy shows, they have you covered. I'm saving you

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some money. Promo code John. We love

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our friends at game Time, loyal user

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of them, So are all my friends. I know a lot of you guys are

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too, because I get a lot of dms about Hey,

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thanks for the promo code. Hey, I don't even need to thank you.

4:33

Just hammer that promo code. Promo cod John,

4:35

save yourself twenty dollars. Well

4:38

that was tonight symbolized

4:41

why getting the right coach matters so much.

4:43

Obviously, the Texans have the right quarterback.

4:46

A lot will have to be answered over the next

4:48

next couple years with the Colts because Anthony Richardson

4:50

got hurt. But those two coaches

4:53

are everything I want in a young head coach.

4:55

They're basically both my age, both born one

4:57

in Dimico eighty four Shane and

5:01

and young coaches who both call plays.

5:03

Obviously, Demiko's somewhat of an outlier defensive

5:05

coach in this day and age getting a head job young,

5:08

but I like my young head coaches to call

5:10

plays to influence the game because

5:12

clearly they're preparing their teams. Both teams

5:15

came in today with a chance to win ten games. Both

5:17

teams last year, one drafted second, the other drafted

5:19

fourth. But both impact the game

5:22

all freaking season. Demiko is

5:24

an elite defensive coach. I mean he doesn't have the personnel

5:26

right now. And clearly Shane is an awesome offensive

5:29

coach. I wanted to start with that last try they

5:31

get the ball back with six to twenty five. Their

5:33

defense isn't very good, clearly, so

5:36

Shane Steichen. Instead of most young coaches,

5:38

what they would have done, do anything humanly

5:40

possible to move the ball downfield as

5:42

quickly as possible and score at will.

5:45

If they score in two minutes, so be it. But

5:47

he knew if he gave the ball back to

5:49

C. J. Stroud and Nico Collins, who

5:51

looks like freaking Jerry Rice, They're gonna

5:53

lose. And you know what sucked is

5:56

that even the possibility of

5:58

the Texans losing because of

6:00

a mixed extra point. I'm all for end

6:02

of a game field goal maker miss to lose

6:04

on an extra point, that would have really sucked.

6:06

Glad it didn't come down to that. But Shane

6:09

Steichen who methodically moved

6:11

the ball down the field, mixing in

6:13

a ton of runs. Obviously, Jonathan

6:15

Taylor getting first down after first

6:17

down, battling through an injury, that

6:20

is something that I don't think a lot of coaches would

6:22

have done because most young coaches

6:24

and listen, you and I probably do the same. You

6:26

just get pass happy. And he was

6:29

so I would say discipline

6:31

with running the ball. It was really impressive. And

6:34

on that final play on

6:36

on fourth down, he let the clock run down

6:39

and Troy said he was hoping to get him

6:41

to jump off sides. And I'm not trying to talk shit about

6:43

Akman, but no, He wasn't trying to get him

6:45

to jump off sides. What he was trying to do,

6:48

which he clearly did, was listen,

6:50

he's all in on scoring, so be

6:53

it. If he only has two timeouts. That

6:55

is the game right there. And he wanted

6:58

to get their defensive look. So

7:00

the play that they came out in to which

7:02

they ultimately called the timeout, they came out

7:05

in the same play which they ran

7:07

when the guy dropped the ball, he knew

7:09

that that was going to be wide open there in the flat.

7:11

Now we can argue until the Cows come home thirty

7:14

one in the game, not Jonathan Taylor.

7:16

Maybe he thought without Jonathan Taylor they'd

7:18

be less likely to go in a man

7:20

situation. Maybe they would change to the line

7:22

of scrimmage with him in, Maybe they would go

7:24

all out because they had been handing him the ball NonStop.

7:27

Listen, this is a National Football League. Not

7:29

a great pass. But I don't think

7:31

Gardner minshew' is that good. Maybe I'm an outlier,

7:33

like he's a good backup quarterback, and

7:36

it's remarkable with Shane Stikeen to

7:38

win nine games when that guy has basically

7:40

been your full time starting quarterback all season.

7:42

Uh, listen, he's fine. Like I'd like

7:44

him as my backup quarterback. I don't want him as my full time starter.

7:47

Not a great pass, but no one's acting like

7:49

that's Peyton Manning. Throw it a little behind him. This is a National

7:51

Football League. You gotta catch it, you fall in the first

7:53

down. I have no problem with the timeout

7:56

because he schemed up a play that

7:58

didn't just work. The guy was why the guy just dropped

8:00

the ball right and his quarterback, who's

8:03

let's face it just kind of average for NFL

8:05

standards, definitely relative to c J. Stroud. Just

8:08

didn't throw a great ball. Now, maybe even if he hits him

8:10

in stride he drops it anyway. But like, I

8:12

have no problem with that sequence because

8:15

he put him down the field

8:17

perfectly with time, and if he catches

8:19

that ball more time runs, maybe Demico

8:21

has to think about do I need to start calling timeouts?

8:24

I thought change Styken put on a masterclass.

8:26

Trust me, I bet social media and everywhere

8:28

you look are gonna talk shit about him on that final sequence.

8:31

No issue with it, like that's scheming.

8:33

This is an intellectual league. He went

8:35

he was going up against a high level defensive coordinator.

8:37

He saw his look. He knew the play would work and

8:40

listen the schematics of it did they

8:43

just as coaches would say, he didn't execute it right.

8:45

But let's face it, like the Colts, this isn't

8:48

like the Seven Colts. I mean that's it's

8:50

not Reggie Wayne or Joseph

8:52

die right, I mean, these are

8:55

they have no business being in that situation.

8:57

You could argue that Texans don't really have a business

9:00

being in that situation, but they have a star

9:02

quarterback, and I want to start there. They've

9:05

won eleven games in the last three years, and

9:08

they went through a lot of shit for a couple of years

9:10

and a couple of years ago when they hired David Kelly,

9:13

no one would touch that job. The reason

9:15

they hired that Listen, I work with David Kelly.

9:17

He's a really nice guy. Every single

9:19

human I've ever met was absolutely

9:22

floored when they hired him, Like he's not a head

9:24

coach. No one else would touch it. The

9:26

building was toxic, so they

9:28

had to hire him, and even last year with Lovey

9:30

Smith, weren't many options and

9:33

Demiko kind of a unique situation

9:36

because he had played there and he valued

9:38

the organization. He valued the family that owns

9:40

it, and they got the right guy and

9:42

the most powerful thing you could have in the NFL

9:45

beside a good owner. And I don't think the Texas have

9:47

a good owner. But he doesn't really matter if

9:49

you have a star head coach and a star quarterback,

9:52

and the Houston Texas had that and obviously

9:54

the quarterback. I think it shows

9:56

you. And listen, the draft's going to be not

9:59

that far away, and all we've been talking about

10:01

Kayleb Williams for two years. There is no sure

10:03

thing in the NFL. It's a crapshoot.

10:05

I don't give a shit who the player is. We

10:08

see it time and time again. And

10:10

I don't know this for a fact, but

10:12

I have pretty well sourced people in the league

10:15

if they would have got the number one pick, and the reason they didn't

10:17

is because love Smith won the last game. Bryce hugs

10:19

your quarterback, and listen, I'm not trying to

10:21

bury the guy after one season on

10:24

in a horrendous organization with terrible

10:26

players with no coach. But like the

10:28

chance that Bryce Young's ever as good as this guy,

10:30

I don't see it. It's not like he's exactly

10:32

thrown to Andre Johnson out there now. Nico Collins

10:35

looks like a but CJ.

10:37

Stroud is just a star, and they

10:39

would not have drafted him. It's no different than the Chargers

10:41

with Herbert. If they would have had the higher

10:44

pick, they would have taken to it. Sometimes you gotta get

10:46

lucky. Welcome to life. We all get

10:48

a little lucky sometimes, and when you do get lucky, you gotta

10:50

take advantage of and the Texans did, and

10:52

it shows you the power of getting a

10:54

good coach. Demiko is a rocket

10:57

ship. He's been that way since probably was in high

10:59

school. Some guys are born to coach,

11:01

And if you look around the NFL, obviously Belichick,

11:04

Kyle Shanahan, Andy Reid, Sean

11:06

Payton, Pete Carroll, some of Mike Vrabel.

11:08

You go over Mike Tomlin. Some guys are just

11:11

better at playing football when

11:13

they're younger, right, Like, the reason

11:15

Demiko didn't become a coach till

11:17

his early thirties was because he was playing

11:19

in the NFL. If Demiko had been

11:21

a fringe college guy and never been

11:23

drafted, let's just say he was a solid guy at Alabama,

11:26

fringe guy washed out of the league in a year. He

11:28

would have been in the coaching profession

11:30

quickly. The reason Bill Belichick started

11:33

coaching at twenty three years old. They couldn't play right.

11:35

The reason Vrabel didn't start coaching the later. He's playing

11:37

in the league, so I never And

11:40

the coaching cycle is gonna come around soon like deserve,

11:42

deserve, deserve bullshit, like not

11:44

everyone's on the same path. Some people like me

11:47

didn't play like you gotta start his intern level.

11:49

Some guys like Demiko become a position

11:51

coach like their second year coaching. Everyone's

11:54

on a different path. And Demiko

11:58

is gonna is a good coach no matter what. But

12:01

he's not a winning coach without a really good quarterback

12:04

because that's the National Football League, and

12:06

you get CJ. Stroud because of

12:08

luck, like and it

12:10

changes your franchise. And tonight he put on

12:12

a clinic like the thing and a lot

12:14

of people compared him coming out of college to

12:17

Jared Goff. Really good pocket

12:19

player, throws a beautiful ball.

12:22

But that was before the Georgia game that we're like, God,

12:24

this guy is a pretty good athlete, and tonight

12:26

it was on full display. He doesn't really know how to

12:28

slide something that you probably need to work

12:30

on. Now. You could argue this with Michael Vick thing

12:33

some guys that if they can't slide, they can never slide, So it's

12:35

not a natural emotion. That'd be something

12:37

that I would try to harp on over the next couple

12:39

of years, because he's definitely a pretty good

12:41

athlete, and to me, the thing that stands

12:43

out. You know, he's accurate. You know, he

12:45

has a good arm. We saw all that Ohio State. It's

12:48

his playmaking ability and

12:50

he only had the one game. And partly because

12:53

I got news for everyone coming up month, the Big Ten sucks.

12:55

It really does. For most years, it's two good

12:57

teams, you know. Obviously this year is just

13:00

two good teams Like Penn State's terrible. It's

13:02

just not a great conference, especially athletically

13:04

on defense. So you just don't

13:06

really see it with him, and he didn't need to do it because Ohio State

13:08

was so much better. But you watch him that Georgia

13:11

game, you're like, God, this guy really's

13:13

got some other pitches, right,

13:15

And then you saw it tonight that that play that he made

13:17

where it looked like he was throwing it away. He wasn't throwing it

13:19

away. He's throwing it Nico Collins, who made a great catch,

13:22

and his instincts as a playmaker are

13:24

something that's gonna turn him into potentially top

13:27

five quarterback. Now. I always struggle with this

13:29

because listen, the Jags game,

13:31

A lot of people are gonna be paying attention to that tomorrow.

13:33

Right they win, they win the division, they

13:36

lose, the Steelers would be in. It's

13:38

a massive game. Trevor Lawrence

13:40

just a year ago we all thought was headed towards

13:42

superstardom. This year everyone's like, can't

13:45

pay him yet. Things change fast, so

13:47

you gotta be careful. It's about sustaining success

13:50

over a long period of time. But as

13:52

a rookie, it doesn't get much better than

13:54

that, Like that that performance tonight,

13:57

what he's done all season. Obviously

13:59

you know he won like the Good Guy Award or whatever

14:01

they said on television. It just doesn't get

14:03

any I mean, that's all. That's as good as it gets. The

14:05

whole point if you're a GM or a coach of running

14:08

a franchise is to find that guy. And

14:10

it looks like they did. And obviously Will Anderson's

14:12

a stud too, so that they have now a core. Here's

14:15

the thing. Big picture for the Texans. We

14:17

talked about the coach, we talked about the quarterback.

14:20

Their GM clearly is pretty good. He fleeced

14:22

the Cleveland Browns. They have a

14:24

first round pick, a second round pick, and a third round

14:26

pick in this upcoming draft. They traded away

14:28

their first round pick to go up to get Will Anderson,

14:30

but they have Cleveland's first round pick, which actually

14:32

could end up pretty shitty if they win a couple of playoff

14:34

games. But you know, it's

14:37

a fluid situation, so you never know.

14:39

On in early January the

14:42

final cap space for every team,

14:44

but they are projected to have the most cap space, and

14:47

you don't think a lot of people are gonna want to play there. No state

14:49

income tax. I saw a tweet today that it's

14:52

actually the best division to play in because

14:55

Nashville Titans no state income

14:57

tax, Jacksonville no state income tax. In

14:59

Indianapol this is low state income text. So of

15:01

all the divisions in terms of getting your money,

15:04

one they're gonna have a lot to give out, and two it's

15:06

very lucrative in terms of the tax situation. I

15:09

think the Texans, if they were a stock right

15:11

now, you would bet on them to be a

15:13

consistent playoff team for years to come. Now,

15:15

obviously they're gonna have to improve on defense,

15:18

especially upfront. It's just that

15:20

they're gonna have to hit on more draft picks. They're gonna have to

15:22

make smart free agent signings. But anytime

15:24

you have a coach and you have a quarterback with that

15:26

much talent, it'd be

15:29

hard, especially in the division. You know what's crazy.

15:31

I was thinking about this when you know the Colts

15:33

won nine, the Jags already have nine,

15:35

and listen, probably beat the Titans. You

15:37

could have multiple ten win teams. A nine win

15:39

team in your shittiest team is Mike Vrabel,

15:42

who his quarterback or his coaching.

15:45

Kind of situation with the Titans

15:47

is kind of in flux because it feels like he wants

15:49

to leave, but he's clearly a really good coach. Their

15:51

team just sucks. So this is a

15:54

vision that I, listen, I

15:56

love to talk shit about, actually turned out to

15:58

be okay, really really impressively

16:00

and like the Colts, no business

16:02

winning nine games, absolutely none.

16:05

And Shane Steiken, if

16:07

you I don't have a vote, but if if you told me

16:10

someone voted for him for Coach of the year, Like, I'm not gonna

16:12

argue with you. I've said my piece. I would

16:14

vote for Dan Campbell because of the franchise.

16:17

Obviously, what Stefanski has done with Flacco is

16:20

incredible. He didn't win it a couple of years ago,

16:23

but stike in this year to have that

16:25

team with nine wins, that team,

16:28

think of what he handled. He inherited a team

16:30

who drafted a quarterback who

16:32

we all acknowledge, like Anthony

16:34

Richardson, Like the thing was CJ. Stroud.

16:36

It was like, he's kind of NFL

16:39

ready. It's like, what's his ceiling? Turns out

16:41

a ceiling, it's pretty high. But everyone knew

16:43

what he did would translate to the NFL.

16:46

It was just about at what level. With Andrew

16:49

Richardson, it was like, yeah, he doesn't really know what he's doing,

16:51

complete freak athlete, maybe the biggest

16:53

arm immediately in the NFL. Just figure

16:56

out a way to build an offense around him. So

16:58

it was gonna be a total just

17:00

building here, and then he gets injured. You're

17:02

like, this is gonna be one of the worst teams in the NFL. They

17:04

did Gardner Minshew. They are two

17:07

minutes away from potentially going to the playoffs.

17:09

Absolutely incredible season. I

17:11

mean incredible, And you could argue, like

17:14

listen, I'm not trying to shit on

17:16

defensive coaches. I like Coward.

17:19

I agree with his thing. I'd go offense

17:21

if I have the choice. That's what

17:23

you want, an offensive head

17:25

coach who clearly resonates with the players

17:28

and is an elite play caller, like you watched

17:30

the Night You're like guy, that's kind of what the Eagles are missing. He

17:32

did that with Gardner Minshew.

17:35

You know that Gardner Minshew, before Mike Leach

17:38

called him his senior in college, was

17:40

gonna go to Alabama and become

17:42

a coach. Now, obviously

17:45

he's good enough to play in the NFL. I'm not trying to just

17:47

shit on the guy, but he was

17:49

a phone call away from just

17:51

going into his coaching career. And

17:54

this is a guy that every team in the league has had

17:56

a chance to like be in the Gardner Minshew

17:58

business the last couple of years as as

18:01

either a backup or a bridge starter. Most

18:03

teams kind of passing. So Shane Steichen

18:06

what he did this year, the situation with

18:08

Ursa and Jonathan Taylor. By the end

18:10

of the year Jonathan Taylor looks like fucking one of the best

18:12

running backs in the NFL. I mean, we knew that,

18:14

but mentally was in the right spot. Just being

18:17

able to handle that. Just a fantastic

18:19

coaching job that was. I'm

18:21

never gonna change from this position. I'm not

18:23

hiring a guy under like fifty

18:26

five years old to be a CEO

18:28

head coach. It drives me

18:30

nuts. Brian day Ball, Robert

18:33

Sala, It's like, I want you

18:35

to influence at least half the snaps. You

18:38

can't just tell me, well, I'm motivating and coaching

18:40

my coaches. Well, those guys are doing

18:42

that as well as coaching half the game.

18:44

So congrats to

18:46

the Texans. Just a remarkable achievement.

18:49

Congrats to the Colts. What a

18:51

fun season. And you know, the crazy

18:53

part for the Colts the difference with the Texans. Even

18:56

if they get killed in this playoff game,

18:58

which very possible, I

19:01

don't think they're going far though. You know C J.

19:03

Stroud gets really hot, you never know, but I'm

19:05

gonna bet against him in the first round. I don't even

19:07

know who they're playing, I don't even know what seed they

19:09

are, but I'm gonna bet against them in the first round. Their

19:12

future is so bright. With the Colts,

19:15

it's like you're kind of starting back

19:17

at ground zero because you have this young

19:19

quarterback who, while

19:21

he only played several games, got hurt

19:24

in multiple games. So you're

19:26

gonna have the question can he stay

19:28

healthy? Right, and can

19:31

he become a legitimate NFL quarterback?

19:33

So in a weird way, they

19:35

could make a step next year organizationally,

19:38

like add a bunch of talent and have less

19:40

wins. Right, there's a decent chance

19:43

that they're not in this position next year.

19:45

But actually, when the season ends, have a

19:47

brighter future because you're like, well, Anthony

19:50

Richardson played all seventeen games,

19:52

he threw twenty five touchdowns, threw

19:54

a bunch of picks, but we got a lot to work with.

19:57

The future is bright. That's if

19:59

I was made in an early prediction that that's

20:01

probably where I would go. So,

20:04

yeah, that was fun. And

20:12

then on the early game, Mike Tomlin,

20:14

the Steelers had to win that game. I don't

20:16

care if they want it two to nothing or

20:18

like they ended up winning at seventeen to ten. You

20:21

cannot lose to the Baltimore Ravens.

20:23

I don't care. How hardest raining, how wet the field

20:25

is when all their good players,

20:28

I know they did, like Clowney, some of their guys played,

20:30

but the majority of them

20:32

were in street cloths. When

20:35

you watch that game and the Steelers won, you

20:37

know, Lewis and Orlovsky, they're like, it's

20:39

so incredible, It's just another winning season.

20:43

I look at it kind of differently. You guys know where

20:45

I stand. I think the Mitch Trubisky contract

20:48

had one of the most negative impacts of

20:51

any guy in the NFL. Right, you'd be like,

20:53

well, Deshaun Watson's contract is infinitely

20:56

worse. Well, yeah, he didn't play well

20:58

and he makes a lot of money, but what do he play as team

21:00

won? When Trubisky played,

21:03

the Steelers were objectively awful,

21:05

and he was objectively one of the worst

21:07

players in the NFL at any

21:09

position, let alone the most important

21:11

position, which can just immediately lose

21:14

you games. And they lost the game

21:16

to the Colts, which if they would have played

21:18

Mason Rudolph at the time, who Tomlin

21:20

has been around four years.

21:23

Maybe they're not in a position where they have

21:25

to watch football tomorrow and

21:28

actively root for two teams. They're

21:31

in a position tomorrow where they're on their knees and

21:33

praying that either Titans pull an upset

21:35

or the Bills lose to the Dolphins, which I

21:37

don't see happening. Obviously, crazy things happening.

21:40

They might make the playoffs, but to

21:42

me, it's like that does not take

21:44

away from they should not be in

21:46

this position now. If they were to

21:48

make the playoffs, TJ. Watt has sprained

21:51

MCL you know, his status obviously

21:53

would be up in the air, potentially not be able

21:55

to play. But regardless, this should

21:57

be a twelve win team. This should be

21:59

a team that is not just locked into the playoffs

22:02

right now, but is feeling good. This should

22:04

have been a team that could have had TJ.

22:06

Watt in street close to day because today didn't

22:08

matter. They should not have been in

22:10

this position now. I said

22:13

forever Tomlin to the Chargers or whatever.

22:16

Are they gonna fire a guy that wins ten games?

22:18

Doubtful? But where they don't make the playoffs,

22:21

so back to back years they don't make the playoffs.

22:23

I picked this team to win the division. Clearly,

22:26

they weren't as good as Baltimore. You know, when they're both playing

22:28

their starters and Kenny Pickett Lamar gaps

22:30

wide. But they shouldn't

22:32

have been They should have been eleven or twelve wins.

22:35

This should have been a team like the Cleveland Browns tomorrow,

22:37

nothing to play for, you're in the playoffs.

22:40

They have too much talent. Like, I'm not acting

22:42

like Mike Tomlin is a bad coach. He

22:44

clearly is good. He clearly is good.

22:47

But this year he let the team

22:49

down. I won't take it like. There's

22:51

no other way you can describe it. He's the head

22:53

coach, He's the guy signing off on Trubisky.

22:56

I'm not even talking about firing Canada or the

22:58

new offensive regardless of all that, he's

23:01

in charge of who's out on the field. And

23:03

when Pikett went down and they went with him

23:05

over and over and over again. Even

23:08

back to that Colts game, which I remember it

23:10

was a Saturday game. I remember watching on the couch, the same

23:12

spot. I watched both games a day, thinking

23:14

you got you can't bring this guy back at half,

23:16

and they kept rolling Trubisky out until

23:19

two minutes left in the game, when the game was over and they

23:21

threw Rudolph in there. It's like, what's going

23:23

on? If I was a Steeler fan today,

23:26

like the Steelers aren't in the spot like

23:28

the culture of the Texans where you're doing

23:30

cart wheels over nine or ten wins. Like

23:32

to me, this year is like borderline

23:34

embarrassing because of what it could

23:36

have been. Not because even with Mason

23:39

Rudolf, they would have made some long playoff

23:41

run, but they should have been a team today

23:43

that was cruising into the playoffs. I

23:46

don't think any Steeler fan would disagree with me

23:48

on that one. So like to be in

23:50

a position where everyone's sitting on

23:52

their couch tomorrow rooting on these teams. There's

23:55

seven teams now in the playoffs. Seven

23:58

they added a fucking team three years ago.

24:00

So if you're not in that going

24:02

into the weekend like the Rams are,

24:04

like the Browns are, to me, you haven't had a good

24:06

year. I mean, especially if you're a high level

24:09

organization like the Steelers, who coming into the season

24:11

loaded roster team that's really

24:13

good. Clearly the quarterback position up

24:15

in flux. But to roll out Trubisky to

24:18

roll like think about Gardner Minshew, who

24:20

is like clearly one of the best backups in

24:22

the NFL. The gap between Gardner

24:25

Minshew looks like Joe Montana compared to miss

24:27

Trubisky, and they played him over and

24:29

over and over again, like

24:32

you have to have a quick hook. It's

24:34

like a playoff baseball game. When you

24:37

have a starter in a must win game. You

24:39

can't just allow him to give up hit after hit, home

24:41

run after home run, even if it's the second end.

24:44

You gotta get him out of the game. And Tomlin,

24:46

who clearly kind of hangs his hat on this old

24:48

school loyalty thing. It

24:50

cost him this year and if by

24:52

the time you hear me next they're not in the playoffs,

24:55

Like I'm sorry, this is his fault,

24:57

Like we all expect him to just win now,

25:00

Like no one thinks Mike Tomlin is

25:02

just gonna have a bad season. It's like impossible.

25:05

The organization, the infrastructure, they

25:07

have too much talent. It's not gonna happen.

25:10

But now we're kind of like, is nine

25:12

ten is that just cool? Like is that just

25:14

okay? Like the Texans

25:17

celebrating like they won the Super Bowl today?

25:19

They should they

25:21

won eight games the last two years, or they

25:23

won seven games the last two years, Like

25:25

that's Mike Tomlin wins seven games

25:28

usually by the middle of December, but

25:31

to not be in the playoffs, I just I

25:33

can't get over it. I really can't.

25:35

And it's all because of Trubisky and

25:38

his unwillingness to

25:40

just go to Rudolph, who clearly

25:43

the other thing would be if Mitch

25:45

was new to you and you hadn't seen you'd seen

25:48

this thing before, like you'd

25:50

seen this movie. It's not like, well,

25:52

I'm hoping this get better. He was a former high pick,

25:54

he played good football somewhere else. Keep better on your team

25:56

for a couple of years. Now, talking Trubisky, you

25:59

extended him. I can't celebrate

26:01

like, oh, just another winning season like the television

26:04

guys did. No. I look at like, what

26:06

a disappointment, What an

26:08

embarrassment. I'd say the same thing

26:10

with the Jags. The Jags, let's

26:12

assume they win to the Titans, like it's a disappointing

26:15

season. You had to win the last

26:17

week to win ten games. It's one thing. If

26:19

you gotta win the last week of the season

26:22

to win your division. At twelve thirteen

26:24

wins, that's impressive. Like the Cowboys, they

26:26

gotta win tomorrow to win the division. That's

26:28

a lot different than what the

26:31

Steelers are doing today right, or

26:33

the Jags are doing like Those are disappointing

26:36

seasons. Expectations are high. However,

26:39

your season goes is also based on expectations.

26:41

Like the Niners and Ravens. They did what a lot of people

26:44

thought they were gonna be really good right

26:46

to why the Eagles, there's so much negativity. Eagles

26:48

are gonna end up winning twelve games assuming

26:51

they beat the Giants tomorrow. People

26:53

are acting like a disaster because the expectations

26:56

were so high. The Colts, Jim

26:58

irsay, if he sobers up to

27:00

throw everybody party, that's an incredible

27:02

accomplishment. Nine wins, Like,

27:05

expectations are part of football. Like Jim

27:07

Harbaugh, He's supposed to be in the National Championship.

27:10

His team was absolutely loaded. Washington.

27:12

If they lose a National championship, they can hang

27:14

their head high. Look at last year TCU.

27:17

They lost by one hundred points in the National Championship.

27:20

It'll never be top. That's the greatest

27:22

season in the history of TCU football. It'll

27:24

never happen again. They will never be in

27:27

the final two, you know, in the National

27:29

Championship gap. That'll never happen again. I promise you

27:31

that I'd bet a lot of money on that one.

27:34

So expectations are part of it. In the expectations

27:36

this year for Pittsburgh were high,

27:39

and to me they underachieved.

27:45

The volume