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00:00River Island's guest line joined by Odyssey NFL insider Mark Schler, host of the Stinkin' Truth
00:06podcast. Listen to the Stinkin' Truth podcast now on Spotify or Apple podcast. Insider calls
00:11are brought to you by Nationwide for your insurance and financial needs. Nationwide
00:15is on your side. Hey, Stink, what's good? Ah, you know, just hanging out, man. All is well
00:22here in Denver. I mean, we're feeling pretty good about our football team as you guys should be in
00:27San Francisco as well. Yeah, that's the thing, man. The close wins count. We kind of talked
00:33about the Broncos being this year's version of last year's Chiefs, but I think everyone's got
00:38the same thought right now, Stink, which is like, even all the good teams, they all kind of look the
00:43same. Kind of good, but a little bit flawed. Is that kind of overall parity in your mind
00:50really good for the league, or would you rather see some juggernauts that kind of lead the way?
00:57Oh, I'd always rather see a few juggernauts, but I think, again, it's part of what we've
01:06agreed to, right? I mean, it's part of the way the league is structured right now.
01:12You know, I mean, the players continue to negotiate, like, less professionalism in football.
01:20Like, they can't get what they want from a benefit standpoint. They can't get what they
01:24want from a money standpoint. So they basically negotiate themselves out of being professionals.
01:31And, you know, it's really hard for guys like me that grew up in this league at a different time
01:37to think about and to see some of the inconsistencies that are played, especially along the line of
01:44scrimmage, because you've negotiated contact in practice out of a contact practice sport.
01:50And so I think that's one of the reasons you see, you know, a lack of consistency in this game.
01:57And that's just part of it, you know. And ultimately, the league is made of Teflon, so
02:02it doesn't bother today's fans that it's not as polished as it once was. It's not as good,
02:09in my mind, as it probably has been in the past. But it's still what America runs on. They run on
02:15football. So, you know, until it starts hurting the National Football League, they'll continue to
02:21negotiate, like I said, practice and everything else out of the game.
02:24And when you look at that factor, and that was a great description about, you know,
02:28legislating practice out of it, does that give coaching staffs like the 49ers with Shanahan
02:33and Sala and more experienced coaches, does that give you a leg up because you're able to
02:37coach it up successfully year after year?
02:39Yeah, you're able to, I think, do a little bit better job of developing players. You know,
02:45one of the things that we've negotiated as players out of the game is the middle of the
02:53road player. So we spend, you know, $50 million plus on quarterbacks and we spend $30 million plus
02:59on edge rushers or $40 million on edge rushers and $30 million and $40 million on receivers. And,
03:05you know, and so there's probably, I call it the 80-20 rule. 20% of the guys make 80% of the money
03:12and, you know, the 20% that's left over is split by 80% of the guys. And what's ended up happening
03:19in a lot of positions is that you end up getting rid of the middle of the road, you know, five,
03:27six year veteran who's a really good player, but not a starter anymore or not a starter.
03:32You get rid of that guy because you don't want to pay him three and a half million bucks a year
03:36or two and a half million bucks a year. And so you keep young guys that can't play.
03:42And when you get injured, what happens? You got to play young guys who can't play.
03:47And then you know what else happens? Your quarterback gets injured and other guys.
03:51So it is this real interesting, you've got this group of guys that make a ton of money.
03:57And then you've got a lot of guys at the bottom of your roster that you hope never have to play
04:01that are making minimum wage and aren't, you know, and won't last in the league for more than a year
04:07or two. And so it's a really interesting, man. It puts a premium on the nuance of football and
04:14being able to develop football players and being able to get the best of guys that don't have a lot
04:20of experience. And it's just so much harder to do in today's game than it was when I was playing.
04:25When I came up in Washington, I became a starter as a rookie. Every guy we had on our roster had
04:33played, started somewhere for two or three years and then relegated to a backup. As a matter of fact,
04:39I played with Ray Brown. I played the first game that Ray Brown started with the Washington Redskins.
04:45You guys remember Ray Brown, all pro guard for you guys back in the day who played 20 years.
04:50Ray didn't play until year six.
04:55He got his first start with Washington in year six. He made a play when he was a rookie for Arizona.
05:01It was during the strike year of 87 or something, but he never played for us until his sixth year in the league.
05:09And so you had all this time to develop guys and it was just such a different time.
05:13But again, it does put a premium on what Shanahan's doing. When they flashed up the graphic
05:18on that game, they flashed up the graphic of how many guys were injured that were on San Francisco's
05:27rock. It was mind-boggling to me how many dudes are out. And I'm talking about, I mean, Warner is a
05:35dude's dude. Bosa is a dude's, but a lot of other really good players out. It was shocking.
05:42It was shocking then to sit there and look at them being nine and four and going, damn,
05:47they're nine and four and they've lost, you know, they've lost a bunch of dudes that are
05:52really good football players. It's pretty amazing.
05:55Well, Stink, that's, I think as everyone's sitting here listening to you talk about that
05:58subject, that's where a lot of our minds went, which is if, if this structure in the NFL makes
06:04it so difficult to stick dudes out there when people get hurt, then in your mind, how the hell
06:10are the 49ers nine and four?
06:14Again, it comes down to a couple of things that I believe. And I believe in this with
06:20my whole heart. And I think that there's a lot of teams that don't. They have an identity.
06:27These are the things we're going to hang our hats on. These are the things we're going to
06:30be good at. And they're preached from day one. They're worked on from day one. And everybody
06:36knows what they are. So I played for Kyle's dad for six years. And there were certain things that
06:44I just knew we were going to do. And, you know, the way we were going to run the ball, I knew what
06:50we're going to do. I knew what comes out. And then in the huddle and critical situations, man, I could
06:56tell you, like, we were a conversion team. So we got in a second down in one situation. I knew we weren't
07:03taking a shot down the football field. I knew we were going to convert because that's what we do.
07:09And then I knew there's one of three plays coming in. We're either running 14-15 handoff, we're running
07:1518-19 handoff, or we're running quarterback sneak. And what that does for you as a player, from a
07:22confidence standpoint, and also just an understanding standpoint of what we're doing, like, then it
07:29becomes the 10,000-hour rule. I don't care what defense you give me or you give me. I will never
07:35be fooled. And I'm better than you because I've done this 10,000 times. You've defended it 100 times.
07:41You're about ready to get your ass whooped. And there is such beauty in that. And there's so much
07:50confidence that comes from that. And most teams in the league, and I cover the league every week,
07:56I'm at a different team. The amount of different things teams try to run and the amount of,
08:02hey, man, let's steal this from this organization. Let's steal that play at work. Let's steal that
08:07play. It's mind-boggling to me how much of an offense in today's game is hodgepodge.
08:16Yeah, as opposed to identity. And that's so well put because you see what you do with the fullback
08:22and the tight end and just how they go about running it. But I wonder, Stink, is what they
08:26have and what they run good enough to get in the playoffs and go on any sort of a significant run?
08:34Yeah, I mean, therein lies the question. I mean, I was looking at, like, I was just looking at,
08:41I've got Cleveland this week. So I took great interest in the way that game went.
08:46And, you know, looking at their lack of productivity as far as rushing the quarterback
08:51is concerned and some of the things that, you know, that that's where having great players
08:58make a difference, right? That's where having, like, war daddies, like, create one-on-ones for
09:04other guys and everything else. And so then you've got to manufacture things. And when you have to
09:09manufacture things, you put other, you put players, you know, in harm's way a little bit.
09:15Like, when you have to manufacture a pass rush, it means somebody out there in the back end or a
09:20couple guys in the back end are just going to be one-on-one. And sometimes you don't like that
09:25matchup, but sometimes you're like, you've got to call it. So it's just really interesting.
09:30A guy I love that plays for you guys. I loved him a year ago. Mustafa is a heat-seeking missile.
09:39Like, that dude has blatant disregard for his own well-being. And he doesn't just try to hit you.
09:47He tries to end your night. Like, and I, listen, I know I'm going to get a bunch of Karens that are
09:53going to get upset about this. But, like, you're not maliciously trying to injure guys, but he is
09:59trying to send you out of the game every time he hits you. And I, for one, absolutely love it.
10:07It was like my guy Christian Ellis for the New England Patriots last night, former University
10:12of Idaho guy. He hit Olszewski so hard that it took the blue off his helmet. And I think it put
10:19it right on. I think he's got a blue tattoo on his forehead right now. Went right through the
10:22plastic into his forehead. I mean, that hit was the kind of hit as a football player you dream
10:28about having. And I know there's going to be a bunch of people that are like, oh my gosh,
10:32stinks of Neanderthal. Yep, I am. And I loved every second of it. And so did everybody else
10:38watching that has any amount of testosterone flowing through their blood veins.
10:44Insider calls are brought to you by Nationwide for your insurance and financial needs. Nationwide
10:48is on your side. Stink, real quick before you go, your thoughts on the season Christian McCaffrey's
10:53having? Because it's like three and a half yards of carry. Some people are like, ah, this is too many
10:57touches. He looks like he's lost a step. But then you look up at the numbers, and it's
11:01like he's having an historic season so far.
11:05Yeah, I don't like, listen man, I'm not, I love to have a big yard per carry average,
11:11right? But, I mean, think about the injuries. Think about the guys you've shuffled out at
11:17receiver. The guys you've shuffled out at tight end. I mean, you want to talk about also
11:24rants. Like, there is a picture of those guys in the dictionary under the term also
11:30ran. Like, and I'm not trying to be derogatory. I'm just stating a fact. You're picking guys
11:36up off the street that are playing. And, and it's been, it's been unbelievable. So, if I'm
11:43a defensive coordinator, like, there's one guy I'm trying to take out. There's one guy I'm
11:49trying to contend with. And that dude is Christian. And, like, you see the production. He's, he's
11:56still on pace to go thousand, thousand, guys. Yep. Like, I mean, stop. There's been three
12:04backs in the history of football who have done it. Nobody's done it twice. He's on pace to
12:10do it. And he's the one focal point. When you walk on the football field, when you get
12:16off the bus on Sunday, the only thing that defense is trying to do is stop Christian
12:21McCaffrey. You are not afraid to go one-on-one across the board anywhere else. And I thought
12:27about this from, like, my perspective as a former offensive lineman. When you've got no
12:34guys who threaten you as pass rushers. Like, there are teams that you just don't have anybody
12:40that threatens you as a pass rusher. We'll get five out and go scat into protection every
12:46single freaking time because you don't have enough players to cover the zones when we get
12:52five dudes out. So if you don't have a guy that can pass rush, we're going to eat you
12:58alive in the passing game. Same thing goes with Christian McCaffrey. If you don't have anybody
13:04else that really scares you, if you're not scared of going one-on-one with any other receiver
13:09on that roster, then, I mean, your whole focal point is shutting out 23. And for him to still
13:16be doing what he's doing is ridiculous. Yeah. Ridiculous. Great stuff. Great stuff, Stink.
13:22We love getting to chat with you. And we're already looking forward to the next one. Thanks,
13:27man. Sounds good, guys. Take care. Okay. There he goes. That was Odyssey NFL Insider Mark
13:32Schlereth, host of the Stinkin' Truth Podcast. Insider calls are brought to you by Nationwide
13:37for your insurance and financial needs. Nationwide is on your side. Mark, obviously, the host of the
13:42Odyssey original, the Stinkin' Truth Podcast. Remember to listen to the Stinkin' Truth Podcast
13:46on Spotify or Apple Podcasts.
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