May 12, 2021 • 36 mins
Colin shares his excitement about the release of the NFL schedule by highlighting his favorite games from week 1 and why the NFL continues to separate itself from other pro leagues. He points out the main difference between the Lakers and the Knicks as we gear up for the playoffs. He tosses the old fashion and overly complex “QB Tiers” by putting each NFL QB into 2 very simple categories. Plus, former Washington tight end Chris Cooley joins the show to tell Colin if Tim Tebow really has a chance to succeed after not playing in the NFL for almost a decade.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Thanks for listening to the Best of Herd podcast. Be
sure to catch us live every weekday from twelve to
three eastern nine to noon Pacific on Fox Sports Radio
and FS one. Find your local station for The Herd
at Fox Sports Radio dot com, or stream us live
every day on the iHeartRadio app by searching Herd. This
is the Best of the Herd with Colin Cowhern on
Fox Sports Radio. Ah, here we go on a Wednesday,
(00:28):
live in Los Angeles. It's the Herd wherever you may
be and however you may be listening Fox Sports Radio,
iHeartRadio FS one. It could not be a better day
in America for us. Not only is it the Herd
brought to you by Jersey Mike subs be a sub above.
They bring sandwiches on Wednesday. But tonight is the NFL
(00:50):
schedule release. I'm into it, you know how You know
this stuff works for me? Schedule release draft stuff. I
like building stuff, and I just love the NFL schedule release. Tonight.
We're gonna have a party at the herd Grotto tonight.
Joey Taylor is joining me. I love this stuff. That
(01:10):
Week one schedule is already out fired up. Well, you
also have a lot of theories around the schedule, like
a playing win loss is my favorite game, Like you
just go down like win lass, you don't, you don't
cross check or anything like. That's every whatever your fan does.
But you have a lot of theories around high schedule
plays out. I do. So the NFL has released its schedule,
(01:31):
and let me just say this, the NFL is really smart.
They do a couple things really well. They understand that
they're a television show, so they spread their events out
and make them events. Every month has an event. You
got free agency, you got the draft, you got the combine,
you got the preseason, you got the schedule release. I
(01:52):
mean they put it right in the middle of the
week Wednesday, knowing that guys like me, you're going to
talk about it today, Wednesday, Tomorrow, Thursday, and some guys
talk about it Friday. Put it right in the middle
of the week. They drop it right before the NBA
playoffs because sports is gonna get a little cluttered here
next week. So they put it right. They think about everything,
and then when the NFL does have problems, they address
(02:14):
them quickly. I mean, major bigue baseball has a three
year problem. I don't know it feels like a big deal.
Nobody can hit anymore. You may want to address it. Crickets,
NBA lost a third of its audience last two years.
Stars don't play in the biggest games. You may want
to address it. NFL change their catch rule before the
(02:36):
Super Bowl, like in the game, like we gotta make
this better on television, so that the schedule today is perfect.
They think about everything. They think about everything in the NFL.
Great example, Cowboys Buccaneers. So you get the biggest brand
in the NFL against the best team. And it's also
I think going to be a competitive game because the
(02:57):
Cowboys offensive line is old and you don't get seventeen
games out of it. But in week one, little super
Bowl win. Hangover Tampa loving themselves. They got the fields
for themselves. Here comes Dallas Zeke's healthy, old line, healthy
competitive football game. But just look at how thoughtful they
were here. So Jets Panthers is a one o'clock game. Now,
(03:20):
if you've played that joy in week nine, nobody cares.
But Sam Darnold faces the team that dumped him week
one and faces his air apparent week one. Hell yeah,
I'm watching. That's exactly when you put that that game
is less interesting every week. By week six, nobody cares.
But they put it week one. They thought about it.
(03:42):
Seahawks at the Colts to Super Bowl contenders, Browns at
the Chiefs AFC Championship contenders, Oh, Dolphins Patriots. When is
Belichick most vulnerable September? That's his history. So they bring
in Ryan Flores. It's Belichick against his protege. It could
(04:03):
be two against Matt Jones. Then they go Packers Saints,
two massive brands. They collide. Plus we all want to
watch that, right. Fox puts that the late game Aaron Rodgers,
even if he's there, he hates the team, he hates
the GM, he's all upset. And then you go Monday Night. Oh,
by the way, Bears rams NBC. Why why does that matter?
First of all, Chicago, La, huge markets. But why it
(04:25):
matters is because Matt Stafford and Sean McVay. There is
a feeling in Vegas in the betting community. Stafford's gonna
have a massive year. So the NFL doesn't want to
wait to start that story. The NFL Week one, they're
gonna They're gonna put at night on NBC. They're gonna
put Matt Stafford and McVay Week one. Sean McVay has
been a great September coach, a bunch of new tricks
(04:47):
like Andy Reid in the offseason. He's a very good
play designer. Suddenly you got Stafford with a big win,
Stafford with a lot of points. It's not gonna be
cruddy Weather Bears in La big brand. Matt Stafford, Sean
mcvaigh and the story's rule that Monday Night Football John
Gruden used to broadcast on IT. John Gruden and the
(05:08):
Raiders host the Ravens. By the way, if the Raiders
were at Baltimore, it could be a blowout. But but
in Vegas. So you're gonna get the Cowboys against the
super Bowl champs Vegas, Los Angeles. Here's the other thing.
Here's how smart there. This is a true story. What
(05:29):
I'm about to tell you is a true story. And
this is where the NFL works very well with our
TV partners. So the four o'clock window, four twenty five
on Fox, they have the Broncos game against the Giants
and the Packers game. Color me non coincidental. If Aaron
(05:54):
Rodgers does go to the Broncos, Fox doesn't have to
change the games. Fox has them both. So if Aaron
goes I'm going to Denver, get me out of here.
Fox has both the Green Bay game and the Denver game.
They cover themselves. That is thoughtful, that is smart. Years ago,
(06:19):
not many years ago, two or three years ago. I'm
not gonna say the network, but one of the networks
literally had to call Major League Baseball about their schedule.
I'm not going to tell you who. I'm not going
to tell you the network. Fox. We had to call
a Major League Baseball and say, you know, can we
help you with your schedule? Why are you putting all
these like cub Cardinal, Dodger Giant games in the week
(06:42):
Why don't you put your biggest rivalries on the week end.
The TV network had to go to the sport and
tell them how to schedule. In the NFL, the NFL
knows how to schedule, but they work or their television partners.
I would guess putting a Broncho Packer game back to back,
same time slot is protection hedging your bet if Aaron
(07:03):
goes to Denver, I don't think it's a coincident. Maybe
it is, but nobody wants in the media loves to
give the NFL credit, because the NFL doesn't need the media,
and the media wants to be needed, and they don't
need you, they don't need me, they don't need anybody.
But they are so much smarter and better run. Just
(07:24):
with their schedule, they thought of everything. To put Darnald
against the Jets in week one is brilliant. That game
is useless potentially by week six, when the Jets are
one in five, it means nothing. But in week one,
little revenge game for Sam Darnold at home against the
team that dumped him. I'm watching, I'm watching really smart,
(07:47):
all right. One team got a terrible break. I'll get
to that later, but let's start with this. So the
Lakers Knicks played last night was actually so really entertaining game.
So really, I've watched a couple of back to back
Knick games. They're feisty and fun and it was a big,
meaningful win for the Lakers because New York's a real
(08:10):
team and they won it in overtime. Lebron didn't play,
Dennis Shooter didn't play, Alex Caruso got hurt very early,
eighty was not one hundred percent, and they beat a
feisty New York Knicks team. It was also a game
that highlighted the problem with the New York Knicks. The
New York Knicks, it's a baby step league. You don't
go from the Knicks crappy to winning the title. Same
with the Phoenix Suns this year. This game really highlighted
(08:33):
the New York Knicks. They just don't have enough juice.
You play hard in the NBA. It's a classic Tom
Fibideau team. He grinds his players. The practices are longer,
they play more minutes, they play harder. That wins you
forty five fifty games in the regular season, but teams
are exhausted by the postseason. And his teams lacked juice
and energy in the postseason. And if you looked at
(08:54):
the Knicks last night, I mean, this is what is
going to be their problem in the playoffs. Derek Rose,
old Rickety. Derreck Rose is often their leading your second
leading score. So it was like Julius Randall, Derrick Rose
and the rest of the team shot thirty thirteen of
thirty eight. Meanwhile, the Lakers are built for the playoffs,
(09:14):
and a prime example is a we know they have
experience in the playoffs, b they have a coach who's
experienced in the playoffs. But if you look at the
box score, you had Anthony Davis dropping twenty, Andre Drummond
dropped sixteen, Kyle Kuzman gave you twenty three, Harton Tucker
gave you thirteen, and Lebron and Shooter didn't play. See
(09:35):
you have had two more guys in double figures when
the Knicks Julius Randall thirty one, Derek Rose twenty seven,
and a bunch of guys WITHO two and four. So
you can't win in the playoffs when you're you need juice,
You need guys who could you need five guys who
can drop twenty. The Lakers are really built for the playoffs,
and last night it was a great example for the Lakers.
(09:57):
That's why they're gonna be a playoff team. And I
think they're gonna be a really good playoff team as
long as Lebron is like eighty five ninety percent healthy.
They just got a bunch of guys who can create
their own shot or give you twenty on any night,
and the Knicks don't. It's kind of Julius Randall, cross
your fingers. R J. Barrett's young and hot. He last night,
he couldn't shoot. So it showed you a lot last night.
(10:20):
It showed you the Knicks have a foundation. They play hard,
but boy, you can see their ceiling. They struggled last night,
late in the fourth quarter and overtime to get shots.
They've struggled to get shots. Well, guess what. Milwaukee in
the East like the Lakers last night. They play real defense.
I mean, Philadelphia can play real defense. Ben Simmons up
(10:40):
there on defense. So now Brooklyn didn't play any defense.
But you know Milwaukee does Miami heats historically spostra teams do.
The Knicks have a real ceiling. And you saw it
last night. And the Lakers, without two of their three
best players, won a game. Bunch of guys jumped in
and score. That shows you why they haven't been a
(11:02):
good regular season team, but why they're built for the playoffs.
Can't wait. It was a very very entertaining game. Be
sure to catch live editions of The Herd weekdays in
noon Easter nine am Pacific on Fox Sports Radio FS
one and the iHeart Radio app One. Team got a
really bad break. I know, I know, Cleveland, I'm picking
(11:25):
on you. Cleveland got a bad break. They got the
worst break in the league. Cleveland's a good football team.
I think they're the best overbat nine and a half wins.
I think they're a ten eleven win team. They got
a terrible break. Andy Reid is the best September coach
in football. That's who the Browns open with at Kansas City.
(11:48):
Patrick Mahomes under Andy Reid in September is ten and
oh with thirty two touchdowns and zero interceptions. It is
the last place to play Kansas City. And he reads
the best NFL coach in September, and he's the best
NFL coach off of bye, and Week one is essentially
off a bye. Andy read berries his playsheet until Week one.
(12:10):
Go ask Belichick. He's humiliated Belichick in September. Also, Cleveland's
gonna have eight or nine new defensive starters. So in
week nine or ten, this is a tug award. It's
a real game in Week one, nine new defensive starters
against the best game play designer in the NFL and
the best quarterback at home. Now the good news, Cleveland,
(12:34):
you're used to not winning in Week one. You haven't
won a Week one game in seventeen years. So you'll
be one on one and you'll overcome it because you're
a really good team. You have a really good coach.
But that is a bad scheduling break. You know again,
Pittsburgh is not a team that I'm fond of this year,
But in Week one they're healthy. Mike to Big Ben's
(12:56):
at his best early, he deteriorates. These old quarterbacks get
worse late, right, Big Ben, in September, He'll give you
a game. Pittsburgh would be better served because I don't
have a bunch of new defensive faces. Pittsburgh would be
better served to go to Kansas City and compete week one,
not a team with nine defensive starters that are learning
a system from other teams young. This is a bad
(13:21):
break for Cleveland. I still think they're a really good
team next year. This is Baker Mayfield, just to show
you Cleveland's history in Week one, Baker Mayfield has two starts.
Week one, he lost forty three to thirteen and thirty
eight to six. So I'm not going to do a
blazing five, but I will bet some games today. Uncle
Colin does not waste opportunities to make some lettuce. If
(13:41):
I had a blazing five, today because the lines often
never get better on Fox Bet. Here's the best lines.
Seattle plus three at Indianapolis. Seattle tends to be again
same coach, same quarterback, many of the same weapons. Indianapolis
has a new quarterback and so and their best young receiver,
Michael Pittman's never worked with Carson Wentz. I think the
(14:03):
culture gonna be really good. I don't know how good
they're gonna be in week one. Last year they lost
to the Jags in Week one, So I would take
Seattle in the points in Week one Atlanta minus one
and a half. Now, you know, Atlanta burns me every year,
but Atlanta actually got beat up last year. Atlanta now
adds Kyle Pitts. They get Arthur smith Us really really
smart offensive mind is their head coach, and they face
(14:26):
a Philadelphia team at home. They only have to give
up put it up again, only have to give up
one and a half points. I think Atlanta is a
really good bet. I think the Philadelphia Eagles made a
just an egregiously bad hire at head coach. I would
take Atlanta minus one and a half against Philadelphia. I
would actually take the Cowboys plus four and a half
against Tampa, because that line is probably going to get
(14:48):
bet up to about five and a half. Brady's gonna
get a lot curry, a lot of the favor of
the general public. People are gonna say, oh, cowboys are
gonna get blown out. Not in Week one, not billion
week When you win the Super Bowl and you're having
parades and you're throwing the trophy around the Tampa Bay
week one, you could be a little sluggist, a little
super Bowl hangover rich benef that's hard to get guys,
(15:10):
you know, motivated for Week one, and Dallas's offensive line
and Zeke will be healthy week one. Dak's got a
lot to prove. He's got a big new contract. Dak
wants to prove he can compete. He's worth the money.
I would take Dallas and the Points Chargers at the
Washington Football team. Now. I like the Chargers a lot
this year, but they have a brand new offensive line
and a brand new coach, and they are facing Ron
(15:32):
Rivera's defensive front, which is outstanding. So you're taking the Chargers,
who I think are gonna be really good. That is
a tough opener on the road, six hour flight. Veteran
head coach the system's already implemented, and you've got Brandon Staley,
who's very very good. But boy, oh boy, that's a
lot to chew off. In week one, I'd probably take
(15:54):
the Washington football team. It's a pick him in Kansas
City minus four and a half against the Browns. That
number is gonna end five or six. That's the best
number you're gonna get. Kansas City's gonna curry a lot
of favor with the betters, So I would take Kansas
City minus four and a half. That's today, I think
the best bets on the board. Well, well, oh yeah,
(16:15):
what do I know except everything? One more Herd. The
Herd streams twenty four hours a day, seven days a
week within the iHeartRadio app. Search Herd to listen live
or on demand whenever you like. Hey, this is Jason McIntyre.
Join me every weekday morning on my podcast Straight Fire
with Jason McIntyre. This isn't your typical sports pod pushing
(16:36):
the same tired narratives down your throat. Every day. Straight
Fire gives you honest opinions on all the biggest sports headlines,
accurate stats to help you win big at the sports book,
and all the best guests, do yourself a favor and
listen to Straight Fire with Jason McIntyre on the iHeartRadio app,
Apple podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. So, according
(16:59):
to j Darlington, very good NFL reporter, breaks a lot
of stories. He said, not everybody, obviously Urban Myers is
the one behind this. Not everybody in the Jags building
is thrilled with this. Darlingston said, they don't think that
it's necessarily sending the proper message to the rest of
the team in the locker room and the guys trying
to make the team. That was my question yesterday, what's
the message? And I do think Jacksonville's Gator territory, so
(17:24):
it will be accepted in Jacksonville. It would be laughed
at at New York, laughed at in La laughed at
in Denver. Big cities would just roll their eyes laughed at.
But I do think in the South and Jacksonville, which
is really a better college football town than a ProFootball town,
you know, people will buy into it. But Urban Meyer
went on the Chris Collinsworth podcast yesterday and extrapolated kind
(17:45):
of gave the story context, which I thought was a
smart thing for him. To do. We have not signed
to him. There's a thought going around, you know. He
was in the best shape of his life. Asked to
see if he can work out with a couple of
our coaches. I was in even there, and they came
back to me and said, wow, this guy's in the
incredible shape. And I said, then I went another time
(18:07):
and watched him. Try him out and they said, go
work on these things. He comes back later, they try
him out again. I'm not there. They come in and
they said, wow, you know this guy's ball skills. He's
a great athlete. He looks like he's eighteen years old,
not twenty whatever. He is thirty three. And I said, guys,
you don't understand now this guy is. You know, he's
the most competitive maniac you're ever gonna talk to, and
(18:30):
let's give it a shot. Tim was also the most
competitive maniac in Minor league baseball, and in better shape
than anybody at double A. He still couldn't hit. Tim
was in the best shape I've ever seen any NFL quarterback.
Remember that shot when he was walking in the rain
in New York with a shirt off and he couldn't
throw football. If being in great shape, got you to
(18:53):
the pros, then every hgh in steroid freak at Gold's
gym would be in the NFL. But they all walked
like this because they're stiff and they're overlifted, and they're
not athletes. They just look good with their shirt off,
and Tim looks great with a shirt off. We'll give
an example. TiO is still ripped at forty seven, Shannon
Sharp at fifty two, and Ocho Sinko TiO as one
(19:16):
of the best NFL bodies of all time. He tried
out for the Seahawks in his late thirties. He took
a shirt off, worked out, and he looked the part,
but he couldn't separate. And TiO at one point was
a great NFL player. Tim Tebow was bad. I know
he had a win streak. I know, I know, we
(19:40):
all know, but he is a notch below Taysom Hill athletically,
and Taysom Hill, in my opinion, not a franchise quarterback.
This is not anti God or anti Tebow. It's pro
reality is that if being in shape, mannered or being
a maniac manner, well, then Tim Tebow would have been
(20:01):
a star in baseball and a star in football. It
doesn't matter. Tim Tebow is six two. There are no
six two tight ends in the NFL, especially now. He's
never played tight end. He was not particularly athletic when
he did play. He was just he had a dream,
he had a love, he had a passion. But he
was a four to seven forty guy. That's not Cam,
(20:26):
that's not Kyler Murray, that's not Lamar Jackson. Justin Herbert bigger, stronger, faster, better, arm, faster.
Justin Herbert's a much better athlete than Tim Tebow in
every box. But Justin Herbert hasn't put his faith out there.
He didn't win a Heisman, he didn't win a National
tit all. He's not iconic. He's just way better at everything.
(20:49):
So it's not anti Tim. But if if you knew
you can wear the chef jacket and you can buy
new knives, doesn't make you Bobby Flay. Be sure to
catch live editions of The Herd Days a noun Easter
nine am Pacific on Fox Sports Radio FS one and
the iHeart Radio app. So anyway, the USA today yesterday,
this was a Barnyard musical. They came out with this
(21:12):
quarterback tier thing. It was just a hot mess. They
had like thirty two categories and I made fun of
it all day yesterday. It was bad. Listen, new rule,
No more quarterback tiers. Here's the new rule. We're gonna
view quarterbacks in two camps. You can pull a roster
(21:38):
or you get pulled. You're a truck or a trailer.
As Bucky Brooks says, a truck can pull a bad
defense to the playoffs. A truck can pull a bad GM.
I mean, Andrew Luck got to the AFC Championship with
two pro bowlders and a bad GM that got fired
and the coach that got fired. That's a truck. There's
(22:00):
five or six trucks at quarterback. Let's simplify this. You're
a truck or a trailer. Here are the trucks they
can pull bad gms. Goofy coaches, Tom Brady, Josh Allen,
Patrick Mahomes, Aaron Rodgers, Russell Wilson, DeShawn Watson, and I
don't know just Shan's future. Everybody else is a trailer.
People all about Lamar Jackson. No, he needs a defense.
(22:21):
He's not really great plan from behind. He's not right
now gonna win shootouts, but he's close to it. Everybody,
Derek Carmatt, Ryan they're good, nobody's denying it, but they
can't overcome bad defenses. Baker Mayfield the Browns better when
he throws fewer times. Those are the trucks six in
the world. Now. Now, I think there's four people to
(22:45):
keep your eye on. Young people we don't know yet.
Justin Herbert and Kyler Murray looked like potential trucks. I
think they may be. Joe Burrow. I don't think he is,
but give me ten more starts. Trevor Lawrence feels like
the first quarterback since Andrew Luck. And you know how
much I loved Andrew Luck at Stanford. Trevor Lawrence feels
(23:07):
like he could overcome some problems. I talked to Dabo
Sweeney last night on the podcast and I asked him,
I said, you recruit all these guys, You recruit all
these guys, I said, what was Trevor Lawrence like? He goes.
I went to the first practice and David Shaw, the
Stanford coach, came out to me and he said, Coach,
I don't know who your quarterback is, but I know
who's going to start next year for you. That's the
(23:29):
best high school quarterback I've ever seen, and David Shaw
had Andrew Luck, So I think Trevor Lawrence, let's wait
and see how it plays out. But those four, I
don't think Burrow is but I want to see ten starts.
Herbert and Kyler Murray looked like, Yeah, I think I
think we got something. And I do think Trevor Lawrence,
(23:49):
who I saw as a junior in high school live
in San Diego, he just against the other five star quarterbacks,
looked like a college quarterback at seventeen. So none of
us nine tiers of quarterbacks and everybody's trying to get
a truck. Almost everybody ends up with a trailer. Be
sure to catch live editions of the Herd weekdays and
(24:10):
noon Easter not a Empacific. He played for a decade
in the NFL, multiple time Pro Bowler, and it has
more catches than any tight end in the history of
the Washington football team, which is saying something because they
were great in the seventies and eighties. He's Chris Cooley. Also,
by the way, I went to the same college as
Jordan Love, Utah State. If you're talented, the NFL will
(24:33):
find you. They will find you and Chris Cooley now
joining us live from Cody, Wyoming. Look that looks like Cody, Wyoming.
You've got a good hoodie on there. You got a
log cabin thing going on. How are you doing okay,
Cavin going, I'm doing great. It's always the pleasure to
be on with you, and we're doing awesome out here.
(24:55):
Have fun watching the draft and everything that's been going
on lately, and keeping up the internet makes it really easy,
even though it's even though it's pretty slow here. So
let me ask you my takeaway on the tight end
position has never been truly respected. It's always been like
the last or next to last in terms of payment.
You know, Tony Gonzalez was racking up huge touchdowns and
(25:18):
yards and he wasn't paid like a receiver. He was
paid like a guy who blocked. And so when Tebow
says I want to be a tight end, I think,
oh boy, that's a little disrespectful to the position, to
the position as a great tight end. You hear Tebo
just wants to try out as a tight end. What
is your thought on that. I don't have any problem
(25:38):
with it. I think, first of all, urban Meyer and
Tebow are very close, so it makes sense that Urban
would give his guy a shot. Tibo's a heck of
an athlete. You know, when I look at this position,
I watch it year in and year out. There's twenty
guys that are good, there's ten that are outstanding. But
you get to the threes on a lot of and
(26:00):
there's a lot of guys that, in my opinion, shouldn't
be on the field or are just filling a role.
And so can Tebow do that and kind of find
his way into things, Maybe we'll find out there's a
lot of nuance to the position. Yeah, I mean, let's
talk about that. A quarterback to tight end transitioning. I mean,
I just think to myself, Tim Tebow hand in the
(26:21):
dirt blocking a defensive end, That's what comes to me.
You better have his mouthpiece in. I mean, what what what?
What will be the one or two things that are
we don't talk about that he's going to have to
figure out. See, I just don't know. If you put
Tim Tebow's hand in the dirt, it's almost like all
of these new quarterbacks coming in that have never played
under center. You don't transition him to a complete under
(26:43):
center quarterback. To me, he's more of an h back.
If you want Tim Tebow to play tight end for you,
he's that move position. You're putting him in a slot
every once in a while, you're putting him in the backfield.
You're letting him kind of move around. You're letting him
stay in an up stance. Now, as it comes to blocking,
he's got a lot to figure out there. Toughness I
think Tebow has and so I appreciate that, and I
(27:06):
think he'll have a chance there. But you start talking
about simple footwork and leverage and understanding how defensive ends
and outside linebackers play and where you want to put
your hands on him. What's your hat placement needs to be,
where your helmet placement needs to be. All those little
things that manipulate a defensive end are things that guys
pick up over time. And we'll see maybe he can.
(27:28):
I think he'll be an okay route runner. I think
I think he's athletic enough. Quarterbacks can always catch very well.
They catch more balls than anyone else because everyone's got
to throw it back to him every time. That's a
good point. So a couple of things to talk about.
So some issues here Washington. I've said They're the enigma
in the league. So good defense, playoff team, weak division.
(27:49):
They should make it again. What I wouldn't do at
quarterback is get a gun slinger who loses me games.
I've out coached the team with Ron Rivera, and they
get Ryan Fitzpatrick. Can I think, no, no, no, just
give me Teddy Bridgewater. I can win eleven games with
Teddy Bridgewater. My defense will keep us. I mean, Alex
Smith didn't play particularly well went five and one last year.
Explain the Ryan Fitzpatrick's our guy quarterback on this roster
(28:13):
because I don't get it, Colin, I don't know if
I totally get it either. And that doesn't mean that
I don't like Ryan Fitzpatrick. I respect him. I think
he's incredibly bright, he's intelligent, he makes a ton of throws,
I mean, amazingly enough. The last couple of years, is
QBR has been really pretty high. But I'm with you.
I think this team is a team that needs a quarterback.
(28:36):
And I don't know is Fitzpatrick this year? Is it
maybe next year? But they had a chance to move
up and probably take a guy where there was some
talent around the quarterback. They have a really or they
have a very good defense. They have great weapons with
Terry McLaurin and Antonio Gibson and Logan Thomas came on
last year, and I think you could have protected a
(28:56):
young quarterback if you went up and got him this year.
It'll be interesting what Fitzpatrick does in a Scott Turner offense.
You know, watching them last year, they didn't really take
a lot of shots down the field, and I didn't
know if that was all by designer just not knowing
if the quarterback could do it. I mean, it was
crazy watching Alex. So I'll be interested if he could
(29:18):
just play ball control, because that's really what the guy's
going to have to do or needs to do if
they want to win eighteen games. So you were with
Kyle Shanahan when he was the coordinator in Washington. He
is now the coach of the Niners. What is Trey Lance?
How complex is the offense? How long does it take
to master Trey Lance master a Kyle Shanahan offense? You
(29:42):
would know. I think there's a ton to Kyle Shanahan's offense.
But what Kyle is going to do is slowly build
around what Trey Lance does very well. If you think
back to twenty twelve, they remastered the Kyle Mike Shanahan
offense for Robert Griffin and became a zone read type offense,
(30:03):
and that was kind of pre RPO. They'll take their
time with him. They'll get him in a lot of
the boot stuff where he's able to make, you know,
one side of the field type reads, go top of
the progression down easy stuff there. Let him use his
legs if he needs to use his legs, and it'll
be a slow bill that, you know. I think back
(30:24):
to that offense with Robert and it was it was
a really successful offense which was changed completely. The only
the only hard thing for Robert was some of the
third down concepts and some of the third down defense
is that he faced or that he had to see.
And I'll never forget Kyle saying, Robert, if you don't
like it, you're the checkdown. And Trey Lance has the
(30:45):
ability to do that. I mean it's he's not running
into end zones with Penguins written in it. Yeah, but
he's playing against real NFL dudes. I think he'll adapt okay,
and Kyle will do an excellent job slow playing it.
So he understands it plays within his grasp. You went
to the same school as Jordan Love. A couple days ago,
(31:05):
the GM of the Packers said, he's got a long
way to go. Obviously, you want to support people from
Utah State where you went to school. But you know,
it's funny Jordan Love had thirty two college starts. That's Chris,
That's a lot. I mean some of these guys Kyler
Murray was playing baseball half the time. He got fifteen.
He's got thirty two college starts, and they say, quote,
he's got a long way to go. That makes me think,
(31:27):
oh boy, maybe he wasn't a first round quarterback. Or
am I being too harsh? I think he has a
long way to go. Some of the intangibles make him
a first round quarterback. I haven't had a chance to
meet Jordan and play catch with Jordan. I mean, he's
a big kid, he has a big arm, he's smart,
he likes ball. But it was it's amazing, you know.
I was there his junior year where he I thought
(31:49):
he had an excellent year and spending some time talking
with that coaching staff who's now at Texas Tech. They
had a lot of non play calls, just look to
the sideline and give the receiver a number, and sometimes
it wasn't even the entire group of receivers. And he
switched his senior year to a new staff and with
Gary Anderson as a head coach, and it was still,
(32:10):
you know, really simplistic. I thought he pressed his senior year.
But essentially, Colin, he hasn't really run offense with language.
And so when you're talking about what is Matt Lafleur's offense,
which is really Kyle Shannahan or Sean mcvay's offense to
some extent, that's the West Coast language. That's where he's
got a long way to go. I mean, you get
(32:31):
these guys that they got to repeat sixteen words back
into the huddle after the coach puts it in their ear,
and they have to be able to do it fast
and fluently. So a long way to go is not
just seeing things understand, it's it's also being able to
lead in the huddle. Finally, a Chris Cooley joining us,
Aaron Rodgers, you listen, it's it's you know, I remember
(32:53):
ten years ago when I said I used to work
at the other company, and I said, you listen. I
think he's kind of condescending in prickly. I just I
watched him. I watch his body language. I think he's great,
but I don't think he's got you know, he's not
Russell Wilson, mister Optimism or Tom Brady. He's he's a
little bit of his contrarian to what you think the
quarterback leadership. You know things should be. And it's okay,
(33:14):
by the way, there's a lot of different ways to
do it. But when you watch that whole thing, just
erupt as a guy who played at a pro bowl
level in the NFL, how do you solve it? Can
you solve it? What do you make of the whole mess? Yeah?
To me, he's kind of like Will Farrell playing Alex
(33:37):
Trebec trying to do it's the Saturday Night Live cast. Look,
I think both parties seem to be a fault a
little bit. You know, I always go back to you
agreed to play here, you signed the deal. The fans,
the community, the players. So many people are depending on
him as a Green Bay Packer. But I do understand
(34:01):
where he's saying, then trust me. If everybody's doing that,
believe in me. Don't don't trade up and get Jordan Love.
And as far as the Packers, he didn't need to
do it. I mean, it worked out with Brett Farve
when they went and got Aaron Rodgers, but he was
that year, he was essentially the last first round guy
on their board when they took Aaron Rodgers. They trade
it up for Jordan Love, And to me, that's taking
(34:23):
a little bit of shot at your quarterback who is
the MVP of the league. I mean, it's gonna have
some more good years. Like I really never understood that move,
and I do, like Jordan, I see how that really
would frustrate Aaron Rodgers. And you were at a point
now where these guys, some of these guys make so
much money that if he does want to hold out,
(34:44):
it's gonna cost him a ton. Yeah, but I think
he can afford it. And so it puts both of
him in a really bad situation. Aaron's got to pay
a ton of money, he's gonna look bad to all
the fans, and Green Bay's losing their MVP quarterback if
he doesn't show up and play. Yeah, they're both kind
of trapped in a weird way because they still own
his rights. He could retire, but you know, when you
(35:04):
were in your prime, you don't want to retire. I mean,
did Washington give you a heads up if they ever
drafted a tight end when you were in your prime?
Did they ever draft one? Yeah, they drafted Fred Davis
in the second round out of USC But tight ends
a little bit different because you're talking about an offense. Realistically,
if you can have the best eleven guys on the field,
that's what you want to me. That was never intimidating.
(35:27):
I thought, you know, having that kind of guy who
could help out, and that was kind of in the
era of Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez when New England had
two outstanding guys on the field. You don't have to
compete against just the tight end. You you're competed to
be on the field with all the backs, all the receivers.
So it didn't truly bother me, man, But no one
(35:48):
did give me a heads up. Nobody gave you heads up.
It was after my first Pro Bowl. I was like, oh, yes,
I need to play better. I'll pick it. I'll pick it. No,
it didn't hurt my feelings. It was interesting, but didn't
hurt my feelings. Good seeing you buddy. I'm glad you're happy.
I always love when I see you on my schedule
coming on the show. We don't have you on enough.
Good seeing you. It's always good to see you, Colin.
(36:10):
Thanks you bet. Chris Cooley really good guy. Former Washington
tight end
Thanks for listening to the Best of Herd podcast. Be
sure to catch us live every weekday from twelve to
three eastern nine to noon Pacific on Fox Sports Radio
and FS one. Find your local station for The Herd
at Fox Sports Radio dot com, or stream us live
every day on the iHeartRadio app by searching Herd. This
is the Best of the Herd with Colin Cowhern on
Fox Sports Radio. Ah, here we go on a Wednesday,
(00:28):
live in Los Angeles. It's the Herd wherever you may
be and however you may be listening Fox Sports Radio,
iHeartRadio FS one. It could not be a better day
in America for us. Not only is it the Herd
brought to you by Jersey Mike subs be a sub above.
They bring sandwiches on Wednesday. But tonight is the NFL
(00:50):
schedule release. I'm into it, you know how You know
this stuff works for me? Schedule release draft stuff. I
like building stuff, and I just love the NFL schedule release. Tonight.
We're gonna have a party at the herd Grotto tonight.
Joey Taylor is joining me. I love this stuff. That
(01:10):
Week one schedule is already out fired up. Well, you
also have a lot of theories around the schedule, like
a playing win loss is my favorite game, Like you
just go down like win lass, you don't, you don't
cross check or anything like. That's every whatever your fan does.
But you have a lot of theories around high schedule
plays out. I do. So the NFL has released its schedule,
(01:31):
and let me just say this, the NFL is really smart.
They do a couple things really well. They understand that
they're a television show, so they spread their events out
and make them events. Every month has an event. You
got free agency, you got the draft, you got the combine,
you got the preseason, you got the schedule release. I
(01:52):
mean they put it right in the middle of the
week Wednesday, knowing that guys like me, you're going to
talk about it today, Wednesday, Tomorrow, Thursday, and some guys
talk about it Friday. Put it right in the middle
of the week. They drop it right before the NBA
playoffs because sports is gonna get a little cluttered here
next week. So they put it right. They think about everything,
and then when the NFL does have problems, they address
(02:14):
them quickly. I mean, major bigue baseball has a three
year problem. I don't know it feels like a big deal.
Nobody can hit anymore. You may want to address it. Crickets,
NBA lost a third of its audience last two years.
Stars don't play in the biggest games. You may want
to address it. NFL change their catch rule before the
(02:36):
Super Bowl, like in the game, like we gotta make
this better on television, so that the schedule today is perfect.
They think about everything. They think about everything in the NFL.
Great example, Cowboys Buccaneers. So you get the biggest brand
in the NFL against the best team. And it's also
I think going to be a competitive game because the
(02:57):
Cowboys offensive line is old and you don't get seventeen
games out of it. But in week one, little super
Bowl win. Hangover Tampa loving themselves. They got the fields
for themselves. Here comes Dallas Zeke's healthy, old line, healthy
competitive football game. But just look at how thoughtful they
were here. So Jets Panthers is a one o'clock game. Now,
(03:20):
if you've played that joy in week nine, nobody cares.
But Sam Darnold faces the team that dumped him week
one and faces his air apparent week one. Hell yeah,
I'm watching. That's exactly when you put that that game
is less interesting every week. By week six, nobody cares.
But they put it week one. They thought about it.
(03:42):
Seahawks at the Colts to Super Bowl contenders, Browns at
the Chiefs AFC Championship contenders, Oh, Dolphins Patriots. When is
Belichick most vulnerable September? That's his history. So they bring
in Ryan Flores. It's Belichick against his protege. It could
(04:03):
be two against Matt Jones. Then they go Packers Saints,
two massive brands. They collide. Plus we all want to
watch that, right. Fox puts that the late game Aaron Rodgers,
even if he's there, he hates the team, he hates
the GM, he's all upset. And then you go Monday Night. Oh,
by the way, Bears rams NBC. Why why does that matter?
First of all, Chicago, La, huge markets. But why it
(04:25):
matters is because Matt Stafford and Sean McVay. There is
a feeling in Vegas in the betting community. Stafford's gonna
have a massive year. So the NFL doesn't want to
wait to start that story. The NFL Week one, they're
gonna They're gonna put at night on NBC. They're gonna
put Matt Stafford and McVay Week one. Sean McVay has
been a great September coach, a bunch of new tricks
(04:47):
like Andy Reid in the offseason. He's a very good
play designer. Suddenly you got Stafford with a big win,
Stafford with a lot of points. It's not gonna be
cruddy Weather Bears in La big brand. Matt Stafford, Sean
mcvaigh and the story's rule that Monday Night Football John
Gruden used to broadcast on IT. John Gruden and the
(05:08):
Raiders host the Ravens. By the way, if the Raiders
were at Baltimore, it could be a blowout. But but
in Vegas. So you're gonna get the Cowboys against the
super Bowl champs Vegas, Los Angeles. Here's the other thing.
Here's how smart there. This is a true story. What
(05:29):
I'm about to tell you is a true story. And
this is where the NFL works very well with our
TV partners. So the four o'clock window, four twenty five
on Fox, they have the Broncos game against the Giants
and the Packers game. Color me non coincidental. If Aaron
(05:54):
Rodgers does go to the Broncos, Fox doesn't have to
change the games. Fox has them both. So if Aaron
goes I'm going to Denver, get me out of here.
Fox has both the Green Bay game and the Denver game.
They cover themselves. That is thoughtful, that is smart. Years ago,
(06:19):
not many years ago, two or three years ago. I'm
not gonna say the network, but one of the networks
literally had to call Major League Baseball about their schedule.
I'm not going to tell you who. I'm not going
to tell you the network. Fox. We had to call
a Major League Baseball and say, you know, can we
help you with your schedule? Why are you putting all
these like cub Cardinal, Dodger Giant games in the week
(06:42):
Why don't you put your biggest rivalries on the week end.
The TV network had to go to the sport and
tell them how to schedule. In the NFL, the NFL
knows how to schedule, but they work or their television partners.
I would guess putting a Broncho Packer game back to back,
same time slot is protection hedging your bet if Aaron
(07:03):
goes to Denver, I don't think it's a coincident. Maybe
it is, but nobody wants in the media loves to
give the NFL credit, because the NFL doesn't need the media,
and the media wants to be needed, and they don't
need you, they don't need me, they don't need anybody.
But they are so much smarter and better run. Just
(07:24):
with their schedule, they thought of everything. To put Darnald
against the Jets in week one is brilliant. That game
is useless potentially by week six, when the Jets are
one in five, it means nothing. But in week one,
little revenge game for Sam Darnold at home against the
team that dumped him. I'm watching, I'm watching really smart,
(07:47):
all right. One team got a terrible break. I'll get
to that later, but let's start with this. So the
Lakers Knicks played last night was actually so really entertaining game.
So really, I've watched a couple of back to back
Knick games. They're feisty and fun and it was a big,
meaningful win for the Lakers because New York's a real
(08:10):
team and they won it in overtime. Lebron didn't play,
Dennis Shooter didn't play, Alex Caruso got hurt very early,
eighty was not one hundred percent, and they beat a
feisty New York Knicks team. It was also a game
that highlighted the problem with the New York Knicks. The
New York Knicks, it's a baby step league. You don't
go from the Knicks crappy to winning the title. Same
with the Phoenix Suns this year. This game really highlighted
(08:33):
the New York Knicks. They just don't have enough juice.
You play hard in the NBA. It's a classic Tom
Fibideau team. He grinds his players. The practices are longer,
they play more minutes, they play harder. That wins you
forty five fifty games in the regular season, but teams
are exhausted by the postseason. And his teams lacked juice
and energy in the postseason. And if you looked at
(08:54):
the Knicks last night, I mean, this is what is
going to be their problem in the playoffs. Derek Rose,
old Rickety. Derreck Rose is often their leading your second
leading score. So it was like Julius Randall, Derrick Rose
and the rest of the team shot thirty thirteen of
thirty eight. Meanwhile, the Lakers are built for the playoffs,
(09:14):
and a prime example is a we know they have
experience in the playoffs, b they have a coach who's
experienced in the playoffs. But if you look at the
box score, you had Anthony Davis dropping twenty, Andre Drummond
dropped sixteen, Kyle Kuzman gave you twenty three, Harton Tucker
gave you thirteen, and Lebron and Shooter didn't play. See
(09:35):
you have had two more guys in double figures when
the Knicks Julius Randall thirty one, Derek Rose twenty seven,
and a bunch of guys WITHO two and four. So
you can't win in the playoffs when you're you need juice,
You need guys who could you need five guys who
can drop twenty. The Lakers are really built for the playoffs,
and last night it was a great example for the Lakers.
(09:57):
That's why they're gonna be a playoff team. And I
think they're gonna be a really good playoff team as
long as Lebron is like eighty five ninety percent healthy.
They just got a bunch of guys who can create
their own shot or give you twenty on any night,
and the Knicks don't. It's kind of Julius Randall, cross
your fingers. R J. Barrett's young and hot. He last night,
he couldn't shoot. So it showed you a lot last night.
(10:20):
It showed you the Knicks have a foundation. They play hard,
but boy, you can see their ceiling. They struggled last night,
late in the fourth quarter and overtime to get shots.
They've struggled to get shots. Well, guess what. Milwaukee in
the East like the Lakers last night. They play real defense.
I mean, Philadelphia can play real defense. Ben Simmons up
(10:40):
there on defense. So now Brooklyn didn't play any defense.
But you know Milwaukee does Miami heats historically spostra teams do.
The Knicks have a real ceiling. And you saw it
last night. And the Lakers, without two of their three
best players, won a game. Bunch of guys jumped in
and score. That shows you why they haven't been a
(11:02):
good regular season team, but why they're built for the playoffs.
Can't wait. It was a very very entertaining game. Be
sure to catch live editions of The Herd weekdays in
noon Easter nine am Pacific on Fox Sports Radio FS
one and the iHeart Radio app One. Team got a
really bad break. I know, I know, Cleveland, I'm picking
(11:25):
on you. Cleveland got a bad break. They got the
worst break in the league. Cleveland's a good football team.
I think they're the best overbat nine and a half wins.
I think they're a ten eleven win team. They got
a terrible break. Andy Reid is the best September coach
in football. That's who the Browns open with at Kansas City.
(11:48):
Patrick Mahomes under Andy Reid in September is ten and
oh with thirty two touchdowns and zero interceptions. It is
the last place to play Kansas City. And he reads
the best NFL coach in September, and he's the best
NFL coach off of bye, and Week one is essentially
off a bye. Andy read berries his playsheet until Week one.
(12:10):
Go ask Belichick. He's humiliated Belichick in September. Also, Cleveland's
gonna have eight or nine new defensive starters. So in
week nine or ten, this is a tug award. It's
a real game in Week one, nine new defensive starters
against the best game play designer in the NFL and
the best quarterback at home. Now the good news, Cleveland,
(12:34):
you're used to not winning in Week one. You haven't
won a Week one game in seventeen years. So you'll
be one on one and you'll overcome it because you're
a really good team. You have a really good coach.
But that is a bad scheduling break. You know again,
Pittsburgh is not a team that I'm fond of this year,
But in Week one they're healthy. Mike to Big Ben's
(12:56):
at his best early, he deteriorates. These old quarterbacks get
worse late, right, Big Ben, in September, He'll give you
a game. Pittsburgh would be better served because I don't
have a bunch of new defensive faces. Pittsburgh would be
better served to go to Kansas City and compete week one,
not a team with nine defensive starters that are learning
a system from other teams young. This is a bad
(13:21):
break for Cleveland. I still think they're a really good
team next year. This is Baker Mayfield, just to show
you Cleveland's history in Week one, Baker Mayfield has two starts.
Week one, he lost forty three to thirteen and thirty
eight to six. So I'm not going to do a
blazing five, but I will bet some games today. Uncle
Colin does not waste opportunities to make some lettuce. If
(13:41):
I had a blazing five, today because the lines often
never get better on Fox Bet. Here's the best lines.
Seattle plus three at Indianapolis. Seattle tends to be again
same coach, same quarterback, many of the same weapons. Indianapolis
has a new quarterback and so and their best young receiver,
Michael Pittman's never worked with Carson Wentz. I think the
(14:03):
culture gonna be really good. I don't know how good
they're gonna be in week one. Last year they lost
to the Jags in Week one, So I would take
Seattle in the points in Week one Atlanta minus one
and a half. Now, you know, Atlanta burns me every year,
but Atlanta actually got beat up last year. Atlanta now
adds Kyle Pitts. They get Arthur smith Us really really
smart offensive mind is their head coach, and they face
(14:26):
a Philadelphia team at home. They only have to give
up put it up again, only have to give up
one and a half points. I think Atlanta is a
really good bet. I think the Philadelphia Eagles made a
just an egregiously bad hire at head coach. I would
take Atlanta minus one and a half against Philadelphia. I
would actually take the Cowboys plus four and a half
against Tampa, because that line is probably going to get
(14:48):
bet up to about five and a half. Brady's gonna
get a lot curry, a lot of the favor of
the general public. People are gonna say, oh, cowboys are
gonna get blown out. Not in Week one, not billion
week When you win the Super Bowl and you're having
parades and you're throwing the trophy around the Tampa Bay
week one, you could be a little sluggist, a little
super Bowl hangover rich benef that's hard to get guys,
(15:10):
you know, motivated for Week one, and Dallas's offensive line
and Zeke will be healthy week one. Dak's got a
lot to prove. He's got a big new contract. Dak
wants to prove he can compete. He's worth the money.
I would take Dallas and the Points Chargers at the
Washington Football team. Now. I like the Chargers a lot
this year, but they have a brand new offensive line
and a brand new coach, and they are facing Ron
(15:32):
Rivera's defensive front, which is outstanding. So you're taking the Chargers,
who I think are gonna be really good. That is
a tough opener on the road, six hour flight. Veteran
head coach the system's already implemented, and you've got Brandon Staley,
who's very very good. But boy, oh boy, that's a
lot to chew off. In week one, I'd probably take
(15:54):
the Washington football team. It's a pick him in Kansas
City minus four and a half against the Browns. That
number is gonna end five or six. That's the best
number you're gonna get. Kansas City's gonna curry a lot
of favor with the betters, So I would take Kansas
City minus four and a half. That's today, I think
the best bets on the board. Well, well, oh yeah,
(16:15):
what do I know except everything? One more Herd. The
Herd streams twenty four hours a day, seven days a
week within the iHeartRadio app. Search Herd to listen live
or on demand whenever you like. Hey, this is Jason McIntyre.
Join me every weekday morning on my podcast Straight Fire
with Jason McIntyre. This isn't your typical sports pod pushing
(16:36):
the same tired narratives down your throat. Every day. Straight
Fire gives you honest opinions on all the biggest sports headlines,
accurate stats to help you win big at the sports book,
and all the best guests, do yourself a favor and
listen to Straight Fire with Jason McIntyre on the iHeartRadio app,
Apple podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. So, according
(16:59):
to j Darlington, very good NFL reporter, breaks a lot
of stories. He said, not everybody, obviously Urban Myers is
the one behind this. Not everybody in the Jags building
is thrilled with this. Darlingston said, they don't think that
it's necessarily sending the proper message to the rest of
the team in the locker room and the guys trying
to make the team. That was my question yesterday, what's
the message? And I do think Jacksonville's Gator territory, so
(17:24):
it will be accepted in Jacksonville. It would be laughed
at at New York, laughed at in La laughed at
in Denver. Big cities would just roll their eyes laughed at.
But I do think in the South and Jacksonville, which
is really a better college football town than a ProFootball town,
you know, people will buy into it. But Urban Meyer
went on the Chris Collinsworth podcast yesterday and extrapolated kind
(17:45):
of gave the story context, which I thought was a
smart thing for him. To do. We have not signed
to him. There's a thought going around, you know. He
was in the best shape of his life. Asked to
see if he can work out with a couple of
our coaches. I was in even there, and they came
back to me and said, wow, this guy's in the
incredible shape. And I said, then I went another time
(18:07):
and watched him. Try him out and they said, go
work on these things. He comes back later, they try
him out again. I'm not there. They come in and
they said, wow, you know this guy's ball skills. He's
a great athlete. He looks like he's eighteen years old,
not twenty whatever. He is thirty three. And I said, guys,
you don't understand now this guy is. You know, he's
the most competitive maniac you're ever gonna talk to, and
(18:30):
let's give it a shot. Tim was also the most
competitive maniac in Minor league baseball, and in better shape
than anybody at double A. He still couldn't hit. Tim
was in the best shape I've ever seen any NFL quarterback.
Remember that shot when he was walking in the rain
in New York with a shirt off and he couldn't
throw football. If being in great shape, got you to
(18:53):
the pros, then every hgh in steroid freak at Gold's
gym would be in the NFL. But they all walked
like this because they're stiff and they're overlifted, and they're
not athletes. They just look good with their shirt off,
and Tim looks great with a shirt off. We'll give
an example. TiO is still ripped at forty seven, Shannon
Sharp at fifty two, and Ocho Sinko TiO as one
(19:16):
of the best NFL bodies of all time. He tried
out for the Seahawks in his late thirties. He took
a shirt off, worked out, and he looked the part,
but he couldn't separate. And TiO at one point was
a great NFL player. Tim Tebow was bad. I know
he had a win streak. I know, I know, we
(19:40):
all know, but he is a notch below Taysom Hill athletically,
and Taysom Hill, in my opinion, not a franchise quarterback.
This is not anti God or anti Tebow. It's pro
reality is that if being in shape, mannered or being
a maniac manner, well, then Tim Tebow would have been
(20:01):
a star in baseball and a star in football. It
doesn't matter. Tim Tebow is six two. There are no
six two tight ends in the NFL, especially now. He's
never played tight end. He was not particularly athletic when
he did play. He was just he had a dream,
he had a love, he had a passion. But he
was a four to seven forty guy. That's not Cam,
(20:26):
that's not Kyler Murray, that's not Lamar Jackson. Justin Herbert bigger, stronger, faster, better, arm, faster.
Justin Herbert's a much better athlete than Tim Tebow in
every box. But Justin Herbert hasn't put his faith out there.
He didn't win a Heisman, he didn't win a National
tit all. He's not iconic. He's just way better at everything.
(20:49):
So it's not anti Tim. But if if you knew
you can wear the chef jacket and you can buy
new knives, doesn't make you Bobby Flay. Be sure to
catch live editions of The Herd Days a noun Easter
nine am Pacific on Fox Sports Radio FS one and
the iHeart Radio app. So anyway, the USA today yesterday,
this was a Barnyard musical. They came out with this
(21:12):
quarterback tier thing. It was just a hot mess. They
had like thirty two categories and I made fun of
it all day yesterday. It was bad. Listen, new rule,
No more quarterback tiers. Here's the new rule. We're gonna
view quarterbacks in two camps. You can pull a roster
(21:38):
or you get pulled. You're a truck or a trailer.
As Bucky Brooks says, a truck can pull a bad
defense to the playoffs. A truck can pull a bad GM.
I mean, Andrew Luck got to the AFC Championship with
two pro bowlders and a bad GM that got fired
and the coach that got fired. That's a truck. There's
(22:00):
five or six trucks at quarterback. Let's simplify this. You're
a truck or a trailer. Here are the trucks they
can pull bad gms. Goofy coaches, Tom Brady, Josh Allen,
Patrick Mahomes, Aaron Rodgers, Russell Wilson, DeShawn Watson, and I
don't know just Shan's future. Everybody else is a trailer.
People all about Lamar Jackson. No, he needs a defense.
(22:21):
He's not really great plan from behind. He's not right
now gonna win shootouts, but he's close to it. Everybody,
Derek Carmatt, Ryan they're good, nobody's denying it, but they
can't overcome bad defenses. Baker Mayfield the Browns better when
he throws fewer times. Those are the trucks six in
the world. Now. Now, I think there's four people to
(22:45):
keep your eye on. Young people we don't know yet.
Justin Herbert and Kyler Murray looked like potential trucks. I
think they may be. Joe Burrow. I don't think he is,
but give me ten more starts. Trevor Lawrence feels like
the first quarterback since Andrew Luck. And you know how
much I loved Andrew Luck at Stanford. Trevor Lawrence feels
(23:07):
like he could overcome some problems. I talked to Dabo
Sweeney last night on the podcast and I asked him,
I said, you recruit all these guys, You recruit all
these guys, I said, what was Trevor Lawrence like? He goes.
I went to the first practice and David Shaw, the
Stanford coach, came out to me and he said, Coach,
I don't know who your quarterback is, but I know
who's going to start next year for you. That's the
(23:29):
best high school quarterback I've ever seen, and David Shaw
had Andrew Luck, So I think Trevor Lawrence, let's wait
and see how it plays out. But those four, I
don't think Burrow is but I want to see ten starts.
Herbert and Kyler Murray looked like, Yeah, I think I
think we got something. And I do think Trevor Lawrence,
(23:49):
who I saw as a junior in high school live
in San Diego, he just against the other five star quarterbacks,
looked like a college quarterback at seventeen. So none of
us nine tiers of quarterbacks and everybody's trying to get
a truck. Almost everybody ends up with a trailer. Be
sure to catch live editions of the Herd weekdays and
(24:10):
noon Easter not a Empacific. He played for a decade
in the NFL, multiple time Pro Bowler, and it has
more catches than any tight end in the history of
the Washington football team, which is saying something because they
were great in the seventies and eighties. He's Chris Cooley. Also,
by the way, I went to the same college as
Jordan Love, Utah State. If you're talented, the NFL will
(24:33):
find you. They will find you and Chris Cooley now
joining us live from Cody, Wyoming. Look that looks like Cody, Wyoming.
You've got a good hoodie on there. You got a
log cabin thing going on. How are you doing okay,
Cavin going, I'm doing great. It's always the pleasure to
be on with you, and we're doing awesome out here.
(24:55):
Have fun watching the draft and everything that's been going
on lately, and keeping up the internet makes it really easy,
even though it's even though it's pretty slow here. So
let me ask you my takeaway on the tight end
position has never been truly respected. It's always been like
the last or next to last in terms of payment.
You know, Tony Gonzalez was racking up huge touchdowns and
(25:18):
yards and he wasn't paid like a receiver. He was
paid like a guy who blocked. And so when Tebow
says I want to be a tight end, I think,
oh boy, that's a little disrespectful to the position, to
the position as a great tight end. You hear Tebo
just wants to try out as a tight end. What
is your thought on that. I don't have any problem
(25:38):
with it. I think, first of all, urban Meyer and
Tebow are very close, so it makes sense that Urban
would give his guy a shot. Tibo's a heck of
an athlete. You know, when I look at this position,
I watch it year in and year out. There's twenty
guys that are good, there's ten that are outstanding. But
you get to the threes on a lot of and
(26:00):
there's a lot of guys that, in my opinion, shouldn't
be on the field or are just filling a role.
And so can Tebow do that and kind of find
his way into things, Maybe we'll find out there's a
lot of nuance to the position. Yeah, I mean, let's
talk about that. A quarterback to tight end transitioning. I mean,
I just think to myself, Tim Tebow hand in the
(26:21):
dirt blocking a defensive end, That's what comes to me.
You better have his mouthpiece in. I mean, what what what?
What will be the one or two things that are
we don't talk about that he's going to have to
figure out. See, I just don't know. If you put
Tim Tebow's hand in the dirt, it's almost like all
of these new quarterbacks coming in that have never played
under center. You don't transition him to a complete under
(26:43):
center quarterback. To me, he's more of an h back.
If you want Tim Tebow to play tight end for you,
he's that move position. You're putting him in a slot
every once in a while, you're putting him in the backfield.
You're letting him kind of move around. You're letting him
stay in an up stance. Now, as it comes to blocking,
he's got a lot to figure out there. Toughness I
think Tebow has and so I appreciate that, and I
(27:06):
think he'll have a chance there. But you start talking
about simple footwork and leverage and understanding how defensive ends
and outside linebackers play and where you want to put
your hands on him. What's your hat placement needs to be,
where your helmet placement needs to be. All those little
things that manipulate a defensive end are things that guys
pick up over time. And we'll see maybe he can.
(27:28):
I think he'll be an okay route runner. I think
I think he's athletic enough. Quarterbacks can always catch very well.
They catch more balls than anyone else because everyone's got
to throw it back to him every time. That's a
good point. So a couple of things to talk about.
So some issues here Washington. I've said They're the enigma
in the league. So good defense, playoff team, weak division.
(27:49):
They should make it again. What I wouldn't do at
quarterback is get a gun slinger who loses me games.
I've out coached the team with Ron Rivera, and they
get Ryan Fitzpatrick. Can I think, no, no, no, just
give me Teddy Bridgewater. I can win eleven games with
Teddy Bridgewater. My defense will keep us. I mean, Alex
Smith didn't play particularly well went five and one last year.
Explain the Ryan Fitzpatrick's our guy quarterback on this roster
(28:13):
because I don't get it, Colin, I don't know if
I totally get it either. And that doesn't mean that
I don't like Ryan Fitzpatrick. I respect him. I think
he's incredibly bright, he's intelligent, he makes a ton of throws,
I mean, amazingly enough. The last couple of years, is
QBR has been really pretty high. But I'm with you.
I think this team is a team that needs a quarterback.
(28:36):
And I don't know is Fitzpatrick this year? Is it
maybe next year? But they had a chance to move
up and probably take a guy where there was some
talent around the quarterback. They have a really or they
have a very good defense. They have great weapons with
Terry McLaurin and Antonio Gibson and Logan Thomas came on
last year, and I think you could have protected a
(28:56):
young quarterback if you went up and got him this year.
It'll be interesting what Fitzpatrick does in a Scott Turner offense.
You know, watching them last year, they didn't really take
a lot of shots down the field, and I didn't
know if that was all by designer just not knowing
if the quarterback could do it. I mean, it was
crazy watching Alex. So I'll be interested if he could
(29:18):
just play ball control, because that's really what the guy's
going to have to do or needs to do if
they want to win eighteen games. So you were with
Kyle Shanahan when he was the coordinator in Washington. He
is now the coach of the Niners. What is Trey Lance?
How complex is the offense? How long does it take
to master Trey Lance master a Kyle Shanahan offense? You
(29:42):
would know. I think there's a ton to Kyle Shanahan's offense.
But what Kyle is going to do is slowly build
around what Trey Lance does very well. If you think
back to twenty twelve, they remastered the Kyle Mike Shanahan
offense for Robert Griffin and became a zone read type offense,
(30:03):
and that was kind of pre RPO. They'll take their
time with him. They'll get him in a lot of
the boot stuff where he's able to make, you know,
one side of the field type reads, go top of
the progression down easy stuff there. Let him use his
legs if he needs to use his legs, and it'll
be a slow bill that, you know. I think back
(30:24):
to that offense with Robert and it was it was
a really successful offense which was changed completely. The only
the only hard thing for Robert was some of the
third down concepts and some of the third down defense
is that he faced or that he had to see.
And I'll never forget Kyle saying, Robert, if you don't
like it, you're the checkdown. And Trey Lance has the
(30:45):
ability to do that. I mean it's he's not running
into end zones with Penguins written in it. Yeah, but
he's playing against real NFL dudes. I think he'll adapt okay,
and Kyle will do an excellent job slow playing it.
So he understands it plays within his grasp. You went
to the same school as Jordan Love. A couple days ago,
(31:05):
the GM of the Packers said, he's got a long
way to go. Obviously, you want to support people from
Utah State where you went to school. But you know,
it's funny Jordan Love had thirty two college starts. That's Chris,
That's a lot. I mean some of these guys Kyler
Murray was playing baseball half the time. He got fifteen.
He's got thirty two college starts, and they say, quote,
he's got a long way to go. That makes me think,
(31:27):
oh boy, maybe he wasn't a first round quarterback. Or
am I being too harsh? I think he has a
long way to go. Some of the intangibles make him
a first round quarterback. I haven't had a chance to
meet Jordan and play catch with Jordan. I mean, he's
a big kid, he has a big arm, he's smart,
he likes ball. But it was it's amazing, you know.
I was there his junior year where he I thought
(31:49):
he had an excellent year and spending some time talking
with that coaching staff who's now at Texas Tech. They
had a lot of non play calls, just look to
the sideline and give the receiver a number, and sometimes
it wasn't even the entire group of receivers. And he
switched his senior year to a new staff and with
Gary Anderson as a head coach, and it was still,
(32:10):
you know, really simplistic. I thought he pressed his senior year.
But essentially, Colin, he hasn't really run offense with language.
And so when you're talking about what is Matt Lafleur's offense,
which is really Kyle Shannahan or Sean mcvay's offense to
some extent, that's the West Coast language. That's where he's
got a long way to go. I mean, you get
(32:31):
these guys that they got to repeat sixteen words back
into the huddle after the coach puts it in their ear,
and they have to be able to do it fast
and fluently. So a long way to go is not
just seeing things understand, it's it's also being able to
lead in the huddle. Finally, a Chris Cooley joining us,
Aaron Rodgers, you listen, it's it's you know, I remember
(32:53):
ten years ago when I said I used to work
at the other company, and I said, you listen. I
think he's kind of condescending in prickly. I just I
watched him. I watch his body language. I think he's great,
but I don't think he's got you know, he's not
Russell Wilson, mister Optimism or Tom Brady. He's he's a
little bit of his contrarian to what you think the
quarterback leadership. You know things should be. And it's okay,
(33:14):
by the way, there's a lot of different ways to
do it. But when you watch that whole thing, just
erupt as a guy who played at a pro bowl
level in the NFL, how do you solve it? Can
you solve it? What do you make of the whole mess? Yeah?
To me, he's kind of like Will Farrell playing Alex
(33:37):
Trebec trying to do it's the Saturday Night Live cast. Look,
I think both parties seem to be a fault a
little bit. You know, I always go back to you
agreed to play here, you signed the deal. The fans,
the community, the players. So many people are depending on
him as a Green Bay Packer. But I do understand
(34:01):
where he's saying, then trust me. If everybody's doing that,
believe in me. Don't don't trade up and get Jordan Love.
And as far as the Packers, he didn't need to
do it. I mean, it worked out with Brett Farve
when they went and got Aaron Rodgers, but he was
that year, he was essentially the last first round guy
on their board when they took Aaron Rodgers. They trade
it up for Jordan Love, And to me, that's taking
(34:23):
a little bit of shot at your quarterback who is
the MVP of the league. I mean, it's gonna have
some more good years. Like I really never understood that move,
and I do, like Jordan, I see how that really
would frustrate Aaron Rodgers. And you were at a point
now where these guys, some of these guys make so
much money that if he does want to hold out,
(34:44):
it's gonna cost him a ton. Yeah, but I think
he can afford it. And so it puts both of
him in a really bad situation. Aaron's got to pay
a ton of money, he's gonna look bad to all
the fans, and Green Bay's losing their MVP quarterback if
he doesn't show up and play. Yeah, they're both kind
of trapped in a weird way because they still own
his rights. He could retire, but you know, when you
(35:04):
were in your prime, you don't want to retire. I mean,
did Washington give you a heads up if they ever
drafted a tight end when you were in your prime?
Did they ever draft one? Yeah, they drafted Fred Davis
in the second round out of USC But tight ends
a little bit different because you're talking about an offense. Realistically,
if you can have the best eleven guys on the field,
that's what you want to me. That was never intimidating.
(35:27):
I thought, you know, having that kind of guy who
could help out, and that was kind of in the
era of Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez when New England had
two outstanding guys on the field. You don't have to
compete against just the tight end. You you're competed to
be on the field with all the backs, all the receivers.
So it didn't truly bother me, man, But no one
(35:48):
did give me a heads up. Nobody gave you heads up.
It was after my first Pro Bowl. I was like, oh, yes,
I need to play better. I'll pick it. I'll pick it. No,
it didn't hurt my feelings. It was interesting, but didn't
hurt my feelings. Good seeing you buddy. I'm glad you're happy.
I always love when I see you on my schedule
coming on the show. We don't have you on enough.
Good seeing you. It's always good to see you, Colin.
(36:10):
Thanks you bet. Chris Cooley really good guy. Former Washington
tight end
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Colin Cowherd
Jason McIntyre
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