August 20, 2024 • 41 mins
Colin questions Bill Belichick's legacy among the all-time great coaches in league history after Tua Tagovailoa's critical comments about Brian Flores. He shares his 5 bold predictions for the upcoming NFL season. Plus, Fox Sports college football analyst Joel Klatt joins the show to explain why Penn State is a sleeper team for the college football playoff
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Thanks for listening to the Best of the Herd podcast.
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Speaker 2 (00:19):
This is the Best of the Herd with Colin cowher
on Fox Sports Radio All Ride.
Speaker 1 (00:27):
It is a Tuesday football inching Closer and Closer, College
and Pro live in Los Angeles. It's The Herd Wherever
you may be and however you may be listening. Thanks
for making us part of your day. All sorts of things.
Clatt Joel Klatt stops by at the end of the show.
One of my favorite tape breakdown guys, Brian Baldinger stops
(00:49):
by Diana and russinijmc so. Yesterday a story got a
lot of traction and I really didn't really notice it
until I was off the air yesterday about Tuah coach
the quarterback to the Miamy Dolphins, and Brian Flores his
first coach in the NFL. Very intense, defensive guy and
pretty enlightening stuff to say The least.
Speaker 3 (01:11):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (01:11):
Yeah, So Tua on a podcast, Dan Levatard podcast came
out and basically said Brian Flores was a terrible person
and every day told me how horrible I was, And
it was such a breath of fresh air to have
young Mike McDaniel from Kyle Shanahan's system, his coaching tree,
who every day wakes up and says, I'm so lucky
(01:32):
to have you. He said, basically, what would it be
like in your life if one person told you you
were awful and no good and was just treated you poorly,
and then somebody else walked in and said, I can't
believe I won't put my arms around you. How lucky
we are. And he called Brian Flores, who's now a
coordinator with the Vikings, a terrible person. And you know
what I thought of. When there's a term that he's
(01:54):
used in the NBA, and we use it all the
time on this show. We call it villain nov and
it speaks very well of Jay Wright and the Villanova program,
although now he's moved on to broadcasting. It means not
much ego, hardworking, relentless, coachable, no baggage, love the game,
great locker room guy, you say Villanova guy, it's like
(02:17):
everybody in the NBA wants a Villanova guy. It speaks
beyond just the player. It's the culture that they came from.
And I think is Bill Belichick looks for a job
next year and this broadcasting thing that's not what he
ever dreamed of doing. There's a new term and it's
used in football, and it's called Belichick guys. They're all combative.
(02:40):
They're obnoxious. Flores, Matt Patricia, Joe Judge, Josh McDaniel, Bill O'Brien.
They used to call Bill O'Brien. Apparently Teapot Brady did,
and Brian Hoyer did because he boiled over all the
time in meetings. And this thing with Brian Flores, it's
beyond obnoxious. It's cruel, and it's essentially the opposite of
the Shop McVeigh or Kyle Shanahan Tree, the Demico Ryans,
(03:06):
the Robert Salas, the Kevin o'connells. They come out, they're collaborative,
they get along with people. They're pro player Belichick guys.
And you know, Brian Flores probably watched Belichick dog cuss
Brady for years. I mean, Wes Welker Julian Edelman. People
have come out, even those who are favorable with Belichick
(03:29):
and said, I can't believe what Tom put up with.
And it's becoming crystal clear. Sorry, Belichick fanboys and psycophants,
it's becoming crystal clear. Is that Tom Brady, and only
Tom Brady elevated Belichick and the entire staff. Josh McDaniel
couldn't get along with Derek Carr and j Cutler, Matt
(03:51):
Patricia couldn't get along with Matt Stafford. Who fights with
Matt Stafford? Stafford gets along with everybody. This is what
it is. Brian Flores called a terrible person. And I
don't think two is the best quarterback in the league.
But he's a nice kid. He's a nice guy. Everybody
I know that's ever dealt with him really likes him.
Really a professional, works really hard. Villanova guys in the
(04:13):
NBA is a great term. Belichick guys in the NFL
is toxic. And the entire staff this is this. They
watched their mentor, and it's Belichick. Increasingly, these young quarterbacks
coming out of college nil they've made a million or
two or three or four or five million. I don't
want to put up with this nonsense. Gotta be collaborative,
(04:35):
you can't be obnoxious and rigid. And for the record,
Belichick better than OLA's assistance. Eleven years in the NFL
without Tom Brady as a starter, one playoff win, and
he's the best of the Belichick guys. Bill, So I
don't I don't think as Belichick keeps looking for work,
I don't think this is good. I think there's now
(04:56):
a term. I think we now just see obnoxious, non collaborative, authoritative.
Eh No, thanks, Bill got one interview, one legitimate interview.
This story doesn't help him at all. It falls on
him to a large degree. It sounds like Michale Bridges
(05:19):
when he went to the Knicks he benefited from Jay Wright,
Villanova Jalen Brunson. There's no question Michale Bridges had a
larger market than maybe his eighteen to twenty a game
you would think would create. But it's like he's a
Villanova guy. You now, the company you keep says a lot.
(05:41):
The group, the culture you're part of says a lot.
Be very careful about it. So yesterday we had Chris
Collinsworth on NBC with Mike Trico, seventeen m he's great broadcaster,
hell of an NFL career. He was talking about bo Nicks,
and it got me thinking about a lot of different
things as I was drying and home an for the show.
(06:01):
But like the rest of us, bon Nick so far
as twenty three to thirty seven drives six scores. The
kid's been unbelievable. A one hundred and sixteen passer rating,
He had sixty one college starts. He just looks like
a grown up, like I don't have a problem saying
maybe it's too optimistic. I don't think it is. This
kid's going to start. He's going to be productive. This
wide receiving core between Tim Patrick and Mims and Troy
(06:22):
Franklin and Courtland Sutton and the tight ends and the
running back, they're going to move the football.
Speaker 3 (06:27):
Now.
Speaker 1 (06:27):
I don't know if their defense will be good. It
was egreediously bad last year. But the kid can play.
And here was Chris collins Worth talking about what the
film when he looked at it, what it said about
bo Nicks.
Speaker 4 (06:37):
Bo Nicks was the one guy I thought was going
to be the upset choice. I thought he was going
to go fourth in the draft. He was a quick
release guy. The hardest thing to drill into these young
quarterbacks heads is that you have two and a half
seconds to throw the ball. If I were a head coach,
I would sit behind my quarterback with a foghorn and
(06:59):
when it got to two and a half seconds, I
would destroy his ear drums because that's when you're going
to get hit in the back of the head of
the NFL. Bow Nicks played his college football getting rid
of the ball on time. He didn't put up some
of the gaudy deep ball numbers that these guys did,
but he played like it was an NFL game, and
(07:19):
that's why you're seeing him have this early success.
Speaker 1 (07:22):
And it's interesting. I was saying the Brian Flores stories.
They fall on Belichick and the culture he created. If
bone Nicks is as good as I think he's going
to be, I look at Sean Payton. I think so
fifteen years he turned around the Saints overnight with Drew Brees.
He gets a rookie quarterback bow Knicks and he crushes it.
(07:47):
You know who that falls on, Russell Wilson. I think differently,
like Sean Payton got young, Drew Brees, old immobile, Drew
Brees couldn't throw a deep ball, Drew Brees and now
bow Nicks, is this good, this fast? It makes me
think of Russell Wilson and go when you really inspect
(08:09):
it in the dust settles. He had four really good
years in Seattle, and he was part of the best
defense in the league, first or second strongest run game,
A coach closer to his prime. The league was more
defensive driven, and Russell managed it and was pretty elusive,
but never got an MVP vote. I defended him for years.
(08:33):
But if Sean Payton and bow Knicks crush this first
year and I watched them for fifteen years turn the
worst franchise in the league, the Saints around to a
Super Bowl contender virtually three out of four years, it
makes me look I can't. I can't help it. It
makes me look at Russell Wilson differently. I went back
this morning. You start inspecting it. I defended him forever,
(08:55):
four great years seven and three in the playoffs, two
Super Bowls, one one should have won a second. But
from year five until today, eight years two playoff wins
and Pete Carroll and Sean Payton, no, thank you a
defensive coach An offensive coach Veterans super Bowls. I'm not interested.
(09:17):
So it is funny that as I look at Brian Floores,
I think that falls on Belichick his culture. That's what
you get with Bill as he looks for work. I mean,
how many examples do I need? The Joe Judge, the
Matt Patricia's, the Bill O'Brien's. And I always kind of
liked Bill O'Brien. I do think he works better than others.
(09:37):
But it's you start to form a strong opinion Belichick guys,
and if bo Nick hits and Drew Brees dead with Sean,
it's not the It's not the greatest for Russell Wilson's legacy,
and you start inspecting it. And I always thought he
was the engineer for those Seahawks teams, and it looks
(10:01):
more like he managed it. Just how it feels for me.
All sorts of stuff going on. Ian O'Connor's book officially
comes out today. It'll be a New York Times bestseller,
his fifth out of six or seven books that he's written.
He really he went deep on Aaron Rodgers. It's fascinating.
I'm gonna take it with me on the trip. It's
(10:23):
like a three day read, two day read. I'm going
to reread parts of it because it's just so fascinating.
But we had him on yesterday and he had a
couple really fascinating points. I actually have something positive to
say about the New York Jets because I do think
the NFL, and this is what they do the opposite
of the WNBA. They are trying to create narratives, positive ones.
(10:46):
And if you look at the Jets schedule, it is
clear the NFL's put Aaron on TV and they want
him to flourish. They're not going to change rules for
him or change in game calls, but they can move
the schedule and further inspection. I do think the Jets
have a chance to be really interesting. But Ian said
a couple of things about Aaron yesterday, and this has
(11:09):
proven these now are factual. They're based on merit is
Aaron's earned these reputations, and I'll revisit that plus top
of the hour. I do this every year in August,
I make my five boldest NFL predictions, like huge predictions. Now,
I did him in the NBA. I do him in
(11:30):
the NBA. NBA had a lot of success NFL. I'm
hitting miss My five boldest NFL predictions. No, brock Perty's
not winning the MVP. That is not one of them.
That's coming in forty five minutes.
Speaker 2 (11:42):
Be sure to catch live editions of The Herd weekdays
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Speaker 1 (11:51):
Tomorrow, I'll make my second to last predictions on the
NFL playoffs. I do think I have a sense quarterbacks
have played more this preseason and then last, and we
have more good ones and they come in with much
more experience. Bow Knicks, Michael Pennix, Jayden Daniels, Caleb. I
do feel I can get my arms around what I'm watching.
(12:12):
So I thought today my five bold predictions. I can
make easy ones. Josh Allen's going to be good. Andy
Reid will make the playoffs. No, I don't choose that.
I'm not looking to be perfect. I'm going to take
some bold predictions. Are you ready to go here? The
first one's kind of negative. I think Dennis Allen Saints
(12:33):
is the first coach to be let go. They've missed
the playoffs back to back years. The NFC South Atlanta
and Carolina are undoubtedly better teams. No question, the Falcons
and the Panthers are much better teams. For the first
six games for Dennis Allen are against playoff teams from
last year. I don't see the juice offensively. I think
(12:58):
Dennis is the first coach to be let go. Number
two is, I think Jaden Daniels Washington wins Offensive Rookie
of the Year. Now Caleb Williams has better weapons, so
Jaden's gonna have to move. He's gonna have to run.
I think that's gonna play well. He's gonna he's gonna
feel like RG three did first year in Washington his legs.
(13:20):
I don't think Caleb, with all those weapons, will have
to move as much. His offensive coordinator, Cliff Kingsbury, has
a reputation he's very good with mobile quarterbacks and he
was pounding the tables for jadaln Daniels. Jaden Daniels. I
also think, this is my opinion, the division is not
as good, so I think Jayden wins Offensive Rookie of
(13:41):
the Year. Number three is I think the Rams reach
may not win it, but I think they reached the
NFC Championship. I don't know if they can beat Detroit
I don't know if they can beat Green Bay Kyron Williams,
Blake Krum, Puka Nakua, Cooper Cup, Matt Stafford, Sean McVay.
That's a big time offense, and they have give in
their last two three years. All their draft capital up
(14:02):
front is defensive. Dudes. They've been a top ten scoring
offense too the three year Stafford's been there. I really
like this team. And they no noise, no noise San Francisco,
nothing but noise. Kyler Murray, he'll be some noise, no noise,
no expectations. I don't now. The hardest two games of
(14:23):
the year to win are a conference championship in the
Super Bowl. I'm not saying the Rams win the conference championship.
I think they get there. Number four, I think Jordan
Love wins the MVP first of all the last ten years,
excuse me, the last ten starts. Last year he was
the best quarterback in football. Yep. Also, I think there's
(14:45):
voter fatigue with Lamar, Josh Allen, Aaron Rodgers. You know,
Mahomes winning MVP. We want a new story. Media likes stories.
He's fresh, he's fun. Also, I think they're stacked offensively
with an offensive coach Josh Jacobs, Romeo Dobbs, Jaden Reid,
Luke Muskrave, Christian Watson. I think they have and last
(15:09):
year their offense at the end of the year it
was like, WHOA, what have we got here? Young quarterback
generationally aligned with all his young receivers and tight ends
in alignment. I think this offense is magic this year.
And finally, I think Dallas narrowly misses the playoffs. They
(15:30):
have the quietest least talented running back room in my opinion,
in the league. And Dak Prescott when he has to
throw over forty times his eight and eighteen in his career,
and I think the NFC is better than it's been
the last two to three years. So the NFC is tougher.
He has no run game. If they don't sign CD Lamb,
they're not only going to miss the playoffs, they may
not have the same coach by mid October. Hey have
(15:50):
got to sign CD Lamb. They were quiet and free agency.
I don't see a ton of depth, so I don't
think any of these are crazy. These are my bold predictions.
I'll put it out there. J Mack, what do you
make of it?
Speaker 5 (16:07):
I'm I mean, the Jordan Love MVP caught me totally
flat footed, so I decided to let me go look
up the odds. I mean, obviously Mahomes, Alan Stroud Burrow
are up there than Hurts, but Jordan Love is right
after I'm stunned.
Speaker 2 (16:20):
At that MVP of the league.
Speaker 1 (16:21):
Well, hold on one thing that a lot of people didn't.
Speaker 5 (16:24):
I started to read about some of these teams a
little more now, so you know the last five games
of Packers played, Aaron Rodgers was a monster, carrying the
team over one hundred and ten yards. I think every
game with him healthy and grinding out, it made.
Speaker 2 (16:37):
Love's life easier.
Speaker 1 (16:39):
Jones is now gone. Do you trust the new backfield
in green Back?
Speaker 5 (16:43):
I think that's a crazy but he has way better
odds than Trevor Lawrence Aaron Rodgers, I don't.
Speaker 1 (16:49):
I don't think people realize how deep Green Bay's offensive
weapons are. I'm not joking. Go look at Dallas's receivers
corps and look at green Bay's. If you carried eight receivers,
it would be Ceedee Lamb and seven Packers. I'm not
joking when I say that.
Speaker 5 (17:09):
Well on, Brandon Cooks is good, Come on and.
Speaker 1 (17:11):
Not better than these guys.
Speaker 3 (17:13):
No way.
Speaker 1 (17:14):
These guys are all free, they're all he's He's not cheap.
I'm telling you Green Bay's receiving tight end core. They're
not paying any of these guys for years. They are stacked.
Josh Jacob is an excellent running back.
Speaker 5 (17:27):
So you have Rams in the NFC Championship game, likely
against the Packers.
Speaker 1 (17:31):
I think I think the Lions bro well. Again, I
don't know. I didn't, I didn't make that prediction. I
think Jordan Love. Remember MVPs don't usually win the Super Bowl.
I don't know if they have enough experience green Bay
to win the Super Bowl, but I think it's gonna
be a I think it's gonna be a flex for
Matt Lafleur and Jordan Love. I think they're gonna they'll
(17:52):
be the highest scoring team in the league. Now again,
the Packers, and I don't know why this is. The
Packers always disappoint me defensively. I don't know why they
draft first round defensive players, but I always feel like
the Packers squeeze every ounce of juice out of their
offense and always leave me wanting more with their defense.
I don't have an answer for it. They obviously draft
and develop very well. I want to bring on somebody.
(18:13):
It's one of my favorite guys on the internet. It's
called Baldy breakdowns. Brian Baldinger played in the NFL for
thirteen years, undrafted out of Duke. But he really teaches
you things on the internet and he really is intentional
and practical and I love it. Plus he's a duchy,
so you know he's a smart guy. They're not letting
guys like me in. You know he knows what he's doing.
So here we go NFL Networks. Brian Baldinger, So you
(18:37):
did a really interesting breakdown. It's just so thorough and
so smart on bow Knicks. And I hadn't heard a
lot of what you said. So as a thirteen year
offensive lineman when you were with Dallas, you played every position.
Nobody knows old line like you. What did you see
with Boonecks? You love concern you fire away?
Speaker 6 (18:56):
Well, I mean I think it sort of personifies the
playmaking and creativity that Sean Payton has. Like Bonnicks has
good mobility. We saw it at Auburn, we saw it
certainly at Oregon. He uses some of that mobility you
saw the touchdown throw to Tim Patrick at the at
you know, in the touchdown throw, where's the little boot
drag action that throw over the middle. I'm third and
(19:18):
ten right there. Great throw to Tim Patrick. Well you've
seen this mobility right here. This is the throw on
the outside to Courtland Sutton. Like he extended the play.
He keeps his eyes down the field. This is a
great throw. It's a great throw right there. On timing
on that incut to Hutton. You know for eighteen yards
you're looking at this right here, this little play action
right there to Marvin Mims, Like he gets the ball
(19:38):
out of his hands fast. He knows this is the
touchdown last week to Tim Patrick off that boot drag action.
I mean, Sean Payton is just using play action, screens
screens away his movement. It's a perfect marriage, I think
be seen between Sean Payton's creativity and what Bownick's is
good at. And so right now he's scheming guys open.
(20:02):
It's not a lot of difficult throws, but that's a
good throw on timing the Sutton.
Speaker 3 (20:06):
In any offense, that's a good throw.
Speaker 1 (20:08):
So listen the concern with Caleb and it's maybe a
good concern to have. He's a little free wheeler and
a little bit of an ad liver, and I did
see this weekend. I'm like, first of all, it's like,
if you have a great singing voice, you probably sing
in the car, you sing in the shower. I wish
I had one. Sometimes it's a burden, though, when you
are so gifted that you just don't you know, you
(20:28):
take off because it worked in high school, it worked
in college. Do you worry at all about Caleb when
you watch him that he's leaving before he has to?
Or or Baldy, is he leaving because he has to?
Speaker 3 (20:42):
I think he's.
Speaker 6 (20:43):
Leaving more because he has to. We've seen him stay
in the pocket. He is excellent on the move. He
just he plays the game like that. But I've known, God,
I've known Caleb since he was in Gizaga High School
and I've sat in a film room room when he
was seventeen years old. He knew how to attack every covers, quarters,
cover three, like he knew what a robber was in
(21:04):
the middle of like he had all those skills when
he was in high school. He was working with Sean
McVay and Kyle Shanahan in quarterback collective and then his
arm is elite. So now this kind of place. They said, Well,
he did this at USC, you watch it every weekend
at USC.
Speaker 3 (21:19):
He did it at Oklahoma. Now can he do it
at the NFL.
Speaker 6 (21:21):
Well, you know, there's a whole bunch of defensive linemen
in this league that want to plant him into somebody's
turf if he does that.
Speaker 3 (21:30):
But he is he is very, very talented doing that.
Speaker 6 (21:34):
You just hope that he doesn't do it too often
where he relives on that to make his splash plays.
Speaker 1 (21:40):
So Jade and Daniels, I'm just going to let you
break it down. I like him a lot. He's a
little spindly in thin. They don't have a great offensive line.
That always worries me, Whereas I think the Bear's old
lines a little undervalued. I think it's pretty good at tackle.
I think Washington's got some concerns in a division with
good pass rushers with the Giants, with the Cowboy with
(22:00):
the Eagles, I'm a little concerned about that. What is
your baldy? What does the film say on Jade and
Daniels college and what you've seen.
Speaker 6 (22:08):
Well, he is thin, but he's tall, He's tall and thin,
and he's very fast. But he throws that ball right
there to Terry McClaren was on the outside, away from
the defenders who he could turn up. This throw was
obviously a check at the line of scrimmage that he saw.
When I'm around him, he's very very poised. I just
(22:29):
I was talking to him during the Jet scrimmage last week.
He's very very poised in what he's doing. I think
you'll see a lot of pistol formations, which is a
good formation with him. We saw it with two last
year who had was in the pistol formation more than
any other quarterback in this league. He can see the
whole field when he's in a pistol, but it bounces
up the defense. You run it a little bit better
out of there, and then there'll be a lot of
(22:50):
quarterback runs for him. Like you saw there. He throws
a very good pass. Everybody you talk to, including McLaren
or Cliff Kingsbury or Dan Quinn, he's first in the
last of lead like. He's a very committed employer right
now of the Washington commanders, and I think they need
a lot more help around him right now. I mean,
I think there was a reason why they were in
(23:11):
the Brandon Ayu sweepstakes. They need more help around him
at this point.
Speaker 1 (23:14):
Brian Baldinger joining us thirteen years in the NFL. You know,
I think it's understood the Jets defense is good. Garrett Wilson,
Breese Hall, Sauce Gardner. There are things I know will
be good. Aaron will be two if he gets protection. Brian,
this is what concerns me. Old offensive linemen don't plan
(23:36):
the preseason. They just don't. And you've got two old
guys coming in, a rookie from Penn State, Elijah vera
Tucker off injury. If my take is man San Francisco,
that's a rough opener for that old line. I do
think their defense will carry them the first two months.
You tell me, as somebody that played every offensive line
(23:59):
position for Dallas in your era, you played in three
of those preseason games. Old guys aren't doing that. Do
you worry about Aaron's protection? And also off of surgery, Bryant,
He's gonna throw that ball away, He's not gonna take hits.
Do you worry about that upfront protection for Aaron?
Speaker 3 (24:19):
Well, not necessarily right now.
Speaker 6 (24:21):
I mean I've watched the scrimmage against Washington, the scrimmage
Carolina last week, those scrimmage the Giants tomorrow. They're getting
a lot of work in these uh one one day
scrimmages that they're having. I think Tyron Smith, Morgan Moses
John Simpson are gonna they're gonna start Week one against
the forty nine ers. I think that Olivia Tucker back
(24:42):
Joe Tipman in the second year. You look at the
depth that they created last year was Look, last year
was a disaster, but if there is a blessing to it,
Carter Warren, plate Wes Whitzer played a lot of these
guys are now backups. Yeah, they got a lot of
time last year. If something happens to these frontline guys,
you know, I mean, you've got a first round pick
now that's swinging at right tackle, left tackle. You've got
(25:04):
some backups that have played and.
Speaker 3 (25:06):
Know the system.
Speaker 6 (25:08):
I think, Look, if you give this defense the lead
in the fourth quarter, they're gonna they're gonna be up
amongst the leaders in takeaways.
Speaker 3 (25:16):
In this league. Yeah. Uh, the ball is gonna have
to come out.
Speaker 6 (25:19):
Aaron Rodgers told me a couple of weeks ago, Colin
he said, if we get a fourteen point lead, we're
not losing a game. We're gonna step on team's throats
like and that's how he thinks. And so if you
give this defense a lead, they're gonna feast.
Speaker 1 (25:32):
Yeah, finally I just had my five bold NFL predictions.
I picked Jordan Love as MVP. Green Bay over the
last two to three years has drafted a line wide
receiver and tight end. I mean there's no misses. Everybody hits.
I think they're gonna flex. I don't know about their defense.
(25:54):
I never do, But it felt like last year it
was Matt Lafleur's offense. You know, Aaron's gonna do some
of his own stuff. It felt like, Matts, what do
you make when you broke down that film of Matt
Lafleur now calling the plays? It is his offense. What
does Matt Lafleur do If I'd never seen the Packers playing, say, Baldy,
what's Matt Lafleuur's offense with Jordan Love?
Speaker 6 (26:17):
Well, he plays a ton of formations. He's got a
lot of interchangeable parts. He never gets away from the
run game. He plays as many two tight end offensive
sets as anybody in this business. The key right now
is what you mentioned, Colin is Look, there's a reason
why Joe Barry's gone, Jeff Heflee is in. If you
just watch them in just a preseason now, they're already
(26:38):
pressing wide receivers to the line of screams.
Speaker 3 (26:40):
They've become a four man front.
Speaker 6 (26:42):
You're not going to see Rashaun Gary dropping in the coverage,
Preston Smith dropping. They're a four man front. They're gonna
get after the quarterback. They're going to press the receivers.
And there's a reason they signed Xavier McKinnon free agency.
They want to rob the middle of the field. Remember
these all these guys in Green Bay, they all came
out of San Francisco, where all they do is attack
the middle of the field. Green Bay wants to take
(27:03):
the middle of the field away from teams like San
Francisco with all those in cuts to Kittle and Iu
that we've seen in Deebo over the years. Like, they
want to rob the middle of the field and make
it difficult on you, make you play outside the numbers.
Speaker 3 (27:16):
I think Heffley's going to make a difference. I don't
disagree with what.
Speaker 6 (27:22):
Matt Lafleur said the other day, when you know, it
makes some puke when people start talking about a number
one wide receiver. Look, they're all to being developed at
the same time, Romeo Dobbs, Jayden Reid, Wis Watson, they're
all being developed young. But maybe eventually one of these
guys becomes the next DeVante. Where Okay, it's fourth down,
we need to play. We know where we're going, or
(27:42):
maybe it's red zone. You got to score to win,
we're going here. I don't know which guy that could be,
but sometimes guys just emerge from the pack over a
period of time and the quarterback falls in love with them.
Speaker 3 (27:53):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (27:53):
Brian Valdinger thirteen NFL seasons. You know J McK and
I have had a disagreement. We picked a surprise team
to make the playoffs. I pick Washington and his concern
is everybody's new, the owner, the GM, the coach. And
I said, I've been part of companies where everybody's new
and there's a reason because the last guys weren't very good.
New is fine? This is I mean, Houston had everybody
(28:14):
new except the owner. The energy, the juice new brings
in a building. What do you make of Washing. I
like the fact that they just they upgraded. It's more collaborative,
less authoritative. What do you make of Washington having basically
including the owner, everybody is new.
Speaker 6 (28:34):
Well, I think the owner is going to be good
for this organization. I saw him on the sidelines doing
that Jets Washington scrimmage. I mean, I think players were
meeting Josh Howers for the first time. But there's a
reason Magic Johnson's in the building. Like they just want
winners there. And you know, dan Quinn has got a
new energy. I think they've got a lot of good
assistant coaches there. They've upgraded the talent around him. I
(28:55):
just don't think they're ready to take over Dallas yet
or to take over Philadelphia. I think they'll be highly
much more competitive, but they've still got you know, he
still got a rookie quarterback you're breaking in. I don't
think the skilled positions at receiver, tight end or elite
by any stretch at this point. And I don't know
who's playing left tackle for him. It's good to know
(29:16):
if you're playing a rookie tackle or rookie quarterback, who
your left tackle is going to be and is he
any good, Like there's question marks about this offense that
still remained to be filled at this point.
Speaker 1 (29:27):
Yeah, Brian, it's always a pleasure to have you go
online ball these breakdowns. They're fantastic. We all get smarter.
Congrats and all your success and I love your work.
Thank you so much.
Speaker 3 (29:36):
Thanks for having me Colin, you bet anytime, Brian.
Speaker 1 (29:39):
Yeah, NFL Network does a really good job. The Bowneck stuff.
I mean he just this is a guy that's played
center guard, tackle. He knows the offensive line, he knows
the coaches. Really good stuff. That Washington. Now, Brian's got
me a little concerned.
Speaker 5 (29:55):
I do like how you bring on some guests that
kind of reinforce your points.
Speaker 1 (29:59):
Well, he on smart people, and smart people usually agree
with me. Oh that's what okay.
Speaker 5 (30:05):
The boat Knicks love Colin. You gotta be honest, like
it's exciting. Sure, are we going a little overboard here?
Speaker 1 (30:11):
Like do you want to know the break's just the
fact that pff I had Collinsworth on yesterday. I think
he owns that thing, right, The fact that PFF has
like Denver's got the worst roster. Just the receiving corps
Marvin Mims, Courtland Sutton, Tim Patrick, Troy Franklin good tight
ends at a solid backfield, Sean Payton good left tackle.
(30:33):
How is that the I don't get Now, they need
an edge rusher. Their the defense will be okay at best.
Speaker 5 (30:39):
But Dan can't do fifty million things like they don't
have that much of a defense. Let's just remember nobody
shows anything in the preseason defensively.
Speaker 1 (30:48):
It's the most vanilla schemes. Do you think. Do you
think Sean and bow are showing everything?
Speaker 5 (30:53):
No, but I'm sure the defenses are like, oh my gosh,
this is easy. Look at this dink and dunk. I mean,
you could probably show up in.
Speaker 1 (30:58):
A preseason game it pass.
Speaker 3 (31:00):
No, I couldn't. No, I couldn't.
Speaker 1 (31:03):
I have more faith in you than you do. No
as a quarterback. No, it was terrible.
Speaker 3 (31:08):
All right.
Speaker 1 (31:09):
So we also have Diana Russini and Joel Klatt are
joining us today. So we got a good one on
a Tuesday.
Speaker 2 (31:16):
One more Heard. 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.
Speaker 7 (31:26):
Hey, it's Ben, host of the Fifth Hour with Ben
Maller with mean a lot to have you join us
on our weekly auditory journey. You're asking, what in God's
name is the Fifth Hour. I'll tell you it's a
spin off of it. Ben Maler show, a cult hit
overnights on FSR. Why should you listen? Picture if you will,
a world where we chat with captains of industry in media,
sports and more every week explore some amazing facts about
(31:49):
human nature and more. Listen to the Fifth Hour with
Ben Maller on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcast or wherever
you get your podcasts.
Speaker 1 (31:55):
All right, Joel Clatt, he's very busy. He's doing podcast
stuff up like the top where it's executives and keys
to Mercedes Benz and podcasts. All the rich guys are upstairs.
It's not this big studio like you have. You know,
it's just a elevator doesn't even go to that floor.
Speaker 3 (32:13):
You have to have a special key card.
Speaker 1 (32:15):
So you have you have Penn State, West Virginia, which
is it's interesting because James Franklin can obviously recruit. Yeah,
they got athletes everywhere, and you know they kind of
feel like they're at home. They're a handful for a
Michigan or Ohio State, and I wonder now here comes Oregon,
USC Washington and it's like I kind of feel like
(32:37):
Penn State better be lined up now that otherwise they
go from like that dangerous number three to the back
end of the bullpen.
Speaker 2 (32:44):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (32:45):
So a couple of things on Penn s First of all,
that game that is a tough game because West Virginia
got on a hot streak late last year. They've got
some good players in that environment is going to be incredible.
It would be incredible. Uh, cannot wait for Country Road.
Now that being said, Penn State. A couple of things
on Penn State really three. Number one is this is
(33:05):
the recruiting class that they've been pointing to for a
couple of years. Okay, you know their quarterback Drew Aller,
Nick Singleton, k Tron Allen abdul Carter, like these guys
are are NFL players, and a lot of their fan
base and me included, have been pointing to this season
as a year that they need to take a step forward. Okay,
So that leads to kind of the next things, which
are their schedule for Big Ten standards is softer than others.
(33:30):
They don't face Oregon. They don't face Michigan, so their
toughest game is hosting Ohio State. Now that's nothing to
sneeze at. Obviously. Ohio State, at least for me, is
the number one team in the country in the preseason,
but as it could be in the Big Ten, that's
fairly manageable. So you've got this manageable schedule, and you've
got this recruiting class that you've been pointing to for
(33:51):
a couple of years with NFL talent, yes, all all
over the field, and their defenses is always incredible. They
get a new offensive coordinator. He comes from Kansas. He
helped Lance Leipold really rebuild the Jayhawks. His name is
Andy cotal Nicky. I believe Drew Aller, their quarterback takes
a step forward. Okay, so then that brings me to
that phrase step forward. They're with me for a moment
(34:15):
because Colin Penn State in the last eight seasons, if
we would have had a twelve team playoff format like
we have this year, they would have made six playoffs. Wow,
no teams what they are. No team has been hurt
more by a lack of a team twelve team playoff
than Penn State. That's good. I like that six times
now in those six years, their average rank would have
(34:37):
been nine and a half right around there, so in
the playoff, but not elite. And we've known this to
be true. This is what played out because they can't
get over the hump of Michigan and Ohio State, in
particular in their own division. Now they don't have divisions.
So for me, everything points to Penn State taking a
step forward. That means to me being in the top
eight in the playoff and hosting a first Roundllege Football
(35:00):
payoff game in Happy Valley. In fact, I've got my
new podcast coming out. I believe tomorrow is going to
have my predictions for the twelve team playoff, and I
can just tell you right now they're hosting a first
round playoff game. That's what I think Penn State is.
I think I asked the question and you delivered. That's
nice job. I like how you guys don't know this yet,
but I see that. I have a hard out at
(35:20):
eleven fifty two because he's got a meeting with Shanks.
That guy's up there having a slot. He's up there
eating a sloppy Joe. He can't wait an extra two
minutes they put that on the paper.
Speaker 3 (35:28):
Literally, I have.
Speaker 1 (35:31):
Show ourageous. Okay, you got some big ones this year.
You got Alabama, Wisconsin, you got great games. I'm gonna
throw this out there. I don't know if we put
you on this. Michigan. Yeah, so I'm I'm hearing things
at USC. They like that. You know what they're saying
right now? You media people don't understand. Miller Moss is
(35:54):
way better than you think. I'm Lincoln gets the offense back.
No Oregon, No, Ohio State rebuild, Michigan, Penn State home,
Notre Dame home. A lot of people. Yeah, now where
do you land because you're not a homeer like I'm
called on US City. No, but I'm i am. I'm
bullish on USC this year. I'm very bullish. Their defense.
(36:17):
Everyone can roll their eyes on their defense being better.
Their defense is going to be better. All you have
to do is line up properly and their defense. I'm
not joking, like I know that that sounds bad, but
like the schematics were so bad last year in terms
of gap control football, I mean in some respects. Yes,
I think that's that's probably accurate. Their defense is going
(36:37):
to be better and then this notion that their offense
will take a step back is false. It's false and
the record bears that out. Since twenty seventeen, when Lincoln
Riley became a head coach at Oklahoma, their offense in
terms of yards per play, and I think yards per
play is the best metric we have for really your
efficiency as an offense. How good are you? NFL better use.
(36:59):
That's a big stat, yards per play. When you look
at that stat, Lincoln Riley's offenses since seventeen have been first, first, first, eleventh, third, sixth,
like they're not going anywhere. It hasn't mattered what quarterback
he has had, and in fact, whatever quarterback he has,
as long as that quarterback stays within the system, is
(37:20):
generally a Heisman Trophy candidate. So their offense should be
just fine. If they beat LSU, this is the big one.
If they beat LSU in Week one, then they have
a legitimate chance to play Notre Dame for the right
to go to the College Football Playoff. I think Chip
Kelly wins Ohio State the national championship. I think they
lose at Eugene. It's going to be such a homecoming
(37:42):
for Jack that game is gonna be insane. Did we
put you on that one? NBC's got that one. Oh,
screw those guys. That game is meaningless anyway, the point being,
the point being it's so good. I think whoever wins
that game loses later. So if Oregon wins it and
they meet again, okay, I think Ohio State, that's all right.
(38:04):
I don't think that's fair. I don't think people understand
what Chip Kelly delivers. For a team that was missing something,
they did not run the ball as effectively as they
needed to over the course of the last two and
three years. This is why Michigan became the more dominant
program is because Michigan dominated at the line of scrimmage.
(38:25):
If you go back to what even Ryan Day was
early in his career, what Urban Meyer was at Ohio State.
They ran the football incredibly well. JK. Dobbins ran the
ball for two thousand yards. They're not just an air
it out all the time offense. They had an inability
to run it efficiently. Over the last couple of years,
now got pretty They have Trevon Henderson and quid Sean Jenkins.
(38:46):
That's the best running back duo in college football. Chips
much more of a power run coach than people think.
And he runs the ball. I was just gonna say,
he runs the snot out of the ball. Everywhere that
he's been, they've run the ball as well as any
buddy in their own conference. Even when he was with
the Eagles, they were I believe they led the league
in rushing in one of the years that he was
the head coach with the Philadelphia Eagles. I expect them
(39:09):
to take a step forward offensively because of that, because
of Chip Kelly. And then just quickly for Ohio State,
why do I have them ranked number one one? Chip
Kelly running the football, yeah, two, that's gonna be the
best defense in America. Their front four is loaded with
NFL talent. They're back seven loaded with NFL talent. I
don't see many people scoring points on Ohio State. And
(39:31):
so that will allow them to bring Will Howard, their
quarterback that they named last week. Bring him along. Chip
will get him comfortable running the football. They've got elite
players on the outside, like Ohio State is going to
be a handful. All right, You've got a big meeting,
so it shays on the screen that's incredible. I've got
time I've got what I've always got time for you,
(39:53):
I know. But when it's like big meeting layers, I
mean you're like, well, noon, what's your heart out?
Speaker 7 (40:00):
Literally?
Speaker 1 (40:01):
Possibly could the meeting be about Klatt? We want you
to be available every Saturday this fall. I will tell
you this. I will tell you this when I'm in
this seat. This is second only to call in the games.
This is one of my favorite spots in my way.
We love having right here this chair. And by the way,
when you go looking up at you when you go out,
(40:25):
do those college coaches come to you and say, hey,
you may want to listen to Coward.
Speaker 3 (40:30):
A little bit.
Speaker 1 (40:30):
No, it's actually the exact opposite. They say, like, hey,
keep keep calling his feet to the fire, you know,
like hold him accountable, you know, keep giving him the business.
And I'm like, listen, I will handle my son. But
what does the public say. They say they love this. Okay,
they say more of this, more of this. All right, Well,
(40:51):
you go to your big meeting, you go get a raise.
We're just eating peanuts. Riddle down here, trying to get
to the next rest area. Riddle.
Speaker 3 (40:57):
That's incredible.
Speaker 1 (40:58):
That's all we're doing. I have houses all of the country. Okay,
what we're done. The show's virtually over. I don't even
think we have a show after US today. Do we
first things versus off this week? I'm gonna say something
shoulder sore from carrying this place. You show airing right now.
I tell you what you know. Who gives the best
piggyback ride in America? Colin Coward? Okay, USC make the
(41:20):
playoff ten seconds fifteen, I'd say they're the first one out. Yeah,
because I had that Notre Dame game. I don't like
the way they match up with Notre Dame.
Speaker 3 (41:29):
That's right.
Speaker 1 (41:29):
And I don't like how they match up with Penn State.
I don't either, And they get them at home and
I think they lose both.
Speaker 3 (41:34):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (41:34):
I just think those are tough matchups, really tough. I
would say they got a shot against LSU.
Speaker 3 (41:39):
I did too.
Speaker 1 (41:40):
I think they've got a shot against LSU. I'm gonna
pick them in that game. Wow, what a finished, strong clap.
Speaker 3 (41:47):
There we go.
Thanks for listening to the Best of the Herd podcast.
Be sure to catch us live every weekday on Fox
Sports Radio in noon to three Eastern nine am to
noon Pacific. Find your local station for The Herd at
Fox Sportsradio dot com, or stream us live every day
on the iHeartRadio app by searching Fox Sports Radio or FSR.
Speaker 2 (00:19):
This is the Best of the Herd with Colin cowher
on Fox Sports Radio All Ride.
Speaker 1 (00:27):
It is a Tuesday football inching Closer and Closer, College
and Pro live in Los Angeles. It's The Herd Wherever
you may be and however you may be listening. Thanks
for making us part of your day. All sorts of things.
Clatt Joel Klatt stops by at the end of the show.
One of my favorite tape breakdown guys, Brian Baldinger stops
(00:49):
by Diana and russinijmc so. Yesterday a story got a
lot of traction and I really didn't really notice it
until I was off the air yesterday about Tuah coach
the quarterback to the Miamy Dolphins, and Brian Flores his
first coach in the NFL. Very intense, defensive guy and
pretty enlightening stuff to say The least.
Speaker 3 (01:11):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (01:11):
Yeah, So Tua on a podcast, Dan Levatard podcast came
out and basically said Brian Flores was a terrible person
and every day told me how horrible I was, And
it was such a breath of fresh air to have
young Mike McDaniel from Kyle Shanahan's system, his coaching tree,
who every day wakes up and says, I'm so lucky
(01:32):
to have you. He said, basically, what would it be
like in your life if one person told you you
were awful and no good and was just treated you poorly,
and then somebody else walked in and said, I can't
believe I won't put my arms around you. How lucky
we are. And he called Brian Flores, who's now a
coordinator with the Vikings, a terrible person. And you know
what I thought of. When there's a term that he's
(01:54):
used in the NBA, and we use it all the
time on this show. We call it villain nov and
it speaks very well of Jay Wright and the Villanova program,
although now he's moved on to broadcasting. It means not
much ego, hardworking, relentless, coachable, no baggage, love the game,
great locker room guy, you say Villanova guy, it's like
(02:17):
everybody in the NBA wants a Villanova guy. It speaks
beyond just the player. It's the culture that they came from.
And I think is Bill Belichick looks for a job
next year and this broadcasting thing that's not what he
ever dreamed of doing. There's a new term and it's
used in football, and it's called Belichick guys. They're all combative.
(02:40):
They're obnoxious. Flores, Matt Patricia, Joe Judge, Josh McDaniel, Bill O'Brien.
They used to call Bill O'Brien. Apparently Teapot Brady did,
and Brian Hoyer did because he boiled over all the
time in meetings. And this thing with Brian Flores, it's
beyond obnoxious. It's cruel, and it's essentially the opposite of
the Shop McVeigh or Kyle Shanahan Tree, the Demico Ryans,
(03:06):
the Robert Salas, the Kevin o'connells. They come out, they're collaborative,
they get along with people. They're pro player Belichick guys.
And you know, Brian Flores probably watched Belichick dog cuss
Brady for years. I mean, Wes Welker Julian Edelman. People
have come out, even those who are favorable with Belichick
(03:29):
and said, I can't believe what Tom put up with.
And it's becoming crystal clear. Sorry, Belichick fanboys and psycophants,
it's becoming crystal clear. Is that Tom Brady, and only
Tom Brady elevated Belichick and the entire staff. Josh McDaniel
couldn't get along with Derek Carr and j Cutler, Matt
(03:51):
Patricia couldn't get along with Matt Stafford. Who fights with
Matt Stafford? Stafford gets along with everybody. This is what
it is. Brian Flores called a terrible person. And I
don't think two is the best quarterback in the league.
But he's a nice kid. He's a nice guy. Everybody
I know that's ever dealt with him really likes him.
Really a professional, works really hard. Villanova guys in the
(04:13):
NBA is a great term. Belichick guys in the NFL
is toxic. And the entire staff this is this. They
watched their mentor, and it's Belichick. Increasingly, these young quarterbacks
coming out of college nil they've made a million or
two or three or four or five million. I don't
want to put up with this nonsense. Gotta be collaborative,
(04:35):
you can't be obnoxious and rigid. And for the record,
Belichick better than OLA's assistance. Eleven years in the NFL
without Tom Brady as a starter, one playoff win, and
he's the best of the Belichick guys. Bill, So I
don't I don't think as Belichick keeps looking for work,
I don't think this is good. I think there's now
(04:56):
a term. I think we now just see obnoxious, non collaborative, authoritative.
Eh No, thanks, Bill got one interview, one legitimate interview.
This story doesn't help him at all. It falls on
him to a large degree. It sounds like Michale Bridges
(05:19):
when he went to the Knicks he benefited from Jay Wright,
Villanova Jalen Brunson. There's no question Michale Bridges had a
larger market than maybe his eighteen to twenty a game
you would think would create. But it's like he's a
Villanova guy. You now, the company you keep says a lot.
(05:41):
The group, the culture you're part of says a lot.
Be very careful about it. So yesterday we had Chris
Collinsworth on NBC with Mike Trico, seventeen m he's great broadcaster,
hell of an NFL career. He was talking about bo Nicks,
and it got me thinking about a lot of different
things as I was drying and home an for the show.
(06:01):
But like the rest of us, bon Nick so far
as twenty three to thirty seven drives six scores. The
kid's been unbelievable. A one hundred and sixteen passer rating,
He had sixty one college starts. He just looks like
a grown up, like I don't have a problem saying
maybe it's too optimistic. I don't think it is. This
kid's going to start. He's going to be productive. This
wide receiving core between Tim Patrick and Mims and Troy
(06:22):
Franklin and Courtland Sutton and the tight ends and the
running back, they're going to move the football.
Speaker 3 (06:27):
Now.
Speaker 1 (06:27):
I don't know if their defense will be good. It
was egreediously bad last year. But the kid can play.
And here was Chris collins Worth talking about what the
film when he looked at it, what it said about
bo Nicks.
Speaker 4 (06:37):
Bo Nicks was the one guy I thought was going
to be the upset choice. I thought he was going
to go fourth in the draft. He was a quick
release guy. The hardest thing to drill into these young
quarterbacks heads is that you have two and a half
seconds to throw the ball. If I were a head coach,
I would sit behind my quarterback with a foghorn and
(06:59):
when it got to two and a half seconds, I
would destroy his ear drums because that's when you're going
to get hit in the back of the head of
the NFL. Bow Nicks played his college football getting rid
of the ball on time. He didn't put up some
of the gaudy deep ball numbers that these guys did,
but he played like it was an NFL game, and
(07:19):
that's why you're seeing him have this early success.
Speaker 1 (07:22):
And it's interesting. I was saying the Brian Flores stories.
They fall on Belichick and the culture he created. If
bone Nicks is as good as I think he's going
to be, I look at Sean Payton. I think so
fifteen years he turned around the Saints overnight with Drew Brees.
He gets a rookie quarterback bow Knicks and he crushes it.
(07:47):
You know who that falls on, Russell Wilson. I think differently,
like Sean Payton got young, Drew Brees, old immobile, Drew
Brees couldn't throw a deep ball, Drew Brees and now
bow Nicks, is this good, this fast? It makes me
think of Russell Wilson and go when you really inspect
(08:09):
it in the dust settles. He had four really good
years in Seattle, and he was part of the best
defense in the league, first or second strongest run game,
A coach closer to his prime. The league was more
defensive driven, and Russell managed it and was pretty elusive,
but never got an MVP vote. I defended him for years.
(08:33):
But if Sean Payton and bow Knicks crush this first
year and I watched them for fifteen years turn the
worst franchise in the league, the Saints around to a
Super Bowl contender virtually three out of four years, it
makes me look I can't. I can't help it. It
makes me look at Russell Wilson differently. I went back
this morning. You start inspecting it. I defended him forever,
(08:55):
four great years seven and three in the playoffs, two
Super Bowls, one one should have won a second. But
from year five until today, eight years two playoff wins
and Pete Carroll and Sean Payton, no, thank you a
defensive coach An offensive coach Veterans super Bowls. I'm not interested.
(09:17):
So it is funny that as I look at Brian Floores,
I think that falls on Belichick his culture. That's what
you get with Bill as he looks for work. I mean,
how many examples do I need? The Joe Judge, the
Matt Patricia's, the Bill O'Brien's. And I always kind of
liked Bill O'Brien. I do think he works better than others.
(09:37):
But it's you start to form a strong opinion Belichick guys,
and if bo Nick hits and Drew Brees dead with Sean,
it's not the It's not the greatest for Russell Wilson's legacy,
and you start inspecting it. And I always thought he
was the engineer for those Seahawks teams, and it looks
(10:01):
more like he managed it. Just how it feels for me.
All sorts of stuff going on. Ian O'Connor's book officially
comes out today. It'll be a New York Times bestseller,
his fifth out of six or seven books that he's written.
He really he went deep on Aaron Rodgers. It's fascinating.
I'm gonna take it with me on the trip. It's
(10:23):
like a three day read, two day read. I'm going
to reread parts of it because it's just so fascinating.
But we had him on yesterday and he had a
couple really fascinating points. I actually have something positive to
say about the New York Jets because I do think
the NFL, and this is what they do the opposite
of the WNBA. They are trying to create narratives, positive ones.
(10:46):
And if you look at the Jets schedule, it is
clear the NFL's put Aaron on TV and they want
him to flourish. They're not going to change rules for
him or change in game calls, but they can move
the schedule and further inspection. I do think the Jets
have a chance to be really interesting. But Ian said
a couple of things about Aaron yesterday, and this has
(11:09):
proven these now are factual. They're based on merit is
Aaron's earned these reputations, and I'll revisit that plus top
of the hour. I do this every year in August,
I make my five boldest NFL predictions, like huge predictions. Now,
I did him in the NBA. I do him in
(11:30):
the NBA. NBA had a lot of success NFL. I'm
hitting miss My five boldest NFL predictions. No, brock Perty's
not winning the MVP. That is not one of them.
That's coming in forty five minutes.
Speaker 2 (11:42):
Be sure to catch live editions of The Herd weekdays
in neon eastern nine am Pacific on Fox Sports Radio
FS one and the iHeartRadio app.
Speaker 1 (11:51):
Tomorrow, I'll make my second to last predictions on the
NFL playoffs. I do think I have a sense quarterbacks
have played more this preseason and then last, and we
have more good ones and they come in with much
more experience. Bow Knicks, Michael Pennix, Jayden Daniels, Caleb. I
do feel I can get my arms around what I'm watching.
(12:12):
So I thought today my five bold predictions. I can
make easy ones. Josh Allen's going to be good. Andy
Reid will make the playoffs. No, I don't choose that.
I'm not looking to be perfect. I'm going to take
some bold predictions. Are you ready to go here? The
first one's kind of negative. I think Dennis Allen Saints
(12:33):
is the first coach to be let go. They've missed
the playoffs back to back years. The NFC South Atlanta
and Carolina are undoubtedly better teams. No question, the Falcons
and the Panthers are much better teams. For the first
six games for Dennis Allen are against playoff teams from
last year. I don't see the juice offensively. I think
(12:58):
Dennis is the first coach to be let go. Number
two is, I think Jaden Daniels Washington wins Offensive Rookie
of the Year. Now Caleb Williams has better weapons, so
Jaden's gonna have to move. He's gonna have to run.
I think that's gonna play well. He's gonna he's gonna
feel like RG three did first year in Washington his legs.
(13:20):
I don't think Caleb, with all those weapons, will have
to move as much. His offensive coordinator, Cliff Kingsbury, has
a reputation he's very good with mobile quarterbacks and he
was pounding the tables for jadaln Daniels. Jaden Daniels. I
also think, this is my opinion, the division is not
as good, so I think Jayden wins Offensive Rookie of
(13:41):
the Year. Number three is I think the Rams reach
may not win it, but I think they reached the
NFC Championship. I don't know if they can beat Detroit
I don't know if they can beat Green Bay Kyron Williams,
Blake Krum, Puka Nakua, Cooper Cup, Matt Stafford, Sean McVay.
That's a big time offense, and they have give in
their last two three years. All their draft capital up
(14:02):
front is defensive. Dudes. They've been a top ten scoring
offense too the three year Stafford's been there. I really
like this team. And they no noise, no noise San Francisco,
nothing but noise. Kyler Murray, he'll be some noise, no noise,
no expectations. I don't now. The hardest two games of
(14:23):
the year to win are a conference championship in the
Super Bowl. I'm not saying the Rams win the conference championship.
I think they get there. Number four, I think Jordan
Love wins the MVP first of all the last ten years,
excuse me, the last ten starts. Last year he was
the best quarterback in football. Yep. Also, I think there's
(14:45):
voter fatigue with Lamar, Josh Allen, Aaron Rodgers. You know,
Mahomes winning MVP. We want a new story. Media likes stories.
He's fresh, he's fun. Also, I think they're stacked offensively
with an offensive coach Josh Jacobs, Romeo Dobbs, Jaden Reid,
Luke Muskrave, Christian Watson. I think they have and last
(15:09):
year their offense at the end of the year it
was like, WHOA, what have we got here? Young quarterback
generationally aligned with all his young receivers and tight ends
in alignment. I think this offense is magic this year.
And finally, I think Dallas narrowly misses the playoffs. They
(15:30):
have the quietest least talented running back room in my opinion,
in the league. And Dak Prescott when he has to
throw over forty times his eight and eighteen in his career,
and I think the NFC is better than it's been
the last two to three years. So the NFC is tougher.
He has no run game. If they don't sign CD Lamb,
they're not only going to miss the playoffs, they may
not have the same coach by mid October. Hey have
(15:50):
got to sign CD Lamb. They were quiet and free agency.
I don't see a ton of depth, so I don't
think any of these are crazy. These are my bold predictions.
I'll put it out there. J Mack, what do you
make of it?
Speaker 5 (16:07):
I'm I mean, the Jordan Love MVP caught me totally
flat footed, so I decided to let me go look
up the odds. I mean, obviously Mahomes, Alan Stroud Burrow
are up there than Hurts, but Jordan Love is right
after I'm stunned.
Speaker 2 (16:20):
At that MVP of the league.
Speaker 1 (16:21):
Well, hold on one thing that a lot of people didn't.
Speaker 5 (16:24):
I started to read about some of these teams a
little more now, so you know the last five games
of Packers played, Aaron Rodgers was a monster, carrying the
team over one hundred and ten yards. I think every
game with him healthy and grinding out, it made.
Speaker 2 (16:37):
Love's life easier.
Speaker 1 (16:39):
Jones is now gone. Do you trust the new backfield
in green Back?
Speaker 5 (16:43):
I think that's a crazy but he has way better
odds than Trevor Lawrence Aaron Rodgers, I don't.
Speaker 1 (16:49):
I don't think people realize how deep Green Bay's offensive
weapons are. I'm not joking. Go look at Dallas's receivers
corps and look at green Bay's. If you carried eight receivers,
it would be Ceedee Lamb and seven Packers. I'm not
joking when I say that.
Speaker 5 (17:09):
Well on, Brandon Cooks is good, Come on and.
Speaker 1 (17:11):
Not better than these guys.
Speaker 3 (17:13):
No way.
Speaker 1 (17:14):
These guys are all free, they're all he's He's not cheap.
I'm telling you Green Bay's receiving tight end core. They're
not paying any of these guys for years. They are stacked.
Josh Jacob is an excellent running back.
Speaker 5 (17:27):
So you have Rams in the NFC Championship game, likely
against the Packers.
Speaker 1 (17:31):
I think I think the Lions bro well. Again, I
don't know. I didn't, I didn't make that prediction. I
think Jordan Love. Remember MVPs don't usually win the Super Bowl.
I don't know if they have enough experience green Bay
to win the Super Bowl, but I think it's gonna
be a I think it's gonna be a flex for
Matt Lafleur and Jordan Love. I think they're gonna they'll
(17:52):
be the highest scoring team in the league. Now again,
the Packers, and I don't know why this is. The
Packers always disappoint me defensively. I don't know why they
draft first round defensive players, but I always feel like
the Packers squeeze every ounce of juice out of their
offense and always leave me wanting more with their defense.
I don't have an answer for it. They obviously draft
and develop very well. I want to bring on somebody.
(18:13):
It's one of my favorite guys on the internet. It's
called Baldy breakdowns. Brian Baldinger played in the NFL for
thirteen years, undrafted out of Duke. But he really teaches
you things on the internet and he really is intentional
and practical and I love it. Plus he's a duchy,
so you know he's a smart guy. They're not letting
guys like me in. You know he knows what he's doing.
So here we go NFL Networks. Brian Baldinger, So you
(18:37):
did a really interesting breakdown. It's just so thorough and
so smart on bow Knicks. And I hadn't heard a
lot of what you said. So as a thirteen year
offensive lineman when you were with Dallas, you played every position.
Nobody knows old line like you. What did you see
with Boonecks? You love concern you fire away?
Speaker 6 (18:56):
Well, I mean I think it sort of personifies the
playmaking and creativity that Sean Payton has. Like Bonnicks has
good mobility. We saw it at Auburn, we saw it
certainly at Oregon. He uses some of that mobility you
saw the touchdown throw to Tim Patrick at the at
you know, in the touchdown throw, where's the little boot
drag action that throw over the middle. I'm third and
(19:18):
ten right there. Great throw to Tim Patrick. Well you've
seen this mobility right here. This is the throw on
the outside to Courtland Sutton. Like he extended the play.
He keeps his eyes down the field. This is a
great throw. It's a great throw right there. On timing
on that incut to Hutton. You know for eighteen yards
you're looking at this right here, this little play action
right there to Marvin Mims, Like he gets the ball
(19:38):
out of his hands fast. He knows this is the
touchdown last week to Tim Patrick off that boot drag action.
I mean, Sean Payton is just using play action, screens
screens away his movement. It's a perfect marriage, I think
be seen between Sean Payton's creativity and what Bownick's is
good at. And so right now he's scheming guys open.
(20:02):
It's not a lot of difficult throws, but that's a
good throw on timing the Sutton.
Speaker 3 (20:06):
In any offense, that's a good throw.
Speaker 1 (20:08):
So listen the concern with Caleb and it's maybe a
good concern to have. He's a little free wheeler and
a little bit of an ad liver, and I did
see this weekend. I'm like, first of all, it's like,
if you have a great singing voice, you probably sing
in the car, you sing in the shower. I wish
I had one. Sometimes it's a burden, though, when you
are so gifted that you just don't you know, you
(20:28):
take off because it worked in high school, it worked
in college. Do you worry at all about Caleb when
you watch him that he's leaving before he has to?
Or or Baldy, is he leaving because he has to?
Speaker 3 (20:42):
I think he's.
Speaker 6 (20:43):
Leaving more because he has to. We've seen him stay
in the pocket. He is excellent on the move. He
just he plays the game like that. But I've known, God,
I've known Caleb since he was in Gizaga High School
and I've sat in a film room room when he
was seventeen years old. He knew how to attack every covers, quarters,
cover three, like he knew what a robber was in
(21:04):
the middle of like he had all those skills when
he was in high school. He was working with Sean
McVay and Kyle Shanahan in quarterback collective and then his
arm is elite. So now this kind of place. They said, Well,
he did this at USC, you watch it every weekend
at USC.
Speaker 3 (21:19):
He did it at Oklahoma. Now can he do it
at the NFL.
Speaker 6 (21:21):
Well, you know, there's a whole bunch of defensive linemen
in this league that want to plant him into somebody's
turf if he does that.
Speaker 3 (21:30):
But he is he is very, very talented doing that.
Speaker 6 (21:34):
You just hope that he doesn't do it too often
where he relives on that to make his splash plays.
Speaker 1 (21:40):
So Jade and Daniels, I'm just going to let you
break it down. I like him a lot. He's a
little spindly in thin. They don't have a great offensive line.
That always worries me, Whereas I think the Bear's old
lines a little undervalued. I think it's pretty good at tackle.
I think Washington's got some concerns in a division with
good pass rushers with the Giants, with the Cowboy with
(22:00):
the Eagles, I'm a little concerned about that. What is
your baldy? What does the film say on Jade and
Daniels college and what you've seen.
Speaker 6 (22:08):
Well, he is thin, but he's tall, He's tall and thin,
and he's very fast. But he throws that ball right
there to Terry McClaren was on the outside, away from
the defenders who he could turn up. This throw was
obviously a check at the line of scrimmage that he saw.
When I'm around him, he's very very poised. I just
(22:29):
I was talking to him during the Jet scrimmage last week.
He's very very poised in what he's doing. I think
you'll see a lot of pistol formations, which is a
good formation with him. We saw it with two last
year who had was in the pistol formation more than
any other quarterback in this league. He can see the
whole field when he's in a pistol, but it bounces
up the defense. You run it a little bit better
out of there, and then there'll be a lot of
(22:50):
quarterback runs for him. Like you saw there. He throws
a very good pass. Everybody you talk to, including McLaren
or Cliff Kingsbury or Dan Quinn, he's first in the
last of lead like. He's a very committed employer right
now of the Washington commanders, and I think they need
a lot more help around him right now. I mean,
I think there was a reason why they were in
(23:11):
the Brandon Ayu sweepstakes. They need more help around him
at this point.
Speaker 1 (23:14):
Brian Baldinger joining us thirteen years in the NFL. You know,
I think it's understood the Jets defense is good. Garrett Wilson,
Breese Hall, Sauce Gardner. There are things I know will
be good. Aaron will be two if he gets protection. Brian,
this is what concerns me. Old offensive linemen don't plan
(23:36):
the preseason. They just don't. And you've got two old
guys coming in, a rookie from Penn State, Elijah vera
Tucker off injury. If my take is man San Francisco,
that's a rough opener for that old line. I do
think their defense will carry them the first two months.
You tell me, as somebody that played every offensive line
(23:59):
position for Dallas in your era, you played in three
of those preseason games. Old guys aren't doing that. Do
you worry about Aaron's protection? And also off of surgery, Bryant,
He's gonna throw that ball away, He's not gonna take hits.
Do you worry about that upfront protection for Aaron?
Speaker 3 (24:19):
Well, not necessarily right now.
Speaker 6 (24:21):
I mean I've watched the scrimmage against Washington, the scrimmage
Carolina last week, those scrimmage the Giants tomorrow. They're getting
a lot of work in these uh one one day
scrimmages that they're having. I think Tyron Smith, Morgan Moses
John Simpson are gonna they're gonna start Week one against
the forty nine ers. I think that Olivia Tucker back
(24:42):
Joe Tipman in the second year. You look at the
depth that they created last year was Look, last year
was a disaster, but if there is a blessing to it,
Carter Warren, plate Wes Whitzer played a lot of these
guys are now backups. Yeah, they got a lot of
time last year. If something happens to these frontline guys,
you know, I mean, you've got a first round pick
now that's swinging at right tackle, left tackle. You've got
(25:04):
some backups that have played and.
Speaker 3 (25:06):
Know the system.
Speaker 6 (25:08):
I think, Look, if you give this defense the lead
in the fourth quarter, they're gonna they're gonna be up
amongst the leaders in takeaways.
Speaker 3 (25:16):
In this league. Yeah. Uh, the ball is gonna have
to come out.
Speaker 6 (25:19):
Aaron Rodgers told me a couple of weeks ago, Colin
he said, if we get a fourteen point lead, we're
not losing a game. We're gonna step on team's throats
like and that's how he thinks. And so if you
give this defense a lead, they're gonna feast.
Speaker 1 (25:32):
Yeah, finally I just had my five bold NFL predictions.
I picked Jordan Love as MVP. Green Bay over the
last two to three years has drafted a line wide
receiver and tight end. I mean there's no misses. Everybody hits.
I think they're gonna flex. I don't know about their defense.
(25:54):
I never do, But it felt like last year it
was Matt Lafleur's offense. You know, Aaron's gonna do some
of his own stuff. It felt like, Matts, what do
you make when you broke down that film of Matt
Lafleur now calling the plays? It is his offense. What
does Matt Lafleur do If I'd never seen the Packers playing, say, Baldy,
what's Matt Lafleuur's offense with Jordan Love?
Speaker 6 (26:17):
Well, he plays a ton of formations. He's got a
lot of interchangeable parts. He never gets away from the
run game. He plays as many two tight end offensive
sets as anybody in this business. The key right now
is what you mentioned, Colin is Look, there's a reason
why Joe Barry's gone, Jeff Heflee is in. If you
just watch them in just a preseason now, they're already
(26:38):
pressing wide receivers to the line of screams.
Speaker 3 (26:40):
They've become a four man front.
Speaker 6 (26:42):
You're not going to see Rashaun Gary dropping in the coverage,
Preston Smith dropping. They're a four man front. They're gonna
get after the quarterback. They're going to press the receivers.
And there's a reason they signed Xavier McKinnon free agency.
They want to rob the middle of the field. Remember
these all these guys in Green Bay, they all came
out of San Francisco, where all they do is attack
the middle of the field. Green Bay wants to take
(27:03):
the middle of the field away from teams like San
Francisco with all those in cuts to Kittle and Iu
that we've seen in Deebo over the years. Like, they
want to rob the middle of the field and make
it difficult on you, make you play outside the numbers.
Speaker 3 (27:16):
I think Heffley's going to make a difference. I don't
disagree with what.
Speaker 6 (27:22):
Matt Lafleur said the other day, when you know, it
makes some puke when people start talking about a number
one wide receiver. Look, they're all to being developed at
the same time, Romeo Dobbs, Jayden Reid, Wis Watson, they're
all being developed young. But maybe eventually one of these
guys becomes the next DeVante. Where Okay, it's fourth down,
we need to play. We know where we're going, or
(27:42):
maybe it's red zone. You got to score to win,
we're going here. I don't know which guy that could be,
but sometimes guys just emerge from the pack over a
period of time and the quarterback falls in love with them.
Speaker 3 (27:53):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (27:53):
Brian Valdinger thirteen NFL seasons. You know J McK and
I have had a disagreement. We picked a surprise team
to make the playoffs. I pick Washington and his concern
is everybody's new, the owner, the GM, the coach. And
I said, I've been part of companies where everybody's new
and there's a reason because the last guys weren't very good.
New is fine? This is I mean, Houston had everybody
(28:14):
new except the owner. The energy, the juice new brings
in a building. What do you make of Washing. I
like the fact that they just they upgraded. It's more collaborative,
less authoritative. What do you make of Washington having basically
including the owner, everybody is new.
Speaker 6 (28:34):
Well, I think the owner is going to be good
for this organization. I saw him on the sidelines doing
that Jets Washington scrimmage. I mean, I think players were
meeting Josh Howers for the first time. But there's a
reason Magic Johnson's in the building. Like they just want
winners there. And you know, dan Quinn has got a
new energy. I think they've got a lot of good
assistant coaches there. They've upgraded the talent around him. I
(28:55):
just don't think they're ready to take over Dallas yet
or to take over Philadelphia. I think they'll be highly
much more competitive, but they've still got you know, he
still got a rookie quarterback you're breaking in. I don't
think the skilled positions at receiver, tight end or elite
by any stretch at this point. And I don't know
who's playing left tackle for him. It's good to know
(29:16):
if you're playing a rookie tackle or rookie quarterback, who
your left tackle is going to be and is he
any good, Like there's question marks about this offense that
still remained to be filled at this point.
Speaker 1 (29:27):
Yeah, Brian, it's always a pleasure to have you go
online ball these breakdowns. They're fantastic. We all get smarter.
Congrats and all your success and I love your work.
Thank you so much.
Speaker 3 (29:36):
Thanks for having me Colin, you bet anytime, Brian.
Speaker 1 (29:39):
Yeah, NFL Network does a really good job. The Bowneck stuff.
I mean he just this is a guy that's played
center guard, tackle. He knows the offensive line, he knows
the coaches. Really good stuff. That Washington. Now, Brian's got
me a little concerned.
Speaker 5 (29:55):
I do like how you bring on some guests that
kind of reinforce your points.
Speaker 1 (29:59):
Well, he on smart people, and smart people usually agree
with me. Oh that's what okay.
Speaker 5 (30:05):
The boat Knicks love Colin. You gotta be honest, like
it's exciting. Sure, are we going a little overboard here?
Speaker 1 (30:11):
Like do you want to know the break's just the
fact that pff I had Collinsworth on yesterday. I think
he owns that thing, right, The fact that PFF has
like Denver's got the worst roster. Just the receiving corps
Marvin Mims, Courtland Sutton, Tim Patrick, Troy Franklin good tight
ends at a solid backfield, Sean Payton good left tackle.
(30:33):
How is that the I don't get Now, they need
an edge rusher. Their the defense will be okay at best.
Speaker 5 (30:39):
But Dan can't do fifty million things like they don't
have that much of a defense. Let's just remember nobody
shows anything in the preseason defensively.
Speaker 1 (30:48):
It's the most vanilla schemes. Do you think. Do you
think Sean and bow are showing everything?
Speaker 5 (30:53):
No, but I'm sure the defenses are like, oh my gosh,
this is easy. Look at this dink and dunk. I mean,
you could probably show up in.
Speaker 1 (30:58):
A preseason game it pass.
Speaker 3 (31:00):
No, I couldn't. No, I couldn't.
Speaker 1 (31:03):
I have more faith in you than you do. No
as a quarterback. No, it was terrible.
Speaker 3 (31:08):
All right.
Speaker 1 (31:09):
So we also have Diana Russini and Joel Klatt are
joining us today. So we got a good one on
a Tuesday.
Speaker 2 (31:16):
One more Heard. 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.
Speaker 7 (31:26):
Hey, it's Ben, host of the Fifth Hour with Ben
Maller with mean a lot to have you join us
on our weekly auditory journey. You're asking, what in God's
name is the Fifth Hour. I'll tell you it's a
spin off of it. Ben Maler show, a cult hit
overnights on FSR. Why should you listen? Picture if you will,
a world where we chat with captains of industry in media,
sports and more every week explore some amazing facts about
(31:49):
human nature and more. Listen to the Fifth Hour with
Ben Maller on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcast or wherever
you get your podcasts.
Speaker 1 (31:55):
All right, Joel Clatt, he's very busy. He's doing podcast
stuff up like the top where it's executives and keys
to Mercedes Benz and podcasts. All the rich guys are upstairs.
It's not this big studio like you have. You know,
it's just a elevator doesn't even go to that floor.
Speaker 3 (32:13):
You have to have a special key card.
Speaker 1 (32:15):
So you have you have Penn State, West Virginia, which
is it's interesting because James Franklin can obviously recruit. Yeah,
they got athletes everywhere, and you know they kind of
feel like they're at home. They're a handful for a
Michigan or Ohio State, and I wonder now here comes Oregon,
USC Washington and it's like I kind of feel like
(32:37):
Penn State better be lined up now that otherwise they
go from like that dangerous number three to the back
end of the bullpen.
Speaker 2 (32:44):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (32:45):
So a couple of things on Penn s First of all,
that game that is a tough game because West Virginia
got on a hot streak late last year. They've got
some good players in that environment is going to be incredible.
It would be incredible. Uh, cannot wait for Country Road.
Now that being said, Penn State. A couple of things
on Penn State really three. Number one is this is
(33:05):
the recruiting class that they've been pointing to for a
couple of years. Okay, you know their quarterback Drew Aller,
Nick Singleton, k Tron Allen abdul Carter, like these guys
are are NFL players, and a lot of their fan
base and me included, have been pointing to this season
as a year that they need to take a step forward. Okay,
So that leads to kind of the next things, which
are their schedule for Big Ten standards is softer than others.
(33:30):
They don't face Oregon. They don't face Michigan, so their
toughest game is hosting Ohio State. Now that's nothing to
sneeze at. Obviously. Ohio State, at least for me, is
the number one team in the country in the preseason,
but as it could be in the Big Ten, that's
fairly manageable. So you've got this manageable schedule, and you've
got this recruiting class that you've been pointing to for
(33:51):
a couple of years with NFL talent, yes, all all
over the field, and their defenses is always incredible. They
get a new offensive coordinator. He comes from Kansas. He
helped Lance Leipold really rebuild the Jayhawks. His name is
Andy cotal Nicky. I believe Drew Aller, their quarterback takes
a step forward. Okay, so then that brings me to
that phrase step forward. They're with me for a moment
(34:15):
because Colin Penn State in the last eight seasons, if
we would have had a twelve team playoff format like
we have this year, they would have made six playoffs. Wow,
no teams what they are. No team has been hurt
more by a lack of a team twelve team playoff
than Penn State. That's good. I like that six times
now in those six years, their average rank would have
(34:37):
been nine and a half right around there, so in
the playoff, but not elite. And we've known this to
be true. This is what played out because they can't
get over the hump of Michigan and Ohio State, in
particular in their own division. Now they don't have divisions.
So for me, everything points to Penn State taking a
step forward. That means to me being in the top
eight in the playoff and hosting a first Roundllege Football
(35:00):
payoff game in Happy Valley. In fact, I've got my
new podcast coming out. I believe tomorrow is going to
have my predictions for the twelve team playoff, and I
can just tell you right now they're hosting a first
round playoff game. That's what I think Penn State is.
I think I asked the question and you delivered. That's
nice job. I like how you guys don't know this yet,
but I see that. I have a hard out at
(35:20):
eleven fifty two because he's got a meeting with Shanks.
That guy's up there having a slot. He's up there
eating a sloppy Joe. He can't wait an extra two
minutes they put that on the paper.
Speaker 3 (35:28):
Literally, I have.
Speaker 1 (35:31):
Show ourageous. Okay, you got some big ones this year.
You got Alabama, Wisconsin, you got great games. I'm gonna
throw this out there. I don't know if we put
you on this. Michigan. Yeah, so I'm I'm hearing things
at USC. They like that. You know what they're saying
right now? You media people don't understand. Miller Moss is
(35:54):
way better than you think. I'm Lincoln gets the offense back.
No Oregon, No, Ohio State rebuild, Michigan, Penn State home,
Notre Dame home. A lot of people. Yeah, now where
do you land because you're not a homeer like I'm
called on US City. No, but I'm i am. I'm
bullish on USC this year. I'm very bullish. Their defense.
(36:17):
Everyone can roll their eyes on their defense being better.
Their defense is going to be better. All you have
to do is line up properly and their defense. I'm
not joking, like I know that that sounds bad, but
like the schematics were so bad last year in terms
of gap control football, I mean in some respects. Yes,
I think that's that's probably accurate. Their defense is going
(36:37):
to be better and then this notion that their offense
will take a step back is false. It's false and
the record bears that out. Since twenty seventeen, when Lincoln
Riley became a head coach at Oklahoma, their offense in
terms of yards per play, and I think yards per
play is the best metric we have for really your
efficiency as an offense. How good are you? NFL better use.
(36:59):
That's a big stat, yards per play. When you look
at that stat, Lincoln Riley's offenses since seventeen have been first, first, first, eleventh, third, sixth,
like they're not going anywhere. It hasn't mattered what quarterback
he has had, and in fact, whatever quarterback he has,
as long as that quarterback stays within the system, is
(37:20):
generally a Heisman Trophy candidate. So their offense should be
just fine. If they beat LSU, this is the big one.
If they beat LSU in Week one, then they have
a legitimate chance to play Notre Dame for the right
to go to the College Football Playoff. I think Chip
Kelly wins Ohio State the national championship. I think they
lose at Eugene. It's going to be such a homecoming
(37:42):
for Jack that game is gonna be insane. Did we
put you on that one? NBC's got that one. Oh,
screw those guys. That game is meaningless anyway, the point being,
the point being it's so good. I think whoever wins
that game loses later. So if Oregon wins it and
they meet again, okay, I think Ohio State, that's all right.
(38:04):
I don't think that's fair. I don't think people understand
what Chip Kelly delivers. For a team that was missing something,
they did not run the ball as effectively as they
needed to over the course of the last two and
three years. This is why Michigan became the more dominant
program is because Michigan dominated at the line of scrimmage.
(38:25):
If you go back to what even Ryan Day was
early in his career, what Urban Meyer was at Ohio State.
They ran the football incredibly well. JK. Dobbins ran the
ball for two thousand yards. They're not just an air
it out all the time offense. They had an inability
to run it efficiently. Over the last couple of years,
now got pretty They have Trevon Henderson and quid Sean Jenkins.
(38:46):
That's the best running back duo in college football. Chips
much more of a power run coach than people think.
And he runs the ball. I was just gonna say,
he runs the snot out of the ball. Everywhere that
he's been, they've run the ball as well as any
buddy in their own conference. Even when he was with
the Eagles, they were I believe they led the league
in rushing in one of the years that he was
the head coach with the Philadelphia Eagles. I expect them
(39:09):
to take a step forward offensively because of that, because
of Chip Kelly. And then just quickly for Ohio State,
why do I have them ranked number one one? Chip
Kelly running the football, yeah, two, that's gonna be the
best defense in America. Their front four is loaded with
NFL talent. They're back seven loaded with NFL talent. I
don't see many people scoring points on Ohio State. And
(39:31):
so that will allow them to bring Will Howard, their
quarterback that they named last week. Bring him along. Chip
will get him comfortable running the football. They've got elite
players on the outside, like Ohio State is going to
be a handful. All right, You've got a big meeting,
so it shays on the screen that's incredible. I've got
time I've got what I've always got time for you,
(39:53):
I know. But when it's like big meeting layers, I
mean you're like, well, noon, what's your heart out?
Speaker 7 (40:00):
Literally?
Speaker 1 (40:01):
Possibly could the meeting be about Klatt? We want you
to be available every Saturday this fall. I will tell
you this. I will tell you this when I'm in
this seat. This is second only to call in the games.
This is one of my favorite spots in my way.
We love having right here this chair. And by the way,
when you go looking up at you when you go out,
(40:25):
do those college coaches come to you and say, hey,
you may want to listen to Coward.
Speaker 3 (40:30):
A little bit.
Speaker 1 (40:30):
No, it's actually the exact opposite. They say, like, hey,
keep keep calling his feet to the fire, you know,
like hold him accountable, you know, keep giving him the business.
And I'm like, listen, I will handle my son. But
what does the public say. They say they love this. Okay,
they say more of this, more of this. All right, Well,
(40:51):
you go to your big meeting, you go get a raise.
We're just eating peanuts. Riddle down here, trying to get
to the next rest area. Riddle.
Speaker 3 (40:57):
That's incredible.
Speaker 1 (40:58):
That's all we're doing. I have houses all of the country. Okay,
what we're done. The show's virtually over. I don't even
think we have a show after US today. Do we
first things versus off this week? I'm gonna say something
shoulder sore from carrying this place. You show airing right now.
I tell you what you know. Who gives the best
piggyback ride in America? Colin Coward? Okay, USC make the
(41:20):
playoff ten seconds fifteen, I'd say they're the first one out. Yeah,
because I had that Notre Dame game. I don't like
the way they match up with Notre Dame.
Speaker 3 (41:29):
That's right.
Speaker 1 (41:29):
And I don't like how they match up with Penn State.
I don't either, And they get them at home and
I think they lose both.
Speaker 3 (41:34):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (41:34):
I just think those are tough matchups, really tough. I
would say they got a shot against LSU.
Speaker 3 (41:39):
I did too.
Speaker 1 (41:40):
I think they've got a shot against LSU. I'm gonna
pick them in that game. Wow, what a finished, strong clap.
Speaker 3 (41:47):
There we go.
Hosts And Creators
Colin Cowherd
Jason McIntyre
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