November 7, 2024 • 30 mins
Colin looks at the differences between Lamar Jackson and Joe Burrow's careers as they prepare to faceoff tonight on Thursday Night Football. He believes it's almost time to declare Jayden Daniels as the better quarterback over Caleb Williams who was taken number 1 overall. Fox Sports NFL analyst Greg Olsen joins the show to talk about what Christian McCaffrey's return would mean for the 49ers Super Bowl hopes
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
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
Foxsportsradio 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.
Speaker 1 (00:27):
Here we Go. It is a Thursday, Big One Tonight,
Lamar and Joe Burrow live in Los Angeles. It's the
Herd wherever you may be, however you may be listening.
Thanks for making us part of your day. Greg Cosell.
One hour from now, do you play fantasy football? Do
you bet on football? You want to get smarter at football?
(00:48):
Greg Olsen stops by Jordan Schultz later this hour. A
lot of things happening around the league right now. Coaches
on the hot seat, Jmac. We all know that when
people are young, good parents matters right. Like you as
a parent, me as a parent. We thought a lot
about that. We didn't want chaos. There in support and
(01:10):
little wisdom, do the best you can. Occasional chaos is
not the worst thing. In that not the worst They're
gonna have to deal with it in real life, in
real life. But I was thinking, tonight's a great example.
So tonight it's Lamar Jackson, a great young talent, and
Joe Burrow equally a great young talent, and one of them.
(01:32):
Baltimore is the guide book on how to help raise
your star quarterback. One is how to hinder it. So
let's just talk Lamar Jackson. So he gets to Baltimore,
he gets to sit for a while behind a veteran
of pro Joe Flacco. They don't draft him to start
day one, and very soon after John Harbaugh signs an
(01:54):
extension no chaos veteran coach extended, they re sign a
left tackle, a Ronnie Stanley. They eventually draft a center
over the course of time, Tyler Lindebaum left tackle center,
very valuable by the way. They eventually shift offensive coordinators.
As Lamar grows in the pocket, is a better passer
(02:14):
to Todd Monkin, who they feel previous coordinator was good.
This guy's a bit more past centric. So as Lamar grows,
they add Zave Flowers, and then this year they add
Dereck Henry and they add at the deadline, another receiver, offense,
offense weapons weapons. They've changed coordinators to a more pass
(02:36):
centric coordinator. As Lamar has grown, they don't ask him
to start. They extend the great coach left tackle and center.
Outstanding centers don't get drafted much in the first round.
Baltimore says, yep, by the way, Kansas City did the
same for Mahomes, went and got a center. All they're doing,
(02:57):
what can we do to make this kid flourish?
Speaker 3 (02:59):
Now?
Speaker 1 (02:59):
Go to Joe Berwin Cincinnati. You wonder why he looks
perpetually pissed. He inherits and has to start immediately. Zach Taylor,
we still don't know if he's good. Coach the offensive line,
they can't get it right. It's ranked twenty seventh this year.
It was twenty sixth last year. I think a couple
of years ago was rated lower. They can't get the
(03:20):
offensive line right. This offseason, they let go of Joe Mixon,
who I've been saying for years is a top five
running back. He's had some stuff off the field starting
in college, but he's really good. And oh, by the way,
they let him go and Cincinnati has no run game
and a bad offensive line. Oh, by the way, they
lose their offensive coordinator or a really sharp kid Callahan.
(03:43):
He goes to Tennessee. Do they comb the market. Do
they get into a bidding war for Cliff Kingsbury? No, No,
they just move one of the guys on the staff up. Oh,
by the way, they've got two really good receivers playing
hardball with both hes not going to play tonight probably,
and he won't laugh. He'll be gone, and Jamar Chase
(04:04):
is unhappy. I mean, that's the difference between the parents
being at home, the parents adding wisdom, the parents not
demanding too much too soon. As the kid grows, the
parents challenge support and hey, you're on your own. Mom
and dad are going out seeing a week Baltimore the
(04:29):
entire time. What can we do to slowly grow this
incredible young athlete? And Cincinnati, how can we save money?
Didn't even make a play on Cliff Kingsbury. Let's just
take a guy on the staff. Guy and the staff
may be good, but generally, in any company, it could
be Nike, it could be Intel. Generally you want a
(04:49):
global search to get the best guy. Generally, so as J. F. K,
one of our great presidents, once said, ask not what
your core can do for you, ask what you can
do for your quarterback. One franchise gets it. One is
(05:10):
trying to save money. And that said, I think tonight's
really competitive. Wouldn't be shocked if Burrow wins. But everybody
keeps asking, well, why is Joe Burrow so grumpy? You
would be too. Burrow's the only great quarterback in the
NFL that doesn't have either an elite coach or a
really stacked roster. Goff does Herbert Roster's good Mahomes, Josh Allen, Lamar,
(05:38):
Jalen Hurts. I even like c J. Stroud Roster. Joe
Burrow trying to save money in Cincinnati. That's why he
has a perpetual scowln all right, So it was interesting
yesterday a Bear's quarterback Caleb Williams. Isn't it amazing when
you draft a quarterback, even if they don't succeed early,
it makes the franchise much more interesting. So Caleb Williams
(06:01):
had a moment of honesty. He said, it's getting really
frustrating over the years. I work really hard on my
accuracy and I'm really kind of struggling at times. I
pride myself not being accurate, not being on time is
a really frustrating thing for me, and he has struggled
this year. So this is where in my business, in
this little TV radio business, the media never wants to
(06:24):
be wrong. So a lot of people in the media
are terrified to have a strong opinion. And there is
a fine line from rushing to judgment and identifying the truth.
It's a fine line. I get that. But three games
in and we were right.
Speaker 3 (06:47):
C J.
Speaker 1 (06:48):
Strouds better than Bryce Young, bigger, stronger, more accurate, more
self awareness. He's better. That was not rushing to judgment.
You all watched American Idol or the voice. How many
keys does it take? How many lines does it take?
How many lyrics the melody? Can you tell him? Like
nine seconds?
Speaker 3 (07:08):
C J.
Speaker 1 (07:08):
Stroud, three games in better than Bryce Young? It's been right,
by the way, five games in, same draft class, justin
Herbert Tua. Herbert was better. He was breaking records and
didn't have an elite coach. He was bigger, he was stronger,
he was more mobile, he could take hits better. It
took about five six games. Herbert's better than Tua. So
(07:31):
when you look at Jaden Daniels and Caleb Williams. One
of the things I don't think this is rushing to judgment.
I think this is identifying the truth is that Jaden
Daniels will be a more accurate thrower of the football.
He was in college at LSU seventy percent. He's at
seventy one percent now. Is Jaden Daniels is better at
(07:55):
delivering the ball accurately? So far this year, Daniels, it
would set an all time rookie record seventy one and
a half percent completion percentage. Caleb Williams is close to
the borderline sixty one passer rating one oh six seven
to eighty three. So accuracy is a big deal in
the NFL, and I don't think it's rushing to judgment
(08:17):
to say that, yes, Jaden will be a more accurate
distributor of the football in his career and that matters
a lot. And here's something else, because they're both mobile leadership.
We saw it in college with Caleb. He can be moody,
he can brood. We've never seen that with Jayden Daniels.
(08:40):
At LSU Arizona State NFL camp season, teammates love him,
coach love him. Players in the NFL privately calling their
agents and telling them I want to play for the Commanders. Meanwhile, Caleb,
he and Dj Moore, what's the riff he and his
offensive co ordinator. It's not ideal, I think in the
(09:03):
leadership department right now, and I think Caleb's really talented.
But accuracy, I'm making a definitive opinion. It's just easier.
Jaden is an easier got a better rhythm, it's more effortless.
He's just a more accurate deliver of the football. And
(09:25):
we knew that coming out of college. That was the knock.
That's what the scout said, and we all said it.
Caleb can get. He can get a little inaccurate. You
got to pull him back into the fair away. He
can Galuf and the Weeds sometimes mechanics side arm in it.
That's why it was compared. And leadership. The things that
people question, the fingernail stuff, the jumping in the crowd,
(09:45):
the moody, the brooding a little bit with Caleb, I
think we've seen it and we've seen no sign of that,
nothing but great leadership from Jaden Daniels. So right now today,
that doesn't mean Caleb couldn't win a Super Bowl or
be dominant if he gets the right coach. That's not
what I'm saying, but accuracy and leadership. I think there's
(10:09):
a separation so far. I think Caleb's been noisy, the
Bears have been noisy, and Washington just keeps blowing people
out and competing with the best teams in the league.
So I think there is a fine line between rushing
to judgment and identifying the truth. And that's not to
say Caleb's not going to work. I like him a lot.
(10:30):
I don't think this is the right head coach. I
don't think it's the right coordinator. The offensive lines regressed.
I am not saying they're not reasons accuracy leadership. All
I'm saying is I see a separation many of the scouts.
If you go online and look it up. The concerns
with Caleb have surfaced. And the one primary concern with
(10:52):
Jaden Daniels thin little slight could get injured, been banged
that one game, but hasn't really been an issue. Okay,
j Mac. I'm excited for Greg Cosell this week because
there's a couple of things that I saw last week,
and I think when you get to week ten in
the NFL season. We've said this for the last two weeks,
(11:14):
and I think I think tonight, if Baltimore blows out Cincinnati,
you have a separation between the haves and have nots.
I still think there's a few have nots hanging on.
Maybe the Jets are still hanging on. The Dolphins, I
have not hanging on, Cincinnati have not hanging on? Is
this the weekend we give up on the have nots?
(11:35):
The life preserver doesn't work? Possibly, and there is one team.
There's some breaking ish news now I'm sure you saw
before the show about a certain quarterback. The games come
off the board, you cannot gamble on it. Quarterback's gonna
apparently miss this week. And now there's reports maybe surgery. Yeah,
not great. You know, we need the good quarterbacks playing.
Bottom line, When Patrick Mahomes got hurt briefly on Monday,
(11:57):
I was like, come on, please, you know I'm not
a Chiefs guy.
Speaker 2 (12:00):
We don't need not many Mahomes in the game.
Speaker 1 (12:02):
No, I mean Baker Mayfield. It wasn't Mahomes that made
that game compelling. Baker Mayfield playing without his star receivers
running around making plays actually saved the night.
Speaker 3 (12:11):
Yeah. By the way Baker hosting the Niners off a
by short week.
Speaker 1 (12:17):
Have you looked at that? Is that gonna make the
place of five?
Speaker 3 (12:19):
If it?
Speaker 1 (12:19):
If it doesn't, you got problems, buddy. There's one layup
on the board. Yes there is.
Speaker 2 (12:25):
Be sure to catch live editions of The Herd weekdays
and newon Easter nine am Pacific on Fox Sports Radio
FS one and the iHeartRadio app.
Speaker 1 (12:34):
So in a moment of honesty and clarity, Jets receiver
Garrett Wilson acknowledged he said it's his fault. He says
discussing he and Aaron Rodgers, that he's missing plays, he
can struggle with some of the signs and the signals,
and that it's very, very complex, and Aaron is very demanding. Aaron,
(12:56):
as you recall, got frustrated with young Green Bay wide receivers,
and I have said this is where Brady and Aaron
Rodgers are very similar, two very heady guys who don't
want to be babysitters. And I support Brady and Aaron
with this, although I do think Garrett Wilson is a
sensational talent. Aaron's passer rating with Garrett Wilson is eighty
(13:17):
five with Alan Lazard. It's in the one twenties. What
does that tell you is that Brady worked with Randy
Moss and Wes Welker. He also worked in Tampa when
he had Mike Evans and then he brought along Gronk
and Ab. But for years New England whiffed on first round,
(13:37):
second round, third round receivers. Edelman took four years to work.
And we know how smart and diligent Julian Edelman is.
Is that Lebron, James, Aaron Rodgers, and Tom Brady don't
like working with young kids. Lebron doesn't mind working with
his own kid. I get it, Dad, but they don't
like working with young kids. And when Tom went that
(13:59):
to Tampa, get me Lenny Fournette, dumpoffs, get me gronkn
Ab and Mike Evans, g or seven. So it's interesting
here as the young kid is acknowledging. Yeah, I'm struggling
with this stuff. And you know that's why when de
Hop goes to Kansas City, I'm watching that game and
I'm like, it looks like he's been there for eight years.
That back of the end zone touchdown. And that's how
(14:21):
Moss and Welker were with Tom Brady. And that's why
Lebron James and d Wade eight games in, Lebron James
and Anthony Davis second game in. It works. Guys with
short careers and short shelfs lives do not want to
be babysitters and mentors. Aaron Rodgers wants to win now,
(14:42):
so does Tom and his prime, and so does Lebron.
And that's why it's up to a general manager to
get it right. Just drafting a Why it's okay when
Jordan Love generationally is young, and so are the receivers.
That's different because Jordan Love is growing, Tom's fully Aaron's
fully grown. This is what you get. Lebron knows the game.
(15:03):
You're not gonna play with kids. He's got no interest
Kuzma ball. He didn't want them. Get me grown ups.
Tom Brady yesterday we talked about this and I asked him,
like you and Randy Moss, like you worked within two practices.
You and Mike Evans, you worked instantly. You didn't know
Mike Evans why.
Speaker 4 (15:25):
I remember playing with certain rookie receivers. Literally it was
like the first day of OTAs and I'd call like, hey,
run a slant and he looked at me like a slant. Okay,
And that's kind of the most generic route looks since
we were running those in parking lots, you know, with
your friends. And there was a few guys I played
(15:46):
with that would they'd start the route slow, then they'd
speed up into the break, then they'd slow down coming
out of the break, and then they'd look for the
ball and I'd look at him and be like, what
the hell was that?
Speaker 1 (15:58):
Yeah, but you didn't have to do that with Welker, Moss,
Mike Evans, a young Chris Godwin. They figured it out
pretty quick. But it was immediately Mike Evans, immediately, Wes, Welker,
Randy stuff worked instantly and Aaron with Alan Lazard passer
rating is the highest on the team, not the more
gifted receiver. Garrett Wilson. I get the pro athlete. It's
(16:19):
up to the general manager to figure this out. I
get the pro athlete, the all time great, the Aaron,
the Lebron, the Brady saying, not a mentor, It's not
my job. I'm not a babysitter. Get me guys who
can play and can run routes today.
Speaker 2 (16:33):
Now Sunday, be sure to catch live editions of the
Herd Weekdays and noone Easter, not a em Pacific.
Speaker 1 (16:40):
All right, welcome back Greg Olsen. Fourteen years in the NFL,
A three time pro bowler. He's such an excellent broadcaster
for US. Nobody clarifies and simplifies the complicated faster and
better than Greg Olsen. So this summer I was out
in one of my favorite little haunts in Rhode Island,
and all of a sudden, all these big you know eyes,
(17:00):
Luke Keighley and Jonathan Stewart and Greg Olsen are sitting
over there. They come over and they were there for
the Christian McCaffrey wedding, which for the record, not invited.
Still a little bitter, no big deal, but Christian comes
back this weekend. You played with him for three years
in Carolina, and I remember being with my wife and
(17:24):
meeting him. She could not believe he was a great
football player. He's like that guy. I'm like, he may
be pound for pound, the strongest football player in the
history of the league. Take people behind your years with
him and just I think, after Walter Payton and Barry
Stand He's in the argument for one of the best
backs I've ever seen. Did you spot it instantly? What
(17:45):
was it about him that you saw instantly?
Speaker 3 (17:49):
Well, first off, I think his greatest qualities. He throws
a great wedding, and we can get into that at
a different time. But for anyone who saw maybe some
of the pictures that surfaced online, safe to say we
had a really good time. I'm getting the band back together.
But you know my favorite McCaffrey story, and I tell
this like anytime anyone behind the scenes, like asse, just
describe him. So he gets drafted. And remember, because he
(18:12):
went to Stanford and they're on a different semester system,
there's this rule where incoming rookies can't participate in the
off season program because of the semester quarters system or
whatever they do at some of the schools around the country.
So we didn't really get to see Christian much in
the early stages of Ota. So Ron rivera our head coach.
He's throwing a charity event. It's like a bowling charity event.
(18:36):
So a bunch of the guys. Of course, when your
head coach throws an event, you go. So I'm sitting
there and McCaffrey's there, his mom and this is really
the first time that I get to meet him and
his family because he hadn't yet been able to join us.
And for the next two hours, he didn't bowl a ball,
he didn't talk to anyone. He sat next to me
in the lane that I was assigned to, and he
(18:58):
asked me to describe our past protection rules. How does
Cam make the mic declarations? What does Ryan Khalil do?
What's his hand gestures? For two hours, all he wanted
to talk about was pass protection, our calls, our line movements,
our responsibilities. And I remember going home that day and
I was like, I know, this dude's talented. I watched
all of his games. I think he should have won
(19:19):
the Heisman his last year, But I was like, this
dude's mindset, his work ethic, he was just unlike any
rookie that I had ever been around as far as
his approach and his maturity and lo and behold. Obviously
his career has followed suit. We played together for three
years and then obviously he got traded out of the year.
Shortly after that, I got released and went out and
(19:41):
did my last year in Seattle. So he is a
special player. Obviously, him getting back healthy now from the
Achilles will be a big boost. If San Francisco could
just hang in there get him back, I think we'll
see them kind of start to ascend down the stretch here.
Speaker 1 (19:56):
So you've had a couple of Falcons games. We had
picked the Falcons to win the division. I liked drafting
Panics after acquiring Cousins Kirk Cousins, because I thought, Okay,
mature now, growth later. It's very mahomes Alex Smith like
I have. He didn't sign a ridiculous contract.
Speaker 3 (20:14):
It's a it's a.
Speaker 1 (20:15):
Kirk Cousins deal. It's fair. I think they're really good.
I think they're super efficient. I think he's a really
I think he's a grown up, and I think Atlanta
was a bunch of young kids and needed a grown up.
What is your introg You may know Atlanta better than
any broadcaster. You've done several games. Can they beat to Detroit?
Can they beat it? Can they beat to Philadelphia? Or
(20:37):
is it just they're gonna win that division and that's nice?
What do you see with them? Because they're starting to
put w's together.
Speaker 3 (20:45):
Yeah, I think if you had asked me three weeks ago.
So this is going to be my third Atlanta game
in a row. I actually just shortly before jumping on
with you, we just had our calls with Raheem Morris
and Zach Robinson, who Now I feel like I really
know these guys because I've spent so much time talking
to them over the last couple weeks of the season.
So if you would have asked me three weeks ago,
could they go, you know, in the Divisional round or
(21:05):
in the NFC Championship, could they beat you know, the
Lions or San Francisco if they're healthy and what we've seen,
I think I probably would have balked on that. I
would have said, he I need to see more. I
need to see more growth out of the defense. I
got to see a better pass rush. They've got to
be able to stop some of these high profile, prolific offenses.
But the last couple of weeks now, but I saw
(21:26):
last week allbe against Dallas, who's really banged up, and
they're having problems of their own. This is a team that,
again I never want to jinx anyone knock on wood
for their safe is healthy. They're very talented on the
offensive side of the ball. You talk a lot about
Kirk Cousins, but they've you know, they got first round
picks everywhere. V Jon Robinson, Drake London, Kyle Pitts is
having the best season since his rookie year. The quiet
(21:48):
signing of Darnell Mooney. I don't know if anyone's really
like talking enough about him disappointing year last year in Chicago.
He has been their most electric downfield player, leads the
league in explosive catches. You know, a quiet guy, Ray
Ray Armstrong, a offensive line that's gotten better. And then
you got Raheem Morris, right, so you have Raheem Morris
who understands defense that they might not have a bunch
(22:09):
of superstars, a bunch of prolific guys, but the Jesse
Bates of the world and Caden Ellis in the return
of Grady Jarrett. I mean they are very good, sound
solid at all three levels. And Raheem Morris, he knows
a lot about defense. He understands how to get a
defense better. So their ability to play complimentary ball, I'm
a lot closer to saying that they can compete in
(22:29):
an NFC playoff picture with the likes of the Lions.
I still think the Lions are the top dog. I
think until proven otherwise, they are the team to be
in the NFC. They got that thing rolling goff along
with Lamars probably in that handful of guys in the
MVP race here at the halfway point. But I really
like the job that Raheem Morris has done. He took
(22:50):
that job knowing they were a quarterback away from being
very good. They've added a couple key pieces in free
agency and through the draft, and he's got a really
good coaching staff that has got the most out of
their players here so far.
Speaker 1 (23:02):
So listen, it looks like Drake May can play, bo
Nicks can play JJ McCarthy before the injury, can play.
Caleb's certainly talented, and Jaden Daniels cannot only play. He's like, like,
it's it's too easy. And my take on this is
it's just like having kids. The less chaos, the more wisdom,
(23:23):
the more protection there's. I mean, you watch the way
the Ravens have slowly built up Lamar Jackson with support,
and how the Bengals have been cheap moved off Mixon
haven't ever gotten the offensive line right. Even when you're great,
Joe Burrow, you can see he looks angry all the time.
He knows he's not playing with a team like a
like a Jalen Hurts or even a Justin Herbert, the
(23:45):
Jade and Daniels stuff. I mean, you saw a very
young cam. Are you surprised how seamless and effortless it's been.
I know the sec is good, but I mean he's
completing almost seventy two percent of his he doesn't throw
bad picks.
Speaker 3 (24:02):
You a little surprised, Yeah, I think we've seen over
the year, especially over the last couple of years, there
is a wide spectrum of immediate quarterback success. And whether
you're the first overall pick or you're a lower pick,
it doesn't really matter playing quarterback. Playing as a rookie
in the NFL is challenging regardless of the position, but
no more so than at the quarterback position. And we've
(24:24):
seen great examples over the last couple of years, have
rookies who have come on to the scene and seem
like they're even better than they were in college.
Speaker 2 (24:31):
And that was CJ.
Speaker 3 (24:32):
Shroud last year as a rookie player, you know, Rookie
of the Year and takes Houston to the playoffs. And
then we've seen top picks struggle and have a little
bit more of a stunted growth and a little bit
of a slower development. So I agree with you so
much about the early success in development of young quarterbacks
in the league is the environment in which they get
drafted to. So it's twofold. It's who's in charge, who
(24:55):
is setting the culture, who is putting the parameters and
whatnot about building the culture, and he has, in my opinion,
probably the best culture guy in football. At least he's
in the conversation in dan Quinn. So I think they
hired Dan. He brings some stability, He's an unbelievable balance
of motivating. He's got a little Dan Campbell to him
right where Yes, he was a play caller and that
(25:16):
was his backstory, but really the first name when you
bring up Dan Campbell's name or Dan Quinn's name, it's
the first thing you see is like the eyes light
up about all of their players. It's like we love him.
The fear of letting him down. It is a great
motivating factor. And there's a few guys that just have
that personality. Dan Quinn is one of them. So it
starts there. I think again, a sneaky hire that maybe
(25:40):
didn't get the offseason, Buzz was hiring Cliff Kingsbury to
be the offensive coordinator and we had Washington a few
weeks back. Cliff was very honest. He said, my first
order of business was not to install the Arizona Cardinals
two point zero offense and continuation of that or necessarily
what I did in college. He goes, My day one
installed is offseason, was me sitting down with Jade and
(26:02):
Daniels and saying, give me your top schemes, your top protections,
your top route concepts that you loved in college. Give
them to me, write them down in your verbage. That's
our day one install. And He's like, from that point
I could layer in elements of my system to best
suit Jade and Daniels and wear his strengths and protect
(26:22):
some of his weaknesses. And I think you can see
that they don't huddle, they get up to the ball,
they vary their tempos, they get an out of different
personnel groupings. They make the offense look a lot more complicate,
the complicated, but it's really just recycling a lot of
similar concepts that he ran in college, some of the
RPO stuff, some of the design quarterback runs where he
just can keep the defense honest enough, and then he's
(26:46):
wildly accurate to your point. So it's a really good fit.
He's got some good offensive skill guys around him, Terry
McLaurin and Brian Robinson. So yeah, the environment in which
you walk into is the number one factor. Not talent,
not what you did in college, not what your draft
status was. The environment in which you're drafted to a
Labrock Perdi is the number one aspect of what determines
(27:09):
whether you're going to have immediate success and growth or
if the early days are going to be trying.
Speaker 1 (27:15):
Finally, the two quarterbacks in college, which they're just different,
cam Ward and Shador Sanders. They move well, they throw.
He plays with sort of a casual comfort, I mean,
just very comfortable guy. It all feels a little backyard.
He's not he didn't stress out. Does it translate when
you see cam Ward? I mean, obviously they almost duke
(27:36):
and cal gave him trouble. He's the right now, he's
the guy, he's leading that team. What do you make
of him? Stylistically? Is that work in the NFL?
Speaker 3 (27:47):
I think that's going to be every single team in
the top half the draft. I think that's going to
be every single front offic his conversation for the until
next year's draft. It's going to be we see all
these traits, we see the unbelievable arm talent, we see
the again. I always struggle using this word in comparison
because it's probably not fair, but it is very Mahomes
type style where it's not always in rhythm, his feet
(28:10):
are not always set, sometimes he's moving backwards. But it's
the arm talent that kind of makes up for it.
The question is you know it's chicken or the egg, right,
A guy like Mahomes was able to transition to an
off script, improvised style of passer, but it was built
on the fundamentals of being a more traditional passer from
his college days and then obviously early on with Andy Reid.
(28:32):
So there is that foundation. He's just taking it to
a level that is very hard to expect other people
to be able to play a similar style. So when
you look at cam Ward, had a chance to go
down there and watch their first game down in the
swamp against Florida, and I remember saying one of the
assistant coaches walking in at halftime, I was like, his
feet are never set. He's always going backwards. Yet every
(28:52):
ball has incredible, you know, tempo on it, the pacing,
it's on rhythm, it's in target. And even though he's
not in rhythm, everything about the offense seems to be
in rhythm. And I think that's going to be the
big question is his talent is undeniable. Mario, Chris vall
and I had dinner back in the spring, and he
goes Greg. Of all the dudes we've had right the
(29:13):
door seas of the world, those guys that have just
that incredible intangibles to make everyone around them fall in
line and play better, he is unlike anyone that I've
ever been around. He's very justin Herbert from his days
at Oregon as the head coach when Mario was there.
He's like he is that personality. And then of course
he's wildly talented. So I think whoever gets him, wherever
they get him, I think they have a star on
(29:36):
their hands. You're gonna have to just look past some
of the things that don't look prototypical NFL quarterback. And
if you can look past that, like a lot of
people did with Mahomes, And again I'm not saying he's Mahomes,
I'm just that's kind of the path he's on. And
I'll tell you what he is fun to watch. He
is a blast and as a Miami guy, man, I
(29:56):
hope they can score fifty in every game and hopefully
I can go some of the playoff bouts.
Speaker 1 (30:02):
It's just a loosey, goosey, fun backyard style, but it works.
Greg Olsen, Fox Sports always appreciate you taking ten twelve
minutes more. Appreciate Bud, Appreciate you, all right, Okay, Greg Olsen. Yeah,
when you watch him play, it has a backyard field
to it. Shadoor Sanders, I think tends to set up more.
He sits just when I watch Shadu or it looks
(30:23):
like an NFL quarterback cam Ward. I'm like, does it
is that going to play in the next level. But
I will say this dude's accurate. Doesn't matter how he's
throwing ball ends up in the right place. It's just
a very loose, fun style. I don't know. I don't
have an answer for Shador Sanders. I think works. I
think he just he's everything works, size, movement, accuracy. You know,
(30:47):
Dad was an old timer, so he understands kind of
the pro professional game. Cam's going to be a really
fascinating pick.
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
Foxsportsradio 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.
Speaker 1 (00:27):
Here we Go. It is a Thursday, Big One Tonight,
Lamar and Joe Burrow live in Los Angeles. It's the
Herd wherever you may be, however you may be listening.
Thanks for making us part of your day. Greg Cosell.
One hour from now, do you play fantasy football? Do
you bet on football? You want to get smarter at football?
(00:48):
Greg Olsen stops by Jordan Schultz later this hour. A
lot of things happening around the league right now. Coaches
on the hot seat, Jmac. We all know that when
people are young, good parents matters right. Like you as
a parent, me as a parent. We thought a lot
about that. We didn't want chaos. There in support and
(01:10):
little wisdom, do the best you can. Occasional chaos is
not the worst thing. In that not the worst They're
gonna have to deal with it in real life, in
real life. But I was thinking, tonight's a great example.
So tonight it's Lamar Jackson, a great young talent, and
Joe Burrow equally a great young talent, and one of them.
(01:32):
Baltimore is the guide book on how to help raise
your star quarterback. One is how to hinder it. So
let's just talk Lamar Jackson. So he gets to Baltimore,
he gets to sit for a while behind a veteran
of pro Joe Flacco. They don't draft him to start
day one, and very soon after John Harbaugh signs an
(01:54):
extension no chaos veteran coach extended, they re sign a
left tackle, a Ronnie Stanley. They eventually draft a center
over the course of time, Tyler Lindebaum left tackle center,
very valuable by the way. They eventually shift offensive coordinators.
As Lamar grows in the pocket, is a better passer
(02:14):
to Todd Monkin, who they feel previous coordinator was good.
This guy's a bit more past centric. So as Lamar grows,
they add Zave Flowers, and then this year they add
Dereck Henry and they add at the deadline, another receiver, offense,
offense weapons weapons. They've changed coordinators to a more pass
(02:36):
centric coordinator. As Lamar has grown, they don't ask him
to start. They extend the great coach left tackle and center.
Outstanding centers don't get drafted much in the first round.
Baltimore says, yep, by the way, Kansas City did the
same for Mahomes, went and got a center. All they're doing,
(02:57):
what can we do to make this kid flourish?
Speaker 3 (02:59):
Now?
Speaker 1 (02:59):
Go to Joe Berwin Cincinnati. You wonder why he looks
perpetually pissed. He inherits and has to start immediately. Zach Taylor,
we still don't know if he's good. Coach the offensive line,
they can't get it right. It's ranked twenty seventh this year.
It was twenty sixth last year. I think a couple
of years ago was rated lower. They can't get the
(03:20):
offensive line right. This offseason, they let go of Joe Mixon,
who I've been saying for years is a top five
running back. He's had some stuff off the field starting
in college, but he's really good. And oh, by the way,
they let him go and Cincinnati has no run game
and a bad offensive line. Oh, by the way, they
lose their offensive coordinator or a really sharp kid Callahan.
(03:43):
He goes to Tennessee. Do they comb the market. Do
they get into a bidding war for Cliff Kingsbury? No, No,
they just move one of the guys on the staff up. Oh,
by the way, they've got two really good receivers playing
hardball with both hes not going to play tonight probably,
and he won't laugh. He'll be gone, and Jamar Chase
(04:04):
is unhappy. I mean, that's the difference between the parents
being at home, the parents adding wisdom, the parents not
demanding too much too soon. As the kid grows, the
parents challenge support and hey, you're on your own. Mom
and dad are going out seeing a week Baltimore the
(04:29):
entire time. What can we do to slowly grow this
incredible young athlete? And Cincinnati, how can we save money?
Didn't even make a play on Cliff Kingsbury. Let's just
take a guy on the staff. Guy and the staff
may be good, but generally, in any company, it could
be Nike, it could be Intel. Generally you want a
(04:49):
global search to get the best guy. Generally, so as J. F. K,
one of our great presidents, once said, ask not what
your core can do for you, ask what you can
do for your quarterback. One franchise gets it. One is
(05:10):
trying to save money. And that said, I think tonight's
really competitive. Wouldn't be shocked if Burrow wins. But everybody
keeps asking, well, why is Joe Burrow so grumpy? You
would be too. Burrow's the only great quarterback in the
NFL that doesn't have either an elite coach or a
really stacked roster. Goff does Herbert Roster's good Mahomes, Josh Allen, Lamar,
(05:38):
Jalen Hurts. I even like c J. Stroud Roster. Joe
Burrow trying to save money in Cincinnati. That's why he
has a perpetual scowln all right, So it was interesting
yesterday a Bear's quarterback Caleb Williams. Isn't it amazing when
you draft a quarterback, even if they don't succeed early,
it makes the franchise much more interesting. So Caleb Williams
(06:01):
had a moment of honesty. He said, it's getting really
frustrating over the years. I work really hard on my
accuracy and I'm really kind of struggling at times. I
pride myself not being accurate, not being on time is
a really frustrating thing for me, and he has struggled
this year. So this is where in my business, in
this little TV radio business, the media never wants to
(06:24):
be wrong. So a lot of people in the media
are terrified to have a strong opinion. And there is
a fine line from rushing to judgment and identifying the truth.
It's a fine line. I get that. But three games
in and we were right.
Speaker 3 (06:47):
C J.
Speaker 1 (06:48):
Strouds better than Bryce Young, bigger, stronger, more accurate, more
self awareness. He's better. That was not rushing to judgment.
You all watched American Idol or the voice. How many
keys does it take? How many lines does it take?
How many lyrics the melody? Can you tell him? Like
nine seconds?
Speaker 3 (07:08):
C J.
Speaker 1 (07:08):
Stroud, three games in better than Bryce Young? It's been right,
by the way, five games in, same draft class, justin
Herbert Tua. Herbert was better. He was breaking records and
didn't have an elite coach. He was bigger, he was stronger,
he was more mobile, he could take hits better. It
took about five six games. Herbert's better than Tua. So
(07:31):
when you look at Jaden Daniels and Caleb Williams. One
of the things I don't think this is rushing to judgment.
I think this is identifying the truth is that Jaden
Daniels will be a more accurate thrower of the football.
He was in college at LSU seventy percent. He's at
seventy one percent now. Is Jaden Daniels is better at
(07:55):
delivering the ball accurately? So far this year, Daniels, it
would set an all time rookie record seventy one and
a half percent completion percentage. Caleb Williams is close to
the borderline sixty one passer rating one oh six seven
to eighty three. So accuracy is a big deal in
the NFL, and I don't think it's rushing to judgment
(08:17):
to say that, yes, Jaden will be a more accurate
distributor of the football in his career and that matters
a lot. And here's something else, because they're both mobile leadership.
We saw it in college with Caleb. He can be moody,
he can brood. We've never seen that with Jayden Daniels.
(08:40):
At LSU Arizona State NFL camp season, teammates love him,
coach love him. Players in the NFL privately calling their
agents and telling them I want to play for the Commanders. Meanwhile, Caleb,
he and Dj Moore, what's the riff he and his
offensive co ordinator. It's not ideal, I think in the
(09:03):
leadership department right now, and I think Caleb's really talented.
But accuracy, I'm making a definitive opinion. It's just easier.
Jaden is an easier got a better rhythm, it's more effortless.
He's just a more accurate deliver of the football. And
(09:25):
we knew that coming out of college. That was the knock.
That's what the scout said, and we all said it.
Caleb can get. He can get a little inaccurate. You
got to pull him back into the fair away. He
can Galuf and the Weeds sometimes mechanics side arm in it.
That's why it was compared. And leadership. The things that
people question, the fingernail stuff, the jumping in the crowd,
(09:45):
the moody, the brooding a little bit with Caleb, I
think we've seen it and we've seen no sign of that,
nothing but great leadership from Jaden Daniels. So right now today,
that doesn't mean Caleb couldn't win a Super Bowl or
be dominant if he gets the right coach. That's not
what I'm saying, but accuracy and leadership. I think there's
(10:09):
a separation so far. I think Caleb's been noisy, the
Bears have been noisy, and Washington just keeps blowing people
out and competing with the best teams in the league.
So I think there is a fine line between rushing
to judgment and identifying the truth. And that's not to
say Caleb's not going to work. I like him a lot.
(10:30):
I don't think this is the right head coach. I
don't think it's the right coordinator. The offensive lines regressed.
I am not saying they're not reasons accuracy leadership. All
I'm saying is I see a separation many of the scouts.
If you go online and look it up. The concerns
with Caleb have surfaced. And the one primary concern with
(10:52):
Jaden Daniels thin little slight could get injured, been banged
that one game, but hasn't really been an issue. Okay,
j Mac. I'm excited for Greg Cosell this week because
there's a couple of things that I saw last week,
and I think when you get to week ten in
the NFL season. We've said this for the last two weeks,
(11:14):
and I think I think tonight, if Baltimore blows out Cincinnati,
you have a separation between the haves and have nots.
I still think there's a few have nots hanging on.
Maybe the Jets are still hanging on. The Dolphins, I
have not hanging on, Cincinnati have not hanging on? Is
this the weekend we give up on the have nots?
(11:35):
The life preserver doesn't work? Possibly, and there is one team.
There's some breaking ish news now I'm sure you saw
before the show about a certain quarterback. The games come
off the board, you cannot gamble on it. Quarterback's gonna
apparently miss this week. And now there's reports maybe surgery. Yeah,
not great. You know, we need the good quarterbacks playing.
Bottom line, When Patrick Mahomes got hurt briefly on Monday,
(11:57):
I was like, come on, please, you know I'm not
a Chiefs guy.
Speaker 2 (12:00):
We don't need not many Mahomes in the game.
Speaker 1 (12:02):
No, I mean Baker Mayfield. It wasn't Mahomes that made
that game compelling. Baker Mayfield playing without his star receivers
running around making plays actually saved the night.
Speaker 3 (12:11):
Yeah. By the way Baker hosting the Niners off a
by short week.
Speaker 1 (12:17):
Have you looked at that? Is that gonna make the
place of five?
Speaker 3 (12:19):
If it?
Speaker 1 (12:19):
If it doesn't, you got problems, buddy. There's one layup
on the board. Yes there is.
Speaker 2 (12:25):
Be sure to catch live editions of The Herd weekdays
and newon Easter nine am Pacific on Fox Sports Radio
FS one and the iHeartRadio app.
Speaker 1 (12:34):
So in a moment of honesty and clarity, Jets receiver
Garrett Wilson acknowledged he said it's his fault. He says
discussing he and Aaron Rodgers, that he's missing plays, he
can struggle with some of the signs and the signals,
and that it's very, very complex, and Aaron is very demanding. Aaron,
(12:56):
as you recall, got frustrated with young Green Bay wide receivers,
and I have said this is where Brady and Aaron
Rodgers are very similar, two very heady guys who don't
want to be babysitters. And I support Brady and Aaron
with this, although I do think Garrett Wilson is a
sensational talent. Aaron's passer rating with Garrett Wilson is eighty
(13:17):
five with Alan Lazard. It's in the one twenties. What
does that tell you is that Brady worked with Randy
Moss and Wes Welker. He also worked in Tampa when
he had Mike Evans and then he brought along Gronk
and Ab. But for years New England whiffed on first round,
(13:37):
second round, third round receivers. Edelman took four years to work.
And we know how smart and diligent Julian Edelman is.
Is that Lebron, James, Aaron Rodgers, and Tom Brady don't
like working with young kids. Lebron doesn't mind working with
his own kid. I get it, Dad, but they don't
like working with young kids. And when Tom went that
(13:59):
to Tampa, get me Lenny Fournette, dumpoffs, get me gronkn
Ab and Mike Evans, g or seven. So it's interesting
here as the young kid is acknowledging. Yeah, I'm struggling
with this stuff. And you know that's why when de
Hop goes to Kansas City, I'm watching that game and
I'm like, it looks like he's been there for eight years.
That back of the end zone touchdown. And that's how
(14:21):
Moss and Welker were with Tom Brady. And that's why
Lebron James and d Wade eight games in, Lebron James
and Anthony Davis second game in. It works. Guys with
short careers and short shelfs lives do not want to
be babysitters and mentors. Aaron Rodgers wants to win now,
(14:42):
so does Tom and his prime, and so does Lebron.
And that's why it's up to a general manager to
get it right. Just drafting a Why it's okay when
Jordan Love generationally is young, and so are the receivers.
That's different because Jordan Love is growing, Tom's fully Aaron's
fully grown. This is what you get. Lebron knows the game.
(15:03):
You're not gonna play with kids. He's got no interest
Kuzma ball. He didn't want them. Get me grown ups.
Tom Brady yesterday we talked about this and I asked him,
like you and Randy Moss, like you worked within two practices.
You and Mike Evans, you worked instantly. You didn't know
Mike Evans why.
Speaker 4 (15:25):
I remember playing with certain rookie receivers. Literally it was
like the first day of OTAs and I'd call like, hey,
run a slant and he looked at me like a slant. Okay,
And that's kind of the most generic route looks since
we were running those in parking lots, you know, with
your friends. And there was a few guys I played
(15:46):
with that would they'd start the route slow, then they'd
speed up into the break, then they'd slow down coming
out of the break, and then they'd look for the
ball and I'd look at him and be like, what
the hell was that?
Speaker 1 (15:58):
Yeah, but you didn't have to do that with Welker, Moss,
Mike Evans, a young Chris Godwin. They figured it out
pretty quick. But it was immediately Mike Evans, immediately, Wes, Welker,
Randy stuff worked instantly and Aaron with Alan Lazard passer
rating is the highest on the team, not the more
gifted receiver. Garrett Wilson. I get the pro athlete. It's
(16:19):
up to the general manager to figure this out. I
get the pro athlete, the all time great, the Aaron,
the Lebron, the Brady saying, not a mentor, It's not
my job. I'm not a babysitter. Get me guys who
can play and can run routes today.
Speaker 2 (16:33):
Now Sunday, be sure to catch live editions of the
Herd Weekdays and noone Easter, not a em Pacific.
Speaker 1 (16:40):
All right, welcome back Greg Olsen. Fourteen years in the NFL,
A three time pro bowler. He's such an excellent broadcaster
for US. Nobody clarifies and simplifies the complicated faster and
better than Greg Olsen. So this summer I was out
in one of my favorite little haunts in Rhode Island,
and all of a sudden, all these big you know eyes,
(17:00):
Luke Keighley and Jonathan Stewart and Greg Olsen are sitting
over there. They come over and they were there for
the Christian McCaffrey wedding, which for the record, not invited.
Still a little bitter, no big deal, but Christian comes
back this weekend. You played with him for three years
in Carolina, and I remember being with my wife and
(17:24):
meeting him. She could not believe he was a great
football player. He's like that guy. I'm like, he may
be pound for pound, the strongest football player in the
history of the league. Take people behind your years with
him and just I think, after Walter Payton and Barry
Stand He's in the argument for one of the best
backs I've ever seen. Did you spot it instantly? What
(17:45):
was it about him that you saw instantly?
Speaker 3 (17:49):
Well, first off, I think his greatest qualities. He throws
a great wedding, and we can get into that at
a different time. But for anyone who saw maybe some
of the pictures that surfaced online, safe to say we
had a really good time. I'm getting the band back together.
But you know my favorite McCaffrey story, and I tell
this like anytime anyone behind the scenes, like asse, just
describe him. So he gets drafted. And remember, because he
(18:12):
went to Stanford and they're on a different semester system,
there's this rule where incoming rookies can't participate in the
off season program because of the semester quarters system or
whatever they do at some of the schools around the country.
So we didn't really get to see Christian much in
the early stages of Ota. So Ron rivera our head coach.
He's throwing a charity event. It's like a bowling charity event.
(18:36):
So a bunch of the guys. Of course, when your
head coach throws an event, you go. So I'm sitting
there and McCaffrey's there, his mom and this is really
the first time that I get to meet him and
his family because he hadn't yet been able to join us.
And for the next two hours, he didn't bowl a ball,
he didn't talk to anyone. He sat next to me
in the lane that I was assigned to, and he
(18:58):
asked me to describe our past protection rules. How does
Cam make the mic declarations? What does Ryan Khalil do?
What's his hand gestures? For two hours, all he wanted
to talk about was pass protection, our calls, our line movements,
our responsibilities. And I remember going home that day and
I was like, I know, this dude's talented. I watched
all of his games. I think he should have won
(19:19):
the Heisman his last year, But I was like, this
dude's mindset, his work ethic, he was just unlike any
rookie that I had ever been around as far as
his approach and his maturity and lo and behold. Obviously
his career has followed suit. We played together for three
years and then obviously he got traded out of the year.
Shortly after that, I got released and went out and
(19:41):
did my last year in Seattle. So he is a
special player. Obviously, him getting back healthy now from the
Achilles will be a big boost. If San Francisco could
just hang in there get him back, I think we'll
see them kind of start to ascend down the stretch here.
Speaker 1 (19:56):
So you've had a couple of Falcons games. We had
picked the Falcons to win the division. I liked drafting
Panics after acquiring Cousins Kirk Cousins, because I thought, Okay,
mature now, growth later. It's very mahomes Alex Smith like
I have. He didn't sign a ridiculous contract.
Speaker 3 (20:14):
It's a it's a.
Speaker 1 (20:15):
Kirk Cousins deal. It's fair. I think they're really good.
I think they're super efficient. I think he's a really
I think he's a grown up, and I think Atlanta
was a bunch of young kids and needed a grown up.
What is your introg You may know Atlanta better than
any broadcaster. You've done several games. Can they beat to Detroit?
Can they beat it? Can they beat to Philadelphia? Or
(20:37):
is it just they're gonna win that division and that's nice?
What do you see with them? Because they're starting to
put w's together.
Speaker 3 (20:45):
Yeah, I think if you had asked me three weeks ago.
So this is going to be my third Atlanta game
in a row. I actually just shortly before jumping on
with you, we just had our calls with Raheem Morris
and Zach Robinson, who Now I feel like I really
know these guys because I've spent so much time talking
to them over the last couple weeks of the season.
So if you would have asked me three weeks ago,
could they go, you know, in the Divisional round or
(21:05):
in the NFC Championship, could they beat you know, the
Lions or San Francisco if they're healthy and what we've seen,
I think I probably would have balked on that. I
would have said, he I need to see more. I
need to see more growth out of the defense. I
got to see a better pass rush. They've got to
be able to stop some of these high profile, prolific offenses.
But the last couple of weeks now, but I saw
(21:26):
last week allbe against Dallas, who's really banged up, and
they're having problems of their own. This is a team that,
again I never want to jinx anyone knock on wood
for their safe is healthy. They're very talented on the
offensive side of the ball. You talk a lot about
Kirk Cousins, but they've you know, they got first round
picks everywhere. V Jon Robinson, Drake London, Kyle Pitts is
having the best season since his rookie year. The quiet
(21:48):
signing of Darnell Mooney. I don't know if anyone's really
like talking enough about him disappointing year last year in Chicago.
He has been their most electric downfield player, leads the
league in explosive catches. You know, a quiet guy, Ray
Ray Armstrong, a offensive line that's gotten better. And then
you got Raheem Morris, right, so you have Raheem Morris
who understands defense that they might not have a bunch
(22:09):
of superstars, a bunch of prolific guys, but the Jesse
Bates of the world and Caden Ellis in the return
of Grady Jarrett. I mean they are very good, sound
solid at all three levels. And Raheem Morris, he knows
a lot about defense. He understands how to get a
defense better. So their ability to play complimentary ball, I'm
a lot closer to saying that they can compete in
(22:29):
an NFC playoff picture with the likes of the Lions.
I still think the Lions are the top dog. I
think until proven otherwise, they are the team to be
in the NFC. They got that thing rolling goff along
with Lamars probably in that handful of guys in the
MVP race here at the halfway point. But I really
like the job that Raheem Morris has done. He took
(22:50):
that job knowing they were a quarterback away from being
very good. They've added a couple key pieces in free
agency and through the draft, and he's got a really
good coaching staff that has got the most out of
their players here so far.
Speaker 1 (23:02):
So listen, it looks like Drake May can play, bo
Nicks can play JJ McCarthy before the injury, can play.
Caleb's certainly talented, and Jaden Daniels cannot only play. He's like, like,
it's it's too easy. And my take on this is
it's just like having kids. The less chaos, the more wisdom,
(23:23):
the more protection there's. I mean, you watch the way
the Ravens have slowly built up Lamar Jackson with support,
and how the Bengals have been cheap moved off Mixon
haven't ever gotten the offensive line right. Even when you're great,
Joe Burrow, you can see he looks angry all the time.
He knows he's not playing with a team like a
like a Jalen Hurts or even a Justin Herbert, the
(23:45):
Jade and Daniels stuff. I mean, you saw a very
young cam. Are you surprised how seamless and effortless it's been.
I know the sec is good, but I mean he's
completing almost seventy two percent of his he doesn't throw
bad picks.
Speaker 3 (24:02):
You a little surprised, Yeah, I think we've seen over
the year, especially over the last couple of years, there
is a wide spectrum of immediate quarterback success. And whether
you're the first overall pick or you're a lower pick,
it doesn't really matter playing quarterback. Playing as a rookie
in the NFL is challenging regardless of the position, but
no more so than at the quarterback position. And we've
(24:24):
seen great examples over the last couple of years, have
rookies who have come on to the scene and seem
like they're even better than they were in college.
Speaker 2 (24:31):
And that was CJ.
Speaker 3 (24:32):
Shroud last year as a rookie player, you know, Rookie
of the Year and takes Houston to the playoffs. And
then we've seen top picks struggle and have a little
bit more of a stunted growth and a little bit
of a slower development. So I agree with you so
much about the early success in development of young quarterbacks
in the league is the environment in which they get
drafted to. So it's twofold. It's who's in charge, who
(24:55):
is setting the culture, who is putting the parameters and
whatnot about building the culture, and he has, in my opinion,
probably the best culture guy in football. At least he's
in the conversation in dan Quinn. So I think they
hired Dan. He brings some stability, He's an unbelievable balance
of motivating. He's got a little Dan Campbell to him
right where Yes, he was a play caller and that
(25:16):
was his backstory, but really the first name when you
bring up Dan Campbell's name or Dan Quinn's name, it's
the first thing you see is like the eyes light
up about all of their players. It's like we love him.
The fear of letting him down. It is a great
motivating factor. And there's a few guys that just have
that personality. Dan Quinn is one of them. So it
starts there. I think again, a sneaky hire that maybe
(25:40):
didn't get the offseason, Buzz was hiring Cliff Kingsbury to
be the offensive coordinator and we had Washington a few
weeks back. Cliff was very honest. He said, my first
order of business was not to install the Arizona Cardinals
two point zero offense and continuation of that or necessarily
what I did in college. He goes, My day one
installed is offseason, was me sitting down with Jade and
(26:02):
Daniels and saying, give me your top schemes, your top protections,
your top route concepts that you loved in college. Give
them to me, write them down in your verbage. That's
our day one install. And He's like, from that point
I could layer in elements of my system to best
suit Jade and Daniels and wear his strengths and protect
(26:22):
some of his weaknesses. And I think you can see
that they don't huddle, they get up to the ball,
they vary their tempos, they get an out of different
personnel groupings. They make the offense look a lot more complicate,
the complicated, but it's really just recycling a lot of
similar concepts that he ran in college, some of the
RPO stuff, some of the design quarterback runs where he
just can keep the defense honest enough, and then he's
(26:46):
wildly accurate to your point. So it's a really good fit.
He's got some good offensive skill guys around him, Terry
McLaurin and Brian Robinson. So yeah, the environment in which
you walk into is the number one factor. Not talent,
not what you did in college, not what your draft
status was. The environment in which you're drafted to a
Labrock Perdi is the number one aspect of what determines
(27:09):
whether you're going to have immediate success and growth or
if the early days are going to be trying.
Speaker 1 (27:15):
Finally, the two quarterbacks in college, which they're just different,
cam Ward and Shador Sanders. They move well, they throw.
He plays with sort of a casual comfort, I mean,
just very comfortable guy. It all feels a little backyard.
He's not he didn't stress out. Does it translate when
you see cam Ward? I mean, obviously they almost duke
(27:36):
and cal gave him trouble. He's the right now, he's
the guy, he's leading that team. What do you make
of him? Stylistically? Is that work in the NFL?
Speaker 3 (27:47):
I think that's going to be every single team in
the top half the draft. I think that's going to
be every single front offic his conversation for the until
next year's draft. It's going to be we see all
these traits, we see the unbelievable arm talent, we see
the again. I always struggle using this word in comparison
because it's probably not fair, but it is very Mahomes
type style where it's not always in rhythm, his feet
(28:10):
are not always set, sometimes he's moving backwards. But it's
the arm talent that kind of makes up for it.
The question is you know it's chicken or the egg, right,
A guy like Mahomes was able to transition to an
off script, improvised style of passer, but it was built
on the fundamentals of being a more traditional passer from
his college days and then obviously early on with Andy Reid.
(28:32):
So there is that foundation. He's just taking it to
a level that is very hard to expect other people
to be able to play a similar style. So when
you look at cam Ward, had a chance to go
down there and watch their first game down in the
swamp against Florida, and I remember saying one of the
assistant coaches walking in at halftime, I was like, his
feet are never set. He's always going backwards. Yet every
(28:52):
ball has incredible, you know, tempo on it, the pacing,
it's on rhythm, it's in target. And even though he's
not in rhythm, everything about the offense seems to be
in rhythm. And I think that's going to be the
big question is his talent is undeniable. Mario, Chris vall
and I had dinner back in the spring, and he
goes Greg. Of all the dudes we've had right the
(29:13):
door seas of the world, those guys that have just
that incredible intangibles to make everyone around them fall in
line and play better, he is unlike anyone that I've
ever been around. He's very justin Herbert from his days
at Oregon as the head coach when Mario was there.
He's like he is that personality. And then of course
he's wildly talented. So I think whoever gets him, wherever
they get him, I think they have a star on
(29:36):
their hands. You're gonna have to just look past some
of the things that don't look prototypical NFL quarterback. And
if you can look past that, like a lot of
people did with Mahomes, And again I'm not saying he's Mahomes,
I'm just that's kind of the path he's on. And
I'll tell you what he is fun to watch. He
is a blast and as a Miami guy, man, I
(29:56):
hope they can score fifty in every game and hopefully
I can go some of the playoff bouts.
Speaker 1 (30:02):
It's just a loosey, goosey, fun backyard style, but it works.
Greg Olsen, Fox Sports always appreciate you taking ten twelve
minutes more. Appreciate Bud, Appreciate you, all right, Okay, Greg Olsen. Yeah,
when you watch him play, it has a backyard field
to it. Shadoor Sanders, I think tends to set up more.
He sits just when I watch Shadu or it looks
(30:23):
like an NFL quarterback cam Ward. I'm like, does it
is that going to play in the next level. But
I will say this dude's accurate. Doesn't matter how he's
throwing ball ends up in the right place. It's just
a very loose, fun style. I don't know. I don't
have an answer for Shador Sanders. I think works. I
think he just he's everything works, size, movement, accuracy. You know,
(30:47):
Dad was an old timer, so he understands kind of
the pro professional game. Cam's going to be a really
fascinating pick.
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Colin Cowherd
Jason McIntyre
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