September 15, 2025 • 34 mins
Colin points out the biggest issues the Chiefs are facing as they fall to 0-2 on the season after a loss to the Eagles and why it looks like the dynasty might be coming to an end. He tells you why he was right about Aaron Rodgers with the Steelers and wrong about Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott. 3-time Pro Bowl QB Matt Hasselbeck joins the show to breakdown Bears quarterback Caleb Williams struggling for a second straight week to start the season under new head coach Ben Johnson
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Episode Transcript
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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.
Speaker 1 (00:26):
All right, it is a Monday in September. It doesn't
get much better than this. We are live. It's the Herd.
Wherever you may be, and however you may be watching
or listening, We appreciate you stopping bylots of options one
hour from now. Where Colin was right, where Colin was wrong,
(00:48):
there's a lot of both. I'll be bitter about that
Denver Broncos loss for the next six months. That hurt
Matt hassel Beck and Mark Slaret by the day jamact.
So I don't like to make definitive statements after the
first couple weeks, but there are some things. What do
(01:10):
they say two is a trend. There are some things
that we've seen before and they're resurfacing. So I am
ready for three hours of volcanic opinions. Are you ready
to roll? Yeah, Colin, I don't know about you, but
I'm feeling oh in two little Taylor Swift to start
the show. All right, here's what I know watching the
(01:31):
Eagles in Kansas City. Two things. Philadelphia is I guess beatable,
but it's not easy. And the dynasty days of Kansas
City they're over. They could be good this year, maybe
have some very good Sundays. But I watched that game
last night between the Eagles and the Chiefs. The twelve
best players, nine are probably Eagles. Even when the score
(01:55):
was ten ten and a half at Arrowhead, you kind
of felt like Philadelphia. You know, they'd think out a
way to squish you and grind it out, and they
do that a lot. I've never seen a team in
my entire life in the NFL that's better at getting
a yard or two or three or four. Sometimes it's
bad TV, it's ugly, but it's just who they are.
(02:15):
They're big, they're tough, they're physical and hurts and saque
in the offensive line and the tight ends. The Eagles
are four and zero since last season passing for under
one hundred yards. That's my favorite stat about the Eagles.
In fact, it's almost like passing gets in the way
of Philadelphia's offensive rhythm. AJ Brown yesterday he had five
(02:39):
catches for twenty seven yards. This is what Philadelphia does,
the whole mark of Philadelphia. They know what they are.
They esthetically can be ugly. The tush push they created it.
They're gonna fight for it. It may get banned, they
don't care. It's bad TV. They probably jump off sides
a little, but it's what they are. A tough, physical team,
(03:02):
pound for pound, the strongest offense in the league. They're
not a perfect team. They probably are not designed to
play from way behind. But I mean, ask yourself this morning,
what is Kansas City really leaning into. I mean, Patrick
Mahomes and a good defense can win you some games.
But I feel like Patrick Mahomes to the Chiefs offense
(03:25):
is like the apples store at the local mall. It's
the only thing keeping the lights on. I mean, if
there's just Travis Kelsey hasn't play well. He got Xavier
Worthy injured. He dropped that touchdown. It wasn't the easiest catch,
but it really solved the game. So they're gonna get
better when Xavier Worthy comes back to Rashid Rice, and
(03:46):
I predicted they would be a wild card team. They
got lucky yesterday because Denver in their division, gave a
game away. But I mean, I'm looking at their offensive line.
They don't have a run game. They what definite are they?
They're well coached and well coordinated, and Mahomes is really talented.
But three straight games Patrick Mahomes has led them in rushing.
(04:10):
So Philadelphia is beatable. I mean, there's a reason. What
is that the sixteenth straight win? When Jalen Hurt starts
and finishes a game, they just kind of plot and
ugly it up and they lean on you and they're
more physical and they're really talented. I mean, the good
news for the Chiefs, the New York Giants are next
worthy should be coming back. But this was predictable regression.
(04:35):
And there is no question when you watch Philadelphia, they
know what they are, they lean into what they are.
They just seemingly get better at what they are. And
here's their coach and Mahomes after.
Speaker 3 (04:48):
Our job, especially you know early in the season is
and what I've said constantly a team is find a
way to win. Take pride in winning any way that
you possibly can work to get better throughout the week, repeat, repeat, repeat.
When you come off the season like we came off
last year, I think the expectation is that you're gonna
be You're gonna pick up right where you left off.
There's steps to this, right, there's steps for all the
(05:11):
teams that are playing right now, and there are steps
to get better.
Speaker 4 (05:15):
We played good, two good football teams and made mistakes
and big moments on stuff that were not used to doing.
But I think we're coming together as a team. And
I mean, when you deal with adversity, it's about how
you deal with it. And obviously this and how we
want to start, but how are we going to respond?
So I'm excited for the next few weeks to see
see who wants to be challenging, how we can get
(05:36):
back and really get after it again.
Speaker 1 (05:38):
They got kind of lucky. Either the Raiders or the
Chargers will lose tonight in their division. And Denver gave
away a game yesterday. So again, if you're gonna lose,
this was the Sunday to lose. But I think the regression.
Regression is fairly obvious. You could see it coming. The
roster does not especially on offense look special and without Worthy,
(06:01):
who Travis Kelsey admitted on his podcast he injured. There's
just it's a babe gun compared to Philadelphia. There's just
not a lot to work with. Very average. Doesn't take
a football guru to figure it out. Okay, Chicago Bears,
it's not about time to panic, It's about time to
(06:24):
realize what you are. Ben Johnson and Caleb Williams, I
don't think it works. The coach is a timing coach
who loves structure, and Caleb likes to have lib. In fact,
the two opening drives when Caleb does play within structure.
(06:45):
So far this season the two Bear opening drives, Caleb
has one hundred and thirty one passer rating. Every other
drive after that, his passerating is seventy six. Caleb runs
to escape like Mahomes hurts lamar. They run, but keep
their head up looking downfield. Caleb's off to the races.
So we know that Ben Johnson's play design works because
(07:08):
the first two opening drives there are two for two
or two touchdowns. But the further this quarterback gets away
from the playscript, the worse he is. He's like a
studio musician having to go Live or a stand up
comedian who's totally reliant on joke writers. His style in
(07:28):
this league is not a timing style, and this coach
craves it. This coach craves structure. So it's Kyle Shanahan.
Caleb wouldn't work with Kyle Shanahan. Maybe there's a coach
it works with. I don't think it's Ben Johnson. There
are two or three components to quarterbacking in this league.
You don't have to be big. You don't have to
be super mobile. Jared Goff isn't. But there are two
(07:50):
or three things you have to do in this league.
You have to be consistently accurate. You just have to
be again, Jared Goff can't run. He's consistently accurate. Caleb's not.
And you have to be an anticipation thrower. You have
to see stuff before it's wide open, and he doesn't.
It also helps if you have composure. I don't think
(08:12):
he does. He's like the news anchor and the teleprompter
goes down. Oops. I mean, I don't think this marriage
is going to work. I think Caleb may work somewhere,
but this head coach did not draft this quarterback. So
how loyal is he going to be? And this general manager,
by the way, is three and seventeen scince. He took
(08:32):
over the job and is yet to draft a Pro Bowler.
And this general I've already told you don't have the ownership.
The front office has always been squarely. I like the coach.
I think the quarterbacks talented. But this general manager three
and seventeen against his division, no Pro bowlers drafted. So
I think it's two week upstairs to overcome what you see.
(08:53):
I mean, there's certain franchises that can't get out of
their way. The Jets, you can keep replacing the coach
and the coordinators in the quarterback in the Cleveland Browns,
I think the Bears have fallen into this. I think
they've fallen into it. I just don't think this marriage works.
That doesn't mean people get divorced and they find the
(09:13):
love of their life. Caleb is really talented and Ben
is a structured timing coach. But together they don't compliment
each other. They just don't. The coach wants this and
this player is capable of doing this, and it doesn't mesh. Now.
JJ McCarthy may just be overwhelmed. I don't think Caleb
(09:35):
is necessarily overwhelmed, not physically. It's an insane athlete with
a huge arm. But this is a marriage. They don't
compliment each other. Here's the coach. We have a lot
of prideful guys. We're two games into the season, and so.
Speaker 5 (09:51):
I think they're just as disappointed as as the coaching
staff is. And we're committed to getting this thing right.
I have a lot of belief in them. Have leaders,
we have captain. I mean, when you're around this league
long enough, these games happen, and it doesn't feel any
better when it happens. But the good teams I've been on,
they find a way to respond. It's not demralizing at all.
(10:12):
It's not the moralizing all. We got to play better,
simple as that.
Speaker 1 (10:16):
And what's really most disturbing is when they're on script.
It works, two for two, two touchdowns, looks excellent, which
can't script the entire game. And that's why because Ben
Johnson he inherited Caleb Williams. Remember how complimentary he was
of Tyson Bagen in the preseason, the backup, and they
sign him to a contract. Oh as sharp as a tack. Oh,
(10:39):
He's had a great camp I mean, how many games
can you go with it?
Speaker 2 (10:44):
Now?
Speaker 1 (10:44):
Again, Cowboys are coming up, that defense isn't very good.
The Raiders are coming up. They've got to buy coming up.
And this is not a season we thought they were
a super Bowl team. It was this season that you
gotta figure out this quarterback. But boy, I don't think
I'm I don't think I'm way out there saying this.
There's certain things you can see quickly, right And I
(11:08):
just think this is a coach that craves structure and
timing and a quarterback that likes to add lib and
something's got to change fast.
Speaker 2 (11:18):
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Speaker 6 (11:27):
Hey it's me Rob Parker. Check out my weekly MLB podcast,
Inside the Parker, for twenty two minutes of piping hot
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Whether you believe in analytics or the I test, We've
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(11:48):
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Speaker 1 (11:57):
Where Colin was right, Well, Chiefs. We predicted that they
would be thin offensively, and they may make the playoffs,
but it will only be as a wild card team.
They're just not as explosive. Some of that is the
Rashi Rice suspension and that Xavier Worthy injury. I think
they will get better offensively, but Travis Kelsey's last two
(12:19):
weeks he heard a teammate and then dropped that catch
which became almost a pick six. They cannot run the ball.
But Holmes, as I said earlier, is like keeping the
lights on in this shopping mall. He's the only thing
that's working. So we called this regression. You probably called
it too. Where Colin was wrong. I didn't think Caleb
(12:40):
Williams was necessarily going to be a superstar. I didn't
think it would look like this. His passer rating now
is lower than Spencer Rattler. And we know it's not
Ben Johnson because his first two opening drives he's two
for two or two touchdowns. So when he's on script,
he's been excellent. But too much holds the ball too long,
(13:03):
which is a problem for some young quarterbacks. And then
too often, just throws it to nobody. It is much
worse than I would have thought. Where Colin was right,
I said, Aaron Rodgers to the Steelers will look like
a glossier version of Aaron Rodgers to the Jets. They
won't be able to run the ball. It'll be a
(13:24):
team that makes mistakes and loses games they should win.
And the defense, though expensive, won't be as dominant as
you think it could be. And oh yeah, Aaron after
the game, just like he did in New York, is
already calling out teammates. Cale's the best kid ever. But
he probably should have just stayed in the flat there.
Speaker 7 (13:46):
He knows it, I mean, or he was kind of
stealing it from Pat or just catch you put it
away square this sound. But Cale's the best kid, and
you know it sucks because he's such a great kid.
But unfortunately that whole sequence, you know, took points off
the board.
Speaker 1 (14:05):
Yeah, okay, where Colin was wrong. I had Denver winning
the AFC West. They were sloppy against Tennessee. They gave
the game away against Indianapolis. Daniel Jones carved them up. Man.
They have really bad dumb penalties, a lot of self
(14:26):
inflicted mistakes. You know, I love bo Nicks, but his
interception in the fourth quarter. They could have sealed the
game with a touchdown there. And again there were just
gass defensively, and the Colts have talent Warren and Pittman
and Pearce and Jonathan Taylor. The Colts have talent, especially
on offense. But I Denver has not looked good through
(14:49):
two weeks, where Colin was right. When I put green
Bay number one of my herd hierarchy, people said, how
can you do that? They're not that good. You're overreacting.
Then they went out two nights later and crushed the
Washington Commanders. Green Bay is absolutely the most complete team
in the league. Yes, better than Philadelphia because they've got
better and deeper, young tight end and wide receiver talent.
(15:11):
Micah found a perfect team. They have debt, they have
the quarterback. I think green Bay defensively, this is the
best Packer defense and certainly the most aggressive I can
remember seeing where Colin was raw the Texas Longhorns. I
had them in the National Championship against Penn State and
(15:31):
they are struggling offensively. Arch Manning and this offense is unwatchable.
They could not put UTEP away. Now they're missing a
couple of receivers and a couple of running backs. They've
got injuries, but I mean, who are we getting here?
UTEP doesn't have a player that Texas would recruit, and
they've got the biggest nil cachet in the business. I
(15:52):
don't know if it's mechanics or confidence, but Arch Manning
is officially off where Colin was. Mike McDaniel oh and
two job in jeopardy, and I think both Chris Jear
the GM, Chris Greer the GM, and Mike McDaniel probably
need to be replaced. The roster isn't good. The O
(16:12):
lines a perpetual problem. I mean again, special teams were
even bad against the Patriots. The culture's wrecked. The Bills
are up next on Thursday Night Football, so presumably they're
oh and three. From the very beginning, I questioned if
it was all about the sizzle and was I getting
any stake? And as of today, I don't think I
(16:33):
am where Colin was right. UCLA football feels dead. When
Nico im Aliava transferred from Tennessee, I said, what are
you doing? Tennessee's a football factory. They got NFL dudes everywhere.
You don't transfer out of Tennessee to UCLA. That's a
huge mistake, and it was again. I'm not saying Tennessee
(16:54):
is Georgia, but Tennessee is a football factory. They care,
they're committed. UCLA's football nil is at the very bottom
of the Big ten. So it's a cautionary tale. I
feel terrible for the kid. I think he got bad advice.
I think he's really talented, but getting routed by New
(17:15):
Mexico and if you watch the game, it could have
been worse. Is not good.
Speaker 2 (17:20):
Be sure to catch live editions of The Herd weekdays
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Speaker 1 (17:28):
With that, Matt Hasselbeck, eighteen years in the NFL, is
joining US Live. You know, Matt, it's interesting. I watched
Philadelphia last night. It just cracks me up. They are
four and oh since last season when they throw for
under one hundred yards, which usually if you just look
at a box score, you're like, oh, this is a mess.
(17:49):
Burn the film. It's almost like Philadelphia that passing often
gets them out of their rhythm. AJ Brown had five
catches for twenty seven yards. There is something about they're
very comfortable playing big, strong, ugly football. It feels like
to me, they kind of love what they are. What
do you see?
Speaker 8 (18:10):
Yeah, I see a good football team. And you know
I said this last year to you, and you know,
it's first and ten for everybody else. It doesn't feel
like first and ten for Philly because of how good
they are at the tush push, you know. Like, so
that gets a lot of attention, But I just think
it's an identity of who they want to be offensively.
And you know, when you play a great quarterback like
I remember doing this a lot, and go up against
(18:30):
a Peyton Manning or Tom Brady or somebody, part of
your offensive philosophy is to just keep that guy on
the bench. Yes, and so like it's okay, you literally
say it in the meetings like we're not going to
try to throw for three hundred yards this week, Like
we're not, We're going to just try to run for
one hundred. Like it's the mindset. It's not so much
about the actual numbers, but it's the mindset. We're going
(18:52):
to keep their great quarterback on the bench. Not only
does that help your defense, I believe it actually frustrates
that great quarterback and helps him and his offense get
out of their own rhythm.
Speaker 1 (19:03):
So I want to talk about so, you know, listen Detroit.
Ben Johnson leaves, and it felt like Detroit said, all right,
we're gonna bounce a little bit here and I and
I've always defended team. It's not Jimmy Johnson. It's not
my job to make sure you're the game's close. But
it did feel like Detroit wanted to make a point
by bearing the Bears. Did it not?
Speaker 8 (19:25):
Yeah, I did. I mean it almost felt personal, and
I know it wasn't personal, but you know, I think
this is probably the lesson for me in this game.
You know, Ben Johnson said, Hey, I'm going to try
to downplay the fact that I'm going back to Detroit.
You know, I'm going to let you know, cause I
don't want my team to feel that pressure. I disagree
with that that that that philosophy. I mean, I remember being,
you know, on the Green Bay Packers with Mike Homgrin
(19:46):
as the head coach. When we would go back to
San Fran his old thing, the like he just elevated
the energy in the entire building. The same thing when
he was in Seattle. We'd go back to Green Bay.
You see it with other different, you know, coaches when
they go back to coaching again. It's their old program
against their own team, their old team. Like just the excitement,
the energy that it brings. It's almost like a playoff
(20:08):
atmosphere inside the building, sort of like Wednesday to Friday,
Wednesday to Saturday. And I think that's the better approach.
And you know, the Bears just look flat. Detroit treated
it like Dan Campbell. You knew he would treat it.
And they came out and they looked like the team
that they were last year.
Speaker 1 (20:22):
You know, listen, you know this and I know this.
We've been married for a while. Is marriage is sacrifice
and it's fit, you know. And it's like you see
these Hollywood power couples and they both have great careers
and it doesn't work right. It's not they're bad people.
I look at Ben Johnson, who is a timing and
structure coach. He's got some Shanahan. He likes structure and timing.
(20:43):
And I look at Caleb and Caleb after those opening drives,
you know, he when he moves out of the pocket,
sometimes his head is down, he's looking for yards. And
I know it's early, Matt, but it feels like, from
a fit standpoint, this may not be perfect. It may
not work.
Speaker 8 (21:03):
Well for Caleb. You better make it work because this
is the best play caller and head coach and quarterback
whisper that you could be with. And you know, he
did have a really good preseason game and the theme of
that game was rhythm. And by rhythm, you're meaning how
many hitches the quarterback takes, like in the pocket, is
it one, two, three, balls out or is it just one?
The balls out? And some of the great quarterbacks that
(21:25):
play in an offense like this, that's kind of how you,
I guess, would evaluate it when you're just watching it.
Speaker 4 (21:32):
You know.
Speaker 8 (21:32):
I think the other thing that you would just say
to Ben Johnson and de Kayla, like what I would
say to Caleb about Ben Johnson, just forget whatever you
learned in high school and college, forget whatever got you here,
and take this like beginner's mentality of I'm going to
do it exactly the way that you're asking me to
do it, because if there is like some sort of like,
you know, I'm doing it one way and the coach
(21:53):
wants me to do it another way. It's not gonna work,
and they're gonna move on. He didn't draft you. You
there before him, and so you better buy in and
be all the way on his program in terms of
rhythm and timing, accuracy, all those types of things. And
I think he can, but that would be the advice.
You better be all in all the time and just
(22:14):
do it his way.
Speaker 1 (22:15):
Simp. So I watched Michael Penix and JJ McCarthy, and
let me simplify it. Penix gets rid of the ball fast, fast,
and accurate, and he's got a defensive head coach. And
then I look at JJ McCarthy with the brilliant Kevin O'Connell,
and he holds the ball and he doesn't get rid
of it fast. And I do wonder if how much
(22:35):
what percentage of quarterback play in this league is get
it out of your hands? Because Pennix is just see
it boom out, and JJ and Caleb and especially JJ,
he doesn't let it go, he doesn't let it rip
that he looks overwhelmed, that he loses confidence. And I
mean when I watch Panis, I'm like, oh, that works,
(22:56):
That's what he did in college. It's see it, let
it rip. Trust your confidence. Is that part of JJ's
problem is he's just not letting it go.
Speaker 8 (23:05):
Yeah, I think you're spot on with Penix. You say
see it and let it rip. I think it's more like,
anticipate it and let it rip. You got to throw
it almost before you see it. And I think that's
one of the things that Michael Pennix did great at
the University of Washington. He doesn't necessarily rely on his
athleticism and legs. He relies on his eyes, his anticipatory reactions,
(23:26):
and then his accurate throws. So for sure, I think
the two young quarterbacks we talked about earlier, Caleb and JJ,
like they got to let it go quicker, going back
to the rhythm and the timing. You got to let
it go on one hitch, five and one hitch instead
of five and two hitches. Sometimes young quarterbacks can be
a weight and see thrower. I want to wait and
see and then I'm going to let it go and
(23:46):
then you know, obviously there's some like just mandatory things
for quarterbacks on an outbreaking route. You can never leave
it inside. You talked about confidence, I think when you
hold onto the ball. It doesn't necessarily hurt your confidence
as a court it hurts the confidence of the offensive line.
They might have done a decent job in pass protection,
but because you held on and hitched it a couple,
(24:07):
you know, one too many times, it feels like they
gave up a pressure when quite honestly, maybe they didn't
even give up a pressure. It just was you holding
on to it. So that's something that you know, the
young quarterbacks I think struggle with I know I struggled
with it. But you look at the game's best quarterbacks
over time, they get the ball out on time and
helps their team, you know, stay on track.
Speaker 1 (24:28):
I was talking about this with my buddy John Middelkoff
last night. Is I listen, Sometimes as a quarterback you
get hurt. It's not your fault, you get blindsided. But
when a quarterback like Joe Burrell or a Justin Fields
get hurt time and time again, and Eli Manning never does.
I do think a lot of a quarterback's health over
(24:49):
the course of a career is are you good pre snap?
Do you see the blitzes coming? Do you get rid
of the ball quickly? Do you understand your personnel and
where to slide protect and where not to. I don't
think every injury for Joe Burrow is always on the
bad old line for the Bengals. I don't know. It
just feels like to me, we always blame the O line,
(25:12):
and it seems like the Brady's and the elis they
get down or they don't get hurt.
Speaker 8 (25:18):
Yeah, you're I mean, listen, protect the team by protecting yourself.
I mean you're onto something here. Obviously, this last injury
on Burrows. You know, I'm not saying it's his fault,
but you know, as a franchise quarterback, which he clearly
is one of the great players in the game of
all time already, there's something too not being hurt. There's
something too not ending the season on IR. You know,
(25:40):
like the great quarterbacks. You mentioned some guys, but whether
it's Brady or Breeze or Manning or Stafford, you know,
how many seasons do they end on on IR. I
think that's something that they learn. You know, you see
Tom Brady, Peyton, Manning, they throw a pick, are they
going after it? Making the tackle? Sometimes they live to
play another play. They just get down. So I think
(26:00):
it'd be very easy to sort of blame the Bengals.
All the Bengals aren't spending enough money, They're not building
you know, I could blame the Bengals for maybe not
building the whole roster properly but offensively. If they're going
to give him the weapons talking about Joe Burrow that
they're given to him, I think one of the best
things that he could learn to do going forward is
understand that, hey, by protecting myself, by learning to live
(26:22):
for the next play, I'm really doing my part to
protect the team. And you know, I love Joe. I
love his style. He takes a bunch of sacks, his
eyes are downfield, he makes a bunch of big plays.
He's willing to put his body on the line. But
at the same time, I think understanding your value to
the team, that might be an area where you know
(26:42):
he's gonna want to you know, I think play a
little bit more like those guys you mentioned at Peyton
Manning and Eli Manning because of his value to the team.
Speaker 1 (26:49):
Finally, Mac Jones had his best game as a pro.
He had no George Kittle Brandon aiyuk I said the
playbook by Shanahan should be called Quarterback for Dummies. It's
like everybody gets it. I mean, mac Jones did not
have a big arm. He's not super athletic. They asked
him to throw thirty nine times on the road. That
I mean like the Eagles with Jalen Hurst want him
(27:10):
to throw at twenty three. It's almost double the throws.
And so I looked at it yesterday and I'm like
mac Jones looked great. I mean, what does Kyle do
in terms of simplicity. He's got backup tight ends. You
know who are they? He's got to have some cheat code?
Does he not? For quarterbacks?
Speaker 8 (27:30):
Well, if you were to talk to quarterbacks around the league,
I think you would hear this. I think you would
hear that Kyle Shanahan and Matt Lafloor are the guys
that they would want to go play for. And you
see guys try to resurrect their career by going and
spending a year with those kind of guys. And there
are other guys. I'm sure Daniel Jones you spent some
time with Kevin O'Connell, Like there's other guys. But you
(27:52):
saw what Sam Darnold did when he went to San Franz.
Was there as a backup kind of resurrected his career.
I'm sure that's what mac Jones thought. Hey, listen, I'm
gonna go do that now. Am I gonna overreact because
of a good game against the Saints? Like, No, not necessarily,
But this is why mac Jones chose to go there.
This is why quarterbacks around the league sort of are
(28:12):
jealous about the play caller, the scheme that is Kyle Shanahan,
that is Matt Lafleur. But to overreact and think that
maybe somehow, you know, like Brock Purdies, not like the
real difference maker on that team, like to me, I
think he is. But it goes hand in hand with
a great play caller, great play designer, which they clearly
(28:33):
have in San fran.
Speaker 1 (28:34):
I gotta ask you this one more thing. I don't
know your injury history, but I said, whoever Dak Prescott's
surgeon is he didn't get paid enough. Dak is so rejuvenated,
his mobility is back, it's rookie or second ear Dak,
his confidence, his body language like Dak looked unbelievable yesterday,
(28:57):
and the Giants D line's pretty good and they don't
you know, ceede Lamps obviously a special talent, Like he's
really good, but it's not a great personnel group up
front for him. I don't know. I always thought pro
athletes off surgery had to play their way back into confidence.
I'm kind of blown away by Dak through two weeks.
(29:18):
Can you explain it?
Speaker 8 (29:19):
Yeah, I've heard you say it. It's the eye test.
You see a guy right away, you can tell what
kind of off season he had, you know, and there's
off seasons that you have that aren't really successful. I mean,
I remember I had one of those, I think eight
oh nine, and just like it didn't I looked at
myself and I didn't feel fast, I didn't feel explosive,
I didn't feel powerful. You've heard Dak Prescott talk about
this this talk about that this year, saying like, I
(29:39):
didn't like how I was last year, especially as a runner,
and so he's worked on that. I think he looks
different physically. I think he looks different running the ball.
He's been great. He's been great. And I know this
for a fact as a as a player, as a quarterback,
especially when you feel great about your off season training,
when you feel strong and fit and powerful and explosive,
you feel confident. Like you feel confident as a player,
(30:01):
you feel called, you just feel different, and I think
your teammates feel it. And I think there's an emotional
intelligence that kind of like rubs off on the sidelines.
If you watch Dak this year, he's not like sitting
on the bench, you know, getting drinks and water and
gatorade and all that stuff. The whole time he's on
his feet, he's dapping up his teammates, he's walking up
and down offense, defense, o line, He's engaged. I just
(30:23):
think that to me, that screams like a guy that
had a great offseason. Whatever he did, it was great,
and I think he should continue.
Speaker 7 (30:30):
To do that.
Speaker 8 (30:30):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (30:30):
I mean I asked him to throw against that front
for the Giants fifty two times, and yet he still
had at the end of the game the energy to
peel off to throw fifty two times. In the NFL,
that is the Calarie burn itself is insane. And then
he peels off or run in overtime and I'm like, dude,
that that is all time stuff.
Speaker 8 (30:50):
That is Yeah, and having his legs is an important
piece to the puzzle of who he is as a player.
When he came in that rookie year when he replaced
Tony Romo. He gave them a little bit of a
boost with the mobility, with the naked bootlegs and that
one scramble that just breaks the defense back when they
call the right play. So you know, that's an important thing.
And this is a dangerous team with a great kicker.
(31:11):
They're saying his range is like seventy yards. Look look
out for Dallas. They're a lot better than people thought
before the season.
Speaker 1 (31:18):
All right, Matt hassel Beck as olways great stuff on
a Monday. Yeah, I mean you go, look, folks, when
you ask a quarterback to throw fifty two times in
a pass rush of the Giants and they're still scrambling
for the first down late, it's impressive. Matt Hasselbeck, thank
you for stopping by on a Monday. We still got
a lot to talk about. Mark Schlareth on that Bronco
giveaway game brutal. I didn't think yesterday was a great
(31:41):
day for officials. By the way, Dean Blandino came out
on the toush push and said, I'm over it. It's
a very hard play. I think that that's gonna seize.
That's going to be the end of the toush push
in the offseason when they raised their hands for a vote.
When the officials say we can't really officiate it, we
can't really clearly see it. I think that's I mean,
(32:03):
that's the bottom line. A league starts with rules any
sport if I don't care what sport you are, if
you're creating the UFC twenty five years ago rules, and
then you have officials, right, here's our rules. Here's the
people who will officiate it, will teach them. Then we
have the athletes. When the rules and the officials are
at odds and the officials are saying, you know, we
(32:24):
just can't see where's the ball. I mean, the Philadelphia
looks like they're nudging off sides and getting a false
start and nobody's calling it. That will be the end
of it. Because Philadelphia can say we invented it. Nobody
can stop it. But if the officials are struggling to
officiate a play, that's dangerous, and I think that'll be
(32:45):
the end of the touch push in the offseason.
Speaker 9 (32:46):
Well wait a second, Yeah, for years the officials were like,
we don't know what it catches. I mean, the bobbling,
all this stuff this is a little easier, Colin, just
because they ran it seven times yesterday and Chiefs fans
can't stop it. They're very upset. They're crying, why don't
we just put a chip in the football? That is
the easiest thing you can possibly do to get a
great spot. People have been talking about this for years,
(33:07):
and by the way, kitt the officials just huddle up.
Speaker 1 (33:09):
And be like, hey, let's have it.
Speaker 9 (33:10):
Let's have an official meeting, and this is how we
we adjust to what the tush push is and we
make sure we do a better job of it. I
don't like outlawing the best play in football, the most automatic,
unstoppable play. I don't know why the rest just can't
be better.
Speaker 1 (33:27):
I don't love it either. But and for the record,
other teams have tried it and failed. He does not
look the same with everybody else.
Speaker 9 (33:36):
I say, JJ McCarthy's trying last night, He's like.
Speaker 1 (33:39):
I don't know what I'm doing. Like he looks scared
to R Williams, forget it. He doesn't know what he's doing.
It's not I mean, I know it's interesting. So Travis
Jason Kelsey retires best center in a decade, right and
the tush push doesn't go backwards, because what Jalen Hurts
is is the strongest quarterback pound for pound, probably in
league history. There's been a lot of big guys and
a lot of tall guys in Fasca. How many quarterbacks
(34:02):
you know do a six hundred and sixty pounds leg press,
And I think a huge component to this. He is shorter,
he's stout, he's smaller. He gets an incredible push. Now,
their O line is excellent, but they just lost the
best center in a decade in the sport, and the
tush push remains unstoppable. So it was not Kelsey, It's
(34:24):
Jalen Hurts who makes that puppy work. By the way, the.
Speaker 8 (34:27):
Chiefs have Creed Humphrey, one of the best centers in
the league.
Speaker 1 (34:29):
Why don't they run our Dutchess place. That's right, Just
give us out there, Pat, huh No, it's on. Jalen
Hurts is just a weird combination of you know, diminutive size.
So you can't get Josh Allen's the most talented quarterback
in the league. Justin Herbert. I've seen him try it. Well,
they're six'. Five people can headhunt With hertz head down
(34:51):
huge leg. Strength there's nothing you can. DO i, mean
there's literally nothing you can.
Speaker 7 (34:55):
Do
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 Sports Radio 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 (00:26):
All right, it is a Monday in September. It doesn't
get much better than this. We are live. It's the Herd.
Wherever you may be, and however you may be watching
or listening, We appreciate you stopping bylots of options one
hour from now. Where Colin was right, where Colin was wrong,
(00:48):
there's a lot of both. I'll be bitter about that
Denver Broncos loss for the next six months. That hurt
Matt hassel Beck and Mark Slaret by the day jamact.
So I don't like to make definitive statements after the
first couple weeks, but there are some things. What do
(01:10):
they say two is a trend. There are some things
that we've seen before and they're resurfacing. So I am
ready for three hours of volcanic opinions. Are you ready
to roll? Yeah, Colin, I don't know about you, but
I'm feeling oh in two little Taylor Swift to start
the show. All right, here's what I know watching the
(01:31):
Eagles in Kansas City. Two things. Philadelphia is I guess beatable,
but it's not easy. And the dynasty days of Kansas
City they're over. They could be good this year, maybe
have some very good Sundays. But I watched that game
last night between the Eagles and the Chiefs. The twelve
best players, nine are probably Eagles. Even when the score
(01:55):
was ten ten and a half at Arrowhead, you kind
of felt like Philadelphia. You know, they'd think out a
way to squish you and grind it out, and they
do that a lot. I've never seen a team in
my entire life in the NFL that's better at getting
a yard or two or three or four. Sometimes it's
bad TV, it's ugly, but it's just who they are.
(02:15):
They're big, they're tough, they're physical and hurts and saque
in the offensive line and the tight ends. The Eagles
are four and zero since last season passing for under
one hundred yards. That's my favorite stat about the Eagles.
In fact, it's almost like passing gets in the way
of Philadelphia's offensive rhythm. AJ Brown yesterday he had five
(02:39):
catches for twenty seven yards. This is what Philadelphia does,
the whole mark of Philadelphia. They know what they are.
They esthetically can be ugly. The tush push they created it.
They're gonna fight for it. It may get banned, they
don't care. It's bad TV. They probably jump off sides
a little, but it's what they are. A tough, physical team,
(03:02):
pound for pound, the strongest offense in the league. They're
not a perfect team. They probably are not designed to
play from way behind. But I mean, ask yourself this morning,
what is Kansas City really leaning into. I mean, Patrick
Mahomes and a good defense can win you some games.
But I feel like Patrick Mahomes to the Chiefs offense
(03:25):
is like the apples store at the local mall. It's
the only thing keeping the lights on. I mean, if
there's just Travis Kelsey hasn't play well. He got Xavier
Worthy injured. He dropped that touchdown. It wasn't the easiest catch,
but it really solved the game. So they're gonna get
better when Xavier Worthy comes back to Rashid Rice, and
(03:46):
I predicted they would be a wild card team. They
got lucky yesterday because Denver in their division, gave a
game away. But I mean, I'm looking at their offensive line.
They don't have a run game. They what definite are they?
They're well coached and well coordinated, and Mahomes is really talented.
But three straight games Patrick Mahomes has led them in rushing.
(04:10):
So Philadelphia is beatable. I mean, there's a reason. What
is that the sixteenth straight win? When Jalen Hurt starts
and finishes a game, they just kind of plot and
ugly it up and they lean on you and they're
more physical and they're really talented. I mean, the good
news for the Chiefs, the New York Giants are next
worthy should be coming back. But this was predictable regression.
(04:35):
And there is no question when you watch Philadelphia, they
know what they are, they lean into what they are.
They just seemingly get better at what they are. And
here's their coach and Mahomes after.
Speaker 3 (04:48):
Our job, especially you know early in the season is
and what I've said constantly a team is find a
way to win. Take pride in winning any way that
you possibly can work to get better throughout the week, repeat, repeat, repeat.
When you come off the season like we came off
last year, I think the expectation is that you're gonna
be You're gonna pick up right where you left off.
There's steps to this, right, there's steps for all the
(05:11):
teams that are playing right now, and there are steps
to get better.
Speaker 4 (05:15):
We played good, two good football teams and made mistakes
and big moments on stuff that were not used to doing.
But I think we're coming together as a team. And
I mean, when you deal with adversity, it's about how
you deal with it. And obviously this and how we
want to start, but how are we going to respond?
So I'm excited for the next few weeks to see
see who wants to be challenging, how we can get
(05:36):
back and really get after it again.
Speaker 1 (05:38):
They got kind of lucky. Either the Raiders or the
Chargers will lose tonight in their division. And Denver gave
away a game yesterday. So again, if you're gonna lose,
this was the Sunday to lose. But I think the regression.
Regression is fairly obvious. You could see it coming. The
roster does not especially on offense look special and without Worthy,
(06:01):
who Travis Kelsey admitted on his podcast he injured. There's
just it's a babe gun compared to Philadelphia. There's just
not a lot to work with. Very average. Doesn't take
a football guru to figure it out. Okay, Chicago Bears,
it's not about time to panic, It's about time to
(06:24):
realize what you are. Ben Johnson and Caleb Williams, I
don't think it works. The coach is a timing coach
who loves structure, and Caleb likes to have lib. In fact,
the two opening drives when Caleb does play within structure.
(06:45):
So far this season the two Bear opening drives, Caleb
has one hundred and thirty one passer rating. Every other
drive after that, his passerating is seventy six. Caleb runs
to escape like Mahomes hurts lamar. They run, but keep
their head up looking downfield. Caleb's off to the races.
So we know that Ben Johnson's play design works because
(07:08):
the first two opening drives there are two for two
or two touchdowns. But the further this quarterback gets away
from the playscript, the worse he is. He's like a
studio musician having to go Live or a stand up
comedian who's totally reliant on joke writers. His style in
(07:28):
this league is not a timing style, and this coach
craves it. This coach craves structure. So it's Kyle Shanahan.
Caleb wouldn't work with Kyle Shanahan. Maybe there's a coach
it works with. I don't think it's Ben Johnson. There
are two or three components to quarterbacking in this league.
You don't have to be big. You don't have to
be super mobile. Jared Goff isn't. But there are two
(07:50):
or three things you have to do in this league.
You have to be consistently accurate. You just have to
be again, Jared Goff can't run. He's consistently accurate. Caleb's not.
And you have to be an anticipation thrower. You have
to see stuff before it's wide open, and he doesn't.
It also helps if you have composure. I don't think
(08:12):
he does. He's like the news anchor and the teleprompter
goes down. Oops. I mean, I don't think this marriage
is going to work. I think Caleb may work somewhere,
but this head coach did not draft this quarterback. So
how loyal is he going to be? And this general manager,
by the way, is three and seventeen scince. He took
(08:32):
over the job and is yet to draft a Pro Bowler.
And this general I've already told you don't have the ownership.
The front office has always been squarely. I like the coach.
I think the quarterbacks talented. But this general manager three
and seventeen against his division, no Pro bowlers drafted. So
I think it's two week upstairs to overcome what you see.
(08:53):
I mean, there's certain franchises that can't get out of
their way. The Jets, you can keep replacing the coach
and the coordinators in the quarterback in the Cleveland Browns,
I think the Bears have fallen into this. I think
they've fallen into it. I just don't think this marriage works.
That doesn't mean people get divorced and they find the
(09:13):
love of their life. Caleb is really talented and Ben
is a structured timing coach. But together they don't compliment
each other. They just don't. The coach wants this and
this player is capable of doing this, and it doesn't mesh. Now.
JJ McCarthy may just be overwhelmed. I don't think Caleb
(09:35):
is necessarily overwhelmed, not physically. It's an insane athlete with
a huge arm. But this is a marriage. They don't
compliment each other. Here's the coach. We have a lot
of prideful guys. We're two games into the season, and so.
Speaker 5 (09:51):
I think they're just as disappointed as as the coaching
staff is. And we're committed to getting this thing right.
I have a lot of belief in them. Have leaders,
we have captain. I mean, when you're around this league
long enough, these games happen, and it doesn't feel any
better when it happens. But the good teams I've been on,
they find a way to respond. It's not demralizing at all.
(10:12):
It's not the moralizing all. We got to play better,
simple as that.
Speaker 1 (10:16):
And what's really most disturbing is when they're on script.
It works, two for two, two touchdowns, looks excellent, which
can't script the entire game. And that's why because Ben
Johnson he inherited Caleb Williams. Remember how complimentary he was
of Tyson Bagen in the preseason, the backup, and they
sign him to a contract. Oh as sharp as a tack. Oh,
(10:39):
He's had a great camp I mean, how many games
can you go with it?
Speaker 2 (10:44):
Now?
Speaker 1 (10:44):
Again, Cowboys are coming up, that defense isn't very good.
The Raiders are coming up. They've got to buy coming up.
And this is not a season we thought they were
a super Bowl team. It was this season that you
gotta figure out this quarterback. But boy, I don't think
I'm I don't think I'm way out there saying this.
There's certain things you can see quickly, right And I
(11:08):
just think this is a coach that craves structure and
timing and a quarterback that likes to add lib and
something's got to change fast.
Speaker 2 (11:18):
Be sure to catch live editions of The Herd weekdays
and noon Easter nine am Pacific on Fox Sports Radio
FS one and the iHeartRadio app.
Speaker 6 (11:27):
Hey it's me Rob Parker. Check out my weekly MLB podcast,
Inside the Parker, for twenty two minutes of piping hot
baseball talk, featuring the biggest names and newsmakers in the sport.
Whether you believe in analytics or the I test, We've
got all the bases covered. New episodes drop every Thursday,
(11:48):
So do yourself a favor and listen to Inside the
Parker with Rob Parker on the iHeartRadio app or wherever
you get your podcast.
Speaker 1 (11:57):
Where Colin was right, Well, Chiefs. We predicted that they
would be thin offensively, and they may make the playoffs,
but it will only be as a wild card team.
They're just not as explosive. Some of that is the
Rashi Rice suspension and that Xavier Worthy injury. I think
they will get better offensively, but Travis Kelsey's last two
(12:19):
weeks he heard a teammate and then dropped that catch
which became almost a pick six. They cannot run the ball.
But Holmes, as I said earlier, is like keeping the
lights on in this shopping mall. He's the only thing
that's working. So we called this regression. You probably called
it too. Where Colin was wrong. I didn't think Caleb
(12:40):
Williams was necessarily going to be a superstar. I didn't
think it would look like this. His passer rating now
is lower than Spencer Rattler. And we know it's not
Ben Johnson because his first two opening drives he's two
for two or two touchdowns. So when he's on script,
he's been excellent. But too much holds the ball too long,
(13:03):
which is a problem for some young quarterbacks. And then
too often, just throws it to nobody. It is much
worse than I would have thought. Where Colin was right,
I said, Aaron Rodgers to the Steelers will look like
a glossier version of Aaron Rodgers to the Jets. They
won't be able to run the ball. It'll be a
(13:24):
team that makes mistakes and loses games they should win.
And the defense, though expensive, won't be as dominant as
you think it could be. And oh yeah, Aaron after
the game, just like he did in New York, is
already calling out teammates. Cale's the best kid ever. But
he probably should have just stayed in the flat there.
Speaker 7 (13:46):
He knows it, I mean, or he was kind of
stealing it from Pat or just catch you put it
away square this sound. But Cale's the best kid, and
you know it sucks because he's such a great kid.
But unfortunately that whole sequence, you know, took points off
the board.
Speaker 1 (14:05):
Yeah, okay, where Colin was wrong. I had Denver winning
the AFC West. They were sloppy against Tennessee. They gave
the game away against Indianapolis. Daniel Jones carved them up. Man.
They have really bad dumb penalties, a lot of self
(14:26):
inflicted mistakes. You know, I love bo Nicks, but his
interception in the fourth quarter. They could have sealed the
game with a touchdown there. And again there were just
gass defensively, and the Colts have talent Warren and Pittman
and Pearce and Jonathan Taylor. The Colts have talent, especially
on offense. But I Denver has not looked good through
(14:49):
two weeks, where Colin was right. When I put green
Bay number one of my herd hierarchy, people said, how
can you do that? They're not that good. You're overreacting.
Then they went out two nights later and crushed the
Washington Commanders. Green Bay is absolutely the most complete team
in the league. Yes, better than Philadelphia because they've got
better and deeper, young tight end and wide receiver talent.
(15:11):
Micah found a perfect team. They have debt, they have
the quarterback. I think green Bay defensively, this is the
best Packer defense and certainly the most aggressive I can
remember seeing where Colin was raw the Texas Longhorns. I
had them in the National Championship against Penn State and
(15:31):
they are struggling offensively. Arch Manning and this offense is unwatchable.
They could not put UTEP away. Now they're missing a
couple of receivers and a couple of running backs. They've
got injuries, but I mean, who are we getting here?
UTEP doesn't have a player that Texas would recruit, and
they've got the biggest nil cachet in the business. I
(15:52):
don't know if it's mechanics or confidence, but Arch Manning
is officially off where Colin was. Mike McDaniel oh and
two job in jeopardy, and I think both Chris Jear
the GM, Chris Greer the GM, and Mike McDaniel probably
need to be replaced. The roster isn't good. The O
(16:12):
lines a perpetual problem. I mean again, special teams were
even bad against the Patriots. The culture's wrecked. The Bills
are up next on Thursday Night Football, so presumably they're
oh and three. From the very beginning, I questioned if
it was all about the sizzle and was I getting
any stake? And as of today, I don't think I
(16:33):
am where Colin was right. UCLA football feels dead. When
Nico im Aliava transferred from Tennessee, I said, what are
you doing? Tennessee's a football factory. They got NFL dudes everywhere.
You don't transfer out of Tennessee to UCLA. That's a
huge mistake, and it was again. I'm not saying Tennessee
(16:54):
is Georgia, but Tennessee is a football factory. They care,
they're committed. UCLA's football nil is at the very bottom
of the Big ten. So it's a cautionary tale. I
feel terrible for the kid. I think he got bad advice.
I think he's really talented, but getting routed by New
(17:15):
Mexico and if you watch the game, it could have
been worse. Is not good.
Speaker 2 (17:20):
Be sure to catch live editions of The Herd weekdays
and Noone Easter nin a em Pacific on Fox Sports
Radio FS one and the iHeartRadio app.
Speaker 1 (17:28):
With that, Matt Hasselbeck, eighteen years in the NFL, is
joining US Live. You know, Matt, it's interesting. I watched
Philadelphia last night. It just cracks me up. They are
four and oh since last season when they throw for
under one hundred yards, which usually if you just look
at a box score, you're like, oh, this is a mess.
(17:49):
Burn the film. It's almost like Philadelphia that passing often
gets them out of their rhythm. AJ Brown had five
catches for twenty seven yards. There is something about they're
very comfortable playing big, strong, ugly football. It feels like
to me, they kind of love what they are. What
do you see?
Speaker 8 (18:10):
Yeah, I see a good football team. And you know
I said this last year to you, and you know,
it's first and ten for everybody else. It doesn't feel
like first and ten for Philly because of how good
they are at the tush push, you know. Like, so
that gets a lot of attention, But I just think
it's an identity of who they want to be offensively.
And you know, when you play a great quarterback like
I remember doing this a lot, and go up against
(18:30):
a Peyton Manning or Tom Brady or somebody, part of
your offensive philosophy is to just keep that guy on
the bench. Yes, and so like it's okay, you literally
say it in the meetings like we're not going to
try to throw for three hundred yards this week, Like
we're not, We're going to just try to run for
one hundred. Like it's the mindset. It's not so much
about the actual numbers, but it's the mindset. We're going
(18:52):
to keep their great quarterback on the bench. Not only
does that help your defense, I believe it actually frustrates
that great quarterback and helps him and his offense get
out of their own rhythm.
Speaker 1 (19:03):
So I want to talk about so, you know, listen Detroit.
Ben Johnson leaves, and it felt like Detroit said, all right,
we're gonna bounce a little bit here and I and
I've always defended team. It's not Jimmy Johnson. It's not
my job to make sure you're the game's close. But
it did feel like Detroit wanted to make a point
by bearing the Bears. Did it not?
Speaker 8 (19:25):
Yeah, I did. I mean it almost felt personal, and
I know it wasn't personal, but you know, I think
this is probably the lesson for me in this game.
You know, Ben Johnson said, Hey, I'm going to try
to downplay the fact that I'm going back to Detroit.
You know, I'm going to let you know, cause I
don't want my team to feel that pressure. I disagree
with that that that that philosophy. I mean, I remember being,
you know, on the Green Bay Packers with Mike Homgrin
(19:46):
as the head coach. When we would go back to
San Fran his old thing, the like he just elevated
the energy in the entire building. The same thing when
he was in Seattle. We'd go back to Green Bay.
You see it with other different, you know, coaches when
they go back to coaching again. It's their old program
against their own team, their old team. Like just the excitement,
the energy that it brings. It's almost like a playoff
(20:08):
atmosphere inside the building, sort of like Wednesday to Friday,
Wednesday to Saturday. And I think that's the better approach.
And you know, the Bears just look flat. Detroit treated
it like Dan Campbell. You knew he would treat it.
And they came out and they looked like the team
that they were last year.
Speaker 1 (20:22):
You know, listen, you know this and I know this.
We've been married for a while. Is marriage is sacrifice
and it's fit, you know. And it's like you see
these Hollywood power couples and they both have great careers
and it doesn't work right. It's not they're bad people.
I look at Ben Johnson, who is a timing and
structure coach. He's got some Shanahan. He likes structure and timing.
(20:43):
And I look at Caleb and Caleb after those opening drives,
you know, he when he moves out of the pocket,
sometimes his head is down, he's looking for yards. And
I know it's early, Matt, but it feels like, from
a fit standpoint, this may not be perfect. It may
not work.
Speaker 8 (21:03):
Well for Caleb. You better make it work because this
is the best play caller and head coach and quarterback
whisper that you could be with. And you know, he
did have a really good preseason game and the theme of
that game was rhythm. And by rhythm, you're meaning how
many hitches the quarterback takes, like in the pocket, is
it one, two, three, balls out or is it just one?
The balls out? And some of the great quarterbacks that
(21:25):
play in an offense like this, that's kind of how you,
I guess, would evaluate it when you're just watching it.
Speaker 4 (21:32):
You know.
Speaker 8 (21:32):
I think the other thing that you would just say
to Ben Johnson and de Kayla, like what I would
say to Caleb about Ben Johnson, just forget whatever you
learned in high school and college, forget whatever got you here,
and take this like beginner's mentality of I'm going to
do it exactly the way that you're asking me to
do it, because if there is like some sort of like,
you know, I'm doing it one way and the coach
(21:53):
wants me to do it another way. It's not gonna work,
and they're gonna move on. He didn't draft you. You
there before him, and so you better buy in and
be all the way on his program in terms of
rhythm and timing, accuracy, all those types of things. And
I think he can, but that would be the advice.
You better be all in all the time and just
(22:14):
do it his way.
Speaker 1 (22:15):
Simp. So I watched Michael Penix and JJ McCarthy, and
let me simplify it. Penix gets rid of the ball fast, fast,
and accurate, and he's got a defensive head coach. And
then I look at JJ McCarthy with the brilliant Kevin O'Connell,
and he holds the ball and he doesn't get rid
of it fast. And I do wonder if how much
(22:35):
what percentage of quarterback play in this league is get
it out of your hands? Because Pennix is just see
it boom out, and JJ and Caleb and especially JJ,
he doesn't let it go, he doesn't let it rip
that he looks overwhelmed, that he loses confidence. And I
mean when I watch Panis, I'm like, oh, that works,
(22:56):
That's what he did in college. It's see it, let
it rip. Trust your confidence. Is that part of JJ's
problem is he's just not letting it go.
Speaker 8 (23:05):
Yeah, I think you're spot on with Penix. You say
see it and let it rip. I think it's more like,
anticipate it and let it rip. You got to throw
it almost before you see it. And I think that's
one of the things that Michael Pennix did great at
the University of Washington. He doesn't necessarily rely on his
athleticism and legs. He relies on his eyes, his anticipatory reactions,
(23:26):
and then his accurate throws. So for sure, I think
the two young quarterbacks we talked about earlier, Caleb and JJ,
like they got to let it go quicker, going back
to the rhythm and the timing. You got to let
it go on one hitch, five and one hitch instead
of five and two hitches. Sometimes young quarterbacks can be
a weight and see thrower. I want to wait and
see and then I'm going to let it go and
(23:46):
then you know, obviously there's some like just mandatory things
for quarterbacks on an outbreaking route. You can never leave
it inside. You talked about confidence, I think when you
hold onto the ball. It doesn't necessarily hurt your confidence
as a court it hurts the confidence of the offensive line.
They might have done a decent job in pass protection,
but because you held on and hitched it a couple,
(24:07):
you know, one too many times, it feels like they
gave up a pressure when quite honestly, maybe they didn't
even give up a pressure. It just was you holding
on to it. So that's something that you know, the
young quarterbacks I think struggle with I know I struggled
with it. But you look at the game's best quarterbacks
over time, they get the ball out on time and
helps their team, you know, stay on track.
Speaker 1 (24:28):
I was talking about this with my buddy John Middelkoff
last night. Is I listen, Sometimes as a quarterback you
get hurt. It's not your fault, you get blindsided. But
when a quarterback like Joe Burrell or a Justin Fields
get hurt time and time again, and Eli Manning never does.
I do think a lot of a quarterback's health over
(24:49):
the course of a career is are you good pre snap?
Do you see the blitzes coming? Do you get rid
of the ball quickly? Do you understand your personnel and
where to slide protect and where not to. I don't
think every injury for Joe Burrow is always on the
bad old line for the Bengals. I don't know. It
just feels like to me, we always blame the O line,
(25:12):
and it seems like the Brady's and the elis they
get down or they don't get hurt.
Speaker 8 (25:18):
Yeah, you're I mean, listen, protect the team by protecting yourself.
I mean you're onto something here. Obviously, this last injury
on Burrows. You know, I'm not saying it's his fault,
but you know, as a franchise quarterback, which he clearly
is one of the great players in the game of
all time already, there's something too not being hurt. There's
something too not ending the season on IR. You know,
(25:40):
like the great quarterbacks. You mentioned some guys, but whether
it's Brady or Breeze or Manning or Stafford, you know,
how many seasons do they end on on IR. I
think that's something that they learn. You know, you see
Tom Brady, Peyton, Manning, they throw a pick, are they
going after it? Making the tackle? Sometimes they live to
play another play. They just get down. So I think
(26:00):
it'd be very easy to sort of blame the Bengals.
All the Bengals aren't spending enough money, They're not building
you know, I could blame the Bengals for maybe not
building the whole roster properly but offensively. If they're going
to give him the weapons talking about Joe Burrow that
they're given to him, I think one of the best
things that he could learn to do going forward is
understand that, hey, by protecting myself, by learning to live
(26:22):
for the next play, I'm really doing my part to
protect the team. And you know, I love Joe. I
love his style. He takes a bunch of sacks, his
eyes are downfield, he makes a bunch of big plays.
He's willing to put his body on the line. But
at the same time, I think understanding your value to
the team, that might be an area where you know
(26:42):
he's gonna want to you know, I think play a
little bit more like those guys you mentioned at Peyton
Manning and Eli Manning because of his value to the team.
Speaker 1 (26:49):
Finally, Mac Jones had his best game as a pro.
He had no George Kittle Brandon aiyuk I said the
playbook by Shanahan should be called Quarterback for Dummies. It's
like everybody gets it. I mean, mac Jones did not
have a big arm. He's not super athletic. They asked
him to throw thirty nine times on the road. That
I mean like the Eagles with Jalen Hurst want him
(27:10):
to throw at twenty three. It's almost double the throws.
And so I looked at it yesterday and I'm like
mac Jones looked great. I mean, what does Kyle do
in terms of simplicity. He's got backup tight ends. You
know who are they? He's got to have some cheat code?
Does he not? For quarterbacks?
Speaker 8 (27:30):
Well, if you were to talk to quarterbacks around the league,
I think you would hear this. I think you would
hear that Kyle Shanahan and Matt Lafloor are the guys
that they would want to go play for. And you
see guys try to resurrect their career by going and
spending a year with those kind of guys. And there
are other guys. I'm sure Daniel Jones you spent some
time with Kevin O'Connell, Like there's other guys. But you
(27:52):
saw what Sam Darnold did when he went to San Franz.
Was there as a backup kind of resurrected his career.
I'm sure that's what mac Jones thought. Hey, listen, I'm
gonna go do that now. Am I gonna overreact because
of a good game against the Saints? Like, No, not necessarily,
But this is why mac Jones chose to go there.
This is why quarterbacks around the league sort of are
(28:12):
jealous about the play caller, the scheme that is Kyle Shanahan,
that is Matt Lafleur. But to overreact and think that
maybe somehow, you know, like Brock Purdies, not like the
real difference maker on that team, like to me, I
think he is. But it goes hand in hand with
a great play caller, great play designer, which they clearly
(28:33):
have in San fran.
Speaker 1 (28:34):
I gotta ask you this one more thing. I don't
know your injury history, but I said, whoever Dak Prescott's
surgeon is he didn't get paid enough. Dak is so rejuvenated,
his mobility is back, it's rookie or second ear Dak,
his confidence, his body language like Dak looked unbelievable yesterday,
(28:57):
and the Giants D line's pretty good and they don't
you know, ceede Lamps obviously a special talent, Like he's
really good, but it's not a great personnel group up
front for him. I don't know. I always thought pro
athletes off surgery had to play their way back into confidence.
I'm kind of blown away by Dak through two weeks.
(29:18):
Can you explain it?
Speaker 8 (29:19):
Yeah, I've heard you say it. It's the eye test.
You see a guy right away, you can tell what
kind of off season he had, you know, and there's
off seasons that you have that aren't really successful. I mean,
I remember I had one of those, I think eight
oh nine, and just like it didn't I looked at
myself and I didn't feel fast, I didn't feel explosive,
I didn't feel powerful. You've heard Dak Prescott talk about
this this talk about that this year, saying like, I
(29:39):
didn't like how I was last year, especially as a runner,
and so he's worked on that. I think he looks
different physically. I think he looks different running the ball.
He's been great. He's been great. And I know this
for a fact as a as a player, as a quarterback,
especially when you feel great about your off season training,
when you feel strong and fit and powerful and explosive,
you feel confident. Like you feel confident as a player,
(30:01):
you feel called, you just feel different, and I think
your teammates feel it. And I think there's an emotional
intelligence that kind of like rubs off on the sidelines.
If you watch Dak this year, he's not like sitting
on the bench, you know, getting drinks and water and
gatorade and all that stuff. The whole time he's on
his feet, he's dapping up his teammates, he's walking up
and down offense, defense, o line, He's engaged. I just
(30:23):
think that to me, that screams like a guy that
had a great offseason. Whatever he did, it was great,
and I think he should continue.
Speaker 7 (30:30):
To do that.
Speaker 8 (30:30):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (30:30):
I mean I asked him to throw against that front
for the Giants fifty two times, and yet he still
had at the end of the game the energy to
peel off to throw fifty two times. In the NFL,
that is the Calarie burn itself is insane. And then
he peels off or run in overtime and I'm like, dude,
that that is all time stuff.
Speaker 8 (30:50):
That is Yeah, and having his legs is an important
piece to the puzzle of who he is as a player.
When he came in that rookie year when he replaced
Tony Romo. He gave them a little bit of a
boost with the mobility, with the naked bootlegs and that
one scramble that just breaks the defense back when they
call the right play. So you know, that's an important thing.
And this is a dangerous team with a great kicker.
(31:11):
They're saying his range is like seventy yards. Look look
out for Dallas. They're a lot better than people thought
before the season.
Speaker 1 (31:18):
All right, Matt hassel Beck as olways great stuff on
a Monday. Yeah, I mean you go, look, folks, when
you ask a quarterback to throw fifty two times in
a pass rush of the Giants and they're still scrambling
for the first down late, it's impressive. Matt Hasselbeck, thank
you for stopping by on a Monday. We still got
a lot to talk about. Mark Schlareth on that Bronco
giveaway game brutal. I didn't think yesterday was a great
(31:41):
day for officials. By the way, Dean Blandino came out
on the toush push and said, I'm over it. It's
a very hard play. I think that that's gonna seize.
That's going to be the end of the toush push
in the offseason when they raised their hands for a vote.
When the officials say we can't really officiate it, we
can't really clearly see it. I think that's I mean,
(32:03):
that's the bottom line. A league starts with rules any
sport if I don't care what sport you are, if
you're creating the UFC twenty five years ago rules, and
then you have officials, right, here's our rules. Here's the
people who will officiate it, will teach them. Then we
have the athletes. When the rules and the officials are
at odds and the officials are saying, you know, we
(32:24):
just can't see where's the ball. I mean, the Philadelphia
looks like they're nudging off sides and getting a false
start and nobody's calling it. That will be the end
of it. Because Philadelphia can say we invented it. Nobody
can stop it. But if the officials are struggling to
officiate a play, that's dangerous, and I think that'll be
(32:45):
the end of the touch push in the offseason.
Speaker 9 (32:46):
Well wait a second, Yeah, for years the officials were like,
we don't know what it catches. I mean, the bobbling,
all this stuff this is a little easier, Colin, just
because they ran it seven times yesterday and Chiefs fans
can't stop it. They're very upset. They're crying, why don't
we just put a chip in the football? That is
the easiest thing you can possibly do to get a
great spot. People have been talking about this for years,
(33:07):
and by the way, kitt the officials just huddle up.
Speaker 1 (33:09):
And be like, hey, let's have it.
Speaker 9 (33:10):
Let's have an official meeting, and this is how we
we adjust to what the tush push is and we
make sure we do a better job of it. I
don't like outlawing the best play in football, the most automatic,
unstoppable play. I don't know why the rest just can't
be better.
Speaker 1 (33:27):
I don't love it either. But and for the record,
other teams have tried it and failed. He does not
look the same with everybody else.
Speaker 9 (33:36):
I say, JJ McCarthy's trying last night, He's like.
Speaker 1 (33:39):
I don't know what I'm doing. Like he looks scared
to R Williams, forget it. He doesn't know what he's doing.
It's not I mean, I know it's interesting. So Travis
Jason Kelsey retires best center in a decade, right and
the tush push doesn't go backwards, because what Jalen Hurts
is is the strongest quarterback pound for pound, probably in
league history. There's been a lot of big guys and
a lot of tall guys in Fasca. How many quarterbacks
(34:02):
you know do a six hundred and sixty pounds leg press,
And I think a huge component to this. He is shorter,
he's stout, he's smaller. He gets an incredible push. Now,
their O line is excellent, but they just lost the
best center in a decade in the sport, and the
tush push remains unstoppable. So it was not Kelsey, It's
(34:24):
Jalen Hurts who makes that puppy work. By the way, the.
Speaker 8 (34:27):
Chiefs have Creed Humphrey, one of the best centers in
the league.
Speaker 1 (34:29):
Why don't they run our Dutchess place. That's right, Just
give us out there, Pat, huh No, it's on. Jalen
Hurts is just a weird combination of you know, diminutive size.
So you can't get Josh Allen's the most talented quarterback
in the league. Justin Herbert. I've seen him try it. Well,
they're six'. Five people can headhunt With hertz head down
(34:51):
huge leg. Strength there's nothing you can. DO i, mean
there's literally nothing you can.
Speaker 7 (34:55):
Do
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