October 30, 2025 • 36 mins
Colin Cowherd breaks down why it’s actually good for Major League Baseball that the Los Angeles Dodgers are on the brink of World Series elimination against the Toronto Blue Jays—especially after fans accused LA of trying to “buy” another championship.
Colin compares NFL Quarterbacks to Halloween Candy Comparisons, using the league’s biggest names like Patrick Mahomes, Aaron Rodgers, and Jalen Hurts telling you which Halloween candy they are.
Plus, NFL Films legend Greg Cosell joins the show to analyze what makes Patrick Mahomes the most complete quarterback he’s ever seen—and why he’s encouraged by Caleb Williams’ recent play.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
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
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 Cowver
on Fox Sports Radio.
Speaker 1 (00:27):
Here we go. It is a Thursday. Lamar Jackson returns
tonight to the NFL. Austin Reeve. What to make of
that Dodgers Jays. We know what to make of it.
LA's in big trouble live in Chicago. It's the Herd.
Wherever you may be, however you may be listening. Thanks
(00:51):
for making us part of your day. A Halloween Eve show.
Tip of the cap again to the people at our
company that make our set look the way it does.
We always appreciate that. One hour from now, Greg Cosell
stops by. You know, when they were beating the Reds
and the Phillies and they were beating the Brewers J Mack.
The Dodgers' bats had a way of making teams, pitching
(01:15):
staffs and bullpens uncomfortable. That is exactly now what is
happening to the Dodgers' bullpen and the Dodgers starting staff.
So here's where we start today. How about Trey That
was unbelievable. The best thing for baseball, honestly, privately, is
the Dodger struggling being on the brink because last year
when they dominated the Yankees in the World Series, a
(01:37):
minute later, it's like the sport's uneven. This is not fair.
There's a massive financial gap. It's just not fair. It
felt like Katie to the Warriors first year they go
sixteen to one of the playoffs. So the Big Ten
winning a Natty or the Chiefs getting blown out in
Super Bowls, big picture, gives everybody else hope. This Dodger
team was flawed all season long. We talked about it.
(01:58):
They blew twenty six saves. Mookie Betts, who had a
great September not hitting now, didn't hit until September. He
had an injury or an illness early. He's been off
all season. Blake Snell opens the game with a couple
of fastballs. Both get jacked out. So from the very beginning,
(02:18):
it was the Blue Jays bats making the Dodgers uncomfortable.
Blake Snell, after giving up two bombs in the first inning,
had to abandon his fastball. So again, what the Dodgers
did for three series is what the Jays are doing
to the Dodgers now. And Trey Ya Savage amazing another
(02:42):
amazing story. This kid wasn't in Major league baseball when
the season started. He was in single A ball. There
used to be low A high A. It's now just
single A ball. It's basically like really slightly better than
great high school baseball. You don't stay in a hotel,
you have a host family. Last night struck out twelve.
(03:08):
Only one Dodger got into scoring position for the record,
Otani Betson Freeman held hitless. In fact, the last two games,
the Dodgers as a team are hitting a buck sixty four.
Their MVPs are mia. And here is Trey you Savage
finishing off his night in the seventh right here.
Speaker 3 (03:31):
Chopper to third, Clement the second over the first double play,
the World Series masterpiece from twenty two year old Trey
Yes Savage.
Speaker 1 (03:44):
He struck out every Dodger at least once. We thought
the Dodgers would hit their way to a title, yet
they've scored sixty four total runs in the playoffs. The
Jays are at one hundred and counting. And no baseball
team has repeated since the Derek Jeter And there's a
reason for it. It's exceptionally hard, more than any sport.
(04:04):
I mean, you got to get your starting pitching in sync.
You got to get your timely hits at the perfect time.
You've got to fix your batting order, right guys in
front of the right guys, top tier pitching, bullpen's got
to be good enough. So the Dodgers may have built
the perfect Major League Baseball machine, but maybe they forgot
(04:27):
to put in the clutch because the team right now
that is making the other team uncomfortable. It's Toronto, and
here is Dave roberts on making Game six adjustments in Canada.
Speaker 4 (04:42):
I'm not sure if it's mooking the two, mooking the three,
Freddy in the three, I'm not sure. But at the
end of the day, regardless of you know, who we
run out there or what construct, we still got to
take good at bats, all of us, you know, And
so that's what I'm betting on.
Speaker 1 (04:57):
Yeah, the Dodgers had a lot of bad at bats
last night. But when you got one guy in scoring position,
is it just the Jay's pitching is part of it? Pressure,
whatever it is, it's working. First inning on when you
force Blake Snell to abandon his fastball, you're officially in
the Dodgers wheelhouse. You're in the Dodgers head Okay, he
(05:20):
did it again. No Luca, no Lebron, in fact, no
Aunt Edwards. And the star of the show buzzer beater
was Austin Reeves of the Lakers. Twenty eight points and
sixteen assists. What are we to make of him? Well,
first of all, he's a great American sports story. First,
you're in the NBA. He averaged seven, then thirteen, then sixteen,
then twenty. Suddenly he's averaging thirty four. My guess is
(05:42):
it's going to go down a little bit. It is
the best case scenario for the Lakers. They can show
him off to the NBA. He's getting to the free
throw line twelve times. He's always created contact. The issue
isn't is he a good player. It's a very good player, right.
The question is can you maximize his game with the Lakers.
(06:04):
He needs the ball in his hands. You should see
his numbers playing with Lebron and without him, he's a
different player entirely c plus to aus. So what do
you do with him? He's showing the league maybe Houston,
the Celtics, Miami. No. I can initiate offense. I'll get
to the free throw line. I'm physical, I'll work hard
(06:24):
on the defensive end, albeit it won't be great. Is
he too good to trade or is he the perfect
trade piece? Again, Luca needs the ball to dominate, and
Luca is arguably the second best player in the world.
Some nights the very best. Maybe Austin Reeves is thinking
I want the ball. I want this to continue. So
watching him last night, here's what I kept thinking watching
(06:47):
Austin Reeves. Are the new owners. This is not the
Bus family. The Bus family needed Lebron for six and
a half years. They needed him. He was selling tickets.
They were a mess Lebron. Remember end of the Kobe days.
They weren't very good. They were bad all the time,
right we remember Kobe's last game, sixty points, A lot
(07:09):
of forgettable years. Are the new Laker owners who have
a lot of money and it's about the long term,
not selling tickets necessarily thinking to themselves. You know, maybe
it's Lebron we don't need I mean Lebron reportedly in
his fields because he hasn't gotten the contract extension. My
take is the only two absolutes going forward are Luca
(07:32):
and JJ Reddick. This is no longer a league of
a big three. It's a duo league. But maybe the
Lakers are a big three Luca, JJ Reddick and Austin Reeves.
I mean, this is what happens. You're given opportunities, somebody
takes a day off work, somebody's sick. You step in
(07:55):
with no Luca and no Lebron. JJ Reddick is leaning
on him. He gets the free throw line, always has,
initiates contact, always has hitting his shots, usually does so
this is one of those moments. The new owners are
looking at this and my take last night was God,
the kids first or second in the league. Now nobody
plays defense already in the season, so everybody's numbers are
(08:17):
a little glossy. A lot of guys shooting fifty five percent.
I get it, but it's impossible not to pay attention,
right and these new owners, they're still assessing the situation.
They made it very clear JJ Reddick and with a
contract extension Luca. They're the future. But it's not a
(08:37):
Big three league. It's now a duo league. And Austin Reeves,
when you compare to larn is much cheaper, younger, healthier,
and let's be honest, less maintenance. Here's JJ Reddick on
Austin Reeves last night.
Speaker 5 (08:55):
That guy is going to show up in the big moments.
It's not surprised. He's done that many times in his career.
He's done that many times since I've.
Speaker 6 (09:04):
Been his coach.
Speaker 5 (09:05):
Feel very comfortable with him making decisions at league game.
Speaker 1 (09:09):
And Austin Reeves scored half of his points against Jaden McDaniels,
who's a elite defensive player. So it's been very, very impressive.
And it's just opportunities. You know, somebody misses work, somebody
misses a game, you step in. But if it was
the old owners, the bus family, I don't think this
would be as significant. They love Austin Reeves, they've paid
(09:31):
him nothing and he's very productive. But the new owners
look at the world differently. When somebody buys a company,
they see the world differently. They don't cling to stuff.
Usually they don't want old and higher maintenance they like young, cheaper, healthier, coachable.
Austin Reeves is a very attractive player to any new
(09:54):
ownership group. That's what I saw last night. And JMG,
I know how much you love Austin Reeves, but it
is interesting. As I'm watching it, I'm thinking about the
new ownership group how they view him, and it's like
cost dependability, health maintenance. I mean, there is something about
Lebron on the downside of being an older star athlete
(10:16):
is you can suck the oxygen out of arown a
little bit, right. Austin Reeves is like it wasn't for
the headband, you know, you never pick him up, and
that there is something to be said about a new
coach a young player. It's just it's fascinating.
Speaker 7 (10:32):
Yeah, you know, I don't know if I said this
to you on air or off, but I look at
Austin Reeves next to Luka Danci said, I'm like, why
can't Austin the Kyrie Irving? Kyrie and Luca went to
the NBA finals two years ago, And I'm not saying
Austin Reeves is Kyrie.
Speaker 1 (10:46):
So that can be that. Okay, okay, but you're missing
the big part of that Why did Luca and Kyrie
work because they had a long, devastating front line. They're
both bad, that's not all. Yeah, that's that's why.
Speaker 6 (11:02):
Well, you can move off Lebron. You bring it, you
bring in bigs.
Speaker 1 (11:05):
Right, Well again, Luca and Austin Reeves are not Kyrie
and Luca with Dallas's front line in size. DeAndre Ayden's
a bad defensive player. Okay, so that it works only
because of what Dallas can provide in rim protection. Having
Luca and Austin Reeves is fun. It's not beating the
best teams in the West, who mostly all do have
(11:28):
rim protection and better wings. Okay, it's the first week
of the NBA season. The first two weeks, nobody's playing defense.
It's a lot of fun. You can't overreact, but I
guarantee you the new owners, just to anybody out there
that's ever bought a new business or you're part of
a new company, you view it differently than how the
old people viewed. In the Bus family, they felt kind
(11:50):
of tied at the hit with Lebron, right, like they
had sacrifices they brought him in. These new guys are like, hey,
we like him, We have no connection to him.
Speaker 7 (11:59):
Yeah, I love Austin Reeves. You know, I've been on
that bandwagon for a while. Everybody's saying, oh, we could
ship him for Giannis. Doesn't seem realistic. Colin the team
I heard last night that is interested in Austin Reeves.
Keep an eye on the Utah Jazz Lori. Markanen is
a budding star. He's younger than Reeves. He's a big
I think he had fifty points earlier this week, was
(12:21):
outstanding in the summer market.
Speaker 1 (12:22):
Has been a great score since he walked into the league.
A guy that can run the floor.
Speaker 6 (12:26):
I would keep an eye.
Speaker 7 (12:27):
You know, you get your pair a couple of euros
Luca and Lourie Markinen. I know he's not an awesome defender,
but I would just keep an eye on that going forward. Again,
I'm not trying to trade Austin Reeves, but I just
put that on your radar.
Speaker 1 (12:37):
A one hour from now, Greg Cosell, very interesting NFL
Weekend Bill's Chiefs highlights that Lamar plays tonight.
Speaker 2 (12:46):
Be sure to catch live editions of The Herd weekdays
and Neon Easter nine am Pacific on Fox Sports Radio
FS one and The iHeartRadio app.
Speaker 1 (12:54):
Hey is Capino and Rip from Fox Sports Radio.
Speaker 8 (12:57):
Now, in addition to hearing us live weekdays from five
to seven pm Eastern two to four Pacific on Fox
Sports Radio, we're excited to announce a brand new YouTube
channel for the show.
Speaker 1 (13:07):
Yep, that's right.
Speaker 8 (13:08):
You can now watch Covino and Rich live on YouTube
every day.
Speaker 6 (13:11):
All you gotta do.
Speaker 8 (13:12):
Search Covino and Rich FSR on YouTube again, go to
YouTube search Covino en Rich FSR.
Speaker 1 (13:19):
Check us out on YouTube, Subscribe, hit that thumbs up icon,
come in away. All right, with that forty six years
working at NFL Films, he is always our Thursday Encyclopedia.
Greg Cosel is now joining us. All right, let's let's
let's dive into Kansas City in Buffalo. So you know
(13:40):
players who don't necessarily work in other places Hollywood Brown
or don't work to the level Juju Smith Schuster do
in Kansas City. We've talked about is it just Andy,
is it Mahomes? But I think Rashi Rice is a
one and I think Worthy is a two. But they
do a really good job of fun making everything kind
of work right, like they just find a play. I
(14:03):
mean Sky Moore has a wide open touchdown in the
Super Bowl. I look at their I look at their
receiving room, and I'm like, man, there's a lot of
different types and sizes. What do you see right now
with Kansas City's offense.
Speaker 9 (14:17):
I think a lot goes into that colin as it
often does with good quarterbacks, great quarterbacks. Maholmes is one
of the most fascinating quarterbacks that I think I've studied
in all my years evaluating quarterbacks. And it's the reason
why there were some people when he came out of
college were uncertain as to what he would be as
a pro. But the more and more you watch him,
(14:37):
I don't think we've ever seen a quarterback with his
spatial awareness and his vision. There's a term that I've
heard called fighter pilot's.
Speaker 6 (14:46):
Vision, and he kind of has that.
Speaker 9 (14:48):
He may be have may have the best spatial awareness
and fighter pilot's vision that we've ever seen.
Speaker 6 (14:55):
Uh. And it's just remarkable the way.
Speaker 9 (14:57):
I mean, the second half of the game the other
night on Monday Night was really all of him making
improvisational second reaction plays. That wasn't a second half of
playing within structure. Their best instructure play came in the
first half when he hit Kelsey on one of their
staple flood concepts for I think thirty plus yards. But
he just has an unbelievable knack for making these plays.
(15:20):
Now he'll leave throws on the field and then he'll
run around and make a play, and it's just those
are the kinds of things when you watch him, you go, I.
Speaker 6 (15:29):
Wonder how they deal with that.
Speaker 9 (15:30):
Do they just say great play, Patrick, or do they say, hey,
we had this play design and you didn't throw it,
and you know, next time throw it. I don't know
how they deal with that. But he just has an
uncannyability that is arguably the best we've ever seen.
Speaker 1 (15:44):
How does Buffalo's offense match up with Spags and the
Chief's nefews?
Speaker 9 (15:49):
I tell you, Buffalo's offense the last number of weeks
has not been a great watch. And I'm just being
on a space purely on tape study. I don't think,
and I'm not saying this sarcastically, the way they've been playing,
I don't think they can beat.
Speaker 6 (16:02):
This defense, this Chiefs defense.
Speaker 9 (16:04):
Running the ball the way they have I'm not saying
they shouldn't run it, but running the ball with that
kind of production success and throwing tunnel screens and five
yard passes. Josh Allen the last couple of weeks has
not looked like the Josh Allen were used to now.
He's been leaving the pocket prematurely. He's making too many plays,
random improvisations, and when they don't work, you end up
(16:27):
short circuiting your offense. So I think Josh Allen has
to get back to playing much more of the way
he did last year, where he was much more calmer,
much more composed. This was not a very good game
for him this past week, but they didn't need it.
Speaker 6 (16:42):
He's going to have.
Speaker 9 (16:43):
To play well in history suggests Colin in this matchup
that he's going to have to drop back forty times.
I mean, that's the way this matchup has gone. They've
played nine times over what the last four years, and
Josh Allen has been great in almost all of those games.
But he's thrown the ball probably at least prety plus
times in every one of those games.
Speaker 6 (17:02):
And I would not expect this game to be any different.
Speaker 1 (17:05):
All Right, I watch the Packers and the Steelers, let's talk.
For the last four to five years, Pittsburgh's defense has
been the most expensive. But in the second half against Seattle,
in the second half against Green Bay, against Joe Flacco,
I'm left wondering they're not even a good tackling team
at times.
Speaker 6 (17:23):
My team, right is it scheme?
Speaker 1 (17:25):
Is it coaching? Is it personnel? What is wrong with
Pittsburgh's defense?
Speaker 6 (17:30):
I think you're.
Speaker 9 (17:31):
Dealing with two things when it comes to the pass defense,
because they give up the most passing yards in the NFL.
People probably thought the Cowboys, but it's actually the Steelers.
And I think they're struggling with lack of pass rush,
which would be a surprise, and combine that with lack
of quality corner play right now, and when you have
a lack of pass rush and a lack of quality
corner play, you've got an issue. And that's what the
(17:52):
main problem is right now. And obviously they've just come
off a game playing against Jordan Love, and Jordan Love
he's become a joy to watch because there's now a
controlled efficiency column to the way in which he plays.
I mean, he was a guy that was reckless a
bit at times through his first two years. I'm sure
he will be at times just because he's capable of
(18:14):
making those kinds of plays. But now there's kind of
a controlled efficiency to the way in which he plays.
There's a calculation. He's taking the throws that are there
rather than chasing plays, and that just helps your offense.
Speaker 6 (18:29):
Stay on schedule.
Speaker 9 (18:30):
And you and I both know that Matt Lafleur at
his court would like to run the ball. And when
it's first and ten and they show you a six
yard completion, now Jordan Love is taking the six yard
completion and it's second and four, and now Matt leaflor
can run the ball. So he's really allowing mattel Laflora's
offense to really flourish the way they want it to be.
Speaker 1 (18:51):
So I want to talk about the Ravens. But before
I talked strictly about the Ravens tonight, I want to
talk about Caleb against the Ravens. It was interesting. It
was one of my blazing five picks. And when I
told when I was told Lamar wasn't gonna play, my
take is, well, it's in Baltimore. It's an NFC team.
Caleb has been outside of the opening drive, a little erratic.
(19:14):
I think Baltimore can beat him. What did the tape
say all these years doing it on Caleb against a
finally healthier Ravens defense.
Speaker 9 (19:24):
Yeah, I thought, actually Caleb showed some positive signs in
this game. I think they'll still be uneven moments and
ups and downs, but I think, and again, this is
what I look for when I watch Kale. I look
for playing with excellent timing and rhythm within structure, because
that's really what the Ben Johnson offense is. And Caleb
at his core is not a true natural timing anticipation player,
(19:48):
so it's going to be baby steps. And I think
there were some signs of positive plays this week, some
snapshots where I said, as I.
Speaker 6 (19:57):
Was watching the tape, that's pretty good.
Speaker 9 (19:59):
Now, a lot of people are probably going to look
at the interception which he was late with that throw.
Speaker 6 (20:03):
He was late by two beats.
Speaker 9 (20:05):
It was a bad decision, but also a dunes they
ran a really bad route. He drifted rather than flattened,
and he made it easy.
Speaker 6 (20:12):
For the corner Wiggans to undercut it.
Speaker 9 (20:15):
But I thought there were some positive signs this week,
and we'll see. It's going to be a process, Colin,
and I think I think you almost have to accept
that Caleb Williams is really in his rookie season, not
in his second season.
Speaker 1 (20:29):
Baltimore's defense is healthy. What do you see positively from that?
Speaker 6 (20:34):
I love the way they're using Kyle Hamilton now.
Speaker 9 (20:36):
He's back being kind of there slot, overhanging, multi dimensional player.
They use him as a blitzer, they line him up
on the ball, off the ball, he's used on stunts
as both a looper and a picker. I mean, to me,
he's really, in many ways the key to what they're
doing right now. And I'll tell you the rookie from
Marshall Green, he's getting a ton of snaps on the
(20:58):
edge and he's showing up. But to me, it's Kyle
Hamilton who is really the main guy right now. He's
such a unique player, and there's more and more guys
actually coming into the league like that. Seattle has won
in nick A Minwari who's basically the same size as
Kyle Hamilton and being deployed by Mike McDonald who obviously
had Kyle Hamilton a few years ago. So, but Kyle
(21:19):
Hamilton to me, really stands out when you watch the
tape of the Ravens defense.
Speaker 1 (21:24):
So this isn't great for AJ Brown, but he doesn't play,
and the Eagles offense is Hummond. Now I'm Davonte Smith.
I mean, I listen. They have a really good personnel.
But I've said this before. He's not necessarily an adversary.
But there are players that there are wide receivers and
(21:44):
quarterbacks or wide receivers that are loaners or kind of
guys on an island that don't fit a particular scheme.
And when I think of the Eagles, I always think
of the tush bush, which is an ugly collective. You know,
it's two yards, it's ugly, it's inartistic. Aj Brown so beautiful,
he goes deep, he makes the great cash, you know.
So does he fit perfectly? Why were they so successful
(22:07):
last week without him?
Speaker 6 (22:10):
Well?
Speaker 9 (22:10):
I would say this last week they were back to
the template of the way they performed last season when
they won the Super Bowl. Keep in mind that this
team operates best when the run game is the foundation
and Jalen Hurts drop back drops back less than thirty times.
Speaker 6 (22:26):
That was the profile. A week ago.
Speaker 9 (22:28):
They got the run game going, they rushed for two
hundred and seventy six yards. Now, you're not going to
rush for two seventy six every week. But the point
is the run game was the guiding foundation of how
they played. I keep reminding people that last year during
the Super Bowl season, Jalen Hurts through for less than
two hundred yards nine or ten times. Jalen Hurts is
a phenomenal player in terms of he never turns it over,
(22:51):
and they're phenomenal in the red zone, of which Jalen
Hurts is a major factor. They have the highest red
zone touchdown efficiency percentage in the league right now, and
they don't get there as much as a lot of teams,
but when they get there, they score. So they're at
their best when they play a certain way, and that
way does not really detail Jalen Hurts dropping back forty
(23:12):
or forty five times, So there are going to be
games in which aj Brown does not necessarily get a
lot of targets. This is just who the Eagles are
on offense, and when it works, they're really really good
at it. But it's not built on dropping back and
throwing the ball.
Speaker 1 (23:27):
So it's interesting. I know, Shane Steichen's a great coach,
and Daniel Jones is having a woonderful year and Jonathan
Taylor's always been good, but we don't talk offensive lines,
and it was about I don't remember when the game was,
five weeks ago, whatever it was they played, They played
Denver and that's when I came out and said, folks,
the Colts old line is in that Detroit Philly space,
(23:51):
like they are pushing people around. How when you watch
the offense, who are you going to give credit to?
Because I mean the Rams beat them, but actually Indy
had them beat, right, what do you make of their offense?
Speaker 9 (24:08):
Well, you're right about the old Lion, and I'm not
an a line you know, guru by any means, Colin.
But when I watched Quinn Nelson get out and pull,
I mean, I think there's two guys you watch pull
in this league get out front in Trent Williams and
Quentin Nelson, and you go, oh my god, how can
people that big move like that?
Speaker 6 (24:24):
You know? But I think where they're so so good?
Speaker 9 (24:27):
And this is Shane Steichen and I'm sure it's his
influence is on first down. I mean, we all think
about Jonathan Taylor, right, isn't he the guy you think
of when you think of their offense? But right now,
through eight weeks, Daniel Jones has far and away the
most first down passing yards of any quarterback in the league.
And I'm not sure people would think that way about
(24:49):
this offense. They think about Jonathan Taylor, by the way,
he's terrific on first down two, But Daniel Jones, with
the schematics of this pass game on first down, they've
allowed Daniel Jones to really flourish because the reds and
the throws are defined. It's always been the best down
to throw on first down, and they are really maximizing
their ability.
Speaker 6 (25:09):
They've gained the most yards total on first down by
a wide margin.
Speaker 1 (25:13):
So it's interesting. I like the Texans to beat the
Niners last week, one of them Law's health. But I
said this when I watched c. J. Stroud and you
give him just that extra beat.
Speaker 4 (25:24):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (25:25):
I love what the ball looks like coming out of
his hands. It's beautiful, it really is. It just flies
out of his hands. It's got juice, it's accurate. And
what did you make of his performance against the Niners.
Speaker 9 (25:39):
Yeah, and he doesn't need to step into his throws
to throw a beautiful ball, which is a really good thing.
I thought last week he looked to me like he
did as a rookie when we all thought that he
was on his way to being, you know, maybe a
top five quarterback in the league. And last year was
very uneven and through the first six seven weeks this
season was very uneven. Now, granted, he played against the
defense that couldn't rush the quarter back particularly well, but
(26:01):
he also made some very good throws in this game
where the pocket was squeezed and he was under pressure.
So this was the game where I, you know, and again,
we don't know what's going to happen this week. Obviously,
they play a very tough defense in the Broncos, so
you just don't know. But this was a game where
he said, if he can get back to playing like this,
then the Texans really have a chance to get back.
And I want to show you a play if we
(26:22):
can get to our play from last week, that I
think really speaks to how well he played. If we
could use this one play, it's kind of a microcosm
of how we played last week. It was the thirty
yard touchdown to Xavier Hutchinson, and there's some really nice
elements to this play, particularly with how they designed it
and with Stroud. Now, it was third down, obviously, so
(26:44):
third down is a money down. So now you're going
to see Stroud in the gun and what they are
going to do is they're going to take Braxton Barrios
and he's going to go in what we call short
burst motion outside.
Speaker 6 (26:54):
So they know with that motion that they're going to
get manned.
Speaker 9 (26:57):
The corner bumps out and you're going to see that
they're going to get the match up to the trip
side there.
Speaker 6 (27:03):
It's going to be man coverage. It will end up
being Cover one.
Speaker 9 (27:06):
Because the safety to the short side of the field
is going to end up rotating into the post and
he's going to be the post safety in cover one.
So now what are they running as a route concept.
We're going to focus on two guys, Wayne and Hutchinson
and they're going to run a concept.
Speaker 6 (27:21):
That's in everybody's playbook.
Speaker 9 (27:23):
It's double dig It's a very common route concept.
Speaker 6 (27:27):
Now.
Speaker 9 (27:27):
The forty nine ers on this particular play and they
did this throughout the game because they couldn't generate any pressure.
They rush six here, and the reason they rush six
is because they know the back is going to have
to end up being part of the protection because of
the six man pressure. So they're still playing cover one
though so they're rushing six. So now what you end
up with is Hutchinson. He's matched on a safety. So
(27:49):
this is what you wanted. You wanted this matchup and
they got it. And this is a beautiful throw. But
now we're going to take a look at this colin
from behind Stroud because you're going to see just what
I mean about being able to throw from squeeze pockets
and how good a throw this is. This is Michel Williams,
who's a stand up rusher here and he's going to
(28:09):
get inside and he's going to get in Stroud's face.
I mean, you talked about him the way he can
throw the ball. He doesn't even need to step into
this at all. And you can see the matchup. And
what makes this even more special is he really has
to throw this to a spot. He has to throw
this with anticipation right now. He can't wait for the
receiver then it's too late. So he's throwing this to
(28:32):
a spot and you'll see the pressure that Williams puts
on him. This is big time NFL quarterbacking right here.
And by the way, this is the kind of player
Stroud has to be because even though he's not a statue.
You and I both know Colin at his core, he's
a pocket player. You know, if he's going to be
a great quarterback in this league, it's going to have
to be from the pocket.
Speaker 1 (28:51):
Greg Cosel forty six years at NFL Films as always, Greg,
great stuff.
Speaker 6 (28:58):
Thanks, Colin, really appreciate it.
Speaker 2 (29:00):
You want to catch live editions of the Herd weekdays
and neonon Easter not a em Pacific?
Speaker 1 (29:04):
All right, j Mac, Halloween is tomorrow. Our staff already
gets into it. You can see all the ghosts hovering.
If you're listening on radio, you should turn on FS one.
All the ghosts hovering in and out of our set.
So everybody's all fired up for this, and I thought,
you know, we'll give a little bit back. I like candy.
I'm just knocking out, just knocked out a little kit
cat bar here. Oh gross, Oh my god. It's great
(29:28):
life saver gummies.
Speaker 5 (29:29):
Yes, I.
Speaker 1 (29:31):
Don't care what they say about red dye. I love it.
I've got a couple snickers here, So we're gonna do it.
You give me a quarterback and I will give you
his candy comp all right, can't which Halloween candy is?
Patrick momes easiest one. Reese's Peanut butter Cup most popular,
best in the game right now. Patrick leads the NFL
(29:54):
in total touchdowns and rake second total yards this year
on a heater that is easy, by the way, the
most ordered Halloween candy by a long shot. As a kid, say,
very nig, which Halloween candy is? Moonicks? Bonix is dark Chocolate.
Speaker 6 (30:11):
I love him.
Speaker 1 (30:13):
I think it's an acquired taste. I'm not sure if
anybody else even likes it. I'm like eighty seven percent,
ninety two percent? What do I care? I mean? During
his five game winning streak in the fourth quarter alone,
thirteen touchdowns, two picks, Bonix, baby bow beautiful? All right?
Which Halloween candy is? Baker Mayfield Warhead? Very intense, but
(30:36):
you learn to love it. I mean, listen. He leads
the NFL with eighty two touchdown passes since joining the Bucks.
He can be a little reckless. It takes a while
to get used to it, but you know what, You're
down a couple of those warheads. You're all in, all right?
Speaker 6 (30:53):
Which Halloween candy is Aaron Rodgers?
Speaker 1 (30:57):
He's complex and so is this candy. The toutsy roll
pop it's got a hardened exterior, but it's totally different inside,
completely different inside. Listen, the Steelers are gonna average twenty
five a game, right, that's what they're doing right now.
That's their best in five six years. So the TUTSI
roll pop again. I'm not saying it's great for your teeth.
(31:20):
I'm not saying. But the outside in the inside, it's
very complex. It's two different candy.
Speaker 6 (31:26):
That's a good one.
Speaker 1 (31:27):
Which Halloween candy is Jalen Hurtz candy corn. A lot
of people love it something it's totally overrated. He's won
twenty two of u twenty of his last twenty two games,
so it's dependable. It's always there. But they have one
of the highest third and out percentages in the NFL.
(31:49):
So you're either with it or you're not at all.
Love me some candy corner, Which Halloween candy is Matthew Stafford.
We both love Stafford. He's all reliable, like the Hershey bar,
you know what you're getting, right, never bad leads the
NFL and touchdown passes in big plays. Second highest quidded passer.
(32:12):
I mean, it goes with almost anything. A fifth round
wide receiver, a fifth round running back, an undrafted left tackle,
the classic thirty seven year old still good.
Speaker 6 (32:24):
Which Halloween candy is your?
Speaker 1 (32:25):
Guy?
Speaker 6 (32:26):
Caleb Williams, My.
Speaker 1 (32:27):
God, the butter finger sounds good, but is it?
Speaker 6 (32:34):
Yeah?
Speaker 1 (32:34):
I'm not sure if it is. I mean he's nine
to fifteen completion percentage declined this season, ranks twenty fourth.
Speaker 6 (32:43):
I don't know.
Speaker 1 (32:44):
I used to get stuff in my teeth. I'm weird
after taste. I don't know if I like it. I
like butterfinger. I finally call him, which Halloween candy is?
Trevor Lawrence? The staff came up with this mystery airhead.
What you're never quite sure? What you just experience? Well,
(33:04):
what is it? He leaves the NFL with seventy four
turnovers since he entered the league, and his record is
twenty six and forty one. It's good, No, it's not.
What is it? I'm not sure he's talented? He turns
the ball over. I don't know what to make it.
Trevor Lawrence or the mystery haad hairhead?
Speaker 6 (33:26):
Yeah, good stuff.
Speaker 1 (33:28):
I can't believe you don't like candy corn, bro, Come on,
candy corn is so good. It's a little bit like
candle wax wax a little bit. How I'm a texture guy. Yeah,
I can't. There's certain textures I can't do.
Speaker 6 (33:42):
I gotta be honest.
Speaker 1 (33:42):
I'm shocked that Reese's peanut butter cups are like the
most popular by a mile.
Speaker 6 (33:47):
I had no clue those are. I just yeah, Wow,
that's sunny.
Speaker 1 (33:52):
All right. Here's the NFL schedule a JMAX this weekend.
I usually ask you on Thursdays, I want the big upset.
Oh boy, I don't see a big upset.
Speaker 6 (34:05):
Why don't we cross them off the list?
Speaker 7 (34:07):
It's the Rams are not losing, right, They're not losing
to the Saints.
Speaker 1 (34:10):
And the Chargers aren't losing against the Titans.
Speaker 7 (34:13):
Correct, and the Packers are not losing to the Panthers.
So let's cross those off. Can you find one now?
Speaker 1 (34:21):
Like?
Speaker 6 (34:21):
Can you make a case for the Vikings in the division?
Speaker 1 (34:25):
No?
Speaker 6 (34:26):
I can't see it either.
Speaker 1 (34:27):
I'll tell you you're gonna get you go first. I
the Raiders beating the Jaguars in Vegas?
Speaker 6 (34:35):
Is that really an upset?
Speaker 1 (34:35):
I mean half well, I mean I'll tell you what.
I think this would be a huge upset, but the
odds makers don't. I think if the Steelers beat the Colts.
It's a huge upset, but the line's three.
Speaker 6 (34:46):
Well, you want a huge upset, I'll give it to
you now. You're not gonna like it.
Speaker 7 (34:49):
But the Atlanta Falcons were at six and a half
of money has come in on the Falcons on the
road against the Patriots. Drake London's expected back, Michael Pennock's
expected back.
Speaker 6 (34:59):
And and there's some numbers on teams.
Speaker 1 (35:01):
You used to do this where a team will lose
big as a favorite, and then they come back the
next week and they pull an up set, you know,
Raheem Morris fires up the troops and.
Speaker 7 (35:11):
They get their act together. By the way, the Patriots
haven't faced anybody good lately, Colin anyone. So maybe you
can make a case for the Falcons, but it's outdoors.
Speaker 6 (35:20):
You know.
Speaker 1 (35:20):
What's interesting about the NFL is that Tom Brady and
Joe Flacco and Matt Stafford and now Jared Goff it
feels like a little bit of an older quarterback. Is
that once again it is proving in this league. I
mean Brady couldn't run, Flacco doesn't move, GoF doesn't move
at all. Aaron Rodgers having a very good year, right,
(35:43):
we fall in love with athletic ability. How are these
old guys working at such a high level. Cause ninety
percent a quarterback play is sitting in the pocket, pre
snap reads, getting your guys in the right place. It
is a above the shoulders is about seventy five percent.
(36:04):
Flacco could drop forty this weekend. You would not be shocked.
So it's like when I watched Flacco. It's so instructive.
You watch Flacco, you watch Stafford, you watched old Brady
and Tampa. You're watching old Aaron Rodgers. The Steemers offense
has been so inefficient and so clunky and outdated. Now
it brings in a forty one year old and they're
(36:25):
great in the red zone. Why because Aaron has seen
every defense. So we fall in love with all the horsepower. Folks.
It's all about figuring out what's coming, audibling protections, getting
out of trouble, getting into matchup advantages.
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 Cowver
on Fox Sports Radio.
Speaker 1 (00:27):
Here we go. It is a Thursday. Lamar Jackson returns
tonight to the NFL. Austin Reeve. What to make of
that Dodgers Jays. We know what to make of it.
LA's in big trouble live in Chicago. It's the Herd.
Wherever you may be, however you may be listening. Thanks
(00:51):
for making us part of your day. A Halloween Eve show.
Tip of the cap again to the people at our
company that make our set look the way it does.
We always appreciate that. One hour from now, Greg Cosell
stops by. You know, when they were beating the Reds
and the Phillies and they were beating the Brewers J Mack.
The Dodgers' bats had a way of making teams, pitching
(01:15):
staffs and bullpens uncomfortable. That is exactly now what is
happening to the Dodgers' bullpen and the Dodgers starting staff.
So here's where we start today. How about Trey That
was unbelievable. The best thing for baseball, honestly, privately, is
the Dodger struggling being on the brink because last year
when they dominated the Yankees in the World Series, a
(01:37):
minute later, it's like the sport's uneven. This is not fair.
There's a massive financial gap. It's just not fair. It
felt like Katie to the Warriors first year they go
sixteen to one of the playoffs. So the Big Ten
winning a Natty or the Chiefs getting blown out in
Super Bowls, big picture, gives everybody else hope. This Dodger
team was flawed all season long. We talked about it.
(01:58):
They blew twenty six saves. Mookie Betts, who had a
great September not hitting now, didn't hit until September. He
had an injury or an illness early. He's been off
all season. Blake Snell opens the game with a couple
of fastballs. Both get jacked out. So from the very beginning,
(02:18):
it was the Blue Jays bats making the Dodgers uncomfortable.
Blake Snell, after giving up two bombs in the first inning,
had to abandon his fastball. So again, what the Dodgers
did for three series is what the Jays are doing
to the Dodgers now. And Trey Ya Savage amazing another
(02:42):
amazing story. This kid wasn't in Major league baseball when
the season started. He was in single A ball. There
used to be low A high A. It's now just
single A ball. It's basically like really slightly better than
great high school baseball. You don't stay in a hotel,
you have a host family. Last night struck out twelve.
(03:08):
Only one Dodger got into scoring position for the record,
Otani Betson Freeman held hitless. In fact, the last two games,
the Dodgers as a team are hitting a buck sixty four.
Their MVPs are mia. And here is Trey you Savage
finishing off his night in the seventh right here.
Speaker 3 (03:31):
Chopper to third, Clement the second over the first double play,
the World Series masterpiece from twenty two year old Trey
Yes Savage.
Speaker 1 (03:44):
He struck out every Dodger at least once. We thought
the Dodgers would hit their way to a title, yet
they've scored sixty four total runs in the playoffs. The
Jays are at one hundred and counting. And no baseball
team has repeated since the Derek Jeter And there's a
reason for it. It's exceptionally hard, more than any sport.
(04:04):
I mean, you got to get your starting pitching in sync.
You got to get your timely hits at the perfect time.
You've got to fix your batting order, right guys in
front of the right guys, top tier pitching, bullpen's got
to be good enough. So the Dodgers may have built
the perfect Major League Baseball machine, but maybe they forgot
(04:27):
to put in the clutch because the team right now
that is making the other team uncomfortable. It's Toronto, and
here is Dave roberts on making Game six adjustments in Canada.
Speaker 4 (04:42):
I'm not sure if it's mooking the two, mooking the three,
Freddy in the three, I'm not sure. But at the
end of the day, regardless of you know, who we
run out there or what construct, we still got to
take good at bats, all of us, you know, And
so that's what I'm betting on.
Speaker 1 (04:57):
Yeah, the Dodgers had a lot of bad at bats
last night. But when you got one guy in scoring position,
is it just the Jay's pitching is part of it? Pressure,
whatever it is, it's working. First inning on when you
force Blake Snell to abandon his fastball, you're officially in
the Dodgers wheelhouse. You're in the Dodgers head Okay, he
(05:20):
did it again. No Luca, no Lebron, in fact, no
Aunt Edwards. And the star of the show buzzer beater
was Austin Reeves of the Lakers. Twenty eight points and
sixteen assists. What are we to make of him? Well,
first of all, he's a great American sports story. First,
you're in the NBA. He averaged seven, then thirteen, then sixteen,
then twenty. Suddenly he's averaging thirty four. My guess is
(05:42):
it's going to go down a little bit. It is
the best case scenario for the Lakers. They can show
him off to the NBA. He's getting to the free
throw line twelve times. He's always created contact. The issue
isn't is he a good player. It's a very good player, right.
The question is can you maximize his game with the Lakers.
(06:04):
He needs the ball in his hands. You should see
his numbers playing with Lebron and without him, he's a
different player entirely c plus to aus. So what do
you do with him? He's showing the league maybe Houston,
the Celtics, Miami. No. I can initiate offense. I'll get
to the free throw line. I'm physical, I'll work hard
(06:24):
on the defensive end, albeit it won't be great. Is
he too good to trade or is he the perfect
trade piece? Again, Luca needs the ball to dominate, and
Luca is arguably the second best player in the world.
Some nights the very best. Maybe Austin Reeves is thinking
I want the ball. I want this to continue. So
watching him last night, here's what I kept thinking watching
(06:47):
Austin Reeves. Are the new owners. This is not the
Bus family. The Bus family needed Lebron for six and
a half years. They needed him. He was selling tickets.
They were a mess Lebron. Remember end of the Kobe days.
They weren't very good. They were bad all the time,
right we remember Kobe's last game, sixty points, A lot
(07:09):
of forgettable years. Are the new Laker owners who have
a lot of money and it's about the long term,
not selling tickets necessarily thinking to themselves. You know, maybe
it's Lebron we don't need I mean Lebron reportedly in
his fields because he hasn't gotten the contract extension. My
take is the only two absolutes going forward are Luca
(07:32):
and JJ Reddick. This is no longer a league of
a big three. It's a duo league. But maybe the
Lakers are a big three Luca, JJ Reddick and Austin Reeves.
I mean, this is what happens. You're given opportunities, somebody
takes a day off work, somebody's sick. You step in
(07:55):
with no Luca and no Lebron. JJ Reddick is leaning
on him. He gets the free throw line, always has,
initiates contact, always has hitting his shots, usually does so
this is one of those moments. The new owners are
looking at this and my take last night was God,
the kids first or second in the league. Now nobody
plays defense already in the season, so everybody's numbers are
(08:17):
a little glossy. A lot of guys shooting fifty five percent.
I get it, but it's impossible not to pay attention,
right and these new owners, they're still assessing the situation.
They made it very clear JJ Reddick and with a
contract extension Luca. They're the future. But it's not a
(08:37):
Big three league. It's now a duo league. And Austin Reeves,
when you compare to larn is much cheaper, younger, healthier,
and let's be honest, less maintenance. Here's JJ Reddick on
Austin Reeves last night.
Speaker 5 (08:55):
That guy is going to show up in the big moments.
It's not surprised. He's done that many times in his career.
He's done that many times since I've.
Speaker 6 (09:04):
Been his coach.
Speaker 5 (09:05):
Feel very comfortable with him making decisions at league game.
Speaker 1 (09:09):
And Austin Reeves scored half of his points against Jaden McDaniels,
who's a elite defensive player. So it's been very, very impressive.
And it's just opportunities. You know, somebody misses work, somebody
misses a game, you step in. But if it was
the old owners, the bus family, I don't think this
would be as significant. They love Austin Reeves, they've paid
(09:31):
him nothing and he's very productive. But the new owners
look at the world differently. When somebody buys a company,
they see the world differently. They don't cling to stuff.
Usually they don't want old and higher maintenance they like young, cheaper, healthier, coachable.
Austin Reeves is a very attractive player to any new
(09:54):
ownership group. That's what I saw last night. And JMG,
I know how much you love Austin Reeves, but it
is interesting. As I'm watching it, I'm thinking about the
new ownership group how they view him, and it's like
cost dependability, health maintenance. I mean, there is something about
Lebron on the downside of being an older star athlete
(10:16):
is you can suck the oxygen out of arown a
little bit, right. Austin Reeves is like it wasn't for
the headband, you know, you never pick him up, and
that there is something to be said about a new
coach a young player. It's just it's fascinating.
Speaker 7 (10:32):
Yeah, you know, I don't know if I said this
to you on air or off, but I look at
Austin Reeves next to Luka Danci said, I'm like, why
can't Austin the Kyrie Irving? Kyrie and Luca went to
the NBA finals two years ago, And I'm not saying
Austin Reeves is Kyrie.
Speaker 1 (10:46):
So that can be that. Okay, okay, but you're missing
the big part of that Why did Luca and Kyrie
work because they had a long, devastating front line. They're
both bad, that's not all. Yeah, that's that's why.
Speaker 6 (11:02):
Well, you can move off Lebron. You bring it, you
bring in bigs.
Speaker 1 (11:05):
Right, Well again, Luca and Austin Reeves are not Kyrie
and Luca with Dallas's front line in size. DeAndre Ayden's
a bad defensive player. Okay, so that it works only
because of what Dallas can provide in rim protection. Having
Luca and Austin Reeves is fun. It's not beating the
best teams in the West, who mostly all do have
(11:28):
rim protection and better wings. Okay, it's the first week
of the NBA season. The first two weeks, nobody's playing defense.
It's a lot of fun. You can't overreact, but I
guarantee you the new owners, just to anybody out there
that's ever bought a new business or you're part of
a new company, you view it differently than how the
old people viewed. In the Bus family, they felt kind
(11:50):
of tied at the hit with Lebron, right, like they
had sacrifices they brought him in. These new guys are like, hey,
we like him, We have no connection to him.
Speaker 7 (11:59):
Yeah, I love Austin Reeves. You know, I've been on
that bandwagon for a while. Everybody's saying, oh, we could
ship him for Giannis. Doesn't seem realistic. Colin the team
I heard last night that is interested in Austin Reeves.
Keep an eye on the Utah Jazz Lori. Markanen is
a budding star. He's younger than Reeves. He's a big
I think he had fifty points earlier this week, was
(12:21):
outstanding in the summer market.
Speaker 1 (12:22):
Has been a great score since he walked into the league.
A guy that can run the floor.
Speaker 6 (12:26):
I would keep an eye.
Speaker 7 (12:27):
You know, you get your pair a couple of euros
Luca and Lourie Markinen. I know he's not an awesome defender,
but I would just keep an eye on that going forward. Again,
I'm not trying to trade Austin Reeves, but I just
put that on your radar.
Speaker 1 (12:37):
A one hour from now, Greg Cosell, very interesting NFL
Weekend Bill's Chiefs highlights that Lamar plays tonight.
Speaker 2 (12:46):
Be sure to catch live editions of The Herd weekdays
and Neon Easter nine am Pacific on Fox Sports Radio
FS one and The iHeartRadio app.
Speaker 1 (12:54):
Hey is Capino and Rip from Fox Sports Radio.
Speaker 8 (12:57):
Now, in addition to hearing us live weekdays from five
to seven pm Eastern two to four Pacific on Fox
Sports Radio, we're excited to announce a brand new YouTube
channel for the show.
Speaker 1 (13:07):
Yep, that's right.
Speaker 8 (13:08):
You can now watch Covino and Rich live on YouTube
every day.
Speaker 6 (13:11):
All you gotta do.
Speaker 8 (13:12):
Search Covino and Rich FSR on YouTube again, go to
YouTube search Covino en Rich FSR.
Speaker 1 (13:19):
Check us out on YouTube, Subscribe, hit that thumbs up icon,
come in away. All right, with that forty six years
working at NFL Films, he is always our Thursday Encyclopedia.
Greg Cosel is now joining us. All right, let's let's
let's dive into Kansas City in Buffalo. So you know
(13:40):
players who don't necessarily work in other places Hollywood Brown
or don't work to the level Juju Smith Schuster do
in Kansas City. We've talked about is it just Andy,
is it Mahomes? But I think Rashi Rice is a
one and I think Worthy is a two. But they
do a really good job of fun making everything kind
of work right, like they just find a play. I
(14:03):
mean Sky Moore has a wide open touchdown in the
Super Bowl. I look at their I look at their
receiving room, and I'm like, man, there's a lot of
different types and sizes. What do you see right now
with Kansas City's offense.
Speaker 9 (14:17):
I think a lot goes into that colin as it
often does with good quarterbacks, great quarterbacks. Maholmes is one
of the most fascinating quarterbacks that I think I've studied
in all my years evaluating quarterbacks. And it's the reason
why there were some people when he came out of
college were uncertain as to what he would be as
a pro. But the more and more you watch him,
(14:37):
I don't think we've ever seen a quarterback with his
spatial awareness and his vision. There's a term that I've
heard called fighter pilot's.
Speaker 6 (14:46):
Vision, and he kind of has that.
Speaker 9 (14:48):
He may be have may have the best spatial awareness
and fighter pilot's vision that we've ever seen.
Speaker 6 (14:55):
Uh. And it's just remarkable the way.
Speaker 9 (14:57):
I mean, the second half of the game the other
night on Monday Night was really all of him making
improvisational second reaction plays. That wasn't a second half of
playing within structure. Their best instructure play came in the
first half when he hit Kelsey on one of their
staple flood concepts for I think thirty plus yards. But
he just has an unbelievable knack for making these plays.
(15:20):
Now he'll leave throws on the field and then he'll
run around and make a play, and it's just those
are the kinds of things when you watch him, you go, I.
Speaker 6 (15:29):
Wonder how they deal with that.
Speaker 9 (15:30):
Do they just say great play, Patrick, or do they say, hey,
we had this play design and you didn't throw it,
and you know, next time throw it. I don't know
how they deal with that. But he just has an
uncannyability that is arguably the best we've ever seen.
Speaker 1 (15:44):
How does Buffalo's offense match up with Spags and the
Chief's nefews?
Speaker 9 (15:49):
I tell you, Buffalo's offense the last number of weeks
has not been a great watch. And I'm just being
on a space purely on tape study. I don't think,
and I'm not saying this sarcastically, the way they've been playing,
I don't think they can beat.
Speaker 6 (16:02):
This defense, this Chiefs defense.
Speaker 9 (16:04):
Running the ball the way they have I'm not saying
they shouldn't run it, but running the ball with that
kind of production success and throwing tunnel screens and five
yard passes. Josh Allen the last couple of weeks has
not looked like the Josh Allen were used to now.
He's been leaving the pocket prematurely. He's making too many plays,
random improvisations, and when they don't work, you end up
(16:27):
short circuiting your offense. So I think Josh Allen has
to get back to playing much more of the way
he did last year, where he was much more calmer,
much more composed. This was not a very good game
for him this past week, but they didn't need it.
Speaker 6 (16:42):
He's going to have.
Speaker 9 (16:43):
To play well in history suggests Colin in this matchup
that he's going to have to drop back forty times.
I mean, that's the way this matchup has gone. They've
played nine times over what the last four years, and
Josh Allen has been great in almost all of those games.
But he's thrown the ball probably at least prety plus
times in every one of those games.
Speaker 6 (17:02):
And I would not expect this game to be any different.
Speaker 1 (17:05):
All Right, I watch the Packers and the Steelers, let's talk.
For the last four to five years, Pittsburgh's defense has
been the most expensive. But in the second half against Seattle,
in the second half against Green Bay, against Joe Flacco,
I'm left wondering they're not even a good tackling team
at times.
Speaker 6 (17:23):
My team, right is it scheme?
Speaker 1 (17:25):
Is it coaching? Is it personnel? What is wrong with
Pittsburgh's defense?
Speaker 6 (17:30):
I think you're.
Speaker 9 (17:31):
Dealing with two things when it comes to the pass defense,
because they give up the most passing yards in the NFL.
People probably thought the Cowboys, but it's actually the Steelers.
And I think they're struggling with lack of pass rush,
which would be a surprise, and combine that with lack
of quality corner play right now, and when you have
a lack of pass rush and a lack of quality
corner play, you've got an issue. And that's what the
(17:52):
main problem is right now. And obviously they've just come
off a game playing against Jordan Love, and Jordan Love
he's become a joy to watch because there's now a
controlled efficiency column to the way in which he plays.
I mean, he was a guy that was reckless a
bit at times through his first two years. I'm sure
he will be at times just because he's capable of
(18:14):
making those kinds of plays. But now there's kind of
a controlled efficiency to the way in which he plays.
There's a calculation. He's taking the throws that are there
rather than chasing plays, and that just helps your offense.
Speaker 6 (18:29):
Stay on schedule.
Speaker 9 (18:30):
And you and I both know that Matt Lafleur at
his court would like to run the ball. And when
it's first and ten and they show you a six
yard completion, now Jordan Love is taking the six yard
completion and it's second and four, and now Matt leaflor
can run the ball. So he's really allowing mattel Laflora's
offense to really flourish the way they want it to be.
Speaker 1 (18:51):
So I want to talk about the Ravens. But before
I talked strictly about the Ravens tonight, I want to
talk about Caleb against the Ravens. It was interesting. It
was one of my blazing five picks. And when I
told when I was told Lamar wasn't gonna play, my
take is, well, it's in Baltimore. It's an NFC team.
Caleb has been outside of the opening drive, a little erratic.
(19:14):
I think Baltimore can beat him. What did the tape
say all these years doing it on Caleb against a
finally healthier Ravens defense.
Speaker 9 (19:24):
Yeah, I thought, actually Caleb showed some positive signs in
this game. I think they'll still be uneven moments and
ups and downs, but I think, and again, this is
what I look for when I watch Kale. I look
for playing with excellent timing and rhythm within structure, because
that's really what the Ben Johnson offense is. And Caleb
at his core is not a true natural timing anticipation player,
(19:48):
so it's going to be baby steps. And I think
there were some signs of positive plays this week, some
snapshots where I said, as I.
Speaker 6 (19:57):
Was watching the tape, that's pretty good.
Speaker 9 (19:59):
Now, a lot of people are probably going to look
at the interception which he was late with that throw.
Speaker 6 (20:03):
He was late by two beats.
Speaker 9 (20:05):
It was a bad decision, but also a dunes they
ran a really bad route. He drifted rather than flattened,
and he made it easy.
Speaker 6 (20:12):
For the corner Wiggans to undercut it.
Speaker 9 (20:15):
But I thought there were some positive signs this week,
and we'll see. It's going to be a process, Colin,
and I think I think you almost have to accept
that Caleb Williams is really in his rookie season, not
in his second season.
Speaker 1 (20:29):
Baltimore's defense is healthy. What do you see positively from that?
Speaker 6 (20:34):
I love the way they're using Kyle Hamilton now.
Speaker 9 (20:36):
He's back being kind of there slot, overhanging, multi dimensional player.
They use him as a blitzer, they line him up
on the ball, off the ball, he's used on stunts
as both a looper and a picker. I mean, to me,
he's really, in many ways the key to what they're
doing right now. And I'll tell you the rookie from
Marshall Green, he's getting a ton of snaps on the
(20:58):
edge and he's showing up. But to me, it's Kyle
Hamilton who is really the main guy right now. He's
such a unique player, and there's more and more guys
actually coming into the league like that. Seattle has won
in nick A Minwari who's basically the same size as
Kyle Hamilton and being deployed by Mike McDonald who obviously
had Kyle Hamilton a few years ago. So, but Kyle
(21:19):
Hamilton to me, really stands out when you watch the
tape of the Ravens defense.
Speaker 1 (21:24):
So this isn't great for AJ Brown, but he doesn't play,
and the Eagles offense is Hummond. Now I'm Davonte Smith.
I mean, I listen. They have a really good personnel.
But I've said this before. He's not necessarily an adversary.
But there are players that there are wide receivers and
(21:44):
quarterbacks or wide receivers that are loaners or kind of
guys on an island that don't fit a particular scheme.
And when I think of the Eagles, I always think
of the tush bush, which is an ugly collective. You know,
it's two yards, it's ugly, it's inartistic. Aj Brown so beautiful,
he goes deep, he makes the great cash, you know.
So does he fit perfectly? Why were they so successful
(22:07):
last week without him?
Speaker 6 (22:10):
Well?
Speaker 9 (22:10):
I would say this last week they were back to
the template of the way they performed last season when
they won the Super Bowl. Keep in mind that this
team operates best when the run game is the foundation
and Jalen Hurts drop back drops back less than thirty times.
Speaker 6 (22:26):
That was the profile. A week ago.
Speaker 9 (22:28):
They got the run game going, they rushed for two
hundred and seventy six yards. Now, you're not going to
rush for two seventy six every week. But the point
is the run game was the guiding foundation of how
they played. I keep reminding people that last year during
the Super Bowl season, Jalen Hurts through for less than
two hundred yards nine or ten times. Jalen Hurts is
a phenomenal player in terms of he never turns it over,
(22:51):
and they're phenomenal in the red zone, of which Jalen
Hurts is a major factor. They have the highest red
zone touchdown efficiency percentage in the league right now, and
they don't get there as much as a lot of teams,
but when they get there, they score. So they're at
their best when they play a certain way, and that
way does not really detail Jalen Hurts dropping back forty
(23:12):
or forty five times, So there are going to be
games in which aj Brown does not necessarily get a
lot of targets. This is just who the Eagles are
on offense, and when it works, they're really really good
at it. But it's not built on dropping back and
throwing the ball.
Speaker 1 (23:27):
So it's interesting. I know, Shane Steichen's a great coach,
and Daniel Jones is having a woonderful year and Jonathan
Taylor's always been good, but we don't talk offensive lines,
and it was about I don't remember when the game was,
five weeks ago, whatever it was they played, They played
Denver and that's when I came out and said, folks,
the Colts old line is in that Detroit Philly space,
(23:51):
like they are pushing people around. How when you watch
the offense, who are you going to give credit to?
Because I mean the Rams beat them, but actually Indy
had them beat, right, what do you make of their offense?
Speaker 9 (24:08):
Well, you're right about the old Lion, and I'm not
an a line you know, guru by any means, Colin.
But when I watched Quinn Nelson get out and pull,
I mean, I think there's two guys you watch pull
in this league get out front in Trent Williams and
Quentin Nelson, and you go, oh my god, how can
people that big move like that?
Speaker 6 (24:24):
You know? But I think where they're so so good?
Speaker 9 (24:27):
And this is Shane Steichen and I'm sure it's his
influence is on first down. I mean, we all think
about Jonathan Taylor, right, isn't he the guy you think
of when you think of their offense? But right now,
through eight weeks, Daniel Jones has far and away the
most first down passing yards of any quarterback in the league.
And I'm not sure people would think that way about
(24:49):
this offense. They think about Jonathan Taylor, by the way,
he's terrific on first down two, But Daniel Jones, with
the schematics of this pass game on first down, they've
allowed Daniel Jones to really flourish because the reds and
the throws are defined. It's always been the best down
to throw on first down, and they are really maximizing
their ability.
Speaker 6 (25:09):
They've gained the most yards total on first down by
a wide margin.
Speaker 1 (25:13):
So it's interesting. I like the Texans to beat the
Niners last week, one of them Law's health. But I
said this when I watched c. J. Stroud and you
give him just that extra beat.
Speaker 4 (25:24):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (25:25):
I love what the ball looks like coming out of
his hands. It's beautiful, it really is. It just flies
out of his hands. It's got juice, it's accurate. And
what did you make of his performance against the Niners.
Speaker 9 (25:39):
Yeah, and he doesn't need to step into his throws
to throw a beautiful ball, which is a really good thing.
I thought last week he looked to me like he
did as a rookie when we all thought that he
was on his way to being, you know, maybe a
top five quarterback in the league. And last year was
very uneven and through the first six seven weeks this
season was very uneven. Now, granted, he played against the
defense that couldn't rush the quarter back particularly well, but
(26:01):
he also made some very good throws in this game
where the pocket was squeezed and he was under pressure.
So this was the game where I, you know, and again,
we don't know what's going to happen this week. Obviously,
they play a very tough defense in the Broncos, so
you just don't know. But this was a game where
he said, if he can get back to playing like this,
then the Texans really have a chance to get back.
And I want to show you a play if we
(26:22):
can get to our play from last week, that I
think really speaks to how well he played. If we
could use this one play, it's kind of a microcosm
of how we played last week. It was the thirty
yard touchdown to Xavier Hutchinson, and there's some really nice
elements to this play, particularly with how they designed it
and with Stroud. Now, it was third down, obviously, so
(26:44):
third down is a money down. So now you're going
to see Stroud in the gun and what they are
going to do is they're going to take Braxton Barrios
and he's going to go in what we call short
burst motion outside.
Speaker 6 (26:54):
So they know with that motion that they're going to
get manned.
Speaker 9 (26:57):
The corner bumps out and you're going to see that
they're going to get the match up to the trip
side there.
Speaker 6 (27:03):
It's going to be man coverage. It will end up
being Cover one.
Speaker 9 (27:06):
Because the safety to the short side of the field
is going to end up rotating into the post and
he's going to be the post safety in cover one.
So now what are they running as a route concept.
We're going to focus on two guys, Wayne and Hutchinson
and they're going to run a concept.
Speaker 6 (27:21):
That's in everybody's playbook.
Speaker 9 (27:23):
It's double dig It's a very common route concept.
Speaker 6 (27:27):
Now.
Speaker 9 (27:27):
The forty nine ers on this particular play and they
did this throughout the game because they couldn't generate any pressure.
They rush six here, and the reason they rush six
is because they know the back is going to have
to end up being part of the protection because of
the six man pressure. So they're still playing cover one
though so they're rushing six. So now what you end
up with is Hutchinson. He's matched on a safety. So
(27:49):
this is what you wanted. You wanted this matchup and
they got it. And this is a beautiful throw. But
now we're going to take a look at this colin
from behind Stroud because you're going to see just what
I mean about being able to throw from squeeze pockets
and how good a throw this is. This is Michel Williams,
who's a stand up rusher here and he's going to
(28:09):
get inside and he's going to get in Stroud's face.
I mean, you talked about him the way he can
throw the ball. He doesn't even need to step into
this at all. And you can see the matchup. And
what makes this even more special is he really has
to throw this to a spot. He has to throw
this with anticipation right now. He can't wait for the
receiver then it's too late. So he's throwing this to
(28:32):
a spot and you'll see the pressure that Williams puts
on him. This is big time NFL quarterbacking right here.
And by the way, this is the kind of player
Stroud has to be because even though he's not a statue.
You and I both know Colin at his core, he's
a pocket player. You know, if he's going to be
a great quarterback in this league, it's going to have
to be from the pocket.
Speaker 1 (28:51):
Greg Cosel forty six years at NFL Films as always, Greg,
great stuff.
Speaker 6 (28:58):
Thanks, Colin, really appreciate it.
Speaker 2 (29:00):
You want to catch live editions of the Herd weekdays
and neonon Easter not a em Pacific?
Speaker 1 (29:04):
All right, j Mac, Halloween is tomorrow. Our staff already
gets into it. You can see all the ghosts hovering.
If you're listening on radio, you should turn on FS one.
All the ghosts hovering in and out of our set.
So everybody's all fired up for this, and I thought,
you know, we'll give a little bit back. I like candy.
I'm just knocking out, just knocked out a little kit
cat bar here. Oh gross, Oh my god. It's great
(29:28):
life saver gummies.
Speaker 5 (29:29):
Yes, I.
Speaker 1 (29:31):
Don't care what they say about red dye. I love it.
I've got a couple snickers here, So we're gonna do it.
You give me a quarterback and I will give you
his candy comp all right, can't which Halloween candy is?
Patrick momes easiest one. Reese's Peanut butter Cup most popular,
best in the game right now. Patrick leads the NFL
(29:54):
in total touchdowns and rake second total yards this year
on a heater that is easy, by the way, the
most ordered Halloween candy by a long shot. As a kid, say,
very nig, which Halloween candy is? Moonicks? Bonix is dark Chocolate.
Speaker 6 (30:11):
I love him.
Speaker 1 (30:13):
I think it's an acquired taste. I'm not sure if
anybody else even likes it. I'm like eighty seven percent,
ninety two percent? What do I care? I mean? During
his five game winning streak in the fourth quarter alone,
thirteen touchdowns, two picks, Bonix, baby bow beautiful? All right?
Which Halloween candy is? Baker Mayfield Warhead? Very intense, but
(30:36):
you learn to love it. I mean, listen. He leads
the NFL with eighty two touchdown passes since joining the Bucks.
He can be a little reckless. It takes a while
to get used to it, but you know what, You're
down a couple of those warheads. You're all in, all right?
Speaker 6 (30:53):
Which Halloween candy is Aaron Rodgers?
Speaker 1 (30:57):
He's complex and so is this candy. The toutsy roll
pop it's got a hardened exterior, but it's totally different inside,
completely different inside. Listen, the Steelers are gonna average twenty
five a game, right, that's what they're doing right now.
That's their best in five six years. So the TUTSI
roll pop again. I'm not saying it's great for your teeth.
(31:20):
I'm not saying. But the outside in the inside, it's
very complex. It's two different candy.
Speaker 6 (31:26):
That's a good one.
Speaker 1 (31:27):
Which Halloween candy is Jalen Hurtz candy corn. A lot
of people love it something it's totally overrated. He's won
twenty two of u twenty of his last twenty two games,
so it's dependable. It's always there. But they have one
of the highest third and out percentages in the NFL.
(31:49):
So you're either with it or you're not at all.
Love me some candy corner, Which Halloween candy is Matthew Stafford.
We both love Stafford. He's all reliable, like the Hershey bar,
you know what you're getting, right, never bad leads the
NFL and touchdown passes in big plays. Second highest quidded passer.
(32:12):
I mean, it goes with almost anything. A fifth round
wide receiver, a fifth round running back, an undrafted left tackle,
the classic thirty seven year old still good.
Speaker 6 (32:24):
Which Halloween candy is your?
Speaker 1 (32:25):
Guy?
Speaker 6 (32:26):
Caleb Williams, My.
Speaker 1 (32:27):
God, the butter finger sounds good, but is it?
Speaker 6 (32:34):
Yeah?
Speaker 1 (32:34):
I'm not sure if it is. I mean he's nine
to fifteen completion percentage declined this season, ranks twenty fourth.
Speaker 6 (32:43):
I don't know.
Speaker 1 (32:44):
I used to get stuff in my teeth. I'm weird
after taste. I don't know if I like it. I
like butterfinger. I finally call him, which Halloween candy is?
Trevor Lawrence? The staff came up with this mystery airhead.
What you're never quite sure? What you just experience? Well,
(33:04):
what is it? He leaves the NFL with seventy four
turnovers since he entered the league, and his record is
twenty six and forty one. It's good, No, it's not.
What is it? I'm not sure he's talented? He turns
the ball over. I don't know what to make it.
Trevor Lawrence or the mystery haad hairhead?
Speaker 6 (33:26):
Yeah, good stuff.
Speaker 1 (33:28):
I can't believe you don't like candy corn, bro, Come on,
candy corn is so good. It's a little bit like
candle wax wax a little bit. How I'm a texture guy. Yeah,
I can't. There's certain textures I can't do.
Speaker 6 (33:42):
I gotta be honest.
Speaker 1 (33:42):
I'm shocked that Reese's peanut butter cups are like the
most popular by a mile.
Speaker 6 (33:47):
I had no clue those are. I just yeah, Wow,
that's sunny.
Speaker 1 (33:52):
All right. Here's the NFL schedule a JMAX this weekend.
I usually ask you on Thursdays, I want the big upset.
Oh boy, I don't see a big upset.
Speaker 6 (34:05):
Why don't we cross them off the list?
Speaker 7 (34:07):
It's the Rams are not losing, right, They're not losing
to the Saints.
Speaker 1 (34:10):
And the Chargers aren't losing against the Titans.
Speaker 7 (34:13):
Correct, and the Packers are not losing to the Panthers.
So let's cross those off. Can you find one now?
Speaker 1 (34:21):
Like?
Speaker 6 (34:21):
Can you make a case for the Vikings in the division?
Speaker 1 (34:25):
No?
Speaker 6 (34:26):
I can't see it either.
Speaker 1 (34:27):
I'll tell you you're gonna get you go first. I
the Raiders beating the Jaguars in Vegas?
Speaker 6 (34:35):
Is that really an upset?
Speaker 1 (34:35):
I mean half well, I mean I'll tell you what.
I think this would be a huge upset, but the
odds makers don't. I think if the Steelers beat the Colts.
It's a huge upset, but the line's three.
Speaker 6 (34:46):
Well, you want a huge upset, I'll give it to
you now. You're not gonna like it.
Speaker 7 (34:49):
But the Atlanta Falcons were at six and a half
of money has come in on the Falcons on the
road against the Patriots. Drake London's expected back, Michael Pennock's
expected back.
Speaker 6 (34:59):
And and there's some numbers on teams.
Speaker 1 (35:01):
You used to do this where a team will lose
big as a favorite, and then they come back the
next week and they pull an up set, you know,
Raheem Morris fires up the troops and.
Speaker 7 (35:11):
They get their act together. By the way, the Patriots
haven't faced anybody good lately, Colin anyone. So maybe you
can make a case for the Falcons, but it's outdoors.
Speaker 6 (35:20):
You know.
Speaker 1 (35:20):
What's interesting about the NFL is that Tom Brady and
Joe Flacco and Matt Stafford and now Jared Goff it
feels like a little bit of an older quarterback. Is
that once again it is proving in this league. I
mean Brady couldn't run, Flacco doesn't move, GoF doesn't move
at all. Aaron Rodgers having a very good year, right,
(35:43):
we fall in love with athletic ability. How are these
old guys working at such a high level. Cause ninety
percent a quarterback play is sitting in the pocket, pre
snap reads, getting your guys in the right place. It
is a above the shoulders is about seventy five percent.
(36:04):
Flacco could drop forty this weekend. You would not be shocked.
So it's like when I watched Flacco. It's so instructive.
You watch Flacco, you watch Stafford, you watched old Brady
and Tampa. You're watching old Aaron Rodgers. The Steemers offense
has been so inefficient and so clunky and outdated. Now
it brings in a forty one year old and they're
(36:25):
great in the red zone. Why because Aaron has seen
every defense. So we fall in love with all the horsepower. Folks.
It's all about figuring out what's coming, audibling protections, getting
out of trouble, getting into matchup advantages.
Hosts And Creators
Colin Cowherd
Jason McIntyre
Popular Podcasts
On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!
The Joe Rogan Experience
The official podcast of comedian Joe Rogan.
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.