December 15, 2025 • 36 mins
Colin Cowherd gives Broncos QB Bo Nix respect for his performance against the Packers and wants to know when people will finally admit Nix is an elite QB leading the way for 12-2 Denver. He shares this week’s edition of Colin Right, Colin Wrong – why he was correct about the Chiefs downfall but missed on Pete Carroll and the Raiders. Plus, NFL reporter Albert Breer joins the show to tell Colin why Bears QB Caleb Williams is finally starting to turn the corner in Chicago as they prepare for a playoff run
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Thanks for listening to the Best of the Herd podcast.
Be sure to catch us live every weekday on Fox
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Speaker 2 (00:19):
This is the Best of the Herd with Colin cowher
on Fox Sports Radio.
Speaker 3 (00:30):
Here we go.
Speaker 1 (00:31):
It is a Monday, a very very busy Monday. Half
dozen ugly blowouts, but some defining moments with the top
players and the top teams. We're live in Chicago. It's
the Herd one hour from now. Where Colin was right,
Where Colin was wrong, There's a lot of both.
Speaker 3 (00:52):
Let's start with this.
Speaker 1 (00:54):
There are certain teams that are good all year, but
people that don't the right feel or the right look.
They're winning a lot of close games. I think people
have finally come to terms with two teams in the NFL,
the Bears and the Denver Broncos. You may want to
stop doubting the Denver Broncos. This Green Bay defense elite,
(01:18):
Jeff Hafley defensive coordinator elite and Bonnicks and Sean Payton
carved up this Green Bay defense. He's athletic, he's clever,
he's deceptive. He doesn't get sacked. Sean Payton has been
texting me for two years. I got myself a star.
The headline here can't just be Packers lose Watson and
(01:38):
Michael Parsons. Yeah, it's awful. Jeff Hafley in the last
two years has faced CJ. Stroud, Goff hurts, Matt Stafford.
Bon Nicks in the last two years is the only
quarterback Green Bay's defense has faced that's thrown four touchdown
passes two four different wide receivers. So too many people
(02:03):
I said this last week have just sort of made
up their mind on bow Knicks. I think he reminds
me of a right handed Steve Young. He is way
way more athletic than anybody gives him credit for. Dad
was a coach. Never get sacked, Never get sacked. I've
said this about Kayleb Williams, doesn't throw many picks. Bo
Nicks never gets sacked, and since he didn't fit in
(02:24):
the NFL, he's twenty two to nine with more touchdown
passes in that span than Matt Stafford.
Speaker 3 (02:34):
Okay, and Sean Payton.
Speaker 1 (02:36):
And remember this, Bo Knicks in a division with great
defensive coordinators like Jesse Minter and Steve Spagnola. So Denver
was down nine in the third quarter and they needed
Bo Nicks, the second year quarterback from Oregon, to be
a star. And that's exactly what bow Knicks was. Three
long drives, playmaking, rolling left, rolling right, deceptive, big time
(03:00):
throws up the sideline, great un fourth down again eight
for twelve, Throwing downfield. That's always been the knock. Well,
I didn't throw the ball down the field did yesterday
against arguably the best defense he's faced all year. I
don't know what he needs to do to impress people.
I don't know what it is. I mean a lot
of times it's first impressions and his first month in
(03:20):
the NFL, and I know he's not the biggest guy,
and then the biggest arm his first month, five weeks
in the NFL. Little choppy, get over it. He's really
really good. Well, he wouldn't be that good without Sean Payton.
Speaker 3 (03:34):
Troy Aigman, wouldn't have been that good without Jimmy Johnson Marino,
maybe not that good without Don Shula. I mean, every
great court. Tom Brady probably wouldn't win all those rings
without Belichick early in his career. You got to get
over that.
Speaker 1 (03:47):
The kid is top five and wins top six and
total touchdowns and he's third in dropbacks. They're not babysitting.
This is not Big Ben early years in the NFL
whole playbook motions. That's forty throws in a really good
defensive coordinator division. So the Denver rosters excellent. We know
that the coach is excellent. The only question has been, well.
Speaker 3 (04:09):
What do you do with bow Knicks?
Speaker 1 (04:11):
Well, you know he has twenty seven touchdowns. You know
who else does? Drake May? In my opinion, Drake May
was talked about a week ago as the MVP candidate.
Bow Knicks you're not sure about. I don't know what
I watched yesterday. It's time to be sure. Add this,
exactly fifty percent of the wins Denver's wins have come
(04:34):
on a game winning drive from bow Knicks. So I
don't know how you define that the it quality. He
is really good when he's got to be really good.
And here is Sean Payton on his young quarterback star.
Speaker 3 (04:49):
The thing about him is like.
Speaker 4 (04:53):
He loves playing you know, and so that's contagious, and
that's a really good trait for a player at his position,
and his teammates feel that.
Speaker 3 (05:10):
For Green Bay, it's just one of those years.
Speaker 1 (05:13):
Kraft gets hurt, Christian Watson, who's been banged up since
he entered the league, Micah Parsons non contact injury. Green
Bay is still good, but it's hard to lose those
kind of players two in one afternoon and be playing
in a conference championship. There's no question good coach, good quarterback.
But I mean, yesterday was a game I thought there
(05:36):
and I thought, you know what this green Bay has
been in a lot of games like this, and they
had a great first half, but Denver and they've done
this how many times they've done it this year, eight
or nine where they just start the second half, mid
third quarter and they take over games.
Speaker 3 (05:52):
Got to stop doubt in the Broncos, all.
Speaker 1 (05:55):
Right, Well, Patrick Mahomes torn ACL that's horrible news. A
lot of stars got hurt yesterday, But even before that,
this year didn't feel right for the Chiefs, and the
year didn't necessarily feel right for Patrick Mahomes yesterday Justin
Herbert was clearly the best quarterback on the field, and
Mahomes and Andy Reid and Chris Jones and Travis Kelcey
(06:17):
kind of feels like they all got really old, really fast,
and it's hard when you draft at the end of rounds.
They'll finally, finally draft near the top of a draft,
and that's a big advantage. You can move down if
you want accumulate other picks. Drafting for years and years
and years and years at the bottom of rounds is
(06:39):
really hard, you know. That's why the Rams will go
out and get a Devonte Adams. You got to go
sometimes and buy elite players because it's hard to get
him in the draft. So Kansas City feels a little
similar to Disney in the Marvel movies. They have had
a ton of success, but they're trying to they're struggling
to develop new characters. That's the way I'd put it.
(07:02):
They just don't have enough elite players. It's don't blame
the coaches. Small Hulk isn't isn't working quite like they thought.
I mean, here's where Kansas City is as a franchise.
Travis Kelsey's eight nine surgeries in and he's their most
productive pass catcher, and he's got one foot out the
retirement door. I mean, that's where that's where Kansas City
(07:25):
is right now. And you start looking at the Rams
roster and the Eagles roster and and you know, bounce
around the league Denver's roster, and I said this, the
reason most dynasties last isn't just because you got a
great player, a great coach and a great GM. It's
(07:45):
because your division Nick Saban in the SEC, nobody else
could get the coach right. The minute Texas came in
and Kirby Smart went to Georgia Nick Saban and Bama
didn't look quite as dominant Sean Payton in division, Justin
Herbert in the Jim Harball, Jesse minterter Bo Nicks. It
just feels different. I mean, Travis Kelcey's thirty six years old,
(08:09):
nine surgery's in foot through the retirement door, and he's their.
Speaker 3 (08:13):
Most dependable guy.
Speaker 1 (08:14):
And I know it's hard to take away Grandpa's keys
when he's the only guy in town that's got a ride, right,
He's gonna drive everybody around. But it's this is the
reality of what it is. It's not pretty h And
I've said this for the last three weeks I've asked
every guest rebuild or retool.
Speaker 3 (08:31):
I think it's more of a rebuild.
Speaker 1 (08:33):
I mean their second best player or best players, a center,
they got a really good corner, Mahomes down surgery.
Speaker 3 (08:39):
I think it's a bit of a rebuild.
Speaker 4 (08:40):
Now.
Speaker 1 (08:40):
The good news is they're getting more draft picks up
near the top of rounds. I wouldn't be surprised now
if they some of the older guys maybe take a seat,
rest a little bit, catch their breath, if you know
what I mean. Wink wink, nudge, nudge, and they keep
that draft pick moving up.
Speaker 3 (08:58):
That's what they need. That's what it feels like.
Speaker 1 (09:00):
But here's the thing, it hasn't felt right the last
three seasons. They're sixteenth in scoring and seventeenth in yards
per play. This has been happening for years. But the
coaching was so good, the Homes was so special that
it kind of is like even though even Vegas doesn't
know what to do with him. Yesterday they were a
four and a half point favorite. Chargers were the better
(09:21):
team with the better quarterback, And here is Chris Jones
finding out after the game they're out of the playoff race.
Speaker 5 (09:29):
We're all competitors here, especially me, you know, especially with
so much as state, it was tough. I think the
score was thirteen and thirteen, thirteen and ten. So still
have a fighting chance? Are we out of the playoffs?
Speaker 3 (09:46):
We are? Okay.
Speaker 1 (09:48):
You kind of knew when they let Joe Tooney Go
couldn't afford and went to the Bear's been great and
they had to rely on a rookie left tackle, it was.
Speaker 3 (09:56):
Going to be bumpy.
Speaker 1 (09:57):
But going back to what I said about the reason,
you know, like Brady dominates his division because the Jets
were a circus, the Bills were a circus, and the
Dolphins were never great. Well, Josh Allen arrives in the division,
it doesn't look the same. So mahomes this year for
three against the Chargers.
Speaker 3 (10:16):
In Denver, Oh for three. It's a whole different ballgame.
Speaker 1 (10:19):
Like I said, you get the great coach Kirby Smartin
now goes to Georgia. Oh, here comes Texas, Texas A
and M's got big money. It just feels Lebron dominated
the East for years because it mostly stunk out West.
Speaker 3 (10:32):
It doesn't quite feel the same.
Speaker 1 (10:34):
So I think if I was Kansas City, I'd give
the old guys a day off, I'd try to secure
that top seven to eight pick rebuild quickly. Right now,
Kansas City at eleven rams have the Atlanta pick. That
almost seems unfair. They're ten with their stack roster. But
(10:55):
this thing is, we've been kind of convincing ourselves. Even
the guys in the deadert Desert Vegas been convincing themselves.
You know, they're not that far off. I think it's
more of a rebuild than people think. J Mack. You
were right on that from the very beginning. I had
them as a wild card team. You didn't think they
were a playoff team. But I thought yesterday a great
example of before the injury, Herbert was out playing Mahomes
(11:16):
and that's what backup left tackles.
Speaker 3 (11:18):
So it's just a reality. This dynasty thing is really
really hard.
Speaker 6 (11:23):
Yeah, they had a great run and it's over. And
I think the real question, Colin is and I think
you alluded to it. Okay, so you got a bunch
of old guys. Let's say Kelsey retires and they move off,
Chris Jones, what about Andy Reid? Is he sticking around
for a long rebuild? Because this is probably not like you.
Speaker 3 (11:38):
Said last week. Hey, we got a little touch ups
here and there.
Speaker 6 (11:41):
They've got like half the rosters probably getting turned over.
Speaker 3 (11:45):
If you look at their salary cap, calling, it's not pretty.
Speaker 1 (11:47):
Yeah, next year, I think they have the I think
they're second most over the cap of any team. Now
you can readjust stuff. You know, you do what you
can to manipulate the cap in the NFL, but this happens.
And that's why it's always been a marvel that Brady
and Belichick went twenty years and kept winning the division.
(12:09):
But a lot of that was, let's be fair, they
move Peyton, Manning and the Colts out of that division,
right the Colts were could have been in that division
for years. Tom would not have dominated to that level.
And that's not a knock on him when you have
dynasties at last. For remember, the Seahawk dynasty felt.
Speaker 3 (12:25):
Like oh, oh ex Co.
Speaker 1 (12:27):
Well, then Harbaugh moved into the division, and all of
a sudden, it's like, oh, Seattle and San Francisco, it's
all the Fraser middle of the ring, like these are
two heavyweights. So I just think everybody keeps saying, retool
right down their top seven players, then go right down
the rams Eagles, Ravens. You start Ronkos, Broncos, Lions, their
(12:48):
top seven players.
Speaker 3 (12:49):
You got Pro Bowlers at seven. Yeah.
Speaker 6 (12:51):
By the way, quick Fix, I saw Kyle Pitts on
Thursday night, absolutely dominate right. You know he's a potential
free agent and he has not had a great run
in Atlanta.
Speaker 3 (13:00):
It's take it over for Travis Kelce.
Speaker 2 (13:01):
There's one.
Speaker 3 (13:02):
There's a freebie for your Chiefs.
Speaker 2 (13:03):
Go get him.
Speaker 1 (13:04):
Go get them off one great Thursday game.
Speaker 3 (13:07):
I think I'll save my money.
Speaker 2 (13:08):
Be sure to catch live editions of The Herd weekdays
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Speaker 3 (13:17):
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Speaker 7 (13:20):
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Speaker 3 (13:30):
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Speaker 1 (13:47):
Away Christmas Rider around the corner, live in Chicago. It's
the herd wherever you may be, however you may be, listen,
think the play picture. We've got clarity. Denver's for real,
the Bears are for real. Packers probably trending the other way.
(14:10):
New England's still fined, but we all knew with New
England kind of still in a rebuild. Second half yesterday
banged up O line sort of proved it. Well, we
do it every Monday at this time. We take swings.
I'm wrong often, and here we go where Colin was right.
I said all off season and I've said for the
(14:30):
last month. I think the Chiefs are in a rebuild,
not just a retool next year. They're forty four million
over the cap. They got shut out in the second half.
Isaiah Pacheco was their leading rusher at twenty one yards.
I don't think they're talented enough. I think they need
to address the O line, the D line, the running
(14:50):
back room, the tight end room. I had them as
a wildcard team, and yeah they've had some close losses,
but there was no question watching yesterday day this is
not a team that's just you know, a player or two.
Speaker 3 (15:04):
Away where Colin was wrong.
Speaker 1 (15:08):
You know, I've always said Dan Campbell builds a great culture.
I don't consider him a scheme guy. But since he's
taken over the play calling, he's been great. Detroit's number
two in total offense, number one in yards per play.
He is unlocked Jamison Williams.
Speaker 3 (15:23):
He's done a great job.
Speaker 1 (15:24):
Dan Campbell is a much better coach calling plays than
I would have imagined. That offense is not the problem.
Brian Branch. Losing him in the back end at really
hurts because you got to win some shootouts in the
NFC the way the quarterbacks are developing. But I've been
a little hard on Dan Campbell. I think he's done
(15:45):
a great job taking over play.
Speaker 3 (15:47):
Home where Colin was right.
Speaker 1 (15:50):
All my concerns with Brian Schottenheimer have surfaced. With extra
time to prepare, that offensive performance two for twelve on
third down just not good enough.
Speaker 3 (16:02):
Six seven and one.
Speaker 1 (16:03):
They're now a bad red zone team, eighteenth in the league.
And again that's with DAK that's with a run game,
that's with elite wide receivers. They're just not a consistent team.
I do think the future is brighter than many believe,
but all the things we worried about getting out coast
in big spots, situationally, being mid they've all surfaced.
Speaker 3 (16:28):
Where Colin was wrong.
Speaker 1 (16:30):
I was okay with Pete Carroll being hired with the Raiders.
I thought he would steady the ship. It's been a disaster.
He's lost his fastball seventy five total yards against Philadelphia.
Come on, that's brutal. So his last couple of years
in Seattle, it didn't feel like he was current. I
don't know what the Raiders do well. They are the
(16:52):
worst team in the NFL, and there's nothing you can
point to outside of Max Crosby and Brock.
Speaker 3 (16:57):
Powers that you like.
Speaker 1 (17:00):
Where Colin was right, my guy bo Nicks outplayed Jordan
Love four tuddies, four different receivers, four for four in
the red zone.
Speaker 3 (17:10):
Listen.
Speaker 1 (17:11):
I said it when he was at Oregon. I watched
them live twice. Super athletic. Got a Steve Young quality,
hard to get your arms around, never get sacked, very creative,
very deceptive. Not a great deep ball thrower, though he
was eight for twelve yesterday downfield.
Speaker 3 (17:31):
Where Colin was wrong, Well.
Speaker 1 (17:34):
The Jags are a franchise I never trust, but they've
won five straight. You can't run on them. Number one
run defense. Trevor Lawrence in the last several weeks, ten touchdowns,
no picks in three games. And they're doing that without
Travis Hunter, their star rookie. So I mean, Trevor Lawrence
has always had talent. The Jags have always had talent.
But Liam Collen. They got him, an offensive guy who
(17:56):
had some great moments with Baker Mayfield Jackson. Bill has
drafted at the top of rounds for a long time.
There's no question they've got talent, and now it's all
coming together. Where Colin was right, I said Friday, is
it possible Philip Rivers will be fine? He was never
athletic anyway. I mean I watched Kirk Cousins last Thursday.
Speaker 3 (18:18):
He was money.
Speaker 1 (18:19):
My prediction was he never relied on athleticism. Seattle's going
to have a conservative game plan. It's very possible he's okay.
I'll be honest. His arm didn't have a ton of juice.
But I thought Steichen with the screens underneath stuff, that
a great job calling the game.
Speaker 3 (18:35):
And overall, when you.
Speaker 1 (18:37):
Don't rely on athleticism, it makes it easier as you age.
Speaker 3 (18:42):
Where Colin was right. CJ.
Speaker 1 (18:45):
Stroud, I keep hearing wow sophomore slump. Listen, dude throws
one of the prettiest balls in the league. If you
give him a little time, he's money. I will defend CJ. Stroud.
He wants to throw from the pocket. He's good enough
move being Nico Collinson. He's got his number one receiver
in the last since week four, thirteen touchdowns, three picks,
(19:08):
with a very inconsistent run game.
Speaker 3 (19:10):
They've been you know, hit and miss. They've had injuries
around him.
Speaker 8 (19:15):
C J.
Speaker 1 (19:16):
Stroud, I'll defend him. That's a franchise quarterback. He'll run
if he has to. But he's developed a really keen
sense of the pocket. Where Colin was right, where Colin
was wrong, and with that Albert Breer cover in the.
Speaker 3 (19:29):
NFL since two thousand and five.
Speaker 1 (19:33):
You know it's funny. Sean Payton text me the last
two years. He said, you guys can pay attention to
the other quarterbacks.
Speaker 3 (19:39):
They're fine.
Speaker 1 (19:40):
He goes, I've got a really, really good quarterback. I
thought last yesterday was a moment where you could no
longer deny he's a special player. He's a special player,
and you can't deny it.
Speaker 3 (19:54):
Is that fair? Yeah, I mean he wasn't perfect.
Speaker 8 (19:57):
There were a couple of I think opportunities the Packers
to create turnovers.
Speaker 3 (20:02):
But I think part of that is the.
Speaker 8 (20:05):
Bronco is becoming more comfortable in taking the leash off
of Bonnicks and letting him go out there and be
a little bit more of a playmaker. And to me,
it was the downfield throws over and over and over
again yesterday where they were able to get a really
good Packers defense, And there was one in particular Colin
that I think reflected Sean Payton's level of trust in
his quarterback. Fourth and two, nine minutes left, and the
(20:30):
Broncos are up by a point. If they don't pick
that up, the complexion of the entire game changes, And
you would think with a second year quarterback in that spot,
maybe you run the ball, maybe you run a little
flat router, you roll them out and give them the
option to run or throw. Instead, Sean Payton drops bone
knicks back and takes a.
Speaker 3 (20:49):
Shot down field to Courtland Sutton.
Speaker 8 (20:51):
BONNICKX hits that the Broncos wind up scoring a touchdown
that gives them a separation they need. To me and
that spot on fourth and two. Sean Payton's confidence to
put the ball in boon Nix's hands, but potentially home
field advantage throughout the playoffs on the line, I think.
Speaker 3 (21:06):
Tells you a lot about where they are right now.
Speaker 8 (21:08):
Just as far as the progression of Bonnix's growth and
they're trust in him, and the Broncos now look like
I mean again, two more wins and the AFC road
goes through Denver. That's a very difficult place to play.
So yeah, I mean, the Broncos have a lot of
things going right now, and the quarterback is very clearly
a big part of it.
Speaker 1 (21:29):
Yeah, even Belichick and Brady didn't want to go to Denver.
It's just a tough place to play with the altitude.
So I'm watching, you know, I said, it's hard to
develop a quarterback and win games simultaneously. That's what Ben
Johnson's done. There was a time in week three or
four I sat on the air you could watch Ben
Johnson's body language. I think he's the best first time
(21:50):
hire since Sean McVay. Let's go back to like week
three and four in your sourcing where it was a
little choppy early. Ben was getting frustrated at conferences, we
forget that right.
Speaker 3 (22:03):
They I'm gonna put this delicately.
Speaker 8 (22:06):
They didn't teach him how to play quarterback, Like that's
really what it was, you know, And like they felt
like we had to figure out, like how much we
can throw onto this kid, how much this kid can handle,
because they felt like he was smart and he had
the aptitude to do it. But they got a player
who they felt like was really raw. And one thing
I really respect about the way Ben handled this colin
(22:27):
was going back to this summer, and I think you
and I talked about it a bunch, right, like where
they were feeding him through a fire hose, and Ben
didn't really care if it didn't look good in the summer.
It was we're going to overload him with information now
and then we'll scale it back as we build the
offense and we'll lean into what he's good at, and
then we'll build him back.
Speaker 3 (22:46):
Up from there.
Speaker 8 (22:47):
And there are a lot of coaches, I think, in
their first training camp in a new place that would
be afraid to do something like that, right, especially in
a market like Chicago where a player's performance and practice
is going to be digest in a different way on
a day to day basis. Ben didn't care. Ben thought
Caleb could handle it. And I think what you're seeing now,
and then I just went back and looked at a
(23:09):
bunch of that game against the Browns yesterday, he's.
Speaker 3 (23:12):
Calm in the pocket.
Speaker 8 (23:12):
There was a play in the first quarter he made
where he sat back there, looked at his first raad,
looked at his second rate, let Luther Burden come open
over the middle and just delivered a dart And it
was just one of those plays where you see how
calm and cool he was in the pocket where he
wouldn't have made that throw two months ago. And again,
it's like a little thing that you don't notice if
(23:33):
you're not looking for it, but it's happening over and
over and over again. And so I think through playing
good defensive football, through building a really really difficult to
deal with run game, they've bought Caleb Williams time to develop.
And now you're seeing the approach that they took with
Caleb Williams over the summer started to pay off, and
(23:54):
that Caleb has seen a lot now both in practicing
in games and is benefiting from it, and how calm
he looks back there.
Speaker 1 (24:01):
So I will stand by this and die on this hill.
I love Brett Veach, but I said it earlier. It's
Kansas City is like Marvel Comics. They're trying to develop
new characters and they're struggling.
Speaker 3 (24:17):
They're like Jones and Mahomes and and Travis Kelsey and
it's like true keep going back to Iron Man, right, Yeah.
Speaker 1 (24:25):
It's like they're trying to develop new guys and they
can't trust for she Rice and Worth, these more vogantic
guy and I kind of look at him. I think
it's a bit more of a rebuild and a retool.
I'm looking at the rams eighth, ninth best player. It
could be Nate Lanman.
Speaker 3 (24:39):
I look at their fourth best and it's Travis Kelcey.
Speaker 1 (24:43):
You may retire. I watched yesterday. Herbert was better than Mahomes.
I think I think the Chargers have more elite players.
What are you on their future in Kansas City?
Speaker 3 (24:54):
You know, we always make.
Speaker 8 (24:55):
The parallel to Brady, right because of like the heights
that Mahomes reached early in his career, and I sort
of think that you can learn some stuff from what
happened when Brady tours acl which, by the way, like
interestingly enough, was almost at the same juncture of Brady's
careers has happened with Mahomes now look back right, So
(25:16):
two thousand and eight, Brady goes down, Matt Castle wins
eleven games.
Speaker 3 (25:20):
That causes the.
Speaker 8 (25:20):
Patriots to say, Okay, we're going to lean in and
try to win with this aging roster one more time.
Speaker 3 (25:25):
It doesn't work in two thousand and nine.
Speaker 8 (25:27):
Then the beginning of twenty ten, Belichick goes in and
literally tears all sorts of evidence of any championship football
off the walls and says, we're starting over again. And
then they really got on a heater from a draft perspective,
right that draft in twenty ten, Devin mccorty, Rob Gronkowski,
Aaron Hernandez to get Date Solder of the left tackle
of the year after that, the year after that, Chandler Jones,
(25:49):
Dante high Tower, and they're often running And so I
think that's sort of the juncture the Chiefs are at
now where this is going to give them an organic
opportunity to look big picture at where at right we'll
see the extent of the ligament damage beyond just the
ACL and what that means for pat in twenty twenty six.
But I think it's incumbent on the Chiefs now to
(26:09):
look at it and say, this isn't just about twenty six,
this is about twenty seven and moving forward and the
next iteration of the Chiefs, And so, where does George
Karloftus fit into that?
Speaker 3 (26:19):
Where does Nick Bolton fit into that? Where does Trent
McDuffie fit into that?
Speaker 8 (26:22):
Those guys are going to be kind of the veteran
players on the next iteration? Right, how do we put
ourselves in position to draft really well over the next
few years? And when do we separate from Travis kelcey
and Chris Jones Because at this point you're looking at
it and saying.
Speaker 3 (26:39):
Well, if Mahomes is only out.
Speaker 8 (26:41):
There for half the twenty six sies and or three
quarters of the twenty six season, do we want to
have the older guys around. So there are all of
these big picture questions. I think that the Chiefs probably
had to answer anyway that now they're organically going to
be faced with because of the injury their quarterback has.
So again, I think this actually provides an opportunity for them,
(27:04):
the same way maybe Brady's acl injury gave the Patriots
some clarity, and really I think served as the first
step towards them building the second second version of their dynasty.
Speaker 1 (27:16):
So listen, Josh Allen is fourn oh this year when
he has to score thirty points, when they score thirty
their four oh because he has to. And yesterday another example,
he goes into the phone booth, comes out with a cape,
saves the citizens of Buffalo. Like, I've seen this, I
want to see it in the playoffs. I just look
at him and I think to myself, this is not
(27:38):
a conference championship team. They don't have the defense of Houston,
don't you know. I don't think they have the coaching
of New England. I thought it was a great win
for them, but New England still, let's be honest, they're
kind of yeah, a little bit of a rebuild, and
they don't have the depth on the O line right
now that if they're missing a starter, their backups just
aren't aren't going to be great in those spots. So
(28:00):
I looked at it yesterday and everybody's like, oh, big
win for Buffalo. That doesn't look like a defense that
can end up in a conference championship.
Speaker 3 (28:10):
And I listen.
Speaker 1 (28:11):
It's not Cincinnati where I felt Joe Burrow almost feels
like nobody's here to help me. But you can only
ask Josh Allen to be John Elway plus plus plus
so many times before the star quarterback says I need
a new guy.
Speaker 3 (28:27):
Right, Yeah.
Speaker 8 (28:29):
I think there's a psychological element though to what Josh
Allen has done to that Buffalo team. He's the best
player in the league right now, right so I think
he provides you at a certain level of belief that
allows you to fix things as the game goes on.
Does that make sense to like, Like, I look at it,
and I have some of.
Speaker 3 (28:47):
The numbers written down here.
Speaker 8 (28:48):
The Patriots rush for one hundred and seventy seven yards
in the first half.
Speaker 3 (28:52):
In the second half, they rush for just.
Speaker 8 (28:53):
Sixty nine and sixty five of those yards were on
one place. Drake may only through for forty seven yards
in the second half. The Bills were able to run
the ball more effectively in the second half. Why does
that happen, Well, it's because they aren't panicking when they're
down twenty one to nothing because they have the best
player in the planet, and it gives the coaches and
the players the leeway to fix things on the fly,
(29:15):
which I think has really empowered them and almost become
the identity of the team. And like, look like you
look at the last five weeks, right, four wins in
the last five weeks. They played against the Bucks that
came from behind, finished on a twenty three to six run.
Steelers they fell behind, finished on twenty three to nothing run.
Against the Bengals. Last week they fell behind, they finished
on twenty one to six run. And then yesterday against
(29:38):
the Patriots in a raucous environment, Patriots are ready to
take the AFC East from go up twenty one to nothing.
Speaker 3 (29:44):
They finished that game on a thirty five to seven run.
Speaker 8 (29:47):
It's sort of become who the Bills are and they
are going to get some pieces back. And that's what's
interesting about this. At Oliver could come back in the
playoffs best defensive player. They haven't had him for most
of the year. Jerrel Bernard going to be back at
linebacker on offense, Does Brandon Cooks get a little bit
more comfortable Dalton Kincaid's healthy. Now, I'm with you, Like,
(30:08):
I'm not sure they're good enough right now to run
the table in the playoffs and win it all. But
I think this is a team that's getting better, and
I think Allen's allowed them and bought them time to
get better. And so this may look like a different
team five or six weeks from now than it does now,
because I think it looks like a different team now
than it did a month ago.
Speaker 1 (30:27):
By the way, nine field goals, it's the most entertaining
nine field goal game, I would say in league history.
I could not take my eyes off of Philip Rivers.
I know, I said last week I watched You're.
Speaker 3 (30:40):
Carrying the flag for all of us out there, Colin.
Speaker 1 (30:44):
I mean, listen, you plan for the rest of the year.
They're not, you know, they're obviously Houston and Jacksonville are
in a different space right now. This is the final
Philip Rivers run right there. This is just really fun.
It's eye candy. It's a great time. But in a
few weeks it'll be over right.
Speaker 3 (31:03):
Yeah, I would think so.
Speaker 8 (31:04):
I mean, like what I like about this story more
than anything else. I think it's happening for really pure reasons.
There's no ulterior motive here. This is you know, Philip
actually retired five years ago because he wanted to coach
his son, and his dad coached him, and he wanted
to coach his son, and his son was getting close
to high school agents, so he wanted to go and coach.
(31:26):
And the reason that this opportunity made sense for him
is actually because his high school season was over, you know,
and so he had always over the last couple of years,
kept it in his head that if this ever happened,
like and remember if you go back years and years
and years ago, you remember this happened with Josh McCown
and the Bears, I.
Speaker 3 (31:43):
Think in like twenty thirteen or something.
Speaker 8 (31:46):
And he always had in his head like, if one
of two teams calls, I've got to listen, the Chargers
and the Colts, right like, if one of two teams calls, like,
I want to at least be in shape where I
can think about this sort of thing. And so he
kept he kept throwing, you know, he kept himself young
by being around the high school kids and working with
some of the young kids getting ready for the draft.
(32:08):
Riley Leonard was one of the kids he worked with
last year. Actually, Bo Nicks and Drake May the year
before that, And I just think it's a really good
story from that for that reason, and man, like, you know,
you think about the long field goals in this one, right,
a sixty yarder and a fifty six yarder, which is
another topic for another day, and how a game has
won that way, but if that sixty yarder stands up
(32:31):
as the game winner, We're all talking about the back
shoulder throw that he made to Alec Pierce at the
end of that game put them in field goal range,
which to me, like, that's a rhythm throw, that's a
timing throw. How crazy is it, Colin that this guy,
after a five year layoff layoff is able to make
that throw in a high leverage situation against one of
the like what I think is one of the three
(32:51):
or four best best teams in the league.
Speaker 3 (32:53):
It's a really remarkable story, and I hope.
Speaker 8 (32:55):
Everybody can just take it for that, you know what
I mean, Like, I hope everybody can just take this
as a good story about a guy who loves football
that much, who is coaching his kid who seasoned ended
and now you know, one of his best friends in
all of football calls him because they have a catastrophic
quarterback injury situation. He steps in and he's able to
play another month of football. I think it's it's a
(33:17):
really good story no matter how it turns out. But yeah,
I'd say this is probably it for him. I'd be
surprised if he were back in any capacity next year.
Speaker 1 (33:24):
Finally, Dolphins tonight, so they got from their GM. And
I think I've always said Albert I don't like interim coaches.
They go on a winning streak and suddenly everybody's like,
let's give him the job. It's like, no, keep Mike
McDaniel in. He's a good guy, he's a clever offensive guy.
They've gone on a winning streak, they've played well.
Speaker 3 (33:42):
In cold football.
Speaker 1 (33:43):
If they beat Pittsburgh tonight and win all but maybe
one of their remaining games, is there a chance? Is
that because now they're physical that was always the knock,
they're running the ball? Yeah, can Mike? Can he save
his job?
Speaker 3 (33:57):
Yes? Yes?
Speaker 8 (33:58):
And like you know, it's actually interesting when you go
back to Halloween when they fired their longtime general manager,
Chris Career. The question I asked was what's the barometer
now for Mike McDaniel, And I think what the front
office wanted to see was like, is this team locked in?
Does he still have control of the locker room, because
that was the biggest question right like early in the season,
it was is his coaching style still working?
Speaker 3 (34:20):
Does he still have command of the locker room?
Speaker 8 (34:23):
And you know, I think if you look at what
Mike did, is he leaned even further into who he
is as a coach.
Speaker 3 (34:29):
They're running the ball really really well.
Speaker 8 (34:32):
Like you said, they're more physical now, they've taken the
ball out of to his hands to some degree, and
I think it's just Mike saying screw it, like I'm
going to do what I believe is best for this
football team to win games on a week two week
basis based on how we're built right now with no
Tyreek Hill, with a quarterback who's somewhat limited. And I
think what you've seen now is like a real look
(34:56):
at how Mike was able to reel all this in
even with a different personality and put the team in
position to win. And it's actually interesting if you go
back to when this first happened again, like one of
the things that thing I heard about him having control
a locker room, well, one of the things that kept
Steve Ross from pulling the plug on McDaniel back then
was he kept hearing from people. This guy's going to
(35:18):
be a great head coach in his second when he
gets his second chance. And I think Ross sort of
thought to himself, well, why would we fire him?
Speaker 2 (35:26):
Then?
Speaker 8 (35:27):
Why don't we give him a second chance now and
see how he does? And so I think giving him
that opportunity has given him some new life.
Speaker 3 (35:34):
And my guess would be, this is just a guess.
Speaker 8 (35:37):
My guess would be they hire a new general manager,
they pair him with their cap guy who now is.
Speaker 3 (35:42):
In a little bit of an elevator role in Brandon Shore.
Speaker 8 (35:46):
And then Mike McDaniel goes into twenty twenty six under evaluation, and.
Speaker 3 (35:52):
Let's see what you got Tua.
Speaker 8 (35:54):
That's the twenty six is the last year of guaranteed
money in his contract, so they aren't married to Tua
beyond twenty twenty six, and it kind of gives them
a new general manager a chance to come in work
with Brendan Shore again, a guy who's very close ownership there,
work under the president, Tom Garfinkel, and with Ross and
his son in law, and you get to see now
what a new setup looks like and how Mike McDaniel
(36:16):
fits into it.
Speaker 3 (36:16):
You go forward from there and.
Speaker 8 (36:18):
I think you got to give Ross some credit here,
having patients with McDaniel when he got rid of the
general manager certainly seems to have paid.
Speaker 1 (36:25):
Off Albert Breer on a Monday, Monday morning quarterback. Thanks Albert,
as olas all right, Thanks Colin
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 3 (00:30):
Here we go.
Speaker 1 (00:31):
It is a Monday, a very very busy Monday. Half
dozen ugly blowouts, but some defining moments with the top
players and the top teams. We're live in Chicago. It's
the Herd one hour from now. Where Colin was right,
Where Colin was wrong, There's a lot of both.
Speaker 3 (00:52):
Let's start with this.
Speaker 1 (00:54):
There are certain teams that are good all year, but
people that don't the right feel or the right look.
They're winning a lot of close games. I think people
have finally come to terms with two teams in the NFL,
the Bears and the Denver Broncos. You may want to
stop doubting the Denver Broncos. This Green Bay defense elite,
(01:18):
Jeff Hafley defensive coordinator elite and Bonnicks and Sean Payton
carved up this Green Bay defense. He's athletic, he's clever,
he's deceptive. He doesn't get sacked. Sean Payton has been
texting me for two years. I got myself a star.
The headline here can't just be Packers lose Watson and
(01:38):
Michael Parsons. Yeah, it's awful. Jeff Hafley in the last
two years has faced CJ. Stroud, Goff hurts, Matt Stafford.
Bon Nicks in the last two years is the only
quarterback Green Bay's defense has faced that's thrown four touchdown
passes two four different wide receivers. So too many people
(02:03):
I said this last week have just sort of made
up their mind on bow Knicks. I think he reminds
me of a right handed Steve Young. He is way
way more athletic than anybody gives him credit for. Dad
was a coach. Never get sacked, Never get sacked. I've
said this about Kayleb Williams, doesn't throw many picks. Bo
Nicks never gets sacked, and since he didn't fit in
(02:24):
the NFL, he's twenty two to nine with more touchdown
passes in that span than Matt Stafford.
Speaker 3 (02:34):
Okay, and Sean Payton.
Speaker 1 (02:36):
And remember this, Bo Knicks in a division with great
defensive coordinators like Jesse Minter and Steve Spagnola. So Denver
was down nine in the third quarter and they needed
Bo Nicks, the second year quarterback from Oregon, to be
a star. And that's exactly what bow Knicks was. Three
long drives, playmaking, rolling left, rolling right, deceptive, big time
(03:00):
throws up the sideline, great un fourth down again eight
for twelve, Throwing downfield. That's always been the knock. Well,
I didn't throw the ball down the field did yesterday
against arguably the best defense he's faced all year. I
don't know what he needs to do to impress people.
I don't know what it is. I mean a lot
of times it's first impressions and his first month in
(03:20):
the NFL, and I know he's not the biggest guy,
and then the biggest arm his first month, five weeks
in the NFL. Little choppy, get over it. He's really
really good. Well, he wouldn't be that good without Sean Payton.
Speaker 3 (03:34):
Troy Aigman, wouldn't have been that good without Jimmy Johnson Marino,
maybe not that good without Don Shula. I mean, every
great court. Tom Brady probably wouldn't win all those rings
without Belichick early in his career. You got to get
over that.
Speaker 1 (03:47):
The kid is top five and wins top six and
total touchdowns and he's third in dropbacks. They're not babysitting.
This is not Big Ben early years in the NFL
whole playbook motions. That's forty throws in a really good
defensive coordinator division. So the Denver rosters excellent. We know
that the coach is excellent. The only question has been, well.
Speaker 3 (04:09):
What do you do with bow Knicks?
Speaker 1 (04:11):
Well, you know he has twenty seven touchdowns. You know
who else does? Drake May? In my opinion, Drake May
was talked about a week ago as the MVP candidate.
Bow Knicks you're not sure about. I don't know what
I watched yesterday. It's time to be sure. Add this,
exactly fifty percent of the wins Denver's wins have come
(04:34):
on a game winning drive from bow Knicks. So I
don't know how you define that the it quality. He
is really good when he's got to be really good.
And here is Sean Payton on his young quarterback star.
Speaker 3 (04:49):
The thing about him is like.
Speaker 4 (04:53):
He loves playing you know, and so that's contagious, and
that's a really good trait for a player at his position,
and his teammates feel that.
Speaker 3 (05:10):
For Green Bay, it's just one of those years.
Speaker 1 (05:13):
Kraft gets hurt, Christian Watson, who's been banged up since
he entered the league, Micah Parsons non contact injury. Green
Bay is still good, but it's hard to lose those
kind of players two in one afternoon and be playing
in a conference championship. There's no question good coach, good quarterback.
But I mean, yesterday was a game I thought there
(05:36):
and I thought, you know what this green Bay has
been in a lot of games like this, and they
had a great first half, but Denver and they've done
this how many times they've done it this year, eight
or nine where they just start the second half, mid
third quarter and they take over games.
Speaker 3 (05:52):
Got to stop doubt in the Broncos, all.
Speaker 1 (05:55):
Right, Well, Patrick Mahomes torn ACL that's horrible news. A
lot of stars got hurt yesterday, But even before that,
this year didn't feel right for the Chiefs, and the
year didn't necessarily feel right for Patrick Mahomes yesterday Justin
Herbert was clearly the best quarterback on the field, and
Mahomes and Andy Reid and Chris Jones and Travis Kelcey
(06:17):
kind of feels like they all got really old, really fast,
and it's hard when you draft at the end of rounds.
They'll finally, finally draft near the top of a draft,
and that's a big advantage. You can move down if
you want accumulate other picks. Drafting for years and years
and years and years at the bottom of rounds is
(06:39):
really hard, you know. That's why the Rams will go
out and get a Devonte Adams. You got to go
sometimes and buy elite players because it's hard to get
him in the draft. So Kansas City feels a little
similar to Disney in the Marvel movies. They have had
a ton of success, but they're trying to they're struggling
to develop new characters. That's the way I'd put it.
(07:02):
They just don't have enough elite players. It's don't blame
the coaches. Small Hulk isn't isn't working quite like they thought.
I mean, here's where Kansas City is as a franchise.
Travis Kelsey's eight nine surgeries in and he's their most
productive pass catcher, and he's got one foot out the
retirement door. I mean, that's where that's where Kansas City
(07:25):
is right now. And you start looking at the Rams
roster and the Eagles roster and and you know, bounce
around the league Denver's roster, and I said this, the
reason most dynasties last isn't just because you got a
great player, a great coach and a great GM. It's
(07:45):
because your division Nick Saban in the SEC, nobody else
could get the coach right. The minute Texas came in
and Kirby Smart went to Georgia Nick Saban and Bama
didn't look quite as dominant Sean Payton in division, Justin
Herbert in the Jim Harball, Jesse minterter Bo Nicks. It
just feels different. I mean, Travis Kelcey's thirty six years old,
(08:09):
nine surgery's in foot through the retirement door, and he's their.
Speaker 3 (08:13):
Most dependable guy.
Speaker 1 (08:14):
And I know it's hard to take away Grandpa's keys
when he's the only guy in town that's got a ride, right,
He's gonna drive everybody around. But it's this is the
reality of what it is. It's not pretty h And
I've said this for the last three weeks I've asked
every guest rebuild or retool.
Speaker 3 (08:31):
I think it's more of a rebuild.
Speaker 1 (08:33):
I mean their second best player or best players, a center,
they got a really good corner, Mahomes down surgery.
Speaker 3 (08:39):
I think it's a bit of a rebuild.
Speaker 4 (08:40):
Now.
Speaker 1 (08:40):
The good news is they're getting more draft picks up
near the top of rounds. I wouldn't be surprised now
if they some of the older guys maybe take a seat,
rest a little bit, catch their breath, if you know
what I mean. Wink wink, nudge, nudge, and they keep
that draft pick moving up.
Speaker 3 (08:58):
That's what they need. That's what it feels like.
Speaker 1 (09:00):
But here's the thing, it hasn't felt right the last
three seasons. They're sixteenth in scoring and seventeenth in yards
per play. This has been happening for years. But the
coaching was so good, the Homes was so special that
it kind of is like even though even Vegas doesn't
know what to do with him. Yesterday they were a
four and a half point favorite. Chargers were the better
(09:21):
team with the better quarterback, And here is Chris Jones
finding out after the game they're out of the playoff race.
Speaker 5 (09:29):
We're all competitors here, especially me, you know, especially with
so much as state, it was tough. I think the
score was thirteen and thirteen, thirteen and ten. So still
have a fighting chance? Are we out of the playoffs?
Speaker 3 (09:46):
We are? Okay.
Speaker 1 (09:48):
You kind of knew when they let Joe Tooney Go
couldn't afford and went to the Bear's been great and
they had to rely on a rookie left tackle, it was.
Speaker 3 (09:56):
Going to be bumpy.
Speaker 1 (09:57):
But going back to what I said about the reason,
you know, like Brady dominates his division because the Jets
were a circus, the Bills were a circus, and the
Dolphins were never great. Well, Josh Allen arrives in the division,
it doesn't look the same. So mahomes this year for
three against the Chargers.
Speaker 3 (10:16):
In Denver, Oh for three. It's a whole different ballgame.
Speaker 1 (10:19):
Like I said, you get the great coach Kirby Smartin
now goes to Georgia. Oh, here comes Texas, Texas A
and M's got big money. It just feels Lebron dominated
the East for years because it mostly stunk out West.
Speaker 3 (10:32):
It doesn't quite feel the same.
Speaker 1 (10:34):
So I think if I was Kansas City, I'd give
the old guys a day off, I'd try to secure
that top seven to eight pick rebuild quickly. Right now,
Kansas City at eleven rams have the Atlanta pick. That
almost seems unfair. They're ten with their stack roster. But
(10:55):
this thing is, we've been kind of convincing ourselves. Even
the guys in the deadert Desert Vegas been convincing themselves.
You know, they're not that far off. I think it's
more of a rebuild than people think. J Mack. You
were right on that from the very beginning. I had
them as a wild card team. You didn't think they
were a playoff team. But I thought yesterday a great
example of before the injury, Herbert was out playing Mahomes
(11:16):
and that's what backup left tackles.
Speaker 3 (11:18):
So it's just a reality. This dynasty thing is really
really hard.
Speaker 6 (11:23):
Yeah, they had a great run and it's over. And
I think the real question, Colin is and I think
you alluded to it. Okay, so you got a bunch
of old guys. Let's say Kelsey retires and they move off,
Chris Jones, what about Andy Reid? Is he sticking around
for a long rebuild? Because this is probably not like you.
Speaker 3 (11:38):
Said last week. Hey, we got a little touch ups
here and there.
Speaker 6 (11:41):
They've got like half the rosters probably getting turned over.
Speaker 3 (11:45):
If you look at their salary cap, calling, it's not pretty.
Speaker 1 (11:47):
Yeah, next year, I think they have the I think
they're second most over the cap of any team. Now
you can readjust stuff. You know, you do what you
can to manipulate the cap in the NFL, but this happens.
And that's why it's always been a marvel that Brady
and Belichick went twenty years and kept winning the division.
(12:09):
But a lot of that was, let's be fair, they
move Peyton, Manning and the Colts out of that division,
right the Colts were could have been in that division
for years. Tom would not have dominated to that level.
And that's not a knock on him when you have
dynasties at last. For remember, the Seahawk dynasty felt.
Speaker 3 (12:25):
Like oh, oh ex Co.
Speaker 1 (12:27):
Well, then Harbaugh moved into the division, and all of
a sudden, it's like, oh, Seattle and San Francisco, it's
all the Fraser middle of the ring, like these are
two heavyweights. So I just think everybody keeps saying, retool
right down their top seven players, then go right down
the rams Eagles, Ravens. You start Ronkos, Broncos, Lions, their
(12:48):
top seven players.
Speaker 3 (12:49):
You got Pro Bowlers at seven. Yeah.
Speaker 6 (12:51):
By the way, quick Fix, I saw Kyle Pitts on
Thursday night, absolutely dominate right. You know he's a potential
free agent and he has not had a great run
in Atlanta.
Speaker 3 (13:00):
It's take it over for Travis Kelce.
Speaker 2 (13:01):
There's one.
Speaker 3 (13:02):
There's a freebie for your Chiefs.
Speaker 2 (13:03):
Go get him.
Speaker 1 (13:04):
Go get them off one great Thursday game.
Speaker 3 (13:07):
I think I'll save my money.
Speaker 2 (13:08):
Be sure to catch live editions of The Herd weekdays
and noon eastern nine am Pacific on Fox Sports Radio
FS one and the iHeartRadio app.
Speaker 3 (13:17):
Hey is Covino and Rich from Fox Sports Radio Now.
Speaker 7 (13:20):
In addition to hearing us live weekdays from five to
seven pm Eastern two to fourth Pacific on Fox Sports Radio,
We're excited to announce a brand new YouTube channel for
the show.
Speaker 3 (13:30):
Yup, that's right.
Speaker 7 (13:31):
You can now watch Covino and Rich live on YouTube
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Speaker 1 (13:47):
Away Christmas Rider around the corner, live in Chicago. It's
the herd wherever you may be, however you may be, listen,
think the play picture. We've got clarity. Denver's for real,
the Bears are for real. Packers probably trending the other way.
(14:10):
New England's still fined, but we all knew with New
England kind of still in a rebuild. Second half yesterday
banged up O line sort of proved it. Well, we
do it every Monday at this time. We take swings.
I'm wrong often, and here we go where Colin was right.
I said all off season and I've said for the
(14:30):
last month. I think the Chiefs are in a rebuild,
not just a retool next year. They're forty four million
over the cap. They got shut out in the second half.
Isaiah Pacheco was their leading rusher at twenty one yards.
I don't think they're talented enough. I think they need
to address the O line, the D line, the running
(14:50):
back room, the tight end room. I had them as
a wildcard team, and yeah they've had some close losses,
but there was no question watching yesterday day this is
not a team that's just you know, a player or two.
Speaker 3 (15:04):
Away where Colin was wrong.
Speaker 1 (15:08):
You know, I've always said Dan Campbell builds a great culture.
I don't consider him a scheme guy. But since he's
taken over the play calling, he's been great. Detroit's number
two in total offense, number one in yards per play.
He is unlocked Jamison Williams.
Speaker 3 (15:23):
He's done a great job.
Speaker 1 (15:24):
Dan Campbell is a much better coach calling plays than
I would have imagined. That offense is not the problem.
Brian Branch. Losing him in the back end at really
hurts because you got to win some shootouts in the
NFC the way the quarterbacks are developing. But I've been
a little hard on Dan Campbell. I think he's done
(15:45):
a great job taking over play.
Speaker 3 (15:47):
Home where Colin was right.
Speaker 1 (15:50):
All my concerns with Brian Schottenheimer have surfaced. With extra
time to prepare, that offensive performance two for twelve on
third down just not good enough.
Speaker 3 (16:02):
Six seven and one.
Speaker 1 (16:03):
They're now a bad red zone team, eighteenth in the league.
And again that's with DAK that's with a run game,
that's with elite wide receivers. They're just not a consistent team.
I do think the future is brighter than many believe,
but all the things we worried about getting out coast
in big spots, situationally, being mid they've all surfaced.
Speaker 3 (16:28):
Where Colin was wrong.
Speaker 1 (16:30):
I was okay with Pete Carroll being hired with the Raiders.
I thought he would steady the ship. It's been a disaster.
He's lost his fastball seventy five total yards against Philadelphia.
Come on, that's brutal. So his last couple of years
in Seattle, it didn't feel like he was current. I
don't know what the Raiders do well. They are the
(16:52):
worst team in the NFL, and there's nothing you can
point to outside of Max Crosby and Brock.
Speaker 3 (16:57):
Powers that you like.
Speaker 1 (17:00):
Where Colin was right, my guy bo Nicks outplayed Jordan
Love four tuddies, four different receivers, four for four in
the red zone.
Speaker 3 (17:10):
Listen.
Speaker 1 (17:11):
I said it when he was at Oregon. I watched
them live twice. Super athletic. Got a Steve Young quality,
hard to get your arms around, never get sacked, very creative,
very deceptive. Not a great deep ball thrower, though he
was eight for twelve yesterday downfield.
Speaker 3 (17:31):
Where Colin was wrong, Well.
Speaker 1 (17:34):
The Jags are a franchise I never trust, but they've
won five straight. You can't run on them. Number one
run defense. Trevor Lawrence in the last several weeks, ten touchdowns,
no picks in three games. And they're doing that without
Travis Hunter, their star rookie. So I mean, Trevor Lawrence
has always had talent. The Jags have always had talent.
But Liam Collen. They got him, an offensive guy who
(17:56):
had some great moments with Baker Mayfield Jackson. Bill has
drafted at the top of rounds for a long time.
There's no question they've got talent, and now it's all
coming together. Where Colin was right, I said Friday, is
it possible Philip Rivers will be fine? He was never
athletic anyway. I mean I watched Kirk Cousins last Thursday.
Speaker 3 (18:18):
He was money.
Speaker 1 (18:19):
My prediction was he never relied on athleticism. Seattle's going
to have a conservative game plan. It's very possible he's okay.
I'll be honest. His arm didn't have a ton of juice.
But I thought Steichen with the screens underneath stuff, that
a great job calling the game.
Speaker 3 (18:35):
And overall, when you.
Speaker 1 (18:37):
Don't rely on athleticism, it makes it easier as you age.
Speaker 3 (18:42):
Where Colin was right. CJ.
Speaker 1 (18:45):
Stroud, I keep hearing wow sophomore slump. Listen, dude throws
one of the prettiest balls in the league. If you
give him a little time, he's money. I will defend CJ. Stroud.
He wants to throw from the pocket. He's good enough
move being Nico Collinson. He's got his number one receiver
in the last since week four, thirteen touchdowns, three picks,
(19:08):
with a very inconsistent run game.
Speaker 3 (19:10):
They've been you know, hit and miss. They've had injuries
around him.
Speaker 8 (19:15):
C J.
Speaker 1 (19:16):
Stroud, I'll defend him. That's a franchise quarterback. He'll run
if he has to. But he's developed a really keen
sense of the pocket. Where Colin was right, where Colin
was wrong, and with that Albert Breer cover in the.
Speaker 3 (19:29):
NFL since two thousand and five.
Speaker 1 (19:33):
You know it's funny. Sean Payton text me the last
two years. He said, you guys can pay attention to
the other quarterbacks.
Speaker 3 (19:39):
They're fine.
Speaker 1 (19:40):
He goes, I've got a really, really good quarterback. I
thought last yesterday was a moment where you could no
longer deny he's a special player. He's a special player,
and you can't deny it.
Speaker 3 (19:54):
Is that fair? Yeah, I mean he wasn't perfect.
Speaker 8 (19:57):
There were a couple of I think opportunities the Packers
to create turnovers.
Speaker 3 (20:02):
But I think part of that is the.
Speaker 8 (20:05):
Bronco is becoming more comfortable in taking the leash off
of Bonnicks and letting him go out there and be
a little bit more of a playmaker. And to me,
it was the downfield throws over and over and over
again yesterday where they were able to get a really
good Packers defense, And there was one in particular Colin
that I think reflected Sean Payton's level of trust in
his quarterback. Fourth and two, nine minutes left, and the
(20:30):
Broncos are up by a point. If they don't pick
that up, the complexion of the entire game changes, And
you would think with a second year quarterback in that spot,
maybe you run the ball, maybe you run a little
flat router, you roll them out and give them the
option to run or throw. Instead, Sean Payton drops bone
knicks back and takes a.
Speaker 3 (20:49):
Shot down field to Courtland Sutton.
Speaker 8 (20:51):
BONNICKX hits that the Broncos wind up scoring a touchdown
that gives them a separation they need. To me and
that spot on fourth and two. Sean Payton's confidence to
put the ball in boon Nix's hands, but potentially home
field advantage throughout the playoffs on the line, I think.
Speaker 3 (21:06):
Tells you a lot about where they are right now.
Speaker 8 (21:08):
Just as far as the progression of Bonnix's growth and
they're trust in him, and the Broncos now look like
I mean again, two more wins and the AFC road
goes through Denver. That's a very difficult place to play.
So yeah, I mean, the Broncos have a lot of
things going right now, and the quarterback is very clearly
a big part of it.
Speaker 1 (21:29):
Yeah, even Belichick and Brady didn't want to go to Denver.
It's just a tough place to play with the altitude.
So I'm watching, you know, I said, it's hard to
develop a quarterback and win games simultaneously. That's what Ben
Johnson's done. There was a time in week three or
four I sat on the air you could watch Ben
Johnson's body language. I think he's the best first time
(21:50):
hire since Sean McVay. Let's go back to like week
three and four in your sourcing where it was a
little choppy early. Ben was getting frustrated at conferences, we
forget that right.
Speaker 3 (22:03):
They I'm gonna put this delicately.
Speaker 8 (22:06):
They didn't teach him how to play quarterback, Like that's
really what it was, you know, And like they felt
like we had to figure out, like how much we
can throw onto this kid, how much this kid can handle,
because they felt like he was smart and he had
the aptitude to do it. But they got a player
who they felt like was really raw. And one thing
I really respect about the way Ben handled this colin
(22:27):
was going back to this summer, and I think you
and I talked about it a bunch, right, like where
they were feeding him through a fire hose, and Ben
didn't really care if it didn't look good in the summer.
It was we're going to overload him with information now
and then we'll scale it back as we build the
offense and we'll lean into what he's good at, and
then we'll build him back.
Speaker 3 (22:46):
Up from there.
Speaker 8 (22:47):
And there are a lot of coaches, I think, in
their first training camp in a new place that would
be afraid to do something like that, right, especially in
a market like Chicago where a player's performance and practice
is going to be digest in a different way on
a day to day basis. Ben didn't care. Ben thought
Caleb could handle it. And I think what you're seeing now,
and then I just went back and looked at a
(23:09):
bunch of that game against the Browns yesterday, he's.
Speaker 3 (23:12):
Calm in the pocket.
Speaker 8 (23:12):
There was a play in the first quarter he made
where he sat back there, looked at his first raad,
looked at his second rate, let Luther Burden come open
over the middle and just delivered a dart And it
was just one of those plays where you see how
calm and cool he was in the pocket where he
wouldn't have made that throw two months ago. And again,
it's like a little thing that you don't notice if
(23:33):
you're not looking for it, but it's happening over and
over and over again. And so I think through playing
good defensive football, through building a really really difficult to
deal with run game, they've bought Caleb Williams time to develop.
And now you're seeing the approach that they took with
Caleb Williams over the summer started to pay off, and
(23:54):
that Caleb has seen a lot now both in practicing
in games and is benefiting from it, and how calm
he looks back there.
Speaker 1 (24:01):
So I will stand by this and die on this hill.
I love Brett Veach, but I said it earlier. It's
Kansas City is like Marvel Comics. They're trying to develop
new characters and they're struggling.
Speaker 3 (24:17):
They're like Jones and Mahomes and and Travis Kelsey and
it's like true keep going back to Iron Man, right, Yeah.
Speaker 1 (24:25):
It's like they're trying to develop new guys and they
can't trust for she Rice and Worth, these more vogantic
guy and I kind of look at him. I think
it's a bit more of a rebuild and a retool.
I'm looking at the rams eighth, ninth best player. It
could be Nate Lanman.
Speaker 3 (24:39):
I look at their fourth best and it's Travis Kelcey.
Speaker 1 (24:43):
You may retire. I watched yesterday. Herbert was better than Mahomes.
I think I think the Chargers have more elite players.
What are you on their future in Kansas City?
Speaker 3 (24:54):
You know, we always make.
Speaker 8 (24:55):
The parallel to Brady, right because of like the heights
that Mahomes reached early in his career, and I sort
of think that you can learn some stuff from what
happened when Brady tours acl which, by the way, like
interestingly enough, was almost at the same juncture of Brady's
careers has happened with Mahomes now look back right, So
(25:16):
two thousand and eight, Brady goes down, Matt Castle wins
eleven games.
Speaker 3 (25:20):
That causes the.
Speaker 8 (25:20):
Patriots to say, Okay, we're going to lean in and
try to win with this aging roster one more time.
Speaker 3 (25:25):
It doesn't work in two thousand and nine.
Speaker 8 (25:27):
Then the beginning of twenty ten, Belichick goes in and
literally tears all sorts of evidence of any championship football
off the walls and says, we're starting over again. And
then they really got on a heater from a draft perspective,
right that draft in twenty ten, Devin mccorty, Rob Gronkowski,
Aaron Hernandez to get Date Solder of the left tackle
of the year after that, the year after that, Chandler Jones,
(25:49):
Dante high Tower, and they're often running And so I
think that's sort of the juncture the Chiefs are at
now where this is going to give them an organic
opportunity to look big picture at where at right we'll
see the extent of the ligament damage beyond just the
ACL and what that means for pat in twenty twenty six.
But I think it's incumbent on the Chiefs now to
(26:09):
look at it and say, this isn't just about twenty six,
this is about twenty seven and moving forward and the
next iteration of the Chiefs, And so, where does George
Karloftus fit into that?
Speaker 3 (26:19):
Where does Nick Bolton fit into that? Where does Trent
McDuffie fit into that?
Speaker 8 (26:22):
Those guys are going to be kind of the veteran
players on the next iteration? Right, how do we put
ourselves in position to draft really well over the next
few years? And when do we separate from Travis kelcey
and Chris Jones Because at this point you're looking at
it and saying.
Speaker 3 (26:39):
Well, if Mahomes is only out.
Speaker 8 (26:41):
There for half the twenty six sies and or three
quarters of the twenty six season, do we want to
have the older guys around. So there are all of
these big picture questions. I think that the Chiefs probably
had to answer anyway that now they're organically going to
be faced with because of the injury their quarterback has.
So again, I think this actually provides an opportunity for them,
(27:04):
the same way maybe Brady's acl injury gave the Patriots
some clarity, and really I think served as the first
step towards them building the second second version of their dynasty.
Speaker 1 (27:16):
So listen, Josh Allen is fourn oh this year when
he has to score thirty points, when they score thirty
their four oh because he has to. And yesterday another example,
he goes into the phone booth, comes out with a cape,
saves the citizens of Buffalo. Like, I've seen this, I
want to see it in the playoffs. I just look
at him and I think to myself, this is not
(27:38):
a conference championship team. They don't have the defense of Houston,
don't you know. I don't think they have the coaching
of New England. I thought it was a great win
for them, but New England still, let's be honest, they're
kind of yeah, a little bit of a rebuild, and
they don't have the depth on the O line right
now that if they're missing a starter, their backups just
aren't aren't going to be great in those spots. So
(28:00):
I looked at it yesterday and everybody's like, oh, big
win for Buffalo. That doesn't look like a defense that
can end up in a conference championship.
Speaker 3 (28:10):
And I listen.
Speaker 1 (28:11):
It's not Cincinnati where I felt Joe Burrow almost feels
like nobody's here to help me. But you can only
ask Josh Allen to be John Elway plus plus plus
so many times before the star quarterback says I need
a new guy.
Speaker 3 (28:27):
Right, Yeah.
Speaker 8 (28:29):
I think there's a psychological element though to what Josh
Allen has done to that Buffalo team. He's the best
player in the league right now, right so I think
he provides you at a certain level of belief that
allows you to fix things as the game goes on.
Does that make sense to like, Like, I look at it,
and I have some of.
Speaker 3 (28:47):
The numbers written down here.
Speaker 8 (28:48):
The Patriots rush for one hundred and seventy seven yards
in the first half.
Speaker 3 (28:52):
In the second half, they rush for just.
Speaker 8 (28:53):
Sixty nine and sixty five of those yards were on
one place. Drake may only through for forty seven yards
in the second half. The Bills were able to run
the ball more effectively in the second half. Why does
that happen, Well, it's because they aren't panicking when they're
down twenty one to nothing because they have the best
player in the planet, and it gives the coaches and
the players the leeway to fix things on the fly,
(29:15):
which I think has really empowered them and almost become
the identity of the team. And like, look like you
look at the last five weeks, right, four wins in
the last five weeks. They played against the Bucks that
came from behind, finished on a twenty three to six run.
Steelers they fell behind, finished on twenty three to nothing run.
Against the Bengals. Last week they fell behind, they finished
on twenty one to six run. And then yesterday against
(29:38):
the Patriots in a raucous environment, Patriots are ready to
take the AFC East from go up twenty one to nothing.
Speaker 3 (29:44):
They finished that game on a thirty five to seven run.
Speaker 8 (29:47):
It's sort of become who the Bills are and they
are going to get some pieces back. And that's what's
interesting about this. At Oliver could come back in the
playoffs best defensive player. They haven't had him for most
of the year. Jerrel Bernard going to be back at
linebacker on offense, Does Brandon Cooks get a little bit
more comfortable Dalton Kincaid's healthy. Now, I'm with you, Like,
(30:08):
I'm not sure they're good enough right now to run
the table in the playoffs and win it all. But
I think this is a team that's getting better, and
I think Allen's allowed them and bought them time to
get better. And so this may look like a different
team five or six weeks from now than it does now,
because I think it looks like a different team now
than it did a month ago.
Speaker 1 (30:27):
By the way, nine field goals, it's the most entertaining
nine field goal game, I would say in league history.
I could not take my eyes off of Philip Rivers.
I know, I said last week I watched You're.
Speaker 3 (30:40):
Carrying the flag for all of us out there, Colin.
Speaker 1 (30:44):
I mean, listen, you plan for the rest of the year.
They're not, you know, they're obviously Houston and Jacksonville are
in a different space right now. This is the final
Philip Rivers run right there. This is just really fun.
It's eye candy. It's a great time. But in a
few weeks it'll be over right.
Speaker 3 (31:03):
Yeah, I would think so.
Speaker 8 (31:04):
I mean, like what I like about this story more
than anything else. I think it's happening for really pure reasons.
There's no ulterior motive here. This is you know, Philip
actually retired five years ago because he wanted to coach
his son, and his dad coached him, and he wanted
to coach his son, and his son was getting close
to high school agents, so he wanted to go and coach.
(31:26):
And the reason that this opportunity made sense for him
is actually because his high school season was over, you know,
and so he had always over the last couple of years,
kept it in his head that if this ever happened,
like and remember if you go back years and years
and years ago, you remember this happened with Josh McCown
and the Bears, I.
Speaker 3 (31:43):
Think in like twenty thirteen or something.
Speaker 8 (31:46):
And he always had in his head like, if one
of two teams calls, I've got to listen, the Chargers
and the Colts, right like, if one of two teams calls, like,
I want to at least be in shape where I
can think about this sort of thing. And so he
kept he kept throwing, you know, he kept himself young
by being around the high school kids and working with
some of the young kids getting ready for the draft.
(32:08):
Riley Leonard was one of the kids he worked with
last year. Actually, Bo Nicks and Drake May the year
before that, And I just think it's a really good
story from that for that reason, and man, like, you know,
you think about the long field goals in this one, right,
a sixty yarder and a fifty six yarder, which is
another topic for another day, and how a game has
won that way, but if that sixty yarder stands up
(32:31):
as the game winner, We're all talking about the back
shoulder throw that he made to Alec Pierce at the
end of that game put them in field goal range,
which to me, like, that's a rhythm throw, that's a
timing throw. How crazy is it, Colin that this guy,
after a five year layoff layoff is able to make
that throw in a high leverage situation against one of
the like what I think is one of the three
(32:51):
or four best best teams in the league.
Speaker 3 (32:53):
It's a really remarkable story, and I hope.
Speaker 8 (32:55):
Everybody can just take it for that, you know what
I mean, Like, I hope everybody can just take this
as a good story about a guy who loves football
that much, who is coaching his kid who seasoned ended
and now you know, one of his best friends in
all of football calls him because they have a catastrophic
quarterback injury situation. He steps in and he's able to
play another month of football. I think it's it's a
(33:17):
really good story no matter how it turns out. But yeah,
I'd say this is probably it for him. I'd be
surprised if he were back in any capacity next year.
Speaker 1 (33:24):
Finally, Dolphins tonight, so they got from their GM. And
I think I've always said Albert I don't like interim coaches.
They go on a winning streak and suddenly everybody's like,
let's give him the job. It's like, no, keep Mike
McDaniel in. He's a good guy, he's a clever offensive guy.
They've gone on a winning streak, they've played well.
Speaker 3 (33:42):
In cold football.
Speaker 1 (33:43):
If they beat Pittsburgh tonight and win all but maybe
one of their remaining games, is there a chance? Is
that because now they're physical that was always the knock,
they're running the ball? Yeah, can Mike? Can he save
his job?
Speaker 3 (33:57):
Yes? Yes?
Speaker 8 (33:58):
And like you know, it's actually interesting when you go
back to Halloween when they fired their longtime general manager,
Chris Career. The question I asked was what's the barometer
now for Mike McDaniel, And I think what the front
office wanted to see was like, is this team locked in?
Does he still have control of the locker room, because
that was the biggest question right like early in the season,
it was is his coaching style still working?
Speaker 3 (34:20):
Does he still have command of the locker room?
Speaker 8 (34:23):
And you know, I think if you look at what
Mike did, is he leaned even further into who he
is as a coach.
Speaker 3 (34:29):
They're running the ball really really well.
Speaker 8 (34:32):
Like you said, they're more physical now, they've taken the
ball out of to his hands to some degree, and
I think it's just Mike saying screw it, like I'm
going to do what I believe is best for this
football team to win games on a week two week
basis based on how we're built right now with no
Tyreek Hill, with a quarterback who's somewhat limited. And I
think what you've seen now is like a real look
(34:56):
at how Mike was able to reel all this in
even with a different personality and put the team in
position to win. And it's actually interesting if you go
back to when this first happened again, like one of
the things that thing I heard about him having control
a locker room, well, one of the things that kept
Steve Ross from pulling the plug on McDaniel back then
was he kept hearing from people. This guy's going to
(35:18):
be a great head coach in his second when he
gets his second chance. And I think Ross sort of
thought to himself, well, why would we fire him?
Speaker 2 (35:26):
Then?
Speaker 8 (35:27):
Why don't we give him a second chance now and
see how he does? And so I think giving him
that opportunity has given him some new life.
Speaker 3 (35:34):
And my guess would be, this is just a guess.
Speaker 8 (35:37):
My guess would be they hire a new general manager,
they pair him with their cap guy who now is.
Speaker 3 (35:42):
In a little bit of an elevator role in Brandon Shore.
Speaker 8 (35:46):
And then Mike McDaniel goes into twenty twenty six under evaluation, and.
Speaker 3 (35:52):
Let's see what you got Tua.
Speaker 8 (35:54):
That's the twenty six is the last year of guaranteed
money in his contract, so they aren't married to Tua
beyond twenty twenty six, and it kind of gives them
a new general manager a chance to come in work
with Brendan Shore again, a guy who's very close ownership there,
work under the president, Tom Garfinkel, and with Ross and
his son in law, and you get to see now
what a new setup looks like and how Mike McDaniel
(36:16):
fits into it.
Speaker 3 (36:16):
You go forward from there and.
Speaker 8 (36:18):
I think you got to give Ross some credit here,
having patients with McDaniel when he got rid of the
general manager certainly seems to have paid.
Speaker 1 (36:25):
Off Albert Breer on a Monday, Monday morning quarterback. Thanks Albert,
as olas all right, Thanks Colin
Hosts And Creators
Colin Cowherd
Jason McIntyre
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