September 14, 2026 • 37 mins
Colin Cowherd reacts to a wild week 1 of the NFL season! He starts by discussing the Bears recording breaking offense scoring 59 points against the Panthers and how head coach Ben Johnson is getting the most out of QB Caleb Williams. He talks about Jaxson Dart lighting up the Cowboys defense in the Giants win over the Cowboys. He believes new head coach John Harbaugh is establishing a structure for Dart to flourish while maintaining his playmaking ability. Colin shares this week’s “Where Colin Was Right, Where Colin Was Wrong” segment: Why he was right about Josh Allen but wrong about the Rams. Plus, Colin talks to 3-time Pro Bowler Matt Hasselbeck about the Packers blowing another double-digit lead and if the team lacks toughness under head coach Matt LaFleur.
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Thanks for listening to the Herd Podcast. Be sure to
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Fox Sports Radio or FSR. Thanks for listening to the
Herd Podcast. Here we go. It is NFL week one,
(00:27):
nearly in the books. I'm live. I'm in LA. It's
the herd wherever you may be. And however, you may
be watching or listening. Thanks for making us part of
your day on a Monday. Well, the Chicago bears five
seconds before Ben Johnson took over, took over this franchise.
(00:47):
The day before he took over the franchise, the bears
had the worst offense in the league. 20 games later,
59 points. Utter brilliance. And what's remarkable, Colston Loveland didn't
have a catch. They didn't need him. Luther Burden, Roma
Dunzey didn't have a touchdown. They didn't need it. They
(01:08):
didn't need a defensive touchdown. Every few years, there is
a brilliant quarterback or a brilliant offensive head coach that
enters the league. And this time, they landed together. It
is unbelievable. Year one, Ben Johnson came in and said,
we got to clean up the sacks. There were a
lot of messes to clean up. Year one was, we
(01:30):
can't get you hit like this. They cleaned him up.
Year two was, you're really good, but you missed too
many laps. Let's get the efficiency and completion percentage up.
Mission accomplished. Remember after last year's 0-2 start, Ben Johnson
came out and he said, we do not have the
practice habits of a championship level football team. talent's not
(01:51):
the issue so there were a lot of things to
clean up practice was bad the schemes were bad they
had to get you know they had to go to
the draft board and get more high-end players yesterday they
didn't need them and like a McVay and like a
Shanahan these young offensive coaches almost all of them actually
(02:12):
love to build offensive lines and run game Right? Here's
what's remarkable. Yesterday was the third time the Bears have
rushed for 280 yards or more. Do you know how
hard that is in the NFL to rush for 280
yards third time? Yesterday scored 59 points. They had more
(02:34):
rushing attempts than passing attempts. They had more rushing yards
than passing yards. It was eight offensive touchdowns, eight plays
of 20 yards. The Bears haven't run the ball like
this since the late, great Walter Payton was a Bear
and Walter Mondale was in office. And they're young. They're
(02:56):
like the Seahawks. They're ascending. They're young on the offensive line.
They're young at tight end. They're young at quarterback. They're
young at wide receiver. They're young in the secondary. They're
an ascending team. So Ben Johnson had to break a
lot of bad habits in the organization. And then year two,
(03:16):
what you're seeing is, okay, we're going to have a
standard of excellence even at practice. That was a big
thing with Ben Johnson last year. We have talent. We
don't even practice good enough. So it's just a gift
to to the league that you get the brilliant head
coach and the brilliant young quarterback. And we're going to
(03:37):
put them together in a blue blood franchise. It is
a total gift of the league. And it's not just
being a good head coach. It's being the right coach.
Phil Jackson was the right coach for Michael Jordan. Okay.
Doug Collins won a lot of games with Michael Jordan
and Michael Jordan liked him, but Phil Jackson didn't. Phil
(03:57):
Jackson created a new Michael where he would trust teammates.
He would elevate others. So Michael Jordan won the scoring
title seven times with Phil Jackson. Phil did not take
away the scoring. What he created was trust with teammates,
elevating others in big moments, knowing you don't have to
(04:20):
carry all of it. And that's what I see. Phil
Jackson created the triangle. He created structure without getting in
the way of Michael Jordan's greatness. He didn't get in
the way of it. Andy Reid with Mahomes. I'm going
to create structure. Last couple years, Greg Cosell comes on
the show and he goes, you know, Mahomes is not
playing within structure. His efficiency numbers go down. Joe Brady
(04:45):
yesterday with Allen. Structure. Structure gets a bad. Artists may
not like structure. They need it. Right? Like, that's what
I watched yesterday. The practice habits are better. And I
told you I went to a Bears practice, and I said,
Caleb is thinner and he's faster. Well, there have been
13 plays since the start of last year in which
(05:06):
a quarterback ran 20 miles an hour.
Speaker 2 (05:08):
13.
Speaker 1 (05:09):
He's got over half of them. So, for Ben and
Caleb in blue blood Chicago with the Bears to be joined...
I mean, it's just, they're young. It's getting better. They
run the ball. They're dynamic. It is everything. And here's
(05:30):
Ben Johnson. And I'm not saying Carolina's great, but 59
and Colston Loveland didn't have a catch? Usually if it's 59,
it's like, okay, three block punts, two pick sixes. No,
we just ran the ball. We didn't even throw to
our number one target. Our top three targets, none of
them had a touchdown. No DJ Moore. We traded him
to Buffalo. Wow. Here's Ben Johnson after.
Speaker 3 (05:53):
That'll always be the goal is we want to be
the highest scoring. We want to have the most wins.
We want to win Super Bowls. We want to like,
that's what, that's what we do. We didn't get into
this profession trying to be, trying to be mediocre average
and that's every NFL team. So that is what it is.
You know, we make decisions over the course of a week.
(06:14):
What's best for our football team to win the game.
That's the most important thing. And that's, that goes into
everything that we do.
Speaker 1 (06:19):
Week one against the Panthers, they had the most points
in the league in a very high-scoring week one. They
had the most points, the most yards, the most rush yards,
the most offensive TDs, the most 20-plus-yard plays. Led the
league in all of those categories. And I said this Friday,
road game against a team that can move the ball.
Bryce Young was not bad. Dave Canales, good offensive coach.
(06:41):
They got good weapons. Carolina's got players. Chicago needed those points.
Speaker 2 (06:47):
Okay.
Speaker 1 (06:49):
Well, well, well, my prediction this year was the New
York Giants would be the most improved team in the NFL.
And in any business, getting good does not take that long. Now,
getting elite, getting great, that's a different story. I don't
think the Giants this year are going to be top
(07:09):
of the league, but they're going to be good to
very good. And they have talent. Brian Burns, Malik Neighbors,
Jackson Dart, Andrew Thomas, Abdul Carter, Arvel Reese, Scataboo. I
don't worry about talent. But what you saw last night,
and this has always been true, you can coach talented
people to have good habits. You can't take people with
(07:32):
just good habits to have way more talent. So what
you saw is talent, talent. with better habits and more
decisive Jackson dark can really play. Now it helped that
the Cowboys blew three different assignments. Some of those throws
were pretty easy, but he's athletic. He's confident, clearly good looking.
(07:53):
The teammates, you know, they gravitate around him. He is
a leader of men. He walks into a room and
he's a good looking kid and he's got a swagger
and you know, Page six in New York. But I
will say this. Last night, what I saw was decisive.
John Harbaugh's coaching was decisive. We are going to control
the line of scrimmage. It wasn't a lot of home runs.
(08:13):
It was a lot of singles and doubles. It was
a decisive game plan. So there was a play in
the first quarter when he was running for a first down.
And last year, he would have taken a shoulder. Instead,
he goes out of bounds. And that play ends up
you know, maturity like that play last year would have
been blue tent stuff. And instead his teammates rally around him.
(08:35):
So John Harbaugh could have chosen a lot of jobs.
A lot of people wanted him. He understood this team's history.
He understood the fit. He understood Jackson dart. He understood
there's talent on this roster. I've been arguing this all
off season. It's not a talent issue. It's a structure issue.
(08:56):
It is an organizational issue. They need another really, really
good draft. Then next year at this time with four
more good draft picks, another free agent because they're still
not paying Jackson Dart anything. But, I mean, Harbaugh taking
over a Blue Blood is like Scorsese directing a mob movie.
(09:17):
It just feels right. That offense, it's unbelievable. They take
that ball in the fourth quarter and the second half,
their last three drives, eight minutes touchdown, eight minutes touchdown,
five minutes bleed the clock out. I mean, that is
the best, most impressive offensive performance for me in that
(09:38):
second half since Eli Manning. It's not just about touchdowns.
It's dominating people up front. Eight-minute touchdown, eight-minute touchdown, five-minute
game over. That was impressive. Here's Jackson Dart on playing
under John Harbaugh.
Speaker 4 (09:58):
I just think that we have so much respect. for
coach Harbs and this team will, we'll do whatever he says. Cause,
cause we have all the faith in him that he's
going to put us in the best situation to win. So,
you know, he's the identity of a team starts at
the top and it starts with, with how he's conducted
himself with how he's, you know, created a tough team.
Speaker 1 (10:20):
Jim did this at Michigan. Jim did it with the Chargers.
He did it in San Francisco. John did it with
the Ravens. And now John has done it with the
New York Giants. It doesn't take long to get good
if you have talent. I mean, like the Miami Dolphins,
they can't win games. And they know it. They're paying
(10:41):
more money for guys not playing than guys playing. I'm
not making that up. I've said this before. Jets have talent.
Cleveland's got talent. The Giants have talent and the coach
and the quarterback. It's hard to judge Jackson dark because
the Cowboys kept blowing assignments. So some of those throws
were pitch and catch. I'm not knocking him, but like
Dallas made it a little easier than it needed to be.
(11:05):
But this is what I said in the off season.
This was my, I said, listen, they won four games.
They had big leads. They didn't have the right structure.
Dart was a rookie. They had a great draft class.
This is a real team. This is a playoff team.
What you watched last night was taking a great Dallas
offense and playing keep away. It felt like Dallas never
(11:26):
had the ball. that's a playoff-looking team. Now, injuries, you know,
now the schedule's tougher. The Rams are in a lousy mood.
I think they'll be... I think they match up very
well with the L.A. Rams. So, J-Mac, I know it's hard,
but you should be in a good mood. Your Jets.
Speaker 5 (11:46):
Jets did get the win. I will say this for
the Giants. I bashed them all preseason. Jackson Dart, number
one in EPA per play, number one.
Speaker 2 (11:53):
In success rate. He was really good. That's a good
win for the Giants.
Speaker 1 (11:57):
They look.
Speaker 2 (11:57):
Like they're going to be competitive against the Rams this weekend.
It's so fun. That will not be a walkover, even
though the spread is seven and a half, I believe.
Speaker 1 (12:03):
Yeah, it's too much. So underdogs did pretty well in
week one, starting with the Niners. And by the way, the, the,
the Patriots were an underdog and we're driving for the win. So,
I mean, I, to me in this league, if you
have a really good coach check, a clearly capable quarterback
check one really elite weapon check a great left tackle
giants check and you have a consistent rush somewhere on
(12:27):
the d-line between abdul carter and brian burns those are
those are that's big boy athleticism on the edge i
don't love that.
Speaker 5 (12:35):
You're probably right about the giants it's only week one
remember last year week one what seahawks lost and patriots
lost that's right wound up in the super bowl let's
not overreact did you notice.
Speaker 1 (12:44):
This though I know the audience, I'm not sure if
everybody noticed. So there was three offenses where you went, wow.
Josh Allen's offense, Lamar's offense, and Caleb's offense. You went, wow,
why is that? Because offensive linemen don't play in the preseason,
the good ones. So offensive line play was awful. Teams
(13:05):
that rely on great offensive line play, Philadelphia's offense, Rams offense,
because they have an immobile quarterback. Lions offense.
Speaker 2 (13:13):
Lions were bad.
Speaker 1 (13:15):
Why? Offensive line play in the league is sketchy in September.
So the three offenses that blew us away have the
three most athletic quarterbacks. Caleb, Lamar, and Josh.
Speaker 2 (13:27):
And Trevor Lawrence also was pretty incredible. Athletic, yeah.
Speaker 1 (13:30):
So it's like the reality is athleticism at quarterback is important.
But in early weeks in the NFL season... It's like huge.
It's really, really a big deal.
Speaker 6 (13:43):
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Speaker 7 (13:53):
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Speaker 1 (14:24):
Here we go. It is a Monday. It's hour two.
Matt Hasselbeck, four minutes out. We are live. We're in
Los Angeles. Oh, what'd I tell you? I moved to
a city. All the teams get good. Cubs World Series parade.
Get ready.
Speaker 9 (14:39):
Bears.
Speaker 3 (14:41):
Oh, a word.
Speaker 1 (14:43):
What was that? Just incredible. Offense ruled the day. A
lot of the big blowout scores, Liam Cohen, Kyle Shanahan,
Ben Johnson, these offensive coaches. Every Monday we do it.
Colin right, Colin wrong. Let's not waste any time. Where
(15:03):
Colin was right. I said in the offseason, Caleb Williams
would be a top three quarterback in the league this year.
Part of it, Ben Johnson. The other part, his horsepower.
I said he was going to be an MVP. Eight touchdowns.
I think there's two quarterbacks in this league that are
just physically different. Allen and Caleb. 59 points with no
(15:25):
defensive touchdowns 72 completion rate clearly he's coachable between the
improvement on efficiency this year and getting out of the
sacks last year you get the gift of talent but
he also listens that's important where Colin was wrong. Boy,
did I whiff on the Rams. Chopper in, chopper out,
(15:48):
win a game and leave was a dud. They were
in a fog against San Francisco. Now Miles Garrett, bummer,
is on the IR. So less than 300 yards. Bad
on third down. They got to the goal line and
did a Matt Stafford sneak. That's not really the strength
of the team. Listen, I thought Chopper and Seal Team Six,
(16:13):
I kept calling it. Well, it didn't work and I
was wrong. Where Colin was right. I said the Longhorns
will win. The game matters more to Texas, and they're
going to win close. Listen, they control the second half,
outscored the Buckeyes 21-3. Yes, Ryan Day got conservative. Most
coaches do when they're leading a really good team late.
(16:36):
The Longhorns in the second half had 240 yards of offense.
Ohio State's going to be fine. They're a really good team.
It's Sark's biggest regular season win. Listen, I thought... The
Longhorns got a couple of really bad first-half breaks on
that quirky pick, and then Wingo drops the touchdown. So
I thought the score at half was a little closer
(16:59):
than it looked, but Ohio State deserves credit. They came
within a yard of winning that game. Where Colin was wrong. Well,
the SEC is off to a burning start, 8-2 non-conference record.
The Big Ten's only 3-7. Six SEC teams in the
top ten. The Big Ten, Indiana is carrying them because
(17:23):
Oregon defensively appears to be lost with a new D.C.
And the Buckeyes have a respectable loss, but a loss nonetheless. Yeah,
SEC has played really well. It just means more. They
keep telling us that. Well, so far through 10 non-conference games,
they're just winning more.
Speaker 6 (17:41):
Where Colin was right.
Speaker 1 (17:43):
I said Josh Allen is the best athlete that's ever
played the sport. It's not Mahomes. Mahomes may be more decorated,
but nobody could do that to the Texans defense. That's Mahomes.
That's singular. On the road, 130 passer rating, 300 yards.
He's got a new coach. He's got a new number
one receiver. I mean, that thing was majestic. Nobody but
(18:06):
Josh Allen is going to deliver that. And does he
get reckless? Absolutely. The great ones often do. But to me,
he's the greatest single talent I've ever seen play quarterback.
And he's on a short list of the most talented
people at any position that have ever played this game. Mahomes,
maybe more decorated. He's Mahomes with more size and more power.
(18:29):
And Mahomes is great. Where Colin was wrong. Well, I
was told this was the best Oregon roster ever. Apparently,
it's not as good as Oklahoma State, which was 1-11
last year. I don't even know what I watched. Now
they have a new defensive coordinator. It's not working in
two games. Not a lot of pass rush. I looked
(18:50):
it up this morning, three sacks in two games. That's if,
you know, against Oklahoma state, you should have six. That's
the worst Oregon loss. I'm trying to think in a decade.
I mean, again, you can lose close. You can lose
on the road. You can lose to a good team.
Oklahoma State's a lot. It's an awful program right now.
(19:14):
Where Colin was right. I took the Giants not only
to beat the Cowboys, but the New York Giants, I said,
have plenty of talent. They will be the most improved
team in the league. It's not a talent issue. It
is a culture and a quarterback improvement. Stay out of
the blue tent issue. I thought Jackson Dart was decisive. Now,
the Cowboys blew several coverages that made it look spectacular.
(19:37):
But this was the team I said they won four
games last year. I'm like, listen, they had like double
digit leads in three or four games in the fourth quarter. Scataboo,
Brian Burns, Malik Neighbors, Jackson Dart, Andrew Thomas. This is
not a talent issue with the Giants. It was a
coach and culture issue. Where Colin was right. My second
most improved team was going to be the Bengals because
(19:58):
I said they spent money on defense. So un-Cincinnati-like. Well,
they forced four turnovers. They had four sacks. They just
looked bigger and stronger. What was interesting was they spent
money on defense and you could see the money. The
Cowboys spent money on defense. You could not see the money.
So I said this is to me after the Giants
(20:19):
will be the most improved team. Not only record-wise, they
were 6-11 last year, but they'll just look different. And
I thought, I think the Giants have more talent, in
my opinion, than the Bengals. So I think the ceiling's
very high, but there's a, you know, Jackson, Dart, and Burrow.
At this point, it's all Burrow. So Colin Wright, Colin
Wrong on a Monday.
Speaker 6 (20:39):
Be sure to catch live editions of The Herd weekdays
at noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific.
Speaker 1 (20:44):
And with that, Matt Hasselbeck, 18 years in this league,
is joining us. Let's start with this.
Speaker 9 (20:51):
Show me the money, Colin. Show me the money. You said,
I can see the money.
Speaker 1 (20:57):
Cincinnati's defense, you're like, oh, these are Dexter Lawrence. That's
what it looks like when you're spending that kind of
money on a D lineman. Now, week one, Matt, was
very high scoring. Why? Why were there so many outrageous
offensive performances?
Speaker 8 (21:13):
Well, I'm glad you brought it up.
Speaker 9 (21:14):
I mean, is it really a surprise the way that
we practice? I mean, Colin, I played a long time ago.
My rookie year was 98. My last year was 2015.
The way we practiced in 98 was completely different to 2015.
I can't even imagine what it's like now. This is
still tackle football on Sundays. It's 11 on 11, buckle
(21:35):
your chinstrap, get the guy down, hold onto the ball,
like all that stuff. That's why I think quarterback scrambles
were such a huge thing.
Speaker 7 (21:43):
Yeah.
Speaker 8 (21:43):
Quarterback scrambles.
Speaker 9 (21:45):
Like when you do a practice in the NFL and
the quarterback scrambles, you just blow the whistle. Like the
guys chase you. You stay away from the guy in
the red Jersey, blow the whistle.
Speaker 8 (21:54):
It's almost like it doesn't count.
Speaker 9 (21:55):
You know, it's like, it just, it gets talked about like, yeah, yeah, yeah.
And just make sure you get the quarterback. Hey, plaster,
make you go to, but in real tackle football, the
physical teams won and dominated and the teams.
Speaker 8 (22:07):
With the quarterback quarterback got out.
Speaker 9 (22:10):
They, they made plays and had huge days. It doesn't
surprise me at all.
Speaker 1 (22:13):
Speaker 3 0 Offensive lines are the one group for
football that it's hardest to build cohesion and chemistry. None
of the starters play. So teams that had unathletic quarterbacks
like the Rams or the lions or the old, the Steelers,
they struggle. The three best offenses were Caleb Lamar and Josh,
(22:34):
where it's like, cause I don't think a line play
anymore is good till October. It's just too hard to
create cohesion. Now, I will say, I.
Speaker 9 (22:43):
Just add to that though. Another, another thing to do that.
It's a great point by you. Another thing, just like
it's a disadvantage for the defensive time.
Speaker 8 (22:50):
The defense was getting the ball back.
Speaker 9 (22:52):
You mentioned Cincinnati earlier as a quarterback, when you have
a red Jersey, you're sitting in the pocket ball security,
two hands on the ball, fumbling in the pocket.
Speaker 8 (23:00):
It's a wake up call for some guys week one.
Speaker 9 (23:02):
They haven't been touched in a long time. So I
think you're onto it with the mobile quarterbacks.
Speaker 2 (23:07):
In a week one.
Speaker 1 (23:08):
So listen, I said when Jackson Dart came out, I said,
I think he's top of the second round guy. I
do think having Lane Kiffin for several years is a
huge advantage. That's kind of a pro system. And then
he gets Brian Dable. It's like, so that's pretty good. So,
but it's funny watching him yesterday is there are just
certain quarterbacks that they're guys like, but you can tell
(23:31):
the team loves them. You can tell the team, trust them.
He was so decisive last night. It was a lot
of singles and doubles. but I saw a game plan.
Like I saw, I still don't know what Dallas was
trying to do. I watched the giants and I'm like, Oh,
that's a real game plan. Like, Hey dude, get out
of bounds slide. We're going to do a lot of
(23:52):
singles and doubles. Like I saw the coaching with the
giants last night. What did you see?
Speaker 8 (23:59):
I a hundred percent agree with you.
Speaker 9 (24:00):
And I thought that Chris Collinsworth on the broadcast did
an excellent job of highlighting the command that this young
quarterback had at the line of scrimmage. It was check
with me. It was on the ball. We're running right.
We're running left. It could be a run to the left.
It could be a run to the right. It could
be a pass or a run. He had total command
of the, so it wasn't.
Speaker 8 (24:21):
Like they were just running the ball. They were running
the ball with intention.
Speaker 9 (24:25):
Having an advantage on every run call based on the
front that they were seeing. And they absolutely dominated. You
want to talk about being physical and tactical and intentional
in the run game. I don't think the Dallas Cowboys
had the ball hardly at all in the second half.
And so you talk about a four minute offense, really
what that means is for the last five minutes of
the game, we're going to control the clock. We're going
(24:45):
to stay in bounds and we're going to just shove
it down your throat and be the more physically dominant team.
That's exactly what the New York giants did in run
situations where when the Cowboys knew they were trying to run.
Speaker 1 (24:57):
So, you know, I said this with Caleb, you get
the horsepower, but that doesn't mean every player is easy
to coach. I mean, there's now funny stories about Lawrence
Taylor and Parcells. Like they're funny, funny stories. Lawrence was
just so gifted, but Lawrence was also a pass rusher.
Go get the quarterback. What I see with Caleb is
(25:17):
last year was, Hey, get out of the sack business.
He got out of it. This year is, hey, we
got to hit layups. So I went to a practice,
and I watched 30 minutes of Caleb after practice throwing
a 12-yard out route. He must have thrown 80 of them.
And I'm like, this is so tedious. It's boring to watch.
I can't imagine doing it. But when I watched him yesterday,
(25:38):
I noticed it. I'm like, okay, he's taken to this. Like,
it just felt.
Speaker 6 (25:45):
Easier.
Speaker 1 (25:46):
Like, it wasn't a big deal. Now, they ran a lot.
But I do think not all gifted athletes are coachable
because the more gift you have, the easier it can be.
And maybe I'm going overboard, but I just, when I
watched yesterday, I'm like, God, did he correct the efficiency
thing too that quickly? I mean, or is this just
week one and Dallas was lost defensively?
Speaker 9 (26:08):
Well, you know, in general, I think week one is
a liar in the NFL. Look to last year, the
two teams in the super bowl, both lost at home
week one. So it's a little bit dangerous to overreact
too much. However, Ben Johnson and his body of work
and what he's done with this young quarterback is incredible
mentioned physicality. I thought this was the most physical team
(26:30):
this weekend, week one, where they run for six touchdowns.
Speaker 8 (26:33):
It was ridiculous.
Speaker 9 (26:34):
And I think about these, like these slogans that had
coaches have about being physical and no block, no rock
is what Antoine Randall L the wide receivers coach, I
believe he says, and some, for some people, it's a
slogan for the Chicago bears. It feels like a standard.
It's what they do. It's just who they are. And I,
you know, they, they have just improved in every way.
(26:55):
The quarterback's improved. The team's improved.
Speaker 8 (26:59):
I'm a believer.
Speaker 9 (26:59):
I mean, they're sending a message to the entire team
with how they ran the ball. And we know they
can throw the ball. They just didn't have to do
it yesterday.
Speaker 1 (27:07):
So their rival, the Packers, have lost six straight. And
I think the most troubling part, Matt, is we all
know why. Smart teams get leads. Tough teams seal wins.
They can't keep leads. And Micah is sort of their
physical initiator. Well, he's not there. And Josh Jacobs, again,
(27:28):
very physical, an initiator that, oh, he may not be there. Like,
this is not just a week one issue. You got
to go back to last year, Matt. Like, and I
hate to say this because I didn't play pro football,
but there are teams that feel pretty. There are teams
that feel smart. And then there are teams you're like
San Francisco. You're like, oh, that hurts. God, I don't
(27:49):
know if I can last a play in the league.
to me, green Bay, everybody can see it. And yet
after the game, Matt Lafleur is arguing about penalties. Like
that's not it to me. What is it to you?
Speaker 9 (28:04):
It's all of it, but yeah. And they don't have
their closer, their great pass rusher. They don't have their
closer with their running back.
Speaker 8 (28:10):
That's fair.
Speaker 9 (28:11):
But just the, the intelligence on the football field, Jordan
love talked about it. We got, you know, we, we
gotta be smarter. Like we, we gotta, we gotta play smarter.
We gotta be mentally tougher and And until they kind
of shut the door on this thing where they can't
finish because of what happened last year, everyone's going to
keep talking about it. And so, yeah, this is a
(28:32):
real thing. It's kind of like blood in the water,
you know, with sharks. It's the same thing that happens
to a team when they start. you know, Hey, this, the,
the whispers are there and it happens even on the sidelines,
like an, Oh, here we go again.
Speaker 8 (28:44):
It's kind of a loser's mentality.
Speaker 9 (28:46):
And so the challenge is going to be for this
team is not letting that be a thing, like somehow
rising above that and, and just, you.
Speaker 8 (28:52):
Know, crossing this hurdle.
Speaker 9 (28:54):
It's a real thing that the doubt does creep in
for coaches, for players, and sometimes not addressing it makes
it worse.
Speaker 1 (29:03):
I compared Derek Henry to Nolan Ryan. Nolan Ryan threw
a no-hitter at 44. The guy just never aged. He
was an all-star at 42. And I look at Derek Henry,
and I'm like, he's got 2,700 carries at running back.
Did you ever play with anybody similarly where you're like,
(29:24):
just hard work, whatever, DNA, hard work, like they just
didn't get hurt?
Speaker 9 (29:32):
I did call him and listen, I started nine games
as a 40 year old. And I credit that to
guys that I played with that, you know, I wasn't
the oldest guy on my team. When I did that,
Adam Vinatieri was there. Dude was just a stud. Walter
Jones did that. I played with Jerry rice when he
was 42 years old and he was still crossing up
dude scoring touchdowns. We had a fullback named max strong
at fullback playing a ridiculous amount of years. I mean,
(29:55):
he was so old, they didn't even make him do
half of the conditioning things as a team.
Speaker 8 (29:59):
They were like, ah, we're just going to save you.
Speaker 9 (30:01):
And, and so like, there is something to God, you know,
guys taking care of their body. And yet at the
same time, not being too civilized when it's Sunday at
one o'clock. And what I mean by that, it's kind
of like a Rocky IV thing, a Rocky IV quote.
The worst thing that can happen to a prized fighter
is he can become civilized. He can become soft. He
(30:23):
can be the guy, forget who he was, forget what
got him there. And I think there's a great example
of Derrick Henry. He's taking care of his body off
the field, but when it's one o'clock on Sunday, the
dude is still a warrior, just like he always was.
And that's, you know, I think of Frank Gore, another
guy I played with, you know, there's just guys like,
they don't have to say a word, how they approach
it on Sundays speaks volumes enough.
Speaker 1 (30:46):
Oh God. Frank Gore was just, as they say, tougher
than a $ 10 steak. He was, he was so physical. Okay.
There was one performance over the weekend and we were
sitting watching it as a group. And I'm like, I
don't have an answer for it. The chargers got pushed
around by Arizona. And I mean, I felt like Arizona
(31:08):
had the ball the whole game. Like, I mean, did
you ever plan a great team that just had an
awful early Sunday in the season?
Speaker 9 (31:20):
A hundred percent a year. We went to the super
bowl in Seattle. We went down to Jacksonville and got
absolutely spanked.
Speaker 8 (31:26):
In new head.
Speaker 9 (31:27):
And then we, I think we were the best team
in football that year. Didn't win the super bowl because
we didn't play our best at the end, but we
were a great team that year. And that happens week one,
especially for teams that I think.
Speaker 8 (31:36):
Are really good at game planning.
Speaker 9 (31:38):
I can think of even a Patriots team that went
to Buffalo one year and got spanked week one, like badly,
like badly beat. And because I, you know, the, the
game planning thing is real. if you're good at game planning,
you go into a week one matchup. You don't know
what you're going to see. You got new coordinators. You
got a new head coach. You have no idea. So
(31:59):
especially in today's day and age with personnel changes, with
formation shifts, motion, shotgun, pistol, under center, all the stuff.
It's a little bit like a blind date and you can,
you can get punched in the mouth. And that's what
happened to the chargers. They got punched in the mouth.
Arizona said, Hey, don't sleep on us. And they look
pretty good.
Speaker 1 (32:17):
So I said, there's an old saying that opposites attract.
And though I'm sure they do, it's not ideal. You'd
like to have some commonalities with your partner. And I
know you can win a Super Bowl as a defensive coach,
Mike McDonald and Bill Belichick. I know that. But there
is something about the language and the sensibility of an
(32:38):
offensive coach with a quarterback. It's just, I'm sorry. Andy
Reid and Mahomes, like, there's a, like, you let him,
you don't try to harness it, right? Like, I'm going
to give you some structure, but I'm very comfortable being aggressive.
I'm watching the Bills yesterday with Joe Brady. Fourth down, like, yes,
(32:59):
Josh can be reckless, but I did feel like more
13 personnel, more big plays. Explain, and again, we know
there are great defensive coaches, right? But almost by nature,
they get a lead and they just get conservative. And
it feels like Joe Brady unleashed a little something with Josh.
Speaker 9 (33:23):
Yeah, he unleashed it and he unleashed it for an
interception to lose the game to Lassiter and Lassiter dropped
the ball. I mean, this is a, it's, it's one
play here, one play there. And then the next play,
Josh is Josh and scores the game winner. And you're
just like, wow, this guy's amazing. So, you know, I
don't want to, I don't want to poo poo on
defensive coaches too much as a quarterback. You love having
(33:43):
an offensive head coach. Like you absolutely love it. They
see things differently. through your lens. They see things the
way you do defensive head coaches kind of make you
feel confined and crammed. And, you know, I remember when
Pete Carroll came to Seattle, he was a defensive head
coach and I didn't play my best for him. But
Jim Mora was a defensive head coach. I had, I
didn't play my best. He saw when Brett Favre went
from Mike Holmgren to Ray Rhodes, he didn't play his best.
(34:06):
Like it's, it is a change. And so it makes
you feel free. Yet at the same time, that's just
what's good.
Speaker 8 (34:12):
For the quarterback.
Speaker 9 (34:13):
There's, you know, sometimes the defensive head coach is good
for the benefit of the team. So I don't want
to overreact too much on a week one because I
really do think week one is a liar. I mean,
more underdogs you covered than didn't cover week one. it's just,
it's how it is. Like, you just don't know what's
going to happen. And as a player, I can just
(34:33):
tell you, especially as someone who prided himself on game
planning and preparing, I never felt.
Speaker 8 (34:40):
Good going into a week one game.
Speaker 9 (34:41):
Like I literally don't even know who the opponent is.
You know, you're watching other teams, you're watching college film,
you're doing some crazy stuff. And there were, there are
so many new, I think half the league's a new
defensive coordinator.
Speaker 8 (34:51):
You got 17 new offensive coordinators.
Speaker 9 (34:54):
So I, I think we two things settle in a
lot better than week one. But I'll say this to
your point, the bills are going to be really.
Speaker 8 (35:02):
Fun to watch offensively this year.
Speaker 5 (35:04):
Oh yeah.
Speaker 1 (35:04):
Oh, there's no question. I want to circle back to
the giants. I said earlier, having a Harbaugh take over
the giants. It's like Scorsese doing a mob movie. It
feels right. Like, it's just Harbaugh, bottom line, toughness, the name. Like,
I'm watching that game last night. I'm like, this is
so good for the league. This is Harbaugh with the Giants.
(35:26):
It's just like when Jim was with the Niners. Or
Jim's at Michigan. You're like, they're just certain teams. I
came out of that game with New York, and I'm like, man,
coaching's important.
Speaker 5 (35:39):
Like, I.
Speaker 1 (35:41):
I mean, I just now again, Arvel Reese is a
new guy. He's very good. Likely wasn't there. Ceiling. Let's
not take too much. But when you watch their talent,
is there a ceiling with the Giants? Do you think
see things that like, OK, they're not blank overall? What
was your take on that?
Speaker 9 (36:02):
Great foundational game to start this Harbaugh era off.
Speaker 8 (36:06):
And you mentioned.
Speaker 9 (36:06):
Defensive ed coaches, offensive ed coaches, Harbaugh's neither one of those.
Speaker 8 (36:10):
He was a special teams coach in Philly.
Speaker 9 (36:12):
What makes him so special to me though, is his
leadership intangible style. I remember when Lamar Jackson was a
young quarterback and I'd listened to him mic'd up and
I hear Harbaugh go over to him and the way
he would converse with his young quarterback, he kept it
simple and direct and empowered.
Speaker 8 (36:27):
The young guy.
Speaker 9 (36:28):
It was like, hey, fourth and one, what do you
think we should do? Coach, I want to go for it.
Now he's invested. He has to find a way to
make it work, you know, and how to protect his
body and how to go for it and cut it loose.
Speaker 8 (36:39):
And now he's doing the same thing with Jackson Dart.
Speaker 9 (36:41):
You know, Jackson Dart told the story about how, you know,
Malik Nabors hadn't been hit in a while. He's going
to be tackled for the first time. Who is the
first person to tackle him? It was coach Harbaugh at
the walkthrough the day before to kind of.
Speaker 8 (36:53):
Like break the seal.
Speaker 9 (36:53):
Like what head coach is going over and tackling a guy,
probably a guy that used to be a special teams coach.
Speaker 8 (36:59):
It's one of the guys sees the whole, sees the
big picture.
Speaker 9 (37:02):
Isn't just like locked in on just offense, just defense
sees the whole team understands like the, the elephant in
the room.
Speaker 8 (37:09):
Hey, our star receiver, man, how's it, how's it going
to go? He's coming off a big injury. What's the deal?
You know, blah, blah, blah.
Speaker 9 (37:14):
Like so that intangible and what they have going in
New York right now, it's a foundational start for them.
Could they win this division after last night?
Speaker 8 (37:22):
Yeah, absolutely. They can't.
Speaker 5 (37:24):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (37:25):
So good seeing you. It's football season's fun. I mean,
how do people, who are these people that don't love
the NFL? Like I don't, they're not many.
Speaker 8 (37:34):
People with a lot of free time. That's the thing.
Speaker 9 (37:36):
And the thing is week one's not even over. We've
got another one tonight.
Speaker 2 (37:38):
Amazing.
Speaker 5 (37:39):
So fun.
Speaker 1 (37:40):
A rivalry game, Matt. Great seeing you as always.
Speaker 2 (37:42):
Same.
Speaker 8 (37:43):
See you, Colin.
Thanks for listening to the Herd Podcast. Be sure to
catch us live every weekday on Fox Sports Radio and
noon to 3 Eastern, 9 a.m. to noon Pacific. Find
your local station for the Herd at foxsportsradio.com or stream
us live every day on the iHeartRadio app by searching
Fox Sports Radio or FSR. Thanks for listening to the
Herd Podcast. Here we go. It is NFL week one,
(00:27):
nearly in the books. I'm live. I'm in LA. It's
the herd wherever you may be. And however, you may
be watching or listening. Thanks for making us part of
your day on a Monday. Well, the Chicago bears five
seconds before Ben Johnson took over, took over this franchise.
(00:47):
The day before he took over the franchise, the bears
had the worst offense in the league. 20 games later,
59 points. Utter brilliance. And what's remarkable, Colston Loveland didn't
have a catch. They didn't need him. Luther Burden, Roma
Dunzey didn't have a touchdown. They didn't need it. They
(01:08):
didn't need a defensive touchdown. Every few years, there is
a brilliant quarterback or a brilliant offensive head coach that
enters the league. And this time, they landed together. It
is unbelievable. Year one, Ben Johnson came in and said,
we got to clean up the sacks. There were a
lot of messes to clean up. Year one was, we
(01:30):
can't get you hit like this. They cleaned him up.
Year two was, you're really good, but you missed too
many laps. Let's get the efficiency and completion percentage up.
Mission accomplished. Remember after last year's 0-2 start, Ben Johnson
came out and he said, we do not have the
practice habits of a championship level football team. talent's not
(01:51):
the issue so there were a lot of things to
clean up practice was bad the schemes were bad they
had to get you know they had to go to
the draft board and get more high-end players yesterday they
didn't need them and like a McVay and like a
Shanahan these young offensive coaches almost all of them actually
(02:12):
love to build offensive lines and run game Right? Here's
what's remarkable. Yesterday was the third time the Bears have
rushed for 280 yards or more. Do you know how
hard that is in the NFL to rush for 280
yards third time? Yesterday scored 59 points. They had more
(02:34):
rushing attempts than passing attempts. They had more rushing yards
than passing yards. It was eight offensive touchdowns, eight plays
of 20 yards. The Bears haven't run the ball like
this since the late, great Walter Payton was a Bear
and Walter Mondale was in office. And they're young. They're
(02:56):
like the Seahawks. They're ascending. They're young on the offensive line.
They're young at tight end. They're young at quarterback. They're
young at wide receiver. They're young in the secondary. They're
an ascending team. So Ben Johnson had to break a
lot of bad habits in the organization. And then year two,
(03:16):
what you're seeing is, okay, we're going to have a
standard of excellence even at practice. That was a big
thing with Ben Johnson last year. We have talent. We
don't even practice good enough. So it's just a gift
to to the league that you get the brilliant head
coach and the brilliant young quarterback. And we're going to
(03:37):
put them together in a blue blood franchise. It is
a total gift of the league. And it's not just
being a good head coach. It's being the right coach.
Phil Jackson was the right coach for Michael Jordan. Okay.
Doug Collins won a lot of games with Michael Jordan
and Michael Jordan liked him, but Phil Jackson didn't. Phil
(03:57):
Jackson created a new Michael where he would trust teammates.
He would elevate others. So Michael Jordan won the scoring
title seven times with Phil Jackson. Phil did not take
away the scoring. What he created was trust with teammates,
elevating others in big moments, knowing you don't have to
(04:20):
carry all of it. And that's what I see. Phil
Jackson created the triangle. He created structure without getting in
the way of Michael Jordan's greatness. He didn't get in
the way of it. Andy Reid with Mahomes. I'm going
to create structure. Last couple years, Greg Cosell comes on
the show and he goes, you know, Mahomes is not
playing within structure. His efficiency numbers go down. Joe Brady
(04:45):
yesterday with Allen. Structure. Structure gets a bad. Artists may
not like structure. They need it. Right? Like, that's what
I watched yesterday. The practice habits are better. And I
told you I went to a Bears practice, and I said,
Caleb is thinner and he's faster. Well, there have been
13 plays since the start of last year in which
(05:06):
a quarterback ran 20 miles an hour.
Speaker 2 (05:08):
13.
Speaker 1 (05:09):
He's got over half of them. So, for Ben and
Caleb in blue blood Chicago with the Bears to be joined...
I mean, it's just, they're young. It's getting better. They
run the ball. They're dynamic. It is everything. And here's
(05:30):
Ben Johnson. And I'm not saying Carolina's great, but 59
and Colston Loveland didn't have a catch? Usually if it's 59,
it's like, okay, three block punts, two pick sixes. No,
we just ran the ball. We didn't even throw to
our number one target. Our top three targets, none of
them had a touchdown. No DJ Moore. We traded him
to Buffalo. Wow. Here's Ben Johnson after.
Speaker 3 (05:53):
That'll always be the goal is we want to be
the highest scoring. We want to have the most wins.
We want to win Super Bowls. We want to like,
that's what, that's what we do. We didn't get into
this profession trying to be, trying to be mediocre average
and that's every NFL team. So that is what it is.
You know, we make decisions over the course of a week.
(06:14):
What's best for our football team to win the game.
That's the most important thing. And that's, that goes into
everything that we do.
Speaker 1 (06:19):
Week one against the Panthers, they had the most points
in the league in a very high-scoring week one. They
had the most points, the most yards, the most rush yards,
the most offensive TDs, the most 20-plus-yard plays. Led the
league in all of those categories. And I said this Friday,
road game against a team that can move the ball.
Bryce Young was not bad. Dave Canales, good offensive coach.
(06:41):
They got good weapons. Carolina's got players. Chicago needed those points.
Speaker 2 (06:47):
Okay.
Speaker 1 (06:49):
Well, well, well, my prediction this year was the New
York Giants would be the most improved team in the NFL.
And in any business, getting good does not take that long. Now,
getting elite, getting great, that's a different story. I don't
think the Giants this year are going to be top
(07:09):
of the league, but they're going to be good to
very good. And they have talent. Brian Burns, Malik Neighbors,
Jackson Dart, Andrew Thomas, Abdul Carter, Arvel Reese, Scataboo. I
don't worry about talent. But what you saw last night,
and this has always been true, you can coach talented
people to have good habits. You can't take people with
(07:32):
just good habits to have way more talent. So what
you saw is talent, talent. with better habits and more
decisive Jackson dark can really play. Now it helped that
the Cowboys blew three different assignments. Some of those throws
were pretty easy, but he's athletic. He's confident, clearly good looking.
(07:53):
The teammates, you know, they gravitate around him. He is
a leader of men. He walks into a room and
he's a good looking kid and he's got a swagger
and you know, Page six in New York. But I
will say this. Last night, what I saw was decisive.
John Harbaugh's coaching was decisive. We are going to control
the line of scrimmage. It wasn't a lot of home runs.
(08:13):
It was a lot of singles and doubles. It was
a decisive game plan. So there was a play in
the first quarter when he was running for a first down.
And last year, he would have taken a shoulder. Instead,
he goes out of bounds. And that play ends up
you know, maturity like that play last year would have
been blue tent stuff. And instead his teammates rally around him.
(08:35):
So John Harbaugh could have chosen a lot of jobs.
A lot of people wanted him. He understood this team's history.
He understood the fit. He understood Jackson dart. He understood
there's talent on this roster. I've been arguing this all
off season. It's not a talent issue. It's a structure issue.
(08:56):
It is an organizational issue. They need another really, really
good draft. Then next year at this time with four
more good draft picks, another free agent because they're still
not paying Jackson Dart anything. But, I mean, Harbaugh taking
over a Blue Blood is like Scorsese directing a mob movie.
(09:17):
It just feels right. That offense, it's unbelievable. They take
that ball in the fourth quarter and the second half,
their last three drives, eight minutes touchdown, eight minutes touchdown,
five minutes bleed the clock out. I mean, that is
the best, most impressive offensive performance for me in that
(09:38):
second half since Eli Manning. It's not just about touchdowns.
It's dominating people up front. Eight-minute touchdown, eight-minute touchdown, five-minute
game over. That was impressive. Here's Jackson Dart on playing
under John Harbaugh.
Speaker 4 (09:58):
I just think that we have so much respect. for
coach Harbs and this team will, we'll do whatever he says. Cause,
cause we have all the faith in him that he's
going to put us in the best situation to win. So,
you know, he's the identity of a team starts at
the top and it starts with, with how he's conducted
himself with how he's, you know, created a tough team.
Speaker 1 (10:20):
Jim did this at Michigan. Jim did it with the Chargers.
He did it in San Francisco. John did it with
the Ravens. And now John has done it with the
New York Giants. It doesn't take long to get good
if you have talent. I mean, like the Miami Dolphins,
they can't win games. And they know it. They're paying
(10:41):
more money for guys not playing than guys playing. I'm
not making that up. I've said this before. Jets have talent.
Cleveland's got talent. The Giants have talent and the coach
and the quarterback. It's hard to judge Jackson dark because
the Cowboys kept blowing assignments. So some of those throws
were pitch and catch. I'm not knocking him, but like
Dallas made it a little easier than it needed to be.
(11:05):
But this is what I said in the off season.
This was my, I said, listen, they won four games.
They had big leads. They didn't have the right structure.
Dart was a rookie. They had a great draft class.
This is a real team. This is a playoff team.
What you watched last night was taking a great Dallas
offense and playing keep away. It felt like Dallas never
(11:26):
had the ball. that's a playoff-looking team. Now, injuries, you know,
now the schedule's tougher. The Rams are in a lousy mood.
I think they'll be... I think they match up very
well with the L.A. Rams. So, J-Mac, I know it's hard,
but you should be in a good mood. Your Jets.
Speaker 5 (11:46):
Jets did get the win. I will say this for
the Giants. I bashed them all preseason. Jackson Dart, number
one in EPA per play, number one.
Speaker 2 (11:53):
In success rate. He was really good. That's a good
win for the Giants.
Speaker 1 (11:57):
They look.
Speaker 2 (11:57):
Like they're going to be competitive against the Rams this weekend.
It's so fun. That will not be a walkover, even
though the spread is seven and a half, I believe.
Speaker 1 (12:03):
Yeah, it's too much. So underdogs did pretty well in
week one, starting with the Niners. And by the way, the, the,
the Patriots were an underdog and we're driving for the win. So,
I mean, I, to me in this league, if you
have a really good coach check, a clearly capable quarterback
check one really elite weapon check a great left tackle
giants check and you have a consistent rush somewhere on
(12:27):
the d-line between abdul carter and brian burns those are
those are that's big boy athleticism on the edge i
don't love that.
Speaker 5 (12:35):
You're probably right about the giants it's only week one
remember last year week one what seahawks lost and patriots
lost that's right wound up in the super bowl let's
not overreact did you notice.
Speaker 1 (12:44):
This though I know the audience, I'm not sure if
everybody noticed. So there was three offenses where you went, wow.
Josh Allen's offense, Lamar's offense, and Caleb's offense. You went, wow,
why is that? Because offensive linemen don't play in the preseason,
the good ones. So offensive line play was awful. Teams
(13:05):
that rely on great offensive line play, Philadelphia's offense, Rams offense,
because they have an immobile quarterback. Lions offense.
Speaker 2 (13:13):
Lions were bad.
Speaker 1 (13:15):
Why? Offensive line play in the league is sketchy in September.
So the three offenses that blew us away have the
three most athletic quarterbacks. Caleb, Lamar, and Josh.
Speaker 2 (13:27):
And Trevor Lawrence also was pretty incredible. Athletic, yeah.
Speaker 1 (13:30):
So it's like the reality is athleticism at quarterback is important.
But in early weeks in the NFL season... It's like huge.
It's really, really a big deal.
Speaker 6 (13:43):
Be sure to catch live editions of The Herd weekdays
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Speaker 7 (13:53):
Hey, it's Rob Parker and Kelvin Washington from The Odd
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Speaker 1 (14:07):
That's right.
Speaker 7 (14:08):
You can now watch The Odd Couple live on YouTube
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Speaker 1 (14:12):
All you got to do, search Odd Couple FSR on YouTube.
Speaker 8 (14:16):
Again, YouTube.
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Just search Odd Couple FSR. Check us out on YouTube
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Speaker 1 (14:24):
Here we go. It is a Monday. It's hour two.
Matt Hasselbeck, four minutes out. We are live. We're in
Los Angeles. Oh, what'd I tell you? I moved to
a city. All the teams get good. Cubs World Series parade.
Get ready.
Speaker 9 (14:39):
Bears.
Speaker 3 (14:41):
Oh, a word.
Speaker 1 (14:43):
What was that? Just incredible. Offense ruled the day. A
lot of the big blowout scores, Liam Cohen, Kyle Shanahan,
Ben Johnson, these offensive coaches. Every Monday we do it.
Colin right, Colin wrong. Let's not waste any time. Where
(15:03):
Colin was right. I said in the offseason, Caleb Williams
would be a top three quarterback in the league this year.
Part of it, Ben Johnson. The other part, his horsepower.
I said he was going to be an MVP. Eight touchdowns.
I think there's two quarterbacks in this league that are
just physically different. Allen and Caleb. 59 points with no
(15:25):
defensive touchdowns 72 completion rate clearly he's coachable between the
improvement on efficiency this year and getting out of the
sacks last year you get the gift of talent but
he also listens that's important where Colin was wrong. Boy,
did I whiff on the Rams. Chopper in, chopper out,
(15:48):
win a game and leave was a dud. They were
in a fog against San Francisco. Now Miles Garrett, bummer,
is on the IR. So less than 300 yards. Bad
on third down. They got to the goal line and
did a Matt Stafford sneak. That's not really the strength
of the team. Listen, I thought Chopper and Seal Team Six,
(16:13):
I kept calling it. Well, it didn't work and I
was wrong. Where Colin was right. I said the Longhorns
will win. The game matters more to Texas, and they're
going to win close. Listen, they control the second half,
outscored the Buckeyes 21-3. Yes, Ryan Day got conservative. Most
coaches do when they're leading a really good team late.
(16:36):
The Longhorns in the second half had 240 yards of offense.
Ohio State's going to be fine. They're a really good team.
It's Sark's biggest regular season win. Listen, I thought... The
Longhorns got a couple of really bad first-half breaks on
that quirky pick, and then Wingo drops the touchdown. So
I thought the score at half was a little closer
(16:59):
than it looked, but Ohio State deserves credit. They came
within a yard of winning that game. Where Colin was wrong. Well,
the SEC is off to a burning start, 8-2 non-conference record.
The Big Ten's only 3-7. Six SEC teams in the
top ten. The Big Ten, Indiana is carrying them because
(17:23):
Oregon defensively appears to be lost with a new D.C.
And the Buckeyes have a respectable loss, but a loss nonetheless. Yeah,
SEC has played really well. It just means more. They
keep telling us that. Well, so far through 10 non-conference games,
they're just winning more.
Speaker 6 (17:41):
Where Colin was right.
Speaker 1 (17:43):
I said Josh Allen is the best athlete that's ever
played the sport. It's not Mahomes. Mahomes may be more decorated,
but nobody could do that to the Texans defense. That's Mahomes.
That's singular. On the road, 130 passer rating, 300 yards.
He's got a new coach. He's got a new number
one receiver. I mean, that thing was majestic. Nobody but
(18:06):
Josh Allen is going to deliver that. And does he
get reckless? Absolutely. The great ones often do. But to me,
he's the greatest single talent I've ever seen play quarterback.
And he's on a short list of the most talented
people at any position that have ever played this game. Mahomes,
maybe more decorated. He's Mahomes with more size and more power.
(18:29):
And Mahomes is great. Where Colin was wrong. Well, I
was told this was the best Oregon roster ever. Apparently,
it's not as good as Oklahoma State, which was 1-11
last year. I don't even know what I watched. Now
they have a new defensive coordinator. It's not working in
two games. Not a lot of pass rush. I looked
(18:50):
it up this morning, three sacks in two games. That's if,
you know, against Oklahoma state, you should have six. That's
the worst Oregon loss. I'm trying to think in a decade.
I mean, again, you can lose close. You can lose
on the road. You can lose to a good team.
Oklahoma State's a lot. It's an awful program right now.
(19:14):
Where Colin was right. I took the Giants not only
to beat the Cowboys, but the New York Giants, I said,
have plenty of talent. They will be the most improved
team in the league. It's not a talent issue. It
is a culture and a quarterback improvement. Stay out of
the blue tent issue. I thought Jackson Dart was decisive. Now,
the Cowboys blew several coverages that made it look spectacular.
(19:37):
But this was the team I said they won four
games last year. I'm like, listen, they had like double
digit leads in three or four games in the fourth quarter. Scataboo,
Brian Burns, Malik Neighbors, Jackson Dart, Andrew Thomas. This is
not a talent issue with the Giants. It was a
coach and culture issue. Where Colin was right. My second
most improved team was going to be the Bengals because
(19:58):
I said they spent money on defense. So un-Cincinnati-like. Well,
they forced four turnovers. They had four sacks. They just
looked bigger and stronger. What was interesting was they spent
money on defense and you could see the money. The
Cowboys spent money on defense. You could not see the money.
So I said this is to me after the Giants
(20:19):
will be the most improved team. Not only record-wise, they
were 6-11 last year, but they'll just look different. And
I thought, I think the Giants have more talent, in
my opinion, than the Bengals. So I think the ceiling's
very high, but there's a, you know, Jackson, Dart, and Burrow.
At this point, it's all Burrow. So Colin Wright, Colin
Wrong on a Monday.
Speaker 6 (20:39):
Be sure to catch live editions of The Herd weekdays
at noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific.
Speaker 1 (20:44):
And with that, Matt Hasselbeck, 18 years in this league,
is joining us. Let's start with this.
Speaker 9 (20:51):
Show me the money, Colin. Show me the money. You said,
I can see the money.
Speaker 1 (20:57):
Cincinnati's defense, you're like, oh, these are Dexter Lawrence. That's
what it looks like when you're spending that kind of
money on a D lineman. Now, week one, Matt, was
very high scoring. Why? Why were there so many outrageous
offensive performances?
Speaker 8 (21:13):
Well, I'm glad you brought it up.
Speaker 9 (21:14):
I mean, is it really a surprise the way that
we practice? I mean, Colin, I played a long time ago.
My rookie year was 98. My last year was 2015.
The way we practiced in 98 was completely different to 2015.
I can't even imagine what it's like now. This is
still tackle football on Sundays. It's 11 on 11, buckle
(21:35):
your chinstrap, get the guy down, hold onto the ball,
like all that stuff. That's why I think quarterback scrambles
were such a huge thing.
Speaker 7 (21:43):
Yeah.
Speaker 8 (21:43):
Quarterback scrambles.
Speaker 9 (21:45):
Like when you do a practice in the NFL and
the quarterback scrambles, you just blow the whistle. Like the
guys chase you. You stay away from the guy in
the red Jersey, blow the whistle.
Speaker 8 (21:54):
It's almost like it doesn't count.
Speaker 9 (21:55):
You know, it's like, it just, it gets talked about like, yeah, yeah, yeah.
And just make sure you get the quarterback. Hey, plaster,
make you go to, but in real tackle football, the
physical teams won and dominated and the teams.
Speaker 8 (22:07):
With the quarterback quarterback got out.
Speaker 9 (22:10):
They, they made plays and had huge days. It doesn't
surprise me at all.
Speaker 1 (22:13):
Speaker 3 0 Offensive lines are the one group for
football that it's hardest to build cohesion and chemistry. None
of the starters play. So teams that had unathletic quarterbacks
like the Rams or the lions or the old, the Steelers,
they struggle. The three best offenses were Caleb Lamar and Josh,
(22:34):
where it's like, cause I don't think a line play
anymore is good till October. It's just too hard to
create cohesion. Now, I will say, I.
Speaker 9 (22:43):
Just add to that though. Another, another thing to do that.
It's a great point by you. Another thing, just like
it's a disadvantage for the defensive time.
Speaker 8 (22:50):
The defense was getting the ball back.
Speaker 9 (22:52):
You mentioned Cincinnati earlier as a quarterback, when you have
a red Jersey, you're sitting in the pocket ball security,
two hands on the ball, fumbling in the pocket.
Speaker 8 (23:00):
It's a wake up call for some guys week one.
Speaker 9 (23:02):
They haven't been touched in a long time. So I
think you're onto it with the mobile quarterbacks.
Speaker 2 (23:07):
In a week one.
Speaker 1 (23:08):
So listen, I said when Jackson Dart came out, I said,
I think he's top of the second round guy. I
do think having Lane Kiffin for several years is a
huge advantage. That's kind of a pro system. And then
he gets Brian Dable. It's like, so that's pretty good. So,
but it's funny watching him yesterday is there are just
certain quarterbacks that they're guys like, but you can tell
(23:31):
the team loves them. You can tell the team, trust them.
He was so decisive last night. It was a lot
of singles and doubles. but I saw a game plan.
Like I saw, I still don't know what Dallas was
trying to do. I watched the giants and I'm like, Oh,
that's a real game plan. Like, Hey dude, get out
of bounds slide. We're going to do a lot of
(23:52):
singles and doubles. Like I saw the coaching with the
giants last night. What did you see?
Speaker 8 (23:59):
I a hundred percent agree with you.
Speaker 9 (24:00):
And I thought that Chris Collinsworth on the broadcast did
an excellent job of highlighting the command that this young
quarterback had at the line of scrimmage. It was check
with me. It was on the ball. We're running right.
We're running left. It could be a run to the left.
It could be a run to the right. It could
be a pass or a run. He had total command
of the, so it wasn't.
Speaker 8 (24:21):
Like they were just running the ball. They were running
the ball with intention.
Speaker 9 (24:25):
Having an advantage on every run call based on the
front that they were seeing. And they absolutely dominated. You
want to talk about being physical and tactical and intentional
in the run game. I don't think the Dallas Cowboys
had the ball hardly at all in the second half.
And so you talk about a four minute offense, really
what that means is for the last five minutes of
the game, we're going to control the clock. We're going
(24:45):
to stay in bounds and we're going to just shove
it down your throat and be the more physically dominant team.
That's exactly what the New York giants did in run
situations where when the Cowboys knew they were trying to run.
Speaker 1 (24:57):
So, you know, I said this with Caleb, you get
the horsepower, but that doesn't mean every player is easy
to coach. I mean, there's now funny stories about Lawrence
Taylor and Parcells. Like they're funny, funny stories. Lawrence was
just so gifted, but Lawrence was also a pass rusher.
Go get the quarterback. What I see with Caleb is
(25:17):
last year was, Hey, get out of the sack business.
He got out of it. This year is, hey, we
got to hit layups. So I went to a practice,
and I watched 30 minutes of Caleb after practice throwing
a 12-yard out route. He must have thrown 80 of them.
And I'm like, this is so tedious. It's boring to watch.
I can't imagine doing it. But when I watched him yesterday,
(25:38):
I noticed it. I'm like, okay, he's taken to this. Like,
it just felt.
Speaker 6 (25:45):
Easier.
Speaker 1 (25:46):
Like, it wasn't a big deal. Now, they ran a lot.
But I do think not all gifted athletes are coachable
because the more gift you have, the easier it can be.
And maybe I'm going overboard, but I just, when I
watched yesterday, I'm like, God, did he correct the efficiency
thing too that quickly? I mean, or is this just
week one and Dallas was lost defensively?
Speaker 9 (26:08):
Well, you know, in general, I think week one is
a liar in the NFL. Look to last year, the
two teams in the super bowl, both lost at home
week one. So it's a little bit dangerous to overreact
too much. However, Ben Johnson and his body of work
and what he's done with this young quarterback is incredible
mentioned physicality. I thought this was the most physical team
(26:30):
this weekend, week one, where they run for six touchdowns.
Speaker 8 (26:33):
It was ridiculous.
Speaker 9 (26:34):
And I think about these, like these slogans that had
coaches have about being physical and no block, no rock
is what Antoine Randall L the wide receivers coach, I
believe he says, and some, for some people, it's a
slogan for the Chicago bears. It feels like a standard.
It's what they do. It's just who they are. And I,
you know, they, they have just improved in every way.
(26:55):
The quarterback's improved. The team's improved.
Speaker 8 (26:59):
I'm a believer.
Speaker 9 (26:59):
I mean, they're sending a message to the entire team
with how they ran the ball. And we know they
can throw the ball. They just didn't have to do
it yesterday.
Speaker 1 (27:07):
So their rival, the Packers, have lost six straight. And
I think the most troubling part, Matt, is we all
know why. Smart teams get leads. Tough teams seal wins.
They can't keep leads. And Micah is sort of their
physical initiator. Well, he's not there. And Josh Jacobs, again,
(27:28):
very physical, an initiator that, oh, he may not be there. Like,
this is not just a week one issue. You got
to go back to last year, Matt. Like, and I
hate to say this because I didn't play pro football,
but there are teams that feel pretty. There are teams
that feel smart. And then there are teams you're like
San Francisco. You're like, oh, that hurts. God, I don't
(27:49):
know if I can last a play in the league.
to me, green Bay, everybody can see it. And yet
after the game, Matt Lafleur is arguing about penalties. Like
that's not it to me. What is it to you?
Speaker 9 (28:04):
It's all of it, but yeah. And they don't have
their closer, their great pass rusher. They don't have their
closer with their running back.
Speaker 8 (28:10):
That's fair.
Speaker 9 (28:11):
But just the, the intelligence on the football field, Jordan
love talked about it. We got, you know, we, we
gotta be smarter. Like we, we gotta, we gotta play smarter.
We gotta be mentally tougher and And until they kind
of shut the door on this thing where they can't
finish because of what happened last year, everyone's going to
keep talking about it. And so, yeah, this is a
(28:32):
real thing. It's kind of like blood in the water,
you know, with sharks. It's the same thing that happens
to a team when they start. you know, Hey, this, the,
the whispers are there and it happens even on the sidelines,
like an, Oh, here we go again.
Speaker 8 (28:44):
It's kind of a loser's mentality.
Speaker 9 (28:46):
And so the challenge is going to be for this
team is not letting that be a thing, like somehow
rising above that and, and just, you.
Speaker 8 (28:52):
Know, crossing this hurdle.
Speaker 9 (28:54):
It's a real thing that the doubt does creep in
for coaches, for players, and sometimes not addressing it makes
it worse.
Speaker 1 (29:03):
I compared Derek Henry to Nolan Ryan. Nolan Ryan threw
a no-hitter at 44. The guy just never aged. He
was an all-star at 42. And I look at Derek Henry,
and I'm like, he's got 2,700 carries at running back.
Did you ever play with anybody similarly where you're like,
(29:24):
just hard work, whatever, DNA, hard work, like they just
didn't get hurt?
Speaker 9 (29:32):
I did call him and listen, I started nine games
as a 40 year old. And I credit that to
guys that I played with that, you know, I wasn't
the oldest guy on my team. When I did that,
Adam Vinatieri was there. Dude was just a stud. Walter
Jones did that. I played with Jerry rice when he
was 42 years old and he was still crossing up
dude scoring touchdowns. We had a fullback named max strong
at fullback playing a ridiculous amount of years. I mean,
(29:55):
he was so old, they didn't even make him do
half of the conditioning things as a team.
Speaker 8 (29:59):
They were like, ah, we're just going to save you.
Speaker 9 (30:01):
And, and so like, there is something to God, you know,
guys taking care of their body. And yet at the
same time, not being too civilized when it's Sunday at
one o'clock. And what I mean by that, it's kind
of like a Rocky IV thing, a Rocky IV quote.
The worst thing that can happen to a prized fighter
is he can become civilized. He can become soft. He
(30:23):
can be the guy, forget who he was, forget what
got him there. And I think there's a great example
of Derrick Henry. He's taking care of his body off
the field, but when it's one o'clock on Sunday, the
dude is still a warrior, just like he always was.
And that's, you know, I think of Frank Gore, another
guy I played with, you know, there's just guys like,
they don't have to say a word, how they approach
it on Sundays speaks volumes enough.
Speaker 1 (30:46):
Oh God. Frank Gore was just, as they say, tougher
than a $ 10 steak. He was, he was so physical. Okay.
There was one performance over the weekend and we were
sitting watching it as a group. And I'm like, I
don't have an answer for it. The chargers got pushed
around by Arizona. And I mean, I felt like Arizona
(31:08):
had the ball the whole game. Like, I mean, did
you ever plan a great team that just had an
awful early Sunday in the season?
Speaker 9 (31:20):
A hundred percent a year. We went to the super
bowl in Seattle. We went down to Jacksonville and got
absolutely spanked.
Speaker 8 (31:26):
In new head.
Speaker 9 (31:27):
And then we, I think we were the best team
in football that year. Didn't win the super bowl because
we didn't play our best at the end, but we
were a great team that year. And that happens week one,
especially for teams that I think.
Speaker 8 (31:36):
Are really good at game planning.
Speaker 9 (31:38):
I can think of even a Patriots team that went
to Buffalo one year and got spanked week one, like badly,
like badly beat. And because I, you know, the, the
game planning thing is real. if you're good at game planning,
you go into a week one matchup. You don't know
what you're going to see. You got new coordinators. You
got a new head coach. You have no idea. So
(31:59):
especially in today's day and age with personnel changes, with
formation shifts, motion, shotgun, pistol, under center, all the stuff.
It's a little bit like a blind date and you can,
you can get punched in the mouth. And that's what
happened to the chargers. They got punched in the mouth.
Arizona said, Hey, don't sleep on us. And they look
pretty good.
Speaker 1 (32:17):
So I said, there's an old saying that opposites attract.
And though I'm sure they do, it's not ideal. You'd
like to have some commonalities with your partner. And I
know you can win a Super Bowl as a defensive coach,
Mike McDonald and Bill Belichick. I know that. But there
is something about the language and the sensibility of an
(32:38):
offensive coach with a quarterback. It's just, I'm sorry. Andy
Reid and Mahomes, like, there's a, like, you let him,
you don't try to harness it, right? Like, I'm going
to give you some structure, but I'm very comfortable being aggressive.
I'm watching the Bills yesterday with Joe Brady. Fourth down, like, yes,
(32:59):
Josh can be reckless, but I did feel like more
13 personnel, more big plays. Explain, and again, we know
there are great defensive coaches, right? But almost by nature,
they get a lead and they just get conservative. And
it feels like Joe Brady unleashed a little something with Josh.
Speaker 9 (33:23):
Yeah, he unleashed it and he unleashed it for an
interception to lose the game to Lassiter and Lassiter dropped
the ball. I mean, this is a, it's, it's one
play here, one play there. And then the next play,
Josh is Josh and scores the game winner. And you're
just like, wow, this guy's amazing. So, you know, I
don't want to, I don't want to poo poo on
defensive coaches too much as a quarterback. You love having
(33:43):
an offensive head coach. Like you absolutely love it. They
see things differently. through your lens. They see things the
way you do defensive head coaches kind of make you
feel confined and crammed. And, you know, I remember when
Pete Carroll came to Seattle, he was a defensive head
coach and I didn't play my best for him. But
Jim Mora was a defensive head coach. I had, I
didn't play my best. He saw when Brett Favre went
from Mike Holmgren to Ray Rhodes, he didn't play his best.
(34:06):
Like it's, it is a change. And so it makes
you feel free. Yet at the same time, that's just
what's good.
Speaker 8 (34:12):
For the quarterback.
Speaker 9 (34:13):
There's, you know, sometimes the defensive head coach is good
for the benefit of the team. So I don't want
to overreact too much on a week one because I
really do think week one is a liar. I mean,
more underdogs you covered than didn't cover week one. it's just,
it's how it is. Like, you just don't know what's
going to happen. And as a player, I can just
(34:33):
tell you, especially as someone who prided himself on game
planning and preparing, I never felt.
Speaker 8 (34:40):
Good going into a week one game.
Speaker 9 (34:41):
Like I literally don't even know who the opponent is.
You know, you're watching other teams, you're watching college film,
you're doing some crazy stuff. And there were, there are
so many new, I think half the league's a new
defensive coordinator.
Speaker 8 (34:51):
You got 17 new offensive coordinators.
Speaker 9 (34:54):
So I, I think we two things settle in a
lot better than week one. But I'll say this to
your point, the bills are going to be really.
Speaker 8 (35:02):
Fun to watch offensively this year.
Speaker 5 (35:04):
Oh yeah.
Speaker 1 (35:04):
Oh, there's no question. I want to circle back to
the giants. I said earlier, having a Harbaugh take over
the giants. It's like Scorsese doing a mob movie. It
feels right. Like, it's just Harbaugh, bottom line, toughness, the name. Like,
I'm watching that game last night. I'm like, this is
so good for the league. This is Harbaugh with the Giants.
(35:26):
It's just like when Jim was with the Niners. Or
Jim's at Michigan. You're like, they're just certain teams. I
came out of that game with New York, and I'm like, man,
coaching's important.
Speaker 5 (35:39):
Like, I.
Speaker 1 (35:41):
I mean, I just now again, Arvel Reese is a
new guy. He's very good. Likely wasn't there. Ceiling. Let's
not take too much. But when you watch their talent,
is there a ceiling with the Giants? Do you think
see things that like, OK, they're not blank overall? What
was your take on that?
Speaker 9 (36:02):
Great foundational game to start this Harbaugh era off.
Speaker 8 (36:06):
And you mentioned.
Speaker 9 (36:06):
Defensive ed coaches, offensive ed coaches, Harbaugh's neither one of those.
Speaker 8 (36:10):
He was a special teams coach in Philly.
Speaker 9 (36:12):
What makes him so special to me though, is his
leadership intangible style. I remember when Lamar Jackson was a
young quarterback and I'd listened to him mic'd up and
I hear Harbaugh go over to him and the way
he would converse with his young quarterback, he kept it
simple and direct and empowered.
Speaker 8 (36:27):
The young guy.
Speaker 9 (36:28):
It was like, hey, fourth and one, what do you
think we should do? Coach, I want to go for it.
Now he's invested. He has to find a way to
make it work, you know, and how to protect his
body and how to go for it and cut it loose.
Speaker 8 (36:39):
And now he's doing the same thing with Jackson Dart.
Speaker 9 (36:41):
You know, Jackson Dart told the story about how, you know,
Malik Nabors hadn't been hit in a while. He's going
to be tackled for the first time. Who is the
first person to tackle him? It was coach Harbaugh at
the walkthrough the day before to kind of.
Speaker 8 (36:53):
Like break the seal.
Speaker 9 (36:53):
Like what head coach is going over and tackling a guy,
probably a guy that used to be a special teams coach.
Speaker 8 (36:59):
It's one of the guys sees the whole, sees the
big picture.
Speaker 9 (37:02):
Isn't just like locked in on just offense, just defense
sees the whole team understands like the, the elephant in
the room.
Speaker 8 (37:09):
Hey, our star receiver, man, how's it, how's it going
to go? He's coming off a big injury. What's the deal?
You know, blah, blah, blah.
Speaker 9 (37:14):
Like so that intangible and what they have going in
New York right now, it's a foundational start for them.
Could they win this division after last night?
Speaker 8 (37:22):
Yeah, absolutely. They can't.
Speaker 5 (37:24):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (37:25):
So good seeing you. It's football season's fun. I mean,
how do people, who are these people that don't love
the NFL? Like I don't, they're not many.
Speaker 8 (37:34):
People with a lot of free time. That's the thing.
Speaker 9 (37:36):
And the thing is week one's not even over. We've
got another one tonight.
Speaker 2 (37:38):
Amazing.
Speaker 5 (37:39):
So fun.
Speaker 1 (37:40):
A rivalry game, Matt. Great seeing you as always.
Speaker 2 (37:42):
Same.
Speaker 8 (37:43):
See you, Colin.
Hosts And Creators
Colin Cowherd
Jason McIntyre
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