After the Yankees advanced to the Divisional Round of the MLB playoffs, Colin Cowherd explains why this is the most balanced Yankee’s team he’s seen in years.
Colin reacts to the Cowboys acquiring CB Joey Porter Jr and why this is the latest sign Dallas is all-in on contending for a Super Bowl this season.
He also shares his Blazing 5 picks for week 4 of the NFL season: Colts vs Commanders, Cowboys at Texans, Cardinals at Giants, Broncos at 49ers & Chargers at Seahawks.
Plus, 2-time Super Bowl Champion Chris Long joins the show to tell Colin why the Eagles have struggled to start this season.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Thanks for listening to the Best of the Herd podcast.
Be sure to catch us live every weekday on Fox
Sports Radio 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.
Speaker 2 (00:19):
This is the Best of the Herd with Colin Cowherd
on Fox Sports Radio.
Speaker 1 (00:27):
Here we go. It is a Thursday, one hour from now.
Blazing five picks. I know, I know. It's a Thursday.
I got a wedding to go to tomorrow. Who needs
Aaron Judge? Ben Rice and Cody Bellinger will do just fine.
No Aaron Judge, no problem. Two nearly flawless games for
(00:49):
the New York Yankees. Garrett Cole, their truest ace. They've
got several. He didn't even pitch. Aaron Judge didn't play.
Stanton didn't play. None of it mattered when you have
two phenomenal pitching performances. And the great thing is they're
just not Aaron Judge reliant anymore. For years, they were.
(01:11):
They're not a perfect team, but I mean, Cody Bellinger now,
he made an all-star team. He time all-star. He's always
given the Red Sox problems. So the National League is
better than the American League, and it's not particularly close.
So to beat the Brewers or the Padres or the
(01:33):
Dodgers or the Braves or Phillies, who knows who comes
out of that series, you're going to need Bellinger. You're
going to need great pitching. So in years past, they
were so Aaron Judge reliant that he was having bad
at bats. He was pressing. Now they're an athletic team.
They're not old and slow and poor defensively, which they'd
been in previous years. They're athletic, top 10 in stolen bases.
(01:56):
They're younger, and they're just more layered. They're a more
complete team. If you go to Aaron Judge... And the
Buffalo Bills can attest to this. Having the best player
in a sport doesn't necessarily hoist trophies. There was a
four-year period where Aaron Judge was having so many bad at-bats.
Remember that World Series error against the Dodgers in like
the fifth inning? It was awful. He batted 133, 250, 139,
(02:18):
184 from 2000 to 2024. I mean, it was just
lots of bad at-bats. And he was pressing because if
he didn't play well.
They didn't win. That is not it. The one way
for a team to slow down the bats of the
(02:39):
National League is elite starting pitching. And the Yanks have
three aces. Again, Aaron Judge didn't have a bat in
the series. He didn't have a bat. Stanton didn't have
a bat. Garrett Cole didn't throw a pitch. And they
literally played two perfect games, outscored the Red Sox 18-2.
And a lot of it's money. There's no question. Boston
(03:01):
feels like they've sort of built a team good enough
to be a playoff team, but not really special. And
I don't think the White Sox have the pitching either.
They don't have the money. Tampa doesn't have enough power.
And I've said it. There's a bunch of teams that'll
get through the National League potentially. All of them, power pitching,
power hitting, multiple all-stars. But that Yankee team was too
(03:25):
Aaron Judge dependent. They don't need him. They can steal
a base. They have multiple elite starters. Here was Aaron
Boone impressed like the rest of us after.
Speaker 3 (03:36):
We play great baseball. And, you know, if we play
like that, we can beat anybody. But it's two games
in the long, what we hope is a long month.
But really proud of them. That's a really good team
that persevered through a lot over there and runs a
lot of good pitchers at you.
Speaker 4 (03:54):
And I just thought we had great at-bats.
Speaker 3 (03:56):
Obviously, and then anchored by our two great starting pitchers
to get us off on a great note each night.
Speaker 1 (04:01):
Yeah, we talked about it yesterday. Aces and power pitching
dominate the postseason. Small ball and singles and doubles can
dominate the volume regular season. So the Yankees face the
Rays next. It is a tale of two different cultures,
two different payrolls, two different styles. The Yankees have far
(04:24):
more velocity and more power hitters. Meanwhile, the Rays do
everything well with limitations of stars. So can't wait for that.
Speaker 5 (04:32):
All right.
Speaker 1 (04:34):
Timing is a real thing in baseball. So when the
Cubs played San Diego in April and June, they crushed them.
Won five of six, a plus 27 run differential. That's
not the same Padre team. OK, they are on fire
since September 1st, a month. The Padres lead baseball in wins, runs, OPS,
(04:57):
batting average. I mean, they're hitting almost 290 as a team.
And also, the Cubs did themselves no favors. The Cubs
lost four of their last six games, so there goes
Wrigley Field. So now you're playing on the road. Well,
you're watching these games. Home field just means something for
a handful of teams in baseball. I think it means
a lot for San Diego. I think it means a
(05:19):
lot for the Yankees. I went to multiple Cubs games
this year. fun, athletic team. The Cubs were always fun
but flawed. They were unbelievably reliant on PCA. And Bregman,
PCA went 0-7 in the series. And the Cubs, 2-15
with runners in scoring position. So as an offense, they
(05:41):
batted 129. And so this was a team that was
always a lot of fun, athletic star player, MVP level guy,
but not enough elite pitching bullpen got a little better,
never really trusted it. And you could pitch around their
best guy. So the Padres and the Brewers should be
a much better series because the Brewers, although they don't
have a ton of power, they have elite, strong pitching.
(06:05):
And you need that to defuse San Diego. So they've
got an ace or two there. And in baseball, we
know that one player, LeBron James, can get you to
the finals, regardless of teammates. You know, in the NFL,
we know Josh Allen. You're going to win your division
regardless of teammates. Baseball, proven in this series, is very
much a collective. And in the early part of the
(06:25):
season when Manny Machado and Tatis could not hit, I mean,
Tatis was awful for the first two months. It looked
like this collective was very even. But once Machado and
Tatis and the pitching gets healthy and they're playing the
way they can play, you just see the deeper roster
isn't particularly close. And PCA and the Cubs go home
having been swept in two. Here's his thoughts after.
Speaker 5 (06:50):
I think that this team showed a lot of, A
lot of heart and a lot of fight through all
the challenge. But, no, I mean, I would say to start, like,
I show up. I show up when it matters in
these games, you know. I think that would help us.
Speaker 4 (07:14):
Immediately.
Speaker 1 (07:15):
But that's all I.
Speaker 5 (07:19):
Got right now.
Speaker 1 (07:21):
And that's about all they had right now. So Greg
Cosell and Blazing Five at the start of next hour
to start. Obviously, I love the Steelers tonight against the
Cleveland Browns. And the Braves and Phillies was wild. That's
a classic series in both games as they're split. They
go to a third game where the long ball has
been the difference in the game. So, you know, listen,
(07:43):
you have to pay for multiple home run hitters. Philly
can afford it. Atlanta can afford it. The Yankees can
afford it. The Padres can. The Dodgers can. That's kind
of been the difference last couple of years. It feels
like Toronto last year had multiple power hitters. So, you know,
and I know what I think is interesting, Yankees-Rays, Rays
(08:04):
built for the regular season with a superior team. And
all the people that think we need a salary cap
are going to relish when the Yankees hammer the Rays.
But what if they don't? And that's why, in a
weird way, I'm kind of like, I'd like to see
the Rays and the Brewers. I know, J-Mac's like rolling
his eyes. But I think the salary floor... needs to
(08:25):
be much higher. I'm not really worried about the cap.
Pay the stars what you got to pay the stars.
I think cheap billionaires with low floors is baseball's problem
because you're seeing in all these playoffs, White Sox aren't
spending any money. White Sox dominated Houston. I watched the
last six innings of both Astro White Sox games. Houston's
(08:46):
got all this money. The crowd was dead. The White
Sox were an absolutely superior team with a low payroll. Now,
can you win a World Series that way? I don't know.
But in a weird way, I think a lot of
players are rooting for the Brewers and the Rays because
it will prove what they say. It's not about the payroll.
Speaker 4 (09:03):
It's about.
Speaker 1 (09:04):
It's about the players.
Speaker 4 (09:05):
Interesting.
Speaker 6 (09:05):
I know a lot of coastal elites who would love
it for the Dodgers and Yankees to meet in the
World Series once again.
Speaker 1 (09:12):
Colin, but you're right.
Speaker 6 (09:12):
This raise Yankees will be a referendum on small market,
big market. That's going to be the talking point the
entire series. You know, I'm rolling with my Yanks, obviously.
Speaker 1 (09:23):
So coming up next, say this for the Cowboys. They
are going all in. They gave up yesterday another great
draft pick. Now they got they got an excellent top
five corner in the NFL, so they didn't give it away.
Just like when they gave up a first round pick
for Quinn and Williams from the Jets. He's worth a
first round pick as it feels like over the last
(09:44):
several years, drafts are getting a little weaker. We'll talk
about the Cowboys and kind of what's at stake here next.
Speaker 2 (09:52):
Be sure to catch live editions of The Herd weekdays
at noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, FS1,
and the iHeartRadio.
Speaker 3 (10:00):
App.
Speaker 7 (10:01):
Stu Gatz here, pleased to be hosting college football with
Stu Gatz and the Bear. We do it two times
a week, every Monday, every single Friday throughout the college
football season.
Speaker 4 (10:11):
You can expect a little bit of this.
Speaker 7 (10:13):
Will Stein, the head coach at Kentucky, joins us.
Speaker 1 (10:15):
Open bar at a wedding, ordering a Shirley Temple.
Speaker 4 (10:18):
Will or will not?
Speaker 1 (10:19):
No.
Speaker 4 (10:22):
Will not.
Speaker 1 (10:22):
Ketchup on steak.
Speaker 4 (10:23):
Will or will not? Will not. Thank you. A little
bit of this.
Speaker 7 (10:28):
Rhys Davis, host of College Game Day, is with us now.
And then I'm going home to the BBC, and they're
saying Jockovich instead of Jokovich.
Speaker 1 (10:37):
Right, because you can't say Jockovich.
Speaker 7 (10:38):
If you do, you know the blowback you're going to
get from the American audience.
Speaker 3 (10:42):
Right.
Speaker 2 (10:42):
And a whole lot of this.
Speaker 7 (10:49):
Listen to college football with Stugatz and the Bear on
the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever.
Speaker 4 (10:55):
You get your podcasts.
Speaker 2 (11:01):
That's a hot one.
Speaker 4 (11:02):
Let's blaze it up.
Speaker 6 (11:04):
Fire it up.
Speaker 2 (11:04):
It's Collins Blazing Fire.
Speaker 1 (11:08):
I've taken the Colts multiple times this season. I'm doing
it again. They're averaging 28 points with Daniel Jones and
Shane Steichen having the second highest. That's the second highest
average by any active quarterback coaching combo. And Daniel Jones
has increased his completions. In fact, Tyler Warren, targets, receptions, yards, receiving,
(11:32):
gone up in every game. They're still trying to find
their running game with Jonathan Taylor. But I like this
coach quarterback combo and Washington's defense. 67 snaps on the
field against the commanders. They're beat up. They've allowed 68
points in the last two weeks. They've got a backup.
Now they're traveling to London. I'm on the Colts this year.
(11:53):
I got them winning and covering 33 to 24.
Speaker 4 (11:58):
Cowboys and Texans.
Speaker 1 (11:59):
My one underdog, I'm going to take Dallas because of
their very proficient offense, plus three against the Texans who
were wobbly. They should have beaten Baltimore. They've scored on 61%
of their drives this year. Leads the NFL. 30 points
in back-to-back games. I don't love their staff, but Javonte Williams,
CeeDee Lamb, George Pickens, having very, very strong years. I
(12:22):
like Dallas here. The Texans, C.J. Stroud has lost four
straight and with a Coach, they can't get the O-line
or the offense right. And their defense, by the way,
opposing quarterbacks this year, 103 passer rating against the great
vaunted Texans defense. I think the Texans are wobbling. I
(12:44):
think Dallas gave a game away against Baltimore. They're in
a bad mood, and I like them to win 27-21 outright.
Speaker 4 (12:53):
Cardinals and Giants.
Speaker 1 (12:54):
It's ugly. I'll take Arizona minus two and a half.
The Jameis Winston offense is worse than I thought. Now,
Arizona's coming off back-to-back losses to the Seahawks and Niners,
so you look at that and think they're not very good,
but they have the fewest giveaways in the sport. They're
playing clean football. Jeremiah Love and I think Trey McBride
I mean, he may be the second best tight end
(13:15):
in football after a Brock Bowers. I like their playmakers
on offense. And I tend to think offensively on third
and fourth down against the Niners, they move the chains.
The Giants offense. Yikes. 20 drives with Jameis Winston. No touchdowns.
Only team held without a touchdown in the last two games.
That's why they went and got reclamation project J.J. McCarthy.
(13:38):
By the way, their pressure rates under 9%. Burns is
now gone for the year. I thought they were going
to be a bit more dynamic offensively. I'm not seeing it.
I like the Cardinals to win and win outright. Too
many playmakers, 28-23. Broncos at 49ers. I really like San
Francisco here. Their offense has scored a touchdown on 13
(14:02):
of their 27 drives. They come out scripted and they
take leads. So they will take a lead on Denver
here at home. They have not allowed a sack on
the offensive line in 83 dropbacks. They are really playing well.
Trent Williams, Mike Evans, they're ready to play. The Broncos, listen,
even in their wins, they trailed by 10 to Jacksonville
(14:23):
and the Rams don't like it. 45% of Denver drives
end up in punts. Don't like it. They can't run
the ball this year. On the road, that is a problem.
I think the 49ers win 27 to 23 in cover.
Speaker 4 (14:40):
Chargers at Seahawks.
Speaker 1 (14:42):
Again, this is a big number and I don't usually
take touchdown favorites. But Seattle has won eight straight by
an average of 12.5 points, and they dominated Washington in yards.
Sam Darnall had a pick six, but played very well.
Their issue this year, they're not running the football like
previous years, but the number three scoring defense and the
number one total defense, and let's be honest with the Chargers,
(15:04):
lost six straight. Herbert looks confused. Their offense, the conversion
rate on third and fourth down right now is atrocious.
They cannot block. Guard, center, guard. Again, I got a
great team. Awful loss. Mike McDonald, you know, coached them
hard in Seattle. One of the tougher places to play
with an offense that can't pick up third or fourth
(15:26):
downs and doesn't really have a dominant one receiver. I
like Seattle to win in cover. It's a big number seven,
but I'm going to take it 31-20. And again, four favorites,
not what I'm prone to do. Just my vibe. Arizona
was a late add. You start looking at their playmakers
and consider who they played. Giants aren't moving the ball
(15:49):
at all. Should have lost to the Titans.
Speaker 2 (15:51):
Be sure to catch live editions of The Herd weekdays
at noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific on Fox Sports Radio,
FS1 and the iHeartRadio app.
Speaker 1 (16:00):
We were saying offensive coaches are taking over this league.
Every 3-0 team has an offensive coach. Every team that
leads or is tied for the lead in the NFL
in their division, eight for eight as an offensive coach.
And I think especially with young quarterbacks, and right now
the quarterbacks that are struggling that we know are good, C.J. Stroud,
Drake May, Justin Herbert, they either have culture guys or
(16:24):
defensive coaches. especially young quarterbacks. It's like parenting, like those
formative early years, young boys go sideways really quick. Girls
mature more quickly. Boys go sideways. Parenting is very influential.
Seven to 17 to 27. I just watched this league,
and I watched what Ben Johnson did with Case Keenum
(16:44):
on a few days snaps in practice. And I'm like,
could a defensive coach do that? I don't know. Chris Long,
11 years, two-time Super Bowl champ, Walter Payton Man of
the Year, one of the really smart guys that has
ever played in this sport. And I guess, and I've
been on this for years, that offense, it's all the
rules now. It's prohibitive. They've moved all the rules to
(17:06):
help offense. But I'm watching Monday night. And what they
did with Case Keenum, 11 for 11 on blitzes. I'm like,
he's a third string quarterback. God love him. He doesn't
start anymore. When you watch a game like that, does
that make you think, you know, I could get a
few more snaps in, you know, I'm just a good
week of practice away.
Speaker 4 (17:28):
I don't know, man.
Speaker 8 (17:29):
Maybe if they could give me some Toradol, which I
don't think they're doing anymore in the NFL, but like
maybe I have five, 10 snaps in me. But, you know,
I watched that game, Colin. And, you know, of course,
you're surprised at the score and how lopsided it got.
But it's unsurprising to me having played with Case Keenum.
The kind of guy he is. I mean, University of
(17:49):
Houston legend we're talking about here. And a guy that
had a full week in Ben Johnson's offense, which is
a souped up West Coast offense. He's played in a
bunch of systems. He's adaptable. And it's not like he's
got to win two games. He's got to win one
game against a team who's puckered to stop the run.
They're going to be in a lot of single high.
They're going to be in cover three. So you're going
to have safeties down in the box.
Speaker 4 (18:10):
Right.
Speaker 8 (18:11):
And a safety room that's struggling. And to me, what
Ben did was he said, we're going to quick game
these guys. We're going to beat him three downs at
a time, and I bet they'll get impatient. And, you know,
Vic's having trouble right now relative to the standard in Philly.
Speaker 4 (18:24):
You mentioned the pressure. He's had to bring a lot
of pressure.
Speaker 8 (18:26):
That's not really like a Vic Fangio group in Philly
as of late.
Speaker 1 (18:31):
You know, their offense is hard to figure out. Even
out of the halftime break, three and out, three and out,
three and out, five and pick. Take me to the
best team you ever played on that struggled. Either side
of the ball, when you knew the players were there,
How do you get out of that? Take me to
your best team. You may have had a Rams team
or an Eagles team that you're like, we're way better
(18:53):
than our output.
Speaker 8 (18:56):
You know, it's funny for me because I was either
on a 1-15 team or basically the Patriots or the
Eagles late in my career. So I never got to
see a unit that I said, you know, like, hey,
we're better than this.
Speaker 4 (19:08):
Usually I was like, yeah, this is about right.
Speaker 8 (19:10):
Let me grab my helmet, sudden change, another interception, another fumble. So,
you know, I want to push back a little bit
because I do think the Eagles are talented, but they
don't have the talent they had.
Speaker 4 (19:23):
Two years ago.
Speaker 8 (19:23):
And I think sometimes we assume that because a group
looks the way it looked for a long time, that
it's just going to continue. And there have been cracks
in the offensive line foundation of this, you know, the
offensive line has always been the straw that stirred the
drink in Philly. And, you know, they were so dominant
going back to when I was there, it's almost 10
(19:44):
years ago. And, you know, Jason Kelsey leaves and they've
got these issues at guard and, and they've been breaking
in two new coordinators in two years.
Speaker 4 (19:53):
And that's tough on Jalen.
Speaker 8 (19:55):
You know, AJ leaves, you know, although I really liked
Dontavian Wicks and the whole thing. But the problem is
early downs. They're like 29th and early down success rate
to just put it succinctly. They're ending up in these
third and longer situations and the left guard issue right now,
not to single out Cam Juergens, who's a really good
center for a long time. He's struggling physically and he's
(20:15):
not supposed to be out there because Landon Dickerson was
struggling physically. So it's kind of a snowball effect thing.
And the last thing is this Colin, when you're used
to having a dominant defense, you're used to having a
lot of cracks at it. They've been wildly inconsistent for
over a year now, but they always got away with it.
You know, they, they saw some stat this week, a
trend that, If you're in Durham, that the Eagles have
(20:36):
won like six games in a row when they're a
dog outright.
Speaker 4 (20:40):
What does that even mean?
Speaker 8 (20:41):
You go back to last year, two games from last
year that fit the bill are the Green Bay game
and the Buffalo game where they scored offensively a combined
20 points. You're not going to have those opportunities anymore
to win those rock fights. That's what worries me about
this offense and worries me about the balance of the
Eagles football team.
Speaker 1 (21:01):
You know, when you kind of look at the state
of the league right now, it does lean offense. And
I've said in memo, the last seven coaches that were
hired that were the hot OCs, Ben Johnson, Kellen Moore,
Dave Canales, Liam Cohn, all seven are working.
Speaker 4 (21:20):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (21:20):
Have we gotten to a point now where if you
were a GM or you were an owner, like unless
you can get the hottest coat, like Mike McDonald was
talked about for like four years and is that, I mean,
it feels like the sport is a little lopsided against defense.
Is it not?
Speaker 8 (21:39):
Well, I think generally the way they call the games,
the way the NFL wants the games to play out
for sure.
Speaker 4 (21:44):
And the rule changes reflect that.
Speaker 8 (21:45):
But I also think it's it's not just as simple as, hey,
it's an offensive league. It's you know, it's the retaining
that great offensive mind. You know, like look at Tampa,
for instance, who lets Liam Cohen walk. It hasn't been
the same since.
Speaker 3 (21:57):
Right.
Speaker 8 (21:58):
You know, I'd be a proponent of, hey, I'll throw
the book at my offensive coordinator. I'll pay him more
than the head coach just to keep him in the
building or, hey, the head coach might be very good
coach like Todd Bowles.
Speaker 4 (22:07):
You know, you could argue he's a good coach or
he's had good years.
Speaker 8 (22:10):
Um, I, I just said, Hey, you know, I'm sorry, Todd,
like Liam Cohen's our guy now, because we don't want
to have to be replacing the offensive mind every couple
of years. And that's the tight rope you walk when
you're a D'Amico Ryan's, or if you're a Mike McDonald,
who's done it seamlessly, at least so far, the guy
they brought in is really bright, but, uh, you know,
being a defensive head football coach is not easy because
(22:32):
the minute you have success, chances are that offensive coordinator leaves.
Speaker 1 (22:38):
Um, Aaron Donald comes back. Yeah. And he's been good.
I mean, you still have to double the deals. Yeah.
Are you surprised? I mean, the defensive side is more brutal.
It's chase and blow stuff up. To a large degree,
the offense's choreography, the defense's make people uncomfortable physically. I mean,
(23:01):
you have to be a different... Your wiring's got to
be a little different. In your family, your dad's wiring
was pretty intense, right? Yeah. He wouldn't. I mean, nothing
against your dad is a left tackle. He was built
to play defense.
Speaker 4 (23:16):
Psychologically, he was a defensive player.
Speaker 1 (23:18):
Yeah. And my take is I think when defensive players
shut it down, it's like, I mean, offense is pretty.
I get I get the guys like, oh, I got
another couple of catches. Are you surprised Aaron said, yeah,
I want to I want to run into people again
and get double and triple teamed.
Speaker 8 (23:35):
I'm not because as I sit here, you know, 10
years later and I was a good player, I wasn't,
you know, Aaron Donald by any stretch of the imagination.
There's games you sit there and watching the competitor and
you comes out and you say, I could still do this.
Speaker 4 (23:46):
Or, you know, you got to be like, man, it's
been a decade. Chill out, Uncle Rico. Like it's over.
Speaker 8 (23:51):
You know, for Aaron Donald, it's probably not realistically over
until you're 41 years old. And, you know, like he's
just I've never played with a guy that gifted.
Speaker 4 (24:00):
I've also never played with.
Speaker 8 (24:01):
A guy that violent on the football field and who
had a switch like him. He is the best person, husband,
father you could imagine being around one of the hardest
working people. I used to have to kick him out
of the film room at nine o'clock at night. He'd
be the last car in the parking lot as a rookie.
He didn't even have a car at that point. He
was taking the bus to the hotel. but he would
(24:21):
be the one guy in there with the lights on
in training camp.
Speaker 4 (24:24):
And I'm a, I'm a veteran. And I said, yo,
this guy's going to play for a long time.
Speaker 8 (24:28):
The thing about Aaron is he, that he played in
that Superbowl against the Bengals. I think at 258 pounds,
he told me on my pod that's, you know, he's
just got God given explosiveness, hand violence, you know, technique.
And yeah, he doesn't look like DPO wire and Donald
right now, but like, if we take away the narrative, um, uh,
(24:50):
you know, aspect of this.
Speaker 4 (24:51):
I think you watch the game.
Speaker 8 (24:52):
If you never watched football before and you watch the
all 22 and said, what do you think of this guy? 99,
he's winning a lot of rushes. Um, and I think
this weekend it could be a breakout, uh, game for him. So,
you know, it's wild to see your old teammate, you know,
dust off. Cause I can tell you, Colin, once you retire, uh,
you realize, hey, what we did was crazy. You see
some of these collisions and the way you have to
(25:13):
get yourself up every week. And you don't realize it,
but you're almost another person. And I think only somebody
like Aaron Donald could come back. And I know people
clown him because he gets body slammed running a stunt
the other night. People can't wait to say, hey, we
told you he was going to be bad. I can
tell you what he's doing is incredibly difficult and rare.
Speaker 1 (25:34):
So I am not a conspiracy theorist. UFOs. I don't
buy any of it. I'm a cynic on everything.
Speaker 4 (25:43):
You don't believe in UFOs, dude?
Speaker 1 (25:46):
Okay.
Speaker 4 (25:48):
Let's not another time.
Speaker 1 (25:49):
I would say this, the Pentagon stuff, the tech tax
that I saw in the New York times video that
were leaked. I don't have an explanation. I tend to think, honestly,
it is either our government or another government, either it's
another government swimming in our waters, or it's our government
that just doesn't want to tell our media. Listen, we're,
we're trying to revert. We don't, we're doing stuff here
(26:11):
that we don't anyway. That's kind of my type.
Speaker 8 (26:13):
I would love to, I would love to dissect this.
Speaker 4 (26:15):
We'll do it another time. Because I got tanks. Colin,
I got tanks.
Speaker 1 (26:22):
In fact, I even forgot where I was going. I
think that's actually more interesting. Where was I going?
Speaker 4 (26:26):
I think we were going to talk chiefs or something.
Speaker 1 (26:29):
I don't know. Conspiracy theory. The substation in San Francisco.
Speaker 4 (26:38):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (26:39):
Guys are getting hurt.
Speaker 4 (26:40):
It's insane.
Speaker 1 (26:41):
In non-contact practice, Bosa's doing jumping jacks and he's out
for a month. What is going on? I mean, I
don't understand it.
Speaker 4 (26:54):
I don't either.
Speaker 8 (26:55):
And it's a shame because, and I'll say this with
my chest, I think Kyle Shanahan is the best coach
in football at times. I have so much respect for him.
He should have a couple by now. If Dre Greenlaw
doesn't pop his Achilles, if Jimmy G makes the throw,
and I know that's how it works every year for
every team, but And shoot, I got a ring because
(27:19):
he wouldn't run the ball in the 28-3 game. So
I could easily clown the guy, but I think he's incredible.
And it's a shame to me that this keeps happening
to his football teams. because he deserves better and it's
i really have no theory like the you know evidently
they had somebody with like a what do they call
(27:40):
them like a geiger counter or something they're walking around
the substation and they got scientists and they're writing think
pieces about it and you know here's the worst news
for the the niners i'd almost rather here was a
substation because i moved the damn facility It's like it's
like it's the candlestick.
Speaker 4 (27:59):
Curse, man.
Speaker 8 (28:00):
I was obsessed with that stadium candlestick.
Speaker 6 (28:03):
Yeah.
Speaker 8 (28:03):
And I think it's a shame that they gentrified the
49ers home stadium. Levi's has no soul. And I think
they're paying for it. That's my conspiracy theory.
Speaker 1 (28:15):
OK, you want to know why I'm so I watch
you watch Age of Disclosure, the documentary.
Speaker 4 (28:20):
I don't watch anything but football right now.
Speaker 1 (28:22):
OK, that that is the best doc on UFOs. It
was the one thing that flipped me. But here's why
I've always been cynical. Because I used to work as
a sports guy in Las Vegas. And for about five
years in Vegas, there were all these UFO sightings. And
then we found out it was the stealth. And so
my take is our government has a history of doing things,
(28:46):
of manufacturing things. They're just not telling anybody.
Speaker 4 (28:49):
No, totally. Totally. Totally. But I also say this, Colin.
Speaker 1 (28:54):
China's ahead of us on so many different things.
Speaker 3 (28:57):
Agreed.
Speaker 4 (28:58):
But I'll also say this.
Speaker 8 (28:59):
You don't have to worry about it because if there's
an alien planet out there that has the technology to
come check out Earth, they probably could wipe us out
immediately if they wanted to. They're not doing it. They're
here on safari. They're just doing flybys. You don't have
to worry about it.
Speaker 1 (29:16):
All right. I feel that makes me at ease. yeah
you should feel better i that i swear to god
though i could do two hours on this honestly totally
great seeing you guys it's great to see you man
chris long one of the good guys one of the
smart guys yeah i'm not i'm not again i'm i've
(29:37):
always said i'm agnostic so i tend to be, it's,
it's the, uh, I don't know what it is in me,
but I tend to be a pushback, but I was
a young reporter, sports reporter in Vegas. And there were
like six years of everybody said, Oh, it's UFOs are crazy,
but there's these diamond shaped and the, and then it
was stealth. So I was always like, yeah, China's ahead
of us on stuff. And, Russia wouldn't tell us if
they have stuff. But I did watch Age of Disclosure,
(30:01):
that documentary, and there are two moments, each for about
two minutes, where you're like, you listen to those old
Air Force guys on the bases in Montana and California
and Missouri, and they're telling stories. It's like, why would
they lie? I mean, they wouldn't blow their careers up.
Why would they do that?
Speaker 4 (30:18):
They're legacies.
Thanks for listening to the Best of 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.
Speaker 2 (00:19):
This is the Best of the Herd with Colin Cowherd
on Fox Sports Radio.
Speaker 1 (00:27):
Here we go. It is a Thursday, one hour from now.
Blazing five picks. I know, I know. It's a Thursday.
I got a wedding to go to tomorrow. Who needs
Aaron Judge? Ben Rice and Cody Bellinger will do just fine.
No Aaron Judge, no problem. Two nearly flawless games for
(00:49):
the New York Yankees. Garrett Cole, their truest ace. They've
got several. He didn't even pitch. Aaron Judge didn't play.
Stanton didn't play. None of it mattered when you have
two phenomenal pitching performances. And the great thing is they're
just not Aaron Judge reliant anymore. For years, they were.
(01:11):
They're not a perfect team, but I mean, Cody Bellinger now,
he made an all-star team. He time all-star. He's always
given the Red Sox problems. So the National League is
better than the American League, and it's not particularly close.
So to beat the Brewers or the Padres or the
(01:33):
Dodgers or the Braves or Phillies, who knows who comes
out of that series, you're going to need Bellinger. You're
going to need great pitching. So in years past, they
were so Aaron Judge reliant that he was having bad
at bats. He was pressing. Now they're an athletic team.
They're not old and slow and poor defensively, which they'd
been in previous years. They're athletic, top 10 in stolen bases.
(01:56):
They're younger, and they're just more layered. They're a more
complete team. If you go to Aaron Judge... And the
Buffalo Bills can attest to this. Having the best player
in a sport doesn't necessarily hoist trophies. There was a
four-year period where Aaron Judge was having so many bad at-bats.
Remember that World Series error against the Dodgers in like
the fifth inning? It was awful. He batted 133, 250, 139,
(02:18):
184 from 2000 to 2024. I mean, it was just
lots of bad at-bats. And he was pressing because if
he didn't play well.
They didn't win. That is not it. The one way
for a team to slow down the bats of the
(02:39):
National League is elite starting pitching. And the Yanks have
three aces. Again, Aaron Judge didn't have a bat in
the series. He didn't have a bat. Stanton didn't have
a bat. Garrett Cole didn't throw a pitch. And they
literally played two perfect games, outscored the Red Sox 18-2.
And a lot of it's money. There's no question. Boston
(03:01):
feels like they've sort of built a team good enough
to be a playoff team, but not really special. And
I don't think the White Sox have the pitching either.
They don't have the money. Tampa doesn't have enough power.
And I've said it. There's a bunch of teams that'll
get through the National League potentially. All of them, power pitching,
power hitting, multiple all-stars. But that Yankee team was too
(03:25):
Aaron Judge dependent. They don't need him. They can steal
a base. They have multiple elite starters. Here was Aaron
Boone impressed like the rest of us after.
Speaker 3 (03:36):
We play great baseball. And, you know, if we play
like that, we can beat anybody. But it's two games
in the long, what we hope is a long month.
But really proud of them. That's a really good team
that persevered through a lot over there and runs a
lot of good pitchers at you.
Speaker 4 (03:54):
And I just thought we had great at-bats.
Speaker 3 (03:56):
Obviously, and then anchored by our two great starting pitchers
to get us off on a great note each night.
Speaker 1 (04:01):
Yeah, we talked about it yesterday. Aces and power pitching
dominate the postseason. Small ball and singles and doubles can
dominate the volume regular season. So the Yankees face the
Rays next. It is a tale of two different cultures,
two different payrolls, two different styles. The Yankees have far
(04:24):
more velocity and more power hitters. Meanwhile, the Rays do
everything well with limitations of stars. So can't wait for that.
Speaker 5 (04:32):
All right.
Speaker 1 (04:34):
Timing is a real thing in baseball. So when the
Cubs played San Diego in April and June, they crushed them.
Won five of six, a plus 27 run differential. That's
not the same Padre team. OK, they are on fire
since September 1st, a month. The Padres lead baseball in wins, runs, OPS,
(04:57):
batting average. I mean, they're hitting almost 290 as a team.
And also, the Cubs did themselves no favors. The Cubs
lost four of their last six games, so there goes
Wrigley Field. So now you're playing on the road. Well,
you're watching these games. Home field just means something for
a handful of teams in baseball. I think it means
a lot for San Diego. I think it means a
(05:19):
lot for the Yankees. I went to multiple Cubs games
this year. fun, athletic team. The Cubs were always fun
but flawed. They were unbelievably reliant on PCA. And Bregman,
PCA went 0-7 in the series. And the Cubs, 2-15
with runners in scoring position. So as an offense, they
(05:41):
batted 129. And so this was a team that was
always a lot of fun, athletic star player, MVP level guy,
but not enough elite pitching bullpen got a little better,
never really trusted it. And you could pitch around their
best guy. So the Padres and the Brewers should be
a much better series because the Brewers, although they don't
have a ton of power, they have elite, strong pitching.
(06:05):
And you need that to defuse San Diego. So they've
got an ace or two there. And in baseball, we
know that one player, LeBron James, can get you to
the finals, regardless of teammates. You know, in the NFL,
we know Josh Allen. You're going to win your division
regardless of teammates. Baseball, proven in this series, is very
much a collective. And in the early part of the
(06:25):
season when Manny Machado and Tatis could not hit, I mean,
Tatis was awful for the first two months. It looked
like this collective was very even. But once Machado and
Tatis and the pitching gets healthy and they're playing the
way they can play, you just see the deeper roster
isn't particularly close. And PCA and the Cubs go home
having been swept in two. Here's his thoughts after.
Speaker 5 (06:50):
I think that this team showed a lot of, A
lot of heart and a lot of fight through all
the challenge. But, no, I mean, I would say to start, like,
I show up. I show up when it matters in
these games, you know. I think that would help us.
Speaker 4 (07:14):
Immediately.
Speaker 1 (07:15):
But that's all I.
Speaker 5 (07:19):
Got right now.
Speaker 1 (07:21):
And that's about all they had right now. So Greg
Cosell and Blazing Five at the start of next hour
to start. Obviously, I love the Steelers tonight against the
Cleveland Browns. And the Braves and Phillies was wild. That's
a classic series in both games as they're split. They
go to a third game where the long ball has
been the difference in the game. So, you know, listen,
(07:43):
you have to pay for multiple home run hitters. Philly
can afford it. Atlanta can afford it. The Yankees can
afford it. The Padres can. The Dodgers can. That's kind
of been the difference last couple of years. It feels
like Toronto last year had multiple power hitters. So, you know,
and I know what I think is interesting, Yankees-Rays, Rays
(08:04):
built for the regular season with a superior team. And
all the people that think we need a salary cap
are going to relish when the Yankees hammer the Rays.
But what if they don't? And that's why, in a
weird way, I'm kind of like, I'd like to see
the Rays and the Brewers. I know, J-Mac's like rolling
his eyes. But I think the salary floor... needs to
(08:25):
be much higher. I'm not really worried about the cap.
Pay the stars what you got to pay the stars.
I think cheap billionaires with low floors is baseball's problem
because you're seeing in all these playoffs, White Sox aren't
spending any money. White Sox dominated Houston. I watched the
last six innings of both Astro White Sox games. Houston's
(08:46):
got all this money. The crowd was dead. The White
Sox were an absolutely superior team with a low payroll. Now,
can you win a World Series that way? I don't know.
But in a weird way, I think a lot of
players are rooting for the Brewers and the Rays because
it will prove what they say. It's not about the payroll.
Speaker 4 (09:03):
It's about.
Speaker 1 (09:04):
It's about the players.
Speaker 4 (09:05):
Interesting.
Speaker 6 (09:05):
I know a lot of coastal elites who would love
it for the Dodgers and Yankees to meet in the
World Series once again.
Speaker 1 (09:12):
Colin, but you're right.
Speaker 6 (09:12):
This raise Yankees will be a referendum on small market,
big market. That's going to be the talking point the
entire series. You know, I'm rolling with my Yanks, obviously.
Speaker 1 (09:23):
So coming up next, say this for the Cowboys. They
are going all in. They gave up yesterday another great
draft pick. Now they got they got an excellent top
five corner in the NFL, so they didn't give it away.
Just like when they gave up a first round pick
for Quinn and Williams from the Jets. He's worth a
first round pick as it feels like over the last
(09:44):
several years, drafts are getting a little weaker. We'll talk
about the Cowboys and kind of what's at stake here next.
Speaker 2 (09:52):
Be sure to catch live editions of The Herd weekdays
at noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, FS1,
and the iHeartRadio.
Speaker 3 (10:00):
App.
Speaker 7 (10:01):
Stu Gatz here, pleased to be hosting college football with
Stu Gatz and the Bear. We do it two times
a week, every Monday, every single Friday throughout the college
football season.
Speaker 4 (10:11):
You can expect a little bit of this.
Speaker 7 (10:13):
Will Stein, the head coach at Kentucky, joins us.
Speaker 1 (10:15):
Open bar at a wedding, ordering a Shirley Temple.
Speaker 4 (10:18):
Will or will not?
Speaker 1 (10:19):
No.
Speaker 4 (10:22):
Will not.
Speaker 1 (10:22):
Ketchup on steak.
Speaker 4 (10:23):
Will or will not? Will not. Thank you. A little
bit of this.
Speaker 7 (10:28):
Rhys Davis, host of College Game Day, is with us now.
And then I'm going home to the BBC, and they're
saying Jockovich instead of Jokovich.
Speaker 1 (10:37):
Right, because you can't say Jockovich.
Speaker 7 (10:38):
If you do, you know the blowback you're going to
get from the American audience.
Speaker 3 (10:42):
Right.
Speaker 2 (10:42):
And a whole lot of this.
Speaker 7 (10:49):
Listen to college football with Stugatz and the Bear on
the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever.
Speaker 4 (10:55):
You get your podcasts.
Speaker 2 (11:01):
That's a hot one.
Speaker 4 (11:02):
Let's blaze it up.
Speaker 6 (11:04):
Fire it up.
Speaker 2 (11:04):
It's Collins Blazing Fire.
Speaker 1 (11:08):
I've taken the Colts multiple times this season. I'm doing
it again. They're averaging 28 points with Daniel Jones and
Shane Steichen having the second highest. That's the second highest
average by any active quarterback coaching combo. And Daniel Jones
has increased his completions. In fact, Tyler Warren, targets, receptions, yards, receiving,
(11:32):
gone up in every game. They're still trying to find
their running game with Jonathan Taylor. But I like this
coach quarterback combo and Washington's defense. 67 snaps on the
field against the commanders. They're beat up. They've allowed 68
points in the last two weeks. They've got a backup.
Now they're traveling to London. I'm on the Colts this year.
(11:53):
I got them winning and covering 33 to 24.
Speaker 4 (11:58):
Cowboys and Texans.
Speaker 1 (11:59):
My one underdog, I'm going to take Dallas because of
their very proficient offense, plus three against the Texans who
were wobbly. They should have beaten Baltimore. They've scored on 61%
of their drives this year. Leads the NFL. 30 points
in back-to-back games. I don't love their staff, but Javonte Williams,
CeeDee Lamb, George Pickens, having very, very strong years. I
(12:22):
like Dallas here. The Texans, C.J. Stroud has lost four
straight and with a Coach, they can't get the O-line
or the offense right. And their defense, by the way,
opposing quarterbacks this year, 103 passer rating against the great
vaunted Texans defense. I think the Texans are wobbling. I
(12:44):
think Dallas gave a game away against Baltimore. They're in
a bad mood, and I like them to win 27-21 outright.
Speaker 4 (12:53):
Cardinals and Giants.
Speaker 1 (12:54):
It's ugly. I'll take Arizona minus two and a half.
The Jameis Winston offense is worse than I thought. Now,
Arizona's coming off back-to-back losses to the Seahawks and Niners,
so you look at that and think they're not very good,
but they have the fewest giveaways in the sport. They're
playing clean football. Jeremiah Love and I think Trey McBride
I mean, he may be the second best tight end
(13:15):
in football after a Brock Bowers. I like their playmakers
on offense. And I tend to think offensively on third
and fourth down against the Niners, they move the chains.
The Giants offense. Yikes. 20 drives with Jameis Winston. No touchdowns.
Only team held without a touchdown in the last two games.
That's why they went and got reclamation project J.J. McCarthy.
(13:38):
By the way, their pressure rates under 9%. Burns is
now gone for the year. I thought they were going
to be a bit more dynamic offensively. I'm not seeing it.
I like the Cardinals to win and win outright. Too
many playmakers, 28-23. Broncos at 49ers. I really like San
Francisco here. Their offense has scored a touchdown on 13
(14:02):
of their 27 drives. They come out scripted and they
take leads. So they will take a lead on Denver
here at home. They have not allowed a sack on
the offensive line in 83 dropbacks. They are really playing well.
Trent Williams, Mike Evans, they're ready to play. The Broncos, listen,
even in their wins, they trailed by 10 to Jacksonville
(14:23):
and the Rams don't like it. 45% of Denver drives
end up in punts. Don't like it. They can't run
the ball this year. On the road, that is a problem.
I think the 49ers win 27 to 23 in cover.
Speaker 4 (14:40):
Chargers at Seahawks.
Speaker 1 (14:42):
Again, this is a big number and I don't usually
take touchdown favorites. But Seattle has won eight straight by
an average of 12.5 points, and they dominated Washington in yards.
Sam Darnall had a pick six, but played very well.
Their issue this year, they're not running the football like
previous years, but the number three scoring defense and the
number one total defense, and let's be honest with the Chargers,
(15:04):
lost six straight. Herbert looks confused. Their offense, the conversion
rate on third and fourth down right now is atrocious.
They cannot block. Guard, center, guard. Again, I got a
great team. Awful loss. Mike McDonald, you know, coached them
hard in Seattle. One of the tougher places to play
with an offense that can't pick up third or fourth
(15:26):
downs and doesn't really have a dominant one receiver. I
like Seattle to win in cover. It's a big number seven,
but I'm going to take it 31-20. And again, four favorites,
not what I'm prone to do. Just my vibe. Arizona
was a late add. You start looking at their playmakers
and consider who they played. Giants aren't moving the ball
(15:49):
at all. Should have lost to the Titans.
Speaker 2 (15:51):
Be sure to catch live editions of The Herd weekdays
at noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific on Fox Sports Radio,
FS1 and the iHeartRadio app.
Speaker 1 (16:00):
We were saying offensive coaches are taking over this league.
Every 3-0 team has an offensive coach. Every team that
leads or is tied for the lead in the NFL
in their division, eight for eight as an offensive coach.
And I think especially with young quarterbacks, and right now
the quarterbacks that are struggling that we know are good, C.J. Stroud,
Drake May, Justin Herbert, they either have culture guys or
(16:24):
defensive coaches. especially young quarterbacks. It's like parenting, like those
formative early years, young boys go sideways really quick. Girls
mature more quickly. Boys go sideways. Parenting is very influential.
Seven to 17 to 27. I just watched this league,
and I watched what Ben Johnson did with Case Keenum
(16:44):
on a few days snaps in practice. And I'm like,
could a defensive coach do that? I don't know. Chris Long,
11 years, two-time Super Bowl champ, Walter Payton Man of
the Year, one of the really smart guys that has
ever played in this sport. And I guess, and I've
been on this for years, that offense, it's all the
rules now. It's prohibitive. They've moved all the rules to
(17:06):
help offense. But I'm watching Monday night. And what they
did with Case Keenum, 11 for 11 on blitzes. I'm like,
he's a third string quarterback. God love him. He doesn't
start anymore. When you watch a game like that, does
that make you think, you know, I could get a
few more snaps in, you know, I'm just a good
week of practice away.
Speaker 4 (17:28):
I don't know, man.
Speaker 8 (17:29):
Maybe if they could give me some Toradol, which I
don't think they're doing anymore in the NFL, but like
maybe I have five, 10 snaps in me. But, you know,
I watched that game, Colin. And, you know, of course,
you're surprised at the score and how lopsided it got.
But it's unsurprising to me having played with Case Keenum.
The kind of guy he is. I mean, University of
(17:49):
Houston legend we're talking about here. And a guy that
had a full week in Ben Johnson's offense, which is
a souped up West Coast offense. He's played in a
bunch of systems. He's adaptable. And it's not like he's
got to win two games. He's got to win one
game against a team who's puckered to stop the run.
They're going to be in a lot of single high.
They're going to be in cover three. So you're going
to have safeties down in the box.
Speaker 4 (18:10):
Right.
Speaker 8 (18:11):
And a safety room that's struggling. And to me, what
Ben did was he said, we're going to quick game
these guys. We're going to beat him three downs at
a time, and I bet they'll get impatient. And, you know,
Vic's having trouble right now relative to the standard in Philly.
Speaker 4 (18:24):
You mentioned the pressure. He's had to bring a lot
of pressure.
Speaker 8 (18:26):
That's not really like a Vic Fangio group in Philly
as of late.
Speaker 1 (18:31):
You know, their offense is hard to figure out. Even
out of the halftime break, three and out, three and out,
three and out, five and pick. Take me to the
best team you ever played on that struggled. Either side
of the ball, when you knew the players were there,
How do you get out of that? Take me to
your best team. You may have had a Rams team
or an Eagles team that you're like, we're way better
(18:53):
than our output.
Speaker 8 (18:56):
You know, it's funny for me because I was either
on a 1-15 team or basically the Patriots or the
Eagles late in my career. So I never got to
see a unit that I said, you know, like, hey,
we're better than this.
Speaker 4 (19:08):
Usually I was like, yeah, this is about right.
Speaker 8 (19:10):
Let me grab my helmet, sudden change, another interception, another fumble. So,
you know, I want to push back a little bit
because I do think the Eagles are talented, but they
don't have the talent they had.
Speaker 4 (19:23):
Two years ago.
Speaker 8 (19:23):
And I think sometimes we assume that because a group
looks the way it looked for a long time, that
it's just going to continue. And there have been cracks
in the offensive line foundation of this, you know, the
offensive line has always been the straw that stirred the
drink in Philly. And, you know, they were so dominant
going back to when I was there, it's almost 10
(19:44):
years ago. And, you know, Jason Kelsey leaves and they've
got these issues at guard and, and they've been breaking
in two new coordinators in two years.
Speaker 4 (19:53):
And that's tough on Jalen.
Speaker 8 (19:55):
You know, AJ leaves, you know, although I really liked
Dontavian Wicks and the whole thing. But the problem is
early downs. They're like 29th and early down success rate
to just put it succinctly. They're ending up in these
third and longer situations and the left guard issue right now,
not to single out Cam Juergens, who's a really good
center for a long time. He's struggling physically and he's
(20:15):
not supposed to be out there because Landon Dickerson was
struggling physically. So it's kind of a snowball effect thing.
And the last thing is this Colin, when you're used
to having a dominant defense, you're used to having a
lot of cracks at it. They've been wildly inconsistent for
over a year now, but they always got away with it.
You know, they, they saw some stat this week, a
trend that, If you're in Durham, that the Eagles have
(20:36):
won like six games in a row when they're a
dog outright.
Speaker 4 (20:40):
What does that even mean?
Speaker 8 (20:41):
You go back to last year, two games from last
year that fit the bill are the Green Bay game
and the Buffalo game where they scored offensively a combined
20 points. You're not going to have those opportunities anymore
to win those rock fights. That's what worries me about
this offense and worries me about the balance of the
Eagles football team.
Speaker 1 (21:01):
You know, when you kind of look at the state
of the league right now, it does lean offense. And
I've said in memo, the last seven coaches that were
hired that were the hot OCs, Ben Johnson, Kellen Moore,
Dave Canales, Liam Cohn, all seven are working.
Speaker 4 (21:20):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (21:20):
Have we gotten to a point now where if you
were a GM or you were an owner, like unless
you can get the hottest coat, like Mike McDonald was
talked about for like four years and is that, I mean,
it feels like the sport is a little lopsided against defense.
Is it not?
Speaker 8 (21:39):
Well, I think generally the way they call the games,
the way the NFL wants the games to play out
for sure.
Speaker 4 (21:44):
And the rule changes reflect that.
Speaker 8 (21:45):
But I also think it's it's not just as simple as, hey,
it's an offensive league. It's you know, it's the retaining
that great offensive mind. You know, like look at Tampa,
for instance, who lets Liam Cohen walk. It hasn't been
the same since.
Speaker 3 (21:57):
Right.
Speaker 8 (21:58):
You know, I'd be a proponent of, hey, I'll throw
the book at my offensive coordinator. I'll pay him more
than the head coach just to keep him in the
building or, hey, the head coach might be very good
coach like Todd Bowles.
Speaker 4 (22:07):
You know, you could argue he's a good coach or
he's had good years.
Speaker 8 (22:10):
Um, I, I just said, Hey, you know, I'm sorry, Todd,
like Liam Cohen's our guy now, because we don't want
to have to be replacing the offensive mind every couple
of years. And that's the tight rope you walk when
you're a D'Amico Ryan's, or if you're a Mike McDonald,
who's done it seamlessly, at least so far, the guy
they brought in is really bright, but, uh, you know,
being a defensive head football coach is not easy because
(22:32):
the minute you have success, chances are that offensive coordinator leaves.
Speaker 1 (22:38):
Um, Aaron Donald comes back. Yeah. And he's been good.
I mean, you still have to double the deals. Yeah.
Are you surprised? I mean, the defensive side is more brutal.
It's chase and blow stuff up. To a large degree,
the offense's choreography, the defense's make people uncomfortable physically. I mean,
(23:01):
you have to be a different... Your wiring's got to
be a little different. In your family, your dad's wiring
was pretty intense, right? Yeah. He wouldn't. I mean, nothing
against your dad is a left tackle. He was built
to play defense.
Speaker 4 (23:16):
Psychologically, he was a defensive player.
Speaker 1 (23:18):
Yeah. And my take is I think when defensive players
shut it down, it's like, I mean, offense is pretty.
I get I get the guys like, oh, I got
another couple of catches. Are you surprised Aaron said, yeah,
I want to I want to run into people again
and get double and triple teamed.
Speaker 8 (23:35):
I'm not because as I sit here, you know, 10
years later and I was a good player, I wasn't,
you know, Aaron Donald by any stretch of the imagination.
There's games you sit there and watching the competitor and
you comes out and you say, I could still do this.
Speaker 4 (23:46):
Or, you know, you got to be like, man, it's
been a decade. Chill out, Uncle Rico. Like it's over.
Speaker 8 (23:51):
You know, for Aaron Donald, it's probably not realistically over
until you're 41 years old. And, you know, like he's
just I've never played with a guy that gifted.
Speaker 4 (24:00):
I've also never played with.
Speaker 8 (24:01):
A guy that violent on the football field and who
had a switch like him. He is the best person, husband,
father you could imagine being around one of the hardest
working people. I used to have to kick him out
of the film room at nine o'clock at night. He'd
be the last car in the parking lot as a rookie.
He didn't even have a car at that point. He
was taking the bus to the hotel. but he would
(24:21):
be the one guy in there with the lights on
in training camp.
Speaker 4 (24:24):
And I'm a, I'm a veteran. And I said, yo,
this guy's going to play for a long time.
Speaker 8 (24:28):
The thing about Aaron is he, that he played in
that Superbowl against the Bengals. I think at 258 pounds,
he told me on my pod that's, you know, he's
just got God given explosiveness, hand violence, you know, technique.
And yeah, he doesn't look like DPO wire and Donald
right now, but like, if we take away the narrative, um, uh,
(24:50):
you know, aspect of this.
Speaker 4 (24:51):
I think you watch the game.
Speaker 8 (24:52):
If you never watched football before and you watch the
all 22 and said, what do you think of this guy? 99,
he's winning a lot of rushes. Um, and I think
this weekend it could be a breakout, uh, game for him. So,
you know, it's wild to see your old teammate, you know,
dust off. Cause I can tell you, Colin, once you retire, uh,
you realize, hey, what we did was crazy. You see
some of these collisions and the way you have to
(25:13):
get yourself up every week. And you don't realize it,
but you're almost another person. And I think only somebody
like Aaron Donald could come back. And I know people
clown him because he gets body slammed running a stunt
the other night. People can't wait to say, hey, we
told you he was going to be bad. I can
tell you what he's doing is incredibly difficult and rare.
Speaker 1 (25:34):
So I am not a conspiracy theorist. UFOs. I don't
buy any of it. I'm a cynic on everything.
Speaker 4 (25:43):
You don't believe in UFOs, dude?
Speaker 1 (25:46):
Okay.
Speaker 4 (25:48):
Let's not another time.
Speaker 1 (25:49):
I would say this, the Pentagon stuff, the tech tax
that I saw in the New York times video that
were leaked. I don't have an explanation. I tend to think, honestly,
it is either our government or another government, either it's
another government swimming in our waters, or it's our government
that just doesn't want to tell our media. Listen, we're,
we're trying to revert. We don't, we're doing stuff here
(26:11):
that we don't anyway. That's kind of my type.
Speaker 8 (26:13):
I would love to, I would love to dissect this.
Speaker 4 (26:15):
We'll do it another time. Because I got tanks. Colin,
I got tanks.
Speaker 1 (26:22):
In fact, I even forgot where I was going. I
think that's actually more interesting. Where was I going?
Speaker 4 (26:26):
I think we were going to talk chiefs or something.
Speaker 1 (26:29):
I don't know. Conspiracy theory. The substation in San Francisco.
Speaker 4 (26:38):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (26:39):
Guys are getting hurt.
Speaker 4 (26:40):
It's insane.
Speaker 1 (26:41):
In non-contact practice, Bosa's doing jumping jacks and he's out
for a month. What is going on? I mean, I
don't understand it.
Speaker 4 (26:54):
I don't either.
Speaker 8 (26:55):
And it's a shame because, and I'll say this with
my chest, I think Kyle Shanahan is the best coach
in football at times. I have so much respect for him.
He should have a couple by now. If Dre Greenlaw
doesn't pop his Achilles, if Jimmy G makes the throw,
and I know that's how it works every year for
every team, but And shoot, I got a ring because
(27:19):
he wouldn't run the ball in the 28-3 game. So
I could easily clown the guy, but I think he's incredible.
And it's a shame to me that this keeps happening
to his football teams. because he deserves better and it's
i really have no theory like the you know evidently
they had somebody with like a what do they call
(27:40):
them like a geiger counter or something they're walking around
the substation and they got scientists and they're writing think
pieces about it and you know here's the worst news
for the the niners i'd almost rather here was a
substation because i moved the damn facility It's like it's
like it's the candlestick.
Speaker 4 (27:59):
Curse, man.
Speaker 8 (28:00):
I was obsessed with that stadium candlestick.
Speaker 6 (28:03):
Yeah.
Speaker 8 (28:03):
And I think it's a shame that they gentrified the
49ers home stadium. Levi's has no soul. And I think
they're paying for it. That's my conspiracy theory.
Speaker 1 (28:15):
OK, you want to know why I'm so I watch
you watch Age of Disclosure, the documentary.
Speaker 4 (28:20):
I don't watch anything but football right now.
Speaker 1 (28:22):
OK, that that is the best doc on UFOs. It
was the one thing that flipped me. But here's why
I've always been cynical. Because I used to work as
a sports guy in Las Vegas. And for about five
years in Vegas, there were all these UFO sightings. And
then we found out it was the stealth. And so
my take is our government has a history of doing things,
(28:46):
of manufacturing things. They're just not telling anybody.
Speaker 4 (28:49):
No, totally. Totally. Totally. But I also say this, Colin.
Speaker 1 (28:54):
China's ahead of us on so many different things.
Speaker 3 (28:57):
Agreed.
Speaker 4 (28:58):
But I'll also say this.
Speaker 8 (28:59):
You don't have to worry about it because if there's
an alien planet out there that has the technology to
come check out Earth, they probably could wipe us out
immediately if they wanted to. They're not doing it. They're
here on safari. They're just doing flybys. You don't have
to worry about it.
Speaker 1 (29:16):
All right. I feel that makes me at ease. yeah
you should feel better i that i swear to god
though i could do two hours on this honestly totally
great seeing you guys it's great to see you man
chris long one of the good guys one of the
smart guys yeah i'm not i'm not again i'm i've
(29:37):
always said i'm agnostic so i tend to be, it's,
it's the, uh, I don't know what it is in me,
but I tend to be a pushback, but I was
a young reporter, sports reporter in Vegas. And there were
like six years of everybody said, Oh, it's UFOs are crazy,
but there's these diamond shaped and the, and then it
was stealth. So I was always like, yeah, China's ahead
of us on stuff. And, Russia wouldn't tell us if
they have stuff. But I did watch Age of Disclosure,
(30:01):
that documentary, and there are two moments, each for about
two minutes, where you're like, you listen to those old
Air Force guys on the bases in Montana and California
and Missouri, and they're telling stories. It's like, why would
they lie? I mean, they wouldn't blow their careers up.
Why would they do that?
Speaker 4 (30:18):
They're legacies.
Hosts And Creators
Colin Cowherd
Jason McIntyre
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