December 13, 2025 • 45 mins
Where Colin was right and wrong over the weekend
Colin also drops a fresh edition of the Herd Hierarchy, ranking the Top 10 NFL teams heading into week 14. Do last season’s Super Bowl contenders - the Eagles and Chiefs - still deserve a spot among the league’s best?
7-time Super Bowl champion Tom Brady joins the show to preview Lions vs. Rams, evaluate Caleb Williams’ development in Year 2, and discuss whether the Kansas City Chiefs dynasty is nearing its end
Colin drops his Blazing 5 NFL Picks for Week 15, featuring marquee matchups with massive playoff implications:
- Ravens at Bengals
- Lions at Rams
- Panthers at Saints
- Packers at Broncos
- Colts at Seahawks
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Thanks for listening to The Herd podcast. Be sure to
catch us live every weekday on Fox Sports Radio in
noon to three eastern nine am to noon Pacific. Find
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Speaker 2 (00:21):
You're listening to Fox Sports Radio.
Speaker 1 (00:26):
Here we go. It is a Monday. We're live in La.
See that snow on the screen opposite here, seventy five
eighty degrees. Maybe I should call an send a plane ticket.
It's good to have you in. Matt Hasselbeck in five minutes.
It's a beautiful, beautiful day, beautiful week.
Speaker 2 (00:47):
I had Weatherwise Common.
Speaker 1 (00:50):
Urban Meyer next hour. Every week at this time we do.
Colin Wright, Colin Wrong had another good blazing five got
Philly tonight three and one. Let's go to right and wrong.
Speaker 2 (01:02):
Where Colin was right.
Speaker 1 (01:04):
It's time to all acknowledge what we've been talking about.
Jordan Love is out of this world. Good three tuddies,
one hundred and twenty one passer rating. He was the
difference yesterday. Green Bay's defense got really tired. He didn't.
He's finally got a healthy wide receiving corps. Green Bay
and the Rams best two teams in the NFC, and
(01:26):
a huge part of it is Jordan Love's tall, moves, aggressive,
not a lot of mistakes. It's time to admit it, folks.
He's He's elite where Colin was wraw All scale back
on my Cowboy Love. They gave up forty four to Detroit.
I still think their run defense two first round picks
(01:47):
Quentin Williams is really really going to be strong going forward.
But the truth is their past defense gives up two
hundred and fifty five per game. They need help in
the secondary. Miny mock drafts have them going getting Caleb
Downs of Ohio State. They're a really fun watch. I
love their future, but defensively they still need help.
Speaker 2 (02:10):
Where Colin was right said.
Speaker 1 (02:12):
This last couple of years, Josh Allen is the best
quarterback in the NFL, not Patrick Mahomes. Josh is a
more transformational physical specimen for total touchdowns, one hundred and
forty passer rating, and he doesn't have a receiving corps
that's as good as Patrick Mahomes, so don't tell me that. Well,
He's got a lot to work with. He's got tight
ends yesterday. He couldn't trust in the red zone James Cook,
(02:36):
So let's give him the MVP again. He doesn't have
the trophy case. But the best quarterback in the NFL.
It's not Lamar, it's not Aaron Rodgers, it's not Mahomes,
it's not it's Josh Allen and has been for two years.
Speaker 2 (02:52):
Where Colin was raw.
Speaker 1 (02:54):
The Indiana Hoosiers are a college football power. Hard to
wrap my brain around that because I had a functioning
television for the last forty years. They went toe to
toe in the trenches with Ohio State. It's not just
Fernando Mendoza, because Ohio State Julian Sands a great quarterback too.
They the Hoosiers held Ohio State to fifty eight yards rushing,
(03:17):
and Jackson's great as a running back, they held him
to ten points. So this wasn't just about a great
quarterback and an excellent coach. This was the trenches. This
was Indianago, and toe to toe in the trenches with
the number one program right now in college football blew
me away where Colin was right. I've been defending Aaron
(03:39):
Rodgers all year. He's not the problem. He's the most
redeemable quality. He threw the ball down the field yesterday.
He was moving around and scrambling. Seventh game this season
with over one hundred passer rating, and they don't have
a run game. Offensively, the O line is okay after
DK Metcalf, what do they have at wide receiver. I've
(04:00):
been critical of Aaron before. He's a bit, you know,
moody and prickly, but he's been good forty two years
old or not, He's done a good job with what
he has this year.
Speaker 2 (04:10):
Where Colin was wrong.
Speaker 1 (04:12):
The Miami Dolphins have won four straight. They have the
same record as the Chiefs and the Ravens. Listen, Mike McDaniel,
I always said, I like his schemes, I like his
play calling. I don't know if he's a head coach.
He deserves a ton of credit to go up and
lousy weather and to win the four straight game. And
they were the better team physically. I mean they gave
(04:34):
up a long return. Miami was a better team. Nobody
has quit on this team. Mike McDaniel has not lost
that locker room. They have the same record as the
Kansas City Chiefs. I was wrong where Colin was right.
The Miami Hurricanes are gonna jump over Notre Dame. That's
what I said, and it's what they did. The Irish
(04:55):
had two games and they had to win one. They
started the year with Texas A and m and Miami.
You got to win one of them. Miami's got a
big win and a tougher schedule. Their wins over Notre
Dame had to head. Head to head isn't everything, but
when you both have two losses, it's the thing. And again,
Notre Dame join a conference BYU did Miami deserved to
(05:18):
be in better against common opponents one head to head.
I don't really have a problem with Notre Dame bailing
on the bowl game because I think bowl games are
in conference championships are going to be a thing of
the past within the next two years. But I thought
Miami had kind of won public approval people coming out,
(05:41):
coaches who had played both teams. It was the right
thing for college football to do.
Speaker 2 (05:45):
Where Colin was right.
Speaker 1 (05:47):
Mike McDonald said it last year, I have said it
this year. He is the defensive Sean McVeigh Seattle. This
guy is no BS alpha, smart player friendly. This is
the second youngest offense in the League. He lets Sam
Darnold make mistakes, he doesn't over coach, he doesn't go conservative.
(06:07):
Seattle found themselves the defensive version of Sean McVeigh, and
they'll play each other twice a year going forward.
Speaker 3 (06:17):
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Speaker 2 (06:31):
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Speaker 4 (06:33):
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Speaker 1 (06:52):
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Speaker 2 (06:58):
Heard hierarchy No go. The top ten NFL teams according to.
Speaker 1 (07:03):
Collin Number ten Well listen. The Bills are flawed, but
they have won twelve straight home games in December and January,
and Josh Allen has a career high completion percentage and
yards for attempt this season. I still think they're asking
too much of them, which is why they've had twelve
giveaways in five games. They're not a clean team. They
can get sloppy. They're bad against the run, although they've
(07:26):
been a little better in the last couple of weeks.
I think the reality is they'll go as far as
Josh Allen can take them. I don't trust them situationally.
They were fumbling near the goal line this week. I
think right now the best quarterback in the world, not
the most decorated, but the best is Josh Allen. But
there's too many questions for me. They sneak in at
number ten, number nine. The Chargers are now five and
(07:49):
zero in prime time this season. They're a big stage
team at least in the regular season. Thirteen and four
under Jim Harbaugh in the second half of seasons. It's
best in the NFL. Remarkable with all their injuries. The
offensive lines atrocious, all beat up. The running game depends
on who's healthy, but they have a great pass defense,
(08:12):
best in the league since Week eight. Between the head
coach and the star coordinator and Herbert, they're in every
single game. I have the Chargers at nine, number eight.
I can't even figure the Niners out. How in the
world do they have the number one scoring defense since
Week eleven? Robert Sala I don't like their defensive personnel.
(08:34):
I'm mid on brock party. But they've got five wins
of ten plus or more points since Week seven. That's
tied for the NFL lead. They don't get penalized. They've
got too easy games coming up, just had the bye
San Francisco. Yes, they're two Christian McCaffrey dependent, but Kittle
and Jennings and Piersoll, they're getting healthier. All put them
(08:57):
at eight number seven. Have the best defense in the league,
five game winning streak eight of ten. Their offense can
worry me. I do like CJ. Stroud. They have played
the fourth hardest schedule in the league, so they are
battle tested. Number one scoring defense. I'll tell you there's
a couple of young defensive coaches in this league that
(09:18):
are really sharp. Tomico Ryans and I told you I
had somebody inside the Niners tell me years ago Demiko
Ryans was going to be a star as head coach.
That Houston defense is no fun to play. I've got
him at seven number six. I'm gonna give it to
the Bears. They lead the NFL in turnover differential. They
(09:41):
run the football, they can win time of possession. People
bang on Caleb Williams completing fifty eight percent of his throws,
but he is so electric and dynamic. I can live
with that. I think their biggest issue they give up
six point one yards of play. That's near the bottom
of the NFL. That's what worries me. It's not Caleb's
(10:02):
lack of accuracy. I think he got to live with
that because he's so dynamic. They've got to shore up
their defense. On the average play number five Seattle. Maybe
I have them low, but there's a slew of teams
above him, and there's reasons why they can be reckless.
They're a run first team, they're aggressive, sometimes a little
(10:26):
you know, penalties, youth. I don't think they're a super
Bowl team yet. I think, like the Packers, who are young,
it'll take another year. I think Green Bay is ready
this year. They weren't last year. They have, you know,
tied for the fewest sacks allowed. Some of that's just
Darnold's good on his feet. But I have Seattle at
(10:46):
five number four, but I think the Broncos roster is
a little more experienced, and I get offensive coach Sean
Payton first game though this year they have not trailed. Listen,
here's what's really impressive. Tied for the most sacks and
then the fewest allowed. You can't get to their quarterback.
They always get to yours. That's gonna serve them well
(11:09):
in the playoffs. Offensive line Sean Payton's got at number
one after a couple of years. I love their roster.
I really like their roster. I wish their quarterback wasn't
this uneven, but I have them a nick ahead of
Seattle number three Green Bay. I may have them low
best third down offense, tied for the fewest giveaways. They're
(11:31):
a very smart, clean young team. I thought last year
they were a bit too young. I love that Christian
Watson is healthy because Jordan Love like a Sam Darnold,
loves to throw the deep ball and throws a brilliant
deep ball. I also think the Mica trade was brilliant.
Not always bad for Dallas, but it was brilliant because
(11:53):
they're going to lead a lot of games late and
he's the closer. I have Green Bay at three, number
two for idle. I have them at two ten to
zero and Christian Gonzales plays their elite corner ten game
winning streak. Are they a bit young? Is Drake may ready? Listen?
They have played the easiest schedule in the NFL. That
(12:15):
needs to be noted. Houston could be better. Houston's played
the fourth hardest schedule, so I think they're a little
harder to judge team. We know the coach is good
in the quarterback is good, but I have them.
Speaker 2 (12:27):
At two number one.
Speaker 1 (12:29):
The Rams boy was Devonte Adams. A steal leads the
NFL with fourteen touchdowns. Fuka Nikua, by the way, averaging
the most receiving yards per game in NFL history. Ninety
one tight ends quarterback, head coach, running back, O line.
They have no weakness offensively other than Stafford's immobility. The
(12:51):
defense is young and outstanding. This feels like the most
complete team in the league. And you may have noticed
I do not have Philadelphia in I'm sorry. I think
their coach is coordinator dependent and their quarterback in Philadelphia
(13:12):
is an if quarterback, he's circumstantial. If the O line
is healthy, if the defense is great, if Saquan's having
a great year. I have Philadelphia at eleven.
Speaker 3 (13:21):
And with that, be sure to catch live editions of
The Herd Weekdays and Noone Easter, not a em Pacific.
Speaker 1 (13:27):
Tom Brady, seven time Super Bowl champ, Fox Sports twenty
three NFL season, All right, boy, you got a good
one this week, Lions Rams. So it's interesting when I
watched the and I asked this all the time. The
other night, I had a dinner with a jam in
the NFL, and I love this question. I said, you know,
is it scheme or is it players? When you watch
(13:48):
the Rams? Do you see brilliant schemes? Do you is
it talent? Because man, when they need eleven yards they
get it. What are you seeing when you watch the film?
Speaker 5 (14:00):
Yeah, first of all, it's good to be on the show.
Why have you not invited me at all this season?
I thought we were in a good rhythm last year.
We go to the Super Bowl and all of a sudden,
I'm like xed out from the show. But I'm glad
we could at least come on here before the end
of the regular season. Yeah, it's pretty it's been pretty awesome.
Speaker 6 (14:18):
I've covered him a few times this year.
Speaker 5 (14:20):
I think what Stafford and McVeigh have going between the
two of them, they're just totally in sync.
Speaker 2 (14:25):
And you throw in these receivers.
Speaker 5 (14:28):
They've got, you know, obviously Puka and Davonte. The mix
of tight ends, they had four pretty good tight ends.
I know higbees on ir right now, but they're really
using a lot of different personnel groupings. And then quorum
last week was ridiculous against the Cardinals over one hundred
and I think as a team over two hundred and
fifty yards Russian. So you got Kiren, you got Blake Koram,
(14:49):
you got these tight ends, and one of the most
underrated aspects this team is offensive line. These guys are
playing ridiculous upfront. There's not allowing penetration in the run
game allow I think the least amount of negative plays
then eight team in the league.
Speaker 6 (15:04):
So it's just it's pretty awesome to watch.
Speaker 5 (15:07):
I'm fired up because it's Lions one of my favorite
offenses to watch with Jared Goff and the Rams with Stafford,
two kind of classic pocket passers. They play the game
from their from their neck up, and they obviously have
great ability to pass the football and they're throwing it
to guys that are extremely talented at receiver. They got
great run games, great coaches, aggressive coaches. So this is
(15:28):
a perfect game for America's Game of the Week on
Fox on Sunday at four twenty five Eastern.
Speaker 1 (15:33):
So you were an outlier in terms of playing and
being an incredible shape late Stafford, you know he didn't.
You had some really Dante Scneccia, you had good protection
most of your career. You know, he got the great
protection kick. Yeah, he got the you know what kicked
out of him for years in Detroit until he inherited
you know, Whitworth and McVeigh and the schemes. But when
(15:54):
you did get older, let's let's let's take thirty nine
for you, maybe forty three at first. For thirty seven
were their things you had to do as an older
quarterback that you didn't at twenty seven.
Speaker 5 (16:09):
Oh, man, I think you're The processes just get better
as you get older because you understand really what's important
for you over the course of the season. So you
don't waste any time being inefficient in the offseason with
your training or in training camp. You don't waste throws,
you don't waste workouts. Everything is like with the real
intention to it. So I was very fortunate in twenty
(16:31):
three seasons. I mean, I still think I could play now,
but it's just the thought of doing it, in the
commitment that it takes from someone like Matt or Aaron Rodgers,
Like they're committing year round for that, and that's a
big commitment. It's like running a marathon. Yeah, everyone wants
to run the last three miles, like Philip Rivers is doing,
but it's it's hard to run all twenty six And
(16:53):
it's not just the running of the twenty six miles,
it's all the preparation for the running. And I think
when you get older and you got the life full
of responsibilities, it gets just a little bit more challenging.
Speaker 6 (17:04):
But Matt's making look awesome.
Speaker 5 (17:07):
He's just had an incredible season, MVP caliber season, and
again just to cover him again, I think for me
to watch him play and to watch his style of
play and the kind of innovation on offense with McVeigh
and how they each week find different little weaknesses to
exploit on the opposing defense, that's an awesome thing to
(17:28):
watch from the booth.
Speaker 1 (17:29):
So obviously you can improve as any athlete, but somebody
once told me this, a real smart GM said, you
can't take a B plus guy and make him an
A plus guy. You can take people up like a
half a grade. You can take a B minors to
a B plus. Right, Like, there's this sense that So,
I mean, you were drafted in Major League Baseball, you
had perfect size, you were under represented in terms of
(17:52):
your skill. You didn't go from ded at the greatest
of all time, so you were undervalued in the skill department.
Your size arm strengths was always top of the league,
near the top. So when I when I when I
look at Caleb Williams, I've argued, he's never going to
be Drew Brees. I don't need him to be Drew
Brees because I got a horse power and movement. Is
(18:16):
there a line for you with a Josh Allen or
a Caleb that they can do so many things with
their horsepower that but is there align with him? You're like, Okay,
you got to get at least to sixty two or
do you not necessarily care about his accuracy right now?
Speaker 6 (18:32):
Well?
Speaker 5 (18:32):
I always care about accuracy from a quarterback standpoint, because
when you get to the bigger games and the playoffs,
and the defenses are better in the margin of eras less.
You have to be an incredibly accurate passer, and the
passing game is so important when you're behind in games
because you know, if you're playing with a lead and
you're running the ball and play action and pass, a
(18:52):
lot of times with play action pass, you can get
guys open by you know, three four yards of separation.
So therefore you don't need to be as accurate when
you are down twenty eight to three. You better be
extremely accurate because the windows are very tight.
Speaker 6 (19:06):
You're gonna have to throw, you.
Speaker 5 (19:08):
Know, thirty forty passes in the second half and overtime
of a game against a myriad of different coverages. So
you're gonna have to understand the strengths and weaknesses of.
Speaker 6 (19:16):
All the coverages.
Speaker 5 (19:18):
I think there's a lot of ways to get the
job done at quarterback. You know, the's a lot of
guys in the NFID different skill sets. I do believe
it's a passing league. It always has been, it always
will be. You can benefit from a great running game,
but when the rubber meets the road and you're in
big time moments and you're in games where it's very contested.
You're going against a team that's at the similar pedigree.
(19:41):
You better be an elite passer, an elite processor processor.
You better have great and tangibles and resilience built up
in you to be the leader of that team. And
I when I watch different guys play, I.
Speaker 2 (19:52):
See that in them.
Speaker 5 (19:53):
You know, Patrick Mahomes has that, Josh Allen has that,
Jared Goff has that, Matthew Stafford has that, Lamar Jackson
has that. There's a lot of guys that I love
their style of play. The inaccurate guys. They have to
work really hard at their craft to be better. There
were certain things I was not good at. I was
always a pretty good passer. I was really weak kind
of my physical strength was weak. I had to build
(20:14):
up the durability in the pocket. I had to continue
to learn the offense because I knew that when the
ball was in my hands, nothing good was going to
happen with our offense. So the faster I could get
it out of my hands into the hands of Edelman
or Welker or Moss or Mike Evans or Godwin or Gronk, well,
then our offense was going to move. So I had
(20:37):
to kind of decipher the coverage pre snap. Go, Okay,
this is the best place to go with the ball
before the ball was snapped. If I didn't know where
the ball was going before the snap, I didn't snap
the ball. I would just get us into a better play.
And that's why guys are wide open and go, oh
my god, well yeah.
Speaker 6 (20:53):
We got them open.
Speaker 5 (20:54):
Because if I was able to develop a toolkit in
a skill set to change play the line of scrim audible,
to change protections, to change route combinations. I watch Peyton
Manning do that for years. We just exploited the weak
parts of defense. And the problem in the NFL today
is guys aren't doing that. Guys aren't being developed through college,
(21:14):
and then when they get to the pro they're so
far behind that the coach feels like, Okay, I need
to control this game from the sideline. So what I'm
going to do is I'm going to make these all
these pass plays progression reads. We're going to start on
the right side of the field with the first receiver,
second receiver, and we're just going to sweep the board
and come across.
Speaker 2 (21:31):
And the problem is you can't.
Speaker 5 (21:33):
You never develop real autonomy at quarterback to get your
team in the best play, you essentially become a robot
for the coach. So the teams that I think have
a great advantage going forward are the ones with the
older quarterbacks who the coaches do give them the autonomy
to say, Okay, whatever you see out there, you can
change the play.
Speaker 6 (21:51):
You can get us in the right play.
Speaker 5 (21:53):
We trust you, and therefore, in big moments, we're going
to put the ball in your hands. And I think
that's the best style of play for sustained success in
the NFL.
Speaker 1 (22:03):
So this week, I and and you know, I was
never going to be two hundred and fifty pounds and ripped.
I have a genetic limitation, and I know that although
I once dunk to basketball Tom, no video surface, but
I once did. But the point is, I'll for it.
Everybody has to. So I put up a screen. I said,
I want everybody to look at these quarterbacks who are
(22:25):
either leading in the MVP race, lead their division, or
their name is Joe Burrow. And here's the graphic sixty
six six six six five six five six four sixty
four sixty three sixty three. I like Jalen Hurts, I
like Tua, but but Tom, you can't tell me. I've
stood next to you. I'm tall. I look up at you.
(22:47):
It's six and a half. Tom Brady. I'm just saying
I don't think you're hoist on as many trophies. So
when people say what's wrong with Jalen Hurts says, folks,
you can't see as much. That's not a clutchis is right?
Speaker 5 (23:02):
Yeah, it's a great point, and it's if you just
look at the history of quarterbacks in the NFL, how
many below six foot two and under have had, you know,
sustained successor up there in passing yardage. It's just hard
because you've got to see over at least the center,
who is typically the shortest guy on the field, because
he's standing right in front of you, and he opens
(23:24):
up the entire middle part of the field.
Speaker 2 (23:26):
So it's easy if you're not as.
Speaker 5 (23:28):
Tall to throw to the perimeter of the field because
there's more vision out there. You're only probably working through
a tackle. But when you're looking over the middle of
the field, let's say between the hashes, you're looking between
the right guard, the center, and the left guard, you've
got to have the height to see over the top
of people. And then the delivery has to be over
the top of the offensive lineman and the defensive linemen.
(23:48):
And those guys are big guys. Those guys aren't five
foot ten, those guys are six foot two, six foot three,
So you've got to have the arm angle to get
the ball over them, and that opens up the middle
part of the field. So what I see with a
lot of guys who aren't as tall, they throw the
ball more to the perimeter of the field. It's harder
to throw the ball to the perimeter of the field
because the ball has a longer distance to go and
(24:09):
you don't get as much run after catch if you're
running across the field and a short, shallow route over
the middle.
Speaker 6 (24:15):
If you catch it, you've.
Speaker 5 (24:16):
Got twenty five yards from the point you catch it
in the middle to turn the ball up the sideline
where you can gain a lot of yards after catch.
So I just I think there's I'm not saying you
can't be successful if you're under six foot two, it's
just the chance of being successful is less. And yes,
there are anomalies. I think Drew Brees is one of them.
Drew Brees played very tall. You standing up in the
(24:38):
pocket a lot of times he was up on the
balls of his feet. He had a very high release,
the ball came out very quickly, so he found a
way to but he also worked at it extremely hard
for a long time in order to make those improvements
as well. And I don't think you can discount the
fact that if you want to be successful in the NFL,
you better have the drive and termination every day of
(25:02):
your life, in season and offseason, to try to go
out and be the best in the world. You got
to be brushing your teeth in the morning, thinking about
your throwing mechanics, thinking about the calls your coach is
going to make on third down, the anticipation you need
to throw in a particular game.
Speaker 6 (25:18):
This has to be your life. It has to be
so important.
Speaker 5 (25:22):
That you're thinking about it all day, every day, certainly
during the season.
Speaker 1 (25:27):
So I had picked before the season. Sometimes I get lucky.
I said, the team that's going to double their win
total and make the playoffs that you think is bad
as New England. I did not think Drake may would
be this good this early. What was the first thing
you saw with Drake? First thing you saw you played
the position and you went, oh, Okay, that's beyond franchise.
(25:48):
That's because I think the NFL historically gives you a
franchise quarterback every year to the draft, but every five
years you get a U. You get them Montana Rare.
I mean, I'm just a TV viewer. What did you
see that I couldn't spot early with this ascension?
Speaker 5 (26:09):
Well, some of it is. You know, Josh McDaniel is
still one of my great friends. I mean, I've known
him for twenty five years, and he just talks about
his work ethic, his willingness to get better and improve weekend.
Speaker 6 (26:19):
And week out.
Speaker 5 (26:19):
He's a sponge for information, and that's more important to
me than what I see on the film because when
I hear that, I know that he's doing the thing
that takes during the week that are going to show
up consistently on the field. Other people, other coaches with
other teams will say their quarterback, as you know, he's
the first one out of the building. You know, he's
he's he doesn't study, he does, never opens his iPad.
(26:40):
I hear that from time to time and I go, okay,
well I could see why on the film.
Speaker 6 (26:44):
Well that guy's not being successful.
Speaker 5 (26:46):
So with Drake he has the physical ability, he has
the size, but I think in terms of physical skill set,
his downfield passing.
Speaker 6 (26:54):
Ability is awesome.
Speaker 5 (26:56):
So you know, Josh McDaniels has done incredible job this
year for the Patriots. Drake is running the same system
that I was in. I know how good that system
is for quarterbacks. How Josh does teach these young quarterbacks
all the different reasons why he's doing what he's doing,
why we're trying to beat this coverage, or how we're
going to protect to give you the best chance to
(27:18):
be successful. So he's in a great system to be successful.
Rabel is focusing on the defense, as he should be. Josh,
focus on the offense. That offense just like in the
early two thousands. The offense is carrying the defense, just
like in Rabel's defense of the days when I was
a young second year quarterback in New England.
Speaker 6 (27:35):
That's the way it goes.
Speaker 1 (27:38):
So we've had this argument this week. Everybody is telling me,
they say, well, the Chiefs are just a little retool.
I mean, they've got Ma Holmes and they've got Andy Reid.
And I said, time out, name their ten best players.
I said, if you name the Seahawks, you get down
to eight and you're like, damn, guys, that guy's the
third best guy in the league in his position. The
(28:00):
Rams ten best players, I'm like, man, Jared versus three,
he could be there. Yeah, you get to the Chiefs
ten best. I'm not talking legacy and resume, and I'm
saying I think it's better than Buffalo's roster that I
don't love. I think it's a little bit more of
a rebuild. You know, once you pay you took pay
(28:20):
cuts for a lot of this stuff. You start paying
fifty five fifty eight for a quarterback. I think it's
a bit more of a rebuild in Kansas City? Am
I wrong?
Speaker 5 (28:32):
It'll be interesting to see what happens. You know, we'll
see how the season plays out. But they have Andy Reid,
they have Patrick Mahomes, they have Steve Spagnolo, Rered, Veitch
Clark Hunt, they got the foundations for success in Kansas City.
So I know it's been not a typical year for them.
I'm never counting them out until they're mathematically eliminated. I
(28:54):
think when you have Patrick Mahomes and Andy Reid and
you're competing against them, you should worry about them.
Speaker 2 (29:00):
They are battle tested.
Speaker 5 (29:01):
They have proven that there's competitive as anybody in the league.
So there's always chances for every team. They're going to
have to fix things at the end of every season.
Every team's gonna have to fix things at the end
of every season. But when you have those two pieces
in place, Read and Mahomes.
Speaker 6 (29:18):
I think everything is a little tinkering.
Speaker 5 (29:20):
I don't think anything's a true rebuild when you have
those two guys at the top.
Speaker 1 (29:23):
Okay, so Philip Rivers is going to play this week,
and he's one of my favorite people that's ever played
in the league. He is so genuine and authentic and funny.
In fact, he was the first quarterback that ever told me,
he goes, I gotta be honest. I like the process
better than the game. He goes, I love the week
of practice. And he was a trash talker, like he's
the all time Southern trash talker. If I I guess
(29:46):
his high school is running the same offense, the idea
and by the way, he moved like a batting cage
when he was playing, So the idea. If I said
to you tomorrow, Ring Ring, Tom, can you play Sunday?
If you kind of knew the offense. Could you generate drives?
Speaker 5 (30:09):
Yes, I certainly could. But first of all, who retires
and then unretires and then is ultimately and retiring man?
Speaker 6 (30:15):
Who does that?
Speaker 2 (30:16):
Is that?
Speaker 5 (30:16):
Even it's ridiculous, and Philip to do that, it's good
for him.
Speaker 6 (30:21):
I'm happy he's doing it.
Speaker 5 (30:23):
I think the answer for me would be yes, I'm
not allowed to anymore because I'm an owner of a
minority owner of the Raiders, so i can'tn retire. But
I'm very excited to watch Philip play because if he's
out there, I think it's just very cool. You know,
he's it speaks to you know how much he loves
the game and really what he's able to do still.
And this game is about for the quarterback from the
(30:44):
neck up. And we have a saying at Michigan the
mental is to the physical as four is to one
at the quarterback position, and that doesn't really go away.
That's still up there. Do you have the physical ability
to still do it? Take the hits, make the throws,
the drops, you know, buy a little time in the
p If Philip has been practicing those things, then we're
all going to see it on full display in Seattle
(31:06):
on Sunday afternoon.
Speaker 1 (31:08):
So I want to go back to Detroit Rams. It's
the game you have, and I think it's interesting. Earlier
this year, I thought Green Bay was a little broken offensively,
but Matt Lafleuur solved it. And I've said this for years, Tom,
I would rather have an offensive coach than a defensive coach.
That said, I think Demico Ryans, Vrabel, Mike McDonald are studs.
(31:31):
They're great.
Speaker 6 (31:32):
Yea.
Speaker 1 (31:34):
I look at Detroit and I kind of I'm not
sure week to week. They're not as good on third down,
They're not as good a fourth down. But I want
to go to a macro picture here, because not every
game for Tom Brady was great. Over the course of
a season, you lose a left guard and then your
slot receiver shows up pregame and can't make cuts. How
(31:55):
did you fix Because the Rams haven't been broken this year,
They've made changes. The Lions have felt their weeks are broken.
How do you solve that? What is the first thing
you would do? If you're like guys, the tape shows
were just not right, there's no rhythm. What do you
do to solve that?
Speaker 5 (32:13):
So I think the most important thing and we used
to term a lot, certainly on broadcasting, is we'll say
complementary football. So when I was, for example, with the Patriots,
and those were twenty of the best years the NFL
has ever seen in terms of a standard of excellence
that was put out there on the field, is we
tried to win all three phases of the game every week.
(32:36):
It wasn't just these three parts of our team offense, defense.
Special teams will all operate independently, and you'd be very
surprised that a lot of teams see them as three
individual teams within the same team. But I knew we
were going to win special teams every week because the
emphasis that Bill Belichick put on special teams, not just
(32:59):
from a meeting stand point, but the types of players
that he brought on the team to execute our special
teams units like Larry Izzo, like Matt Slater, like Nate Ebner,
like Lonnie Paxton. We kept them as foundational pieces. So
there was a standard of performance from special teams. So
if we won special teams and we won offense, well,
(33:19):
we won two of the three phases of the game.
Not to mention, we usually had one of the top
defenses in the league. So if we had let's say
the best special teams unit, and we won on defense
and offensively we were injured, we would have to play
maybe a little bit less aggressively.
Speaker 6 (33:35):
We'd punt a little bit.
Speaker 5 (33:36):
More, we'd throw the ball a little less, we'd run
the ball a little more, we would do different things
within our offensive scheme to try to compliment the other pieces,
because alls we were trying to do was win that week.
And I think what a lot of people miss out
on is Okay, you're down this particular receiver. Well, what
do we do. Well, We're playing the Colts and they
(33:57):
have a tremendous offense. The first thought on all our
offense was, let's run the ball a lot to try
to minimize the amount of possessions.
Speaker 6 (34:05):
We'll give the ball to the Colts. Let's run the ball,
let's control the clock.
Speaker 5 (34:09):
Let's try to win time of possession thirty five minutes
to twenty five minutes. Because if they're not on the field,
they're not scoring. That's the best that's the best defense
we can play. And every week there was a different formula.
The urgency was there every week by our coaching staff,
and that was communicated to our players about this is
how we're going to win this week. That's the most
(34:30):
important thing, not what are we going to do two
weeks from now when other guys are healthier, other guys
are injured, or we don't know the strengths and weakness
of that opponent. But we're going to evaluate the opponent
we're going to play. We're going to see their strengths,
we're going to see their weaknesses, We're going to try
to attack their weaknesses, and we're going to try to
mitigate their strengths in all three phases of the game.
That is an urgency that is probably missing, you know,
(34:53):
a lot in the NFL. There's probably three or four
teams that really do that, but most of them don't
do that. And that's why when you get some injuries
to a team, to one of those lesser teams, while
they are screwed because if they're slot receivers down, whether
their tight ends down or their correct they're not going
to score points.
Speaker 6 (35:09):
And if they don't score points, they're not going to win.
Speaker 1 (35:12):
I'll wrap up with this. Last week was one of
the first weeks, maybe the week before that, I watched
football and I thought, good God, this looks miserable. It
looks so cold, it snowing, it's awful. I have this
sinking suspicion that you actually liked cruddy weather because you
viewed it as an advantage. Because you were a great
(35:32):
lousy weather. Your ball, your hip movement, you were a
great crappy. I've told you that Chicago game in Soldier
Field left sideline. I remember watching it thinking that is
a perfect cold weather throw. So when the game looks miserable,
were you sitting there on Wednesday thinking, Peyton's going to
be cold he plays in the Dome? I can't wait?
(35:53):
Did you like it?
Speaker 6 (35:55):
Absolutely?
Speaker 5 (35:55):
I looked at the weather more than anybody in the
history of the NFL. My weather app was on over
during the football season, constantly looking at the conditions we
were playing in, the conditions that are other teams that
our confidence were playing in. And because we were in
New England and we really never practiced inside, we got
so used to all the elements. We got used to
(36:15):
the wind. I had to really work hard to throw
a very tight spiral. I worked on my mechanics incessantly
so that I could drive the ball through the wind,
and the tighter the spiral was the more it could
penetrate the wind. So I knew I had to throw
a tight spiral. I knew I had to keep my
body warm. And how was I going to keep my
body warm? How many layers was I going to wear?
You know, how many did I wear? The scuba suit?
(36:36):
If it was below twenty degrees? When did I put
it on? You just get so good because you practice
in it all year round. In the springtime, we go
back in April, we'd have forty five degree days in
the rain, we'd be outside working out. So you just
get accustomed to that environment. And now this time of
year in the NFL, in the Northeast and the Midwest,
(36:56):
you know, these outdoor games, they come down to weather
eighty percent of the time. So you better be good
in it, and you better embrace it rather than see
it as a big disadvantage. And that's what we did.
We always saw as an advantage. The shittier the weather,
the better we are gonna go out there and play.
Speaker 1 (37:14):
By the way, the broadcasting thing, you're having fun. Listen,
I told you that I said this off the air
to you. You asked me before your first game. It
said something like, listen, you're gonna be nervous. I should
have really said something nice. I was like, Tommy, you're
gonna be nervous for the first five minutes, and you're like, oh, thanks,
Really that really helped a lot. Calling. But like, it's
(37:34):
I think broadcasting similar to football. It's just reps. It's
like work reps. And I will just say this, are
you enjoying it as much as it appears you're enjoying it?
Speaker 6 (37:45):
Yeah?
Speaker 5 (37:45):
I could not have imagined it the transition being any
more fun and enjoyable than it's been. I have the
greatest team in the world, the greatest partner in Kevin Burkhart,
Aaron and Tom, Dean Bland, you know, up there with
me in the booth, the people that work with us,
our whole crew, our director, rich and Richie, our producer,
(38:07):
our whole crew, our graphics team, everybody in the truck,
our cameramen. We have so much fun. It is such
a team environment. We give each other shit all day,
we laugh all day, you know, and we get to
cover football. And the only thing you want as a
broadcaster is a good game. I'm rooting for good game,
for good football. I want to see guys perform very well.
(38:29):
I want to see quarterbacks play well. I want to
see him read the defense. I want to see good blocks.
I want to see hard hits. I want the viewer
to really understand why this game is so fun to watch,
and then teach them a little bit along the way
about you know, different things that may come up. But
it's such an entertaining it's such an entertaining medium, and
I think I've really enjoyed it, and it's gone on.
(38:49):
You know, you continue to gain more confidence about what
your role is, and I just know our best is
yet to come.
Speaker 1 (38:55):
Good saying your roll is welcome. You know, I don't,
they asked me. They I always tell management. I say,
don't bother him. He's busy. He's always welcome. But you know,
you're always welcome. So we just love having you on it,
and I appreciate that.
Speaker 6 (39:11):
Thanks Colin. Yeah, you do it such a great job.
You keep up the great work.
Speaker 5 (39:14):
You away on top of everything, and it's it's amazing
what you do every day.
Speaker 6 (39:19):
So keep up the great work yourself.
Speaker 1 (39:21):
All right, Thanks Tom, Yeah, it's thanks, Pou.
Speaker 6 (39:23):
I appreciate it. You bet.
Speaker 1 (39:24):
Broadcasting's fun. It is got good cruise here and I'll
watch the cold we I always said, there was always
a piece of video. It was live. I was watching.
It was on another network and it was I lived
on the other coast and I was watching. It was
New England. It was Brady against Peyton Manning and it
(39:45):
was like AFC Championship or something, and it was snowing
in Foxboro. Therefore, you know, I was an hour and
a half away. It was snowing at my house and
it was just one of those things. It was a
big Sandwich game, big sandwich. I'm sitting watching TV for
four hours and Jim Nance is getting ready, you know, he's,
oh boy, I got the kickoffs coming up next. And
(40:06):
they show a picture of Peyton Manning. It snowing and
he looks so cold, and I'm sitting with a friend.
I'm like, game's over. New England's winning the game. I said,
look at Manning and it just looked like he was,
you know, playing the dome and it was it was
Foxborough cold, and I'm like, that's bad body language, like
(40:28):
he's cold now. And the Patriots did win that game.
Speaker 3 (40:32):
By the way, be sure to catch live editions of
The Herd weekdays in noon Eastern nine am Pacific on
Fox Sports Radio FS one and the iHeartRadio app Let's
Blaze it Up, Fired Up.
Speaker 4 (40:45):
It's Collins, Blazon Fox, Ravens and Bengales folks.
Speaker 1 (40:50):
Joe Burrow's won eight of his last nine starts. I
like the Bengals as a dog at home getting points.
They've played the fourth hardest schedule and they've gone total
to oh. They should have eaten Buffalo last week. They've
scored thirty plus points in the three straight games with Burrow.
The defense now is not great, but seven takeaways in
three games. They're playing with a lot of energy. They're
(41:12):
playing with a lot of pride and Joe Burrow folks.
Last year he was arguably, when healthy, the best quarterback
in the league. In Lamar Jackson struggling Ravens zero and
four against the spread in the last month, they're averaging
in the last month twenty points a game. I think
the Bengals at home as a dog is a sharp bet.
(41:34):
Twenty seven twenty four Cincinnati beats the stumbling Ravens Lions
in rams Rams minus five and a half is to
play my favorite bet, Clinch's playoff spot with a win,
so it matters a lot for the Rams, and they've
won seven of eight games, many comfortably. They have the
fewest offensive mistakes in the league. They don't get penalized,
(41:57):
they don't get sacked, they don't give the ball away.
And now they're at home against the Lions team searching
for an offensive identity, the Lions averaging thirteen points a
game in their three road losses. This is two teams
that feel like one's totally in rhythm. One is out
of rhythm right now. Jared Goff is facing a thirty
(42:19):
eight percent pressure rate. They can't pick up first downs
on third or fourth. Matt Stafford at home this year
has been unbelievable. He's got time to throw. I think
the Rams win and the Rams cover. Final score thirty
three twenty six.
Speaker 2 (42:37):
Panthers at Saints.
Speaker 1 (42:38):
I like the Panthers minus two and a half is
a road favorite. They come off extra rest with an
offensive coach, and I think they're just a better team
than the Saints. They're five and one when they score
at least twenty points. This year, again they beat the Rams.
This team's got a pretty high ceiling. Most improved defense
thanks to good drafting in the NFL this year, they
(43:00):
were a wreck defensively last year, averaging thirty one a game. Defensively,
they gave up thirty points down to twenty two. Saints
are in a letdown spot. They come off a big
win feeling themselves against Tampa, but Bryce Young's last three games.
I like them. By the way, the Saints be held
under twenty points in seven of eight games. This is
(43:22):
an easy one big quarterback coach advantage right now. The
defense playing well. I'm gonna take the Panthers to win
and to cover thirty twenty three.
Speaker 2 (43:35):
Packers at Broncos.
Speaker 1 (43:37):
I like green Bay minus two and a half, throwing
a four game winning streak. They finally got those wide
receivers healthy. They've been the second best offense in the league.
Have the Packers on the road. They're four to one
and one on the road. Christian Watson five touchdowns last
four games. They are really in sync offensively. The Broncos
are a bit overvalued because they've had the second easiest
(43:59):
scale schedule in the league. They have trailed has Denver
in twelve to thirteen games, and Denver plays close five
straight one score games. Jordan Love on the road this year.
I like him in this spot. Denver may have the
better defense, but I'm not even sure about that. I'm
gonna take Green Bay minus the points to win and
(44:22):
cover twenty eight to twenty four.
Speaker 2 (44:25):
Colts said.
Speaker 1 (44:26):
Seahawks take the under forty two and a half, two
run heavy teams. It will be a fast game. Seattle
big game coming up. They want to get out of
this thing healthy. They're not gonna put Darnold in harm's way.
They're gonna run the ball, and that's all the Colts
can do. With forty four year old Philip Rivers as
(44:47):
a likely starting quarterback. Back to back games, the Seahawks
have held people under ten points. Offensively, they have the
highest rushing versentis. The Colts offense the last three games
has disappeared, So they don't want Philip Rivers throwing that
thing thirty times. The culture gonna run it. The Seahawks
want to keep Darnold healthy for the last stretch of
(45:07):
the season in the playoffs. Seattle knows they're gonna win
it over under is forty two and a half. I
think the Seahawks blow them out thirty to six, but
I think Seattle wants to get out of this game.
It's been a weird wild weather week, flooding all over Seattle.
They want to get in, run the ball, stay healthy,
(45:29):
get ready for the big games coming up against the Rams.
So there's my blazing
Thanks for listening to The Herd podcast. Be sure to
catch us live every weekday on Fox Sports Radio in
noon to three eastern nine am to noon Pacific. Find
your local station for The Herd at Fox Sports Radio
dot com, or stream us live every day on the
iHeartRadio app by searching Fox Sports Radio or FSR.
Speaker 2 (00:21):
You're listening to Fox Sports Radio.
Speaker 1 (00:26):
Here we go. It is a Monday. We're live in La.
See that snow on the screen opposite here, seventy five
eighty degrees. Maybe I should call an send a plane ticket.
It's good to have you in. Matt Hasselbeck in five minutes.
It's a beautiful, beautiful day, beautiful week.
Speaker 2 (00:47):
I had Weatherwise Common.
Speaker 1 (00:50):
Urban Meyer next hour. Every week at this time we do.
Colin Wright, Colin Wrong had another good blazing five got
Philly tonight three and one. Let's go to right and wrong.
Speaker 2 (01:02):
Where Colin was right.
Speaker 1 (01:04):
It's time to all acknowledge what we've been talking about.
Jordan Love is out of this world. Good three tuddies,
one hundred and twenty one passer rating. He was the
difference yesterday. Green Bay's defense got really tired. He didn't.
He's finally got a healthy wide receiving corps. Green Bay
and the Rams best two teams in the NFC, and
(01:26):
a huge part of it is Jordan Love's tall, moves, aggressive,
not a lot of mistakes. It's time to admit it, folks.
He's He's elite where Colin was wraw All scale back
on my Cowboy Love. They gave up forty four to Detroit.
I still think their run defense two first round picks
(01:47):
Quentin Williams is really really going to be strong going forward.
But the truth is their past defense gives up two
hundred and fifty five per game. They need help in
the secondary. Miny mock drafts have them going getting Caleb
Downs of Ohio State. They're a really fun watch. I
love their future, but defensively they still need help.
Speaker 2 (02:10):
Where Colin was right said.
Speaker 1 (02:12):
This last couple of years, Josh Allen is the best
quarterback in the NFL, not Patrick Mahomes. Josh is a
more transformational physical specimen for total touchdowns, one hundred and
forty passer rating, and he doesn't have a receiving corps
that's as good as Patrick Mahomes, so don't tell me that. Well,
He's got a lot to work with. He's got tight
ends yesterday. He couldn't trust in the red zone James Cook,
(02:36):
So let's give him the MVP again. He doesn't have
the trophy case. But the best quarterback in the NFL.
It's not Lamar, it's not Aaron Rodgers, it's not Mahomes,
it's not it's Josh Allen and has been for two years.
Speaker 2 (02:52):
Where Colin was raw.
Speaker 1 (02:54):
The Indiana Hoosiers are a college football power. Hard to
wrap my brain around that because I had a functioning
television for the last forty years. They went toe to
toe in the trenches with Ohio State. It's not just
Fernando Mendoza, because Ohio State Julian Sands a great quarterback too.
They the Hoosiers held Ohio State to fifty eight yards rushing,
(03:17):
and Jackson's great as a running back, they held him
to ten points. So this wasn't just about a great
quarterback and an excellent coach. This was the trenches. This
was Indianago, and toe to toe in the trenches with
the number one program right now in college football blew
me away where Colin was right. I've been defending Aaron
(03:39):
Rodgers all year. He's not the problem. He's the most
redeemable quality. He threw the ball down the field yesterday.
He was moving around and scrambling. Seventh game this season
with over one hundred passer rating, and they don't have
a run game. Offensively, the O line is okay after
DK Metcalf, what do they have at wide receiver. I've
(04:00):
been critical of Aaron before. He's a bit, you know,
moody and prickly, but he's been good forty two years
old or not, He's done a good job with what
he has this year.
Speaker 2 (04:10):
Where Colin was wrong.
Speaker 1 (04:12):
The Miami Dolphins have won four straight. They have the
same record as the Chiefs and the Ravens. Listen, Mike McDaniel,
I always said, I like his schemes, I like his
play calling. I don't know if he's a head coach.
He deserves a ton of credit to go up and
lousy weather and to win the four straight game. And
they were the better team physically. I mean they gave
(04:34):
up a long return. Miami was a better team. Nobody
has quit on this team. Mike McDaniel has not lost
that locker room. They have the same record as the
Kansas City Chiefs. I was wrong where Colin was right.
The Miami Hurricanes are gonna jump over Notre Dame. That's
what I said, and it's what they did. The Irish
(04:55):
had two games and they had to win one. They
started the year with Texas A and m and Miami.
You got to win one of them. Miami's got a
big win and a tougher schedule. Their wins over Notre
Dame had to head. Head to head isn't everything, but
when you both have two losses, it's the thing. And again,
Notre Dame join a conference BYU did Miami deserved to
(05:18):
be in better against common opponents one head to head.
I don't really have a problem with Notre Dame bailing
on the bowl game because I think bowl games are
in conference championships are going to be a thing of
the past within the next two years. But I thought
Miami had kind of won public approval people coming out,
(05:41):
coaches who had played both teams. It was the right
thing for college football to do.
Speaker 2 (05:45):
Where Colin was right.
Speaker 1 (05:47):
Mike McDonald said it last year, I have said it
this year. He is the defensive Sean McVeigh Seattle. This
guy is no BS alpha, smart player friendly. This is
the second youngest offense in the League. He lets Sam
Darnold make mistakes, he doesn't over coach, he doesn't go conservative.
(06:07):
Seattle found themselves the defensive version of Sean McVeigh, and
they'll play each other twice a year going forward.
Speaker 3 (06:17):
Be sure to catch live editions of The Herd weekdays
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FS one and the iHeartRadio app. Fox Sports Radio is
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Just go to YouTube and search Fox Sports Radio.
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Speaker 1 (06:52):
YouTube, Subscribe, hit that dumbs up icon and comment away.
Speaker 2 (06:58):
Heard hierarchy No go. The top ten NFL teams according to.
Speaker 1 (07:03):
Collin Number ten Well listen. The Bills are flawed, but
they have won twelve straight home games in December and January,
and Josh Allen has a career high completion percentage and
yards for attempt this season. I still think they're asking
too much of them, which is why they've had twelve
giveaways in five games. They're not a clean team. They
can get sloppy. They're bad against the run, although they've
(07:26):
been a little better in the last couple of weeks.
I think the reality is they'll go as far as
Josh Allen can take them. I don't trust them situationally.
They were fumbling near the goal line this week. I
think right now the best quarterback in the world, not
the most decorated, but the best is Josh Allen. But
there's too many questions for me. They sneak in at
number ten, number nine. The Chargers are now five and
(07:49):
zero in prime time this season. They're a big stage
team at least in the regular season. Thirteen and four
under Jim Harbaugh in the second half of seasons. It's
best in the NFL. Remarkable with all their injuries. The
offensive lines atrocious, all beat up. The running game depends
on who's healthy, but they have a great pass defense,
(08:12):
best in the league since Week eight. Between the head
coach and the star coordinator and Herbert, they're in every
single game. I have the Chargers at nine, number eight.
I can't even figure the Niners out. How in the
world do they have the number one scoring defense since
Week eleven? Robert Sala I don't like their defensive personnel.
(08:34):
I'm mid on brock party. But they've got five wins
of ten plus or more points since Week seven. That's
tied for the NFL lead. They don't get penalized. They've
got too easy games coming up, just had the bye
San Francisco. Yes, they're two Christian McCaffrey dependent, but Kittle
and Jennings and Piersoll, they're getting healthier. All put them
(08:57):
at eight number seven. Have the best defense in the league,
five game winning streak eight of ten. Their offense can
worry me. I do like CJ. Stroud. They have played
the fourth hardest schedule in the league, so they are
battle tested. Number one scoring defense. I'll tell you there's
a couple of young defensive coaches in this league that
(09:18):
are really sharp. Tomico Ryans and I told you I
had somebody inside the Niners tell me years ago Demiko
Ryans was going to be a star as head coach.
That Houston defense is no fun to play. I've got
him at seven number six. I'm gonna give it to
the Bears. They lead the NFL in turnover differential. They
(09:41):
run the football, they can win time of possession. People
bang on Caleb Williams completing fifty eight percent of his throws,
but he is so electric and dynamic. I can live
with that. I think their biggest issue they give up
six point one yards of play. That's near the bottom
of the NFL. That's what worries me. It's not Caleb's
(10:02):
lack of accuracy. I think he got to live with
that because he's so dynamic. They've got to shore up
their defense. On the average play number five Seattle. Maybe
I have them low, but there's a slew of teams
above him, and there's reasons why they can be reckless.
They're a run first team, they're aggressive, sometimes a little
(10:26):
you know, penalties, youth. I don't think they're a super
Bowl team yet. I think, like the Packers, who are young,
it'll take another year. I think Green Bay is ready
this year. They weren't last year. They have, you know,
tied for the fewest sacks allowed. Some of that's just
Darnold's good on his feet. But I have Seattle at
(10:46):
five number four, but I think the Broncos roster is
a little more experienced, and I get offensive coach Sean
Payton first game though this year they have not trailed. Listen,
here's what's really impressive. Tied for the most sacks and
then the fewest allowed. You can't get to their quarterback.
They always get to yours. That's gonna serve them well
(11:09):
in the playoffs. Offensive line Sean Payton's got at number
one after a couple of years. I love their roster.
I really like their roster. I wish their quarterback wasn't
this uneven, but I have them a nick ahead of
Seattle number three Green Bay. I may have them low
best third down offense, tied for the fewest giveaways. They're
(11:31):
a very smart, clean young team. I thought last year
they were a bit too young. I love that Christian
Watson is healthy because Jordan Love like a Sam Darnold,
loves to throw the deep ball and throws a brilliant
deep ball. I also think the Mica trade was brilliant.
Not always bad for Dallas, but it was brilliant because
(11:53):
they're going to lead a lot of games late and
he's the closer. I have Green Bay at three, number
two for idle. I have them at two ten to
zero and Christian Gonzales plays their elite corner ten game
winning streak. Are they a bit young? Is Drake may ready? Listen?
They have played the easiest schedule in the NFL. That
(12:15):
needs to be noted. Houston could be better. Houston's played
the fourth hardest schedule, so I think they're a little
harder to judge team. We know the coach is good
in the quarterback is good, but I have them.
Speaker 2 (12:27):
At two number one.
Speaker 1 (12:29):
The Rams boy was Devonte Adams. A steal leads the
NFL with fourteen touchdowns. Fuka Nikua, by the way, averaging
the most receiving yards per game in NFL history. Ninety
one tight ends quarterback, head coach, running back, O line.
They have no weakness offensively other than Stafford's immobility. The
(12:51):
defense is young and outstanding. This feels like the most
complete team in the league. And you may have noticed
I do not have Philadelphia in I'm sorry. I think
their coach is coordinator dependent and their quarterback in Philadelphia
(13:12):
is an if quarterback, he's circumstantial. If the O line
is healthy, if the defense is great, if Saquan's having
a great year. I have Philadelphia at eleven.
Speaker 3 (13:21):
And with that, be sure to catch live editions of
The Herd Weekdays and Noone Easter, not a em Pacific.
Speaker 1 (13:27):
Tom Brady, seven time Super Bowl champ, Fox Sports twenty
three NFL season, All right, boy, you got a good
one this week, Lions Rams. So it's interesting when I
watched the and I asked this all the time. The
other night, I had a dinner with a jam in
the NFL, and I love this question. I said, you know,
is it scheme or is it players? When you watch
(13:48):
the Rams? Do you see brilliant schemes? Do you is
it talent? Because man, when they need eleven yards they
get it. What are you seeing when you watch the film?
Speaker 5 (14:00):
Yeah, first of all, it's good to be on the show.
Why have you not invited me at all this season?
I thought we were in a good rhythm last year.
We go to the Super Bowl and all of a sudden,
I'm like xed out from the show. But I'm glad
we could at least come on here before the end
of the regular season. Yeah, it's pretty it's been pretty awesome.
Speaker 6 (14:18):
I've covered him a few times this year.
Speaker 5 (14:20):
I think what Stafford and McVeigh have going between the
two of them, they're just totally in sync.
Speaker 2 (14:25):
And you throw in these receivers.
Speaker 5 (14:28):
They've got, you know, obviously Puka and Davonte. The mix
of tight ends, they had four pretty good tight ends.
I know higbees on ir right now, but they're really
using a lot of different personnel groupings. And then quorum
last week was ridiculous against the Cardinals over one hundred
and I think as a team over two hundred and
fifty yards Russian. So you got Kiren, you got Blake Koram,
(14:49):
you got these tight ends, and one of the most
underrated aspects this team is offensive line. These guys are
playing ridiculous upfront. There's not allowing penetration in the run
game allow I think the least amount of negative plays
then eight team in the league.
Speaker 6 (15:04):
So it's just it's pretty awesome to watch.
Speaker 5 (15:07):
I'm fired up because it's Lions one of my favorite
offenses to watch with Jared Goff and the Rams with Stafford,
two kind of classic pocket passers. They play the game
from their from their neck up, and they obviously have
great ability to pass the football and they're throwing it
to guys that are extremely talented at receiver. They got
great run games, great coaches, aggressive coaches. So this is
(15:28):
a perfect game for America's Game of the Week on
Fox on Sunday at four twenty five Eastern.
Speaker 1 (15:33):
So you were an outlier in terms of playing and
being an incredible shape late Stafford, you know he didn't.
You had some really Dante Scneccia, you had good protection
most of your career. You know, he got the great
protection kick. Yeah, he got the you know what kicked
out of him for years in Detroit until he inherited
you know, Whitworth and McVeigh and the schemes. But when
(15:54):
you did get older, let's let's let's take thirty nine
for you, maybe forty three at first. For thirty seven
were their things you had to do as an older
quarterback that you didn't at twenty seven.
Speaker 5 (16:09):
Oh, man, I think you're The processes just get better
as you get older because you understand really what's important
for you over the course of the season. So you
don't waste any time being inefficient in the offseason with
your training or in training camp. You don't waste throws,
you don't waste workouts. Everything is like with the real
intention to it. So I was very fortunate in twenty
(16:31):
three seasons. I mean, I still think I could play now,
but it's just the thought of doing it, in the
commitment that it takes from someone like Matt or Aaron Rodgers,
Like they're committing year round for that, and that's a
big commitment. It's like running a marathon. Yeah, everyone wants
to run the last three miles, like Philip Rivers is doing,
but it's it's hard to run all twenty six And
(16:53):
it's not just the running of the twenty six miles,
it's all the preparation for the running. And I think
when you get older and you got the life full
of responsibilities, it gets just a little bit more challenging.
Speaker 6 (17:04):
But Matt's making look awesome.
Speaker 5 (17:07):
He's just had an incredible season, MVP caliber season, and
again just to cover him again, I think for me
to watch him play and to watch his style of
play and the kind of innovation on offense with McVeigh
and how they each week find different little weaknesses to
exploit on the opposing defense, that's an awesome thing to
(17:28):
watch from the booth.
Speaker 1 (17:29):
So obviously you can improve as any athlete, but somebody
once told me this, a real smart GM said, you
can't take a B plus guy and make him an
A plus guy. You can take people up like a
half a grade. You can take a B minors to
a B plus. Right, Like, there's this sense that So,
I mean, you were drafted in Major League Baseball, you
had perfect size, you were under represented in terms of
(17:52):
your skill. You didn't go from ded at the greatest
of all time, so you were undervalued in the skill department.
Your size arm strengths was always top of the league,
near the top. So when I when I when I
look at Caleb Williams, I've argued, he's never going to
be Drew Brees. I don't need him to be Drew
Brees because I got a horse power and movement. Is
(18:16):
there a line for you with a Josh Allen or
a Caleb that they can do so many things with
their horsepower that but is there align with him? You're like, Okay,
you got to get at least to sixty two or
do you not necessarily care about his accuracy right now?
Speaker 6 (18:32):
Well?
Speaker 5 (18:32):
I always care about accuracy from a quarterback standpoint, because
when you get to the bigger games and the playoffs,
and the defenses are better in the margin of eras less.
You have to be an incredibly accurate passer, and the
passing game is so important when you're behind in games
because you know, if you're playing with a lead and
you're running the ball and play action and pass, a
(18:52):
lot of times with play action pass, you can get
guys open by you know, three four yards of separation.
So therefore you don't need to be as accurate when
you are down twenty eight to three. You better be
extremely accurate because the windows are very tight.
Speaker 6 (19:06):
You're gonna have to throw, you.
Speaker 5 (19:08):
Know, thirty forty passes in the second half and overtime
of a game against a myriad of different coverages. So
you're gonna have to understand the strengths and weaknesses of.
Speaker 6 (19:16):
All the coverages.
Speaker 5 (19:18):
I think there's a lot of ways to get the
job done at quarterback. You know, the's a lot of
guys in the NFID different skill sets. I do believe
it's a passing league. It always has been, it always
will be. You can benefit from a great running game,
but when the rubber meets the road and you're in
big time moments and you're in games where it's very contested.
You're going against a team that's at the similar pedigree.
(19:41):
You better be an elite passer, an elite processor processor.
You better have great and tangibles and resilience built up
in you to be the leader of that team. And
I when I watch different guys play, I.
Speaker 2 (19:52):
See that in them.
Speaker 5 (19:53):
You know, Patrick Mahomes has that, Josh Allen has that,
Jared Goff has that, Matthew Stafford has that, Lamar Jackson
has that. There's a lot of guys that I love
their style of play. The inaccurate guys. They have to
work really hard at their craft to be better. There
were certain things I was not good at. I was
always a pretty good passer. I was really weak kind
of my physical strength was weak. I had to build
(20:14):
up the durability in the pocket. I had to continue
to learn the offense because I knew that when the
ball was in my hands, nothing good was going to
happen with our offense. So the faster I could get
it out of my hands into the hands of Edelman
or Welker or Moss or Mike Evans or Godwin or Gronk, well,
then our offense was going to move. So I had
(20:37):
to kind of decipher the coverage pre snap. Go, Okay,
this is the best place to go with the ball
before the ball was snapped. If I didn't know where
the ball was going before the snap, I didn't snap
the ball. I would just get us into a better play.
And that's why guys are wide open and go, oh
my god, well yeah.
Speaker 6 (20:53):
We got them open.
Speaker 5 (20:54):
Because if I was able to develop a toolkit in
a skill set to change play the line of scrim audible,
to change protections, to change route combinations. I watch Peyton
Manning do that for years. We just exploited the weak
parts of defense. And the problem in the NFL today
is guys aren't doing that. Guys aren't being developed through college,
(21:14):
and then when they get to the pro they're so
far behind that the coach feels like, Okay, I need
to control this game from the sideline. So what I'm
going to do is I'm going to make these all
these pass plays progression reads. We're going to start on
the right side of the field with the first receiver,
second receiver, and we're just going to sweep the board
and come across.
Speaker 2 (21:31):
And the problem is you can't.
Speaker 5 (21:33):
You never develop real autonomy at quarterback to get your
team in the best play, you essentially become a robot
for the coach. So the teams that I think have
a great advantage going forward are the ones with the
older quarterbacks who the coaches do give them the autonomy
to say, Okay, whatever you see out there, you can
change the play.
Speaker 6 (21:51):
You can get us in the right play.
Speaker 5 (21:53):
We trust you, and therefore, in big moments, we're going
to put the ball in your hands. And I think
that's the best style of play for sustained success in
the NFL.
Speaker 1 (22:03):
So this week, I and and you know, I was
never going to be two hundred and fifty pounds and ripped.
I have a genetic limitation, and I know that although
I once dunk to basketball Tom, no video surface, but
I once did. But the point is, I'll for it.
Everybody has to. So I put up a screen. I said,
I want everybody to look at these quarterbacks who are
(22:25):
either leading in the MVP race, lead their division, or
their name is Joe Burrow. And here's the graphic sixty
six six six six five six five six four sixty
four sixty three sixty three. I like Jalen Hurts, I
like Tua, but but Tom, you can't tell me. I've
stood next to you. I'm tall. I look up at you.
(22:47):
It's six and a half. Tom Brady. I'm just saying
I don't think you're hoist on as many trophies. So
when people say what's wrong with Jalen Hurts says, folks,
you can't see as much. That's not a clutchis is right?
Speaker 5 (23:02):
Yeah, it's a great point, and it's if you just
look at the history of quarterbacks in the NFL, how
many below six foot two and under have had, you know,
sustained successor up there in passing yardage. It's just hard
because you've got to see over at least the center,
who is typically the shortest guy on the field, because
he's standing right in front of you, and he opens
(23:24):
up the entire middle part of the field.
Speaker 2 (23:26):
So it's easy if you're not as.
Speaker 5 (23:28):
Tall to throw to the perimeter of the field because
there's more vision out there. You're only probably working through
a tackle. But when you're looking over the middle of
the field, let's say between the hashes, you're looking between
the right guard, the center, and the left guard, you've
got to have the height to see over the top
of people. And then the delivery has to be over
the top of the offensive lineman and the defensive linemen.
(23:48):
And those guys are big guys. Those guys aren't five
foot ten, those guys are six foot two, six foot three,
So you've got to have the arm angle to get
the ball over them, and that opens up the middle
part of the field. So what I see with a
lot of guys who aren't as tall, they throw the
ball more to the perimeter of the field. It's harder
to throw the ball to the perimeter of the field
because the ball has a longer distance to go and
(24:09):
you don't get as much run after catch if you're
running across the field and a short, shallow route over
the middle.
Speaker 6 (24:15):
If you catch it, you've.
Speaker 5 (24:16):
Got twenty five yards from the point you catch it
in the middle to turn the ball up the sideline
where you can gain a lot of yards after catch.
So I just I think there's I'm not saying you
can't be successful if you're under six foot two, it's
just the chance of being successful is less. And yes,
there are anomalies. I think Drew Brees is one of them.
Drew Brees played very tall. You standing up in the
(24:38):
pocket a lot of times he was up on the
balls of his feet. He had a very high release,
the ball came out very quickly, so he found a
way to but he also worked at it extremely hard
for a long time in order to make those improvements
as well. And I don't think you can discount the
fact that if you want to be successful in the NFL,
you better have the drive and termination every day of
(25:02):
your life, in season and offseason, to try to go
out and be the best in the world. You got
to be brushing your teeth in the morning, thinking about
your throwing mechanics, thinking about the calls your coach is
going to make on third down, the anticipation you need
to throw in a particular game.
Speaker 6 (25:18):
This has to be your life. It has to be
so important.
Speaker 5 (25:22):
That you're thinking about it all day, every day, certainly
during the season.
Speaker 1 (25:27):
So I had picked before the season. Sometimes I get lucky.
I said, the team that's going to double their win
total and make the playoffs that you think is bad
as New England. I did not think Drake may would
be this good this early. What was the first thing
you saw with Drake? First thing you saw you played
the position and you went, oh, Okay, that's beyond franchise.
(25:48):
That's because I think the NFL historically gives you a
franchise quarterback every year to the draft, but every five
years you get a U. You get them Montana Rare.
I mean, I'm just a TV viewer. What did you
see that I couldn't spot early with this ascension?
Speaker 5 (26:09):
Well, some of it is. You know, Josh McDaniel is
still one of my great friends. I mean, I've known
him for twenty five years, and he just talks about
his work ethic, his willingness to get better and improve weekend.
Speaker 6 (26:19):
And week out.
Speaker 5 (26:19):
He's a sponge for information, and that's more important to
me than what I see on the film because when
I hear that, I know that he's doing the thing
that takes during the week that are going to show
up consistently on the field. Other people, other coaches with
other teams will say their quarterback, as you know, he's
the first one out of the building. You know, he's
he's he doesn't study, he does, never opens his iPad.
(26:40):
I hear that from time to time and I go, okay,
well I could see why on the film.
Speaker 6 (26:44):
Well that guy's not being successful.
Speaker 5 (26:46):
So with Drake he has the physical ability, he has
the size, but I think in terms of physical skill set,
his downfield passing.
Speaker 6 (26:54):
Ability is awesome.
Speaker 5 (26:56):
So you know, Josh McDaniels has done incredible job this
year for the Patriots. Drake is running the same system
that I was in. I know how good that system
is for quarterbacks. How Josh does teach these young quarterbacks
all the different reasons why he's doing what he's doing,
why we're trying to beat this coverage, or how we're
going to protect to give you the best chance to
(27:18):
be successful. So he's in a great system to be successful.
Rabel is focusing on the defense, as he should be. Josh,
focus on the offense. That offense just like in the
early two thousands. The offense is carrying the defense, just
like in Rabel's defense of the days when I was
a young second year quarterback in New England.
Speaker 6 (27:35):
That's the way it goes.
Speaker 1 (27:38):
So we've had this argument this week. Everybody is telling me,
they say, well, the Chiefs are just a little retool.
I mean, they've got Ma Holmes and they've got Andy Reid.
And I said, time out, name their ten best players.
I said, if you name the Seahawks, you get down
to eight and you're like, damn, guys, that guy's the
third best guy in the league in his position. The
(28:00):
Rams ten best players, I'm like, man, Jared versus three,
he could be there. Yeah, you get to the Chiefs
ten best. I'm not talking legacy and resume, and I'm
saying I think it's better than Buffalo's roster that I
don't love. I think it's a little bit more of
a rebuild. You know, once you pay you took pay
(28:20):
cuts for a lot of this stuff. You start paying
fifty five fifty eight for a quarterback. I think it's
a bit more of a rebuild in Kansas City? Am
I wrong?
Speaker 5 (28:32):
It'll be interesting to see what happens. You know, we'll
see how the season plays out. But they have Andy Reid,
they have Patrick Mahomes, they have Steve Spagnolo, Rered, Veitch
Clark Hunt, they got the foundations for success in Kansas City.
So I know it's been not a typical year for them.
I'm never counting them out until they're mathematically eliminated. I
(28:54):
think when you have Patrick Mahomes and Andy Reid and
you're competing against them, you should worry about them.
Speaker 2 (29:00):
They are battle tested.
Speaker 5 (29:01):
They have proven that there's competitive as anybody in the league.
So there's always chances for every team. They're going to
have to fix things at the end of every season.
Every team's gonna have to fix things at the end
of every season. But when you have those two pieces
in place, Read and Mahomes.
Speaker 6 (29:18):
I think everything is a little tinkering.
Speaker 5 (29:20):
I don't think anything's a true rebuild when you have
those two guys at the top.
Speaker 1 (29:23):
Okay, so Philip Rivers is going to play this week,
and he's one of my favorite people that's ever played
in the league. He is so genuine and authentic and funny.
In fact, he was the first quarterback that ever told me,
he goes, I gotta be honest. I like the process
better than the game. He goes, I love the week
of practice. And he was a trash talker, like he's
the all time Southern trash talker. If I I guess
(29:46):
his high school is running the same offense, the idea
and by the way, he moved like a batting cage
when he was playing, So the idea. If I said
to you tomorrow, Ring Ring, Tom, can you play Sunday?
If you kind of knew the offense. Could you generate drives?
Speaker 5 (30:09):
Yes, I certainly could. But first of all, who retires
and then unretires and then is ultimately and retiring man?
Speaker 6 (30:15):
Who does that?
Speaker 2 (30:16):
Is that?
Speaker 5 (30:16):
Even it's ridiculous, and Philip to do that, it's good
for him.
Speaker 6 (30:21):
I'm happy he's doing it.
Speaker 5 (30:23):
I think the answer for me would be yes, I'm
not allowed to anymore because I'm an owner of a
minority owner of the Raiders, so i can'tn retire. But
I'm very excited to watch Philip play because if he's
out there, I think it's just very cool. You know,
he's it speaks to you know how much he loves
the game and really what he's able to do still.
And this game is about for the quarterback from the
(30:44):
neck up. And we have a saying at Michigan the
mental is to the physical as four is to one
at the quarterback position, and that doesn't really go away.
That's still up there. Do you have the physical ability
to still do it? Take the hits, make the throws,
the drops, you know, buy a little time in the
p If Philip has been practicing those things, then we're
all going to see it on full display in Seattle
(31:06):
on Sunday afternoon.
Speaker 1 (31:08):
So I want to go back to Detroit Rams. It's
the game you have, and I think it's interesting. Earlier
this year, I thought Green Bay was a little broken offensively,
but Matt Lafleuur solved it. And I've said this for years, Tom,
I would rather have an offensive coach than a defensive coach.
That said, I think Demico Ryans, Vrabel, Mike McDonald are studs.
(31:31):
They're great.
Speaker 6 (31:32):
Yea.
Speaker 1 (31:34):
I look at Detroit and I kind of I'm not
sure week to week. They're not as good on third down,
They're not as good a fourth down. But I want
to go to a macro picture here, because not every
game for Tom Brady was great. Over the course of
a season, you lose a left guard and then your
slot receiver shows up pregame and can't make cuts. How
(31:55):
did you fix Because the Rams haven't been broken this year,
They've made changes. The Lions have felt their weeks are broken.
How do you solve that? What is the first thing
you would do? If you're like guys, the tape shows
were just not right, there's no rhythm. What do you
do to solve that?
Speaker 5 (32:13):
So I think the most important thing and we used
to term a lot, certainly on broadcasting, is we'll say
complementary football. So when I was, for example, with the Patriots,
and those were twenty of the best years the NFL
has ever seen in terms of a standard of excellence
that was put out there on the field, is we
tried to win all three phases of the game every week.
(32:36):
It wasn't just these three parts of our team offense, defense.
Special teams will all operate independently, and you'd be very
surprised that a lot of teams see them as three
individual teams within the same team. But I knew we
were going to win special teams every week because the
emphasis that Bill Belichick put on special teams, not just
(32:59):
from a meeting stand point, but the types of players
that he brought on the team to execute our special
teams units like Larry Izzo, like Matt Slater, like Nate Ebner,
like Lonnie Paxton. We kept them as foundational pieces. So
there was a standard of performance from special teams. So
if we won special teams and we won offense, well,
(33:19):
we won two of the three phases of the game.
Not to mention, we usually had one of the top
defenses in the league. So if we had let's say
the best special teams unit, and we won on defense
and offensively we were injured, we would have to play
maybe a little bit less aggressively.
Speaker 6 (33:35):
We'd punt a little bit.
Speaker 5 (33:36):
More, we'd throw the ball a little less, we'd run
the ball a little more, we would do different things
within our offensive scheme to try to compliment the other pieces,
because alls we were trying to do was win that week.
And I think what a lot of people miss out
on is Okay, you're down this particular receiver. Well, what
do we do. Well, We're playing the Colts and they
(33:57):
have a tremendous offense. The first thought on all our
offense was, let's run the ball a lot to try
to minimize the amount of possessions.
Speaker 6 (34:05):
We'll give the ball to the Colts. Let's run the ball,
let's control the clock.
Speaker 5 (34:09):
Let's try to win time of possession thirty five minutes
to twenty five minutes. Because if they're not on the field,
they're not scoring. That's the best that's the best defense
we can play. And every week there was a different formula.
The urgency was there every week by our coaching staff,
and that was communicated to our players about this is
how we're going to win this week. That's the most
(34:30):
important thing, not what are we going to do two
weeks from now when other guys are healthier, other guys
are injured, or we don't know the strengths and weakness
of that opponent. But we're going to evaluate the opponent
we're going to play. We're going to see their strengths,
we're going to see their weaknesses, We're going to try
to attack their weaknesses, and we're going to try to
mitigate their strengths in all three phases of the game.
That is an urgency that is probably missing, you know,
(34:53):
a lot in the NFL. There's probably three or four
teams that really do that, but most of them don't
do that. And that's why when you get some injuries
to a team, to one of those lesser teams, while
they are screwed because if they're slot receivers down, whether
their tight ends down or their correct they're not going
to score points.
Speaker 6 (35:09):
And if they don't score points, they're not going to win.
Speaker 1 (35:12):
I'll wrap up with this. Last week was one of
the first weeks, maybe the week before that, I watched
football and I thought, good God, this looks miserable. It
looks so cold, it snowing, it's awful. I have this
sinking suspicion that you actually liked cruddy weather because you
viewed it as an advantage. Because you were a great
(35:32):
lousy weather. Your ball, your hip movement, you were a
great crappy. I've told you that Chicago game in Soldier
Field left sideline. I remember watching it thinking that is
a perfect cold weather throw. So when the game looks miserable,
were you sitting there on Wednesday thinking, Peyton's going to
be cold he plays in the Dome? I can't wait?
(35:53):
Did you like it?
Speaker 6 (35:55):
Absolutely?
Speaker 5 (35:55):
I looked at the weather more than anybody in the
history of the NFL. My weather app was on over
during the football season, constantly looking at the conditions we
were playing in, the conditions that are other teams that
our confidence were playing in. And because we were in
New England and we really never practiced inside, we got
so used to all the elements. We got used to
(36:15):
the wind. I had to really work hard to throw
a very tight spiral. I worked on my mechanics incessantly
so that I could drive the ball through the wind,
and the tighter the spiral was the more it could
penetrate the wind. So I knew I had to throw
a tight spiral. I knew I had to keep my
body warm. And how was I going to keep my
body warm? How many layers was I going to wear?
You know, how many did I wear? The scuba suit?
(36:36):
If it was below twenty degrees? When did I put
it on? You just get so good because you practice
in it all year round. In the springtime, we go
back in April, we'd have forty five degree days in
the rain, we'd be outside working out. So you just
get accustomed to that environment. And now this time of
year in the NFL, in the Northeast and the Midwest,
(36:56):
you know, these outdoor games, they come down to weather
eighty percent of the time. So you better be good
in it, and you better embrace it rather than see
it as a big disadvantage. And that's what we did.
We always saw as an advantage. The shittier the weather,
the better we are gonna go out there and play.
Speaker 1 (37:14):
By the way, the broadcasting thing, you're having fun. Listen,
I told you that I said this off the air
to you. You asked me before your first game. It
said something like, listen, you're gonna be nervous. I should
have really said something nice. I was like, Tommy, you're
gonna be nervous for the first five minutes, and you're like, oh, thanks,
Really that really helped a lot. Calling. But like, it's
(37:34):
I think broadcasting similar to football. It's just reps. It's
like work reps. And I will just say this, are
you enjoying it as much as it appears you're enjoying it?
Speaker 6 (37:45):
Yeah?
Speaker 5 (37:45):
I could not have imagined it the transition being any
more fun and enjoyable than it's been. I have the
greatest team in the world, the greatest partner in Kevin Burkhart,
Aaron and Tom, Dean Bland, you know, up there with
me in the booth, the people that work with us,
our whole crew, our director, rich and Richie, our producer,
(38:07):
our whole crew, our graphics team, everybody in the truck,
our cameramen. We have so much fun. It is such
a team environment. We give each other shit all day,
we laugh all day, you know, and we get to
cover football. And the only thing you want as a
broadcaster is a good game. I'm rooting for good game,
for good football. I want to see guys perform very well.
(38:29):
I want to see quarterbacks play well. I want to
see him read the defense. I want to see good blocks.
I want to see hard hits. I want the viewer
to really understand why this game is so fun to watch,
and then teach them a little bit along the way
about you know, different things that may come up. But
it's such an entertaining it's such an entertaining medium, and
I think I've really enjoyed it, and it's gone on.
(38:49):
You know, you continue to gain more confidence about what
your role is, and I just know our best is
yet to come.
Speaker 1 (38:55):
Good saying your roll is welcome. You know, I don't,
they asked me. They I always tell management. I say,
don't bother him. He's busy. He's always welcome. But you know,
you're always welcome. So we just love having you on it,
and I appreciate that.
Speaker 6 (39:11):
Thanks Colin. Yeah, you do it such a great job.
You keep up the great work.
Speaker 5 (39:14):
You away on top of everything, and it's it's amazing
what you do every day.
Speaker 6 (39:19):
So keep up the great work yourself.
Speaker 1 (39:21):
All right, Thanks Tom, Yeah, it's thanks, Pou.
Speaker 6 (39:23):
I appreciate it. You bet.
Speaker 1 (39:24):
Broadcasting's fun. It is got good cruise here and I'll
watch the cold we I always said, there was always
a piece of video. It was live. I was watching.
It was on another network and it was I lived
on the other coast and I was watching. It was
New England. It was Brady against Peyton Manning and it
(39:45):
was like AFC Championship or something, and it was snowing
in Foxboro. Therefore, you know, I was an hour and
a half away. It was snowing at my house and
it was just one of those things. It was a
big Sandwich game, big sandwich. I'm sitting watching TV for
four hours and Jim Nance is getting ready, you know, he's,
oh boy, I got the kickoffs coming up next. And
(40:06):
they show a picture of Peyton Manning. It snowing and
he looks so cold, and I'm sitting with a friend.
I'm like, game's over. New England's winning the game. I said,
look at Manning and it just looked like he was,
you know, playing the dome and it was it was
Foxborough cold, and I'm like, that's bad body language, like
(40:28):
he's cold now. And the Patriots did win that game.
Speaker 3 (40:32):
By the way, be sure to catch live editions of
The Herd weekdays in noon Eastern nine am Pacific on
Fox Sports Radio FS one and the iHeartRadio app Let's
Blaze it Up, Fired Up.
Speaker 4 (40:45):
It's Collins, Blazon Fox, Ravens and Bengales folks.
Speaker 1 (40:50):
Joe Burrow's won eight of his last nine starts. I
like the Bengals as a dog at home getting points.
They've played the fourth hardest schedule and they've gone total
to oh. They should have eaten Buffalo last week. They've
scored thirty plus points in the three straight games with Burrow.
The defense now is not great, but seven takeaways in
three games. They're playing with a lot of energy. They're
(41:12):
playing with a lot of pride and Joe Burrow folks.
Last year he was arguably, when healthy, the best quarterback
in the league. In Lamar Jackson struggling Ravens zero and
four against the spread in the last month, they're averaging
in the last month twenty points a game. I think
the Bengals at home as a dog is a sharp bet.
(41:34):
Twenty seven twenty four Cincinnati beats the stumbling Ravens Lions
in rams Rams minus five and a half is to
play my favorite bet, Clinch's playoff spot with a win,
so it matters a lot for the Rams, and they've
won seven of eight games, many comfortably. They have the
fewest offensive mistakes in the league. They don't get penalized,
(41:57):
they don't get sacked, they don't give the ball away.
And now they're at home against the Lions team searching
for an offensive identity, the Lions averaging thirteen points a
game in their three road losses. This is two teams
that feel like one's totally in rhythm. One is out
of rhythm right now. Jared Goff is facing a thirty
(42:19):
eight percent pressure rate. They can't pick up first downs
on third or fourth. Matt Stafford at home this year
has been unbelievable. He's got time to throw. I think
the Rams win and the Rams cover. Final score thirty
three twenty six.
Speaker 2 (42:37):
Panthers at Saints.
Speaker 1 (42:38):
I like the Panthers minus two and a half is
a road favorite. They come off extra rest with an
offensive coach, and I think they're just a better team
than the Saints. They're five and one when they score
at least twenty points. This year, again they beat the Rams.
This team's got a pretty high ceiling. Most improved defense
thanks to good drafting in the NFL this year, they
(43:00):
were a wreck defensively last year, averaging thirty one a game. Defensively,
they gave up thirty points down to twenty two. Saints
are in a letdown spot. They come off a big
win feeling themselves against Tampa, but Bryce Young's last three games.
I like them. By the way, the Saints be held
under twenty points in seven of eight games. This is
(43:22):
an easy one big quarterback coach advantage right now. The
defense playing well. I'm gonna take the Panthers to win
and to cover thirty twenty three.
Speaker 2 (43:35):
Packers at Broncos.
Speaker 1 (43:37):
I like green Bay minus two and a half, throwing
a four game winning streak. They finally got those wide
receivers healthy. They've been the second best offense in the league.
Have the Packers on the road. They're four to one
and one on the road. Christian Watson five touchdowns last
four games. They are really in sync offensively. The Broncos
are a bit overvalued because they've had the second easiest
(43:59):
scale schedule in the league. They have trailed has Denver
in twelve to thirteen games, and Denver plays close five
straight one score games. Jordan Love on the road this year.
I like him in this spot. Denver may have the
better defense, but I'm not even sure about that. I'm
gonna take Green Bay minus the points to win and
(44:22):
cover twenty eight to twenty four.
Speaker 2 (44:25):
Colts said.
Speaker 1 (44:26):
Seahawks take the under forty two and a half, two
run heavy teams. It will be a fast game. Seattle
big game coming up. They want to get out of
this thing healthy. They're not gonna put Darnold in harm's way.
They're gonna run the ball, and that's all the Colts
can do. With forty four year old Philip Rivers as
(44:47):
a likely starting quarterback. Back to back games, the Seahawks
have held people under ten points. Offensively, they have the
highest rushing versentis. The Colts offense the last three games
has disappeared, So they don't want Philip Rivers throwing that
thing thirty times. The culture gonna run it. The Seahawks
want to keep Darnold healthy for the last stretch of
(45:07):
the season in the playoffs. Seattle knows they're gonna win
it over under is forty two and a half. I
think the Seahawks blow them out thirty to six, but
I think Seattle wants to get out of this game.
It's been a weird wild weather week, flooding all over Seattle.
They want to get in, run the ball, stay healthy,
(45:29):
get ready for the big games coming up against the Rams.
So there's my blazing
Hosts And Creators
Colin Cowherd
Jason McIntyre
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