February 14, 2026 • 37 mins
He shares this week's Where Colin Was Right, Where Colin Was Wrong - why he was always right about Darnold from Day 1 and why he was wrong about the Patriots defense.
Plus, 3-time Super Bowl Champion Matt Hasselbeck joins the show to breakdown what went wrong for the Patriots offense and what makes Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald so special.
He looks ahead to the 2026 NFL season and gives you the 5 teams he’s Up on and the 5 teams he’s Down on.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Thanks for listening to The Herd podcast. Be sure to
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Speaker 2 (00:21):
You're listening to Fox Sports Radio.
Speaker 1 (00:26):
Here we go. It's Monday, Seattle Seahawks super Bowl victory Monday.
We are live in Los Angeles. It's The Herd. Wherever
you may be and however you may be listening. Matt
Hasselbeck is five minutes away. So wow. You know, sports
(00:49):
is so great. You just never know what you're going
to get in sports. It's just so amazing. My sister
didn't even like sports my old whole childhood. And then
the Seahawks, you know, they get the Russell Pete John
Snyder thing. And now she's I got emoji's firing at me.
She's all fired up about I call her after the
game last night. She's like, ah, we were setting off fireworks.
(01:11):
We're all going crazy here in Grayln, Washington. All right,
here we go. Colin Wright, Colin Wrang.
Speaker 2 (01:18):
Where Colin was right.
Speaker 1 (01:19):
Sam Darnold seven hundred yards, five touchdowns, no picks, and
a one h two passer rating in the Superior NFC
playoffs in Super Bowl. I never wavered on Sam because
quarterback is about traits, arm size, mobility, toughness, humility. I
always ask people in the league who I respected, and
(01:44):
the smart people always said, he just needs the right fit.
He came into the league at twenty in New York
and he just didn't have great college coaching. He just
got overwhelmed. Just wait until he gets the right coach.
Way to go, Sam. Where Colin was wrong, Seattle dominated
(02:06):
the scoreboard more than I thought. I thought it would
be close, but Drake May was so ineffective. Some of
it is Will Campbell, who will eventually, my guess is
get moved inside. But I mean three nothing in the
turnover department for the Seahawks. They got better quarterback play.
I mean, by the early second quarter, it felt like
(02:28):
we had the makings potentially of a blowout, and that
I knew it was a potential outcome. But it's not
the outcome I predicted. Where Colin was right, I said
last week the one thing I was certain about in
the Super Bowl, New England would not be able to
run the ball. Their offensive line not good enough. They're
(02:50):
not dynamic enough. They had forty two yards rushing by
running backs, and again Drake May had a couple of
scrambles that makes it look more dynamic. But they still
need to attack the offensive line in the draft. We
had said throughout the course of the playoff run, the
Patriots are still a draft away from elevating their tight
end group, elevating their offensive line. But my concern in
(03:14):
the game was, oh, Drake May is going to have
to throw it thirty four thirty five times or more.
And he was one in seven in games in which
he did, so that part was kind of predictable.
Speaker 2 (03:25):
Where Colin was wrong.
Speaker 1 (03:28):
I did not have Christian Gonzalez in my top ten
players in the Super Bowl. I think I had him
an eleven or twelve. He's phenomenal. He does get banged
up a lot. He reminds me of Christian Watson of
the Packers. He looks, I mean, he is literally an
Adonis with no body fat. He's just a remarkable athlete.
And on this this ball is a little behind JSN,
(03:51):
but length and speed and timing. That game could have
broken open much earlier without that play on the eat
ball as one of the best plays by a defensive
back of the entire playoffs.
Speaker 2 (04:05):
Where Colin was right, I said.
Speaker 1 (04:07):
After Seattle lost to the Rams, I said, what team
in the league could have four picks and be driving
to beat Los Angeles? I said at that time, after
losing to the Rams, Seattle's the best team in the league.
They just got to clean their act up and if
they can clean the turnovers up. And all year long,
I kept saying, turn the sound down when you watch
(04:28):
the Seahawks. They don't look like anybody else. They were
nine to zero in games with no turnovers. If they
didn't get reckless, they always won. We were right on that.
Speaker 2 (04:42):
Where Colin was wrong.
Speaker 1 (04:44):
Defensive head coaches won the day. McVeigh, Ben Johnson, Kyle
Shanahan made the playoffs, but it was Mike McDonald who
calls his own plays. It was a very good year
for a subset of coaches. Defensive guys who have not
had a great decade. Vrabeled, Demiko Ryans, Mike McDonald all
(05:04):
had tremendous years and it was a masterclass yesterday against
Drake May. Where Colin was right, Devin Witherspoon, to me,
is the best corner in football. I had said he's
the first or second best player in this game. He
led all players on quarterback hits. I remember watching him
at Illinois. He was so insanely physical for a corner,
(05:27):
versatile gets to the quarterback. I mean, there's just Patrick's
hertanat Denver's another one. Christian Gonzales is great, but you're
talking Devin Witherspoon. Seattle doesn't blitz much, and they're like,
we'll leave ourselves vulnerable in the back end.
Speaker 2 (05:44):
Go get him where Colin was right?
Speaker 1 (05:48):
Well, I said Matt Stafford should be MVP over Drake May.
And the reason isn't stats or analytics. It's because Matt
walks to the line and knows the why, and Drake
May is still trying to figure out the what. Just
see how good that Seahawk defense is. Stafford tore apart
three times. Yes, I know he has Pooka, but the
New England tied end and wide receiver group is very good.
(06:11):
I think they'd led her second in the NFL in
big plays. Stafford is something that Drake May can't possibly
be yet at twenty three years old. The maturity. I
said before, Matt Stafford has more fourth quarter comeback wins
than Drake May has. Pro starts. I don't want to
hear about analytics and starts. They're just different quarterbacks. And
(06:33):
that's why, as Tom Brady said last week, so many
quarterbacks in this league once they get to twenty eight,
twenty nine. Look at Sam Donald. He is a different
quarterback than twenty three year old Sam Donold, completely different,
Colin Wright, Colin wrong with that? A very happy man
is joining us live. Matt Hasselback a decade with the Seahawks,
eighteen years in the NFL. Look at that.
Speaker 3 (06:58):
I don't know if happy he's the right way right now, Colin.
Maybe regretful should have gone to bed earlier.
Speaker 1 (07:04):
Man, Hey, man, there's one.
Speaker 3 (07:07):
I was avvy yesterday. I was haavy yesterday. I know
that for sure. I got a few days to recover.
There's going to be a parade in Seattle on Wednesday.
I got some time.
Speaker 4 (07:15):
But yeah, what an incredible day yesterday.
Speaker 1 (07:19):
You know it's funny, I don't you didn't hear this
because you were on the field. So they asked Kyle Shanahan,
who knows Seattle well about the game, and I couldn't
believe he said it. He goes, well, if Seattle doesn't
turn it over, this could get ugly. When you're in
the stadium, it's different than me watching on TV and
on the field warm ups. Did it feel like to
(07:39):
you when you're watching them and you can tell stuff,
you're a pro athlete, you've been there. Did you look
at that and go, man, Seattle just looks a little different.
Speaker 3 (07:49):
Well, yeah, with the exception of the defense for New
England was holding them to field goals not touchdowns. So
you know, it was like Felix Sihawks were dominating, especially
on defense, but it was three nothing, six nothing, and
it was nine to nothing. You know, as a player,
that doesn't give you a ton of confidence. And it
kind of reminded me of those great SIAWK sorry, those
great Patriot defenses early on that they gave up a
(08:10):
ton of yards, but they keep you out of the
end zone and that's why they won.
Speaker 4 (08:13):
So much, you know, so many football games.
Speaker 3 (08:15):
Unfortunately, you know that defense for New England they just
run the field so much. Because it felt like three
and out, three and out, three and out, you know,
so many punts. I think it was like eight punts
in a row for that Patriots offense. So you know,
eventually that defense is just gonna wear down. And I
think that's kind of what happened, especially trying to stop
Kenneth Walker in the run game.
Speaker 1 (08:35):
You know, Mike McDonald calls his own plays. I always
prefer my head coach doesn't. But I also and I've
defended guys like Lincoln Riley. If you're really good at
it and you're better than anybody else, you can hire.
I get why certain coaches are like, listen, this is
my defense, it's my vision. I mean, you know Mike.
You've talked to Mike. Is he just different? Is he
(08:55):
kind of just a guy that's just quicker and probably
should call stuff because he's just He'll never hire a
guy that's better at that than him.
Speaker 3 (09:03):
Well, you got to remember why you got hired in
the first place. I mean, he got hired in the
first place because of who he was as a defensive coordinator,
as a defensive play caller.
Speaker 4 (09:10):
And there's a great feel for that.
Speaker 3 (09:12):
I mean, this Seahawks defense was so good at getting
a pass rush with four all year long, and then
what did you see yesterday?
Speaker 4 (09:20):
It was a blitz fest and there was blood in
the water and.
Speaker 3 (09:23):
They were shark circling and they were like, you know what,
usually we're not going to be a blitz repeating team,
but if you don't prove that you have an answer
for it, we're bringing it again. And to see this,
the speed and the timing and the savvy of the
defensive back and linebacker blitzes, you just don't see that.
Speaker 4 (09:39):
It's not normal.
Speaker 3 (09:40):
You know, Devin Witherspoon's an incredible, incredible corner, incredible corner
when they move him inside the nickel and he's blitzing,
he's an incredible blitzer pass rusher. I mean, really, he
had four tackles and a touchdown yesterday if you count
the strip strip sack that they originally called a fumble
scoop and score.
Speaker 4 (09:58):
And then I think, you know, twenty minutes.
Speaker 3 (09:59):
Later they said, no, that was a pick six, But
that's a Devin Witherspoon and Mike McDonald touchdown in my mind. So,
I mean, they were just the great defenses. I mean
I'm talking great defenses. They try to score when they're
on defense, and they think they can and that's what
I thought. I think that's what I saw to Seattle yesterday.
Speaker 1 (10:18):
It was interesting. Matt as somebody that's at home and
just a sportscaster who's never been on the field in
a game. I try to watch a game plan and
figure out in the first two series, what are the
coaches telling me? And when I watched New England jumping
routes in the first two series, I was like, they're
trying to get Sam to be old Sam because they're
(10:41):
so aggressive. They're doing this because they know they're offensively,
They've looked at the film and thought, we're going to
struggle to block them when they're deep in territory. We
have to make Seattle make a mistake. So when watching
them jump routes, I'm like, that is insanely aggressive. What
tell you?
Speaker 4 (11:01):
Well?
Speaker 5 (11:01):
Yeah?
Speaker 3 (11:02):
And to me, I think when I look at the
New England Patriots, as young as they are on offense,
they're equally like they're that experience on defense. When I
look at that Patriots defense, I see a very experienced
group with lockdown corners on the outside, like this is
a good defense. They're not the deepest defense, but they're
pretty good offensively. They just struggle.
Speaker 4 (11:23):
They're young.
Speaker 3 (11:23):
I think they're going to get better someday. It was
just a tough matchup against a great defense. But that
New England Patriots defense really I thought played really well
early on.
Speaker 4 (11:32):
They just wore down.
Speaker 3 (11:33):
You know, it's complimentary football for a reason, like you can't.
I mean, you just don't really appreciate all the turnovers
and you don't appreciate the three and outs because what
happens as a defensive player after your series you come
over on the sidelines, you sit down, you're trying to
get a drink, you're trying to get oxygen, you're trying
to get adjustments made, and all of a sudden, like bam,
hey you guys are back up. It's like we're back
(11:55):
up again, like already, you know. And it was a
very physical game from Seattle upfront as well. They determined, hey,
you know what, Kenneth Walker, we use load management all
year on him. Everyone was saying, we need more Kenneth Walker,
we need more K nine. They said, no, we're going
to stick to the plan. We're going to use Sharbonnat
and then Charboney eventually got hurt. Then they had to
(12:16):
unleash K nine and they did, and I think it
were the Patriots down.
Speaker 1 (12:20):
You know, it's interesting j Mac talked about this. Kenneth Walker,
I think is a free agent. And my take is
a few years ago Brady won in Tampa and they
brought the Band back. And I've always believed that you
have to make some changes to keep it fresh. Seattle
is young, They've got a couple of guys in the
back end they could move off of. They don't have
(12:41):
a ton of picks. How do you keep this team hungry?
And you know they've got some cap space here? What
do you I mean? Walker's not a pass catcher, Matt
and he's not great blocker. He's a little one dimensional,
but he's unbelievable at that one dimension. Do you stay
with him him? Do you stay with a roster? Do
(13:01):
you tweak? How do you stay young and hungry when
it looks like you're not only the best team in
the league, only the Rams can challenge you.
Speaker 3 (13:09):
Well, they're gonna have to stop the bleeding when Klin
Kubiak leaves. Klint Kubiak's gonna leave and go to the Raiders,
And you know, I think they can.
Speaker 4 (13:16):
You know, he's a great coach.
Speaker 3 (13:17):
I think they can maybe handle losing a coordinator they've
proven that.
Speaker 4 (13:21):
But who's he taking with him? Like, that's the big question.
Speaker 3 (13:24):
There might be a lot of turnover just because he's
taking a bunch of coaches in the building with him.
He might be taking players with him that he he
knows fits into his system. He's starting fresh in Las Vegas.
They're gonna spend money, they're building something. They want to
draw a line in the sand, like, who's he taking
with him? He's probably not taking K nine, But if
you do have a ton of turnover, then maybe that's
(13:44):
more of a reason to keep K nine and keep
the keep the band together. Just post a little bit
and you see, you know, I think another point Klink
Kubiak's proven he likes to bring people that he's already
been around, He's already spent a lot of time with.
He was a huge part of the fact that they
even got Sammed Arnold. They were together in San France
at the trade deadline. He was the one banging, you know,
standing up on the table saying, hey, Rashid Shaheed, I
(14:07):
had him in New Orleans. Bring him to us. You're
gonna love him on special teams. He's gonna fit well
in the room. He's got upside. He compliments JSN. He's
going to help Cooper Cup be Cooper Cup. He can
Cooper Cup can.
Speaker 4 (14:18):
Be the short intermediate guy and we get our speedsters outside.
Speaker 3 (14:21):
So Klik Kubiak, you know, he's obviously the son of
Gary Kubiak, He's the brother of Klay Kubiak and sant Franz.
This guy knows what he's doing. So I think my
biggest concern would be who's he taking with him, Like
who's he poaching? And you better, you better hope that
you don't let him poach the people you need.
Speaker 1 (14:37):
You know, It's funny people are saying, well, Donald, you
know Donald wasn't the key to it, And I said,
he had one hundred and eighty six postseason snaps and
didn't have a turnover. And I think if you look
at like Aikman with a Cowboys was a great example,
great coach, great roster, Steve Young with a Niners, great coach,
great roster. Those guys played Super Bowls and didn't have
a turnover because they knew the assignment. I think part
(15:00):
of Sam's growth is what's needed against the Rams. He
had to make spectacular plays against the Patriots. They knew
on film, especially in the first corep like don't make
a big mistake. I think game manager gets a horrible reputation.
Everybody to some degree is managing. Take take me through
(15:21):
kind of what you saw with Sam in the entire
playoff run and against the Patriots.
Speaker 3 (15:26):
Yeah, Gay, I agree, game manager is this weird word.
I don't use the word game manager. I use the
work game commander, like you're in command. Brady was the
best at that. He was in command of it. He
won super Bowls at the beginning of the end. It
wasn't a stat fest. That wasn't what it was about.
It was about him in command of the game, dictating
how the game's gonna go. And just zoom out on
the playoffs this year, look at the turnover thing. The
(15:48):
turnover thing is a major thing. You want to measure
winning and losing. It is truly all about the ball,
and Sam Darnold understood that. And I think part of
it is he can rest with confidence that he doesn't
have to always go out there and throw for three
point fifty like he did in the NFC Championship game,
because he knows, Hey, they've told me, and I feel it.
(16:09):
You're our guy, Sam, you're our guy. You don't have
to prove yourself. Maybe other people want you to prove yourself,
you don't need to do that with us. You're our guy.
We've put our money where our mouth is. We could
have gone out and gotten anybody in the world in
free agency or gone the draft or whatever. We put
all our chips on you, and other teams didn't do that.
The Jets kick you to the curb. Carolina kick you
(16:30):
to the curb, saying Fran never gave you an opportunity.
Even when you were in Minnesota and you had that
awesome year, you never really knew if you were the guy.
Speaker 4 (16:37):
You never really felt like you were the guy.
Speaker 3 (16:39):
People in the building were probably saying, now, he's not
going to be our guy. So that when you know
you're the guy, you don't care if you throw for
one hundred and ninety eight yards and win the game,
you don't care. And that's what I see out of Sam,
and I think the locker room respects it, and I
think you just stack bricks that way in terms of
confidence in yourself, the team's confidence in you, unselfish play.
Speaker 4 (17:00):
It was a long long way in a locker.
Speaker 1 (17:01):
Room Yeah, the you know, Drake May J. Mack had
said this earlier. He struggled throughout the playoffs. Yes, Will
Campbell was being overwhelmed, There's no question. I didn't love.
I thought they should attack Seattle with Hunter Henry. I
think the Rams have success against the Seahawks because they
used their tight ends very effectively. It's hard to be
(17:22):
witherspoon in the outside. You got to do the best
you can with tight ends and throw it to backs
with Drake may Are you worried that he looked overwhelmed?
Maybe he wasn't one hundred percent. I mean, let for
take out one drive and some garbage time stuff. I
mean it was pretty lean. What worried you at all?
Speaker 4 (17:43):
Yeah? He did not look healthy to me.
Speaker 3 (17:44):
You know, that was one thing, you know, like he
looked he looked okay, he looked good, pretty good, you know,
in terms of his fastball and stuff like that. He
had some great throws. But I just didn't think he
was looking He looked like he was in that like, hey,
I'm feeling my best.
Speaker 4 (18:00):
I don't think that.
Speaker 3 (18:01):
I also think that pass protection was a real issue
early on.
Speaker 4 (18:04):
It was a huge issue.
Speaker 3 (18:05):
I didn't love how they didn't feel like an aggressive
enough game plan, and when they went aggressive, now he's
holding on the ball and putting the put in the
offensive line in a tough spot. Like I don't think
they're going to watch the film and feel really good
about it. I also just think, like when you're playing
a defense that is that good, this defense, I you know,
we need to really start talking about this defense with
the great defenses of all times, a great defense, and
(18:27):
we don't. I'm not sure why, but we need to.
So if you're playing, if you're mismatched with a great
defense of a historic of a historic nature, you got
to pull out the trick plays man, like you got
to you gotta steal one, you got to manufacture something exotic.
And like I just it was just kind of like, hey,
inside zone, outside zone, we're just gonna, I don't know,
(18:49):
try to control the line of scripts, control the clock,
control like it just it.
Speaker 4 (18:53):
Wasn't there for me. So I think there's a lot
to learn from. I think the health is a thing.
Speaker 3 (18:58):
I'm not willing to just like throw everything out, move
people at other positions and all the all the stuff.
But I do think that there's a there's a long
look in the mirror on this one, and what could
we have done to be more competitive in this game?
Speaker 1 (19:11):
I think it's Seattle has the ability to get great
pressure with only four That's the definition of a great defense.
And they are unbelievably twitchy and handsy and athletic in
the back end, and their special teams are stacked. I mean, honestly,
there was not a lot of holes with Seattle. No.
Speaker 3 (19:30):
And I think, just like if we go back to
the Drake May thing, like, I love like the tangibles
and the upside and the athleticism. But one of the
best quarterback performances against the Seattle Seahawks defense this year
was a forty four year old Philip Rivers, who is
like coaching high school football for a couple of years.
(19:52):
And it just goes to show if I could say
one thing to these young quarterbacks, learn from what Philip
Rivers did. It's a little bit more about things that
they do not test for at the combine. It's your vision,
it's your communication, it's your demeanor. It's getting the ball
out of your hands quicker to guys who can do
something with it. It's protecting the offensive line by not
(20:12):
taking sacks fumbles.
Speaker 4 (20:14):
Need to be hated the way you hate interceptions.
Speaker 3 (20:17):
There's a lot of lessons you can learn from guys
like Philip who had just like a longevity of success
year after year after year and then comes and does
it in Seattle, leaves.
Speaker 4 (20:28):
The field with the with the lead.
Speaker 3 (20:30):
You know it was only because of the last second
field real they didn't get the win. So I just
think for young quarterbacks if if you want to really learn,
you know, again.
Speaker 4 (20:38):
This is stuff that doesn't show up at the combine.
Speaker 3 (20:40):
They don't test for it, but it absolutely matters when
you play this position.
Speaker 1 (20:45):
By the way, the Pacific Northwest has great wine and
craft beers. I'm not going to get nosy on what
you you know, where you went last night, but I
will say this as somebody that grew up in the
Pacific Northwest. It's wine country, it's beer country. There's you
could have a good time in Seattle and you're telling
you did well.
Speaker 3 (21:03):
I'm in San fran was at the you know, the
post Beme party.
Speaker 4 (21:07):
Yeah, it was actually San Jose.
Speaker 3 (21:09):
I made it for Ludacris and t Paine. I don't
know who performed after that. I went, I went, I left,
I left but the young kids.
Speaker 4 (21:18):
They were still there.
Speaker 3 (21:19):
And I was very impressed to see Kenneth Walker at
the MVP presentation in his in his green suit.
Speaker 4 (21:24):
He looked great.
Speaker 3 (21:25):
Mike McDonald looks like he slept twelve hours. I don't
know how he does it. The dude's a machine. Very
impressive because uh it was. It was a good time,
right and see anybody awesome Colin.
Speaker 4 (21:37):
Thanks.
Speaker 2 (21:37):
Be sure to catch live editions of The Herd weekdays
and noon Eastern not a em Pacific.
Speaker 4 (21:44):
So that gots here.
Speaker 6 (21:45):
I have a podcast Empire.
Speaker 4 (21:47):
It continues to grow and I.
Speaker 6 (21:49):
Have brought it here to iHeart. I'm also doing a
live radio show from three to five pm Eastern because my.
Speaker 1 (21:56):
Wife wanted to kick me out of the house.
Speaker 6 (21:57):
It's called Stugatzi Company Live, which is available in podcast
form right when the show finishes every single day. Some
of the biggest names in sports, a lot of phone.
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Calls, I love you guys show it's one of my favorites.
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A lot of interaction, guys not taking themselves too seriously.
Those are just some of the things that you could
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So listen to Steve Gotson Company Live and our original podcast.
Please subscribe, rate and review Stu Gotson Company and God
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(22:34):
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Speaker 1 (22:45):
Five teams, and it's not just going to be record.
You are going to feel differently about these teams positively
next year and then five teams and some of the
teams that I have going down are are teams that
will be good, but I don't think they'll be as special.
So we're gonna play five up, five down. Let's start
(23:09):
glass half full se who I am at my core?
First of all, five up, the New York Giants is
the easiest pick on the board. I like their roster,
top ten zero line, top ten D line, I think
eleven according to PFF. They were one in seven in
one score games. Jackson Dart now gets an elite coach
(23:30):
and a culture center. They have the number five overall pick.
They can trade down and accumulate more picks. Their lines
are good enough. They got to get a right tackle,
a tight end probably another weapon. Scataboo Jackson Dart four
and thirteen Giants are my pick to double their win total.
They'll look different by mid September. The Commanders same division.
(23:57):
They get Jayden Daniels back. They were five and twelve.
I don't know if they're going to win ten games,
but they have a lot of cap space. They're the
oldest team in the NFL. The Commanders are going to
be a different looking team again. Seven to one score games,
they won only two. Dan Quinn is solid, if not
exceptional cap space, lost a lot of close games. They
(24:21):
get their quarterback back. Just don't forget how gifted he
was as a rookie. The third team is the Detroit
Lions at nine to eight, they're going to get back
into the twelve win territory. I love. I was surprised
they didn't get more positive feedback the higher of Arizona's
offensive coordinator, Drew Petsing. Didn't anybody else watch Arizona this
(24:45):
year and go, how the hell are they scoring all
these points? With Jacoby Brissett, he's clever, Maybe not Ben Johnson,
but their stars are locked up. Goff is still in
his prime. Amaran Saint Brown, Pinasoul Hutchison, gibbson a rookie deal,
not a very good team in close games. Dan Campbell
had to take over the offense. This is still an
(25:06):
elite front office that drafts well and acquires well. They're
gonna get their mojo back. They struggle at OC nine
to eight to probably an eleven or a twelve win team.
The Chargers. Now they were eleven and six and they
may only go twelve and five. They will feel different.
(25:26):
Mike McDaniel probably the best coordinator higher in the sport.
They get both offensive tackles back and both are way
above average. Third most cap space. They have drafted well
with Jim Harbaugh. Again, they have been a defensive first
team that survives offensively that we're not considering a super
(25:48):
Bowl team. Next year there'll be an offensive led team
that won't be as good defensively, but you will feel
very early in the season, oh, this team could win
the Super Bowl. Whether they do or not, they'll have
a totally different feel and finally an easy one. The
Kansas City Chiefs two years ago, they won every close game.
(26:08):
Last year they lost every close game. One and nine.
You know you're gonna get in the middle somewhere around there. Also,
their offensive tackle position when Josh Simmons wasn't playing and
he's really talented, was a mess. Key's back. Mahomes is healthy.
Travis kelce I argued for him to return one more year. Listen,
you just have to be honest about it. When you're
(26:30):
drafting at the bottom of rounds, it's really hard. GMS
will tell you after about the eighteenth pick you wish
you could just have more second and third round picks.
They're going to be fine, They're going to improve. Six
and eleven. My guess becomes eleven and six. Here's five
down Houston, twelve and five. Could they have dominated their
(26:54):
division the last two years? Ten and two. That's not
happening again. That's not happening again. Tennessee is going to
be much better. Jacksonville is really good. They've also been
five to nine the last couple of years against teams
that make the playoffs. I love CJ. Stroud. I think
he throws the prettiest ball. On some Sundays in the league.
(27:16):
He has regressed to an eighty nine passer rating guy
who turns the ball over way too much. They will
be good as long as Demico Ryans is the coach.
But I don't think they feel the same. I don't
think offensively they've got the right rhythm. Twelve and five
to me becomes like what nine and eight, ten and
(27:41):
ten and seven? But you never feel like they're a
super Bowl team. I would say the Patriots, Okay, fourteen
and three is not happening. AFC is going to be
much better. The Chiefs will be better, the Charges will
be better. Cincinnati, Baltimore, Jacksonville's only getting better. And Liam
Cohen's second year, they're not going fourteen and three my
guest closer than ten eleven wins. Also, it's the Dan
(28:03):
Reno thing. They get to solve their offensive line. Dan
Marino with Don Schuel never got back to a super Bowl.
It was a really bad year. I mean they got
Let's be honest, if b Nicks plays, they probably don't
make the super Bowl. They were completely overwhelmed by Seattle.
It wasn't necessarily close. I love Rabel, Drake May's good,
but you start looking at the AFC, there's just too
many good quarterbacks. There's too many good coaches, there's too
(28:25):
many good coordinators. They take a step back. Forty nine
ers who I love, twelve and five. George Kettle probably
not available till mid season. Robert Sala had an unbelievable
year as defensive coordinator. Bosa aging getting hurt more often.
What are they gonna do at receiver? Brandon neu Ayuk's gone?
Juwan Jennings is a free agent? What are they gonna do?
(28:48):
Christian McCaffrey comes off a four hundred and fifty touch
season and he is now thirty. So I again, they
did it with smoking mirrors last year. They'll be fine.
I don't think they're at twelve and five team Cowboys
seven nine to one. I think they unravel. They're a mess.
How Jerry Jones a business man? How can you be
(29:08):
this big of a mess. They're twenty nine million over
the cap. They want to pay George Pickens. That's going
to cost you twenty nine million dollars. Worst defense in
the NFL. They're spending an NFL high seventy million on
their interior defensive line and an NFL low six million
on their edge rushers. How are they this big of
a mess? Stop trying to get discounts. Hire a real GM,
(29:31):
pay big money for a coach. Seven nine to one,
they're going down and finally Philadelphia had eleven and six.
How many coordinator changes can you make? You just had
a top offensive line coach, say, I'm out. You've got
some older offensive linemen who are getting banged up increasingly
and may may decide at some point. I'm out. I
(29:53):
think they've been doing it a little bit, just on
Howie Roseman's roster. But I don't feel Sirianni's an elite coach.
I don't care about the record, and I think the
books in on Jalen Hurts not beloved in the locker room.
I've got that sourced. I also I think he struggles
throwing the ball down the field. I said it yesterday.
You don't want to give Sam Donald any credit. Donald
(30:15):
sits in that pocket, doesn't turn it over in the
last month, and throws the ball right into the heart
of the defense. I'm sorry. On the market, I think
GMS take Donald over Jalen Hurts. So Giants, Commander's Lion, Chargers,
Chiefs up down, Texans, Patriots, Niners, Cowboys, Eagles. I also
think Tennessee should be better, but I'm not ready to
commit one more.
Speaker 2 (30:36):
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Speaker 1 (30:46):
So I was thinking about this. I know it's really
really early, but the NFL season is over, and once
an NFL season ends, there are three ways to improve
your team. Number one is the coaching and staff hires.
Number two is free agency, and number three is the
dry Those are the primary ways. I think the draft's
worth about fifteen percent. I think free agencies are worth
about fifteen percent, and I think Ben Johnson and Mike
(31:08):
Vrabel are proof. The coaching is about seventy percent. Now,
most rosters don't radically change, and if they do, like
New England change this year, well it's up to Mike Frabel,
the coach. Okay, so to me, the coaching thing really matters.
So if you look at the teams that have made
big jumps in a year, Ben Johnson, Mike Rabel, Jim Harbaugh,
(31:29):
Liam Cohen, Sean Payton, it's not all players. It's mostly
the coach. And if they do change the roster, the
coach has big say in that. The coach making eighteen
million a year has a lot of say in even
the draft and free agency so I mean the Titans
and Giants had a lot of money last year, they
didn't have the right coaches. Okay, New England had a
(31:52):
lot of money last year. In free agency, they had
the right coach. I mean Jackson Dart and Drake Mayor
both talented. It's the coach and Seattle the draft. So
it's not the draft. Seattle as the draft. They had
two guys, a guard and a safety out of the
draft class. They had an impact two of twenty two starters,
and that's not counting special teams, and their special teams
in Seattle were impactful. So I do believe you can
(32:16):
look after all the coaching hires. I'm going to do
a top ten, after the coaching hires, after free agency,
and after the draft, and I would say, here we go,
number ten. I think the Chiefs. I'd put them at
number ten right now. They've got three really good picks,
three of the top seventy five picks. They need to
get a rush end, an offensive tackle, probably a running back.
(32:36):
If they get that notre name running back in the
first round, I don't think they will, but if they
do absolute home run, I have them at ten. Number
nine would be Buffalo Okay, Buffalo doesn't have a lot
of cap space, and they don't have a pro bowler
on defense right now. Joe Brady. Is he an upgrade
over Sean McDermott. I don't necessarily think so. I'm gonna
wait and see. Their schedule is brutal rams Texans, AFC
(32:59):
West and North, brutal, brutal schedule. Number six the Patriots
or number eight the Patriots. I like New England, but
Drake May was sacked sixty eight times this year. The
O line doesn't need a tweak. It mostly outside of guard,
needs an overhaul. Three straight playoff games with eight plus
(33:19):
points at one point in the Super Bowl, eight drives,
eight points and seven completions. They also played an incredibly
weak schedule. Next year, I think it's a top six,
most difficult schedule. They'll be a very good team. I
don't think in the AFC they'll represent the conference in
the Super Bowl. Number seven I would say the Detroit Lions.
I really like their OCA higher out of Arizona. I
(33:42):
was surprised how good the Cardinals offense was at times
this year. With to Kobe Brissaid. I think they've got
their star players all signed and They've got star players
at key positions pass rusher, tackle, weapon, quarterback. I have
the Lions at seven, number six Liam Cohen. Year one.
What a turnaround by the Jaguars. Top ten in offense
(34:04):
and defense. They're only going to get better. I mean, listen,
first coach to ever win thirteen plus games taken over
a team with four fewer wins only first year head coach.
That's pretty good. That's pretty good team. So and I
think they didn't have Travis Hunter playing much. He should
(34:25):
play a role going for Jags at six. I think
the Chargers are going to feel like a super Bowl
team in September. Upgrade at oc bolt tackles back, tons
of cap space, and I think they're going to spend
it on offense to protect Justin Herbert as they should.
The defense may not be as good without Jesse Miner.
It'll be fine, but I think they're going to look
like a different team offensively next year. I'd put the
(34:47):
Bears at four. I know you think it's high. The
Rams had to play a perfect game and beat him
in overtime in the playoffs. Last four losses all came
in one score games. Teams, by the way, went two
to fourteen and one after they played the Bears. I
don't know what that means, but it's something. They did
not take the ball away in the playoffs like they
did in the regular season. I think they have to
(35:07):
suspend almost their entire draft capital on defensive players. Number
three the Denver Broncos. Not only were they missing bow Knicks,
but JK. Dobbins and two of their top three receivers
in the playoff game. They should have been the super
Bowl team. They matched up with Seattle much better. I
think Seattle would have won, but Denver kind of felt
like between the blizzard and their injuries, they got bad breaks.
(35:30):
Fewest sacks allowed tied from the fewest sacks allowed and
the most sacks on defense. I'm sorry. I like the coach,
the roster, and the quarterback. Number two, and maybe they
should be Number one. I'd put the Rams out gained
opponents even in their five losses this year, highest quidded offense,
highest quided defense according to PFF, played the toughest schedule
(35:51):
by any playoff team. I worry about Matt Stafford's age,
but there's an argument they'll be the best team in
the league next year. Number One Seattle between Mike McDonald,
John Snyder, his drafting record, Sam Donald, so many of
it's like it's like watching a little bit like watching
OKC last year, the Spurs this year. They have so
(36:13):
much upside and they're already really really good. So Seattle
just doesn't miss. And they've last four years they have
hit on their top two picks, and I mean stars
the last four years in the draft top two picks,
so they're not even paying those guys yet. That would
be my top ten right now. I don't have Green Bay,
(36:35):
but they've been a number seven seed in the playoffs,
haven't they this year? There were seven seed with the
seven seed the year before. J Mack, You A, you're
just puzzled by.
Speaker 5 (36:45):
This, listen. I know, I know, we have a guest
usually here. I got a lot to say about this one.
So they've weisted wait a little bit. I mean it's
kind of wild here, coward really So no Eagles anywhere
to be found, No Joe Burrow, no Lamar Jackson. I mean,
were you the one they had? Nine?
Speaker 1 (37:05):
Lamar Jackson that new contract, he's gonna get that that
the Ravens are gonna have to move off. People?
Speaker 5 (37:12):
Where are the Houston Texans is eleven or something like.
Speaker 1 (37:15):
Aren't you the guy that kept complaining that C. J.
Stroud was regressing?
Speaker 5 (37:18):
I think he's not a very good quarterback.
Speaker 1 (37:20):
So also, you don't have a very good quarterback.
Speaker 2 (37:21):
How are you?
Speaker 1 (37:22):
How are you better than Mahomes and Josh Allen and
Drake May and Jared Goff?
Speaker 5 (37:25):
The defense is elite, and we just saw it's not
about quarterbacks, it's about defense at this point, I'm surprised
he Atlanta Falcons. Okay, I'm just that's just a joke.
But yeah, this is uh three from the AFC West. Yeah,
two from the NFC West.
Speaker 4 (37:40):
No Niners.
Speaker 1 (37:41):
Hey, you know how I like Mendoza Raiders. Maybe eleven
by September A couple stop
Thanks for listening to The Herd podcast. Be sure to
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Speaker 2 (00:21):
You're listening to Fox Sports Radio.
Speaker 1 (00:26):
Here we go. It's Monday, Seattle Seahawks super Bowl victory Monday.
We are live in Los Angeles. It's The Herd. Wherever
you may be and however you may be listening. Matt
Hasselbeck is five minutes away. So wow. You know, sports
(00:49):
is so great. You just never know what you're going
to get in sports. It's just so amazing. My sister
didn't even like sports my old whole childhood. And then
the Seahawks, you know, they get the Russell Pete John
Snyder thing. And now she's I got emoji's firing at me.
She's all fired up about I call her after the
game last night. She's like, ah, we were setting off fireworks.
(01:11):
We're all going crazy here in Grayln, Washington. All right,
here we go. Colin Wright, Colin Wrang.
Speaker 2 (01:18):
Where Colin was right.
Speaker 1 (01:19):
Sam Darnold seven hundred yards, five touchdowns, no picks, and
a one h two passer rating in the Superior NFC
playoffs in Super Bowl. I never wavered on Sam because
quarterback is about traits, arm size, mobility, toughness, humility. I
always ask people in the league who I respected, and
(01:44):
the smart people always said, he just needs the right fit.
He came into the league at twenty in New York
and he just didn't have great college coaching. He just
got overwhelmed. Just wait until he gets the right coach.
Way to go, Sam. Where Colin was wrong, Seattle dominated
(02:06):
the scoreboard more than I thought. I thought it would
be close, but Drake May was so ineffective. Some of
it is Will Campbell, who will eventually, my guess is
get moved inside. But I mean three nothing in the
turnover department for the Seahawks. They got better quarterback play.
I mean, by the early second quarter, it felt like
(02:28):
we had the makings potentially of a blowout, and that
I knew it was a potential outcome. But it's not
the outcome I predicted. Where Colin was right, I said
last week the one thing I was certain about in
the Super Bowl, New England would not be able to
run the ball. Their offensive line not good enough. They're
(02:50):
not dynamic enough. They had forty two yards rushing by
running backs, and again Drake May had a couple of
scrambles that makes it look more dynamic. But they still
need to attack the offensive line in the draft. We
had said throughout the course of the playoff run, the
Patriots are still a draft away from elevating their tight
end group, elevating their offensive line. But my concern in
(03:14):
the game was, oh, Drake May is going to have
to throw it thirty four thirty five times or more.
And he was one in seven in games in which
he did, so that part was kind of predictable.
Speaker 2 (03:25):
Where Colin was wrong.
Speaker 1 (03:28):
I did not have Christian Gonzalez in my top ten
players in the Super Bowl. I think I had him
an eleven or twelve. He's phenomenal. He does get banged
up a lot. He reminds me of Christian Watson of
the Packers. He looks, I mean, he is literally an
Adonis with no body fat. He's just a remarkable athlete.
And on this this ball is a little behind JSN,
(03:51):
but length and speed and timing. That game could have
broken open much earlier without that play on the eat
ball as one of the best plays by a defensive
back of the entire playoffs.
Speaker 2 (04:05):
Where Colin was right, I said.
Speaker 1 (04:07):
After Seattle lost to the Rams, I said, what team
in the league could have four picks and be driving
to beat Los Angeles? I said at that time, after
losing to the Rams, Seattle's the best team in the league.
They just got to clean their act up and if
they can clean the turnovers up. And all year long,
I kept saying, turn the sound down when you watch
(04:28):
the Seahawks. They don't look like anybody else. They were
nine to zero in games with no turnovers. If they
didn't get reckless, they always won. We were right on that.
Speaker 2 (04:42):
Where Colin was wrong.
Speaker 1 (04:44):
Defensive head coaches won the day. McVeigh, Ben Johnson, Kyle
Shanahan made the playoffs, but it was Mike McDonald who
calls his own plays. It was a very good year
for a subset of coaches. Defensive guys who have not
had a great decade. Vrabeled, Demiko Ryans, Mike McDonald all
(05:04):
had tremendous years and it was a masterclass yesterday against
Drake May. Where Colin was right, Devin Witherspoon, to me,
is the best corner in football. I had said he's
the first or second best player in this game. He
led all players on quarterback hits. I remember watching him
at Illinois. He was so insanely physical for a corner,
(05:27):
versatile gets to the quarterback. I mean, there's just Patrick's
hertanat Denver's another one. Christian Gonzales is great, but you're
talking Devin Witherspoon. Seattle doesn't blitz much, and they're like,
we'll leave ourselves vulnerable in the back end.
Speaker 2 (05:44):
Go get him where Colin was right?
Speaker 1 (05:48):
Well, I said Matt Stafford should be MVP over Drake May.
And the reason isn't stats or analytics. It's because Matt
walks to the line and knows the why, and Drake
May is still trying to figure out the what. Just
see how good that Seahawk defense is. Stafford tore apart
three times. Yes, I know he has Pooka, but the
New England tied end and wide receiver group is very good.
(06:11):
I think they'd led her second in the NFL in
big plays. Stafford is something that Drake May can't possibly
be yet at twenty three years old. The maturity. I
said before, Matt Stafford has more fourth quarter comeback wins
than Drake May has. Pro starts. I don't want to
hear about analytics and starts. They're just different quarterbacks. And
(06:33):
that's why, as Tom Brady said last week, so many
quarterbacks in this league once they get to twenty eight,
twenty nine. Look at Sam Donald. He is a different
quarterback than twenty three year old Sam Donold, completely different,
Colin Wright, Colin wrong with that? A very happy man
is joining us live. Matt Hasselback a decade with the Seahawks,
eighteen years in the NFL. Look at that.
Speaker 3 (06:58):
I don't know if happy he's the right way right now, Colin.
Maybe regretful should have gone to bed earlier.
Speaker 1 (07:04):
Man, Hey, man, there's one.
Speaker 3 (07:07):
I was avvy yesterday. I was haavy yesterday. I know
that for sure. I got a few days to recover.
There's going to be a parade in Seattle on Wednesday.
I got some time.
Speaker 4 (07:15):
But yeah, what an incredible day yesterday.
Speaker 1 (07:19):
You know it's funny, I don't you didn't hear this
because you were on the field. So they asked Kyle Shanahan,
who knows Seattle well about the game, and I couldn't
believe he said it. He goes, well, if Seattle doesn't
turn it over, this could get ugly. When you're in
the stadium, it's different than me watching on TV and
on the field warm ups. Did it feel like to
(07:39):
you when you're watching them and you can tell stuff,
you're a pro athlete, you've been there. Did you look
at that and go, man, Seattle just looks a little different.
Speaker 3 (07:49):
Well, yeah, with the exception of the defense for New
England was holding them to field goals not touchdowns. So
you know, it was like Felix Sihawks were dominating, especially
on defense, but it was three nothing, six nothing, and
it was nine to nothing. You know, as a player,
that doesn't give you a ton of confidence. And it
kind of reminded me of those great SIAWK sorry, those
great Patriot defenses early on that they gave up a
(08:10):
ton of yards, but they keep you out of the
end zone and that's why they won.
Speaker 4 (08:13):
So much, you know, so many football games.
Speaker 3 (08:15):
Unfortunately, you know that defense for New England they just
run the field so much. Because it felt like three
and out, three and out, three and out, you know,
so many punts. I think it was like eight punts
in a row for that Patriots offense. So you know,
eventually that defense is just gonna wear down. And I
think that's kind of what happened, especially trying to stop
Kenneth Walker in the run game.
Speaker 1 (08:35):
You know, Mike McDonald calls his own plays. I always
prefer my head coach doesn't. But I also and I've
defended guys like Lincoln Riley. If you're really good at
it and you're better than anybody else, you can hire.
I get why certain coaches are like, listen, this is
my defense, it's my vision. I mean, you know Mike.
You've talked to Mike. Is he just different? Is he
(08:55):
kind of just a guy that's just quicker and probably
should call stuff because he's just He'll never hire a
guy that's better at that than him.
Speaker 3 (09:03):
Well, you got to remember why you got hired in
the first place. I mean, he got hired in the
first place because of who he was as a defensive coordinator,
as a defensive play caller.
Speaker 4 (09:10):
And there's a great feel for that.
Speaker 3 (09:12):
I mean, this Seahawks defense was so good at getting
a pass rush with four all year long, and then
what did you see yesterday?
Speaker 4 (09:20):
It was a blitz fest and there was blood in
the water and.
Speaker 3 (09:23):
They were shark circling and they were like, you know what,
usually we're not going to be a blitz repeating team,
but if you don't prove that you have an answer
for it, we're bringing it again. And to see this,
the speed and the timing and the savvy of the
defensive back and linebacker blitzes, you just don't see that.
Speaker 4 (09:39):
It's not normal.
Speaker 3 (09:40):
You know, Devin Witherspoon's an incredible, incredible corner, incredible corner
when they move him inside the nickel and he's blitzing,
he's an incredible blitzer pass rusher. I mean, really, he
had four tackles and a touchdown yesterday if you count
the strip strip sack that they originally called a fumble
scoop and score.
Speaker 4 (09:58):
And then I think, you know, twenty minutes.
Speaker 3 (09:59):
Later they said, no, that was a pick six, But
that's a Devin Witherspoon and Mike McDonald touchdown in my mind. So,
I mean, they were just the great defenses. I mean
I'm talking great defenses. They try to score when they're
on defense, and they think they can and that's what
I thought. I think that's what I saw to Seattle yesterday.
Speaker 1 (10:18):
It was interesting. Matt as somebody that's at home and
just a sportscaster who's never been on the field in
a game. I try to watch a game plan and
figure out in the first two series, what are the
coaches telling me? And when I watched New England jumping
routes in the first two series, I was like, they're
trying to get Sam to be old Sam because they're
(10:41):
so aggressive. They're doing this because they know they're offensively,
They've looked at the film and thought, we're going to
struggle to block them when they're deep in territory. We
have to make Seattle make a mistake. So when watching
them jump routes, I'm like, that is insanely aggressive. What
tell you?
Speaker 4 (11:01):
Well?
Speaker 5 (11:01):
Yeah?
Speaker 3 (11:02):
And to me, I think when I look at the
New England Patriots, as young as they are on offense,
they're equally like they're that experience on defense. When I
look at that Patriots defense, I see a very experienced
group with lockdown corners on the outside, like this is
a good defense. They're not the deepest defense, but they're
pretty good offensively. They just struggle.
Speaker 4 (11:23):
They're young.
Speaker 3 (11:23):
I think they're going to get better someday. It was
just a tough matchup against a great defense. But that
New England Patriots defense really I thought played really well
early on.
Speaker 4 (11:32):
They just wore down.
Speaker 3 (11:33):
You know, it's complimentary football for a reason, like you can't.
I mean, you just don't really appreciate all the turnovers
and you don't appreciate the three and outs because what
happens as a defensive player after your series you come
over on the sidelines, you sit down, you're trying to
get a drink, you're trying to get oxygen, you're trying
to get adjustments made, and all of a sudden, like bam,
hey you guys are back up. It's like we're back
(11:55):
up again, like already, you know. And it was a
very physical game from Seattle upfront as well. They determined, hey,
you know what, Kenneth Walker, we use load management all
year on him. Everyone was saying, we need more Kenneth Walker,
we need more K nine. They said, no, we're going
to stick to the plan. We're going to use Sharbonnat
and then Charboney eventually got hurt. Then they had to
(12:16):
unleash K nine and they did, and I think it
were the Patriots down.
Speaker 1 (12:20):
You know, it's interesting j Mac talked about this. Kenneth Walker,
I think is a free agent. And my take is
a few years ago Brady won in Tampa and they
brought the Band back. And I've always believed that you
have to make some changes to keep it fresh. Seattle
is young, They've got a couple of guys in the
back end they could move off of. They don't have
(12:41):
a ton of picks. How do you keep this team hungry?
And you know they've got some cap space here? What
do you I mean? Walker's not a pass catcher, Matt
and he's not great blocker. He's a little one dimensional,
but he's unbelievable at that one dimension. Do you stay
with him him? Do you stay with a roster? Do
(13:01):
you tweak? How do you stay young and hungry when
it looks like you're not only the best team in
the league, only the Rams can challenge you.
Speaker 3 (13:09):
Well, they're gonna have to stop the bleeding when Klin
Kubiak leaves. Klint Kubiak's gonna leave and go to the Raiders,
And you know, I think they can.
Speaker 4 (13:16):
You know, he's a great coach.
Speaker 3 (13:17):
I think they can maybe handle losing a coordinator they've
proven that.
Speaker 4 (13:21):
But who's he taking with him? Like, that's the big question.
Speaker 3 (13:24):
There might be a lot of turnover just because he's
taking a bunch of coaches in the building with him.
He might be taking players with him that he he
knows fits into his system. He's starting fresh in Las Vegas.
They're gonna spend money, they're building something. They want to
draw a line in the sand, like, who's he taking
with him? He's probably not taking K nine, But if
you do have a ton of turnover, then maybe that's
(13:44):
more of a reason to keep K nine and keep
the keep the band together. Just post a little bit
and you see, you know, I think another point Klink
Kubiak's proven he likes to bring people that he's already
been around, He's already spent a lot of time with.
He was a huge part of the fact that they
even got Sammed Arnold. They were together in San France
at the trade deadline. He was the one banging, you know,
standing up on the table saying, hey, Rashid Shaheed, I
(14:07):
had him in New Orleans. Bring him to us. You're
gonna love him on special teams. He's gonna fit well
in the room. He's got upside. He compliments JSN. He's
going to help Cooper Cup be Cooper Cup. He can
Cooper Cup can.
Speaker 4 (14:18):
Be the short intermediate guy and we get our speedsters outside.
Speaker 3 (14:21):
So Klik Kubiak, you know, he's obviously the son of
Gary Kubiak, He's the brother of Klay Kubiak and sant Franz.
This guy knows what he's doing. So I think my
biggest concern would be who's he taking with him, Like
who's he poaching? And you better, you better hope that
you don't let him poach the people you need.
Speaker 1 (14:37):
You know, It's funny people are saying, well, Donald, you
know Donald wasn't the key to it, And I said,
he had one hundred and eighty six postseason snaps and
didn't have a turnover. And I think if you look
at like Aikman with a Cowboys was a great example,
great coach, great roster, Steve Young with a Niners, great coach,
great roster. Those guys played Super Bowls and didn't have
a turnover because they knew the assignment. I think part
(15:00):
of Sam's growth is what's needed against the Rams. He
had to make spectacular plays against the Patriots. They knew
on film, especially in the first corep like don't make
a big mistake. I think game manager gets a horrible reputation.
Everybody to some degree is managing. Take take me through
(15:21):
kind of what you saw with Sam in the entire
playoff run and against the Patriots.
Speaker 3 (15:26):
Yeah, Gay, I agree, game manager is this weird word.
I don't use the word game manager. I use the
work game commander, like you're in command. Brady was the
best at that. He was in command of it. He
won super Bowls at the beginning of the end. It
wasn't a stat fest. That wasn't what it was about.
It was about him in command of the game, dictating
how the game's gonna go. And just zoom out on
the playoffs this year, look at the turnover thing. The
(15:48):
turnover thing is a major thing. You want to measure
winning and losing. It is truly all about the ball,
and Sam Darnold understood that. And I think part of
it is he can rest with confidence that he doesn't
have to always go out there and throw for three
point fifty like he did in the NFC Championship game,
because he knows, Hey, they've told me, and I feel it.
(16:09):
You're our guy, Sam, you're our guy. You don't have
to prove yourself. Maybe other people want you to prove yourself,
you don't need to do that with us. You're our guy.
We've put our money where our mouth is. We could
have gone out and gotten anybody in the world in
free agency or gone the draft or whatever. We put
all our chips on you, and other teams didn't do that.
The Jets kick you to the curb. Carolina kick you
(16:30):
to the curb, saying Fran never gave you an opportunity.
Even when you were in Minnesota and you had that
awesome year, you never really knew if you were the guy.
Speaker 4 (16:37):
You never really felt like you were the guy.
Speaker 3 (16:39):
People in the building were probably saying, now, he's not
going to be our guy. So that when you know
you're the guy, you don't care if you throw for
one hundred and ninety eight yards and win the game,
you don't care. And that's what I see out of Sam,
and I think the locker room respects it, and I
think you just stack bricks that way in terms of
confidence in yourself, the team's confidence in you, unselfish play.
Speaker 4 (17:00):
It was a long long way in a locker.
Speaker 1 (17:01):
Room Yeah, the you know, Drake May J. Mack had
said this earlier. He struggled throughout the playoffs. Yes, Will
Campbell was being overwhelmed, There's no question. I didn't love.
I thought they should attack Seattle with Hunter Henry. I
think the Rams have success against the Seahawks because they
used their tight ends very effectively. It's hard to be
(17:22):
witherspoon in the outside. You got to do the best
you can with tight ends and throw it to backs
with Drake may Are you worried that he looked overwhelmed?
Maybe he wasn't one hundred percent. I mean, let for
take out one drive and some garbage time stuff. I
mean it was pretty lean. What worried you at all?
Speaker 4 (17:43):
Yeah? He did not look healthy to me.
Speaker 3 (17:44):
You know, that was one thing, you know, like he
looked he looked okay, he looked good, pretty good, you know,
in terms of his fastball and stuff like that. He
had some great throws. But I just didn't think he
was looking He looked like he was in that like, hey,
I'm feeling my best.
Speaker 4 (18:00):
I don't think that.
Speaker 3 (18:01):
I also think that pass protection was a real issue
early on.
Speaker 4 (18:04):
It was a huge issue.
Speaker 3 (18:05):
I didn't love how they didn't feel like an aggressive
enough game plan, and when they went aggressive, now he's
holding on the ball and putting the put in the
offensive line in a tough spot. Like I don't think
they're going to watch the film and feel really good
about it. I also just think, like when you're playing
a defense that is that good, this defense, I you know,
we need to really start talking about this defense with
the great defenses of all times, a great defense, and
(18:27):
we don't. I'm not sure why, but we need to.
So if you're playing, if you're mismatched with a great
defense of a historic of a historic nature, you got
to pull out the trick plays man, like you got
to you gotta steal one, you got to manufacture something exotic.
And like I just it was just kind of like, hey,
inside zone, outside zone, we're just gonna, I don't know,
(18:49):
try to control the line of scripts, control the clock,
control like it just it.
Speaker 4 (18:53):
Wasn't there for me. So I think there's a lot
to learn from. I think the health is a thing.
Speaker 3 (18:58):
I'm not willing to just like throw everything out, move
people at other positions and all the all the stuff.
But I do think that there's a there's a long
look in the mirror on this one, and what could
we have done to be more competitive in this game?
Speaker 1 (19:11):
I think it's Seattle has the ability to get great
pressure with only four That's the definition of a great defense.
And they are unbelievably twitchy and handsy and athletic in
the back end, and their special teams are stacked. I mean, honestly,
there was not a lot of holes with Seattle. No.
Speaker 3 (19:30):
And I think, just like if we go back to
the Drake May thing, like, I love like the tangibles
and the upside and the athleticism. But one of the
best quarterback performances against the Seattle Seahawks defense this year
was a forty four year old Philip Rivers, who is
like coaching high school football for a couple of years.
(19:52):
And it just goes to show if I could say
one thing to these young quarterbacks, learn from what Philip
Rivers did. It's a little bit more about things that
they do not test for at the combine. It's your vision,
it's your communication, it's your demeanor. It's getting the ball
out of your hands quicker to guys who can do
something with it. It's protecting the offensive line by not
(20:12):
taking sacks fumbles.
Speaker 4 (20:14):
Need to be hated the way you hate interceptions.
Speaker 3 (20:17):
There's a lot of lessons you can learn from guys
like Philip who had just like a longevity of success
year after year after year and then comes and does
it in Seattle, leaves.
Speaker 4 (20:28):
The field with the with the lead.
Speaker 3 (20:30):
You know it was only because of the last second
field real they didn't get the win. So I just
think for young quarterbacks if if you want to really learn,
you know, again.
Speaker 4 (20:38):
This is stuff that doesn't show up at the combine.
Speaker 3 (20:40):
They don't test for it, but it absolutely matters when
you play this position.
Speaker 1 (20:45):
By the way, the Pacific Northwest has great wine and
craft beers. I'm not going to get nosy on what
you you know, where you went last night, but I
will say this as somebody that grew up in the
Pacific Northwest. It's wine country, it's beer country. There's you
could have a good time in Seattle and you're telling
you did well.
Speaker 3 (21:03):
I'm in San fran was at the you know, the
post Beme party.
Speaker 4 (21:07):
Yeah, it was actually San Jose.
Speaker 3 (21:09):
I made it for Ludacris and t Paine. I don't
know who performed after that. I went, I went, I left,
I left but the young kids.
Speaker 4 (21:18):
They were still there.
Speaker 3 (21:19):
And I was very impressed to see Kenneth Walker at
the MVP presentation in his in his green suit.
Speaker 4 (21:24):
He looked great.
Speaker 3 (21:25):
Mike McDonald looks like he slept twelve hours. I don't
know how he does it. The dude's a machine. Very
impressive because uh it was. It was a good time,
right and see anybody awesome Colin.
Speaker 4 (21:37):
Thanks.
Speaker 2 (21:37):
Be sure to catch live editions of The Herd weekdays
and noon Eastern not a em Pacific.
Speaker 4 (21:44):
So that gots here.
Speaker 6 (21:45):
I have a podcast Empire.
Speaker 4 (21:47):
It continues to grow and I.
Speaker 6 (21:49):
Have brought it here to iHeart. I'm also doing a
live radio show from three to five pm Eastern because my.
Speaker 1 (21:56):
Wife wanted to kick me out of the house.
Speaker 6 (21:57):
It's called Stugatzi Company Live, which is available in podcast
form right when the show finishes every single day. Some
of the biggest names in sports, a lot of phone.
Speaker 4 (22:09):
Calls, I love you guys show it's one of my favorites.
Speaker 6 (22:11):
A lot of interaction, guys not taking themselves too seriously.
Those are just some of the things that you could
expect from Stu Gottson Company and ste Gotson Company Live.
So listen to Steve Gotson Company Live and our original podcast.
Please subscribe, rate and review Stu Gotson Company and God
Bless football. Taylor's livelihood depends on it. You do it today,
(22:34):
and you can check all of those out on the
iHeartRadio app, Apple podcast or wherever you get your podcasts.
Speaker 1 (22:45):
Five teams, and it's not just going to be record.
You are going to feel differently about these teams positively
next year and then five teams and some of the
teams that I have going down are are teams that
will be good, but I don't think they'll be as special.
So we're gonna play five up, five down. Let's start
(23:09):
glass half full se who I am at my core?
First of all, five up, the New York Giants is
the easiest pick on the board. I like their roster,
top ten zero line, top ten D line, I think
eleven according to PFF. They were one in seven in
one score games. Jackson Dart now gets an elite coach
(23:30):
and a culture center. They have the number five overall pick.
They can trade down and accumulate more picks. Their lines
are good enough. They got to get a right tackle,
a tight end probably another weapon. Scataboo Jackson Dart four
and thirteen Giants are my pick to double their win total.
They'll look different by mid September. The Commanders same division.
(23:57):
They get Jayden Daniels back. They were five and twelve.
I don't know if they're going to win ten games,
but they have a lot of cap space. They're the
oldest team in the NFL. The Commanders are going to
be a different looking team again. Seven to one score games,
they won only two. Dan Quinn is solid, if not
exceptional cap space, lost a lot of close games. They
(24:21):
get their quarterback back. Just don't forget how gifted he
was as a rookie. The third team is the Detroit
Lions at nine to eight, they're going to get back
into the twelve win territory. I love. I was surprised
they didn't get more positive feedback the higher of Arizona's
offensive coordinator, Drew Petsing. Didn't anybody else watch Arizona this
(24:45):
year and go, how the hell are they scoring all
these points? With Jacoby Brissett, he's clever, Maybe not Ben Johnson,
but their stars are locked up. Goff is still in
his prime. Amaran Saint Brown, Pinasoul Hutchison, gibbson a rookie deal,
not a very good team in close games. Dan Campbell
had to take over the offense. This is still an
(25:06):
elite front office that drafts well and acquires well. They're
gonna get their mojo back. They struggle at OC nine
to eight to probably an eleven or a twelve win team.
The Chargers. Now they were eleven and six and they
may only go twelve and five. They will feel different.
(25:26):
Mike McDaniel probably the best coordinator higher in the sport.
They get both offensive tackles back and both are way
above average. Third most cap space. They have drafted well
with Jim Harbaugh. Again, they have been a defensive first
team that survives offensively that we're not considering a super
(25:48):
Bowl team. Next year there'll be an offensive led team
that won't be as good defensively, but you will feel
very early in the season, oh, this team could win
the Super Bowl. Whether they do or not, they'll have
a totally different feel and finally an easy one. The
Kansas City Chiefs two years ago, they won every close game.
(26:08):
Last year they lost every close game. One and nine.
You know you're gonna get in the middle somewhere around there. Also,
their offensive tackle position when Josh Simmons wasn't playing and
he's really talented, was a mess. Key's back. Mahomes is healthy.
Travis kelce I argued for him to return one more year. Listen,
you just have to be honest about it. When you're
(26:30):
drafting at the bottom of rounds, it's really hard. GMS
will tell you after about the eighteenth pick you wish
you could just have more second and third round picks.
They're going to be fine, They're going to improve. Six
and eleven. My guess becomes eleven and six. Here's five
down Houston, twelve and five. Could they have dominated their
(26:54):
division the last two years? Ten and two. That's not
happening again. That's not happening again. Tennessee is going to
be much better. Jacksonville is really good. They've also been
five to nine the last couple of years against teams
that make the playoffs. I love CJ. Stroud. I think
he throws the prettiest ball. On some Sundays in the league.
(27:16):
He has regressed to an eighty nine passer rating guy
who turns the ball over way too much. They will
be good as long as Demico Ryans is the coach.
But I don't think they feel the same. I don't
think offensively they've got the right rhythm. Twelve and five
to me becomes like what nine and eight, ten and
(27:41):
ten and seven? But you never feel like they're a
super Bowl team. I would say the Patriots, Okay, fourteen
and three is not happening. AFC is going to be
much better. The Chiefs will be better, the Charges will
be better. Cincinnati, Baltimore, Jacksonville's only getting better. And Liam
Cohen's second year, they're not going fourteen and three my
guest closer than ten eleven wins. Also, it's the Dan
(28:03):
Reno thing. They get to solve their offensive line. Dan
Marino with Don Schuel never got back to a super Bowl.
It was a really bad year. I mean they got
Let's be honest, if b Nicks plays, they probably don't
make the super Bowl. They were completely overwhelmed by Seattle.
It wasn't necessarily close. I love Rabel, Drake May's good,
but you start looking at the AFC, there's just too
many good quarterbacks. There's too many good coaches, there's too
(28:25):
many good coordinators. They take a step back. Forty nine
ers who I love, twelve and five. George Kettle probably
not available till mid season. Robert Sala had an unbelievable
year as defensive coordinator. Bosa aging getting hurt more often.
What are they gonna do at receiver? Brandon neu Ayuk's gone?
Juwan Jennings is a free agent? What are they gonna do?
(28:48):
Christian McCaffrey comes off a four hundred and fifty touch
season and he is now thirty. So I again, they
did it with smoking mirrors last year. They'll be fine.
I don't think they're at twelve and five team Cowboys
seven nine to one. I think they unravel. They're a mess.
How Jerry Jones a business man? How can you be
(29:08):
this big of a mess. They're twenty nine million over
the cap. They want to pay George Pickens. That's going
to cost you twenty nine million dollars. Worst defense in
the NFL. They're spending an NFL high seventy million on
their interior defensive line and an NFL low six million
on their edge rushers. How are they this big of
a mess? Stop trying to get discounts. Hire a real GM,
(29:31):
pay big money for a coach. Seven nine to one,
they're going down and finally Philadelphia had eleven and six.
How many coordinator changes can you make? You just had
a top offensive line coach, say, I'm out. You've got
some older offensive linemen who are getting banged up increasingly
and may may decide at some point. I'm out. I
(29:53):
think they've been doing it a little bit, just on
Howie Roseman's roster. But I don't feel Sirianni's an elite coach.
I don't care about the record, and I think the
books in on Jalen Hurts not beloved in the locker room.
I've got that sourced. I also I think he struggles
throwing the ball down the field. I said it yesterday.
You don't want to give Sam Donald any credit. Donald
(30:15):
sits in that pocket, doesn't turn it over in the
last month, and throws the ball right into the heart
of the defense. I'm sorry. On the market, I think
GMS take Donald over Jalen Hurts. So Giants, Commander's Lion, Chargers,
Chiefs up down, Texans, Patriots, Niners, Cowboys, Eagles. I also
think Tennessee should be better, but I'm not ready to
commit one more.
Speaker 2 (30:36):
Heard the Herd streams twenty four hours a day, seven
days a week. Within the iHeartRadio app, search Herd to
listen live or on demand whenever you like.
Speaker 1 (30:46):
So I was thinking about this. I know it's really
really early, but the NFL season is over, and once
an NFL season ends, there are three ways to improve
your team. Number one is the coaching and staff hires.
Number two is free agency, and number three is the
dry Those are the primary ways. I think the draft's
worth about fifteen percent. I think free agencies are worth
about fifteen percent, and I think Ben Johnson and Mike
(31:08):
Vrabel are proof. The coaching is about seventy percent. Now,
most rosters don't radically change, and if they do, like
New England change this year, well it's up to Mike Frabel,
the coach. Okay, so to me, the coaching thing really matters.
So if you look at the teams that have made
big jumps in a year, Ben Johnson, Mike Rabel, Jim Harbaugh,
(31:29):
Liam Cohen, Sean Payton, it's not all players. It's mostly
the coach. And if they do change the roster, the
coach has big say in that. The coach making eighteen
million a year has a lot of say in even
the draft and free agency so I mean the Titans
and Giants had a lot of money last year, they
didn't have the right coaches. Okay, New England had a
(31:52):
lot of money last year. In free agency, they had
the right coach. I mean Jackson Dart and Drake Mayor
both talented. It's the coach and Seattle the draft. So
it's not the draft. Seattle as the draft. They had
two guys, a guard and a safety out of the
draft class. They had an impact two of twenty two starters,
and that's not counting special teams, and their special teams
in Seattle were impactful. So I do believe you can
(32:16):
look after all the coaching hires. I'm going to do
a top ten, after the coaching hires, after free agency,
and after the draft, and I would say, here we go,
number ten. I think the Chiefs. I'd put them at
number ten right now. They've got three really good picks,
three of the top seventy five picks. They need to
get a rush end, an offensive tackle, probably a running back.
(32:36):
If they get that notre name running back in the
first round, I don't think they will, but if they
do absolute home run, I have them at ten. Number
nine would be Buffalo Okay, Buffalo doesn't have a lot
of cap space, and they don't have a pro bowler
on defense right now. Joe Brady. Is he an upgrade
over Sean McDermott. I don't necessarily think so. I'm gonna
wait and see. Their schedule is brutal rams Texans, AFC
(32:59):
West and North, brutal, brutal schedule. Number six the Patriots
or number eight the Patriots. I like New England, but
Drake May was sacked sixty eight times this year. The
O line doesn't need a tweak. It mostly outside of guard,
needs an overhaul. Three straight playoff games with eight plus
(33:19):
points at one point in the Super Bowl, eight drives,
eight points and seven completions. They also played an incredibly
weak schedule. Next year, I think it's a top six,
most difficult schedule. They'll be a very good team. I
don't think in the AFC they'll represent the conference in
the Super Bowl. Number seven I would say the Detroit Lions.
I really like their OCA higher out of Arizona. I
(33:42):
was surprised how good the Cardinals offense was at times
this year. With to Kobe Brissaid. I think they've got
their star players all signed and They've got star players
at key positions pass rusher, tackle, weapon, quarterback. I have
the Lions at seven, number six Liam Cohen. Year one.
What a turnaround by the Jaguars. Top ten in offense
(34:04):
and defense. They're only going to get better. I mean, listen,
first coach to ever win thirteen plus games taken over
a team with four fewer wins only first year head coach.
That's pretty good. That's pretty good team. So and I
think they didn't have Travis Hunter playing much. He should
(34:25):
play a role going for Jags at six. I think
the Chargers are going to feel like a super Bowl
team in September. Upgrade at oc bolt tackles back, tons
of cap space, and I think they're going to spend
it on offense to protect Justin Herbert as they should.
The defense may not be as good without Jesse Miner.
It'll be fine, but I think they're going to look
like a different team offensively next year. I'd put the
(34:47):
Bears at four. I know you think it's high. The
Rams had to play a perfect game and beat him
in overtime in the playoffs. Last four losses all came
in one score games. Teams, by the way, went two
to fourteen and one after they played the Bears. I
don't know what that means, but it's something. They did
not take the ball away in the playoffs like they
did in the regular season. I think they have to
(35:07):
suspend almost their entire draft capital on defensive players. Number
three the Denver Broncos. Not only were they missing bow Knicks,
but JK. Dobbins and two of their top three receivers
in the playoff game. They should have been the super
Bowl team. They matched up with Seattle much better. I
think Seattle would have won, but Denver kind of felt
like between the blizzard and their injuries, they got bad breaks.
(35:30):
Fewest sacks allowed tied from the fewest sacks allowed and
the most sacks on defense. I'm sorry. I like the coach,
the roster, and the quarterback. Number two, and maybe they
should be Number one. I'd put the Rams out gained
opponents even in their five losses this year, highest quidded offense,
highest quided defense according to PFF, played the toughest schedule
(35:51):
by any playoff team. I worry about Matt Stafford's age,
but there's an argument they'll be the best team in
the league next year. Number One Seattle between Mike McDonald,
John Snyder, his drafting record, Sam Donald, so many of
it's like it's like watching a little bit like watching
OKC last year, the Spurs this year. They have so
(36:13):
much upside and they're already really really good. So Seattle
just doesn't miss. And they've last four years they have
hit on their top two picks, and I mean stars
the last four years in the draft top two picks,
so they're not even paying those guys yet. That would
be my top ten right now. I don't have Green Bay,
(36:35):
but they've been a number seven seed in the playoffs,
haven't they this year? There were seven seed with the
seven seed the year before. J Mack, You A, you're
just puzzled by.
Speaker 5 (36:45):
This, listen. I know, I know, we have a guest
usually here. I got a lot to say about this one.
So they've weisted wait a little bit. I mean it's
kind of wild here, coward really So no Eagles anywhere
to be found, No Joe Burrow, no Lamar Jackson. I mean,
were you the one they had? Nine?
Speaker 1 (37:05):
Lamar Jackson that new contract, he's gonna get that that
the Ravens are gonna have to move off. People?
Speaker 5 (37:12):
Where are the Houston Texans is eleven or something like.
Speaker 1 (37:15):
Aren't you the guy that kept complaining that C. J.
Stroud was regressing?
Speaker 5 (37:18):
I think he's not a very good quarterback.
Speaker 1 (37:20):
So also, you don't have a very good quarterback.
Speaker 2 (37:21):
How are you?
Speaker 1 (37:22):
How are you better than Mahomes and Josh Allen and
Drake May and Jared Goff?
Speaker 5 (37:25):
The defense is elite, and we just saw it's not
about quarterbacks, it's about defense at this point, I'm surprised
he Atlanta Falcons. Okay, I'm just that's just a joke.
But yeah, this is uh three from the AFC West. Yeah,
two from the NFC West.
Speaker 4 (37:40):
No Niners.
Speaker 1 (37:41):
Hey, you know how I like Mendoza Raiders. Maybe eleven
by September A couple stop
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