January 12, 2025 • 24 mins
Colin reacts to the first two games of the NFL playoffs!
He starts with the Ravens humiliating the Steelers and why the Steelers need to make a major change to shake things up after a long playoff drought (2:45).
Then, he pivots to the Texans blowing out the Chargers and explains why the Chargers are seriously lacking when it comes to weapons for Justin Herbert (14:15). He also breaks down why the Patriots head coaching opening is the most attractive job available and why Mike Vrabel is the perfect fit (27:00).
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
The volume instant reaction on the steelers humiliating loss to
Baltimore twenty eight to fourteen. I thought they'd hang around
in this game without Zay Flowers, but instead Baltimore decided
(00:22):
to just run fifteen straight times against Pittsburgh over the
course of the first half. And I think that's what's
most humiliating, is I mean, you knew that. You know,
the Steelers offense has been really lifeless since George Pickens
got hurt. He came back and made some big catches.
He's a tremendous talent. But it's time for the Steelers
(00:43):
to change direction with their coaching staff. This is not
good enough. In the last eight years, the Jaguars have
three playoff wins. The Steelers have none. I mean, just
let that sink in. You know, I was looking over
the course of this game. I was just fishing around
on stuff. The last seven years, the Steelers have either
(01:03):
missed the playoffs or lost by at least double digits
in the first round. They're just not a competitive team
in the upper tier. And remember it is easy to say, well, well,
you know, they don't. They don't have losing records. I mean,
a third of the teams in this league are a disaster.
I mean, look, who's at the top of the draft. Again,
(01:23):
it's your Tennessee's and your Jacksonville's and the Raiders and
the Jets and the Bears, And it's the same twelve
teams at the top of this draft seemingly every year
or every other year. So I mean to say, you're
better than those teams. So what I mean if you
look at the league right now, for the last five years,
(01:43):
it's been the same teams at the top, Baltimore and
Buffalo and Kansas City and Philadelphia. San Francisco pulled back,
they're in a bit of a rebuild, but the Rams
are good again, the Lions for the last couple of years,
Green Bay. It's the same teams at the top, and
Pittsburgh is in that group. I mean, they're Listen. I'll
(02:05):
get to Baltimore in a second, because you know, once
again Lamar Jackson is dominant and he's now won three
playoff games. Uh, he's gonna go probably to Buffalo in
the next round, which is tough. But this game was
really not just about the Ravens. They were almost ten
point favorites at home, and they were gonna win this
football game. It's the dominance of it without Zay Flowers.
I mean, if you're Pittsburgh, you know what they're gonna do.
(02:26):
They're gonna run the football a Flowers. You have no
downfield attack and still jumped out to a lead. Pittsburgh
was never competitive in this football game. And you know,
I was looking at the rushing yards throughout the course
of the game. It ended with about three hundred rushing
yards for the Ravens and twenty nine for the Steelers,
(02:47):
so that Pittsburgh can't even run the ball anymore. They
can't run it. They got pushed around. They're not innovative.
What are they? I mean if I said to you,
what are they, well, they're physical. Well they got pushed
around that Ipi Baltimore. And let's be honest. If Cleveland
in the draft lands cam Ward of the Miami Hurricanes
(03:08):
or Shador Sanders of Colorado, Pittsburgh will have the fourth
best quarterback in this division. The answer is not Russ.
He just you know, they's just limitations. He looks for
the first guy, can't see over the line many times.
He doesn't have the elusiveness justin fields. How many quarterbacks
in the NFL history, whose first five years in the league,
(03:28):
you know, had a low passer rating, low completion percentage,
got hurt a lot popped and became superstars. It doesn't happen.
You can see it very very quickly. You know, people
can complain about Justin Herbert, but Justin Herbert has put
up prodigious numbers this year. He had a terrible game today,
but he had a very good year. Justin field isn't
the answer. I don't think Mike Tomlin's the answer. They
(03:52):
need to be innovative and creative. Just because of the
structure and stability of the owner ship. They're a top
half team in the league. They're already in the top sixteen.
But you start looking around at the emergence of some
of these young quarterbacks. I mean, we just had a
draft where it looks like Michael Pennix can play, and
(04:13):
Jayden Daniels can play, and Bo Knicks can play, and
you know, I mean, Kayleb Williams has a ton of talent.
I mean every year it feels like we're adding more
and more good quarterbacks. And yet Tomlin, a defensive coach,
has never really sensed the urgency on offense. He's stuck
with offensive coordinators that couldn't engineer an offense. The offensive
(04:35):
line always feels like it's kind of second class. The
run games a little better this year, but I mean,
at some point, what are your standards? I mean, when
you can't compete in the last two times, you can't
compete against Baltimore, another physical football team. I mean, you guys,
this is like the thirty eighth time or thirty ninth
(04:55):
time Harbaugh and tomlin A faced off. I mean, you know,
it's it's like an anniversary. I mean, they these guys
know each other back and forth, and and Baltimore's missing
their only real home run hitter receiver, and it's still
twenty one nothing at half. I just at this point,
I don't, I don't get it. Like I don't. I
(05:18):
don't get the arguments. I mean, three AFC teams haven't
won in the last month. The Titans who are drafting
number one, the Browns who are drafting number two, and
the Steelers what are we doing? And I heard al
Michaels he and Herb Street. You know, they've gotten some
stinkers this year, but they're they do a really good
(05:38):
job and They're obviously very prepared. And at the end
of the broadcast, as I was walking in here to
do this, they I think it was Al said, you know,
we've got some big They got some big decisions to make,
and I don't know if the Steelers are capable of
making them. I think everybody in Pittsburgh. I don't listen
to Pittsburgh sports talk radio, but I mean, I think
the conversation over the last several years has been pretty
(06:01):
one sided on Tomlin, which is he's clearly competent. You know,
he is one of the great underdog coaches. In fact,
I think he is the best underdog coach from a
betting perspective in the league the last decade. But now
he's not good at that either. I mean, tonight was
really embarrassing. They didn't do anything particularly well. I mean,
(06:21):
the offense has basically thrown at to George Pickens and
cross your fingers, but they don't have the quarterback right.
The protection wasn't good tonight. They didn't really get after
Lamar Jackson. I mean Lamar Jackson in the first half
was thirteen to fifteen, one hundred and forty four yards,
two touchdowns and eleven rushes at six yards of pop Jesus. Now,
I want to talk about Lamar Jackson, so you can
(06:45):
vote whoever you want MVP, anybody that's listened to me. No,
I don't care about awards. I do think it's it's
strange that how good Josh Allen has been since he
entered the league and he doesn't have an MVP, But
if Lamar went another, he went another. I've said this before.
I don't think there's a single player in the NFL
that feels like his city and his organization like Lamar
(07:08):
Jackson does to Baltimore. He's the identity of the team.
It's just toughness, physicality, intensity. He just feels like Baltimore
is the perfect place for him. He's just a tough kid.
He keeps getting better. He cares so deeply. I find
Lamar Jackson to be a fascinating player. I love watching
him play. I've said this before. You know, with Mahomes
(07:29):
he wins so automatically. There's a little less drama when
you watch Lamar Jackson. I'm fascinated by him because he
does disappoint people in big spots, but he is just
an all time talent and he is now a very
good pocket passer, and if they do play the Buffalo Bills,
that is going to be one for the ages. That's
(07:50):
just going to be. I mean, it's just great. The
two top quarterbacks in terms of production this year and
stats in the NFL. Love both. But Baltimore is such
a raw, solid organization, and I think if you're a
Steeter fan, this is what should really trouble you. You know,
for years and years, the Steelers and the Ravens have
been well run, They draft well, they develop winning coaches.
(08:11):
I mean, they always felt like they were, you know,
like like relatives that didn't get along, Like they kind
of had the same toughness and psyche and intimidation. Baltimore
has completely separated with Lamar Jackson from Pittsburgh. They've completely separated.
They're more innovative, they're more creative, They're more willing to
take big swings and take chances. I just love everything
(08:35):
about the Baltimore Ravens. I find, you know, I don't
even know if I've ever been to Baltimore. I just
love the organization, the ownership, the way they draft. I mean,
it's easy to like Kansas City. I mean, they're winning
all the trophies, but it's if you really examine how
the Baltimore Ravens run their business. I think they're the
best run organization in the NFL top to bottom. I
(08:56):
mean Kansas City's and Baltimore, so they separated from Pittsburgh.
I mean, I mean it's just everything I think, coaching, innovation,
risk taking, quarterback play. I mean, just that line by
Lamar Jackson that's like thirteen of fifteen six yards of rush,
(09:18):
knowing that Zay Flowers isn't there. That's humiliating for Pittsburgh.
That's like taunting. You know. I don't think the Steelers
quit on Tomlin, but I didn't see a lot of juice.
I just did not see a lot of effort. I
mean at Baltimore took over. I'm reading a couple other
(09:40):
things sent to me. Here are some quarterbacks that have
more recent playoff wins than the Steelers, John Wolford, Blake Bortles,
case Keenum, Daniel Jones, and Marcus Mariota. Steelers had two
first downs in the first half. I mean, did they
practice this week? I mean, how can you defend the
(10:02):
Steelers anymore? Like Mike Comin, You'll get a job somewhere else.
But it's just there's just nothing here. There's nothing to defend.
Thank god they have stability and ownership, or they would
be a bottom tier team. It's time to stop settling
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Speaker 1 (11:43):
Okay, well, instant reaction. First, Let's start with the Chargers
thirty two to twelve lost to the Texans. So it's
interesting that it was the Texans who last year as
Demiko Ryans and CJ. Stroud re build the Houston Texans.
They were the Chargers. They faced the Baltimore Ravens, got
(12:08):
crushed in the playoffs, only had ten first downs today
in a Baby Steps league. The Chargers were last year's Texans,
so Justin Herbert four picks didn't have a good day.
But it was always about the big picture with this franchise.
So it was a really good job. But it wasn't
a really good locker room. It wasn't a good culture,
(12:29):
and they had to let their best receiver go to
the Chicago Bears. So we all knew as they were
winning this year, and I predicted ten to eleven wins,
I thought they would be really good immediately. But their
defense is more set than their offense. They need a
running back, they need another receiver or two, they need
another tight end. They don't have enough playmakers, and so
(12:49):
it forces Justin Herbert to make plays that in against
good teams on the road are tough to make. You
just have to remember about this. Young quarterbacks have bad
playoff games. Older quarterbacks do. But Joe Montana years and
years ago, it was a strike abbreviated season. I think
the Niners went twelve and two, thirteen and two, and
(13:11):
they were going to play a playoff game against Minnesota Vikings.
Montana got benched. He was so bad in the playoff game.
Joe Montana got benched the goat before Tom Brady was
benched in a playoff game. Brett Farve, who could be
wild and a bit reckless, once through six interceptions in
a playoff game. Go look it up. It was against
the Rams. I think it was the greatest show on
(13:32):
turf Rams. It was early two thousands, two thousand and
two thousand and one. You know, Brett was trying to
make plays and to keep up with the Rams. Six
picks in a playoff game. I remember when I was
a kid. It's like a trivia question. Dan Fouts, who
to me was like Drew Brees accurate. To me, he
was the most accurate thrower of the football. I don't
(13:54):
know what his career completion percentage was, but Dan Fouts
was an incredibly accurate quarterback. Beautiful feathery touch. He had
five his worst, probably worst day as a pro. I
don't know all his days, but it had to have
been his only five interception game in the playoffs. And
one player had four of them. I mean Dan Fouts,
(14:14):
Joe Montana, Brett Farv again, quarterbacks trying to make plays.
Quarterbacks you know as big favorites. Joe Montana, it happens.
I mean Lamar started zero and two in the playoffs.
Peyton Manning Owen to Eli Manning Owen two, it's hard
and this offense again, they're best receivers in Chicago. They
need I mean, you know, they they needed a right
(14:36):
tackle and they drafted Lad Maconkey. But it was just
the beginning. This second draft, this second free agent period.
They also had a bunch of you know, cap limitations.
This year it was about steps. Just like last year
when Houston took over, it was a mess as a franchise.
The fact they got to the playoffs was remarkable. And
(14:57):
like Herbert you know, very early last year, c J.
Stroud's pretty good and he was also it should be
noted that c J. Stroud, as a young quarterback, is
a much better quarterback at home. So the Houston Texans
this year were a hard team to figure out. I
said this, well, I picked them to make the playoffs,
I think, but a lot of people thought they would
step back, and they did. But c J. Stroud was
(15:18):
a little bit all over the map when he didn't
have Von Diggs or he didn't have Joe Mixon. But
at home, I said this Friday on TV, at home,
he's very good at home. He's now twelve and five
with a passer rating over one hundred, like a lot
of quarterbacks. He is more comfortable when he's at home.
He's got pretty decent protection. He was spinning it. So
Houston had four hundred yards of offense the Chargers. And
(15:41):
we saw this about a month ago with the Chargers
when they got blown out by Tampa. When they get
up against an offense that's humming or Herbert struggling to
get time to throw and he starts forcing stuff. Remember
they got Chargers got blown out at home by Tampa,
Baker Mayfield and the Buccaneers that gave up a forty spot.
So I just think it's about this was a bad team,
(16:02):
now it's a good team. This was a bad culture,
Now it's a good culture. Last year I thought the
Chargers with Keenan Allen and Mike Williams had more firepower.
And Austin Eckler, well they're all gone, and so it's
it's you know, I stayed away from this game. I
did not make it part of my Blazing five. I'm like,
it's a stay away game. I did think the Chargers
(16:25):
were a team that matched up with some of the
better teams in the AFC. I thought they matched up
with Kansas City pretty well. You know a team that Again,
Kansas City's got a lot of good players, good coach,
good quarterback, good pass rush, but kind of you'd want
him to have one or two more offensive pieces. I
thought they matched up very well with Kansas City, but
will never know as they go down to defeat. It's again,
(16:46):
I just look at what Jim Harbaugh's future is going
to be. Remember Jim Harbaugh and Michigan last the beginning
of his career ten wins, first season. What happened to
Jim Harbaugh first several years at Michigan. He made the
team immediately good, couldn't win bowl games, couldn't be the
Ohio State struggle to beat Michigan State. So it's just
a process. One of the things that frustrates me is
(17:07):
that I try to stay away from recency bias and
confirmation bias, and I make mistakes all the time on that.
But go back Jim Harbaugh. It was amazing to watch
all these commentators in college football crushing Jim Harbaugh for years.
Michigan with Brady Hoak was a mess. The Chargers with
Brandon Staley were a mess. Your first year, first year,
Nick Saban was at Alabama. He lost to Louisiana and
(17:28):
Row at home. The first year is about building culture,
changing the locker room, and Harbaugh did that. I didn't
feel great about this game. I didn't make it one
of my five picks. I didn't expect this. I thought
they would win. I thought they had the better coach
and the better quarterback. But it's a road game for
a Charger team that's still trying to break through chargering,
(17:51):
and even good plays, I mean they get the touchdown
and the Pats blocked other way for two points. I mean,
if you could have guessed a team that happened to
in the playoffs, you'll be well, that would happen to
the Chargers. It happened to the Chargers. Listen, Justin Herbert
had more interceptions today four than he had all season three.
And I think there's a mindset in the regular season,
(18:14):
you live for another play, you live for another day.
But in the playoffs, it's sudden death and you get
into a game and you're on the road in trailing,
you're gonna try to squeez stuff in. That's that is
what has happened to even great quarterbacks in playoff games.
You get on the road, you face a high octane offense,
or you start to trail. There is no tomorrow. So
(18:36):
I think a lot of times a quarterback can be
a little bit more patient in the regular season. But
there's a lot of great quarterbacks with a lot of
bad playoff games. Carson Palmer, you can look it up,
had one of these where the game starts rolling, it
gets out of your hands. You gotta make place. What
are you gonna sit back? You're gonna play it safe.
And I thought Herbert tried to squeeze some balls in
(18:58):
and again he had a big play to Lad mconk
But I mean mconkey is not a number one in
this league. He's a two, and he could be a
very good two as a slot guy. But you know,
you start squeezing stuff in, you try to force it
and it happens. Herbert is a six to six, two
hundred and forty pound smart, dependable, reliable, strong arm kid
(19:18):
who can move a little bit. He's going to be fine.
He's more athletic in my opinion, than c. J. Stroud,
and they have some similarities. They're big, strong kids who
can move a little. They can be very accurate throwers,
and they have bad games. It happens. There's a reason
Jim Harbaugh took this job. There's a reason the Chargers
were the number one job last year. It wasn't because
(19:41):
of their left tackle. It wasn't because of the owners
or the overall roster. It was because of Justin Herbert.
It's the same reason Mike Rabel is going to take
the Patriot's job, because Drake May is a really, really
good looking young quarterback with a bright future. I want
to discussed this as well. So I had said this
(20:03):
Thursday or Friday, I listed the jobs, the NFL job openings,
the six NFL job openings, and I said, New England
was the best job. And I said, I put myself
into it. What would I look for? And I've said
this forever. You can't chase just money in the world.
Money matters, not saying that it absolutely matters, but to me,
it's always been two to good management, always in my career,
(20:25):
and I believe this. So the Bears management, the Jets management,
the Raiders management, the Jags management. You start looking around
Robert Kraft and your quarterback for the future, Drake May.
That made New England the best job, and reportedly Jordan
Schultz putting it out there. Mike Rabel is negotiating with
New England, probably brings Josh McDaniel. You know, they say
(20:48):
you can't go home again, but there are multiple examples
for a lot of people going home again. I know
a lot of people in my life, broadcasters who have
started out and they had to travel around it two
or three markets, and they end up going back to
the place they grew up or the market they love,
and they're so much happier. There's so much comfort. Mike
Frable has comfort, you know, Ohio State guy. New England guy,
(21:13):
he's got comfort in that cold weather and physical football,
and the New England market loves it. And I've been
saying this for years. Find me a lot of great
long term dynasties in the NFL and warm weather. Find them.
New England had one, Kansas City had one, the Pittsburgh
Steelers had one. I mean, Miami was great with Don Shula.
How many Super Bowls they get to, Dan Marino got
(21:34):
to one. I think the lifestyle, the warm weather, the
dome teams get you get comfortable. You look at the teams,
the best teams in the NFL right now, it is Philadelphia,
it is Baltimore, it is Buffalo, it is Kansas City. Tough, physical,
cold weather. I can remember as a kid growing up
and loving Big East basketball. Here I am, you know,
(21:56):
growing up in the coast of Washington, and I loved
Big East basketball where John Thompson and the late Louis
Carniseca and Roley Massamino and PJ. Carlssimo. And the reason
I loved that because it was tough, Big East fight
and physical, and there is something to be said about
that in football, cold weather, tougher players, tougher team, tougher identity.
(22:17):
You know, the Seahawks and that crappy, windy, rainy cold
weather in Seattle and November, December, January almost built a dynasty.
So I think vrabel fits New England. I think stability
at ownership. Robert Kraft has a reputation is frugal, most
billionaires are, and I think Drake May looks really, really talented.
And the other thing is you're entering an organization that
(22:40):
you're familiar with, you're comfortable with, and that you trust.
That's really an important thing. I've gone on and on
about this. It's hard to trust coaches it's hard to
trust owners now they're all billionaires, They're getting crazier. There's
never been a time in my life we've had more
crazy owners. Thankfully Dan Snyder's gone. We got rid of
one that just kind of inappropriate and a bad pro
(23:00):
sports owner. And the guys now that run Washington look
to be on the up and up and really formidable people.
But ownership it all starts were there and the crafts
don't have a history. I mean, girod Mayo didn't work.
It didn't work. It's okay again, the only perfect people
are anonymous trolls on the internet. When you put yourself
out there as an owner, as a mayor, you take swings,
(23:23):
you miss. It's okay. People with high confidence and feel
good about themselves put themselves out there. It's okay. You
can swing in a coach and miss. I think Vrabel
to New England. I think it's the best job. I
think he's the best candidate. Last year I thought the
best job and the best candidate was Harbaugh and the Chargers.
And I also think because the Jets and Dolphins history
(23:45):
of instability and chaos outside of Buffalo, you're going to
be battling you know for the number two spot in
that division for years. Josh Allen's probably gonna win it
the next five years in his prime. But hill Age,
they do. I like Frabel, Not even Brady could talk
him into the Raiders. Mike Rable's too smart. Brady leaned
on him. Brady met with him, Brady talked to him.
(24:07):
Brady wanted to talk him into taking that Raiders. Gig
Rabel's too smart. Can't do it. You can't trust Mark
Davis not. At this point the volume
The volume instant reaction on the steelers humiliating loss to
Baltimore twenty eight to fourteen. I thought they'd hang around
in this game without Zay Flowers, but instead Baltimore decided
(00:22):
to just run fifteen straight times against Pittsburgh over the
course of the first half. And I think that's what's
most humiliating, is I mean, you knew that. You know,
the Steelers offense has been really lifeless since George Pickens
got hurt. He came back and made some big catches.
He's a tremendous talent. But it's time for the Steelers
(00:43):
to change direction with their coaching staff. This is not
good enough. In the last eight years, the Jaguars have
three playoff wins. The Steelers have none. I mean, just
let that sink in. You know, I was looking over
the course of this game. I was just fishing around
on stuff. The last seven years, the Steelers have either
(01:03):
missed the playoffs or lost by at least double digits
in the first round. They're just not a competitive team
in the upper tier. And remember it is easy to say, well, well,
you know, they don't. They don't have losing records. I mean,
a third of the teams in this league are a disaster.
I mean, look, who's at the top of the draft. Again,
(01:23):
it's your Tennessee's and your Jacksonville's and the Raiders and
the Jets and the Bears, And it's the same twelve
teams at the top of this draft seemingly every year
or every other year. So I mean to say, you're
better than those teams. So what I mean if you
look at the league right now, for the last five years,
(01:43):
it's been the same teams at the top, Baltimore and
Buffalo and Kansas City and Philadelphia. San Francisco pulled back,
they're in a bit of a rebuild, but the Rams
are good again, the Lions for the last couple of years,
Green Bay. It's the same teams at the top, and
Pittsburgh is in that group. I mean, they're Listen. I'll
(02:05):
get to Baltimore in a second, because you know, once
again Lamar Jackson is dominant and he's now won three
playoff games. Uh, he's gonna go probably to Buffalo in
the next round, which is tough. But this game was
really not just about the Ravens. They were almost ten
point favorites at home, and they were gonna win this
football game. It's the dominance of it without Zay Flowers.
I mean, if you're Pittsburgh, you know what they're gonna do.
(02:26):
They're gonna run the football a Flowers. You have no
downfield attack and still jumped out to a lead. Pittsburgh
was never competitive in this football game. And you know,
I was looking at the rushing yards throughout the course
of the game. It ended with about three hundred rushing
yards for the Ravens and twenty nine for the Steelers,
(02:47):
so that Pittsburgh can't even run the ball anymore. They
can't run it. They got pushed around. They're not innovative.
What are they? I mean if I said to you,
what are they, well, they're physical. Well they got pushed
around that Ipi Baltimore. And let's be honest. If Cleveland
in the draft lands cam Ward of the Miami Hurricanes
(03:08):
or Shador Sanders of Colorado, Pittsburgh will have the fourth
best quarterback in this division. The answer is not Russ.
He just you know, they's just limitations. He looks for
the first guy, can't see over the line many times.
He doesn't have the elusiveness justin fields. How many quarterbacks
in the NFL history, whose first five years in the league,
(03:28):
you know, had a low passer rating, low completion percentage,
got hurt a lot popped and became superstars. It doesn't happen.
You can see it very very quickly. You know, people
can complain about Justin Herbert, but Justin Herbert has put
up prodigious numbers this year. He had a terrible game today,
but he had a very good year. Justin field isn't
the answer. I don't think Mike Tomlin's the answer. They
(03:52):
need to be innovative and creative. Just because of the
structure and stability of the owner ship. They're a top
half team in the league. They're already in the top sixteen.
But you start looking around at the emergence of some
of these young quarterbacks. I mean, we just had a
draft where it looks like Michael Pennix can play, and
(04:13):
Jayden Daniels can play, and Bo Knicks can play, and
you know, I mean, Kayleb Williams has a ton of talent.
I mean every year it feels like we're adding more
and more good quarterbacks. And yet Tomlin, a defensive coach,
has never really sensed the urgency on offense. He's stuck
with offensive coordinators that couldn't engineer an offense. The offensive
(04:35):
line always feels like it's kind of second class. The
run games a little better this year, but I mean,
at some point, what are your standards? I mean, when
you can't compete in the last two times, you can't
compete against Baltimore, another physical football team. I mean, you guys,
this is like the thirty eighth time or thirty ninth
(04:55):
time Harbaugh and tomlin A faced off. I mean, you know,
it's it's like an anniversary. I mean, they these guys
know each other back and forth, and and Baltimore's missing
their only real home run hitter receiver, and it's still
twenty one nothing at half. I just at this point,
I don't, I don't get it. Like I don't. I
(05:18):
don't get the arguments. I mean, three AFC teams haven't
won in the last month. The Titans who are drafting
number one, the Browns who are drafting number two, and
the Steelers what are we doing? And I heard al
Michaels he and Herb Street. You know, they've gotten some
stinkers this year, but they're they do a really good
(05:38):
job and They're obviously very prepared. And at the end
of the broadcast, as I was walking in here to
do this, they I think it was Al said, you know,
we've got some big They got some big decisions to make,
and I don't know if the Steelers are capable of
making them. I think everybody in Pittsburgh. I don't listen
to Pittsburgh sports talk radio, but I mean, I think
the conversation over the last several years has been pretty
(06:01):
one sided on Tomlin, which is he's clearly competent. You know,
he is one of the great underdog coaches. In fact,
I think he is the best underdog coach from a
betting perspective in the league the last decade. But now
he's not good at that either. I mean, tonight was
really embarrassing. They didn't do anything particularly well. I mean,
(06:21):
the offense has basically thrown at to George Pickens and
cross your fingers, but they don't have the quarterback right.
The protection wasn't good tonight. They didn't really get after
Lamar Jackson. I mean Lamar Jackson in the first half
was thirteen to fifteen, one hundred and forty four yards,
two touchdowns and eleven rushes at six yards of pop Jesus. Now,
I want to talk about Lamar Jackson, so you can
(06:45):
vote whoever you want MVP, anybody that's listened to me. No,
I don't care about awards. I do think it's it's
strange that how good Josh Allen has been since he
entered the league and he doesn't have an MVP, But
if Lamar went another, he went another. I've said this before.
I don't think there's a single player in the NFL
that feels like his city and his organization like Lamar
(07:08):
Jackson does to Baltimore. He's the identity of the team.
It's just toughness, physicality, intensity. He just feels like Baltimore
is the perfect place for him. He's just a tough kid.
He keeps getting better. He cares so deeply. I find
Lamar Jackson to be a fascinating player. I love watching
him play. I've said this before. You know, with Mahomes
(07:29):
he wins so automatically. There's a little less drama when
you watch Lamar Jackson. I'm fascinated by him because he
does disappoint people in big spots, but he is just
an all time talent and he is now a very
good pocket passer, and if they do play the Buffalo Bills,
that is going to be one for the ages. That's
(07:50):
just going to be. I mean, it's just great. The
two top quarterbacks in terms of production this year and
stats in the NFL. Love both. But Baltimore is such
a raw, solid organization, and I think if you're a
Steeter fan, this is what should really trouble you. You know,
for years and years, the Steelers and the Ravens have
been well run, They draft well, they develop winning coaches.
(08:11):
I mean, they always felt like they were, you know,
like like relatives that didn't get along, Like they kind
of had the same toughness and psyche and intimidation. Baltimore
has completely separated with Lamar Jackson from Pittsburgh. They've completely separated.
They're more innovative, they're more creative, They're more willing to
take big swings and take chances. I just love everything
(08:35):
about the Baltimore Ravens. I find, you know, I don't
even know if I've ever been to Baltimore. I just
love the organization, the ownership, the way they draft. I mean,
it's easy to like Kansas City. I mean, they're winning
all the trophies, but it's if you really examine how
the Baltimore Ravens run their business. I think they're the
best run organization in the NFL top to bottom. I
(08:56):
mean Kansas City's and Baltimore, so they separated from Pittsburgh.
I mean, I mean it's just everything I think, coaching, innovation,
risk taking, quarterback play. I mean, just that line by
Lamar Jackson that's like thirteen of fifteen six yards of rush,
(09:18):
knowing that Zay Flowers isn't there. That's humiliating for Pittsburgh.
That's like taunting. You know. I don't think the Steelers
quit on Tomlin, but I didn't see a lot of juice.
I just did not see a lot of effort. I
mean at Baltimore took over. I'm reading a couple other
(09:40):
things sent to me. Here are some quarterbacks that have
more recent playoff wins than the Steelers, John Wolford, Blake Bortles,
case Keenum, Daniel Jones, and Marcus Mariota. Steelers had two
first downs in the first half. I mean, did they
practice this week? I mean, how can you defend the
(10:02):
Steelers anymore? Like Mike Comin, You'll get a job somewhere else.
But it's just there's just nothing here. There's nothing to defend.
Thank god they have stability and ownership, or they would
be a bottom tier team. It's time to stop settling
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Speaker 1 (11:43):
Okay, well, instant reaction. First, Let's start with the Chargers
thirty two to twelve lost to the Texans. So it's
interesting that it was the Texans who last year as
Demiko Ryans and CJ. Stroud re build the Houston Texans.
They were the Chargers. They faced the Baltimore Ravens, got
(12:08):
crushed in the playoffs, only had ten first downs today
in a Baby Steps league. The Chargers were last year's Texans,
so Justin Herbert four picks didn't have a good day.
But it was always about the big picture with this franchise.
So it was a really good job. But it wasn't
a really good locker room. It wasn't a good culture,
(12:29):
and they had to let their best receiver go to
the Chicago Bears. So we all knew as they were
winning this year, and I predicted ten to eleven wins,
I thought they would be really good immediately. But their
defense is more set than their offense. They need a
running back, they need another receiver or two, they need
another tight end. They don't have enough playmakers, and so
(12:49):
it forces Justin Herbert to make plays that in against
good teams on the road are tough to make. You
just have to remember about this. Young quarterbacks have bad
playoff games. Older quarterbacks do. But Joe Montana years and
years ago, it was a strike abbreviated season. I think
the Niners went twelve and two, thirteen and two, and
(13:11):
they were going to play a playoff game against Minnesota Vikings.
Montana got benched. He was so bad in the playoff game.
Joe Montana got benched the goat before Tom Brady was
benched in a playoff game. Brett Farve, who could be
wild and a bit reckless, once through six interceptions in
a playoff game. Go look it up. It was against
the Rams. I think it was the greatest show on
(13:32):
turf Rams. It was early two thousands, two thousand and
two thousand and one. You know, Brett was trying to
make plays and to keep up with the Rams. Six
picks in a playoff game. I remember when I was
a kid. It's like a trivia question. Dan Fouts, who
to me was like Drew Brees accurate. To me, he
was the most accurate thrower of the football. I don't
(13:54):
know what his career completion percentage was, but Dan Fouts
was an incredibly accurate quarterback. Beautiful feathery touch. He had
five his worst, probably worst day as a pro. I
don't know all his days, but it had to have
been his only five interception game in the playoffs. And
one player had four of them. I mean Dan Fouts,
(14:14):
Joe Montana, Brett Farv again, quarterbacks trying to make plays.
Quarterbacks you know as big favorites. Joe Montana, it happens.
I mean Lamar started zero and two in the playoffs.
Peyton Manning Owen to Eli Manning Owen two, it's hard
and this offense again, they're best receivers in Chicago. They
need I mean, you know, they they needed a right
(14:36):
tackle and they drafted Lad Maconkey. But it was just
the beginning. This second draft, this second free agent period.
They also had a bunch of you know, cap limitations.
This year it was about steps. Just like last year
when Houston took over, it was a mess as a franchise.
The fact they got to the playoffs was remarkable. And
(14:57):
like Herbert you know, very early last year, c J.
Stroud's pretty good and he was also it should be
noted that c J. Stroud, as a young quarterback, is
a much better quarterback at home. So the Houston Texans
this year were a hard team to figure out. I
said this, well, I picked them to make the playoffs,
I think, but a lot of people thought they would
step back, and they did. But c J. Stroud was
(15:18):
a little bit all over the map when he didn't
have Von Diggs or he didn't have Joe Mixon. But
at home, I said this Friday on TV, at home,
he's very good at home. He's now twelve and five
with a passer rating over one hundred, like a lot
of quarterbacks. He is more comfortable when he's at home.
He's got pretty decent protection. He was spinning it. So
Houston had four hundred yards of offense the Chargers. And
(15:41):
we saw this about a month ago with the Chargers
when they got blown out by Tampa. When they get
up against an offense that's humming or Herbert struggling to
get time to throw and he starts forcing stuff. Remember
they got Chargers got blown out at home by Tampa,
Baker Mayfield and the Buccaneers that gave up a forty spot.
So I just think it's about this was a bad team,
(16:02):
now it's a good team. This was a bad culture,
Now it's a good culture. Last year I thought the
Chargers with Keenan Allen and Mike Williams had more firepower.
And Austin Eckler, well they're all gone, and so it's
it's you know, I stayed away from this game. I
did not make it part of my Blazing five. I'm like,
it's a stay away game. I did think the Chargers
(16:25):
were a team that matched up with some of the
better teams in the AFC. I thought they matched up
with Kansas City pretty well. You know a team that Again,
Kansas City's got a lot of good players, good coach,
good quarterback, good pass rush, but kind of you'd want
him to have one or two more offensive pieces. I
thought they matched up very well with Kansas City, but
will never know as they go down to defeat. It's again,
(16:46):
I just look at what Jim Harbaugh's future is going
to be. Remember Jim Harbaugh and Michigan last the beginning
of his career ten wins, first season. What happened to
Jim Harbaugh first several years at Michigan. He made the
team immediately good, couldn't win bowl games, couldn't be the
Ohio State struggle to beat Michigan State. So it's just
a process. One of the things that frustrates me is
(17:07):
that I try to stay away from recency bias and
confirmation bias, and I make mistakes all the time on that.
But go back Jim Harbaugh. It was amazing to watch
all these commentators in college football crushing Jim Harbaugh for years.
Michigan with Brady Hoak was a mess. The Chargers with
Brandon Staley were a mess. Your first year, first year,
Nick Saban was at Alabama. He lost to Louisiana and
(17:28):
Row at home. The first year is about building culture,
changing the locker room, and Harbaugh did that. I didn't
feel great about this game. I didn't make it one
of my five picks. I didn't expect this. I thought
they would win. I thought they had the better coach
and the better quarterback. But it's a road game for
a Charger team that's still trying to break through chargering,
(17:51):
and even good plays, I mean they get the touchdown
and the Pats blocked other way for two points. I mean,
if you could have guessed a team that happened to
in the playoffs, you'll be well, that would happen to
the Chargers. It happened to the Chargers. Listen, Justin Herbert
had more interceptions today four than he had all season three.
And I think there's a mindset in the regular season,
(18:14):
you live for another play, you live for another day.
But in the playoffs, it's sudden death and you get
into a game and you're on the road in trailing,
you're gonna try to squeez stuff in. That's that is
what has happened to even great quarterbacks in playoff games.
You get on the road, you face a high octane offense,
or you start to trail. There is no tomorrow. So
(18:36):
I think a lot of times a quarterback can be
a little bit more patient in the regular season. But
there's a lot of great quarterbacks with a lot of
bad playoff games. Carson Palmer, you can look it up,
had one of these where the game starts rolling, it
gets out of your hands. You gotta make place. What
are you gonna sit back? You're gonna play it safe.
And I thought Herbert tried to squeeze some balls in
(18:58):
and again he had a big play to Lad mconk
But I mean mconkey is not a number one in
this league. He's a two, and he could be a
very good two as a slot guy. But you know,
you start squeezing stuff in, you try to force it
and it happens. Herbert is a six to six, two
hundred and forty pound smart, dependable, reliable, strong arm kid
(19:18):
who can move a little bit. He's going to be fine.
He's more athletic in my opinion, than c. J. Stroud,
and they have some similarities. They're big, strong kids who
can move a little. They can be very accurate throwers,
and they have bad games. It happens. There's a reason
Jim Harbaugh took this job. There's a reason the Chargers
were the number one job last year. It wasn't because
(19:41):
of their left tackle. It wasn't because of the owners
or the overall roster. It was because of Justin Herbert.
It's the same reason Mike Rabel is going to take
the Patriot's job, because Drake May is a really, really
good looking young quarterback with a bright future. I want
to discussed this as well. So I had said this
(20:03):
Thursday or Friday, I listed the jobs, the NFL job openings,
the six NFL job openings, and I said, New England
was the best job. And I said, I put myself
into it. What would I look for? And I've said
this forever. You can't chase just money in the world.
Money matters, not saying that it absolutely matters, but to me,
it's always been two to good management, always in my career,
(20:25):
and I believe this. So the Bears management, the Jets management,
the Raiders management, the Jags management. You start looking around
Robert Kraft and your quarterback for the future, Drake May.
That made New England the best job, and reportedly Jordan
Schultz putting it out there. Mike Rabel is negotiating with
New England, probably brings Josh McDaniel. You know, they say
(20:48):
you can't go home again, but there are multiple examples
for a lot of people going home again. I know
a lot of people in my life, broadcasters who have
started out and they had to travel around it two
or three markets, and they end up going back to
the place they grew up or the market they love,
and they're so much happier. There's so much comfort. Mike
Frable has comfort, you know, Ohio State guy. New England guy,
(21:13):
he's got comfort in that cold weather and physical football,
and the New England market loves it. And I've been
saying this for years. Find me a lot of great
long term dynasties in the NFL and warm weather. Find them.
New England had one, Kansas City had one, the Pittsburgh
Steelers had one. I mean, Miami was great with Don Shula.
How many Super Bowls they get to, Dan Marino got
(21:34):
to one. I think the lifestyle, the warm weather, the
dome teams get you get comfortable. You look at the teams,
the best teams in the NFL right now, it is Philadelphia,
it is Baltimore, it is Buffalo, it is Kansas City. Tough, physical,
cold weather. I can remember as a kid growing up
and loving Big East basketball. Here I am, you know,
(21:56):
growing up in the coast of Washington, and I loved
Big East basketball where John Thompson and the late Louis
Carniseca and Roley Massamino and PJ. Carlssimo. And the reason
I loved that because it was tough, Big East fight
and physical, and there is something to be said about
that in football, cold weather, tougher players, tougher team, tougher identity.
(22:17):
You know, the Seahawks and that crappy, windy, rainy cold
weather in Seattle and November, December, January almost built a dynasty.
So I think vrabel fits New England. I think stability
at ownership. Robert Kraft has a reputation is frugal, most
billionaires are, and I think Drake May looks really, really talented.
And the other thing is you're entering an organization that
(22:40):
you're familiar with, you're comfortable with, and that you trust.
That's really an important thing. I've gone on and on
about this. It's hard to trust coaches it's hard to
trust owners now they're all billionaires, They're getting crazier. There's
never been a time in my life we've had more
crazy owners. Thankfully Dan Snyder's gone. We got rid of
one that just kind of inappropriate and a bad pro
(23:00):
sports owner. And the guys now that run Washington look
to be on the up and up and really formidable people.
But ownership it all starts were there and the crafts
don't have a history. I mean, girod Mayo didn't work.
It didn't work. It's okay again, the only perfect people
are anonymous trolls on the internet. When you put yourself
out there as an owner, as a mayor, you take swings,
(23:23):
you miss. It's okay. People with high confidence and feel
good about themselves put themselves out there. It's okay. You
can swing in a coach and miss. I think Vrabel
to New England. I think it's the best job. I
think he's the best candidate. Last year I thought the
best job and the best candidate was Harbaugh and the Chargers.
And I also think because the Jets and Dolphins history
(23:45):
of instability and chaos outside of Buffalo, you're going to
be battling you know for the number two spot in
that division for years. Josh Allen's probably gonna win it
the next five years in his prime. But hill Age,
they do. I like Frabel, Not even Brady could talk
him into the Raiders. Mike Rable's too smart. Brady leaned
on him. Brady met with him, Brady talked to him.
(24:07):
Brady wanted to talk him into taking that Raiders. Gig
Rabel's too smart. Can't do it. You can't trust Mark
Davis not. At this point the volume
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Colin Cowherd
Jason McIntyre
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