Colin’s top takes of the week.
First, Colin’s joined by John Middlekauff, host of “3 and Out” on The Volume.
They start with the Ravens beating the Cowboys in a thrilling walk-off field goal (2:30), and react to the Chargers falling to 0-3 after losing to the Bills in a game where they had 5 takeaways (9:45).
They move to the Jags beating the Pats and address the concerns with Drake Maye (15:45), then react to Oregon beating USC on the road despite losing QB Dante Moore (27:00) and Arch Manning & Texas narrowly avoiding the upset against Tennessee (37:45).
Finally ,Colin’s joined by Super Bowl champion and host of “The ManningCast”, Eli Manning.
They preview Cowboys vs. Texans (47:15), Chiefs vs. Raiders (48:30) and Seahawks vs.Chargers (51)..
Follow Colin and The Volume on Twitter for the latest content and updates!
#Volume
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:03):
Very excited to say that Bud Light is the title
sponsor of the Colin Coward podcast this NFL season. This
podcast presented by Bud Light. Easy to drink, easy to enjoy.
All right.
Speaker 2 (00:21):
The.
Speaker 1 (00:22):
Ravens just beat the Cowboys on a walk-off 34-31 Tyler
loop in what was a wildly, wildly entertaining game for
the people, myself included, that say, why do you make
these teams go to Brazil? They're going to be fatigued.
That was great football. I thought the Cowboys had it
won twice. I thought the Ravens had it won three times.
(00:45):
Dallas didn't want to go to overtime. They had nobody
left in the secondary. I mean, again, you can nitpick everything.
I was okay. The ball was caught and Zay Flowers
was down with one second. Then you saw Lamar on
the other shot, slow-mo by CBS calling time.
Speaker 3 (01:03):
So I was okay with that or you. Yeah, I
got no issue with it. My main issue is we
now start these drives at the 35.
Speaker 1 (01:12):
So if you have a.
Speaker 3 (01:13):
Kicker that has 60-ish range, which basically every kicker does,
I mean, he just hit it from 56, looked like
it would have been good from 75. You really just
need to hit one kind of chunk play 20 yards.
You and I are old enough to remember when most
late drives would start at the 20, the game was over.
Speaker 1 (01:33):
It was done.
Speaker 3 (01:34):
So now, and listen, I think the league kind of
likes this because you got to pay attention with 8, 9,
10 seconds left. How many times, this is not the
first time we've seen this, you just have to hit
one big play. They don't always hit the field goal,
but you are on the edge of your seat and
you cannot... What were the Cowboys doing? Letting him go
right over the middle of the field. Wouldn't you take
(01:55):
away the middle of the field? Especially him, their best
wide receiver. I don't know. I mean, their drive also,
when they were at the goal line, what were a
couple of those pass plays?
Speaker 1 (02:05):
Incomplete fade route, offsides, near sack, incompletion. The final one,
Dak was swearing. I don't know if it was miscommunication,
but he sailed it. That was a very weak effort. Listen,
both these teams had it won. And both these teams
lost it several times. So you can say what you want.
In the end, it was a wildly entertaining game. I mean,
through three quarters, Lamar Jackson had thrown for 62 yards.
(02:31):
And as Jim Nance and J.J. Watt said that, he
came out and They, you know, marched down the field.
But I thought, you know, Dallas, when they stopped him
on fourth and goal and then Dak hit CeeDee Lamb
for 50 plus yards, they marched down and scored. I
was like, oh, this is a grown up football operation.
I will say this. In a loss, there was a
(02:52):
lot about Dallas I liked. I mean, we can talk
about their defense, overshown, not available, secondary banged up. this
team's as good as Dak and Ferguson and Seedy and Pickens.
They had some gash run plays. I was kind of,
you know, I mean, I think Baltimore, if they played
10 times would win six to seven, but I kind
of came away impressed with Dallas.
Speaker 3 (03:14):
Why those two wide receivers beside Higgins and chase, and
they're probably right there with them are as good as
it gets. You know, I mean, Schottenheimer is really gassing up.
George Pickens is the greatest training camp he's ever seen,
but he's, He looks fantastic. Ferguson's awesome. I mean, their
offensive weapons are legit. That's where I go back to.
You get down to the goal line. They get the
ball back with a minute 30. They drive right down
(03:36):
the field. You've got a $ 60 million quarterback. You've got
two $ 30, $ 40 million wide receivers. You've got a tight
end who's big and who's very talented. You've got a
quick guy that you can utilize. Their play calling– Maybe
Dak was scared to take a sack on the third
down and just let it out. But the first and
second down play calls, they have as good of an
(03:58):
arsenal as any team in the league. Brian Schottenheimer, I've
supported him because I do think he's a pretty good
offensive coach, but I think if you're Dallas... Obviously, we're
going to talk a lot about the last play in
the field goal, but those couple plays, you got a
lot of money invested into that unit, and they've been
kicking ass and taking names. That's hard. It's one thing
(04:20):
if a guy trips or drops the ball. The plays
were awful.
Speaker 1 (04:24):
They never had a chance, Collin. Yeah, I mean, that's
kind of the difference with a Shanahan or a Sean
Payton or an Andy Reid. You feel like– I remember
Brady talking about this, how they would basically do red
zone offense for like 60% of the practice. I mean,
that's essentially what the Patriots worked on. Brady and Josh McDaniels,
(04:46):
like that's– we knew we could march between the 30s.
We just worked on red zone stuff. They didn't look
terribly organized defensively. Lamar is now 3-0 against the Cowboys,
127 passer rating, seven TDs and one interception. There is
a speed component. When you put Zay Flowers and Lamar
on the field and At the same time, there's a
(05:08):
dynamic offensively. I mean, how many times was Lamar trapped?
One was taken away by a penalty. Zay Flowers, you know,
when they paid him that money, I thought that's a
lot for a small receiver. John, he is so valuable
to that offense. Like he really, the Ravens and the
Chiefs are well-run operations, but both have missed on receivers
(05:29):
several times in the draft. When you're drafting at the
bottom of rounds, you're not getting the top three receivers.
By the second round, you're maybe getting the seventh or
eighth receiver. I thought that was one of those games
that it's going to be a great flight home for
the Ravens, and Dallas is going to kick themselves because
the Ravens have issues on the back end. Neither secondary
(05:51):
is very strong, and Dallas had that game within their grasp.
And on the third and goal, I mean, they took
a flyer and Dak overshot it by five yards.
Speaker 3 (06:04):
And Wiggins is not, you know, his knock is not
the athleticism, the competitiveness, his size. He's not a super
tall corner. And you have tall, wide receivers. I also
thought when they said that stat that he has, whatever,
65 yards or It's like, I feel like he's got
way more watching these because they hit some PIs every
time that he let it rip. I just assumed the
(06:26):
guy was going to be wide open down the field.
It's hard to trust. I mean, you know, Dallas went healthy.
Their defense has some question marks. They have a million
injuries going right now. they're in a tough spot. They're
going to, they have to win in shootouts. So you
get in the shootout and you lose and you're kind
of dictating the terms and you lose because you have
to kick a field goal, not score a touchdown. I
(06:49):
just can't get over how much they have invested on
that offensive side of the ball to get down there.
Cause it felt like what a great drive by Dallas.
Speaker 2 (06:56):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (06:56):
Get the ball back with one 30 drive right down
the field. Dax and complete control. Obviously, Lamar hits the
great play, but Zay Flowers is wide open. Of course
he is. The secondary has no clue where they're going.
I just can't get over that ending, Colin.
Speaker 1 (07:11):
Yeah, Dallas is almost better when they need 15 yards
than three. I really believe that. They're a great chunk
play offense. Ferguson can go vertical. I mean, the receivers
in Dak several times, ran today. They're really good at
getting chunk plays. They're not great at getting short yardage.
(07:32):
Baltimore's probably better at both, as they show you at
the very end. And Derek Henry, who is, again, Nolan Ryan,
he's absolutely ageless. All right, Buffalo 24, Chargers 16. I
saw a stat earlier today. Listen to this stat. This
was sent to me by my staff. This is incredible.
(07:53):
So since 2013, this is 13 years, teams with five
plus turnovers and a minus four turnover margin are 381
and one straight up. The three wins by teams that
have a minus four turnover margin, the bills over the
chargers today, The Jaguars over the Chargers in that playoff
(08:15):
game three years ago, and the Broncos over the Chargers
a decade ago. They call it Chargering. I have so
many thoughts on this. Josh Allen had two early picks.
They had three fumbles. They had 10 penalties. They played
a B-rate game. I did think L.A. 's defense was better.
But in the end, Herbert, I mean, I'm as big
(08:37):
a fan as he has of He has lacked self-awareness.
He has lacked feel. As Brady called it today, a
meatball sub. One of his interceptions was awful. Now, he
doesn't have a ton to work with. They're not great
at receiver or tight end. Their backs are okay, but
they're kind of slightly above average. They're not special. He
(08:57):
doesn't have a ton to work with. He doesn't have
Dax weapons. He just doesn't. Their weapons, they have not. Harbaugh, historically,
is not a wide receiver coach. A lot of average
receivers at Stanford, San Francisco, Michigan, and now. I mean,
Herbert was 20 of 34. Really bad pick. But there's,
(09:20):
I mean, maybe the OC plus Herbert, the interior line,
it just doesn't look right. They played a very good
first half, but they just can't get it out of
their own way.
Speaker 3 (09:31):
Yeah, to me, the first half, Josh, you know, they
had the freak interception. He threw a bad interception. They
had the fumble, and they're only up 10-0. It's like,
you played like you should be up 24-0, it's 10-0,
and then all of a sudden it's 10-10 at the half.
And at the end of the day, Quinn Johnson, he'll
tease you, but it's 17-13 late in the game, Herbert
(09:52):
hits him and he drops it, and then he unravels.
And then you know, it just felt like that, that
kind of broke the dam because then Buffalo gets the
ball back, scores a touchdown and it's over. And you
could see it on Jim's Jim at Jim's once Jim
ever been Oh, and three in his life since probably
the playing days and like the early nineties, late eighties.
(10:12):
So I don't know what the answers are. Their offense
just isn't good enough. Because like you said, their defense
showed up to play. We're making plays. They were hitting Josh.
They were tackling. They were very physical. They look like
a team that, hey, we're 0-2. We're paying a lot
of people a lot of money. We have a $ 20
million coach. We're kind of a line in the sand
type moment. And I was like, damn, the Chargers, this
(10:33):
is a real performance. This is a real team. And
then as the game went, I mean, Colin, they ended
up losing 24-16. I mean, that's the crazy part. After
it ends, you're like, wait, what just happened? And we've
talked a lot about their schedule. I went back and
I watched his game last week because I was like, oh,
(10:54):
Herbert's bad like everyone. I didn't think he actually played
that as bad as I think. He's running for his life.
It's not as bad as people are acting.
Speaker 1 (11:02):
No, the film people all admit it's not as bad.
Greg Cosell, Robert Mays, the guys that watch the film,
everybody's like, listen, they have huge drops, the fumbles by
the running backs, the O-line interiors, probably the worst in
the league again. Terrible. So he's got two good tackles
and one really good slot receiver. That's what he has.
Speaker 3 (11:24):
But if you play Buffalo and you get a Josh
Allen game where he throws no touchdowns and has two
picks and you sack him four times and you still
lose by, you know, eight points, that's one of those
where this– Are we headed toward five and 11, four
and just an implosion? And let's face it, Jim's an intense,
(11:48):
work harder, grind harder. Jim doesn't pivot much, right? Jim
has one way to do things. And in fairness to him,
it's always worked. It's worked really, really well. I don't
know what his other pitch is. And now you got
Mike with the shades and the watch. I mean, that's
the opposite of Jim Harbaugh. I mean, so I... I
don't know.
Speaker 1 (12:07):
I think they have to.
Speaker 3 (12:08):
I think they're in major trouble, Colin.
Speaker 1 (12:11):
I think they have to give up draft picks and
go get a receiver they trust. And then you could have–
go get a receiver, pay for it, then you have that,
Trey Harris, Ladd McConkie. I think Quentin Johnson, he's a bust.
It doesn't work. First-round pick.
Speaker 3 (12:28):
Brady was calling this game this morning, right?
Speaker 2 (12:30):
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 3 (12:30):
I think he was because there were a couple throws–
And he brought up a good point. I think he's
talking essentially like him and Edelman. He's like, the deeper
the shot goes to McConkie, the smaller the surface area goes. Ladd, McConkie, Edelman,
Wes Welker, the great slot guys. And Ladd's a stud.
He would play for everybody. You're not taking deep shots
(12:51):
with him. But who else are they taking deep shots with?
Look at the Cowboys. CeeDee Lamb, George Pickens, Jamar Chase, T. Higgins.
And then you got little lad. Georgia didn't take deep shots.
You take deep shots over the shoulder throws. The pinpoint accuracy,
Peyton Manning or Aaron Rodgers in this prime aren't going
to hit those very often. Tom Brady's not. They don't
(13:11):
even run those plays unless it's a trick play. And
you feel like when you watch the Chargers, they take
a lot of shots with McConkie. Because I think they're
kind of acknowledging, like, hey, he's the only guy we
really trust. So even if it's a lower percentage, we
definitely don't trust Quentin Johnson, who, like you said, bust. And,
you know, Trey Harris has actually had a– he has
(13:32):
six catches for 76 yards. No, he's okay. These over-the-shoulder catches, that's–
you do that to Randy Moss. You do that to
Mike Evans. You don't do that to Ladd McConkie.
Speaker 1 (13:43):
Okay, Jags 35, Patriots 6. People are freaking out in Boston.
First of all, it's not just offense. The Jags were
5-for-5 in the red zone. I think this Trevor Lawrence
is the best Trevor Lawrence with Liam Cohen. This is
what we thought he was going to be in the NFL.
Good arm, moves well, sees the field, and he's got
(14:04):
a great coach. Liam Cohen, if he was coaching in
New York right now, would be the talk of the NFL.
He is a great coach, former small college coach. quarterback.
He's competitive. He and Robert Sala got feisty a couple
of years ago. You know, that Denver game, you know, again,
they lose big TV game. People say, ah, forget about it.
(14:24):
Then they go home and they do this to you.
They did this to the chargers. I think last year,
they'll kick the living, you know, what out of you,
if you, if you make mistakes. And so again, I
think this is the best Trevor, but the story is
Drake May. So he had a goal line pick that
was brutal. He's missing open receivers and, Here comes the inevitable, Mike,
what's wrong with your team? Did your off-field drama have
(14:46):
anything to do with it, which will irritate the hell
out of me? But, I mean, this kid last year,
he's had seven turnovers in three games. He had 11
all last season. I think the offensive line's probably better.
You know, this has happened before, John. You know, it's
like the sophomore slump where a guy comes in, Oh, Ken,
he's a rookie. I think he makes the Pro Bowl,
(15:07):
but he's rough. Then last year, he gets to the
Super Bowl with an easy schedule. Well, their schedule's really,
really tough. And, you know, he's still a kid. I mean,
of all the quarterbacks in his class, he was the
one that we said, he's the rawest. He is absolutely
the most raw quarterback.
Speaker 2 (15:24):
Well.
Speaker 1 (15:24):
Again, how many starts does he have? It's not a
great O-line. They don't have A.J. Brown. Again, this is
like Herbert. He doesn't have a ton right now to
work with. They don't have a No. 1 receiver. They
don't have a dominant back. Hunter Henry's a really good
tight end. Is he a great tight end? I'm going
to defend another quarterback. He's playing very poorly. I don't
think you sit him. But it's pretty bleak right now.
(15:46):
There's not a lot of positivity. Even their defense got
pushed around.
Speaker 3 (15:51):
Yeah, he looks terrible. I mean, the leads the league
in turnovers, and obviously the pick to Travis Hunter in
the back of the end zone, that looks like something
a practice squad player. I mean, at one point in time,
I saw Mike Reese, like his first turnover. Well, that
ties Cooper Rush on the season for turnovers. And then
he just kept having them as the game went on.
(16:11):
I'm like, that's not good company to be in. The
other thing is, Colin, he rolled out a couple times today.
and missed open guys on the move, it's like, Drake,
that's kind of your thing. Making plays, running to your right.
This is a guy that's lost confidence. As much as
it came and grew last year, it feels like it's
all gone. And I think sometimes when it leaves, especially
(16:32):
for young players, you feel like I'm never going to
get it back. And you see Vrabel talking to guys.
I don't think there's much you can do. Now, in fairness,
if you take all of last year, Even the playoff game,
Lawrence really had a couple bad plays. And then this year,
the Jags are playing as well as all but two
or three teams. They have been fantastic since the guy's
been there. Honestly, this year, what have they played? The
(16:55):
two games, eight good quarters. And then the Denver game,
10 out of the 12 quarters, they have been awesome.
Speaker 1 (17:01):
And they've won 10 of 11 regular season games they've won.
Many by blowout. Many on the road. First of all,
Parker Washington could be the most underrated player in the league.
Speaker 3 (17:12):
In the league. I feel like Trevor, I always thought
he was a little overhyped. I'm like, I'm not seeing luck. Good,
excellent prospect. I understood why he's a top pick. But
they acted like he was Elway. I'm like, pump the brakes.
This is the best. Like, this is the most complete
he's looked. You go back to last year, the way
he played for Liam. You go back to this year.
(17:35):
But this is where we talk a lot, like coordinators, right?
Stafford gets with Sean. Purdy with Kyle. Liam with Trevor.
Josh is... He's never coached a guy like this. He
just hasn't. His guy couldn't beat me or you in
a race. And it didn't matter. He's the greatest quarterback
of all time. Tom Brady said, I couldn't start at
(17:55):
another position in a high school game. He's the greatest
quarterback of all time. Josh is like... We've seen Josh
also leave the nest and go coach other guys. It's
not working. Like, Josh is.
Josh got a lot of bill to him. You listen
to his former players talk. He can go in and out.
He can be the tough guy, but he can love
you up. Josh is a northeastern, hard-ass. It's an intense
(18:19):
place to play offense. And it's a complicated offense. So
you start swimming intellectually. Then you start playing bad. And
you start showing your clips of the offense that used
to run with Brady. There's a lot going on up there.
It's just an intense place to play.
Speaker 2 (18:32):
And it....
Speaker 3 (18:35):
Would you agree it couldn't have started worse for a player?
Speaker 4 (18:38):
And A.J.
Speaker 3 (18:39):
Brown gets injured in the first half of the first game.
He's out. Their wide receiver core isn't exactly Edelman and
Gronk out there. They can't run the ball. I don't
know what they ran for today. Probably not well because
they were down so big. And the other thing is...
We talk a lot about the Jags' offense. Defensively, they
have a lot of team speed, and that defensive coordinator
(19:00):
is pretty good. They are well-coached. If the Jaguars were
like the Packers or the Niners, they'd be leading our
shows all the time. They just happen to play in
a state where college football is bigger, and they're probably
the smallest brand in the league, but they're a big-time
football team. They treated the Patriots like a JV team today.
(19:23):
I think the May thing... Kind of scary. I mean,
it's just, I'm not writing off his career, but 2026, like,
you usually don't just snap out of it when it's
looked this bad, do you?
Speaker 1 (19:36):
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(19:56):
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(20:17):
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(20:39):
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(21:01):
Use the code COLIN. It's great. C-O-L-I-N. That's code COLIN.
$ 50 free after you trade just $ 10. Let's talk Oregon 41,
USC 27. So I had predicted before the game that
Oregon would win because Oregon always wins games like this.
(21:21):
USC was at home. They knocked out the quarterback, Dante Moore,
so it was a backup quarterback. Oregon's defense coming into
the game, at least defensively up front, had been underwhelming.
They lost to safety in the first round of the Bears.
I would say Oregon on the back end is not
nearly as good as they were last year in the
two or three times I've watched them. Oklahoma State burned
(21:42):
them over the top several times. This is not a
great Oregon defense, but this was a classic example where
The criticisms, you know, when Gary Patterson got hired as
a defensive coordinator, it's like, OK. And then about three
weeks ago, somebody said, you know, Gary's not the easiest
guy to work with. He can be kind of thin skinned.
(22:04):
He's not really a Lincoln Riley guy. And they're like,
you know, he's kind of been out of it a
few years. This is a young man's game. And I
didn't think, you know, I think USC is. Linebackers, safety, corner,
they don't have a pro. They have two safeties last
year that both ended up, Kamari Ramsey and Bishop were
NFL safeties. They're not very good on the back end.
(22:25):
Their defensive up front is really good. They've got some
really good players. But I thought you saw the NIL
money of Oregon. massive offensive line, deep athletically, tight end,
wide receiver. The fact that they have a backup quarterback
that would start for 100 of 135 college teams or more.
I mean, he might not start. He might start for
(22:45):
everybody but the top 15 quarterbacks in the country. I
thought you saw the NIL money, but I think more
than that is the criticisms of Lincoln. He's not a
bad coach, but once again in the big spot, big
games are Illinois on the road last year. They had
the game won. They just can't make big stops.
Speaker 3 (23:04):
Well, I think the moment when Dante got knocked out,
which I think those can be more, you know, I
think it's easy to judge in the slow motion world
we live in. But after the fact of him jumping
around and smiling and then throughout the whole game, the
kid was on the sideline.
Speaker 1 (23:24):
Yeah, awful.
Speaker 3 (23:24):
And then Lincoln after the game. I think that symbolizes
Lincoln Riley. I talked to a scouting buddy. I'm like,
what the hell is the difference at Florida? He's like,
you know, the old coach was everyone's friend. This guy's
much more like a general Schwarzkopf. This is you do
what I say in a modern way.
Speaker 2 (23:43):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (23:44):
And Lincoln, there's a discipline and a toughness that just
doesn't exist.
Speaker 1 (23:48):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (23:49):
That guy embarrassed once he's jumping around, and then he's
on the sideline.
Speaker 2 (23:53):
Oh, it was awful.
Speaker 3 (23:53):
I think most coaches say, go to the locker room, buddy.
Speaker 1 (23:55):
No, I mean, that stuff is like.
Speaker 3 (23:58):
Doesn't that bleed into the team, though, and the way
they play and the way they've played now for four
or five years? He's not a disciplinarian. He's not a
tough guy. No one's ever questioned his offensive ingenuity and
ability to scheme up plays.
Speaker 1 (24:11):
Since he took over, people forget. he gave Brett Venables
a team that was winning 10 games a year. Oklahoma
now stinks. He got Clay Helton's team. There were no pros.
I mean, the offensive and defensive line, they had one
six round draft pick on either of those lines. They
had no pros up front. They were small. So, and
he won 11 games the first year, but I think
we are at a point and it's not as easy
(24:33):
as everybody said, Oh, let's just, you got to buy
them out. All right. 70 million. The next coach is
a hundred million. They just asked donors for 300 million.
for a new facility, which they built and it's beautiful.
They also need $ 35 million a year in NIL money.
You can only tap donors. Donors always want changes. Then
they point to the other donor and go, go to him.
You've already asked me twice. It's really easy to say
(24:55):
the NIL helps coaches. Because, I mean, Clemson just can't
afford the money. Wisconsin doesn't afford the money. USC can.
But this is a market. This isn't the Pete Carroll days.
There's two NFL teams in town. Everybody loves the Dodgers,
the Lakers. There's a lot of asks here. There's a
lot to do in Los Angeles. And these donors ponied
up $ 35 million this year. And you get run by Oregon,
(25:20):
and it was a wobbly Oregon defense. I mean, they'd
gotten roasted by Oklahoma State. They're not as good defensively
as they had been in previous years. I think Lanning
privately would tell you on the back end, they're pretty
average defensively. I think the buyout talk, I mean, Pete
Carroll would love the job, but it's a young man's sport.
You can't be 75 or whatever Pete is. No. I
(25:40):
don't know where you go from this, but I think
the buyout talk, I think he'll have to let the
season play out and make some calls and see where
it goes.
Speaker 3 (25:49):
Yeah, I don't think he's going anywhere, but I do
think that one, what do you think of all the
articles coming out leading up to the game of his
bold proclamations? I mean, he was the one that put
this game on a pedestal. It's like Lincoln. Saban and
Urban Meyer, Kirby Smart would never do this for an
individual game, and you don't have the resume. Your margin
(26:10):
for error is not big enough where it's like, hey,
you're so much better than them, it'll be fine. Most
people think you're going to lose to begin with. And then, like,
Oregon's big benefit. I mean, there's a chance that, you know,
how much is Raiola making as the backup quarterback? A
million dollars?
Speaker 2 (26:24):
He's good.
Speaker 3 (26:24):
When Baker Mayfield got hurt and they put the undrafted
free agent in, I bet Raiola makes more as a
backup for Oregon than Beckett makes as undrafted free agent
for Tampa. Yeah. And Oregon deserves credit. What do they have?
They have a culture. You come here. Think of the
culture you have to have. Now, Lanning probably knew him
because they recruited him at Georgia. But, hey, we're going
to pay you a lot of money, but you can
make a lot of money starting. Come here. We will
(26:45):
help you grow. We did that with Dante Moore years ago,
and he came ready. I watched a lot of him
at Nebraska because of the hype. I was like, young
Patrick Mahomes, he was a disaster. That guy yesterday looked
like a real– like an NFL prospect.
Speaker 1 (27:03):
Absolutely. Yeah.
Speaker 3 (27:04):
And the other thing is, this is now your week four.
Dante Moore's getting all the reps. This guy's just playing
with the scout team to come in that ready. The
two cultures there, you got the other guy knocking Dante
Moore out, who's dead on the field dancing around and
then not leaving. It's like they couldn't be any... Honestly, Colin,
Oregon's losses, that lost Oklahoma State, they went into West
(27:26):
Virginia last night, drubbed Rich Rod. That quarterback for Oklahoma
State is legit. That team could be in the Big
12 championship forever. Boise, they played somehow. Boise destroyed Western Michigan.
They're going to be the playoff team. So Oklahoma State
and Boise could combine for 20-plus wins. Oregon might get,
(27:47):
and listen, I hope Dante Moore is fine. Glad he
didn't break his neck because it felt really bad right away.
Speaker 1 (27:52):
It was scary. I mean, it was one of those
when the ambulance is in the tunnel and the players
are watching it. It's bad. Yeah, I mean, it's kind of.
makes you sick to your stomach. But I don't think
they're going to have a drop-off of Raiola. Oh, no, no,
Royal is a big, thick kid with a good arm.
He was a five-star high school guy. But the whole
thing on the sidelines with USC and the juice box thing,
(28:15):
whatever they're doing, and the player after the hit is laughing.
It's like, dude, that's not good enough. Let's stop the
high school stuff on the sidelines. When Lane came in,
I never forget, I went into Lane Kiffin's office when
he was in USC, and there was a big Hollywood sign.
And I remember walking out thinking, Lane, you're kind of Hollywood.
(28:38):
SC's kind of Hollywood. I don't think you have to
sell Hollywood. I think you should be the opposite. Like
in Alabama... You could sell a little glitz because there
isn't much, right? Nick made it feel glamorous as a
football program. Not that it wasn't tough, but he gave
it like a big city feel because Alabama is small.
LA doesn't need to sell LA. What you always worry
(29:03):
about with a glitzy, glamoury Austin, Texas team or a
Miami team, you know, one of these like culturally hip
cities is Can you build toughness? Because your players choose
those schools because the women are beautiful. You've got a beach.
You've got a music scene. That's one of the things,
that's one of the reasons you go to Austin or
Coral Gables or Miami. Now, Mario Cristobal, to his credit,
(29:26):
has built a tough physical culture in a beach town. USC,
I've always thought, like, get out of selling that thing.
I mean, the guy at UCLA now, and they played nobody,
but you watch UCLA, they are squeezing every bit of
juice out of like the 28 best recruiting classes in
the country. USC had the best. They have four freshmen
(29:49):
playing for other freshmen, like rotating in. And I just,
to me, you're as good as, as the ability you
squeeze out of your roster. I just don't see it.
I just don't see them squeezing the most out of
their roster.
Speaker 3 (30:08):
The reality is the teams he had at Oklahoma once
he took over for Stoops would have drubbed his current
USC team. He did a great job calling the plays,
but a lot like Chip, they inherited incredible situations. They
just needed a little foot on the pedal offensively and
went to the next level. I just watch USC. OK,
(30:30):
the Gary Patterson thing I thought would work. But if
it's not clearly not working these last couple of games,
he has no defensive, you know, like a lot of
these coaches have a network of guys. They kind of
go to a tree. He just like throws shit at
the wall and hope it sticks. He's like, well, we
went against this guy in the Big 12 10 years ago. Well, Lincoln,
it's 2026. You should have the pick of the litter.
(30:53):
I don't know exactly what happened with Dan Lynn jumping
ship to go to Penn State. I don't know. I mean,
it's just there. I would short them moving forward because
let's use Bob Chesney. Comes in with little fanfare. No
one had heard of the three of the four schools
he'd ever coached at. doesn't, you know, he's done a
lot of interviews, but he's not making bold proclamations. Even
(31:14):
John Summerall at Florida did not come in saying anything.
There came, and some of it USC created, they did
put him on a pedestal, Colin, like they were hiring
the Bill Walsh version of college football, and it's been
a disaster given what they've paid. I mean, they're not,
you agree, they're not a playoff team. This team is
(31:35):
not going to the playoffs.
Speaker 1 (31:36):
Special teams, defense, not good enough. Texas 20, Tennessee 17. So,
you know, Arch Manning made some good decisions. Two or
three great throws. I thought he felt on the road,
big spot, pretty composed. I had a friend text me
who is somebody that formerly worked in the NFL. And
(31:57):
he said, where's the big upside? Now, Arch played in
a very small New Orleans high school. So he didn't
play at a modern day. He didn't play against a
bunch of D1 guys. So I've always kind of given
him a little bit longer kind of to play into that.
But it was interesting. This person worked in the NFL
and just said, you know, he's big enough. He moves
(32:19):
well enough. He's got a good enough arm. He goes,
but he's kind of inconsistent. And he goes, give me
one great play. He goes, I'm waiting for the great play.
Like when Josh Allen was at college or Mahomes, Sam Darnold,
you can put a three-minute reel up of their best plays,
and there are some holy what-am-I-watching plays. I went back
(32:41):
and looked at Mahomes, you know, after he got drafted.
I mean, it was just wild. I only saw him
play once in college that I remembered. It was those
crazy Big 12 games. I watched Josh Allen play Iowa
and Oregon. He got smoked in both, but he made
a great throw. I think it was against Oregon in
a losing cause where it just didn't even look human.
But what the person was saying is, you know, for
(33:03):
all the talk, Peyton Manning gave you moments of, wow.
Does Arch have that? As a former NFL scout, how
do you judge him today?
Speaker 3 (33:13):
Yeah, I don't love him as a player. I mean,
relative to the hype talking about first-round pick, I've never
watched him these last two years and thought first-round pick.
Definitely not first overall pick, top 10 pick. I don't
see that level at all. Now, is he an undraftable,
like total scrub? Of course not. He definitely can move.
(33:37):
I think his release is a little funky. On a
play-to-play basis, you have no clue what you're getting. No
clue what you're getting. I mean, they got really high-end
wide receivers. One of the running backs was out. I mean,
the best player on that team is the pass rusher
who was incredible against Tennessee Simmons. But, Yeah, I mean,
(33:57):
I watch Raiola. One game of Raiola off the bench,
and you're like, damn, this is the guy that Matt
Rule was like, this is why we paid him millions
of dollars. If that guy would have showed up, we
would have won 10 games one of these last two years.
Speaker 1 (34:10):
I think that's very fair.
Speaker 3 (34:11):
You see it immediately. And to me with Arch, now listen,
Tennessee on the road, one of the loudest places, their
defense is good. But even the previous week against UTSA,
you see some wobbly ducks. I just don't love him
as a player at all. To me, he's not for me.
(34:31):
One of those. Not for me.
Speaker 1 (34:33):
Yeah. No, I think the kid at Miami, Mensah, Darian Mensah,
has been the one quarterback and the Oklahoma State kid
where you get some, wow, that's special. Um, CJ Carr,
I like, he didn't have great traits. He's not big, strong, mobile,
but you know, that situation is a little like JJ
McCarthy where he didn't have to do a ton, but I'm,
(34:53):
I keep waiting for arch. And it's funny cause I'm
having people know I'm on the air and I have,
you know, people I talk to and former executives and
scouts and executives and they all, they all kind of
say the same thing is they, they just, um, ambivalent play.
It's like, eh, I.
Speaker 3 (35:11):
Have a hard time seeing Texas win the whole thing
if Arch is going.
Speaker 1 (35:14):
To play like this. They make too many mistakes.
Speaker 3 (35:21):
I saw Marcel Reed, who played terrible for A & M,
and they asked Elko after the game, are you going
to bench him? And his response was no. Venables Mateer,
who's just been horrendous. Same type deal.
Speaker 4 (35:31):
Yeah, we thought about it.
Speaker 3 (35:31):
Do you think now, because I felt like in the NFL,
they were way more sensitive about benchings because it's hard
to go back. In college, most of my life, you'd
bench a guy, you'd come back in, much more unfazed
by emotions. Young kid, if you're not doing well, guys
would come in and out. You'd play two quarterbacks. Do
you think now that these people are stroking these $ 2, $ 3, $ 4,
(35:52):
$ 5 million checks for these quarterbacks, That it's like, I
don't even know if I'm allowed to take him out
of the game for some of these coaches. Because it
kind of crossed my mind seeing some of these like
Venables material. You didn't think about making a change or Elko.
You guys were playoff teams last year, but both those
quarterbacks making a ton of money. Like, am I even
allowed to yank this guy at halftime? Crossed my mind yesterday.
Speaker 1 (36:13):
Yeah. No, it's let me let me throw one more
college thing out there. You know who impressed me? was
the Northwestern team that almost knocked off Indiana and Bloomington
Friday night. I'm getting over a cold, so I watched
about 12 college football games.
Speaker 4 (36:28):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (36:28):
Listen, that guy, small college coach, took over for Pat
Fitzgerald when he was let go by Northwestern. And he's
gone 21-20. They hired Chip Kelly as his offensive coordinator.
Northwestern is well... coat and chip Kelly would work for
free at USC. Cause he wants to come back West.
(36:49):
I would imagine he's a man beach guy. Um, Northwestern's
got a new stadium. I'm just telling you, I watched
that game. These guys like Cignetti and the Northwestern coach,
under the radar. Your guy at UCLA, they just grind.
They know football. They don't have huge agents. There's a
(37:10):
lot of good coaches out there that nobody knows about.
They just need an opportunity.
Speaker 3 (37:16):
Got another name for you. Dickert, the Washington State guy
that went to Wake Forest, just knocked off Louisville. I
think they won nine games last year. Now they're three
and one like he's doing that at Wake Forest. Like
Dicker's pretty good, you know, but listen, he doesn't have
the fanfare Elaine. He doesn't have Jimmy Sexton behind him
(37:36):
like some of these guys. Bob Chesney probably doesn't have
Jimmy Sexton behind him. You know, it's like I think
sometimes the hype train. Listen, I enjoy Lane. But if
you Google his resume, he doesn't have exactly Kirby's, you know,
win total of knocking off big teams. So that matters
a lot in college. In the NFL, you can't fake it, right? Like,
(37:58):
no one cares who Liam Cohen's hype machine or agent is.
Speaker 1 (38:00):
Just watch him coach.
Speaker 3 (38:01):
He's kicking everyone's ass. But in college, the pregame shows,
the Klats and the Curb Streets, there's a lot of
emphasis in those guys. Josh Pate, they have a lot
of juice. Feinbaum, that matters. A lot of guys suck
out a lot of the oxygen, and Lincoln's a good
example of that. They lead these shows, and it's like,
(38:22):
is Lincoln even the best college coach right now in.
Speaker 1 (38:24):
L.A.? Lincoln right now is 5-14 against L.A. AP-ranked teams.
Think about that. That doesn't mean number one. Lincoln-Riley is
5-14 against AP-ranked teams at USC. That is just brutal.
Speaker 3 (38:42):
The Big Ten's a little down right now. Indiana, I
watched that game Friday night. They did not look like
they did last year.
Speaker 1 (38:51):
Offensively, they are not last year. They are not as
good as last year.
Speaker 2 (38:56):
Why?
Speaker 1 (38:57):
The quarterback's not as good. Hoover's not as good as
Fernando Mendoza. They're good. They're not a special offense yet.
All right, week four predictions presented by Polymarket. Sign up
for Polymarket with the code COLIN and get 50 bucks
on us for their first trade. Okay, I like the
(39:19):
Cowboys this week because I think they were humiliated with
a couple of coaching gaffes late against Baltimore. You can
trade the Cowboys to win it 43% right now on
the Polymarket. market. Also, CJ Stroud is going through it,
and I don't see a course correct. I tend to
like teams that have losses that really infuriate them. That
(39:42):
was as bad a special teams gaffe, a coverage gaffe,
a third and goal. Your thoughts on that game?
Speaker 2 (39:49):
Yeah, I agree with you there. I think Dallas is
going to come into this game a little angry. We've
got to fix this, and we've got to change this,
and we've got a bad taste in our mouth right now.
We've got to get rid of this, and they're going
to come in with a mission to win this game.
Speaker 4 (40:05):
Obviously, the Texans are 0-3.
Speaker 2 (40:08):
Stroud has been playing okay, but they're not scoring many
points today. You know, the good thing is this Dallas defense,
you can take advantage of them a little bit. So
if there was a game where this offense can get
going and get into a good rhythm, score some points,
it might be against this Cowboys defense right now. But,
you know, the Texans, their defense is still very good.
(40:31):
They're getting after the quarterback. They're getting sacks. But Dax
seems to be playing very well. CeeDee Lamb playing very well.
Speaker 4 (40:37):
But I agree with that.
Speaker 2 (40:39):
I think Texans are in a tough situation, 0-3, and
going against a team that is hungry to get some revenge.
Speaker 1 (40:46):
Yeah, and the O-line continues to be a massive problem
for the Texans. It feels like a four-year problem. All right,
3-0 Chiefs, 3-0 Raiders. I do like Kansas City because
it's interesting. Mahomes finally has a run game, and he
is 22 of 24 on play action. He's also in
(41:06):
his career— 14-2 inside. So, you know, like he's really,
really good in play action, which he never really has
had a great run game. But you can make a
combo trade at 14% right now. I'm going to predict
that Kenneth Walker, Ashton Gentry, and Rasheed Rice all score.
I think it's a high scoring game. Give me your
thoughts on Chiefs Raiders. Are you surprised by Vegas? I
(41:32):
wouldn't say I'm surprised. I think Kirk Cousins is a
really talented quarterback.
Speaker 2 (41:36):
I know he learned that system well and be able
to throw the ball on time.
Speaker 4 (41:41):
He gets the ball out. He knows exactly where he's going.
Speaker 2 (41:44):
And by the way, having brought Bowers back, I watched
the game they played last week against the Saints. I mean,
he is truly a game changer. You cannot stop him.
They put corners. They line him outside. They put a
corner back on him saying, all right, corner on tight.
Speaker 4 (41:59):
End, advantage defense.
Speaker 1 (42:01):
Not advantage.
Speaker 4 (42:01):
He beats everybody. He wins.
Speaker 2 (42:03):
He gets separation. And so they're going to continue to
feed him. And so not surprised that their offense has
been good. They've won some close games. And so this
should be an exciting game. Like you said, high scoring Mahomes.
with the play action. Like you said, I think that's
something they've been doing. They've been calling play actions the
last few years, but they get no defense reaction because
(42:27):
they don't have.
Speaker 4 (42:27):
A run game. Now with the run game, you got
that going, which is great.
Speaker 2 (42:31):
That helps the play action, get him some, some, some
looks and the defense is that they are expecting to get,
you can, when you run the ball, well, you can
predict a little bit what the defenses might do to
stop the run that helps the pass. So, again, I
do like the Chiefs. I just think they're playing well,
and I think they'll be able to outscore Vegas.
Speaker 1 (42:53):
Yeah, Ashton Gentry and the fourth-round pick out of SEC Arkansas,
Mike Washington, who has been really– Really, SEC produces a
lot of running backs. All right, you can trade the
Seahawks winning by more than seven at 48%. I actually
think it's one of those games. I have defended guys
that throw pick sixes. Stafford's got 33. Darnold's had a few.
(43:17):
Brady had one in the Super Bowl. My take is
the following drive, Darnold drove down in one minute and scored.
I like aggressive quarterbacks. People look at that loss to
Washington and they think, sell your stock. And my take
is no, actually it's hard to win Seattle to DC
back-to-back roadies. You've done that before, but you know, you
(43:38):
have better players, Eli and the giants go on the
road for the second straight week. And it's a dud
from the first quarter, your thoughts on that game with
the chargers.
Speaker 2 (43:46):
Yeah, I kind of think it's a similar situation with Dallas.
This is a Seahawks team that's a little angry. They
thought they kind of let one slip away last week.
Darnold played really well, but they had three turnovers on offense.
And so that's just not their style. They know as
a team, we got a great defense. Our defense is
going to get us turnovers. We got to protect the ball.
(44:07):
Jackson Smith and Jigba might be the best player. in
the NFL right now. He's unstoppable. So they want to
stay aggressive. And that's one thing, even last year with
Sam Darnold, and they went through kind of times where he.
Speaker 4 (44:19):
Was turning the ball over.
Speaker 2 (44:20):
He wasn't playing great all the time, but they encouraged him,
stay aggressive, push the ball down the field. We got
to make plays and we'll kind of get through those
times and overcome some of the bad plays. It's going
to make this better down the road. So I think
they kind of put it in that category, but they're angry,
they're mad, you know, going against a team that's 0-3,
that really offensively has really struggled.
Speaker 4 (44:42):
And I get that. New offensive coordinator, quarterback, it can
take three to four weeks to get it going.
Speaker 2 (44:47):
I just don't think against Seattle, that's not the team
you're going to find your rhythm. They are really good
on defense, multiple looks, making it really tough for the quarterback.
Speaker 1 (44:56):
By the way, again, I think it's an art to
forget a pick six. Darnold had an incredible drive after
his pick six. How did you do it? You know
you just let it go and you knew it. How
do you get over it?
Speaker 2 (45:14):
I think you get to the sideline and immediately it's
like your first question is not, hey, what happened there? Or, hey,
let's watch that play with the quarterback, coach, or whoever
you sit with. It's, hey, let's look at the game
plan sheet. What's our first pass play going to be
this next drive?
Speaker 4 (45:30):
You're already looking forward.
Speaker 1 (45:32):
Right.
Speaker 4 (45:32):
Getting the ball back and throwing it.
Speaker 2 (45:34):
And usually, you know, the coordinators that have great confidence
in their quarterback, they're calling a pass early, get them
back in rhythm, get a completion, get things going. And
that usually is what helps. So the mindset is automatically
next series.
Speaker 3 (45:48):
We're getting the ball.
Speaker 4 (45:49):
You know, right away, you throw a big six, they're
kicking off to you. So you don't have a.
Speaker 2 (45:53):
Whole lot of time to sit down. So you don't,
you're not watching it. You're just, Hey, what's our best
completion play? Get our quarterback back in rhythm. And I
think that's the mindset.
Speaker 1 (46:08):
This podcast presented by Bud Light. Easy to drink, easy
to enjoy.
Very excited to say that Bud Light is the title
sponsor of the Colin Coward podcast this NFL season. This
podcast presented by Bud Light. Easy to drink, easy to enjoy.
All right.
Speaker 2 (00:21):
The.
Speaker 1 (00:22):
Ravens just beat the Cowboys on a walk-off 34-31 Tyler
loop in what was a wildly, wildly entertaining game for
the people, myself included, that say, why do you make
these teams go to Brazil? They're going to be fatigued.
That was great football. I thought the Cowboys had it
won twice. I thought the Ravens had it won three times.
(00:45):
Dallas didn't want to go to overtime. They had nobody
left in the secondary. I mean, again, you can nitpick everything.
I was okay. The ball was caught and Zay Flowers
was down with one second. Then you saw Lamar on
the other shot, slow-mo by CBS calling time.
Speaker 3 (01:03):
So I was okay with that or you. Yeah, I
got no issue with it. My main issue is we
now start these drives at the 35.
Speaker 1 (01:12):
So if you have a.
Speaker 3 (01:13):
Kicker that has 60-ish range, which basically every kicker does,
I mean, he just hit it from 56, looked like
it would have been good from 75. You really just
need to hit one kind of chunk play 20 yards.
You and I are old enough to remember when most
late drives would start at the 20, the game was over.
Speaker 1 (01:33):
It was done.
Speaker 3 (01:34):
So now, and listen, I think the league kind of
likes this because you got to pay attention with 8, 9,
10 seconds left. How many times, this is not the
first time we've seen this, you just have to hit
one big play. They don't always hit the field goal,
but you are on the edge of your seat and
you cannot... What were the Cowboys doing? Letting him go
right over the middle of the field. Wouldn't you take
(01:55):
away the middle of the field? Especially him, their best
wide receiver. I don't know. I mean, their drive also,
when they were at the goal line, what were a
couple of those pass plays?
Speaker 1 (02:05):
Incomplete fade route, offsides, near sack, incompletion. The final one,
Dak was swearing. I don't know if it was miscommunication,
but he sailed it. That was a very weak effort. Listen,
both these teams had it won. And both these teams
lost it several times. So you can say what you want.
In the end, it was a wildly entertaining game. I mean,
through three quarters, Lamar Jackson had thrown for 62 yards.
(02:31):
And as Jim Nance and J.J. Watt said that, he
came out and They, you know, marched down the field.
But I thought, you know, Dallas, when they stopped him
on fourth and goal and then Dak hit CeeDee Lamb
for 50 plus yards, they marched down and scored. I
was like, oh, this is a grown up football operation.
I will say this. In a loss, there was a
(02:52):
lot about Dallas I liked. I mean, we can talk
about their defense, overshown, not available, secondary banged up. this
team's as good as Dak and Ferguson and Seedy and Pickens.
They had some gash run plays. I was kind of,
you know, I mean, I think Baltimore, if they played
10 times would win six to seven, but I kind
of came away impressed with Dallas.
Speaker 3 (03:14):
Why those two wide receivers beside Higgins and chase, and
they're probably right there with them are as good as
it gets. You know, I mean, Schottenheimer is really gassing up.
George Pickens is the greatest training camp he's ever seen,
but he's, He looks fantastic. Ferguson's awesome. I mean, their
offensive weapons are legit. That's where I go back to.
You get down to the goal line. They get the
ball back with a minute 30. They drive right down
(03:36):
the field. You've got a $ 60 million quarterback. You've got
two $ 30, $ 40 million wide receivers. You've got a tight
end who's big and who's very talented. You've got a
quick guy that you can utilize. Their play calling– Maybe
Dak was scared to take a sack on the third
down and just let it out. But the first and
second down play calls, they have as good of an
(03:58):
arsenal as any team in the league. Brian Schottenheimer, I've
supported him because I do think he's a pretty good
offensive coach, but I think if you're Dallas... Obviously, we're
going to talk a lot about the last play in
the field goal, but those couple plays, you got a
lot of money invested into that unit, and they've been
kicking ass and taking names. That's hard. It's one thing
(04:20):
if a guy trips or drops the ball. The plays
were awful.
Speaker 1 (04:24):
They never had a chance, Collin. Yeah, I mean, that's
kind of the difference with a Shanahan or a Sean
Payton or an Andy Reid. You feel like– I remember
Brady talking about this, how they would basically do red
zone offense for like 60% of the practice. I mean,
that's essentially what the Patriots worked on. Brady and Josh McDaniels,
(04:46):
like that's– we knew we could march between the 30s.
We just worked on red zone stuff. They didn't look
terribly organized defensively. Lamar is now 3-0 against the Cowboys,
127 passer rating, seven TDs and one interception. There is
a speed component. When you put Zay Flowers and Lamar
on the field and At the same time, there's a
(05:08):
dynamic offensively. I mean, how many times was Lamar trapped?
One was taken away by a penalty. Zay Flowers, you know,
when they paid him that money, I thought that's a
lot for a small receiver. John, he is so valuable
to that offense. Like he really, the Ravens and the
Chiefs are well-run operations, but both have missed on receivers
(05:29):
several times in the draft. When you're drafting at the
bottom of rounds, you're not getting the top three receivers.
By the second round, you're maybe getting the seventh or
eighth receiver. I thought that was one of those games
that it's going to be a great flight home for
the Ravens, and Dallas is going to kick themselves because
the Ravens have issues on the back end. Neither secondary
(05:51):
is very strong, and Dallas had that game within their grasp.
And on the third and goal, I mean, they took
a flyer and Dak overshot it by five yards.
Speaker 3 (06:04):
And Wiggins is not, you know, his knock is not
the athleticism, the competitiveness, his size. He's not a super
tall corner. And you have tall, wide receivers. I also
thought when they said that stat that he has, whatever,
65 yards or It's like, I feel like he's got
way more watching these because they hit some PIs every
time that he let it rip. I just assumed the
(06:26):
guy was going to be wide open down the field.
It's hard to trust. I mean, you know, Dallas went healthy.
Their defense has some question marks. They have a million
injuries going right now. they're in a tough spot. They're
going to, they have to win in shootouts. So you
get in the shootout and you lose and you're kind
of dictating the terms and you lose because you have
to kick a field goal, not score a touchdown. I
(06:49):
just can't get over how much they have invested on
that offensive side of the ball to get down there.
Cause it felt like what a great drive by Dallas.
Speaker 2 (06:56):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (06:56):
Get the ball back with one 30 drive right down
the field. Dax and complete control. Obviously, Lamar hits the
great play, but Zay Flowers is wide open. Of course
he is. The secondary has no clue where they're going.
I just can't get over that ending, Colin.
Speaker 1 (07:11):
Yeah, Dallas is almost better when they need 15 yards
than three. I really believe that. They're a great chunk
play offense. Ferguson can go vertical. I mean, the receivers
in Dak several times, ran today. They're really good at
getting chunk plays. They're not great at getting short yardage.
(07:32):
Baltimore's probably better at both, as they show you at
the very end. And Derek Henry, who is, again, Nolan Ryan,
he's absolutely ageless. All right, Buffalo 24, Chargers 16. I
saw a stat earlier today. Listen to this stat. This
was sent to me by my staff. This is incredible.
(07:53):
So since 2013, this is 13 years, teams with five
plus turnovers and a minus four turnover margin are 381
and one straight up. The three wins by teams that
have a minus four turnover margin, the bills over the
chargers today, The Jaguars over the Chargers in that playoff
(08:15):
game three years ago, and the Broncos over the Chargers
a decade ago. They call it Chargering. I have so
many thoughts on this. Josh Allen had two early picks.
They had three fumbles. They had 10 penalties. They played
a B-rate game. I did think L.A. 's defense was better.
But in the end, Herbert, I mean, I'm as big
(08:37):
a fan as he has of He has lacked self-awareness.
He has lacked feel. As Brady called it today, a
meatball sub. One of his interceptions was awful. Now, he
doesn't have a ton to work with. They're not great
at receiver or tight end. Their backs are okay, but
they're kind of slightly above average. They're not special. He
(08:57):
doesn't have a ton to work with. He doesn't have
Dax weapons. He just doesn't. Their weapons, they have not. Harbaugh, historically,
is not a wide receiver coach. A lot of average
receivers at Stanford, San Francisco, Michigan, and now. I mean,
Herbert was 20 of 34. Really bad pick. But there's,
(09:20):
I mean, maybe the OC plus Herbert, the interior line,
it just doesn't look right. They played a very good
first half, but they just can't get it out of
their own way.
Speaker 3 (09:31):
Yeah, to me, the first half, Josh, you know, they
had the freak interception. He threw a bad interception. They
had the fumble, and they're only up 10-0. It's like,
you played like you should be up 24-0, it's 10-0,
and then all of a sudden it's 10-10 at the half.
And at the end of the day, Quinn Johnson, he'll
tease you, but it's 17-13 late in the game, Herbert
(09:52):
hits him and he drops it, and then he unravels.
And then you know, it just felt like that, that
kind of broke the dam because then Buffalo gets the
ball back, scores a touchdown and it's over. And you
could see it on Jim's Jim at Jim's once Jim
ever been Oh, and three in his life since probably
the playing days and like the early nineties, late eighties.
(10:12):
So I don't know what the answers are. Their offense
just isn't good enough. Because like you said, their defense
showed up to play. We're making plays. They were hitting Josh.
They were tackling. They were very physical. They look like
a team that, hey, we're 0-2. We're paying a lot
of people a lot of money. We have a $ 20
million coach. We're kind of a line in the sand
type moment. And I was like, damn, the Chargers, this
(10:33):
is a real performance. This is a real team. And
then as the game went, I mean, Colin, they ended
up losing 24-16. I mean, that's the crazy part. After
it ends, you're like, wait, what just happened? And we've
talked a lot about their schedule. I went back and
I watched his game last week because I was like, oh,
(10:54):
Herbert's bad like everyone. I didn't think he actually played
that as bad as I think. He's running for his life.
It's not as bad as people are acting.
Speaker 1 (11:02):
No, the film people all admit it's not as bad.
Greg Cosell, Robert Mays, the guys that watch the film,
everybody's like, listen, they have huge drops, the fumbles by
the running backs, the O-line interiors, probably the worst in
the league again. Terrible. So he's got two good tackles
and one really good slot receiver. That's what he has.
Speaker 3 (11:24):
But if you play Buffalo and you get a Josh
Allen game where he throws no touchdowns and has two
picks and you sack him four times and you still
lose by, you know, eight points, that's one of those
where this– Are we headed toward five and 11, four
and just an implosion? And let's face it, Jim's an intense,
(11:48):
work harder, grind harder. Jim doesn't pivot much, right? Jim
has one way to do things. And in fairness to him,
it's always worked. It's worked really, really well. I don't
know what his other pitch is. And now you got
Mike with the shades and the watch. I mean, that's
the opposite of Jim Harbaugh. I mean, so I... I
don't know.
Speaker 1 (12:07):
I think they have to.
Speaker 3 (12:08):
I think they're in major trouble, Colin.
Speaker 1 (12:11):
I think they have to give up draft picks and
go get a receiver they trust. And then you could have–
go get a receiver, pay for it, then you have that,
Trey Harris, Ladd McConkie. I think Quentin Johnson, he's a bust.
It doesn't work. First-round pick.
Speaker 3 (12:28):
Brady was calling this game this morning, right?
Speaker 2 (12:30):
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 3 (12:30):
I think he was because there were a couple throws–
And he brought up a good point. I think he's
talking essentially like him and Edelman. He's like, the deeper
the shot goes to McConkie, the smaller the surface area goes. Ladd, McConkie, Edelman,
Wes Welker, the great slot guys. And Ladd's a stud.
He would play for everybody. You're not taking deep shots
(12:51):
with him. But who else are they taking deep shots with?
Look at the Cowboys. CeeDee Lamb, George Pickens, Jamar Chase, T. Higgins.
And then you got little lad. Georgia didn't take deep shots.
You take deep shots over the shoulder throws. The pinpoint accuracy,
Peyton Manning or Aaron Rodgers in this prime aren't going
to hit those very often. Tom Brady's not. They don't
(13:11):
even run those plays unless it's a trick play. And
you feel like when you watch the Chargers, they take
a lot of shots with McConkie. Because I think they're
kind of acknowledging, like, hey, he's the only guy we
really trust. So even if it's a lower percentage, we
definitely don't trust Quentin Johnson, who, like you said, bust. And,
you know, Trey Harris has actually had a– he has
(13:32):
six catches for 76 yards. No, he's okay. These over-the-shoulder catches, that's–
you do that to Randy Moss. You do that to
Mike Evans. You don't do that to Ladd McConkie.
Speaker 1 (13:43):
Okay, Jags 35, Patriots 6. People are freaking out in Boston.
First of all, it's not just offense. The Jags were
5-for-5 in the red zone. I think this Trevor Lawrence
is the best Trevor Lawrence with Liam Cohen. This is
what we thought he was going to be in the NFL.
Good arm, moves well, sees the field, and he's got
(14:04):
a great coach. Liam Cohen, if he was coaching in
New York right now, would be the talk of the NFL.
He is a great coach, former small college coach. quarterback.
He's competitive. He and Robert Sala got feisty a couple
of years ago. You know, that Denver game, you know, again,
they lose big TV game. People say, ah, forget about it.
(14:24):
Then they go home and they do this to you.
They did this to the chargers. I think last year,
they'll kick the living, you know, what out of you,
if you, if you make mistakes. And so again, I
think this is the best Trevor, but the story is
Drake May. So he had a goal line pick that
was brutal. He's missing open receivers and, Here comes the inevitable, Mike,
what's wrong with your team? Did your off-field drama have
(14:46):
anything to do with it, which will irritate the hell
out of me? But, I mean, this kid last year,
he's had seven turnovers in three games. He had 11
all last season. I think the offensive line's probably better.
You know, this has happened before, John. You know, it's
like the sophomore slump where a guy comes in, Oh, Ken,
he's a rookie. I think he makes the Pro Bowl,
(15:07):
but he's rough. Then last year, he gets to the
Super Bowl with an easy schedule. Well, their schedule's really,
really tough. And, you know, he's still a kid. I mean,
of all the quarterbacks in his class, he was the
one that we said, he's the rawest. He is absolutely
the most raw quarterback.
Speaker 2 (15:24):
Well.
Speaker 1 (15:24):
Again, how many starts does he have? It's not a
great O-line. They don't have A.J. Brown. Again, this is
like Herbert. He doesn't have a ton right now to
work with. They don't have a No. 1 receiver. They
don't have a dominant back. Hunter Henry's a really good
tight end. Is he a great tight end? I'm going
to defend another quarterback. He's playing very poorly. I don't
think you sit him. But it's pretty bleak right now.
(15:46):
There's not a lot of positivity. Even their defense got
pushed around.
Speaker 3 (15:51):
Yeah, he looks terrible. I mean, the leads the league
in turnovers, and obviously the pick to Travis Hunter in
the back of the end zone, that looks like something
a practice squad player. I mean, at one point in time,
I saw Mike Reese, like his first turnover. Well, that
ties Cooper Rush on the season for turnovers. And then
he just kept having them as the game went on.
(16:11):
I'm like, that's not good company to be in. The
other thing is, Colin, he rolled out a couple times today.
and missed open guys on the move, it's like, Drake,
that's kind of your thing. Making plays, running to your right.
This is a guy that's lost confidence. As much as
it came and grew last year, it feels like it's
all gone. And I think sometimes when it leaves, especially
(16:32):
for young players, you feel like I'm never going to
get it back. And you see Vrabel talking to guys.
I don't think there's much you can do. Now, in fairness,
if you take all of last year, Even the playoff game,
Lawrence really had a couple bad plays. And then this year,
the Jags are playing as well as all but two
or three teams. They have been fantastic since the guy's
been there. Honestly, this year, what have they played? The
(16:55):
two games, eight good quarters. And then the Denver game,
10 out of the 12 quarters, they have been awesome.
Speaker 1 (17:01):
And they've won 10 of 11 regular season games they've won.
Many by blowout. Many on the road. First of all,
Parker Washington could be the most underrated player in the league.
Speaker 3 (17:12):
In the league. I feel like Trevor, I always thought
he was a little overhyped. I'm like, I'm not seeing luck. Good,
excellent prospect. I understood why he's a top pick. But
they acted like he was Elway. I'm like, pump the brakes.
This is the best. Like, this is the most complete
he's looked. You go back to last year, the way
he played for Liam. You go back to this year.
(17:35):
But this is where we talk a lot, like coordinators, right?
Stafford gets with Sean. Purdy with Kyle. Liam with Trevor.
Josh is... He's never coached a guy like this. He
just hasn't. His guy couldn't beat me or you in
a race. And it didn't matter. He's the greatest quarterback
of all time. Tom Brady said, I couldn't start at
(17:55):
another position in a high school game. He's the greatest
quarterback of all time. Josh is like... We've seen Josh
also leave the nest and go coach other guys. It's
not working. Like, Josh is.
Josh got a lot of bill to him. You listen
to his former players talk. He can go in and out.
He can be the tough guy, but he can love
you up. Josh is a northeastern, hard-ass. It's an intense
(18:19):
place to play offense. And it's a complicated offense. So
you start swimming intellectually. Then you start playing bad. And
you start showing your clips of the offense that used
to run with Brady. There's a lot going on up there.
It's just an intense place to play.
Speaker 2 (18:32):
And it....
Speaker 3 (18:35):
Would you agree it couldn't have started worse for a player?
Speaker 4 (18:38):
And A.J.
Speaker 3 (18:39):
Brown gets injured in the first half of the first game.
He's out. Their wide receiver core isn't exactly Edelman and
Gronk out there. They can't run the ball. I don't
know what they ran for today. Probably not well because
they were down so big. And the other thing is...
We talk a lot about the Jags' offense. Defensively, they
have a lot of team speed, and that defensive coordinator
(19:00):
is pretty good. They are well-coached. If the Jaguars were
like the Packers or the Niners, they'd be leading our
shows all the time. They just happen to play in
a state where college football is bigger, and they're probably
the smallest brand in the league, but they're a big-time
football team. They treated the Patriots like a JV team today.
(19:23):
I think the May thing... Kind of scary. I mean,
it's just, I'm not writing off his career, but 2026, like,
you usually don't just snap out of it when it's
looked this bad, do you?
Speaker 1 (19:36):
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(19:56):
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(20:17):
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(20:39):
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(21:01):
Use the code COLIN. It's great. C-O-L-I-N. That's code COLIN.
$ 50 free after you trade just $ 10. Let's talk Oregon 41,
USC 27. So I had predicted before the game that
Oregon would win because Oregon always wins games like this.
(21:21):
USC was at home. They knocked out the quarterback, Dante Moore,
so it was a backup quarterback. Oregon's defense coming into
the game, at least defensively up front, had been underwhelming.
They lost to safety in the first round of the Bears.
I would say Oregon on the back end is not
nearly as good as they were last year in the
two or three times I've watched them. Oklahoma State burned
(21:42):
them over the top several times. This is not a
great Oregon defense, but this was a classic example where
The criticisms, you know, when Gary Patterson got hired as
a defensive coordinator, it's like, OK. And then about three
weeks ago, somebody said, you know, Gary's not the easiest
guy to work with. He can be kind of thin skinned.
(22:04):
He's not really a Lincoln Riley guy. And they're like,
you know, he's kind of been out of it a
few years. This is a young man's game. And I
didn't think, you know, I think USC is. Linebackers, safety, corner,
they don't have a pro. They have two safeties last
year that both ended up, Kamari Ramsey and Bishop were
NFL safeties. They're not very good on the back end.
(22:25):
Their defensive up front is really good. They've got some
really good players. But I thought you saw the NIL
money of Oregon. massive offensive line, deep athletically, tight end,
wide receiver. The fact that they have a backup quarterback
that would start for 100 of 135 college teams or more.
I mean, he might not start. He might start for
(22:45):
everybody but the top 15 quarterbacks in the country. I
thought you saw the NIL money, but I think more
than that is the criticisms of Lincoln. He's not a
bad coach, but once again in the big spot, big
games are Illinois on the road last year. They had
the game won. They just can't make big stops.
Speaker 3 (23:04):
Well, I think the moment when Dante got knocked out,
which I think those can be more, you know, I
think it's easy to judge in the slow motion world
we live in. But after the fact of him jumping
around and smiling and then throughout the whole game, the
kid was on the sideline.
Speaker 1 (23:24):
Yeah, awful.
Speaker 3 (23:24):
And then Lincoln after the game. I think that symbolizes
Lincoln Riley. I talked to a scouting buddy. I'm like,
what the hell is the difference at Florida? He's like,
you know, the old coach was everyone's friend. This guy's
much more like a general Schwarzkopf. This is you do
what I say in a modern way.
Speaker 2 (23:43):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (23:44):
And Lincoln, there's a discipline and a toughness that just
doesn't exist.
Speaker 1 (23:48):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (23:49):
That guy embarrassed once he's jumping around, and then he's
on the sideline.
Speaker 2 (23:53):
Oh, it was awful.
Speaker 3 (23:53):
I think most coaches say, go to the locker room, buddy.
Speaker 1 (23:55):
No, I mean, that stuff is like.
Speaker 3 (23:58):
Doesn't that bleed into the team, though, and the way
they play and the way they've played now for four
or five years? He's not a disciplinarian. He's not a
tough guy. No one's ever questioned his offensive ingenuity and
ability to scheme up plays.
Speaker 1 (24:11):
Since he took over, people forget. he gave Brett Venables
a team that was winning 10 games a year. Oklahoma
now stinks. He got Clay Helton's team. There were no pros.
I mean, the offensive and defensive line, they had one
six round draft pick on either of those lines. They
had no pros up front. They were small. So, and
he won 11 games the first year, but I think
we are at a point and it's not as easy
(24:33):
as everybody said, Oh, let's just, you got to buy
them out. All right. 70 million. The next coach is
a hundred million. They just asked donors for 300 million.
for a new facility, which they built and it's beautiful.
They also need $ 35 million a year in NIL money.
You can only tap donors. Donors always want changes. Then
they point to the other donor and go, go to him.
You've already asked me twice. It's really easy to say
(24:55):
the NIL helps coaches. Because, I mean, Clemson just can't
afford the money. Wisconsin doesn't afford the money. USC can.
But this is a market. This isn't the Pete Carroll days.
There's two NFL teams in town. Everybody loves the Dodgers,
the Lakers. There's a lot of asks here. There's a
lot to do in Los Angeles. And these donors ponied
up $ 35 million this year. And you get run by Oregon,
(25:20):
and it was a wobbly Oregon defense. I mean, they'd
gotten roasted by Oklahoma State. They're not as good defensively
as they had been in previous years. I think Lanning
privately would tell you on the back end, they're pretty
average defensively. I think the buyout talk, I mean, Pete
Carroll would love the job, but it's a young man's sport.
You can't be 75 or whatever Pete is. No. I
(25:40):
don't know where you go from this, but I think
the buyout talk, I think he'll have to let the
season play out and make some calls and see where
it goes.
Speaker 3 (25:49):
Yeah, I don't think he's going anywhere, but I do
think that one, what do you think of all the
articles coming out leading up to the game of his
bold proclamations? I mean, he was the one that put
this game on a pedestal. It's like Lincoln. Saban and
Urban Meyer, Kirby Smart would never do this for an
individual game, and you don't have the resume. Your margin
(26:10):
for error is not big enough where it's like, hey,
you're so much better than them, it'll be fine. Most
people think you're going to lose to begin with. And then, like,
Oregon's big benefit. I mean, there's a chance that, you know,
how much is Raiola making as the backup quarterback? A
million dollars?
Speaker 2 (26:24):
He's good.
Speaker 3 (26:24):
When Baker Mayfield got hurt and they put the undrafted
free agent in, I bet Raiola makes more as a
backup for Oregon than Beckett makes as undrafted free agent
for Tampa. Yeah. And Oregon deserves credit. What do they have?
They have a culture. You come here. Think of the
culture you have to have. Now, Lanning probably knew him
because they recruited him at Georgia. But, hey, we're going
to pay you a lot of money, but you can
make a lot of money starting. Come here. We will
(26:45):
help you grow. We did that with Dante Moore years ago,
and he came ready. I watched a lot of him
at Nebraska because of the hype. I was like, young
Patrick Mahomes, he was a disaster. That guy yesterday looked
like a real– like an NFL prospect.
Speaker 1 (27:03):
Absolutely. Yeah.
Speaker 3 (27:04):
And the other thing is, this is now your week four.
Dante Moore's getting all the reps. This guy's just playing
with the scout team to come in that ready. The
two cultures there, you got the other guy knocking Dante
Moore out, who's dead on the field dancing around and
then not leaving. It's like they couldn't be any... Honestly, Colin,
Oregon's losses, that lost Oklahoma State, they went into West
(27:26):
Virginia last night, drubbed Rich Rod. That quarterback for Oklahoma
State is legit. That team could be in the Big
12 championship forever. Boise, they played somehow. Boise destroyed Western Michigan.
They're going to be the playoff team. So Oklahoma State
and Boise could combine for 20-plus wins. Oregon might get,
(27:47):
and listen, I hope Dante Moore is fine. Glad he
didn't break his neck because it felt really bad right away.
Speaker 1 (27:52):
It was scary. I mean, it was one of those
when the ambulance is in the tunnel and the players
are watching it. It's bad. Yeah, I mean, it's kind of.
makes you sick to your stomach. But I don't think
they're going to have a drop-off of Raiola. Oh, no, no,
Royal is a big, thick kid with a good arm.
He was a five-star high school guy. But the whole
thing on the sidelines with USC and the juice box thing,
(28:15):
whatever they're doing, and the player after the hit is laughing.
It's like, dude, that's not good enough. Let's stop the
high school stuff on the sidelines. When Lane came in,
I never forget, I went into Lane Kiffin's office when
he was in USC, and there was a big Hollywood sign.
And I remember walking out thinking, Lane, you're kind of Hollywood.
(28:38):
SC's kind of Hollywood. I don't think you have to
sell Hollywood. I think you should be the opposite. Like
in Alabama... You could sell a little glitz because there
isn't much, right? Nick made it feel glamorous as a
football program. Not that it wasn't tough, but he gave
it like a big city feel because Alabama is small.
LA doesn't need to sell LA. What you always worry
(29:03):
about with a glitzy, glamoury Austin, Texas team or a
Miami team, you know, one of these like culturally hip
cities is Can you build toughness? Because your players choose
those schools because the women are beautiful. You've got a beach.
You've got a music scene. That's one of the things,
that's one of the reasons you go to Austin or
Coral Gables or Miami. Now, Mario Cristobal, to his credit,
(29:26):
has built a tough physical culture in a beach town. USC,
I've always thought, like, get out of selling that thing.
I mean, the guy at UCLA now, and they played nobody,
but you watch UCLA, they are squeezing every bit of
juice out of like the 28 best recruiting classes in
the country. USC had the best. They have four freshmen
(29:49):
playing for other freshmen, like rotating in. And I just,
to me, you're as good as, as the ability you
squeeze out of your roster. I just don't see it.
I just don't see them squeezing the most out of
their roster.
Speaker 3 (30:08):
The reality is the teams he had at Oklahoma once
he took over for Stoops would have drubbed his current
USC team. He did a great job calling the plays,
but a lot like Chip, they inherited incredible situations. They
just needed a little foot on the pedal offensively and
went to the next level. I just watch USC. OK,
(30:30):
the Gary Patterson thing I thought would work. But if
it's not clearly not working these last couple of games,
he has no defensive, you know, like a lot of
these coaches have a network of guys. They kind of
go to a tree. He just like throws shit at
the wall and hope it sticks. He's like, well, we
went against this guy in the Big 12 10 years ago. Well, Lincoln,
it's 2026. You should have the pick of the litter.
(30:53):
I don't know exactly what happened with Dan Lynn jumping
ship to go to Penn State. I don't know. I mean,
it's just there. I would short them moving forward because
let's use Bob Chesney. Comes in with little fanfare. No
one had heard of the three of the four schools
he'd ever coached at. doesn't, you know, he's done a
lot of interviews, but he's not making bold proclamations. Even
(31:14):
John Summerall at Florida did not come in saying anything.
There came, and some of it USC created, they did
put him on a pedestal, Colin, like they were hiring
the Bill Walsh version of college football, and it's been
a disaster given what they've paid. I mean, they're not,
you agree, they're not a playoff team. This team is
(31:35):
not going to the playoffs.
Speaker 1 (31:36):
Special teams, defense, not good enough. Texas 20, Tennessee 17. So,
you know, Arch Manning made some good decisions. Two or
three great throws. I thought he felt on the road,
big spot, pretty composed. I had a friend text me
who is somebody that formerly worked in the NFL. And
(31:57):
he said, where's the big upside? Now, Arch played in
a very small New Orleans high school. So he didn't
play at a modern day. He didn't play against a
bunch of D1 guys. So I've always kind of given
him a little bit longer kind of to play into that.
But it was interesting. This person worked in the NFL
and just said, you know, he's big enough. He moves
(32:19):
well enough. He's got a good enough arm. He goes,
but he's kind of inconsistent. And he goes, give me
one great play. He goes, I'm waiting for the great play.
Like when Josh Allen was at college or Mahomes, Sam Darnold,
you can put a three-minute reel up of their best plays,
and there are some holy what-am-I-watching plays. I went back
(32:41):
and looked at Mahomes, you know, after he got drafted.
I mean, it was just wild. I only saw him
play once in college that I remembered. It was those
crazy Big 12 games. I watched Josh Allen play Iowa
and Oregon. He got smoked in both, but he made
a great throw. I think it was against Oregon in
a losing cause where it just didn't even look human.
But what the person was saying is, you know, for
(33:03):
all the talk, Peyton Manning gave you moments of, wow.
Does Arch have that? As a former NFL scout, how
do you judge him today?
Speaker 3 (33:13):
Yeah, I don't love him as a player. I mean,
relative to the hype talking about first-round pick, I've never
watched him these last two years and thought first-round pick.
Definitely not first overall pick, top 10 pick. I don't
see that level at all. Now, is he an undraftable,
like total scrub? Of course not. He definitely can move.
(33:37):
I think his release is a little funky. On a
play-to-play basis, you have no clue what you're getting. No
clue what you're getting. I mean, they got really high-end
wide receivers. One of the running backs was out. I mean,
the best player on that team is the pass rusher
who was incredible against Tennessee Simmons. But, Yeah, I mean,
(33:57):
I watch Raiola. One game of Raiola off the bench,
and you're like, damn, this is the guy that Matt
Rule was like, this is why we paid him millions
of dollars. If that guy would have showed up, we
would have won 10 games one of these last two years.
Speaker 1 (34:10):
I think that's very fair.
Speaker 3 (34:11):
You see it immediately. And to me with Arch, now listen,
Tennessee on the road, one of the loudest places, their
defense is good. But even the previous week against UTSA,
you see some wobbly ducks. I just don't love him
as a player at all. To me, he's not for me.
(34:31):
One of those. Not for me.
Speaker 1 (34:33):
Yeah. No, I think the kid at Miami, Mensah, Darian Mensah,
has been the one quarterback and the Oklahoma State kid
where you get some, wow, that's special. Um, CJ Carr,
I like, he didn't have great traits. He's not big, strong, mobile,
but you know, that situation is a little like JJ
McCarthy where he didn't have to do a ton, but I'm,
(34:53):
I keep waiting for arch. And it's funny cause I'm
having people know I'm on the air and I have,
you know, people I talk to and former executives and
scouts and executives and they all, they all kind of
say the same thing is they, they just, um, ambivalent play.
It's like, eh, I.
Speaker 3 (35:11):
Have a hard time seeing Texas win the whole thing
if Arch is going.
Speaker 1 (35:14):
To play like this. They make too many mistakes.
Speaker 3 (35:21):
I saw Marcel Reed, who played terrible for A & M,
and they asked Elko after the game, are you going
to bench him? And his response was no. Venables Mateer,
who's just been horrendous. Same type deal.
Speaker 4 (35:31):
Yeah, we thought about it.
Speaker 3 (35:31):
Do you think now, because I felt like in the NFL,
they were way more sensitive about benchings because it's hard
to go back. In college, most of my life, you'd
bench a guy, you'd come back in, much more unfazed
by emotions. Young kid, if you're not doing well, guys
would come in and out. You'd play two quarterbacks. Do
you think now that these people are stroking these $ 2, $ 3, $ 4,
(35:52):
$ 5 million checks for these quarterbacks, That it's like, I
don't even know if I'm allowed to take him out
of the game for some of these coaches. Because it
kind of crossed my mind seeing some of these like
Venables material. You didn't think about making a change or Elko.
You guys were playoff teams last year, but both those
quarterbacks making a ton of money. Like, am I even
allowed to yank this guy at halftime? Crossed my mind yesterday.
Speaker 1 (36:13):
Yeah. No, it's let me let me throw one more
college thing out there. You know who impressed me? was
the Northwestern team that almost knocked off Indiana and Bloomington
Friday night. I'm getting over a cold, so I watched
about 12 college football games.
Speaker 4 (36:28):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (36:28):
Listen, that guy, small college coach, took over for Pat
Fitzgerald when he was let go by Northwestern. And he's
gone 21-20. They hired Chip Kelly as his offensive coordinator.
Northwestern is well... coat and chip Kelly would work for
free at USC. Cause he wants to come back West.
(36:49):
I would imagine he's a man beach guy. Um, Northwestern's
got a new stadium. I'm just telling you, I watched
that game. These guys like Cignetti and the Northwestern coach,
under the radar. Your guy at UCLA, they just grind.
They know football. They don't have huge agents. There's a
(37:10):
lot of good coaches out there that nobody knows about.
They just need an opportunity.
Speaker 3 (37:16):
Got another name for you. Dickert, the Washington State guy
that went to Wake Forest, just knocked off Louisville. I
think they won nine games last year. Now they're three
and one like he's doing that at Wake Forest. Like
Dicker's pretty good, you know, but listen, he doesn't have
the fanfare Elaine. He doesn't have Jimmy Sexton behind him
(37:36):
like some of these guys. Bob Chesney probably doesn't have
Jimmy Sexton behind him. You know, it's like I think
sometimes the hype train. Listen, I enjoy Lane. But if
you Google his resume, he doesn't have exactly Kirby's, you know,
win total of knocking off big teams. So that matters
a lot in college. In the NFL, you can't fake it, right? Like,
(37:58):
no one cares who Liam Cohen's hype machine or agent is.
Speaker 1 (38:00):
Just watch him coach.
Speaker 3 (38:01):
He's kicking everyone's ass. But in college, the pregame shows,
the Klats and the Curb Streets, there's a lot of
emphasis in those guys. Josh Pate, they have a lot
of juice. Feinbaum, that matters. A lot of guys suck
out a lot of the oxygen, and Lincoln's a good
example of that. They lead these shows, and it's like,
(38:22):
is Lincoln even the best college coach right now in.
Speaker 1 (38:24):
L.A.? Lincoln right now is 5-14 against L.A. AP-ranked teams.
Think about that. That doesn't mean number one. Lincoln-Riley is
5-14 against AP-ranked teams at USC. That is just brutal.
Speaker 3 (38:42):
The Big Ten's a little down right now. Indiana, I
watched that game Friday night. They did not look like
they did last year.
Speaker 1 (38:51):
Offensively, they are not last year. They are not as
good as last year.
Speaker 2 (38:56):
Why?
Speaker 1 (38:57):
The quarterback's not as good. Hoover's not as good as
Fernando Mendoza. They're good. They're not a special offense yet.
All right, week four predictions presented by Polymarket. Sign up
for Polymarket with the code COLIN and get 50 bucks
on us for their first trade. Okay, I like the
(39:19):
Cowboys this week because I think they were humiliated with
a couple of coaching gaffes late against Baltimore. You can
trade the Cowboys to win it 43% right now on
the Polymarket. market. Also, CJ Stroud is going through it,
and I don't see a course correct. I tend to
like teams that have losses that really infuriate them. That
(39:42):
was as bad a special teams gaffe, a coverage gaffe,
a third and goal. Your thoughts on that game?
Speaker 2 (39:49):
Yeah, I agree with you there. I think Dallas is
going to come into this game a little angry. We've
got to fix this, and we've got to change this,
and we've got a bad taste in our mouth right now.
We've got to get rid of this, and they're going
to come in with a mission to win this game.
Speaker 4 (40:05):
Obviously, the Texans are 0-3.
Speaker 2 (40:08):
Stroud has been playing okay, but they're not scoring many
points today. You know, the good thing is this Dallas defense,
you can take advantage of them a little bit. So
if there was a game where this offense can get
going and get into a good rhythm, score some points,
it might be against this Cowboys defense right now. But,
you know, the Texans, their defense is still very good.
(40:31):
They're getting after the quarterback. They're getting sacks. But Dax
seems to be playing very well. CeeDee Lamb playing very well.
Speaker 4 (40:37):
But I agree with that.
Speaker 2 (40:39):
I think Texans are in a tough situation, 0-3, and
going against a team that is hungry to get some revenge.
Speaker 1 (40:46):
Yeah, and the O-line continues to be a massive problem
for the Texans. It feels like a four-year problem. All right,
3-0 Chiefs, 3-0 Raiders. I do like Kansas City because
it's interesting. Mahomes finally has a run game, and he
is 22 of 24 on play action. He's also in
(41:06):
his career— 14-2 inside. So, you know, like he's really,
really good in play action, which he never really has
had a great run game. But you can make a
combo trade at 14% right now. I'm going to predict
that Kenneth Walker, Ashton Gentry, and Rasheed Rice all score.
I think it's a high scoring game. Give me your
thoughts on Chiefs Raiders. Are you surprised by Vegas? I
(41:32):
wouldn't say I'm surprised. I think Kirk Cousins is a
really talented quarterback.
Speaker 2 (41:36):
I know he learned that system well and be able
to throw the ball on time.
Speaker 4 (41:41):
He gets the ball out. He knows exactly where he's going.
Speaker 2 (41:44):
And by the way, having brought Bowers back, I watched
the game they played last week against the Saints. I mean,
he is truly a game changer. You cannot stop him.
They put corners. They line him outside. They put a
corner back on him saying, all right, corner on tight.
Speaker 4 (41:59):
End, advantage defense.
Speaker 1 (42:01):
Not advantage.
Speaker 4 (42:01):
He beats everybody. He wins.
Speaker 2 (42:03):
He gets separation. And so they're going to continue to
feed him. And so not surprised that their offense has
been good. They've won some close games. And so this
should be an exciting game. Like you said, high scoring Mahomes.
with the play action. Like you said, I think that's
something they've been doing. They've been calling play actions the
last few years, but they get no defense reaction because
(42:27):
they don't have.
Speaker 4 (42:27):
A run game. Now with the run game, you got
that going, which is great.
Speaker 2 (42:31):
That helps the play action, get him some, some, some
looks and the defense is that they are expecting to get,
you can, when you run the ball, well, you can
predict a little bit what the defenses might do to
stop the run that helps the pass. So, again, I
do like the Chiefs. I just think they're playing well,
and I think they'll be able to outscore Vegas.
Speaker 1 (42:53):
Yeah, Ashton Gentry and the fourth-round pick out of SEC Arkansas,
Mike Washington, who has been really– Really, SEC produces a
lot of running backs. All right, you can trade the
Seahawks winning by more than seven at 48%. I actually
think it's one of those games. I have defended guys
that throw pick sixes. Stafford's got 33. Darnold's had a few.
(43:17):
Brady had one in the Super Bowl. My take is
the following drive, Darnold drove down in one minute and scored.
I like aggressive quarterbacks. People look at that loss to
Washington and they think, sell your stock. And my take
is no, actually it's hard to win Seattle to DC
back-to-back roadies. You've done that before, but you know, you
(43:38):
have better players, Eli and the giants go on the
road for the second straight week. And it's a dud
from the first quarter, your thoughts on that game with
the chargers.
Speaker 2 (43:46):
Yeah, I kind of think it's a similar situation with Dallas.
This is a Seahawks team that's a little angry. They
thought they kind of let one slip away last week.
Darnold played really well, but they had three turnovers on offense.
And so that's just not their style. They know as
a team, we got a great defense. Our defense is
going to get us turnovers. We got to protect the ball.
(44:07):
Jackson Smith and Jigba might be the best player. in
the NFL right now. He's unstoppable. So they want to
stay aggressive. And that's one thing, even last year with
Sam Darnold, and they went through kind of times where he.
Speaker 4 (44:19):
Was turning the ball over.
Speaker 2 (44:20):
He wasn't playing great all the time, but they encouraged him,
stay aggressive, push the ball down the field. We got
to make plays and we'll kind of get through those
times and overcome some of the bad plays. It's going
to make this better down the road. So I think
they kind of put it in that category, but they're angry,
they're mad, you know, going against a team that's 0-3,
that really offensively has really struggled.
Speaker 4 (44:42):
And I get that. New offensive coordinator, quarterback, it can
take three to four weeks to get it going.
Speaker 2 (44:47):
I just don't think against Seattle, that's not the team
you're going to find your rhythm. They are really good
on defense, multiple looks, making it really tough for the quarterback.
Speaker 1 (44:56):
By the way, again, I think it's an art to
forget a pick six. Darnold had an incredible drive after
his pick six. How did you do it? You know
you just let it go and you knew it. How
do you get over it?
Speaker 2 (45:14):
I think you get to the sideline and immediately it's
like your first question is not, hey, what happened there? Or, hey,
let's watch that play with the quarterback, coach, or whoever
you sit with. It's, hey, let's look at the game
plan sheet. What's our first pass play going to be
this next drive?
Speaker 4 (45:30):
You're already looking forward.
Speaker 1 (45:32):
Right.
Speaker 4 (45:32):
Getting the ball back and throwing it.
Speaker 2 (45:34):
And usually, you know, the coordinators that have great confidence
in their quarterback, they're calling a pass early, get them
back in rhythm, get a completion, get things going. And
that usually is what helps. So the mindset is automatically
next series.
Speaker 3 (45:48):
We're getting the ball.
Speaker 4 (45:49):
You know, right away, you throw a big six, they're
kicking off to you. So you don't have a.
Speaker 2 (45:53):
Whole lot of time to sit down. So you don't,
you're not watching it. You're just, Hey, what's our best
completion play? Get our quarterback back in rhythm. And I
think that's the mindset.
Speaker 1 (46:08):
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