Where Colin was right and where he was wrong
Colin unveils this week’s Herd Hierarchy: He ranks the 49ers at 2 and a surprise appearance for the Raiders at 10!
He also shares his latest Super Bowl Bubble and he explains why the Bears are real contenders and the Eagles are not.
Plus, 2-time Super Bowl Champion Chris Long joins the show to tell Colin why the Eagles have struggled to start this season.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Thanks for listening to the Herd Podcast. Be sure to
catch us live every weekday on Fox Sports Radio and
noon to 3 Eastern, 9 a.m. to noon Pacific. Find
your local station for the Herd at foxsportsradio.com or stream
us live every day on the iHeartRadio app by searching
Fox Sports Radio or FSR. Now let's get this party started.
Speaker 2 (00:21):
You're listening to Fox Sports Radio.
Speaker 1 (00:26):
Here we go. It's hour two on a Monday. Great
to have you in. Wild, wild last couple of games yesterday.
Ravens beat the Cowboys. Broncos come roaring back down 16-0
to beat them. Drake Mays falling off the table. We
do it every Monday at this time where Colin was right,
(00:46):
where Colin was wrong. Plenty of that today. And here
we go. We're I said it's the first time in
20 years. I said it all offseason. I'm excited about
the Raiders. I didn't think they'd win yesterday. I didn't
think they'd be 3-0. But John Spitek, he's been very
good the first couple of years as GM. I think
Clint Kubiak is excellent. I would rather eventually see Mendoza
(01:09):
play Fernando. But, you know, starting Kirk Cousins, the veteran,
is probably the smart move. He's a great mentor. He's
played well. They went and got Tyler Linderbaum. I said
I thought that was the single best GMing move of
the offseason. Again, I didn't think they'd be 3-0. But
Tom Brady's influence, Spytek... Mature Kirk Cousins reshaped the offensive line.
(01:32):
We said, this feels like a real football operation, and
I think we were right about that.
Speaker 2 (01:38):
Where Colin was wrong.
Speaker 1 (01:40):
Well, for one week, I'll take a wrong in the Steelers.
That was their best offensive output. I mean, they got
the run game going. Aaron Rodgers. Now, the tackling by
the Bengals was as bad as last year, and their
special teams rivaled the Rams for the worst in the league.
But they had 10 explosive plays yesterday. For a team
that doesn't run any motion, spreads it out 40% of
(02:03):
the time. League average is 14%. I'll take a wrong.
Cincinnati helped the cause. There were way too many offensive penalties,
delay of games. It was sloppy. It was frustrating. But
I'll take an L on that one.
Speaker 2 (02:17):
Where Colin was right.
Speaker 1 (02:19):
I've said, I think the locker room in Green Bay
has quit on Matt LaFleur, and evidence of that is
getting housed at home by Atlanta. Now, Pennix played well
after that first pick. but they don't have an identity.
It's all schemes and no culture. That was the knock
I was told, and I said this multiple times on
the air when he got a job in Green Bay.
Everybody liked him, good guy, super smart, but is he
(02:41):
the kind of guy that can get 55 alphas to
run over the hill for him? That was always the question.
It's not just the offensive line. Everybody's dealing with injuries
in this league. Cowboys secondary. I mean, Darnold was gone
for weeks. That's the reality of the NFL. This is
a cultural issue to me in Green Bay.
Speaker 2 (03:02):
Where Colin was wrong.
Speaker 1 (03:04):
I thought eventually Lincoln Riley, who's a brilliant offensive coach,
would get the culture fixed and the defense right. But
once again, playing a backup quarterback for most of it
at home, they couldn't make any defensive stops. Oregon had
big drive after big drive. Riley's now five and 14
against AP ranked teams. That's not even top five teams.
(03:25):
That's just all AP ranked teams. They lack they lack
kind of a cultural toughness. I think they're fun. I
think their passing game is clever. I think they have
done a great job at wide receiver and quarterback. Oh,
lines the best they've had. But I thought they'd figure
out defense. Eventually, they paid millions of dollars for a
defensive front and they couldn't put pressure.
Speaker 3 (03:46):
On the backup quarterback where Colin was right.
Speaker 1 (03:50):
I said before this season, I think Minnesota has the
best coaching staff in the league. Kevin O'Connell, drawing names
out of a hat, is now 3-0 at quarterback. Brian
Flores has created 50 pressures this year.
Speaker 3 (04:01):
In the NFL.
Speaker 1 (04:02):
That is not only number one. It's number one by
a mile. Flores is the best defensive coordinator going. Kevin
O'Connell does more with less at quarterback. I mean, they
just squeeze. Part of coaching is how much can you squeeze...
out of the talent you have. I like Minnesota's roster,
(04:23):
but I mean, their offense is like 32nd and they're 3-0.
That is a great coaching staff in Minnesota.
Speaker 2 (04:32):
Where Colin was wrong.
Speaker 1 (04:34):
Only two Big Ten teams in the top 13. Ohio
State and Indiana. And Indiana, they're not Indiana of last year.
The SEC absolutely looks deeper. There's no question. Florida looks fantastic.
They hammered Ole Miss. I was surprised by that. The
SEC is 10-2. in non-conference games against the Big Four.
(04:58):
So I thought the Big Ten was going to pull
away even further this year. But so far, the SEC
looks like they have regained the number one conference marquee.
So far. It's early, but so far.
Speaker 2 (05:11):
Where Colin was right.
Speaker 1 (05:13):
I told you Cleveland's way too good. They're way too
talented to only win a couple of games. Deshaun Watson,
back-to-back weeks, has got a rhythm. He's not my favorite
guy or quarterback, but he's played well. Andrew Barry is
an excellent personnel general manager. I think he's underrated. I
loved their first five picks last year. I loved their
(05:35):
picks the year before. This is an excellent, excellent young
locker room, and Deshaun Watson has played B-plus football consistently.
That is good enough. Jay Mack and I argued all offseason,
who's going to have the number one picks? I kept saying,
it's not going to be Cleveland. Cleveland's got too many
good players. Now, they're mostly under 25, but Cleveland's got
(05:55):
way too many good players to be a 2-14, 2-15 team.
And Tampa Bay found out. Or not Tampa Bay, Carolina
found out.
Speaker 2 (06:06):
Where Colin was wrong.
Speaker 1 (06:09):
Well, I had the Houston Texans winning their division last
That's not going to happen. CJ Stroud, it's not getting better.
Offensive line, will they ever get it fixed? The defense
has regressed. They have no run game. I feel like
it's the same problems for three years. O-line, run game.
Defenses don't generally. A great offense carries over year to
(06:32):
year to year. Defense, not so much because defensive players
get dinged up. But, you know, I had this team
winning the division. They don't look like they're in the
same league right now as Jacksonville. So I'm going to
take a big, fat wrong on the Houston Texans. I
was wrong a lot last week. Very unfortunate.
Speaker 2 (06:53):
Be sure to catch live editions of The Herd weekdays
at noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, FS1,
and the iHeartRadio app.
Speaker 4 (07:03):
Stugatz here, pleased to be hosting college football with Stugatz
and the Bear. We do it two times a week,
every Monday, every single Friday throughout the college football season.
Speaker 2 (07:12):
You can expect a little bit of this. Will Stein,
the head coach at Kentucky, joins us. Open bar at
a wedding, ordering a Shirley Temple. Will or will not?
Speaker 3 (07:21):
No. Will not.
Speaker 1 (07:21):
Ketchup on steak. Will or will not?
Speaker 2 (07:25):
Will or will not?
Speaker 3 (07:27):
Will not. Thank you.
Speaker 2 (07:28):
A little bit of this.
Speaker 4 (07:30):
Rhys Davis, host of College Game Day, is with us now.
Speaker 2 (07:32):
And then I'm going home to the BBC, and they're
saying Jockovich instead of Jokovich. Right, because you can't say Jockovich.
Speaker 4 (07:40):
If you do, you know the blowback you're going to
get from the American audience.
Speaker 3 (07:43):
Right.
Speaker 2 (07:43):
And a whole lot of this.
Speaker 4 (07:50):
Listen to college football with Stugatz and the Bear on
the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever.
Speaker 2 (07:56):
You get your podcasts. Number 10.
Speaker 1 (08:12):
I think the Raiders look like a really, really well-coached
team with one great edge rusher. Kirk Cousins, only quarterback
in the league, three touchdown passes each game. Brock Bowers,
they're putting him all over the field. He's a nightmare.
The defense leads the NFL in takeaways. We've said it before.
You put a Ben Johnson, a Clint Kubiak, a smart
offensive guy. You can turn things around quicker. You can
(08:33):
squeeze a lot of juice out of fourth, fifth, sixth,
seventh round players. Kyle Shanahan's quarterback's a seventh rounder. I
think the Raiders look like a very, very well-coached team.
They're about one more draft away from being like a
high-end team. But I like what I see. I think
they're legit.
Speaker 2 (08:53):
Number nine.
Speaker 1 (08:54):
Listen, the Lions are weird. We're scoring defense in the league,
yet they're second in sacks to the Vikings. But this
is about Jameer Gibbs. This is about Jared Goff. Only
team to score 30-plus points in every game, Detroit, but
they're going to have to win by track meets. So
I think their floor is incredibly high. I don't know
(09:15):
if their ceiling is as high as I thought going
into the season. Lions at nine.
Speaker 2 (09:20):
Number eight.
Speaker 1 (09:21):
Rams should have beaten the Broncos 16-0 at half, outgained
them by 225 yards. Some really bad penalties. Listen, here's
the reality about the Rams, though. If you count the playoffs,
they're 4-5 in their last nine, and they're not a
very good road team. Again, physicality. Puka's not there. Physical player.
(09:42):
Miles Garrett not there. Physical player. Aaron Donald's good, but
he's not what he used to be. There is a
component about physicality and toughness that wins on the road.
The Rams sometimes are really, really pretty, and right now
I have them at eight.
Speaker 2 (09:57):
Number seven.
Speaker 1 (09:59):
The Bears. Number one. one, number five scoring offense, number
three total offense, but the number one rushing team. That's
what I love about Ben Johnson. Everybody thinks, oh, it's
Caleb running around. They run the football against physical defensive fronts,
and Caleb's going to be back in three to four weeks,
but they've held opponents, and this is coaching, under 10 points,
(10:21):
back-to-back weeks. I thought last night was one of the
greatest coaching mismatches I've ever seen. It was, to juxtapose
those two head coaches, it was jarring to watch Case
Keenum 11 for 11 against Blitzes. That is coaching. I
have the Bears at 7. They may just be a
(10:43):
great regular season team, but the Jags, 10-1 in their
last 11 regular season games, and if they get on you...
They'll put a foot on you. Their wins this year
have been by like 14-plus points. They'll blow you out
if you're not prepared and ready to go. So I
think Leon Combe is the best coach nobody talks about
in this league. They have the number one scoring defense.
You can't run on them for several years. Trevor Lawrence,
(11:06):
seven touchdown passes. I think he's playing the best. Again,
if this team was in a New York market or
a Chicago market or Philadelphia, we'd talk about them every week.
The Jags are well coached. Trevor Lawrence has time. You
can't run on them. They're good at home. I have
them at six.
Speaker 2 (11:21):
Number five.
Speaker 1 (11:22):
The Broncos are a one-half offense. The good news, it's
the second half. But Bo Nix, 11th game-winning drive. Unfortunately,
they shouldn't be trailing this often late in games. They
spent the third least amount of time leading in the
league this year. Nine minutes. Only the Titans and Dolphins have...
(11:43):
led less so they're doing what I predicted they couldn't
do I said you can't do what they did last
year trail 15 times and win 14 now they're doing
it but here come the Niners here come the Seahawks
here comes the Chiefs and I don't think you can
do it against those three teams number four oh Mahomes
has a run game do you know what he is
(12:03):
on play action this year because you have to be
honest against the run game He is 22 of 24
in play action. 158.3 passer rating. It's amazing when you
give a quarterback a run game. Travis Kelsey looks 26.
And Mahomes can now. You have to bite on the
(12:25):
play action. You didn't for four years. I think it's
totally changed their offense, their defense. They've always drafted defense well.
They move off corners. They always find a corner. I
have them at four.
Speaker 2 (12:37):
Number three.
Speaker 1 (12:39):
A little disturbing problem for the Seahawks. It's not the loss.
They're not running the football. Why are they such a
great road team? What travels? Toughness, coaching, and run games.
They're not running the ball. They were number one graded
run team last year. Number one rated. This year, they're 28th.
(12:59):
Kenneth Walker's not there. Charbonnet hasn't been healthy. It's a
real thing. The reason they are so good on the
road is they kill the ground. They run the ball.
Not this year. And that is something to keep your
eye on. Seattle third.
Speaker 2 (13:15):
Number two.
Speaker 1 (13:16):
Well, they start every year, it feels like, 3-0. But
I'm going to give them credit. Brock Purdy plays like
an MVP. Trent Williams is back. He'll play. Mike Evans
will play against Denver. So they're injuries. Bosa will be
back soon. Mike Evans, listen, this is a franchise. You
cross your fingers on health. But it's one of the smartest,
most functional offenses. McCaffrey, Trent, Kittle, Brock, Shanahan. It is
(13:41):
a handful. Will it be a handful at Thanksgiving when
half the guys are banged up? But I think they
deserve number two.
Speaker 2 (13:50):
Number one.
Speaker 1 (13:51):
When you can win with 10 penalties and 5 turnovers,
that has a Seahawk vibe from last year. I'll make
it Buffalo. Averaging 34 points a game, the offense is humming.
They're punting on 15% of their drives. I just think
they feel like it's the most complimentary Bills roster yet. Kincaid,
slot receiver, DJ Moore, James Cook. Russo's having his best
(14:13):
year as a pro. They drafted a defensive tackle out
of Kentucky in the fourth round. The guy's a beast.
So they take some heat. Their GM does. That guy
was a steal. So this is finally a complementary roster
in Buffalo, at least the most complementary they've been. Here's
the herd hierarchy. I've got to be honest with you.
(14:33):
You think I'm putting the Raiders up there just to
get discussion. I think winning in New Orleans, I mean,
the Saints dominated the Ravens in Baltimore for the second half,
and the Raiders pulled away from the Saints. I think
they're good. Nick Wright last week, I mean, he took
a couple shots at me on the Chargers, whatever. I
(14:55):
think I did not have the Chargers 11th, 12th, or
13th either.
Speaker 3 (14:59):
You'll know that.
Speaker 2 (14:59):
Be sure to catch live editions of The Herd weekdays
at noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific.
Speaker 1 (15:05):
By the way, we do it every few weeks. My
Super Bowl bubble as we head into, is it week
four or week five? What is it? Week four on
the NFL. Here's my Super Bowl bubble. Here are the
teams that are definitively in. Jacksonville, Denver, Seattle, Rams, Bills, Chiefs, Bears.
Niners are half in, half out. I have the Niners
(15:26):
on the edge on the edge because they are falling
apart physically and they're always great in September. And then
I have the Ravens, a flawed team with a really,
really average offensive line right now. And the Bengals who
can't tackle and have dubious special teams closest. So, I mean,
all the teams that are in Jacksonville, by the way,
(15:47):
in the last 11 regular season games, number one scoring offense,
number one defense scoring defense. So, in Kansas City, oh,
they have a run game. Have you seen them on
play action? Bears, I don't think I have to explain.
You may not like Denver, but it's a stack roster,
a Hall of Fame coach, and they're a great, great
fourth quarter team. Seattle, they don't run as well as
(16:07):
last year. They do everything else well. Buffalo Rams, so
there is my Super Bowl bubble. Now, J-Mac is saying, well,
what are you doing with no Philadelphia? I think they're
a poorly coached team. I think Jalen Hurts, because of that,
is very dependent on his coach and his coordinator. I
think when Case Keenum can run you up and down
(16:28):
the field, there may be defensive issues as well. So
all these teams right here, I feel, are well enough
coached to be a Super Bowl team. I feel like
the Eagles, second year in a row I watched that offense,
it is just unraveling, and I think the heat's going
to come in. And by the way, the Eagles now
have the Rams. What if they go on a two-game
losing streak? A lot of questions going to be pointed
(16:50):
at Nick Ceriani. I could have him in by next week.
Right now, this is my Super Bowl bubble. Jay Mack
is smiling.
Speaker 5 (16:58):
Next week will be too little too late, my friend.
You can't do that.
Speaker 6 (17:02):
I would love to see the contrast with the preseason
Super Bowl bubble and the one after three weeks, because
I do feel like there are some maybe some knee
jerk reactions. You really think Jacksonville could win the Super
Bowl right now?
Speaker 1 (17:13):
Yes, absolutely. Why wouldn't I? Why wouldn't I? They look good.
Speaker 5 (17:18):
I get it. If that's the case, why don't you
put the Vikings in here? Why not the Raiders?
Speaker 1 (17:21):
The Vikings have the 32nd ranked offense. The Jags have
the number one scoring offense.
Speaker 6 (17:26):
I mean, the Broncos haven't scored a point in the
first quarter all season. They don't have an offense.
Speaker 1 (17:32):
What wins Super Bowls? Super Bowl coaches, great offensive lines.
You can get to the opposing quarterbacks and you can
deliver late. Denver checks all four of those boxes. They're uneven,
but the boxes you have to check to win a
Super Bowl are usually most of the time. It's a coach.
It's late game quarterback play.
Speaker 2 (17:53):
I got one.
Speaker 5 (17:54):
Detroit Lions.
Speaker 1 (17:56):
Dude, defensively, it's a track meet every week.
Speaker 6 (17:58):
Well, now they're going to get guys off the IR.
The secondary's on the IR, basically. The two safeties, the stars.
Speaker 5 (18:03):
They're going to be coming back.
Speaker 1 (18:04):
By the way, right now, the Eagles' defense.
Speaker 5 (18:08):
It's not good.
Speaker 1 (18:08):
Today. It's worse than Arizona, Pittsburgh, and New England. With
a stacked roster.
Speaker 5 (18:17):
I had them in fantasy.
Speaker 6 (18:17):
I had to drop them because they don't have a
sack this season.
Speaker 5 (18:21):
I mean, they can't generate turnovers.
Speaker 2 (18:23):
It's bad.
Speaker 5 (18:24):
But it's three weeks, Colin. Again, are you throwing out
all your preseason priors? All that offseason stuff doesn't matter now?
Speaker 3 (18:34):
I didn't say that.
Speaker 1 (18:34):
I have very few definitive opinions. Dolphins bad, Seahawks really good.
I don't have a lot. I don't have. And it's
a great week. I think every week in the NFL.
Zero to eight, zero to six, zero to seven is
first month and a half. You get real clarity every week.
You get more clarity. And then by like week nine on,
you kind of know. Oh, finally, I'm sorry.
Speaker 5 (18:55):
I totally miss this. The New England Patriots who just
went to the Super Bowl.
Speaker 1 (18:59):
They're they're awful offensively. How in the world could you
put them anywhere near this? They're awful. Awful, right?
Speaker 5 (19:06):
I mean, there's 14 games.
Speaker 6 (19:07):
I think that Bill's Patriots game this weekend is very spicy.
Tell me it's in the in the plays in five tomorrow.
Speaker 1 (19:14):
You think I'm taking that as my dog of the week?
Speaker 5 (19:18):
It's a dog with fleas. Yes, it is. But they
are going to be plucky. The Patriots.
Speaker 1 (19:24):
OK, so speaking of Denver, here's your week four schedule.
I think it's a great early window. One o'clock window
is the best early window of the year by far.
late window is not bad, but the early window, I mean,
I think Jets-Bears is close. I really do. I think
the Jets defense is all over the field. I also
think Bears in a short week. It is a third
(19:45):
string quarterback. Rams, Eagles, fantastic. Green Bay, Tampa is strangely,
strangely important. Dallas, Houston will be a great game. So
I think it's as good a one o'clock window as
we've had in a long time. Denver's an interesting team.
Here's Sean Payton this week on his offense. I'm comfortable.
Speaker 7 (20:10):
With the grit of a team that can play well
in the fourth quarter, I'm uncomfortable with how we've played
at the start of games, if that's a fair answer. Like,
you know, I'm comfortable with, like, this is a team
that can, because our game is you're going to be
in tight games. But as the head coach, you can't
(20:32):
possibly be comfortable with the way the first half unfolded.
Speaker 1 (20:37):
Okay, so Bo Nix, his passer rating on opening drives
this year is zero. Who's the best opening drive quarterback?
Has been for a couple years. It's Brock Purdy. Now,
why would that be? I am a huge believer in this,
that your personality becomes your game. LeBron James is a
very— he really is.
Speaker 3 (20:55):
He's happy.
Speaker 1 (20:56):
He's got a great family. He's joyful. Everybody loves playing
with LeBron. Michael Jordan was intense. He could be a bully.
Not everybody liked— Playing with Michael. Forget who's greater. Your
personality becomes your game. Bo Nix is intense. Really intense.
Sean Payton is intense. They load him up on opening
(21:18):
drives with sets in motion. His legs are a much
bigger part of his game than Brock Purdy. And those
are very effective in the fourth when a defense is
worn down. And his personality is confrontational and very intense.
And I think he gets overburdened by Sean Payton's play
(21:39):
sheet in the first couple drives. His career passer rating
is 66. Brock Purdy's is 119.
Speaker 2 (21:44):
Why?
Speaker 1 (21:45):
Brock Purdy is more of a pure pocket execution guy.
Brock Purdy is less run, more pocket. Brock Purdy is
kind of a loose, chill, laid-back personality. He's not overburdened. Like,
tightly wound. And so Brock Purdy looks at Kyle Shanahan's
opening drive as a mid-turn he can't wait to take
(22:09):
and he can't wait to ace. Brock Purdy opening drive.
Speaker 5 (22:12):
He loves.
Speaker 1 (22:14):
He loves to be the student, bring the apple, give
it to the teacher, the apple of the teacher's eye.
Brock Purdy's got a laid-back personality. He's almost got a
kind of a country, laid-back, small-town feel to him. Not
a lot of anxiety. He loves to prove to Shanahan,
I am worth that seventh-round pick. I love your play sheet.
(22:36):
He's less run-reliant. Nix, run-reliant, that plays much better late
in game when a defense is gassed. And I think
he's a little tightly wired, a little anxious, and Sean
can be a tad overbearing with his play sheet and personality.
And I think it's not a comfortable watch. Bo Nix
(22:57):
opening drives mostly are awful. Want more H.E.R.D.? The H.E.R.D.
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Speaker 2 (23:09):
Search H.E.R.D. to listen live or on demand whenever you'd like.
Speaker 1 (23:14):
We were saying offensive coaches are taking over this league.
Every 3-0 team has an offensive coach. Every team that
leads or is tied for the lead in the NFL
in their division, eight for eight as an offensive coach.
And I think especially with young quarterbacks, and right now
the quarterbacks that are struggling that we know are good, C.J. Stroud,
Drake May, Justin Herbert, they either have culture guys or
(23:37):
defensive coaches. especially young quarterbacks, it's like parenting, like those
formative early years, young boys go sideways really quick. Girls
mature more quickly. Boys go sideways. Parenting is very influential.
Seven to 17 to 27. I just watched this league
and I watched what Ben Johnson did with case Keenum
(23:58):
on a few days snaps in practice. And I'm like,
Could a defensive coach do that? I don't know. Chris Long,
11 years, two-time Super Bowl champ, Walter Payton Man of
the Year, one of the really smart guys that has
ever played in this sport. And I guess, and I've
been on this for years, that offense, it's all the
rules now. It's prohibitive. Like, they've moved all the rules
(24:20):
to help offense. But I'm watching Monday night, and.
What they did with Case Keenum, 11 for 11 on blitzes.
I'm like, he's a third string quarterback. God love him.
He doesn't start anymore. When you watch a game like that,
does that make you think, you know, I could get
a few more snaps in, you know, I'm just a
good week of practice away.
Speaker 3 (24:41):
I don't know, man.
Speaker 8 (24:42):
Maybe if they could give me some Toradol, which I
don't think they're doing anymore in the NFL, but maybe
have five, ten snaps in me. I watched that game, Colin,
and of course you're surprised at the score and how
lopsided it got, but it's unsurprising to me having played
with Case Keenum, the kind of guy he is. University
(25:02):
of Houston legend we're talking about here, and a guy
that had a full week in Ben Johnson's offense, which
is a souped-up West Coast offense. He's played in a
bunch of systems. He's adaptable. And it's not like he's
got to win two games. He's got to win one
game against a team who's puckered to stop the run.
They're going to be in a lot of single high.
They're going to be in cover three. So you're going
to have safeties down in the box and a safety
(25:25):
room that's struggling. And to me, what Ben did was
he said, we're going to quick game these guys. We're
going to beat them three downs at a time. And
I bet they'll get impatient. And, you know, Vic's having
trouble right now relative to the pressure he's had to
bring a lot of pressure that's not really like a
Vic Fangio group in Philly as of late you.
Speaker 1 (25:45):
Know um their offense is hard to figure out even
out of the halftime break three and out three and
out three and out five and pick take me to
the best team you ever played on that struggled either
side of the ball when you knew the players were
there Did you I mean, how do you get out
of that? Take me to your best team. You may
have had a Rams team or an Eagle team. You're like,
(26:05):
we're way better than our output.
Speaker 8 (26:09):
You know, it's funny for me because I was either
on a 1-15 team or basically the Patriots or the
Eagles late in my career. So I never got to
see a unit that I said, you know, like, hey,
we're better than this. Usually I was like, yeah, this
is about right. Let me grab my helmet, sudden change,
another interception, another fumble. So, you know, I want to
(26:30):
push back a little bit because I do think the
Eagles are talented, but they don't have the talent they had.
Speaker 3 (26:36):
Two years ago.
Speaker 8 (26:37):
And I think sometimes we assume that because a group
looks the way it looked for a long time, that
it's just going to continue. And there have been cracks
in the offensive line foundation of this, you know, the
offensive line has always been the straw that stirred the
drink in Philly. And, you know, they were so dominant
going back to when I was there, it's almost 10
(26:58):
years ago. And, you know, Jason Kelsey leaves and they've
got these issues at guard and And they've been breaking
in two new coordinators in two years.
Speaker 3 (27:06):
And that's tough on Jalen.
Speaker 8 (27:08):
You know, AJ leaves, you know, although I really like
Dontavian Wicks and the whole thing. But the problem is
early downs. They're like 29th and early down success rate
to just put it succinctly. They're ending up in these
third and longer situations. And the left guard issue right now,
not to single out Cam Juergens, who's a really good
center for a long time. he's struggling physically and he's
(27:28):
not supposed to be out there because Landon Dickerson was
struggling physically. So it's kind of a snowball effect thing.
And the last thing is this Colin, when you're used
to having a dominant defense, you're used to having a
lot of cracks at it. They've been wildly inconsistent for
over a year now, but they always got away with it.
You know, they, they saw some stat this week.
Speaker 3 (27:47):
A trend.
Speaker 8 (27:48):
If you're into them, that the Eagles have won like
six games in a row when they're a dog outright.
Speaker 3 (27:53):
What does that even mean?
Speaker 8 (27:54):
You go back to last year and, Two games from
last year that fit the bill are the green Bay
game and the Buffalo game where they scored offensively combined
20 points. You're not going to have those opportunities anymore
to win those rock fights. That's what worries me about
this offense and worries me about the balance of the
Eagles football team.
Speaker 1 (28:13):
The, um, you know, when you kind of look at
the state of the league right now, it does lean offense.
And I've said in memo, the last seven coaches that
were hired that were the hot OCs, Ben Johnson, Kellen Moore,
Dave Canales, Liam Cohn, all seven are working.
Speaker 6 (28:33):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (28:34):
Have we gotten to a point now where if you
were a GM or you were an owner, like unless
you can get the hottest coat, like Mike McDonald was
talked about for like four years and is that it
feels like the sport is a little lopsided against defense.
Is it not?
Speaker 8 (28:53):
Well, I think generally the way they call the games,
the way the NFL wants the games to play out
for sure.
Speaker 3 (28:57):
And the rule changes reflect that.
Speaker 8 (28:59):
But I also think it's not just as simple as, hey,
it's an offensive league. It's, you know, it's the retaining
that great offensive mind. You know, like look at Tampa,
for instance, who lets Liam Cohen walk. It hasn't been
the same since. Right. You know, I'd be a proponent of, hey,
I'll throw the book at my offensive coordinator. I'll pay
him more than the head coach just to keep him
in the building. Or, hey, the head coach might be
very good coach like Todd Bowles. You know, you could
(29:21):
argue he's a good coach or he's had good years. Um, I,
I just said, Hey, you know, I'm sorry, Todd, like
Liam Cohen's our guy now, because we don't want to
have to be replacing the offensive mind every couple of years.
And that's the tightrope you walk when you're a D'Amico Ryan's,
or if you're a Mike McDonald, who's done it seamlessly,
at least so far, the guy they brought in is
really bright but uh you know being a defensive head
(29:43):
football coach is not easy because the minute you have
success chances are that offensive coordinator leaves.
Speaker 1 (29:51):
Um Aaron Donald comes back Um, and he's been good. Um,
I mean, you still have to double that deals. Yeah. Um,
are you surprised? I mean, it's the defensive side is
more brutal. It's chase and blow stuff up to a
large degree. The offense is choreography. The defense is make
people uncomfortable physically. Are you, I mean, I mean that
(30:15):
you have to be a different, your, your wiring has
got to be a little different in your family. Your
dad's wiring was pretty intense, right?
Speaker 6 (30:23):
Like, yeah.
Speaker 1 (30:23):
He wouldn't. I mean, nothing against your dad is a
left tackle. He was built to play defense.
Speaker 8 (30:29):
Psychologically, he was a defensive player.
Speaker 1 (30:32):
Yeah. And my take is I think when defensive players
shut it down, it's like, I mean, offense is pretty.
I get I get the guys like, oh, I got
I got another couple of catches. Are you surprised Aaron said, yeah,
I want to I want to run into people again
and get double and triple teamed.
Speaker 8 (30:48):
I'm not because as I sit here, you know, 10
years later and I was a good player, I wasn't,
you know, Aaron Donald by any stretch of the imagination.
There's games you sit there and watching the competitor and
he comes out and you say, I could still do this. Or,
you know, then you got to be like, man, it's
been a decade. Chill out, Uncle Rico. Like it's over.
You know, for Aaron Donald, it's probably not realistically over
until you're 41 years old. And, you know, like he's
(31:11):
just I've never played with a guy that gifted. I've
also never played with a guy that violent on the
football field and who had a switch like him. He
is the best person, husband, father.
Speaker 3 (31:22):
You could imagine being around.
Speaker 8 (31:24):
One of the hardest working people used to have to
kick him out of the film room at nine o'clock
at night. He'd be the last car in the parking
lot as a rookie. He didn't even have a car
at that point. He was taking the bus to the hotel,
but he would be the one guy in there with
the lights on. in training camp and I'm a, I'm
a veteran. And I said, yo, this guy's going to
play for a long time. The thing about Aaron is he,
that he played in that Superbowl against the Bengals.
Speaker 3 (31:46):
I think at 258 pounds, he told me on my pod. That's,
you know, he's just.
Speaker 8 (31:51):
Got God given explosiveness, hand violence, you know, technique. And yeah,
he doesn't look like DPO wire and Donald right now.
But like, if we take away the narrative, you know,
aspect of this, I think you watch the game. If
you never watched football before and you watch the all
22 and said, what do you think of this guy?
Speaker 3 (32:09):
99. He's winning a lot of rushes. And I think this.
Speaker 8 (32:12):
Weekend it could be a breakout game for him. So,
you know, it's wild to see your old teammate, you know,
dust off because I can tell you, Colin, once you retire,
you realize, hey, what we did was crazy. You see
some of these collisions and the way you had to
get yourself up every week and. You don't realize it,
but you're almost another person. And I think only somebody
(32:33):
like Aaron Donald could come back. And I know people
clown him because he gets body slammed running a stunt
the other night. People can't wait to say, hey, we
told you he was going to be bad. I can
tell you what he's doing is incredibly difficult and rare.
Speaker 1 (32:47):
So I have, I am not a conspiracy theorist. It
can be pandemics. It can be anything UFOs. I don't
buy any of it. I'm a cynic on everything, but.
Speaker 3 (32:57):
You don't believe in UFOs, dude.
Speaker 2 (32:59):
Okay.
Speaker 3 (33:01):
Let's not another time.
Speaker 1 (33:03):
I would say this, the Pentagon stuff, the tech tax
that I saw in the New York times video that
were leaked. I don't have an explanation. I tend to
think honestly, It is either our government or another government.
Either it's another government swimming in our waters or it's
our government that just doesn't want to tell our media, listen,
(33:23):
we're doing stuff here that we don't. Anyway, that's kind
of my type.
Speaker 8 (33:27):
I would love to dissect this.
Speaker 3 (33:28):
We'll do it another time.
Speaker 2 (33:31):
Because I got tanks. Colin, I got tanks.
Speaker 5 (33:35):
In fact, I even.
Speaker 1 (33:36):
Forgot where I was going. I think that's actually more interesting.
Where was I going?
Speaker 8 (33:40):
I think maybe we were going to talk chiefs or something.
Speaker 1 (33:43):
I don't know. Conspiracy theory. The substation in San Francisco.
Speaker 3 (33:51):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (33:53):
Guys are getting hurt.
Speaker 3 (33:54):
It's insane.
Speaker 1 (33:55):
In non-contact practice, Bosa's doing jumping jacks and he's out
for a month. What is going on? I mean, I
don't understand it.
Speaker 3 (34:08):
I don't either.
Speaker 8 (34:09):
And it's a shame because, and I'll say this with
my chest, I think Kyle Shanahan is the best coach
in football at times. I have so much respect for him.
He should have a couple by now. If Dre Greenlaw
doesn't pop his Achilles, if Jimmy G makes the throw,
and I know that's how it works every year for
every team, but You know, and shoot, I got a
(34:32):
ring because he wouldn't run the ball in the twenty
eight three game, you know, so I could easily, you know,
clown the guy. But I think he's incredible. And it's
a shame to me that this keeps happening to his
football teams. because he deserves better and it's i really
have no theory like the you know evidently they had
somebody with like a what do they call them like
(34:54):
a geiger counter or something they're walking around the substation
and yeah they got scientists and they're writing think pieces
about it and you know here's the worst news for
the the niners i'd almost rather here was a substation
because i moved the damn facility It's like it's like
it's the candlestick curse, man. I was obsessed with that
(35:15):
stadium candlestick.
Speaker 1 (35:16):
Yeah.
Speaker 8 (35:17):
And I think it's a shame that they gentrified the
49ers home stadium. Levi's has no soul. And I think
they're paying for it. That's my conspiracy theory.
Speaker 1 (35:28):
OK, you want to know why I'm so I watch
you watch Age of Disclosure, the documentary.
Speaker 3 (35:33):
I don't watch anything but football right now.
Speaker 1 (35:36):
OK, that that is the best doc on UFOs. It
was the one thing that flipped me. But here's why
I've always been cynical. Because I used to work as
a sports guy in Las Vegas. And for about five
years in Vegas, there were all these UFO sightings. And
then we found out it was the stealth. And so
my take is our government has a history of doing things,
(36:00):
of manufacturing things. They're just not telling anybody.
Speaker 3 (36:03):
No, totally. Totally. Totally. But I also say this, Colin.
Speaker 1 (36:07):
China's ahead of us on so many different things.
Speaker 3 (36:11):
Agreed. But I'll also say this.
Speaker 8 (36:13):
You don't have to worry about it because if there's
an alien planet out there that has the technology to
come check out Earth, they probably could wipe us out
immediately if they wanted to. They're not doing it. They're
here on safari. They're just doing flybys. You don't have
to worry about it.
Speaker 1 (36:29):
All right. I feel that makes me at ease.
Speaker 3 (36:33):
Yeah, you should feel better.
Speaker 1 (36:34):
I swear to God, though, I could do two hours
on this, honestly.
Speaker 3 (36:37):
I could do a lot. Totally.
Speaker 1 (36:40):
Great seeing you, guys.
Speaker 3 (36:42):
It's great to see you, man.
Thanks for listening to the Herd Podcast. Be sure to
catch us live every weekday on Fox Sports Radio and
noon to 3 Eastern, 9 a.m. to noon Pacific. Find
your local station for the Herd at foxsportsradio.com or stream
us live every day on the iHeartRadio app by searching
Fox Sports Radio or FSR. Now let's get this party started.
Speaker 2 (00:21):
You're listening to Fox Sports Radio.
Speaker 1 (00:26):
Here we go. It's hour two on a Monday. Great
to have you in. Wild, wild last couple of games yesterday.
Ravens beat the Cowboys. Broncos come roaring back down 16-0
to beat them. Drake Mays falling off the table. We
do it every Monday at this time where Colin was right,
(00:46):
where Colin was wrong. Plenty of that today. And here
we go. We're I said it's the first time in
20 years. I said it all offseason. I'm excited about
the Raiders. I didn't think they'd win yesterday. I didn't
think they'd be 3-0. But John Spitek, he's been very
good the first couple of years as GM. I think
Clint Kubiak is excellent. I would rather eventually see Mendoza
(01:09):
play Fernando. But, you know, starting Kirk Cousins, the veteran,
is probably the smart move. He's a great mentor. He's
played well. They went and got Tyler Linderbaum. I said
I thought that was the single best GMing move of
the offseason. Again, I didn't think they'd be 3-0. But
Tom Brady's influence, Spytek... Mature Kirk Cousins reshaped the offensive line.
(01:32):
We said, this feels like a real football operation, and
I think we were right about that.
Speaker 2 (01:38):
Where Colin was wrong.
Speaker 1 (01:40):
Well, for one week, I'll take a wrong in the Steelers.
That was their best offensive output. I mean, they got
the run game going. Aaron Rodgers. Now, the tackling by
the Bengals was as bad as last year, and their
special teams rivaled the Rams for the worst in the league.
But they had 10 explosive plays yesterday. For a team
that doesn't run any motion, spreads it out 40% of
(02:03):
the time. League average is 14%. I'll take a wrong.
Cincinnati helped the cause. There were way too many offensive penalties,
delay of games. It was sloppy. It was frustrating. But
I'll take an L on that one.
Speaker 2 (02:17):
Where Colin was right.
Speaker 1 (02:19):
I've said, I think the locker room in Green Bay
has quit on Matt LaFleur, and evidence of that is
getting housed at home by Atlanta. Now, Pennix played well
after that first pick. but they don't have an identity.
It's all schemes and no culture. That was the knock
I was told, and I said this multiple times on
the air when he got a job in Green Bay.
Everybody liked him, good guy, super smart, but is he
(02:41):
the kind of guy that can get 55 alphas to
run over the hill for him? That was always the question.
It's not just the offensive line. Everybody's dealing with injuries
in this league. Cowboys secondary. I mean, Darnold was gone
for weeks. That's the reality of the NFL. This is
a cultural issue to me in Green Bay.
Speaker 2 (03:02):
Where Colin was wrong.
Speaker 1 (03:04):
I thought eventually Lincoln Riley, who's a brilliant offensive coach,
would get the culture fixed and the defense right. But
once again, playing a backup quarterback for most of it
at home, they couldn't make any defensive stops. Oregon had
big drive after big drive. Riley's now five and 14
against AP ranked teams. That's not even top five teams.
(03:25):
That's just all AP ranked teams. They lack they lack
kind of a cultural toughness. I think they're fun. I
think their passing game is clever. I think they have
done a great job at wide receiver and quarterback. Oh,
lines the best they've had. But I thought they'd figure
out defense. Eventually, they paid millions of dollars for a
defensive front and they couldn't put pressure.
Speaker 3 (03:46):
On the backup quarterback where Colin was right.
Speaker 1 (03:50):
I said before this season, I think Minnesota has the
best coaching staff in the league. Kevin O'Connell, drawing names
out of a hat, is now 3-0 at quarterback. Brian
Flores has created 50 pressures this year.
Speaker 3 (04:01):
In the NFL.
Speaker 1 (04:02):
That is not only number one. It's number one by
a mile. Flores is the best defensive coordinator going. Kevin
O'Connell does more with less at quarterback. I mean, they
just squeeze. Part of coaching is how much can you squeeze...
out of the talent you have. I like Minnesota's roster,
(04:23):
but I mean, their offense is like 32nd and they're 3-0.
That is a great coaching staff in Minnesota.
Speaker 2 (04:32):
Where Colin was wrong.
Speaker 1 (04:34):
Only two Big Ten teams in the top 13. Ohio
State and Indiana. And Indiana, they're not Indiana of last year.
The SEC absolutely looks deeper. There's no question. Florida looks fantastic.
They hammered Ole Miss. I was surprised by that. The
SEC is 10-2. in non-conference games against the Big Four.
(04:58):
So I thought the Big Ten was going to pull
away even further this year. But so far, the SEC
looks like they have regained the number one conference marquee.
So far. It's early, but so far.
Speaker 2 (05:11):
Where Colin was right.
Speaker 1 (05:13):
I told you Cleveland's way too good. They're way too
talented to only win a couple of games. Deshaun Watson,
back-to-back weeks, has got a rhythm. He's not my favorite
guy or quarterback, but he's played well. Andrew Barry is
an excellent personnel general manager. I think he's underrated. I
loved their first five picks last year. I loved their
(05:35):
picks the year before. This is an excellent, excellent young
locker room, and Deshaun Watson has played B-plus football consistently.
That is good enough. Jay Mack and I argued all offseason,
who's going to have the number one picks? I kept saying,
it's not going to be Cleveland. Cleveland's got too many
good players. Now, they're mostly under 25, but Cleveland's got
(05:55):
way too many good players to be a 2-14, 2-15 team.
And Tampa Bay found out. Or not Tampa Bay, Carolina
found out.
Speaker 2 (06:06):
Where Colin was wrong.
Speaker 1 (06:09):
Well, I had the Houston Texans winning their division last
That's not going to happen. CJ Stroud, it's not getting better.
Offensive line, will they ever get it fixed? The defense
has regressed. They have no run game. I feel like
it's the same problems for three years. O-line, run game.
Defenses don't generally. A great offense carries over year to
(06:32):
year to year. Defense, not so much because defensive players
get dinged up. But, you know, I had this team
winning the division. They don't look like they're in the
same league right now as Jacksonville. So I'm going to
take a big, fat wrong on the Houston Texans. I
was wrong a lot last week. Very unfortunate.
Speaker 2 (06:53):
Be sure to catch live editions of The Herd weekdays
at noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, FS1,
and the iHeartRadio app.
Speaker 4 (07:03):
Stugatz here, pleased to be hosting college football with Stugatz
and the Bear. We do it two times a week,
every Monday, every single Friday throughout the college football season.
Speaker 2 (07:12):
You can expect a little bit of this. Will Stein,
the head coach at Kentucky, joins us. Open bar at
a wedding, ordering a Shirley Temple. Will or will not?
Speaker 3 (07:21):
No. Will not.
Speaker 1 (07:21):
Ketchup on steak. Will or will not?
Speaker 2 (07:25):
Will or will not?
Speaker 3 (07:27):
Will not. Thank you.
Speaker 2 (07:28):
A little bit of this.
Speaker 4 (07:30):
Rhys Davis, host of College Game Day, is with us now.
Speaker 2 (07:32):
And then I'm going home to the BBC, and they're
saying Jockovich instead of Jokovich. Right, because you can't say Jockovich.
Speaker 4 (07:40):
If you do, you know the blowback you're going to
get from the American audience.
Speaker 3 (07:43):
Right.
Speaker 2 (07:43):
And a whole lot of this.
Speaker 4 (07:50):
Listen to college football with Stugatz and the Bear on
the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever.
Speaker 2 (07:56):
You get your podcasts. Number 10.
Speaker 1 (08:12):
I think the Raiders look like a really, really well-coached
team with one great edge rusher. Kirk Cousins, only quarterback
in the league, three touchdown passes each game. Brock Bowers,
they're putting him all over the field. He's a nightmare.
The defense leads the NFL in takeaways. We've said it before.
You put a Ben Johnson, a Clint Kubiak, a smart
offensive guy. You can turn things around quicker. You can
(08:33):
squeeze a lot of juice out of fourth, fifth, sixth,
seventh round players. Kyle Shanahan's quarterback's a seventh rounder. I
think the Raiders look like a very, very well-coached team.
They're about one more draft away from being like a
high-end team. But I like what I see. I think
they're legit.
Speaker 2 (08:53):
Number nine.
Speaker 1 (08:54):
Listen, the Lions are weird. We're scoring defense in the league,
yet they're second in sacks to the Vikings. But this
is about Jameer Gibbs. This is about Jared Goff. Only
team to score 30-plus points in every game, Detroit, but
they're going to have to win by track meets. So
I think their floor is incredibly high. I don't know
(09:15):
if their ceiling is as high as I thought going
into the season. Lions at nine.
Speaker 2 (09:20):
Number eight.
Speaker 1 (09:21):
Rams should have beaten the Broncos 16-0 at half, outgained
them by 225 yards. Some really bad penalties. Listen, here's
the reality about the Rams, though. If you count the playoffs,
they're 4-5 in their last nine, and they're not a
very good road team. Again, physicality. Puka's not there. Physical player.
(09:42):
Miles Garrett not there. Physical player. Aaron Donald's good, but
he's not what he used to be. There is a
component about physicality and toughness that wins on the road.
The Rams sometimes are really, really pretty, and right now
I have them at eight.
Speaker 2 (09:57):
Number seven.
Speaker 1 (09:59):
The Bears. Number one. one, number five scoring offense, number
three total offense, but the number one rushing team. That's
what I love about Ben Johnson. Everybody thinks, oh, it's
Caleb running around. They run the football against physical defensive fronts,
and Caleb's going to be back in three to four weeks,
but they've held opponents, and this is coaching, under 10 points,
(10:21):
back-to-back weeks. I thought last night was one of the
greatest coaching mismatches I've ever seen. It was, to juxtapose
those two head coaches, it was jarring to watch Case
Keenum 11 for 11 against Blitzes. That is coaching. I
have the Bears at 7. They may just be a
(10:43):
great regular season team, but the Jags, 10-1 in their
last 11 regular season games, and if they get on you...
They'll put a foot on you. Their wins this year
have been by like 14-plus points. They'll blow you out
if you're not prepared and ready to go. So I
think Leon Combe is the best coach nobody talks about
in this league. They have the number one scoring defense.
You can't run on them for several years. Trevor Lawrence,
(11:06):
seven touchdown passes. I think he's playing the best. Again,
if this team was in a New York market or
a Chicago market or Philadelphia, we'd talk about them every week.
The Jags are well coached. Trevor Lawrence has time. You
can't run on them. They're good at home. I have
them at six.
Speaker 2 (11:21):
Number five.
Speaker 1 (11:22):
The Broncos are a one-half offense. The good news, it's
the second half. But Bo Nix, 11th game-winning drive. Unfortunately,
they shouldn't be trailing this often late in games. They
spent the third least amount of time leading in the
league this year. Nine minutes. Only the Titans and Dolphins have...
(11:43):
led less so they're doing what I predicted they couldn't
do I said you can't do what they did last
year trail 15 times and win 14 now they're doing
it but here come the Niners here come the Seahawks
here comes the Chiefs and I don't think you can
do it against those three teams number four oh Mahomes
has a run game do you know what he is
(12:03):
on play action this year because you have to be
honest against the run game He is 22 of 24
in play action. 158.3 passer rating. It's amazing when you
give a quarterback a run game. Travis Kelsey looks 26.
And Mahomes can now. You have to bite on the
(12:25):
play action. You didn't for four years. I think it's
totally changed their offense, their defense. They've always drafted defense well.
They move off corners. They always find a corner. I
have them at four.
Speaker 2 (12:37):
Number three.
Speaker 1 (12:39):
A little disturbing problem for the Seahawks. It's not the loss.
They're not running the football. Why are they such a
great road team? What travels? Toughness, coaching, and run games.
They're not running the ball. They were number one graded
run team last year. Number one rated. This year, they're 28th.
(12:59):
Kenneth Walker's not there. Charbonnet hasn't been healthy. It's a
real thing. The reason they are so good on the
road is they kill the ground. They run the ball.
Not this year. And that is something to keep your
eye on. Seattle third.
Speaker 2 (13:15):
Number two.
Speaker 1 (13:16):
Well, they start every year, it feels like, 3-0. But
I'm going to give them credit. Brock Purdy plays like
an MVP. Trent Williams is back. He'll play. Mike Evans
will play against Denver. So they're injuries. Bosa will be
back soon. Mike Evans, listen, this is a franchise. You
cross your fingers on health. But it's one of the smartest,
most functional offenses. McCaffrey, Trent, Kittle, Brock, Shanahan. It is
(13:41):
a handful. Will it be a handful at Thanksgiving when
half the guys are banged up? But I think they
deserve number two.
Speaker 2 (13:50):
Number one.
Speaker 1 (13:51):
When you can win with 10 penalties and 5 turnovers,
that has a Seahawk vibe from last year. I'll make
it Buffalo. Averaging 34 points a game, the offense is humming.
They're punting on 15% of their drives. I just think
they feel like it's the most complimentary Bills roster yet. Kincaid,
slot receiver, DJ Moore, James Cook. Russo's having his best
(14:13):
year as a pro. They drafted a defensive tackle out
of Kentucky in the fourth round. The guy's a beast.
So they take some heat. Their GM does. That guy
was a steal. So this is finally a complementary roster
in Buffalo, at least the most complementary they've been. Here's
the herd hierarchy. I've got to be honest with you.
(14:33):
You think I'm putting the Raiders up there just to
get discussion. I think winning in New Orleans, I mean,
the Saints dominated the Ravens in Baltimore for the second half,
and the Raiders pulled away from the Saints. I think
they're good. Nick Wright last week, I mean, he took
a couple shots at me on the Chargers, whatever. I
(14:55):
think I did not have the Chargers 11th, 12th, or
13th either.
Speaker 3 (14:59):
You'll know that.
Speaker 2 (14:59):
Be sure to catch live editions of The Herd weekdays
at noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific.
Speaker 1 (15:05):
By the way, we do it every few weeks. My
Super Bowl bubble as we head into, is it week
four or week five? What is it? Week four on
the NFL. Here's my Super Bowl bubble. Here are the
teams that are definitively in. Jacksonville, Denver, Seattle, Rams, Bills, Chiefs, Bears.
Niners are half in, half out. I have the Niners
(15:26):
on the edge on the edge because they are falling
apart physically and they're always great in September. And then
I have the Ravens, a flawed team with a really,
really average offensive line right now. And the Bengals who
can't tackle and have dubious special teams closest. So, I mean,
all the teams that are in Jacksonville, by the way,
(15:47):
in the last 11 regular season games, number one scoring offense,
number one defense scoring defense. So, in Kansas City, oh,
they have a run game. Have you seen them on
play action? Bears, I don't think I have to explain.
You may not like Denver, but it's a stack roster,
a Hall of Fame coach, and they're a great, great
fourth quarter team. Seattle, they don't run as well as
(16:07):
last year. They do everything else well. Buffalo Rams, so
there is my Super Bowl bubble. Now, J-Mac is saying, well,
what are you doing with no Philadelphia? I think they're
a poorly coached team. I think Jalen Hurts, because of that,
is very dependent on his coach and his coordinator. I
think when Case Keenum can run you up and down
(16:28):
the field, there may be defensive issues as well. So
all these teams right here, I feel, are well enough
coached to be a Super Bowl team. I feel like
the Eagles, second year in a row I watched that offense,
it is just unraveling, and I think the heat's going
to come in. And by the way, the Eagles now
have the Rams. What if they go on a two-game
losing streak? A lot of questions going to be pointed
(16:50):
at Nick Ceriani. I could have him in by next week.
Right now, this is my Super Bowl bubble. Jay Mack
is smiling.
Speaker 5 (16:58):
Next week will be too little too late, my friend.
You can't do that.
Speaker 6 (17:02):
I would love to see the contrast with the preseason
Super Bowl bubble and the one after three weeks, because
I do feel like there are some maybe some knee
jerk reactions. You really think Jacksonville could win the Super
Bowl right now?
Speaker 1 (17:13):
Yes, absolutely. Why wouldn't I? Why wouldn't I? They look good.
Speaker 5 (17:18):
I get it. If that's the case, why don't you
put the Vikings in here? Why not the Raiders?
Speaker 1 (17:21):
The Vikings have the 32nd ranked offense. The Jags have
the number one scoring offense.
Speaker 6 (17:26):
I mean, the Broncos haven't scored a point in the
first quarter all season. They don't have an offense.
Speaker 1 (17:32):
What wins Super Bowls? Super Bowl coaches, great offensive lines.
You can get to the opposing quarterbacks and you can
deliver late. Denver checks all four of those boxes. They're uneven,
but the boxes you have to check to win a
Super Bowl are usually most of the time. It's a coach.
It's late game quarterback play.
Speaker 2 (17:53):
I got one.
Speaker 5 (17:54):
Detroit Lions.
Speaker 1 (17:56):
Dude, defensively, it's a track meet every week.
Speaker 6 (17:58):
Well, now they're going to get guys off the IR.
The secondary's on the IR, basically. The two safeties, the stars.
Speaker 5 (18:03):
They're going to be coming back.
Speaker 1 (18:04):
By the way, right now, the Eagles' defense.
Speaker 5 (18:08):
It's not good.
Speaker 1 (18:08):
Today. It's worse than Arizona, Pittsburgh, and New England. With
a stacked roster.
Speaker 5 (18:17):
I had them in fantasy.
Speaker 6 (18:17):
I had to drop them because they don't have a
sack this season.
Speaker 5 (18:21):
I mean, they can't generate turnovers.
Speaker 2 (18:23):
It's bad.
Speaker 5 (18:24):
But it's three weeks, Colin. Again, are you throwing out
all your preseason priors? All that offseason stuff doesn't matter now?
Speaker 3 (18:34):
I didn't say that.
Speaker 1 (18:34):
I have very few definitive opinions. Dolphins bad, Seahawks really good.
I don't have a lot. I don't have. And it's
a great week. I think every week in the NFL.
Zero to eight, zero to six, zero to seven is
first month and a half. You get real clarity every week.
You get more clarity. And then by like week nine on,
you kind of know. Oh, finally, I'm sorry.
Speaker 5 (18:55):
I totally miss this. The New England Patriots who just
went to the Super Bowl.
Speaker 1 (18:59):
They're they're awful offensively. How in the world could you
put them anywhere near this? They're awful. Awful, right?
Speaker 5 (19:06):
I mean, there's 14 games.
Speaker 6 (19:07):
I think that Bill's Patriots game this weekend is very spicy.
Tell me it's in the in the plays in five tomorrow.
Speaker 1 (19:14):
You think I'm taking that as my dog of the week?
Speaker 5 (19:18):
It's a dog with fleas. Yes, it is. But they
are going to be plucky. The Patriots.
Speaker 1 (19:24):
OK, so speaking of Denver, here's your week four schedule.
I think it's a great early window. One o'clock window
is the best early window of the year by far.
late window is not bad, but the early window, I mean,
I think Jets-Bears is close. I really do. I think
the Jets defense is all over the field. I also
think Bears in a short week. It is a third
(19:45):
string quarterback. Rams, Eagles, fantastic. Green Bay, Tampa is strangely,
strangely important. Dallas, Houston will be a great game. So
I think it's as good a one o'clock window as
we've had in a long time. Denver's an interesting team.
Here's Sean Payton this week on his offense. I'm comfortable.
Speaker 7 (20:10):
With the grit of a team that can play well
in the fourth quarter, I'm uncomfortable with how we've played
at the start of games, if that's a fair answer. Like,
you know, I'm comfortable with, like, this is a team
that can, because our game is you're going to be
in tight games. But as the head coach, you can't
(20:32):
possibly be comfortable with the way the first half unfolded.
Speaker 1 (20:37):
Okay, so Bo Nix, his passer rating on opening drives
this year is zero. Who's the best opening drive quarterback?
Has been for a couple years. It's Brock Purdy. Now,
why would that be? I am a huge believer in this,
that your personality becomes your game. LeBron James is a
very— he really is.
Speaker 3 (20:55):
He's happy.
Speaker 1 (20:56):
He's got a great family. He's joyful. Everybody loves playing
with LeBron. Michael Jordan was intense. He could be a bully.
Not everybody liked— Playing with Michael. Forget who's greater. Your
personality becomes your game. Bo Nix is intense. Really intense.
Sean Payton is intense. They load him up on opening
(21:18):
drives with sets in motion. His legs are a much
bigger part of his game than Brock Purdy. And those
are very effective in the fourth when a defense is
worn down. And his personality is confrontational and very intense.
And I think he gets overburdened by Sean Payton's play
(21:39):
sheet in the first couple drives. His career passer rating
is 66. Brock Purdy's is 119.
Speaker 2 (21:44):
Why?
Speaker 1 (21:45):
Brock Purdy is more of a pure pocket execution guy.
Brock Purdy is less run, more pocket. Brock Purdy is
kind of a loose, chill, laid-back personality. He's not overburdened. Like,
tightly wound. And so Brock Purdy looks at Kyle Shanahan's
opening drive as a mid-turn he can't wait to take
(22:09):
and he can't wait to ace. Brock Purdy opening drive.
Speaker 5 (22:12):
He loves.
Speaker 1 (22:14):
He loves to be the student, bring the apple, give
it to the teacher, the apple of the teacher's eye.
Brock Purdy's got a laid-back personality. He's almost got a
kind of a country, laid-back, small-town feel to him. Not
a lot of anxiety. He loves to prove to Shanahan,
I am worth that seventh-round pick. I love your play sheet.
(22:36):
He's less run-reliant. Nix, run-reliant, that plays much better late
in game when a defense is gassed. And I think
he's a little tightly wired, a little anxious, and Sean
can be a tad overbearing with his play sheet and personality.
And I think it's not a comfortable watch. Bo Nix
(22:57):
opening drives mostly are awful. Want more H.E.R.D.? The H.E.R.D.
streams 24 hours a day, seven days a week within
the iHeartRadio app.
Speaker 2 (23:09):
Search H.E.R.D. to listen live or on demand whenever you'd like.
Speaker 1 (23:14):
We were saying offensive coaches are taking over this league.
Every 3-0 team has an offensive coach. Every team that
leads or is tied for the lead in the NFL
in their division, eight for eight as an offensive coach.
And I think especially with young quarterbacks, and right now
the quarterbacks that are struggling that we know are good, C.J. Stroud,
Drake May, Justin Herbert, they either have culture guys or
(23:37):
defensive coaches. especially young quarterbacks, it's like parenting, like those
formative early years, young boys go sideways really quick. Girls
mature more quickly. Boys go sideways. Parenting is very influential.
Seven to 17 to 27. I just watched this league
and I watched what Ben Johnson did with case Keenum
(23:58):
on a few days snaps in practice. And I'm like,
Could a defensive coach do that? I don't know. Chris Long,
11 years, two-time Super Bowl champ, Walter Payton Man of
the Year, one of the really smart guys that has
ever played in this sport. And I guess, and I've
been on this for years, that offense, it's all the
rules now. It's prohibitive. Like, they've moved all the rules
(24:20):
to help offense. But I'm watching Monday night, and.
What they did with Case Keenum, 11 for 11 on blitzes.
I'm like, he's a third string quarterback. God love him.
He doesn't start anymore. When you watch a game like that,
does that make you think, you know, I could get
a few more snaps in, you know, I'm just a
good week of practice away.
Speaker 3 (24:41):
I don't know, man.
Speaker 8 (24:42):
Maybe if they could give me some Toradol, which I
don't think they're doing anymore in the NFL, but maybe
have five, ten snaps in me. I watched that game, Colin,
and of course you're surprised at the score and how
lopsided it got, but it's unsurprising to me having played
with Case Keenum, the kind of guy he is. University
(25:02):
of Houston legend we're talking about here, and a guy
that had a full week in Ben Johnson's offense, which
is a souped-up West Coast offense. He's played in a
bunch of systems. He's adaptable. And it's not like he's
got to win two games. He's got to win one
game against a team who's puckered to stop the run.
They're going to be in a lot of single high.
They're going to be in cover three. So you're going
to have safeties down in the box and a safety
(25:25):
room that's struggling. And to me, what Ben did was
he said, we're going to quick game these guys. We're
going to beat them three downs at a time. And
I bet they'll get impatient. And, you know, Vic's having
trouble right now relative to the pressure he's had to
bring a lot of pressure that's not really like a
Vic Fangio group in Philly as of late you.
Speaker 1 (25:45):
Know um their offense is hard to figure out even
out of the halftime break three and out three and
out three and out five and pick take me to
the best team you ever played on that struggled either
side of the ball when you knew the players were
there Did you I mean, how do you get out
of that? Take me to your best team. You may
have had a Rams team or an Eagle team. You're like,
(26:05):
we're way better than our output.
Speaker 8 (26:09):
You know, it's funny for me because I was either
on a 1-15 team or basically the Patriots or the
Eagles late in my career. So I never got to
see a unit that I said, you know, like, hey,
we're better than this. Usually I was like, yeah, this
is about right. Let me grab my helmet, sudden change,
another interception, another fumble. So, you know, I want to
(26:30):
push back a little bit because I do think the
Eagles are talented, but they don't have the talent they had.
Speaker 3 (26:36):
Two years ago.
Speaker 8 (26:37):
And I think sometimes we assume that because a group
looks the way it looked for a long time, that
it's just going to continue. And there have been cracks
in the offensive line foundation of this, you know, the
offensive line has always been the straw that stirred the
drink in Philly. And, you know, they were so dominant
going back to when I was there, it's almost 10
(26:58):
years ago. And, you know, Jason Kelsey leaves and they've
got these issues at guard and And they've been breaking
in two new coordinators in two years.
Speaker 3 (27:06):
And that's tough on Jalen.
Speaker 8 (27:08):
You know, AJ leaves, you know, although I really like
Dontavian Wicks and the whole thing. But the problem is
early downs. They're like 29th and early down success rate
to just put it succinctly. They're ending up in these
third and longer situations. And the left guard issue right now,
not to single out Cam Juergens, who's a really good
center for a long time. he's struggling physically and he's
(27:28):
not supposed to be out there because Landon Dickerson was
struggling physically. So it's kind of a snowball effect thing.
And the last thing is this Colin, when you're used
to having a dominant defense, you're used to having a
lot of cracks at it. They've been wildly inconsistent for
over a year now, but they always got away with it.
You know, they, they saw some stat this week.
Speaker 3 (27:47):
A trend.
Speaker 8 (27:48):
If you're into them, that the Eagles have won like
six games in a row when they're a dog outright.
Speaker 3 (27:53):
What does that even mean?
Speaker 8 (27:54):
You go back to last year and, Two games from
last year that fit the bill are the green Bay
game and the Buffalo game where they scored offensively combined
20 points. You're not going to have those opportunities anymore
to win those rock fights. That's what worries me about
this offense and worries me about the balance of the
Eagles football team.
Speaker 1 (28:13):
The, um, you know, when you kind of look at
the state of the league right now, it does lean offense.
And I've said in memo, the last seven coaches that
were hired that were the hot OCs, Ben Johnson, Kellen Moore,
Dave Canales, Liam Cohn, all seven are working.
Speaker 6 (28:33):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (28:34):
Have we gotten to a point now where if you
were a GM or you were an owner, like unless
you can get the hottest coat, like Mike McDonald was
talked about for like four years and is that it
feels like the sport is a little lopsided against defense.
Is it not?
Speaker 8 (28:53):
Well, I think generally the way they call the games,
the way the NFL wants the games to play out
for sure.
Speaker 3 (28:57):
And the rule changes reflect that.
Speaker 8 (28:59):
But I also think it's not just as simple as, hey,
it's an offensive league. It's, you know, it's the retaining
that great offensive mind. You know, like look at Tampa,
for instance, who lets Liam Cohen walk. It hasn't been
the same since. Right. You know, I'd be a proponent of, hey,
I'll throw the book at my offensive coordinator. I'll pay
him more than the head coach just to keep him
in the building. Or, hey, the head coach might be
very good coach like Todd Bowles. You know, you could
(29:21):
argue he's a good coach or he's had good years. Um, I,
I just said, Hey, you know, I'm sorry, Todd, like
Liam Cohen's our guy now, because we don't want to
have to be replacing the offensive mind every couple of years.
And that's the tightrope you walk when you're a D'Amico Ryan's,
or if you're a Mike McDonald, who's done it seamlessly,
at least so far, the guy they brought in is
really bright but uh you know being a defensive head
(29:43):
football coach is not easy because the minute you have
success chances are that offensive coordinator leaves.
Speaker 1 (29:51):
Um Aaron Donald comes back Um, and he's been good. Um,
I mean, you still have to double that deals. Yeah. Um,
are you surprised? I mean, it's the defensive side is
more brutal. It's chase and blow stuff up to a
large degree. The offense is choreography. The defense is make
people uncomfortable physically. Are you, I mean, I mean that
(30:15):
you have to be a different, your, your wiring has
got to be a little different in your family. Your
dad's wiring was pretty intense, right?
Speaker 6 (30:23):
Like, yeah.
Speaker 1 (30:23):
He wouldn't. I mean, nothing against your dad is a
left tackle. He was built to play defense.
Speaker 8 (30:29):
Psychologically, he was a defensive player.
Speaker 1 (30:32):
Yeah. And my take is I think when defensive players
shut it down, it's like, I mean, offense is pretty.
I get I get the guys like, oh, I got
I got another couple of catches. Are you surprised Aaron said, yeah,
I want to I want to run into people again
and get double and triple teamed.
Speaker 8 (30:48):
I'm not because as I sit here, you know, 10
years later and I was a good player, I wasn't,
you know, Aaron Donald by any stretch of the imagination.
There's games you sit there and watching the competitor and
he comes out and you say, I could still do this. Or,
you know, then you got to be like, man, it's
been a decade. Chill out, Uncle Rico. Like it's over.
You know, for Aaron Donald, it's probably not realistically over
until you're 41 years old. And, you know, like he's
(31:11):
just I've never played with a guy that gifted. I've
also never played with a guy that violent on the
football field and who had a switch like him. He
is the best person, husband, father.
Speaker 3 (31:22):
You could imagine being around.
Speaker 8 (31:24):
One of the hardest working people used to have to
kick him out of the film room at nine o'clock
at night. He'd be the last car in the parking
lot as a rookie. He didn't even have a car
at that point. He was taking the bus to the hotel,
but he would be the one guy in there with
the lights on. in training camp and I'm a, I'm
a veteran. And I said, yo, this guy's going to
play for a long time. The thing about Aaron is he,
that he played in that Superbowl against the Bengals.
Speaker 3 (31:46):
I think at 258 pounds, he told me on my pod. That's,
you know, he's just.
Speaker 8 (31:51):
Got God given explosiveness, hand violence, you know, technique. And yeah,
he doesn't look like DPO wire and Donald right now.
But like, if we take away the narrative, you know,
aspect of this, I think you watch the game. If
you never watched football before and you watch the all
22 and said, what do you think of this guy?
Speaker 3 (32:09):
99. He's winning a lot of rushes. And I think this.
Speaker 8 (32:12):
Weekend it could be a breakout game for him. So,
you know, it's wild to see your old teammate, you know,
dust off because I can tell you, Colin, once you retire,
you realize, hey, what we did was crazy. You see
some of these collisions and the way you had to
get yourself up every week and. You don't realize it,
but you're almost another person. And I think only somebody
(32:33):
like Aaron Donald could come back. And I know people
clown him because he gets body slammed running a stunt
the other night. People can't wait to say, hey, we
told you he was going to be bad. I can
tell you what he's doing is incredibly difficult and rare.
Speaker 1 (32:47):
So I have, I am not a conspiracy theorist. It
can be pandemics. It can be anything UFOs. I don't
buy any of it. I'm a cynic on everything, but.
Speaker 3 (32:57):
You don't believe in UFOs, dude.
Speaker 2 (32:59):
Okay.
Speaker 3 (33:01):
Let's not another time.
Speaker 1 (33:03):
I would say this, the Pentagon stuff, the tech tax
that I saw in the New York times video that
were leaked. I don't have an explanation. I tend to
think honestly, It is either our government or another government.
Either it's another government swimming in our waters or it's
our government that just doesn't want to tell our media, listen,
(33:23):
we're doing stuff here that we don't. Anyway, that's kind
of my type.
Speaker 8 (33:27):
I would love to dissect this.
Speaker 3 (33:28):
We'll do it another time.
Speaker 2 (33:31):
Because I got tanks. Colin, I got tanks.
Speaker 5 (33:35):
In fact, I even.
Speaker 1 (33:36):
Forgot where I was going. I think that's actually more interesting.
Where was I going?
Speaker 8 (33:40):
I think maybe we were going to talk chiefs or something.
Speaker 1 (33:43):
I don't know. Conspiracy theory. The substation in San Francisco.
Speaker 3 (33:51):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (33:53):
Guys are getting hurt.
Speaker 3 (33:54):
It's insane.
Speaker 1 (33:55):
In non-contact practice, Bosa's doing jumping jacks and he's out
for a month. What is going on? I mean, I
don't understand it.
Speaker 3 (34:08):
I don't either.
Speaker 8 (34:09):
And it's a shame because, and I'll say this with
my chest, I think Kyle Shanahan is the best coach
in football at times. I have so much respect for him.
He should have a couple by now. If Dre Greenlaw
doesn't pop his Achilles, if Jimmy G makes the throw,
and I know that's how it works every year for
every team, but You know, and shoot, I got a
(34:32):
ring because he wouldn't run the ball in the twenty
eight three game, you know, so I could easily, you know,
clown the guy. But I think he's incredible. And it's
a shame to me that this keeps happening to his
football teams. because he deserves better and it's i really
have no theory like the you know evidently they had
somebody with like a what do they call them like
(34:54):
a geiger counter or something they're walking around the substation
and yeah they got scientists and they're writing think pieces
about it and you know here's the worst news for
the the niners i'd almost rather here was a substation
because i moved the damn facility It's like it's like
it's the candlestick curse, man. I was obsessed with that
(35:15):
stadium candlestick.
Speaker 1 (35:16):
Yeah.
Speaker 8 (35:17):
And I think it's a shame that they gentrified the
49ers home stadium. Levi's has no soul. And I think
they're paying for it. That's my conspiracy theory.
Speaker 1 (35:28):
OK, you want to know why I'm so I watch
you watch Age of Disclosure, the documentary.
Speaker 3 (35:33):
I don't watch anything but football right now.
Speaker 1 (35:36):
OK, that that is the best doc on UFOs. It
was the one thing that flipped me. But here's why
I've always been cynical. Because I used to work as
a sports guy in Las Vegas. And for about five
years in Vegas, there were all these UFO sightings. And
then we found out it was the stealth. And so
my take is our government has a history of doing things,
(36:00):
of manufacturing things. They're just not telling anybody.
Speaker 3 (36:03):
No, totally. Totally. Totally. But I also say this, Colin.
Speaker 1 (36:07):
China's ahead of us on so many different things.
Speaker 3 (36:11):
Agreed. But I'll also say this.
Speaker 8 (36:13):
You don't have to worry about it because if there's
an alien planet out there that has the technology to
come check out Earth, they probably could wipe us out
immediately if they wanted to. They're not doing it. They're
here on safari. They're just doing flybys. You don't have
to worry about it.
Speaker 1 (36:29):
All right. I feel that makes me at ease.
Speaker 3 (36:33):
Yeah, you should feel better.
Speaker 1 (36:34):
I swear to God, though, I could do two hours
on this, honestly.
Speaker 3 (36:37):
I could do a lot. Totally.
Speaker 1 (36:40):
Great seeing you, guys.
Speaker 3 (36:42):
It's great to see you, man.
Hosts And Creators
Colin Cowherd
Jason McIntyre
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