November 21, 2024 • 41 mins
More thoughts on Broncos QB Bo Nix so far this season
The Bills have improved a lot from last season and it might be their year
There are 9 NFL teams that can't even compete this season
Guests: Greg Cosell, Lane Kiffin
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
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Speaker 2 (00:21):
You're listening to Fox Sports Radio.
Speaker 1 (00:25):
So Jmax all fired up on our bow or no segment,
So he did say during the break, he goes, I
would take brock Purty over Bonix and Jalen Hurts over Bonix.
I think the Jalen Hurts discussion is fascinating because Jalen
Hurts has either been excellent or not good at all,
massively turnover prone or excellent based on his coordinator. Now,
(00:46):
I could also argue bo Nix is good because of
Sean Payton, but my take is Bonnicks has been on
a heater. He outplayed Mahomes two weeks ago with an
incredibly thin roster with arguably without a number one receiver
or a number one tight end, and an ok offensive
line in a really tough division. So there were tough
(01:06):
ones Like I obviously, I think you know there's certain
players that are obviously like I took Jayden Daniels over
bow I think he's more. I think he's like Lamar Jackson, H. C. J.
Stroud obviously obviously Herbert Joe Burrow. The Jalen Hurts one
is is again. Jalen Hurts was a second round player that.
Speaker 3 (01:23):
Most ignored the second round first round.
Speaker 4 (01:25):
You said that bow Knicks out played Patrick Mahomes two
weeks ago.
Speaker 3 (01:29):
Well I'll raise you. Jalen Hurts out played Patrick Mahomes
in the super Bowl.
Speaker 1 (01:33):
That's why I was unbelievable. That's why I said the
bow Knicks Jalen Hurts one is tough. One has shown
a proclivity for a lot of reckless turnles.
Speaker 3 (01:42):
Those just are four years of games where you're gonna
have more turnovers.
Speaker 4 (01:45):
I mean, bon Nicks hasn't played that many games. He's
got like twelve games. And if I mean basically he
owns is it the NFC South. He's just destroyed that
whole division. Like what that division stinks?
Speaker 3 (01:56):
It's the worst than football. So what that he's.
Speaker 4 (01:58):
Beating Carolina in Atlanta and he's stacking numbers like, let
me see you against good teams.
Speaker 3 (02:03):
I'm sorry, I just I can't get anywhere near that, Like,
I don't even know a five team quarterback.
Speaker 4 (02:09):
Ask your guy next cosel Is bo Nick's the top
fifteen quarter I guarantee you.
Speaker 3 (02:13):
He's not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (02:14):
But the whole premise of today's show was anybody can go.
Josh Allen's good. Patrick Mahomes is good. The point of
that game was can you spot it before you got it?
Can you see it before you have it? And my
take is obvious. I like Jayden Daniels more, I like
(02:36):
Herbert Burrow, c J. Stroud Moore, the two toughies. There's
three toughies, like Jordan Love. Bow Nicks is hard for me.
So bow Knicks tends to be an anticipatory thrower. He
throws it before guys are open. Jordan Love isn't. Jordan's
just see it, throw it now. He's got a better
arm and he's more athletic, and I like him, But
I'm also seeing the reckless thing with bow Knicks. Or
(02:59):
sometimes he throws it late, he tries to squeeze it
in because he's got an arm that bow Knicks doesn't.
So it's I think it depends on the coach, like
I think if you asked a defensive coach, which one
they take bow Knicks because he didn't turn it over.
I think if you asked an offensive coach, many would
say Jordan Love. I'll deal with his floor, but I
love his ceiling. So Jordan's ceiling is higher than Bo's ceiling.
(03:24):
And I think it's it's it's depends on the choice.
Let's bring in Greg co Sell on that forty five
years NFL films. So we played a game Bo or No,
and I said, I don't think he's Burrow or Herbert
or his explosive as Jayden Daniels. But we got into
this bow Knicks Jalen Hurts territory where I'm like, right,
(03:44):
I from the pocket. I like bow knicks in the
Philly offense. I like Jalen Hurts. But I mean, let
me just ask you. If I said Jalen Hurts bow
knicks most offenses ninety percent of the time is from
the pocket, what is the film say, from the pocket
Hurts your bon Nicks.
Speaker 5 (04:05):
I think that you'd say that bone Nicks is a
far more efficient pocket player than Jalen Hurts. Jalen Hurts
is a quarterback that can make plays outside of structure.
But Jalen Hurts is not going to make a lot
of between the numbers window throws within structure and timing.
And we've actually studied that in great detail on my
(04:25):
show and there's very few of those plays. We're going
to get to bone Nicks later, obviously, but bon Nicks
has shown the ability even as a rookie to make
window throws. And I've always felt and bon Nicks can
move too, by the way, he's a plus athlete, but
if you're going to be really effective from the pocket
in the NFL, really effective, then you need to be
(04:46):
able to throw between the numbers and make window throws
between defenders. Bone Nicks has shown the ability to do that.
That is not a strength of Jalen Hurts.
Speaker 1 (04:55):
Okay, So that was my takeaway is in the Philly offense.
But if you're asked ninety percent of offensive coordinators the
Shanahans and mcveigh's Stafford's throwing that ball right down the
middle of the field and you got to make those
in this league. Okay, So let's go Greg to the
Pittsburgh Steelers. We know Mike's good coach. Defensively, we know
they've drafted and developed defensive players. But they have flummoxed
(05:19):
Lamar Jackson where everybody else's struggle, they've flummaxed. I mean,
he's literally a bad quarterback against them. What do they
do so well overall and against Lamar?
Speaker 5 (05:31):
Well, one of the things I think they do is
they play Lamar in many ways as if they're playing
another quarterback. In other words, they're very aggressive, they play
man coverage. They don't necessarily go into the game with
the idea that we have to play specially just because
it's Lamar. They almost take a proactive approach Colin that
we are a really good defense.
Speaker 6 (05:53):
Okay, so he's got to beat us.
Speaker 5 (05:55):
We're not necessarily going to change our game to play
against him. And they have some really good players who
are sort of unknown, and one of those players on
their defensive front we obviously know about what we know
herbig is A has become a really good player, and
he's now playing because high Smith is hurt. But there's
(06:15):
a defensive tackle they have. I think he's a top
five defensive tackle in this league, and that's Keano Benton.
Speaker 6 (06:22):
He's a second year player out of Wisconsin.
Speaker 5 (06:25):
He is now playing probably fifty five snaps a game
because he plays as a pass rusher as well, and
he is.
Speaker 6 (06:31):
A really really good player.
Speaker 5 (06:33):
And they have two nickel packages, one with Landon Roberts,
who's a run stuffing linebacker, and the other with the
rookie from NC State, Peyton Wilson, who is an athletic, long, flexible,
active pass defender. And they're really really good with these
specific players.
Speaker 1 (06:50):
So it's one thing that Harbach and coach and reshapes culture.
But this defense was atrocious last year. But I want
to talk about offense. Lad mcconkee looks like a very
good two. Their tight ends are suboptimal. JK. Dobbins is good.
We always knew that, but you know, we saw the injuries.
It feels like he figured out the culture and the
(07:13):
defense pretty quickly with Jesse Minter, and that the offense
has taken some work with hardball to get it right.
Have you noticed anything over the last six weeks to
make this offense and maybe it's just Herbert's health to
make it more refined.
Speaker 5 (07:29):
Well, it's an offense first of all, that's incredibly multiple
with their use of personnel. It's incredibly multiple with their
use of formations, they're very.
Speaker 6 (07:37):
Good with play action.
Speaker 5 (07:39):
Obviously, Herbert, he's a different player than Greg Roman had
it with Lamar. Herbert can drive the ball down the field,
and in fact, over the last four or five games,
Herbert has driven the ball down the field as well
or better than any quarterback in the league in terms
of throwing the ball twenty plus yards and beyond from
the line of scrimmage. Sober gives you that dimension off
(08:01):
the run element, because the run element is a big deal,
both in terms of personnel formation and volumes. And they're
very good in the RPO game for obvious reasons because
of the run element. And as we know, the RPO
game has a run element and a pass element to it.
Speaker 6 (08:17):
But we're seeing a play here.
Speaker 5 (08:18):
This is a big time scene throw by Herbert, and
you know that's what.
Speaker 6 (08:23):
He gives them.
Speaker 5 (08:23):
He gives them and added dimension to this offense that
Lamar didn't quite give this offense. Lamar gave you other
things that Herbert doesn't give you, but Herbert, in the
pass element.
Speaker 6 (08:35):
Of this style of offense, gives you more.
Speaker 1 (08:38):
Okay, So Buffalo's offense, it's always been a little Josh
Allen put the cape on and save it. But this
past week against the great Kansas City defense, without key
on the rookie, without Kincaid, without a right tackle, I mean,
they almost had four hundred yards. They were great on
third down, They dominate time of possession. How I mean
(08:59):
is it looks like it's the most interesting Bills offense
since Josh got there.
Speaker 5 (09:06):
Well, you know, it's funny you say that, Colin, because
I found that to be one of the most sort
of enigma wrapped in a riddle performances that I've seen
all the year, because they could not run the ball,
yet they controlled the ball for over thirty four minutes
and were phenomenal on third down, and so that's really strange.
One thing they've done all year, by the way, is
(09:27):
in the low red zone ten yards and in they've
been able to run the ball really, really effectively. And
that's a really important element. And of course Josh Allen
is a part of that. But James Cook has been
really effective in the low red zone, scoring touchdowns. He's
a little more physical than people think. And I'm certainly
(09:48):
not comparing James Cook to Emmitt Smith or saying that
their offense is like the Cowboys of the early nineties.
But remember how when the Cowboys got in the low
red zone, they just gave it to Emmett and they
seem like they scored all the time. The Bills they
get in the low red zone and James Cook scores touchdowns.
I think he's got eleven touchdowns this year, and the
large majority come from the low red zone. They don't
(10:10):
have what you'd call a true number one receiver. Obviously
Cooper is there now, but he's only played two games,
so we don't know exactly how that will play out,
but they're kind of I think what Josh Allen has
done better this year Colin than any previous year far
and away, is minimize risk. And that's a weird thing
to say about Josh Allen the way people normally think
(10:32):
about him. But he's minimized risk this year more than
he ever has.
Speaker 1 (10:37):
Okay, Shane Waldron got moved out, Caleb Williams. It looked
like to me when we played with them, they schemed
up six or seven layups, They got rid of the
ball quicker did the Bears. You know, it didn't produce
lots of touchdowns, but it did feel like they made
a move in a positive direction with a new play caller.
Speaker 5 (11:01):
Well, one of the things that really stood out to me,
and I think with a quarterback like Kila Williams, no
matter how gifted he is, and by the way, he
is one of the most gifted throwers I've seen recently,
just the way the ball comes out, but you needed
to sort of build up his confidence build it back.
So what is something that he's very comfortable with? Colin,
He's very comfortable running the football. That's just one of
(11:23):
those that's who he is, you know, besides being a
great thrower, He's just really comfortable running the ball. So
one thing I noticed, particularly early in the game, on
third down, they didn't give him any checkdowns. So that
led me to believe that they probably told him, if
that receiver is not there, if the primary is not
there on third and eight, let's say, just take off
(11:44):
and run. And he did that a couple of times
and gained first downs. And I think that helped him
settle into the game, because clearly as the game progressed,
you could see the comfort level in the way he
was delivering the football increase. Now early in the game,
just being on he missed some basic concepts, the same
basic concepts. He missed with Stane Waldron, he missed with
(12:06):
Thomas Brown, but I think they were trying to play
to how he feels most comfortable.
Speaker 6 (12:11):
Now we'll see if that can continue.
Speaker 5 (12:14):
The best throw he made was that outcut to Comet
for twenty five yards, which was the flood concept, which
was a beautifully thrown ball. Precise ball, location, required pace
and touch when he throws it, and he's comfortable.
Speaker 6 (12:27):
He is a pretty thrower.
Speaker 1 (12:29):
Okay. I want to talk about a team that we
never discussed. They don't have much of a brand. If
they do, it's bad Arizona. Kyler Murray is expensive, he
can get hurt. You hear the stories about commitment. I
don't love him, but they have furnished him with some
really nice pieces. Has this offense and Kyler been the
(12:50):
key to the winning streak or are we overlooking their
defense and other elements?
Speaker 5 (12:56):
Well, I think the run game with James Connor has
often overlooked. With his team, Connor averages about sixteen seventeen
carries a game, and I'm sure not a lot of
people realize that about James Connor. And he's a strong,
powerful inside runner and a lot of their runs are
interior runs, and he's a sustainer. And the other thing,
which probably would be surprising is he's got a little
(13:17):
more big playability than people think. He has the second
most ten plus yard runs in the National Football League,
and I think only Saquon Barkley has more. So he's
a guy that is both a sustainer and provides a
big play element as well, and that really helps Kyler
Murray of course, because he's part of the run game.
Speaker 6 (13:37):
So now it's just not a matter of dealing with Kyler.
Speaker 5 (13:40):
You have to stop a base run game where they
just line up and give it to James Connor. So
he's a critical piece of this entire team really, because
now if you can run the ball like that, you
can control the pace and tempo of games.
Speaker 6 (13:54):
And their defense, which by.
Speaker 5 (13:56):
The way, is incredibly well schemed under Jonathan Gannon but
doesn't really have stars with the exception possibly of Buddha Baker.
Jonathan Gannon does a terrific job with how he schemes
up his defense.
Speaker 1 (14:09):
I want to go to Philadelphia because I've said I
think there are three teams now that look like Super
Bowl Trophy teams. Kansas City, Buffalo Detroit. Philadelphia is the
enigma for me is that Jalen Hurts isn't great from
the pocket. I don't trust Nick Serianni, but I'm watching
their defense against Jaden Daniels, and for years the back
(14:32):
end was a huge liability and it doesn't feel like
it is. So let's talk Philadelphia's defense. They bottle up
a Jaden Daniels, What say you? What do you see?
Speaker 6 (14:44):
Well?
Speaker 5 (14:44):
Their defense is playing really, really well, and it's a
lot of the details of defense.
Speaker 6 (14:49):
It's the Vic Fangio scheme.
Speaker 5 (14:51):
So what that means is you start with what's called
a quarters structure, meaning you've got two safeties that are
about twelve yards off the ball, two corners that are
about seven yards off the ball. It's a quarter structure
and you can do anything from that structure.
Speaker 6 (15:05):
But one thing about the Fangio.
Speaker 5 (15:07):
Defense that's often overlooked because of the way they coach
the back end is the importance of linebackers second level
defenders as past coverage players. They really want their linebackers
to get more depth in coverage than a lot of
teams do. The way it's coached, so Zach Bond and
Nakobe Dean have gotten better and better and better at
(15:30):
being able to do that, and it's been absolutely critical.
Speaker 6 (15:34):
Plus, one thing.
Speaker 5 (15:34):
They do really really well is they re route interior
receivers slot guys, and that really helps the back end.
That's exactly what happened last week on the Reblankenship interception.
Speaker 6 (15:46):
Cooper dejen did a great.
Speaker 5 (15:48):
Job of rerouting Noah Brown and it allowed Blankenship to
stay outside of Brown and making the interception. But they
have played really, really well as a unit, and it's
all in the details.
Speaker 1 (15:59):
By the way, say Kwon. Barkley's obviously talented, and the
Eagles generally have good old lines. Does he do? Is
there something about Saquon Barkley. I always think he's such
a thoughtful guy whenever he talks, and my take is
when I watch him play, I think he's a thoughtful
running back. Like he's a thoughtful guy, Like his ability
to see holes is better than average to me. But
(16:21):
they also have a great offensive line. But there is
something different, like stylistically, what does he do that not
all backs do? That is special?
Speaker 5 (16:32):
Well, I'd say this, and I think you hit it
right on the head when you said there's something different
this year. I've watched him since his days at Penn State,
and I always felt watching his tape it's all based
on tape study. It was that he was an explosive back,
but despite his size column not a true sustaining back,
not a great confined space runner.
Speaker 6 (16:51):
This year, he has been.
Speaker 5 (16:53):
So much better running in confined space and being a sustainer.
In addition to the fact that he can take it
to the house on any given play, He's worked so
much better in those tight areas.
Speaker 6 (17:04):
He's been a reaccelerator.
Speaker 5 (17:06):
I learned that from Fred Taylor years ago when you
talked about the ability when you're working inside and you
sort of have to slow down a little to then reaccelerate,
and that's a really hard trade for running backs. So
Barkley this year has been better than ever than I've
ever seen him at working between the tackles inside in
that small area, and I just think it's the best
(17:28):
we've ever seen him.
Speaker 1 (17:30):
Yeah, he's fun to watch. Okay, finally we'll start. I've
been talking about bon Nicks and I said, listen, I
got seven eight games. You should be Yeah, seven eight
games in a row. I've seen him, and I know
Sean Payton's great, but they don't have great personnel. I
like Courtland Sutton, they have backs. I like they have
a great left tackle, but they don't have a lot
of great personnel their defense. Actually, I think it's got
better overall personnel. Your thoughts on bone Nicks before we
(17:52):
get to your play of the week.
Speaker 5 (17:55):
Yeah, I really like what I've seen from bon Nicks.
He's gotten incrementally better every week. I had a chance
to spend time with bow Nicks in the draft process Colin,
and he is an incredibly intelligent kid.
Speaker 6 (18:05):
One thing that maybe a lot of people wouldn't be.
Speaker 5 (18:08):
Aware is he called all the protections at Oregon and
that's not something that a lot of college quarterbacks do.
So he came into the NFL pretty savvy and aware
about defensive fronts, about pressure schemes, and when you combine
him with how Sean Payton coaches offense and how he
gets receivers open, particularly primary receivers, it's really a good fit.
(18:30):
And there's an efficiency to Nix's game. I mean, look
at last week, he was twenty eight to thirty three,
So receivers don't have to be great.
Speaker 6 (18:38):
To play in this offense.
Speaker 5 (18:40):
And the receiver who catches the ball on The big
play that we can go to now was a late
round pick out of Utah Devon Velly. You're probably familiar
with him being out in the m PAC twelve area
and you know he's become in a sense, their number
two receiver behind Sutton. But this play, to me, we
spoke early on about window throwing. This is exactly what
(19:02):
we're talking about. This is really really hard. So he's
in the gun in a three by one set. Now
what are you going to get from the defense Is
you're going to get kind of a split coverage here.
They're going to play cover four to the boundary, okay,
and they're going.
Speaker 6 (19:16):
To play cover two to the field.
Speaker 5 (19:18):
You see this a lot in the NFL, these variations
of quarters coverage where there's still two deep safeties. So
now what are they going to run? The route concept
here is going to be the tight end. Nate Atkins
is going to run a short route and Velly, who's
about six three six y four I remember doing his
tape coming out of Utah, He's going to run the
seam route here. So in some ways, it's kind of
(19:41):
a high low version here. Now, when you run a
seam because it is split safety. That's a good concept
to run a seam route in the middle of the field,
but you've got to deal with the linebackers, the underneath
the fenders, and we know that that's safety because it's
Cover two. Is going to retreat because that's what safeties
do in cover two. So now as you run this,
(20:01):
you're going to see that the linebackers, the second level players,
they do drop back here. So now that tells Nick
that the throw has to be layered. He can't drive this.
Boy has to layer the throw into that void in
the middle. But the key thing here, and this is
really good, is there's no one to control, no route
(20:23):
that controls the backside safety Jesse Bates, so he can
slide inside. So this throw has to really beat Baits
as well as get over the underneath the fenders. This
is a big time windows throw and you have to
be able to make these throws. You can see it
really well here. Look how tight this is when you
see it from this angle. So he's made a lot
(20:45):
of these throws. Colin, and I gotta tell you his arm.
While it's not a gun, we're not saying it's top
five gun. It's been stronger in the NFL than I
think a lot of us would have thought coming out,
including myself.
Speaker 1 (20:58):
Yep, same here. I said this early. I had real
I saw him live twice in college. My question was,
he's got a Derek Carr arm. It's okay, it's not special.
It's gotten better. Aaron Rodgers' arm got better from Cal
to Green Bay. Bo Nix has a better arm today
than he did in college a year ago. I don't
see there's any question about that.
Speaker 6 (21:17):
I agree.
Speaker 1 (21:17):
Yeah, Greg co Selazols forty five years NFL Films.
Speaker 6 (21:21):
Thanks Greg, Thanks con appreciate it.
Speaker 1 (21:25):
By the way, Lane Kiffin Old Miss some believe a
team good enough to win the national championship. Why Lane
is fascinating. Ole Miss just went and paid for a
new team. They went and paid for stars and NIL team.
I mean he does some high school recruiting. Obviously, it's
a different approach. I think it's harder to build chemistry
and culture that way. But Old Miss is the real deal,
and I want to talk to Lay and the other thing.
(21:46):
I was thinking about this yesterday. College football is harder
to coach now than ever because of the transfer portal. Nil,
you got to be a GM and a coach. Let
me ask you this. Yesterday we talked about everybody wants
to hire an offensive coach. Vrabel and Belichick top two
candidate's defensive coaches. If Lane Kiffin takes Old Miss to
the Natty win or lose, is he not the best
(22:08):
offensive candidate available in the NFL. He's already coached there,
Just a thought, just a thought, a thought exercise, j Mac.
Just like when I pushed back on brock perties better
than Mahomes. It was just a thought exercise.
Speaker 6 (22:23):
Another thought.
Speaker 4 (22:24):
Ask Lane Kiffin about Dart Is he one of these
quarterbacks that could rise up the NFL draft rankings because
we're looking for a third guy in You seem to
like Riley Leonard. I'm partial to Milroe, but he's got
a good kid in Dart. You remember he was at USC.
Speaker 1 (22:39):
Well, Milroe's better now than Riley Leonard, that's no question. Yeah,
the question is down the road. Josh Allen wasn't very
good in college. Now he's great. How do you recognize
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Speaker 2 (23:06):
Heard The Herd streams twenty four hours a day, seven
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Speaker 6 (23:15):
Joining us.
Speaker 1 (23:15):
This hour Julian Edelman in studio. Next hour. Jmack with
the news.
Speaker 2 (23:20):
No, no turn on the news. This is the Herd
Line News.
Speaker 6 (23:25):
One of the.
Speaker 4 (23:25):
Crazier stories of the season is this forty nine ers
malaise if you will. They headed into week twelve with
a five hundred record, massive injuries all season. Brock Purty
not a great showing against Seattle, though. You know I
could defend him if you need me to. But Kyle
Shanahan made sure to dispel the notion that his quarterback,
Brock Perty has regressed.
Speaker 7 (23:47):
It's hard to make a lot of progress. That's the
way he played last year, and it was hard to
make a lot of progress after the way he played
this seven games in his first year. So I think
Brock's playing at the exact same level. I think there's
different circumstances around them. So I think Brock's doing a
lot of good things. But we're all gonna be jush
on winning games, and that's worry. Our team's got to
find a better way to win it there in the
fourth so we can get a record, right.
Speaker 1 (24:07):
I actually agree. I think brox Brock, I think he's
been fine. I didn't have him at this elevated level
you did, but I think he's been He's not the issue.
I think they've got a lot of issues. One of
them is their defense. Laighton games, it's not very good.
Speaker 4 (24:19):
Play calling Layton games has not been very good. The
special teams has been.
Speaker 1 (24:22):
A busine awful special team.
Speaker 3 (24:24):
So here's here's the weird thing.
Speaker 4 (24:25):
If you rewatched that Seattle forty nine ers you into
the condensed version, Yeah, you can see as soon as
Bosa goes off the field, Seattle goes right down the
field for two touchdowns.
Speaker 3 (24:35):
When Bosa's on.
Speaker 4 (24:35):
The field, they only had six they couldn't do anything,
and they did that. They noticed no Kittle Seattle defensively,
so they just played with one high safety and dared
san Fran to run and they couldn't.
Speaker 3 (24:44):
They just stacked the box and there's nobody to break
the game open with no Au, no Kittle. Yeah, so
forty nine is not in a great place.
Speaker 4 (24:51):
That being said, Lafleur did talk this week and said
the forty nine Ers are still one of the premier
teams in the league. They're as good as anybody. However,
let's show some Rock parties just for the haters out there.
Brock Purty this season numbers a little depressed from last year.
Took his yards per a tempter down, his touchdowns are
way down.
Speaker 3 (25:10):
I'll let you take some pot shots at Rock if
you care to.
Speaker 1 (25:14):
No, those numbers are fine. I've said before I had
the Brock's fine. He's had done ninety six passer rating.
That's what you are. When Trent Williams may not be
one hundred percent, Christian McCaffrey's gone, and Brandon Ayouk's gone.
So I listen. I've said, I think Brock Purtty's a
franchise guy. The numbers really important.
Speaker 3 (25:30):
That's everything.
Speaker 1 (25:31):
That's what I say. If it's forty million, I'm good.
If it's forty eight, I'm not as good.
Speaker 3 (25:34):
Dak at forty mili great, Dak at sixty.
Speaker 1 (25:37):
Get the hell out of right. So I think I
think brock Purtty. I won't take a shot. I think
actually him being as efficient as he's been without his
deep threat. An older left tackle questions it right tackle Kittle,
hot and cold. McCaffrey out is actually the best argument
for Brock Purty. He doesn't have all his toys that now.
(25:59):
I look at Purty and think, okay, yeah, that's fine.
He's a franchise quarterback. It's just he's a number. Burrow Herbert.
Pay him what you gotta pay him, Alan Lamar Mahomes,
pay him what you gotta pay him. There are the
next level of quarterbacks? Is what's the number?
Speaker 4 (26:17):
As my eleven year old daughter would say to that response, actually, like,
I can't believe you're saying nice things about Purty and
defending him.
Speaker 3 (26:25):
No, col, I'm sounned. I'm really proud of you man.
You're all grown up. Now, well done, Let's go on
to the next story. And this is like a quiet
disaster in New York.
Speaker 4 (26:33):
So Dexter Lawrence, a remember, came out yesterday and was like,
why are we benching Daniel Jones.
Speaker 3 (26:37):
He's our best quarterback.
Speaker 4 (26:39):
Well, Brian Dabole has now been forced to respond to
Dexter Lawrence Colin.
Speaker 3 (26:43):
The Giants are a mess.
Speaker 8 (26:46):
I got a lot of respect for dex Dexa's you know,
been a teammate of Daniel for a while.
Speaker 1 (26:50):
There's a pretty good relationship with thereon.
Speaker 8 (26:52):
Look, everybody's not going to agree with the decision, and
I understand that we make the decision we feel his best,
and then we move forward and get ready to go
for practice. Hereby's gonna have certain opinions. I got a
lot of respect for all our players.
Speaker 2 (27:03):
I think we're we're focused.
Speaker 8 (27:04):
We'll be focused and do what we need to do
to play our best against Tampa.
Speaker 4 (27:10):
So it's little, but this was five and a half yesterday.
It's now ticked up to six.
Speaker 3 (27:15):
As there.
Speaker 4 (27:15):
I wonder if people are like, oh boy, if Dexter Lawrence,
the leader of the defense, is wondering what the hell
we're doing pulling Daniel Jones, Is everybody gonna follow suit
when we get a half ass effort from the weather.
Speaker 1 (27:26):
Like like, I don't like Florida teams in November, December,
January going up north.
Speaker 3 (27:32):
I hadn't thought about that angle.
Speaker 4 (27:33):
Mike Evans expected to maybe return back at practice this week.
That's a good get back, Thibodeau for the Giants should
be back. I think the move is to take the
Giants here, but oh, they're just they're broths, like yuck,
they's just anyways, final story, let's go to the NBA.
Speaker 3 (27:51):
I know you were tuned into this one.
Speaker 4 (27:52):
Milwaukee Bucks got a big performance from be Honest, Unstoppable
forty one nine and eight, including twenty five even the
third quarter he literally was running his own layup line
against the Bulls.
Speaker 3 (28:04):
Chicago is not very good. Giannis is fifty game with
at least forty.
Speaker 4 (28:08):
Points, and Dame Lillard had ten assists. Bucks have now
won or second straight, I think three or four. They're
starting not quite to percolate. I mean, the Bulls stink,
but the Bucks are getting past that early season struggle.
Speaker 3 (28:23):
Yeah, Colling, you think they'll be okay or no, I'm
with you.
Speaker 1 (28:27):
I think there's limited I think they are a trade
deadline team. They have got now here's the problem. Nobody's
given up good young wing defenders. So I mean it's
like one of those things in the NFL, like nobody
gives up a great offensive tackle left or right. They
just don't give him up. You've got a draft, Yeah,
nobody's you know, nobody's given you McHale Bridges. That's why
(28:47):
when the Knicks got Michale, You're like, that just doesn't
happen in the league. It's hard to get those guys
in their prime. So I think they've got real structural issues.
I mean, Philadelphia's got personality issue. Milwaukee has structural issues.
To me, it's Boston, Cleveland, Knicks. You can have the
(29:08):
rest of the East.
Speaker 4 (29:09):
I don't know how much of this you watch, but
like when Yannis goes off the court column, oh my gosh,
the Bucks are terrible. It's like the Jokics when Yokis
leaves the game, you know the but the Nuggets regress
badly because he doesn't let me.
Speaker 1 (29:21):
Let me ask you this, what's up with the Pacers?
Didn't we love them at the end of left I
love them. I'm happy.
Speaker 3 (29:27):
I'm a little rattled by that question. I have not
I don't even know what the record.
Speaker 1 (29:30):
Is, Okay, I'm just say are a lot of people
are saying Halli Burton's not the same player. A lot
of people are saying.
Speaker 3 (29:36):
That that's not great.
Speaker 1 (29:38):
I like the Facers last year you had him as
Magic Johnson and John Stockton hybrid.
Speaker 3 (29:43):
Tyrese Tell can we get back to talking about the Lakers.
They got a game tonight.
Speaker 1 (29:47):
Youre gonna watch it? That Lakers?
Speaker 6 (29:48):
Orlando?
Speaker 1 (29:49):
Where's it that Orlando?
Speaker 6 (29:50):
Y'all?
Speaker 1 (29:51):
Watch what's top four thirty? I think so, I think
I'm going to Coushm to watch that or something.
Speaker 6 (29:56):
Are you? Yeah?
Speaker 3 (29:56):
Thanks for the invite.
Speaker 1 (29:58):
A lot of big things happen with management.
Speaker 3 (30:00):
Yeah, clearly, Oh, management hanging out with you, not me?
Speaker 1 (30:03):
Huh.
Speaker 3 (30:03):
I guess my days are numbered here, all right?
Speaker 8 (30:06):
JMA the news, Well that's the news, and thanks for
stopping by the Herd Line news.
Speaker 1 (30:14):
Lane Kiffin's around the corner. You know, I noticed something, Jmack.
I don't know if I should give you this yet.
It's interesting. I just don't want to. I'm gonna save
it next. It's interesting. I think I think you'll like it.
It's kind of fascinating.
Speaker 2 (30:28):
Be sure to catch live editions of The Herd weekdays
at noon Easter nine am Pacific on Fox Sports Radio
FS one and the iHeartRadio app.
Speaker 1 (30:37):
So I was telling you, J Mack, this is interesting.
So I looked at the NFL draft order right now?
Is the NFL getting a little NBA ish? Where the
middle in the bottom of the league is getting bigger
and less watchable. So right now we're in week twelve
of eighteen, and there are nine teams in the NFL
that can barely compete. Nine teams with three or fewer
(31:00):
wins nine of thirty two Jacksonville, Tennessee, Cleveland, Giants, Vegas,
New England, Jets, Carolina, and Dallas. Some of these teams
are already soft tanking. I don't remember a year when
multiple teams were doing that, And so why would this be?
Because as the NFL gets more quarterback centric, and I
(31:20):
think that's pretty clear and more quarterback reliant that if
you don't have one, you're bailing water. I mean, we're
going into week twelve and these I mean you start
looking at these teams, Jags, Titans, Brown, Jets, Panthers, Patriots,
some of these are soft tanking already. So you don't
(31:41):
want to become the NBA where you have great teams
at the top, a small middle class, a small soft
middle and then garbage at the bottom. Nine. That's the NBA,
and that's a problem. You want as many watchable, viable teams. Now,
some of these teams without a lot of wins, like
Chicago is still very captivating because Kayleb Williams is an
insane talent. Not every team that's building or becoming something
(32:05):
is on what I mean. You know, I watch Washington,
they're kind of slumping now, they're a fascinating team to
watch with a great future. I think Chicago's gonna win games.
And I still think the top of the NFL is
great and the middle is good. The middle of the
NBA is not good, but you don't want to become
NBA where you're just relying. If you don't have two stars,
(32:26):
you can't compete and become unwatchable. And I do think
is that the league made a choice years ago to
become more offensively centric and more quarterback centric. Why because
once you pay quarterbacks forty five to fifty sixty million dollars,
the owner's a light. You have to protect these kids.
These are the number one asset. You got to protect them.
So the rules all veered smartly to protect human beings
to less shots at quarterback. Can't drive your body on quarterback,
(32:50):
and people complain, but you want quarterbacks healthy. And so
it's just interesting. Right now the bottom of the NFL
is getting larger and less competitive, and that the NFL's
Oh now, Now, the NFL does provide the ability in
just one off season to get good fast if you
get the right coach or quarterback or both. I mean,
Harbaugh's changed the Chargers, Sean McVay changed the Rams. And
(33:14):
so I want to go to Lane Kiffin, who's fascinating.
He's coached in college multiple spots, he coach in the NFL,
and right now there are a lot of people that
think this is the most underrated team in college football,
the only team that's top five in offense and defense
and laying it's unique. You've coached on the West Coast,
you coach in the NFL, you've coached in the South,
You've coached small college football. What I find fascinating is
(33:36):
that you went heavy into the NIL and bought star players.
And now I have to ask you, because I'm seeing
a lot of coaches struggle with this and you're not.
How do you build chemistry and culture when you kind
of went the free agent route in college football? You've
done it. Other teams are struggling with it. How did
you do it in the transfer portal nil world.
Speaker 9 (34:00):
Well, Colin, that's a lot of work, you know, And
I think some trial and error, you know, when the
first when it first started, and and I kind of
looked at professional sports, not just football, but like basketball
that just because you put together free agent teams that
seem like they should be good on paper. You see
it all the time in basketball, and then they don't
play away, they don't make the playoffs, don't play well.
Speaker 10 (34:22):
Because on paper it was.
Speaker 9 (34:23):
So we spend a lot a lot of time as
we put together these players who they were. You know,
you can't you can't buy culture. You can buy players,
but you can't buy culture. So to me, we had
to have a culture set that we had to get
the right guys and also even look at even within
a position group. You know a guy, how does that
(34:43):
guy fit from a culture standpoint, and what do we
have in the room in case the guy's not great
culture that we can still manage him well enough that
he plays well and fits into the team.
Speaker 10 (34:54):
Because everybody's not perfect.
Speaker 1 (34:56):
So you're obviously a very clever offensive coach, but under
Saban you probably stole a trick or two because your
ole miss team is a sack machine. Did you take?
I mean, you've become somebody and this again, this isn't
everybody you're an offensive guy, but yet your defense feels
like you pay attention to it. Is some of that
(35:17):
a little Saban influenced possibly, or Pete Carroll, Well.
Speaker 9 (35:23):
I think number one, that's really good players. We have
much better defensive players than we had at the beginning
when we got here, and so it's taken some time
to do that. We did take Nick Saban's coordinator and
Pete Golding, so we got that system. So you are
right on that part, and Pete Golding's done an amazing
job with these guys schematically, as we've put together these
(35:46):
pieces that some were here last year, some decided to
come back instead of go to the NFL, and then
we obviously brought some in as your highlights our show.
Princely brought in a lot of play and that started
with that Georgia game a year ago. You know, we
worge to beat us pretty bad, and it was very
obvious to me from the beginning of the game. We
(36:07):
didn't look like they did, and our line of scrimmages
were not like theirs, and they bullied us and really
looked at it.
Speaker 10 (36:13):
Hey, if you're going to.
Speaker 9 (36:14):
Beat the ball, you got to kind of become the bully.
And so we got a lot of players that are bigger, longer, stronger,
faster to fit that mold and not just try to
outscore people. You know, I said, at the end of
the day, these guys like Princely, as you see they're
on that clip, they end games. So we kind of
looked at it from the NFL model too, of like, Okay,
(36:35):
where are we going to put our energy and recruiting,
where are we going to pay certain positions, and much
like much different than traditional offensive teams that you know,
load up on offense. We said, no, we've got to
make sure we have defensive linemen and we got to
make sure that we got some ends that can close
out games.
Speaker 10 (36:53):
When we take these guys to the ND, they're there
to finish them.
Speaker 9 (36:56):
And ironically, Princely was not available for the LSU game
and he didn't play in the fourth quarter of the
Kentucky game.
Speaker 10 (37:02):
Both times need fourth down pass rushes to stop him.
Speaker 1 (37:06):
I want to touch this before we go almost takes
on Florida, this team, many believe is the dark horse
to win it all.
Speaker 6 (37:12):
Lane.
Speaker 1 (37:12):
If you decided tomorrow, let's say you go to the
National championship, win or lose, you would be the number
one free agent offensive mind going to the NFL. You
will be offered a job. Absolutely, Why wouldn't you take it?
Speaker 10 (37:28):
This is really neat in order.
Speaker 9 (37:30):
You know, the way to build college teams now has
become like the NFL, from evaluation, obviously, paying players, putting
together your roster.
Speaker 10 (37:41):
But you still have the really neat.
Speaker 9 (37:43):
College elements of the fans and the passion and the
small towns, and.
Speaker 10 (37:48):
So I really enjoy where we're at. I really like it.
I really like that.
Speaker 9 (37:52):
Also when you win, the thing that I don't like
about the NFL, when you win, you kind of get
punished to draft.
Speaker 1 (37:57):
Laugh.
Speaker 10 (37:58):
When you win more.
Speaker 9 (37:58):
In college, you're able to go get better players because
now they see, man, I can go there and win championship.
I can go there and meet Georgia. So we've spent
a lot of time to get it up to this place.
That wouldn't make a whole lot of sense to me.
Speaker 1 (38:10):
You've leaned into the social media. I think it's great. Nick,
by the way, and you people can look and say, oh,
they fought, but there's such an obvious mutual respect between
you two. We've only got forty five seconds left. I
do think you're the unique combination. Are you worried at all?
If you get in your first game could be up
in nine degrees in Columbus or nine degrees in Penn State.
(38:34):
You're a guy, you know, you know Southern Calva South?
Is that a real thing out there? A real concern
Southern teams heading north in December?
Speaker 9 (38:44):
Yeah, and I'm just gonna speak in general, not you know,
because we got a lot of games left.
Speaker 10 (38:48):
We've got two games left we got to win. But yeah,
that's a concern, just like the old days of Tampa
Bay going up to Green Bay.
Speaker 9 (38:54):
Yeah, you know that that's a concern that people will
have and that they're not used to at all or
sometimes in the NFL. You've played throughout the year up there,
you know the South teams haven't. So you know, the
good answer to that is played really well in your games,
performerly well at the end of the season so that
you end up playing at home.
Speaker 1 (39:14):
Yes, it sounds simple, but it is the SEC. They're
at Florida this weekend. Watch Old Miss. It is NFL bodies,
It is creative offense. They have an NFL quarterback. Thirty
seconds left, Jackson Dark. He's six to two, he's got
an arm. I've seen him. I saw him play at
the camp one time. Is he a first round pick
(39:34):
to you?
Speaker 9 (39:37):
He's an amazing leader. He really helped put the like
no player I've ever seen. He helped put this roster together.
Speaker 10 (39:44):
In the offseason.
Speaker 9 (39:45):
He was on the phone with a rush in with
a right corner, you know, helping putting this team together
because he's like, I'm coming back.
Speaker 10 (39:52):
I want to do something really special.
Speaker 9 (39:54):
So somebody's gonna get a really special player and a
really special leader.
Speaker 1 (39:58):
That's great. I love hearing that. We're watching some Jackson
Dart awesome. Look at that throw. Holy god, that's a
good throw. Lane Kiffin, you look good. Good luck. Gainesville
is crazy and an amazing Is that at home or
you old miss or you at home or your road
this week, let's see where it is.
Speaker 10 (40:15):
We are in the swamp Newton kickoff.
Speaker 1 (40:18):
That's loud.
Speaker 10 (40:19):
Nine am. You're time.
Speaker 1 (40:20):
It's loud, dude. I've been to the swamp. It's loud.
You better tell your team it's loud. I hope you
get my head's up on that.
Speaker 10 (40:26):
I've been there, Lane Kiffin. Great scene against some TVO
and Urban Meyer there. It was really loud for number
one in the country.
Speaker 1 (40:35):
Thanks Lane, good luck to Old Miss eight and two
nine in the college football playoff and he has built
something special offense and defense. NFL quarterback Lane Kiffin, great stuff.
Julian Edelman last hour. They're good, dude, if you watched
them play. That is NFL bodies, NFL quarterback, NFL coach.
There's a dark horse to win it. It's Old Miss
(40:57):
all right, our three coming up live in La. It's
the Herd.
Thanks for listening to The Herd podcast. Be sure to
catch us live every weekday on Fox Sports Radio in
noon to three Eastern nine am to noone Pacific. Find
your local station for The Herd at Fox Sports Radio
dot com, or stream us live every day on the
iHeartRadio app by searching Fox Sports Radio or FSR.
Speaker 2 (00:21):
You're listening to Fox Sports Radio.
Speaker 1 (00:25):
So Jmax all fired up on our bow or no segment,
So he did say during the break, he goes, I
would take brock Purty over Bonix and Jalen Hurts over Bonix.
I think the Jalen Hurts discussion is fascinating because Jalen
Hurts has either been excellent or not good at all,
massively turnover prone or excellent based on his coordinator. Now,
(00:46):
I could also argue bo Nix is good because of
Sean Payton, but my take is Bonnicks has been on
a heater. He outplayed Mahomes two weeks ago with an
incredibly thin roster with arguably without a number one receiver
or a number one tight end, and an ok offensive
line in a really tough division. So there were tough
(01:06):
ones Like I obviously, I think you know there's certain
players that are obviously like I took Jayden Daniels over
bow I think he's more. I think he's like Lamar Jackson, H. C. J.
Stroud obviously obviously Herbert Joe Burrow. The Jalen Hurts one
is is again. Jalen Hurts was a second round player that.
Speaker 3 (01:23):
Most ignored the second round first round.
Speaker 4 (01:25):
You said that bow Knicks out played Patrick Mahomes two
weeks ago.
Speaker 3 (01:29):
Well I'll raise you. Jalen Hurts out played Patrick Mahomes
in the super Bowl.
Speaker 1 (01:33):
That's why I was unbelievable. That's why I said the
bow Knicks Jalen Hurts one is tough. One has shown
a proclivity for a lot of reckless turnles.
Speaker 3 (01:42):
Those just are four years of games where you're gonna
have more turnovers.
Speaker 4 (01:45):
I mean, bon Nicks hasn't played that many games. He's
got like twelve games. And if I mean basically he
owns is it the NFC South. He's just destroyed that
whole division. Like what that division stinks?
Speaker 3 (01:56):
It's the worst than football. So what that he's.
Speaker 4 (01:58):
Beating Carolina in Atlanta and he's stacking numbers like, let
me see you against good teams.
Speaker 3 (02:03):
I'm sorry, I just I can't get anywhere near that, Like,
I don't even know a five team quarterback.
Speaker 4 (02:09):
Ask your guy next cosel Is bo Nick's the top
fifteen quarter I guarantee you.
Speaker 3 (02:13):
He's not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (02:14):
But the whole premise of today's show was anybody can go.
Josh Allen's good. Patrick Mahomes is good. The point of
that game was can you spot it before you got it?
Can you see it before you have it? And my
take is obvious. I like Jayden Daniels more, I like
(02:36):
Herbert Burrow, c J. Stroud Moore, the two toughies. There's
three toughies, like Jordan Love. Bow Nicks is hard for me.
So bow Knicks tends to be an anticipatory thrower. He
throws it before guys are open. Jordan Love isn't. Jordan's
just see it, throw it now. He's got a better
arm and he's more athletic, and I like him, But
I'm also seeing the reckless thing with bow Knicks. Or
(02:59):
sometimes he throws it late, he tries to squeeze it
in because he's got an arm that bow Knicks doesn't.
So it's I think it depends on the coach, like
I think if you asked a defensive coach, which one
they take bow Knicks because he didn't turn it over.
I think if you asked an offensive coach, many would
say Jordan Love. I'll deal with his floor, but I
love his ceiling. So Jordan's ceiling is higher than Bo's ceiling.
(03:24):
And I think it's it's it's depends on the choice.
Let's bring in Greg co Sell on that forty five
years NFL films. So we played a game Bo or No,
and I said, I don't think he's Burrow or Herbert
or his explosive as Jayden Daniels. But we got into
this bow Knicks Jalen Hurts territory where I'm like, right,
(03:44):
I from the pocket. I like bow knicks in the
Philly offense. I like Jalen Hurts. But I mean, let
me just ask you. If I said Jalen Hurts bow
knicks most offenses ninety percent of the time is from
the pocket, what is the film say, from the pocket
Hurts your bon Nicks.
Speaker 5 (04:05):
I think that you'd say that bone Nicks is a
far more efficient pocket player than Jalen Hurts. Jalen Hurts
is a quarterback that can make plays outside of structure.
But Jalen Hurts is not going to make a lot
of between the numbers window throws within structure and timing.
And we've actually studied that in great detail on my
(04:25):
show and there's very few of those plays. We're going
to get to bone Nicks later, obviously, but bon Nicks
has shown the ability even as a rookie to make
window throws. And I've always felt and bon Nicks can
move too, by the way, he's a plus athlete, but
if you're going to be really effective from the pocket
in the NFL, really effective, then you need to be
(04:46):
able to throw between the numbers and make window throws
between defenders. Bone Nicks has shown the ability to do that.
That is not a strength of Jalen Hurts.
Speaker 1 (04:55):
Okay, So that was my takeaway is in the Philly offense.
But if you're asked ninety percent of offensive coordinators the
Shanahans and mcveigh's Stafford's throwing that ball right down the
middle of the field and you got to make those
in this league. Okay, So let's go Greg to the
Pittsburgh Steelers. We know Mike's good coach. Defensively, we know
they've drafted and developed defensive players. But they have flummoxed
(05:19):
Lamar Jackson where everybody else's struggle, they've flummaxed. I mean,
he's literally a bad quarterback against them. What do they
do so well overall and against Lamar?
Speaker 5 (05:31):
Well, one of the things I think they do is
they play Lamar in many ways as if they're playing
another quarterback. In other words, they're very aggressive, they play
man coverage. They don't necessarily go into the game with
the idea that we have to play specially just because
it's Lamar. They almost take a proactive approach Colin that
we are a really good defense.
Speaker 6 (05:53):
Okay, so he's got to beat us.
Speaker 5 (05:55):
We're not necessarily going to change our game to play
against him. And they have some really good players who
are sort of unknown, and one of those players on
their defensive front we obviously know about what we know
herbig is A has become a really good player, and
he's now playing because high Smith is hurt. But there's
(06:15):
a defensive tackle they have. I think he's a top
five defensive tackle in this league, and that's Keano Benton.
Speaker 6 (06:22):
He's a second year player out of Wisconsin.
Speaker 5 (06:25):
He is now playing probably fifty five snaps a game
because he plays as a pass rusher as well, and
he is.
Speaker 6 (06:31):
A really really good player.
Speaker 5 (06:33):
And they have two nickel packages, one with Landon Roberts,
who's a run stuffing linebacker, and the other with the
rookie from NC State, Peyton Wilson, who is an athletic, long, flexible,
active pass defender. And they're really really good with these
specific players.
Speaker 1 (06:50):
So it's one thing that Harbach and coach and reshapes culture.
But this defense was atrocious last year. But I want
to talk about offense. Lad mcconkee looks like a very
good two. Their tight ends are suboptimal. JK. Dobbins is good.
We always knew that, but you know, we saw the injuries.
It feels like he figured out the culture and the
(07:13):
defense pretty quickly with Jesse Minter, and that the offense
has taken some work with hardball to get it right.
Have you noticed anything over the last six weeks to
make this offense and maybe it's just Herbert's health to
make it more refined.
Speaker 5 (07:29):
Well, it's an offense first of all, that's incredibly multiple
with their use of personnel. It's incredibly multiple with their
use of formations, they're very.
Speaker 6 (07:37):
Good with play action.
Speaker 5 (07:39):
Obviously, Herbert, he's a different player than Greg Roman had
it with Lamar. Herbert can drive the ball down the field,
and in fact, over the last four or five games,
Herbert has driven the ball down the field as well
or better than any quarterback in the league in terms
of throwing the ball twenty plus yards and beyond from
the line of scrimmage. Sober gives you that dimension off
(08:01):
the run element, because the run element is a big deal,
both in terms of personnel formation and volumes. And they're
very good in the RPO game for obvious reasons because
of the run element. And as we know, the RPO
game has a run element and a pass element to it.
Speaker 6 (08:17):
But we're seeing a play here.
Speaker 5 (08:18):
This is a big time scene throw by Herbert, and
you know that's what.
Speaker 6 (08:23):
He gives them.
Speaker 5 (08:23):
He gives them and added dimension to this offense that
Lamar didn't quite give this offense. Lamar gave you other
things that Herbert doesn't give you, but Herbert, in the
pass element.
Speaker 6 (08:35):
Of this style of offense, gives you more.
Speaker 1 (08:38):
Okay, So Buffalo's offense, it's always been a little Josh
Allen put the cape on and save it. But this
past week against the great Kansas City defense, without key
on the rookie, without Kincaid, without a right tackle, I mean,
they almost had four hundred yards. They were great on
third down, They dominate time of possession. How I mean
(08:59):
is it looks like it's the most interesting Bills offense
since Josh got there.
Speaker 5 (09:06):
Well, you know, it's funny you say that, Colin, because
I found that to be one of the most sort
of enigma wrapped in a riddle performances that I've seen
all the year, because they could not run the ball,
yet they controlled the ball for over thirty four minutes
and were phenomenal on third down, and so that's really strange.
One thing they've done all year, by the way, is
(09:27):
in the low red zone ten yards and in they've
been able to run the ball really, really effectively. And
that's a really important element. And of course Josh Allen
is a part of that. But James Cook has been
really effective in the low red zone, scoring touchdowns. He's
a little more physical than people think. And I'm certainly
(09:48):
not comparing James Cook to Emmitt Smith or saying that
their offense is like the Cowboys of the early nineties.
But remember how when the Cowboys got in the low
red zone, they just gave it to Emmett and they
seem like they scored all the time. The Bills they
get in the low red zone and James Cook scores touchdowns.
I think he's got eleven touchdowns this year, and the
large majority come from the low red zone. They don't
(10:10):
have what you'd call a true number one receiver. Obviously
Cooper is there now, but he's only played two games,
so we don't know exactly how that will play out,
but they're kind of I think what Josh Allen has
done better this year Colin than any previous year far
and away, is minimize risk. And that's a weird thing
to say about Josh Allen the way people normally think
(10:32):
about him. But he's minimized risk this year more than
he ever has.
Speaker 1 (10:37):
Okay, Shane Waldron got moved out, Caleb Williams. It looked
like to me when we played with them, they schemed
up six or seven layups, They got rid of the
ball quicker did the Bears. You know, it didn't produce
lots of touchdowns, but it did feel like they made
a move in a positive direction with a new play caller.
Speaker 5 (11:01):
Well, one of the things that really stood out to me,
and I think with a quarterback like Kila Williams, no
matter how gifted he is, and by the way, he
is one of the most gifted throwers I've seen recently,
just the way the ball comes out, but you needed
to sort of build up his confidence build it back.
So what is something that he's very comfortable with? Colin,
He's very comfortable running the football. That's just one of
(11:23):
those that's who he is, you know, besides being a
great thrower, He's just really comfortable running the ball. So
one thing I noticed, particularly early in the game, on
third down, they didn't give him any checkdowns. So that
led me to believe that they probably told him, if
that receiver is not there, if the primary is not
there on third and eight, let's say, just take off
(11:44):
and run. And he did that a couple of times
and gained first downs. And I think that helped him
settle into the game, because clearly as the game progressed,
you could see the comfort level in the way he
was delivering the football increase. Now early in the game,
just being on he missed some basic concepts, the same
basic concepts. He missed with Stane Waldron, he missed with
(12:06):
Thomas Brown, but I think they were trying to play
to how he feels most comfortable.
Speaker 6 (12:11):
Now we'll see if that can continue.
Speaker 5 (12:14):
The best throw he made was that outcut to Comet
for twenty five yards, which was the flood concept, which
was a beautifully thrown ball. Precise ball, location, required pace
and touch when he throws it, and he's comfortable.
Speaker 6 (12:27):
He is a pretty thrower.
Speaker 1 (12:29):
Okay. I want to talk about a team that we
never discussed. They don't have much of a brand. If
they do, it's bad Arizona. Kyler Murray is expensive, he
can get hurt. You hear the stories about commitment. I
don't love him, but they have furnished him with some
really nice pieces. Has this offense and Kyler been the
(12:50):
key to the winning streak or are we overlooking their
defense and other elements?
Speaker 5 (12:56):
Well, I think the run game with James Connor has
often overlooked. With his team, Connor averages about sixteen seventeen
carries a game, and I'm sure not a lot of
people realize that about James Connor. And he's a strong,
powerful inside runner and a lot of their runs are
interior runs, and he's a sustainer. And the other thing,
which probably would be surprising is he's got a little
(13:17):
more big playability than people think. He has the second
most ten plus yard runs in the National Football League,
and I think only Saquon Barkley has more. So he's
a guy that is both a sustainer and provides a
big play element as well, and that really helps Kyler
Murray of course, because he's part of the run game.
Speaker 6 (13:37):
So now it's just not a matter of dealing with Kyler.
Speaker 5 (13:40):
You have to stop a base run game where they
just line up and give it to James Connor. So
he's a critical piece of this entire team really, because
now if you can run the ball like that, you
can control the pace and tempo of games.
Speaker 6 (13:54):
And their defense, which by.
Speaker 5 (13:56):
The way, is incredibly well schemed under Jonathan Gannon but
doesn't really have stars with the exception possibly of Buddha Baker.
Jonathan Gannon does a terrific job with how he schemes
up his defense.
Speaker 1 (14:09):
I want to go to Philadelphia because I've said I
think there are three teams now that look like Super
Bowl Trophy teams. Kansas City, Buffalo Detroit. Philadelphia is the
enigma for me is that Jalen Hurts isn't great from
the pocket. I don't trust Nick Serianni, but I'm watching
their defense against Jaden Daniels, and for years the back
(14:32):
end was a huge liability and it doesn't feel like
it is. So let's talk Philadelphia's defense. They bottle up
a Jaden Daniels, What say you? What do you see?
Speaker 6 (14:44):
Well?
Speaker 5 (14:44):
Their defense is playing really, really well, and it's a
lot of the details of defense.
Speaker 6 (14:49):
It's the Vic Fangio scheme.
Speaker 5 (14:51):
So what that means is you start with what's called
a quarters structure, meaning you've got two safeties that are
about twelve yards off the ball, two corners that are
about seven yards off the ball. It's a quarter structure
and you can do anything from that structure.
Speaker 6 (15:05):
But one thing about the Fangio.
Speaker 5 (15:07):
Defense that's often overlooked because of the way they coach
the back end is the importance of linebackers second level
defenders as past coverage players. They really want their linebackers
to get more depth in coverage than a lot of
teams do. The way it's coached, so Zach Bond and
Nakobe Dean have gotten better and better and better at
(15:30):
being able to do that, and it's been absolutely critical.
Speaker 6 (15:34):
Plus, one thing.
Speaker 5 (15:34):
They do really really well is they re route interior
receivers slot guys, and that really helps the back end.
That's exactly what happened last week on the Reblankenship interception.
Speaker 6 (15:46):
Cooper dejen did a great.
Speaker 5 (15:48):
Job of rerouting Noah Brown and it allowed Blankenship to
stay outside of Brown and making the interception. But they
have played really, really well as a unit, and it's
all in the details.
Speaker 1 (15:59):
By the way, say Kwon. Barkley's obviously talented, and the
Eagles generally have good old lines. Does he do? Is
there something about Saquon Barkley. I always think he's such
a thoughtful guy whenever he talks, and my take is
when I watch him play, I think he's a thoughtful
running back. Like he's a thoughtful guy, Like his ability
to see holes is better than average to me. But
(16:21):
they also have a great offensive line. But there is
something different, like stylistically, what does he do that not
all backs do? That is special?
Speaker 5 (16:32):
Well, I'd say this, and I think you hit it
right on the head when you said there's something different
this year. I've watched him since his days at Penn State,
and I always felt watching his tape it's all based
on tape study. It was that he was an explosive back,
but despite his size column not a true sustaining back,
not a great confined space runner.
Speaker 6 (16:51):
This year, he has been.
Speaker 5 (16:53):
So much better running in confined space and being a sustainer.
In addition to the fact that he can take it
to the house on any given play, He's worked so
much better in those tight areas.
Speaker 6 (17:04):
He's been a reaccelerator.
Speaker 5 (17:06):
I learned that from Fred Taylor years ago when you
talked about the ability when you're working inside and you
sort of have to slow down a little to then reaccelerate,
and that's a really hard trade for running backs. So
Barkley this year has been better than ever than I've
ever seen him at working between the tackles inside in
that small area, and I just think it's the best
(17:28):
we've ever seen him.
Speaker 1 (17:30):
Yeah, he's fun to watch. Okay, finally we'll start. I've
been talking about bon Nicks and I said, listen, I
got seven eight games. You should be Yeah, seven eight
games in a row. I've seen him, and I know
Sean Payton's great, but they don't have great personnel. I
like Courtland Sutton, they have backs. I like they have
a great left tackle, but they don't have a lot
of great personnel their defense. Actually, I think it's got
better overall personnel. Your thoughts on bone Nicks before we
(17:52):
get to your play of the week.
Speaker 5 (17:55):
Yeah, I really like what I've seen from bon Nicks.
He's gotten incrementally better every week. I had a chance
to spend time with bow Nicks in the draft process Colin,
and he is an incredibly intelligent kid.
Speaker 6 (18:05):
One thing that maybe a lot of people wouldn't be.
Speaker 5 (18:08):
Aware is he called all the protections at Oregon and
that's not something that a lot of college quarterbacks do.
So he came into the NFL pretty savvy and aware
about defensive fronts, about pressure schemes, and when you combine
him with how Sean Payton coaches offense and how he
gets receivers open, particularly primary receivers, it's really a good fit.
(18:30):
And there's an efficiency to Nix's game. I mean, look
at last week, he was twenty eight to thirty three,
So receivers don't have to be great.
Speaker 6 (18:38):
To play in this offense.
Speaker 5 (18:40):
And the receiver who catches the ball on The big
play that we can go to now was a late
round pick out of Utah Devon Velly. You're probably familiar
with him being out in the m PAC twelve area
and you know he's become in a sense, their number
two receiver behind Sutton. But this play, to me, we
spoke early on about window throwing. This is exactly what
(19:02):
we're talking about. This is really really hard. So he's
in the gun in a three by one set. Now
what are you going to get from the defense Is
you're going to get kind of a split coverage here.
They're going to play cover four to the boundary, okay,
and they're going.
Speaker 6 (19:16):
To play cover two to the field.
Speaker 5 (19:18):
You see this a lot in the NFL, these variations
of quarters coverage where there's still two deep safeties. So
now what are they going to run? The route concept
here is going to be the tight end. Nate Atkins
is going to run a short route and Velly, who's
about six three six y four I remember doing his
tape coming out of Utah, He's going to run the
seam route here. So in some ways, it's kind of
(19:41):
a high low version here. Now, when you run a
seam because it is split safety. That's a good concept
to run a seam route in the middle of the field,
but you've got to deal with the linebackers, the underneath
the fenders, and we know that that's safety because it's
Cover two. Is going to retreat because that's what safeties
do in cover two. So now as you run this,
(20:01):
you're going to see that the linebackers, the second level players,
they do drop back here. So now that tells Nick
that the throw has to be layered. He can't drive this.
Boy has to layer the throw into that void in
the middle. But the key thing here, and this is
really good, is there's no one to control, no route
(20:23):
that controls the backside safety Jesse Bates, so he can
slide inside. So this throw has to really beat Baits
as well as get over the underneath the fenders. This
is a big time windows throw and you have to
be able to make these throws. You can see it
really well here. Look how tight this is when you
see it from this angle. So he's made a lot
(20:45):
of these throws. Colin, and I gotta tell you his arm.
While it's not a gun, we're not saying it's top
five gun. It's been stronger in the NFL than I
think a lot of us would have thought coming out,
including myself.
Speaker 1 (20:58):
Yep, same here. I said this early. I had real
I saw him live twice in college. My question was,
he's got a Derek Carr arm. It's okay, it's not special.
It's gotten better. Aaron Rodgers' arm got better from Cal
to Green Bay. Bo Nix has a better arm today
than he did in college a year ago. I don't
see there's any question about that.
Speaker 6 (21:17):
I agree.
Speaker 1 (21:17):
Yeah, Greg co Selazols forty five years NFL Films.
Speaker 6 (21:21):
Thanks Greg, Thanks con appreciate it.
Speaker 1 (21:25):
By the way, Lane Kiffin Old Miss some believe a
team good enough to win the national championship. Why Lane
is fascinating. Ole Miss just went and paid for a
new team. They went and paid for stars and NIL team.
I mean he does some high school recruiting. Obviously, it's
a different approach. I think it's harder to build chemistry
and culture that way. But Old Miss is the real deal,
and I want to talk to Lay and the other thing.
(21:46):
I was thinking about this yesterday. College football is harder
to coach now than ever because of the transfer portal. Nil,
you got to be a GM and a coach. Let
me ask you this. Yesterday we talked about everybody wants
to hire an offensive coach. Vrabel and Belichick top two
candidate's defensive coaches. If Lane Kiffin takes Old Miss to
the Natty win or lose, is he not the best
(22:08):
offensive candidate available in the NFL. He's already coached there,
Just a thought, just a thought, a thought exercise, j Mac.
Just like when I pushed back on brock perties better
than Mahomes. It was just a thought exercise.
Speaker 6 (22:23):
Another thought.
Speaker 4 (22:24):
Ask Lane Kiffin about Dart Is he one of these
quarterbacks that could rise up the NFL draft rankings because
we're looking for a third guy in You seem to
like Riley Leonard. I'm partial to Milroe, but he's got
a good kid in Dart. You remember he was at USC.
Speaker 1 (22:39):
Well, Milroe's better now than Riley Leonard, that's no question. Yeah,
the question is down the road. Josh Allen wasn't very
good in college. Now he's great. How do you recognize
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(23:02):
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Speaker 2 (23:06):
Heard The Herd streams twenty four hours a day, seven
days a week within the iHeartRadio app. Search Herd to
listen live or on demand whenever you like.
Speaker 6 (23:15):
Joining us.
Speaker 1 (23:15):
This hour Julian Edelman in studio. Next hour. Jmack with
the news.
Speaker 2 (23:20):
No, no turn on the news. This is the Herd
Line News.
Speaker 6 (23:25):
One of the.
Speaker 4 (23:25):
Crazier stories of the season is this forty nine ers
malaise if you will. They headed into week twelve with
a five hundred record, massive injuries all season. Brock Purty
not a great showing against Seattle, though. You know I
could defend him if you need me to. But Kyle
Shanahan made sure to dispel the notion that his quarterback,
Brock Perty has regressed.
Speaker 7 (23:47):
It's hard to make a lot of progress. That's the
way he played last year, and it was hard to
make a lot of progress after the way he played
this seven games in his first year. So I think
Brock's playing at the exact same level. I think there's
different circumstances around them. So I think Brock's doing a
lot of good things. But we're all gonna be jush
on winning games, and that's worry. Our team's got to
find a better way to win it there in the
fourth so we can get a record, right.
Speaker 1 (24:07):
I actually agree. I think brox Brock, I think he's
been fine. I didn't have him at this elevated level
you did, but I think he's been He's not the issue.
I think they've got a lot of issues. One of
them is their defense. Laighton games, it's not very good.
Speaker 4 (24:19):
Play calling Layton games has not been very good. The
special teams has been.
Speaker 1 (24:22):
A busine awful special team.
Speaker 3 (24:24):
So here's here's the weird thing.
Speaker 4 (24:25):
If you rewatched that Seattle forty nine ers you into
the condensed version, Yeah, you can see as soon as
Bosa goes off the field, Seattle goes right down the
field for two touchdowns.
Speaker 3 (24:35):
When Bosa's on.
Speaker 4 (24:35):
The field, they only had six they couldn't do anything,
and they did that. They noticed no Kittle Seattle defensively,
so they just played with one high safety and dared
san Fran to run and they couldn't.
Speaker 3 (24:44):
They just stacked the box and there's nobody to break
the game open with no Au, no Kittle. Yeah, so
forty nine is not in a great place.
Speaker 4 (24:51):
That being said, Lafleur did talk this week and said
the forty nine Ers are still one of the premier
teams in the league. They're as good as anybody. However,
let's show some Rock parties just for the haters out there.
Brock Purty this season numbers a little depressed from last year.
Took his yards per a tempter down, his touchdowns are
way down.
Speaker 3 (25:10):
I'll let you take some pot shots at Rock if
you care to.
Speaker 1 (25:14):
No, those numbers are fine. I've said before I had
the Brock's fine. He's had done ninety six passer rating.
That's what you are. When Trent Williams may not be
one hundred percent, Christian McCaffrey's gone, and Brandon Ayouk's gone.
So I listen. I've said, I think Brock Purtty's a
franchise guy. The numbers really important.
Speaker 3 (25:30):
That's everything.
Speaker 1 (25:31):
That's what I say. If it's forty million, I'm good.
If it's forty eight, I'm not as good.
Speaker 3 (25:34):
Dak at forty mili great, Dak at sixty.
Speaker 1 (25:37):
Get the hell out of right. So I think I
think brock Purtty. I won't take a shot. I think
actually him being as efficient as he's been without his
deep threat. An older left tackle questions it right tackle Kittle,
hot and cold. McCaffrey out is actually the best argument
for Brock Purty. He doesn't have all his toys that now.
(25:59):
I look at Purty and think, okay, yeah, that's fine.
He's a franchise quarterback. It's just he's a number. Burrow Herbert.
Pay him what you gotta pay him, Alan Lamar Mahomes,
pay him what you gotta pay him. There are the
next level of quarterbacks? Is what's the number?
Speaker 4 (26:17):
As my eleven year old daughter would say to that response, actually, like,
I can't believe you're saying nice things about Purty and
defending him.
Speaker 3 (26:25):
No, col, I'm sounned. I'm really proud of you man.
You're all grown up. Now, well done, Let's go on
to the next story. And this is like a quiet
disaster in New York.
Speaker 4 (26:33):
So Dexter Lawrence, a remember, came out yesterday and was like,
why are we benching Daniel Jones.
Speaker 3 (26:37):
He's our best quarterback.
Speaker 4 (26:39):
Well, Brian Dabole has now been forced to respond to
Dexter Lawrence Colin.
Speaker 3 (26:43):
The Giants are a mess.
Speaker 8 (26:46):
I got a lot of respect for dex Dexa's you know,
been a teammate of Daniel for a while.
Speaker 1 (26:50):
There's a pretty good relationship with thereon.
Speaker 8 (26:52):
Look, everybody's not going to agree with the decision, and
I understand that we make the decision we feel his best,
and then we move forward and get ready to go
for practice. Hereby's gonna have certain opinions. I got a
lot of respect for all our players.
Speaker 2 (27:03):
I think we're we're focused.
Speaker 8 (27:04):
We'll be focused and do what we need to do
to play our best against Tampa.
Speaker 4 (27:10):
So it's little, but this was five and a half yesterday.
It's now ticked up to six.
Speaker 3 (27:15):
As there.
Speaker 4 (27:15):
I wonder if people are like, oh boy, if Dexter Lawrence,
the leader of the defense, is wondering what the hell
we're doing pulling Daniel Jones, Is everybody gonna follow suit
when we get a half ass effort from the weather.
Speaker 1 (27:26):
Like like, I don't like Florida teams in November, December,
January going up north.
Speaker 3 (27:32):
I hadn't thought about that angle.
Speaker 4 (27:33):
Mike Evans expected to maybe return back at practice this week.
That's a good get back, Thibodeau for the Giants should
be back. I think the move is to take the
Giants here, but oh, they're just they're broths, like yuck,
they's just anyways, final story, let's go to the NBA.
Speaker 3 (27:51):
I know you were tuned into this one.
Speaker 4 (27:52):
Milwaukee Bucks got a big performance from be Honest, Unstoppable
forty one nine and eight, including twenty five even the
third quarter he literally was running his own layup line
against the Bulls.
Speaker 3 (28:04):
Chicago is not very good. Giannis is fifty game with
at least forty.
Speaker 4 (28:08):
Points, and Dame Lillard had ten assists. Bucks have now
won or second straight, I think three or four. They're
starting not quite to percolate. I mean, the Bulls stink,
but the Bucks are getting past that early season struggle.
Speaker 3 (28:23):
Yeah, Colling, you think they'll be okay or no, I'm
with you.
Speaker 1 (28:27):
I think there's limited I think they are a trade
deadline team. They have got now here's the problem. Nobody's
given up good young wing defenders. So I mean it's
like one of those things in the NFL, like nobody
gives up a great offensive tackle left or right. They
just don't give him up. You've got a draft, Yeah,
nobody's you know, nobody's given you McHale Bridges. That's why
(28:47):
when the Knicks got Michale, You're like, that just doesn't
happen in the league. It's hard to get those guys
in their prime. So I think they've got real structural issues.
I mean, Philadelphia's got personality issue. Milwaukee has structural issues.
To me, it's Boston, Cleveland, Knicks. You can have the
(29:08):
rest of the East.
Speaker 4 (29:09):
I don't know how much of this you watch, but
like when Yannis goes off the court column, oh my gosh,
the Bucks are terrible. It's like the Jokics when Yokis
leaves the game, you know the but the Nuggets regress
badly because he doesn't let me.
Speaker 1 (29:21):
Let me ask you this, what's up with the Pacers?
Didn't we love them at the end of left I
love them. I'm happy.
Speaker 3 (29:27):
I'm a little rattled by that question. I have not
I don't even know what the record.
Speaker 1 (29:30):
Is, Okay, I'm just say are a lot of people
are saying Halli Burton's not the same player. A lot
of people are saying.
Speaker 3 (29:36):
That that's not great.
Speaker 1 (29:38):
I like the Facers last year you had him as
Magic Johnson and John Stockton hybrid.
Speaker 3 (29:43):
Tyrese Tell can we get back to talking about the Lakers.
They got a game tonight.
Speaker 1 (29:47):
Youre gonna watch it? That Lakers?
Speaker 6 (29:48):
Orlando?
Speaker 1 (29:49):
Where's it that Orlando?
Speaker 6 (29:50):
Y'all?
Speaker 1 (29:51):
Watch what's top four thirty? I think so, I think
I'm going to Coushm to watch that or something.
Speaker 6 (29:56):
Are you? Yeah?
Speaker 3 (29:56):
Thanks for the invite.
Speaker 1 (29:58):
A lot of big things happen with management.
Speaker 3 (30:00):
Yeah, clearly, Oh, management hanging out with you, not me?
Speaker 1 (30:03):
Huh.
Speaker 3 (30:03):
I guess my days are numbered here, all right?
Speaker 8 (30:06):
JMA the news, Well that's the news, and thanks for
stopping by the Herd Line news.
Speaker 1 (30:14):
Lane Kiffin's around the corner. You know, I noticed something, Jmack.
I don't know if I should give you this yet.
It's interesting. I just don't want to. I'm gonna save
it next. It's interesting. I think I think you'll like it.
It's kind of fascinating.
Speaker 2 (30:28):
Be sure to catch live editions of The Herd weekdays
at noon Easter nine am Pacific on Fox Sports Radio
FS one and the iHeartRadio app.
Speaker 1 (30:37):
So I was telling you, J Mack, this is interesting.
So I looked at the NFL draft order right now?
Is the NFL getting a little NBA ish? Where the
middle in the bottom of the league is getting bigger
and less watchable. So right now we're in week twelve
of eighteen, and there are nine teams in the NFL
that can barely compete. Nine teams with three or fewer
(31:00):
wins nine of thirty two Jacksonville, Tennessee, Cleveland, Giants, Vegas,
New England, Jets, Carolina, and Dallas. Some of these teams
are already soft tanking. I don't remember a year when
multiple teams were doing that, And so why would this be?
Because as the NFL gets more quarterback centric, and I
(31:20):
think that's pretty clear and more quarterback reliant that if
you don't have one, you're bailing water. I mean, we're
going into week twelve and these I mean you start
looking at these teams, Jags, Titans, Brown, Jets, Panthers, Patriots,
some of these are soft tanking already. So you don't
(31:41):
want to become the NBA where you have great teams
at the top, a small middle class, a small soft
middle and then garbage at the bottom. Nine. That's the NBA,
and that's a problem. You want as many watchable, viable teams. Now,
some of these teams without a lot of wins, like
Chicago is still very captivating because Kayleb Williams is an
insane talent. Not every team that's building or becoming something
(32:05):
is on what I mean. You know, I watch Washington,
they're kind of slumping now, they're a fascinating team to
watch with a great future. I think Chicago's gonna win games.
And I still think the top of the NFL is
great and the middle is good. The middle of the
NBA is not good, but you don't want to become
NBA where you're just relying. If you don't have two stars,
(32:26):
you can't compete and become unwatchable. And I do think
is that the league made a choice years ago to
become more offensively centric and more quarterback centric. Why because
once you pay quarterbacks forty five to fifty sixty million dollars,
the owner's a light. You have to protect these kids.
These are the number one asset. You got to protect them.
So the rules all veered smartly to protect human beings
to less shots at quarterback. Can't drive your body on quarterback,
(32:50):
and people complain, but you want quarterbacks healthy. And so
it's just interesting. Right now the bottom of the NFL
is getting larger and less competitive, and that the NFL's
Oh now, Now, the NFL does provide the ability in
just one off season to get good fast if you
get the right coach or quarterback or both. I mean,
Harbaugh's changed the Chargers, Sean McVay changed the Rams. And
(33:14):
so I want to go to Lane Kiffin, who's fascinating.
He's coached in college multiple spots, he coach in the NFL,
and right now there are a lot of people that
think this is the most underrated team in college football,
the only team that's top five in offense and defense
and laying it's unique. You've coached on the West Coast,
you coach in the NFL, you've coached in the South,
You've coached small college football. What I find fascinating is
(33:36):
that you went heavy into the NIL and bought star players.
And now I have to ask you, because I'm seeing
a lot of coaches struggle with this and you're not.
How do you build chemistry and culture when you kind
of went the free agent route in college football? You've
done it. Other teams are struggling with it. How did
you do it in the transfer portal nil world.
Speaker 9 (34:00):
Well, Colin, that's a lot of work, you know, And
I think some trial and error, you know, when the
first when it first started, and and I kind of
looked at professional sports, not just football, but like basketball
that just because you put together free agent teams that
seem like they should be good on paper. You see
it all the time in basketball, and then they don't
play away, they don't make the playoffs, don't play well.
Speaker 10 (34:22):
Because on paper it was.
Speaker 9 (34:23):
So we spend a lot a lot of time as
we put together these players who they were. You know,
you can't you can't buy culture. You can buy players,
but you can't buy culture. So to me, we had
to have a culture set that we had to get
the right guys and also even look at even within
a position group. You know a guy, how does that
(34:43):
guy fit from a culture standpoint, and what do we
have in the room in case the guy's not great
culture that we can still manage him well enough that
he plays well and fits into the team.
Speaker 10 (34:54):
Because everybody's not perfect.
Speaker 1 (34:56):
So you're obviously a very clever offensive coach, but under
Saban you probably stole a trick or two because your
ole miss team is a sack machine. Did you take?
I mean, you've become somebody and this again, this isn't
everybody you're an offensive guy, but yet your defense feels
like you pay attention to it. Is some of that
(35:17):
a little Saban influenced possibly, or Pete Carroll, Well.
Speaker 9 (35:23):
I think number one, that's really good players. We have
much better defensive players than we had at the beginning
when we got here, and so it's taken some time
to do that. We did take Nick Saban's coordinator and
Pete Golding, so we got that system. So you are
right on that part, and Pete Golding's done an amazing
job with these guys schematically, as we've put together these
(35:46):
pieces that some were here last year, some decided to
come back instead of go to the NFL, and then
we obviously brought some in as your highlights our show.
Princely brought in a lot of play and that started
with that Georgia game a year ago. You know, we
worge to beat us pretty bad, and it was very
obvious to me from the beginning of the game. We
(36:07):
didn't look like they did, and our line of scrimmages
were not like theirs, and they bullied us and really
looked at it.
Speaker 10 (36:13):
Hey, if you're going to.
Speaker 9 (36:14):
Beat the ball, you got to kind of become the bully.
And so we got a lot of players that are bigger, longer, stronger,
faster to fit that mold and not just try to
outscore people. You know, I said, at the end of
the day, these guys like Princely, as you see they're
on that clip, they end games. So we kind of
looked at it from the NFL model too, of like, Okay,
(36:35):
where are we going to put our energy and recruiting,
where are we going to pay certain positions, and much
like much different than traditional offensive teams that you know,
load up on offense. We said, no, we've got to
make sure we have defensive linemen and we got to
make sure that we got some ends that can close
out games.
Speaker 10 (36:53):
When we take these guys to the ND, they're there
to finish them.
Speaker 9 (36:56):
And ironically, Princely was not available for the LSU game
and he didn't play in the fourth quarter of the
Kentucky game.
Speaker 10 (37:02):
Both times need fourth down pass rushes to stop him.
Speaker 1 (37:06):
I want to touch this before we go almost takes
on Florida, this team, many believe is the dark horse
to win it all.
Speaker 6 (37:12):
Lane.
Speaker 1 (37:12):
If you decided tomorrow, let's say you go to the
National championship, win or lose, you would be the number
one free agent offensive mind going to the NFL. You
will be offered a job. Absolutely, Why wouldn't you take it?
Speaker 10 (37:28):
This is really neat in order.
Speaker 9 (37:30):
You know, the way to build college teams now has
become like the NFL, from evaluation, obviously, paying players, putting
together your roster.
Speaker 10 (37:41):
But you still have the really neat.
Speaker 9 (37:43):
College elements of the fans and the passion and the
small towns, and.
Speaker 10 (37:48):
So I really enjoy where we're at. I really like it.
I really like that.
Speaker 9 (37:52):
Also when you win, the thing that I don't like
about the NFL, when you win, you kind of get
punished to draft.
Speaker 1 (37:57):
Laugh.
Speaker 10 (37:58):
When you win more.
Speaker 9 (37:58):
In college, you're able to go get better players because
now they see, man, I can go there and win championship.
I can go there and meet Georgia. So we've spent
a lot of time to get it up to this place.
That wouldn't make a whole lot of sense to me.
Speaker 1 (38:10):
You've leaned into the social media. I think it's great. Nick,
by the way, and you people can look and say, oh,
they fought, but there's such an obvious mutual respect between
you two. We've only got forty five seconds left. I
do think you're the unique combination. Are you worried at all?
If you get in your first game could be up
in nine degrees in Columbus or nine degrees in Penn State.
(38:34):
You're a guy, you know, you know Southern Calva South?
Is that a real thing out there? A real concern
Southern teams heading north in December?
Speaker 9 (38:44):
Yeah, and I'm just gonna speak in general, not you know,
because we got a lot of games left.
Speaker 10 (38:48):
We've got two games left we got to win. But yeah,
that's a concern, just like the old days of Tampa
Bay going up to Green Bay.
Speaker 9 (38:54):
Yeah, you know that that's a concern that people will
have and that they're not used to at all or
sometimes in the NFL. You've played throughout the year up there,
you know the South teams haven't. So you know, the
good answer to that is played really well in your games,
performerly well at the end of the season so that
you end up playing at home.
Speaker 1 (39:14):
Yes, it sounds simple, but it is the SEC. They're
at Florida this weekend. Watch Old Miss. It is NFL bodies,
It is creative offense. They have an NFL quarterback. Thirty
seconds left, Jackson Dark. He's six to two, he's got
an arm. I've seen him. I saw him play at
the camp one time. Is he a first round pick
(39:34):
to you?
Speaker 9 (39:37):
He's an amazing leader. He really helped put the like
no player I've ever seen. He helped put this roster together.
Speaker 10 (39:44):
In the offseason.
Speaker 9 (39:45):
He was on the phone with a rush in with
a right corner, you know, helping putting this team together
because he's like, I'm coming back.
Speaker 10 (39:52):
I want to do something really special.
Speaker 9 (39:54):
So somebody's gonna get a really special player and a
really special leader.
Speaker 1 (39:58):
That's great. I love hearing that. We're watching some Jackson
Dart awesome. Look at that throw. Holy god, that's a
good throw. Lane Kiffin, you look good. Good luck. Gainesville
is crazy and an amazing Is that at home or
you old miss or you at home or your road
this week, let's see where it is.
Speaker 10 (40:15):
We are in the swamp Newton kickoff.
Speaker 1 (40:18):
That's loud.
Speaker 10 (40:19):
Nine am. You're time.
Speaker 1 (40:20):
It's loud, dude. I've been to the swamp. It's loud.
You better tell your team it's loud. I hope you
get my head's up on that.
Speaker 10 (40:26):
I've been there, Lane Kiffin. Great scene against some TVO
and Urban Meyer there. It was really loud for number
one in the country.
Speaker 1 (40:35):
Thanks Lane, good luck to Old Miss eight and two
nine in the college football playoff and he has built
something special offense and defense. NFL quarterback Lane Kiffin, great stuff.
Julian Edelman last hour. They're good, dude, if you watched
them play. That is NFL bodies, NFL quarterback, NFL coach.
There's a dark horse to win it. It's Old Miss
(40:57):
all right, our three coming up live in La. It's
the Herd.
Hosts And Creators
Colin Cowherd
Jason McIntyre
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