Colin talks to former Bears head coach Dave Wannstedt about the new look Bears offense and how he would handle the drama that surrounds Shedeur Sanders trying to make the Browns roster.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
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 noon 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):
What four and oh last year in the preseason? So
they're all fired up about what happened? Dave Wanstat who's
the last Bears coach to.
Speaker 2 (00:33):
Win a road playoff game?
Speaker 1 (00:34):
Six years in Chicago five with the Dolphins, last head
coach to win a playoff game, So listen, it's I
guess my take is because of the style that Ben
Johnson demands. It's a very precise, exact style. He's like Shanahan.
He wants his play run. And because of the style
of Caleb Williams, which is a little Brett Farv, it's
(00:56):
a little ad lib. I don't think they're a perfect marriage.
I think it can work. But you've been at practice.
You said it was pretty rough a couple of weeks ago.
Speaker 3 (01:08):
Yeah, and Caleb and Ben, everybody in Chicago here, I
am in Chicago, do you recognize, as said colin a
microphone right here.
Speaker 4 (01:16):
Okay, I'm.
Speaker 3 (01:18):
But I uh and Caleb, everybody's admitted that it's been
the last week that he's really turned a corner as
far as uh uh, you know, how he's performs, how
he's grasped the offense, everything about his play has gotten better.
And so that's a real positive. When you said how
did the game start?
Speaker 4 (01:37):
I could have turned it. Think about this.
Speaker 3 (01:39):
He was up under center, which everybody in Chicago has
been screaming about.
Speaker 4 (01:43):
The tailback.
Speaker 3 (01:44):
Was that what I call a dotted position, you know
where he would be if it was a two bac
eye formation. They fake a running play, you see Caleb's
athletic ability on the move, and they throw the ball
the first round draft pick. I mean that was that
was enough for me to see right there. I could
have turned the TV office that I saw enough. Let's
get ready for the next game. So my point is
(02:05):
though that I think Ben really he understands that Caleb
is a good enough athlete that he's gonna have enough
movement plays for him. And at the same time we
saw it. Going into the third quarter, they had twenty
one runs in twenty nine passes, so they are going
to be balanced and run the football. If he does
(02:25):
those things, it's a quarterback friendly offense, and I think
Caleb can really excel in that type of environment.
Speaker 1 (02:32):
But let's could I argue this that the backup Tyson
Bagent is a better fit actually for the offense that
Ben wants to run. He's not as talented, but you
could make an argument that if you had if and
again they're gonna play Caleb. This is not a quarterback controversy.
(02:53):
But my argument is when you the far even with
Mike Holmgrin Farv, could frustrate a coach that Caleb's style
coach is going to frustrate Ben Johnson at times.
Speaker 3 (03:07):
Well, I don't know that yet. I don't think anybody does. Okay,
and Benjing had a great camp. I mean if you
went every.
Speaker 4 (03:14):
Day and I don't have The day I was up there,
I was standing on the field, we were talking.
Speaker 3 (03:18):
I was Ryan Poles and Beju took him down the
field and scored a touchdown and I said to Ryan, well,
at least you know you got a backup, and he says, oh,
we definitely got a backup. So my point is that
he had an outstanding camp. Okay, and they recognize that.
But I really think that keep in mind last night, Caleb, Okay,
we know the numbers he was didn't see it against pressure.
(03:41):
That to me is what separates quarterbacks. Now, Caleb said, okay,
I had a good day. You know that every time
they blitzed him, it wasn't a real good result.
Speaker 4 (03:51):
That's when he threw his incomplete.
Speaker 3 (03:52):
Passes opening day against Minnesota Monday night, Brian Flores.
Speaker 4 (03:58):
He is a lizz king.
Speaker 3 (04:00):
So that's going to open up a whole nother light
for us to look at and say, Okay, Kenny handle
the blitz. Because everyone talks about Jared Goff, But if
you look at Jared Goff's numbers against the blitz, they're
really good.
Speaker 4 (04:14):
They really are good.
Speaker 3 (04:15):
So I think that's going to probably be a big
deal how far Caleb can advance at least.
Speaker 4 (04:22):
Progress this first year.
Speaker 1 (04:23):
Not only were you a head coach, you worked with
a great head coach, Jimmy Johnson. And I think I
told you this privately, probably over a little Italian dinner
or cocktail a couple of years ago. I said, I
think Mike McDaniel's smart. I'm not doubting the smart thing.
But I need my head coach. I need him to
be a CEO, and I've been doubting him for a
couple of years. I'm like, I know he's got all
(04:45):
the motion. But Miami's a hard place to win. As
you know, it's a distracted market. It's got perfect winter weather,
it's got a lively port players.
Speaker 2 (04:56):
It gets loose very quickly there.
Speaker 1 (04:58):
And I think maybe Mike McDaniel in boring Indianapolis right
would be a better fit than distracted LA. But I
think their cultures off. I don't like there. I don't
know what they are. Is that a fair criticism? You
coached in Miami. You know it's a distracted market.
Speaker 4 (05:16):
Yeah, Miami is a little different you.
Speaker 3 (05:19):
And obviously the thing that they didn't like about me,
I never got caught up in that because we were
a running team with Ricky Williams. He led the league
in rushing. Okay, so we were going to play defense
and run the ball. Miami was and we were winning games.
Miami almost sometimes seemed to be happier when they would lose.
When when they weren't running the ball Marina was throwing,
(05:41):
they'd lose thirty five thirty four, and people would say, well,
it was an exciting game. I mean, you know so,
so you're right. I mean the culture down here is
to throw it when I had my doubts, and it
really surprised me because McDaniel supposed to be he was
in charge of the running game at San Francisco.
Speaker 4 (05:58):
Go back two or three years ago, playoff game, I
think it was against Buffalo and they had their third
team quarterback in there.
Speaker 3 (06:05):
Kids from Kansas State, I believe it was, and they
threw the ball with their thirteen quarterback. I think it
was three or four times, you can look up the numbers,
more than they ran it.
Speaker 4 (06:17):
And they lost the Buffalo in that playoff game.
Speaker 3 (06:19):
And that was a big red flag to me, big
red flag to me. And I think another way that
a coach can lose your team by what's happening on
the field. We're talking about the physicality, but also by
what happens off the field, sometimes from a press conference standpoint.
And last year, you know, with Tyreek Hill, I mean
(06:42):
they had an outside shot of the playoffs.
Speaker 4 (06:44):
Let's be real, you know, it's.
Speaker 3 (06:45):
A lot of things had to happen for them to
get in, but they still were playing for a possible
playoff game, their last game of the season, and Tyreek
Hill doesn't go win on the field the last two
or three sessions. And I'm watching the press conference and
they asked Mike, but well, what happened to Tyren? He says,
I don't know. I didn't I haven't talked to him yet.
Speaker 4 (07:03):
Boy.
Speaker 3 (07:03):
You know, if you're a player that just doesn't give
you a you know, a good grasp. But you got
your hands around this thing. And I think it's it's
caught up with them. So hopefully they can rebomb, but
it's gonna be a tough one.
Speaker 1 (07:16):
Yeah, staff just sent this to me. Skyler Thompson threw
it forty five times in a playoff lost to Buffalo.
Skyler Thompson, thank you?
Speaker 2 (07:24):
Yeah, what are you doing?
Speaker 4 (07:25):
Made now?
Speaker 2 (07:26):
But what are you doing?
Speaker 3 (07:27):
Be sure to catch live editions of The Herd weekdays
and noone Easter, not a Empacific.
Speaker 5 (07:32):
He's Mike Krmen, I'm Dan Bayern. We have a fantasy
football podcast called I Want Your Flex.
Speaker 6 (07:38):
That's right, Dan. Every week we're gonna scour the waiver
wire to find the pickups to turbo boost your fantasy lineup.
Sit starts, Fantasy football players rankings. To get you ready
to dominate the competition.
Speaker 5 (07:50):
Listen to I Want Your Flex with Mike Carmon and
meet Dan Byer on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts and
wherever you bet your podcasts.
Speaker 1 (07:58):
Okay, so I had said this, I think Shador Sanders
is probably more my cup of tea as a quarterback.
He's a legit six to two. He's accurately moves. I
don't like the celebrity stuff. Joe Flackall was named starter today.
Coach Parcels used to say, no celebrity quarterbacks, but I
think that ship has sailed some of these nil guys.
(08:19):
Cut Arch Manning is going to be a celebrity quarterback.
Speaker 2 (08:21):
You just got to.
Speaker 1 (08:22):
If you're a quarterback at you know, Michigan or Notre Dame,
you're gonna be a celebrity quarterback?
Speaker 2 (08:29):
Are you? Would you?
Speaker 1 (08:30):
I mean, what would you do with a situation? Do
you like schadur over Dylan Gabriel. Dylan's a little more serious,
Shad's a little more playful. What do you do in
the backup role in that team? If you run the team,
Flaco's your guy? Do you keep four guys. No, I
don't think you can keep four guys. I really don't,
you know, I don't.
Speaker 3 (08:50):
Kenny Pickett was my pick to come out of this thing,
not just because he's a pick guy like me, but
he was my pick when it started that he was
going to cut surface in this thing as the starter.
And obviously injuries or whatever happens, so it sounds like
that thing has gone old. Sanders has the most talent
in my mind just watching them both play. As far
(09:12):
as the personalities, god, I mean, I don't know, you know,
unless he's a distraction the members on the team, which
I don't think he is. I think Sanders is probably
your second best option. And Gabriel will he ever get better?
And that's the question mark. I think you know what's
the upside on Gabriel? And I loved him just like
(09:34):
everybody wants to talk about at Oregon. You know, the
guy had seventy five percent completions or whatever it was.
But is that you know, is he about as good
as he's going to be right now?
Speaker 4 (09:43):
Can he improve? I don't know.
Speaker 3 (09:45):
That's a real tough one. I try to keep the
personalities out of it as long as they're doing all
the right things in the classroom and on the field.
Speaker 1 (09:56):
So you didn't worry too much about you know, some
guys are quirky and some guys aren't.
Speaker 2 (10:00):
You try to just eliminate that.
Speaker 3 (10:03):
Well, yes, as long as it's not affecting your football
team from the standpoint. Are they on time for meetings?
I mean, do they know what they're doing on the
field or they practice? Are they getting in early and
staying late? If they're doing all those things, you know,
I think sometimes you know that off the field stories
will get blown out of proportion to one extent. You know,
(10:26):
that's a tough one. That's a tough one because Gabriel
is not going to back away. I mean, you know,
you got two good, young, talented quarterbacks. Maybe you need
to play them both and.
Speaker 4 (10:36):
See what falls.
Speaker 3 (10:37):
Because the tough thing is flack those Probably it's going
to be tough with Joke and last the whole season,
whether he just gets tired, he gets hurt, or whatever happens.
So you've got to be looking at thing if you're Stefanski,
and you're got to be saying, who can can win
here and finish the season for me and win enough
games to give us a playoff runner, save my job
or whatever the situation is. Who can win games for me?
(11:00):
Who do I have the most confidence in?
Speaker 4 (11:03):
Because this thing with Joe hopefully at lasts, but it
probably won't. He may not have confidence any of the three,
to be quite honest with you.
Speaker 2 (11:10):
So we got into this discussion.
Speaker 1 (11:13):
John Middlekop, my buddy here is a former scout, and
we got we were talking about Ashton Genty and he's
just he is tough, Dave, he is, he runs right,
he looks reminds me of Adrian Peterson. He is like
a missile. He is seeking contact. He's five seven, five
eight whatever. What do you tell a running back? I mean,
(11:34):
when you're coaching men, you're seeking guys who like physicality.
But there are positions in football, like quarterback and running
back where I feel like I look, I'll show you
the clips of Ashton Genty. He is just getting throttled.
And I think to myself, how does a coach send
the message live for another day to a power running back.
Speaker 4 (11:59):
I don't know if you do. I think it's just
in their nature.
Speaker 3 (12:04):
And you know, Ricky Williams, let's just use it as
an example, because we were talking Dolphins. You know, I
remember my first year, we had Thurman Thomas who I
signed as a free agent. He was done at the Bills,
so I was using Thurman and third done and Ricky
in first and second don. After about two games, Ricky
came in my office and said, coach, what are we
(12:25):
doing here? And I said, well, you know you're playing
first and second down, trying to you know, keep everybody fresh.
I want the ball. I want the ball. So I
think the great running backs they want the football. Can
you change their style? I wouldn't try that. I would
not try that. I think you got a great back,
(12:46):
you had him the football, and you try to win
as many games as you can. I mean, that's, in
my opinion, the philosophy I came up with looking at
the Eric Dickerson's and I played with Tony Dorsett, and
we saw Emmitt Smith first and I was with him,
as you know for four years. The great backs are
gonna win games for you. And we all know you
(13:06):
throw at the score points, but you got to run
at the close out games. And Gent's on. He's one
of those guys. He will close a game out and
win it for you.
Speaker 4 (13:14):
If you got the lead.
Speaker 1 (13:15):
Dave wan'stat you know, you look good in that chair.
If you know, maybe someday they're gonna, you know, my
my days could be numbered. You look pretty good in
that authority of chair.
Speaker 4 (13:26):
Well, i'll tell you what.
Speaker 3 (13:27):
I'm gonna look better in the Tofano's restaurant in about
five hours.
Speaker 4 (13:31):
Okay, in that chair, little Italy. So that's thick about that.
Speaker 1 (13:35):
Okay, I'm totally jealous, by the way, completely jealous.
Speaker 2 (13:40):
Dave One's good seeing you.
Speaker 1 (13:42):
What a good friend, what a good guy, everybuddy, all right,
he's got he's got They ever tell you my funny
Dave One?
Speaker 2 (13:48):
Is that story?
Speaker 1 (13:48):
No? So I'm sitting when I first meet him, and
I said, you know, I was talking. He was me
I think my wife was there something. I said, you know,
I like going down to Naples, Florida. He goes, oh,
I love Naples. I said, man, they got this bar,
handsome Harry's. I love this place. He goes, yeah, I
own it. I'm like what He goes, well, I did
(14:10):
own it. And then he told me the story. I'm
not going to get into that, but I'm like, oh,
I owas that was my handsome Harry's it was just
the best.
Speaker 2 (14:17):
It's like, yeah, I used doone that I had to
google how old he was.
Speaker 4 (14:19):
He looks fantastic, all seventy three.
Speaker 2 (14:22):
I've never met a storyteller like Dave wantstap. I mean,
like just there, just out of the blue.
Speaker 1 (14:28):
He's like, oh, I remember when I had Ricky Williams
and I told him I'm going to try to save
you for three because now I want the ball.
Speaker 2 (14:33):
He has a memory like a trap. He's got a million.
Speaker 1 (14:36):
First of all, if you were on a Jimmy Johnson's staff,
yeah you've got stories.
Speaker 7 (14:41):
He used to go on those walks I think at
practice and talk football and talk life.
Speaker 1 (14:47):
Yeah, he's just there's very few people that are more fun.
I don't think I've ever golf with Dave, but going
out in dinner drinks with Dave, he said about as
much fun as I could have. All right, well, take
a break. We'll come and wrap it up with herd
line on what has been a busy day. The Browns
have named Joe Flacco as their starter, which is the
(15:07):
only quarterback spot I don't care about with the Browns.
Speaker 2 (15:09):
Who's two, three and four.
Speaker 3 (15:11):
We'll talk about that now, be sure to catch live
editions of The Herd weekdays and noon eastern non a
em Pacific.
Speaker 2 (15:20):
So story today that I didn't think was.
Speaker 1 (15:23):
Much but has percolated over the last couple of weeks,
Matt Stafford finally showed up to practice. Now again, I
don't expect my old quarterback Stafford Aaron Rodgers Kirk Cousins
to play in the preseason. You'd like him at practice.
So Stafford slowly walked into practice today. Sean McVeigh, who
keeps things incredibly close to the vest, almost sounded annoyed
(15:47):
when talking about Matt Stafford.
Speaker 8 (15:51):
It's good to be able to have Matthew out there.
You know, he did a good job today. I thought
he looked good. But you know, I don't really have
any updates, you know, I think there was a lot
of intended information, but there's no updates. We're going to
keep it a day and really a week at a time.
What I'm not going to do is is sit here
and go back and forth every single day. I don't
think that's fair to anybody involved. That's not you know,
(16:12):
it's not accurate with what's going on with the situation either,
And so we're trying to you know, get our hands
on it.
Speaker 2 (16:17):
We're trying to do right.
Speaker 8 (16:18):
By you know, the player number one and in our team,
and so you know, it was good to be able
to have him out there today.
Speaker 1 (16:24):
Yeah, I mean it's again the Rams and I've thought
about this. I have a right to ask you any question,
but you have a right not to give me an answer.
And Belichick for a year said on to Cincinnati and
the Rams keep things very private, and I think John
talked about this earlier. Shanahan is very loyal to the player.
I mean they've they've signed contracts. I disagree with the
(16:44):
Rams have moved off Cooper Cup who felt like a
Ram for life, A Jalen Ramsey, Todd Gurley, Jared Golf
was a shocker. He got to the Super Bowl. So
they're very business like. I think that's how you should
run an organization. Now, there are times I totally support
the player. Trey Hendrickson and Cincinnati, what are you doing?
You don't have a defense without him, Jamar Chase, pay him,
(17:07):
Micah Parsons, I'd move him. I would have before the season.
So I'm not always for the player, but the Rams
and I don't you know, it used to be like, oh,
it's cutthroat, it's professional sports. They're not going to sign
bad contracts. And so Matt Stafford got a year. That
was it, and they said, we love him. But there
is a benefit. I will say this, John, there is
a benefit playing for Sean McVay, Andy Reid. The leverage
(17:32):
you get when you have a great coach is that
you don't have to always pay the star your coach
is able to You can move off Tyreek Hill in
Kansas City and get and win super Bowls without him.
You don't need the greatest receiving unit. And I think
the way the Rams look at it is the advantage
to having I mean they moved off von Miller quickly.
(17:55):
The advantage to having McVeigh is they're gonna defend mcveigh's
choices always.
Speaker 7 (18:01):
I'm usually anti media, but I will defend I know
McVeigh was kind of edgy right there. They had said
he was gonna throw on Saturday like he had done
the previous week, and then they just went they just
went mute. And then he comes out a couple of
days later and gets defensive about it, like we're talking
about your Hall of Fame quarterback that you go as
kind of he goes.
Speaker 2 (18:22):
It is kind of a big story.
Speaker 7 (18:24):
I mean, and listen, he's Belichick, but he's forty years
old and he smiles. That was kind of Belichickian in
his version. He's getting mad, he's getting angry, but I'm sorry.
This is a massive NFL story.
Speaker 1 (18:34):
Yeah, and again, you your backup situation is Stepson Bennett,
who's not you know, that's very debatable. Whether he can
start NFL games very debatable. And Garoppolo has aged. I
mean when we watched him in Las Vegas, he aged
very very quickly. Now again, can you keep him up
right for a three or four game stretch and he
wins a couple McVeigh could probably do it.
Speaker 2 (18:54):
He's a bit of a magician. But this is a
huge story because this is.
Speaker 1 (18:57):
The only team in the league that could win the
Super Bowl or win four games based on Mats Stafford.
Speaker 7 (19:01):
Well, and that's why when you see his reactions, I
think he understands what's at stake here. If this back
does not go away, they're in major They have major issues.
Speaker 1 (19:12):
John Middlecoff within the News, this is the herd Line News.
Speaker 7 (19:20):
Okay, speaking of teams with major issues, the Dolphins Strom
the build off season, they had a joint practice with
the Lions. Safe to say it did not go well
for Mike McDaniel and the hot seat that he is
currently sitting off. Jen Ramsey's former star corner, was just
traded out of Miami earlier this offseason, and he dropped
some interesting quote referencing his former head coach on a podcast.
Speaker 9 (19:46):
I do appreciate the Dolphins and them working with me
and David, you know, not just hey, this team called,
and you know, we're gonna see you here and this
and that. Like, it wasn't any of that. It was
very open communication.
Speaker 10 (19:59):
Y'all.
Speaker 4 (20:00):
Good to us.
Speaker 9 (20:00):
I've been good to y'all. Like, let's do it the
right way. Let's go to a team that's gonna be
able to compete. Let's go to a team where there's
a lot of respect for the head coach.
Speaker 2 (20:12):
You know, Dave wants to hit on it.
Speaker 7 (20:14):
What they want in Miami because of Marino. I I've
had this theory that it's really really difficult to win
there for a long long time, and now with the
explosion of money. What pat Riley did in Miami for
a long time with the basketball team was kind of
an outlier situation.
Speaker 4 (20:31):
Look at that, it's falling apart.
Speaker 7 (20:33):
The baseball team's a joke, the football team. Is this
a job because it feels inevitable? Now this thing's gonna
get blown up? Are people gonna be lined up for
this gig? Say what you want about the Bears ownership's
a little cheap. That's still the Chicago Bears. Football really matters.
You can win in that town if you do it right.
I think if this job becomes available, is the quote
unquote top candidate, a Mike Rabil, a Ben Johnson, whoever
(20:56):
that guy is in this upcoming cycle, even interested in
that gig.
Speaker 1 (20:59):
Well, Miami is If you've never been to Miami, it's
one of one in America.
Speaker 2 (21:04):
It's very international.
Speaker 1 (21:06):
I've said before, if every Super Bowl the rest of
my life was in Miami, I'd sign up for today.
I think it is the super Bowl. Ocean Avenue, Collins
Avenue International. You can go eat Argentinian food one now night,
Chilean food the next. It's an amazing city, but the
culture is distracted. The people are beautiful. I mean, it's
(21:27):
the best beaches in America. There's money in maseraties everywhere,
and you got a bunch of twenty four year old players.
So when Wanstat was winning there, Wanstatt was considered, you know,
boring defense, run game physicality. I mean, I don't know
if people know this. When Wanstat was in Miami through
his first three or four years, he had a better
(21:48):
record than Mike Tomlin and Pittsburgh. But Pittsburgh is an
easier place to coach, right, There's less to do, So
I think Miami not only takes a good coach, it
takes a certain type of person out Tom Coughlin could
have one in Miami, Tom, I mean, by the way,
Brian Flores did turn the culture around, but he didn't
get along with the quarterback and he rubbed people the
(22:09):
wrong way. I think you need more Brian Flores Ish
than Mike McDaniel.
Speaker 2 (22:14):
Pro player ish.
Speaker 7 (22:15):
I got a name for you, and I could see
their owner, who's gone after big name guys before.
Speaker 4 (22:19):
Remember he tried to get Harbaugh. Kirby Smart.
Speaker 7 (22:22):
Yeah, was their assistant coach with Nick Saban way back
in the day. Maybe he's a little tired of this
nil and everything in college football. I could see that
because a bunch of the top assistants might not be interested.
They go other places.
Speaker 2 (22:35):
Kirby Smart, keep an eye.
Speaker 6 (22:36):
On that one.
Speaker 7 (22:37):
I could see that one taking place. Okay, the forty
nine ers seemed to be a pretty well run operation.
Obviously last season was a disaster with the injury San Francisco.
They're already dealing with some injuries at the wide receiver position. Obviously,
I you had the bad knee injury. But Brock Perdy
and the former first round of Ricky Piersall connection looked very,
very good against the Raiders. They linked up three times
forty two yards, and Purdy discussed the mystery with his
(23:00):
young wide receiver.
Speaker 10 (23:02):
We watched a lot of stuffrom last year too, and
understanding like where we both need to be better when
you know, obviously I'm throwing to him, and I think
we honed in on some on some things this year
in camp and then in the game. Man, we just
go out there and I feel like it's pretty natural
just both of us are chemistry and everything.
Speaker 1 (23:18):
Yeah, I mean Pearsol is An't he of view this
sort of a yard after the catch guy.
Speaker 7 (23:24):
Yeah, I mean he's a physical guy with the ball
in his hands, but he can run.
Speaker 1 (23:26):
I mean he's fast, but that's Shanahan's mantra. What he
loves loves the yards. I'll get you open, catch it
and break tackles.
Speaker 7 (23:34):
Listen, Deebo a couple of years ago had one of
the coolest, most unique seasons we've ever seen. But he's
not a great wide receiver. He's just a great football player.
This guy is a true wide receiver. Him and perty
have some early, you know, chemistry. They didn't draft him
in the first round. It's not like this is like
some fits round fine. I mean, they used their first
first round pick since the Trey Lance trade, so they
(23:55):
hadn't had one in years, and they used it on him,
and the expectations are pretty high.
Speaker 1 (24:00):
H John Middlecoff with the News, Well, that's the news,
and thanks for stupping by the Heard Line News Good
Show Today. Dave Wanstadt and Matt Hasselbeck both stopped by.
No I thought, you know, Dave has got great stories.
I think he's brutally honest. Is that the times I've
(24:20):
talked to Dave about he loved coaching in Chicago. He
still lives there, absolutely loved it. I think Chicago's one
of those cities I would call loud Philadelphia Boston, Chicago,
San Francisco media can be loud.
Speaker 2 (24:36):
La is not as loud.
Speaker 1 (24:37):
It's kind of laid back. Dallas media can be loud.
Where you get into these cities and it's it's almost cultural.
You have to have a strong coach, a definitive coach.
I think there's something that has happened in the league.
I've talked about it at nauseum and it bores people
to death, so I don't talk about it too much.
(24:57):
But not only are offensive co coaches better with quarterbacks,
they're better with offensive lines. I've seen McVeigh rebuild the
Rams O line three times. Andy Reid's done it in
an offseason two to three times. And I think when
Ben Johnson came to Chicago, Drew Dolman, Joe Tooney, Jonah
(25:18):
Jackson his first and then draft the left tackle. They
want to get the O line right, because that's what
happened in Detroit when Ben Johnson was there. Let's get
the old line right. A. You're protecting your number one asset. B.
Everything works when the old line is strong. So I
mean Sean Payton immediately fixed a messy offensive line. He
(25:38):
had Garrett Bowles at left tackle and he went out
and spent some money. Some thought he overspent for the
right tackle from San Francisco McGlinchey. But his whole take was,
if we don't get the on line right. See the
offensive coaches prioritize O lines because it's the insurance policy
for your quarterback. So I look at Ben Johnson and
I'm like, forget Caleb. He got the online right, the
(26:01):
play calling will be better. He and Caleb may not
be perfect stylistically. You know, Dave goes to the Bears practices.
Here's Dave wants. That's thoughts on Caleb earlier.
Speaker 3 (26:14):
I think Ben really he understands that Caleb is a
good enough athlete and he's going to have enough movement
plays for him. And at the same time, we saw
it going into the third quarter, they had twenty one
runs in twenty nine passes, so they are going to
be balanced and run the football. If he does those things,
it's a quarterback friendly offense, and I think Caleb can
(26:37):
really excel in that type of environment.
Speaker 2 (26:41):
Yeah, I think that.
Speaker 1 (26:42):
I think the best friend to the quarterback early is
an offensive coach and a consistent run game. And I
think I think all the offensive coaches get it. I mean,
remember the criticism the Lions got for drafting Jamiir Gibbs,
and like four games in we're like, yeah, that worked
that And now they have was at Montgomery and Gibbs,
(27:04):
So now they have a two prong run game, which
two different types of running backs. So I just think
when I watch Ben Johnson he's doing, I feel like
I'm watching the next great offensive coach because all his
moves look like McVeigh and Peyton. And I mean, right
now in the offseason, what have we said about the Vikings. Man,
(27:24):
if you looked at their offensive line, like the offensive coaches,
it's not just about quarterback, it's they They are better
with the O line almost as a rule. That's why
Brian Dabele has not done a great job with the
O line. That's you could be a knock on him
as that's the one thing about da Ball I have
questions about.
Speaker 2 (27:43):
Why is the Giants O line never good enough?
Speaker 1 (27:46):
By the way, the Broncos my staff just sent this
have the second highest rated O line going into the season.
Speaker 2 (27:50):
It was a mess when he arrived.
Speaker 7 (27:51):
I think a lot of offensive coordinators get jobs when
they go work with a really good quarterback, and they
may be a stint for one or two years. He
showed up in Detroit. I think he was the tight
ends coach at first, because remember Anthony Lynn was the
offensive coordinator. But he saw it from the ground floor
and he saw them build it up, and obviously he
was a big part of it. But he got to
(28:12):
witness in all those staff meetings and all those drafts
like he was a part of Like we got a
startup from nothing.
Speaker 4 (28:18):
They were a joke, not just.
Speaker 2 (28:20):
Of the NFL but in all of professional sports.
Speaker 7 (28:22):
So he's kind of uniquely equipped to have a lot
of perspective even though a stardom. I would say his
rise over the last couple of years was kind of
like a rocket ship. But he saw the lowest of
lows in the NFL.
Speaker 1 (28:33):
Well, they were one of the more entertaining offenses in
the league. With Jared Goff as their quarterback, who's not
a wildly athletic quarterback. You could not wait to watch
Lion Dames tricks, the tempo, they gave you a little
bit of everything. So now just add Kayleb Williams athleticism
to that.
Speaker 4 (28:52):
It's the hurt
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 noon 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):
What four and oh last year in the preseason? So
they're all fired up about what happened? Dave Wanstat who's
the last Bears coach to.
Speaker 2 (00:33):
Win a road playoff game?
Speaker 1 (00:34):
Six years in Chicago five with the Dolphins, last head
coach to win a playoff game, So listen, it's I
guess my take is because of the style that Ben
Johnson demands. It's a very precise, exact style. He's like Shanahan.
He wants his play run. And because of the style
of Caleb Williams, which is a little Brett Farv, it's
(00:56):
a little ad lib. I don't think they're a perfect marriage.
I think it can work. But you've been at practice.
You said it was pretty rough a couple of weeks ago.
Speaker 3 (01:08):
Yeah, and Caleb and Ben, everybody in Chicago here, I
am in Chicago, do you recognize, as said colin a
microphone right here.
Speaker 4 (01:16):
Okay, I'm.
Speaker 3 (01:18):
But I uh and Caleb, everybody's admitted that it's been
the last week that he's really turned a corner as
far as uh uh, you know, how he's performs, how
he's grasped the offense, everything about his play has gotten better.
And so that's a real positive. When you said how
did the game start?
Speaker 4 (01:37):
I could have turned it. Think about this.
Speaker 3 (01:39):
He was up under center, which everybody in Chicago has
been screaming about.
Speaker 4 (01:43):
The tailback.
Speaker 3 (01:44):
Was that what I call a dotted position, you know
where he would be if it was a two bac
eye formation. They fake a running play, you see Caleb's
athletic ability on the move, and they throw the ball
the first round draft pick. I mean that was that
was enough for me to see right there. I could
have turned the TV office that I saw enough. Let's
get ready for the next game. So my point is
(02:05):
though that I think Ben really he understands that Caleb
is a good enough athlete that he's gonna have enough
movement plays for him. And at the same time we
saw it. Going into the third quarter, they had twenty
one runs in twenty nine passes, so they are going
to be balanced and run the football. If he does
(02:25):
those things, it's a quarterback friendly offense, and I think
Caleb can really excel in that type of environment.
Speaker 1 (02:32):
But let's could I argue this that the backup Tyson
Bagent is a better fit actually for the offense that
Ben wants to run. He's not as talented, but you
could make an argument that if you had if and
again they're gonna play Caleb. This is not a quarterback controversy.
(02:53):
But my argument is when you the far even with
Mike Holmgrin Farv, could frustrate a coach that Caleb's style
coach is going to frustrate Ben Johnson at times.
Speaker 3 (03:07):
Well, I don't know that yet. I don't think anybody does. Okay,
and Benjing had a great camp. I mean if you
went every.
Speaker 4 (03:14):
Day and I don't have The day I was up there,
I was standing on the field, we were talking.
Speaker 3 (03:18):
I was Ryan Poles and Beju took him down the
field and scored a touchdown and I said to Ryan, well,
at least you know you got a backup, and he says, oh,
we definitely got a backup. So my point is that
he had an outstanding camp. Okay, and they recognize that.
But I really think that keep in mind last night, Caleb, Okay,
we know the numbers he was didn't see it against pressure.
(03:41):
That to me is what separates quarterbacks. Now, Caleb said, okay,
I had a good day. You know that every time
they blitzed him, it wasn't a real good result.
Speaker 4 (03:51):
That's when he threw his incomplete.
Speaker 3 (03:52):
Passes opening day against Minnesota Monday night, Brian Flores.
Speaker 4 (03:58):
He is a lizz king.
Speaker 3 (04:00):
So that's going to open up a whole nother light
for us to look at and say, Okay, Kenny handle
the blitz. Because everyone talks about Jared Goff, But if
you look at Jared Goff's numbers against the blitz, they're
really good.
Speaker 4 (04:14):
They really are good.
Speaker 3 (04:15):
So I think that's going to probably be a big
deal how far Caleb can advance at least.
Speaker 4 (04:22):
Progress this first year.
Speaker 1 (04:23):
Not only were you a head coach, you worked with
a great head coach, Jimmy Johnson. And I think I
told you this privately, probably over a little Italian dinner
or cocktail a couple of years ago. I said, I
think Mike McDaniel's smart. I'm not doubting the smart thing.
But I need my head coach. I need him to
be a CEO, and I've been doubting him for a
couple of years. I'm like, I know he's got all
(04:45):
the motion. But Miami's a hard place to win. As
you know, it's a distracted market. It's got perfect winter weather,
it's got a lively port players.
Speaker 2 (04:56):
It gets loose very quickly there.
Speaker 1 (04:58):
And I think maybe Mike McDaniel in boring Indianapolis right
would be a better fit than distracted LA. But I
think their cultures off. I don't like there. I don't
know what they are. Is that a fair criticism? You
coached in Miami. You know it's a distracted market.
Speaker 4 (05:16):
Yeah, Miami is a little different you.
Speaker 3 (05:19):
And obviously the thing that they didn't like about me,
I never got caught up in that because we were
a running team with Ricky Williams. He led the league
in rushing. Okay, so we were going to play defense
and run the ball. Miami was and we were winning games.
Miami almost sometimes seemed to be happier when they would lose.
When when they weren't running the ball Marina was throwing,
(05:41):
they'd lose thirty five thirty four, and people would say, well,
it was an exciting game. I mean, you know so,
so you're right. I mean the culture down here is
to throw it when I had my doubts, and it
really surprised me because McDaniel supposed to be he was
in charge of the running game at San Francisco.
Speaker 4 (05:58):
Go back two or three years ago, playoff game, I
think it was against Buffalo and they had their third
team quarterback in there.
Speaker 3 (06:05):
Kids from Kansas State, I believe it was, and they
threw the ball with their thirteen quarterback. I think it
was three or four times, you can look up the numbers,
more than they ran it.
Speaker 4 (06:17):
And they lost the Buffalo in that playoff game.
Speaker 3 (06:19):
And that was a big red flag to me, big
red flag to me. And I think another way that
a coach can lose your team by what's happening on
the field. We're talking about the physicality, but also by
what happens off the field, sometimes from a press conference standpoint.
And last year, you know, with Tyreek Hill, I mean
(06:42):
they had an outside shot of the playoffs.
Speaker 4 (06:44):
Let's be real, you know, it's.
Speaker 3 (06:45):
A lot of things had to happen for them to
get in, but they still were playing for a possible
playoff game, their last game of the season, and Tyreek
Hill doesn't go win on the field the last two
or three sessions. And I'm watching the press conference and
they asked Mike, but well, what happened to Tyren? He says,
I don't know. I didn't I haven't talked to him yet.
Speaker 4 (07:03):
Boy.
Speaker 3 (07:03):
You know, if you're a player that just doesn't give
you a you know, a good grasp. But you got
your hands around this thing. And I think it's it's
caught up with them. So hopefully they can rebomb, but
it's gonna be a tough one.
Speaker 1 (07:16):
Yeah, staff just sent this to me. Skyler Thompson threw
it forty five times in a playoff lost to Buffalo.
Skyler Thompson, thank you?
Speaker 2 (07:24):
Yeah, what are you doing?
Speaker 4 (07:25):
Made now?
Speaker 2 (07:26):
But what are you doing?
Speaker 3 (07:27):
Be sure to catch live editions of The Herd weekdays
and noone Easter, not a Empacific.
Speaker 5 (07:32):
He's Mike Krmen, I'm Dan Bayern. We have a fantasy
football podcast called I Want Your Flex.
Speaker 6 (07:38):
That's right, Dan. Every week we're gonna scour the waiver
wire to find the pickups to turbo boost your fantasy lineup.
Sit starts, Fantasy football players rankings. To get you ready
to dominate the competition.
Speaker 5 (07:50):
Listen to I Want Your Flex with Mike Carmon and
meet Dan Byer on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts and
wherever you bet your podcasts.
Speaker 1 (07:58):
Okay, so I had said this, I think Shador Sanders
is probably more my cup of tea as a quarterback.
He's a legit six to two. He's accurately moves. I
don't like the celebrity stuff. Joe Flackall was named starter today.
Coach Parcels used to say, no celebrity quarterbacks, but I
think that ship has sailed some of these nil guys.
(08:19):
Cut Arch Manning is going to be a celebrity quarterback.
Speaker 2 (08:21):
You just got to.
Speaker 1 (08:22):
If you're a quarterback at you know, Michigan or Notre Dame,
you're gonna be a celebrity quarterback?
Speaker 2 (08:29):
Are you? Would you?
Speaker 1 (08:30):
I mean, what would you do with a situation? Do
you like schadur over Dylan Gabriel. Dylan's a little more serious,
Shad's a little more playful. What do you do in
the backup role in that team? If you run the team,
Flaco's your guy? Do you keep four guys. No, I
don't think you can keep four guys. I really don't,
you know, I don't.
Speaker 3 (08:50):
Kenny Pickett was my pick to come out of this thing,
not just because he's a pick guy like me, but
he was my pick when it started that he was
going to cut surface in this thing as the starter.
And obviously injuries or whatever happens, so it sounds like
that thing has gone old. Sanders has the most talent
in my mind just watching them both play. As far
(09:12):
as the personalities, god, I mean, I don't know, you know,
unless he's a distraction the members on the team, which
I don't think he is. I think Sanders is probably
your second best option. And Gabriel will he ever get better?
And that's the question mark. I think you know what's
the upside on Gabriel? And I loved him just like
(09:34):
everybody wants to talk about at Oregon. You know, the
guy had seventy five percent completions or whatever it was.
But is that you know, is he about as good
as he's going to be right now?
Speaker 4 (09:43):
Can he improve? I don't know.
Speaker 3 (09:45):
That's a real tough one. I try to keep the
personalities out of it as long as they're doing all
the right things in the classroom and on the field.
Speaker 1 (09:56):
So you didn't worry too much about you know, some
guys are quirky and some guys aren't.
Speaker 2 (10:00):
You try to just eliminate that.
Speaker 3 (10:03):
Well, yes, as long as it's not affecting your football
team from the standpoint. Are they on time for meetings?
I mean, do they know what they're doing on the
field or they practice? Are they getting in early and
staying late? If they're doing all those things, you know,
I think sometimes you know that off the field stories
will get blown out of proportion to one extent. You know,
(10:26):
that's a tough one. That's a tough one because Gabriel
is not going to back away. I mean, you know,
you got two good, young, talented quarterbacks. Maybe you need
to play them both and.
Speaker 4 (10:36):
See what falls.
Speaker 3 (10:37):
Because the tough thing is flack those Probably it's going
to be tough with Joke and last the whole season,
whether he just gets tired, he gets hurt, or whatever happens.
So you've got to be looking at thing if you're Stefanski,
and you're got to be saying, who can can win
here and finish the season for me and win enough
games to give us a playoff runner, save my job
or whatever the situation is. Who can win games for me?
(11:00):
Who do I have the most confidence in?
Speaker 4 (11:03):
Because this thing with Joe hopefully at lasts, but it
probably won't. He may not have confidence any of the three,
to be quite honest with you.
Speaker 2 (11:10):
So we got into this discussion.
Speaker 1 (11:13):
John Middlekop, my buddy here is a former scout, and
we got we were talking about Ashton Genty and he's
just he is tough, Dave, he is, he runs right,
he looks reminds me of Adrian Peterson. He is like
a missile. He is seeking contact. He's five seven, five
eight whatever. What do you tell a running back? I mean,
(11:34):
when you're coaching men, you're seeking guys who like physicality.
But there are positions in football, like quarterback and running
back where I feel like I look, I'll show you
the clips of Ashton Genty. He is just getting throttled.
And I think to myself, how does a coach send
the message live for another day to a power running back.
Speaker 4 (11:59):
I don't know if you do. I think it's just
in their nature.
Speaker 3 (12:04):
And you know, Ricky Williams, let's just use it as
an example, because we were talking Dolphins. You know, I
remember my first year, we had Thurman Thomas who I
signed as a free agent. He was done at the Bills,
so I was using Thurman and third done and Ricky
in first and second don. After about two games, Ricky
came in my office and said, coach, what are we
(12:25):
doing here? And I said, well, you know you're playing
first and second down, trying to you know, keep everybody fresh.
I want the ball. I want the ball. So I
think the great running backs they want the football. Can
you change their style? I wouldn't try that. I would
not try that. I think you got a great back,
(12:46):
you had him the football, and you try to win
as many games as you can. I mean, that's, in
my opinion, the philosophy I came up with looking at
the Eric Dickerson's and I played with Tony Dorsett, and
we saw Emmitt Smith first and I was with him,
as you know for four years. The great backs are
gonna win games for you. And we all know you
(13:06):
throw at the score points, but you got to run
at the close out games. And Gent's on. He's one
of those guys. He will close a game out and
win it for you.
Speaker 4 (13:14):
If you got the lead.
Speaker 1 (13:15):
Dave wan'stat you know, you look good in that chair.
If you know, maybe someday they're gonna, you know, my
my days could be numbered. You look pretty good in
that authority of chair.
Speaker 4 (13:26):
Well, i'll tell you what.
Speaker 3 (13:27):
I'm gonna look better in the Tofano's restaurant in about
five hours.
Speaker 4 (13:31):
Okay, in that chair, little Italy. So that's thick about that.
Speaker 1 (13:35):
Okay, I'm totally jealous, by the way, completely jealous.
Speaker 2 (13:40):
Dave One's good seeing you.
Speaker 1 (13:42):
What a good friend, what a good guy, everybuddy, all right,
he's got he's got They ever tell you my funny
Dave One?
Speaker 2 (13:48):
Is that story?
Speaker 1 (13:48):
No? So I'm sitting when I first meet him, and
I said, you know, I was talking. He was me
I think my wife was there something. I said, you know,
I like going down to Naples, Florida. He goes, oh,
I love Naples. I said, man, they got this bar,
handsome Harry's. I love this place. He goes, yeah, I
own it. I'm like what He goes, well, I did
(14:10):
own it. And then he told me the story. I'm
not going to get into that, but I'm like, oh,
I owas that was my handsome Harry's it was just
the best.
Speaker 2 (14:17):
It's like, yeah, I used doone that I had to
google how old he was.
Speaker 4 (14:19):
He looks fantastic, all seventy three.
Speaker 2 (14:22):
I've never met a storyteller like Dave wantstap. I mean,
like just there, just out of the blue.
Speaker 1 (14:28):
He's like, oh, I remember when I had Ricky Williams
and I told him I'm going to try to save
you for three because now I want the ball.
Speaker 2 (14:33):
He has a memory like a trap. He's got a million.
Speaker 1 (14:36):
First of all, if you were on a Jimmy Johnson's staff,
yeah you've got stories.
Speaker 7 (14:41):
He used to go on those walks I think at
practice and talk football and talk life.
Speaker 1 (14:47):
Yeah, he's just there's very few people that are more fun.
I don't think I've ever golf with Dave, but going
out in dinner drinks with Dave, he said about as
much fun as I could have. All right, well, take
a break. We'll come and wrap it up with herd
line on what has been a busy day. The Browns
have named Joe Flacco as their starter, which is the
(15:07):
only quarterback spot I don't care about with the Browns.
Speaker 2 (15:09):
Who's two, three and four.
Speaker 3 (15:11):
We'll talk about that now, be sure to catch live
editions of The Herd weekdays and noon eastern non a
em Pacific.
Speaker 2 (15:20):
So story today that I didn't think was.
Speaker 1 (15:23):
Much but has percolated over the last couple of weeks,
Matt Stafford finally showed up to practice. Now again, I
don't expect my old quarterback Stafford Aaron Rodgers Kirk Cousins
to play in the preseason. You'd like him at practice.
So Stafford slowly walked into practice today. Sean McVeigh, who
keeps things incredibly close to the vest, almost sounded annoyed
(15:47):
when talking about Matt Stafford.
Speaker 8 (15:51):
It's good to be able to have Matthew out there.
You know, he did a good job today. I thought
he looked good. But you know, I don't really have
any updates, you know, I think there was a lot
of intended information, but there's no updates. We're going to
keep it a day and really a week at a time.
What I'm not going to do is is sit here
and go back and forth every single day. I don't
think that's fair to anybody involved. That's not you know,
(16:12):
it's not accurate with what's going on with the situation either,
And so we're trying to you know, get our hands
on it.
Speaker 2 (16:17):
We're trying to do right.
Speaker 8 (16:18):
By you know, the player number one and in our team,
and so you know, it was good to be able
to have him out there today.
Speaker 1 (16:24):
Yeah, I mean it's again the Rams and I've thought
about this. I have a right to ask you any question,
but you have a right not to give me an answer.
And Belichick for a year said on to Cincinnati and
the Rams keep things very private, and I think John
talked about this earlier. Shanahan is very loyal to the player.
I mean they've they've signed contracts. I disagree with the
(16:44):
Rams have moved off Cooper Cup who felt like a
Ram for life, A Jalen Ramsey, Todd Gurley, Jared Golf
was a shocker. He got to the Super Bowl. So
they're very business like. I think that's how you should
run an organization. Now, there are times I totally support
the player. Trey Hendrickson and Cincinnati, what are you doing?
You don't have a defense without him, Jamar Chase, pay him,
(17:07):
Micah Parsons, I'd move him. I would have before the season.
So I'm not always for the player, but the Rams
and I don't you know, it used to be like, oh,
it's cutthroat, it's professional sports. They're not going to sign
bad contracts. And so Matt Stafford got a year. That
was it, and they said, we love him. But there
is a benefit. I will say this, John, there is
a benefit playing for Sean McVay, Andy Reid. The leverage
(17:32):
you get when you have a great coach is that
you don't have to always pay the star your coach
is able to You can move off Tyreek Hill in
Kansas City and get and win super Bowls without him.
You don't need the greatest receiving unit. And I think
the way the Rams look at it is the advantage
to having I mean they moved off von Miller quickly.
(17:55):
The advantage to having McVeigh is they're gonna defend mcveigh's
choices always.
Speaker 7 (18:01):
I'm usually anti media, but I will defend I know
McVeigh was kind of edgy right there. They had said
he was gonna throw on Saturday like he had done
the previous week, and then they just went they just
went mute. And then he comes out a couple of
days later and gets defensive about it, like we're talking
about your Hall of Fame quarterback that you go as
kind of he goes.
Speaker 2 (18:22):
It is kind of a big story.
Speaker 7 (18:24):
I mean, and listen, he's Belichick, but he's forty years
old and he smiles. That was kind of Belichickian in
his version. He's getting mad, he's getting angry, but I'm sorry.
This is a massive NFL story.
Speaker 1 (18:34):
Yeah, and again, you your backup situation is Stepson Bennett,
who's not you know, that's very debatable. Whether he can
start NFL games very debatable. And Garoppolo has aged. I
mean when we watched him in Las Vegas, he aged
very very quickly. Now again, can you keep him up
right for a three or four game stretch and he
wins a couple McVeigh could probably do it.
Speaker 2 (18:54):
He's a bit of a magician. But this is a
huge story because this is.
Speaker 1 (18:57):
The only team in the league that could win the
Super Bowl or win four games based on Mats Stafford.
Speaker 7 (19:01):
Well, and that's why when you see his reactions, I
think he understands what's at stake here. If this back
does not go away, they're in major They have major issues.
Speaker 1 (19:12):
John Middlecoff within the News, this is the herd Line News.
Speaker 7 (19:20):
Okay, speaking of teams with major issues, the Dolphins Strom
the build off season, they had a joint practice with
the Lions. Safe to say it did not go well
for Mike McDaniel and the hot seat that he is
currently sitting off. Jen Ramsey's former star corner, was just
traded out of Miami earlier this offseason, and he dropped
some interesting quote referencing his former head coach on a podcast.
Speaker 9 (19:46):
I do appreciate the Dolphins and them working with me
and David, you know, not just hey, this team called,
and you know, we're gonna see you here and this
and that. Like, it wasn't any of that. It was
very open communication.
Speaker 10 (19:59):
Y'all.
Speaker 4 (20:00):
Good to us.
Speaker 9 (20:00):
I've been good to y'all. Like, let's do it the
right way. Let's go to a team that's gonna be
able to compete. Let's go to a team where there's
a lot of respect for the head coach.
Speaker 2 (20:12):
You know, Dave wants to hit on it.
Speaker 7 (20:14):
What they want in Miami because of Marino. I I've
had this theory that it's really really difficult to win
there for a long long time, and now with the
explosion of money. What pat Riley did in Miami for
a long time with the basketball team was kind of
an outlier situation.
Speaker 4 (20:31):
Look at that, it's falling apart.
Speaker 7 (20:33):
The baseball team's a joke, the football team. Is this
a job because it feels inevitable? Now this thing's gonna
get blown up? Are people gonna be lined up for
this gig? Say what you want about the Bears ownership's
a little cheap. That's still the Chicago Bears. Football really matters.
You can win in that town if you do it right.
I think if this job becomes available, is the quote
unquote top candidate, a Mike Rabil, a Ben Johnson, whoever
(20:56):
that guy is in this upcoming cycle, even interested in
that gig.
Speaker 1 (20:59):
Well, Miami is If you've never been to Miami, it's
one of one in America.
Speaker 2 (21:04):
It's very international.
Speaker 1 (21:06):
I've said before, if every Super Bowl the rest of
my life was in Miami, I'd sign up for today.
I think it is the super Bowl. Ocean Avenue, Collins
Avenue International. You can go eat Argentinian food one now night,
Chilean food the next. It's an amazing city, but the
culture is distracted. The people are beautiful. I mean, it's
(21:27):
the best beaches in America. There's money in maseraties everywhere,
and you got a bunch of twenty four year old players.
So when Wanstat was winning there, Wanstatt was considered, you know,
boring defense, run game physicality. I mean, I don't know
if people know this. When Wanstat was in Miami through
his first three or four years, he had a better
(21:48):
record than Mike Tomlin and Pittsburgh. But Pittsburgh is an
easier place to coach, right, There's less to do, So
I think Miami not only takes a good coach, it
takes a certain type of person out Tom Coughlin could
have one in Miami, Tom, I mean, by the way,
Brian Flores did turn the culture around, but he didn't
get along with the quarterback and he rubbed people the
(22:09):
wrong way. I think you need more Brian Flores Ish
than Mike McDaniel.
Speaker 2 (22:14):
Pro player ish.
Speaker 7 (22:15):
I got a name for you, and I could see
their owner, who's gone after big name guys before.
Speaker 4 (22:19):
Remember he tried to get Harbaugh. Kirby Smart.
Speaker 7 (22:22):
Yeah, was their assistant coach with Nick Saban way back
in the day. Maybe he's a little tired of this
nil and everything in college football. I could see that
because a bunch of the top assistants might not be interested.
They go other places.
Speaker 2 (22:35):
Kirby Smart, keep an eye.
Speaker 6 (22:36):
On that one.
Speaker 7 (22:37):
I could see that one taking place. Okay, the forty
nine ers seemed to be a pretty well run operation.
Obviously last season was a disaster with the injury San Francisco.
They're already dealing with some injuries at the wide receiver position. Obviously,
I you had the bad knee injury. But Brock Perdy
and the former first round of Ricky Piersall connection looked very,
very good against the Raiders. They linked up three times
forty two yards, and Purdy discussed the mystery with his
(23:00):
young wide receiver.
Speaker 10 (23:02):
We watched a lot of stuffrom last year too, and
understanding like where we both need to be better when
you know, obviously I'm throwing to him, and I think
we honed in on some on some things this year
in camp and then in the game. Man, we just
go out there and I feel like it's pretty natural
just both of us are chemistry and everything.
Speaker 1 (23:18):
Yeah, I mean Pearsol is An't he of view this
sort of a yard after the catch guy.
Speaker 7 (23:24):
Yeah, I mean he's a physical guy with the ball
in his hands, but he can run.
Speaker 1 (23:26):
I mean he's fast, but that's Shanahan's mantra. What he
loves loves the yards. I'll get you open, catch it
and break tackles.
Speaker 7 (23:34):
Listen, Deebo a couple of years ago had one of
the coolest, most unique seasons we've ever seen. But he's
not a great wide receiver. He's just a great football player.
This guy is a true wide receiver. Him and perty
have some early, you know, chemistry. They didn't draft him
in the first round. It's not like this is like
some fits round fine. I mean, they used their first
first round pick since the Trey Lance trade, so they
(23:55):
hadn't had one in years, and they used it on him,
and the expectations are pretty high.
Speaker 1 (24:00):
H John Middlecoff with the News, Well, that's the news,
and thanks for stupping by the Heard Line News Good
Show Today. Dave Wanstadt and Matt Hasselbeck both stopped by.
No I thought, you know, Dave has got great stories.
I think he's brutally honest. Is that the times I've
(24:20):
talked to Dave about he loved coaching in Chicago. He
still lives there, absolutely loved it. I think Chicago's one
of those cities I would call loud Philadelphia Boston, Chicago,
San Francisco media can be loud.
Speaker 2 (24:36):
La is not as loud.
Speaker 1 (24:37):
It's kind of laid back. Dallas media can be loud.
Where you get into these cities and it's it's almost cultural.
You have to have a strong coach, a definitive coach.
I think there's something that has happened in the league.
I've talked about it at nauseum and it bores people
to death, so I don't talk about it too much.
(24:57):
But not only are offensive co coaches better with quarterbacks,
they're better with offensive lines. I've seen McVeigh rebuild the
Rams O line three times. Andy Reid's done it in
an offseason two to three times. And I think when
Ben Johnson came to Chicago, Drew Dolman, Joe Tooney, Jonah
(25:18):
Jackson his first and then draft the left tackle. They
want to get the O line right, because that's what
happened in Detroit when Ben Johnson was there. Let's get
the old line right. A. You're protecting your number one asset. B.
Everything works when the old line is strong. So I
mean Sean Payton immediately fixed a messy offensive line. He
(25:38):
had Garrett Bowles at left tackle and he went out
and spent some money. Some thought he overspent for the
right tackle from San Francisco McGlinchey. But his whole take was,
if we don't get the on line right. See the
offensive coaches prioritize O lines because it's the insurance policy
for your quarterback. So I look at Ben Johnson and
I'm like, forget Caleb. He got the online right, the
(26:01):
play calling will be better. He and Caleb may not
be perfect stylistically. You know, Dave goes to the Bears practices.
Here's Dave wants. That's thoughts on Caleb earlier.
Speaker 3 (26:14):
I think Ben really he understands that Caleb is a
good enough athlete and he's going to have enough movement
plays for him. And at the same time, we saw
it going into the third quarter, they had twenty one
runs in twenty nine passes, so they are going to
be balanced and run the football. If he does those things,
it's a quarterback friendly offense, and I think Caleb can
(26:37):
really excel in that type of environment.
Speaker 2 (26:41):
Yeah, I think that.
Speaker 1 (26:42):
I think the best friend to the quarterback early is
an offensive coach and a consistent run game. And I
think I think all the offensive coaches get it. I mean,
remember the criticism the Lions got for drafting Jamiir Gibbs,
and like four games in we're like, yeah, that worked
that And now they have was at Montgomery and Gibbs,
(27:04):
So now they have a two prong run game, which
two different types of running backs. So I just think
when I watch Ben Johnson he's doing, I feel like
I'm watching the next great offensive coach because all his
moves look like McVeigh and Peyton. And I mean, right
now in the offseason, what have we said about the Vikings. Man,
(27:24):
if you looked at their offensive line, like the offensive coaches,
it's not just about quarterback, it's they They are better
with the O line almost as a rule. That's why
Brian Dabele has not done a great job with the
O line. That's you could be a knock on him
as that's the one thing about da Ball I have
questions about.
Speaker 2 (27:43):
Why is the Giants O line never good enough?
Speaker 1 (27:46):
By the way, the Broncos my staff just sent this
have the second highest rated O line going into the season.
Speaker 2 (27:50):
It was a mess when he arrived.
Speaker 7 (27:51):
I think a lot of offensive coordinators get jobs when
they go work with a really good quarterback, and they
may be a stint for one or two years. He
showed up in Detroit. I think he was the tight
ends coach at first, because remember Anthony Lynn was the
offensive coordinator. But he saw it from the ground floor
and he saw them build it up, and obviously he
was a big part of it. But he got to
(28:12):
witness in all those staff meetings and all those drafts
like he was a part of Like we got a
startup from nothing.
Speaker 4 (28:18):
They were a joke, not just.
Speaker 2 (28:20):
Of the NFL but in all of professional sports.
Speaker 7 (28:22):
So he's kind of uniquely equipped to have a lot
of perspective even though a stardom. I would say his
rise over the last couple of years was kind of
like a rocket ship. But he saw the lowest of
lows in the NFL.
Speaker 1 (28:33):
Well, they were one of the more entertaining offenses in
the league. With Jared Goff as their quarterback, who's not
a wildly athletic quarterback. You could not wait to watch
Lion Dames tricks, the tempo, they gave you a little
bit of everything. So now just add Kayleb Williams athleticism
to that.
Speaker 4 (28:52):
It's the hurt
Hosts And Creators
Colin Cowherd
Jason McIntyre
Popular Podcasts
New Heights with Jason & Travis Kelce
Football’s funniest family duo — Jason Kelce of the Philadelphia Eagles and Travis Kelce of the Kansas City Chiefs — team up to provide next-level access to life in the league as it unfolds. The two brothers and Super Bowl champions drop weekly insights about the weekly slate of games and share their INSIDE perspectives on trending NFL news and sports headlines. They also endlessly rag on each other as brothers do, chat the latest in pop culture and welcome some very popular and well-known friends to chat with them. Check out new episodes every Wednesday. Follow New Heights on the Wondery App, YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts. You can listen to new episodes early and ad-free, and get exclusive content on Wondery+. Join Wondery+ in the Wondery App, Apple Podcasts or Spotify. And join our new membership for a unique fan experience by going to the New Heights YouTube channel now!
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!