January 7, 2026 • 32 mins
NFL senior NFL reporter Albert Breer talks about the head coach opening in the NFL, John Harbaugh and the Ravens parting ways, the NFL playoffs, and more!
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Thanks for listening to The Herd podcast. Be sure to
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(00:22):
listening to Fox Sports Radio. All right, welcome back. College
football playoffs start tomorrow. Can't wait. Let's bring in Albert Breer.
John Harbaugh firing, I guess yesterday. You know he shakes
things up. So I said this recently. I said, there's
(00:43):
not a quarterback outside of maybe Mahomes that's more popular
in their hometown than Lamar Jackson and Baltimore. He has
worshiped RG three, was on our show. He's like I
was there behind him. He has loved in the room.
And there's a lot of different reports. My take is
John Harbaugh may have just I'll throw scenario. During a
two hour meeting, he said, you know I was eight
(01:04):
and four pre Lamar in the playoffs, I'm three and six.
The cap HiT's huge. A lot of these good quarterbacks
like a Drake Man of bo Nicks, They're like four
million dollar cap hits. It's hard. We've got a lot
of players. He's missed a season with injuries. He's not
the same quarterback. Should I love him? But we can't
say here for the next seven years, it's all Lamar
(01:26):
and I could like Lamar as John Harball, but push
back on this. Lamar is everything. He is the base
of everything. I mean, it doesn't sound like the meeting
started with Harbaugh getting fired. My guess is he pushed
back a little on some stuff.
Speaker 2 (01:41):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (01:41):
I don't know if it's so much just related to Lamar.
I mean, Lamar and John had a good relationship over
the years. I mean as recently as a couple of
weeks ago, John really took up for Lamar in a
way that Lamar wasn't taking up for himself, you know,
And so I think that relationship was still in a
pretty good place.
Speaker 2 (01:59):
I just think that dynamic in the building had changed
a little bit.
Speaker 3 (02:02):
And you know what people have been there would tell
you is that in a lot of ways, John was
a player's coach, but it was a tough, demanding place,
and I think it takes a certain type of player
to play in John harbuss program. The same way like
you see that out there, You'll see that out there
in LA you know, with with with the type of
guy that Jim Harbaugh's bringing in there, it's like their
player centric, but they also have a high expectation, and
(02:25):
I just think there may have been a little bit
of a disconnect there over the last couple of years
that festered a little bit. It doesn't mean as players
don't like him, and it doesn't mean that there wasn't
a good roster on hand. I just don't know that
everything lined up the last couple of years the way
that it had in the previous sixteen years. And then
(02:46):
on top of that, I mean like there's like, to me,
at least, I look at like John Harbaugh the coach,
right and like if you're looking at going forward with
him and who he is as a coach and what
he is as a coach coach, you have to.
Speaker 2 (03:02):
Be all in on that.
Speaker 3 (03:03):
And I don't know that the Ravens were still, you know,
in that same place anymore. It's going to be tough
to replace them. I think they know that, you know,
and there's gonna be some change in the building. And
Lamar is certainly going to be you know, a part
of the process and how they.
Speaker 2 (03:20):
Select the coach.
Speaker 3 (03:21):
Doesn't needs to be seeing in the room, but he's
a factor and how they select their next coach. I'm
just not sure that the building and John were connected
the same way. And you know, I think the proof
of that for ownership was you came into this year
and there were people in that building who legitimately felt
this is the best roster.
Speaker 2 (03:40):
That they had had in decades.
Speaker 3 (03:42):
Yeah, and so to finish that at eight nine, I
think was maybe proof positive of what some people had
observed the last couple of years.
Speaker 1 (03:48):
Okay, So I would argue the Ravens have a very
good culture ownership down. They need somebody to get the
offense right, whereas like the Giants need a culture builder
like a Rable in New England or Carbond in La.
So I could see Harbaugh going to the Giants. I
actually think Kevin Stefanski, who knows the division, would be
a fascinating choice in Baltimore. Do you think he would
(04:10):
get the phone call.
Speaker 2 (04:12):
I think he'll get the phone call. I think they're
gonna you know, I think they're gonna cast a wide netton.
Speaker 3 (04:16):
You know, we only would have one previous example of
Steve Pashatti looking for a head coach, and it was
actually interesting if you look back at it, like they
made a run at Josh McDaniels, he wound up pulling
his name out of the search. They made a run
at Jason Garrett, he pulled his name out of the search.
Not saying those guys would have gotten a job, but
both those guys were sort of down the line a
(04:37):
little bit with the Ravens, and they wind up turning
to John Harbond.
Speaker 2 (04:42):
Obviously, it worked out great.
Speaker 3 (04:43):
You know, you go to the playoffs twelve times in
eighteen years, win a Super Bowl, and six division titles.
There's no question it was a roaring success. But they
had a very wide ranging search the last time around,
and initially I think the thought was, well, maybe we'll
draft a quarterback this year that wound up being Joe Flacoh.
Speaker 2 (05:01):
We want somebody to develop him.
Speaker 3 (05:03):
And that had caused them at the time to look
at both Garrett and McDaniels, And so I certainly think
you could look at Kevin Stefanski as somebody to do that.
Another name to look at will be Clint Kubiak out
in Seattle as somebody who has connections to that building.
Gary Kubiak was loved in that building when he was
working there as the offensive coordinator, So I think Clint.
Speaker 2 (05:25):
Could get a look. And then I think you look
at guys who maybe the.
Speaker 3 (05:29):
Cultural fit that you're looking for, right, And Brian floor
Is is somebody that I look at and say, like,
that guy looks like a Ravens coach, you know what
I mean? That guy carries himself as like a Ravens
coach like Brian Floor is to me. You know, it
just checks a lot of boxes as far as what
they've looked for in their head coaches. And you know,
I think it's an interesting job too, and that when
(05:51):
John Harbaugh came in there, he didn't change that place, right,
He sort of took the baton from Brian Billick and
it had already been established what a raven was, and
so he was inheriting guys yeah that were that were
that were that were torch bearers in their own right
and Ed Reid and Ray Lewis, And I think the
idea is going to be similar here, whereas how can
(06:12):
we take what being a raven has always been and
move it forward? And I think that they are going
to look at a wide range of guys to try
and do that, and obviously it's gonna be a very
sought after job. I think, by most accounts, the top
job on the market.
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Speaker 1 (06:54):
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on YouTube and subscribe. Okay, so let's let's talk about
So I did a tears thing earlier and we can
put it up the graphic I said, you know, Baltimore's
like if the Packers had an opening or the Eagles
like they are these rarely come open. They're Alabamas. Yeah,
(07:18):
I mean yeah. And then there's the ones I call
promising the Giants. They've got a franchise quarterback Scataboon, neighbors
Andrew Thomas, and a really nice draft position. Raiders could
get Mendoza, ton of cap space and some playmakers. They
could also move Max Crosby for more picks. Atlanta's in
(07:38):
a week division with some nice offensive pieces. And I
think Arthur Blank's an above average owner. And then there's
organizations that I just don't think a top candidate would
be interested in. If you were John Harbaugh and the Falcons,
Raiders and Giants came knocking, is there one that you
think he fits? I think it's New York. What say you?
Speaker 3 (07:58):
I did too, you know, I I think just kind
of like where the Giants are right now, Like look
like I want to be sensitive as I can be
talking about this, but John Marrisick, you know, and like
so they're they're managing that internally, and that's something that's obviously,
you know, a factor and all this. They've got a
sitting general manager, and I think that they do need
somebody who's going to come in and be a really
(08:20):
strong leader.
Speaker 2 (08:21):
And to me, like John.
Speaker 3 (08:23):
Harbaugh the same way Kevin Stefanski does too, screams New
York Giants just and how buttoned up he is and
how like strong an idea of what he wants to
build for in a culture is like, I think he's
got all of that. So you put those three jobs
up there though that you know, here's what's interesting about
that to me. You said the Raiders, the Falcons, and
the Giants in that plane, right, yeah, yeah, doesn't so
(08:45):
much of that come down to what a coach's evaluation
of the quarterbacks is. Like, if you're looking at the Raiders, like,
wouldn't you want to look at Fernando Mendoz at least
get an idea of what he is?
Speaker 6 (08:54):
You know?
Speaker 2 (08:54):
Obviously with Michael Pennix and Jackson Dart you already have the.
Speaker 3 (08:57):
Guy in house, but you want to get a look
at them here. Why Because to me, like, there's nothing
more powerful. There's nothing better in the NFL than having
a rookie corps, a young quarterback who can really play
on his rookie contract. Right, But there's also nothing worse
than being invested in the wrong guy, because not only
does that mean you're not getting the sort of play
you want at the position, it also takes you off
(09:19):
the quarterback market for the next couple of years. So
like I think for any of these coaches, and John
Harbaugh certainly at the top of the list, so much
of how you view those three jobs you mentioned, it's
going to come down to the evaluation of in two places,
the quarterbacks who are there, and then in the other place,
the quarterback who's going to be available with the first
overall pick, whether that's Mendoza or Dante more And so
(09:41):
I think that's sort of the moving target piece of
this whole thing, is how do I view the quarterback
situation in each of those spots, because I think that determines,
you know, to some degree, how attractive the job is.
Speaker 1 (09:54):
Okay, so I said this, everybody can lose this weekend
except Buffalo, and boy did they get a rough draw.
They don't necessarily take leads against good teams. They're often
behind in the second half. That's not a recipe for
winning playoff games. Is face maybe the best team in
football and trail at half. But that's what they do
(10:17):
against good teams. They've lost their last eight road playoff games.
They can't defend the run, and the Jags run it.
Liam Cohen, by all accounts, has been in the Coach
of the Year candidate. I mean I even threw Belichick
out earlier today, I'm like, I don't think they can lose.
I don't think you're allowed to lose with Mahomes burrow
(10:38):
lamar out. I'm sorry, a new stadium coming, Let's just
play it out. It ends up Jags dominate line of
scrimmage and they they want to shootout thirty two twenty eight.
We bringing the band back. I think even the GM
could be on the hot seat.
Speaker 3 (10:55):
No, I don't think they boil the whole thing up,
but I certainly think you'd be like it changes.
Speaker 2 (11:00):
I think there's pressure on guys there to.
Speaker 1 (11:02):
Win win now all the pressure.
Speaker 3 (11:05):
Well, let me ask you this, Colin, Like, like, if
you're a John Harbaugh, would you wait for that one?
Speaker 6 (11:09):
You know?
Speaker 1 (11:10):
Absolutely?
Speaker 3 (11:11):
I mean like that could be one where you look
at it and say, like, there's a superstar quarterback there.
I've got like motivated ownership to spend and win right
now because they're in this window at the quarterback, Like,
it would seem like that would be a really good match.
Speaker 2 (11:24):
I just say this.
Speaker 3 (11:25):
I've brought this comparison up to you a couple of
times now. I won't go through the whole thing, but
this does feel a little bit like Tony Dungee his
last couple of years in Tampa, where they only had
a finite window to win with Derek Brooks and John
Lynch and Bronde Barber and Derek Brooks, and they that
window was eventually going to close, and ownership started to
(11:46):
feel the heat of you know, we have to win
while we have this opportunity with these players in the house.
And obviously a great quarterback creates the same sort of
pressure on everyone to win. And Josh Allen is not
going to be Josh Allen forever. He turned thirty, you
know this offseason. Obviously he's got a lot of mileage
because the way he plays the game, and so like
I would say, like, this is that sort of situation
(12:08):
where I don't know that there's been a ton of
internal conversation about making changes. But if you go down
to Jacksonville and you don't look good and you lose,
like I think, there are a lot of questions about
what the future looks like again, like whether or not
those those questions are asked at a high enough level.
Speaker 2 (12:25):
Internally where at least we change.
Speaker 3 (12:27):
I don't know, but certainly those questions are going to
come up in a few days if they can't get
it done in Jacksonville.
Speaker 1 (12:32):
You know, Nick Wright was on the show Let's End
with This yesterday and he said, you know, if not
for playoff expansion, green Bay wouldn't have been making these playoffs.
If you look at the last four years, he said,
seven seed, seven seed, seven seed. I think Matt does
a good job. I also think there are obstacles in
green Bay. Youngest team three years in a row. Why well,
(12:54):
they said on the few is free agents the last
few years. Like they it's not a free agent spot.
They have to go to the draft. Sometimes owners are
a problem, but if you have a good one, like
Robert Kraft, they also get stuff done on a tarmack
in fifteen minutes. I think Lafleur's safe. I think he's good.
I'll throw this at you. I was told this year's ago, Albert,
when Shanahan, McVay and Lafleur were in DC, And I
(13:18):
was told this by a general manager in the league
who's still in the league. He said Shanahan was the
best schematically, McVay was the best culturally. Like walks through
the door and just owns it. And Lafleur was the
nicest guy, Like he was pretty good schemes, pretty good culture,
but he wasn't great at either. But everybody liked him. Hard,
(13:40):
hard worker, bright guy. And so my takeaway is, all
these years later, we look at Shanahan as this wow.
Mcveay is this wow, and there's a lot of questions
about I think he's a good coach. Lafleur he's not
in trouble, right, Like if they get whacked, he's okay, right.
Speaker 2 (13:59):
I don't think so. The reason this question is coming
up is twofold.
Speaker 3 (14:03):
Number one, he's going to contract negotiation pending they didn't
redo his contract last year. And number two, there's a
new team president there, so end Policy, who's Karmon Policy's son,
is now the team president. He took over for Mark
Murphy back in the summer. And so there's a new
set of eyes that's on with Matt Lafleur making this decision.
Speaker 2 (14:23):
And so you have to ask those questions.
Speaker 3 (14:25):
They've obviously invested in the core of players they have.
Now they have some big decisions coming on some of
the younger players whose contracts are going to be coming
up so this is an important time for the franchise.
I don't think anybody looks at that roster and says
it's devoid of talent. I don't think anybody looks at
Matt Lafleur and says he's a problem. But are if
you're the new team president, are you reupping? And at
(14:46):
what level are you reupping? And these are all questions
that need to be asked. There is one wild card
here too, which I just I don't know if anybody's
mentioned this, but like, assuming Matt Ryan becomes the president
of football operations Atlanta, do you know who his position
coach was when he went to the Super Bowl.
Speaker 2 (15:04):
In twenty sixteen? It was Matt Lafleur.
Speaker 3 (15:08):
So if Atlanta's senses, like if they were to get eliminated,
and Atlanta's senses like, could there be an issue here?
Like do they pick up the phone and call and
say is like if you're having any thought about moving on?
Speaker 2 (15:24):
Like could we work a trade?
Speaker 6 (15:25):
Like?
Speaker 3 (15:26):
And those are difficult to pull off because of the
room you rule and everything else. But it's just something
that's been in the back of my head a little
bit because I know how much Matt Ryan thinks of
Matt Lafleur, like, could that potentially be a marriage?
Speaker 1 (15:39):
Wow?
Speaker 3 (15:40):
If the Packers aren't all in undoing a big new
contract for Matt Lafleur.
Speaker 2 (15:45):
It's just something to just think a little bit about.
Speaker 3 (15:47):
I again, like that's just me talking, But I do
think like given the coaching market and I think the
lack of obvious candidates this year, there's gonna be there's
gonna need to be a little bit more create activity.
I do think we're going to see some teams staking
outside the box that way.
Speaker 1 (16:05):
Boy, that was good. That's a good way to end it.
That was a big explanation point. That's that's going to
be a simmer all through the weekend. All right, can't wait.
Albert Brewers always a Monday morning quarterback cover the league
for twenty one years. Now, Good seeing you, buddy.
Speaker 2 (16:18):
All right, thanks going. Yeah, that's an.
Speaker 1 (16:21):
Interesting one, you know, the world's relationships. I was just
I was a watching the other day. I was watching
the guy Prof. G. Scott Galloway is a love that guy. Yeah,
he does, you know, kind of a very thoughtful guy.
And he was talking about interviews are overrated that when
you start a company The first thing you do is
you go to the smart people in your company and go,
(16:41):
do you know anybody really smart? Like he goes interviews.
He goes occasionally he'll interview somebody and go, Wow, that's
not going to work, or Wow, they're brilliant. He goes,
by and large, go to the smartest people in your
company and say, hey, who's your smartest friend? He goes.
That's the way to do it. It's all relationships. And
I think that in this league a lot of it
comes down to, you know, Matt Ryan suddenly now is
(17:04):
a big shot with the Falcons. I mean Lafleur in Atlanta.
Why is Laflour leaving the Packers again? I mean if
they're not off him what he wants and he maybe
wants more power, maybe he wants an owner. I mean
five weeks ago. I mean, how many times can I
have the youngest team in the league. How many times
Canna have the fewest free agents? You know who likes
to live in Atlanta?
Speaker 5 (17:22):
Pro athletes get brears just starting fires here fire again
with Michael Parsons, there's a super Bowl favorite.
Speaker 1 (17:28):
Or soil He's already hurt. Oh my, are you yapping
on the inner web all the time. Wow, you don't
think Atlanta guys are yapping. I know pro athletes like
to live in Atlanta, easier to vision and you've got
an owner.
Speaker 5 (17:40):
To Michael Pennicks, I like pix. That's a downgrade, Colin,
that's a clear downr Yes.
Speaker 1 (17:46):
But the next year is the strongest quarterback again taking
a job knowing you're gonna scuffle for a year. Arthur
Blank doesn't fire people after eight games. You're fine. Wow,
you're moving. Matt Lafleur, you and yeah, I'm not moving.
Speaker 5 (18:01):
Don't do don't tag me online people with this. That's
not my I think Laflour is excellent. I think if
he's very solid. But I think there are obstacles in
Green Bay. There's obstacles everywhere you think.
Speaker 1 (18:11):
I mean Atlanta.
Speaker 5 (18:12):
What have they done in the last outside of choking
away at Super Bowl? What have they done in the
last fifth. It's been a rough stretch, just like my Jets. No,
that's beyond a rough stretch.
Speaker 1 (18:23):
That's a desert that never ends with no gas station
or water. You just stand in that car. Be a
gas station here eventually. No, that's one hundred and twenty
Bobby Desert. We'll come back next live in La the Herd.
Be sure to catch live editions of The Herd weekdays
and noon Eastern not a Empacific. Tom Brady on the
(18:47):
show tomorrow, Tom Brady on the show every week. Man
got a run. Jmak without further ado with a news
no no turn on the news. This is the Herd
Line news.
Speaker 5 (19:03):
All right, Well, you know we got to start with
the carnival barker. Jerry Jones. He lets to say outland
his things, Colin, he met with the media and it's
their end of the season presser. Here's Jerry dropping another Josey.
Speaker 6 (19:16):
My goal in life is to retire as the owner
that won the most Super Bowls.
Speaker 1 (19:25):
That's my goal.
Speaker 6 (19:27):
To be retired in the NFL as the owner that
won the most super Bowls.
Speaker 1 (19:33):
We've got three.
Speaker 6 (19:34):
How many more would I have to go as a
single owner. Bob's got how many six? So I've got
I've got work to do, got work to do. I
got work to do. But at least I'm up to
the second rung in the latter. But my goal is
to have retired and won the most Super Bowl as
an owner.
Speaker 5 (19:54):
Yeah, well, okay, I mean, he knows how to make
good soundbites and win the media for five minutes. You
know what he doesn't know how to do get to
an NFC championship game.
Speaker 1 (20:03):
We all want something.
Speaker 5 (20:04):
It's been like thirty years, but just saying this, you know,
and then the media goes crazy. It's on the show,
it's online, it's irrelevant. Put together our winning roster. Find
a coach.
Speaker 1 (20:15):
Well, he had Jimmy and Parcels. They were strong personalities
and in the end they wanted to say and he
couldn't handle it. So he went with a buddy Barry
Switzer and Chan Gaily and Jason Garrett was fine, and
Mike McCarthy but they are not going to push back.
And so you know, it's funny. Is he made his
mark in you know, being an oil maverick and kind
(20:36):
of a risk taker. But he's almost gotten, you know
is I mean the Mica deal was a swing, but
he's gotten a little a little conservative, a little predictable
that he just won't pay for top coaches.
Speaker 5 (20:48):
So I don't know how you'd rank owners, but there's
no way he's currently a top ten owner in the NFL.
When it comes to like managing a team and putting
together I think.
Speaker 1 (20:55):
They draft necessarily poorly. I think they've got some good talent.
I think I think the best Stoners are. We all
kind of know him. I don't think it's you know,
Jeffrey Lourie's really good Steve Bashat.
Speaker 5 (21:05):
How often does Jeffrey Leury give a press conferences by
just curious?
Speaker 1 (21:09):
Jed Yorke staying cronkey? How about those guys.
Speaker 5 (21:11):
Are they out in front of the microphones all the time. Nope,
They're behind the scenes grinding. So Jerry needs to do
all right, Let's move on to the Ravens Colinet shocking
firing of John Harball.
Speaker 1 (21:21):
Now that sent some shock.
Speaker 5 (21:22):
Waves around the league, but we're waiting to hear what
Lamar Jackson has to say. Oh, we've got so far, Colin,
it is not much. He went on Instagram and he
didn't like thank Harball or mention him at all. All
he did was post, ah, here we go, picture of
himself looks like Zay Flowers someone else, and he wrote
year eight with the prayer hands emoji and then a
(21:44):
purple heart and a black heart. That's Lamar's reaction to
John Horble getting fired Now I'm not a conspiracy theorist,
but you work with the guy for eight years you
can't get a thank you online?
Speaker 1 (21:56):
Is this fishy something going on here? I think it's fishy,
but it's something, and it's something.
Speaker 5 (22:04):
You read that story around Christmas time about Harball not
being thrilled Mike Preston, I.
Speaker 1 (22:08):
Believe in Baltimore.
Speaker 5 (22:09):
Remember Lamar falling asleep in meetings, not wanting to practice.
Speaker 1 (22:14):
It's interesting. So your question is where did that come from?
So I guess I wonder if in the meeting yesterday
that went a while, if that was brought up, like
who leaked that? I mean, that was pretty damning.
Speaker 5 (22:28):
What was your speculation because I think at the time
we agreed this is probably coming from the Harball companies.
Actually he knew that to a Lamar side, yet he
knew that there was some smoke around him, and he
was probably looking to get ahead of this.
Speaker 1 (22:41):
That's interesting. I mean, were you and Brier just throwing
out the well.
Speaker 5 (22:45):
I mean I workshopped this on my podcast and I
was like, listen, if he goes to the Giants, comp
quarterback on the rookie deal, solid defensive front, the secondary's
awful you got Neighbors back, you got Scataboo back. I
mean their tight ends flashed a little bit. I think
you can quickly reboot the Giants and people aren't going
to agree, but they're a better scenario the Giants next
(23:05):
year than the Ravens are.
Speaker 4 (23:07):
No.
Speaker 1 (23:08):
I'm just the Ravens do not have a lot of guys.
Speaker 5 (23:10):
They've got a cap situation, got all sorts of Pro bowlers.
I don't even know if it's about fifty percent of
Jackson guard is the guy. We think he's a franchise quarterback,
I think, but he blew tent special.
Speaker 1 (23:22):
He's in it there constantly. We didn't know bow Knicks
was a guy, an auto rookie deal. We knew he was.
He made the playoffs his first year in a division
with Mahomes and Herbert. Come on with Sean Payton and
a pretty damn good deep bo Knicks was. Come on,
bow Knicks was better than Jackson Dart in year one.
Not close. Who has more upside as a quarterback? I
(23:44):
think they're both about the same. Interesting, they're both more
athletic than people probably give him credit for.
Speaker 5 (23:49):
If we're predicting, where would you guess Harball Lands Giants.
Speaker 1 (23:54):
I'm with you one hundred percent.
Speaker 5 (23:55):
Final story is Rams Panthers on Fox Saturday should be
a good one. Now, remember back in week thirteen, the
Panthers stunned the Rams thirty one twenty eight. Now, you
could break this down really in granular fashion. Okay, the
Rams only had five third downs in the entire game, Colin,
They moved seven point four yards per play up and
down the field, and they had a couple of mistakes
(24:16):
the pick six, and the Panthers were living clean on
fourth down three for three, including two touchdowns over thirty yards.
A lot of freaky stuff there. So Matt Stafford wasn't
great in that game. Little turnover prone here he is
talking about needing to play better.
Speaker 1 (24:32):
If the Rams are going to make a run.
Speaker 7 (24:34):
I'd like not to throw it to their team. And
you know, I think that was the story of the
game when you think about it. I mean, we moved
the ball well in some areas, scored a couple you know,
in the red zone, did some nice things, ran it well,
and just had the turnovers. And really, you look at
their defense, that's what they've been able to do to
a lot of teams. You know, whether it's getting a
tip at the line of scrimmage and somebody making a
play on it, or somebody in the back end making
(24:55):
a play or stripping the ball. So they're they're an
opportunistic group with a bunch of playmakers.
Speaker 1 (25:00):
They are.
Speaker 5 (25:02):
I didn't realize his Panthers are the biggest home underdog
in the NFL playoffs history. What yeah, ten and a
half according to our crack team here.
Speaker 1 (25:11):
That's a big number home underdogs.
Speaker 5 (25:13):
You don't get them a lot, and in the playoffs
the numbers are usually under seven because it's you know,
good teams make the playoffs.
Speaker 1 (25:19):
Then here's the thing. There's a lot I like about
the Panthers. I think Dan Morgan's an excellent young GM
former player. I think Canalis has done proven makes quarterbacks better.
Bryce Young feels more like a bridge than a franchise guy.
But he's okay, he's he's definitely C plus B minus,
but he's I wouldn't pay him big, but you know,
(25:41):
if I could get thirty five million, it's like, like,
let's keep continuity. And they've got two really big talented
targets and Doubtell's been a steal for them great, So
there's stuff to like about it. It's just when you
look at the Rams. If you put the ten best
players in this game, like nine, eight or nine and
(26:01):
eight or nine of the Rams, it's just it's like
Seattle San Francisco. Like if you start looking top twelve players,
Kittle's great and McCaffrey, but you start getting like three
Seahawks for every Niner. And when Pearsall and Trent Williams
are up, so like if Carolina got somebody, if Dowdell
got banged up in the first quarter, You're like, okay,
game's o. Like it gets ugly. So the margins for
(26:23):
Carolina are really thin, and for Philly and the Rams
in Seattle, you can it's just different. You can have
fumbles and win. You can throw a pick six and
a win.
Speaker 5 (26:32):
I expect a lot of Dowdell and Chuba Hubbard, right, Basically,
you're gonna need like a one hundred and fifty yard
game to have a chance. They had a buck sixty
four in the earlier meeting. Rams run defense, not you know, elite,
it's good. It's like league average. I like Rams either.
Speaker 2 (26:47):
Thirty to thirteen or something like that.
Speaker 5 (26:51):
I'm a Rams like wake up, roll out of bed
and score thirty points.
Speaker 1 (26:54):
This offense is a machine.
Speaker 5 (26:55):
DeVante Adams expected to be back.
Speaker 1 (26:57):
Jmack with the news. Well that's the news, and thanks
for stopping.
Speaker 2 (27:02):
That's the herd Line news.
Speaker 1 (27:04):
Yeah, it was interesting. The Bears Packers is Saturday. It's
it's gonna be fantastic. But Albert Breer, because he's looking
Matt Leffleur is looking for a contract extension. I think
he should be safe. I think he's very, very good.
But there's some disappointment. You know, we're just we don't
I don't they We're not quite sure what to do
(27:26):
with green Bay. And when you watched their rival Ben
Johnson walk into town and suddenly transform an offense, You're like, Matt,
how come they run the ball better than us up
in Green Bay? Why aren't when we have all these
young receivers, so do they? Why are Luther Burdens getting
touching Colston Loveland?
Speaker 6 (27:47):
Now?
Speaker 1 (27:47):
I think, in fair fairness, when Tucker Craft got hurt,
the offense is not the same. Watson's in and out
of the lineup based on health. They're old line. It's
had some uh you know, key guy is banged up.
So they've dealt with some injuries. Bears offensively not as much.
But Albert Brier dropped this about Matt excuse me, yeah,
(28:09):
Matt Lafleur's future potentially.
Speaker 3 (28:13):
Assuming Matt Ryan becomes the president of football operations in Atlanta.
Do you know who his position coach was when he
went to the Super Bowl in twenty sixteen?
Speaker 2 (28:23):
It was Matt Lafleur. So if Atlanta's senses, like if green.
Speaker 3 (28:28):
Bay were to get eliminated, and Atlanta's senses like, could.
Speaker 2 (28:32):
There be an issue here?
Speaker 3 (28:34):
Like do they pick up the phone and call and
say is like, if you're having any thought about moving on?
Like could we work a trade?
Speaker 1 (28:43):
Okay? That's interesting. That's uh. That that that that's interesting.
You know. The other thing that we talked about earlier
is it used to be that these owners were worth
three hundred million, five hundred million, eight hundred million. They're
all billionaire. They're all billionaires and some multi multi billionaires,
(29:06):
And what does that mean? They want what they want.
They're less patient, they're more impulsive, and you know Green
Bay doesn't have that. So you always kind of think
the Rooneys and the Packers really don't like the fire coaches.
The Packers don't have an owner, and the Rooneys are
super conservative in terms of changes. They want their GM
(29:29):
and their coach to be lockstep for twenty years. That's
just how Pittsburgh operates. Everybody else. I mean, John Harbaugh,
weren't you a little shocked? So I mean, Raiders just
keep mowing through them. So you know, if Matt Lafleur,
like I think Cleveland made a big mistake moving off
(29:51):
Kevin Stefanski, why can't I tell that? Because look how
many teams, some good ones are interested. If Matt Lafleur
didn't sign a deal, Matt Lafleur would be unemployed for
about forty five minutes. So I mean, we're getting to
a point now where good coaches, like we all think
Matt Lafleur is good. What if he didn't get a
(30:12):
contract extension. We all know that pre Lamar Harbaugh's winning
a Super Bowl with Joe Flacco, So that's that's It's
just it's the global wealth that is now infused. We
see it in college football with Mark Cuban writing a
big check now right for the Indiana Hoosia football program.
But the global network, the global wealth you're seeing it
(30:36):
in the NFL where you're getting surprising higher. It used
to be the bums got fired. Now you're like Stefanski's
on the market. Lafleur could be on the market. Harball's
on the market. I mean those are really good coaches.
I mean, Mike Rabel, you're two years ago, Mike Rabel
got fired. He's the problem in Tennessee. I mean he
(30:59):
was the life persons for the whole franchise. You're you're
blaming Mike Vrabel. Okay, here is Matt Lafleur on the
matchup with the Bears.
Speaker 4 (31:10):
Absolutely, I mean it's the same thing our guys have
been doing all season Long's it's a tough opponent on
the road, a division rival.
Speaker 1 (31:19):
There's obviously going to be a lot.
Speaker 4 (31:20):
Of excitement and not only I mean everywhere about this game.
So you know, we just got to go play our
type of game.
Speaker 1 (31:30):
Yeah, I think I'm I think Aileen Chicago. Windy weather
favors the run game. Bears have a great run attack.
They also played one of their poor games of the year.
They'll be inspired. I mean Packers haven't won a game
in a month. I don't when the weather is not ideal.
The things I look for are mostly can you run
the ball? Does your quarterback have a power arm? Can
(31:52):
your quarterback make yards with his feet? I could see
Chicago throwing the ball seventeen times and doing a lot
of Caleb movement and running the ball forty five times.
Take the weather out of it. I could see it.
That's that's going to be an all time Yeah.
Speaker 6 (32:08):
Yeah,
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. You're
(00:22):
listening to Fox Sports Radio. All right, welcome back. College
football playoffs start tomorrow. Can't wait. Let's bring in Albert Breer.
John Harbaugh firing, I guess yesterday. You know he shakes
things up. So I said this recently. I said, there's
(00:43):
not a quarterback outside of maybe Mahomes that's more popular
in their hometown than Lamar Jackson and Baltimore. He has
worshiped RG three, was on our show. He's like I
was there behind him. He has loved in the room.
And there's a lot of different reports. My take is
John Harbaugh may have just I'll throw scenario. During a
two hour meeting, he said, you know I was eight
(01:04):
and four pre Lamar in the playoffs, I'm three and six.
The cap HiT's huge. A lot of these good quarterbacks
like a Drake Man of bo Nicks, They're like four
million dollar cap hits. It's hard. We've got a lot
of players. He's missed a season with injuries. He's not
the same quarterback. Should I love him? But we can't
say here for the next seven years, it's all Lamar
(01:26):
and I could like Lamar as John Harball, but push
back on this. Lamar is everything. He is the base
of everything. I mean, it doesn't sound like the meeting
started with Harbaugh getting fired. My guess is he pushed
back a little on some stuff.
Speaker 2 (01:41):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (01:41):
I don't know if it's so much just related to Lamar.
I mean, Lamar and John had a good relationship over
the years. I mean as recently as a couple of
weeks ago, John really took up for Lamar in a
way that Lamar wasn't taking up for himself, you know,
And so I think that relationship was still in a
pretty good place.
Speaker 2 (01:59):
I just think that dynamic in the building had changed
a little bit.
Speaker 3 (02:02):
And you know what people have been there would tell
you is that in a lot of ways, John was
a player's coach, but it was a tough, demanding place,
and I think it takes a certain type of player
to play in John harbuss program. The same way like
you see that out there, You'll see that out there
in LA you know, with with with the type of
guy that Jim Harbaugh's bringing in there, it's like their
player centric, but they also have a high expectation, and
(02:25):
I just think there may have been a little bit
of a disconnect there over the last couple of years
that festered a little bit. It doesn't mean as players
don't like him, and it doesn't mean that there wasn't
a good roster on hand. I just don't know that
everything lined up the last couple of years the way
that it had in the previous sixteen years. And then
(02:46):
on top of that, I mean like there's like, to me,
at least, I look at like John Harbaugh the coach,
right and like if you're looking at going forward with
him and who he is as a coach and what
he is as a coach coach, you have to.
Speaker 2 (03:02):
Be all in on that.
Speaker 3 (03:03):
And I don't know that the Ravens were still, you know,
in that same place anymore. It's going to be tough
to replace them. I think they know that, you know,
and there's gonna be some change in the building. And
Lamar is certainly going to be you know, a part
of the process and how they.
Speaker 2 (03:20):
Select the coach.
Speaker 3 (03:21):
Doesn't needs to be seeing in the room, but he's
a factor and how they select their next coach. I'm
just not sure that the building and John were connected
the same way. And you know, I think the proof
of that for ownership was you came into this year
and there were people in that building who legitimately felt
this is the best roster.
Speaker 2 (03:40):
That they had had in decades.
Speaker 3 (03:42):
Yeah, and so to finish that at eight nine, I
think was maybe proof positive of what some people had
observed the last couple of years.
Speaker 1 (03:48):
Okay, So I would argue the Ravens have a very
good culture ownership down. They need somebody to get the
offense right, whereas like the Giants need a culture builder
like a Rable in New England or Carbond in La.
So I could see Harbaugh going to the Giants. I
actually think Kevin Stefanski, who knows the division, would be
a fascinating choice in Baltimore. Do you think he would
(04:10):
get the phone call.
Speaker 2 (04:12):
I think he'll get the phone call. I think they're
gonna you know, I think they're gonna cast a wide netton.
Speaker 3 (04:16):
You know, we only would have one previous example of
Steve Pashatti looking for a head coach, and it was
actually interesting if you look back at it, like they
made a run at Josh McDaniels, he wound up pulling
his name out of the search. They made a run
at Jason Garrett, he pulled his name out of the search.
Not saying those guys would have gotten a job, but
both those guys were sort of down the line a
(04:37):
little bit with the Ravens, and they wind up turning
to John Harbond.
Speaker 2 (04:42):
Obviously, it worked out great.
Speaker 3 (04:43):
You know, you go to the playoffs twelve times in
eighteen years, win a Super Bowl, and six division titles.
There's no question it was a roaring success. But they
had a very wide ranging search the last time around,
and initially I think the thought was, well, maybe we'll
draft a quarterback this year that wound up being Joe Flacoh.
Speaker 2 (05:01):
We want somebody to develop him.
Speaker 3 (05:03):
And that had caused them at the time to look
at both Garrett and McDaniels, And so I certainly think
you could look at Kevin Stefanski as somebody to do that.
Another name to look at will be Clint Kubiak out
in Seattle as somebody who has connections to that building.
Gary Kubiak was loved in that building when he was
working there as the offensive coordinator, So I think Clint.
Speaker 2 (05:25):
Could get a look. And then I think you look
at guys who maybe the.
Speaker 3 (05:29):
Cultural fit that you're looking for, right, And Brian floor
Is is somebody that I look at and say, like,
that guy looks like a Ravens coach, you know what
I mean? That guy carries himself as like a Ravens
coach like Brian Floor is to me. You know, it
just checks a lot of boxes as far as what
they've looked for in their head coaches. And you know,
I think it's an interesting job too, and that when
(05:51):
John Harbaugh came in there, he didn't change that place, right,
He sort of took the baton from Brian Billick and
it had already been established what a raven was, and
so he was inheriting guys yeah that were that were
that were that were torch bearers in their own right
and Ed Reid and Ray Lewis, And I think the
idea is going to be similar here, whereas how can
(06:12):
we take what being a raven has always been and
move it forward? And I think that they are going
to look at a wide range of guys to try
and do that, and obviously it's gonna be a very
sought after job. I think, by most accounts, the top
job on the market.
Speaker 1 (06:25):
Be sure to catch live editions of The Herd weekdays
and Noone Eastern nin am Pacific on Fox Sports Radio
FS one and the iHeartRadio app.
Speaker 4 (06:34):
Hey, it's Rob Parker and Kelvin Washington from The Odd
Couple on Fox Sports Radio.
Speaker 5 (06:39):
And in addition to hearing us live week nights from
seven to ten pm Eastern on Fox Sports Radio, we
are excited to announce brand new YouTube channel for the show.
That's right, you can now watch The Odd Couple live
on YouTube every day.
Speaker 1 (06:54):
All you gotta do search Odd Couple FSR on YouTube
again YouTube, Just search Odd Couple FSR. Check us out
on YouTube and subscribe. Okay, so let's let's talk about
So I did a tears thing earlier and we can
put it up the graphic I said, you know, Baltimore's
like if the Packers had an opening or the Eagles
like they are these rarely come open. They're Alabamas. Yeah,
(07:18):
I mean yeah. And then there's the ones I call
promising the Giants. They've got a franchise quarterback Scataboon, neighbors
Andrew Thomas, and a really nice draft position. Raiders could
get Mendoza, ton of cap space and some playmakers. They
could also move Max Crosby for more picks. Atlanta's in
(07:38):
a week division with some nice offensive pieces. And I
think Arthur Blank's an above average owner. And then there's
organizations that I just don't think a top candidate would
be interested in. If you were John Harbaugh and the Falcons,
Raiders and Giants came knocking, is there one that you
think he fits? I think it's New York. What say you?
Speaker 3 (07:58):
I did too, you know, I I think just kind
of like where the Giants are right now, Like look
like I want to be sensitive as I can be
talking about this, but John Marrisick, you know, and like
so they're they're managing that internally, and that's something that's obviously,
you know, a factor and all this. They've got a
sitting general manager, and I think that they do need
somebody who's going to come in and be a really
(08:20):
strong leader.
Speaker 2 (08:21):
And to me, like John.
Speaker 3 (08:23):
Harbaugh the same way Kevin Stefanski does too, screams New
York Giants just and how buttoned up he is and
how like strong an idea of what he wants to
build for in a culture is like, I think he's
got all of that. So you put those three jobs
up there though that you know, here's what's interesting about
that to me. You said the Raiders, the Falcons, and
the Giants in that plane, right, yeah, yeah, doesn't so
(08:45):
much of that come down to what a coach's evaluation
of the quarterbacks is. Like, if you're looking at the Raiders, like,
wouldn't you want to look at Fernando Mendoz at least
get an idea of what he is?
Speaker 6 (08:54):
You know?
Speaker 2 (08:54):
Obviously with Michael Pennix and Jackson Dart you already have the.
Speaker 3 (08:57):
Guy in house, but you want to get a look
at them here. Why Because to me, like, there's nothing
more powerful. There's nothing better in the NFL than having
a rookie corps, a young quarterback who can really play
on his rookie contract. Right, But there's also nothing worse
than being invested in the wrong guy, because not only
does that mean you're not getting the sort of play
you want at the position, it also takes you off
(09:19):
the quarterback market for the next couple of years. So
like I think for any of these coaches, and John
Harbaugh certainly at the top of the list, so much
of how you view those three jobs you mentioned, it's
going to come down to the evaluation of in two places,
the quarterbacks who are there, and then in the other place,
the quarterback who's going to be available with the first
overall pick, whether that's Mendoza or Dante more And so
(09:41):
I think that's sort of the moving target piece of
this whole thing, is how do I view the quarterback
situation in each of those spots, because I think that determines,
you know, to some degree, how attractive the job is.
Speaker 1 (09:54):
Okay, so I said this, everybody can lose this weekend
except Buffalo, and boy did they get a rough draw.
They don't necessarily take leads against good teams. They're often
behind in the second half. That's not a recipe for
winning playoff games. Is face maybe the best team in
football and trail at half. But that's what they do
(10:17):
against good teams. They've lost their last eight road playoff games.
They can't defend the run, and the Jags run it.
Liam Cohen, by all accounts, has been in the Coach
of the Year candidate. I mean I even threw Belichick
out earlier today, I'm like, I don't think they can lose.
I don't think you're allowed to lose with Mahomes burrow
(10:38):
lamar out. I'm sorry, a new stadium coming, Let's just
play it out. It ends up Jags dominate line of
scrimmage and they they want to shootout thirty two twenty eight.
We bringing the band back. I think even the GM
could be on the hot seat.
Speaker 3 (10:55):
No, I don't think they boil the whole thing up,
but I certainly think you'd be like it changes.
Speaker 2 (11:00):
I think there's pressure on guys there to.
Speaker 1 (11:02):
Win win now all the pressure.
Speaker 3 (11:05):
Well, let me ask you this, Colin, Like, like, if
you're a John Harbaugh, would you wait for that one?
Speaker 6 (11:09):
You know?
Speaker 1 (11:10):
Absolutely?
Speaker 3 (11:11):
I mean like that could be one where you look
at it and say, like, there's a superstar quarterback there.
I've got like motivated ownership to spend and win right
now because they're in this window at the quarterback, Like,
it would seem like that would be a really good match.
Speaker 2 (11:24):
I just say this.
Speaker 3 (11:25):
I've brought this comparison up to you a couple of
times now. I won't go through the whole thing, but
this does feel a little bit like Tony Dungee his
last couple of years in Tampa, where they only had
a finite window to win with Derek Brooks and John
Lynch and Bronde Barber and Derek Brooks, and they that
window was eventually going to close, and ownership started to
(11:46):
feel the heat of you know, we have to win
while we have this opportunity with these players in the house.
And obviously a great quarterback creates the same sort of
pressure on everyone to win. And Josh Allen is not
going to be Josh Allen forever. He turned thirty, you
know this offseason. Obviously he's got a lot of mileage
because the way he plays the game, and so like
I would say, like, this is that sort of situation
(12:08):
where I don't know that there's been a ton of
internal conversation about making changes. But if you go down
to Jacksonville and you don't look good and you lose,
like I think, there are a lot of questions about
what the future looks like again, like whether or not
those those questions are asked at a high enough level.
Speaker 2 (12:25):
Internally where at least we change.
Speaker 3 (12:27):
I don't know, but certainly those questions are going to
come up in a few days if they can't get
it done in Jacksonville.
Speaker 1 (12:32):
You know, Nick Wright was on the show Let's End
with This yesterday and he said, you know, if not
for playoff expansion, green Bay wouldn't have been making these playoffs.
If you look at the last four years, he said,
seven seed, seven seed, seven seed. I think Matt does
a good job. I also think there are obstacles in
green Bay. Youngest team three years in a row. Why well,
(12:54):
they said on the few is free agents the last
few years. Like they it's not a free agent spot.
They have to go to the draft. Sometimes owners are
a problem, but if you have a good one, like
Robert Kraft, they also get stuff done on a tarmack
in fifteen minutes. I think Lafleur's safe. I think he's good.
I'll throw this at you. I was told this year's ago, Albert,
when Shanahan, McVay and Lafleur were in DC, And I
(13:18):
was told this by a general manager in the league
who's still in the league. He said Shanahan was the
best schematically, McVay was the best culturally. Like walks through
the door and just owns it. And Lafleur was the
nicest guy, Like he was pretty good schemes, pretty good culture,
but he wasn't great at either. But everybody liked him. Hard,
(13:40):
hard worker, bright guy. And so my takeaway is, all
these years later, we look at Shanahan as this wow.
Mcveay is this wow, and there's a lot of questions
about I think he's a good coach. Lafleur he's not
in trouble, right, Like if they get whacked, he's okay, right.
Speaker 2 (13:59):
I don't think so. The reason this question is coming
up is twofold.
Speaker 3 (14:03):
Number one, he's going to contract negotiation pending they didn't
redo his contract last year. And number two, there's a
new team president there, so end Policy, who's Karmon Policy's son,
is now the team president. He took over for Mark
Murphy back in the summer. And so there's a new
set of eyes that's on with Matt Lafleur making this decision.
Speaker 2 (14:23):
And so you have to ask those questions.
Speaker 3 (14:25):
They've obviously invested in the core of players they have.
Now they have some big decisions coming on some of
the younger players whose contracts are going to be coming
up so this is an important time for the franchise.
I don't think anybody looks at that roster and says
it's devoid of talent. I don't think anybody looks at
Matt Lafleur and says he's a problem. But are if
you're the new team president, are you reupping? And at
(14:46):
what level are you reupping? And these are all questions
that need to be asked. There is one wild card
here too, which I just I don't know if anybody's
mentioned this, but like, assuming Matt Ryan becomes the president
of football operations Atlanta, do you know who his position
coach was when he went to the Super Bowl.
Speaker 2 (15:04):
In twenty sixteen? It was Matt Lafleur.
Speaker 3 (15:08):
So if Atlanta's senses, like if they were to get eliminated,
and Atlanta's senses like, could there be an issue here?
Like do they pick up the phone and call and
say is like if you're having any thought about moving on?
Speaker 2 (15:24):
Like could we work a trade?
Speaker 6 (15:25):
Like?
Speaker 3 (15:26):
And those are difficult to pull off because of the
room you rule and everything else. But it's just something
that's been in the back of my head a little
bit because I know how much Matt Ryan thinks of
Matt Lafleur, like, could that potentially be a marriage?
Speaker 1 (15:39):
Wow?
Speaker 3 (15:40):
If the Packers aren't all in undoing a big new
contract for Matt Lafleur.
Speaker 2 (15:45):
It's just something to just think a little bit about.
Speaker 3 (15:47):
I again, like that's just me talking, But I do
think like given the coaching market and I think the
lack of obvious candidates this year, there's gonna be there's
gonna need to be a little bit more create activity.
I do think we're going to see some teams staking
outside the box that way.
Speaker 1 (16:05):
Boy, that was good. That's a good way to end it.
That was a big explanation point. That's that's going to
be a simmer all through the weekend. All right, can't wait.
Albert Brewers always a Monday morning quarterback cover the league
for twenty one years. Now, Good seeing you, buddy.
Speaker 2 (16:18):
All right, thanks going. Yeah, that's an.
Speaker 1 (16:21):
Interesting one, you know, the world's relationships. I was just
I was a watching the other day. I was watching
the guy Prof. G. Scott Galloway is a love that guy. Yeah,
he does, you know, kind of a very thoughtful guy.
And he was talking about interviews are overrated that when
you start a company The first thing you do is
you go to the smart people in your company and go,
(16:41):
do you know anybody really smart? Like he goes interviews.
He goes occasionally he'll interview somebody and go, Wow, that's
not going to work, or Wow, they're brilliant. He goes,
by and large, go to the smartest people in your
company and say, hey, who's your smartest friend? He goes.
That's the way to do it. It's all relationships. And
I think that in this league a lot of it
comes down to, you know, Matt Ryan suddenly now is
(17:04):
a big shot with the Falcons. I mean Lafleur in Atlanta.
Why is Laflour leaving the Packers again? I mean if
they're not off him what he wants and he maybe
wants more power, maybe he wants an owner. I mean
five weeks ago. I mean, how many times can I
have the youngest team in the league. How many times
Canna have the fewest free agents? You know who likes
to live in Atlanta?
Speaker 5 (17:22):
Pro athletes get brears just starting fires here fire again
with Michael Parsons, there's a super Bowl favorite.
Speaker 1 (17:28):
Or soil He's already hurt. Oh my, are you yapping
on the inner web all the time. Wow, you don't
think Atlanta guys are yapping. I know pro athletes like
to live in Atlanta, easier to vision and you've got
an owner.
Speaker 5 (17:40):
To Michael Pennicks, I like pix. That's a downgrade, Colin,
that's a clear downr Yes.
Speaker 1 (17:46):
But the next year is the strongest quarterback again taking
a job knowing you're gonna scuffle for a year. Arthur
Blank doesn't fire people after eight games. You're fine. Wow,
you're moving. Matt Lafleur, you and yeah, I'm not moving.
Speaker 5 (18:01):
Don't do don't tag me online people with this. That's
not my I think Laflour is excellent. I think if
he's very solid. But I think there are obstacles in
Green Bay. There's obstacles everywhere you think.
Speaker 1 (18:11):
I mean Atlanta.
Speaker 5 (18:12):
What have they done in the last outside of choking
away at Super Bowl? What have they done in the
last fifth. It's been a rough stretch, just like my Jets. No,
that's beyond a rough stretch.
Speaker 1 (18:23):
That's a desert that never ends with no gas station
or water. You just stand in that car. Be a
gas station here eventually. No, that's one hundred and twenty
Bobby Desert. We'll come back next live in La the Herd.
Be sure to catch live editions of The Herd weekdays
and noon Eastern not a Empacific. Tom Brady on the
(18:47):
show tomorrow, Tom Brady on the show every week. Man
got a run. Jmak without further ado with a news
no no turn on the news. This is the Herd
Line news.
Speaker 5 (19:03):
All right, Well, you know we got to start with
the carnival barker. Jerry Jones. He lets to say outland
his things, Colin, he met with the media and it's
their end of the season presser. Here's Jerry dropping another Josey.
Speaker 6 (19:16):
My goal in life is to retire as the owner
that won the most Super Bowls.
Speaker 1 (19:25):
That's my goal.
Speaker 6 (19:27):
To be retired in the NFL as the owner that
won the most super Bowls.
Speaker 1 (19:33):
We've got three.
Speaker 6 (19:34):
How many more would I have to go as a
single owner. Bob's got how many six? So I've got
I've got work to do, got work to do. I
got work to do. But at least I'm up to
the second rung in the latter. But my goal is
to have retired and won the most Super Bowl as
an owner.
Speaker 5 (19:54):
Yeah, well, okay, I mean, he knows how to make
good soundbites and win the media for five minutes. You
know what he doesn't know how to do get to
an NFC championship game.
Speaker 1 (20:03):
We all want something.
Speaker 5 (20:04):
It's been like thirty years, but just saying this, you know,
and then the media goes crazy. It's on the show,
it's online, it's irrelevant. Put together our winning roster. Find
a coach.
Speaker 1 (20:15):
Well, he had Jimmy and Parcels. They were strong personalities
and in the end they wanted to say and he
couldn't handle it. So he went with a buddy Barry
Switzer and Chan Gaily and Jason Garrett was fine, and
Mike McCarthy but they are not going to push back.
And so you know, it's funny. Is he made his
mark in you know, being an oil maverick and kind
(20:36):
of a risk taker. But he's almost gotten, you know
is I mean the Mica deal was a swing, but
he's gotten a little a little conservative, a little predictable
that he just won't pay for top coaches.
Speaker 5 (20:48):
So I don't know how you'd rank owners, but there's
no way he's currently a top ten owner in the NFL.
When it comes to like managing a team and putting
together I think.
Speaker 1 (20:55):
They draft necessarily poorly. I think they've got some good talent.
I think I think the best Stoners are. We all
kind of know him. I don't think it's you know,
Jeffrey Lourie's really good Steve Bashat.
Speaker 5 (21:05):
How often does Jeffrey Leury give a press conferences by
just curious?
Speaker 1 (21:09):
Jed Yorke staying cronkey? How about those guys.
Speaker 5 (21:11):
Are they out in front of the microphones all the time. Nope,
They're behind the scenes grinding. So Jerry needs to do
all right, Let's move on to the Ravens Colinet shocking
firing of John Harball.
Speaker 1 (21:21):
Now that sent some shock.
Speaker 5 (21:22):
Waves around the league, but we're waiting to hear what
Lamar Jackson has to say. Oh, we've got so far, Colin,
it is not much. He went on Instagram and he
didn't like thank Harball or mention him at all. All
he did was post, ah, here we go, picture of
himself looks like Zay Flowers someone else, and he wrote
year eight with the prayer hands emoji and then a
(21:44):
purple heart and a black heart. That's Lamar's reaction to
John Horble getting fired Now I'm not a conspiracy theorist,
but you work with the guy for eight years you
can't get a thank you online?
Speaker 1 (21:56):
Is this fishy something going on here? I think it's fishy,
but it's something, and it's something.
Speaker 5 (22:04):
You read that story around Christmas time about Harball not
being thrilled Mike Preston, I.
Speaker 1 (22:08):
Believe in Baltimore.
Speaker 5 (22:09):
Remember Lamar falling asleep in meetings, not wanting to practice.
Speaker 1 (22:14):
It's interesting. So your question is where did that come from?
So I guess I wonder if in the meeting yesterday
that went a while, if that was brought up, like
who leaked that? I mean, that was pretty damning.
Speaker 5 (22:28):
What was your speculation because I think at the time
we agreed this is probably coming from the Harball companies.
Actually he knew that to a Lamar side, yet he
knew that there was some smoke around him, and he
was probably looking to get ahead of this.
Speaker 1 (22:41):
That's interesting. I mean, were you and Brier just throwing
out the well.
Speaker 5 (22:45):
I mean I workshopped this on my podcast and I
was like, listen, if he goes to the Giants, comp
quarterback on the rookie deal, solid defensive front, the secondary's
awful you got Neighbors back, you got Scataboo back. I
mean their tight ends flashed a little bit. I think
you can quickly reboot the Giants and people aren't going
to agree, but they're a better scenario the Giants next
(23:05):
year than the Ravens are.
Speaker 4 (23:07):
No.
Speaker 1 (23:08):
I'm just the Ravens do not have a lot of guys.
Speaker 5 (23:10):
They've got a cap situation, got all sorts of Pro bowlers.
I don't even know if it's about fifty percent of
Jackson guard is the guy. We think he's a franchise quarterback,
I think, but he blew tent special.
Speaker 1 (23:22):
He's in it there constantly. We didn't know bow Knicks
was a guy, an auto rookie deal. We knew he was.
He made the playoffs his first year in a division
with Mahomes and Herbert. Come on with Sean Payton and
a pretty damn good deep bo Knicks was. Come on,
bow Knicks was better than Jackson Dart in year one.
Not close. Who has more upside as a quarterback? I
(23:44):
think they're both about the same. Interesting, they're both more
athletic than people probably give him credit for.
Speaker 5 (23:49):
If we're predicting, where would you guess Harball Lands Giants.
Speaker 1 (23:54):
I'm with you one hundred percent.
Speaker 5 (23:55):
Final story is Rams Panthers on Fox Saturday should be
a good one. Now, remember back in week thirteen, the
Panthers stunned the Rams thirty one twenty eight. Now, you
could break this down really in granular fashion. Okay, the
Rams only had five third downs in the entire game, Colin,
They moved seven point four yards per play up and
down the field, and they had a couple of mistakes
(24:16):
the pick six, and the Panthers were living clean on
fourth down three for three, including two touchdowns over thirty yards.
A lot of freaky stuff there. So Matt Stafford wasn't
great in that game. Little turnover prone here he is
talking about needing to play better.
Speaker 1 (24:32):
If the Rams are going to make a run.
Speaker 7 (24:34):
I'd like not to throw it to their team. And
you know, I think that was the story of the
game when you think about it. I mean, we moved
the ball well in some areas, scored a couple you know,
in the red zone, did some nice things, ran it well,
and just had the turnovers. And really, you look at
their defense, that's what they've been able to do to
a lot of teams. You know, whether it's getting a
tip at the line of scrimmage and somebody making a
play on it, or somebody in the back end making
(24:55):
a play or stripping the ball. So they're they're an
opportunistic group with a bunch of playmakers.
Speaker 1 (25:00):
They are.
Speaker 5 (25:02):
I didn't realize his Panthers are the biggest home underdog
in the NFL playoffs history. What yeah, ten and a
half according to our crack team here.
Speaker 1 (25:11):
That's a big number home underdogs.
Speaker 5 (25:13):
You don't get them a lot, and in the playoffs
the numbers are usually under seven because it's you know,
good teams make the playoffs.
Speaker 1 (25:19):
Then here's the thing. There's a lot I like about
the Panthers. I think Dan Morgan's an excellent young GM
former player. I think Canalis has done proven makes quarterbacks better.
Bryce Young feels more like a bridge than a franchise guy.
But he's okay, he's he's definitely C plus B minus,
but he's I wouldn't pay him big, but you know,
(25:41):
if I could get thirty five million, it's like, like,
let's keep continuity. And they've got two really big talented
targets and Doubtell's been a steal for them great, So
there's stuff to like about it. It's just when you
look at the Rams. If you put the ten best
players in this game, like nine, eight or nine and
(26:01):
eight or nine of the Rams, it's just it's like
Seattle San Francisco. Like if you start looking top twelve players,
Kittle's great and McCaffrey, but you start getting like three
Seahawks for every Niner. And when Pearsall and Trent Williams
are up, so like if Carolina got somebody, if Dowdell
got banged up in the first quarter, You're like, okay,
game's o. Like it gets ugly. So the margins for
(26:23):
Carolina are really thin, and for Philly and the Rams
in Seattle, you can it's just different. You can have
fumbles and win. You can throw a pick six and
a win.
Speaker 5 (26:32):
I expect a lot of Dowdell and Chuba Hubbard, right, Basically,
you're gonna need like a one hundred and fifty yard
game to have a chance. They had a buck sixty
four in the earlier meeting. Rams run defense, not you know, elite,
it's good. It's like league average. I like Rams either.
Speaker 2 (26:47):
Thirty to thirteen or something like that.
Speaker 5 (26:51):
I'm a Rams like wake up, roll out of bed
and score thirty points.
Speaker 1 (26:54):
This offense is a machine.
Speaker 5 (26:55):
DeVante Adams expected to be back.
Speaker 1 (26:57):
Jmack with the news. Well that's the news, and thanks
for stopping.
Speaker 2 (27:02):
That's the herd Line news.
Speaker 1 (27:04):
Yeah, it was interesting. The Bears Packers is Saturday. It's
it's gonna be fantastic. But Albert Breer, because he's looking
Matt Leffleur is looking for a contract extension. I think
he should be safe. I think he's very, very good.
But there's some disappointment. You know, we're just we don't
I don't they We're not quite sure what to do
(27:26):
with green Bay. And when you watched their rival Ben
Johnson walk into town and suddenly transform an offense, You're like, Matt,
how come they run the ball better than us up
in Green Bay? Why aren't when we have all these
young receivers, so do they? Why are Luther Burdens getting
touching Colston Loveland?
Speaker 6 (27:47):
Now?
Speaker 1 (27:47):
I think, in fair fairness, when Tucker Craft got hurt,
the offense is not the same. Watson's in and out
of the lineup based on health. They're old line. It's
had some uh you know, key guy is banged up.
So they've dealt with some injuries. Bears offensively not as much.
But Albert Brier dropped this about Matt excuse me, yeah,
(28:09):
Matt Lafleur's future potentially.
Speaker 3 (28:13):
Assuming Matt Ryan becomes the president of football operations in Atlanta.
Do you know who his position coach was when he
went to the Super Bowl in twenty sixteen?
Speaker 2 (28:23):
It was Matt Lafleur. So if Atlanta's senses, like if green.
Speaker 3 (28:28):
Bay were to get eliminated, and Atlanta's senses like, could.
Speaker 2 (28:32):
There be an issue here?
Speaker 3 (28:34):
Like do they pick up the phone and call and
say is like, if you're having any thought about moving on?
Like could we work a trade?
Speaker 1 (28:43):
Okay? That's interesting. That's uh. That that that that's interesting.
You know. The other thing that we talked about earlier
is it used to be that these owners were worth
three hundred million, five hundred million, eight hundred million. They're
all billionaire. They're all billionaires and some multi multi billionaires,
(29:06):
And what does that mean? They want what they want.
They're less patient, they're more impulsive, and you know Green
Bay doesn't have that. So you always kind of think
the Rooneys and the Packers really don't like the fire coaches.
The Packers don't have an owner, and the Rooneys are
super conservative in terms of changes. They want their GM
(29:29):
and their coach to be lockstep for twenty years. That's
just how Pittsburgh operates. Everybody else. I mean, John Harbaugh,
weren't you a little shocked? So I mean, Raiders just
keep mowing through them. So you know, if Matt Lafleur,
like I think Cleveland made a big mistake moving off
(29:51):
Kevin Stefanski, why can't I tell that? Because look how
many teams, some good ones are interested. If Matt Lafleur
didn't sign a deal, Matt Lafleur would be unemployed for
about forty five minutes. So I mean, we're getting to
a point now where good coaches, like we all think
Matt Lafleur is good. What if he didn't get a
(30:12):
contract extension. We all know that pre Lamar Harbaugh's winning
a Super Bowl with Joe Flacco, So that's that's It's
just it's the global wealth that is now infused. We
see it in college football with Mark Cuban writing a
big check now right for the Indiana Hoosia football program.
But the global network, the global wealth you're seeing it
(30:36):
in the NFL where you're getting surprising higher. It used
to be the bums got fired. Now you're like Stefanski's
on the market. Lafleur could be on the market. Harball's
on the market. I mean those are really good coaches.
I mean, Mike Rabel, you're two years ago, Mike Rabel
got fired. He's the problem in Tennessee. I mean he
(30:59):
was the life persons for the whole franchise. You're you're
blaming Mike Vrabel. Okay, here is Matt Lafleur on the
matchup with the Bears.
Speaker 4 (31:10):
Absolutely, I mean it's the same thing our guys have
been doing all season Long's it's a tough opponent on
the road, a division rival.
Speaker 1 (31:19):
There's obviously going to be a lot.
Speaker 4 (31:20):
Of excitement and not only I mean everywhere about this game.
So you know, we just got to go play our
type of game.
Speaker 1 (31:30):
Yeah, I think I'm I think Aileen Chicago. Windy weather
favors the run game. Bears have a great run attack.
They also played one of their poor games of the year.
They'll be inspired. I mean Packers haven't won a game
in a month. I don't when the weather is not ideal.
The things I look for are mostly can you run
the ball? Does your quarterback have a power arm? Can
(31:52):
your quarterback make yards with his feet? I could see
Chicago throwing the ball seventeen times and doing a lot
of Caleb movement and running the ball forty five times.
Take the weather out of it. I could see it.
That's that's going to be an all time Yeah.
Speaker 6 (32:08):
Yeah,
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