January 15, 2026 • 32 mins
Colin talks to Greg Cosell about the NFL playoff games this weekend including Josh Allen and the Bills vs Bo Nix and the Broncos
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
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Speaker 2 (00:21):
You're listening to Fox Sports Radio.
Speaker 1 (00:27):
Down to eight four games, two Saturday and two Sunday.
Greg Hosel forty six years at NFL Films. He's seen
it all, and we're gonna start with Bears hosting the
Rams on a frigid night in Chicago. So let's talk Chicago.
What did they change in their approach from the first
(00:50):
half where they got I mean they could not stop
anything and struggled moving the ball and finding rhythm, and
then in the second half, specifically the it's a different game.
What did they change in their approach against the Packers?
Speaker 3 (01:05):
I thought Colin the bigger change came on the defensive
side of the ball. To be honest, I thought Dennis
Allen really increased his pressure quotion. It started on the
third on the first play of the third quarter where
he went with a double corner blitz and he did
a lot more of these pressure concepts in the second half,
and we saw the result there. The Packers had what
(01:27):
a number of three and outs, So to me, that
set the stage for the game. And what happened in
the fourth quarter when you talk about offense, offense to
me is very interesting because obviously we know what happened
on that fourth and seventh completion by Caleb Williams, which
was as good an improvisational throw as you'll ever see.
But then there were other plays where you look at
(01:48):
it and say, nothing special happened other than the Packers
did not execute well on defense. There was a third
and ten play I think on the second touchdown driving
the fourth quarter, where they Packers forced to check down
to Kyle Minonge and it was third and ten and
they just couldn't tackle him and it went for twenty
two yards.
Speaker 4 (02:07):
So you know plays like that.
Speaker 3 (02:08):
But I obviously the key play in the entire game
in terms of allowing the Bears to win was that
fourth and seventh play, and that was just Caleb Williams
making one of those absolutely special plays, because if that
doesn't happen, it's not likely they win the game. But
I thought in terms of the tactics and schematics of
the game. More was done on the defensive side of
(02:29):
the ball that changed that game.
Speaker 1 (02:31):
So I'm watching Carolina give the Rams trouble for the
second time, and part of me thinks it's a bad matchup.
They have big boundary receivers. Maybe that's it. I just
look at that matchup, but I'm like, something's not right
with the Rams. Their defense. Their defense feels like it's
out of sync. What does it say? What's the film say.
Speaker 3 (02:54):
You know one thing I've learned over the year is
Colin and I know you would agree with this.
Speaker 4 (02:58):
You've watched football for a long time.
Speaker 3 (03:00):
When a team has a weakness or an area that's
not a strength, any time that gets exposed. It could
happen in the regular season, but it's more likely to
happen in the playoffs against better teams.
Speaker 4 (03:11):
That can be exposed anytime.
Speaker 3 (03:13):
And the area of weakness for the Rams are their corners,
and that's one thing that could definitely be a problem
against the Bears.
Speaker 4 (03:21):
We know that.
Speaker 3 (03:22):
Will it be a problem, we don't know. But if
it is a problem, it wouldn't surprise me at all.
And that is the weakness in their defense. So if
they lose this game, because and again I don't know
how weather will affect the ability to throw the ball,
but if it doesn't affect the ability to throw the
ball and Caleb Williams goes off for three hundred and
forty passing yards against those corners, that would not surprise
(03:45):
me at all.
Speaker 1 (03:48):
San Francisco, Seattle. Yeah, I thought the first drive was majestic.
I thought it was absolutely beautiful. Did the Niners do
anything different against Philadelphia? I mean, Shanahan, so it's all symphonic,
It all kind of works. It's just so Yeah, it's
just amazing that they can lose Kittle and still do
(04:09):
what they do. Did they do anything different against Philadelphia?
Speaker 3 (04:12):
Well, they did a couple of things that they don't
normally do that just happened to happen in the game,
starting with the second play when he hit DeMarcus Robinson
for sixty one yards, and then obviously they called that
reverse touchdown, which, as I'm sure you recall, was the
same play they ran in the Super Bowl against the
Chiefs a few years ago. And then he hit Jennings
late in the game later in the game for a
(04:34):
long completion, but you know. To me, I think it's
more instructive to look back at Week eighteen when these
two teams played. Now, I don't think this game will
play out exactly the same way, but that was a
game in which the Niners on both sides of the
ball Colin were physically handled. Kyle Shanahan for the most part,
as you know, he's not a one play kind of coach.
(04:55):
He doesn't think you know, even though he called this
particular play that we're looking at, and that's because they
were really struggling to run the ball, which has been
the case now for the last two weeks. He called
this play to see if he could just generate some
kind of offense, but they've not been able to run
the ball. But for the most part, Kyle is kind
of a four quarter coach. He builds off plays, so
(05:18):
he needs to run plays. When they played Seattle Week eighteen,
the forty nine ers only ran forty two offensive plays.
That's unheard of in an NFL game, So they never
had a chance to sort of develop an offensive rhythm
and develop pace and tempo. Because when they're at their best,
it's not that they're a big play offense. They're not
(05:38):
driving the ball down the field, but they tend to
control the way the game is played. And that did
not happen against Seattle. And it'll be interesting to see
how this plays out. They got physically handled. You know,
you look at this game and you think, gee, could
that happen again? It could. I guess I'd be surprised
if it does. And I'm certainly not saying San Francisco
(05:59):
is going to win, but they need to be able
to control the game with their offense.
Speaker 1 (06:04):
Is there a Seattle unit on either side that really
matches up with San Francisco?
Speaker 4 (06:08):
Well, the defense for Seattle.
Speaker 3 (06:12):
I think the two players that do not get enough
credit at all for Seattle's defense are their two defensive tackles,
Leonard Williams and Byron Murphy.
Speaker 4 (06:20):
Because it is really hard to.
Speaker 3 (06:22):
Run the ball inside against this defense. Those guys can win. Yeah,
these guys can win one on one matchups. Murphy is
phenomenal stalemating and defeating double teams, so it's very very
difficult to run the ball. And Plus the other thing
about Seattle, and this is a Mike McDonald feature of
his defenses is everything starts with a too high safety
(06:44):
structure and they kind of play top down. Even when
they pressure. They play two safeties on the back end,
so it's very hard to get over the top of them.
Speaker 1 (06:54):
When you watch the Texans defense and the Seahawks defense,
it does feel sometimes they're playing with an extra man,
even if you fool them. Yeah, you don't have a
lot of space. They they're closing speed, they're lateth their
speed is remarkable. So Buffalo and Denver, Yeah, let's just
talk Josh.
Speaker 4 (07:13):
What did you think?
Speaker 1 (07:14):
What did the film tell you on Josh against the Jags?
Speaker 3 (07:19):
Thought it was one of the best games I've ever
seen him play because it was surgical and methodical. It
wasn't the Josh Allen Superman show. It was Josh Allen
throwing the ball from the pocket, controlling the game. None
of us know exactly what a quarterback does at the
line of scrimmage, although a lot of people like to
assume they do. But it looked like he was doing
(07:39):
a lot of things that controlled the game, and I
thought that he was just absolutely surgical.
Speaker 4 (07:44):
Colin.
Speaker 3 (07:45):
This was not a game where he ran around and
made Josh Allen plays. He made some great throws, but
they were from the pocket. So I thought this was
one of the best games given that he played on
the road against a very good defense. I thought it
was one of the best games he's played.
Speaker 2 (08:00):
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Speaker 1 (08:36):
Subscribe, hit that thumbs up icon and coming away. So
advantage to the Denver Broncos because they're down to three
active receivers right now for Buffalo, and all of them
one of them May Cooks got their Week thirteen. Do
you expect Denver's defense to give Josh and the Bills
offense problems?
Speaker 3 (08:54):
Well, I think Denver gives most offensive problems because they're very,
very good, and I think that you know, again, without
being in the head of Joe Brady, I think one
of the things you really have to try to do
through the use of personnel and formations is get Kincaid
and Knox matched on linebackers and safeties. Now, obviously, Vance
(09:14):
Joseph this is not his first rodeo.
Speaker 4 (09:17):
He knows that as well. But I think that's what
you have to try to do. Now.
Speaker 3 (09:21):
Two defining features of Vance Joseph's defense are they pressure
and they play a lot of man coverage. Now, keep
in mind, and I know it was a year ago,
but coaches tend to coach against coaches because they know
their schemaddics. These teams played and it was in Buffalo,
but they played in the wildcard game last year, and
that was a game where the tight ends Kincaid and
(09:41):
Knox were a factor. So again, Joe Brady knows more
than I do about how to do all that, but
I think that's what you have to try to get
done in this game. Given the lack of you know,
I don't want to say lack of quality, but the
lack certainly the lack of depth at the wide receiver position,
for the Bills.
Speaker 1 (09:58):
Okay, the Houston defense is a handful. The longest Steeler
drove in the second half was twenty three yards. Now,
New England's got some interesting wide receivers, Hunter, Henry, a
couple of backs that are pretty good. Not a dominant
O line. Do you worry about Drake may a kid
in this defense?
Speaker 3 (10:18):
Yeah, this is a really tough defense. Now, relatively speaking, Colin,
this is not a super complex defense. In many ways,
you could almost even though schematically they're different. In many ways,
they're reminiscent of the Legion of Boom in that they
kind of line up and they play because they're so good.
(10:38):
They predominantly in pure pass situations rush for. They're not
a heavy blitz team, and actually they're not a great
blitzing team when they.
Speaker 4 (10:45):
Do blitz, but they rush for.
Speaker 3 (10:47):
They play with seven in coverage, and because they're so
good upfront, and obviously Hunter and Anderson on the edge,
but they're very good insight as well. What they often
dictate with offenses is that you have to keep a
back or a tight end to protect, and if you
do that, you end up sending out three wide receivers
and they have seven in coverage.
Speaker 4 (11:08):
Now, just one quick point.
Speaker 3 (11:09):
One thing I noticed watching the tape last week was
how often Will Anderson, who rarely did this during the
regular season, lined up on the right side of the
defense the left side of the offense. Okay, and one
thing the tape showed in the Patriots game, Will Campbell
struggled a bit last week at left tackle trying to
block Khalil Mack and O Way for the Chargers. So
(11:31):
I'm really looking forward to seeing if the Texans do
that with Anderson and match him up against Campbell. That
will be a very interesting matchup to see if the
Patriots feel that they have to give Will Campbell help.
Speaker 1 (11:44):
Where's Drake may improve the most last year to this year.
Speaker 4 (11:49):
Oh, I would say in every area.
Speaker 3 (11:51):
But the thing that stands out to me that goes
beyond numbers is just his pocket toughness. You know, he's
not a quarterback that looks to leave the pocket Collin's
days there, and he allows the offense to work.
Speaker 4 (12:03):
He allows the passing game to work.
Speaker 3 (12:05):
So what that means is is he makes late in
the down throws from the pocket with bodies around him.
Speaker 4 (12:12):
When the pocket gets squeezed.
Speaker 3 (12:14):
That's becoming a lost trait in quarterbacks because as you know,
so many more quarterbacks starting at a young age, are
really athletic players. So what happens is is the second
they perceive any kind of pressure, they flee the pocket.
Drake May stands there. He has excellent pocket movement, you know,
moving a little bit to his right, a little bit
to his left. He's really really good at that.
Speaker 1 (12:36):
Yeah, what's your big play of the week, isn't it
Drake May?
Speaker 3 (12:41):
Yeah, it's Drake May. So let's get to it. This
is actually a good example. But I love this play
and this play is really interesting. It with the touchdown
pass he through last week to Hunter Henry, so we
can take a look at it right now because this
was I think later in the game and this is
just a beautiful throw. But there's so many elements to
this play. The first element and the courses you're going
to see May under center, which by the way, they
(13:02):
do a good amount of. But the other thing here
is the six to ozero line personnel, and that's something
they do some of, not a ton, believe it or not,
the Texans do the most. So what you're going to
see now is Hunter Henry is actually going to motion
across the formation. Now, what they're going to get from
the chargers here is a five man pressure. So when
(13:23):
you see him move across the formation, so now he's
just inside of Kyle Williams, and you're going to get
a five man pressure concept from the chargers here, and
the route concept, it's only going to be a two
man route concept to the left side of the formation.
You're going to get Kyle Williams on a sale route
and you're going to get Henry.
Speaker 4 (13:41):
On a corner route.
Speaker 3 (13:42):
Now, one of the things that I thought was really
interesting about this play, and one reason I'm sure Mike
Vrabel really liked Treveon Henderson, is he's a very good
pass protector. He struggled early in the season, but here
he does a really nice job on Henley and he
gets him off his feet. So now if we go
back to the routes, you're going to see that Williams
lifts the corner so Henry can run his corner route
(14:04):
into a void. And this is an unbelievable throw. And
the reason it's a great throw is because Derwin James
recognizes the route concept and there's a void there. But
Derwin James does an unbelievable job of sinking with depth
and almost makes a play here. But the throw is
so good with firm touch. It's a touch throw. Really,
(14:25):
it's not an armstring throw. It's a touch throw. And
we talk about pocket movement. Great example of it, just
sliding a little to his left, staying calm eyes downfield.
Speaker 4 (14:34):
Little things like that.
Speaker 3 (14:35):
The subtleties and the disciplined craft element of the position
is something that Drake May is really refined at.
Speaker 4 (14:42):
For a second year NFL quarterback.
Speaker 1 (14:44):
Greg co Sell forty six years NFL films as always
appreciate the breakdowns.
Speaker 4 (14:49):
Greg, thanks, Gon appreciate it.
Speaker 1 (14:52):
Yeah, the you know, it's interesting how they stagger the games.
San Francisco see Saturday. That is that is primetime. Saturday
is as good as the NFL gets. I think it's
a really close game through three quarters. I think Seattle
is going to come in a little more conservative game plan.
(15:14):
They're at home, they're favored, they're healthier, better roster. They
think they can wear down San Francisco. Don't need a
lot of exotics, don't need a lot of risks. San
Francisco wants that ball. They're going to take that coin flip.
If they win it, they want to score first. Quiet
that wild crowd. Take some big shots, couple of exotics,
some different looks. They know, they know they got to
(15:36):
take more chances to beat Seattle. Roster construction, roster health.
Right now, I think notable, notable edge the defensive line
for Seattle. Everybody would start across the board. I mean, ayk,
if you took the best five defensive linemen between the
Niners and the Seahawks, Sea actually have five to five
of four or five, I mean that that is a gap.
J Mack with a news no, no, no.
Speaker 5 (16:00):
On the news.
Speaker 2 (16:01):
This is the herdline news.
Speaker 6 (16:03):
All right, Let's start with the Houston Texans defense.
Speaker 5 (16:06):
It is formidable. We love them.
Speaker 6 (16:09):
They're going up against an MVP candidate. I don't think
Mayo win it. I think Stafford will. But May's been
pretty damn good. He was okay against the Chargers. Here's
Jamiko Ryans talking about his defense and how they can
corral young Drake Bay.
Speaker 7 (16:23):
He can sling the ball very well, right, really good passer.
He can hit all three levels of the field. One
thing I'm seeing this year is as his athleticism and
how he's able to escape the pocket. That's really, you know,
shown to be something unique to him where he can
he can throw the football wherever he wants it, a
really great placement, great accuracy, does a great job throwing
(16:46):
the deep ball, and they'll try to hit a ton
of explosive shots the way. His ability to escape the
pocket is what we have to be aware of this
this time around.
Speaker 1 (16:56):
One thing, Houston has a big advantage over almost every
other team in the playoffs. They can cough the ball
up three times. Their defense for text them. I mean CJ.
Stroud did not have a good game against this Eilers.
They can lose the turnover battle and their defense bails
them out. Seattle's a little bit like that too, Seattle.
And when you have a dominating defense, you don't have
to be perfect. In fact, you can make mistakes. And
(17:19):
I mean Houston really offensively struggled against Pittsburgh on the road.
It didn't matter blew them out. So that's the thing
when you go up to New England. Now, New England
I think has much more firepower offensively, They have a
younger quarterback that can move unlike Aaron. They have better
wide receiver targets. Hunter Henry's a really nice tight end.
Maybe not a star, but he's really really good. But
I think this Houston team, they can play really imperfect
(17:41):
football home or away. It's just hard to get into
the end zone. It's just hard in that congested space.
Speaker 6 (17:47):
To Jamiko Ryan's point against about Drake May, remember he
had that huge scramble right before the half against the Chargers, Yes,
something like forty. I asked our staff, Hey, do we
have any numbers on the Houston Texans defense against quarterbacks
who like to scramble? Wouldn't you know it? Houston's given
up one rushing touchdown to a quarterback all season, tied
for fewest in the league. And also he opposing quarterbacks
(18:08):
don't really run against them fifty two rush attempts that
that's one of the lowest numbers in the league. Collins
last week, Aaron Rodgers was a sitting duck, right, he
can't go anywhere May can. And I do want do
you have to get to spy May because he's a
cerebral quarterback, He's not going to force anything right as
a playoffs and I risking interceptions against Stingley.
Speaker 1 (18:29):
And I think I just think it's a really low
scoring game. I mean, if you told me it was
seventeen thirteen, I mean, I think it's gonna give you.
I think that that game feels cold, low scoring. Two
opportunistic defenses. One offense has more firepower New England. One
defense is just the length and side. And again, why
is Seattle so good? A big component of it unbelievable
(18:51):
drafting four straight years. Why is Houston so good? Defensively?
They've nailed their top draft picks. They have just crushed
in the draft on the defensive side.
Speaker 6 (18:58):
On the concussion front, it looks like Christian Gonzales could
go Nico Collins.
Speaker 5 (19:04):
No way, I don't see no shot of that.
Speaker 6 (19:06):
And that really hurts because can you expect Christian Kirk
to deliver a turn back the clock game? I mean,
I don't personally see that. I don't know where CJ.
Shroud goes. Who's the guy the young J Higgins? Lots
of woody marks, Wow, heavy dosage of woody marks. Okay,
counting on a rookie in a big road game in
the playoffs.
Speaker 5 (19:25):
Let's move on to Jacksonville, Colin.
Speaker 6 (19:26):
They had a great season, went to the playoffs, tough
loss against Josh Allen.
Speaker 4 (19:30):
What can you do.
Speaker 6 (19:31):
Interestingly, Travis Hunter was injured and missed half the season.
Here's JAG's GM James Gladstone talking about talking about how
Travis Hunter is progressing and what they expect from him
in the future.
Speaker 8 (19:47):
We still expecting them to play on both sides of
the ball. The steps that he was taken by the
midpoint of the season really made us feel good about
what the back half of the year was going to
be on both sides of the ball and what that
impact was going to look like. Being a feature point
on offense and an impact player on defense.
Speaker 1 (20:03):
Yeah, I don't know, pick a side. I like offense.
What they're you know with Jacobe Myers, Brian Thomas.
Speaker 6 (20:12):
Parker, Washington Man, that guy boy, Yeah, he's six rounder.
That Gid's been electric. I mean they may look at
it and think, I mean, I just think it's very
hard to bounce between offensive and defensive meeting rooms.
Speaker 1 (20:23):
I think it's tough. I think, you know, pick a
lane a little bit. I would rather have my best
players offensively. But I will say this, I mean, I
don't think you can star on both sides. I think
you can be okay on both sides. But this isn't
college football the Big twelve where everybody you line up again,
you're better athletically. He's really talented, but I still contend
it's an offensive league. That's where I put him.
Speaker 6 (20:45):
So it's interesting he was the second pick. The Browns
had the second pick. Jags traded up to two to
get a receiver.
Speaker 5 (20:53):
Now technically it's not for a receiver.
Speaker 6 (20:55):
It's for a receiver dB, so you can spin this
forward colin twenty twenty.
Speaker 5 (20:59):
Six, who has this? I can pick my Jets.
Speaker 6 (21:02):
I don't see people are like, oh, well, just trade
down like Travis, Like like the Browns did with the
Travis Hunter deal. I'm like, first of all, that wasn't
considered a great deal? Was it to trade up for
a receiver? I don't I don't think. I think that
was kind of panned. And now it's like, is there
someone like a Hunter at two the Jets could entice
someone to trade up for.
Speaker 5 (21:21):
I don't see it, do you?
Speaker 7 (21:23):
Oh?
Speaker 1 (21:23):
I you know, I think in the top five or
six picks there's you. You take phone calls. It's just
somebody could call the Jets and say, listen, we want
to move three spots. We'll just give you a fifth
round pick. The Jets could move that pick. It's what
are you willing to move it forward? You're you're gonna
get calls. But everybody's trying to you know, they're they're
they're low balling yon picks. If the Jets, if the
Jets have I mean, the Jets have multiple needs. If
(21:46):
the Jets have, like the Giants have a need, I
can see the Giants not moving down and like we
need the offensive tackle from Miami. The Giants have an
absolute need because they have rush ends, a receiver, a back,
a quarterback.
Speaker 4 (22:01):
The Jets have a million needs.
Speaker 1 (22:03):
So I can see the Jets saying we're going to
trade down six spots and get another third round pick.
That's not a bad idea for the judge.
Speaker 6 (22:11):
Listen, it kind of worked for the Jags they you know,
they trade it up, but kind of worked for the
Browns too.
Speaker 5 (22:15):
They just don't have a quarterback. Final story, Colin.
Speaker 6 (22:17):
We've had a bit of a podcast gate situation this
week in the NBA. Remember Austin Reeves has kind of
been ripped a little bit by Rich Paul, the agent
for Lebron. Yeah, well Lebron was asked about it this week,
and he said that Rich Paul is his own man.
(22:38):
And then Rich Paul then went on a podcast and
now he's chiming in on this nonsense.
Speaker 5 (22:42):
Here we go.
Speaker 9 (22:44):
He understands this is not like a podcast playground. We're
in the content business. And after you get done saying
all these different terms, just ended with business. I'm a
businessman first. This is a business. So this is my business,
just like he has his business. I think it's I
think it's a respectful behavior that we have towards one another.
Speaker 6 (23:09):
Yeah, they don't get me started on this guy, Colin.
It's almost like he realizes, Hey, Lebron's in his final year.
Speaker 5 (23:16):
That's my golden ticket. Lebron bails after this year, what
do I got?
Speaker 6 (23:19):
You know, Clutch sports will kind of sort of fall
apart when Lebron is no longer there, Clutch sports will
be it'll be there. But you take a look at
his client list starting to dry up a little bit.
Speaker 5 (23:29):
Mister Cowherd.
Speaker 6 (23:30):
So now you got you got this guy who let
me jump into the podcast space and fire off some
hot takes, get people talking. You know how that law
the lasts. Yeah, they give you a guy a couple
months let's see if he's coming up with content round
the clock. These guys aren't capable of it, and I
don't like.
Speaker 5 (23:44):
What he's doing. Austin Reeves.
Speaker 6 (23:45):
There was a report that Austin Reeves agent went up
to Rich Paul last game and they had a a
I don't want to use the word confrontation, but they
had a talk.
Speaker 5 (23:53):
Shall we say about him going after, Hey.
Speaker 6 (23:55):
We need to trade Austin Reeves. Bro settle down, Rich,
settle down. I know that's your guy. You're in with
Klutch and Lebron and Rich don't like what I'm hearing.
Speaker 1 (24:07):
Jmack with the news.
Speaker 2 (24:09):
Well that's the news, and thanks for stopping by The
Herd Line News.
Speaker 1 (24:14):
Jmax Picks next on a Thursday.
Speaker 2 (24:16):
Be sure to catch live editions of The Herd weekdays
and noon Eastern nin a em Pacific.
Speaker 1 (24:24):
It is playoff weekend, Divisional round margin Stinner Stakes higher
four teams. By the end of the weekend, we will
know that two teams in each conference battling. We've been
doing this a long time, several years. His track record
is very strong. Did not have a great last weekend,
which means it is bounced back. Saturday Sunday for Jamax,
(24:46):
we call it tomorrow's headlines. Today we start with the
first game of the weekend, Saturday Bills at the Broncos.
This is really interesting.
Speaker 6 (24:54):
Jmak Yeah, well what we actually added a fifth We're
gonna do to Natty as well because I need to
round it out. I need to bounce back after last
week's one and four. So Buffalo visits Denver, rematch from
last year in the playoffs. Colin, remember, pretty good start
for bow Nicks, then it went south quickly. The headline
this weekend for Buffalo Denver will Ben excuse me, bo
(25:15):
bumps into mafia boss and that would be one Josh Allen, Li,
was it picking a side here is tough.
Speaker 5 (25:21):
I did bet the under.
Speaker 6 (25:22):
I don't think we'll see a lot of points, but
ultimately I got a.
Speaker 5 (25:24):
Ride with my guy, Josh Allen. He's fun to watch. Colin.
I'll just say this.
Speaker 6 (25:28):
They have three healthy wide receivers right now going into
this game.
Speaker 4 (25:32):
That's it.
Speaker 6 (25:32):
And one of them is Keon Coleman, who was a
healthy scratch multiple times this year. The others Brandon Cooks,
who's thirty two and joined the team like ten weeks ago. However,
why Jason, why are you betting Buffalo here again? I
just don't know what to make of this bow Nick situation.
I know you love him and you love Peyton Colin.
I was doing some digging, So did you know Peyton
and McDermott they have a history going back to the
(25:54):
NFC South when the New Orleans was playing Carolina many times,
And wouldn't you know it, McDermott has a history of
bottling up Drew Brees.
Speaker 5 (26:02):
He knows how to play that too high shell, clog
the middle of.
Speaker 6 (26:05):
The field, keep everything in front of you, and historically
Peyton has not excelled against mcdermot's defenses. This at Oliver
situation's big. Will he return for Buffalo? He's been practicing
this week. That would be huge because their run defense
is leaky. I do expect Josh Allen to kind of
put on the Superman cape. Buffalo's defense is good, but
it's not great. Did you notice last year in the
(26:26):
playoff game, so vance Joseph loves to play heavy man,
heavy blitz. He was worried about Josh Allen, so they
went a little more zone and spied Josh Allen. He's
still had a bunch of yards on the ground. I
don't think they can stop him. I'll go low seventeen
sixteen Buffalo or thereabouts.
Speaker 1 (26:41):
Wow. Tomorrow's headlines today Seattle home favorite. What say you?
Speaker 6 (26:48):
You know? Us gambler, Sometimes we get in trouble going
with our heart over our head, Colin, I'm not making
that mistake here. The headline for San fran at Seattle
will be Seattle Death? Do us part one that got
away makes some pay? I'm sorry. I got the Seahawks here, Colin.
Speaker 5 (27:07):
I can't.
Speaker 6 (27:08):
I just I cannot make a case for my guy
brock Perty. I think the purty Shanahan combo, like you said,
can keep it interesting and close. But man, I just
don't know what this defense. We saw this game two
weeks ago. They couldn't do a damn thing. Now Seattle
couldn't either. And I do think there's a world where
your boy Sam Darnold kind of vomits all over himself
and has rattled in this playoff game, McDonald's first playoff
(27:30):
game as a head coach.
Speaker 5 (27:31):
He's a great coach.
Speaker 6 (27:32):
I read an article about him about how he's such
a smart, intelligent human being. I love those guys. I
think Sam Frank keeps it close. I'll take Seattle in
a close one.
Speaker 1 (27:43):
Tomorrow's headlines today Texans and that defense in New England
against the Patriots.
Speaker 5 (27:48):
What do you got, well, I went against the Patriots
and their fans. Let me know about it.
Speaker 6 (27:52):
Anything different This week the headline for Houston at New
England will be parting of the Strouds all playoff persona
left behind. Oh yeah, CJ Stroud, Baby, I'm rocking with
the Texans.
Speaker 4 (28:06):
Listen.
Speaker 6 (28:06):
They came through for me Monday. It took a little while,
but they finally got there. Yes, there's a concern about Stroud,
but Colin, I look at this Houston defense. They match
up great against the Patriots. I mean again, Stingley on
the outside, Lassiter, these are elite cornerbacks, Yep, Petrie in
the secondary. They don't give up much. The one thing
is this Drake May's scrambling ability. I did just come
(28:26):
up with a stat he had the most scrambles in
the NFL, more scrambles than Josh Allen Herbert. And that's
where they have to watch him. Now, I'll say this.
You know watching Houston a lot this year. Those guys
are headhunters. Okay, the linebackers, the safeties may better get
down or we're looking at something. Dicey and I do
think there's some numbers that show Woody Marx, as you said,
(28:47):
and the running backs out of the backfield have given
the Patriots problems.
Speaker 5 (28:52):
I like the Texas to win this out right.
Speaker 1 (28:54):
Tomorrow's headlines today the Sunday nighter Rams at the Bears
one for the Ages potentially.
Speaker 6 (29:00):
Yeah, I hear you're gonna be there with like two
winner jackets, four scarfs.
Speaker 5 (29:04):
Yeah, it should be a cold one. I don't know
what the Bears can do to win this.
Speaker 6 (29:08):
The headline for Rams Bears will be the cold man
in the Sea, hot routes, warm reads, old.
Speaker 5 (29:16):
Man Matthew Stafford delivers.
Speaker 6 (29:19):
Colin, we're talking about the best deep ball thrower in
the league in Matt Stafford. I know Drake may was great,
it's Stafford with two awesome receivers playing against the defense
that gave up the second most deep bawl.
Speaker 5 (29:29):
Touchdowns in the league and Chagnebacker. Yeah, they just Hemorrhae
stuff on the back end. Colin.
Speaker 6 (29:34):
Unbelievably, Dallas gave up the most deep ball TVs. Dallas,
who we laugh at the Bears were second. Okay, and
you're like you said, the linebacker out. I think the
Rams score it will hear if you want to get exotic.
Their team total is twenty six and a half points.
Speaker 1 (29:47):
They're gonna take take the over on that.
Speaker 5 (29:50):
I just listen.
Speaker 6 (29:50):
Caleb is magical charm season. I know Bears fans love
when we pick against him. I don't see the Rams
blowing this. I've been Dame blows it. That would be
a shocker.
Speaker 1 (30:00):
Rams over under twenty six. That's interesting.
Speaker 6 (30:02):
Yeah, all they have to do is score twenty seven points.
I mean that's happening right.
Speaker 1 (30:05):
Finally, headline for Monday the Natty Miami against number one Indiana.
Speaker 6 (30:13):
Colin, you know this line was five and a half
and it swored up to eight and a half.
Speaker 5 (30:17):
We don't see that normally.
Speaker 6 (30:19):
No, so the headline for Hoosier's Hurricanes will.
Speaker 5 (30:23):
Be two and a half.
Speaker 6 (30:25):
Mendoza's that you loses.
Speaker 5 (30:27):
All at Sene.
Speaker 6 (30:29):
I'm sorry, Miami, I don't think you get it done here.
Indiana has to be the side they're gonna win this.
Speaker 4 (30:34):
Now.
Speaker 6 (30:34):
Interestingly, Colin, there's some numbers that show and I think
Klatt talked about this This Miami.
Speaker 5 (30:39):
Defense is gonna keep it close.
Speaker 6 (30:40):
Do not expect another blowout like that Alabama game, like
that Oregon game. By the way, the Oregon game was weird.
Did you see that they had three touchdown drives under
twenty yards because Dante Moore kept turning it over there
was a block punt. This will not be a blowout.
Miami will keep it close. How about this stat three
playoff games, Miami has given up seventy five carries.
Speaker 5 (31:01):
One explosive in seventy five.
Speaker 4 (31:03):
That's it.
Speaker 6 (31:04):
You can't really run on this team. So I'm curious
how Mendoza handles the pressure. You got two pros coming
off the edges. This is gonna be a great game.
I think it's a lot closer than the experts think
that eight and a half. You got to take the
points with the Hurricanes, But I think Indiana wins the title,
and congrats to Mendoza, who goes to the Raiders then
where he's not winning anything for a decade.
Speaker 1 (31:23):
When Nico Collins missed a game against the Niners earlier
this year, it's very interesting. C J Stroud Houston won.
C J Stroud was thirty of thirty nine, so I
like Stroud, and he was a little out of sorts
against Pittsburgh, But I think he's like Herbert. You know,
we keep waiting for this massive playoff success. But both CJ.
(31:44):
Stroud and Herbert just the way the ball comes off
their hand, They're really accurate. Both have had offensive line issues.
Both have had kind of receivers can't stay healthy issues.
I think CJ that New England gain like it's like
a little bit of a magic carpet ride for New
Ing when you're like, you know, when, when does it?
Because I really still, I really believe of all these
teams in the playoff, one of them is still in
(32:07):
a rebuild. New England I still think they need offensive
line help, another tight end. Like not that they're in
a total rebuild because they had so much free agent money,
but I still think I mean it's his Rabels got
one draft behind him. I think they need more depth.
I think they need another tight end. I think they
need help on the offensive side. I think they probably
(32:29):
need another corner. The whole league does so, I mean
everybody else. I feel like they.
Speaker 4 (32:33):
Should be here.
Speaker 1 (32:33):
I think I thought New England was going to be
the most improved team in the League. I had him
as a wild card team. Them winning this weekend, being
in the conference champion jadd way more than I thought.
That's that projects way faster turnaround. All right, great stuff.
Tom Brady was amazing. We'll put him on the podcast.
Joel Clatt money too, Greg cosel J, Max picks.
Speaker 4 (32:52):
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
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Speaker 2 (00:21):
You're listening to Fox Sports Radio.
Speaker 1 (00:27):
Down to eight four games, two Saturday and two Sunday.
Greg Hosel forty six years at NFL Films. He's seen
it all, and we're gonna start with Bears hosting the
Rams on a frigid night in Chicago. So let's talk Chicago.
What did they change in their approach from the first
(00:50):
half where they got I mean they could not stop
anything and struggled moving the ball and finding rhythm, and
then in the second half, specifically the it's a different game.
What did they change in their approach against the Packers?
Speaker 3 (01:05):
I thought Colin the bigger change came on the defensive
side of the ball. To be honest, I thought Dennis
Allen really increased his pressure quotion. It started on the
third on the first play of the third quarter where
he went with a double corner blitz and he did
a lot more of these pressure concepts in the second half,
and we saw the result there. The Packers had what
(01:27):
a number of three and outs, So to me, that
set the stage for the game. And what happened in
the fourth quarter when you talk about offense, offense to
me is very interesting because obviously we know what happened
on that fourth and seventh completion by Caleb Williams, which
was as good an improvisational throw as you'll ever see.
But then there were other plays where you look at
(01:48):
it and say, nothing special happened other than the Packers
did not execute well on defense. There was a third
and ten play I think on the second touchdown driving
the fourth quarter, where they Packers forced to check down
to Kyle Minonge and it was third and ten and
they just couldn't tackle him and it went for twenty
two yards.
Speaker 4 (02:07):
So you know plays like that.
Speaker 3 (02:08):
But I obviously the key play in the entire game
in terms of allowing the Bears to win was that
fourth and seventh play, and that was just Caleb Williams
making one of those absolutely special plays, because if that
doesn't happen, it's not likely they win the game. But
I thought in terms of the tactics and schematics of
the game. More was done on the defensive side of
(02:29):
the ball that changed that game.
Speaker 1 (02:31):
So I'm watching Carolina give the Rams trouble for the
second time, and part of me thinks it's a bad matchup.
They have big boundary receivers. Maybe that's it. I just
look at that matchup, but I'm like, something's not right
with the Rams. Their defense. Their defense feels like it's
out of sync. What does it say? What's the film say.
Speaker 3 (02:54):
You know one thing I've learned over the year is
Colin and I know you would agree with this.
Speaker 4 (02:58):
You've watched football for a long time.
Speaker 3 (03:00):
When a team has a weakness or an area that's
not a strength, any time that gets exposed. It could
happen in the regular season, but it's more likely to
happen in the playoffs against better teams.
Speaker 4 (03:11):
That can be exposed anytime.
Speaker 3 (03:13):
And the area of weakness for the Rams are their corners,
and that's one thing that could definitely be a problem
against the Bears.
Speaker 4 (03:21):
We know that.
Speaker 3 (03:22):
Will it be a problem, we don't know. But if
it is a problem, it wouldn't surprise me at all.
And that is the weakness in their defense. So if
they lose this game, because and again I don't know
how weather will affect the ability to throw the ball,
but if it doesn't affect the ability to throw the
ball and Caleb Williams goes off for three hundred and
forty passing yards against those corners, that would not surprise
(03:45):
me at all.
Speaker 1 (03:48):
San Francisco, Seattle. Yeah, I thought the first drive was majestic.
I thought it was absolutely beautiful. Did the Niners do
anything different against Philadelphia? I mean, Shanahan, so it's all symphonic,
It all kind of works. It's just so Yeah, it's
just amazing that they can lose Kittle and still do
(04:09):
what they do. Did they do anything different against Philadelphia?
Speaker 3 (04:12):
Well, they did a couple of things that they don't
normally do that just happened to happen in the game,
starting with the second play when he hit DeMarcus Robinson
for sixty one yards, and then obviously they called that
reverse touchdown, which, as I'm sure you recall, was the
same play they ran in the Super Bowl against the
Chiefs a few years ago. And then he hit Jennings
late in the game later in the game for a
(04:34):
long completion, but you know. To me, I think it's
more instructive to look back at Week eighteen when these
two teams played. Now, I don't think this game will
play out exactly the same way, but that was a
game in which the Niners on both sides of the
ball Colin were physically handled. Kyle Shanahan for the most part,
as you know, he's not a one play kind of coach.
(04:55):
He doesn't think you know, even though he called this
particular play that we're looking at, and that's because they
were really struggling to run the ball, which has been
the case now for the last two weeks. He called
this play to see if he could just generate some
kind of offense, but they've not been able to run
the ball. But for the most part, Kyle is kind
of a four quarter coach. He builds off plays, so
(05:18):
he needs to run plays. When they played Seattle Week eighteen,
the forty nine ers only ran forty two offensive plays.
That's unheard of in an NFL game, So they never
had a chance to sort of develop an offensive rhythm
and develop pace and tempo. Because when they're at their best,
it's not that they're a big play offense. They're not
(05:38):
driving the ball down the field, but they tend to
control the way the game is played. And that did
not happen against Seattle. And it'll be interesting to see
how this plays out. They got physically handled. You know,
you look at this game and you think, gee, could
that happen again? It could. I guess I'd be surprised
if it does. And I'm certainly not saying San Francisco
(05:59):
is going to win, but they need to be able
to control the game with their offense.
Speaker 1 (06:04):
Is there a Seattle unit on either side that really
matches up with San Francisco?
Speaker 4 (06:08):
Well, the defense for Seattle.
Speaker 3 (06:12):
I think the two players that do not get enough
credit at all for Seattle's defense are their two defensive tackles,
Leonard Williams and Byron Murphy.
Speaker 4 (06:20):
Because it is really hard to.
Speaker 3 (06:22):
Run the ball inside against this defense. Those guys can win. Yeah,
these guys can win one on one matchups. Murphy is
phenomenal stalemating and defeating double teams, so it's very very
difficult to run the ball. And Plus the other thing
about Seattle, and this is a Mike McDonald feature of
his defenses is everything starts with a too high safety
(06:44):
structure and they kind of play top down. Even when
they pressure. They play two safeties on the back end,
so it's very hard to get over the top of them.
Speaker 1 (06:54):
When you watch the Texans defense and the Seahawks defense,
it does feel sometimes they're playing with an extra man,
even if you fool them. Yeah, you don't have a
lot of space. They they're closing speed, they're lateth their
speed is remarkable. So Buffalo and Denver, Yeah, let's just
talk Josh.
Speaker 4 (07:13):
What did you think?
Speaker 1 (07:14):
What did the film tell you on Josh against the Jags?
Speaker 3 (07:19):
Thought it was one of the best games I've ever
seen him play because it was surgical and methodical. It
wasn't the Josh Allen Superman show. It was Josh Allen
throwing the ball from the pocket, controlling the game. None
of us know exactly what a quarterback does at the
line of scrimmage, although a lot of people like to
assume they do. But it looked like he was doing
(07:39):
a lot of things that controlled the game, and I
thought that he was just absolutely surgical.
Speaker 4 (07:44):
Colin.
Speaker 3 (07:45):
This was not a game where he ran around and
made Josh Allen plays. He made some great throws, but
they were from the pocket. So I thought this was
one of the best games given that he played on
the road against a very good defense. I thought it
was one of the best games he's played.
Speaker 2 (08:00):
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Speaker 1 (08:36):
Subscribe, hit that thumbs up icon and coming away. So
advantage to the Denver Broncos because they're down to three
active receivers right now for Buffalo, and all of them
one of them May Cooks got their Week thirteen. Do
you expect Denver's defense to give Josh and the Bills
offense problems?
Speaker 3 (08:54):
Well, I think Denver gives most offensive problems because they're very,
very good, and I think that you know, again, without
being in the head of Joe Brady, I think one
of the things you really have to try to do
through the use of personnel and formations is get Kincaid
and Knox matched on linebackers and safeties. Now, obviously, Vance
(09:14):
Joseph this is not his first rodeo.
Speaker 4 (09:17):
He knows that as well. But I think that's what
you have to try to do. Now.
Speaker 3 (09:21):
Two defining features of Vance Joseph's defense are they pressure
and they play a lot of man coverage. Now, keep
in mind, and I know it was a year ago,
but coaches tend to coach against coaches because they know
their schemaddics. These teams played and it was in Buffalo,
but they played in the wildcard game last year, and
that was a game where the tight ends Kincaid and
(09:41):
Knox were a factor. So again, Joe Brady knows more
than I do about how to do all that, but
I think that's what you have to try to get
done in this game. Given the lack of you know,
I don't want to say lack of quality, but the
lack certainly the lack of depth at the wide receiver position,
for the Bills.
Speaker 1 (09:58):
Okay, the Houston defense is a handful. The longest Steeler
drove in the second half was twenty three yards. Now,
New England's got some interesting wide receivers, Hunter, Henry, a
couple of backs that are pretty good. Not a dominant
O line. Do you worry about Drake may a kid
in this defense?
Speaker 3 (10:18):
Yeah, this is a really tough defense. Now, relatively speaking, Colin,
this is not a super complex defense. In many ways,
you could almost even though schematically they're different. In many ways,
they're reminiscent of the Legion of Boom in that they
kind of line up and they play because they're so good.
(10:38):
They predominantly in pure pass situations rush for. They're not
a heavy blitz team, and actually they're not a great
blitzing team when they.
Speaker 4 (10:45):
Do blitz, but they rush for.
Speaker 3 (10:47):
They play with seven in coverage, and because they're so
good upfront, and obviously Hunter and Anderson on the edge,
but they're very good insight as well. What they often
dictate with offenses is that you have to keep a
back or a tight end to protect, and if you
do that, you end up sending out three wide receivers
and they have seven in coverage.
Speaker 4 (11:08):
Now, just one quick point.
Speaker 3 (11:09):
One thing I noticed watching the tape last week was
how often Will Anderson, who rarely did this during the
regular season, lined up on the right side of the
defense the left side of the offense. Okay, and one
thing the tape showed in the Patriots game, Will Campbell
struggled a bit last week at left tackle trying to
block Khalil Mack and O Way for the Chargers. So
(11:31):
I'm really looking forward to seeing if the Texans do
that with Anderson and match him up against Campbell. That
will be a very interesting matchup to see if the
Patriots feel that they have to give Will Campbell help.
Speaker 1 (11:44):
Where's Drake may improve the most last year to this year.
Speaker 4 (11:49):
Oh, I would say in every area.
Speaker 3 (11:51):
But the thing that stands out to me that goes
beyond numbers is just his pocket toughness. You know, he's
not a quarterback that looks to leave the pocket Collin's
days there, and he allows the offense to work.
Speaker 4 (12:03):
He allows the passing game to work.
Speaker 3 (12:05):
So what that means is is he makes late in
the down throws from the pocket with bodies around him.
Speaker 4 (12:12):
When the pocket gets squeezed.
Speaker 3 (12:14):
That's becoming a lost trait in quarterbacks because as you know,
so many more quarterbacks starting at a young age, are
really athletic players. So what happens is is the second
they perceive any kind of pressure, they flee the pocket.
Drake May stands there. He has excellent pocket movement, you know,
moving a little bit to his right, a little bit
to his left. He's really really good at that.
Speaker 1 (12:36):
Yeah, what's your big play of the week, isn't it
Drake May?
Speaker 3 (12:41):
Yeah, it's Drake May. So let's get to it. This
is actually a good example. But I love this play
and this play is really interesting. It with the touchdown
pass he through last week to Hunter Henry, so we
can take a look at it right now because this
was I think later in the game and this is
just a beautiful throw. But there's so many elements to
this play. The first element and the courses you're going
to see May under center, which by the way, they
(13:02):
do a good amount of. But the other thing here
is the six to ozero line personnel, and that's something
they do some of, not a ton, believe it or not,
the Texans do the most. So what you're going to
see now is Hunter Henry is actually going to motion
across the formation. Now, what they're going to get from
the chargers here is a five man pressure. So when
(13:23):
you see him move across the formation, so now he's
just inside of Kyle Williams, and you're going to get
a five man pressure concept from the chargers here, and
the route concept, it's only going to be a two
man route concept to the left side of the formation.
You're going to get Kyle Williams on a sale route
and you're going to get Henry.
Speaker 4 (13:41):
On a corner route.
Speaker 3 (13:42):
Now, one of the things that I thought was really
interesting about this play, and one reason I'm sure Mike
Vrabel really liked Treveon Henderson, is he's a very good
pass protector. He struggled early in the season, but here
he does a really nice job on Henley and he
gets him off his feet. So now if we go
back to the routes, you're going to see that Williams
lifts the corner so Henry can run his corner route
(14:04):
into a void. And this is an unbelievable throw. And
the reason it's a great throw is because Derwin James
recognizes the route concept and there's a void there. But
Derwin James does an unbelievable job of sinking with depth
and almost makes a play here. But the throw is
so good with firm touch. It's a touch throw. Really,
(14:25):
it's not an armstring throw. It's a touch throw. And
we talk about pocket movement. Great example of it, just
sliding a little to his left, staying calm eyes downfield.
Speaker 4 (14:34):
Little things like that.
Speaker 3 (14:35):
The subtleties and the disciplined craft element of the position
is something that Drake May is really refined at.
Speaker 4 (14:42):
For a second year NFL quarterback.
Speaker 1 (14:44):
Greg co Sell forty six years NFL films as always
appreciate the breakdowns.
Speaker 4 (14:49):
Greg, thanks, Gon appreciate it.
Speaker 1 (14:52):
Yeah, the you know, it's interesting how they stagger the games.
San Francisco see Saturday. That is that is primetime. Saturday
is as good as the NFL gets. I think it's
a really close game through three quarters. I think Seattle
is going to come in a little more conservative game plan.
(15:14):
They're at home, they're favored, they're healthier, better roster. They
think they can wear down San Francisco. Don't need a
lot of exotics, don't need a lot of risks. San
Francisco wants that ball. They're going to take that coin flip.
If they win it, they want to score first. Quiet
that wild crowd. Take some big shots, couple of exotics,
some different looks. They know, they know they got to
(15:36):
take more chances to beat Seattle. Roster construction, roster health.
Right now, I think notable, notable edge the defensive line
for Seattle. Everybody would start across the board. I mean, ayk,
if you took the best five defensive linemen between the
Niners and the Seahawks, Sea actually have five to five
of four or five, I mean that that is a gap.
J Mack with a news no, no, no.
Speaker 5 (16:00):
On the news.
Speaker 2 (16:01):
This is the herdline news.
Speaker 6 (16:03):
All right, Let's start with the Houston Texans defense.
Speaker 5 (16:06):
It is formidable. We love them.
Speaker 6 (16:09):
They're going up against an MVP candidate. I don't think
Mayo win it. I think Stafford will. But May's been
pretty damn good. He was okay against the Chargers. Here's
Jamiko Ryans talking about his defense and how they can
corral young Drake Bay.
Speaker 7 (16:23):
He can sling the ball very well, right, really good passer.
He can hit all three levels of the field. One
thing I'm seeing this year is as his athleticism and
how he's able to escape the pocket. That's really, you know,
shown to be something unique to him where he can
he can throw the football wherever he wants it, a
really great placement, great accuracy, does a great job throwing
(16:46):
the deep ball, and they'll try to hit a ton
of explosive shots the way. His ability to escape the
pocket is what we have to be aware of this
this time around.
Speaker 1 (16:56):
One thing, Houston has a big advantage over almost every
other team in the playoffs. They can cough the ball
up three times. Their defense for text them. I mean CJ.
Stroud did not have a good game against this Eilers.
They can lose the turnover battle and their defense bails
them out. Seattle's a little bit like that too, Seattle.
And when you have a dominating defense, you don't have
to be perfect. In fact, you can make mistakes. And
(17:19):
I mean Houston really offensively struggled against Pittsburgh on the road.
It didn't matter blew them out. So that's the thing
when you go up to New England. Now, New England
I think has much more firepower offensively, They have a
younger quarterback that can move unlike Aaron. They have better
wide receiver targets. Hunter Henry's a really nice tight end.
Maybe not a star, but he's really really good. But
I think this Houston team, they can play really imperfect
(17:41):
football home or away. It's just hard to get into
the end zone. It's just hard in that congested space.
Speaker 6 (17:47):
To Jamiko Ryan's point against about Drake May, remember he
had that huge scramble right before the half against the Chargers, Yes,
something like forty. I asked our staff, Hey, do we
have any numbers on the Houston Texans defense against quarterbacks
who like to scramble? Wouldn't you know it? Houston's given
up one rushing touchdown to a quarterback all season, tied
for fewest in the league. And also he opposing quarterbacks
(18:08):
don't really run against them fifty two rush attempts that
that's one of the lowest numbers in the league. Collins
last week, Aaron Rodgers was a sitting duck, right, he
can't go anywhere May can. And I do want do
you have to get to spy May because he's a
cerebral quarterback, He's not going to force anything right as
a playoffs and I risking interceptions against Stingley.
Speaker 1 (18:29):
And I think I just think it's a really low
scoring game. I mean, if you told me it was
seventeen thirteen, I mean, I think it's gonna give you.
I think that that game feels cold, low scoring. Two
opportunistic defenses. One offense has more firepower New England. One
defense is just the length and side. And again, why
is Seattle so good? A big component of it unbelievable
(18:51):
drafting four straight years. Why is Houston so good? Defensively?
They've nailed their top draft picks. They have just crushed
in the draft on the defensive side.
Speaker 6 (18:58):
On the concussion front, it looks like Christian Gonzales could
go Nico Collins.
Speaker 5 (19:04):
No way, I don't see no shot of that.
Speaker 6 (19:06):
And that really hurts because can you expect Christian Kirk
to deliver a turn back the clock game? I mean,
I don't personally see that. I don't know where CJ.
Shroud goes. Who's the guy the young J Higgins? Lots
of woody marks, Wow, heavy dosage of woody marks. Okay,
counting on a rookie in a big road game in
the playoffs.
Speaker 5 (19:25):
Let's move on to Jacksonville, Colin.
Speaker 6 (19:26):
They had a great season, went to the playoffs, tough
loss against Josh Allen.
Speaker 4 (19:30):
What can you do.
Speaker 6 (19:31):
Interestingly, Travis Hunter was injured and missed half the season.
Here's JAG's GM James Gladstone talking about talking about how
Travis Hunter is progressing and what they expect from him
in the future.
Speaker 8 (19:47):
We still expecting them to play on both sides of
the ball. The steps that he was taken by the
midpoint of the season really made us feel good about
what the back half of the year was going to
be on both sides of the ball and what that
impact was going to look like. Being a feature point
on offense and an impact player on defense.
Speaker 1 (20:03):
Yeah, I don't know, pick a side. I like offense.
What they're you know with Jacobe Myers, Brian Thomas.
Speaker 6 (20:12):
Parker, Washington Man, that guy boy, Yeah, he's six rounder.
That Gid's been electric. I mean they may look at
it and think, I mean, I just think it's very
hard to bounce between offensive and defensive meeting rooms.
Speaker 1 (20:23):
I think it's tough. I think, you know, pick a
lane a little bit. I would rather have my best
players offensively. But I will say this, I mean, I
don't think you can star on both sides. I think
you can be okay on both sides. But this isn't
college football the Big twelve where everybody you line up again,
you're better athletically. He's really talented, but I still contend
it's an offensive league. That's where I put him.
Speaker 6 (20:45):
So it's interesting he was the second pick. The Browns
had the second pick. Jags traded up to two to
get a receiver.
Speaker 5 (20:53):
Now technically it's not for a receiver.
Speaker 6 (20:55):
It's for a receiver dB, so you can spin this
forward colin twenty twenty.
Speaker 5 (20:59):
Six, who has this? I can pick my Jets.
Speaker 6 (21:02):
I don't see people are like, oh, well, just trade
down like Travis, Like like the Browns did with the
Travis Hunter deal. I'm like, first of all, that wasn't
considered a great deal? Was it to trade up for
a receiver? I don't I don't think. I think that
was kind of panned. And now it's like, is there
someone like a Hunter at two the Jets could entice
someone to trade up for.
Speaker 5 (21:21):
I don't see it, do you?
Speaker 7 (21:23):
Oh?
Speaker 1 (21:23):
I you know, I think in the top five or
six picks there's you. You take phone calls. It's just
somebody could call the Jets and say, listen, we want
to move three spots. We'll just give you a fifth
round pick. The Jets could move that pick. It's what
are you willing to move it forward? You're you're gonna
get calls. But everybody's trying to you know, they're they're
they're low balling yon picks. If the Jets, if the
Jets have I mean, the Jets have multiple needs. If
(21:46):
the Jets have, like the Giants have a need, I
can see the Giants not moving down and like we
need the offensive tackle from Miami. The Giants have an
absolute need because they have rush ends, a receiver, a back,
a quarterback.
Speaker 4 (22:01):
The Jets have a million needs.
Speaker 1 (22:03):
So I can see the Jets saying we're going to
trade down six spots and get another third round pick.
That's not a bad idea for the judge.
Speaker 6 (22:11):
Listen, it kind of worked for the Jags they you know,
they trade it up, but kind of worked for the
Browns too.
Speaker 5 (22:15):
They just don't have a quarterback. Final story, Colin.
Speaker 6 (22:17):
We've had a bit of a podcast gate situation this
week in the NBA. Remember Austin Reeves has kind of
been ripped a little bit by Rich Paul, the agent
for Lebron. Yeah, well Lebron was asked about it this week,
and he said that Rich Paul is his own man.
(22:38):
And then Rich Paul then went on a podcast and
now he's chiming in on this nonsense.
Speaker 5 (22:42):
Here we go.
Speaker 9 (22:44):
He understands this is not like a podcast playground. We're
in the content business. And after you get done saying
all these different terms, just ended with business. I'm a
businessman first. This is a business. So this is my business,
just like he has his business. I think it's I
think it's a respectful behavior that we have towards one another.
Speaker 6 (23:09):
Yeah, they don't get me started on this guy, Colin.
It's almost like he realizes, Hey, Lebron's in his final year.
Speaker 5 (23:16):
That's my golden ticket. Lebron bails after this year, what
do I got?
Speaker 6 (23:19):
You know, Clutch sports will kind of sort of fall
apart when Lebron is no longer there, Clutch sports will
be it'll be there. But you take a look at
his client list starting to dry up a little bit.
Speaker 5 (23:29):
Mister Cowherd.
Speaker 6 (23:30):
So now you got you got this guy who let
me jump into the podcast space and fire off some
hot takes, get people talking. You know how that law
the lasts. Yeah, they give you a guy a couple
months let's see if he's coming up with content round
the clock. These guys aren't capable of it, and I
don't like.
Speaker 5 (23:44):
What he's doing. Austin Reeves.
Speaker 6 (23:45):
There was a report that Austin Reeves agent went up
to Rich Paul last game and they had a a
I don't want to use the word confrontation, but they
had a talk.
Speaker 5 (23:53):
Shall we say about him going after, Hey.
Speaker 6 (23:55):
We need to trade Austin Reeves. Bro settle down, Rich,
settle down. I know that's your guy. You're in with
Klutch and Lebron and Rich don't like what I'm hearing.
Speaker 1 (24:07):
Jmack with the news.
Speaker 2 (24:09):
Well that's the news, and thanks for stopping by The
Herd Line News.
Speaker 1 (24:14):
Jmax Picks next on a Thursday.
Speaker 2 (24:16):
Be sure to catch live editions of The Herd weekdays
and noon Eastern nin a em Pacific.
Speaker 1 (24:24):
It is playoff weekend, Divisional round margin Stinner Stakes higher
four teams. By the end of the weekend, we will
know that two teams in each conference battling. We've been
doing this a long time, several years. His track record
is very strong. Did not have a great last weekend,
which means it is bounced back. Saturday Sunday for Jamax,
(24:46):
we call it tomorrow's headlines. Today we start with the
first game of the weekend, Saturday Bills at the Broncos.
This is really interesting.
Speaker 6 (24:54):
Jmak Yeah, well what we actually added a fifth We're
gonna do to Natty as well because I need to
round it out. I need to bounce back after last
week's one and four. So Buffalo visits Denver, rematch from
last year in the playoffs. Colin, remember, pretty good start
for bow Nicks, then it went south quickly. The headline
this weekend for Buffalo Denver will Ben excuse me, bo
(25:15):
bumps into mafia boss and that would be one Josh Allen, Li,
was it picking a side here is tough.
Speaker 5 (25:21):
I did bet the under.
Speaker 6 (25:22):
I don't think we'll see a lot of points, but
ultimately I got a.
Speaker 5 (25:24):
Ride with my guy, Josh Allen. He's fun to watch. Colin.
I'll just say this.
Speaker 6 (25:28):
They have three healthy wide receivers right now going into
this game.
Speaker 4 (25:32):
That's it.
Speaker 6 (25:32):
And one of them is Keon Coleman, who was a
healthy scratch multiple times this year. The others Brandon Cooks,
who's thirty two and joined the team like ten weeks ago. However,
why Jason, why are you betting Buffalo here again? I
just don't know what to make of this bow Nick situation.
I know you love him and you love Peyton Colin.
I was doing some digging, So did you know Peyton
and McDermott they have a history going back to the
(25:54):
NFC South when the New Orleans was playing Carolina many times,
And wouldn't you know it, McDermott has a history of
bottling up Drew Brees.
Speaker 5 (26:02):
He knows how to play that too high shell, clog
the middle of.
Speaker 6 (26:05):
The field, keep everything in front of you, and historically
Peyton has not excelled against mcdermot's defenses. This at Oliver
situation's big. Will he return for Buffalo? He's been practicing
this week. That would be huge because their run defense
is leaky. I do expect Josh Allen to kind of
put on the Superman cape. Buffalo's defense is good, but
it's not great. Did you notice last year in the
(26:26):
playoff game, so vance Joseph loves to play heavy man,
heavy blitz. He was worried about Josh Allen, so they
went a little more zone and spied Josh Allen. He's
still had a bunch of yards on the ground. I
don't think they can stop him. I'll go low seventeen
sixteen Buffalo or thereabouts.
Speaker 1 (26:41):
Wow. Tomorrow's headlines today Seattle home favorite. What say you?
Speaker 6 (26:48):
You know? Us gambler, Sometimes we get in trouble going
with our heart over our head, Colin, I'm not making
that mistake here. The headline for San fran at Seattle
will be Seattle Death? Do us part one that got
away makes some pay? I'm sorry. I got the Seahawks here, Colin.
Speaker 5 (27:07):
I can't.
Speaker 6 (27:08):
I just I cannot make a case for my guy
brock Perty. I think the purty Shanahan combo, like you said,
can keep it interesting and close. But man, I just
don't know what this defense. We saw this game two
weeks ago. They couldn't do a damn thing. Now Seattle
couldn't either. And I do think there's a world where
your boy Sam Darnold kind of vomits all over himself
and has rattled in this playoff game, McDonald's first playoff
(27:30):
game as a head coach.
Speaker 5 (27:31):
He's a great coach.
Speaker 6 (27:32):
I read an article about him about how he's such
a smart, intelligent human being. I love those guys. I
think Sam Frank keeps it close. I'll take Seattle in
a close one.
Speaker 1 (27:43):
Tomorrow's headlines today Texans and that defense in New England
against the Patriots.
Speaker 5 (27:48):
What do you got, well, I went against the Patriots
and their fans. Let me know about it.
Speaker 6 (27:52):
Anything different This week the headline for Houston at New
England will be parting of the Strouds all playoff persona
left behind. Oh yeah, CJ Stroud, Baby, I'm rocking with
the Texans.
Speaker 4 (28:06):
Listen.
Speaker 6 (28:06):
They came through for me Monday. It took a little while,
but they finally got there. Yes, there's a concern about Stroud,
but Colin, I look at this Houston defense. They match
up great against the Patriots. I mean again, Stingley on
the outside, Lassiter, these are elite cornerbacks, Yep, Petrie in
the secondary. They don't give up much. The one thing
is this Drake May's scrambling ability. I did just come
(28:26):
up with a stat he had the most scrambles in
the NFL, more scrambles than Josh Allen Herbert. And that's
where they have to watch him. Now, I'll say this.
You know watching Houston a lot this year. Those guys
are headhunters. Okay, the linebackers, the safeties may better get
down or we're looking at something. Dicey and I do
think there's some numbers that show Woody Marx, as you said,
(28:47):
and the running backs out of the backfield have given
the Patriots problems.
Speaker 5 (28:52):
I like the Texas to win this out right.
Speaker 1 (28:54):
Tomorrow's headlines today the Sunday nighter Rams at the Bears
one for the Ages potentially.
Speaker 6 (29:00):
Yeah, I hear you're gonna be there with like two
winner jackets, four scarfs.
Speaker 5 (29:04):
Yeah, it should be a cold one. I don't know
what the Bears can do to win this.
Speaker 6 (29:08):
The headline for Rams Bears will be the cold man
in the Sea, hot routes, warm reads, old.
Speaker 5 (29:16):
Man Matthew Stafford delivers.
Speaker 6 (29:19):
Colin, we're talking about the best deep ball thrower in
the league in Matt Stafford. I know Drake may was great,
it's Stafford with two awesome receivers playing against the defense
that gave up the second most deep bawl.
Speaker 5 (29:29):
Touchdowns in the league and Chagnebacker. Yeah, they just Hemorrhae
stuff on the back end. Colin.
Speaker 6 (29:34):
Unbelievably, Dallas gave up the most deep ball TVs. Dallas,
who we laugh at the Bears were second. Okay, and
you're like you said, the linebacker out. I think the
Rams score it will hear if you want to get exotic.
Their team total is twenty six and a half points.
Speaker 1 (29:47):
They're gonna take take the over on that.
Speaker 5 (29:50):
I just listen.
Speaker 6 (29:50):
Caleb is magical charm season. I know Bears fans love
when we pick against him. I don't see the Rams
blowing this. I've been Dame blows it. That would be
a shocker.
Speaker 1 (30:00):
Rams over under twenty six. That's interesting.
Speaker 6 (30:02):
Yeah, all they have to do is score twenty seven points.
I mean that's happening right.
Speaker 1 (30:05):
Finally, headline for Monday the Natty Miami against number one Indiana.
Speaker 6 (30:13):
Colin, you know this line was five and a half
and it swored up to eight and a half.
Speaker 5 (30:17):
We don't see that normally.
Speaker 6 (30:19):
No, so the headline for Hoosier's Hurricanes will.
Speaker 5 (30:23):
Be two and a half.
Speaker 6 (30:25):
Mendoza's that you loses.
Speaker 5 (30:27):
All at Sene.
Speaker 6 (30:29):
I'm sorry, Miami, I don't think you get it done here.
Indiana has to be the side they're gonna win this.
Speaker 4 (30:34):
Now.
Speaker 6 (30:34):
Interestingly, Colin, there's some numbers that show and I think
Klatt talked about this This Miami.
Speaker 5 (30:39):
Defense is gonna keep it close.
Speaker 6 (30:40):
Do not expect another blowout like that Alabama game, like
that Oregon game. By the way, the Oregon game was weird.
Did you see that they had three touchdown drives under
twenty yards because Dante Moore kept turning it over there
was a block punt. This will not be a blowout.
Miami will keep it close. How about this stat three
playoff games, Miami has given up seventy five carries.
Speaker 5 (31:01):
One explosive in seventy five.
Speaker 4 (31:03):
That's it.
Speaker 6 (31:04):
You can't really run on this team. So I'm curious
how Mendoza handles the pressure. You got two pros coming
off the edges. This is gonna be a great game.
I think it's a lot closer than the experts think
that eight and a half. You got to take the
points with the Hurricanes, But I think Indiana wins the title,
and congrats to Mendoza, who goes to the Raiders then
where he's not winning anything for a decade.
Speaker 1 (31:23):
When Nico Collins missed a game against the Niners earlier
this year, it's very interesting. C J Stroud Houston won.
C J Stroud was thirty of thirty nine, so I
like Stroud, and he was a little out of sorts
against Pittsburgh, But I think he's like Herbert. You know,
we keep waiting for this massive playoff success. But both CJ.
(31:44):
Stroud and Herbert just the way the ball comes off
their hand, They're really accurate. Both have had offensive line issues.
Both have had kind of receivers can't stay healthy issues.
I think CJ that New England gain like it's like
a little bit of a magic carpet ride for New
Ing when you're like, you know, when, when does it?
Because I really still, I really believe of all these
teams in the playoff, one of them is still in
(32:07):
a rebuild. New England I still think they need offensive
line help, another tight end. Like not that they're in
a total rebuild because they had so much free agent money,
but I still think I mean it's his Rabels got
one draft behind him. I think they need more depth.
I think they need another tight end. I think they
need help on the offensive side. I think they probably
(32:29):
need another corner. The whole league does so, I mean
everybody else. I feel like they.
Speaker 4 (32:33):
Should be here.
Speaker 1 (32:33):
I think I thought New England was going to be
the most improved team in the League. I had him
as a wild card team. Them winning this weekend, being
in the conference champion jadd way more than I thought.
That's that projects way faster turnaround. All right, great stuff.
Tom Brady was amazing. We'll put him on the podcast.
Joel Clatt money too, Greg cosel J, Max picks.
Speaker 4 (32:52):
It's the hurt.
Hosts And Creators
Colin Cowherd
Jason McIntyre
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