December 2, 2024 • 34 mins
Colin believes this is the best Buffalo Bills team with Josh Allen at quarterback to finally upend the Chiefs and claim the AFC throne. He tells you why he was right about the 49ers and wrong about the Steelers. Plus, 3-time Pro Bowl QB Matt Hasselbeck joins the show to talk about the Bears decision to fire head coach Matt Eberflus.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Thanks for listening to The Herd podcast. Be sure to
catch us live every weekday on Fox Sports Radio in
noon to three Eastern nine am to noon Pacific. Find
your local station for The Herd at Foxsportsradio dot com,
or stream us live every day on the iHeartRadio app
by searching Fox Sports Radio or FSR. Thanks for listening
to The Herd podcast. Oh we got a busy Monday
(00:23):
live in Los Angeles. It's the Herd. Hope you had
a great Thanksgiving weekend. We are now headed down the
final stretch of the NFL season. The college football season
was predictable, predictably wacky. We told you it was gonna
be chaos all weekend. Somehow Ohio State lost to a
football team that can't pass the ball. That's the craziest
(00:47):
thing I've ever seen the history of that game. That
was the goofiest thing I've ever seen in my life.
We'll try to get Urban Meyer on later. Colin Wright,
Colin Wrong one hour from now, Shamack, I want to
start with last night. So the Buffalo Bills, they look
like eight year olds on the first day of snow.
Every winner. They were having the time of their lives.
(01:09):
And so I think what you were watching last night
is the Bills hammered the forty nine Ers thirty five
to ten. Is the champion that never was San Francisco
and the potential champion that should be Buffalo, and the
reason Buffalo should win A Ringer three. Josh Allen ran
for a touchdown, through for a touchdown, caught a touchdown.
(01:30):
Nothing he can't do, missing a couple of top offensive performers.
Mah six straight games, thirty plus points on a driving snowstorm.
We've been saying this, when you get Superman, you don't
want to overuse him. And for years they didn't have
a home run hitter at running back. Now they do.
They had drama at wide receiver, now they don't. They
(01:52):
add Kinkaiddalden Kinkaid a great tight end. They've always had
a great left tackle. They've rebuilt their offensive line. This
is the best version of Buffalo, and I believe in
the AFC they've sort of separated Baltimore the defense, special teams, reliability.
Joe Burrow has the worst defense in the last decade.
(02:12):
Kansas City's flawed, the Chargers are not dynamic enough, and
the Steelers I like them. I was wrong on the Steelers,
but I don't think their ceiling is Buffalo. They are built.
The Bills are just they had a ball last night.
I mean they're the only team that plays in snow.
They don't have like a heating system under it. No,
(02:34):
that's okay. We're six and zero at home. We're having
the time of our lives. We'll lean into it. They
are built for January and February football. You watch Miami
go to Chili Green Bay, They're like, do we get
back on the flight home? Even the uniforms Dolphins in
Green Bay, it doesn't work. Buffalo's built for this stuff.
You look at the dynasties of the NFL, they've been
(02:55):
Green Bay right. Oh, they're Kansas City, it's New England,
it's the Baltimore's, it's the Steelers. Cold weather, January February,
and a sport mostly played outdoors. Buffalo's got all the elements.
A strong armed quarterback. Don't have one of those in Miami.
The ball can get through this, a strong run game,
(03:16):
sometimes windy, you got to just hand it off. Good
old line, tough defensive culture. Snow games generally don't do
it for me, except if it's the Bills. You know,
it's Elvis in Vegas. It just works. You know, it
just works. And Josh Allen is you're set of all
weather tires, I mean, and then you're watching them have
(03:37):
the time of their lives. On the other side, it's
San Francisco. I said a week ago, it's time to
tear this puppy down. People push back, that's not true.
We're close, No, you're not. Christian McAffrey hurt again, Fred
Warner hurt. Trent Allen Bosa didn't play folks. Put up
the signs, liquidation sale, get draft picks the sooner. San
(03:57):
Francisco admits this puppies over. The better reinforcements are not coming.
Stop drafting wide receivers. Get Kyle Shanahan away from the
personnel department. It ruined Bill Belichick and Bill O'Brien and
among other things, John Gruden didn't help Pete Carroll. Get
Shanahan away from personnel. Go back to being a strong,
(04:20):
forceful team. Run first. Brock perty, he's not a guy
you can rely on in January and February if he's
got a play in cold weather or against you know,
he's not a Joe Burrow. He's not a La Ma Holmes.
He's not He's not a I don't think he's a
Jalen Hurts in terms of playmaking, that's not what he is.
He doesn't throw it as well as golf or move
as well as Jalen Hurts in the NFC or Jordan
(04:41):
love So San Francisco. The sooner they can come to
terms with it, the better. But what you were watching
last night is the champion that never was San Francisco,
and they're gonna struggle letting go of this puppy. It's over.
Reinforcements aren't coming tear it down to the studs. And
on the other side, you saw Bill team once again
(05:02):
dominate the AFC East. They're gonna win this division as
long as Josh Allen is in his prime, which is
five more years, just like Brady did. And here's Josh after.
Speaker 2 (05:13):
This one feels a little bit different. You know, this
early in the season, we still got five games left.
At the same time, we're chasing the one seed. We
understand that, we know that, and we got to keep
getting better each and every week. So but it's it's
gonna be fun. I mean to go out there and
play free and play relax, and play loose. I think
that's that could be a dangerous team.
Speaker 1 (05:33):
A lot of sports, when it comes to team sports,
is taking advantage of these tiny windows. Kansas City's flawed,
Baltimore and Cincinnati defense not up to spot stuff, and
you start looking at Pittsburgh ceiling. This is the year
for Buffalo. They're mostly healthy, they could get the number
(05:57):
one seed. They've got a super quarterback, good front office,
no chaos in coaching, and they've had a little bit
of that in the coordinator head coaching space. This feels
like the year for the Bills. I want to talk
about this next. The Steelers beat the Bengals forty four
to thirty eight. So for years and years I defended
Russell Wilson. I think everybody liked him. Let Russ cook
(06:19):
and then it ended poorly. Then he went to Denver.
It was a bit of a mess. He and Sean
Payton personalities clash. He went to Pittsburgh. In my take
was I think the players are gonna like justin fieldsmore young,
relatable athletic. But the one thing the Steelers haven't been,
and I mean even in the Big Ben days, big
Ben Prime days, they've always been loose a little overly dramatic, loud,
(06:42):
and undisciplined offensively, and Mike Tomlin needed Russell Wilson and Frankly,
Russell Wilson needed Mike Tomlin a head coach that isn't
looking over his shoulder in the meeting rooms. Mike, let's
offense do offense. And I don't know if this team
Pittsburgh's going to beat Philly in two weeks or Baltimore
(07:03):
in three. But Tomlin and Russell Wilson are perfect. Russell
is the adult in the room for an offense that's
desperately needed that for years. He's focused, he's driven, he's aspirational,
he's grateful, he's serious, he's disciplined. He doesn't turn the
ball over, and defensive coaches like that. And here's the thing.
Both Tomlin and Russell Wilson have trophies, have healthy confidence.
(07:27):
I think they're good people. Both got humbled. Tomlin kept hearing, bro,
you can't win playoff games, Brady Manning. Mike Tomlin had
to look himself in the mirror and go, you know what,
I got to get a grown up ruin this offense.
And Justin Fields had a winning record. He pulled him out,
gave it to Russ Tomlin got nothing but crap, and
(07:48):
he was right. He was right. He's like, I need
a senior statesman. And by the way Russell Wilson figured
out in Denver, I'm probably going to be a complimentary piece.
I can't be the savior for football teams. So before
Russell Wilson arrived, the last several years with Pittsburgh, there
(08:09):
was one way to win, create turnovers, mostly low scoring,
played really well as an underdog, not necessarily as a favorite.
Forty four to thirty eight wins over Joe Burrow were
not available to this franchise in the last several years,
and now they are, so there's multiple ways to win.
(08:29):
And I mean, in my entire life, every really great
Steeler team has had two things. A great tough defense
and a quarterback that could beat you over the top
from Terry Bradsch out of Big Ben, and that is
Russell Wilson's primary asset now at his age. He'll beat
you down the field. And the last time the Steelers
finished in the top ten in the offense, Andrew Luck
(08:52):
was starting for the Colts. So it has been a
while where they had a quarterback that would couple with
a defense and my Tomlin and a Chuck Knowle or
a Bill Cower that could burn you if you weren't honest.
And it gives the Steelers now multiple ways to win.
And Mike Tomlin, Russell Wilson, there's no clash of personalities.
(09:15):
Sean Payton sees offense a certain way, Russell didn't play
it that way. Clash right, and then Russell saw the
world a certain way. And by the end Pete Carroll didn't.
The Tomlin Russell thing works. Here's the coach after.
Speaker 3 (09:31):
Thought, our grew you know, smiled in the face of it,
particularly Russ. You know, it's the first time for him
going through this AFC North football, and then I thought
he acclimated himself to a well today he put himself
squarely in the history of these series, in this series
with that performance today. Man, we're thankful for it.
Speaker 1 (09:49):
I'll tell you there was a moment after the game.
It was one of those in the hallway gestures where
Tomlin grabbed Russ and gave him a hug, and you
could really see the affection Tomlin understands. And this has
been Pittsburgh even during the Big Ben days. Is Mike
is a very emotional coach. His Steelers are tough, physical,
they're emotional, and sometimes with young players, you know, you
(10:12):
got to have a grown up on the offensive side,
because Mike will monitor the defensive side. But it's always
been the offense. And you're like, you're a little noisy,
you're a little loud, you're a lot buttoned up. And
that's what Russ brings. Disciplined focus, grown up, grateful, aspirational, driven.
That's exactly what they needed, and the fit works. I
(10:34):
didn't think it did. I didn't think it would. It does.
So j mc Matt Hasselbeck in one hour. Colin right,
Colin wrong. I'm going to talk about Ohio State Michigan
among other things later this I still think I'll say this.
I'll throw it out there. Ohio State I still think
has a strong chance to end up in the National
Championship against Texas. I really believe that. Yes, sir, I
(10:55):
honestly do thing possible. I picked Tennessee before the season,
so I'll just say Tennessee was my pick before the season.
Halfway through the season, I look to be off course.
Just keep your eye on the ball. What happens if
Penn State beats Oregon, Colin and uh, I don't know.
Speaker 4 (11:13):
Georgia shocks Texas is Penn State.
Speaker 1 (11:15):
The number one seed that's insane college football right now
is bonkers. Yes, well, you know what it's interesting because
you and I both love it. The transfer portal and
the NIL have created something and I'm not sure any
of us saw it, is that none of these big
brands have any depth. Because if you're a five star
(11:36):
player and you go to an Ohio State, at Georgia,
you go to a Bama, you go to a Notre Dame,
and if you're not playing by your sophomore year because
there's some NFL first round er ahead of you, you'll
get cherry picked to go somewhere else. Oregon'll come pluck, Washington,
Michigan'll come pluck, Michigan State, whoever. And so what you're
finding is an injury can be decimating to a top brand.
(12:01):
It used to be five star guy out, five star
guy up. But you're finding is these big time teams,
and I'm talking to Texas, the Penn States, they don't
have the depth over a two year period. Those big
dogs are getting cherry peck because everybody's got NIL money
now I mean Georgia doesn't have any depths. I mean
they had Bowers and Maconkeye who are now in the
NFL crushing. They have nothing now.
Speaker 4 (12:22):
And I mean I thought they were gonna lose to
Georgia Tech. That was.
Speaker 1 (12:26):
College football is off the rails right now, it is.
Speaker 5 (12:28):
Be sure to catch live editions of The Herd weekdays
at noon eastern non am Pacific on Fox Sports Radio
FS one and the iHeartRadio app.
Speaker 1 (12:38):
Here we go, It's Monday. Wild weekend college and pro
football had a lot of fun. Matt Hasselback five minutes out.
Wherever you may be and however you may be listening,
Thanks for making Hou's part of your day. A lot
of energy, j Matt. You know, sat home yesterday, hydrated
African of a wild weekend. Saw the kids probably had one, two,
(13:00):
many cigars, A little line at sleigh Steak on Saturday.
It was amazing. Can I tell the audience you called me?
You fired up?
Speaker 6 (13:08):
He had so many good takes yesterday.
Speaker 7 (13:10):
I was like.
Speaker 1 (13:11):
Colbert, what saved this bot? I was a take machine
yesterday were cooking. I mean you were cooking like a
turkey someday.
Speaker 3 (13:18):
Cook.
Speaker 6 (13:19):
It was just going crazy.
Speaker 1 (13:20):
You and your family had a great Thanksgiving. Yes, it
was very thankful to be out here at the war weather.
Speaker 4 (13:27):
Arctic blasted in the Midwest this week.
Speaker 1 (13:29):
You see the temperatures, Oh yeah, oh yeah, give me some.
Speaker 4 (13:31):
Cold football out there this weekend.
Speaker 1 (13:33):
Well, Buffalo's built for it all, right, here we go.
Colin Wright Colin wrong in a Monday plenty of boat
fire away where Colin was right. Listen, I said a
week ago, and I got pushed back. Tear it down
to the studs, Niners. It's official, rebuilds. The only way
lost thirty five to ten wasn't competitive. Christian McCaffrey's hurt,
Fred Warner's hurt. They're old, they're tired, they're expensive in
(13:54):
their brittle. I mean Kyle Shanahan first time he's lost
back to back games by twenty five US points. Christian
McCaffrey unfortunately done for the season. This isn't subtle or nuanced.
They don't They don't have enough good players. I mean,
go watch Detroit, Philadelphia, Buffalo, Baltimore, Kansas that he played.
They don't have enough guys, especially in.
Speaker 4 (14:14):
Their prime, where Colin was raw.
Speaker 1 (14:17):
I have defended Ryan Day for a long time, but
he got worked this weekend, even with Chip Kelly. I
thought he was trying to prove a point more than
he was trying to win a game. Why were they
running the football. They're a beautiful vertical passing team. Nick
Saban moved off his power running games into a passing
(14:38):
team because Nick was about winning games. And I like
Ryan Day, but he'd never been a head coach before
Ohio State, and there are steps you get when you're
Urban Meyer and go Bowling Green to Utah to Florida,
Ohio State and in big games, he has not been exceptional,
and I thought this was a low point. I don't
think I would want him fired, but this was ugly
(15:00):
and I've been defending him from day one. You can't
have that at home against the team that can't pass.
Michigan can't pass. Where Colin was right, Sammy Darnold forever,
I said he's a first round talent. Just get him
to the right coach once again. A great final drive
to win a game. He's had several of those, fourth
(15:21):
in the NFL. And touchdown passes, the reckless stuff. Oh,
he'll have a throw every game. I WinCE a little bit,
but he has become a really good fourth quarter quarterback.
Ten of his twelve starts one hundred plus passer rating.
He's getting it to the right players at the right time,
and I trust him. That's the one thing I'll say
(15:41):
about good quarterback play. He gets the ball with a
minute and a half left, I trust him. He's going
to drive that team down to a field goal minimum.
And he did it again this week, Sam Darnold.
Speaker 4 (15:52):
Where Colin was rough, I didn't.
Speaker 1 (15:54):
Think Russell Wilson and Tomlin and the Steelers was gonna fit.
But he's five and one and six starts yesterday, eight
different at Steelers caught a pass of twenty plus yards.
He is throwing the ball down the field. There's no
dink and dunk here Russell is. He is cooking it downfield,
and I'm happy for him. He's a grateful guy. He's
a hard working guy. He's a very focused guy. And
(16:16):
this is a much better fit that I could have guessed.
You know, he kind of feels like this has always
been an offense that's a little dramatic and loose. He's
kind of got it playing more in the fair way
and still hitting on big plays.
Speaker 4 (16:32):
Where Colin was right, you know.
Speaker 1 (16:34):
Matt Eberflus coming into the season, was on the hot seat.
Probably they should have been best served to start over.
Jim Harball was the choice, but he didn't get along
with the president. And I feel bad for Caleb Williams,
who I think is a remarkable player. He's flawed, He's
got a lot to learn. But that coaching gaff. I mean,
when first year quarterbacks sometimes a coach has to throw
(16:56):
him a life preserver on timeouts and time and you
know they're gonna lack some self awareness just because they're
rookie quarterbacks in a much faster game on the road,
short week against the Great Lions. There's just no excuse
for that. And then his they couldn't even fire him, right,
They'd let him have a press conference and fired him
about an hour later. So this was.
Speaker 4 (17:15):
Pretty predictable where Colin was rong.
Speaker 1 (17:19):
Well, my next guest loves Nick Sirianni. I guess I'm
on board. They've won eight in a row, they beat
Lamar Jackson. NFC teams do not beat Lamar Jackson. Now,
Justin Tucker helped him out, but I will say this,
they may be the worst first quarter team. That's a
good team. In the league. But their second quarter was
great and their fourth quarters. They give the ball to
the right people. And that's what I like about Philadelphia's offense.
(17:42):
It's what Ohio State didn't do Saturday. They got their ball,
and they get their ball to the right guys in Sirianni.
Maybe he's learning on the job. I've had misgivings, but
it works. You do not win eight games in a row.
They've beaten some good teams home and away. They've beaten
good teams. You don't win eight in a row. Gold
at Chicago. They got good player unless the coach knows
what he's doing.
Speaker 4 (18:02):
Where Colin was right.
Speaker 1 (18:04):
I don't buy an Aaron Rodgers, but I don't think
he's a top fifteen to eighteen quarterback in the league.
Turns forty one today, ugly pick six. He missed the
wide open Garrett Wilson in the end zone on a
pretty easy throw, pretty pedestrian NFL quarterback throw, and they
would have gone up twenty eight to seven. Game set
match missed it. Pick six followed. So at this point,
you know, he's never been the biggest grinder in the offseason,
(18:26):
and so I think he's aged, really, really quickly, but
I didn't think the Jets were a playoff team. I
don't think Aaron's the kind of guy. He's not a
foxhole guy. He's just a really talented guy. But I
would move off him. I don't think it works. I
don't think he has much of a market. We've got
all these talented young quarterbacks. Go get one somewhere, or
go get Sam Darnold. Where Colin was right, I said
(18:46):
going into the weekend, do not lose any sleep on
the college football playoff rankings. Chaos will ensue, and it did.
Georgia went to eight overtimes against Georgia Tech, Miami lost
to Syracuse, Ohio State lost to Michigan. And I said Thursday,
the last couple of weekends, watch out for rivalry week.
(19:08):
It's gonna be a zoo. There's a scenario where the
four conference champions weren't in their conference last season. And
I will say this, the NIL and the transfer portal
have created more parody because a lot of these second
tier programs are cherry picking the Michigans, Notre Dames, Ohio States,
(19:29):
Alabama's Georgia for guys that may be the third receiver
that can be a number one receiver at say like
a Louisville or you know, a Texas Tech. So there
is no depth even among the Alabamas and the Georgia's.
I've watched Georgia play five times. You can run on Georgia.
They don't throw the ball down the field. So it
(19:50):
is a wacky college football season. I'll still say Texas
ends up in the Natty. I still think it's going
to be Tennessee or Ohio State. So I'm not bailed
on Ohio State. Where Colin was right. Where Colin was
wrong on a Monday.
Speaker 5 (20:03):
And We'll be sure to catch live editions of The
Herd weekdays in neon eastern non am Pacific on Fox
Sports Radio FS one and the iHeartRadio app.
Speaker 1 (20:12):
With that Matt Hasselbeck. We love having them on. Three
time Pro bowler. You know it's funny. I watched the
Bills play last night in that snow and I said
it looked like eight year olds on the first snow day.
They were heavy. Yeah, they loved playing in that and
(20:32):
not that San Francisco melted like a Miami team. But
it's weird watching them play in that weather. It's almost
like if they could choose the weather for the playoffs.
That would be it. When you were in Seattle, you
probably liked the rain and watch the guys coming in fumble,
right Colin my rookie year, I went to the Green
Bay Packers.
Speaker 7 (20:51):
Most of our team, like our quarterback was from Mississippi.
Everyone thought of like, oh, he's a cold weather quarterback,
Brett Farmer.
Speaker 6 (20:56):
He's from Mississippi.
Speaker 1 (20:57):
You know.
Speaker 7 (20:58):
Half the guys in my rookie class they saw SnO
for the first time when they got to Wisconsin, and
yet they thought of us as like this cold weather team.
I used to tell people all the time, like we'd
wear no sleeves. We'd go out at halftime, we would
come in the locker room, in the quarterback meeting room.
Speaker 6 (21:13):
Sorry, where we would meet was in the sauna.
Speaker 7 (21:15):
It was the quarterbacks coach Andy Reid with Doug Peterson's
the backup, Brett Farves the starter, Rick Meyer's there, I'm there,
and literally we're in there in the sauna having our
halftime adjustment meeting.
Speaker 6 (21:25):
We were freezing.
Speaker 7 (21:26):
Then we'd go out in the second half and like,
you know, we just played this tough guy thing like yeah,
we're not cold, you know, we're not wearing sleeves, and
I'm sure the opposing team, like the forty nine ers,
they're like, man, these guys are crazy.
Speaker 6 (21:35):
They love this stuff.
Speaker 7 (21:37):
It's like they would rather be in the snow right now.
And that's what it looked like with Buffalo. I think
the fans were into it.
Speaker 6 (21:42):
It's super cool to play in, super fun. It also
fun to watch.
Speaker 1 (21:46):
You know. I said this about Russell Wilson. I thought
the fit was weird, but I do think that we
don't think about this even for guys like you who
are college all Americans, eighteen years Pro Bowls. For like you,
fit is really essential. You talking about twenty two year
old kids. So even though Russell's older Denver was a
bad fit, because here's Sean Payton who has his view
(22:10):
of offense, and then Russell Wilson comes in with his
view clash. Tomlin is a defensive guy, and I almost
feel like Russell feels liberated, like I can kind of
do what I do. And Mike Off of Kenny Pickett
is sort of appreciative. But I watch it and I'm like,
it kind of works. Tomlin Russ doesn't.
Speaker 7 (22:31):
It well, it's definitely working. I don't see it that
way necessarily. I think there's this fine line between humility
and confidence, and I think you need both.
Speaker 6 (22:40):
And I don't think Russell was.
Speaker 7 (22:41):
Very humble in Denver, but I think he's been more
humble this time. And he definitely has the confidence. Listen,
that game started out. He throws a pick six on
like the third pass or the third play of the game,
and you know he's he doesn't flinch. He has the confidence.
He's like, you know what, I've been there, done it
had highs, had lows. I'm good. But if you watch
that game really study how he got to four hundred yards,
(23:02):
it wasn't really what we're going to see in the highlights,
all these deep balls.
Speaker 6 (23:06):
It really wasn't.
Speaker 7 (23:07):
The first half, he had two completions to a wide
receiver that were past the line of scrimmage.
Speaker 6 (23:13):
That was it. He won this game.
Speaker 7 (23:14):
By using the running backs in the passing game, using
the tight ends in the passing game. In the first half,
he had seven completions to running backs, four to tight ends,
and like I said, two that went past the line
of scrimmage. So is he a great deep ball thrower, Yes,
he really is. He's got great trajectory on his throw.
But that's not how he won this game. That's not
how he got to four hundred yards. I believe he
(23:35):
played the kind of like that division's type of football.
Speaker 6 (23:38):
You heard Mike Tomlin talk about it.
Speaker 7 (23:40):
He said he's acclimated well to this division and this
kind of football.
Speaker 6 (23:44):
And I think part of that is being humble.
Speaker 7 (23:46):
And yet, like I said, having like this ultra confidence
where you have confidence in yourself and your team has
confidence in you as well.
Speaker 1 (23:55):
You know I am the bear. Situation's interesting. I would
have been much harder on Caleb.
Speaker 4 (24:02):
Interesting.
Speaker 6 (24:03):
Well, that's a really nice way to put it, Collin.
Speaker 1 (24:06):
Trying to be kind on a Monday. I do think
with the rookie quarterbacks, sometimes a coach or a veteran
backup or something has to throw them a life preserver.
A lot of these teams get a rookie quarterback, they'll
go get a veteran guy a Josh McCown, get him
in here. And I thought Matt eberf looses inability. You
could see Caleb's looking around and it's like, you gotta
(24:29):
call time out. You got to help the kid. Now,
maybe in three years that's on Caleb were you bothered
by Caleb or the lack of support he got from
the head coach.
Speaker 5 (24:38):
All of it.
Speaker 7 (24:38):
You know, listen, I got on here, you know when
he gave up nine sacks and everyone was trying to
blame the offensive line, and I'm like, listen, there's shared blame.
And if I'm coaching the quarterback, I'm blaming the quarterback
for at least six of those sacks at least. But
yet they blamed somebody else.
Speaker 6 (24:53):
Then it was something else, and they blamed the offensive coordinator,
Shane Waldron. They fired him.
Speaker 7 (24:57):
Now this situation, they're blaming the head coach who could
have called time out. He shouldn't have needed to call
time out. You had thirty six seconds. You need to
save that time out. Two minute is different in the
second quarter than it is in the fourth quarter. Two
minute is different when you're down three versus if you're
down four or more. Like at some level there's got
to be some shared responsibility by the quarterback. So if
(25:20):
you're coaching the quarterback, like with a closed door, I
think you need to be really critical. Like yesterday, it
was like almost hilarious to me, how like every single
comment that someone said about the Bears.
Speaker 6 (25:30):
Everyone would say, like, oh, you.
Speaker 7 (25:31):
Can't put that on the quarterback, Like why, Like I
don't understand why. Like the only way you're going to
improve as a quarterback is if you're coach tough, if
you're coached hard, if you tell the truth on Monday,
And like that's that's the part that I'm not sure
is getting done right there.
Speaker 6 (25:44):
I thought Matt.
Speaker 7 (25:45):
Eberfluss probably needed to be fired because of all the stuff,
you know, if you look at the totality of it.
But really I thought what he did at the podium
was he tried to not throw his quarterback under the bus.
But I don't know who else you can really blame
for what happened in that situation if you're coaching the quarterback.
Speaker 1 (26:02):
Yeah. So, you know, I watched Baltimore and some you know,
I said this for years with Tiger Woods. There's a
lot of great golfers. There was one Tiger Woods and
guys shot a lot of good rounds and lost to
the media known as Tiger Woods. And I watched the
Ravens and I'm like, well they lost to Kansas City
by a foot. You know, Philadelphia, maybe the best roster
(26:23):
in the league. You know, you start looking around and
you're like, Okay, the Raiders game is what it is.
But I watched them handle the Chargers. I'm like, I
think it's a good team. I just think the greatest
kicker ever has hit a wall to keep losing these
close games. I think if they hit field goals, they win,
and just sometimes it happens like it just I'm not
(26:45):
selling my Lamar Baltimore stock, but a lot of people are.
How do you view them?
Speaker 7 (26:51):
Yeah, they shouldn't listen. I believe in Lamar Jackson one.
He's incredibly fun to watch. I believe in a weird way,
he's underrated. People think of him as the runner, but
he's a great passer as well. I think he's a
great leader.
Speaker 1 (27:03):
Uh.
Speaker 6 (27:03):
They've played a little sloppy this year.
Speaker 7 (27:05):
Yeah, obviously the special teams, which was always a strength
for this team.
Speaker 6 (27:08):
You know, they're in a bit of a you know,
they're in a bit of a rut right now.
Speaker 4 (27:12):
And just listen.
Speaker 7 (27:13):
Having held for field goal kickers for a lot of
my football playing career, you know, going back all the
way down to you know, he's from high school to
holding for Adam Vanetier near the end of my career,
like you know, understanding that it's an operation, like it's
it's long snapper, it's holder, it's kicker, and just like
a golfer, sometimes you're you know, you have a stretch
where you're not in the fair way much.
Speaker 6 (27:34):
But I trust justin Tucker.
Speaker 7 (27:35):
I kind of trust that team and and I do
think that this team will be a team that's battle
tested once the playoffs come around.
Speaker 1 (27:41):
Matt Hasselbeck joining us. It's so funny with the Eagles.
They're an awful first quarter team, but yesterday they were
a great, dominant second quarter team, and then they were
bad in the third, then they were unstoppable in the fourth.
But I when I watched them, every unit is like
an unbelievable player. They're so stacked. And it's like, but you've,
(28:06):
like you've been telling me this for a month. I've
been pushing back. There is something with Sirianni. Aren't you
a little concern that eventually in the playoffs you're not concerned?
Speaker 7 (28:19):
F I like Nick Sirianni. I think he's a really
good coach. I think the Eagles are a really good team.
I feel like I like the Eagles more than Eagles
fans like it's just in a weird way, like I
believe in them more. No, listen, I thought, like yesterday's game,
they coached around their injury situation. Injury situation, they didn't
have DEVANCEE. Smith, and so they said, okay, you know.
Speaker 6 (28:37):
What we are going to be.
Speaker 7 (28:39):
You know a lot of people talk about RPO the
Eagles in that game, they were an r RO offense,
a run or a run option.
Speaker 6 (28:45):
It was either Jalen or it was Saquon.
Speaker 7 (28:48):
And and then once they get into the red zone
then they operate there. They're more they're like RPO game
where it's either Jalen Saquon or Dallas Goddter, Jalen Saquon.
Speaker 6 (28:58):
Or a Jay Brown.
Speaker 7 (28:59):
They they coached around this situation that they had understanding
who the quarterback was. On the other side, I think
Jalen hurts through for like one hundred and eighteen yards.
Speaker 6 (29:08):
You get seven completions that ended up in a first down.
Speaker 7 (29:11):
It wasn't that kind of a game, but it's winning
football that Fangio.
Speaker 6 (29:15):
Does a great job.
Speaker 7 (29:16):
I've told you Kellen Moore is learning his guys and
really it's a one to two punch in the defense.
Speaker 6 (29:22):
Is off balance.
Speaker 7 (29:23):
I thought they mixed up tempo. I just I like
Nick Sirianni. I think he's got his team focused each
and every week, and we pay attention to some of
the antics like on game day. But I think if
you look at that team like Monday to Saturday, they're
locked in.
Speaker 6 (29:38):
They don't have distractions.
Speaker 1 (29:39):
So do you think it's easy for me to say this?
Do you think in the locker room that those veteran
Niners players know it's this ain't working, it's time for
a reboot. I mean they're highly compensated, But do you
think in the room they're questioning we got to start over?
Because I watched Philly, I watched Detroit, I watched Buffalo,
(30:02):
I watched Baltimore. San Francisco's not close. They're not one
big swing away. They're old, expensive, riddle hurt a lot.
Do you think they know that?
Speaker 7 (30:13):
Yeah, I don't think I hear what you're saying. I
think they feel that this year, like I think the
real talk or the real thoughts or something like, man,
this just isn't our year, Like we're banged up, and
I listen, you mentioned all the time I played eighteen
years in the NFL.
Speaker 6 (30:27):
Not every year was the same.
Speaker 7 (30:28):
There were some years where I just wasn't banged up,
felt great, my teammates felt great.
Speaker 6 (30:33):
Just that's how it was. Then there were other years
where we felt snake bit.
Speaker 7 (30:37):
Everybody in the building had an injury, every player, shoot,
we had coaches basically getting surgery during the season. It
was just like, what's going on with this team right now?
We feel cursed or something. I think that's what they feel.
I feel like the forty nine ers are probably like, man,
we can't catch your break this year.
Speaker 6 (30:54):
This is not our year.
Speaker 4 (30:55):
But I don't think they.
Speaker 7 (30:56):
Feel like, oh, we got to blow it up, start over,
get younger, because there's no king in that division.
Speaker 6 (31:01):
The NFC West is it's like right there.
Speaker 7 (31:03):
They can taste it, they know they're close, and they
feel like, if healthy, it would be their division. But
I think it's a real thing where you feel snakedit
a little bit.
Speaker 1 (31:13):
Okay, So speaking of that division, because I think all
of the teams have something. Seattle again just keeps winning
the Rams. Now Stafford's on a bit of a heater.
Now Stafford's playing well. That game, by the way, flew
by it it was like it was like one of
those baseball games now when you have the starter pitcher,
it goes like two hours and twenty minutes. The Rams
(31:33):
game was like over like that, and you're like, okay,
do you buy the Rams? Because this is a quarterback
head coach league, especially in the playoffs, and I think
their defense is actually in the front seven pretty tasty.
What do you make of the Rams? Do you buy
them at all? Do they worry you? Do you think
they could? You know, last year they shocked us. They're
(31:54):
better than last year. I think what do you make
of them?
Speaker 6 (31:59):
Yeah, well, listen, it's a fun division.
Speaker 7 (32:01):
So a really good team is going to win that
division with a bad record, which is like I wouldn't
say that about the NFC South. I think a bad
team with a bad record is going to win that division.
But there's going to be a good team coming out
of this NFC West. The Seahawks are hot right now.
Speaker 6 (32:15):
That was a good win, but.
Speaker 7 (32:16):
It was also a win against a you know, a
three win Jets team. But the Seahawks in Arizona go
head to head this week. This division is going to
kind of eat itself, and I think that if they
can stay healthy, Matthew Stafford is playing really good football.
Now that second half was great football. That first half,
you know, wasn't quite as good. So you know, this
is a team and this is a division that I
(32:38):
truly think it could be anybody's division.
Speaker 6 (32:41):
And you can't really say that about much of the league.
Speaker 7 (32:44):
You know, some of the teams that are winning their division,
they're playing against people that have already packed it in.
They're they're putting guys on ther ir, they're saying, hey
for who, for what, We'll see you next year.
Speaker 6 (32:53):
That's not at all how this division is.
Speaker 7 (32:55):
Everybody feels like they're in it, and so for that reason,
I think this is going to be one of the
more competitive and or fun divisions to watch as we
finish out the year.
Speaker 1 (33:02):
Yeah, he's got a one to twenty one passer rating,
eight touchdowns, no picks in the last three games, and
so but it.
Speaker 7 (33:09):
Was interesting, Colin, Like, I think they didn't score a
touchdown in the first half, which is something that a
Sean McVeigh team hasn't done. And they've been who knows,
they've actually been a super Bowl against the Patriot.
Speaker 1 (33:19):
They've been a weirdly bad first half offense, and I
don't know what the answer is because McVay is brilliant,
but they've been I don't I couldn't say the last
great first half they had, they adjust, they play well late,
but it's you know, it's like Philadelphia. I can't explain
Philadelphia in the Rams first quarters they have.
Speaker 7 (33:37):
I think one thing that does happen is you don't
really know what somebody else's game plan is going to
be against you until you get into the game. Like
if you're unique, like I think Matthew Stafford's unique. I
think Jalen Hurts in that Saquan offense now is unique.
So you get into the game and you're like, oh, okay,
now I see what their game plan was. They're gonna
play us Nickel getting five dbs when we're in big
(33:59):
people person now got it? Or say, oh okay, I
know what they're going to do now. They're going to
play a two shell and allow no big plays.
Speaker 6 (34:06):
Got it. But you don't necessarily know that until you
get into the game.
Speaker 1 (34:10):
Matt Hasselbeck on a Monday. Always love having you man,
make us smarter. Appreciate it.
Speaker 4 (34:16):
Appreciate it.
Speaker 1 (34:17):
You bet eighteen years in the league, three time pro
Bowler super Bowl trips,
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 Foxsportsradio dot com,
or stream us live every day on the iHeartRadio app
by searching Fox Sports Radio or FSR. Thanks for listening
to The Herd podcast. Oh we got a busy Monday
(00:23):
live in Los Angeles. It's the Herd. Hope you had
a great Thanksgiving weekend. We are now headed down the
final stretch of the NFL season. The college football season
was predictable, predictably wacky. We told you it was gonna
be chaos all weekend. Somehow Ohio State lost to a
football team that can't pass the ball. That's the craziest
(00:47):
thing I've ever seen the history of that game. That
was the goofiest thing I've ever seen in my life.
We'll try to get Urban Meyer on later. Colin Wright,
Colin Wrong one hour from now, Shamack, I want to
start with last night. So the Buffalo Bills, they look
like eight year olds on the first day of snow.
Every winner. They were having the time of their lives.
(01:09):
And so I think what you were watching last night
is the Bills hammered the forty nine Ers thirty five
to ten. Is the champion that never was San Francisco
and the potential champion that should be Buffalo, and the
reason Buffalo should win A Ringer three. Josh Allen ran
for a touchdown, through for a touchdown, caught a touchdown.
(01:30):
Nothing he can't do, missing a couple of top offensive performers.
Mah six straight games, thirty plus points on a driving snowstorm.
We've been saying this, when you get Superman, you don't
want to overuse him. And for years they didn't have
a home run hitter at running back. Now they do.
They had drama at wide receiver, now they don't. They
(01:52):
add Kinkaiddalden Kinkaid a great tight end. They've always had
a great left tackle. They've rebuilt their offensive line. This
is the best version of Buffalo, and I believe in
the AFC they've sort of separated Baltimore the defense, special teams, reliability.
Joe Burrow has the worst defense in the last decade.
(02:12):
Kansas City's flawed, the Chargers are not dynamic enough, and
the Steelers I like them. I was wrong on the Steelers,
but I don't think their ceiling is Buffalo. They are built.
The Bills are just they had a ball last night.
I mean they're the only team that plays in snow.
They don't have like a heating system under it. No,
(02:34):
that's okay. We're six and zero at home. We're having
the time of our lives. We'll lean into it. They
are built for January and February football. You watch Miami
go to Chili Green Bay, They're like, do we get
back on the flight home? Even the uniforms Dolphins in
Green Bay, it doesn't work. Buffalo's built for this stuff.
You look at the dynasties of the NFL, they've been
(02:55):
Green Bay right. Oh, they're Kansas City, it's New England,
it's the Baltimore's, it's the Steelers. Cold weather, January February,
and a sport mostly played outdoors. Buffalo's got all the elements.
A strong armed quarterback. Don't have one of those in Miami.
The ball can get through this, a strong run game,
(03:16):
sometimes windy, you got to just hand it off. Good
old line, tough defensive culture. Snow games generally don't do
it for me, except if it's the Bills. You know,
it's Elvis in Vegas. It just works. You know, it
just works. And Josh Allen is you're set of all
weather tires, I mean, and then you're watching them have
(03:37):
the time of their lives. On the other side, it's
San Francisco. I said a week ago, it's time to
tear this puppy down. People push back, that's not true.
We're close, No, you're not. Christian McAffrey hurt again, Fred
Warner hurt. Trent Allen Bosa didn't play folks. Put up
the signs, liquidation sale, get draft picks the sooner. San
(03:57):
Francisco admits this puppies over. The better reinforcements are not coming.
Stop drafting wide receivers. Get Kyle Shanahan away from the
personnel department. It ruined Bill Belichick and Bill O'Brien and
among other things, John Gruden didn't help Pete Carroll. Get
Shanahan away from personnel. Go back to being a strong,
(04:20):
forceful team. Run first. Brock perty, he's not a guy
you can rely on in January and February if he's
got a play in cold weather or against you know,
he's not a Joe Burrow. He's not a La Ma Holmes.
He's not He's not a I don't think he's a
Jalen Hurts in terms of playmaking, that's not what he is.
He doesn't throw it as well as golf or move
as well as Jalen Hurts in the NFC or Jordan
(04:41):
love So San Francisco. The sooner they can come to
terms with it, the better. But what you were watching
last night is the champion that never was San Francisco,
and they're gonna struggle letting go of this puppy. It's over.
Reinforcements aren't coming tear it down to the studs. And
on the other side, you saw Bill team once again
(05:02):
dominate the AFC East. They're gonna win this division as
long as Josh Allen is in his prime, which is
five more years, just like Brady did. And here's Josh after.
Speaker 2 (05:13):
This one feels a little bit different. You know, this
early in the season, we still got five games left.
At the same time, we're chasing the one seed. We
understand that, we know that, and we got to keep
getting better each and every week. So but it's it's
gonna be fun. I mean to go out there and
play free and play relax, and play loose. I think
that's that could be a dangerous team.
Speaker 1 (05:33):
A lot of sports, when it comes to team sports,
is taking advantage of these tiny windows. Kansas City's flawed,
Baltimore and Cincinnati defense not up to spot stuff, and
you start looking at Pittsburgh ceiling. This is the year
for Buffalo. They're mostly healthy, they could get the number
(05:57):
one seed. They've got a super quarterback, good front office,
no chaos in coaching, and they've had a little bit
of that in the coordinator head coaching space. This feels
like the year for the Bills. I want to talk
about this next. The Steelers beat the Bengals forty four
to thirty eight. So for years and years I defended
Russell Wilson. I think everybody liked him. Let Russ cook
(06:19):
and then it ended poorly. Then he went to Denver.
It was a bit of a mess. He and Sean
Payton personalities clash. He went to Pittsburgh. In my take
was I think the players are gonna like justin fieldsmore young,
relatable athletic. But the one thing the Steelers haven't been,
and I mean even in the Big Ben days, big
Ben Prime days, they've always been loose a little overly dramatic, loud,
(06:42):
and undisciplined offensively, and Mike Tomlin needed Russell Wilson and Frankly,
Russell Wilson needed Mike Tomlin a head coach that isn't
looking over his shoulder in the meeting rooms. Mike, let's
offense do offense. And I don't know if this team
Pittsburgh's going to beat Philly in two weeks or Baltimore
(07:03):
in three. But Tomlin and Russell Wilson are perfect. Russell
is the adult in the room for an offense that's
desperately needed that for years. He's focused, he's driven, he's aspirational,
he's grateful, he's serious, he's disciplined. He doesn't turn the
ball over, and defensive coaches like that. And here's the thing.
Both Tomlin and Russell Wilson have trophies, have healthy confidence.
(07:27):
I think they're good people. Both got humbled. Tomlin kept hearing, bro,
you can't win playoff games, Brady Manning. Mike Tomlin had
to look himself in the mirror and go, you know what,
I got to get a grown up ruin this offense.
And Justin Fields had a winning record. He pulled him out,
gave it to Russ Tomlin got nothing but crap, and
(07:48):
he was right. He was right. He's like, I need
a senior statesman. And by the way Russell Wilson figured
out in Denver, I'm probably going to be a complimentary piece.
I can't be the savior for football teams. So before
Russell Wilson arrived, the last several years with Pittsburgh, there
(08:09):
was one way to win, create turnovers, mostly low scoring,
played really well as an underdog, not necessarily as a favorite.
Forty four to thirty eight wins over Joe Burrow were
not available to this franchise in the last several years,
and now they are, so there's multiple ways to win.
(08:29):
And I mean, in my entire life, every really great
Steeler team has had two things. A great tough defense
and a quarterback that could beat you over the top
from Terry Bradsch out of Big Ben, and that is
Russell Wilson's primary asset now at his age. He'll beat
you down the field. And the last time the Steelers
finished in the top ten in the offense, Andrew Luck
(08:52):
was starting for the Colts. So it has been a
while where they had a quarterback that would couple with
a defense and my Tomlin and a Chuck Knowle or
a Bill Cower that could burn you if you weren't honest.
And it gives the Steelers now multiple ways to win.
And Mike Tomlin, Russell Wilson, there's no clash of personalities.
(09:15):
Sean Payton sees offense a certain way, Russell didn't play
it that way. Clash right, and then Russell saw the
world a certain way. And by the end Pete Carroll didn't.
The Tomlin Russell thing works. Here's the coach after.
Speaker 3 (09:31):
Thought, our grew you know, smiled in the face of it,
particularly Russ. You know, it's the first time for him
going through this AFC North football, and then I thought
he acclimated himself to a well today he put himself
squarely in the history of these series, in this series
with that performance today. Man, we're thankful for it.
Speaker 1 (09:49):
I'll tell you there was a moment after the game.
It was one of those in the hallway gestures where
Tomlin grabbed Russ and gave him a hug, and you
could really see the affection Tomlin understands. And this has
been Pittsburgh even during the Big Ben days. Is Mike
is a very emotional coach. His Steelers are tough, physical,
they're emotional, and sometimes with young players, you know, you
(10:12):
got to have a grown up on the offensive side,
because Mike will monitor the defensive side. But it's always
been the offense. And you're like, you're a little noisy,
you're a little loud, you're a lot buttoned up. And
that's what Russ brings. Disciplined focus, grown up, grateful, aspirational, driven.
That's exactly what they needed, and the fit works. I
(10:34):
didn't think it did. I didn't think it would. It does.
So j mc Matt Hasselbeck in one hour. Colin right,
Colin wrong. I'm going to talk about Ohio State Michigan
among other things later this I still think I'll say this.
I'll throw it out there. Ohio State I still think
has a strong chance to end up in the National
Championship against Texas. I really believe that. Yes, sir, I
(10:55):
honestly do thing possible. I picked Tennessee before the season,
so I'll just say Tennessee was my pick before the season.
Halfway through the season, I look to be off course.
Just keep your eye on the ball. What happens if
Penn State beats Oregon, Colin and uh, I don't know.
Speaker 4 (11:13):
Georgia shocks Texas is Penn State.
Speaker 1 (11:15):
The number one seed that's insane college football right now
is bonkers. Yes, well, you know what it's interesting because
you and I both love it. The transfer portal and
the NIL have created something and I'm not sure any
of us saw it, is that none of these big
brands have any depth. Because if you're a five star
(11:36):
player and you go to an Ohio State, at Georgia,
you go to a Bama, you go to a Notre Dame,
and if you're not playing by your sophomore year because
there's some NFL first round er ahead of you, you'll
get cherry picked to go somewhere else. Oregon'll come pluck, Washington,
Michigan'll come pluck, Michigan State, whoever. And so what you're
finding is an injury can be decimating to a top brand.
(12:01):
It used to be five star guy out, five star
guy up. But you're finding is these big time teams,
and I'm talking to Texas, the Penn States, they don't
have the depth over a two year period. Those big
dogs are getting cherry peck because everybody's got NIL money
now I mean Georgia doesn't have any depths. I mean
they had Bowers and Maconkeye who are now in the
NFL crushing. They have nothing now.
Speaker 4 (12:22):
And I mean I thought they were gonna lose to
Georgia Tech. That was.
Speaker 1 (12:26):
College football is off the rails right now, it is.
Speaker 5 (12:28):
Be sure to catch live editions of The Herd weekdays
at noon eastern non am Pacific on Fox Sports Radio
FS one and the iHeartRadio app.
Speaker 1 (12:38):
Here we go, It's Monday. Wild weekend college and pro
football had a lot of fun. Matt Hasselback five minutes out.
Wherever you may be and however you may be listening,
Thanks for making Hou's part of your day. A lot
of energy, j Matt. You know, sat home yesterday, hydrated
African of a wild weekend. Saw the kids probably had one, two,
(13:00):
many cigars, A little line at sleigh Steak on Saturday.
It was amazing. Can I tell the audience you called me?
You fired up?
Speaker 6 (13:08):
He had so many good takes yesterday.
Speaker 7 (13:10):
I was like.
Speaker 1 (13:11):
Colbert, what saved this bot? I was a take machine
yesterday were cooking. I mean you were cooking like a
turkey someday.
Speaker 3 (13:18):
Cook.
Speaker 6 (13:19):
It was just going crazy.
Speaker 1 (13:20):
You and your family had a great Thanksgiving. Yes, it
was very thankful to be out here at the war weather.
Speaker 4 (13:27):
Arctic blasted in the Midwest this week.
Speaker 1 (13:29):
You see the temperatures, Oh yeah, oh yeah, give me some.
Speaker 4 (13:31):
Cold football out there this weekend.
Speaker 1 (13:33):
Well, Buffalo's built for it all, right, here we go.
Colin Wright Colin wrong in a Monday plenty of boat
fire away where Colin was right. Listen, I said a
week ago, and I got pushed back. Tear it down
to the studs, Niners. It's official, rebuilds. The only way
lost thirty five to ten wasn't competitive. Christian McCaffrey's hurt,
Fred Warner's hurt. They're old, they're tired, they're expensive in
(13:54):
their brittle. I mean Kyle Shanahan first time he's lost
back to back games by twenty five US points. Christian
McCaffrey unfortunately done for the season. This isn't subtle or nuanced.
They don't They don't have enough good players. I mean,
go watch Detroit, Philadelphia, Buffalo, Baltimore, Kansas that he played.
They don't have enough guys, especially in.
Speaker 4 (14:14):
Their prime, where Colin was raw.
Speaker 1 (14:17):
I have defended Ryan Day for a long time, but
he got worked this weekend, even with Chip Kelly. I
thought he was trying to prove a point more than
he was trying to win a game. Why were they
running the football. They're a beautiful vertical passing team. Nick
Saban moved off his power running games into a passing
(14:38):
team because Nick was about winning games. And I like
Ryan Day, but he'd never been a head coach before
Ohio State, and there are steps you get when you're
Urban Meyer and go Bowling Green to Utah to Florida,
Ohio State and in big games, he has not been exceptional,
and I thought this was a low point. I don't
think I would want him fired, but this was ugly
(15:00):
and I've been defending him from day one. You can't
have that at home against the team that can't pass.
Michigan can't pass. Where Colin was right, Sammy Darnold forever,
I said he's a first round talent. Just get him
to the right coach once again. A great final drive
to win a game. He's had several of those, fourth
(15:21):
in the NFL. And touchdown passes, the reckless stuff. Oh,
he'll have a throw every game. I WinCE a little bit,
but he has become a really good fourth quarter quarterback.
Ten of his twelve starts one hundred plus passer rating.
He's getting it to the right players at the right time,
and I trust him. That's the one thing I'll say
(15:41):
about good quarterback play. He gets the ball with a
minute and a half left, I trust him. He's going
to drive that team down to a field goal minimum.
And he did it again this week, Sam Darnold.
Speaker 4 (15:52):
Where Colin was rough, I didn't.
Speaker 1 (15:54):
Think Russell Wilson and Tomlin and the Steelers was gonna fit.
But he's five and one and six starts yesterday, eight
different at Steelers caught a pass of twenty plus yards.
He is throwing the ball down the field. There's no
dink and dunk here Russell is. He is cooking it downfield,
and I'm happy for him. He's a grateful guy. He's
a hard working guy. He's a very focused guy. And
(16:16):
this is a much better fit that I could have guessed.
You know, he kind of feels like this has always
been an offense that's a little dramatic and loose. He's
kind of got it playing more in the fair way
and still hitting on big plays.
Speaker 4 (16:32):
Where Colin was right, you know.
Speaker 1 (16:34):
Matt Eberflus coming into the season, was on the hot seat.
Probably they should have been best served to start over.
Jim Harball was the choice, but he didn't get along
with the president. And I feel bad for Caleb Williams,
who I think is a remarkable player. He's flawed, He's
got a lot to learn. But that coaching gaff. I mean,
when first year quarterbacks sometimes a coach has to throw
(16:56):
him a life preserver on timeouts and time and you
know they're gonna lack some self awareness just because they're
rookie quarterbacks in a much faster game on the road,
short week against the Great Lions. There's just no excuse
for that. And then his they couldn't even fire him, right,
They'd let him have a press conference and fired him
about an hour later. So this was.
Speaker 4 (17:15):
Pretty predictable where Colin was rong.
Speaker 1 (17:19):
Well, my next guest loves Nick Sirianni. I guess I'm
on board. They've won eight in a row, they beat
Lamar Jackson. NFC teams do not beat Lamar Jackson. Now,
Justin Tucker helped him out, but I will say this,
they may be the worst first quarter team. That's a
good team. In the league. But their second quarter was
great and their fourth quarters. They give the ball to
the right people. And that's what I like about Philadelphia's offense.
(17:42):
It's what Ohio State didn't do Saturday. They got their ball,
and they get their ball to the right guys in Sirianni.
Maybe he's learning on the job. I've had misgivings, but
it works. You do not win eight games in a row.
They've beaten some good teams home and away. They've beaten
good teams. You don't win eight in a row. Gold
at Chicago. They got good player unless the coach knows
what he's doing.
Speaker 4 (18:02):
Where Colin was right.
Speaker 1 (18:04):
I don't buy an Aaron Rodgers, but I don't think
he's a top fifteen to eighteen quarterback in the league.
Turns forty one today, ugly pick six. He missed the
wide open Garrett Wilson in the end zone on a
pretty easy throw, pretty pedestrian NFL quarterback throw, and they
would have gone up twenty eight to seven. Game set
match missed it. Pick six followed. So at this point,
you know, he's never been the biggest grinder in the offseason,
(18:26):
and so I think he's aged, really, really quickly, but
I didn't think the Jets were a playoff team. I
don't think Aaron's the kind of guy. He's not a
foxhole guy. He's just a really talented guy. But I
would move off him. I don't think it works. I
don't think he has much of a market. We've got
all these talented young quarterbacks. Go get one somewhere, or
go get Sam Darnold. Where Colin was right, I said
(18:46):
going into the weekend, do not lose any sleep on
the college football playoff rankings. Chaos will ensue, and it did.
Georgia went to eight overtimes against Georgia Tech, Miami lost
to Syracuse, Ohio State lost to Michigan. And I said Thursday,
the last couple of weekends, watch out for rivalry week.
(19:08):
It's gonna be a zoo. There's a scenario where the
four conference champions weren't in their conference last season. And
I will say this, the NIL and the transfer portal
have created more parody because a lot of these second
tier programs are cherry picking the Michigans, Notre Dames, Ohio States,
(19:29):
Alabama's Georgia for guys that may be the third receiver
that can be a number one receiver at say like
a Louisville or you know, a Texas Tech. So there
is no depth even among the Alabamas and the Georgia's.
I've watched Georgia play five times. You can run on Georgia.
They don't throw the ball down the field. So it
(19:50):
is a wacky college football season. I'll still say Texas
ends up in the Natty. I still think it's going
to be Tennessee or Ohio State. So I'm not bailed
on Ohio State. Where Colin was right. Where Colin was
wrong on a Monday.
Speaker 5 (20:03):
And We'll be sure to catch live editions of The
Herd weekdays in neon eastern non am Pacific on Fox
Sports Radio FS one and the iHeartRadio app.
Speaker 1 (20:12):
With that Matt Hasselbeck. We love having them on. Three
time Pro bowler. You know it's funny. I watched the
Bills play last night in that snow and I said
it looked like eight year olds on the first snow day.
They were heavy. Yeah, they loved playing in that and
(20:32):
not that San Francisco melted like a Miami team. But
it's weird watching them play in that weather. It's almost
like if they could choose the weather for the playoffs.
That would be it. When you were in Seattle, you
probably liked the rain and watch the guys coming in fumble,
right Colin my rookie year, I went to the Green
Bay Packers.
Speaker 7 (20:51):
Most of our team, like our quarterback was from Mississippi.
Everyone thought of like, oh, he's a cold weather quarterback,
Brett Farmer.
Speaker 6 (20:56):
He's from Mississippi.
Speaker 1 (20:57):
You know.
Speaker 7 (20:58):
Half the guys in my rookie class they saw SnO
for the first time when they got to Wisconsin, and
yet they thought of us as like this cold weather team.
I used to tell people all the time, like we'd
wear no sleeves. We'd go out at halftime, we would
come in the locker room, in the quarterback meeting room.
Speaker 6 (21:13):
Sorry, where we would meet was in the sauna.
Speaker 7 (21:15):
It was the quarterbacks coach Andy Reid with Doug Peterson's
the backup, Brett Farves the starter, Rick Meyer's there, I'm there,
and literally we're in there in the sauna having our
halftime adjustment meeting.
Speaker 6 (21:25):
We were freezing.
Speaker 7 (21:26):
Then we'd go out in the second half and like,
you know, we just played this tough guy thing like yeah,
we're not cold, you know, we're not wearing sleeves, and
I'm sure the opposing team, like the forty nine ers,
they're like, man, these guys are crazy.
Speaker 6 (21:35):
They love this stuff.
Speaker 7 (21:37):
It's like they would rather be in the snow right now.
And that's what it looked like with Buffalo. I think
the fans were into it.
Speaker 6 (21:42):
It's super cool to play in, super fun. It also
fun to watch.
Speaker 1 (21:46):
You know. I said this about Russell Wilson. I thought
the fit was weird, but I do think that we
don't think about this even for guys like you who
are college all Americans, eighteen years Pro Bowls. For like you,
fit is really essential. You talking about twenty two year
old kids. So even though Russell's older Denver was a
bad fit, because here's Sean Payton who has his view
(22:10):
of offense, and then Russell Wilson comes in with his
view clash. Tomlin is a defensive guy, and I almost
feel like Russell feels liberated, like I can kind of
do what I do. And Mike Off of Kenny Pickett
is sort of appreciative. But I watch it and I'm like,
it kind of works. Tomlin Russ doesn't.
Speaker 7 (22:31):
It well, it's definitely working. I don't see it that
way necessarily. I think there's this fine line between humility
and confidence, and I think you need both.
Speaker 6 (22:40):
And I don't think Russell was.
Speaker 7 (22:41):
Very humble in Denver, but I think he's been more
humble this time. And he definitely has the confidence. Listen,
that game started out. He throws a pick six on
like the third pass or the third play of the game,
and you know he's he doesn't flinch. He has the confidence.
He's like, you know what, I've been there, done it
had highs, had lows. I'm good. But if you watch
that game really study how he got to four hundred yards,
(23:02):
it wasn't really what we're going to see in the highlights,
all these deep balls.
Speaker 6 (23:06):
It really wasn't.
Speaker 7 (23:07):
The first half, he had two completions to a wide
receiver that were past the line of scrimmage.
Speaker 6 (23:13):
That was it. He won this game.
Speaker 7 (23:14):
By using the running backs in the passing game, using
the tight ends in the passing game. In the first half,
he had seven completions to running backs, four to tight ends,
and like I said, two that went past the line
of scrimmage. So is he a great deep ball thrower, Yes,
he really is. He's got great trajectory on his throw.
But that's not how he won this game. That's not
how he got to four hundred yards. I believe he
(23:35):
played the kind of like that division's type of football.
Speaker 6 (23:38):
You heard Mike Tomlin talk about it.
Speaker 7 (23:40):
He said he's acclimated well to this division and this
kind of football.
Speaker 6 (23:44):
And I think part of that is being humble.
Speaker 7 (23:46):
And yet, like I said, having like this ultra confidence
where you have confidence in yourself and your team has
confidence in you as well.
Speaker 1 (23:55):
You know I am the bear. Situation's interesting. I would
have been much harder on Caleb.
Speaker 4 (24:02):
Interesting.
Speaker 6 (24:03):
Well, that's a really nice way to put it, Collin.
Speaker 1 (24:06):
Trying to be kind on a Monday. I do think
with the rookie quarterbacks, sometimes a coach or a veteran
backup or something has to throw them a life preserver.
A lot of these teams get a rookie quarterback, they'll
go get a veteran guy a Josh McCown, get him
in here. And I thought Matt eberf looses inability. You
could see Caleb's looking around and it's like, you gotta
(24:29):
call time out. You got to help the kid. Now,
maybe in three years that's on Caleb were you bothered
by Caleb or the lack of support he got from
the head coach.
Speaker 5 (24:38):
All of it.
Speaker 7 (24:38):
You know, listen, I got on here, you know when
he gave up nine sacks and everyone was trying to
blame the offensive line, and I'm like, listen, there's shared blame.
And if I'm coaching the quarterback, I'm blaming the quarterback
for at least six of those sacks at least. But
yet they blamed somebody else.
Speaker 6 (24:53):
Then it was something else, and they blamed the offensive coordinator,
Shane Waldron. They fired him.
Speaker 7 (24:57):
Now this situation, they're blaming the head coach who could
have called time out. He shouldn't have needed to call
time out. You had thirty six seconds. You need to
save that time out. Two minute is different in the
second quarter than it is in the fourth quarter. Two
minute is different when you're down three versus if you're
down four or more. Like at some level there's got
to be some shared responsibility by the quarterback. So if
(25:20):
you're coaching the quarterback, like with a closed door, I
think you need to be really critical. Like yesterday, it
was like almost hilarious to me, how like every single
comment that someone said about the Bears.
Speaker 6 (25:30):
Everyone would say, like, oh, you.
Speaker 7 (25:31):
Can't put that on the quarterback, Like why, Like I
don't understand why. Like the only way you're going to
improve as a quarterback is if you're coach tough, if
you're coached hard, if you tell the truth on Monday,
And like that's that's the part that I'm not sure
is getting done right there.
Speaker 6 (25:44):
I thought Matt.
Speaker 7 (25:45):
Eberfluss probably needed to be fired because of all the stuff,
you know, if you look at the totality of it.
But really I thought what he did at the podium
was he tried to not throw his quarterback under the bus.
But I don't know who else you can really blame
for what happened in that situation if you're coaching the quarterback.
Speaker 1 (26:02):
Yeah. So, you know, I watched Baltimore and some you know,
I said this for years with Tiger Woods. There's a
lot of great golfers. There was one Tiger Woods and
guys shot a lot of good rounds and lost to
the media known as Tiger Woods. And I watched the
Ravens and I'm like, well they lost to Kansas City
by a foot. You know, Philadelphia, maybe the best roster
(26:23):
in the league. You know, you start looking around and
you're like, Okay, the Raiders game is what it is.
But I watched them handle the Chargers. I'm like, I
think it's a good team. I just think the greatest
kicker ever has hit a wall to keep losing these
close games. I think if they hit field goals, they win,
and just sometimes it happens like it just I'm not
(26:45):
selling my Lamar Baltimore stock, but a lot of people are.
How do you view them?
Speaker 7 (26:51):
Yeah, they shouldn't listen. I believe in Lamar Jackson one.
He's incredibly fun to watch. I believe in a weird way,
he's underrated. People think of him as the runner, but
he's a great passer as well. I think he's a
great leader.
Speaker 1 (27:03):
Uh.
Speaker 6 (27:03):
They've played a little sloppy this year.
Speaker 7 (27:05):
Yeah, obviously the special teams, which was always a strength
for this team.
Speaker 6 (27:08):
You know, they're in a bit of a you know,
they're in a bit of a rut right now.
Speaker 4 (27:12):
And just listen.
Speaker 7 (27:13):
Having held for field goal kickers for a lot of
my football playing career, you know, going back all the
way down to you know, he's from high school to
holding for Adam Vanetier near the end of my career,
like you know, understanding that it's an operation, like it's
it's long snapper, it's holder, it's kicker, and just like
a golfer, sometimes you're you know, you have a stretch
where you're not in the fair way much.
Speaker 6 (27:34):
But I trust justin Tucker.
Speaker 7 (27:35):
I kind of trust that team and and I do
think that this team will be a team that's battle
tested once the playoffs come around.
Speaker 1 (27:41):
Matt Hasselbeck joining us. It's so funny with the Eagles.
They're an awful first quarter team, but yesterday they were
a great, dominant second quarter team, and then they were
bad in the third, then they were unstoppable in the fourth.
But I when I watched them, every unit is like
an unbelievable player. They're so stacked. And it's like, but you've,
(28:06):
like you've been telling me this for a month. I've
been pushing back. There is something with Sirianni. Aren't you
a little concern that eventually in the playoffs you're not concerned?
Speaker 7 (28:19):
F I like Nick Sirianni. I think he's a really
good coach. I think the Eagles are a really good team.
I feel like I like the Eagles more than Eagles
fans like it's just in a weird way, like I
believe in them more. No, listen, I thought, like yesterday's game,
they coached around their injury situation. Injury situation, they didn't
have DEVANCEE. Smith, and so they said, okay, you know.
Speaker 6 (28:37):
What we are going to be.
Speaker 7 (28:39):
You know a lot of people talk about RPO the
Eagles in that game, they were an r RO offense,
a run or a run option.
Speaker 6 (28:45):
It was either Jalen or it was Saquon.
Speaker 7 (28:48):
And and then once they get into the red zone
then they operate there. They're more they're like RPO game
where it's either Jalen Saquon or Dallas Goddter, Jalen Saquon.
Speaker 6 (28:58):
Or a Jay Brown.
Speaker 7 (28:59):
They they coached around this situation that they had understanding
who the quarterback was. On the other side, I think
Jalen hurts through for like one hundred and eighteen yards.
Speaker 6 (29:08):
You get seven completions that ended up in a first down.
Speaker 7 (29:11):
It wasn't that kind of a game, but it's winning
football that Fangio.
Speaker 6 (29:15):
Does a great job.
Speaker 7 (29:16):
I've told you Kellen Moore is learning his guys and
really it's a one to two punch in the defense.
Speaker 6 (29:22):
Is off balance.
Speaker 7 (29:23):
I thought they mixed up tempo. I just I like
Nick Sirianni. I think he's got his team focused each
and every week, and we pay attention to some of
the antics like on game day. But I think if
you look at that team like Monday to Saturday, they're
locked in.
Speaker 6 (29:38):
They don't have distractions.
Speaker 1 (29:39):
So do you think it's easy for me to say this?
Do you think in the locker room that those veteran
Niners players know it's this ain't working, it's time for
a reboot. I mean they're highly compensated, But do you
think in the room they're questioning we got to start over?
Because I watched Philly, I watched Detroit, I watched Buffalo,
(30:02):
I watched Baltimore. San Francisco's not close. They're not one
big swing away. They're old, expensive, riddle hurt a lot.
Do you think they know that?
Speaker 7 (30:13):
Yeah, I don't think I hear what you're saying. I
think they feel that this year, like I think the
real talk or the real thoughts or something like, man,
this just isn't our year, Like we're banged up, and
I listen, you mentioned all the time I played eighteen
years in the NFL.
Speaker 6 (30:27):
Not every year was the same.
Speaker 7 (30:28):
There were some years where I just wasn't banged up,
felt great, my teammates felt great.
Speaker 6 (30:33):
Just that's how it was. Then there were other years
where we felt snake bit.
Speaker 7 (30:37):
Everybody in the building had an injury, every player, shoot,
we had coaches basically getting surgery during the season. It
was just like, what's going on with this team right now?
We feel cursed or something. I think that's what they feel.
I feel like the forty nine ers are probably like, man,
we can't catch your break this year.
Speaker 6 (30:54):
This is not our year.
Speaker 4 (30:55):
But I don't think they.
Speaker 7 (30:56):
Feel like, oh, we got to blow it up, start over,
get younger, because there's no king in that division.
Speaker 6 (31:01):
The NFC West is it's like right there.
Speaker 7 (31:03):
They can taste it, they know they're close, and they
feel like, if healthy, it would be their division. But
I think it's a real thing where you feel snakedit
a little bit.
Speaker 1 (31:13):
Okay, So speaking of that division, because I think all
of the teams have something. Seattle again just keeps winning
the Rams. Now Stafford's on a bit of a heater.
Now Stafford's playing well. That game, by the way, flew
by it it was like it was like one of
those baseball games now when you have the starter pitcher,
it goes like two hours and twenty minutes. The Rams
(31:33):
game was like over like that, and you're like, okay,
do you buy the Rams? Because this is a quarterback
head coach league, especially in the playoffs, and I think
their defense is actually in the front seven pretty tasty.
What do you make of the Rams? Do you buy
them at all? Do they worry you? Do you think
they could? You know, last year they shocked us. They're
(31:54):
better than last year. I think what do you make
of them?
Speaker 6 (31:59):
Yeah, well, listen, it's a fun division.
Speaker 7 (32:01):
So a really good team is going to win that
division with a bad record, which is like I wouldn't
say that about the NFC South. I think a bad
team with a bad record is going to win that division.
But there's going to be a good team coming out
of this NFC West. The Seahawks are hot right now.
Speaker 6 (32:15):
That was a good win, but.
Speaker 7 (32:16):
It was also a win against a you know, a
three win Jets team. But the Seahawks in Arizona go
head to head this week. This division is going to
kind of eat itself, and I think that if they
can stay healthy, Matthew Stafford is playing really good football.
Now that second half was great football. That first half,
you know, wasn't quite as good. So you know, this
is a team and this is a division that I
(32:38):
truly think it could be anybody's division.
Speaker 6 (32:41):
And you can't really say that about much of the league.
Speaker 7 (32:44):
You know, some of the teams that are winning their division,
they're playing against people that have already packed it in.
They're they're putting guys on ther ir, they're saying, hey
for who, for what, We'll see you next year.
Speaker 6 (32:53):
That's not at all how this division is.
Speaker 7 (32:55):
Everybody feels like they're in it, and so for that reason,
I think this is going to be one of the
more competitive and or fun divisions to watch as we
finish out the year.
Speaker 1 (33:02):
Yeah, he's got a one to twenty one passer rating,
eight touchdowns, no picks in the last three games, and
so but it.
Speaker 7 (33:09):
Was interesting, Colin, Like, I think they didn't score a
touchdown in the first half, which is something that a
Sean McVeigh team hasn't done. And they've been who knows,
they've actually been a super Bowl against the Patriot.
Speaker 1 (33:19):
They've been a weirdly bad first half offense, and I
don't know what the answer is because McVay is brilliant,
but they've been I don't I couldn't say the last
great first half they had, they adjust, they play well late,
but it's you know, it's like Philadelphia. I can't explain
Philadelphia in the Rams first quarters they have.
Speaker 7 (33:37):
I think one thing that does happen is you don't
really know what somebody else's game plan is going to
be against you until you get into the game. Like
if you're unique, like I think Matthew Stafford's unique. I
think Jalen Hurts in that Saquan offense now is unique.
So you get into the game and you're like, oh, okay,
now I see what their game plan was. They're gonna
play us Nickel getting five dbs when we're in big
(33:59):
people person now got it? Or say, oh okay, I
know what they're going to do now. They're going to
play a two shell and allow no big plays.
Speaker 6 (34:06):
Got it. But you don't necessarily know that until you
get into the game.
Speaker 1 (34:10):
Matt Hasselbeck on a Monday. Always love having you man,
make us smarter. Appreciate it.
Speaker 4 (34:16):
Appreciate it.
Speaker 1 (34:17):
You bet eighteen years in the league, three time pro
Bowler super Bowl trips,
Hosts And Creators
Colin Cowherd
Jason McIntyre
Popular Podcasts
24/7 News: The Latest
The latest news in 4 minutes updated every hour, every day.
True Crime Tonight
If you eat, sleep, and breathe true crime, TRUE CRIME TONIGHT is serving up your nightly fix. Five nights a week, KT STUDIOS & iHEART RADIO invite listeners to pull up a seat for an unfiltered look at the biggest cases making headlines, celebrity scandals, and the trials everyone is watching. With a mix of expert analysis, hot takes, and listener call-ins, TRUE CRIME TONIGHT goes beyond the headlines to uncover the twists, turns, and unanswered questions that keep us all obsessed—because, at TRUE CRIME TONIGHT, there’s a seat for everyone. Whether breaking down crime scene forensics, scrutinizing serial killers, or debating the most binge-worthy true crime docs, True Crime Tonight is the fresh, fast-paced, and slightly addictive home for true crime lovers.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com