January 6, 2025 • 42 mins
Colin believes Dan Campbell is the perfect head coach for the city of Detroit and this Lions team as they captured the number 1 seed in the NFC despite having the most defensive players in the league on IR. He tells you why he was right about Sean Payton and wrong about the Eagles. Plus, he talks to 3-time Pro Bowler Matt Hasselbeck about each of the Wild Card match ups to kick off the NFL playoffs.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Thanks for listening to The Herd podcast. Be sure to
catch us live every weekday on Fox Sports Radio in
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by searching Fox Sports Radio or FSR. Thanks for listening
to The Herd podcast. Ah, we are ready to roll.
(00:24):
We got the playoffs in hand, live in Los Angeles.
It's the Herd wherever you may be and however you
may be listening. Thanks for making us part of your day.
Matt Hasselbeck's going to be joining us here, which I
can't wait for. Reschedule your day when we get Matt
Hasselbak in studio. It's money. Colin Wright, Colin Wrong one
hour from now, so listen to. The playoffs are set.
(00:46):
We're gonna break all that stuff down. J McK and
I are already disagreeing on the rams and the vikings.
Which is a fantastic opening game, like that is Stafford
against Aaron Donald in Los Angeles.
Speaker 2 (00:58):
They have to get a duke it for that wit
part slate. I love it, oh, I already bet four games.
Love it it is great. So let's start with this.
The Lions now have clinched the number one seed in
the NFC. There is no denying for this city, for
this roster, for this locker room, and for this time.
(01:20):
Dan Campbell's the perfect coach. A team with twelve defensive
players alone on the ir could have only pulled through
this and clinched the number one seed with a head
coach who's unapologetically alpha, a motivator that preaches grit and
biting kneecaps. Sometimes the NFL messaging from coaches can seem
(01:44):
a little cringey or cheesy. Not to the players, there
is a brotherhood and a masculinity that I'll be honest.
I like people have been paralyzed playing this sport. Sometimes
you just have to play through pain. You got to
play hurt, and one guy in a locker room second
guessing the message can unravel the whole thing in a way.
(02:08):
It's like the Anti NBA League. You have to be
selfless and you have to play hurt every week. The
Lions clinched a playoff spot on December fifth. With all
those injuries to seemingly the entire defensive roster, they could
have packed it in, let's get healthy and Nope, not
(02:30):
with this team, not with this coach. They fought tooth
and nail last week. Everybody said that Niner game didn't
mean anything. I totally disagreed.
Speaker 1 (02:41):
It was a chance to get backups reps against Sam
Darnold and the Vikings. The Detroit Lions are a symbol
of so many things that are great about the NFL.
Every game matters. Grit and toughness, which our society can
always use, is really paramount and again unapologetically alpha. I mean,
(03:02):
New England had the number one pick going into the weekend.
They played themselves out of it. There is no tanking.
Nobody will even consider it, and it's why the NFL
remains king and separates from the rest of our professional sports.
Dan Campbell on a weekly basis after winning, is almost
in tears preaching the message and his devotion to the
(03:22):
city of Detroit and the Lions. This coach, for this
team in this time and this roster and this wacky
season with currently twelve players on the ir defensively needed
a completely unapologetic alpha and the message to guys like
me at the kneecaps at the podium and I'm rolling
(03:43):
my eyes. The players aren't They totally bought into it.
The number one see this is the Chicago Cubs in
shoulder pads. That's what it feels like. The easiest dominant team.
And go back to September, October, early November, it was
like college. They were rolling people. But it is the easiest,
most dominant, physical team to root for I can remember.
(04:06):
And here's the one guy, the one perfect fit. After
the win, you guys.
Speaker 3 (04:12):
Look like you remember who you are.
Speaker 4 (04:16):
I'm that's a helpful win. Guys.
Speaker 2 (04:19):
All I can think about is, man, we've been forcing
this stuff.
Speaker 5 (04:22):
Now.
Speaker 1 (04:22):
This has been three years in the making, some of
it four.
Speaker 4 (04:25):
But that just doesn't happen.
Speaker 6 (04:26):
You got to work through it and grind through it
and go through the downs to get to the ups.
Speaker 1 (04:30):
And where we're at.
Speaker 5 (04:31):
That was unbelievable.
Speaker 7 (04:32):
Man Division winners back to backseats.
Speaker 1 (04:42):
If you're not from Detroit, you may not get it.
You think it's a little cheesy. Oh give me a break.
But if you're from Detroit, you're a Lions fan, you're
part of the culture, and you watch teams around this league.
You if you think this stuff's over the top, the
Bears need that the Titans need that, the Jaguars need that,
(05:05):
the Chargers needed it and hired it. This is not
a marketing campaign. This is completely, absolutely authentically Dan Campbell
the perfect fit for this city and this team. All right,
let's talk Sam Donald. Oh, I know, let me guess
you're all bailing on Sammy. Okay. So, first of all,
(05:29):
that was the biggest game in Detroit in probably fifty years.
And there's an argument that the two best coordinators in
the entire league both play for Detroit, Ben Johnson Aaron Glenn,
and Detroit's got a better roster and they got one
of their defensive starters back. And this is a baby
step league. And Sam Donald looked juiced, he looked a
(05:52):
little overwhelmed. He probably couldn't hear. He was inaccurate and
high in all his passes. But across the Jared Golf's
first big playoff game, and this did feel like a
playoff game. I mean, it's the biggest game in Detroit
in five decades. It felt like a playoff. Mike Trico
was coming out of a suit. Jared Goff's first playoff
game at home, seventy eight passer rating. Peyton Manning's first
(06:13):
playoff game, completed forty five percent of his throws. This
has always been kind of a baby steps league. Last year,
at this time, Sam Darnold, who was viewed as a bust,
was starting a meaningless game as a backup for the
forty nine ers. And then there's yesterday, in the biggest
game against arguably the best roster in the loudest field.
(06:37):
You weren't winning that game. Minnesota was not winning that game.
That's just one of those games. I looked at the
playoffs this weekend. I looked at Denver at Buffalo. I
love Sean Payton. That is a tough draw. There are
games a handful every year where even a good team
goes on the road and you're like, yeah, yeah, they're
not gonna win that game. That's a standalone game. This
(06:57):
was the only NFL game that everybody was watching. Sam
Darnold is just twenty seven years old. Now they go
to Los Angeles. Their receiving corps is a great matchup
against the Rams. Young secondary. Don't be shocked if the
Rams draft a cornerback with their number one pick. They
don't have a corner. They don't have a shutdown corner.
And this is the deepest receiving corp in the league,
(07:18):
and it'll be fifty percent Viking fans. And my gut
feeling is Minnesota is to play here. J Mack disagrees,
but it felt like a playoff game to me. It
had that kind of feel. It was one of those
you know, you don't get the NFL is always entertaining,
but there are a handful of games late in the
season and you're like, you know, when the NFL schedules
like Burrow and Mahomes in Week seventeen and you're like, oh,
(07:40):
that feels I'll give you an example. The Steelers Bengals
on Saturday night felt like a playoff game. And that's
a Saturday playoff game before a playoff game. And there's
a reason restaurants have soft opens, right, Like, you're not
quite ready for the moment. I just don't think Sam
and the Vikings, this young, fun team were ready for
the moment. And here's the coach affter.
Speaker 8 (08:01):
You know, we didn't do a lot of the things
that we've consistently done in all season long, and this
game came down to, you know, finishing in the red zone,
weady downs, third downs, you know, pitching and catching and
got to, you know, find different ways to help guys
get open and when there are guys to potentially you know,
throw and catch, we've got to be able to do that.
(08:22):
We've done it at a very high level this year
and just didn't really show up on the weighty downs.
Speaker 1 (08:27):
Yep. Sam Darnold twice was high on Justin Jefferson throws. Absolutely,
no question about it. You see this. Sometimes first big
games for quarterbacks, they looked tight. I mean that was
the knock on Peyton Manning for years in the NFL
that he was a teeth clencher, that he was great
and productive, he'd get into big games and he was
too tight. And I thought Sam looked tight. But again,
(08:47):
this was a guy that was a bust a year ago,
that was starting for the Niners in Week eighteen, a
year ago to the biggest game in Detroit in fifty years.
It wasn't going to be his night. I said last week.
I like the Lions. They have the better roster. It's
a bigger game, it means more. I know, it's two
fourteen win teams playing for a number one seed. It
just felt like it felt like Detroit to night. That's
what it felt like to me. And you're saying, well, Colin,
(09:09):
it's not a playoff game. It's looked like it and
felt like it to me. I'm watching collins Worth in
Mike Tariko and those guys were bursting through the suits.
That thing felt like the biggest game in a long time.
So there you go, J Mack. We have so many
things to talk about today. For the first time in
my adult life, I believe something's true in the NFL.
(09:31):
Get to that in a second. You and I'll talk
about the wild card schedule. Denver at Buffalo, talk about
a tough draw.
Speaker 6 (09:40):
Do you see that it's not even a double digits
spread in that game. It's I I'm stunned. Denver plus
eight and a half.
Speaker 1 (09:49):
You're not doing that, are you? Oh my no, No,
I'm just saying that's a lot of points for a
very good coach and a very good defense. There are
games that you look at and go, yeah, there's a
tough draw for Denver, right like again, Baby Steps League.
We don't expect Denver to go in there with a
dead cap, money and bo Nicks and win that game.
That's that's not like a winnable game. If if it
(10:10):
ended up being thirty twenty and Denver played well, you'd
fly home thinking I can't wait for next year.
Speaker 3 (10:17):
Like that.
Speaker 1 (10:18):
There are certain games that just feel like, yeah, it's
gonna go a certain way. The game that's fascinating this weekend,
and I don't know quite Tampa Washington, Oh okay, yeah,
that is a I I that's a question mark game
for me. I could see several outcomes in that game.
Speaker 6 (10:38):
So sometimes, like the Raven Steelers they just played like
a few weeks ago, you could take something out of
that game. I don't think you could take anything out
of the Tampa Washington season opener.
Speaker 1 (10:46):
It was James Daniel's first career start.
Speaker 4 (10:48):
Yeah, they're a different team now.
Speaker 6 (10:50):
That's that's gonna be an and Tampa's kind of beat
up in the secondary.
Speaker 1 (10:53):
I don't remember a first round and I'm serious. You know,
Houston plays the Saturday three thirty game, but this year
they get Harbaugh Herbert. I do not remember a first
round matchup with all games being this good, with this
many star quarterbacks. I get Stafford against Darnold Herbert, C. J. Stroud,
(11:18):
Bo Nicks, who, by the way, go look at his
stats like Week eight on the guy was incredible. Jaden Daniels, Baker,
Jordan Loved, Jalen Hurts. Dude, there's some there are some matchups. Matchups.
Speaker 6 (11:33):
Yeah, okay, sounds like you're gonna talk yourself ats some
underdogs here.
Speaker 1 (11:38):
That's camin for me. Well this year, no, I mean
you start looking at these games. This is as good
as it gets. We have one game where we look
at and go, yeah, Buffalo is gonna win. But I
get Sean Payton in the game. I get arguably a
better defense in the game. And here's the utter thing.
What if it's snow and sideways that hurts the star quarterback?
(12:00):
Not the better deal they did. Look out, there is
gonna be snow in Buffalo Saturday.
Speaker 6 (12:03):
There's only a little snow calling for Sunday, and it
worked six days out. A lot can happen. I'm surprised
you haven't mentioned Packers Eagles. That's the one game that
is the best game of the weekend. And I don't
know what the deal is with aka A Jordan Love
and b Jalen Hurts. I mean, Jalen Hurts was still
in concusion protocol. I think last week. Yeah, what Jordan
Love will play?
Speaker 1 (12:23):
Okay, no, Christian Watson looks like man. Even the second
tier Games Chargers Texans. It's gonna be fantastic, hard boss
first year the playoff right justin Herbert's first playoff win.
Speaker 4 (12:34):
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Speaker 1 (13:37):
That's Covino and Rich. Here we go. It's hour two,
gonna be a tasty one live in Los Angeles. It's
the herd wherever you may be and however you may
be listening. Thanks for making us part of your day.
Matt hassel Beck, he does us about once every five
weeks or so, shits down with us for a good
twenty twenty five minutes. I can't wait for that. He's
got so many thoughts on this Yesterday where and there
(13:58):
was only a handful of NFL games that truly mattered.
There were a lot of backups, which is another reason
I don't like the NFL expanding to eighteen games, because
we already got to the seventeenth game and it was
kind of like he had about two games. You had
to watch one of them. Last night j mac Albert
Breer last Hour as well, We're gonna go Jay McK
and I are going to go through some of the
coaching openings. We're also going to go through the games
(14:20):
we like you like you like the Rams hosting the Vikings.
I feel very strongly about the Vikings matchup on their
perimeter against the Rams. Is there a game off the
top that you really like?
Speaker 6 (14:33):
I I rationally like many games this weekend, including the
college football by the way, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday,
all with playoff college football or NFL games.
Speaker 4 (14:43):
How good is that?
Speaker 1 (14:44):
Colin?
Speaker 6 (14:46):
I guess my favorite bet of the week so far
is Rams money line. I think they went out right.
I can't believe the Vikings are favored in this spot.
Did you see Donald when he has to hold the ball?
And I know Hasselbeck will talk about it, but like
when Donald has to hold ball and think and come
off his reads, he's not great.
Speaker 4 (15:03):
He was eighteen of forty one last night. Yeah, it
was not good.
Speaker 6 (15:07):
And that was against a shoddy Lions defense.
Speaker 3 (15:09):
I think the Rams defense is gonna be better.
Speaker 6 (15:11):
They slowed dartled in the initial meeting, remember that one
out here at so far?
Speaker 1 (15:14):
Yeah? I like Rams all right, let's do it every
Monday at this time. Colin right, Colin wrong, plenty of both.
Speaker 4 (15:21):
Here we go where Colin was right to.
Speaker 1 (15:23):
Double right Bo Knicks and the Broncos. I said the
Broncos would double the win total Vegas thought, and I
thought Bo Nicks would be a home run. He finished
the season six in the NFL and touchdown passes and
it's the most among rookies, second most touchdown passes by
a rookie ever, eighteen for eighteen to start the game
against Kansas City. His maturity, his athletic ability, his experience.
(15:45):
I didn't get him kind of being ignored and considered
a second class, second tier quarterback in the draft. I
didn't get it at all. I watched him at Auburn,
I watched him at Oregon. He went through multitude of
coordinators and was good with all of them. Bo Nicks
is a right where Colin was raw. You know what,
Nick Sirianni drives me nuts. But you know in his
three years as a coach, they've won fourteen, eleven and fourteen.
(16:07):
You know, these skirmishes on the sidelines with fans battling
his own staff, you know, it feels like he has
to be a chaperone on a weekly basis. But there
is something about his message and his personality that resonates
in the NFL that I clearly am missing on. I
thought his opening press conference was brutal. I'm still surprised
(16:28):
they're this good. I think it's more of a GM
than a coach story. But I'm wrong on it because
the dude keeps winning. Where Colin was right, I said
last January when Girod Mayo got the Patriots job, it
feels like adding a new chapter to the same old book,
you know, young quarterback, defensive coach. I just never felt
this was the right higher. I thought they may retain
(16:50):
him because they were so embarrassed by it. But I
read a lot of Boston writers and listen to Boston radio,
and you know, situationally, circumstantially, he was over his head.
You know, Bill Junior was his nickname. You know, his
only real influence was Belichick, And I think once Bill left,
you were probably better served to go on the offensive route.
(17:11):
But I also think Mike Rabel would be a good fit.
But I never loved this higher. Where Colin was raw, well,
it's the Atlanta Falcons. I've never been right. I had
him winning the division. I thought Kirk Cousins was a
good signing. He ended up tied for the NFL lead
in picks and he only played fourteen games. I like
Raheem Morris over Belichick. They started six and three, they
beat the Buccaneers twice, and then just regressed quickly and badly.
(17:36):
This is an organization that does a lot right, but
it does feel like and certain organizations are like this
that they kind of shrink in big spots. And that's
always sort of been the reason why I've lost my
four oh one K several times betting the Atlanta Falcons.
Speaker 4 (17:50):
Where Colin was right.
Speaker 1 (17:52):
I'm not sure there's a bigger fan in the world
of Justin Herbert or Jim Harbaugh than myself, and they're
now together. I felt they'd win ten or eleven games.
I didn't know if they'd make the playoffs because of
Mahomes and Reid. But you know, I just watching this
game yesterday. They just figure out ways to win. Harbaugh
and have a bad first half, and then they reset
the chairs and they have a good second half. They've
(18:13):
got a grit and a toughness. It's the first time
ever the Chargers have led the NFL and defense. They've
always been finesse and fun to watch, then aesthetically pleasing,
but you don't trust them. And now they're not nearly
as pleasing to watch, but they're tough and they win games.
So the magic formula was, don't do what you've always been,
go the opposite route, and they have and they're winning,
(18:35):
and I'm happy. Where Colin was right, the Pittsburgh Steelers
in the last decade, isn't it the same team with
just a little variation. Once again, we said before the season,
it's all gonna come down to the final seven games.
Go look at the schedule. It did, and they went
two and five. They still can't get offense, right, you know,
they end up ten and seven and with no chance
(18:55):
to win the Super Bowl. And that's what the Pittsburgh
Steelers have been. When Pittsburgh won a new head coach,
I don't think the Steelers are moving off Mike Tomlin,
but I feel like every Pittsburgh team in the last
decade is a slight variation of the previous year's team.
Speaker 4 (19:11):
Where Colin was raw.
Speaker 1 (19:13):
I thought Doug Peterson was a good fit in Jacksonville.
I really did, and in Trent Bulky. The GM survived.
He survived, and Peterson got fired. I watched them in
Philadelphia out coach Bill Belichick in the Super Bowl. This
was my number one pick. I liked him, People like him,
players like him. It just never worked. Trevor Lawrence has regressed.
(19:33):
I don't know where they go. Do you need more
of a tough leader than Doug Peterson? Do you need
a Brian Flores, somebody that's a culture changer, not just
an offensive guy who people like. But the Jacksonville situation,
I don't think I've ever been right on it. Coach
GM players, nothing works that I predict where Colin was
right when Tyreek Hill got traded from Kansas City to
(19:55):
the Dolphins, I said, they'll be fine without him. The
league is not built around small, fast football players. He's
very good. But why would you leave Patrick Mahomes as
a wide receiver? Why would you leave Andy Reid as
a wide receiver? There are just moves I didn't get, Like, yeah,
Chase the bag, the guy wants out of Miami. Now,
(20:16):
there's got to be more than just money. I mean,
if you like the coach and you like the quarterback,
it's not like you can't afford a nice home in
Kansas City. Like I never understood this move. It was fun,
and I get people that want to go live in
Miami with no state tax and a clever offensive coach.
But I never thought this was going to change the league.
I never thought it was going to change the Chiefs.
(20:37):
They would figure out with Mahomes and Reid and Spags
and Kelsey and Chris Jones to win.
Speaker 4 (20:41):
Regardless where Colin was right.
Speaker 1 (20:44):
My number one college football prediction before the season was
Oregon is going to beat Ohio State at Otson and
then Ohio State will come back to beat Oregon, and man,
they did the next time they play in the playoff,
so that was my top prediction. They led thirty one
to nothing in the first half against Oregon. I also
said after they lost to Michigan, don't be shocked if
(21:04):
they don't end up playing like a Texas for the
National Championship. And I still believe that college football more
than ever, feels like the NFL, where you can have
a stinker of a game in December and you're okay,
we don't eliminate you. And I think that is a
good thing. I think college football has grown up and
graduated to more professional football, meaning you get a mulligan,
(21:26):
you can stumble your toe. It shouldn't be about you
lose late in the season, You're done. The Chiefs lose
late in the season. Peyton Manning won a Super Bowl.
He lost twice in January December, and he won a
super Bowl. It shouldn't be about the calendar. It should
be about an entire book, several chapters and who's good now?
(21:46):
And at Ohio State, be sure to.
Speaker 4 (21:47):
Catch live editions of The Herd weekdays in noon Easter
not a em Pacific.
Speaker 1 (21:52):
With that, Matt Hasselbeck's coming out to the set, we
are so lucky to have him eighteen years in the
NFL six playoff apparent with Seattle, my friend, it's great
to see you. You know, I was saying, but where's
that come from? What's that?
Speaker 9 (22:07):
I heard some claps in the background. We have appreciate that.
Speaker 3 (22:11):
Okay, good, thank you.
Speaker 1 (22:12):
So I said that a year ago. Sam Darnold is
a backup starting in a meaningless game. He was considered
a bust to walk into Detroit last night and be great.
I thought was as a big ask. It felt like
a playoff game, and I and I said last week,
I'm like, I'm just going to the biggest game in
Detroit in fifty years. Do you think differently about Darnald
(22:33):
after that performance?
Speaker 9 (22:34):
Now? Listen, like the the future is a whole lot
of right now and that was a right now moment
like he had never been in that situation before. He'll
learn from it. I thought it was just an awesome
game plan by Aaron Glenn. I thought they came out
and was it man or was its own?
Speaker 3 (22:50):
It was both. Was it a blitz we can pick up, yes.
Speaker 9 (22:53):
But now we're one on one in an area of
strength against an area of weakness.
Speaker 3 (22:57):
I thought the crowd noise was a factor.
Speaker 9 (23:00):
I mean, the people in Detroit should feel like they
had a hand in that victory, They had a hand
in that defensive success because they did.
Speaker 3 (23:08):
I'm not worried.
Speaker 9 (23:09):
I don't think I'm worried about Sam Darnold. I'm sure
a lot of people are going to jump off the bandwagon.
He's a really good football player. But here's what they'll do.
And I think Kevin O'Connell did a good job last night,
even at the podium right after the game. He kind
of gave his messaging. He kind of gave his messaging like, Hey,
I was with the team.
Speaker 3 (23:24):
I believe it was the Rams.
Speaker 9 (23:25):
We lost the last game of the season and we
made it to the super Bowl, Like, we can do that,
But what do we gotta do? We got to watch
his tape, learn from it, flush it, and move on.
We got another one this week and that's what they'll do.
But I do think the key there is learning from it,
and I just think they were surprised and they didn't
match the intensity of the moment and Detroit brought it.
(23:47):
It was like years and years of frustration came out
in one game. And think about what was at stake
that first round by for a team that says banged
up as Detroit did, with home field advantage the way
they have it, that's a hungry fan base and a
lot of players on that team that have been there
for you know, almost a decade. Like some of those guys,
(24:07):
it meant more like like sometimes you say it in
the locker room, like it means more to us. I
think it really did mean more to Detroit last night,
and it Showden.
Speaker 1 (24:15):
Yeah, I want to say this about I said this
to start the show I said, in some ways, the
NFL is the anti NBA. You have to be selfless
and you always play hurt. By week four, quarterbacks, kickers
are dinged and sometimes me as an outsider, can roll
my eyes at some of the messaging. It's a little cheesy,
(24:38):
but there's a brotherhood and a masculinity in the NFL
and when you're going downhill. I think Dan Campbell is
the perfect coach for the city. They're the Cubs and
shoulder pads like they're just He has been able this
team on Monday against the Niners. Could have just mailed
it in, let's get healthy. He's like, no, yeah, no,
we're Detroit. Yeah, this is a every game matters. I
(25:03):
think he is literally the perfect coach.
Speaker 9 (25:04):
Yeah. Well, and I think you. I think their style
of play, their identity, their head coach's personality, who is
at the podium resonates with the city, resonates with Detroit.
We're a tough city where a blue collar city. We're
not like everybody else, Like we're built. I don't want
to say fod tough, but like it's kind of like
that mindset.
Speaker 3 (25:23):
Yeah, and I think that it matters.
Speaker 4 (25:24):
Now.
Speaker 9 (25:24):
Listen, Dan Campbell's not just some tough guy though, Like
he's a guy that he he played for. I think
he coached with Parcels. He coached for Sean Payton for
a long time. Marcell love him and so like, he's
not just some like meathead. He's a guy that's like
weathered the storms. He's he's pretty smart. He's been around,
he's been around Hall of Fame type coaching. He was
(25:45):
the interim head coach at the Miami Dolphins. Do I
think he would have been the perfect head coach for
the Miami Dolphins?
Speaker 4 (25:50):
No?
Speaker 3 (25:50):
Do I think he's the perfect head coach for the
Detroit Lions.
Speaker 9 (25:53):
Yes? And I think that's what like, honestly, just like
the synergy of your cast off quarterback, you know, just
like that that toughness, that grittiness, that resilience, it all
fits together with what they got.
Speaker 1 (26:04):
Now.
Speaker 9 (26:04):
Listen, the danger for him though, He's got to learn
how to be tough and physical and all that and
still survive these long seasons. Now, Like you don't want
to be limping into the Super Bowl, right, you gotta
I don't know if you call it load management, but
you got to practice smart and you got you have
to coach smart from I don't know, like an injury standpoint, sure,
(26:25):
and and and that remains to be seen if they
can do that. But there's a lot of there's a
lot of good things to sell to sorry to say
about Detroit, I mean a lot of good things.
Speaker 1 (26:34):
Yeah. So the Bonex story, it's interesting he fell to six. Now,
it was a very good quarterback draft last and by
the way Lamar fell to the end of the first round.
It's hard, you don't know, but and.
Speaker 9 (26:47):
It's it's never in order, like never, the order that
is in your mock draft is never how it turns out.
Speaker 1 (26:53):
But it was almost as if he was considered in
the draft. Well, let's get to Caleb and Jaden. He
he's the second level and I'm like, I saw him
play live twice. I saw sixty one college starts. I
probably saw thirty five to forty of him. This dude's athletic.
He is in I mean I was sat on the
sideline of an Oregon game watching him. He has directed,
he's like a coach. Are you surprised by how effective
(27:16):
he was?
Speaker 9 (27:17):
Yeah, listen, you say second level, you should have seen
the combine, Like the dude got Bonix got no attention
at the.
Speaker 3 (27:23):
Combine, like very little.
Speaker 9 (27:24):
Everyone was talking about all these other guys. They were
talking about guys that weren't even working out that day.
And so for bow Knicks to go do his private
with Sean Payton, for him to say, Bam, that's my guy,
like that's our guy. I don't think people jumped on
board and said, oh, he's going to be successful. And
I know for sure they didn't feel like in year
one what he has done this year with bo Nix
has done, with Sean Payton has done, I think he's
(27:46):
absolutely a candidate for Coach of the Year. The playoff
draft that they had, the season that they had last year.
Speaker 1 (27:52):
The dead cap money, dead cap.
Speaker 3 (27:54):
Vance, Joseph's done a great job.
Speaker 9 (27:56):
But no, when you watch bo Nick's play, does not
look like a rookie quarterback.
Speaker 3 (28:00):
I do believe that, like in this era of.
Speaker 9 (28:02):
Young quarterbacks, and this is somewhere where I think I
had to grow and learn a little bit. These guys
are so much more prepared coming into the NFL, Like
they get the extra year, they get, the COVID year,
the way kids are trained now, Like I just even
remember being at the financial literacy stuff at the combine
and like, oh, guys, you know, hiring an agent, hiring,
(28:22):
paying your.
Speaker 3 (28:22):
Taxes, all this stuff.
Speaker 9 (28:24):
Half the room was like, yeah, we've been getting paid
for a couple of years now, We're good. We're just
all about the football. So I think these quarterbacks are
coming into it. And they talk about a guy like
Bonnicks that has all these starts under his belt in
huge games and the sec out at Oregon. It's very
different than say, like an Anthony Richardson situation, a guy
that hadn't played a ton of football he's got he's
(28:46):
got a bunch of starts under his belt. I think
it matters. And having a Hall of Fame coach and
Sean Payton, I mean, they're they're doing great.
Speaker 1 (28:53):
So I got a I got a lot of things
I want to ask you about. We're going to get
to the coaching thing in a second, because I want
your thoughts on Pete Carroll potentially in Chicago. I don't
think it's ridiculous, and I forget agist. I just think
Peet's really good.
Speaker 3 (29:06):
But I well, you.
Speaker 9 (29:06):
Can't be agist. Since you're sixty one today, Happy birthday.
Speaker 1 (29:09):
By the way, I am sixty one today whatever. I
looked at Aaron Rodgers and listen.
Speaker 3 (29:18):
You were talking, Pete Carroll, are we're talking.
Speaker 1 (29:20):
I want to go to Aaron and back to pee.
Speaker 3 (29:21):
You're back to agist, got it?
Speaker 1 (29:23):
Yeah? Yeah, So it's not a great quarterback draft class.
Cousins looked a little washed. Vikings probably retain Darnold. It
is easy to just punt on Aaron. But I look
at him in the last eight weeks and seven of him,
I was like, yes, that's pretty good. I think there's
I don't think the Jets should cut him. I actually
(29:44):
think he has a semi vibrant market.
Speaker 9 (29:47):
Yeah, I mean, listen, he can still play. You saw that.
And I talked about earlier in the year the Jets
looked like a team that were having no fun. I
would say the total opposite the end here, like they
last yesterday, they looked like they were having so much
it was anything but a chore. There was like a
bunch of grown men playing, you know, almost like paying
to play with, like and like what those legends things,
(30:08):
you know what I mean, Like they look like a
great way to go out if he goes out. But no,
I would just say that if Aaron Rodgers wants to
keep playing. He can the thing, though, I don't think
it can be like Aaron Streetball. I don't think he
has the mobility for that. I just don't think that's
winning football. I don't think that's what people are gonna
pay for. What they would pay for is an amazing conductor,
a point guard. Not the guy that's gonna be Michael Jordan.
(30:30):
They're looking for more of a distributor. They're looking for
more of a someone to steady the ship. Maybe they
just sort of be humble and be like a little
bit more of a system quarterback. But can he throw? Yeah,
he can throw. Is the game slowed down for him? Yes?
Speaker 3 (30:44):
Is he as mobile and durable as he once was?
Speaker 1 (30:47):
Like?
Speaker 9 (30:48):
No, And I think that's gonna be the decision that
he has to make. But seeing the joy it was
certainly there yesterday. I mean that part for me, I
think was fun to watch.
Speaker 1 (30:58):
So I have said, so, let's now going to some
of the coaching stuff. So we've got a bunch of
coaching openings. We've got the Saints, the Patriots, the Jags,
the Jets, the Bears, and they're maybe another one. We'll
wait on the Riders. So I said, I didn't think
Rex Ryan to the Jets was nuts, and I don't
think Pete Carroll to Chicago is crazy for a lot
(31:18):
of reasons. I do not think you can give this
to a snazzy coordinator who's never been a coach. This
is a city football to politics. Everything's political everything in Chicago,
and they don't have the strongest ownership as a city,
and nobody's got like the super wealthy owners. I think
Pete Carroll works in Chicago. You know, Pete, does he fit?
Speaker 3 (31:43):
Yeah?
Speaker 9 (31:43):
I mean listen, I thought you're gonna say Brian Flores
because that feels like it's fit fits. Also, that's one
that people are talking about. The synergy from GM to
head coach to quarterback is very important in Chicago. That's
something they have not gotten right since who knows when
I would say this Pete Carroll, Like, the more dysfunction
you have in an organization, the more you need a
(32:05):
culture builder, an identity maker, an absolute rock star at
the podium, like a rock star, not someone who's learning
on the fly. And like you mentioned those two organizations,
the Jets and the Bears, I think they need a
culture builder. I think they need a rock star at
the podium. To me, Pete Carroll. Just knowing Pete, he
is in love with usc. So if there's any new
(32:28):
head coach coming into Chicago that wants to see Caleb
Williams succeed, it's Pete Carroll. But the revolving door in
Chicago where the GM, the head coach, and the quarterback,
they didn't sort of come in together. That's been one
of the problems because if you get a new head
coach in there who Caleb's.
Speaker 3 (32:45):
Not my guy.
Speaker 9 (32:46):
I'm not married to him. My contract's not tied to
his contract, like I can move on if I want
to blame somebody that could easily happen to the young quarterback.
So I think you need someone that can handle the
young quarterback who's got a tremendous amount of potential, And
I think Pete Carroll would be the perfect guy. Culture
Center will bring a bunch of people with him who
(33:06):
have been there and done it, and a lot of times,
you know who you are as the head coach is
who's willing to come with you, And I think Pete Carroll,
you know, has the credentials to bring a lot of
people with them.
Speaker 1 (33:16):
So you know, I was saying, as this is the
first time I remember best quarterback won every division, and
I think Jared Goff is playing the best quarterback in
a division where Darnold and Lover and Caleb are super talented.
But virtually every division best quarterback won. And that's why
I don't like the season extending to eighteen games, because
the more games you have, if I have a better
(33:38):
quarterback and I get sixty more snaps in two more
games than five years ago, I'm going to win the division.
I like the NFL when there's you can be a
defensive team that we would go into the playoffs and think,
all right, the Steelers have a champce to win the
super Bowl. But we don't think that because in the
AFC Russell Wilson's fine but not special. When I look
(34:00):
at all this, the dark horse team to me that
nobody is saying to win a super Bowl is the Chargers.
So Harbaugh is arguably as good at coaches as sport
has outside Andy Reid. Herbert now is as efficient as
Aaron Rodgers and Brady in their prime. They don't have
a star receiver. It's January football. I mean the Tyreek
(34:23):
Hills disappear very quickly. Number one defense rush end, Harball Herbert,
best offensive tackle combination. I look at the Chargers and
I'm like, if you told me the boxes that fit playoffs,
you're smirking at me.
Speaker 3 (34:39):
I wasn't expecting that. I wasn't expecting Chargers.
Speaker 9 (34:42):
But maybe that's exactly what your point is, you know,
like this is what I'd say.
Speaker 1 (34:46):
There's gonna be a curve ball.
Speaker 9 (34:47):
My favorite week Maybe you can say championship weekend, you know,
AFCNFC championship, but my favorite weekend is wild card weekend.
Those were like if you look throughout the history of
the best playoff games that have ever been played, I
feel like it's always wild Card weekend. And so like
you know, they call it wildcard because like any it's
anybody's weekend, and it's different and everybody's zero and zero
and the boost that you can get from having sort
(35:09):
of like a disappointing season and now all of a sudden,
like no, we're oh and oh, and the Chiefs are
oh and oh, and like everybody's.
Speaker 3 (35:16):
Oh and oh, and besides the bye it's.
Speaker 9 (35:19):
An it's an equal playing field, so anything can happen,
like that's the beauty of it. You just got to
get hot at the right time. That's why I listen
every single team that I was ever on. Ever, the
head coach in the very first meeting of the year
said the same thing. Didn't matter the team, offensive coach,
defensive coach. What do they all say, win our division?
That's goal number one because if we win the division,
(35:40):
we are in the playoffs, and if we're in the tournament,
anything can happen. And that that's just that's just like
the mindset that goes into it. So like you're saying
the Chargers, Yeah, why not. They have a short week
at Houston.
Speaker 3 (35:51):
Here we go. You know, now we're into Round two.
Speaker 9 (35:53):
Like it doesn't take that much to get there. Like
that's what the exciting thing is. And all your peers
are watching. Everybody in the league is watching. There's no
other games. It's just your game. Yeah, the Chargers, they
would not have been my dark horse.
Speaker 1 (36:06):
Okay, so let's go back to it. I want you
to give me a paragraph on each game. So let's
start Chargers at the Texans.
Speaker 9 (36:13):
I feel bad that Texans are always in that like
not primetime game. You know that Saturday three, third like,
I think that's like how I felt when we were
in Seattle. Kind of joke. You're in the witness protection
program out there, and like they never give you the
primetime game because you're not like one of those original
six and hockey kind of deal.
Speaker 3 (36:31):
No, listen, they're not a team like ascending.
Speaker 9 (36:35):
I think the Chargers defense is way better than people realize.
They're a team Torecton with probably in the second round
of the playoffs. I don't know if the Texans can
protect c. J. Stroud the way they need to.
Speaker 1 (36:45):
That's me. That's the takeaway. Steelers at the Ravens.
Speaker 9 (36:50):
I think the Ravens are my dark horse team. Like
Lamar Jackson's playing as good as anybody. I think that
people have sort of written them off because they didn't
have the most amazing regular season.
Speaker 3 (36:58):
But you want to talk about a.
Speaker 9 (36:59):
Team that can win at all and they have all
the pieces, Like to me, I think the Ravens would
be that team. The Steelers, I said earlier, I think
they should have been playing both quarterbacks. I think Russell
Wilson is obviously great at a lot of things, but
he's not his mobile. I think Justin Fields is a
pretty is a difficult, difficult quarterback to game plan for
Mike Tomlin. I just felt Arthur Smith, I felt like
(37:22):
two quarterbacks playing would make them a more difficult team
on offense. They didn't do that. I think the Ravens
are the team.
Speaker 1 (37:28):
Denver at Buffalo.
Speaker 9 (37:31):
Listen, playing in Buffalo. There's a couple of things, Like
I've done it a bunch of times. The weather's a thing,
the crowds. I think the weather's a thing. I've seen
a lot of warm weather teams go up there and
kind of get like spooked before the game even starts
because like the cold.
Speaker 3 (37:45):
Denver's not dealing with that.
Speaker 9 (37:47):
And like you listened to Sean Payton talk and he's
in the locker room right after the game and he's like,
listen up, guys, you are young.
Speaker 3 (37:54):
You're the one of youngest teams in the league.
Speaker 9 (37:56):
You are young, and you are hungry, and that is
a dangerous thing in the playoffs. You hungry.
Speaker 3 (38:00):
And he is selling them.
Speaker 9 (38:01):
He's a great example of a Hall of Fame type
coach who's saying, hey, we're oh and oh, it does
not matter. We can go in there get this win.
And I believe listen that I don't know how it
would pick that game, and I love Buffalo, love them.
Whoever wins that game could definitely represent the AFC.
Speaker 1 (38:16):
Wow, how about that Packers at Philly. Philly's kind of
been down shifted some of the obviously the concussion of
Jalen Hurts. What say you?
Speaker 3 (38:26):
I like Philly. I've liked him all year.
Speaker 9 (38:29):
You know, I thought Green Bay did a horrible, horrible
end of the game situation yesterday kind of gave that
game away. But despite that, I think that Philly is
a great team. Even with their backup to the backup quarterback,
I think they look good. I mean, this is a
team they draft well, and whoever they drafted the quarterback position,
(38:50):
or whoever that plays quarterback for them, that coaching staff
for years and years now they seem to just play okay,
you know, like they got a six round quarterback out there.
Speaker 3 (38:59):
He looks good to me. So listen.
Speaker 9 (39:01):
Obviously, Jalen Hurts one of the game's best quarterbacks, but
I don't think this is a team that lives and
dies by that. I think they're They're better than people
give them credit for.
Speaker 1 (39:10):
Commanders at the Bucks.
Speaker 3 (39:12):
Listen hard one, listen.
Speaker 9 (39:14):
I love watching Baker Mayfield play like I love it,
and I love what they did with Mike Evans yesterday,
like Baker is doing awesome. Love him, but this is
wild card weekend. If you were going to force me
to pick sort of like an underdog on the seating chart,
I told you I believe if if Washington can clean
up just like the sloppy Camma defens like you know,
(39:36):
they have something really special at the quarterback position in Washington.
But again, Baker Mayfield, he's playing tough, gritty, definitely gritty.
That'd be fun, that'd be a fun game to watch.
If I had to pick an upset, Washington might be
one to pick.
Speaker 1 (39:51):
Though. Finally, uh Jmack and I disagree Vikings at the Rams.
I don't love the Rams secondary matchup against the Vikings receivers,
and I all so think everybody's selling their Viking stock.
And to your point, that was almost a non winnable
game last night, Vikings tough.
Speaker 9 (40:07):
Game like this is not like that's why last night's
game was so big. One team gets the bye, like
Detroit gets to go heel up. Some of their players
are their wives are like due this week, they're having babies,
like they needed this bye week literally, okay, and instead
the Vikings have to go play Sean McVay, Matthew Stafford, pooka,
(40:29):
Cooper Cutt.
Speaker 3 (40:30):
Like that's not a tough defense. Defense is good.
Speaker 1 (40:33):
They are arguably the Rams, arguably the healthiest team in
the league now.
Speaker 9 (40:36):
Which is crazy, but don't you think it's a good
lesson as people are trying to figure out what to
do with their head coach and next year. This year,
people were trying to sell off the La Rams. They
were trying to trade Cooper Cutt, they were trying literally
trying to happen. And then they played a nationally televised
game and they played outstanding was right before the trade deadline,
and everyone's like, whoa, whoa, maybe maybe they could be
(40:58):
a playoff contender, and so like that's just the thing.
The best teams are the teams when adversity hits, you
don't pull apart, you don't quit on your team, you
don't do that. You stick together and you pull together.
And that's why that locker room matters, that's why the
head coach at the podium matters. And the Rams are
just one of those teams. And so what's the strength
of the Vikings to me, if I'm like a quarterback
(41:21):
man Brian Floores in that defense, is difficult to recognize
what they're doing. You have Matthew Stafford, one of the
most experienced quarterbacks. It's it's such a Sean with Sean McVay.
It's such a great matchup.
Speaker 1 (41:32):
Good stuff. Matt Hasselbeck who was a free agent on
the market, and we feel like we got to steal
on him. Now, why are you in LA this week?
We don't get you in LA? No?
Speaker 3 (41:42):
Yeah, like what you say every five weeks.
Speaker 9 (41:43):
Probably. My son's a freshman quarterback at UCLA and they
start school today. So I said, hey, I'll come out
with you. We had some luggage. We brought some extra
bags this time. If I'm being real, you know what
I mean?
Speaker 1 (41:53):
So you're you're going to be out here more often?
Speaker 9 (41:56):
We'll see yeah, hope.
Speaker 3 (41:57):
So, I mean, I don't know if he wants me around,
you know what I mean?
Speaker 1 (42:00):
I got it.
Speaker 9 (42:00):
He's like, Dad, I'm at Rocco's like, what are you
talking about? Leave me alone? I know inside joke.
Speaker 1 (42:05):
I know you gotta be smart though. That's not an
easy school. He can't. He can't be party son. No,
I could see you in college leading.
Speaker 3 (42:12):
I had hair back then.
Speaker 9 (42:13):
It was dangerous. No, he does well in school. He
had a great first semester Why to Go? And his
name is Henry.
Speaker 1 (42:19):
That's awesome.
Speaker 9 (42:19):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (42:20):
I love having me on the show.
Speaker 9 (42:21):
Bud, thank you.
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 Sportsradio 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. Ah, we are ready to roll.
(00:24):
We got the playoffs in hand, live in Los Angeles.
It's the Herd wherever you may be and however you
may be listening. Thanks for making us part of your day.
Matt Hasselbeck's going to be joining us here, which I
can't wait for. Reschedule your day when we get Matt
Hasselbak in studio. It's money. Colin Wright, Colin Wrong one
hour from now, so listen to. The playoffs are set.
(00:46):
We're gonna break all that stuff down. J McK and
I are already disagreeing on the rams and the vikings.
Which is a fantastic opening game, like that is Stafford
against Aaron Donald in Los Angeles.
Speaker 2 (00:58):
They have to get a duke it for that wit
part slate. I love it, oh, I already bet four games.
Love it it is great. So let's start with this.
The Lions now have clinched the number one seed in
the NFC. There is no denying for this city, for
this roster, for this locker room, and for this time.
(01:20):
Dan Campbell's the perfect coach. A team with twelve defensive
players alone on the ir could have only pulled through
this and clinched the number one seed with a head
coach who's unapologetically alpha, a motivator that preaches grit and
biting kneecaps. Sometimes the NFL messaging from coaches can seem
(01:44):
a little cringey or cheesy. Not to the players, there
is a brotherhood and a masculinity that I'll be honest.
I like people have been paralyzed playing this sport. Sometimes
you just have to play through pain. You got to
play hurt, and one guy in a locker room second
guessing the message can unravel the whole thing in a way.
(02:08):
It's like the Anti NBA League. You have to be
selfless and you have to play hurt every week. The
Lions clinched a playoff spot on December fifth. With all
those injuries to seemingly the entire defensive roster, they could
have packed it in, let's get healthy and Nope, not
(02:30):
with this team, not with this coach. They fought tooth
and nail last week. Everybody said that Niner game didn't
mean anything. I totally disagreed.
Speaker 1 (02:41):
It was a chance to get backups reps against Sam
Darnold and the Vikings. The Detroit Lions are a symbol
of so many things that are great about the NFL.
Every game matters. Grit and toughness, which our society can
always use, is really paramount and again unapologetically alpha. I mean,
(03:02):
New England had the number one pick going into the weekend.
They played themselves out of it. There is no tanking.
Nobody will even consider it, and it's why the NFL
remains king and separates from the rest of our professional sports.
Dan Campbell on a weekly basis after winning, is almost
in tears preaching the message and his devotion to the
(03:22):
city of Detroit and the Lions. This coach, for this
team in this time and this roster and this wacky
season with currently twelve players on the ir defensively needed
a completely unapologetic alpha and the message to guys like
me at the kneecaps at the podium and I'm rolling
(03:43):
my eyes. The players aren't They totally bought into it.
The number one see this is the Chicago Cubs in
shoulder pads. That's what it feels like. The easiest dominant team.
And go back to September, October, early November, it was
like college. They were rolling people. But it is the easiest,
most dominant, physical team to root for I can remember.
(04:06):
And here's the one guy, the one perfect fit. After
the win, you guys.
Speaker 3 (04:12):
Look like you remember who you are.
Speaker 4 (04:16):
I'm that's a helpful win. Guys.
Speaker 2 (04:19):
All I can think about is, man, we've been forcing
this stuff.
Speaker 5 (04:22):
Now.
Speaker 1 (04:22):
This has been three years in the making, some of
it four.
Speaker 4 (04:25):
But that just doesn't happen.
Speaker 6 (04:26):
You got to work through it and grind through it
and go through the downs to get to the ups.
Speaker 1 (04:30):
And where we're at.
Speaker 5 (04:31):
That was unbelievable.
Speaker 7 (04:32):
Man Division winners back to backseats.
Speaker 1 (04:42):
If you're not from Detroit, you may not get it.
You think it's a little cheesy. Oh give me a break.
But if you're from Detroit, you're a Lions fan, you're
part of the culture, and you watch teams around this league.
You if you think this stuff's over the top, the
Bears need that the Titans need that, the Jaguars need that,
(05:05):
the Chargers needed it and hired it. This is not
a marketing campaign. This is completely, absolutely authentically Dan Campbell
the perfect fit for this city and this team. All right,
let's talk Sam Donald. Oh, I know, let me guess
you're all bailing on Sammy. Okay. So, first of all,
(05:29):
that was the biggest game in Detroit in probably fifty years.
And there's an argument that the two best coordinators in
the entire league both play for Detroit, Ben Johnson Aaron Glenn,
and Detroit's got a better roster and they got one
of their defensive starters back. And this is a baby
step league. And Sam Donald looked juiced, he looked a
(05:52):
little overwhelmed. He probably couldn't hear. He was inaccurate and
high in all his passes. But across the Jared Golf's
first big playoff game, and this did feel like a
playoff game. I mean, it's the biggest game in Detroit
in five decades. It felt like a playoff. Mike Trico
was coming out of a suit. Jared Goff's first playoff
game at home, seventy eight passer rating. Peyton Manning's first
(06:13):
playoff game, completed forty five percent of his throws. This
has always been kind of a baby steps league. Last year,
at this time, Sam Darnold, who was viewed as a bust,
was starting a meaningless game as a backup for the
forty nine ers. And then there's yesterday, in the biggest
game against arguably the best roster in the loudest field.
(06:37):
You weren't winning that game. Minnesota was not winning that game.
That's just one of those games. I looked at the
playoffs this weekend. I looked at Denver at Buffalo. I
love Sean Payton. That is a tough draw. There are
games a handful every year where even a good team
goes on the road and you're like, yeah, yeah, they're
not gonna win that game. That's a standalone game. This
(06:57):
was the only NFL game that everybody was watching. Sam
Darnold is just twenty seven years old. Now they go
to Los Angeles. Their receiving corps is a great matchup
against the Rams. Young secondary. Don't be shocked if the
Rams draft a cornerback with their number one pick. They
don't have a corner. They don't have a shutdown corner.
And this is the deepest receiving corp in the league,
(07:18):
and it'll be fifty percent Viking fans. And my gut
feeling is Minnesota is to play here. J Mack disagrees,
but it felt like a playoff game to me. It
had that kind of feel. It was one of those
you know, you don't get the NFL is always entertaining,
but there are a handful of games late in the
season and you're like, you know, when the NFL schedules
like Burrow and Mahomes in Week seventeen and you're like, oh,
(07:40):
that feels I'll give you an example. The Steelers Bengals
on Saturday night felt like a playoff game. And that's
a Saturday playoff game before a playoff game. And there's
a reason restaurants have soft opens, right, Like, you're not
quite ready for the moment. I just don't think Sam
and the Vikings, this young, fun team were ready for
the moment. And here's the coach affter.
Speaker 8 (08:01):
You know, we didn't do a lot of the things
that we've consistently done in all season long, and this
game came down to, you know, finishing in the red zone,
weady downs, third downs, you know, pitching and catching and
got to, you know, find different ways to help guys
get open and when there are guys to potentially you know,
throw and catch, we've got to be able to do that.
(08:22):
We've done it at a very high level this year
and just didn't really show up on the weighty downs.
Speaker 1 (08:27):
Yep. Sam Darnold twice was high on Justin Jefferson throws. Absolutely,
no question about it. You see this. Sometimes first big
games for quarterbacks, they looked tight. I mean that was
the knock on Peyton Manning for years in the NFL
that he was a teeth clencher, that he was great
and productive, he'd get into big games and he was
too tight. And I thought Sam looked tight. But again,
(08:47):
this was a guy that was a bust a year ago,
that was starting for the Niners in Week eighteen, a
year ago to the biggest game in Detroit in fifty years.
It wasn't going to be his night. I said last week.
I like the Lions. They have the better roster. It's
a bigger game, it means more. I know, it's two
fourteen win teams playing for a number one seed. It
just felt like it felt like Detroit to night. That's
what it felt like to me. And you're saying, well, Colin,
(09:09):
it's not a playoff game. It's looked like it and
felt like it to me. I'm watching collins Worth in
Mike Tariko and those guys were bursting through the suits.
That thing felt like the biggest game in a long time.
So there you go, J Mack. We have so many
things to talk about today. For the first time in
my adult life, I believe something's true in the NFL.
(09:31):
Get to that in a second. You and I'll talk
about the wild card schedule. Denver at Buffalo, talk about
a tough draw.
Speaker 6 (09:40):
Do you see that it's not even a double digits
spread in that game. It's I I'm stunned. Denver plus
eight and a half.
Speaker 1 (09:49):
You're not doing that, are you? Oh my no, No,
I'm just saying that's a lot of points for a
very good coach and a very good defense. There are
games that you look at and go, yeah, there's a
tough draw for Denver, right like again, Baby Steps League.
We don't expect Denver to go in there with a
dead cap, money and bo Nicks and win that game.
That's that's not like a winnable game. If if it
(10:10):
ended up being thirty twenty and Denver played well, you'd
fly home thinking I can't wait for next year.
Speaker 3 (10:17):
Like that.
Speaker 1 (10:18):
There are certain games that just feel like, yeah, it's
gonna go a certain way. The game that's fascinating this weekend,
and I don't know quite Tampa Washington, Oh okay, yeah,
that is a I I that's a question mark game
for me. I could see several outcomes in that game.
Speaker 6 (10:38):
So sometimes, like the Raven Steelers they just played like
a few weeks ago, you could take something out of
that game. I don't think you could take anything out
of the Tampa Washington season opener.
Speaker 1 (10:46):
It was James Daniel's first career start.
Speaker 4 (10:48):
Yeah, they're a different team now.
Speaker 6 (10:50):
That's that's gonna be an and Tampa's kind of beat
up in the secondary.
Speaker 1 (10:53):
I don't remember a first round and I'm serious. You know,
Houston plays the Saturday three thirty game, but this year
they get Harbaugh Herbert. I do not remember a first
round matchup with all games being this good, with this
many star quarterbacks. I get Stafford against Darnold Herbert, C. J. Stroud,
(11:18):
Bo Nicks, who, by the way, go look at his
stats like Week eight on the guy was incredible. Jaden Daniels, Baker,
Jordan Loved, Jalen Hurts. Dude, there's some there are some matchups. Matchups.
Speaker 6 (11:33):
Yeah, okay, sounds like you're gonna talk yourself ats some
underdogs here.
Speaker 1 (11:38):
That's camin for me. Well this year, no, I mean
you start looking at these games. This is as good
as it gets. We have one game where we look
at and go, yeah, Buffalo is gonna win. But I
get Sean Payton in the game. I get arguably a
better defense in the game. And here's the utter thing.
What if it's snow and sideways that hurts the star quarterback?
(12:00):
Not the better deal they did. Look out, there is
gonna be snow in Buffalo Saturday.
Speaker 6 (12:03):
There's only a little snow calling for Sunday, and it
worked six days out. A lot can happen. I'm surprised
you haven't mentioned Packers Eagles. That's the one game that
is the best game of the weekend. And I don't
know what the deal is with aka A Jordan Love
and b Jalen Hurts. I mean, Jalen Hurts was still
in concusion protocol. I think last week. Yeah, what Jordan
Love will play?
Speaker 1 (12:23):
Okay, no, Christian Watson looks like man. Even the second
tier Games Chargers Texans. It's gonna be fantastic, hard boss
first year the playoff right justin Herbert's first playoff win.
Speaker 4 (12:34):
Be sure to catch live editions of The Herd weekdays
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FS one and the iHeartRadio app.
Speaker 7 (12:43):
Hey, Steve Covino and I'm Rich David and together We're
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Speaker 5 (12:48):
You could catch us weekdays from five to seven pm
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Speaker 1 (12:55):
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Speaker 5 (12:57):
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Speaker 7 (13:01):
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Speaker 5 (13:10):
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Speaker 5 (13:20):
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Speaker 7 (13:25):
Be sure to check out Cavino and Rich live on
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Speaker 1 (13:37):
That's Covino and Rich. Here we go. It's hour two,
gonna be a tasty one live in Los Angeles. It's
the herd wherever you may be and however you may
be listening. Thanks for making us part of your day.
Matt hassel Beck, he does us about once every five
weeks or so, shits down with us for a good
twenty twenty five minutes. I can't wait for that. He's
got so many thoughts on this Yesterday where and there
(13:58):
was only a handful of NFL games that truly mattered.
There were a lot of backups, which is another reason
I don't like the NFL expanding to eighteen games, because
we already got to the seventeenth game and it was
kind of like he had about two games. You had
to watch one of them. Last night j mac Albert
Breer last Hour as well, We're gonna go Jay McK
and I are going to go through some of the
coaching openings. We're also going to go through the games
(14:20):
we like you like you like the Rams hosting the Vikings.
I feel very strongly about the Vikings matchup on their
perimeter against the Rams. Is there a game off the
top that you really like?
Speaker 6 (14:33):
I I rationally like many games this weekend, including the
college football by the way, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday,
all with playoff college football or NFL games.
Speaker 4 (14:43):
How good is that?
Speaker 1 (14:44):
Colin?
Speaker 6 (14:46):
I guess my favorite bet of the week so far
is Rams money line. I think they went out right.
I can't believe the Vikings are favored in this spot.
Did you see Donald when he has to hold the ball?
And I know Hasselbeck will talk about it, but like
when Donald has to hold ball and think and come
off his reads, he's not great.
Speaker 4 (15:03):
He was eighteen of forty one last night. Yeah, it
was not good.
Speaker 6 (15:07):
And that was against a shoddy Lions defense.
Speaker 3 (15:09):
I think the Rams defense is gonna be better.
Speaker 6 (15:11):
They slowed dartled in the initial meeting, remember that one
out here at so far?
Speaker 1 (15:14):
Yeah? I like Rams all right, let's do it every
Monday at this time. Colin right, Colin wrong, plenty of both.
Speaker 4 (15:21):
Here we go where Colin was right to.
Speaker 1 (15:23):
Double right Bo Knicks and the Broncos. I said the
Broncos would double the win total Vegas thought, and I
thought Bo Nicks would be a home run. He finished
the season six in the NFL and touchdown passes and
it's the most among rookies, second most touchdown passes by
a rookie ever, eighteen for eighteen to start the game
against Kansas City. His maturity, his athletic ability, his experience.
(15:45):
I didn't get him kind of being ignored and considered
a second class, second tier quarterback in the draft. I
didn't get it at all. I watched him at Auburn,
I watched him at Oregon. He went through multitude of
coordinators and was good with all of them. Bo Nicks
is a right where Colin was raw. You know what,
Nick Sirianni drives me nuts. But you know in his
three years as a coach, they've won fourteen, eleven and fourteen.
(16:07):
You know, these skirmishes on the sidelines with fans battling
his own staff, you know, it feels like he has
to be a chaperone on a weekly basis. But there
is something about his message and his personality that resonates
in the NFL that I clearly am missing on. I
thought his opening press conference was brutal. I'm still surprised
(16:28):
they're this good. I think it's more of a GM
than a coach story. But I'm wrong on it because
the dude keeps winning. Where Colin was right, I said
last January when Girod Mayo got the Patriots job, it
feels like adding a new chapter to the same old book,
you know, young quarterback, defensive coach. I just never felt
this was the right higher. I thought they may retain
(16:50):
him because they were so embarrassed by it. But I
read a lot of Boston writers and listen to Boston radio,
and you know, situationally, circumstantially, he was over his head.
You know, Bill Junior was his nickname. You know, his
only real influence was Belichick, And I think once Bill left,
you were probably better served to go on the offensive route.
(17:11):
But I also think Mike Rabel would be a good fit.
But I never loved this higher. Where Colin was raw, well,
it's the Atlanta Falcons. I've never been right. I had
him winning the division. I thought Kirk Cousins was a
good signing. He ended up tied for the NFL lead
in picks and he only played fourteen games. I like
Raheem Morris over Belichick. They started six and three, they
beat the Buccaneers twice, and then just regressed quickly and badly.
(17:36):
This is an organization that does a lot right, but
it does feel like and certain organizations are like this
that they kind of shrink in big spots. And that's
always sort of been the reason why I've lost my
four oh one K several times betting the Atlanta Falcons.
Speaker 4 (17:50):
Where Colin was right.
Speaker 1 (17:52):
I'm not sure there's a bigger fan in the world
of Justin Herbert or Jim Harbaugh than myself, and they're
now together. I felt they'd win ten or eleven games.
I didn't know if they'd make the playoffs because of
Mahomes and Reid. But you know, I just watching this
game yesterday. They just figure out ways to win. Harbaugh
and have a bad first half, and then they reset
the chairs and they have a good second half. They've
(18:13):
got a grit and a toughness. It's the first time
ever the Chargers have led the NFL and defense. They've
always been finesse and fun to watch, then aesthetically pleasing,
but you don't trust them. And now they're not nearly
as pleasing to watch, but they're tough and they win games.
So the magic formula was, don't do what you've always been,
go the opposite route, and they have and they're winning,
(18:35):
and I'm happy. Where Colin was right, the Pittsburgh Steelers
in the last decade, isn't it the same team with
just a little variation. Once again, we said before the season,
it's all gonna come down to the final seven games.
Go look at the schedule. It did, and they went
two and five. They still can't get offense, right, you know,
they end up ten and seven and with no chance
(18:55):
to win the Super Bowl. And that's what the Pittsburgh
Steelers have been. When Pittsburgh won a new head coach,
I don't think the Steelers are moving off Mike Tomlin,
but I feel like every Pittsburgh team in the last
decade is a slight variation of the previous year's team.
Speaker 4 (19:11):
Where Colin was raw.
Speaker 1 (19:13):
I thought Doug Peterson was a good fit in Jacksonville.
I really did, and in Trent Bulky. The GM survived.
He survived, and Peterson got fired. I watched them in
Philadelphia out coach Bill Belichick in the Super Bowl. This
was my number one pick. I liked him, People like him,
players like him. It just never worked. Trevor Lawrence has regressed.
(19:33):
I don't know where they go. Do you need more
of a tough leader than Doug Peterson? Do you need
a Brian Flores, somebody that's a culture changer, not just
an offensive guy who people like. But the Jacksonville situation,
I don't think I've ever been right on it. Coach
GM players, nothing works that I predict where Colin was
right when Tyreek Hill got traded from Kansas City to
(19:55):
the Dolphins, I said, they'll be fine without him. The
league is not built around small, fast football players. He's
very good. But why would you leave Patrick Mahomes as
a wide receiver? Why would you leave Andy Reid as
a wide receiver? There are just moves I didn't get, Like, yeah,
Chase the bag, the guy wants out of Miami. Now,
(20:16):
there's got to be more than just money. I mean,
if you like the coach and you like the quarterback,
it's not like you can't afford a nice home in
Kansas City. Like I never understood this move. It was fun,
and I get people that want to go live in
Miami with no state tax and a clever offensive coach.
But I never thought this was going to change the league.
I never thought it was going to change the Chiefs.
(20:37):
They would figure out with Mahomes and Reid and Spags
and Kelsey and Chris Jones to win.
Speaker 4 (20:41):
Regardless where Colin was right.
Speaker 1 (20:44):
My number one college football prediction before the season was
Oregon is going to beat Ohio State at Otson and
then Ohio State will come back to beat Oregon, and man,
they did the next time they play in the playoff,
so that was my top prediction. They led thirty one
to nothing in the first half against Oregon. I also
said after they lost to Michigan, don't be shocked if
(21:04):
they don't end up playing like a Texas for the
National Championship. And I still believe that college football more
than ever, feels like the NFL, where you can have
a stinker of a game in December and you're okay,
we don't eliminate you. And I think that is a
good thing. I think college football has grown up and
graduated to more professional football, meaning you get a mulligan,
(21:26):
you can stumble your toe. It shouldn't be about you
lose late in the season, You're done. The Chiefs lose
late in the season. Peyton Manning won a Super Bowl.
He lost twice in January December, and he won a
super Bowl. It shouldn't be about the calendar. It should
be about an entire book, several chapters and who's good now?
(21:46):
And at Ohio State, be sure to.
Speaker 4 (21:47):
Catch live editions of The Herd weekdays in noon Easter
not a em Pacific.
Speaker 1 (21:52):
With that, Matt Hasselbeck's coming out to the set, we
are so lucky to have him eighteen years in the
NFL six playoff apparent with Seattle, my friend, it's great
to see you. You know, I was saying, but where's
that come from? What's that?
Speaker 9 (22:07):
I heard some claps in the background. We have appreciate that.
Speaker 3 (22:11):
Okay, good, thank you.
Speaker 1 (22:12):
So I said that a year ago. Sam Darnold is
a backup starting in a meaningless game. He was considered
a bust to walk into Detroit last night and be great.
I thought was as a big ask. It felt like
a playoff game, and I and I said last week,
I'm like, I'm just going to the biggest game in
Detroit in fifty years. Do you think differently about Darnald
(22:33):
after that performance?
Speaker 9 (22:34):
Now? Listen, like the the future is a whole lot
of right now and that was a right now moment
like he had never been in that situation before. He'll
learn from it. I thought it was just an awesome
game plan by Aaron Glenn. I thought they came out
and was it man or was its own?
Speaker 3 (22:50):
It was both. Was it a blitz we can pick up, yes.
Speaker 9 (22:53):
But now we're one on one in an area of
strength against an area of weakness.
Speaker 3 (22:57):
I thought the crowd noise was a factor.
Speaker 9 (23:00):
I mean, the people in Detroit should feel like they
had a hand in that victory, They had a hand
in that defensive success because they did.
Speaker 3 (23:08):
I'm not worried.
Speaker 9 (23:09):
I don't think I'm worried about Sam Darnold. I'm sure
a lot of people are going to jump off the bandwagon.
He's a really good football player. But here's what they'll do.
And I think Kevin O'Connell did a good job last night,
even at the podium right after the game. He kind
of gave his messaging. He kind of gave his messaging like, Hey,
I was with the team.
Speaker 3 (23:24):
I believe it was the Rams.
Speaker 9 (23:25):
We lost the last game of the season and we
made it to the super Bowl, Like, we can do that,
But what do we gotta do? We got to watch
his tape, learn from it, flush it, and move on.
We got another one this week and that's what they'll do.
But I do think the key there is learning from it,
and I just think they were surprised and they didn't
match the intensity of the moment and Detroit brought it.
(23:47):
It was like years and years of frustration came out
in one game. And think about what was at stake
that first round by for a team that says banged
up as Detroit did, with home field advantage the way
they have it, that's a hungry fan base and a
lot of players on that team that have been there
for you know, almost a decade. Like some of those guys,
(24:07):
it meant more like like sometimes you say it in
the locker room, like it means more to us. I
think it really did mean more to Detroit last night,
and it Showden.
Speaker 1 (24:15):
Yeah, I want to say this about I said this
to start the show I said, in some ways, the
NFL is the anti NBA. You have to be selfless
and you always play hurt. By week four, quarterbacks, kickers
are dinged and sometimes me as an outsider, can roll
my eyes at some of the messaging. It's a little cheesy,
(24:38):
but there's a brotherhood and a masculinity in the NFL
and when you're going downhill. I think Dan Campbell is
the perfect coach for the city. They're the Cubs and
shoulder pads like they're just He has been able this
team on Monday against the Niners. Could have just mailed
it in, let's get healthy. He's like, no, yeah, no,
we're Detroit. Yeah, this is a every game matters. I
(25:03):
think he is literally the perfect coach.
Speaker 9 (25:04):
Yeah. Well, and I think you. I think their style
of play, their identity, their head coach's personality, who is
at the podium resonates with the city, resonates with Detroit.
We're a tough city where a blue collar city. We're
not like everybody else, Like we're built. I don't want
to say fod tough, but like it's kind of like
that mindset.
Speaker 3 (25:23):
Yeah, and I think that it matters.
Speaker 4 (25:24):
Now.
Speaker 9 (25:24):
Listen, Dan Campbell's not just some tough guy though, Like
he's a guy that he he played for. I think
he coached with Parcels. He coached for Sean Payton for
a long time. Marcell love him and so like, he's
not just some like meathead. He's a guy that's like
weathered the storms. He's he's pretty smart. He's been around,
he's been around Hall of Fame type coaching. He was
(25:45):
the interim head coach at the Miami Dolphins. Do I
think he would have been the perfect head coach for
the Miami Dolphins?
Speaker 4 (25:50):
No?
Speaker 3 (25:50):
Do I think he's the perfect head coach for the
Detroit Lions.
Speaker 9 (25:53):
Yes? And I think that's what like, honestly, just like
the synergy of your cast off quarterback, you know, just
like that that toughness, that grittiness, that resilience, it all
fits together with what they got.
Speaker 1 (26:04):
Now.
Speaker 9 (26:04):
Listen, the danger for him though, He's got to learn
how to be tough and physical and all that and
still survive these long seasons. Now, Like you don't want
to be limping into the Super Bowl, right, you gotta
I don't know if you call it load management, but
you got to practice smart and you got you have
to coach smart from I don't know, like an injury standpoint, sure,
(26:25):
and and and that remains to be seen if they
can do that. But there's a lot of there's a
lot of good things to sell to sorry to say
about Detroit, I mean a lot of good things.
Speaker 1 (26:34):
Yeah. So the Bonex story, it's interesting he fell to six. Now,
it was a very good quarterback draft last and by
the way Lamar fell to the end of the first round.
It's hard, you don't know, but and.
Speaker 9 (26:47):
It's it's never in order, like never, the order that
is in your mock draft is never how it turns out.
Speaker 1 (26:53):
But it was almost as if he was considered in
the draft. Well, let's get to Caleb and Jaden. He
he's the second level and I'm like, I saw him
play live twice. I saw sixty one college starts. I
probably saw thirty five to forty of him. This dude's athletic.
He is in I mean I was sat on the
sideline of an Oregon game watching him. He has directed,
he's like a coach. Are you surprised by how effective
(27:16):
he was?
Speaker 9 (27:17):
Yeah, listen, you say second level, you should have seen
the combine, Like the dude got Bonix got no attention
at the.
Speaker 3 (27:23):
Combine, like very little.
Speaker 9 (27:24):
Everyone was talking about all these other guys. They were
talking about guys that weren't even working out that day.
And so for bow Knicks to go do his private
with Sean Payton, for him to say, Bam, that's my guy,
like that's our guy. I don't think people jumped on
board and said, oh, he's going to be successful. And
I know for sure they didn't feel like in year
one what he has done this year with bo Nix
has done, with Sean Payton has done, I think he's
(27:46):
absolutely a candidate for Coach of the Year. The playoff
draft that they had, the season that they had last year.
Speaker 1 (27:52):
The dead cap money, dead cap.
Speaker 3 (27:54):
Vance, Joseph's done a great job.
Speaker 9 (27:56):
But no, when you watch bo Nick's play, does not
look like a rookie quarterback.
Speaker 3 (28:00):
I do believe that, like in this era of.
Speaker 9 (28:02):
Young quarterbacks, and this is somewhere where I think I
had to grow and learn a little bit. These guys
are so much more prepared coming into the NFL, Like
they get the extra year, they get, the COVID year,
the way kids are trained now, Like I just even
remember being at the financial literacy stuff at the combine
and like, oh, guys, you know, hiring an agent, hiring,
(28:22):
paying your.
Speaker 3 (28:22):
Taxes, all this stuff.
Speaker 9 (28:24):
Half the room was like, yeah, we've been getting paid
for a couple of years now, We're good. We're just
all about the football. So I think these quarterbacks are
coming into it. And they talk about a guy like
Bonnicks that has all these starts under his belt in
huge games and the sec out at Oregon. It's very
different than say, like an Anthony Richardson situation, a guy
that hadn't played a ton of football he's got he's
(28:46):
got a bunch of starts under his belt. I think
it matters. And having a Hall of Fame coach and
Sean Payton, I mean, they're they're doing great.
Speaker 1 (28:53):
So I got a I got a lot of things
I want to ask you about. We're going to get
to the coaching thing in a second, because I want
your thoughts on Pete Carroll potentially in Chicago. I don't
think it's ridiculous, and I forget agist. I just think
Peet's really good.
Speaker 3 (29:06):
But I well, you.
Speaker 9 (29:06):
Can't be agist. Since you're sixty one today, Happy birthday.
Speaker 1 (29:09):
By the way, I am sixty one today whatever. I
looked at Aaron Rodgers and listen.
Speaker 3 (29:18):
You were talking, Pete Carroll, are we're talking.
Speaker 1 (29:20):
I want to go to Aaron and back to pee.
Speaker 3 (29:21):
You're back to agist, got it?
Speaker 1 (29:23):
Yeah? Yeah, So it's not a great quarterback draft class.
Cousins looked a little washed. Vikings probably retain Darnold. It
is easy to just punt on Aaron. But I look
at him in the last eight weeks and seven of him,
I was like, yes, that's pretty good. I think there's
I don't think the Jets should cut him. I actually
(29:44):
think he has a semi vibrant market.
Speaker 9 (29:47):
Yeah, I mean, listen, he can still play. You saw that.
And I talked about earlier in the year the Jets
looked like a team that were having no fun. I
would say the total opposite the end here, like they
last yesterday, they looked like they were having so much
it was anything but a chore. There was like a
bunch of grown men playing, you know, almost like paying
to play with, like and like what those legends things,
(30:08):
you know what I mean, Like they look like a
great way to go out if he goes out. But no,
I would just say that if Aaron Rodgers wants to
keep playing. He can the thing, though, I don't think
it can be like Aaron Streetball. I don't think he
has the mobility for that. I just don't think that's
winning football. I don't think that's what people are gonna
pay for. What they would pay for is an amazing conductor,
a point guard. Not the guy that's gonna be Michael Jordan.
(30:30):
They're looking for more of a distributor. They're looking for
more of a someone to steady the ship. Maybe they
just sort of be humble and be like a little
bit more of a system quarterback. But can he throw? Yeah,
he can throw. Is the game slowed down for him? Yes?
Speaker 3 (30:44):
Is he as mobile and durable as he once was?
Speaker 1 (30:47):
Like?
Speaker 9 (30:48):
No, And I think that's gonna be the decision that
he has to make. But seeing the joy it was
certainly there yesterday. I mean that part for me, I
think was fun to watch.
Speaker 1 (30:58):
So I have said, so, let's now going to some
of the coaching stuff. So we've got a bunch of
coaching openings. We've got the Saints, the Patriots, the Jags,
the Jets, the Bears, and they're maybe another one. We'll
wait on the Riders. So I said, I didn't think
Rex Ryan to the Jets was nuts, and I don't
think Pete Carroll to Chicago is crazy for a lot
(31:18):
of reasons. I do not think you can give this
to a snazzy coordinator who's never been a coach. This
is a city football to politics. Everything's political everything in Chicago,
and they don't have the strongest ownership as a city,
and nobody's got like the super wealthy owners. I think
Pete Carroll works in Chicago. You know, Pete, does he fit?
Speaker 3 (31:43):
Yeah?
Speaker 9 (31:43):
I mean listen, I thought you're gonna say Brian Flores
because that feels like it's fit fits. Also, that's one
that people are talking about. The synergy from GM to
head coach to quarterback is very important in Chicago. That's
something they have not gotten right since who knows when
I would say this Pete Carroll, Like, the more dysfunction
you have in an organization, the more you need a
(32:05):
culture builder, an identity maker, an absolute rock star at
the podium, like a rock star, not someone who's learning
on the fly. And like you mentioned those two organizations,
the Jets and the Bears, I think they need a
culture builder. I think they need a rock star at
the podium. To me, Pete Carroll. Just knowing Pete, he
is in love with usc. So if there's any new
(32:28):
head coach coming into Chicago that wants to see Caleb
Williams succeed, it's Pete Carroll. But the revolving door in
Chicago where the GM, the head coach, and the quarterback,
they didn't sort of come in together. That's been one
of the problems because if you get a new head
coach in there who Caleb's.
Speaker 3 (32:45):
Not my guy.
Speaker 9 (32:46):
I'm not married to him. My contract's not tied to
his contract, like I can move on if I want
to blame somebody that could easily happen to the young quarterback.
So I think you need someone that can handle the
young quarterback who's got a tremendous amount of potential, And
I think Pete Carroll would be the perfect guy. Culture
Center will bring a bunch of people with him who
(33:06):
have been there and done it, and a lot of times,
you know who you are as the head coach is
who's willing to come with you, And I think Pete Carroll,
you know, has the credentials to bring a lot of
people with them.
Speaker 1 (33:16):
So you know, I was saying, as this is the
first time I remember best quarterback won every division, and
I think Jared Goff is playing the best quarterback in
a division where Darnold and Lover and Caleb are super talented.
But virtually every division best quarterback won. And that's why
I don't like the season extending to eighteen games, because
the more games you have, if I have a better
(33:38):
quarterback and I get sixty more snaps in two more
games than five years ago, I'm going to win the division.
I like the NFL when there's you can be a
defensive team that we would go into the playoffs and think,
all right, the Steelers have a champce to win the
super Bowl. But we don't think that because in the
AFC Russell Wilson's fine but not special. When I look
(34:00):
at all this, the dark horse team to me that
nobody is saying to win a super Bowl is the Chargers.
So Harbaugh is arguably as good at coaches as sport
has outside Andy Reid. Herbert now is as efficient as
Aaron Rodgers and Brady in their prime. They don't have
a star receiver. It's January football. I mean the Tyreek
(34:23):
Hills disappear very quickly. Number one defense rush end, Harball Herbert,
best offensive tackle combination. I look at the Chargers and
I'm like, if you told me the boxes that fit playoffs,
you're smirking at me.
Speaker 3 (34:39):
I wasn't expecting that. I wasn't expecting Chargers.
Speaker 9 (34:42):
But maybe that's exactly what your point is, you know,
like this is what I'd say.
Speaker 1 (34:46):
There's gonna be a curve ball.
Speaker 9 (34:47):
My favorite week Maybe you can say championship weekend, you know,
AFCNFC championship, but my favorite weekend is wild card weekend.
Those were like if you look throughout the history of
the best playoff games that have ever been played, I
feel like it's always wild Card weekend. And so like
you know, they call it wildcard because like any it's
anybody's weekend, and it's different and everybody's zero and zero
and the boost that you can get from having sort
(35:09):
of like a disappointing season and now all of a sudden,
like no, we're oh and oh, and the Chiefs are
oh and oh, and like everybody's.
Speaker 3 (35:16):
Oh and oh, and besides the bye it's.
Speaker 9 (35:19):
An it's an equal playing field, so anything can happen,
like that's the beauty of it. You just got to
get hot at the right time. That's why I listen
every single team that I was ever on. Ever, the
head coach in the very first meeting of the year
said the same thing. Didn't matter the team, offensive coach,
defensive coach. What do they all say, win our division?
That's goal number one because if we win the division,
(35:40):
we are in the playoffs, and if we're in the tournament,
anything can happen. And that that's just that's just like
the mindset that goes into it. So like you're saying
the Chargers, Yeah, why not. They have a short week
at Houston.
Speaker 3 (35:51):
Here we go. You know, now we're into Round two.
Speaker 9 (35:53):
Like it doesn't take that much to get there. Like
that's what the exciting thing is. And all your peers
are watching. Everybody in the league is watching. There's no
other games. It's just your game. Yeah, the Chargers, they
would not have been my dark horse.
Speaker 1 (36:06):
Okay, so let's go back to it. I want you
to give me a paragraph on each game. So let's
start Chargers at the Texans.
Speaker 9 (36:13):
I feel bad that Texans are always in that like
not primetime game. You know that Saturday three, third like,
I think that's like how I felt when we were
in Seattle. Kind of joke. You're in the witness protection
program out there, and like they never give you the
primetime game because you're not like one of those original
six and hockey kind of deal.
Speaker 3 (36:31):
No, listen, they're not a team like ascending.
Speaker 9 (36:35):
I think the Chargers defense is way better than people realize.
They're a team Torecton with probably in the second round
of the playoffs. I don't know if the Texans can
protect c. J. Stroud the way they need to.
Speaker 1 (36:45):
That's me. That's the takeaway. Steelers at the Ravens.
Speaker 9 (36:50):
I think the Ravens are my dark horse team. Like
Lamar Jackson's playing as good as anybody. I think that
people have sort of written them off because they didn't
have the most amazing regular season.
Speaker 3 (36:58):
But you want to talk about a.
Speaker 9 (36:59):
Team that can win at all and they have all
the pieces, Like to me, I think the Ravens would
be that team. The Steelers, I said earlier, I think
they should have been playing both quarterbacks. I think Russell
Wilson is obviously great at a lot of things, but
he's not his mobile. I think Justin Fields is a
pretty is a difficult, difficult quarterback to game plan for
Mike Tomlin. I just felt Arthur Smith, I felt like
(37:22):
two quarterbacks playing would make them a more difficult team
on offense. They didn't do that. I think the Ravens
are the team.
Speaker 1 (37:28):
Denver at Buffalo.
Speaker 9 (37:31):
Listen, playing in Buffalo. There's a couple of things, Like
I've done it a bunch of times. The weather's a thing,
the crowds. I think the weather's a thing. I've seen
a lot of warm weather teams go up there and
kind of get like spooked before the game even starts
because like the cold.
Speaker 3 (37:45):
Denver's not dealing with that.
Speaker 9 (37:47):
And like you listened to Sean Payton talk and he's
in the locker room right after the game and he's like,
listen up, guys, you are young.
Speaker 3 (37:54):
You're the one of youngest teams in the league.
Speaker 9 (37:56):
You are young, and you are hungry, and that is
a dangerous thing in the playoffs. You hungry.
Speaker 3 (38:00):
And he is selling them.
Speaker 9 (38:01):
He's a great example of a Hall of Fame type
coach who's saying, hey, we're oh and oh, it does
not matter. We can go in there get this win.
And I believe listen that I don't know how it
would pick that game, and I love Buffalo, love them.
Whoever wins that game could definitely represent the AFC.
Speaker 1 (38:16):
Wow, how about that Packers at Philly. Philly's kind of
been down shifted some of the obviously the concussion of
Jalen Hurts. What say you?
Speaker 3 (38:26):
I like Philly. I've liked him all year.
Speaker 9 (38:29):
You know, I thought Green Bay did a horrible, horrible
end of the game situation yesterday kind of gave that
game away. But despite that, I think that Philly is
a great team. Even with their backup to the backup quarterback,
I think they look good. I mean, this is a
team they draft well, and whoever they drafted the quarterback position,
(38:50):
or whoever that plays quarterback for them, that coaching staff
for years and years now they seem to just play okay,
you know, like they got a six round quarterback out there.
Speaker 3 (38:59):
He looks good to me. So listen.
Speaker 9 (39:01):
Obviously, Jalen Hurts one of the game's best quarterbacks, but
I don't think this is a team that lives and
dies by that. I think they're They're better than people
give them credit for.
Speaker 1 (39:10):
Commanders at the Bucks.
Speaker 3 (39:12):
Listen hard one, listen.
Speaker 9 (39:14):
I love watching Baker Mayfield play like I love it,
and I love what they did with Mike Evans yesterday,
like Baker is doing awesome. Love him, but this is
wild card weekend. If you were going to force me
to pick sort of like an underdog on the seating chart,
I told you I believe if if Washington can clean
up just like the sloppy Camma defens like you know,
(39:36):
they have something really special at the quarterback position in Washington.
But again, Baker Mayfield, he's playing tough, gritty, definitely gritty.
That'd be fun, that'd be a fun game to watch.
If I had to pick an upset, Washington might be
one to pick.
Speaker 1 (39:51):
Though. Finally, uh Jmack and I disagree Vikings at the Rams.
I don't love the Rams secondary matchup against the Vikings receivers,
and I all so think everybody's selling their Viking stock.
And to your point, that was almost a non winnable
game last night, Vikings tough.
Speaker 9 (40:07):
Game like this is not like that's why last night's
game was so big. One team gets the bye, like
Detroit gets to go heel up. Some of their players
are their wives are like due this week, they're having babies,
like they needed this bye week literally, okay, and instead
the Vikings have to go play Sean McVay, Matthew Stafford, pooka,
(40:29):
Cooper Cutt.
Speaker 3 (40:30):
Like that's not a tough defense. Defense is good.
Speaker 1 (40:33):
They are arguably the Rams, arguably the healthiest team in
the league now.
Speaker 9 (40:36):
Which is crazy, but don't you think it's a good
lesson as people are trying to figure out what to
do with their head coach and next year. This year,
people were trying to sell off the La Rams. They
were trying to trade Cooper Cutt, they were trying literally
trying to happen. And then they played a nationally televised
game and they played outstanding was right before the trade deadline,
and everyone's like, whoa, whoa, maybe maybe they could be
(40:58):
a playoff contender, and so like that's just the thing.
The best teams are the teams when adversity hits, you
don't pull apart, you don't quit on your team, you
don't do that. You stick together and you pull together.
And that's why that locker room matters, that's why the
head coach at the podium matters. And the Rams are
just one of those teams. And so what's the strength
of the Vikings to me, if I'm like a quarterback
(41:21):
man Brian Floores in that defense, is difficult to recognize
what they're doing. You have Matthew Stafford, one of the
most experienced quarterbacks. It's it's such a Sean with Sean McVay.
It's such a great matchup.
Speaker 1 (41:32):
Good stuff. Matt Hasselbeck who was a free agent on
the market, and we feel like we got to steal
on him. Now, why are you in LA this week?
We don't get you in LA? No?
Speaker 3 (41:42):
Yeah, like what you say every five weeks.
Speaker 9 (41:43):
Probably. My son's a freshman quarterback at UCLA and they
start school today. So I said, hey, I'll come out
with you. We had some luggage. We brought some extra
bags this time. If I'm being real, you know what
I mean?
Speaker 1 (41:53):
So you're you're going to be out here more often?
Speaker 9 (41:56):
We'll see yeah, hope.
Speaker 3 (41:57):
So, I mean, I don't know if he wants me around,
you know what I mean?
Speaker 1 (42:00):
I got it.
Speaker 9 (42:00):
He's like, Dad, I'm at Rocco's like, what are you
talking about? Leave me alone? I know inside joke.
Speaker 1 (42:05):
I know you gotta be smart though. That's not an
easy school. He can't. He can't be party son. No,
I could see you in college leading.
Speaker 3 (42:12):
I had hair back then.
Speaker 9 (42:13):
It was dangerous. No, he does well in school. He
had a great first semester Why to Go? And his
name is Henry.
Speaker 1 (42:19):
That's awesome.
Speaker 9 (42:19):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (42:20):
I love having me on the show.
Speaker 9 (42:21):
Bud, thank you.
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Colin Cowherd
Jason McIntyre
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