August 19, 2025 • 35 mins
Colin wants Bears fans to have realistic expectations for this upcoming season after a positive showing in quarterback Caleb Williams’ first appearance in preseason action. He unveils his first Herd Hierarchy for the 2025 season with an NFC powerhouse at number 1 and the Chiefs surprisingly low. Colin also talks to 3-time Super Bowl champion Mark Schlereth about the Broncos and why they expect to contend in the AFC in year 2 with QB Bo Nix.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Thanks for listening to the Best of the Herd podcast.
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Speaker 2 (00:19):
This is the Best of the Herd with Colin Cowver
on Fox Sports Radio.
Speaker 3 (00:27):
All Right, here we go.
Speaker 1 (00:29):
It is a Tuesday, and there is a lot to
talk about.
Speaker 3 (00:34):
We're live, We're in LA.
Speaker 1 (00:37):
It's the Herd one hour from now, because I'm doing
the rest of this week right then, Little Bay Caden,
We're coming back for six months. I'm gonna do a
Herd hierarchy one hour from now, and this is kind
of how I see the season. This is gonna be
the last big one, a Herd hierarchy before the season,
(00:57):
telling you who I think to the ten best teams,
A lot of them, all your faces at the top,
some really good teams who I liked and maybe don't
like as much as I thought, are out.
Speaker 3 (01:06):
John Middlecoff joining us again today.
Speaker 1 (01:09):
John, you and I did an exercise last night on
a podcast, and I'm going to do that again for
the television audience about the Chicago Bears. And I think
you and I agree, and we know this in life.
Your happiness is directly correlated to your expectations in.
Speaker 3 (01:25):
Life, like what do you expect?
Speaker 1 (01:26):
Then'll give you an Example'll start the show with this.
Last year, Denver won ten games, and people are like, oh,
what amazing season. The Bengals won nine, one fewer, and
people are like, we got to fire the coach. I mean,
we're keeping Burrow and Jamar Chase. We got to get
rid of everybody. Lee expectations for Denver rookie quarterback Sean
(01:51):
Payton in a rebuild pretty low in that division with
Harbaugh Andy Reid. They won ten games. You'd have thought
they they lost a super Bowl. They got just this close.
Since he won nine, Let's get rid of everybody. Right,
Happiness is tied to expectations. So I saw a headline
(02:13):
this morning, Caleb Williams looks like a differnt quarterback in
Ben Johnson's new offense. It's the preseason. Last year, the Jags,
the Titans, the Jets, and the Bears went undefeated the preseason. Okay,
settle down, So let's just let's do a hard count here.
(02:34):
Let's take the Bears schedule, and I'm gonna be optimistic Colin.
So I'm gonna give Chicago a split in division. They
win one and lose one with the Packers, they split
with the Lions, they split with the Vikings. They went
one and five against those teams last year. And they're
already a road dog. They're already a home dog in
(02:56):
Week one against Minnesota. They're a dog at home against Minnesota.
I'm gonna give them a split three and three. I'm
incredibly optimistic. They just don't they don't do well in division.
I'm gonna give them a split. I'm also gonna give
them four more wins, hosting Dallas, hosting New Orleans, hosting
the Giants, and hosting Cleveland, no upsets. They win all
(03:19):
of them. So now I got them at seven and three.
But I'm also gonna say they're gonna lose at Washington,
at Baltimore, at Philly, and at San Francisco. So now
we're at seven and seven, and again I gave them
a split in division. They're seven and seven with three
games left. I'll continue my optimism. Three games left on
(03:41):
the schedule. Now at Las Vegas, I'll give them a win,
but they may go in as an underdog. At Cincinnati,
they lose to Joe Burrow, that's reasonable, and I'll have
them beating Pittsburgh at home in a close game. I
think Pittsburgh's got a really good roster. You know what
that gives the Bears being incredibly optimistic. Nine and eight
(04:05):
in a division where Kevin O'Connell and Matt Lafleur and
Dan Campbell have already proven their elite head coaches. Well,
two of them are scheme guys and one of them
is a culture guy. They're all really really elite. We
don't know that about Ben Johnson. So I got nine
and eight. By the way, two times in the last
twelve seasons have they been five hundred in division, And
(04:27):
I'll give them that. They've done that two times at
twelve years. By the way, they've only hit nine wins
once in twelve years, and I'm giving it to them.
Speaker 3 (04:37):
So giving them.
Speaker 1 (04:39):
Wins that are not in the last decade plus guaranteed,
you know, as a home favorite, I'm giving them Dallas,
New Orleans, New York, and Cleveland. I actually think New
York's defensive line is going to be a problem, and
the Giants are going to end up being one of
those teams that plays a boiler throughout the season because
(05:01):
they're just gonna suffocate some offensive lines that are banged
up for not that very good. So again expectations. If
you go nine to eight, that means you probably split
in a incredibly highly functional division.
Speaker 3 (05:20):
You just don't do that. So, yes, they beat the Bills.
Speaker 1 (05:24):
Yes, Caleb Williams looked good, and yes, Matt Hasselbeck yesterday
on the show was cautiously optimistic.
Speaker 4 (05:32):
He looked great. I mean, I think it's everything you're
looking for. If you're a Bears fan, You're fired up
about the head coach, the play caller. This is a
division that has quarterback whisperers, and Chicago hasn't had theirs.
Now they have it.
Speaker 5 (05:44):
It looks like a good, great start.
Speaker 4 (05:46):
I would just say it's preseason football, so I'm not
going to criticize him because it's the preseason.
Speaker 5 (05:51):
This is a great start.
Speaker 4 (05:53):
It was a great outing. There's been some up and
down reporting about him in this game against the Bills.
Speaker 5 (05:58):
He looked fantastic.
Speaker 1 (06:00):
Nine and eight from positive Uncle Colin nine and eight,
I think that's realistic, maybe a bit positive. Tough division,
good coaches everywhere, some automatic l's on the road. I
think you meet Dallas Saints, Giants Cleveland at home nine
and eight. Let's be realistic, otherwise you're going to be
(06:23):
miserable all year.
Speaker 3 (06:24):
I'll say so.
Speaker 1 (06:25):
I saw a headline, and a lot of times headlines
don't match the story. But I'm always interested when headline
writers like to get your attention. So Sports illustrated the
headline why college football is emulating the NFL. And I
know ninety percent of you college football die hards, and
I am one don't like that headline. You don't like
(06:48):
that headline. I don't want to give you advice in life.
I have a lot of opinions. If I ever go
speak to young people, I'm like, I'm not going to
give you any advice because my life isn't your life.
My journey's not your journey. But I'll give you an opinion.
If you're offered Outback Steakhouse or Morton Steakhouse, choose the latter.
The first one's fine, the second one's excellent. Folks, college
(07:10):
football has taken away the bumpers from the bowling lanes.
Ohio State threw a gutter against Michigan and yet made
the playoff. That is a good thing. Go look, I'm
going to give you three or four schedules. Go look
at Oklahoma schedule because college football always had a big
game problem. If you're driving, I'll read it to you.
(07:32):
If you're driving around listening, Oklahoma this year plays Michigan, Auburn, Texas, Ole,
Miss Tennessee, Bama, and LSU. That is seven must watch games.
That's before the playoff. If they make it to be
four more good ones if they kept winning. Texas Texas
schedule at Ohio State at Florida, Oklahoma, Georgia, Texas, A
(07:56):
and M that is five must watch games. Yeah, I
know they're not playing Kansas State. I don't know if
I'll sleep at night. That's five must watch games before
the playoff. Oregon, they get to play Oregon State, their rival.
I covered it for years, great rivalry. But I get
at Penn State at Iowa, then two traditional rivals.
Speaker 3 (08:17):
At USC Washington.
Speaker 1 (08:18):
Five must watch Oregon games before the playoff. Root for content.
If offered multiple steakhouses, take the best one. College football
has always had a big game problem. If you go
look at Nick Saban's dynasty and.
Speaker 3 (08:40):
I love Nick.
Speaker 1 (08:40):
But after about year three he refused to play a
road out of conference game. He would make sure he
and the athletic director always had a bye before they
had to go, like to LSU or Auburn. There was
a lot of Citadel and Mercer. At one point, Nick
Saban complained, Alabama students aren't going to the games.
Speaker 3 (08:59):
Are gay.
Speaker 1 (09:00):
Games aren't sold out because students aren't dopes and they
have social lives and they'll go to the big games.
Speaker 3 (09:06):
They're not going to the ugly ones. Kids have lives.
Speaker 1 (09:11):
There's a lot to do in college campus mingle, socialize, drink, party.
Nobody wants to watch BAM and Mercer. So college football.
Look at these schedules now they're in. In fact, I've
gone on the air saying I think you want to
take Notre Dame off USC schedule.
Speaker 3 (09:30):
There's too many land mines.
Speaker 1 (09:32):
They're so if it's all about winning the Natty, but
it's not as punitive. Ohio State can lose at Oregon,
they can lose at Michigan. Root for drama, not that
parochial Purdue versus Iowa playing for the Giant spatoon that
is at best a local rivalry. You can you can
(09:54):
try to convince yourself it's a regional rivalry.
Speaker 3 (09:57):
The quality of games, quality.
Speaker 1 (10:00):
Of content in college football is insane. Just go look
at Oklahoma schedule, Texas, Oregon, Washington, LSU. I know, I
know Auburn Alabama won't meet as much. When the last
time Bama and Auburn played and it didn't mean anything
out of the state of Alabama, the.
Speaker 3 (10:20):
Cam Newton years. It doesn't mean that much.
Speaker 1 (10:24):
Yes, college football may even expand it to twenty playoff teams.
Speaker 3 (10:30):
Maybe it's because of what I do for a living.
Speaker 1 (10:32):
I root for interesting, I root for better content if
I go on Netflix, if I turn on Fox or NBC,
I just want the best content. I get over the
local rivalry. I grew up in Washington State, right like
I was a Husky fan. I don't need to see
Washington play cal or Arizona ever again.
Speaker 3 (10:52):
I'm gonna be okay.
Speaker 1 (10:54):
Now I get Washington Penn State, plus I get I
can still play in Oregon, I can still playc when
I got Washington Michigan. I want to go to the
I want to go to the Iowa game. I get
new fun stuff. But when I read that Sports Illustrated headline, Oh,
it's gonna emulate the NFL. Thank god, college football's taking
(11:15):
the bumpers out of your bowling alley. Okay, you're gonna
throw some gutters. Now you're gonna have bad games cause
you don't have mercer coming up. Oh god, we play
LSU and you're gonna get blown out and it'll be okay,
it'll be fine. Go ask Ohio State lost as a
twenty point favorite.
Speaker 3 (11:36):
What did they go in as like a four seed
to the tournament? I mean, god, they went in as
a higher seed.
Speaker 1 (11:42):
If you're good, it's all that matters, and it didn't
used to be that way. You could be good. But
did your schedule right? Did you have enough buys? Did
you play any difficult road game? All that stuff's done,
it's over.
Speaker 3 (11:57):
Yes.
Speaker 1 (11:58):
I wanted to look and feel a little bit more
like the NFL. If you're paying players, it's time all right.
Ohio State, by the way, was an eight seed. Thanks
for reminding me. An eight seed. That's why the NFL
playoffs are fun. You just never quite know who's gonna win.
You had a feeling it'd be Brady, your Mahomes never
quite No Chiefs have been blown out twice in the
(12:19):
Super Bowl. You're never quite sure. You could have looked
at Saban's Alabama schedule and go, Okay, those two games
they'll only be a field goal favorite, but ones at
home they'll win for sure. If they lose that game,
they'll still get in. That's not the way you want it.
I mean, I'm looking at Oklahoma schedule. I don't know
what I'm gonna get. They may lose three games and
still get into the playoffs. Mean, look at that thing.
(12:42):
I'm not even counting other games like the Missouri Oklahoma game,
which could be great. John and I kind of disagree
in that traditional stuff. He went to Fresno State into powerhouse,
so he loves those big regional games.
Speaker 3 (12:54):
I'm a non traditionalist.
Speaker 1 (12:55):
We didn't go to church, child of divorce, didn't have
like that perfect white picket things, So I'm not a traditionalist.
So I know I have some confirmation bias and some
life bias.
Speaker 6 (13:06):
I know that I grew up going to Memorial City
with my dad watching CAL. So I'm not acting like
Cal is Alabama or Ohio State. And no one is
complaining about watching Ohio State Texas, or Texas Georgia, or
Ohio State Oregon. But what about Washington State a program
that has tried, or Oregon State a program that has tried.
(13:26):
You know who I sc obviously big brand, no doubt.
Speaker 3 (13:30):
What about UCLA? I mean, do they really care about football?
And they got to benefit from it.
Speaker 7 (13:34):
So I understand the little guy at Oregon State and
Washington State. First of the state's always been a you know,
a small market program. But those programs were in the
big conference and they kind of got screwed while they tried.
But I guess it's business. They just weren't big enough.
Speaker 1 (13:49):
Yeah, it's like Major League Baseball wants to do realignment.
People say, I'm not comfortable with it. Guys, sports is
a business. No business stands Pat, Amazon Meta can't stand Pat.
You've got the By the way, if you look at
what happened to boxing, why did UFC take it over?
Because boxing was poorly run? Why are we seeing all
these changes in college football? Because college football did not
(14:12):
have a CEO as poorly run. If you're well run,
there won't be major changes. Baseball was poorly run under
Bud Selig, rob Manfred steps in he's got to make
multiple changes because the tenants goes down, and the game
goes down, and merchandise goes down. So Rob Manfred's like, Okay,
start at second base, X ray innings, speed the game up,
get rid of the d double down pitchers, don't hit.
(14:34):
Rob Manfred had to cart. It's why boxing died. Poorly run.
College football changes poorly run. If you're not poorly run,
you don't have to make drastic changes.
Speaker 5 (14:41):
You do neat underdogs though, right the Yankees can't play
the Yankees. Connor McGregor can't.
Speaker 1 (14:45):
Find mcer dogs. By the way, and the Big ten
Iowa was an underdog. Now they used to be an
underdog six times. Now they're a underdog nine domes.
Speaker 2 (14:53):
Be sure to catch live editions of The Herd weekdays
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Speaker 8 (15:02):
He's Mike Karma, I'm Dan Bayern. We have a fantasy
football podcast called I Want Your Flex.
Speaker 2 (15:08):
That's right, Dan.
Speaker 9 (15:08):
Every week we're gonna scour the waiver wire to find
the pickups to turbo boost your fantasy lineup, sit starts,
fantasy football players rankings to get you ready to dominate
the competition.
Speaker 8 (15:20):
Listen to I Want Your Flex with Mike Carmon and
meet Dan Byer on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts and
wherever you bet your podcasts.
Speaker 2 (15:29):
Heard Hierarchy Now no Go. The top ten NFL teams
according to College Number.
Speaker 1 (15:36):
Ten, Detroit lost both coordinators who were excellent, lost a
couple of their best offensive linemen on the interior. That's
an issue. That's why they addressed it in this draft.
They've already had injuries in this preseason, and so I
have They're the fourth NFL team to lose both coordinators
in the last twenty five years. It's hard go ass Philadelphia,
(15:57):
and especially when they're elite cord that get head coaching jobs.
So the divisions better lost their coordinators.
Speaker 3 (16:05):
I have Detroit at number ten.
Speaker 1 (16:08):
Number nine, green Bay very quiet camp now Jordan Love
struggled in the division last year. It was one in five,
only beat the Bears barely, so that's a little concerning.
But they upgraded their receiving corps. You know, they've They've
added some nice pieces, not necessarily game changers, although they
improved the interior of their offensive line. And I just
(16:31):
think they've had a quiet camp. I'm not worried about
the Jordan Love left hand injury at all. I think
this is a well run operation. I like teams that
are quiet in July and August.
Speaker 3 (16:43):
They have been. I have them at.
Speaker 1 (16:44):
Nine, number eight. The Rams. This is I would have
them much higher. I'd have them two or three. But
the Matt Stafford injury is concerning. No team played more
rookies than the Rams last year, which you'd think is
a bad thing, but they were also the east penalized
team in the league. They have a smart, young, hyper
aggressive defense that will be the key to their team,
(17:08):
not Matt Stafford, but you got to have Stafford on
the field. They're not particularly strong at backup. The division
solid Rams at number eight, number seven the Commanders, I
may have them higher. I don't like the Terry McLaurin vibe.
I think you have to give young quarterbacks dependable weapons.
Their offensive line is still okay. DBO will help, but
(17:30):
I think I think the Giants could be a.
Speaker 3 (17:32):
Tough, mediocre team.
Speaker 1 (17:35):
Philadelphia is not going backwards, so I think there's some
tough games on the schedule. Back to back playoff teams
from last year to no that's Green Bay. I think
Washington overall is going to be good. I do not
think they'll end up in the NFC Championship, so they
may take a step back and how they finish, but
I still think they'll be a very viable fun team
(17:56):
to watch in the playoff. Team number six back to
back to back draft that I like. They are going
to rely on that run game. They upgraded their offensive line,
their defense will be in the second year under Mike McDonald.
The early schedule is pretty easy for Sam Darnold, who
I do believe is a better version of Geno Smith.
(18:17):
He's a better athlete, can be a bit reckless, but
he's a West Coast kid.
Speaker 3 (18:22):
I think he's comfortable.
Speaker 1 (18:23):
I think they upgraded an offensive coordinator, so I just
think that's a team if Jackson Smith and Jacoba can
become a number one ride receiver. I like their backs.
I like their O line, I like their secondary. There's
not a lot about Seattle I don't like. And if Stafford,
by the way, did not play much this year, I
already have them winning the division.
Speaker 3 (18:44):
That could be two wins. Number five Kansas City.
Speaker 1 (18:49):
Listen, in the last two seasons, they've been number fifteen
in scoring offense. All right, So they're getting old tight
end Chris Jones is not getting young. I really like
the hierarchy of the franchise, but they're not going to
go eleven to zero one score games. The division's tougher.
God if they could go, if they could go eight
(19:09):
and four in one score games, you'd feel great about it.
But I think they're built for the postseason. Great coaching,
great quarterback, old weapon. But I think they'll get dinged
up in the regular season. I have Kansas City. They're
still waiting on that. Rashi Rice News on the suspension.
That doesn't help because I thought he developed into a
volume number one wide receiver, maybe a lower tier one,
(19:30):
but a one.
Speaker 3 (19:31):
I have him at five, number four Broncos.
Speaker 1 (19:35):
Listen, they didn't just add players, They added elite players.
Drake Greenlaw, Evan Ingram who fun get safety. Last year's
defense was good and aggressive. Why would it go backwards?
So again, Bo Nicks in a second year. The old
line is rated number two according to PFF in preseason.
(19:55):
So last year caught us by surprise. This year, all
their good young players a year older in the system
of Sean Payton.
Speaker 3 (20:02):
I have Denver at number four, number three.
Speaker 1 (20:05):
Baltimore, and they're gonna win seventy five percent of their
games with Lamar Jackson, number one total offense last season,
top ten scoring defense. They do everything well, I mean
they really do. They can throw it, they can run it,
special teams, defense, culture. I think it's probably the best
run organization along with Kansas City in the National Football League,
maybe Philadelphia.
Speaker 3 (20:25):
But what don't they do well?
Speaker 1 (20:27):
Well, they don't win a lot of playoff games, Okay,
Josh Allen, Patrick Mahomes, now, Sean Payton and Harball. It's
hard in the AFC. I have Baltimore at three, number two,
but I think the world's best football player is Josh Allen.
I'll put Buffalo at two. Also, Buffalo in their division
should go two and oh against Miami and two and
oh against the Jets, and should be a much better
(20:49):
team overall than New England. I think they come in
with a better seed. James Cook has wrapped up. I
think he's a really, really good running back. I don't
know if John and I have talked about this. James
Cook quietly has become a really nice running back and
a weapon. I think they've drafted well. I don't think
their rosters overall as good as Baltimore. I don't think
it's overall as good as Philadelphia, but I think their
(21:09):
quarterback is able to do things to extend plays and
elevate teammates that nobody else in the sport can do.
Speaker 3 (21:15):
I have Buffalo at two number one. Listen.
Speaker 1 (21:19):
Not only was their defense number one last year, I
looked it up this morning.
Speaker 3 (21:22):
It was the youngest defense in the league and the cheapest.
Speaker 1 (21:25):
So they do everything right. I don't think they're as
good at quarterback. I think when you can force Philadelphia
to play from behind and you can force them to throw,
they're not as dangerous as a Buffalo is forced to
throw where a Kansas City is.
Speaker 3 (21:39):
But again, it's they do everything well.
Speaker 1 (21:42):
They gm well, they quarterback well, their line plays incredible.
Saquon Barkley has just been jet fuel to an uber
talented roster. So there is my Herd hierarchy a couple
of teams.
Speaker 3 (21:57):
Where are the Chargers.
Speaker 1 (21:58):
I think the rashawns Later injury is a real problem.
They are a joe all twisted ankle from being in
real trouble up front, and I still don't trust their
receiving corps outside of lad McConkey. So I have them
at eleven, bingals at twelve.
Speaker 2 (22:13):
Be sure to catch live editions of the Herd weekdays
and noon Easter non a em Pacific.
Speaker 1 (22:21):
So there's been sort of widespread agreement that one of
the best camps was the Denver Broncos. So and one
of the things that's interesting to me, they not only
went out and acquired some new players, but really high
end players who Funga is a Pro Bowl safety of healthy,
green Law is a Pro Bowl linebacker of healthy. Evan
Ingram should be a perfect fit with Sean Payton. And
(22:43):
this was a team that led the NFL in sacks.
And nobody knows the Broncos like Mark schlera three time
Super Bowl chance nottible time Pro Bowlers Broncos for several years. Listen,
I thought about this driving in today. I thought, you know,
if you're Sean Payton, you could say, you know, I'm
trying to get my guys ramped up. This young football team.
I want them to believe in themselves. But it's not
(23:04):
that young. Garrett Bowles isn't young, Cortland Sutton's not young,
green Law's not young. They got plenty of older players here,
so I really do believe that Sean Payton believes this
is an excellent top to bottom roster. What's impressed you
most with the two years of Sean Pate? What has
(23:25):
he done that you look at and go, Man, that
was fast. I didn't think they'd do that. What would
that be?
Speaker 10 (23:34):
Yeah, well, I think one, he doesn't care what you think, Colin.
Speaker 5 (23:38):
He didn't care what I think.
Speaker 10 (23:41):
He knows what he wants and he was able to
create exactly what he wanted. One of the things the
big narratives in Colorado was well, we should keep Russell
Wilson because you can't afford that cap hit, Like you'll
never be able to build a football team. Sean Payton
is not care He's like, that's not the direction of
(24:03):
this franchise. That's not where I want to go. We
can't win with that guy playing quarterback. And I don't
care if we incur a huge, huge cap hit. We're
going to get the right guys in this franchise. I've
talked to Shawn during training camp. I've talked to Greg Penner,
the owner, and the difference between last year and this
(24:24):
year was last year we hoped we could win this year.
Speaker 5 (24:28):
We know we can win. And one of the big
moves we made.
Speaker 10 (24:32):
Even if it was a popular player, we got read
of popular players that work the right guys, Guys that
want to be here, Guys that want to contribute, Guys
that want to work hard, Guys that want to sacrifice
for one another. That's how we're building this roster. And
when you start looking at this roster top to bottom,
and I've been at both scrimmage you know, I've been
(24:54):
at the scrimmages, a scrimmage San Francisco. I wasn't out
in San Francisco, but I was at the team scrimmage
between eras. The difference between the Broncos second and third
teamers in Arizona second third teamers, you can see the
level of commitment they have made and the level of
talent that they have in their backup players.
Speaker 5 (25:15):
So you can have an injury.
Speaker 10 (25:17):
Or two along that you know, along that football team,
and they're still going to be able to perform because
they've got a very very deep football team.
Speaker 1 (25:25):
Well, one of the I've been saying this for years
is offensive coaches are better rebuilding O lines. PFF has
their on line as second best in the league. Dan
Campbell's an offensive coach. He's got a great o line.
Sean McVay has rebooted his offensive line multiple times. Andy
Reid this will be his third rebuild. They're interesting because
the two Super Bowls, Kansas City's got waxed in. They
(25:49):
couldn't protect Mahomes. They went and got Josh Simmons. He
was an Ohio State kid. Injuries. You tell me like,
if he's not good again, it's Denver and their pass rush.
Kansas City's in trouble. What do you make I think
this is a really you know, end of the first round.
Mark is no man's land in the draft. Nobody wants
(26:10):
to be there, got first round price, it's a second
round player. What do you make of Josh Simmons, the
buck guye now a chief at left tackle?
Speaker 3 (26:17):
Is it a problem or not?
Speaker 5 (26:21):
He was my favorite player coming out in the draft.
Speaker 3 (26:24):
Wow.
Speaker 5 (26:24):
I studied him.
Speaker 10 (26:25):
I studied him and that dude dispensed justice.
Speaker 5 (26:29):
You talk about he you talk about.
Speaker 10 (26:32):
Hands you like, I just was like, this was tie
on the door, knob, howdy, don't come in here. I'm
watching Josh Simmons film like it was that good. And
then he tours Pattel Attendon. I think it was around
Week nine or whatever. I think the Kansas City Chiefs
possibly got the steel of the draft. I think that
guy's a top ten player that they got at thirty one.
Speaker 5 (26:55):
He is that good athletically.
Speaker 10 (26:58):
Gifted, but beyond that man, And one of the things
you realize when you study film come out of college
is most of these guys don't have nuance, especially the
play offensive line and the game.
Speaker 5 (27:09):
It's just different. The college game is different.
Speaker 10 (27:12):
Most guys don't know how to use their hands, and
most guys ultimately don't have great technique because they don't
need it. And I watched him. I thought it physically
he was dominant. I thought he struck guys with his hands,
which don't happen very often. And his feet, man, it
was like a symphony watching his feet move. When I
(27:32):
think of offensive line playing, I always had this kind
of symphony in my own head. What I want on
my feet to sound like, right, I'm coming off the ball,
it's nineteen handoff.
Speaker 5 (27:41):
I want to get my second step down.
Speaker 10 (27:43):
My feet sounded like That's what they sounded like, right,
And I want to have that in my head. Or
if it's a passt what my feet should sound like
on a wide three technique or a four eye technique
versus a three technique or a two technique, Like I
want to know exactly what that's sounds like in my head.
And when I watch this guy play, he's got that
(28:04):
kind of footwork as a college player, most college players don't.
Speaker 5 (28:08):
I loved him.
Speaker 10 (28:09):
I mean I absolutely loved him. And if that dude's healthy,
I'm telling you what they got the steal of the draft.
Speaker 1 (28:16):
So you know this with John Elway, he had a
very good coach in Dan Reeves, but it was a
better coach than Mike Shanahan. And a lot of it
was just fit. Nobody doubted that Dan Reeves could coach.
It's a lot of it's fit in personality. You talked
about Sean Payton, Russell Wilson personality style don't fit. I've argued,
and you see this sometimes where the artist marries the
accountant and it works, you.
Speaker 3 (28:37):
Know, like, and sometimes it doesn't.
Speaker 1 (28:39):
And I look at Ben Johnson, who I think is
more a little bit more like Kyle Shanahan. Run my
Dan play, Run my play. And then there's Caleb Williams,
who I think has a little Brett Farv, which is
sometimes in chaos, he's better. But you can't live that
way in the NFL. And I've said this, I don't
think it's a perfect marriage, but I do think it
(29:01):
can work if Caleb sort of engulfs the offense. I
mean we've heard it practice bad days, good days, getting better,
but not every I mean Dan Reeves and Elway both great,
it didn't really fit. What do you make of Ben
Johnson and Caleb Williams. I think it's an imperfect marriage,
but I do think it could work.
Speaker 5 (29:23):
Yeah, I'm with you, Colin.
Speaker 10 (29:24):
I think one of the big things coming out of
college when I studied Caleb Williams is I thought there
was too much improvisation. I thought there was too much
playing off schedule. And I think you saw that last year.
I've said this many times, taking sacks in the quarterback
driven statistic, he took sixty eight sacks last year.
Speaker 5 (29:47):
That's a lot on the quarterback.
Speaker 10 (29:49):
Most sacks really become play caller and quarterback more than
they become offensive line. The first thing, and I've talked
to Ben Johnson this offseason, the first thing that Ben
Jonson and did was, Hey, let's reassess what we're doing
up front. Let's go out and get ourselves some offensive
linement that can play. I think that's big, But then
it becomes play calling. And one of the things you
(30:10):
don't see or you don't hear a lot we when
we talk about Ben Johnson is the way he's committed
to run the football. I'm doing a game Detroit game
a year ago and I'm thinking, man, this guy like
he has got to be the number one like play
caller in football from the standpoint of second, long, and
(30:30):
third and long run plays. And sure enough, he's right
there in the top two or three in football. What
he does is he's going to run the ball, create
his play action, take some stress and pressure off the quarterback.
The thing that Caleb Williams needs to learn is he
needs to learn what I call the seventy thirty rule.
Seventy percent of the time you need to run the play.
(30:52):
We need to be on schedule. When things do break down,
then you have to be able to improvise and make
a play thirty percent of the time it does break down,
then go make a play for us. But if you
live and this is to Meyler Kyler Kyler's problem in
Arizona Kyler Murray's problem in Arizona is you want to
(31:13):
play on a fifty to fifty kind of schedule fifty
percent of the time. I want to be free will
and it make big plays because it's really it looks
good and I'm excited and it gives me energy. But ultimately,
for an offense, you may make two or three big plays,
but what you're gonna do is you're going to fall
to disaster three or four times and you end up
(31:34):
not winning the game but losing it based on that stuff.
So for me, run the play, improvise when only necessary,
and I think the run game, the trick plays, all
the things that Ben Johnson does that creates excitement and
fluidity in your offense. I believe that's where he's great.
(31:54):
So I think he'll get that buy in from Caleb Williams.
They'll eliminate some of those sack issues that really were
a lot of Caleb Williams' problems, not just the offensive line.
Speaker 1 (32:05):
Finally, you played for Washington for several years. I don't
love the Terry McLaurin situation at all because I think
Terry's such a pro You've done their games before. He's
such a productive, grown up adult pro and a position
sometimes where you get big personality. I think they could
be as good as last year, but not make the
(32:26):
NFC Championship because the NFC is better. Well, what is
your kind of forecast for the Commanders that have suddenly
become a really fun team to watch.
Speaker 10 (32:35):
Yeah, they're a really good team. Obviously, Jaydon Daniels is incredible.
Dan Quinn has done a phenomenal job out there of
re establishing the culture there that that was when I
played there.
Speaker 5 (32:47):
For Joe Gibbs.
Speaker 10 (32:48):
It was a crown jewel and they went through you know,
they went through years in the desert obviously, and they're
back now. Terry McLaurin is one of those guys that
you mentioned. Great guy in the community, just a great,
great teammate who is unbelievably productive. And when I travel
around the league, and I've done a bunch of Washington games,
(33:09):
when you talk to coordinators around the league, they'll tell you, Hey,
our number one threat is McLaurin.
Speaker 5 (33:15):
Like that dude, just that dude is. It doesn't matter
who the quarterback is.
Speaker 10 (33:18):
That dude is set for eleven hundred and twelve hundred
yards and a bunch of touchdowns. He just he just
a difference maker on the offensive side of the ball.
So I believe they're going to get that deal done.
He belongs in Washington. He is one of those guys
to me that he has gone through that that dry
desert storm, if you will. He's one of the guys
(33:39):
that you want to see have some success with the
team that drafted him, and he's got that opportunity now.
I hope they find common ground to pay him because
he belongs to me as a Washington commander.
Speaker 1 (33:51):
By the way, you're packing up and leaving New York,
what was your favorite little place when you lived in
New York and your wife was there? What was your
favorite place? Because I I when when I spend time
New York, I would always stay within like a six
block area, and I'd find my places. Where was your
place in New York? If I said, hey, Mark, let's
go to lunch, where would it be in New York? Oh?
Speaker 5 (34:10):
Right down the street. I don't even know what the
name of the restaurant is. I just know where it's at.
It's right like literally down the block.
Speaker 10 (34:15):
A little bowl and a's place that we absolutely love.
I know that I know Sombon in Ada or you
know the waitress and the hostess, and they are awesome
and we always sit in their section and we go
there probably three times a week, and they're so gracious
and so kind and the food is absolutely like I said,
(34:38):
hole in the wall, absolutely phenomenal.
Speaker 5 (34:41):
And I don't know about you call them. But I'm
this way with movies.
Speaker 10 (34:44):
If like, if I watch a movie that I like,
you know, my wife will go, let's find a movie,
and she goes, You've seen this six times.
Speaker 5 (34:50):
I go, I know I'm not going to be disappointed.
I love this movie, right, and if.
Speaker 10 (34:52):
I fall asleep, Like, if I fall asleep, I can
wake up, you know, twenty minutes later you go, oh,
this is a great part. Let's get dialed in, right,
and it drives They're crazy. But I'm the same way
when it comes to restaurants. If I go to a
place and I order a meal and I love that meal,
I'll never order anything else off the menu.
Speaker 5 (35:09):
I won't go, let me see what else is on
the media.
Speaker 10 (35:11):
I go, no, I love the bolon as saying that's
what I'm having, bowling as I'm having.
Speaker 1 (35:17):
Again yeah, now, we talked about that earlier today. Mark Schlareth,
As always, buddy, it's great seeing you check it in
with you
Thanks for listening to the Best of the Herd podcast.
Be sure to catch us live every weekday on Fox
Sports Radio in noon to three Eastern nine am to
noon Pacific. Find your local station for The Herd at
Fox Sports Radio dot com, or stream us live every
day on the iHeartRadio app by searching Fox Sports Radio
or FSR.
Speaker 2 (00:19):
This is the Best of the Herd with Colin Cowver
on Fox Sports Radio.
Speaker 3 (00:27):
All Right, here we go.
Speaker 1 (00:29):
It is a Tuesday, and there is a lot to
talk about.
Speaker 3 (00:34):
We're live, We're in LA.
Speaker 1 (00:37):
It's the Herd one hour from now, because I'm doing
the rest of this week right then, Little Bay Caden,
We're coming back for six months. I'm gonna do a
Herd hierarchy one hour from now, and this is kind
of how I see the season. This is gonna be
the last big one, a Herd hierarchy before the season,
(00:57):
telling you who I think to the ten best teams,
A lot of them, all your faces at the top,
some really good teams who I liked and maybe don't
like as much as I thought, are out.
Speaker 3 (01:06):
John Middlecoff joining us again today.
Speaker 1 (01:09):
John, you and I did an exercise last night on
a podcast, and I'm going to do that again for
the television audience about the Chicago Bears. And I think
you and I agree, and we know this in life.
Your happiness is directly correlated to your expectations in.
Speaker 3 (01:25):
Life, like what do you expect?
Speaker 1 (01:26):
Then'll give you an Example'll start the show with this.
Last year, Denver won ten games, and people are like, oh,
what amazing season. The Bengals won nine, one fewer, and
people are like, we got to fire the coach. I mean,
we're keeping Burrow and Jamar Chase. We got to get
rid of everybody. Lee expectations for Denver rookie quarterback Sean
(01:51):
Payton in a rebuild pretty low in that division with
Harbaugh Andy Reid. They won ten games. You'd have thought
they they lost a super Bowl. They got just this close.
Since he won nine, Let's get rid of everybody. Right,
Happiness is tied to expectations. So I saw a headline
(02:13):
this morning, Caleb Williams looks like a differnt quarterback in
Ben Johnson's new offense. It's the preseason. Last year, the Jags,
the Titans, the Jets, and the Bears went undefeated the preseason. Okay,
settle down, So let's just let's do a hard count here.
(02:34):
Let's take the Bears schedule, and I'm gonna be optimistic Colin.
So I'm gonna give Chicago a split in division. They
win one and lose one with the Packers, they split
with the Lions, they split with the Vikings. They went
one and five against those teams last year. And they're
already a road dog. They're already a home dog in
(02:56):
Week one against Minnesota. They're a dog at home against Minnesota.
I'm gonna give them a split three and three. I'm
incredibly optimistic. They just don't they don't do well in division.
I'm gonna give them a split. I'm also gonna give
them four more wins, hosting Dallas, hosting New Orleans, hosting
the Giants, and hosting Cleveland, no upsets. They win all
(03:19):
of them. So now I got them at seven and three.
But I'm also gonna say they're gonna lose at Washington,
at Baltimore, at Philly, and at San Francisco. So now
we're at seven and seven, and again I gave them
a split in division. They're seven and seven with three
games left. I'll continue my optimism. Three games left on
(03:41):
the schedule. Now at Las Vegas, I'll give them a win,
but they may go in as an underdog. At Cincinnati,
they lose to Joe Burrow, that's reasonable, and I'll have
them beating Pittsburgh at home in a close game. I
think Pittsburgh's got a really good roster. You know what
that gives the Bears being incredibly optimistic. Nine and eight
(04:05):
in a division where Kevin O'Connell and Matt Lafleur and
Dan Campbell have already proven their elite head coaches. Well,
two of them are scheme guys and one of them
is a culture guy. They're all really really elite. We
don't know that about Ben Johnson. So I got nine
and eight. By the way, two times in the last
twelve seasons have they been five hundred in division, And
(04:27):
I'll give them that. They've done that two times at
twelve years. By the way, they've only hit nine wins
once in twelve years, and I'm giving it to them.
Speaker 3 (04:37):
So giving them.
Speaker 1 (04:39):
Wins that are not in the last decade plus guaranteed,
you know, as a home favorite, I'm giving them Dallas,
New Orleans, New York, and Cleveland. I actually think New
York's defensive line is going to be a problem, and
the Giants are going to end up being one of
those teams that plays a boiler throughout the season because
(05:01):
they're just gonna suffocate some offensive lines that are banged
up for not that very good. So again expectations. If
you go nine to eight, that means you probably split
in a incredibly highly functional division.
Speaker 3 (05:20):
You just don't do that. So, yes, they beat the Bills.
Speaker 1 (05:24):
Yes, Caleb Williams looked good, and yes, Matt Hasselbeck yesterday
on the show was cautiously optimistic.
Speaker 4 (05:32):
He looked great. I mean, I think it's everything you're
looking for. If you're a Bears fan, You're fired up
about the head coach, the play caller. This is a
division that has quarterback whisperers, and Chicago hasn't had theirs.
Now they have it.
Speaker 5 (05:44):
It looks like a good, great start.
Speaker 4 (05:46):
I would just say it's preseason football, so I'm not
going to criticize him because it's the preseason.
Speaker 5 (05:51):
This is a great start.
Speaker 4 (05:53):
It was a great outing. There's been some up and
down reporting about him in this game against the Bills.
Speaker 5 (05:58):
He looked fantastic.
Speaker 1 (06:00):
Nine and eight from positive Uncle Colin nine and eight,
I think that's realistic, maybe a bit positive. Tough division,
good coaches everywhere, some automatic l's on the road. I
think you meet Dallas Saints, Giants Cleveland at home nine
and eight. Let's be realistic, otherwise you're going to be
(06:23):
miserable all year.
Speaker 3 (06:24):
I'll say so.
Speaker 1 (06:25):
I saw a headline, and a lot of times headlines
don't match the story. But I'm always interested when headline
writers like to get your attention. So Sports illustrated the
headline why college football is emulating the NFL. And I
know ninety percent of you college football die hards, and
I am one don't like that headline. You don't like
(06:48):
that headline. I don't want to give you advice in life.
I have a lot of opinions. If I ever go
speak to young people, I'm like, I'm not going to
give you any advice because my life isn't your life.
My journey's not your journey. But I'll give you an opinion.
If you're offered Outback Steakhouse or Morton Steakhouse, choose the latter.
The first one's fine, the second one's excellent. Folks, college
(07:10):
football has taken away the bumpers from the bowling lanes.
Ohio State threw a gutter against Michigan and yet made
the playoff. That is a good thing. Go look, I'm
going to give you three or four schedules. Go look
at Oklahoma schedule because college football always had a big
game problem. If you're driving, I'll read it to you.
(07:32):
If you're driving around listening, Oklahoma this year plays Michigan, Auburn, Texas, Ole,
Miss Tennessee, Bama, and LSU. That is seven must watch games.
That's before the playoff. If they make it to be
four more good ones if they kept winning. Texas Texas
schedule at Ohio State at Florida, Oklahoma, Georgia, Texas, A
(07:56):
and M that is five must watch games. Yeah, I
know they're not playing Kansas State. I don't know if
I'll sleep at night. That's five must watch games before
the playoff. Oregon, they get to play Oregon State, their rival.
I covered it for years, great rivalry. But I get
at Penn State at Iowa, then two traditional rivals.
Speaker 3 (08:17):
At USC Washington.
Speaker 1 (08:18):
Five must watch Oregon games before the playoff. Root for content.
If offered multiple steakhouses, take the best one. College football
has always had a big game problem. If you go
look at Nick Saban's dynasty and.
Speaker 3 (08:40):
I love Nick.
Speaker 1 (08:40):
But after about year three he refused to play a
road out of conference game. He would make sure he
and the athletic director always had a bye before they
had to go, like to LSU or Auburn. There was
a lot of Citadel and Mercer. At one point, Nick
Saban complained, Alabama students aren't going to the games.
Speaker 3 (08:59):
Are gay.
Speaker 1 (09:00):
Games aren't sold out because students aren't dopes and they
have social lives and they'll go to the big games.
Speaker 3 (09:06):
They're not going to the ugly ones. Kids have lives.
Speaker 1 (09:11):
There's a lot to do in college campus mingle, socialize, drink, party.
Nobody wants to watch BAM and Mercer. So college football.
Look at these schedules now they're in. In fact, I've
gone on the air saying I think you want to
take Notre Dame off USC schedule.
Speaker 3 (09:30):
There's too many land mines.
Speaker 1 (09:32):
They're so if it's all about winning the Natty, but
it's not as punitive. Ohio State can lose at Oregon,
they can lose at Michigan. Root for drama, not that
parochial Purdue versus Iowa playing for the Giant spatoon that
is at best a local rivalry. You can you can
(09:54):
try to convince yourself it's a regional rivalry.
Speaker 3 (09:57):
The quality of games, quality.
Speaker 1 (10:00):
Of content in college football is insane. Just go look
at Oklahoma schedule, Texas, Oregon, Washington, LSU. I know, I
know Auburn Alabama won't meet as much. When the last
time Bama and Auburn played and it didn't mean anything
out of the state of Alabama, the.
Speaker 3 (10:20):
Cam Newton years. It doesn't mean that much.
Speaker 1 (10:24):
Yes, college football may even expand it to twenty playoff teams.
Speaker 3 (10:30):
Maybe it's because of what I do for a living.
Speaker 1 (10:32):
I root for interesting, I root for better content if
I go on Netflix, if I turn on Fox or NBC,
I just want the best content. I get over the
local rivalry. I grew up in Washington State, right like
I was a Husky fan. I don't need to see
Washington play cal or Arizona ever again.
Speaker 3 (10:52):
I'm gonna be okay.
Speaker 1 (10:54):
Now I get Washington Penn State, plus I get I
can still play in Oregon, I can still playc when
I got Washington Michigan. I want to go to the
I want to go to the Iowa game. I get
new fun stuff. But when I read that Sports Illustrated headline, Oh,
it's gonna emulate the NFL. Thank god, college football's taking
(11:15):
the bumpers out of your bowling alley. Okay, you're gonna
throw some gutters. Now you're gonna have bad games cause
you don't have mercer coming up. Oh god, we play
LSU and you're gonna get blown out and it'll be okay,
it'll be fine. Go ask Ohio State lost as a
twenty point favorite.
Speaker 3 (11:36):
What did they go in as like a four seed
to the tournament? I mean, god, they went in as
a higher seed.
Speaker 1 (11:42):
If you're good, it's all that matters, and it didn't
used to be that way. You could be good. But
did your schedule right? Did you have enough buys? Did
you play any difficult road game? All that stuff's done,
it's over.
Speaker 3 (11:57):
Yes.
Speaker 1 (11:58):
I wanted to look and feel a little bit more
like the NFL. If you're paying players, it's time all right.
Ohio State, by the way, was an eight seed. Thanks
for reminding me. An eight seed. That's why the NFL
playoffs are fun. You just never quite know who's gonna win.
You had a feeling it'd be Brady, your Mahomes never
quite No Chiefs have been blown out twice in the
(12:19):
Super Bowl. You're never quite sure. You could have looked
at Saban's Alabama schedule and go, Okay, those two games
they'll only be a field goal favorite, but ones at
home they'll win for sure. If they lose that game,
they'll still get in. That's not the way you want it.
I mean, I'm looking at Oklahoma schedule. I don't know
what I'm gonna get. They may lose three games and
still get into the playoffs. Mean, look at that thing.
(12:42):
I'm not even counting other games like the Missouri Oklahoma game,
which could be great. John and I kind of disagree
in that traditional stuff. He went to Fresno State into powerhouse,
so he loves those big regional games.
Speaker 3 (12:54):
I'm a non traditionalist.
Speaker 1 (12:55):
We didn't go to church, child of divorce, didn't have
like that perfect white picket things, So I'm not a traditionalist.
So I know I have some confirmation bias and some
life bias.
Speaker 6 (13:06):
I know that I grew up going to Memorial City
with my dad watching CAL. So I'm not acting like
Cal is Alabama or Ohio State. And no one is
complaining about watching Ohio State Texas, or Texas Georgia, or
Ohio State Oregon. But what about Washington State a program
that has tried, or Oregon State a program that has tried.
(13:26):
You know who I sc obviously big brand, no doubt.
Speaker 3 (13:30):
What about UCLA? I mean, do they really care about football?
And they got to benefit from it.
Speaker 7 (13:34):
So I understand the little guy at Oregon State and
Washington State. First of the state's always been a you know,
a small market program. But those programs were in the
big conference and they kind of got screwed while they tried.
But I guess it's business. They just weren't big enough.
Speaker 1 (13:49):
Yeah, it's like Major League Baseball wants to do realignment.
People say, I'm not comfortable with it. Guys, sports is
a business. No business stands Pat, Amazon Meta can't stand Pat.
You've got the By the way, if you look at
what happened to boxing, why did UFC take it over?
Because boxing was poorly run? Why are we seeing all
these changes in college football? Because college football did not
(14:12):
have a CEO as poorly run. If you're well run,
there won't be major changes. Baseball was poorly run under
Bud Selig, rob Manfred steps in he's got to make
multiple changes because the tenants goes down, and the game
goes down, and merchandise goes down. So Rob Manfred's like, Okay,
start at second base, X ray innings, speed the game up,
get rid of the d double down pitchers, don't hit.
(14:34):
Rob Manfred had to cart. It's why boxing died. Poorly run.
College football changes poorly run. If you're not poorly run,
you don't have to make drastic changes.
Speaker 5 (14:41):
You do neat underdogs though, right the Yankees can't play
the Yankees. Connor McGregor can't.
Speaker 1 (14:45):
Find mcer dogs. By the way, and the Big ten
Iowa was an underdog. Now they used to be an
underdog six times. Now they're a underdog nine domes.
Speaker 2 (14:53):
Be sure to catch live editions of The Herd weekdays
and Noone Eastern non am Pacific on Fox Sports Radio
one and the iHeartRadio app.
Speaker 8 (15:02):
He's Mike Karma, I'm Dan Bayern. We have a fantasy
football podcast called I Want Your Flex.
Speaker 2 (15:08):
That's right, Dan.
Speaker 9 (15:08):
Every week we're gonna scour the waiver wire to find
the pickups to turbo boost your fantasy lineup, sit starts,
fantasy football players rankings to get you ready to dominate
the competition.
Speaker 8 (15:20):
Listen to I Want Your Flex with Mike Carmon and
meet Dan Byer on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts and
wherever you bet your podcasts.
Speaker 2 (15:29):
Heard Hierarchy Now no Go. The top ten NFL teams
according to College Number.
Speaker 1 (15:36):
Ten, Detroit lost both coordinators who were excellent, lost a
couple of their best offensive linemen on the interior. That's
an issue. That's why they addressed it in this draft.
They've already had injuries in this preseason, and so I
have They're the fourth NFL team to lose both coordinators
in the last twenty five years. It's hard go ass Philadelphia,
(15:57):
and especially when they're elite cord that get head coaching jobs.
So the divisions better lost their coordinators.
Speaker 3 (16:05):
I have Detroit at number ten.
Speaker 1 (16:08):
Number nine, green Bay very quiet camp now Jordan Love
struggled in the division last year. It was one in five,
only beat the Bears barely, so that's a little concerning.
But they upgraded their receiving corps. You know, they've They've
added some nice pieces, not necessarily game changers, although they
improved the interior of their offensive line. And I just
(16:31):
think they've had a quiet camp. I'm not worried about
the Jordan Love left hand injury at all. I think
this is a well run operation. I like teams that
are quiet in July and August.
Speaker 3 (16:43):
They have been. I have them at.
Speaker 1 (16:44):
Nine, number eight. The Rams. This is I would have
them much higher. I'd have them two or three. But
the Matt Stafford injury is concerning. No team played more
rookies than the Rams last year, which you'd think is
a bad thing, but they were also the east penalized
team in the league. They have a smart, young, hyper
aggressive defense that will be the key to their team,
(17:08):
not Matt Stafford, but you got to have Stafford on
the field. They're not particularly strong at backup. The division
solid Rams at number eight, number seven the Commanders, I
may have them higher. I don't like the Terry McLaurin vibe.
I think you have to give young quarterbacks dependable weapons.
Their offensive line is still okay. DBO will help, but
(17:30):
I think I think the Giants could be a.
Speaker 3 (17:32):
Tough, mediocre team.
Speaker 1 (17:35):
Philadelphia is not going backwards, so I think there's some
tough games on the schedule. Back to back playoff teams
from last year to no that's Green Bay. I think
Washington overall is going to be good. I do not
think they'll end up in the NFC Championship, so they
may take a step back and how they finish, but
I still think they'll be a very viable fun team
(17:56):
to watch in the playoff. Team number six back to
back to back draft that I like. They are going
to rely on that run game. They upgraded their offensive line,
their defense will be in the second year under Mike McDonald.
The early schedule is pretty easy for Sam Darnold, who
I do believe is a better version of Geno Smith.
(18:17):
He's a better athlete, can be a bit reckless, but
he's a West Coast kid.
Speaker 3 (18:22):
I think he's comfortable.
Speaker 1 (18:23):
I think they upgraded an offensive coordinator, so I just
think that's a team if Jackson Smith and Jacoba can
become a number one ride receiver. I like their backs.
I like their O line, I like their secondary. There's
not a lot about Seattle I don't like. And if Stafford,
by the way, did not play much this year, I
already have them winning the division.
Speaker 3 (18:44):
That could be two wins. Number five Kansas City.
Speaker 1 (18:49):
Listen, in the last two seasons, they've been number fifteen
in scoring offense. All right, So they're getting old tight
end Chris Jones is not getting young. I really like
the hierarchy of the franchise, but they're not going to
go eleven to zero one score games. The division's tougher.
God if they could go, if they could go eight
(19:09):
and four in one score games, you'd feel great about it.
But I think they're built for the postseason. Great coaching,
great quarterback, old weapon. But I think they'll get dinged
up in the regular season. I have Kansas City. They're
still waiting on that. Rashi Rice News on the suspension.
That doesn't help because I thought he developed into a
volume number one wide receiver, maybe a lower tier one,
(19:30):
but a one.
Speaker 3 (19:31):
I have him at five, number four Broncos.
Speaker 1 (19:35):
Listen, they didn't just add players, They added elite players.
Drake Greenlaw, Evan Ingram who fun get safety. Last year's
defense was good and aggressive. Why would it go backwards?
So again, Bo Nicks in a second year. The old
line is rated number two according to PFF in preseason.
(19:55):
So last year caught us by surprise. This year, all
their good young players a year older in the system
of Sean Payton.
Speaker 3 (20:02):
I have Denver at number four, number three.
Speaker 1 (20:05):
Baltimore, and they're gonna win seventy five percent of their
games with Lamar Jackson, number one total offense last season,
top ten scoring defense. They do everything well, I mean
they really do. They can throw it, they can run it,
special teams, defense, culture. I think it's probably the best
run organization along with Kansas City in the National Football League,
maybe Philadelphia.
Speaker 3 (20:25):
But what don't they do well?
Speaker 1 (20:27):
Well, they don't win a lot of playoff games, Okay,
Josh Allen, Patrick Mahomes, now, Sean Payton and Harball. It's
hard in the AFC. I have Baltimore at three, number two,
but I think the world's best football player is Josh Allen.
I'll put Buffalo at two. Also, Buffalo in their division
should go two and oh against Miami and two and
oh against the Jets, and should be a much better
(20:49):
team overall than New England. I think they come in
with a better seed. James Cook has wrapped up. I
think he's a really, really good running back. I don't
know if John and I have talked about this. James
Cook quietly has become a really nice running back and
a weapon. I think they've drafted well. I don't think
their rosters overall as good as Baltimore. I don't think
it's overall as good as Philadelphia, but I think their
(21:09):
quarterback is able to do things to extend plays and
elevate teammates that nobody else in the sport can do.
Speaker 3 (21:15):
I have Buffalo at two number one. Listen.
Speaker 1 (21:19):
Not only was their defense number one last year, I
looked it up this morning.
Speaker 3 (21:22):
It was the youngest defense in the league and the cheapest.
Speaker 1 (21:25):
So they do everything right. I don't think they're as
good at quarterback. I think when you can force Philadelphia
to play from behind and you can force them to throw,
they're not as dangerous as a Buffalo is forced to
throw where a Kansas City is.
Speaker 3 (21:39):
But again, it's they do everything well.
Speaker 1 (21:42):
They gm well, they quarterback well, their line plays incredible.
Saquon Barkley has just been jet fuel to an uber
talented roster. So there is my Herd hierarchy a couple
of teams.
Speaker 3 (21:57):
Where are the Chargers.
Speaker 1 (21:58):
I think the rashawns Later injury is a real problem.
They are a joe all twisted ankle from being in
real trouble up front, and I still don't trust their
receiving corps outside of lad McConkey. So I have them
at eleven, bingals at twelve.
Speaker 2 (22:13):
Be sure to catch live editions of the Herd weekdays
and noon Easter non a em Pacific.
Speaker 1 (22:21):
So there's been sort of widespread agreement that one of
the best camps was the Denver Broncos. So and one
of the things that's interesting to me, they not only
went out and acquired some new players, but really high
end players who Funga is a Pro Bowl safety of healthy,
green Law is a Pro Bowl linebacker of healthy. Evan
Ingram should be a perfect fit with Sean Payton. And
(22:43):
this was a team that led the NFL in sacks.
And nobody knows the Broncos like Mark schlera three time
Super Bowl chance nottible time Pro Bowlers Broncos for several years. Listen,
I thought about this driving in today. I thought, you know,
if you're Sean Payton, you could say, you know, I'm
trying to get my guys ramped up. This young football team.
I want them to believe in themselves. But it's not
(23:04):
that young. Garrett Bowles isn't young, Cortland Sutton's not young,
green Law's not young. They got plenty of older players here,
so I really do believe that Sean Payton believes this
is an excellent top to bottom roster. What's impressed you
most with the two years of Sean Pate? What has
(23:25):
he done that you look at and go, Man, that
was fast. I didn't think they'd do that. What would
that be?
Speaker 10 (23:34):
Yeah, well, I think one, he doesn't care what you think, Colin.
Speaker 5 (23:38):
He didn't care what I think.
Speaker 10 (23:41):
He knows what he wants and he was able to
create exactly what he wanted. One of the things the
big narratives in Colorado was well, we should keep Russell
Wilson because you can't afford that cap hit, Like you'll
never be able to build a football team. Sean Payton
is not care He's like, that's not the direction of
(24:03):
this franchise. That's not where I want to go. We
can't win with that guy playing quarterback. And I don't
care if we incur a huge, huge cap hit. We're
going to get the right guys in this franchise. I've
talked to Shawn during training camp. I've talked to Greg Penner,
the owner, and the difference between last year and this
(24:24):
year was last year we hoped we could win this year.
Speaker 5 (24:28):
We know we can win. And one of the big
moves we made.
Speaker 10 (24:32):
Even if it was a popular player, we got read
of popular players that work the right guys, Guys that
want to be here, Guys that want to contribute, Guys
that want to work hard, Guys that want to sacrifice
for one another. That's how we're building this roster. And
when you start looking at this roster top to bottom,
and I've been at both scrimmage you know, I've been
(24:54):
at the scrimmages, a scrimmage San Francisco. I wasn't out
in San Francisco, but I was at the team scrimmage
between eras. The difference between the Broncos second and third
teamers in Arizona second third teamers, you can see the
level of commitment they have made and the level of
talent that they have in their backup players.
Speaker 5 (25:15):
So you can have an injury.
Speaker 10 (25:17):
Or two along that you know, along that football team,
and they're still going to be able to perform because
they've got a very very deep football team.
Speaker 1 (25:25):
Well, one of the I've been saying this for years
is offensive coaches are better rebuilding O lines. PFF has
their on line as second best in the league. Dan
Campbell's an offensive coach. He's got a great o line.
Sean McVay has rebooted his offensive line multiple times. Andy
Reid this will be his third rebuild. They're interesting because
the two Super Bowls, Kansas City's got waxed in. They
(25:49):
couldn't protect Mahomes. They went and got Josh Simmons. He
was an Ohio State kid. Injuries. You tell me like,
if he's not good again, it's Denver and their pass rush.
Kansas City's in trouble. What do you make I think
this is a really you know, end of the first round.
Mark is no man's land in the draft. Nobody wants
(26:10):
to be there, got first round price, it's a second
round player. What do you make of Josh Simmons, the
buck guye now a chief at left tackle?
Speaker 3 (26:17):
Is it a problem or not?
Speaker 5 (26:21):
He was my favorite player coming out in the draft.
Speaker 3 (26:24):
Wow.
Speaker 5 (26:24):
I studied him.
Speaker 10 (26:25):
I studied him and that dude dispensed justice.
Speaker 5 (26:29):
You talk about he you talk about.
Speaker 10 (26:32):
Hands you like, I just was like, this was tie
on the door, knob, howdy, don't come in here. I'm
watching Josh Simmons film like it was that good. And
then he tours Pattel Attendon. I think it was around
Week nine or whatever. I think the Kansas City Chiefs
possibly got the steel of the draft. I think that
guy's a top ten player that they got at thirty one.
Speaker 5 (26:55):
He is that good athletically.
Speaker 10 (26:58):
Gifted, but beyond that man, And one of the things
you realize when you study film come out of college
is most of these guys don't have nuance, especially the
play offensive line and the game.
Speaker 5 (27:09):
It's just different. The college game is different.
Speaker 10 (27:12):
Most guys don't know how to use their hands, and
most guys ultimately don't have great technique because they don't
need it. And I watched him. I thought it physically
he was dominant. I thought he struck guys with his hands,
which don't happen very often. And his feet, man, it
was like a symphony watching his feet move. When I
(27:32):
think of offensive line playing, I always had this kind
of symphony in my own head. What I want on
my feet to sound like, right, I'm coming off the ball,
it's nineteen handoff.
Speaker 5 (27:41):
I want to get my second step down.
Speaker 10 (27:43):
My feet sounded like That's what they sounded like, right,
And I want to have that in my head. Or
if it's a passt what my feet should sound like
on a wide three technique or a four eye technique
versus a three technique or a two technique, Like I
want to know exactly what that's sounds like in my head.
And when I watch this guy play, he's got that
(28:04):
kind of footwork as a college player, most college players don't.
Speaker 5 (28:08):
I loved him.
Speaker 10 (28:09):
I mean I absolutely loved him. And if that dude's healthy,
I'm telling you what they got the steal of the draft.
Speaker 1 (28:16):
So you know this with John Elway, he had a
very good coach in Dan Reeves, but it was a
better coach than Mike Shanahan. And a lot of it
was just fit. Nobody doubted that Dan Reeves could coach.
It's a lot of it's fit in personality. You talked
about Sean Payton, Russell Wilson personality style don't fit. I've argued,
and you see this sometimes where the artist marries the
accountant and it works, you.
Speaker 3 (28:37):
Know, like, and sometimes it doesn't.
Speaker 1 (28:39):
And I look at Ben Johnson, who I think is
more a little bit more like Kyle Shanahan. Run my
Dan play, Run my play. And then there's Caleb Williams,
who I think has a little Brett Farv, which is
sometimes in chaos, he's better. But you can't live that
way in the NFL. And I've said this, I don't
think it's a perfect marriage, but I do think it
(29:01):
can work if Caleb sort of engulfs the offense. I
mean we've heard it practice bad days, good days, getting better,
but not every I mean Dan Reeves and Elway both great,
it didn't really fit. What do you make of Ben
Johnson and Caleb Williams. I think it's an imperfect marriage,
but I do think it could work.
Speaker 5 (29:23):
Yeah, I'm with you, Colin.
Speaker 10 (29:24):
I think one of the big things coming out of
college when I studied Caleb Williams is I thought there
was too much improvisation. I thought there was too much
playing off schedule. And I think you saw that last year.
I've said this many times, taking sacks in the quarterback
driven statistic, he took sixty eight sacks last year.
Speaker 5 (29:47):
That's a lot on the quarterback.
Speaker 10 (29:49):
Most sacks really become play caller and quarterback more than
they become offensive line. The first thing, and I've talked
to Ben Johnson this offseason, the first thing that Ben
Jonson and did was, Hey, let's reassess what we're doing
up front. Let's go out and get ourselves some offensive
linement that can play. I think that's big, But then
it becomes play calling. And one of the things you
(30:10):
don't see or you don't hear a lot we when
we talk about Ben Johnson is the way he's committed
to run the football. I'm doing a game Detroit game
a year ago and I'm thinking, man, this guy like
he has got to be the number one like play
caller in football from the standpoint of second, long, and
(30:30):
third and long run plays. And sure enough, he's right
there in the top two or three in football. What
he does is he's going to run the ball, create
his play action, take some stress and pressure off the quarterback.
The thing that Caleb Williams needs to learn is he
needs to learn what I call the seventy thirty rule.
Seventy percent of the time you need to run the play.
(30:52):
We need to be on schedule. When things do break down,
then you have to be able to improvise and make
a play thirty percent of the time it does break down,
then go make a play for us. But if you
live and this is to Meyler Kyler Kyler's problem in
Arizona Kyler Murray's problem in Arizona is you want to
(31:13):
play on a fifty to fifty kind of schedule fifty
percent of the time. I want to be free will
and it make big plays because it's really it looks
good and I'm excited and it gives me energy. But ultimately,
for an offense, you may make two or three big plays,
but what you're gonna do is you're going to fall
to disaster three or four times and you end up
(31:34):
not winning the game but losing it based on that stuff.
So for me, run the play, improvise when only necessary,
and I think the run game, the trick plays, all
the things that Ben Johnson does that creates excitement and
fluidity in your offense. I believe that's where he's great.
(31:54):
So I think he'll get that buy in from Caleb Williams.
They'll eliminate some of those sack issues that really were
a lot of Caleb Williams' problems, not just the offensive line.
Speaker 1 (32:05):
Finally, you played for Washington for several years. I don't
love the Terry McLaurin situation at all because I think
Terry's such a pro You've done their games before. He's
such a productive, grown up adult pro and a position
sometimes where you get big personality. I think they could
be as good as last year, but not make the
(32:26):
NFC Championship because the NFC is better. Well, what is
your kind of forecast for the Commanders that have suddenly
become a really fun team to watch.
Speaker 10 (32:35):
Yeah, they're a really good team. Obviously, Jaydon Daniels is incredible.
Dan Quinn has done a phenomenal job out there of
re establishing the culture there that that was when I
played there.
Speaker 5 (32:47):
For Joe Gibbs.
Speaker 10 (32:48):
It was a crown jewel and they went through you know,
they went through years in the desert obviously, and they're
back now. Terry McLaurin is one of those guys that
you mentioned. Great guy in the community, just a great,
great teammate who is unbelievably productive. And when I travel
around the league, and I've done a bunch of Washington games,
(33:09):
when you talk to coordinators around the league, they'll tell you, Hey,
our number one threat is McLaurin.
Speaker 5 (33:15):
Like that dude, just that dude is. It doesn't matter
who the quarterback is.
Speaker 10 (33:18):
That dude is set for eleven hundred and twelve hundred
yards and a bunch of touchdowns. He just he just
a difference maker on the offensive side of the ball.
So I believe they're going to get that deal done.
He belongs in Washington. He is one of those guys
to me that he has gone through that that dry
desert storm, if you will. He's one of the guys
(33:39):
that you want to see have some success with the
team that drafted him, and he's got that opportunity now.
I hope they find common ground to pay him because
he belongs to me as a Washington commander.
Speaker 1 (33:51):
By the way, you're packing up and leaving New York,
what was your favorite little place when you lived in
New York and your wife was there? What was your
favorite place? Because I I when when I spend time
New York, I would always stay within like a six
block area, and I'd find my places. Where was your
place in New York? If I said, hey, Mark, let's
go to lunch, where would it be in New York? Oh?
Speaker 5 (34:10):
Right down the street. I don't even know what the
name of the restaurant is. I just know where it's at.
It's right like literally down the block.
Speaker 10 (34:15):
A little bowl and a's place that we absolutely love.
I know that I know Sombon in Ada or you
know the waitress and the hostess, and they are awesome
and we always sit in their section and we go
there probably three times a week, and they're so gracious
and so kind and the food is absolutely like I said,
(34:38):
hole in the wall, absolutely phenomenal.
Speaker 5 (34:41):
And I don't know about you call them. But I'm
this way with movies.
Speaker 10 (34:44):
If like, if I watch a movie that I like,
you know, my wife will go, let's find a movie,
and she goes, You've seen this six times.
Speaker 5 (34:50):
I go, I know I'm not going to be disappointed.
I love this movie, right, and if.
Speaker 10 (34:52):
I fall asleep, Like, if I fall asleep, I can
wake up, you know, twenty minutes later you go, oh,
this is a great part. Let's get dialed in, right,
and it drives They're crazy. But I'm the same way
when it comes to restaurants. If I go to a
place and I order a meal and I love that meal,
I'll never order anything else off the menu.
Speaker 5 (35:09):
I won't go, let me see what else is on
the media.
Speaker 10 (35:11):
I go, no, I love the bolon as saying that's
what I'm having, bowling as I'm having.
Speaker 1 (35:17):
Again yeah, now, we talked about that earlier today. Mark Schlareth,
As always, buddy, it's great seeing you check it in
with you
Hosts And Creators
Colin Cowherd
Jason McIntyre
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