October 1, 2025 • 36 mins
On today’s edition of The Herd with Colin Cowherd, Colin breaks down the New York Yankees’ Game 1 loss to the Boston Red Sox in the AL Wild Card and why poor clutch hitting — not bullpen decisions — sealed their fate. He also dives into the Philadelphia Eagles’ concerning offensive issues, explaining why their 4-0 record may be masking serious problems under the surface.
Then, former NFL quarterback and FOX Sports analyst Mark Sanchez joins the show to talk all things NFL, including:
- Brock Purdy and the 49ers' offensive struggles
- Why Aaron Rodgers is the perfect fit for the Pittsburgh Steelers
- Are the Green Bay Packers ready to be legitimate Super Bowl contenders?
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Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Thanks for listening to the 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 1 (00:27):
Here we go on a really lively Wednesday, Baseball playoffs,
Joel Clatten and our college football Mark Sanchez, last hour
Ton of NFL.
Speaker 3 (00:40):
We are live.
Speaker 1 (00:41):
It is the Herd wherever you may be and however
you may be listening. Thank you for making us part
of your day. A lot of platforms out there and
a lot of choices as well. The great thing Jmac
and you used to live out there, and so did I.
When the Yankees and the Red Sox meet, especially in
the postseason, it is second guest the manager Tom and
(01:03):
I'll say this about the Yankees as an organization, They've
been very patient. Cashman's been there forever, Aaron boone in
year eight and everybody wants changes, But the Yankees, outside
of one year, a couple of years ago have been
really perennially good. We're waiting for great. This team's not
going to be great because there are certain elements that
they're just not very good at, like their bullpen, and
(01:24):
that was on display last night.
Speaker 3 (01:26):
So here we go.
Speaker 1 (01:26):
Let's talk Yankees Red Sox Game one. It's second guest
the manager time, and Aaron Boone is a pinata to
the pinstrifer fans. So he didn't start Jazz Chisholm or
Ben Rice. Oh well, it's a lefty, righty thing, but
that's gonna get second guests if you lose. And he
also pulled the pitcher Max Freed. It was pretty good
(01:48):
last night. And in the seventh inning, and everybody's gonna
freak out. You know, Ahmed Rosario starts over Chisholm. Why
because he hits the Red Sox eightce better Garrett pro
That's why he started him. So they pull at about
one hundred pitches, they pull Max Street. Everybody's kind of
freaking out, But let's be honest. He was at his
(02:09):
pitch limit. He labored in previous innings. He didn't have
great command, and Aaron Booe knows more about that than
you or I do. So they go to Luke Weaver. Well,
Luke Weaver has been up and down all year out
of the bullpen.
Speaker 3 (02:22):
That's the reality.
Speaker 1 (02:23):
And the Red Sox have played great baseball at Yankee
Stadium this year. They've won six of eight, they won
the season series. So Luke Weave faltered, and this whole
night came down to a couple high leverage situations. One
of them was Luke Weaver. He didn't get the job done,
and that's the reality. The other was just historically weird.
(02:44):
No teams ever loaded the bases bottom of the ninth
and not scored a run at least one. But a
Raldis Chapman. Yeah, he throws one hundred miles an hour,
strikes out John Carlos Stanton, You're three hundred twenty five
million dollar hitter in a high leverage spot. The Red
Sox were better in a clutch spot in the seven,
(03:07):
and they got a historically rare success with the Chapman
in the ninth.
Speaker 3 (03:13):
And that's the game, and.
Speaker 1 (03:15):
That every baseball fan, especially in New York, thinks they're
a combination of the Earl Weaver, Billy Martin, Connie Mack,
and Casey Stengele. Baseball playoffs, especially in the series, come
down to moments, and one of those moments is in
the seventh inning, and you can say, wow, Max Freed.
Speaker 3 (03:33):
Was really rolling.
Speaker 1 (03:34):
He had a twenty four pitch inning, He had a
twenty pitch inning, and again, the Red Sox are a
really good team. So my take is Aaron Boone travels
with a team, he knows his team, and his take
was he didn't have great command a lot of pitches
in these innings. I want to get out of here.
But this whole game came down to a seventh bullpen
miss and a bottom of the ninth Chapman overpowered Yankee hitters.
(04:00):
That's playoff baseball. Here's Aaron Boone on his decision to
pull Max Freed.
Speaker 4 (04:06):
I felt like his command was, you know, not as
good those final few. He's just making so many big
pitches and his stuff was good. So look, I mean,
he gave us, you know, what we needed and felt
really good about the outing he put forth. But I
felt pretty convicted, like, you know, especially we got the
double play. It's like, let's go get one more hitter
and be good.
Speaker 1 (04:28):
And the other thing is so much of Major League
Baseball managing these days is upstairs. A lot of it's
just numbers. Freed was at a pitch count, and I
don't like that number. I mean, if you pitch one
hundred pitches, now, like that's as much as you're gonna pitch.
And so now, now the Dodgers are in a situation
we'll talk about them in a second. Their bullpen's so
(04:48):
bad they're gonna blow through that. But the Yankees bullpen's
not that bad. It's not Dodger bad.
Speaker 3 (04:54):
Okay.
Speaker 1 (04:55):
So the other thing is a lot of times it's
like when football coaches on fourth and one, fourth and two,
go for it.
Speaker 3 (05:01):
If you make it, you have courage. I like him.
Speaker 1 (05:05):
This guy's tough's genius. And if it fails, guy's an idiot.
How do you go forward on fourth and two? So
I don't like to do a lot of post game
Baseball is one hundred and sixty two games long. You
got twenty five two months in spring training. These managers
tend to know their staffs better than I do, certainly
(05:26):
better than the average fan does or media member.
Speaker 3 (05:29):
So my take is.
Speaker 1 (05:30):
It's like, okay, is it one hundred pitches, twenty four
pitch inning? Previously eight? Doesn't that great command, I'm gonna
make the move, and Luke Weaver been spotty faltered. That's
the game, all right, let's go Dodgers. So the Dodgers
are favored over the Cincinnati Reps. I mean the Dodgers
payrolls three times that it'd be more if you weren't
(05:50):
pushing Otawi's salary down the road. The reality is the
Dodgers are gonna win this series. But last night's a
prime example of why they're not gonna win win the
World Series. They had an eight lead and won ten
to five. So here's how it all started. First inning
with show hey Otani.
Speaker 2 (06:09):
The two one pitch, Otani turns on a ball dita rightfield,
It is gone.
Speaker 3 (06:16):
Show hey o.
Speaker 1 (06:17):
Tony kicks off the postseason with a bang, so Taiarskar
Hernandez also had a couple of home runs. They got
an eight nothing lead, and they made Blake Snell, a
very good pitcher, He's had some shoulder issues through his career.
They made him go to seven innings. And the reason
is Dave Roberts doesn't trust the bullpen. Dodger fans don't
(06:37):
trust the bullpen. The Dodger bullpen doesn't trust the bullpen,
so they're gonna push their starters as long as they
can go, and they their bullpen last night was brutal.
Three pitches, three pitchers, that's what It took fifty nine
pitches to get three outs again Cincinnati, and that's after
they'd scored three runs.
Speaker 3 (06:57):
So it's a bad bullpen.
Speaker 1 (06:59):
But last night with the Dodgers, need is really good
starting pitching, okay, and they need their big bats to
deliver well. Molkie Betts had a couple hits, Freddie Freeman
went to for four. Oh Tani had a couple of bombs.
Ta Oscar Hernandez had a couple of bombs. So it
worked last night. But in the eighth inning that bullpen
to the Reds fifty nine pitches, three pitchers just to
(07:22):
get three outs.
Speaker 3 (07:23):
So it was so Dodgers.
Speaker 1 (07:25):
I said this yesterday, I think they blew twenty six saves.
If they would have just blown half that, you would
add one of the great Dodger seasons if they had
blown just half that. So they scored ten runs, they
had fifteen hits. It feels good, but this is how
they're gonna have to win. They're gonna need Otani and
Freeman and Max Munsey and Mookie Betts, they're gonna have
(07:47):
to hit and again baseball playoffs, it's the very best pitching.
They're gonna have to hit, really high end pitching in
high leverage situations because the bullpen's not gonna work. It
didn't work during the regular season, it's now working against
the best teams, so.
Speaker 3 (08:04):
You know it.
Speaker 1 (08:05):
I mean, I thought that felt like a Dodger game.
Your stars, your money players delivered, you got solid starting pitching,
and the bullpen was awful.
Speaker 3 (08:16):
And that's the Dodgers.
Speaker 1 (08:17):
So J Mack also watched on the train home Cubs
and the Podreys and the Podres have a very specific
way they have to play and if they don't play
that way, they can't win. So I think they're in
trouble with the Cubs. But you know, we were both
back there when the baseball Yankee Red Sox. At the time,
(08:37):
the Yankee spent the most money and the Red Sox
were spent the second most money, and they would bid
the hotstole.
Speaker 3 (08:43):
League was different.
Speaker 1 (08:44):
And then the Dodgers got, you know, new owners, and
then the Dodgers now are it's a bank and they
you know, they push their salaries down the road. The
Dodgers have the best team easily, and the complaint in
New York is, well, we don't because they do spend money,
but it's like Brian Cashman, Aaron Boone, you don't make
big moves. But it's funny about New York because the
(09:05):
Knicks just fired a coach after their best season in
ten plus years. The Giants and the Jets are constantly
making changes, and the Yankees are kind of, strangely for
New York, strangely patient. And which is right, the frenetic
pace of the Jets, Giants and Knicks or the Yankees' patients.
(09:25):
Now Yankee fans would say, I'd rather be a little
bit more like the other guys. But the Jets, Giants
are a circus, and the Knicks had most even a circus.
And the Yankees win every year, but they're incredibly patient.
And my takeaway and the Yankees is would you rather
they be the other New York teams who are making
big swings? And Nets, Nicks, Mets, Jets, those teams are chaotic?
Speaker 5 (09:49):
Yeah.
Speaker 6 (09:49):
Well, the problem is that we were spoiled with the
Jeter years winning so many World Series. And now you
say the Yankees are winning, but are they Like, I
don't know. I would trade ninety five wins and a
second round loss for a World Series, wouldn't you.
Speaker 3 (10:03):
I mean, I get it. You know, we don't want
to become.
Speaker 6 (10:05):
The Portland Trailblazers where you're in the playoffs every year
but you're not winning a title. Yankee says, want to
see a World Series Colin, and they haven't in a while,
and then you.
Speaker 3 (10:13):
Know that disappointment.
Speaker 6 (10:14):
I'll tell you this, if they lose today, I think
you'll see the Yankee spending in the offseason big time.
Speaker 7 (10:19):
Right.
Speaker 5 (10:19):
You can't. You can't lose.
Speaker 1 (10:20):
By the Errand Judge making a fortune, Garrett Cole making
a fortune, John Carr.
Speaker 6 (10:25):
Here, there's no salary cap, spend go buy everybody.
Speaker 1 (10:28):
Well, I think it's spending smart. Why go spend that
on John Carlos Stanton who had injuries and you already
had a better version, Aaron Judge. So I mean my
take is I think the Yankees are an uneven team.
When I watch the Yankees play like this year, strikeouts
the bottom of the league in sacrifices they scored, don't
have a good bullpen.
Speaker 3 (10:48):
Remember last year in the World Series.
Speaker 1 (10:50):
And in the playoffs they dominate the American League Central.
But they had a bunch of home runs last year,
but they were a bad fielding team. I mean, I
mean the last couple of years. Say what you want
about the Dodgers. They have a bit, but generally the
Dodgers speed can steal hit for average, hit for power.
Good starting pitching. Now this year, the bullpen's awful, But
the Yankees have felt with all the money they spend,
(11:10):
are they spending it wisely?
Speaker 3 (11:12):
The bullpen's not very good.
Speaker 1 (11:14):
They're okay defensively, but like they led, the only teams
that struck out more in baseball this year were the
awful Rockies and the awful Angels. So it's like it's
all or nothing with the Yankees, and when you face
elite pitching, it's a lot of nothing.
Speaker 6 (11:28):
It's a lot of busts and Celtics three point shooters
galore in the playoffs. If you miss them, you're losing
your bounce. And the Yankees want to go home run
or nothing.
Speaker 1 (11:35):
No, they're a three point They are an NBA team
that shoots threes but doesn't defend very well. And by
the way, when the Warriors were winning, they shot great threes.
They were also an elite defensive team. That's the Dodgers.
You're not going to be perfect. The Warriors didn't have size.
The Dodgers don't have a great bullpen. But when I
watched the Yankees, they're incredibly patient. They deserve a ton
of credit for that, but they're uneven. It's home runs
(11:57):
are nothing. It's hard to hit a lot of home
runs against elite pitch unless you're o Tani. He hits
them against everybody. So we got a lot of stuff today.
We got a lot of stuff today. Joel Klatt breaks
down the crazy weekend of college football and this drama
in Philadelphia with the Eagles is not going to end.
Speaker 2 (12:16):
Be sure to catch live editions of The Herd weekdays
and Noone Easter nin am Pacific on Fox Sports Radio
FS one and the iHeartRadio app.
Speaker 7 (12:25):
Hey, this is Jason McIntyre. Join me every weekday morning
on my podcast, Straight Fire with Jason McIntyre. This isn't
your typical sports pod pushing the same tired narratives down
your throat. Every day, Straight Fire gives you honest opinions
on all the biggest sports headlines. Accurate stats to help
you win big at the sportsbook and all the best guests.
(12:46):
Do yourself a favor and listen to Straight Fire with
Jason McIntyre on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever
you get your podcasts.
Speaker 1 (12:58):
You know, we were talking about the Yankees being uneven. You know,
from ninety six to two thousand and one, you were
in five World Series, they won four of them. They
were a great team, hitting with runners in scoring position,
third in baseball during that span. Now they're twelve. They're
obsessed with the home run. People Forget this. When they
were dominating, Jeter wasn't a big home run hitter. Was
Bernie Williams a big home run hitter? I mean, they
(13:20):
had really good starting pitching, They hit with runners in
scoring position, they took the extra base, they were very smart,
they were really good on the margins.
Speaker 3 (13:28):
They weren't a big home run hitting team.
Speaker 1 (13:29):
I looked it up this morning, thirteenth in home runs
from ninety six to two thousand and one when they
were dominating baseball. Now, baseball has obviously changed, and you know,
home runs is what teams want. But you start looking
around baseball right now, I mean the Potterys have a
very good team. They're doing it with sacrifices in a
great bullpen. There's a lot of different ways to win.
But when they were winning championships, they hit for average
(13:52):
when runners were in scoring position. Right now they don't,
so they're kind of obsessed with a home run. And listen,
Aaron Judge is amazing, but I mean remember earlier this
year Aaron Judge got banged up. The Yankees were not
a good baseball team. So just when I watched them,
I see an uneven franchise. They're really good at one thing,
(14:12):
but there's holes in it, so I don't think they
spend the money that wisely. And you're looking around at
the Brewers. I mean they had home runs too, so
to the Blue Jays, but they lead baseball in singles
and the Padres don't really hit for power at all
outside of Machado and Tatisa a little. But the truth
is they have a great bullpen. So there's a lot
of different ways to win, and it does the Yankees
(14:34):
feel a bit lobsided. So yesterday we talked about this
at length. Last year in Philadelphia, there was a little
AJ Brown drama, but it was different they scored like
fifty some points in the NFC Championship, and they scored
forty or something in the Super Bowl, and everybody was
on the Saquon Barkley train, like, oh, he's setting records.
Speaker 3 (14:58):
He was the new guy. Everybody loved.
Speaker 1 (15:00):
So AJ Brown's like, okay, I'm not getting many balls
thrown my way.
Speaker 3 (15:03):
Whatever.
Speaker 1 (15:04):
Okay, winning cures everything. Usually in the NFL, it's not
going to cure everything. Here, last nine games for A. J.
Brown in Philadelphia, he's averaging three catches a game in
thirty eight yards. He's arguably the second or third best
receiver in the game. So this different. Last year was different.
Everybody was sharing in the joy of Saquon Barkley. Everybody
(15:27):
was in on it. Everybody loved it. Everybody took a
back seat. And also last year the defense was great,
number one total scoring defense. This year's twenty second. This
year they're not getting to the quarterback, so they need
AJ Brown, They really need AJ Brown. Saquon's yards have
been cut in half because everybody's stacking the box. The
words out on Jalen Hurts, stack the box, make him throw.
(15:48):
So you know, it's just interesting. Everybody says Oh, it's okay.
They're winning, winning cures everything. There are exceptions to every
rule this the last nine games, including the playoffs, they
can't get the ball to eight Brown. Now, the Rams
are small at corner. In my opinion, during the trade deadline,
the Rams should make a move. They're tiny at corner.
(16:09):
Maybe they got some six to three guy in the
scout team, but they're just too small. But last year
was different. The defense was great. They were scoring a
lot of points in big games. They were running the football.
Everybody was sharing in that joy. That's not what they
are now. They need Aj Brown and they can't consistently
get them the ball in their last nine games. And
here's Brian Baldinger on his sort of mentality as a
(16:30):
wide receiver.
Speaker 8 (16:32):
The thing about Aj is this, he's different than other
wide receivers in that his mentality is like an offensive tackle.
He wants to absolutely obliterate the opponent in front of them.
He wants to take every corner the way Lane Johnson
takes every defensive end, or Jordan Malatta takes every defensive
(16:55):
end and wants to drill them into the dirt, into
the dirt and have meat brassy. That's what AJ wants
to do. But if he doesn't ever get that chance,
then that's what frustrates him.
Speaker 1 (17:05):
You got to see the problems ahead of when they'll
eventually face the roadblock. The Eagles are four to ozho
they have a worse point differential than Minnesota that just
got housed in Dublin, and they can't figure out their
quarterback position. They have a worse point differential than the Jaguars.
So this thing eventually, you got to be able to
(17:27):
see things before their real problems because you have a
trade deadline opportunity here, and that's like the Rams need
a corner unless they got somebody on the scout team
that I'm not fully aware of, and the Eagles have
a I mean, the only thing that blows up a
great dominant roster is drama. What's the most dramatic position
(17:48):
in the NFL in our lives wide receiver. So again,
I think AJ Brown last year was like, hey, it's
Saquan's year. We're winning. Okay, now he's got a trophy.
Now Saquan's yards are cutting half. Now the defense isn't
great and they need him and they still can't get
him the ball. You could talk yourself into being a
good teammate. Last year, Hey, it's Saquon's year. Saquan's not
(18:10):
having the same year. Words out box is stacked.
Speaker 2 (18:13):
Be sure to catch live editions of The Herd weekdays
in newon Easter not a em Pacific.
Speaker 1 (18:20):
Well, he played ten years in the NFL. He's got
a new digital and YouTube show called Rear View. Mark
Sanchez is joining us live. Your guest was Josh Allen,
who is I think, honestly is the most talented quarterback
just physical trace I've ever seen in my life. He's
a small town kid. Tell the audience the story about
(18:42):
he and his dad and their new business venture.
Speaker 9 (18:45):
Well, they actually have this partnership with wonderful pistachios. And
Josh Allen is from Fireball, which is outside of Fresno,
Central California, known for produce and farming and agriculture. So
he's a small town farm kid and him and his
dad had their first yield of crops pistachios, and it
(19:06):
takes five years. The last time I talked to him
about it was exactly five years ago. So he's fired
up about this partnership, and we got to break that
down a little bit and his agricultural skills, and also
talked a little bit about this occupation he has playing
quarterback in the NFL.
Speaker 5 (19:23):
So it was fun.
Speaker 1 (19:24):
Yeah, it is remarkable how many of these great quarterbacks
grew up as small town kids. It is unbelievable, the
numbers if you go back, So you know, I was
saying this about Brock Purdy when Brock Purdy was FBS
the four years he started at Iowa State. The reason
he dropped in the draft is he led college football
and interceptions. He was a little small, and he threw
a lot of picks. So he goes to Kyle Shanahan's
(19:46):
system and you don't see a lot of picks. He
cleaned it up, But now he's playing hurt and that
people fans don't understand. You're forcing things, you're playing hurt,
maybe you don't have quite the velocity, and now he's
making more and more mistakes. My take is some of
this is just the injuries, because I thought from college
to pro mark, I thought he had kind of cleaned
it up. I thought his judgment was very good. Where
(20:09):
do you think the interceptions come from. He's obviously not
totally healthy. Is that part of it? Oh?
Speaker 5 (20:16):
That's a huge part of it. And I think he
went from.
Speaker 9 (20:19):
A steady distributor type point guard to a guy who's
got a score a lot more and they're leaning on
him a lot more to make plays with a different
type of roster than he came into the league with.
Remember he had guys like Brandon Aiyuk, George Kittle, Deebo
Samuel and then halfway through the first year he started
(20:40):
to get Christian McCaffrey. So three of those guys are
all pros or Pro Bowlers, perennial All Pros and Pro Bowlers,
and they all knew the system.
Speaker 5 (20:49):
They've been in the system for years.
Speaker 9 (20:51):
So he just has to look at a riskband, spit
out a call, and go do his job. Now he's
working with different players, younger players, first year, second year
players that he doesn't have a ton of rapport with,
and it puts you in a position where sometimes you
get a little riskier with the football and sometimes you
just kind of press a little bit.
Speaker 5 (21:09):
And I feel like that's kind of where he's at.
Speaker 9 (21:11):
He's trying to overcompensate for injuries and lack of personnel
around him. I do think if you get into the
argument of him versus Mac Jones starting. I still think
even with the toe injury, he gives you a little
more mobility. But yes, there's some of those riskier decisions,
you know, that kind of echo from his college days
that seem to be cleaned up. Also, I would argue
that the pocket is, you know, not as clean as
(21:34):
he's normally used to, so he's having to move around
quite a bit. They're showing a little age on the
offensive line, and then they're starting some young guys. Connor Colby,
the left guard, is starting in place of Banks and
Burford and all the guards that they've gone through. So
there's bottom line is I don't care if you're Steve Young,
Joe Montana. You need guys around you. And even if
(21:54):
those guys came back into play right now, the best
ability would be Steve Young's legs, because you know, it's
tough finding completions right now for San Francisco.
Speaker 5 (22:02):
And there's still three and one.
Speaker 9 (22:03):
Don't forget all this being said, they're three and one,
so they're still in prime position.
Speaker 5 (22:07):
They got a big one tomorrow night.
Speaker 3 (22:09):
So one of the.
Speaker 1 (22:10):
Things, you know, I've said this about presidents before a
long time ago, is They never get credit for the
mistakes they avoid, Like, like, you know, there's decisions that
could be made, we don't know behind the scenes. A
president goes, We're not.
Speaker 3 (22:23):
Going to do that.
Speaker 1 (22:24):
You don't get credit for stuff you don't do. But
this happens in life. Sometimes you could be a husband,
you could be a quarterback. I think Aaron Rodgers is
the lowest rated PFF quarterback and I said time out.
I said time out. I've watched a lot of quarterback
play this year. I think Aaron has figured out on
the fly. And I thought he did it in Dublin
(22:46):
multiple O line injuries with Minnesota, Vikings right out of
the gate, got a great pass rush and Aaron said,
I'm not throwing the ball into trouble. I'm throwing this
ball underneath. I'm getting completions. I'm going to let our
defense win. And I'm just I'm saying, that's what I saw.
But he's got he's low graded by PFF and their
takeaway is he doesn't throw the ball down the field.
(23:07):
And I'm like, I watched the Minnesota's old line can't
protect Carson. He shouldn't throw the ball down the field.
And you're laughing at this Why, well.
Speaker 5 (23:17):
I'm just okay.
Speaker 9 (23:18):
Eleven twenty one Pacific time, Colin Coward is defending Aaron Rodgers.
I know if I've heard that, give me twenty second.
This could be a full Colin. What's going on? I
flipped the script here.
Speaker 5 (23:36):
Listen. I totally agree with you.
Speaker 9 (23:38):
I think you know he's the veteran conductor of the orchestra.
It's not flashy, but he's gonna get the whole group
in sync and hit every note.
Speaker 5 (23:50):
Reminder, this division is theirs for the taking.
Speaker 9 (23:54):
With Joe Burrow down, with Lamar Jackson down for who
knows how long with the hamstring. I mean, they're Dylan
Gabriel and Jake Browning next are their two starting quarterbacks
that they're going against. So they finally figured out how
to use DK Metcalf.
Speaker 5 (24:09):
And that took some time. You know, they don't have
a ton of time on task.
Speaker 9 (24:11):
Aaron and Dk and then Arthur Smith getting him involved
in understanding that's exactly what he does best what we're
watching on this highlight. He's a catch and run guy.
He's a big body, contested ball defender, catcher like that.
That's exactly the way you want to utilize him and
when it's available, you take it.
Speaker 5 (24:30):
When it's not, you're going to.
Speaker 9 (24:31):
Have to go dink and dunk and do some other
stuff to get the ball down the field get the
run game going. But he's got plenty of gas left
in the tank and he's got plenty for deep balls
and all those splash plays. But they're going to have
to generate some of those splash plays on screens, wide
receiver screens, halfback.
Speaker 5 (24:48):
Screens, tight end screens.
Speaker 9 (24:49):
That's where they're going to get some of their stuff
because they're not just to launch it down the field
type of team. But this post bye week for them,
they're on bye.
Speaker 5 (24:56):
Week right now.
Speaker 9 (24:57):
I mean, it's set up pretty nice for them to
potend run the table in the NFC North.
Speaker 3 (25:02):
So you have the Raiders at the Colts this weekend.
Speaker 1 (25:05):
And I'm watching the Rams Colts game and I'm texting
a friend and I think j Mack may have been
one of the people. I'm like, first of all, in
these old line in these team's good. They got dudes
in these good team. And I said, second, okay, he's
not Stafford, but Daniel Jones is making big boy throws.
Daniel Jones is playing with a ton of confidence. His
(25:27):
second interception, it's late. You don't have much time. I
don't even I don't care. I'll say it. I never
gave up on Sam Darnold. I gave up on Daniel Jones.
I don't even know what I'm watching. I mean, seriously, Mark,
I'm watching him. I'm like, Oh, that's the starting quarterback
in the NFL. Big moves, big arm. Are you surprised
(25:48):
a little?
Speaker 9 (25:50):
Well, just add them to the list of former New
York players that leave and go have success. I don't
care whether you're Giants or Jets. I mean, it's incredible
to see Xavier McKinney, Saquon Barkley, Leo Williams, Daniel Jones
just out into the list.
Speaker 5 (26:10):
So what Shane Steichen has done as assembled a.
Speaker 9 (26:14):
Roster, a strong offensive unit, a strong offensive line that
can keep the pocket clean.
Speaker 5 (26:19):
They got a great run game.
Speaker 9 (26:20):
I love their running back and they have everything that
Daniel Jones had in the year he went to the
playoffs and won a game on the road in Minnesota
with the New York Giants.
Speaker 5 (26:31):
I mean, it looks very similar. Remember they had.
Speaker 9 (26:35):
Saquon Barkley that year, and you know now they're working
with Jonathan Taylor. It's like a very similar setup. The
guy is surgical, he's an intelligent player. He's more athletic
than people give him credit for. You see some of
his scrambles. I mean, this guy can pick up fifteen
to twenty five yards like that. And then you know
they got this rookie tight end as ty Warren Tyler
(26:57):
Warren out of Penn State.
Speaker 5 (26:58):
I mean he's a big all of.
Speaker 9 (27:00):
Six to six, big catch radius, and he's still a rookie.
He's still trying to figure it out, and he's making
this kind of contribution early.
Speaker 5 (27:08):
I mean, this is scary. They have plenty of talent
in that division.
Speaker 9 (27:11):
I think it's kind of them in Jacksonville right now
at least out of the gates this first month of
the season, that can really make a run in that division,
and that thing's wide open for those two teams.
Speaker 1 (27:24):
By the way, Ashton genty breakout game, that's not a
great old line you're looking at film, he kind of
you know, I mean it's Boise State. It's a big
jump up. It's not a great old line. What did
you make of his performance?
Speaker 9 (27:38):
Well, I thought they had an excellent performance last week.
I think Austin power Jackson does a good job for
them up front. He's the right guard, has played center
as well. Now they're going with Meredith at center. But
they also just lost Colton Miller, their left tackle that
they really loved out of UCLA, So that's going to
be huge. Who's going to step in? But I loved
his ascension. And remember this vision the AFC West. It's
(28:01):
a street fight every week. All those teams want to
run the ball. Whether you're Sean Payton and the Broncos,
you know, Pete Carroll and the Raiders, Chip Kelly, they
want to run the football. Jim Harbaugh, they want to
run the football with the guys they have. They want
to control the clock, own time of possession, and just
wear you down and then knock you out at the
(28:22):
end of games. So this this division is right where
they want it. It's just do we have enough playmakers
in the past game for when people act the box,
because that's what teams are going to do, especially after
this breakout game.
Speaker 5 (28:35):
They're going to just load up the box and force.
Speaker 9 (28:38):
Gino Smith to beat everybody with you know, Trey Tucker,
Jacobe Myers and you know Brock Bowers who's wearing that
knee brace because he got nicked up a little bit
early in this season. So that's going to be where
they have to take their next step. And they played
poorly this past week and they still had a chance
to win it with a field goal. The Bears blocked
the field goal and that ended the game. But even
(29:00):
with all those mistakes and guys that aren't quite household
names on their roster, they found a way to play
some inspired football and coach Carroll has this unit playing
really well. So they just dropped one, you know, kind
of a tough loss at home, especially now they go
on the road to Indy.
Speaker 5 (29:15):
So we have that game this week.
Speaker 1 (29:17):
So I've two questions. One of them would be tape.
But here's my last question before tape. So I watched
the Packers and I said they're the youngest team in
the league, and there is something Remember when Seattle lost
to San Francisco Week one and I thought they outplayed him.
There is something about young teams, Seattle's young, Green Bays young.
There is sometimes with young teams they don't quite know
(29:42):
how to seal games when they're the better team, and
it's a thing.
Speaker 3 (29:47):
It's a skill.
Speaker 1 (29:48):
There's a reason Kansas City wins all these close games
in Philadelphia.
Speaker 3 (29:51):
It's a skill.
Speaker 1 (29:53):
And I think and I watched Green Bay in Dallas
and I'm like, they just do the clock. They're just
quite not there. That was my interpretation. Jordan loves great
he's playing great football. You got a terrific coach. They're
going to be fine. But it's the process of winning
games against inferior opposition. And I think it's harder than
(30:13):
fans and media think that it's a skill or am
I just fishing here and you don't buy it.
Speaker 5 (30:20):
No, that's one hundred percent true.
Speaker 9 (30:22):
These are learned traits and then soon it becomes part
of who you are and how you The coaches teach it,
but until the players, you know, handle it and experience it,
then they go back to the well for more, saying Okay,
that worked, I trust you, Let's keep this going. But
the analogy for them really is like that that little
league team that's like the ten year olds, and they
(30:42):
kind of stay together because they've been the youngest team
in the league for like three years, so they kind
of stay together at ten years old. But they're playing
up a division against the twelve and thirteen year olds.
So by the time they get there and they're twelve
and thirteen, it's like, hey, we've done this for a while,
now we just got to go prove it. We didn't
win all the tournaments before, but now we got a
shot in the finals every time. Now it's just doing
(31:03):
it a couple times, and then it turns into riding
a bike. Like teams you're talking about, like the Chiefs,
they just know how to win at the end, and
the first way to finish games is to stop beating
yourselves turnovers and penalties. As soon as they eliminate those
or even cut them in half, it's a no brainer,
and they might start lapping teams. They might start winning
by fourteen points if they get their stuff together. So
(31:27):
I think most NFL games are truly are lost and
you don't have to go steal them at the end.
Speaker 5 (31:32):
One team will just end up giving the game away.
Speaker 9 (31:36):
And so they're a young, deep, resilient group that can
survive this war of attrition that is injuries. You know,
it seems like they've been pretty healthy, so they have
a chance to run the table in their division.
Speaker 5 (31:48):
And I like where they're headed, but you're right, it's
all about finishing.
Speaker 1 (31:52):
Finally, I watch the Niners and the Jags. First of all,
the Niners special teams have been lacking to be diplomatic
for about three or four years, and that was a
part of the game. You know, Trevor Lawrence. I loved
him in college and there have been moments in the NFL.
(32:13):
You got to play you on a show. Where are
you with Trevor Lawrence?
Speaker 9 (32:16):
Yeah, it's interesting because that was that was a huge
part of our broadcast last week. And you know, I
don't want to be a quarterback apologist. You know that
the numbers are the numbers. He's got over seventy turnovers
in his career and at this point in your career
going into year five, that's not okay. But you look
at the surrounding, the supporting cast, and the environment. He's
(32:41):
been in four different head coaches, four or five different coordinators. Finally,
he's as a coordinator that comes from that Shanahan McVeigh
kind of tree that gives him options at the line
of scrimmage. This is one of the first times he's
really had to go through an entire You hear these
quarterbacks say can can can. Well, they're going up to
the line of scrimmage with multiple plays and when they
(33:02):
say can they throw a play in the trash can
and get to a new play or completely audible, which
he did in won a game against Houston after playing
poorly against an all out cover zero blitz. So he's
doing a lot of this stuff and going through this
can criteria for each single run going run to run,
run to pass, run to run to pass, pass to pass.
(33:23):
I mean, he hasn't had to do as much of that,
and that hasn't been on his plate. His plate is
completely full. He's got a center, thank god, who's been
in the system before. I felt that with Mangold when
I got to New York as a rookie. There's a
lot to handle in the run game. And so I
think he's finally getting a chance to get these guys
in the right play, give them an advantageous shot at
(33:46):
each down. And you know, he took care of the
football last week, looked really good.
Speaker 3 (33:51):
And part of it is this scheme.
Speaker 9 (33:52):
So we're going to go to the tape and I'll
show you exactly what they're doing on the goal line.
They're using their big personnel using the best five or
six skill guys. They can get on the field and
they're putting defenders in a bind. You see a ton
of teams do this. You see McVeigh do this with Stafford.
You see all the pre snap motion and movement different personnels.
(34:14):
So you're gonna see the motion. It's gonna look like run.
This has to look, feel and smell like run because
everybody's playing Manda Man across the board. And if you
can get these guys to bite and get to these
specific spots with the right distribution, after you show the
presence of run and the threat of run, it makes
(34:34):
these guys hesitate on defense for just half a second,
and that's all you need to buy on a quick
play fake downhill. You see Hunter Long hit the end,
mikel Williams, the rookie trying to make up for Nick
Bosa and his big injury on the defensive line for
San Francisco. And there goes Siegel, the rookie having to
play again number thirty six. He's playing Manda Man against
(34:56):
the tight end and also has to go fit up
that run. If he gets the ball the halfback, he's
got to go hit that guy. And so Trevor places
this ball beautifully upstairs for his big target to go
grab it. Plenty of route distribution, and it looks a
lot different for him. But the real magic I see
is you know him being able to get these reps
(35:18):
under his belt. He's drinking through a fire hose, don't
get it twisted. He is learning a lot on the
fly and doing things he's never done before. Footwork under center,
making checks at the line. But the real secret sauce
is this Anthony Campinelli defense. Look at this turnover reel.
This is just from one game. I mean, teams would
love to have this highlight reel of all these punch outs,
(35:40):
these titball interceptions, brock Perties trying to run like a
little trick shot kind of play. Throw it back to
the half bag. Boom, titball Devin Lloyd, right in your grill.
Titball Devin Lloyd, same story. And then look at this punch.
Dennis Gardek, a cast away from Arizona and the Cardinals,
finds a home in Jacksonville. And then your former forty
nine er Eric Armsteng, who was a pillar on that
(36:01):
d line for years, punches the ball out and here
comes Foyer Lucan, you know, encroaching on a thousand tackles
in his career already. I mean, they got guys that
are completely sold out and bought in to taking the
football away. They're not happy with making the offense punt.
They want the ball back and that's it. There's no
bones about it.
Speaker 1 (36:20):
Mark Sanchez as always money and Josh Allen on rear
View with Mark watched it. These are great episodes if
it was available. I would buy that new show if
it was available at your Fox property.
Speaker 5 (36:35):
And I can't.
Speaker 3 (36:36):
All right, good seeing 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 1 (00:27):
Here we go on a really lively Wednesday, Baseball playoffs,
Joel Clatten and our college football Mark Sanchez, last hour
Ton of NFL.
Speaker 3 (00:40):
We are live.
Speaker 1 (00:41):
It is the Herd wherever you may be and however
you may be listening. Thank you for making us part
of your day. A lot of platforms out there and
a lot of choices as well. The great thing Jmac
and you used to live out there, and so did I.
When the Yankees and the Red Sox meet, especially in
the postseason, it is second guest the manager Tom and
(01:03):
I'll say this about the Yankees as an organization, They've
been very patient. Cashman's been there forever, Aaron boone in
year eight and everybody wants changes, But the Yankees, outside
of one year, a couple of years ago have been
really perennially good. We're waiting for great. This team's not
going to be great because there are certain elements that
they're just not very good at, like their bullpen, and
(01:24):
that was on display last night.
Speaker 3 (01:26):
So here we go.
Speaker 1 (01:26):
Let's talk Yankees Red Sox Game one. It's second guest
the manager time, and Aaron Boone is a pinata to
the pinstrifer fans. So he didn't start Jazz Chisholm or
Ben Rice. Oh well, it's a lefty, righty thing, but
that's gonna get second guests if you lose. And he
also pulled the pitcher Max Freed. It was pretty good
(01:48):
last night. And in the seventh inning, and everybody's gonna
freak out. You know, Ahmed Rosario starts over Chisholm. Why
because he hits the Red Sox eightce better Garrett pro
That's why he started him. So they pull at about
one hundred pitches, they pull Max Street. Everybody's kind of
freaking out, But let's be honest. He was at his
(02:09):
pitch limit. He labored in previous innings. He didn't have
great command, and Aaron Booe knows more about that than
you or I do. So they go to Luke Weaver. Well,
Luke Weaver has been up and down all year out
of the bullpen.
Speaker 3 (02:22):
That's the reality.
Speaker 1 (02:23):
And the Red Sox have played great baseball at Yankee
Stadium this year. They've won six of eight, they won
the season series. So Luke Weave faltered, and this whole
night came down to a couple high leverage situations. One
of them was Luke Weaver. He didn't get the job done,
and that's the reality. The other was just historically weird.
(02:44):
No teams ever loaded the bases bottom of the ninth
and not scored a run at least one. But a
Raldis Chapman. Yeah, he throws one hundred miles an hour,
strikes out John Carlos Stanton, You're three hundred twenty five
million dollar hitter in a high leverage spot. The Red
Sox were better in a clutch spot in the seven,
(03:07):
and they got a historically rare success with the Chapman
in the ninth.
Speaker 3 (03:13):
And that's the game, and.
Speaker 1 (03:15):
That every baseball fan, especially in New York, thinks they're
a combination of the Earl Weaver, Billy Martin, Connie Mack,
and Casey Stengele. Baseball playoffs, especially in the series, come
down to moments, and one of those moments is in
the seventh inning, and you can say, wow, Max Freed.
Speaker 3 (03:33):
Was really rolling.
Speaker 1 (03:34):
He had a twenty four pitch inning, He had a
twenty pitch inning, and again, the Red Sox are a
really good team. So my take is Aaron Boone travels
with a team, he knows his team, and his take
was he didn't have great command a lot of pitches
in these innings. I want to get out of here.
But this whole game came down to a seventh bullpen
miss and a bottom of the ninth Chapman overpowered Yankee hitters.
(04:00):
That's playoff baseball. Here's Aaron Boone on his decision to
pull Max Freed.
Speaker 4 (04:06):
I felt like his command was, you know, not as
good those final few. He's just making so many big
pitches and his stuff was good. So look, I mean,
he gave us, you know, what we needed and felt
really good about the outing he put forth. But I
felt pretty convicted, like, you know, especially we got the
double play. It's like, let's go get one more hitter
and be good.
Speaker 1 (04:28):
And the other thing is so much of Major League
Baseball managing these days is upstairs. A lot of it's
just numbers. Freed was at a pitch count, and I
don't like that number. I mean, if you pitch one
hundred pitches, now, like that's as much as you're gonna pitch.
And so now, now the Dodgers are in a situation
we'll talk about them in a second. Their bullpen's so
(04:48):
bad they're gonna blow through that. But the Yankees bullpen's
not that bad. It's not Dodger bad.
Speaker 3 (04:54):
Okay.
Speaker 1 (04:55):
So the other thing is a lot of times it's
like when football coaches on fourth and one, fourth and two,
go for it.
Speaker 3 (05:01):
If you make it, you have courage. I like him.
Speaker 1 (05:05):
This guy's tough's genius. And if it fails, guy's an idiot.
How do you go forward on fourth and two? So
I don't like to do a lot of post game
Baseball is one hundred and sixty two games long. You
got twenty five two months in spring training. These managers
tend to know their staffs better than I do, certainly
(05:26):
better than the average fan does or media member.
Speaker 3 (05:29):
So my take is.
Speaker 1 (05:30):
It's like, okay, is it one hundred pitches, twenty four
pitch inning? Previously eight? Doesn't that great command, I'm gonna
make the move, and Luke Weaver been spotty faltered. That's
the game, all right, let's go Dodgers. So the Dodgers
are favored over the Cincinnati Reps. I mean the Dodgers
payrolls three times that it'd be more if you weren't
(05:50):
pushing Otawi's salary down the road. The reality is the
Dodgers are gonna win this series. But last night's a
prime example of why they're not gonna win win the
World Series. They had an eight lead and won ten
to five. So here's how it all started. First inning
with show hey Otani.
Speaker 2 (06:09):
The two one pitch, Otani turns on a ball dita rightfield,
It is gone.
Speaker 3 (06:16):
Show hey o.
Speaker 1 (06:17):
Tony kicks off the postseason with a bang, so Taiarskar
Hernandez also had a couple of home runs. They got
an eight nothing lead, and they made Blake Snell, a
very good pitcher, He's had some shoulder issues through his career.
They made him go to seven innings. And the reason
is Dave Roberts doesn't trust the bullpen. Dodger fans don't
(06:37):
trust the bullpen. The Dodger bullpen doesn't trust the bullpen,
so they're gonna push their starters as long as they
can go, and they their bullpen last night was brutal.
Three pitches, three pitchers, that's what It took fifty nine
pitches to get three outs again Cincinnati, and that's after
they'd scored three runs.
Speaker 3 (06:57):
So it's a bad bullpen.
Speaker 1 (06:59):
But last night with the Dodgers, need is really good
starting pitching, okay, and they need their big bats to
deliver well. Molkie Betts had a couple hits, Freddie Freeman
went to for four. Oh Tani had a couple of bombs.
Ta Oscar Hernandez had a couple of bombs. So it
worked last night. But in the eighth inning that bullpen
to the Reds fifty nine pitches, three pitchers just to
(07:22):
get three outs.
Speaker 3 (07:23):
So it was so Dodgers.
Speaker 1 (07:25):
I said this yesterday, I think they blew twenty six saves.
If they would have just blown half that, you would
add one of the great Dodger seasons if they had
blown just half that. So they scored ten runs, they
had fifteen hits. It feels good, but this is how
they're gonna have to win. They're gonna need Otani and
Freeman and Max Munsey and Mookie Betts, they're gonna have
(07:47):
to hit and again baseball playoffs, it's the very best pitching.
They're gonna have to hit, really high end pitching in
high leverage situations because the bullpen's not gonna work. It
didn't work during the regular season, it's now working against
the best teams, so.
Speaker 3 (08:04):
You know it.
Speaker 1 (08:05):
I mean, I thought that felt like a Dodger game.
Your stars, your money players delivered, you got solid starting pitching,
and the bullpen was awful.
Speaker 3 (08:16):
And that's the Dodgers.
Speaker 1 (08:17):
So J Mack also watched on the train home Cubs
and the Podreys and the Podres have a very specific
way they have to play and if they don't play
that way, they can't win. So I think they're in
trouble with the Cubs. But you know, we were both
back there when the baseball Yankee Red Sox. At the time,
(08:37):
the Yankee spent the most money and the Red Sox
were spent the second most money, and they would bid
the hotstole.
Speaker 3 (08:43):
League was different.
Speaker 1 (08:44):
And then the Dodgers got, you know, new owners, and
then the Dodgers now are it's a bank and they
you know, they push their salaries down the road. The
Dodgers have the best team easily, and the complaint in
New York is, well, we don't because they do spend money,
but it's like Brian Cashman, Aaron Boone, you don't make
big moves. But it's funny about New York because the
(09:05):
Knicks just fired a coach after their best season in
ten plus years. The Giants and the Jets are constantly
making changes, and the Yankees are kind of, strangely for
New York, strangely patient. And which is right, the frenetic
pace of the Jets, Giants and Knicks or the Yankees' patients.
(09:25):
Now Yankee fans would say, I'd rather be a little
bit more like the other guys. But the Jets, Giants
are a circus, and the Knicks had most even a circus.
And the Yankees win every year, but they're incredibly patient.
And my takeaway and the Yankees is would you rather
they be the other New York teams who are making
big swings? And Nets, Nicks, Mets, Jets, those teams are chaotic?
Speaker 5 (09:49):
Yeah.
Speaker 6 (09:49):
Well, the problem is that we were spoiled with the
Jeter years winning so many World Series. And now you
say the Yankees are winning, but are they Like, I
don't know. I would trade ninety five wins and a
second round loss for a World Series, wouldn't you.
Speaker 3 (10:03):
I mean, I get it. You know, we don't want
to become.
Speaker 6 (10:05):
The Portland Trailblazers where you're in the playoffs every year
but you're not winning a title. Yankee says, want to
see a World Series Colin, and they haven't in a while,
and then you.
Speaker 3 (10:13):
Know that disappointment.
Speaker 6 (10:14):
I'll tell you this, if they lose today, I think
you'll see the Yankee spending in the offseason big time.
Speaker 7 (10:19):
Right.
Speaker 5 (10:19):
You can't. You can't lose.
Speaker 1 (10:20):
By the Errand Judge making a fortune, Garrett Cole making
a fortune, John Carr.
Speaker 6 (10:25):
Here, there's no salary cap, spend go buy everybody.
Speaker 1 (10:28):
Well, I think it's spending smart. Why go spend that
on John Carlos Stanton who had injuries and you already
had a better version, Aaron Judge. So I mean my
take is I think the Yankees are an uneven team.
When I watch the Yankees play like this year, strikeouts
the bottom of the league in sacrifices they scored, don't
have a good bullpen.
Speaker 3 (10:48):
Remember last year in the World Series.
Speaker 1 (10:50):
And in the playoffs they dominate the American League Central.
But they had a bunch of home runs last year,
but they were a bad fielding team. I mean, I
mean the last couple of years. Say what you want
about the Dodgers. They have a bit, but generally the
Dodgers speed can steal hit for average, hit for power.
Good starting pitching. Now this year, the bullpen's awful, But
the Yankees have felt with all the money they spend,
(11:10):
are they spending it wisely?
Speaker 3 (11:12):
The bullpen's not very good.
Speaker 1 (11:14):
They're okay defensively, but like they led, the only teams
that struck out more in baseball this year were the
awful Rockies and the awful Angels. So it's like it's
all or nothing with the Yankees, and when you face
elite pitching, it's a lot of nothing.
Speaker 6 (11:28):
It's a lot of busts and Celtics three point shooters
galore in the playoffs. If you miss them, you're losing
your bounce. And the Yankees want to go home run
or nothing.
Speaker 1 (11:35):
No, they're a three point They are an NBA team
that shoots threes but doesn't defend very well. And by
the way, when the Warriors were winning, they shot great threes.
They were also an elite defensive team. That's the Dodgers.
You're not going to be perfect. The Warriors didn't have size.
The Dodgers don't have a great bullpen. But when I
watched the Yankees, they're incredibly patient. They deserve a ton
of credit for that, but they're uneven. It's home runs
(11:57):
are nothing. It's hard to hit a lot of home
runs against elite pitch unless you're o Tani. He hits
them against everybody. So we got a lot of stuff today.
We got a lot of stuff today. Joel Klatt breaks
down the crazy weekend of college football and this drama
in Philadelphia with the Eagles is not going to end.
Speaker 2 (12:16):
Be sure to catch live editions of The Herd weekdays
and Noone Easter nin am Pacific on Fox Sports Radio
FS one and the iHeartRadio app.
Speaker 7 (12:25):
Hey, this is Jason McIntyre. Join me every weekday morning
on my podcast, Straight Fire with Jason McIntyre. This isn't
your typical sports pod pushing the same tired narratives down
your throat. Every day, Straight Fire gives you honest opinions
on all the biggest sports headlines. Accurate stats to help
you win big at the sportsbook and all the best guests.
(12:46):
Do yourself a favor and listen to Straight Fire with
Jason McIntyre on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever
you get your podcasts.
Speaker 1 (12:58):
You know, we were talking about the Yankees being uneven. You know,
from ninety six to two thousand and one, you were
in five World Series, they won four of them. They
were a great team, hitting with runners in scoring position,
third in baseball during that span. Now they're twelve. They're
obsessed with the home run. People Forget this. When they
were dominating, Jeter wasn't a big home run hitter. Was
Bernie Williams a big home run hitter? I mean, they
(13:20):
had really good starting pitching, They hit with runners in
scoring position, they took the extra base, they were very smart,
they were really good on the margins.
Speaker 3 (13:28):
They weren't a big home run hitting team.
Speaker 1 (13:29):
I looked it up this morning, thirteenth in home runs
from ninety six to two thousand and one when they
were dominating baseball. Now, baseball has obviously changed, and you know,
home runs is what teams want. But you start looking
around baseball right now, I mean the Potterys have a
very good team. They're doing it with sacrifices in a
great bullpen. There's a lot of different ways to win.
But when they were winning championships, they hit for average
(13:52):
when runners were in scoring position. Right now they don't,
so they're kind of obsessed with a home run. And listen,
Aaron Judge is amazing, but I mean remember earlier this
year Aaron Judge got banged up. The Yankees were not
a good baseball team. So just when I watched them,
I see an uneven franchise. They're really good at one thing,
(14:12):
but there's holes in it, so I don't think they
spend the money that wisely. And you're looking around at
the Brewers. I mean they had home runs too, so
to the Blue Jays, but they lead baseball in singles
and the Padres don't really hit for power at all
outside of Machado and Tatisa a little. But the truth
is they have a great bullpen. So there's a lot
of different ways to win, and it does the Yankees
(14:34):
feel a bit lobsided. So yesterday we talked about this
at length. Last year in Philadelphia, there was a little
AJ Brown drama, but it was different they scored like
fifty some points in the NFC Championship, and they scored
forty or something in the Super Bowl, and everybody was
on the Saquon Barkley train, like, oh, he's setting records.
Speaker 3 (14:58):
He was the new guy. Everybody loved.
Speaker 1 (15:00):
So AJ Brown's like, okay, I'm not getting many balls
thrown my way.
Speaker 3 (15:03):
Whatever.
Speaker 1 (15:04):
Okay, winning cures everything. Usually in the NFL, it's not
going to cure everything. Here, last nine games for A. J.
Brown in Philadelphia, he's averaging three catches a game in
thirty eight yards. He's arguably the second or third best
receiver in the game. So this different. Last year was different.
Everybody was sharing in the joy of Saquon Barkley. Everybody
(15:27):
was in on it. Everybody loved it. Everybody took a
back seat. And also last year the defense was great,
number one total scoring defense. This year's twenty second. This
year they're not getting to the quarterback, so they need
AJ Brown, They really need AJ Brown. Saquon's yards have
been cut in half because everybody's stacking the box. The
words out on Jalen Hurts, stack the box, make him throw.
(15:48):
So you know, it's just interesting. Everybody says Oh, it's okay.
They're winning, winning cures everything. There are exceptions to every
rule this the last nine games, including the playoffs, they
can't get the ball to eight Brown. Now, the Rams
are small at corner. In my opinion, during the trade deadline,
the Rams should make a move. They're tiny at corner.
(16:09):
Maybe they got some six to three guy in the
scout team, but they're just too small. But last year
was different. The defense was great. They were scoring a
lot of points in big games. They were running the football.
Everybody was sharing in that joy. That's not what they
are now. They need Aj Brown and they can't consistently
get them the ball in their last nine games. And
here's Brian Baldinger on his sort of mentality as a
(16:30):
wide receiver.
Speaker 8 (16:32):
The thing about Aj is this, he's different than other
wide receivers in that his mentality is like an offensive tackle.
He wants to absolutely obliterate the opponent in front of them.
He wants to take every corner the way Lane Johnson
takes every defensive end, or Jordan Malatta takes every defensive
(16:55):
end and wants to drill them into the dirt, into
the dirt and have meat brassy. That's what AJ wants
to do. But if he doesn't ever get that chance,
then that's what frustrates him.
Speaker 1 (17:05):
You got to see the problems ahead of when they'll
eventually face the roadblock. The Eagles are four to ozho
they have a worse point differential than Minnesota that just
got housed in Dublin, and they can't figure out their
quarterback position. They have a worse point differential than the Jaguars.
So this thing eventually, you got to be able to
(17:27):
see things before their real problems because you have a
trade deadline opportunity here, and that's like the Rams need
a corner unless they got somebody on the scout team
that I'm not fully aware of, and the Eagles have
a I mean, the only thing that blows up a
great dominant roster is drama. What's the most dramatic position
(17:48):
in the NFL in our lives wide receiver. So again,
I think AJ Brown last year was like, hey, it's
Saquan's year. We're winning. Okay, now he's got a trophy.
Now Saquan's yards are cutting half. Now the defense isn't
great and they need him and they still can't get
him the ball. You could talk yourself into being a
good teammate. Last year, Hey, it's Saquon's year. Saquan's not
(18:10):
having the same year. Words out box is stacked.
Speaker 2 (18:13):
Be sure to catch live editions of The Herd weekdays
in newon Easter not a em Pacific.
Speaker 1 (18:20):
Well, he played ten years in the NFL. He's got
a new digital and YouTube show called Rear View. Mark
Sanchez is joining us live. Your guest was Josh Allen,
who is I think, honestly is the most talented quarterback
just physical trace I've ever seen in my life. He's
a small town kid. Tell the audience the story about
(18:42):
he and his dad and their new business venture.
Speaker 9 (18:45):
Well, they actually have this partnership with wonderful pistachios. And
Josh Allen is from Fireball, which is outside of Fresno,
Central California, known for produce and farming and agriculture. So
he's a small town farm kid and him and his
dad had their first yield of crops pistachios, and it
(19:06):
takes five years. The last time I talked to him
about it was exactly five years ago. So he's fired
up about this partnership, and we got to break that
down a little bit and his agricultural skills, and also
talked a little bit about this occupation he has playing
quarterback in the NFL.
Speaker 5 (19:23):
So it was fun.
Speaker 1 (19:24):
Yeah, it is remarkable how many of these great quarterbacks
grew up as small town kids. It is unbelievable, the
numbers if you go back, So you know, I was
saying this about Brock Purdy when Brock Purdy was FBS
the four years he started at Iowa State. The reason
he dropped in the draft is he led college football
and interceptions. He was a little small, and he threw
a lot of picks. So he goes to Kyle Shanahan's
(19:46):
system and you don't see a lot of picks. He
cleaned it up, But now he's playing hurt and that
people fans don't understand. You're forcing things, you're playing hurt,
maybe you don't have quite the velocity, and now he's
making more and more mistakes. My take is some of
this is just the injuries, because I thought from college
to pro mark, I thought he had kind of cleaned
it up. I thought his judgment was very good. Where
(20:09):
do you think the interceptions come from. He's obviously not
totally healthy. Is that part of it? Oh?
Speaker 5 (20:16):
That's a huge part of it. And I think he
went from.
Speaker 9 (20:19):
A steady distributor type point guard to a guy who's
got a score a lot more and they're leaning on
him a lot more to make plays with a different
type of roster than he came into the league with.
Remember he had guys like Brandon Aiyuk, George Kittle, Deebo
Samuel and then halfway through the first year he started
(20:40):
to get Christian McCaffrey. So three of those guys are
all pros or Pro Bowlers, perennial All Pros and Pro Bowlers,
and they all knew the system.
Speaker 5 (20:49):
They've been in the system for years.
Speaker 9 (20:51):
So he just has to look at a riskband, spit
out a call, and go do his job. Now he's
working with different players, younger players, first year, second year
players that he doesn't have a ton of rapport with,
and it puts you in a position where sometimes you
get a little riskier with the football and sometimes you
just kind of press a little bit.
Speaker 5 (21:09):
And I feel like that's kind of where he's at.
Speaker 9 (21:11):
He's trying to overcompensate for injuries and lack of personnel
around him. I do think if you get into the
argument of him versus Mac Jones starting. I still think
even with the toe injury, he gives you a little
more mobility. But yes, there's some of those riskier decisions,
you know, that kind of echo from his college days
that seem to be cleaned up. Also, I would argue
that the pocket is, you know, not as clean as
(21:34):
he's normally used to, so he's having to move around
quite a bit. They're showing a little age on the
offensive line, and then they're starting some young guys. Connor Colby,
the left guard, is starting in place of Banks and
Burford and all the guards that they've gone through. So
there's bottom line is I don't care if you're Steve Young,
Joe Montana. You need guys around you. And even if
(21:54):
those guys came back into play right now, the best
ability would be Steve Young's legs, because you know, it's
tough finding completions right now for San Francisco.
Speaker 5 (22:02):
And there's still three and one.
Speaker 9 (22:03):
Don't forget all this being said, they're three and one,
so they're still in prime position.
Speaker 5 (22:07):
They got a big one tomorrow night.
Speaker 3 (22:09):
So one of the.
Speaker 1 (22:10):
Things, you know, I've said this about presidents before a
long time ago, is They never get credit for the
mistakes they avoid, Like, like, you know, there's decisions that
could be made, we don't know behind the scenes. A
president goes, We're not.
Speaker 3 (22:23):
Going to do that.
Speaker 1 (22:24):
You don't get credit for stuff you don't do. But
this happens in life. Sometimes you could be a husband,
you could be a quarterback. I think Aaron Rodgers is
the lowest rated PFF quarterback and I said time out.
I said time out. I've watched a lot of quarterback
play this year. I think Aaron has figured out on
the fly. And I thought he did it in Dublin
(22:46):
multiple O line injuries with Minnesota, Vikings right out of
the gate, got a great pass rush and Aaron said,
I'm not throwing the ball into trouble. I'm throwing this
ball underneath. I'm getting completions. I'm going to let our
defense win. And I'm just I'm saying, that's what I saw.
But he's got he's low graded by PFF and their
takeaway is he doesn't throw the ball down the field.
(23:07):
And I'm like, I watched the Minnesota's old line can't
protect Carson. He shouldn't throw the ball down the field.
And you're laughing at this Why, well.
Speaker 5 (23:17):
I'm just okay.
Speaker 9 (23:18):
Eleven twenty one Pacific time, Colin Coward is defending Aaron Rodgers.
I know if I've heard that, give me twenty second.
This could be a full Colin. What's going on? I
flipped the script here.
Speaker 5 (23:36):
Listen. I totally agree with you.
Speaker 9 (23:38):
I think you know he's the veteran conductor of the orchestra.
It's not flashy, but he's gonna get the whole group
in sync and hit every note.
Speaker 5 (23:50):
Reminder, this division is theirs for the taking.
Speaker 9 (23:54):
With Joe Burrow down, with Lamar Jackson down for who
knows how long with the hamstring. I mean, they're Dylan
Gabriel and Jake Browning next are their two starting quarterbacks
that they're going against. So they finally figured out how
to use DK Metcalf.
Speaker 5 (24:09):
And that took some time. You know, they don't have
a ton of time on task.
Speaker 9 (24:11):
Aaron and Dk and then Arthur Smith getting him involved
in understanding that's exactly what he does best what we're
watching on this highlight. He's a catch and run guy.
He's a big body, contested ball defender, catcher like that.
That's exactly the way you want to utilize him and
when it's available, you take it.
Speaker 5 (24:30):
When it's not, you're going to.
Speaker 9 (24:31):
Have to go dink and dunk and do some other
stuff to get the ball down the field get the
run game going. But he's got plenty of gas left
in the tank and he's got plenty for deep balls
and all those splash plays. But they're going to have
to generate some of those splash plays on screens, wide
receiver screens, halfback.
Speaker 5 (24:48):
Screens, tight end screens.
Speaker 9 (24:49):
That's where they're going to get some of their stuff
because they're not just to launch it down the field
type of team. But this post bye week for them,
they're on bye.
Speaker 5 (24:56):
Week right now.
Speaker 9 (24:57):
I mean, it's set up pretty nice for them to
potend run the table in the NFC North.
Speaker 3 (25:02):
So you have the Raiders at the Colts this weekend.
Speaker 1 (25:05):
And I'm watching the Rams Colts game and I'm texting
a friend and I think j Mack may have been
one of the people. I'm like, first of all, in
these old line in these team's good. They got dudes
in these good team. And I said, second, okay, he's
not Stafford, but Daniel Jones is making big boy throws.
Daniel Jones is playing with a ton of confidence. His
(25:27):
second interception, it's late. You don't have much time. I
don't even I don't care. I'll say it. I never
gave up on Sam Darnold. I gave up on Daniel Jones.
I don't even know what I'm watching. I mean, seriously, Mark,
I'm watching him. I'm like, Oh, that's the starting quarterback
in the NFL. Big moves, big arm. Are you surprised
(25:48):
a little?
Speaker 9 (25:50):
Well, just add them to the list of former New
York players that leave and go have success. I don't
care whether you're Giants or Jets. I mean, it's incredible
to see Xavier McKinney, Saquon Barkley, Leo Williams, Daniel Jones
just out into the list.
Speaker 5 (26:10):
So what Shane Steichen has done as assembled a.
Speaker 9 (26:14):
Roster, a strong offensive unit, a strong offensive line that
can keep the pocket clean.
Speaker 5 (26:19):
They got a great run game.
Speaker 9 (26:20):
I love their running back and they have everything that
Daniel Jones had in the year he went to the
playoffs and won a game on the road in Minnesota
with the New York Giants.
Speaker 5 (26:31):
I mean, it looks very similar. Remember they had.
Speaker 9 (26:35):
Saquon Barkley that year, and you know now they're working
with Jonathan Taylor. It's like a very similar setup. The
guy is surgical, he's an intelligent player. He's more athletic
than people give him credit for. You see some of
his scrambles. I mean, this guy can pick up fifteen
to twenty five yards like that. And then you know
they got this rookie tight end as ty Warren Tyler
(26:57):
Warren out of Penn State.
Speaker 5 (26:58):
I mean he's a big all of.
Speaker 9 (27:00):
Six to six, big catch radius, and he's still a rookie.
He's still trying to figure it out, and he's making
this kind of contribution early.
Speaker 5 (27:08):
I mean, this is scary. They have plenty of talent
in that division.
Speaker 9 (27:11):
I think it's kind of them in Jacksonville right now
at least out of the gates this first month of
the season, that can really make a run in that division,
and that thing's wide open for those two teams.
Speaker 1 (27:24):
By the way, Ashton genty breakout game, that's not a
great old line you're looking at film, he kind of
you know, I mean it's Boise State. It's a big
jump up. It's not a great old line. What did
you make of his performance?
Speaker 9 (27:38):
Well, I thought they had an excellent performance last week.
I think Austin power Jackson does a good job for
them up front. He's the right guard, has played center
as well. Now they're going with Meredith at center. But
they also just lost Colton Miller, their left tackle that
they really loved out of UCLA, So that's going to
be huge. Who's going to step in? But I loved
his ascension. And remember this vision the AFC West. It's
(28:01):
a street fight every week. All those teams want to
run the ball. Whether you're Sean Payton and the Broncos,
you know, Pete Carroll and the Raiders, Chip Kelly, they
want to run the football. Jim Harbaugh, they want to
run the football with the guys they have. They want
to control the clock, own time of possession, and just
wear you down and then knock you out at the
(28:22):
end of games. So this this division is right where
they want it. It's just do we have enough playmakers
in the past game for when people act the box,
because that's what teams are going to do, especially after
this breakout game.
Speaker 5 (28:35):
They're going to just load up the box and force.
Speaker 9 (28:38):
Gino Smith to beat everybody with you know, Trey Tucker,
Jacobe Myers and you know Brock Bowers who's wearing that
knee brace because he got nicked up a little bit
early in this season. So that's going to be where
they have to take their next step. And they played
poorly this past week and they still had a chance
to win it with a field goal. The Bears blocked
the field goal and that ended the game. But even
(29:00):
with all those mistakes and guys that aren't quite household
names on their roster, they found a way to play
some inspired football and coach Carroll has this unit playing
really well. So they just dropped one, you know, kind
of a tough loss at home, especially now they go
on the road to Indy.
Speaker 5 (29:15):
So we have that game this week.
Speaker 1 (29:17):
So I've two questions. One of them would be tape.
But here's my last question before tape. So I watched
the Packers and I said they're the youngest team in
the league, and there is something Remember when Seattle lost
to San Francisco Week one and I thought they outplayed him.
There is something about young teams, Seattle's young, Green Bays young.
There is sometimes with young teams they don't quite know
(29:42):
how to seal games when they're the better team, and
it's a thing.
Speaker 3 (29:47):
It's a skill.
Speaker 1 (29:48):
There's a reason Kansas City wins all these close games
in Philadelphia.
Speaker 3 (29:51):
It's a skill.
Speaker 1 (29:53):
And I think and I watched Green Bay in Dallas
and I'm like, they just do the clock. They're just
quite not there. That was my interpretation. Jordan loves great
he's playing great football. You got a terrific coach. They're
going to be fine. But it's the process of winning
games against inferior opposition. And I think it's harder than
(30:13):
fans and media think that it's a skill or am
I just fishing here and you don't buy it.
Speaker 5 (30:20):
No, that's one hundred percent true.
Speaker 9 (30:22):
These are learned traits and then soon it becomes part
of who you are and how you The coaches teach it,
but until the players, you know, handle it and experience it,
then they go back to the well for more, saying Okay,
that worked, I trust you, Let's keep this going. But
the analogy for them really is like that that little
league team that's like the ten year olds, and they
(30:42):
kind of stay together because they've been the youngest team
in the league for like three years, so they kind
of stay together at ten years old. But they're playing
up a division against the twelve and thirteen year olds.
So by the time they get there and they're twelve
and thirteen, it's like, hey, we've done this for a while,
now we just got to go prove it. We didn't
win all the tournaments before, but now we got a
shot in the finals every time. Now it's just doing
(31:03):
it a couple times, and then it turns into riding
a bike. Like teams you're talking about, like the Chiefs,
they just know how to win at the end, and
the first way to finish games is to stop beating
yourselves turnovers and penalties. As soon as they eliminate those
or even cut them in half, it's a no brainer,
and they might start lapping teams. They might start winning
by fourteen points if they get their stuff together. So
(31:27):
I think most NFL games are truly are lost and
you don't have to go steal them at the end.
Speaker 5 (31:32):
One team will just end up giving the game away.
Speaker 9 (31:36):
And so they're a young, deep, resilient group that can
survive this war of attrition that is injuries. You know,
it seems like they've been pretty healthy, so they have
a chance to run the table in their division.
Speaker 5 (31:48):
And I like where they're headed, but you're right, it's
all about finishing.
Speaker 1 (31:52):
Finally, I watch the Niners and the Jags. First of all,
the Niners special teams have been lacking to be diplomatic
for about three or four years, and that was a
part of the game. You know, Trevor Lawrence. I loved
him in college and there have been moments in the NFL.
(32:13):
You got to play you on a show. Where are
you with Trevor Lawrence?
Speaker 9 (32:16):
Yeah, it's interesting because that was that was a huge
part of our broadcast last week. And you know, I
don't want to be a quarterback apologist. You know that
the numbers are the numbers. He's got over seventy turnovers
in his career and at this point in your career
going into year five, that's not okay. But you look
at the surrounding, the supporting cast, and the environment. He's
(32:41):
been in four different head coaches, four or five different coordinators. Finally,
he's as a coordinator that comes from that Shanahan McVeigh
kind of tree that gives him options at the line
of scrimmage. This is one of the first times he's
really had to go through an entire You hear these
quarterbacks say can can can. Well, they're going up to
the line of scrimmage with multiple plays and when they
(33:02):
say can they throw a play in the trash can
and get to a new play or completely audible, which
he did in won a game against Houston after playing
poorly against an all out cover zero blitz. So he's
doing a lot of this stuff and going through this
can criteria for each single run going run to run,
run to pass, run to run to pass, pass to pass.
(33:23):
I mean, he hasn't had to do as much of that,
and that hasn't been on his plate. His plate is
completely full. He's got a center, thank god, who's been
in the system before. I felt that with Mangold when
I got to New York as a rookie. There's a
lot to handle in the run game. And so I
think he's finally getting a chance to get these guys
in the right play, give them an advantageous shot at
(33:46):
each down. And you know, he took care of the
football last week, looked really good.
Speaker 3 (33:51):
And part of it is this scheme.
Speaker 9 (33:52):
So we're going to go to the tape and I'll
show you exactly what they're doing on the goal line.
They're using their big personnel using the best five or
six skill guys. They can get on the field and
they're putting defenders in a bind. You see a ton
of teams do this. You see McVeigh do this with Stafford.
You see all the pre snap motion and movement different personnels.
(34:14):
So you're gonna see the motion. It's gonna look like run.
This has to look, feel and smell like run because
everybody's playing Manda Man across the board. And if you
can get these guys to bite and get to these
specific spots with the right distribution, after you show the
presence of run and the threat of run, it makes
(34:34):
these guys hesitate on defense for just half a second,
and that's all you need to buy on a quick
play fake downhill. You see Hunter Long hit the end,
mikel Williams, the rookie trying to make up for Nick
Bosa and his big injury on the defensive line for
San Francisco. And there goes Siegel, the rookie having to
play again number thirty six. He's playing Manda Man against
(34:56):
the tight end and also has to go fit up
that run. If he gets the ball the halfback, he's
got to go hit that guy. And so Trevor places
this ball beautifully upstairs for his big target to go
grab it. Plenty of route distribution, and it looks a
lot different for him. But the real magic I see
is you know him being able to get these reps
(35:18):
under his belt. He's drinking through a fire hose, don't
get it twisted. He is learning a lot on the
fly and doing things he's never done before. Footwork under center,
making checks at the line. But the real secret sauce
is this Anthony Campinelli defense. Look at this turnover reel.
This is just from one game. I mean, teams would
love to have this highlight reel of all these punch outs,
(35:40):
these titball interceptions, brock Perties trying to run like a
little trick shot kind of play. Throw it back to
the half bag. Boom, titball Devin Lloyd, right in your grill.
Titball Devin Lloyd, same story. And then look at this punch.
Dennis Gardek, a cast away from Arizona and the Cardinals,
finds a home in Jacksonville. And then your former forty
nine er Eric Armsteng, who was a pillar on that
(36:01):
d line for years, punches the ball out and here
comes Foyer Lucan, you know, encroaching on a thousand tackles
in his career already. I mean, they got guys that
are completely sold out and bought in to taking the
football away. They're not happy with making the offense punt.
They want the ball back and that's it. There's no
bones about it.
Speaker 1 (36:20):
Mark Sanchez as always money and Josh Allen on rear
View with Mark watched it. These are great episodes if
it was available. I would buy that new show if
it was available at your Fox property.
Speaker 5 (36:35):
And I can't.
Speaker 3 (36:36):
All right, good seeing you
Hosts And Creators
Colin Cowherd
Jason McIntyre
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