October 2, 2025 • 40 mins
NFL Films analyst Greg Cosell joins the show to break down why the Kansas City Chiefs offense is back in elite form, and what's still going wrong with the Philadelphia Eagles
Colin has some NFL apologies to give out
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Thanks for listening to The Herd podcast. Be sure to
catch us live every weekday on Fox Sports Radio in
noon to three Eastern nine am to noon Pacific. Find
your local station for The Herd at Fox Sports Radio
dot com, or stream us live every day on the
iHeartRadio app by searching Fox Sports Radio or FSR.
Speaker 2 (00:21):
You're listening to Fox Sports Radio.
Speaker 1 (00:26):
Here we go, it's our two. It is a Thursday,
you know. Sometimes Thursdays are slow days for us. Right
there's no big games, Thank God for these wild cards.
Baseball playoffs and I games in New York feel difference.
Nothing against Fenway, it's nothing against Wrigley. I grew up
in the West Coast. Baseball playoff games in New York
(00:47):
because of the history, because of the pressure, they just
feel different. So it was just magical last night. I
gotta say this, the greatest move by any commissioner in
any sport ever is Rob Manford, major League Baseball commissioner
instituting a pitch clock. Two hour and fifty minute playoff
(01:07):
games are fantastic movies. They're better at two hours than three.
And I love the Irishman. I love Scorsese, but I
don't have time to watch the Irishman on Monday, Tuesday,
Wednesday and Thursday. Give me an hour fifty movie.
Speaker 2 (01:24):
You know.
Speaker 1 (01:24):
Adam Silver recently said a year ago, He's like, hey,
I would reduce quarters to ten minutes dot twelve, and
I think the audience would appreciate it. I'm all for
protecting athletes. I don't need my athletes on the field
for five hours. Even golf, old guys, slow sport. Pace
of play is a constant issue. Listen, I know a
lot of you waken bake crowd guys. You love a
(01:47):
six hour fish concert. The rest of us have to
go to work in the morning, right, I'm sorry. Years ago,
Red Sox Yankees played in the ALCS. I looked it
up this morning. Brutal LCS. Years ago two thousand and four,
one game was over four hours, two or over five.
Almost everything, Thanksgiving dinner with crazy Uncle Eddie. Everything's better quicker,
(02:12):
even holiday parties. So Monday Night Football years ago, I
saw the numbers on Monday Night football. They may have changed,
but time spent watching Monday Night football was under two hours.
Not everybody watches pregame show, postgame show, entire game. The
baseball playoffs have been great pace of play is fast,
it moves, and I understand playoff games are going to
(02:36):
be longer. Baseball games now last about two hours and
thirty five minutes. A playoff game is going to be
two hours and fifty minutes or two hours fifty five minutes.
I'd get it. Every out matters, you go to the bullpen, more, whatever.
But it's been just absolutely fantastic. God, if the Dodgers
had a good bullpen, their games will be over in
an hour and a half. With that every week at
(02:58):
this time, best fifty minutes. Maybe in TV forty six years.
NFL Films Greg Cosel is now joining US Live Rams
Niners tonight. Let's get that one out of the way
because the Niners are all beat up. I was watching
Puka Nakool last week, fifth round pick out a BYU,
and he's very, very good. I'm not denying that he's strong,
he's hard to bring down, but it does feel like
(03:21):
when you watch his historic numbers, some of this is fit.
I don't I said this the other day. If you
put him in other teams, I think he'd be really good.
I don't think it would be like this. When you
watch film, how much of Puka is fit and not
just talent.
Speaker 3 (03:38):
I think you're correct, Colin, because, in fact, this week,
because he leads the NFL and targets with fifty, and
he's obviously been a very good player for the last
couple of years since he came in the league. So
I looked at all his targets and think about this,
Only one of his fifty targets has he been the
single receiver to whatever side of the field he's on.
(03:58):
He's always a multiple receiver player. So they use him
in motion, they use him in reduced splits, they use
him in bunch formations, they use him to what he is,
and he's very very good run after catch.
Speaker 4 (04:12):
He's so physical and he's so competitive.
Speaker 3 (04:15):
But when you think of the great receivers, and I'm
not saying he's not, but when most people think of
great receivers in today's NFL, you think of what we
call that boundary X, that single receiver to the short
side of the field that just can work one on
one against anybody. He is not deployed in that manner,
so he rarely ever, like I said one time this
year and by the way, it was a tunnel screen,
(04:37):
only one time has he been the single receiver to
the side of the field that he lines up on.
Speaker 1 (04:42):
So they play the Niners tonight. I said the other day,
I think brock Purty is still injured. I think he's
the ball sailing on him. I don't think he gets
the push off he wants. I'll defend brock Purty. If
your planet seventy five eighty percent the ball doesn't come
out in the same that's what it looks like to me.
What is the film say?
Speaker 4 (05:01):
I would agree with that.
Speaker 3 (05:02):
I thought last week there were a lot of balls
that sailed on them. Again, we never know if that's
due to injury or not. But to me, they're much
larger issue, quite frankly, because Brock Purdy is a good player,
you know, and everybody wants to get into the brock
Purty discussion on a week to week basis. He's proven
that he's a quality NFL quarterback. Their issue is they
cannot run the football. You know, one stat we always
(05:23):
look at his yards before first contact. Do you know
who's last in the NFL Christian McCaffrey. He gets one
point four to seven yards before first contact. And as
good as Purdy can be or any quarterback. For the
most part, if you can't run the ball at all,
and particularly that team, the foundation of how they go
about doing everything offensively starts with the run game, and
(05:45):
they've been unable to run the ball with any sustainability
or any consistency.
Speaker 1 (05:51):
Yeah, let's revisit Jackson Dart. I thought it was good.
What I liked about the game plan, it was very intentional.
They clearly design plays for him to run. They kind
of felt left that you could tell the Chargers O
line was beat up. The Giant staff felt like they
would win some matchups up front and it would be
a pretty low scoring game, so they were intentional. They
(06:14):
wanted to win field position. It wasn't a lot of
big throws down the field. I thought he was good.
I don't think he was exceptional. What did the film say?
Speaker 3 (06:22):
No, No, he wasn't. And they played to what he is.
They ran the same basic route concepts over and over,
and there was one in particular called snag flat that
seemed to be open every time they got zone coverage.
It becomes a pitch and catch, easy throw. They used
his legs. He was clearly in the pocket, a little
quick to move. I don't think he saw things really well,
(06:46):
but you know, this is to be expected in a
first start. He's going to have to become much more
discipline as a pocket player in order to become a
really good quarterback. But you know, whenever I watch guys
like Jackson Dart, it always makes me think of the
balance between being a really efficient pocket player and the
ability to use your legs. And it depends on the
quarterback where you fall on that sort of spectrum where
(07:08):
you fall on that line. But he's clearly in this
given game, just his first game, he was a little
quick to move. And then some of that is mental,
you don't see it the right way, and some of
that is just physical because that's what you've always done.
Speaker 1 (07:22):
All right, Let's move to Lamar Jackson and the Kansas
City Chiefs. Yeah, it does feel like because they've got weapons.
Lamar has been around this league for a long time,
but it does feel like are people defending him differently?
Speaker 4 (07:36):
Now.
Speaker 1 (07:36):
I will argue that Spags has so many games against
him that the more you see of Lamar Jackson, the
better your odds are. That's why he's been so bare
against the NFC. You never see him and all of
a sudden, it's like, well, we can't even write duplicate
that at practice. I think Kansas City's got his number,
and I also think they're a little in his head.
But are people defending Lamar different.
Speaker 3 (07:59):
A little bit? And I think one of the things
you're seeing more and more teams do. Even Detroit did it.
I think the week prior is they're putting people on
the line of scrimmage. So now what your quarterback has
to do, Lamar has to do it is you've got
to change protections because you've got to account for people
on the line of scrimmage. So what you do is
you go to six and seven man protections, then you
drop people out. Teams are using a spy, but they're
(08:22):
using it a little bit differently Colin, and this, I
think this is an important point. The spy is a
little bit closer to the line of scrimmage. And because
Lamar likes to run forward, he's not a guy like
He's not like Josh Allen, who always seems to run
to his right outside. Lamar likes to run forward. So
now you have a guy a little closer to the
line of scrimmage. There's not enough space, There's not enough room. Yeah,
(08:45):
he might be a better athlete than the player who's
spying him, but he still needs space and they're trying
to really cut down on his space.
Speaker 4 (08:53):
Now.
Speaker 3 (08:53):
I don't know if this is the first time anybody's
done this. I can't remember every game in his career,
but you know, sometimes they happened to work in a
given week. I'm not a blueprint guy. I don't think, oh,
every team should do this and it automatically works.
Speaker 4 (09:06):
I guess he's going to be out for a couple of.
Speaker 3 (09:07):
Weeks now anyway, But I think teams are always trying
to tweak and come up with a different way. Showed
different looks, make him think through the play, make him
react differently, and it's been effective the last couple of weeks.
Speaker 1 (09:19):
So I kept joking with Jmack all week. I said,
if you could just put E Xavier Worthy in, it'll
give him a deep threat, and it'll give him a
guy that can throw to eight times. I don't think
he's a one, but I do think he forces you
to defend differently because of his speed. And it was
interesting they brought him in and suddenly all the underneath
routes were open. So again, I think when Rashid Rice
(09:40):
gets back with Worthy and Juju Smith and Travis that's
a real NFL offense. I don't think they run the
ball particularly well, but I do think no. When I
watched that game, I thought, oh, that team, that team
can compete for the Super Bowl. I didn't think that
two weeks ago.
Speaker 3 (09:56):
Right, Well, it's funny you say that because for the
last couple of years we talked about the Chiefs as
being one of the slowest teams in the league. Now
all of a sudden, they're one of the fastest. It's
not just Worthy, Thorn is a burner, Hollywood Brown can run.
And keep an eye on that back Brashad Smith, the
rookie from SMU. You know, he was a college receiver.
I think it might have been in Miami, and then
(10:17):
he transferred to SMU where they made him a running back.
But this kid is another explosive athlete. He's another guy
that runs under four to four. So keep an eye
on him. They'll start using him more and more. So
all of a sudden, and it shows up in the
way they're playing. They are now again pushing the ball
down the field. They did not do that the last
couple of years much at all, and when they did,
(10:38):
they were not very good at it, even with Mahomes,
who obviously can make any throw at a high level.
But now, all of a sudden, they're one of the
fastest wide receiver units in the league.
Speaker 1 (10:49):
Isn't that's something? All right? Bills faced New England. I'm
really interested. I know the Bills are the more interesting
team to the country, but I did feel that Drake
May was a little less polished. Yeah, justin Herbert. I
gotta tell you, I like their run room. They found
a left tackle. I think he looks the part. I don't.
(11:10):
They're not going to beat Buffalo, I doubt it, but Greg,
I think we I said this last year after about
ten games with bow Nicks. I'm like that works in
the NFL. I watched Drake May. I know it's early,
but that that works to me. I think he feels comfortable,
he's accurate. I agree they're not asking a lot, but
you tell me, it looks like they found their guy.
Speaker 3 (11:32):
Well, first of all, all we have is what he's
done up to this point. You know, I always say
this every week when I'm with you. You know, we're
not gonna talk about what's going to happen in six weeks.
We have no idea, but what we have right now,
we have a poised, composed, comfortable quarterback. And there's two
areas where he's been outstanding this year, and I think
most coaches would view those as litmus test areas. Number One,
(11:52):
he's been phenomenal on third down Colin, and he's been
phenomenal versus pressure. Those are two two critical areas for
young quarterbacks. Most young quarterbacks struggle with those two things
in those two situations, and he's been phenomenal. So I
really like what I've seen up to this point. I
think their run game needs to start becoming a little better.
(12:13):
You know, they've got some good backs. You know you
mentioned Will Campbell, the left tackle. It's really interesting watching him.
And I had this conversation with a really well respected
on line coach who and most online coaches are believer
in arm length. They say that sixty percent of the snaps,
you can do everything right and you look really good
at arm length'sn't an issue. It's the forty percent where
your technique breaks down. You have to be reactive, and
(12:37):
that's where arm length comes into play.
Speaker 1 (12:39):
Yeah, all right, every year I pick a team that
I think is significantly better than the experts. Last year
it was Washington and Denver. The year before it was
the Rams. People thought they were going to rebuild. The
year before that, right Viking. So I've been in a
role I This year it was the Seahawks. I think
John Snyder is an excellent jam. I think the last
(13:00):
three drafts have been outstanding. And you and I have
both liked Donald for a long time. When I watch them,
sometimes Greg, I do the sound down test, turn the
sound down, cut the announcers out, watch the speed and
athletic ability of a team. And when you turn the
sound down with the Seahawks and you just forget who
(13:22):
they are. That team has got athletes Jackson Smith and
Jig Bass. I'm sorry, but that's a number one you're watching. Donald.
I don't know. I'm not saying they're Philadelphia. I'm not
saying they have that roster. But the film has got
to say they're athletic. They play with a lot of energy,
do they not?
Speaker 4 (13:41):
They sure do? And will you really notice it?
Speaker 3 (13:44):
And yes, Donald is very very good and he's played
very well going back to last year with Minnesota and
certainly this year. And one of the things he does
as well as any quarterback in the league is throw
the ball down the field. But you look at that
defense now, that defense is really athletic. They're very good
on defense, and a lot of people are probably not
thinking about them as a really good defensive team. And
(14:04):
by the way, they haven't even gotten to play because
he was injured in the preseason. Nick Mnwarie, I guess
he was an early second round pick if I'm not mistaken.
The safety from South Carolina, who I think, within the
context of how Mike McDonald plays defense, is going to
be a really impactful player. So to me, this is
a pretty complete team. They'd like to get their run
game going a little more, but I think it will
(14:26):
because Kenneth Walker has a lot of ability. But right
now I look at Seattle as a really solid team.
Speaker 1 (14:33):
I want to talk Philadelphia. This is bizarre. They are
totally bizarre. They have had the two worst offensive halves.
Not Tennessee, not Houston, not Carolina, not the Saints. The
two worst offensive halves of football have been the Eagles
(14:53):
first half against the Rams second half last week. They're
trying to get aj Brown the ball it worked against
the Rams who don't have size at corner. This thing
is this thing is is it? The offensive coordinator is
at the play calling, they go into these holes where
it's just a what is it?
Speaker 3 (15:14):
It's a hard question to answer, but I will tell
you this. The offensive line has not played well this
year and the tape tells you that. And I think
the assumption, because it's been maybe the best offensive line
in football for the last two three years, the assumption
just is, oh, it's a great old line. Well, this
year it has not played to that level. And Barkley,
they're still giving him the ball. He's got the most
(15:36):
first down rushes of any back in the league, but
he's averaging three yards of carry and again yards before
first contact is awful.
Speaker 4 (15:43):
And Barkley is a little bit of.
Speaker 3 (15:45):
A searcher and a looker when he doesn't feel that
he has room, so sometimes he leaves yards on the field.
But the pass game, I mean, if I said to you, Colin,
here's a team that can't that's not throwing it very well,
I'm not running it very well, well, you'd probably say, well,
they can't be very good record wise. Yet they're four
and zero. They're just the passing game just is not
(16:07):
comfortable to me right now. There's not a lot of
clean looks for Jalen Hurts. I don't feel like he's
comfortable with what he's looking at. Normally, they work outside
the numbers really effectively. Jalen is phenomenal throwing the ball
outside the numbers. Other than the Rams game in that
second half, you haven't seen much of that at all.
Speaker 4 (16:24):
So I don't know. To me, it's a mystery, but
they're not very good right now on offense.
Speaker 1 (16:30):
Okay, so coming out of the draft, I definitely did
not like JJ McCarthy as much as the GMS, and
I like bow Nicks more so. I watched Oregon at
Auburn and I thought with Sean Payton was going to work.
One of the things that I'm always impressed with him
is that when HiT's a ball out into the flat,
and it can be to Mims, Sutton, Harvey, anybody, he
(16:53):
puts that ball right out in front, so the receiver,
the pass catcher catches it running. They don't have to
wait for it. It's not a lollipopsher. It's very brady.
It is a tight spiral and that's an underrated skill.
He is really accurate, like eight nine yard, just bang, bang,
very crisp. He was great against Cincinnati. What does the
(17:16):
film say on bo Nicks.
Speaker 3 (17:18):
Well, it's funny you say that because ninety five percent
of run after catchers on the quarterback, not on the receiver.
You just have to go back to Bill Walsh for that.
We all know that if you watch tape. It's funny
you mentioned Nicks. The first couple of weeks of this season,
he struggled. He was not getting clear pictures. He reacted
to pressure that wasn't there. Sometimes it looks like he
was inventing pressure. He just didn't play well through the
(17:41):
first two weeks, which sometimes happens with a second year quarterback,
particularly after they've had success as a rookie. But the
last two weeks he started to play better, and I
thought against Cincinnati he clearly had his best game. And
I think he's a really solid player. You know, me,
I don't get caught up and is he topped five
tops say? You know, I don't get caught up in that.
But I think he's starting to play a little more comfortably,
(18:03):
a little more calmly. And I think that with Sean Payton.
He gets set up in good situations. And if you want,
we can go right to the play of the week
because it's going to be Bo Nicks and it's just
to me, an example of.
Speaker 4 (18:14):
Really good coaching.
Speaker 3 (18:15):
It's the touchdown he threw, which we're actually looking at
right now.
Speaker 4 (18:18):
We'll see it.
Speaker 3 (18:19):
It's a touchdown he threw this past week to Cortland Sutton.
Speaker 4 (18:22):
And to me, this again is just.
Speaker 3 (18:24):
A really good example of coaching and how you set
up plays. And this is Nixon an empty set. So
what is he looking at. He's looking at a post
safety case. He's a single high safety and what does
he see across the board? Looks like man to man
across the board. So what's the route concept here? And
it's a great route concept for this look. It's five verticals.
(18:46):
They're going to run five verticals. So the matchup we
want to focus on, of course, is Courtland Sutton versus
the corner that happens to be Dax Hill. So now
there's what you really want to do here is you
want to create distance between the post safety and the
corner that's playing Sutton. That's what you're trying to do.
So how do you do that you do it with
(19:06):
your receiver. With Sutton, who will widen his vertical stem.
He wants to move the corner and expand the corner.
That's what he's trying to do. But then the other
part of this is going to be on bo Nix,
and we'll see that from the end zone.
Speaker 4 (19:21):
He's got to control the.
Speaker 3 (19:22):
Safety because he's got to create the passing window.
Speaker 4 (19:25):
And you can see it from this angle.
Speaker 3 (19:27):
You'll see as he drops back that his head is
looking first to the left then down the middle, and
you can see the safety subtly slide into the middle
of the field, so it creates distance to create the
passing window. These are the subtleties of playing quarterback in
the NFL that have to become second nature, because otherwise,
if you don't bring, if you don't control that safety,
(19:48):
he just slides right there and you don't have the throw.
These are the little things you learn and that becomes
second nature as you play the position at the NFL level.
Speaker 1 (19:58):
So good years NFL film. Greg cosel as Owa's thank
you very much.
Speaker 4 (20:05):
Thanks Colin love it. Talk to you next week.
Speaker 1 (20:07):
He's on Fox Sports Radio on the weekends as well,
so it's guys fired up for Yankees Red Sox. Tonight
we have e O'Connor last hour. He's going to talk
about that. It is, you know, it's just there's certain
positions in sports that I temper my criticism, and baseball
managers are not setting the lineup. A lot of work
(20:29):
has done upstairs. So I mean a college football coach
at a small market will make more than Aaron Boone
or Alex Coral. Why because the college football coach is
so essential. They do all the recruiting. And you know,
baseball managers outside of three or four of the top guys,
you know, they don't. They don't get paid a lot
by their club. And that tells you what the club
thinks is that, you know, the gms now are the
(20:52):
guys pulling the strings. So it's hard, you know, when
you know Ben Rice isn't out there, Jazz isn't playing well,
it's not really the same team. But the analytics say,
you know, play other guys, so we'll see, you know,
j Mac, I don't you? Sometimes you and I were
critical of athletes, sometimes sometimes rarely I sometimes I I
(21:17):
want to be the bigger man, and so I wrote,
I'm old school I'm coming around the corner here. I'm
I wrote some apology letters. I went to the post office.
I know our government shut down, but the post office
is still working. I'm gonna I wrote some letters last night.
I had a little extra time watching the Yankees Red Sox.
I want to introduce those around the corner. You know,
(21:40):
you know, you get older, you just you know, you
want to maybe get a little soft, But you know,
stamps post office still works for me.
Speaker 2 (21:48):
One more Heard. The Herd streams twenty four hours a day,
seven days a week within the iHeartRadio app. Search Herd
to listen live or on demand whenever you like.
Speaker 5 (21:59):
Hey, this is Jason McIntyre.
Speaker 6 (22:01):
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.
Speaker 5 (22:16):
Help you win big at the sports book, and all
the best guests.
Speaker 6 (22:20):
Do yourself a favor and listen to Straight Fire with
Jason McIntyre on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts.
Speaker 5 (22:27):
Or wherever you get your podcasts.
Speaker 1 (22:35):
We're going to New York in our final hour game
three tonight. When I used to work at the other place,
I'd never been to Yankee Stadium as a kid, So
I went to Yankee Stadium a couple of times, and
you know, it smelled and it was old. And my
takeaway was I was really hungry and there was no
place to watch the game and then simultaneously eat a
(22:58):
decent meal, and you know, I didn't want to eat
hot dogs and you know, crappy food. So the new
Yankee Stadium, it's got fruit stand, it's got twenty five
great restaurants, but it's you know, it doesn't quite feel
Even last night, you saw those empty seats behind the plate.
It doesn't quite fit. It's a much nicer stadium, it
has better amenities, but there is something about old stadiums
(23:22):
and the ghosts and the history and they kind of shake.
The camera shakes. So you know, I just when I
watched the Yankees, it's hard to get away from the
George and the Billy Martin era. When I grew up
with Reggie Jackson and Billy Martin in the feuding and
the weird press conferences. But I don't know who. I
like the Night's two young pitchers. I don't think I
(23:44):
don't think home field matters much. I think it's starting pitching.
Game one, Red Sox had an ace. Game two Yankees
had the better picture. So who has to go to
the bullpen sooner? And then you know you can't make errors.
You got to take advantage on the bases. But I
did think Jazz Chisholm playing like mattered. Analytics guys. You
(24:05):
know maybe in game one didn't want it, but he mattered.
J Mack with the News, the.
Speaker 7 (24:12):
News, This is the Herdline News, Colin.
Speaker 6 (24:16):
We are talking about Aaron Rodgers and the Steelers, even
though they're on their bye week three and one and
they're on top of the division.
Speaker 7 (24:22):
Lamar's hurt, Joe Burrow's hurt.
Speaker 6 (24:25):
Steelers insider Mark Shoot, I'm gonna butcher his last name,
so I won't even say Kali, Mark Kabally.
Speaker 7 (24:33):
Listen. I don't know that I agree with the mirror.
Speaker 6 (24:35):
He said Aaron Rodgers has been the most important player
on the Steelers.
Speaker 8 (24:39):
I think he's team MVP. I think he's an a.
You couldn't expect anything more from him right now. I mean,
forget that those are the tangible things that we can see.
But just how he's being able to interact with some
of the players, I think is something that none of
us were able to foresee. I didn't. I didn't think
he would be that type of a guy. I mean,
(25:02):
just look at that Minnesota game, Bob, who was there
a happier guy out there? I totally agree. This is
where I'm gonna agree. This is an organization that has
had no feel for offense, regardless of coordinators, had no
feel for offense. I'm supposed to suddenly now believe after
six years they can run the football.
Speaker 1 (25:22):
I like Najee Harris better than the current running backs,
and yet they run the ball better. Now, why is that?
Speaker 7 (25:29):
Hold it? Hold hold?
Speaker 6 (25:30):
So here are the rushing total rushing leaders for the
Stealers Week one against my Jets. Jalen Warren thirty seven.
Then Warren had forty eight the next week, then forty seven,
then Gainwell had ninety nine. So it's not really the running.
It's not Aaron Rodgers. The MVP is Arthur Smith. Oh see,
he is calling great stuff, Colin. Let's be real, he
(25:50):
was there last year.
Speaker 7 (25:52):
Yeah, but he's.
Speaker 6 (25:52):
Calling great better stuff. This year, he's adapted and changed.
Speaker 7 (25:56):
Maybe some of it's Rogers, you know, if.
Speaker 6 (25:58):
We're being honest, is the real MVP for the Steelers.
They got lucky that the Jets fumble that kickoff when
the Jets were dominating that game. They got lucky against
the Patriots for five turnovers, and they got lucky to
face Carson Wentz.
Speaker 7 (26:11):
Here are the quarterbacks? Sorry?
Speaker 9 (26:12):
More?
Speaker 7 (26:12):
One last thing Steelers have beaten justin fields.
Speaker 6 (26:15):
They lost to Sam Darnold, they beat second year quarterback
Drake May, and they beat Carson Wentz.
Speaker 1 (26:20):
Well, Drake May's pretty good.
Speaker 7 (26:22):
He's a second year quarterback. Come on, they've been lucky.
Speaker 6 (26:25):
Colin, come around. Stop giving Rogers credit. He doesn't deserve it.
Speaker 1 (26:30):
No, I think sometimes Aaron's done a good job with
an offense that struggled for six to seven years, and
sort of he's great on back shoulder throws. He's had
about six key back shoulder throws. I know PFF thinks
he's a bomb, but that's because he's not throwing the
(26:50):
ball down the field.
Speaker 7 (26:51):
Because he's down Charlie.
Speaker 1 (26:52):
He doesn't need to because the defense is stealing the ball.
He's winning the field position. I mean the Minnesota game.
Instantly you're five minutes in. It's like, all right, they lead.
They are creating leads and field position advantages, and Aaron's
smart enough to go. I'm gonna make a couple of
big back shoulder throws. I do not need to throw
ball down the field. Remember, they lost their left tackle
(27:14):
in George Pickens. You lose your left tackle and your
best receiver, and yet the offense gets much better with
the same offensive coordinator. Aaron deserves credit.
Speaker 6 (27:22):
They come out of the buy and they face the
mighty Dylan Gabriel followed by the immortal Jake browning Colin.
Speaker 7 (27:30):
This is just cream puff stuff.
Speaker 6 (27:33):
I mean, this is basically like Georgia in college football,
playing like directional roast beef tech. Okay, that's what the
Steelers are doing. Now they're getting lucky guys, Rogers. This
guy next up, Let's go to oh Eagles. Everybody loves A. J. Brown,
The story that won't go away. Brown is actually taking
some responsibility for his tweet over the weekend, saying it
(27:56):
wasn't a shot at the organization and addressed.
Speaker 7 (27:59):
Whether he he's happy in Philadelphia.
Speaker 10 (28:02):
This is my home, man. I love it here, you know,
but you just see frustration because obviously, you know, we
want to be great, and most definitely I want to
be great as well. You know, I don't think it's
a bad thing for one the ball. It's not just
for targets or anything. They're putting numbers up. But no,
I see that that we're struggling, and I'm a guy
that wants the ball in those times when we can't
find a way.
Speaker 7 (28:22):
Give it to me, Like when the game's on the line,
give the ball to me.
Speaker 8 (28:25):
I want that.
Speaker 4 (28:25):
I want that pressure.
Speaker 10 (28:26):
I put it on myself, you know, and I work.
Speaker 8 (28:28):
Hard for it.
Speaker 1 (28:29):
I have no problem with AJ Brown at all. None.
They're not doing anything well and he's like, yeah, I'm great,
get me the ball. He's right.
Speaker 6 (28:38):
So when I start calling for the rock here on
the show, I'm like, hey, I need the rock.
Speaker 7 (28:41):
Keep me happy.
Speaker 1 (28:42):
Colin, You're not AJ Brown, You're a good slot receiver.
Speaker 6 (28:46):
Oh gosh, that's cold blooded.
Speaker 7 (28:49):
Final story stepon Diggs. Colin.
Speaker 6 (28:52):
He spent four years with the Bills for getting traded
to the Texans, and now he's signed with the Patriots. Sunday,
the Patriots head back to Buffalo in Dig's first game
back at high Mark Stadium. Here's Josh Allen on the
return of his former receiver.
Speaker 9 (29:07):
We played him last year, so I don't think it's
anything super crazy, but obviously being back in Buffalo, who
knows if the emotions are going to be hiding for
him or for the fans or whatever it is. But
we're just gonna go out there and try to perform
the best we can.
Speaker 1 (29:22):
Yeah, I don't need any additives to the Buffalo offense.
I think they probably need another safety. Their back end
isn't great. I'll tell you though, Buffalo and Detroit super
Bowl I think would be the best one. I'm not
sure I'm feeling it. I'm feeling more of a Rams.
I'm feeling a ram super Bowl. I'm not sure who
(29:44):
comes out of the A see, but I think Buffalo
is the best team. But now I watch Kansas City
last week, it was like hard not to be impressed
with that.
Speaker 7 (29:52):
I kind of want to take the Bills here.
Speaker 6 (29:54):
I need to see if Milano and Oliver are back
for the run defense.
Speaker 7 (29:57):
So you know that.
Speaker 6 (29:59):
There's a lot of scuttle butt in Buffalo about what
happened between Allen and Diggs.
Speaker 7 (30:04):
There was a fractured relationship.
Speaker 6 (30:07):
I would not be surprised here if Buffalo kind of
beat them down if they get their guys back just off.
Speaker 7 (30:12):
The run defense, because that defense stinks.
Speaker 6 (30:14):
But it's just interesting that everybody's everybody seems to be
liking the Patriots in the spot, an eight point underdog.
Speaker 1 (30:21):
Division rival with a quarterback playing. Well, you know what
I like in this game. I like if the weather's good,
keep your eye on the weather. The over, Yeah, I
like the over. Jmak with the news, Well.
Speaker 2 (30:36):
That's the news, and thanks for stopping by the Herd
Line News such good stuff today. Be sure to catch
live editions of The Herd weekdays and Noone Eastern non
a em Pacific on Fox Sports Radio FS one and
the iHeartRadio app.
Speaker 6 (30:52):
Sunday, a Fox NFL doubleheader starts with Dak and the
Cowboys taking on.
Speaker 7 (30:56):
The Jets or other regional action.
Speaker 6 (30:59):
Then in America's Game of the Week, Justin Herbert and
the Chargers take on the Commanders or Lions Bengals.
Speaker 7 (31:06):
Check localistings for the game in your area only on Fox.
Speaker 1 (31:09):
I actually like the Jets with the upset there. My
favorite pick of the week is the Colts I'm telling
you the watching last week, watching Dante Moore chop it up,
I'm thinking to myself and the Notre Dames quarterback car
looks outstanding. All the guys I thought were going to
be great have kind of come back down to earth
and it's these young guys. So you and I were
(31:30):
talking about this. It's important for the Giants because if
Jackson Dark keeps playing this well, they need to see
if he can play. So, like Russell Wilson struggling, Macro
Big Pictures, good for the Giants because let's get Jackson
Dart out there. It's a tough schedule. He didn't have
a lot to work with, there's no neighbors, he didn't
have to win. Can he move the change? Does he
look the part? Because I mean it was very It
was this time last year weeks four, five, six, seven, eight,
(31:53):
that we were like bo Nicks can play. It was
the end of last year. We looked at Drake may
Week's twelve, thirteen, forty to fifty six, Oh, Drake, make
him play. Now we knew Jayden Daniels early, that was obvious.
We're looking at Pennix now we're kind of having a
judgment on Michael Pennix. We're like, oh he was awful,
Oh he was good. Now I think he can play.
But these are really big times, these first these first
(32:15):
eight starts. You don't have to win him, but I
have to watch and see moments and go, okay, that's
that's a little magical. That's confidence. He's not overwhelmed, Caleb,
I mean, Caleb Williams. There are moments you're like, yikes,
but there is no question he makes big boy throws
that a lot of guys don't.
Speaker 6 (32:34):
Yeah, let me ask you about this because I know
the Saints are winless and Spencer Ratlers never won a
football game, but if you look at their week to week,
they're actually competitive.
Speaker 7 (32:42):
In all their games. Yeah yeah, and now they're.
Speaker 6 (32:44):
Facing Jackson Dart, who's good his first road game. No molite, neighbors,
I listen. I don't advocate putting your extractable dollars on
the Saints, but I like the Saints.
Speaker 7 (32:54):
They're winning this game out right.
Speaker 1 (32:55):
I'm just telling you, right, Okay, Rattler's always had a
good arm, that's not it.
Speaker 6 (32:59):
He's he's decent and throws under ten yards as long
as he doesn't try the you know, hero ball stuff
down the field, which is he's a turnover machine.
Speaker 7 (33:06):
But I like the Saints.
Speaker 1 (33:07):
Yeah, yeah, so you know, Jay Mack, I do Colin
Wright wrong in a Monday. But one of the things
I always try not to be. I try to be fair,
even though I'm critical. And sometimes people say, well, you
kind of pick on blankety blank, and you're always You're
always harsh. And I was thinking this morning, I tend
to be old school. I love to sit down and
write letters. I do it all the time. Not long letters,
(33:29):
but I like to write letters. I love the post office,
I love stamps, and so I thought, you know, I
just last night I sat down watching the Yankees and
Red Sox, and I penned some letters, and I'd like
to share them with the audience.
Speaker 7 (33:39):
Yes, cannot wait to hear people.
Speaker 1 (33:40):
I've been a little critical of the first one I wrote.
I wrote to Aaron Rodgers, and Aaron doesn't like me,
and that's okay. A lot of people don't like me.
But I wrote to Aaron. I said, listen to Aaron Rodgers,
I was wrong to call you a snarky, prickly weird uncle.
You are a baller, not a Baylor after all, my bad, bro.
You've been magnetic, energizing and resilient and pitpurg the rare
eccentric quarterback who was pointing Steel City out of the
(34:04):
darkness and in to the lights, yours, CC. And then
I wrote another letter to Daniel Jones, Dear Danny Dimes,
I said you were a bland vanilla, unremarkable turnover machine.
I was wrong. You're a steady gritty. You're bankable, and
now I'm coining you, Danny dollars after minting your franchise
(34:29):
valuable yours CC. Well, I wasn't done. I had to
get a new pan. I ran out of ink. I
got a new pan, and I wrote another letter to
Baker Mayfield. Dear Baker, I once called you an immature, undraftable,
two time transfer, a frat guy in commercials. Well, it
takes a big man to admit when he's wrong, and
I'm six to two. You are undeniable, a flag planting rebel,
(34:55):
a team captain of a pirate ship, the walk on
quarterback forcing foes to walk the plank, yours CC. I
wrote some other stuff on the back of that, but
I'm not going to show you. Dan Campbell. I wrote
one to him too. My wife's from Michigan, so I
knew the zip code. Dear Dan Campbell, I laughed at
you as a too much raw raw kneecap biting meat head.
(35:20):
And it turns out chomping on knees is authentic and
strategic and culture correcting with you at the helm. The
lions are never down, even when it's fourth yours, CC.
This one was tough. This last one I was pretty brutal.
I gotta be honest. It was tough. And I don't
know the area code in Dallas zip code. Excuse me?
(35:43):
I wrote to Brian Schottneimer. I said, dear Shoty, I
called the Cowboys a two win team after I saw
your backwards visor. It was a loss a lie. Excuse me,
it was a lie. You're a your two losses in
a tie, all right, that's being a smart alec. It's
all going to change. You're steady and adaptable, you're stabilizing.
(36:03):
I'm sorry, Coach Shottenneimer. You prove that a backwards visor
is just forward thinking yours CC, C Jmax. Sometimes you
have to sit down and be pensive. Yeahoign and tell
these people listen. I know it's rough. Hopefully they open
their mail. A lot of people these days don't even
go to the mailbox.
Speaker 6 (36:24):
Yeah, is this the new colin your Midwest sensibilities? You're
writing apology letters? And yeah for week five of the NFL.
By the way, Schottenheimer, you should have just torn that
one up. There's no way that they're doing anything with.
Speaker 7 (36:36):
That guy at the Helm.
Speaker 6 (36:37):
No shot and quickly on Dan Campbell. He was a
little goofy at the beginning, remember he was he was.
They've turned it around. We'll see if it continues.
Speaker 1 (36:47):
One of the people in the NFL that I've just
always respected their opinion was Bill Parcells. Parcells loved him,
and so I was like, come on, Bill, gee, she comes.
You know what I was told. I think I've told
this story a couple of times, so I'm sorry, but
most of you don't listen all day. So I was
told by a GM that I was in the off season.
(37:09):
I was asking him about hiring coaches and how hard
it is, like seven new guys every year. Five don't work,
you know, I mean Andy Reider, Jim Harbaugh or Sean Payton.
That's the easy stuff, and a lot of times it
doesn't work. And he said, you know, you're really hiring
a CEO. He doesn't have to know schemes. If you
get Andy Reider Shanahan, that's a bonus. You don't need
a scheme guy. You need a man who can stand
(37:30):
in front of fifty five alphas and lead the team
over the hill. Create self belief because everybody's hurt by
week five. Guys have to believe in each other. That's
very much Jim Harbaugh. Harball loves his players. Swiss players
will do anything for him. And that's Dan Campbell. And
then that's what I've questioned with Mike McDaniel. I don't
question the intelligence. He's a scheme guy. But you can
(37:52):
make it in this league being a culture creator and
not good with schemes, Well, I don't you can. It's
yet to be proven if you can make it as
a great scheme guy, but your players don't really trust
you or believe in you. And Dan Campbell, I remember
his first year and a half. They were bad and
(38:12):
I went on the air. I think they played Baltimore
at home, they lost, and I was like, I don't
think I've ever seen a team in the league play
as hard as they do. They're getting hammered. They don't
have personnel. So I think you if you're a great CEO,
you don't have to be anything in the scheme department.
If you're a great scheme guy, if you don't have
the ability. That was always the knock on Matt Lafleur.
(38:33):
Everybody knew he was a great scheme guy, but he
wasn't the guy who had ever stood in front of
the room. And he's not a real big brash guy
with a big ego. Now he's become very good at that,
but I remember talking to a GM. They say he's
super smart, but he doesn't have the McVeigh like McVeigh
walks into a room and he's just like wow. You know.
Map's kind of quiet, he doesn't need to talk a lot.
(38:56):
But he's developed into a great culture guy as well.
Speaker 6 (39:00):
I mean, I mean, listen, it's tough because with Campbell, yes,
I agree with everything you said one hundred percent, but Colin,
there's going to come a time when there's two minutes
left and it's twenty four all right, of the NFC
Championship Game, and all that CEO stuff that Dan Campbell
brings to the table is not going to get you
over the top and get.
Speaker 7 (39:16):
You to the end zone. Right, you need the scheme.
Speaker 6 (39:19):
So, like most things in life, it's a little fifty
to fifty, maybe sixty forty.
Speaker 1 (39:23):
You hire the scheme.
Speaker 4 (39:24):
Right.
Speaker 7 (39:24):
So Ben Johnson as.
Speaker 6 (39:26):
The OC they take, they make the jump to light speed.
But early on in the Dan Campbell era, they weren't great.
They needed that scheme guy. Now have they found him
in whoever their OC is now?
Speaker 1 (39:36):
Johnny Wilson.
Speaker 7 (39:37):
We'll see.
Speaker 6 (39:38):
I mean, listen, the Bengals game could be dangerous. I'm
seeing injury report. I know you don't like him. Lions
could be down boat. Starting cornerbacks against Jason.
Speaker 1 (39:46):
Higgins Philadelphia is a great example. Sirianni's more CEO. He's
not a scheme guy. Sony had stik in. Oh he
looked great, Yes, Steike and leaves he's awful. He hires
Brian Johnson, it doesn't work. Benny hires Kellen Moore, it works,
Kellen Moore leaves. They've got a new guy in now
it's not working. Right. So Sirianni has been incredibly dependent
(40:09):
on Howie Roseman's drafting, but he's been as good. Nick
Sirianni's an offensive guy. He has been as good as
his coordinators because he's not a scheme guy. He's heavily relented.
Now he's hired a great one that he missed, and
they hired a better one. Has he missed.
Speaker 7 (40:25):
We don't know. But it's tough. That's tough.
Speaker 6 (40:28):
It's like drafting. You don't know what you're getting some
of these ocs. Remember the Houston Texans two years ago,
thought they had their guy awesome ocs like Marisa fires Stroud,
He's gone, We're slowing.
Speaker 7 (40:38):
Now, what's he doing?
Speaker 1 (40:39):
Half of these guys. Did anybody ever think Tom Coughlin
would beat Brady and Belichick in two Super Bowls when
he was at Boston College. I mean, just don't You
don't know who you're hiring sometimes
Thanks for listening to The Herd podcast. Be sure to
catch us live every weekday on Fox Sports Radio in
noon to three Eastern nine am to noon Pacific. Find
your local station for The Herd at Fox Sports Radio
dot com, or stream us live every day on the
iHeartRadio app by searching Fox Sports Radio or FSR.
Speaker 2 (00:21):
You're listening to Fox Sports Radio.
Speaker 1 (00:26):
Here we go, it's our two. It is a Thursday,
you know. Sometimes Thursdays are slow days for us. Right
there's no big games, Thank God for these wild cards.
Baseball playoffs and I games in New York feel difference.
Nothing against Fenway, it's nothing against Wrigley. I grew up
in the West Coast. Baseball playoff games in New York
(00:47):
because of the history, because of the pressure, they just
feel different. So it was just magical last night. I
gotta say this, the greatest move by any commissioner in
any sport ever is Rob Manford, major League Baseball commissioner
instituting a pitch clock. Two hour and fifty minute playoff
(01:07):
games are fantastic movies. They're better at two hours than three.
And I love the Irishman. I love Scorsese, but I
don't have time to watch the Irishman on Monday, Tuesday,
Wednesday and Thursday. Give me an hour fifty movie.
Speaker 2 (01:24):
You know.
Speaker 1 (01:24):
Adam Silver recently said a year ago, He's like, hey,
I would reduce quarters to ten minutes dot twelve, and
I think the audience would appreciate it. I'm all for
protecting athletes. I don't need my athletes on the field
for five hours. Even golf, old guys, slow sport. Pace
of play is a constant issue. Listen, I know a
lot of you waken bake crowd guys. You love a
(01:47):
six hour fish concert. The rest of us have to
go to work in the morning, right, I'm sorry. Years ago,
Red Sox Yankees played in the ALCS. I looked it
up this morning. Brutal LCS. Years ago two thousand and four,
one game was over four hours, two or over five.
Almost everything, Thanksgiving dinner with crazy Uncle Eddie. Everything's better quicker,
(02:12):
even holiday parties. So Monday Night Football years ago, I
saw the numbers on Monday Night football. They may have changed,
but time spent watching Monday Night football was under two hours.
Not everybody watches pregame show, postgame show, entire game. The
baseball playoffs have been great pace of play is fast,
it moves, and I understand playoff games are going to
(02:36):
be longer. Baseball games now last about two hours and
thirty five minutes. A playoff game is going to be
two hours and fifty minutes or two hours fifty five minutes.
I'd get it. Every out matters, you go to the bullpen, more, whatever.
But it's been just absolutely fantastic. God, if the Dodgers
had a good bullpen, their games will be over in
an hour and a half. With that every week at
(02:58):
this time, best fifty minutes. Maybe in TV forty six years.
NFL Films Greg Cosel is now joining US Live Rams
Niners tonight. Let's get that one out of the way
because the Niners are all beat up. I was watching
Puka Nakool last week, fifth round pick out a BYU,
and he's very, very good. I'm not denying that he's strong,
he's hard to bring down, but it does feel like
(03:21):
when you watch his historic numbers, some of this is fit.
I don't I said this the other day. If you
put him in other teams, I think he'd be really good.
I don't think it would be like this. When you
watch film, how much of Puka is fit and not
just talent.
Speaker 3 (03:38):
I think you're correct, Colin, because, in fact, this week,
because he leads the NFL and targets with fifty, and
he's obviously been a very good player for the last
couple of years since he came in the league. So
I looked at all his targets and think about this,
Only one of his fifty targets has he been the
single receiver to whatever side of the field he's on.
(03:58):
He's always a multiple receiver player. So they use him
in motion, they use him in reduced splits, they use
him in bunch formations, they use him to what he is,
and he's very very good run after catch.
Speaker 4 (04:12):
He's so physical and he's so competitive.
Speaker 3 (04:15):
But when you think of the great receivers, and I'm
not saying he's not, but when most people think of
great receivers in today's NFL, you think of what we
call that boundary X, that single receiver to the short
side of the field that just can work one on
one against anybody. He is not deployed in that manner,
so he rarely ever, like I said one time this
year and by the way, it was a tunnel screen,
(04:37):
only one time has he been the single receiver to
the side of the field that he lines up on.
Speaker 1 (04:42):
So they play the Niners tonight. I said the other day,
I think brock Purty is still injured. I think he's
the ball sailing on him. I don't think he gets
the push off he wants. I'll defend brock Purty. If
your planet seventy five eighty percent the ball doesn't come
out in the same that's what it looks like to me.
What is the film say?
Speaker 4 (05:01):
I would agree with that.
Speaker 3 (05:02):
I thought last week there were a lot of balls
that sailed on them. Again, we never know if that's
due to injury or not. But to me, they're much
larger issue, quite frankly, because Brock Purdy is a good player,
you know, and everybody wants to get into the brock
Purty discussion on a week to week basis. He's proven
that he's a quality NFL quarterback. Their issue is they
cannot run the football. You know, one stat we always
(05:23):
look at his yards before first contact. Do you know
who's last in the NFL Christian McCaffrey. He gets one
point four to seven yards before first contact. And as
good as Purdy can be or any quarterback. For the
most part, if you can't run the ball at all,
and particularly that team, the foundation of how they go
about doing everything offensively starts with the run game, and
(05:45):
they've been unable to run the ball with any sustainability
or any consistency.
Speaker 1 (05:51):
Yeah, let's revisit Jackson Dart. I thought it was good.
What I liked about the game plan, it was very intentional.
They clearly design plays for him to run. They kind
of felt left that you could tell the Chargers O
line was beat up. The Giant staff felt like they
would win some matchups up front and it would be
a pretty low scoring game, so they were intentional. They
(06:14):
wanted to win field position. It wasn't a lot of
big throws down the field. I thought he was good.
I don't think he was exceptional. What did the film say?
Speaker 3 (06:22):
No, No, he wasn't. And they played to what he is.
They ran the same basic route concepts over and over,
and there was one in particular called snag flat that
seemed to be open every time they got zone coverage.
It becomes a pitch and catch, easy throw. They used
his legs. He was clearly in the pocket, a little
quick to move. I don't think he saw things really well,
(06:46):
but you know, this is to be expected in a
first start. He's going to have to become much more
discipline as a pocket player in order to become a
really good quarterback. But you know, whenever I watch guys
like Jackson Dart, it always makes me think of the
balance between being a really efficient pocket player and the
ability to use your legs. And it depends on the
quarterback where you fall on that sort of spectrum where
(07:08):
you fall on that line. But he's clearly in this
given game, just his first game, he was a little
quick to move. And then some of that is mental,
you don't see it the right way, and some of
that is just physical because that's what you've always done.
Speaker 1 (07:22):
All right, Let's move to Lamar Jackson and the Kansas
City Chiefs. Yeah, it does feel like because they've got weapons.
Lamar has been around this league for a long time,
but it does feel like are people defending him differently?
Speaker 4 (07:36):
Now.
Speaker 1 (07:36):
I will argue that Spags has so many games against
him that the more you see of Lamar Jackson, the
better your odds are. That's why he's been so bare
against the NFC. You never see him and all of
a sudden, it's like, well, we can't even write duplicate
that at practice. I think Kansas City's got his number,
and I also think they're a little in his head.
But are people defending Lamar different.
Speaker 3 (07:59):
A little bit? And I think one of the things
you're seeing more and more teams do. Even Detroit did it.
I think the week prior is they're putting people on
the line of scrimmage. So now what your quarterback has
to do, Lamar has to do it is you've got
to change protections because you've got to account for people
on the line of scrimmage. So what you do is
you go to six and seven man protections, then you
drop people out. Teams are using a spy, but they're
(08:22):
using it a little bit differently Colin, and this, I
think this is an important point. The spy is a
little bit closer to the line of scrimmage. And because
Lamar likes to run forward, he's not a guy like
He's not like Josh Allen, who always seems to run
to his right outside. Lamar likes to run forward. So
now you have a guy a little closer to the
line of scrimmage. There's not enough space, There's not enough room. Yeah,
(08:45):
he might be a better athlete than the player who's
spying him, but he still needs space and they're trying
to really cut down on his space.
Speaker 4 (08:53):
Now.
Speaker 3 (08:53):
I don't know if this is the first time anybody's
done this. I can't remember every game in his career,
but you know, sometimes they happened to work in a
given week. I'm not a blueprint guy. I don't think, oh,
every team should do this and it automatically works.
Speaker 4 (09:06):
I guess he's going to be out for a couple of.
Speaker 3 (09:07):
Weeks now anyway, But I think teams are always trying
to tweak and come up with a different way. Showed
different looks, make him think through the play, make him
react differently, and it's been effective the last couple of weeks.
Speaker 1 (09:19):
So I kept joking with Jmack all week. I said,
if you could just put E Xavier Worthy in, it'll
give him a deep threat, and it'll give him a
guy that can throw to eight times. I don't think
he's a one, but I do think he forces you
to defend differently because of his speed. And it was
interesting they brought him in and suddenly all the underneath
routes were open. So again, I think when Rashid Rice
(09:40):
gets back with Worthy and Juju Smith and Travis that's
a real NFL offense. I don't think they run the
ball particularly well, but I do think no. When I
watched that game, I thought, oh, that team, that team
can compete for the Super Bowl. I didn't think that
two weeks ago.
Speaker 3 (09:56):
Right, Well, it's funny you say that because for the
last couple of years we talked about the Chiefs as
being one of the slowest teams in the league. Now
all of a sudden, they're one of the fastest. It's
not just Worthy, Thorn is a burner, Hollywood Brown can run.
And keep an eye on that back Brashad Smith, the
rookie from SMU. You know, he was a college receiver.
I think it might have been in Miami, and then
(10:17):
he transferred to SMU where they made him a running back.
But this kid is another explosive athlete. He's another guy
that runs under four to four. So keep an eye
on him. They'll start using him more and more. So
all of a sudden, and it shows up in the
way they're playing. They are now again pushing the ball
down the field. They did not do that the last
couple of years much at all, and when they did,
(10:38):
they were not very good at it, even with Mahomes,
who obviously can make any throw at a high level.
But now, all of a sudden, they're one of the
fastest wide receiver units in the league.
Speaker 1 (10:49):
Isn't that's something? All right? Bills faced New England. I'm
really interested. I know the Bills are the more interesting
team to the country, but I did feel that Drake
May was a little less polished. Yeah, justin Herbert. I
gotta tell you, I like their run room. They found
a left tackle. I think he looks the part. I don't.
(11:10):
They're not going to beat Buffalo, I doubt it, but Greg,
I think we I said this last year after about
ten games with bow Nicks. I'm like that works in
the NFL. I watched Drake May. I know it's early,
but that that works to me. I think he feels comfortable,
he's accurate. I agree they're not asking a lot, but
you tell me, it looks like they found their guy.
Speaker 3 (11:32):
Well, first of all, all we have is what he's
done up to this point. You know, I always say
this every week when I'm with you. You know, we're
not gonna talk about what's going to happen in six weeks.
We have no idea, but what we have right now,
we have a poised, composed, comfortable quarterback. And there's two
areas where he's been outstanding this year, and I think
most coaches would view those as litmus test areas. Number One,
(11:52):
he's been phenomenal on third down Colin, and he's been
phenomenal versus pressure. Those are two two critical areas for
young quarterbacks. Most young quarterbacks struggle with those two things
in those two situations, and he's been phenomenal. So I
really like what I've seen up to this point. I
think their run game needs to start becoming a little better.
(12:13):
You know, they've got some good backs. You know you
mentioned Will Campbell, the left tackle. It's really interesting watching him.
And I had this conversation with a really well respected
on line coach who and most online coaches are believer
in arm length. They say that sixty percent of the snaps,
you can do everything right and you look really good
at arm length'sn't an issue. It's the forty percent where
your technique breaks down. You have to be reactive, and
(12:37):
that's where arm length comes into play.
Speaker 1 (12:39):
Yeah, all right, every year I pick a team that
I think is significantly better than the experts. Last year
it was Washington and Denver. The year before it was
the Rams. People thought they were going to rebuild. The
year before that, right Viking. So I've been in a
role I This year it was the Seahawks. I think
John Snyder is an excellent jam. I think the last
(13:00):
three drafts have been outstanding. And you and I have
both liked Donald for a long time. When I watch them,
sometimes Greg, I do the sound down test, turn the
sound down, cut the announcers out, watch the speed and
athletic ability of a team. And when you turn the
sound down with the Seahawks and you just forget who
(13:22):
they are. That team has got athletes Jackson Smith and
Jig Bass. I'm sorry, but that's a number one you're watching. Donald.
I don't know. I'm not saying they're Philadelphia. I'm not
saying they have that roster. But the film has got
to say they're athletic. They play with a lot of energy,
do they not?
Speaker 4 (13:41):
They sure do? And will you really notice it?
Speaker 3 (13:44):
And yes, Donald is very very good and he's played
very well going back to last year with Minnesota and
certainly this year. And one of the things he does
as well as any quarterback in the league is throw
the ball down the field. But you look at that
defense now, that defense is really athletic. They're very good
on defense, and a lot of people are probably not
thinking about them as a really good defensive team. And
(14:04):
by the way, they haven't even gotten to play because
he was injured in the preseason. Nick Mnwarie, I guess
he was an early second round pick if I'm not mistaken.
The safety from South Carolina, who I think, within the
context of how Mike McDonald plays defense, is going to
be a really impactful player. So to me, this is
a pretty complete team. They'd like to get their run
game going a little more, but I think it will
(14:26):
because Kenneth Walker has a lot of ability. But right
now I look at Seattle as a really solid team.
Speaker 1 (14:33):
I want to talk Philadelphia. This is bizarre. They are
totally bizarre. They have had the two worst offensive halves.
Not Tennessee, not Houston, not Carolina, not the Saints. The
two worst offensive halves of football have been the Eagles
(14:53):
first half against the Rams second half last week. They're
trying to get aj Brown the ball it worked against
the Rams who don't have size at corner. This thing
is this thing is is it? The offensive coordinator is
at the play calling, they go into these holes where
it's just a what is it?
Speaker 3 (15:14):
It's a hard question to answer, but I will tell
you this. The offensive line has not played well this
year and the tape tells you that. And I think
the assumption, because it's been maybe the best offensive line
in football for the last two three years, the assumption
just is, oh, it's a great old line. Well, this
year it has not played to that level. And Barkley,
they're still giving him the ball. He's got the most
(15:36):
first down rushes of any back in the league, but
he's averaging three yards of carry and again yards before
first contact is awful.
Speaker 4 (15:43):
And Barkley is a little bit of.
Speaker 3 (15:45):
A searcher and a looker when he doesn't feel that
he has room, so sometimes he leaves yards on the field.
But the pass game, I mean, if I said to you, Colin,
here's a team that can't that's not throwing it very well,
I'm not running it very well, well, you'd probably say, well,
they can't be very good record wise. Yet they're four
and zero. They're just the passing game just is not
(16:07):
comfortable to me right now. There's not a lot of
clean looks for Jalen Hurts. I don't feel like he's
comfortable with what he's looking at. Normally, they work outside
the numbers really effectively. Jalen is phenomenal throwing the ball
outside the numbers. Other than the Rams game in that
second half, you haven't seen much of that at all.
Speaker 4 (16:24):
So I don't know. To me, it's a mystery, but
they're not very good right now on offense.
Speaker 1 (16:30):
Okay, so coming out of the draft, I definitely did
not like JJ McCarthy as much as the GMS, and
I like bow Nicks more so. I watched Oregon at
Auburn and I thought with Sean Payton was going to work.
One of the things that I'm always impressed with him
is that when HiT's a ball out into the flat,
and it can be to Mims, Sutton, Harvey, anybody, he
(16:53):
puts that ball right out in front, so the receiver,
the pass catcher catches it running. They don't have to
wait for it. It's not a lollipopsher. It's very brady.
It is a tight spiral and that's an underrated skill.
He is really accurate, like eight nine yard, just bang, bang,
very crisp. He was great against Cincinnati. What does the
(17:16):
film say on bo Nicks.
Speaker 3 (17:18):
Well, it's funny you say that because ninety five percent
of run after catchers on the quarterback, not on the receiver.
You just have to go back to Bill Walsh for that.
We all know that if you watch tape. It's funny
you mentioned Nicks. The first couple of weeks of this season,
he struggled. He was not getting clear pictures. He reacted
to pressure that wasn't there. Sometimes it looks like he
was inventing pressure. He just didn't play well through the
(17:41):
first two weeks, which sometimes happens with a second year quarterback,
particularly after they've had success as a rookie. But the
last two weeks he started to play better, and I
thought against Cincinnati he clearly had his best game. And
I think he's a really solid player. You know, me,
I don't get caught up and is he topped five
tops say? You know, I don't get caught up in that.
But I think he's starting to play a little more comfortably,
(18:03):
a little more calmly. And I think that with Sean Payton.
He gets set up in good situations. And if you want,
we can go right to the play of the week
because it's going to be Bo Nicks and it's just
to me, an example of.
Speaker 4 (18:14):
Really good coaching.
Speaker 3 (18:15):
It's the touchdown he threw, which we're actually looking at
right now.
Speaker 4 (18:18):
We'll see it.
Speaker 3 (18:19):
It's a touchdown he threw this past week to Cortland Sutton.
Speaker 4 (18:22):
And to me, this again is just.
Speaker 3 (18:24):
A really good example of coaching and how you set
up plays. And this is Nixon an empty set. So
what is he looking at. He's looking at a post
safety case. He's a single high safety and what does
he see across the board? Looks like man to man
across the board. So what's the route concept here? And
it's a great route concept for this look. It's five verticals.
(18:46):
They're going to run five verticals. So the matchup we
want to focus on, of course, is Courtland Sutton versus
the corner that happens to be Dax Hill. So now
there's what you really want to do here is you
want to create distance between the post safety and the
corner that's playing Sutton. That's what you're trying to do.
So how do you do that you do it with
(19:06):
your receiver. With Sutton, who will widen his vertical stem.
He wants to move the corner and expand the corner.
That's what he's trying to do. But then the other
part of this is going to be on bo Nix,
and we'll see that from the end zone.
Speaker 4 (19:21):
He's got to control the.
Speaker 3 (19:22):
Safety because he's got to create the passing window.
Speaker 4 (19:25):
And you can see it from this angle.
Speaker 3 (19:27):
You'll see as he drops back that his head is
looking first to the left then down the middle, and
you can see the safety subtly slide into the middle
of the field, so it creates distance to create the
passing window. These are the subtleties of playing quarterback in
the NFL that have to become second nature, because otherwise,
if you don't bring, if you don't control that safety,
(19:48):
he just slides right there and you don't have the throw.
These are the little things you learn and that becomes
second nature as you play the position at the NFL level.
Speaker 1 (19:58):
So good years NFL film. Greg cosel as Owa's thank
you very much.
Speaker 4 (20:05):
Thanks Colin love it. Talk to you next week.
Speaker 1 (20:07):
He's on Fox Sports Radio on the weekends as well,
so it's guys fired up for Yankees Red Sox. Tonight
we have e O'Connor last hour. He's going to talk
about that. It is, you know, it's just there's certain
positions in sports that I temper my criticism, and baseball
managers are not setting the lineup. A lot of work
(20:29):
has done upstairs. So I mean a college football coach
at a small market will make more than Aaron Boone
or Alex Coral. Why because the college football coach is
so essential. They do all the recruiting. And you know,
baseball managers outside of three or four of the top guys,
you know, they don't. They don't get paid a lot
by their club. And that tells you what the club
thinks is that, you know, the gms now are the
(20:52):
guys pulling the strings. So it's hard, you know, when
you know Ben Rice isn't out there, Jazz isn't playing well,
it's not really the same team. But the analytics say,
you know, play other guys, so we'll see, you know,
j Mac, I don't you? Sometimes you and I were
critical of athletes, sometimes sometimes rarely I sometimes I I
(21:17):
want to be the bigger man, and so I wrote,
I'm old school I'm coming around the corner here. I'm
I wrote some apology letters. I went to the post office.
I know our government shut down, but the post office
is still working. I'm gonna I wrote some letters last night.
I had a little extra time watching the Yankees Red Sox.
I want to introduce those around the corner. You know,
(21:40):
you know, you get older, you just you know, you
want to maybe get a little soft, But you know,
stamps post office still works for me.
Speaker 2 (21:48):
One more Heard. The Herd streams twenty four hours a day,
seven days a week within the iHeartRadio app. Search Herd
to listen live or on demand whenever you like.
Speaker 5 (21:59):
Hey, this is Jason McIntyre.
Speaker 6 (22:01):
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.
Speaker 5 (22:16):
Help you win big at the sports book, and all
the best guests.
Speaker 6 (22:20):
Do yourself a favor and listen to Straight Fire with
Jason McIntyre on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts.
Speaker 5 (22:27):
Or wherever you get your podcasts.
Speaker 1 (22:35):
We're going to New York in our final hour game
three tonight. When I used to work at the other place,
I'd never been to Yankee Stadium as a kid, So
I went to Yankee Stadium a couple of times, and
you know, it smelled and it was old. And my
takeaway was I was really hungry and there was no
place to watch the game and then simultaneously eat a
(22:58):
decent meal, and you know, I didn't want to eat
hot dogs and you know, crappy food. So the new
Yankee Stadium, it's got fruit stand, it's got twenty five
great restaurants, but it's you know, it doesn't quite feel
Even last night, you saw those empty seats behind the plate.
It doesn't quite fit. It's a much nicer stadium, it
has better amenities, but there is something about old stadiums
(23:22):
and the ghosts and the history and they kind of shake.
The camera shakes. So you know, I just when I
watched the Yankees, it's hard to get away from the
George and the Billy Martin era. When I grew up
with Reggie Jackson and Billy Martin in the feuding and
the weird press conferences. But I don't know who. I
like the Night's two young pitchers. I don't think I
(23:44):
don't think home field matters much. I think it's starting pitching.
Game one, Red Sox had an ace. Game two Yankees
had the better picture. So who has to go to
the bullpen sooner? And then you know you can't make errors.
You got to take advantage on the bases. But I
did think Jazz Chisholm playing like mattered. Analytics guys. You
(24:05):
know maybe in game one didn't want it, but he mattered.
J Mack with the News, the.
Speaker 7 (24:12):
News, This is the Herdline News, Colin.
Speaker 6 (24:16):
We are talking about Aaron Rodgers and the Steelers, even
though they're on their bye week three and one and
they're on top of the division.
Speaker 7 (24:22):
Lamar's hurt, Joe Burrow's hurt.
Speaker 6 (24:25):
Steelers insider Mark Shoot, I'm gonna butcher his last name,
so I won't even say Kali, Mark Kabally.
Speaker 7 (24:33):
Listen. I don't know that I agree with the mirror.
Speaker 6 (24:35):
He said Aaron Rodgers has been the most important player
on the Steelers.
Speaker 8 (24:39):
I think he's team MVP. I think he's an a.
You couldn't expect anything more from him right now. I mean,
forget that those are the tangible things that we can see.
But just how he's being able to interact with some
of the players, I think is something that none of
us were able to foresee. I didn't. I didn't think
he would be that type of a guy. I mean,
(25:02):
just look at that Minnesota game, Bob, who was there
a happier guy out there? I totally agree. This is
where I'm gonna agree. This is an organization that has
had no feel for offense, regardless of coordinators, had no
feel for offense. I'm supposed to suddenly now believe after
six years they can run the football.
Speaker 1 (25:22):
I like Najee Harris better than the current running backs,
and yet they run the ball better. Now, why is that?
Speaker 7 (25:29):
Hold it? Hold hold?
Speaker 6 (25:30):
So here are the rushing total rushing leaders for the
Stealers Week one against my Jets. Jalen Warren thirty seven.
Then Warren had forty eight the next week, then forty seven,
then Gainwell had ninety nine. So it's not really the running.
It's not Aaron Rodgers. The MVP is Arthur Smith. Oh see,
he is calling great stuff, Colin. Let's be real, he
(25:50):
was there last year.
Speaker 7 (25:52):
Yeah, but he's.
Speaker 6 (25:52):
Calling great better stuff. This year, he's adapted and changed.
Speaker 7 (25:56):
Maybe some of it's Rogers, you know, if.
Speaker 6 (25:58):
We're being honest, is the real MVP for the Steelers.
They got lucky that the Jets fumble that kickoff when
the Jets were dominating that game. They got lucky against
the Patriots for five turnovers, and they got lucky to
face Carson Wentz.
Speaker 7 (26:11):
Here are the quarterbacks? Sorry?
Speaker 9 (26:12):
More?
Speaker 7 (26:12):
One last thing Steelers have beaten justin fields.
Speaker 6 (26:15):
They lost to Sam Darnold, they beat second year quarterback
Drake May, and they beat Carson Wentz.
Speaker 1 (26:20):
Well, Drake May's pretty good.
Speaker 7 (26:22):
He's a second year quarterback. Come on, they've been lucky.
Speaker 6 (26:25):
Colin, come around. Stop giving Rogers credit. He doesn't deserve it.
Speaker 1 (26:30):
No, I think sometimes Aaron's done a good job with
an offense that struggled for six to seven years, and
sort of he's great on back shoulder throws. He's had
about six key back shoulder throws. I know PFF thinks
he's a bomb, but that's because he's not throwing the
(26:50):
ball down the field.
Speaker 7 (26:51):
Because he's down Charlie.
Speaker 1 (26:52):
He doesn't need to because the defense is stealing the ball.
He's winning the field position. I mean the Minnesota game.
Instantly you're five minutes in. It's like, all right, they lead.
They are creating leads and field position advantages, and Aaron's
smart enough to go. I'm gonna make a couple of
big back shoulder throws. I do not need to throw
ball down the field. Remember, they lost their left tackle
(27:14):
in George Pickens. You lose your left tackle and your
best receiver, and yet the offense gets much better with
the same offensive coordinator. Aaron deserves credit.
Speaker 6 (27:22):
They come out of the buy and they face the
mighty Dylan Gabriel followed by the immortal Jake browning Colin.
Speaker 7 (27:30):
This is just cream puff stuff.
Speaker 6 (27:33):
I mean, this is basically like Georgia in college football,
playing like directional roast beef tech. Okay, that's what the
Steelers are doing. Now they're getting lucky guys, Rogers. This
guy next up, Let's go to oh Eagles. Everybody loves A. J. Brown,
The story that won't go away. Brown is actually taking
some responsibility for his tweet over the weekend, saying it
(27:56):
wasn't a shot at the organization and addressed.
Speaker 7 (27:59):
Whether he he's happy in Philadelphia.
Speaker 10 (28:02):
This is my home, man. I love it here, you know,
but you just see frustration because obviously, you know, we
want to be great, and most definitely I want to
be great as well. You know, I don't think it's
a bad thing for one the ball. It's not just
for targets or anything. They're putting numbers up. But no,
I see that that we're struggling, and I'm a guy
that wants the ball in those times when we can't
find a way.
Speaker 7 (28:22):
Give it to me, Like when the game's on the line,
give the ball to me.
Speaker 8 (28:25):
I want that.
Speaker 4 (28:25):
I want that pressure.
Speaker 10 (28:26):
I put it on myself, you know, and I work.
Speaker 8 (28:28):
Hard for it.
Speaker 1 (28:29):
I have no problem with AJ Brown at all. None.
They're not doing anything well and he's like, yeah, I'm great,
get me the ball. He's right.
Speaker 6 (28:38):
So when I start calling for the rock here on
the show, I'm like, hey, I need the rock.
Speaker 7 (28:41):
Keep me happy.
Speaker 1 (28:42):
Colin, You're not AJ Brown, You're a good slot receiver.
Speaker 6 (28:46):
Oh gosh, that's cold blooded.
Speaker 7 (28:49):
Final story stepon Diggs. Colin.
Speaker 6 (28:52):
He spent four years with the Bills for getting traded
to the Texans, and now he's signed with the Patriots. Sunday,
the Patriots head back to Buffalo in Dig's first game
back at high Mark Stadium. Here's Josh Allen on the
return of his former receiver.
Speaker 9 (29:07):
We played him last year, so I don't think it's
anything super crazy, but obviously being back in Buffalo, who
knows if the emotions are going to be hiding for
him or for the fans or whatever it is. But
we're just gonna go out there and try to perform
the best we can.
Speaker 1 (29:22):
Yeah, I don't need any additives to the Buffalo offense.
I think they probably need another safety. Their back end
isn't great. I'll tell you though, Buffalo and Detroit super
Bowl I think would be the best one. I'm not
sure I'm feeling it. I'm feeling more of a Rams.
I'm feeling a ram super Bowl. I'm not sure who
(29:44):
comes out of the A see, but I think Buffalo
is the best team. But now I watch Kansas City
last week, it was like hard not to be impressed
with that.
Speaker 7 (29:52):
I kind of want to take the Bills here.
Speaker 6 (29:54):
I need to see if Milano and Oliver are back
for the run defense.
Speaker 7 (29:57):
So you know that.
Speaker 6 (29:59):
There's a lot of scuttle butt in Buffalo about what
happened between Allen and Diggs.
Speaker 7 (30:04):
There was a fractured relationship.
Speaker 6 (30:07):
I would not be surprised here if Buffalo kind of
beat them down if they get their guys back just off.
Speaker 7 (30:12):
The run defense, because that defense stinks.
Speaker 6 (30:14):
But it's just interesting that everybody's everybody seems to be
liking the Patriots in the spot, an eight point underdog.
Speaker 1 (30:21):
Division rival with a quarterback playing. Well, you know what
I like in this game. I like if the weather's good,
keep your eye on the weather. The over, Yeah, I
like the over. Jmak with the news, Well.
Speaker 2 (30:36):
That's the news, and thanks for stopping by the Herd
Line News such good stuff today. Be sure to catch
live editions of The Herd weekdays and Noone Eastern non
a em Pacific on Fox Sports Radio FS one and
the iHeartRadio app.
Speaker 6 (30:52):
Sunday, a Fox NFL doubleheader starts with Dak and the
Cowboys taking on.
Speaker 7 (30:56):
The Jets or other regional action.
Speaker 6 (30:59):
Then in America's Game of the Week, Justin Herbert and
the Chargers take on the Commanders or Lions Bengals.
Speaker 7 (31:06):
Check localistings for the game in your area only on Fox.
Speaker 1 (31:09):
I actually like the Jets with the upset there. My
favorite pick of the week is the Colts I'm telling
you the watching last week, watching Dante Moore chop it up,
I'm thinking to myself and the Notre Dames quarterback car
looks outstanding. All the guys I thought were going to
be great have kind of come back down to earth
and it's these young guys. So you and I were
(31:30):
talking about this. It's important for the Giants because if
Jackson Dark keeps playing this well, they need to see
if he can play. So, like Russell Wilson struggling, Macro
Big Pictures, good for the Giants because let's get Jackson
Dart out there. It's a tough schedule. He didn't have
a lot to work with, there's no neighbors, he didn't
have to win. Can he move the change? Does he
look the part? Because I mean it was very It
was this time last year weeks four, five, six, seven, eight,
(31:53):
that we were like bo Nicks can play. It was
the end of last year. We looked at Drake may
Week's twelve, thirteen, forty to fifty six, Oh, Drake, make
him play. Now we knew Jayden Daniels early, that was obvious.
We're looking at Pennix now we're kind of having a
judgment on Michael Pennix. We're like, oh he was awful,
Oh he was good. Now I think he can play.
But these are really big times, these first these first
(32:15):
eight starts. You don't have to win him, but I
have to watch and see moments and go, okay, that's
that's a little magical. That's confidence. He's not overwhelmed, Caleb,
I mean, Caleb Williams. There are moments you're like, yikes,
but there is no question he makes big boy throws
that a lot of guys don't.
Speaker 6 (32:34):
Yeah, let me ask you about this because I know
the Saints are winless and Spencer Ratlers never won a
football game, but if you look at their week to week,
they're actually competitive.
Speaker 7 (32:42):
In all their games. Yeah yeah, and now they're.
Speaker 6 (32:44):
Facing Jackson Dart, who's good his first road game. No molite, neighbors,
I listen. I don't advocate putting your extractable dollars on
the Saints, but I like the Saints.
Speaker 7 (32:54):
They're winning this game out right.
Speaker 1 (32:55):
I'm just telling you, right, Okay, Rattler's always had a
good arm, that's not it.
Speaker 6 (32:59):
He's he's decent and throws under ten yards as long
as he doesn't try the you know, hero ball stuff
down the field, which is he's a turnover machine.
Speaker 7 (33:06):
But I like the Saints.
Speaker 1 (33:07):
Yeah, yeah, so you know, Jay Mack, I do Colin
Wright wrong in a Monday. But one of the things
I always try not to be. I try to be fair,
even though I'm critical. And sometimes people say, well, you
kind of pick on blankety blank, and you're always You're
always harsh. And I was thinking this morning, I tend
to be old school. I love to sit down and
write letters. I do it all the time. Not long letters,
(33:29):
but I like to write letters. I love the post office,
I love stamps, and so I thought, you know, I
just last night I sat down watching the Yankees and
Red Sox, and I penned some letters, and I'd like
to share them with the audience.
Speaker 7 (33:39):
Yes, cannot wait to hear people.
Speaker 1 (33:40):
I've been a little critical of the first one I wrote.
I wrote to Aaron Rodgers, and Aaron doesn't like me,
and that's okay. A lot of people don't like me.
But I wrote to Aaron. I said, listen to Aaron Rodgers,
I was wrong to call you a snarky, prickly weird uncle.
You are a baller, not a Baylor after all, my bad, bro.
You've been magnetic, energizing and resilient and pitpurg the rare
eccentric quarterback who was pointing Steel City out of the
(34:04):
darkness and in to the lights, yours, CC. And then
I wrote another letter to Daniel Jones, Dear Danny Dimes,
I said you were a bland vanilla, unremarkable turnover machine.
I was wrong. You're a steady gritty. You're bankable, and
now I'm coining you, Danny dollars after minting your franchise
(34:29):
valuable yours CC. Well, I wasn't done. I had to
get a new pan. I ran out of ink. I
got a new pan, and I wrote another letter to
Baker Mayfield. Dear Baker, I once called you an immature, undraftable,
two time transfer, a frat guy in commercials. Well, it
takes a big man to admit when he's wrong, and
I'm six to two. You are undeniable, a flag planting rebel,
(34:55):
a team captain of a pirate ship, the walk on
quarterback forcing foes to walk the plank, yours CC. I
wrote some other stuff on the back of that, but
I'm not going to show you. Dan Campbell. I wrote
one to him too. My wife's from Michigan, so I
knew the zip code. Dear Dan Campbell, I laughed at
you as a too much raw raw kneecap biting meat head.
(35:20):
And it turns out chomping on knees is authentic and
strategic and culture correcting with you at the helm. The
lions are never down, even when it's fourth yours, CC.
This one was tough. This last one I was pretty brutal.
I gotta be honest. It was tough. And I don't
know the area code in Dallas zip code. Excuse me?
(35:43):
I wrote to Brian Schottneimer. I said, dear Shoty, I
called the Cowboys a two win team after I saw
your backwards visor. It was a loss a lie. Excuse me,
it was a lie. You're a your two losses in
a tie, all right, that's being a smart alec. It's
all going to change. You're steady and adaptable, you're stabilizing.
(36:03):
I'm sorry, Coach Shottenneimer. You prove that a backwards visor
is just forward thinking yours CC, C Jmax. Sometimes you
have to sit down and be pensive. Yeahoign and tell
these people listen. I know it's rough. Hopefully they open
their mail. A lot of people these days don't even
go to the mailbox.
Speaker 6 (36:24):
Yeah, is this the new colin your Midwest sensibilities? You're
writing apology letters? And yeah for week five of the NFL.
By the way, Schottenheimer, you should have just torn that
one up. There's no way that they're doing anything with.
Speaker 7 (36:36):
That guy at the Helm.
Speaker 6 (36:37):
No shot and quickly on Dan Campbell. He was a
little goofy at the beginning, remember he was he was.
They've turned it around. We'll see if it continues.
Speaker 1 (36:47):
One of the people in the NFL that I've just
always respected their opinion was Bill Parcells. Parcells loved him,
and so I was like, come on, Bill, gee, she comes.
You know what I was told. I think I've told
this story a couple of times, so I'm sorry, but
most of you don't listen all day. So I was
told by a GM that I was in the off season.
(37:09):
I was asking him about hiring coaches and how hard
it is, like seven new guys every year. Five don't work,
you know, I mean Andy Reider, Jim Harbaugh or Sean Payton.
That's the easy stuff, and a lot of times it
doesn't work. And he said, you know, you're really hiring
a CEO. He doesn't have to know schemes. If you
get Andy Reider Shanahan, that's a bonus. You don't need
a scheme guy. You need a man who can stand
(37:30):
in front of fifty five alphas and lead the team
over the hill. Create self belief because everybody's hurt by
week five. Guys have to believe in each other. That's
very much Jim Harbaugh. Harball loves his players. Swiss players
will do anything for him. And that's Dan Campbell. And
then that's what I've questioned with Mike McDaniel. I don't
question the intelligence. He's a scheme guy. But you can
(37:52):
make it in this league being a culture creator and
not good with schemes, Well, I don't you can. It's
yet to be proven if you can make it as
a great scheme guy, but your players don't really trust
you or believe in you. And Dan Campbell, I remember
his first year and a half. They were bad and
(38:12):
I went on the air. I think they played Baltimore
at home, they lost, and I was like, I don't
think I've ever seen a team in the league play
as hard as they do. They're getting hammered. They don't
have personnel. So I think you if you're a great CEO,
you don't have to be anything in the scheme department.
If you're a great scheme guy, if you don't have
the ability. That was always the knock on Matt Lafleur.
(38:33):
Everybody knew he was a great scheme guy, but he
wasn't the guy who had ever stood in front of
the room. And he's not a real big brash guy
with a big ego. Now he's become very good at that,
but I remember talking to a GM. They say he's
super smart, but he doesn't have the McVeigh like McVeigh
walks into a room and he's just like wow. You know.
Map's kind of quiet, he doesn't need to talk a lot.
(38:56):
But he's developed into a great culture guy as well.
Speaker 6 (39:00):
I mean, I mean, listen, it's tough because with Campbell, yes,
I agree with everything you said one hundred percent, but Colin,
there's going to come a time when there's two minutes
left and it's twenty four all right, of the NFC
Championship Game, and all that CEO stuff that Dan Campbell
brings to the table is not going to get you
over the top and get.
Speaker 7 (39:16):
You to the end zone. Right, you need the scheme.
Speaker 6 (39:19):
So, like most things in life, it's a little fifty
to fifty, maybe sixty forty.
Speaker 1 (39:23):
You hire the scheme.
Speaker 4 (39:24):
Right.
Speaker 7 (39:24):
So Ben Johnson as.
Speaker 6 (39:26):
The OC they take, they make the jump to light speed.
But early on in the Dan Campbell era, they weren't great.
They needed that scheme guy. Now have they found him
in whoever their OC is now?
Speaker 1 (39:36):
Johnny Wilson.
Speaker 7 (39:37):
We'll see.
Speaker 6 (39:38):
I mean, listen, the Bengals game could be dangerous. I'm
seeing injury report. I know you don't like him. Lions
could be down boat. Starting cornerbacks against Jason.
Speaker 1 (39:46):
Higgins Philadelphia is a great example. Sirianni's more CEO. He's
not a scheme guy. Sony had stik in. Oh he
looked great, Yes, Steike and leaves he's awful. He hires
Brian Johnson, it doesn't work. Benny hires Kellen Moore, it works,
Kellen Moore leaves. They've got a new guy in now
it's not working. Right. So Sirianni has been incredibly dependent
(40:09):
on Howie Roseman's drafting, but he's been as good. Nick
Sirianni's an offensive guy. He has been as good as
his coordinators because he's not a scheme guy. He's heavily relented.
Now he's hired a great one that he missed, and
they hired a better one. Has he missed.
Speaker 7 (40:25):
We don't know. But it's tough. That's tough.
Speaker 6 (40:28):
It's like drafting. You don't know what you're getting some
of these ocs. Remember the Houston Texans two years ago,
thought they had their guy awesome ocs like Marisa fires Stroud,
He's gone, We're slowing.
Speaker 7 (40:38):
Now, what's he doing?
Speaker 1 (40:39):
Half of these guys. Did anybody ever think Tom Coughlin
would beat Brady and Belichick in two Super Bowls when
he was at Boston College. I mean, just don't You
don't know who you're hiring sometimes
Hosts And Creators
Colin Cowherd
Jason McIntyre
Popular Podcasts
On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!
Cardiac Cowboys
The heart was always off-limits to surgeons. Cutting into it spelled instant death for the patient. That is, until a ragtag group of doctors scattered across the Midwest and Texas decided to throw out the rule book. Working in makeshift laboratories and home garages, using medical devices made from scavenged machine parts and beer tubes, these men and women invented the field of open heart surgery. Odds are, someone you know is alive because of them. So why has history left them behind? Presented by Chris Pine, CARDIAC COWBOYS tells the gripping true story behind the birth of heart surgery, and the young, Greatest Generation doctors who made it happen. For years, they competed and feuded, racing to be the first, the best, and the most prolific. Some appeared on the cover of Time Magazine, operated on kings and advised presidents. Others ended up disgraced, penniless, and convicted of felonies. Together, they ignited a revolution in medicine, and changed the world.
Crime Junkie
Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by audiochuck Media Company.