October 2, 2025 • 38 mins
Colin Cowherd breaks down the key difference that propelled the New York Yankees to a Game 2 win in the AL Wild Card Series against the Boston Red Sox, setting up a decisive Game 3. He also dives into the Los Angeles Dodgers’ dominant series win over the Cincinnati Reds, and explains why this Dodgers lineup could go down as one of the greatest in MLB history
Plus, 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
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Thanks for listening to the Best of the Herd podcast.
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Speaker 2 (00:19):
This is the Best of the Herd with Colin Cowver
on Fox Sports Radio.
Speaker 1 (00:27):
Oh, here we go, another magical night of baseball. Last night.
We are live in Chicago. It's the Herd wherever you
may be, however you may be listening. Thanks for making
us part of your day. A lot of baseball. First hour,
great co sal top of next hour. We'll go to
New York later in this show. My buddy e O'Connor
(00:49):
is going to stop buy who's been covering the Yankees
for a long long time. Jmac, it's just the wild
card round. See, this is what the NBA show. Three games.
You don't need to go back and forth if you're
a top seed or a better seed. We don't need
to go to Fenway and Yankee Stadium. We're playing in
New York. It's three games, it's three in a row.
(01:12):
You earned it. I don't know who. I like two
young pitchers going in Game three tonight, but the bottom
line is massive urgency NBA first Round seven games. I
don't have to watch. You have to watch these games.
I mean, just unbelievable last night. Now we get a
game three to night with two young arms going. So
let's start with this. The best thing the Yankees had
(01:34):
going for him last night is that Garrett Crochet wasn't
pitching for Boston. Basically is I mean left handershit won
sixty six on mL year, so he didn't pitch, and
it was the Yankees who had the better starting pitcher
last night. Red Sox went to their pen early. So
the Yankees have Carlos Roodon going. He won eighteen games.
(01:56):
So before the game started, oh good, we get one
of our a and the analytics department. Thanks analytics department,
they allowed Ben Rice back in the lineup. Jack two
nothing Yankee. So now they got the better pitcher. Now
the analytics department upstairs said, yeah, we'll allow Ben Rice,
the Dartmouth kid with real power. Okay, he's not a
(02:17):
great fielder, he gives them power. But what this game
was about is on this night, it was the Red
Sox that were making the mistakes. Let's go to the
fifth inning. Aaron Judge hits the ball to left field,
usually reliable Boston outfielders clanket. Yankees take the three two lead.
(02:38):
So in Game one, it was the Yankees making the
little mistakes. Last night it was the Red Sox that
were Then we go to the top of the seventh.
The Red Sox had another opportunity, two runners on, nobody out,
and they get allows you it bat, they pop out
a bunt, so prime example, and then they have they
(03:01):
load the bases up and then they fly out. So
they just got bad at bats and Fernando Cruz is
able to get out of the inning and Cruz was
fired up. But again a high leverage moment, and the
Yankees are the ones that deliver. Now we go to
the bottom of the eighth. Jazz Chisholm, who should play
(03:23):
every game, give me a break. Athletics defense, base running.
He got a walk. Was often running on the three
and two circles. The bases bang bang beats the throw
Austin Wells delivers, so again high leverage moments. The analytics department,
you guys love the crush Korra and crush Aaron Boom.
(03:43):
The guys upstairs are sett in the lineup. Oh, Ben
Rice is allowed to play bang Jack two nothing, Jazz
Chisholm needs to be on the field. Athlete, defense, base running.
I don't care what analytics says. Get him out there,
all right. Then we go, oh to the ninth inning,
the Yankees closers wrap it up. So again we just
(04:07):
love in baseball to crush the managers. Game one, Garrett Crochet,
give me a break. He's a horse. I mean, you're
already in a huge deficit, and the analytics departments like, no,
Jazz isn't gonna play and Ben's not gonna play. Well,
were those guys pretty valuable last night? It's almost like
Ben and Jazz were like super valuable. So you know
(04:29):
a lot of this stuff. I mean, Jazz is like
addicted to baseball. I mean he's like lives, breeze, eat, sleep,
goes home. He's playing baseball, you know on PlayStation. Some
guys you need to have in the lineup, like athletes.
They can help you defense, they can help you around
the bases. They just bring juice. So this was just
to me, this was just a game that all these
(04:50):
high leverage moments, the Yankees start the game with a
better starting pitcher, and they in these crucial moments, got
the hit, got the defense of play, moved the base
runner over. And it was the Red Sox, not the
Yankees in Game two that made the little errors that
get magnified in these massive games. Here's Aaron Boone after.
Speaker 3 (05:12):
I thought our defense tonight was, you know, really really good.
Turned a couple of big, big time double plays, did
some good things on the bases, a homer by Benny
to get us rolling, and then you know, the bullpen
closing it down after Rodo gave us, gave us enough there,
even though he struggled a little bit there in the
(05:33):
seventh to get us you know, through six, set us
up and able to hang on.
Speaker 2 (05:37):
But what a game.
Speaker 1 (05:39):
So Jazz Chisholm reportedly will play tonight. Should I mean again,
you're watching the Yankees play. You're watching his defense, his
base running. He's intensity, he's just juice. He's got to
play well. Ben, we'll see. But he's a big stick.
It's a short porch in right field. He's been on
a heater hitting in September. I'd play him too, yeah,
I know, lefty right lefty, analytics, but they are just
(06:02):
players in big moments you want out there. It's a
short porch in right field. Have a guy who hits line,
drives deep in the lineup, regardless lefty, righty, and he's
hitting well. So I mean to me, I'm not anti
analytics guy, but I mean yankee field. If you got
a power hitter from the left side of the plate
and he's hitting well over the last three or four weeks,
(06:23):
just play him, Just play him. Baseball postseason's always been
about stars in big moments delivering, and I don't think
there is a favorite. Tonight. You got young pitchers who
knows Okay, let's talk Dodgers. You know, for as much
money as they spent, it's a terrifying experience to watch
(06:46):
the Dodgers in the seventh and eighth innings before they
get to their closer. So they had thirteen hits and
eight runs. It's one of the all time great lineups.
Mookie Bets last night's insane. Mookie Bets gets four hits,
three RBIs. Remember early in the year he had a
stomach virus. He had a terrible like career, terrible slump well,
he's on a heater now. And listen, the Dodgers just
(07:08):
have too much talent. They just overpower Cincinnati. The Reds
are a young team, they're still they're good, but they've
got holes that the Dodgers don't. But we said yesterday
the Dodger stars have to deliver at the plate and
they also have to get excellent starting pitching. Okay, and
last night they scored eight runs without a home run.
So it's interesting with the Dodgers. They can grind out
(07:29):
at bats too. It's not just home runs. They can
grind out at bats. They also got Yamamoto. Yashinobu Yamamoto,
their best pitcher came in. He was dealing after a
kind of a rocky start. But then you went to
the bullpen. Yikes. Then you went too the bullpen, and
it's a nightmare. They threw forty one pitches in the
eighth inning the Dodger bullpen. In fact, in the sixth,
(07:51):
seventh and eighth innings, the Dodgers bullpen through eighty four pitches.
Watching a Dodger game, if you're a Dodger fan, it's
literally like watching a horror movie with a great cast.
You just wait to the last ten minutes and see
if your favorite survive. So this is one of the
all time great lineups with a double the tripa a bullpen.
Now the glimmer of hope is Roki Sazaki. They brought
(08:14):
over from Japan. He's a twenty three year old. He
throws absolute gas. They've moved him to the bullpen. They're
gonna need him to be great against the Phillies because
that Philly lineup, it's a lot scarier than the Cincinnati
Reds lineup. And so the glimmer of hope for the
Dodgers is, Okay, can the starters go seven and two
thirds and then can we go to our closer, because
(08:36):
if you've got to use that those seventh and eighth
inning guys, it is a problem. They're struggling with the Reds.
You're not going to Philadelphia and holding those leads. So
there's a way to win. You hold your breath. They
didn't hit a bunch of home runs last night. They
grind out at bat. They moved the runners over it singles, doubles,
driving in people. But the primary concern against all mark
(09:00):
against Cincinnati was once again on display. And here's Dave
Roberts in the locker room.
Speaker 2 (09:05):
There's a lot of work to be done.
Speaker 4 (09:07):
My only ass is.
Speaker 1 (09:09):
That every single guy be ready when called upon.
Speaker 4 (09:13):
Keep your minds right.
Speaker 3 (09:14):
We're gonna eat every single one of you guys.
Speaker 1 (09:16):
Stay in it, stay focused, keep playing for each other.
Speaker 4 (09:19):
Let's go.
Speaker 1 (09:24):
It. I mean, it's all hands on deck against the Phillies.
I think my gut feeling is I would take the Phillies.
I think. You know, all lines that are bad can't
win Super Bowls. Patrick Mahomes been blown out twice in
Super Bowls. A bad old line, you can't win it all.
This bullpen problematic all year long. I will say this,
(09:46):
it keeps every Dodger game interesting, Like every Dodger game
is interesting. But and Yankees Red Sox tonight, who knows
two young pitchers, I mean, who delivers. But I do
think it's interesting, you know, managing the Yankees. I've known
Aaron Boone for a while. Managing the Yankees is I mean,
it's just different. Games in New York are different. It's
(10:06):
like like games at Georgia, Alabama just feels different. You know,
there's just certain parts of the country where stuff matters more.
These Yankee games in Yankee Stadium. I know it's not
maybe as good as the old Yankee Stadium. Uh it's
it's a lot nicer stadium, but who knows. I mean,
you don't write tonight. I you all hands on deck.
(10:28):
I mean with the Yankees. Seriously, if the game was
if the game was four to four and you go
to the ninth inning, would the Red Sox bring in
Garrett Crochet for two batters? I think you'd have to.
I mean, Wild Wild Card Round got three games. You're
on the road for all of them. And if you're
if you're the Red Sox and you need two outs,
(10:50):
you go to the your big left hander. I think
I think it's all hands on deck. J Mack, that
was fun last night. That was really fun last night.
It won't I mean, nearly as much fun tonight as
the Rams hammer.
Speaker 5 (11:03):
Well we'll talk about that soon. But a big week
for New York.
Speaker 4 (11:07):
Right.
Speaker 1 (11:07):
Yankees win last night in a thriller.
Speaker 5 (11:09):
They're probably winning today, and you know the Jets are
delivering it home on Sunday against the Dallas Cowboys.
Speaker 1 (11:17):
You know, I don't know about the Giants. I don't
know if they'll say this this year. The Red Sox
have played great at Yankee Stadium. So I don't know.
If I had to flip a coin, i'd probably say
Boston in a close game, Okay, But I mean, I don't.
But my takeaway is on the Yankees is the Yankees
(11:38):
were at a deficit in Game one starting pitcher and lost.
The Yankees had the better starting pitcher last night and one,
and the difference was the Yankees made little airs in
Game one. Red Sox took advantage in this one. Little
airs by the Red Sox and Alex Cora excellent manager,
and the Yankees won. But remember the guys upstairs in
the analytics department, they're set in the lineups. So Jazz Chisholm,
(12:02):
he's not playing well. You watched last night. You saw
his defense. Yankees defense was excellent last night. You saw
his base running. So you know, I don't like I mean,
in the NBA, the head coach sets the rotation. In
the NFL, nobody's telling Andy Reid who to start. But
in baseball you're told. I mean, yesterday, before the game started,
I saw the Yankee lineup and I'm like, oh, that's
(12:22):
a better lineup. He's got Jazz, and that's a better lineup,
so I don't know we'll get tonight. I think it'll
be an all timer classic and I can't wait.
Speaker 4 (12:31):
All right.
Speaker 2 (12:32):
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Speaker 6 (12:41):
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Speaker 4 (12:52):
Throat every day.
Speaker 6 (12:53):
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Speaker 1 (13:14):
Best fifteen 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 when you
(13:36):
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 4 (13:52):
I think you're correct, Colin, because, in fact, this week,
because he leads the NFL in 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.
(14:13):
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. He's so
physical and he's so competitive. 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.
(14:36):
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, only one time has he
been the single receiver to the side of the field
that he lines up on.
Speaker 1 (14:57):
So they play the Niners tonight, I said the other
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 playing at seventy five eighty percent, the ball doesn't
come out in the same That's what it looks like
to me. What does the film say?
Speaker 4 (15:16):
I would agree with that. I thought last week there
were a lot of balls that sailed on him. 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.
(15:37):
You know one stat we always 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
(15:58):
starts with the run game, and they've been unable to
run the ball with any sustainability or any consistency.
Speaker 1 (16:06):
Yeah, let's revisit Jackson Dart. I thought it was good.
What I liked about the game plan, it was very intentional.
They clearly designed 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
(16:29):
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 4 (16:37):
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,
(17:00):
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
(17:23):
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 (17:37):
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 (17:51):
Now?
Speaker 1 (17:51):
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 bure
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 that he's got his number,
and I also think they're a little in his head.
But are people defending Lamar different.
Speaker 4 (18:13):
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
(18:36):
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,
(19:00):
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. Now. 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 things happen 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. I guess he's
(19:21):
going to be out for a couple of 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 (19:34):
So I kept joking with Jmack all week. I said,
if you could just put 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 gets
(19:54):
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 4 (20:10):
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. Prashad Smith,
the rookie from SMU. You know, he was a college receiver.
I think it might have been in Miami, and then
(20:31):
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,
(20:53):
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, one of the fastest
wide receiver units in the league.
Speaker 1 (21:03):
And that's something. All right, Bill's face, New England. I'm
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.
(21:25):
I don't. 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 4 (21:46):
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,
(22:07):
he's been phenomenal on third down Colin, and he's been
phenomenal versus pressure. Those are two to two critical areas
for young quarterbacks. Most young quarterbacks struggle with those two things,
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.
(22:28):
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 isn't an issue. It's the
forty percent where your technique breaks down. You have to
(22:50):
be reactive, and that's where arm length comes into play.
Speaker 1 (22:54):
Yeah, all right. Every year I pick a team that
I think is significantly better 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 Viking, So I've been in a
role I This year it was the Seahawks. I think
John Snyder is an excellent GM. I think the last
(23:15):
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 sounddown 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 they are.
(23:37):
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 (23:56):
They sure do? And will you really notice it? 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
(24:17):
as a really good defensive team. And by the way,
they haven't even gotten to play because he was injured
in the preseason. Nick Emnwarie, 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
(24:39):
a little more, but I think it will because Kenneth
Walker has a lot of ability. But right now I
look at Seattle as a really solid team.
Speaker 1 (24:47):
I want to talk Philadelphia. This is bizarre.
Speaker 4 (24:51):
They are totally bizarre.
Speaker 1 (24:53):
They have had the two worst offensive halves. Not Tennessee,
not Carolina, not the Saints. The two worst offensive halves
of football have been the Eagles first half against the Rams.
Second half last week. They're trying to get aj Brown
(25:13):
the ball. It worked against the Rams, who don't have
size at corner. This thing is this thing?
Speaker 4 (25:19):
Is is it?
Speaker 1 (25:20):
The offensive coordinator is at the play calling. They go
into these holes where it's just a what is it?
Speaker 4 (25:29):
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
(25:50):
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. And Barkley is a little bit
of 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
(26:12):
not throwing it very well, I'm not running it very 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 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
(26:32):
throwing the ball outside the numbers. Other than the Rams
game in that second half, you haven't seen much of
that at all. So I don't know. To me, it's
a mystery. But they're not very good right now on offense.
Speaker 1 (26:44):
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 and
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.
(27:07):
He 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,
(27:27):
very crisp. He was great against Cincinnati. What does the
film say on bo Nicks.
Speaker 4 (27:33):
Well, it's funny you say that because ninety five percent
of run after catches 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
(27:55):
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 top five tops,
So you know, I don't get caught up in that.
But I think he's starting to play a little more comfortably,
(28:17):
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 really good coaching. It's the
touchdown he threw, which we're actually looking at right now,
we'll see it. It's a touchdown he threw this past
week to Cortland Sutton And to me, this again is
(28:38):
just 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 five verticals.
(29:01):
They're going to run five verticals. So the matchup we
want to focus on, of course, is quarterland 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
(29:21):
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. He's got
to control the safety because he's got to create the
passing window. And you can see it from this angle.
(29:42):
You'll see as he drops back that his head is
looking first to the left, then down the middle, and
you can see this 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,
(30:03):
he just slides right there and you don't have the throw.
These are the little things you learn and that becomes
sick in nature as you play the position at the
NFL level.
Speaker 1 (30:12):
So good forty six years NFL Film, Greg cosel as Owas,
Thank you very much.
Speaker 4 (30:20):
Thanks, Colin love it. Talk to you next week.
Speaker 2 (30:22):
Be sure to catch live editions of The Herd weekdays
and Noon Easter not a Empacific on Fox Sports Radio
FS one and the iHeartRadio app.
Speaker 1 (30:31):
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,
(30:51):
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 some letters, and I'd like to
share them with the audience. Yes, cannot wait to hear people.
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 and I said, listen, Dear
(31:12):
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 in Pittsburgh, the rare eccentric quarterback who was pointing
Steel City out of the darkness and in to the lights, yours, CC.
(31:33):
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 valuable yours, CC, I wasn't done. I had to
(31:58):
get a new pan. I ran out of ink a
new pen, 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,
(32:18):
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.
(32:43):
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 got to be on it. It was tough, and
I don't know the area code in Dallas zip code.
(33:04):
Excuse me? I wrote to Brian Schottenneimer. 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.
(33:26):
I'm sorry, Coach Shottenneimer. You prove that a backwards visor
is just forward thinking yours, CC Cjmax. Sometimes you have
to sit down and be pensive, Yeah, poign 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 5 (33:47):
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
that guy at the help, 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
(34:09):
see if it continues.
Speaker 1 (34:10):
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, she 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.
(34:32):
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
(34:52):
in front of fifty five alphas and lead the team
over the hill. Create self belief because everybody's hurt week five.
Guys have to believe in each other. That's very much
Jim Harball. 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 he's a scheme guy. But you can make
(35:15):
it in this league being a culture creator and not
good with schemes, Well, I don't. You can't. 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 I
(35:35):
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 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.
(35:56):
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.
(36:19):
But he's developed into a great culture guy as well.
Speaker 5 (36:21):
Yeah, 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 you.
Speaker 2 (36:39):
To the end zone.
Speaker 1 (36:40):
Right, You need the scheme.
Speaker 5 (36:41):
So, like most things in life, it's a little fifty
to fifty, maybe sixty forty. You hire the scheme, right,
So Ben Johnson as 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,
Johnny Will We'll see. I mean, listen, the Bengals game
(37:02):
could be dangerous. I'm seeing injury report. I know you
don't like him. Lions could be down boat starting quarterbacks
Philadelphia and Jason Higgins. Philadelphia is a great example. Sirianni's
more ceo. He's not a scheme guy. So when he
had Stiking, Oh he look great. Yes, Steikan leaves, he's awful.
He hires Brian Johnson. It doesn't work. Then he hires
(37:22):
Kellen Moore, it works, Kellen Moore leaves, they've got a
new guy in now it's not working right.
Speaker 1 (37:29):
So Sirianni has been incredibly dependent 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. We don't know.
Speaker 5 (37:49):
But it's tough. That's tough. 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 the Lorla fires Stroud, He's gone, we're slowing.
Speaker 4 (38:00):
Now, what's he doing?
Speaker 1 (38:02):
Half of these guys me? Did anybody ever think Tom
Coughlin would beat Brady and Belichick in two Super Bowls
when he was at Boston College? If he just don't
You don't know who you're hiring sometimes
Thanks for listening to the Best of the Herd podcast.
Be sure to catch us live every weekday on Fox
Sports Radio in noon to three Eastern nine am to
noon Pacific. Find your local station for The Herd at
Fox Sports Radio dot com, or stream us live every
day on the iHeartRadio app by searching Fox Sports Radio
or FSR.
Speaker 2 (00:19):
This is the Best of the Herd with Colin Cowver
on Fox Sports Radio.
Speaker 1 (00:27):
Oh, here we go, another magical night of baseball. Last night.
We are live in Chicago. It's the Herd wherever you
may be, however you may be listening. Thanks for making
us part of your day. A lot of baseball. First hour,
great co sal top of next hour. We'll go to
New York later in this show. My buddy e O'Connor
(00:49):
is going to stop buy who's been covering the Yankees
for a long long time. Jmac, it's just the wild
card round. See, this is what the NBA show. Three games.
You don't need to go back and forth if you're
a top seed or a better seed. We don't need
to go to Fenway and Yankee Stadium. We're playing in
New York. It's three games, it's three in a row.
(01:12):
You earned it. I don't know who. I like two
young pitchers going in Game three tonight, but the bottom
line is massive urgency NBA first Round seven games. I
don't have to watch. You have to watch these games.
I mean, just unbelievable last night. Now we get a
game three to night with two young arms going. So
let's start with this. The best thing the Yankees had
(01:34):
going for him last night is that Garrett Crochet wasn't
pitching for Boston. Basically is I mean left handershit won
sixty six on mL year, so he didn't pitch, and
it was the Yankees who had the better starting pitcher
last night. Red Sox went to their pen early. So
the Yankees have Carlos Roodon going. He won eighteen games.
(01:56):
So before the game started, oh good, we get one
of our a and the analytics department. Thanks analytics department,
they allowed Ben Rice back in the lineup. Jack two
nothing Yankee. So now they got the better pitcher. Now
the analytics department upstairs said, yeah, we'll allow Ben Rice,
the Dartmouth kid with real power. Okay, he's not a
(02:17):
great fielder, he gives them power. But what this game
was about is on this night, it was the Red
Sox that were making the mistakes. Let's go to the
fifth inning. Aaron Judge hits the ball to left field,
usually reliable Boston outfielders clanket. Yankees take the three two lead.
(02:38):
So in Game one, it was the Yankees making the
little mistakes. Last night it was the Red Sox that
were Then we go to the top of the seventh.
The Red Sox had another opportunity, two runners on, nobody out,
and they get allows you it bat, they pop out
a bunt, so prime example, and then they have they
(03:01):
load the bases up and then they fly out. So
they just got bad at bats and Fernando Cruz is
able to get out of the inning and Cruz was
fired up. But again a high leverage moment, and the
Yankees are the ones that deliver. Now we go to
the bottom of the eighth. Jazz Chisholm, who should play
(03:23):
every game, give me a break. Athletics defense, base running.
He got a walk. Was often running on the three
and two circles. The bases bang bang beats the throw
Austin Wells delivers, so again high leverage moments. The analytics department,
you guys love the crush Korra and crush Aaron Boom.
(03:43):
The guys upstairs are sett in the lineup. Oh, Ben
Rice is allowed to play bang Jack two nothing, Jazz
Chisholm needs to be on the field. Athlete, defense, base running.
I don't care what analytics says. Get him out there,
all right. Then we go, oh to the ninth inning,
the Yankees closers wrap it up. So again we just
(04:07):
love in baseball to crush the managers. Game one, Garrett Crochet,
give me a break. He's a horse. I mean, you're
already in a huge deficit, and the analytics departments like, no,
Jazz isn't gonna play and Ben's not gonna play. Well,
were those guys pretty valuable last night? It's almost like
Ben and Jazz were like super valuable. So you know
(04:29):
a lot of this stuff. I mean, Jazz is like
addicted to baseball. I mean he's like lives, breeze, eat, sleep,
goes home. He's playing baseball, you know on PlayStation. Some
guys you need to have in the lineup, like athletes.
They can help you defense, they can help you around
the bases. They just bring juice. So this was just
to me, this was just a game that all these
(04:50):
high leverage moments, the Yankees start the game with a
better starting pitcher, and they in these crucial moments, got
the hit, got the defense of play, moved the base
runner over. And it was the Red Sox, not the
Yankees in Game two that made the little errors that
get magnified in these massive games. Here's Aaron Boone after.
Speaker 3 (05:12):
I thought our defense tonight was, you know, really really good.
Turned a couple of big, big time double plays, did
some good things on the bases, a homer by Benny
to get us rolling, and then you know, the bullpen
closing it down after Rodo gave us, gave us enough there,
even though he struggled a little bit there in the
(05:33):
seventh to get us you know, through six, set us
up and able to hang on.
Speaker 2 (05:37):
But what a game.
Speaker 1 (05:39):
So Jazz Chisholm reportedly will play tonight. Should I mean again,
you're watching the Yankees play. You're watching his defense, his
base running. He's intensity, he's just juice. He's got to
play well. Ben, we'll see. But he's a big stick.
It's a short porch in right field. He's been on
a heater hitting in September. I'd play him too, yeah,
I know, lefty right lefty, analytics, but they are just
(06:02):
players in big moments you want out there. It's a
short porch in right field. Have a guy who hits line,
drives deep in the lineup, regardless lefty, righty, and he's
hitting well. So I mean to me, I'm not anti
analytics guy, but I mean yankee field. If you got
a power hitter from the left side of the plate
and he's hitting well over the last three or four weeks,
(06:23):
just play him, Just play him. Baseball postseason's always been
about stars in big moments delivering, and I don't think
there is a favorite. Tonight. You got young pitchers who
knows Okay, let's talk Dodgers. You know, for as much
money as they spent, it's a terrifying experience to watch
(06:46):
the Dodgers in the seventh and eighth innings before they
get to their closer. So they had thirteen hits and
eight runs. It's one of the all time great lineups.
Mookie Bets last night's insane. Mookie Bets gets four hits,
three RBIs. Remember early in the year he had a
stomach virus. He had a terrible like career, terrible slump well,
he's on a heater now. And listen, the Dodgers just
(07:08):
have too much talent. They just overpower Cincinnati. The Reds
are a young team, they're still they're good, but they've
got holes that the Dodgers don't. But we said yesterday
the Dodger stars have to deliver at the plate and
they also have to get excellent starting pitching. Okay, and
last night they scored eight runs without a home run.
So it's interesting with the Dodgers. They can grind out
(07:29):
at bats too. It's not just home runs. They can
grind out at bats. They also got Yamamoto. Yashinobu Yamamoto,
their best pitcher came in. He was dealing after a
kind of a rocky start. But then you went to
the bullpen. Yikes. Then you went too the bullpen, and
it's a nightmare. They threw forty one pitches in the
eighth inning the Dodger bullpen. In fact, in the sixth,
(07:51):
seventh and eighth innings, the Dodgers bullpen through eighty four pitches.
Watching a Dodger game, if you're a Dodger fan, it's
literally like watching a horror movie with a great cast.
You just wait to the last ten minutes and see
if your favorite survive. So this is one of the
all time great lineups with a double the tripa a bullpen.
Now the glimmer of hope is Roki Sazaki. They brought
(08:14):
over from Japan. He's a twenty three year old. He
throws absolute gas. They've moved him to the bullpen. They're
gonna need him to be great against the Phillies because
that Philly lineup, it's a lot scarier than the Cincinnati
Reds lineup. And so the glimmer of hope for the
Dodgers is, Okay, can the starters go seven and two
thirds and then can we go to our closer, because
(08:36):
if you've got to use that those seventh and eighth
inning guys, it is a problem. They're struggling with the Reds.
You're not going to Philadelphia and holding those leads. So
there's a way to win. You hold your breath. They
didn't hit a bunch of home runs last night. They
grind out at bat. They moved the runners over it singles, doubles,
driving in people. But the primary concern against all mark
(09:00):
against Cincinnati was once again on display. And here's Dave
Roberts in the locker room.
Speaker 2 (09:05):
There's a lot of work to be done.
Speaker 4 (09:07):
My only ass is.
Speaker 1 (09:09):
That every single guy be ready when called upon.
Speaker 4 (09:13):
Keep your minds right.
Speaker 3 (09:14):
We're gonna eat every single one of you guys.
Speaker 1 (09:16):
Stay in it, stay focused, keep playing for each other.
Speaker 4 (09:19):
Let's go.
Speaker 1 (09:24):
It. I mean, it's all hands on deck against the Phillies.
I think my gut feeling is I would take the Phillies.
I think. You know, all lines that are bad can't
win Super Bowls. Patrick Mahomes been blown out twice in
Super Bowls. A bad old line, you can't win it all.
This bullpen problematic all year long. I will say this,
(09:46):
it keeps every Dodger game interesting, Like every Dodger game
is interesting. But and Yankees Red Sox tonight, who knows
two young pitchers, I mean, who delivers. But I do
think it's interesting, you know, managing the Yankees. I've known
Aaron Boone for a while. Managing the Yankees is I mean,
it's just different. Games in New York are different. It's
(10:06):
like like games at Georgia, Alabama just feels different. You know,
there's just certain parts of the country where stuff matters more.
These Yankee games in Yankee Stadium. I know it's not
maybe as good as the old Yankee Stadium. Uh it's
it's a lot nicer stadium, but who knows. I mean,
you don't write tonight. I you all hands on deck.
(10:28):
I mean with the Yankees. Seriously, if the game was
if the game was four to four and you go
to the ninth inning, would the Red Sox bring in
Garrett Crochet for two batters? I think you'd have to.
I mean, Wild Wild Card Round got three games. You're
on the road for all of them. And if you're
if you're the Red Sox and you need two outs,
(10:50):
you go to the your big left hander. I think
I think it's all hands on deck. J Mack, that
was fun last night. That was really fun last night.
It won't I mean, nearly as much fun tonight as
the Rams hammer.
Speaker 5 (11:03):
Well we'll talk about that soon. But a big week
for New York.
Speaker 4 (11:07):
Right.
Speaker 1 (11:07):
Yankees win last night in a thriller.
Speaker 5 (11:09):
They're probably winning today, and you know the Jets are
delivering it home on Sunday against the Dallas Cowboys.
Speaker 1 (11:17):
You know, I don't know about the Giants. I don't
know if they'll say this this year. The Red Sox
have played great at Yankee Stadium. So I don't know.
If I had to flip a coin, i'd probably say
Boston in a close game, Okay, But I mean, I don't.
But my takeaway is on the Yankees is the Yankees
(11:38):
were at a deficit in Game one starting pitcher and lost.
The Yankees had the better starting pitcher last night and one,
and the difference was the Yankees made little airs in
Game one. Red Sox took advantage in this one. Little
airs by the Red Sox and Alex Cora excellent manager,
and the Yankees won. But remember the guys upstairs in
the analytics department, they're set in the lineups. So Jazz Chisholm,
(12:02):
he's not playing well. You watched last night. You saw
his defense. Yankees defense was excellent last night. You saw
his base running. So you know, I don't like I mean,
in the NBA, the head coach sets the rotation. In
the NFL, nobody's telling Andy Reid who to start. But
in baseball you're told. I mean, yesterday, before the game started,
I saw the Yankee lineup and I'm like, oh, that's
(12:22):
a better lineup. He's got Jazz, and that's a better lineup,
so I don't know we'll get tonight. I think it'll
be an all timer classic and I can't wait.
Speaker 4 (12:31):
All right.
Speaker 2 (12:32):
Be sure to catch live editions of The Herd weekdays
and newone eastern non am Pacific on Fox Sports Radio
FS one and the iHeartRadio app.
Speaker 6 (12:41):
Hey, this is Jason McIntyre. Join me every weekday morning
on my podcast, Straight Fire with Jason McIntyre. This isn't
your typical sports pod pushing the same tired narratives down your.
Speaker 4 (12:52):
Throat every day.
Speaker 6 (12:53):
Straight Fire gives you honest opinions on all the biggest
sports headlines, accurate stats to help you win. BI get
the sportsbook and all the best guests. Do yourself a
favor and listen to Straight Fire with Jason McIntyre on
the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Speaker 1 (13:14):
Best fifteen 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 when you
(13:36):
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 4 (13:52):
I think you're correct, Colin, because, in fact, this week,
because he leads the NFL in 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.
(14:13):
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. He's so
physical and he's so competitive. 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.
(14:36):
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, only one time has he
been the single receiver to the side of the field
that he lines up on.
Speaker 1 (14:57):
So they play the Niners tonight, I said the other
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 playing at seventy five eighty percent, the ball doesn't
come out in the same That's what it looks like
to me. What does the film say?
Speaker 4 (15:16):
I would agree with that. I thought last week there
were a lot of balls that sailed on him. 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.
(15:37):
You know one stat we always 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
(15:58):
starts with the run game, and they've been unable to
run the ball with any sustainability or any consistency.
Speaker 1 (16:06):
Yeah, let's revisit Jackson Dart. I thought it was good.
What I liked about the game plan, it was very intentional.
They clearly designed 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
(16:29):
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 4 (16:37):
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,
(17:00):
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
(17:23):
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 (17:37):
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 (17:51):
Now?
Speaker 1 (17:51):
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 bure
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 that he's got his number,
and I also think they're a little in his head.
But are people defending Lamar different.
Speaker 4 (18:13):
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
(18:36):
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,
(19:00):
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. Now. 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 things happen 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. I guess he's
(19:21):
going to be out for a couple of 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 (19:34):
So I kept joking with Jmack all week. I said,
if you could just put 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 gets
(19:54):
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 4 (20:10):
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. Prashad Smith,
the rookie from SMU. You know, he was a college receiver.
I think it might have been in Miami, and then
(20:31):
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,
(20:53):
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, one of the fastest
wide receiver units in the league.
Speaker 1 (21:03):
And that's something. All right, Bill's face, New England. I'm
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.
(21:25):
I don't. 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 4 (21:46):
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,
(22:07):
he's been phenomenal on third down Colin, and he's been
phenomenal versus pressure. Those are two to two critical areas
for young quarterbacks. Most young quarterbacks struggle with those two things,
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.
(22:28):
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 isn't an issue. It's the
forty percent where your technique breaks down. You have to
(22:50):
be reactive, and that's where arm length comes into play.
Speaker 1 (22:54):
Yeah, all right. Every year I pick a team that
I think is significantly better 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 Viking, So I've been in a
role I This year it was the Seahawks. I think
John Snyder is an excellent GM. I think the last
(23:15):
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 sounddown 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 they are.
(23:37):
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 (23:56):
They sure do? And will you really notice it? 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
(24:17):
as a really good defensive team. And by the way,
they haven't even gotten to play because he was injured
in the preseason. Nick Emnwarie, 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
(24:39):
a little more, but I think it will because Kenneth
Walker has a lot of ability. But right now I
look at Seattle as a really solid team.
Speaker 1 (24:47):
I want to talk Philadelphia. This is bizarre.
Speaker 4 (24:51):
They are totally bizarre.
Speaker 1 (24:53):
They have had the two worst offensive halves. Not Tennessee,
not Carolina, not the Saints. The two worst offensive halves
of football have been the Eagles first half against the Rams.
Second half last week. They're trying to get aj Brown
(25:13):
the ball. It worked against the Rams, who don't have
size at corner. This thing is this thing?
Speaker 4 (25:19):
Is is it?
Speaker 1 (25:20):
The offensive coordinator is at the play calling. They go
into these holes where it's just a what is it?
Speaker 4 (25:29):
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
(25:50):
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. And Barkley is a little bit
of 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
(26:12):
not throwing it very well, I'm not running it very 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 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
(26:32):
throwing the ball outside the numbers. Other than the Rams
game in that second half, you haven't seen much of
that at all. So I don't know. To me, it's
a mystery. But they're not very good right now on offense.
Speaker 1 (26:44):
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 and
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.
(27:07):
He 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,
(27:27):
very crisp. He was great against Cincinnati. What does the
film say on bo Nicks.
Speaker 4 (27:33):
Well, it's funny you say that because ninety five percent
of run after catches 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
(27:55):
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 top five tops,
So you know, I don't get caught up in that.
But I think he's starting to play a little more comfortably,
(28:17):
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 really good coaching. It's the
touchdown he threw, which we're actually looking at right now,
we'll see it. It's a touchdown he threw this past
week to Cortland Sutton And to me, this again is
(28:38):
just 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 five verticals.
(29:01):
They're going to run five verticals. So the matchup we
want to focus on, of course, is quarterland 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
(29:21):
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. He's got
to control the safety because he's got to create the
passing window. And you can see it from this angle.
(29:42):
You'll see as he drops back that his head is
looking first to the left, then down the middle, and
you can see this 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,
(30:03):
he just slides right there and you don't have the throw.
These are the little things you learn and that becomes
sick in nature as you play the position at the
NFL level.
Speaker 1 (30:12):
So good forty six years NFL Film, Greg cosel as Owas,
Thank you very much.
Speaker 4 (30:20):
Thanks, Colin love it. Talk to you next week.
Speaker 2 (30:22):
Be sure to catch live editions of The Herd weekdays
and Noon Easter not a Empacific on Fox Sports Radio
FS one and the iHeartRadio app.
Speaker 1 (30:31):
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,
(30:51):
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 some letters, and I'd like to
share them with the audience. Yes, cannot wait to hear people.
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 and I said, listen, Dear
(31:12):
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 in Pittsburgh, the rare eccentric quarterback who was pointing
Steel City out of the darkness and in to the lights, yours, CC.
(31:33):
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 valuable yours, CC, I wasn't done. I had to
(31:58):
get a new pan. I ran out of ink a
new pen, 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,
(32:18):
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.
(32:43):
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 got to be on it. It was tough, and
I don't know the area code in Dallas zip code.
(33:04):
Excuse me? I wrote to Brian Schottenneimer. 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.
(33:26):
I'm sorry, Coach Shottenneimer. You prove that a backwards visor
is just forward thinking yours, CC Cjmax. Sometimes you have
to sit down and be pensive, Yeah, poign 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 5 (33:47):
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
that guy at the help, 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
(34:09):
see if it continues.
Speaker 1 (34:10):
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, she 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.
(34:32):
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
(34:52):
in front of fifty five alphas and lead the team
over the hill. Create self belief because everybody's hurt week five.
Guys have to believe in each other. That's very much
Jim Harball. 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 he's a scheme guy. But you can make
(35:15):
it in this league being a culture creator and not
good with schemes, Well, I don't. You can't. 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 I
(35:35):
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 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.
(35:56):
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.
(36:19):
But he's developed into a great culture guy as well.
Speaker 5 (36:21):
Yeah, 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 you.
Speaker 2 (36:39):
To the end zone.
Speaker 1 (36:40):
Right, You need the scheme.
Speaker 5 (36:41):
So, like most things in life, it's a little fifty
to fifty, maybe sixty forty. You hire the scheme, right,
So Ben Johnson as 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,
Johnny Will We'll see. I mean, listen, the Bengals game
(37:02):
could be dangerous. I'm seeing injury report. I know you
don't like him. Lions could be down boat starting quarterbacks
Philadelphia and Jason Higgins. Philadelphia is a great example. Sirianni's
more ceo. He's not a scheme guy. So when he
had Stiking, Oh he look great. Yes, Steikan leaves, he's awful.
He hires Brian Johnson. It doesn't work. Then he hires
(37:22):
Kellen Moore, it works, Kellen Moore leaves, they've got a
new guy in now it's not working right.
Speaker 1 (37:29):
So Sirianni has been incredibly dependent 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. We don't know.
Speaker 5 (37:49):
But it's tough. That's tough. 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 the Lorla fires Stroud, He's gone, we're slowing.
Speaker 4 (38:00):
Now, what's he doing?
Speaker 1 (38:02):
Half of these guys me? Did anybody ever think Tom
Coughlin would beat Brady and Belichick in two Super Bowls
when he was at Boston College? If he just don't
You don't know who you're hiring sometimes
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