November 25, 2025 • 35 mins
Colin Cowherd breaks down the San Francisco 49ers escaping with an ugly win over the Carolina Panthers, despite Brock Purdy’s three-interception performance. Colin explains why Purdy’s struggles reinforce his belief that the young QB will never reach true elite quarterback status in the NFL
Then, Colin unveils his Week 13 Herd Hierarchy, ranking the Top 10 NFL teams. Where do the Philadelphia Eagles land after their shocking collapse against the Dallas Cowboys?
Plus, 3-time National Champion Urban Meyer joins the show to preview a massive Ohio State vs. Michigan rivalry showdown. Meyer also breaks down what Lincoln Riley must change to push USC back into College Football Playoff contention and reestablish the Trojans as a national power
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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):
Here we go Tuesday on Thanksgiving Week, We're live. We're
in Chicago. It's the Herd. One hour from now. The
Herd Hierarchy.
Speaker 2 (00:36):
What are we.
Speaker 1 (00:37):
Gonna do with oh Chicago Bears. Well, they made their
first appearance in the Herd Hierarchy. Great to have you
in today. You know, it was so fun because I've
brought Pretty us obviously awful last night, and in the
first half I thought, well, he had a toe injury,
and I thought, all right, I said it on my
(00:58):
podcast at the volume last night. I said, he's obviously
can't drive the ball. Every one of his interceptions was
behind the guy and they kind of hung in the air.
There was no zip on the ball. And Pretty came
out after the game and said it had nothing to
do with my toe. Oh so you were just awful
against Carolina that has no pass rush. Listen, we watch
Matt Stafford on Sunday Night Football. That's a Hall of
(01:20):
Famer mastery of the position. Big arm, pre snap, looks left,
fire's right. Last night you saw two average quarterbacks. One's
making a fortune and one wants to make a fortune.
Five picks total, multiple bad throws to open receivers. And remember,
the NFL's not baseball where we care about history. It's
(01:42):
not the NBA where style matters. The NFL. When you're
a quarterback, it's about your last twenty starts. It's about now,
last twenty starts. Matt Stafford brought pretty and Bryce Young.
Matt Stafford's forty three to five. That is an elite
franchise quarterback. Forty three touchdowns, five picks. Bryce Young at
(02:06):
least has a two to one touchdown to interception ratio
with a bunch of kids at wide receiver Brock Purty
thirty touchdowns, nineteen picks. And by the way, on Monday
Night Football, he presses because he wants to show everybody
in a standalone game, hey, I belong Monday Night Football.
In his career, five touchdowns, eleven picks, seventy five passer rating.
(02:26):
So I said in August, Rams are going to win
the division, best roster, Seattle's close, San Francisco third. In fact,
the only two things with the Diners this year that
have blown me away. Robert Sala deserves a head coaching job.
What he is doing without Warner, without Bosa, without Fungo's
now with Denver, I don't know they're doing it. It's
(02:47):
just kids. And I mean Bryce Youlling was great a
week ago, he was atrocious last night. So and Christian
McCaffrey is I mean, honestly, he should get paid overtime.
I mean, he is the offense. But everybody keeps trying
to convince Colin you're tough on brock pretty No, no, you're
(03:07):
trying to convince me he's elite. If you'd stop doing that,
I'd stop talking about it. Well, he's smart, so was Aristotle.
I need elite quarterback traits, arm size, mobility like Bryce Young.
It's not a franchise quarterback. He's a bridge quarterback. He's
not a backup. He's a bridge. But nobody's trying to
convince me he's an all timer. So so you guys
(03:28):
keep trying to convince me, Oh, this is what this
is what it looks like. When he had a stacked
roster and people didn't have a lot of film on him.
He was at an Iowa State and he was he
was healthy. It's kind of fun, and he moves pretty well.
Said it last week after the Arizona game. He moves
pretty well. But do you know since he entered the NFL,
he leads the NFL in interceptions on first down, leads
(03:51):
the NFL in it that is the easiest, most favorable
now to pass on. So last night is three picks.
They were all behind the receivers. None of them had
any velocity behind them. So he may say the toe
is fine, it's not. You can tell he's not at
one hundred percent. But on on throws down the field
(04:12):
last night he was one for eight with three picks.
But this year, on throws just ten yards down the field,
he's the NFL's worst quarterback one touchdown, seven picks. So well, Colin,
Once you make fifty three million a year, that's more
than Mahomes and it's more than Matt Stafford. If you
made twelve million a year, or you had Bryce Young's contract.
(04:34):
I wouldn't care, or if you weren't trying to convince me.
My eyes don't lie, yours don't either. Those three picks,
those are not fifty three million dollars a year throws.
In fact, ask yourself this after the game. Listen to
(04:54):
what the reporters ask Kyle Shanahan. Listen to this.
Speaker 3 (05:00):
I mean, you got to think about Olivan, why is happening?
Speaker 1 (05:02):
You know, it makes me a lot.
Speaker 3 (05:03):
More hesitant if they're all bad decisions and stuff.
Speaker 4 (05:06):
But he was seeing it right.
Speaker 3 (05:07):
They're all really good decisions, just missed.
Speaker 4 (05:10):
The throw on them.
Speaker 3 (05:11):
So, uh, you know, I think it's it's a lot
worse when you feel like he's not making the right decisions.
Speaker 1 (05:17):
Yeah, he was asked to that answer. He was asked
if he considered benching brock Pretty. Has anybody ever asked
if Joe Burrow, Mahomes, Josh Allen, Lamar, Justin Herbert should
be benched again? If you make fifty three million, you can
never ask that question, you know, I think you should
(05:39):
maybe consider mac Jones what you're paying on fifty three million.
I'm not anti Rock Pretty. He's fine, but he's really inconsistent,
not good throwing downfield. That's all I'm saying. If you
stop trying to convince me he's in that upper crust,
then I'll stop talking about Okay, so I don't think
Senor Sanders is upper, but I want to talk about this.
(06:01):
He's going to be the starter for the Cleveland Browns.
I would imagine the rest of the way. I think
we've seen enough Dylan Gabriel so over the course of
my life, and you've probably noticed this too. There are
certain people that walk into a room and they take
the oxygen out of it. They're negative, they're risk averse,
they're rigid, they like just suck all the energy and
oxygen and vibe out of the room. And then there
(06:22):
are people that come into a room and they're optimistic, optimistic,
and they've got a little juice and they've got a
lot of confidence and they want to take a big
swing in life. That Shandor Sanders. I don't care about
the stats. Watching him and then watching Dylan Gabriel. One
guy plays it safe and one guy throws it down
(06:44):
the field and takes swings, and pro football locker rooms
are fifty five alphas. It's guys who take swings it's
aggressive men. And Robert Griffin, the third RG three on
the show yesterday, said he noticed.
Speaker 3 (06:57):
That when you watch the game, the Browns played with
more energy, more purpose, and more excitement than they have
all season long because of his ability to make the
extended play, and with that comes mistakes. He'd do a
bad interception, but he bounced back really well off of it.
I think he has the pulse of the team, the
pulse of the city. He is self aware that he
(07:19):
believes he is going to be successful, so he speaks confidently,
he walks around confidently, and that is why he's not afraid.
Speaker 1 (07:27):
Yeah. I mean when I watched him against the Raiders,
and it's the Raiders, but it's an NFL team, it
looked like Colorado. Shauduur throws the ball down the field
and he's accurate. Dylan Gabriel plays it safe, right, and
bosses love employees who play it safe and never get
the boss in trouble. He runs all the plays shadu
(07:48):
or doesn't. He plays with more confidence, he takes more risks.
Dylan Gabriel, do you realize this led the NFL? He
was last in the NFL in yards per attempt. This year,
Dylan Gabriel Sanders led the entire league this Sunday in
the Yardsboro attempt. They're the opposite. They're literally the opposite
kind of quarterback. So in my take, if you're Cleveland
(08:10):
is you're not going to get rich in life. Investing
in four oh one k's, you can get comfortable or content.
Dylan Gabriel is not even a four to oh one k.
He's that savings bond grandma gave you when you were nine. Like,
there's just no upside. It's safe. He's not taking any risks.
(08:33):
But I think in pro football locker rooms that kind
of pulls the energy and the juice out of the room.
You got fifty five NFL bodies. I mean, Miles Garrett's
reaction to Shadeur Sanders is, oh, this is fun. We
got a guy. So now I think Shadeur's a little goofy.
I like my quarterbacks to be serious and intense. I
really like Peyton Manning. I really like the intensity of
(08:55):
Lamar Jackson, who gets mad at himself. I like serious, intense,
totally focused quarterbacks and shooters. A little goofy. He's a
little casual, you know. I think sometimes he's a little juvenile.
He feels like a kid. But I don't think you
can deny that there's a different feeling when he's the
(09:17):
quarterback of the Cleveland Browns. It just looks and feels differently.
And that's why I should start little goofy for my taste.
But he does add something as RG three talked about.
And by the way, I have no problem with joyful,
funny professional athletes. Somebody told me this year's ago. If
you're in a serious profession like accounting or tech, have
(09:39):
a sense of humor lighting up. And if you're in
a funny or or an entertainment field, music, sports, comedy,
take it seriously. Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld take comedy seriously.
So did Letterman and Leto. They take comedy seriously. It's
(10:01):
a real career, Ricky Gervais, it's a real career. I
like my quarterbacks in entertainment, my musicians, my singers. You
know it's Mick Jagger, Paul McCartney, Bono. They take it seriously.
John bon Jovi is still touring making money. Take it seriously.
When you get into sports, I like, really focused because
(10:22):
there's goofballs everywhere in entertainment, music and the movies and comedy.
There's goofballs everywhere in those kind of careers. I think
he got to be a little bit more serious to me.
Shadour's a little goofy for me, but he's a joyful kid,
and I think he should start all right, Jay mac listen,
I know it's a rough day. You love brock Purty,
(10:42):
but I think America after the first half, we all
summarily agreed was awful football, not just quarterback play. You
know what I couldn't figure out this. Rico Dowell is
one of these NFL running backs. You're like, can you
just give it the ball? Why didn't Dave Canalis get
(11:03):
Rico Dowdell six attempts? He's your Christian McCaffrey. I mean, Sam,
whatich you want about Kyle Shanahan. The entire offense drives
through Christian McCaffrey. You have your Christian McCaffrey. Is he
as good? I don't know, but Rico Dowdell is a really,
really fun player. He got the ball six times out
of the backfield, Like what are you doing?
Speaker 5 (11:24):
It was a wacky game, was it not? It just
fell all around like the pretty interceptions, and listen, I'm
gonna pull a you. Last week, you know, member Sam
Darnold threw four picks against the Rams and you're like,
I don't really care about interceptions. You're trying things.
Speaker 1 (11:38):
Rock Perty was trying things last night. None of them worked. Okay,
he had a bad half. It was bad. You flush it,
you move on.
Speaker 5 (11:44):
I am worried, however, about this Browns game, because oh,
the defense at.
Speaker 1 (11:49):
Home is nasty. Oh, let me just tell you right now.
I have revised what I said yesterday. Cleveland plus six
and a half points at home with cruddy Weather is
the bet of the weekend against the Niners on a
short week. Yeah, and he did on the weekend.
Speaker 5 (12:02):
Remember a couple of years ago he went to Cleveland
and had a loss. They were missing a couple of weapons.
But this is gonna be a difficult game for him.
And I'll be honest if you ask me Jayback, what
the hell was wrong with pretty? I think in an
Island game he was pressing a little, biting that Mac
Jones had good run and he's coming off the injury
and it was in his.
Speaker 1 (12:20):
Head, you know, like what happens. Listen, brock Purdy has
been bad on Monday Night football, five touchdowns, eleven picks.
I think it's a showcase. He feels a little bit
of pressure. He wants to show he belongs in the
one o'clock window or when he's playing in Arizona, he's magic.
But I think he was pressing totally last night. Fine.
(12:40):
I got some thoughts on Lane Kiffin. You know, it
just cracks me up how everybody's after Lane Kiffin. I
just I just don't get it. And I got thoughts
on Michigan Ohio State and Michigan fans aren't gonna like it.
We got heard Hierarchy, Nick Right. Good Show today.
Speaker 2 (12:57):
Be sure to catch live editions of The Herd weeked
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one and the iHeartRadio app.
Speaker 5 (13:07):
Hey, this is Jason McIntyre. Join me every weekday morning
on my podcast Straight Fire with Jason McIntyre. This isn't
your typical sports pod pushing the same tired narratives down
your throat.
Speaker 3 (13:18):
Every day.
Speaker 5 (13:19):
Straight Fire gives you honest opinions on all the biggest
sports headlines, accurate stats to help.
Speaker 2 (13:24):
You win big at the sportsbook.
Speaker 5 (13:26):
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 2 (13:40):
Heard Hierarchy time Now, no Go. The top ten NFL
teams according to College Number ten.
Speaker 1 (13:48):
Okay, listen, I gotta put the Bears in here. Eight
and one over their last nine games. Their defense leads
the NFL in interceptions and takeaways. They have twenty four takeaways.
I don't think they're a great defense of but they
take advant when the balls in the air they fight for.
They're also the second best rush team offense. Number six.
(14:09):
I don't think Ben Johnson and Caleb are a finished product.
This team wins close games. Same thing I say about Denver.
There is value in that Chiefs that at last year.
I think teams that win close games are tight locker rooms.
Bears at ten, Number nine the Ravens. Obviously, Lamar Jackson
(14:30):
is not one hundred percent brought pretty last night, no
velocity toe injury. He won't say anything. Lamar won't say anything.
Fifth straight win. Their defense right now since week seven
is the number one defense in the league. They're not pretty,
They're out of rhythm. They're a little broken offensively. I
always say I put Baltimore in the top ten because
I just respect the culture, the ownership, the coach, the
(14:53):
front office. I don't know how good they are, but
they make the list.
Speaker 2 (14:58):
Number eight.
Speaker 1 (14:59):
Green Bay. Here's what's weird. For the first time in forever,
it's just a defensive store. Their offense is conservative. Their
defense is excellent. At home, opponents score thirteen points a game.
That's the best home defense in the league. They've held
opponents under twenty points in four straight games. They have
a pass rush. Their offense does not give it away.
(15:24):
This is rare. It's a boring Green Bay Packer team
led by their defense. Okay, and we look at all
these offensive receivers and all these stars and we're like, oh,
I don't understand it. It's just a different Packer team.
But it's a good one. They're eight.
Speaker 2 (15:38):
Number seven.
Speaker 1 (15:39):
The Lions third game with two hundred plus rushing yards.
Jamir Gibbs is like fired out of a cannon. The
guy's unbelievable. Their defense, though, major problem. They give up
chunk play. They gave up ten catches of over twenty yards.
The jamis win, but they can control the game. They've
(16:02):
got a home run hitter in the backfield. They've got
a culture creator and an accurate thrower. They're unimpressive and uninspiring,
not as good as last year. Number seven, number six.
The Chiefs listen lead the NFL in yards per game.
It's not pretty. Yeah, they could have been five and six,
(16:23):
but they held the Colts to season lows in points, totally,
yards and first downs. They're good at home. They're not
as good on the road because they're not a great team.
But they're a good team, and they've won of four
teams to rank top ten, only four in the league.
Top ten in all major four major categories, scoring offense,
(16:44):
total offense, scoring defense, total defense, well coached, smartly quarterback.
I have them at six, number five, one inch behind Philadelphia, which,
like Baltimore, has a broken offense. Sjalen Hurt attended thirty
attempted thirty nine throws against the Cowboys. That's about double
(17:04):
what people in Philadelphia are comfortable with. Nine of their
eleven games have been decided by one score. But I
can't hold it against them because that was the case
with Kansas City last year. They have a culture, they've
got athletes. I trust them in big spots. They just
had a disastrous second half against a hot cowboy offense
Lamb Pickins Dack five. Number four Seattle the one team
(17:30):
I would not want to play in the playoffs. Young, confident, aggressive,
great on the road. Seattle, highest rush percentage in the league,
and they love to throw the ball down the field.
And number three in point differential. They're going to go
in as a wild card team, and they'll be the
only wild card team that honestly, I mean, I would
(17:55):
argue their roster could be better than the team that
wins the division. They're a little more mistake in the rams,
but I have him at four.
Speaker 2 (18:03):
Number three.
Speaker 1 (18:04):
The Patriots played like crap and one on the road.
That's pretty good. The offensive line now it's a little
banged up, but they've only allowed three sacks over the
last three games. They just don't have a fundamental flaw.
If they score twenty points, they're ten to zero. Best
record in the NFL. I think Josh McDaniel offensive coordinator
once again, quietly, just like with Brady, is really I mean,
(18:28):
he is the Wizard of Oz behind the curtain. For
this offense. They just call and perform a really smart
offensive game plan every Sunday, Number two Denver. Here's why
there are certain stats you can't ignore. They leave the
(18:48):
NFL with a plus thirty six SAC differential. They have
the number one ranked offensive line. They allow four point
four yards of play, easily the best in the league.
They get four to have sacks the game now, way
too many penalties, more than any in the league. I
could see them beating themselves. They have terrible halves and
(19:09):
are inconsistent, But there are stats in this league that
tell me you're going to win multiple playoff games. Oh yeah,
they got a Hall of Fame level head coach number one.
I mean, honestly, the Rams. They're number one in everything.
Seven of their nine wins have come against teams with
winning records. They're blowing people out. Tampa is not a
(19:31):
bad team. They scored thirty one in the first half.
They don't turn it over, they never get pen life.
They take leads. Number one scoring offense, number one scoring
defense during this six game stretch. Let me tell you something.
Nate Lanman, the inside linebacker, stole him from Atlanta. Devontae
Adams free agents stole him. I mean, it's just incredible
(19:52):
what they've done. I mean they went and got the
corner from Washington Forbes. He looks like an number one corner.
What an off season of acquisitions for very reasonable prices.
There we go.
Speaker 2 (20:08):
Be sure to catch live editions of The Herd weekdays
at noon Eastern, not a em Pacific.
Speaker 1 (20:18):
All right, welcome back. What an amazing mortgash board of
football starting Chiefs, Cowboys, Lions, Packers, Bears, Eagles. Then you're
gonna get Ohio State and Michigan and Urban. Meyer was
seven to oh against Michigan. He is now joining us live.
He will be joining us during a big noon kickoff
(20:40):
Ohio State at Michigan Saturday, nine am Eastern. I love,
I love the early game. What a way to start
the day. So let's just go inside. This last year
was shocking. Listen. I get Harbaugh winning games. He's obviously
a great coach. I get you dominating the series. In
my lifetime, I've always felt Ohio State's the best or program,
(21:01):
but Michigan's been more coach reliant, whereas Ohio States just
almost always good. That just it doesn't even John Cooper
was winning a lot of games before they ran him out.
This game, though, did you coach it differently? Did you
feel layers of pressure that you didn't when you face
Purdue Iowa or even a big game that was a
(21:21):
national TV game.
Speaker 6 (21:24):
Colin, It's not even close the pressure, And I agree,
I think it's at Ohio State.
Speaker 4 (21:28):
It might be worse.
Speaker 6 (21:29):
You know, I talked to Jake but today and and
you know, went on that eighteen of nineteen game run
where you won, and I still felt the pressure was
And it wasn't that week, it wasn't that day, it
was pretty much all year round that you just you
could not lose that game. And a lot of that's
probably internal pressure. But the great state of Ohio, now
you know, there's no Michigan State, there's no other rival.
(21:52):
This is the game, and this is you know, say
answer your question, immense pressure.
Speaker 1 (21:57):
Now, Ohio States got better personnel right now. But Underwood
in Marsh for Michigan are playmakers. I like Marsh as
much as any receiver Michigan has had in a decade.
I think he's really special. They're kids, they're young. If
Michigan is to win this game, they're at home. That helps.
If you are Ohio State, what would worry you because
(22:20):
I can see Underwood just I could see Michigan saying,
kid put on a show, and you know he is
wild talent. What would worry you if you're a Buckeye.
Speaker 6 (22:31):
Would worry means is a shortened game. It's going to
be sloppy. I'm understanding snowing and cold and all of
a sudden. If I'm coaching Underwood, I'm going to double
tape his ankles. I might even put a necro on him.
I'm gonna run that guy. I'm going to get first downs.
I'm going to shorten the game and then readjust at halftime.
But I'm going to get to that halftime with a
short and slow game and try to play field position ball.
(22:54):
Because Ohio State has more talent and a lot of
it's going to be dependent on these two receivers. If
the top two receivers in the country play, Jeremiah and
Carnell Tate. If they play, it's a whole different game.
If they don't. You know, the Ohio States still a
little bit more talent, but it's now a little more
equal what's the great equalizer? The quarterback run and this
kid's a freak. You know I'd have to take care
(23:14):
of the ball. Say get ready, pal, We're gonna put
you in Heisman contation next year because you're going to
dominate this game.
Speaker 1 (23:20):
The if Tate doesn't player Jeremiah Smith, both receivers are
banged up. Now if it's snowing and blowing sideways, you're
not going deep much anyway. Do you worry a little
bit if the receivers don't play. You got a very
young quarterback. This is the biggest game of his life.
Do you worry about butterflies and nerves? I mean, there
(23:41):
is no bigger game for Buckeye and now it's on
the road and you could be missing receivers. What about
the psychology with that?
Speaker 6 (23:49):
Yeah, I think they did a masterclass in bringing Julian
Saying along. And that's Brian Hartline and Ryan Day. You know,
you remember back against Texas, they didn't ask him to
go win that game, and I would, you know, I
would imagine if he's a California kid, he might be playing.
Speaker 4 (24:05):
I don't know if he's ever been playing snow.
Speaker 6 (24:06):
Before in a tough environment against a good talented defense,
So I'd be very cautious with him again or to
start the game. If if I'm coaching this game with
these two young quarterbacks, I am very cautious. I am
playing field position football to start this thing and then
start to adapt. As usually after about the third or
(24:27):
fourth series callin, you're going to find out how they're
going to play you, because they don't drastically change. I
know people talk about halftime adjustments, but after series three,
you're going to know, as an offensive coach, exactly or
a good idea, how they're going to play you, and
then you can, you know, adjust your game plan.
Speaker 1 (24:44):
So I watched the USC Michigan game, and it's hard
for me to unsee that Michigan has been much better since.
Speaker 6 (24:52):
Why they were awful of that game. I can't unsee
that as well. As a matter of fact, I couldn't
see that for the other side, USC, I thought if
that team shows up, they could beat Oregon. And that
team did not show up, So I think, you know,
their schedule was a little bit softer after the USC game.
They did play, they did play well, but you know,
(25:13):
softer schedules tend to make you look better.
Speaker 4 (25:16):
We're going to find out.
Speaker 6 (25:17):
But I can't unsee what happened in Southern cal That
was a bad day for the Wolverines.
Speaker 1 (25:21):
By the way, speaking of USC, Lincoln's zero to five
against top ten teams. In fairness, he did not take
over a good roster. It had about forty Division one guys.
He went heavy into nil, hitting a few, missing a lot.
My bigger issue is four years in, I don't like
the special teams and I don't trust the defense. I
(25:42):
don't think it's good enough. They also lacked kind of
a cultural identity Oklahoma Brett Venable has never been a
head coach. When I watched Oklahoma that, I'm like, Oh,
that's an SEC team. They are. They are physical and
they're fast. Are you disappointed where Lincoln is after four years?
Speaker 4 (26:00):
I know Lincoln, I don't know him like this.
Speaker 6 (26:03):
If I did, I'd probably go visit him and I'd say,
I know this is gonna be hard for you to do,
but give up the play because he's one of the
best play callers in college football, certainly in the last
recent history. But at some point when special teams and
defense aren't playing the par I know what Ryan day,
The Buck guys got better when they had when he
handed off the play calling duties because he can go
(26:25):
sit in defensive rooms Now he can go give his
expertise and special teams or and I it's not expertise,
it's just motivation.
Speaker 4 (26:33):
I just don't know.
Speaker 6 (26:35):
I'm trying to think the last time that a play
caller won a national championship, because I mean, it's rinse
and repeat with what he did at Oklahoma. Great offenses,
bad defenses, goes to usc great offenses, bad defenses, and
we thought, you know, they had it a little bit better.
But again, I just in today's day and age, I'm
not sure how a head coach doesn't spend half the
(26:56):
time over on the defensive side of the ball.
Speaker 4 (26:57):
I don't don't. I don't understand that.
Speaker 1 (27:00):
So I have defended Lane Kiffin. People say it's going
to tarnish his reputation if he leaves, and I'm like, well,
his reputation is he leaves and he's a great offensive coach.
That's what he is. That's why, that's why keeps getting
Nobody's giving him jobs because they think he's loyal, they
think he's great, he's a wizard offensively, and he recruits
the heck out of it. Well, let me ask you
(27:22):
put yourself in his position. I have said, stay at
Old Miss or go pro, go to Tennessee, don't bounce.
I wouldn't get involved with LSU. I know it's a
great job. The governor's involved. I don't like what they're
doing with Brian Kelly. I think Florida is a wonderful
place to coach. What would you do?
Speaker 6 (27:39):
I've texted with Lane, I've talked to him, We've actually
become friends. I made this comment, I was, I'm proud
of the way he's gotten everything in order, and he
is a call He's always been a hell of an
offensive coach and now he's become a hell of a
head coach.
Speaker 4 (27:52):
I had a similar situation.
Speaker 6 (27:54):
I was at the University of you taw We went undefeated,
first school to break the BCS or small school to
break the BCS. And I left and I went to
Florida and that was just ripped your heart out.
Speaker 4 (28:03):
I went back.
Speaker 6 (28:04):
We coached the last game and the Festa Bowl we won.
This is unchartered waters though. To leave a team that
could potentially and you tell me other than Ohio State maybe,
and you have a and m Ohio State Indiana, I'm
telling you all missus right there. Yeah, and to be
able to walk that might haunt Lane the rest of
(28:24):
his You know, I'm just personally to how do you
walk in that meeting and say, hey, guys, I'm not
only leaving, I'm going to be playing you next year.
Speaker 4 (28:32):
You know, I don't know. I mean, and I.
Speaker 6 (28:35):
Don't believe at this point in his life. Money can't
be the deciding factor. Cannot There's no chance that he
would leave because a couple more million bucks. I would say,
there's no chance. There's got to be some other reason
if he does leave.
Speaker 1 (28:51):
Yeah, well you've never been I mean, I know you
a little. You're not a big money guy. That's not
what drives you ever. You're you're a very competitive guy.
But it doesn't drive. But you know, some of these
young guys they like that. Let us they want a
second car Urban. It does drive. I mean you've had coaches.
Have you ever had a coach in your staff or
two or that like the money thing? That the status
(29:11):
and the money. I mean, let's face it, LSU head coach.
That is a big Texas head coach, Ohio state head coach.
Those are big boy jobs now right, Ole miss is
a good job. LSU is different.
Speaker 4 (29:25):
Yeah.
Speaker 6 (29:25):
I heard Nick Saban say this with I think back
when recruiting was all about you know your history, your tradition,
you know your academics, maybe your opportunity to get you
the NFL. I'm thinking that's kind of gone now. Now
it's just how much can you pay? And so I
would imagine if Lane Kiffin left, there's some kind of
guarantees somewhere that he can basically do whatever he wants
(29:49):
as far as bringing players, because I can't imagine it's
another car, another house. I can't imagine that because I'd
stayed Ole miss in a minute. And they'll build a
statue if you go try to compete for a national
championship up and that's your legacy setton Stone. It's a
much different era, and I think Nick Saban said it.
So that used to be the deciding factor. I'm going
to go to LSU because you can go play for
(30:09):
national championship and they recruit better players. I'm not sure
that's the case anymore, because everyone's equal.
Speaker 1 (30:16):
Okay, let's go back to Ohio State Michigan. I like
Ryan Day. I've supported him, I've defended him. I think
he's a great coach. I also, I also I think
I may have even said this to him. I thought
he out fought the room last year. I thought he
had heard people were chirping in his ear for years.
You're getting pushed around by Michigan. You're getting pushed around
(30:36):
by Michigan. And he thought, I'm not letting them push
me around. And my take is, go in the game,
don't worry about of talk radio. I thought he overthought
the room last year and he got caught up in
like proving I can go play bulldozer football. Is that
a fair criticism of what happened last year?
Speaker 4 (30:56):
I think it's fair.
Speaker 6 (30:57):
I think also the defense did a phenomenal job. And
I'm talking about the Wolverines that they played a too
high structure against him and dared him to run the ball.
And a lot of times you go into a game
and there's a run pass checks. If it's a loaded box,
you pass. If it's an unloaded box, you run. And
Grian called me after that game. Coach Day called me
after the game. He's like a family member, obviously, coach
(31:18):
for me, and I remember said, what.
Speaker 4 (31:21):
The hell happened?
Speaker 6 (31:22):
And we talked for a while, and my responsibility as
a friend is to talk more about him and his
family than talking about what happened on second and six.
But they played into the teeth of the Wolverine defense,
those two first rounders inside. I was there with Big Noon,
and I mean, what happens is you screw around, you
screw around. That's my concern. In the sloppy game up
(31:42):
in ann Arbor and you wake up and you're in
the fourth quarter and the game's close, and then someone
makes a drive like they did at the end and
you lose. So you know this is I do believe
that that filtered into it. I don't know if that
was the reason.
Speaker 4 (31:55):
Why, though.
Speaker 1 (31:57):
Do you miss coaching when you go to this game?
Speaker 4 (32:00):
No, no, I'm good. No, I don't miss this. I
miss wanning this thing.
Speaker 6 (32:04):
That's it. I don't miss coaching it. I don't miss
preparing because I mean, you're telling Colin it's hard to breathe,
and people Ryan would understand.
Speaker 4 (32:13):
I'm sure sureyl Moore understands.
Speaker 6 (32:14):
It's when I say it's hard to breathe, it's hard
to breathe because that's how much this game means to
the state of Ohio and Ohio State.
Speaker 1 (32:23):
You're probably that week of coaching, you're probably no fun
to be around. I bet your wife is like, what,
I'm going to go walk the dog. You're probably you're
probably that week a mess, were you?
Speaker 4 (32:34):
Oh?
Speaker 6 (32:34):
Yeah, we had Thanksgiving that week and I would always
let the players go home and I'd put on that
face for like two hours in that leave. I'd go
in my office and go back to work and yeah,
I'd put on the smile face for and hug the
grandkids and everybody, and then oh, he's gone. It's time
to get ready for that game. Miserable until the w
That's great.
Speaker 1 (32:54):
I mean you never lost one. I mean you went
to seven and zero. That feels pretty good, right.
Speaker 6 (33:00):
It feels really good right now, sitting here in Sarasota
feels really good.
Speaker 1 (33:04):
I'm up in Chicago. It doesn't feel that great. I'll
be honest. It's raining in cold. Okay. One more thing
is I one of the things about college football now
it's a little more like pro we're head to head matters,
but not as much. I've watched Notre Dame play six
times this year. I watched them lowse to Miami. I'm
watching them now. That is a football team that feels
(33:29):
like they're two touchdowns better. Now, maybe it's a competition thing.
But it's funny in the pros. I mean, the New
England Patriots got beat of the Raiders in Week one.
Now they could be the best team in pro football.
We understand players grow, they get better, but yet in
college they're eighteen and nineteen and we're like, no, whatever
you are at Labor Day, that's what you are to me.
(33:50):
Notre Dame feels like a totally different team or is
it just a competition?
Speaker 6 (33:56):
I think it's Slash. I think there's certainly a better team.
I've watched them a bunch. I love their coach. I
watch him for a lot of reasons. Chris Ash worked
for me on defense. They didn't look very good at
the beginning. They look great. So does competition. Yeah, they
played uh and we called that, I mean the members
of our Big Noon and I think you might have
called it after week two, said they're going to be
(34:16):
in the playoffs and win the rest of them. When
you look at their schedule, they're better than everybody they played.
Speaker 4 (34:21):
Regardless.
Speaker 6 (34:22):
I think Jordan loves, maybe other than Jeremiah Smith, the most,
the best player in America. The guy's unbelievable and they're
playing at a high level both sides of the ball,
really high level.
Speaker 1 (34:32):
He Jeremiah Love really isn't unbelievable. It was funny. I
was looking at a mock draft the.
Speaker 4 (34:37):
Other Jared I think, I said, Jordan Jeremi, I love you.
Speaker 1 (34:40):
Yeah, No, I mean he is Okay, all the running
backs you ever had, is Jeremiah Love as good as
any of them?
Speaker 6 (34:46):
Yeah, Zeke's my best one, and uh uh he's right
there with Zeke. He's phenomenal, balance, big, strong, fast, I
mean he's great.
Speaker 1 (34:54):
He really is something else. There's about one running back
every two years you got to take in the first
SHROWND and I would have no problem taking him absolutely. Okay,
Urban big noon kickoff. Yeah, I think we got everything
covered here, buddy, great senior, good senior man
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
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Speaker 2 (00:19):
This is the Best of the Herd with Colin Cowver
on Fox Sports Radio.
Speaker 1 (00:27):
Here we go Tuesday on Thanksgiving Week, We're live. We're
in Chicago. It's the Herd. One hour from now. The
Herd Hierarchy.
Speaker 2 (00:36):
What are we.
Speaker 1 (00:37):
Gonna do with oh Chicago Bears. Well, they made their
first appearance in the Herd Hierarchy. Great to have you
in today. You know, it was so fun because I've
brought Pretty us obviously awful last night, and in the
first half I thought, well, he had a toe injury,
and I thought, all right, I said it on my
(00:58):
podcast at the volume last night. I said, he's obviously
can't drive the ball. Every one of his interceptions was
behind the guy and they kind of hung in the air.
There was no zip on the ball. And Pretty came
out after the game and said it had nothing to
do with my toe. Oh so you were just awful
against Carolina that has no pass rush. Listen, we watch
Matt Stafford on Sunday Night Football. That's a Hall of
(01:20):
Famer mastery of the position. Big arm, pre snap, looks left,
fire's right. Last night you saw two average quarterbacks. One's
making a fortune and one wants to make a fortune.
Five picks total, multiple bad throws to open receivers. And remember,
the NFL's not baseball where we care about history. It's
(01:42):
not the NBA where style matters. The NFL. When you're
a quarterback, it's about your last twenty starts. It's about now,
last twenty starts. Matt Stafford brought pretty and Bryce Young.
Matt Stafford's forty three to five. That is an elite
franchise quarterback. Forty three touchdowns, five picks. Bryce Young at
(02:06):
least has a two to one touchdown to interception ratio
with a bunch of kids at wide receiver Brock Purty
thirty touchdowns, nineteen picks. And by the way, on Monday
Night Football, he presses because he wants to show everybody
in a standalone game, hey, I belong Monday Night Football.
In his career, five touchdowns, eleven picks, seventy five passer rating.
(02:26):
So I said in August, Rams are going to win
the division, best roster, Seattle's close, San Francisco third. In fact,
the only two things with the Diners this year that
have blown me away. Robert Sala deserves a head coaching job.
What he is doing without Warner, without Bosa, without Fungo's
now with Denver, I don't know they're doing it. It's
(02:47):
just kids. And I mean Bryce Youlling was great a
week ago, he was atrocious last night. So and Christian
McCaffrey is I mean, honestly, he should get paid overtime.
I mean, he is the offense. But everybody keeps trying
to convince Colin you're tough on brock pretty No, no, you're
(03:07):
trying to convince me he's elite. If you'd stop doing that,
I'd stop talking about it. Well, he's smart, so was Aristotle.
I need elite quarterback traits, arm size, mobility like Bryce Young.
It's not a franchise quarterback. He's a bridge quarterback. He's
not a backup. He's a bridge. But nobody's trying to
convince me he's an all timer. So so you guys
(03:28):
keep trying to convince me, Oh, this is what this
is what it looks like. When he had a stacked
roster and people didn't have a lot of film on him.
He was at an Iowa State and he was he
was healthy. It's kind of fun, and he moves pretty well.
Said it last week after the Arizona game. He moves
pretty well. But do you know since he entered the NFL,
he leads the NFL in interceptions on first down, leads
(03:51):
the NFL in it that is the easiest, most favorable
now to pass on. So last night is three picks.
They were all behind the receivers. None of them had
any velocity behind them. So he may say the toe
is fine, it's not. You can tell he's not at
one hundred percent. But on on throws down the field
(04:12):
last night he was one for eight with three picks.
But this year, on throws just ten yards down the field,
he's the NFL's worst quarterback one touchdown, seven picks. So well, Colin,
Once you make fifty three million a year, that's more
than Mahomes and it's more than Matt Stafford. If you
made twelve million a year, or you had Bryce Young's contract.
(04:34):
I wouldn't care, or if you weren't trying to convince me.
My eyes don't lie, yours don't either. Those three picks,
those are not fifty three million dollars a year throws.
In fact, ask yourself this after the game. Listen to
(04:54):
what the reporters ask Kyle Shanahan. Listen to this.
Speaker 3 (05:00):
I mean, you got to think about Olivan, why is happening?
Speaker 1 (05:02):
You know, it makes me a lot.
Speaker 3 (05:03):
More hesitant if they're all bad decisions and stuff.
Speaker 4 (05:06):
But he was seeing it right.
Speaker 3 (05:07):
They're all really good decisions, just missed.
Speaker 4 (05:10):
The throw on them.
Speaker 3 (05:11):
So, uh, you know, I think it's it's a lot
worse when you feel like he's not making the right decisions.
Speaker 1 (05:17):
Yeah, he was asked to that answer. He was asked
if he considered benching brock Pretty. Has anybody ever asked
if Joe Burrow, Mahomes, Josh Allen, Lamar, Justin Herbert should
be benched again? If you make fifty three million, you can
never ask that question, you know, I think you should
(05:39):
maybe consider mac Jones what you're paying on fifty three million.
I'm not anti Rock Pretty. He's fine, but he's really inconsistent,
not good throwing downfield. That's all I'm saying. If you
stop trying to convince me he's in that upper crust,
then I'll stop talking about Okay, so I don't think
Senor Sanders is upper, but I want to talk about this.
(06:01):
He's going to be the starter for the Cleveland Browns.
I would imagine the rest of the way. I think
we've seen enough Dylan Gabriel so over the course of
my life, and you've probably noticed this too. There are
certain people that walk into a room and they take
the oxygen out of it. They're negative, they're risk averse,
they're rigid, they like just suck all the energy and
oxygen and vibe out of the room. And then there
(06:22):
are people that come into a room and they're optimistic, optimistic,
and they've got a little juice and they've got a
lot of confidence and they want to take a big
swing in life. That Shandor Sanders. I don't care about
the stats. Watching him and then watching Dylan Gabriel. One
guy plays it safe and one guy throws it down
(06:44):
the field and takes swings, and pro football locker rooms
are fifty five alphas. It's guys who take swings it's
aggressive men. And Robert Griffin, the third RG three on
the show yesterday, said he noticed.
Speaker 3 (06:57):
That when you watch the game, the Browns played with
more energy, more purpose, and more excitement than they have
all season long because of his ability to make the
extended play, and with that comes mistakes. He'd do a
bad interception, but he bounced back really well off of it.
I think he has the pulse of the team, the
pulse of the city. He is self aware that he
(07:19):
believes he is going to be successful, so he speaks confidently,
he walks around confidently, and that is why he's not afraid.
Speaker 1 (07:27):
Yeah. I mean when I watched him against the Raiders,
and it's the Raiders, but it's an NFL team, it
looked like Colorado. Shauduur throws the ball down the field
and he's accurate. Dylan Gabriel plays it safe, right, and
bosses love employees who play it safe and never get
the boss in trouble. He runs all the plays shadu
(07:48):
or doesn't. He plays with more confidence, he takes more risks.
Dylan Gabriel, do you realize this led the NFL? He
was last in the NFL in yards per attempt. This year,
Dylan Gabriel Sanders led the entire league this Sunday in
the Yardsboro attempt. They're the opposite. They're literally the opposite
kind of quarterback. So in my take, if you're Cleveland
(08:10):
is you're not going to get rich in life. Investing
in four oh one k's, you can get comfortable or content.
Dylan Gabriel is not even a four to oh one k.
He's that savings bond grandma gave you when you were nine. Like,
there's just no upside. It's safe. He's not taking any risks.
(08:33):
But I think in pro football locker rooms that kind
of pulls the energy and the juice out of the room.
You got fifty five NFL bodies. I mean, Miles Garrett's
reaction to Shadeur Sanders is, oh, this is fun. We
got a guy. So now I think Shadeur's a little goofy.
I like my quarterbacks to be serious and intense. I
really like Peyton Manning. I really like the intensity of
(08:55):
Lamar Jackson, who gets mad at himself. I like serious, intense,
totally focused quarterbacks and shooters. A little goofy. He's a
little casual, you know. I think sometimes he's a little juvenile.
He feels like a kid. But I don't think you
can deny that there's a different feeling when he's the
(09:17):
quarterback of the Cleveland Browns. It just looks and feels differently.
And that's why I should start little goofy for my taste.
But he does add something as RG three talked about.
And by the way, I have no problem with joyful,
funny professional athletes. Somebody told me this year's ago. If
you're in a serious profession like accounting or tech, have
(09:39):
a sense of humor lighting up. And if you're in
a funny or or an entertainment field, music, sports, comedy,
take it seriously. Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld take comedy seriously.
So did Letterman and Leto. They take comedy seriously. It's
(10:01):
a real career, Ricky Gervais, it's a real career. I
like my quarterbacks in entertainment, my musicians, my singers. You
know it's Mick Jagger, Paul McCartney, Bono. They take it seriously.
John bon Jovi is still touring making money. Take it seriously.
When you get into sports, I like, really focused because
(10:22):
there's goofballs everywhere in entertainment, music and the movies and comedy.
There's goofballs everywhere in those kind of careers. I think
he got to be a little bit more serious to me.
Shadour's a little goofy for me, but he's a joyful kid,
and I think he should start all right, Jay mac listen,
I know it's a rough day. You love brock Purty,
(10:42):
but I think America after the first half, we all
summarily agreed was awful football, not just quarterback play. You
know what I couldn't figure out this. Rico Dowell is
one of these NFL running backs. You're like, can you
just give it the ball? Why didn't Dave Canalis get
(11:03):
Rico Dowdell six attempts? He's your Christian McCaffrey. I mean, Sam,
whatich you want about Kyle Shanahan. The entire offense drives
through Christian McCaffrey. You have your Christian McCaffrey. Is he
as good? I don't know, but Rico Dowdell is a really,
really fun player. He got the ball six times out
of the backfield, Like what are you doing?
Speaker 5 (11:24):
It was a wacky game, was it not? It just
fell all around like the pretty interceptions, and listen, I'm
gonna pull a you. Last week, you know, member Sam
Darnold threw four picks against the Rams and you're like,
I don't really care about interceptions. You're trying things.
Speaker 1 (11:38):
Rock Perty was trying things last night. None of them worked. Okay,
he had a bad half. It was bad. You flush it,
you move on.
Speaker 5 (11:44):
I am worried, however, about this Browns game, because oh,
the defense at.
Speaker 1 (11:49):
Home is nasty. Oh, let me just tell you right now.
I have revised what I said yesterday. Cleveland plus six
and a half points at home with cruddy Weather is
the bet of the weekend against the Niners on a
short week. Yeah, and he did on the weekend.
Speaker 5 (12:02):
Remember a couple of years ago he went to Cleveland
and had a loss. They were missing a couple of weapons.
But this is gonna be a difficult game for him.
And I'll be honest if you ask me Jayback, what
the hell was wrong with pretty? I think in an
Island game he was pressing a little, biting that Mac
Jones had good run and he's coming off the injury
and it was in his.
Speaker 1 (12:20):
Head, you know, like what happens. Listen, brock Purdy has
been bad on Monday Night football, five touchdowns, eleven picks.
I think it's a showcase. He feels a little bit
of pressure. He wants to show he belongs in the
one o'clock window or when he's playing in Arizona, he's magic.
But I think he was pressing totally last night. Fine.
(12:40):
I got some thoughts on Lane Kiffin. You know, it
just cracks me up how everybody's after Lane Kiffin. I
just I just don't get it. And I got thoughts
on Michigan Ohio State and Michigan fans aren't gonna like it.
We got heard Hierarchy, Nick Right. Good Show today.
Speaker 2 (12:57):
Be sure to catch live editions of The Herd weeked
neon Easter nine am Pacific on Fox Sports Radio FS
one and the iHeartRadio app.
Speaker 5 (13:07):
Hey, this is Jason McIntyre. Join me every weekday morning
on my podcast Straight Fire with Jason McIntyre. This isn't
your typical sports pod pushing the same tired narratives down
your throat.
Speaker 3 (13:18):
Every day.
Speaker 5 (13:19):
Straight Fire gives you honest opinions on all the biggest
sports headlines, accurate stats to help.
Speaker 2 (13:24):
You win big at the sportsbook.
Speaker 5 (13:26):
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 2 (13:40):
Heard Hierarchy time Now, no Go. The top ten NFL
teams according to College Number ten.
Speaker 1 (13:48):
Okay, listen, I gotta put the Bears in here. Eight
and one over their last nine games. Their defense leads
the NFL in interceptions and takeaways. They have twenty four takeaways.
I don't think they're a great defense of but they
take advant when the balls in the air they fight for.
They're also the second best rush team offense. Number six.
(14:09):
I don't think Ben Johnson and Caleb are a finished product.
This team wins close games. Same thing I say about Denver.
There is value in that Chiefs that at last year.
I think teams that win close games are tight locker rooms.
Bears at ten, Number nine the Ravens. Obviously, Lamar Jackson
(14:30):
is not one hundred percent brought pretty last night, no
velocity toe injury. He won't say anything. Lamar won't say anything.
Fifth straight win. Their defense right now since week seven
is the number one defense in the league. They're not pretty,
They're out of rhythm. They're a little broken offensively. I
always say I put Baltimore in the top ten because
I just respect the culture, the ownership, the coach, the
(14:53):
front office. I don't know how good they are, but
they make the list.
Speaker 2 (14:58):
Number eight.
Speaker 1 (14:59):
Green Bay. Here's what's weird. For the first time in forever,
it's just a defensive store. Their offense is conservative. Their
defense is excellent. At home, opponents score thirteen points a game.
That's the best home defense in the league. They've held
opponents under twenty points in four straight games. They have
a pass rush. Their offense does not give it away.
(15:24):
This is rare. It's a boring Green Bay Packer team
led by their defense. Okay, and we look at all
these offensive receivers and all these stars and we're like, oh,
I don't understand it. It's just a different Packer team.
But it's a good one. They're eight.
Speaker 2 (15:38):
Number seven.
Speaker 1 (15:39):
The Lions third game with two hundred plus rushing yards.
Jamir Gibbs is like fired out of a cannon. The
guy's unbelievable. Their defense, though, major problem. They give up
chunk play. They gave up ten catches of over twenty yards.
The jamis win, but they can control the game. They've
(16:02):
got a home run hitter in the backfield. They've got
a culture creator and an accurate thrower. They're unimpressive and uninspiring,
not as good as last year. Number seven, number six.
The Chiefs listen lead the NFL in yards per game.
It's not pretty. Yeah, they could have been five and six,
(16:23):
but they held the Colts to season lows in points, totally,
yards and first downs. They're good at home. They're not
as good on the road because they're not a great team.
But they're a good team, and they've won of four
teams to rank top ten, only four in the league.
Top ten in all major four major categories, scoring offense,
(16:44):
total offense, scoring defense, total defense, well coached, smartly quarterback.
I have them at six, number five, one inch behind Philadelphia, which,
like Baltimore, has a broken offense. Sjalen Hurt attended thirty
attempted thirty nine throws against the Cowboys. That's about double
(17:04):
what people in Philadelphia are comfortable with. Nine of their
eleven games have been decided by one score. But I
can't hold it against them because that was the case
with Kansas City last year. They have a culture, they've
got athletes. I trust them in big spots. They just
had a disastrous second half against a hot cowboy offense
Lamb Pickins Dack five. Number four Seattle the one team
(17:30):
I would not want to play in the playoffs. Young, confident, aggressive,
great on the road. Seattle, highest rush percentage in the league,
and they love to throw the ball down the field.
And number three in point differential. They're going to go
in as a wild card team, and they'll be the
only wild card team that honestly, I mean, I would
(17:55):
argue their roster could be better than the team that
wins the division. They're a little more mistake in the rams,
but I have him at four.
Speaker 2 (18:03):
Number three.
Speaker 1 (18:04):
The Patriots played like crap and one on the road.
That's pretty good. The offensive line now it's a little
banged up, but they've only allowed three sacks over the
last three games. They just don't have a fundamental flaw.
If they score twenty points, they're ten to zero. Best
record in the NFL. I think Josh McDaniel offensive coordinator
once again, quietly, just like with Brady, is really I mean,
(18:28):
he is the Wizard of Oz behind the curtain. For
this offense. They just call and perform a really smart
offensive game plan every Sunday, Number two Denver. Here's why
there are certain stats you can't ignore. They leave the
(18:48):
NFL with a plus thirty six SAC differential. They have
the number one ranked offensive line. They allow four point
four yards of play, easily the best in the league.
They get four to have sacks the game now, way
too many penalties, more than any in the league. I
could see them beating themselves. They have terrible halves and
(19:09):
are inconsistent, But there are stats in this league that
tell me you're going to win multiple playoff games. Oh yeah,
they got a Hall of Fame level head coach number one.
I mean, honestly, the Rams. They're number one in everything.
Seven of their nine wins have come against teams with
winning records. They're blowing people out. Tampa is not a
(19:31):
bad team. They scored thirty one in the first half.
They don't turn it over, they never get pen life.
They take leads. Number one scoring offense, number one scoring
defense during this six game stretch. Let me tell you something.
Nate Lanman, the inside linebacker, stole him from Atlanta. Devontae
Adams free agents stole him. I mean, it's just incredible
(19:52):
what they've done. I mean they went and got the
corner from Washington Forbes. He looks like an number one corner.
What an off season of acquisitions for very reasonable prices.
There we go.
Speaker 2 (20:08):
Be sure to catch live editions of The Herd weekdays
at noon Eastern, not a em Pacific.
Speaker 1 (20:18):
All right, welcome back. What an amazing mortgash board of
football starting Chiefs, Cowboys, Lions, Packers, Bears, Eagles. Then you're
gonna get Ohio State and Michigan and Urban. Meyer was
seven to oh against Michigan. He is now joining us live.
He will be joining us during a big noon kickoff
(20:40):
Ohio State at Michigan Saturday, nine am Eastern. I love,
I love the early game. What a way to start
the day. So let's just go inside. This last year
was shocking. Listen. I get Harbaugh winning games. He's obviously
a great coach. I get you dominating the series. In
my lifetime, I've always felt Ohio State's the best or program,
(21:01):
but Michigan's been more coach reliant, whereas Ohio States just
almost always good. That just it doesn't even John Cooper
was winning a lot of games before they ran him out.
This game, though, did you coach it differently? Did you
feel layers of pressure that you didn't when you face
Purdue Iowa or even a big game that was a
(21:21):
national TV game.
Speaker 6 (21:24):
Colin, It's not even close the pressure, And I agree,
I think it's at Ohio State.
Speaker 4 (21:28):
It might be worse.
Speaker 6 (21:29):
You know, I talked to Jake but today and and
you know, went on that eighteen of nineteen game run
where you won, and I still felt the pressure was
And it wasn't that week, it wasn't that day, it
was pretty much all year round that you just you
could not lose that game. And a lot of that's
probably internal pressure. But the great state of Ohio, now
you know, there's no Michigan State, there's no other rival.
(21:52):
This is the game, and this is you know, say
answer your question, immense pressure.
Speaker 1 (21:57):
Now, Ohio States got better personnel right now. But Underwood
in Marsh for Michigan are playmakers. I like Marsh as
much as any receiver Michigan has had in a decade.
I think he's really special. They're kids, they're young. If
Michigan is to win this game, they're at home. That helps.
If you are Ohio State, what would worry you because
(22:20):
I can see Underwood just I could see Michigan saying,
kid put on a show, and you know he is
wild talent. What would worry you if you're a Buckeye.
Speaker 6 (22:31):
Would worry means is a shortened game. It's going to
be sloppy. I'm understanding snowing and cold and all of
a sudden. If I'm coaching Underwood, I'm going to double
tape his ankles. I might even put a necro on him.
I'm gonna run that guy. I'm going to get first downs.
I'm going to shorten the game and then readjust at halftime.
But I'm going to get to that halftime with a
short and slow game and try to play field position ball.
(22:54):
Because Ohio State has more talent and a lot of
it's going to be dependent on these two receivers. If
the top two receivers in the country play, Jeremiah and
Carnell Tate. If they play, it's a whole different game.
If they don't. You know, the Ohio States still a
little bit more talent, but it's now a little more
equal what's the great equalizer? The quarterback run and this
kid's a freak. You know I'd have to take care
(23:14):
of the ball. Say get ready, pal, We're gonna put
you in Heisman contation next year because you're going to
dominate this game.
Speaker 1 (23:20):
The if Tate doesn't player Jeremiah Smith, both receivers are
banged up. Now if it's snowing and blowing sideways, you're
not going deep much anyway. Do you worry a little
bit if the receivers don't play. You got a very
young quarterback. This is the biggest game of his life.
Do you worry about butterflies and nerves? I mean, there
(23:41):
is no bigger game for Buckeye and now it's on
the road and you could be missing receivers. What about
the psychology with that?
Speaker 6 (23:49):
Yeah, I think they did a masterclass in bringing Julian
Saying along. And that's Brian Hartline and Ryan Day. You know,
you remember back against Texas, they didn't ask him to
go win that game, and I would, you know, I
would imagine if he's a California kid, he might be playing.
Speaker 4 (24:05):
I don't know if he's ever been playing snow.
Speaker 6 (24:06):
Before in a tough environment against a good talented defense,
So I'd be very cautious with him again or to
start the game. If if I'm coaching this game with
these two young quarterbacks, I am very cautious. I am
playing field position football to start this thing and then
start to adapt. As usually after about the third or
(24:27):
fourth series callin, you're going to find out how they're
going to play you, because they don't drastically change. I
know people talk about halftime adjustments, but after series three,
you're going to know, as an offensive coach, exactly or
a good idea, how they're going to play you, and
then you can, you know, adjust your game plan.
Speaker 1 (24:44):
So I watched the USC Michigan game, and it's hard
for me to unsee that Michigan has been much better since.
Speaker 6 (24:52):
Why they were awful of that game. I can't unsee
that as well. As a matter of fact, I couldn't
see that for the other side, USC, I thought if
that team shows up, they could beat Oregon. And that
team did not show up, So I think, you know,
their schedule was a little bit softer after the USC game.
They did play, they did play well, but you know,
(25:13):
softer schedules tend to make you look better.
Speaker 4 (25:16):
We're going to find out.
Speaker 6 (25:17):
But I can't unsee what happened in Southern cal That
was a bad day for the Wolverines.
Speaker 1 (25:21):
By the way, speaking of USC, Lincoln's zero to five
against top ten teams. In fairness, he did not take
over a good roster. It had about forty Division one guys.
He went heavy into nil, hitting a few, missing a lot.
My bigger issue is four years in, I don't like
the special teams and I don't trust the defense. I
(25:42):
don't think it's good enough. They also lacked kind of
a cultural identity Oklahoma Brett Venable has never been a
head coach. When I watched Oklahoma that, I'm like, Oh,
that's an SEC team. They are. They are physical and
they're fast. Are you disappointed where Lincoln is after four years?
Speaker 4 (26:00):
I know Lincoln, I don't know him like this.
Speaker 6 (26:03):
If I did, I'd probably go visit him and I'd say,
I know this is gonna be hard for you to do,
but give up the play because he's one of the
best play callers in college football, certainly in the last
recent history. But at some point when special teams and
defense aren't playing the par I know what Ryan day,
The Buck guys got better when they had when he
handed off the play calling duties because he can go
(26:25):
sit in defensive rooms Now he can go give his
expertise and special teams or and I it's not expertise,
it's just motivation.
Speaker 4 (26:33):
I just don't know.
Speaker 6 (26:35):
I'm trying to think the last time that a play
caller won a national championship, because I mean, it's rinse
and repeat with what he did at Oklahoma. Great offenses,
bad defenses, goes to usc great offenses, bad defenses, and
we thought, you know, they had it a little bit better.
But again, I just in today's day and age, I'm
not sure how a head coach doesn't spend half the
(26:56):
time over on the defensive side of the ball.
Speaker 4 (26:57):
I don't don't. I don't understand that.
Speaker 1 (27:00):
So I have defended Lane Kiffin. People say it's going
to tarnish his reputation if he leaves, and I'm like, well,
his reputation is he leaves and he's a great offensive coach.
That's what he is. That's why, that's why keeps getting
Nobody's giving him jobs because they think he's loyal, they
think he's great, he's a wizard offensively, and he recruits
the heck out of it. Well, let me ask you
(27:22):
put yourself in his position. I have said, stay at
Old Miss or go pro, go to Tennessee, don't bounce.
I wouldn't get involved with LSU. I know it's a
great job. The governor's involved. I don't like what they're
doing with Brian Kelly. I think Florida is a wonderful
place to coach. What would you do?
Speaker 6 (27:39):
I've texted with Lane, I've talked to him, We've actually
become friends. I made this comment, I was, I'm proud
of the way he's gotten everything in order, and he
is a call He's always been a hell of an
offensive coach and now he's become a hell of a
head coach.
Speaker 4 (27:52):
I had a similar situation.
Speaker 6 (27:54):
I was at the University of you taw We went undefeated,
first school to break the BCS or small school to
break the BCS. And I left and I went to
Florida and that was just ripped your heart out.
Speaker 4 (28:03):
I went back.
Speaker 6 (28:04):
We coached the last game and the Festa Bowl we won.
This is unchartered waters though. To leave a team that
could potentially and you tell me other than Ohio State maybe,
and you have a and m Ohio State Indiana, I'm
telling you all missus right there. Yeah, and to be
able to walk that might haunt Lane the rest of
(28:24):
his You know, I'm just personally to how do you
walk in that meeting and say, hey, guys, I'm not
only leaving, I'm going to be playing you next year.
Speaker 4 (28:32):
You know, I don't know. I mean, and I.
Speaker 6 (28:35):
Don't believe at this point in his life. Money can't
be the deciding factor. Cannot There's no chance that he
would leave because a couple more million bucks. I would say,
there's no chance. There's got to be some other reason
if he does leave.
Speaker 1 (28:51):
Yeah, well you've never been I mean, I know you
a little. You're not a big money guy. That's not
what drives you ever. You're you're a very competitive guy.
But it doesn't drive. But you know, some of these
young guys they like that. Let us they want a
second car Urban. It does drive. I mean you've had coaches.
Have you ever had a coach in your staff or
two or that like the money thing? That the status
(29:11):
and the money. I mean, let's face it, LSU head coach.
That is a big Texas head coach, Ohio state head coach.
Those are big boy jobs now right, Ole miss is
a good job. LSU is different.
Speaker 4 (29:25):
Yeah.
Speaker 6 (29:25):
I heard Nick Saban say this with I think back
when recruiting was all about you know your history, your tradition,
you know your academics, maybe your opportunity to get you
the NFL. I'm thinking that's kind of gone now. Now
it's just how much can you pay? And so I
would imagine if Lane Kiffin left, there's some kind of
guarantees somewhere that he can basically do whatever he wants
(29:49):
as far as bringing players, because I can't imagine it's
another car, another house. I can't imagine that because I'd
stayed Ole miss in a minute. And they'll build a
statue if you go try to compete for a national
championship up and that's your legacy setton Stone. It's a
much different era, and I think Nick Saban said it.
So that used to be the deciding factor. I'm going
to go to LSU because you can go play for
(30:09):
national championship and they recruit better players. I'm not sure
that's the case anymore, because everyone's equal.
Speaker 1 (30:16):
Okay, let's go back to Ohio State Michigan. I like
Ryan Day. I've supported him, I've defended him. I think
he's a great coach. I also, I also I think
I may have even said this to him. I thought
he out fought the room last year. I thought he
had heard people were chirping in his ear for years.
You're getting pushed around by Michigan. You're getting pushed around
(30:36):
by Michigan. And he thought, I'm not letting them push
me around. And my take is, go in the game,
don't worry about of talk radio. I thought he overthought
the room last year and he got caught up in
like proving I can go play bulldozer football. Is that
a fair criticism of what happened last year?
Speaker 4 (30:56):
I think it's fair.
Speaker 6 (30:57):
I think also the defense did a phenomenal job. And
I'm talking about the Wolverines that they played a too
high structure against him and dared him to run the ball.
And a lot of times you go into a game
and there's a run pass checks. If it's a loaded box,
you pass. If it's an unloaded box, you run. And
Grian called me after that game. Coach Day called me
after the game. He's like a family member, obviously, coach
(31:18):
for me, and I remember said, what.
Speaker 4 (31:21):
The hell happened?
Speaker 6 (31:22):
And we talked for a while, and my responsibility as
a friend is to talk more about him and his
family than talking about what happened on second and six.
But they played into the teeth of the Wolverine defense,
those two first rounders inside. I was there with Big Noon,
and I mean, what happens is you screw around, you
screw around. That's my concern. In the sloppy game up
(31:42):
in ann Arbor and you wake up and you're in
the fourth quarter and the game's close, and then someone
makes a drive like they did at the end and
you lose. So you know this is I do believe
that that filtered into it. I don't know if that
was the reason.
Speaker 4 (31:55):
Why, though.
Speaker 1 (31:57):
Do you miss coaching when you go to this game?
Speaker 4 (32:00):
No, no, I'm good. No, I don't miss this. I
miss wanning this thing.
Speaker 6 (32:04):
That's it. I don't miss coaching it. I don't miss
preparing because I mean, you're telling Colin it's hard to breathe,
and people Ryan would understand.
Speaker 4 (32:13):
I'm sure sureyl Moore understands.
Speaker 6 (32:14):
It's when I say it's hard to breathe, it's hard
to breathe because that's how much this game means to
the state of Ohio and Ohio State.
Speaker 1 (32:23):
You're probably that week of coaching, you're probably no fun
to be around. I bet your wife is like, what,
I'm going to go walk the dog. You're probably you're
probably that week a mess, were you?
Speaker 4 (32:34):
Oh?
Speaker 6 (32:34):
Yeah, we had Thanksgiving that week and I would always
let the players go home and I'd put on that
face for like two hours in that leave. I'd go
in my office and go back to work and yeah,
I'd put on the smile face for and hug the
grandkids and everybody, and then oh, he's gone. It's time
to get ready for that game. Miserable until the w
That's great.
Speaker 1 (32:54):
I mean you never lost one. I mean you went
to seven and zero. That feels pretty good, right.
Speaker 6 (33:00):
It feels really good right now, sitting here in Sarasota
feels really good.
Speaker 1 (33:04):
I'm up in Chicago. It doesn't feel that great. I'll
be honest. It's raining in cold. Okay. One more thing
is I one of the things about college football now
it's a little more like pro we're head to head matters,
but not as much. I've watched Notre Dame play six
times this year. I watched them lowse to Miami. I'm
watching them now. That is a football team that feels
(33:29):
like they're two touchdowns better. Now, maybe it's a competition thing.
But it's funny in the pros. I mean, the New
England Patriots got beat of the Raiders in Week one.
Now they could be the best team in pro football.
We understand players grow, they get better, but yet in
college they're eighteen and nineteen and we're like, no, whatever
you are at Labor Day, that's what you are to me.
(33:50):
Notre Dame feels like a totally different team or is
it just a competition?
Speaker 6 (33:56):
I think it's Slash. I think there's certainly a better team.
I've watched them a bunch. I love their coach. I
watch him for a lot of reasons. Chris Ash worked
for me on defense. They didn't look very good at
the beginning. They look great. So does competition. Yeah, they
played uh and we called that, I mean the members
of our Big Noon and I think you might have
called it after week two, said they're going to be
(34:16):
in the playoffs and win the rest of them. When
you look at their schedule, they're better than everybody they played.
Speaker 4 (34:21):
Regardless.
Speaker 6 (34:22):
I think Jordan loves, maybe other than Jeremiah Smith, the most,
the best player in America. The guy's unbelievable and they're
playing at a high level both sides of the ball,
really high level.
Speaker 1 (34:32):
He Jeremiah Love really isn't unbelievable. It was funny. I
was looking at a mock draft the.
Speaker 4 (34:37):
Other Jared I think, I said, Jordan Jeremi, I love you.
Speaker 1 (34:40):
Yeah, No, I mean he is Okay, all the running
backs you ever had, is Jeremiah Love as good as
any of them?
Speaker 6 (34:46):
Yeah, Zeke's my best one, and uh uh he's right
there with Zeke. He's phenomenal, balance, big, strong, fast, I
mean he's great.
Speaker 1 (34:54):
He really is something else. There's about one running back
every two years you got to take in the first
SHROWND and I would have no problem taking him absolutely. Okay,
Urban big noon kickoff. Yeah, I think we got everything
covered here, buddy, great senior, good senior man
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Colin Cowherd
Jason McIntyre
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