January 11, 2019 • 40 mins
Colin thinks that the difference between Tom Brady and Phillip Rivers is luck and in an NFL career that can be the difference. He thinks Dak compares to another current NFL starting QB that most people dislike but should be more appreciative of. Plus, Albert Breer of The MMQB explains some of the more controversial coaching hires in the NFL this week. Presented by Perky Jerky.
Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Thanks for listening to the Best of Herd podcast. Are
you sure to catch us live every weekday from twelve
to three eastern, nine to noon Pacific on Fox Sports
Radio and FS one. 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 Herd.
This is the Best of the Herd with Colin cowher
on Fox Sports Radio. Ah Here we go on to Friday.
(00:24):
This is the Herd. Wherever you may be and however
you may be listening. We are live in Los Angeles,
fired up for a Friday show iHeartRadio, Fox Sports Radio
and FS one. One hour from now our playoff Blazing five,
our official last Blazing five of the year. We are
packed today. Joey Taylor is joining me in a Friday.
(00:46):
This is one of the last great Fridays of the
year where you got four huge games. It's the last
big football weekend until like next year. We got four
massive games that it's down to two, then it's down
to one. Exciting. This is a huge weekend. It's a
huge weekend. I got a long story. I had to
do some traveling last night. I want one Sipper Red
(01:06):
Bull before you start your show. Hold on starting the
morning with Red Bull. It's delicious. Not great for your teeth,
but delicious. Okay, that is very aggressive moved by me.
I want to start with this. I do not believe
over the course of a seventy eighty year life, luck
plays any part in your life. I don't even if
you have a bad childhood, eighteen years you're out of
(01:28):
the house. Your choices will dictate your life. Who do
you marry, who do you hang out with, What jobs
you take, what jobs you turn down? If you had
a bad childhood, are you willing to go into therapy?
I don't think luck plays a part in life. Good breaks,
bad breaks. But the reason luck does not play part
in people's lives over the course of seventy or eighty
years is because you have forty to fifty years to
(01:51):
overcome childhood chaos. If things are kind of messed up
early and nobody had a perfect childhood, you didn't, I didn't,
Joy probably didn't. I know, Gooley Twoey. Those guys are crazy. Okay,
nobody had a perfect life. But I don't think luck
plays a party in your life When you have a
seventy five eighty year life. But what if your life
was fourteen years, that was it beginning to end. You
(02:16):
would not have the time to overcome chaos, abuse, dysfunction.
Twelve thirteen, fourteen years is the lifespan of an NFL
franchise quarterback, and therefore luck plays a part in it.
Bad ownership, three coaches fired in four years. There's a
(02:38):
lot of things you could not overcome. You simply don't
have the time to overcome it. This weekend, Tom Brady,
the luckiest quarterback of all time, we'll face Philip Rivers,
the unluckiest great quarterback of all time. This is in
no way to in any way dilute the greatness of Brady.
He would have been great anywhere, but I doubt the
(02:58):
greatest of all time if he had not been rather lucky.
And this is not to say Philip Rivers wouldn't be
the greatest of all time, but he'd have more playoff wins.
In life. The shorter it is, the less you can overcome.
What if Tom was a Charger and Philip was a Patriot?
(03:23):
Thing about Tom's career he is drafted by now inarguably
the greatest football coach of all time. He lands with
arguably the top owner in professional sports in America, Bob Kraft.
He has drafted into a hyper competitive, hyper academic city,
(03:46):
the Boston Bruins, the Red Sox, the Patriots, the Celtics,
all Mit Harvard, all highly competitive sports matters in Boston,
billionaires competing against other billionaires to be smarter, more analytic driven.
It is not a coincidence. The Red Sox, the Bruins,
the Patriots, the Celtics all way way above the curve
(04:11):
on analytics sports matters. Tom is drafted by the greatest coach,
one of the smartest, most empirically powerful owners and stable
ownership groups in a sports city where everything matters. And oh,
by the way, gets to plan a division with three
other dysfunctional teams Jets, Bills, Dolphins. Another break the NFL
(04:34):
in two thousand and two realigned divisions. Peyton Manning would
have been in Tom Brady's division. He ended up in
something now called the AFC South. Think that would have
changed Tom Brady's career. Let's now talk about Philip Rivers.
Four head coaches, his first one fired after a year.
(04:57):
The ownership, and I'll say this nicely, has been historically
frugal the city in San Diego, surfing is number one,
win lose. Nobody's losing sleep. You don't have the passion,
the drive, the competitive Four different professional sports teams, four
different billionaires, all trying to beat each other in a division,
(05:19):
with Denver one of the better NFL franchises, and oh,
by the way, Kansas City as well. Perennially they're in
the playoffs, are close to it, and oh by the way, Phillips,
having his best year and true to form his franchise,
moves to a city and plays in a soccer stadium.
(05:42):
Luck plays very little parts if you live a long
and extensive light life. It doesn't don't play mom and dad.
If at fifty eight you're a mess, that's on you.
You could have chosen therapy, a better partner, better friends,
and better locations. But over the course of a fourteen
year life, the span of an NFL quarterback, you simply
(06:04):
would not have the time to overcome chaos and dysfunction, bitterness,
family squabbles. Brady would have been great anyway, but he
would not be the goat without a series of lucky breaks,
and Philip Rivers would not be Brady, but would be
much closer luck matters a great deal at quarterback in
(06:29):
the National Football League. It won't define you, but it
elevates or slightly erods that is not arguable. All right,
let me shift to this to Dallas Cowboys against the Rams.
It'll be on Fox. That's our network. We can't wait
for it. It's going to be interesting. I think Dallas
has better players. I think Dallas sends Amari Cooper showed up,
(06:51):
is a much better team than the Rams who lost
their best receiver, Cooper Cup. There's been great debate this year.
What is Dak Prescott. Troy Aikman was talking about Dak
Prescott and he believes, like I do, he's a grown up.
Limited perhaps, but he's a grown up. Here's Troy on Dak.
(07:14):
He's a great leader, he's everything you'd want him to be.
Don't know that there's a more solid individual in the
National Football League. And then what he's done on the field.
I think that he has shown an ability to win
games late, and that's a quality not everybody has, and
he's shown to have that even in games when he's
not necessarily played his best. And I think that's the
greatest quality. Okay, so I agree with that but I'm
(07:38):
going to give you a series of traits, pretty mobile,
above average joy That sounds like Dak right wins a lot,
arm is average at times of liability, not a big
risk taker. He's a very solid leader, smart, appears to
(07:59):
be very coachable, great in front of the mic, and
his best year had a great defense. That is not
Dak Prescott. That's Alex Smith. And if I say Dak,
we've seen him before, it's Alex Smith. You wins. You
don't like to hear that, But can I remind you
that Alex Smith has had eight straight winning seasons, has
(08:23):
been a Pro Bowl or three times, has three division
titles and five playoff appearances. Cowboy fan, you would buy
that in a New York minute if I offered that
this morning, we have seen Dak. It's Alex Smith, and
he wins, and he gets to the Pro Bowl occasionally
(08:44):
every couple of years. He wins his division. He gets
to the playoffs about half of his career. That's Dak.
And you don't like to hear that, because what Alex
Smith is isn't Super Bowls. He always comes up just
a little shy in that big game. And that's why
(09:07):
with Dak The most important element to this entire career
is going to be expectations. If you go in today
knowing that you're going to have a guy who wins
maybe every third fourth year, gets to a Pro Bowl,
he'll win you a division title every couple of years.
Half his career is going to get you in the
playoffs and the competitive NFC, then you're fine with Dak.
(09:33):
But I don't think the Cowboys probably beat the Rams
this weekend, and much like Alex Smith, the season ends
with frustration, disappointment that can't quite make the throwdown field.
Dak can't quite stretch the field. Dak isn't quite willing
to take the big risk. Anger and resentment comes from
one thing, expectations. Take a deep breath. Know what Dak is.
(09:58):
What Dak is is very good. He's Alex Smith. You
expect more, you'll be very disappointed. Be sure to catch
live editions of The Herd weekdays in noun Easter nine
am Pacific on Fox Sports Radio FS one and the
iHeart Radio app. There's always been this confusion. The audience
thinks we're rooting for this, We're rooting for that, We're
rooting for big market, we're rooting for a small market.
(10:20):
The highest readed NBA Finals ever, I think was Michael
Jordan against the Utah Jazz and everybody was predicting nobody'd
watch because Utah is a small city. But it was
a great story. And it was Michael Jordan with one
hundred degree temperature and the Utah Jazz with this pesky
team that gave Jordan trouble and there was all sorts
of drama. Ratings come from stories, not market size. Okay,
(10:41):
that's the reality of it is that Boston in the Patriots,
this has been a dynasty. Alabama is a dynasty. It's
not always big markets that control sports or get the ratings.
It's the best stories. So the Utah Jazz Michael Jordan
finals was the highest redded finals of all time. Michael
had played Barkley and the Suns, and you think that
(11:01):
would be a huge rating because Bartley was a start
that was a little Utah Jazz. And so this weekend,
if it was up to me that I was rooting
for the best stories, because the best stories mean I'll
get better ratings, the numbers in flight, more people watch
our show, we can keep build a bigger staff. We're
rooting for the most interesting stuff to happen. So when
you get up Monday morning, you're like, let's see what
(11:22):
does Join Colin have to say. That's what we're rooting for.
We're rooting for interesting. So let's go through all four games.
What would be the most interesting outcome? Kansas City at Indianapolis.
I believe the most interesting outcome is a shootout between
the next Brady and Manning. For the next ten years,
Patrick Mahomes and Andrew Luck are going to go toe
to toe. And I want to shootout, and I want
(11:44):
Kansas City winning, and I want the MVP winning, and
I want Andy Reid winning. And I think it's thirty
four to thirty three, and it's this is Peyton Manning
and Tom Brady early in their careers. Obviously Mahomes younger
than Andrew Luck. But I want Mahomes to be flashy
and no look passes and left handed classes and be
a contrast of styles that Mahomes comes out. He is
(12:05):
Brett Farve. He makes a real bonehead interception. He makes
some mistakes, but he has two or three unbelievable all
time highlight plays. Meanwhile, Andrew Luck is twenty eight for
thirty four. He is workmanlike a contrast of styles. He
is boring, and he is leading them down the field,
and the clock runs out, and Kansas City wins a
(12:25):
wild shootout, and we have a sense when the game
is over, oh my god, we're going to see this
a lot for the next decade. A Kansas City narrow
win in a shootout gets everybody fired up because we
know the Chiefs are going to be around for a while,
and we know the Colts with nine draft picks on
top of this and one hundred million, they're gonna be
(12:46):
really good starting next year. But this one we give
to Kansas City. And then they go back and forth. Okay,
Dallas and the Rams, what's the most interesting outcome? Dallas
in the Rams? Dallas upsets the Ram and Dak is
not good. Zeke runs for one hundred and fifty. The
Cowboy defense is great and Dak press got struggles. And
(13:10):
for the next four months, six months, nine months, what
do we do with Dak. We're winning the division, We're
winning playoff games. He's Alex Smith. What are we gonna
do if we pay him? And by the way, the
glitzy Rams give me all sorts of stories Sean McVay
oh and two both at home in the playoffs. Both
(13:33):
is a heavy favorite and the shiny new techy toy
it doesn't really work in January. And Sean mcvayh is
maybe a little more style than substance. I don't believe
that to be true. But Kansas City in a shootout
winning DAK playing poorly in the Cowboys winning and getting
the NFC championship. And an equally big story is the
(13:56):
Rams are a lot of glitz and they paid for
all these big stars and it ain't working. Brother, and
all those teams that picked off that son mcvatri, you're
gonna be a little concerned. How about New England Chargers.
We said this yesterday. The Chargers don't beat New England.
They beat him thirty three fourteen. Tom Brady is overwhelmed,
(14:17):
sack six times. The Chargers have better players. You start
to question Belichick's arrogance letting Brandon Cooks go, Josh Gordon,
leaving Tom with nothing. Ding dong. The witch is dead,
dynasty is over, Tom Brady gonna retire, Belichick getting heat.
We have another off season where we question the dynasty
going forward. Not just a Charger win, but an overwhelming
(14:41):
performance where the road weary Chargers go on the road.
You watch the game for three and a half hours
and come to the conclusion it's over. Kind of like
that Bama Clemson thing. You're like, Oh, Clemson's better. They
got better coach, they got better structure, they got better players.
You sit and watch that game, you think, oh, it's
not even close. New England's got no players. That's the
(15:03):
best outcome. We're talking about that first until Labor Day.
Finally Eagles Saints. Now you're gonna be confused by this.
You know, I initially thought Drew Brees wins. Everybody loves
Drew Brees. But what if the stories Sunday night is
holy crap, Philadelphia wins close game, fourth and goal, Doug Peterson,
(15:28):
Nick Foles again pull one out of there, you know what,
and then after that it would be the Eagles at
the Cowboys for the NFC Championship. Y'all take that, y'all,
y'all take that. If Philadelphia wins another close situational game.
Let's see, they beat at lant in one of those,
and they beat Brady in the Super Bowl in one
(15:50):
of those, and they just beat the Bears in one
of those, and they earlier this year beat the Texans
in one of those, and they're getting into a habit
that Doug Peterson if he wins another one against a
great quarterback, there's a Belichickian thing going on where it
is not a coincidence. Philadelphia is simply smarter owner, GM coach.
(16:18):
We've got a Wentz Foles controversy. I think Philadelphia winning close.
Colin what about the Breeze Brady Super Bowl, Well, in
my scenario, Brady didn't get past the charger, so that's
not going to happen. If you're asking me what's interesting
on Monday? What is the most angst? Kansas City wins
(16:40):
in a shootout. Dallas wins, but Dak struggles. The Patriots
get absolutely rolled, and somehow, some way, on another fourth
down situational moment, the Philadelphia Eagles shock the world and
we can't figure out what the hell is going on.
(17:01):
Be sure to catch live editions of The Herd week
dayson noon Easter nine am Pacific. Dallas is the first
playoff team. This is really amazing. Without a starter over
thirty years old in thirty one years and you would
think that would guarantee you're gonna be really good. But
(17:21):
I don't think it guarantees anything, and I'll tell you why.
I think when Kansas City plays Indianapolis this weekend, you're
going to see mostly the future of the AFC for
the time being. I think both the Chiefs and the
Colts have a great coach, very very very very very
good transformational quarterback talents, excellent front offices, and good home
(17:43):
field edges. I think Kansas City in Indianapolis and the AFC,
you're gonna see a lot of I think in the
AFC you've got a lot of dysfunctional teams. Jacksonville, Miami, Buffalo, Sinc, Oakland, Cleveland,
You've got a lot of bad quarterbacks. Even quarterbacks that
are okay, Lamar Jackson and Marcus Marioto, do we really
really buying them long term? Pittsburgh and the New England
(18:04):
Patriots have Hall of Fame quarterbacks, but they're old and
going to retire pretty soon. I think the AFC is
gonna be led. I know what the AFC is gonna
look like for the next eight years. You're gonna see
a lot of Andy Reid and Patrick Mahomes, and you're
gonna see a lot of Frank Reich and Andrew Locke.
You gonna see a lot of that. The NFC, I
got news for you. I don't know what I'm going
(18:24):
to see for the next five years. Dallas has the
best young roster, but they're limited at quarterback. Philadelphia has
maybe the best combination of if Carson Wentz is healthy, owner, GM, coach,
and quarterback. The Los Angeles Rams have a lot of money,
new stadium, free agent destination, and they certainly have the GM,
(18:45):
the quarterback, and the coach right. The Chicago Bears have
my vote for the coach of the Year, so they
got the coach right. And that defense is not only loaded,
it's a bunch of kids and they're they're not except
for Khalil Mack. You're not paying those guys much. Green
Bay's got Aaron Rodgers. I'm not given up on Russell
Wilson and Pete Carroll. They usually figured out and end
up as a playoff team. And I've told you this before.
(19:05):
I think San Francisco is going to be a thorn
for the Rams when Jimmy Garoppolo comes back in Kyle Shanahan,
I think they're gonna win that division. At least every
other year for the next ten years. Not to mention
the Vikings, the Saints in the Carolina. You know, Carolina's
got Cam and Ron Rivera and they got good Luke
Geekly and the Saints Andrew and Sean and they Mickey
Loomis drafts. Well, you know I didn't mention Atlanta, Minnesota.
(19:27):
You've got real players there. So the NFC, You've got
bigger cities, more revenue, better free agent markets except for
Green Bay, more competitive, better quarterbacks, better organizations. In the AFC,
I got a lot of dysfunction. I got a lot
of bad owners, I got a lot of bad quarterbacks.
I got a lot of bad cultures. The Cowboy talent
(19:48):
is remarkable. I mean, it really is first playoff team
without a starter over thirty and thirty year, thirty one years.
It is an incredibly special team. But I don't think
it guarantees anything in the NFC. And sometimes when you
compare the NFC to the AFC, AFC is kind of dysfunctional.
There's a lot of junk in the AFC. It's not
(20:09):
a lot of junk. I think the Bruce arians higher
in Tampa because I think Tampa's kind of junk. In
the NFC, I think they write that ship. I think
they're pretty competitive next year. I think Bruce arians, Jamis Winston,
Todd Bowles, they'll kind of They've got a good roster.
I think Tampa next year will be a real tough out.
And maybe you could argue the same in the AFC
with Cleveland, with Baker and Dorsey and their roster, they're
(20:30):
gonna be a tougher out. I think they will be.
But I know what the AFC is gonna look like.
It's gonna be a lot of Andrew Luck and Patrick
Mahomes for the next ten years. I guarantee that coach
front office quarterbacks. I guarantee that. No idea what. I
don't even know what the NFC East looks like next year. Seriously,
I have no idea about the NFC if they if
the Giants figure out the quarterback thing. Sae Quon Barkley Shermer,
(20:52):
the offensive guy, O b J. Watch out What's up? Everybody?
John Middlecop from the Three and Out podcast Rocks by
Colin Cowards podcast Network. You'll like Colin show, You'll like mine.
I'm talking playoff football. Baby. Cliff Kingsbury pretty polarizing. I'm
more bullish than most. Tell you about it. The Green
(21:13):
Bay Packers, I'm selling all my stock. Bruce Arians, I'm
so glad that he's back in the NFL. Talcke it
all on this week's three and Out podcasts also go
over every playoff game with me, John Middlecoff. Let's go
to our friend Albert Breer Monday Morning Quarterback. If you
had the Coward Global Satellite Network, listen, we all we
all know what's what. I think it's funny in this,
(21:34):
Albert is all these organizations love their hires even though
they have no head coaching experience. Some are hiring people
like Matt Lafleur in Green Bay one year of play calling.
But yet in New York they're banging on Adam Gaze
and my takeaway is, excuse me, but he got to
the playoffs beat New England a couple of times, has
(21:54):
been hired multiple times as a coordinator. Adam Gaze to me,
is the one higher I like, and it's the one
getting the heat. What do you make of it? I
think it's a smart move by the Jets. Honestly, this
is about developing the quarterback and getting the most out
of Sam Darnold, particularly while he's on his rookie contract.
(22:15):
They got probably three more years of that. And to me,
I look at this and I say to myself, Okay,
here you have a guy who has gotten career years
out of Peyton Manning, Jay Cutler, Ryan Tannehill went to
the playoffs with Ryan Tannehill as a head coach and
recreated an offense on the fly in twenty eleven with
Tim Tebow at the helm. And so if you want
(22:37):
offensive creativity and you want a guy who can work
with a quarterback, you've got that with Adam Gays. Plus
you got three years of NFL head coaching experience. He's
the only coach to bring the Miami Dolphins to the
playoffs this decade. Things weren't pretty at the end. I
think you have to hope he learned from being part
of the discord in that organization at the very end.
But there are lots of pieces to like there with
(22:59):
the Adam is higher in New York. Okay, I can't
talk Darnald without Baker Mayfield. I'm a little reluctant on
Freddie Kitchens never been a high school head coach, only
been a coordinator for eight games. I don't think he
would have gotten necessarily a coordinator job around the league.
I don't like when my quarterback is learning how to
be an NFL quarterback hiring a coach who was learning
(23:20):
how to be a head coach. I don't love this.
But I was told John Dorsey wanted somebody. He didn't
want Greg Williams, he didn't want Hugh Jack. He don't
want pushback. And this is John Dorsey's team. I mean
that's kind of what I feel. Here's the key Colin Okay,
and I know, look the fact that he ran the
offense the way he did, that's a huge bus. The
fact that he developed Baker Mayfield the way he did,
(23:42):
first as his position coach, then as his coordinator, that's
another huge bus. But the key word here, and remember
this one is unifier. That's the way that everyone in
the building felt about Freddie Kitchens, that he could be
a unifier inside that building, even Greg Williams as they
started winning, like even him, you look at him and
he says he going to be combative down the line,
(24:02):
are we going to have the problems? And then you
got to roll it back and look at the history
since Jimmy Haslin bought the team. The first regime he
put in place Rob Jasinski, Michael Lombardi, Joe bann Or
that blew up. The next group was Mike Petton and
Ray Farmer that blew up. And then again there were
internal problems when he had Hugh Jackson and Sashi Brown.
And so I think the quarterback part of this is important.
(24:24):
I think the fact that he proved he could run
an NFL offense over the last eight weeks this season,
that's important too. But to me, and based on what
I've heard, the most important thing here is that they
projected Freddie Kitchens to be a unifier inside that building.
And if you look at the problems that they've had
and Jimmy Haslin's seven years of ownership, you can understand
why I gotta address something. I think I may have
(24:46):
talked about it with you. Antonio Brown is as gifted
a wide receiver as this league has, and we have
clearly Albert in the last year due to rule changes
quarterback wide receiver, it has been elevated in the league.
So this isn't This is a transformational talent in his prime.
(25:07):
The Rooneys who are patient tolerant and quiet came out
yesterday saying I don't think it's gonna work. I'm just
gonna throw a couple of things at you, New England.
New England gets rolled this weekend and they come to
the conclusion we gotta give Tom help. I think Antonio
Brown works in a lot of spots you don't build
(25:28):
around him. But man, I can't believe somebody wouldn't trade
for him. Albert, what are you hearing? Well? I mean,
first thing you gotta take into account as his contract,
and I'll give that to you in two different ways. Okay,
There's there's three years and thirty nine million dollars left
on his contract. For most teams, that's gonna make him
attractive because you look at what the top receivers are making.
(25:49):
It's somewhere between sixteen and eighteen million a year. Odell
Beckham's in that range, Mike Evans is in that range,
Sammy Watkins is in that range. And so to have
Antonio Brown, presuming he'd be okay with going for with
the contract the way that it is, that'd be a
very very attractive number to a lot of teams, but
not in New England. And here's the reason why, while
you still have certain guys on your roster who have
(26:10):
agreed to take less, it's very hard and it's been
historically very hard for them to take on guys who
are getting paid premium prices. Look at what Tom Brady's
making about fifteen million a year. Now I'm assuming those
men that after the year, but for right now it's
fifteen million a year. Gronkowski's making ten million a year.
Julian Edelman has been fantastic for them, is making about
(26:32):
six million a year. So you look at what those
guys are making, the premium guys in their roster. The
salary structure in New England is completely different than it
is in most other places, and so to bring in
a guy like this, you'd almost have to blow up
what you're doing. They wanted Brandon Cook's back, but this
is the reason why they couldn't bring them back, was
because to make it happen, they'd have to blow up
(26:54):
their salary structure. And so that's why I think Antonio
Brown would be a little bit of a tough it
in New England. The other thing, and Colin you know this,
over their history, New England has always bought low on
these guys, whether it was Randy Wass coming in on
the deal that he came in on. If you want
to look at when they that summer when they brought
in Chad Johnson and and Albert Haynesworth, they've always bought
(27:16):
low on these guys, and that gives them a modicum
of control. I think if you buy high and a
guy like this that premium number, you don't have the
control over the player that New England likes to have.
So the Rams Dallas game is intriguing. We know that
Jerry Jones has said I love me some deck, I
love Jason Garrett. We all know that, and we all
know that Sean McVay is very bright and golf is
(27:38):
the future. But if the Rams lose this weekend, there
is a little shine off Sean McVay potentially, you know,
they kind of went all in in Los Angeles with
you know, a keep to lead Marcus Peters and Dominican Sue.
If the Rams lost this weekend, do you think it
(27:59):
would slow down the Sean McVay coaching tree thing and
that some. And then, because I feel like there's this
tsunami of Sean McVay rolling over the league yeah, I
mean I would say it would be I don't think
it should change any the way anyone looks at Sean McVay,
best point to differential in the league the last two
years and the best record in the league over the
(28:21):
last two years tie with the Patriots in the Saints,
and you look at where the Rams are coming from.
Sean mcvay's done a fantastic job by any measure. I
also think there's a little more to what we're seeing
than just Sean McVay. I know a lot of people
you can trace them back to Sean McVay and everything else.
I think that this is about owners and where owners
are in the league right now. And it's harder to
(28:41):
draw a rating than it used to be. It's harder
to draw a fan to a stadium than it used
to be. And I think that there are a lot
of owners in the league that watched that game at
the end of November between the Rams and the Chiefs
and pointed at the television and said, give me that.
And so I think what you're seeing now is an
overreach for guy that are that have backgrounds in those
(29:02):
sorts of offenses. It's a little more difficult when you
look at Andy Reid's tree, because Doug Peterson was already
picked from there, Matt Naggie was already picked from there.
Whereas when you look at Sean McVay and the people
that have worked with him traditionally, they're young and they
came up with him. And so I think that part
of this is, you know, an owner looking at not
just winning and losing, but the entertainment product and saying,
(29:25):
I want what they've got in Kansas City and Los Angeles,
and then they look at Sean mcvay's tree and they say, Okay, well,
this guy is imperfect. That guy is imperfect. I think
ultimately two or three years from now, we're going to
find out that some of these hires were overreaches. Yeah,
but I think there's certainly an element of entertainment that
goes along with the winning and losing that owners want
right now. Albert Breer, Monday Morning Quarterback. I mean, the
(29:48):
guy is just available to us every time we call,
with all sorts of good stuff and information. It's going
to be a great weekend. Rita's stuff I do. Senior
NFL reporter, Albert, thank you so much again, you got
a call one more Herd. The Herd streams twenty four
hours a day, seven days a week within the iHeartRadio app.
Search Herd to listen live or on demand whenever you'd like. Well,
(30:10):
let's go to Greg Jennings via the Coward Global Satellite Network.
Decade in the NFL Super Bowls, Pro Bowls, let's talk
about the Packers because Cliff Kingsbury I didn't love to hire,
but I do like Vance Joseph now a grown up
defensive Sark's been in college and pro. I feel better
today the Green Bay thing with Matt Lafleur Gregg. He's
(30:32):
been a play caller for one year. It wasn't a
great year in Tennessee. I don't you know again, people
think I'm anti Packer. I don't love it. It feels
weird to me. Your thoughts. Yeah, I didn't love it.
I think it was a curveball, a huge curveball that
no one saw coming. And quite frankly, when you look
(30:52):
at why, they're saying that he was the interesting and
intriguing higher and I'm sure that this isn't just everything
that they put their eggs in the basket because of.
But it was known that well he and he was
going to keep Mike Petton at as a defensive coordinator.
So we like that about him. And I thought to myself,
(31:18):
if you're gonna hire a guy, just hire Mike Petton
and then get your own old pensive coordinator. Why would
you Why would you bring in the whole head coach
because he said he's gonna keep your defensive coordinator, Like,
I don't know how much they're really so obviously they
are sold on him, but I have some red flags
and he's gonna have a huge, huge microscope on him,
(31:43):
like magnifying glass. It's it's gonna be an interesting year
for the gree red past. By the way, let me
just ask you about the young guys. Is that I
mean a veteran NFL players thirty four? Some of these
coaches are thirty four. There is this sense that if
you ever had a beer with Sean mcvagh you get
a job interview. What do you make of the whole
McVeigh tree. Well, it's it's an interesting dynamic. You have
(32:08):
a young coach who has been around great coaches for
a long time in Sean McVay, the John Gruden's in
those type of offensive minds, but he still hasn't proven
to win in the playoffs. However, you have all these
organizations who loves what he has provided for a young
(32:29):
team with a young quarterback, with a fresh mindset offensively
and innovative mindset, and it's intriguing. And so we everyone's
looking at this in Sean McVay like, well, if they
did it with McVeigh, maybe we can do it with
our hires. So you see all these kind of random
(32:50):
hires that no one ever saw coming. But one thing
that McVeigh understood, which is what you were talking about
before you had me on Klansbury, is he accompanied his
staff with Wade Phillips, a proven, a defensive mind head
coach who had been around for a long time, to
(33:12):
kind of balance what he was getting ready to do.
And I like that about what Sean McVay has been
able to do. Can these other coaches mimic that and
create a staff that makes them better, that pulls even
more out of them, We'll see. Yeah, the Coan McVay
coaching tree is definitely more of a weed than it
is an actual tree at this point. So I look
(33:33):
at your picks, says here, you like the Saints, They're
favored you like the Patriots, they're favored. You like the Rams,
they're favored, But you are gonna go with the dog
on the Colts. And this is the pick I said
earlier on our Blazing five is I'll take Kansas City,
but I kind of feel like we got ourselves a
(33:54):
shootout here. Why do you like the Colts? A couple
of reasons why I like the Colds. The one main
reason is because of the way that they're playing in
the quarterback play that they're getting out of Andrew Luck,
and defensively they look really really good making a lot
(34:14):
of plays for that team and that offense getting the
ball back into Luck's hands. But secondly is back in
twenty eleven twenty twelve season, we went fifteen and one.
The year after we won the Super Bowl. We had
one of the most highing scoring offenses in all the football,
if not the high in scoring offense, and all the football.
(34:35):
Could put up a lot of points. However, our defense
couldn't stop anyone, but they could create turnovers. And when
I look at the Kansas City Chiefs, they remind me
of who we were that year. They can put up
a lot of points, but their defense not really able
to stop opponents, but they will take the ball away.
In the playoffs, that all went for nothing because as
(34:59):
an offense, we had to carry that team and we
didn't produce the way our defense needed us to produce
and how we had produced all year. And the Kansas
City Chiefs have a small margin of error because their
defense can't stop an offense like the Indianapolis coach. So
this is why I'm picking the Colt. Yeah, you know
(35:20):
people that I even Vegas people. A lot of people
like the Colts this weekend, which I love Andy Reid,
and I'm gonna lean Kansas City because I think Andy
off of buy is really good. Okay, so I said
this earlier. When people get upset, whether you're a parent,
you're a dad, you're a mom, you're a player, you're
a coach, anywhere in life, if you get upset, it's
generally because something didn't meet expectations. You go to the airport,
(35:44):
you're mad at the airline because you're fifteen minutes late.
Right the plane. Okay, if you look at DAK and
you line up all the traits of DAK mobile, not
a great arm, not a big risk taker, a grown up,
low risk mobile, he really is Alex Smith and everybody goes, oh, oh, well,
(36:06):
Alex Smith has been eight straight winning seasons, three Pro Bowls,
three Division titles, five playoff appearances. If I was a
Cowboy fan, I would sign up for Alex Smith's career
from Dak. I think the problem in Dallas is Cowboys
have higher expectations than what is reality. I think Dak
is Alex Smith. I think they play alike. Dak's a
(36:28):
little heavier. I mean, is that a weird comparison? Could?
I think the Cowboys are going to go to the
playoffs this weekend and lose, and the question's gonna be
after the game, you can't win the big one with Dak,
which is what everybody's been staying for nine years with
Alex Smith. Your thoughts, I don't disagree with you. I
can definitely see that why you would draw that comparison.
(36:50):
Alex Smith always needed guys around him to make sure
that he was able to kind of be the best
Alex Smith. We were able to see in the same
goals with Dak Prescott. However, I think their mentalities are
a little different. I think Dak Prescott thinks and believes
that he's more than just Alex Smith. Now from our
(37:12):
bandish point, yeah, we can see that comparison because his
team has supported him, while in Dak Prescott's mind, he
believes that I'm better than what everybody's given me credit for.
I've won in this league in the regular season. Now
I've won a game in the playoffs. If he continues
to win, why would he not see himself as one
(37:33):
of the elite quarterbacks or believe himself to be one
of those elite quarterbacks. He has every right to feel
that way. I just don't think he is personally. But
to your point, I agree that that's a fair assess. Yeah. Hey,
by the way, finally, this Pittsburgh Steelers never the Rooney
family is patient, tolerant, a quiet. They came out yesterday
(37:56):
and said, yeah, we don't think this Antonio Brown thing's
gonna work out. Antonio's obviously a hundred catch guy doesn't
touchdowns fifteen hundred yards. He may not work in Pittsburgh,
he works all over this league. You don't think New England.
I mean, I'm sitting to myself thinking where would he
land with Pittsburgh. Probably wouldn't send him in New England? Right,
Where do you think he I mean no, no, that's like,
(38:20):
that's like giving your big brother something else that he
can beat you up with. Then you know it will
beat you up. Like, absolutely not. Pittsburgh has been trying
to get over that New England Patriot hum for years
and to send that one of their best players, if
not their best player outside of Ben Roethlisberger, over to
big brother, absolutely not, absolutely not. That will never happen. Okay,
(38:44):
but do you think Antonio they said basically they're gonna
trade him. I mean, you know, you ran a friend.
I mean, it's funny. I wouldn't build around him. And
I'm not into diva receivers. But that's my problem with
Odell Beckham. I'm not gonna build around him. I like
having O'Dell on my team probably though, I like somebody
that can make a hundred catches. Would you bring Antonio
(39:05):
on a team? I would. I would definitely bring Antonio
Brown on a team. And let me say this, Odell
Beckham he gets, in my opinion, he gets a really
bad rap because he's never had like character issues. He's
never had these run ins with teammates and with coaches.
His things has always been the extra antics on the
(39:28):
football field because of his playmaking ability. It's never been
anything that we question of the off the field or
with teammates. So let's leave Odell Beckham while it is
Antonio Brown, however, a completely different player. Um, what they
provide is similar, but what he brings to the table
from a personality standpoint is a lot greater um and
(39:50):
a lot more to handle. And I think when you're
thinking about surrounding him with a young quarterback and a
young team, you gotta you gotta be leary of the
influence he'll have on that da very that's very fair point, Antonio.
With a veteran quarterback, you know a Matt Ryan, you
know Russell Wilson, a veteran guy who can handle it.
I'm not throwing him up there with you, Josh Rosen
(40:11):
or a good point, Greg Jennings, who is dressed for
a Minnesota weather. It's only a thirty two degrees today,
so that ain't bad January standard in Minnesota. Good talking
to you, Budd, Absolutely bad here today. A lot going on.
We'll talk about
Thanks for listening to the Best of Herd podcast. Are
you sure to catch us live every weekday from twelve
to three eastern, nine to noon Pacific on Fox Sports
Radio and FS one. 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 Herd.
This is the Best of the Herd with Colin cowher
on Fox Sports Radio. Ah Here we go on to Friday.
(00:24):
This is the Herd. Wherever you may be and however
you may be listening. We are live in Los Angeles,
fired up for a Friday show iHeartRadio, Fox Sports Radio
and FS one. One hour from now our playoff Blazing five,
our official last Blazing five of the year. We are
packed today. Joey Taylor is joining me in a Friday.
(00:46):
This is one of the last great Fridays of the
year where you got four huge games. It's the last
big football weekend until like next year. We got four
massive games that it's down to two, then it's down
to one. Exciting. This is a huge weekend. It's a
huge weekend. I got a long story. I had to
do some traveling last night. I want one Sipper Red
(01:06):
Bull before you start your show. Hold on starting the
morning with Red Bull. It's delicious. Not great for your teeth,
but delicious. Okay, that is very aggressive moved by me.
I want to start with this. I do not believe
over the course of a seventy eighty year life, luck
plays any part in your life. I don't even if
you have a bad childhood, eighteen years you're out of
(01:28):
the house. Your choices will dictate your life. Who do
you marry, who do you hang out with, What jobs
you take, what jobs you turn down? If you had
a bad childhood, are you willing to go into therapy?
I don't think luck plays a part in life. Good breaks,
bad breaks. But the reason luck does not play part
in people's lives over the course of seventy or eighty
years is because you have forty to fifty years to
(01:51):
overcome childhood chaos. If things are kind of messed up
early and nobody had a perfect childhood, you didn't, I didn't,
Joy probably didn't. I know, Gooley Twoey. Those guys are crazy. Okay,
nobody had a perfect life. But I don't think luck
plays a party in your life When you have a
seventy five eighty year life. But what if your life
was fourteen years, that was it beginning to end. You
(02:16):
would not have the time to overcome chaos, abuse, dysfunction.
Twelve thirteen, fourteen years is the lifespan of an NFL
franchise quarterback, and therefore luck plays a part in it.
Bad ownership, three coaches fired in four years. There's a
(02:38):
lot of things you could not overcome. You simply don't
have the time to overcome it. This weekend, Tom Brady,
the luckiest quarterback of all time, we'll face Philip Rivers,
the unluckiest great quarterback of all time. This is in
no way to in any way dilute the greatness of Brady.
He would have been great anywhere, but I doubt the
(02:58):
greatest of all time if he had not been rather lucky.
And this is not to say Philip Rivers wouldn't be
the greatest of all time, but he'd have more playoff wins.
In life. The shorter it is, the less you can overcome.
What if Tom was a Charger and Philip was a Patriot?
(03:23):
Thing about Tom's career he is drafted by now inarguably
the greatest football coach of all time. He lands with
arguably the top owner in professional sports in America, Bob Kraft.
He has drafted into a hyper competitive, hyper academic city,
(03:46):
the Boston Bruins, the Red Sox, the Patriots, the Celtics,
all Mit Harvard, all highly competitive sports matters in Boston,
billionaires competing against other billionaires to be smarter, more analytic driven.
It is not a coincidence. The Red Sox, the Bruins,
the Patriots, the Celtics all way way above the curve
(04:11):
on analytics sports matters. Tom is drafted by the greatest coach,
one of the smartest, most empirically powerful owners and stable
ownership groups in a sports city where everything matters. And oh,
by the way, gets to plan a division with three
other dysfunctional teams Jets, Bills, Dolphins. Another break the NFL
(04:34):
in two thousand and two realigned divisions. Peyton Manning would
have been in Tom Brady's division. He ended up in
something now called the AFC South. Think that would have
changed Tom Brady's career. Let's now talk about Philip Rivers.
Four head coaches, his first one fired after a year.
(04:57):
The ownership, and I'll say this nicely, has been historically
frugal the city in San Diego, surfing is number one,
win lose. Nobody's losing sleep. You don't have the passion,
the drive, the competitive Four different professional sports teams, four
different billionaires, all trying to beat each other in a division,
(05:19):
with Denver one of the better NFL franchises, and oh,
by the way, Kansas City as well. Perennially they're in
the playoffs, are close to it, and oh by the way, Phillips,
having his best year and true to form his franchise,
moves to a city and plays in a soccer stadium.
(05:42):
Luck plays very little parts if you live a long
and extensive light life. It doesn't don't play mom and dad.
If at fifty eight you're a mess, that's on you.
You could have chosen therapy, a better partner, better friends,
and better locations. But over the course of a fourteen
year life, the span of an NFL quarterback, you simply
(06:04):
would not have the time to overcome chaos and dysfunction, bitterness,
family squabbles. Brady would have been great anyway, but he
would not be the goat without a series of lucky breaks,
and Philip Rivers would not be Brady, but would be
much closer luck matters a great deal at quarterback in
(06:29):
the National Football League. It won't define you, but it
elevates or slightly erods that is not arguable. All right,
let me shift to this to Dallas Cowboys against the Rams.
It'll be on Fox. That's our network. We can't wait
for it. It's going to be interesting. I think Dallas
has better players. I think Dallas sends Amari Cooper showed up,
(06:51):
is a much better team than the Rams who lost
their best receiver, Cooper Cup. There's been great debate this year.
What is Dak Prescott. Troy Aikman was talking about Dak
Prescott and he believes, like I do, he's a grown up.
Limited perhaps, but he's a grown up. Here's Troy on Dak.
(07:14):
He's a great leader, he's everything you'd want him to be.
Don't know that there's a more solid individual in the
National Football League. And then what he's done on the field.
I think that he has shown an ability to win
games late, and that's a quality not everybody has, and
he's shown to have that even in games when he's
not necessarily played his best. And I think that's the
greatest quality. Okay, so I agree with that but I'm
(07:38):
going to give you a series of traits, pretty mobile,
above average joy That sounds like Dak right wins a lot,
arm is average at times of liability, not a big
risk taker. He's a very solid leader, smart, appears to
(07:59):
be very coachable, great in front of the mic, and
his best year had a great defense. That is not
Dak Prescott. That's Alex Smith. And if I say Dak,
we've seen him before, it's Alex Smith. You wins. You
don't like to hear that, But can I remind you
that Alex Smith has had eight straight winning seasons, has
(08:23):
been a Pro Bowl or three times, has three division
titles and five playoff appearances. Cowboy fan, you would buy
that in a New York minute if I offered that
this morning, we have seen Dak. It's Alex Smith, and
he wins, and he gets to the Pro Bowl occasionally
(08:44):
every couple of years. He wins his division. He gets
to the playoffs about half of his career. That's Dak.
And you don't like to hear that, because what Alex
Smith is isn't Super Bowls. He always comes up just
a little shy in that big game. And that's why
(09:07):
with Dak The most important element to this entire career
is going to be expectations. If you go in today
knowing that you're going to have a guy who wins
maybe every third fourth year, gets to a Pro Bowl,
he'll win you a division title every couple of years.
Half his career is going to get you in the
playoffs and the competitive NFC, then you're fine with Dak.
(09:33):
But I don't think the Cowboys probably beat the Rams
this weekend, and much like Alex Smith, the season ends
with frustration, disappointment that can't quite make the throwdown field.
Dak can't quite stretch the field. Dak isn't quite willing
to take the big risk. Anger and resentment comes from
one thing, expectations. Take a deep breath. Know what Dak is.
(09:58):
What Dak is is very good. He's Alex Smith. You
expect more, you'll be very disappointed. Be sure to catch
live editions of The Herd weekdays in noun Easter nine
am Pacific on Fox Sports Radio FS one and the
iHeart Radio app. There's always been this confusion. The audience
thinks we're rooting for this, We're rooting for that, We're
rooting for big market, we're rooting for a small market.
(10:20):
The highest readed NBA Finals ever, I think was Michael
Jordan against the Utah Jazz and everybody was predicting nobody'd
watch because Utah is a small city. But it was
a great story. And it was Michael Jordan with one
hundred degree temperature and the Utah Jazz with this pesky
team that gave Jordan trouble and there was all sorts
of drama. Ratings come from stories, not market size. Okay,
(10:41):
that's the reality of it is that Boston in the Patriots,
this has been a dynasty. Alabama is a dynasty. It's
not always big markets that control sports or get the ratings.
It's the best stories. So the Utah Jazz Michael Jordan
finals was the highest redded finals of all time. Michael
had played Barkley and the Suns, and you think that
(11:01):
would be a huge rating because Bartley was a start
that was a little Utah Jazz. And so this weekend,
if it was up to me that I was rooting
for the best stories, because the best stories mean I'll
get better ratings, the numbers in flight, more people watch
our show, we can keep build a bigger staff. We're
rooting for the most interesting stuff to happen. So when
you get up Monday morning, you're like, let's see what
(11:22):
does Join Colin have to say. That's what we're rooting for.
We're rooting for interesting. So let's go through all four games.
What would be the most interesting outcome? Kansas City at Indianapolis.
I believe the most interesting outcome is a shootout between
the next Brady and Manning. For the next ten years,
Patrick Mahomes and Andrew Luck are going to go toe
to toe. And I want to shootout, and I want
(11:44):
Kansas City winning, and I want the MVP winning, and
I want Andy Reid winning. And I think it's thirty
four to thirty three, and it's this is Peyton Manning
and Tom Brady early in their careers. Obviously Mahomes younger
than Andrew Luck. But I want Mahomes to be flashy
and no look passes and left handed classes and be
a contrast of styles that Mahomes comes out. He is
(12:05):
Brett Farve. He makes a real bonehead interception. He makes
some mistakes, but he has two or three unbelievable all
time highlight plays. Meanwhile, Andrew Luck is twenty eight for
thirty four. He is workmanlike a contrast of styles. He
is boring, and he is leading them down the field,
and the clock runs out, and Kansas City wins a
(12:25):
wild shootout, and we have a sense when the game
is over, oh my god, we're going to see this
a lot for the next decade. A Kansas City narrow
win in a shootout gets everybody fired up because we
know the Chiefs are going to be around for a while,
and we know the Colts with nine draft picks on
top of this and one hundred million, they're gonna be
(12:46):
really good starting next year. But this one we give
to Kansas City. And then they go back and forth. Okay,
Dallas and the Rams, what's the most interesting outcome? Dallas
in the Rams? Dallas upsets the Ram and Dak is
not good. Zeke runs for one hundred and fifty. The
Cowboy defense is great and Dak press got struggles. And
(13:10):
for the next four months, six months, nine months, what
do we do with Dak. We're winning the division, We're
winning playoff games. He's Alex Smith. What are we gonna
do if we pay him? And by the way, the
glitzy Rams give me all sorts of stories Sean McVay
oh and two both at home in the playoffs. Both
(13:33):
is a heavy favorite and the shiny new techy toy
it doesn't really work in January. And Sean mcvayh is
maybe a little more style than substance. I don't believe
that to be true. But Kansas City in a shootout
winning DAK playing poorly in the Cowboys winning and getting
the NFC championship. And an equally big story is the
(13:56):
Rams are a lot of glitz and they paid for
all these big stars and it ain't working. Brother, and
all those teams that picked off that son mcvatri, you're
gonna be a little concerned. How about New England Chargers.
We said this yesterday. The Chargers don't beat New England.
They beat him thirty three fourteen. Tom Brady is overwhelmed,
(14:17):
sack six times. The Chargers have better players. You start
to question Belichick's arrogance letting Brandon Cooks go, Josh Gordon,
leaving Tom with nothing. Ding dong. The witch is dead,
dynasty is over, Tom Brady gonna retire, Belichick getting heat.
We have another off season where we question the dynasty
going forward. Not just a Charger win, but an overwhelming
(14:41):
performance where the road weary Chargers go on the road.
You watch the game for three and a half hours
and come to the conclusion it's over. Kind of like
that Bama Clemson thing. You're like, Oh, Clemson's better. They
got better coach, they got better structure, they got better players.
You sit and watch that game, you think, oh, it's
not even close. New England's got no players. That's the
(15:03):
best outcome. We're talking about that first until Labor Day.
Finally Eagles Saints. Now you're gonna be confused by this.
You know, I initially thought Drew Brees wins. Everybody loves
Drew Brees. But what if the stories Sunday night is
holy crap, Philadelphia wins close game, fourth and goal, Doug Peterson,
(15:28):
Nick Foles again pull one out of there, you know what,
and then after that it would be the Eagles at
the Cowboys for the NFC Championship. Y'all take that, y'all,
y'all take that. If Philadelphia wins another close situational game.
Let's see, they beat at lant in one of those,
and they beat Brady in the Super Bowl in one
(15:50):
of those, and they just beat the Bears in one
of those, and they earlier this year beat the Texans
in one of those, and they're getting into a habit
that Doug Peterson if he wins another one against a
great quarterback, there's a Belichickian thing going on where it
is not a coincidence. Philadelphia is simply smarter owner, GM coach.
(16:18):
We've got a Wentz Foles controversy. I think Philadelphia winning close.
Colin what about the Breeze Brady Super Bowl, Well, in
my scenario, Brady didn't get past the charger, so that's
not going to happen. If you're asking me what's interesting
on Monday? What is the most angst? Kansas City wins
(16:40):
in a shootout. Dallas wins, but Dak struggles. The Patriots
get absolutely rolled, and somehow, some way, on another fourth
down situational moment, the Philadelphia Eagles shock the world and
we can't figure out what the hell is going on.
(17:01):
Be sure to catch live editions of The Herd week
dayson noon Easter nine am Pacific. Dallas is the first
playoff team. This is really amazing. Without a starter over
thirty years old in thirty one years and you would
think that would guarantee you're gonna be really good. But
(17:21):
I don't think it guarantees anything, and I'll tell you why.
I think when Kansas City plays Indianapolis this weekend, you're
going to see mostly the future of the AFC for
the time being. I think both the Chiefs and the
Colts have a great coach, very very very very very
good transformational quarterback talents, excellent front offices, and good home
(17:43):
field edges. I think Kansas City in Indianapolis and the AFC,
you're gonna see a lot of I think in the
AFC you've got a lot of dysfunctional teams. Jacksonville, Miami, Buffalo, Sinc, Oakland, Cleveland,
You've got a lot of bad quarterbacks. Even quarterbacks that
are okay, Lamar Jackson and Marcus Marioto, do we really
really buying them long term? Pittsburgh and the New England
(18:04):
Patriots have Hall of Fame quarterbacks, but they're old and
going to retire pretty soon. I think the AFC is
gonna be led. I know what the AFC is gonna
look like for the next eight years. You're gonna see
a lot of Andy Reid and Patrick Mahomes, and you're
gonna see a lot of Frank Reich and Andrew Locke.
You gonna see a lot of that. The NFC, I
got news for you. I don't know what I'm going
(18:24):
to see for the next five years. Dallas has the
best young roster, but they're limited at quarterback. Philadelphia has
maybe the best combination of if Carson Wentz is healthy, owner, GM, coach,
and quarterback. The Los Angeles Rams have a lot of money,
new stadium, free agent destination, and they certainly have the GM,
(18:45):
the quarterback, and the coach right. The Chicago Bears have
my vote for the coach of the Year, so they
got the coach right. And that defense is not only loaded,
it's a bunch of kids and they're they're not except
for Khalil Mack. You're not paying those guys much. Green
Bay's got Aaron Rodgers. I'm not given up on Russell
Wilson and Pete Carroll. They usually figured out and end
up as a playoff team. And I've told you this before.
(19:05):
I think San Francisco is going to be a thorn
for the Rams when Jimmy Garoppolo comes back in Kyle Shanahan,
I think they're gonna win that division. At least every
other year for the next ten years. Not to mention
the Vikings, the Saints in the Carolina. You know, Carolina's
got Cam and Ron Rivera and they got good Luke
Geekly and the Saints Andrew and Sean and they Mickey
Loomis drafts. Well, you know I didn't mention Atlanta, Minnesota.
(19:27):
You've got real players there. So the NFC, You've got
bigger cities, more revenue, better free agent markets except for
Green Bay, more competitive, better quarterbacks, better organizations. In the AFC,
I got a lot of dysfunction. I got a lot
of bad owners, I got a lot of bad quarterbacks.
I got a lot of bad cultures. The Cowboy talent
(19:48):
is remarkable. I mean, it really is first playoff team
without a starter over thirty and thirty year, thirty one years.
It is an incredibly special team. But I don't think
it guarantees anything in the NFC. And sometimes when you
compare the NFC to the AFC, AFC is kind of dysfunctional.
There's a lot of junk in the AFC. It's not
(20:09):
a lot of junk. I think the Bruce arians higher
in Tampa because I think Tampa's kind of junk. In
the NFC, I think they write that ship. I think
they're pretty competitive next year. I think Bruce arians, Jamis Winston,
Todd Bowles, they'll kind of They've got a good roster.
I think Tampa next year will be a real tough out.
And maybe you could argue the same in the AFC
with Cleveland, with Baker and Dorsey and their roster, they're
(20:30):
gonna be a tougher out. I think they will be.
But I know what the AFC is gonna look like.
It's gonna be a lot of Andrew Luck and Patrick
Mahomes for the next ten years. I guarantee that coach
front office quarterbacks. I guarantee that. No idea what. I
don't even know what the NFC East looks like next year. Seriously,
I have no idea about the NFC if they if
the Giants figure out the quarterback thing. Sae Quon Barkley Shermer,
(20:52):
the offensive guy, O b J. Watch out What's up? Everybody?
John Middlecop from the Three and Out podcast Rocks by
Colin Cowards podcast Network. You'll like Colin show, You'll like mine.
I'm talking playoff football. Baby. Cliff Kingsbury pretty polarizing. I'm
more bullish than most. Tell you about it. The Green
(21:13):
Bay Packers, I'm selling all my stock. Bruce Arians, I'm
so glad that he's back in the NFL. Talcke it
all on this week's three and Out podcasts also go
over every playoff game with me, John Middlecoff. Let's go
to our friend Albert Breer Monday Morning Quarterback. If you
had the Coward Global Satellite Network, listen, we all we
all know what's what. I think it's funny in this,
(21:34):
Albert is all these organizations love their hires even though
they have no head coaching experience. Some are hiring people
like Matt Lafleur in Green Bay one year of play calling.
But yet in New York they're banging on Adam Gaze
and my takeaway is, excuse me, but he got to
the playoffs beat New England a couple of times, has
(21:54):
been hired multiple times as a coordinator. Adam Gaze to me,
is the one higher I like, and it's the one
getting the heat. What do you make of it? I
think it's a smart move by the Jets. Honestly, this
is about developing the quarterback and getting the most out
of Sam Darnold, particularly while he's on his rookie contract.
(22:15):
They got probably three more years of that. And to me,
I look at this and I say to myself, Okay,
here you have a guy who has gotten career years
out of Peyton Manning, Jay Cutler, Ryan Tannehill went to
the playoffs with Ryan Tannehill as a head coach and
recreated an offense on the fly in twenty eleven with
Tim Tebow at the helm. And so if you want
(22:37):
offensive creativity and you want a guy who can work
with a quarterback, you've got that with Adam Gays. Plus
you got three years of NFL head coaching experience. He's
the only coach to bring the Miami Dolphins to the
playoffs this decade. Things weren't pretty at the end. I
think you have to hope he learned from being part
of the discord in that organization at the very end.
But there are lots of pieces to like there with
(22:59):
the Adam is higher in New York. Okay, I can't
talk Darnald without Baker Mayfield. I'm a little reluctant on
Freddie Kitchens never been a high school head coach, only
been a coordinator for eight games. I don't think he
would have gotten necessarily a coordinator job around the league.
I don't like when my quarterback is learning how to
be an NFL quarterback hiring a coach who was learning
(23:20):
how to be a head coach. I don't love this.
But I was told John Dorsey wanted somebody. He didn't
want Greg Williams, he didn't want Hugh Jack. He don't
want pushback. And this is John Dorsey's team. I mean
that's kind of what I feel. Here's the key Colin Okay,
and I know, look the fact that he ran the
offense the way he did, that's a huge bus. The
fact that he developed Baker Mayfield the way he did,
(23:42):
first as his position coach, then as his coordinator, that's
another huge bus. But the key word here, and remember
this one is unifier. That's the way that everyone in
the building felt about Freddie Kitchens, that he could be
a unifier inside that building, even Greg Williams as they
started winning, like even him, you look at him and
he says he going to be combative down the line,
(24:02):
are we going to have the problems? And then you
got to roll it back and look at the history
since Jimmy Haslin bought the team. The first regime he
put in place Rob Jasinski, Michael Lombardi, Joe bann Or
that blew up. The next group was Mike Petton and
Ray Farmer that blew up. And then again there were
internal problems when he had Hugh Jackson and Sashi Brown.
And so I think the quarterback part of this is important.
(24:24):
I think the fact that he proved he could run
an NFL offense over the last eight weeks this season,
that's important too. But to me, and based on what
I've heard, the most important thing here is that they
projected Freddie Kitchens to be a unifier inside that building.
And if you look at the problems that they've had
and Jimmy Haslin's seven years of ownership, you can understand
why I gotta address something. I think I may have
(24:46):
talked about it with you. Antonio Brown is as gifted
a wide receiver as this league has, and we have
clearly Albert in the last year due to rule changes
quarterback wide receiver, it has been elevated in the league.
So this isn't This is a transformational talent in his prime.
(25:07):
The Rooneys who are patient tolerant and quiet came out
yesterday saying I don't think it's gonna work. I'm just
gonna throw a couple of things at you, New England.
New England gets rolled this weekend and they come to
the conclusion we gotta give Tom help. I think Antonio
Brown works in a lot of spots you don't build
(25:28):
around him. But man, I can't believe somebody wouldn't trade
for him. Albert, what are you hearing? Well? I mean,
first thing you gotta take into account as his contract,
and I'll give that to you in two different ways. Okay,
There's there's three years and thirty nine million dollars left
on his contract. For most teams, that's gonna make him
attractive because you look at what the top receivers are making.
(25:49):
It's somewhere between sixteen and eighteen million a year. Odell
Beckham's in that range, Mike Evans is in that range,
Sammy Watkins is in that range. And so to have
Antonio Brown, presuming he'd be okay with going for with
the contract the way that it is, that'd be a
very very attractive number to a lot of teams, but
not in New England. And here's the reason why, while
you still have certain guys on your roster who have
(26:10):
agreed to take less, it's very hard and it's been
historically very hard for them to take on guys who
are getting paid premium prices. Look at what Tom Brady's
making about fifteen million a year. Now I'm assuming those
men that after the year, but for right now it's
fifteen million a year. Gronkowski's making ten million a year.
Julian Edelman has been fantastic for them, is making about
(26:32):
six million a year. So you look at what those
guys are making, the premium guys in their roster. The
salary structure in New England is completely different than it
is in most other places, and so to bring in
a guy like this, you'd almost have to blow up
what you're doing. They wanted Brandon Cook's back, but this
is the reason why they couldn't bring them back, was
because to make it happen, they'd have to blow up
(26:54):
their salary structure. And so that's why I think Antonio
Brown would be a little bit of a tough it
in New England. The other thing, and Colin you know this,
over their history, New England has always bought low on
these guys, whether it was Randy Wass coming in on
the deal that he came in on. If you want
to look at when they that summer when they brought
in Chad Johnson and and Albert Haynesworth, they've always bought
(27:16):
low on these guys, and that gives them a modicum
of control. I think if you buy high and a
guy like this that premium number, you don't have the
control over the player that New England likes to have.
So the Rams Dallas game is intriguing. We know that
Jerry Jones has said I love me some deck, I
love Jason Garrett. We all know that, and we all
know that Sean McVay is very bright and golf is
(27:38):
the future. But if the Rams lose this weekend, there
is a little shine off Sean McVay potentially, you know,
they kind of went all in in Los Angeles with
you know, a keep to lead Marcus Peters and Dominican Sue.
If the Rams lost this weekend, do you think it
(27:59):
would slow down the Sean McVay coaching tree thing and
that some. And then, because I feel like there's this
tsunami of Sean McVay rolling over the league yeah, I
mean I would say it would be I don't think
it should change any the way anyone looks at Sean McVay,
best point to differential in the league the last two
years and the best record in the league over the
(28:21):
last two years tie with the Patriots in the Saints,
and you look at where the Rams are coming from.
Sean mcvay's done a fantastic job by any measure. I
also think there's a little more to what we're seeing
than just Sean McVay. I know a lot of people
you can trace them back to Sean McVay and everything else.
I think that this is about owners and where owners
are in the league right now. And it's harder to
(28:41):
draw a rating than it used to be. It's harder
to draw a fan to a stadium than it used
to be. And I think that there are a lot
of owners in the league that watched that game at
the end of November between the Rams and the Chiefs
and pointed at the television and said, give me that.
And so I think what you're seeing now is an
overreach for guy that are that have backgrounds in those
(29:02):
sorts of offenses. It's a little more difficult when you
look at Andy Reid's tree, because Doug Peterson was already
picked from there, Matt Naggie was already picked from there.
Whereas when you look at Sean McVay and the people
that have worked with him traditionally, they're young and they
came up with him. And so I think that part
of this is, you know, an owner looking at not
just winning and losing, but the entertainment product and saying,
(29:25):
I want what they've got in Kansas City and Los Angeles,
and then they look at Sean mcvay's tree and they say, Okay, well,
this guy is imperfect. That guy is imperfect. I think
ultimately two or three years from now, we're going to
find out that some of these hires were overreaches. Yeah,
but I think there's certainly an element of entertainment that
goes along with the winning and losing that owners want
right now. Albert Breer, Monday Morning Quarterback. I mean, the
(29:48):
guy is just available to us every time we call,
with all sorts of good stuff and information. It's going
to be a great weekend. Rita's stuff I do. Senior
NFL reporter, Albert, thank you so much again, you got
a call one more Herd. The Herd streams twenty four
hours a day, seven days a week within the iHeartRadio app.
Search Herd to listen live or on demand whenever you'd like. Well,
(30:10):
let's go to Greg Jennings via the Coward Global Satellite Network.
Decade in the NFL Super Bowls, Pro Bowls, let's talk
about the Packers because Cliff Kingsbury I didn't love to hire,
but I do like Vance Joseph now a grown up
defensive Sark's been in college and pro. I feel better
today the Green Bay thing with Matt Lafleur Gregg. He's
(30:32):
been a play caller for one year. It wasn't a
great year in Tennessee. I don't you know again, people
think I'm anti Packer. I don't love it. It feels
weird to me. Your thoughts. Yeah, I didn't love it.
I think it was a curveball, a huge curveball that
no one saw coming. And quite frankly, when you look
(30:52):
at why, they're saying that he was the interesting and
intriguing higher and I'm sure that this isn't just everything
that they put their eggs in the basket because of.
But it was known that well he and he was
going to keep Mike Petton at as a defensive coordinator.
So we like that about him. And I thought to myself,
(31:18):
if you're gonna hire a guy, just hire Mike Petton
and then get your own old pensive coordinator. Why would
you Why would you bring in the whole head coach
because he said he's gonna keep your defensive coordinator, Like,
I don't know how much they're really so obviously they
are sold on him, but I have some red flags
and he's gonna have a huge, huge microscope on him,
(31:43):
like magnifying glass. It's it's gonna be an interesting year
for the gree red past. By the way, let me
just ask you about the young guys. Is that I
mean a veteran NFL players thirty four? Some of these
coaches are thirty four. There is this sense that if
you ever had a beer with Sean mcvagh you get
a job interview. What do you make of the whole
McVeigh tree. Well, it's it's an interesting dynamic. You have
(32:08):
a young coach who has been around great coaches for
a long time in Sean McVay, the John Gruden's in
those type of offensive minds, but he still hasn't proven
to win in the playoffs. However, you have all these
organizations who loves what he has provided for a young
(32:29):
team with a young quarterback, with a fresh mindset offensively
and innovative mindset, and it's intriguing. And so we everyone's
looking at this in Sean McVay like, well, if they
did it with McVeigh, maybe we can do it with
our hires. So you see all these kind of random
(32:50):
hires that no one ever saw coming. But one thing
that McVeigh understood, which is what you were talking about
before you had me on Klansbury, is he accompanied his
staff with Wade Phillips, a proven, a defensive mind head
coach who had been around for a long time, to
(33:12):
kind of balance what he was getting ready to do.
And I like that about what Sean McVay has been
able to do. Can these other coaches mimic that and
create a staff that makes them better, that pulls even
more out of them, We'll see. Yeah, the Coan McVay
coaching tree is definitely more of a weed than it
is an actual tree at this point. So I look
(33:33):
at your picks, says here, you like the Saints, They're
favored you like the Patriots, they're favored. You like the Rams,
they're favored, But you are gonna go with the dog
on the Colts. And this is the pick I said
earlier on our Blazing five is I'll take Kansas City,
but I kind of feel like we got ourselves a
(33:54):
shootout here. Why do you like the Colts? A couple
of reasons why I like the Colds. The one main
reason is because of the way that they're playing in
the quarterback play that they're getting out of Andrew Luck,
and defensively they look really really good making a lot
(34:14):
of plays for that team and that offense getting the
ball back into Luck's hands. But secondly is back in
twenty eleven twenty twelve season, we went fifteen and one.
The year after we won the Super Bowl. We had
one of the most highing scoring offenses in all the football,
if not the high in scoring offense, and all the football.
(34:35):
Could put up a lot of points. However, our defense
couldn't stop anyone, but they could create turnovers. And when
I look at the Kansas City Chiefs, they remind me
of who we were that year. They can put up
a lot of points, but their defense not really able
to stop opponents, but they will take the ball away.
In the playoffs, that all went for nothing because as
(34:59):
an offense, we had to carry that team and we
didn't produce the way our defense needed us to produce
and how we had produced all year. And the Kansas
City Chiefs have a small margin of error because their
defense can't stop an offense like the Indianapolis coach. So
this is why I'm picking the Colt. Yeah, you know
(35:20):
people that I even Vegas people. A lot of people
like the Colts this weekend, which I love Andy Reid,
and I'm gonna lean Kansas City because I think Andy
off of buy is really good. Okay, so I said
this earlier. When people get upset, whether you're a parent,
you're a dad, you're a mom, you're a player, you're
a coach, anywhere in life, if you get upset, it's
generally because something didn't meet expectations. You go to the airport,
(35:44):
you're mad at the airline because you're fifteen minutes late.
Right the plane. Okay, if you look at DAK and
you line up all the traits of DAK mobile, not
a great arm, not a big risk taker, a grown up,
low risk mobile, he really is Alex Smith and everybody goes, oh, oh, well,
(36:06):
Alex Smith has been eight straight winning seasons, three Pro Bowls,
three Division titles, five playoff appearances. If I was a
Cowboy fan, I would sign up for Alex Smith's career
from Dak. I think the problem in Dallas is Cowboys
have higher expectations than what is reality. I think Dak
is Alex Smith. I think they play alike. Dak's a
(36:28):
little heavier. I mean, is that a weird comparison? Could?
I think the Cowboys are going to go to the
playoffs this weekend and lose, and the question's gonna be
after the game, you can't win the big one with Dak,
which is what everybody's been staying for nine years with
Alex Smith. Your thoughts, I don't disagree with you. I
can definitely see that why you would draw that comparison.
(36:50):
Alex Smith always needed guys around him to make sure
that he was able to kind of be the best
Alex Smith. We were able to see in the same
goals with Dak Prescott. However, I think their mentalities are
a little different. I think Dak Prescott thinks and believes
that he's more than just Alex Smith. Now from our
(37:12):
bandish point, yeah, we can see that comparison because his
team has supported him, while in Dak Prescott's mind, he
believes that I'm better than what everybody's given me credit for.
I've won in this league in the regular season. Now
I've won a game in the playoffs. If he continues
to win, why would he not see himself as one
(37:33):
of the elite quarterbacks or believe himself to be one
of those elite quarterbacks. He has every right to feel
that way. I just don't think he is personally. But
to your point, I agree that that's a fair assess. Yeah. Hey,
by the way, finally, this Pittsburgh Steelers never the Rooney
family is patient, tolerant, a quiet. They came out yesterday
(37:56):
and said, yeah, we don't think this Antonio Brown thing's
gonna work out. Antonio's obviously a hundred catch guy doesn't
touchdowns fifteen hundred yards. He may not work in Pittsburgh,
he works all over this league. You don't think New England.
I mean, I'm sitting to myself thinking where would he
land with Pittsburgh. Probably wouldn't send him in New England? Right,
Where do you think he I mean no, no, that's like,
(38:20):
that's like giving your big brother something else that he
can beat you up with. Then you know it will
beat you up. Like, absolutely not. Pittsburgh has been trying
to get over that New England Patriot hum for years
and to send that one of their best players, if
not their best player outside of Ben Roethlisberger, over to
big brother, absolutely not, absolutely not. That will never happen. Okay,
(38:44):
but do you think Antonio they said basically they're gonna
trade him. I mean, you know, you ran a friend.
I mean, it's funny. I wouldn't build around him. And
I'm not into diva receivers. But that's my problem with
Odell Beckham. I'm not gonna build around him. I like
having O'Dell on my team probably though, I like somebody
that can make a hundred catches. Would you bring Antonio
(39:05):
on a team? I would. I would definitely bring Antonio
Brown on a team. And let me say this, Odell
Beckham he gets, in my opinion, he gets a really
bad rap because he's never had like character issues. He's
never had these run ins with teammates and with coaches.
His things has always been the extra antics on the
(39:28):
football field because of his playmaking ability. It's never been
anything that we question of the off the field or
with teammates. So let's leave Odell Beckham while it is
Antonio Brown, however, a completely different player. Um, what they
provide is similar, but what he brings to the table
from a personality standpoint is a lot greater um and
(39:50):
a lot more to handle. And I think when you're
thinking about surrounding him with a young quarterback and a
young team, you gotta you gotta be leary of the
influence he'll have on that da very that's very fair point, Antonio.
With a veteran quarterback, you know a Matt Ryan, you
know Russell Wilson, a veteran guy who can handle it.
I'm not throwing him up there with you, Josh Rosen
(40:11):
or a good point, Greg Jennings, who is dressed for
a Minnesota weather. It's only a thirty two degrees today,
so that ain't bad January standard in Minnesota. Good talking
to you, Budd, Absolutely bad here today. A lot going on.
We'll talk about
Hosts And Creators
Colin Cowherd
Jason McIntyre
Popular Podcasts
On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!
Las Culturistas with Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang
Ding dong! Join your culture consultants, Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang, on an unforgettable journey into the beating heart of CULTURE. Alongside sizzling special guests, they GET INTO the hottest pop-culture moments of the day and the formative cultural experiences that turned them into Culturistas. Produced by the Big Money Players Network and iHeartRadio.
Crime Junkie
Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by audiochuck Media Company.