← The Herd with Colin Cowherd
The Herd with Colin Cowherd
3 & Out - Jayden Daniels, Commanders win + Josh Allen’s Buffalo Bills CRUISE on NFL Wild Card Sunday
00:46:33
Loading summary
Transcript43 lines
- [00:00]
T-Mobile Representative
You can count on T Mobile to help keep you connected from big cities to small towns on America's largest 5G network. Switch the T Mobile keep your phone and they'll pay it off up to 800 bucks per line via prepaid card. Learn more@t mobile.com heap and switch up to four lines via virtual prepaid card. Allow 15 days qualifying unlock device credit service port in 90 plus days with device and eligible carrier and timely redemption. Acquired card has no cash access and expires in six months.
- [00:36]
American Express Representative
With AMEX Platinum you get priority notified with Global Dining access by Resi so you can get first dibs if a spot opens up at restaurants and compliments to the chef turns into compliments to your Platinum card. That's the powerful backing of American Express. Terms apply. Learn more@american express.com withamx Jon Stewart is.
- [00:52]
Jon Stewart
Back in the host chair at the Daily show, which means he's also back in our ears on the Daily Show Ears Edition podcast. Join late night legend Jon Stewart and the best news team for today's biggest headlines, exclusive extended interviews and more. Now this is a second term we can all get behind. Listen to the Daily Show Ears edition on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcasts.
- [01:18]
Adnan Virk
What's up everybody? Adnan Burke here to tell you about a new podcast. It's NHL Unscripted with Virkin Demers, Jason.
- [01:24]
Jason Demers
Demers here, And after playing 700 NHL games, I got a lot of dirty laundry to air out.
- [01:29]
Adnan Virk
Hey, I got a lot to say here too, okay? Each week we'll get together to chat about the sport that we love.
- [01:33]
Jason Demers
Tons of guests are going to join in too. But we're not just going to be talking hockey, folks. We're talking movies, we're talking tv, food, and Adnan's favorite wrestling. It's all on le Table.
- [01:43]
Adnan Virk
Listen to NHL Unscripted with Vir and demers, the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
- [01:52]
Bobby Bones
The volume okay, what is going on everybody? The Washington Commanders win a playoff game for the first time in two decades. First win in 20 years. Walk off field goal. That was it hit the pylon. Now it hit the inside. So it had a good track to bounce in. Beat Baker Mayfield, Todd Bowles and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. A lot I want to get into in this game. I thought Baker was really good. Beside the one fumble, obviously. Jaden's a star. The franchise. It's amazing how important ownership is and overall that game was something we desperately needed because this weekend you talk about a snooze fest. Holy shit. It was terrible. I wrote down just some WTF moments of the weekend. And I want to dive in from the jets who are just maybe they're trying to break a record to see how many total coaches and GMs that they can interview. You look at the Patriots. They interviewed three people that immediately hire Variable, knocked off the Rooney rule. Variable, here's your contract. Let's roll. Had a clear intention of what they were doing. These other teams. The jets fired Robert Saul and Joe Douglas Like 3 months ago. I just, I'm baffled at what's going on. But that's what happens when you hire, you know, consultants who everyone wants their hand in the cookie jar. Just what are we doing here to just some things we saw in the Green Bay Philadelphia game. You know, there's a pile on effect when people question you and you lose an ugly game. The Internet pile on job on Harbaugh and Herbert makes me laugh. But we'll dive into some of that stuff as well as one quick thing I did want to hit on when it comes to the national championship. Notre Dame and Ohio State, something I think both programs have in common just based on this season that they can relate. And I think it's two moments, one for each team, that really propelled them to be in this national championship that if you're listening to this on Monday, we are a week away from that. So I went out with Colin as I do every Sunday, you know, so we, we discussed heavily. We went on right after the. The Eagles kind of smothered the packers, who I don't remember, at least I'm sure it's happened. But it felt like they lost 10 guys today and they were losing a guy every series in the second half in important players. The Eagles, who lost Nicobi Dean, they're starting linebacker to a knee injury, which is not ideal. But yeah, big win in Philly this morning was pretty boring game. Buffalo now we get Buffalo Ravens, you know, next week, pretty, pretty good slate. You know, obviously Houston, they love putting Houston in that first game on a Saturday. And Houston playing Kansas City, which is going to be a challenge. Then the night games, Washington at Detroit. Then the morning game will be the Eagles against the winner of the Monday night Football game in Philadelphia. And then Sunday we get the heavyweight matchup of Josh Allen versus Lamar, which is going to be a conversation we're going to have all weekend long. So yeah, let's dive into some football. Okay. Two things before we dive in to the Meat of the game. One consistent theme that we're talking a lot about when it comes to a lot of these teams looking at coaches and GMs and people to hire has been ownership. In the importance of ownership and how you have no chance to win with incompetent ownership. The people that sign the checks really set the tone for the entire building, even though they aren't the ones picking the players, coaching the players, scouting the players, implementing the scheme, running the meetings like they don't do anything football wise. But there is a direct correlation of good ownership, winning teams, bad ownership, bad teams. Like we have a lot of data now and the Commanders and listen, I my three years in the NFL were in the NFC east and during that time it was like the peak of Dan Snyder, who was a laughingstock and I worked with Louis Riddick, who now that you see on television, who when I got there had worked for Dan Snyder for years. And at one point in time, like they were really close. So I got a lot of good inside scoop when it came to Dan Snyder. And for whatever reason, when I first got there, they were terrible. Then they made a splurge at Mike Shanahan and they had that coaching staff that's pretty legendary and they had the one year with RG3. But for the most part, that franchise has been a complete shit show forever. They sell the team, they get Josh Harris, he blows every incompetent, moron, idiot, loser out of the building and hires real football people. So they get Dan Quinn, they get Adam Peters, and those guys obviously know what they're doing. But if you put Dan Quinn and Adam Peters with Dan Snyder, there is no way this team wins 12 games in the second round of the playoffs. We have the data that never happened with Dan Snyder. So Josh Harris, who pretty polarizing guy in the sense that he owns the Philadelphia 76ers and the Washington Commanders. We haven't quite got a crazy overlap, but we are a week away. If somehow the Commanders play the Philly, play the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC Championship Game, I would not want to be Josh Harris. And listen, I'm not a huge Daryl Morey guy, but it can't really be argued that Josh Harris, a good owner, he gives you the funds to do whatever you need to do and he supports the infrastructure of his coaches, obviously his players and his front offices. And that is something this franchise has not had the last 20 plus years of. Daniel Snyder, which I always thought was insane because Daniel Snyder was not handed this team like a Mark Davis or like a George McCaskey where his dad owned the team and just gave it to him. He was a self made billionaire. He literally did it on his own and honestly maybe got rich too fast. He became a billionaire in his early 30s and somehow ruined this franchise for a long, long period of time. But it is not random, it is not by accident. It is not a coincidence that they get rid of them. They get a guy who is a good owner, hires good people and they are immediately successful because this team is not that talented. Obviously the quarterback, very talented player. Zach ertz is like 38 years old. Terry McLaurin is a really good player. They got a couple solid defensive tackles. Bobby Wagner has been in the NFL forever. They trade for Lattimore who for the most part has been injured. Like this is not a team you watch tonight. Tampa Bay has way more high end impact players on their team. If you just take Baker and Jaden away from the two teams, Baker obviously is a Pro bowl level throwing 40 touchdowns. Jaden one of the more dynamic rookies. Let's just remove them and you go, who has more high end players? It's Tampa Bay. Yet they're well coached. Clearly they're tough. And there is a level of like mental toughness to this franchise that did not exist under Dan Snyder. And I truly believe this. It starts at the top. I've worked for one NFL team and the owner is pretty. I would say there's a supportive nature. It's not random that the Eagles have been successful since Jeffrey Lurie has owned the team. And I think if you're a Washington commander fan, whether you lose this next round against the Lions by 20 points, whether it's a close game, you win regardless what happens the rest of the season, it's already been a major success. It's about the future. How excited? Like are we a real franchise? Are we a team that's going to be good every single year? And my response would be probably yes. I don't know like if you're going to win Super Bowls or how good you're going to be, like obviously won 12 wins or 12 games this year. I think we'd all agree it's, it's probably more like a 9 or 10 win season but with a rookie starting quarterback with a brand new administration, it's incredible accomplishment. And like I say this about the Chargers and the Denver Broncos all the time. This is the worst team they're going to have. And I would say this about Adam Peters and Dan Quinn. This is going to be the worst team they have. So congratulations for just becoming a real franchise, because under Dan Snyder, they simply were not. They were like the Bears, they were like the Jags, they were like the Raiders. Just a consistent laughing stock joke. A team that other good teams circled to be like, when they cut that guy or when that guy becomes available for trade, we want him. And now you're a playoff team where the future couldn't be any brighter. And just before we dive into the meat of this game, overall, you know, during football season, right from the start of football season up until week 18, there are so many games every day on Saturday and Sunday. So if you do have a clunker or something boring, there's always something else to watch. And for those of you with YouTube TV, we have a million options, right? Usually get the four boxes so you can watch the entertaining game while the shitty games are going on. Obviously, during the playoffs, every single game is a prime time game in the sense that it just gets to isolate, live in a vacuum by itself and you're stuck with it. And I used to love to nap. And in my adult life, it's very, very difficult for me to do that. Maybe because I drink a ton of coffee. But unless I am severely hungover, I cannot sleep during the middle of the day anymore. It's something I wish I still could do, like I could in my 20s, but definitely in my 30s and headed into my 40s. It's just not something I have in the bag. But yesterday I fell asleep during the Charger Houston game because it was so bad. It actually got good at the end, but the meat of it was just. It was unwatchable product. And then this morning, as the Buffalo Bills started curb stomping, the Denver Broncos, kind of took a little snooze between that game and the Eagles game, and that just never happens to me. And part of it was like, the football was kind of boring and this weekend was kind of a dud until that game on Sunday night. And obviously you would say it was probably one of the least, you know, just in terms of headliners. Washington, who hasn't been a great franchise over the last 20 years, in Tampa, who's a smaller market, obviously they're a good team, but it's not exactly the Eagles and the packers or Buffalo and Denver, but that game was awesome. That was extremely enjoyable. And for as crappy as most of the football that we've watched in the previous four games, I mean, that Pittsburgh Baltimore game is a complete embarrassment if you're a Pittsburgh Steeler fan and you guys all know, and you guys agree like that something has to change. And that's going to be a conversation that not only shouldn't die, it should gain steam over the next couple days. But I felt very like I'm glad this is happening right now because I just needed a good football game. I needed something to come down to the wire where every play felt big, where every third and short felt like it mattered, where a team was going for it on fourth down and sometimes they were getting it, sometimes they weren't. And being emotionally moved, you know, in a tie game with a defensive holding call, instead of it being a 20 point blowout where you're like, this is just run out the clock. So congrats to those two teams for just entertaining us now on the game. When I got done with Colin, the first quarter was almost over. I think it was three to nothing. And as the game went on then Jaden led him on a touchdown drive. The Tampa Bay did not look very good until the final drive in the first half with Baker Mayfield, where he went on that run, he ended up running over Bobby Wagner. He's kind of the guy that ignites that franchise. I mean, once upon a time, John Dorsey drafted him number one overall and said that he reminded him of Brett Favre. There was an intangible quality to Baker that is. That is hard to quantify. But, you know, when you're around it and early on in his career, you didn't really feel it. These last couple of years in Tampa, you really do let him on a touchdown drive, boom, scores a touchdown and the game kind of gets going. And one thing you saw in the second half is Terry McLaurin and Jaden Daniels, Baker Mayfield and Mike Evans, like that's an elite combo with those guys. It's basically an unstoppable operation when those two guys get rolling with their number one target. And it's really, really enjoyable to watch. And Jaden is a true dual threat guy. Whatever Baker has done in over the course of the last, I don't know, 48 months, maybe not that 48 months, maybe 24 months of losing the weight of clearly just being a lot more explosive as an athlete. Like running and movement is a big part of his game and he just is a really, really enjoyable player to watch. I really like watching those two quarterbacks play football and Jaden, the threat he had. And listen, I liked Washington going for it constantly. On fourth down, you have nothing to lose. You're on the road, you're a dog. This is year One playing for field goals. Who gives a shit? Let it rip. And they went for it on an early fourth down, and they got it to Zach Hertz. They went for another one on the goal line. They did not get it. Then they get the. Tampa gets the ball back. Obviously, Baker has. I don't know if miscommunication, the mistiming. They fumble the ball, Tampa gets it back. Then after that, they went in a situation where they went for it on 4th and goal. Wasn't even close to Earth's. And I guess that that was the play I was talking about. Tampa fumbled, then fourth and goal. They. They hit Terry McClory for the touchdown. And it was just like, this is awesome. And on the Terry McClure touchdown, after the Baker Mayfield fumble, you can see Winfield killing grass. He has just stopped as Terry's running right behind him. So instead of going back and being a football player, instead of being a robot, he's frozen because he's scared Jaden's gonna run toward the pylon. And Jaden's athleticism and the threat of a running moment at any time froze one of the better defensive backs, especially, you know, playing forward in the NFL in Winfield and McLaurin got open with ease. And one problem you saw as this game went on is Tampa's front's good. I mean, Vita Vea is one of the best players in the NFL. Vita Vea is a star. Clancy looks excellent. I mean, how good, how explosive their front looks, but their back end is not great. And I know they were dealing with some injuries, but there were countless big times in the game tonight, whether it was 4th down, 4th and 5, 4th and goal, where you just felt like, I don't know if Tampa can cover these guys. And countless times over the middle of the field, Jaden Daniels hit big plays. And obviously the play that cemented the game was, I mean, Clancy had a chance to tackle him in the backfield. I think if he could do it over again. When Jaden gives him the stiff arm, he went for the body. He should have just grabbed his stiff arm and essentially hip dropped the stiff arm, grab the stiff arm, either climb up on him like a lion does on the Serengeti to its prey, or you just grab the arm and fall down and let your. Whatever your body weight is, take the quarterback down with ease. But instead, Jaden, great play, kind of stiff arms them and then uses his leg and dives for the first down and, you know, essentially ends the game right there. But I think the difference down the stretch of this game. Obviously the Baker Mayfield fumble was a huge swing moment because at the time it was 17 to 13 and it just. That that was killer. But I do think that that play in the backfield, like part of Jaden Daniels, and you see this with Lamar, is he can kill you throwing the ball. We know he's a good deep ball thrower. He's an excellent thrower over the middle of the field. But he freezes everybody in the second line of defense with his legs because at any moment, especially on, you know, any down and distance, that's not like third and 15. If it's like third and three, third and four, third and two, at any moment he can take off and get laterally to the edge. And that's what he did tonight. So I really enjoyed this game. I think it's crazy how good how just consistently physical Washington's defense is with not really a star studded group. I mean, Tampa's from a name recognition standpoint, Clancy Vita, Vea Levante, David Winfield, Carlton Davis was in and out of the game, but he's, he's a solid player. And you just watch, you watch Washington, you go, they got the two defensive tackles. Obviously Payne got injured. They have Bobby Wagner, who's pretty long in the tooth and nowhere near his once upon a time elite self. He's still a solid player, but he's not the hall of Fame version of himself that he was four or five, six, seven years ago. And you just watch a team like, it reminds me of a better version because Jaden, so much better version of Daniel Jones, of what the New York Giants were. The year that they beat Minnesota in the first round of the playoffs. The year that. What was that game? That was. Yeah, they beat Kirk Cousins and Minnesota had won 13 games. And they just went in there. Now every human alive would take Daniel or, excuse me, Jaden Daniels over Daniel Jones. But that team was just so well coached. It was so tough. It was just. They were just buttoned up and they remember they had Wink Martindale was their defensive coordinator and Day Ball was the coach of the year. That's kind of the vibe you get here. I don't love all of Cliff stuff. I mean, some of the short yardage when he puts the quarterback in the shotgun on the one play, it worked tonight because Jaden, that was a stiff arm play. But that stuff makes me nervous. It's not my cup of tea. Like, if I had to pick one of the two offensive coordinators, I would take Liam Cohen all day, every day over Cliff Kingsbury as my offensive coordinator because of the style of offense in which he runs. And clearly you saw this year, once they got Bucky Irvin, they are dramatically better running the football than they have been in years past with Leftwich and what's his name in Carolina last year. But I. This game was fun. That was really, really enjoyable. Two defensive coaches kind of going at it and you have to wonder, you know, I don't think Liam Cohen's going to get a head coaching job. And listen, I like Todd Bowles, but I'd be hard pressed to let Liam Cohen walk out of the building. And that would be the one thing that would make me nervous. I laugh when people go, cliff Kingsbury is going to get what, hired as a head coach. Guy was a head coach like two years ago at Arizona Cardinals. Like, we all saw that now. And now just because he makes some good play calls with Terry McLaurin and Jaden Daniels are going to hire him to be your head coach. That seems kind of crazy to me. I can't be alone on that. I'm not like, what he's doing in Washington, solid. But this notion. And I get he's got a lot of friends in the media and by all accounts he's a great guy. I'm not rooting against him. But we just saw it a couple years ago. It did not work. It's why I see all these puff pieces with Brian Flores. Guys, Brian Flores is an excellent defensive coordinator. We know that. No one's ever argued that Brian Flores. Problem was he was a raging asshole with the offense. He couldn't get along with offensive coaches or the quarterback. That's kind of important in 2025. It doesn't really work without that. Like, we saw Cliff Kingsbury in Arizona. He was a. He was like a better looking version of Mike McDaniel. No accountability. Players walked all over this notion that like two years later, like, how about this guy? How about that guy? Guys, we literally just saw all this. You think anything is going to change? Like, what are we talking about? But that's the way it goes sometimes in the NFL. The powerful thing in the NFL, when you want to get that momentum going, you get someone to write a piece about you. I read the thing about Flores and Grigson, you know, you see the momentum about Cliff Kingsbury, it's like, can you imagine being like, what's his name? Why can't I remember his name? Steve Spagnola, who I understand is older but can barely get a sniff. I mean, it's shocking when you see that he gets an interview and everyone's like, what about Flores? What about Kingsbury? What about this guy? It's like, hey, guys, I've been literally kicking the shit out of everybody for half a decade right now, and I've got a combined one interview in six years. And these guys were laughed out of their buildings, were run out of town, and they're just, like, getting interviews left and right, and they're getting puff pieces about them all over the place, like, give this guy another shot. The power of the media in this stuff. You see it with coaches and you see it during draft time. And it's why these agents work, these people to write puff pieces and talk about them and tweet about them and say what you want. It sounds stupid, but it works because these owners and these people in these hiring committees spend a lot of time on social media, and for whatever reason, they gain momentum in those situations. It's fucking laughable. And it's not shocking that the same teams win over and over while these guys recycle and get fired in three or four years. NFL playoffs. We're talking about the NFL playoffs. You bet we are. Get in on the action at DraftKings Sportsbook, an official sports betting partner of the NFL. Scoring touchdowns is a key to winning in the NFL playoffs. And the key to you scoring big is betting on them at DraftKings, the number one place to bet touchdowns. Ready to place your first bet? Try betting on something as simple like a player. To score a Touchdown. Go to DraftKings Sportsbook app and make your pick. Here's another reason to watch your favorite players crush it in the playoffs. New customers bet five bucks to get 200 in bonus bets. Instantly score big during the NFL playoffs with the DraftKings sportsbook. Download the DraftKings sportsbook app. Use the code JOHN JOHN. That's code JOHN for new customers to get 200 in bonus bets instantly when he bets his five bucks or only a DraftKings sportsbook, the crown is yours.
- [25:40]
Unknown
Gambling problem. Call 1-800-GAMBLER in New York. Call 877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY 467-369 in Connecticut. Help is available for problem gambling. Call 888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org Please play responsibly on behalf of Boot Hill Casino and Resort in Kansas, 21 and over. Age and eligibility varies by jurisdiction. Void. In Ontario, bonus bets expire 168 hours after issuance. For additional terms and responsible gaming resources, see DKNG co audio with AMEX Platinum.
- [26:10]
American Express Representative
You get priority notified with global Dining access by Resy so you can get first dibs if a spot opens up at restaurants and compliments to the chef turns into compliments to your Platinum card. That's the powerful backing of American Express. Terms apply. Learn more@americanexpress.com withamx Jon Stewart is back.
- [26:26]
Jon Stewart
In the host chair at the Daily show, which means he's also back in our ears on the Daily Show Ears Edition Podcast the Daily Show Podcast has everything you need to stay on top of today's news and pop culture. You get hilarious satirical takes on entertainment, politics, sports and more from John and the team of correspondents and contributors. The podcast also has content you can't get anywhere else, like extended interviews and a roundup of the weekly headlines. Listen to the Daily Show Ears edition on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.
- [27:05]
Adnan Virk
What's up everybody? Adnan Vir here to tell you about a new podcast from iHeart podcast in the National Hockey League. It's NHL Unscripted with Virk and Demers.
- [27:13]
Jason Demers
Hey, I'm Jason Demers, former 700 game NHL defenseman turned NHL Network analyst, and boy oh boy does Daddy have a lot to say.
- [27:22]
Adnan Virk
I love you by the way on NHL Network. We're looking forward to getting together each week to chat and chirp about the sport and all the other things surrounding it that we love.
- [27:29]
Jon Stewart
Right?
- [27:30]
Jason Demers
Yeah, I just met you today, but we're going to have a ton of guests from the colliding worlds of hockey, entertainment and pop culture. And you know what, tons of back and forth and all things NHL.
- [27:41]
Adnan Virk
Yeah, you're going to soon going to find out we're not just hockey talk. We get all kinds of random stuff on this podcast. Movies, television, food, wrestling, even the stuff that you wear on NHL.
- [27:50]
Jason Demers
Now you wish you could pull off my short shorts, Virkie.
- [27:53]
Adnan Virk
That's sure to cause a ruckus. Listen to NHL Unscripted with Virk and demers, the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
- [28:06]
Bobby Bones
Hey, it's Bobby Bones.
- [28:08]
Matt Cassel
Join me and former NFL quarterback Matt Castle every Wednesday for our new podcast, Lots to say with Bobby Bones and Matt Castle. Between us, we have over 17,500 passing yards, multiple New York Times bestsellers, and one mirror ball trophy from Dancing with the Star. So where else are you going to find a show with that much athleticism and football insight based in Nashville? We're more than just your basic NFL show We talk sports, but we talk pop culture and music and a little bit of everything because we got lots to say. I texted you and you texted me back. Now I don't know if you have the update, but like all the little thumbs up, up and heart and stuff, like it's all colored. They changed it and the heart's a little pink. It felt like I told you I loved you. I'm going to be honest, it was a little pink.
- [28:50]
Bobby Bones
There was something sentimental when you like when, when you send it, it was like, do I send the heart now?
- [28:56]
Matt Cassel
I don't like the color edition.
- [28:57]
Bobby Bones
It's extremely pink.
- [28:59]
Matt Cassel
Listen to Lots to say with Bobby Bones and Matt castle on the iHeartRadio app, Apple podcast or wherever you get your podcasts lately.
- [29:05]
American Express Representative
On the NPR Politics podcast, we're talking about a big question. How much can one guy change?
- [29:12]
Jason Demers
They want change.
- [29:14]
American Express Representative
Look like for energy.
- [29:16]
Bobby Bones
Drill baby, drill schools. Take the Department of Education, close it. Health care better and less expensive.
- [29:23]
American Express Representative
Follow coverage of a changing country.
- [29:25]
Bobby Bones
Promises made, promises kept. We're going to keep our promises on.
- [29:28]
American Express Representative
The NPR Politics podcast. Listen on the iHeartRadio app or wherever you get your podcasts.
- [29:42]
Bobby Bones
One thing I was thinking is heading in to these last couple weekends of football, would anyone take the trio of the AFC Baltimore, Buffalo, So essentially the winner of that game, I think we all acknowledge that it would be stunning if the Chiefs were to lose to Houston. So basically the Chiefs versus the winner of Buffalo, Baltimore or the rest of the field to win the Super Bowl. So essentially the NFC versus those teams. And I was thinking about, for the majority of the 2000s and 2010s, Peyton Manning and Tom Brady went to 13 Super Bowls. Peyton went to four, Tom went to nine. And they won. You know, Peyton won two, Tom won once. He went to not counting Tampa. But just when they played in the same conference, they won eight Super Bowls. So it was basically those two guys winning all the time. There was an Aaron Rodgers and a Drew Brees and a Roethlisberger in there, but for the most part there weren't many randoms. Why? Because they were beating everybody. And you watch Josh Allen today. You watched Lamar Jackson last night. We've watched Patrick Mahomes flip a switch down the stretch of the season. It's not even a fair fight. It really isn't. When Joe Burrow can't make the playoffs and he's the only guy that should be included in that conversation. These guys are in a different universe than everyone else. In a different universe. Patrick Mahomes could Retire tomorrow, he would walk straight into the hall of Fame. Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson are Hall of Fame players in the peak of their powers. Indomini. I can't wait for this game on Sunday night. But is anyone beating these teams? Because I would say that Buffalo is probably the worst team of the three. But if Josh beats Baltimore and then goes on the road and beats Kansas City, they clearly are peaking at the right time and no one's betting against them. If Baltimore goes on the road to Buffalo and then beats the Chiefs, nobody's betting against them. And the Chiefs, because they're the one seed, only got to play one of the two where last year they had to play them both. Take care of business of Houston, let these two teams beat the shit out of each other. Host that game at Arrowhead, win that game. They're favored in the Super Bowl. I think right now, unless anything can happen in football, it's a one game scenario. It's not a, you know, a series, right. So you could have a bad half and it can cost you a game. But how do we not have Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson or Patrick Mahomes hosting the Lombardi Trophy? We gotta watch the Eagles today. I'm sorry. Like Jalen's missed some games. He just looked off. And their offense for most of the year passing wise has been very hit or miss. Their defense is good, but lost. Nicobe Dean. They had to throw Burks in there. I saw Burks last year play for the 49ers. He's not any good. It's one thing to play a half with the guy, it's another thing to play him in a full game against the Lions, against the Ravens he is a liability. And guess what happens against elite teams. Liabilities get exposed. And before he goes out like the Eagles didn't have that many liabilities. Their defense was so stacked and now they got a key liability on teams that have fantastic running backs and tight ends. And that's where that type player gets exposed because you get them in one on one situations and you attack them. So I just think right now it's going to come down to the AFC and really the AFC is those three teams. So it's, you know, Manning and Brady carried this league for a long, long time and that's what it feels like Josh Allen, Patrick Mahomes and Lamar Jackson are doing currently. I wrote down just some things that just made me scratch my head like what the hell is going on? Sometimes you have those moments like what the hell is going on today in the Packer Game, obviously they had to put in a backup left guard. And sometimes there's a reason you're a backup and not a starter. You're not as good as the guy. And because we don't see, for the most part, only the teams truly know how good your backup is or not. But even in the land of backups, some backups are way better than other backups. Like some backups are a second year player who is going to go on to be a five year starter in the NFL. Other backups are only on the team maybe because of injury, maybe because of some poor draft picks. And in six months during free agency in the draft, that guy's roster spot will be in jeopardy and he will not be a backup in the NFL. And you saw today, the packers got into a pinch and had to go to a backup and he got exposed immediately. And sometimes when you have to play a backup against the wrong matchup, I. E. The Eagles, who have elite inside pass rush in Jalen Carter, you are fucked. And there is not a goddamn thing the offensive coordinator can do because he's just going to get put in one on one situations against the defensive lineman. And he was holding him, he was holding him, he was holding him. So they yanked him out of the game and then they put the backup in. And late in the game the backup, you know, the backup to the backup gets tossed into the center, hopefully didn't break his ankle and it was like just an all time meltdown. You have that spot and sometimes, you know, for a long time you could get around having a bad guard or a bad center on your team because most teams did not have big time interior pass rush. I would say most teams in the NFL now have at least one, especially the good teams, high end interior rushers. And they will move those guys around and hell, they'll put defensive ends now over a guard or a center if that guy is that bad. Aaron Donald used to do this all the time. Like if you would hurt a tackle would get injured and you would put in a backup left tackle or backup right tackle, the rams would move 99 and they would just flex him out of defensive end for a couple snaps. Like, let's see if you can block this guy. It happened to the Niners countless times. It's like, oh shit, here we go. And that's. They will sniff you out and they'll smoke you out and they will just expose your problem immediately, you know, for whatever reason. And I get it, he's a polarizing guy. I guess everyone doesn't just acknowledge Jim Harbaugh is good at his job. Some people just hate Jim Harbaugh. I don't know if he's a quirky guy, kind of arrogant, kind of cocky. People just look down upon guys that win a lot, right? Just jealousy. Most people aren't winners so they try to demean that guy. He's obviously a weird cat. So I guess people naturally root against him. And for whatever reason, people just want to act like Justin Herbert isn't good at football. Oh, everyone's been telling me jerking off Justin Herbert is this all time great player. It's like guys, no one acts like Justin Herbert is better than Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson, Joe Burrow or Patrick Mahomes. He's just better than everybody else. Now did he have an awful game? Yes, he was terrible. Probably one of the worst games in the in college or the pros he's ever played in his life. But if you think if you lined up every general manager and you took the four guys that I listed off the table and started listing everybody else and said, do you want Justin Herbert or this guy? And just started going down the line from Jared Goff to Jalen Hurts to Baker Mayfield, who do you think they would say? And I get it, it's easy to pile on when he has a God awful game and it was bad, it was really, really bad. His best wide receiver is lad McConkey, who's really good. They traded Keenan Allen, they got rid of Mike Williams. I don't know if you noticed, but over the years those guys are pretty good players. So his wide receiver room isn't good and he has to force balls, the little white guy and he overthrew him a couple times and it was ugly. And one went for a pick six. But this notion that he's some scrub and some overrated media creation and listen, there are a lot of media creations that are fucking laughable in sports and politics. You name it. This is not one of them. This is one of those things that universally in the industry everyone acknowledges this is a high end player. Now is he ever going to be a champion? Is he ever going to be the league mvp? I don't know. I wouldn't bet my life savings that he's going to be a Super bowl champion. But I'd say there's a decent chance. Why? He has a great coach. Not a good coach. A great coach. You know what happened to that great coach? He got his ass kicked. You know what happened to Bill Walsh in the 80s? He didn't win the super bowl every year. Sometimes he lost playoff games to the Giants, to the Bears, to the Minnesota Vikings. They did not win it every year. Jim Harbaugh lost in the first round for the first time in his NFL career. But it just made me laugh that everyone. I knew some people would make fun of him. I didn't realize like the universal hatred for this duo. So overrated. Guys, what are we talking about? I mentioned it earlier and I will say it again. This is the worst version of the Chargers and the Denver Broncos. For Sean Payton and Jim Harbaugh, this is the worst their team is going to be moving forward was this season. Both these teams are going to be better next year. I say the same thing about the commanders. They might not win 12 games next year, might win 10. They will be more talented next year, I'll promise you that. The jets, man, this is one that is just really head scratching. I was thinking about this today. Dennis Allen. I saw a clip come up on on my Instagram Jay Glazer, who's. Who was really close with Sean Payton back in the day. So he, I think still is, but knew all the Saints guys really well. So he's tight with any dude that came from the Saints and he's boys with. With Dennis Allen. And Dennis Allen was talking about how he's really tried to invest himself in his family over the last two months. Dennis Allen got fired a long time ago. Matt Eberfluss got fired a long time ago. Robert Sala was the first guy to be fired. Week or two later, Joe Douglas is gone. Those three teams fired their guys forever ago. Doug Peterson lost his job on Black Monday. As of recording this right now, Mike McCarthy, not quite sure what's going on there. Feels like he's staying, but. But who knows? But he's. But he had his job the whole time. These other teams fired their guys forever ago. So the jets go into this process and every single day they interview like seven people. Like, what is going on? And this is what happens when Tannenbaum and Spielman, who listen, I like, I know Mike Tanenbaum. I had Rick Spielman on the podcast last year. He was an awesome interview. But whenever you hire these consultant firms, it always feels like they have their own agenda and their own objective. You start helping out some agents, you start helping out some of your buddies. I'll never forget when Washington State was looking for a coach. I think it was. I think it would have been like 2011 or 2012. They interviewed the athletic director who had come, I think from Like Domino's. Like he had a business background before he got into college athletics. And they asked him about like what search firm or committee he was going to use to help him whittle down his candidates. And he said, I am hiring the search firm of what you're looking at. It's me, I'm the committee. I will conduct the search. And if you're Woody Johnson and you have a team president, once you fire everybody, shouldn't your job as a team president or any of his right hand men have been to accumulate a list of the specific six, seven guys that you want to talk to? So they're going on this wild goose chase of interviewing people like Mike Loxley and hell, I like this guy too, Jim Nagy from the Senior Bowl. Like none of these guys are going to get hired yet. What is the point of interviewing them all? And I'm not anti interviewing people to gain some information. But this is also serious. Like you saw the Patriots for the first time in a while. It felt like, you know what, the Patriots got their shit back together just of we know exactly what we want. We're firing this guy to hire Mike Vrabel. We're not going to just maybe we'll like Ben Johnson. No, we're going after Mike Vrabel. We'll bang off Byron Leftwich and Pep Hamilton, check off the Rooney rule and we're going to hire this guy immediately. We're not around. We're not going to interview six other people to hopefully get some tidbits about some other shit. No, Mike Frable is our guy. How could the jets have fired these people so long ago? Even if you don't know who your specific guy is going to be, to not have a pretty good idea of like three or four guys, these are the guys we're going to dial into and want to get to know Aaron Glenn. Hopefully we can get Ben Johnson, a couple other offensive coordinators, maybe a defensive coordinator, former head coach like Rex Ryan or whatever and have a specific idea. Instead it just feels like they're kind of pissing in the wind and hopefully don't get soaked. And we talk about all the time like the haves and the have nots in the NFL. The Bears are getting crushed. They're interviewing a million people. You fired Eberfluss on Thanksgiving. It is January 12th. How would on when Black Monday started you kept your general manager not have a specific idea? We're going to give Thomas Brown a chance to interview and we're going to go after these three or four Guys, these are the guys. These are the guys we've done all this research on. What else have you been spending your time on? I don't get it. Like, this is when Harbaugh brothers, andy Reid, Sean McDermott. This is not a fair fight. This league is one sided. We say it's all about the quarterbacks. Obviously you got to have a good quarterback, but it's all about the organizational philosophy. From the owner to the front office. They're the haves and the have nots. It's like society. You get the rich people and the poor people. Difference in the NFL, everyone's rich. But because you're part of the club, it doesn't actually mean you know what you're doing. And you see these franchises that just feel like they're lost at sea, that they have no freaking chance. And it's, it's kind of sad. Like, I feel for jets fans, there's a lot of them. I feel for Bears fans, there's a lot of them. It just doesn't feel like anyone knows what's going on. And I would say the Raiders feel like that a little bit too. I know Tom Brady's much more involved now, but it's. I don't know, it just feels like everyone's lost. Like no one has any clear idea of what they want. Like, you should have a pretty specific idea, especially in this business of like, these are the five guys. The five guys. I'm going to put a fence around these five guys and I'm going to do all my due diligence, all my work, interview the shit out of all of them. We'll fly to each one. We'll meet in person. I'm pro Zoom and listen, I do a lot of Zoom stuff. I do Zoom calls with clients, people we do business with. I'm not anti Zoom, but if I was going to give guy a four or five year contract at 10 to 15 million dollars a year to be the head coach of my football team, I don't think if I could meet with him in person, I would do it over Zoom. That's just bad business. If you're, if you have to do it over Zoom because they have a job and the rules totally understand it, there's nothing you can do. But if you have the ability to either fly him to you or fly to that guy and you are interested in potentially making him your head coach, you deserve to lose. If you do it over Zoom, I think you're a fucking moron. And last but not least, a couple of years ago, this guy named Tony Fino, who's actually an Arizona resident, for a long time on the PGA Tour, he was one of the best players. Famously, he was in Tiger woods group in 2019 when Tiger won the Masters and he hit in the water on hole 12. But it was like he was making all this money. He was a great player, but he could never win. And then he finally won. He actually won back to back weeks a couple years ago and it was a really big deal. And he gave a quote that I'll never forget and he said, a winner is just a loser who never gave up. And that always stuck with me because I think most people, what really separates people in society, obviously there are more talented people than others, but I think a consistent theme that anyone is taught at a young age is just keep showing up, keep swinging, do not quit. And a lot of people, when they're faced with adversity, and it's inevitable in life that you're going to go through personal and professional adversity. Whether you lose someone close in your life, your parents, close, family member, broken up with, dumped, divorced, fired, bankruptcy, you name it, it is unavoidable. Some people just dust themselves off, maybe not the next day. It's human nature to let it rattle you for a little bit. I've been fired a couple of times. I didn't wake up swinging the next day. Sometimes it took a week, maybe two. But you have. You either start moving forward or you wallow in pity and you get lapped. You either choose like, I'm going to figure this out and I'm going to start making progress moving forward, whatever that may look like, or I'm just going to go into a tank and let life control me. And I think when you look at the national championship, let's start early in the season. Notre Dame lost to niu, which is about as embarrassing of a home loss as they've ever had in the history of the program. The crazy thing was that at the time, it's like, well, niu, they might just be an excellent team. I looked the other day, they finished seventh in the Mac. They did not have a good season. They lost a ton of games. They did not parlay the Notre Dame season or win into some great season. It did not go well. It would have been pretty easy to be like, this is. This is not going to be good. Instead, they clearly came together and they started kicking everyone's ass. And then they got to the playoffs and they used that adversity that they had early in the season. And they got into a tight game with Georgia and they overcame it. They got into a tight game with Penn State and they overcame it. I think that is directly correlated to losing that NIU game, Ohio State. The Oregon loss is not a crazy loss at Eugene. A lot of people lose there. Not that big a deal, especially in the faction in which they lost. That's the type loss you hold your head high, you don't even drop in the rankings. The Michigan loss was their version of the NIU loss. It was unexplainable. They were basically a three touchdown favorite at home. They were better in literally every area, except they're not as tough. And for whatever reason, they tried to prove they were tough and run it right up the middle and it failed and they lost. And I don't think it was hyperbolic when everyone reacted to like, fire Ryan Day. And I get. Ryan Day's got a lot of buddies, Herb Street, Joe Clatten, they all defended him. That loss is not defendable. And if they wanted to fire him after that loss, it would have been defensible to fire him. It was that bad. And you could tell on Ryan Day's face like it was most embarrassing moment of his life. He was shell shocked. It looked like he just witnessed a murder when they were getting in the fight at midfield. But whatever they did since that moment galvanized their team and they came together and obviously the first two games they beat the crap out of Tennessee and Oregon. But then that game against Texas, like they felt a little adversity and like Notre Dame against Penn State, they prevailed and they came out on top. And I think both are great examples of. It would have been easy to go into the tank. It would have been easy to like let the season get away from you. After the Michigan loss and after the NIU loss, no one would have thought it would have been that nuts if Ohio State would have lost. Maybe not the Tennessee game, looking back, but that Oregon game or even against Texas, but they just refuse to lose. And I think sometimes when you go through a really, really tough time, if you are able to bottle that up and use it to your benefit, sky's the limit. Because let's be real. When you're having success at whatever you're doing, you don't learn that much. You really don't. You learn through failure, you learn through adversity. And I think both these programs are directly correlated, like their success with the two games that you could argue are two of the worst losses of the season and might be the two worst losses of 2024. Think about that. The national championship between Ohio State and Notre Dame includes the two worst losses of the season, NIU at Notre Dame and Michigan at Ohio State. I mean, I think combined it was like 45 point favorites. I don't know the exact spread off top of my head for NIU. I know. I think Ohio State finished like 18 and a half, 19 points. At one point in time it was over 20 and now they're playing in the Natty. How cool is that? See you guys tomorrow. Monday Night Football. I think I like the Rams. The volume.
- [51:50]
Allstate Representative
Some people just know they could save hundreds on car insurance by checking all state first. Like, you know to check you have the tickets in your wallet first before you drive two hours to the big game. Seriously, you had one job. Now the closest you'll get to the 50 yard line is parking lot D. Yeah, checking first is smart. So check Allstate first for a quote that could save you hundreds. You're in good hands with Allstate Savings. Vary terms apply. Allstate Fire and Casualty Insurance Company and Affiliates Northbrook, Illinois.
- [52:23]
Jon Stewart
Jon Stewart is back in the host chair at the Daily show, which means he's also back in our ears on the Daily Show Ears Edition podcast. Join late night legend Jon Stewart and the best news team for today's biggest headlines, exclusive extended interviews and more. Now this is a second term we can all get behind. Listen to the Daily Show Ears edition on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcasts.
- [52:50]
Adnan Virk
What's up everybody? Ad Nan Verk here to tell you about a new podcast. It's NHL Unscripted with Virgin Demers, Jason Demers here.
- [52:56]
Jason Demers
And after playing 700 NHL games, I got a lot of dirty laundry to air out.
- [53:01]
Adnan Virk
I got a lot to say here too.
- [53:02]
Bobby Bones
Okay?
- [53:02]
Adnan Virk
Each week we'll get together, chat about the sport that we love.
- [53:05]
Jason Demers
Tons of guests are going to join in too. But we're not just going to be talking hockey, folks. We're talking movies. We're talking tv, food and Adnan's favorite wrestling. It's all on le Table.
- [53:14]
Adnan Virk
Listen to NHL Unscripted with Vir and demers, the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.