Best of The Herd

Summary

Podcast Summary: The Herd with Colin Cowherd – "Best of The Herd" (December 30, 2024)

The Herd with Colin Cowherd, hosted by iHeartPodcasts and The Volume, offers a compelling and opinionated exploration of the top sports stories of the day. In the "Best of The Herd" episode released on December 30, 2024, Colin Cowherd, alongside guests Matt Hasselbeck and Michael Irvin, delves deep into the NFL’s most intriguing narratives, spotlighting emerging talents, quarterback performances, team dynamics, and playoff prospects. This summary encapsulates the episode's key discussions, insights, and conclusions, enriched with notable quotes and timestamps for a comprehensive overview.

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1. Sam Darnold: A Quarterback Overlooked

Performance and MVP Discussion

A significant portion of the episode centers around Sam Darnold's exceptional performance during the NFL season. Colin Cowherd passionately argues that Darnold has been consistently excellent, surpassing expectations and deserving recognition in the MVP conversation.

• Cowherd's Assertion on MVP Candidacy:

  "Sam Darnold, the hero, 33 of 43, should be in the MVP conversation." ([06:42])

• Darnold’s Statistical Prowess: Darnold leads the NFL with 60 completions over 20+ yards, boasting a 70% completion rate, 26 touchdowns, and only three interceptions in the red zone. His passer rating stands at an impressive 114 in the latter half of the season, making him "the league's most efficient quarterback now." ([07:00])

Comparisons and Media Bias

Cowherd compares Darnold to Brock Purdy and even touches on similarities with Andrew Luck, emphasizing his toughness and coachability. He criticizes the media for prematurely disqualifying Darnold from MVP discussions, stating:

"Because you've already disqualified him. You made up your mind. And that's what we do in the media." ([07:30])

Support from Coaches and Teammates

Highlighting the trust Darnold earns from his coaches and teammates, Cowherd notes:

"Kyle Shanahan's like, I think he's good. Kevin O'Connell, McVea, yeah, I think he's really good." ([08:00])

2. Jaden Daniels and the Washington Commanders: The Rise of the League of Hope

Emerging Talent and Team Transformation

The episode shifts focus to Jaden Daniels, Washington Commanders’ quarterback, who has been instrumental in turning the team’s fortunes around. Matt Hasselbeck and Michael Irvin express admiration for Daniels’ leadership and on-field intelligence.

• Cowherd on Daniels’ Impact:

  "Every unit now looks better. This kid is magic. He's going to make the playoffs." ([12:00])

Daniels’ Playing Style and Leadership

Daniels is praised for his "quiet confidence," leadership qualities, and ability to erase team deficits:

"He doesn't flinch, he doesn't blink. Fourth down, fourth quarter, two minutes. He's got everything you're looking for." ([31:00])

Comparison to Lamar Jackson

Daniels is likened to Lamar Jackson but noted for being slightly better in pocket management:

"He's like Lamar Jackson, but a little better in the pocket than Lamar was as a rookie." ([42:55])

Team Dynamics and Defensive Improvement

Under Daniels’ leadership, Washington’s defense has transformed from the worst in the league to the 10th position, showcasing significant improvement:

"Their defense plays with a lead. A great quarterback is makeup on a blemish." ([08:30])

3. Quarterback Analysis: Justin Herbert, Josh Allen, and Beyond

Justin Herbert’s Evolution

Justin Herbert is commended for overcoming coaching challenges and elevating his game to near Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers levels:

"His efficiency for a quarterback with over 400 attempts is the best ever next to Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers." ([37:30])

Josh Allen and the Chiefs

The Chiefs, led by Josh Allen, are lauded for their consistency and strategic play-calling, making them formidable playoff contenders:

"The Chiefs just keep doing it. There is a skill to winning close games." ([57:03])

Other Quarterbacks: Lamar Jackson and Baker Mayfield

Lamar Jackson is recognized for his relentless playing style, while Baker Mayfield is seen as a perfect fit for Tampa, blending talent with team synergy:

"Baker and Darnold, same draft, can both play where Colin was right." ([37:08])

4. Playoff Prospects and Team Strategies

Defensive and Offensive Strategies

Discussions highlight the importance of defensive improvements and offensive strategies in determining playoff success. The Commanders’ ability to trust their quarterbacks, coupled with enhanced defensive play, positions them as strong contenders.

• Cowherd on Playoff Predictions:

  "Green Bay's out. Minnesota is in. I think the Rams, the Packers, and the Chargers are still a year away." ([09:00])

Kansas City Chiefs: Consistency and Skill

The Chiefs are emphasized as a team that consistently performs under pressure, with a balanced offense that defies traditional timing-based strategies:

"This is an offense that is built between Travis Kelce and Patrick Mahomes and there is no timing on it." ([58:19])

5. Coaching Decisions and Team Discipline

Critique of Mike McCarthy and Coaching Strategies

Matt Hasselbeck expresses criticism towards Mike McCarthy’s coaching, advocating for a more disciplined approach. He suggests that replacing McCarthy could benefit the team’s performance:

"Yes, I would. Yes, I would. I just think it's time to go in another direction." ([55:23])

Importance of Cohesive Coaching and Quarterback Support

The episode underscores the necessity of harmonious coaching with quarterback support, emphasizing that the best teams have coaching staffs that trust and synergize with their quarterbacks.

6. Player Performances and Media Influence

Saquon Barkley’s Record Pursuit

Saquon Barkley’s pursuit of a long-standing NFL record is highlighted, with discussions on team decisions to support his attempt without jeopardizing team performance:

"If they're setting their mind to get him the record, we're going to set our minds on the Super Bowl." ([62:12])

Media Bias and Player Development

The conversation touches on how media biases can affect player recognition and development, advocating for a fair evaluation based on performance rather than preconceived notions.

7. Free Agency and Future Team Building

Value of Established Quarterbacks in Free Agency

The episode concludes with insights into how quarterbacks like Sam Darnold and Baker Mayfield will consider their experiences when approaching free agency, valuing teams that offer supportive environments and cohesive coaching.

"They've tasted it now with an organization that not only loves them, but they love it back." ([38:55])

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Notable Quotes

• Colin Cowherd on Sam Darnold’s MVP Potential:

  "Sam Darnold's got a little bit of Andrew Luck. Tough, relentless, like a linebacker playing quarterback." ([07:00])

• Matt Hasselbeck on Jaden Daniels’ Leadership:

  "Jaden Daniels, to me, has that it factor. That's the aura that he's given off." ([32:32])

• Michael Irvin on the Chiefs’ Offense:

  "Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce are unstoppable because they're not confined to a timing playbook." ([58:10])

• Cowherd on Media Prejudgment:

  "Because you've already disqualified him. You made up your mind. And that's what we do in the media." ([07:30])

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Conclusions and Takeaways

"The Herd with Colin Cowherd – Best of The Herd" provides an in-depth analysis of standout quarterbacks, with Sam Darnold and Jaden Daniels emerging as central figures deserving of recognition beyond media narratives. The episode emphasizes the critical role of cohesive coaching, disciplined team strategies, and the profound impact of quarterback performance on team success. Additionally, it highlights the evolving dynamics of free agency and the necessity for fair media evaluation of player performances. As the NFL season progresses, the insights shared offer valuable perspectives on playoff potential and the factors that contribute to a team's championship aspirations.

For listeners who missed the live episode, The Herd with Colin Cowherd is available for streaming on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, and other major podcast platforms.

Transcript

[Colin Cowherd]

From the Delta Sky Club.

[Michael Irvin]

Welcome back Ms. Klein to the JetBridge.

[Colin Cowherd]

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[Michael Irvin]

Assist on the go travelers with real.

[Colin Cowherd]

Time information throughout the airport. This is elevating customer experience. This is Delta Air Lines with T Mobile for Business. Take your business further@t mobile.com Now I'm partnering with PayPal. The holiday season is here and I'm gonna save big with cash back offers in the PayPal app. It's easy. I browse deals from my favorite brands, save offers in the app and use PayPal checkout online. Really, really easy. Whether I'm buying gifts for my family or treating myself to something nice, I'm earning cash back and you can too. Don't just pay PayPal check offers in the app for details and exclusions. Cashback earned as points redeemable for cash and other options see PayPal rewards terms. This is Doug Gottlieb from All Ball with Doug Gottlieb. Listen, I'm gonna get serious for a minute. The hate in our country is getting out of control. In fact, it's sadly at an all time high. But it's gonna take all of us to stop it. I mean, we're all on the same.

[Michael Irvin]

Team in this country.

[Colin Cowherd]

So let's take a break from our.

[Michael Irvin]

Hate so our team can regroup. We need to take a timeout against hate. Visit stand uptoallhate.org to help and join.

[Colin Cowherd]

Me in calling for timeout against hate by following at what's up with Hate or posting the blue square emoji. Whether you're ordering wings for the game, whipping up a seven layer dip, or ordering pizza, there's something about football that makes me want to eat. And this football season, Uber Eats has the best deals for me on game day food no matter what I'm craving from two for one Pizza. To buy one get one Wings. Uber Eats will be dropping new deals each week all season long. I'm in Uber Eats, the official on demand delivery partner of the NFL. Order now for game day. Terms and conditions apply. See app for details. It's the most wonderful time of the year for getting in on all the hoops, football and hockey action at DraftKings Sportsbook. Download the DraftKings Sportsbook app. The code is heard H E R D new customers get $150 in bonus bets if your bet wins. When you bet just five bucks. Happy holidays from DraftKings. The crown is yours. 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 plus. Age and eligibility varies by bet. Must win to receive reward. Bonus bets expire 168 hours after issuance. For additional terms and responsible gaming resources, see DKNG co bball thanks for listening to the Herd podcast. Be sure to catch us live every weekday on Fox Sports radio and noon to 3 Eastern, 9am to noon Pacific. Find your local station for the [e-mail] or stream us live every day on the iHeartRadio app by searching Fox Sports Radio or FSR. Thanks for listening to the Herd podcast. Oh, do we have a Monday show lined up for you live in Los Angeles? It's the Herd. Wherever you may be and however you may be listening, thanks for making us part of your day. We got a lot to talk about. Colin Wright, Colin Rong, plenty of both. Topping next hour, Matt Hasselbeck, who's always money. He'll bring the bag. J Mac, I don't know if you noticed, but Sam Darnold next weekend will be playing for the number one seed in the nfc. Oh, by the Once again slighted Sam Darnold. Why isn't he in the MVP conversation? Am I crazy? He leads in like every category. Why isn't he in the MVP competition? You're right. Brock Purdy was in it last year. Sam Darnold's like a carbon copy of Brock Purdy, so it's amazing. He's been slighted for six years. Let's start with this. For the last six years, I've been mocked, ridiculed, laughed at, and it hurt my feelings. And I still believed. Sam Darnold's got a little bit of Andrew Luck. Tough, relentless, like a linebacker playing quarterback. Coachable, throws a bad pick, follows it up with a great pass. What you're seeing is the Andrew Luck thing and they're asking him to make big boy throws. He leads the NFL 60 completions over 20 plus yards. Those are Brady and Mahomes throws. No dink and dunk here. 70% completion rate, 26 TDs, three picks in the red zone. He's the league's most efficient quarterback now, and in the second half of the last seven games, 1,000 yards and a passer rating of 114. Why is he not in the MVP discussion? Hello. Look at all the numbers. Because you've already disqualified him. You made up your mind. And that's what we do in the media. You, you have decided it's a cute story, but no, no, no, no, no. This roster isn't great. There's no but. Lamar Jackson, Sam Darnold, look at the numbers. Who do you trust more in a playoff game? Are you sure it's Lamar? And I love Lamar. But what I said years ago, I said, there's some Andrew Luck here. All you did just took shots. Here's the thing. When you watch him play, you know what you notice how much his coach trusts him. And don't worry about being liked in life. It's who likes you. And everybody in America was bailing on Sam Darnold. You know who didn't? Kyle Shanahan's like, I think he's good. Kevin O'Connell, McVeigh. Yeah, I think he's really good. Yeah, I'm going to trust those guys. Yeah. A lot of defensive coordinators who are anti risk didn't like him. And by the way, he'll give you an ugly pick. So does Mahomes, so does Josh Allen, so does Justin Herbert. But after his pick yesterday, 9 for 12, 134 passer ratings. That is Andrew Luck. I don't think he's as gifted as Andrew Luck. I never have I said it. Then there's some Andrew Luck a little far here, but what you're seeing now, look at what they ask him to do. Anytime you watch a game, when you watch the offense, watch what a coaching staff allows the quarterback to do. In fact, my criticism of Minnesota yesterday was when they let in the second half, I was like, kevin, turn the governor down. Throttle it down. You don't have to have. You don't have to have him throw in the teeth of Green Bay's pass Russian defense. But that's how much confidence they have. And this is not the best the roster will be. They've got cap space. They've got a lot of really, really good young players. Sam Darnold, the hero, 33 of 43, should be in the MVP conversation. Show you a picture of him here going into the locker room. They know what they have in Minnesota. What they have is an MVP level quarterback. It's not just a great story. That was September and October and then in November, it's, do we have a great player now? It's like, do we have the mvp? You can't let him go. His. His contract now is 50. It's not a 40. It's a 50 on the market. Here's Sam after a lot of water bottles, a lot of water. It was just mayhem.

[Michael Irvin]

I think I blacked out, you know, when. When Aaron Jones grabbed me and then lifted me up.

[Matt Hasselbeck]

I didn't know what to do with.

[Michael Irvin]

My hands in that Ricky Bobby style. So it was.

[Colin Cowherd]

Yeah, it was an interesting moment, but.

[Matt Hasselbeck]

A fun moment, man, to be embraced.

[Michael Irvin]

By your teammates like that.

[Colin Cowherd]

Sam has played so well for three months straight. You know, I always do the super bowl bubble, about once a month, every five weeks. Here's my super bowl bubble. Green Bay's out. Minnesota is in. I think the Rams, the Packers and the Chargers are still a year away. Green Bay's disappointed me in the last few weeks. Can't beat Minnesota or Detroit. I'll put Buffalo, Kansas City, Baltimore, Philadelphia, Detroit. And Darnold has been good enough. This isn't me being a fanboy. Darnold has been so absolutely spectacular. They lost their left tackle earlier this year. Arguably the first or second best left tackle has he lost since. It's not like this is a great defense. Green Bay's got better personnel. So does half the league. Way to go, Sammy. One person in America did not bail on you. Anyway, let's go to Jaden Daniels. So here's. Of the many reasons the NFL is king, this could be number one. It's the League of Hope. Washington was a tire fire because of the worst owner arguably in professional sports, Dan Snyder. And so they just cleaned out the building. They sold the team, new gm. And I said, you know what? Snyder had such a stench around him. I think they're going to make the playoffs. And I think Jaden's going to be really good. I didn't think he was going to be this. I said, you know, he'll be like Lamar Jackson. Light. I'm not sure if it's light. This kid's insane. And in the NFL, if you get the quarterback right, everything else falls into place. This is not a great roster. But even their defense, last year, worst in the league, total defense, now it's 10. Why? Why is that? Because their defense plays with a lead. A great quarterback is makeup on a blemish. It's an eraser. Everybody's got issues. A great quarterback erases them. And an average quarterback, what Indianapolis has, multiplies them. And this, this old line's not great, but now it's formidable. The defense has issues on the back end, but when you play with the lead, defensive line can pin their ears back. Every unit now, I mean, they didn't make that many personnel changes, but every unit looks better. And I mean, yesterday is a prime example of what a great player can do. I thought the Atlanta Falcons finally getting a pass rush. Matthew Judon, I thought they had some good coverage. It didn't matter. As good as Pennix was, he can't do this. You can add 25 to 35% to a playbook because Jaden Daniels can run and I love Penix, but he looks limited in the sand. He's excellent compared to Jaden Daniels, so. And what's really remarkable, it's not just when you're good. The first thing we noticed about Patrick Mahomes and you noticed, I noticed it. By year two, he was actually almost better. Trailing in games. A lot of quarterbacks with a lead, it's second and three. You got good protection. Cooper Rush can make plays. You trail by two touchdowns. End of the third, they know you've got a throw. You got a banged up offensive line. That was the first sign with Mahomes. Oh, wait, bro, this is different. He may be the best come from behind quarterback not named John Elway ever. Jaden Daniels in the fourth quarter in overtime this year. This again. This is an okay offensive line. He's got one weapon, has the highest passer rating in the league. That is insane. And remember back in camp when, generally when you get a rookie quarterback, like in Chicago with Caleb Williams or Denver with Drake May or New England, Denver with Bo Nix or New England with Drake May. Remember what the coaches always do. Well, he's got a long way to go. Let's slow down. Let's pump the brakes. Cliff Kingsbury and Dan Quinn, every time you put a mic in front of them, they were like, this guy's unbelievable. You're like, okay, this guy's got to be good. That coaches never do that. Kingsbury's been in the league. Dan Quinn's been in the league forever. Dan Quinn during the preseason. This kid's unbelievable. You're like, what are you doing? Doesn't matter. Kid can handle it. I mean, he. I just, I love this kid. No, ego loves his teammates. A couple drops yesterday by his receivers. How many penalties did Washington have? You're pulling your hair out and he's just like, all right, another play. No bad body language. You see that occasionally from a quarterback in New York. No pointing fingers. He's a foxhole guy. Going, gets tough. The Kid just head down, no finger pointing. Zach Ertz, a veteran tight end, noticed it in camp. It comes down to having a really good quarterback in this league if you want to be a good team.

[Matt Hasselbeck]

And from the moment I got here.

[Colin Cowherd]

Seeing Jaden out there, I continually said, you know, this guy isn't someone that's going to be good.

[Matt Hasselbeck]

He's good now.

[Colin Cowherd]

He's the most mature rookie I've ever been around. He approaches the game, he loves to learn. And so he just exudes such a quiet confidence. He's not out there a rah rah.

[Matt Hasselbeck]

Guy, but we all know how good he is and how much confidence we.

[Colin Cowherd]

Have in him and so he doesn't need to say anything. Nobody has delivered in the D.C. area on this level of promise in years. This is a candidate we can all get behind. A bipartisan quarterback. Yes. We're all in on Jaden Daniels and he and I both approve this message. This kid is magic. You're watching Magic. I'm not even sure if he's Lamar Jackson light. It's like I see all the same qualities. I mean, I'm watching Pennix last night and I think Pennix is going to be exceptional. And Jaden Daniel shrinks him. I mean that, that's how good this kid is. And all the, all the boxes, no ego, selfless, athletic, accurate, hard working, foxhole guy. J. Mac, I grew up in Washington D.C. they used to have a 30 year wait list on season tickets and then an owner came in and ruined it all. The goodwill, that reservoir of goodwill lost it. You could walk up and buy a ticket to any game. Good luck getting season tickets going forward with the commanders. This kid is Broadway. Yeah, him and Cliff Kingsbury work. It's a magic in Washington, that offense. Unbelievable. I mean, listen, I thought you were going to go the opposite way and take some shots at Raheem Morris for botching that game so badly. I've come to terms with coaches in the NFL. Is anybody, now that Belichick has retired, is anybody good with clock management? Zach Taylor drove me nuts. Oh, gosh, don't start. Raheem Morris drove me nuts. But I, but I, I've come to the conclusion that nobody's great at it. Does Raheem Morris think you can take timeouts home? Like after the game? You could just bring them home, wrap them up, put him on. We both had Atlanta, so it was. I just, I know. I like you being positive. Jaden Daniels was exceptional. Oh, the kids just.

[Michael Irvin]

He's big, tacky.

[Colin Cowherd]

We need, you need to Do a new top 10 quarterback list. He's. How's he not. I know. It's one of these things. Well, you know how sometimes people say, hey, you're. You're confirmation bias. Yeah. I thought he was going to be really good. Or it's recency bias, folks, when you get to the end of an NFL season and Sam Darnold's been great for 14 weeks or 13 of the 17, that's not really recency bias. He's having a great year. And when you watch Jaden Daniels, I can argue his best month was September. Remember in September, we're like, whoa, okay, this can't last. And then he had your usual problem and now he's restarted it in the last three to four weeks. That rib injury seems like he's past that. There was the hiccup of like three weeks. He does take some shots. He did take a big shot at the goal line. Yeah. 127 yards on the ground. I mean, they locked up McLaurin, right? He had one catch for five yards. And Jaden Daniels, like, okay, I'll just do this myself. Atlanta should have won that game and controlled big portions. The only reason they didn't is Jaden Daniels. I mean, Atlanta controlled the first half. Atlanta should have called timeouts and gotten the field goal. Jaden Daniels is the only reason you went. Again, a great quarterback is an eraser. Every team has issues. An average quarterback is a multiplier. Little things become big pains in the. You know what? This kid just erased a really bad first half where Atlanta controlled it. Don't forget calling. Right, Colin. Wrong. Top of the next hour. Be sure to catch live editions of the Herd, weekdays at noon Eastern, 9am Pacific, on Fox Sports Radio, FS1 and the iHeartRadio app. Hey, it's Steve Covino. And I'm Rich Davis. And together we're Covino and Rich on Fox Sports Radio. You can catch us weekdays from 5 to 7pm Eastern, 2 to 4 Pacific, on Fox Sports Radio. And of course, the iHeartRadio app. Why should you listen to Covino and Rich? We talk about everything. Life, sports, relationships, what's going on in the world. We have a lot of fun talking about the stories behind the stories in the world of sports and pop culture. Stories that, well, other shows don't seem to have the time to discuss. And the fact that we've been friends for the last 20 years and still work together, I mean, that says something, right? So check us out. We like to get you involved, too. Take your phone calls. Chop it up as they say. I'd say the most interactive show on Fox Sports Radio, maybe the most interactive show on planet Earth. Be sure to check out Covino and Rich Live on Fox Sports radio and the iHeartradio app from 5 to 7pm Eastern, 2 to 4 Pacific. And if you miss any of the live show, just search Covino and Rich wherever you get your podcast. And of course on social media, that's Covino and Rich. This podcast is sponsored by PayPal. We've partnered with them to make this holiday season even better. With all the shopping, gifting and holiday prep, my PayPal debit card is my go to for getting more out of my purchases. Here's how it works. I choose my monthly category Gas, restaurants, apparel, groceries, health and beauty, or just for the holiday season, tech. And I earn 5% cash back on up to a thousand bucks in the purchases in those categories. Yeah, 5% cash back this month. I'm gonna go with tech. It's my category. It's a no brainer, right? Everybody loves the latest tech gifts, so whether it's stuff for the fam or adding new gadgets to my personal collection, that cash back adds up fast. So this holiday season, let the PayPal debit card do the heavy lifting. Sign up for the card when you download the PayPal app, then pay in store and online and get cash back with a PayPal debit card. Don't just pay PayPal terms and limits apply. See paypal.com rewardspal the PayPal Debit MasterCard is issued by the Bancor Bank N.A. pursuant to a license by MasterCard International, Inc. And may be used everywhere MasterCard is accepted. What makes the holiday special are the details from Genesis, and every little detail in a Genesis is another gift to you. Like during winter, you'll be thankful for the available heated steering wheel and the available snow mode to help get you through the snowiest of snow days. And the available all wheel drive is helpful all year round, but especially during the winter. I mean, Genesis has put a lot of thought into the details. And of course the best gifts are thoughtful ones like the available Nappa leather seating. Oh, speaking of gifts, you'll have plenty of room to haul around everything you've picked up for family and friends, no matter which Genesis you're driving. And with a lineup featuring SUVs, EVs, Sedans, something for everybody. Experience the Genesis Signature event. And as one big final gift, Genesis is offering you a $1,000 bonus on select Genesis vehicles. The deal ends January 2nd. See participating Genesis retailers. For details, visit genesis.com to see how Genesis can make your holidays even brighter. Details make the holidays from the Delta Sky Club.

[Michael Irvin]

Welcome back Ms. Klein to the JetBridge.

[Colin Cowherd]

Delta Air Lines relies on 5G solutions from T Mobile for business to power operations and serve customers faster. Together we're putting 5G into the hands of ground staff so they can better assist on the go travelers with real time information throughout the airport. This is elevating customer experience. This is Delta Air Lines with T Mobile for business. Take your business further@t mobile.com now. If you ever worry about the safety of your home and family, there's no better time to act. Right now, SimpliSafe is extending it's massive Black Friday deal for my listeners. Get 50% off a new SimpliSafe security system. It's the home security I trust using it for years. Peace of mind knowing my home is 24. 7 protected and 50% off today just by visiting simplisafecollen.com it's your last chance to get your home at Simplisafe's lowest prices of the year. Old school systems only take action once somebody's inside your home. That's too late. Simplisafe's active guard protection changes the game by preventing crime before it ever happens. If somebody's lurking around or acting suspiciously, those agents can see them in real time, talk to them directly, set off a spotlight, even call the police. There's no long term contracts, no cancellation fees. A buck a day, that's it. For all that protection, Simplisafe is extending its massive Black Friday deal. You can get 50% off any new system with a select professional monitoring plan. It's your last chance to protect your home at Simplisafe's lowest prices of the year. Head to simplisafecollen.com simplisafecollin.com there's no safe like Simplisafe. Uncertainty. I'm not even sure if I could describe it. Well, it almost just felt like I was. I wasn't living isolation. I stopped going to the doctor.

[Matt Hasselbeck]

I stopped trying to find treatments. Nothing was working.

[Colin Cowherd]

Breakthrough.

[Michael Irvin]

You couldn't imagine that anyone could be.

[Colin Cowherd]

Alive and have a mutation in that gene. I'm Lauren Bright Pacheco, host of Symptomatic, a medical mystery podcast. Every episode we investigate the medical mysteries behind someone's truly baffling symptoms. Revealing how the quest for answers transforms the lives of everyday people. This is Symptomatic. My name. My name is Kelly Athena G. STONER and for 19 years for 15 years, for over 12 years, I suffered with a mysterious illness. I suffered, I struggled with misdiagnoses of.

[Michael Irvin]

A previously undiagnosed disease, an unknown disease.

[Colin Cowherd]

Listen on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get the stories that matter to you. Here we go. It's hour two. It is a Monday. Thank you so much for joining us. Matt Hasselbeck, who has been such a gift as we're in the holiday season for our show. He, he was a free agent. We went and grabbed him. We got. And Matt Hasselback, he's coming up in five minutes. Live in Los Angeles, it's the Herd. J. Mack, Michael Irvin next hour as well. These Monday shows are great. What a wild weekend of football. Saturday, Sunday. Also coming up, the bowl or the playoff games, folks, the next three days. I know you all complained about the College Football Playoff last weekend. Now it's neutral fields. Now it's your Texas, Notre Dame, Georgia stacking up against each other. Well, keep your eye on Boise State with an upset. You see the money coming in on Arizona State over the weekend, down from 13 and a half to 11 and a half against Texas. I think a lot of people go to Vegas right on the weekend from Arizona and they start loading up on the gambling.

[Matt Hasselbeck]

So we'll, we'll see.

[Colin Cowherd]

I, I think the games are gonna be good.

[Michael Irvin]

I'll just leave it at that.

[Colin Cowherd]

Yep. I, I'm gonna take Notre Dame. I think I'm gonna take Notre Dame. All right, here we go on a Monday. Colin right. Colin wrong. Where Colin was right. Well, they were my number one dark horse team to make the playoffs. Every year I pick one team. Last year it was the Rams. This year it was Washington. I felt just getting Dan Snyder, the owner was worth wins. I also thought Jaden Daniels was going to be a little Lamar Jackson light. He is a spectacular talent and a wonderful kid. You knew he was going to be great when the coaching staff couldn't stop heaping praise on him in the preseason, which coaches never do. We got the commanders right where Colin was wrong. I think I've probably been too high on the Green Bay Packers. They got beat by the Lions twice, the Vikings twice and the Eagles. I like this roster a lot. I like the coach. But they can't beat the good teams. And I had them above Minnesota and Detroit in the herd hierarchy when they're really good, like the fourth quarter when they came roaring back. They are so talented and so much fun to watch. But they're 05 against the top teams. In the NFC. So I they're probably a year away. I kind of fell for them, but I still like their future. Where Colin was right Justin Herbert I said no young quarterback has had to overcome coaching in his career more than Justin Herbert. Just get him Harbaugh and he'll be magic. Right now his efficiency for a quarterback with over 400 attempts is the best ever next to Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers. He's a remarkable kid. Four two, college major and a tutor in biology. Size, speed Justin Herbert finally got the coach where Colin was wrong I like the Colts all year. I love their roster. But that may have been the worst loss in the NFL this year. They lost a close game to the Giants. They were getting housed early in some of their issues on the back end of their defense. I don't think they're very good, but there's no division titles here in the last 10 years and this was a bad one. I I've said this before. If Darnold's on the market, I would go after him. I like Joe Flacco. I think Anthony Richardson's talented. But sometimes you got to cut your losses and acknowledge in the afc, if we're going to win big boy games, we got to get better at quarterback. If Darnold hits the market and you're the Colts, go get him where Colin was right? Yes. I said Baker Mayfield in Tampa, I would sign him to a long deal. I thought this was a perfect fit. This organization's always had talent and always had a bit of a chip on its shoulder for being ignored. I thought this was a great fit. And even though Baker and I have had disagreements, Mike Evans, Baker Mayfield. Time to throw pretty magic. You know, he leads the NFL in touchdown passes since he joined Tampa. It's a good receiving corps. It's not that good. Baker and Darnold, same draft, can both play where Collin was right. I said the Rams are going to win their division, but keep your eye on the defense, not Matt Stafford. And they just held their last three opponents to single figures. This defense is really good and getting better. They're very reliant offensively on Puka Nakua and Kyron Williams. But I've said before I think they're a good team but not a Super bowl team. But everybody was loving San Francisco and I said no, they're getting old, expensive and brittle. Keep your eye on the Rams to win the division and watch this defense. And they delivered where Colin was. Raw. Yeah, I'm officially selling most of my Kyler Murray stock. I was wrong I've defended him for years, but listen to this. He is 1 and 16 against the NFC west in November and December. What can I say? If I'm going to sit here all the time and tell you I like winners, he doesn't win. I think he's talented. I think he's elusive. I've defended him even with the gaming stuff. But at some point, I can't keep saying, yeah, I love this guy. He can't beat division rivals. One in 16 in November and December. I'm selling my stock. At a loss, by the way. At a loss where Colin was right. Stop telling me the Kansas City Chiefs are lucky. Best coach, best coordinator, best quarterback, best defensive lineman. Xavier Worthy is becoming a star. Number one seed in all of football, number two, scoring defense. Listen, they don't blow you away. They don't win by route. This is not college. It's hard. The AFC's loaded. God, look at their division. It's harbaught, Sean Payton, even the Raiders play hard. It's hard to win in this league. It's really hard. And the Chiefs just keep doing it. You were all saying they were lucky in week eight. No, they're not. There is a skill to winning close games. The Patriots did it for 20 years, and they handed the baton to Kansas City, where Colin was right. You know, when Rex Ryan's name got floated for the jets job, I said, absolutely, he's a viable candidate. Ian Rapoport reporting today, believe it or not, he could be interviewed. Everybody makes fun of Rex because he puts it out there, but he's a culture changer. Woody Johnson liked him. Great energy. He's got a view of the world and how to build a football team. And as running games have had kind of a return in the NFL, I would interview Rex Ryan. I said last week I'd interview Pete Carroll. He's a smart guy. I'd like to interview Pete Carroll. I'd interview Rex Ryan. I don't think the best candidates. I think they're very wary of going to the Jets. And I think Rex Ryan has proven like a Dan Campbell. He'll change the culture. And that's one of the issues. That's why I've said I think Vrabel's the guy I would hire. If not, Rex Ryan's one of the better culture changers out on the market. Where Colin was right, where Colin was wrong. And with that, 18 years in the NFL and one of our favorite 15 minutes of the week, Matt Hasselbeck now joins us live. So let's Go to last night. It is. I don't know how to explain it. For Jaden Daniels to be this good, this quickly, is it brain power? I mean, he's obviously talented. It just shouldn't be this easy. It shouldn't be this beautiful. Like, are you surprised? What is it? What do I give the credit to?

[Michael Irvin]

Yeah, listen, the word for me is awesome. And are you surprised? Yeah, you should be surprised. This guy's playing unbelievable. He's playing just like he did at lsu. And I think, like, this is an example of it. It matters. Top down, ownership, gm, head coach, coordinator, who's in the quarterback room all day with the guy. But at the end of the day, this guy has an it factor. Listen, I talked about it earlier in the year. I don't know what quarterback I was talking about, but your job as the quarterback, especially on a team like this, is to be the amazing marinara sauce over yesterday's pasta. You don't have the best roster around you. You got to be the guy that changes everything. This guy has changed everything for this team. And I believe that they believe there's not a team in the NFC that they can't beat.

[Colin Cowherd]

Yeah.

[Michael Irvin]

And as long as Jaden Daniels is the quarterback, either with his legs, with his AR throwing, it just. He doesn't flinch, he doesn't blink. Fourth down, fourth quarter, two minute. He's got everything you're looking for. And for that reason, I think they're a very dangerous team. Undisciplined and frustrating, but very dangerous.

[Colin Cowherd]

Yeah, they. They get more penalties and bad, bad moments. And I'll say this. Here's something else I like about a Matt. And I know I've always said I don't like my quarterbacks hat on backwards. I think the podium matters on Wednesday. People give me crap for that. One of the things I like about him, this team gets penalized a lot. They drop passes, his body language through all of it. Because the camera's always on him. It matters to me. And maybe it shouldn't. Maybe this is just ridiculous. But I'm watching this team beat itself last night for three quarters, and every time you go to him, smile, patting the guy in the butt, does a team sense that?

[Michael Irvin]

Yeah. Well, listen, he's played a lot of football and I think a lot of that has to do with why he's so good. He's had some good coaches throughout his career, college career, now at the NFL. But I would say it this way, there's two things for me. Number one, do your teammates believe in you? When times are tough, do they believe in you? And then probably just as importantly, does the opponent fear you? Like, does the opponent feel like, oh, we got this guy, we got him on the ropes, or is he one of those guys where the ball's in his hands late in the game or third down and the opponent's like sitting there on the bench and they're like, ah, shoot, man. We're like, we left him too much time. Or you know what this guy's going to do, what he did. You know what we've seen him do on film, what we've. The film that we've studied, he's going to bring them back. And there's quarterbacks, like in my playing career, in my media career, that you just, you put in that category, like, you gave this guy too much time. It doesn't matter if they're down by four with under a minute to go. And Jade. Jaden Daniels, to me, has that it factor. That's the aura that he's given off.

[Colin Cowherd]

So listen, Addison Jefferson, Naylor, TJ Hawkinson, Kevin O'Connell. I'm not disputing any of it, but what I notice with Darnold is the plays they call in crisis. They have him throwing the ball into the teeth of a defense. And I've said before, I can tell what a coach thinks of you by the play calls. I mean, when they got that ball 27, 25 and the first down play was a pass, I'm like, that's not what coaches do. How much is the weapons and how much is Darnold, in your opinion?

[Michael Irvin]

Yeah, listen, I believe you'll know what a coach thinks of his pass protection and his O line by the plays they call, more than the quarterback. But it all fits together. And if you look at the end of that game, the one word for me is trust. Like, they trusted him to throw it. I think it was three times in a row. And they did it in a check with me system, meaning they'll call a play and they'll alert it or can it or kill it to another play. And they got up there and showed Ron and he got up there and he said, no, no, no. Yeah, yeah, alert, alert. Or can, can, you know, like whatever, we're going play. And they gave him basically the keys to the Lamborghini. They said, hey, you and your guys on the field, you got it. We trust you. We can't have an incompletion. What they do. They threw it with, you know, sort of short yardage, goal line type, high completion percentage. Plays that fit them. And so I just think when you have that symmetry with head coach, play caller, quarterback, you're rolling and that's what they got going right now.

[Colin Cowherd]

So I do think, I do think it's important that if a player can hit a bonus and you're winning, it's a route. And a coach says, listen, I'm going to get a guy a catch. He's got a streak, he's got a bonus in a route. And so the Eagles are routing the Cowboys. The game's over. They go heavy into Saquon Barkley. My take is though, wait a minute, your quarterback's hurt, your backup quarterbacks hurt. I don't want Saquon Barkley hurt. What did you make of the 31 plus carries? I'm not anti getting a guy in a blowout, a number or bonus. That's a lot of carries for a team that's got a banged up quarterback.

[Michael Irvin]

Yeah, listen, I believe in Philly. I believe in everything that they're doing. And this reminds me a little bit because he's real close to this Eric Dickerson record. I think he needs 101 yards. This reminds me, in 05, we had the number one seed locked up in the NFC. Sean Alexander was really close to the touchdown record. If he gets the touchdown record, he's going to get the mvp. And I just remember Mike Holmgren coming in to our team talking about, hey, we are going to get this touchdown record. Like, this is a big deal and it's a big deal to Sean, but it's a big deal to all of us. This is an offensive line award. This is a fullback award. This is a team award. This is a wide receivers blocking award. And I thought Mike Holmgren did an amazing job of making this. Like, you know what? This is our one and oh, this week. Because that's really the goal. You try to go one and O this every week, but when one and O doesn't really matter anymore or doesn't matter as much, you go for that. And to me, like, knowing the personality of Philly, seeing how strong Saquon still looks, seeing, learn, knowing how unselfish he was earlier in the year when he could have been padding his stats and he said, no, no, let, let the young guys go. Let the young guys go. And to now still like have it in their reach, I don't know. I think you go for it. I think you go for it and I think you play ball. And I think it's a feather in the cap of everybody there. Coaches included. And I think you play fearless and you play to win not only the game and the end of the season, but also to. To win this record for, For. For that team and for all of Philly.

[Colin Cowherd]

Mac and I were talking earlier. We said, I believe the Chargers are the best team in the NFL playoffs that probably can't win a Super Bowl. And then I go back and I look at Harbaugh's teams everywhere. Stanford didn't have great receivers. The Niners had Michael Crabtree. They weren't loaded. Michigan won a Natty. They didn't even throw a pass at Penn State. I look at their weapons and think, God, they need a tight end. They need a running back. They need another receiver. Do they have enough juice to win three games, four games, do you think?

[Michael Irvin]

You know, that's tough. It's an interesting point you make. Like, they're going to have to play Buffalo, they're going to have to play Baltimore. They're going to, like. I just don't know that they're there yet. Like, I believe in Jim Harbaugh. I think he's done a great job, setting a great foundation. I've been saying it forever. Herbert is amazing. He's everything you're looking for in a quarterback. It's one of the reasons I was so high on Drake May, because he reminds me a lot of Justin Herbert. No, I think it's an interesting point you bring, but to me, I just think that the class of the afc, there's a separation line when you talk about Kansas City and you talk about Baltimore and you talk about Buffalo. But the reason I believe in that separation is the quarterback. And so at some point, I don't know if it's this year, at some point, Justin Herbert is going to have to kind of like morph into, yes, the Harbaugh way of doing things, but also kind of getting in that. That legit, like on the podium of the upper echelon guys in the afc. Is he top five? Yeah, no doubt. Is he on the podium? I don't think you can put him on the podium yet with those other guys I mentioned.

[Colin Cowherd]

It is interesting. Darnold, Baker, Mayfield, you look at that class now. Josh Allen, Lamar, Darnold, Baker, all of them having career years. I don't remember two quarterbacks that we all kind of bailed on. And yet they're both stars. Is this a fundamental change in the league? Have we gotten to a point where quarterback is so important for success in this league now due to rule changes that you have to give guys A second chance. You have to. You have to make sure it works. But, I mean, it's an insane story. In the same year, two guys we bailed on are both breaking records. How do we explain.

[Michael Irvin]

Yeah, and they both were in Carolina.

[Matt Hasselbeck]

Who?

[Michael Irvin]

Carolina is what they are. They're Carolina. No, you know what it reminds me of? One year back in the day, I forget it was the St. Louis Rams or the LA Rams. Very early, they had Nick Foles, Jared Goff, Case Keenum. Those were the three guys in the quarterback room. And then later on, Case Keenum's on, like, the championship game. Nick Foles is in the super bowl, and Jared Goff is Jared Goff. Yeah. Like, it was just crazy success. I forget the details, but. No, it matters. And listen, I do also believe strongly that Sam Darnold will take this into consideration when his free agency comes. He's going to remember what it was like to be in a organization that doesn't get how to be relevant in December and January and beyond the Jets. Baker. He'll remember what it was like in Cleveland. They both remember what it was like in Carolina. And they've tasted it now with an organization that not only loves them, but they love it back. And so when you talk about this free agency and hometown discount and, yeah, these guys are balling out and, hey, you can go get paid, I really believe that they're going to understand and value how great it is to have a head coach and a play caller that I'm in sync with, or how great it is to have the whole locker room respect me and understand what I went through. And then you kind of. Kind of. You guys kind of pulled me out of it. Like, I pulled myself out of it, but you helped me, you know, come out of it.

[Colin Cowherd]

Sure.

[Michael Irvin]

And so, like, I just really think there's something unique and special, and I respect it. I think it's awesome.

[Colin Cowherd]

So the one team that I'm fascinated with, I. In a weird way, I love Sean Payton and Bo Nix. But if Cincinnati gets in and has to go to Buffalo, the pressure on Buffalo is insane. And the pressure on Cincinnati is a nothing burger. They sneak in. When you look at Buffalo, take your career. I feel of all the teams in this league, because Philadelphia has pressure, but they've been to Super Bowls. I feel like there's enormous pressure on Sean McDermott. Were you ever on a team you went into the playoffs and you could feel the pressure. You knew you had to win those first couple games. And does a coaching staff change the way they coach did you feel a tightness in your entire 18 year career. Does that exist or is that just a media thing?

[Michael Irvin]

Yeah, no, it exists, but I don't think I was fully aware of it. But I remember in 05, it was 05, we're playing a wild card game against Washington. And I didn't know this, I tried to like, you know, keep my head down and just like go one and oh each week. But the Seahawks hadn't won a playoff game since like Chuck Knox was the coach. Miami down, like against Don Shula. It was like this weird thing. And I remember pregame that the national anthem's going on and all these former Seahawks, like the Steve Largent era guys, they're all lined up and they're getting teary eyed and they're gassed up and they're like, let's, like, this is game day for them. You know, these guys that were in their 50s, it was game day for them. And that was when I really felt like, oh, wow, this, this loss would be devastating to people outside of the guys who are wearing a helmet today. And I, and I think that's probably true for, you know, that the, the entire like, community that lives and breathes by the Bill's success right now in December because they are so invested in this, in this program. Yeah, but I think one of the things I would say that I really like that the Bills have done and Josh Allen has done, he's kept it really focused about football and I think that's just their key. But yeah. Hey, does anybody want to play the Cincinnati Bengals? They get in.

[Colin Cowherd]

No.

[Michael Irvin]

Promise you, that's the team that D coordinators are afraid of. They're like, they're afraid of nothing but they're afraid of. I think that Cincinnati offense.

[Colin Cowherd]

Yeah, I think you're right. Cincinnati in the AFC and Washington in the nfc. Jaden Daniels is a problem. I mean, he says there's nothing you could. He's like Lamar Jackson, but, but, but a little better in the pocket than Lamar was as a rookie.

[Michael Irvin]

Yeah, there's the problem with, the problem with the Washington situation versus the Cincinnati situation is the weapons in Cincinnati scare the heck out of you. I don't know if you saw Hard Knocks and Mike Tomlin talking about, like, Mike Tomlin literally said at one point something to the effect of like, basically, I'd rather play Baltimore and Lamar than have to deal with this team with a losing record. By the way, Joe Burrow, Jamar, Chase T. Higgins, like, like, that's the team that, you know, I was in Cincinnati for this game actually. And it was just like this, this, this moment where like all of Cincinnati was like, Joe's going to do it. Like just Joe's going to do it. He might do it by himself. Like we're not going to kick a field goal from inside the tent. Like where he might just do it by himself. But I think everyone believes that. And again, like I was talking about earlier, the respect of your locker room is really important. But to have the fear of the opposing team when you have the ball, like that's everything you're looking for as a quarterback when they feel like, dang it, like he's got the ball, we're probably going to lose right now. And Burrow has that even with the year that they've had record wise, no.

[Colin Cowherd]

Run game, pass protection, sketchy and he's magic. Matt Hasselbeck 18 years. Such a present for us during the holidays. Love having you on Mondays, buddy.

[Michael Irvin]

Happy New Year, Colin.

[Colin Cowherd]

Happy New Year to you and your amazing family. He really does have an amazing family. Be sure to catch live editions of the Herd, weekdays at noon Eastern, 9am Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, FS1 and the iHeartRadio app. This podcast is sponsored by PayPal. We've partnered with them to make this holiday season even better. With all the shopping, gifting and holiday prep, my PayPal debit card is my go to for getting more out of my purchases. Here's how it works. I choose my monthly category. Gas, restaurants, apparel, groceries, health and beauty, or just for the holiday season, tech. And I earn 5% cash back on up to 1,000 bucks in the purchases in those categories. Yeah, 5% cash back this month. I'm gonna go with tech. It's my category. It's a no brainer, right? Everybody loves the latest tech gifts. So whether it's stuff for the fam or adding new gadgets to my personal collection, that cash back adds up fast. So this holiday season, let the PayPal debit card do the heavy lifting. Sign up for the card when you download the PayPal app, then pay in store and online and get cash back with a PayPal debit card. Don't just pay PayPal terms and limits apply. See paypal.com rewardspal the PayPal Debit MasterCard is issued by the Bancor Bank N.A. pursuant to a license by MasterCard International Incorporated and may be used everywhere MasterCard is accepted. What makes the holiday special are the details from Genesis. And every little detail in a Genesis is another gift to you. Like like during winter, you'll Be thankful for the available heated steering wheel and the available snow mode to help get you through the snowiest of snow days. And the available all wheel drive is helpful all year round, but especially during the winter. I mean, Genesis has put a lot of thought into the details. And of course the best gifts are thoughtful ones like the available Nappa leather seating. Oh, speaking of gifts, you'll have plenty of room to haul around everything you've picked up for family and friends, no matter which Genesis you're driving. And with a lineup featuring SUVs, EVs, Sedans, something for everybody. Experience the Genesis Signature event. And as one big final gift, Genesis is offering you a $1,000 bonus on select Genesis vehicles. The deal ends January 2nd. See participating Genesis retailers for details. Visit genesis.com to see how Genesis can make your holidays even brighter. Details make the Holidays from the Delta Sky Club welcome back Ms. Klein to the JetBridge. Delta Air Lines relies on 5G solutions from Team T Mobile for business to power operations and serve customers faster. Together, we're putting 5G into the hands of ground staff so they can better.

[Michael Irvin]

Assist on the go travelers with real.

[Colin Cowherd]

Time information throughout the airport. This is elevating customer experience. This is Delta Air Lines with T Mobile for business. Take your business further@t mobile.com now. Uncertainty I'm not even sure if I could describe it well. It almost just felt like I was. I wasn't living isolation.

[Matt Hasselbeck]

I stopped going to the doctor. I stopped trying to find treatments. Nothing was working.

[Colin Cowherd]

Breakthrough.

[Michael Irvin]

You couldn't imagine that anyone could be.

[Colin Cowherd]

Alive and have a mutation in that gene. I'm Lauren Bright Pacheco, host of Symptomatic a medical Mystery Podcast. Every episode we investigate the medical mysteries behind someone's truly baffling symptoms, revealing how the quest for answers transforms the lives of everyday people. This is Symptomatic. My name is. My name is Kelly Athena Girbani Dovak Stoner and for 19 years, for 15 years, for over 12 years, I suffered with a mysterious illness.

[Matt Hasselbeck]

I struggled with.

[Colin Cowherd]

I struggled with misdiagnoses of a previously.

[Matt Hasselbeck]

Undiagnosed disease, an unknown disease.

[Colin Cowherd]

Listen on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get the stories that matter to you. Whether you're ordering wings for the game, whipping up a seven layer dip, or ordering pizza, there's something about football that makes me want to eat. And this football season, UberEats has the best deals for me on game day Food, no matter what I'm craving from two for one Pizza. To buy one, get one wings Uber Eats. We'll be dropping new deals each week all season long. I'm in. Uber Eats, the official on demand delivery partner of the NFL. Order now for game day. Terms and conditions apply. See app for details. Twelve years in the NFL, Three super bowl championship rings. One of my favorite people, the playmaker. So we got a lot of things. You know what? Let's just. I want to. I want to. Before we get to the NFL, NFL, I want to address a couple of college issues. So let's start with the easy one. So I have not heard Coach prime say, I want my son to play blank, blank, blank. But once again, Deion Sanders is quoted on Twitter today saying, listen, it'll be multiple idiots that will say things that are totally untrue regarding where I want my son to play in the NFL. Can you clarify this? Is there places he wants his son, both of them, to play or not?

[Matt Hasselbeck]

Well, you know, there's always a place that you prefer. Okay, Everyone has a place that they prefer. But if you're smart, you prefer not to say it at this time. That's just hard to do. Right? Because you. You don't want to say, hey, we prefer to go just throwing out teams to the Giants and then the Raiders get you. And now you got to answer all of those questions. So, you know, why even set yourself up for that? Just say, listen, I'm ready to play for any team that draft me. You know, the reality is now we can't lie and hide. Well, who's your team growing up? I'm sure you've said that a million times.

[Colin Cowherd]

Right?

[Matt Hasselbeck]

So you might. You can't say, well, I don't have a team now because we're pull up film and receipts. Just be honest. Like, I. I like the Cowboys growing up. But. But I. I want to play for whatever team that see, that thinks I fit the team. That's just. That's the right thing to say. Yeah. And Dion's saying the right thing, even though he's gonna be like that, that man in wizard of the All Back, the pushing buttons. And then if you pull back the card, they go, say, pay no attention to the man behind the curtain while he's pushing buttons. You know what I'm saying? Saying he's. He's going to be pushing buttons.

[Colin Cowherd]

Okay's family did it. Eli's family.

[Matt Hasselbeck]

Right.

[Colin Cowherd]

I'm okay with it.

[Matt Hasselbeck]

And I'm glad you said that. I'm glad you said that because I said on my YouTube channel those guys did it.

[Colin Cowherd]

Sure.

[Matt Hasselbeck]

And. And what I do now I'm just gonna say this don't mean that people, but I'm gonna put it out there. I love, I love seeing that. That I love seeing when I watch Beyonce and her daughter next to her in that appearance at halftime on Christmas. I love seeing what LeBron James has done with LeBron and I love seeing what Deion Sanders is doing with Shadow and Shiloh. We, as African Americans don't get a chance to see this. You just mentioned Eli and all of those guys.

[Colin Cowherd]

John Elway went out.

[Matt Hasselbeck]

They always done that. They've always protected and had people protecting them. I'm glad to see the African American parents having these, presenting these lanes to their kids now as like, like those.

[Colin Cowherd]

Other guys have been happening in America forever.

[Matt Hasselbeck]

Forever, right?

[Colin Cowherd]

Forever.

[Matt Hasselbeck]

But not, not, not over here on our side. So I'm just glad that some people are getting the power to do it now.

[Colin Cowherd]

Now, I don't want to be controversial, try to avoid.

[Matt Hasselbeck]

I love when he says that, y'all, but.

[Colin Cowherd]

Oh, God just played to get a record and then bailed on his team. That. I'm not sure if that sits well with me.

[Matt Hasselbeck]

First of all, first of all, first of all, these things that come out. He can ward play just to get a record. Stop, stop. The man played all year long, you know what I mean? So it ain't just to get a record. He. He told coach, we're going to play the first half. I wanna, I want. You know the first thing I thought about when I said when I heard this.

[Colin Cowherd]

Yeah.

[Matt Hasselbeck]

I thought about Allen Iverson. I said, practice, right? It's the Park Tarp Bowl. We're talking about the Park Tart Bowl. The Pop Tart Bowl. You know what I mean? This did. This ain't the. We ain't talking about the 12 team playoffs. We ain't talking about college football playoffs.

[Colin Cowherd]

We're not even talking about the Citrus Bowl.

[Matt Hasselbeck]

We not even talking about. We talking about the Pop Tart Bowl. The man popped in the Pop Tart Bowl. That's all you can expect for him. It's the Pop Tart bowl. And he's gonna be the top four, four or five picks in the draft. And he put it all on the line and pop in the Pop Tart Bowl. Stop. Stop popping.

[Colin Cowherd]

Stop popping.

[Matt Hasselbeck]

Just leave it alone.

[Colin Cowherd]

Let it go. Cut it out.

[Matt Hasselbeck]

But we gotta stop doing this, though. We gotta stop from the moment players throw their last pass or run their last play in college. Then. Oh, God, we turn to drop them. You know, we build them up all through. And now we're looking for the drop right here. Y'all can stop that. Cam ain't dropping and we ain't nobody thinking about that.

[Colin Cowherd]

That.

[Matt Hasselbeck]

We talking about the part tart bowl, y'all. Yeah, the part tart bowl.

[Colin Cowherd]

Listen, it happened. I remember when Andrew Luck, the layoff between your last college game to the draft is so long, people. I mean, I remember Andrew Luck, they were like, I don't like his arms.

[Matt Hasselbeck]

They're finding things. You're gonna find things.

[Colin Cowherd]

Stop.

[Matt Hasselbeck]

What do you mean? I got into arm. I don't know if he loves the game. Stop. Let's stop finding ways to bring people down, bring these kids down when they're in their most precious and most incredible time of the, of their life.

[Colin Cowherd]

Okay, so the count bowl.

[Matt Hasselbeck]

Don't y'all. Come on, man. Don't do that to us. Don't do that to us.

[Colin Cowherd]

Mike McCarthy had a pretty good December. Cooper Rush pretty good. Obviously, this team has issues. What do we do with the Cowboys, Michael? What's job one? What is, what do you do with the Cowboys, man?

[Matt Hasselbeck]

And, and, and you. When I see a 79 record and, and, and, and you see what, how that game played out, out Sunday, you start saying, well, okay, wow. I know that everybody felt good about December and all of that stuff. I still say it was too little, too late. But, but, but right, right here, right here, then everybody starts jumping this. For me, this kind of, kind of game erases December. I don't, you can't tell me, oh, we play good in December. And then, and then the backups to the, to the team, their backups playing your backups, and they put up a 40 burger on you and you look like the way you look. So I think, yeah, this makes, this takes away some of the things that you have.

[Colin Cowherd]

Would you replace McCarthy?

[Matt Hasselbeck]

Yes, I would. Yes, I would. I just think it's time to go in another direction.

[Colin Cowherd]

Okay.

[Matt Hasselbeck]

You know, and I hear these late, this late surge to maybe going to stay with Mike McCarthy. I, I, I'm not on that, I'm not on that bandwagon. It, I just, what I believe is this team needs more discipline. I don't, I'm not saying Mike McCarthy is not a good coach. Exes and old coach, you know, but, but I think the team needs more discipline. And, and sometimes, and it's hard to bring that in when you say, okay, this guy who doesn't have that firm hand in discipline is now going to either bring somebody else in to help them.

[Colin Cowherd]

You know what I always said, Michael? It's Much easier work. It's easier to be the tough dad.

[Matt Hasselbeck]

And e. Lighten up and ease up.

[Colin Cowherd]

Than to do Wade Phillips. Where your ice cream for breakfast?

[Matt Hasselbeck]

You're over. You can't come in soft and then try to get tough.

[Colin Cowherd]

You can't.

[Matt Hasselbeck]

It's a wrap.

[Michael Irvin]

You can't.

[Matt Hasselbeck]

You, you got to come in tough and then, and then lighten up because then the guys will feel like they've earned some respect and earned you lightning lighting them. But now if you loosening up a little bit. But if you come in loose and, and, and, and, and I don't want to say soft, but you know what I mean. Players coach, apologetic, try to get firm. You just, you just get flat. You get flat.

[Colin Cowherd]

Okay. I want you to go back to your cowboy days. The Chargers, they're going to have a buy. Would you play starters or not? Did you want to take a week Chargers cheap? No, I'm talking of Chiefs. So the Chiefs, my bad. Are going into the playoffs. Belichick was always a, okay, let's play the guys. Tony Dungy was like, you know, if I can give an old safety time off, where do you land on this?

[Matt Hasselbeck]

And Jimmy was always, let's play the guys. And Jimmy would always say, we were playing the guys because Jimmy didn't want to lose the week of practice. See, see when you go in this week right now everybody's talking about you. We're gonna sit out Chiefs got this game a buy next week after that game. I mean, you're talking about forever, right? That's forever. For all of those teams you just mentioned for those Dallas Cowboys team. Because we played a timing offense. Troy hit that third step, fifth step. Let that ball go for, for all the New England teams. All of that timing stuff that they do not. And I'm sorry to tell everybody out there, but it won't affect Kansas City Chief, this is not a timing offense. This is an offense that is built between Travis Kelsey and Patrick Mahomes and there is no timing on it. That's why it's been impossible to stop because you can't figure out the timing. When he's supposed to do yeet, he does jack. When he's supposed to do yin, he does yang. That's what Travis Kelce is.

[Colin Cowherd]

But it's so.

[Matt Hasselbeck]

It's not a timing to it. It's a. It's. We're going to find where you are not and I'm going to go to that spot. And they win like that.

[Colin Cowherd]

Look at their wide receiver unit. They have different guys Every week, Every week.

[Matt Hasselbeck]

And now even though they had different guys every week, they still, they barely won those games. I want people, people were getting and saying, man, should we keep Kansas City up there? Because they're barely winning these games. Do you know all of these games come down to this? I had Minnesota over Green Bay yesterday. Right, right. Went in, it was minus one, you know, and I'm okay, I got Minnesota minus one. And I'm watching the game, we have 17, 10. I'm like, oh, this is over, it's over. Then we go up 27, 17, I think it's over. Next thing you know, it's 25, 27. I'm sweating like a monkey. It all comes down to this. Every one of them comes down to this. If you can win late, you can win great in this league because they all come down to this.

[Colin Cowherd]

Well, and all the teams that make the playoffs, almost all of them have great quarterbacks. Meaning you go into a little bit of a prevent defense, you soften coverage. They're just, it's a wrap. They're just going to go 8 yards, 12, 15, 18. Jordan Love, just boom, boom, boom. Okay.

[Matt Hasselbeck]

Right. Jaden Daniels. Yeah, yeah.

[Colin Cowherd]

Okay. Finally set you up for this. So I'm, I understand players. If I was a coach and a player could get a record, I would try to do it. If it's super close, I'm just going to call plays to win the game. But if it's like Cowboys getting thumped, I want Saquon Barkley to get a record. I get it. Players have bonuses. But now all of a sudden. So I got Jalen Hurts beat up Saquon Barkley. I think running back's different. I wouldn't play him this week. Now, now, left tackle, Mike. Linebacker, wide receiver. Do you play Barkley if you don't have to this week?

[Matt Hasselbeck]

You know, and this is, this, this is a tough decision. This tough decision because, because let's be real here, where the running back position is in the league on the whole, I'm sure Saquon wants to go and try to help that whole position, not just him, by getting this record. It kind of reintroduced the year of the running back. And we can call this the year of the running back because two running backs have moved and made major differences in both offenses. So yes, this is a 40 year record. What I love most, what I love most, and I gotta say, this is how coach Sirianni handled it. He said, we're, we're going to do what the team wants to do. Let me tell you why that's very important. Because he's saying, I'm not breaking the psyche of what they want, what they want to accomplish in that locker room. They went in that game yesterday, the game Sunday, saying, we're going to get you over 2000 again. The darn Dallas Cowboys. So, so. So they set their mind. They went and got it done. If they're setting their mind to get him the record, I want to be right there with them. Because that means every time after we set our mind to get him the record, we're going to set our minds on the Super Bowl. I want them to keep running right on the setting of their minds. You see what I mean? I'm going to stay with that. That's why that's very important. Now, all intents, you would want to say, hey, man, this man's too important to lose. But it's as important to lose that mentality, that team's mentality as it is an injury. So if the. I love that he said, I'm going to do what the team wants to do. Even though Jimmy Bill would have never said that. Are we gonna do what I want to do? That what they would have said. But I love that he says that it just stay in time. And I hope. I do hope he gets it.

[Colin Cowherd]

Yeah. I think things. I think things have changed. I think players, players, college players now get paid. I saw. I saw a story. Somebody said that every is a guy.

[Matt Hasselbeck]

You. You. If anybody's going to get it, that's the guy you want to get.

[Colin Cowherd]

Think about this, though. The world's changed. Every SEC quarterback makes more than Brock Purdy in nil money. It's the player.

[Matt Hasselbeck]

Yeah. Right. Right.

[Colin Cowherd]

So, I mean, listen, if a guy.

[Matt Hasselbeck]

Wants a record, that is crazy.

[Colin Cowherd]

You got to give him. If a guy can get the record, get in the record.

[Matt Hasselbeck]

Yeah, get him. And especially a record that stood for 40 years.

[Colin Cowherd]

And also a guy that's a great guy.

[Matt Hasselbeck]

Right. A great dude.

[Colin Cowherd]

I mean, Barkley is one of the least selfish guys in the league. Never been about records.

[Matt Hasselbeck]

Right. And. And. And you know, he would be okay.

[Colin Cowherd]

Yes.

[Matt Hasselbeck]

You didn't. If you didn't chase it. And I. And I thought that. I knew they went in and said, we going to get this 2000 against the Dallas Cowboys. And I'm going to say this now, if, if that would have been. If that was one of those games like last year where the game came down to between Dallas and Philadelphia for the NFC east and Barkley went over 2000, that would have pushed him right on in front for the MVP because, you know, because of the eyes. It's kind of like the Heisman Trophy. Now as you get down towards the end is who who did I see play great late?

[Colin Cowherd]

Yes. I'm going Carson Palmer. Remember Carson Palmer?

[Matt Hasselbeck]

Yep, yep, yep. That year in Cincinnati. And that's exactly how they this thing. So, so yeah, if that would have been a meaningful game, I think Saquon could have snatched the MVP yesterday.

[Colin Cowherd]

And and we leave you with this. It was the Pop Tart Bowl. Chill out folks.

[Matt Hasselbeck]

The Pop Tart bowl. The man popped in and the Pop Tart bowl and now you want to mess with them.

[Colin Cowherd]

Michael Irvin, we're back popping with that stuff.

[Matt Hasselbeck]

Just pop out of here with the Pop Tart bowl.

[Colin Cowherd]

Back in LA after this pop tart bowl, I'm partnering with PayPal. The holiday season is here and I'm going to save big with cash back offers in the PAYP app. It's easy. I browse deals from my favorite brands, save offers in the app and use PayPal checkout online. Really, really easy. Whether I'm buying gifts for my family or treating myself to something nice, I'm earning cash back and you can too. Don't just pay PayPal. Check offers in the app for details and exclusions. Cash back earned as points redeemable. For cash and other options, see PayPal rewards terms. Whether you're ordering wings for the game, whipping up a seven layer dip, or ordering pizza, there's something about football that makes me want to eat. And this football season, Uber Eats has the best deals for me on game day food no matter what I'm craving. From two for one pizza to buy one get one wings Uber Eats. We'll be dropping new deals each week all season long. I'm in Uber Eats, the official on demand delivery partner of the NFL. Order now for game day. Terms and conditions apply. See app for details. From the Delta Sky Club.

[Michael Irvin]

Welcome back Ms. Klein to the JetBridge.

[Colin Cowherd]

Delta Air Lines relies on 5G solutions from T Mobile for business, business to power operations and serve customers faster. Together we're putting 5G into the hands of ground staff so they can better.

[Michael Irvin]

Assist on the go travelers with real.

[Colin Cowherd]

Time information throughout the airport. This is elevating customer experience. This is Delta Air Lines with T Mobile for business. Take your business further@t mobile.com now. This is Doug Godley from All Ball with Doug Gottlieb. Listen, I'm going to get serious for a minute. The hate in our country is getting out of control. In fact, it's sadly at an all time high. But it's going to take all of us to stop it. I mean, we're all on the same.

[Michael Irvin]

Team in this country.

[Colin Cowherd]

So let's take a break from our.

[Michael Irvin]

Hate so our team can regroup. We need to take a timeout against hate. Visit stand uptoallhate.org to help and join.

[Colin Cowherd]

Me in calling for timeout against hate by following ot'supwithate or posting the Blue Square Emoji. As we gather together during this holiday season, let me share a gift that keeps on giving. Chase Freedom With Chase Freedom Unlimited, you'll not only experience the joy of 1.5% unlimited cash back, but also the freedom to create cherished memories with your loved ones. Discover the magic and learn [e-mail] and let this season be filled with love, laughter and the delight of extra cash in your pocket cards issued by JPMorgan Chase Bank NA member FDIC.