Best of The Herd

Summary

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The Herd with Colin Cowherd – Best of The Herd

Date: August 21, 2025
Host: Colin Cowherd
Guests: Greg Cosell (NFL Films), John (The Herd producer), selected soundbites from NFL coaches
Producer: iHeartPodcasts & The Volume

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Episode Overview

This "Best of" edition centers on the themes of quarterback evaluation, NFL roster-building challenges, and how savvy coaching and front office moves define team success. Colin uses analogies, strong opinions, and expert guests—most notably film analyst Greg Cosell—to dissect preseason concerns for teams like the 49ers, Broncos, Browns, Bears, Rams, and Seahawks. The episode focuses on:

• The difference between managing a "crisis" in parenting and in NFL quarterbacking
• The real test for QBs when the roster is banged up
• Smart front office moves (with a highlight on Sean Payton)
• Deep-dive film analysis of young and veteran quarterbacks
• Caleb Williams’ development, and the ripple effects of coaching styles and offensive schemes across the league

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Quarterbacking as Crisis Management

[03:13–08:18]

• Main Theme: Colin opens with an analogy comparing parenting to quarterbacking in the NFL: It’s not about day-to-day peace, it’s about handling chaos and adversity.
  • “Parenting is not about when your kids are eating their vegetables... That’s easy. Parenting is crisis. What happens when there’s fire starters?” – Colin Cowherd [03:39]
  • The same applies to quarterbacking: True value emerges when the roster is battered—not when everything is perfect.
• He illustrates with examples:
  • Jalen Hurts and the challenge of losing top talent.
  • Justin Herbert making the playoffs despite a decimated receiver corps.
  • C.J. Stroud winning a playoff game with injured receivers.
  • Josh Allen excelling with limited supporting talent.
• Key Point: No excuses for Brock Purdy—this preseason, the 49ers face serious injuries among wide receivers, and the test is whether Purdy can rise above personnel setbacks.
  • “That is quarterback play for Michael Penix, and this is quarterback play for Brock Purdy. Nobody’s healthy at wide receiver.” – Colin Cowherd [07:32]

Kyle Shanahan on Niners WR Injuries

"It's pretty tough. I promise you guys, if it's a challenge for the fans, I promise you guys, it's a bigger challenge for me just dealing with all this... It's a tough situation. You got to keep practicing... but it does make that a huge challenge with the number of guys we've had down."
— Kyle Shanahan [07:54]

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2. Why Great Offensive Coaches Win the "Art of the Steal"

[08:18–13:38]

• Broncos–Saints Trade: Colin breaks down Sean Payton’s trade—a textbook “sell high” move on an aging receiver to a delusional, rebuilding Saints front office.
  • “This was Art of the Steal—the Saints are delusional. They don’t realize they’re in a rebuild... The sharks eat the minnows, the hammers meet the nails.” – Colin Cowherd [10:04, 11:34]
• Pattern Across the League: Offensively-minded coaches (Payton, Shanahan) consistently find late-round value, rapidly develop them, and either sign or flip them for future picks.
• Culture Change: Sean Payton’s impact in Denver is visible—not just in roster construction, but in mindset.

Sean Payton on Culture

"The difference between last year and this year was last year we hoped we could win. This year we know we can win. ... We got rid of popular players that weren't the right guys. Guys that want to be here, want to contribute, work hard, sacrifice for one another. That's how we're building this roster."
— Sean Payton [13:10]

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3. Film Room with Greg Cosell: QB Deep Dive

[18:47–34:17]

Greg Cosell joins Colin for an extended, detailed breakdown of current quarterback battles and evaluations using game film.

Browns QB3 Battle: Dylan Gabriel vs. Shedeur Sanders

[19:29]

• Dylan Gabriel: "Stylistically similar to Tua Tagovailoa—hits his back foot, ball comes out, rhythm/timing player, which fits what Stefanski wants.”
  — Greg Cosell [19:34]
• Shedeur Sanders: “Not quite as rhythmic, tends to drift and retreat in the pocket; came from a Colorado system heavy on easy throws (tunnel screens). Needs to clean up navigating the pocket.”
• Sanders' injury and absence from practice hurts his chances.
• Colin's Summary: The battle is about 'scheme adaptability,' and coaches favor players who consistently run the designed play.

Brock Purdy’s Ceiling when Things Get Tough

[22:05–24:16]

• “Purdy is a high-level post-snap operator... such an intuitive feel for what he sees, a really, really good timing and anticipation thrower.”
  — Greg Cosell [22:59]
• Not a Mahomes or Allen, but elite in processing and executing the timing-based offense.

Evaluating Top Young Quarterbacks

• Caleb Williams (Bears): Arm talent isn’t in question; the challenge is mastering NFL-level complexity pre-snap with shifting/motions and getting set for the play Ben Johnson calls. [24:56]
  • "Ben Johnson will set you up... but it's really from the huddle until the ball is snapped. That's going to be the main part he has to become efficient at."
    — Greg Cosell
• Jackson Dart (Giants): Has been set up for preseason success—lots of empty sets, tempo, kept reads simple to build confidence. Real tests begin once defenses game plan. [27:01]
  • “They did a lot of things that help him really get comfortable... efficiency is what you want.”
    — Greg Cosell

Veteran QBs in New (or Challenging) Situations

• Aaron Rodgers (Steelers): Still throws well, but question is combining Arthur Smith’s offense with Rodgers’ penchant for controlling things at the line. The fit and freedom to audible will be crucial. [29:07]

• Matthew Stafford (Rams): Rams’ offensive success is mostly "Stafford + McVay brilliance" as the supporting offensive roster is thin. Stafford's health (especially with recurring back injuries) is a concern. [31:24]

  • “I love watching Matthew Stafford play... But I'd be a little concerned about that back injury.”
    — Greg Cosell

• Sam Darnold (Seattle): Chosen because new OC Kubiak will run many of the Vikings’ play-action-heavy concepts that suited Darnold. He thrives with a clear offensive identity but isn't a transcendent talent who can thrive in any system. [33:03]

  • “Most quarterbacks need a particular style, a particular philosophy to be effective... that's the way it is with most quarterbacks.”
    — Greg Cosell

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4. Browns Quarterback Room & Draft Realities

[37:56–45:02]

• Colin recaps Cosell’s Browns QB3 analysis: Dylan Gabriel is a clear scheme fit for Stefanski, who values process over raw talent. Shedeur Sanders' skillset is less plug-and-play in the system; the league sees him as a "fifth round" guy, and the Browns do too.
  • “The entire NFL told you he's a fifth round pick, and the Browns are telling you he's a third-string quarterback.”
    — Colin Cowherd [40:32]
• Colin challenges fan optimism: No “conspiracy”—if Sanders/anyone emerges, it’s an enormous win. The team has every incentive to promote talent, not bury it.

John on Stefanski & Browns Decisions

"Didn't Stefanski tell you what he thought about Shedeur when he had the chance to take him in the third round and he took another quarterback? ...He clearly likes Dylan Gabriel. That's not debatable."
— John [44:28]

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “Parenting is crisis. What happens when there's fire starters? ...That's a little bit like being a quarterback in the NFL.”
  — Colin Cowherd [03:37]
• “Art of the Steal. The sharks eat the minnows... in every business, the smart guys, the haves, are working, and the distracted and delusional, the Saints, are being eaten.”
  — Colin Cowherd [11:30]
• “Brock Purdy is a high-level post-snap operator... He sees it really quickly.”
  — Greg Cosell [22:59]
• “Ben Johnson will set you up beautifully with defined and clean reads and throws. Caleb Williams throws it as well as anybody... but it's really from the point of the huddle until the ball is snapped.”
  — Greg Cosell [24:56]
• “Matthew Stafford's injury, the back particularly... I'd be a little concerned about that back injury.”
  — Greg Cosell [32:26]

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• QB & Parenting Analogy: 03:13–08:18
• Niners WR Injury Crisis/Kyle Shanahan: 07:54
• Sean Payton’s Roster Moves & Culture: 08:55–13:38
• Film Room with Greg Cosell (Browns/Young QBs): 18:47–34:17
  • Browns QB3 (Gabriel vs. Sanders): 19:29
  • Purdy’s Play with Beat Up Roster: 22:05
  • Caleb Williams’ Next Step: 24:56
  • Jackson Dart’s Readiness: 27:01
  • Aaron Rodgers Fit in Pittsburgh: 29:07
  • Matthew Stafford’s Value & Injury: 31:24
  • Sam Darnold in Seattle: 33:03
• Colin on Browns, Draft Reality, Fan Hype: 37:56–45:02

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Conclusion

This episode presents a comprehensive, opinionated analysis of NFL quarterback dynamics and roster-building philosophies. It spotlights the difference coaching makes, the real validation of NFL QBs in adversity, and why the "real" experts (not fans or outsiders) tend to get it right. Greg Cosell provides film-driven context and nuanced observations, supporting Colin’s central themes with examples and historical perspective.

Whether you're a fan eager to know if your team’s QB3 has a future or just want to understand why some franchises stay winning, this episode is filled with digestible, passionate sports analysis.

Transcript

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[Colin Cowherd]

Thanks for listening to the Best of the Herd podcast. Be sure to catch us live every weekday on Fox Sports Radio and noon.

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[Colin Cowherd]

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[Colin Cowherd]

This is the Best of the Herd with Colin Cowher on Fox Sports Radio. Here we go. It is a Thursday. Greg Cosell, in one hour, we are live. We're in Chicago. It's the Herd. Wherever you may be and however you may be listening, thanks for making us part of your day. John I was sitting with my wife last night in front of the fire and I want to relay because you're a new parent, so and this story with the Niners reminds me of last night. So I want to start the show. John Here, here I was sitting with my wife and we're having, you know, cocktail in front of the fire. We have six kids between us and, and I, I made the analogy to my wife. We had a little thing going on. I said, you know, honey, you and I are firefighters and occasionally one of our six kids becomes an arsonist. They're just starting fires. Sometimes. The key is you don't have two or three arsonists at the same time. So you've got to really, when you have issues, parenting is not about when your kids are eating their vegetables and everybody's getting good grades and playing nice. That's not parenting. That's like babysitting. That's easy. Parenting is crisis. What happens when there's fire starters? What? What happens? You got to come in, you're the firefighter, you're putting that puppy out. And that's a little bit like being a quarterback in the NFL. Everybody's good with a stacked roster. What happens? Ask Jalen Hurts. You lose your top offensive coordinator and receiver gets hurt. Oh, that's real quarterback play. That's real quarterback play. I mean, tip of the cap to Justin Herbert making the playoffs last year. That number one first round pick or that first round pick receiver Quentin Johnson can't catch. His rookie slot was his only legitimate dependable wide receiver and he made the playoffs. That's quarterbacking. So the Niners this preseason are a mess. DeMarcus Robinson suspended three games. They went and got Sky Moore yesterday. Andy Reid bailed on him. Probably not going to work. Russell Gage, who is being counted on to help for the injured receivers. He's now hurt. He's out for a couple of weeks. And since 2018, with the exception of one year, and I don't have an explanation for it, the Niners have been top 10 in injuries. Couple years, they've been number one. I mean, you can only wear pads so many days. You can only practice so many days. I don't know what it is, but I know this. That's. That's the separator. Patrick Mahomes won two Super Bowls, and the wide receiver situation was a mess. Whiffs, suspensions, drops. I think. I think for a couple of years, Kansas City led the NFL in drops as Mahomes was winning Super Bowls. By the way, C.J. stroud last year. Stefan Diggs out for the year. Tank Dell hurt. Nico Collins hurt. At one point, he's. He's like working with a left tackle having a bad season. And his number three, four and five wide receivers are his one, two, and three receivers. Anyone will playoff game. And Josh Allen, when the mvp, his number one wide receiver is a slot guy from Boise State. That's quarterback. It's like parenting. Parenting is when stuff gets messy. That's real parenting. All right? Parenting is not. Everybody's eating their beans and getting A's and you're not helping with homework. That's. That's not parenting. So I don't want to hear any excuses for Brock Purdy, because to me, this is the separation. The separation in this league is, oh, your O line lost your center and right tackle Michael Penix. Right now in Atlanta, they traded Drew Dolman or Drew Dolman signed with the Bears, a great center, and now they have two other offensive linemen hurt. Michael Penix. This is not Washington, where you had one of the top 10o lines and a great coach. Now you got a defensive coach, and your O lines fallen apart in camp. That. That is quarterback play for Michael Penix, and this is quarterback play for Brock Purdy. Nobody's healthy at wide receiver. Debo. Debo leaves. Ayuk's not there yet. The guy you brought in to replace, at least for the time being, your injured guy, he just got hurt. Kyle Shanahan addresses the mess at wide receiver right now for the Niners.

[Kyle Shanahan]

It's pretty tough. I mean, I promise you guys, if it's a challenge for the fans, I promise you guys, it's a bigger challenge for me just dealing with all this. But, you know, we. We haven't had the best luck this year. Down. Probably more guys than we've had it's you know, it's a tough situation. You got to keep practicing because we got to, we got to improve. We got to be ready for the season. We got to continue to get better for the season. But it does make that a huge challenge with the number of guys we've had down.

[Colin Cowherd]

Now, I said last year, stacked roster. Brock Purdy's getting you to conference championships. Last year, beat up old, brittle roster. A lot of guys hurt 1 and 6 against playoff teams. So the schedule is easier. KD and McAffrey are back. San Francisco is going to be better. They're not going to be 1 and 6 against playoff teams, but this is quarterback play in the NFL. Brock P. Went to Iowa State. That prepared him for the NFL pass rush. 2nd best roster, not always the best coach. So th. Th. This Michael Penck and Brock Purdy already between camp and preseason, up against it. Real, real injury issues. And that schedule at Seattle for the Niners. Arizona plays them tough. Jags, Rams, Bucks. Okay, I got to talk about this. Yesterday I got a text from a couple of front office people. Yesterday, the Broncos Sean Payton made a deal. You know how Trump wrote that book, Art of the Deal? This was Art of the Steel. The Saints are delusional. They don't realize they're in a rebuild. A year ago, Sean Payton drafted an old receiver out of Utah. He entered the NFL at 26 years old. Entered the NFL at 26 years old. He's now 27. He'll be 28 in the season. They draft him in the seventh round and they traded him. Yesterday they flipped him for a fourth and a seventh round pick and the Saints are going to be bad. So that's going to be top of the fourth and top of the seventh. Art of the Steel. The kids played one year in the NFL. He's already older than CD Lamb, so he's probably got two to three years of prime left. And Sean Payton knew it. And this is what great offensive coaching does. You find insane value later in the draft, you make it immediately productive within your system and then you sign it like a Brock Purdy or you flip it. So they're going to get a top of the fourth and a top of a seventh round pick for a receiver that will be 28 by December. And he knew next year, when he turns 29 in a season, you're not going to get the value for it. People are going to go, well, he's a year away from his prime. So Sean knew this is the time to move off him. You know, it's really smart. So it's that Jordan Belfort, Wolf of Wall street, you know, sell me this pen. That's what it feels like. And so, and it's amazing the Saints got work because they had Sean Payton in the building for 50, 50 years and they still got worked. But it's a great example. Offensive coaches find value late. Niners have done it a couple times with Shanahan. Find value late, make it immediately productive, and either sign them early to a good deal, get them signed because you got them for free for four years, or flip them early at the top. And Carolina, by the way, Carolina has a really sharp young gm, a former player, Dan Morgan. Carolina did this last year where they got a fourth round pick from the Cowboys for Jonathan Mingo, who's like a number three or four receiver in the league. They got a fourth round pick, he's hurt, he's on the ir and he had five catches for the Cowboys last year. So in every business, in every single business, the smart guys, the halves are working, the distracted and the delusional. The Saints are delusional. They're in a rebuild. What are you doing? The Sharks eat the minnows, the Hammers meet the nails. And that's a great example. You wonder in your how is, how has Sean Payton made this roster? How has he made this offensive line number two according to pff in like two years? It was mediocre. Bottom third of the league. It's this kind of stuff. Just knowing offensive personnel. Look what he's done to that receiving core and that offensive line. The reason they can move off Devon Vale, the reason they can move off him, talented kid, by the way. The reason they can move off him, because they've drafted and developed and hit on wide receiver talent. So it's just, it's just a little deal. But Sean knows the Saints aren't going to be good. The kid's going to be 27, 28 years old in season, in one year. I probably can't move him. His age will become a real topic. And they get two good picks. Hammer meat in the nail that that is. And Mark Sloth was on our show, it was either yesterday or the day before, talking about how Sean Payton has just changed the Denver culture.

[Sean Payton]

The difference between last year and this year was last year we hoped we could win. This year we know we can win. And one of the big moves we made, even if it was a popular player, we got rid of popular players that weren't the right guys. Guys that want to be here, guys that want to contribute. Guys that want to work hard, guys that want to sacrifice for one another. That's how we're building this roster.

[Colin Cowherd]

Yeah, I thought that was when people reach out to me in the league and they're like, whoa. It's like uninitiated. I didn't, you know, I responded, but I didn't send it out. And I was actually distracted and my phone lights up and it's like, yeah, I mean, that's, that's just Sean doing Sean stuff. And we've talked about this before. I don't have the stats in front of me, but the late, great Tony Gwynn is one of the best pure hitters I've ever seen in baseball. But, you know, he wasn't hitting Oral Hershey's or in Oral's prime. Nobody was. You got to get those hits off the number three and four starter. The average middle reliever, the average setup guy in almost every business I've ever been a part of is you. You got to take advantage of the people that are delusional and distracted and don't put in the. Or the work that you're not working. The best people. You're not, you're not taking advantage of. Of great. You've got to find people that are not paying attention or have a higher belief in reality. And that New Orleans makes that move, like that's the kind of move that can win games now and get us into the playoffs. That's not where New Orleans is. They're in a rebuild. It's not where they're at. Be sure to catch live editions of the Herd, weekdays at noon Eastern, 9am Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, FS1 and the iHeartRadio.

[Greg Cosell]

Hey, thanks, Mike.

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[Colin Cowherd]

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[Colin Cowherd]

Well, dad, and that's Greg Cosell. He doesn't out think the film. 46 years at NFL Films Thursdays during the football season. We love him. So. All right, so I let, let's. This is where I lean on you. So I think shedeurs bigger. I think he, I think he's really accurate. But he's a different quarterback than Dylan Gabriel. They are different quarterbacks. You've watched all, you know, you watch Dylan, you've watched Shador. What is the film say? What, what, what do you see? What is, who does Stefanski trust? Who do you face in pressure? What does the film say on the Browns Young quarterbacks.

[Greg Cosell]

So I think we're trying to figure out who's going to be quarterback number three on the Browns. Right, Right. Well, you know, Dylan Gabriel is a player that Stefanski really liked because the way it works in the league, Colin, and you know, this is offensive coaches, they think about how does a player work within my scheme. And what Gabriel is, is he's essentially stylistically similar to a Tua tagovailoa in that he hits his back foot and the ball comes out. He's a rhythm player. He's a timing player. That's his game. He's a shorter quarterback, so he needs to play that way. And he did that effectively for two years in college, one at Oklahoma, one at Oregon. Sanders is a little different player. He's not quite as rhythmic and he has a tendency and this showed up on tape, by the way, even though the good outweighed the bad when he played two weeks ago. He tends to drift a little in the pocket. He tends to retreat in the pocket. Now he can throw the ball well, but there are some things he would have to clean up, clearly. And you know, he came from a program at Colorado where there were a ton of tunnel screens, a ton of easy throws. He would need to learn how to better navigate the pocket, although he showed some signs of that. But again, I think we're talking about, you know, how many quarterbacks are the Browns going to keep? No team keeps four quarterbacks. So it's going to be interesting going down the stretch here. And then Sanders got hurt and missed some time in practice, and that's not going to help him.

[Colin Cowherd]

I mean you, what you're saying basically, and we've seen this from offensive coaches before, run my play. Sean Payton loves Bo Nicks, but he really likes him because he runs his play effectively. And what you're saying is Dylan Gabriel, like a tua, runs the play they call Shador sometimes ad libs out of it. Is that what you're saying?

[Greg Cosell]

It's not that he ad libs out of it. He's not, he's not as efficient in that style of just hitting his back foot and getting the ball out. You know, that's the way Dylan Gabriel has always had to play because of his size. So. But that's the way coaches think and I'm not sure a lot of people think that way and understand that is coaches. The term that's used a lot within the NFL is scheme adaptability. Colin. Coaches think on both sides of the ball in terms of how does a guy fit into my scheme, can he run my scheme? You know, you know this. Coaches work 16 hours a day and they're putting in their scheme, their game plan. It starts with OTAs. They want all this executed and when it's not executed, then it becomes a problem.

[Colin Cowherd]

Yeah. So Brock Purdy, when the roster was younger, healthier, less brittle, was a really, really good quarterback last year. Roster gets beat up, he's one in six against playoff teams now. Right now in camp, their wide receiving core is in complete shambles and they open up against a pretty lively athletic Seattle defense up in the northwest. That's a tough opener. So when you looked at film last year of Purdy going one in six down the stretch against playoff teams, was it that he couldn't make certain throws? Was it that the yards after catch were limited? Like 1 in 6 from Purdy kind of jumps out at you when you look at his early success. Now without Christian McCaffrey, it's a different offense. But what did the film say about Purdy last year when he had to start games with a patchwork group around him?

[Greg Cosell]

Well, it's funny you mentioned Purdy because last week I watched 250 drop backs of Purdy over a two day period. Purdy is a really good quarterback. Colin. The thing with Purdy is he's not Josh Allen or Patrick Mahomes. He's not necessarily the kind of quarterback, even though he does have mobility that's going to be make those kinds of plays by himself that we think of, you know, that I'm a Holmes make and Allen makes a Lamar makes. He certainly doesn't navigate the pocket the way a Joe Burrow does, but in terms of being what we call a post snap operator, in other words, when he takes the snap, he has such an intuitive feel for what he sees and therefore he's a really, really good timing and anticipation thrower. It's just innate to him. He sees it really quickly. So, so Purdy is a high level post snap operator. He's a really, really good player. You know, it gets to that old question of how many quarterbacks Colin and you can go back years and years are really great when their team's not very good. I mean that's, you know, Purdy is a really good quarterback. He's just not a dynamic athlete who's necessarily going to make those kind of special plays on his own. But as a pocket quarterback, he's pretty high level.

[Colin Cowherd]

Boy, Too bad Jason McIntyre is not on the show today. He'd be doing backflips after that. Okay, Caleb Williams. I went through the schedule this week and I said, listen, Chicago historically has struggled in division. They went one in five last year in division. They don't have Detroit's roster. They may not have Green Bay's coach or quarterback. And Minnesota's roster is better front to back as well. So what have you seen with Caleb? What, what. I'll address it this way. What is Ben Johnson doing to Caleb? Where has he made strides improving Caleb from what the film said last year?

[Greg Cosell]

Well, I think the number one thing is not when he throws the ball. He's a great thrower of the football. That is evident. Everybody knows that. And he's obviously a great athlete who can make plays on the move. The main part for Caleb Williams and the key for Ben Johnson is everything from the huddle until the ball is snapped because they call multiple plays in the huddle. There's a lot of shifts, there's a lot of motions. You've got to be able to do that with the necessary speed and efficiency. So you get to the line of scrimmage and there's time enough on the shot clock because you're going to have the shifts, you're going to have the motions. Now it's up to Caleb to decide if there's two plays called which one am I going to run. That part of quarterbacking is the bigger deal for Caleb Williams as he's learning the Ben Johnson offense because Ben Johnson will set you up beautifully with defined and clean reads and throws. And Caleb Williams throws it as well as anybody. I mean, you can see that everybody knew that when he came out, that was never the issue, but it's really from the point of the huddle until the ball is snapped. That's going to be the main part that he has to become efficient at.

[Colin Cowherd]

So, so much of there's such an advantage for a Jaden Daniels, getting a Cliff Kingsbury where a Justin Fields has had a lot of defensive coaches, I do think Sean Payton, Bo Nix. I don't think Bo would have been that good had he had a, you know, a defensive coach perhaps. I think, I think just offensive coaches and quarterbacks, there's. They rebuild old lines quicker. There's a sensibility about it.

[Greg Cosell]

Sure.

[Colin Cowherd]

So I look at Jackson Dart. Three years with Lane Kiffin is high level coaching. And then he gets Brian Dabel more than capable, won a playoff game with Daniel Jones. And my, my thing is you can, you can tell me that he's not quite ready. But three years, Elaine, and a camp with Brian Dabel. When you look at the film of Jackson Darton preseason, do you see areas where ooh, whoa, whoa, he's not ready or is. Does he see the field? What does the film tell you?

[Greg Cosell]

Well, they really did a good job in the preseason of allowing him to get comfortable and that's what the preseason really is for. A lot of empty sets. Okay. He's very comfortable in empty sets. It spreads the field. They got a lot of base defensive looks that were not difficult to read. They played a little bit up tempo, which he's certainly used to in Lane Kiffin. So they did a lot of things that help him really get comfortable. So when he's on the field, you know, he's not going through major progressions here. He's not doing that if he becomes the starter and we'll see how all this plays out. You know, who knows what's going on there. But I don't know how you feel. But there's a part of me that wouldn't be surprised if he's named the starter. But we'll see how that plays out. But they tried to make it easy for him so that he could make confident throws, which he did. And he obviously has movement ability so. Well, you know, obviously when the regular season starts and teams game plan, things get different because you're going to see a lot of different things. But he certainly was efficient, just like Caleb Williams was super efficient against the Bills, you know, second and third team players. But that's what you want. You want efficiency. So the quarterback feels good.

[Colin Cowherd]

I said I didn't think the Steelers was a great Choice by Aaron Rodgers, much like the jets defensive head coach. Unpredictable offensive line, inability in recent years to run the ball. And I said, it's just, this is an offensive line under Mike Tomlin that has had six years and not a lot to show for it. They have not run the ball consistently. They lose Najee Harris, their left tackle. And I. I just thought San Francisco, Minnesota, I thought there were better spots for him. So if you go back to the jets and Aaron last year in the. In the film, it could look a little bit like the Steelers, to me, are a better run version of the Jets. Right. Like a better front office, a better coach. Go back to the jets last year. Is Aaron way past his prime? Does he do anything that resembles the great Aaron?

[Greg Cosell]

Yeah, he throws the ball super well. You know, I think when you. When you sign Aaron Rodgers. Oh, and he's your quarterback. To me, the bigger issue is how you mesh what you want to do as an offensive coordinator. And it's Arthur Smith with the fact that one of Rodgers greatest strengths has always been his ability to control the game at the line of scrimmage and be able to adjust and change plays. So that I think for an offensive coordinator, that's something that you really have to work on, because you don't want to take that away from Aaron Rodgers. Because anybody who works with Aaron Rodgers will tell you he's among the smartest quarterbacks they've ever seen, and he's so good at the line of scrimmage in controlling the game. So to me, the larger question is, how do you mesh? How does Arthur Smith mesh what he wants to do with his offense because he's got a clearly defined offensive approach with the fact that Aaron Rodgers is so good at the line of scrimmage and likes to change things based on what he sees.

[Colin Cowherd]

Yeah. So an interesting storyline that has developed this this off season, in training camp and in the preseason is Matthew Stafford's help. So if you think about last year, the Rams were driving in the snow in Philadelphia after a pukinakua completion to beat the Philadelphia Eagles, who trounced Kansas City in the Super Bowl. So.

[Greg Cosell]

Right.

[Colin Cowherd]

My take is the defense. There's a lot of talent. I'm sure the film says that, especially in the box, there's a lot of talent up front. But when I look at their offense and their point differential last year, does the film tell you this is really. This is about McVeigh and Stafford's brilliance, not really the offensive roster composition? Because I said the other day, I said, if Matt Stafford doesn't play. This is the only team in the league that could win the super bowl or finish 4 and 13. Because I think even Kansas City with their roster and their overall talent and coaching could win 7, 8 games of Mahomes got banged up. When you look at the Rams on film, what is their offense? Is it basically the brilliance of two guys and kind of a limited offensive roster.

[Greg Cosell]

To some extent? I mean they don't have a great offensive roster and certainly the wide receiver position now is they don't have great players there. You know, Naku is really good, but he's a certain kind of player. And Stafford has just always been so good. Another guy that is really good at understanding what he's seeing, changing plays, calling audibles, still has a big time arm, can make any throw, an aggressive thrower, which you really need to be in the NFL. And McVay has always been so good in terms of formations, shifts, motions, getting guys open, making it tough for the defense. But yeah, you're right, offensively they do not have great players throughout that offense. And Stafford's injury, the back particularly, you know, don't forget he had back injuries when he was 25 and 26. This is not brand new. And now he's I think 37. So you know, I love watching Matthew Stafford play. He's always been one of my favorite guys to watch on film. But I'd be a little concerned about that back injury. You know, that's a tough deal as you get older.

[Colin Cowherd]

Okay, finally. You know, I've always loved Sam Darnold. Last year through 14 weeks it was, I was, it was a very fun story for me. But when you watched him, was it about Kevin o' Connell and Justin Jefferson? Do you see him going to Seattle with a defensive coach with an offensive line that was bad last year. Do you think he replicates it? Is he now overvalued based on a remarkable coach? Justin Jefferson? Solid run game. Where are you on Sam Darnold off of last season? What does the film tell you?

[Greg Cosell]

Well, I think that the reason that Seattle wanted Darnold is because with Kubiak there as the oc, they're going to run a lot of similar concepts as the Vikings did. They're putting them under center because I believe Darnold last year was either the second or third most drop backs as a conventional play action quarterback, meaning he was under center. That's what he did really well under Kevin o' Connell and that's what Kubiak is going to do. They're going to start with the outside zone run game, put Darnold under center and let the play action game be a foundation of what they do. There's less reading involved in the play action game, particularly when you're under center. It holds the second level defenders better because they have a longer time to wait to see if it's run or pass. So I think the thought process was Darnold was very good running that style of offense, that philosophical style, and now we're going to do something very similar. And Colin, by the way, most quarterbacks need a particular style, a particular philosophy to be effective. There's very few transcendent quarterbacks that you can just say let's do anything and they'll be great. So that to me is not a knock on Darnold. That's the way it is with most quarterbacks.

[Colin Cowherd]

Greg Kostell 46 years NFL Films this point forward for the next 2022 weeks. It's going to be Greg Cosell on Thursdays as great seeing you. Be sure to catch live editions of the Herd weekdays at noon Eastern, 9am.

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[Colin Cowherd]

Recent years, one of the best coaching jobs was done by Kevin Stefanski of the Cleveland Browns in 2023. In that division, he won 11 games and his quarterbacks were old, creaky Joe Flacco, Odd Deshaun Watson, PJ Walker and Dorian Thompson Robinson. Kevin Stefanski is a hell of a coach. Went to Penn. He knows more than you do about offense. I know. Hard to believe he does. And he knows more than me. He has announced that Joe Flacco will start against the Rams 25 to 30 plays for the starters. Dylan Gabriel is the backup. Shador Sanders is third. I know you've got your Shador Barry Sanders jersey you're wearing. I know. And I've said before, I think Shedeur was underdrafted. I think he was. But speeding Tickets, silliness. Dylan Gabriel's a much more kind of centered, serious kid. And Shador is third. I gotta trust Stefanski. Guy won 11 games with like musical chairs at quarterback in 2023 in the AFC in a division with the Ravens. Joe burrow, he won 11 games. He knows more than I do. I know you are absolutely sure you could be president. You would do a better job. It's the world we live in. Everybody's an expert. Everybody's an epidemiologist during a pandemic. Kevin Stefanski is a smart guy. He's one of the two Ivy League.

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Coaches in the league.

[Colin Cowherd]

He's a pretty smart guy. He won 11 games with that nonsense in 2023. He's got Dylan Gabriel two and Shadour three. Greg Cosell was on 25 minutes ago and I asked him, what do you see? You've seen both of them play in the preseason. What do you see?

[Greg Cosell]

Offensive coaches, they think about how does a player work within my scheme. And what Gabriel is, is he's essentially stylistically similar to Atua Tagovailoa. Sanders is a little different player. He's not quite as rhythmic and he has a tendency and this showed up on tape, by the way, even though the good outweighed the bad when he played, played two weeks ago. He tends to drift a little in the pocket. He tends to retreat in the pocket. You know. How many quarterbacks are the Browns going to keep? No team keeps four quarterbacks. So it's going to be interesting going down the stretch here. And so then Sanders got hurt and missed some time in practice and that's not going to help him.

[Colin Cowherd]

So let's be honest, the entire NFL told you he's a fifth round pick and the Browns are telling you he's a third string quarterback. He was overvalued. I'm guilty as charged. I, I, I thought, oh, I can see him fall into the second round. I guess I'm wrong. But the league told you. And by the way, seven teams annually are desperate for quarterback and another 15 are desperate for a backup. The whole league pass for four rounds. And many of us believe Jimmy Haslam, the owner of the Browns, is the one that nudged the front office into drafting him. So the Brown drafted Dylan Gabriel two rounds before. So I know you can run to your Reddit board and DogPound.com and say it's a conspiracy, but the whole league told you he's a fifth round quarterback and the Browns are telling you. Kevin Stefanski, who won 11 games in 2023 with nonsense in a division with the Ravens, the AFC. He's like his third string quarterback. You know, I think I'm pretty good on the quarterback thing now that Sam Darnold can play. I haven't missed a ton on quarterbacks. I thought, I thought chadoor, I thought, I don't know. I watched Jackson dart with better teammates. I watched her with a bad college O line and no run game, be really productive against much better rosters. Much, much better rosters. But the league and the Browns, they're telling you, I mean, I know this is hard for guys but sometimes you have to admit there are people that are behind the rope. They have access, they see stuff. I mean it sounded like to me, remember Greg Cosell said a couple of weeks ago on the show, he said, he said Shador is accurate, but he's not as accurate as the analysts are saying. The film tells you he's not that accurate. He's accurate but, and for the record, the Browns have everything to gain on Shador playing if Shedeur, I mean if Shedeur could be the starter. Are you kidding me? That would be unbelievable as a fifth round pick. Look what it's done to the Niners. You can stack your roster. You can get out from under that horse. Horrible desean Watson contract. They would love, they would love for Shador as a fifth round pick to be a starting quarterback. There's no, there's no advantage to the Browns bearing him. And I, I, I said, I, I looked at Dylan Gabriel in college and my take was he had great coaching and talent at Oregon. He's just too small. He's going to struggle kind of seeing the field and he's acknowledged he, he can I, I just, I just thought, I mean he, you know, he looks smaller and I'd seen photos of him next to other, you know, athletes at Oregon and I thought I just don't see that as an NFL quarterback. I do. I've always said size matters. Unless you're like Kyler Murray or Russell Wilson and you're prime and you can run around and you're so elusive. That's not Dylan Gabriel. Shador is a legit 6 2. Shador moves well enough and he was really accurate behind with no talent around him at Colorado. But Stefanski knows more than I do and I trust him and there's no value in burying him. I would love to be on dog pound barks.com today. I bet you that website is lit. I bet they're going crazy in everybody stinks but us in cleveland.com I would love to be on that. I don't have my phone with me. Dogs by nature. Is that the big one? That site is roaring today. John, what do you make of it?

[John]

Didn't Stefanski tell you what he thought about Shador when he had the chance to take him in the third round and he took another quarterback? And even if you say, well, the GMs pick the players, no one picks a quarterback for an offensive head coach. That's the offensive head coach. Even if he's not the boss in the draft room, quarterbacks are his baby. He chose Dylan Gabriel in the third round. Now, we can disagree, and I do. I thought that was a little crazy, but he clearly likes Dylan Gabriel. I mean, that's, that's not debatable. And Dylan Gabriel is what, two, three.

[Greg Cosell]

Four, five years worth of college experience.

[John]

That they're basing this off of?

[Colin Cowherd]

Let's check out wolfwolf.com and see what they're saying. Man, this is, this is Good. Good dog. Biscuit.com let's go check it out right now on Fox 1. Now you can stream your favorite live sport so you can be there live for the biggest moments. That means NFL Sundays and college football games, nascar, Major League Baseball, postseason and more. With Fox one, you get it all. Live, edgier seat plays, high octane moments, and that feeling like you're right there in the action. Fox 1 We live for live streaming now.

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[Colin Cowherd]

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[Colin Cowherd]

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[Colin Cowherd]

You're only human.

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There's Hills. Science does more Balancing work, family and education isn't easy, but American Public University makes it possible with online courses, monthly start dates and flexible schedules. APU is designed for busy professionals who need education that fits their lives. And Affordability matters too. APU offers the opportunity grant, giving students 10% off undergraduate and master's level tuition, helping you reach your goals without breaking a bank. Plus, they provide career services and 24. 7 mental health support at no extra cost. Visit Apu Apus Edu to learn more. That's Apu Apus Edu Imagine never buying gas again. EVs are as easy to charge as your phone and perfect for everyday life. Drive daily with confidence everywhere you go. Most Americans drive 40 miles a day. Most EVs are equipped with 200 to 400 miles of range. They've got fewer parts, fewer repairs, and fewer headaches. With hundreds of new and used EV models available today, there's an EV to fit every lifestyle and every budget. I love my electric vehicle. It's easy. No more gas stations. The way forward is electric. Learn [e-mail] this is an iHeart podcast.