Best of the Week on The Herd

Summary

Podcast Summary: The Herd with Colin Cowherd – Best of the Week

Release Date: December 21, 2024
Host: Colin Cowherd
Produced by: iHeartPodcasts and The Volume

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1. NFL Team Performance: Where Colin Was Right and Where He Was Wrong

In this segment, Colin Cowherd, accompanied by co-hosts Jason McIntyre and Nick Wright, delves into an analysis of various NFL teams, evaluating which of his previous predictions held true and where he missed the mark.

• Dallas Cowboys:
  Jason McIntyre reflects on the Cowboys' defensive strategies, stating, “I warned you last week on Dan Campbell. He doesn't trust his defense, so now he's going hyper reckless” (04:01). Despite this criticism, McIntyre observes that the Cowboys are currently leading the NFC South and praises quarterback Cooper Rush for his ability to "move the chains."

• Tampa Bay Buccaneers:
  McIntyre assigns the Buccaneers a strong position, highlighting their defense by noting, “They haven't allowed over 30 points in a game,” and commends coach Todd Bowles for his defensive prowess (04:31).

• Los Angeles Rams:
  Colin initially predicted the Rams' division victory, a sentiment McIntyre agrees with. He points out the Rams' improved offensive line and healthy roster as key factors: “They are 7 and 2 since just like last year when they got healthy. They finish strong last year” (06:32).

• Miami Dolphins and Other Teams:
  Discussions extend to other teams like the Miami Dolphins, where McIntyre notes their potential playoff success but remains cautious about their defensive consistency.

2. Quarterback Spotlight: Evaluating the League’s Top Players

The podcast features an in-depth discussion on the performance and potential of the NFL's leading quarterbacks.

• Patrick Mahomes (Kansas City Chiefs):
  Matt Hasselbeck emphasizes Mahomes' resilience and competitive spirit despite injuries, stating, “Patrick Mahomes, he probably should sit this weekend against Houston, but knowing who he is and the competitor that he is, just watching him through the years, he wants to be the guy that says... I can play like I'm 40 years old” (21:14).
  Julian Edelman adds, “You've got to make sure you hammer every single one [of the metaphorical nails], because there's going to be one that you didn't hammer down that you may not see” (70:16), highlighting the meticulous nature required to excel at this level.

• Josh Allen (Buffalo Bills):
  Jason McIntyre underscores Allen's season-long dominance, declaring, “He's been the best quarterback by a mile this season in the league” (79:07). Julian Edelman agrees, appreciating Allen's integration with the Bills' offense and his status as a "chess piece" in team strategy.

• Brock Purdy (San Francisco 49ers):
  McIntyre expresses skepticism about Purdy's valuation, advising caution: “I don't think you can find a sleeper. People like Purdy, but he was reckless, he was small, he struggles in wet weather” (63:33).
  Julian Edelman concurs, emphasizing the conditional aspects of Purdy's performance: “If you're a quarterback, that's an if. Like Josh Allen is great... but there's a lot of ifs” (64:55).

• Jalen Hurts (Philadelphia Eagles):
  Both hosts acknowledge Hurts' versatility and leadership, with McIntyre predicting a potential Super Bowl matchup between the Bills and Eagles, while emphasizing Hurts' ability to run and pass effectively (79:08, 79:18).

3. Coaching Strategies and Team Dynamics

Insights from former players and coaches provide a deeper understanding of the strategic elements influencing team performances.

• Dan Campbell (Detroit Lions):
  Jason McIntyre critiques Campbell's decision-making, particularly his onside kick call, suggesting a lack of trust in the defense: “But onside kicks, now you have to announce you're doing it. So the surprise of the onside kick is done” (39:28).
  Matt Hasselbeck defends Campbell as an "emotional guy," attributing his aggressive strategies to his passionate coaching style (10:10).

• Mike McCarthy (Dallas Cowboys):
  McIntyre praises McCarthy’s coaching, noting his "good record" and predicting his job security due to the team's consistent wins and improved offense (05:46).

• Julian Edelman on Team Culture:
  Julian Edelman discusses the importance of team culture, emphasizing accountability and leadership. He critiques the Philadelphia Eagles' internal dynamics, pointing out, “Players can. They have the best roster. They got really good football players. But I think that the leadership... doesn’t have the respect everyone” (68:10). This lack of cohesion, he believes, could hinder their playoff aspirations despite their talent.

4. Playoff Predictions and Hierarchy

The hosts assess the current playoff landscape, ranking teams based on their performance and potential.

• Playoff Hierarchy:
  McIntyre presents his rankings, placing the Philadelphia Eagles at number one due to their dominant performance despite organizational issues, while considering teams like the Denver Broncos and Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the top tiers (31:04).
  Nick Wright engages in a quarterback draft exercise, selecting Josh Allen, Jalen Hurts, Matt Stafford, and others as top contenders for playoff success, debating the merits and potential of each choice (79:07 - 85:37).

• Key Predictions:

  • McIntyre forecasts victories for the Rams over the Jets and the Packers over various opponents, based on their offensive strength and defensive consistency (35:07, 35:10).
  • Wright advocates for the Chiefs, albeit with some reservations, highlighting their historical dominance and current form despite conflicting with peer assessments (37:27).

5. Special Segments: Quarterback Draft and Betting Insights

In a collaborative segment, Colin Cowherd and co-hosts engage in a quarterback drafting and betting discussion, evaluating the top quarterbacks for playoff success and making betting picks for upcoming games.

• Quarterback Draft:
  Participants select quarterbacks they believe will lead their teams to playoff victories. Notable picks include Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen, Jalen Hurts, Matt Stafford, and Julian Edelman’s preference for boisterous performers like Brock Purdy (79:07 - 85:37).

• Betting Picks:
  The hosts share their betting choices for college and NFL games, analyzing team performances and conditions. For example, McIntyre backs Indiana over Notre Dame in a cold-weather game, while endorsing the Rams to win against the Jets (93:19 - 98:40).

6. Guest Insights: Julian Edelman on Coaching and Team Performance

Julian Edelman, a former NFL player, joins the discussion to provide perspective on coaching philosophies and team management.

• Coaching in College vs. NFL:
  Edelman compares coaching in college football to the NFL, highlighting the flexibility and developmental opportunities in college, contrasted with the rigid, pro-focused structure of the NFL: “Spring football actually is better in college than the Pros” (58:00).

• Bill Belichick’s Transition to College Coaching:
  Discussing Bill Belichick's move to college coaching, Edelman speculates on his potential success by leveraging his player projection skills and familial influences: “He knows how to project players... his dad was a part of that whole thing” (56:25).

• Team Culture and Success:
  Edelman emphasizes the importance of a cohesive team culture, arguing that despite a talented roster, lack of respect and internal conflicts can undermine team performance: “Players can. They have the best roster. They got really good football players. But I think that the leadership... doesn’t have the respect everyone” (66:58).

7. Conclusion and Final Thoughts

Colin Cowherd wraps up the episode by reiterating the ongoing analysis and encouraging listeners to engage with upcoming content.

• Final Recommendations:
  McIntyre and co-hosts express optimism about turning around their betting records and invite listeners to continue following their insights for future success (93:02, 98:40).

• Upcoming Events:
  The podcast previews the next chapter in the college football playoff and anticipates exciting matchups and performances (92:12).

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Notable Quotes

1. Jason McIntyre on Cowboys' Defense:
   “I warned you last week on Dan Campbell. He doesn't trust his defense, so now he's going hyper reckless.” (04:01)

2. Matt Hasselbeck on Patrick Mahomes:
   “It’s about what I can do. I can play like I’m 40 years old from the pocket and slice and dice.” (21:14)

3. Julian Edelman on Team Culture:
   “Players can. They have the best roster. They got really good football players. But I think that the leadership... doesn’t have the respect everyone.” (66:58)

4. Julian Edelman on Bill Belichick’s Coaching:
   “Spring football actually is better in college than the Pros because of the CBA and the NFL is very limiting, without a doubt.” (58:14)

5. Nick Wright on Chiefs’ Placement:
   “You have the best record and no J Mac, the Bills didn't beat the Chiefs three weeks ago. They did beat the Chiefs five weeks ago and 57 weeks ago and 104 weeks ago as they beat him every regular season and the Chiefs dog walk them in the playoffs.” (37:27)

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Conclusion

"Best of the Week on The Herd" offers a comprehensive analysis of the current NFL landscape, quarterback performances, coaching strategies, and playoff projections. Through engaging discussions and expert insights, Colin Cowherd and his co-hosts provide valuable perspectives for sports enthusiasts looking to stay informed and make informed betting decisions.

Transcript

[Colin Cowherd]

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[Colin Cowherd]

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[Doug Gottlieb]

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 team in this country. So let's take a break from our hate so our team can regroup. We need to take a timeout against hate. Visit stand uptoallhate.org to help and join me in calling for timeout against hate by following or what's up with Hate? Or posting the Blue square emoji.

[Colin Cowherd]

I'm Colin Coward from the Herd. Are you a small business owner launching a company or dreaming of starting one? Then be sure to catch up on seasons one and two of Mind the Business Small business success stories from Ruby studio and Inuit QuickBooks. And stick around for season three. Launching Thursday, January 9 hosts Austin Henkwitz and Jenny Torres talk to small business owners about how they've grown and maintained their business. You don't want to miss these inspiring stories of small business journeys. Listen to Mind the Business Small business Success Stories on the iHeart app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, so if I say Aflac, you probably think that famous duck, you should also think supplemental insurance. So that's like in football, what you'd call the second level of your defense. I mean, if there's gaps in your health insurance. Aflac's job is to help fill them. If you're sick or injured, Aflac can pay cash to help cover things your health insurance doesn't unexpected medical bills, even rent or mortgage payments. To learn more about how Aflac can help fill the gaps health insurance can leave behind, visit aflac.com thanks for listening.

[Unknown]

To the Herd podcast. Be sure to catch us live every weekday on Fox Sports Radio and noon.

[Colin Cowherd]

To 3 Eastern, 9am to noon Pacific.

[Unknown]

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. Now let's get this party started.

[Jason McIntyre]

You're listening to Fox Sports Radio.

[Unknown]

Here we go, hour two. It is a Monday. Love, love what they've done here at FS1. For our set, I went holiday shopping. Saturday I went Christmas shopping. I'll tell you, an underrated place to Christmas shop is rei. I love rea. I can literally sit in rei. I could stay the night there. I love that place.

Like, is that where you get scuba gear?

No, it's camping and it's camping, hiking and camping. I just love everything there.

They're an outdoorsman now, huh?

Well, I my son likes hiking and doing stuff, so he's going up to B.C. at the start of the year. So he's gonna go hiking and he loves all that stuff. All right, J. Mac, Matt Hasselbeck, Mark Sanchez, today we do it every Monday at this time. Where Colin was right. Where Colin was wrong. There's plenty of both. Here we go.

[Jason McIntyre]

Where Colin was right.

[Unknown]

I warned you last week on Dan Campbell. He doesn't trust his defense, so now he's going hyper reckless. I really do like the man, but I think they're no longer the Hun, Ted. They're the hunter. And I think it's very hard to win a Super bowl when you're reckless. Now again, defensively, I don't know, maybe he feels like they have to big swings and I don't think they were going to win the game anyway. But I said it last week and I'll say it again, reckless teams don't win the Super Bowl.

[Jason McIntyre]

Where Colin was wrong.

[Unknown]

Well, on November 18th when the Cowboys lost to the Texans, I said they're in the middle of a soft tank. Well, they've won three of four. Mike is playing great CD Lamb back to back touchdowns. Say what you want about Cooper Rush, he moves the chains. So Mike McCarthy, there's, you know, I, I, we've been saying this now, Mike McCarthy's a good coach. I think he's going to retain his job because he's winning these games and the team hasn't quit. You look at the New York Giants and you wonder if the team has quit. You watch the Cowboys. I don't see it. McCarthy's probably coming back where Colin was, right? When Baker signed that deal with Tampa, I said I would have no problem signing him. He's a good fit. He's got the grit, he's got a chip on his shoulder and I think he's a really good leader. They now lead the NFC South. He and Mike Evans totally in unison. I think at his price point, he's actually a bargain. I was blown away yesterday. The Chargers had the number one defense in the league and they dropped a 40 burger and they totally controlled this game. So I think a lot for quarterbacks outside of the all time greats is fit. Sam Darnold now has a good fit. Baker chipping his shoulder. Tampa is a great fit.

[Jason McIntyre]

Where Colin was wrong.

[Unknown]

Yeah, I never thought I'd see Bill belichick take the 3rd to 4th best coaching job in the ACC. I admit I see him as a pro coach. I don't know if he and Mike Lombardi and mostly a pro staff are going to feel collegiate. I said, I feel like it's going to be a quicker, more rigid version of Charlie Weiss, a pro guy who tried to make college work. He says, you know, I always thought about coaching college. I think this, in my opinion, is more about the NFL turning their nose up in the air at Bill Belichick and not wanting his rigidity and personnel control. But I'll admit watching him in Carolina blue, it's a bit of a shocker.

[Jason McIntyre]

For me where Collin was right.

[Unknown]

I picked the Rams to win the division before the season started. Matt Stafford, zero pick in five weeks. They now officially lead the division. They started one in four. They were all beat up on the O line and wide receiver. They are 7 and 2 since just like last year when they got healthy. They finish strong last year. Right now, Cooper Cup's healthy, Puka Nakua, their offensive line, Havenstein's back up. This is a very, very good team. I do feel like they're a draft away from hoisting another trophy. But this is a team I thought would win this division where Colin was wrong. In the last nine games, LeBron is shooting 25% from three and 45% on field goals. I had said earlier this season I still considered him a top 10 player and defended him like mid November. He's not. He disappeared. His turnovers are up, his shooting is down. He has lost his legs. Listen, I'm not. This should have happened five years ago. I'm shocked it took this long but that absence for whatever reasons. Speculate all you want. He looked out of gas. And the first thing an athlete loses is the legs. 50 year old quarterback can still grab a football and sling it. And Steph Curry will be able to shoot when he's 70 but it's the legs and LeBron is not a top 10 player.

[Jason McIntyre]

Where Colin was right.

[Unknown]

I don't get the brock Purdy for $60 million discussion. Well, what do you know? They pulled San Francisco fans and 40% believe Brock Pie should get in the 20 to 30 million dollars range. So at least I agree with the NERS. Listen, in the four biggest games this year, one he was hurt and the three others he was easily the second best quarterback in the field. I like him. He struggles in wet weather. I don't think he's a guy that can elevate average players. I think he is a quarterback that can manage great players. I would pay him. I think he's a franchise guy. You start talking 55, 60 million, we're talking Lamar, we're talking Mahomes, Allen Stafford. I don't think that's for Brock Ferdy. And now Niner fans agree where Colin was raw well I didn't think Devonte Adams was going to matter for the pack for the Jets. I felt like he bounced around, Aaron was shot but I got to Be honest, those two yesterday were great. The last four minutes of the game they were historic statistically. Devontae's had over 300 yards in the last two games and I'm critical of Aaron Rodgers so I have to be fair. I think in the last three to four weeks Aaron has found his footing. Devonte Adams now Garrett Wilson from the reaction on the sideline may not love it but I will tell you now between Garrett Wilson and devonte Adams, Aaron has looked very comfortable. I thought the season was over three, four weeks ago. They have played incredibly hard offensively. They've been very good late in games. I was wrong on that. I thought they were done.

[Colin Cowherd]

Nope.

[Unknown]

They still got some life where Colin was right, where Colin was wrong and with that 18 years in the league. I love our Monday show and Matt Hasselbeck stops on in the three time Pro Bowler so I'm watching the Lions fall apart and and I know Dan Campbell's kind of his DNA is he is a go. He's a, he's an alpha. He's going to take some shots, kinda. But I wonder now if he's being. I view him as reckless because he just doesn't trust the defense. And I do think sometimes coaches go, we can't stop anybody. Do you think it's his DNA or do you think now he's just lost trust in the defense? Why he would call that onside kick?

[Matt Hasselbeck]

No, I don't think it has anything to do with the defense. I just think it's his DNA. He's an emotional guy and it's part of what you love about him. You know, sometimes former players, when they, they become coaches, they have to learn how to like, separate that. I'm getting geeked up to go cover a kickoff mentality and have to learn how to be calm and just sort of be discerning. And while all the chaos is going on around you, you're not the guy hyping everybody up. You're the guy that's sitting back almost like, you know the movie Bagger Vance, when he steps up to the tee box, like everything else goes quiet. And he's, he's, he's like just completely engrossed and focused on the decision that needs to be made. And I think you learn as a young, I mean, he's a little bit of a young coach still. I think you learn from these moments. And he's been very transparent at the podium talking about it. And I think that's what people love about him is he's very transparent. He owns up to his own mistakes. And like you said, they are now the bully. They were the guys that were getting picked on, they were swinging, you know, taking a shot with house money, sorta. And now they need to play like one of the best teams in all of football, which they are.

[Unknown]

So Green Bay, the average age is 25 years old. They're like an old college team. And I watch him last night and I just think that organization, you know, I was saying this earlier, Matt. If Jordan Love would have gone to half the league, they would have played him first year. Battle line defensive coach, he's wrecked. They have been so smart, even adding Josh Jacobs. They're like, we really like this kid. And he's got good young tight end, receiver. Let's give him a power running back so he didn't have to throw 35 times. I love how Green Bay develops quarterbacks, but I look at this team and I think just a bunch of kids, they're 25 years old. Go to your playoff experience. Is that youth a liability when playoffs start in a month?

[Matt Hasselbeck]

No, not if you're completely naive and you have no idea, like, how much pressure is really on you. And I think that's the great thing about that team. And you've seen it in other teams. I remember Tom Brady's first year when he won the Super Bowl. I don't think he really knew. I remember, you know, in my first, you know, times in the. In the playoffs, like, I didn't know, but that was the beauty of it. You're just out there like you were as a kid, cutting it loose, having fun. And I would say Mat Floor does not get enough credit for what he is as a. As a football coach. He just kind of gets glossed over. He's like, oh, yeah, he's a Sean McVeigh guy, you know, like, whatever. Like, no, no, he is a legitimate, legitimate head football coach both sides of the ball. He's done a great job bringing in Jeff Affley to run the defense. They've been, you know, really, honestly, they've been the unsung team this season. Like, would we even just talk about their division? We talk about Detroit, we talk about Minnesota, and this is a team that's done it. You know, we talk about Detroit being banged up now. Green Bay was banged up. Now they're getting healthy. I think they're a dangerous team coming into the playoffs.

[Unknown]

So as I watch the Bills, first of all, I said this earlier. I always thought John Elway was the most talented quarterback I'd ever seen, showing my age. But I thought that's. I mean, he could have played Major League Baseball. And then. And then you watch Favre, and then you watch Mahomes. And I'm not talking just trophies. I'm talking like, Bill Russell's got 11 rings, Michael's got six. I thought Michael was more talented. It's not just trophies. Marino never won one. He was brilliant. But I watched Josh Allen. He makes Elway look lumbering and small. Like, I. I've never seen anything like him as a former quarterback. 18 years, you, you know, you were in rooms with guys like Favre. How would you coach Josh? I mean, you don't want to not ask him to do whatever he does. I wonder if it's almost harder to coach a guy that says, like, good as Tiger and his primer Ohtani. How would you coach him?

[Matt Hasselbeck]

Yeah, no, it's. It's harder than people realize. I remember my rookie year watching Andy Reid try to coach Brett Favre. You Want to keep the amazing, the otherworldly, but at the same time, you want to protect him and his body. And obviously that football I saw with Andrew Luck when he was getting coach and you know, he's putting himself in harm's way. I think it is. It's like also, it's a curse and a blessing being as big and as physical and as fearless as he is. But when you can get it right, and I believe they've got it right, they've got designed runs late in the game when you need it. They don't do it early, they do it more late. They do it when they've kind of worn you down and they know exactly what you're doing. They're smart with him. He's being smart with the football. That's why everybody this week will be talking about him being the NFL. NFL's MVP. It's. I mean, if you were voting today, if you had to decide today, he's the guy now, that doesn't mean he's going to win it, and that doesn't mean that they're going to hoist the Lombardi. But if you're a Bills fan and you ever thought, hey, this is the year that our quarterback wins MVP and this is the year that, that the Bills finally, you know, hoist that Lombard, like, you're probably right. This is like your best chance right now. And I think one of the coolest things for them, giving them confidence. People think of them as this, like, I don't know, cold weather team. They've shown that they can be lights out, maybe not even. Maybe even better in a dome. And guess what? If you think those players aren't talking about the fact that the Super Bowl's in a dome this year, I promise you quietly, they're whispering that to each other on the flight home.

[Unknown]

So I want you to, when I watched Philadelphia just sort of take advantage of Pittsburgh, I mean, obviously T.J. watts, remarkable. But it looked easier than it should. And when you got 19 catches between DeVontae Smith and A.J. brown and Pittsburgh knew that was coming, with all the talk about AJ they knew it was coming. Is it scheme? It looked so easy. Is it the movement of hurts? And I. I'm past questioning Sirianni, but as I watch that game, I thought it shouldn't be quite this easy. Is there a scheme? Is it. What makes it look. Is it hurts? Is it play calling? What is it?

[Matt Hasselbeck]

Well, it certainly helps when Pittsburgh offense, Pittsburgh's offense doesn't play well, they turn the ball over. They really Weren't explosive. So you're getting more opportunities. And I really thought, exactly like you said, they said, hey, come out and beat us in the passing game. We're going to stop Saquon first. You saw the RPO for the touchdown. And then, and like we've talked about it for, you know, the whole season, Philly has the weapons, they are capable, Their quarterback is capable. People are jumping on him because he's been a little bit of a wait and see thrower. Like, I'm going to wait and see until it's open, then I'm going to throw it in. Less of an anticipator, the way you see guys like Tuatanga Bailoa. And so I just think this is still a young quarterback who's. Who's maturing. He's talking about, you got to water the grass if you want the grass to look green. And you got to. You, you know, you have success in what you work on. Sure, I'll buy. I just, I really think, and I've said it all year, I think Philly's one of the best teams in football. People are quick to jump on board the Boobirds in Philly because they're out quick in Philly. I mean, this is the fan base that boo Santa Claus. I mean, you know, and everybody loves Santa Claus. So I really think this is one of the best teams in football. Their biggest issue is going to be, like, we've seen sticking together and, you know, keeping that humble mindset, that beginner's mindset, and stay in focus week, week to week.

[Unknown]

So it's interesting. Bo Nix really struggled in the first half, and yet, you know, Sean Payton and coaches kind of tell me what they think of their quarterback by the plays they call. So he didn't put bubble wrap on him. They went out in the second half. They were outplayed in the first. They were aggressive. And it was interesting because Bo had a really. I mean, he was overshooting everybody. He had a rough first half. He. It was rough, and I thought, oh, this could go sideways. And then the second half, I'm like, yeah, he. This is just one of those games. So I want you to go back to early in your career. I think it's. It's easy to let a first half drag to the second emotionally. And yet Sean Payton's like, nope, just go make plays. And I think that's hard for a coach, if you weren't as confident as Sean Payton, to say, no, we're going to throw the ball down the field. They should have lost that game. Jonathan Taylor did him a favor. They were totally outplayed, out, schemed in the first half, and yet they won. A little on Bo Nicks, Peyton, but a little on your career. Is it hard after a rough first half to go? Yeah, I'm just going to forget it. Amnesia, Is that harder than we think?

[Matt Hasselbeck]

Listen, it's a sign of a good team that you can win a game when your quarterback doesn't play well. But just speaking about Sean Payton. Sure. I can remember at halftime early in my career, I wasn't playing well. Mike Holmgren, the head coach, would come into the locker room and instead of berating me because I was the one not playing well in the first half, he would rip the defense who was playing well. He would rip the special teams. And he would say it in a way, he'd be like, defense leaders, special teams. I got a young quarterback. Like, I'm counting on you, not him. I'm counting on you to step up. And it was almost like, oh, crap, like. Like he's is actually worse than if he was ripping me. Now I feel like, hey, man, you better get your act together. And I think even just like for the offensive line and the skill guys, they're saying, like, hey, man, we got to pick our young quarterback up. Like, we got to give him opportunities. And I know the stats weren't so people are going to pile on Bo Nicks and other turnovers, but he had some great plays that brought him back into that game also. Yes. Was he aided by the fact that the defense scored? The special teams came up huge. Yeah. And that's part of it. That's part of football. But I do think that this can give you confidence, almost like a blessing in disguise that says, hey, like, we're. We're not about one guy. And everybody on that team's been on a team where the quarterback got all the credit. And it's like, oh, it's just because of the quarterback. And they knew the truth, that this is a football team. It's 11 guys at a time. And it's way more than that to go into the success. And so when you have a team that's more about the collection, the sum of all the parts, instead of just one guy who gets to talk at the podium after the game, I think there's something special there. And Denver's building it. They've got a foundation. And just much like Mike Holmgren did for us in Seattle, you can tell that Sean Payton's done that quickly in Denver.

[Unknown]

Finally, Mahomes gets pretzeled in this football game, obviously this is a sport of attrition. He'll want to be out there. If I'm Kansas City, I'm like, I'm not going to play him against Houston. If Carson Wentz wins, I'm not going to play him against Pittsburgh. That's easy for me to say. Even as a veteran quarterback, Matt would two or three weeks off late in the season, would it throw off your timing? Because Xavier Worthy is a young kid at receiver. Their timing is still building. Noah Gray is still a young tight end. And I think to myself, I think Andy would sit him and Mahomes would fight like hell to get back on. But I do wonder, because their receiving corps is so young, if it could be a punitive decision to sit him for two to three weeks. It'd be different if I had Mike Evans and I'd been throwing to him for four years. How would you manage Mahomes now with the injury?

[Matt Hasselbeck]

Yeah, I'm not worried about the timing. That gets overblown for sure. No doubt about that. I'll just say that Andy Reid has dealt with this before. He dealt with it with Brett Favre. He dealt with it with Donovan McNabb. I'm sure he's dealt with it with Patrick Mahomes. But really what you do is you go to a guy like Patrick and you say, okay, if you want to play, I will let you play. But the ball has to come out on time. You have to throw with rhythm. No whirly birds, no jump passes, none of that stuff. Because he's going to want to play. And I hear everyone talking about, I'll just sit him and all that kind of stuff. That's fine in theory, but. But more of what it means to be a franchise quarterback, and especially for a guy like Patrick Mahomes, is you're sending a message to your team about mental and physical toughness and whether he should sit. He probably should sit if we're being real. But knowing who he is and the competitor that he is, just watching him through the years, he wants to be the guy that says, without saying a word, hey, guys, I know we're all banged up. I know you're banged up. I know you're banged up. I'm banged up. Like, let's rise above it. It's not about what I can't. Maybe I can't run for 15 yards, but it's about what I can do. I can play like I'm 40 years old from the pocket and slice and dice Whoever we're playing, I can do that. And so, you know this game on Christmas that's coming up, we got a Saturday game, like, you know, the weeks that are coming up, he's going to want to be out there. So I think if you're the coach, you just got to basically say to him, okay, you want to go out there and be John Wayne, I'll let you do it. But the second I see you taking unnecessary hits, you're coming out on the sideline and I, and I think that's how they'll approach that.

[Unknown]

Yeah, you give us such great insight. I. That is such a great answer to a question. I didn't see it coming. Matt Hasselbeck, look at that trophy room behind you. That I gotta be. All the years I've been doing this. Look at that. What's your favorite one?

[Matt Hasselbeck]

Honestly, man, like, none of it matters really. It's kind of the journey, I guess. Maybe this one over here, over this over here. These are like my, these are my girls national championship trophies over there. So if your kids ever have something, it means to you than anything that you ever did. But we got some good junk, I'll say that. But it's, it's more about the journey and the memories and the teammates and the coaches and, and all that kind of stuff.

[Unknown]

Good answer, dad. That's a good answer right there. Matt Hasselback. Good seeing you again, Maddie.

[Matt Hasselbeck]

Always see you, man.

[Unknown]

Yeah, well, he's good. Helps. 18 years in the league, he's been around a few times.

[Jason McIntyre]

One more herd. The herd streams 24 hours a day, seven days a week within the iHeartRadio app search herd to listen live whenever you'd like.

[Unknown]

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 while others should 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.

[Colin Cowherd]

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 tax 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.

[Unknown]

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[Unknown]

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[Unknown]

All right, here we go at Tower 2 Live in Los Angeles. It's the herd. Wherever you may be and however you may be listening, thanks for making it. Join us part of your day. If you're driving around anywhere in the country, thanks for stopping by. For people who have not seen this, our studio, our tree department, I think that's who does it. Chop down a couple of furs on redwoods in the neighborhood and they're all over our set. It is beautiful. Look at this. Doesn't it make you feel warm and cozy? J. Mac is the sweetest guy. So during the break, basically it's a weird year for me and the family. I'm by myself on Christmas and Jmax, like you could stop by. And I said, I said, do you, do you want me to bring something over? Do you?

Wait a sec. Are you really going to reveal this?

Well, I was, I said, I'll cater dinner. And he goes, oh, really? Do you think your chef friend would do it? And I said, I was thinking Buffalo wild wings.

I did not even get a chance to text the family that we have a family text chat. And I was going to put Buffalo wild wings wings.

I had their, I had their boneless chicken wings this weekend.

Amazing.

I'm going to go to new boneless chicken wings diet. That's all I'm going to die for. Buffalo wild wings.

[Colin Cowherd]

All right.

[Unknown]

We do it every Tuesday, Nick. Right around the corner. It's the herd hierarchy. Here we go.

[Jason McIntyre]

Herd hierarchy.

[Unknown]

Time is now.

[Nick Wright]

Let's go.

[Jason McIntyre]

The top 10 NFL teams according to college. Number 10.

[Unknown]

Okay, I got to admit, I'm kind of proud. Denver Broncos tied for number one scoring defense in the entire league. League lead, the NFL in sacks. They did not play well and won. They got outplayed by the Colts. They won four straight games. Bo Nix is still in the growth period. But I said before the season, I did not buy they were a bad team. Sean Payton's one of the best coaches of my life. Bo Nix had 61 college starts. Mims, Cortland, Sutton, Patrick Surtan, they got real dudes. Denver at 10. Number nine, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. I may have them low. I'm telling you, I wouldn't want to play this team. The Chargers hadn't allowed over 30 points in a game. Tampa went in, scored 40 easy and I'm telling you, Baker Mayfield, now third in the NFL with 32 touchdown passes, be very concerned about facing a team that can win by shootouts or win ugly. And that's what they can do. You can't run on them yet. This roster can run on you. This is a weird team. Todd Bowles, who's a really wonderful guy and an excellent defensive coach, is proving he can get out of the way and let the offense be the offense. I got Tampa at nine, number eight, Minnesota, seven game winning streak. They are seven and one and one score games. I think a lot of the story here beyond Darnold is Kevin O'Connell, who they call the Tile. Sean McVick. I think Kevin O'Connell is superb. And their defense, Brian Flores, number two against the run, number three in takeaways. Brian Flores deserves another job. He does. Because I don't think their defensive personnel is nearly as good is their defensive production. I think it's fine. The production is great. I think Flores deserves another gig. Minnesota eight, number seven, the Ravens. Listen, they have five losses by a combined 22 points. A lot of it's been special teams. It's the best run offense in the league. I am rooting so hard for Lamar to do something in the playoffs because I don't buy this. This thing that he. That he's not a great pocket quarterback. He is now. I do think J. Mac touched on something yesterday. Derrick Henry's productions come down a bit. These are long seasons. Running backs you're seeing J.K. dobbins, Derrick Henry, Montgomery. Montgomery with the Lions. This is a rough sport. They're the last unprotected offensive player. I have the Ravens at seven, number six. I'm gonna move Detroit down to six and I'm not sure they are six. They've given up 79 points in two weeks. And it's not because the coaching's bad. They're running out of players. The defense has one takeaway in the last four games. Everybody moves the ball on them. They have 18 players on the IR again, they can only win now in shootouts. I, I think Green Bay, this morning's the better team. And I. Obviously, Detroit has beaten Green Bay, but I have the Lions at six. Number five, you do not want to play the Rams. They are now healthy. No turnovers, no sacks allowed in two games. This offensive line is winning games seven and two since the buy. Okay. And when Stafford's got a healthy Puka Nakua. 17 touchdowns, four picks. Kyron Williams, Stafford Havenstein, Cooper cup, puka nakua, Sean McVeigh. You don't want to face them. They are hot and feeling it.

[Jason McIntyre]

Number four, Buffalo.

[Unknown]

Listen, their defense is an issue. I know you're falling in love with Josh Allen, folks. Detroit went up and down the field. The Rams, Rams went up and down the field. Their defense ranks 22nd now. They're fifth in takeaways, so they'll take the ball away. And I love Josh Allen too, but he's had like 900 yards in two games and they lost one of them. You're not winning in February with this defense. They got to get healthier. I think they're getting rap back, they're getting some of their back end back, but they are not good enough. Defense.

[Jason McIntyre]

Number three, the Packers.

[Unknown]

They're hot, they're healthy and they are now a power run team. That game in Seattle, they turn the lights out on that thing after two drives, eight and two since the start of October. Now both losses were to the Lions because the Lions have a better team, but they don't today. I love Green Bay. When they hold opponents under 25, they're 9 and 1. And I think Matt LaFleur is on a short list of one of the most underrated coaches in the league. Remember when he was at Tennessee, his reputation was he likes to lead with the run. He had Derrick Henry in Green Bay. This is his offense and his team. This is what Matt LaFleur knows. He is a run first. He's got a lot of Sean Mcvan Shanahan. He likes the run game. Green Bay at 3.

[Jason McIntyre]

Number 2.

[Unknown]

Listen, Mahomes is banged up. This team is still 100 in games despite decided by a touchdown or less. They still have the best coach arguably ever. Mahomes probably sits this weekend against Houston and then he'll be fine. I do worry about offensive tackle. I just. They're not going to be great at it. Just keep your eye on this team. They're getting Hollywood Brown back. I think the best of Kansas City will be the version version in about, you know, 10 days when Patrick Mahomes returns. Number one, the most dysfunctional great team in sports, Philadelphia. A 10 game winning streak with their coach getting in fights with assistant coaches. I mean, everything they do screams bad organization. And yet all they do is win. They fire super bowl winning coaches. I Philadelphia is wild. Is Nick Sirianni a good coach? Did you see that defensive line coach getting in his way? Would you do that with like Andy Reid? Would you do that with Sean Payton? I mean like Philadelphia breaks every rule in pro football. They fire Winning coaches, they let go of Andy Reid. The coaches screaming at fans, drama in the locker room, players calling out the team on radio and they win and they're loaded. This roster is stacked. There's the herd hierarchy. I like Green Bay a lot. I know you're shaking your head at Green Bay, aren't you?

Didn't Buffalo beat KC like I don't.

Know, three weeks ago And Buffalo's defense now is worse.

I think you're right on Green Bay. I actually like this. Except for Casey at 2, there's no shot. I don't even know if I'd have them top seven.

Oh, that's interesting. Our next guest may have an you.

Think you care about that.

Nick Wright is joining us live. Co host first things first, like I'm to a point like Kansas City's just a legacy vote. Like I don't know what they're going to look like. I think they'll beat Houston with Carson Wentz frankly, because I think Carson's one of the more talented backups.

[Nick Wright]

Does everyone have access to a different set of standings than me? I love a legacy vote. Another way is they have the best record, they have the best coach, the best player, they're the two time defending champ and they have the best record. The Chiefs are being discussed this year like they're nine and five but oh well, you've got to give them credit. They have the best record and no J Mac, the Bills didn't beat the Chiefs three weeks ago. They did beat the Chiefs five weeks ago and 57 weeks ago and 104 weeks ago as they beat him every regular season and the Chiefs dog walk them in the playoffs. But if we're doing the head to head thing then I guess Baltimore should be ahead of Buffalo because Baltimore beat Buffalo by 25 and the Raiders should be super high because they beat the Ravens. They of course didn't beat the Chiefs because only one team did. So let's talk about this for a second because this is now the second straight week, Colin, that you have left the Chiefs at two and have ahead of them a team whose coach and quarterback you don't trust. I told you if they played Detroit in a Super bowl you wouldn't, you wouldn't Detroit. Detroit's now down to all the Chiefs do is win Philly. If it is Sirianni and hurts against Reed and Mahomes in the super bowl again, there is no chance you're going with Philly. There's none whatsoever. Like I feel like I'm living in this alternate Universe where everyone, your wonderful co host included, who was as wrong as anyone's ever been about anything about the Chiefs last year and then in February was like, I will not make that mistake again. I'm sorry. Has now seen The Chiefs win 13 of 14 games. And they're like, I don't know how good they are. I got a pretty good idea how good they are. Pretty damn good. So that's my takeaway. And you got the Broncos a little too high, but you love Sean Payton. So far I do.

[Unknown]

Okay, so I was saying this about Detroit is that if you look, I mean, the NFL is not the NBA. You play hurt, you yell at players. It's kind of an alpha league. And I think a lot of that is because you play outdoors. Everybody's hurt. You got to play hurt. And the truth is the power is in the coach and the gm, not the players. And so when I look at Dan Campbell, I understand we love the reckless and the wild and the crazy, but onside kicks, now you have to announce you're doing it. So the surprise of the onside kick is done. I watched that and I thought, thought I'm hoping he did that because he didn't trust his defense, because otherwise that was an egregiously reckless coaching move. I can think two things. I love the coach, but it is now time to pivot away from, hey, we're the little guy on the block. No, you're closer to IBM than the garage band. Right?

[Nick Wright]

So that's an important distinction. An important distinction is the underdog needs to play the variance game. The favorite needs to avoid it. And so what can be the right decision if it's like, man, if this game goes to overtime. Not that this was the concern there, you know, if you're a big underdog and you score a touchdown in the waning moments and extra point ties it to point wins it, there's a good argument. Go for the win. Because the more football that's played, the bigger the other team's edge increases. But the Lions are now the favorite in a bunch of spots and still have an underdog mentality. Underdog mentality can be good. Underdog strategy, not so much. But my concern for the Lions is two weeks in a row, Dan Campbell, Campbell on the fourth down decision against Green Bay and then the onside kick with 12 minutes left. Forget the strategy elements of it, which I thought were flawed. And even the most aggressive analytical models say that's even too aggressive for our taste. Dan Campbell told not just the outside world, but his team yes. Yeah. I don't. I don't trust the defense.

[Unknown]

Yes.

[Nick Wright]

At all, actually.

[Unknown]

Yep.

[Nick Wright]

And that's the defense that they are now going to have to try to win a Super bowl with. And I feel terribly for the Lions. I do think it's injuries and again, not every team's Kansas City that can lose their running back, top three receivers, top corner, left tackle, defensive end, and just keep chugging along. Most teams, it derails them. And that might have been what happened to the. Or is happening to the Detroit Lions. But Colin, there are a lot of ways for this Lions team to go from the super bowl favorites for the first time in franchise history to out in the wild card round. They are not locked into the one seed. They are not even locked into winning that division. If Minnesota passes them, then Detroit is going on the road to Tampa, who beat them, or to the Rams, who played them to overtime earlier. If they fall to the two, they could be playing Green Bay, who just played them down to the final seconds a few weeks ago. Like, I think Detroit's an excellent offensive team that unfortunately the defense doesn't have the horses right now to make them a real contender.

[Unknown]

So it's. I was saying this. There was a moment, moment in that Eagles game where Nick Ceriani went to talk to a player and a defensive line, not even a coordinator, a defensive line coach stepped in his way and I thought, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. That. That's not the way it works. Like this moment tells me, and you would never do that to an elite coach. You wouldn't do that to Vrabel, Tom Love, Peyton Reed. Isn't that a sign that if they lose early, regardless of his past wins, Sirianni's in trouble.

[Nick Wright]

Well, so it's so interesting. Also poor Big Dom. Big Dom's like, he put me in a tough spot here. Like the one guy on the sideline bigger than me that's not a player is the one you already got an issue with. I don't know what I'm supposed to do here. So the Sirianni stuff, stuff is so fascinating to me, Colin, because I am a. I know it is not in vogue these days to, you know, care about things like wins and losses and your actual record. But those of us that do, wins are a coaching stat and his win loss record is spectacular. So I have to give him credit for that. The flip side is I don't know what he does. Kellen Moore calls the plays. Vic Fangio does the defense. It seems like AJ Brown, via press conference dictates what style of offense they're going to play. His game management is shaky and he doesn't put out fires he sends to set them. So I want to be fair to Sirianni because the results, aside from the end of last season, have been exemplary when he's there. But it is true that Philadelphia, it's been reported considered replacing him after last year. Yeah, right now the team has the number one scoring and number one yard yardage defense in football, the best running game in football and two of the best wide receivers in football. If they, and I don't think they will by the way, I think this is a deserved right now NFC favorite given what's happened with Detroit. But if they fall short, I just don't see a lot of scenarios where it's not either because of something ridiculous Sirianni did or because Jalen hurts who's out here scolding the media saying oh, is that what you guys wanted to see? As if it were the media that started that conversation, not his star wide receiver and the longest tenured player on the team and Brandon Graham. But set that aside. I think it'll either because Sirianni screws it up or Hertz comes up short.

[Unknown]

Yeah. So I watched the Bears last night and I think there are three. So I'm going to ask you the question I asked J. Mac and just let's just play along. There are three broken teams to me in the league. Bears, Jets, Giants, broken. Chargers were a little broken last year but they had a quarterback and to be honest, in my lifetime, Fouts, Brees, Rivers, Herbert, they're always fun to watch. They always get the offense right. They were never broken. They just chargered a lot of wins into losses.

[Nick Wright]

Browns fans are like we can't even get on the broken team list. Like geez.

[Unknown]

But go ahead.

[Colin Cowherd]

Sorry.

[Unknown]

So I'm going to ask you this. You're Mike Vrabel, who is clearly now that Belichick's in college, the number one. I would argue of the three, the jets have the best roster. Excellent corners, pass rush. Now two receivers, star back and they found their left tackle out of Penn State. Don't love Aaron, but I think it's the best roster. We'll play along. The Giants has the have the best game day revenue in the best history. When they're rolling, that is. They are second of the Yankees in that city. They are a big deal. The Bears have Caleb Williams. You are Mike Frank. What do you tell your agent? Star quarterback, best roster or the blue blood franchise having A rough decade.

[Nick Wright]

Yeah. The easy one is this last place is the Jets. And I. You know, if one does believe in cursed franchises, the single most torturous thing and cruel thing to jets fans is exactly what has happened, which is the moment they're eliminated from playoff contention, they see the version of Aaron Rodgers they thought they were going to get the whole time. And it might just be enough to fool that dopey franchise to bringing him back at age 42 and running this whole thing back for more disaster. So the jets are a clear last place.

[Unknown]

Ok.

[Nick Wright]

I think the Bears must go with an offensive coach. But that's not your question. Your question is essentially, if Rabel were offered all three jobs, which one would he take?

[Colin Cowherd]

I.

[Nick Wright]

If I were Mike Vrabel, I would take the Bear. I would take the Bears.

[Unknown]

Okay.

[Nick Wright]

Because I still believe Caleb Williams is a going to be a great player. I think Caleb is having one of the oddest rookie seasons ever. Like he refuses to throw interceptions and I actually think that's a bad thing. I'd feel better if he had been throwing some interceptions. Also, the dysfunction of the firing, the OC firing the head coach, all of that has worked against him. But I think they are going to go offense, which then means if I'm Vrabel, I think the Giants are exciting. He's injured right now, but they have a franchise left tackle. Malik Nabors is a great player even if he's already kind of, you know, graduated to diva receiver a dozen games into his career. But Vrabel get his arms around that. They have an excellent defensive line and they're going to be able to draft the quarterback in the top two or three, which is where they're going to be drafted. So I think that for Vrabel is what fits. I think the Bears are the most attractive job, but I think that they have to go offense to try to pair Caleb with someone who can grow together.

[Unknown]

By the way, I, you know, I let you sit here and take shots at me. You know, I did get the Denver Broncos. Right. We'll be honest.

[Nick Wright]

Okay, so here's the thing. I wouldn't listen. You did get the Denver Broncos, right? I also listen, their Preseason total was 5 and a half. Yeah, I thought that was insane.

[Unknown]

I.

[Nick Wright]

And. But I would just, I would pump my Bo. Knicks victory lap. Sean Peyton victory laps.

[Unknown]

Fine. Okay.

[Nick Wright]

The Bo Nix stuff, I mean, I think Bo Nix is, you know, turned 30 this year and I just saw him throw three picks and need Jonathan Taylor to drop the ball in the one and you know, the terrible A.D. mitchell play. Yeah, but listen, Nick Bonito is an excellent player. Broncos are going to be in the playoffs and going to, you know, so good job by Sean Payton. Good job by you. Maybe just one day. Let me ask you this real quick, all right? Next year, if the Chiefs are the three time defending super bowl champions and have the best record in the NFL, do you think you can find it within your heart to keep them at number one on the hierarchy? Is that fair? I know two time defending champs, best record, need to see more. If they pull off the three feat and have the best record, can they be number one one?

[Unknown]

No promises. You know, it's just new information.

[Colin Cowherd]

Yeah, of course.

[Unknown]

See you, buddy. Nick wright. Yeah, the Bo Nicks. Okay, so he's 34 years old, out of college. I mean, you guys are so picky on stuff. Have you. If you, if you called your wife and asked about my suggestion for.

I. I don't, I don't have to check in on that.

[Jason McIntyre]

Come on, one more herd. The herd streams 24 hours a day, seven days a week within the iHeartRadio app. Search herd to listen live or on demand whenever you'd like.

[Colin Cowherd]

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.

[Unknown]

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.

[Colin Cowherd]

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 drawing. 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 as we gather.

[Unknown]

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[Colin Cowherd]

NA Member FDIC if you're looking to set the standard in athletic clothing and activewear apparel for performance performance, look no further than Vuori. Viori integrates the best of fitness, the best of surf, sport and art. Two of my personal favorites. The Men's Core Short. It's the most comfortable lined athletic shirt you'll find and the Men's Sunday Performance Jogger. Perfect for lounging or any work activity. Viori has the women covered as well with their Women's Performance Jogger. It's the softest jogger you'll ever own. Also check out the Women's Daily Legging, featuring a high waist drawstring tie, an upgraded no slip fit. Incredibly versatile. Plenty of new colors just came in, but hurry, get them while you can. Viori is designed to look great in everyday life outside the gym. It's not a brand, it's a way of life. Viori is an investment in your happiness for our listeners. They're offering 20% off your first purchase. Get yourself some of the most comfortable and versatile clothing on the [e-mail] Collins that's V U O R I.com Colin not only will you receive 20% off your first purchase, but you're also going to get free shipping on any US orders over 75 bucks and free returns go to viori.com Colin Discover the versatility of Vuori clothing. V U O R I what's on your list of popular game day foods? Probably multiple dishes with the bold flavor of the original Louisiana brand hot sauce. You can't beat the original with a 90 year history of great taste and quality. Tailgate, house party, game day gatherings, whatever. Include real flavor sliders with the original Louisiana brand hot sauce. The beer cheese with that hit of Louisiana peppers. There has to be original Louisiana brand hot sauce on your game day food list. It's the perfect, perfect everyday hot sauce that complements every meal. There's a rich food tradition in Louisiana bringing bold peppery flavor with just the.

[Unknown]

Right amount of heat.

[Colin Cowherd]

Pigs in a blanket. Pigs not in a blanket. Spinach artichoke dip. Artichoke spinach dip. Wings are wingier than ever with the original Louisiana brand wing sauce. Perfect for self appointed flavor experts. The original Louisiana brand hot sauce. The game day flavor changer Flavor favors the bold. Available at a store near you.

[Unknown]

Edelman in a while. Three time Super bowl champ and MVP, 12 years in the NFL. So the Belichick thing is interesting. Urban Meyer was on a couple hours ago and he said, you know, now it used to be in December, you were in your car recruiting. Now they come to you. He goes, actually several years ago I thought Belichick was a terrible fit in college, but actually now he can sit in his office, you sit down with Mike Lombardi and how much do you want have you changed? We've had so many different opinions on Belichick. What are you making of it today?

[Julian Edelman]

You know, the more you think about it, the more it makes sense. One, you know, projecting players. I know that you're not a big fan of him at that, but he did have a guy, Steve Neal, who was a, a wrestler that was a three time super bowl champion guard. I was a, I was a quarterback in college. He projected me as a receiver. Gronk was a huge Gronk, you know, Tom Brady. So he knows how to project players. Two, his dad was a part of that whole thing. He loves nostalgia, he loves his family. Anything that his father was a part of, of he loves. So that makes sense. And then you know, three, it, it comes down to NCAA is pro football. Now like, like Urban said, this is just turning into a introductory pro football league like AAA baseball, it's triple A baseball.

[Unknown]

Now there is something that you noted, this is interesting for our audience. Spring football actually is better in college than the Pros, because of the CBA and the NFL is very limiting, without a doubt.

[Julian Edelman]

So, like when everyone talks about the developmental players, you know, I've never seen Bill have spring practice full padded. Now he's going to have 15 practices to install his system, full contact, eight hours a week, whatever it is, with pads to install his offense and get his team ready, which those in the NFL are passing camps in shorts.

[Unknown]

You can't go pads in the NFL.

[Julian Edelman]

Can't go pads in the NFL. As a matter of fact, when your day is done, you have such strict work law laws that you have to leave the facility. You can't throw extra after the facility. Now, I think, you know, I don't know the college laws, but I just remember when I was in college, we used to run so much in six in the morning, then we'd go and have football practice after and then you'd have meetings. So.

[Unknown]

So you could install your whole offense.

[Julian Edelman]

You could install your whole offense in the spring. And that's what we do in the league through those passing camps and mini camps. Now it's effective for us because we've all had a foundation and we're all pros, but at a younger level, you know, you get to hit these kids. They get to hit and you get to, you get to develop him at a faster rate. So it's going to be very interesting to see how fundamentally sound his teams will be because of that off season spring practice and the, the ability to go out and prep full, full pads.

[Unknown]

Okay, so Danny Parkins came on. He knows the Bears well. He's from Chicago, and he said, listen, Vrabel is a bit overvalued because he had a losing record last couple years. He got into a power struggle. Chicago could be a power struggle. You're better off going and finding an offensive coordinator. I think Chicago's too big of a job, too many obstacles to just say here, offensive coordinator, run the steeplechase. It's too much. Where do you fall on that?

[Julian Edelman]

With Vable, I fall that if he was interested in the Bears, they should definitely hire him. They need a culture guy. Like, I know that's what you call him, but they need someone that's going to grab someone by the back of the neck and say, hey, I need to talk to you in the hallway because you're slouching or you're doing this. They need an accountability guy. You know, it's very similar to the Detroit thing with the historical, you know, the amount of losses that they've had historically in Detroit they needed a culture guy to go get mcdc. Mike Vrabel's mcdc. But, like, this guy's a savant when it comes to football. And I'm not saying mcdc isn't, but, like, I know Vrabel for, you know, firsthand. So they need a culture guy. They need someone that's going to be and hold people accountable. And I believe if he wants that job, he, you know, they should try to hire him.

[Unknown]

Yeah. Vrabel, who told us J. Mac, was it Urban told us last week that he thought Vrabel was the smartest player he ever coached. Coached.

[Julian Edelman]

Somebody told me that it was probably Matt. Patricia.

[Unknown]

No, it was Josh. Josh McDaniels.

[Julian Edelman]

McDaniels.

[Unknown]

He thought he was as smart as any. He said he could. He retained so much information.

[Julian Edelman]

Yeah, he retained it.

[Unknown]

And he even gave Brady crap.

[Julian Edelman]

He gave everyone crap. And then that was the thing. He was so smart that he could get under your skin and you couldn't do anything about it because he knew your assignment. He knew his assignment. And this is all while he was on scout team, you know, as a starting defensive end playing safety. Like, that's the kind of guy he is. And that's the kind of guy you need. You need an A hole then that. That's what they're lacking in that locker room. There's way too much noise.

[Unknown]

Matt Nagy was a great guy and won and they didn't like that.

[Julian Edelman]

No, they need someone to come in and. And, you know, tighten things up. They need. He had an identity in. In Nash, in Tennessee.

[Unknown]

They were tough.

[Julian Edelman]

I heard the guy who came in on your show talking about, well, they. You need an offensive mind. We need that. You know, all these offensive play callers don't, you know, they could call plays, but I don't necessarily know about their leadership skills. You don't know how they're going to be as a head coach. Sean McVeigh and Shanahan aren't just coming out of the factory. Those guys are, you know, one of ones, you know, a guy like Mike, you know, he's a culture guy that's going to be fundamentally sound, that's going to have the respect of every single guy in there because he's a three time. Time super bowl winning player. He's a coach that has a lot of, you know, a lot of merit behind him. Was a, you know, number one seed with Tennessee. Like, this guy's got the resume, he's got the attitude, and I think he's what, you know, the Chicago Bears need.

[Unknown]

Okay, so I have said I like Brock Purdy. You start talking 50 large. I don't like Brock Purdy. I go Sam Darnold at 40 for three years over Brock at 55. And I think if you look at almost all now wide receivers different, they come third round, fifth, sixth, seventh, take out Brady. You look at most great quarterbacks right now. Of the 14 playoff quarterbacks, 12 are first rounders. Hertz is a second rounder. You drop to the seventh for a reason. Scouting is much more sophisticated today than 15 years ago and 20 years ago in Tom went there. It's, it's hard to find a sleeper. People like Purdy, but he was reckless, he was small, he struggles in wet weather. I can't pay him big money. I know he wins.

[Colin Cowherd]

I can't.

[Julian Edelman]

Yeah.

[Unknown]

Am I wrong?

[Julian Edelman]

You know, if there's a five in, in there, starting with a five, it's going to be tough because of what we're seeing with Sam Darnold in Minnesota. I mean this is his backup last year with the players and, and the semi similar scheme that they have. And we're seeing what Sam Darnold is this year. I do agree that the seventh round thing I specifically remembered if, you know, I felt if I was drafted in the third or the fourth round I would have made probably 40% more money. But because I was a seventh rounder, I always got labeled with that. And I don't know if that's going to be different with Brock. But just through this whole year I remember going and talking about on kickoff in Week 5 when they were going through a bit of adversity. They're starting to drop guys. I said specifically, this is going to turn. This year will determine whether you're a $30 million quarterback or a $50 million quarterback. And through the whole year it looks more like he's a 30 million dollar quarterback, which is a great quarterback. He's a good football player.

[Unknown]

Yes.

[Julian Edelman]

But we're seeing his limitations when guys aren't playing and when they're, there's, you know, when there's excuses, you know, what did Sean Connery say? You know, excuses are for losers. Winners are the guys who go home. Take the, the prom. You know, that's, that's just, that's the thing.

[Unknown]

I always use the if rule.

[Julian Edelman]

Yeah.

[Unknown]

If you're a quarterback, that's an if. Like Josh Allen is great, Brady's great. Good weather, bad weather. If you're an if quarterback, two is the ultimate if. If it's warm, you're at Home have protection, an offensive coach and are helping. Healthy, Excellent. A lot of ifs. Brock struggles in wet weather, struggles without McCaffrey, struggles playing in the fourth quarter, especially behind. There's a lot of qualifiers. If I'm. If the first number's five, you can't be an if guy.

[Julian Edelman]

You can't, you can't. And this is a product of this whole system.

[Unknown]

Okay.

[Julian Edelman]

I mean if you look at it, two is in the same system.

[Unknown]

Yep.

[Julian Edelman]

Brock's in the same system. Jimmy G's in the same system.

[Unknown]

Accurate, but nothing timing.

[Julian Edelman]

Yeah, exactly. And the only one who really is manifested the whole thing and won the super bowl is Matthew Stafford, who wasn't born in the system, who was born in a drop back system that went to this system, the west coast system.

[Unknown]

He's one of the all time great.

[Julian Edelman]

Arms and he's one of the all time great arms and that's what I, this, this, this whole Shanahan McVeigh system, it's a, it's a very quarterback friendly system that allows guys to go out and get high production. Now it, it's going to cost you when you have to go sign them because of that.

[Unknown]

Yeah, that's a good point. So I said two days ago, the Philadelphia Eagles have all these qualities that bad franchises have. The coaches barking at other coaches. The players are going on local radio and criticizing the chemistry. And Jalen hurts and Brandon Ingram aren't tight and, and they, they run through coordinators. It's like A.J. brown, you know, issue with Jalen hurts. And this is what like Carolina does.

[Julian Edelman]

Yeah.

[Unknown]

Or the Bears. And I'm like, but Philadelphia keeps winning. So they're like strangely effective and productive despite drama and dysfunction.

[Julian Edelman]

How well you get the roster. They have the best roster in football.

[Unknown]

I think so too.

[Julian Edelman]

You gotta, you gotta tip your cap to how. And Saquon, when you have a run game like with Saquon, a generational running back, he masks a lot of things and when he masks everything. But this will go and catch up to them in the playoffs. I believe so. You know, I know winning cures a lot, but there's been a lot of crazy noise and it would be, it would be unreal to me to see if they can continue to have all these little feuds, these outside noises. We got Dom, the security guy, who's a kid, like we have so many things, it would surprise me if they went on one the super bowl because there's going to be a fundamentally sound team that's going to be mentally tough. That's not going to go down this road. That's going to, you know, that's going to handle them. Now. I don't want to sound like a hater. I do sound like a hater right now, but it just. I've never seen it happen. I've never seen this with leadership the way that they have. That's to go out and win.

[Unknown]

What's the video we have this week? Sirianni went to talk to Jalen Carter.

[Julian Edelman]

He got punked. He got punked.

[Unknown]

Coach.

[Julian Edelman]

Yeah.

[Unknown]

You're not going there.

[Julian Edelman]

There's just a lot. I think there's a lot of lack of respect for the head coach.

[Unknown]

That's what I felt like.

[Julian Edelman]

Players can. They have the best roster. They got really good football players. And. But I think that the leadership. You can't have a head coach that doesn't have the respect everyone. I just don't. I. When it comes down to it, in like a gotta have it situation or some kind of something where he's gonna have to make a decision, I, I just don't see it happening. I, you know, it's, It's. They've proved me wrong all year, but, you know, we're talking about, like, it's either super bowl or bust for this team.

[Unknown]

Yeah.

[Julian Edelman]

That's. It's not about getting to the NFC Championship. It's not about winning two playoffs games. This team needs to win.

[Unknown]

Now go to your most dysfunctional year in New England. I mean, there was a lot of stuff, but that. But. But when I watched the documentary, go to the year where you remember thinking it, damn, it's noisy here. What year was it and what transpired at the end of the season?

[Julian Edelman]

I would say 19 was pretty noisy. The whole, you know, we had a B come in.

[Unknown]

Oh, yeah.

[Julian Edelman]

You know, and then we, you know, Rob retired. There was a whole lot of going on in the front office and that whole thing. And we. We lost in the first round to the Tennessee Titans.

[Unknown]

That's right.

[Julian Edelman]

You know, and we.

[Unknown]

Last game in Foxborough with without a.

[Julian Edelman]

Doubt, last throw, Logan Ryan.

[Colin Cowherd]

And it was a noisy year.

[Julian Edelman]

That was a noisy year. Another noisy year, I would say was 17.

[Unknown]

How'd that end?

[Julian Edelman]

We lost in the super bowl to Philadelphia.

[Unknown]

Oh, that was the. Malcolm Butler.

[Julian Edelman]

That was a noisy year where, you know, we had a really good football team. I think we threw for 500 yards that day and we couldn't win the game. You know, like.

[Unknown]

And you felt it during the season. It was tense.

[Julian Edelman]

It was tense. But I was. I was kind of away from the team that year, because I was in the training room, I. I was, you know, doing my acl. I had my ACL that year, so. But anytime there was, or, you know, after the Hernandez thing, we lose in the playoffs. You know what I mean?

[Colin Cowherd]

Yeah.

[Julian Edelman]

So, like, anytime there was crazy noise, and I'm not just trying to hate on Philadelphia, everything right has to happen for you to win a Super Bowl. You know, I've won three of them. I went to five of them, and some of the best teams I played on didn't even get there. Like, everything right has to go in favor for you to win the Super Bowl. And when there's little things, they will add up. It's. I remember Belichick always saying, you know, it's like when you. When you put in a hardwood floor and you have to hammer all the nails down, you have to make sure you hammer every single one, because there's going to be one that you didn't hammer down that you may not see, but six months later is you're going to stub your toe on that. That nail. And that's kind of the thing that, that this is. You know, it's gonna. It's gonna catch up to him now. Yeah, that.

[Unknown]

That. No, I think. I mean, you're. In your life. There were three noisy years. You never took home the trophy.

[Julian Edelman]

Never took home a trophy.

[Unknown]

Give me the perfect year you had. When everything worked. You. You literally, if the super bowl was.

[Julian Edelman]

Over, you know, we had some noise, too.

[Unknown]

What was that Atlanta year?

[Julian Edelman]

Well, no, the year we went. You know, Tom was suspended in 16. You know, we had noise that year, but we also had Tom Brady and. And Bill Belichick and that. That pair, you know, that's not Hertz and Sirianni.

[Unknown]

Right, right.

[Julian Edelman]

You know what I mean? I'm not. There's nothing against those guys. They're very good at what they do. But, like, there's nothing. Like, we had to have a lot of mental toughness. And we had the best football player in the history of the game in his prime to do that. So that was like the one noisy, ish year that we went on. And then, you know, I was suspended in 18 for the first four. That was a noisy year. And we won the Super Bowl. But, like, that was different as well because we have Belichick and.

[Unknown]

Well, both of them. The noise was in September.

[Julian Edelman]

In September.

[Unknown]

That's right.

[Julian Edelman]

These. This noise is coming like, weekly. It's weekly noise. You know, I feel bad because I. It's. It's a fun team to watch. They're like when you watch Saquon run the football, A.J. brown takes, you know his one, he gets slant routes. He gets three or four slant routes a game that he breaks four tackles on and gets 25 plus yards.

[Unknown]

I'll make this argument. I'll make this argument. This is the most talented NFL roster. This right here. I'm trying to think of one that's second. I'll tell you that Brady one that won in Tampa when he basically they got Tristan Wurfs and he was like, oh crap, he's great. And Gronk came.

[Julian Edelman]

Yeah.

[Unknown]

And A.B. that roster had dudes everywhere. They had one issue, right tackle and running back, and they solved it. That that was an all star. I mean hell, that team the year before had 30 picks by Jameis and almost almost made the playoffs.

[Julian Edelman]

Almost made the playoffs, but he also had 33 touchdowns.

[Unknown]

Julian Edelman, Great team.

[Colin Cowherd]

A man.

[Julian Edelman]

Great to see you.

[Jason McIntyre]

One more herd the herd streams 24 hours a day, seven days a week within the iHeartRadio app. Search her to listen live or on demand whenever you'd like.

[Colin Cowherd]

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[Colin Cowherd]

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[Colin Cowherd]

Member FDIC if you're looking to set the standard in athletic clothing and activewear apparel for performance, look no further than Vuori. Viori integrates the best of fitness, the best of surf, sport and art. Two of my personal favorites. The Men's Core Short. It's the most comfortable, lined athletic short you'll find, and the Men's Sunday Performance Jogger. Perfect for lounging or any work activity. Viori has the women covered as well with their Women's Performance Jogger. It's the softest jogger you'll ever own. Also check out the Women's Daily Legging, featuring a high waist drawstring tie, an upgraded no slip fit. Incredibly versatile. Plenty of new colors just came in, but hurry, get them while you can. Viori is designed to look great in everyday life outside the gym. It's not a brand, it's a way of life. Viori is an investment in your happiness. For our listeners. They're offering 20% off your first purchase. Get yourself some of the most comfortable and versatile clothing on the [e-mail] Collins that's V U O R I.com Colin not only will you receive 20% off your first purchase, but you're also going to get free shipping on any US orders over 75 bucks and free returns go to viori.com Colin Discover the versatility of Vuori clothing. V U O R I what's on your list of popular game day foods? Probably multiple dishes with the bold flavor flavor of the original Louisiana brand hot sauce. You can't beat the original with a 90 year history of great taste and quality. Tailgate, house party, game day gatherings, whatever. Include real flavor sliders with the original Louisiana brand hot sauce. The beer cheese with that hit of Louisiana peppers. There has to be original Louisiana brand hot sauce on your game day food list. It's the perfect, perfect everyday hot sauce that complements every meal. There's a rich food tradition in Louisiana bringing bold peppery flavor with just the.

[Unknown]

Right amount of heat.

[Colin Cowherd]

Pigs in a blanket. Pigs not in a blanket. Spinach artichoke dip. Artichoke spinach dip. Wings are wingier than ever with the original Louisiana brand wing sauce. Perfect for self appointed flavor experts. The original Louisiana brand hot sauce. The game day flavor changer Flavor favors the bold. Available at a store near you.

[Unknown]

It's a special day of football Saturday on Fox. Catch the next chapter in a bitter historic rivalry as Russell Wilson and the Steelers take on Lamar Jackson and the Ravens. It all kicks off Saturday at 4 Eastern on Fox.

Okay, so a lot of people talk but what do your actions lead me to believe? So J. Mac is a Chiefs hater. He's very critical of the Chiefs. But I thought today we would take the 14 playoff quarterbacks if the playoffs started today. Now some may get bumped out, not many. It's getting closer and closer. When Denver beats the Colts, you're getting closer and closer. If the Chargers beat Denver tonight, I kind of feel like the Afghan FC's locked in. So these are the 14 quarterbacks. So a playoff game tomorrow in order. I'll let you start. You're very critical of Mahomes. I believe the word you use is lucky.

So generous.

So you we gonna go in the quarterbacks available. We're doing a quarterback draft for playoff success. You go first. Who would you take out of all these great quarterbacks?

Well that's so kind of you. What you're in the holiday spirit.

No, I'm going to put you to the test because I would take Mahomes without even blinking the guy at 1. He's 15 and 3.

I don't care about 15 3. I care about this year. Colin.

Okay, go ahead.

You pick number one pick in the quarterback draft. Jason McIntyre selects Josh Allen, quarterback of the Buffalo Bills. Who's been the best quarterback by a mile this season in the league. I Mean, I, I've got a bunch of stats, by the way, to win the MVP. Minus 900. Okay. You betting that 900 bucks to win 100. I know the playoffs. He has not historically been awesome, but who cares? I'm talking about this year and this Buffalo offense. Colin, with Cook Kincaid, Keon Coleman's back. They got so many weapons. And Josh Allen is the ultimate chess piece. He's the number one pick, hands down.

Yeah, I'm going to take the guy who's 15 and 3 and is the greatest quarterback postseason record wise we've ever seen. So far. I'm going to take Patrick Mahomes in 18 career playoff games, 46 touchdowns, only nine turnovers. And again, that's against playing like against Belichick and Buffalo. I'm going to go Mahomes.

This is tough because I really like Lamar Jackson a lot. But with the second pick in the draft, I'm going with Jalen Hurts and the Philadelphia Eagles. I think they're, we're headed toward a Bills Eagles Super Bowl. So I get both quarterbacks that are going to be in the super bowl this year. Now listen, Hertz has been up and down a little bit, obviously Saquon, you know, up and down. I just looked at the Eagles injury report for this week. It ain't great, but we're talking about the playoffs. Eagles still could get the number one seed in the buy. They could overtake Detroit. Chances are slim, but it could happen. And, and I just love everything about Jalen hurts. Running, passing, A.J. brown, healthy.

I'm gonna take Matt Stafford, who's on an absolute heater. 10 touchdowns, no turnovers, last five games. And the fact that the offensive line is healthy. Kyron Williams, Puka, Nakua, Cooper Cup, Sean McVeigh. I'm taking Matt Stafford. I have Patrick Mahomes and Matt Stafford. Of our last three Super Bowls, those are the three quarterbacks that have won all the Super Bowls. I'll have Matt Mahomes and Stafford. By the way, we're taking our time on this, but that's my second. So we got four of them off the board. Who's number five?

Well, you're living in the past number five. This feels almost too easy. I got to go. Lamar Jackson, who's the second best quarterback in the league this year after Josh Allen. Again, I know the historic playoff issues with Lamar. I'm thinking this year there's a this year draft. Lamar's been fantastic. Ravens are going to be live, trust me. I think I, I talked to some people. It sounds like this whole Derrick Henry struggling. They're saving Henry. Lamar hasn't really been unlocked running the ball a lot. I would not shock me if the Ravens are in the AFC championship.

I'll take Jordan Love who again, excellent O line, multiple weapons, one of the healthier teams in the league. 4th Most passing touchdowns in the NFL the last 22 years with missing a month because of injuries. I think Jordan loves, got a great coach, got a power run game, has the best collection of young tight end receiver talent. I'd take Jordan Love.

So I want us, I want to steal your guy Bo Nix. But, but, but there's no way on earth I could draft him this high. I'm going to go a little bit, a little. Let's get a little crazy. Let's go with Baker Mayfield again this year. Baker lights out. Remember Godwin got got hurt. Everybody sold their buck stock. Holy cow. Baker Mayfield's been tremendous with Mike Evans, that three headed running back game. Even the tight end Kate Otten showed well. Yeah, listen, I know it's not gonna be popular. You guys can laugh all you want, but the way Baker's playing right now, I think Tampa's going to be dangerous in the nfc.

I'm gonna take Jared Goff with that great offensive line. Listen, Goff has played a lot of playoff games. Eight. And he's 500. So he has played eight playoff games. I think that experience matters. I like Darnold. He's never had a playoff start and they led the Rams not only to a Super bowl, he lost to the Patriots. I think golf is overlooked. The fact that you take Baker over golf in a playoff game. Interesting. So we got nine guys off the board.

Eight or nine guys, you know, who won head to head this year.

Right.

In that case, listen, I love Justin Herbert as much as the next guy. I don't know about their chances. If they lose this weekend, they're going to be facing the Bills or Chiefs.

In the first round.

That's a loss. So I am going to go a little surprise here and go with Sam Darnold. Sliggin Sammy D. Only because I think the Vikings are going to have a shot in the NFC and I think Darnold can make a run. Colin, this kid is lights out indoors. You know, we'll see what happens when he goes outdoors. But I like everything I've seen from Darnold. I saw some people saying, hey, fringe MVP votes. Is he going to be the most sought after quarterback in free agency? It's all because he's been awesome this year.

I'll take Justin Herbert, who has gone 11 straight games at one point this year without an interception. I think the loss of J.K. dobbins has hurt him significantly. But you're talking about. I mean, let's be honest. We both think He's a top six quarterback in the league. And we're 10 quarterbacks into this thing.

That's a steal.

I get Harbaugh Slater at left tackle. I tend to think lad McConk, he's pretty special. By the way, Hayden Hurst activated tonight, good tight end. I'll take the Chargers tonight to win. And I'll take Justin Herbert.

Yeah, that may be a whiff by me on that one. I'll go Jaden Daniels, Washington. I like this kid. I. I know they kind of play with their food against the Saints, but man, this kid comes out strong start to games. Look what they've been doing first quarter recently. Jaden Daniels would be my guy there next up on the board.

I would take CJ Stroud. Again, not a lot a playoff. You know, he's one and one career in the playoffs, so he's been there before. Bo Nicks hasn't. I think C.J. stroud's good. It's a hard team for me to figure out. They beat the Bills earlier this season there. They dominated the Dolphins. I never know quite what I'm getting, but I would take CJ Stroud, my final pick.

I believe we're down to. I only see two names here and I'm gonna have to go with my doppelganger. Russell Wilson. Yes, Russell Wilson. Listen, once he gets Pickens back and it looks like Pickens and slaves to play, this is a dangerous Russell Wilson, him and Arthur Smith really vibing. They just need Pickens and to invigorate the deep ball. I'll go Russell Wilson with my final take.

I'll take Bo Nicks. And something interesting about Bo Nicks that doesn't get discussed.

[Colin Cowherd]

Do you know how he has the.

[Unknown]

Sixth most rushing attempts this year? He runs a lot and he's. He's really a quick trick, twitchy, athletic kid. So. And. And again, Sean Payton is part of the reason I like him. So let's look at J Max picks and my picks and see. See who got the better crop of quarterbacks. Obviously, I get Mahomes, so I feel pretty good about that.

Yeah, I feel pretty great having Josh Allen.

I get the Mahomes, Stafford, Love, Goff, Herbert Stroud, Bo Nick.

You know what would make this interesting is one of the producers said, why don't we tally playoff victories. You'll see at the end of the postseason how things stack up. I have a feeling I am.

I I'm not surprised here that you went Jalen hurts your second quarterback.

What do you mean? Eagles. You had them, didn't you have the number one.

No, no.

On the hurt hierarchy.

I I like them. But if they win in the playoffs, saquon Barkley and A.J. brown and my opinion will have to be substantial.

You know who gets in the ball, right? Jaylen Herz hands it off to them and throws it to them. He's the, he's the guy down on Jaylen. Now listen, we all love staff.

I can't believe I got Justin Herbert as the 10th quarterback taken.

Well, and he's going to have Dobbins at that point. But by the way, on Stafford, they might not even make the playoffs and you took him second.

I think he's pretty good.

If the jets beat him, this will.

My sources are telling me Matt Stafford is good breaking impeccable sources.

[Jason McIntyre]

Be sure to catch live editions of the Herd, weekdays at noon Eastern, 9am Pacific.

[Colin Cowherd]

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[Colin Cowherd]

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[Unknown]

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[Colin Cowherd]

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[Unknown]

Right amount of heat.

[Colin Cowherd]

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[Unknown]

All right, here we go. What a weekend of massive college football. The college football playoff starts tonight. Indiana at Notre Dame, Texas and Clemson over the weekend. Penn State's playing as well. Live in Los Angeles. It's the Herd. Wherever you may be and however you may be listening. So, J. Mac, I've had a terrible year betting NFL. My worst ever. Most of the time I'm 55, 56%. But it's been a year in which favorites have done well. I tend to take dogs. So I've been off all year. That's, that's the breaks. Nobody cares. But I will tell you today I thought, I thought the single best bet of the weekend was a college bet.

Oh.

And so I thought I'm gonna open it up. I'm gonna give, give people an opportunity. It's a bet that you and I both agree with.

Yeah. And it's never too late to turn it around.

[Jason McIntyre]

Cowherd.

[Unknown]

You remember last year? I think you started. I mean who could, who remembers? And you turn it around so like you could do it, you know, Finish strong, man. You know it's not how you start. Say finish.

Yeah. I like your optimism. So here we go on a Friday. My blazing five. That's a hot one.

[Jason McIntyre]

Let's blaze it up.

[Unknown]

Fired up.

[Jason McIntyre]

It's Collins Blaze in five. Sponsored by DraftKings. Indiana had Notre Dame.

[Unknown]

I like Indiana plus seven and a half. It's going to be in the upper 20s. Wind chill in the upper teens. I don't think either offense is going to be great. I think the game will be Fast. It will be the run game eating the clock. Indiana is really well coached. Coming off their most dominant performance of the year are crushing Purdue. This is not Ohio State in Columbus. The weather will be a factor. It'll slow down both offenses. In Notre Dame's defense, By the way, USC got 560 yards against him. Could have won that game without pick sixes. The last two opponents that Notre Dame has faced have Both had over 190 yards rushing. So Indiana is the second highest scoring team in college football. I think it is a game with a lot of running. I really like Indiana's coach. I think Ohio State's a different team in good weather than Notre Dame in bad weather. I'll take the Irish to win, but I'm taking the seven and a half points. 27, 23 fighting Irish.

[Jason McIntyre]

Clemson at Texas.

[Unknown]

Both J. Mac and I like the Longhorns to cover. I don't know how Clemson scores. I could argue, you know, are they really. You know, they don't really feel like a college football playoff team. Texas is 110 against everybody not named Georgia. Their offense is sputtered, but I think their defense could score against Clemson. Clemson's the only playoff team with three losses from a weak conference. 02 against SEC teams outscored 51 to 17. And again the Texas defense. That's why their offense has been so conservative. They may not need to score more than a touchdown or two. I'm not sure how Clemson mounts long drives in this game. I'm going to swallow the 12 points. I think I'd prefer to see Arch Manning at quarterback. Texas wins 30 to 13. Rams and jets at minus 3. I'll take the Rams. First of all, the game means a lot more. This is a Jets team that had to fight like crazy to come back and beat an awful, awful Jacksonville team. Also, I get Stafford and McVeigh coming off extra time because they played on Thursday. They control their own destiny. They need to win this game. No turnovers and no sacks. Last two games. The O lines finally healthy. By the way, they are 50 this year. When they don't turn it over the jets, by the way, last four games, you know, they're one score games. They keep it close, close. I think it'll be close, but the game means more. It's been a noisy, noisy week for the Jets. I'm gonna take the Rams to win and cover 27, 23, 49ers at Dolphins. I'm gonna take the Niners minus one to win straight out. Here's my problem with Miami People have figured them out. Tyreek Hill has gone over 100 yards once in the last 13 games. Tua has not completed a pass over 20 yards in the air before Thanksgiving. And the Niners are a bully. They're very good against teams that are below.500. They average 32 a game. They're coming off extra rest 4. 0 against teams currently under.500. They remind me a little of Baltimore when you stack them up against a great team. The Niners have flaws. When they can bully an average team like Miami, they win all layers. The one point Niners win 28 to 24.

[Jason McIntyre]

Patriots and Bills.

[Unknown]

I don't like big favorites, but the Bills have won nine straight regular season home games. Minus 14. I'll lay the points. They've scored 30 plus in eight straight games. They don't allow sacks, so I don't think Josh Allen will be rushed. They've only allowed 13 sacks all year and they're outscoring their opponents at home by 17 a game. The Patriots have lost four straight. They can't score. There's questions about the coaching. Listen, I get the best NFL team at home that protects their quarterback against a Gerard Mayo team that has gotten worse. Whatever they do offensively, people have figured it out. Point differential. I think the bills cover 30 to 13. Our Draft King sportsbook. New customers bet five bucks. Get 150 in bonus bets. If your $5 bet wins, download the app. The promo code is heard. H E R D when you sign up. Yeah, there we go. J Mac if you want to look at the picks. I like the college games this weekend. I kind of. My take is I hate big favorites, but Green Bay and Buffalo are not only big favorites, they're playing really good football. And I think my favorite bet of the week is Texas minus 12. I don't know how Clemson engineers any offense in that game.

Yeah, I like them. By the way, have you seen the images from South Bend, Indiana? Snow, Very cold. I got some buddies going to the game. They are fired up. I like Notre Dame. I'm excited. I can't wait for the playoff games. Yeah, Texas as well. I'm with you on that.

Yeah. So I mean, Notre Dame, Indiana. I think people look at Indiana and I think it's being overplayed that they're a fraud. Ohio State, Good weather at home. That was a. That was a tough place for Indiana.

Yeah. Okay.

This. First of all, it's not going to be as loud because people are going to be wrapped up. It is freezing. And again, this is a Notre Dame defense. I went to the game at the Coliseum. USC moved the ball.

They got shredded through the air. Yeah.

Yeah. So. And also I. I do think that Indiana is closer in talent to Notre Dame than they are at Texas or an Ohio State. I just. I felt watching that game we were two series in, and I'm like, okay, this is big boy football. They don't have the players. The Buckeyes do. And Ohio State, by the way, does that to a lot of people, I don't think. But I think Indiana can play a Penn State, Notre Dame, other teams that are good and compete.

I wonder how much, like, the winter break comes into play, because a lot of colleges, you know, the kids are back off campus, they're not there. I don't know how juiced up these home stadiums are going to be. They're calling for a whiteout in Happy Valley. Is it going to be. Are all the students still there? Are they hanging out? Did they hang around after finals? Everybody usually wants to get out of Dodge. I don't know what this is going to be like. We've never seen this before.

Yeah, no, I mean. And I think anytime you've never seen anything before, it makes it. I can't wait to watch it. And I'm going to the Dome at Cosm. Oh, I want to go watch it. I'm going to see what it looks like. By the way, if you've never gone to that thing, there's one in LA and Dallas, one coming to Atlanta, Detroit. If you've never been to that place in a snow game, it's incredible to see what the players are going through and the officials. I don't know how you call a game as an official in snow games. I don't know how you do it, by the way. I just. I want to show you something that's really. I like Jim Harbaugh a lot. I love the last night was so much about Jim Harbaugh going with the old school kick in that football game that hadn't happened since a 52 yarder by Paul Horning of the packers in 1962. So it was, you know, it was the end of the half and it was a fair catch and there was interference and a penalty. And so there's a fair catch and you are allowed to do this now. None of us have ever seen this thing before, but now you are on that penalty. You can kick it from there. And the Chargers have one of the best kickers in the league. And so they're like, all right, we're going to kick it before half and there's a big difference being down 11 and being down 8 okay. Down 8 okay. It's a one score game and two point conversion. So Dicker the kicker bang hits it. From that point on the Chargers dominated and I thought it was a real glimpse glimpse of the culture that Jim Harbaughs created. It was, it was a banged up football team. You trail but they're opportunistic. They, they bring back an old school football play and here, this is so classic. Here's Harbaugh after singing loud and proud.

[Nick Wright]

Like we've never sung it before.

[Unknown]

So the apples out into the stadium. 1, 2, 3, you know what to do. Who could possibly have it better than that? He's a gym fluencer by the way. December 14th last season they gave up 60 points to the awful Raiders. This year they secured a playoff spot. 97% chance they make the playoffs. That's that game last night had Jim Harbaugh written all over it.

[Colin Cowherd]

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[Unknown]

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[Colin Cowherd]

It's football season and Uber Eats is dropping undefeated deals on all your game day favorites this week. Score Buy one Get one free six piece boneless wings from Buffalo Wild Wings only on Uber Eats. Craving even more? We've got you covered with game day deals on pizza, burgers, tacos and more all season long. Uber Eats Official on demand Food delivery partner of the NFL. Order now for game day terms, taxes and fees apply. See app for details.

[Unknown]

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.

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[Colin Cowherd]

Member FDIC.

[Unknown]

What'S on your list of.

[Colin Cowherd]

Popular game day foods? Probably multiple dishes with a bold flavor of the original Louisiana brand hot sauce. You can't beat the original with a 90 year history of great taste and quality. Tailgate, house party, game day gatherings, whatever. Include real flavor sliders with the original Louisiana brand hot sauce. The beer cheese with that hit of Louisiana peppers. There has to be original Louisiana brand hot sauce on your game day food list. It's the perfect, perfect everyday hot sauce that complements every meal. There's a rich food tradition in Louisiana bringing bold peppery flavor with just the.

[Unknown]

Right amount of heat.

[Colin Cowherd]

Pigs in a blanket. Pigs not in a blanket. Spinach artichoke dip. Artichoke spinach dip. Wings are wingier than ever with the original Louisiana brand wing sauce. Perfect for self appointed flavor experts. The original Louisiana brand hot sauce. The game day flavor changer Flavor favors the bold. Available at a store near you.

[Doug Gottlieb]

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 team in this country. So let's take a break from our hate so our team can regroup. We need to take a timeout against hate. Visit stand upto all hate.org to help and join me in calling for timeout against hate by following at what's up with Hate or posting the blue square emoji.