← The Herd with Colin Cowherd
The Herd with Colin Cowherd
Colin Cowherd Podcast - Allen Outduels Mahomes, Dodgers “Best Run” Team In Sports? Caleb Williams Showing Growth, Rams Best In NFC?
01:10:20
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- [00:00]
Colin Cowherd
This is an iHeart podcast.
- [00:04]
John Middlekauff
This podcast is sponsored by PayPal. Okay, let's talk holiday shopping. When you want to make the most of your Money, head to PayPal's app before you check out. They give you the flexibility to pay in four no fees, no interest. And this is big. Bigger than the 12 foot snowman on your lawn right now. You can get 5% cash back when you pay later with PayPal. So whether it's the must have merch or for that signed jersey you've been eyeing, PayPal helps you make the most of your money this holiday. Save this offer in the PayPal app.
- [00:37]
Colin Cowherd
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- [01:15]
John Middlekauff
Warning. This product contains nicotine. Nicotine is an addictive chemical. Today's episode brought to you by a scent that's made a legendary comeback. Degree Original Cool Rush the OG is back and better than ever. Cool Rush is isn't just a scent, it's a movement kind of fragrance. Guys remember, ask for by name and rave about online. It's bold. It's fresh all day. Sweat protection, cool crisp vibe that made it legendary. So whether you're heading to the gym, the office, or just trying to stay fresh all day long, Cool Rush has your back. So if you haven't tried it yet, head to your local Walmart. Grab degree Cool Rush, the fan favorite scent from the world's number one antiperspirant brand. Get almost anything you need delivered with Uber Eats. What do you mean by almost? Well, you can't get a well groomed lawn delivered, but you can get chicken parm delivered. A little escape? No. Delicious bowl of grapes? Yeah. An afternoon stroll? Sorry, no. A burrito bowl? Happily, yes. How about the clear skies? Can't deliver that, but French fries?
- [02:11]
Katie Couric
Yeah.
- [02:12]
John Middlekauff
Get almost almost anything delivered with Uber Eats. Order now. Alcohol in select markets. Product availability may vary by region. Seattle for details the volume all right, I'm a football fan for a long time since the 70s. I don't watch football without something to eat and drink. Trust me, it's. It's a whole different ball game when you're eating. Right now. I got two things today from Uber Eats right now. When you buy one large extra most bestest pepperoni pizza from Little Caesars like this one, you get another one free. By the way, one of these has already been eaten by me and my wife 15 minutes ago. Yes, that's right. An extra, extra most bestest pizza thrown in there. Extra cheese, extra pepperoni, all for the price of just one. And since Uber Eats is the official on demand food delivery partner of the NFL, you know all the game day deals keep coming all season long. Wings and tacos and subs and pizzas, chips and dips, whatever. Whatever it is, Uber Eats delivers right to your door. So when your team puts up the extra point, reward yourself with an extra pizza order. Little Caesars on Uber Eats today we did terms apply. See the app for details. Pizza, pizza extra extra. Something's going on here. All right. John Middelkoff, former NFL scout, has his own podcast, Three and out. Can't tell you how many people come up to me in Chicago. It's GMs. They're like, oh, I love, I love middle cough so much. They never say that about me. They love you.
- [03:47]
Colin Cowherd
Well, I tell them I don't know if middle Coff's going to the hall of Fame like, like you. So congratulations, by the way. That, that's. That's pretty cool.
- [03:55]
John Middlekauff
I appreciate it. Buffalo 28, Kansas City 21. I looked at this number today. To me, this was, this was really the game is that Mahomes was uncomfortable and Josh Allen was really comfortable. He was sacked three times, hit 15 times. And when Mahomes, John doesn't trust his offensive line, it changes. It changes the way he plays. He presses, he takes more risks. And I thought the game really came down to that, is that I just thought Josh was really comfortable and Patrick wasn't.
- [04:31]
Colin Cowherd
I just know this. If the Bills can find a way to play like they do against the Kansas City Chiefs in the regular season, in the postseason, they will win the super bowl because they thoroughly outplayed him today. Out gained him by a hundred yards. We're up double digits in the fourth quarter. I mean it took a fourth and 17, which only Andy Reid would have a fourth and 17 play that would come wide open. But listen, that Bill's team, that we just saw, that team can win the Super Bowl.
- [04:57]
John Middlekauff
Yeah.
- [04:58]
Colin Cowherd
But we see them on a weekly basis not look as good on defense. The pass rush isn't always there. Joey Bosa looked like, I don't know his third year with the Chargers today. So I don't know where that version of the Bills is always because they make a ton of plays when they have to against the Ravens and in the regular season. I mean, Colin, this is now kind of a theme obviously at home. And, and this is why I've been, I've said from the jump, getting home field for the Bills is really big. And today was, was a bigger game for them because at the end of the day, like Chiefs have already won Super Bowls. Like I, I think they will eventually win another one. But if they get bounced in the first or second round one year, whatever, this year for the Bills, you just have to hold serve with the Patriots. They have an easier schedule than you. They keep taking care of business. If they would have lost today, they would have been out of one game deficits and they've already lost to them. So there was a lot of pressure and in fairness, I thought they answered the bell beside a couple of plays in the second half.
- [05:50]
John Middlekauff
Right.
- [05:50]
Colin Cowherd
They were really good going well.
- [05:52]
John Middlekauff
I mean, and the other thing that's, I mean, Bosa is healthy, he's 30, Greg Russo is 25, AJ Ebenezer is 27. You know, these guys are in their athletic prime and they've drafted pretty well in the back end. So Denver is now on a heater. Denver's 9 and 2 and now plays Kansas City next and Kansas City is 5 and 4. And so now Joe Alt got banged up today, but the chargers are 6 and 3. So you get into a really weird situation here where if Denver beats, I mean, it was the worst thing possible for Denver. I don't know what the line is. I'm taking Kansas City against Denver when Kansas City loses. But I think the thing that jumped out to me today was, you know, we've talked a lot about the defense. Ed Oliver didn't play, but we talk a lot about Buffalo's defense all year. So much of defense is effort, right. Like I was, I got a, I was talking to somebody the other day about this is that, you know, offensive players out of high school, they'll follow a coach. Offensive players want the coach. You know, defensive players, you know, they high schoolers, they want to go to big schools, right? They, they, most defensive coaches, they see as the same thing. Defensive players are about wrecking things. And I do think when you take that Buffalo defensive front and they play Mahomes they play differently. It's just a different, it's different than playing Michael Pennix. And I've always felt offense is about choreography. But I felt like, I felt like the defensive front today for Buffalo knew the red light was on. That's what it felt like to me. It felt like they played with way more energy. Many of the same players played above what they've been playing at all year. I just, I feel like defensive players can play at a different intensity level depending on the opponent. Ten times they've played five and five and I don't know, I thought that was the difference. I thought the defensive line for Buffalo was great.
- [08:01]
Colin Cowherd
Well, can I piggyback off what, what you just said about the defense? I think, and I've said this now for a while, that when you look at the NFL and they've tried to clean up the game, right. So now when you watch, you know, guys are much safer. They take a very conscious effort to officiate dirty calls. And I think most guys now, if you're 25, you have gone through college in the NFL being taught how to hit right and not use your helmet. But I do think if we miked up defensive coordinators, like if you got the defensive meeting room on Saturday night and before the team came out this week and probably all week fans would be uncomfortable what's being said in there, especially from the Buffalo side. And you could go around the league. I bet if you, if you got Brian Flores miked up this week on Wednesday night, on Saturday night, it would make a lot of people uncomfortable with what they were. I enjoy that and I know what I'm saying. But I still think the way they talk and the, what they preach is, still has similarities going back to the 80s and the 90s.
- [09:00]
John Middlekauff
Yeah.
- [09:01]
Colin Cowherd
And you know, Buffalo's front is really talented and they just lost at Oliver, the, the first round draft pick from Kentucky, I mean Patrick Mahomes. Listen, I'm with you. His offensive line was in tatters. You can't throw that interception late in the game because they never got the ball back.
- [09:15]
John Middlekauff
Right.
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Colin Cowherd
You know, essentially. Right. So it's like that was killer and they just need some more impact plays on defense. We'll talk about the Steelers. Well, what happened today, they're high price guys, especially up front made huge plays.
- [09:29]
John Middlekauff
Huge.
- [09:29]
Colin Cowherd
So when, when you're playing in playoff games, I'm sure we'll talk about the baseball game too. Sometimes you just need a random guy to make a big ass play. Whether that's a tip ball for a pick. Whether that's a fumble and obviously your stars to make big plays. So you know, Buffalo in Coach Reed and all the Brett Veets, all these guys will tell you Josh Allen is the best player they play. Yeah. And has been for now five years. I mean, he. Cause not only he matches his play against the other randoms against them. And he's one of the rare ones, if not the only guy who has consistently done that now for four or five years.
- [09:59]
John Middlekauff
Well, they were 60% on third down. They had 140 yards rushing. I thought, you know, and I thought it was going to be high scoring. And I was, I said I'll take Kansas City. But when these two teams play, you know, you never count Kansas City out. But I felt like today, this was Buffalo's day because Buffalo had lost at home to New England. So again, I watched that game. The intensity felt different today. It feels different in the stadium when Kansas City plays there. You get Nance, you get Romo, it just feels different. And you know, Josh Allen, they said this during the game. 79 rushing touchdowns in eight years, Jesus, that's just insane. He is one of the things when I watch and I feel this way to a lesser degree with Lamar Jackson, but I do think there are certain things, I guess I would say this. I feel generally Kansas City has slightly better personnel than Buffalo. But right now, does Buffalo have the right ingredients? Star running back Mahomes doesn't. Better defensive front with more high level guys. Right. Chris Jones has not had a great year. So we know Buffalo and Kansas city have good GMs and great quarterbacks. And we know Andy's very clever in these games. But a lot of times, John, it's units. You know, the two times Mahomes has been blown out in Super Bowls, he had a bad O line. The O lines are both fine, although Kansas City has got overwhelmed today. But that defensive front right now for Buffalo, it reminds me, it just. There's just a lot of guys. I feel like there's just a lot of guys that play. Throw Milano in there when he's healthy. I mean, Josh is only 29. He's going to have six more cracks at the super bowl minimum. But I felt today watching him, I'm like, that's. They've got it. They've had it before. But Cook playing at this level, Buffalo's got all the ingredients.
- [12:04]
Colin Cowherd
I would say this too. If Kincaid is going to look like that, that's what they drafted him. High to look like a Laporta, to look like a Tucker Craft. Yes, A Kiddle, a Kelsey. So if he's going to play like that, I mean Cook, if you had to look at 20, 25, you would say Jonathan Taylor's had the best year at running back. McCaffrey is just week in, week out bringing it. And you would put Cook, I mean he's been one of the best running backs in the NFL this year and you watch him on a weekly basis. Not really debatable. So you get high level tight end play, you get high level running back play. I would say since Cook has become a high end starter, it's really changed the Bill's offense and it's made Joe Brady look a lot better. The other thing is if you have a good defensive line. The Chiefs are missing their star rookie left tackle who's been gone now for several weeks. Today they had multiple injuries at right guard or right or at left guard and right tackle. Well that means your backup left tackle is starting because Simmons is gone. So you actually are going to like a backups backup. The domino effect was pretty big and you just saw him kind of under duress. And the reality is sometimes when he's under duress he will make decisions like you know, other run of the mill quarterbacks and not one of the great players we've ever seen. And he did today.
- [13:16]
John Middlekauff
All right. Chicago Bears 47, Bengals 42.
- [13:21]
Colin Cowherd
What a game.
- [13:22]
John Middlekauff
I mean it shouldn't have come to this. I mean Chicago had it wrapped. The I was thinking about this with the Bears. So they got that block field goal to beat the Raiders, the Jaden Daniels fumble to beat WASHINGTON, the 58 yard touchdown to beat Cincinnati. You make your own breaks mostly. But I thought the really the thing that I've noticed about Caleb and I said this Friday in the Herd is that against, I like the Bears today against Cincinnati and Dallas when he gets that extra beat and a better run game, he's very effective. He today while trailing Caleb had 124 passer rating, three touchdowns, no picks. Now it's the Bengals defense, but I think what we're seeing with this Bears team, they're winning these weird games. John, the Bears lose weird games. It's like what they do, they're winning all these weird games. When they lose, they're outclassed by Baltimore. Right. They couldn't run the ball but they're winning the weird games. And I mean Caleb Today is 2034. He's never thrown a lot of picks. He had five carries, 11 yards of carry. I do see growth. I absolutely do. Operationally There was another moment that I just drives me nuts. But there's something to be said for a losing organization. You saw the horsepower. He does not throw a lot of picks. I just think there is value in winning games you have lost for the last decade. You know, blocking a field goal, when they hit that big plate of Loveland, I'm like, oh, my God, they just would not have done that in the last 10 years. So I'm going to give the Bears credit. By the way, with the packers and Lions losing, NFC north is wide open today.
- [15:17]
Colin Cowherd
Massive day for the Vikings in J.J. mcCarthy and Caleb Williams. I wrote this down probably early in the third quarter. Can you win a shootout? Because we've seen them win some ugly games. Right. Their defense was leading the league in turnovers and I didn't know. And they did. And it shouldn't have been as they were up double digits. Right. When DJ Morse, they went to challenge it, it ended up being a touchdown, which was an explosive play. Ben Johnson's a stud. You know, when part of the reason I like the Bengals in this game because like, oh, DeAndre Swift's out. Well, he's been one of the hottest players in the league. And then he turns this Rutgers seventh round pick. I think he ran for 170 yards, Colin.
- [15:55]
John Middlekauff
Yeah.
- [15:56]
Colin Cowherd
So he was fantastic. The Bears defense morphed into the Bengals defense.
- [16:01]
John Middlekauff
Yeah.
- [16:01]
Colin Cowherd
So it even put more pressure on Ben Johnson and Caleb Williams and they were awesome. The other thing is there's kind of the elephant in the room with Tyler Warren looking like one of the best tight ends in the league. Like, hey, you guys drafted Loveland. Huge day for him. I think Loveland got the game ball. Loveland and the running back. So, yes, you had two rookies come through. Good day for Pace.
- [16:22]
American Giant Representative
Right.
- [16:22]
Colin Cowherd
Taking some heat with the Drake may emergence and people are kind of looking at his, at his draft. So Loveland, the rookie running back and overall, like the thing that has stood out to me has been how good Ben Johnson is. And he's really kind of set to me. Caleb, when he scrambles around. Yeah, it doesn't really work. He's got to learn to kind of calm down a little bit. But like you said, doesn't turn the ball over. Hit explosive plays today, John and Loveland and the running back were excellent.
- [16:48]
John Middlekauff
They had 580 yards. Jesus, that's a lot of yards. They averaged 7.6 yards of play, dominated time of possession and you know they were much, you know, they were very good on third down. So again, they had a shootout with the Cowboys. Blew them out. Shootout with the Bengals on the road. Pick up a W. There's value in all this stuff. And I think, you know, the other thing is we've seen it with Bo Nix. He's tremendous in the fourth, but he, he has, he has long gaps where he struggles. Drake May didn't have a great day today. He had some, he struggled a bit. Penix made some really good nice throws today. I think all these young guys, the difference between a great quarterback like Allen and Drake May is, you know, almost exactly what you get. With Josh Allen, it's like Steph Curry, he may have a, every eighth game, he just may be off and it's usually for a half. The great players are Kobe in his prime. Was, was you got the same damn guy every night. And I think with Caleb Williams, I think it's official. I can see growth. There's no question he is a better football player this year than last. Would you agree that, that you can see, you can see growth?
- [17:58]
Colin Cowherd
Yeah, he's definitely better. He's, he's solid. He has not been. It's his bad plays. When he scrambles around, it feels like the offense is just so out of sync because it's like could he just sit in the pocket for an extra second, even throw the ball away? And a lot of his scrambles don't turn into explosive plays. But today, when I can live with the bad. If you're making explosive plays and throwing touchdowns, I'll say the same thing with J.J. mcCarthy. Yeah, I can live through growing pains. If you're accounting for several touchdowns a game. Right. And I think you saw today with both guys is they're good our scoring plays. So if you're giving me touchdowns or big chunk plays in the passing game, I, I, I, I can live with a bad sack or, or a misplay on third and seven.
- [18:45]
John Middlekauff
Right.
- [18:46]
Colin Cowherd
That it's when you're not getting either, you're not getting the, the layup stuff and you're not having, you know, scoring touchdown level, explosive play. So yeah, Caleb, they have explosive players on offense.
- [18:56]
John Middlekauff
Oh, there's no question. I, I like Chicago skill players like him a lot. I mean, to be able to go to a backup running back and he's kind of a gender bug. He's a smaller game. Might be kind of the pitter patter of his feet.
- [19:09]
Colin Cowherd
He's, he was running fast today.
- [19:11]
John Middlekauff
Yeah, he was really moving. All right. Today's show is brought to you by our new presenting sponsor, Hard Rock. Bet they're a great partner on Hard Rock Bet there's always something to bet on. If you haven't tried your first bet on Hard Rock Bet yet, there's still time for you to get 150 bucks in bonus bets. If you win, just place a $5 bet. That's it. Five bucks. If it hits you, not only get your winnings, but you get $150 in extra bonus bets. The NBA is back, which means it's time to shoot your shot on Hard Rock Bet. You're home for all the hoops action all season long. If you need a little help with your first bet, check out the streaks heating up inside the Hard Rock Bet stats hub. You can find live odds to bet on all of these streaks right in the Hard Rock Bet app. Download the Hard Rock Bet app today and make your first deposit payable in bonus bets. Not a cash offer offered by the Seminole Tribe of Florida in Florida Offered by Seminole Hard Rock Digital LLC in all their states. Must be 21 plus and physically present in Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, New Jersey, Ohio, Tennessee or Virginia to play. Terms and conditions apply. Concern about gambling in Florida. Call-888- admit it in Indiana. If you or somebody you know has a problem wants help, call 1-800-9 with it gambling problem call 1-800- gambler Arizona, Colorado, Illinois, New Jersey, Ohio, Tennessee, Virginia football season's here and if you want to go to an NFL or college football game, Game Time is the place for you. The Game Time app just gives you the advantage back to you, the fans. It's a hack for unlocking amazing tickets and experiences in a few taps. I love it. Easy to use. The Game Time guarantee means you can Trust you'll get 100% authentic tickets on time and at the best price. 100 so they even let you preview your seat on the app. That's special. Plus fees are always included, so what you see is what you pay every time. Take the guesswork out of buying professional football tickets with GameTime. Just download the GameTime app. Create an account if you use the code Colin C o L I N 20 bucks off your first purchase Terms apply again. Create an account Redeem code C o L I N 20 bucks off swipe tap ticket go download the gametime app today. This podcast is sponsored by PayPal. Okay, let's talk holiday shopping. When you want to make the most of your Money, head to PayPal's app before you check out. They give you the flexibility to pay in four no fees, no interest. And this is big. Bigger than the 12 foot snowman on your lawn right now you can get 5% cash back when you pay later with PayPal. So whether it's the must have merch or for that signed jersey you've been eyeing, PayPal helps you make the most of your money this holiday. Save this offer in the PayPal app expires 1231.
- [21:53]
Colin Cowherd
See paypal.com promoterms Subject to approval. Learn more at paypal.com payin4paypal inc.nmls910457 Time.
- [22:04]
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- [23:34]
Katie Couric
On the latest episode of Next Question with me, Katie Couric. I sat down with Bernie Sanders, who is 84 years old, has spent 34 years in Congress and he can still pack a rally with people a quarter of his age.
- [23:47]
John Middlekauff
Denver, 34,000 people come out. Salt Lake City, 20,000 people. You know, huge turnouts. People are really dissatisfied about the status quo.
- [23:57]
Katie Couric
His Fighting Oligarchy tour with AOC and other young progressives has become a movement. But is his message too far to the left? Well, he certainly doesn't think so.
- [24:08]
John Middlekauff
Does that sound like a radical idea, Katie? Is that too far left for you?
- [24:11]
Katie Couric
Okay, okay, I get your point, Bernie. We talk about the billionaire class, the cost of living and of course the government shutdown. Not to mention the current state of the Democratic party.
- [24:26]
John Middlekauff
To me, the failure of the Democratic party has been an unwillingness to recognize the real issues.
- [24:32]
Katie Couric
Open your free iHeartRadio app search next question with Katie Couric and listen now.
- [24:42]
John Middlekauff
All right, Minnesota 27, Detroit 24. Before we get to J.J. mcCarthy, Goff got sacked five times, hit 1110 tackles for loss. Brian Flores was on his game today. They couldn't run the football at all. So it was Amar on St. Brown and Sam laporta were excellent but Detroit could not run the ball. And that's kind of the engine that makes everything slick and click there. J.J. mcCarthy was after the first couple of drives he was about 50% again but I got two touchdowns, ran for another. Okay on third down. I thought he was very good in the scripted stuff early. Overall he moves well. He looks, it's funny about size. He looks a little small to me. It's so funny. Mahomes is six one and a half. He feels huge to me. I don't even. Aaron Rodgers is six one and a half. He feels six four. McCarthy if sometimes feels like he gets engulfed. But overall I thought he moved well and played pretty well. Did you have a strong take on him?
- [25:39]
Colin Cowherd
I think your take on the weight, I think it's a girth thing, you know, the size thickness. Because Russell Wilson never felt like he was small. Right. Even though he's 510 because he's 220 pounds.
- [25:48]
John Middlekauff
Yeah.
- [25:49]
Colin Cowherd
Caleb's a good example.
- [25:50]
John Middlekauff
Yeah.
- [25:50]
Colin Cowherd
Shorter but feels like he's 215.
- [25:52]
John Middlekauff
Caleb's 6ft. I'm taller than Caleb by like an inch.
- [25:55]
Colin Cowherd
One thing we said about JJ last year during the injury and I think Albert Breer and a bunch of guys, he lost a bunch of weight and was like. So I think it's harder for Mahomes probably weighs 230 pounds. So I think that factors in. The number one thing with JJ today were the good plays were touchdowns. So if you're going to count for three touchdowns, you could have 20 incompletions and have some terrible plays. It's when you're not scoring and bringing none of that to the table, it's just a complete disaster. Flores, I thought if you were going to give one game ball to a coach today, it probably have to go to him because you're on the road in Detroit. That was that. That was excellent. I mean his guys were flying around. Golf's good against the blitz and early on I Think they had blitz like five or six times. It sacked him on two of them. Goff was all out of sync. Their offense was out of sync. And I, it, it felt like he gave the speech. We're gonna have to win this thing.
- [26:53]
John Middlekauff
Yeah.
- [26:54]
Colin Cowherd
Because in fairness coming into that game and they, they kept hitting on it on the broadcast of I, I thought Tom did a good job. He said there's no one disputing his arm strength. But you know, Burkhart must have come in late from the baseball game last night. Was there talk about a guy grinding. And Brady's big thing was clearly he knows Kevin pretty well. It's like sometimes you need to do a change up, sometimes we need to get some off speed. Sometimes you need touch balls.
- [27:22]
John Middlekauff
Yes.
- [27:22]
Colin Cowherd
Because you watch the arm strength is fine. But on some of these balls over the middle on third and eight. And even in his interception was a little behind his accuracy. Like Caleb, like some of these guys is a work in progress.
- [27:34]
John Middlekauff
Yeah. JJ's interception was low and down and it, and the Lions player came over it. No, that's, that's. Matt Stafford is the master of tempo. Like he can sling it sidearm, he can throw heat. And I think it's just, it is a little bit like being a baseball pitcher. I, what I worry about with J.J. mcCarthy is. And I felt like this with Brock Purdy. You know, when The Niners Christian McCaffrey is upright, I don't even care who the quarterback is. I mean like if Christian McCaffrey plays today, he had half their yards. It doesn't matter if it's Mack Jones or Brock Purdy. I do feel with Kevin o', Connell, Justin Jefferson good left tackle. I kind of feel like it's hard to evaluate JJ because the coach, the left tackle and the receiver are so good. And like San Francisco with Kyle and Chris McCaffrey. And then when Kittle's healthy and Jennings can be, you know, highly productive, how valuable is the quarterback? So this isn't anti JJ McCarthy. I just think, I think again, I think I just need more of him. I just have to see more games. I thought Brian Flores was game ball. Brian Flores.
- [28:44]
Colin Cowherd
That's why I think it's fair for J.J. mcCarthy. The bar of how he's being judged should be higher than a lot of random young quarterbacks on bad teams. When you play for crappy franchises and you lose, I expect that like whoever the Carolina Panthers draft, I don't expect it to look great. But when you get Justin Jefferson in his prime, Hawkinson, Jordan Addison, Kevin o', Connell, if we had a coaching draft, where would Kevin. He'd go in the top five.
- [29:10]
John Middlekauff
Yes.
- [29:11]
Colin Cowherd
So everything. And this was Trey Lance's thing. When you get drafted to a team whose expectations are yeah, let's win 14 games and compete for the conference championship, you just get judged a lot differently. And I'll give JJ credit in the Bears game he had huge moments in a big time today. At the end of the game with the game on the line, his coach put it in his hands and he delivered. And that's where I think a lot of his defenders go with the quote unquote, he's a winner. There is some winning characteristics when you're comfortable in big moments. You go back to that moment against Alabama where it looked like Harbaugh had this all time great roster and he was going to lose in the, in the playoffs to Nick Saban on probably I bet Nick would say one of his worst ever playoff teams. JJ made some great plays. You watched his first start against the Bears, big spot, made some great plays. And today on I thought they were just going to run it and just hey, lean it on floors. They put it in his hands. Great throw, Colin. Not a good throw.
- [30:06]
John Middlekauff
A great throw. Yeah, well when I watched him at Michigan that was always my take. Moves well. Gritty kid, didn't make a ton of big throws but he'd make one or two NFL Sunday throws. He can make the big throws. So I just don't have a ton, you know, I mean like say what you want about Bo Nix. I've got like a six game winning streak and he's got a 119 passer rating, nine touchdowns, no pick in the fourth quarter. I've got a lot of samples of Bo Nix. He can have gaps but late he's really good. So with jj I've never been a huge believer but I thought, you know what to go to Detroit you got the, you know you win a lot of different ways. Not every Sunday for Brady was great. That Teddy Bruski crew. There were days that Tom didn't do a lot of heavy lifting. He was 20 at 28 with a lot of underneath stuff. So.
- [31:00]
Colin Cowherd
Yeah, if I was going to defend, you know JJ has been playing Carson has or but definitely Caleb Williams. They're deep. I mean Caleb's defense. Sometimes you watch the Bears on defense and they just look atrocious. Atrocious in Minnesota till today they had been pretty bad this season. Colin, I mean today was it even today they gave up. It's not like they gave up 10 points. I mean, and they had some drop balls. I mean, there were plays to be made, like the defenses on those two teams. I mean, Bo Nixon, we might have just watched the two best defense of the league play each other today, right? The physicality of Denver and Houston and how good their defensive lines are. So anytime you have a defense that is that good, that's back you up when you're not making plays. But I'd say all three of these guys have one thing going for him. J.J. mcCarthy. Now, obviously Caleb and Bo Nix making plays in big spots. And I think when you look at Caleb and Bo Nicks, they've had a lot of snaps now in their career.
- [31:53]
John Middlekauff
Well, they also have Sean Payton. I mean, look at the, look at the coaches.
- [31:57]
Colin Cowherd
Kevin o', Connell, Ben Johnson.
- [31:58]
John Middlekauff
Ben Johnson, such an advantage. Such a huge advantage. Steelers 27, Colts 20. Pittsburgh's defense is completely feast or famine in the two best wins for the Steelers, New England and Indy 11 takeaways. And the other games they can be the Bengals, they have huge holes. So I'll say this, Aaron Rodgers, I've defended them all year. Aaron, Brett Favre's first season with the Vikings. Remember that magical season Brett Favre had with the vikings? Favre had 33 touchdowns and completed 68% of his throws. Aaron is on pace to have 36 touchdowns and complete 68% of his throws. Both struggled with the jets, which is Siberia, right? Nobody, Darnold, Favre, Rogers, nobody can win with the Jets. But I. This was a great example. Daniel Jones did not have a consistent run game. You know, the Steelers defense. And again, we saw it with, I mean, it's amazing. We saw it with Minnesota today. Their defense is like, oh, we're in Detroit. JJ McCarthy starting this is on us. We saw it with the Steelers today. It's like, oh, here come the Colts. They're favored over us. This is the hottest team in the league. And that offensive line for Indy for the first time this year got pushed around a little bit. So. And you know, Daniel Jones, 31 of 50 Again, I don't think Daniel Jones should be throwing 50 times. When you don't run the ball, that's what you have to do. But this was another example. We've talked about this all day today. Buffalo's defense playing Mahomes defense is about like energy and juice. And I thought Pittsburgh just feasted today. Looked like a different defense than they had most of the weeks this year.
- [33:54]
Colin Cowherd
You bringing up that Minnesota team with Farve, I think it was 09. I just looked. Jared Allen, who just went into the hall of fame, had 15 sacks that year. And I think the last couple of weeks you've been watching, you just gave TJ $100 million. Where has he been? And today I thought their season was on the line this game, you know, this is a Tomlin spot as an underdog. He was just in the same spot against the packers and got killed. So if, if you would have played the results before the game kicked off and said, well, the, the Steelers lose. So I've seen them lose at home to Seattle, Green Bay and Indy. Three playoff teams. Like, you got Baltimore running you down, written all over you. You need to win this game because all of a sudden you lose. You have four wins, the Ravens have three. And they are trending up and you are trending down. I thought this was a kitchen sink game. And it was seven nothing and Indy had the ball and they were driving. I went, I feel like they score a touchdown here and go down 14 nothing. The Steelers season's basically over around Halloween.
- [34:50]
John Middlekauff
Yeah.
- [34:50]
Colin Cowherd
And T.J. watt made the play, forced a fumble, they got the ball back, they scored, and then I think they scored like 10 more points. 17, 7 1/2. You're like, okay. And then they just started creating turnover, sacks, picks. It's like, well, if their defense plays like this, they can be a terror. They can be a 10, 11 win team that could make some. That could win a playoff game. But the defense we've seen the previous two weeks, Colin, they not only have no shot in the playoffs, they weren't going to win the division. So it's just what T.J. watt, who's kind of the heartbeat really of their team, which is classic Steelers, right. A pass rusher. But when he plays like that, the other guys feed off him. Yeah, they could beat. They didn't just make Indy look bad. I mean, they were killing them. They made Daniel Jones. I wrote down, like, does this give you any pause? Because if he plays a good defense, he. I don't want to say he just completely melted, but it was because he's getting hit a lot. But, man, it did not look good. Colin.
- [35:44]
John Middlekauff
No, he didn't play, you know, the Rams game again. He. He wasn't as dominant. The. I think it's really interesting that, you know, Mike Tomlin I don't think is terribly current in terms of, you know, online development and run game. And this is where I think Aaron deserves a lot of credit. Aaron. Aaron didn't play safe much in his career unless he uncorked a couple of bad interceptions and then Aaron would like bring it down in a game like he was protecting a passer rating. And I noticed it. But I don't think this team, I think he's playing this team. I've said it 10 times. I think he's really playing the position the way a Steeler quarterback should play the position. This is a high completion percentage offense with big targets that you can get the ball, they can break a tackle, this kind of team. And I think Aaron has to lead the offense. Tomlin on his own over the last seven years has not shown an ability to get the old line of the run game right. But you know, Pittsburgh's always been under Tomlin, such a good dog. And also the Ravens won Thursday night. So that put more pressure on the Steelers as they watched the Ravens blow out the Dolphins. So it's like, oh crap. So I think, I think a lot of things, I mean Daniel Jones had one touchdown and three picks today and I thought it was fairly obvious that from the very get go there was a different attitude when you back Tomlin into a corner. His teams have always played differently.
- [37:20]
Colin Cowherd
That's why I thought they were. He was kind of at a fork in the road spot because if he couldn't win this game, his time with the Steelers is over because this is his spot. The other thing looking at, obviously they couldn't. I mean they had the lead all the second half. They ran for 38 yards. Colin, they average under two yards a carry. Did you see Diana? She put out a bunch of like trade scuttle butt I think yesterday and one of the things were Breeze hall with the jets who Aaron knows. Yeah, like listen, you miss on Caleb, Caleb Johnson, maybe in a couple of years he's fine but right now he can't help you. You're all in on this season if Aaron goes, listen, I like that guy a lot. I think he would help. Shouldn't they be really interested in that because they feel like they need a running back desperately? Well, they're asking Jalen Warren to carry the load and that's just not really his thing.
- [38:06]
John Middlekauff
I mean they've done a great job through the years to draft edge rushers and wide receivers. They're hit and miss on quarterbacks. I could make an argument it's go time. I honestly think Aaron's going to play this year and next. Do you? I, I think he's gonna, I think he's comfortable. I think, I don't know, I just. He's not getting hit a lot I kind of feel like this is about, you know, I said before the season I thought they'd ender non games. It's gone better than I thought. For Aaron, I, I really have. It's a little smoother.
- [38:38]
Colin Cowherd
I totally agree. I, I thought he would look older. He's, he's looked, he's been a little bit of a fountain of youth that I, you know, he's just moving around a little bit younger. I expected it to get worse. I know people say second year off in Achilles, it's one thing when you're 28, it's another thing when you're 41. I do think when you look at Tomlin, because he's a good example, what you're saying, why Aaron might return, I think a lot of people go, why wouldn't you want a fresh start? Because he's coaching the Steelers. It's kind of a sweet job. Just like I bet Aaron, who's been with the packers realizes this is pretty awesome. Like playing for Ohio State or Alabama. Football doesn't suck. I think most guys that play basketball at Kansas or North Carolina enjoy the experience. You know, being the coach or the quarterback for the Pittsburgh Steelers kind of has its perks. If you're Aaron, you feel pretty good. It's like, hey, we'll pay another $15 million. The other thing is they have a lot of old guys on the team.
- [39:29]
John Middlekauff
Yes.
- [39:29]
Colin Cowherd
Part of the reason, you know, Tom, I think that Tampa Bay experience went well because by a second year there, most of those guys, even the Tampa Bay guys, are veteran players. You got to bring some other veterans. A lot of like minded people, married, kids, multiple kids, pick up lines at school. So I think Aaron looks around. T.J. watts, over 30. Cam Hayward's 35, 36. Tomlin's like this player version of a coach.
- [39:53]
John Middlekauff
Yep.
- [39:53]
Colin Cowherd
They just, it's, it's pretty tailor made for a veteran type quarterback to go in and enjoy his time there, I would say.
- [40:02]
John Middlekauff
And now for our next segment, whiskey business. Yes, whiskey business. Brought to you by Green River Whiskey, the official whiskey of the Colin Coward podcast. Carolina Panthers beat Green Bay 16 to 13. I had said on FS1 Friday, I think I said it three times. I said this has a weird trap game vibe for Green Bay. It's really weird. Green Bay averaged 6 yards of play, had 400 yards and 13 points. They were good on third down. You know, when I, and Packer fans are just can't, they're just beside themselves with Matt LaFleur. I was watching Green Bay today and My take was Tucker Kraft, by the way, looks like he could be out for the year. Torn ac.
- [40:44]
Colin Cowherd
Devastating.
- [40:45]
John Middlekauff
Brutal. He's a great player. They're not running the ball very well. I don't know why this is, but I feel with this wide receiver and tight end group, I feel they should give the offense to Jordan Love. Now, you made a horrific throw that was dropped in the end zone by Carolina. Bryce Young. I mean, what's disappointing is Bryce Young didn't even play well. I mean, this was not yet a weather advantage. It was a little cool and windy. Bryce Young did not play particularly well. Rico Dowell, by the way, is the most underrated player in the league. Carolina's running back, former Cowboys. Great. But I feel like this is why I think the Rams are the best team in the nfc. Philadelphia and Green Bay have an identity crisis. Green Bay does not know what they are offensive. I watched the Rams today and they know exactly what they are. They are fast and aggressive defensively. Offensively, it's all about efficiency. They love to run the ball. It's highly efficient. I watch the Rams and I feel like they just lean into what they are. They absolutely have complete, utter confidence in what they are. I don't know if Green Bay knows yet. And I kind of feel like Matt is being conservative. That's my take, that you're picking up the yards. But they were just. It was weird today. They had a. They had a fourth and like eight at the 13 or 14 yard line and they went for it instead of kicking a field goal, which is. I wrote that down. I may have the.
- [42:18]
Colin Cowherd
It was 13 to 6. That was when he threw it across his body and the guy dropped the pick.
- [42:21]
John Middlekauff
Yeah, just so. So that was like, what are you doing? I'm not. I just don't think they know what they are.
- [42:29]
Colin Cowherd
They were the most disappointing team of the weekend by far. I mean, coming off the momentum they had. They had such a great half last week against the Steelers. I mean, they. They flipped a switch. It's like, this is one of the best teams in the league. I would have said coming in today there would. We're doing this before Seattle. But Seattle, the Rams, it's hard to include the Niners with their injuries. So I'd go Seattle, Rams, Pittsburgh, or, excuse me, Philadelphia, and then the two teams from the North. But you watch, obviously the Lions, their quarterback can't really move. And if you can hit them and then whatever goes on with this Green Bay offense. At one point in time, I looked down, they had like, almost 250 yards of offense and six points and they were oh and four in the red zone. They were just atrocious in the red zone. I saw Matt laforce after the game is like, hey, they're taking away our explosive play. So we're just dinking and dunking to death. But I don't know, I mean, I. Obviously Carolina's a little better than we thought. I mean they are 5 and 4 and I think the dust is going to settle and they're going to win eight, nine games and be very competitive and have some upsets. But at home that should be a huge advantage for Green Bay.
- [43:36]
John Middlekauff
Yeah, Bryce Young, they were atrocious, yet he missed. TMAC was wide open. Xavier Leggett like it. Bryce Young did not play particularly well. This should be. And you have 400 yards and average 6 yards of play. This was not a game in which you couldn't move the ball. I will say I do think Carolina defensively is fast. Like Carolina's draft, you know, they've had a lot of high draft picks and you know, people always look at the first round pick but you're drafting high in the second and the third and the fourth and the fifth and the sixth. So Carolina's got some guys, I mean they can, they can get really physical. They're quick. But I just, I think this is something that is really under discussed in sports. What are you. I remember when we started the volume, I would tell my guys, barstool is something, you know, ringer is we have to become what are we like. You have to identify what are you. And without doing a big branding campaign, you just have to become something. And I look at the best teams in this league. Buffalo I think has a real sense of what they are right now. I don't think Green Bay knows and it's weird because Matt's an offensive guy. He should have a greater sense of what they are. Offensive coaches generally like Sean Payton, Andy Reid, McVeigh, I rarely doubt the identity of the offense. I mean, Kyle Shanahan knows Basically Christian McCaffrey is the offense. The quarterback's less relevant than the star running back. But I look at Green Bay right now and I think they have to. That's a team that needs like a bi week or a come to Jesus meeting. That's what it feels like. Matt LaFleur needs to come to Jesus meeting with Jordan Love, give them the keys, they're not running the ball consistently and go for it.
- [45:18]
Colin Cowherd
Well, I think in their two losses against the Browns and obviously today yeah, their offense really let them down because their defense is not allowing points. I mean, I think the Browns game they lost 13 to 10, and this one they lost 16 to 13. So that is squarely on your head coach's side of the ball and ultimately your quarterback, who you're paying a lot of money, who we just saw last week, I mean, I understand the Steelers defense was a little off, but how good did Jordan Love look last week? How is there a more, you know, Jekyll and Hyde player right now in the league that on any given game he can look like the MVP of the league? And then today you go, what the hell was that? And part of it, I think it's very fair to combine him with the coach. I do think at the end of the day, LaFleur has proven he's more like Kyle, he wants to run the ball.
- [46:05]
John Middlekauff
Yes.
- [46:05]
Colin Cowherd
Than he is an andy or a McVan.
- [46:08]
John Middlekauff
And Josh Jacobs, I mean, Josh Jacobs is a very good player. He's a top 10, 12 running back. He's a very, very good player.
- [46:17]
Colin Cowherd
If Kraft is injured, that's, that's devastating.
- [46:19]
John Middlekauff
It is. I, I, it's not that Green Bay can't run the ball, but they don't to me. When I watch them, I don't feel like that's their identity. I, to be honest with you, I think they're, I think craft and love sometimes, like, that's who I trust.
- [46:36]
Colin Cowherd
No, I'm with you.
- [46:38]
John Middlekauff
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- [47:31]
Colin Cowherd
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- [47:42]
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- [48:11]
Colin Cowherd
Every now and then I rinse it.
- [48:13]
John Middlekauff
Out and I need tonight and I.
- [48:18]
Colin Cowherd
Need it more My kid we so bad and the smell never leaves I don't know what to do I'm always.
- [48:27]
John Middlekauff
In the dark the sweat and dead.
- [48:29]
Colin Cowherd
Sh smells like a dark I'm down here rinsing tonight Downy rinse fights stubborn.
- [48:35]
John Middlekauff
Odors in just one wash when impossible.
- [48:38]
Colin Cowherd
Odors get stuck in.
- [48:42]
Katie Couric
On the latest episode of Next Question with me, Katie Couric. I sat down with Bernie Sanders, who is 84 years old, has spent 34 years in Congress and he consists of with people a quarter of his age.
- [48:55]
John Middlekauff
Denver, 34,000 people come out. Salt Lake City, 20,000 people out. You know, huge turnouts. People are really dissatisfied about the status quo.
- [49:06]
Katie Couric
His fighting oligarchy tour with AOC and other young progressives has become a movement. But is his message too far to the left? Well, he certainly doesn't think so.
- [49:16]
John Middlekauff
Does that sound like a radical idea? Is that too far left for you?
- [49:19]
Katie Couric
Okay, okay, wait. I get your point, Bernie. We talk about the billionaire class, the cost of living and of course the government shutdown. Not to mention the current state of the Democratic party.
- [49:34]
John Middlekauff
To me, the failure of the Democratic party has been an unwillingness to recognize the real issues.
- [49:40]
Katie Couric
Open your free iHeartRadio app search next question with Katie Couric and listen now.
- [49:50]
John Middlekauff
49Ers, 34, New York Giants 24. Christian McCaffrey had 28 carries. He led San Francisco in catches, rushing, rushing touchdowns. 50% of total yards. He's so good. They dominate time of possession. I will say this Jackson dart again. It was. I Talked to Jason McIntyre today and he's a Jets fan. So he's like, I don't know what he is. He moves really well, he plays. You can see his confidence. He hit seven different receivers. I, I mean I, to me, I feel like they found their guy. That's what I mean, that no neighbors, no scatter boo. I watched him today. I don't think personnel wise this is a great 49ers defense, but I don't know. My. My take is I just see the confidence kind of the thickness, the arm. He moves. Well. If I'm the New York Giants, honestly, I don't care if I win games. I want another great draft pick. I think they found their guy.
- [50:52]
Colin Cowherd
Yeah. I think the big picture question mark with them is does stable get another year because this was his guy, or do you just blow it up and you get him on the cycle of all these young quarterbacks over the last three or four years that derails their career. And to me, he's shown enough that you can make the argument either way. I think that Scatter Boo injury.
- [51:11]
John Middlekauff
Yeah.
- [51:12]
Colin Cowherd
From just. From an energetic. Just there was some oomph that he brought to the team that is you can't replace once you lose that to go hand in hand with dart and they've already lost neighbors. So he's throwing. I mean, look at the guys he's throwing to here. Darius Slayton, Wandale Robinson. It's not. Now, you could say the same thing for the Niners, but the Niners still have more healthy players and Kyle's a better coach than Dable. So you saw Kyle Shanahan roll in with Mac Jones.
- [51:37]
John Middlekauff
Yeah.
- [51:38]
Colin Cowherd
And control the game.
- [51:39]
John Middlekauff
Yes.
- [51:40]
Colin Cowherd
The other thing is, you know, Mac Jones is a good example that after that first year in New England when Josh was there, they won 10 games over the next two years when he was the starter and he got banged up a little bit during that time, he won a total of eight games over last two seasons in New England, he's won five this year for Kyle Shanahan. And I think Kyle mentioned after the game with Purdy's turf toe, like it's all year. If he is able to come back, he's just going to re injury. It's not one of those things that go away. There's a decent chance that Mac Jones is just starts the rest of the season and they win 10 games.
- [52:09]
John Middlekauff
Yeah.
- [52:09]
Colin Cowherd
Some years Sean's had a couple of these the last couple of years when you're not going to win the super bowl or even get there. But it's kind of a, you know, a little bit of a pelt on the wall. This is a big year for Kyle kind of muscle flex winning all these games with Mac Jones.
- [52:22]
John Middlekauff
Yeah.
- [52:22]
Colin Cowherd
Because you watch all these teams get to their backup quarterback and they just crumble and he should beat the Giants. But to just go in and handle a team on the road with your backup quarterback like that is. It's really been pretty. This Is a team. That ceiling is limited now because of the injuries, but they look like they're. They're barreling toward 10 and 7 with. They might just lost their first round pick today to an ACL. The kid from Georgia.
- [52:46]
John Middlekauff
Yeah, you know, I'll die on this hill. I think Mac throws a prettier ball than Brock Purdy. I think he's a little less reckless and I think he throws a prettier ball. I think he throws a first round draft pick ball. I think Purdy moves better. I think Purdy sees the field really, really exceptionally well. But when I watch Mac Jones and he's got time to throw, I think he throws a really good ball.
- [53:10]
Colin Cowherd
Yeah, I would say neither of them. Where I would disagree is neither of them have first round ball out of their hand. But I think Mack is probably more natural because he's a little taller throwing from within the pocket.
- [53:21]
John Middlekauff
Yeah.
- [53:22]
Colin Cowherd
And Purdy's just a dynamic thrower on the run and pretty accurate down the field. But Mack over the middle of the field. I mean they, they just signed Kendrick Bourne off the. Literally just in the airport. Didn't have a job. They signed him. He just every single game makes plays. But like you said McCaffrey, it's just, it's pretty crazy. I mean they have, they play the Rams this week at home which they probably shouldn't win with their injuries but that, that they're even in this position. If, if Kyle does win a game like that and sweeps the Rams and just has them more than 10 wins, it's I probably not going to win coach of the year. But he should be in the mix because what he's doing with the. The team he's rolling out. The difference of his team and the Giants team injuries is not much. All the guys he's lost, he's probably lost more. I don't think any team in the league has lost more guys than the Niner. Maybe, maybe the Chargers.
- [54:07]
John Middlekauff
You know what's remarkable to me and maybe it's. I was thinking about this today. So the Rams beat the Saints 34 to 10. Time of possession was 43 minutes to 17. I mean it was. It almost felt like a practice is that whereas Philadelphia and Green Bay kind of struggle to figure out what they are because the Dodgers are taking so much glare in Los Angeles away from football. And should. The Rams are really good. I mean we forget they went in London and they blow out Jacksonville like 35 to 7. Rams right now. John are really, really good. Puka came back today. Corum played okay, they have a two headed run game now. They have four healthy tight ends. Jordan Winningham, that six round draft pick, they have a sixth and a seventh round wide receiver that can play a little bit. The defense is excellent up front. I think quietly, I mean if you took and I really believe this, I think the Rams are the most consistent, best coached right now, healthiest team. I don't think the O line is great, I think it's very good. I think they have a great guard tandem. But I, you know and I had. This was a lower right hand corner game as I was watching Kansas City and Buffalo but Jesus, I mean it was, I mean we've seen a lot of upsets this year and a lot of weird shit. That thing today was a practice, it was just, it was just easy peasy. And I mean Stafford at one point, I don't know what he finished. He had four touchdowns, no picks. Jesus. They were getting seven yards of carry. The Rams are really good.
- [55:59]
Colin Cowherd
He was 34, 32 for 280 yards and four touchdowns.
- [56:03]
John Middlekauff
34.
- [56:05]
Colin Cowherd
The the other or no. 20, 24, 32 for 280. So he had eight incompletions. I'd say the scary thing these last couple games is devonte has five touchdowns. So when that you figure out that report to go along with Puka now Puka at any moment, you know, take some vicious hits, he runs guys over, you know, it's can this guy stay healthy. But when those two guys are on the field right now they're, they're as good of a 1, 2 combo as like in terms of production. And what they bring to the table is like Chase and Higgins, they're on kind of unstoppable. And the one thing with devonte, he's very comfortable with the high end veteran quarterback in his prime. With Aaron it's kind of starting to feel like that those guys cohesion, especially in the, in the red zone has Matt Stafford kind of quietly because you know today I don't think super. A lot of people are dialed into the Saints game, right. But four touchdowns, five touchdowns.
- [56:59]
John Middlekauff
Oh he, he hit the jack. He.
- [57:00]
Colin Cowherd
I think he threw three in that loss against the Niners. He's got to be directly in the mix.
- [57:05]
John Middlekauff
So I, I have said this before, this sounds crazy. So he was better than Aaron Rodgers in high school and he was better than Aaron in college and he was better than Aaron for the first four years of his NFL career. He's been better than Aaron for the last four years of his NFL career. Aaron had a 1011 year stretch at Green Bay where Matt Stafford was, you know, he was with a losing organization and Aaron had the well run outfit. What if Matt Stafford wins another Super bowl now think about that. He's got a better playoff record. He was better early, better late. If Matt Stafford win, well, he's already a Hall, I think he's a Hall of Famer now, right? Matt Stafford's a Hall of Famer right now.
- [57:49]
Colin Cowherd
I'd put him in. Yeah, yeah.
- [57:51]
John Middlekauff
What if Matt Stafford wins a second Super Bowl? He's always been considered one of the best arm talents of our generation. That's indisputable. You could ask anybody. The Brady's, ask Aaron, ask Favre. They all go, yeah, Stafford's it. Where do you put him all time? Serious, serious question. Matt Stafford wins a second Super Bowl. I'm telling you, there's not a lot of guys I'd put above him. I mean he doesn't have, he doesn't have quite the gravitas of your Brady, Montana, Manning and Elway. But Marino's got no Super Bowls. He's got two. I don't know. Stafford is watching him this season. Shit, man, he is dialed in. He's comfortable. I don't know. What do you do with him all time if he wins a second?
- [58:39]
Colin Cowherd
Well, to me the, it's, it's hard. I mean I, you could make the argument Aaron's a top five guy, you know, with, with Manning, Montana, Brady, Elway. Pretty short list to me. I don't think most people would include Stafford in the top 10 of quarterbacks. Now granted he played for the Lions and not the Dan Campbell Lions.
- [58:55]
John Middlekauff
Would you have put him if he has a second super bowl, he's a better arm talent than Drew Brees. Matt.
- [59:01]
Colin Cowherd
Yeah, to me there is not if, if I could get here, here's the argument. If you could get 23 year old Matt Stafford or and start listing out quarterbacks, he would go ahead of a lot of guys because he's showing now. What if Matt Stafford had been drafted by a Harbaugh brother, an Andy Reid, a Sean Payton, right when he was 23 instead of going to the Lions who always drafted high, right, and their two best players beside him quit at 30 years old. I mean it's, it's a pretty, the Lions that if you're a 12 year old kid right now, you can't even comprehend this conversation. But I do think that the time in with the Lions, he has had years where he's thrown a lot of picks. He can be a little Reckless. The way he's playing right now, though, like his ceiling. The one thing I will say about this, his ceiling is as high as any player.
- [59:51]
John Middlekauff
Yeah.
- [59:51]
Colin Cowherd
Ever. Like, he can go toe to toe when he's on. I used to say this about Cam. Cam can have individual games where he can outplay any guy in the league. And that was Prime Brady, Prime Manning. Now, Stafford's a better player than Camp, but in that same vein of, like, if you get Stafford in the right day or the right month, he can just be the best player in the league now. And he's. I do think this second kind of iteration of his career with Sean is going to be a really powerful moment for his career. And he'll have like the. The Kurt Warner type the individual seasons. I just think it's hard to shake that. That lion stretch because while winning and losing isn't a quarterback statistic, most good quarterbacks win a lot. Not all his fault, but I do think he probably developed some bad habits there because he had to.
- [60:35]
John Middlekauff
Yeah, let's talk some World Series. So that's about as good a World Series, especially game six and seven, as I've ever seen in my life. So I, you know, I thought it was really interesting. You know, Dave Roberts pulled all these levers, you know, like, he just pulled all these levers. And to win a World Series where, you know, he puts in Rojas and then the out the defensive outfielder in the ninth and he goes with Yoshi again, everything worked. But I think, you know, as I was. I was talking to a friend about this. Is that Ohtani, Roki and Yoshi. And right now, Yoshi is arguably the best pitcher, and Ohtani is the best player. Roki's been moved to the pen. But these Japanese stars and Japanese baseball is like really high, high aaa. It's not quite the bigs, but there's great players. And it's a. The Dodgers have so separated financially from everybody else on. I mean, on the west coast that. I mean, they always had money. But the gap now between the Dodgers and the Giants and everybody else, the Angels and the Mariners, is that these Japanese stars, between weather and proximity and how well run the organization is. And the Dodgers are smart. So they said, listen, the only downside, the taxes just defer the payment so you can get paid when you've retired and live somewhere else, is that. A friend of mine in New York was saying, God, our teams are bad. But I said, New York is cold, it's intense. A much harsher media, the city tax, L.A. is spread out. You can hide. I mean, I never see. I was in LA nine years, I'm here right now. You never see pro athletes in la. You can just hide. You never see celebrities in LA and they're everywhere. There's writers, directors, star. I mean, look how many pro teams were in la. You never see athletes ever. It's just so spread out. There's so many gated communities. Calabasas, Hidden Hills, Malibu. You know, everybody's got these enclaves. Beverly Hills, Bel Air, windy roads. You can hide. Thousand Oaks. And I think the Dodgers right now, Steve Cohen's got money with the Mets, the Yankees have money. They just feel like with these Japanese stars. And you know, the other thing, John, those guys don't listen to our media. It's like international NBA players, they come here, they play and then they go home. They don't get caught up. They play. So, I mean, Yoshi plays so loose in these big spots. He's so unofficial, affected by the intensity and the chaos of the World Series. It. I don't know, I just look at the Dodgers and I'm not sure there's another organization in North America that's run like they are.
- [63:27]
Colin Cowherd
One of my best friends played college baseball and one of his teammates, you know, was like a fringe big leaguer, AAA guy, and signed a deal with the Japanese team. When Ohtani, right before he came over, when he was alleged over there, and they went over and visited and went to the games and they were at the highest level and they said that it felt like an SEC football game. The intensity in the environment in Japan, the way these Yamamoto and Ohtani grew up playing, I mean, they make it right when they're 16, 17, 18 years old, start playing in that league. And they just said the intensity of the crowd would be like going to Alabama, Auburn, how much these people know about baseball and how much they care. So these guys, the bright lights, completely unfazed. When, when Ohtani was like one of 25 through the first whatever of the playoffs, it wasn't because he was overwhelmed. He couldn't see the baseball. Right, right. But the difference, I would say of baseball, like the warriors can't win unless Steph is incredible during the playoffs. Right. In the NFL, you could have a random guy make a big play in a Super bowl or an NFC championship, but your stars, your star quarterback, star, pass rusher have to come through or you were loose in baseball. That's not really how it works. Yeah, I mean, I was a Giants fan. Cody Ross in 2010, hit home runs off Roy Halliday that no one saw coming in Philadelphia. The Dodgers won the World Series last night. You could argue because they rolled out four guys they're paying a combined $1.5 billion to or because their ninth hitter in the, in the ninth inning hits a game tying home run where they were going to lose the World Series. And then that same guy almost falls, throws home. And then their backup center fielder who had been benched, I'm watching with my wife, she falls out of her chair. She's like, what just happened? That had to be one of the crazier plays in World Series because it looked like he was going to basket catch it. Yeah. And this random center fielder tackles him like he's Ed Reed across the middle and saves the game. But that's baseball. It's not. It wasn't Ohtani hitting the walk off.
- [65:24]
John Middlekauff
It was Will Smith.
- [65:25]
Colin Cowherd
Will Smith, Ross and that big guy in center field.
- [65:29]
John Middlekauff
Yeah. It's.
- [65:31]
Colin Cowherd
That's what makes baseball pretty unique in the playoffs. It's not just your stars. Yeah.
- [65:35]
John Middlekauff
And I think and again, even when if you go back and look at the great Yankee teams with Jeter and Bernie and Posada, you know, it was Scott Brocius from McMinnville, Oregon coming up big. So like nobody had a problem when the Yankees were buying the best players because people understood that Posada and Jeter, that was part of the Yankee farm system. Well, go look at the Dodgers. They haven't missed. I mean, they draft. I mean, Max Muncie was released from Oakland. I think they traded for Blake Snell. I mean, these guys are available on the market. The Steinbrenners could have afforded to buy Yoshi. They spent 300 million. The Dodgers had 335. They don't win the series without him. So they identify who they want. They're aggressive. I think where the Dodgers where I see their money being an advantage because Mookie Betts did not outside of September, just didn't hit this year. Played a very good shortstop. Didn't hit. Freddie Freeman's more offensive, the defensive player. And Ohtani had real struggles at the plate throughout the playoffs. Where the Dodgers have an advantage a the Asian stars, obviously, but it's to get a glass now or a Snell who may not give you a ton of starts during the regular season. Most teams cannot afford to pay a guy if he's not giving you 25. I mean, Yoshi is the only guy that never misses a start. Like he's a true bonafide ace like Verlander. In his prime, you're getting 30 starts. They can go get a Snell and a Glass now. Remarkably talented guys and get 1012 starts in the regular season and just push them off to September. That's the advantage they have. But you can also. Lots of teams could defer payments and they don't. The Dodgers do. So, yes, money is clearly an example. But I think to your point, Yoshi was great, but there were a lot of guys slumping. I mean, if you go back to this World Series, the Blue Jays out hit the Dodgers. I mean, the Dodgers in game six one, I think they had four hits. I mean, they struggled the whole Series to hit.
- [67:39]
Colin Cowherd
I actually think baseball is much closer to football in terms of. In the Dodgers, was it two years ago. I mean, almost got beat by the Padres in the play. It's the baseball. I don't care how good your team is in basketball. When I got the Kevin Durant Warriors, I'm going to need Achilles tears and ACL tears to lose. Other than that, I'm a lock to win. Shaq, Kobe, Lake or some of these teams, it's going to be 90% chance I win. The Dodgers roster can't get much better, and it was really difficult for them to win. Honestly, they probably should have lost. You know, that's. That's baseball, though.
- [68:10]
John Middlekauff
They won a World Series last year with really average starting pitching, and they won a World Series this year with a really average bullpen, which is virtually impossible to do if you're leaking in the back end. I mean, Yoshi basically is why they won the World Series. But I will say, having spent nine years full time in Los Angeles, they just don't make a lot of mistakes. They don't. I mean, they let Zach Grinke go. They could have made a big bid for him. He went to Arizona. They let Manny Machado go. They don't make a lot of mistakes. And they've also let Cody Bellinger go. They've let good players, you know, leave. So money's obviously a part. But, you know, I mean, the truth is, in the NBA during the David Stern years, money was a part, but the New York Knicks weren't winning. Some people don't spend the money as wisely. I mean, we know game day revenue. The Giants and the jets have much greater game day revenue than Green Bay. Green Bay spends their money more wisely.
- [69:14]
Colin Cowherd
When I was working in radio, I got to go to a lot of the A's were really good then, kind of in Billy Bean's prime. And the Giants were Winning, you know, a bunch of World Series. And I think sometimes in baseball, especially probably over the last decade, it gets overlooked because we spend so much time talking about these kind of the quote unquote nerds running the sport.
- [69:31]
John Middlekauff
Right.
- [69:31]
Colin Cowherd
I do think the best kind of nerds understand character and cohesion. And one thing you watch with the Dodgers, like, feels like all these guys like each other. And they got a good. I would say with the Blue Jays, it jumped off the screen. It was like this. This team looks like a college team all playing together. The San Francisco Giants. You always have that. Billy Bean always did a really good job of finding the right mix of guys. Baseball is about more. And you watch the Yankees, it seems like missing a little something. That's the knock. Like, at the end of the day in baseball, you still got to have some fast guys that can run. And you watch the Dodgers, definitely the Blue Jays, they got their best players, are athletes. The Yankees are a good example. Their best players all look like, you know, move like defensive tackles. It's like you guys need a little speed.
- [70:11]
John Middlekauff
Well, the Yankees strike out too much. They don't play small ball. The Dodgers, the ability to. I mean, listen, Toronto hit the ball more consistently. The Dodgers had the better starting pitching. I mean, if you go back to last year's World Series, the only time the Yankees competed with the Dodgers is when Garrett Cole pitched. The Yankees didn't look athletic enough, didn't run the bases well. They're not a very good defensive team. The Yankees strike out too much and they have tons of money. So, you know, I mean, you think.
- [70:40]
Colin Cowherd
That'S one of the most thrilling endings to a World Series?
- [70:44]
John Middlekauff
Oh, I. I think game six and game seven, the final innings, are the greatest, most drama filled. You have to go Back to the 75 thing was 75 World Series. It was Reds against the Red Sox. It's that Carlton Fisk homer at Fenway where he's, you know.
- [70:59]
Colin Cowherd
Yeah.
- [71:00]
John Middlekauff
Waving at it. And I remember watching that as a kid. I mean, that's the first baseball memory I have is like the 74, 75, 76 Cincinnati Reds, because I was in Seattle, we didn't have the Mariners yet. And that's when I fell in love with football over baseball. But mid-70s, the Big Red machine, I fell in love with it. And that had. I mean, I can go back to that series and throw names at you of guys you've never heard, but I thought the magnitude, it was just so. I mean, you had Dave Roberts had to pull so many damn levers. You know, going with Rojas, like, old guy. I'm not even sure when his last home run was. Dave Roberts said after his wife kept telling Rojas the whole series, you're going to hit a home run in the series. You are. And he's like, I'm not playing. I'm not getting up. She's like, you're going to hit a home run tonight. So I just thought it was, it was just everything, the announcing, the imagery, Fox, the Blue Jays. I mean, Blue Jays over under was like 78 and a half. Talk about a team that just mashed and overachieved. Good for them.
- [72:03]
Colin Cowherd
Before you get out of here, though, we do got to mention, you know, last night was a pretty big win for the Trojans. Where not going to lie at halftime, 14 to 6. It felt pretty bleak. It went. Is, is Lincoln about to be the skinny Brian Kelly here because he can't win a road game.
- [72:18]
John Middlekauff
Listen, so USC beats Nebraska. I thought it was an uncreative, uninspiring effort. I mean, they completed nine passes. Nebraska's corners are pretty good.
- [72:30]
Colin Cowherd
So, you know, a tough environment to play.
- [72:32]
John Middlekauff
It was. And they had a walk on right guard and a walk on running back. So they, they were off a buy. They're still beat up at running back. They, they found this kid out of Calabasas High. This walk on. He is as good a walk on. I mean, it's just amazing how good this running back is. I think it's. Is it Miller King or King?
- [72:54]
Colin Cowherd
Yeah, King Miller.
- [72:55]
John Middlekauff
King Miller King. I'm sorry. King Miller.
- [72:57]
Colin Cowherd
You know, usc, when they're humming, they get random guys like, was Clay Matthews a walk on? So they, yeah, they should get their walk on. Should be a little better than, than some.
- [73:04]
John Middlekauff
But I think watching USC last night, this was my big takeaway, is that they're always offensively clever. Lincoln runs the football way more than people give him credit for. He loves to run the football. He's very much Sean McVeigh. You think of smart guy, high energy, up tempo. Sean McVeigh loves to run the football. Lincoln Riley loves to run the football and he deserves a ton of credit. Jaden Mava. I watched him at unlv. I never even thought he was close to a pro player. Last year at usc, he didn't start the year starting. I thought he was sloppy and reckless. I didn't trust him. He has been coached way up. He'll get drafted probably second or third round, maybe third round. He has been coached up dramatically. But I come down to this with usc, we're four years in. You can't just be good at home. You can't just be good when everything hits 72 degrees. And I watched them in that first half get pushed around. They couldn't throw the ball. I don't know what they are beyond clever offensively and I just, I feel like they're an uneven program. Now their recruiting class in 2026, now it's high schoolers, so a lot of guys won't make impacts. But I think when I watch usc, John, my takeaway is this roster is a direct result of poor Southern California recruiting. Prior to next year's recruiting class, they just. Lemon is a very good player. The other kid that jumps out is Eliah Page. They flipped him from Notre Dame, but they just don't have a lot of great Southern California LA kids on that roster. Held the walk on running back Pops Kamari Ramsey, the safety, well, he's from ucla. He, they got him over. They just don't have a lot of great LA kids and that was the pride and joy of Pete. They've done a much better job in the last 12 months in that regard. But they, they feel like they just don't have a ton of juice athletically. That's my take.
- [75:14]
Colin Cowherd
Well, obviously Ohio State's the cream of the crop and I always get forwarded to these games, these big games down in Southern California. It's like, well, this guy's going to Ohio State. This guy's also going to Ohio State. It's like, well if you're, if you're ever going to go from barely be able to beat Nebraska with their backup quarterback who felt a little overwhelmed.
- [75:31]
John Middlekauff
Right.
- [75:31]
Colin Cowherd
So it, once Dylan Raiola was out and I gave a kid a lot of credit, he looked like he wanted to come back and he broke his leg or foot. So it's like he was clearly in a lot of pain.
- [75:40]
John Middlekauff
Tough kid.
- [75:40]
Colin Cowherd
And isn't the backup quarterback for Nebraska's from Southern California. So I was like, hey, if this guy looks good, this is, this is going to come on Lincoln. Now luckily he looked a little overwhelmed. I thought whoever that was a massive game for whoever was going to win it for either one of those guys, you know, Matt Rule, okay, we keep you from going to Penn State, here's 30, 40 more million. Let's win a big game. And hey Lincoln, we'll give you a little bit of a break not being able to beat Oregon, Ohio State, but can you at least beat the Minnesota's and Nebraska's on the road? And it Felt like I didn't have much faith for you, Colin. I thought now once he missed that field goal and they drove right down and they scored that touchdown and got that two. You could, you don't. Lincoln is not like Mr. Emotional Kirby Smart. He got so fired up.
- [76:23]
John Middlekauff
He was fired up last night.
- [76:24]
Colin Cowherd
I went, whoa. He knows this. Is this getting everyone off his ass a little bit? He needs this game.
- [76:30]
John Middlekauff
No, I, I kept thinking during the game, man, that flight home is going to be dark. That is going to be.
- [76:36]
Colin Cowherd
I thought it's a big win too for your, your conference realignment. That game on TVs kind of pops that, that works. It's a good TV product.
- [76:45]
John Middlekauff
It was. No, it was really fun to watch. I mean, I two screened it. I was, you know, the Dodger game, like, I don't like, like I do a lot of Twitter stuff during the day. At night I don't do a lot, you know, I'll pour a cocktail. I watch a game, I put the phone away, I want to watch the game. But I, I thought there was a time there Saturday, early Saturday night, about 8 o', clock, I thought, boy, this is going to be bleak. Jen Cohen is going to have to sit down with him, the ad because they're going to get, they're going to get beat at Oregon. They may win out beyond that. They'll beat UCLA probably. But when I watch usc, my take is four years in. I just don't see enough great elite LA kids. I don't.
- [77:30]
Colin Cowherd
I think Big Ten is probably a little disappointed they're not a little better because they're probably just going to get Ohio State, Indiana and Oregon into the dance. And if USC had a little more umph, you know, they would be a four bid, four bid league.
- [77:43]
John Middlekauff
All right. Last week I took a big favorite, Kansas City and covered for Hard Rock Bet on Monday Night Football. I'm going to take the Cowboys at home to cover against Arizona. Kyler Murray is healthy. They're not starting him. They're going with Jacoby Brissette. Here's the thing about Dallas, and this has been true for years. Dak is really, really good at home. His splits are dramatic and I'll give credit to Brian Schottenheimer. They have used George Pickens excellently. Because of Pickens and CD Lamb. Safeties can't cheat. The run game is substantial. I think Arizona is a franchise that's trying to find an identity. Cowboys have one, especially at home. I'm going to take Dallas to win by about a touchdown and cover that spread.
- [78:30]
Colin Cowherd
I'm going to take the other side. Colin Jacoby Brissette almost took down the Indianapolis Colts, so when he's played their offense, I think Kyler got benched for a reason. Jacoby might be better. Plus three against that defense. I don't mind taking the Cowboys to win, but I think the Cardinals cover.
- [78:48]
John Middlekauff
The volume this podcast is sponsored by PayPal. Okay, let's talk holiday shopping. When you want to make the most of your Money, head to PayPal's app before you check out. They give you the flexibility to pay in four no fees, no interest. And this is big. Bigger than the 12 foot snowman on your lawn right now. You can get 5% cash back when you pay later with PayPal. So whether it's the must have merch or for that signed jersey you've been eyeing, PayPal helps you make the most of your money this holiday. Save this offer in the PayPal app.
- [79:24]
Colin Cowherd
Expires 1231 see paypal.com promoterms subject to approval. Learn more at paypal.com payin4paypal inc.nmls910457 Today's.
- [79:36]
John Middlekauff
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