← The Herd with Colin Cowherd
The Herd with Colin Cowherd
Colin Cowherd Podcast - Week 18 Games Were AWFUL, NFL Playoff Preview, College Football Playoff Predictions
01:11:18
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- [00:00]
John
This is an iHeart podcast.
- [00:02]
Colin
Guaranteed Human if you only listen to one thing to make sense of the.
- [00:07]
John
News this year, make it this the final episode of this season of Next Question pulls together the most important conversations of the year.
- [00:16]
Colin
You'll hear David Graham on Project 2025.
- [00:20]
John
Liz Oyer on the plethora of presidential pardons, Tina Brown on the year's biggest scandals here at home and across the pond, plus much, much more. It's a crash course in the last 12 months, how we made it through the year, and a look at what.
- [00:36]
Colin
Might be coming in 2026. Listen to next Question with me, Katie.
- [00:41]
John
Couric on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Did you know Tide has been upgraded to provide an even better clean in cold water? Tide is specifically designed to fight any stain you throw at it, even in cold butter. Yep. Chocolate ice cream.
- [01:00]
Colin
Sure thing.
- [01:02]
John
Barbecue sauce.
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Colin
Tide's got you covered. You don't need to use warm water.
- [01:07]
John
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Colin
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Colin
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- [04:43]
John
You know, Adam Silver's had this problem for a while with the tanking and today the tank was on for a lot of teams and you could really feel it in that morning window. And it was a rough walk. I, you know, I always wonder when I'm watching those college football playoff games or, you know, last night, Seattle 49ers, like, how do people not like football? And then about 20 minutes in this morning I realized, well, if you're just turning on this morning. I might be out as well. I think one of the issues is Colin, I was thinking about it is when you expanded the playoffs. There's kind of been a shift definitely over the last couple of years. The top teams have separated so far away. You know this year's an all time outlier year for the Chiefs but I was looking how many three win teams we have. There are 18, you play 17 games to win. I mean the Tennessee Titans are an abomination of a franchise right now. The New York Giants, I mean the Dallas Cowboys, their record probably looks a little bit better. Like they are not very good, you know and you talk about some of these other teams, you know the Raiders have, they won today but they have been atrocious all season. So you get these teams win three, four games and then a bunch of teams that have had double digit wins now for several weeks. So you get this weird situation this last week. I mean the morning slate you could argue really the month of December. Colin it gets band aided by good Thursday night games, good Saturday afternoon games and obviously the primetime game typically on Sunday night.
- [06:08]
Colin
Yeah John, I said this last year and it's the first time I ever said this. I said it on FS1 and iheartradio I said the bottom of the NFL has become the bottom of the NBA. There are eight unwatchable teams. The New York Giants won today. They are 8 and 30 in their last 38 games and four of their eight wins half over that period. 38 games have been in week 17 and 18 when teams are tanking. The jets got beat. I think it's 35 to 8 by Buffalo. Not competitive 500 yards. They have a defensive coach and it's the worst defense right now in the league.
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John
Crazy.
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Colin
If you just took the New York teams what happened And I'll say this, this is something I discussed probably about five, six years ago. I said the downside to being a quarterback reliant conference is if you give the best quarterbacks the best coaches or really good offensive coaches and you don't have one. The gap between the haves and the have nots in the NFL by about week 12 gets. Now that doesn't mean you can't have upsets but the bottom of the NFL is the bottom of the NBA. Now eight absolutely unwatchable teams, the Cardinals.
- [07:21]
John
Colin, I think three of their last five games they've, they've lost by more than 20. In all five they lost by more than two touchdowns. I mean there are just teams that aren't even remotely competitive. And obviously the other thing is the injury situation in the NFL. And this is a bigger picture football topic. But you know, when the, when they fought for that CBA back in 2011 and the players were adamant about days off at holidays and the owners are like, sure, take it. No double days, three practices in a row in training camp. More money for us. And clearly the amount of injuries we've seen now because football is the only sport, unlike baseball, I can take live BP tomorrow if I'm a pro baseball player. Right. You know, basketball, they can play full pickup games. Football, you have to play football with pads on. And they no longer do it except really during, you know, the calendar year during games these guys are faster than ever. They might not be as big like linebackers are smaller but. But they're definitely faster and they train harder. And I think there are all these different variables that lead to now. If you get a couple of picks wrong, your team's going to be injured and you're not going to be very good and you'll look like the Cardinals, you'll look like the Titans. The other thing is how many good. I guess there's always been the haves and have nots like in any industry with coaches. But I've been saying this for a while, just knowing a lot of people in the league with the explosion of money, you know, the amount of money coaches make now, you know.
- [08:50]
Colin
Yeah.
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John
Historically, like the Belichicks, the Pete Carroll's, the Andy Reid's, when they got involved in the Sport in the 70s and 80s, you weren't getting into it for the money. And now there is such a glamour and I just wonder how many guys truly, you know, Pete Carroll had no business coaching this year. He was. They had 100 million in the bank. The guy loves football. So listen, is he over the hill? Should he have come back? But no one can question Pete Carroll's pure love of the game or Randy Reid or Belichick. I think there are a lot of guys involved in the league right now that position coaches make 850 grand coaching wide receivers. I mean how many industries are paying that, you know, W2 jobs? So I do think the coaching has never been worse. Obviously the owners have probably never been crazier because of the amount of money on the line. You just have a lot of different factors that if it goes wrong, it goes really wrong now.
- [09:42]
Colin
Yeah. So let's look at the playoffs and the afc. Denver's the one seed. They get the buy. The Chargers a seven seed. Go to New England number two. I think that's a very, very close game. The Chargers went with Trey Lance. They couldn't move the ball lose to Denver. I think I would take New England close. I think it's going to be a very low scoring game. I think May and his comp coming out Herbert. I think it's a really fascinating matchup. Excellent coaches, very good defense. Neither team consistently runs it. Both teams, you could argue the weaknesses, the O line. I think I would take New England in a very low scoring game. Pressure's on New England big time. They're at home. Better seed Drake May's first playoff game. Any chance the Chargers upset him?
- [10:35]
John
I think the Chargers are very live dog here. I mean this is not the team you typically want to draw as the two seat Jim Harbaugh especially because they're going to have a little chip on their shoulder based on the way the playoffs went last year. What did herbert throw like 15 interceptions in that game when they got routed against the Texans. What translates in the NFL playoffs? Physicality, defense, you know, running the ball like you said, can be hit or miss but you know they will try. This is of all the teams you could draw as a seven seed getting a Jim Harbaugh led team. The other thing is, listen, I, I don't, I don't have a strong opinion on the mvp. If Stafford gets it, that'd be cool for his career. If you want to give it to Drake, May, fine, he's been excellent. But there is no disputing. When you look at their schedule, New England's had a pretty easy path to the way we got here. That's why most of us like New England at the beginning of the season. Now they have exceeded that, right? But like look at who the Chargers, the Charger played against. A lot of good teams. They're battle tested. It's just, it's just a very, very difficult game. Jim Harbaugh is an underdog, especially if that. We'll see what the weather is. Jim Harbaugh would like the weather to be bad. You know how many guys would. He's rooting for it because that's advantage for them, right? It negates. It's not like New England's got some crazy pass rush, right? So it's, you know, they can't challenge.
- [11:55]
Colin
Odds via Hard Rock Bet Chargers at the Patriots. Chargers plus three. So New England the favorite. I would probably lean take the points with the Chargers. Now this is interesting. Bills minus one according to Hard Rock Bet at the Jaguars. I like The Jaguars and I think they could pound them. Now I will say Buffalo's been a weird team that week to week. You know, you get really good halves, really bad halves. I think Jacksonville is completely legit. I think they're the third or fourth best team in the league. For them to be at home as an underdog to me feels incredibly disrespectful. I get the offensive coach, Trevor Lawrence isn't turning it over. I think I would take Jacksonville by a touchdown. What say you?
- [12:44]
John
I get they were playing the Titans today, but man, they look good and I just counted. They look great. They've won eight straight games and Trevor looks fantastic. There is no disputing. I mean you could make the argument they're playing as well as any team in the league right now in terms of, in terms of like momentum, in terms of both sides of the ball, the coaching staff, how well the quarterback looks. Historically though, you know, I mean this, that's where the Bills are a unique team going to the. They do have a guy that if he's on, can just take over a game. But just based on the way they're playing, it'd be hard to go against the Jack. I mean there's, there's just. The Jags could win the super bowl because the AFC is pretty wide open. The Texans are probably one of the scarier teams. They're comfortable playing them right there in the division. So they've seen that personnel. It's not like Denver or New England are unbeatable squads. So I would say Jacksonville, I haven't seen the odds of them to win the afc, but if they get by the Bills, to me they are very, very live to win the afc. That, that to me is the hurdle because there's going to be some weird pressure on the Jags. They're at home. They're taking on this guy who's most considered when he's on the best player in the NFL. If they, if they are able to slay that dragon, I can see the Jags win the AFC for sure.
- [14:01]
Colin
Remember, Buffalo is a very weird first half team. They play from behind. Now today they didn't against the hapless Jets. Yeah, but, but you get down like I would take the Jags in the first half, you get down to Jacksonville and you know, good luck. They have a pass rush. So again, Buffalo has trailed, I think in six of their last eight games in the second half. They're not a fast starting team. John, when you go on the road, regular season or playoffs or college football, when you go on the road, you have to start quickly. Like Seattle at San Francisco took command of the game. First drive you're like, okay, okay. They've the crowd's not a factor. Buffalo go on the road. Get down 14, 3, 14. Nothing like that thing could go sideways fast. Jacksonville's a much better starting team with an offensive coach and scripted plays. You know, this is nothing against McDermott, but a team as good as Buffalo shouldn't trail 6 of 8 games in the second half in a watered down AFC. I think Jacksonville's a rough matchup for them now. There's no odds yet the Texans will go either to Baltimore or Pittsburgh, and I think they will control both. My guess is the Texans would go on the road and be like a 2 1/2 point favorite at Baltimore, at Pittsburgh, I, I really like the Texans. I think you and I both feel this. You know, you just forget they keep making the playoffs and C.J. strouds won't playoff games like D' Amico Ryan just like Mike McDonald. You know, you talk guys around the league like Mike McDonald and D'. Ameco. Ryan's as defensive coaches. Jesse Mintour is a defensive coordinator. They're just different. And I, I got to tell you, the one team I would not want to play is the Texans. You know, they're going to be the underdog. Nobody's pulling form outside of Houston. I don't care if they play the Ravens and the Steelers. I like the Ravens tonight. Close. Where are you on that?
- [16:01]
John
I think they match up. I think the Steelers would have no shot against them. You know, Rogers running away, not possible that their passing games atrocious. I guess. DK's back. They can't really run the ball. The one way to neutralize a good pass rush would be to run the ball. Derek Henry's come alive of late. You know, depending on Lamar, you know, whether he, if he ends up playing tonight, how he looks, if he's healthy for that game just poses a problem to me. The Ravens are a tougher matchup than the Steelers, but I 100% can beat either. And if they win that game, they are like the Jags. I mean, you could argue two teams that are going to surprise nobody if they're sitting in there in the AFC with a chance to win the conference is the Jags and the Texans. Their physicality, the coaching staff, their mentality. I mean, I, I, I've loved Houston. I listen, I thought Houston was a lockdown to win the division coming into the season. Obviously the Jags have had an incredible season. When your defense is that good, you can beat anybody, you know. And look, and look at this. Drake Bass, second year player. Bo Nick, second year player. It's like they're going to be intimidated playing those two guys, right? Drake's a better player than Bo Nix, but look who he's throwing to. I mean they have elite DB play in Houston. So to me what they do translates to all the opponents they're going to see. You know, they've, they've beaten the Jags with their backup quarterback. Remember they were down like 29, 10 and came storming back in that game. So I, I, I, I think of all the wild cards that we're going to talk about, maybe the Rams once we get to the nfc, the Texans would have the best chance to be representing their conference of the wild card teams in the Super Bowl.
- [17:36]
Colin
Totally agree. You know, Denver, we've seen this in college football where a buy doesn't necessarily work in football. Like if you're like Seattle, young, athletic, they need to play. They're going to get a buy. Denver's going to get a buy. I think those two teams, I think they'd want to play. I think if I'm Seattle after that, I want to get back out there and play. Denver's in a weird spot. I mean, here's where Denver gets a big break. Houston, warm weather team, Jags, warm weather team. You know, the, the New England would be fine, but you know, you could see Jacksonville, that already beat Denver, right, Going back to Denver and it's 8 degrees, you could absolutely see that. So it's like in a weird way sometimes losing, you know, that game to Jacksonville now. Okay, I get to see what they do now. Let's play them again when it's really cold, really windy. So that Denver does have a, not just an altitude but a little bit of a wind advantage against, you know, a cold weather advantage against potentially the Chargers, the Jags and the Texans. I think that'll be understated, but it's something, it's a couple of points to me.
- [18:43]
John
They, they like Seattle. There are only so many teams in the NFL have collegiate like atmospheres that it is a massive home field advantage and Denver clearly is one. The altitude and the crowd is just elite. I mean, you watch that Elway documentary, I mean it's just a, that place when it's rocking Peyton Manning and those, it's a, they, they've beaten Brady there countless times over, over the decades with Shanahan to when Elway was the gm. So when you look at the afc, that, to me is a point of difference for Denver, like Jacksonville. You know, let's say Jacksonville and Buffalo end up playing Saturday night. It'll look pretty good in the dark, but I would say Jacksonville, some home field advantage. Houston does not have one. The Chargers don't have one. Denver in the Pats, obviously, throughout the years. I mean, that is a point of, you know, that's a huge. It's been a massive advantage for Andy and the Chiefs over the last five or six years. Playing all those games at Arrowhead Collegiate, like, atmosphere, cold. These teams. I mean, there's no way to prepare when you're playing in seven degrees because you can be like, okay, we'll practice outside. Well, you won't get anything done. So that's where coaches, like, they'll go outside for a minute and then they'll go in the bubble because they, they want to, you know, get the game plan installed, be able to communicate. No one can listen because you can't focus. So to me, Denver, the home field advantage is on their side, but when you watch them play, something's off. They. They don't, they don't really look right. And Bo Nix, that one game he played against Green Bay was incredible. But even today, and I get it, the Chargers have a good defensive mentality. You just like what's going on here. You like a little more juice.
- [20:12]
Colin
Yeah.
- [20:13]
John
That's the one thing the page the Patriots have, they get easier opponents, but they roll them. They get so much momentum. So the confidence that quarterback has compared. Is Bo Nicks confident, or does he just keep telling me he's confident because I watch him play? Doesn't always play confident. Where Drake May plays pretty swaggy, as the kids would say.
- [20:34]
Colin
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- [23:48]
John
I was second half, they were up 23, 20 going into the fourth quarter. I mean, I thought Rams looked terrible. McVay had a look on his face that look like, if we lose this game and lose the opportunity to play the NFC south winner, I might just go to Amazon. You could see it on it like this is because they look kind of lifeless. Jacoby Brissette hit this bomb down the sideline and it got called back. And that's kind of where the game stopped the momentum for Arizona because it felt like Arizona could score on him every single time. You're like, I thought part of the Rams deal was their defense. And I started thinking, whatever happened that night in Seattle, when Seattle came storming back, they lost their mojo. I mean, they, I know they came back last Monday, they were down 21 nothing at half on the road to Atlanta. I mean, I watched Atlanta today. They're not, you know, I know they got some good players, but give me a break. Especially when you're trying to play for seating like they were last week. That. That was an important game. Sean McVeigh took that and they were down 21 nothing. My. My opinion has changed dramatically on the Rams. I. I am not as against Carolina for sure. I mean, we need to enact something. If you go under.500, you should not be able to host a playoff game. That's absurd. You could make the argument that you shouldn't even be eligible for the playoffs if other teams, Minnesota, the Lions, some of these other teams have better records than you.
- [25:05]
Colin
Yeah, I think there's an argument to be made that if you're under.500, you can make the playoffs. You can't host a playoff game.
- [25:12]
John
I'd be fine with that.
- [25:13]
Colin
I. Yeah, so would I. You know, the Rams, I've watched every snap, really all year long. And you see it with golf, you see it with Kirk Cousins, and you see it with Stafford. When you do not have a mobile quarterback as good as Stafford is, John, you can't roll the pocket. You don't get those sort of off script third and seven runs for first downs. There's about six to Seven times a game that a San Francisco or a Seattle can roll the pocket. Purdy did it a couple times yesterday. Sam did it once yesterday. You get those four or five first downs a game because your quarterback is mobile or you can, or he can escape. When you have golf, when you have Stafford, when you have cousins, if the play that's designed doesn't work, it can get sideways. It can be an ugly loss. And I feel like sometimes the Rams get into these cycles and where they've run through their scripted stuff. They're, they're, you know, now it's McVeigh on the play sheet looking for some new wiggles and they, they stall out. They have these quarters where they stall out. Or again if I, if I'm Shanahan, I can just start going to boot stuff. I, Darnold does a lot of that. You start doing bootstrap. You can do a little bit of that with Stafford. But I do feel like watching the Rams, they're susceptible on the back end. I mean they got a big break on that deep ball down the field. That was caught by Wilson and there was a penalty and it was a legitimate penalty against the Arizona offensive lineman.
- [26:48]
John
Wilson was killing them today. I mean Wilson was left and right.
- [26:53]
Colin
And I feel a little bit like the Rams, this is why they need to, you know, at some point get a mobile quarterback because their backups are Jimmy Garoppolo and Stetson Bennett. Those guys don't move either. I just feel like this offense for all the talent stalls out.
- [27:06]
John
Well, I think one thing to derailed the offense because it had kind of become in its peak earlier in the season. You know, like when you think back Denver with Peyton Manning, they had so many weapons. I mean when you have Devonte and Puka Nakua, no one has better than that. I think Devonte led the league for receivers in touchdowns when he got injured. I don't know, I haven't looked at it today but up until leading up to this week, that's how dominant he was in the red zone. So you factor him in with Puka who feels like he averages double digit catches a game and then all their other just auxiliary weapons are kind of an unstoppable offense. Well, you remove him, it puts so much pressure on Puka. Nakua, their other weapons are fine, but they get elevated into kind of taking over for Devonte and it becomes a little more difficult. Now like you said, over the course of the game, Arizona just fell off. I mean they have a million injuries. They're rolling on Michael Will, Trey McBride's a good player but they got a lot of random guys out there. I do think the health of Devonte if you tell me he's fully healthy, they get by the Panthers then they are, I mean obviously a very, very potent team coming into the playoffs. But if you remove him, they are liable to lose to anybody. Not name the Panthers. And the one thing about Carolina, unlike a lot of the southern teams like obviously Tampa can rain. Carolina and Tennessee are two areas in the south that can get cold. I mean it could just be a weird cold weather game. Well, that could just make it weird now. I'd be stunned if they won, but I could see if the weather's weird. You just never know. It's a long flight.
- [28:31]
Colin
Also, TMac and Legette are big, long targets. The Rams corners are small. They've been, they've been beaten down the field by large targets. So Carolina's got the kind of receiver A.J. brown is a, is a nightmare matchup for the Rams. And Carolina's got two long athletic receivers. So you could see them but backdoor covering it, scoring at some point. I just, I kind of feel when I watch Carolina, they just, they Dan Morgan, the gm they need six more draft picks and one more free agents free agent month. They just don't have enough good players. Okay, the 49ers, a six seed, go to Philadelphia. Philadelphia a three seed and the Eagles are a touchdown favorite. All right, so if Ricky Pearsall and Trent Williams play, both missed the Seattle game. I think the Niners are a live dog. But I will say Philadelphia can create pressure. And I said this going into the Seattle game. I took the Seahawks this weekend. Is that if you speed Brock Purdy up, it's not a great O line. It's a solid O line. If you speed Brock Purdy up, you have a chance to make a few more mistakes. He wasn't very comfortable against Seattle. I do think he's cut down on the mistakes. I think he's had a hell of a year when he's healthy. I would take Philadelphia to win. I'm not sure if I take him to cover, but I do feel like if you go look at the Niners, I looked it up today. Since week six, John, they've lost to the Texans Rams in Seattle. If you have an elite defense, you have such a defensive advantage over them because they don't create any pressure. Sam Darnold was very comfortable and Salah has to take big risks with blitz packages to create any kind of rush. And the Texans Rams In Seattle beat him without having to do that. And Philadelphia will get somewhat of a pass rush without having to bring extra bodies and compromise the secondary. So if you look at what the Niners have done since week six, their wins, they're not beating teams with the elite level defenses because they can't offer that. They just, they just like when you watch that Seattle game, it was 13 to 3, but it didn't feel like that. It felt like 27 to 3. It didn't feel that competitive.
- [30:56]
John
Yeah, they got, they got murdered. The Niners prove they're like an NBA team that wants to play in the 120s or 130s. They want to get into a high flying game where they can score a bunch of points and just get to a position close to the end of the game and hopefully they're coaching. And they did it against Colts and they did it against the Bears. I mean, they scored, they won a game 48 or 42 to 38. I mean that's, that's how they wanted to play. And the question was, could they get and win a game if it was like 17 to 15? Because that's what that game last night was going to be. And their defense is really, really bad. And they lost their two linebackers last night. So I have no clue. Now the Eagles are the most talented team that can look the most incompetent for stretches probably in my lifetime. I mean, they have so much elite talent on their team, it's crazy. And they got a quarterback who can run. So to me, if they just have a competent game plan, there's no way the Niners can stop them. And their defense with Fangio is more than competent enough to just slow them down. The other thing, the Niner, what Seattle did last night is run a classic Kyle Shanahan in their peak team's game plan. We're going to shove the ball down your throat, running the ball and we're going to hit you so hard on every play, we'll just wear you down. The scores in their heyday, the scores weren't always blowouts, but we're going to smother you. Mike, how many times basically played a Shanahan game?
- [32:19]
Colin
How many Niners last night? I don't remember. I remember one Seahawk being slow to get up. There had to have been six different 49ers that literally got either went to the tent or stayed on the ground. I mean, Seattle beat San Francisco up for three and a half hours and Pierce all and Trent didn't play. Kittle did he's still remarkable. I just feel like the Niners, the gig is up. They're out of bodies. They're out of bodies. There's just nothing they can do. I think Philadelphia arrested a lot of their guys. Philadelphia, I mean, just. I don't know. I just don't think San Francisco's got the ammo.
- [33:01]
John
I will say this, and I know the way the Eagles in that building, internalized stuff they do have. They think, obviously most people do really highly of Kyle. That is not just an easy coaching staff. We talk about Jim Harbaugh getting. You just get Kyle Shanahan and Robert Sala in the first round. Now. There's only so much Robert Sala can do. But Kyle just got embarrassed. You know, probably in front of 30, 35 million people, they are going to have some stuff that they're going to bring to Philadelphia. And here's the other thing. If you can just make it a little weird, right, maybe 10, seven, you're up at halftime, that place will start booing you because they already don't really like this team. Like, they don't because they're not an entertaining team to watch. So if you can get them tight, that place can get tight because this Eagle season has been weird. If I. If I would have told you at the start of the day the Bears were going to lose, you would have said, oh, the Eagles are playing Washington even with their backups. The Eagles will be the two seed. And I look. Eagles lose. How's that? How do you lose? What the Bears losing. If I would have been Sirianni and I look up and they're down 16 to nothing. I'm on the headsets. Hey, we got a dial. We had a chance to be the 2 seed. That's multiple home games. That is a massive, massive advantage. They know it. I mean, they've been the one seed multiple times. Like, they understand the power of playing home games in the playoffs. Now they might have to go on the road.
- [34:23]
Colin
I. When I do my herd hierarchy, when I do my herd hierarchy on Tuesday, I never know what to do with Philadelphia.
- [34:30]
John
I don't trust them at all.
- [34:31]
Colin
I don't know what to. I don't know what to do with them. I love their talent. I don't know what to do with them. So I think all the pressure there.
- [34:38]
John
Is on Philly and Sirianni, and we just know that and that we don't. I don't know the game times yet, but I'd be. I mean, that's got, like, Sunday Night Football written All over it, right?
- [34:48]
Colin
If you told me Pearsall and Trent Williams and Kittle play, that's a good live dog. They'll score. They'll, they'll, they'll score. But God and you know that of all the games we've talked about. So let's transition to this. Green Bay 7 seed Bears, 2 seed. Yet the Bears have a two game losing streak going into the playoffs. It is according to Hard Rock bet it is a pick them. It is a pick em. Now here's the advantage for the Bears with Micah Parsons out. They don't generate much of a pass rush, right. They gotta, they gotta scheme it up like solid. They gotta take some chances, compromise the back end of their defense. I think I like the Bears in this spot. You know, it's. Watching them today, I almost felt like they were overconfident, like they knew they were in the playoffs. Then all of a sudden in the fourth quarter you're like okay, touchdown, two point conversion. Touchdown, two point conversion. For the record. Colston Loveland and Caleb Williams. It is a thing now. Like Colston had a day today. Luther Burden and Colst at Luther Burden and Caleb. That's better now. So I like Chicago in this spot again. It's a little bit of ammo. Green Bay kind of limps into it. Would you, would you, would you roll the dice and take the Bears here?
- [36:10]
John
I would say both the Eagles and the Bears if you would have told them, hey, you get home, playoff game, first round, you're the 2 and 3 seed, you know, six months ago. But you have to play the Green Bay packers and the San Francisco 49ers. They both would have been like, are you kidding me? I think part of it is watching the Bears game today. I give them a little bit of a pass, they have this devastating loss right to the 49ers on Sunday night Football. You're in the playoffs, you're guaranteed a two or three, you're guaranteed a home game, young team. But their defense, call it is not very good. It might be a little bit better than the 49ers. There are a lot of parallels. The 49ers and the Bears are kind of carbon copies of each other.
- [36:49]
Colin
They gave up 440 yards to Detroit today in bad weather.
- [36:53]
John
There were guys wide open. Whatever Jared Goff was. Saint Brown coming across the middle. Jameson Williams coming across the middle. Their DB play, they give up a lot of yards. We just saw the Niners score a bunch of points on them. Now can Green Bay take advantage of it? It Feels like every time I look up, Green Bay's playing a meaningless game. They got guys on the ground, so they have a ton of injuries. Their defense is really banged up. Their offense, you know, it's. Is Malik Willis a better option right now than Jordan Love? I don't. I don't know. But I mean, they got a lot of question marks in that organization. You got a coach playing, you know, coaching for contract extension. But that is a weird. There is not a Bears fan. You live around a lot of them now that are comfortable with that matchup. You've had this magical season. You're the freaking two seed and you get the Green Bay packers, even if they come limping in and everyone's going to be picking you. That's the thing. Everyone's going to be picking the Bears. I could just see that they could get weird as well. I'd say the packers, technically not a dog, but a live dog in that situation for being a team that no one's going to pick.
- [37:51]
Colin
You know, with Chicago, they have a playmaker at safety. They gave up 11 catches, almost 150 yards to amber. On St. Brown, he was wide dominating. Yeah. And if you look at the NFC, Devonte Adams will be back, A.J. brown will be back. San Francisco with Pierce all and Jennings. Those guys, those guys are playmakers. So Chicago is the kind of team that they're. You know, they remind me a little of the Rams where I don't trust the back end of their defense. They can really unimpress you. And then you look up and the Bears and the Rams can put two or three drives together in a row in the second half and you're like, okay, all right. This is explosive. I mean, Caleb still makes throws. I mean, he made a couple today on those two scoring drives. Like, he is. He is. So he's got a physical confidence. Like when he rolls back to throw and he's. And he's rolling to his right, he's toying with the defensive players. He's just kind of playing with them. He's going back and forth. He's totally. If Stafford rolls right, he's not controlling it. He's waiting for somebody to quickly get open. When Caleb rolls right, he. He could do a high school pivot and say, I'm going to run backwards. I'm just going to buy. Like Josh Allen does that occasionally. Like guys, I'm controlling the situation. I think I like Chicago in this spot. I really do like how Colston Loveland and Caleb have really created something special. Like today, it Was incredible. Every big play it was Colston, Loveland, they really used their tight ends. Cold commit at a two point conversion too.
- [39:23]
John
That place is going to be pretty special on that in that game. I mean that's, that's. We talk about home field advantage. They haven't once, they haven't made the playoffs in a while. Definitely haven't made the playoffs as a team people think can win a couple games. It's. It, that, that atmosphere a couple of weeks ago when they played Green Bay had to be one of the more special games of the year. Just in terms of watching it on tv. As a viewer, I think there's a chance that place is absolute. I mean it's going to be rocking. It's, it's going to be really, really cool. And can they feed into that and maybe that helps the defense out a little bit. They, they just, they have probably less injuries than the Niners. Their talent on defense is just not great. You know, the front seven's not that good. They don't have a great pass rusher. They basically just got to score a bunch of points.
- [40:09]
Colin
Well, they, they spent money. Joe Tuney, Drew Dahlman, Jonah Jackson, they're sp. They're paying money for DJ Moore. Listen, they spent their money on offense.
- [40:19]
John
Two picks and Loveland, Luther Burden, first round and second round pick.
- [40:23]
Colin
Yeah, so that Ben Johnson said, basically, let me get the offense right. We're going to win some shootouts. I think they're ahead of schedule. I think they've been humbled a little bit. There's, there's certainly a debate, John, that a little losing streak going into the playoffs is not a terrible thing for a young team. Kind of energizes them sort of a. Hey, wake up call. Yeah, I've seen with the Rams, I mean the Rams, about six weeks ago, we were like, are they a touchdown better than the league? Rams? Little bit of a wake up call. Long season. You know, it's. We see this in baseball with the Dodgers. Have you noticed like this year they were sleepwalking.
- [40:59]
John
They turned into the KD warriors. They didn't even care.
- [41:03]
Colin
The Dodgers got swept by Milwaukee. They lost six out of six games to Milwaukee. Then you watch the playoffs. They tweaked their bullpen. It's hard to ask. The NFL season's never been longer. It's never been more popular. There's never been more media and press. It's a weighty season. It's. You're not going to get a team playing for 17 weeks. The Rams, about six weeks ago peaked. And I, and I think. I don't think they're a worse team. You get banged up a go either way, player like Devonte Adams has a hammy. Just sit it out. We got to get these young guys ready. Anyway. I kind of feel like Chicago about 4 weeks ago peak feeling good. You know, all of a sudden now you're like, okay, you've. You've done the motivational speeches. The team loves it. You can't ask a bunch of guys that. That Bears locker room's got some young dudes. You're not getting the same team every week. So I kind of feel like the Rams and the Bears. It feels like they peaked a month ago. I think they're both going to win their opening games. I feel pretty confident about it. The Raiders did win 14:12 over Kansas City. Pete Carroll at 75, reportedly now various reports that Kevin Stefanski, who by the way, took Shadour Sanders into Cincinnati and beat Joe Burrow 20 to 18. Kevin Stefanski will be let go. I would not do that. Pete Carroll will be let go. Pete cares deeply. Son's on the staff. That didn't play well in Seattle. Chip Kelly left during the season. I think Pete's in big trouble. There is a story. I think it was pro football talk. Brian Flores, head coach Brian D. Offensive coordinator. There was a talk about, you know, Brady saying, I'm going to. I'm going to go get Brian Flores from New England. Let's just, let's talk about that first. Because most teams that lose or are bad, I think Stefanski will get a job in this cycle. Do you agree?
- [43:02]
John
Yes. I mean, the candidates are terrible. So his, you know, he's already proven that he can coach offense, coach the quarterback. Even though this year has been a disaster, he's proven it time and time again. I think the league thinks high more highly of him than I. It's not that I have anything against him. I think he's a little overrated. But there's also a lot of variables in that building. The situation this year was pretty bizarre. How much was he involved in it? How much was he not? It's always hard to tell when you have a dysfunctional place. But I say the same thing for the Raiders. You know, if they're hiring Flores and Day Ball, that's clearly a Brady led deal. Mark Davis did this a couple years ago with Josh McDaniels. He brought in the Patriot Way. And Josh McDaniels was a rehab guy. He started journaling. He's like all this stuff Dan Pompeii wrote, I bought into it. I'm like, he's going to be good. He didn't last two years. Flores, kind of similar thing. No one Josh McDaniels is an elite offensive coordinator. Doesn't get any better. He's right there with non head coaches. He's probably the best in the league. Brian Flores is an elite defensive coordinator right there with the best in the league. But I saw him, he like made to a cry he couldn't function with Tua. And listen, we can debate to Mike McDaniel started going to the playoffs with Tua, dealing with. So Fernando Mendoza, you're going to draft this guy based on his history. And to me, that. I'm sorry, the Patriot history, that scares the you know what out of me. Because these guys, they always say they change and they, they play nice when they're the number two and then they get the boss and they kind of become Bill again. It starts rubbing people the wrong way. Here's the other thing. Day ball. Day ball rubs people the wrong way. That'd be a lot to bring into a building that just, I don't know, you know, Pete Carroll brought. Brings tender love and care. He's a more uplifting guy. So I think sometimes you shift the other way. But they've done this before, specifically with the New England thing, and it was a historic disaster for Mark Davis. And props to him. He got out of it quick because his players are basically like, we're going to quit. So I think there's a lot of. I'm not arguing Brian Flores, the defensive coordinator, but we can't act like that's not very risky based on his previous history with the quarterback. And now they're going to draft Fernando Mendoza, number one overall.
- [45:16]
Colin
Well, Mangini, who's my buddy, had two head coaching jobs. Josh McDaniels had two coaching jobs. So a lot of the Patriot guys, they get a job, it doesn't work, they get a second job. And I like, Eric's a good friend of mine and Josh McDaniels is not a good friend, but it's a texting friend. And I think Josh is probably the best offensive coordinator in the league.
- [45:37]
John
He's elite.
- [45:37]
Colin
I think he. He's great. He's. I mean, Vrabel's a smart guy. Belichick, Brady, they're all like, this is the guy. I think it's a legitimate concern. Flores is hyper intense. So is day ball. And it's interesting when I look what I would do if I was the Raiders, I would hire Kevin Stefanski. Same who I would. I would hire Stefanski. I would give him Mendoza. I think Stefanski is not a yeller. He's more of a teacher. Mendoza's personality, he's intensity. I mean, he's. They have to fix their offensive line. You know, they got Brock Bowers and Ashton Genty, but the Raiders have to fix the O line. It's a mess. And again, you're going to go Antonio Pierce to Pete Carroll to Brian Flores. Guys, the sport's going the other way totally, right? The sports going with offensive guys. I would go get Kevin Stefanski. I don't know, it's just, it's interesting to me. I'm not anti Patriot guy because Vrabel's a guy that wasn't necessarily there.
- [46:39]
John
He played there, he didn't coach there. These guys all coach there. This guy was a player. You know, his coaching career was in Houston and Ohio State.
- [46:46]
Colin
And Vrabel takes shots at Belichick and Vrabel kind of pokes him. Yeah, he doesn't like him. He pokes Bill all the time. He's more player friendly. He doesn't Frable doesn't buy into Belichick's legacy or bullshit. And a lot of Bill's stuff is, you know, I want a lot of rings here. It's like, bill, your last five years are embarrassing, period.
- [47:06]
John
I would have a lot of reservations. And like I said, I'm not the biggest Stefanski guy, but if I had to compare Stefanski to Flores, if I have this quarterback prospect, I don't even think twice. The other thing is, if I'm on the Mendoza camp and we get this package, based on what I saw happen with the TUA situation, I'd be very nervous. I. This organization in itself has just proven to be as chaotic as any, right? I mean, listen, Pete Carroll.
- [47:36]
Colin
He is.
- [47:36]
John
One for 20 plus years. He goes to the Raiders, he has the worst season of his career. I can't put it all on. I think there's just some organizational stink. So if I'm Fernando Mendoza, any of these teams you're going to go to high would have had some stink around them. But if I'm very dialed in on who you're bringing in, I need to communicate. Not that I'm picking your coach, but I. This is my career. I mean, this is. It could get very bad. And we see what happens when you bring in the wrong guy with some of these young quarterbacks. I saw your thing today on Sam Darnold. Like it's not always the player's fault. Organizations really derail a lot of humans. More than humans derail organizations.
- [48:15]
Colin
Look at the four top drafters. Vegas ownership issues. Jets ownership issues. Arizona Bidwell ownership issues. Tennessee political ownership questions. Then the Giants fifth Giants have lost 30 of their last 38 games. These are by and large, you know, organizations that struggle at the very top. Now the mars obviously going through a really difficult time physically with some health issues. But the Giants have been an offensive disaster for years. I mean, the good news is they have Jackson dart. I actually think the Giants have some good players. I just don't think they've had good leadership. The other four teams are a mess. But yeah, I mean, to me it feels so obvious. I the other thing about Belichick in the Patriot Way, Bill was not a teacher like Nick Saban has some qualities. Like, if you listen to Kurt Signetti or Lane Kiffin or Sark, they'll tell you, I learned more in a year with Saban. Kurt Signetti says, I learned more in a year with Saban than my previous 25 with all of their coaches. Andy Reid has that. Andy's like a school teacher. Bill's not. Bill's like, you know what Bill's like. He's like being the right hand man to Elon Musk or Steve Jobs. Proximity to brilliance isn't shared. Bill's not giving you the secret sauce. Bill's criticizing you. Bill's running it. Bill's not sharing power. So my point is with Bill. Well, I was Bill's assistant. It doesn't mean much. Andy's assistant, McVeigh's assistant. Those are more collaborative, communicative teachers and mentors. Mike Holmgren, Bill Walsh, you talk. I mean, people always think Saban and Belichick are the same. No, they're not. Nick Saban's funny. Nick Saban's a great storyteller. Nick Saban is like fun to be around. Nick Saban shares. He is a teacher. He's teaching his players. He's teaching his coaches. He's a listener. I mean, Saban acknowledges that Lane Kiffin really made him a better coach. Lane obviously says, Saban made me a better coach. But Saban's like, listen, Lane was beating me up and down the field with his offensive practice. And it's like, we got to become a wide receiver and a quarterback you, not a linebacker. Corner you. So this idea about the Patriot Way, it just doesn't work. In fact, the one Patriot that pokes that really didn't get along with Belichick. Are Brady left and won a Super bowl and Vrabel left and has had success. And those are the two guys that really didn't necessarily like Bill.
- [50:49]
John
And I think a lot of players have talked the Patriot way was enabled and controlled by Tom because Bill could ride him like he was a practice squad player and he was the best player player in the league. That is doesn't exist. And it not only doesn't exist, it's not that Andy doesn't coach Mahomes hard or, you know, Kyle doesn't ride Fred Warner, but clearly the. I mean, Bill's started coaching in 1975 in the NFL. Like he's from a way different generation. On top of his personality, it's just a lot different now. The one thing I would say about Flores, Kevin o' Connell is much more of a new school progressive, lighter offensive mind. He's been around him for a couple years. I just think it's a pretty big risk based on those guys with that as your main resume thing. I'm a Patriot guy and most of my career and way I became famous was under that guy. It has been a debacle. Has it been for the personnel guys? You know why? Because the personnel guys never agreed with Bill. He never picked their players. They're all sitting there in the draft room like, bill, we told you not to do this. He's like, well, Herm Edwards told me to pick them. It's like, well, Bill, we. We had him graded in the third round. And that's why I think the personnel guys, because they always had their own draft board, the coaching ideas. And I don't blame any of them. They're winning Super Bowls. They're like, this guy's a genius. But that doesn't work. That's not especially in 2025, the way these players even look at Signetti, who you'd think, you know, guy in his 60s, old school hard ass. I actually feel like he's kind of lighthearted. And, you know, I would imagine most of the players, they clearly like playing for him. So I think it's. I think the Raiders are in a tough spot. Just like a lot of these teams. Look at the candidates. There's not Ben Johnson's and Sean McVeighs and Kyle Shanahan's that you go, let's hire that offensive guy. They just don't really exist. Diana Rossini wrote in her article that a lot of unnamed GMs like, it's not a good year for candidates. You're kind of stretching and you know that's why Stefanski or guy like if Tomlin or Harbaugh let go, they would be hired. I would say in 48 hours.
- [52:55]
Colin
All right. College football semifinals. Hard Rock bet Miami -3,2 against Ole Miss. I'm going to take Trinidad Chambliss to cover the spread. I think Miami is going to win the game, but I don't think it's high scoring. I think they'll really listen. Ole Miss is going as the ultimate underdog. Everybody thinks they're the fourth of four. Which also illustrates the drop in the sec. Bruce Feldman has a fascinating article today. Several sources anonymously saying nobody wants to admit this and people joke about it, but it's true. When everybody can pay their players. Where do you want to play at 21 years old? Miami, Austin, Texas or Alabama? That Alabama just doesn't have the players. Georgia's defense. There was a great quote in the Bruce Feldman article. He's like, it's not that Georgia doesn't have great players. They have no depth. If Georgia goes into a season with three Sunday wide receivers, one transfers out right before the season, one gets hurt. They're a one receiver team. Their backups are no different than ordinary players. That wasn't the case five years ago when Bama, lsu, Ohio State could stockpile. Georgia could stockpile. They'd have six corners that would all play on Sundays. But now, kids, backups are leaving. They're leaving Ohio State. I mean, you saw Ohio state lost those two running backs. That offense scored 14 against Texas, 10 against Indiana and 14 against Miami. That offense for Ohio State was really average, average O line, average run game. So I like Mississippi to cover. I think it's, you know, 24, 23ish. I think it's a really exciting game. Chambliss gives them a shot to win the game. But I like Miami.
- [54:47]
John
I'm going to take Miami and I'll take them to cover. I do think they had already played Georgia. If you could have told them they could win a playoff game against any team in the country. It all be SEC teams, it'd be lsu, it'd be Alabama, it'd be Georgia. That was a Super bowl like win for that program. It's the biggest win in the history of the program. Definitely in the last since they won a national championship in like the 50s or the 60s. I do think Miami's on a little bit different level than Georgia from a physical standpoint. Definitely the defensive line now. Chambers. Yes. I mean that's about as good as you can play. He Looked like he was Patrick Mahomes or Lamar Jackson in his prime. He was incredible. But Georgia is not the Georgia team that we're used to seeing. No, they just have the same head coach. I think Miami has actually more similarities with some of Kirby's teams, like two or three years ago. And texting my scouting buddies, they say that roster is about as good as money can buy right now in 2025. And the line of scrimmage, their offensive line's got to average 325 pounds. And that's, you know, with multiple guys probably closer to 350. They are huge, physical, and the defensive line is a bunch of pros. Other DBs hit. You said that you thought Indiana was the best tackling team. I would say Miami is the most violent team. They are. They. They hit and they hit violently.
- [56:05]
Colin
Of last year's Ohio State team when they lost to Michigan and the next week against Tennessee, you could tell the Volunteers were intimidated, murdered them. They were pissed off physically. Yeah, Miami's intimidating. All great Miami teams have always had sort of a. I don't know, it's just sort of a. I think Miami.
- [56:24]
John
Has a legit shot to win the national championship right now. They win this game, they get a home game for the national championship. Their physicality will. Will match Indiana's or Oregon's. Whoever wins that game. I think Miami's good. Carson Beck's playing solid.
- [56:37]
Colin
Yeah, I was texting Feldman. I said, I watched Miami mid season, so I watched them play Notre Dame. I'm like, okay, that's interesting. Then I watched them play mid season. I'm like, eh, it's a. It's an average team. You can't. When you bring in seven or eight, 10 or 12 transfers. John, you can't judge teams in October. Miami doesn't even look like the team in mid October. They don't even look and play the same. They're not Carson, Beck, Reliant. They're much more physical. They're much more confident as a team. So I think the transfer portal's done a lot of things. One of them is it's hard to judge teams mid season last year, you know, you bring in Ohio State, brings in six or seven high end guys. They didn't peak till the playoff. Miami didn't peak until, you know, that Pittsburgh game. To me, when they beat him 38, 7, and Pittsburgh's not very good, but the way in which they threw them around the field, it was like, Jesus, this is intimidating. All right, Oregon at Indiana, Hard Rock, Bet Hoosiers minus three and a half. They beat him at Otson. I'm going to take Indiana to win in cover. They don't make mistakes. I mean they literally do not make mistakes. Oregon we saw against Texas Tech is a flawed team. The quarterback needs about another 15 starts. Oregon is good, but Oregon can be lured into mistakes. And Indiana is about the best coach team. It reminds me when I was a kid growing up we had Don James and the Huskies and I'm dating myself here but they, the Huskies always had really good talent and NFL quarterbacks tackling great special teams great. Always won the turnover battle and you'd look up and they were in another Rose bowl and you're like, well they're probably the sixth most talented team in the country. They won a national championship. That was their most talented team. But Indiana has that feeling where it's you have to beat them soundly. I mean I'm watching that game against Alabama, I'm like, that's as well coached a team for three and a half hours as I've ever seen in my life.
- [58:45]
John
Yeah, I will agree with you because obviously the last two games, I mean to beat Ohio State like they did and then to throttle Alabama was pretty incredible. But let's face it, no one was picking them against Ohio State. So it was easy for Cincinnati to play the underdog even against Alabama. The entire vibe leading up to the game, like what's it like playing this dynasty? The mystique of Alabama. How did where Dan Lanning really, the last couple years he's been favored in all these games. Even last year when he played Ohio State, people thought he was the one seed. He's going to play Ohio State. It's not like they viewed them not as equals. This is the first time Dan Lanning has been viewed like you're an underdog. Everyone thinks you're going to win. And he's great at these like rah rah speeches. He goes viral in the locker room most of the time his team's a double digit favorite in those games. Doing that he really gets to do for the first time. No one thinks we're going to win and he's not lying. No one thinks they're going to win. I think I'm going to take Indiana because I can't forget what I just saw in Oregon was a little weird. What if Texas Tech's defense is just really that good? I mean they might have to like two or second or third pick in the draft there. There are other guys on the front seven are fantastic. Their Quarterback just happened to play like he was me. But that was not. I think that wins a little more impressive than they're probably going to get credit for. I mean tech, Utah and BYU, I think we'd both agree are what top 15 type teams. They killed BYU twice in Utah once killed them. Obviously the quarterback was what if that's Oregon's defense. These have a lot of younger guys that maybe aren't like Jeremiah Smith or Caleb Downs or Fernando Mendoza. True household names. I do just think this is a prime spot for Dan Lanning when he truly gets to play the underdog and every. And it's going to be unique for Signetti because for two years he's been kicking most people's ass. No one thought he was ever going to win most of those games. No, no one thought he was going to go to Austin and win. No one thought he's going to go.
- [60:38]
Colin
To win against Alabama.
- [60:40]
John
Kind of like Alabama in this game. Overwhelming favorite people. I bet if you talk to most people. I think Indiana's going to win the national championship. I think Indiana is going to win the national championship. So I just think Dan Lanning can really. This is I would say what he excels at now he has two coordinators who are leaving that I see Kentucky's in the transfer so they, they're getting kind of worn thin because they're just I'm sure transfer portal not sleeping much. That could be a, you know, a point of separation. Indiana doesn't have to worry about it. That'd be the only thing that makes me nervous. But I expect Oregon to. Indiana's great. I mean there's no dispute. I think Oregon's going to bring it. I mean they got. This is a very talented team.
- [61:21]
Colin
Oh yeah, the, you know Mendoza. I heard an interesting comp for Mendoza. People are saying he's Matt Ryan now. He's bigger than Matt Ryan. I think he has a more powerful arm than Matt Ryan and his is a little bit more mobile than Matt Ryan. So I, I think I don't like that comp.
- [61:40]
John
Matt Ryan was much more of a statue like it to me was Mendoza moves around stronger arm.
- [61:47]
Colin
Yeah. I don't know what Mendoza's comp is. There's personality wise there's a little Andrew Luck where he's just oh gosh, geez. Very much a giver, not a taker. Super mature. Very much on message. He reminds me of Andrew Luck above the shoulders. I think Andrew Luck people question his arm strength. I think Mendoza's got a really good arm like A really good arm and in the Big ten you're throwing in, you're throwing in crappy weather all the time.
- [62:22]
John
Yeah the parallels of Matt Ryan, the maturity, you know he just feels like a grown up.
- [62:27]
Colin
That's Matt Mendoza is one of those guys that he may not be a great scrambler But John he's 6, 5 2, 40ish. Those guys are, you know small corners. When they tackle them the quarterback rolls over him, gets an extra three yards. Like I, I think Mendoza is an A prospect. I don't think he's an A plus prospect because I don't think, I don't think he has a huge arm nor do I think he's Josh Allen the athlete but I'm, I think he's about as good a prospect all things in. I mean I get the Cal years where he had to overcome marginal talent. Then I get the Indiana years where he played with some NFL bodies. He's played in big stadiums on the road. He's played Ohio State, he's played Penn State, he's played top tier teams. He' Watson I think he's a really good prospect to you.
- [63:17]
John
I, I definitely I was going to look up Trevor Lawrence coming out of college. Trevor was a better athlete for sure. He moved better but not by that much. I feel Mendoza's thicker and you know Trevor a lot like Andrew Lock. People went arms good, not great. Andrew had no issue and Trevor lot through his career he'd be like is this good enough this year He's I don't know. His arm looks fantastic. I, I would put him kind of in that vein on the lower end Luck's an all time prospect. Trevor Lawrence was viewed as like a luck. You know I wouldn't say a perfect prospect but a high end prospect. I would put Fernando Mendoza under that. I think he's a no brainer number one based on this class. I think when you look in recent classes Trevor or I mean Caleb had more horsepower. Jaden was more unique with his legs and had a fantastic season in the sec. Remember shattered records, won the Heisman. I would say Drake may felt like he had a little more upside. I don't know if that's fair or not but I put him in that class with those guys like I think he would have been spoken he's a legitimate 1 or 2 prospect in most drafts I would say at the quarterback position, you know and that's all you really ask for if you're the Raiders. And then when you factor in the character stuff. I remember Drew Brees Said this years ago. He's like playing quarterbacks way more 50, you know, 50, 50, you know, skill versus upstairs. He's like, it's like 75 upstairs. Thinking, changing at the line, knowing, going into games before it's. It becomes so much about intelligence. And sometimes intelligence doesn't mean just your book smart, but just your ability to understand football, your football iq, your football memory, then the intangibles of like toughness. I mean, you saw Brock Purdy last night. I mean, there were a couple times I was like, these guys just get killed.
- [65:04]
Colin
Oh, he got baked. Oh, my God.
- [65:07]
John
But you know why? Trent Williams and Fred Warren, those guys love him because you're not going to knock him out of the game. He crawl off the field and that. I remember growing up, Steve Young was a lot like that. That's. You got to be like that in football. And looks like Mendoza has that. The other thing, his game just translates because you watch him in an NFL offense, I think he's a fantastic player. I mean, he's. He's been really good. I feel like in crunch moments in that Oregon game, he threw that pick six. I had some buddies that were there from a scouting perspective and they're like, he bounced right back, drove him on a big drive. That's key. People love in the NFL when you screw up and they want to watch how you respond. Like playing in some of these games. Like Fernando Mendoza, that game he just played against Alabama. After the first couple of drives, once they start curb stomping him, it doesn't. You know what they. That Ohio State game, when the first play of the game, he got hit like Purdy did in Seattle. Two plays later, he's running back on the field. You're like, damn, this guy. This guy's pretty tough. And he's making throws throughout that game. Like I would say I learned way more about him in that game than anything I took away from the Alabama game. That, that Ohio State game. I don't. I don't even have any clue what his box score was. That was an NFL environment against playing Houston, playing Seattle, just getting crunched. There are going to be a couple throws that you have to make because that's the only way you're going to win. And he made him. And that's kind of what the NFL becomes. It's not. You're not blowing how many games, even today, you're looking up, most of them are tight. You're not blowing out people 38 to.
- [66:32]
Colin
3 very often think about this. How many times have we seen in the last three weeks, Sam Darnold's teammates come out publicly and support him. I mean, it's like every week there's like two guys are like, you guys don't understand it. We love this guy. I mean, they're, they're not even poked or prodded. Like, I was texting John Snyder, the Seahawk GM today, they love Sam McDonald. Anytime he goes, he's like, he's our guy. This is our guy. Minnesota, Kevin o'. Connell. There was a story today. Kevin o' Connell called Shanahan after the deal. He's like, everybody in the locker room loved Sam. Russell Wilson was getting to Super Bowls, had like two players at his wedding. Like, there's just something to be said about being a guy's guy. Brady was rich, supermodel wife. Everybody loved Brady. Randy Moss leaves New England, never takes a shot at Brady. Brady's never had a guy take a shot at him that he ever played with. Antonio Brown's, you know, off the rails count him, right? But I mean, by and large, Brees guys retired that play with Drew, they cry. His offensive linemen go to the podium, they cry. They're like, I love Drew. That's Darnold's thing. Like people and Mendoza's got that. You can just tell the players love him because he quarterbacks already get all the attention. Mendoza's like, no, it's not me, it's the guys. Darnold, same way. And you say, you know, we talk about iq. I think a lot of it's eq. I think the really good quarterbacks have an ability to understand, listen, I'm the one getting paid. I'm the one getting the attention. You know what Seattle's got? A, Darnold's on an incredibly team friendly deal. B, he's playing really well and he's productive. C, they don't miss on draft picks. John, you look at that roster, they could use another corner. Everybody in the league could. They could use another interior offensive lineman. Almost every team in the league could. And another edge rusher. Again, there are certain positions you can always draft a corner and an edge rusher in this league. Everybody needs them. When you're Seattle is scary because three things equal. And this was when you weren't paying Russell Wilson anything. Remember he was a third round pick and Pete's first two or three years in the league. He was a great drafter because he recruited all these college guys. And Seattle had about a three year run where they just go out, you know, Percy Harvin or Cliff Averill. It was like, we don't even need you to play all the games. Just be ready for the big games. That's the scary part about Seattle. Their last four years, their first nine picks, they're nine for nine. Then they find a Montana State guy, undrafted, that plays in the back end. Like, I mean, when you have a team friendly deal for your quarterback and he's producing in an A level, $60 million a year quarterback level and you don't miss on your top picks. If I had to pick a team to win the super bowl today, it would be Seattle.
- [69:22]
John
Well, their coach is a dominant defensive mind. I mean, what he did. Who makes Kyle look like that? The niners had like 20 yards, a non factor. He dominated them. Him absolutely took him out of the game. I'm telling you, Seattle played like the Niners want to play. They controlled the ball for 40 minutes. They ran for almost 200 yards. Sam had I think 25 or 26 attempts. That's in that Kubiak and the Kubiax might as well be the Shanahan's cousins, right? Football cousins, they're all running the same thing. And McDonald now kind of has a little history against Shanahan's offense. Going back to Baltimore even earlier this year, he's been pretty successful against them. That's a huge curveball, John, hiring him, getting this offense or defensive mastermind. When you got McVeigh and Shanahan in the conference and then your defense is just loaded with talent already and clearly the em and worry they hit. One thing that the Sherman teams did is all their DBs hit. To me, any defense can have good defensive linemen that can rush the passer. All those guys, you go to any team in the league, if you had good defensive linemen, they all look kind of similar. When your dbs hit, your entire defense feels physical. And Kittle is a good example. I would say 90% of Kittle's plays, he breaks a tackle. Unless it's Ray Lewis or a guy like, you know, a high end player, one guy's not bringing him down. Last night he was getting tackled by one guy, which I was like, damn, this team brought a physicality to that game that was. You felt it from the jump. And the Niners just don't have the bodies to match it. And then Darnold, his 2020, I thought he was awesome. Just in complete control. Made a couple plays when he had to. Every layup throw, which is a huge part of that offense. In stride, in stride, in stride. And the running Backs, they are their team. If they can play that plan where Darnold doesn't have to throw it 45 times. Because I would say the other thing they need is another wide receiver. You know, Cooper's obviously older. If they get a bigger. Honestly, Juwan Jennings, a free agent, I would sign a guy like him. They would like him. He's kind of crazy. John Snyder likes the kind of crazy guys. You can kind of feel it on their team.
- [71:29]
Colin
They are.
- [71:31]
John
They're going to be a problem. Especially that place is. They haven't had. I googled it last night. They have not had a home playoff game since January of 2017. So basically a day.
- [71:40]
Colin
So John, January in Seattle, it's cold rain and in Seattle last night Darnold was 20, 26. It felt like he threw 12 balls, like he was doing play action stuff. But he. It was not Sam's. It was defense and run game. So like you can win. Seattle could win and Darnold could go 16 of 19 and they'd be very effective and score 27 points. So cold wet Seattle for a team that doesn't have. They can throw the ball down the field. But last night, I mean Witherspoon's a big tackle or at corner. The Illinois kid. Amen. Worry from South Carolina. They're just big, strong, tough, physical players. Yeah, I would take Seattle in terms of just overall roster. I just don't.
- [72:27]
John
That linebacker that picked the ball from McCaffrey, Brooks, he's everywhere. I mean their guys are just. All their guys can run and hit. And it just felt like they kept them coming in waves. The backups. I was like, geez. And they had been a little off. Right. They didn't play that great in the Rams game till the end. Last week against Carolina was a little weird. So I was a little off the scent on them. That team that showed up last night was like Jesus. They came to. Like you said. I can't imagine how many Niners struggled to get out of bed this morning. You know, really Purdy leading the chart. His wife would have to call someone to help him out of bed.
- [73:03]
Colin
I couldn't tell you the last time I watched the Niners and a healthy McCaffrey was taken out of a game. Out of a game. I mean, just a complete non factor. That's like taking Walter Payton and his prime rest in peace out of a game. Or Barry Sanders. Like you just don't do that. Yeah, it was. It was a masterclass. Great stuff, buddy.
- [73:23]
John
Take it easy. Colin.
- [73:26]
Colin
The volume.
- [73:30]
John
This is an iHeart podcast guaranteed human.