Hour 1 - Sam Darnold is winning, College football playoffs are fine

Summary

Podcast Summary: The Herd with Colin Cowherd – Hour 1

Episode Title: Hour 1 - Sam Darnold is winning, College football playoffs are fine
Release Date: December 23, 2024
Hosts: Colin Cowherd, Jason McIntyre, Matt Hasselbeck
Produced By: iHeartPodcasts and The Volume

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1. Introduction to the Week's NFL Highlights

The episode kicks off with Colin Cowherd setting the stage for a deep dive into the NFL's latest developments, focusing primarily on Sam Darnold's surprising resurgence and the evolving landscape of the College Football Playoffs. Skipping over the initial advertisements, the hosts swiftly transition into their main topics, engaging listeners with spirited analysis and insightful commentary.

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2. Sam Darnold’s Unexpected Turnaround

[05:00] Colin Cowherd:
Sam Darnold, initially projected as a short-term fix for the Vikings, is defying expectations. Colin emphasizes Darnold’s pivotal role, describing him as “a truck pulling this team” despite significant setbacks like losing their top left tackle.

[06:15] Jason McIntyre:
Jason echoes Colin’s sentiments, highlighting Darnold’s clutch performances. “He is so clutch in the fourth quarter. This is no longer just a good story. This is an excellent team and he is an excellent quarterback,” Jason notes, capturing the essence of Darnold’s impact.

[07:45] Matt Hasselbeck:
Matt adds to the discussion by comparing Darnold’s ability to maintain composure under pressure. “That fourth quarter game-winning drive encapsulates all of Sam Darnold. The athletic ability, the toughness, making big throws in big moments,” Matt asserts, underscoring the quarterback’s growth.

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3. Washington’s Playoff Surge with Jaden Daniels

[14:10] Colin Cowherd:
Shifting focus to the Washington Football Team, Colin praises rookie quarterback Jaden Daniels for his exceptional performance. “He has a 106 passer rating while trailing. That's like goat stuff,” Colin remarks, emphasizing Daniels’ ability to elevate the team in critical moments.

[15:25] Jason McIntyre:
Jason delves into Daniels’ consistency, stating, “Jaden Daniels is not doing the if thing. He’s throwing five touchdown passes with one weapon. He’s in control.” He contrasts Daniels’ reliability with veteran quarterbacks who often falter under similar pressures.

[26:23] Matt Hasselbeck:
Matt highlights the strategic acumen of Washington’s coaching staff. “Raheem Morris on his rookie quarterback. Really rallied behind a young, young man. He went out and played almost flawless football,” Matt praises Daniels’ seamless integration into the team’s dynamics.

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4. The Role of Quarterbacks: Trucks vs. Trailers

[10:30] Colin Cowherd:
Colin introduces a critical framework for evaluating quarterbacks: “Quarterbacks are either trucks where they're pulling the team or they're trailers where they're being pulled.” He categorizes Sam Darnold and Jaden Daniels as trucks, highlighting their leadership and pivotal roles.

[31:07] Matt Hasselbeck:
Matt expands on this by discussing the importance of a quarterback's resilience: “Jaden Daniels throwing for five touchdown passes with one weapon. He’s not an if.” He contrasts this with quarterbacks like Brock Purdy, whom he views as trailers due to their dependency on team performance.

[32:30] Jason McIntyre:
Jason reinforces the truck concept, stating, “Jaden Daniels has a 106 passer rating while trailing. That is goat stuff. This is not if.” He underscores how exceptional QBs can uplift their teams irrespective of external challenges.

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5. Comparative Analysis of NFL Teams

[21:40] Jason McIntyre:
Jason analyzes the Ravens' performance, commending Lamar Jackson's consistent excellence. “For the Ravens, Lamar has been first in total yards and passer rating over the last two seasons,” he states, recognizing Jackson’s integral role in Baltimore’s success.

[27:32] Jason McIntyre:
Discussing the Steelers-Ravens rivalry, Jason notes, “Baltimore is off, really it's a physical offensive culture with Derek and Lamar.” He predicts Baltimore’s continued dominance, given their robust roster and strategic leadership.

[33:09] Matt Hasselbeck:
Matt juxtaposes the Rams' defensive struggles with their offensive prowess. “The defense is probably a year away. It’s a lot of rookies and second-year guys, and the offense now that I think I would not want to play the Rams,” he opines, suggesting that offensive strength alone is insufficient without a solid defensive foundation.

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6. College Football Playoffs and Structural Insights

[45:55] Jason McIntyre:
Jason offers a critical view of the current College Football Playoff (CFP) structure, advocating for expansion. “The only reason we have this instead of a Pop Tart bowl is because of bureaucracy and negotiations,” he comments, highlighting the limitations of the existing system.

[52:00] Jason McIntyre:
He further critiques the 12-team playoff system, questioning the fairness of matchups: “Why did you make Oregon's road tougher than Penn State?” Jason argues for a more balanced approach to ensure higher-quality games.

[53:29] Colin Cowherd:
Colin responds by emphasizing the need for expansion, stating, “I think they'll eventually move to 14 teams. They'll recede after the first round.” He anticipates that future iterations of the CFP will better accommodate the diverse strengths of college teams.

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7. Notable Moments and Quotes

• Colin Cowherd on Sam Darnold’s Leadership:
  “[05:00] Colin Cowherd: ‘This offense got real players, but they lost their left tackle. Sam's toughness, his coachability, his playmaking, that last drive, man, that's something else.’”

• Jason McIntyre on Jaden Daniels’ Consistency:
  “[15:30] Jason McIntyre: ‘Jaden Daniels is throwing for five touchdown passes with one weapon. He’s not an if.’”

• Matt Hasselbeck on Washington’s Coaching:
  “[26:58] Matt Hasselbeck: ‘Raheem Morris on his rookie quarterback. Really rallied behind a young, young man. He went out and played almost flawless football.’”

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8. Concluding Thoughts and Future Outlook

As the episode wraps up, the hosts reflect on the rapid changes within both the NFL and college football landscapes. Colin asserts confidence in Sam Darnold’s trajectory and Washington’s postseason potential, while Jason and Matt provide a nuanced analysis of team dynamics and playoff structures.

[55:04] Jason McIntyre:
“College football fans are freaking out. Don't overreact. We'll get to that in about a half hour.”

[55:45] Colin Cowherd:
“Details make the holidays. Genesis is offering you a $1,000 bonus on select Genesis vehicles. Make your holidays even better with thoughtful gifts and exceptional performance.”

The episode emphasizes adaptability and the importance of key player performances in determining team success, leaving listeners with a comprehensive understanding of the current sports climate and what to anticipate in the upcoming games and playoffs.

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Key Takeaways:

• Sam Darnold’s Resilience: Transforming from a short-term solution to a team leader.
• Jaden Daniels’ Impact: A rookie quarterback capable of leading Washington deep into the playoffs.
• Quarterback Roles: Distinguishing between leaders (trucks) and those reliant on team support (trailers).
• Playoff Structures: The need for an expanded and more balanced College Football Playoff system.
• Team Dynamics: Importance of coaching, player health, and strategic play-calling in team success.

This episode of The Herd with Colin Cowherd offers an in-depth exploration of pivotal NFL and college football narratives, enriched with expert opinions and standout moments that provide valuable insights for both dedicated fans and casual listeners alike.

Transcript

[Colin Cowherd]

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[Jason McIntyre]

Proud partner of the Voluum Podcast Network thanks for listening to the Herd podcast. Be sure to catch us live every weekday on Fox Sports radio and noon.

[Colin Cowherd]

To 3 Eastern, 9am to noon Pacific.

[Jason McIntyre]

Find your local station for the [e-mail] or stream us live every day on the iHeartRadio app by searching Fox Sports Radio or FSR.

[Colin Cowherd]

Thanks for listening to the Herd podcast.

[Jason McIntyre]

Oh, we got a Monday. What a weekend of football started Friday. It'll be done tonight with the Packers, Hammer and the Saints. That's gonna happen live in Los Angeles. It's the Herd. Wherever you may be and however you may be listening, thanks for making us part of your day. J. Mac one hour from now Where Colin was right. Where Colin was wrong. Okay, the car. College football fans are all freaking out. Don't overreact. We'll get to that in about a half hour. It's all good. Next week's neutral sites games are going to be great. But you know, years ago as I told New York, Zach Wilson and Daniel Jones were not going to work. Before that I told him Sam Darnold was going to work. And sometimes J. Mac, it takes a while to be right. So there's an old saying and it's one of my favorites, outline your life in pencil not pen. Things change. Opportunities arise. Don't be rigid. Keep your eyes open. And I know Sam Darnold was supposed to be like a one year thing but he is so good with Justin Jefferson. He is so clutch in the fourth quarter. This is no longer just a good story. This is an excellent team and he is an excellent quarterback. This isn't the 27 Vikings. Remember that. Pre Kirk Cousins, Case Keenum 13 wins. Case had 22 touchdowns. Sam's got 32 and counting and he's 8 and 1 in one score games. He has just been so good. And quarterbacks are either trucks where they're pulling the team or they're trailers where they're being pulled. Sam's a truck. He's pulling this Team, they lost their excellent left tackle. One of the best in the game. Maybe the best in the game. They lost him. Sam's like we good eight. No, without him. That fourth quarter game winning drive encapsulates all of Sam Darnold. The athletic ability, the toughness, making big throws in big moments. There is no denying he is helping pull this team. I'm not denying the receiving core is good. Kevin O'Connell is an amazing. They call him the tall Sean McVay. But this is not the case. Keenum team, this is not just a guy that comes in and we all kind of fall in love with the story. Vegas had these guys at six wins. That's what Vegas had them at six wins. This is not a great roster. Detroit, when healthy, great roster. Philadelphia, great roster. Buffalo, really, really good roster. Baltimore, excellent roster. This roster is pretty good. But Darnold's toughness, his coachability, his playmaking, that last drive, man, that's something else. And again, lost their left tackle wasn't perfect. This team could still be the number one seed. Number one seed. And I know you drafted J.J. mcCarthy. I get it. And I know you brought in Daniel Jones. Understood. But to me, you got a franchise. Tag him at minimum. You can't let him go. What if he ends up somewhere along the way and comes back to beat you? And maybe this is the best Sam could ever be. And, and I'm not going to deny that Justin Jefferson, there's one in the league. And Kevin O'Connell is an excellent young coach and Minnesota's always been a pretty well run franchise. I'm not denying that. But outline your life in pencil. Plans change, opportunities arise. Employees are better than you think. And I'm not saying it's just Sam. This offense got real players, but they lost their left tackle. I've seen other quarterbacks, rhymes with Brock Purdy, lose a left tackle or a running back and shrink. Not slinging Sammy Darnold, another win. Still, a number one seed is viable. And here's the coach after. There wasn't really one guy and I know I'm not speaking for myself, I thought we were going to go down and we're going to get a touchdown. And I think the level of confidence that that group has in their quarterback and the level of confidence the quarterback has in the 10 guys in the huddle is significant. And that's how you're able to go do that in that moment on the road at this place, you know, you can't hear yourself think it's pretty fantastic, you know Performance in that moment by, you know, not just our quarterback, but also 11 of those guys out there slinging Sammy Darnold. It took a while, but he's special. So I don't want to overreact. You know, Mondays off a crazy football weekend, it becomes overreaction Monday. I don't want to overreact to the Eagles losing to Washington. Okay, Jalen hurts very early, got a concussion. It's not the same team. It's a great roster, but it is a quarterback league. And I'm not going to overreact because Jaden Daniels as a rookie threw five touchdown passes. The bigger story is why the NFL is king. Because you get the right coach and the right rookie quarterback, you draft the right guy and you can go from an NFL embarrassment for over a decade to the playoffs in three months, and that's what you're seeing. Jaden Daniels does not have a great roster. He's got one big time weapon, but you can see some Lamar Jackson. You can see the poise. You could see 10 to 15 years of playoffs. I mean, I, I grew up and they had a different name, but this was a great franchise. I've said before that the Washington football franchise reminds me of the Golden State Warriors. I grew up in the 70s and Washington, the football team and Golden State, the basketball team had legendary players and you could argue they had the best fan bases. But mismanagement or bad ownership and the warriors just sort of regress into irrelevant, even on the West Coast. And then it all turns around with Steph Curry in Washington, the George Allen Washington team, 1972 Super bowl, this Joe Gibbs, I mean, this was for a long time, this was, this was tough and physical and the Hogs, and then Dan Snyder and as we always say on this show, ownership, bad teams all have one thing in common. And it's not a bad coach and it's not a bad quarterback. Cincinnati, I think, has a good coach and a great quarterback. It's usually upstairs, but all you need is the right coach and the right quarterback. And finally they got a bad owner out and a great owner in, and you're looking at playoffs. That final drive, what was great about that? Not just the 3, 4 quarter touchdowns by Jaden Daniels. He threw a pick on the previous drive. So what? Unfazed, cut it loose, didn't care. Very Andrew Luck, very short memory. And this rookie quarterback class, by the way, we may have 5 for 5. I watched Pennocks this weekend. That dude's good. So obviously the Jalen hurts. Concussion can change the outcome but here's what's amazing about this kid, and I've said this before, the difference between the haves and the have nots at quarterbacks. When are you good? Okay, when are you good? Do you lose a left tackle? Sam Darnold, you go eight. No, it can't just be when everything's great. When are you good? This kid has a 106 passer rating while trailing. That's like goat stuff. Okay, that's, that's Mahomes early. Mahomes was better trailing. You could never tell if Mahomes was leading or trailing. You could never tell. A lot of quarterbacks in this league with protection, they're leading, they all look great thrown on second and two. Jaden Daniels has a good O line. It's better. They got Cliff Kingsbury and the offensive staff have done a nice job. It's a better O line top seven or eight. It's not Detroit, it's not Philly, it's probably not Atlanta, but it's good. But he's got a great passer rating trailing and 115 passer rating in the fourth quarter. That is unheard of for a rookie. That those numbers. This is not September. We're not early October, we're now late December. Like that's who the kid is. And this is probably the worst roster he plays with at least while he's on his rookie contract, right? Once they pay him the big money, you got to make concessions. But for the next two to three years, he's not making any money. So this roster is only going to get better. This kid is nails fourth quarter trailing. And I know, I know Jalen Hurts was out. But if you're doing things now in late December in chilly weather against the number one defense in the league. And driving down that, that last drive was art, baby. That's what the great ones look like. That is goat stuff. And we said, we bought way everybody on their show loved him. J Mac loved him. I loved him coming out of college. But he is better than I thought early and here he is after. I always believe that we can win the game no matter what. Game's never over. To clock eight zero. I think you live for these type of moments. You know, you got those guys that came in on the win streak, they were on, they were hot. And they're a very good team, rightfully so. Good offense, good defense all around, well prepared team. And you want to go out there, see where you match and you match up against those type of guys. Gotta tell you, sometimes I feel so lucky to do this for a living. I'm watching all these young quarterbacks. Panics looks poised. Jaden his money. Caleb hasn't thrown a pick in forever since like Halloween. Bo Nix, I think he and Sean Payton work. I don't know about J.J. mcCarthy, but Drake may yesterday I'm like, oh, oh, dude can play. I mean, I think we did a five for five. I mean Penix, even when Penix was throwing the ball away yesterday, he was good. But none of them have been consistently as good. Trailing and in the fourth quarter as Jaden Daniels. This is an exciting time, I mean for a Washington franchise. I'm telling you, it was the warriors for a long time. They were great in the 70s. Talk about the 80s and all of a sudden you're like post Joe Gibbs, it's like, what's going on here? Bad ownership. I'd love to see Washington 15 year run with this kid. Can you imagine having Lamar Jackson and the Ravens and right around the Cor, having Jaden Daniels basically kind of like the duplicate. He's a little better in the pocket than early Lamar. Maybe not as electric running quite as Lamar. What a rivalry this could be. Even though one's NFC wants AFC that just be fantastic for the league because we know the New York teams. You can't trust them as big east coast markets to do anything. So why not get Baltimore and Washington? J. Mac When I was a kid, my favorite team was Washington 1972. George. I can name the whole team. Pat Fisher, Chris Hamburger, Daron Talbert, Larry Brown, Billy Kilmer, it's my favorite team. And they were great. And they had a big rivalry with the Cowboys and weren't very good for a while. And here comes Joe Gibbs and they were great.

[Colin Cowherd]

Right, right.

[Jason McIntyre]

And so for you growing up, you're younger than me, you probably remember the Joe Gibbs.

[Matt Hasselbeck]

Yeah, unfortunately I was living in Northern Virginia at the time and I was not a Washington at the time. Redskins fan. I was a Jets guy. Of course, keep true to my New York.

[Jason McIntyre]

But people often forget if you're in your 20s, how great this franchise's history was.

[Matt Hasselbeck]

80S and 90s, there was a time.

[Jason McIntyre]

Dominant, there was a time in the 70s, I remember them used to 70s and the 80s, they had like a 30 year waiting list for season tickets.

[Matt Hasselbeck]

That's right.

[Jason McIntyre]

They would talk about that on TV all the time, the waiting list for tickets. But bad ownership, corrosive ownership, it can sink even the greatest fans. So I just, as I watch Washington, it just brings back all these 70s, 80s and some 90s stuff, how great this franchise was.

[Matt Hasselbeck]

That was a great game yesterday and there'll be likely a rematch in the first round of the playoffs between these two. We shall see.

[Jason McIntyre]

Yeah. Be sure to catch live editions of the Herd weekdays at noon Eastern, 9am Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, FS1 and the iHeartRadio app. Hey, it's Steve Covino and I'm Rich Davis and together we're Covino and Rich on Fox Sports Radio. You can catch us weekdays from 5 to 7pm Eastern, 2 to 4 Pacific on Fox Sports Radio. And of course, the iHeartRadio Apple. Why should you listen to Covino and Rich? We talk about everything. Life, sports, relationships, what's going on in the world. We have a lot of fun talking about the stories behind the stories in the world of sports and pop culture. Stories that, well, other shows don't seem to have the time to discuss. And the fact that we've been friends for the last 20 years and still work together, I mean, that says something, right? So check us out. We like to get you involved too. Take your phone calls, chop it up, as they say. I'd say the most interactive show on Fox Sports Radio, maybe the most interactive show on planet Earth. Be sure to check out Kavino and Rich live on Fox Sports radio and the iHeartradio app from 5 to 7pm Eastern, 2 to 4 Pacific. And if you miss any of the live show, just search Kovino and Rich wherever you get your podcast. And of course on social media, that's Kavino and Rich.

[Colin Cowherd]

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[Colin Cowherd]

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See DKNG CO B ball.

[Jason McIntyre]

Listen, we've. We've pretty much got the playoff seating all set. I mean, you got a lot of teams at 80%. I think Washington's now at like 80% to get in or 80 or 90. And the Chargers are at 98%. So the AFC playoffs, to me, Joe Burrow and the Bengals. I mean, the fact that Joe Burrow. God, he's good. It's insane. Battle line, terrible defense, shaky ownership. Joe Burrow's doing his thing and. But it does look like the AFC playoffs are set. Just some seating stuff. And the nfc, with Washington winning, they're going to get in, but it's. There's always little stories inside of the game. And we all know Caleb Williams is great, and the Bears are dysfunctional, and we know the Lions are very good. Cross your fingers. Getting as many players back as they can. I don't know right now if they're necessarily better than Green Bay and Minnesota with all their injuries. I think maybe, but maybe not. But as they were hammering the Bears yesterday, they resorted to a trick play, the old fake fumble. Why did they do that? Because there's three NFL job openings. Jets, Saints, Bears. And the Bears is the best one. And the offensive coordinator for Detroit, Ben Johnson, wanted to make sure the Chicago brass got a look at the entire playbook. Maybe it's just me. Maybe it's just me, but it does look interesting. Why? I mean, common sense would tell you you would run that play as an element of surprise in a big game to end the season or in the playoffs. So why run it in a blowout? I think. I think with Caleb Williams, it's certainly reasonable to hire an offensive coordinator, although I think it's a heavy lift. I'd probably go Vrabel, culture changer. But I thought that was interesting. The story inside the game. Let's get a little clever. A play that we don't necessarily need. Chicago is watching. And the thing about Chicago, this is a good job by bad team standards because of Caleb Williams. That's it. I mean, they have a nice roster. There's a lot of nice rosters. But Denver and Washington have proven this year, if you get a coach or a quarterback or both, right, you can go bad to playoffs very quickly. And when I watch Caleb Williams, this is quarterback purgatory. They have never had 30 touchdown passes by a quarterback in one year, which is almost. I. It's almost hard to comprehend, but Chicago's done that. So I do think Ben Johnson was showing off, and I don't have a problem with it. The problem with the Bears is I think they need a complete overhaul. And the play calling was. It was interesting to say the least, but the story. Yeah, and he'll get a head job. He was offered one last year. Mid flight turned around. And I don't think it's necessarily. Even though many people say strike when the iron's hot, his. His takeaway was, I think we can win the Super Bowl. And until the injuries popped up on the defensive side, I think you had to consider them a Super bowl favorite. Just an interesting play call for a football team in the Lions that after losing to Buffalo, we All kind of went, yeah, maybe they're, maybe they're not going to really, really excel in January and February. But Dan Campbell says we are built for this turbulence. It just doesn't get any better than this. This is what it's all about. Can it get frustrating? Can it get stressful? Yeah, it gets all those. But it's also, it's the drug. It's the drug. You know, this is what you live for. And look, some can't. Some can't handle this. It's too much for them. Players, coaches, teams. It's just too much. But not our group. This is, this is the good stuff, man. And we're in the middle of it right now. Next year they'll probably have a help wanted. Sign outside for an offensive coordinator Ben Johnson showing the Chicago brass. Lookie, lookie, little cookie. I can do some magical things here. All you have to do is hire me. J. Mac with a news. No, no, turn on the news. This is the Herd line news.

[Matt Hasselbeck]

All right, let's get started. Colin. With the AFC north clash from Saturday, the Ravens beat up on the Steelers very impressive performance, officially punching their postseason ticket. Lamar, 207 yards passing and three touchdowns.

[Jason McIntyre]

Yeah.

[Matt Hasselbeck]

Baltimore and Pittsburgh now tied at 10 and five at top the north.

[Jason McIntyre]

Two weeks left.

[Matt Hasselbeck]

Lamar, listen, last two seasons, we got some numbers here. He is putting up monsters, monster numbers. Happy for Lamar. Obviously we need to say, hey, let's see it in January when it matters more. But impressive win nonetheless.

[Jason McIntyre]

Look at this. For the Ravens last tell our radio audiences the last two seasons he is first in total yards, first in passer rating. Zay Flowers has really elevated the passing game. No question. Zay Flowers, I think a BC kid, but a nice gift. And the total touchdown to interception ratio is 69 to 11. So we can put this to bed. He's not good from the pocket. He didn't have good receivers. They got him. Zay Flowers. I think Flowers can be, you know, he's had some drops. He's a smaller.

[Matt Hasselbeck]

He had a rough AFC championship game. He did.

[Jason McIntyre]

But there's no question that Lamar seeks him in big third down spots.

[Matt Hasselbeck]

He's good. Steelers secondary had some injuries. Listen, they came out of that game walking wounded. Looks like three guys from the start of the defense may not go on Christmas. Chiefs reeling a bit. Sorry. Steelers reeling a bit. They've lost three of five now they play the Chiefs on Christmas. Colin, I, I don't know if I'm. Are you scared of the Steelers right now? Like.

[Jason McIntyre]

Well, I think, you know, statistically Defensive players get hurt more than offensive players. That's just the way the stat, the stats historically show you that side of the ball is physically a little more reckless. So when you build a culture around defense and your defensive guys are getting hurt, this is who they are. You know, Baltimore is an off, really. It's a physical offensive culture with Derek and Lamar. So I just think the one way Pittsburgh was going to shock the world was stay healthy because let's be honest, most of their. If you think of Pittsburgh, they were shutting teams down. They weren't dropping 35 points.

[Matt Hasselbeck]

It looks like the loser of Steelers Ravens in the division will travel to Houston in the first round of the playoffs, which is not a bad matchup for Houston or. Or Pittsburgh. I mean, that's. That's a good game. I just. I don't know if Tomlin gets a playoff win this year, Colin. I know they'll get there.

[Jason McIntyre]

I think Baltimore's still going to win the division.

[Colin Cowherd]

I would agree.

[Jason McIntyre]

And if they do, they would host. I will go four for four in the afc. Oh.

[Matt Hasselbeck]

Picking every division winner.

[Jason McIntyre]

Four for four. And now that Atlanta's in first place.

[Matt Hasselbeck]

Oh, gosh.

[Jason McIntyre]

I'm gonna go three for four over there.

[Matt Hasselbeck]

Okay. A little early flex here on the show. Nicely done.

[Jason McIntyre]

Well done.

[Matt Hasselbeck]

How did college football. No, I'm just kidding.

[Jason McIntyre]

Not good.

[Matt Hasselbeck]

Let's go to Michael Penix. Another victory for you. Michael Penix. Man, he looked good. I need to start this off by saying the interception was not on him. Kyle Pitts.

[Jason McIntyre]

That's right.

[Matt Hasselbeck]

Boneheaded stuff.

[Jason McIntyre]

Yeah.

[Matt Hasselbeck]

And multiple reports that were four drops by the Falcons. Yeah, Penix was outstanding. Here's Raheem Morris on his rookie quarterback.

[Jason McIntyre]

Really rallied behind a young, young man. He went out and played almost flawless football.

[Matt Hasselbeck]

The ability to go out there and be able to retain the information, to be able to bring it to the sideline and be able to communicate and.

[Jason McIntyre]

Talk through situational football. I think the guy is just a.

[Matt Hasselbeck]

Grown adult that came in with a high level of football experience that that's enough of the last 14 weeks or 15 weeks, whatever it's been of working that into his game. And I couldn't be more proud of the young man.

[Jason McIntyre]

You know what's cool about Penix, you know, Jaden Daniels and Caleb, they're going to move a lot. Bo Nix actually moves better than anybody thought he would. Penix is actually. Of all these rookie quarterbacks, he's the pocket guy. He's the guy that's going to sit in the pocket. And because of that he is. So, I mean, between Indiana and Washington, he played in cold weather, got huge mitts on him. He really, when I watch him play, his temperament and his poise in the pocket like you watch he and Jaden Daniels, they don't look like rookies.

[Matt Hasselbeck]

They don't get rattled.

[Jason McIntyre]

They don't get, I mean, panics. And now again, I do think Atlanta's O line and running back is really good. So this is a nice play. He inherited a pretty decent roster. Drake, London, Robinson, pretty good O line. But when you watched him, even when he threw the ball away, it was like, oh, that's, that's seven year veteran stuff. Like his understanding of kind of the, the, the, the tempo of the game. He just looks like he looked at Washington. He just looks in control of the game.

[Matt Hasselbeck]

Now listen, I don't know how much of this is facing this the Giants, who are pathetic, clearly tanking. I mean, I don't even know. Their defense is terrible and two pick sixes from. So the score, you know, 34, seven beat down. I'm very curious what happens with Kirk Cousins because there was an article that indicates the Falcons are expected to cut Kirk Cousins before he's owed a $10 million bonus.

[Jason McIntyre]

It was a big bonus.

[Matt Hasselbeck]

Yeah, it's, it's over for Cousins. I don't know if you, you, I.

[Jason McIntyre]

I will tell you this. Increasingly, I am hearing executives who need a quarterback think the Vikings are going to keep Darnell. What franchise tag? No, that's what I'm hearing. And Kirk Cousins may get himself a contract somewhere. Has an entire off season to get better. Post surgery.

[Matt Hasselbeck]

There's going to be value on Kirk Cousins and maybe he'll take that Russell Wilson deal. Hey, man, they're paying you 27 mil or whatever the number is. I'm not paying you anything. Come, come to us. Like, seriously, I, I watch Gino Smith again vomit all over himself in a big spot. I would consider Kirk Cousins in Seattle. I mean, you know, you look at Tennessee, they could use a quarterback. Nathan Rudolph ain't the guy.

[Jason McIntyre]

Because this is not a strong quarterback class. And I think a lot of people think that Aaron Rodgers is playing pretty good now. He's more athletic than Kirk Cousins. Kirk needs a year off to just take care of his body. Post surgery.

[Matt Hasselbeck]

Kirk Cousins in a heartbeat over Aaron Rodgers. Next year would not even be close. Okay, well, is there Kirk Cousins drama in the locker room? Well, is he giving interviews every week talking about nonsense?

[Jason McIntyre]

I'm just saying Aaron's. In my opinion. Aaron's last Four games. He's been pretty good. That's not his fault that his left.

[Matt Hasselbeck]

Tackle was great yesterday. I know they didn't punt, but.

[Jason McIntyre]

Well, I think both offenses struggled. But I thought Aaron through three quarters was pretty good. I mean, again, he wasn't putting up big numbers, but he's moving a little bit better. They had a left tackle, they had somebody that jumped. I think a guy is a Max Mitchell. Somebody on the left side, I forget the name. Jumped and it was bad timing.

[Matt Hasselbeck]

Fine, we'll start a team. You can have Rogers, I'll have Cousins.

[Jason McIntyre]

Okay.

[Matt Hasselbeck]

See how that works out.

[Jason McIntyre]

I don't want him forever.

[Matt Hasselbeck]

That's all yours. Enjoy everything. The coaching search, the GM search. Yeah, a lot of fun. But you know, Kirk Cousins sounds like he's going to be playing elsewhere next year. Final story, Colin is the Rams who did beat, beat the Jets, 13 unanswered points in the fourth quarter. And the Rams also by virtue of the Seahawks losing to the Vikings, the Rams control their own destiny. If they beat the Cardinals this week, the division is theirs. And the Cardinals got eliminated by the Panthers. Hey, Kyler Murray. Hopefully we get to him later, but Rams December.

[Jason McIntyre]

This is the Cook. So they got their tight end Tyler Higby back. His first catch was a touchdown. So this is the first time all year they had all their starters and offense and so you know, they were just last two years they can't stay healthy until like November. So I don't think they're a great team. But when Stafford, this is the third straight game, J. Mac Stafford hasn't been sacked the first couple weeks it was brutal. So now they have Puka and Cup and they have Tyler Higby and Kyron Williams and they have their offensive line. So what you're seeing is a defense that's probably a year away. It's a lot of rookies and second year guys and an offense now that I think I, I would not want to play the Rams. That's all I'm saying.

[Matt Hasselbeck]

Oh really? It looks like it's going to be your packers coming to Sofi. I know packers look like they're locked into that six. So they would come to Sofi for a playoff game. Remember what they did indoors in Dallas last year?

[Jason McIntyre]

You know what hell of a game.

[Matt Hasselbeck]

We, I think we have to go to that game.

[Jason McIntyre]

Let's go to that game.

[Matt Hasselbeck]

Packers at Rams. Talk to your people.

[Jason McIntyre]

You, you, you know all the players. You're, you're the big dog. Your people are my people.

[Matt Hasselbeck]

That, that would be a phenomenal game. I wouldn't count out the Rams just yet. Leflore is such a good coach that I think that'll be the best game of the of. Of wild card weekend. Packers, Rams.

[Jason McIntyre]

Like, can you imagine Sofi Stadium? It'll be a 50, 50 crowd, maybe 64. Rams have a pretty good fall.

[Matt Hasselbeck]

If you're in Green Bay, Wisconsin, you're looking to get out of Dodge for the first week in January and to come out to or maybe second week in January.

[Jason McIntyre]

Whenever it is, bring the bratwurst out here, baby. It's a good time. J. Mack with the news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by the Herd lie news. College football. College football fans are freaking out. I just. I'll get to that. On the other side, some college football stuff. I want to say this, though. Two things are official for the San Francisco 49ers. Number one, they're out of the playoffs. Number two, they would be insane to sign Brock Purdy early to a big money contract. Second week in a row. The game's there. Couple minutes left. Make a play. Horrible pick. So they were healthy. On defense, Kittle was great. That's the best Debo I've seen all season. Jennings was there. Miami's reeling and I got A nothing burger. 17 points. Second week in a row, bad pick, 11 penalties. So if you want to be a $55 million quarterback, it's not about how good are you when everything's perfect. It's about when you're missing a piece or two. Like Sam Darnold's missing a left tackle. They go eight. No, I don't want to hear. They don't have Christian McCaffrey. That's where you pay 55 million. That's where you pay 48 million when things aren't perfect. And so that's my takeaway on Purdy. He's solid and he can be really productive if everything is in line. That's not the NFL. The NFL is much closer to Cincinnati this year. I mean, look at Joe Burrow. I don't love the owner. The coach is fine. Defense is terrible. Offensive line is below average. And the guys like leads the NFL. And passing touchdowns and passing yards. Well, he's got Jamar Chase. Oh, gosh, he gets one great receiver. Sorry. You know, Brock Purdy had Jennings. Debo was fantastic yesterday. George Kittle's been fantastic all season. Offensive line was fine. His production was okay. And I get nothing. I get 17 points and in the biggest moment of the game, I get a bad pick. So you Know, Purdy is. I've talked about this before. It's not that I don't like him. He is the classic if quarterback. If he has a great defense, if he has excellent protection, if the weather is good, he can win a lot of games. This is not an if league. Jaden Daniels is not doing the if thing. Jaden Daniels throwing for five touchdown passes with one weapon. He not an if. Jaden Daniels is in a tough division, facing the number one defense in the league, and he's got to go down the field and win the game. And he does. That's not if. So I'll pay 60 million. But if you start being an if guy, I'm not interested. And that's what I feel here. So Purdy's success is contingent on other people's availability and health and talent. That's a $35 million quarterback. When your success is contingent overwhelmingly on others. And the other thing, I was talking to a friend of mine who's an executive in the NFL and we both love talking quarterbacks. And he said, there's gotta be a wow. And he was saying this is why he didn't love Kenny Pickett. He said there was no wow. It's gotta be Army. It's got to be accuracy. It's got to be mobility. I mean, you watch Jaden Daniels and there's wow in his athleticism. There's wow in his ability to accurately throw the ball in a less than perfect pocket. You watch Kenny Pickett, who was backing up for Jalen, Hurts. There's not a lot of wow there. So when I look at Purdy again, quarterbacks are trucks. They're pulling a team or trailers. They're being pulled. He's the classic trailer. This is a mistake the Cowboys made, right? They're. They're paying a guy that has to be pulled 60. You can't do that or you end up, you know, winning seven or eight games every year. So I'm watching these. And if you look at Brock Purdy career, including playoffs, his first 20 starts, this is when the stars were closer to their prime and they were healthy. Only 17 and 3 in his last 20 starts. When they. When the roster's gotten older, he's 10 and 10. His passer rating was 116 when everybody was saying, give him the bag. Now his Passer rating is 93, which is fine. But Jaden Daniels as a rookie, in my opinion, a less talented roster, we can argue that, but a less talented roster, in my opinion. Go look at Jaden Daniels, passer rating and fourth quarter while trailing passer rating. That's a first round quarterback. So this is not anti Brock Purdy. But at this point, I mean 11 penalties. Kyle Shanahan talked about those penalties after. No matter what's going on, when you have those penalties like that, you don't deserve to win. That's my big frustration. I understand when your backs are against the wall and you have an uphill battle, but when you got first and goal at the two and you make it third and goal with 18 or whatever that is and you miss a kick and it's completely something that you've done on your own, that's. It's very frustrating. Makes it much harder. Yeah, it was. There was a moment in that game where Ricky Pearsall didn't line up. Debo had a. Debo was great yesterday. Debo had a great play. Down to the two. It would have been a touchdown. Next couple plays, touchdown. They were moving the ball. Instead, it negates it. You get backed up, you missed a field goal, there's your ballgame. I'm not blaming all of it, all of it on Brock Purdy, but I do wonder if you had a veteran quarterback that looked over and got Pierce all on the line of scrimmage.

[Colin Cowherd]

I just, you can't convince me.

[Jason McIntyre]

This stuff you've been yelling at me now calling, you don't like him. It's like guys, that Miami game, Miami was reeling, weather was good, defense was finally healthy. Yet Debo was great. Kittle was great. You had the pieces. Didn't have all of them, but you had most of them. Plus Kyle Shanahan, 17 points. Can't write big checks for that. All right, college football fans are freaking out. Colin right Calling. Wrong. Matt Hasselbeck, top of next hour. A lot of good stuff. Be sure to catch live editions of the Herd, weekdays at noon Eastern, 9am Pacific.

[Colin Cowherd]

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[Jason McIntyre]

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[Colin Cowherd]

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[Matt Hasselbeck]

A Yuletide Showdown in the DirecTV Holiday bowl as the nation's leading passer Kyle McCourt 21st ranked Syracuse against Washington State. The action kicks off Friday at 7:30 Eastern.

[Jason McIntyre]

So in the College Football Playoff, the first round there's some home games and all four road teams and I was shocked that Tennessee got blasted but all four road teams got blasted. Well you know, I was thinking Indiana and Tennessee, there'd be good games. I thought Clemson would get blasted in smu. But listen, let's just take a deep breath here. Number one is this is a 12 team playoff that will become a 14 or 16 team playoff in the near future. So the only reason we got this thing, the only reason we have this instead of a Pop Tart bowl is because of bureaucracy and negotiations and concessions like the Mountain west getting a buy. Okay, I think they'll eventually move to 14 teams. They'll recede after the first round. Now this weekend, this next weekend we're getting neutral site game. So I think the games will be much better. But, but yes, Bama and Ole Miss have more NFL bodies than Indiana, SMU and Clemson maybe combined. But that's not what this is about. You want NFL bodies, watch on Sunday. So the, the second thing is never in my life in college football did I think like take Nick Saban when he was dominating college football for 12 years. Did you ever think during that time, you know, I would love to see the number eight team in the country go into Tuscaloosa. I think they have a chance. Hell, half the time the number two team in the country didn't have a chance. So you're going to see if this thing expands and goes to 14 and 16 teams the first round of it. College teams don't play well on the road. I mean, I watched Tennessee play four times. They just fell apart. I think was 21 nothing. Boom. And Ohio State, off that Michigan loss, was in no mood to mess around. I mean, they were hitting like Sunday football players. So we just have to remember it's going to expand. We only got this puppy for bureaucracy and concessions. And the other thing to remember is the reason this was created is because college football, I mean, think about if we didn't have this after Ohio State lost to Michigan. You're going to a second tier bowl game, Citrus Bowl. Ohio State after this weekend I think can win the nanny. They may be favored to win the Natty. I watched Texas Longhorns pass defense against Clemson. So what you want? College football always had this problem. Number two, there weren't enough big games. I mean, how many times this college football season? I think there's been three or four weekends where I'm looking around thinking maybe Notre Dame blank will be interesting. Maybe it lacks big games. This weekend we got big games. Georgia, Notre Dame, we got big boy games and we'll have bigger boy games after that. And the second thing was even if you were a good team, if you had two losses, by October, your season was over. You're not playing for any big games. I mean, now you can lose three games and there's an argument bama to get you in. So it's just extended the joy and the hope and the optimism. And that's great for college football. I mean, half these bowl games, they're giving away tickets and the stadium still half full. So I guess my takeaway on the actual games, Ohio State, and this is why I like the NFL. Ohio State had a crushing loss at home, a devastating loss, maybe the worst loss the Buckeyes have had in 20 years. And this morning you wake up and you're like, we good? We're all good. I think they look like the best team in the country. Here's Ryan Day after. It had been a long lead up for us, you know, weeks. And it does, you know, to say it doesn't weigh on you. It does. We have a lot of pride in who we are and these guys have a lot of pride. I think it says a lot about who our guys are that we're able to respond like that in a big way. So I took the underdogs this weekend. J. Mac took the favorites. We both took Texas to win easily. But even the Texas win over Clemson, Clemson's young quarterback's Pretty good. I was a little disappointed in the Texas defense. There were a lot of yards. Clemson took a big swing. What really drove me crazy how Indiana lost. Not the score, but to be punting in plus territory. Kurt Signetti, all he does is talk it just a big old chutzpah. Chest is out and then you played not to lose. That game drove me nuts. I didn't have a problem with Clemson losing. They took big swings. They should be proud of their season. I think Clemson, Texas is good at home and I think Notre Dame's probably better than I've given them credit for. I did not like the way Indiana was basically coaching, not to get embarrassed instead of coaching to, you know, take some swings. SMU was just outclassed by Penn State. J. Mac and I both think Boise State go give Penn State a little pushback. But we are now going to neutral fields so the games will be much better. I guess. I guess what I learned this weekend is what I should have known is that college football teams struggle on the road. They're 18, 19 year old kids. They struggle in discomfort. They're just much better at home. So Texas, Arizona State. I'll take Texas. Ohio State, Oregon. I said before the year I liked Oregon to win a Natson. Ohio State to win the next matchup. Penn State, Boise State, close. Notre Dame, Georgia. I'll sit on that one. I'll say this though, if you're Oregon, your reward for having the only perfect season is playing Ohio State. Marcus Freeman, Notre Dame coach is on our show tomorrow. Think about that if you're Oregon. So Penn State gets SMU and Boise State and Oregon beat them and early money.

[Matt Hasselbeck]

This open one and a half Ohio State favorite. It's already up to two and a half. Like everybody thinks Ohio State's winning this game.

[Jason McIntyre]

Well, they look great.

[Matt Hasselbeck]

How many times have we seen in the NFL the team that had a buy come out sluggish? Yeah, the team that played the week prior is like all geeked up.

[Jason McIntyre]

I mean one of the things, one of my only complaints about the 12 team playoff. Why did you make Oregon's road tougher than Penn State?

[Matt Hasselbeck]

In hindsight, that's not great.

[Colin Cowherd]

That's.

[Jason McIntyre]

I just, I just. And I also think we're going to have to go into receding. I also think why are we given. I get, I understand the concessions and the bureaucracy, but Boise State sitting around didn't have to play in the first round. Mountain West.

[Matt Hasselbeck]

I've been doing a lot of homework on Boise. We'll see. I like the Broncos a lot in that one. But the Notre Dame Georgia game, remember, it's a Georgia backup.

[Jason McIntyre]

That's right, quarterback.

[Matt Hasselbeck]

So not a ton of tape on him, I think. Were you impressed with Notre Dame or was it just Indiana and ep?

[Jason McIntyre]

No, no, no. I went and watched Notre Dame play live against USC and USC had about 500 yards. So I came out of that game thinking. But then I also thought they were a big favorite. They got a big, they got a big lead in it kind of felt like they, they shifted in the cruise control. So I, I gotta give. I think Notre Dame's pretty good football team, but you know, they had a really bad loss early. But this is why the 12 team playoff is great. It didn't end. They had a terrible loss at home early. Okay, you get it. College football now allows you a mulligan and you may even get two. I mean, Alabama almost got in with a Bandy loss and getting routed by an average Oklahoma team. And I watched that first half of that game. I'm like, what am I watching? And Bama was the team that many argued with. Three losses should have been in Colin, right? Colin, wrong. Hour two next.

[Colin Cowherd]

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[Jason McIntyre]

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[Colin Cowherd]

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[Jason McIntyre]

Hey, what's up everybody? It's lavar Arrington here from up on Game and I need you to listen for a moment, all right, and get serious. The hate in this country is getting out of control. It's at an all time high. It's going to take all of us to stop it. I mean think about it. We're all on the same team in this country, right? Let's take a break from hate so our team can regroup. We need to take a timeout against hate. Visit Stand up to all hate.org to help and join me in calling for a timeout against hate by following at what's up with Hate or posting the Blue Square emoji.

[Colin Cowherd]

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