Hour 1 - The College Football Playoff Committee

Summary

Podcast Summary: The Herd with Colin Cowherd – Hour 1: The College Football Playoff Committee

Release Date: December 4, 2024

Host: Colin Cowherd

Guests: LeVar Arrington, Jason McIntyre

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Introduction

In the inaugural hour of "The Herd with Colin Cowherd," host Colin Cowherd delves deep into the intricacies of the College Football Playoff (CFP) Committee's deliberations for the 2024 season. Joined by sports analysts LeVar Arrington and Jason McIntyre, Cowherd navigates the contentious debates surrounding team selections, conference strengths, and the overarching criteria that influence the CFP's decisions.

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Current Landscape of College Football Playoff Selections

Colin Cowherd opens the discussion by highlighting the persistent issue of game scarcity in college football. He remarks, "One issue is that it's got a big game shortage because nobody wants to lose games." (00:30)

The conversation quickly pivots to the impending release of the 12-team playoff bracket, sparking debates about the inclusion of teams like Alabama (Bama) and Miami.

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Debate: Miami vs. Alabama

A significant portion of the hour is dedicated to evaluating whether Miami deserves a spot over Alabama, despite Miami's two-loss record compared to Alabama's three losses.

LeVar Arrington asserts, "The big criticism is Miami, two losses should be in and Bama, three losses should be out." (12:05)

Jason McIntyre counters by emphasizing conference strength: "Bama plays in a much better conference." (12:10) He elaborates on the superiority of the SEC, stating, "The SEC is better than Alabama plays in that."

The panel discusses the notion that Alabama's victories, such as their win over Georgia, provide them with a stronger case compared to Miami's performance against a "hot tire fire ACC."

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Conference Strength and Team Performance

The strength of a team's conference plays a pivotal role in the committee's evaluations. LeVar Arrington criticizes the ACC, describing it as "a hot tire fire. It's a mess. It's awful." (13:00) He further points out the lack of inter-conference play among top ACC teams, leading to "stockpiled wins over terrible teams."

In contrast, Jason McIntyre highlights Alabama's rigorous schedule within the SEC, noting, "Alabama is going through the SEC gauntlet." This emphasis on competitive play within a stronger conference bolsters Alabama's standing despite their three losses.

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Quality of Wins and Against Ranked Teams

LeVar Arrington emphasizes the significance of quality wins: "Bama has a better win, it's a better conference." (14:20) He argues that victories against high-caliber opponents carry more weight in playoff selections.

Conversely, Miami's two recent losses raise concerns about their consistency: "Both of Miami's losses have come in the last three weeks, so it looks like they're a little wobbly right now." (14:30)

The panelists debate whether the timing of losses should impact a team's playoff credentials, with Cowherd suggesting that recent performance may indicate a downturn in form.

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Committee's Selection Criteria and Biases

The discussion delves into the potential biases and influences on the CFP Committee. LeVar Arrington draws an analogy comparing committee payouts to wedding seating charts: "I always had this theory... the networks pay the bills. They get a say in this stuff." (15:00)

He suggests that network preferences and fan base sizes might unduly influence selections, favoring teams like Alabama over Miami despite the latter's superior recent performance.

Jason McIntyre counters by underscoring the logistical and traditional aspects of the committee's decisions, implying that while biases exist, they are balanced by objective assessments of team strength and performance.

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Impact of Coaching and Future Projections

The role of coaching in playoff selections is another focal point. LeVar Arrington argues that Alabama's head coach, Calen DeBoer, possesses superior coaching acumen compared to Miami's Mario Cristobal: "I think Calen DeBoer is a better coach... I would take the better coach." (16:00)

This perspective underscores the committee's possible preference for leadership quality and strategic prowess when evaluating team readiness for the playoff stage.

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Conclusion and Final Thoughts

As the hour wraps up, Colin Cowherd emphasizes the complexity of the CFP Committee's task: "It's a coin flip. [...] The NFL has always understood that. [...] But I'm not losing sleep because two loss, Miami may not get in and Alabama, three loss..." (17:00)

The panel acknowledges that while controversies and debates are inevitable, the committee strives to maintain fairness by considering various factors such as conference strength, quality of wins, coaching excellence, and team consistency.

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Notable Quotes

• Colin Cowherd: "One issue is that it's got a big game shortage because nobody wants to lose games." (00:30)
• LeVar Arrington: "The big criticism is Miami, two losses should be in and Bama, three losses should be out." (12:05)
• Jason McIntyre: "Bama plays in a much better conference." (12:10)
• LeVar Arrington: "Bama has a better win, it's a better conference." (14:20)
• Colin Cowherd: "It's a coin flip... But I'm not losing sleep because two loss, Miami may not get in and Alabama, three loss..." (17:00)

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Final Remarks

The hour-long discussion on "The Herd with Colin Cowherd" provides a comprehensive analysis of the College Football Playoff Committee's considerations. By dissecting team performances, conference strengths, and the subjective elements influencing selections, the panel offers listeners a nuanced understanding of the complexities inherent in determining the ultimate college football champions.

For fans navigating the turbulent waters of playoff selections, this episode serves as an essential guide to the factors at play and the potential controversies that may arise as the committee finalizes its decisions.

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Timestamp Reference Guide:

• [00:30] – Colin Cowherd discusses game shortage in college football
• [12:05] – LeVar Arrington on Miami vs. Alabama
• [12:10] – Jason McIntyre on conference strength
• [14:20] – LeVar Arrington on quality of wins
• [17:00] – Colin Cowherd concludes on committee's decision-making

Transcript

[Colin Cowherd]

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[LeVar Arrington]

It's Levar Arrington here from up on Game and I need you to listen for a moment. All right, I'm 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 time out Against Hate. Visit standuptoallhate.org to help and join me in calling for a timeout against hate by following hatsupwithhate or posting the Blue Square Emoji.

[Colin Cowherd]

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[LeVar Arrington]

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[Jason McIntyre]

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[LeVar Arrington]

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Now let's get this party started. You're listening to Fox Sports Radio. Oh, do we got a good one. Today, 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. Joel Klatt, one hour from now. All the crazies, and we love them. All the crazies in college football are freaking out. 12 teams bracket comes out again, only a couple left before the real deal. December 20th is when it starts. So, J. Mac, everybody's freaking out. Oh, freaking out. How can you put Bama in? How can you leave Miami out? Terrible job. Terrible job. I want to start with this in my life. I love college football. It's always had one issue. One issue is that it's got a big game shortage because nobody wants to lose games. So everybody ducks competition. I mean, USC this year opened with LSU and closed with Notre Dame. That's like way above average. What you'd like to see every year is Ohio State saying, hey, let's go play Texas and Oklahoma. But it doesn't happen. And so I have always believed I am going to give you extra credit by just scheduling a game. You may lose it. But if you're willing to schedule a game and you lose it in overtime or it's close, it matters to me who you play. In the NFL you can't control your schedule. But in college football, you control three or four of the games and I'm paying attention. So 12 team playoff comes out. The big criticism is Miami, two losses should be in and Bama, three losses should be out. So let's forget out of conference for a second. First of all, Bama plays in a much better conference. Well, that's not fair. Well, it's not fair. Some people are born rich and some people are born middle class. It is what it is. The sec, those high schools got the best players. They recruit the best player. SEC is better than Alabama plays in that. The ACC is a hot tire fire. It's a mess. It's awful. Second, Bama beat Georgia. That's a big time win. You know, the big win for Miami, 7 and 5 Florida. That's our big win. So Bama played in a better conference. Bama's got a better win. Here's the other thing. Both of Miami's losses have come in the last three weeks, so it looks like they're a little wobbly right now. I Don't love that. The other thing, the ACC's awful. So the three best teams in the ACC are SMU, Miami and Clemson. Bizarrely, they didn't play each other. They didn't play each other. So all of them stockpiled wins over terrible teams. Meanwhile, Bama is going through the SEC gauntlet and yeah, they went to Oklahoma, got caught flat footed. Oklahoma's got, you know, 15 kids that are going to play in the NFL. Like you go to you sometimes, you go to a game they're ready to play and you're not. And I don't think Alabama is great. I think they're good. I just think Miami, if they played them, is less good than Alabama's good. And I don't want Alabama at three losses to get in. But they've got a better win, it's a better conference. And by the way, Alabama against ranked teams this year, currently ranked teams 3 and 1. Do you know what Miami, Clemson and SMU are against ranked teams this year?04 stockpiled wins over. Nonsense. There are no great teams this year in college football. I think Texas is really good, really good. I don't think they're great. Great is the 75. You know, I would go great is the Tommy Frazier Cornhuskers, the Reggie Bush Trojans, the Joe Burrow LSU team. There was a Miami team Butch Davis assembled that was great. We've had about five or six great teams this year. I think we have one very, very, very good team, Texas. Oregon may be that as well, I'm not sure, but I think they could be. And then it's a bunch of Ohio State and Penn State and Alabamas and Tennessee's and Georgia's. But you're trying to get me upset because two losses, these aren't standings. Even in the NFL you can win a division, somebody's going to win, you know, the NFC south and they may be 8, 9 and then somebody's going to be left out with probably 10 wins. That's the way it works in pro sports and in college football where you play who you play. It may not be your fault. Again, it's not your fault for a lot in life. It doesn't make it untrue. And I would trust Alabama in a big game over Miami because I think Calen DeBoer is a better coach than Mario Cristobal and I think with a couple of weeks of prep I'd take the better coach. So it's not the end of the world. But better schedule, better win better against ranked teams, you know, the other. Let me just throw this out here. I always had this theory, and I know this just comes across as just a terrible thing to say, but if I pay for the wedding, I got to make the seating chart okay. Who pays for college football in the playoff? The networks. So I wouldn't even have a problem if everything was even. And you went down 20 different lists of record home away and it was even. At the end. It's a coin flip. And the network said, I'd rather take the massive fan base of Alabama in over a Miami team that gets 28,000 for a home game. I pay for the wedding. I get to decide the seating chart. And right now, I mean, in baseball, Major League Baseball, you know who was really on Major League Baseball for the pitch clock? Fox and espn. You know who created that game in Europe? Phillies, Mets, Fox, Field of Dreams, Fox. You know, outfield shift. They didn't listen to purists. TV networks pay the bills. They get a say in this stuff. The NFL has always understood that. I mean, they change rules annually to just make it a better TV product. But. And that's like the final box. That's not the first box. But I'm not losing sleep because two loss, Miami may not get in and Alabama, three loss in the toughest conference with a great coach is going to get it. If that's what we're losing sleep over. A couple of pretty good teams who have stubbed their toe. I'm sorry. I don't need Melatonin to sleep tonight. I'm going to be just fine. Joel Klatten, One hour. Okay. I saw this story. You know how some things are true and you just. And some people. And maybe it's just a money thing that people don't want to spend. Maybe these rich billionaire owners are cheap. Probably are. That's why they're billionaires. Right? But I saw a pro football talk, had a story this morning the Chicago Bears should call the Niners about Kyle Shanahan. And I know what you're saying. Whoa, take a deep breath. Timing is everything. So first of all, let's establish this to be true. At any one time in my life, there's been about four to five rock star head coaches like any industry, tech, law, medicine, football coaching. At any one time, the NFL's got five rock stars. They're just better than everybody else. Jim Harbaugh to the Chargers completely changed the franchise with the same roster. Sean Payton in Denver takes over Chernobyl. Now they're going to make the playoffs. Sean McVeigh to the Rams dead franchise. Double digit wins, year one rockstar Andy Reid, Chiefs are lost to the playoffs to a dynasty. Shanahan's considered in that class. And I'll get to more about Kyle later in the show. The only thing that amazes me is that more people, more owners don't consider this. Hello, Harbaugh McVeigh. Hello. I mean, when the Niners were terrible, they got Jim Harbaugh and then he left and they got terrible and they got Kyle Shanahan. Now, we didn't know Shanahan was a rock star head coach at the time, but we knew he was a rock star coordinator at the time. He was the best coordinator in the league. And I look at all these Bears candidates. Oh, Ben Johnson, he's an oc, let's be honest. Little, little different guy, little quirky guy, doesn't have the gravitas. If I had to guess, he is great coordinator, not a head coach. That's my guess. Marcus Freeman at Notre Dame. Well, he's a great recruiter. Oh yeah, that doesn't matter in the NFL. He could be. But I would give up multiple picks for Kyle Shanahan because even first round picks, you don't really know what you're getting. You don't. I mean, you really don't know what you're getting after about the first eight picks. And even sometimes in the first eight picks, you're like, yeah, about eight practices in that doesn't work. You know what you're getting with Kyle Shanahan, you're going to get that run game, the schemes. Now I. Here's the other thing and you're thinking, why would he leave? In my lifetime, there has been one quality that smart people have shared, men and women. One quality. And it's not where you went to college, it's not who you know. No, no. The smartest people, the Murdochs have been great at this. They get out of the movie business at the perfect time. They get out of the regional sports networks at the perfect time. The ability to understand timing, okay, is really, really the one thing in my life that highly successful people. Mark Cuban, by the way, just sold his NBA franchise. He knows something, right? He was the guy that came in, the young, brash owner. Nobody, nobody treated their players like Mark Cuban. He changed how players were treated. He was ahead of the curve. Now he's selling his team. Probably knows something. Look at Kyle Shanahan's situation. Smart guy don't know Kyle. Know many that do. Smart guy about to have to pay. Brock Purdy who's now a little small and hurt for the second time to compete against Mahomes and Allen and Lamar and Herbert and C.J. stroud and Jalen hurts Brock Purdy. You want to roll with that? You don't have a trophy yet. That's your trophy. Quarterback. Secondly, Christian McCaffrey clearly, and I love him. He is peaked. Third, it's an old, expensive, increasingly brittle roster. And here's Chicago. Coach fired, coach fired, coach fired, coach fired. Are the Bears smart enough to look at the Rams and go, look what McVeigh did? This has a Tony Dungy to the Colts field where you had this surging young star quarterback. Tony's in Tampa and says, I'm going to go up there and I'm going to get my side of the ball. Right? And Tony Dungy demanding the perfect fit. Shanahan to the Bears. My only question is, are the McCaskeys smart enough to offer it? Draft picks? Are you kidding me? Yeah, let's see. Linebacker or Kyle Shanahan, tight end. Or change the franchise forever. Not a tough call. J. Mac, I told you this morning, got a good night's sleep. Ready to roll, my friend.

[Jason McIntyre]

You're on fire. Getting off a couple one liners there. Chernobyl reference.

[LeVar Arrington]

Well, it was nicely done. I mean, and by the way, Peyton's a great example. They have the Russell Wilson mess. They have no momentum. They gave up draft capital by the end of last year. You were like, yeah, Russell's actually back to being pretty good. Good enough. The Steelers said, we'll take him. And, oh, by the way, and now with draft cap, this is the thinnest roster Sean Payton will ever have. If they come out of the buy and win, they're nine and five. They're making the playoffs with a rookie quarterback in the division with the current dynasty in the division with arguably the two best coaches in the sport, Jim Harbaugh and Andy Reid, and a huge dead cap hit. Don't forget about that massive dead cap hit.

[Jason McIntyre]

Impressive job by just.

[LeVar Arrington]

The Bears have players. The Bears have receivers. The Bears. What the Bears don't have is a culture creator and a schematic genius. Yeah, I would give up. I would give up multiple first round picks.

[Jason McIntyre]

I mean, that's not bad. I still like my Marcus Freeman hot. Take a couple of my Notre Dame buddies.

[LeVar Arrington]

Stop, Jason.

[Jason McIntyre]

We do not want to lose.

[LeVar Arrington]

Marcus Freeman voted in. We don't know if it works. We don't know if he's going to be an NFL coach.

[Jason McIntyre]

Wait, hold on, hold on. What do we Know about Kyle Shanahan in fourth quarters. I mean he's been awful blowing big leagues fourth quarters.

[LeVar Arrington]

The Bears could just take wins. The Bears. I'll tell you what the Bears would love to have a problem with. We keep blowing fourth quarter leads. They just like to lead going into the fourth quarter. They got their issues are getting blown out regularly. We're dysfunctional.

[Jason McIntyre]

You think he's leaving San Francisco?

[LeVar Arrington]

I'm telling you the single. If you could look at the Murdoch's history who own this company, Fox News, I could argue their greatest skill is exits. So are you treating build an exit. The movie industry collapsed. They got out, sold it to somebody else.

[Jason McIntyre]

So you feel like the Niners of the Titanic right now they're sinking?

[LeVar Arrington]

No, I feel it's timing. I left a network. It wasn't the Titanic, it was time. And I'm certainly not qualified to conclude myself in any category of smart people. But I'm saying is timing is a real thing. Don't fall in love. Fall in like with everything but your family and kids. Fall in like with stuff. The Niners. It's great. Fall in like with the Niners. Coaches should never fall in love with their billionaire owner because I got news for you. Back to back losing seasons and a billionaire owner is going to jettison you. So I'm just saying that if you look at what Chicago's never had, a brilliant offensive guy. Chicago's a huge brand. I mean, it was just like Harbaugh went to la. He's like, it's in la. I've got Herbert. I can be their first super bowl winning coach. I got a left tackle. I've got pass rushers. I got a bosa. I got this. That there are so many components of the Bears that are the Chargers. And so you can look at a team's history. Do you want to change history? And I just think, I think you have to look at it. A lot of stuff sounds crazy. Kevin Durant goes from OKC to the warriors. Sounded crazy. Tom Brady jettisons Belichick to go to Tampa. Sounded crazy. Herbert's leaving his alma mater to go to the Chargers. A lot of stuff sounds crazy.

[Jason McIntyre]

What do you think Shanahan's wife will say if he says, honey, we're leaving the beautiful Bay area, We're moving. Moving to Chicago. What do you think his wife would say?

[LeVar Arrington]

Can't wait. California taxes, 13%. Chicago 4.9. Can't wait. It's not like the winter weather in San Francisco's Palm Springs anyway.

[Jason McIntyre]

You gotta wear gloves. When it's fishing.

[LeVar Arrington]

And by the way, in the winter. He's inside anyway, he's co. He's not out on the beach. Be sure to catch live editions of the Herd weekdays at noon Eastern, 9am Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, FS1 and the iHeartRadio app apple cart is the.

[Colin Cowherd]

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[LeVar Arrington]

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[Colin Cowherd]

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[LeVar Arrington]

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[LeVar Arrington]

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[Tom Brady]

Looked at Ohio State strengths and we can say they have a great 7 on 7 team, they got guys they can throw the ball to in the second half. They don't even target their best players. So to me it's like I may as well have been out there playing receiver for Ohio State. I can't run, I couldn't catch. But it doesn't matter if you don't throw me the ball. I thought the best thing that Coach Belichick did and there was A lot of them was. He would clearly define for offense, defense and special teams. This is how we're going to win the game this week. You got to have some formula for what you're trying to accomplish. What's the ball bullseye that we need to hit? So why don't we just dial it down and dial it back to the only the specific ones where our best players are going to touch the ball doing the best things that they do, and we're going to go out like that. If we lose, we lose. If we win, you know, great. But we're not going to lose doing things that we don't do well.

[LeVar Arrington]

And it's not that Ohio State can't run the football, but as many pointed out, Ryan Day hates the label that Michigan now is the program that's physical and in the Midwest, that just lands hard for Ryan Day. He does not want to be known as the coach that has created a softer program. But the truth is, and I've talked about this to Urban Meyer on this show, when you recruit the best receivers in the country every year in Alabama and Ohio State do it does change. It does change how you play. By the way, Andy Reid went to Philadelphia, blue collar Philadelphia, and he was the coach that started to run on first down and started to pass on third and two. Andy Reid went into tough guy Philadelphia and he said, you know what? I'm going to look at Donovan McNabb and my wide receivers and the culture changes in football. We're going to, we're going to pass the ball on third and two. And he got to five NFC championships because that's what he thought worked best for the culture changes and his personnel, he had a pretty good quarterback. And so you play to your personnel. And if you recruit the best wide receivers in the world in college football and Ohio State does, that's what you are. Don't be ashamed of it. If you want to stop recruiting them, fine. But fewer and fewer kids in America playing high school football want to be running backs because their careers are shorter and you make less money. The most talented high school football players and the smart ones want to be quarterbacks, Ed rushers, wide receivers. So it's hard to find great running backs. The state of California, on an annual basis, 38 million people will have two elite running backs. Two, they'll have 100 Division 1 wide receivers. Kids are smart. They know where the money is. So in Ohio State recruits that position better than anybody. The other thing that hurts is Ohio State is in a weird, weird spot where Ryan Day beats everybody except Michigan. He's one and four against Michigan. He's 63 and two against everybody else. And so when you have a rival like a Duke, Carolina in basketball, Ohio State, Michigan, you gotta beat your rival when they're vulnerable. And this was the vulnerable year for Michigan. Not good at quarterback. Game was in Columbus. Harbaugh just left and they gave it to a coordinator. Remember, Ohio State dominated this thing from like 2004 to 2019. They dominated this rival. They were vulnerable one year, the Luke Fickle year. Michigan beat him. But Ohio State with trestle, Ohio State with Urban always beat Michigan. And then that one wobbly year with Luke Fickell, Michigan beat him. This was the Beat Michigan year because next year, the games in Ann Arbor. Next year they have a five star, best high school quarterback in the country and momentum. So now Michigan's in Ohio State's head, the game goes to Ann Arbor and Michigan's got the better quarterback, which, you know, matters. So it's, it's a weird spot. If Ohio State loses its first game and right now in the playoff, they play Tennessee, my pick before the season to win the Natty, and they lose that game. I wouldn't fire Ryan Day because I think he's a good coach. Be careful about firing good coaches unless you have a great coach in the offing, and I'm not sure they do. J. Mac with the news. No, no, no. Turn on the news. This is the Herdline news.

[Jason McIntyre]

Let's start in the NBA, Colin, because something interesting happened last night with Steve Kirk. Look at this. He is as irate as he's been that I've ever seen him. The warriors are playing the Nuggets, of course, and Kerr thought Christian Braun of Denver called a timeout. Denver didn't have any timeouts, so it should have been the warriors ball and a free throw, obviously, for the Tech. Instead, Kerr got a technical foul and it was a close game and the warriors ended up losing. Here's Steve Kerr. Afterward, Brown called a timeout.

[LeVar Arrington]

He dove on the floor, he rolled over.

[Jason McIntyre]

Everybody saw it, except for the three guys we hired to do the games. And that makes me angry.

[LeVar Arrington]

That's a technical foul. They don't have a timeout left. Technical foul. We shoot a free throw, we get.

[Jason McIntyre]

The ball, we got a chance to win the game. They all told me they didn't see it.

[LeVar Arrington]

It's up to the referees to see somebody's.

[Jason McIntyre]

That's why we have three of them.

[LeVar Arrington]

Somebody's got to see it.

[Jason McIntyre]

So that, yeah, that made Me mad.

[LeVar Arrington]

Yeah. Refs blew it.

[Jason McIntyre]

They blew it.

[LeVar Arrington]

They blew it.

[Jason McIntyre]

Got to blame somebody. Blame the zebras. Well, by the way, did you see the warriors coming back to earth just a little bit?

[LeVar Arrington]

Well, their formula is a nice regular season. Formula play 11 guys. I don't think eventually you're going to beat the Nuggets. I don't think you're going to beat okc, Boston Celtics. I don't think you're beating those teams like that.

[Jason McIntyre]

They lost Melton, I think, to an acl. The guard, he was good. Rotational piece not looking great. All of a sudden in Golden State, Denver's starting to come around behind this Jokic fellow who's quite good.

[LeVar Arrington]

He is so much better than the second best player in the NBA.

[Jason McIntyre]

Oh, I don't know about that. If I said to you, are you watching Luka closely? Honest. Did you just roll your eyes at Luka?

[LeVar Arrington]

Yeah. Let me ask you this. If I said to you there's a player in the NBA that got 35 points, 17 assists and 15 rebounds in a game, you'd go, wow, unless it was Jokic. And you'd go, oh, it's Wednesday. Jokic's stat line is the only one in the league. It's like LeBron James, when LeBron went 32, 12 and 12, like Magic Johnson, you were like, yeah, that's. That's called Wednesday. For everybody else in the league, Jokic's stat line would be even for, like, Giannis and Luka. If Luka went 35, 17 and 14, you'd go, that's maybe the greatest game in the history of Luca's career. Jokic does that constantly.

[Jason McIntyre]

It is. He makes things look really. I don't know that I've ever seen an athlete in any sport who makes it look this easy. Messi, kind of sometimes in soccer, Patrick Mahomes, sometimes when he's throwing the ball, makes it look just effortless. But Jokic, almost every time down the floor, he's, like, not really hustling, not trying, but he's just dominating. It's never seen anything like him before. Next up, Colin. All right, we had Tom Brady on the show yesterday.

[LeVar Arrington]

Yeah.

[Jason McIntyre]

He said something that people got a little worked up about online. Shocker. He was talking about the hit on Trevor Lawrence and Brady the Goat had a suggestion to improve the game.

[Tom Brady]

Maybe they fine or penalize a quarterback for sliding late, you know, and say, look, we. If we don't want these hits to take place, we've got to penalize the offense and the defense.

[LeVar Arrington]

I don't know if you have to penalize the offense, but if it knocks a quarterback out and there's no penalty called, that is a penalty because a quarterback is more valuable than a safety or a linebacker. Ultimately, if you look at this, I wish we could slow mo this. And if you look at it, Trevor slides late. Oh, he slides. If you stopped it when he starts his slide, he. And you're asking the defense, what do.

[Jason McIntyre]

You mean slides late?

[LeVar Arrington]

Look at this. But I. You know what? If I could hit, I would have hit him too. Oh, it's too late.

[Jason McIntyre]

What, what do you. What, Okay, I don't understand what slides too late means. He starts to tuck the ball and.

[LeVar Arrington]

Go, look at the yard line. He slides on. It's the yard line. Post a slide, Colin, about three steps earlier.

[Jason McIntyre]

Oh, come on. You know how bang bang this game is.

[LeVar Arrington]

That's right, it is.

[Jason McIntyre]

I heard from more people about Brady's take on this yesterday, how brilliant it was than anytime Brady's been on the show. This people are.

[LeVar Arrington]

I agree with Tom. You guys want to penalize defensive.

[Jason McIntyre]

No, no, no, no. We don't want to penalize defense. We want to protect the most important player in the sport.

[LeVar Arrington]

You know what?

[Jason McIntyre]

That's what quarterback is.

[LeVar Arrington]

You know what? Sometimes you got to protect yourself. I want to protect my kids, but they probably shouldn't jump off tall buildings. Sometimes you have to protect yourself. The culpability, the responsibility isn't always on everybody else making sure you're protected. I'm a defensive player. I'm going to intimidate you. It's not my job to protect you. It's your job to protect you.

[Jason McIntyre]

You're good at analogy.

[LeVar Arrington]

If you go.

[Jason McIntyre]

If you go out buildings is bad.

[LeVar Arrington]

Well, if you go out three in the morning, is it law enforcement's responsibility to protect you or do you not being out three in the morning?

[Jason McIntyre]

What does three in the morning have to do with sliding?

[LeVar Arrington]

Because people have to own their own safety.

[Jason McIntyre]

He slid. This wasn't a guy standing, coming in up late.

[LeVar Arrington]

He slid way late.

[Jason McIntyre]

You know, on time, by the way.

[LeVar Arrington]

Brady got hit like that one time. He never got hit like that again.

[Jason McIntyre]

Yeah, Lamar, Jackson, Russell, all these guys, you got to protect the quarterback. They are the most important position in the sport. In all of sports. You start taking out these quarterbacks with cheap shots, which is what that was. Fine. The game's going to stink. You know, we lose quarterbacks and then the team's got to play on Monday night football. And you're like, ah, this is a Crap game. I'm not watching this. You know, like, that's. That's what the sport is. You've got to protect.

[LeVar Arrington]

I'm just asking for a little personal responsibility, that we can't create a sport that defensive players can't be intimidating, that can't make great plays.

[Jason McIntyre]

Is there no other way to be intimidating besides headhunting?

[LeVar Arrington]

It's pretty formidable as a weapon for intimidation. I don't know.

[Jason McIntyre]

Maybe I'm a little disappointed in you, Cowherd. But it's early as.

[LeVar Arrington]

By the way, you know who hit late a lot? Lawrence Taylor. It works. Play, play through the whistle. A whistle's like a yellow light. Do you stop 40ft before the yellow light? You know what yellow light means in my car. Speed up, get through it, baby.

[Jason McIntyre]

Difficult. I don't do that anymore because I got a red light camera ticket. Have you gotten one of those? No, I slow down at all. I look for the camera, and I instantly slow down. It's a $500 ticket in LA. It's garbage. So, anyways, let's go to the final story in the Detroit Lions. Their season has been great, but, man, these injuries are mounting. Colin head coach Dan Campbell credits the team's mindset as a reason for the success and says, hey, we got injuries, but it's that time of the year. We're ready for the postseason playoff football.

[LeVar Arrington]

Right now like that. That's. That's where we're at. We're in December, and our schedule says that, man, we play tough opponent after tough opponent after tough. We got another one. I mean, we. We got plenty coming up, so. And this is the type of stuff that. That you live for. And it's also the type of stuff that gets you ready for the tournament. That's right.

[Jason McIntyre]

Nobody has a tougher end of the season five games than the Lions. Their final five opponents, Colin, have a combined record of 38 and 22, and all of them, mathematically, I guess, are still in the playoff.

[LeVar Arrington]

No, it's interesting. Who's the hottest team in football right now? Delphia. If the Lions and the Eagles played today, who would you take?

[Jason McIntyre]

Where's the game?

[LeVar Arrington]

Indianapolis. Neutral site. Now, let's say. Let's say it's. I don't care where it's at. They're both good at home, they're both good on the road. It doesn't matter where it's at.

[Jason McIntyre]

Who would you take right now? I would go Eagles.

[LeVar Arrington]

Same here. Yeah, a lot of this is attrition. Philadelphia is healthier. A.J. brown's back. Detroit's banged up. They're on their 16th linebacker.

[Jason McIntyre]

So then what happens to. Let's spin this forward. Let's say Philadelphia wins the NFC Championship, remember? What do you think Ben Johnson, Is he still like, we gotta get to a Super Bowl, I'm staying here. Or is he like, all right, we had our chances twice.

[LeVar Arrington]

Well, I don't know.

[Jason McIntyre]

I gotta move on. Cause that's a big one. Colin, this Lions thing could go on for a few more years.

[LeVar Arrington]

Remember this. It's not who the best team is in October or November. The Kansas City Chiefs have proven time and time again, think about the last three or four super bowl champs. Kansas City scuffs a little in October. November great in the playoffs. Tom Brady in Tampa. Seven and five go to a bye. Get hot. Buffalo's hot right now and Philadelphia is hot right now. Baltimore's not. Detroit feels like they pull. I'll tell you, another team to keep your eye on Green Bay.

[Jason McIntyre]

Well, wait, what has Detroit done to.

[LeVar Arrington]

Well, they're banged up. They're not 52, 17 ain't happening anymore. They went to Indianapolis against the quarterback who doesn't throw the ball greatly and scuffed. And they're not the same team as they were three weeks ago. They went through about a seven game stretch where you were like, the hell is that? They're blowing people out like Bama.

[Jason McIntyre]

So I brought up the Ben Johnson angle because there's also the Aaron Glenn he's going to be interviewing. So now you have this amazing Lions run. Seems like we're headed to the Super Bowl. Injuries mount and they don't get to the Super Bowl. And now you got maybe Ben Johnson and Aaron Glenn both departing.

[LeVar Arrington]

I think a bad organization would go after Ben Johnson. I think the people I talk to in the league that I trust have skepticism on Ben Johnson as a franchise coach. They think he's a great coordinator. By the way, many had issues with Cliff Kingsbury as a head coach. I talked to people all before he got hired and people were like, let's see if it works. But he couldn't win in the Big 12. I'm not sure he can win in the NFC West. Ben Johnson may just be a great number two. We've seen that for years in the.

[Jason McIntyre]

Wants to find out if he can be a number one. Right. So it's.

[LeVar Arrington]

I don't know if he does. I don't.

[Jason McIntyre]

I mean I've never met him, I've never talked to him. But I think everybody wants lives strive for as far as they can go.

[LeVar Arrington]

I don't think that's true. Really? Yeah. There's plenty of great radio guys in Des Moines, Iowa, that love it. Voice of the Hawkeyes. They're like. They look at my job and think, yeah, I'd rather. I want to live, you know, next to the farm I grew up on.

[Jason McIntyre]

I know there's probably more people that want your job.

[LeVar Arrington]

I don't know. I think he's been in football for.

[Jason McIntyre]

Like, 20 years, at least, and he's.

[LeVar Arrington]

Making three and a half million a year living in a beautiful suburb in Birmingham, Michigan.

[Jason McIntyre]

So you don't think he wants to. Hey, let me see what else is out there. Life is an adventure. Let me try being a head coach. Maybe it fits, maybe it doesn't. But I want to see. I want to find out.

[LeVar Arrington]

I don't think as many people as you do. You know, 40% of people never leave their area code.

[Jason McIntyre]

That's a strange fact. That's true.

[LeVar Arrington]

And by the way, if you look at mobility statistics, we are less mobile than people think. Most Americans, if they get a great job and they have friends, they don't want to move. This idea that everybody's got to get the brass ring, that doesn't make you happier. Yeah.

[Jason McIntyre]

Not everybody's chasing this.

[LeVar Arrington]

Yeah. Not everybody's. Elon Musk and literally doesn't sleep.

[Jason McIntyre]

He wants to colonize Mars. Like, he's got some dreams and goals.

[LeVar Arrington]

Yeah, I don't. I think. I think being an offensive coordinator with the Lions and knowing you're going to win 12 games a year and if you lose, you don't get the heat is a great American football job. I think now there's other guys like Sark, and I think Sark said, you know, Sark can recruit. He. There are guys like Sark who are more aspirational. That's good, too. But I think that stuff takes a toll on your private life. And I think Ben Johnson, he may have a wonderful family. He may have cousins nearby. By the way, Shanahan. Shanahan grew up in the Midwest. You know, that, I think was his.

[Jason McIntyre]

Dad at Denver when he was going to Colorado.

[LeVar Arrington]

And also I think he was born in Minneapolis. That Chicago Bear job may be just what Shani's looking for.

[Jason McIntyre]

I'm just worried about this Lions team, man. I real. You might be onto something that they just peaked a little early. That runner who gets out to a.

[LeVar Arrington]

Huge go look at the last several years Super Bowls. I'm not joking when I say this Tampa team got hot in week 13. The Chiefs the last couple of years were rudderless in like early November. This is a long season. I got a couple buddies, by the way. Buffalo now and Buffalo seven weeks ago.

[Jason McIntyre]

Before Amari Cooper showed up. Did they lose to the Ravens like 35, 10 on Sunday night?

[LeVar Arrington]

They were a little lost.

[Jason McIntyre]

But this Lions team, I I got buddies who are Lions fans. I've been texting them like, oh, super bowl bound, see you in New Orleans. And all of a sudden like that stuff has stopped the last week since that Thanksgiving game and the injuries.

[LeVar Arrington]

Yeah, J. Mack with the news. Well, that's the news and thanks for stopping by the Herd lie New Be sure to catch live editions of the Herd weekdays at noon Eastern, 9am Pacific. This podcast is sponsored by PayPal. Did you know the PayPal debit card now earns you 5% cash back in the monthly category of your choosing Groceries, health restaurants, beauty, gas and apparel in up to $1,000 of monthly purchases. On top of that, you can get cash back offers within the app from brands like Doordash, Sephora and Instacart. It's like having a little extra in your pocket every month. I'm using PayPal debit card to earn 5% cash back on apparel. With my travel schedule, I'm on the go. Sometimes I have to buy clothes online. It's the new normal. Just sign up for the PayPal debit card through the new app and you're ready to go. Download the new PayPal app. Sign up Start earning 5% cash back today. Don't just pay PayPal terms and limits apply. See paypal.com rewardspal Cashback earned as points redeemable for cash and other options on up to $1,000 spend per month. The PayPal Debit MasterCard is issued by the Bancor Bank N.A. pursuant to license by MasterCard International Incorporated and may be used everywhere MasterCard is accepted. How do you recognize elegant design? It's all about the details and the 2025 Genesis GV70 has athletic lines and a graceful coupe like profile. An artfully crafted SUV down to the smallest detail. An SUV with dynamic design with a premium interior that is both graceful and sporty. The GV70 offers a thrilling performance no matter where you're going. Exciting performance always at your fingertips and with launch control. Enjoy the thrilling power of takeoff. Standard navigation system with a stunning 14.5 inch high def screen. You're never lost. Unless of course you want to be. An advanced array of cameras and sensors. Never gets tired or distracted, so it always has your back standard advanced safety, including a Segment first center airbag for peace of mind all the time. Visit Genesis.com to learn more about the GV70. That's Genesis.com as we gather together during.

[Colin Cowherd]

This holiday season, let me share a gift that keeps on giving. Chase Freedom With Chase Freedom Unlimited, you'll not only experience the joy of 1.5% unlimited cash back, but also the freedom to create cherished memories with your loved ones. Discover the magic and learn [e-mail] and let this season be filled with love, laughter and the delight of extra cash in your pocket.

[LeVar Arrington]

Cards issued by JP Morgan, Chase bank and a member fdic.

[Unknown Speaker]

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[LeVar Arrington]

You put it off long enough, it's time to replace your tires. Tire Rack has tires that will elevate your drive. Touring tires for commuter comfort. Performance tires for sporty handling. All terrain tires for on and off road adventure. Go to tirerack.com to get started. Not sure where to begin? Use the Tire Decision Guide to get a personalized tire recommendation. The right tires for how, what and where you drive. Choose from the full line of Pirelli tires, ship fast and free to a recommended installer near you, or choose the convenience of mobile tire installation. They'll bring your new tires to your home or office. Install them on site. Doesn't get much easier than that. Go to tirerack.comcollin to see their Pirelli test results, tire ratings and consumer reviews and be sure to check out all their current special offers. Great tires. Great deal. What more could you ask for? That's tirerack.com Colin tirerack.com the way tire buying should be. So you know, we all know this. We watched this on Monday night when we saw Bo Nick's once again play very well in the fourth quarter. And we know a couple of things about the NFL is that, you know, once you get to the playoffs, I mean right now in the NFL there are eight teams that have three wins or less. So there's a pretty large bottom. Those teams are all gone in the playoffs and then there's going to be a bunch of teams that finish with seven or eight wins. They're not going to make the playoffs either. It's going to be the best coaches and the best quarterbacks and the margins get very thin. So playing quarterback at a high level in the fourth quarter is really, really important. Brady was the best I've ever seen at it. Montana was amazing. John Elway was amazing. Mahomes is amazing. And here is Brady talking about all the narrow winds the Chiefs have picked up this year on late game execution.

[Tom Brady]

I just think the Chiefs are so dangerous because if it's a one score game in the fourth quarter and Patrick has the ball, he just, he's incredible. He's so dangerous because then he has four downs, you know, late in the game where you got to stop him for four downs, not three. Patrick is going to manage the game so well, he's going to throw to the open guy when he there. He's got Travis out there that is going to make the right decisions in the big moments like we've seen time and time again. So they have a group of players that, that organization does so many things the right way. It's, it's a lot like the teams that I played for at the Patriots. If you were going to beat us, man, you had to beat us. We weren't going to beat ourselves and.

[LeVar Arrington]

You had to exit out execute them in the fourth quarter. So here's what's funny about fourth quarters. For years and years a lot of it's mythology. Tony Romo's a bad fourth quarter quarterback. No he's not. He was great. But the Cowboys are high profile. He had a couple of bad picks in high profile games and he was labeled a bad late game quarterback. He was actually excellent, one of the better fourth quarter quarterbacks I can remember. You know another thing, Matt Ryan, Super Bowl, Matt Ryan was a great fourth quarter come from behind quarterback. He's got 38 fourth quarter comeback wins. But he the super bowl right high profile game. He's no good Late. Matt Ryan was a great fourth quarter quarterback. You know who's not good? Aaron Rodgers. All time 22 fourth quarter comebacks. Well that's because he always led. No, Russell Wilson has 32 and he led two. Aaron's total mythology. You've seen it this year like six different times. Bo Nix this year is a better fourth quarter quarterback than Aaron Rodgers. Aaron's was always built on a couple of big plays. The Jared Cook completion against the Cowboys on the sideline, one of the great top 10 throws of all time. And it's oh Aaron's magic. No, he's not. Not. He has fewer fourth quarter comebacks than Ryan Tannehill. So right now the highest fourth quarter passer rating, number one, Russell Wilson. LaMarcus Jackson also again LaMarcus. Lamar Jackson, excuse me, in big spots isn't very good. He's actually excellent. Stafford and Mahomes are up there. Caleb Williams has been a good fourth quarter quarterback. So it is interesting and this is on passer rating by the way, which passer rating includes touchdowns, yards, interceptions, completion percentage. It includes all the stuff that matters. Doesn't mean you come back to win the game. But remember, winning a game entails coaching and defense. Is it Caleb's fault that Washington's beat Chicago on a Hail Mary? Is that Caleb Williams fault? He wasn't on the field so. But it is interesting. There's always this mythology about who Tony Romo, he's a terrible. Nope, he was a great fourth quarter quarterback. Matt Ryan, because he lost a Super Bowl. Matt Ryan was a great fourth quarter quarterback. Aaron Rodgers because of that Jared Cook Dallas performance. Oh, he's terrific. He's actually not very good at all. In my lifetime, the four quarterbacks, five quarterbacks in my lifetime who I consider the all time best late game quarterbacks. Elway, Mont, Brady, Mahomes, that's it. 4. And I'm not saying there's not other guys that are really good but those four jump out to me. Mahomes, Brady, Joe Montana and John Elway. And so now, now you say oh well, Jaden Daniels. Well remember because you're great at Hail Mary's doesn't make you great fourth quarter. I mean Jaden Daniels, we have a very small sample. So I mean again I think Jaden is really, really good. And this is not perfectly linear in terms like Stafford is a better fourth quarter quarterback. I'm going to say the Jaden Daniels but he doesn't have, you know, he doesn't have a Hail Mary this year and that goes a long way. But Just be careful about lumping guys into categories that don't really fit. The data will tell you who's great late. You know, Russell Wilson for years and years, you know, in Seattle, remember Russell Wilson's brand was the rainbow. Late throws in games. Well, he's done the same in Pittsburgh. So I think, I think you can definitively say that Russell Wilson is a very, very good crisis quarterback late in games. I've seen it in Pittsburgh and I saw it in Seattle. I think that's fair to say. Matt Ryan, who by the way is a very good broadcaster, by the way, getting better every week. He's really good. Matt Ryan. To me, the super bowl tagged him as a bad late game quarterback and I always thought he was excellent. I thought Matt Stafford, though he didn't win a lot in Detroit, was very good late and now in Los Angeles where he has a chance because he got better components around him and a better coach. Matt Stafford's a very good fourth quarter quarterback, but Romo always got ripped for that and it was nonsense. I don't have the numbers in front of me, but I bet if you went and looked up Tony Romo's fourth quarter all time passer rating, I bet you it's top 15 in the league. All right, Joel Klatz around the corner. The Latest on Christian McCaffrey for the 49ers and thoughts on Kyle Shanahan, his future and CMC's future. Drew Brees drops by an hour three as well. The show is humming. We had a good week Tom Brady yesterday. If you didn't hear it, go back to the podcast live in LA, it's the herd. This podcast is sponsored by PayPal. Now here's the kicker. The PayPal debit card earns you 5% cash back in a monthly category of your Choice. Up to $1,000 of monthly purchases. So groceries, health and beauty, gas, apparel restaurants. On top of that, you can get cash back offers within the app from brands like Doordash, Instacart, Sephora. This month it's all about that apparel. I got a crazy schedule. I shop online a lot. Snag a suit here or there, fresh gear, 5% cash back adds up fast and signing up is easy. Just Download the new PayPal app to sign up and you're ready to start earning cash back on your everyday purchases. Pay smart, earn cash back. Enjoy peace of mind with a PayPal debit card. Don't just pay PayPal terms apply. See PayPal app cash back earned as points you can redeem for cash and other options. This card issued by the Bancorp N.A. pursuant to license by MasterCard International, Inc. It's football season and Uber Eats is dropping undefeated deals and all your game day favorites this week. Score buy one, get one free world famous pangate combos from iHop only on UberEats. Craving even more? 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[Colin Cowherd]

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[LeVar Arrington]

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[Jason McIntyre]

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[LeVar Arrington]

It's levar 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 time out Against Hate. Visit standuptoallhate.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.