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- [00:00]
Colin Cowherd
This is an iHeart podcast.
- [00:05]
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- [01:04]
Matt Hasselbeck
Thanks for listening to the Herd podcast. Be sure to catch us live every weekday on Fox Sports radio and noon to 3 Eastern, 9am to noon Pacific. Find your local station for the herd@foxsportsradio.com or stream us live every day on the iHeartRadio app by searching Fox Sports Radio or FSR. Now let's get this party started. You're listening to Fox Sports Radio. Here we go. It's hour two. It is a Monday. Matt Hasselback, the three time Pro Bowler in five minutes. Diana Rossini stops by as well. It is great to be back from vacay. J. Mac and I are rolling and ready to go. NFL games. Now they start filtering in little video quarterbacks, where are we going? You know what's what's interesting to me, I was talking to my buddy John Middlekop who's been on their show before. Is that the guy lost in all this? Because we know that Jaden D. Daniels is is and Bo Nix are working. Drake May looks really, really solid. Caleb we're gonna have our eyes on and JJ McCarthy we're gonna have our eyes on in all of this. Michael Penix is quietly in the deep south in Atlanta and nobody's talking about him. Where are you on Penix today if you had to guess?
- [02:19]
Diana Rossini
Well, it's funny, I I'm lining up all my bets when I go to Vegas. The season long stuff. I Have the Falcons in the playoffs. I had them winning the division. I, I'm going to be taking Penix in fantasy. I think he's got a lot of value in that offense. Colin, we only saw a few games of him last year. Remember the Washington game that was nip and tuck until the end and they ended up losing. But it was like I saw some things from Penix. I think he's going to be good. I'm a buyer of the Atlanta Falcons.
- [02:43]
Matt Hasselbeck
Yeah, no, no, I think I said this before. I think he's a bigger, stronger Tua. Left hander, beautiful ball downfield, bigger arm, bigger athlete, can move, but you don't necessarily want him to because of previous injuries.
- [02:56]
Diana Rossini
Tua actually has a better coach though in Mike McD. Daniel, you kind of just destroyed McDaniel for like 10 minutes. I thought it was out of bounds and unwarranted, but nevertheless, if you give Pennix an offensive guy like McDaniel.
- [03:08]
Matt Hasselbeck
Oh, oh, look out. I'm not anti Mike McDaniel. I'm three years into it. I was told it was revolutionary with all the motion and flashing. They're 28 and 23 in a division with the jets and the Patriots.
- [03:19]
Diana Rossini
He made the playoffs twice. He took two of the playoffs. But Tua got hurt and Tua keeps getting hurt and then they make the playoffs and oh no, they lost to the Chiefs in Arrowhead in the playoffs. I mean, geez, there was a lot of shame in that one in like negative 30 degrees where guys were losing fingers in the stand. So like I, I thought you were extremely harsh on McDaniel. Remember, he's Yale educated. Colin.
- [03:41]
Matt Hasselbeck
Oh, okay. So are a lot of our bad presidents. I mean, I did all right. Colin right? Colin wrong on Monday. Here we go. Where Colin was right. Jerry Jones once again has mangled a contract situation. I said this a couple years ago with Jerry. The Cowboys are starting to feel like the Raiders when Al Davis aged. Al lost his fastball. I think. I think Jerry has lost his fastball and has too much power in the organization. The old saying, all hat, no cattle. Jerry tells us he's a great businessman but he keeps getting taken to the cleaners by players and Micah. Now what are you gonna do? Trade him? Now what are you gonna do? You could have traded him last year and gotten multiple players that could help you now in the NFC as it strengthens as a conference. I don't like where Dallas is headed and it's all on Jerry. Where Colin was wrong. Well, Jimmy, I don't know if I believe him. But Jimmy Haslam says the Shadour Sanders draft pick, hey, I didn't didn't do that. That was all on Andrew Barry. And to that I would say, why would you draft when you had Kenny Pickett and Joe Flacco? Why would you draft two more quarterbacks in the third and fifth round? I don't get it. But at least Jimmy Haslam is saying the right things publicly, which is, hey, I didn't have anything to do with the draft pick where Colin was right. Well, I won't beat on it too much more. But Tyree Kill said last that one of the Dolphins running backs shouldn't be a short yardage tailback. On Sunday, Mike McDaniel said, yeah, he isn't. We worked on that. So there there appears to be a gap this offseason between Tyreek and Tua Tyreek and the team and Tyreek and Mike McDaniels. And we've always said a lot more sizzle than actual state with that acquisition. Where Colin was right. JJ McCarthy according to Kevin Seifert, respected reporter at ESPN accuracy a bit of an issue in the red zone. Jeremy Fowler, another respected reporter, saying, they're having to work a lot on touch. Everything is a fastball. I don't know how good JJ McCarthy is, but I never bought into the narrative that multiple teams were going to move up in the draft to get him. I've heard the opposite is that there were real concerns that JJ McCarthy had been led by a great coach, a great defense, a great run game in college and never really had to lead inferior talent, which is what happens in the NFL if you're a lottery quarterback.
- [06:33]
Diana Rossini
Where Colin was wrong.
- [06:35]
Matt Hasselbeck
Yeah, I may have to temper my Tennessee Titan predictions. They just got rid of their first round receiver a couple of years ago, Traylon Burks, apparently. Cam Ward last Couple of Practices 4 picks Cam Ward admits we're really right now Very mid is what he called his offense between Tyler Lockett, Calvin Ridley and Van Jefferson. Now no Burks it's arguably the weakest receiving core in the NFL. I do get two more revisions on my NFL predictions, so I I may have to scale back on the Titans where Colin was right. Luka Dontich, men's health in the best shape of his career. This is what I've said about Luca Defense and being in great shape are all about wanting to do you want to be a great defender? Do you want to be in great shape? When did Luca get in the best shape of his career? His first year as a rookie when he wanted to impress. And now the Lakers have new owners. This is why I've said he's a much better version of Carmelo Anthony. I don't worry about his game. I think he's going to have an unbelievable season. Does he have the want, LeBron, Kobe, Michael, they were great defenders because they wanted to be great defenders. So he breaks into the NBA, we're like, wow, this guy's amazing. And increasingly gets in worse shape. Lakers have new owners, he has an offseason now. Once again, he's in unbelievable shape. Where Colin was wrong, the Indiana Fever are on a heater. All of it without Caitlin Clark. Got to be honest, she is a great player. But Sophie Cunningham's been on fire hitting threes yesterday. They're in a five game winning streak with no Caitlin Clark. So in fact, Caitlin this year, between injuries and struggling has not been Caitlin Clark. And Indiana still has the fifth best record in the league where Colin was right. What do you know? The Celtics minority owner is buying the Connecticut sun for $325 million. I had said this two weeks ago. Yes, merch up a thousand percent. TV ratings, attendance, this league and it's got issues like it's officiating, like its inability to handle Caitlin Clark. Well, but is it a buy as a stock? Absolutely. I don't care about the last 25 years. Merch, TV ratings, attendance, all up at least a hundred percent. It's absolutely a buy as a sports franchise. I felt this way five years ago about the mls. I feel that now. And so do one of the Boston Celtics minority owners. Colin. Right, Colin Wrong on a Monday. And with that, Matt Hasselbeck, 18 years, three Pro Bowls, stopping by our show. All right. You know, I said earlier, whenever your issues in college, I can see them in the pros, I'm a little concerned. So I thought the questions about Caleb Williams were little hero ball accuracy could be a little dicey and moody. So when I see a video of him freaking out, I see temper, I see accuracy issues. I know I'm supposed to say it's, yeah, it's just camp. It's just thrown into a net. But those are some of the things GMs told me they were concerned about. So it's like, oh, I'm seeing that now in the pros. Should I be a little concerned about that net video? Matt Hasselbeck.
- [10:20]
Colin Cowherd
Well, it's year two, Colin. Listen, year one, rookie year, you chalk some of those things up to a rookie situation. Year two, you know, training camp, I think we make a little Bit of a huge deal out of certain things. Sometimes things are fun, sometimes things are pouty. You don't know the whole story, but in general, last year to this year, you've even heard Ben Johnson talk about it. Body language at the quarterback position matters. It matters to your opponent, and it matters maybe just as much to your teammates. And so the camera's always going to be on him. Like, the microscope's always going to be on him. A lot of people made a lot of excuses for him last year. I think the excuses are out the window. The focus is going to be on him. And, you know, like I've said many times, you know, your. Your teammates get confidence or insecurity by how you carry yourself as a franchise quarterback.
- [11:09]
Matt Hasselbeck
Yeah, no, you've. You've been on that from day one. So I said this. There are coaches in the league, and you've probably had these. Maybe Mike Holmgren was one of these where you get a great scheme coach, that he's a head coach, but if you put him on the headset, he'd call a great game. And then there are coaches that. Mike Tomlin's a culture builder. I would say Dan Campbell, Nick Sirianni, they build cultures. There is nothing wrong with that. But they are more dependent on coordinators than, say, a Sean McVeigh or a Sean Payton or maybe, again, maybe Holmgren was that. Andy Reid's a guy. It doesn't matter who his coordinator is. Offensively, they're fine. Detroit loses two coordinators, including Ben Johnson, who was kind of regarded as the hot coordinator in the market. I know it's the hall of Fame game. They were a mess. I mean, eight penalties, five turnover. They look disorganized. How do I not look at that and go, that's not great? I watched Philadelphia miss on coordinators and lose six or seven games off a Super bowl year. Do I take anything off that abysmal hall of Fame game performance?
- [12:16]
Colin Cowherd
Well, you touched on a bunch of things there. Listen, culture is super important. And just because you're a good play caller doesn't mean you're going to be a head coach. But I think what you're talking about is new coordinators, two new coordinators, and that's a lot of change. It's a bigger deal than people realize in terms of the preseason game. Listen, it's a big deal because. But it's not. It's a big deal because we got to get those things fixed. But it's not a big deal because it just comes as a wake up Call right away, national tv, everyone knows about it. And then you come together as a staff. You know, last year I think there were eight new head coaches. Two of them made the playoffs. Some of those guys got the stuff figured out. You know, I was actually there for the Seahawks first preseason game. It's crazy. New head coach, new coordinators. It's crazy. The things that you don't get to cover in a training camp situation until you get into a game situation. Where are we doing halftime adjustments? Who's going first? Where are we going to stand on the sidelines? Who's on what headset? There's two lines on the headset. Are you on line A? Are you on line B? So some of those kinks got to get worked out in the preseason. That's kind of what the preseason is for. But. But yeah, I would say they got a little bit exposed right there. It doesn't mean they can't figure it out though.
- [13:23]
Matt Hasselbeck
Okay? I said not all holdouts are the same. Terry McLaurin is a third round pick, has wildly outperformed his contract. He's been a great guy. He's been crazy productive until last year with bad quarterback play. I would pay him tomorrow. Especially when you brought Debo. I'd pay him tomorrow. Micah, first round pick, been a Pro Bowler, been excellent. But that's why you picked him 12th. He's got a year left in his contract. I don't think he's been underpaid. I think he's been paid appropriately on these two holdouts. Do you see him as a former player as just the same thing or are there different? And I also think it's an offensive league. I'd be more prone to pay the offensive guy. How do you view McLaurin and Micah's holdouts?
- [14:06]
Colin Cowherd
Well, McLaren's tricky because he's so important, I think, to Jaden Daniels success. I mean, Jaden Daniels was just incredible last year. I'm such a huge fan. He was awesome. And Terry McLaurin is like everything that you're looking for in, you know, with a veteran guy to put with a young guy. And I think they could have a lot of success, you know. You know, in the near future. Like years one, two, three, like, we could be a contender every year. They are a contender. They can compete with Philly. What's unique about Dallas, again, another great player. Teammates love him. You know what? He's exactly what you're looking for. Dallas, like, they're not going to win their division. They doubt they're even second place in their division, and now you've got a real public. It just feels different in Dallas. So I'm very curious, you know, the Cowboys team, Jerry Jones seems to, like, be fine with this kind of conflict, fine with this kind of drama, but he also doesn't seem like the kind of owner that wants to get, like, pushed around publicly. So, you know, there's a part of me that says, hey, this is Micah Parsons. Figure it out. Close the door. Include the. Include the agent. Then there's another part of me that says, hey, why don't you just punt on this year anyway, Go out and get, like, the most amazing draft package for next year and really start focusing this team on next year, because I really don't know that you can compete with Philly and that you can compete really with Washington and then the rest of the nfc. So, you know, this one's a little bit tricky for me, but the gloves have come off, unfortunately, publicly, so it's gotten a little ugly.
- [15:27]
Matt Hasselbeck
So I was talking. I was golfing a couple days ago, and I was joking with somebody. I said, whenever I hit the ball great on the range, I know I'm in trouble. And. And so it's like I. I never have any sense of how I'm going to hit going into a round based on practice or the range in the preseason. What is something in your 18, 19 years, Matt, that carried over? Like, if you did it well in preseason, it did carry over. And are there things that you thought you had mastered in preseason and it meant nothing by the opening kickoff?
- [16:00]
Colin Cowherd
Yeah, you're absolutely right, Colin. I think run game, you know, I look at the Baltimore Ravens. I think they're a great preseason team. Part of that is they're great at the run game. That that's a commitment that they have. They've got a great culture when it comes to that. They know how they do things. But, you know, to your point, there were teams that we would play in the preseason. I'll use the Chicago Bears. They were great with, like, Brian Urlacher and those guys. They're a zone team. You know, it really didn't matter who the defensive coordinator was calling for. They were a zone team. But in the preseason, they would play so much man coverage because their scouts wanted to get a look at, hey, what kind of guys do we have in the secondary? Like, we're not going to call a lot of man coverage in the season, but we are on purpose doing something that puts our team at a disadvantage. We need to know who can play, man, occasionally when we Want to bring a blitz and stuff like that. So there's not a lot of scheming up and, and you know there's, there's not always calling what you're best at. Sometimes you're even setting up your week one opponent. But those are two examples of things that I think can be a little bit of fool's gold if you're trying to evaluate what a team is going to be when you just watch them in the preseason.
- [17:06]
Matt Hasselbeck
Now that's interesting. Finally, I want you to tell me the difference. I always feel that a quarterback under center when he goes back gets to watch the defense. When it's a shotgun, you have to watch the ball and you lose that half a second of watching your safeties react. So Sean Payton would like Bo Nix to be under center more is than than last year. You tell me is that something you can elevate to quickly is there or for a guy that in, you know, maybe bow in Auburn, in Oregon has taken, he's taken the shotgun. Sn tell me the transition, how much that matters for a young quarterback like Bo Nix.
- [17:48]
Colin Cowherd
Yeah, it's a real thing and I trust Sean Payton wholeheartedly. I think Bo Nix is going to do a great job. I think that's a team I would buy right now. I mean I love that. Listen, Bill Walsh, Joe Montana, they love to be under center. Almost never were they in shotgun. I actually believe it was. I forget the years maybe like 05 maybe for us in Seattle 2005 when we finally put the shotgun in, we got exposed obviously or ironically against the Chicago Bears early locker, Briggs in the A gap and we had no choice but to go shotgun. But it is a huge advantage for the quarterback at the snap with your hands already on the ball and then your eyes on the free safety, your eyes on the free safety tell you so much. But just like you said, if you're in shotgun and your eyes have to go down to catch the ball first, you don't get that split second advantage of having your eyes on the, on the secondary. Never mind the fact the run, the run keys that you're not giving away when you're running back and shotgun is offset to the right or to the left. So Sean Payton knows what he's talking about and and he sees an opportunity. If he can get his young quarterback to get comfortable under center the way that he did with Drew Brees, then he thinks that his offense can even take a bigger step with run game play action to the run and then using their tight end, a guy Like Evan Ingram. That could be huge for them this year.
- [19:10]
Matt Hasselbeck
By the way, it does appear that you're on a coaching staff. The shirt looks very official. Are. Are you the head coach or the offensive coordinator now?
- [19:19]
Colin Cowherd
My younger brother is the head coach, which is an interesting dynamic. I'm just the offensive coordinator. Today is picture day. They said they might wait for me for the team photo, depending on when this hit with you is over. If not, they said it's 2025. They can just kind of like superimpose me in a picture. We used to do that when Paul Allen was the owner of the Seahawks. He would never come back from, you know, vacation or whatever. We just would, like, superimpose him into the team photo so I know it can be done.
- [19:46]
Matt Hasselbeck
There's only one Matt Hasselbeck. Wait for the photo, guys. Great seeing you see it, Colin. All right. No, it's the end. I think one of the. One of the things he said that, which I've touched on, is that if you struggle, players take cues from the quarterback. His temperament, his body language. I used to be very critical of Jay Cutler. I thought he had horrible body language. He'd go stand by himself. He'd sit there and he'd get moody. I'm like, bro, that's. That's not it. You got to be with the fellas. You got. And there's another quarterback that does that currently in the NFL. He's an older guy playing in Pittsburgh. I'm just not a fan of that. I want you part of the group. So it's something. Body language is clearly something. One more herd.
- [20:33]
Diana Rossini
The herd streams 24 hours a day.
- [20:35]
Matt Hasselbeck
Seven days a week within the iHeartRadio app. Search herd to listen live or on.
- [20:40]
Diana Rossini
Demand whenever you'd like.
- [20:42]
Matt Hasselbeck
Hey, we're Covino and Rich. Fox Sports radio every day, 5 to 7pm Eastern. But here's the thing. We never have enough time to get to everything we want to get to. And that's why we have a brand new podcast called Over Promised. You see, we're having so much fun in our two hour show. We never get to everything honestly, because this guy is over promising things we never have time for.
- [21:04]
Diana Rossini
Yeah, you blubber lips, blaming me.
- [21:05]
Matt Hasselbeck
Well, you know what it's called? Over Promise. You should be good at it because you've been overpromising women for years. Well, it's a Covino and Rich after show, and we want you to be a part of it. We're talking sports, of course, but we're also going to talk life and relationships and If Rich and I are arguing about something or we didn't have enough time, it will continue on our after show called Over Promised. Well, if you don't get enough Covino and Rich, make sure you check out Over Promise and also uncensored by the way, so maybe we'll go at it even a little harder. It's going to be the best after show podcast of all time. There you go. Over Promising. And remember, you could see it on YouTube, but definitely. Join us Listen to Over Promised with Covino and rich on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
- [21:45]
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- [23:08]
Matt Hasselbeck
So here I got it. I'm just gonna. You know, all I do is journalism here. Just journalism. I'm just reading a story from a very respected reporter at the Athletic on the Pittsburgh Steelers Aaron Rodgers camp. It's getting a lot of hype. Latrobe, Pennsylvania Another day, another dominant performance from the defense. Seven shots in the last practice, 6 to 1 defense Aaron Rodgers 0 for 3 Steelers ended practice. Another goal line drill didn't go any better for the offense and so he listed the reporter. The four problems with the offense. Stop me if you've heard these before from the New York Jets. Number one, they can't run the football. Jets were 31st last year. Couldn't run the football. Apparently the Steelers in practice can't run the football. Number two, their vertical passing game in Pittsburgh's not in sync. So Aaron is dumping stuff off for short, quick passes. That was the jets last year. Wide receiver. Two not dependable. Oh, sort of like Alan Lazard not living up to his contract in New York. Number four is the young offensive tackles are tape taking their lumps. The O line is unsteady. All the Steelers are for. Aaron Rodgers is a more organized jets defensive coach. Defensive culture. Aaron doesn't trust the O line. A lot of stuff is quick. You've got a number one receiver, but can't really depend on a two. Despite draft capital and spending money on it, the jets did too. Remember, they drafted the old lineman from Penn State. They spent money on a right tackle, and yet their o line finished 17th. The Steelers keep drafting offensive linemen and spending money on it. It's not any good. So this idea that they're all in in Pittsburgh. Go read this story by Mike DeFebo on the Steelers. It's just the jets, like McDonald's and Burger King. McDonald's is just more buttoned up than Burger King. It's still fast food. Okay, you're not gonna convince me it's anything more. It's good fast food. But my point is, we're dressing this up. Aaron, like a lot of older quarterbacks, if he doesn't have a run game and he doesn't have a number two receiver and he doesn't trust the old line, he's not taking hits. He not taking one for the team. Aaron's getting rid of that puppy. Matt Stafford's the only old guy at quarterback in this league that will stand in the pocket and get drilled over and over. And that's why Matt, in his late 30s, is kind of falling apart. So this story is, you know, it's the. It's the jets number two receiver, doesn't trust the online can't run it. Defensive coach, defensive culture. Aaron's getting ready. Rid of the ball quickly in practice. Defense dominates offense. Here's Mike defebo. People are getting impatient.
- [26:15]
Colin Cowherd
They want success and they haven't had it. You know, And I just look at the fact that there have been in the history of the NFL, in the.
- [26:22]
Matt Hasselbeck
Super bowl era, quarterbacks over 40 have.
- [26:25]
Colin Cowherd
Won a combined 12 games in the playoffs. Tom Brady has 10, every other quarterback has two combined.
- [26:31]
Matt Hasselbeck
And here the Steelers are throwing their.
- [26:33]
Colin Cowherd
Face behind a soon to be 42.
- [26:35]
DraftKings Ad
Year old Aaron Rodgers to try to snap that skid.
- [26:39]
Matt Hasselbeck
And this is why I said I thought Aaron would retire and not go to Pittsburgh. Online issues defensive culture lost Najee Harris and their left tackle. This story reads like it's the jets, just a more organized version. And if you look at the Steelers schedule starting October 16th on, it's a lot of Lamar Jackson's and Joe Burrows and Justin Herbert and Josh Allen's and that Detroit offense that's scheduled, they got some time early to make hay. But when you have a lot of new people and Aaron's not going to play in the preseason, it's reasonable to think the Steelers won't be great in September. Well, they better be because October 16th on they're facing Burrow and Lamar and Josh Allen and Justin Herbert facing a lot of good offenses. J. Mac with the news. No, no, no, turn on the news.
- [27:39]
Diana Rossini
This is the herd line news. Let's go to the nation's capital, Colin, and talk about the Washington commanders in this Terry McLaurin situation. So last week while I was on vacation and you were jet setting in the Northeast, Terry McLaurin requested a trade as contract negotiations have stalled. Well, Dan quit spoke to the media this weekend about the McLaurin situation for Terry and you know, the trade request.
- [28:06]
Matt Hasselbeck
Like, man, that's, that's part of normal.
- [28:08]
Colin Cowherd
Business that, you know, it's happening around the NFL. It's normal, we understand it.
- [28:14]
Diana Rossini
Sometimes those are the emotions and that's.
- [28:16]
Matt Hasselbeck
The human side of it. Right.
- [28:18]
Diana Rossini
And knowing there can be emotions, that's the ones you attach to at that moment. And so for me as the coach.
- [28:24]
Matt Hasselbeck
Give the support, you know, give the insights. Do you want advice? And so that's the way that you do it.
- [28:32]
Diana Rossini
But it is an emotional time.
- [28:33]
Matt Hasselbeck
It's so damn important. And each player, it won't be quite the same in how that's happening. Well, I think we both like the Debo move. In fact, we had said before they acquired Debo, God, Debo would be the perfect chess piece for Kingsbury and Jaden Daniel Daniels. The downside to that is as long as you take care of crazy, productive Terry McLaurin. Yeah, I mean this one feels like, and I don't side with the players in all cases, this feels like you gotta take care of McLaurin because it also sends a message to young players, dude, you're gonna pay the new Guy. And not the most dependable guy in the locker room for four straight years.
- [29:15]
Diana Rossini
Yeah. I mean, Colin, we could go back 10, 15 years. And players hold out all the time. They want their contract and eventually it gets done. You know, it might be right before the season. Darrell Reavis of my Jets, I'm sure you remember back in the day was ugly. Oh, my gosh.
- [29:28]
Colin Cowherd
He's not.
- [29:28]
Diana Rossini
How do we lose him? It's fine. He's playing. He's an all bro. You know Miles Garrett with the Browns. Remember, not that far, long ago. I'm holding out. I demand a trade. And then he shows up and plays and is a monster. Like, I. I can't get too worked up about it. But it is news today, and he's not signed. Now Kingsbury gets him with Debo and Jaden and Laramie Tunsil. I don't see how Washington can't be in the mix to maybe go to the super bowl from the nfc.
- [29:53]
Matt Hasselbeck
I.
- [29:54]
Diana Rossini
It just makes all the sense in the world. Let's go to another situation. And near the nation's capital, that's the Baltimore Ravens and Lamar Jackson. John Harbaugh spoke so highly of Lamar's passing, saying, are you ready for this? He is a historically good passer. He's as good of a passer as there's ever been, and the numbers are proving that. Colin, our staff dug deep. Highest passer rating in the NFL all time. Are you ready for this?
- [30:20]
Matt Hasselbeck
Yeah.
- [30:21]
Diana Rossini
Aaron Rodgers, 1. Patrick Mahomes, 2. Lamar Jackson, 3.
- [30:27]
Matt Hasselbeck
All time.
- [30:28]
Diana Rossini
I don't see Tom Brady on there. I don't see Josh Allen. I don't see Joe Montana again.
- [30:33]
Matt Hasselbeck
Passer ratings.
- [30:35]
Diana Rossini
I'm kidding.
- [30:36]
Matt Hasselbeck
It's something. Russell Wilson's fifth. Tony Romos up there. It's. It's something I. I've been on. I think I've been pretty consistent on this. I thought the questions about Lamar in the pocket were valid for two years. I don't think they're valid for the last three. I think he's a really good pocket quarterback. If Mark Andrews didn't have the worst game he's ever had as a college or a collegian or a pro, they win a playoff game.
- [31:01]
Diana Rossini
Hold on. Just to be clear, Lamar was bad in the first half and dug them a hole goal.
- [31:05]
Matt Hasselbeck
Right.
- [31:05]
Diana Rossini
He had the. I think, clear.
- [31:07]
Matt Hasselbeck
Patrick Mahomes had eight bad games last year. Like, it's. If you don't have. I mean, let's be honest. Burrow was better than Mahomes last year. Lamar was better than Mahomes Allen was better than Mahomes. Like there was a lot of guys better than Mahomes last year.
- [31:20]
Diana Rossini
Mahomes had Super Bowls. So it's like, who cares? He's got Super Bowls. You know, like Lamar doesn't have one. Where is Lamar's signature playoff win? And again, I'm not bashing Lamar. He's elk, obviously great, an all time great. But where, where is the signature playoff win? Colin, we're still waiting.
- [31:34]
Matt Hasselbeck
What if Lamar Jackson becomes Charles Barkley?
- [31:37]
Diana Rossini
I don't think there's anything wrong with that.
- [31:39]
Matt Hasselbeck
Like, neither do I. I have, I have. I'm done defending Lamar. I watch the games. He looks. I mean, I don't know this for sure, but I bet it's true. Last five years in the NFL, has any team had more blowout wins than Baltimore? And what that shows is when Lamar solves your riddle. Defensively, he is the ultimate freight train playing downhill. The way to beat Lamar is generally you get ahead of him, you take out the running component, and he becomes strictly a pocket guy. Well, nobody's as good. Baker Mayfield's not as good. If you know he's throwing, it doesn't matter. But when, when he can play in a close game or play with a lead, he's a nightmare. That's why Baltimore time and time again just caves. People just rolls teams.
- [32:37]
Diana Rossini
Which is what reminds me of prime James Harden in Houston. He was unstoppable, leading the league in scoring, historically great offense, 60 plus wins, and then in the playoffs, he doesn't totally deliver. And I'll say this, just, I know Ravens fans are probably upset at me for, you know, not. Not saying Lamar's amazing. Colin, I was so loaded up on them against the Chiefs in that playoff game at home, and I thought that was the worst offensive game plan I've ever seen in a high leverage spot. They came out and were so ugly down. I think it was 14 nothing right out of the gate at home. And I was just, I was like, I'm done. I'm done betting Lamar in January against good teams. Colin, final story is the Colts and their quarterback battle. Yes, we're calling it a battle. Daniel Jones versus Ah, come on. They wrote off injured Anthony Richardson. How about this one? According to Adam Schefter, Indy has listed QB1 on the unofficial, unofficial depth chart as Daniel Jones or Anthony Richardson. So technically there's no number one yet. It is an actual battle, a showdown. Pennix Cousins is not a battle. Pennix is the guy. Russell Wilson Dart is not a battle. Yet this is the only true quarterback battle between two. Cleveland has like three or four guys. Who knows? You want. You want to take a gander on who gets to start?
- [33:56]
Matt Hasselbeck
Well, I think Daniel Jones is better, so.
- [33:59]
Diana Rossini
Better what?
- [34:01]
Matt Hasselbeck
Better quarterback?
- [34:02]
Diana Rossini
What evidence is it of that?
- [34:04]
Matt Hasselbeck
Well, he won a playoff game. Anthony Richardson struggling to complete 50% of.
- [34:08]
Diana Rossini
His passes, winning a playoff game.
- [34:10]
Matt Hasselbeck
Come on, it's something.
- [34:12]
Diana Rossini
Mark Sanchez has won four playoff games. That's more than Lamar Jackson.
- [34:15]
Matt Hasselbeck
What.
- [34:15]
Diana Rossini
What does that mean? No disrespect to Mark. I know he listens a lot. It's my guy. But to be real, like, I think you got to go. Anthony Richardson. Stichen, you were drafted to work or. Sorry, you guys drafted Richardson so you could work with him. Sten crushed it with Jaylen Herz. Fix Anthony Richardson. Daniel Jones is not the answer.
- [34:33]
Matt Hasselbeck
Yeah, but Jaylen hurts kept getting better. Anthony Richardson, Josh Allen kept getting better.
- [34:39]
Diana Rossini
Can we give him a chance? He had like 15 college starts.
- [34:42]
Matt Hasselbeck
Maybe those days are over. I. I don't want to hear about that. You went to camps, you went to seven on Sevens. You were dominant. You got a lot of snaps. I don't want to hear about only so many starts. Then don't draft him. I was thinking about this weekend. I was reading all the press clippings about teams. This whole thing about, well, a guy is young. I mean, he's younger than I. I don't care. Maybe at le. Maybe at right tackle or. Or slot at quarterback. I don't care about it. I'm not going to draft you if you're that young. I mean, Lamar Jackson is still young. Who cares? He was good his first year in the league. I don't care about your age or your starts. You need to be good now. It's quarterback. It's the NFL. It's not the cfl. It's not left tackle, which is also a valuable position. It's quarterback. I don't care about your age and starts. Be good now.
- [35:33]
Diana Rossini
What, have you been hanging out with Chris Ballard or something? Goodness gracious.
- [35:35]
Matt Hasselbeck
Oh, how about this? The Ravens. I was right on that Lamar stat. The Ravens have the most wins by 14 or more points since 2019, when Lamar became a full time starter. Why is that? It's not just coaching. It's because when Lamar, when the game is close or Baltimore leads, he's virtually impossible. Tough to gain when you can force him. When you get. When you're down 14 points in the third quarter and you need big chunks of yards through the air and they have like Z flowers is their number one. It's a running back, Lamar, tight end, offense, that's when he gets into trouble. And a lot of that's because he's facing Sean McDermott and Spags, who are great defensive minds. So I, I, I don't, I, I don't hold the playoff stuff against Lamar as much as everybody else does.
- [36:21]
Diana Rossini
Great.
- [36:22]
Matt Hasselbeck
Wait, wait, hold on.
- [36:23]
Diana Rossini
Are you saying you value regular season blowouts over playoff games?
- [36:28]
Matt Hasselbeck
I value in football, everything. Obviously, January football is more crucial, but as I've always said with Lamar, if you win 76% of your starts, you're, you're in a class of about 2% of quarterbacks. All time. Yeah, no, no, he's, Bill Parcells is an all time great coach. He won 55% of his games. So 76. When you're in a division with Joe Burrow, the Steelers in the conference, the AFC right now, and Baltimore wins 76 of its games, the most blowouts since Lamar's. I'm good with it.
- [37:03]
Diana Rossini
Okay, fine. But if I asked you, Colin, which quarterback in the NFL is under the most pressure this season? What's the answer? You gotta think about this. If you say Caleb Williams, here's the.
- [37:16]
Matt Hasselbeck
Here'S the litmus test. If you told me Lamar Jackson, I'm a general manager. Lamar Jackson or Blank, there's only two quarterbacks in this league. I take him over him. Josh Allen and Mahomes, he'd be third. No, Burrows had two injuries. One more and I got to get another quarterback.
- [37:38]
Diana Rossini
Okay, all right.
- [37:39]
Matt Hasselbeck
So I would take Josh Allen over him. I would take Mahomes over him. That's it.
- [37:44]
Diana Rossini
If this were a presidential debate, let the audience know you just deflected my question.
- [37:50]
Matt Hasselbeck
It's called savvy politicking and I love Burrow, but Joe's got two injuries. Joe's got no. And we have to be fair about this stuff. Mcl, acl, like. Yeah. All right. J. Mac with the news.
- [38:07]
Diana Rossini
Well, that's the news and thanks for stopping by. The Herd Herd line news.
- [38:13]
Matt Hasselbeck
Yeah, the throwing wrist issue. I thought my producer was telling me to wrap up. He was giving me a sign for the throwing wrist issue. With Joe Burrow. LeBron's officially a number two on the Lakers. Next, be sure to catch live editions of the Herd, Weekdays at noon Eastern.
- [38:27]
Diana Rossini
9Am Pacific on Fox Sports Radio. FS1 and the iHeartRadio app. Alex Palo's legendary season rolls on as he eyes a hit historic three peak and looks to move one step closer to the single season wins record in Portland Sunday at 3 Eastern only on Fox.
- [38:48]
Matt Hasselbeck
By the way, here was a weird topic. When I was on vacation, I thought this was such a weird topic. There are people saying when the Lakers won in the bubble, it wasn't a legitimate championship. And my take is it was harder. If you go look at the bubble, old teams, for the only time in my life, like old teams were deflated. They regressed because they missed their kids and their families because you had to go live in a bubble. The Lakers were the only veteran driven team that actually played better. And that Laker team in that bubble was the number one team in the NBA. They would have home court advantage in the playoffs. They didn't get that in the bubble. So it was a huge disadvantage for the Lakers, who had been would have been playing in front of a home crowd. They had to go play in Orlando, eat out of vending machines. It was a huge disadvantage for the Lakers. So I don't get that topic at all. And I'm not a Laker homer. I've been very critical of the organization. But they just signed Luka to a new contract. Three years, 165 million. He's in incredible shape. I think he's going to have a massive year. But this is the one thing the Lakers do well. So Luca's 26, he's got an eight year Runway, 10 year Runway, and LeBron's 40, 41 when the season starts and doesn't have a Runway. I mean if he's good, he's good, but you can't build around him. The Lakers, more than any organization in the history of North American sports, always have a great face of the franchise. You can go back. I started watching sports on TV at 1972. I had a black and white TV in my room. I was 8 years old. I watched the Washington, Miami Dolphins, Super Bowl. I remember that. And my friend Jeff came over, we watched that. And then I, then I watched some NBA games in 72. But if you go back to that time, the late 60s, early 70s, just think about the Lakers face of the franchise player, Jerry west, the logo into the hundred point game guy Wilt into Kareem, into Magic, into Shaq, into Kobe, into LeBron, and now into Luca. Luka's clearly the number one. LeBron's clearly the number two. And he knows it. It. Nobody's ever done that. No franchise. Maybe Real Madrid. I don't follow it. Like nobody does that in the Lakers. Also, not only do they nail their number one, they almost always have a great number two. I Mean, Kobe was a two to Shaq. Good. Pau Gasol was an all star, was a two to Kobe. James Worthy was a two to Magic. And AD was a two best defensive player in my opinion in the league last year. He was a 2 to LeBron. Now LeBron's going to be the 2 to Luca. And I say that because last year Luca was not in good shape. He was puffy, he was injured in camp to begin with with Dallas pre trade. I think Luke is going to have his best year as a pro. I think Luke is going to average about 31 a game. I think he's in impeccable shape. And I think you're going to see a real separation on most nights with Luke and LeBron. I think, I think Luka is going to play like the best player in the league league next year. And it's because the new owners, the two best years. If you go look at when Luca, in my opinion, was in the best shape when he broke into the league, he had something to prove first year, year and a half. And now with the new Laker owners. So hats off to the Lakers. And there have been teams like, you know, we've talked about this before. The Chargers always get quarterback, right? I mean, you can go back to it's Dan Fouts, it's Drew Brees, it's Philip Rivers, it's Justin Herbert. There are. Or Kansas City has done quarterbacks right there. There are organizations that do certain positions right. But I mean, the Lakers and their star, they just figured out. And a lot of the times, you know, it's hard to believe they got Kobe in the Vladivostra trade or they got Luca on the ad trade. A lot of the times it feels like they're stealing players. Pau Gasol. I still remember sitting on an airplane, I think it was Alaska Airlines window seat. I can remember getting a call from a friend saying, the Lakers just got pal Gasol. I'm like, what did they give up? And it was some corkscrews, peanut brittle. And I'm like, what? That doesn't even make sense. So here's Luke on his extension with the Lakers. It's an honor, you know, playing for this organization. Many, many great players played here. So obviously I want to add one more up there. So that's what we're working for. Like I say, you know, know, being a Laker is an honor and I wanted to be here. So obviously when you look up here, so many great names and what they achieved, you know, I want to be up there too. Once one day. By the way, look at Luca last year playing. If we show the video. And look. Look at Luca there in that suit. I mean, you talk about transforming your body. I mean, he was puffy last year. That's being kind. He was puffy. And I mean, he's big. He is wide and big. And then, you know, when a guy's confident, he doesn't wear socks to a press conference. That is the first sign a guy is in good shape. When a guy doesn't wear socks to Oppressor, it's like, I am looking and feeling good. You never see plumbers at a press conference. If they've. If they've, you know, they put on a little weight, they're wearing socks to their plumber press conference. I mean, look at these pictures. J. Mac be on it. Look at those pictures. He looks unbelievable.
- [44:20]
Diana Rossini
Are you a fattest? What was that comment? He has not lost that much weight, but he does look kind of shredded, like he's on the J. Mac workout plan. Does he not?
- [44:30]
Matt Hasselbeck
No, no. Dude, dude, go look at the press. He's got no socks on. He's got the cool shoes. That. That guy is literally living la vida Locust. That's all I know.
- [44:40]
Colin Cowherd
This is an I heart podcast.