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Colin Cowherd
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Colin Cowherd
More at applecard.com 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.
Joel Klatt
Now let's get this party.
Matt Hasselbeck
You're listening to FOX Sports Radio. With that, Joel Klatt joins us. The 12 team playoff. To say it's flawed is an understatement. I'll start, Joel, with this. Generally speaking, if you have the best regular season, Oregon and the best conference championship performance, Oregon, your reward shouldn't be potentially Ohio State, Texas and Georgia. I just look at that and I think how does Penn State get grooved into their path and how does Oregon get there? That's my first complaint that Oregon got a bit hosed. Am I wrong?
LeVar Arrington
No, you're not wrong. Like, can you imagine if the Kansas City Chiefs had to face the hardest road to get to the super bowl after getting the one seed? Like, we don't do that because that's ridiculous. But in college football we still do it. There's so much to get into, Colin, that all ties together with this sentiment. So you're just bringing up Oregon and yes, you can talk about their path and how, you know, if you look at the top four teams as far as odd makers go in terms of winning the national championship are Oregon, Ohio State, Georgia and Texas. What's the path for Oregon? Those teams, which is asinine in particular in a sport that desperately wants to retain the value of its regular season because the value of its regular season is unique and they've totally blown that. Okay, so a bunch of things that I want to get into here and I'm going to try to do them quickly, Colin, but first and foremost you have to understand that modern college football and vintage college football are like oil and water. What is old in this sport and what is new in this sport do not mix. It's new wine and old wine skins. For those of you biblical scholars out there, like, it doesn't work. The bowl system and the playoff system doesn't really work together. Mega conferences and eight conference game schedules don't really mix together. A balanced power five that is given a similar revenue share from the television networks is the old system. Now we've got two mega conferences that are getting the lion's share of the television network money that doesn't really mix. When then you're trying to create this equal footing in a playoff. Okay, so that's what's old and what's new. And what's the problem with this is that the, the people who built this system, this 12 team playoff are the same people that built the bowl alliance, the same people that built the BCS. They're the same people that gave us the 14 playoff. And now they're the same people that gave us the 12 team playoff. And what they've been trying to do is renovate old structures, but what I just told you is absolutely correct. What is old and what is new in this sport, do not mix. This needed to be a tear down and not a renovation. And they gave us a renovation with some paint over there and didn't really even remodel the kitchen. Here's why I come to that conclusion, is because the reason that they gave the four buys to conference champions is because they were trying to placate self interest within college football, which is what we do all the time. So the commissioners of the ACC and the Big 12 and all these other conferences are like, we're not going to go along with this, with this renovation unless we have a buy in the first round for our champion. And so the Big Ten and the SEC are like, fine, in order to get the 12 team playoff, we will placate you. So the structure of this system was flawed from the get go because it was trying to retain the value of the conference championship game because that value is very high to each one of those conferences in terms of a revenue distribution from the television network. So now you fast forward. So now the flaw is in the construction of this thing and now the committee is trying to place people inside of a flawed structure and yet they doubled down on the exact thing that didn't work in the construction of the entire playoff, which was they tried to overvalue conference championship games. So we go back to the exact same point. It's the, it's the one little needle that threads all this together. So this committee overvalues the conference championship games and they put an artificial floor below teams that played in those games, Texas, Penn State, smu. Once you put an artificial floor there, here's what happens is that the better resumes and better teams get artificially shoved down the bracket and down the seating, which then in turn hurts the very team that you were trying to reward in the first place, which was Oregon. So now Oregon is sitting there with a potential second round game against, let's just call it favored Florida State or, excuse me, Ohio State. They're favored against Tennessee. Let's say they win. They've got to play Ohio State. And yet when you look at the resume and the quality of the teams between Ohio State Notre Dame, Texas and Penn State. Ohio State's the best resume of all of those. So in the exact manipulation of trying to save conference championship games, you actually ruined them. This is what they don't understand is that there is a cost to these artificial manipulations of construction. And when you try to do things that are not a meritocracy, this is what you get. And it ends up being an unfair burden on the top, which is Oregon, which had the best regular season of anybody in the sport, had the best conference championship game of anybody in the sport. And now you gave them the toughest path of any of the four teams that got a buy. And they did that because of an artificial, artificial floor put on those conference championship. That's how we get here.
Matt Hasselbeck
Okay, let me talk about, let's just get to the point, like people want to talk about games here, so let's talk about this. Ohio State's at home as a favorite. They're wobbling, their O line's a bit of a mess, and Tennessee's defensive front is stout. I look at that game and I'm like, ohio State, that is the worst team. I mean, at least, I mean, Penn State played two good teams. They lost to both, including one at Happy Valley. Ohio State's got some impressive wins. Even their loss at Austin, that's about as good as you can. That's about the best loss of the year in college football. I mean, when Texas lost to Georgia at home, that was a bad loss. They got pushed around. Losing in the last play at Austin to a great team's a great loss. Ohio State, to me, it's going to be lousy weather that hurts their great wide receiving core. It's going to be 38, cold and wet. I think that's a bad matchup for the Buckeyes. Joel, you've seen a lot of Ohio State. I don't like that game for Ohio State, do you?
LeVar Arrington
I completely agree with you. If you look at the games in which they struggled, namely on the offensive side, you would point to the Nebraska game and you would point to the Michigan game. And the thing that Nebraska and Michigan had is they were very stout in the interior of their defensive line. Yep, that's. And that's, that's the whole deal. And the team that was committed to running the football on the opposite side. So you know, those two teams had terrible offenses. And Ohio State survived against Nebraska with a fourth down goal line stand with their defense and didn't survive against Michigan. So this is not a great matchup for Ohio State? Not in the least. What we haven't seen is that Chip Kelly and Ryan Day have not leaned totally into being like, hey, we're going to just go do what we did against Georgia two years ago and we're just going to sling it around and use our talent on the outside. We have not seen them do that. Chip was incredibly stubborn against Michigan and I'm wondering if he's going to open it up against Tennessee.
Matt Hasselbeck
Yeah. My question is, can you. And it's 37 degrees and windy. That's much easier down at the Sugar bowl or somewhere in Atlanta. Okay, here's the other one. At one point I've been burned, so I gotta put on SPF 50 when I talk Texas football because I've been burned my whole life by them. It's insane. 19 penalties twice against Georgia. I gotta be honest, I didn't like the play calling by Texas in overtime, Joel. A fade route out of the end zone, then you throw it in the flat against the most athletic team in the sport. Like those plays aren't going to work. Some of this is on. It's on Sark a little bit. I didn't like the play calling in overtime, did you?
LeVar Arrington
No, I didn't. And it was the same type of play calling we got late against Washington last year. Right. Like the fade routes. I just don't like fade routes. Unless. Unless you tell me that you're a great back shoulder fade team and you have the option where you're legitimately going to read it and if your wide receiver wins on top, then you can throw that. That down the field throw. Or if he's not going to win and be on top, you can hit it on the back shoulder. Indiana is great at that. So when you go to the one on one matchup and you're great at reading the back shoulder, that's one thing. But Quinn, yours is not very good at that. He throws with touch all the time. He floats the football. And time and time again they go to these fade routes and it's got to be maddening for Texas fans. And here's one thing that I'll just say I'm surprised we haven't seen more arch.
Colin Cowherd
Same.
LeVar Arrington
Same yours. Lack of mobility. Colin is hurting them. And if you don't have mobility, you better be able to throw guys open and you better be able to manipulate the game from the pocket in a way that gives you an advantage. And when I watch Texas, yours lack of mobility is actually. It's a hindrance to the way they call plays because they have to call plays to get guys open for him because he rarely throws guys open, if that makes sense. Like you're not seeing him drive the football and then layer the football and then throw with touch. He doesn't change pace very often, whereas with Arch, you might not get as seasoned of a passer. Okay, that's fine. But he does have a stronger arm. He can drive the football in tight spaces and he's much more athletic. And there are times in particular against Georgia when it comes, when it becomes tough and you can't just scheme somebody wide open. Texas stalls out and then they resort to these one on one on one fade throws. And it doesn't work. It doesn't work. And I will tell you why. I'm concerned for Texas and maybe even Georgia as well. I believe to win this playoff, at some point along the way, you're going to have to do what Oregon just did against Penn State, which is get into a shootout and win and look across the field and say, no one's going to stop us today. We've seen it from the Georgias and the Clemson's and the Alabamas throughout the playoff history. We've seen it from Michigan. In order to win the playoffs, at some point you're going to have to go out there and say, you won't stop us in this half of football. And I don't know if either of those teams can do that.
Matt Hasselbeck
Yeah, yeah. I said this earlier, these SEC teams and listen, it's a great conference, but I would argue this year Ohio State, Penn State and Oregon are absolutely as good as the top three in the sec. I mean, Oregon's offense is better than anything in the sec. And I think Penn State fast.
LeVar Arrington
They look Saturday night like just how fast everybody on the outside. It's like they get. Tez Johnson gets the ball and you're like, whoa, how about this?
Matt Hasselbeck
Show the bracket again. Think about this. If you asked James Franklin, put the bracket up. If you said, hey, we're going to leave this open, Penn State, where would you want to be? They'd be like, hey, can we be at home against SMU and then get Boise State? That's what they would have picked.
LeVar Arrington
100%, 100%. If you offered them a trade, closed doors, no one would ever know it. And you said like, hey, James Franklin, would you trade with Oregon right now? Would you? I'll give you the Big Ten championship game. You go to the 1 seed, you'll get the winner of Tennessee, Ohio State and Oregon's got to go play SMU and Austin. So you'll get to buy all of that. I guarantee you. James Franklin would say, absolutely not. The path to the semifinal in this playoff is much cleaner for Penn State than it is for Oregon. Now, Oregon, to their credit, and here's the thing that I do love about Dan Lanning, and I think you'll love it as well, Colin, he's not going to complain about this. We're not going to hear him gripe about this like we do countless, you know, endlessly from other coaches around the country. Dan Landing is going to say, like, order the buses and let's go. And then once we get into that stadium, lock the gates behind us. And that's why I love sand landing. That's his mentality.
Matt Hasselbeck
Know. You know one thing, Joe, but behind.
LeVar Arrington
Closed doors, if you offered Penn State a trade, there's no way they would trade with Oregon.
Matt Hasselbeck
Yeah, one, One thing Oregon has a little bit is that Tennessee, Ohio State could be such a cold weather fist fight. It could be so physical that the team could, the winner of that game could come out of that thing exhausted, limping, banged up and emotionally spent. I mean, Ohio State could come out of that game at home winning 1714 and still not sure what their offense is. And Oregon sitting there thinking, well, we've had two weeks to prepare for this. That is the one thing Oregon gets, is that game in front. I mean, if Tennessee, Ohio State, if you would have said they end up playing for the national championship, I wouldn't have been shocked. That is in. I mean, so to me, that thing is going to look like the national championship and that means it's going to feel like it in Columbus. And that's a little break for Oregon. That's such an emotional game, but I think we both think they got host. Oh, by the way, somebody told me that Deion Sanders doesn't make house visits and that Belichick doesn't have to. If he hires three or four elite recruiters, he's a rock star like Deion. Players will want to come to him. Do you think Belichick possibly could work at unc?
LeVar Arrington
That's a great question. I don't see why not. And remember, college football is becoming more about roster construction than it is recruiting. Look at Indiana. Yeah, Colorado.
Matt Hasselbeck
True.
LeVar Arrington
You know, so true. It's, it's. I think it's being weighted more towards our sport at this level is waiting more towards. Because you can't just accumulate five stars like you used to. You might get them in high school recruiting. You're not going to keep them because they're not going to sit there as backups. They're just going to transfer. Their mobility and autonomy to move is too great. And so you're not going to just sit there and accumulate talent. So what you have to do is be able to evaluate well and then build a roster. And then the other part of this is as parity comes in, coaching and on field coaching is becoming more and more valuable. So I will tell you this. Five years ago, I would have scoffed at this and said, oh, this feels like a publicity stunt. Today I look at that and I think to myself, that might be the exact type of guy that you would want. Now, you'd love if he was younger. But you talk about being able to evaluate talent, build a roster, and then coach in game really well. I think those are the three things that head coaches are going to have to do better than anybody else to succeed in the future.
Matt Hasselbeck
Hey, Joel Clapp made himself available for us today. He looks like he's in a very swanky setup somewhere in an undisclosed location. What are you looking at right now?
LeVar Arrington
A days in. I'm in a day's end in Modesto.
Matt Hasselbeck
I bet you are.
LeVar Arrington
I'm just. You know what? You know, I think back to your. Your. I agree with all that Mahomes stuff. And I feel like Josh Allen every week I come on this show. I've got to have the cape on every week.
Matt Hasselbeck
You know what, though?
Colin Cowherd
I.
Matt Hasselbeck
You are compensated for that greatness. So that is the one thing our salary cap here, we don't got a lot of wiggle room. And I'll just leave it at that with a clatter. Good.
LeVar Arrington
See my man. That's great to see you, bud.
Matt Hasselbeck
Great to see you. He came in on late notice. He was flying today and we called him and he broke it down and we love him for it. Joel Clapp, the voice of college football at here at Fox Sports. Oregon got hosed. Ohio State's got to be going. Didn't we beat Penn State at Appy Valley? Isn't that worth anything? I mean, a Penn State nothing against Penn State. I, I think they're good, but they played Oregon and Ohio State. They lost to them both. I mean, they didn't go on the road for either one. One's neutral, one's at home. You can't get the easiest path.
Colin Cowherd
One more herd.
Matt Hasselbeck
The herd streams 24 hours a day, seven days a week within the iHeartRadio app search heard to listen live or on demand whenever you'd like.
Colin Cowherd
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Colin Cowherd
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Doug Gottlieb
Levar Arrington here from up on Game and listen, I want to talk to you about something very serious for a minute, all right? Something personal to me and right now something that should be personal to you as well. In our country, the hate is at an all time high and it's like we're going backward. The hate is winning. We can't allow that, all right? It's out of control so many different people, so many different groups are facing too much hate. And it's enough. It's time for it to stop. We need to stop, regroup, change the momentum as a team. Because that's what we are. Everyone in this country is on the same team, so let's act like it. And when a team can't get it together, what do you do? You call a timeout. And that's what we need to do. Call a time out against hate. Let's think about what we say and do. And when we see hate, when we see someone doing or saying those things we know are wrong and hateful, we need to call it out. I'ma call it out. You need to do the same thing. Visit standuptolhate.org to help. And join me in calling for a timeout against hate by following at what's up with Hate or posting the blue square emoji.
Colin Cowherd
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Matt Hasselbeck
Show us flying by today. Joel Klatt stopped by Matt Hasselbeck an hour and a half ago. Was money J. Mac with the news. No, no, no.
Doug Gottlieb
Turn on the news.
Matt Hasselbeck
This is the Herdline news.
Joel Klatt
Kirk Cousins, Colin it does it feel kind of sort of over for him?
Matt Hasselbeck
It does. It does. He's aged really quickly. Yeah.
Joel Klatt
This last month has been brutal. Falcons lose to Minnesota, their fourth straight. Cousins in those four zero touchdowns, eight picks. Raheem Morris unbelievably says he's going to stick with his veteran quarterback.
Doug Gottlieb
Everything is always discussed when you go watch the tape and do all those type of things.
Joel Klatt
But like Kirk Cousins out quarterback, we'll.
Doug Gottlieb
Have the ability to go watch this.
Joel Klatt
Tape just like we do every single week. You know, Kurt played significantly better than he did the week before.
Matt Hasselbeck
We got a chance to go out.
Joel Klatt
There and focus on us and get.
Doug Gottlieb
A chance to go out there and.
Matt Hasselbeck
Really work on what we do and.
Joel Klatt
What we do well and we'll do whatever is best to go win football games.
Doug Gottlieb
And Kurt's definitely a part of that.
Joel Klatt
So is this a sign maybe that Michael Penix has not wowed them in practice? I mean, is that possible?
Matt Hasselbeck
Well, I think first of all, you don't want to overreact. They, they before this game they led the division. So you don't want to do a Jets and fire.
Joel Klatt
Roberts technically were tied, but, well, they.
Matt Hasselbeck
Had beaten Tampa twice. So they so I think they're going to have big discussions this week. I would have started Kirk Cousins in that spot on the road. If you look at Atlanta schedule, do they have a comfortable home game against an average defense? I can see them saying this may be a shootout. They look at film. We don't want Michael Penix in a shootout dropping 45 times. I think this week they have to discuss it.
Joel Klatt
So they are at the Raiders on Monday Night Football.
Matt Hasselbeck
Okay. So they get, they get extra time to prepare against an average team. Then they get the Giants, Washington and Carolina. I think, I think you Gotta roll with Penix. I think you have to at this point see what you got, right?
Colin Cowherd
Yeah.
Matt Hasselbeck
I mean again, this is about as good as it gets. Banged up Raiders, horrible Giants that may be soft tanking. Now's the time to see if the kid can play. And with weapons you can.
Joel Klatt
Raheem Morris in trouble if he sticks to his.
Matt Hasselbeck
You sure? Yeah. Arthur Blank's not going to do their.
Joel Klatt
Their season win total was amazing. You've been hyping this team for six, maybe eight months. I mean, Colin, it's fallen apart pretty quickly. Well, the last good team they beat. Oh, sorry. If you remove the two Tampa games, Kirk Cousins numbers or like bottom of the barrel, like not Even a top 20 quarterback in this league.
Matt Hasselbeck
I know.
Joel Klatt
Remember he's shredded Tampa twice.
Matt Hasselbeck
I only. I liked him but I even. I said he's good until Thanksgiving next year. Then it's panics his team. So I didn't see him like being a two year starter. I said, I said he's going to start this year. Kind of do a Flacco Lamar Jackson and when he, when all of a sudden you feel like he's lost his fastball. I think I thought it would take 20, 25 games and it took 12.
Joel Klatt
What's the market like if Cousins hits it?
Colin Cowherd
Not much of one.
Matt Hasselbeck
I don't. He's made so much money he's not going to back up. I think he retires. I think Kirk. Yeah, I think he's going to hang it up. He's got a real life and that's a spicy. He's a family guy. He's going to retire. He's not going to be anybody's backup.
Joel Klatt
Who you taking next year? Kirk Cousins or Jameis Winston?
Matt Hasselbeck
Draft somebody. Riley Leonard in the third round.
Joel Klatt
Stop it. All right, here's a little tougher. Kirk Cousins or Drew Brees? Drew Brees, by the way, just announced fractured hand. Looks like he's probably done.
Matt Hasselbeck
Say it again.
Colin Cowherd
Who?
Matt Hasselbeck
Sorry?
Joel Klatt
Derek Carr. I don't know why I'm saying Drew Brees, Derek Carr or Kirk Cousins?
Matt Hasselbeck
Right now, today for next season, probably Derek Carr. I think Kirk Cousins may retire. I think there's a strong. I don't think he even wants to back up Panics. I think it's.
Joel Klatt
I think it happened that quickly.
Matt Hasselbeck
Yeah, I think it's not. I don't think he has an Aaron Rodgers feel. He's made great money. He's got, you know, Aaron single. He's got a family, kids. I think Kirk's got a big broad life that he would move into tough.
Joel Klatt
Way to go out for a pretty good quarterback. Speaking of losing streaks, next story is the Arizona Cardinals and your guy Kyler Murray. Colin, we're gona have to have a discussion here about Kyler Murray. I mean they got destroyed by the Steelers Seahawks yesterday. It was not even close and the Seahawks swept them this season. Kyler was awful in both games against Seattle Arizona playoff odds dropped from 36% to 11. Kyler did take responsibility for the loss.
Matt Hasselbeck
I let the team down today. Well, self explanatory, you know can't do that. It sucks. It sucks obviously when you feel like you put yourself in this position but at the end of the day we got, we got to show up again. We got to show up.
Joel Klatt
We got to show up.
Matt Hasselbeck
We got another home game next week. Put our best foot forward when it comes down to it.
Joel Klatt
So there's some numbers out about man coverage and under pressure And Kyler Murray folded twice against Seattle. Seattle's defense looked good again.
Matt Hasselbeck
Well remember the defensive coordinator for the Ravens became the Seahawks head coach. Seattle's defense looks great and Baltimore's is terrible. It's really lacking. So he's obviously an impactful coach.
Joel Klatt
There's some I don't you again. It's not a full season But Marvin Harrison Jr. Has left a little something to be desired.
Matt Hasselbeck
He's gotten touchdown catches but he's really inconsistent. Yeah. Is that a Kyler issue or a Marvin Harrison issue?
Joel Klatt
Who has looked better to you as a rookie, Malik Neighbors or Marvin Harrison?
Matt Hasselbeck
Well, Malik Neighbors has been banged up. I think he's been more electric when he's available. It's hard to judge Malik Neighbors because the quarterback play is so bad with the Giants.
Joel Klatt
How about this? Do you think that going maybe Brock Bowers over Harrison would have been smart but then you have McBride and Bowers but two tight ends works. I mean it worked for the Patriots.
Matt Hasselbeck
I think Harrison was a very good player. I wouldn't put all the blame on Harrison in Arizona. It may be some Kyler stuff.
Joel Klatt
I just wonder what the future is like. You're not moving off Kyler. Do you like this coach? The coaching staff a few weeks ago look good. There's a lot of questions all everybody.
Matt Hasselbeck
Keeps getting fired in Arizona. Maybe it's the quarterback.
Joel Klatt
Maybe it's the quarterback.
Matt Hasselbeck
Yeah.
Joel Klatt
Final story, Colin is to Major League Baseball. Juan Soto is signing a 15 year $765 million deal with the Mets. He moves from the Bronx to Queens landing the largest deal in pro sports history. The deal includes an Opt out after the fifth year and no deferred money. Remember, Ohtani deferred like 90 something percent of his money. If Soto chooses to not opt out, his deal will go up another $4 million per year and the total could exceed $800 million.
Matt Hasselbeck
Well, Cohen's got so much money, he will be surrounded by good players. It's not going to be a. It's not going to be a Joe Maurer, the twin situation. He'll be surrounded by good players. Cohen's the richest owner.
Joel Klatt
He just made the Mets the most relevant maybe sports team in New York outside the Knicks. I mean, they're more relevant than the Yankees.
Matt Hasselbeck
Well, I will tell you this. I believe the NBA is in a little trouble. I think Mark Cuban knew when to sell. I think baseball is going to have a renaissance. I think it's got its best players in the big cities. I think baseball. Both New York teams are good. Both southern, Southern California teams of note, Padres and the Dodgers are good. Atlanta remains well run. I think baseball. Philadelphia is excellent. I think baseball is in a really good spot going forward. Their stars are in the right markets.
Joel Klatt
I don't want to hear anybody going after Jason Tatum's contract when you see this Soto deal. I mean, come on.
Matt Hasselbeck
Yeah, but Soto's considered after Ohtani, the best pure talent in the sport. Tatum's like the 13th best NBA player.
Joel Klatt
Stop it. He's top five. 765 million.
Matt Hasselbeck
Well, it's a huge. Baseball's got 162 games minimum. He's driving a lot of people to the ballpark. You're not going to watch Soto and Lindor. That's going to be.
Joel Klatt
I'm a Yankees fan, so no, I won't lie.
Matt Hasselbeck
I lose the Yankee fans. You could have done it. You could have done it.
Joel Klatt
Listen, it's an over.
Matt Hasselbeck
You know what? How about this? How about this? I'll just throw this out. There are the Mets with Cohen's money and two of the three best players and some momentum. Are they the New Yankees of New York?
Joel Klatt
Hopefully not. I read an awesome article years ago about Cohen in the New Yorker. I'll put it on social media. The guy is really legendary the way he made his money, you know, he's. Did you ever watch the show Billions on Showtime?
Matt Hasselbeck
Of course, yeah.
Joel Klatt
That character, the main guy, Ax, was a lot heavily based on Cohen because he would like, you know, skirt around, around the edges and do some. Just some stuff, shall we say? It's. He's got a great history and I gotta give him. Listen if you got more money than you could spend, why not? What's the big deal? You like you said the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Matt Hasselbeck
Owner, all these badges, players in baseball, you can put them in any order you want. Ohtani, Betts, Harper, Lindor, Soto, Judge, they're all in three markets. That's what I'm saying. Now the kid Ronald Acuna in Atlanta's up there. I also think Freddie Freeman has got to be somewhere up there. Former Brave, now a Dodger. But if I get eight or nine of the best players and they get to be in a great organization in the biggest market in the South, Louisiana. And then San Diego, by the way, plays big for a smaller market because they don't have an NFL team. So they got Machado, Tatis. I mean, so you got like eight.
Joel Klatt
Teams that matter, basically.
Matt Hasselbeck
No, I mean, if I said the 10 best players in baseball, they're on like five teams, I'm okay with it. Southern California teams, New York teams in.
Joel Klatt
Atlanta, Cubs and White Sox combined have nobody. Do they have any good players at all? Baseball in Chicago, they're just punting on it. That's a big market.
Matt Hasselbeck
Do I sound like a coastal elite? A little bit.
Joel Klatt
Just a tad.
Matt Hasselbeck
J. Mac with the news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by the Herd lie news. No, I got nothing to get, believe me. I got nothing against Chicago, but the White Sox feel like they've so poorly run forever. They're not a story live in la, it's the Herd. Be sure to catch live editions of the Herd, weekdays at noon Eastern, 9am Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, FS1 and the iHeartRadio app.
Colin Cowherd
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.
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Doug Gottlieb
Here from up on Game and listen, I want to talk to you about something very serious for a minute, all right? Something personal to me and right now something that should be personal to you as well. In our country, the hate is at an all time high and it's like we're going backward. The hate is winning. We can't allow that, all right? It's out of control. So many different people, so many different groups are facing too much hate and it's enough. It's time for it to stop. We need to stop, regroup, change the momentum as a team. Because that's what we are. Everyone in this country is on the same team, so let's act like it. And when a team can't get it together, what do you do? You call a timeout. And that's what we need to do. Call a timeout against hate. Let's think about what we say and do. And when we see hate, when we see someone doing or saying those things we know are wrong and hateful, we need to call it out. I'mma call it out. You need to do the same thing. Visit standuptoallhate.org to help and join me. And calling for a timeout against hate by following at what's up with Hate or posting the blue square emoji.
Colin Cowherd
Hey, y'all know the Aflac commercials, right? With the famous duck and the coaches. Great commercials. But did you know that Aflac is a leader in supplemental insurance. That's what the Duck is quacking about. Helping cover gaps. So, like, this is how I think of Aflac. Let's say you have an All Pro linebacker. Anytime there's a gap in the defensive line, you know he's going to fill it, no problem because he's an all pro. AFFLAC does the same thing. If there's a gap in your health insurance, Aflac wants to better protect you by helping close the gap. You're sick, you're injured. Aflac can pay cash to help fill the gaps your health insurance can leave behind. You can use the cash, put it towards whatever you need. Rent, mortgage payments, medical bills. It's completely up to you. Look, life can be tough. Fortunately, Aflac is tougher. I mean, we're talking middle linebacker, tough. To learn more about how Aflac can help fill the gaps health insurance can leave behind, visit aflac.com it's time to start thinking about holiday gifts. What are you going to get that person that's impossible to shop for? We all know somebody like that. What do they want this holiday season? What do you want? Give the Gift of sound with JLab headphones JLab headphones are the perfect gift. I love them for the podcast lover in your life or the one that wants to stream sports all day long. JLab Perfect gift for anybody with a diverse collection of headphones, which makes it easy to find the gift for your family and friends with a variety of styles, colors and sizes. JLab. They have products for under $100, under 50, even under $25. Gift yourself a new pair of JLab headphones too. If you're traveling this holiday season, pick up the JLab's J Buds Lux ANC. Tune out the drove of the jet engine or your talkative relative. Save up to 60% on select JLab products this holiday season. On JLab.com find your perfect pair of headphones. Look for the JLAB Blue Box at retailers everywhere or visit jlab.com to upgrade your sound and style Today.
Matt Hasselbeck
Bengals Cowboys Tonight I'll take Cincinnati in kind of a high scoring game. Yeah, I was just jotting down my herd hierarchy for tomorrow and that game Thursday Rams 49ers San Francisco has to win. Rams need to win. But it is interesting when a team plays a perfect football game. I thought the Rams played a perfect football game yesterday. Even got a block pun. That's as well as the Rams have played since the super bowl run. They were everything was electric and Buffalo actually their you know, their offense was fine. Their Defense was just in the back end, was terrible. And again, this is what happens when you coaching becomes more important in the NFL. When you pay your quarterback $450 million, then it gets down to coaching because your margins shrink and the better coaches win the close games and your Sean Payton's and your Andy Reid. So Buffalo's paying the quarterback, so your margins get very, very tight. Very rarely am I shocked, but the Rams ease of moving the football was insane. It looked like a passing drill. It was a summer seven on seven camp. And Josh Allen's the only thing that kept Buffalo in that thing. Matt Hasselbeck this morning on what he saw from Josh. Unfortunately for Josh Allen, he just was born at the wrong time. I mean, Josh Allen to me is the MVP this year. He's, he's absolutely incredible. A ton of fun to watch. But when you're playing in the AFC and you're playing in a tight game, certain teams know how to finish and they, you just know that they're going to do it. And other teams are struggling to learn how to do it. I thought last night Buffalo had an opportunity, but they made a couple calculated mistakes that ended up costing them the game. Now they'll learn from that and they'll.
LeVar Arrington
Be better for it.
Matt Hasselbeck
But when you talk about Kansas City, they're just a team that has those intangibles and other people besides just the.
LeVar Arrington
Quarterback who can rise above.
Matt Hasselbeck
You know, it's funny. And you talk about quarterback talent, I'm not talking about productivity, just raw talent. I think Josh Allen's the most talented quarterback I've ever seen. I think Dan Marino and John Elway are special. I think Mahomes and Brett Favre kind of the top five, just raw talent. Now Lamar Jackson's hard because he's not in the pocket at that level, but he's better at the other stuff. I always thought Far was a better raw talent than Aaron Rodgers, but Aaron was more efficient. I thought Aaron was better pre snap. And there was just sort of a leadership, kind of an alpha to Farve. That is, it's. But in just, in terms of talent, I'm talking arm strength, mobility, playmaking, toughness, leadership, relentlessness, focus. I would say Josh Allen, Marino, Elway, Mahomes, Farve, Peyton Manning's way up there didn't move very well. And yet, you know, we always say, well, where's Brady? I'm just talking horsepower, throwing it. Now mechanically, if you, if you're talking the mechanics of quarterback, Brady's the best ever. I mean, his throwing motion his torque, his ability to throw a clean ball in a crappy weather. You know, Brady separated from people pre snap. Tom's probably the best ever with Manning mechanics. He's the best ever ability to rise to the moment. Joe Montana and Brady are just like nobody I've ever seen. I think the most underrated quarterbacks in my life are Roger Staubach for the Cowboys and Steve Young. And I would put Lamar in the Roger Staubach, Steve Young category where Cayman is a runner, developed as a passer and they're all time greats. But Allen does stuff that, I mean it's, I mean here's the thing. There are real holes in Buffalo's defense. Rams defense up front is good. Young and that those two guys from Florida State and Kobe Turner. Rams are young, fast, tough, physical, pretty relentless up front defensively and he just did whatever he wanted to do.
Joel Klatt
Can you imagine if the Bills played indoors in a dome all the time with Josh Allen in that offense? Oh my gosh. What they were doing yesterday at SOFI was just incredible. You the Rams could not stop them. That's why McVeigh had to go on fourth and five. What from with like three minutes.
Matt Hasselbeck
You don't have a choice.
Joel Klatt
We got no chance. Can't stop them.
Matt Hasselbeck
Great Monday show Herd hierarchy among other things.
Colin Cowherd
Tomorrow in 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 $11,000 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 and a person went to license by MasterCard International Inc.
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Matt Hasselbeck
This is Doug Gottlieb from All Ball with Doug Gottlieb. Listen, I'm gonna get serious for a minute.
Joel Klatt
The hate in our country is getting out of control. In fact, it's sadly at an all time high.
Colin Cowherd
But it's gonna take all of us to stop it.
Joel Klatt
I mean, we're all on the same.
Colin Cowherd
Team in this country.
Joel Klatt
So let's take a break from our 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 time out against hate by following hatsupwithhate or posting the blue square emoji.
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Podcast Summary: The Herd with Colin Cowherd – Hour 3: College Football Playoff Bracket
Release Date: December 9, 2024
Host: Colin Cowherd
Contributors: Matt Hasselbeck, Joel Klatt, LeVar Arrington
The episode delves deep into the intricacies and controversies surrounding the College Football Playoff (CFP) Bracket, particularly focusing on the challenges faced by top-seeded teams like Oregon in navigating the newly structured 12-team playoff system.
Matt Hasselbeck opens the discussion by highlighting the inherent flaws in the current playoff structure. He asserts, “[03:31]...if you have the best regular season, Oregon, and the best conference championship performance, Oregon, your reward shouldn't be potentially Ohio State, Texas, and Georgia.” Hasselbeck questions the fairness of Oregon facing such formidable opponents early in the playoff, suggesting that the system may inadvertently disadvantage strong teams.
LeVar Arrington echoes these sentiments, emphasizing the mismatch between the old and new paradigms of college football. He critiques the attempt to “renovate” rather than overhaul the playoff system, stating, “[07:00]...the bowl system and the playoff system doesn't really work together.” Arrington argues that the overvaluation of conference championship games has led to an "artificial floor," which subsequently forces better teams down tougher paths within the bracket.
Oregon’s Playoff Path:
The conversation zeroes in on Oregon’s challenging route to the semifinals. Hasselbeck points out that Oregon, despite its stellar regular season, is set to face powerhouses like Ohio State and Texas, making their path to the championship arduous. He questions the logic behind penalizing the best teams by subjecting them to tougher matchups early on.
Ohio State’s Vulnerabilities:
Hasselbeck critiques Ohio State’s performance, highlighting their offensive line issues and defensive weaknesses. “[09:16]...Ohio State, that is the worst team,” he states, noting their inconsistent performance against strong defenses like Michigan and Nebraska. Arrington concurs, pointing out that Ohio State's offensive struggles make them a susceptible target in high-stakes playoff games.
Texas’s Playcalling Issues:
The discussion shifts to Texas, where Hasselbeck expresses frustration with their overtime playcalling, criticizing decisions like the fade route in crucial moments. “[10:06]...I didn't like the play calling in overtime,” he remarks, emphasizing how such strategies have cost Texas games against athletic teams like Georgia.
Dan Lanning and Oregon’s Approach:
Arrington praises Oregon’s head coach, Dan Lanning, for his resilient and no-complaint attitude despite the playoff hurdles. “[14:44]...Dan Lanning is going to say, order the buses and let's go,” he notes, appreciating Lanning’s focus on preparation and execution rather than dwelling on systemic flaws.
Future of Coaching in College Football:
Arrington also speculates on the evolving landscape of college football coaching, suggesting that success will hinge more on roster construction and in-game strategy rather than traditional recruiting. He envisions a shift towards coaches who excel in evaluating talent and building cohesive teams amid increasing parity in the sport.
Kirk Cousins’ Future:
The podcast transitions to NFL topics, with Matt Hasselbeck and Joel Klatt discussing Kirk Cousins’ declining performance. Hasselbeck speculates on Cousins’ potential retirement, stating, “[26:51]...he’s not going to backup. I think he retires.” Both hosts express doubt about Cousins’ future as a starting quarterback given his recent struggles.
Arizona Cardinals and Kyler Murray:
Fresh off Arizona’s disappointing performances against the Seahawks, Clatt questions whether Kyler Murray will remain the Cardinals’ starting quarterback. “[27:17]...Kyler took responsibility for the loss,” he mentions, while Hasselbeck attributes some of the team’s woes to poor quarterback play and defensive shortcomings.
Shifting to Major League Baseball, the hosts discuss Juan Soto’s unprecedented 15-year, $765 million contract with the New York Mets. Hasselbeck lauds the deal as a transformative moment for MLB, stating, “[30:24]...Juan Soto is signing the largest deal in pro sports history.” Clatt adds that Soto’s move positions the Mets as a dominant force in New York sports, potentially surpassing the Yankees in relevance and competitiveness.
The episode wraps up with reflections on the discussed topics, reinforcing the complexities of the College Football Playoff system and the dynamic nature of professional sports leadership and contracts. The hosts emphasize the need for strategic adjustments both in college and professional leagues to accommodate evolving challenges and capitalize on emerging talents.
Matt Hasselbeck [03:31]: “If you have the best regular season, Oregon, and the best conference championship performance, Oregon, your reward shouldn't be potentially Ohio State, Texas, and Georgia.”
LeVar Arrington [07:00]: “The bowl system and the playoff system doesn't really work together.”
Matt Hasselbeck [09:16]: “Ohio State, that is the worst team.”
Matt Hasselbeck [10:06]: “I didn't like the play calling in overtime.”
LeVar Arrington [14:44]: “Dan Lanning is going to say, order the buses and let's go.”
Matt Hasselbeck [26:51]: “He’s not going to backup. I think he retires.”
Joel Klatt [27:17]: “Kyler took responsibility for the loss.”
Matt Hasselbeck [30:24]: “Juan Soto is signing the largest deal in pro sports history.”
This comprehensive summary captures the essence of Hour 3 of "The Herd with Colin Cowherd," providing listeners with an insightful overview of the key discussions on the College Football Playoff Bracket, NFL quarterback performances, and MLB's significant contract developments.