THE HERD - Hour 1 - Broncos Proving Doubters Wrong, Lions Fall Apart

Summary

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The Herd with Colin Cowherd – Hour 1

Episode Title: Broncos Proving Doubters Wrong, Lions Fall Apart
Air Date: December 26, 2025
Podcast: The Herd with Colin Cowherd
Host: Colin Cowherd (with co-host J. Mac)

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Episode Overview

In this episode, Colin Cowherd dives into the biggest sports stories from the holiday weekend, spotlighting the Denver Broncos proving critics wrong with gritty wins and the Detroit Lions' season falling apart after coordinator departures and injuries. The hour also features in-depth reactions on the Lakers' recent blowouts, a debate about the future for Dak Prescott in Dallas, Caleb Williams’ progress with the Bears, San Antonio Spurs dominance, the swirling Lamar Jackson rumors, Michigan football’s new coaching hire, and the mounting pressure on Buffalo to deliver in the playoffs.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Denver Broncos: Winning Ugly and Proving Doubters Wrong

• Main Idea: The Broncos deserve more credit for their success, especially given dismissive narratives about their style and draft decisions.

• Colin’s Take:

  • “You can keep telling me Denver’s not good. But this is not figure skating—it's football. I don’t need style points. They were great on third down. They dominated time of possession.” (04:00)
  • Praises Sean Payton’s coaching and the picks of Bo Nix (QB) and RJ Harvey (RB).
  • Highlights Bo Nix’s unique statistical milestones and clutch play: “First quarterback ever, ever—league history ever—10 plus wins, 30 plus total touchdowns first two years in the league.” (05:00)
  • RJ Harvey’s efficiency compared to Christian McCaffrey: “Dude's got only four fewer touchdowns than McCaffrey with 200 fewer touches…Tremendous receiver, tremendous young player.” (05:30)
  • Emphasizes not to dismiss road wins over rivals by “just a touchdown,” describing such a spread as meaningful in the NFL.

• Contrast with Chiefs:

  • Points out the Chiefs’ dynasty is showing classic signs of decline: “Dynasties do not fall off a cliff… Old guys look old, young guys can’t bring the energy and juice.” (07:00)
  • “Kansas City’s 1 and 8 in one-score games—that’s kind of how dynasties end. They’re not explosive anymore.” (07:30)

2. Detroit Lions: The Ben Johnson Impact and Team Regression

• Predicting Struggles: Colin and J. Mac both forecasted the Lions’ step back due to significant coaching departures:
  • “We both said it would be the Detroit Lions [to regress]—they lost two great coordinators.” (09:00)
• What’s Gone Wrong:
  • Offensive line injuries cited as an excuse, but Colin pushes back: “Find me an offensive line in this league, in the entire league, healthy for 17–18 weeks. Chargers and Texans have been worse—yet they’re a combined 21–9.” (09:30)
  • The offense has lost creativity since Ben Johnson left: “This is very reminiscent of Kyle Shanahan getting the Niners as OC to the Super Bowl and Matt Ryan…After [Shanahan] left, Atlanta’s record: 63–84.” (11:00)
• Dan Campbell’s Shift:
  • Notes Campbell taking playcalling from his OC as a warning sign: “If your boss ever says, ‘You’re doing a great job, but I’m going to take over your accounts’...start looking for work.” (10:10)
• Lions Out of Playoffs:
  • “It’s not just the offensive line. Detroit was a crisp operation, more creative and innovative. They tried to recreate that movie—maybe picked the wrong director.” (12:00)
  • Dan Campbell quote:

    “Whenever you lose, man, it takes a village. Everybody’s involved, including myself...I’m always going to look at myself first, wish I would have given Goff more...” (13:20)

• Silver Lining:
  • Strong front office, good drafting, but reiterates that losing a top OC exposes teams: “When you have culture-creators, they're much more reliant on offensive coordinators.” (13:40)

3. NBA: The Lakers' Identity Crisis

• Lakers Blown Out by Rockets:
  • “Lakers got their doors blown off. Three straight losses. Three straight awful blowouts. The effort was subpar.” (17:31)
  • NBA is now a “wing league,” not a center/old-school league: “All the best Lakers players are offensive guys…but it's just not a versatile, switchable 3-and-D lineup.” (18:30)
  • Issues: atrocious defense, poor rebounding, worst in the league defending the three. “Just not athletic enough. The world's changed now.”
• Hard Conversations Ahead:
  • LeBron’s defensive decline and worsening impact on team net rating. “When LeBron's on the floor, the Lakers are worse defensively. Net rating's worse.” (20:10)
  • J.J. Redick’s bluntness praised.
    • Memorable J.J. Redick Quote:

      “We don’t care enough right now. That’s the part that bothers you a lot…I'm not doing another 53 games like this. It’s a matter of making the choice. And too often we have guys that don’t want to make that choice.” (21:53)

  • Only untouchables: Redick and Luka; “Everything else to me is up for a phone call.” (23:47)

4. Dallas Cowboys: Dak’s Future and Bench Debates

• Christmas Win Over Washington:
  • “Cowboys and Dak Prescott got a solid win over Washington, 30–23. Dak was, you know, pretty good. Washington was terrible.” (24:24)
• Quarterback Questions:
  • Co-host J. Mac advocates giving backup Joe Milton a look: “If I'm the Dallas Cowboys, I know what I've got in Dak, I’m putting Joe Milton in as the starter just to see what I've got.” (26:08)
  • Colin downplays Milton’s upside: “There will be halves he looks like Joe Montana…and halves he disappears. That's what he was in college.” (26:44)
  • Observes league trends (backup QBs, "soft tanking").

5. Chicago Bears: Ben Johnson's Impact on Caleb Williams

• Caleb Williams Praised:
  • Ben Johnson, Bears OC, commends rookie Caleb's drive: “Everyone talks about Caleb’s arm, but he’s been blown away by Caleb’s competitive drive. He loves football. He wants to be great.” (27:37)
  • Colin: “Doesn’t throw a lot of picks. Good at the microphone. Durable. Huge arm. Unbelievable movement. Wow, he’s talented. Just keep polishing, just keep refining.” (28:06)

6. San Antonio Spurs: Statement Wins & Player Praise

• Spurs Dominate OKC:
  • “Spurs are the best team in the NBA right now. I don’t think you can even argue.” (31:44)
  • Stefan Castle praised as an all-world glue guy:

    “Tough, physical…Stefan Castle’s guarding you—held players to 3 for 13 shooting yesterday. If you just said the two best players the next five years in San Antonio are Stefan Castle and Wemby, that’s good enough to win a title.” (30:36)

  • Fun moment: Wembanyama caught on mic rooting for Chet Holmgren to miss free throws, showing competitive spirit. (31:25)

7. Lamar Jackson & Jets Quarterback Debate

• Lamar’s Place in Tiered QB Rankings:
  • “There’s about six quarterbacks [in the NFL] you don’t even pick up the phone for. Lamar has gone from group one to group two—which is still very, very good.” (33:00)
• Jets Should Explore Lamar:
  • “Jets have some players…It’s been a decade straight of the Jets being atrocious offensively. They show no ability to develop quarterbacks. To me, they have two first round picks. It’s not a good quarterback draft…Do I explore this? Absolutely.” (34:10)
  • Cites Lamar’s 65% career completion rate versus Jets QBs’ 59%.
• John Harbaugh (Ravens) Quote:

  “I don’t know where this stuff is coming from…Our relationship is A-plus. I love him, always have, always will…one of the ultimate competitors you’ll ever see.” (36:43)

8. Michigan Wolverines: Kyle Whittingham Hired

• Cowherd Reacts to Coaching Search:
  • Calls Whittingham a “very, very solid hire. Two reasons: ethical guy—no BS… Second thing, he’s a culture builder.” (40:00)
  • “Utah was always the one school in the Pac-12 that played like a Big Ten team. Tight ends, o-line, tough linebackers. He’s been making three-star guys into five-star guys for years.” (41:00)

9. Buffalo Bills: Playoff Pressure and Sean McDermott's Job

• Bills Must Deliver:
  • "Going into the playoffs, they have got to get to the AFC Championship or you gotta change coaches...You get these little tiny windows. You gotta get it right." (44:47)
  • Draws parallels to Doug Collins (Bulls), Mark Jackson (Warriors), Dan Reeves (Broncos) as good coaches replaced to get teams over the top.
• Bills QB Josh Allen Quote:

  “To win the lottery, you gotta buy a ticket. To win a Super Bowl, you gotta make the playoffs…Now what we do with that is up to us.” (48:10)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• "You can keep telling me Denver’s not good. But this is not figure skating—it's football. I don’t need style points." – Colin, (04:00)
• "Would you rather be Detroit? Jared Goff faced a backup and they lost. If you win in this league…you take it." – Colin, (08:05)
• “If your boss ever says, ‘You're doing a great job, but I’m going to take over your accounts’... start looking for work.” – Colin, (10:10)
• “We don’t care enough right now. That’s the part that bothers you a lot. We don’t care enough to, like, do the things that are necessary. We don’t care enough to be a professional…I'm not doing another 53 games like this.” – J.J. Redick on the Lakers (21:53)
• “There will be halves [Joe Milton] looks like Joe Montana...and halves he disappears. That’s what he was in college.” – Colin on the Dallas QB situation (26:44)
• “Jets have some players...It’s been a decade straight of the Jets being atrocious offensively. They show no ability to develop quarterbacks.” – Colin, (34:10)
• “The Spurs are the best team in the NBA right now. I don’t think you can even argue.” – J. Mac, (31:44)
• "To win the lottery, you gotta buy a ticket. To win a Super Bowl, you gotta make the playoffs." – Josh Allen, (48:10)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• Denver Broncos’ gritty win & Bo Nix/RJ Harvey praise: 03:11 – 08:00
• Chiefs dynasty fading, Denver’s upside: 07:00 – 08:30
• Lions’ regression, Ben Johnson influence: 08:30 – 13:40
• Dan Campbell on missing playoffs: 13:20 – 13:40
• Lakers’ struggles, Redick’s honesty, LeBron’s decline: 17:31 – 23:47
• J.J. Redick calls out locker room: 21:53
• Cowboys win, Dak/Milton debate: 24:12 – 27:22
• Caleb Williams growth under Ben Johnson: 27:37 – 28:56
• Spurs dominate OKC/Stefan Castle discussion: 28:56 – 32:23
• Lamar Jackson & Jets QB talk: 33:00 – 37:43
• John Harbaugh on Lamar rumors: 36:43
• Michigan hires Kyle Whittingham: 39:53 – 41:35
• Bills face playoff pressure: 44:44 – 49:40
• Josh Allen on playoff mindset: 48:10

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Tone and Style Notes

• Colin’s tone is bracingly honest, sometimes blunt, often funny, and deeply knowledgeable about both the NFL and NBA.
• The conversation flows quickly, shifting topics with high energy and off-the-cuff analogies (e.g., “not figure skating, it’s football”).
• J. Mac provides grounded counterpoints and additional context, contributing to a lively back-and-forth.

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Summary Takeaway

This episode delivers classic Colin Cowherd: fact-driven, skeptical of easy narratives, and quick to identify crucial turning points in team construction and culture—whether it's celebrating Sean Payton’s results, diagnosing Detroit’s coaching dependence, or demanding honesty from legacy franchises like the Lakers and Cowboys. Throughout, emphasis is placed on the importance of coaching, adaptability, and honest self-assessment—critical for teams and organizations facing winter crossroads.

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Transcript

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[C]

You're listening to FOX Sports Radio.

[A]

Oh, we got a Good Friday Show. Blazing 5 Been on a bit of a run this year. One out hour from now, we're live at Chicago. It's warming up. I may get on the board shorts today. It's the Herd, wherever you may be. However, you may be listening. Thanks for making us part of your day. J. Mac. I hope you had a great Christmas with a fam. I certainly did. Snoop Dogg was the most consistent top performer yesterday in the NFL, sorry to say. Way to go Snoop Dogg and crew. That was aw But I, but I, but I think it's interesting and there's, you know, at this point in the year, we know what all these teams are and you can keep telling me Denver's not good. But this is not figure skating, it's football. I don't need style points. They were great on third down. They dominate time of possession. You know, RJ Harvey delivers. So as Bo Nix, basically Kansas City said, we're not giving you anything over the top. We're going to make it long, slow, boring drives. And that's what they did. Sean Payton knows what he's doing. A lot of guys, a lot of GMs, GMs didn't like Bo Nix. Sean Payton loved him. He's now 23 and 10 as a pro. Playoffs both years. First quarterback ever, ever league history ever. 10 plus wins, 30 plus total touchdowns. First two years in the league. And he leads the NFL in past attempts the last two years. So they're putting everything on him. No babysitting like early Big Ben. And then there's RJ Harvey. RJ Harvey. Last year everybody said that's a reach. Hey, shouldn't be a high draft pick. RJ Harvey. The dude's got only four fewer touchdowns than Christian McCaffrey and 200 fewer touches. He's a tremendous receiver, tremendous young player who gets into the end zone. I think he has like 11 touchdowns. Again, don't worry about the style points. This is at Arrowhead. It is a division rival and you won by a touchdown. You do understand a touchdown is a big spread. Seattle's a touchdown favorite over Carolina. If they win by A touchdown. Are you unimpressed? You go on the road, division rival, you win, you take it. Kansas City said, we're not giving you anything over the top. They didn't. And for the record, in the first game between these two, Bo Nicks made a huge 3rd and 15 conversion game winning drive last night, 3rd and 10 huge conversion game winning drive. So you take the touchdown. And here's the other thing is I don't know if Denver is going to fly through. I mean, they just got whacked by Jacksonville. Maybe Jacksonville is the best team in the afc, certainly possible. But the last two years, in the fourth quarter, the most important quarter in football. Josh Allen leads the NFL in fourth quarter touchdowns. Bo Nicks is second. Yeah, I'm going to say it was a good draft pick. I'm going to say RJ Harvey was also a good draft pick. I mean, Sean Payton, they had six Pro Bowlers this week. Four of them were there when Sean got there. He's just squeezing more juice out of the roster. As far as the Chiefs, maybe it's, maybe it's, you know, Travis Kelsey's last home game. That's what it sounded like on the broadcast. They've been a bit of a sad trombone all year. As we've told you, dynasties do not fall off a cliff. Generally. The old guys look old, the old guys get hurt, the young guys can't bring the energy and juice. Kansas City's 1 and 8 and 1 score games, this is kind of how dynasties end. They're not explosive anymore. But I, I, I remember, all I hear is, well, I mean, it was, that game was close. Yeah, that's, that's the way it works. I mean, would you rather be Detroit? Jared Goff faced a backup and they lost. If you win in this league, Denver's now 13 and three and we'll play the Chargers next week. You know, division on the line. Sean Payton's going to have his fifth season, 13 or more wins. I know he drives people nuts. I know he puts his chin out there. But a lot of people, most people did not think Bo Nix was a first round quarterback or RJ Harvey was worth the pick. And here are The Denver Broncos, 13 and three. You know, 13 and three, I don't know. Works for me. Here is Bo Nixon facing the Chargers next week. At the end of the day, none of it really matters because we have to play the final game and we have to, you know, take care of it and, you know, they're going to be a good football team. Now some other team can help us along the way. But at the end of the day, it's going to come down to us versus them and we're excited to have them at home. It's going to be, you know, a really good environment. It's going to be a great atmosphere. And honestly, it's. It's playoff time. It's playoff atmosphere. All right, so before the season started, okay, we're going to pat ourselves in the back. JMac and I said, every year there's one really exceptional team in the NFL and the following year it goes away. It's like season two of True Detective, right? You're like, ah, I love this show. And maybe not so much, I, I don't know. But. So we both said it would be the Detroit Lions. They lost two great coordinators. Offensive guy was brilliant. And I'm, and I'm listening to Lions fans yesterday. Well, it's. Our offensive line is all beat up. Yeah, well, so is the Chargers and the Texans. Their old lines are worse and they've been worse all season and they're a combined 21 and 9 now. I think Sam Laporta, the minute he left with the O line injuries makes it much harder. But in any business, and football is a business, to turn around a sinking ship, you have to self audit. You have to look in the mirror. This team, Detroit's been lousy on third down all year. Even when the O line was healthy with Ben Johnson, they were sharp, innovative and creative. They've tried to create that movie. Maybe they picked the wrong director. It doesn't feel sharp and creative. Yes, the offensive line injuries, especially with Sam Laporte of the tight end out too, it hurts. Yeah, Sam Laporte is great, but Dan Campbell in week 10 took the play calling duties away from his offensive coordinator. And just a heads up, guys, if your boss ever comes to you and goes, you know, Bob, you're doing a great job, but I'm going to take over your sales accounts, start looking for work. It's not just the offensive line. Detroit was a crisp operation, more creative and innovative. Dan Campbell had to take over the OC duties. He didn't want to do that. He is not a scheme guy. He's a great culture builder and he lost a brilliant scheme guy, Ben Johnson. This is very reminiscent of Kyle Shanahan getting the Niners as the OC to the super bowl and Matt Ryan and MVP Kyle Shanahan left. You want to know what the Atlanta Falcons record is since Kyle Shanahan left? 63 and 84. It's not the Falcons O line injuries, okay? You can, you can make all the excuses. Find me an offensive line in this league, in the entire league. Find me an offensive line that is healthy for 17, 18 weeks. I mean, it's man overboard with the Chargers. Texans O line's been a mess for two years. They're humming. One's doing it with defense, one's doing it with coaching and quarterback play. You just got to find a way. When your O lines beat up again, I think Sam Laporta is a big loss. But if you look at Dan Campbell, put it on the screen with offensive coordinator Ben Johnson, he's 36 and 15. 36 and 15. If you look at Dan Campbell without Ben Johnson, 11, 21 and 1 a touchdown less. So I would argue the Lions peaked in week two when they beat very good Chicago. But Chicago is much better today than they were in Week two. They beat on bad teams. The Lions have beat up on bad teams. They haven't really beaten good teams. Sometimes like the Rams, they get close, but it just. They're just not as crisp. They're just not as innovative. I mean, and again, I'm not blaming anybody. I'm saying when you lose Kyle Shanahan as OC Matt Ryan didn't look the same. When you lose Ben Johnson, you don't look the same. Here's Dan Campbell. They're out of the playoffs officially. After the loss, I'm be looking at a lot of things because I do not like being home for the playoffs and I know our guys don't either. So, you know, and there again, whenever you lose, man, it takes a village, man. Everybody's involved, including myself, you know, so I'm always going to look at myself first, you know, I'm always going to wish I would have given golf more, given those players more good news. Very good front office draft. Well, you get that great safety back, Laporta back. It's not all doom and gloom. I mean, you've really got an infrastructure, a culture creator, but when you have the culture creators, they are very and much more reliant on offensive coordinators. Vrabel is a great culture builder. First thing he did, get Josh McDaniels, get the great O.C. the scheme guy, and it works. So, yeah, the O line stuff, it's not perfect. Laporte is a huge loss, but there's bad O lines all over this league. I mean, the Chargers is the worst 32nd for most of the year. Texans is bad. They're going to make the playoffs again. All Right. J. Mac it was interesting because yesterday was. It used to be the NBA's day. And then the NFL's like, nah, we're going to change that now. And now the NBA may want to move to Christmas Eve. That's been suggested. Whatever. It's a good day. It's a day to sit around and eat and with family and open presents and watch sports. But I do think the Lakers played the Rockets. Now, it wasn't competitive, but when the Lakers, the bus family sold to the Dodgers group, I said, now things are going to change. This is not an organization that's going to be worried about ticket sales and merch sales and keeping LeBron happy. There appears to be some real honest conversations that need to be had. That the Lakers net rating is worse when LeBron plays. Defensively, they're already bad. They're worse when LeBron plays. And yesterday, I know it's Christmas. Maybe the guys didn't want to be there, but that game spoke volumes of the next couple of months. We'll talk about that update on the Cowboys as well.

[C]

Be sure to catch live editions of the Herd, weekdays at noon Eastern, 9am Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, FS1 and.

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[A]

I've.

[C]

Got Dan Morgan here on the pod. Say hi Dan.

[A]

Hey.

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How's it going today?

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It's going good man.

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From unforgettable tailgate and viewing parties to world class dining, thrilling nightlife and entertainment that keeps energy going long after the final whistle, this is where fans come to celebrate, show off your team spirit, cheer with friends and earn rewards on every experience you love. Because every play is bigger and every moment feels unforgettable in Las Vegas. So what are you waiting for? Make your game day legendary with MGM Rewards. Visit mgmrewards.com for details. Innovation is what gets your business to the big leagues and Wasabi is designed to give every business a shot at competition. Break free from skyrocketing storage costs, unpredictable egress fees from old and top heavy legacy providers. You know the big guys Wasabi is the world's hottest cloud storage company and the go to provider for professional and collegiate sports teams and leagues around the world. And here's why. Innovation. From Wasabi's AI enabled intelligent media storage Wasabi Air to the industry's only cloud storage service with triple protection against cybercriminals, data deletion and ransomware, Wasabi has taken the lead in big league data storage. Remember, Wasabi is up to 80% less than the other guys and doesn't charge a cent for businesses to access their own data. Wasabi is another championship story. Check them out [e-mail], wasabi Hot Cloud Storage proud partner of the Volume Podcast Network Lakers got their doors blown off. Three straight losses. Three straight awful blowouts. I mean if you watch that game, the effort was subpar. A lot of people don't like that. J.J. redick is so harsh. The NBA panders way too much to its stars. I love that JJ Redick won't, but they were dominant. Gave up almost 70 points in the paint to Houston. Just a complete blowout. 11996 so here's the thing about the NBA. It's changing. It's no longer a center big man league. How do I know that? Jokic, giannis and Embiid two rings. 34 total years. Okay, if you're not winning that way, it is a wing league. You have to have three and D guys, switchable guys, versatile guys, hyper athleticism everywhere. That's what the league is. And the Laker GM Rob Pelinka has built a roster that doesn't have any of it. It's lopsided. All the best players are offensive guys. Their three best players are all initiators who if they don't have the ball, tend to stand around sometimes just act like they're in a bad mood. Their energy's low. You got ball centric guys and, you know, it's just not a versatile, switchable 3 and D lineup. And because of that, they are atrocious defensively. They don't rebound well. They are the worst team in the league defending the three. I've been on this for two years. They're just not athletic enough. The world's changed now. Rob Pelinka to his defense. He didn't make the LUCA deal. And the Buss family was a mom and pop operation. It was a friends and family front office. Rob Pelinka's done some really good things. I like Rui. You know, the AD comes in, they get rid of AD at the right time, the LUCA deal. But there are time for some hard conversations now because the other thing that's really clear, LeBron has dropped significantly. When LeBron is on the floor, the Lakers are worse defensively. When LeBron is on the floor, they have a worse net rating. Okay, so he is getting in the way there. I think they're slightly better offensively because LeBron can score and he's always been a great passer. But the Lakers, they got to have these hard conversations now because this roster is like bygone era basketball. It's not athletic at all. Go watch Denver and okc. Go watch those. Like, I understand the warriors still holding on to Draymond and Steph. I kind of get it because Steph is still elite. But LeBron right now is not a top 1012 player in the league and defensively, and that's the first thing to go last couple of years and not much of an effort. So J.J. redick, and if you listen to him, here he is calling out the big dogs, the stars on his roster after last night. We don't care enough right now. That's the part that bothers you a lot. We don't care enough to, like, do the things that are necessary. We don't care enough to be a professional. Saturday's practice, I told the guys it's going to be uncomfortable. The meeting is going to be uncomfortable. I'm not doing another 53 games like this. It's a matter of making the choice. And too often we have guys that don't want to make that choice. And it's pretty consistent who those guys are. So the thing about the NBA is nobody plays great defense now. Like, what did Yokich have, like 18 in overtime? I mean, nobody. Nobody plays great defense now. And I don't expect the Lakers to be an elite Defensive team, even if they gave you effort. Lucas well below average. Austin Reeves can get worked, although he tries. And LeBron doesn't care about defense anymore. He could be a team defender. He's not good on ball, so you just have to be totally honest about what this team is. And Rob Polinka is not going to get fired. The new guys gave him more responsibility. You know, they like him and he pulled off the Luca deal, so they're not. They're not moving off him. But let's judge him now going forward on the moves they make to solve the multiple issues. Can't defend the rim. Poor rebounding team. Not athletic. I mean, to me, you got to have that LeBron conversation. The only two people that are not movable, J.J. redick and Luka. Everything else to me is up for a phone call. J. Mac with the news. No, no, no, turn on the news. This is the Herd line.

[B]

News. All right, Colin, let's start with some Christmas football. The only game that was decent, the Cowboys and Dak Prescott got a solid win over Washington, 30 to 23. Dak was, you know, pretty.

[A]

Good. I don't.

[B]

Know. Washington was terrible. So I can't really take much into it. The game was streaming, and afterward, a lot of people were asking Dak about if he's gonna stop playing. Here's what Dak had to.

[A]

Say. Obviously, I understand being approached about it, but what I was telling, you know, Clarence and the rest of the group was the conversations we've already had about are for me to play like I want to play in a season, me being healthy. I've never had a. In all of my life. Career. Right. A season under.500. So that tie is going to come in to play really well. So it's a huge difference. It's just one of those things that, I mean, yeah, it's just pride. It's pride. Honestly, I hope everybody noticed this. Turpin, big play. Flournoys had a good second half. CD Lam excellent. Do not be burdened by George Pickens. Their young receivers are really good and they're getting better. So my takeaway in this game was Dallas has three receivers that are absolutely should be on the field. Is Pickens better than two of them? Yep. But if. If you're going to pay Quinn and Williams and Dak and CD Lamb, that is not a need. When I watch Dallas, right tackle, left edge, rusher, they've got to get another corner or three. But the Cowboys are at the Giants this week. I think that offense is fine, and the whole Pickens. Thing is, you know, he did this in Pittsburgh where he sort of disappears. They got good young receivers.

[B]

Yeah. Regarding Dak Cullen. So I had to look on the depth chart to see who the backup quarterback was. It's Joe Milton. So if I'm the Dallas Cowboys, I know what I've got in.

[A]

Dakota.

[B]

Okay. I'm putting Joe Milton in as the starter just to see what I've got in Joe Milton. Should, you know, Joe Milton pop and shows? Well, maybe I flip him for more picks or at least I have confidence in my backup quarterback. I just don't see this idea of, oh, oh, let's keep playing Dak. Let's keep padding our stats. Like, I mean, again, sure, go for it. But worst case scenario with Joe Milton, he's terrible. You lose. Guess what? Your draft pick is a little bit.

[A]

Better. Yeah. First of all, Joe Milton is, is a. This is what he was in college, this is what he is in the NFL. I've been very tongue in cheek my entire career with Joe Milton. There will be halves, he looks like Joe Montana with movement and there'll be halves that he disappears. That's what he was in college. So everybody knows what Joe Milton is. You're not going to get it. You may get a six or a seventh round pick for Joe Milton in the end, if you want to protect Dak, that's fine. But I do think what we're seeing in the NFL and you're seeing it with more than a few teams with Mendoza out there. I wouldn't use the word tank, but liberal use of backup quarterbacks and backup.

[B]

Players. Yeah, the third string starters. By the way, Lamar, I don't know if we'll talk about it later. It looks like he's not going to play. It's just backup quarterbacks all over the league. A lot of teams packing it in. Colin, let's go to Chicago. And Ben Johnson. Can't stop talking about Ben Johnson.

[A]

Man.

[B]

Wow. He has been transformative for the Bears and he's helped Caleb Williams a lot. He said that Everyone talks about Caleb's arm, but he's been blown away by Caleb's competitive drive. He loves football. He wants to be great. It is a far cry, of course, from all the off the field nonsense we heard about at USC with the fingernails and blah, blah, blah. Caleb's been a model citizen. He's done a good job. Seems like face of the franchise potential in.

[C]

Chicago.

[B]

Yeah. Positive stuff from Ben.

[A]

Johnson. Yeah. I mean, there's two or three things I've watched Every snap in college and pro, I think I missed maybe one or two USC games. Doesn't throw a lot of picks. Good at the microphone, durable, huge arm, unbelievable movement. Iraq. I remember talking to an NFL GM halfway through his last year at usc and he says he's really erratic. He can make great throws and miss the easy ones. Well, that's kind of what he is. But I do think we're getting to a time in the NFL where, especially on your rookie contract when you can stack rosters 59, 60%, it's fine. You can win a lot of games. You can have a lot of bad drives in this league. Bo Nix does and he's going to be a number one seed. So I don't think there's anything about Caleb Williams other than, wow, he's talented. Just keep polishing, just keep refining. It's year two of these guys will even be better.

[B]

Yeah. And finally the final story. Colin. The biggest story in sports yesterday was the San Antonio spurs dominating. Yeah, Dominating the unbelievable OKC Thunder. All I've been hearing, Colin, is OKC is a dynasty. They're going to run this league for years. They've now been swept.03 in the three meetings this year against the spurs, who are a young, awesome, fun to watch team. Yeah, Wembanyama is talking trash, by the way. This was not a Wembanyama dominate game. He didn't drop 40 and.

[A]

20.

[B]

No. Wembanyama is like on a minutes restriction still. That's how good the spurs are. Here's wemby talking about going 30 against the Thunder so far this.

[A]

Season. This is like a playoff series. We played them three times in I don't know how long it's been, like 10 days maybe. So we learned a lot on the tactical side, but I think there, I don't want to say too much about it. I want to keep some first. Well, Stefan Castle, who was a beast at Connecticut, is an unbelievable NBA player. He's one of those guys that the people that know basketball and watch basketball would put in an all star team and the casuals don't watch him. Stefan Castle physically intimidated people in college. He's doing the exact same thing in the NBA. He is one of those guys. Very rarely do you have a guy in the NBA, I mean, outside of superstars. But Klay Thompson was this Klay in his prime, defended, catch and shoot, didn't need the ball. Clay would have worked on every roster in the league. Stefan Castle works on every single roster. Tough, physical, and anytime Stefan Castle's guarding you. In fact we looked it up. He held players to 3 for 13 shooting yesterday. He is a. I mean like I would say glue guy but he's a great player. He is so fundamental to what they're trying to do. If you just said the two best players the next five years in San Antonio are Stefan Castle and Wemby, that's good enough to win a title. Those, those guys are high end.

[B]

Dudes. Castle is an utterly dominant force. I mean, you know I like NBA jerseys. I have made it note. Castle is going to be my next jersey and I don't like the Spurs. Colin, this kid is unbelievable at both ends but I love what I saw. Remember all the deer and fox. Is he going to be able to play with Harper? They're on the floor together cooking SGA and company And Colin, I know the wembanyama chat stuff is fun but we have audio here. They mic'd up Wembanyama on Christmas day. Chet Holmgren missed a free throw. Listen to Wembanyama at the foul.

[A]

Line. Yeah, you and I know these two have a lot of history going back to the days battling as.

[B]

Teenagers. Oh my God, he's cheering on. Chet Holmgren missed free throws. That's how passionate Wemby is. Colin, I'll be real with you. The spurs are the best team in the NBA right now. I don't think you can even.

[A]

Argue. Well right now, absolutely right now they are. No, no, I think, listen, the west is in ridiculous okc Spurs, Denver, Dallas is playing better. Rockets are really, really.

[B]

Good. Lakers, Minnesota.

[A]

Minnesota. Minnesota. No, I mean there's an argument the six best teams in the league are all.

[B]

West. Well, the Knicks are.

[A]

There. They're in, they're in that they would be fifth or sixth in I would say in the. In the west by the.

[B]

Way. Yeah, I know you watch Knicks cavs at the ending I'm going to be start pitching Tyler Kolek stories. He's the new Jeremy Lynn in New York. The kid out of Marquette. Tyler colic is money. People love it. They're going crazy for Tyler.

[A]

Cole. J. Mac with the.

[C]

News. Well, that's the news and thanks for stopping by the herd lie.

[A]

News. So we talked about this. I think we talked about this the day before Christmas. Yeah, our Christmas Eve show that there was a story that came out from a respected Baltimore Ravens reporter that said there's some fissures between Lamar Jackson and the organization. Now the organization's gonna defend Lamar. You know how this works. You know you've been around long enough. I'm not gonna try to convince you, LeBron Lamar's a bad guy or a perfect guy. But some of the stuff, you would not print that if you were a longtime beat reporter unless you heard it. And John Harbaugh yesterday defended him. But I, but I did say at any one time in the NFL there's about six quarterbacks. If you're the gm, you don't even pick up the phone. There's another six that you don't call people, but you would take a phone call. Maybe your guy has an injury history, can be a little temperamental, hasn't been good in big spots. And then there's 15 GMs that are on the phone trying to get better quarterbacks. And I think Lamar has gone from group one to group two, which is still very, very good. And I said the Miami Dolphins should look at him. He's from Miami, wants to play there. Remember, people say, well, we're already paying Tua. You could get the Ravens to pay a lot of Lamar's contract if they wanted to move off him. But the obvious team that should go look at him is the New York Jets. They have two first round picks. They can't develop quarterbacks. Look how good Sam Darnold is now. They have no history of doing that. Well, we're going to go get a quarterback. Oh, it's a bad quarterback class. Good luck. You think Aaron Glenn's going to develop your quarterback? Okay, good luck. I mean, my takeaway is the jets are currently picking four, two teams higher than them. Raiders. Cleveland may take quarterbacks. So the day one that Lamar Jackson, if he signed with the jets, day one, your playoff viable. I mean, you saw what New England did in six months. You don't think the jets could do that with Lamar Jackson? Jets have some players. So it's been a decade straight of the jets being atrocious. Offensively, they show no ability. I mean, we don't know if Aaron Glenn's a head coach, but they've shown no ability with multiple head coaches to develop quarterbacks. They don't have that kind of ecosystem. They're the opposite of the Packers. They just can't do it. So to me, they've had a head coach quarterback issue for years. They have two first round picks. It's not a good quarterback draft. Aaron Glenn wants to win. Now, you're not winning with this roster. I mean, you had Aaron Rodgers past his prime, look how much better he is now. So I mean, I, to me, I'm the Jets gm. Do I explore this. Absolutely. Absolutely I do. I mean, if I'm Aaron Glenn, I'm not even quiet about it. You're going to go with Ty Simpson at Alabama on a reach. Go ahead. Reach for Cade Clubnik, Ty Simpson, whoever, whoever's available. I think he's fallen out. Go ahead. Now if Dante Moore comes out, maybe then you move up for it. But if he doesn't, if Dante Moore doesn't come out, I mean, the Giants. I've argued the Giant should consider Mendoza and move off guard. So you look at, I mean, Lamar Jackson versus the jets quarterbacks. The staff did this. Lamar Jackson, NFL career, 76 and 30. Jets quarterbacks, 39 and 92. I don't know. Seems like he would solve some issues, does it not? I mean, and that's worst in the league. Completion percentage for Lamar Jackson, known more as a runner, although he's good in the pocket.65 completion percentage. Jets quarterbacks since 2018 are last in the league at 59%. So they've shown no ability. Now they have a defensive coach, no ability to develop quarterbacks. You got a couple of picks. You wouldn't consider this. I mean, you've been drafting high in the first round forever. You've been bad forever. It's not working again. It's not like again, if Dante Moore comes out, that could solve it. Somebody takes Mendoza, you move up a slot. Cleveland may stay with Shadow or Sanders. I don't know, maybe they should. Raiders are drafting a quarterback. So I just saying sometimes it's just worthy of a discussion. I think it now, now John Harbaugh, he's saying those, those reports on Lamar. I don't know where this stuff is coming from. I don't know where that's coming from. I've. I've never seen, I've never seen that ever. You know, that that's, that's not something that, that I've ever witnessed. And I'm in every meeting. Our relationship is a plus. So I love him, always have, always will. And I know he's fighting like crazy to get back. Believe me, if he can go out there and do it, this guy's one of the ultimate competitors that you're ever gonna see. I don't think there's any question about that. But I've said this with the Giants, you don't have a right to be arrogant. You have to consider drafting Mendoza. Doesn't mean you have to draft him. You have to sit down and talk about it. The jets have to sit down and talk about Lamar Jackson. You can't just say we, we, we develop quarterbacks here. Now that's green bag. Okay, that, that's not what you.

[C]

Do. Be sure to catch live editions of the Herd, weekdays at noon Eastern, 9am Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, FS1 and the iHeartRadio app. Support for the show comes from Public, the investing platform for those who take it seriously. On Public, you can build a multi asset portfolio of stocks, bonds, options, CR and now generated assets which allow you to turn any idea into an investable index. With AI. It all starts with your prompt. From renewable energy companies with high free cash flow to semiconductor suppliers growing revenue over 20% year over year. You can literally type any prompt and put the AI to work. It screens thousands of stocks, builds a one of a kind index and lets you back test it against the S&P 500. Then you can invest in a few clicks. Generated assets are like ETFs with infinite possibilities, completely customizable and based on your thesis, not someone else's. Go to public.com podcast and earn an uncapped 1% bonus when you transfer your portfolio. That's public.com podcast paid for by Public Investing Brokerage Services by Open to the Public Investing Inc. Member FINRA and SIPC Advisory Services by Public Advisors llc, SEC Registered Advisor. Generated Assets is an interactive analysis tool. Output is for informational purposes only and is not an investment recommendation or advice. Complete disclosures available at public.com.

[A]

Disclosures.

[C]

I've got Dan Morgan here on the.

[A]

Pod. Say hi.

[D]

Dan. Hey. How's it going.

[C]

Today? It's going good.

[A]

Man. Tell us who you are and what you.

[D]

Do. I'm Dan Morgan. I'm an attorney and a managing partner at Morgan and Morgan, which is America's largest injury law.

[A]

Firm. That's pretty.

[C]

Awesome. I think I saw a billboard of yours recently that said 20 billion. 120 billion is an insane.

[D]

Number. Yeah, 20 billion recovered. It's actually, I think somewhere north, probably closer to 2223 after this year. And each year we get bigger and badder and our army grows. So the number will hopefully keep getting bigger and bigger as time goes.

[A]

On. Awesome. So how does someone get in.

[C]

Contact with Morgan and.

[A]

Morgan?

[C]

What? What would I do if I got into an.

[D]

Accident? Probably the easiest way is dialing pound law. That's £529 from your cell phone. We are always open. Our call center is always waiting to take your call. 247365.

[C]

Wow. Dan Morgan from Morgan and Morgan.

[A]

America's largest injury law.

[C]

Firm. Thanks for coming. By the.

[D]

Show. Thanks for having me. Visit forthepeople.com for an office near.

[A]

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From unforgettable tailgate and viewing parties to world class dining, thrilling nightlife and entertainment that keeps energy going long after the final whistle, this is where fans come to celebrate, show off your team spirit, cheer with friends and earn rewards on every experience you love. Because every play is bigger and every moment feels unforgettable in Las Vegas. So what are you waiting for? Make your game day legendary with MGM Rewards. Visit mgmrewards.com for details. Innovation is what gets your business to the big leagues and Wasabi is designed to give every business a shot at competition break free from skyrocketing storage costs, unpredictable egress fees from old and top heavy legacy providers. You know the big guys. Wasabi is the world's hottest cloud storage company and the go to provider for professional and collegiate sports teams and leagues around the world. And here's why. Innovation From Wasabi's AI enabled intelligent media storage Wasabi Air to the industry's only cloud storage service with triple protection against cybercriminals, data deletion and ransomware, Wasabi has taken the lead in big league data data storage. Remember, Wasabi is up to 80% less than the other guys and doesn't charge a cent for businesses to access their own data. Wasabi is another championship story. Check them out [e-mail] Wasabi Hot Cloud Storage Proud partner of the Volume Podcast Network Here we go. There are reports Dan Wetzel saying Kyle Whittingham going to be the new coach for the Michigan Wolverines. That's a good get. He's 66, mind and body looks mid-50s. Both the Harbaughs were in the 60s. Some some guys are just they play younger. They are younger. Whittingham Workout guy, ski guy. He is in shape and I love the hire. Actually be a very, very solid hire. Two reasons. He's an ethical guy. There's no bs. Whatever Kyle tells you is the truth. There's just no BS with him. Straight shooter. The second thing is he's a culture builder. I like that a lot. He's going to make them tough. Utah was always the one school in the Pac 12 that played like a Big Ten team. Tight ends, o line, tough linebackers. But you didn't always love their quarterback play. So he does. He's been making three star guys, five star guys and four star guys for years. He's finally going to get some five star guys and he's just a really loyal guy. He's one of those guys. He said last week he's like, you know, I'd rather leave before I get pushed out. And I, I think he's a really good hire. I don't think you can do better. I mean, Kaylin DeBoer was my first choice, but if it, but if you're telling me Kyle Winningham is the second choice, that's a good choice. Matt Campbell went to Penn State. I'm like, if you'd have fired Franklin and hired him the next day, I would have said good hire. If you would have the Sharon Moore stuff, if he would have left and Whittingham was your first call, I would have no problem with that. So that doesn't mean he's going to succeed, but he builds cultures, he knows how to develop players. His teams have never, they've always been good with special teams, good with line play. Really tough. Very, very Big Ten football. A lot of people criticize USC because they're pretty and finesse, but it's not Big Ten football. A fair criticism. Kyle Whittingham's Utah teams, they bullied you. They make tight ends block. I mean they, they, they put a lot of NFL guys out there considering they get three star recruits. So they had the number one ranked defense in the PAC 12. The Kyle Whittingham era. I got news for you. They didn't have the number one recruiting classes. They had the number one defense in the conference. So I've, I've, you know, used to spend a lot of time in Utah and watched a lot of Utah football games. That's a well coached team. And they had a longtime assistant. Whittingham leaves. So Utah will be fine. They got the guys running the program. They're an excellent program. I, I've said before, if you really took the four best fits to go from the Pac 12 to the Big Ten, it would have been Oregon, Washington, USC and Utah. Utah kind of got hoes, but it's a smaller Salt Lake City, a smaller market than ucla. But this is a real program, ucla. It kind of feels like they're Hammond egging it. They don't really have the budget. They can't. Utah's good program. They got money behind it. They got big. That, that Salt Lake economy is been on fire for a decade. So there's a lot of money in Utah. Good economy, good coach. Way to go Michigan. That's a good get. So the, the most, I mean, I'll be honest, the most interesting team in the playoffs. And I've said this all year, I want to see the Buffalo Bills make the Super Bowl. And I, and I love Harbaughn Herbert, but I'm just saying, macro for the NFL, wouldn't it be great? I mean, they're not the Chicago Cubs because the Cubs were just poorly run and awful for years. The Bills have often been smartly owned, smartly run, good coaches, good gyms. They're not the Cubs, but they've had, you know, they've run into buzz saws and Mahomes and they've run into dynasties. And the Cowboys, when they had Jim Kelly. So what's interesting is, am I unrealistic to say going into the playoffs they have got to get to the AFC championship or you got to change coaches. I'm not saying you have to win the Super Bowl. In fact, if you lost in overtime to Jacksonville and Trevor Lawrence 27, 26, I'd give you that. But you got to get their minimum. No Mahomes, no Burrow, no Lamar Jackson. Herbert's got a broken hand that a pitiful offensive line. C.J. stroud has no offense and Drake May and Bo Nix are kids. If you look at the current AFC playoff quarterbacks right now, there's a 42 year old guy, a couple of 23 and 25 year old guys. It is kids. And that doesn't mean McDermott is not a good coach. I'll give you an example. Doug Collins. Michael Jordan loved Doug Collins. Doug Collins, three straight playoffs with the Chicago Bulls, won 57% of his games. They needed a change. Mark Jackson was winning games in Golden State. Steve Kerr comes in. They needed a change. They needed somebody that was better for Steph Curry. Dan Reeves was not a bad coach. Dan Reeves was an excellent coach. But John Elway needed his kingmaker and it was Mike Shanahan, Tony Dungy excellent coach, but they felt like they needed more fire. John Gruden. So I think Sean McDermott is a very, very capable coach. Very, very capable coach. But last year, when you're watching them situationally on those fourth and ones and it feels like they kind of make it up on the sidelines, I'm like, I don't know. But this year you got young kids. The superstars are out. Patriots, I'd argue, still in a rebuild. I mean, Denver still paying cap hits with Russell Wilson. So their, their roster could be better and probably will be better next year. And then Drake man, Bo Nicks now, now we're in year three. So those guys become like year three. Light goes on. Liam Cohen. This is year one. Jacksonville could be better next year. Denver, New England, quarterbacks better next year. Pittsburgh, if Aaron retires, falls back. Maybe Chargers should be better next year because they'll have both of their tackles back in another Harbaugh recruiting class. So you. I'm showing this to the TV audience this. And again, Justin Herbert, if he didn't have a broken hand and had both of his starting tackles, I'd let you lose to them, too. But here's Josh Allen on the Bills making the playoffs again. The way that I put it in terms is to win the lottery, you got to buy a ticket to win a Super bowl, you got to make the playoffs. You know, getting into the playoffs is our ticket. Now. What, what we do with that is up to us and going out there and executing each and every week. And obviously you want to go into the playoffs playing as well as you can. And obviously there's still a chance for us to win the division. And obviously we need help doing that. We want to come out and take it one game at a time and still have that backs against the wall mentality and, you know, try to play our best football going into it. Yeah. Kind of feel like you got to get to the AFC Championship. I'll give you a loss. I'll give you a loss on the road to Jacksonville if it's a wild shootout. I feel you play well, your coach well, probably could give you a pass on that, but man, you can't stub your toe early. You can't be losing to Bo Nicks and Drake May and that this one sets up for you. Because remember, bone the Russell Wilson cap hits gone. Denver's better next year. Bo Nick's another year. Drake May, they're going to get their O line fortified through free agency or the draft. Patriots are better. Herbert's going to have his tackles back. So those three teams are all better. And you could. You, you know, Kansas City and Baltimore probably, or playoff teams the following year. You get these little tiny windows. You gotta get it right. That's what it feels like to me. By the way, J. Mac, I have a blazing 5. Top of the hour. I went all dogs. I haven't done this all year. Wait, what? All four dogs and an over. And I. I've been all year. I've had a very.

[B]

Good. When did you. When did you submit these? Because three dogs covered yesterday, depending on what number you got. Is this influenced by what you saw.

[A]

Yesterday? No, no, no, no, no. But the weather's crappy. You have teams that can clinch a playoff or win into. There's some teams out there that I like a lot. And I also think it is hard for favorites this time of the year. You are looking to the postseason. You don't think. You don't think some of these teams are like Philadelphia. I feel like they're kind. I mean now, now I, I like Philadelphia because I think they'll run the ball in the Bills. But it's a weird time of the year where some teams are tanking, soft tanking. Other teams will rest. Starters, underdogs. All this stuff's on film. Some of these viable underdogs are looking to clinch stuff. I. I have not done this. Now I may go over five. I went four, zero and one last week. I was. I was almost perfect last week. This I have not done four dogs all year long. I just. All the numbers to me, you're. You like dogs as.

[B]

Well? Well, I like one I think we both agree on. We'll see. We'll see after the.

[A]

Break. Yeah, very excited, J Max. Stick around. We'll get you some lettuce, pay for those Christmas.

[C]

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[A]

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