THE HERD - Hour 1 - Rams vs Seahawks is going to be amazing, Matthew Stafford is close to becoming an all-time great

Summary

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The Herd with Colin Cowherd – Hour 1 (Jan 23, 2026)

Main Theme:
Colin Cowherd dives into the enormous stakes of the upcoming NFC Championship between the Rams and Seahawks, highlighting Matthew Stafford's legacy-defining moment, the unparalleled talent on both rosters, and key NFL coaching moves. The hour weaves in insights about player legacies, coaching philosophies, franchise decisions, and even touches on trends in sports entertainment.

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Rams vs. Seahawks: A Game for the Ages

(Starts at 03:06)

• Stafford’s Defining Moment:

  • Colin opens with palpable excitement, stating that this weekend’s Rams vs Seahawks clash is "redefining careers," particularly Matthew Stafford’s.
  • He shares a remarkable Stafford stat: "One quarterback ever…400 passing yards, three touchdown passes, no picks against the team that finished with the NFL's number one scoring defense. That was Stafford, week 16. Never been done." (04:01)

• Stafford vs. Rodgers All-Time Debate:

  • Colin argues that if Stafford wins another Super Bowl, he'd rank Stafford "one slot ahead of Aaron Rodgers all time." (04:21)
  • He breaks down Stafford’s recent playoff dominance:
    • "Seven and two in the playoffs, multiple Pro Bowls, probably wins the MVP. More touchdowns than Aaron, higher passer rating, easily the better quarterback." (04:37)
    • Stafford’s “game-winning drives in playoffs” are cited as legends of Elway, Brady, Mahomes.
    • Noted: "Stafford…his passer rating, his completion percentage, his yards per game, his touchdown interception ratio go up in the playoffs…Aaron's actually go down." (06:28)

• Aesthetic vs. Substance:

  • Comparing Rodgers' “prettier” style to Stafford’s substance, Colin points out that late-career performance matters:
    • “That last three or four years for Elway separated the two. You're getting that. Aaron's always been the prettier quarterback..." (07:15)

• Leadership Insights:

  • Sean McVay on Stafford:
    • "There's extreme ownership and there's accountability. That's what guys love about Matthew…he's got great ownership…” (07:28)
    • “Excuses are tools of the incompetent. And Matthew is the furthest thing from that…he's a freaking stud." (07:59)

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Future-Proofing and Franchise Urgency

(08:03–14:04)

• Seahawks vs. Rams Talent:

  • Colin and J. Mac (Jonas Knox) describe the matchup as balanced, with an “evenly split” top 10 players and tremendous Pro Bowl potential throughout both rosters.
  • "If you took the Seahawks, Rams and made a Pro bowl team just on the Seahawks and Rams, it could compete with the rest of the league." (12:12)

• Team Windows:

  • Rams: “This may be the best Rams team in for a long period...there’s urgency with the Rams...potential last year for Matt Stafford.” (13:25)
  • Seahawks: "I think the Runway for Seattle to be good…I think is minimum three years. Could be longer." (13:48)
  • J. Mac adds: “Keep an eye on CJ Stroud…Seattle, amazing team…but things did kind of break their way…” (14:04)

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Rapid Fire NFL Coaching Carousel

(08:03–08:56; 23:54–26:13)

• Brian Daboll to Bills:

  • Colin calls him a “Buffalo guy” and notes his “significant amount” of work with Josh Allen—for Daboll, “it’s like venture capitalism…there’s a lot of promise, a lot of hope.” (08:03–08:56)
  • Eric Mangini’s insight: “He grew up in Buffalo. He could literally work for the Buffalo Tourism Bureau because he loves Buffalo so much.” (09:00)

• Ravens Hire Jesse Minter:

  • Jonas Knox: “This guy’s really sharp…excellent work with a mediocre talent in the Chargers…big hire for the Ravens.” (23:54)
  • Colin: “Usually the hot coordinator on the market ends up succeeding…This feels a little bit like Ben Johnson, except on defense...I think it's going to work to the level it works.” (24:39)

• Assessing Roster Strength:

  • Jonas: “Kyle Hamilton is very good…but Marlon Humphrey, it's over…personnel's a little more average…not a top tier team in the AFC…” (25:44)
  • Colin: “I like their talent…I didn’t think they had a great pass rush.” (26:09)

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Dallas Cowboys: Questionable Coaching Decisions

(19:31–23:54)

• Christian Parker Hired as Defensive Coordinator:
  • Colin critiques Jerry Jones’ hiring pattern:
    • “He keeps hiring coordinators and coaches that need him…There's an argument that he's never really respected coaching…” (21:30)
  • On Dallas’s future: “They’re 30 million over the cap…they can't do a New England and spend $250 million in free agency to solve their defense. The first round picks will help, but they won’t solve the issues.” (22:30)
  • “We've got three [Super Bowl wins]. How many more? I have to go as a single owner. Bob's got how many? Six. So I've got work to do.” (22:54)

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The Narrative on NFL Quarterbacks and Prospects

(32:08–37:02)

• Fernando Mendoza: No. 1 NFL Draft Prospect
  • On Mendoza’s NFL future:
    • “Big, accurate, clutch, humble. Four for four and not just four for four. All of them A pluses.” (34:15)
    • “He's going to win a bunch of games if he just gets good to competent head coach.” (34:38)
    • Cites Joel Klatt: “There are two types of quarterbacks…Mendoza rose to the occasion when his best was needed…” (35:41)

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LeBron, the Lakers, and Late-Career Athlete Narratives

(28:36–32:08)

• LeBron Addresses "Rift" with Jeanie Buss:
  • LeBron:
    • “It's not like me and Jeanie be on the phone talking…It's always been mutual. It's always been respect. It's always been a great partnership...don’t make this more than what it is.” (29:06)
  • Colin’s take: “That’s a great answer by LeBron…His legacy is set…He has pulled the plane onto the tarmac. He’s ready for takeoff into another business career very soon.” (29:45)
  • J. Mac warns: “At the end of these guys’ careers, if you’re not on top, the media is coming for you…The ink stain wretches love to build you up and then tear you down.” (31:15)

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Sean Payton, Coaching Styles, and NFL Culture Flips

(41:17–51:21)

• On Successful People & Coaching:

  • Colin recounts Forbes' traits of success:
    1. Don’t care about criticism
    2. Obsession with getting it right, not being right
    3. Avoiding people-pleasing
    • “Sean Payton does not care what you think...He’s not a people pleaser.” (41:17)

• NFL vs. NBA Entertainment and Individuality:

  • Colin contrasts the leagues:
    • “The NBA was cool…unique…I always felt the one advantage the NBA had over the NFL, it wasn’t as corporate…It’s actually flipped.” (44:41)
    • Now, “The NFL…is more creative than it’s ever been…a lot of the great young quarterbacks, they’re just doing their own thing…The NBA has become the NFL — everyone plays the same game…It’s a math equation. Threes and more threes.” (46:00)
    • “When you’re not dependent on anything other than the quality of the game and the franchise, you don’t have these dips.” (49:31)

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Notable Quotes & Moments

• On Stafford’s Playoff Clutch:
  • "Game winning drives are what define Elway and Mahomes, not just the trophies. And Stafford …five he’s had game winning drives in a very short period of time.” – Colin (05:36)
• On Jerry Jones’ Coaching Philosophy:
  • “There’s an argument that he’s never really respected coaching, so. And Dallas really needs coaching because there are 30 million over the cap next year as of right now.” – Colin (21:30)
• On LeBron’s Media Savvy:
  • “He doesn’t get defensive about this stuff. He’s got nothing to prove. His legacy is set. His net worth is doubled since he's been in LA." – Colin (29:45)
• On the Modern NFL’s Creativity:
  • “The NFL now has all these guys…‘you do you’…It’s more creative than it’s ever been.” – Colin (46:13)
• On How Sports Ratings Reflect Game Quality:
  • “When you’re not dependent on anything other than the quality of the game and the franchise, you don’t have these dips.” – Colin (49:31)

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Key Timestamps

• 03:06 — Stafford’s unique playoff achievements, legacy debate
• 07:28 — Sean McVay on Stafford’s leadership
• 12:12 — Rams vs Seahawks: elite talent on both rosters
• 13:25 — Long-term outlook for Rams and Seahawks
• 19:31 — Dallas Cowboys hire Christian Parker; critique of Jerry Jones
• 23:54 — Ravens hire Jesse Minter as head coach
• 29:06 — LeBron’s answer to Jeanie Buss story
• 34:15 — Colin breaks down Fernando Mendoza as a top 2026 draft prospect
• 41:17 — Colin on traits of success; Sean Payton admired
• 44:41 — Colin’s analysis: NFL vs NBA personality and entertainment shifts

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Summary

Colin Cowherd spends this hour laying out why Rams-Seahawks is must-see television and what’s at stake for Matt Stafford’s legacy. He makes a compelling, stats-driven case that another Super Bowl vaults Stafford above Aaron Rodgers in all-time rankings. The episode highlights the unique and dense talent in the NFC Championship game, the different future trajectories for the Rams (a sense of “last, best chance”) and Seahawks (sustained window). Coaching shifts in the NFL are dissected with skepticism about the Cowboys' approach and optimism for the Bills and Ravens’ staff moves. As the episode unfurls, broader themes are tackled—how the NFL’s embrace of individuality in quarterbacks is outpacing the increasingly homogeneous NBA, and why game quality and franchise integrity drive football’s popularity despite missing big stars. Nuggets on LeBron’s end-stage career media posture and the next crop of NFL quarterbacks round out an episode focused as much on legacy and culture as this weekend’s outcomes.

Transcript

[Colin Cowherd]

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[Colin Cowherd]

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 [e-mail] or stream us live every day on the iHeartRadio app by searching Fox Sports Radio or FSR. Now let's get this party. You're listening to Fox Sports Radio. Here we go. It is a fry day. What a weekend plan. Patriots, Broncos, Rams, Seahawks Redefining careers Live in Chicago. Yeah, it's a little frigid. It's the Herd. Wherever you may be, however you may be watching or listening, thanks for making us part of your day. I don't know if everybody quite realizes how big a weekend it is for Matt Stafford. Let me read you a stat real quick. History of the NFL history. One quarterback ever. This was in week 16 against Seattle. 400 passing yards, three touchdown passes, no picks against the team that finished with the NFL's number one scoring defense. That was Stafford week 16 never been done and I've said if he wins another Super Bowl I will put him one spot ahead of Aaron Rodgers all time. And that sounds kooky. I think Aaron Rodgers 11th or 12th best quarterback ever. I would insert Stafford one spot ahead. There are no great movies with choppy endings. Go look at the last five years between the two. Stafford has been on a heater seven and two in the playoffs, multiple pro Bowls, probably wins the mvp. More touchdowns than Aaron, higher passer rating, easily the better quarterback. But bigger than any stat is this Aaron in his prime in well run Green Bay only had one great playoff run. One in his prime. He was one in four in conference championships. Stafford late prime to out of his prime in just five years is on his second. There's no other way to put it. Stafford was born into a dysfunctional family in Detroit. The minute he was adopted by the LA Rams he has been significantly the better quarterback. All he needed was grown ups in the building. Add this too, which feels very Elway, Brady and Mahomes Matt Stafford of his seven career playoff wins five he's had game winning drives in a very short period of time. How many would he had if he had 12 good years? Aaron in that huge window in Green Bay, didn't even have three, only had two game winning drives are what define Elway and Mahomes, not just the trophies. And Stafford, this is another thing. His passer rating, his completion percentage, his yards per game, his touchdown interception ratio go up in the playoffs again very Mahomes and Brady Aarons actually go down. So Stafford in the biggest games against the best competition is actually better. Aaron is slightly worse. That's something. This is what you got during the Elway Marino debates. For a long time people said, oh, Marino, that release. Because Marino, like Aaron was prettier. The aesthetic was more jarring and amazing. But in the end, that last three or four years for Elway separated the two. You're getting that Aaron's always been the prettier quarterback. The way he throws, connection to Hollywood, kind of cool. Just listen to how thinking of Aaron and Stafford, just listen to how McVeigh describes Matt Stafford. This is instructive.

[Sean McVay]

I think any great leader that I've ever been around and Matthew is a perfect illustration of that. There's extreme ownership and there's accountability. That's what guys love about Matthew. I mean, you'll never see a guy when you look at the way Matthew handles himself that, you know, isn't an excuse maker. You know, I've heard it said before. I think excuses are tools of the incompetent. And, and Matthew is the furthest thing from that. He's got great ownership and I think that's why people want to follow him is because of the way that he handles, you know, stays humble and the, you know, the great moments, which he sure has had a handful. And then in the moments that we can be better, he owns it and now we can move on. And he's a freaking stud.

[Colin Cowherd]

Yeah. Doesn't point fingers, takes ownership always accountable. I'm going to put Stafford with a Super bowl, one slot ahead Aaron, one slot ahead of Aaron. And I think Aaron's top 12 ever. That's how big of a weekend it is for Matt Stafford. All right, Brian Dabel is going to interview with the Buffalo Bills. Philip Rivers is also interviewing. He's not going to get the job, but it's kind of an interesting interview. I want to go back because we don't, we don't tend to talk about who got hired last year in the coaching cycle. So if you go back one year in the coaching cycle, Vrabel was an automatic. We all knew he was going to be great. Faster maybe than you predicted, but we knew it was a big hit. We also knew Ben Johnson had been the smartest, most clever coordinator in the NFL for several years, had several offers. We thought that was going to work, too. And we, we knew, kind of all of us, even people in Dallas knew Brian Schottenheimer. That's a pretty weak swing. So three of seven. Yeah, he kind of felt like, yeah, Vrabel and Ben Johnson are going to work Schottenheimer. But when you went to Liam Cohen, Kellen Moore, Aaron Glenn, I don't know, Pete Carroll, I thought would stabilize the Raiders, that was a mess. But in a lot of the young guys, he didn't really know. And I think that is where Brian Dable is. I don't know the best part about him. It's an offensive league and he's an offensive coach and he's worked with Josh Allen. The worst part, he was 20, 40 and 1 with the Giants and it ended ugly. So very few of these coaches, all these interviews are blue chip stocks. That's John Harbaugh. That will work with the Giants. That's my prediction. Vrabel, A. Harbaugh, Jimmer, John, Sean Payton, blue chip stocks. The rest of them, including Brian Dable, who I like. It's like venture capitalism. There's a lot of promise, there's a lot of hope. You need restructuring and new leadership. But it should be noted, all those smart people with all that money, venture capitalists, their hit rate is 20%. And the hit rate on coaches not named. Harbaugh, Sean Payton, Vrabel, the hit rate is. Is closer to 20% than 75%. I don't know what he's going to be. I know what he's inheriting. New stadium, stable ownership, better revenue going forward. Great left tackle, running back, superstar quarterback, great tight ends, decent defense. Not special. Eric Mangini considers Dable a friend, knows him well. Thoughts on day ball landing with Josh Allen? Brian is the ultimate Buffalo guy. He grew up in Buffalo. He could. He could literally work for the Buffalo Tourism Bureau because he loves Buffalo so much. So from that perspective, yeah, it's a great fit. He's got a. He's got a really good relationship with the most important player on the team and a lot of respect for him. And in my mind, did a significant amount to help develop him from a fairly raw talent in college to a much more polished talent. Yeah, Tom Brady, one hour from now. I do feel strongly going into these weekends Games. And I will have one hour from now we're going to list we did Yesterday in the AFC the 10 best players in the Seahawks Rams. And I'm not kidding you, you get to like 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15. It's like guys who could make Pro Bowls. There is so much talent in the Seattle Rams game. I think the winner of the NFC wins the super bowl regardless of who they play. I do feel strongly this morning that New England is the side and I feel less strongly, but with some conviction the Rams are the better bet. So when I, when I list those top 10 players, it's interesting. It's very evenly split where the players land. I think it's going to be one. It's on Fox. It's going to be one for the ages. Completely stacked defenses. I said this earlier in the week. If you took the Seahawks, Rams and made a Pro bowl team just on the Seahawks and Rams, it could compete with the rest of the league. The offensive line would be the weakness. Defensively, wide receivers, tight ends, backs, quarterbacks, coaches, McVeigh, coaches, Mike McDonald's, the D.C. i mean it is. You just do not get this level of talent going up against each other very much. And J. Mac, you will have your picks coming up in the final hour of the show. But. But I do think in the Rams Seahawks, we would acknowledge now they're not a draft away. This is as good maybe as the Rams will be because it's Matt Stafford potential last year. This is as good as the Rams are going to be potentially for the next several years. They're probably not in a draft going to find the next Matt Stafford. Maybe they do. I doubt it. Certainly not an older experienced guy. And I think Seattle's very, very good. I think their window, I think Seattle this year, next year, the next year they have drafted so well. I think the Runway for Seattle to be good. I think Darnold's only 28. I think Seattle is going to be very good for minimum three years. Could be longer. I think it feels like there's urgency with the Rams because remember last year with Matt Stafford, we didn't know if he was coming back and then he didn't really practice before the season because of a bad back. So if you're asking me who does the game mean more for, I would say this may be the best Rams team in for a long period.

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Yeah.

[Colin Cowherd]

Interesting. Is there another Stafford on the market they can go buy?

[Jonas Knox]

I would keep an eye on CJ Stroud. I'll just plant that out there. Now with his Houston situation and his agent specifically. But I will say Seattle, amazing team. They've been outstanding all season. Colin, you know, things kind of broke their way. Micah Parsons gets injured for the Packers. That's a huge swing. The 49ers entire roster decimated. So things did kind of break their way for Seattle. I don't know you. If you think Sam Darnold's in the class of Purdy and love and Jalen hurts and all these guys, then sure they're going to be sticking around for a while.

[Colin Cowherd]

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

[Covino and Rich]

Hey, it's Cavino and Rich from Fox Sports Radio. Now, in addition to hearing us live weekdays from 5 to 7pm Eastern, 2 to 4 Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, we're excited to announce a brand new YouTube channel for the show. Yup, that's right. You can now watch Covino ENRICH Live on YouTube every day. All you got to do search COVINO and RICH FSR on YouTube again. Go to YouTube. Search COVINOENRICH FSR. Check us out on YouTube. Subscribe. Hit that thumbs up icon and comment away.

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[Colin Cowherd]

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[Colin Cowherd]

Cowboys are hiring a new defensive coordinator. 34 year old Christian Parker, Philadelphia's passing game coordinator and defensive back coach. If you had told the Cowboy fans, hey, tomorrow we're going to announce they're hiring their defensive coordinator from the Eagles, you'd be like, damn, Vic Fangio. And no, he was a passing game coordinator and a DB coach. If you look at the last several great coordinator hires, you could see it coming. Josh McDaniels, New England stacking trophies. Been great forever as a coordinator. It was going to work. Vic Fangio in Philadelphia last 10 years, probably been arguable. Top defensive coordinator both years in Philly, top five defenses. Robert Sala to San Francisco, Great defensive coach. The minute he left the jets say what you want about it, they would circle the drain. He was going to be a great defensive coach. He was this year. Cliff Kingsbury may not be a head coach, but Kingsbury was a really smart hire. Everybody knew going to Washington that Jaden Daniels, he got a really good first oc. Also Jesse Minter when he went Baltimore, Michigan to the Chargers, he'd been great in Baltimore, great at Michigan. That was a home run. Everybody knew it was going to work. So you know, it's funny about Jerry. He says one thing and does another and so you could say, well, Colin Matt Eber flu. He was a defensive coach. He went, he was 28 in defense. Were the Bears when Eberfluss was there, he left. They got better. Chicago is better, especially in the playoffs defensively. So I don't know if it's to maintain power because Parcells and Jimmy Johnson push back, but he keeps hiring coordinators and coaches that need him. I mean, there was no real market for Mike McCarthy. I'm not sure there is now. You know, Matt Eberfluss, kind of a disaster in Chicago. This kid. How many other teams are looking at him as a coordinator? Jerry keeps hiring people that need him. And there's a. There's an argument that he's never really respected coaching, so. And Dallas really needs coaching because there are 30 million over the cap next year as of right now. Okay? That means they can't do a New England and spend 250 million in free agency to solve their defense. They're over the cap now they have two first round picks. I'd be shocked that they didn't use both for defense. But you're not going to solve a defense with two rookies in the first round. One may not even hit. That's the, that's the rate. About 50, 60% of first rounders become really, really good players. So they can't do a Patriots. They can't spend their way to a better defense that just. That's not available. But Jerry keeps saying it's all about getting to a trophy. My goal in life is to retire as the owner that won the most Super Bowls. That's my goal to be retired in the NFL as the owner that won the most Super Bowls. We've got three. How many more? I have to go as a single owner. Bob's got how many? Six. So I've got. I've got work to do. Got work to do. I got work to do. But at least I'm up to the second rung in the ladder. There is a way to do it. It's called Sean Payton, Mike Vrabel, somebody with the last name Harbaugh. Yeah, it's just, it's always been odd to me is that he's saying it's about the titles. Folks, we all know the key in this sport is quarterback number two is not left tackle. Number two's coach. You go cheap on Schottenheimer. Mike McCarthy didn't have a big market. Maybe this young guy's unbelievable. Same one thing doing another. And again, this defense was lasting. Everything. The first round picks will help, but they won't solve the issues. You don't have any free agent money. It always feels like Dallas is out of money and it always feels like Philadelphia's got more money and so do the Rams. I don't know how it works. Somebody's using a Swiss bank. Somebody's not. J. Mac with the news. No, no, no, no. Turn on the news. This is the Herd line news.

[Jonas Knox]

So the Baltimore Ravens made a move yesterday, signing Jesse Minter as their new head coach. Minter comes, of course, from the Chargers where he was excellent with Jim Harbaugh. Prior to that he was with Jim at Michigan. And prior to that, Minter's first NFL job came with John Harbaugh in Baltimore where he was the A defensive assistant for a few years. This guy's really sharp nose defense. Excellent work with a mediocre talent in, in the Chargers. It's not like they had an excellent secondary or linebackers. And he really cooked up some good stuff here. His numbers, big hire for the Ravens. I applaud it. But Colin, for being real, I don't this is wonderful, but I need to see who they get as OC because Lamar Jackson is the bigger question, especially his contract.

[Colin Cowherd]

This feels a little bit like Ben Johnson, except on defense where he's been the hot coordinator in this cycle. People have been talking about Jesse Manner. Everywhere he goes. They. I mean, literally, he took. The Chargers defense was dead last. He took him to like number two or number one. So, I mean, he does. Usually the hot coordinator on the market ends up succeeding either side of the ball. I mean, d' Amico Ryan's was the defensive guy. Everybody's like super sharp. And he crushed. And. And, you know, we know the offensive guy, Ben Johnson crushed. So when you're the, you know, generally the two things we know that work are that you're an established variable. Peyton Harbaugh, or you are like, you are the hot court. Mike McDonald, by the way, coming out of Baltimore, it was like, guys, this is the. This is the defensive McVeigh. So my take is it's a pretty strong hire, known in the building and good personnel. Star quarterback. They'll redo his contract. I think he'll be a good hire. My guess is a good hire. I feel the same way. I did kind of with Ben Johnson, which is. I think it's going to work to the level it works. How fast it works, I don't have any idea.

[Jonas Knox]

Yeah, the front four was mediocre at best. They had a poor pass rush all season.

[Colin Cowherd]

Yeah.

[Jonas Knox]

Kyle Hamilton is very good in the secondary, but Marlon Humphrey, it's over. He's kind of washed. I think the personnel's a little more average than. Than some others. I don't think this is a top tier team in the. If we're doing tears. I don't know who started this tears thing, but I would go. The Ravens is like a third tier team despite having an elite quarterback. I don't think this team's.

[Colin Cowherd]

I like their talent. I didn't think they had a great pass rush. I like their talent.

[Jonas Knox]

I just also terrible, as we know.

[Colin Cowherd]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Jonas Knox]

All right, let's move on to Sean Payton, the Denver Broncos coach, getting ready to cook up some good stuff for Jarrett Stidham in the AFC Championship game. But interestingly, he had a message and it turned into some bulletin board material. Wide receiver K. Sean Booty responded. Listen to the war of words.

[Colin Cowherd]

You've had a message to fans every single week about noise.

[Jonas Knox]

Do you have. Do you have a message for them this week with being the final game?

[Sean Payton]

Well, they're gonna have plenty of rest after this one, two weeks.

[Colin Cowherd]

Not that you guys need any extra motivation, but did you see the Sean Payton quote insinuating that Denver fans will have some extra rest for the Super Bowl? Nah, I ain't never seen that city have two weeks for the rest of the Super. Basically caressing Cancun. The media is so funny. Did you hear what Sean said? Did you hear what Sean said? What is your reaction to what Sean said? It's like tattling when you were kids. Bob said, Jimmy said. It's like, guys, it's just, it doesn't matter after the first play. Nobody cares.

[Jonas Knox]

You know, this is media working overtime to make this game interesting.

[Colin Cowherd]

I mean, I think with Bo Nix, it still wouldn't be as good as the Seahawks Rams. I think the story of the weekend. No, no, but wait, whoa, whoa, whoa.

[Jonas Knox]

Yes, I would agree, but Bo Nixon, I mean, like, he is a telegenic guy. We know his college story. People know he's a known quantity like Jarrett Stidham. I mean, Colin. I don't know which network has the super bowl, but you know, they're praying for Drake, man, the Patriots.

[Colin Cowherd]

Like, I actually think Drake May and the Patriots and Vrabel in the turnaround against either of the NFC teams is a really good super.

[Jonas Knox]

Yeah, no, that's compelling for sure.

[Colin Cowherd]

I think Stafford is, again, just from a TV standpoint, Stafford literally climbing in the all time rankings is really a cool story. I, I don't, I, I'm dead serious here. I don't think people realize a Super bowl win first, that even an appearance takes him to another level. A Super bowl win for the one player in all these games who can literally change his legacy is Matt Stafford. I mean, it's really. He's the one Drake May, obviously he'll be the, it'll be like, wow, this kid is the next blank. But I mean, change your legacy from, man, that guy's going to get some hall of Fame votes. He may get into. Oh my God, He's a top 12 quarterback ever. I think it's Matt Stafford's it.

[Jonas Knox]

Yeah, it's certainly interesting. All right, let's go to the final story, and that's the Los Angeles Lakers. Tough one last night against the Paperclips. They stormed back from down like 21. They cut it to two, ended up losing. After the game, JJ Redick said the team didn't trust each other on the offensive end of the floor. LeBron was then asked, hey man, what about this big story at ESPN about Jeanie Buss not being happy that you Weren't kissing the ring and all that nonsense. Here's LeBron.

[Sean Payton]

I thought it was good, but, you know, somebody can see it another way. So it's always. It's always two sides of the coin. So we never talked about.

[Colin Cowherd]

I don't understand.

[Sean Payton]

Like, it's not like me and Jeannie be on the phone talking. You guys ain't never heard a report about that.

[Colin Cowherd]

Don't.

[Sean Payton]

Don't make something out of it. That is not. You know, it's always been mutual. It's always been respect. It's always been a great partnership. But it's not like I called Jeannie on the phone. It's not like I called Mickey Harrison on the phone or Dan Gilbert on the phone. Like, come on, guys, don't make this more than what it is.

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[Colin Cowherd]

By the way, I think this is a. I think this is a great answer by LeBron. I think. And if anybody else noticed this, I'm sure you have. But LeBron's gotten to a point that he's. He doesn't get defensive about this stuff. He's got nothing to prove. His legacy is set. His net worth is doubled since he's been in la. That's a great answer. Like, guys, I don't. I don't. I'm not on the phone with the owner. They. People can write what they write. There's a story about me every day. He's in a very good spot. I don't think LeBron's nine years ago. Answers like that. It feels like to me, LeBron is coming to the realization that his career is ending. LeBron has too much pride. And by the way, you can say pride is vanity. Whatever it is, everybody that's successful, man or woman, you know, they have pride in their work. It sounds like, to me, LeBron, he. He doesn't really care, is that it's over and that that's not saying he's retiring. I would guess at 75, 25. Does he want to limp to the finish line, be humiliated in a trade that. His answers are he's had so many opportunities over the last six months that he could take shots here. He doesn't. If you notice his answers, they're all, like, grateful. It's been. It's been wonderful. We've had a great relationship. He has pulled the plane onto the tarmac. He's ready for takeoff into another business career very soon.

[Jonas Knox]

Yeah, LeBron, I think he's at 22, 6 and 5, and he could walk away averaging that, which would be Impressive. I want to remind you. So I was in the D.C. area when Michael Jordan came back to the Wizards. Colin it was open season on Michael Jordan. The Wizards were a dumpster fire. The media crucified him. The Washington Post players didn't like him. The Washington Post had a writer specifically following him around. And it was brutal the way he treated Kwame Brown. I'm just telling you, at the end of these guys careers, if you're not on top, the media is coming for you. Because as you, you've been in this long enough. You know, the ink stain wretches love to build you up and then tear you down. And I'm telling you. But the vibes in this story that LeBron stuff had nothing to do with the Genie Buss family story. It was just wedged in like four paragraphs in like a 10,000 word piece. And all the headlines are about Genie Buss versus LeBron. I'm telling you, LeBron, they're coming for you. I don't like it personally, but I've seen this game before. It's not a fun one.

[Colin Cowherd]

I agree J. Mac with the news. Well, that's the news and thanks for stopping by the herd lie news. I saw this headline this morning. Indiana's Fernando Mendoza, likely number one pick entering the NFL draft. It's not likely he will be. We are 90 days, three months out from the draft. As of today, he's going to be the number one pick and people are going to pick him apart. They, believe it or not, did it with Andrew Luck, they did it with Caleb Williams. I don't like his fingernail polish. He's too emotional. Here's what we know doesn't work long term in the NFL. Small quarterbacks, they age very quickly. Cocky quarterbacks, Johnny Manziel, Inexperienced guys that just don't get a lot of college starts. Anthony Richardson, Trey Lance. Here's three things that almost always work. Humble, grateful personalities. A lot of Brady and Manning. Big body that can take hits, that can move a little bit. He's 6, 5, 2, 25 and really, really accurate, especially in big games and in big spots. In the playoff this year he was three and oh completed 75% of his throws. Nine touchdowns. No picks go to the Penn State, second half, go to the Ohio State, go to Miami. He's great in the biggest spots. So he is the definition of a franchise quarterback. Big, accurate, clutch, humble. Four for four and not just four for four. All of them A pluses. That does not guarantee Super Bowls. It does not guarantee multiple conference championship. Appearances, it does guarantee if you get a competent coach, not even a great one, you're going to win a bunch of games. Fernando Mendoza has none of the roadblocks. He's not small, he doesn't lack experience and he is not cocky. Those are the three killers and he's got the three and four things. Big, accurate, tough, humble, grateful. Those work everywhere in every business. So he's going to win a bunch of games if he doesn't even need a great coach. He needs a good, competent coach. If you're good and competent, I mean Dan Quinn, mostly good. He's competent, not great, not all time stuff. Don't need Andy Reid. If he gets, if he gets an elite top four or five coach, I think that that's when you're going to see conference championships and a Super bowl appearance, no guarantee wins them. I mean again, Stafford and McVeigh have won. It's hard, but here was this week, here he was Mendoz on Good Morning America talking about, you know, the potential to be the number one pick. I'd be so grateful and I could only do this with the glory of God and it just, it would, it would be a dream come true from a two star recruit. I was, the reason I had this whole entire LinkedIn Persona was, hey, I'm probably not going to make the NFL, so let me double down on my networking, on my connections and let me get a little ahead in the corporate lifestyle so when I graduate college I can have a foot up. Yeah. By the way, I'm going to have Tom Brady on in about 30 minutes from now, 40 minutes from now. He was at that game. And I'm going to ask him, you know, his interpretation of what he saw with Fernando Mendoza. Joel clapped earlier this week on Mendoza winning the title. There are two types of quarterbacks and there are quarterbacks that rise to the occasion when their best is needed and there are guys that shrink. And Mendoza rose to the occasion when his best was, was needed. He was at his best. That's, that's why he won the Heisman and that's why he's a national champ. Totally agree. He's going to win a lot of games if he just gets good to competent head coach. All right, J. Mac around the corner. I, I have a theory on something. The ratings have been great in the NFL this year despite no Mahomes, no Lamar Jackson, no Joe Burrow. Josh Allen's out and the ratings have been stupendous. Allen, of course, just out. Seattle Rams is going to get a big boy number and why with so many unbelievable stars in the NBA, it doesn't feel the same. There is a there is a difference between the sport and you're seeing it now. I've got that thought and the 10 best players in Seattle Rams and we could have gone 16 to 17 and had borderline pro bowlers. Be sure to catch live editions of the Herd weekdays at noon Eastern, 9am Pacific.

[Covino and Rich]

Hey is Cavino and Rich from Fox Sports Radio now, in addition to hearing us live weekdays from 5 to 7pm Eastern, 2 to 4 Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, we're excited to announce a brand new YouTube channel for the show. Yup, that's right. You can now watch Covino and rich live on YouTube every day. All you got to do search Covino Enrich FSR on YouTube. YouTube again go to YouTube search CovinoEnrich FSR. Check us out on YouTube. Subscribe. Hit that thumbs up icon and comment away.

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[Colin Cowherd]

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[Covino and Rich]

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[Jonas Knox]

Seattle will be electric on Sunday with a trip to the super bowl on the line. Matthew Stafford and the Rams take on Sam Darnold and the Seahawks. The NFC Championship presented by Intuit TurboTax Sunday at 6 Eastern, 3 Pacific on Fox. And the man who's calling the game, the legendary Tom Brady, stops by next hour to break down the matchup.

[Colin Cowherd]

Forbes magazine, I'm sure you've heard of it, kind of did a study on successful people, men and women, and the three things that they said. The three traits that successful people had. Number one, they do not care what other people think of them. Criticism is irrelevant. They have their own journey. They know what they want to do. They just don't care about criticism. They just don't care. Second, and I boy, this one is my mantra in life. They're not obsessed with being right they're obsessed with getting it right. The Internet is losers everywhere telling you how much they know about geopolitics. They want to prove how right they are. Successful people don't worry about that. They want to get it right, not about being right on the Internet. And the third thing is pleasing everybody, because it's impossible. There are. The Pope has critics like, you can't please everybody. And when I spent a year hanging out with Sean Payton and he would come by the studio at Fox, he embodied all three of these. And it rubs a lot of people the wrong way. Sean Payton does not care what you think. Sean Payton wants to get it right. We talked about that all the time. And he's. He's not a people pleaser. He just. It just doesn't matter. And I think it rubs a lot of people the wrong way. But I mean, the guy is just unbelievable. And I remember when he was at Fox, I was like, he's not doing this TV thing. He's got too much going on. You go to dinner once with Sean, have a couple coffees with him, a 15 minute conversation. He needs a coach. Mike Vrabel clearly has respect. Kind of tells you as he faces him this weekend what he's all about.

[Sean Payton]

Very successful football coach, tough to defend for, you know, tough to defend against. I think he does a great job with his personnel and his scheme. I think he's had his core concepts that he's had for a lot of years, and then he's just continued to add onto that, you know, as some of the game has changed and some of the ideas and, and the schemes have evolved. And so I think that that's pretty unique.

[Colin Cowherd]

Yeah, I listen if you can get to a Super bowl and beat. Because his defense wasn't very good against Buffalo and the defense, the Denver defense, is interesting. It gets a lot of sacks. I don't think it's in the class of the Seahawks or Houston, but it gets a lot of sacks. Nick Bonito, Zach Allen, that's a big part of that. But I don't think it's a great defense. So if you can get to a Super bowl without what I consider a great defense, Houston's got a great defense. Seattle a great defense. Rams defense creates turnovers. I don't think Denver's in that class. I think if you take out Nick Bonito, it doesn't even feel the same as it is now. And you can get it with super bowl, with Jared Stidham. Now, I will say this. I do think they're high end Players are very, very good. Yesterday I gave the top 10 players in this matchup. I think Denver's top end players, Patrick Certain, Nick Bonito are just unbelievable. Quinn Minors on the offensive line, Garrett Bowles. Denver's got the better online, no question. But I think there are, there are some holes to Denver right now. Quarterbacks. One of them New England's A team. I don't think their high ends is good outside of Drake May, but I don't think, I don't think they have any holes. I like New England in this spot. I think they'll come in. Denver will come in and Stidham will be like a backup quarterback playing in a massive game and he'll be limited. That'll give Drake May better field position and more possessions. And I think over the course of a game, I think it's very, very close. Over the course of a game, I suspect Vrabel, Drake May, Stefan Diggs don't love their O line. I've said before I still contend the final four teams, New England still in a semi rebuild. They got to get the offensive line right. There's a couple of spots they need to upgrade. But I'll say this about Sean Payton. The year people forget this, the year before he went to the Saints they were wearing bags on their heads. They were the running joke in the league. They were the running joke. They were three and 13. The following year they went 10 and six year four they won the Super Bowl. So you're talking about Peyton and Vrabel. This is a. These are all time coaches. These guys are really sharp. Really sharp. So I was thinking about this. Let me throw this out at you. I fell in love with the NBA when I was a kid, Dr. J. And I didn't like the NFL back when I was a kid. I loved baseball and I loved the NBA. And one of the reasons I liked the NBA was Spencer Haywood and Dr. J. Because I was kind of a feisty kid. It had its own personality. You could wear your own shoes, your own everything. It didn't feel corporate. It felt like individual stars. And downtown Freddie Brown didn't play like Spencer Haywood. And Spencer Haywood's like, I'm not going to get treated like this. I'm not going to play. And that was its strength. And remember that. I'll get back to that in a second. So the ratings are up in the NFL. I'm reading them. No Mahomes in the playoffs. No Lamar Jackson, no Joe Burrow. Aaron Rodgers, long gone. Ratings are up. One thing the NFL does really well. The NBA stinks at introducing their next star. You know who the most popular player in the NBA is right now? Steph Curry, year 17. Still, I'm sorry, SGA. WEMBY. Jokic are remarkable players, personalities. So three of the top four teams left have quarterbacks that just won their first playoff game. The ratings shouldn't be through the roof, but I think the reason is because the football in America, college and pro. But let's talk pro football is reliant on the quality of their game. That's why they're constantly changing rules. They want to keep the game number one. So you can insert any quarterback, any pass rusher into any team, he'll be popular. Because they worry about the quality of their game and the franchise over the player. Yet the star player still makes a fortune. The NBA is about the player more than the franchise. And if the player doesn't have a personality, Jokic isn't that fascinating. You get major dips in popularity. But there's something else that's happening between the NFL and basketball that I. I'm not sure this has been said. I feel strongly about this. I always felt the one advantage the NBA had over the NFL, it wasn't as corporate. You know, it was like a music club and everybody had their own thing. It was cool. The NBA was cool that, you know, Dr. J played one way, the other guy played the other way. It was a lot of one on one. It could be ISO. I mean, magic didn't play like Steph and Steph doesn't play like Dr. J. And it was kind of independent and artsy and a cool aesthetic. And then football was kind of corporate. Here's the playbook. Don't get crazy. Corporation runs the shield. There's a way to play the game. And Tom Brady, please take Peco. It's actually flipped. The NFL now has all these guys like Josh Allen and Caleb Williams. They're like, bro, do you, do you? You do you? The game has more great offensive coaches. It's more creative than it's ever been. There's still a big corporate shield hovering over the NFL. But a lot of the great young quarterbacks, they're just doing their own thing. Lamar played like nobody else. Caleb plays like nobody else. Josh plays like nobody else. And you kind of lean into it. And conversely, the NBA has become the NFL. Their one advantage. It was art, it was unique. And now everybody plays the same game. Shoot a bunch of threes. I saw a Celtic game a couple weeks ago. I had to turn it off. Everybody's doing the same thing. Wemby, just shoot threes. Aunt Edwards should look like Doc and Edwards should play like MJ. I watch him play shooting 11 threes. So the one advantage the NBA really had was the individual. And yet they've smooshed them with analytics into playing the exact same way. You can watch an NBA game. There's 60 threes. 60. Just everybody. Big, small guard, forward, center, get to the corner, get to an angle, shoot at three. It's okay if you're Steph, because that's his game. Dr. J's game was acrobatic and dunking wasn't shooting jumpers. You were allowed. And so what happens to the NBA? When have they succeeded? When their stars have big personalities and flair. Magic, Kobe, mj, Shaq. They've smooshed it all together. And now it's very NFL where it's very corporate. Everybody shoots the same way. It's a math equation. Threes and more threes. And the NFL to me, is now more willing to kind of say, this quarterback is unique, bro. I mean, you know, we'd prefer him to get up to 65% completion percentage, but if you're the high 50s and got horsepower V8, we're gonna, we're gonna. I mean, Ben Johnson has an offense. He lets Caleb do a lot of Caleb stuff. So when I see these ratings are up with all these young quarterbacks, when you're not dependent on anything other than the quality of the game and the franchise, you don't have these dips. The NBA's one advantage was personality. Now it's a three point shooting contest. It's just repetitive. Even the players I like, I don't see dunks. I see threes. Tom Brady, next hour.

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[Colin Cowherd]

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[Jonas Knox]

So good.

[Colin Cowherd]

Your bill ladies. I got it. No, I got it.

[Jonas Knox]

Seriously, I insist.

[Colin Cowherd]

I assisted first. Don't be silly. You don't be silly.

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Rock paper scissors for it.

[Colin Cowherd]

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[Colin Cowherd]

This is an iHeart podcast. Guaranteed Human.