← The Herd with Colin Cowherd
The Herd with Colin Cowherd
THE HERD - Hour 2 - Greg Cosell explains Brock Purdy Magic, Maxx Crosby is football obsessed
00:41:42
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Colin Cowherd
Remember when people were nice? When we could occasionally stop fighting and come together? Well, here's some good news. The Ripple Effect is here. Hosted by comedian Jenna Kim Jones, it's a show about how powerful it is when we reach out to one another. It's the perfect weekly proof that goodness isn't gone. The Ripple Effect is more than a podcast. It's a reminder that you can start a ripple that changes everything. Listen to the ripple effect on iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Colin Coward from the Herd. Whether you're a seasoned small business owner or thinking about getting started, you'll definitely want to check out season four of Mind the Business small business success stories from iHeartMedia's Ruby Studio and Inuit QuickBooks. In the latest season, hosts Austin Hankwitz and Janie Torres are talking to self starters about the ins and outs of entrepreneurship, how QuickBooks helps you to get more done in less time. You don't want to miss it. Listen to Mind the Business Small business success Stories on the iHeart app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. Wasabi is purpose built to free your business from skyrocketing storage costs and fees from the big guys. Wasabi is the go to provider for professional and collegiate sports teams around the world. Check out Wasabi's AI enabled intelligent media storage. Wasabi Air to the industry's only cloud storage service with triple protection against cybercriminals. Wasabi driving innovation in data storage for up to 80% less than the other guys. Try for free@wasabi.com, wasabi Hot Cloud Storage proud partner of the Volume Podcast Network hi, it's Colin. I've been around long enough to know quality when I see it, or in this case, when I taste it. Tito's Handmade Vodka. Good stuff. No flash, no gimmick. Smooth, clean tasting made the right way. Tito's Made in Austin, Texas. Real attention to detail. I like to keep it simple. Tito's soda, one lime, lot of ice. Refreshing, easy. Summer, winter, spring. Totally versatile. Always works. Listen, baseball season's here. It's a perfect time to kick back with some Tito's. It's what I pour. You should too. Distilled and bottled by 5th Generation Inc. Austin, Texas. 40% alcohol by volume. Savor responsibly. Thanks for listening to the Herd podcast. Be sure to catch us live every weekday on Fox Sports Radio and noon to 3 Eastern, 9am to noon Pacific. Find your local station for the herd@foxsportsradio.com or stream us live every day on the iHeartRadio app by searching Fox Sports Radio or FSR. Now let's get this party started. You're listening to Fox Sports Radio. Here we go. Hour 2 New Year's Eve Ohio State taking on Miami tonight. If Carson Beck plays pretty well and it's not easy against the Buckeyes. I think you have a competitive I like Ohio State. I think their defense is the best in the country. But I think Miami up front is tough and physical. Miami's a much better team today than they were eight weeks ago. So they played very well. I thought they should get in over Notre Dame. I like them on the road to beat Texas A and M. And I think tonight could be, you know, I just think it's hard for everybody to wrap their brains around how good Indiana is. People say, well, Ohio State lost Indiana. Indiana could be the best team in the country. They have the best quarterback in the country. So if you look at those games tonight, I college football Playoff. To me, if you love college football, you had to give up some stuff to get here. It wasn't going to be perfect. I know a lot of you loved, loved bowl games. They don't matter anymore. I know a lot of you love the SEC championship, conference championships get in the way. I know a lot of you love those classic rivalries. Some will stay, some won't. College football played with their food for 50 years and finally Fox and ESPN stepped in and said let the grown ups take over. It's going to look like a little bit of the NFL. It's like boxing. It died. Why? Because not because you didn't have good boxers was run by promoters, self serving promoters. I mean if, if, if you look around at college football was an $8 billion industry with no CEO. You couldn't even get the schedules right. So it's always been a sport that's a great movie with A bad ending. At least now the ending's good. I mean, you say what you want. Starting tonight, the ending's great. Eight teams, a West coast power, Blue Bloods, newcomers. I mean, the only thing that I regret about this is that I wish Lane Kiffin had stayed and just said, I'm gonna run the table, see if I can win all these games. I don't think they would be good enough to win the Natty. I would have loved to have seen, you know, Lane Kiffin with Ole Miss. Now, now it's gonna, you know, it's choppy ending, but I think, I think to me, college football felt sometimes, and I love it, hokey and like tribal and regional and provincial. It's like now it feels like players get paid, players can transfer. We got a real playoff system. It wasn't going to be perfect, you know, when you started the Internet until today, it's amazing. But there was going to be some bad stuff on the Internet and AI, you know, about 10 years ago people talked about it. Now we're in the throes of it and not going to be pretty. What's it look like when we ultimately get AI functional for everybody in the country, like the Internet? So I look at college football, I'm like, the ending's good. I'm getting Miami and Ohio State tonight. Georgia, Ole Miss, Indiana, Alabama, Blue blood, new guy on the block. And Oregon, Texas Tech. I love the sport. I think it's great with that. Greg Cosell, 46 years NFL film stops by. You know, I had Mike Vrabel on yesterday and I said, you know, obviously we thought he was good. I didn't think he would be this good this quick. How, how do the Patriots. You saw him at Carolina, you saw him last year. Greg, when you look at film, how do the Patriots play to his strengths?
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Greg Cosell
Well, I think you always look at what your quarterback is. You play to your quarterback. And I think one of the things that has really stood out to me about Drake May has just been his toughness in the pocket. I mean, we know he can move, we know he's athletic, we know he can throw on the run. But he is not a guy that is affected by bodies around him. He is really firm and tough in the pocket and he stays there and that allows plays to play out and develop. Colin and, you know, there's so many quarterbacks now that are great athletes. And I'm sure as a coach, you don't want to tell a quarterback who's a great athlete never to move.
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Zyn Nicotine Pouches Advertiser (Alternate)
But.
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Greg Cosell
But the result Often of quarterbacks that move is that they move too soon. They break down the timing and structure of the play and they leave plays on the field. Now, they may run for 20 yards at times and you're obviously going to say, hey, good play. But at the end of the day, you really want the plays to be run the way they're practiced. This is what coaches do during the week. And it's not just the quarterback. It's the O line, it's the receivers, it's the running backs. It's everybody works together in a structure and, and may allows that structure to play out to its fullest.
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Colin Cowherd
So we watched the Rams get beat by Atlanta and we went back and looked at a number that they're strangely like. We've seen Seattle win when, when Sam didn't play well. We've seen the Niners win with Mac Jones. We've seen the Bears win due to their run game. But if you look at the Rams, if Stafford struggles, they lose. And he had a lot of time to throw and it was almost as if, I mean, he, he air mailed a couple throws and you're like, Matt, you're you. You are as good of arm talent as the league shows. When you watch Stafford and he gets a little unhinged and unravels, is it tempo? Is it his feet? Because I thought Monday early it just there were open receivers or maybe it was just the. There weren't. Maybe the film said they had him schemed. Right? What did you see?
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Greg Cosell
I mean, look, I think that he just had a game where he was inaccurate on certain throws. I remember working with ron Jaworski for 100 years and Jaws would tell me there's two games a year where you just didn't throw it great. And you know, you never know what those two games are going to be. And when those games happen, you hope that the rest of the team picks you up. And I think Stafford just did not have a good game. But I would not use this game as a statement as to what Matthew Stafford is. And by the way, their run game has been very good for the most part. It's just they don't have an explosive back, so you don't think of it the way you think of. And by the way, Bijon Robinson to me is the best back in the league. But their run game's just not explosive. It's much more of a sustaining, grinding run game. But it's been very good. I mean, you have one back that's got about 1100 yards and another back that's probably close to 800 yards. It's been a very strong run game. And so I don't look at this game and say there's something wrong with Matthew Stafford. Now there's no question, even though he's not a true statue, that he's a pocket quarterback. And if you can get consistent pressure on him, you will speed him up a little. There's no question about that. That's true of any quarterback.
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Colin Cowherd
So Buffalo is fascinating. Their 23rd, they do a lot of their scoring in the second half and in the first half they have been trailing in seven of the last eight games in the second half, which is remarkable. And I said this week, it's remarkable they have the number one run game because they trail in the second half in all these games. Why are they. The first half is more the scripted half usually. Why are they so bad and inconsistent in the first half in Buffalo?
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Greg Cosell
Well, I think first of all they are a running football team and I think that that's evident and I think that that's the way they stabilize their offense. That's the way they create, create sustainability with their offense by running the football. They're very limited to some degree in the pass game, Colin, because the one thing that they don't have, and if you listen to any really smart, you know, the Tom Brady's, who I know you talk to, the Troy Aikmans, if you listen to those guys at some point in this league you need receivers on the outside who can win one on one. They do not have that. So there's a limitation to what they can do in the pass game. So the pass game therefore has to be highly schemed. And you know, sometimes that works and sometimes it doesn't. You know, I saw a play last week where they ran one of their staple plays, really beautiful play that's worked many times for them where they send James Cook on a rail route through the line of scrimmage. They've hit big plays on that many, many times over the last couple years. And Zach Bond saw it immediately and he just ran right with Cook and it was incomplete. So it's a highly schemed pass game by necessity because they just can't win one on one on the outside. So that puts a tremendous limitation on their pass game. And the reality is we know Josh Allen is a great player. That's not the point. But you know, those kinds of Superman plays, that can't be the foundation of how you go about winning every week.
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Colin Cowherd
So let's talk Philadelphia. It's, it's so interesting. You were critical of them about a month ago on this show. You said, you know, their, their offense is kind of, you know, it's kind of simple. And then suddenly, suddenly the next three weeks you're like, well, maybe it's not so simple working. So would you if you were an Eagles fan. They're going to arrest some starters here. Week 18. Do you like their. Do you like their momentum going into the playoffs?
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Greg Cosell
Well, I didn't think they did a very good job on tape in the past game this week, although I thought Jalen Hurts played very well in the first half. Yes. And in the second. In the second half, you know, they had those five drives and they had 17 plays for 17 yards and he didn't complete a pass. So it was very odd. And it's not his. I'm not blaming him. I'm just saying it's very odd. But, you know, their run game has just not been what we've expected it to be all year. With the exception of a few moments, you know, they're o line, quite frankly, if you look at tape has not been very good. I think Cam Juergens has had a really difficult season at center. I think the sort of chemistry between Jurgens and the left guard Dickerson, hasn't been what it was a year ago. So I think at their core, Colin, they're a running football team. They're a great defensive team, which they are now. Their defense has led the league in points allowed over the last eight weeks. And they have a quarterback who, when he's at his best, is really good at understanding his role within the structure of their entire team and doesn't turn the ball over, executes in big moments. But they're not a true passing team. So, you know, I'd like to see them do more. In the past game, they've. I think they're capable of it, but they just don't.
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Colin Cowherd
So we know this to be true. There are offensive coaches in this sport that are just really good with young quarterbacks. Sean Payton, Bo Nix, Ben Johnson. With Caleb. I thought Caleb played. Now, the Niners don't generate much of a pass rush unless Saleh has blitz packages, but the last few weeks, he's not taken sacks. Caleb's never thrown a bunch of interceptions. He's not a big interception guy. He wasn't at usc. But when you look at Caleb today, if I gave you last week's tape and eight weeks ago, it must look different because the results feel different to me.
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Greg Cosell
Well, I gotta tell you, Colin, I watched that tape. I watched both sides of the ball in that game really carefully because it was a really fun watch. And I said to the guys in my matchup room, after I watched Caleb, or as I was watching him, I said, you know what? This guy's going to be a great quarterback. I just felt like I was watching a really good player. Now granted, he wasn't under a lot of pressure and I know the 49ers defense doesn't necessarily present a lot of pressure, but still, I'm just isolating the play of the quarterback. We just saw him throw that touchdown to Burden. I don't think people realize how difficult a throw that was and how easy he made it look. You know, I think he'll get better at some of the scattershot throws. I would assume he would. I don't think he's a naturally inaccurate passer by any means. You know, he's just going to have to get a little better with his accuracy on some throws that are, you know, layups by NFL standards. But I mean he's just so physically gifted and I mean he's such an easy, natural thrower to the football.
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Colin Cowherd
Okay, now let's talk about two offenses that are the opposite of that. Baltimore and Pittsburgh, the winners to go to the playoffs. I have defended Aaron Rodgers all year on this show. I've said, guys, DK Metcalf's not exactly running every route in the tree. He's now out. They're very tight end, centric. I don't know how they move the ball against Baltimore. I again it's at Pittsburgh. Tomlin is an underdog. It's always been effective. Yeah, I look at Aaron this year and my take is the reason he's struggling is once again they can't run the ball. He doesn't really have a number two receiver. I don't blame Aaron or Tomlin. I don't. Is their offensive personnel any good?
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Greg Cosell
It's not great. And Rogers is a guy that likes to work one on ones on the outside and they don't have those guys. So a lot of times there's routes that look like they're available and again we don't know how he's taught or what the reads are. So it's always easy to criticize if you see a three by one set and the trip side looks like the routes there. And he works to the one on ones. He's always worked to the one on ones. And when you have good receivers, I mean I remember speaking to coaches so many times over the years, Colin. And if it's a three by one set, meaning three receivers to one side and a single receiver usually to the boundary side, the short side. And if that guy's one on one, pretty much every coach will tell you, hey, you throw to the one on one. It's matchup football. It's the NFL. Now the issue is they don't necessarily have those guys. So you know, it's. It comes across as Rodgers not quote unquote running the offense. But we don't know, you know, how they teach it and what they want him to do, but they just don't have those guys. So it's been very, very difficult. In fact, the last time they played Baltimore and Metcalf played and he's not playing in this game, they worked the one on ones beautifully. But it was Metcalf. So we'll see what they do this week. On the flip side, it's going to be Derek Henry. I mean, and the most amazing thing about this is the use of Ricard, the fullback. Derrick Henry. A very high percentage of his runs this year have been with Ricard on the field. And last week in the game against Green Bay, 18 for 140 with Ricard on the field as an I formation fullback. So that's the way they're going to go no matter who plays quarterback.
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Colin Cowherd
Okay, so before we get to the Niners and I have to eat some throw on Purdy before we get to that, the staff is almost rooting against me because they know my affection for Sam Darnold. I do think Seattle is more of a defensive story than an offensive story. But I will say Sam worked very well last year with Justin Jefferson. I think he and JSN have exceptional timing this year. Two different coaches, two different offenses, two different styles. I think that's hard to do and be a pro Bowler in both. But I will say when I watch them, if you can bracket jsn, I'm not necessarily sure what I trust offensively. I think they're a defensive story to me. What's the film say they are.
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Greg Cosell
And I think you would agree that their past game over the last month has been uneven.
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Colin Cowherd
That's right.
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Greg Cosell
The first part of the season they really pushed the ball down the field and had great success. The last month it's been uneven. Look, their run game worked last week we saw Charbonnet get 110. I doubt that happens every week. I don't think that would happen against the Niners, but who knows? But their run game, they have not Had a run game this year, Colin, to really fall back on when the past game has been somewhat uneven, which it has been. So you're right, it's really been JSN and not much else in the past game, and that's been a little bit of a concern. So, you know, I almost look at this game the other side of the ball because if the Niners can score a lot, and I don't know that they will, this is a really good defense and they're at the forefront of the big nickel in the NFL, which has become a trend with three safeties instead of three linebackers. Nick Immunwari is such a key to what Seattle does on defense, and their D line has been absolutely phenomenal. I mean, I'm not sure a lot of people are talking about Byron Murphy, but he's. You know, there's two defensive tackles this year that have played so well, and one's on a really bad team. Jeffrey Simmons, who I think has been the best D tackle in the league. But Byron Murphy has played really, really well. And in the context of that Seattle defense, no one's talking about him.
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Colin Cowherd
Okay, listen, I've said I like Brock Purdy, but the last month he has been sensational. And in fact, before this past week, he'd never won a game. When Kittle didn't play, I think it was. If you go back to his career, he struggles without Kittle, so I thought this weekend it would be choppy. No, he was sensational. You tell me what. What makes him. Yeah, and I mean, Garoppolo and Mac Jones, Matt Schaub, everybody feels like. I mean, they work to some degree with Shanahan, but it feels like of all the quarterbacks he's ever had, this kid, Shanahan just loves him for a lot of reasons. What's the film say? Why?
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Greg Cosell
Yeah, I mean, I know you talk to Brady pretty much every week, and I'd love to get his take on this whole concept of pure progression, because pure progression is what the 49ers are based on. And I think the pure progression in its purest form is that the quarterback doesn't really need to know much about defense.
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Colin Cowherd
Right.
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Greg Cosell
But I think in the NFL, that's. It can't quite be like that. Now, it's not the same as old school offensive football where, you know, you pick a side, a man's side, his own side. It's not like that, but it's. But I think you have to have some sense of defense to some degree. But I think Purdy and particularly in this era of NFL football, Colin, where defenses change, they change the picture pre snap to post snap. You can't be oblivious to the defense. And I think Purdy just has such an innate feel of seeing it right away. Whatever it is, he sees it right away. And that was hard to know coming out of college because the college game is so different. You know, with the, the hash marks spread further apart, there's more open space. And I just think that, you know, two things that he does so well that were tough to know in college, timing and anticipation and just innately seeing it right away. And I think the play we're going to show is a great example. I mean I'm sure it was pure progression and I'm sure the Jennings touchdown was the read and we can go to that play right now. I'm sure the Jennings touchdown was the primary read because they throw those in breakers all the time and they got the right coverage for it. So I mean ultimately, you know, that's, that's what happened here and we'll break it down because I thought this was absolutely beautiful. But it just, you know, it's fascinating to me. It's a real wonderful philosophical discussion. So Purdy's in the gun here and they're in a two by two set and the two key players here are going to be Juszczyk and Jennings. They're on the left side of the formation. Now you're going to see use check going short in motion here and that's important because what that is going to do is it's going to expand the corner and it's going to give Jennings free access into his route because you don't want his timing disrupted. That's so critical in these pure progression schemes. Now look what you get from a coverage standpoint. You're going to get cover two here and then the mic linebacker, Edwards, he's going to open to the wide side of the field. That's what you normally do in cover two. So now what we get back to is we get Jennings dig route and like I said, that's the primary read, that's the sequencing the number one in the sequence. Now Tungus, the tight end, he's going to run right at Edwards and he holds him down and it works perfectly on this play because what you get here is a big void. And so now as I said, I'm almost positive this is the primary reading. But now he's going to make this throw into the void. And he hits Jennings in stride with run after catch and it becomes a touchdown. And we're going to show this play from behind Purdy Collins because I want people to see the timing and anticipation that's involved here. And I think, I'm not sure you can teach this right now. Look where Jennings is. Purdy has just started to separate his hands to throw the ball. So, you know, you talk about an innate sense and feel for timing and anticipation with which, by the way, is essential in a Mike Shanahan offense. I've heard Steve Young talk about that, you know, with Bill Walsh, about how you have to make the throw before the guy is where he is. You know, you've got to trust it. And Purdy does that exceptionally well.
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Colin Cowherd
Yep. Greg Cosell, 46 years, NFL Films. As always, Greg, great stuff. Appreciate it.
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Greg Cosell
Thanks, Colin. Happy New Year. Talk to you next week.
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Colin Cowherd
Yeah, college football and pro football feel more aligned. But it was four or five, six years ago. I remember when Mahomes came out and he came out what, seven, eight years ago. When Mahomes came out, I was one of them. I'm like, none of these Big 12 quarterbacks work in the NFL. It's all, it's all like flag football. It's a pillow fight. It's this stuff going to work. And, you know, I mean, if. Why? I mean, I watched Mahomes play like once or twice in college football. My take is this is not. It's like run and shoot football from the 70s. It's college, college flag football. Nobody tackles. It's 52 to 46. And a bunch of these Big 12 quarterbacks just didn't work. So now you look at it and you think, well, now the NFL and college are more closer, aligned. In fact, I was talking to an NFL coach probably three weeks ago, a really good NFL coach, and he said Fernando Mendoza is an easy guy to scout because so much of what Indiana does has NFL guys and NFL schemes. So you can watch him and see what he can do and see what he can't. And he's not an A plus prospect. He's a very good prospect, he said. But it'll be an easy watch. They're doing stuff that we do on Sunday, and that's not always been the case with college football. Be sure to catch live editions of the Herd, weekdays at noon Eastern, 9am Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, FS1 and the iHeartRadio app.
- [25:43]
Jason McIntyre
Hey, this is Jason McIntyre. Join me every weekday morning on my podcast Straight fire with Jason McIntyre. This isn't your typical sports podcast, pushing the same tired narratives down your throat every day. Straight Fire gives you honest opinions on all the biggest sports headlines, accurate stats to help you win big at the Sportsbook and all the best guests. Do yourself a favor and listen to Straight fire with Jason McEntire on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.
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- [26:35]
Greg Cosell
This is where mindset comes in.
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Trainer Games Promoter
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- [26:39]
Colin Cowherd
Pressure is coming down. Trainer Games on Prime Video January 8th watch the trailer on trainer games.com did.
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- [29:13]
Colin Cowherd
Yeah, I'm not a New Year's resolution guy, J. Mac. I don't know if you are. I don't want to wait till January 1st to get my act together. I was talking to somebody today about that. You know, you go to a gym in January and it's all packed by March 1st. It's not. I. I can't. I'm trying to think of something. I kind of think by. You know, a lot of times you're influenced. When you're a kid or you're in college, you're influenced by your environment. By about 32, what you do is what you are. And you're not influenced. You're more mature, you've got more self awareness. You can't really change stuff. I mean, I guess if you, if somebody said stop smoking or you'll pass away, you'd stop doing that or eat better or you could, you know, it's going to be destructive to your life. But I think by and large early 30s, you kind of, you kind of are what you are. I don't think I've made a massive life change since 32 years old. I don't think I've made.
- [30:07]
Jason McIntyre
People are capable of change.
- [30:10]
Colin Cowherd
I think change is hard.
- [30:11]
Jason McIntyre
I think amateurs maybe.
- [30:13]
Colin Cowherd
Well, I, I'm trying to think of a structural change I've made in my life since 32.
- [30:20]
Jason McIntyre
Yeah, well, you don't have a lot of structure. You gotta fly by the seat of your pants. You know, this is a problem, you know, Tighten it up cowherd. Come on.
- [30:27]
Colin Cowherd
J. Mac with the news.
- [30:29]
Greg Cosell
No, no, no, turn on the news.
- [30:32]
Colin Cowherd
This is the Herd line news.
- [30:35]
Jason McIntyre
All right, Raven Steelers will be the final game of the 20th 25 regular season. Aaron Rodgers, will it be his final game in his storied career? Mike Tomlin was asked about the potential that this could be the last time we see Aaron Rodgers on a football field.
- [30:53]
Mike Tomlin
You know, I don't know that I've taken time to ponder that. I'm just committed to making sure that is not. He's certainly been an awesome contributor to our efforts and not only from a talent perspective and an experience perspective, but just his professionalism, his relationship with the game, his love for his teammates, and his willingness to help them grow and get better and gain better understanding each and every day has been. Has been cool to be a part of.
- [31:21]
Colin Cowherd
Yeah, it's not going to be the prettiest game. I think I would probably. I don't know how Pittsburgh's going to move the ball. I really don't. Without DK Metcalf, they don't have a 1 or a 2 receiver. And now Washington's out. So. Friarmouth, Warren, cross your fingers. Don't turn it over. I think Pittsburgh could win if they. If, you know, Huntley throws a pick six. I mean, they. Pittsburgh's won games this year where the offense hasn't been good. They do it about as much as anybody. They just. They can just kind of figure it. Mike Tomlin is an underdog, figures out ways to inspire his team. I could see them winning, honestly, 17, 16 or something like that.
- [31:59]
Jason McIntyre
It'll be low scoring, but it's interesting, the whole nostalgia angle of Rogers. I. I don't get nostalgic for stuff like this. You know, like, I don't get into hall of Fame speeches. And honestly, I had not given an ounce of thought. If the Steelers lose this and Rogers is done, okay, he's done. He's retired. Like, I don't.
- [32:19]
Colin Cowherd
Does that do anything for you?
- [32:20]
Jason McIntyre
Are you like, man, remember that Aaron Rodgers? Like, I.
- [32:23]
Colin Cowherd
No, I mean, he's already a Hall of Famer. What are his numbers this year? Like I said, what is his passer rating this year?
- [32:28]
Jason McIntyre
He's not really relevant enough for me to commit that to memory or even close to it. Like, he's not a top 10 quarterback, so who cares? I don't. I don't know. I haven't paid a lot of attention to Rodgers. You know, I'm kind of rooting again. Like, I'm into, like, let's get some new stuff. I'm sick of the dead wood. Like, you know, like, Rogers is done. He's not a great quarterback anymore. Can we see more Brock Purdy? Can we see more young guys?
- [32:48]
Colin Cowherd
I would say the Steelers are always pretty interesting. So, you know, he's completed 65% of his throws. Okay, 95 passer rating. When you consider this franchise run game history, o line history, last seven years, I think he's Overachieved. If you would have told me.
- [33:06]
Jason McIntyre
Wait, wait, overachieved this year?
- [33:08]
Colin Cowherd
Yeah, if you would have told me. Okay, all right, coming in here, 23 touchdowns, seven picks, 95 passer rating and they make the playoffs. If they win Sunday, I would have been not shocked. I would have said, oh God. I take that. Absolutely. Take it to the bank. I mean, go, go back to the jets days. So I think Aaron has more than lifted his weight here. I think Aaron's been, honestly, this is the most impressed I've been with Aaron since maybe one of the MVP years in Green Bay when he had lafleur and a better O line and a better culture. Offensively, I think Aaron's been impressive. I really do.
- [33:50]
Jason McIntyre
So that, that got me thinking you were, you know, taking some jazz at LeBron earlier over LeBron's old. LeBron's putting up great numbers with the Lakers this year. Who's having a better year in their 40s? LeBron with the Lakers right now or Aaron Rodgers this season with the Steelers?
- [34:05]
Colin Cowherd
Aaron, because I think Aaron's. Aaron's yards and completions are elevating an average team to wins. LeBron, his plus minus is one of the worst on the Lakers. He gets in the way. Defensively, Aaron's absolutely a plus. Aaron's absolutely. In terms of decision making, he doesn't turn the ball over much. He pre snappy, gets out of trouble. I mean, without DK Metcalf, without DK Metcalf, Pittsburgh does not have a receiver in the top 90 according to PFF. That's not an Aaron Rodgers issue. This place is quicksand and he somehow kept this team above water.
- [34:52]
Jason McIntyre
All right, I'll, I'll see all that stuff and I'll raise you this last year The Steelers went 10, 7, made the playoffs with Russell Wilson and Justin Fields as their quarterbacks. And Aaron Rodgers is elevating them. Like, I don't, I just don't see that at all. I mean, in the afc last year had a healthy Lamar and a healthy Patrick Mahomes. So like, are we sure, Roger? I mean, maybe it's because the AFC's down.
- [35:18]
Colin Cowherd
I mean, okay, last year, I just.
- [35:20]
Jason McIntyre
Don'T see Rogers last year.
- [35:22]
Colin Cowherd
The red zone matters, right? Good teams like the Niners are good in the red zone. Steelers bottom four red zone offense last season. This year, top half of the league. That's Aaron. That's just Aaron making smart plays. So I mean, to me, I, I don't know. I, I am, have been critical of Aaron. I think he has been everything that you could Hope for at 41 or 42. I really think he's played well.
- [35:48]
Jason McIntyre
Hey, I'll say this. He had a great run. Hall of Fame career.
- [35:50]
Colin Cowherd
Yes.
- [35:51]
Jason McIntyre
You know, congrats. I know I sound a little negative. Come on. Maybe I'll be. Maybe that's my New Year's resolution. More positivity from J. Mac, Right? Is that fair?
- [35:59]
Colin Cowherd
Well, how about this? We contextualize. The Steelers had a top 12 defense last year.
- [36:05]
Jason McIntyre
It's terrible.
- [36:05]
Colin Cowherd
This year they're 27th. So Aaron's having to carry an atrocious defense. And now with no DK Metcalf, if they win Sunday, you have. We have to all give it up for Aaron. Bad defense, no receiver in the top 90, inconsistent run game, and you make the playoffs in the afc.
- [36:27]
Jason McIntyre
Or how about this? If he loses to Tyra, to Snoop huntley in week 18, we have to tear down Aaron. How about a deal? Let's shake on it. All right, next up, the Chicago Bears. Colin, I. I did not know this stat. They're the only team in the NFL, the history of the NFL, to not have a 4,000 yard passer. Now, Caleb Williams is close. He needs 270 yards to reach that mark. This is kind of hard, difficult to wrap my head around. No 4,000 yard passers. I mean, the jets have had so many. Bears haven't had one. Does Caleb hit the mark with 270? This against the Lions in the finale?
- [37:07]
Colin Cowherd
They're certainly capable of it. I mean, Burden's now really something. They've done a lot of it without.
- [37:12]
Jason McIntyre
Roma Dunze, he's supposed to be back now. I don't know what's up with Burden in the knee. You're. You're on the ground, your boots on the ground.
- [37:18]
Colin Cowherd
In Chicago, they'll probably rest him. I got to tell you something. They've done this offense has gotten better without Roma Dunze, which has allowed DJ Moore and Caleb to connect. Burden's become more of a factor.
- [37:29]
Jason McIntyre
Some of it is contextually the Niners defense can't stop anybody. Packers didn't have Micah, so. Yeah. But Burton has looked very good.
- [37:36]
Colin Cowherd
He looked like, oh, by the way, I thought about this. I'm blazing five. I've got only three games. I can bet. I literally don't know who's playing these games. How can you bet five games? I'm looking at the, I'm looking at the report today. We know, we know there's three games. Everybody's gonna try and play Raven, Steelers, Niners, Seahawks, Panthers Bucks after that. Yeah. Everybody's. It's like, remember the COVID years where you'd wake up Sunday and a team would let be like, we have 11 guys that can't play. Like, I, I don't know how you can make five bets this week.
- [38:08]
Jason McIntyre
So you want me to give you a freebie? This is easy money.
- [38:12]
Colin Cowherd
What?
- [38:12]
Jason McIntyre
Your guy, Joe Burrow in the Bengals. They're trying really hard.
- [38:16]
Colin Cowherd
Yes.
- [38:16]
Jason McIntyre
Yeah, they're trying to finish. And it's against Miles Garrett there on the road. I should not have done that. We'll save it for later in the week. Final story. College. College football. Here we go. Four good games over the next 48 hours. I think this Fernando Mendoza, Indiana, Alabama game, by the way, could be played in a bit of a rainstorm out here. As a heads up for the weather guys, here's Mendoza talking about the matchup with Alabama and the excitement of the game.
- [38:46]
Colin Cowherd
Pressure is a privilege. Like, although that we, you know, you know, we're the number one seed in the College Football Playoff and with all these high expectations, Indiana is the first time Indiana's ever done this. We don't have, you know, this win against the Rose Bowl. We don't have the national championship. We don't have the semifinal win yet. We don't have the Rose bowl, you know, trophy or we don't have roses in our mouth yet. We gotta go get it. We gotta go take it.
- [39:08]
Jason McIntyre
I like this guy, man.
- [39:09]
Colin Cowherd
Yeah, I like him. You know, it's, it's. We're getting to the point now is that everybody's starting to pick apart. This kid I'm starting to read, you know, all these, all these mock drafts and it's like, oh, he slipped a five or six. He's going number one.
- [39:25]
Jason McIntyre
Well, I'll just say this. The Dante Moore angle is interesting. We'll see what happens with him. But he's. Mendoza is no consolation prize. That guy's an awesome talent. I hear Andrew Luck, and when I watch him, I see like a young Joe Flacco in Baltimore. Not fleet of foot, but faster than Flacco. But he just articulates so well, Colin. And he seems to be happy when he's talking to reporters, you know, not no serious game face. I like Indiana against Alabama.
- [39:52]
Colin Cowherd
I mean, he, he's a pocket guy, but he can move. Yes, he moves better than like a Stafford or a Golf. He can move. He moves better than Matt Ryan. He can move.
- [40:02]
Jason McIntyre
Three year starter.
- [40:04]
Colin Cowherd
There's nothing about him I don't like. He's not Andrew Luck athletically, he's not Darnold.
- [40:08]
Jason McIntyre
I hear Andrew Luck just like an articulate, intelligent human being.
- [40:12]
Colin Cowherd
Strong, accurate, playing in a great conference, highly productive. Went to Austin Stadium. Ohio State couldn't win at Austin last year. He went to Austin and dominated the Ducks.
- [40:22]
Jason McIntyre
Like more was bad in that game.
- [40:24]
Colin Cowherd
Yeah, yeah. No, he's, he's, he's good.
- [40:26]
Jason McIntyre
Is there one lock you, you want to give out for the College Football Playoff? We haven't talked lines or spreads for those much.
- [40:31]
Colin Cowherd
Well, if I get like three and a half, I would take Tech to cover against Oregon. That feels.
- [40:37]
Jason McIntyre
You don't. You don't get three and a half. It's two and a half. Just pick your lines, buddy. No, no, Oregon's two and a half. But I mean, Indiana, seven. I think six and a half. Seven.
- [40:51]
Colin Cowherd
My best bet. Indiana is going to blow Alabama out.
- [40:54]
Jason McIntyre
I have a feeling that could be in play.
- [40:56]
Colin Cowherd
Indiana is going to blow Alabama out.
- [40:58]
Jason McIntyre
You know how those betting percentages are out there. One of these guys, I'm not going to say which company said that the most bets were on Alabama Money line.
- [41:06]
Colin Cowherd
Oh, no.
- [41:06]
Public Investing Advertiser
Of the four.
- [41:07]
Jason McIntyre
And I'm like, are people dumb? I guess they're. These are the people. Joe Public going to Vegas for New Year's Eve. Hey, let me put a long shot. Alabama to win the title. It's Alabama and they're in for a rude awakening.
- [41:20]
Colin Cowherd
Yeah, Indiana's no joke. I mean, how many people can go to Oregon and hammer Oregon? Last five, six, seven.
- [41:27]
Jason McIntyre
That Ohio State game was even more impressive. I. I thought Ohio State would wax them. And I was like, whoa, this team's legit. That defensive line, Signetti, by the way. Hey, that guy's good.
- [41:39]
Colin Cowherd
Well, the old guys can coach college football now because it's so administrative and transactional. You buy players. You don't have to be watching high school games on Friday night. So a Signetti or a Kyle Whittingham? I mean, if Belichick was any good with personnel, he'd win in Carolina. You can buy players now. I mean, everybody used to buy players. It was called the sec. And now everybody gets to. And the SEC isn't as good.
- [42:01]
Trainer Games Promoter
Hold on.
- [42:03]
Jason McIntyre
Let's just say jets get two, Dante Moore goes one. Can the jets get Mendoza and Signetti? Is that in play? No shot.
- [42:12]
Colin Cowherd
First of all, Mendoza's going ahead of Dante Moore and Dante Moore staying in college.
- [42:18]
Jason McIntyre
Let a boy dream.
- [42:19]
Colin Cowherd
Come on, J. Mac with the news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by the herd lie news. One of my favorite NFL guys. I just learned he's obsessed with football. That's next. The Herd Be sure to catch live editions of the Herd, weekdays at noon Eastern, 9am Pacific on Fox Sports Radio FS1 and the iHeartRadio app.
- [42:42]
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- [43:42]
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- [43:58]
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- [45:08]
Trainer Games Promoter
On the horizon and your 2026 savings start here. Right now. You can access the Washington post for just $2 every four weeks. Head into the new year with six months of savings at this special intro rate. After that, it'll cost $12 every four weeks. Cancel anytime. You'll get unlimited access to trusted journalism that helps you understand the year ahead and the world around you. Now's the perfect time to subscribe because great habits and great savings start together. Go to washingtonpost.com iheart that's washingtonpost.com iheart and start your year informed with the Post.
- [45:43]
Jason McIntyre
Saturday Primetime hoops is on Fox with a Big Ten showdown as fifth ranked Purdue takes home Wisconsin. It all tips off at 8pm Eastern Saturday on Fox Days.
- [45:54]
Colin Cowherd
I tend to think about my days in sections. Days are very long. Let's say you sleep. I can give you seven and a half hours a day to sleep. I can give you an hour to work out, two total hours to eat, three and a half hours to socialize, listen to music, read, hang out. If I ask you to work the other 10 hours, am I demanding? Days are long. Don't you ever find yourself like scrolling on the phone, sitting around waiting for stuff? You can give yourself three and a half hours of socializing, seven and a half sleep, work out for an hour to an hour and a half, couple hours to eat, still have 10 hours left in a day. And so, yeah, like, I like my football players to be kind of obsessed to kind of think football a lot. Not all day, but a lot. I don't think working or thinking about work 10 hours a day is asking much if I pay you millions of dollars. And Max Crosby was talking to Jim Gray recently and he said, yeah, I'm one of those crazy guys that loves the game. My whole life has been football and sports like that has been my obsession since I was a little kid. I love the game, man. This is, this is my whole life. And when I look back, I know I'm never going to look in the mirror and say, damn, I wish I would have worked a little harder. I think that is such a healthy way to live. Like, I watch Sean McVeigh's press conference after he loses. He's sick. He looks pale. Shanahan after he loses, like they Bill Parcells, like Bill Parcell's Tony Romo fumbled a snap in Seattle going for the game winning kick. And like Parcel said, it's not healthy. I can't, I can't coach like this, I'm getting ill. That's okay. I love Max Crosby, but I. Jay Glazer said this years ago, the great ones, the Mannings, the Mahomes, that they're all a little obsessed. I'm okay with it. So we were talking earlier about generally I feel pretty good about quarterbacks. Like, I like this guy, I don't like that guy. I like this guy, I don't like that guy. I have a pretty good track record. I feel pretty good about it. Not perfect like anybody would be. I think one of the guys that's hard to kind of grasp is any quarterback that's with Kyle Shanahan. Matt Schaub was a Pro Bowler. Matt Ryan's mvp. Garoppolo got to a Super Bowl. Brock Purdy looks unbelievable. I do think there's a stat in this league which tends to really tell the truth about quarterbacks. When everybody in the league knows you have to throw, that's different than play action or playing with a lead or playing with a great run game. When I know you've got to throw, how good are you? That's when Brady was unbelievable. That's when Mahomes has been unbelievable in their careers. Brock Purdy and Bo Nixon when trailing with four minutes left, Bo Nix is a Pro bowler. Brock Purdy 85 passer rating, three touchdowns, six picks. Bo Nix is as good as any quarterback in the league. One guy goes first round, one guy's last pick. I do think Brock Purdy is more situational than Bonix. I think B's a better athlete. I think Bo Nicks makes fewer mistakes. I think he's better trailing. I think he's consistently better late. I don't think it's conditional. I don't think he has to have his best running back or best tight end or best wide receiver. But as Greg Cosell said, there are things that Purdy does that are exceptional.
- [49:39]
Greg Cosell
Defenses change, they change the picture pre snap to post snap. You can't be oblivious to the defense. And I think Purdy just has such an innate feel of seeing it right away. Whatever it is, he sees it right away. You know, two things that he does so well that were tough to know in college. Timing and anticipation and just innately seeing it right away.
- [50:03]
Colin Cowherd
And that's what Sam Darnold said about Brock Purdy. That's what Darnold said when he went to San Francisco for that year and people asked him about it and he said it privately and publicly. Brock Purdy's ability, smart kid. To cognitively see it, let it rip and get the ball there, man. He sees the field.
- [50:26]
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- [51:08]
Colin Cowherd
Hi, it's Colin from the Colin Coward Podcast. I've been around long enough to know quality when I see it. Or in this case, when I taste it. Tito's Handmade Vodka Good stuff. No flash, no gimmick. Smooth, clean, tasting, made the right way. Tito's made in Austin, Texas. Real attention to detail. I like to keep it simple. Tito's Soda one lime, a lot of ice. Refreshing, easy Summer, winter, spring. Totally versatile. Always works. Listen, baseball season's here. The perfect time to kick back with some Tito's. It's what I pour. You should too. Distilled and bottled by 5th Generation Inc. Austin, Texas 40% alcohol by volume. Savor responsibly. People talk a lot about athletes performance, but what about your own? QuestHealth.com can help you understand where your health stands. With Quest, you can buy your own lab tests online, no doctor visit required. Quest has a huge selection of lab tests for everything from fitness to heart, health and more. Just buy a test online and visit a nearby Quest location for sample collection. You'll get fast results online and for a limited time you can save on select lab tests@questhealth.com use the code HERD10 at checkout. Terms apply on Fox 1 now you.
- [52:27]
Greg Cosell
Can stream your favorite live sports so you can be there live for the.
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Colin Cowherd
Biggest moment, touchdown and catch.
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Greg Cosell
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- [53:10]
Podcast Announcer
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