THE HERD - Hour 2 - Ranking the best players in the NFC Championship game, Tom Brady stops by The Herd

Summary

Podcast Episode Summary

Podcast: The Herd with Colin Cowherd
Episode: THE HERD - Hour 2 - Ranking the best players in the NFC Championship game, Tom Brady stops by The Herd
Date: January 23, 2026
Host: Colin Cowherd
Guest: Tom Brady
Key Segments: In-depth player rankings for the NFC Championship, Tom Brady guest appearance to discuss playoff preparation, coaching culture, quarterback leadership, and more

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Episode Overview

This episode of "The Herd" with Colin Cowherd dives deep into the NFC Championship game, focusing on his ranking of the best players involved and the major storylines leading up to this pivotal matchup between the Rams and the Seahawks. A major highlight is the in-depth, insightful conversation with seven-time Super Bowl champion Tom Brady, who offers his expertise on playoff preparation, quarterback challenges in new environments, coaching cultures, and what makes successful teams tick. The episode also touches on broader NFL headlines, coach of the year talk, and quarterback leadership.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. NFC Championship: Setting the Stage

• Consistent Frontrunners: Colin reflects on how, despite ups and downs, the Seahawks and Rams have emerged as the NFC’s most reliable teams. Injuries and fluctuations among contenders like Green Bay, Philadelphia, and San Francisco left these two squads as the most stable through the season.
• The Game's Importance: “Over the course of a journey, what we have is I think the two most consistent for the most weeks during the regular season.” (Colin; 03:40)

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2. Colin’s Top 10 Player Rankings for the NFC Championship

(Timestamps are rough; whole segment 03:06–12:00)

Colin argues that the team with more Top 10 players typically wins. He lists and analyzes his picks:

10. Puna Ford (Rams, DT):

• “The Rams’ highest graded defensive player… just an incredibly impactful offseason move.” (05:23)

9. Kevin Dotson (Rams, Guard):

• “Second highest graded guard in the league. They stole him from Pittsburgh… the best guard combination in the NFL.” (05:46)

8. Jared Verse (Seahawks, Edge):

• “People think he’s having a down year. He leads the NFL in quarterback hits.” (06:14)

7. Kyron Williams (Rams, RB):

• “Fourth highest graded running back in the league… He is just fantastic” (06:42)

6. Kenneth Walker (Seahawks, RB):

• “Highest graded running back in the league… really hard to bring down on the opening shot.” (07:35)

5. Sam Darnold (Seahawks, QB):

• “Only quarterback in league history with three 14-plus-win and 4,000 yard seasons back to back for two teams... Darnold wins a lot of games and is super productive.” (08:06)

4. Devin Witherspoon (Seahawks, CB):

• “Not allowed a touchdown in coverage since week four. The highest graded cornerback… He is the best corner in this game.” (08:44)

3. Jackson Smith-Njigba (JSN, Seahawks, WR):

• “Led the NFL in receiving yards in his first season as a #1… Never drops passes. Very elusive, very clever.” (09:20)

2. Matt Stafford (Rams, QB):

• “Highest graded quarterback… He plays bigger in big moments… led NFL in passing yards. He is my MVP.” (09:55)

1. Puka Nacua (Rams, WR):

• “Highest receiving yards per game in league history… I think he has the strongest hands I’ve ever seen on any receiver.” (10:46)

• Notable Split: “So the top two players are Rams, 3 through 6 are Seahawks, 7 through 10 are Rams. Pretty evenly split.” (11:16)

• Notable Omission: “The one you all want to push back on… Sam Darnold at number five. Everybody wants to push back on that.” (11:56)

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3. Guest Segment: Analyst on Seattle’s Balanced Attack

Greg Cosell discusses the Seahawks’ offense:

• “Walker has been attacking downhill much more... allowed them to stay on schedule... I don’t think they want Sam Darnold dropping back 35 times.” (12:18)

Colin concurs, emphasizing that only a rare few QBs should ever be throwing 40+ times, otherwise it means the offense is out of balance. (12:47)

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4. Colin and Tom Brady: Deep Dive into Playoff Preparation and Quarterback Experience

Start: 19:46

Seattle’s Youth and Energy

• Colin asks about game-planning against young, athletic, energetic teams:
  • “Young teams tend to play with a lot of emotion… when a young team is feeling it… you don't want to let Seattle start playing like that.” (18:41)
• Tom Brady: “If they play well on special teams, their defense, we know they’re going to play great. …this game is just incredible for me to be at. I’m so excited.” (19:46)

Coaching and Ball Security

• Colin praises the Rams’ clean, disciplined game and asks Tom about coaching’s role in limiting drops, fumbles, and penalties.
• Brady shares practice habits:
  • “There’s an urgency in practice that the coaches drive home… Bill would actually take—he called them grease balls—silicone spray he’d spray on the ball… So that urgency and point of emphasis always showed up in games.” (21:12)
• “If you fumbled, you were out of the game. All the backs knew that.” (21:32)

Quarterback ‘Year One’ Challenges

• “What is the hardest part about that year one journey for a quarterback with a new team?” (Colin; 24:12)
• Brady: “A lot of newness—location, practice format, receivers, O-line, line calls… It took us 12 games [in Tampa] to really feel familiar… Seattle’s going to need to play two games the best they have all year.” (24:12, 25:14)

Denver as a Unique Challenge

• Colin: “The only place that sticks in my mind where you struggled was Denver. What is it about Denver?” (25:43)
• Brady: “Unique playing environment... altitude, incredible fan base… tough place to play.” (26:10)
• Praises Sean Payton’s coaching turnaround.

Scouting Report: Jared Stidham

• “He’s a very natural passer of the football, very competitive, very smart… sneaky, good athleticism.” (27:28)
• Stidham’s readiness, opportunity, and importance of avoiding turnovers.

High-Stakes, Clean Football

• “Whoever wins the special teams battle and field position will have an advantage… will come down to third down, situational, red zone… These games are going to be very close.” (28:43)

The Value of Humility in QBs

• “Cocky does not work in this league. It turns teammates off.” (Colin; 28:53)
• Brady on humility:
  • “If you’re not humble, this game will humble you. …True leadership is about service. And how do I show up every day to be the best I can be for my teammates?” (29:35)

On Drake May and Young QBs

• Tom Brady: “Drake May has that humility. Everything that comes out of his mouth is always about the team. …That really should be the lesson for all quarterbacks in the NFL.” (30:20)

Final Quick Hits: Tom on Watching Fernando Mendoza

• “He’s just a very mature young man and he's got a bright future. …All these young prospects, I hope they go to environments that embrace them…” (31:12)
• “Nobody’s a finished product… what do you do when you get there? How important is this to you? Are you obsessed?” (32:25)

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5. Rams vs. Seahawks: Roster Depth and "Clean Football"

• Trench Play Acknowledged: Colin emphasizes the impact of less-heralded players (linemen, defenders) and how omitting some stars is not a slight, but a byproduct of incredible roster depth.
• “With these lists, I don’t want it to be all quarterbacks and receivers. I mean, like Puka and JSN are insane, but it’s... the guys in the trenches.” (35:31)
• Game Keys: “This game is tremendous… it’s going to come down to who plays cleaner football, third downs, turnovers.” (36:35; 49:34)
• “The most consistent team without the mistakes was the Rams. That’s why I like the Rams to win this game, but... am I going to be surprised if Seattle wins? No.” (47:58)

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6. Coach of the Year and NFL Headlines

• Panel discusses Coach of the Year candidates; Colin prefers Ben Johnson or Vrabel, J Mac (Jason McIntyre) brings up Liam Cohen's regular-season turnaround (33:47–34:40).
• New York Giants hire John Harbaugh, who is effusive in praise of new QB Jackson Dart. (36:35–39:40)

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7. Memorable Quotes & Moments

• On the Rams’ preparation:

  • “For them to perform like that, lack of penalties, obviously no turnovers, and the drop passes, that’s just—I’m very jealous of receivers that don’t drop balls too, by the way—that’s a great stat for any quarterback.” (Tom Brady; 22:40)

• On humility in football:

  • “If you’re not humble, this game will humble you.” (Tom Brady; 29:36)

• Setting expectations for QBs with new teams:

  • “It took us 12 games to feel like we were starting to get familiar… So that by December, the playoffs, we started to play our best football.” (Tom Brady; 24:56)

• The stakes:

  • “These games are going to be very close and, and, and they’re playing for a lot. This is a chance to go… to win a world championship. So no bigger weekend in football than this.” (Tom Brady; 28:53)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• NFC Championship Context and Player Rankings: 03:06–12:00
• Greg Cosell on Seattle’s Balanced Approach: 12:18
• Seattle's Youth & Energy, Brady Interview Start: 18:41–31:16
• Tom Brady on Practice, Ball Security, and Coaching: 21:12
• Brady on Transitioning to a New Team: 24:12
• Brady on Stidham and Denver’s Toughness: 25:43–28:43
• Brady on Leadership, Humility, and Young QBs: 28:53–31:16
• Rams/Seahawks “Roster Depth” & Clean Football: 35:16–36:35; revisited at 47:05–52:08

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Tone & Style

• Colin Cowherd: Analytical, energetic, often irreverent but highly focused on team-building, talent evaluation, and NFL culture.
• Tom Brady: Candid and insightful, highlights practice habits, leadership, humility, and the realities of season-long preparation.
• Panel/Guest Analyst (Greg Cosell): Technical and schematic, provides balanced view of Seattle offense and Darnold’s role.

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Summary Highlights

• The NFC Championship is a matchup of the two most consistent NFC teams, the Rams and Seahawks.
• Colin’s Top 10 players are split nearly evenly between teams, with trench players getting due respect.
• “Clean football” (few turnovers, penalties, drops) is seen as the key to playoff wins, with Tom Brady providing practice stories showcasing why New England and now the Rams are so good at this.
• Brady articulates the unique hurdles of being a new QB on a new team, and why leadership and humility are more important than arm strength.
• The Rams’ surgical preparation and Seahawks’ energy are poised for a clash that, in many eyes, feels like a “de facto Super Bowl.”
• Leadership, accountability, and meticulous practice habits are credited as the true separators under postseason pressure.

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This episode offers a rich blend of tactical analysis, behind-the-scenes stories, and leadership lessons from all-time greats—essential listening for any NFL fan, player, or coach ahead of championship weekend.

Transcript

[Colin Cowherd]

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[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, hour two. It's Friday, about 15 minutes, Tom Brady stops by. He'll be joining us live. He's doing the game. Seven time super bowl champ. Big, big game, big sandwich game. Make a sandwich, sit down for three and a half, four hours. Rams, Seahawks meet for a third time. I said this yesterday is if, I mean you didn't get, I mean if that controversial catch, no catch call went Buffalo's way, you'd get Buffalo, New England for a third time. And so, you know, a lot of the NFL is hard to predict. Seattle in the Rams about week seven, eight, nine felt like they were just, you know, Philadelphia was good but couldn't get their offense together. You know, there were good teams, Green Bay was good. But it, you know, people were complaining they're not their running games not substantial. And then they make, you know, in the mica thing, he gets hurt and you're like, okay, that's not going to work. And San Francisco was good offensively, but defensively lose Fred Warner, they don't have Bosa. So if you really go back to like week 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, it kind of felt. And then the Rams at the end of the year didn't quite feel like they were buttoned up. And then last weekend they go out, they don't have a drop pass, a penalty or a turnover against Chicago and literally had to play perfect to win. So, you know, over the course of a journey, what we have is I think the two most consistent for the most weeks during the regular season. Seattle Rams were the best teams in the nfc, didn't have huge holes. Rams special teams are dubious, but every third game it costs them something. Secondary is not great. New England, I think their Personnel is better than everybody else thinks. I think their secondary is fantastic, their coaching's fantastic, and Drake may, may be that guy. Maybe. You know, we start talking about quarterback play if Drake May gets to a Super bowl and wins it. He's a top five quarterback, is he not? I mean that's, that's, that's what Mahomes does, that, that, that's what the great ones do. They get to the Super Bowls early and they win them early and that's very, very rare. So as I'm prone to do when I get five or six times a year, you get into these massive games, I get at the out the yellow pad and I rank the top 10 players and generally the team that has the most top 10 players feels like the team that wins the game. And here we go with the NFC championship. Number 10. Number 10, Puna Ford. Puna Ford, Rams. He was a charger and he was a really good player. He's been sensational. But he's the Rams highest graded defensive player. Right next to Kobe Turner in that interior D line. Just an incredibly impactful off season move. And listen, it's, it's hard to run in the Rams and one of the reasons is Puna ford. He's at 10. Number nine, Kevin Dotson, second highest graded guard in the league. Top 10 run blocker. They stole him from Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh was not reportedly going to start him. He has been sensational for the Rams since he arrived. So the Rams guards to me is the best guard combination in the NFL. And Kevin Dotson is outstanding. Number eight, Jared Verse. People think he's having a down year. He leads the NFL in quarterback hits. He ranks top five in pressures, including the playoffs. The reality is he's disruptive. And you know, Sean McVeigh talked about that. In this league you're often judged simply on sacks. But pressures and hits. Jared versus elite, he's number eight. Number seven, Kyron Williams had a fumbling issue. Well, 14 straight games without one. Fourth highest graded running back in the league. I think they'd like to play Blake Cora more. It's hard to get him on the field. Top five in rush yards, scrimmage, touchdowns, just really good. He's, he's great at getting the extra yard to yard and a half. He is just fantastic. You stop him at three, he gets four. He's eliminated the fumble issue. You can tell that McVay, even with Stafford and Puka and Devonte McVeigh, he gets into some zone sometimes. He, he can take over games with Kyron Williams. Number six, Kenneth Walker. Highest graded running back in the league and they don't have the old line. The Rams do 130 plus scrimmage yards in three of his last four games. I remember him at Michigan State. He was very good after contact, really hard to bring down on the opening shot. Clever, can change directions. You get some speed, you absolutely get some power. He has been a great draft pick by the Seahawks. Kenneth Walker at number six. Number five, Sam Darnold. Ranked fourth in the league in big time. Throws only quarterback in league history with three 14 plus wins and 4,000 passing yards in back to back years. And he did it with two different teams. He did it with more experienced Minnesota and very young Seattle. Listen, he has. He can be reckless. You know I loved Andrew Luck. Stafford can be too. But man, Sam Darnold wins a lot of games and is super productive. He's in at number five. Number four, Devin Witherspoon, cornerback, Seattle. Not allowed a touchdown in coverage since week four. The highest graded cornerback. I remember when he came out of Illinois and I remember reading a draft preview and they're like oh like he's, he's physical like a linebacker or safety. You're getting a really physical aggressive corner. He was a first round pick. He is a. He is the best corner in this game. There's an argument. The best corner in this league. He just is great and keeps getting better. Number three, JSN Jackson, Smith and Jigba. Led the NFL in receiving yards in his first season as a number one. Second highest graded wide receiver. Remarkable hands, runs great routes. Unlike DK Metcalfe. The route tree does it all. Never drops passes. Very elusive, very clever. Does he have great speed and all I know is he makes really good corners get crossed up. He is just a sensational NFL player. Number two, Matt Stafford. Highest graded quarterback. Can be a bit reckless. On a 72 career playoff record with the Rams with five come from behind playoff wins. He plays bigger in big moments. Now he's got Devonte, Adams and Puka in a good run game but he led the NFL in passing yards. He is my mvp. The no look passes, you know he's not super mobile and you'd prefer he has more mobility. I don't know if he had. I don't think he had a rushing first down this year. That's kind of the flaw and he could be a bit reckless. He's at two. Number one, Puka. Highest receiving yards per game in league history. Average is 95. Highest graded player in the entire league this year. Led The NFL in targets this year in receiving yards. Six touchdowns over his last five games. I think he has the strongest hands I've ever seen on any receiver. He can get dinged up from time to time, but I mean, when he has the ball, you're not getting it. Incredibly strong player, almost no body fat, like, just does everything well. The routes, yards, after the catch. Incredibly strong hands can beat you deep, lethal underneath. So the top two players are Rams 3 through 6 of the Seahawks, 7 through 10 are the Rams. Number 11. I have Kobe Turner for the Rams. 12, 13, 14, 15, all Seahawks. So pretty evenly split on the best players. When I look at this, I could have gone 15 easily and it would have been about 8, 7 Rams. That's what it kind of felt. 8, 7 Seahawks, 8, 7 Rams. Kobe Turner was number 11. I think I had Leonard Williams number 12 and a bunch of Seahawks. But I think it's interesting. The one you all want to push back on, of course, is Sam Darnold at number five. Everybody wants to push back on that. Greg Cosell talked this week about Seattle's balanced attack.

[Guest Analyst]

Walker's been much better. Walker has been attacking downhill much more so over the last three, four games, and that has allowed them to stay on schedule. And it's also, with their defense, allowed Darnold not to have to throw that many balls. Now, whether that happens in this game, that's hard to know. You don't know how it's going to play out. But in an ideal world, I don't think they want Sam Darnold dropping back 35 times. I think they want it to be a very balanced offense and have their defense in some ways control the pace and tempo of the game.

[Colin Cowherd]

Yeah, Seattle's defense statistically better. Seattle special teams better. You know, the offense for the Rams was number one in the league. I don't think that's a shot at Darnold. There's very few quarterback Tom Brady can throw 40 times. Mahomes could throw 40 times. I mean, even last week with Josh Allen having to carry the offense turnover prone, I don't want my quarterbacks thrown a lot. I don't. I think Mahomes Brady are very rare. Air Aaron Rodgers in his prime. Very, very rare that I'm, you know, Aaron Mahomes Brady didn't throw a lot of picks. You start asking guys to throw 40, 42, 43 times, that means the run game's not very supportive. You're throwing a lot of times on 3rd and 6 and 7. Not a space, I think is good for most quarterbacks. Slinging Sammy D two and a half point favorite at home. Third time he's faced the Rams this year. Tom Brady around the corner one more herd the herd streams 24 hours a day, seven days a week within the iHeartRadio app. Search her to listen live or on demand whenever you'd like.

[Kovino and Rich]

Hey, it's Cavino and Rich from Fox Sports Radio. Now, in addition to hearing us live weekdays from 5 to 7pm EAS 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 Kovino and rich live on YouTube every day. All you got to do Search kovino and Rich FSR on YouTube again.

[Colin Cowherd]

Go to YouTube.

[Kovino and Rich]

Search Kovinoenrich FSR. Check us out on YouTube. Subscribe Hit that thumbs up icon and comment away.

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[Colin Cowherd]

Fair enough.

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[Colin Cowherd]

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[Colin Cowherd]

You know Seattle is one of those teams that they smell blood and you get this a lot of times when you get a kind of a young athletic team. Young teams tend to play with a lot of emotion and they can get down on themselves. They can get a little reckless at times when you're a young team but they also when, when a young team is feeling it like last week, the Seahawks, niners, you're about eight minutes in, you're like, it's like 23 year old Mike Tyson Duck, there's no winners. And Seattle, you don't want to let Seattle start playing like that because young teams play with so much energy and emotion. Tom Brady, he'll be calling Rams Seahawks. What a year for Tom. We only give him the good games. He's got an all time classic. I can't wait for this thing. So I've said this about the Seahawks all year. If you turn the sound down on your T, they just look faster and athletic and longer and they're young and young teams play with a lot of energy and it's. Do you agree with that? And if you're the Rams, how do you game plan against that youth and energy and speed?

[Tom Brady]

It is, it is a lot to handle. And when we were there last week and the Niners deferred and kicked the ball to Shaheed and Shahid goes 95 yards, that plays absolutely exploded and it's just hard to overcome that. If they play well on special teams, their defense, we know they're going to play great and if they can make some explosive pass plays, they are going to be very tough to beat. Now the one team that can do it I think is the Rams. They've already proven they could do it. They almost did it in Seattle the last time. This, this game is just incredible for, for me to be at and I'm so excited. I talked to my boy Kevin Burkhart earlier and he's excited. This is in our mind at the game of the year for us. This is our Super Bowl. We're gonna, we're gonna be fired up to be there to call it.

[Colin Cowherd]

You know, I, I believe coaching has a greater impact than calling plays. Your Patriot teams did not fumble and did not commit penalties last last week in awful weather, the Rams had no drop passes, either zero or one penalty. They, I mean no turnovers in horrible weather for an LA team. And so my takeaway is some of that's just in practice. Go back to your career. You guys didn't fumble. Your offense didn't have penalties. What's the secret to that? You guys didn't drop many passes. What's the secret to that?

[Tom Brady]

There's a, there's an urgency in practice that the coaches drive home every single day to do the right thing, to make the right decisions with the ball, to, you know, work on catching drills. Pre practice, during practice, post practice. In the off season, when you would do, like fumbling drills is a great example for coach Belichick and kind of his genius. If, first of all, if you fumbled, you were out of the game. All the backs knew that. So we did so many drills in practice that were about covering up the ball, ball, ball, security, tackling drills. Not always you would tackle or bring someone to the ground, but you try to punch the ball out every day. For the last 20 years of my New England career, we worked on those things in practice. So the reality of what happens in practice is it shows up in the game all the time. Bill would actually take. He called them grease balls, literally. I don't know, some silicone spray that he would spray on the ball. And we would. When we would do running plays, he would put it in. In practice, I would take this greased football, give it to the back. He would have to tuck the ball secure with both hands, the shoulder pads over top, just so they didn't fumble. So that urgency and that point of emphasis always showed up in the games because in the games, it was always harder in practice than it was in the games. And I think you give the Rams coaching staff so much credit for a performance like that in Chicago last week. You're talking about a team that probably had a 70 degree temperature difference from leaving L A to landing in Chicago. I'm glad. By the way, the game's not in Chicago this weekend with what I just saw. The temperatures were going to be coming this weekend, but for them to perform like that, lack of penalties, obviously no turnovers, and the drop passes, that's just. I'm very jealous of receivers that don't drop balls too, by the way, that's a great stat for any quarterback, but they're doing all the right things. This is a surgical offense. They have so many weapons. Everybody touches it. You've got to account for everybody. You got to count for 53 and a third of the field in the width. You have to count for the entire length of the field. They have an explosive passing game, they have a precise passing game. They have a ball control offense. There's a lot of ways the Rams can win, too. So this is going to be a tremendous matchup between the top scoring offense and the top scoring defense. In Seattle on the road, 68,000 fans, the stadium is going to be on fire. I can't wait for kickoff.

[Colin Cowherd]

You want a Super Bowl? First year in Tampa, Stafford won it. First year in la. And for both of you, there were choppy moments. I remember you. It was seven and five, and there was a game in Chicago, and it was. And Matt, I think he led the league in interceptions that year, like, so Darnold, first year with Seattle, what is the hardest part about that year? One journey for a quarterback with a new team.

[Tom Brady]

Well, there's a lot of newness to the year, and there starts the obviously new location, new practice format, new receivers, new offensive line, new line calls, new center. All the things that you kind of take for granted when you have continuity. When I went to Tampa, all those things were totally different. So it's like, how do you chip away at those variables? Kind of one day at a time, you get familiar with the skill players. That's what I did first. Then you get familiar with the center. I had Ryan Jensen in that off season. We spent 30 days working on snaps and snap counts. And then when you got to training camp, we worked on, you know, a different variety of plays and so forth, and it's just chipping away. And it took us, you know, 12 games to feel like we were starting to get familiar with the things we were really good at and also to put aside the things that we weren't good at. So that the time that the, you know, December came and the end of the playoffs, we started to play our best football. Ultimately, it culminated in a home super bowl against the Chiefs where we played our best game of the season.

[Colin Cowherd]

Yeah.

[Tom Brady]

And I think for Seattle, they're going to need to play two games, the best they have all year. Because to beat the Rams for Seattle is going to be a tall task. This is a game that's both teams are going to have to play their best. You're talking about teams that are in the same weight class. They've proven that in the two meetings this year. If you cumulatively, if you add up points and yards, they've been separated by one point and one yard, which is pretty phenomenal. That's as tight as it gets. And to be there for round three, man, it doesn't get any better than that.

[Colin Cowherd]

All right, let's go, New England franchise, you know, well, against Denver, when I think back to your career, the only place that sticks in my mind where you struggled was at Denver. Now you face good teams. That's.

[Tom Brady]

Thanks for reminding me of that. Appreciate that.

[Colin Cowherd]

I'm sorry, Tom. It's just on the paper here, I just, you know, I just read what they write. But there is something about Denver, the altitude, Josh Allen, last week, struggle, turnovers. What is it about Denver?

[Tom Brady]

It's a unique playing environment. You're right. There's altitude. There's nowhere else like that in the country. They have an incredible fan base. They're so loud, it's a deafening stadium. And when they get their momentum going, you know, it's. It's a tough place to play. And the two times we lost in 2013 season, 2015 season, Denver had a tremendous defense with Von Miller kind of leading the charge. Demarcus Ware was on that team. My boy Akib Talib was playing corner. Chris Harris, they were so good on defense, and that kind of stymies the offensive rhythm. It's a hard place to play. And, you know, there's a reason why they're the number one seed. They played great defense all year. Sean Payton, I mean, what kind of coaching job has he done in a short period of time? He's just got one of the most incredible skill sets as a coach in terms of his leadership ability, his urgency.

[Colin Cowherd]

He.

[Tom Brady]

He sets the culture for the organization, but he also runs the offense. It's a really difficult thing to do. And he's been a tremendous coach in the league for a long time. It's no surprise to me that they're in a position and the Patriots, they're going to have to play their best game of the year. This is not going to be, you know, an easy task for them to go to Denver and win in this environment.

[Colin Cowherd]

Jared Stidham, he was your backup for a year. Give me a scouting report.

[Tom Brady]

You know, I've always loved Stiddy. He's a very natural pastor of the football, very competitive, very smart. He's got sneaky, good athleticism. He's performed well out there when he's gotten opportunities. And I know the Denver coaching staff from the things that I read this week. Everybody's got a tremendous amount of confidence in ste. What he can do. And, you know, it's tough losing Bo Nix. That's a brutal injury, certainly at that stage of the game, at this stage of the season. But at the same time, you know, Stiddy's got a lot of ability. There's a reason why he's been on this club, and there's a reason why Sean Payton has a lot of confidence in him, and I wouldn't sleep on him at all. He's proven he can make NFL caliber, throws, lead teams to victories by Playing good football, not turning the ball over. And he's going to need to do that because New England's defense is pretty absurd as well. So there's really four good defensive football teams here late in the season playing these championship games. And it's not going to be easy out there for anybody. This has got to be clean football. No turnovers, no penalties, no kind of unforced errors. Whoever wins the special teams battle and field position will have an advantage. And then we will come down to, in my view, third down in situational football in the red zone, who's kicking field goals, who's scoring touchdowns. These games are going to be very close and, and, and they're playing for a lot. This is a chance to go to, to win a world championship. So no bigger weekend in football than this.

[Colin Cowherd]

I think the most underrated trait for great quarterbacks isn't arms, speed, all that stuff. It's humility. You're the highest paid guy, eventually you're the most talked about that you're going to lose and you're the only person beyond the coach that always goes to the podium. I think humility is completely underrated. Cocky does not work in this league. It turns teammates off. And I've never heard a single teammate of yours in New England. Even when Randy Moss left early, he loved Tom Brady. And I think that's your humility. I see Drake May. I literally feel like I'm watching you when you were young, that that's had to have jumped out to you too with Drake, has it not?

[Tom Brady]

Yeah, very much so. And I, you know, Patrick Mahomes, another great example of someone who's always, you know, humility through incredible success. If you're not humble, this game will humble you. And every time you take the practice field, there's an expectation to perform at a high level. And when you're one of the best to be playing, you are the measuring stick for every team. And they're going to come out there and you're usually going to play their best game against you. Now that's a POS positive if you understand that. And then, you know that's the saying, iron sharpens iron. You're getting someone's best. That means you got to be at your best, which over the long term, that's a great way to continue to develop. But Drake May has that humility. Everything that comes out of his mouth is always about the team. It's always about praising his defense, praising his offensive line, and that's how you connect with people. That's the reality, that's what great leaders do. Great leaders are in service of other people. People. It's not what can you do for me, it's what can I do for you? How can I be the best to support your dreams, your goals, your vision, whether that's supporting your coach or supporting your offensive lineman, supporting your receivers. True leadership is about humility because true leadership is about service. And how do I show up every day to be the best I can be for my teammates? That really should be the lesson for all quarterbacks in the NFL.

[Colin Cowherd]

45 seconds because you got to go. You got a big, I imagine a zoom meeting with McVeigh. You're going to pepper him because you're, you know everything.

[Tom Brady]

You know, my whole schedule.

[Colin Cowherd]

I got to ask you this though. Everybody in the world saw you watching Fernando Mendoza. I absolutely love what's just your. What did you see from him? What did you see from the quarterback?

[Tom Brady]

Yeah, it was, it was also a great experience. Obviously. I live in Miami, so It was a 30 minute drive to the game and I, and the fact that they were playing in the game and all, it worked out. My son wanted to go to the game. I brought him. We, we sat up there in the suite and got to be on the field in the pregame and just observe. And I haven't been to a college football game in so long. I haven't never been to a national championship game. But just to see kind of the environment, the atmosphere, you know, did it feel too big for anybody? And he's played tremendous, you know, all season, 160 leading his team. And again, he's another guy that, you know, when you hear him speak, you know, I always kind of judge quarterbacks and go, how would I have answered that? And he's just a very mature young man and he's got a bright future and you know, everybody coming in the league, there's still so much room for development. Nobody's a finished product. I don't care whether you're one the Heisman or you're the 199th pick in the draft. It's. What do you do when you get there? How important is this to you? Are you obsessed with your job? Are you obsessed with being the best you can be? These young men, whether it's Fernando or a lot of other players that were on the field the other night, they have a great opportunity to do something in their life to enhance their family's life, to go impact a community in a positive way by playing great football and bringing joy to the fan. Base. And that's a job you take very seriously. So all these young prospects, I hope they go to environments that embrace them completely, that can help them develop into the best player they can be. That's how I was, you know, kind of grew up in the league. I found a great environment. It was all about football. It was about, you know, like you mentioned earlier, about how can you be the best teammate, how can you work hard, how can you play smart, how can you play tough, how can you play well under pressure, how well can you play in tough conditions? And then ultimately, how well can you play in championship games? And all those things remain to be seen.

[Colin Cowherd]

Yeah, Tom, crush it. You got probably the best football game of the year. Say hi to KB and the staff. You guys have done a remarkable job this year. And Sean McVeigh's around the corner on Zoom. Go, go. Get it done.

[Tom Brady]

I'm on it. Thanks, pal. Appreciate it. Good to see you.

[Colin Cowherd]

Good to see you. Tom shows up. Has been for several weeks here in a row. Yeah, man, that. That is it. Drake, May, and Mendoza have a lot in common. Like, just, like, seem, like, really good. Come from good stock, good kids, grateful, humble at the podium. That stuff matters. It matters. J. Mac with the news.

[Tom Brady]

No, no, no, no.

[Colin Cowherd]

Turn on the news. This is the herd line news.

[J Mac (J. Mac)]

All right, let's bust right into it. The NFL coach of the year finalists were announced yesterday, and in a mild surprise, Mike Vrabel is a heavy favorite at minus 400, followed by Mike McDonald, Liam Cohen, who would be my call, and then Ben Johnson of the Bears, who probably would be my number two call.

[Colin Cowherd]

Liam Cohen didn't win a playoff game.

[J Mac (J. Mac)]

So what does it matter? I mean, Liam Cohen, the regular season, he was tremendous. They won four games last year, and now they won 13. Well, if it's a playoff award, fine, let's change the title.

[Colin Cowherd]

I mean, you know, Purdy was good in the regular season, too. I. I like postseason guys. Well, we're different that way.

[J Mac (J. Mac)]

I mean, listen, Brable is a veteran coach, and he. He's been excellent, but I don't know. Ben Johnson was pretty damn good in the postseason. I mean, we just give it.

[Colin Cowherd]

I would. Ben Johnson would be my. 2 Vrabel 1 Ben 2.

[J Mac (J. Mac)]

Interesting. All right, let's move to the next story. And that is Seahawks, Rams. We're going to keep hitting it all day, Colin. It is the game of the weekend. The rams lead the NFL in scoring at 30.5 points per game. Number one offense in the league versus the number one defense, Seattle averaging a league best 17.2 points per game. It is a classic matchup, offense versus defense. I think there's a couple angles you're not being covered. I'll get to in headlines next hour. But you know, this defense of Seattle is pretty nasty. And yet in Week 16amonth ago, the Rams went over for 500 yards of offense.

[Colin Cowherd]

Like Stafford was just unbelievable.

[J Mac (J. Mac)]

No Devonte Adams in that game.

[Colin Cowherd]

He's back.

[J Mac (J. Mac)]

By the way.

[Colin Cowherd]

I had to check.

[J Mac (J. Mac)]

Is Devonte. I asked the staff. Is Devonte Adams still alive? Because somehow he didn't make your top 10 nor top 15 players in the game.

[Colin Cowherd]

No, he's. It was. I think it was. Kobe Turner was 11. I didn't write it down. I mean, again, you're talking about. He was dinged up a little bit. It's hard you get down to these pilots. I always give like an interior lineman gets no love. And like, you know, you find minors with the Broncos like the highest rated guard. Kevin Dotson's been unbelievable for the Rams. I'm going to put those guys, those guys get. I don't want it to be all quarterbacks and receivers. I mean, like Puka and JSN are insane, but it's, it's an. I did, I did star quarterbacks and star receivers, but the guys in the trenches. Puna Ford, no, nobody talks about him. He's been a monster this year. He's been unbelievable. Just, I mean, he was a good charger. I can't believe how good he is.

[J Mac (J. Mac)]

I, I didn't get a chance to pick apart the list, but I don't recall seeing Nate Landman, who for my money is the best linebacker in this game. You know, Seattle has good linebackers, but Landman is just clutch city.

[Colin Cowherd]

I mean, people forget. I mean Murphy and Leonard Williams for the Seahawks on the interior. You can't, you can't run on Seattle. Those guys were like 12, 13. For me. It's, there's a lot of dudes.

[J Mac (J. Mac)]

This game is tremendous. Final story Con. Let's go to John Harbaugh. He is the new New York Giants coach. You are all aboard. I think you're the conductor of the New York Giants train right now. Well, guess what? Jackson Dart is his quarterback. He only had one season. He was living in the blue tent. But John Harbaugh is already saying great things about Jackson Dart, that he's about football. I wonder if that's a dig at Lamar. I don't know. Reportedly, Dart and Harbaugh had a conversation during his final interview at the facility. And it was going so well it had to be broken up because it was running nearly two hours long. A bromance emerges between Dart and Harbaugh. Colin Dart says he cannot wait to play for his new coach. I know you're excited.

[Colin Cowherd]

Yeah, I mean I, this is not and you would think as a four win team, oh boy, it's a big lift. They were in seven one score losses. They led by double digits in the fourth quarter over I think it was Chicago, Detroit and Denver. I don't think this is a massive lift. I think they got to get better deeper at wide receiver, better at right tackle and like everybody not named Seattle, better in the secondary. But I think they're really close. I really do. I think they lost a lot. I mean for a rookie quarterback to lose seven games. I talked about Drake May when I picked New England to be the surprise team in the NFL. One of the things I said was New England lost with gerard Mayo like 6 or 7 one score games. Vrabel was going to flip those. Drake May, year two was going to flip those. Jackson Dart is not going to lose seven one score games. He's going to win half of those just because Jackson Dart's got another camp. So I mean let's. If this isn't all about Harbaugh Jackson Dart now is going to be a better quarterback with a better right tackle.

[J Mac (J. Mac)]

It is kind of interesting that Harbaugh's weakness the last few years was blowing double digit leads. Remember with Lamar that that's a big knock on him. I will listen. I don't. People know I'm a Jets fan. I don't want to be hammering the Giants here. But I'll just say this Harbaugh stuff, we saw his brother do it, right? Jim Harbaugh absolutely loved his guy at Michigan, JJ McCarthy I take it number one, he goes to Justin Herbert. Effusive praise. Maybe it's a Harbaugh trait, but I don't remember John Harbaugh being this gushy about Lamar Jackson. And I wonder if that fracture that happened at the end, whatever went down is channeling it into hey, this is a different guy than I just had for five, six years in Baltimore. And I wonder if these are subtle shots at Lamar because we know social media is a big one for athletes. Have you seen Lamar? I'm gonna miss you, John. We had a great run. Nothing, huh? I haven't seen a damn thing. That's surprising.

[Colin Cowherd]

That's good.

[J Mac (J. Mac)]

That's how, that's how the young guys talk now. It's all on social media.

[Colin Cowherd]

That's a pretty good point.

[J Mac (J. Mac)]

But I do hear, buddy.

[Colin Cowherd]

Yeah. Yes, you do. All the time. No, I think, I think Baltimore had a choice and they chose the quarterback. I think, I do think there were fissures. I think they made a choice and their choice Steve Bishotti chose the star player.

[J Mac (J. Mac)]

Even Kyler Murray in Arizona gave a shout out to Gannon, even though Gannon kind of sort of soft benching Kyler Murray went on one on social media and was like, hey, we had a good run, I'll miss your coach, blah blah blah. Like that's kind of what you do.

[Colin Cowherd]

Yeah, no, that's fair. That's fair. J Mac with the News well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by the Herd LIE news. Be sure to catch live editions of the Herd, weekdays at noon Eastern, 9am Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, FS1 and the iHeartRadio app.

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[J Mac (J. Mac)]

Fox College Hoops Friday has a Big Ten rivalry tipping off in primetime as Ohio State battles Yoxel and a Borg and number three Michigan. Tonight, eight Eastern on five. That's a great game cowherd, by the way.

[Colin Cowherd]

Yeah, part of the joy of this Seattle Darnold game and it's, you know, I've said this before, I root for the better story. We talk about this all the time. Like the Bears beating the Rams is probably the better story. Like so to me it was like now I know people, a lot of people in the Rams building. I respect them. I remember once New England played Seattle and you know, my family's all Seattle and I grew up with a Seahawks but I lived in Connecticut and it was like, it was the only Super Bowl. I was like, I just give me a fun game. It ended up being a remarkable game And I feel the same way about anytime Seattle plays with Sam Darnold and the Rams. Like, I just want a great game. I think it's, you know, and you're saying, oh, Colin, you want Darnold to win. All I've ever said about Sam, he's too talented not to be successful in the NFL. I don't know if he's going to win a Super Bowl. He may not be a Super bowl quarterback, but Nick Foles won a Super Bowl. I think Sam's better than Nick Foles, Stan Humphries, you know, Trent Dilfer, like, you know, I mean, respectfully, I mean, I think Sam's a better athlete. You don't always have to be a superstar to win a Super Bowl. But the reckless opinion, my take is, yeah, I think he can be, especially against the Rams. But Matt Stafford before last week was on a seven, game seven pick. That was his streak. And for the record, Elway through picks, I mean Brady and Mahomes and Aaron Rodgers were unique. You get the upside and not a lot of picks, especially with like Mahomes and Rogers, you don't get any picks. That's very, very rare. Peyton Manning throw him and Eli threw him. And I think Tom, even Tom's touchdown interception ratio, I think it's like three to one. So you know, he threw a pick six in a Super Bowl. It's not the end of the world. But it is. I what's what I think the Seattle Darnold proves. Two teams, two coaches, two rosters, two staffs. Great with both. I, I think you have to give it up to him. You could argue, obviously Minnesota and Pittsburgh could add Darnold. They passed. A lot of people felt like, well, he had Justin Jefferson. You can't say that anymore. I mean DK Metcalf gone. Jsn. I mean we think he was going to be this good. Well, he is. With Darnold, it's a brand new team. It's one of the youngest team, second youngest team in the league. And I also think this is hard. Stafford and McVeigh have been together now what, five years. They can complete their sentences. This is still the first year like when Brady went to Tampa, remember that? I remember a Thursday night game and he's screaming it the offensive line for the Bears. They're 7 and 5 going into a buy. He and Arians don't see the world similarly. This stuff's hard in year one. Stafford wins the Super Bowl. Year one with the Rams, he led the league in picks. So like it's the and those are the success stories. 7 and 5. Tom going into a buy, struggling with Arians offense and Matt leading the league in picks. And those are the all time great success stories. Year one with a new team. So Tom Brady on the challenges with Darnold or ever being with a new team in a new year.

[Tom Brady]

New location, new practice format, new receivers, new offensive line, new line calls, new center. All the things that you kind of take for granted when you have continuity. When I went to Tampa, all those things were totally different. You get familiar with the skill players. That's what I did for first. Then you get familiar with the center. I had Ryan Jensen in that offseason. We spent 30 days working on snaps and snap counts. It took us, you know, 12 games to feel like we were starting to get familiar with the things we were really good at and also to put aside the things that we weren't good at. So that the time that the, you know, December came in the end of the playoffs, we started to play our best football. Ultimately it culminated in a home super bowl against the Chiefs where we played our best game of the season. And I think for Seattle, they're going to need to play two games, the best they have all year.

[Colin Cowherd]

And it's hard because it's the best coordinators and best roster you go up against. I also think, you know, the more spectacular plays last weekend were by Caleb and the Bears. The more consistent team without the mistakes was the Rams. And I think the the cleanest team. And Rams play a cleaner version than Seattle. Seattle's just younger. Younger teams tend to make more mistakes. I think the cleaner version. That's why I like the Rams win this game. But you know, am I going to be surprised if Seattle wins? No. But in these last weekend, fewer turnovers, 4 for 4 won every game. Tom talked about. That's one of the things that New England always did very well. They didn't fumble and they didn't have a lot of penalties and they didn't have negative plays. And that all comes from practice. Here's Tom.

[Tom Brady]

When you would do like fumbling drills. A great example for coach Belichick and kind of his genius. If first of all, if you fumbled, you were out of the game. All the backs knew that. So we did so many drills in practice that were about covering up the ball. Ball security, tackling drills. Not always you attack or bring someone to the ground, but you try to punch the ball out. Bill would actually take. He called them grease balls. Literally. I don't know, some silicone spray that he would spray on the ball and we would, when we would do running plays, he would put it in. In practice, I would take this greased football, give it to the back. He would have to tuck the ball secure with both hands, the shoulder pads over top just so they didn't fumble.

[Colin Cowherd]

Yep. And you know, again, we talk about this. The number one factor in building a culture is accountability. You fumble, you're out of the game. And Kyron Williams, by the way, Cam Akers, when he was with the Rams, was really good. He had a fumble issue. They got rid of him. Kyron Williams, it felt like a year ago start, he had a fumble issue. Tiki Barber for years had a fumble issue before Tom Coughlin showed up. Then suddenly he didn't. So Kyron Williams, when he doesn't fumble, is really, really good. You know, there's so many good players in this game. I put the top 10 players in this game up an hour ago. I don't have Devonte Adams, I don't have Kobe Turner. I don't have Leonard Williams. I mean, there's just so many good players. You know, this stuff comes down to who's going to be good on third down, who plays cleaner football. You know, these are my top 10. Puka Stafford, 1 2. Then JSN Witherspoon, the corners room, unbelievable player. Darnold, Kenneth Walker. And then it's inches, not feet. Kyron Williams, Jared Verse, Kevin Dotson, Puna Ford. I, I at 11, I had Kobe Turner. Then, you know, you get into a bunch of Seahawks, as J. Mac pointed out. Where do you put Devonte Adams? I had no Byron Young and he has 12 sacks. I mean, what do you do? Where do I. I think Jared Verse a little harder to block. What do you do? I mean, that's the kind of game it is. So a lot of people are saying this is the Super Bowl. We've seen that before. The Western Conference in the NBA for years. I mean, it feels like two out of three years. Whoever wins the west, that's the NBA champion. I mean, this year, Detroit and the Knicks are good teams. Celtics would be. If Tatum was there, they'd be really special. Philadelphia is interesting. Same with Orlando. But it's like if you get San Antonio facing Denver or OKC in the west, that's the NBA championship. I remember covering the Blazers and the Lakers, that legendary Kobe to Shaq Alley oop, Game seven. I was right behind the basket and I remember covering that game. And Indiana was next. And you're like, yeah, Portland would have beaten Indiana Lakers beat Indiana. You knew the Western Conference finals was the NBA Finals.

[J Mac (J. Mac)]

Another guy you missed. I was just looking him up. On Pro Football Focus. Quinton Lake, the safety who was injured, broken elbow. He was playing at an all pro level early in the season, got injured, came back, struggled in the first game against Carolina, was really good against Chicago on the back end of that defense. He's certainly top 15 in this game.

[Colin Cowherd]

Oh yeah, great player. Hour 3 J Max got his picks Friday.

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[Colin Cowherd]

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[J Mac (J. Mac)]

So good.

[Colin Cowherd]

Your bill ladies.

[Tom Brady]

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[Colin Cowherd]

No, I got it.

[J Mac (J. Mac)]

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[Colin Cowherd]

I assisted first. Oh, don't be silly.

[J Mac (J. Mac)]

You don't be silly.

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[J Mac (J. Mac)]

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[Colin Cowherd]

Rock, paper, scissors. Shoot. No.

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[Colin Cowherd]

This is an iHeart podcast. Guaranteed Human.