Thanks for listening to the Best of Herd podcast. Are you sure to catch us live every weekday from twelve to three eastern, nine to noon Pacific on Fox Sports Radio and FS one. Find your local station for the Herd at Fox Sports Radio dot com, or stream us live every day on the iHeartRadio app by searching Herd. This is the Best of the Herd with Colin Cowherd on Fox Sports Radio. Here we go. It is a Monday. We are absolutely stacked into Holiday Monday. It's the Herd. Wherever you meet, however you may be listening I Heart Radio, Fox Sports Radio FS one one hour from now. Colin right, Colin wrong. A lot of wrongs this week. Yeah, I took a little bit of time off last week. Just got a lot of sorts. A lot of wrongs last week. A couple of days I was on. Jason McIntyre got clarity yesterday. The Jets need a new quarterback. Can we agree with that? Yeah? I think that's the case. Yes, we need to find a quarterback back. And there's a couple of guys who will be out there in free agency. It's great to see you. The holidays now for most of us kind of over Bowl games percolate. Let's start with this. There is a big difference all these years watching football of an offense that calls plays and an offense that has an identity. The Niners have an identity offensive coach. The Chiefs have an identity offensive coach. One of my complaints about the Chargers and the Bills. They have great quarterbacks, but sometimes they're just asking them to put on a kpe B Superman and win the game. What's their offensive identity? The Bill's offensive identity is Josh Allen's great. He's like forty fifty yards from being their leading rusher. Green Bay should have an identity offensive coach Aaron Rodgers, but has lacked it, and now they've found it five and oh this year when they run it at least fifty percent of the time did yesterday in one Matt Lafleur came to Green Bay known as a guy that could craft a run game. So why the heck it takes so long? Packer fandom and pounding the table for five months on this. It took him until late November. But when they run fifty percent of the time, and when they focus on running, they're almost Oh, it's good. At it. Aaron Jones is fantastic. AJ Dillon very capable. OH line top six seven minimum in the NFL. Aaron Rodgers can manipulate audible in audible out, super smart. Do you know? Matt Lafleur is twelve and oh as the Packers coach twelve and ozho when he just runs fifty percent of the time twelve and oh, why did it take so long? You know what? In the end, he's won a bunch of games and it looks like I think they'll beat Detroit at Lambeau and they'll get into the playoffs, which is good for everybody because Aaron Rodgers and the Packers are a big Brandon fascinating. This team has always been from day one this season too young and too limited on the perimeter to be a shootout team. That's not what they are. Slowly, Christian Watson has developed into a real threat downtown and that's great. But they're not a great team. They're a team that has to play a certain way to win. It just took them forever to figure out what it was. But who cares. They're gonna beat Detroit, They're gonna get in and this is going to be a Packer team like a Dallas team. We tend to think Dallas is great. Now Dallas has to play a certain way. Dallas has to run the football. Dat can be complimentary. Green Bay's very similar. The differences. Aaron, of course, is one of the ten twelve best quarterbacks that's ever played the game. But what's fascinating is the more they run the ball, how it affects the rest of their team. Their defense isn't on the field. Have you looked at green Bay's defense during this four game winning streak. What do you know? Their time of possession goes up, running second in the league, and their second half points allowed our third best in the NFL. So when what are we complaining about all early in the year, what's wrong with our defense was on the field too much? Green Bay's running defense is rested, has much more energy in the second half, plays great. This is a real identity. Earlier in the year they were just colin plays. They were trying to figure out the rookie receivers and some of this is Aaron Rodgers is so great and very smart. Here comes Matt Lafleur. You know you want to make sure he spends his offseason doing his thing. He comes into camp, the media is banging on Aaron. With the rookie receivers, there's a lot to balance here in Green Bay. But watching them the last couple of weeks, it's like, yeah, that's it. That's what fans in Green Bay. But Hammer and the table, they should look a lot like Wisconsin football if Wisconsin football had Aaron Rodgers. Wisconsin football, big old line, run the ball, one or two deep threats, occasionally make a play. But Aaron said after it's feeling good, like the focus I think they get in. It's been an interesting year, hasn't been my best football at times, but I've been asked to step up my leadership, I think, and be someone that guys can count on to keep it together. You know, even when it doesn't seem like there's any play for we don't have a chance to make a run, there were a lot of different things that could happen, and we stuck together and we put ourselves in position to do something special. So again at home against Detroit, I can't I can't trust Detroit in that spot. I trust Aaron Rodgers at Lamball a lot more in this spot than I do Detroit. But you know Detroit is they always play hard. Golf's having a good year, But this is what it is. Calling plays and an identity are two different things. And often in the NFL, defensive coaches Ron Rivera, I think sometimes Sean McDermott, they don't. I mean they can't figure out in Buffalo the offensive line it's been like five years. Pittsburgh, Tomlin can't figure out the offensive line, been four or five years. Finally you watch Green Bay and you're like, that's exactly what they should be doing since September. Maybe though it wasn't possible. All right, So San Francisco didn't play very well and one and right now in the NFL, the Niners and the Chiefs are the only two teams in this league that can play poorly and win. So the question with brock Purdy was always can he play from behind? Can he play well when they really need him to deliver? And yesterday was a great example. The Niners defense not very good, didn't show up. Robbie Gould good kicker missed in regulation. So brock Purty was relied on, like Mahomes often is, to clean up the mess. And he's pretty good. Now you saw some arm limitations. He's not a big kid and a big arm guy, but he's plays with some tempo. He's pretty good. He's a four year college starter. He's accurate. There's some leadership stuff here, pretty good. Yesterday was a great example, and this is how football works. Everybody's great with a lead in a run game. Yesterday they fell behind. He had to get it in a shootout. He had sometimes good protection, sometimes he didn't. And you saw the things that they're raven about in San Francisco. He's more accurate than Trey Lance. He's more athletic than Jimmy Garoppolo. And they've surrounded him with a ton of good players. And this is again you say, well he's a seventh round pick. Never forget this. Kurt Warner all time great, undrafted, Tony Romo, all time, very good, undrafted, seventh round, sixth round, Brady. There's a lot of talent. There's more good quarterbacks than ever before because of the seven on seven camps, so generationally the guys coming into the league now more starts, more experience, more refined quarterback coaches in high school. Brock Purty is good. They needed him yesterday. Now Mahomes has to bail out the Chiefs all the time. Josh Allen, Joe Burrow, we get that. We were kind of sitting around going what if what if Brock Purtty has to bail him out? He did, and he did. Here's Kyle after. What Brock's doing is real. I mean, he's a talented guy who's very tough, and when he does make mistakes, he understands why and then he tries to learn from him. So every time he goes out there, whether it is good or bad, I feel like when you when you got the skill set and you play the game the right way, and he's only gonna get better from it. There are so many interesting facets to not only the playoffs, which will break down here in about fifteen minutes, but all the quarterbacks out there. What are the Raiders now going to do at quarterback? Derek Carr could absolutely fetch you probably a second round pick if a team's desperate a first round or you think it's eight teams, nine teams desperate for a quarterback. Coaches don't want to get fired, gms don't want to get fired. You're getting something for Derek carrs Jarrett Stidham the answer Jamack talking about Tom Brady. Here's what's interesting, just a side note on the Raiders. So the Raiders have like three fifth round picks, a couple of six. If you trade Derek Carr and get a couple of twos, the Raiders could have a first, a couple of twos, a couple of fifths, a couple of six, they could have ten eleven picks. Tom Brady looks at that and goes Davante Adams, Darren Waller, Hunter Renfro, decent left tackle, no the offensive coach. The Raiders lost, and the season's mostly done for them. Raiders could be one of the most intriguing landing spots for Tom Brady. Miami, I think has to be in there Raiders. Josh McDaniel has to be in there. The story now this morning, though, of course, is the forty nine. Be sure to catch live editions of The Herd weekdays in noon Easter nine a m. Pacific on Fox Sports Radio FS one and the iHeartRadio app One of the most surprised outcomes, and maybe it shouldn't be, was Seattle completely thumping the Jets. I thought my Jets pick was my favorite of the weekend, and it was never competitive. So let's start with the positives. Pete Carroll let Pete Cook has a formula. Now we talked about green Bay having an identity. Seattle has more of a formula. Lean into the run game when Kenneth Walker is healthy. Limit the number of throws Geno Smith makes thirty five or fewer. Run heavy, lean downhill, play, very aggressive, Pete Carroll defense. Pete's had an amazing rebound year GM John Snyder hit a home run. Maybe the best draft in Seattle in a decade, and this is their formula. Now they don't control their playoff hopes. They can win and still not make it. If Green Bay beats Detroit, my guess is they will Seattle's out. But it's been a great year and it's a very very healthy roster. And unlike baseball or the NBA, if you have a great draft and bring in five six starters, you can be a playoff team the next year. Seattle on the precipice of being that. But they've got a formula. It's pretty clear. They hit a home run in the second round with Kenneth Walker, lean into him when he's been healthy. They run the ball, limit the exposure of geno that don't want him throwing thirty eight, forty two, forty five, don't want that. Same with brock Purty. Probably better off throwing twenty seven than thirty seven or forty seven. It works. Number two is what did we learn? It's not all bad for the Jets. Even though that was a complete dead performance by the staff and by the quarterback, it was clarity. Come on the AFC quarterbacks right now, low dead and Lamarc Jackson's not even playing. Looks like Kenny Pickett can play a little bit. Mike White's not the guy. He's just not the guy. He's a great backup. And the Jets roster, to me above average. They have the number one corner in the league, a top five to seven defensive front, Bruce Hall will get healthy, a star running back. I think their offensive line will get healthier, a couple of guys on that I like. They're a veteran quarterback and a left tackle away, in my opinion from being a playoff team. Is Robert solid the right coach? Well, he's done a great job of the defense. That's his side of the ball. The GM missed it quarterback and missed it left tackle. But it's not an exact science. He's also had a lot of hits. Derek Carr's on the market, I'd go after him yesterday. Garoppolo's on the market, I'd consider it. Probably not. Tom Brady probably on the market. By the way, I'll throw this out there. I know it sounds crazy. I'd give Kirk Cousins a call. I think Minnesota is worn out. Two biggest games of the year. He was awful. He was awful. This team has a lot of good players. This isn't the Giants where they're pretending Daniel Jones is great and they have a rebuild roster. This is a really good roster. It's a really good roster left tackle, quarterback. But yesterday is a great example to get clarity. Sometimes it's pain. Come on, Jets, Burrow, Herbert, What if car stays, Mahomes, Josh Allen Lamar comes back, Mike White? Really, how good do you have to be on defense, special teams in coaching to overcome that? Yesterday is a great example. Biggest game of the year, engulfed over a skis not ready. It's okay. We got five great quarterbacks in the NFL that are young and in their prime and probably four to five other ones that are really really good, not in their prime. Mike White's not the guy. Be sure to catch live editions of The Herd weekdays and noon Easter nine am Pacific. So here's the playoff picture this morning. Let's start with the AFC. New England right now is the seventh and final team in the AFC. I do not think they make the playoffs. So I think New England loses at Buffalo, even though the Bills play tonight on a short week, and I think Miami beats the Jets. Now, Miami's lost yesterday. They were missing seven or eight key starters. They have really fallen apart physically. Nobody's talking about it. Not just two A Teddy Bridgewater gets hurt. They're on a third string quarterback against Belichick. In that defense, I think Miami beats the Jets and gets in. I think New England loses, and frankly, I think Miami feels more like a playoff team when two is upright, they move the ball. They've got. Miami checks a lot of boxes in twenty twenty two. Clever offensive coach, excellent weapons, excellent left tackle, good edge rusher, and a good corner that's all the right boxes. I will say this, Miami's gonna be fascinating in the off season. Between Two and Teddy. They can't stay healthy smaller guys in a big man's sport. I think they have to consider a Brady a car again, get on the phone with Minnesota. Minnesota needs draft picks. Just throw it out there. I wouldn't go Garoppolo, They've already got that. A distributor who struggles to say, hell, So, Miami's gonna be fascinating, But I think they get in. Okay, let's in the hunt teams Miami, Pittsburgh, Tennessee, and New England. Who would you want to see most in a playoff game? Which of those four teams Miami over Pittsburgh. Oh, I think Miami. Pittsburgh has three points in the third quarter in every game I watch him and comes back to win. Miami checks all the boxes. Well, if two is healthy, well no, I'm not even that left tackle, edge rusher, great weapons offensive coach. That's twenty twenty two football. They check all the boxes. Their issue is singularly, we can't keep our quarterback healthy, so the backup gets hurt, and these are serious injuries. We're talking about concussion stuff with Tuah and Teddy, so I think they have to go get somebody that's available in a distributor. Car's not a playmaker, Brady's not a playmaker. Garoppolo is not a playmaker. They're distributors. This offense is built. Never forget That's why I put up Kirk Cousins. Never forget. Shanahan loved him. Mike McDaniel, Miami's coach from Shanahan's system. I keep throwing Kirk Cousins out because I have this weird feeling. I said this last week. There's five quarterbacks in the world. I would not take a phone call on Mahomes, Alan, Herbert Burrow, and Trevor Lawrence. I would not pick up the phone. I would pick up the phone for every other quarterback. If you don't think Minnesota's going to pick up the phone. If somebody makes an offer for Kirk Cousins, well what will they have. They'll figure it out, They'll go get Car whatever. But I think him against the Cowboys and Packers at this point in his career being pathetic. Couldn't get the ball to Justin Jefferson. Stefan Dig said, get me out of here. I think Minnesota's trapped. I think Gos's more talented, fields is more talented, Aaron's way more talented. That's what I think they are today. Okay, so let's go to the NFC playoff picture. I think this will change. I think Seattle could win, but they don't control their destiny. I think green Bay does win and gets in in green Bay. Over the course of the season, Seattle feels more like a playoff team. But in the last month, and we always talk about there's three seasons pre Thanksgiving, post Thanksgiving, in playoffs post Thanksgiving, green Bay feels like a playoff team. Didn't early bad early, not late. So I think green Bay beats Detroit maybe soundly the way they're playing, and I think Seattle could win, but they don't control their destiny. So and if you start looking at the NFC Brady Aaron Rodgers, Cowboys, I mean a lot of these feel likes. You know, San Francisco, Philadelphia made it last year. These are kind of the usual playoff teams. It feels like in this little three or four year tunnel, these all make sense. New York doesn't at all. But that's why Brian Dable should be Coach of the Year. They don't make any sense being there. I would agree, But if you look at the Giants, they're locked in at six colin If the Giants go to Minnesota, we just saw that game two weeks ago, Minnesota struggles to get margin. Brian Dable, I can't I know, you can't talk yourself into it. But the New York Giants, I would not be shocked if they took down the Vikings in the frost were you just start hammering Krik Cousins. I'm saying, just think about this league. Yeah, we're talking about next year. Outside of the five great young quarterbacks in their prime, you don't think Arizona would take a call for Kyler Mrie. Yeah, yeah, of course they would. So you don't You don't think Detroit would take a call for Jared Goff if something happened. Five guys you don't take a call on. We all know who they are, great in their prime, big, strong, sturdy, all those guys. I just think there's gonna be a lot of movement. This is a crazy you think it's crazy. Tom Brady chose Tampa, Stafford went to the Rams. Stuff in this league. Now, these young gms are all Vegas deal makers. Man, they're making They're at the Roulet roulette table in the off season. Did you see Minnesota lost two offensive linemen in their game this weekend. One of them carted off. He's definitely not coming back. Cavon Thibodeau. I know, looks like he nearly killed Nick Foles. I know the snow angel was a bit much, but that does. Just to be aware, Minnesota on upset watch. First, you're the Minnesota GM after the nightmare against Dallas in Green Bay. Two biggest brands come into town and you get You go to Lamboon and embarrass yourself against the Cowboys. You embarrass yourself. You're not taking a call on Kirk Cousin on the owner, I say, okay, gmm, that sounds good. What's your game plan after Kirk Cousins? You know what, Sometimes bottoming it out it's not the worst thing twelve and four to bottoming out? All right, go ahead, Congratulations that team is That team is the worst teetering Yeah, worst twelve and four team ever. They have a negative point difference. Negative point difference never happened before. Ever. Hey, it's Ben host of the Fifth Hour with Ben maller with mean a lot to have you join us on our weekly auditory journey. You're asking, what in God's name is the Fifth Hour. I'll tell you it's a spin off of that. Ben Mallershaw Colt hit overnights on FSR. Why should you listen? Picture if you will a world will? We chat with captains of industry in media, sports and more every week explore some amazing facts about a human nature and more. Let'sten to the Fifth Hour with Ben mall on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcast or wherever you get your podcast. So let's talk some college football here. So Jim Harbaugh and Michigan went down. Now Nick Saban's lost eleven bowl games. It happens. That's the reality of these bowl games. Michigan went in as a touchdown favorite, got to gimmicky, got to deceptive. They're a power program. They should have leaned into power. But they had more yards and more first downs in a better time of possession, and Jim Harbaugh's side of the ball offense scored forty five points. Quarterback made some bad decisions. The defense was atrocious. You know, blame harball all yawann he's beating Ohio State twice. He's been to the playoffs two times in eight years in Michigan ten plus wins five times and two playoff appearances. It has been a resounding success. He remains a very, very very strong football coach. I would take him in a heartbeat over almost anybody in college football. As good as Saban Kirby, Smart and Lincoln Riley are. They didn't get to a Super Bowl. This guy's a great coach. San Diego Niners, Stanford Michigan. Great coach. Bad game, bad moment, top got to gimmicky, but that's okay. His side of the ball scored forty five points. The question becomes everybody's asking, is Jim going to go to the NFL? The issue is where now that Justin Herbert's going to make the playoffs? The Charger job is not open. That's the job that Harball would take and Sean Payton would take. You get Justin Herbert and those receivers and those edge rushers and that left tackle and that center. The Chargers is the job. They're not going to go pay for Harbaar pay for Sean Payton. Historically, they don't pay a lot for coaches. They're certainly not going to fire a guy who makes the playoffs, a young guy in his second year, and they're just not going to do it in the crowded AFC. So the question is, oh, Denver, Denver's in cap hell for the next four years. They don't have any draft capital next year. It's a tough division. The quarterback could be washed, got brand new owners. You have a GM who didn't get hired by the owners. Denver's not a good job. Historically, it's a great job, it's not a good job now. So I don't see him leaving. I think he goes back with JJ McCarthy and that roster. He's got an identity, he's got momentum. He gets the Buckeyes back in ann Arbor, he beats him for a third straight time. I would not be shocked. I think they end up making the playoffs again next year, and maybe he can get some wins in it. But I mean, you tell me the place in the NFL, Arizona with Kyler Murray. I mean that Jim Harbon. Kyler Murray's an inferno. That doesn't does that sound right? So I think he returns to Michigan. You know, there's there's something I've I've leaned on for years and years. Don't try to get happier than happy. Happy is hard enough to get to in life. Right now, his dad lives next to his grandkids. He's beating Ohio State, he's getting to the playoffs, he's win in ten, eleven, twelve games a year, and he gets the coach at Michigan, one of the great small towns in America, Ann Arbor, I don't know. I'm not leaving to go to cap Helen, Denver with new owners, a GM on the ropes, a quarterback that could be washed. I don't think so. I think. I think Russell Wilson rebounds, but I don't know what I got with Russell Wilson. So it just happens. Bowl games are weird. I mean, TCU is the least talented team in terms of like rivals rankings, top one hundred and fifty players we've ever had in the final. Who would have guessed Sonny Dikes didn't have huge success in cal goes to TCU and he's got him in his first year. Well, I don't know. It happened. Good story, but I don't. I don't. I wouldn't leave Michigan. Not now, maybe in a year if you don't want to go back to Columbus. But I got my quarterback, I got my big rival at my place. I returned a lot of my star players. I don't see why I would go take a bad NFL job. I don't. I don't get it. And you start looking at the openings. Colts, Texans you got, you got impulsive ownership, Washington, I think about it. Washington could have an opening. Colts could have an opening. Texans three impulsive owners and not a quarterback or J. J. McCarthy. Buckeyes in ann Arbor dominate the Big ten. That feels like a way better job to me. What about the Carolina Panthers? Colin is hold on, wait before Tampa Bay is gonna lose Brady their nosediving. You've got the New Orleans Saints in that division. They're not really going anywhere. Is there a case that Jim Harbaugh could go to Carolina? The owner says, what quarterback do you want? Garoppolo or car we will overpay for you. No, thanks, not taking that job. Not taking that job. I'm not it's not good enough. Temperamental owner eleven million dollars a year. He's making nine. Now, who cares. You're trying to get happier than happy. That's why I'm staying here. I'm happy so far. You could irritate me. Okay, Now it's Ohio State, I had said to the lead up. I thought they would account for themselves very well. I thought a fascinating story because I thought they outplayed Georgia and felt like the better team most of the night. They did give up nine yards a play though. This defense for Ohio State, they got to figure something out because they just give up big points in big games against Michigan and George. I see against Oregon last year. They got to get their defense figured out. They just give up too many big plays and big points. But I thought it was fascinating. CJ. Stroud, I thought did himself a huge favor. Nobody has torn apart George's defense like that in a while. He was fantastic. And what is interesting is he ran. So I'm going to make a comparison. They're not the same type of quarterback. But when Justin Herbert was at Oregon, they didn't have a capable backup, so Mario Crista Ball kind of kept him in the pocket. And then in his last game at Oregon the Rose Bowl against the great Wisconsin defense, Mario Crista Ball said, young man, do what you gotta do to win. Herbert was running all over the field and we all went, whoa, justin Herbert has that gear so Ohio State. They don't have a backup ready to play. So it feels like to me that kind of kept CJ. Stroud limited in the pocket. We don't you know, we think we can play for a national title. We can't have he getting hurt. And here against Georgia, Ryan Day said, we're not beating him, just sitting in the pocket. Young man, you do your thing, and CJ. Stroud, like Herbert, said, okay, my thing is moving. And he ran for seventy yards. If you take away the sacks, he rushed for seventy yards. He was very dynamic. I thought he looked absolutely fantastic. I do think Bryce Young will go number one. He's such a beautiful natural thrower. But CJ. Stroud accounted for himself bigger than Bryce Young. Really nice arm. Now we know he can move that. Herbert comp they're not the same quarterback. That's not what I'm saying, but they're college coaches. Kind of felt like they kind of kept him in the pocket because they didn't have a real capable backup to going in Star. And so both coaches get to a bowl game Oregon and Herbert against the great Wisconsin defense and CJ. Stroud against the great defense in Georgia, and the coaches are like, Okay, do your thing, potential last game of the year. And with Herbert you're like, WHOA. I have two GMS that were at that game and they're like, when you saw him live, it was like, Wow, Herbert is unbelievable. You kind of couldn't see it on tape games from Eugene, games in Pullman couldn't see it. CJ. Stroud that game that was That's why. Now, obviously he's gonna play. But sometimes there's these players who play in bowl games who don't necessarily have to. Now CJ. Stroud was going to play in the bowl game obviously, but I thought, I don't think I've seen anybody in a bowl game anybody that I went, oh, oh, they'll be gms that take that I think will talk themselves into CJ. Stroud over Bryce Young. I honestly felt that watching that he's bigger. He lets it written. Now Ohio State has become wide receiver university, So I mean, let's be honest, Marvin Harrison's kid doesn't get hurt. They probably win that football game. I mean they are. They are stacked at wide receiver and they have been for years. They become a wide receiver factory. Used to be you know, Alabama used to be known for corners. Now they're known for quarterbacks and wide receivers. Ohio State used to be known for linebackers. Now they're known for wide receivers. They're wide receiving talent insane. So a lot of times it's guys that have beaten their guys badly. But I thought I thought CJ. Stroud was. It was jaw dropping. It was like, Wow, I get that, I get the running two. And it's not like he's just running past guys at Temple. He's running past Georgia guys. Those guys are all playing on Sundays. So my takeaway in Michigan Hardball, stay at Michigan. Great job, An Harbor. There's no good NFL things out there now. The Chargers are in and Ohio State y out played him. Probably should have been a targeting call, was it? You probably would have one of Harrison plays. My takeaway they couldn't guard him. He was just a mismatch issue. He's gonna be a mismatch in Sundays. He was certainly a mismatch against Georgia. They couldn't cover him. So but CJ. Stroud, Wow, that was Wild's tough. That was like, oh okay, I get that. It really did remind me of Herbert one more. The Herd streams twenty four hours a day, seven days a week within the iHeartRadio app Search Herd to listen live or on demand whenever you like. Where Colin was right, Well, I did say I thought brock Purty as a four year starter in college, three or four year starter, I thought he'd be fine. This team does not ask the quarterback to do a lot. I worried that he wouldn't be able to go like to Philadelphia and win a playoff game. But in the five games he started four or five games, his passer ratings over one oh six. He's completing sixty seven percent of his throws. He's got McCaffrey and Jennings, George Kittle, he got a lot of weapons. He's got a brilliant play designer, so brock Purty, everybody freaked out. He's more accurate than Trey Lance. He's a better athlete than Jimmy Garoppolo and Kurt Warner and Tony Romo were not drafted. They can get to the super Bowl. In my opinion, with brock Purty, that's yesterday came from behind. That's the result so far. Where Colin was raw, the Blazing five. The good news is we're fifty four percent on the year. We need the Bengals to win to night. O embarrassed ourselves this week. The Jets laid an egg. I can't explain why the Raiders were so good. And Kirk Cousins I think I'd trade him. But we are forty one, thirty five and three fifty four percent for the year. Let's get to fifty five, win tonight, couple of playoff games. That's where we're at right and wrong. Where Colin was right. We thought underdog Ohio State would account for themselves very well. They were told for a month they didn't have a chance. Ohio State to top three or four recruiting juggernaut in America. They got athletes everywhere, they got NFL Stars everywhere right now. They have as many good wide receivers as any program in the country, and they had the better quarterback in this game by a lot, So there was no reason this team couldn't form a good game plan talent wise. My question with Ohio State has been their identity and their defense. But I wasn't shocked. Now was CJ. Stroud better than I thought? Absolutely? Three hundred forty eight yards for TDS and he ran. But we thought Ohio State would be very competitive in that game where Colin was rong. I've been very critical of Matt Lafleur. He's just a play caller. He doesn't have an identity. But the last two to three weeks I'm wrong. This is exactly what the Packers should be, at least fifty to fifty five percent a run team. You know, Aaron Rodgers only completed fifteen throws yesterday. That is a good thing because as they run the ball, they own time of possession. Their defense is not on the field, and if you look at the Packers stats during the four game winning streak, they have a top three second half defense. Run the ball. This is not a track team. Outside of Christian Watson. Nobody's gonna beat you deep. They need another tight end. They should draft another receiver or two or go pay for him in the offseason. But I've been critical of Matt Lafleur. Finally found an identity. This team I think beats Detroit and gets in where Colin was row. I don't know how, but Daniel Jones made the playoffs. A lot of it's the coach. He is fairly athletic, he can be accurate with time. Here's the thing. A lot of it's Brian day Ball. But let's be fair, Daniel has to make those throws. With Brian day Ball, He's gone from sixty four percent completion percent it's the sixty seven that's a real number, and eighty four in the passer rating to ninety two. So and we know he's big and can move. That's never been the issue. Also, he's got seven rushing touchdowns. So what day Ball has done is what he did with Josh Allen. He unleashes him, uses his size and his speed, and he lets him run. That's the best version of Daniel Jones. I never thought he would be a playoff quarterback. I am completely wrong on that. I think a lot of it's Brian Dable, but quarterbacks have to make the plays. And Daniel Jones has where Colin was right. Doug Peterson when he was on the beach and didn't have a job, I said, usc hire him, Jacksonville, hire him, folks. The Jags roll the Texans thirty one to three. I don't know if you're paying attention, but they look good and they're playing downhill and Trevor Lawrence Sin's Week nine fourteen TDS two picks and a one hundred and six passer rating. Right now, Trevor Lawrence, Thanksgiving on, is a top five quarterback in this league, which is what most of the scouts thought when he got drafted. I was a huge advocate of Doug Peterson. I thought it's one of the few times in a playoff game or a Super Bowl that Belichick absolutely got out coached. You can count it on one hand. I think Peterson was that guy. He's the right higher where Colin was right. I love Jim Harbaugh, but I thought he outthought himself and the Bowl win loss, excuse me, all the gimmicks and the Philly special off a time out, and you know, I just thought they got too clever. Try to be too deceptive. This is a team that had ten routes in a Big ten. You're a power team. Play with power. Stop throwing the ball up the sideline. Go play with power. Leaning your tie d although I know one of them was all beat up. I hated that Philly special call a trick playoff a time out. The element of surprise is why every trick play works. You don't do a trick play out on a time out or I can prepare for it. I love hard Bob, but I hated that call where Colin was raw. Carson Wentz my bad. Carson Wentz. I've never been a Taylor Heineke guy. I mean, he's a gamer. I think Wentz is the better talent. He's awful. His passerating yesterday was thirty one. He was bad the minute he got in. There is something about Carson Wentz's personality. Guys just don't dig him. That team plays better with Taylor Heineke. He's one of the dudes. I mean, some guys have that sort of beer drinking quality. You just want to hang out with him, go to Vegas with him. And some guys are talented, but it's not working with Carson Wentz, I think his career is over, and I wouldn't be surprised. Daniel Snyder can be very impulsive and inappropriate. I wouldn't be surprised if they just started over because I didn't like to move. I may like Carson Wentz, but that was bad where Colin was raw. I defended Matt Eberflus. I don't love defensive head coaches with rookie or young quarterbacks, but they're a mess now. They've lost nine straight. That's the longest losing streak in one hundred and three years of the Bears football operation. And Justin fields sack seven times had seven completions against Detroit's defense. So I am not a fan. Say it again, of hiring a defensive coach with a young quarterback, I don't love it, and I didn't love to hire, but I defended him, and I thought early in the year I liked their game plans and what they were doing. I have no trust whatsoever in the Bears organization. To get the offense right, Fields has to be superman the old line. I think they drafted four old linemen last year. Three or four bad receivers, bad couple of decent running backs. That offense is broken personnel wise, nine straight losses. That's I've seen the Houston Texans to be wildly competitive against superior teams. Be sure to catch live editions of The Herd weekdays in noon Easter nine am Pacific on Fox Sports Radio FS one and the iHeartRadio app. The Saints six times they had the number one offense in the league, and multiple other times they were in the top two or three. Sean Payton, Fox Sports Analysts, fifteen years super Bowl champ. Good to see him again. He had a little personal crisis in his family. So we're so glad to have you back. Things getting wrapped up to some degree, So thank you very Yeah, listen, it's great to be back on here. And you know, we're all kind of creatures of habit and routine, and certainly you guys, especially with the amount of time you're on air, and I always like coming here on Mondays. I feel like that we can put a boat tie on some things. Yes, in our league. Well my lead today, this is good for you. I said a lot of time. There's a difference between Colin plays and having an identity Kyle Shanahan's offenses. There's an identity you and Breeze. I knew what you were trying to do. Couldn't stop it, Andy Reid. A lot of times I see defensive coaches. They're calm plays, but the sensibility and I've been very critical in Matt Lafleur, and in the last three weeks it's like, Okay, they found it. Yeah, this is a run team. They don't have the weaponry to get into track meets. I really like. And by the way, Sean, as their run game is improved, the defense isn't on the field. So their second half defense now is fantastic. Yeah, they tie so much together. And you know there's terms complimentary football, but we're seeing it in San Francisco, and even when Kansas City's going with the weapons they have, there's still something that they can attack versus the cover twos of the world, the cover fours of the world, the six, the light boxes and the heavy coverage looks. Yeah, and especially when we get down the stretch and we're here. I said this yesterday, I feel like, you know, occasionally you go somewhere nice and there's a telescope in your hotel room and you don't know how to use it. You're kind of like this and then all of a sudden bump it gets clear and you're like, oh, I got it. I were like one turn away then from knowing everything. That's great this weekend, Yes, but it got a lot clear yesterday. Yeah, Green Bay feels like this is what we are. I think there are most teams in the league have to play a certain way to win. Maybe Kansas City doesn't. I want to talk about San Francisco. So my question was, every quarterback looks a lot better with a lead in the great defense. Yesterday, the Niners defense wasn't good. Robbie Gould missed an easy one and it was Brock had to make some plays now. Yeah, and my takeaway was all those years starting in college, I saw it with Kenny Pikett, he's capable. Yeah that was that ended up being a real good game. And you know, we laugh and try to figure things out in the green room on the weekend, and sometimes the more you try to figure him out, the the more confused you can get. Um. We saw New Orleans play Philadelphia yesterday, and in that case, the absence of Jalen Hurts and what he does for their running game, and then all of a sudden, Gardner Minshew's got to play more of a conventional role. And I know New Orleans knows how to defend him. We played it, played him in Jacksonville. They were going to keep him in the pocket and force him to make place from the pocket. But here's here's pretty yesterday, you know, in a spot where there's some adversity. Yes, I mean that defense just didn't play well. Yeah, and and credit credit the Raiders, and credit U shoot him. Drawn a blank on the quarterback's name, Stidham, who was Auburn transferred from Baylor and drafted by New England. We we've played sixty five we've started. Our league has started sixty five different quarterbacks this season. It's a record, that's that's more than two per team. And so like if you're if you're a father that's looking at the schedule saying I'm gonna I'm gonna take my son to see Arizona versus Atlanta, you have no idea, you know, at the start of the season, and then all of a sudden, you can't pick the names out of a lineup. You know, one team's on their fourth quarterback, the other on their second um but both those guys played well. And I think, and I said this for the last month, and I don't think, you know, there's that hesitation. Can Purtady do this? I think San Francisco is the team to beat in this tournament, in the whole tournament, the whole thing. Wow. And I do. I do, because look, they had a moment defensively yesterday. They'll they'll they'll bounce back off of that. But if you use the the analytics of defense, scoring, run game, and you factored in some of these things, and I think, look, Deebo has been kind of quiet, and I just feel like they're a team that's one what nine in a row. Now you know, we're going to see a good game tonight that's really going to tell us a little bit more about the AFC. So I want to talk about that. So it's Bingals Bills tonight. Go either way. It's like a you know, one and a half point. I like, I think Cincinnati at home a little more comfortable. I've said this, I feel like I love boxing. I like, you know, like that stuff. I feel I've always said Buffalo's Tyson doesn't always have a great jab. Uh. You know, I don't love their old line they bail on the run game. Uh, they're too dependent on the home run, Josh Allen Tyson, too dependent on the lift. Whereas I feel with Cincinnati, I get the jab, I get some power, I get the movement. They're more complete Situationally, you don't know what they're gonna do. They can run, they can pass, they tight ends, they Joe can move. When you look at this, what are you concerned at all? Because I find myself with Buffalo pushing back on myself, Colin, don't fall in love with their home runs. Don't look at that old line the run game, they bail or you're in this game forever? Would you just rather have the home runs to deal with? It's it's it's a great question. That's why tonight it's a great game. And honestly we could flip coins here and try to figure out who's gonna win this game. Um, they're two different type teams playing. That's the one thing. Yes, and so yeah, do you do you do you want to feel like you know a little bit more what you're getting or I mean, certainly you don't want the boxer who's biting someone's ear off and then all of a sudden, you're you're you're leaving in the first round, right. I like Buffalo tonight. I like Buffalo. I think the X factors there, their quarterback and I think Diggs and I just think I just think they're a little too much in a big spot this season, and it was a big spot when they played the Rams. Obviously, it doesn't look that way now Thursday night they have a big win in another big spot against the Chiefs. This is kind of I think their third big spot when you look. I mean, they've won some they've won a lot of games, but the chief game was a big one. The opening game of the season on the road against the Rams, that was a big win. They stubbed their towel when you don't expect it. Yeah, I feel like Sean will have his guys ready McDermott and I give the edge to him. I think he's done a great job. They're going to be right there in the end. This team will be playing in the AFC Championship Game. Cincinnati may very well be as well. I kind of see Kansas City there, but certainly this is one of those games that'll be interesting to watch. So there's so many different stories today Sean Payton for our radio audience. I never thought i'd see Daniel Jones in the playoffs. But it's interesting what day Ball's done with him. And nobody thinks he's Josh Allen, but day Ball has done a little bit of the same. Yeah, I'm gonna get you out of the turnover business and I'm gonna let you run more. Yeah, there's some design plays as touchdown yesterday was designed that. Listen, they stole it from us. We ran that against Buffalo or against the Jets with Taysom Hill. I'm kidding when I say that. But if you want to find quarterback runs and you don't want to look at college tape, there's four or five teams that we're gonna pull the tape out and look for ideas. We're gonna look at Baltimore, We're gonna look at Buffalo, We're gonna look at New Orleans their package with We're gonna find teams Chicago. Now. So as soon as teams invest in that business, there's access to get new ideas and tape. And I think Ryan's done a great job there. I mean, it's funny yesterday I said this, we say the seasons of marathon. We've seen a handful of teams just kind of hang in there with their stride, all right, may not be the fast stride, and we're not necessarily picking them to win place or show. But then we've seen a handful of those teams that all of a sudden, we thought we'd see you back here. And what happened to the Jets and what happened to the Dolphins a few of these teams that just faded down the stretch. Um, it's a long year, and it's it's interesting and here here in New England, is you know in a position you know it's it's it's amazing the length of the season. You get into quarters and if you're not paying attention or if you're not careful as a team, you can lose four games like that. Like that, Yeah, that's why getting your finding your identity, figuring out what you're not. Are you obviously health plays a big part of this, but are you are you ascending to some degree? Are you getting better? And then are you midstream adjusting? And that gets to like, hey, this is we wanted to do this in training camp, but we're better at this. Let's let's this is what we need to do now. So I want to talk about health a team that I it took me a while to wrap my arms around him, but I'm going to defend them, and I think they're going to get in is Miami. They were missing I think seven starters yesterday, and they're in an interesting spot. Football is largely breeze an exception, a big man's game. Yeah, big man's game. Most of your top twenty quarterbacks ever six three and up most or they're thick, they're big men. Yep. Two is not Teddy's not yep, and both get and this system in Miami, like the Niners, is a distribution system. Kirk Cousins would be effective, Brady would be effective. Car It's not a playmaking offense. That's not Kyle isn't want you out there. Well, let's do this. Let's not draft small players in the first fifteen picks of the draft anymore in the first round. Let's not. Let's not get away from prototype. And I talked with Bill Parcels about this ron Wolf and those early picks have to be prototype players big six four prototype the way we designed it for each position, whatever the position requirement is. Now, let's say we're looking at a corner and our requirement for prototype at that position is five to eleven. And we're going to take this player in the first six or seven picks, and he's off of that, you'd say, oh, how much he's five ten or he's five nine. There's a point at which he turned and say all right, and Bill would say this, does he walk on water? Yeah? And if the answer is yes, then we're going to look at Aaron Glen Somemore because they drafted Aaron Glenn. Yeah. But when that topic comes up and you just see the mistakes really recently, and we go all the way back to Cleveland, and you know, they have the movie draft Day and I've said this before and right at the very end, Costner makes the right decision in the movie, but in real life, not Hollywood, they drafted Johnny Manziel the same team. Yeah, And I think you have to pay attention to typing in when you're looking at the health of players and you're looking at the size of players. And two is just one example. We're going to see it again. I think this upcoming year there's another quarterback coming out of Alabama that's not going to be prototype. Yeah. So does he walk on, Well he did this weekend. Yeah, so I want to I want to pivot then to Sean and this is where you're so valuable. So I tend to with a quarterback. Now, now Pickett didn't go top ten, it was later first round. I tend to look for something that's unique. Herbert size six six and moves Josh Allen size mahomes aren't. And then I look at Kenny Pikett. I'm like, I'm not sure what's unique. But then I've watched him in these games and he's just chops Wood. He stays in the game and then he makes a player too late. Yeah, there's something there. What do you see with him? Well, I see football intelligence. I see someone who processes quickly. Okay, he certainly has it. You know, when we try to find those intangibles with his teammates, you can tell you can watch a quarter of a game and tell his teammates think you can see that, Yeah, you can see that. You can see Mike Tomlin when he came off that after that play, just like Kenny and and so, and then lastly, when you share a building, which is unique, right, the Steelers in the University of Pittsburgh and you're you have that much access to personality, skill set, you know, all the other intangibles. That's that's invaluable. But yeah, I think, look, there was a reason he dropped some and then the cost of doing business changes a little bit. But they weren't forced to start him or play him this year. They arrived at him. Where we see so many of these teams that take someone so early that they feel have to plan absolutely. Kyle Shanahan in San Francisco, Yeah, are they the same team if if Tray still there as the starter? Yeah, I don't. I don't know that they are because I see Jimmy a little bit closer to Purdy, right, and I think that's that's complimented what they do. So, um, it's a hard position to evaluate. I mean, it's difficult when you start counting the missus and and then I would also say matches because if the better ones are getting taken early, the problematic teams are drafting early, and so how many have gone to problematic teams that we've not really heard from again or they don't come back till later on That that happens too, you know, Sean, I've thought about this just from an accuracy standpoint through the years, if you really want to be accurate with quarterbacks guessing. I thought about this because I made a lot of mistakes through the years, had some hits, had some missions. Is that outside The question becomes are they good enough to overcome nonsense? I always thought Andrew luck Was and Trevor Lawrence those are the now lay probably, But in the last ten years there have been two guys that I looked at and I said, I don't care where they land. Two Now it's easy to say mahomes now. But I didn't know that. Yeah, but I but I look at these guys. I look at c. J. Stroud and Bryce Young and Will Levis, and I don't think they are so So much becomes location, coach sensibility. And I think Kenny Pickett's got a big advantage is they're not going to pay him for four years, so they get the defense is already good. There's stability. He's gonna succeed because and they draft and developed players well. The guy he's following was a great example. Ben sat in the draft room, threw his cell phone down at the table. He felt he fell a little bit yea, and he went to Pittsburgh and he doesn't even realize what's happening. But he could have been to these other spots and Aaron Rodgers same time. He's a great example of it. I mean, he's a perfect example not how he wanted it to unfold, but how would have the bigger picture unfolded had he got what he want early on. You know, he ends up in Houston or ends up in and no disrespect to some of these other other places, but they've earned no spots when they're drafting that early every year. I want to talk about. It was a surprising thud Jets Seahawks, I mean, and maybe I should have known the veteran Pete at home against the kids Sala, you know what I mean, Like that's that's really that's a tough win to go up to the Northwest. Pete Carroll, Kenneth Walker was healthy. When he's healthy, they lean on him. Gino can throw thirty two times, very effective. But I do think sometimes to get the right answer in life, it's often a loss or pain. Yeah, And I did think Mike White in this biggest moment shrinking, there was some clarity here is that they need to left tackle and they needed to grown up at quarterback. It's a nice roster, and I know it's painful, but I'm thinking him, I'm flying back and I'm Robert Saul. I'm thinking we gained some clarities today. Yeah. Yeah, We're not here yet. I look. We were talking about this game and Traeger Peter had made the comment they feel like they've had their best week of practice. Yet. When I hear that, I run and I'm like, well what that mean? It just means it's I'd like to think honestly, when Friday comes and we finished the week of practice, I feel like, man, we're ready. I can't recall a time where I thought, God, I want to redo this week. Who is you know, there's a there's a process to your game planning, and there's a process to your installation, and regardless of your health, obviously your adversity. We've had a game where the night before we traveled to Carolina, all five running backs were out with Covid and the running back coach, and we had a Saturday morning meeting and it was a quickly all right, how are we going to handle who's going to be a running back? And Ty Montgomery was playing receiver who played running back and said, Tye, you're going to be a running back. Yeah, so ty moved to running back. We had an extended walk through Saturday too, extra periods, We got on a plane, we flew to Carolina, and we won by twenty five points. All right, So I wouldn't have told Peter we had our best week. But generally speaking, all right, you feel like by the end of the week, they we're ready to go because that that's that's how we're conditioned and train. That was unique. But um, yeah, so I think I do think I have a better feel for that team. I'm sure Sala has a better feel for that team, as as do the personnel people. And now there's some good news and bad news in that. And the bad news is, you know, our top five quarterback we selected, we know more about and it's not the stuff we wanted to know. It's not the information we were hoping to know at this time. Um, that'll be interesting to see how they handle that. Okay, I want to We haven't talked about this game, but you had so many playoff experiences it's interesting. So here are the Eagles when the Niners were all beat up early. Now they're healthy. Yeah, the Eagles were healthy forever. Now they're falling apart. And key guys. Lane Johnson's a Hall of Fame right town. I mean, they know win when he doesn't play. Jalen Hurts is banged up. Now they lost Sweat a defensive lineman. And I look at them and take me to your experience, and I think it's weird. Sometimes I think a team's fallen apart and they show up in the playoffs and it's a totally different sensibility. Would you be or how concerned would you be that you're kind of key guys? Is it circle the Wagon's time? Are you a little concerned with Philadelphia? Well? Yeah, I mean, look, I think it starts with the QB. So I'm under the assumption he's getting healthier and he's going to be available for the playoffs. Relative to what you just said, though, we've got to find a way to get this one seat, because it used to be there were two teams and the two would have a week away rest your players work on you know, whatever it is that and we're starting to see the trends the power of that one seed. It'll be an exception here there, but especially when your team is nicked up like Philly is, to get that additional week without a game. So here they are playing the Giants, and the irony of this when you think about this, I know, all right, this this wasn't too long ago where I can't recall who the head coach was. I think it was judge. Who's counting on the Eagles to win a game? And if the Eagles win this game last week of the season, the Giants are going to be I think in the postseason, didn't he rest people? He took Hurts out and he put in He put in the kid from Indiana, the six five quarterback. Come on, yeah, he still might be there, and and then rested a bunch of other players. And it was the first time our league, we've talked about this before, it's happened before. It was the first time on a national stage. Our league saw that and thought wow, and at impacted seating and I think, how do you handle this if you're Brian day Ball this week, Well, only the head coach knows. At his play there's a lot of theories. Some parcels would say, we're always playing to win. He'd say, you know, I'd have a mutiny if I told Lawrence Taylor that we're gonna sit guys, you know, and I understand that. But Philly needs this game, yeah, I think, and they need this game and that'll help them kind of just stop the league in a little bit. And we entered the postseason in OH nine with a tough loss. We were thirteen and oh. We lost to the Cowboys on a Saturday night game. Tough game. We lost. The following week, Tampa Bay beats us in overtime. We miss a field goal to beat the Buccaneers. We had a seventeen point lead and we lose to Tampa Bay. And then the last week of the season, we go to Carolina. We get the one seed. Before that game, we rest our starters, and quite honestly, there's a lot of criticism. There's no team that's ever lost their last three regular season games and gone on to have success in the playoffs. But I felt like we needed to and so we lost three in a row and then entered the postseason. But we knew we had the one seed locked up. Philly doesn't have it locked up, and I think it's an important game for them. How New York candles, this game will be important. Finally, your son goes to TCU. You were at Harbaugh's loss. I thought they got way too gimmicky and tried. They outfought themselves. When you have a month to prepare for a game and they're running the Philly Special out of a time out, I'm like, no, no, no, what was your interpretation of it? Yeah, it was first off, is a great game. YEA to be there and watch it the first play of the game is what my biggest fear was. I told Connor, we have to be able to Michigan is bigger and they're going to be stronger warm ups. There's one hundred and twenty Michigan players on the left hand side of the field. Yeah, I felt like there were eighty seven TCU players that just looked smaller. You know, they didn't dress all their starters. All right, that's Sonny's He's done a great job. Both coaches have had fantastic years. I think if you were a fan in attendance, um, everyone leaving that stadium felt like like they just were exhausted. It's a great, oastic set of two games. I thought Michigan struggled with their red zone offense and inside the fifteen opportunities came up, and there was one fumble, there was the Philly special um, and I really thought he was going to kick a field goal that early in the game. You know, Jim is and this is a compliment. He is a clone to bow. You know, he understands the importance of a good rushing attack and what it does for the defense and what it does for the quarterback points. And well, in the first quarter, before we've eaten a hot dog, We've just sat down and I said, on the time out, I turned to Connor, I said, he's going to kick a field goal here. I think I would too. And then they came out of the break with the with the other play both teams, it's look, it's gonna it's gonna be almost impossible to ever win a game if you throw two interceptions that are returned for a touchdown. All Right, it's gonna be impossible to win a game that when that happens. But um, and then the second game, it was it was fantastic. I spent seven and a half hours on a couch. Yeah, I read your tweet, and fun I've had in a long time. I M Connor. My son's a student assistant and all he does for their football team. He watches a lot of portal tape and he's part of the evaluation process. We're watching the second game, but we have to fly home because I'm in I'm in studio yesterday and we watched Georgia's score a touchdown and kicked the extra point to go up one, and the phones are on in the plane, and you know when you're in that borrow time space where you just know it's any second now. Ohio State receives the kick, so we never see the final drive in the missfield goal, We land and we get the results. Yeah, it felt so bad.