The Herd with Colin CowherdWhere Colin was right and wrong
3-time Super Bowl Champion and Chiefs head coach Andy Reid joins the show to talk about their win over the Bills and coaching Travis Kelce
7-time Super Bowl Champion Tom Brady joins the show to tell Colin how the Chiefs and Eagles can capitalize on the extra time to prepare for the Big Game
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Here we go. Colin right, Colin wrong on a Monday, plenty of both.
Where Colin was right, I said.
When Saquon Barkley, I said at March eleventh, he's going to be gigantic for Philadelphia because of their wide receiving talent and because of their own line, you won't be able to jam the box. Those safeties will have to play outside, and Barkley's gonna have record setting years. If you look at the mobility of Hurts an offensive coach, their on line, they're wide receiving talent. It's just absolutely unthinkable. The New York Giants rolled the diet and let Saquon Barkley. March eleventh. I said it. People don't like paying running backs. I would pay running backs. Fletcher Cox left the game, they had some money. I was a huge fan of the move, not just because remember at the time, everybody was like, whoa running backs? Barkley was the perfect fit, the icing on a great cake.
Where Colin was raw.
Friday, I said, Kansas City, the jig is up, twenty eight, twenty seven, Buffalo. They're too talented, and I thought they were and if Dalton kin k catches that ball, they could still win. But this reductionist fourth and one, Josh Allen gets the ball every time. Stuff doesn't work for me at all. And in the end, once again Mahomes read in spags, elevate, expand not contract. In the playoffs, where Colin was right, I like Sean McDermott. I think he's Mike McCarthy on the defensive side of the ball. But good coaches don't win against great quarterbacks and coaches. I said this in big game teams, where's his defense against Kansas City? They're scoring thirty five points every time these two teams meet in the playoffs. I also think he gets tight. I also think on those fourth and ones it felt like they were just sort of ad libbing it and letting Josh do what Josh needed to be done. I didn't like that at all.
Where Colin was wrong.
I'm wrong on Nick Sirianni. I don't like the method, but players love him, Philly loves him, City loves him, and the GM and the coach love him. His playoff record now is five and three. He has had multiple coordinators. He may be more coordinator driven than a lot of coaches, but he's an emotional guy that lives on the edge, and the team in the locker room respond to him, and that's really what coaching is. The Lions respond to Dan Campbell, the Chargers respond to Jim Harbaugh. So much of this sport is taking alpha male pro athletes and DoD They buy into the messaging, and in Philadelphia with Nick Sirianni, I was wrong. They do every Sunday where Colin was right. I predicted when Brian Schottenheimer news came out, I said, if he gets hired, this is going to be met with utter outrage and dismay. This will not just be a mediocre coaching higher fourteen years as a coordinator, first time he's been even discussed as a head coach, and Jerry Jones did a ten pm Friday news dump for those that were awake. It was met with outrage in the Cowboy community and beyond this is just not a good enough higher.
Where Colin was wrong.
I thought Xavier Worthy of Kansas City, who had a season high in yards, I thought as a first round pick, he'd probably end up being a gadget guy four or five plays a game yesterday, over one hundred yards of TD seven targets. He felt like yesterday he can be either a number one, whether Arashi Rice or a one A. But Kansas City, and this is what they're prone to do. They tend to develop, especially wide receivers and targets over the course of a long season. And Worthy, who I remember the first game he played. I think he had a touchdown in his first game or a couple of big plays, and I thought, that's just what he's going to be. But he was a volume receiver yesterday.
Where Colin was right.
Pete Carroll hired by the Raiders. When his name first came out, it was dismissed he was too old, and I'm like, Pete Carroll, age is not the issue. In fact, even in Seattle his last two years in winning seasons with Geno Smith in a tough division, so he got pushed back early. And I didn't understand it. I think Pete's a very good coach. Now, do I think sometimes he's too loyal to assistance? I don't love, yes, but that's probably a good human quality. It's not a great coaching quality sometimes. But a lot of people dismissed Pete. Carroll, raiders, didn't, smart teams, didn't.
Where Colin was wrong, Well, I thought.
When Mike McCarthy bailed on the Cowboys, next to Mike Rabel, he'd be the number one candidate. And there's only one job left, and I'm not sure he's gonna get the Saints job. He didn't even interview for other jobs. Now is that McCarthy's choice? Is he looking at all the openings and saying New England, Chicago after that? I'm not interested. But I thought he would be a hot coaching candidate and he's not.
Where Colin was right.
I not only picked Ohio State to be in the National Championship when they lost to Oregon at Oatson, I said they'd be in the National Championship. When they lost to Michigan, I said, stop it. I think they're still odds on favorite to play for the National Championship. I thought Ryan Day and Chip Kelly did what he was hired to do. I just ran into Skip Friday. Is that kind of as the NFL and college now feel kind of more seamless. Now you have a big playoff in college like the pros. Guys are getting paid like the pros. You're gonna need the kind of emotional guy in Chip Kelly that can build like pro game plans, keeping some stuff, showing other stuff. There's a different way to coach now, not just go to the citrus pool. You got game after game after game against the best teams and coaches, and a lot of people bailed on Ohio State and Ryan Day, but I felt even after the losses to Michigan and Oregon, they were as good as anybody in the country.
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Thanks for listening to The Herd podcast. Be sure to catch us live every weekday on Fox Sports Radio in noon to three eastern nine am to noon Pacific. 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 Fox Sports Radio or FSR.
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Here we go on a Tuesday, jobs being filled in the NFL. Questions in Buffalo, do they have the right coach? I have in Los Angeles on a Tuesday. It's the herd wherever you may be, however you may be listening. Thanks for making us part of your day. Greg Olsen stops by today. Kyle van Ney, Nick right in one hour from now. Jmak it's interesting now that they've stopped blaming the officials, Buffalo fans are now going closer inspection. Maybe Mahomes is great and our coach is it. But I want to start with all the coaches that have been hired, because I do think there are things that we learn year after a year about coaching hires.
Oh yeah, every year.
So Pete Carroll yesterday introduced as the Raider coach. We'll get to that in a second. Here's what we know about head coaching hires. First of all, Number one, I've made this mistake. Don't judge the opening press conference too harshly. Some of these young guys get to the podium without a game plan. They're nervous. Number two is organizations need different things. The Bears need creativity, the Jags have to solve Trevor Lawrence. The Raiders need an adult, The Cowboys need a lot of things. It feels like Jerry Jones just wanted a puppet. And the third thing is hiring good coordinators as your head coach. Is much like the NFL draft. I had dinner with an NFLGM last night and he said the draft ends up being once you get past the first round, it's a fifty to fifty proposition. And that's why I thought Pete Carroll, Mike Rabel, and Mike McCarthy were arguably the best hires. So if this morning I had to hand out a report card to all the teams now the Saints interviewed Kellen Moore, Mike McCarthy. I don't know what they're gonna do, but here's the grades I would hand out to the team. So far, I think most teams have done pretty well. So Chicago with Ben Johnson, I'll give it an A minus because he's never been a coach, so I can't give him an A to an A plus. Stays in the division. This is an old school, defensive minded culture, and they went out and hired the young most creative offensive guy from the same division. I think this is who they wanted. I think Caleb Williams wanted. Reportedly, Caleb Williams was driveway and scream when they hire him. I'll give him an A minus. The Cowboys Brian Schottenneimer feels absolutely uninspiring. It's a d Friday late news dump. Is embarrassing again. The last time he was a hot coordinator was twelve thirteen, fourteen years ago.
You know.
Again, I think the Cowboys got caught flat footed, and this is what it looks like. I would say Liam Cohene for the Jaguars. B again did wonders with Baker Mayfield. But Baker Mayfield also is pretty talented. Made will Levis a little better. You know again, not a great opening press conference. What's his vision? Listen. We know he's a smart offensive guy, so it's the right side of the ball. But so was Shane steike In in Indie and that hasn't worked great so far. I'll give it a B Aaron Glenn jets Hire another defensive coordinator. Don't love the staff I'm seeing put together so far. It may work. The players like him, but the players loved Antonio Pierce as an interim and a head coach for the Raiders. So what does that mean. I don't trust this organization upstairs. Aaron Glenn is fine, you know, we'll see. I think it's actually a good roster. He's kind of tap dance and walking on eggshells around the Aaron Rodgers thing. I can't give it better than a C. I think Mike Rabel's an a This to me was the best coach available on the market. He's got a winning record, he's a culture changer, familiarity with the team. Most of these coordinators are a fifty to fifty prop. But the guys that change cultures, the hardballs, the Vrabels, the Pete Carroll's, those guys don't really fail. They may not win a trophy, but they don't fail. I thought this was a solid, a higher and I think the Raiders with Pete Carroll, a lot of people dogged him for his age. I do not worry about Pete Carroll's age and vitality. I think he looks fantasmic astic for his age. I don't know. Just to me, they need an adult in the room. His last two years in Seattle, they had a winning record in the division with Kyle Shanahan and Sean mcvayh like they were still winning football games. So here was Pete yesterday at his opening presser.
It all starts with competition.
Either competing or you're not.
There's one thing that I want them to understand, and you start the message right now. If you want to be on a great team, you need to be a great teammate.
So there you go. There are my grades Vrabel Pete, carroll A's Ben Johnson, and A minus. I think if I was the Saints, I would go Mike McCarthy, but he sort of disappeared off the radar. Kellen Moore is interviewing for that job. We'll see how it goes. Kellen Moore feels like a B minus higher. Okay, so listen, whenever you lose to the Chiefs, it's always the ref's fault. And fan is short for fanatic. And now it's Tuesday, and suddenly the articles are being more reasonable and acknowledging. Yeah, our coaches sort of got worked on big plays. So one of the articles this morning points to three different things that cost them. I agree with all three. Number one. So this is the fourth time Sean McDermott had to go to the podium and answer for losing to the chiefs. Okay, fourth time, and each time we've got these like situational questions about the offense. So number one, why didn't they use James Cook in the final drive? Totally agree, said it six times yesterday three and a half minutes left, had a monster game mistake. The second thing the article says, the reliance on quoterback sneaks.
I beat that.
Puppy yesterday for three hours. Didn't like it. Hasselbeck didn't like it, Drew Brees didn't like it. Nobody liked it. But number three is an interesting one. The bills, the article said, did not help themselves by chasing points early and trying two point conversions when they trailed twenty one to sixteen. That's driven me crazy for years, and I always say this, say your special for the right moment, and the reason this one I'm gonna highlight the third one, stop chasing points. You don't go into a game with nine magical plays. Even Andy Reid will admit you got a couple. And Andy's much more creative than Joe Brady or Sean McDermott. But The play that closed the game for Kansas City was that snake route to samaj p Rhyn. Only time he touched the ball the whole game. This was the one time. And Andy's been doing this for years. He has been the better poker player and great poker players knowing to bluff and go all in. And whereas the Bills telegraphed their early plays and gave their two point conversion plays away that handful of special plays. Why are you showing him first half? Why are you going second quarter save? You know the game's gonna be close. What are you doing? The second thing is the Bears telegraph their quarterback sneak. Apparently they had one play in the playbook and they were going to go to one side every time in the playbook. So you were This is the nuance of great coaching. You telegraphed your two point conversion stuff early. You showed them this is the stuff we think works against you, instead of holding it like a great poker player. And both Andy Reid and Spags saved their most unique calls. Spags corner blitz and Andy the p Rhine route, and Drew Brees talked about that play specifically, and Andy Reid yesterday.
The Chiefs do that better than anybody. In every one of those situations, you can tell it's so well thought out. I mean, it's the Andy Reid Special, like we're gonna get some kind of a man's own read.
Like look what the play that.
Sealed the game at the end when they threw it to Peter Ryan in the flat, they mostly two guys over. God re said, you see that it's man to man, and then you run those guys across to set a natural pick on the backer and you seek the back out. We used to call it snake because it's impossible to cover for that guy, and so he just deals it to Perry and he goes.
He gets fifteen yards to win the game.
Touched the ball one time. They could have used that any point they trailed. At points, there was crisis moments in the game. Andy just kept that in his back pocket to the end. By the way, I don't think. I don't consider Doug Peterson an all time elite coach, but he knew when to call the Philly Special. Doug's an offensive coach, Andy Reids an offensive coach. I'm not anti defensive coach. I think Vrabel and Pete Carroll. I gave them my two a's. I am not anti defensive coach, but if you're trying to beat Mahomes and you have Josh Allen in your prime, you have got to be a better poker player. You have got to know when to bluff, got to know when to hold him, got to know when to fold them. And I think Andy Reid and Spags you blame the refs once all the drama comes down and the emotion comes down. Now we're being grown ups. Now we're having the grown up conversation. Now we're not blaming zebras. Now we're looking in a mirror. Nobody solves any problems pointing. Never been a problem solved pointing. It's called the mirror. You look into it. Spags, Andy Reid, y'all sat at a table on Sunday. Those were the two best poker players, Jam Mack, I know it's painful. I know this is a very painful segment for you. This gets people worked up.
You got me all.
Fired up over here. First segment.
I'm like, do I go after him for the Aaron Glenn's see after he was hyping Aaron Glenn last week? Or do I just say, goodness, you're nitpicking McDermott. You know, what is it? What Tuesday morning quarterback? Now, hey he messed up here and.
That I'm just just reacting to what I thought was a very strong article pointing out the three deficiencies in these moment. Remember, you get into a big fight, you get in this is not this is not the World Series. It's not seven games. You get into a big UFC fight, a boxing match, March Madness, NFL playoffs, everything counts because you don't get another chance. These are sudden death games, and in sudden death poker hands, this isn't a weekend tournament, it's the final poker hand.
I would say that's a pessimistic view. An optimistic view would be damn.
They fell behind twenty one to ten in Arrowhead, storm back.
To take the lead, and then they got jobbed on the kin kid first down and then alan fourth down, Like I mean for them to come back and go four for six on fourth down, the touchdown passed to tie it. Yeah, with what like six minutes left, Like I thought they'd played incredible.
It was just three high leverage moments.
Did not go. They did fumble it four times. They recovered all of them magically Fumble Luck Baby.
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Hey, Steve Covino and I'm Rich David and together We're Covino and Rich on Fox Sports Radio. You could catch us weekdays from five to seven pm Eastern two to four Pacific on Fox Sports Radio and of course, the iHeartRadio App.
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And Rich, Andy Reid coach and the Chiefs is now joining us. Now, you're a humble guy, and so I'm gonna try to, by the end of this get you for five seconds not to be humble. But I'm not gonna start there because I have to massage this a little bit to get to get you. So I'm gonna start with this one. So I compared Mahomes to MJ. And we all watched MJ play and he was always great, and then you'd get into these big game sevens or Game six is and it was like, I'm not even sure Michael was listening to Phil Jackson. He just went up and Mahomes average four rushes a game, and then this week he's got eleven. So did you coach that? Did you call that? Or was that Mahomes just doing Hey, this sudden death. I gotta make stuff happen because he does this andy in games where he just he's the hulk, he just expands. Did you think he'd run eleven times.
I wasn't thinking eleven times, Colin. I mean, but we did have a couple of things in for him so he could he could get out there and move. He enjoys doing that during the playoffs and later in the season, So uh, not recommended early.
So when you do a really good job of saving your special play for the perfect moment. Now. I was talking to a friend the other night. It was an executive in the league, and I said, I'd love to go back and look at Andy's first three or four years as a coach. Did you when you were young, when you had that special, that big special play. Have you developed into a great poker player? Have you always been that patient or is that something as a coach that developed or did you sneak it in in the second quarter your second year coaching because you knew you had something that was going to work. Has that developed or is that always part of you?
Well? I had a great teacher in Mike Holmgren, So he always said, you.
Know, keep one more bullet and that gun there so that you're ready to go and you've got it down the stretch. These games are so close, so you want to make sure you're.
Able to save something.
I probably wasn't as patient though when I was younger, but I was taught that at a young age.
Yeah, you guys played better against Buffalo. I thought you're urgency efficiency, you attacked. I don't know if you save your best for it, but it does feel like Buffalo brings out the best in you when you look over that film.
Do you feel that, Yeah, I would say that it's a it's turned into a unique rivalry. I think Sean McDermott does a heck of a job up there, and that team's well coached, and so our players know that they know they're going to get They're going against the good football team. They've got good talent, and they're going to execute. They don't make a whole lot of mistakes, and so you've got to be on your a game and that you know, we're all in this for the competition, and these players are so staking competitive they I think they thrive on that.
Yeah.
Yeah, So we all know that high school and college coach is part of their job is to develop players. But it's also part of your job. But sometimes in the media and fans think, well, he's a pro player, he doesn't need development. I think it's fascinating to watch Xavier Worthy. So I watched him in college and I said, when you picked him, I said, I think he's a gadget guy. I'm not sure if he's a twelve catch guy or twelve target guy. You have developed him over the season into a volume guy. Can you take me through the process of that, and is he what you envisioned?
Yeah? Probably that and a little bit more.
I was lucky to have to Sean Jackson, so he and Deshaun are the same body type.
And sometimes you put the little guys in a certain category, but.
They listen, He's done everything we've asked him to do, plus a little bit more. And that's kind of where you got to go with it, Colin. Some guys aren't willing to do the things that we've asked him to do. I think Hollywood has been a good example to him, cause Hollywood's not the biggest guy either, but he wants to do everything, and so that he comes up through that room and has a good example there and has really just stepped up and gone. But you can be a great coach and teacher, but if the players not willing to do the things you know it's not going to work, so he's so willing to do everything.
You're the best tackling team in the NFL. My buddy John Middlekoff, former scout for the Eagles. You may know Johnny, and John always says this team tackles better than any team I can ever remember. Is that a Spags thing? Is it? Is it a reality that you still have physical practices? Not all teams that are talented tackle like you do. Where does that come from?
Yeah? I actually hired Middlekaffs and anything. He says. Good.
You know it's a Homer deal, but he uh, yeah, Spags does a great job. We work on a year round, so it's uh. He doesn't miss a beat with that. He has guys out there either tackling those giant donut things or they're tackling each other.
So it's uh, but it's uh. It's part of the game. But I mean you always hear that.
If you've played football, you've heard the coach say this game is about blocking and tackling, right.
So you've got to and that's true. You got to be able to do both or you're not going to be very successful.
Some of your best players, Chris Jones and Travis Kelcey. Among them are older players many you know, Veach and you have built a really nice layering system excellent young middle age and a couple of guys that are older. Let's take Travis Kelcey. You're developing a Noah Gray. You're developing I had I had theorized during the season. I said, I think they're trying to develop their receiving targets over the course of a season. They'll get the Travis. They know what they get from Travis. Do you coach Travis a little differently just because of his age experience? You know, in the red lights on he'll be good. Do you do you look at him differently than other players on your team?
Yeah, I'd probably say yes, to be honest with you, because I've been around him for so much, so long, and we've had my whole duration here and and drafted him and so on, so I know I kind of know where he's at physically mentally. I know what he can do in games and uh and so we try to utilize him. I also know what's around him, which helps him because for a while there we were banged up a little bit and guys were.
Trying to learn, and.
You know he was being double teamed and that wasn't as good for him. But Travis would be a heck of a football coach. He's able to get up there and explain things and tell teach these young guys exactly what he sees and feels. Not that they all have that same talent, but they he's a He's got a good feel for the game.
Years ago, I asked Pete Carroll. I was sitting in his office at USC and I said, what what are you proudest about about your team? And he said, I never forget this. He said, you have to play nearly perfect to beat us. He goes, we play so hard. We play so hard. Now, this is where I'm going to ask you not to be humble for ten seconds. I'll never ask it us again. This is the only time. If there was a room of great coaches and they were talking about Andy Reid and they said, here's Andy's best quality with Andy's teams. What is the thing that you want to be remembered for beyond trophies, but that you're proud of and your team? And by the way, it may be players and you, but what matters to you beyond the winning in your legacy.
Yeah, I think teaching. I think that's an important thing. Being honest with the guys, trusting the guys. I think those are all all things I think are important. I hope I'm doing that part of it. So I would tell you that those are probably be the things that I'd look for.
Yeah, people will call you a great teacher. So Michael Vick once told me, he said, with Andy, Andy, lets you be you, but he coaches around what you can do. Now, you've had mahomes now for so many years. Are you coaching Patrick Frindly today in big games? Then you did like four to five years ago.
Yes, four or five years ago.
He didn't have the same feel he's got for the game now. Uh, and wasn't as solid with all of his surroundings there in different options, So.
Yeah, we do it different with him now.
I have a lot of trust in them and what he what he knows and what he can do at the line of scrimmage, and he's very accurate with that.
So it's definitely different.
Has he ever talked to in or out of something on the sidelines when the cameras at CBS go on and you're now it'll be at Fox when we have the cameras on you. Has he ever talked to Inner out of something late?
No?
Uh, but you know he'll have an idea. But normally he just goes just call it. You know, he just wants you to call. If he wants you to call, what's on your mind? And and uh, you know, he'll go run it. He doesn't get into all that, but I ask him, what do you like here? I have no problem with that. Matt Nage does a great job with that. So it's we try to keep it as open as possible. And as you know, you're a quarterback. Normally, if the quarterback likes something, it's going to get done.
Yeah. I know you've looked at the tape of Philadelphia. It is a green wall of talent. They they got dudes, Andy, maybe the only team you match up with all year, and they have more Pro Bowl kind of level players. What when you pop that tape in all your years, what is the first thing that jumps out to you with Philadelphia?
Yeah, I tell you, their skill position and their d line.
Jumps out at you. They've got great scale, They've got a quarterback that can deal it. Their offensive line is strong.
They've been banged. They were banged up a little bit, but they're strong. Uh. And then that D line and their speed on the second.
Level, the linebacker level and in the back end with the secondary shows up.
Do you always done a nice job there?
He has? Do you envision how games are going to go? Do you have a sense like Buffalo if I said to you it was kind of kind of look like this, like you came out attack dog. I mean, your first drive felt like it was kind of scripted a little bit, but I could tell you'd seen something in the coverage you went right after it. Do you have a sense of what games look like before they happen? Or do they develop? And sometimes you just sit back, watch it develop and call it as it goes.
Normally this time.
Of the year, Colin, you have a pretty good idea of what teams are doing. They have a pretty good idea of what you're doing. And it allows, really it allows your guys to go out and play and play fast. And so I'm always telling the guys that every step you take in the playoffs, games get a little faster. Well that's why you know, it's not just an effort thing. It's that you've mastered kind of all these different schemes that we've got in and you can play fast and it goes that way both sides and special teams.
Yeah. I did a story at essay this week and I said, I I hope you don't retire. I mean, I cannot imagine retirement. Even if you love golf, is nearly this fun. Do you ever take a breath and go, damn, this is fun? This is this is a good time.
Yeah, no, absolutely, I mean I love doing what I'm doing.
So how many guys have thirty two of us in the whole world and that have an opportunity to do this? And then I'm around these kids. So I'm getting older, loosing my hair, no red hair left. And I go out there and I'm with a group of guys that are somewhere between twenty two and thirty five every day and they bring all his energy. So and if you're limping, they're gonna get out and make fun of you, you know, So I've got to try to stand up straight and go right and do my thing.
It is great to see you. You look great, and I'm so I know you gave us ten minutes and you're busy as heck, and I appreciate it.
Coach, I appreciate you calling you investment.
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Let's go to Tom Brady twenty three seasons, seven times. So you're one of the only I mean literally, you're one of the only people on the planet who knows what it's like to be the face of a franchise going to another Super Bowl. The pressure's on to me. The pressure's on Kansas City, It's always on the favorite. How did you zone out for two weeks? Now you have your install day pretty quick? Did you hide?
Did you?
I mean everybody's talking, you can't go outside.
Did you like that?
Or are you like, could we just play this Sunday? Did you like the extra time?
I liked the extra time a lot because it gave me extra time to do all the prep that I needed to do. And I loved kind of the studying. I loved the minutia of the game plan. One of my best kind of memories from the Super Bowl twenty fourteen. We're playing the Legion of boom, and it's Friday night before the Super Bowl. We've of course had like eleven or twelve days to prepare, and I come back from dinner and it's probably like nine o'clock and I wasn't feeling great about the red area package we had. And I went in and Josh McDaniels is in the staff room, and I said, hey, we got to go through the red area. I said, it's just too hard down there. They'd play too much zone. And if I looked at the left earl moves to the left, I looked at the right earl moose to the right. I was like, we need a few easy plays where I could just stick the ball in there on a play action pass, get everyone in the linebackers system up, and let me just rip something to the back of the end zone. So we install three plays on Friday night, after two weeks of preparation. All the practice is done, and one of the touchdowns is to Jojo Lafel the first one of the game, and the second one is to Danny A.
Mondola later in that game.
And we hadn't practiced them at all for eleven days, and it was just I like to use every minute of prep going up into those games because they're the hardest ones to win, and it's so great to get here, and both the Eagles and the Chiefs have had incredible seasons to get to this point. But it all goes for nothing if you don't win this game, and that's what makes the drama so spectacular.
The two or three. I mean, I've got so many memories of you and super Bowls, but I do remember this. You guys were like a big heavyweight champ. You would feel out the first round, the first quarters. And maybe this was belichicker you, but in the first quarters you weren't terribly dynamic. You really did let the game come to you. Was that I always wondered, was that by design? Was this you saying let's let's not unveil much here or was it just nerves or was it like that was Belichick's ideology, But you didn't historically you didn't have robust first quarters.
Yeah, they it was non intentional. Let me say that we weren't trying to go out there and suck in the first quarter, but most of the time we did. There's there's there's definitely a little nerves. There's you know, I think both teams are feeling each other out, and we never really got behind too much. Atlanta one that was kind of got away with that got away from us there in the first half. But I think for the most part we were just we didn't execute the plan exactly what we wanted. And you're going up against a team that's got a lot of good players, and they got a lot of juice and energies.
There're a lot in the stadium.
It does take a little bit of time to settle into that game. It's it's an interesting game to play, and it's it's unique because you know, most all games you start at one o'clock on a Sunday, and regular season that's done at four. This is a six o'clock start Eastern time. It finishes at ten pm. It's a four hour game, you know, thirty three percent longer than normal. I often thought of the Super Bowl as two games. There's a first half game in a second half game. And it was really important for us as players not to go out there in pregame warm up and lose all your energy because it was so built up from these couple weeks of prep that you had, and you waste all your energy in pregame warm up knowing that you still had, you know, a four hour game ahead of you. And I think that's why a lot of the defenses really die in the second half. It's just such a long day. Sure, there's so much emotional energy that gets kind of put out, and then it's really who can survive the fourth quarter of the game.
Yeah, the you know, you've watched so much of these teams you had. This will be your fifth Eagles game. And their offensive line to me, and I think Jalen's great, but the offensive lines insane. You had good offensive lines. I don't know if you had four Hall of Fame offensive linemen. Have they gotten better? Do you feel like every time you watch the Eagles it was a different version or do you kind of know what you're gonna get when you call their games?
I think they've been You know, Siriani has done a great job with the adversity this year and dealing with the adversity, and you know, I see.
Him hot, temperate at times.
I really like that attitude that he's got. There's a lot of consistency you see that week to week, and I think there has been a lot of consistency over the course of the season from this team. When I think they're really unstoppable is when Jalen Hurts is playing in rhythm in the past game. Because I look at that defense, the secondary has been consistent.
They're been great all year.
Fangio schemes, Zach Bond has been as consistent anybody that d line, Jalen Carter, Sweat, Jordan Davis, Milton Williams, those guys are consider The entire defense is consistent.
The running game's been there all year. That's consistent.
AJ Brown getting open, Man coverage of Davontics been that's consistent. Goddard getting open, that's consistent. The line block and well, that's consistent. When they constring a consistent, rhythmic passing game together, I think they're pretty unstoppable.
Yeah, you know, there was a moment last night, and and I've talked about this. I think Drew Brees and you were really good at this, and I think Mahomes is and this is not a knock on anybody, but it's so much of what you did as a quarterback was to avoid mayhem. It wasn't always over the top place, it was you just got them out of trouble. I always say this about the great presidents. It's not always their policy, it's it's being ahead of a potential problem. That's what a good CEO does. And on that blitz, yeah, always when Spags brings the corner blitz, listen, it's I mean, nobody saw it coming, would you. I don't want to compare you anything, but is that hard to identify or is that a quarterback's responsibility Because corner blitz is tom they may happen once every two weeks, it's rare. So I saw that plan I thought Josh has kind of got to see that. Or am I being a sports guy who just doesn't get it?
Okay, So it's a great question.
And this speaks to a lot of things you and I have talked about over this last year. And unless a quarterback has total operational control of what he's doing, it's going to be very hard against this spag Nula defense because Spags is going to put so much pressure on the protections and on the offensive line and on the quarterback to sort things out after the snap because some things look a bit unconventional.
They're all on the right and they come to the left. They're all on the left.
And they come from the right, and everyone's spinning the defense at the snap of the ball, and it gets very difficult for the quarterback if you're not anticipating where the problems might be. And you may get lucky every once in a while to make a play work. But I just remember the Super Bowl I played against Bags when I was at the Bucks late in the career, and I felt like I had studied so much film for two weeks, there was really no blitz he could use that I wasn't going to be prepared for ye and when something looked a little funky based on my film study, I had an answer for it. And I had tried to have answers to his pressures. But that took a veteran quarterback who had a great understanding of the protections, who could apply a lot of different tools to get it protected. And then I was able to go out there and play with a lot of confidence. But again, this is you know, blitzing in the NFL now has been very effective. I don't think many quarterbacks have understandings of protections. I don't think we're allowing them to develop and that now they're kind of learning on the fly and it's a rough place to learn out there on the playing field against a team that has as many talented players as the Chiefs.
Yeah, you know, it's funny. I think the story of this game is reading Mahomes and spags against the green wall of talent. And Philadelphia is a little like that Seahawks team you faced. I remember that because I'm from the Pacific Northwest and everybody thought I was a Patriot Homer and a Brady Homer my entire time. I've always been like Brady Homer guy, which is not a bad guy to be a Homer for. And I said, I gotta be honest, I don't know if they can beat Seattle, like I don't think when you go and Mahomes is going to face a Philadelphia team, Tom, they may have nine Hall of Famers, I mean, Jalen Carter looks like and that Seahawk team was insane. Go back to that game. Do you did you ever privately say to yourself, I don't know if we have the dudes for that, I mean they are did you ever you wouldn't say it publicly, but what was your mindset? Like Mahomes this week when he watched his film and goes, they don't have a whole, they don't have a weakness. How did you think about Seattle?
Yeah, well that's a good that's a great example. That defense was stacked from the pass rush, to the backers, to the secondary, to the scheme, and not only that. Offensively, they had you know, marshawn a young Russell playing great dynamic guys in the past game.
And they were they it took all of us to win.
And I think when I look at this game, if you're going to beat the Chiefs, it has to be the ultimate complimentary game because you could score to take the lead with forty five seconds left in the game and give the ball back to Patrick in that offense, and the whole world believes that Patrick, including himself and including the defense he's going against, that he's going to drive right down the field and score and take the lead again. So it's like how Buffalo beat him in the regular season. Buffalo was aggressive even that they were up two points to you know, take the ball and go for it on that whatever fourth and two, and Josh made a great play and scrambled into the touchdown. But it was almost like you got to get up two scores in the end of the game to feel like there's any relief because Patrick has has an amazing ability to perform his best in the biggest moments, and there's a lot of fear that's in the other opponents late in the game, and that's a good feeling to have if you're the opposing coordination.
Well, I know, and you Tiger. I always said this, Mahomes, you Tiger. When you could hear the gallery cheering and Tiger was in a different foursome and you knew he just hit a great shot. It got completely in your head as you knew he just hit a birdie. And I think there's part of that is that you do get So. I mean, you faced Mahomes in a Super Bowl. If I recall it was a pretty good game for you. Did you go into that game thinking, guys, we got to score blank? I mean, you got in everybody's else. You spent a career getting in everybody else's head. Were you aware of Mahomes And was there discussion that week on fellas we can't even give him thirteen seconds here that kind of thing.
So yeah, And we played them in twenty eighteen in the AFC Championship Game, they were a high flying offense Tyreek, and we played a great kind of first half of football in Kansas City and they come storming back like in the second half they take the lead.
It was almost like it evaporated.
Yep.
Now that was a very different offense than they have now when we beat them in the Super Bowl a few years ago. Three years ago. Now, we played a great, complimentary game. We played really well on offense. Defense played the best game they had played all season. You know, they were struggling in pass protection. I thought our defensive lines ability to get after him, and all the blitz schemes that Coach Bowles came up with were really exceptional. But to me, it took a great team effort, and that's the only way you're going to beat a great Chiefs team. Now the Eagles have the team to do it. I mean, that's why I'm so excited about calling this game because it's to me, the two teams that have been consistently great all season long that are in this game, which is exactly how it should be. And the outcome of this game is going to be determined by a few plays, and no one knows which plays they're gonna those are gonna be That's why you got to be on it.
From the moment that you walk into the stadium.
This is a This is a great matchup for a lot of reasons. There's a lot of stars, there's champions, there's coaches, there's tremendous scheme, and then there's tremendous players that have played well under pressure and it all kind of culminates in this great performance, you know, played out in front of the whole world, and all these players that get to be involved in it, this is a highlight of their life, and it's going to be a highlight of my life being there to call the game.
I gotta I'm gonna talk about this because when you and Belichick were in the middle of your dynasty, he hard coaches you, he calls you out, he's that's part of the culture. But since you've gone your separate ways. Oh, he's like a soft served vanilla ice cream. He's a cream puff. Now all he does is to he's a teddy bear. And he said yesterday he's like, you know what, just call the Lombardi Trophy the Brady Trophy. I remember a piece of video when he gave you the game ball, it was near your end in New England and we made fun of it on the air. I said, that was so hard for Bill. I said, he was so uncomfortable. But I kind of got it, Tom, I understood it. It was the culture, it's the reality. It's like sometimes you have to be a tough parent when you're a dad, right, and it Panda is when you look at Belichick and you now, is there a warmth now that maybe wasn't possible when you're in the middle of a dynasty.
Well, there's an intensity to our jobs naturally that I mean, Look, we always had a great relationship. We still do, and I know there was a lot of things later in my career that people would say or to try to create division. I think there was always a great respect for each other and I was never I always saw him as someone that I was trying to please out there as my coach and I wanted to be the best I could be for the team, and he was always trying to deliver for our team and the role that he was in. And were there times where we didn't see everything to eye, Yeah, But I mean.
That's twenty years of a relationship.
And I said this in one of the documentary is like, I'm not characterizing our relationship based on a few moments that weren't perfect for either of us. I mean we had as great as a relationship as you could have over a long period of time, with a tremendous amount of success. And there's no coach I would have rather played for than him. He taught me so much. And you're right, I think the role of that coach is very much like a parent. You know, if you're not performing well and your grades are below standard, you got to tell your kids that. And if they're putting forth effort, you got to tell them that too, And you got to teach them and you got to develop them, and you got to be there. And there's a sophistication to being a parent, and a good parent at that, expecting that a lot of these young kids today they don't know what the right ways to do things are. And you know what, sometimes to have a little bit of fear in people is a good thing. People should have to wake up and go, God, I got to do a good job today or else. And I think that's very motivating. I think we're in a culture now where everyone's hopefully it can be a little more balanced that you know, to be rewarded for bad behavior, to be rewarded for being selfish, to be rewarded for thinking about yourself as an individual in the team sport. Like I love playing against those guys, I never wanted to play with those guys. You work too hard for too long to think about yourself in situations and teams worts. And I think their culture that I was a part of in New England embraced the team first attitude.
And what are the rewards of that?
Well, championships were one, but more importantly than that, I have relationships with my teammates that go way far above and beyond what they ever were on the football field. I look at the best experiences I've had in my life and they're with these men and women's and probably way more men in a football locker room. But the coaches that contributed to my life taught me in a very significant way that allowed me to be the best I could be. And that's what team sports are about. That's what shared experience is about, that's what relationships are about. That's what ultimately the meaning of life is about. And we formed that bond that are under an intense and the intensity about what we were trying to do, and we got to do something we love to do, which was play football.
So I have look back.
On those moments is the best moments in my life outside of being a parent, as the things that have shaped me into who I am today. And if I do anything in football, and I'm going to be involved in football for a long time, it's going to be to give back in the same way, and there's no you know, I am who I am at this point, I'm going to do things a similar way. I always want to contribute to other people's goals and to help them achieve what they want to accomplish.
So Tom's going to be with me next Friday in New Orleans, a city that it's hard to go to bed. Oh it's hard to go to bed early in New Orleans. I'll somehow make it. You don't have the responsibility, Tom, you can have You know, you could go out and have a couple extra oysters in New Orleans. Now good? First time you can ever.
Pay No Aaron, Yeah, no, Aaron Donald trying to hunt me down. This preparation is way easier. No lesion of boom I was getting for I could be looking at where the best beignets in New Orleans are or what a hurricane is be down on Bourbon Street with you, but they'll be quite a difference super Bowl prep this time around than the last time.
I love seeing you, get my man. We'll see you next Friday, Tom, Thanks Collin. Can to see you man all right, Tom Brady
