The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Best of The Herd: 12/20/2018

Episode Date: December 20, 2018

Colin thinks the Josh Gordon leaving the Patriots officially takes them out of Super Bowl contention because Bill Belichick has not given tom Brady the weapons needed to compete. He says Aaron Rodgers needs a defensive minded head coach not an offensive genius. Plus, Greg Cosell of NFL Films puts to rest the idea that Nick Foles is better than Carson Wentz  Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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This is the best of the herd with Colin Cowher on Fox Sports Radio. Ah, here we go on a Thursday. This is The Herd, wherever you may be and however you may be listening, live in Los Angeles, IHeart Radio, Fox Sports Radio, and FS1. We're packed today in one hour, Greg CoSell. As good a guest as we bring on this hour, Peter King stops by Matt Barnes, T.J. Hushman Zata. Joy Taylor is joined.

me on a breaking news day. We don't get a ton of these, maybe 20 a year, 50 a year, something like that. Big time news. Yeah, big time news. This really has an effect on the NFL. And as you've heard, I'm sure, by now, in the last hour to hour and a half, Josh Gordon is no longer a New England Patriot. Perhaps it's mental health. There was a program in place. He is obviously, for the last five years, struggled to stay in football, a marvelously talented young man. He is gone, and I would imagine not only gone from the Patriots, gone from the NFL, which is a bummer, because I believe in second chances. But this ends New England's Super Bowl threat.

It's over. It is officially over. If you don't watch the Patriots and you have your own favorite team, I've got to watch all these games. He is their number one receiver. Edelman's a slot guy. You've got to throw the ball over the top in 2018. He's their go-to big player receiver.

He leads this team in yards. Since week five, he had the second most offensive snaps at wide receiver to Edelman. And again, Edelman is not scaring anybody in this league. This is just not losing a player. This is losing their dynamic, hyper-athletic, super dangerous over-the-top wide receiver. And by the way, you could sense it was coming. Tom Brady only throws to people he trusts. In 2010 against Miami on a Monday night football game,

he only targeted Randy Moss one time. I worked at ESPN. I said at the time it's over. People said you're overreacting. I said, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. Randy Moss is too good on the road at Miami, Monday night football game, Tom Brady to target once. It's over.

A week later, he was out. And in this Sunday against Pittsburgh, Josh Rosen, excuse me, Josh Gordon was targeted twice. Once New England got past midfield on seven plays, they never targeted him. something was a miss. Brady does not target or throw to people he doesn't trust.

He trusted Josh Gordon for two and a half months. Something was wrong. And today we find out. Listen, it's over for New England this year. I don't know what happens in the draft and free agency, but for this year, they're out of the Super Bowl bubble. Kansas City forces you because of their deep threats to play honest. T.Y. Hilton Indy forces you to play honest.

Deep threats. Chargers, Steelers, Texans, the AFC, everybody forces you to be honest. New England this morning? What are you going to do? Philip Dorset? What do you do? To me, the Super Bowl bubble right now in the NFL, it shrinks. Like college football, you start with 130 teams, you get down to about five. The Super Bowl bubble to me in the NFL today is Chargers,

chiefs, bears, Steelers, Saints, and New England is on the out. You don't have to play them honest. You can crowd the box, therefore taking away their primary strength, their running game. They're not going to beat you quickly. They won't be as good playing from behind now because they can't catch up quickly. They're a running throw-to-a-slot-receiver team. And boy, boy, boy, do they miss? They had Brandon Cooks.

Let him go. But in college football, it takes us about 13 or 14 weeks. And you can figure out pretty soon. Couple SEC teams, Oklahoma, Clemson, they're in the bubble. NFL, it takes you longer. You've got to see weaknesses. Who's in, who's out, who's injured, who's not. New England's not a championship football team.

They're just not. And I want to segue to this. And again, have great sympathy for Josh Gordon, the human being. But New England's season is now going to. to end with an L, a loss. It's not going to end with the win. And what's going to happen is that everybody in the media is going to say, Brady, Brady is getting old.

This is on Tom. I mean, Tom can't elevate people. In the last decade, you see all the Chiefs' talent they give their quarterback, the Colts, the Chargers, the Steelers, DAC, Wentz, look at all these quarterbacks in the league and weapons they have. In the last decade, New England has drafted one legitimate receiver, 10 years, Julian Edelman, and he was a quarterback

out of Kent State. This is on Belichick. Tom has nothing to work with here. Go back to their last five drafts. 2014, one guy left, James White. 2015, one offensive guy left, a guard. 2016, one guy left offensively, a guard. 2017, nobody left. 2018, we got a pretty good running back.

Sony Michelle. Guards, running backs who are better receivers than runners and a rookie. That's it. New England's season is going to end with a loss. And we think, and I know what I'm going to hear. is it Tom Brady's age? Oh, it's Tom Brady. No, no, no, it's not Tom Brady.

I said this earlier. Gronks a shell of himself. Edelman way past his prime, bad case of the drops. Philip Dorset's a bus. Josh Gordon's now gone. James White's a catcher, not a running back. Sony Michelle, your rookie, is it? And by the way, Edelman's coming off an ACL injury.

And do you know New England's like 7th the league in offense. Who the hell could do that besides Brady? Look at the gifts Mahomes has, that Goff has. Look at the guys around the league, what they have to work with. Good Lord. When's the last time Pittsburgh drafted a receiver and he wasn't dynamic? I mean, Baltimore went out and drafted two tight ends. They can both play and got three new receivers. They're all solid. People say Aaron Rogers. Aaron Rogers doesn't have nothing. They didn't have anything to work with. Randall Cobb can still play. Jordy Nelson was amazing.

Devante Adams is a beast. They went and got Jimmy Graham. Their left tackles one of the best in football. I mean, I don't want to hear about Aaron Rogers doesn't have gifts. Are you kidding me? Go look at Pittsburgh's wide receivers and the Chargers, tight ends and receivers, and the Chiefs, Colts, Texans. They all have deep threats, intermediate threats,

slot guys, running backs. Listen, I was in, remember Joy, I was in the L.A. Chargers draft room this year. They invited me into the draft room. So I was sitting there, and they drafted like 17th. And I was in that draft room when they drafted Derwin James. But since I was in the draft room, I get credit for it too. Okay, so New England has not drafted a pro bowler since 2013. not an offensive pro bowler since 2013.

I essentially have drafted more pro bowlers than the Patriots since 2013. I'm taking credit. Half credit for Derwent James. Folks, you're going to blame Brady's age. Belichick is doing him no favors offensively. They've taken advantage of him. They can't draft receivers. Edelman's the last in a decade they've drafted.

It's done anything. Gronks a shell of himself. They went and gave up stuff for Philip Dorset. Josh Gordon now's gone. Why are we always blaming Brady's age? They're top seven in the league. If you look at like points and yards. In this past week against Pittsburgh, we were all like, oh, man, they couldn't score.

Well, now we know why. Because instead of drafting a young receiver, they had to go to Cleveland. And Cleveland said, listen, we're not going to deal with Josh Gordon. He's a wonderful kid, but we've got to get out of this. They went, that was their answer for Tom. They're not giving Brady enough to work with. And this season's going to end here in about three weeks. They may be able to get past the bills and the Jets.

I don't doubt it. But they can't, this is not a team capable of beating the Chargers, the Chiefs. I don't think they can beat the Colts, the Texans now. It's going to get really predictable, really fast. It's all going to be Brady's fault because he's old. It's not. It is remarkable what he's doing when you consider the lack of gifts they've given him. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, FS1 and the IHard Radio app.

I want to throw this out to your pro football talk. A source, a league source says that Jim Harbaugh, whatever he says that a team is going to come hard, after him. There's one team in the NFL that's going to come hard after him. I don't think any of these teams that it could be are a perfect fit. Denver may come hard after him. Who's their quarterback? I think the Jets could come hard after him. A total offensive rebuild. I think Cleveland and Tampa could come after him hard, but those franchises have a history of chaos. Green Bay may come after him hard. They're going to have very little cap space and very little flexibility when you pay your quarterback $33 million.

I also think they have some rebuilding to do on defense. Arizona could come after him hard. That is a total rebuild staff and personnel. There are no ideal jobs because I think the six vacancies we're going to have are going to be Denver, Cleveland, Tampa, Arizona Jets, and Green Bay. We know Green Bay. So I'm going to give you three reasons why he would leave and three reasons why he would stay. And then I'll tell you my conclusion.

Number one, why he would leave? You're not winning a national title at Michigan. The rich get richer. The SEC, the footprint of the South. That's where the players are. You have to convince them to come up to cold weather in the north. Ohio State over the last four or five years is finding this out. Now Urban Meyer's gone.

You're not winning a national title. You're going to see what's going to happen to Notre Dame against Clemson. The second thing is recruiting. Forget the baggage of the NCAA and boosters. You know, do you think Bill Belichick would want to recruit? Recruiting's a pain in the butt. How many apple pies can you eat at night trying to land a DB and fight over Clemson to get him?

Number three is, you were an absolute Super Bowl caliber coach, and you were, in my opinion, unjustly fired. You built a roster. You did a tremendous job, but you couldn't get along with your owner, Jed York or your GM, Trent Bulky. Edwarder talked about this yesterday. I still think he has an itch to go back to the NFL. I mean, he built a great program with the 49ers.

They seemed like they were set up to. with the Seahawks to go to the Super Bowl for five or six year period. And then ultimately, he had this other opportunity. There was some friction, obviously, in the front office. He and Trent Balke, I think he would want to make sure he had more roster control and just overall control the organization than he had there because of how it ended. But I have no doubt that Hardball will eventually coach the NFL. Okay, here are the three reasons why he would stay.

He's a Michigan guy. He quarterback there. He's a Bo Schembeckler guy. It's his program. That's where his heart is. That's a real thing. Number two, Urban Meyer is leaving. That conference is Jim Harbaugh and a bunch of good coaches.

It is wide open now. Number three is you don't have to deal with an unpredictable billionaire. You have total autonomy or at least 95% autonomy. You are the program. Like Nick Sabin, you're the highest paid guy by six times on campus. You make the calls. You get a lot of autonomy. So there's three reasons why he would leave.

three reasons why he would stay. My gut feeling is he's still very young and very dynamic. There is 20 years of coaching with Jim Harbaugh. I do not believe he's going to stay at Michigan for the next 16 to 20 years. I just do not. He did not make a run at the Indianapolis Colts job last year, which I thought was about as good as you could do. Between GM, Chris Ballard, who's the GM of the year in the league arguably, and between Andrew Luck, that's about as good as you can do in the NFL. You had the quarterback and the GM. Now, they have an impulsive owner.

It's a little bit of a rebuild. But my feeling on this is every year, somebody is going to come at Jim Harbaugh very hard, and he will eventually go. I do not think this year the teams line up perfectly. Cleveland's a very, very interesting job. Cap space, competent GM, not really a rebuild.

There's a bunch of good players. Young talent, cheap talent. But does he love Baker Mayfield and Cleveland has a history of chaos? That's about as good a job out there. Now, the Jets have their quarterback, and they've got really good defensive players. But you have to literally go out

and rebuild that offense. So I think Jim Harbaugh is leaving Michigan, but I don't think he's doing it this year. But according to Pro Football, football focus, somebody is going to make a major run at him. My gut feeling is, um, Green Bay Cleveland. I kind of feel, remember this too. Joy, remember this. With Urban Meyer out of the Big Ten, Harbaugh's going to win more in the Big Ten. Translation, he's going to be even more prized, even more recruited by the NFL. Like right now, people are going to be more.

like, well, he hasn't won enough at Michigan. He's going to now be winning more games in the Big Ten. That's going to up his leverage. He's going to have more marquee value. And we're going to be looking at Harbaugh in a year or two saying, okay, he now dominates the Big Ten. He got to a Super Bowl. He made Stanford a big dog.

He turned around his first job. So the longer he stays at Michigan without Urban Meyer, the more he wins, the more impressive he is, the better to the resume. I think he's leaving Michigan. I don't think this year these jobs are good enough or perfect enough because he can wait on this puppy. He can really wait on the best available job because he's got a top 10 college job right now. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific.

By the way, there's a lot going on with LeBron James Lakers and Anthony Davis. So Anthony Davis came out yesterday and he says, I love New Orleans. New Orleans is great. I love the fans. Anthony Davis does not want to be the bad guy here. But he did sign with Rich Paul Clutch Sports, LeBron's guys. LeBron came out yesterday and acted surprised. Wow, I would love to play with him.

What a cool idea. LeBron doesn't want to be seen as recruiting him during the season. This is going to probably happen. Now, it probably won't happen this year. Although if I was the Lakers, I'd make it happen now. But Anthony Davis, I've been told, does not want to come off as a bad guy. If he leaves New Orleans, that may just kill the franchise. But let me just say this about Anthony Davis, and people who cover the NBA make this mistake.

Kevin Durant's talented. Blake Griffin's talented. Yonis is talented. They don't change outcomes. No. Anthony Davis needs LeBron or Steph Curry more than they need him. Okay, in the last 30 years of my life, there are eight NBA players that change outcomes. Magic, Bird, MJ, LeBron, Steph, Kobe, Duncan, and Shaq, eight.

That's it. They are outcome changers. Everybody else is just really talented. Now, you're saying, what about Kevin Durant? Kevin Durant got to a final with James Hardin and Russell Westbrook. Harden left, not getting back. And, oh, by the way, he left, there's still a playoff team. Westbrook, he's good.

They're out in the first round. Janice, Anthony Davis, where are the playoffs? There are two people in this league right now that change outcomes, LeBron and Steph Curry. Kevin Durant misses a Warriors game this year 10 times or 5 and 5? Excuse me. When Steph Curry misses a game, the Warriors are 5 and 5. When Kevin Durant misses games, they still win at a 70% clip.

Don't confuse talented Anthony Davis with an outcome changer. The NBA slam magazine, NBA fanboys in the media lump them all together. Star, star, star, star, star. No, no, no, no. The league generally has one guy, maybe two. that change outcomes. I mean, they change series. They change conferences.

They change television ratings. You take Steph Curry off the Warriors. They're not winning the title. You take Kevin Durant off. They've already won a title and won 73 games in the regular season. Janice, Anthony Davis, Durant, Blake, John Wall, Westbrook, Hardin. That's one pool of great players. The other pool's got two dudes, Steph and LeBron.

they change outcomes. So this Anthony Davis-Lebron thing, it's going to happen. We have introduced, like we did, the LeBronzo meter, we have introduced the LeBrow meter. It's very political. Anthony Davis doesn't want to be a bad guy. He doesn't want to be like Carmelo in Denver at the end, Dwight Howard in Orlando at the end, getting booed.

He's a good kid. Good player. Great player. and LeBron is being coy about it. Oh my gosh, what a great idea. That's amazing. I am hearing strong, strong sourcing. This thing is just like LeBron seven months ago.

Jerry West was needling. Jerry West was getting needles by magic. We got him. But let's not go crazy on this that Anthony Davis is going to change everything. No, no. Anthony Davis, LeBron works because of LeBron. Anthony Davis had Boogie Cousins, Rondo, and Drew Holiday. Didn't do anything.

Okay, Anthony Davis, LeBron works because of LeBron. By the way, Steph and the Warriors, KD, works because of Steph. Because every time Steph gets hurt and he gets hurt every year, they go back to a 500 team. Two guys, entirely. Don't lump them all into the same category. Don't lump in Davis, Janus, Hart. No, no, no, no. Two dudes.

Steph LeBron, that's it. Those are the outcome changers in this league. One more herd? The herd streams 24 hours a day, seven days a week, within the IHeart radio app. Search Herd to listen live or on demand whenever you'd like. Josh Gordon is done with the Patriots this year, and he is, I would imagine, done in the NFL,

second, third, fourth, fifth chances. He was reinstated into the league, and he has done something inappropriate according to his reinstatement policy, so he is gone. By the way, I said when he came, Joy was here, I didn't buy this long term. I said, I think a lot of these things can work short term. I never bought into Josh Gordon would be a trustable player, regardless of his personal issues, and I don't know specifically what they are.

We wish the young man the very best. But Peter King, a couple of minutes ago, I thought put it best. This is on Belichick. This is not on Tom Brady. Tom Brady's going to get all the heat here when his season ends with a loss. It's not on Brady. In the last 10 years, New England's given Brady, Belichick's given Brady one good wide receiver. I don't know that all the heat is going to be on Brady.

I hope it's not. Because I think people are starting to see what it is Tom Brady has to work with, especially this season. It's brutal. There weren't a lot of expectations, I think, for the Patriots coming in just based off of how noisy their off season was, which is very uncharacteristic for them. And they didn't have any receivers. I mean, getting Josh Gordon seemed like a great move because if there was any place or any organization that you felt like he would have some success in, it would be the Patriots because they are so system-oriented and they seem to take care of their players when they're there. So, I mean, it's unfortunate what's happened with Josh Gordon, but he's having to take care of himself. The reason they had to throw a Hail Mary is because in the last five drafts, here's what they've given Tom Brady.

Right. Sony Michelle, a couple of guards, and James White. Go look at what, look at Dallas's defense, Chicago's defense, Kansas City's offense, San Diego's roster, how the Steelers draft wide receivers. Everybody wants to blame Brady. They're taking advantage of Brady's greatness. Belichick has not ever. New England doesn't do the college wide receiver well. They're the opposite of Pittsburgh.

Seemingly, everybody Pittsburgh drafts at wide receiver, Juju Smith-Schuster. It didn't matter if it was Heinz Ward, James Washington, Antonio Brown. It doesn't matter. Even Marcus Wheaton could play. Everybody can play. Emmanuel Sanders, Antonio Holmes, Plaxico. It doesn't matter. New England can't figure wide receiver out, and it's now a league where wide receivers matter.

I mean, look at this. Julian Edelman off an ACL has a case of the drops. Gronk, a shell of himself. Chris Hogan's a nice three receiver, a four on the Chargers. Philip Dorset was a bust in Indy, not really. really a big time player. Cordoral Patterson. I mean, they're using him as a running back.

So we're all going to blame Brady when he loses this season. But I don't think Belichick's done him any favors. And with that, 30 plus years at NFL films, Greg CoSell. You know, Josh Gordon is a talented guy, Greg. He was led the team in yards, second in snap since week five. He was a dangerous weapon. They didn't use him against Pittsburgh. Now we probably know why.

I think it makes him easier to defend today. I think he was a real player. What's it say on film? Well, just as a general point, I think we're all getting a little quick. You know, this team's been pretty good for a long time. They're still going to be in the playoffs. If you go to the specific game, you're speaking about with the Steelers defense. The Steelers' defense did some very interesting things and actually took a page out of the Belichick book.

Because what they did on some third downs, red zone, is they doubled Gronk, they doubled Gordon, they doubled Edelman. They also showed very multiple disguised looks that is something they normally don't do. So they really changed up their approach to face the Patriots, and it was a factor in the game. And the Patriots couldn't run the ball consistently enough to really generate enough to stop some of that. So I just find it fascinating that now after this run of almost unparalleled greatness, with two games left in the season. Not you necessarily, Colin, but everybody's deciding that, okay, Brady's done.

Well, here's my thing. Systems sound great, but the Spur system doesn't work once Tim Duncan's gone. The triangle offense only one with Michael and Kobe in their prime. I'm not saying there isn't some system here, but boy, this system was a lot more dynamic when Aaron Hernandez and Gronk and Randy Moss and Welker. I just don't see the dynamic speed players on offense. I think Gronk's a shell of himself. And that might be true, and you can always argue that there's different ears of football,

but the same argument was made when they were winning when, let's say, they had David Givens at wide receiver, and they had branch at wide receiver who were not considered high, high-level wide-outs relative to the rest of the league. So I tend to agree. I think that scheme is really good, and I've always been a big believer in coaching in every sport, but definitely in the NFL. But I think scheme-based offenses at times can struggle. I think we're seeing that a bit with the Saints right now. They're very scheme-based and their schemes outstanding.

But when all is said and done, they've got Michael Thomas, who's great at what he does, but he's a certain kind of player. And they've got Alvin Kamara, who's a dangerous match-up weapon in the past game. And they don't have another receiver that any defense would say, we have to worry about him. Yeah, and I think Josh Gordon was a guy that he is really a strong. strong runner. You know, you get him the football.

I don't know. I just, I feel like this is the year the margins have shrunk a little because of age for New England. Possible. Yeah. And I, so we'll see what transpires here. They do end with the Jets and the bills so they should win those. By the way, speaking of the Jets, just throw this out there. I don't look at every win as perfect or every loss as fatal.

I thought Darnold was unbelievable Saturday in many instances. They don't have a ton to work with. They were missing their right tackle. They're running back. They're back. Listen, Sam Darnold, I think Saturday night was the best I've seen him as a pro. What did the film say? I thought he played well.

You know, I think that he's played well a good part of the season. He's had ups and downs like any rookie quarterback. I've always felt watching him, and I certainly felt that way watching the tape, that he knows what he's looking at, that he does see things. I think he's willing to turn it loose, which I always view as a positive trait. He makes some big-time throws. He made a big-time throw on third and ten. on the first possession of the third quarter to Robbie Anderson when he booted, I believe, out to his left.

And that was a really good throw. So I think Sam Darnold's had a strong rookie season overall. And I think there's a lot to look forward to as he continues to progress. Is this the best rookie class or is it just the reality all these quarterbacks are working? Lamar's working. Josh Allen is working. Darnold Baker, obviously. Is this a better rookie quarterback class or is it just the league has changed than it's easy?

to succeed at that position? Speaking, I would say yes, because of the one of the things, and we talked about this, I believe last week of the week before, is there's so many shorter throws now. Those are easier throws. The quicker the drop, the less reading is involved. There's no reading on three-step drops for the most part. So completion percentages are higher across the board. It's not that everybody all of a sudden became more accurate passers, Colin.

It's the nature of NFL pass games are presenting quicker defined throw. and therefore everybody is able to complete a higher percentage of passes, and therefore younger guys are able to play sooner. I want to shift to a situation in Philly, because I think Philly is going to win their next two games, and they're going to – You do, huh? I do. I think they're going to sneak into the playoffs.

Listen, I love Carson Wentz. You know that. But, boy, Al-Shan Jeffrey emerges when Nick Full starts. There is something going on here. I've asked everybody this week. I asked Michael Vic. I've asked guys who know Philadelphia. I love Wence.

I think Foles is a great backup. But when Nick is in, the offense can look very interesting and be very productive. I think you have to be a little careful about that. Okay. I think that how quickly people forget things. Carson Wence is a high-level talent at the quarterback position. Carson Wins is probably a top three or four talent in the league at the position. I agree.

Okay? Last year, the Eagles were scoring well over 30 points a game before he got hurt, and he would have been the league MVP. He came back from an ACL. Who knows if he came back too early? You know, Nick Falls, there's an incredibly wide variance in Nick Falls play from week to week. He shouldn't be in the same conversation with Carson. I agree. So to me, this is not even worth a conversation.

This is like trying to tell me that two and two is five. Well, we agree it is funny, though. It always feels like Wence is very connected to Zach Ertz. And that's possible. And I think there have been times this year, and I think the tape bears that out where he was very focused on Earths. Now, Foles came in, and he hardly ever looked at Earths. Yes. So, you know, you can take that any way you want.

To be honest with you, the tape showed that the Eagles' offensive performance was much more a function of the Rams' poor defense, which really has surprised me all. year with some major fundamental breakdowns, given that it's Wade Phillips. Let's talk about that. It is Wade Phillips. He is 72. Let's throw the age thing out there. You wouldn't have a 72-year-old offensive coordinator.

They've got big names, Talib and Peter, Sue and Darnold. What do you see with the Rams defense? Because it is not about a five weeks ago, it feels like there's just gaps, big gaps. Seattle twice gashed him on the ground. I'm going to give you one example, okay? just a play one example. The Eagles had a 17-yard run by Darren Sprouls on 3rd and 4 on their first touchdown drive, okay?

You might not remember the exact play. But the point I'm trying to make is on that 17-yard run, there were no defenders in the A or the B gaps for the ramps. That's unheard of. That's just fundamentally wrong. So literally anybody could have run through that for 17 yards. Those are the kinds of mistakes that I've seen on film all year. You mentioned against the Seahawks.

Earlier in the season, I think their first meeting against the Seahawks, there were a number of runs where they were not Gap Sound. So, look, Wade Phillips is a lot smarter than you and I, but something's not right. I agree. I want to throw this out before we get to our big play. Everybody knows I love Andrew Luck. He's a calming influence. He's had an impulsive owner, a GM get fired, a head coach.

Just now he has an offensive line. Chris Ballard's done a great job. Am I overstating how great of a year he's having a lot? or has Ballard gotten him really nice pieces? Because when I watch Andrew Luck, I see a machine. I like it. I would vote him MVP. I think he elevates.

Eric Ebron felt like a bust in Detroit. Right. A T.Y. Hilton, I like, but he's not Julio Jones. Is this a luck story, or is it they're a little better than we think personnel-wise? Can I flip the script here and talk about their defense? Because I think over the last six, seven weeks, and I don't have the stats, but it would not surprise me if over the last six, seven weeks, they're the best defense. defense in the league in terms of points allowed per game.

And I think their new decoordinator took a bunch of guys who we didn't view with high-talent guys and has turned this group into a really strong group. We know about Darius Leonard. But they're playing with, you know, in their sub-package, they're playing with Pierre DeCier, who's been with about four teams and Quincy Wilson on the outside. And this team is doing exceptionally well. So I think their defense has played a large role over the last month. five, six weeks. No question about Andrew Luck. I think he's played great football, and I think

Frank Reich has helped him tremendously. But I think this defense needs to be spoken about. Yeah, they had, I got to tell you, Darius Leonard, Quentin Nelson, they had a very good draft. Kenny Moore was a waiver wire guy. Kenny Moore is one of the best slot corners in the league. Yes. And he was on waivers from somebody. So they, the staff deserves a ton of credit on the defensive side. Okay, play of the week. Let's go to your one big play, and I love it because I love this player. Well, everybody remembers it, even though it was these weeks fly by Colin. It was last Thursday was that fourth and seven play where Philip Rivers hit Travis Benjamin.

So let's start the play right now. Okay. And people will remember it if they saw the game. It was a highly rated game, so people saw it. Big time throw. But there's a lot that goes into making a throw like this. And again, here's Rivers in the gun. Obviously, he's going to be in the gun on fourth and seven.

and what you see here is the matchup of Fuller versus Benjamin. Now, the Chiefs are playing what we call two-man coverage, meaning there's two deep safeties over the top and man-to-man across the board. So Fuller knows that. So what he can do when he plays man coverage here is he can actually do what we call undercut or tailgate the route by Travis Benjamin because he knows he has safety help over the top.

So what that essentially means is he can let Benjamin sort of run by him a little bit because of the safety help. So you see him kind of do. Now, Rivers knows that. So Rivers turns the ball loose so early because he knows the coverage and he knows that Fuller will turn his back due to the two-man coverage

and will not see the throw. That's the critical piece here. Rivers knows that Fuller will not see the throw because of how he plays the two-man coverage. That's the way the two-man coverage is taught that you get on the end. inside hip of the receiver and you let him get over the top of you. And you're going to see that here in particular. That's quarterbacking. That's understanding the coverage, understanding how

coverage is played, understanding the rules of the defense. Understanding the rules of the defense is critical for play callers. It's critical for quarterbacks. And you can see right here, Fuller's not playing this incorrectly at all. It's just that that's the way you play two-man covered. How many quarterbacks in the league can make that decision at the line of scrimmage? Well, you would hope a lot, but then it comes down to the execution of when you turn that loose. Because the later you turn it loose, the deeper Benjamin gets, and the more likely the safeties get involved in that throw, and then it's not there. So the willingness to turn that loose to me, that's why I've always been a big believer in the willingness to turn it loose for NFL

quarterbacks. Now you have to know when to turn a loose, but you've got to do that. Yeah, can't play with fear. Greg CoSell, great stuff on a Thursday. Thank you, sir. Thanks, Colin. Appreciate it. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, FS1, and the IHeard Radio app. There is a sense, people, there's a narrative going out there that Aaron Rogers needs an offensive coach. But I want to remind you, Big Ben has a defensive head coach. He's gone to a couple of Super Bowls. Tom Brady has a defensive coach Belichick. He's gone to eight Super Bowls.

Russell Wilson has a defensive head coach. He's been to two Super Bowls. Peyton Manning got to a Super Bowl with Tony Dungey. Troy Aikman got to a Super Bowl with Jimmy Johnson. Defensive head coach. Terry Bradshaw got to four with Chuck Knoll, defensive head coach. Young quarterbacks, Gough, Trubisky, Wence, Deshawn Watson, Baker Mayfield. I love them having as sponges.

a young, smart, progressive offensive coach, Wence and Doug Peterson, Mahomes and Andy Reed, because they're sponges. They're learning the game. Aaron Rogers is not learning the game. There's a been there, done that quality with Aaron Rogers. He could be the mentor as much to Sean McVey

as Sean McVey would be to Aaron Rogers. I believe there is a coach out there for Aaron Rogers. He's had one great defense in his career. that's the only year Aaron Rogers won a Super Bowl when that defense was healthy and really good. Peyton Manning's only Super Bowl win in Indianapolis was when Pollyon got him his best defense in a decent running game. This idea that you're going to give him some hot shot.

Aaron doesn't need a hot shot offensive guy. He needs a defense. By the way, Aaron even this year, their top 10 in offense, and they've been injured. I'm not worried about Aaron's offense. I'm worried about like Andrew Luck, protect him up front and keep the score under 24. Aaron and Luck don't lose games.

Andrew Luck doesn't lose games if you score under 24. So Ron Rivera is a name to keep your eye on. Cam Newton's a lot of work. The first thing I can tell when a sports radio guy or a TV talker doesn't have good NFL sources, they tell you how great Cam is. Anybody with sources in this league knows, Cam's a lot of work. Cam's a lot of work. And Ron Rivera keeps it all.

out of the newspapers. Ron Rivera has given him in the last seven years five or six top 10 defenses. Ron Revere takes all the shots, keeps it out of the press. Cam's a lot of work. So he's dealt with a higher maintenance star quarterback and he would build a defense. I don't know if Carolina's going to let him go, but I don't think the answer to Aaron Rogers is a hot shot offensive guy. James Jones, former Packer, buddy of Aaron Rogers, agrees. I said, I would love to see you with a defensive-minded coach. So he has the defense. He'll get you a top-10 defense.

You communicate with your offensive coordinator and you guys put up points. But we have the defense. And I think that right there is what Aaron Rogers needs. And everybody's saying offensive coordinator, you know, an offensive-minded coach. Aaron's two-time MVP, Super Bowl, MVP, like, you're not going to come in here and make Aaron look just like, like just that much better. Like he's already special. Let me shift gears to something else.

So most of the teams that were hot at the beginning of the year, the Chiefs, the Saints, the Steelers by week seven or eight, they're still pretty good teams, right? The one team that was on fire, the Rams, has fallen off a cliff. I'm going to go back to something I said Monday. I just got a text from somebody. I respect in and around the national football league. Okay?

Just got a text. And he, I'm not going to read you the entire text, but he points out something too. This Rams story, they have no depth. They're tired. I'll go back to what I said Monday. The reason the Rams are the one team we loved in October, all the teams that we liked in October, they're all still really good, right? Cowboys have gotten better, obviously.

But the Rams are the one that's fallen off the cliff. They had to sell PSLs. They're building a $5 billion stadium. McVeigh's not a big substitute or anyway. Rams are tired. They got nobody behind. Nobody behind Robert Woods. They got nobody behind Todd Gurley.

They don't have anybody behind Aaron Donald. When you watch the Rams play, they have become a star-studded team. But if you overpay for the kitchen, then you've got to go cheap on the bathrooms. This is a salary cap league, just like families have, you know, caps on what we make a month. right? You do, I do. Teams have salary caps. The Rams spent all their money on a handful of stars. They got no backups. I watch every snap. They're tired. Todd Gurley looks tired. Goff looks worn out. Aaron Donald looks a little worn out. This is a franchise. The Rams, they have gone big on headliners to sell PSLs for a $5 billion stadium, but they got no depth. And McVeigh's not a big substitution guy anyway. He plays his stars.

And they were piling up points, and we fell in love with them. This team looks like, you know, in baseball they call it like a pitcher has a dead arm. Like a pitcher pitches too many innings at the end of a year. He's just got a dead arm. This looks like a dead franchise. Too many stars played too many reps, too many minutes, and they look tired. Oh, you are out on the Rams. I'm out on them.

They just don't look right. Gurley looks tired. Their defensive stars look tired. They're freelancing. This is the downside. again, if you overspend, you overspend on the kitchen, you got to save money somewhere in the house. And I see no depth on this team at all. They're lifeless.

Their energy is sapped. They look tired. Now, they're going to get a buy week when in their division. Nobody in this league needs a buy week more than the Rams. Like say goodbye, go on vacation, come back hydrated, because they are just dead armed right now. Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where SportsSlice comes in.

I'm Timbo, and every episode, we're cutting through the noise, breaking down the biggest moments in sports and giving you the real story behind the headline. And we're going straight to the source, the athletes themselves, their locker room stories, their reactions in the moment, and the stuff nobody gets to hear. Listen to Sports Slice on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Slic Life 12 in the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. Another podcast from some SNL late night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smygel and friends.

Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer Streeter Seidel, help an a cappella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Rob. Robert Smigel and Friends on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. What's up, guys? This is Clivert Taylor the 4th. And on my podcast, The Clivert Show, I'm bringing you conversations about all kinds of stuff.

Like being an internet famous referee. We're in the middle of a game. This linebacker, this lineback walks up to me. He goes, hey, ref, my mom wants you to wave at her. What? Time out. Quarterback on office blue 42. Hey, rep, my mama wants you to wave at her. What? Where's he at? Hey, Miss Parker.

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If we didn't talk ever again, I was part of it. You just understood. That's how personal it got. Wow. Then after that game seven, Marquis come in to you, he's like, you know I love you, dog. You know, it's all love. This was just playoffs. This was just basketball.

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