The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Colin Cowherd Podcast - What the Bears Proved, College Football Playoff, Indiana Takes Down Ohio State, What’s Wrong With Lamar Jackson?

Episode Date: December 8, 2025

Colin is joined by John Middlekauff, host of “3 and Out” to break down all the Week 14 NFL action + college football. They start with the Packers holding off the Bears 28-21 and they both argue that despite the loss the Bears proved to be a big winner on the day and proved they belong in the top tier of NFL teams (3:00).  They move to the Steelers win over the Ravens to take control of first place in the AFC North, and they agree that Lamar Jackson looks like a shell of himself and neither team is going anywhere if they make the playoffs (23:30). They react to the final college football playoff rankings and Colin argues the key was getting Miami in, and John explains why he doesn’t like having guaranteed spots for non-power 4 conference teams (29:00). Colin breaks down why bowl games are in big trouble now that multiple teams are pulling out of them (37:30), and why he thinks Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza has likely played his way into becoming the #1 pick in the NFL draft after beating Ohio State (41:00). They go back to the NFL to break down the Bills win over the Bengals and Colin argues that despite the win for Buffalo, they were outschemed, outplayed and can’t be trusted in the postseason (59:00). They recap Shedeur Sanders and the Browns losing to the Titans in a very uneven performance from Shedeur (1:07:00). They pivot to the Broncos win over the Raiders in a game Colin calls “the most lopsided one score game” he’s ever seen and they debate whether the Raiders will blow it up after this season and/or potentially move on from Pete Carroll after only one season (1:16:00). They move to the Seahawks blowout win over the Falcons & Colin explains why you can erase the Jets from Sam Darnold’s resume and that he’s proved to be a legit franchise quarterback (1:21:15). They break down the Rams blowout win over the Cardinals and why the Cardinals are completely out of their depth in an NFC West that features 3 incredible head coaches (1:26:00). Finally, they recap the Vikings drubbing of the Commanders and argue it was JJ McCarthy’s best game and wonder whether Jayden Daniels will physically be able to hold up in the NFL (1:30:00).  All lines provided by hardrock.bet (Timestamps may vary based on advertisements.) Follow Colin and The Volume on Twitter for the latest content and updates!  #VolumeSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Caleb didn't have a very good first half, and he didn't have a very good final throw. But, you know, when I'm watching this game, Jordan Lowe was very good early, but Green Baylor exhausted in the second half because Caleb just kept extending drives with plays. You know, I wrote down multiple notes during the game, John, and all these young quarterback, Shadoor Sanders, Bo Nix, they're all uneven except Drake May. Everybody's, you don't know when it cut. Today, J.J. McCarthy was pretty good. But in the second half, I did feel like, I mean, Caleb makes plays. And Jesus, does he have an arm? A couple of those throws in the final drive were just, and this. This is cold weather.

It's a great defense. I don't know. I mean, I think this, it's not pretty, but I think losing to arguably the best team in the league with Jeff Halfley's defense, 28, 21. He doesn't throw picks. It was just a bad throw by him. He just, he was short. I come out of that, and I'm like, those are two really good football teams to me. Yeah, I thought the Bears were a big winner today.

I mean, at one point in time, it's 14 to 3, and you're like, I could see this being like, a 31 to 10 final. Yeah. And he's 6 to 13 in the first half. Ben's trying to make him play like a pocket quarterback. And what happened in the second half? You kind of got to let him run around and cook. Yeah.

I mean, that's him. And they let him run around and cook. And he made a lot of plays. Ben Johnson was fantastic in the second half. That one drive, when it was 21 to 14, and they went 17 plays, almost nine minutes. They ran a quick screen to Burton on a third down, got a first down. The touchdown passed to slip the tight end out. it was like, man, this is, the bears were impressive today, mental toughness, physical toughness,

because early on the Packers, they were hitting on defense like they were the 85 Bears. I'm like, it's 10 degrees out there. You got Brady wearing 17 layers up in the booth, freezing as, you know what off. I'm like, this place looks miserable. And the Bears kind of prove what we've seen all season. They don't really tap out. And that was a game. There was a moment where you're like, this could get, it's in Green Bay.

It would honestly be understandable. They'd won a bunch of games. They've had a great season. It's like, hey, they end up winning 12 games. You can lose this, you know, by a couple touchdowns, and no one's even going to judge you. But when they tied it at 21, 21, my first thought was this bear's team's real. And when they got the ball back at 28, 21,

I didn't think for a second they weren't going to drive down the field. I felt same way. I didn't know if they were going to win it or not, but I knew I would have bet big money that they were going to be in the red zone and have a shot. and that's exactly what happened. I did think, listen, a lot going on. They haven't, this is the first time this franchise has been in a moment like this in a long time.

I thought they didn't manage the clock great because it went from like a minute to 27 seconds really fast. Really fast. So I think their back was against the wall a little bit, a little quicker than they thought. And they called that play that what works for him last week. And Caleb was just a little late and obviously under through it. Yeah, I mean, he could have run for the first down, actually. But I think, to his credit, earlier this year, he had a similar kind of play, and he ran it in for a touchdown.

And we all said he could have thrown it. Here he opts to throw it. And we've noted this many times. He doesn't throw a lot of interceptions. He really doesn't. He's pretty good at throwing the ball in a tough spot, but not giving the defender. Some of it's velocity. He throws the ball so hard.

It's not an easy ball to intercept. At one point, Green Bay had 149 passing yards to 11 passing yards advantage. And I even wrote down here, lousy Caleb first down, one of six on third down. But, you know, and I think this is something, this is kind of the meld between coaching and quarterback play, is that you do have to. And Andy Reid, who you know well, you got to let Mahomes kind of do his thing. Greg CoSell says on my show every week, he's just kind of now. Mahomes is a playmaker. He's not a classic pocket guy.

He throws most of his stuff moving. Now, some of it's they have a really bad offensive line. But, you know what? It's funny because I watched Jordan Love. I think you would admit this. Jordan loves throwing the deep ball. He loves going, I mean, and he's got the arsenal to do it. Caleb is doing a lot of tough throws, John.

He's rolling to his right, throwing to the sideline. He's making a lot of throws down the seam. The degree of difficulty with some of the Caleb throws, to me, it's like, we got to, you know, Jordan loves to go over the top, and he's got the guys to do it. But I don't know. I just look at this, and I think Green Bay, there's an argument. They're as good as anybody in the league. I don't know if I trust New England in the postseason.

I just, they don't run the football. The weather is going to be crappy. But I came out of this thinking, are these two, like when I watched this weekend, I watched Indiana play Ohio State. And I'm like, those are two of the three best teams I've seen in college football. I'm watching Bears and Packers today. I think Green Bay would have blown out a lot of people. I don't think they would have blown out the Rams. I don't, you know what I mean?

But I'm like, you, I came out of this second half. I thought Chicago pretty much did they control the clock. Well, when it's 10 degrees like that, like that game to me, and I wasn't at either place, obviously, but was dramatically more difficult to play than, let's say, the Bill's game, which was snowing, but didn't feel as frigid. right now. Those quarterbacks were, like that game, it's hard to catch. Every time a guy's tackled, you went, what's his name gets kicked in the chin? That had to feel like he landed on concrete. I mean, so the physicality of that game, but to me, running the ball in those environments is huge,

and the bears can. They got two running backs who were good. And Josh Jacobs on that final drive, which ended up being the game-winning drive. I mean, that one-third down play, it should have been a TFL. And what did he do? He cut it. He broke a tackle. And what did he gain? Like 15 yards? And he's, so it's basically Josh Jacobs first there, two running backs. He had, he had, uh, looking 80 yards. And those two guys had over 100 yards combined. So it's, it's a very physical game, a long drives. Now, the difference is Jordan Love, like you said, Christian Watson, I looked it up when he scored a second touchdowns. That's five touchdowns last four games. And he is, I mean, in the transfer portal era, I don't know if North Dakota State would have kept him. He's big. He looks really good right now. He's flying and Jordan Love. Jordan Love took notes on those Aaron Rogers kind of back foot, just let it fling because he is on the money. He's playing well. And he was beside the one pass. He was really good today. Defensively, you know, the Bears off, and you've talked about this, adding those offensive linemen,

they kind of leaned on them on those last drives in the fourth quarter. And you can tell Green, I mean, Michael Parsons is a suck and win. You can tell all those guys, Even Caleb in the huddle trying to catch his breath. That was a playoff game. I mean, that was a playoff game. That was fantastic theater. I mean, I was, I'm sure you were. I'm sure all of America were.

I'm sure the numbers are going to be huge. That was excellent football. I'm glad the bears are good. That was forever, when's the last time the Bears and Packers played in a real game that mattered? It's always been the Packers and Aaron Rogers go and I own you. That was cool. Yeah. And, you know, what's interesting is the Packers have.

done it if you take Micah out, mostly drafting and developing. Most of those receivers, your Watson, you know, Reed. A lot of that, now Josh Jacobs is an acquisition, but they've done a little of both, but, you know, give Ryan Poles credit. You know, DJ Moore, they got in a trade, Drew Dalman, their three interior offensive lineman, Joe Tunney, Bontes Sweat. They've taken swings. They missed on Chase Claypool. That was a miss. It's not that they haven't drafted some good players. They got their right tackle and Caleb Williams, obviously, but D'Andre Swift was a move. Chicago has been a little bit like Green Bay and Philadelphia and the Rams. They'll go in, they'll go in the league and they'll take some swings. And they've, when I watch Chicago play,

I always said, to win a Super Bowl, you have to have your seven best players mostly have to be in their prime. Well, Dolman is, Tune is, DJ Morris, sweat is. I'll tell you, Loveland and Caleb Williams now, that's becoming a real relationship. He's not in his prime yet, but you can tell that's Caleb's guy. Well, I would say this to the draft. Luther Burden, he had four catches for 67 yards, a big catch on that final drive, you know, to kind of get that drive going. Loveland had the touchdown pass and just makes big plays. Menungi is what, a seventh round guy?

I mean, he looks fantastic. He looks every bit the same as Swift. So now you have a one-two combination. The Packers are, you know, the backup did have a nice run, but I mean, they're going to ride Josh Jacobs like you would Derek Henry or Christian McCaffrey. You know, the Bears having multiple running backs with a coach that's not afraid to lean on them and, you know, does a good job of skiing up the run. Ben Johnson, on the drive that tied at 21, 21, had a couple play calls that were just fantastic. And one thing that's going to be hard for him, because he's, you can tell like his nature. I mean, he's a little tight.

It's hard for him to let Caleb just kind of be USC Caleb. And if they're going to go and win playoff games and win a game like today, you've got to let him be him. And he tried, I mean, he gave him multiple options on that last play. I think they thought that, I think it was Kemet was the tight end that he was thrown to would be a little more open. The DB made a good play. And then Caleb was probably a half step late throwing the ball.

Yeah, generally, the rule in the end zone, if you throw it to the front, throw it low. If you throw it to the back, throw it high. So Caleb kind of got caught in between. It was high but not high enough. Weather plays apart, doesn't quite fly because his arms are the dead ball. You know, the other thing it was this was a really important game for Green Bay. They were a six and a half point favorite, John. If they lose this game at home to Chicago, you know, we say we all wanted to watch.

But the bears were almost a touchdown dog. There was some pressure on Green Bay. And, you know, some. I think it was all on Green Bay. I think it was 100% on Green Bay. The Bears were playing with House Money from where I was sitting. Yeah. And I think they took Green Bay's best shot and vice versa.

I just thought it was fantastic. That's about as good as NFL gets. Between Indiana, Ohio State and Green Bay and Chicago, we've had some good weekends. But that was Chicago's a legitimate NFL team. And unlike Detroit, which is you're not quite sure what you get week to week. Also, I do think it's a disadvantage having, you know, Jared Goff, there's certain things you can't do. A couple of times today, Caleb escaped the pocket on those last two drives, and I'm like, Jesus, he really does have a nice sense of what's around him.

Burroughs got this. Burrow just kind of feels it. He can just kind of tell. So maybe it's hearing. but there were a couple times today with Caleb, I'm like, man, some of that's instinctive. You can't teach some of that stuff with his pocket feel. Well, I think right now him and Josh Allen are the best scramblers. You know, Burrow doesn't go that far outside the pocket, right? He's just great at moving up, moving to the left, but he's staying within what, a three or four yard kind of radius and then to get rid of the ball. Caleb and Josh take off to then throw, especially Caleb.

You know, Josh also runs probably more than Caleb. Caleb will run for a first down, but to me, it was. huge for the Packers because if they lose this game, one, the Bears would have multiple more wins. But the Rams dominate today. Seattle dominates. The Niners are going to come off a by. They're playing the Titans. So all of a sudden you look, are you headed to be the seven seed, which, you know, would have been a major problem given that you just made this huge trade for Michael Parsons, the expectations and their team, you watch them. They are a legitimate team that can win the Super Bowl. I mean, their defense, and if they get ahead and those rushers can just

fly. All their DBs hit. I mean, their defense is, you know, the Bears' defense isn't that great, right? They make plays and they come through in big moments. But the Packers, I would say, 10 of their 11 guys are hitting kind of like an old school Denver and Seattle team a decade ago. That's a high-end defense. And Jeff Halfle, they run a lot of stuff. I mean, that one play where, I mean, Micah is literally almost jumping. Then he scales back. And within a heartbeat, He's 12 yards off the line of scrimmage in space. They got versatile players, right? You know, Micah's a unique player.

Rashaun Garry's a unique player. I mean, you look at those two guys. Wasn't Roshan Gary the number one overall recruit when Jim Harbaugh got him? He was, number one D-Linman. I don't know where Micah fell, but I would imagine pretty high when he went to Penn State. So you're talking about some elite blue-chip kids from when they were like 15, 16, and you're watching them now. I mean, those two guys alone, I mean, you don't know what to do, right, with 52.

and number one. I mean, they are, their team speed up front. I mean, Caleb, what did they say? He ran 20 miles an hour again. And they are right behind him. I mean, usually Caleb, when he gets away, it's like he's got a little gap. Today, I think he's not used to a guy literally going step for step with me. And he had to adjust as the game went. And he did. I mean, he's, Caleb, listen, his accuracy issues, you know, at times can be a little maddening. But there is no disputing his, you know, we see some guys, you're like, how is this guy a high pick? This guy's physical attributes are pretty eye-opening. And they're actually, today in the cold was, because he made a comment,

Brady said that he felt more confident in a cold weather game. You know, he's a DC kid. He's used to playing in the cold weather. And, you know, he's 6 or 13 in the first half. I'm like, but as the game went on, like his ball is not going to be affected, you know, throwing that laser. Oh, my God. The Duvernae pass rolling to his right late in the game and the touchdown pass to

Zakias, you know, which was an incredible. pass and catch. Yeah, I know. I would say if you just lined up arm talent in the league and just in velocity, Caleb's top three or four in the league. Might be one. Yeah, his ball totally cuts through bad weather. Today's show brought to you by our new presenting sponsor, Hard Rock Bet.

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We have some big news. What's the news, name? huge news. We created our own podcast called Hey Jonas. We invented a podcast. Well, we didn't invent it. We just contributed to it. We're the first people to do podcasts. Pretty, yeah, pretty wide range of podcasts. We're starting a trend. But this one's extra special. So how do we actually come up with a name Hey Jonas guys? I honestly don't remember. I think it was on a call about what we should call it. And, well, we were thinking I'm originally calling it one of the early names of our band before Jonas Brothers.

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Listen to Hey Jonas on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Just listen. We don't care where you hear it. Another podcast from some SNL late-night comedy guy, not quite on Humor Me with Robert Smygel and Friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, S&L's Mikey Day and head writer, Streeter Seidel,

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It's Isaiah Thomas. And I'm C.J. Toledano, and our podcast, point game is about defying the odds. Like LeBron heading into the playoffs without Luca and Austin Reed. And finding ways to win no matter what. He's the smartest player to ever play the game. His IQ is at a level that we've never seen before. And he knows, without Luca and Austin Reeves, I got to manipulate the game. We get a player's perspective on the challenges of the playoffs.

I think Joker's going to be exhausted this series because when they don't have Rudy in the lineup, he has to really guard guys like Nas Reid. He has to guard Julius Randall. And then he has to give us everything he gives us on the night-to-night basis on offense. And when IT's friends stop by, like Quentin Richardson, we dive into some playoff history too. Steve Nash would get that thing. That man, hell get the flying. He running up the court, licking his fingers why he got the ball.

Like, after you go through a training camp with that, Isaiah, you figure it out real quick. Get your ass up and down the court, and you're going to get the ball. So listen to Point Game on the IHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Keith Gianmanca seemed like a mild-mannered suburban dad. But secretly, he became someone else, a master of disguise who went on a crime spree. At the time, did it seem like a crazy idea? It seemed very crazy. But I felt so desperate that I felt it was the quickest, easiest way out.

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getting a racist statue removed. And here's something that should be a whole lot easier than it is, getting a new one put up in its place. As long as there's a politics of race in America, there's going to be a politics of remembering the Civil War. To get to school, I had to go down

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that is really catching. You'll see what I mean. Listen to Rebel Spirit Season 2 on the Iheart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. All right, I want to talk. Pittsburgh, it was a winner gets first place. Pittsburgh 27, Baltimore, 22. I thought Mike Tomlin got a little lucky today

because I thought the tight end, Isaiah likely. I thought that was a touchdown. They reversed it. I would have called, if I was an official, I'm still not sure. I mean, Pittsburgh surrendered 420 yards, lost badly time of possession, only at 13 first downs. I thought Aaron played pretty well for a 42-year-old with no run game on the road. D.K. Metcalf and Aaron had a really good day. It's what's interesting, the Steelers still can't run the ball.

Two-point, two yards of carry. And it felt like a reprieve. I think this is why you got Aaron Rogers. The defense isn't great. They can't run the ball. I mean, the two guys you went and got, D.K. Metcalf and Aaron Rogers, saved your bacon today. Again, what did you make of the likely non-touchdown? Yeah, I agree to Tony Romo. That's what are we doing? I mean, it was a pretty clear touchdown. But I also thought, I thought the story of the game is Lamar Jackson looks like a shell of himself. No question. I don't know what, you know, his percentage is, but it's closer to 50 than it feels to 70 or 80. I mean, he looks not nearly, now relative to his standard, looks slow, clearly it's just a little off, still makes a couple plays.

But, I mean, I think the guy that we've seen become just an all-time great player over, you know, the prime of his career, whatever the version is he's playing at now is limiting them. I mean, you have the one awful pick where typically that's a Lamar play, lob it right over a guy when you're scrambling. How many plays a scramble around? You go from him to that Caleb scrambling around. It's like they're playing at different speeds. Yeah. No, I mean, he, Zay Flowers, Andrews, Henry, he's got playmakers. We know the coaching staff is fine.

It's, I thought the final drive of the game by him. It was just, there was nothing to it. I kind of feel like with Lamar Jackson, we've gotten to a point where anything over 15 yards, I don't necessarily trust him. I just don't think he's right. I mean, that's my take on this, and I've said it for weeks. Brock Purdy, when I saw him on Monday night, throw two picks, and they were both behind the guy. I'm like, well, he's not 100%.

I can tell. I think Lamar's hurt, and he just doesn't want to mention it because he's an athletic guy, and he doesn't want to give the defense who he plays a heads up. I mean, these are not serious. I mean, neither one of these teams can do anything in the playoffs. I mean, sometimes you win a division, and that's the best you can do. I mean, Mike Tomlin's probably now. The way Baltimore is playing, Burrow, you know, lost.

I thought Cincinnati was going to win that game. We'll talk about that. I thought Cincinnati had them. And then Joe Burrow, one of the few awful picks of his life. I mean, Lamar was, what, 19 of 35 of the 72 passer rating? Yeah, one thing, too, is last year, remember, early on in the season, the Ravens defense was terrible. And then they figured something out and they became a lot better as the season went on.

Today there was a moment. It was 20 to 16. And, you know, the Steelers were kind of back against the wall. You're like, God, this thing's kind of going to fall apart here. And Rogers just a pretty, I don't know, elementary play drops it off to war and he walks in for a touchdown. There's no one even around him. So it went from 20 to 16 to boom, 27 to 16. And the way that the Ravens are playing on offense, it's like, I don't know, they're in trouble.

And they are just, listen, they dug themselves in a hole early in the season. they don't look right and clearly their quarterback's banged up. And I, listen, Rogers is taking shots saying everyone needs to shut up about us. Like, you guys have been losing game after game and looking terrible. So, I mean, I don't know. I bet against them pretty big this week. I had little to no faith in the Steelers. But I thought today was as much of an indictment in the Ravens just, they're just not very good.

Like the Steelers, if they are the four seed playing whoever that they end up drawing, I'd be stunned if they win a playoff game. I don't think all these stories coming out the last couple days about Toml's contract set up. Like the Rooney, I think this thing's kind of being laid out. Like there's, you know, we're coming to the end of the road. Yeah. And I also think Kansas City doesn't feel the same, but Kansas City was getting to Super Bowls. Baltimore wasn't winning playoff games, and they feel less than that.

So Baltimore, the previous two years, has blown out more teams than anybody in the sport. The lions, the previous two years and the Ravens have kicked a you know-known-out of teams four to five times. Now Seattle's the team this year that has beaten six teams by two touchdowns or more. So they're just something that's not right. And look at both those two teams, right? I mean, they've had their moments. The Lions were the number one seed last year. Two years ago, they had the Niners up 24 to seven at halftime in the NFC championship.

The Ravens have the home field two years ago, lost to the Chiefs. Last year, it's like they should beat the bills in the second round. They lose the game. It kind of feels like their little moments for both those two teams kind of shut. And now for our next segment, Whiskey Business. Yes, Whiskey Business brought to you by Green River Whiskey, the official Whiskey of the Colin Coward podcast. Okay, I want to go to college football for the next 10, 15 minutes. Then we'll come back to Bengals, Bills, and some of the NFL stuff.

So I thought the committee, and this, John, I feel like this happens every year. Because college football is so tribal. A lot of college football fans, they live in a small town, it's their team. If you live in Philadelphia, you love the Phillies, you love the Eagles, you're a Sixer fan, you love Villanova basketball, you've got a lot of different, you know, there's a lot of different stuff in your life. You travel a lot. For college football fans, they live and breathe with their team often.

It's the biggest entertainment in their state or in their town. So we argue, we yell, we scream. I basically thought, I mean, you can say what you want about Alabama, but they're favored over Oklahoma. So they're obviously one of the 12 best teams. They, listen, Georgia, they had people knock Alabama getting in over Notre Dame. They did go to Athens and beat Georgia. There is some value in that.

You know, Notre Dame, my take on Notre Dame is all you have to do is either beat Miami or beat Texas A&M. You had to win one of those two games, and you didn't. So USC, which has been a bad road team, can't be your big W. you go ask USC fans. They're disappointed in their season. That's like beating Michigan this year. It doesn't really count for much.

Michigan's really not very good with a true freshman quarterback. So I thought buying, I mean, I wouldn't put Tulane in or James Madison, but I've never been a believer in the little guy. We all know who recruits the best players, although I do think Tulane can beat Ole Miss. But I think going Indiana 1, Ohio State 2, Georgia 3, Texas, Tech 4, I have no problem with it. I think Bama, Oklahoma is a great game.

I probably take Bama close. I like Miami against Texas A&M. Ann M's favored by four and a half. But I thought getting Miami in was the key to all of this. So I wasn't deeply bothered. Listen, Texas, you lose three games, and by the way, you were in close games against a lot of bad teams. Did it bother you? Were you okay with a final result?

No, I wasn't because I do think back to the little guy. You'd know better than me, but it clearly felled a couple years ago when they created this and they included that a non-power five team would essentially be a lock. It felt like they did that so they didn't get sued, right? And basically just have it for the top four power conferences. And I got my starting football at Fresno State, which was playing Boise State, which I would say Utah and Boise State kind of created, we deserve a seat to the the table. Well, look back at Utah before they became what they've become at the Power 4 level. They had a team with probably 10 pros on some of their better teams. I was at Fresno when we played Boise State. They had 11 guys drafted on a team and they were beating Oregon and Georgia. Those teams are outlier. They have nothing in common with JMU and Tulane. Right, right. So to me, to have this setup and allow them a guaranteed seat at the table and this year got all screwed up because the ACC sucked and two of their teams, you know, took spots. Right.

Is a joke. And to me, what has to happen is the Power 4 needs to have their own playoff. We don't need to invite them. And the non, the group of five, whatever they call it, have their own playoff and the Division 1 have a playoff. Because I think that's where we need to go. Because the Notre Dame Miami argument only became an argument because Tulane and JMU were taking a spot.

Right. Alabama kicking us out for playing a game when a bunch of teams did not have to play a game yesterday. And Google our schedule. We were playing a lot of teams. They had a stretch of like four straight games. It was really impressive. I remember everyone bragging about it. And then everyone just forgets about it because they get their ass kicked by Kirby Smart,

who I don't know, is like the modern day new Nick Sabin. So it's like who literally was trained by him. The problem is the little guy. And if you're comparing the Boise State with Chris Peterson, that's an, outlier little guy team. You know who that was? That was a team that probably could have won a national championship. Tulane, I'm with you. I watched it on Friday. They look pretty good. Their coach is also, his foot's half out. He's already ready to take on. Right. So even if, and same thing with JMU. Their coach is UCLA. So I immediately, like most people, what is

JMU? Three touchdown underdog. What is Tulane? Almost 70. We saw Tulane, play Ole Miss, who people say, you know, before Lane left, could have won a national championship. I think, think that's a little bit of a stretch. They can win a playoff game or two. They're not winning a national chamber. But they're a real playoff team. They play Tulane. They won 45 to 10. The committee screwed up. Like Notre Dame and listen, I don't know where you stand. They did not handle it well, like quitting the bowl game. It's like, guys, did they pull like, you know, you can practice during that period of time. I know. You can play the young guys. Practices. So it's a very, you know, you're big on don't make emotional decisions. That clearly

feels like very emotional decision that no way they pulled. They were going to go to Florida and play BYU. You can't get anything out of that week. You're not going to the playoffs either way. You might as well take advantage of, I don't know, a free five-day vacation in Florida to work on your program and get some. And here's the other thing. Most guys in college football, even at Georgia, don't play in the NFL. So you've got a lot of seniors on Notre Dame that are going to be working at Goldman Sachs here in six months. You don't think they, there's like, you coach, you quit. And I have a lot of respect for Marcus Freeman, and who knows, it might not have been all his call. Right. That's an embarrassing call. But to me, it all gets back to the non-power four teams getting

involved is screwed everything up and created the situation where pitted Notre Dame and Miami. And it's like, what, Notre Dame and Miami have nothing in common with two lanes, especially James Madison? Well, and I think sometimes it had, remember when COVID hit, we just kind of made stuff up for two years. We didn't know. Anytime you have a transition. We're seeing it with AI. We saw it with dot com 30 years ago. Sometimes in certain sports or in certain businesses, it changes rapidly. I mean, we went from not, we went from paying a players the death penalty to bidding wars on high school players.

And I mean, so we literally, the thing that literally got you SMU death penalty is now you brag about it. And it happened overnight. So there was no guardrails. transfer portals like wilder than free agency and coach is making 12 million. So I've seen it with a pandemic. I've seen it with AI. I've seen it all politically with Trump. Oh, this is a different kind of White House.

College football is going through this wild transition and they're not quite there yet. I'm with you. I don't, listen, go look at National Signing Day, Alabama, Notre Dame, USC, Oregon, Ohio State, Michigan. all know, Georgia, LSU, we all know who's got the best place. Miami, Notre Dame. Yeah. So Mario Cristobal, I mean, when you watch Miami play, and that was my take on Miami, is you can't let Miami go. First of all, they have better O&D lines than Notre Dame. And I was talking about this the other day on the air. Notre Dame played seven teams rated below 100 defensively. they played one great defensive team,

one Miami, and Jeremiah Love rushed for 33 yards. They literally couldn't run the ball. You just had to beat Miami or Texas A&M. You had to beat one of them. You couldn't beat either. And so once I watched the Pittsburgh game, I'm like, I started deep diving,

sitting at home, Googling NCAA stats. And I'm like, this isn't right. So I did think the committee moved them next to each other, knowing BYU was going to get the, you know what, kicked out of them again by tech. So when they lost, They could leapfrog them. That I was happy with.

And I actually like Miami. I think Miami is going to beat A&M. I think Bama's going to, it's Oklahoma. They'll beat. I think Bama as a favorite will win. I just think we're going through. I mean, Oregon's going to murder these guys if they try. Oregon could win by 40.

Ole Miss Tulane. Literally nobody, who cares? I don't even. But I guess I came out of it. I will say this. But Notre Dame saying, we're not going to go to the bull. Baylor, I think, has come out saying, we're not going to accept the bull. I do think it's a moment in time where bowl games are in big trouble.

And, John, you know me and you've listened to me. I am a big believer and live your life through the windshield. Listen, the PAC 12, people, Colin, why didn't you fight for the PAC 12? Because the PAC 12 teams were making $30 million and the Big Ten were making $90 million a year. It was, I was talking to USC. I was talking to these athletic directors. They're like, we can't compete. So the four best, or, you know, at least three of the four, Washington, Oregon, USC are like, okay, we're going to, especially USC and Oregon, we're going to double our money here.

Or is it USC, UCLA double. I forget, which is for sure. So I'm not somebody that just, I think we'd seen enough of Cal against Washington State and Oregon State against Arizona. So my take is that really bothered people, the convergence. But clearly the ratings are up. We're getting more big games. We have to now get over the bowls. They just don't matter.

And John, I don't think conference championships matter going forward. I would get rid of them as well. That's what I was going to say next. I think that's why, you know, the conversation over the last 48, definitely 24 hours, was Alabama getting booted. Well, until we know for sure it's concrete that the conference championships are done, these people in the committee could not get rid of Alabama because they lost in a game that that is very economically important. I tried to explain to Maria last night.

I'm like, it is amazing how hard Ohio State – I got Indiana trying really hard. Ohio State's defending champs. They could lose this game. They'll be too. Yet they played that game like it was the national champion. And I respected it because I'm like, this game doesn't really matter. But it felt like a national championship. Yeah.

But the other games didn't really. And I think they've lost a little juice. What I think is clearly going to happen is they're going to expand it to 16, and the conference championship game will turn into more of a play-in game weekend where the SEC play, Texas Vanderbilt playing. I don't know who the two teams would be in the Big Ten, USC versus someone. And that game is basically like the NBA kind of did with their playing game. You win, you're in the playoffs.

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A, NIL, you can pay players. B, the transfer portals, the Wild Wild West. C, bowls don't matter. D is going to be conference championships don't matter. Oh, I forgot to have mentioned we now have a 12 team playoff that will move to 16. I will say one of my real takes, because it made me happy that Miami made it in it, made it feel more credible. Fernando Mendoza, I've now.

watch them against Ohio State and Penn State. Neither game at home. And they have good receivers. I'm not saying that. Dude, big, big arm, accurate deep. I felt like he secured the number one pick. I thought Tennessee won today. So we'll see who gets the number one pick if it's the Jets or Tennessee. He looks like such a lock as the number one pick to me. I mean, six five. Raiders are still very alive, too, for the number one pick. They lost again. I mean, I'm sorry. The post game interview, he's got that awes, Andrew Luck thing. Big, smart, hard worker, big arm, great deep ball. You could just watch the Penn State and Ohio State games. Take two drives out of those games. His accuracy, that last drive, you and I talked about it at Penn State. Jesus, he went like five for five. They were all gorgeous. Those Ohio State

corners, John, that's the best secondary in college football in years. You had to have, it was like tiny little football-sized spaces to put the ball. Yeah, I mean, I think, not that he gets crush for it, but definitely people in the league bring up. You know, he's goofy, nerdy, kind of like cousins was at the same age. Yeah. But physically, he's in, you know, from an athletic standpoint, from a deep ball standpoint, I thought yesterday at halftime, a couple people text me like, what do you think? I'm like, I've been pretty impressed. He's playing the best defense in the country. No one moves the, they don't give up 10 points. No one moves the ball on this team. His, uh, the kid who caught the game winning touchdown at Penn

State, Omar Kelly, he got the guy got hurt in like the first drive. Indiana is not, you know, USC in their heyday. He only had, they don't have unlimited weapons. So he starts, you know, he's got the one guy that caught the touchdown, Surrott, who's a really good player. But like, he had to manufacture some stuff. He made a couple of plays rolling out, side-arming the ball, his arm strength. He's big. Big.

I was blown away. I have no clue what his stats were. I don't care. I thought top start to finish. You know, he gets destroyed on the first play of the game. I mean, absolutely hammered. shakes it off. And I thought, obviously, the game winning essentially passed at the end of the game, but I thought he was fantastic from a physical standpoint of just the attributes that teams look for,

poise, calmness, arm strength. How do you do it? Like, no one cares when you throw five touchdowns against one of the Rutgers or Maryland. That game means nothing to all the GMs in the league. Honestly, they might not even watch it. What is the point? I am watching this game. I thought he made himself because again, it's just, I don't think this quarterback class is clearly viewed super highly. And we'll see what Dante Moore chooses to do because he could still make himself a lot of money and play really well. But I would say Mendoza, as we sit here right now, would be, it would be pretty stunning if he's not, you know, the number one or two pick depending. I mean, Moore's a little bit of a wild card. We'll have to see him because they could win the

national championship. He could play great. His OC leaves. Maybe he knows that, you know, the quarterback's leaving. Now, granted, I think Will Stein. dad played at Kentucky, so it's not as crazy of a move. But yeah, I'm with you there. Really quick on the Notre Dame thing, because you look at, you know, even Indiana, people go, well, they didn't really, you know, beside the Oregon game, look at their schedule. They're still playing. Like, when you play conference games, you build up over time a rapport and little rivalries and knowledge of the other coach. Like, it's intense. They beat the Illinois by 50. Yeah, but like playing Illinois is much more, like Notre Dame, here's where I'm,

I feel no sorrow and no empathy for their situation. They play in a situation where if they make the playoffs, they get to keep all the money. They don't have to split it with any conference partners. They mix and match their schedule every year. I'm sorry, guys, it's time to change. Let's just join one of these conferences and get with the program. You no longer get to just be your own little NC out there, making all this money with NBC, mixing and matching a schedule.

Because even that Indiana, Ohio State, Alabama, you name it, their schedule changes year to year. It doesn't change that much. Maybe they miss one of the top. But it's still going on the road because this is what I think Kailin DeBoer would say. Well, yeah, just a random road game, even against a down Tennessee, that's a lot harder than some of this crap that Notre Dame has to do on the road. Notre Dame, again, Notre Dame played one great defensive line, Miami. And Miami, Notre Dame's run game completely dried up.

Great McElroy talked about it last night. He's like, I rewatched the game this morning. And I was like, God, they got dominated in the game. trenches in that game. Yeah, no, Miami's got better line play by far. So it doesn't, and that's my takeaway, if you really examine Notre Dame's schedule, this is why Notre Dame desperately wants to play USC. They, that's why they signed a five-year deal with Clemson. Notre Dame signed a five-year deal with Clemson. That's what, because they're going to get these years where they play the weakest of the ACC. It's why they're outraged when anybody brings up the USC game. USC game, USC doesn't need

Notre Dame. Have you seen USC scheduled next year? Indiana, Ohio State, Oregon, Michigan. They play everybody. They don't know where they play it, but it's like the last thing you need another Notre Dame game. So I don't, I've always liked Notre Dame. I respect it. Their kids are real student athletes. But if you're going to play this game and toggle between conference and independent, go examine Notre Dame schedule how bad the defenses they played. I think it's seven teams they played had defenses under a hundred. There's only 138 college football teams. Seven of the teams they played were under 100 defensively. So they looked like a powerhouse. Do you think, I was thinking about this last night. I understand that the, you know,

it was less than a five point spread, right? I think Indiana was plus four and a half when the game kicked off. I did feel, though, the outcome that Indiana actually won that game. I don't feel I'm being super hyperbolic here is one of the crazier outcomes in college sports I've ever seen. Obviously, Indiana is really good. They have a quarterback that might go want, their coach. Saban, like, it's not like as crazy once you add context to it. And all those games they lost for decades, kind of irrelevant to this two years.

But still, for them, and I get it, a big home field advantage. But Ohio State tried. Like it wasn't like, you know, they're kind of mailing it in. Like Ohio State really tried. They hadn't won the conference since 2020. I kind of forgot that. I'm like, Ohio State really hasn't won this game in a while. Daniel Craig returns as Benoit Blanc in Wake Up Dead Man,

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This is going to change my life and my family dynamic forever, because everything that had existed prior in my reality is now untrue. Listen to Deep Cover the Family Man. man on the iHeart radio app apple podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts indiana's defensive line pushed the buck eyes o line around julian sand was running i mean it was a pocket evaporate no indiana that's that's that's my takeaway mendoza's an unbelievable talent quarterback signetti's a great coach but indiana's d line is big and if you watch the matchups they bullied ohio state like They went, they bull rushed.

They weren't trying to be clever speed rush. They bull rushed the Buckeyes and pushed them back. Yeah, to me, that was a type win that almost get you a contract for life. You know, I know when you become the number one seed in that, like if they get to the final four, and let's say they lose in the final four, I think that Ohio State win is, unless they win the national championship is a win, just given that, think how long they've been in that conference playing that team. I think what they say last night, I didn't write a day like 66 straight times or 81 straight

games, whatever the number, it was insane. They never beat Ohio State because they're probably, at minimum, four touchdown underdog when they play them. And then to beat them like that in that moment, that was incredible theater. I mean, it was, that's one of the coolest college games I've watched in a long long, I didn't even have a dog in the fight. I was just kind of enjoying it. Yeah.

And the other thing to note is that I think it was a tough spot for Ohio State. It felt like the biggest game in the history of Indiana football by a long shot. You just beat Michigan. Because it was. Yeah. You're the national champions. And it's really about the playoff. And everybody in your locker room knows, yeah, we lost to Michigan last year, then went in a roll.

So what's happening in college football for these big powerhouse teams? Like Alabama didn't really want to have to play Georgia again. Ohio State would have rather met Indiana in two or three weeks for the first time. Now the advantage goes to Ohio State. Those players are like if they play Indiana again, it's like, oh, guys, we face these guys. I got to tell you, my takeaway on that game coming out of it was, and I kind of felt this going into it, but in any order you want, Indiana, Georgia, Ohio State, I think those are the three best teams. And I don't think it's that close.

I really don't. I do think Oregon can throw their hat in. They've looked really good coming down the stretch. Oregon's hard to judge, John. They've been so beat up offensively. They don't have any of their receivers. For all the big games, I watched them, they were never healthy. My question is, I agree with you in the Ohio State thing, but then why would Ryan Day kick the field goal late in the game?

Like, he's the defending champs. He just being Michigan. What does he have to look? Like, who cares? Like, just play to win. That was a weird moment for him. I was like, what is going on? I didn't like that call at all.

kind of feel, and I kind of feel like Indiana would have stopped him anyway, just the way the pass rush was. Yeah, that was one of those things where I also think sometimes you do a play call because it makes you feel big. It's like a confidence builder for your team. You can go crazy on, but if you have their receivers and you have, I mean, Ohio State's got on average better players, you kind of played into Indiana's hands kicking the field goal. Well, and Klatt said it is last year with Will Howard, they had a physical running element with their quarterback. So they had the running backs,

they had the quarterback who could move, and they had the wide receivers. Like, Sayan ain't really breaking a tackle on a fourth and one, right? So you are a little limited. You still have two guys that, I don't know where Tate's going to go in the draft, of my guess would be high. Jeremiah Smith would go higher if he could come out. And I didn't know Bo Jackson still played football because that kid looked fantastic.

He's great. So it's like, I'm sorry, you're Ohio State. You have the best, you know, roster money can buy. The talent is elite. Even if your quarterbacks, like you, you're the defending champs. The insecurity for Ryan Day, he even beat Michigan seven, eight. Like, what do you got to lose? Yeah.

And Signetti, I mean, they, one thing you'd say about Signetti is his team immediately turned into just one of the toughest teams in the country. Physically, that's what's the eye-opening part. They look kind of like Harbaugh's Michigan team, don't they? That's exactly what I thought. I remember when Harbaal went to the Pac-12 and took over Stanford, and it was year two, and everybody was like, oh, the most physical team by far is Stanford, not USC and Pete Carroll. Like, Stanford's way more physical.

People say Signetti is a little cocky, but I think for Indiana, he has to be. He wants, you know, you're trying to elevate your players to believe. And the self-belief, I mean, there was some trash talking. Like, Indiana guys are trash talking. And I'm okay with it. I think that's, they're at the stage in their program where they do need to stand up to Ohio State and have a little chip on their shoulders. So, and I think in the NIL era, it's easier for an older coach to succeed. Like, I don't think Belichick, I think Belichick would have been a disaster in college football 10 years ago.

He may still be a disaster. But in the NIL, you can buy half your roster. So Signetti doesn't need 39-year-old or 42-year-old, you know, or Lane Kiffin Energy. You don't need it. You can buy a lot of players. So we got ourselves another Big Ten power in Indiana. Let's go back to the NFL.

Buffalo. Josh Allen plays Superman in the fourth quarter, beats the Bengals 39-34. Burrow had a really bad pick six. But listen, Cincinnati, and this is why I have questions about Buffalo. Joe Burroughs 25 and 36, 234 yards, great on third down, six yards of play. Basically, he had a really bad pick six. But to go to Buffalo and snow and drop 34, I don't know. I mean, listen, Josh Allen's top two targets were tight ends.

Gabe Davis was his big receiving target. had two catches. They just pulled Dave Davis back to the team. They're very much about Allen and their tight ends. I just thought to myself, did Josh Allen and Christian Bedford, did they save Sean McDermott's job? What if he loses at home to the four and eight Cincinnati Bengals? What would our discussion be tonight? What would it be tomorrow in the country? Because I felt from a lot of the game, Cincinnati outschemed him and outplayed him. Now, Buffalo did have a fumble at like the two-yard line. Boy, I am just a, I just, so I had the Bengals winning this game plus six.

I money-lined it. I don't know what to make a Buffalo. I don't trust him. They can't defend the run. Burrell moved up and down the field. He just had a terrible pick six. It's pretty crazy how good he is coming off the long layoff in the middle of the season. And those are the two best quarterbacks in the league right now.

I mean, Burrow had the two plays that obviously cost them in the game. It's 28, 25, Sinci. And Sinci is driving. And I thought, is this how this going to end for Buffalo? Now, granted, the Bengals have kind of owned the bills, right? But it's like, you know, this guy's missed the whole season. They're four and eight. Their defense stinks.

You're going to lose this team. And it felt like it was 28, 25. They're going to score. And all of a sudden, it's going to be 35, 25. and the math is just not going to math for the bills. And then he throws the pick six, and then the next play throws another pick, and they score again, and it flips like that.

I mean, it really flipped within literally two plays. It was back-to-back passes for two picks. And one was seven points, and the other immediately led to seven. And Josh Allen, who is he going to win the MVP or not? I don't know, but he's the best player in the league. Like, I don't know how you just, because physically what, like,

what Burrell can do is he's the most mobile pocket passer. you know, maybe since Rogers in his heyday. And Rogers probably better athlete than Joe, but like the Mannings, the Brady's, the Monta—they didn't—maybe Montana a little bit in his younger days. His movement in the pocket, he's not a runner. He is just a passer. It is, and his dominance—now, he grew up in Ohio. He is so comfortable how good he was early in that game. You're like, geez, how's he so good in the snow?

Yeah. You know, he's just— His timing is rhythm. And he had drops. They dropped a ball on the end, so they had several drops. It could have been a better day. And this is the thing. I think where they would feel pretty good, it's like, hey, listen, we pay two wide receivers,

and some people would debate. Is that the right way to invest? They did a pretty good job on Chase today. And Higgins looked like, I don't know, Calvin Johnson out there. I mean, he was a dehummeded force. Oh, my God. And right when he hits that, you're like, are the Bengals going to get right back in this game? I mean, they scored in like two plays.

The Bill's defense, Josh Allen is clearly good enough to win a champion. their team is not. You cannot, you have no chance in the college football playoff or the NFL playoffs. Why do the Packers have a chance? Not because of their offense. Their offense is fine. It's they have a championship defense. Denver, you have to have an elite defense to have a chance to win in these big games in January. And it's, how do you trust the bill? They can't cover anybody. Other pass rush is very hit or miss. They always get a bunch of injuries. I mean, Josh is doing things today that, I mean, some plays he look like Michael Vicks, other plays that look like Cam Newton, plays that look like Tom Brady, it's remarkable. And they got bailed out by the two interceptions,

which, listen, the bears have kind of lived like that this year. But you can't win a championship hoping for a turnover. When I watched New England go into Buffalo and really control the game, and I still think I'd argue the Patriots are in a little bit of a rebuild. I still think they need one more draft. And they need to get a little more explosive in the run game. They need a number one receiver, their O-Lines, okay. When I watched New England beat them, I was just like, this, I mean, God, Vrable just got the town. And I feel they've got a lot of good. Okay, Josh is great. I like James Cook a lot. But I just think when I look at Buffalo, I just think there's a lot of good players. And then I watch Detroit or I watch the Rams or I watch Green Bay. And I see great players.

I don't see a lot of great players with outside of Josh Allen. I think Dionne Dawkins is a very good left tackle. James Cook, I like a lot. But, I mean, I've watched Drake May move the ball on him. Joe Burrow today, and that one pick six, right, it was the line. He threw it about four yards. You're like, oh, God, Joe. But when they came back and, I mean, literally, they threw the ball to the tight end that used to play at Miami.

Mike, is it Gaseki? Gaseki, yeah, yeah. Yeah. I mean, you made a one end of cash. And then it's like, I'll play later. You're like, they're in the end of them. I mean, that just can't, you're on the road. It's snowing. That's not the way you can score. So they're, I just, I think the one thing Buffalo has going for him. Josh and James Cook can pick up first downs. And they're, they're a tight end dominant team.

If they plan crappy weather in New England, Buffalo, wherever they play, they're kind of built for crappy weather. Because they're not a vertical team. And they just, Gabe Davis had two catches. That was their big receiving target. Where they're the opposite of the Miami Dolphins, like when they had Waddle and Tyree. They're kind of built for crappy weather. Because, I mean, I, generally you don't want a great quarterback to play in the snow. But their defense is so mediocre.

You don't want to play on a fast track if you're Buffalo. I think it feels like, now I get they've had. some injuries over the years. But part of defense, especially when you're good, you've got to hit on some random, like, you've got to find like a landman. You know, you've got to find like a random guy in the third or fourth round that becomes an all pro. And you just watch their defensive talent. You're like, I don't really see it. And then immediately, you know, Maxwell, the kid they drafted from Kentucky, they're depending on him to be like their best defensive back. They had a pretty bad week. I mean, this is kind of inside baseball. But they cut a guy that they liked to claim Darius Slay. He quits.

The kid they cut gets claimed by the Texans. So all of a sudden they're just out a guy. And those are the type moves when you're the bills. It's one thing if you're just the Cardinals and you're just doing different moves. The bills are, you can't. That's a pretty devastating type transaction, especially when the guy that you cut gets claimed by another probably playoff team in the Texans. Right. You're just like, this is not ideal, especially on the defensive side of the ball.

I'd also say, if you're the bills, the Steelers defense has been. beyond awful and they just cut Darius Lay. Why are you even messing with that? Why would you even want to acquire them? So I just think they defensively can't get it figured out from a personnel standpoint. Because offensively, Cook is, I'd say this year, Gibbs is the best running back. Cook's top two or three running back. Yeah, yeah.

And if you got Josh Allen, if Kincaid and Knox are on the field, you can mix and match with Shakir and, you know, Keon Coleman every once a while and Gabe Davis, if you got the two-type. Offense is fine, because Josh will make enough plays. But defensively, you just, you're not going to win in the playoffs with maybe if you get a matchup and Josh just go superhuman against Bo Nix has a bad game, you can pull it off. But if you're playing a real quarterback, you just can't get stops. And that's kind of been their problem, you know, over the years. But I feel like this defense personnel that we're watching on the field is worse than it's been over the last three or four years, isn't it?

Yep. Let's bounce around to four different games. let's talk. Titans 31, Cleveland Browns, I think it's 29. Shitter, 23 of 42, three touchdowns, 98 passer rating. Cleveland's special teams actually lost in the game. Like most bad teams, their special teams are awful. Cleveland was missing six to seven starters and still had over 400 yards in bad weather, six and a half yards per play. I think Shitterer is very uneven. You know, he'll throw a bad pick every week. So I watched him and Cam Ward. Cam's the much better athlete.

But I will tell you, watching Shadur, I said it last week, I'll say it again. It reminds me of the Colorado Shadur. He throws a bad pick. He's not super athletic. He likes to throw the ball down the field. He's not overwhelmed. Again, I don't think he has a special trait.

But to get 400 yards, that's a bad receiving core. I mean, it really is a bad receiving core. Titans aren't any good, but I think my take is on Shadur. He's good enough to start in the league, isn't he? Well, for the Browns, I mean, to me, he's better than Dylan Gabriel. So I do think it puts into question, like, you drafted Dylan Gabriel in the third round. Because Shadour, the touchdown he threw to Judy. Now, granted, the Titans, he's wide open.

That drive throw, like, I don't even think Dylan Gabriel can make it. And there is just some natural playmaker to him. I mean, the touchdown he threw to the, to the Titans. tight end in the corner. Yep. Like he's just, that's a Colorado type play. Yep. And he does just bring you some more explosive plays than anything you've had.

I do think it puts into question of like, listen, they were not alone. No one was drafting Shador. So I don't blame, like, fifth round. He was there for a reason because none of the other teams wanted him. But like, you took another quarterback who clearly isn't even close to his talented as this guy. And your organization is, like, the Browns are a bad organization. Yeah. For a team that has some good players, they sure lose a lot of games.

And the story's coming out, they're bringing Deshaun Watson back. You know, it's like, what are we doing? I think that Chodor is, I mean, at this point in time, it's going to be so loud that he's going to have to start the rest of the season. He should, but it's like, clearly Stafansky was never on board with this decision. I don't have as much of a problem. He's going to take a lot of crap for that two-point play. It was open if he hands him the ball. but you could also argue

why are you getting so tricky on a two-point play when your quarterback's kind of humming? This has a Tebow-like quality to it, though. Now, he's a... Shador's a much better passer than T-Buh, not even... I mean, Tebow was not an NFL pastor. Shador clearly is,

but there is a quality of just the people talking about this situation because I'm thinking, I'm looking at the games like, well, I kind of do have to pay attention to Titans Browns. If it was Dylan Gabriel, I wouldn't have watched the snap.

You know, and he does bring that. And he makes enough plays. Like, this offense was a, remember how bad they were with Dylan Gabriel? They were. I mean, they couldn't function. Yeah, they didn't turn it over, but couldn't function. I, you know, my takeaway on him is if you look mostly like you look in college, then I think it's going to work. So I think he's a franchise quarterback.

I think all these guys, Bo Nicks is more talented. Bo NICs is a better athlete. Football season's here. And if you want to go to an NFL or college football game, game. game time is the place for you. The Game Time app just gives you the advantage back to you, the fans. It's a hack for unlocking amazing tickets and experiences and a few taps. I love it.

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Pretty, yeah, pretty wide range of podcasts. but this one's extra special. So how do we actually come up with a name Hey Jonas, guys? I honestly don't remember. I think it was on a call about what we should call it. Well, we were thinking I'm originally calling it one of the early names of our band

before Jonas Brothers. This is how you guys remember it going down? Yes. I have a very different memory of this. We were talking about a thing, a bit for the podcast where people could call in and say, hey Jonas. And then I wrote down on my little notebook Hey Jonas and offered it up as a potential title for the podcast.

But thanks for remembering that, guys. Listen to Hey Jonas on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Just listen. We don't care where you hear it. 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 Robert Smigel and friends on the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. What's up, fam, it's Isaiah Thomas. And I'm C.J. Toledano,

and our podcast Point Game is about defying the odds. Like LeBron heading into the playoffs without Luca and Austin Reed. And finding ways to win no matter what. He's the smartest player to ever play the game. His IQ is at a level that we've never seen before. And he knows without Luca and Austin Reeves, I got to manipulate the game. We get a player's perspective on the challenges of the playoffs.

I think Joker's going to be exhausted this series because when they don't have Rudy in the lineup, he has to really guard guys like Nas Reid. He has to guard Julius Randall. And then he has to give us everything he gives us on the night-to-night basis on offense. And when IT's friends stop by, like Quentin Richardson, we dive into some playoff history too.

Steve Nash would get that thing. That man, hell get the flying. He running up the court, licking his fingers while he got the ball. Like, after you go through a training camp with that, Isaiah, you figure it out real quick. Get your ass up and down the court, and you're going to get the ball.

So listen to Point Game on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Here's something that should not be as complicated as it is, getting a racist statue removed. And here's something that should be a whole lot easier than it is. getting a new one put up in its place. As long as there's a politics of race in America, there's going to be a politics of remembering the Civil War.

To get to school, I had to go down Robert Lee Boulevard. Get to the grocery store, I had to go down Jefferson Davis Parkway. If you're an historian and you leave out half of what the history is, you're not doing your job. I'm Akila Hughes, and Rebel Spirit Season 2 goes deep on both of those things, the fights, the politics, the people who won, and my personal campaign to add something to the Kentucky State House that's actually worth the wall space.

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Keith Giamanka seemed like a mild-mannered suburban dad, but secretly, he became someone else, a master of disguise who went. on a crime spree. At the time, did it seem like a crazy idea? It seemed very crazy. But I felt so desperate that I felt it was the quickest, easiest way out. Did you allow yourself to think about how it could go wrong

and what that might look like? No. I didn't want to manifest that. I was trying to manifest success. Every family has its secrets. But what happens when you discover that you, Your dad has been living a double life. That is not the look of an innocent man.

This is going to change my life and my family dynamic forever because everything that had existed prior in my reality is now untrue. Listen to Deep Cover the Family Man on the Iheart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Denver, it's the most lob-sided 24-17 game I've ever watched. At one point, Bo Nix was 25 of 30. It was like pitching cash. They had a 14-play drive and 18-play drive. Denver just wanted the game over and nobody hurt and to get on the plane.

They had these long, like, death by a thousand cut drives. At one point in the third quarter, Bo Nicks, Denver had like 260 yards and the Raiders had 75. So it wasn't really that close. I got to tell you, there's a lot of talk. Brady has gotten much better. as a broadcaster, much more comfortable. He can't be comfortable with what's going on with the Raiders.

Because, again, this game wasn't close. Denver's getting better. The Chargers will eventually get their tackles back. They may beat Philadelphia tomorrow. Kansas City's Kansas City. You think the Raiders will blow it up? Well, they're the worst team in the league right now. I mean, at least the Titan showed a little life today.

I mean, no one's playing worse than the Raiders. The moment Mims took that back, I'm like, I don't really need to pay attention to this game anymore. They got no shot. I think the problem with Pete Carroll is they hired this guy who had been making $15 million and setting the tone and deciding everything for 20 years to then tell him what to do. Now, you could argue why do you even hire a 75-year-old in the first place? But if you are going to hire him, Brady clearly forced Chip Kelly on him. And then Pete forced him to run Shane Waldron's offense to Chip Kelly.

It's like, this is the type stuff the Browns do. You know, part of getting Brady was to kind of stabilize everything. But listen, Tom is the greatest player of all time. And he's a very successful guy. But he's never ran a franchise. Bill did that. You know, Bill made a lot of moves that Tom didn't like. They kind of worked a lot of the times for a lot, many of those years.

You think Tom would have got rid of Welker? Of course not. You know, so it's like being and hiring the coaches, it's a little more complicated. I think there are a lot of GMs throughout the league. They're like, yeah, Tom is a little harder than you think, huh? This isn't as easy. Because guess what? Pete and Chip, they have egos like their players.

These guys are used to make a lot of money. Put mixing and matching coaching staffs, I'd argue, is a lot like building a locker room. You've got to be very careful about the way you do that. Personality's mesh. And the Chip Kelly thing never made any sense if Pete Carroll didn't want him, which clearly was the case. But Pete had no leverage. He was desperate for a job. You could argue it was desperate to fail the moment they hired Pete Carroll if they weren't going to give him the power to hire who he wanted as his coaches.

Well, and John Schneider, the GM of the Seahawks and Pete butted heads on Pete's son. So he, you know, Pete wanted him on the scouting staff, Snyder. Snyder basically said he's, I'm taking him off the scouting staff. John wanted him gone. Pete put him on the coaching staff. Well, there are some stories that Chip Kelly and Pete's son did not see eye to eye in terms of running the ball or game planning, you know, whatever. I think one of the things, I've said this about Bill Belichick and that North Carolina

Mike Lombardi staff. It's a friends and family staff. I remember years ago, A.J. Smith wouldn't let Marty Schontenheimer put his son on the staff. I just think Pete's had a different. He made a lot of money. You know, he wants his son on the staff. Chip, I haven't talked to Chip, but I think that I know in Seattle, that did not.

There was real fissures between John Snyder and Pete. That I've had two sources tell me. So it's a mess. I also think the Raiders last year had the opportunity. I think they thought for some reason they were kind of close. Yeah. Like they should have just hired some. They should have been all in on like trying to get Liam Cohen or whatever.

Because remember, Brady really wanted Ben Johnson. But Ben's no dummies. Like, listen, your team's not even close to is good enough. I'm not taking my shot to come here. But why not hire another young offensive guy? Because once you hire Pete, Pete's trying to win every single game like it's the last game he's ever going to coach. That's not really the position the Raiders were in. And listen, they made a mistake.

I'm a big John Spitech guy, but they should have traded Max Crosby this offseason because their team wasn't going to be any good. But Pete Carroll would have put his body in front of that trade, right? So you just, not everyone's on the same page. And I do think the other stories, it is very difficult when you're in Brady's position, who clearly has a lot of juice. I think there was Diana, we've seen these article. He's been there like twice all season. So you're making these decisions. You're not in the building.

John Schneider, Howie Roseman. They're spending 12 hours a day every day for 320 days a year inside the building with the players, with the coaches, with the owner. It's really hard in this type. You can do that in some companies, right? Football is not one of those where you can just live on the other side of the country and just phone in. Yeah, I mean, you, I was watching a clip this week. somebody was talking about Jerry West, and everybody said, oh, Jerry was a genius. And this person said, no, every time you went anywhere, Jerry West was in the gym. And Brad Stevens for the Celtics, go anywhere, any college basketball game. He's in the gym. You got to put the time in. I mean, that's just the reality. Howie Roseman. He's on a plane 150 days a year. I mean, that's the reality of these guys. John Snyder. I know, John has already seen Indiana play, you know. John Snyder's not a TV guy.

He's a get-to-a-game guy, reportedly, like he wants to be at a game. So speaking of Seattle, they tagged Atlanta, 37 to 19. This is the sixth time Seattle has beaten a team, may not be the last this regular season, by 14 points or more. If you look at the history of Super Bowl winners, that's the number Super Bowl teams get to. Six ugly blowout wins. They dominate. Rashid Saheed had his best game as a season. Seac, who they got from the Saints.

This is interesting. In the last two years, Sam Darnold's had two different head coaches, two different coordinators, two different O-lines. Now he's got the second youngest offense. Do you know Sam Darnold, the last two years, has the most wins of any quarterback, the third most touchdown passes, and the second most passing yards? It is official, and he had a winning record in Carolina, it is official, eliminate the Jets from Sam Darnold's career.

I watched them again today. J.S.N, two more touchdowns. I'm sorry, but Darnold's a franchise guy. He is. He's big. He's strong. He loves the deep ball. He's got this Seattle offense is a bunch of kids. And I'm not saying this because I've always liked him or he's USC. We just have to be honest.

If you go two different teams, two different staffs, two different coordinators, two different, we didn't know if JSN was a number one receiver. arguably the best receiver in the league. Donald's legit. He'll have bad games, but he's legit. Yeah, I mean, I think he's going to be defined by how he plays against the Rams here coming up in a couple

weeks in the playoffs, right? Because there's no disputing his regular season prowess. And I think this division, I just pulled up all three schedules. You know, the Rams are technically in first place because they won the game, head-to-head. The Rams now are going to be playing the Lions who are coming off a long week because they played on

Thursday. That's a massive game. The Lions still fighting for their playoff lives. I'm looking at Seattle. They're playing the Colts this week, whose quarterback just tore as Achilles, and they got Riley Leonard and Anthony Richardson. They got problems. Colts are headed the wrong way fast. They're cooked. Niners coming off a buy, they get the Titans. So this division, you know, the Niners, it doesn't feel like should be right there with these teams, but they've already beat the Rams. They've already beat Seattle. They play Seattle at the end of the season in San Francisco. Now, the Niners in a couple weeks have the Bears. That's a massive game.

But that same week, the Rams and Seattle play, I'm pretty sure that's a Thursday night game. So, you know, you get Seattle, we'll assume they beat the Colts. I'll give the Rams the benefit out. Let's say they beat the Lions. That game could determine the division right there. And Seattle, I think to me, that game, all the pressure would be on Sam.

Because clearly that first game, you know, throw all those picks. You know, I think people kind of just combine that with a couple games at the end of last year. year. But you just watch them in these random games. I just think their team, you know, if I had to say who has the best, I think the Niners offense is pretty good and the Rams' offense is really good, right? Seattle's defense to me, the Rams DBs. It's hard to trust, you know, when you get in certain moments. Seattle's defense top to bottom, they might have the best defensive backfield right there with Denver in the league. Well, you ever, you watch these teams every couple years, you'll get a team and they just look more athletic than other teams. Seattle, if you turn the sound down, and just watch Seattle. They're fast.

Like their ends rush. Their tight ends run well. Their backs run well. Seattle is super athletic. And Darnold is a playmaker, so he's athletic. How would you, because to me, I just think the Niners, you miss Fred Warner. It's going to be hard. Caleb's scrambling around, you know, the playoff game.

I just think that's going to come up in a big moment defensively. I might still have Seattle won. The only reason you kind of hesitate is like I do trust Stafford a little bit more. You know, but it's like Eli couldn't do it until he did it. You know, some of these guys, like I do think that Prescott is good enough to win a Super Bowl, but you'd be like, well, he's been awful in the playoffs. True. You know, some guys like James Hardin clearly melts down.

Like he has a long history. Like maybe that is deck. Maybe he'll just always melt down in these playoff games. But I also see him in big normal games look good. Yeah. I see Sam Darnold, you know, I think in two weeks that Rams game, I don't want to say career to finder me. He's 28 years old. But it's, there's going to be a big spotlight. That's what a great Thursday night game. That's in Seattle, too. That's going to, it could be raining. It could get ugly. It actually could benefit Seattle. Just run the ball, slow it down a little bit, play D. Rams 45, Arizona 17. Rams had over 500 yards offense and almost nine yards of play, not competitive. Kuka Nakua was absolutely fantastic. So was Stafford. The other thing about the Rams.

is they're healthy. They're just dissecting teams. Arizona's a lost franchise. I mean, you live in the state. I'm not sure. Bidwell on down. It doesn't matter. It's a,

do you have any takeaway on that at all? No, I mean, the Cardinals, God, they are. See, some of these jobs, you know, like the Titans, like people want to go be the head coach of the Titans. Like the Cardinals, they fire everybody. I get us the NFL and it pays a lot of money.

These jobs are, terrible. I mean, they are awful. And it just gets back to ownership. And you look, you look at this division now. I mean, is there a better coach division with McVe, McDonald, and Kyle Shanahan? I mean, it's like, it's not even close. It feels like it'd probably be Sean Payton, Andy Reed, and Jim Harbaugh. And that's where if you're the Raiders, like, what do we do? How do we get up to those three guys? And the answer is you don't. I think about this all the time. I was surprised when Sean Payton took the job with Denver because I'm like, oh my God, they're a mess. there's the Russell Wilson cap what the hell is he going to do and you know Sean knew there was good

there was some good college quarterbacks coming up and Sean has a lot of confidence in himself but and also you know Andy Reid was getting older and Mahomes was getting expensive and but that division now I mean Mike McDonald and Sean McVe may Mike McDonald reminds me of the defensive Sean McVe and then Shanahan's probably the best scheme coach in the league so like Arizona's just, I mean, that feels like, you can say what you want about Cleveland, but Pittsburgh's wobbly, what's up with Lamar, Cincinnati's cheap, you know, you can bang on Cleveland, but if Cleveland landed Mendoza or something at quarterback, you'd be like, I think win the division easily.

Arizona's trapped. But Denver's a great example, right? Once Walmart took over that franchise, don't they have like four kids that are in the top 20 of wealth in the world? I mean, the money that they're dealing with is on a different level than what, 95% of NFL owners? Like,

what does the Walmart family have in common with Bob Kraft in terms of money? I mean, it's the levels we're talking. They are on a very, very short list as a family. I'm not even talking as an individual. So, I mean, the bidwells, they're so cheap. Listen, Jonathan Gannon,

I don't know if he's good or bad. It's hard to even tell. But you hit your wagon to Kyler Murray. And this gets back to, you know, he was the number one pick, but it was still a little bit of a risk for Ben Johnson to take that job. But it's pretty clear. Ben Johnson probably be good, no matter. If Ben Johnson been the Raiders coach, might not be a playoff team, but I guarantee you they're not doing whatever they are. Right. He's the real deal. But Vrable knew, like, I'm going back, you better have a quarterback. Because in this, you could put Mike Vrable with Arizona Cardinals, he's probably not making the playoffs very often.

Right. So this isn't college where it's like, oh, I just lose my quarterback to the the draft, well, just go buy Fernando Mendoza, right? That's not the way it works, and now you hit your wagon to Kyler Murray, and you're in the situation you're in where you got Jacoby Brissette running around there down 30 points. It's like, what are we even doing? And like the Rams game, there's no takeaway. I do think, though, they, you know, last week they loses the Panthers, who sometimes you do that, you know, the West Coast to East Coast flight.

But the one thing the Panthers can do, like, they can throw the ball pretty well. well. I mean, they got a couple wide receivers and they kind of expose their DB. So I do think this was a little bit of a rallying spot of like, hey, man, we got to, plus you don't have any margin if you're the Rams, Seattle, or the 49ers. You probably got to win 13 and 4, probably win to the division. So, you know, a misfield goal here, a screw up here, all of a sudden you're the six seed playing, I don't know, Green Bay or something. It can get a lot more difficult really quick. Let's wrap it up with this. Minnesota 31, Washington, nothing. J.J. McCarthy played well. Washington probably has, they've lost eight straight, probably has the worst defense in the league.

It may not be particularly close. Almost every Washington defender on PFF is like near the bottom of their position in the sport. I thought it was J.J. McCarthy's best game. 16 to 23. Three TDs, no picks. They were very, very good in the red zone. It was a smart game plan. I think one of the things that really jumps out to me now is Washington had three turnovers and they're just a horrible franchise a year after they shocked the world. Jaden Daniels got banged up again. And I'm sitting there watching him when he's cringing on the field and I'm like, man, but if you go back to his rookie year, remember he got banged up in his rookie year? And I'm sitting there thinking, if you told me in one year,

he'd missed another eight, nine games, I'd be like, I wouldn't be shocked. There is value in, like, Bo Nix doesn't get hurt. Caleb doesn't get hurt. Drake May got beat up his first year. He blew ten at it. It doesn't miss games. Like, the Jane Daniel thing is fascinating because it was the best rookie season, statistically, in the history of the sport.

And a year later, physically, I have real issues. Yeah, I mean, I think it's. The knock on him going back to LSU was the reckless nature in which he played. And you look at Caleb and you look at Bo Nix. Well, they're kind of built physically a little bit different than him. I mean, Caleb's built like a tank. Drake May's big. You look at Jaden Daniels, you know, he looks pretty slender.

I try to look his way. I don't think he weighed into the combine. But he's just not, he's not exactly built like, you know, Lamar's thickened up as he's gotten older. It is really important. I also think Washington, you know, you get that. there you have success out of nowhere, and they went all in on this season, and it has backfired. I mean, if you're a draft nerd, the two crazy things, every time I look up at Atlanta's down 30, I go, the Rams have their first round pick. And for the Texans traded Laramie Tunzel to Washington.

They did it for a third last draft and a second in this upcoming draft. Well, that pick for Washington could be like pick 35. So the Texans all of a sudden can, you know, they haven't had picks because of the Will Anderson trade, all of a sudden you get this great Washington pick. I mean, look at the Rams and the Texans. That's a big time ammo for those two teams. And they're old, their quarterbacks banged up a lot. They have some explosive playmakers. Zach Hertz shattered his leg today. Their defense is just atrocious, though. I mean, it's really bad. And this, you know, one story I saw today is Siriani's getting more involved with the offense. Well, it's like, Dan Campbell. Okay, my offensive coordinator's bad.

I need to get more involved than what happens. They look more explosive. So I go, listen, I give Dan credit. He's an offensive guy. Siriana, you're an offensive guy? Monday night, your offense should look better. Dan Quinn's a defensive guy. I just watched him for years

helped turn Jerry's team into a 12-win team. Remember how good they were on defense with Micah Parsons and Dan Quinn? How, I get your personnel's bad, but you should be a little bit. You made JJ McCarthy, who statistically was the worst quarterback since Jamarcus Russell. Actually, look pretty good today. I mean, it's hard to argue, right? He looked better than like a lot of these other young quarterbacks throughout the league. So I think if you're Washington, you're going, God, maybe that last year was an –

it almost feels a little bit like the Giants, that year when they made the playoffs and they beat Minnesota, and then the next three years were just a train wreck. Could be different because of Jaden Daniels, but if you can't stay on the field, who cares? Yeah, no, I mean, if you start looking at the teams that consistently make the playoffs, Like we thought Houston, oh, what happened to Houston? Well, Houston's a good football team now. Like, D'emico Ryan's defense and the guys upstairs drafting, you know, we always kind of look at Houston like, I don't know. Well, like Jacksonville.

We'll say what you want, but I watch Jacksonville today. Like, Jacksonville's got a lot of good players. They've hit on a lot of those draft picks. Travis Hunter's not even a factor. They've got two backs. They got two ends. So there are these outlier seasons, John, where a team just gets hot. The division's weak.

You know, and I, you know, that gets hurt. The Cowboys are bad. The Giants are worse. They didn't have Jackson Dart. It's, I don't know. I look at Washington and I'm like, they need nine more players. They need so many more players. And this, hey, good for JJ.

He needed a game like this. Again, they ran. They passed. They just, you can just watch football. You watch Seattle's defense. You're like, damn, they're fast. You like Washington. They can't bully.

They can't. They can't run. They can't cover. They're awful. It's just they got very few good players. All right. Let's do our Monday night football hard rock bet pick. It's the Eagles. They'll probably have home field advantage at SOFi 6040 minus two against their Chargers team that is winning despite having the lowest rated offensive line. There are teams you can get away with that. I think if you have the Chargers on line, Denver and Philadelphia are teams that you could really struggle. I just see the Chargers struggling to sustain drives. Two really special defenses. I'm going to take Philadelphia to win 2420. It's a really big game for both, but I'll take the healthier roster.

A lot of institutional knowledge. Harbaugh's two coordinators in San Francisco, Fangio, Greg Roman. Jalen Carter, though, earlier this week, those shoulder surgeries, he's out. If you told me he was in this game, I'd be like, adios for Justin Herbert. Obviously, Justin Herbert coming off the injury. I'm taking Harbaugh, though, as a home dog. I mean, this is a classic spot where Jim Harbaugh has just won his whole career when you kind of count him out.

I think Hampton, the running back's supposed to be back. If Herbert can be like Aaron Rogers there with a cast and sling that thing around, I think this Eagles thing gets uglier before it gets better. Great. Nice job, John. Volume. Hey guys, it's us. The Jonas Brothers. I'm Joe.

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