The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Hour 1 - Dan Campbell, Vikings, Bears

Episode Date: January 6, 2025

Colin Cowherd explains why Dan Campbell continues to prove that he's the right coach for Detroit, what to make of the Vikings loss to the Lions last night, questioning whether or not the Bears can finally nail their head coaching hire, and more! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Thanks for listening to The Heard podcast. Be sure to catch us live every weekday on Fox Sports Radio in noon to 3 Eastern, 9 a.m. to noon Pacific. Find your local station for the herd at Fox SportsRedio.com or stream us live every day on the iHeart Radio app by searching Fox Sports Radio or FSR. Thanks for listening to The Herd Podcast.

We are ready to roll. We got the playoffs in hand live in Los Angeles. It's the Herd, wherever you may be, and however you may be listening. Thanks for making us part of your day. Matt Hasselbeck's going to be joining us here, which I can't wait for. Reschedule your day when we get Matt Hasselbeck in studio. It's money, Colin Wright, calling wrong one hour from now. So, listen, the playoffs are set.

We're going to break all that stuff down. Jay Mack and I are already disagreeing on the Rams and the Vikings, which is a fantastic opening game. Like that is Stafford against Aaron Donald in Los Angeles. You may have to get a duke it for that. That's the wild card slate. I love it. I already bet four games.

Love it. It is great. So let's start with this. The Lions now have clinched the number one seat in the NFC. There is no denying for this city, for this roster, for this locker room, and for this. time. Dan Campbell's the perfect coach. A team with 12 defensive players alone on the IR could have only pulled through this and clinched the number one seed with a head coach who's unapologetically

alpha, a motivator that preaches grit and biting kneecaps. Sometimes the NFL messaging from coaches can seem a little cringy or cheesy, not to the players. There is a brotherhood and a masculinity that I'll be honest. I like. People have been paralyzed playing this sport. Sometimes you just have to play through pain. You've got to play hurt. And one guy in a locker room second guessing the message can unravel the whole thing.

In a way, it's like the anti-NBA league. You have to be selfless and you have to play hurt. Every week. The Lions clinched a playoff spot on December 5th. With all those injuries to seemingly the entire defensive roster, they're going to pack it in. Let's get healthy. And nope, not with this team, not with this coach.

They fought tooth and nail. Last week, everybody said that Niner game didn't mean anything. I totally disagreed. It was a chance to get backups, reps, against Sam Darnold and the Vikings. The Detroit Lions are a symbol of so many things that are great about the NFL. Every game matters. Grit and toughness, which our society can always use, is really paramount.

And again, unapologetically alpha. I mean, New England had the number one pick going into the weekend. They played themselves out of it. There is no tanking. Nobody will even consider it. And it's why the NFL remains king and separates from the race. rest of our professional sports. Dan Campbell on a weekly basis, after winning, is almost in tears, preaching the message

and his devotion to the city of Detroit and the Lions. This coach for this team in this time and this roster and this wacky season with currently 12 players on the IR defensively. Needed a completely unapologetic alpha and the message to guys like me at the kneecaps at the podium and I'm rolling my eyes. The players aren't. They totally bought into it. The number one seed.

This is the Chicago Cubs in shoulder pads. That's what it feels like. The easiest dominant team. And go back to September, October, early November. It was like college. They were rolling people. But it is the easiest, most dominant physical team to root for I can remember. And here's the one guy, the one perfect fit after the win.

win, guys. All I can think about is, man, we've been forcing this stuff now. This has been three years into making. Some of it, four. But that just doesn't happen. You've got to work through it, grind through it, and go through the downs to get to the ups of where we're at. That was unbelievable, man. Division winners, back-to-back seasons, and the number one. If you're not from Detroit, you may not get it. You think it's a little cheesy. Oh, give me a break. But if you're from Detroit, you're a Lions fan, you're part of the United States. You're part of the United States. You're a lot. the culture and you watch teams around this league. If you think this stuff's over the top, the bears need that. The Titans need that. The Jaguars need that. The Chargers needed it and hired it. This is not a marketing campaign. This is completely, absolutely, authentically, Dan Campbell,

the perfect fit for this city and this team. All right, let's talk Sam Darnold. Oh, I know. Let me guess. You're all bailing on Sammy. Okay. So first of all, that was the biggest game in Detroit in probably 50 years. And there's an argument that the two best coordinators in the entire league both play for Detroit, Ben Johnson, Aaron Glenn.

And Detroit's got a better roster. And they got one of their defensive starters back. And this is a baby step league. and Sam Darnold looked juiced. He looked a little overwhelmed. He probably couldn't hear. He was inaccurate and high on all his passes. But across the field, Jared Golf's first big playoff game,

and this did feel like a playoff game. I mean, it's the biggest game in Detroit in five decades. It felt like a playoff game. Mike Tarrico was coming out of his suit. Jared Goff's first playoff game at home, 78-passer rating. Peyton Manning's first playoff game, completed 45% of his throws. This has always been kind of a baby steps,

league. Last year at this time, Sam Darnold, who was viewed as a bust, was starting a meaningless game as a backup for the 49ers. And then there's yesterday in the biggest game against arguably the best roster in the loudest field. You weren't winning that game. Minnesota was not winning that game. That's just one of those games. I looked at the playoffs this weekend. I looked at Denver at Buffalo. I love Sean Payton. That is a tough draw. There are games a handful every year where even a good team goes on the road and you're like, yeah, yeah, they're not going to win that game. That's a standalone game. This was the only NFL game that everybody was watching. Sam Darnal is just 27 years old. Now they go to Los Angeles. Their receiving

core is a great matchup against the Rams young secondary. Don't be shocked if the Rams draft a corner back with their number one pick. They don't have a corner. They don't have a shutdown corner. And this is the deepest receiving core in the league. And it'll be 50 of percent Viking fans, and my gut feeling is Minnesota is the play here. J. Mack disagrees. But it felt like a playoff game to me. It had that kind of feel. It was one of those, you know, you don't get, the NFL is always entertaining, but there are a handful of games late in the season, and you're like, you know, when the NFL schedules like Burrow and Mahomes in Week 17, and you're like, oh, that feels, I'll give you an example. The Steelers Bengals on Saturday night

felt like a playoff game. That's a Saturday playoff game before a playoff game. And there's a reason restaurants have soft opens, right? Like you're not quite ready for the moment. I just don't think Sam and the Vikings, this young fun team, we're ready for the moment. And here's the coach after. You know, we didn't do a lot of the things that we've consistently done, you know, all season long. And this game came down to, you know, finishing in the red zone, weighty downs, third downs, you know, pitching and catching. And we've got to, you know, find different ways to help guys get open.

And when there are guys to potentially. you know, throw and catch. We've got to be able to do that. We've done it at a very high level this year and just didn't really show up on the weighty downs. Yep. Sam Darnold twice was high on Justin Jefferson throws. Absolutely, no question about it. You see this sometimes.

First big games for quarterbacks, they look tight. I mean, that was the knock on Peyton Manning for years in the NFL, that he was a teeth clencher, that he was great and productive. He'd get into big games and he was too tight. And I thought Sam looked tight. But again, this was a guy that was a bust. year ago that was starting for the Niners in week 18 a year ago to the biggest game in Detroit in 50 years it wasn't going to be his night I said last week I like the lions they

have the better roster it's a bigger game it means more I know it's two 14 win teams playing for number one seat it just felt like it felt like Detroit's night that's what it felt like to me and you're saying well Colin it's not a playoff game it's look like it and felt like it to me I'm watching Collinsworth and Mike Tariko and those guys were bursting through the suits that thing felt like the biggest game in a long time. So there you go. J. Mack, we have so many things to talk about today.

For the first time in my adult life, I believe something's true in the NFL. I'll get to that in a second. You and I'll talk about the wild card schedule. Denver at Buffalo. Talk about a tough draw. Do you see that it's not even a double-digit spread in that game? I'm stunned.

Denver plus eight and a half. You're not doing that, are you? Oh, my gosh. No, no, I'm just saying that's a lot of points for a very good coach and a very good defense. There are games that you look at and go, yeah, this is a tough draw for Denver, right? Like, again, Baby Steps League. We don't expect Denver to go in there with a dead cap money and Bo Nixon win that game. That's not like a winnable game.

If it ended up being 30, 20, and Denver played well, you'd fly home thinking, I can't wait for next year. Like, there are certain games. just feel like, yeah, it's going to go a certain way. The game that's fascinating this weekend, and I don't know quite Tampa, Washington. Oh, okay. Yeah, that is a, I, that's a question mark game for me. I could see several outcomes in that game.

So sometimes like the Raven Steelers, they just played like a few weeks ago. You could take something out of that game. I don't think you could take anything out of the Tampa Washington season opener. It was Jane Daniels' first career start. they're a different team now. That's going to be and Tampa's kind of beat up in the secondary.

I don't remember a first round and I'm serious. You know, Houston always plays the Saturday 3.30 game. But this year they get Harbaugh and Herbert. I do not remember

a first round matchup with all games being this good. With this many star quarterbacks. I get Stafford against Darnold. Herbert C.J. Stroud. Bo Nix, who, by the way, go look at his stats like week eight on. The guy was incredible.

Jaden Daniels Baker, Jordan loved Jalen Hertz. Dude, there are some matchups. Good matchups now. Okay. Sounds like you're going to talk yourself out of some underdogs here, huh? Be careful. Favorites of dominating the league. That really worked for me well this year.

No, I mean, you start looking at these games. This is as good as it gets. One game where we look at and go, yeah, Buffalo is going to win. But I get Sean Payton in the game. I get arguably a better defense in the game. And here's the other thing. What if it's snowing sideways? That hurts the star quarterback, not the better defense.

They did look out. There is going to be snow in Buffalo Saturday. There's only a little snow calling for Sunday. And we're six days out. A lot can happen. I'm surprised you haven't mentioned Packers Eagles. That's the one game that is the best game of the weekend. And I don't know what the deal is with, aka A, Jordan Love and B. Jalen Hertz.

I mean, Jalen Hertz was still in concussion protocol late last week. Yeah, with Jordan Love will play. Okay. No Christian Watson looks like. Man, even the second tier games, Chargers, Texans, it's going to be fantastic. Hardbaugh's first year a playoff game. We'll get to celebrate Justin Herbert's first playoff win. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific on Fox Sports Radio,

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We just contributed to a... We're the first people to do podcasts. Pretty, yeah, pretty wide range of podcasts throughout there. But this one's extra special. So how did 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 was... This is how you guys remember it going to... Don't? 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 notepad, 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

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embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the I-Hard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Jacob Kingston grew up in an isolated polygamous sect. We were God's chosen, kingdom on earth. He felt destined for greatness.

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I do think the Bears have the distinction, finishing 5 and 12 of being the most fascinating, awful NFL team and franchise in the league. And there's hope, there's talent. and I don't think there's any answers and nobody trusts the team to get it right. Caleb Williams is the centerpiece. He can be dynamic, but his accuracy, he holds on to the ball too long. Sometimes he looks like he's just fishing for the big play.

Those are all the criticisms of Caleb Williams at USC. Pro scouts nailed Caleb Williams. They loved his talent, but they questioned his accuracy and trying too often to make the big play. but yet the organization is even a bigger problem than Caleb Williams, who really isn't a problem, he's the solution if you could get the right coach. I mean, Caleb had his offensive play caller fired, and then his head coach fired, and they use more offensive line combinations than any other team,

and they play the second toughest schedule, and they're in a division, in my opinion, which is the best division in the NFC and the best coached division in the NFC. So even though I have Caleb's talent, and by the way, since week 12, he had the same number of touchdown passes as Patrick Mahomes and more than Josh Allen and Justin Herbert. So you can see the talent, you can see the flaws,

you can see hope and optimism and reason for improvement, but does anybody on the planet trust the Chicago bears to get it right. I'm just hearing about their interview process and some of the people coming in and I honestly it is everything I was told before the draft that Caleb

Williams and his family were concerned about. Can they get it right? It's hard enough for rookie quarterbacks. You can see what a value Sean Peyton is for Boe Nix or what Cliff Kingsbury is for Jaden Daniels. We all know as good as

a quarterback is, Mahomes, Andy Reed makes him better. We know that when Brian Dable and Brady are with Josh Allen, it was better than the alternatives. I don't know if they can get it right. I mean, the bears have become like reality television. You can't take your eyes off it, but you feel sort of guilty for watching it. I'm watching them.

I'm fascinated. I kind of thought the win was cool. I think Caleb's going to be better, but this is, you know, John Elway and Eli Manning said, we're not going to our franchises. Caleb Williams, deep down, I think he wanted to. This is not sourced. I think he was concerned about Chicago. I know there were family members who were,

but he didn't want to make an issue out of it. And so he's put his head down after the game. He once again says the right thing for a tire fire of a franchise. Being able to actually be here and

come out with the win. Being able to be here and play on this field, able to be here and, you know, see the history between the Bears and Green Bay and come out with the win the way that we did. It was great. It was awesome. A great moment. And I can't wait to keep growing and keep having more of those moments. Here's the positives. He is the first Bears quarterback ever that had 3,000 passing yards, 20 plus touchdown passes, and fewer than 10 picks. And that's with his play caller being fired, the head coach being fired, massive offensive line combinations, second toughest schedule in the NFL and the best division in the NFC.

So you can see it. And this is why I was so adamant about the Chargers hiring Jim Harbaugh. When you get these generational talents, you got to spend $15 million a year to get the right coach. You can't mess around. And I think they have. have so mangled this franchise, I don't think the best candidate, Mike Vrable, I don't know. New England now has an opening? Wouldn't you go to Robert Kraft and Drake May? If I was Mike Vrable, I'd take the New England job. I get the dysfunctional dolphins and Jetson Division, and I don't have to face Kevin O'Connell.

I don't have to face Matt LaFleur. I don't have to face Dan Campbell in that Lions roster. I just don't know how attractive. It's hard for me to say I was in Chicago for the weekend. It's one of my favorite cities of the world. I don't know how attractive it is. So you got, I see all, it's reality television. I see the gem, I see the talent.

You guys trust to hire the right coach. I don't. And I'm watching the candidates parade in. It's not good. J-Mack with the news. No, no, no, no, no. Turn on the news. This is the herd line news.

All right, birthday boy. Let's start with the Dallas Cowboys who ended their season with a last second loss of the commanders. They ended up going seven and ten. Jerry Jones has been non-committal regarding Mike McCarthy's future with the team, and that continued in yesterday's post game. Mike's one of the best coaches that I think there is. He was made the coach here because I thought that,

and he's done absolutely nothing to diminish my opinion of him as a coach. And I am really impressed with the way the player, identify look or are with it. They're inside with it. Yeah, they got bigger issues than Mike McCarthy. They got some roster moves. I think you and I have talked about this. Sometimes you have to take big swings

when you're backed into a corner and Jaden Daniels is now in that division and Philadelphia is not going anywhere. And Daybull's staying, they're going to draft a quarterback. So you start looking at Dallas and you're not going to get out of this just being patient. You got to take a swing here. And I think the swing is moving Micah, getting a second first round pick.

It's a weak draft. There are very few in my life, weak drafts where people say, not a great draft. It's very good at certain positions, like running back, safety, it's stacked. But it's not your typical great draft. There's some nice offensive tackles. Not great ones, but a lot of good ones. I think you have to take a swing. I think you have to get two number one picks.

I think you should put both of them on offense, give DAC a fighting chance, but this is a big off season. Jerry, for as much of a... He was an... What do they call him? He was an oil catar. He was a big... He was a high-risk guy.

But it does feel like over the last several years, he's a play-it-safe guy. Like he's got this great organization. It's about his family, but he's playing it safe. And my take is, Jerry, we need 41-year-old Jerry.

We need big-swing Jerry because you're not going to solve in this division with Philadelphia's roster. You're not solving it. Just taking a first round pick and a second round pick and you've got to move pieces, take swings. He was a wild catter. My bad, that's what they're called.

What if McCarthy says, you know, thanks, Jerry, I'm going to go take the Chicago Bears job. He goes back to that Packers Division. He gets a younger, better version of Dak cheaper. And McCarthy leaves. What does Jerry do? Because Vrable, all signs point, we'll get to it later. He's going elsewhere.

I don't know what Jerry's backup. plan is. I did see a report, I don't know if it was someone credible, that speculated perhaps Sarkesian could make the leap from the University of Texas to the Dallas Cowboys. I don't know. Any thoughts on Sark may be transitioning if McCarthy isn't the guy? Is Texas a better job? I think Sark really likes coaching in college football, but the NIL and transfer portal is a, is an annoyance to say the least. A bigger annoyance than your owner getting in front of the media multiple times a week? I think Sark could get a better job. I think Sark could do a hardball where he would cherry pick a perfect job. I mean, if you really look at the Chargers, they had

a left tackle and a quarterback. They had a Bosa and Kaleel Mack and they had a superstar in the back end of their defense. There was a lot to like about the Chargers. They needed a right tackle. They need another tight end. They had to go get some running backs. But I think Sark is in a position that you take the job where you have a young quarterback. You have a star quarterback or a young quarterback on a rookie contract. Dak is an older B quarterback on an A-plus contract. I don't think – that's nothing against Dak. I don't think it's a great job.

It's definitely not a great job. I do not think Dallas is a great job. I think the roster is miles below Detroit or Philly. You and I love chaos, so McCarthy leaving Dallas. That would be amazing for content. Next up, today, obviously, Black Monday in the NFL, and one of the notable firing so far has been Gerard Mayo in the Patriots. Listen, you and I have speculated this for months.

We're not surprised at this. Everybody else is like, how could they do this? Like, people haven't been watching the Patriots. They were a disaster this season. Remember, Mayo got in front the media and was like, we're playing our best quarterback to start the season. And Drake May was on the bench. Like, he just doesn't get it.

And he may be a great Patriot and all that stuff. Robert Kraft is very tore up. Always felt a little Belichick light. I mean, his only coaching influence of note was Bill Belichick. And to me, when a legend goes, you have to break free from the legend and go in a different direction. Craft didn't do that. I think it's, I think it's, I just looked up this morning.

I said it in January. It just felt like a different chapter in the same book. Like, go get Ben Johnson. Go get, go get. I mean, I think Vrable's a great fit here. But, you know, Vrable is part of the old kind of regime and feel. You know, maybe Ben Johnson is the fit here. So I think what makes this job attractive and, you know, you don't want to face in radio.

You don't want to face when Howard Stern retires. you don't want to replace Howard Stern, right? Now that Belichick's gone and his replacement whiffed, now it gets very attractive because I've got my quarterback and I'm not replacing a legend. They have bottomed out as a franchise. This is as low as the Patriots will ever be in terms of record and roster. So for that, to me, if I'm a candidate,

there's only one way to go up. So that's, you know, your entry point to here is great. That's why the Chargers was so great beyond everything else. It was such a mess. and that matters when you take a job. Do you have realistic expectations, and where are they? You do not want to replace a legend. It doesn't worry.

You don't want to replace Jim Harbaugh with the 49ers or Jim Harbaugh, Michigan. Those are big lifts. Yeah, go look up the post coaches in Miami post-sholock after he was, he ended it. Like, it gets ugly. Craft did call it that one of the hardest decisions he's ever had to make. Vrable's name is the one being mentioned everywhere. My guess is that's what happened, known commodity, right? They like Rabel.

Again, it's part of the Belichick tree, but Brable's the best candidate easily in the class. But he can instill a culture and he has a quarterback. I think they'll be fine. I think we both like Drake May. Final story is a bit of a banger here, Colin. The Miami Dolphin season unraveled. Listen, Tua was hurt. They ended up losing to the Jets.

Jets, of course, winning a meaningless game. But more interesting is Tyree Kill. He sat out the fourth quarter, was not injury-related. Mike McDaniel had no answer for his absence. There are reports that Tyreek Hill said, I don't want to go in the game. Now, he was playing with the backup quarterback. And after the game, here's Tyreek Hill talking about his thoughts on Miami and his future. I just got to do what's best for me and my family, dog.

If that's here, that's wherever the case may be, man. I'm going to open that door for myself now. I'm opening the door. Like, I'm out, bro. At the end of the day, bro, I got to do what's best for, you know, for my career. and, you know, what's best? Because I'm too much of a competitor to be, you know, just... Is that mean you're thinking about leaving here?

If it is? Hey, it gets. Yeah, tiny fast players, tiny fast players have never run the league. He's some icing. You're not building your franchise around Tyree Kill. He is fun. He is splashy. The media loves him.

He's sizzle and not the steak. He's a tiny fast player. How fun is it? Like, I'm out, bro. He's just like, I'm leaving. Now, one of the producers just sent me an image of his social media. He updated his Twitter account to a photo of Antonio Brown. Remember when he left the field shirtless? Like, that's what you're dealing with Tyree Kill.

So this is where it gets interesting, Colin. What's the market? Take your time on this. What's the market for Tyreek Hill should the dolphins feel calls or make calls? Well, there's a market for him. My question is, do I, is it a long-term market? Is it, what am I paying him? I just, I'll say this again.

31 in March, by the way. That's his age. Yeah, I think he's got two or three more really good years, but what do I have to pay him? How long is the contract? I mean, I think... How much of the headache? Is he in the locker?

Listen, Odell Beckham went from Star to irrelevant real fast. Tiny fast receivers have never been foundational pieces in this league. Now, if you're a bigger receiver, a Larry Fitzgerald. If you're a bigger receiver, a Calvin Johnson, those are guys all build around. Yeah, they also didn't have massive issues off the field. Tyreek Hill has brush fires every officer. season.

Yeah, he's, there's just, again, there's just too many good receivers in this league for me to be losing sleep worrying about Tyreek. How funny is it that the dolphins made him a team captain this season? Well, really? Okay, so I got two teams. Let me spitball at you. Harbaugh and the Chargers. Strong culture.

You fall in line, playing on turf. You get revenge against the Chiefs. You get a real quarterback who's durable as hell. Can Harbaal rain in Tyreek Hill and give them. Again, would I take a one-year experiment on Tyree Kill with the Chargers? Well, he's got a fat contract because he got that extension. So I don't want to pay that. Well, they need a receiver.

And the other team is Washington with the young quarterback. I don't want to disrupt him. I don't need ego in the locker room. Terry McLaurant is so great and so quiet, so classy, no nonsense, has his personal life in order. I just don't want to, you know, I understand there is value to Tyreek Hill. He's a talented guy. But you start looking at loud receivers. How do they do in this league?

I mean, look around. I mean, the one guy that has some drama is A.J. Brown. But he just wants the ball more. I get that. But I got nothing against. I think Tyreek Hill is super talented. But this idea that when he went to Miami, he was this foundational piece. And it's like, time out.

One of the quarterbacks in this league that we acknowledge is not a great. great deep ball thrower is Tua. So there are quarterback, like Mahomes was a perfect quarterback for him. Josh Allen would be a great quarterback for him. But remember, when you play football in January, Kansas City and Buffalo, and I think this is one of the reasons Brett Beech moved off him, once you get to January with these AFC powerhouse teams, it's not 70 degrees in sunny. I mean, Buffalo and Denver, you could be snowing sideways. You're not throwing deep balls to Tyree Kill. So I think these speed receivers and these gadget receivers are really valuable in September and October.

The colder the weather gets, the less viable they are. By the way, here's another receiver note. Packers receiver Christian Watson, according to Ian Rappaport, believed to have torn his ACL. Putting the beginning of next year. That's devastating. In peril. He's a top.

He's a game changer. He's a take the top off a defense guy. Now, luckily, they have excellent depth of receiver and tied in. stinks, man. Damn. All right. Jay Mack with the news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The herd. I always use this analogy when I was talking about, like, speed receivers.

They're the sports car in your garage. You know, you're not going to take your kids to baseball practice. You know, you can't put a lot of groceries in it, but damn, it looks good. And you look really cool driving it. But it's seasonal. Like, unless you live in the keys, you know, it's like seasonal. and I think these star vertical receivers down the field, I'll take a puka.

I'll take somebody 18 yards and in. You know, like I'll take somebody that will, I mean, T. Higgins is a number two, but T. Higgins will do dirty work over the middle of the field. That's what I want, because that's January football. That's cold, outdoor weather football. That take the top off the receiver. Never forget, the only Patriots team with Brady that didn't win was the Randy Moss version.

And Randy Moss set records, but when you get later in the season, the world changes. You also face in the playoffs the best pass rushers. So quarterbacks don't have four seconds to pat the ball and wait for a guy to run 60 yards down the field. So, you know, it's this is an SUV league. Look at Detroit last night. Run the ball. Jamir Gibbs, pound the rock.

The flashy Minnesota Vikings, you know, shut down. It was O-line, run the ball. Everybody's beat up. Everybody's banged up. Let's get physical. Shift it into the second gear. And it's a power run game. That, to me, feels like the NFL more than, wow, that double reverse, that fly pattern.

That stuff is fun. It's highlights. It's YouTube. It doesn't feel sustainable for championships in my lifetime. It just doesn't. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays at noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific. Hey, it's us, the Jonas brothers. And guess what?

We have some big news. What's the news, new? 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 throughout there. 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 was... 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 notepad, 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, S&L's Mikey Day and headwriter, 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 I-Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind.

Highlights are trending, opinions are flying, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where Sports Slice comes in. I'm Timbo. Every episode, we're cutting through the noise. Breaking down the plays, the controversies, and the stories behind the headlines. We go straight to the source, the athlete themselves. Their locker room stories, their reactions, the stuff nobody gets to hear.

The laughs, the drama, the triumphs, the moments that never make the highlight real. From viral moments to historic games, from buzzer-beaters to controversial calls, we break it down, give you context and ask the questions everybody wants answered. Sports slice brings you closer to the action. with stories told by the people who live them. Listen to Sports Slice on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Slicelife-Life 12 in the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged.

It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days I'd put on 10 pounds, I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Jacob Kingston grew up in an isolated polygamous sect. We were God's chosen kingdom on earth.

He felt destined for greatness. So when a swaggering Armenian businessman catapults Jacob into an extraordinary world, he doesn't look back. Ferraris and Lamborghinis, private jets, meeting the president of Turkey. I'm Michelle McPhee, and this is one of the most shocking criminal conspiracies I've ever come across. When Jacob met Levant this plant to a billion dollar fraud. But with two kings from entirely different worlds, just how long can their empire survive? The largest tax investigation in American history. You need to tell me what you know.

Is somebody coming after me? Jacob told Levan, you're ruining my life. Listen to Kingdom of Fraud on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. This week on Fox College Shoots Friday, it's a battle in the Big Ten as 15th ranked UCLA takes on Maryland. Catch the action Friday at 8 Eastern on Fox. Okay, so for the first time I can ever remember this, the best quarterback won all eight divisions. I was wrong. I thought Kirk Cousins was barely the best quarterback in the NFC South,

and he was and beat the Bucks twice, and then he got bad really quickly. And then there was, I picked the Packers and Jordan Love. I liked their ascension last year. He got banged up early in the season, and that didn't work out. But, yes, so let's look at the standings here for our TV audience. Josh Allen's the best quarterback by a mile in that division. C.J. Stroud is the highest.

functioning most reliable quarterback in the AFC South. Joe Burrow had a great year, but Lamar Jackson's going to win the MVP, AFC North. I think he's going to win the MVP. On the AFC West, it goes, Bahams is the best quarterback and the second best quarterback is Jim Harbaugh's Justin Herbert, who he

inherited. If you go to the NFC East, yes, Jalen Hurts is better than Jaden Daniels in a big game right now. That may not be the truth a year from now, but right now Jalen's the best quarterback. NFC South, I've said it before. Baker Mayfield's one of the 20 best quarterbacks in the world and has been, even in the years I criticized him, best quarterback.

Again, Jared Goff, he's great. Let's get over it. You know, we've got to get over the Jared Goff criticism. He's been to a Super Bowl. He's really good. And then, I mean, I think Stafford's the best quarterback in that division, and I think it's not necessarily close. So what does it mean?

It means going into an offseason that probably Sodor Sanders or Cam Ward are going to get taken number one, even though they're B-level prospects. It means Sam Darnold, if he went to the market, is going to get the bag. It means J.J. McCarthy for Minnesota is an excellent trade piece in a weak quarterback class. It means Aaron Rogers probably shouldn't retire and he'll have a market too. So, I mean, a prime example of this is look at the Steelers and the Seahawks. They both have 10 wins. They both have excellent rosters.

We don't even consider them close to Super Bowl teams. Why? The quarterback. And as the NFL, and this is one of the reasons I don't like the NFL expanding to 18 games. As they've expanded to 17 games for a couple years now, quarterback is more essential because you're going to have more injuries. And the more snaps a good quarterback can take against average quarterbacks, it just guarantees the good quarterbacks win their division. So there are fewer and fewer ways to win in the NFL, and I do not think that's good. I think there

should be several ways. I think you should be able to be a running team, a team that's limited at quarterback, but great on defense. It's just not the case anymore. Best quarterback when every division. There's only four new playoff teams this year. Three out of the four had new quarterbacks. Think about that. The average has been in most of the last 20 years, half the playoff teams are brand new. This year, 14 playoff teams, only four new and three got new quarterbacks.

So, you know, fans in the media get paralyzed by officiating. We're getting this game. We got robbed. No, you didn't. You don't have a good enough quarterback. fans complain about play calling. Media complains about play calling. All that matters is quarterback.

You got the right quarterback, you'll win. And that's why this morning I saw the news that Brian Daibold in New York is keeping his job. I've been saying he should. He got Daniel Jones to the playoffs. Brian Daibald is not the problem. I saw a story this morning that Jim Mersays keeping Shane Steichen. He should. And Chris Ballard, they're not the problem.

The roster's good. The team's. missing a quarterback. So years ago, you'd be like, is it the quarterback, is it the coach? Look around the league. If you don't have a quarterback, that's why the Chargers was such a great job. When you guys are talking about all these jobs that are available right now, New England with Drake May, very attractive.

Chicago scares me upstairs, but Caleb Williams makes it more attractive. I mean, I even think the Jets with Aaron Rogers, Aaron played very well with one exception in the last eight weeks. You want a lot of games with Aaron Rogers. He's playing good now. and he'll have an whole off-season, right? He'll have an entire off-season to, you know, take the last eight or nine weeks and build on that. So, you know, it's like Hollywood.

If you get a big actor and a big director, it usually works. And if you get a really good quarterback like Justin Herbert, you insert hardball. They're going to make the playoffs. I mean, that's just the way the league's gone. You have to be so bad at ownership, defense, O-Line, for Joe Burrow not to make the playoffs. Joe Burroughs the only star quarterback that didn't make the playoffs, and they came down to the final game. I mean, they had a winning record.

They're darned as to get in, but Kansas City decided, let's play backups. So I think that's just the reality of what the league is. Now, that's why I don't like expanding the NFL to more games. It just makes it more quarterback dominant. Now, the good news is we have more good quarterbacks than ever. I mean, even though this is not considered a great quarterback draft class, there's a lot of these second, third round guys that my executive buddies, they think are way unharalded.

They don't like the top of the quarterback draft class. They like the middle of the draft class much more. Here's the other thing that I'm, this wasn't that hard of a prediction that Bo Nix and Sean Payton would be good together. But there is one game in the playoffs this weekend, and if a team lost, Denver, you'd understand it. Sean Payton is basically the NFL's

Gordon Ramsey. If your kitchen is a mess, he's going to be a little blunt, he's great on television, he's going to clean that crap up within about a week. And it was very funny when Sean Peyton came out and had Russell Wilson. He did not say

we're going to get this right, or I'm going to make this ugly contract work. Sean Peyton got a lot of pushback because he said, yeah, Russell's not good enough. Yeah, he can't figure out the plays. Yeah, he can't memorize the plays. He misses too many. And he

had comments on Nat Hackett and everybody was uncomfortable and everybody's uncomfortable with Gordon Ramsey too. But he fixes your kitchen. And there's an argument that if you look at the dead cap money with the Broncos, when Sean took that job, I was

disappointed. I didn't think he could fix it. I thought it was that big of a mess and I knew he and Russell would not get along. One is the eternal optimist. One is brutally blunt. One, some could say, is a little less than authentic. The other one is completely authentic. So I didn't think it was going to work, but Sean Payton works.

And he can be caustic, and he is blunt, and he makes people uncomfortable. But when you have to turn around a mess being precious and PC, it doesn't work. It doesn't work. That's why so many places in corporate America are so hard to turn around, because you know you got to make sure you don't offend. Sean Peyton offends. Sean Peyton's outspoken. And it is amazing what he did with his team.

I mean, think about this. He's in a division. Just say it out loud. Reed and Mahomes. Harbon Herbert. Bow-necks. And he got to the playoffs. And I like Bow-Nicks.

Say that out loud. And just don't lose sight of this. Whatever happens against Buffalo. The worst dead cat money situation that in my life, a rookie quarterback in a division with Reed Mahomes, Harbon, Herbert. The over-under on Raiders wins before the season was six and a half. Broncos were five and a half. That's how Vegas, which is loyal to the outcome. There's no bias in Vegas.

Their bias is lettuce, green. That's all they care about. The Raiders were projected to win more games. So whatever happens at Buffalo, just say it out loud. Herbert, Mahomes, Reed, Harbaugh, Bo Nix. And I'm looking at some of these, I'm looking at some of these Bo Nix numbers. It is, it is. And remember this, Bo Nix was the sixth quarterback taken.

So Sean didn't get the first choice or second or third or fourth or fifth. He took number six and crushed. I mean, it's, I look at that playoff schedule and I'm like, man, that's a, that's a rough draw. But, you know, listen, it is just, first of all, going to Buffalo, if you were Detroit or Philly, you could take the best teams in the whole sport to go to Buffalo, obviously Philly and Detroit are in the NFC. Anybody going to Buffalo is rough. Mahomes going to Buffalo would be rough. You see that Steelers Ravens line, by the way? Nine and a half.

It's a divisional matchup, round three. I like the Ravens. Yeah, so do I. I like the Ravens to blow them out. Also a great teaser leg if you're into teasers. Teaser Ravens down to a field goal. They're winning that game. Steelers are a mess.

Matt Hasselbeck in studio next. Hey guys, it's us. The Jonas Brothers. I'm Joe. I'm Kevin. And I'm Nick. And guess what? 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. We get to ask other people questions because we're sick and tired. of being asked questions. Well, sick and tired is a strong way to put it, but, you know, tired and sick.

Tired and sick. 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 Smigel 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. 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 Sports Slice 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 Slicalife-Life 12 in the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. I'm Michelle McPhee, and I've been unraveling the strangest criminal alliance I've ever reported on. A Mormon polygamous and an Armenian businessman. million dollar house, Ferraris and Lamborghinis, private jets, a billion dollar fraud. But how long can this alliance last? Tell me what you know. Is somebody coming after me?

Listen to Kingdom of Fraud on the I-Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal, but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds.

I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed human.