The Herd with Colin Cowherd - THE HERD - Hour 2 - Greg Cosell explains Brock Purdy Magic, Maxx Crosby is football obsessed

Episode Date: December 31, 2025

Colin is fine with college football devouring itself in order to get the playoffs. NFL Films senior producer Greg Cosell joins Colin to break down what’s made Brock Purdy so electric this season for the San Francisco 49ers. Maxx Crosby is obsessed with football, and that’s a good thing and what everyone should want from a football players.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Be sure to catch us live every weekday on Fox Sports Radio and noon to 3 Eastern 9 a.m. to noon Pacific. Find your local station for the herd at Fox SportsRadio.com. or stream us live every day in the IHeart Radio app by searching Fox Sports Radio or FSR. You're listening to Fox Sports Radio. Here we go. Hour 2, New Year's Eve, Ohio State. Take it on Miami tonight.

If Carson Beck plays pretty well and it's not easy against the Buckeyes, I think you have a competitive game. I like Ohio State. I think their defense is the best in the country, but I think Miami up front is tough and physical. Miami's a much better team today than they were eight weeks ago. So they played very well. I thought they should get in over Notre Dame.

I liked them on the road to beat Texas A&M. And I think tonight could be, you know, I just think it's hard for everybody to wrap their brains around how good Indiana is. People say, well, Ohio State lost Indiana. Indiana could be the best team in the country. They have the best quarterback in the country. So if you look at those games tonight, college football playoff to me, if you love college football,

you had to give up some stuff to get here. It wasn't going to be perfect. I know a lot of you loved, loved bowl games. They don't matter anymore. I know a lot of you love the SEC championship, conference championships getting away. I know a lot of you love those classic rivalries. Some will stay, some won't.

college football played with their food for 50 years and finally Fox and ESPN stepped in and said let the grownups take over it's going to look like a little bit of the NFL it's like boxing it died why not because you didn't have good boxers it was run by promoters self-serving promoters I mean if you look around at college football

was an $8 billion industry with no CEO you couldn't even get the schedules right So it's always been a sport that's a great movie with a bad ending. At least now the ending's good. I mean, you say what you want. Starting tonight, the ending's great. Eight teams, a West Coast power, blue bloods, newcomers. I mean, the only thing that I regret about this is that I wish Lane Kiffin had stayed and just said,

I'm going to run the table, see if I can win all these games. I don't think they would be good enough to win the Natty. I would have loved to have seen, you know, Lane Kiffin with Ole Miss. Now, it's choppy ending. But I think, to me, college football felt sometimes, and I love it hokey and, like, tribal and regional and provincial. It's like now it feels like players get paid, players can transfer. We've got a real playoff system. It wasn't going to be perfect.

You know, when you started the Internet until today, it's amazing. but there was going to be some bad stuff on the internet. And AI, you know, about 10 years ago, people talked about it, now we're in the throes of it, and not going to be pretty, what's it looked like when we ultimately get AI functional for everybody in the country like the internet. So I look at college football, I'm like, the ending's good. I'm getting Miami and Ohio State tonight.

Georgia, Ole Miss, Indiana, Alabama, Blue Blood, new guy in the block, and Oregon, Texas Tech. I love the sport. I think it's great. With that, Greg Kossel, 46 years, NFL film stops by. You know, I had Mike Vrable on yesterday. And I said, you know, obviously we thought he was good. I didn't think he would be this good, this quick.

How do the Patriots, you saw him at Carolina. You saw him last year. Greg, when you look at film, how do the Patriots play to his strengths? Well, I think you always look at what your quarterback is. You play to your quarterback. And I think one of the things that has really stood out to me about Drake May has just been his toughness in the pocket.

I mean, we know he can move, we know he's athletic, we know we can throw on the run. But he is not a guy that is affected by bodies around him. He is really firm and tough in the pocket, and he stays there, and that allows plays to play. out and develop, Colin. And, you know, there's so many quarterbacks now that are great athletes. And I'm sure as a coach, you don't want to tell a quarterback who's a great athlete never to move. But the result often of quarterbacks that move is that they move too soon.

They break down the timing and structure of the play, and they leave plays on the field. Now, they may run for 20 yards at times, and you're obviously getting to say, hey, good play. but at the end of the day, you really want the plays to be run the way they're practiced. This is what coaches do during the week, and it's not just the quarterback. It's the O line. It's the receivers. It's the running backs. It's everybody works together in a structure and May allows that structure to play out to its fullest. So we watch the Rams get beat by Atlanta, and we went back and looked at a number that they're strangely,

like we've seen Seattle win when Sam didn't play well. We've seen the Niners win with Mac Jones. We've seen the Bears win do their run game. But if you look at the Rams, if Stafford struggles, they lose, and he had a lot of time to throw.

And it was almost as if, I mean, he airmailed a couple throws, and you're like, Matt, you are as good to arm talent as the league shows. When you watch Stafford, and he gets a little unhinged and unravels, is it tempo? Is it his feet? Because I thought Monday early, it just, there were open receivers, or maybe it was just a, there weren't. Maybe the film said they had him schemed right. What did you see?

I mean, look, I think that he just had a game where he was inaccurate on certain throws. I remember working with Ron Jaworski for a hundred years, and George would tell me there's two games a year where you just didn't throw it great. And, you know, you never know what those two games were going to be. and when those games happen, you hope that the rest of the team picks you up. And I think Stafford just did not have a good game. But I would not use this game as a statement as to what Matthew Stafford is. And by the way, their run game has been very good for the most part. It's just they don't have an explosive back.

So you don't think of it the way you think of, and by the way, Bejohn Robinson to me is the best back in the league. But their run game is just not explosive. It's much more of a sustaining, grinding run game, but it's been very good. I mean, you have one back that's got about 1,100 yards and another back that's probably close to 800 yards. It's been a very strong run game.

And so I don't look at this game and say there's something wrong with Matthew Stafford. Now, there's no question, even though he's not a true statue, that he's a pocket quarterback, and if you can get consistent pressure on him, you will speed him up a little. There's no question about that.

That's true of any quarterback. So Buffalo is fascinating. they're 23rd, they do a lot of their scoring in the second half. And in the first half, they have been trailing in seven of the last eight games in the second half, which is remarkable. And I said this week it's remarkable they have the number one run game because they trail in the second half in all these games. Why are they, the first half is more the scripted half usually, why are they so bad and inconsistent in the first half in Buffalo? Well, I think, first of all, they're a running football team, and I think that that's evident. And I think that that's the way they stabilize their offense.

That's the way they create sustainability with their offense by running the football. They're very limited to some degree in the past game, Colin, because the one thing that they don't have, and if you listen to any really smart, you know, the Tom Brady's, who I know you talk to, the Troy Aikman's, If you listen to those guys at some point in this league, you need receivers on the outside who can win one-on-one. They do not have that. So there's a limitation to what they can do in the past game. So the past game, therefore, has to be highly schemed. And, you know, sometimes that works and sometimes it doesn't.

You know, I saw a play last week where they ran one of their staple plays, really beautiful play that's worked many times for them, where they send James Cook on a rail route through the line of scrimmage. They've hit big plays on that many, many times over the last couple of years, and Zach Bonn saw it immediately, and he just ran right with Cook, and it was incomplete. So it's a highly schemed pass game by necessity, because they just can't win one-on-one on the outside. So that puts a tremendous limitation on their past game, and the reality is we know Josh Allen is a great player. That's not the point. But, you know, those kinds of Superman plays, that can't be the foundation of how you go about winning. every week. So let's talk

Philadelphia. It's so interesting. You were critical of them about a month ago on this show. You said, you know, their offense is kind of you know, it's kind of simple. And then suddenly, suddenly the next three weeks, you're like, well, maybe it's not so simple.

It opened up. So if you were an Eagles fan, they're going to rest some starters here, week 18. Do you like their, do you like their momentum going into the playoffs? Well, I didn't think they did a very good job on tape in the past game this week, although I thought Jalen Hertz played very well in the first half. Yes.

And in the second half, you know, they had those five drives and they had 17 plays for 17 yards and he didn't complete a pass. So it was very odd. And it's not his, I'm not blaming him. I'm just saying it's very odd. But, you know, their run game has just not been what we've expected it to be all year, with the exception of a few. moments. You know, their all line, quite frankly, if you look at tape, has not been very good. I think Cam Jurgens has had a really difficult season at center. I think the sort of chemistry between Jurgens and the left guard Dickerson hasn't been what it was a year ago. So I think at

their core, Colin, they're a running football team. They're a great defensive team, which they are now. Their defense has led the league and points allowed over the last eight weeks. And they're They have a quarterback who, when he's at his best, is really good at understanding his role within the structure of their entire team, doesn't turn the ball over, executes in big moments, but they're not a true passing team. So, you know, I'd like to see them do more in the past game. I think they're capable of it, but they just don't. So we know this to be true. There are offensive coaches in this sport that are just really good with young quarterbacks. Payton and Beau Nix.

Ben Johnson with Caleb. I thought Caleb played, now the Niners don't generate much of a pass rush unless Sala has blit packages. But the last few weeks, he's not taking sacks. Caleb's never thrown away to much interceptions. He's not a big interception guy who wasn't at USC. But when you look at Caleb today,

if I gave you last week's tape and eight weeks ago, it must look different because the results feel different to me. Well, I got to tell you, Colin, I watch that tape. I watched both sides of the ball in that game really carefully because it was a really fun watch. And I said to the guys in my matchup room, after I watched Caleb, or as I was watching him, I said, you know what, this guy's going to be a great quarterback. I just felt like I was watching a really good player. Now, granted, he wasn't under a lot of pressure, and I know the 49ers defense doesn't necessarily present a lot of pressure.

But still, I'm just isolating the play of the quarterback. We just saw him throw that touchdown to burden. And I don't think people realize how difficult a throw that was and how easy he made it look. You know, I think he'll get better at some of the scattershot throws. I would assume he would. I don't think he's a naturally inaccurate pass or by any means. You know, he's just going to have to get a little better with his accuracy on some throws that are, you know, layups by NFL standards. But, I mean, he's just so physically gifted.

And, I mean, he's such an easy, natural thrower to the football. Okay, now let's talk about two offenses that are the opposite of that, Baltimore and Pittsburgh. The winner's going to go to the playoffs. I have defended Aaron Rogers all year on this show. I've said, guys, D.K. Metcalf is not exactly running every route in the tree. He's now out. They're very tight-end centric. I don't know how they move the ball against Baltimore.

Again, it's at Pittsburgh. Tomlin is an underdog. It's always been effective. I look at Aaron this year, and my take is, the reason he's struggling is, once again, they can't run the ball. He doesn't really have a number two receiver. I don't blame Aaron or Tomlin. I don't, is their offensive personality good? It's not great.

And Roger is a guy that likes to work one-on-ones on the outside, and they don't have those guys. So a lot of times there's routes that look like they're available. And again, we don't know how he's taught or what the reeds are. So it's always easy to criticize if you see a three-by-weigh. one set and the trip side looks like the route's there and he works to the 101's he's always worked to the one-on-ones and when you have good receivers i mean i remember speaking to coaches so many times over the years colin and if it's a three-by-one set meaning three receivers to one side and a single receiver usually to the boundary side the short side and if that guy's one-on-one

pretty much every coach will tell you hey you throw to the one-on-one it's match-up football it's the NFL now the issue is they don't necessarily have those guys so you know, it comes across as Rogers not quote-unquote running the offense, but we don't know, you know, how they teach it and what they want them to do, but they just don't have those guys. So it's been very, very difficult. In fact, the last time they played Baltimore, and Metcalf played, and he's not playing in this game, they've worked a one-on-ones beautifully,

but it was Metcalf. So we'll see what they do this week. On the flip side, it's going to be Derek Henry. I mean, and the most amazing thing about it, this is the use of Ricard, the fullback. Derek Henry, a very high percentage of his runs this year have been with Ricard on the field.

And last week in the game against Green Bay, 18 for 140 with Ricard on the field as an I-formation fallback. So that's the way they're going to go, no matter who plays quarterback. Okay, so before we get to the Niners, and I have to eat some Joe on Purdy,

before we get to that, the staff is almost rooting against me because they know my affection for Sam Darnold. I do think Seattle is more of a defensive story than an offensive story, but I will say Sam worked very well last year with Justin Jefferson. I think he and JSN have exceptional timing this year, two different coaches, two different offenses, two different styles. I think that's hard to do and be a pro bowler in both. But I will say when I watch them, if you can bracket at JSN, I'm not necessarily sure what I trust offensively. I think they're a defensive story to me.

What's the film say? They are. And I think you would agree that their past game over the last month has been uneven. That's right. You know, I mean, the first part of the season, they really pushed the ball down the field and had great success. The last month, it's been uneven. Look, their run game worked last week. We saw Charbonnet get 110. I doubt that happens every week. You know, I don't think that would happen against the Niners, but who knows. But their run game, they have not had a run game this year, Colin, to really fall back on when the past game has been somewhat uneven, which it has been. So you're right.

It's really been JSN and not much else in the past game, and that's been a little bit of a concern. So, you know, I almost look at this game the other side of the ball, because if the Niners can score a lot, and I don't know that they will, this is a really good defense. and they're at the forefront of the big nickel in the NFL, which has become a trend with three safeties instead of three linebackers. Nick Kim and Worry is such a key to what Seattle does on defense, and their D-Line has been absolutely phenomenal. I mean, I'm not sure a lot of people are talking about Byron Murphy, but he's, you know, there's two defensive tackles this year that have played so well.

And one's on a really bad team, Jeffrey Simmons, who I think's been the best de-tackle in the league. But Byron Murphy has played really, really well. and in the context of that Seattle defense, no one's talking about him. Okay, listen, I've said I like Brock Purdy, but the last month, he has been sensational. And in fact, before this past week, he'd never won a game when Kittle didn't play. I think it was, if you go back to his career, he struggles without Kittle. So I thought this weekend it would be choppy. No, he was sensational.

You tell me, what makes him? Yeah. And I mean, Garoppolo and Mac Jones, Matt Schaubb, everybody feels like, I mean, they work to some degree with Shanahan. But it feels like of all the quarterbacks he's ever had, this kid, Shanahan just loves him for a lot of reasons. What's the film say why? Yeah. I mean, I know you talk to Brady pretty much every week, and I'd love to get his take on this whole concept of pure progression. Because pure progression is what the 49ers are based on.

And I think the pure progression in its purest form is that the quarterback doesn't really need to know much about defense. But I think in the NFL, it can't quite be like that. Now, it's not the same as old school offensive football where you pick a side, a man's side, his own side. It's not like that. But I think you have to have some sense of defense to some degree. But I think purdy, and particularly in this era of NFL football, Colin, where defenses change, they change the picture. pre-snap to post-snap. You can't be oblivious to the defense. And I think Purdy just has such an innate feel of seeing it right away. Whatever it is, he sees it right away. And that was hard to know

coming out of college because the college game is so different. You know, with the hash mark spread further apart, there's more open space. And I just think that, you know, two things that he does so well that were tough to know in college, timing and anticipation and just innate seeing it right away. And I think the play we're going to show is a great example. I mean, I'm sure it was pure progression, and I'm sure that Jennings touchdown was the read, and we can go to that play right now. I'm sure the Jennings touchdown was the primary read, because they throw those in-breakers all the time, and they got the right coverage for it. So, I mean, ultimately, you know, that's what happened here, and we'll break it down, because I thought this was absolutely beautiful.

but it's just, you know, it's fascinating to me. It's a real wonderful philosophical discussion. So Purdy's in the gun here, and they're in a two-by-two set. And the two key players here are going to be Ushcheck and Jennings. They're on the left side of the formation. Now, you're going to see Ushchek going short in motion here, and that's important because what that is going to do is it's going to expand the corner,

and it's going to give Jennings free access into his route because you don't want his timing disrupted. That's so critical in these pure progression schemes. Now, look what you get from a coverage standpoint. You're going to get Cover 2 here. And then the Mike Linebacker Edwards, he's going to open to the wide side of the field. That's what you normally do in Cover 2. So now what we get back to is we get Jennings dig route.

And like I said, that's the primary read. That's the sequencing, the number one in the sequence. Now, Tong is the tight end. he's going to run right at Edwards, and he holds him down. And it works perfectly on this play, because what you get here is a big void. And so now, as I said, I'm almost positive. This is the primary read. But now he's going to make this throw into the void, and he hits Jennings in stride with run after catch, and it becomes a touchdown. And we're going to show this play from behind Purdy, Colin, because I want people to see the timing and anticipation that's involved here. And I think,

I'm not sure you can teach this. Right now, look where Jennings is. Purdy has just started to separate his hands to throw the ball. So, you know, you talk about an innate sense and feel for timing and anticipation, which, by the way, is essential in a Mike Shanahan offense. I've heard Steve Young talk about that, you know, with Bill Walsh, about how you have to make the throw before the guy is where he is. You know, you've got to trust it.

And Purdy does that exceptionally well. Yep. Greg CoSell, 46 years, NFL films as always, Greg. Great stuff. Appreciate it. Thanks, Colin. Happy New Year. Talk to you next week. Yeah, college football and pro football feel more aligned. But it was four, five, six years ago. I remember when Mahomes came out. And he came out, what, seven, eight years ago. When Mahomes came out, I was one of them. I'm like, none of these big 12 quarterbacks work in the NFL. It's all like flag football. It's a pillow fight. If this stuff going to work. And, you know, I mean, I watched Mahomes play like once or twice in college football. My take is this is not, it's like run and shoot football from the 70s. It's college flag football.

Nobody tackles. It's 52 to 46. And a bunch of these big 12 quarterbacks just didn't work. So now you look at it and you think, well, now the NFL in college are more closer aligned. In fact, I was talking to an NFL coach probably three weeks ago, a really good NFL coach. And he said, Fernando Mendoza is an easy. easy guy to scout because so much of what Indiana does has NFL guys and NFL schemes. So you can watch him and see what he can do and see what he can't.

And he's not an A-plus prospect. He's a very good prospect, he said, but it'll be an easy watch. They're doing stuff that we do on Sunday. And that's not always been the case with college football. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, FS1, and the IHeart Radio app. Hey, this is Jason McIntyre. Join me every weekday morning on my podcast, Straight Fire with Jason McIntyre.

This isn't your typical sports pod pushing the same tired narratives down your throat every day. Straightfire gives you honest opinions on all the biggest sports headlines, accurate stats to help you win big at the sports book, and all the best guests. Do yourself a favor and listen to Straight Fire with Jason McIntyre on the IHeart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Hey, it's us, the Jonas Brothers. And guess what? 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, oh, 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, 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 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. SportsSlice brings you closer to the action with stories told by the people who live them. Listen to SportsSlice on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Slic Life 12 in the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. The French Open is one of the toughest tests in tennis.

And I know firsthand because I competed there myself. I'm Renee Stubbs, and on the Renee Stubbs tennis podcast, I'm breaking down everything happening at Roland Garris. Every match, every upset, and what it really takes to win on Clay. Jenchian went. I mean, she went down at three to Rabakina, but I'm delighted. She's an outsider to win the French for me. And she likes Clay.

Listen, Lina Rabakina is arguably the best player in the world right now, and I actually can win on any surface, because if she's serving, well, good luck. Consider this your court-side seat to the French Open. Listen to the Renee Stubbs Tennis podcast on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Presented by Capital One, founding partner of IHeart Women's Sports. 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 went 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. Yeah, I'm not a New Year's resolution guy, Jay Mack. I don't know if you are. I don't want to wait until January 1st to get my act together. I was talking to somebody today about,

you know, you go to a gym in January and it's all packed by March 1st. It's not. I, uh, I can't, I'm trying to think of something. I kind of think by, you know, a lot of times you're influenced when you're a kid or you're in college, you're influenced by your environment. By about 32, what you do is what you are. And you're not influenced, you're more mature, you've got more self-awareness, you can't really change stuff. I mean, I guess if you, if somebody said, stop smoking or you'll pass away, you'd stop doing that or eat better or you could, you know, it's going to be destructive to your life.

but I think by and large, early 30s, you kind of are what you are. I don't think I've made a massive life change since 32 years old. You don't think I'm able to- People are capable of change? I think change is hard. But the amateurs, maybe. Well, I'm trying to think of a structural change I've made in my life since 32. Yeah.

Well, you don't have a lot of structure. You've got to fly by the seat of your pants. You know, this is a problem. You know, tighten it up, coward. Come on. Jay Mack with the news. Turn on the news. This is the herd line news.

All right, Raven Steelers will be the final game of the 20, 25 regular season. Aaron Rogers, will it be his final game in his storied career? Mike Tomlin was asked about the potential that this could be the last time we see Aaron Rogers on a football field. You know, I don't know that I've taken time to ponder that. I'm just committed to making sure that it's not He's certainly been an awesome contributor to our efforts And not only from a talent perspective and an experienced perspective But just his professionalism, his relationship with the game

His love for his teammates and his willingness to help them grow And get better and gain better understanding Each and every day has been cool to be a part of Yeah, it's not going to be the prettiest game I think I would probably, I don't know how Pittsburgh is going to move the ball. I really don't. Without D.K. Metcalfe, they don't have a one or a two receiver.

And now Washington's out. So Friermouth, Warren, cross your fingers, don't turn it over. I think Pittsburgh could win if, you know, Huntley throws a pick six. I mean, Pittsburgh's won games this year where the offense hasn't been good. They do it about as much as anybody. They can just kind of figure up. Mike Tomlin is an underdog. figures out ways to inspire his team.

I could see them winning honestly 1716 or something like that. It'll be low scoring. But it's interesting, the whole nostalgia angle of Rogers. I don't get nostalgic for stuff like this. You know, like I don't get into Hall of Fame speeches. And honestly, I had not given an ounce of thought. If the Steelers lose this and Rogers is done, okay, he's done. He's retired.

Like, I don't, does that do anything for you? Are you like, man, man? Remember that Aaron Rogers? No, I mean, he's already a Hall of Fame. What are his numbers this year? Like, what is his passer rating this year? He's not really relevant enough for me to commit that to memory or even close to it. Like, he's not a top 10 quarterback, so who cares?

I don't know. I haven't paid a lot of attention to Rogers. You know, I'm kind of rooting again. Like, I'm into, let's get some new stuff. I'm sick of the dead wood. Like, you know, like Rogers is done. He's not a great quarterback anymore. Can we see more Brock Purdy?

Can we see more young guys? I would say the Steelers role is pretty interesting. So, you know, he's completed 65. percent of his throws. Okay. 95 passer rating. When you consider this franchise,

run game history, O-line history last seven years, I think he's overachieved. If you would have told me... Wait, wait, overachieved this year? Yeah, if you would have told me,

coming in here, 23 touchdowns, seven picks, 95 passer rating, and they make the playoffs if they win Sunday. I would have been, not shocked,

I would have said, oh God, I'd take that. absolutely take it to the bank. I mean, go back to the Jets days. So I think Aaron has more than lifted his weight here. I think Aaron's been,

honestly, this is the most impressed I've been with Aaron since maybe one of the MVP years in Green Bay when you had Lafleur and a better O'line and a better culture offensively. I think Aaron's been impressive. I really do.

So that got me thinking, You were, you know, taking some jazz at LeBron earlier. It's over. LeBron's old. LeBron's putting up great numbers with the Lakers this year. Who's having a better year in their 40s? LeBron with the Lakers right now or Aaron Rogers this season with the Steelers? Aaron.

Because I think Aaron's yards and completions are elevating an average team to wins. LeBron, his plus minus, is one of the worst on the Lakers. He gets in the way defensively. Aaron's absolutely a plus. Aaron's absolutely in terms of decision making. He doesn't turn the ball over much. He pre-snap, he gets you out of trouble. I mean, without D.K. Metcalf, without D.K. Metcalf,

Pittsburgh does not have a receiver in the top 90, according to PFF. That's not an Aaron Rogers issue. This place is quicksand, and he somehow can. kept this team above water. All right, I'll see all that stuff. And I'll raise you this. Last year, the Steelers went 10 and 7, made the playoffs with Russell Wilson and Justin Fields as their quarterbacks.

And Aaron Rogers is elevating them? Like, I just don't see that at all. I mean, in the AFC last year, had a healthy Lamar and a healthy Patrick Mahomes. So, like, are we sure, Roger? I mean, maybe it's because the AFC's down. I mean, I just don't see Rogers as being. Last year, the red zone matters, right? Good teams like the Niners are good in the Red Zone.

Steelers bought them for Red Zone offense last season. This year, top half of the league. That's Aaron. That's just Aaron making smart plays. So, I mean, to me, I don't know. I have been critical of Aaron. I think he has been everything that you could hope for it at 41 or 42. I really think he's played well.

Hey, I'll say this. He had a great run, Hall of Fame career. Yes. You know, congrats. I know I sound a little negative. Come on. Maybe I'll be,

maybe that's my New Year's resolution. More positivity from J. Mack. Is that fair? Well, how about this? We contextualize the Steelers had a top 12 defense last year. It's terrible this year. They're 27th. So Aaron's having to carry an atrocious defense.

And now with no D.K. Metcalfe. If they win Sunday, we have to all give it up. for Aaron. Bad defense, no receiver in the top 90, inconsistent run game, and you make the playoffs in the AFC. Or how about this? If he loses to Snoop Huntley in Week 18, we have to tear down,

Aaron. How about a deal? Let's shake on it. All right, next time. The Chicago Bears, Colin, I did not know this stat. They're the only team in the NFL, the history of the NFL to not have a 4,000-yard passer. Now, Caleb Williams is close. He needs 270 yards to reach that mark. This is kind of hard, difficult to wrap my head around.

No 4,000 yard passers? I mean, the jets have had so many. Bears haven't had one. Does Caleb hit the mark with 270 against the lions in the finale? They're certainly capable of it. I mean, Burden's now really something. They've done a lot

of it without Roma Dunzee. He's supposed to be back. Now, I don't know. What's up with burden in the knee? You're on the ground. Your boots on ground in Chicago. They'll probably rest him. I got to tell you something. They've done, this offense has gotten better without Roma Dunzee, which has allowed DJ Moore and Caleb to connect. Burdens

become more of a factor. Some of it is contextually, the Niners defense can't stop anybody. Packers didn't have Micah. So yeah, but Burden has looked very good. He looked like an explosive to him. Oh, oh, by the way, I thought about this. I'm blazing five. I've got only three games I can

bet. I literally don't know who's playing these games. How can you bet five games? I'm looking at the report today. We know there's three games everybody's going to try and play. Raven Steelers, Niners, Seahawks, Panthers, Bucks. After that, yeah. Everybody's, it's like, remember the COVID years

where you'd wake up Sunday and a team would be like, we have 11 guys that can't play? Like, I don't know how you can make five bets this week. So, you want me to give you a freebie? This is easy money. What? Your guy, Joe Burrow and the Bengals. They're trying really hard.

Yes, yeah. They're trying to finish. and it's against Miles Garrett, they're on the road. I should not have done that. We'll save it for later in the week. All right. Final story, college football.

Here we go. Four good games over the next 48 hours. I think this Fernando Mendoza, Indiana, Alabama game, by the way, could be played in a bit of a rainstorm out here as a heads up for the weather guys. Here's Mendoza talking about the matchup with Alabama and the excitement of the game. Pressure is a privilege.

Like although that we, you know, we're the number one seed in the college ball playoff. And with all these high expectations, Indiana is the first time Indiana has ever done this. We don't have, you know, this win against the Rose Bowl. We don't have the national championship. We don't have the semi-final win yet. We don't have the Rose Bowl, you know, trophy, or we don't have roses in her mouth yet. We've got to go get it. We got to go take it. I like this guy, man.

I like him. You know, we're getting to the point now is that everybody's starting to pick apart this kid. I'm starting to read. You know, all these mock drafts, and it's like, oh, he slipped to five or six. He's going number one. Well, I'll just say this. The Dante Moore angle is interesting. We'll see what happens with him.

But Mendoza is no consolation prize. That guy's an awesome talent. I hear Andrew Luck, and when I watch him, I see like a young Joe Flacco in Baltimore. Not fleet of foot, but faster than Flacco. But he just articulates so well, Colin. And he seems to be happy when he's talking. to reporters. You know, they're not no serious game face. I like

Indiana against Alabama. I mean, he's a pocket guy, but he can move. Yes. He moves better than like a Stafford or a golf. He can move. He moves better than Matt Ryan. He can move. Your starter. There's nothing about him I don't like. He's not Andrew Luck athletically. He's not darnal. I hear

Andrew Luck, just like an articulate, intelligent human being. Big, strong, accurate, playing in a great conference, highly productive. Went to Outson, stadium. Ohio State couldn't win at Otson last year. He went to Austin and dominated the ducks. More was bad in that game, yeah.

Yeah. No, he's good. Is there one lock you want to give out for the college football playoff? We haven't talked lines or spreads for those much. Well, if I get like three and a half, I would take tech to cover against Oregon. You don't get three and a half. It's two and a half. You can't just pick your lines, buddy.

No, no. Oregon's two and a half. but I mean Indiana 7 I think my best bet Indiana is going to blow Alabama out I have a feeling that could be in play Indiana is going to blow Alabama out

You know how there's betting percentages are out there one of these guys I'm not going to say which company said that the most bets were on Alabama money line of the four and I'm like Are people dumb? I guess these are the people Joe Public going to Vegas for New Year's Eve

Hey let me put a long shot Alabama to win the title. It's Alabama. And they're in for a rude awakening. Indiana's no joke. I mean, how many people can go to Oregon and hammer Oregon, last five, six, seven? Well, that Ohio State game was even more impressive. I thought Ohio State would wax them. And I was like, whoa, this team's legit.

That defensive line, Signetti, by the way. Hey, that guy's good. Well, old guys can coach college football now because it's so administrative and transactional. You buy players. You don't have to be watching high school games on Friday night. So a Signetti or a Kyle Winningham, I mean, if Belichick was any good with personnel, he'd win in Carolina. You can buy players now. I mean, everybody used to buy players.

It was called the SEC. And now everybody gets to, and the SEC isn't as good. Hold on. Hold on. Let's just say Jets get two. Dante Moore goes one. Can the Jets get Mendoza and Signetti? Is that in play?

No shot? First of all, Mendoza's going ahead of Dante Moore. And Dante Moore's staying in college. Let a boy dream. Come on. J. Mack with the news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The Herd Lye News.

One of my favorite NFL guys, I just learned he's obsessed with football. That's next. The Hurd. Be sure to catch live editions of The Herd weekdays in noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific. On Fox Sports Radio, FS1, and the I-Hard Radio. Radio app. 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. 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. 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, 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. 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. SportsSlice brings you closer to the action with stories told by the people who live them. Listen to SportsSlice on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Slic Life 12 and the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. The French Open is one of the toughest tests in tennis.

And I know firsthand because I competed there myself. I'm Renee Stubbs, and on the Renee Stubbs tennis podcast, I'm breaking down everything happening at Roland Garris. Every match, every upset, and what it really takes to win on Clay. Jenchian win. I mean, she went down in three to Rabakina, but I'm delighted. She's an outsider to win the French for me. And she likes Clay.

Listen, Lena Rubakina is arguably the best player in the world right now. And I actually can win on any surface. Because if she's serving, well, Good luck. Consider this your court-side seat to the French Open. Listen to the Renee Stubbs Tennis podcast on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Presented by Capital One, founding partner of IHeart Women's Sports. 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 one, 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. Saturday, primetime hoops is on Fox with a Big Ten showdown as fifth ranked Purdue takes on Wisconsin.

It all tips off at 8 p.m. Eastern Saturday on Fox. Days, I tend to think about my days in sections. Days are very long. Let's say you sleep, I can give you seven and a half hours a day to sleep, I can give you an hour to work out, two total hours to eat, three and a half hours to socialize, listen to music, read, hang out. If I ask you to work the other ten hours, am I demanding? Days are long. Don't you ever find yourself like scrolling on the phone, sitting around, waiting for stuff? you can give yourself three and a half hours of socializing seven and a half sleep work out for an hour to an hour and a half couple hours to eat

stuff 10 hours left in a day and so yeah like i like my football players to be kind of obsessed to kind of think football a lot not all day but a lot i don't think working or thinking about work 10 hours a day is asking much if i pay you millions of dollars and Max Crosby was talking to Jim Gray recently, and he said, yeah, I'm one of those crazy guys that loves the game. My whole life has been football and sports. Like that has been my obsession since I was a little kid. I love the game, man. This is my whole life. And when I look back, I know I'm never going to look in the mirror and say, damn, I wish I would have worked a little harder.

I think that is such a healthy way to live. Like I watch Sean McVeigh's press conference after he, loses, he's sick. He looks pale. Shanahan, after he loses, like they, Bill Parcell's, like, Bill Parcell's, Tony Romo fumbled a snap in Seattle, going for the game winning kick, and like Parcell said, it's not healthy. I can't, I can't coach like this. I'm getting ill. That's okay. I love Max Crosby, but I, Jay Glazer said this years ago, the great ones, the Mannings, the Mahomes, that they're all a little upset.

I'm okay with it. So, we were talking earlier about, generally I feel pretty good about quarterbacks. Like, I like this guy, I don't like that guy, like this guy, I don't like that guy. I have a pretty good track record. I feel pretty good about it, not perfect like anybody would be. I think one of the guys that's hard to kind of grasp is any quarterback that's with Kyle Shanahan. Matt Schaub was a pro bowler, Matt Ryan's MVP, Garoppolo got to a Super Bowl, Brock Purdy looks unbelievable. I do think there's a stat in this league, which tends to be.

to really tell the truth about quarterbacks. When everybody in the league knows you have to throw, that's different than play action, or playing with a lead, or playing with a great run game. When I know you've got to throw, how good are you? That's when Brady was unbelievable.

That's when Mahomes has been unbelievable. In their careers, Brock Purdy and Bo Nix, when trailing with four minutes left, Bo Nix is a pro bowler. Brock Purdy, 85 passer rating, three touchdowns, six picks. Bo Nix is as good as any quarterback in the league. One guy goes first round, one guy's last pick.

I do think Brock Purdy is more situational than Bo Nix. I think Bo Nix is a better athlete. I think Bo Nix makes fewer mistakes. I think he's better trailing. I think he's consistently better lay. I don't think it's conditional. I don't think he has to have his best running back or best tied end or best wide receiver. But as Greg Kosell said, there are things that Purdy does that are exceptional.

Defense has changed. They change the picture pre-snap to post-snap. You can't be oblivious to the defense. And I think Purdy just has such an innate feel of seeing it right away. Whatever it is, he sees it right away. You know, two things that he does so well that were tough to know in college, timing and anticipation, and just innately seeing it right away. And that's what Sam Darnold said about Brock Purdy. That's what Darnold said when he went to San Francisco for that year.

And people asked him about it, and he said it privately and publicly. Brock Purdy's ability, smart kid, to cognitively see it, let it rip and get the ball there. Man, he sees the field. 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. 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 podcast.

I'm Michelle McPhee, and I've been unraveling the strangest criminal alliance I've ever reported on. A Mormon polygamist and an Armenian businessman. Multi-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 Aihar 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 SportsSlice comes in. I'm Timbo. And every episode, we're cutting through the noise, breaking down the biggest moments in sports and giving you the real story behind the headline.

And we're going straight to the source, the athletes themselves. Their locker room stories, their reactions in the moment, and the stuff nobody gets to hear. Listen to Sports Slice on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you, you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Slica Life 12 in the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. Winning on Clay is an art. The rallies are relentless. And at the French Open, only the toughest

survive. I'd know. I competed there for decades. Join me, Renee Stubbs, on the Renee Stubbs tennis podcast for no nonsense breakdowns of the biggest matches, the toughest players, and the moments that define Roland Garris. Jenchian, she's an outsider to win the French name. And she likes Clay. Listen, Lennarabakina is arguably the best player in the world right now, and I actually can win on any surface. Listen to the Renee Stubbs tennis podcasts on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. Presented by Capital One, founding partner of IHeart Women's Sports.

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