The Herd with Colin Cowherd - THE HERD - Hour 2 - Ranking the top players in the AFC Title game, Patriots have the edge, Greg Cosell

Episode Date: January 22, 2026

Colin ranks the top 10 players in the AFC Championship Game including why Patriots QB Drake Maye is clearly inside the top 5. Plus, Greg Cosell from NFL Films joins the show to breakdown what Bears QB Caleb Williams still needs to improve on and why the Rams can have success against the Seahawks' #1 defense.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Live in Chicago, it's the herd. Wherever you may be, however you may be watching, listening, whatever the platform. I grab a yellow notepad whenever we get the big games. Super Bowl Conference Championship, one or two regular season games, NBA finals. Say, who are the 10 best players? And so we decided today, AFC, tomorrow, NFC, Ram Cahawks. Before we get to Greg Kosell in a couple of minutes, who are the 10 best players between the Patriots and Broncos, in our opinion, or at least mine, heading into the AFC championship?

And here we go. Number 10. Mike Onwenu, Interior lineman New England, allowed two sacks on 722 pass-blocking snaps. One of the top four to five best guards in the NFL. Again, it's not a great O lineman. It's not a great O line. He is a great Interior O lineman. Number nine.

Cortland Sutton. I think he's the most underrated number one receiver in the league. led Denver in catches, yards, touchdowns. I mean, he catches touchdowns. There's only five guys in the league. You start looking around. One of five guys, thousand yards, seven plus touchdowns last two years. And boy, do they depend on them in big drives or what?

I mean, they locked, Bo Nicks locks in on him whenever they need a big play. Cortland Sutton 9. Number eight. Christian Gonzalez. Patriots are 13 and 1 and allow 18 points a game when, he plays this season. Opposing quarterbacks mostly avoid him. Opposing quarterbacks have a

61 passer rating when they go after Christian Gonzalez. Long, fast, strong, good hands, strong hands. He's an ace. Christian Gonzalez. Number seven. Zach Allen,

one of the better defensive linemen that doesn't get credit. He led the NFL and quarterback hits and pressures this season, including the playoffs. He's a beast. Didn't they get him from Arizona? Nobody was talking about it. Great acquisition. Unheralded, big inside for Denver.

Number six. Garrett Bowles probably plays a more important position, left tackle. Highest graded overall pass blocker in the entire national footballing. Higher than Trent Williams. He is a great pass blocker. Fourth rated OT overall, Garrett Bulls. Number five. Stefan Diggs.

Here's what's amazing and rare. He is graded as a top 10 receiver, not only when he lines up next to the sideline, but also as a slot. You can move him all over the offense. And I don't think they would have nearly the success. He's the one guy. Sometimes you have to bracket, put a couple people on. Stefan Diggs. Number four.

Quinn Miners, Best Guard, arguably in. football highest graded guard this season first team all pro it's another guy there's another guy they just don't allow and they don't allow to loss sacks bow nicks doesn't get sacked some of it is bulls and minors some of it's bo necks dad's a coach doesn't take sacks quin minor's a great player number three and he's not even in his prime drake may he'll get better first player nflbill 70% completion percentage, 4,000 passing yards, and rush for over 450 yards. And again, I don't even think he's in his prime. I don't even think so far he's been great in the playoffs.

Drake May 3. Number two. Nick Benito, outside of Miles Garrett. He's the only player with 13 plus sacks the last two years, and he'll probably get one this weekend. I remember a college out of Oklahoma, I was like, good player, and he's kind of thin. That's wrong on that. He just feels like he's getting better every year of his career. And he is a dog in big moments.

He is a, he not Miles Garrett maybe, but has a chance to be a Hall of Famer. He is just a, he's a dog in big spots. Number one. Patrick Sartan, I think, is you can make the argument. He's the best corner, reigning defensive player of the year, four-time Pro Bowl to last four years. Voted the number 10 player in the league by other players. Six Broncos, four page.

but New England at the most important position has a sizable advantage. Drake May over Jared Stidham. And I think that's the difference in the game. Like J-Mack, I think it's really close. And I think I said this about Buffalo. I think Denver's high-end talent is outstanding. Bowles and Zach Allen and Quinn Miners and Benito and Certain. I don't think, I don't think there's many teams.

in the league, maybe Philadelphia, maybe the Rams who have better high-end talent. Now, if you went 11 through 15, I think you'd have a few more Patriots, but 6-4, Denver. And with that, you know, Greg CoSell may think I'm out of my mind. Let's go to Greg CoSell. Forty, six years, NFL films. I have a soft spot for interior offensive linemen because we never talk about them, but they're, Quinn Miner is a great example of a guy that, you know, nobody ever talks about, but he and Bowles, that offensive line for Denver's a real thing. Your thoughts, Greg?

I'm just wondering where the long snappers are on your list, Colin. I figured they'd be in the top ten. You know, the player that really stood out to me, and I'm glad you had him very high, and I think it speaks to a significant matchup in this game, is Nick Benito. Because as I'm sure you've noticed, and I've studied the tape, obviously, will Campbell has been having significant problems in one-on-one pass protection over the last two, three weeks, against really good rushers of which Benito is. I mean, Campbell has struggled with Mack and away from the Chargers. He struggled big time with Hunter and Anderson from the Texans.

And now he's going to get almost exclusively Benito, because Benito lines up pretty much on the right side of the defense, 97, 98 percent of the time. And the thing is, is the Patriots are well aware of this, So what they've started to do is help him, either helping him with chips, which they do a lot, or even with a primary pass protector. And that has an impact through your entire pass game because now there's fewer receivers you can send out as primary receivers. So you lose the numbers game even before the play starts because you can't send out five eligibles. So I think that matchup, Campbell versus Benito and how the Patriots want to deal with that is a pretty significant part of this game.

All right, let's talk about two stories before we get to the matchups between New England, Denver, and Seattle Rams. Caleb Williams, what did the film say about Caleb and the Lost the Rams? Uneven, and I think he's been like that. He's just spectacular on the good plays. So I think, and he'll get better and better. I've talked to a lot of coaches over the years, I'm sure you have as well. And most coaches will tell you that it takes two to three years for a quarterback to really get a sense of master. within a specific offensive system.

And we know that Ben Johnson's system has a lot of detail, a lot of complexity, a lot of nuance, and that's going to take some time. There's no question this guy is a really kind of elite talent, just the way he throws a ball, but he's going to have to work on his lower body mechanics, because he throws a lot of balls off balance because his arm talent, just as an arm, is so good. But that's one reason why his ball placement at times becomes inconcernation. consistent and erratic. But I would expect the future to be very bright. I mean, he's really gifted. He clearly got better as the year progressed. So, I mean, I think it's a positive. There's

nothing really negative to say. The guy's only in his second year. Yeah. Mike McDaniel Chargers, what will he potentially bring to Justin Herbert that maybe he hasn't had in his career? Yeah, I don't know if you know Mike McDaniel at all. I've been around him, and he's an incredibly intelligent guy, just overall, and incredibly intelligent in football as well. And, you know, a lot of people immediately thought, well, what's you going to do? You know, you can't run the two offense with Justin Herbert. Mike McDaniel knows that. I'm sure that was discussed, and he's not going to do that. There might be elements of that, because there's always elements of quick game and rhythm throws in any offense. But he's going to look at Justin Herbert, which I'm sure he has

already in great detail. He probably did that before he interviewed with them, and he's going to see exactly what Justin Herbert's traits are, and he will tailor what he does in the past game to what Justin Herbert is, because you always tailor your past game to your quarterback's strengths, and you try to minimize what you believe his limitations are. The one area that I think will improve dramatically will be their run game. I mean, obviously they had a lot of injuries on the O'Line line. You assume that Slater and Ald will be back. I would expect O'Marion Hamden have a really good season this year in a Mike McDaniel run game. But I think it's a really good signing because Mike McDaniel is incredibly intelligent, very expansive, very thoughtful.

Okay, let's talk New England and Denver. Do the Patriots offense or the Patriots defense match up better against the Broncos? Well, the Patriots defense over the last number of weeks has really been good and they've increased their blitz frequency and their blitz quotients quite a bit. They play a ton of man coverage. And it'll be interesting to see how Sean Payton deals with Jared Stidham. Now, Jared Stimnum's been in that offense for three years. He's been with Sean Payton. So this isn't new to him, but obviously it's new playing, and it's obviously a big game.

But my sense is Sean Payton, to me, is not the kind of guy that's going to try to hide the quarterback. I think he's going to play his offense. Now, again, that doesn't mean he'll do exactly the same thing he would have Boone Knicks is playing, but I think it's about concepts. And he's going to try to be aggressive, I would think, on early downs where, The predictability of the defense is more than it is on, let's say, pure past situations or third and long.

But I do not believe he will try to hide his quarterback in this game at all. But this has become a very difficult defense to play against with a lot of really good players that a lot of people might not be aware of like Milton Williams, like Barmore. They're really good inside. Let me ask you, Jared Stead him out of college. Do you recall how you sized him out? What did you think of him?

I thought Stidim was the kind of guy that in the right situation with development and cultivation could be one of those mid-level type starters. You know, he would need other things. You know, he need a run game. He need a good defense because he wasn't the kind of guy you'd want dropping back 35 or 40 times. That he could end up being that kind of guy, you know, and it hasn't worked out. And there's many, many reasons why that does work out and doesn't work out. But I thought that he was good enough to be one of those mid-level starters. if the situation was absolutely correct.

Yeah, kind of a Kirk Cousins maybe where you could win a division with him, you may not win Super Bowls, but you can win a lot of games. Stylistically, yes, I think he's that. And he was a little more mobile than Kirk Cousins. But, yeah, he's, you know, again, we don't know what he's going to do in this game. There's no way of knowing. There's no way of predicting. I guess I'd be surprised if he's bad, but, you know, again, he's probably,

they're not going to ask him to carry them unless the game turns into that, kind of game where he has to drop back 40 times. No, we know Denver gets a pass rush. Is the Bronco defense built to stop or slow down Drake May and this offense? It's not Houston, but it is aggressive and get sacks. Well, the crazy thing was, Colin, the Bronco defense was not very good last week. And from what everything I've heard, they were playing against a quarterback who apparently is one of the worst in football.

That's what I seem to have been hearing all week on social media. But they could not stop the bills. The bills put up 30 points against them, and that does not happen at mile high or whatever they call it now, I guess. That doesn't happen very often at all. They really didn't get to Josh Allen very much. The bills pretty much went up and down the field. So I would assume they'll play better. You know, the Patriots offense is obviously a very good offense.

May has not been quite as good in the playoffs clearly. Last week, they played a really good defense, and that defense really dominated the. Patriots offense last week, the Texans defense did. I would expect the pass rush to be a bigger factor this week. We talked about Will Campbell. So, you know, it is a very, very good defense, and they're good at all three levels. Now, the one area where I think you can attack with the Broncos defense is I think you can attack their linebackers in the past game. Yeah. All right. Ram Seahawks, L.A. in two games has averaged 30 points and 415 yards. That's saying something against Seattle's defense. Why have the Rams offensively been so effective against Seattle's defense?

Well, and everybody wants to talk Stafford, and in the second game, Stafford was phenomenal, but they have been able to run the ball, Colin, against that defense, and very few people have been able to do that. I think they've run for 120 plus in both games. The style of running with their duo concept where you have double teams on both defensive tackles has allowed them to be somewhat effective because most teams cannot get Byron Murphy and Leonard Williams block. They're two defensive tackles on Seattle. Most teams can't get those guys blocked. The 49ers in two games could not get those guys blocked. They've both been unbelievably good. It's a really good defense. They're a nickel defense. Eminwari is a, you know, plays, lines up in different

spots, depending on what the offensive formation is, and he's basically a four-three Sam linebacker. They're just very good at all three levels. And they're a team that plays mostly out of a two-deep shell, so it's very hard to get big plays over the top of them. Yeah. The Rams defense has flummoxed, has confused Sam Darnold. Belichick had success with this. What do the Rams do to, I mean, Sam Darnock.

Arnold, a lot of wins and a lot of yards and a lot of touchdowns the last two years. Rams have given him fits. Why? Yeah, I think one of the things you try to do with any quarterback, but with Donald, who's always at times had this issue, is changing the picture pre-snap to post-snap. Some might remember in the second game there was interception by Wallace, who doesn't play now because Lake's back, but there was an interception by Wallace where they showed man-to-man pre-snap, and it turned out to be zone, and Sam read it as man and through a pass that was picked off.

So I think with Sam Donald, you try to do a lot of that. You try to change the picture, pre-snap to post-snap. Now, one area where the Seahawks have been much better over the last month is running the football. Now, obviously, Charbonnet's out in this game, but Walker's been much better. Walker's been attacking downhill much more so over the last three, four games. He's often been much more of, I always thought of him as kind of a jazz musician. sort of improvising and looking for things, whereas the last three, four weeks, he's been a little more attacking downhill and getting the hard yards. And that has allowed them to stay on schedule,

and it's also with their defense, allowed Darnold not to have to throw that many balls. Now, whether that happens in this game, that's hard to know. You don't know how it's going to play out. But in an ideal world, I don't think they want Sam Darnold dropping back 35 times. I think they wanted to be a very balanced offense and have their defense in some ways control the pace and tempo of the game. Is the defense for Seattle scheme-centric coaching, or is it just, listen, they're long, fast? I mean, I'll say this, to get to Marcus Lawrence at 33. Yeah.

I mean, I watched him this year. I'm like, did he got leaner? Who gets better at 33 on the defensive side? Yeah. Did they just put it in better schemes? I mean, Nick McCormor, the safety out of South Carolina has been fantastic. What is it for Seattle? It's been fantastic.

You know, I would never want to say that that there's, not major scheme elements to a defense because you'd have to know all the individual things they do and were not in the meetings. But by NFL standards, when I watch their tape, Colin, I would say that they're more static than they are doing 100 different things like some defenses. But everything they do for the most part is out of a two-shell look, even their pressures, there's two-shell behind it, so they really don't give up much over the top. I would say their pressures are where they're really, really good. They're not a high percentage blitz team, okay?

They rush four. They rush four, and they start really, really well. But when they do pressure, it's really well done. And Mike McDonald has such a great understanding of protections by the opponent and how to break them down. Because that's ultimately what you're trying to do with pressure. You're trying to break down protections. Finally, Sam Darnold, give me a play you like from Darnold this week. Yeah, I thought Darnold, there was a great play.

The touchdown he threw to Smith and Jigb. And he only threw, I think, 17 balls this week. But let's look at the touchdown. He threw to Smith and Jigba, because this was just a really, really good play. And the kind of play that is just one of those, you go, wow, that's just really good. And so this play, obviously, low red zone. You're going to see Darnold. He's under center.

It's 12 personnel. You're going to have the back and two tight ends. You're going to see the two receivers here, Cup and Smith and Jigba. Now, they have reduced splits, and the reason they have reduced splits is because they're going to run mirrored crossers. So when you run crossers, very often you want your receivers closer to the ball because you want to get them across the field. So now what happens here is you're going to see Pressman on the outside receivers, a cup and Smith and Jigba by the 49ers. And you're going to see Barner Hill motion across the formation. Now, that's just a mechanic of the play, is motion across the formation.

Obviously, it's an important part, but he's going to do it. So now what you're going to get is you're going to get play action, and Sam Darnold will boot to his left. He'll boot into the boundary, so there's not a lot of space. So ultimately, what he's looking for here is Smith and Jigba on the crosser into the boundary. But that's very muddied, Kyle. And that's a very muddy look. You're just uncertain as to where to throw the football.

So Sam has to keep rolling. He has to keep rolling out. And as he gets further out, he sees there's another safety sitting right there. This play right now looks like it is absolutely dead. But he just keeps rolling and makes an unbelievable throw to Smith and Jake. And you can see from this angle just how hard and difficult a throw this is. And that's just a big time throw. And the key thing, as we all know with any quarterback, people like to focus with Donald about it, is turnovers.

And if he doesn't turn it over, their team is really, really good in pretty much every area. Greg Kosel, 46 years, NFL films. We always get smarter. Great seeing you, Greg. Thanks, Colin. Appreciate it. Boy, that is going to be something else. These games are going to be really...

I'm bummed out. I want to see Bo Nex. But I remember Jared Stidman College. I mean, Sean Payton got to Denver. Remember when he paid him $12 million to be a backup? He was with the Raiders, I think. They paid him $12 million. I remember being on the air that day.

Man, he must like him. So, you know, I always say, Who likes the quarterback? Shanahan loved Arnold. Kevin O'Connell really liked Arnold. Yeah, I kept buying into Donald. McVeigh really like Baker Mayfield. Well, I know Baker Mayfield's pretty good.

Stefansky for a while, really like Baker Mayfield. Liam Cohen, really like Baker Mayfield. That tells me Baker Mayfield's pretty good. One more herd? The herd streams 24 hours a day, seven days a week, within the IHeart radio app. Search Herd to listen live or on demand whenever you'd love. Hey, is Covino and Rich from Fox Sports Radio?

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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. 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 on Humor Me with Robert Smygel and Friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier.

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What's up, fam? It's Isaiah Thomas. And I'm C.J. Toledano, and our podcast Point Game is about defying the odds. Like LeBron heading into the playoffs without Luca and Austin Reed. And finding ways to win no matter what. He's the smartest player to ever play the game. His IQ is at a level that we've never seen before. And he knows.

Without Luca and Austin Reeves, I got to manipulate the game. We get a player's perspective on the challenges of the playoffs. I think Joker's going to be exhausted. at this series because when they don't have Rudy in the lineup, he has to really guard guys like Nas Reid. He has to guard Julius Randall. And then he has to give us everything he gives us on the night-to-night basis on offense. And when IT's friends stop by, like Quentin Richardson, we dive into some playoff history too.

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

So listen to Point Game on the Iheart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Keith Gianmanca seemed like a mild-mannered suburban dad, but secretly, he became someone else, a master of disguise who went on a crime spree. At the time, did it seem like a crazy idea? It seemed very crazy, but I felt so desperate that I felt it was

the quickest, easiest way out. Did you allow yourself to think about how it could go wrong and what that might look like? No, I didn't want to manifest that. I was trying to manifest success. Every family has its secrets. But what happens when you discover that your dad has been living a double life?

That is not the look of an innocent man. This is going to change my life and my family dynamic forever because everything that had existed prior in my reality is now untrue. Listen to Deep Cover the Family Man on the IHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Those jobs are filling up.

Steelers got a guy yet? Pittsburgh Stalers got a guy yet? Old school Pittsburgh? Just checking. J-Mac with the news. No, no, no, no. Turn on the news. This is the herd line news.

Try to tell people, Colin, Steeler's job, ain't a good one. That franchise is sinking while the Rams and Seahawks. They're soaring. Oh, you like that? Seahawks soaring. We got the big NFC championship game Sunday on Fox. Now listen to this closely.

McVeigh was breaking down the challenge of facing Sam Darnel for a third time. Listen closely. Is this a shot at your boy? You want to be careful not to chase ghosts? It is about good execution, good fundamentals. They're a great team, and they're great in all three. phases. We'd like to think when we're humming and we're at our best, we're pretty good too. And so you are aware of those things, but you don't want to do it at the detriment of allowing

guys to be able to go execute and play the way that they're capable of. Chasing ghosts jab? I don't think it is. It's not really in his DNA, but it's an interesting turn of phrase, no? Yeah, I just, I don't, that's not really how McVeigh is very respectful, at least publicly. you know, he's a very respectful guy, very respectful to the league and the shield and the organization, very humble and grateful. I don't think he would do that. Especially on two days, three days out from the game, I don't think you want to rattle the Seahawks Seattle Cage.

I'm assuming what he meant was, hey, we won the first meeting, we shredded in the second meeting. You know, let's not look at that. We've got to come up with some new stuff, right? I am curious, though, what the Rams did in that week 16 game, that was just six weeks. ago. The teams have not changed that much from them. That's right. Except the Rams are now adding Devante Adams and arguably their best offensive linemen, who were not there

that day. And the Seahawks are down Charbonnet. By the way, Charbonnet was integral in both games. He had 13 touches in each of them. He was. He's the much better blocking back as well. Yeah. No, it's, um, these are really even teams. One superior offensively, I mean, McVeigh's

an offensive coach. That gives you an edge, but McDonald's defensively is really sharp. I think the bet is L.A. plus points. That's my take on this. We know Stafford's good in these big games. We don't know yet. I mean, Darnal, it wasn't a big lift last week.

I think, you know, I've said this, they're both can be a little reckless. I mean, Matt Stafford missed on four or five throws that he usually makes last week. The weather was bad. He also had been before last week on a seven-game seven-pick streak. The difference is his resume's better

and he's won these big games. But, you know, you put pressure on Stafford, he lets it go. He's an aggressive downfield thrower. Donald's an aggressive downfield thrower. I think it feels like to me that the positions that are really, really important, like

head coach and quarterback, the Rams have an experience advantage in this spot. Seattle's the second youngest team in the league. That leads me to believe, if it was in L.A., I'd really like the Rams in Seattle. I like the points. But when I have a head coach,

a quarterback advantage in a big spot. Also, Devonthe Adams, tight ends. Kiron Williams has been around now several big games. There's some key places here. Rams defense is mostly young, but Cam Curl's been around that safety for a while. They got from Baltimore. Landman was in the league before the Rams had him.

I just think they have experience at really good spots. Yeah. You want to guess how many games the Rams lost by more than three points this season? Just looking at their schedule here. One. Yeah, that Eagles game, the blocked field goal at the buzzer, that they didn't even need. Every other game is close. The Rams are in every single game.

Now, I will add, as I'm looking here at the schedule, third straight road game for the Rams. On the road in Carolina, on the road last week in Chicago, now to Seattle, you know, for whatever that's worth. All right, let's move on to the Buffalo Bills. They are this week's flaming dumpster fire in the NFL. the Terry Pagula press conference, the Brandon Bean stuff. Sean McDermott. I'm sure McDermott's side is going to come out here soon, but Brandon Bean took questions from the media

talking about his relationship with McDermott. There's certain things that fall in his area, whether it's managing a game, how we scheme the game, whatever it is that are his, and then there's certain decisions that personnel related, somebody's got to make the final call. What was the saying?

Can I help him a little? Can I help you about the power play part of that? I'm the kind of guy. If I sense you're on a power play, you're out. I don't like the owner stepping in, Colin. I don't know about you. Let Brandon Bean fight his own fight. I think the owners, you know, it's their franchise.

Jerry Jones talks twice a week. Why can't Terry Pagula talk once in a long? How's that Jerry Jones thing's working out for? How many NFC Championship visits? That's good. Thank you for that meatball over the middle. Just a quick thing on the Bean

McDermott, Colin. Like, they had a good run together. And I can't help but think about the Bill Walsh quote. There's a Bill Walsh quote from a book circulating about how, you know what? Coaches are watching film. They're grinding. They're in meetings.

What's the GM doing? He's hanging out with the owner. How do you think that's going? Well, it can't possibly be my fault. We got this amazing roster. We gave him Josh Allen. we gave him everything and they're not winning. That's why GMs are so protected.

And man, I'm just telling you, Buffalo Bills fans, they're not happy with this at all. I don't know how they fix this other than Daibold. Like what other name besides Joe Brady or Daible is going to make them happy? Coaches make two to three times, four times what GMs do. So you don't make as many moves with the GMs because coaches are more important. It's a quarterback coach league, not a quarterback GM league. So GMs don't get fired as much, but they don't make nearly as much money.

So I don't know. I think it's now let's attack Brandon Bean that he's a bum. That's a little strong. Yeah, I mean, I just, you know, I think Brandon Bean, Terry Pagula is a very smart guy. I don't think he'd be manipulated. You know, I'm reading all these stories. Well, this guy, Brandon Bean, he is really. I've heard.

This is what I've been told. Real sharp, very good with a cap, very good with business. Maybe not a top three personnel guy. He's not, the offense has all sorts of good players. Dawson Knox and Dalton Kincaid and go look at their offensive line. James Cook and the slot kid out of Boise State and Josh Allen. So let's not pretend like they don't have any players. By the way, their defensive front, Oliver was his draft fit.

They got the kid out of Iowa. They have some decent guys up front. I don't think of a great defense. Well, but that's the thing. People are drilling down on all these picks that you're like decent, good. And they're not all pros. And they're barely making pro. And I don't even like Pro Bowl as a problem.

Let me ask you this. What's the worst place in the first round of draft? I mean, every GM I've ever talked to. It's fair. But once you get Mahomes, in Buffalo, Baltimore, you start drafting 26th down. That those are second round players. Right. So like the chiefs got Xavier Worthy. Xavier Worthy is a gadget receiver.

It was a weak draft. He was the best guy available. You don't think Xavier Worthy is a first round player. When you draft at the end of the first round player, when you draft at the end of the first round you, they end up getting guys that are really second round players. So let me just defend. The NFL, it's hard to win in this league. But when you get great, I mean, right now, the, think about this. The Rams have been good since McBay got there. They have one first round pick in nine years. They nailed it, Jared, versus one. Why? Because the Rams, and this year,

they've got a really high-end, you know, closer to the middle, but high-end first-round pick. They never have that. So it's like, that's, that's, that's. That's why the Rams, don't be shocked if they don't go get Ty Simpson with their first pick and reach because they're going to be at the bottom of the first round for the next 10 years. Yeah, that's a good question. So how are we supposed to grade GMs? That's the tough one. Is it free agency? Is it the draft?

Like, is it the cap? I mean, it's not easy. Let me say this. There are two or three things if you ask my wife or I asked yours that they're going to judge us on. One or two or three things. You can screw up taking the garbage out. If you're a GM. I do that.

And you get the superstar quarterback right in the draft. You can make a lot of mistakes. You can make a lot of mistakes. All I know is this. Ryan Poles with the Bears. He got DJ Moore. He got Caleb Williams. He made two.

Now, he's had some moves I don't love. But Ben Johnson, Caleb Williams, right? Like, you can say what you want and pick these guys apart. If you get the quarterback right, Brandon Bean got the quarterback right. Brett Veach got the quarterback right. McVeigh rolled the day. Dice had to pay Goff and Stafford. He got the quarterback right.

Which isn't easy. Let's be real. Getting the quarterback right is not easy. Ask my jets. Ask the Browns. I mean, the Panthers with prices. Like a lot of people make that quarterback. Denver had to eventually go get Peyton Manning to replace Elway. All those years, they had smart GMs. They couldn't get the quarterback. Jake Plummer was good, but it's hard. So like if you get the quarterback right, the left tackle, the star, you know, this, that, this is, it's a much harder job than people. You're drafting 22-year-old kids. You go draft a receiver from Florida.

One of the warmest states, he now goes to Buffalo in a sophisticated offense. And it's like, well, how come you're not any good? He's just young. He's trying to, you know, this stuff is way harder than everybody thinks. Get us in that Eagles war room for Howie Roseman. All right. Let's go to the final story, Colin. That's the Kansas City Chiefs.

And after the Eric B. Enemy news that he's their new OC, Travis Kelsey was on his new Heights podcast, and boy, cheese fans desperate for anything positive are taking some breadcrumbs, that this might mean Kelsey is considering returning? E.B. and who he is as a coach, you can see kind of his personality and what he brings to his table in that Chicago team. I can't wait to see him back in the building, man. He's one of my favorite coaches of all time, one of my favorite people of all time.

I've had so many unbelievable, you know, growing moments under him as a player, as a person. And I just love the guy. That was interesting. I can't wait to see him in the building. What does that mean? I don't. I got to be careful here. Listen, a lot of people like Eric Bion.

I know a lot of cheese fans watch the show. I'm just going to tell you what he did since leaving Casey. So he went to the Washington Commanders Assistant Head Coach O.C. didn't quite work out. Then he goes to UCLA. Same deal. Chicago Bears running backs coach this season. Oh, well, maybe he could parlay that in something.

Now he's back with the Chiefs. I don't know if he's going to be calling plays. I don't see what Kelsey's so excited about unless this is getting the band back together deal. The bigger story is Kelsey sounds like he's coming back, I thought. Wow. Come on. He's got to say something. He's got to leave some breadcrumbs out there so you listen to his podcast.

Right? You got to say something. He can't be like, oh, I'm planning a wedding. Planning a wedding of the year. Do I invite Cowherd and McIntyre? Cowherd lives right near the wedding. I am very pro-Travice Kelsey. I hope I get an invite.

Yeah, by the way, I know someone on staff who will be going. I don't know if my wife will let me go to the other. I would be honored to go to Taylor Swift and Travis. Same. Same Zies. Yeah. J-Mack with the news. Well, that's the news.

And thanks for stopping by. The Hurd-Lie News. Ben Johnson said something yesterday the bear's new coach, and he actually was wrong, and he rarely is next. 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, 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 a... 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. 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 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 I-Heart Radio app,

Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. What's up, fam, it's Isaiah Thomas. And I'm C.J. Toledano, and our podcast Point Game is about defying the odds. Like LeBron heading into the playoffs without Luca and Austin Reed. And finding ways to win no matter what. He's the smartest player to ever play the game. His IQ is at a level that we've never seen before. And he knows without Luca and Austin Reeves,

I got to manipulate the game. We get a player's perspective on the challenges of the playoffs. I think Joker's going to be exhausted this series because when they don't have Rudy in the lineup, he has to really guard guys like Nas Reid. He has to guard Julius Randall. And then he has to give us everything he gives us on the night-to-night basis on offense.

And when IT's friends stop by, like Quentin Richardson, we dive into some playoff history too. Steve Nash would get that thing That man, hell get the flying, he running up the court, licking his fingers why he got the ball, like, after you go through a training camp with that Isaiah, you figure it out real quick.

Get your ass up and down the court, and you're going to get the ball. So listen to Point Game on the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Keith Gianmanca seemed like a mild-mannered suburban dad, but secretly, he became someone else, a master of disguise who went on a crime spree. At the time, did it seem like a crazy idea?

It seemed very crazy. But I felt so desperate that I felt it was the quickest, easiest way out. Did you allow yourself to think about how it could go wrong and what that might look like? No, I didn't want to manifest that. I was trying to manifest success. Every family has its secrets. But what happens when you discover that your dad has been living a double life? That is not the look of an innocent man.

This is going to change my life and my family dynamic forever, because everything that had existed prior in my reality is now untrue. Listen to Deep Cover the Family Man on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Saturday, college hoops tips off on Fox. noon Eastern as Villanova takes on Alex Caraband and second-ranked Yukon. Then at three, Keaton Wagler and Illinois battle Braden Smith and fourth-ranked Purdue. It all begins Saturday, only on Fox.

So we talk a lot about culture on this show, is that when you're hiring a coach, we've discussed this many times. It's you're trying to get a CEO, basically. If he's great schematically, that's a bonus, but that's not really what you're hiring. The leader of men, culture. What does culture mean? I don't know what it means. I do know from parenting to being parented, mostly culture in a house or in a business starts with accountability.

Don't be a victim. Head down. It's not perfect. You've got to be accountable. And so Ben Johnson said this yesterday or the day before, and I actually, he's not wrong very much, but he was being too humble. He talked about, you know, the stepping stone of having a, a great year. What Ben Johnson came out to say is we're starting from ground zero.

Nothing matters that we did last year. It's ground zero. None of it matters. And that's raised wrong because what's already been established is accountability. And so, you know, there was a moment, you know, he disputes whether he yanked him off the field. But there were a couple of moments during day one of training camp, he did tell the number one offense, get off the field. We're not, you got to get the pre-snap, post-snap stuff. This can't be this difficult. And that's accountability.

Ben Johnson's mantra has always been good, better, best. And he just sets high standards. To me, culture starts with accountability and standards. You know, Mike Frable in New England apparently walked in and like the locker room. There were like towels everywhere, towels in the shower. And he's like, ring them out, don't wash them, make the players put them in the right spot. Just accountability. And I remember during the year, there was a moment where it was late in the year and the bears were nine and three in December.

And at the podium, Ben Johnson said, we're winning in spite of our offense, nine and three. and throughout my course of being in Chicago here for seven, eight months, I will get people that will come up to me during the season. Why are you so hard on the Bears? And I'm like, have you heard the coach? The coach is hard on the Bears. And that's what I really appreciate. He's not pandering.

I said that NBA is all about taking care of the Star. They get offended by tweets. Like the NFL is like, it's a grown-up league. Like handle the criticism. You're on a winning streak. So what? The Bears had won nine of ten, five straight. they're nine and three in December

and Ben Johnson's like we're winning in spite of our offense and that was always Belichick it's like you know we don't hand out bouquets and flowers it's not a world of rainbows like we're not and I will say this Greg CoSell talked about this earlier

is that he's still the mechanics his footwork aren't great and a lot of it's because he's so gifted waist up he's got such a strong arm that was always a cam thing Cam's mechanics, Stafford when he was in Detroit, I always thought had hit and miss mechanics.

Now in L.A., his mechanics are great because McVeigh demands that. Cam Newton's mechanic, McVeigh was so strong, Big Ben had a little bit of this. You know what I mean? Like when you have that home run jet fuel V8 arm, you mechanics and get sloppy because you can get away with so much stuff. And that's one of the things that Ben Johnson, like, corrected and we'll work on.

It's one of the things Greg Kossel talked about. His mechanics are okay. That's why he's completing 40. or 54%, 58%, and not 62%. So I just, I appreciate it that when, I mean, it's a one year anniversary, I think yesterday, of Ben Johnson's hiring. And it was, they were arguably that the worst culture in the division a year ago. I would argue it's the best culture because of standards.

The Lions in division settled for an offensive coordinator when Ben left, who they were comfortable with, didn't have much play-calling experience. That's not the standard. That's not the standard Ben set for the offense. Philadelphia. Offensive coordinator. Kellynne Moore leaves. I got to Nick Seriani's buddy who he's comfortable with.

That's not the standard. So, you know, as grumpy as Kurt Signetti is or as Belichick was, I mean, you don't see Ben Johnson laughing a lot. Like, it's hard to force millionaires to be a count. every day at practice. The little stuff matters. So when we talk about culture, what is it? I don't know. I just know this. Don't be a victim. Be accountable. Don't pander. Even when it's always easier to criticize players when you're winning. When a player's losing, you're on a losing streak, everybody's a little defensive and a little prickly. When you're on a five-game winning streak, it is so easy to put your arm on somebody's shoulder at the same time you're kicking them in the butt. saying, you know what, just some mechanics aren't good enough. You're better than this. So I just appreciate.

I remember when Ben Johnson first day at camp, he even got prickly with the Chicago media. I didn't kick him out of camp, but he acknowledged they weren't very good, but took him off the field. I like it. I know some people enjoyed me throwing the first team out of practice. Not the case.

We've got to end up executing, getting in and out of the huddle, a certain way and it wasn't that way. We're learning, we're growing. You know, there's some things from the springtime expected to carry over that that was probably one. We just don't have any tolerance for anymore. We got too far to go.

I said this yesterday. When Tiki Barber came to the New York Giants, he had a fumble problem, and then Tom Coughlin arrived, and he had no fumble problem. Kurt Signetti's teams don't fumble. Belichick's teams don't fumble. The Rams in lousy weather for an L.A. team

went to Chicago. penalties, no drop passes. That's incredible. That's accountability. That's coaching during the week and not letting it happen. I always remember when I was young. I don't remember John Wooden coaching. There wasn't a lot of college basketball on TV when I was young, and I don't remember John Wooden. I read about John Wooden, the pyramid of success. But one of the things I always remember about Wooden whenever I saw him is he was never yelling during games. He was just sitting there with his program and I'm like because he was accountable during practice you don't have to do as much coaching right Mike Shishovsky barks at the officials all the time he barks at his players

during practice during games he's more barking at the officials all right hour three coming up I can't wait for this weekend did the Mets sign somebody else I got to ask are we are we outraged enraged on the Mets it's so interesting to me. Hey guys, it's us and 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, S&L'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 podcast. I'm Joey Dardano, and on my new podcast, Hope From a Hypocrite, I'll be changing lives, helping people in need with thoughtful solutions. Sike, I'm a comedian. I'm not qualified to give good advice. Join me and my comedian friends as we riff, rant, recommend some of the most legally dubious advice known to me.

This is Help from a Hypocrite, the worst advice from the dumbest people you know. Listen to Help from a Hypocrite Wednesdays on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This season on Dear Chelsea, with me, Chelsea Handler, we have some fantastic guests like Amelia Clark. When like young people come up to me and they want to be an actor or whatever. And my first thing is always, can you think of anything else that you can do? Rather be disappointed in. Do that. David O'Yello.

I love this podcast, whether it's therapy or relationships or religion or sex or addiction or you just go straight for the guts. Dennis Leary, Gaten Matarazzo from Stranger Things, Tana Monsu, Camilla Morone, Carrie Kenny Silver, and more. Listen to these episodes of Dear Chelsea on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an IHeart podcast,

guaranteed human.