The Herd with Colin Cowherd - THE HERD - Hour 2 - What players deal with in the Super Bowl, why the Seahawks are favored in the Super Bowl
Episode Date: February 2, 2026Where Colin was right and where he was wrong 3-time Pro Bowl QB Matt Hasselbeck joins the show to give his thoughts on playing in a Super Bowl and how the Patriots can pull off the upset See omn...ystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Here we go. It's hour two. It is a Monday. We're in L.A. this week.
It's the herd. Slinging Sammy Darnold. Pavered to win the Super Bowl.
That's one of the great things about sports is that, you know, when you have a strong opinion in
our space, people are like, whoa, that's crazy. Nothing's crazy. Nothing's crazy.
Kevin Durant went from having the rivals of his Oklahoma City Thunder being the warriors to joining them.
Sam Darnold, what you saw with the Jets to MVP-level play with Seattle in Minnesota.
In sports, you know, you just absolutely never know what's going to happen.
You absolutely never know.
and we'll get to Matt Hasselbeck.
He's up in San Francisco already.
But first, where Colin was right, where Colin was wrong.
Where Colin was right?
Well, I'm not that surprised that Bill Belichick didn't get in.
Eleven people did not vote for Bill Belichick to get into the Hall of Fame
because I've been saying for years, take Tom Brady out of Bill Belichick,
fired in Cleveland, couldn't make the playoffs the one year Matt Castle played,
disaster pre- Brady in New England,
disaster Brady leaves in New England,
disaster in college.
His ability to draft awful,
the more control he had, the worse it was.
His NFL career, when Tom Brady's not playing for him,
he averages 19 points a game.
So I think he'll get into the Hall of Fame,
but I have said for years when you take Brady out,
there is no great coach in the history of football
that if you take one player out,
you view them much, much differently.
So I think he'll get in, but I wasn't shocked
that 11 voters said you got a couple of spy gates.
You win 44% with Brady.
It didn't treat people necessarily well.
You made a DC, the offensive coordinator.
I get it.
Where Colin was wrong.
Which one is this guy?
Oh, the Buffalo Bills.
Yeah, the Buffalo Bills.
didn't hire Brian Dable.
Shocking.
Who made the playoffs with Daniel Jones.
Instead, they went with a very young, unproven coach, Joe Brady, which I felt was a little bit of a comfortable hire.
Maybe Joe Brady works.
Maybe he doesn't.
But there is recent history that says, if you hire somebody in the building, the comfort hire, it overwhelmingly will not work.
where Colin was right?
Which one, guys?
Cooper Flag, not shocking.
We said out of Duke,
I thought he would be a better Jason Tatum.
And honestly, today,
he looks much better than Jason Tatum on the defensive end
and is much more consistently aggressive on the offensive end.
remember when people said, well, you can't compare him to Jason Tatum.
I think he is the best domestic prospect since LeBron James,
and I think he has a better offensive bag at this age than LeBron James.
People are always, hey, don't pile on the pressure of the young athlete.
When we have a Tiger Woods or a Bryce Harper or a Caleb Williams,
A, they can handle it, and B, when the media goes that gaga for Cooper Flag, we're usually right.
Where Colin was wrong.
The Minnesota Vikings have mostly been a buttoned-up franchise, so I'll take a wrong here.
I was kind of surprised that they suddenly fired somebody that appeared to be a somewhat capable GM,
Cuezzi Adofo Mensa.
Now, he missed on quarterback Sam Darnold, and I'd are.
argue if Darnold bombed in Seattle, he'd still have his job.
But it was weird giving him an extension and then a year later firing him.
And I don't want to hear about the paternity leave stuff or the relationship with Kevin
O'Connell.
The darnold acceleration is why he got whacked.
Where Colin was right.
Cleveland Browns hired Todd Monkin.
What a shock of all the coaching.
hiring, he just turned 60, it was the least inspiring. I'll even buy in to Matt LaFleur's brother in
Arizona, Rams guy, young guy, offensive guy. But he was a coaching college briefly. Down in the
south, that was a disaster. This is a disorganized, dysfunctional organization that had Jim
Schwartz in the building, who's very respected. They mistakenly thought that if he passed him over,
he would stay, and they bailed on him. The Browns of the Browns.
where Colin was wrong.
Well, you know, I love my offensive coaches.
Two defensive coaches, Mike McDonald, Mike Brable, meeting in the Super Bowl.
Now, they're both really smart guys, and they've got an excellent quarterback play.
But it should be noted that the NFL has always been fairly cyclical,
and the final four teams all had top 10 defenses.
And these days, it's not really about, you hear this continually,
it's not really about the scheme of the offensive coach,
it's about can the coach be a CEO?
And Mike McDonald and Vrable, inarguably are.
Where Colin was right?
Matt LaFleur and the GM Brian Gugncoutch are getting an extension.
Of course they are.
Remember when the season ended and there were many people calling for Matt LaFleur's head?
Guys, he's made the playoffs in six or seven years.
He's, by all accounts, you know, elevated Aaron Rogers when he got him closer to the end of his prime.
And Brian Coon Coonts, can we not at least discuss the Packers made draft over the last 30 years as well as anybody in the NFL?
That was just, you know, it was recency bias.
It was everybody is freaking out.
The truth is, once Micah Parsons got hurt, the defense was kind of average.
and at wide receiver and tight end, they had key losses due to injury.
Where Colin was right?
Sean Mannion hired with little to know play calling experience as the Eagles
offensive coordinator.
Now, it may work, but I had said during the process,
I had been told by people in the league that even though
offensive coordinator for the Eagles sounds like a great job,
it's one of the worst good jobs in the league.
You have a quarterback that struggles to identify people.
people over the middle of the field. You've got A.J. Brown drama. You've got maybe the harshest,
most unrelenting media in the country. And if you do succeed, you may get a head coaching job,
but you're going to be given until about Thanksgiving for fan approval. So they settle on a guy
that may be successful, but doesn't really have any experience doing in Philadelphia what they
hired him for, where Colin was right, where Colin was wrong on a Monday. And with that, Matt Hasselbeck.
up already in the Bay Area is now joining us live.
So you've been in one of these.
I remember years hearing ago that Peyton Manning did not love the playoff or the Super Bowl experience
because it took him out of his, he's a creature of habit.
That, you know, the timeouts are longer, the half times longer, the media is all over you.
Take me to your Super Bowl week.
Did you find it tedious, annoying, or refreshing and fun?
Yeah, that doesn't surprise me at all about Peyton Manning, by the way.
I mean, even the two weeks, he probably, he probably was petitioning the league to get rid of the bye week before.
I mean, I've heard stories about him, even like, hey, this is how we're going to do travel with the family, family you can stay with the players.
And, you know, I've heard stories about Peyton be like, whoa, whoa, whoa, no, there's going to be no family staying with players.
You know, like kind of like, no, every team's different.
And, you know, I think that when your organization has experience playing in Super Bowls, you know, some teams, they can just, it's like autopilot.
You know, I know for the Seahawks, it's kind of like there's a group of people that are just like the advanced team, the Super Bowl team.
Like they've got it all dialed. Hey, we're in charge of the advanced team for the families.
You know, and then there's a group of people that are just in charge of the advanced team for the players.
And then advanced team for the equipment managers and, you know, all the stuff.
So think what the New England Patriots are doing.
Like they think this is just normal.
This is like a preseason game to them in terms of like that routine.
And so I think if you make it a big deal, it can be a big deal.
but I can promise you that, you know,
Mike Vrable's going to talk about this like,
like he's done it before,
kind of like, yeah, and then we're going to do this,
and then Friday's going to be a Wednesday,
and Wednesday's going to be a, you know, a Thursday,
and then Sunday we're off,
and then, you know, just talking about it like it is just what we do.
This is just our Super Bowl schedule.
And I know for me, when Mike Holmgren was our head coach,
we as players took a lot of confidence from that.
You know, him and most of his staff,
they were there with Bill Walsh and Joe Montana
and Steve Young and San Fran doing this.
They were there in Green Bay with Brett Fav and Reggie White doing this.
And so when they said, hey, here's the schedule.
As a player for me, I just turned my brain off.
And I was like, Holmgren's got it.
You know, like he's doing the Bill Walsh thing.
And so I think in a similar way, that's how they're going to feel about Mike Vrable.
And I'll give you, like Mike McDonald just gives you that vibe also.
And then the people in the building are mostly the Pete Carroll people as well.
So I've talked of different players about that.
first series in the Super Bowl.
Like, it's just, it's just, you go two hours after the game.
You're like, I don't remember a lot about it.
And so for Drake, May and Darnold, it's just different.
I mean, it's go to your first series.
You know, Matt, what's interesting, even Brady and the Patriots, they never scored
touchdowns in the first quarter.
They were always very cautious.
It was a feeling out quarter.
Go take me to your first series.
Was it numbing?
Do you remember a lot of it?
Was it flash bulbs and just kind of lost?
Listen, I was ready to burst, okay?
Like I mentioned about Peyton, like ready to play on that first Sunday, same.
Like, we're already, creatures of habit, yes.
And so to wait two weeks, you're like dying to get out there.
You know, for me, you know, I also have regrets sometimes.
Like Darryl Jackson was a wide receiver.
He was probably our number one receiver, had missed a ton of time.
And I was begging him to, hey, you got to make it back for the playoffs.
You got to make it back for the playoffs.
If you do, I'm going to make you Super Bowl MVP.
I'm going to make you the Super Bowl MVP.
And I threw my first five passes of the game to him.
He's our strong side receiver to the tight end side.
I just wanted to get him going.
And we did get him going.
I mean, he had caught a touchdown that got called back.
But what happened on the next series was Dick LeBoe, the decorinator, was like,
oh, they're trying to throw to that strong side receiver.
I'm going to change what we're doing.
He made an in-game adjustment after the first series that really kind of spooked all the stuff that I had studied,
you know, tendencies and all that kind of stuff.
So I'm sometimes kicking myself for that kind of stuff.
Like I think the lesson would be for any quarterback,
don't try to do anything unique.
Like remember what got you here.
Spread the ball around.
Take what the defense gives you.
Get a bunch of snapshot pictures that you can go to the sidelines and say,
hey, this is their plan versus three wides.
This is their plan versus two tights.
You know, and then come back and talk about it.
You don't have to do anything that you didn't do all season long.
Yeah, it was funny.
I was watching Netflix had a special.
the boys of 80, The Miracle on Ice.
And Herb Brooks, when they were playing against Czechoslovakia and the Russians, he kept saying, play your game.
They're not playing their game.
They're reacting to us.
Play your game.
And I always think it's interesting.
For instance, you can say that, but what if the game unravels?
Like, I can see a scenario where Seattle's just speed and length is a lot for the offensive line for New England to handle.
And listen, I watched Houston sort of.
make New England very uncomfortable.
Outside of that Rams game, Seattle's never uncomfortable.
Seattle makes people uncomfortable.
Do you worry that Drake May, who's had, you know, a very nice brief career,
that O-Line could get overwhelmed, is there a part in big games that you played?
When instead of play your game, you're like, guys, it's not working.
Because I think most people believe, Matt, if this became a blow,
out. Seattle's probably not getting run out of the building, but the old Seahawk team,
Leeds in a boom and this Seahawk team, they've humiliated people this year.
Yeah, they have, but the Patriots are much better than people are giving them credit for.
And when you say play your game referencing Herb Brooks, like the Patriots can say that.
Let's play Patriots football. And you don't have to wonder what that is.
Like, let's get back to doing what we want to do. Screen game is going to be a huge thing.
Josh McDaniel's huge screen guy, huge screen guy. So you, you know, you want to
like rush the passer, but when you know
they've got every which way to run
screens to Ramandre Stevenson
and Travion Henderson and even to
Hunter Henry and then you get the wide receiver
screen game and then Matt Collins is a factor
as a blocker out there like those now and later
plays like the they happen right now
or way later and you got to worry
about those right now plays against this team
and so I think the other thing is just
like they do run the ball. They commit
to running. I think both these teams commit to
running it. Their run game efficiencies
aren't going to like blow you out of the water
but they stick to it.
So if they say play Patriots football to get us settled down,
I'm not worried about Drake May in this game.
Like he's the least of my worries, really.
The protection of Drake May would be my concern
because of how good this front floor for the Seahawks is.
But again, like I have confidence in Josh McDaniels,
understanding how to slow that rush down.
And then I'll say it again.
I've been saying it maybe too much.
But all year long, you practice these trick plays.
and if you haven't run them yet,
you're saving them for nothing.
Like, you run them in a game like this.
And listen, I lost a Super Bowl
because Bruce Ariens had the courage
to call like basically a double reverse pass
with Antoine Randallel
thrown into Heinz Ward.
Josh McDaniels, he's got him in his bag.
And Patriot fans know all about the Philly Special.
Like, trick plays are coming in this game.
So you can't just close your eyes,
rush the passer.
This will be a football game.
This will not be a blowout in my mind.
Do you worry, listen, Sam Darnold succeeded at the end in Carolina.
He succeeded in Minnesota and Seattle, but Clint Kubiak is probably going to get the Raiders job.
Do you worry about Darnold next year?
And do you worry about that story sort of engulfing the Seahawks as everybody in the building knows?
I mean, if you have a great job, your first head coaching job coming, I don't know how you concentrate.
Right. I mean, that's like your first big career break. Do you worry about that Kubiak situation where it's like he's leaving and everybody in the building knows it?
I'm not worried about Sam next year. I'm worried about Sam this week. And yes, I've been there where your coach, your guy, he's getting a promotion. And you know he's already accepted that job. And you know that his time is not 100% on the mission. And the mission.
And the mission is hoisting a Lombardi.
He's doing job interviews.
And you're not like upset about it.
You're not upset with him.
But the process is the process.
I mean, I've had quarterback coaches do it.
I've had coordinators do it.
Like it's, it's a bad feeling.
It's a bad feeling.
So I think what you need to do is somehow make it a good thing.
Somehow make it like, you know what?
This team right here, this special team, this journey that we've been on together,
we will never be together again.
Like we have a chance to do something together this week and that's it.
We'll never be together again as this unit.
Let's do it together.
Players and coaches.
And with players, you're used to that.
With coaches, you're a little less used to that.
So they got to just turn that and rally that kind of a mindset where it's, you know,
this is still the 2025-26 Seahawk team.
We're together one more time and we'll worry about tomorrow some other day.
You know, it's interesting.
Drake May's not taking a ton of snaps because of a shoulder injury,
and I think to myself, well, Sam Darnold took almost no snaps in the previous two games.
He just played his best game as a pro.
And I remember when Sean McVeigh came into the league.
And he said, I'm not playing my starters in the preseason.
And people are like, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.
And they went, eight, no.
Right?
And I think about this, that have we overstated how much practice?
you need by the end of the season.
And when I read a Drake May story
or a Sam Darnold story,
my initial concern is, oh, they're out of rhythm.
And Sam just played a great defense,
and his best game is a pro,
and he wasn't practicing.
What do you make of that?
No, I hear what you're saying.
But I think sometimes an injury
can make you a better player in a weird way.
You know, like you don't try to play outside of yourself.
You play on time.
You don't take three hitches in the pocket
because you're not feeling 100%.
You're sitting there and you're like, okay, one hitch, two hitch, check down.
I'm done.
I'm not trying to be Superman today.
I can be Clark Kent because I'm playing with a bunch of supermans.
I'm good.
I can just add water and stir today.
Now, you know, you still got to make those throws when they're ready to be made.
And I think like just even going back to the NFC championship game for Sam Donald as an example,
because he did not practice, didn't throw much, didn't throw deep.
I mean, he made it look effortless on his first touchdown to Jake Bobo.
You know, is a play action to the right, corner blitz, they're trying to throw to JSN, he's doubled.
He just, you know, two hitches comes back and boom, us or nobody right down the middle to Bobo, like it was nothing.
So, you know, playing on rhythm, I know that sometimes when I've been sick with the flu, or sometimes when I've had an injury where I'm like, hey, I know I can start this game.
I'm not 100% sure I can finish this game.
You play more like the coaches or have been asking, like, hey, we got a great punter, we got a great defense.
Just play within our little system here and we'll be fine.
That is really funny.
It's like the governor gets turned down naturally in your body
and you play the game the coaches want you to play.
And can I just add on that calling, though?
It doesn't mean you can't throw the ball deeper.
You can't take shots.
You've got to have training wheels on.
You can still throw a go route 48 yards downfield
if they ever leave Rashid Shaheed or JSN one-on-one.
But you can't do it in more than two hitches.
You take your drop, one or two hitches,
and then we're moving on.
Like the ball's out of your hand somewhere.
Yeah.
The first week, last week of practice, I imagine you install the game.
What do you do in terms of football?
Just the football part.
What do you do this week?
It's a game week.
It's a game week and it's a cleanup.
It's also, rest is really important as well.
And, you know, as an NFL football player now, even at the end of my career,
They all wear a catapult system where it's got accelerometers in there.
It measures how fast you run, how quick, how many bursts you have, how many stops you have,
and they're working load management.
And so, like, this is a very scientific thing.
It's not just a feel thing, but you also lay the schedule out for the week.
And when you say to a football player in the NFL, today is a Wednesday, we all know what that means.
Like, we don't know what day it really is in the real world.
We have no idea.
But we know that we're doing first and second down.
today. We know that. And when you say, hey, today is a Thursday, okay, we're going to do some
review of first and second down, we're going to do third down and maybe short yardage and goal
line. And then you say today is a Friday as an example. Okay, today is a red zone emphasis.
The O line's not going to be as physical. The D line's not going to be as physical, but on the
outside, the seven on seven guys, we're going fast. You know, like things like that. Now,
you could tweak it where some people make one day a different day, but that is really what
you're doing. You're not adding another game plan. You're not adding two weeks of football in.
you're sort of, to use an old Abraham linking quote,
you're not swinging the axe harder,
you're just simply sharpening the blade.
Yeah.
Did you, final question, when you're a pro athlete,
the legendary stories Bill Russell threw up before every game.
That's very unique.
You're walking out to the field for the Super Bowl for the first time.
I mean, this is for Sam Darnold and Drake May.
Did you at that point in your career,
despite all the preparation,
Was there a little awe-inspiring?
Did you get nervous?
Well, I would say going back to the Bill Russell thing,
I played with a lot of guys, great players,
that would throw up before games.
Like great players.
You see him go to the thing,
and then you hear him just hurling, like,
what's going on in there?
And then your Hall of Fame teammate comes walking back out,
and you're like, really, dude?
You're throwing up?
Okay, you know, I'm not nervous anymore.
Look at you.
You know, for me, no, that wasn't really my situation.
You know, I would huddle with the quarterbacks
and usually the centers and say a prayer,
almost to calm myself down.
Because I was so excited.
This is a dream come true.
I can't believe you're paying me to do this.
Like, this is awesome.
I am having so much fun.
This is incredible.
And then what happens in the Super Bowl,
it's a neutral site,
but they will play,
when you come out of the tunnel,
a lot of times,
they will play a song that I'm getting goosebumps now.
Like in Seattle,
they would play this bittersweet symphony song for us.
It's a song that you play in your home stadium.
And it's like, no, no, that's our song.
Like, I don't know,
whoever sang that song,
sing it for us, but we decided it's our song.
And this is a home game for us.
And so I think for both teams, they're going to come out of those tunnels and they're going
to hear that song that they're used to hear in Foxborough or that song that they're used
to hear in Illum and Field and they're going to be like, you know, it's on.
The problem is you got all this extra time.
You usually come out of the tunnel and it's time to go.
Now there's like an anthem and a pageantry and all the stuff.
Yeah.
You're already amped up.
Yeah, I can feel it with you.
It's my old team, Colin.
It's my old team against my dad's old team.
This is a cool matchup, and it's in a great city.
And, you know, San Jose to San Fran.
Like, everybody's here in town for it.
It's really neat.
Great seeing you, buddy.
Matt Hasselbauer.
Yeah, it is, it's just, it's really interesting.
When you look, I actually saw it first on first things first.
They put up a graphic.
And you just, and I said this earlier, you kind of forget because New England started poorly.
they lost to the Steelers and Raiders, and Drake may have a really bad game against the Cedars.
You kind of checked them like, oh, I don't have to watch that team a lot.
And then you forget about them, and they're beating bad teams in the schedule.
But if you look at Seattle and you look at New England, they had the same number of blowouts, same number of points, right down the line.
Seattle did it against better teams.
And I think Seattle's more explosive.
But when a team, I mean, here it is, they both average 5.9 yards.
to play. They both got 41% on third down. They both allowed exactly 17 points. They both only
lost three games. They both won nine games by 10 points. Seattle's offense, I think it's fair to say
with J.S. N. and Darnold, it's a little more explosive. But I would also say, Jason, the weakness
of both teams is probably the offensive line that we look at it and we think not great. Seattle
left side got Gray's able in the draft. I think it's a little.
better. Will Campbell, the Patriots
got, although he's been roughed up by
some of the better edge rushers. But they're
kind of mirror images. Defensive
coach, really dominated their
side with wins, could be
a little reckless at times. We've seen it
with Drake May in the playoffs. We saw it with Sam
Darnold. O lines are not
the strength.
Excellent secondaries,
ball hawking fast linebackers.
And they just, they've been on a
heater, it feels like, for three and a half months.
It's tough to wrap your arm
around this when you know in recent years
we've seen
utterly dominant eagles.
Chiefs going for the three-peat.
Joe Burrow.
I mean, you just had amazing
games and teams.
And, Colin, let's be real.
These, I mean, we were probably
week 11 in the herd hierarchy.
And none of these teams were top five.
I mean, they're just not great teams.
They had really good seasons.
There's an NBA corollary hero.
It's like, hey, they put up great stats.
Almost like an OKC.
We're blowing teams out.
But they're not great teams.
I would disagree.
If Seattle wins, let's say 31-20.
Okay.
And then you look back and say,
they dominated the Super Bowl.
They beat a Rams team twice
that we thought was the best team in the league.
They literally shot Kyle Shanahan's offense out twice.
Shut it out.
That's never happened with Shanahan.
Then you start adding it up and going,
oh, and they blew out that team.
And I think Seattle is different.
I think if Seattle wins by comfortably, you'll go back and look at the book and you'll start reading the chapters and go, oh, yeah.
Now that's 10 games they've won.
I mean, in pro football, if you win 10 games, including the Super Bowl by double digits, that's rare.
The NFC, remember, NFC was the better conference.
So, I mean, I've never seen.
The defense is great, but like the Rams defense that won the Super Bowl against the Bengals had Aaron Donald, a historically great Hall of Famer.
real quick, Colin.
Give me a Hall of Fame from the Seahawks defense.
They got a lot of good guys.
I like that rookie safety.
You're the rookie safety, whose name we can't even pronounce it.
My guess is Witherspoon will end up in Canton.
That's way premature.
Like, he's really good.
They got some all pros.
But, like, they're just not a...
Who's the number one player when you do your top 10?
Who's the number one player in the Super Bowl?
Uh, the...
You can't say Drake May.
I'm sorry.
He's had a really good super.
season, but he's not the best player in the Super Bowl.
The best player in the Super Bowl.
It's not Christian Gonzalez.
He's really good. This is a weird
Super Bowl. I would say JSN's the number
one player in the Super Bowl. I don't totally disagree
with that. And I think he right now is the best
receiver in this point. And by the way, a year ago at this time,
he was clearly a number two on the Seahawks.
And when they traded the number one, oh, what are they going to do
a receiver? So like he had an amazing season.
I love him. But it's just a wacky
maybe this is me
justifying why I missed so many games in the NFL
playoffs. I got so many bets wrong. Because I
I mean, nobody saw these two teams coming.
Did anybody have a futures ticket on a Patriot Seahawks Super Bowl?
Well, I think, no, I will say, like you, I read a lot of the athletic.
I think mid-season people were like, I mean, I'll tell you a moment for me.
You know, sometimes you learn more in a bad job experience than a good one, right?
And I've said that before.
When you go back to the Seahawks schedule, this is crazy.
If I told you, yeah, they played the Rams in L.A.
Donald had four picks.
You're like, oh, they got the un-no.
Oh, no, no, they were driving for the win.
In their loss, my takeaway was,
what team in the league could throw four picks against the Rams?
And it was 2119.
In L.A.
If I said the Rams played Minnesota four picks,
you'd be like 38 to 10.
The Seahawks lose a game,
and they literally, it is,
is bakery,
turnovers for three and a half hours,
and they almost won that game.
That was a moment where I was like,
God, how good are they?
Are you ready for the play of the NFL season?
The singular play that changed everything.
The two-point conversion, Seattle Rams,
where it goes off the helmet,
everybody stops,
Charbonnet just scoops it up,
they review it, and it's a good two-point conversion.
That got them essentially the tie,
and they end up winning that game in overtime.
If they don't get that,
the Rams get home field advantage,
and the Seahawks are nowhere near this game.
Like, Colin, that's how fluky this season was.
And I know Seahawks fans are upset hearing that.
Have you ever seen a play like that, that two-point conversion?
No, it was weird.
It was weird.
Everybody stopped playing.
The reps were like, and then he just scoops it up.
Wait a minute.
That was a backward pass.
It's just been a crazy season.
Hopefully we get a good game, and the Seahawks winning comfortably.
I think we will.
J. Mack.
Live in L.A., it's the herd.
One more herd.
The herd streams 24 hours a day, seven days a week, within the IHard radio app.
Search Herd to listen live or on demand whenever you'd like.
Stegatz here.
I have a podcast empire.
It continues to grow.
And I have brought it here to IHard.
I'm also doing a live radio show from 3 to 5 p.m. Eastern because my wife wanted to kick me out of the house.
It's called Stugats and Company Live, which is available in podcast form right when the show finishes every single.
day. Some of the biggest names in sports. A lot of phone calls. I love you guys. It's one of my
favorite. A lot of interaction. Guys not taking themselves too seriously. Those are just some of the
things that you can expect from Stugatson Company and Stugats and Company Live. So listen to Stugats and
Company Live and our original podcast. Please subscribe, rate and review. Stugats and Company
and God bless football. Taylor's livelihood depends on it. Do it today. And you can check all of
out on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast.
Hey, it's us to Jonas Brothers, and guess what? We have some big news. What's the news?
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 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 couple of questions. I think it was on a
call about what we should call it.
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.
laughs, the drama, the triumphs, the moments that never make the highlight real.
From viral moments to historic games, from buzzer beaters to controversial calls, we break it down,
give you context, and ask the questions everybody wants answered.
Sports Slice brings you closer to the action with stories told by the people who live them.
Listen to Sports Slice on the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast.
And for more, follow Timbo 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.
Highly recommend that Netflix special, the Boys of 80. It is the miracle on ice, Lake Placet.
that it's an incredibly deep dive on that.
Maybe it's generational, but I can't watch that without getting very emotional.
Talking about it makes me emotional.
So it's one of those sports moments, and I haven't had many.
I remember exactly where I was.
I remember the color of the carpet.
I remember the color and the painting on the wall when I had heard somebody rushed out
because I wasn't allowed to watch it in this bar area where I was at a bowling alley.
Everybody was screaming.
We just beat the rush.
and I couldn't watch it live so I went and watched it on tape
and I was at a local bowling alley
and I can really I remember just not being able
because they had beaten Czechoslovakia
it was a different world where you just
you waited for the newspaper to get information
you didn't have it like we have today
so I just so strongly strongly recommend
our audience our sport fans
go watch that and again it maybe touches me more
if you're over 4550 it's I remember where America was at
And, you know, gas lines, we were not in a good space as a country.
And, you know, for a lot of 20 and 30-year-olds, it's all rainbows and birds chirping and
AI and life's fun.
I know you've talked about it, but the Tyson Buster Douglas, remember it was in like Japan or China.
Oh, yeah.
And as a young guy, I would only get my news through the Washington Post.
And it was, it ended so late.
They didn't have it in the paper the next day.
But there was all these local TV things saying, oh, but Mike Tyson lost.
I mean, do you remember that?
It was like, you didn't get the news.
I texted with somebody in Las Vegas a week ago that said, do you remember where we were at
and you kept running back to your car because you were listening to the fight?
And I would go listen to my car.
It was on an AM radio station in Vegas.
And then in between rounds, I would run in with my friends and say, Tyson just lost round six.
And so everybody was at this party, this corporate party.
And then I would go, okay, I got to go.
And I would listen to the fight on radio.
It's just, you know, now we watch everything live.
And it's just not the way it works.
So I just, I highly recommend you go watch it.
Albert Breer next hour, Lincoln Riley as well.
Oh, herd line news around the corner in L.A.
It's the hood.
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 news?
Huge news.
We created our own podcast called Hey Jonas.
We invented a podcast?
Well, we didn't invent it.
We just contributed to it.
We're the first people to do podcasts.
Pretty, yeah, pretty wide range of podcasts throughout there.
But this one's extra special.
So how did we actually come up with a name, Hey Jonas, guys?
I honestly don't remember.
I think it was on a call about what we should call it.
Well, we were thinking I'm originally calling it one of the early names of our band before Jonas Brothers.
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,
people could call in and say, hey, Jonas.
And then I wrote down on my little notepad,
Hey Jonas, and offered it up as a potential title for the podcast.
But thanks for remembering that, guys.
Listen to Hey Jonas on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts,
or wherever you get your podcast.
Just listen.
We don't care where you hear it.
Another podcast from some SNL, late-night comedy guy,
Not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smygel and Friends.
Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier.
This week, my guest, S&L's Mikey Day and 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.
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 Slicelive 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 won.
I mean, she went down to 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.
The two best teams in the Big East battle it out on Fox Friday Hoops.
Second-ranked Yukon fights for the top spot in the country against St. John's.
Friday night, 8 Eastern on Fox.
You know, watching a little Michigan-Michigan State, you just,
pointed this out to me during the break.
The Big Ten is not only the best football conference,
now that Indiana is a powerhouse,
Big Ten basketball this year?
Oh, goodness.
They look really good.
Nebraska is unbelievable.
Purdue, Illinois.
It's so loaded.
SEC's second, but I think Big Ten stacked.
Yeah, and I think what's happened with college sports,
it used to be what schools had the most great athletes
within their geographic footprint, like the South, Georgia, Florida, Bama, and now it's, that matters,
but like, who are your top two boosters?
Will they write checks?
And the Big Ten, you know this, there's not as many jobs in the Midwest, so Big Ten graduates,
and these are massive schools, they go to the coast to make money or the South,
but they always miss the Big Ten.
One of the things that takes them home, it's not the weather,
You know, the weather's better out west or the weather's better in Arizona or the south,
but what always connects Midwesterners who leave is their teams.
And they, to a large degree, they'll write those checks.
And right now, it's just the NIL has literally turned the Big Ten into a great brand
with sort of soggy athletics.
Brands were better than the product into the brand's great and the product's unbelievable.
If you change uniforms and just say Indiana football is a top 10 program.
And if you look at their NIL and their coach, they are.
You're like, oh, Michigan, Oregon, USC, Ohio State, Penn State, Indiana.
I watched Iowa last year.
And there's some farmers with some lettuce because I watched Iowa.
And I'm like, they're not that far off.
So J. Mack with the news.
No, no, no, no.
Turn on the news.
This is the herd line news.
All right.
Let's go to the Super Bowl and J.S.N.
You said he's probably the best player in the Super Bowl.
Tough to disagree after his 119.15 catches for a league high, 1793 yards.
10 tutties.
He became the first Seahawks player to lead the NFL in receiving yards since Steve Largent.
Steve Largent with the iconic helmet.
Mike Vrable knows he'll have his hands full planning for the All-Pro.
Sudden, savvy, competitive, really good play strength for, you know, he's,
The stature, you wouldn't think, you know, I mean, it's not a 6-3, 220-pound receiver.
But he's got great play strength.
He's really good contested catch.
But I think good route craft, understanding in zone.
Man, great body control.
I love all the terminology he uses.
Rable's a really sharp.
He's a really sharp guy, man.
He's, as much as we talk about Sam Jones.
In the history of football.
Yeah.
Who is the best ex-player who was a coach?
Oh, boy.
I mean, again, I'll defer to you on that one.
No, I mean, you start looking around.
I watch Mike Vrable, and I'm like, never forget this.
Got to be a number one seed in the AFC.
Oh, with Ryan Tanna Hill.
When, I mean, it's like, again, didn't hoist a trophy, but I, Vrable is, you know,
Vrable is the one guy has never cowtowed ever to Belichick.
ever. Brady played the good soldier for years. Vrable went right after Belichick. Belichick loved Vrable.
In fact, when he was scouting him in college, he said, we're not, we don't have a place to draft you, but when you become available, I'm going to get you because they're intellects.
I mean, Belichick to appreciate how smart he was. Vrable's a very, I know Mike a little, texted him a little bit.
He's a very unique personality.
And I'm telling you,
they're not three coaches smarter than him in the league.
He is really bright.
We'll see how he schemes up JSN.
I would imagine a lot of Christian Gonzalez.
Gonzalez is very good cornerback.
And strong.
He is, I'll give the edge to JSN just because he's a stud.
All right, let's go to the second story.
This kind of broke over the weekend.
Interesting, Colin.
The Eagles, they got a great defensive coordinator of Vic Fangio.
However, reports indicate he is mulling retirement and has been
since the end of the season.
And Philly doesn't have a final decision from him.
That's not great news.
Obviously, Fongio, a masterful defensive coordinator.
I, Colin, they were thinking about a Jonathan Gannon move.
Remember he was in the Cardinals?
He just landed with the Packers as their defensive coordinator.
The Eagles plan on checking him with Jim Schwartz.
Colin, a lot of coaching changes.
So that'll be if Fongio leaves.
That's a new OC and D.C.
I would say Jim Schwartz would be the leading.
Yeah, he's very good.
This would be an attractive job.
They have an elite secondary.
Mitchell and Dijin are all pros.
The defensive line, Jordan Davis, the other defensive tackle whose name escapes me.
The linebackers are good.
This is a loaded unit.
I don't know why people wouldn't be clamoring to get this job if Fongio says, I'm out.
Coordinator jobs in Philadelphia.
You think it has to do with Siriani?
Like, hey, what's my job security?
Siriani gets tossed.
I'm out, too.
That's right.
By the way, Mike Ditka.
Former player who's a coach.
I think Brable's a better coach than Ditka.
Ditka had the 85 Bears.
85 bears.
Well, no, I mean, they were great, but you're asking me long-term, intellect, ability to deal with the media, the players, the cap.
I think Brable's kind of unique.
Okay.
As a Chicago guy now, you have to say Ditka, though.
Yeah, of course.
You're contractually obligated.
People don't like that I think LeBron is everybody as good as MJ in Chicago.
Oh, they don't like that.
That does not play well.
Are you catching heat on the subway or whatever they call?
I really like your show, but the one thing, and I'm like, is it the Jordan thing?
I just, I know what it is before they say it.
Of course.
Final story, let's stick with defensive coordinators, and the 49ers lost Robert Sala.
Obviously, he's now with the Titans, but they've brought in Rahim Morris, who becomes, wait for it, this is interesting, San Fran's fifth defensive coordinator in five years.
So Shanahan and Morris have a history together.
They were with the Bucks, the commanders of Falcons.
Rahan Morris, obviously a sharp defensive mind.
This is huge for San Fran.
And let's remember, they had, what, like four starters on IR out for the year,
so they'll all come back.
This will be a strong unit next year.
I think it's a good hire in San Fran.
Yeah, it's Shanahan and McVeigh both like him a lot, very respected guy.
Again, I think it's very hard in this league.
There is a gap between coordinator and coach.
It's hard, and you just don't know.
Like Jeff Halfley could be great in Miami
or it could be a disaster.
I have to watch it.
Well, actually, speaking, I have no idea how it's going to work.
You should rank all those new head coaches, one or ten, the new hires.
Halfley might be ten.
Sorry.
I don't know.
We don't know, yeah.
I know hardball's going to work.
Absolutely.
And I'm almost sure Stafansky and Sala within two years.
You'll be like, oh, yeah.
You're on the right track.
I mean, if you're ranking coordinator hires, I think Morris is probably top four.
I think McDaniel is with the charges is the best.
but this is a really good hire.
Oh, it's a great hire.
By the way, he knows the Rams very well,
which is good institutional knowledge in the division.
I think this is good.
I just don't know about the Niners next year overall.
We'll see what happens with McAfrey.
Well, you can bake in about six games missed by Purdy
because he got his left finger,
is achy on a cloudy day.
Purdy hate.
I have a fun Darnold stat for you that relates to Purdy.
No, I'm saving that for later in the week.
Can't burn all my good stuff on Monday.
Come on.
Niners will be fine.
But the Seahawks and the Rams
This is nothing against our friend John Lynch
But the Seahawks and Rams have hit on a higher percentage of their draft picks
I mean it's
I think most people still believe the Super Bowl
Was Ram Seahawks
Now, Vrabble's going to make sure the Patriots hear that all week
But it's, is that line moved up to five yet?
I think it's five, four and a half
Depending on where you shop, as the pros say
All right
I'm not much of a shopper.
Jay Mack for the move
Well, that's the news.
And thanks for stopping by.
The Heard Line News.
You know, I'm glad you watched that Michigan-Mishon-Michigan State game
because it is noticeable.
When I first met you, you were always a college basketball.
Still am.
I just don't talk about it as much because I know I've got to play to your strengths.
Okay.
And, you know, the audience is more pro sports than college sports most of the time.
But isn't it noticeable to you how much better college basketball is today than like six years ago?
Oh, it's not even close.
Like there's just more pros, there's more size, and that's the NIL.
By the way, on, I believe it was Saturday, on FS1, it might have been with the, the BYU-U Kansas game.
Did you watch that?
First of all, they're both great.
Those are the top two picks.
Booze are at Dukes' probably three.
He's good, yeah.
That Peterson kid for Kansas.
First half, he was unbow, like.
He's got cramping issues, so he struggles to stay in.
If you go watch him and you haven't watched him, within three possessions, you will say to
yourself, oh, that's what Kobe Bryant would have looked like in college. His game looks like
Kobe. He looks like the number one pick for sure. He is really good. He is struggling to play
bonus minutes, but he is special. 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 get to ask other people to do podcasts.
We get to ask other people questions because we're sick and tired of being asked questions.
Well, sick and tired is a strong way to put it, but, you know, tired and sick.
Tired and sick.
Listen to Hey Jonas on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast.
Just listen.
We don't care where you hear it.
Another podcast from some SNL, late-night comedy guy, not quite.
Unhumor me with Robert Smigel and Friends.
Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier.
This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer Streeter Seidel.
Help an Acapella band with their Between Songs Band.
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.
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.
Jen she's an outsider to win the French name.
And she likes Clay.
Listen, Lernerabakina is arguably the best player in the world right now
and actually can win on any surface.
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 IHart Women's Sports.
Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged.
It's the enhanced games.
Some call it grotesque.
Others say it's unleashing human potential.
Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year.
Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds.
I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth.
Listen to Superhuman on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
This is an IHart podcast.
Guaranteed Human.
