Transcript

Sam Darnold & Seahawks proved analytics are OVERRATED in Super Bowl | Colin Cowherd: THE HERD NFL

From The Herd with Colin Cowherd · Episode page · Watch on YouTube

· 41 min · 7,417 words · 114 timestamped sections

This is the full, timestamped transcript of "Sam Darnold & Seahawks proved analytics are OVERRATED in Super Bowl | Colin Cowherd: THE HERD NFL", an episode of The Herd with Colin Cowherd published February 10, 2026 (41 min, about 7,417 words). It mentions 15 people, works and ideas, including Sam Darnold, Drake May, Oklahoma City, LeBron James, Rob Pelinka.

What this episode is about

Sam Darnold's performance in the Super Bowl showcased his ability to play it safe and manage the game effectively, contrary to the prevailing belief that a quarterback's stats are the sole indicator of success. Despite minimal flashy statistics, his calm demeanor and decision-making, combined with Seattle's strong team dynamics, challenge the notion that analytics alone define a player's impact on the game.

Key takeaways

  • In football, winning isn't just analytics; it's about managing egos and field position like a chess game.
  • NFL QBs: Darnold didn't throw picks, yet still proved 'less is more' in high-pressure playoff scenarios.
  • Surprise! Winning Super Bowls often means kicking field goals, not just high-flying offenses throwing 400 yards.
  • Football defies math; the best plays aren’t always on paper but in the grit of the game.
  • Darnold and Drake May's success shows sometimes, it's not about stats, but avoiding self-sabotage on the field.

Who speaks in this episode?

What is discussed, and when

  1. – 5:00: Sam Darnold, Drake May, Kyle Shanahan
  2. – 10:00: Drake May, Sam Darnold, LeBron James, Oklahoma City
  3. – 15:00: Hard Rock Bet, Rob Pelinka, Detroit, LeBron James
  4. – 20:00: Drake May, Oklahoma City, Detroit, Kansas
  5. – 25:00: Cooper Flag, Mark Cuban, Detroit, Kansas
  6. – 30:00: Drake May, Sam Darnold, Detroit, Christian McCaffrey
  7. – 35:00: Kansas, Cooper Flag, Christian McCaffrey
  8. – 40:00: Cooper Flag

Notable quotes from "Sam Darnold & Seahawks proved analytics are OVERRATED in Super Bowl | Colin Cowherd: THE HERD NFL"

  • That's right. Sam Darnold in the playoffs did not have a turnover for a month. 700 yards, five TDs, no picks, and scrambled. That is exceptional quarterback play. Do you know the two.
    about Sam Darnold · at
  • More money and a smarter GM and they buy better players. Everybody talks about analytics in the NBA. Oklahoma City is the dominant team in the sport. They're middle of the…
    about Oklahoma City · at
  • Night. Hoops, hockey, so much more. All the great same game parlays, live betting, player props. Hard Rock Bet is the official sports betting partner of the Miami Heat and the Orlando Magic.
    about Hard Rock Bet · at
  • So, I've said this about Rob Pelinka, the GM of the Lakers, who lost last night to OKC, didn't have Luca, but they didn't have SGA. He's built a regular season team. In the regular.
    about Rob Pelinka · at
  • Has built an offensive roster where all the best players are below average defensively. LeBron used to be great, but now he's old. So, I think Laker fans know the issue. They…
    about LeBron James · at
  • Hey, Detroit is a good watch and they are a good team.
    about Detroit · at
  • Story. We're sticking in the NBA. Juicy scoop here, Colin. So, the Dallas Mavericks, obviously, Mark Cuban had sold the his portion of the team back then to Patrick Dumont in…
    about Mark Cuban · at
  • I'm sorry. bottom line is he ruined everything. And I'll say this, Cooper Flag is amazing. And you know that he is the future of this league.
    about Cooper Flag · at

Who and what is mentioned in this episode?

People

  • Sam Darnold — Person · Primary referenced athlete (QB) / case study · 10 mentions · first at
    Central example used to argue that avoiding mistakes and managing games can be elite QB play, especially with a strong roster/defense.
  • Drake May — Person · Primary referenced athlete (QB) / foil to Darnold · 10 mentions · first at
    Used as the contrasting example: big yardage in a quarter but portrayed as rattled under pressure; also defended as young and impacted by poor protection.
    Drake May threw for more yards than any quarterback in a single quarter in NFL history. Did you know that? 235 in the fourth. Do you think he played well? Sam Darnold didn't get in the way. And let's.
  • LeBron James — Person · Referenced athlete (NBA) / quoted authority · 2 mentions · first at
    Quoted admitting the Lakers are not a championship-level team; used to support the segment criticizing roster construction and effort/defense.
  • Rob Pelinka — Person · Referenced executive (NBA) / subject of critique · 2 mentions · first at
    Criticized for building a Lakers roster that is strong for regular season offense but structurally weak defensively and athletically for playoff basketball.
  • Cooper Flag — Person · Referenced prospect (NBA) / future-facing talking point · 4 mentions · first at
    Discussed as an unusually complete young player and as someone who needs strong ownership/teammates (linked to Mavericks ownership talk).
  • Mark Cuban — Person · Referenced owner/executive (NBA) / ownership case study · 2 mentions · first at
    Discussed in the context of potentially buying back the Mavericks; framed as a passionate, engaged owner the league would welcome back.
  • Kyle Shanahan — Person · Referenced coach (NFL) / benchmark for being 'stymied' · 2 mentions · first at
    Used as a high-level coaching reference point to emphasize how dominant Seattle’s defense was (stopping Shanahan’s offense multiple times).
    I thought Kyle Shanahan nailed it on the pregame show when you're as good as Seattle is.
  • Christian McCaffrey — Person · Referenced athlete (NFL) / example of being neutralized · 2 mentions · first at
    Used to demonstrate Seattle’s defensive dominance—claiming they made an elite offensive weapon 'invisible' multiple times.
    Quarterbacks look totally inept. Here's how good Seattle's defense was. Twice in a three-week period, they made Christian McCaffrey invisible.
  • Steve Spagnola — Person · Referenced coach (NFL) / defensive exemplar · 1 mention · first at
    Cited as the architect of an 'exceptional defense' for Kansas City, supporting the argument that conservative fourth-down decisions can align with winning football.
    Have a significantly better defense, the Chiefs from 2022 to 2024 had an exceptional defense. Steve Spagnola exceptional defense. They won two Super Bowls. They appeared in…

Companies & orgs

  • Oklahoma City — Company · Referenced team · 2 mentions · first at
    Mentioned as a dominant team in the NBA, known for defense and drafting.
  • Miam Heat — Company · Referenced team · 1 mention · first at
    Mentioned as an official sports betting partner of Hard Rock Bet.
    Night. Hoops, hockey, so much more. All the great same game parlays, live betting, player props. Hard Rock Bet is the official sports betting partner of the Miami Heat and the Orlando Magic.
  • Orlando Magic — Company · Referenced team · 1 mention · first at
    Mentioned as an official sports betting partner of Hard Rock Bet.
    Night. Hoops, hockey, so much more. All the great same game parlays, live betting, player props. Hard Rock Bet is the official sports betting partner of the Miami Heat and the Orlando Magic.

Places & events

  • Detroit — Place · Setting · 5 mentions · first at
    Mentioned in context of the Detroit Pistons NBA team and their playing style.
  • Kansas — Place · Setting · 6 mentions · first at
    Mentioned in context of college basketball and the NBA draft.
    They played Arizona last night. It was in Lawrence, Kansas. And Kansas won, but Peterson didn't play. It's a huge win for Kansas. Arizona is outstanding.

Sponsors

  • Hard Rock Bet — Product · Sponsor · 3 mentions · first at
    Presenting sponsor of the show, promoting sports betting services.

Full transcript with timestamps

Welcome to the Herd's official YouTube channel. Make sure to like and subscribe. Don't forget to check out the Colin Coward podcast, all of our NFL instant reactions, and more football content. Ah, here we go. It is a Tuesday. I'm still floating. Feet barely touching the ground. Look at Sam Darnold. Kenneth Walker in Disneyland. The happiest place on earth. the happiest people on earth. It is great to have you in. Uh you know a lot of people think ah there's football season in America then waiting for football season. I don't buy it. Fascinating story happening in the NBA and college basketball. But I want to I want to start about something because yesterday I'm kind of you know perusing the internet all day. I took a chill day. It was a big weekend and I'm seeing a lot of this. Sam Darnold didn't do anything in that Super Bowl. And you are right.

He did not throw a pick. He did not look nervous. He did not get rattled. He did not have a fumble. And he did not take multiple sacks. You're right. I'm wrong. He didn't do anything. For the record, the last eight Super Bowl winning quarterbacks only one threw for over 300 yards. Mahomes. I thought Kyle Shanahan nailed it on the pregame show when you're as good as Seattle is. You play by different rules.

Yeah, Sam's a stud. And you know, us having him for a year, I think we get a little too much credit for what we did. We didn't do anything for him. We just gave him a platform to where we could take the pressure off him for a year. And I think him watching that, Sam's always let it rip. But when you let it rip all the time and you're always trying to win the game, a lot of times you keep both teams in the game. And I think that's really what's changed with him. He picks and chooses better. He's got a really good team. And when you have a really good team, you don't always have to try to win it.

That's right. Sam Darnold in the playoffs did not have a turnover for a month. 700 yards, five TDs, no picks, and scrambled. That is exceptional quarterback play. Do you know the two Super Bowls where Brady threw for the most yards, he lost one and fell behind 28-3 in the other and needed the greatest, most miraculous catch of his career, Julian Edelman in Atlanta to win that one. Oh, let me remind you that Drake May set an NFL Super Bowl quarterback record this this past Sunday. Drake May threw for more yards than any quarterback in a single quarter in NFL history. Did you know that? 235 in the fourth. Do you think he played well? Sam Darnold didn't get in the way. And let's let's be totally honest why you have this opinion. Men are very proud animals. We are very proud. You thought Sam Darnold was a bust. You were proved wrong and you don't want to admit it publicly. That's why everybody always

talks about you ever gone to the internet. Rigged rigged. No, you lost a bet. Your team lost. If the NFL is rigged, they're doing a terrible job. Momes, Joe Burrow, Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson, Matt Stafford, we're not in the Super Bowl. Sam Darnold and Drake May were. The NFL is doing a horrible job of of rigging it. So, football is the ultimate complimentary sport. And when you have a stacked roster, not having a turnover for a month is exceptional quarterback play. Auding into stuff that works and out of trouble. So you can tell me Darnold didn't do anything. And I will push back by you're right. No fumbles, not multiple sacks, never rattled, no interceptions.

Didn't do any of those things. Drake mated all of them. So, you know, I like Darnold and you also know I like analytics, but I but I think this is something that I'm not sure people realize this for for years on this show. I've talked about manalytics, not analytics. Football is much closer to UFC than it is a math class. It has a regulated level of violence and sometimes tough wins. tougher wins. Intimidation wins. Analytics don't prove any of it. So, Seattle does not go for it on fourth downs. In fact, the three teams that went for it in the NFL the fewest times on fourth down, the Seahawks won the Super Bowl. If Bon Knicks doesn't get hurt, Denver's probably in the Super Bowl. And the Texans. And there was a moment in this game, late second quarter, fourth and five for Seattle, and they chose to punt and Analytic said, "It's a go either way decision." Seahawks led 6 nothing. They brought on the league's most highly paid

punter, and he pinned New England deep. Analytic said, "It's a go either way." And as I watched it, my takeaway is no, it's not. It's a 100% punt because New England couldn't move the ball. Why would you give them a field position break? Their longest drive was 28 yards. You don't give struggling offenses the break and the life preserver they need. That's a 100% punt. Secondly, it's not like the Seahawks were dominating on big offensive downs. The Patriots defense got tired, but for the first quarter and a half, they were excellent. I mean, JSN was invisible. Nobody could stop him all year. Patriots did.

And the third thing, Seattle went a month with no turnovers and a defense creating points. You punt the ball. Winning the game, not winning arguments on the internet, is the key to football. Too many people want to go on the internet and sound smart. Do you realize the last three Super Bowl champions each kicked four field goals in their respective Super Bowls. Take the points if you are exceptional anywhere. If you have a significantly better defense, the Chiefs from 2022 to 2024 had an exceptional defense. Steve Spagnola exceptional defense. They won two Super Bowls. They appeared in three Super Bowls. Do you know where they were on going for it on fourth down?

Second fewest in the league. You know who went for it a lot? The Jets and the Titans. The Dodgers aren't winning the World Series because of analytics. They've got more money and a smarter GM and they buy better players. Everybody talks about analytics in the NBA. Oklahoma City is the dominant team in the sport. They're middle of the pack. Oklahoma City is built on defense and one exceptional score and a great GM and coach. They're not winning with three-pointers. Seattle is so extraordinarily uniquely coached and deep special teams defense. They don't play by the same rules everybody does. You don't go for it on fourth and five. That's not a go either way call.

That's a pin Drake made deep. They can't put first downs together. Pin him deep. Take the points. Nine nothing felt like 24 nothing. 6 nothing felt like 14 nothing. Like football is much closer to UFC than math class. Sometimes intimidation tough getting into the psyche or the head of your opponents. Drake May is an accurate thrower. You watched him in that game. He was intimidated. He didn't he didn't want to get hit. Drake May was rattled. He was nervous. He was intimidated. That doesn't show up in analytics. Pin him deep. Here's Sam Darnold on not carrying the load in field goals in the Super Bowl.

Because of the guys in the locker room, uh because of our coaching staff um working their butts off every single day. Like, you know, that's why we're all here. You know, offense again didn't I feel like we didn't play as good as we we could have. I certainly didn't play as good as I could have, but um our defense had her back, our special teams had her back and we got the win.

So, I'm not anti-analytics and not everybody can play by Seattle or Denver's rules, but all year long Denver was a remarkable fourth quarter team. And I think Shawn Payton's feeling was our defense is so exceptional. We're going to take the points. We're going to end drives. We're going to punt. We're not going to take big risks. I will open up the playbook in the fourth quarter. I will take more risks, some to our demise in the fourth quarter. But there are teams in this league this year like Denver and Houston and Seattle going for it makes no sense. Kansas City for a three-year period with Spags defense, they never went Oh, Andy Reid, Momes, they rarely went for it. Go for it. Why?

I know everybody loves math. Okay, a lot of times in this sport, momentum is huge and Seattle's defense was in Drake May and Josh McDaniel's head. Don't let him off the hook. Uh Jmack, last night, a refreshing LeBron James

coming out and admitting we're not very good. Did you hear that? I did hear that. Yeah, they they played great against OKC fell down the stretch struggled.

SGA SGA didn't neither did Luca. I know. Uh, you know, Austin Reeves coming off the bench still on a minutes.

Wouldn't Wouldn't it be nice to watch an NBA game and the Stars play? I mean, listen, man. It's a long season. 82 games. What do you want?

Funny cuz I watched the Super Bowl and all the starters were playing and they tackle each other.

I mean, it's a fourmon season. You play 17 games versus 82. Come on. I'd love to see

What are you bagging on the NBA for? Come on. Love to see the stars occasionally show up.

Who are you? Charles Barkley here. What's going on? Come on. It was a great game last night.

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listening, just open the app, check it out any day of the week. Download the Hard Rock Bet app and make your first deposit. So, um, I've said this about Rob Pelinka, the GM of the Lakers, who lost last night to OKC, didn't have Luca, but they didn't have SGA. He's built a regular season team. In the regular season, nobody really plays defense in the NBA, right? So, like everybody's kind of average defensively except the really great teams like, you know, like San Antonio, Detroit, OKC, they're great defensive teams, but they even turn it up a notch in the postseason. And the NBA officials swallow their whistles in the postseason. So defense matters a lot in the NBA. Not now. So the Lakers are fool's gold in the regular season.

Nobody plays defense. They're terrible at it, but you don't really notice cuz nobody ratchets it up. So I'm reading the LA Times two days ago here in LA and watching the Lakers last night. And a couple days ago, the LA Times readers, they're smart. They know what the problem is. Every single letter to the editor about the Lakers was, "We're not very good defensively. in fact were atrocious. The Laker fans know the problem. They've watched a lot of great basketball. When they had Magic as their star, they had Kareem and Michael Cooper. When the Warriors had Steph as their star, they have Andre Iguadala.

They have Draymond Green. If your best player, Luca, is a great offensive player, but but tremendously limited, often hunted on defense, you got to surround him with help. Rob Pelinka has the opposite issue. He has built an offensive roster where all the best players are below average defensively. LeBron used to be great, but now he's old. So, I think Laker fans know the issue. They don't know the size of the wrecking ball needed. You keep Luca and JJ Reic. Everything else, the bench is atrocious. Athletically, they are the slowest team in the league.

The slow. You can measure that now. So, they're slow, they're poor defensively, they're not athletic, they don't have enough three-point shooters, they have arguably the worst bench in the league. But again, you have a great young offensive coach and a superstar. You got to build this team differently. And you got to get off this Austin Reeves. Everything is on the table after Luca and JJ Reic. Everything. Austin Reeves last night, do you see what OKC did? They hunted him and players shot 50% when Austin Reeves guarded them.

There'll be some dopey GM in the league that thinks this guy is going to be a first ballot hall of famer. Get picks, move people. He's a nice player. But when Luca is your star, if you have Austin Reeves next to him, now you got two suboptimal defenders. So the three best teams in this league are the three best defensive teams in this league. OKC, San Antonio, and Detroit. So, defense matters. Um, and Laker fans are smart. They really are. And so is LeBron. They just don't have enough athletes. They don't have enough shooters. They don't have enough rim protection. So, but in the regular season where nobody's playing elite defense consistently, you can fool people as, oh man, they're really in the playoffs. In fact, I would say once the trade deadline's done, in about a month, you'll start watching the defense as people worry about seating. It's like, oh, the the league changes. Then you can

see a clear gap between the Lakers and OKC. Last night, OKC on the road, they got a flu on the team. SGA's not playing. They still shot almost 49% from the field. But LeBron after brutally honest and he knows basketball and has been in this league for 20 plus years.

You want me to compare us to them? No, I want to know where you think of that like sort of as this team is on. It's like

that's a championship team right there. We're not so understand. What are the biggest things you think that are keeping this team as as right now?

We can't sustain energy and effort 48 minutes and they can. That's why they won a championship. OKC is the Seahawks. They've drafted better. They're better upstairs. They've got waves of players. I mean, New England's defense is good, but you saw them at the end of the second quarter. The Patriots look tired. And Seattle never did because Seattle has waves of depth that New England is still a draft away from developing. And so, Seahawks and OKC are very similar. People may not always love their star quarterback or their star player who's seeking the whistle, but in the end, just layers and layers. That's why playing Oklahoma City, especially late in the season, is so valuable, a measuring stick, cuz I'm telling you, we're about a month to six weeks away from NBA teams caring about defense, like even in the first quarter.

And that's when you can really see the holes in this roster. And Rob Pelanka has created a fun team, a good offensive team. I like watching the Lakers play. But I don't think anybody understands the wrecking ball this thing needs. Jmack with the news.

NO. NO. TURN ON THE NEWS. THIS is the herd line news. All right. We'll be to the NBA shortly, but let's start with this Super Bowl, Colin. Interesting nugget here from Devin Witherspoon, the great defensive back from the Seahawks. Obviously, Seattle's defense dominated the Super Bowl, forced three turnovers, sacked Drake May six times, but they saw a tell defensively and pounced on it. Here's Witherspoon.

We kind of knew what they was going to do, how they was going to attack us, and how they was going to get feature, who and c certain people the ball. So, we had a great game plan like that. We kind of knew how they tackles and guards going to set and certain um pass protections, and we went out there and attacked it. Um, you know, they they they was kind of struggling in this playoffs a couple times. You know, a couple people got after them, so we knew what we was going to do and how we were going to attack them.

A tell like in poker, there's a tell. Something they do. Yeah. that nobody in in New England's aware of. They have to scout themselves, but Seattle could call their own defensive plays in the last second. There was a tail. Well, I'll tell you this. Left tackle needs to be upgraded.

Oh, boy. Will Campbell getting roasted on the internet. Forget just an embarrassing performance. I know that they're saying maybe he was injured. He had some knee thing. Yeah. Interesting how convenient. Remember, Jake May got a shot after the game. We heard nothing about it in the days leading. Oh, and and remember fairness to Will Campbell, he was came in with arm length issues. It was one of the weaker drafts in the last decade.

He was serviceable. He was a serviceable left tackle. It's very possible that you move him inside or to right tackle and he could have he could flourish. In all fairness, he also faced the Texans. Khalil Mack, I mean, if you start looking the Broncos, not Khalil Mack, I think he's on the other side. Not sure right now. Um

Chargers. Yeah, Chargers. But I mean, he faced four or five of the best pass rushers in the sport and got gobbled up.

Yeah. Offensive line just got obliterated. They need to fix that uh shored up in the offseason, but they got money. They're going to be fine. I don't think they're going back to the Super Bowl. Would you agree?

I agree with you. Yeah, I think they're going to be really good. I don't think cuz there's like a Dan Marino thing. Remember Dan Marino goes to the Super Bowl year two. Everybody's like, "Oh, Marino's gonna never got back."

And with Don Schula, the winningest coach in league history. If I gave over under half another Super Bowl appearance, will Drake May get back? I think he'll get back to a Super Bowl. Absolutely. But I think the AFC was weird. Kansas City had a rare down year. Baltimore had a rare down year. I mean, it burrow all of us, you know, and I think you and I both believe that Denver and the Chargers are both better next year. I mean, I think the Chargers are going to look

if Bo Knicks isn't missing that game, they probably beat the Patriots in the That's a very fair assump.

So, like, I'm not I know Patriots fans, you're a hater. No, I'm being a realist. Your schedule was a joke. Yeah.

And you looked awful on the postseason. All right, let's go to the NBA. Colin, listen. This was kind of ugly last night. Pistons, Hornets. Hornets are hot. They had won nine straight and then this happened. Jaylen Durren backing down the moose. They go face to face. Duran mushes him and it was on and popping. Oh my goodness. Swings. I mean, this got ugly. And then Miles Bridges jumps in as you'll see here. And then after he does that, um, you know, Isaiah Stewart aka Beef Stew gets involved. This was hearkening back to the days of the Detroit Bad Boy Pistons. what this feels like.

Hey, Detroit is a good watch and they are a good team. They're pretty good. Number one seed in the East right now.

Okay. Drafted and developed. They've done it the OKC way. Not flashy. Good GM. Draft and develop. You know, we watched them last year. And what did we say last year? They're a year away. They don't know how to win yet. Well, they do now. I kind of like the attitude.

Interesting. Look at that. Miles Bridges saying, "Oh, you stepping on my guy." Miles Bridges, of course,

I want You like this? I want my NBA teams to care. How about you could care but not throw punches? Look at Dun Robinson is like, "Come on, what do we do?"

I don't love I mean, most of these NBA guys, I mean, they talk a big game, but they, you know.

Yeah. Yeah. I don't You don't want this, man. I don't want it, but it's not the end of the world. I like my teammate defending my guys.

I I just saying I don't think it's the end of the world. I think it is NBA because of the malice in the palace is terrified of this stuff.

Yeah, this doesn't look good, man. Well, guess what? There was great NBA games last night.

Baseball teams fight. NFL teams fight. Yeah, we we make fun of that stuff. Baseball morons charging the mound. Idiot hockey.

Why can't NBA guys a couple times a year fight? Okay, now the fans are close. Men, dude, what are we doing throwing punches?

What do you think there in the NFL? Children. Morons. You throwing punches on guys with helmets in the NFL? That's even dumber.

Uh, listen there. Go go go watch an NFL training camp when you have two days of Ravens playing Commanders.

Yeah. Multiple multiple Yeah. I mean, this is pro sports. Detroit is trying to set an agenda. You're not going to play around with us.

Okay. Hey, just Detroit I be ready. Somebody roughs up Kade Cuttingham in the postseason because you guys are acting like this, be ready for it because I'm telling you, they're going to come headunting for Cade Cuttingham. He's like the only guy Detroit has offensively. I'm tell I like the Pistons as a regular season team.

Oh, okay. Knicks are better. Knicks are coming out of the East. You You want to put some cheddar on that? We can. It ain't going to be the Pistons. Sorry, guys. Final story. We're sticking in the NBA. Juicy scoop here, Colin. So, the Dallas Mavericks, obviously, Mark Cuban had sold the his portion of the team back then to Patrick Dumont in 2023. Well, reports are indicating that a Dallas investment group wants to pair with Cuban and buy back the team largely because Patrick Dumont is such a disaster as owner of the Mavericks.

Well, that was a weird I mean, listen, Cuban was brilliant to sell it. Okay, but this happens a lot. You sell a company and then you leave the company and the company's a wreck because you were a huge component to the success.

You guys just don't care as much. They don't. I I would love to see Mark buy it a back.

Can you imagine letting Luca Donuch go? That tells it showed the guy doesn't care. He trusted the dude Nico Harrison who's been fired. I think he's working at Outback Steakhouse right now in Dallas.

Do we have to take shots? I'm sorry. I mean, bottom line is he ruined everything. And I'll say this,

Cooper Flag is amazing. And you know that he is the future of this league. He is. He is.

He needs good ownership. I have never seen a 19-year-old as complete as Cooper Flag. He has literally no elite defender, great size, aggressive, catch and shoot, handle the ball, play points, slash, floaters.

He's got like a 28-year-old's game. Yeah, he's amazing. He is He is an amazing player.

You know, Adam Silver, I haven't spoken to Adam Silver. He'll be out here obviously for all-star festivities. I I'm guessing he would like Mark Cuban back in the league because Mark Cuban is an aggressive owner. He's passionate. He's s front row at every game, cares deeply, and I think he would be a good steward for Cooper Flag.

I just want to see Cooper Flag get good teammates. Yeah. I just want to see him get his guys

that roster right now. I think because the Well, the NBA makes trading difficult.

I don't like that they did that. That that's Listen, we both like Adam Silva. First of all, stop being paralyzed with tanking. It's happening now. A third of the league's tanking. Yeah.

If you want to tank, you can get over it. I mean, it's just like you can't there's certain things you can't stop speeding in America, right?

So, raise the speed limit. People are going to go 65 driving home in the 405. They're not going to go 55. They want to get home and see their kids. Stop it. Don't be paralyzed by it. Faster doesn't mean more accidents, strangely, because cars are built better now than they were in the 50s, 60s,7s, 80s. The second thing is stop worrying about tanking.

The bottom line is you want bad teams to get good. Let them get last year's draft, this year's draft. I want I want Utah cuz Utah looks like they're um not interested in winning a title. I want to see them get the kid from Kansas. I that's a great basketball community. And and so that's the number one thing. The second thing is they make trading very difficult in the NBA. The reason you can go from four and 13 to 14 and three in the NFL, you can go buy and trade players all the time.

And so like I I like I like the NBA, but it's so hard to go from bad to good. NFL, you can do it in six months.

Well, you could say OKC had uh Durant and Westbrook and Harden then went to the bottom. Drafted to Chad Homegrid, JDub, traded for the Celtics and the OKC Thunder didn't really bottom out. Why? Because they have brilliant GMs.

Well, okay. So, they sank. They didn't bottom out. Uh Detroit bottomed out. Detroit was horrible for 15 years. Got Kate Cunningham and now they're the number one. Like, you do need that superstar. And that's the problem with the Lakers. You know, we can get to them later, but like Lakers, they just won a title 5 years ago. It's tough to stay on top when you're not drafting at the top. They got no good young players.

They don't have a single elite defensive player. OKC has got eight. That that that's an issue. Yeah.

Uh Jac with the news. Well, that's the news and thanks for stopping by. The herd lie.

Oh. Uh top of next hour, five up, five down. Five teams that will absolutely inarguably better be better next year. And it's not all just wins and record. They'll look better. They'll feel better. They'll be in the right direction. Five up and five down. And some of the five downs are good teams now, but they've caught breaks. Their division's getting tougher. They're pulling back. Um, you know, you listen, yesterday and Sunday, everybody is beating up on Drake May. And I wanted to add perspective here because he seems like a nice kid. So Drake May faced Seattle and Houston's defenses, the two best defenses in the NFL. They look different. And between the two, he got sacked 11 times and had six turnovers and a passer rating of 87. It was bad.

But I want to remind everybody that one year ago, Sam Darnold faced the Rams in the playoffs. Horrible protection. And Darnold was sacked nine times, two turnovers, and a passer rating in the 70s. A year later, Sam Darnold is great. A year later, Sam Darnold a month ago faced the Rams. three touchdowns, no picks, 346 yards, 128 passer rate. So, for the record, New England plays the Seahawks next year, regular season. Don't be shocked if Drake May, they upgrade and buy a left tackle, they move Will Campbell inside.

And that's one of the great things about the NFL. Every six months, I mean, you see massive changes. Go look at the Chicago Bears operation. 3 weeks after Ben Johnson took over, it was like the language changed, the attitude changed. I mean, I could make an argument. The best team in the NFL was Seattle. The second best team was the Rams. The third best team at the end of the year, am I wrong? It was either Denver or the Bears. The Rams had to play a perfect game offensively in Chicago to beat the Bears in overtime.

But the Bears were a circus a year ago. The Patriots 4 and3 to 14-3. So Drake May faces the Seahawks probably early. They'll probably that could be your first Thursday game. And don't be surprised if they upgrade the offensive line. He's 100% healthy. So outside of Matt Stafford, the Seahawks defense made a lot of good quarterbacks look totally inept. Here's how good Seattle's defense was. Twice in a three-week period, they made Christian McCaffrey invisible. Invisible. Four times in seven, eight years has Kyle Shanahan been totally stymied. Two of the four times were against Seattle this year. They made a lot of people not named Matt Stafford look inept.

So, starting quarterbacks against the Seahawks this season, including the playoffs. If you take Stafford out, had 17 touchdowns, 21 picks, and a passer rating at 74. If you just take out Stafford, well, Drake May is not at Stafford's level right now, especially with their leaking left tackle left O line space. So it just just just defending Drake May what makes this league great. Sam Darnold one year ago was atrocious against the Rams because he got sacked nine times. Then Seattle upgrades, you know that was Minnesota. Then he goes to Seattle. He's got a better defense. He's got a better defensive coach. He's got JSN. I mean the the left side of the offensive line, Gray Zable, Charles Cross. He's got Walker the running back. And all of a sudden Sam is like, "Oh, facing the Rams. Played his best game as a pro, I think, against the Rams. Last time he faced them."

Um, oh, coming up next, people are freaking out because the best college basketball player arguably is never available. He's missed 11 of 24 games for Kansas. They won despite his absence last night over a really good Arizona team. I'd probably pick today to win it all. But should you draft him? What do you do with him? He's never available. Does he love basketball? That's next. So, uh, the upcoming NBA draft will be pretty special. It's got three or four great players, one at BYU, one at Duke, uh, and and Darren Peterson plays for Kansas. Uh he looked he's the closest looking player I've seen to Kobe Bryant.

He's a jump off the television player. They played Arizona last night. It was in Lawrence, Kansas. And Kansas won, but Peterson didn't play. It's a huge win for Kansas. Arizona is outstanding. Peterson didn't play. In fact, he's missed 11 of their 24 starts. Cramping last night. He had flu. And there's a lot of concern. Whoa. I'm I'm hearing this. Whoa. You can't draft this guy. The NBA makes trading difficult. The NFL does not. If you can get a Kobe Bryant level athlete, you draft him. Okay? It is a 3 and D league. He is a longwing who can shoot threes. He's basically what everybody in the league needs more of except maybe OKC. Lakers need four of him. Okay, you draft him. I remember years ago.

Christian McAffrey skipped the Sun Bowl and people are like, "Whoa, hey, you got to show up for your team." It was the Sun Bowl and he was a transformational running back talent. You draft Christian McCaffrey if he's available. One of the most talented guys that's ever played position. You draft him. When it comes to sports and music and entertainment, these are not like uh punchtheclock workingclass jobs. You got some drama, you got some high maintenance, you've got a lot of different things that aren't involved in most of our jobs. A dentist and an accountant do not have the personality of Bruno Mars. Okay? I mean, to be that creative and that that unique, it can be a different cat. Athletes are the same.

Uh they can be sometimes kind of lopsided, a little overly dramatic. whats the kid's special. You draft him. Like there's just some things that you have to deal with. Like if you live in Arizona, you need a pool. It's not going to elevate. It's going to be expensive. You'll have to resurface it. It may leak. The maintenance is a pain in the butt buck. And you'll never ever pain in the butt. You'll never get your money back on a pool. You'll get it back on a kitchen. You'll get it back on your bathrooms. You'll never get the money back on a pool. But if you live in Arizona, you got to have one. And if you're in the NBA, you got to have this kid. Can shoot threes, can handle the ball, insanely athletic, probably gets better defense defensively. Not everybody's Cooper flag. In fact, not anybody else's Cooper flag where you're 19 years old and you don't even have a flaw. Like it it you're you're completely fully formed.

So, well, he's not always available. He's had cramping and guys skipped bowl games. Doesn't make it right. It's not a make it right decision. It's a that is exactly what we need and there's nobody like him in the sport. I would make him the number one pick. I I I just I don't He It's funny. I was told before the season, you got to you got to see this kid for Kansas. In fact, uh I forget who told me and I said, "Okay, I watched four possessions and I was like, "Oh my god, it looks like Kobe Bryant." And then I went online and I'm like, "Okay, it's it's it's it's an obvious one. You draft him.

You build a pool in Arizona. It doesn't matter what it costs. It's 120 in the summer. Get a pool. Draft that guy." Here's Bill Self on the kid not playing last night and and still winning.

Well, we don't know if it's a flu. flu flu like t symptoms. At least that's what I've been told. So he he didn't practice yesterday, but we were hoping he could play today and uh you know he came out for shoot around and wasn't able to go. I thought adrenaline would kick in and he would go. So and and uh you know he was at shoot around today. I mean he was out there you know but but just what you could just tell he didn't feel great but I we were all hopeful that he'd kick in and and and be ready to go. So he sound like you bet on the game. So, so uh uh uh uh but but uh um but no that there there was no ploy with that at all.

Um yeah, he's Jac who is betting Dukane basketball games and unders on a regular basis. The kid at BYU hyper athletic. This kid feels more refined. Boozer at Duke feels ready to play immediately.

But I don't know how you could talk yourself. He is what the league is looking for. Athletic wings who can shoot threes. That's exactly

and defend. And defend. Yeah. I mean, I don't know how great of a defender is. It's hard.

He ate up Debansa from BYU a couple weeks ago um in a head-to-head matchup. He was great in in the first half. Um I'm with you. I think you got to take Peterson. I remember I had a guy on my podcast, these draft analysts

ahead of Anthony Edwards LaMelo Ball draft and this guy was saying, "Listen, Anthony Edwards, there's a lot of teams saying he doesn't love basketball." He said that

is he devouring tape and Anthony Edwards is publicly like I don't watch tape. I like football. Like I like a lot of activities. Sounds a lot like Trevor Lawrence. Remember the the knocks against him.

But you still Trevor Lawrence is so skilled. It's Jacksonville. You get him Lean Comb and you're like a playoff team. So like you can't I couldn't do that at my job. You don't have a 47 inch vertical.

Totally different. It's just and it the other thing is he's at a position that's very necessary like Ben Simmons when he came out and it didn't work out but Ben Simmons was a 69 and a half point guard who defended scored at the rim now he couldn't shoot and he had an attitude

but I I talked to two executives in the league two scouts and they're like that's as good a prospect

I love Benson's he and for the record didn't he make an all-star game the first year he was in the league

he made all NBA like he was a really people forget He made all NBA and then he didn't and then he went sideways. You still draft somebody because the NFL allows you, you can trade anybody any time. You could have traded Tom Brady in your prime. You could trade Joe Burrow tomorrow. That's not the NBA. So, it's very I mean, how long is it going to be until the Washington Wizards are good?

It's been It feels like 30 years. And they had John Wall and they've had good players and Bradley Beal. They're never good in the NFL. The minute the Bears get the right coach, they keep the same owners, the same president, the same GM, they have the same quarterback, they just bring in a head coach. You're like, are they the are they the fourth or fifth best team in the league?

Yeah. So, it's that that's not the NBA. You just In the NFL, you can be pickier. I mean, in the NFL, Brock Party is the last player taken. In the NBA, this is a very good draft. You get to about the 14th pick and it's a prospect. you're kind of projecting on what that it's probably a rotational player even this is a really good draft. The last draft was good, but after Ace Bailey in this last draft, and there'll be some guys that pop, but there were about five guys you're like, "Yeah, those guys are going to be great players." And then like 6 through 12, you're like, "Those should be very good players." And then you're projecting.

But again, like Joic and SJ are two of the best guys in the league. They were not upper cross draft picks. They were not like top five guys. Second round, so it can happen, but it's it's it's more rare. And look at Tom Brady, six round pick. And

that happens a lot in football. Okay, Jeff Goodman covers college basketball. Uh there was an NBA GM that talked about this. He said people are overreacting. Uh it's not that big of a deal. We got guys in the NBA who missed two months with a strained hammy. A lot of guys would have shut him down for the rest of the season. Pump the brakes. People get the flu. People also have to remember it's a small snapshot of his entire career. He's probably the number one pick. We'll see. When you watch him play, if you don't have to like college basketball, watch a half, give it, give it 35 minutes, you'll be like,

whoa. He's not Cooper flag, but he is like a big time blue chip prospect. There's like four of them. Boozer, by the way, I know you mentioned him. He's really good. Against UNCC, though, their length gave him problems. The big guys you don't take earlier than the wings because the wing is the most coveted position of basketball.

Yeah, right now it is. Like when I grew up as a when I was kid younger, it was bigs. Yeah,

you had there were so few bigs on the planet. You got a big and and that led for the record that led to a ton of busts.

I can find you 12 great centers all time. I can find you 40 first round center bust.

Sam Bowie over Michael Jordan. Remember uh in the draft that was like one of the biggest whiffs of all time. I mean Greg Odin going one. A lot of bigs end up getting

Sam Buoie was remarkable. Buoy Sam Buoie was remarkable. Go YouTube Sam Buoie pulling up on the left wing shooting 18-footers.

Yeah, he was ahead of his time. He fell apart. Yeah. So, it's um I don't know. It's It's I All I know is this is not you you have to think about a lot of different things like the movie Moneyball

when Brad Pitt's playing Billy Bean and he's like, you know, there's the Yankees, there's this and then we're a mile below that. You have to know what you can possibly do. And in the NBA, what you're trying to fight, let's say this kid ends up being 75 to 80% of what he could be. So instead of averaging 29, he averages 23. You get about se 68 games a year. He's pretty good defensively. He's fun to watch. He's dynamic, but he doesn't quite he gets he doesn't quite love it like you wish he'd love it. You'd still take him.

The the other thing is when somebody is this gifted like LeBron was so good, you draft LeBron over Carmelo and Carmemelllo was a great college player for a year at Syracuse. You draft LeBron because if you don't, it will ruin your career. Trading Luca to the Lakers ruin Nico Harrison's career.

This kid, his highlight package, you have to draft him either one or two. I would take him one, but you have to. I mean, he's just Sometimes you do things to save your own bacon. You pass on this kid and he goes to a really good roster and is doing 24 and six. And in in playoff basketball, you're losing your job as a GM.

Questions about this episode

Who speaks in "Sam Darnold & Seahawks proved analytics are OVERRATED in Super Bowl | Colin Cowherd: THE HERD NFL"?

Colin Cowherd (Host), J-Mack (Guest).

What is "Sam Darnold & Seahawks proved analytics are OVERRATED in Super Bowl | Colin Cowherd: THE HERD NFL" about?

Sam Darnold's performance in the Super Bowl showcased his ability to play it safe and manage the game effectively, contrary to the prevailing belief that a quarterback's stats are the sole indicator of success. Despite minimal flashy statistics, his calm demeanor and decision-making, combined with Seattle's strong team dynamics, challenge the notion that analytics alone define a player's impact…

What is mentioned in this The Herd with Colin Cowherd episode?

15 people, works and ideas are mentioned, including Sam Darnold, Drake May, Oklahoma City, LeBron James, Rob Pelinka, Detroit. Each one on this page links to its own page with every episode that mentions it.

How long is "Sam Darnold & Seahawks proved analytics are OVERRATED in Super Bowl | Colin Cowherd: THE HERD NFL"?

The episode runs 41 min; the transcript is about 7,417 words in 114 timestamped sections.

More from The Herd with Colin Cowherd

About this transcript: the episode's spoken words as captioned on YouTube, split into timestamped sections. Reclip.Me locates every person, work and idea in the text, keeps the time it is first named, and quotes the words around it verbatim. Last updated February 12, 2026.