Seahawks-Patriots Super Bowl TAKE YOUR PICK: Maye or Darnold, Diggs or JSN | Colin Cowherd: HERD NFL

What this episode is about

The discussion centers around the upcoming Super Bowl matchup between the Seahawks and the Patriots, with a focus on key player comparisons such as quarterbacks Sam Darnold and the advantages in coaching and running back performances. Colin Cowherd highlights the significance of Super Bowl experience and how it may impact the game's outcome, while also analyzing each team's strengths and weaknesses.

Key takeaways

• Seattle's explosive offense lives for speed, but New England's patience thrives in tight situations.
• Sam Darnold, the highest-rated postseason QB, proves that sometimes it's not about the name, but the game.
• Seattle's run game could shine with Walker, but without depth, they might feel the heat in the trenches.
• New England's pass catchers are a mix of youth and experience, perfect for exploiting defensive vulnerabilities.
• Coaching matters: McDaniels' play-calling prowess gives the Patriots a strategic edge in this Super Bowl showdown.

Who speaks in this episode?

• Colin Cowherd (Host) · 28 min speaking
• Ryan Fitzpatrick (Guest) · 8 min speaking
• Greg Kosell (Guest) · 4 min speaking

What is discussed, and when

1. 0:00 – 5:00: Kenneth Walker, Sam Darnold, Christian McCaffrey, Ryan Fitzpatrick
2. 5:00 – 10:00: Seattle Seahawks, Ryan Fitzpatrick, Sam Darnold, Josh McDaniels
3. 10:00 – 15:00: Hard Rock Bet, Sam Darnold
4. 15:00 – 20:00: Hard Rock Bet, Sam Darnold, Christian McCaffrey
5. 20:00 – 25:00: Sam Darnold, Zbiotics
6. 25:00 – 30:00: Josh McDaniels, Sam Darnold, Mike Vrabel
7. 30:00 – 35:00: Sam Darnold, Kenneth Walker, Devin Witherspoon
8. 35:00 – 39:25: Sam Darnold, Seattle Seahawks

Notable quotes from "Seahawks-Patriots Super Bowl TAKE YOUR PICK: Maye or Darnold, Diggs or JSN | Colin Cowherd: HERD NFL"

• It's close. The longer it's close, advantage New England. And I think there's a huge advantage Vrabel and Josh McDaniel being in so many of these games. I think it matters for…

  about Mike Vrabel · at 0:34

• New England. I think Josh McDaniels is the best play caller in the league.

  about Josh McDaniels · at 5:46

• Just don't cut it. Here's a parlay. I like New England plus five under 45 and a half points and under one and a half passing touchdowns for Darnold. I think Sam takes a lead.…

  about Sam Darnold · at 14:16

• So, we had Christian McCaffrey, and I've said before is in my lifetime, Walter Payeyton's probably the best running back I've ever seen. Barry Sanders is close. I'd say Christian.

  about Christian McCaffrey · at 16:10

• Use the code the herd at checkout for 15% off.

  about Zbiotics · at 24:57

• To a, classical pianist who, follows all the notes. But over the last five, six weeks, he has run inside much, much better. He's gotten what we call the hard yards. And I think…

  about Kenneth Walker · at 32:01

• Back-end players, which allows them to do multiple things from a coverage and a pressure standpoint because Emmeni and Witherspoon are both very good blitzers.

  about Devin Witherspoon · at 33:21

• Ask me, okay, it's a blowout. Yeah, I would take Seattle. I could see Seattle's defensive front just wearing out Will Campbell. I could see, one little injury on the O line for…

  about Seattle Seahawks · at 38:11

Who and what is mentioned in this episode?

People

• Sam Darnold — Person · Referenced player (Seahawks QB) / central debate point · 14 mentions · first at 1:26
  He’s framed as Seattle’s quarterback edge, a postseason efficiency leader, and the potential scapegoat if Seattle loses—driving much of the game-pick and narrative discussion.
• Josh McDaniels — Person · Referenced coach (Patriots play-caller) / key advantage claim · 4 mentions · first at 5:46
  Positioned as New England’s decisive edge in play-calling and Super Bowl experience; repeatedly cited as the best play-caller and central to Drake May’s development.
• Mike Vrabel — Person · Referenced head coach (Patriots) / experience edge · 1 mention · first at 25:10
  Presented as a stabilizing, experienced head coach whose Super Bowl familiarity and staff management could neutralize Seattle’s talent edge in a close game.
• Christian McCaffrey — Person · Referenced star player (RB) / credibility witness on Darnold · 2 mentions · first at 4:01
  Used both as a benchmark for elite RB play and as a firsthand testimonial source praising Darnold’s talent and leadership from shared time in Carolina and San Francisco.
• Ryan Fitzpatrick — Person · Referenced expert (former NFL QB) used to support argument · 3 mentions · first at 0:08
  Used as an authority to frame game script logic: if the game stays close longer, it favors New England; if it avalanches early, it favors Seattle.
  Colin Coward podcast, all of our NFL instant reactions, and more football content. Ryan Fitzpatrick agrees with me that there are some edges by I think Ryan Fitzpatrick put it…
• Kenneth Walker — Person · Referenced player (Seahawks RB) / matchup factor · 3 mentions · first at 1:53
  Cited as Seattle’s explosive run-game centerpiece (yards per touch, playoff impact) and discussed in film terms (running style, inside vs edge).
• Devin Witherspoon — Person · Referenced player (Seahawks CB) / secondary edge · 2 mentions · first at 4:21
  Highlighted as the best corner in the matchup and emblematic of Seattle’s versatile, blitz-capable secondary—supporting the argument Seattle has the DB edge.

Companies & orgs

• Seattle Seahawks — Company · Sports team · 3 mentions · first at 6:44
  One of the two teams competing in Super Bowl 60, discussed extensively for their strengths and weaknesses.
• New England Patriots — Company · Sports team · 1 mention · first at 5:16
  One of the two teams competing in Super Bowl 60, discussed for their coaching experience and offensive strategies.
  I think everybody says Seattle, and I think that's a large part of that is Rasheed Shahed as a returner. New England's okay. Seattle was ranked seventh. So, I know you're…

Sponsors

• Hard Rock Bet — Company · Sponsor · 5 mentions · first at 14:04
  Presenting sponsor of the podcast, promoting betting options for Super Bowl 60.
  Yeah. Sheesh. It's 36 nothing at half apparently. Today's show is brought to you by our presenting sponsor, Hard Rock Bet, Florida sports book. It's big game week on Hard Rock Bet. Seattle a four and a half point favorite over New.
• Zbiotics — Product · Sponsor · 3 mentions · first at 23:41
  Product advertised during the podcast, promoting a probiotic drink for alcohol consumption.

Full transcript with timestamps

0:00 Welcome to the Herds 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. Ryan Fitzpatrick agrees with me that um there are some edges by I think Ryan Fitzpatrick put it well. If Seattle took a 17- nothing lead, you'd be like, "Oh, I'd be surprised if New England took a seven nothing lead. I would not be surprised if Seattle did." So, if there's going to be an avalanche one way or the other, it'll be the Seahawks bearing New England. I think they play with that sort of speed, but I think it's close. The longer it's close, advantage New England. And I I think there's a huge advantage Vrabel and Josh McDaniel being in so many of these games. I think it matters um for a lot of different reasons. So, we're going to play a game of take your pick. Three days away from Super Bowl 60. Let's do

0:50 take your pick. All right, Colin. Which team has the better head coach? I think I'd go Mike Frabel. Um I mean this this team New England was a mess for three years before he got there. 14 seasons as a player. His fourth appearance in a Super Bowl. Again, it it's it's it's like comparing quarterbacks. Both good. But I do think Super Bowl experience at various times in this game does matter.

1:17 Now this one's tough. Which team has the better quarterback? Well, the highest graded quarterback, the highest passer, rating of any quarterback that played this year in the postseason was Sam Darnold. So, it's Sam Darnold.

1:29 Wow. Well, he played a flawless football game against a very good defensive team in the Rams, and he's had three games with no turnovers.

1:38 Which one of these guys is going to be the uh runner up to MVP? Sam Darnold. Which team has the better running back scholar? I think New England are underrated, but I would say Seattle, though they don't have a lot of depth. Kenneth Walker led all running backs 5.7 yards per touch in the playoffs. Like, he's been crazy explosive and he's got good speed, but he also makes you miss. Um, highest rushing grade by any team this season was the Seahawks. Um, their their run brocking O line's pretty good. Now, I think Charbanet

2:15 um I don't think it would be I think Seattle could be in trouble if it was like a six-game stretch with no consistent backup running back. They do have a fullback they can use employ, but I think he is kind of the star running back in this game.

2:29 Uh which team has the better pass catchers in the Super Bowl? I think that's New England. I think they have a mix of young and old. You get Stfan Diggs, you get Hunter Henry, Matt Collins, so you get some veterans. Then you get Kahan Bouty and Kyle Williams. Williams is an not getting a ton of touches, but man, he's explosive. They were tied for the fewest drops in the NFL this year. That is again coaching. Um Hunter Henry had a great year and finds himself Seattle can be a little vulnerable to the tight end little maybe maybe a little bit here especially with the safety being dinged up. So, I think New England actually actually has one of the more interesting receiving groups in the league and I think Seattle can be very reliant on JSM.

3:17 Okay. Uh, which team has the better offensive line in the Super Bowl? I think Seattle and I don't think either is great, but Seattle grades very well as a run blocking O line. Pass pro. There's And the thing about Seattle, they're all homegrown. You know, they drafted Charles Cross and Gray Zable. It's a homegrown offensive line. They've drafted, they've been patient, they've developed. Uh, in terms of the ability to run the football, the advantage is to Seattle. So, I would give the Hawks the O line edge.

3:44 All right, let's go to defense. Which team has the better front seven? Seattle is has seven four different players with seven plus sacks. They're both good. I think Seattle's depth is crazy. Seattle also has not allowed a hundredyard rusher in 28 games. And that's notable because Christian McCaffrey, they played him a couple times. Yeah.

4:05 So, it is really hard. They also Seattle corners safeties tackle well. So, uh the front seven's good.

4:14 Uh all right, let's go to the secondary. Which team has the better defensive backs in this game?

4:19 It's kind of a coin flip to me. I would probably I think Devin Weatherspoon's the best corner, so I'd probably go Seattle, but I love Christian Gonzalez. But now Nick Ammoni now the coach said he's going to play um he's something else. So the other thing is Seattle secondary Seattle was great defensively on third down. That's often a passing down. So Seattle was a big play secondary. They were very good. Remember Matt Stafford was 0 for six on third down and Matt Stafford played well. So a lot of Super Bowl comes down to situational football. secondaries. When you go secondary to secondary, if I have the best corner, Seattle, and unbelievable on third down in that back end, you'd have to go Seattle.

5:08 Uh, let's go to special teams. Which team has the better special teams in the Super Bowl?

5:12 I think everybody says Seattle, and I think that's a large part of that is Rasheed Shahed as a returner. New England's okay. Uh, Seattle was ranked seventh. So, I know you're saying Seattle's going to blow him out in this game, but sometimes the edges aren't pronounced. Like quarterback is I think close. Um, I think coaching is New England. Experience New England. Little older roster, which I like in this game, New England. I think Seattle's youth worries me. Uh, but I think special teams I'd give the edge.

5:43 Finally, which team has the better play calling in the Super Bowl? New England. I think Josh McDaniels is the best play caller in the league.

5:51 Um, whoa. I mean, his history is he is he tried as a head coach and it didn't work, but I think this is his third run with New England. So, uh, they keep bringing him back for a reason. I don't think he ever leaves. I think he'll stay. He loves his family loves it. Um, I also think if you looked at the play calling in a blizzard, I think he faced really good defenses. The O line's not great. They played in inclement weather. And if you go back to third key third downs for New England in this playoff run, pretty impressive.

6:22 So, um, now I know what you're saying. Oh boy. Okay. Oh boy. Okay. But, but now let's be honest.

6:30 Coaching and play calling are huge to New England. Pass catchers in 2026 is a big deal.

6:38 And you could argue the pass catchers JSN's the best receiver in this game. Seattle tight ends. You've raved about them.

6:44 Seattle has very good high-end talent. I think the four best players in the game are Seahawks. And then I think when you go five through 15, it's evenly dispersed. Now, you know, star players in big games, but I I think a lot of it is I think I I'm I still haven't picked who I think's going to win. I think New England against the spread feels like the bet. Um, and I do think Seattle has a deeper roster. And I I I do think Seattle, but you can make up so much ground in coaching. I mean, a prime example is how did the dynasty for New England start?

7:19 They were 14point underdogs and they coached there. That's before Brady was dominant. They had a good defense, New England, and a coaching edge, New England. And they were 14point dogs in one. Ryan Fitzpatrick, I talked about this. The longer this game goes, the closer it is. that empowers the underdog. So, you get a little tight in games. Seattle,

7:42 I think Seattle wants to start fast because I think the coaching staff's like, "Listen, we we don't want to go in mid third quarter tied at 17." So, um,

7:52 there we go, Colin. I had to look this up. So, um, Sam Darnold not much of a comeback guy, right? He hasn't had a lot of comebacks because he's a great front runner and the Seattle defense stakes and leads. They've got a lot of blowouts. Does that kind of muddy the water? Like what if this is 1714 Patriots with 4 minutes left? I mean, do you trust Sam Darnold to get it done? Cuz he hasn't really done that.

8:14 Well, he was again against the Rams. He was very good on third down. So Seattle's been sort of a dicey red zone team. I think a lot of it youth. I think also a lot of it is you kind of know JSN's the guy. So you kind of bracket even though he'll get open, but you you try to take JSN out. And then listen, so many I I think Ryan Fitzpatrick hit on it. If you told me it was 247 at half, I would bet my 401k that would be Seattle. But if you told me the final score is 2423, I'm probably 6040 New England because that tells me New England wasn't overwhelmed on the offensive line.

8:57 That's my concern is that New England can't consistently block them. That's my concern. If you tell me it's 24-20 or 24-23, that tells me New England's offensive line is just fine. Now, it's coming down to situational football and coaching. Well, Seattle gives the ball away. Seattle's very average in the red zone and Seattle has a coaching disadvantage in term of play calling. So, if you tell me it's close, and I think it will be, that's why I give the edge to New England. Do you remember that Patriots Rams Super Bowl?

9:27 Oh yeah. Okay. So Goff was an upand cominging star. Uh McVey was a genius offense. That offense lit up everybody all season.

9:36 And Bellich check and that spectacular defense almost shut them out. I think the final was 13-3.

9:41 It was. Would you be surprised if Seattle, you look up at halftime and it's 13- nothing and and New England can't do anything because Colin, I'm just telling you, May is a young quarterback who takes a lot of sacks. Yeah.

9:53 And this defense in McDonald has cooked up some schemes to stop basically everybody except Matt Stafford and I and I know uh Baker Mayfield had a good game against him. But

10:02 I'm a little starting to get worried about the Patriots. You start to drill down on this team and it's like, well, Seattle is the best run D in the league.

10:08 Well, it's interesting. So Liam Cohen and the Jags had a great season. They played Seattle and if you remember that game

10:16 couldn't do anything. They got I mean then Jacksonville they were at home in that game too because I think I bet Jacksonville

10:22 and that's a long flight for Seattle and Jacksonville got worked and we had Lean Cole on and I asked him I mean you're there you're looking at film. I mean you you got worked by C and I think that's the only game this year where Jacksonville just got pushed around the field. Yeah. And here was Lean Coleman on facing the Seahawks.

10:40 They've got waves of rushers. Right, Colin. Like they've got groups up front in their front seven specifically uh that can really impact and affect the quarterback. They are exciting. It's an exciting defense and then really offensively uh a ton of explosive plays, right? They've lived and died by the explosive play. Sam's playing at a high level. I think their run game is really coming to life and and thought they did great things over the course of the year.

11:05 Yeah, it's um listen, I everybody is betting Seattle. Seattle's got more elite players. I am staking a lot of this in coaching experience and managing the game. But it is I mean I I can tell in your voice um you are you really like Seattle. The numbers are telling you Seattle is the play now. And and this year if I recall

11:31 pros against the Joe's, the Joe's did pretty well. A lot of favorites won. So the casual fans did not. They had a good year.

11:40 I just looked up that Seattle Jags game. Jaguars did not get to the red zone once. I That was a good offense this year in Jacksonville. That was before they traded for uh Jacobe Buyers. But I mean, I'm going to take a look at, you know, shut out, no touchdowns for the Patriots. I'll look at those odds, put some pizza money on them. Let's see what happens. I don't have a lot of faith in this Patriots offense, man. You you they couldn't do anything in the postseason so far. They were historic low point total after

12:07 they play they played in snowstorm. Half of a one half against Denver was in snow.

12:11 Well, Houston was awful weather. I mean, fine. All right, I'll give you a half of awful weather. Like,

12:19 well, when's the last time you even shoveled snow? 2015, maybe 14. No, I listen, I think when you go back to the early portions of that game, they moved the ball well enough. They, you know, I I I think they're very good on third down. I Yeah, it's Listen, it's uh

12:40 not facing Jarrett St. Remember the lower seed in the last 15 years. Yeah, dogs have been cooking in

12:46 dogs have been cooking. The media is larger than ever and louder than ever. And the players have access to the media through their phones, which they didn't 15, 20 years ago. So, the underdogs go into this game and these players sit around in their hotel rooms, right? They're focused in. They watch film. They go back. They get their rest. And they just hear all week about Seattle's going to bury you. And it I think in the last 15 years, why are underdog before that favorites did well. Why are underdogs doing well? The explosion of media, your ability to watch the media in your hotel room. Therefore, coaches can feed you and then it can be verified. And I think human beings, especially competitive athletic human beings, are largely driven

13:32 by you can't do this and you're going to get humiliated. I think you you get more focused, you get more driven, you get angrier. Uh I I think now Seattle's got more good players.

13:45 Yeah. Demarcus Lawrence, two sacks, forced fumble, MVP. Can I interest you in that? I mean, May was a fumble machine this year, Colin. He He had a few. He had a couple.

13:56 Okay. You know where my flag is planted, baby. Yeah. Sheesh. It's 36 nothing at half apparently. Today's show is brought to you by our presenting sponsor, Hard Rock Bet, Florida sports book. It's big game week on Hard Rock Bet. Seattle a four and a half point favorite over New England. For games like this, basic bets just don't cut it. Here's a parlay. I like New England plus five under 45 and a half points and under one and a half passing touchdowns for Darnold. I think Sam takes a lead. They play a semic-conservative game and the game is fairly lowcoring.

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16:06 Download the Hard Rock Bet app. Make your first deposit before kickoff. So, we had um Christian McCaffrey, and I've said before is in in my lifetime, uh Walter Payeyton's probably the best running back I've ever seen. Barry Sanders is is close. I'd say Christian McCaffrey in terms of the ability to do everything, not fumble, catch a pass, make a block, make a run, make people miss, outrun people. He was on our show yesterday, but it was at the very end of our show. And um he played a couple different times with Sam Darnold. once in San Francisco and and once in Carolina. So, he knows Sam very well.

16:42 And he dropped this little gem about slinging Sammy D. When I first met him in Carolina uh from the jump, I was like, "This guy's a a dude." And uh the more and more you see him at practice that you see the throws you make, you understand why he's a top pick in the draft. And then you're around him more and you're like, "This is one of the best players I've been around, period." And uh it's because of how talent talent uh how talented his arm is. Uh he's he's way more athletic than people give him credit for.

17:15 Yeah. He's one of the most talented players I've ever seen. And that's a guy that plays with George KD and Trent Williams, the Debo Samuels. I mean like you know Fred Warner Abosa. He's one of the most talented players I've ever played with. All those Carolina teams, they had good players, too. So, um, the fans opinion on Darnold is so different than the players opinion on Darnold and the coach's opinion on Darnold. I mean, if Sam throws a an ugly pick in the Super Bowl, fans will be like, "Told you, can't play." When this guy was at the depths of his career, players were always like, "He's a dude." And by the way, players and coaches gossip like the rest of us. And people inside the game know how good he is. And I I think one of the reasons is is because first impressions die slowly.

18:11 And there's a reason our parents I hope your parents did this. My parents my dad did this a lot where you know look people in the eye tuck your shirt in firm handshake. First impressions matter. Man never had better advice. I had a college professor named Howard Hop at Eastern Washington University. He was a very funny guy. small guy, projected, wore like a interesting hat. And the reason he when you had a class project, he would make you come up and present it like a business person. And I can remember him shouting at me, "Cowud, sit down. I wouldn't buy Triscuits from you. Start over." And it was like, "First impressions matter.

18:55 People feed off your energy or your negativity." And Sam's never been a victim. He's got great energy. He's a great guy and and that was through the hard times. So, you know, but those first images in New York, I'm seeing ghosts on a nationally televised game. But players always knew how bad the Jets were. So, I think that stuff just gets embedded in our brain, your first impressions. And I'll give you a basketball example. Uh Chris Weber. When Chris Weber came into basketball as a college player, I'd never seen a guy that big with that good of hands and that good of feet. I thought he had the best hands and feet I'd ever seen from a big pre LeBron. I I just like he he had the feet of a guard and the hands of a catch and shoot two guard, but because he called a timeout in the national championship, that gets embedded in your brain.

19:48 C Web is a NBA Hall of Famer. He's a fivetime allp pro in his prime. 25 a game. Tough defender, great rebounder, unbelievable touch for a big guy. He was a great Hall of Fame level basketball player. But you say C Web and you think that timeout, that image, one second is all that play lasted. One sec. Scott Norwood made a lot more kicks than the one he missed in the Super Bowl. But that stuff gets embedded with people. And what when I look I've said this I've used this stat before is that if you go after the Jets he went to Carolina and he got benched for the first time in his career. Then November 27th Sam Darnold started again from that day to today.

20:37 Carolina Niners Minnesota Seattle highest percentage of 100 plus passer rating games. Winningest quarterback in the league. The dude is a baller and the players and the coaches know it. And if he loses the Super Bowl, players and coaches will not bail on Sam. Tom Brady lost multiple Super Bowls, one to Nick Fos, but fans will immediately bail on him. He's just seen differently from one group to the next. Uh, Super Bowl betting report. Okay, look, I'm going to play a little sociologist psychologist here. according to the market, all Seattle money.

21:18 1.76 billion to be wagered legally in this game. 4 and a.5 point favorite Seattle um getting all the money. So, what what does that tell me? If Seattle loses, there's going to be a lot of angry betterers. And betterers can never look themselves in the mirror and go, "Yeah, I took the wrong team." I do a segment every Monday called Callin right calling wrong. Viewers and fans uh never acknowledge it's them. So it will be they'll blame two people if Seattle loses. Number one Sam Darnold and number two the officials. It could be both it'll probably be one. And so I've said this before if Drake May loses crickets.

22:00 If Darnold loses because all the Darnold critics now you don't hear a peep from them after the LA game. They've all disappeared. It's like there's a power outage in America. No anti- Sam Darnold takes. They'll come flying back because they bet the Seahawks if they lose. And for all you people that believe the NFL is rigged, then you're a sorry lot. It's been a bad season for you. Patrick Mahomes did not make the playoffs. Lamar Jackson did not make the playoffs. Joe Burrow did not make the playoffs. Star quarterbacks. Josh Allen did and then lost on a controversial play. Yeah.

22:36 Yeah. The league was rigging Jarrett Stam and Bo Nick Knicks to advance. Uh both New York teams are unwatchable. Yet the Jags made the playoffs and so did the Panthers. And oh by the way, the the two biggest brands, Cowboys and Packers, you could even argue the Steelers Cowboys didn't make the playoffs. Packers bounced early. Steelers humiliated in the playoffs. So bad year to believe the NFL is rigged. Yeah, let's put that kind of nameless, faceless Patriot team where the coach is the biggest star and uh and Sam Darnold who largely viewed by the fans an hour ago as a bust. So, you can just see what's going to happen if Seattle loses.

23:17 That means 75% of betterers are going to lose and they've got to blame somebody because because betterers will not blame themselves.

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25:01 All right, Greg Coell's around the corner. Nobody breaks down the tape the film like Greg Coell. We'll get to him in a couple of minutes. Um I I thought this was interesting. Um, Mike Vrabel told pool reporter Lindsay Jones that his staff in New England had saved elements of the game plan for this week to keep players engaged. And I've said the big advantage in this game is Vrabel's been in what is this the fourth Super Bowl? Uh, this is the 10th for Josh McDaniels. and and having a coaching staff with lots of Super Bowl experience is like having a great uh wedding planner. You're freaking out.

25:42 It's the first wedding. Emotions are high and the wedding planner is like um I've got this. I've got this. There's a lot of I got this with Vrabel and Josh McDaniels. The other thing is Fred Warner, the great 49er, talked about just as a player, what's it like from first Super Bowl to second, the things you learn.

26:07 The thing you don't realize the first time around is how how draining the entire game is. Everything is longer. It's not just a regular season game where the the timeouts are longer, the halftime is longer. There's just so many breaks. The the the the uh the national anthem before the game takes feels like it takes an hour. So the second time around, I made a conscious effort pregame, postgame leading the weeks leading up, I said, "Hey, we have to make sure we conserve our energy when we get to the sidelines because it's going to be a four quarter ball game."

26:35 And that's what Vrabel and Josh McDaniel that they're preaching that to the players. Conserve some energy. All this anxiety is going to sap energy. Everything is longer. So, I do I think one of the advantages of New England is Vrabel and Josh have been in this game so many times before. Seahawks need a wedding planner. And with that, Greg Kosell, 46 years, NFL films joining us live. So, um, last year the Patriots had Drake May. They had a lot of this personnel

27:14 and they were unwatchable. 31st yards per game. This year, you still have Drake May. They made some acquisitions, but Hunter Henry was here last year. He's there this year. When you look at New England's offense yeartoear, is it free agent signings? Is it the draft? Or is it just schemes and coaching? A massive upgrade. Why?

27:40 I think it's schemes and coaching and the natural development of Drake May. You know, Colin, we've talked for years. You know how big a believer I am in coaching with quarterbacks. Very, very, very few quarterbacks are transcendent that you can just go out there and it doesn't matter what the system is, what the schematics are. It all comes down to that in in my opinion in many, many ways. And I think that's a big difference. And I know for a fact the way Josh McDaniels went about dealing with Drake May and they basically gave him everything because he can handle it mentally. and then you can work down as opposed to just giving it incrementally giving it to him that way. So, it'll be interesting because, you know, it's funny. I don't know how you feel about this game, but this game to me, believe it or not, has much more of a defensive feel to it than an offensive feel.

28:30 Yeah, I think it is a I've said this, I think it's 2420. I think field goals and special teams will matter. I think a lot of it's played in between the the 30s. Uh I think it's a very physical game. Yeah, I I mean my sense, look, no one can predict turnovers and short fields, which obviously change games. Can Shahed take one to the house on a pun return or kickoff return? Sure. You know, can Darnold hit Shahed for a big one? Yeah, those things can happen. But I don't see this game as as being a game where you're going to see a meaningful number of 11, 12, 13 play long drives for touchdowns. And I think one of the things in this game, and we rarely talk about this, the defensive tackle rotations in this game for both teams are really high level. And I wonder how that's going to impact the run games because you look at what New England brings to the table with Barmore, Williams, even some unknown players like

29:26 Cory Duran and Tonga. Then you look at Seattle, we know about Leonard Williams and Murphy, Jiren Reed. It's very hard to run the ball inside against these defensive fronts. And I think both teams will definitely feel the need to have the run game to be a meaningful part of their offensive approach.

29:46 Why did Sam Darnold and JSN, it felt like it clicked very early and we know this is not the case with all quarterback wide receiver combos. It takes time. These guys clicked immediately. Why? You know, I think a lot of that also has to do with schematics because aren't you always amazed at times when you see really great receivers being so open? You know, you wonder, God, he's a great receiver, he's open. And that gets down to the schematics of the offense. And I think one of the things that Seattle does exceptionally well, we actually saw it last year in Minnesota with with Darnold was under center play action.

30:29 And I've always believed that under center play action is much more effective than shotgun or pistol play action because what are you trying to do? You're trying to influence and put second level defenders in conflict. And when it takes more time for a second level defender to determine whether it's pass or run and the run game and the pass game are married together so well then they get caught in conflict and you see a lot of those inb breaking routes that the Seahawks were really really good at against single high safety coverage and you saw Smith and Jiggler being able to run those routes and essentially be open. Uh so and they move him around a lot too. He predominantly lines up outside 80% of his snaps, but they move him around a lot. And you know, I'm I'm not sure that the uh uh Patriots are going to put Christian McD Gonzalez on him because that affects other defenders, too. People aren't

31:24 aware of that. It's not just one guy. What um I remember when Kenneth Walker was at Michigan State, he was very good post, very good post contact. Well, he's very good post contact as a pro. How do they use him in Seattle? Do you like the way they use him?

31:41 You know, I think that over the last five, six weeks, he's become a different runner and a better runner because to me, and I this is the way I evaluated him coming out of college, and I thought he was like this for his early years in the league, and he hasn't been in the league that long, but I always described him, Colin, as much more of a jazz musician, improvisational guy as opposed to a, you know, classical pianist who, you know, follows all the notes. But over the last five, six weeks, he has run inside much, much better. He's gotten what we call the hard yards. And I think when you play in games like this, a yard, two yards, three yards, th those yards matter. Now, I also think that the Patriots, because of Rael's background with Bellich, will do a much better job than recent opponents of the Seahawks in setting the edge. And you're not going to see Walker get outside the way he has against some other opponents

32:34 in recent weeks. Is there something that stands out with the Seahawks defense that just jumps off the film for you or is it just consistent? The ability to play and mesh all their levels of football together. What does the tape say?

32:49 Uh, two things stand out. I would say Williams and Murphy on the inside and the versatility of so of so many of their uh safeties and and corners because don't forget we know about Emmen Worry and again I know he got hurt and we'll wait and see on that but let's assume he plays. He's essentially a SAM linebacker in their system but he does so many things. He can match up to wide receivers as we're seeing but also Love was a corner in college. Witherspoon can play outside, can play inside. They have tremendous versatility with their back-end players, which allows them to do multiple things from a coverage and a pressure standpoint because Emmeni and Witherspoon are both very good blitzers.

33:32 And while the Seahawks are not a high percentage blitz defense, when they do blitz, they're very, very good at it.

33:39 Do these two teams look like I mean I again I see a close low-scoring game. How do they match up on film? Are there are there glaring holes for I I worry about New England's O line matching up, but I worried about that the last three weeks and three games and they won. What what how do they match up?

33:56 Yeah, I would say that the left side of the Patriots O line with the rookie the two rookies Wilson and Campbell are are potential issues. Again, the Patriots know this. So, it it depends on how the game is played because now you get into situational football and if you get into too many long yardage situations, do they feel they need to help Campbell? I mean, obviously the pass the edge pass rushers for Seattle, maybe they're not quite at the level uh that they played against in the in the uh playoffs, but they're still very good. So, the question is, do they feel they need to help Campbell? How about Wilson, the rookie left guard? what do they feel about him going up against perhaps Williams or at times they even move Lawrence inside. So, uh I think that it'll be interesting to see how the Patriots handle that knowing that that is a potential concern when you get to pure pass and third down situations.

34:51 Yeah, the um yeah, you kind of talked about strength and weakness there. I want to circle back to Sam Darnold. Um, you know, I said just because of his early years, if he has a bad pick in the Super Bowl, people will just be like, "See, I told you so." And the truth is, no question. And and Drake May will be able to get away cuz Drake May, our early impressions are, "Boy, he's really young and talented, so he'll get away with more." I mean, just Darnold can't throw a bad pick. Um, but I here's something else. I think Fred Warner mentioned this yesterday. So, Seattle and the Rams play these wildly entertaining games and they both look like absolute dynastic, unbelievable rosters. New England plays in blizzards and against good defenses. So, the takeaway with New England is their offense stinks. And I'm like, no, they dropped 31 on Buffalo. So, you have to be very careful about recency bias in my

35:47 opinion on New England's offense. I still like it, Greg. I like New England's offense. Now they get to play in California weather. What do you like about the Patriots offense that we probably haven't seen a lot of in the last month?

36:03 Yeah, it's a great point because all throughout the season, May was terrific and their pass game was really good. I really like the way they they attacked. They worked the intermediate areas of defenses really really well with their route concepts. Protection will be the key as we just mentioned. Uh but yeah, again, no one knows what Drake May is going to do. He's a secondyear player playing in a Super Bowl. You never know. But throughout the course of the season, their pass game was very dynamic. It was really, very schematic, really good.

36:35 They did a lot of things conceptually that define reads and throws for May. I would expect that to be the case. You know, as I said, if he's under duress, that changes things. But the other thing to keep in mind, May's legs are a big deal. He had more scrambles this season than any quarterback in the NFL. Keep that in mind. And I was very surprised that Denver, you know, uh, didn't really do a lot to to address that in that game. Now, Seattle historically this season has not used a spy. Now, with two weeks to prepare, could they do that?

37:10 Sure. But, you know, Mike McDonald is aware of May's leg, so he's going to have some plan that accounts for that in those pure pass and third down situations.

37:19 Great stuff. Uh, I I've said before, um, you know, if I was a better, I would take the points here and the under. I think it's close and lowcoring. Um, it's very hard to project how games play, but it sounds like you expect you expect a tough, physical, lowscoring game. That's what you're kind of projecting, right?

37:39 More. Yeah. And by that I don't mean it'll be 10-7, but I'm with you. I mean, I I because I get asked all the time and I have to pick scores. I think I pick 2320 or 2317. And I think you feel the same way. And I I I pick Seattle, but you know, I when I pick games, it's you know me, Colin, I could give you 10 reasons on either side. So I never can pick these games with great conviction.

38:02 Great stuff, Greg Kosell. Love your 15minute breakdown. Thanks, Greg. Thanks, Colin. Really appreciate it. For the record, it it is. Now, if you if you ask me, okay, it's a blowout. Yeah, I would take Seattle. I could see Seattle's defensive front just wearing out Will Campbell. I could see, you know, one little injury on the O line for the Patriots and a line that's struggling. It's manoverboard. In fact, J-Mack just told me there's an alternative bet you can make. I think this is an interesting one.

38:31 Yeah, there's alt lines you could bet Seattle - 10 and a half, Seattleus 14 1.5. And if you believe, like you said, Patriots offensive line struggles, you you know, go look at the Patriots who they played down the stretch. A lot of backup quarterbacks, a lot of coaches that got fired, didn't look great. And you know, I think Seattle could easily win this 27-7 in in kind of a beatdown like Drake May chasing against that pressure. I don't know, Colin. I I I don't see it. I'm starting to lean Seattle blowout here.

38:57 I did call Eagles blowout over the Chiefs last uh two. Was it last year? And that takes courage.

39:02 Yeah. Against I don't I don't have the courage. I'm calling it low scoring and close. Well,

39:06 I just put my money where my mouth is and my mouth is a lot of, you know, cuz I talk a lot of trash. But I do like Seattle here.

39:12 Considering your Bitcoin losses, I I have suffered some Bitcoin losses uh in the last three months. Um, you know, I'm gonna go back to my job at Burger King on weekends. So, nothing wrong.

39:21 See what happens.

Questions about this episode

Who speaks in "Seahawks-Patriots Super Bowl TAKE YOUR PICK: Maye or Darnold, Diggs or JSN | Colin Cowherd: HERD NFL"?

Colin Cowherd (Host), Ryan Fitzpatrick (Guest), Greg Kosell (Guest).

What is "Seahawks-Patriots Super Bowl TAKE YOUR PICK: Maye or Darnold, Diggs or JSN | Colin Cowherd: HERD NFL" about?

The discussion centers around the upcoming Super Bowl matchup between the Seahawks and the Patriots, with a focus on key player comparisons such as quarterbacks Sam Darnold and the advantages in coaching and running back performances. Colin Cowherd highlights the significance of Super Bowl experience and how it may impact the game's outcome, while also analyzing each team's strengths and…

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

11 people, works and ideas are mentioned, including Sam Darnold, Josh McDaniels, Seattle Seahawks, New England Patriots, Mike Vrabel, Christian McCaffrey. Each one on this page links to its own page with every episode that mentions it.

How long is "Seahawks-Patriots Super Bowl TAKE YOUR PICK: Maye or Darnold, Diggs or JSN | Colin Cowherd: HERD NFL"?

The episode runs 39 min; the transcript is about 7,108 words in 92 timestamped sections.

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