What Colin Cowherd got RIGHT & WRONG: Patriots, Seahawks, Rams, Broncos, Steelers, Bills | HERD NFL

What this episode is about

The analysis focuses on Colin Cowherd's assessments of various NFL teams, specifically highlighting his accurate predictions regarding the New England Patriots and Seattle Seahawks making the playoffs, while also noting his oversight in under-ranking Rams receiver Davante Adams. It further discusses the strengths of the Seahawks and Patriots, and addresses the Rams' ongoing special teams issues following a coaching change.

Key takeaways

• Seattle's rise to Super Bowl contender defies preseason predictions—once a dark horse, now the favorite under the spotlight.
• Mike McCarthy's Steelers hire feels like a cozy sweater—safe and familiar, but don’t expect fireworks in Pittsburgh.
• Rams’ special teams woes show that even titans fall—careless management in crucial areas can derail championship dreams.
• Defensive coaches in the Super Bowl: a refreshing twist, proving that strategy isn't just an offensive game of chess.
• Sam Darnold's journey: from benched to brilliance, showcasing that resilience and opportunity can rewrite a quarterback's narrative.

Who speaks in this episode?

• Colin Cowherd (Host) · 40 min speaking
• Matt Hasselbeck (Guest) · 17 min speaking

What is discussed, and when

1. 0:00 – 5:00: Super Bowl, Colin Cowherd, New England Patriots, Seattle Seahawks
2. 5:00 – 10:00: Sam Darnold, Super Bowl, Colin Cowherd, Matt Hasselbeck
3. 10:00 – 15:00: Super Bowl, New England Patriots, Mike Vrabel, Puka Nakua
4. 15:00 – 20:00: Matt Hasselbeck, Mike McCarthy, Ohio State, Lumen Field
5. 20:00 – 25:00: Sam Darnold, Drake May, Super Bowl, Mike McCarthy
6. 25:00 – 30:00: Super Bowl, Sam Darnold, Los Angeles Rams, Puka Nakua
7. 30:00 – 35:00: Matt Hasselbeck, Sam Darnold
8. 35:00 – 40:00: Sam Darnold, NFL, Matt Hasselbeck
9. 40:00 – 45:00: Super Bowl
10. 45:00 – 50:00: Pro Bowl, Super Bowl, Sam Darnold, Drake May
11. 50:00 – 55:00: Matt Hasselbeck

Notable quotes from "What Colin Cowherd got RIGHT & WRONG: Patriots, Seahawks, Rams, Broncos, Steelers, Bills | HERD NFL"

• 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.

  about Colin Cowherd · at 0:00

• Well, I got to I'll take credit for this. My two surprise teams in the NFL when I made the predictions this summer were New England would be a playoff team. I love Mike Vrabel. Spent 250 large. And my second surprise playoff.

  about NFL · at 0:58

• The Steelers hire Mike McCarthy. We said multiple times in the last week. They're not very good at this. They don't hire offensive coordinators very well. They don't hire head coaches very often. So,.

  about Mike McCarthy · at 2:47

• Always take an offensive coach, but there are some great defensive coaches in this sport. Vrabel, Demo Ryan's at Houston, Mike McDonald are super sharp guys. So, this will be…

  about Mike Vrabel · at 3:40

• Sam Darnold, that's my Hall of Fame first ballot. Right, wrong. I never quit on Sam Darnold. I didn't know if he was a Super Bowl quarterback. I always felt he was too strong, too athletic, too.

  about Sam Darnold · at 5:14

• That he beat the Rams, the one team that had his number in the last couple of years. And with that Matt Hasselbeck, the former Seahawk who was there for a decade, what an…

  about Matt Hasselbeck · at 6:28

• Like it doesn't matter that maybe the Rams had a better regular season than the New England Patriots. The New England Patriots can absolutely hoist a Lombardi because all they…

  about Super Bowl · at 12:43

• A muffed punt on special teams and a fourth down failure and like that's the game. Stafford was flawless. As you said, that drive 14 plays, 80 84 yards or something like that.…

  about Los Angeles Rams · at 28:28

Who and what is mentioned in this episode?

People

• Colin Cowherd — Person · Host / main speaker · 3 mentions · first at 0:00
  Leads the segment with takes on the Seahawks–Rams NFC title game, coaching hires, and QB contract/cap dynamics; interviews Matt Hasselbeck.
• Sam Darnold — Person · Primary referenced player (QB) / core discussion subject · 15 mentions · first at 5:14
  Central QB storyline: Cowherd claims long-term belief in Darnold; discussed as leading Seattle to the Super Bowl on a team-friendly deal and praised for situational excellence.
• Matt Hasselbeck — Person · Main guest (former player analyst) · 7 mentions · first at 0:40
  Provides firsthand perspective on Seattle’s atmosphere and breaks down Sam Darnold’s performance, situational QB play, and coaching decisions.
• Mike McCarthy — Person · Referenced coach (head coach hire topic) · 4 mentions · first at 2:47
  Discussed as the Steelers’ safe/comfortable head-coach hire; Hasselbeck adds personal experience with McCarthy as a QB coach and developer.
• Puka Nakua — Person · Referenced player (Rams WR) / supporting storyline · 3 mentions · first at 1:45
  Used as a benchmark elite receiver and key Rams weapon; discussed in relation to Stafford/McVay offense and as part of why Stafford might return.
  I did not have Rams receiver Devonte Adams in my top 10 players in this game Friday. He had four catches, 90 yards, a key touchdown. It is crazy. He led the NFL by a lot this…
• Mike Vrabel — Person · Referenced coach (defensive coach / Patriots context) · 2 mentions · first at 1:06
  Cited as a sharp defensive coach and as part of the Patriots’ Super Bowl run; used in discussion about defensive coaches succeeding and potential Seattle letdown risk.
• Bill Belichick — Person · Referenced coach (legacy comparison / hiring fit debate) · 1 mention · first at 3:59
  Used as a reference point for defensive-coach Super Bowl history and discussed as a rumored coaching candidate Buffalo reportedly doesn’t want.
  Patriots, Bill Bich, in 2019 where Colin was right. Speaking of Bellich, reportedly Buffalo has no interest in Bill Bichc. And I said this last week, I think Bill's weakness…
• Drake May — Person · Referenced player (Patriots QB; cap/roster construction example) · 4 mentions · first at 22:56
  Mentioned as the Patriots’ Super Bowl QB on a rookie contract enabling heavy roster spending; contrasted with expensive veteran QB cap hits.
  Noteworthy that the two quarterbacks that make it to a Super Bowl, one Drake May is on a rookie contract allowing New England to spend 250 million plus on their roster, and the other Sam Darnold is on an incredibly teamfriendly deal. Josh.
• Fernando Mendoza — Person · Referenced player (college QB used in a prediction segment) · 1 mention · first at 4:59
  Appears in Cowherd’s ‘where I was right’ segment as the QB difference-maker in an Indiana vs Miami title-game prediction; identity is ambiguous without more context.
  Blown out in this game. I said they're going to make Indiana uncomfortable at multiple times, but I trust Fernando Mendoza to be the difference and he was.

Companies & orgs

• New England Patriots — Company · Key participant · 4 mentions · first at 0:24
  One of the teams discussed in the context of the Super Bowl and their performance throughout the season.
  Here we go. Hour number two. We are live and we are set for our Super Bowl. The Seattle Seahawks will be roughly a four to five point favorite.
• Seattle Seahawks — Company · Key participant · 2 mentions · first at 0:18
  One of the teams discussed in the context of the Super Bowl and their performance throughout the season.
  Here we go. Hour number two. We are live and we are set for our Super Bowl. The Seattle Seahawks will be roughly a four to five point favorite.
• Los Angeles Rams — Company · Key participant · 2 mentions · first at 2:15
  Team discussed in the context of their performance and key players like Matt Stafford.
• Buffalo Bills — Company · Mentioned team · 1 mention · first at 4:04
  Team mentioned in the context of their coaching search and performance.
  Patriots, Bill Bich, in 2019 where Colin was right. Speaking of Bellich, reportedly Buffalo has no interest in Bill Bichc. And I said this last week, I think Bill's weakness…
• Kansas City Chiefs — Company · Mentioned team · 2 mentions · first at 19:53
  Team mentioned in the context of player backgrounds and comparisons.
  Quarterback school off seasonason that many teams in the NFL and many teams in college are still doing today. That was Mike McCarthy system that he started back in the day when…
• Indianapolis Colts — Company · Mentioned team · 1 mention · first at 12:09
  Team mentioned in the context of past performances and comparisons.
  Remember when we played in the Super Bowl and the '05 season, the AFC number one seed was the Indianapolis Colts and Pton Manning and the wildcard team that eventually, the Colts didn't make it to the Super Bowl, but they were thought of.
• Ohio State — Company · Mentioned institution · 2 mentions · first at 17:32
  Mentioned in the context of player backgrounds.
  Watching the game yesterday and I'm like I think I'm watching the two best receivers in the league. JSN who wasn't the best receiver arguably at Ohio State and Puka who went in…

Concepts & topics

• NFL — Concept · Core topic · 2 mentions · first at 0:11
  Central theme of the episode, discussing various aspects of the NFL including teams, players, and events.

Places & events

• Super Bowl — Event · Core topic · 18 mentions · first at 0:11
  Main event discussed in the episode, with analysis of teams and players participating.
• Lumen Field — Place · Setting · 1 mention · first at 16:14
  Venue where the NFC Championship game was held.
  You're in Lumenfield and you know I'm sitting yesterday I'm sitting in between you know Walter Jones and Cam Chancellor and Jim Zorn and Richard Sherman and like I think all of us feel the same.
• Pro Bowl — Event · Mentioned event · 4 mentions · first at 46:18
  Event mentioned in passing, with criticism of its current state.
  Final story, Colin. This just broke within the last hour, and I think the Pro Bowl's officially done because Shadur Sanders, yes, Shidure Sanders was named as a Pro Bowl…

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. Here we go. Hour number two. We are live and we are set for our Super Bowl. The Seattle Seahawks will be roughly a four to five point favorite. has a lot of points against the New England Patriots. A team that was undefeated on the road, kept knocking off great defenses all through the playoffs. Seattle is the next in their sights.

0:40 Couple minutes from now, Matt Hasselbeck, who was the former Seahawk, was with the Seahawks yesterday and after the game, will be joining us in five minutes. But as we often do, always do on Monday, especially during the football season. Colin right, Colin wrong,

0:56 where Colin was right. Well, I got to I'll take credit for this. My two surprise teams in the NFL when I made the predictions this summer were New England would be a playoff team. I love Mike Vrabel. Spent 250 large. And my second surprise playoff team was Seattle. I didn't know they'd be in the Super Bowl, but I feel pretty good about it. smart general managers, excellent young aggressive quarterbacks, rosters that don't have holes. I've been on a four-year streak on picking two teams a year, a double your win total team. I'm four for four and a surprise playoff team. Seahawks Patriots were my picks.

1:38 Where Colin was wrong. I did not have Rams receiver Devonte Adams in my top 10 players in this game Friday. He had four catches, 90 yards, a key touchdown. It is crazy. He led the NFL by a lot this year with 14 touchdown catches. I think next closest was 11. So he Puka may be the star of the show, but he is so big in big spots. I would be surprised if he doesn't return for another season with McVey and Stafford

2:10 where Colin was right. Well, we mentioned it all season and all week. The Rams special teams could be a major issue. They fired their special teams coach. They moved off their drafted kicker earlier this year. Listen, it was their number one issue along with pretty weak cornerback play all year. So, it's not like Shawn McVey buried his head in the sand. He addressed it multiple times this season. McVey knew it was an issue and it was in the biggest game of the year yesterday. where Colin was right.

2:47 The Steelers hire Mike McCarthy. We said multiple times in the last week. They're not very good at this. They don't hire offensive coordinators very well. They don't hire head coaches very often. So, they went with what is comfortable and what is safe. Mike McCarthy, not a bad coach. Mike's going to win double digit games. Um, you know, I think they'll become an offensive-minded Steelers from a defensive-minded Steelers. So, the good news is they got the right side of the ball going forward, but it ended up being kind of an underwhelming choice.

3:23 They went safe. They went Pittsburgh. That is not really surprising. Where Colin was wrong.

3:30 How about this? We go two defensive coaches in the Super Bowl, breaking a long streak of offensive coaches. You know it, Adnauseium. You're tired of me saying it. All things equal, I would always take an offensive coach, but there are some great defensive coaches in this sport. Vrabel, Demo Ryan's at Houston, Mike McDonald are super super sharp guys. So, this will be the last nonoffensive coach to be in a Super Bowl was uh shocker. Uh the New England Patriots, Bill Bich, in 2019

4:02 where Colin was right. Speaking of Bellich, uh, reportedly Buffalo has no interest in Bill Bichc. And I said this last week, I think Bill's weakness, he's not good at the draft. He's good at NFL personnel. He's not good at college personnel transferring to the NFL. And that's what that's what Buffalo needs, a really, really sharp guy in terms of personnel. Um, I think Bill's a little bit tonedeaf to offense today. He's also a little stubborn. Bill's going to want to coach his guys, do it his way, and build his staff. That is not what Buffalo needs. It may work in Philly with Howie Roseman running the draft. He doesn't feel like a fit in Buffalo.

4:45 Where Colin was right. A week ago, I picked Indiana to beat Miami for the nanny, but I said it's going to be close. The difference will be the quarterback. And this scramble, this draw was the difference. Listen, Miami was too good on both lines to get blown out in this game. I said they're going to make Indiana uncomfortable at multiple times, but I trust Fernando Mendoza to be the difference and he was.

5:11 Where Colin was right from day one. Sam Darnold, that's my Hall of Fame first ballot. Right, wrong. I never quit on Sam Darnold. I didn't know if he was a Super Bowl quarterback. I always felt he was too strong, too athletic, too coachable, too tough, too resilient, too good of an arm not to be a winning quarterback in this league. Do you realize he got he got benched in Carolina? Then his last year in Carolina, November 27th, he was named a starting quarterback from from that point forward, he's the winningest quarterback in the league and has the most games over a 100 plus passer rating over Mahomes, over all the top quarterbacks. He had a really, really bad run with the Jets. One in Carolina, one and0 in San Francisco, one in Minnesota, one in Seattle, and here he was after.

6:03 So, how does it feel for you to prove all the doubters wrong to be heading to the Super Bowl?

6:07 That doesn't matter to me. I just come to work every single day with these guys, these guys in this locker room. That's what it's about to be, man. the way that we've come to work ever since April in OTAAS's training camp one day at a time and we're here and we did it.

6:24 I love that guy. It it it's so poetic that he beat the Rams, the one team that had his number in the last couple of years. And with that Matt Hasselbeck, the former Seahawk who was there for a decade, what an electric atmosphere. I I don't feel this very much. When that game was over, I felt bad for the Rams, too. I thought I don't know if McVey is ever going to have a quarterback have this year is going to have a roster this good in the end. Um what do you think was the difference just the muffed punt or or do you was there another difference?

6:58 Well, first off, let me give you your props for uh when Colin was right from day one. Uh you have been uh beating the Sam Darnold drum for a long time and a lot of people jumped on that jumped off that ship or were never on it from the get-go. But I thought this was just an incredible game. Someone had to lose it. You know, even the last game with the Seahawks and the Rams, it was a ridiculous game, decided by basically the weirdest two-point conversion you've ever seen. And yesterday was one of those games where both quarterbacks were outstanding. Both guys threw for like 350. Uh no turnovers. The receiver uh play in that game on both sides of the ball was incredible. You know, I think ultimately like this came down to like you said some X factor and for me before before the game and even after the game, I think you'd give it to home field advantage and special teams.

7:48 Yeah. Um, you know, I said this earlier, you don't have to be great everywhere in the NFL. You can't be bad anywhere because the coaching's too good. And I thought the corners for the Rams, they almost lost to the Panthers twice because the Panthers have big rangy receivers and they really gave the Rams trouble. Um, I mean, I Let's Let's talk specifically about Darnold. Um, I thought that's as that's as well as I've ever seen him play. Go to your career, your biggest games. There was something about Sam's decision making in that game. It It's funny about how pro athletes work. Sometimes they get tight.

8:22 I thought Sam, Were you surprised he played at that level for four hours? Well, I can speak to that. you know, when you're playing against an MVP caliber quarterback and Stafford is that McVey is incredible. You know, I remember playing against the greatest show on turf like, you know, the Mike Marts Rams, like those guys, you just knew you had to score a ton of points. It wasn't a, hey, just don't screw it up mindset. It was the opposite of that. And he came out early. You know, they played one-on-one on Rasheed Shahid on the first, third, and five. These guys, you know, the Rams were somebody that was jumping and sitting at the sticks in the first matchup where he had all the turnovers. And they threw caution to the win. They Sam, we believe in you. If you want to take a shot one-on-one, take it.

9:00 You know that I think that was the mindset. And you know, like you know, people will doubt Sam Darnold. He's not as super fiery. His emotions aren't out there for everyone to see. I think he's got a quiet confidence and and in that game, you know, he threw for 19 first downs in that game. So, this wasn't I mean, there were some huge third down conversions, twominute drive. Situational football, the stuff that quarterbacks, you know, get paid to do. It's not so much first and second down from the 20 to the 20. It's situational football and that's where I thought he was at his best yesterday.

9:32 Um there there's something about Seattle. They play with an energy that's almost collegate. I want you to take my audience. I mean, you watch them play. When you play Seattle, you have to match their energy. I mean, I I I've said before, it's got Mike Tyson in his early 20s. You just had to be ready for the barrage for the first two rounds. If you could get past that, you had a chance with Tyson. it on the television, Matt, it looks like Seattle is playing at a different speed. Did you witness that yesterday?

10:03 Well, I just think the fan base has a chip on their shoulder. You know, they always have. They feel, you know, you feel like you're in the witness protection program in terms of like the national media. They don't want to go out to Seattle and cover you. Uh they may be a little bit overcaffeinated. You know, it is this college atmosphere in a sense in terms of, you know, what they bring pregame. And I think, you know, you've got a young team with a young head coach and everyone leans into it. You know, the energy before the game, you know, you got Richard Sherman on the mic, you got Cam Chancellor on the field, you got guys like Cliff Averil and Michael Bennett helping the owner raise the flag. I mean, there's just a lot of pride in this community. And and like I said, a little bit of a chip on their shoulder. And so, I think it comes out and I think this mob mentality that Mike McDonald has had with this, you

10:46 know, with this defense, especially with the it's it's our mission is number one over any BS. That's what comes first. I think everyone's bought in. And as a player, when you feel like the mission and the signs on the wall are yours, like you came up with it. This isn't some like silly cliche that some old man head coach came up with. This is ours. Like this is literally came from the locker room. This is our heartbeat. I think that's real and it's authentic and people try to duplicate it. Sometimes they get it right, but oftentimes they don't. And I think Mike McDonald in two years has just really done an incredible job of giving ownership to this team and I think everyone senses it and I think that's part of the excitement.

11:25 Um there is a little danger. I said this um everybody's going to tell the New England Patriots they have no chance for two weeks. They're going to hear and by the way they heard it with the Chargers. They heard it with the Texans. And Mike Vrabel is sharp. Do you worry at all when you come out of a game that has been build the Super Bowl, the NFC Championship, and New England's just sitting there in the weeds being told for all their players are going to watch social media and been told for two weeks you're a five-point underdog. You've got no shot. The best teams are in the NFC.

11:57 Do you worry about a letown for Seattle? Yeah, I think it's a real thing. I don't know if the players will go there, but I think it's a real thing. I mean, I I remember when we played in the Super Bowl and uh the '05 season, you know, the the AFC number one seed was the Indianapolis Colts and Pton Manning and and the wildcard team that eventually, you know, the Colts didn't make it to the Super Bowl, but they were thought of as maybe the best team in football that year. And the wildard team that just keep kept beating, you know, went on the road and won in Cincinnati and Denver and they beat Indie and all that stuff.

12:28 Like, they ended up being who we played in the Super Bowl and they beat us. And so I just think there's a mentality or or a or something you can learn from throughout the history of the Super Bowl playoff run. It really doesn't matter what kind of regular season you had. Like it doesn't matter that maybe the Rams had a better regular season than the New England Patriots. The New England Patriots can absolutely hoist a Lombardi because all they got to go do is win a game on a Sunday in two weeks in San Francisco. That's all you got to do. And so no, this is th this is a game. like this will be a game, you know, no disrespect to the Rams and all that, like that, you know, they might have been the most talented, but but no, this Patriots Seahawks game could go either way. And I think that's the mindset that both head coaches will come. You know, part of it is going to be believe that we're good enough to do

13:15 it. And that the other the other side of it is, hey, you could absolutely lose this game if we don't stick to our process and what got us here.

13:23 So, uh, Shawn Payeyton goes for it on a fourth and one could have picked a field goal, take a 10- nothing lead. didn't love the call because even if they got a first down, they were still at the 12. Uh Shawn McVey goes for it on a fourth and four. Again, I my take is Shawn Peyton and Shawn McVey. Offensive coaches trust their offense. They trust their play calling. They're very aggressive. Defensive coaches love field goals. They love them. Um let's talk McVey and Shawn Payeyton going for it. Any push back on that from you?

13:53 Yeah. Yeah. I hate to second guess, but yeah, I was surprised in the moment. I was surprised with both situations. It's not like it's fourth and goal from the one where you know you even heard uh Shawn Peyton who I have a ton of respect for say I wanted to go up 14 nothing like yeah but that that wasn't doesn't get you 14 nothing right that just gets you a first down and so you know but you know like I don't as a quarterback as a player you love when your offensive uh play caller is aggressive like you love it that my issue my issue would be that the Patriots absolutely 100% knew what play was coming. That would be my issue in that game. And then for the for the Rams that, you know, I think it's a totally different situation, but but I think McVey has so much trust in his quarterback and in his offense that it's like, hey, if we're going to go down, I'm cool with going down with the ball

14:39 in Matthew Stafford's hands. Like, I can live with it. Yeah. Um, I want to ask you about Matt Stafford. Uh, he played so well. I mean, I know that he missed camp with a bad back, but the roster's so good. It's mostly so young. I mean, I I if I was Matt Stafford, I live in Los Angeles by the beach. I love my coach. I love my roster. I love Puka. I think Stafford would sign a two-year deal to come back. I mean, it just feels like if you're if this is not a defensive culture, it's not a defensive coach. Like, if I was, if you were Matt Stafford, would you not sign up for a couple more years of this?

15:15 He's aging in reverse, Colin. I'd sign him for five more years. Okay. The dude, the dude was so injured he couldn't even do handoffs in training camp. He looked like he was constipated coming out to practice his first day back. And now he looks better and younger than he's ever looked in his like sign a five-year deal, man. Like, keep going. He He was the MVP of the league. He He had an amazing year. He's in lock step with his with his uh GM head coach. I No, he he'll be back. I I'd be shocked if he wasn't back.

15:47 I got to ask you this. to somebody who played at a high level for 18 years when you're watching that game yesterday at that field. Are are those the moments that you're like, "Oh my god, I'd love to be playing." What is it like to be you that has been to Super Bowls, Seahawks, Packers, iconic franchises? You are watching arguably the most important game of the year and the best football game of the year. What are the juices flowing through Matt Hasselbeck yesterday?

16:14 Yeah, you're fired up. You're back. you're in Lumenfield and you know I'm sitting yesterday I'm sitting in between you know Walter Jones and Cam Chancellor and Jim Zorn and Richard Sherman and like I think all of us feel the same way. If anything I think we were more anxious because we had absolutely like no control over what happened in the game. You know we're just there sort of like everybody like the rest of the people in the stadium just cheering for our team essentially. But I can respect even know whatever way the game went.

16:42 can respect how difficult it is to get to that moment and the high level of play that was going on in that game and it just was uh I think it was a game for the ages. I mean, three matchups with those two teams that were just so close and uh it came down to unsung heroes really, you know, once again, you know, whe whether it was a Jake Bobo or it was a guy on special teams, it was uh it's part of what makes this this uh this game so great is, you know, sure I'm happy for the Sam Darnolds and those like big stories, but but everybody involved and uh it was just really cool to be there. I I got to ask you, when I watch JSN play, uh the the thing that always jumps out to me is that he doesn't slow down in his breaks. I always remember watching Jerry Rice video, and I'm not comparing the two, but Jerry Rice ran the same speed into the cut, out of the cut, during the cut.

17:32 JSN gets so open so often, it's strange. Um when you watch him as a spectator and you're live there, what do you see with him? Because I mean I I'm sitting there watching the game yesterday and I'm like I think I'm watching the two best receivers in the league. JSN who wasn't the best receiver arguably at Ohio State and Puka who went in the fifth round and you can't stop either. What is it about JSN?

17:58 Well, that's that's what's so cool about the wide receiver position. It's all different styles and those two guys, you know, one led in catches, one led in yards. Um I think for JSN, you know, he's just so smooth and patient and confident. you know, he doesn't he's not always in fifth gear. You know, sometimes he's in third gear and then fourth gear and then then he gets to fifth gear. I've also seen him get to a sixth gear that you know, no didn't know anybody had. But, you know, there were a couple plays yesterday, the one-handed grab early in the game, I believe, and it was it was on the sideline that was incredible. And I also just think like where I have a ton of respect for both these these receivers is that you know that he's one or two in the progression.

18:37 like the whole defense is set up to stop that guy, you know, whether it's Puka or JSN, and still they find a way to be super successful. So, it was um it was a great effort and I think I think to the credit of Seattle, they do a nice job of spreading the ball around. Yeah. It's not like it's uh you know, the old school like, hey, you know, the ball's going to this one guy. They they they're hard to defend because they're willing to spread the ball around. And then like with any great receiver, I love to say this, the ball will just find you. If you're that good, the ball will just find you. And I think that's what happens with JSN.

19:11 Finally, Steelers go Mike McCarthy. Feels kind of safe to me, but I'm not going to beat up on him because he and Jim he and John Harbaugh, if you look at their winning percentage, it's, you know, they're very similar coaches. It's just Harbaugh's got a better brand than Mike McCarthy does. What do you make of the hire?

19:29 Well, Mike McCarthy was my position coach my second year in the NFL when Ray Rhodess was the head coach in Green Bay. And uh I would tell you that that was one of the most like that was the one of the biggest jumps I made as a young quarterback was doing the Mike McCarthy quarterback school off seasonason that many teams in the NFL and many teams in college are still doing today. That was Mike McCarthy system that he started back in the day when he was coaching Joe Montana with the Kansas City Chiefs. So, I've got a tremendous respect uh for him as a quarterback developer, but I think this this hire to me makes it feel like the Pittsburgh Steelers want to win right away. Like they want a sure thing that makes them super relevant right away. And they've been heavy on the defensive side and maybe a little bit light on the offensive side. Maybe that balances out just a little bit. But Mike

20:16 McCarthy is as Pittsburgh as a person could possibly be. So, uh I'm happy for him and I and I do think it's a good fit. What time did you get in last night, by the way? Not to be

20:26 not sure. I just actually walked in the door right now and if the NFC Championship trophy is missing. I have an idea where it is, but but it it I don't know. Can't can't say for sure. It was a It was a good time last night. A lot of fun. Uh rest up. We got two weeks till the next one.

20:42 All right. Great seeing you, Matt. Appreciate you making uh making our show today bud.

20:47 Awesome. See you, Colin. Yeah, the um he was out having a good time last night. It was man that just it it's I feel like between the national championship in college and so many of these playoff games. The first disappointment I had was literally yesterday the blizzard. I wasn't even mad at the teams or the coaches. I was mad at the weather. I'm like just will this thing pass? Can we shut it down? They shut it down for lightning. I'm can we shut this thing down for an hour and and get to see I don't like cold weather games. I don't understand it. I want pro athletes at their best. I've never been somebody that just loves lousy weather.

21:22 I don't want to watch anybody in America have to work in snow, including athletes. I don't I don't like that. I I want to see these unbelievable athletes and these really smart coaches. And then you It's like pouring a bucket of water uh you know on incredible athletes, incredible coaching. And I've never been a fan of it. I am for partially dome stadium. Like Buffalo has a new stadium. You can It can still snow. It's open air, but it is built to avoid the wind. And their takeaway was, "Yeah, you think it's an advantage." We have Josh Allen.

21:58 We don't want 38 mph winds helping the least effective offense. If you have a great offense and you face a team with an average offense, the bad weather hurts the great offense. It brings you down to the bad team's level. So, you know, Buffalo's figured it out. It's like we have too good of a quarterback. We got to help our quarterback. It'll still snow and that's part of who we are and it'll be cold, but we're not going to let in 40 mph winds to our stadium and kill our kicking game and Josh Allen because the truth is if you look at Buffalo for the next seven years, they're going to be leading 90% of the games they play in the fourth quarter, at least the home games.

22:40 Saw a tweet by RG3 yesterday. He said, "Sam Darnold made it to a Super Bowl before Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson, Dak Prescott, Justin Herbert, Baker Mayfield, and Trevor Lawrence." Uh, I think it's noteworthy that the two quarterbacks that make it to a Super Bowl, one Drake May is on a rookie contract allowing New England to spend 250 million plus on their roster, and the other Sam Darnold is on an incredibly teamfriendly deal. Josh Allen, Dak, Lamar Herbert, their salaries eat up the cap. Sam Darnold's salary at Seattle is 5% of the Seahawks cap. 5%.

23:24 Drake May's salary is 3% of New England's cap. You want to know what Lamar Jackson is next year to the Ravens? 24% of their cap. So Seattle and New England's rosters, I've been saying this all day and I've been saying it for a while, there's no holes in Seattle's roster. They're not great everywhere, but they're not really I mean their own line, left side of their O line I actually think is pretty good. Center right okay, but there's no holes with Seattle. There's nothing they need. New England similarly probably needs another draft on the O line, but left tackle's fine. guard. They're pretty good. So, when you're when you're everybody, we want to talk about Josh Allen. Go look at Patrick Mahomes last couple of teams.

24:14 His salary gobbles up the cap and their offensive line stink and they have no run game. Why can't they just go buy Derk Henry? Well, the salary. So, I know you all want to see your favorite player get paid, get the bag, but it basically guarantees Who had the worst defense in the league? Dallas. Who had the biggest cap hit for a quarterback in the league? Go look it up. So, one of the advantages of having Bo Knicks, I mean, look at all these quarterbacks left. The final four quarterbacks, even Stafford, none of them had a top 15 cat pit. Stafford was just outside of that. And to a large degree, the Rams have just nailed draft.

24:53 So now, what you have with Seattle is you have a highly productive quarterback, Sam Darnold, who's on a team friendly deal and a GM that drafts well. And what you have in New England is a highly productive quarterback on a rookie deal with a general manager that just aced the draft. So Drake May and Sam Darnold are not going anywhere. They are not for a long time. They're not going anywhere. The minute you pay, that's why it's so important when Josh Allen was on the rookie contract. That's when you got to win Super Bowls.

25:30 the next three years for the Patriots. These are the years to eat. New England's trying to do what Kansas City did and Buffalo and Baltimore can't. It's movie poster stuff. Sam Darnold. It's just so good. Sam Darnold, the first rookie quarterback in that 2018 class. to make a Super Bowl. And I'll just say it right now. Probably won't be his last. Jac with the news.

26:09 No. This is the Herdline news. I hope the audience can detect the glee in Colin that Sam, it's like one of his kids got into like Harvard or something and he's like celebrating it today. I'm happy for you, buddy. All right, let's get started with that uh Ram Seahawks game. So, Matt Stafford was incredible yesterday. I mean, what 365 yards passing, uh, flawless game. I mean, even ran the football that scramble that he had. I mean, looked like slow motion. Awesome stuff from Stafford. Of course, after the game, Shawn McVey was asked if he expects Stafford to return next season. And McVey was not thrilled with the question.

26:48 Yeah, I mean, that's I mean, if he if he still wants to play, the hell kind of question is that? You have to ask him. I we've been totally present. Um, he's I know that if he wants to, he's still playing at a pretty damn good clip. I mean, he's the MVP of the league, and if he's not, you know, I mean, I got respect for everybody else, but this guy played at a level that's just different.

27:07 I I I got to tell you that that draft, excuse me, that drive by Stafford, the one in which he ran for a first down and then moved to the right and pitched a puka. And I didn't want to be hyperbolic, but I but I was think sitting there, you and I have watched, we watch a lot of Rams football and talk a lot about it off the air and on. And I was thinking literally Stafford more than any drive this season had to go completely into his tool bag. He's like, "Okay, I'm going to run for a first down. All right." He doesn't do a lot of that pitching stuff. He doesn't do he doesn't scramble. He's a pocket quarterback even more than golf. And for him to do that reminded me of the NerS.

27:44 Remember when they lost a couple of weeks ago to Seattle? They ran that trick play on fourth and one. You can't just go toe-to-toe with Seattle on everything. The defense is too fast, too young, too twitchy that you have to you have to have motion. That's why the Rams are uniquely built

28:00 to play with this Seattle team. You need McVeyy's brain, Stafford's arm. I mean, both the Rams running backs, Jason, were fantastic yesterday

28:10 and they still couldn't beat him. Listen, I I mean, this is not sour grapes at all, but uh I guess when you say that, it probably is. I think the Rams are still the better team, and I think with Stafford back next year, they're probably the Super Bowl favorites in the NFC. I don't care really who wins the Super Bowl. I I think the Rams are just a better team. Great coach, great quarterback. You have a muffed punt on special teams and a fourth down failure and like that's the game. I mean, Stafford was flawless. As you said, that drive 14 plays, 80 84 yards or something like that. But remember, we have a graphic. When you go to third down, you know, Matt deserves the MVP. I've said that. He is the MVP of the league. Period. Um, but on third down yesterday, Darnold was great.

28:51 I think Yeah, Rams were like one of eight on third down. I actually go back to the week 16 game, Colin, cuz again, they're rolling Seattle with eight minutes left. Fluky punt return. The two-point conversion bounces off a helmet. So many things had to go right for Seattle to get homefield advantage. If this game's a sofa yesterday, come on. Rams are winning that. So, I mean, congrats obviously to the Seahawks, but I I think Stafford returns next year and and I think the Rams are probably the Super Bowl favorites coming out of the NFC. I I don't know how you could argue against it. Um, let's go to uh another aspect of this Rams game, and that was Cooper Cup. Now, Coward did call me after this catch by Cooper Cup, and I was like, wait a sec. Did he complete the process? Watch.

29:29 Oh, that wasn't it. Sorry. But on the pivotal third down, everybody thought either he was short or he dropped the ball when he hit the ground. I I thought and I our guys started here.

29:38 Here it is. So, all we were told last week, you have to complete the process. That's why the Denver Broncos got that interception.

29:47 Well, that's not completing the process. The ground causes a fumb. So, we've all been told for the last week, you've got to complete the ground. You've got to complete the process. So, forget the first down part.

30:00 The ground causes a jarring of the ball. He did not complete the process. Yeah.

30:08 Yeah. And now McVey wanted to challenge it. I think Warren Sharp if he did timeouts.

30:13 Yeah. Now his shoulder was down. It looked inches short according to the broadcast. Like the referees were basically saying don't challenge us, you know, blah blah blah. And McVey didn't. At any rate, it gets uglier. Apparently, there was some beef at the end of the Cooper Cup tenure with the Rams. Now, Michael Silver of the Athletic is reporting that the Rams urged Cup to retire instead of offering to restructure his contract. There's allegations, let's just make it allegations, that they were trying to influence the market and essentially telling teams to stay away from him and they're and they're alluding that's because he had stuff left in the tank.

30:49 Yeah. So, I I I don't know. I don't really want to get too deep into that because it's a lot of like he said, she said. Cooper Cup was very good yesterday. I have to say he he was strong. He didn't have a great season,

30:58 but he was good yesterday. Yeah, he was good yesterday. Well, he's a pro alete. He's prideful. I I thought it was time to move off him. I I thought the Rams were, you know, smart to move off him. I I got to tell you, I watched that game. I could list 20 players in that game.

31:14 Yeah. 20 between the two teams I consider elite players. 20. I I'm sitting there during the game and I'm just, you know, like you probably do. I'm sitting there jotting stuff and writing some notes, which I this is what I do on, you know, Sundays. I write notes and so I do my podcast stuff. And I'm sitting there just writing down players and you get to like 17 or 18 and you're like,

31:35 damn, where's Nate Lamman? Is he 17th best player in this game? Like, he's fantastic.

31:41 Yeah. I just so many good players. I I again, these are allegations. I will just say the fact that Cooper Cup I know he was a Eastern Washington guy like you. The fact that he went to a division rival and they targeted him a lot yesterday makes me wonder if there's some veracity here and it was like, "Hey, screw those guys. They tried to mess with me and now let's get him back." So, I I I don't know. Interesting story. Final story is this just breaking today, I guess. Uh Philip Rivers, who apparently was interviewing for the Bills head coaching job. He has withdrawn his name from consideration.

32:14 Um, I I didn't understand any of this, but Rivers has decided the head coaching job uh in Buffalo was not for him. Uh, maybe his family intervened. I have no idea. This was all very crazy. I got to be honest, I don't know what Buffalo's doing. Brandon Bean is running the search. Um, here's other names that are in the mix with Philip Rivers out of it. Joe Brady, the OC, Brian Dable, the former uh officer.

32:38 I think it's going to be one of those. I think it's down to one of those two guys. And I think Philip Rivers was interviewing because Philip Rivers wants to be a coach, but Philip Rivers wanted to go through the interviews. I've been told this my entire life when I was doing this for a living. People say, "Hey, go for interviews. If you don't want the job or you do or you don't think you're going to get it, just go interview." I told my kids that. Just get practice at I think Philip Rivers was going through the interview process sharpening his blade for when he when it's a perfect time to do it.

33:05 So I I'm with you. I think it'll be Dave Bowl or Brady. I'm just gonna put this out there from one of my buddies in Buffalo. The Bean McDermott thing ended very badly. And there is a sentiment that Bean's gonna want to say, I don't want anybody who's attached to McDermott or who knows him because of how ugly it got. And Bean maybe goes outside of the family, if you will. Here are the other names. Uh Lou Amaruno, the defensive coordinator from the Colts, Jacksonville Jags OC, Grant Udinsky, who's gaining momentum among reporters. I don't know anything about this guy. Uh Dolphins DC Anthony Weaver. Yeah.

33:37 And Commanders running back's coach Anthony Lynn. Uh Chargers fans will hope that happens. I'll I'll leave it at that. Any final thoughts on the Bills?

33:46 A great job, Colin. I would probably go Vel. Um I think it's hard to bring Sorry. I'm sorry. Wait, what?

33:53 Or uh uh Dable, excuse me. Okay. I think it's very hard to hire Brady because you're going to basically say, well, what's the change here? I mean, he was already on the staff that drove us crazy. He was on the staff where Josh Allen had all those turnovers against Buffalo. I think that's a harder hire. I'm not saying it would be a bad hire. A Dable I think is like Robert Solid to me. Both failed in New York. I think both are very good coaches. I think failing in New York's almost become a badge of honor. Um you know, look at Sam Darnold's career. So I Brian Dable would be my hire. I I don't necessarily know.

34:27 I think Brady would be fine, but it's a harder sell to the fan base if that matters at all. By the way, Joe Brady, for the record, was amazing with Joe Burrow in college, amazing with Josh Allen in the NFL, and I will just advise people to go look at what he did when he didn't have a superstar quarterback, namely in Carolina.

34:44 All right, uh Jack with the news. Well, that's the news and thanks for stopping by.

34:50 The Herd Lie News. Uh Drew Brees is stopping by. Um Matt Hasselbeck was fantastic. Sounds like Matt Hasselbeck had himself a good time in the Emerald City. I think a lot of people did in Seattle. It's the her

35:11 for the record. I was just thinking about this this off season. Uh it was before I swear it was before Sam Darnold had signed with Seattle. He was still a Viking. And I was in uh Rhode Island in a little town that I hang out with, you know, sometimes in the summer. And there was a big there was a big wedding. Was it this year or the year before? I I forget. And I and I'm walking down the street, all of a sudden I see Sam Darnold. And I've known Sam for a while. And uh uh and I just walk up to him, start talking. You would have no idea that Sam Darnold was this really super talented athlete. He was in like a t-shirt. He's just walking around. Yeah, I'm here for the wedding. and we just made small talk. He's just the easiest guy in the world to root for. Great family. Kid comes from like Oceanside, California, beach community. Uh I think they're the Tritons. I think that's that what their name is. He's just a he's

36:03 just a really good kid from a really good family. Uh he was loved at USC. And I mean, all you need to know is, you know, Minnesota wanted to keep Darnold, but the question became is they had drafted JJ McCarthy and they gave up two picks to do it. So, what are you going to not give JJ McCarthy a couple and also is that Sam came off a great season. Um, you know, Sam wanted to be paid and should be paid. So, um, but I think Sam's really smart. I think he looked at Seattle's roster. He's a West Coast kid. he would get to compete against California teams. So, uh just a really some some athletes I mean most athletes I meet professionally are hardworking really good people. 99% of pro athletes I meet are really good people like you root for it's hard to root against. There are occasional athletes who are like if that guy fumbles in a big spot I won't lose sleep over it. Darnold's one of the really

36:57 good guys but um here's Matt Hasselbeck earlier on Sam Darnold. You know people will doubt Sam Darnold. He's not as super fiery. His emotions aren't out there for everyone to see. I think he's got a quiet confidence and and in that game, you know, he threw for 19 first downs in that game. So, this wasn't I mean, there were some huge third down conversions, twominute drives, situational football, the stuff that quarterbacks, you know, get paid to do. It's not so much first and second down from the 20 to the 20. It's situational football. And that's where I thought he was at his best yesterday.

37:31 Yeah. I didn't know that. Sam through for 19 first downs against that Rams front. And for the record, the weakness of Seattle is their O line. The left side of their O line, I think, is pretty good. Charles Cross, Gray Zable, I know those guys are studs, but um you I kept thinking this watching this game is the NFL just keeps delivering. That's all it does. The NFL just keeps giving us unbelievable finishes, unbelievable games. And in every big game, have you ever noticed something? There's always a controversial call.

38:06 There were a couple in this game. Folks, athletes aren't perfect. These games are hard to officiate. You have 58year-old, 62y old men, officials who work at banks full-time running around chasing athletes, and unlike you and I, they don't get nine looks at it. Everything is bang bang. Like one of the reasons I've had officials come up to me and say, "Thank you for defending us." Folks, you and I get slow-mo. You and I get nine looks at it. They're running around the field in their mid50s trying to be in position and the play is bang bang. Call it. By the way, with bodies all over the place, this stuff is anybody can sit on the internet, be a troll, and rip officials. You when you I'm watching that game yesterday. the speed of that game, the athleticism in that game. That game is hard to officiate. And then in Denver, add snow.

38:58 So, I'm like wiping. I can't see. Um I think by and large the officials I mean the Denver Buffalo interception's weird. I did think Cooper Cup yesterday. My take is, well, you told me the ground can't cause a fumble. Well, I just I was lectured on that and that's what I just saw. That's not the difference in the game. I mean, it the game really came down to the muff punt. I mean, that that really ends up being the game. Now, the Rams came right back. Stafford, boom, boom, boom. Three perfect passes, but that that that hurt. I mean, credit to the Rams for not going completely belly up after that. They got the ball, came back and scored. Dart uh uh Stafford made three just darts. I mean, that pass to Puka just over. Was it Was it Puka or a tight end? just over the corner's hands. One of the passes of the year and in terms of New England um and Denver, people are going to crush Shawn Payeyton

39:56 for the play call, but McVey went for it on fourth and four. I just I am reticent to crush offensive coaches. Um they believe in their play calls, they believe in their players. Here's Hasselbeck on Shawn Payeyton going for it on fourth down early in the game. Oh, we don't have it. I'm just rambling. I'm out of time. I got Drew Brees around the corner. Welcome back. Drew Brees around the corner. But first, Jac with the news.

40:31 NO, NO, NO. TURN ON THE NEWS. THIS is the herd line news. All right, Colin, let's start with Devonte Adams. We spoke about him last week. He had been 0 and4 in NFC championship games and he's now 0 and5. Colin, this is sad. Ems was very emotional after the loss to Seattle. Take a listen.

40:53 Heartbreak. It's tough. It's tough to talk. Proud of the way the guys fought today. It's tough to focus on that right now. It's um it's a tough tough moment that we're in right now. So, process the emotions of this and then worry about that. But, I mean, obviously, I love this team. I love what this team is about and the the fight that we had all year. And it's just it just sucks to come up short.

41:25 Yeah. 14 touchdowns. He He has been such an asset for them. It's an allstar offensive cast, but um I'd come back. I mean, he just had a he just had a tremendous year. Tremendous year.

41:38 Yeah, it's um he had four for 89 in the touchdown yesterday. He was excellent. Um and it just stinks cuz like every loss the Rams had this season was on special teams in some way, shape, or form. Yeah, special teams just let him down.

41:51 I do think the off seasonason for the Rams is quite simple. You know, you get you probably get another receiver because Devonte gets hurt and Puka plays a you have to get a corner three

42:01 and you go out on the market and you hire the best special teams coach, you probably overpay for somebody.

42:07 Yeah. And and and you button that up and I think you probably go back to the NFC championship.

42:12 I mean, if you don't like this quarterback class, they need a tackle, a couple of corners, um a wide receiver, and then you know those two fifth round picks and a sixth round pick. That's where you go get, you know, you go get special teams guys. Outside linebacker who ends up, you know, was the captain of his college special team. There's a lot of guys in the sixth and seventh round. I mean, teams have drafted long snappers and kickers. They've got to shore it up. I mean, and I you pay the most for the coach and then you spend, you know, they've got a couple of seventh round picks. You go find I mean, you go draft a receiver who all he did in college for three or four years, he catches kicks. He He's a kick returner with great hands. They have that luxury because they don't have a ton of needs and they have two firsts. So, and a second and a third. So, their first four picks take care of immediate needs and

43:02 then attack the special teams because I I'm with you. You go look at their losses. Usually, there was a special team issue in all those losses.

43:10 Uh, I mean, you know, this this is a tough one for Adams, Colin. You look at his career. He had Aaron Rodgers, prime Aaron Rogers, and now as good as Matt Stafford is going to be. and he hasn't gotten to the Super Bowl. That's got to be a bitter pill to swallow because uh

43:26 man, that's rough. All right, let's move on to the next one. And that is the Eagles offensive coordinator job. It is appearing Yeah. as if nobody wants the job. I'm not going to say it's about Jaylen Herz. You can. I think this is about Sirriani and job security. Sirriani will enter this season on the hot seat.

43:40 Okay. Whether people want to believe it or not, he's on the hot seat. And as a result, I don't think any offensive coordinator who's very good wants to go there. McDaniel didn't want to go there. He's with the Chargers. Dable wants that Bill's job. Uh, the other names that have emerged are someone named Declan Doyle from the Bears. He's in your back, your neck of the woods up there. And LSUC Charlie Weiss Jr., they were in the mix. Apparently, they turned down opportunities to interview

44:07 Colin, where are we here? I mean, Mike Kfka, the guy from the Giants, um, Jim Bob Cter, remember him?

44:14 Yeah. Well, I mean, the the the Eagles moved off Nick Fos and Doug Peterson, who won a Super Bowl in a shocking upset. So, it is a I've said this before, the Eagles do a lot of things that poorly run teams do. It just works for them because they're really well owned and smartly run by Howie Roseman, but it is a high intensity. You get one year as a coordinator there. That's what you get. This is not, you know, it's not Jacksonville where, yeah, it took us a couple of years to get going. you've got until about late October, early November, and if it's not working as a coordinator on either side, you're getting ravaged every day by that aggressive media. So, this is, you know, and a lot of people probably feel like, okay, but if it's again, when you're Dan Quinn and you bring up an entirely new staff to Washington, guys get three and fouryear contracts.

45:11 you can get. What's Philadelphia going to do to their OC? A two-year contract. And by the way, they if they don't like it, you're gone by Thanksgiving or at least end of the year. So, I think it's a I think there's a lot of potential there. Now, if you go in and crush and they get Here's the thing. You go in there in Philly, you crush, you don't get any credit. Nick Seriani does. So, my take I mean, if the offense is great, Serriani retains his job. And you may think I'm better than Nick Serani. So it what's the win there?

45:42 Well, wait a minute. Hold on. Uh Shane Stiken was good there and ended up getting a head coaching job. Kellen uh Moore was very good there and now he's a head coach. So you could parlay it into something. And let let's remember uh you know, you will be uh the coach and the offensive play caller for Jaylen Herz who's been to two Super Bowls and was the MVP of a Super Bowl. That's something the guys in his draft class like Justin Herbert, Joe Burrow, none of those guys have been MVP of a Super Bowl. So you get to work with Herz. I I think it's, you know, it's it's got an opportunity, but if you're an established coach, I I don't know. This feels like an upand cominging thing.

46:14 Final story, Colin. This just broke within the last hour, and I think the Pro Bowl's officially done because Shadur Sanders, yes, Shidure Sanders was named as a Pro Bowl replacement pro likely in place of Drake May, of course, because he's playing in the Super Bowl. Colin Sanders becomes the first fifth round rookie to make the Pro Bowl since Puka Nua. He threw seven touchdowns and 10 picks in a forgettable rookie year and he's now a Pro Bowler. It's over. The Pro Bowl officially is cooked. And I don't want to hear anybody Colin, you and I, we will not do this again on the show. We will not say, "Hey, he made three Pro Bowls." Yeah, Joe Bob. Like, doesn't matter.

46:55 I agree. I mean, this actually makes me laugh. This is funny. I I mean, I could think of a few other words to describe it. Uh, it's a farce. I mean, are they trying to get people to tune into the Pro Bowl by getting a celebrity quarterback? What?

47:09 I think that's all. I think actually that's it. You got to be kidding me. I'm sure Shadur's happy. Hey, I'll take it. I'm sure he's got a bonus in his in his contract for going to the Pro Bowl.

47:18 Well, I I I think for the record, ask yourself this. I don't watch the Pro Bowl. I never have.

47:25 I'm not going to watch it. Never have. Take pride in it. Don't watch the uh home run derby in baseball. I don't get it. I think I watched the first one. It's batting practice. I know everybody loves those two and they get ratings. Not interested at all. Um, but I will say if Shador Standard played in it and let's say I was golfing that day or doing something that day, I kind of would be interested. How did he play? How did he look? I'm saying

47:47 you're the one cow herd, you're the one who wants to tune in on the golf course. Hey, hey, fire up the phone. Let me see what Shadur is doing in the Pro Bowl.

47:55 I think I I think I got to clean my toilet with a toothbrush that day. So unfortunately

48:00 Jac with the news. Well, that's the news and thanks for stopping by. The herd lie news.

48:07 That is funny. Um, well, there's two things the NFL doesn't do well. Pro Bowl's a mess and the preseason. I I would have I always think it's funny. You can have all these 19, 20 year old college kids. They don't get a preseason. They have limited practice hours and Labor Day weekend they're out there performing at the highest level. great games every Labor Day weekend. Those kids limitations on practice time. They're 19, 20 years old. Like, I need three preeason games. Really? I mean, guys get I mean, aren't you like me during a preseason? You're crossing your fingers people don't get hurt. You don't care about the results. You just don't want anybody in your offensive line, anybody in your secondary receiver to rip up their ankle and be gone until Thanksgiving. To me, get rid of the preseason. Have one game and kind of mandate it. That's the rookie game. Have a rookie preseason game. You play all

48:59 the young kids and you see who can play. Well, coaches need So, college coaches don't need all these practices and games. Just have more inner squad games. Have have inner squad practices. Have Washington and Baltimore practice six times during camp. That's better than the game anyway. Um, you know, sitting yesterday it's yesterday Matt Stafford probably a statistical argument that it is the greatest game a quarterback has ever had and lost a playoff game. That's how good Matt Stafford was. And you know, at various times early in the game, I thought Seattle had a chance to bulldoze them. And then after the uh fumbled punt by the Rams, I thought, "Oh, they're going to There were a couple different times that I I thought Seattle was going to pull away. The energy in the stadium, the energy with the team, but they kept coming back. And they kept coming back because of one reason. It wasn't their defense. Darnold

49:59 was moving up and down the field on their defense. The reason they kept coming back, look at this pass. I mean, give me a break. That's Kobe Parkinson, the former Seahawk. I mean, the reason they were in that game and there were multiple times they could have folded was Matt Stafford. God, he was good yesterday. Here's Matt Hasselbeck on just an incredibly remarkably uh agile and gifted performance in a loss by Stafford.

50:27 He's aging in reverse, Colin. I'd said it for five more years. Okay. The dude the dude was so injured he couldn't even do handoffs in training camp. He looked like he was constipated coming out to practice his first day back. And now he looks better and younger than he's ever looked in his like sign a five-year deal, man. Like, keep going. He He was the MVP of the league. He He had an amazing year. He's in lock step with his with his uh GM head coach. I No, he he'll be back. I I'd be shocked if he wasn't back. And one of the reasons Tom Brady aged so well is not just that he takes care of himself is that Tom was a pocket quarterback. And as he aged, Aaron Rodgers ran around more. As he aged, Aaron looked old. He was still good, but Aaron looks old because Aaron's mobility was such an asset in his prime. But Stafford's never been a runaround guy, and Tom Brady was never a runaround guy. They're known for their

51:22 brain power, pre- snap. both move very well in the pocket, but I I've said this before about Stafford, and this really speaks to how great he is. As a Los Angeles Ram, in his 10 playoff games, again, this is against the very best teams off and on the road. Stafford has 21 touchdowns and four picks as a Ram playoff quarterback, 104 passer rating, and over 300 passing yards per game. I mean, after that muffed punt when he brought them down the field, boom, boom, boom, three absolute darts. And I'm like, and the other thing is the coaching in this game was so good and the efficiency of it was. I mean, we got very lucky the Denver New England game, Blizzard. Um, and I didn't check the weather uh the day of the game. I'm thinking, "Oh, it's probably going to be wet and sloppy." And then they went to the pregame show and I'm like, "Oh god, it's great. It's absolutely great." So, you know, McVey sort of snapped when

52:29 somebody said, "Is is Matt Stafford coming back?" But I asked Matt Hasselback the same thing. I mean, he in camp, you know, in camp, if this was a great quarterback draft, I do think the Rams would draft a quarterback in the first round. It's not. And I don't think they're going to reach for Tai Simpson and give up picks because I do think they need two corners. Thought they would take one last year. I think they need minimum one offensive tackle, uh, a right tackle. I think they need another receiver as Devonte, uh, Adams ages. I think they could actually get another safety and inside linebacker in house.

53:02 So, they they've got things they've got to shore up because if you're going to sign Stafford, remember this, Stafford has some leverage. Now, A, he's unbelievable, and B, it's a bad quarterback draft. So, the Rams are not going to get as good a deal on Stafford as they just got. Now, the good news is nobody on that defense is getting paid much money. And the other thing is they have a lot of picks. So, the Rams will be able to mitigate the Stafford contract. I if I'm Matt Stafford, I'm going to say, "Guys, I I took one for the team. Uh, I'm I'm done taking one for the team because Stafford took I I wouldn't say it was a team friendly deal, but it was not a punitive contract." So, Stafford took a pretty Ram favorable deal.

53:51 And if you're if you're Matt Stafford, you're going to come back say, "Guys, I took one for the team. I I I I want a two-year deal. Well, what are the Rams gonna do? I mean, where are they going to go? Stafford was 50 touchdowns, nine picks. It was insane year. And if you watch that game in Seattle, give me a break. Guy was absolutely on fire. So, the Rams are going to have to pay him probably a two-year contract. I would do it in a heartbeat, but that's why I don't think they're going to reach for Tai Simpson because they need their two first, their second, their third, their two- fifths, their sixth, and 27th. They got to shore up the secondary. They got to get another receiver. They got to get a tackle. And they got to get some they hit on draft pick. They got to get some inexpensive guys in the middle and backup of that roster. So, I mean, that that's the downside. Here's Sean McVey when asked

54:40 about Stafford's future. Yeah. I mean, that's I mean, if he if he still wants to play, the hell kind of question is that? You have to ask him. I We've been totally present. Um he's I know that if he wants to, he's still playing at a pretty damn good clip. I mean, he's the MVP of the league, and if he's not, you know, I mean, I got respect for everybody else, but this guy played at a level that's just different.

55:02 Yeah, it's um he's going to have a little leverage, though. The Rams rolled the dice on this. The Rams are like, "Listen, we'll bring you back. We could draft the quarterback. We're going to bring you back." Garopolo's the backup. Stson Bennett. So, those guys don't sniff the field except in preseason. So, you know, but I do think now Stafford's got the leverage. But again, the Rams were in a good spot because they got a lot of draft picks. And we I've always said this. Remember when the Rams had to pay G and Stafford? How did they do that? Well, they were topheavy, but they were still very good. And you have to hit on draft picks. I mean, they hit on Young. They hit on verse. Uh they hit I mean, they their left tackle was undrafted. So, they're they're not expensive anywhere on defense yet. Puna Ford's kind of costly, but I think they just redid a deal for uh Landman, the linebacker, but they're in a really good

55:53 spot. But I I think if you're Matt Stafford, you took one for the team, uh he'd go get paid. And just just a reminder is he won't be the highest paid quarterback in the league because I think Matt Stafford appreciates what McVey brings to the table. But if this was a great quarterback draft class, they would have more a little bit more leverage. Uh but it's not. I think you have Mendoza and then you got uh Tai Simpson and there's about six teams that are going to reach on Tai Simpson. Drew Brees around the corner. It's the herd.

Questions about this episode

Who speaks in "What Colin Cowherd got RIGHT & WRONG: Patriots, Seahawks, Rams, Broncos, Steelers, Bills | HERD NFL"?

Colin Cowherd (Host), Matt Hasselbeck (Guest).

What is "What Colin Cowherd got RIGHT & WRONG: Patriots, Seahawks, Rams, Broncos, Steelers, Bills | HERD NFL" about?

The analysis focuses on Colin Cowherd's assessments of various NFL teams, specifically highlighting his accurate predictions regarding the New England Patriots and Seattle Seahawks making the playoffs, while also noting his oversight in under-ranking Rams receiver Davante Adams. It further discusses the strengths of the Seahawks and Patriots, and addresses the Rams' ongoing special teams issues…

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

20 people, works and ideas are mentioned, including Colin Cowherd, NFL, Super Bowl, Sam Darnold, Matt Hasselbeck, New England Patriots. Each one on this page links to its own page with every episode that mentions it.

How long is "What Colin Cowherd got RIGHT & WRONG: Patriots, Seahawks, Rams, Broncos, Steelers, Bills | HERD NFL"?

The episode runs 57 min; the transcript is about 11,066 words in 117 timestamped sections.

More from The Herd with Colin Cowherd

• All analyzed episodes
• People mentioned on The Herd with Colin Cowherd
• Topics mentioned on The Herd with Colin Cowherd