Transcript

What Colin Cowherd got RIGHT & WRONG: Super Bowl LX, Seahawks, Patriots | HERD NFL

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

· 56 min · 11,157 words · 158 timestamped sections

This is the full, timestamped transcript of "What Colin Cowherd got RIGHT & WRONG: Super Bowl LX, Seahawks, Patriots | HERD NFL", an episode of The Herd with Colin Cowherd published February 9, 2026 (56 min, about 11,157 words). It mentions 57 people, works and ideas, including Sam Darnold, Seattle Seahawks, Colin Cowherd, Drake May, Super Bowl.

What this episode is about

The discussion highlights Colin Cowherd's predictions regarding NFL performances, particularly focusing on the Seattle Seahawks' unexpected Super Bowl victory, praising Sam Darnold's successful playoff performance while acknowledging his miscalculation on the game's competitiveness and the effectiveness of Seattle's quarterback play compared to expectations.

Key takeaways

  • The Seahawks transformed from underdogs to icons; even non-fans can ignite passion for a winner.
  • Sam Darnold's success proves the right system can turn a drowning quarterback into a tidal wave.
  • Seattle’s turnover-free magic: 9-0 in those games shows that discipline trumps talent on the field.
  • Defensive masterminds emerge as playoff heroes; who said offense wins games? Sometimes, it’s all about the D.
  • Devin Witherspoon's physical prowess redefines cornerback expectations; bring on a new era of the NFL Anaconda.

Who speaks in this episode?

What is discussed, and when

  1. – 5:00: Drake May, Super Bowl, Seattle Seahawks, Seattle
  2. – 10:00: Matt Hasselbeck, Devin Witherspoon, Seattle, Drake May
  3. – 15:00: Seattle, Kenneth Walker, Clint Kubak, Sam Darnold
  4. – 20:00: Drake May, Seattle, Sam Darnold, Seattle Seahawks
  5. – 25:00: Seattle, Sam Darnold, Super Bowl, Matt Hasselbeck
  6. – 30:00: Sam Darnold, Super Bowl, Devin Witherspoon, Seattle
  7. – 35:00: Travis Kelce, Aaron Rodgers, Los Angeles Lakers, Pat Mahomes
  8. – 40:00: Sam Darnold, Seattle, Super Bowl, Matt Hasselbeck
  9. – 45:00: Seattle, Sam Darnold, Drake May, Super Bowl
  10. – 50:00: Drake May, Super Bowl, Seattle, Rasheed Shahed
  11. – 55:00: Mike McDonald, Drake May, Seattle, Robert Griffin III
  12. – 55:36: Robert Griffin III, Los Angeles, Out of Pocket

Notable quotes from "What Colin Cowherd got RIGHT & WRONG: Super Bowl LX, Seahawks, Patriots | HERD NFL"

  • 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.
    about NFL · at
  • I said last week the one thing I was certain about in the Super Bowl, New England would not be able to run the ball. Their offensive line not good enough. They're not dynamic enough. They had 42 yards rushing by running backs.
    about Super Bowl · at
  • Christian Gonzalez is great, but you're talking Devin Witherspoon. Seattle doesn't blitz much and they're We'll leave ourselves vulnerable in the back end. Go get him.
    about Seattle Seahawks · at
  • Eventually that defense is just going to wear down. And I think that's kind of what happened, especially trying to stop Kenneth Walker in the run game.
    about Matt Hasselbeck · at
  • It's funny. People are saying, well, Darnold, Darnold wasn't the key to it. And I said he had 186 postseason snaps and didn't have a turnover. And I think if you look at like…
    about Sam Darnold · at
  • Here. Make sure we got it right. Yeah, there we go. Got it figured out. with that, RG3, Robert Griffin III is now joining us live.
    about Colin Cowherd · at
  • Wanted to say it, but he kind of it was he kind of came out and just said Drake May's not he's not ready for this.
    about Drake May · at
  • Defense is different. So, Mike McDonald is doing something that Stafford could figure out, but nobody else in the league could. My part of it is Stafford's great and they employ a lot.
    about Mike McDonald · at

Who and what is mentioned in this episode?

People

  • Sam Darnold — Person · Primary subject (player evaluation) · 16 mentions · first at
    Central to the episode’s 'Colin right/Colin wrong' framing: praised for mistake-free postseason play, career arc, and fit with Seattle’s roster/coaching.
  • Colin Cowherd — Person · Host · 4 mentions · first at
    Primary narrator driving the 'Colin right/Colin wrong' segment, interviewing Hasselbeck and RG3, and steering analysis of Darnold, May, and Seattle’s defense.
  • Drake May — Person · Primary foil/opponent QB (criticized performance) · 18 mentions · first at
    Discussed as ineffective/possibly injured; used to contrast young-QB processing vs veteran command and to critique New England’s conservative game plan and O-line issues.
  • Mike McDonald — Person · Referenced coach (strategic driver) · 10 mentions · first at
    Credited for a 'master class' defensive plan vs May; discussed as a rare defensive head coach who calls his own plays and creates pressure/complexity.
  • Matt Hasselbeck — Person · Main guest (former player analyst) · 8 mentions · first at
    Provides on-field/locker-room perspective on Seattle’s defense, Darnold’s 'command' style, and critiques Patriots’ offensive approach (tight ends, quick game, trick plays).
  • Kenneth Walker — Person · Key supporting player (roster/cap decision) · 8 mentions · first at
    Discussed as a workload/continuity piece for Seattle and a looming contract/free-agency decision; credited with wearing down New England’s defense.
    Eventually that defense is just going to wear down. And I think that's kind of what happened, especially trying to stop Kenneth Walker in the run game.
  • Devin Witherspoon — Person · Featured defender (impact highlight) · 7 mentions · first at
    Held up as the best corner in football and emblematic of Seattle’s defensive identity; praised for physicality, blitzing, and game-changing plays.
    Normal. Devin Witherspoon's an incredible corner. Incredible corner. But when they move him inside to nickel and he's blitzing, he's an incredible blitzer pass rusher. I mean…
  • Robert Griffin III — Person · Guest analyst (former QB) · 5 mentions · first at
    Provides quarterback-centric breakdown of Darnold’s career arc and May’s shortcomings; explains McDonald’s defensive mechanics from experience in Baltimore.
    Yeah, I think Sam Darnold has one of the greatest comeback stories in NFL history. when you look at what he's been through throwing 63 touchdowns in a spur six years in the league.
  • Christian Gonzalez — Person · Referenced defender (standout performance) · 4 mentions · first at
    Praised as phenomenal and used in a comparison with Witherspoon; highlighted for an elite deep-ball breakup and rare athletic traits.
    I did not have Christian Gonzalez in my top 10 players in the Super Bowl. I think I had him at 11 or 12. He's phenomenal. He does get banged up a lot.
  • Clint Kubak — Person · Referenced coordinator (potential departure/poaching risk) · 4 mentions · first at
    Discussed as an offensive coaching driver tied to personnel moves (Darnold, Shaheed, Kupp usage) and as a continuity risk if he leaves and takes staff/players.
    Bring people that he's already been around, he's already spent a lot of time with. He was a huge part of the fact that they even got Sam Darnold. They were together in San Fran…
  • Rasheed Shahed — Person · Referenced role player (speed/teams fit; free-agency talk) · 5 mentions · first at
    Discussed as a Kubak-driven acquisition for speed and special teams; debated whether Seattle should pay him and whether he could follow Kubak to the Raiders.
    Know, standing up on the table saying, Hey, Rasheed Shahed, I had him in New Orleans. Bring him to us. You're going to love him on special teams. He's going to fit well in the…
  • Cooper Kupp — Person · Referenced veteran receiver (usage/retirement speculation) · 3 mentions · first at
    Mentioned as a key piece whose role is supported by Shaheed; later discussed by RG3 as a potential retirement/continuity question.
    To love him on special teams. He's going to fit well in the room. He's got upside. He compliments JSN. He's going to help Cooper Cup be Cooper Cup. He can Cooper Cup can be the short intermediate guy. And we get our speedsters outside.
  • Aaron Rodgers — Person · Referenced veteran QB (news topic) · 3 mentions · first at
    Discussed in a news segment about potential return and pairing with Mike McCarthy; evaluated as an upgrade but not a Super Bowl-level solution.
    Aaron's probably the eighth best quarterback at best in the AFC.
  • Travis Kelce — Person · Referenced veteran TE (return speculation) · 3 mentions · first at
    Discussed as potentially returning for year 14; framed as still critical to Chiefs’ third-down offense given weak/uncertain receiver depth.
    They if they had a JSN, then you maybe don't have the discussion, but I think Travis Kelce on third down still incredibly important.
  • Colin Coward — Person · Host (name variant / misspelling) · 4 mentions · first at
    This appears to be a misspelling of Colin Cowherd, the show’s host; included due to extraction variance.
    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.
  • Ian Brady — Person · Referenced expert · 4 mentions · first at
    Mentioned in the context of quarterback discussions and comparisons.
    I don't want to hear about analytics and starts. They're just different quarterbacks. And that's why, as Tom Brady said last week, so many quarterbacks in this league once they…
  • Pat Mahomes — Person · Referenced star QB (roster dependency point) · 4 mentions · first at
    Used to argue the Chiefs’ skill-position depth is thin and that Kelce remains a necessary target for Mahomes.
    Okay. So, Mahomes, Burrow, Lamar, they're all going to be No. No. No. Aaron's not in his prime.
  • Luke Canard — Person · Referenced NBA player (trade/deadline topic) · 2 mentions · first at
    Mentioned in an NBA segment as a Lakers trade addition and shooter archetype; used to pivot into Lakers front-office modernization discussion.
    Trade deadline made a nice move for Luke Canard. I got a text from one of your staffers about Luke Canard and his great game against the Warriors. Here's Luke Canard. Look at…
  • Rob Pelinka — Person · Referenced expert · 2 mentions · first at
    Mentioned in the context of Lakers' management and strategies.
    Mean, the Lakers are known as not great necessarily in some of the executive suite stuff. We can blame Pelinka for it, but I' I've Luke Canard is just more of what they have, a…
  • Russell Wilson — Person · Referenced comparison QB (Seahawks history) · 2 mentions · first at
    Used as part of Seattle’s historical QB lineage to argue the franchise’s stability and roster-building matter beyond any single quarterback.
    Russell Wilson, they've had Gino Smith, they've got Sam Darnold. before Russell Wilson, they had a lot of different quarterbacks, right?

Companies & orgs

  • Seattle Seahawks — Company · Business focus · 6 mentions · first at
    Primary team discussed in the podcast, celebrating their Super Bowl victory.
  • New England Patriots — Company · Business focus · 4 mentions · first at
    Opposing team in the Super Bowl, discussed for their performance and strategies.
    I said last week the one thing I was certain about in the Super Bowl, New England would not be able to run the ball. Their offensive line not good enough. They're not dynamic enough. They had 42 yards rushing by running backs.
  • Los Angeles Lakers — Company · Business focus · 3 mentions · first at
    Mentioned in the context of NBA discussions and comparisons to the Dodgers.
    All right, final story. Let's go to the NBA. The Lakers, Colin, obviously at the trade deadline made a nice move for Luke Canard. I got a text from one of your staffers about Luke Canard and his great game against the Warriors. Here's Luke.
  • Kansas City Chiefs — Company · Business focus · 2 mentions · first at
    Mentioned in the context of NFL discussions and comparisons.
    The you can't make him a go. He's not a volume guy. If you have a really good team, like you'd bring him to the Chiefs with Momes and say if Simmons ends up being the left tackle they think he is, and say, Okay, we need an over-the-top.
  • Los Angeles Dodgers — Company · Business focus · 2 mentions · first at
    Mentioned in the context of comparisons to the Lakers and their management strategies.
    Example for what the Lakers are striving for. And you've pointed this out. Hey, the Dodgers spent they added to the analytics team. They've got one of the deepest front offices in the league when it comes to recruiting.
  • Las Vegas Raiders — Company · Business focus · 1 mention · first at
    Mentioned in the context of NFL discussions and coaching changes.
    They're building something. They want to draw a line in the sand. who's he taking with him? He's probably not taking K9. But if you do have a ton of turnover, then maybe that's more of a.
  • Pittsburgh Steelers — Company · Business focus · 1 mention · first at
    Mentioned in the context of NFL discussions and player movements.
    I think you got to see what these young guys have. Now, we got stats for the Rogers the last two years, one with the Jets, one with the Steelers. And surprisingly, when you…

Concepts & topics

  • NFL — Concept · Core topic · 2 mentions · first at
    The league in which the discussed teams and events take place.
    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.
  • Antifragility — Concept · Strategy · 2 mentions
    Mentioned in passing, possibly in the context of resilience and growth.
  • Cognitive Biases — Concept · Strategy · 2 mentions
    Mentioned in passing, possibly in the context of psychology and decision-making.
  • Cold Exposure — Concept · Strategy · 2 mentions
    Mentioned in passing, possibly in the context of health and fitness.
  • Deep Work — Concept · Strategy · 2 mentions
    Mentioned in passing, possibly in the context of productivity.
  • First Principles Thinking — Concept · Strategy · 2 mentions
    Mentioned in passing, possibly in the context of problem-solving and innovation.
  • Incentive Design — Concept · Strategy · 2 mentions
    Mentioned in passing, possibly in the context of motivation and behavior.
  • Intermittent Fasting — Concept · Strategy · 2 mentions
    Mentioned in passing, possibly in the context of health and fitness.
  • Lindy Effect — Concept · Strategy · 2 mentions
    Mentioned in passing, possibly in the context of longevity and relevance.
  • Moore's Law — Concept · Strategy · 2 mentions
    Mentioned in passing, possibly in the context of technology and growth.
  • Network Effects — Concept · Strategy · 2 mentions
    Mentioned in passing, possibly in the context of business and technology.
  • Pareto Principle — Concept · Strategy · 2 mentions
    Mentioned in passing, possibly in the context of efficiency and productivity.
  • Power Law — Concept · Strategy · 2 mentions
    Mentioned in passing, possibly in the context of distributions and patterns.
  • Second-Order Thinking — Concept · Strategy · 2 mentions
    Mentioned in passing, possibly in the context of decision-making and strategy.
  • Stoicism — Concept · Strategy · 2 mentions
    Mentioned in passing, possibly in the context of philosophy and resilience.
  • Zone 2 Training — Concept · Strategy · 2 mentions
    Mentioned in passing, possibly in the context of training methods.
  • Compound Interest — Concept · Strategy · 1 mention · first at
    Mentioned in passing, possibly in the context of finance and growth.
    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.

Places & events

  • Super Bowl — Event · Core topic · 14 mentions · first at
    Main event discussed, focusing on the Seahawks' victory and the game's details.
  • NFL — Event · Core topic · 3 mentions · first at
    The league in which the discussed teams and events take place.
  • Seattle — Place · Setting · 37 mentions · first at
    Home city of the Seahawks, mentioned in the context of celebrations and team identity.
    At me. She's all fired up about I call her after the game last night. She's Oh, we were setting off fireworks. We're all going crazy here in Gran, Washington. All right, here we go.
  • NFC — Event · Core topic · 2 mentions · first at
    Conference in the NFL, discussed in the context of team performances and comparisons.
    Sam Darnold, 700 yards, five touchdowns, no picks, and a 102 passer rating in the superior NFC playoffs and Super Bowl. I never wavered on Sam because quarterback is.
  • AFC — Event · Core topic · 2 mentions · first at
    Conference in the NFL, discussed in the context of team performances and comparisons.
    Aaron's probably the eighth best quarterback at best in the AFC.
  • Los Angeles — Place · Setting · 5 mentions · first at
    Mentioned as the location where the podcast is being broadcasted from.
    Here we go. It's Monday, Seattle Seahawks Super Bowl victory Monday. We are live in Los Angeles. It's the herd wherever you may be and however you may be listening. Matt Hasselbeck is five minutes away.
  • Santa Clara — Place · Setting · 2 mentions · first at
    Mentioned as the location where the Super Bowl was held.
    They know the angles. Like Seattle's This is feels like a little bit there was a lot more Seahawk fans. It felt a little bit like 65 35. It felt like a Seattle home.
  • San Francisco, CA — Place · Setting · 1 mention · first at
    Mentioned in the context of team locations and discussions.
    Around, he's already spent a lot of time with. He was a huge part of the fact that they even got Sam Darnold. They were together in San Fran at the trade deadline. He was the…
  • San Jose — Place · Setting · 1 mention · first at
    Mentioned as the location of post-game celebrations.
    Well, I'm in San Fran. We was at the post party. I'm one of it was actually San Jose. I made it for Ludicrous and T pay. I don't know who performed after that. I went I.
  • Gran, Washington — Place · Setting · 1 mention · first at
    Mentioned as a location in Washington state.
    Oh, we were setting off fireworks. We're all going crazy here in Gran, Washington. All right, here we go.
  • Jacksonville — Place · Setting · 1 mention · first at
    Mentioned in passing in the context of player movements.
    The guy they let go to Jacksonville, Jacobe Myers. Well, the kid Pierce is from the Colts is on the market. He's going to command some top dollar. He's a good receiver.

Media & podcasts

  • The Herd — Media · Host · 4 mentions · first at
    The podcast/show where the discussion is taking place.
    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.
  • Out of Pocket — Media · Host · 1 mention · first at
    Mentioned as another podcast/show.
    So am I. I think we all cheer that. host of Out of Pocket RG3 podcast. Love having you on the show. Good seeing you at our party the other night in the Bay Area. and talk soon.

Full transcript with timestamps

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. It's Monday, Seattle Seahawks Super Bowl victory Monday. We are live in Los Angeles. It's the herd wherever you may be and however you may be listening. Uh Matt Hasselbeck is five minutes away. So wow. You know, sports is so great. You just never know what you're going to get in sports. It's just so amazing. My sister didn't even like sports my whole whole childhood.

And then the Seahawks, you know, they they get the Russell, Pete, John Snider thing, and now she's I get emojis firing at me. She's all fired up about I call her after the game last night. She's like, "Oh, we were setting off fireworks. We're all going crazy here in Gran, Washington. All right, here we go. Colin right. Colin wrong.

Where Colin was right. Sam Darnold, 700 yards, five touchdowns, no picks, and a 102 passer rating in the superior NFC playoffs and Super Bowl. I never wavered on Sam because quarterback is about traits: arm, size, mobility, toughness humility. I always asked people in the league who I respected and the smart people always said he just needs the right fit. He came into the league at 20 in New York and he just didn't have great college coaching. He just got overwhelmed. Just wait until he gets the right coach. Way to go, Sam.

Where Colin was wrong. Uh Seattle dominated the scoreboard more than I thought. I thought it would be close. Um, but I Drake May was so ineffective. Some of it is Will Campbell, who will eventually, my guess is, get moved inside, but I mean, three nothing in the turnover department for the Seahawks. Uh, they got better quarterback play. Um, I mean, it by the early second quarter, it felt like we had the makings potentially of a blowout and that I knew it was a potential outcome, but I it's not the outcome I predicted.

where Colin was right. I said last week the one thing I was certain about in the Super Bowl, New England would not be able to run the ball. Their offensive line not good enough. They're not dynamic enough. They had 42 yards rushing by running backs. And again, Drake May had a couple of scramles that makes it look more dynamic. But they still need to attack the offensive line in the draft. We had said throughout the course of the playoff run, the Patriots are still a draft away from elevating their tight end group, uh, elevating their offensive line, but I my concern in the game was, oh, Drake May is going to have to throw it 34 35 times or more, and he was 1-7 in games in which he did. So, that part was kind of predictable

where Colin was wrong. Uh, I did not have Christian Gonzalez in my top 10 players in the Super Bowl. I think I had him at 11 or 12. He's phenomenal. He does get banged up a lot. Um he reminds me of Christian Watson of the Packers. He looks I mean he is literally an Adonis with no body fat. He's just a remarkable athlete. And then this this ball's a little behind JSN, but length and speed and timing. Uh he that game could have broken open much earlier without that that play on the deep ball is one of the best plays by a defensive back in the entire playoffs

where Colin was right. I said after Seattle lost to the Rams I said what team in the league could have four picks and be driving to beat Los Angeles. I said at that time after losing to the Rams Seattle's the best team in the league. They just got to clean their act up. And if they can clean the turnovers up and all year long I kept saying turn the sound down when you watch the Seahawks. They don't look like anybody else. They were 9 and0 in games with no turnovers. If they didn't get reckless, they always won. We were right on that.

Where Colin was wrong. Defensive head coaches won the day. McVey, Ben Johnson, Kyle Shanahan made the playoffs, but it was Mike McDonald who calls his own plays. It was a very good year for a subset of coaches, defensive guys who have not had a great decade. Vrabble, uh, Demo Ryan's, Mike McDonald, all had tremendous years and it was a master class yesterday against Drake May

where Colin was right. Uh, Devin Witherspoon to me is the best corner in football. I had said he's the first or second best player in this game. He led all players on quarterback hits. I remember watching him at Illinois. He was so insanely physical for a corner. Um versatile, gets to the quarterback. Um I mean there's just Patrick Certan at Denver's another one. Christian Gonzalez is great, but you're talking Devin Witherspoon. Seattle doesn't blitz much and they're like, "We'll leave ourselves vulnerable in the back end. Go get him.

Where Colin was right. Well, I said Matt Stafford should be MVP over Drake May. And the reason isn't stats or analytics. It's because Matt walks to the line and knows the why. And Drake May is still trying to figure out the what. Just see how good that Seahawk defense is. Stafford tore it apart three times. Yes, I know he has Puka, but the New England tight end and wide receiver group is very good. But I think they've led or second in the NFL in big plays. Stafford is something that Drake May can't possibly be yet at 23 years old.

The maturity I said before, Matt Stafford has more fourth quarter comeback wins than Drake May has pro starts. I don't want to hear about analytics and starts. They're just different quarterbacks. And that's why, as Tom Brady said last week, so many quarterbacks in this league once they get to 28, 29, look at Sam Darnold. He is a different quarterback than 23-year-old Sam Darnold. Completely different. Calling right, calling wrong. And with that, a very happy man is joining us live. Matt Hasselbeck. A decade with the Seahawks. 18 years in the NFL.

Look at that. I don't know if I don't know if happy is the right word right now, Colin. Maybe regretful. Should should have gone to bed earlier, man.

Hey, man. There's one I was happy yesterday. I was happy yesterday. I know that for sure. I got a few days to recover. There's going to be a parade in Seattle on Wednesday, so I got some time, but uh but yeah, what what an incredible day yesterday.

You know, it's funny. I don't you didn't hear this because you were on the field. So, they asked Kyle Shanahan, who knows Seattle well, about the game, and I I couldn't believe he said it. He goes, "Well, if Seattle doesn't turn it over, this this could get ugly." When you're in the stadium, it's different than me watching on TV and on the field warm-ups. Did it feel like to you when you're watching them and you can tell stuff? You're a pro alete, you've been there. Did you look at that and go, man, Seattle just looks a little different?

Well, yeah, with with the exception of the defense for New England was uh was holding them to field goals, not touchdowns. So, you know, it was like felt like Seahawks were dominating, especially on defense, but it was three nothing, then it was six nothing, then it was nine nothing. You know, as a player, it doesn't give you a ton of confidence. And it kind of reminded me of those great Seahawk, sorry, those great Patriot defenses early on that they gave up a ton of yards, but they keep you out of the end zone. And that's why they won so much, you know, so many football games. Unfortunately, you know, that defense for New England, they just were on the field so much because it felt like three and out, three and out, three and out, you know, so many punts.

I think it was like eight punts in a row for that Patriots offense. So, you know, eventually that defense is just going to wear down. And I think that's kind of what happened, especially trying to stop Kenneth Walker in the run game.

You know, Mike McDonald calls his own plays. I always prefer my head coach doesn't, but I also, and I've defended guys like Lincoln Riley. If you're really good at it and you're better than anybody else you can hire, I get why certain coaches are like, "Listen, this is my defense. It's my vision." Um, I mean, you know, Mike, you've talked to Mike. Um, is he just different? Is he kind of just a guy that's just quicker and probably should call stuff because he's just he'll never hire a guy that's better at that than him?

Well, you got to remember why you got hired in the first place. I mean, he got hired in the first place because of who he was as a defensive coordinator, as a defensive play caller, and there's a great feel for that. I mean, this Seahawks defense was so good at getting a pass rush with four all year long.

Yeah. And then what' you see yesterday? It was a Blitzfest and there was blood in the water and they were shark circling and they were like, "You know what? Usually we're not going to be a blitz repeating team. But if you don't prove that you have an answer for it, we're bringing it again." And to see just the speed and the timing and the savvy of the defensive back and linebacker blitzes, you just don't see that. It's not normal. You know, Devin Witherspoon's an incredible incredible corner. Incredible corner. But when they move him inside to nickel and he's blitzing, he's an incredible blitzer pass rusher. I mean really he had four tackles and a touchdown yesterday if you count the strict strip sack that they originally called a fumble scoop and score and then I think you know 20 minutes later they said no that was a pick six but that's a Devin Witherspoon and Mike McDonald touchdown in my mind. So I mean they

were just the great defenses I mean I'm talking great defenses they try to score when they're on defense and they think they can and that's what I thought that I think that's what I saw out of Seattle yesterday. It was interesting, Matt. Uh, as somebody that's at home and just a sports cer who's never been on the field in a game, I try to watch a game plan and figure out in the first two series, what are the coaches telling me? And when I watch New England jumping routes in the first two series, I was like, they're trying to get Sam to be old Sam because they're they're so aggressive.

They're doing this because they know they're offensively they've looked at the film and thought we're going to struggle to block them when they're deep in territory. We have to make Seattle make a mistake. So my my when watching them jump routes, I'm like that is insanely aggressive. What did it tell you? Well, yeah. And to me, I think when I look at the New England Patriots, as young as they are on offense, they're equally like they're they're they're that experienced on defense. When I look at that Patriots defense, I see a very experienced group with lock down corners on the outside. Like, this is a good defense. They're not the deepest defense, but they're pretty good. Um, offensively, they just struggle. They're young. I think they're going to get better someday. It was just a tough matchup against a great defense. But that New England Patriots defense really, I thought, played really well

early on. They just wore down. You know, it's it's complimentary football for a reason. like you can't you I mean you just don't really appreciate the all the turnovers and you don't appreciate the three and outs because what happens as a defensive player after your series you come over on the sidelines you sit down you're trying to get a drink you're trying to get oxygen you're trying to get adjustments made and all of a sudden like bam hey you you guys are back up it's like we're back up again like already you know and it it was a very physical game from Seattle up front as well they they determined hey you know what Kenneth Walker we use load management all year on him. Everyone was saying, "We need more Kenneth Walker. We need more K9." They said, "No, we're going to stick to the plan. We're going to use Charbanet." And then Charbanet eventually got hurt. Then they they had to unleash K9. And they did. And I think

it wore the Patriots down. You know, it's interesting. J-Mack talked about this. Kenneth Walker, I think, is a free agent. And my take is um a few years ago, Brady won in Tampa and they brought the band back. And I've always believed that you have to make some changes to keep it fresh. Seattle is young. They've got a couple of guys in the back end they could move off of. They don't have a ton of picks. How do you keep this team hungry? Um and and you know, they've got some cap space here. What do you I mean, Walker's not a pass catcher, Matt, and he's not great blocker. He's a little one-dimensional, but he's unbelievable at that one dimension. Do you stay with him? Do you stay with the roster? Do you tweak? How do you stay young and hungry when it looks like you're not only the best team in the league, only the Rams can challenge you?

Well, they're going to have to stop the bleeding when Clint Kubak leaves. Clint Kubak's going to leave and go to the Raiders. And, you know, I think they can, you know, he's a great coach. I think they can maybe handle losing a coordinator. They've proven that. But who's he taking with him? Like, that's the big question. There might be a lot of turnover just because he's taken a bunch of coaches in the building with him. Um, he might be taking players with him that he that he knows fits into his system. He's starting fresh in Las Vegas. They're going to spend money.

They're building something. They want to draw a line in the sand. Like, who's he taking with him? He's probably not taking K9. But if you do have a ton of turnover, then maybe that's more of a reason to keep K9 and keep the keep the band together just just a little bit. And you see, you know, I think another point Clint Kubak's proven he likes to bring people that he's already been around, he's already spent a lot of time with. He was a huge part of the fact that they even got Sam Darnold. They were together in San Fran at the trade deadline. He was the one banging, you know, standing up on the table saying, "Hey, Rasheed Shahed, I had him in New Orleans. Bring him to us. You're going to love him on special teams. He's going to fit well in the room. He's got upside. He compliments JSN. He's going to help Cooper Cup be Cooper Cup. He can Cooper Cup can be the short intermediate guy." And we get our speedsters outside.

So Clint Kubak, you know, he's obviously the son of Gary Kubak. He's the brother of Klay Kubak and San Fran. This guy knows what he's doing. So, I think my biggest concern would be who's he taking with him? Like, who's he poaching? And you better you better hope that you don't let him poach the the people you need.

You know, it's funny. People are saying, well, Darnold, you know, Darnold wasn't the key to it. And I said he he had 186 postseason snaps and didn't have a turnover. And I think if you look at like Aman with the Cowboys was a great example. Great coach, great roster. Steve Young with the Niners, great coach, great roster. Those guys played Super Bowls and didn't have a turnover because they knew the assignment. I think part of Sam's growth is what's needed. Against the Rams, he had to make spectacular plays. Against the Patriots, they knew on film, especially in the first quarter. Like, don't make a big mistake. I think game manager gets a horrible reputation. Everybody to some degree is managing. take take me through kind of what you saw with Sam in the entire playoff run and against the Patriots.

Yeah, G I agree. Game manager is this weird word. I I don't use the word game manager. I use the word game commander. Like you're in command. Brady was the best at that. He was in command of it. He won Super Bowls at the beginning and the end. It wasn't a statfest. That wasn't what it was about. It was about him in command of the game, dictating how the game's going to go. And just zoom out on the playoffs this year. Look at the turnover thing. The turnover thing is a major thing. You want to you want to measure winning and losing it.

It is truly all about the ball. And Sam Darnold understood that. And I think part of it is he can rest with confidence knowing that he doesn't have to always go out there and throw for 350 like he did in the NFC Championship game because he knows, hey, they've told me and I feel it. You're our guy, Sam. You're our guy. You don't have to prove yourself. Maybe other people want you to prove yourself. You don't need to do that with us. You're our guy. We've put our money where our mouth is. We could have gone out and any gotten anybody in the world in free agency or gone the draft or whatever. We put all our chips on you and other teams didn't do that.

The Jets kicked you to the curb. Carolina kicked you to the curb. San Fran never gave you an opportunity. Even when you were in Minnesota and you had that awesome year, you never really knew if you were the guy. You never really felt like you were the guy. People in the building were probably saying, "Nah, he's not going to be our guy." So that when you know you're the guy, you you don't care if you throw for 198 yards and win the game. You don't care. And that's what I see out of Sam. And I think the locker room respects it. And I think you just stack bricks that way in terms of confidence in yourself, the teams, confidence in you. Unselfish play goes a long long way in a locker room.

Yeah. The um you know, Drake May, J-Mack had said this earlier. He struggled throughout the playoffs. Yes. Will Campbell was being overwhelmed. There's no question. I didn't love I thought they should attack Seattle uh with Hunter Henry. I think the Rams have success against the Seahawks because they use their tight ends very effectively. It's hard to beat Witherspoon in the outside. You you got to do the best you can with tight ends and throw it to backs. Um with Drake May, are you worried that he looked overwhelmed? Maybe he wasn't 100%. I mean, let let for take out one drive and some garbage time stuff. I mean, it it was pretty lean. What worried you at all?

Yeah, he did not look healthy to me. You know, that was one thing, you know, like he looked he looked okay. He looked good, pretty good, you know, in terms of his fast ball and stuff like that. He had some great throws, but I I just didn't think he was look he looked like he was in that like, hey, I I'm I'm feeling my best. I don't think that I also think that pass protection was a real issue early on. It was a huge issue. I didn't love how they didn't feel like an aggressive enough game plan. and when they went aggressive, now he's holding on the ball and putting the putting the offensive line in a tough spot. Like, I don't think they're going to watch the film and feel really good about it. I also just think like when you're playing a defense that is that good, this defense I you know, we need to really start talking about this defense with the great defenses of all time, like the great defense. And we

don't I'm not sure why, but we need to. So, if you're playing, if you're mismatched with a great defense of a historic of of a historic nature, you got to pull out the trick plays, man. Like, you gota you got to steal one. You got to manufacture something exotic in like I just it was just kind of like, hey, inside zone, outside zone. We're just going to I don't know, try to control the line of scrimmage, control the clock, control like it just it wasn't there for me. So, um I think there's a lot to learn from. I think the health is a thing. I'm I'm not willing to just like throw everything out, move people at other positions and all the all the stuff, but I do think that there's a there's a long look in the mirror on this one. And what could we have done to be more competitive in this game?

I think it's I Seattle has the ability to get great pressure with only four. That's the definition of a great defense. And they are unbelievably twitchy and handsy and athletic in the back end. Uh and their special teams are stacked. I mean, honestly, it there's not a lot of holes with Seattle.

No. And and and I think just like if we go back to the Drake May thing, like I I love like the the tangibles and the upside and the athleticism, but one of the best quarterback performances against the Seattle Seahawks defense this year was a 44 year old Philip Rivers who was like coaching high school football for a couple years. And it just goes to show if I could say one thing to these young quarterbacks, learn from what Philip Rivers did, it's a little bit more about things that they do not test for at the combine. It's your vision. It's your communication. It's your demeanor. It's getting the ball out of your hands quicker to guys who can do something with it. It's protecting the offensive line by not taking sacks.

Fumbles need to be hated the way you hate interceptions. There's a lot of lessons you can learn from guys like Phillip who had just like a longevity of success year after year after year and then comes and does it in Seattle, leaves the field with the with the lead. You know, it was only because of a last second field goal he didn't get the win. So, I just think for young quarterbacks if if you want to really learn um you know, again, this is stuff that doesn't show up at the combine. They don't test for it, but it absolutely matters when you play this position. By the way, the Pacific Northwest has great wine and craft beers. I'm not going to get nosy on what you uh you know where you went last night. But that I will say this as somebody that grew up in the Pacific Northwest. It's wine country. It's beer country. There's you can have a good time in Seattle. And you're telling me you did?

Well, I'm in San Fran. We was at the post party. I'm one of it was actually San Jose. I I made it for Ludicrous and T pay. I don't know who performed after that. I went I went I left I left. But uh the the young kids, they were still there. And I was very impressed to see Kenneth Walker at the MVP presentation uh in his in his green suit. He looked great. Uh Mike McDonald looks like he slept 12 hours. I don't know how he does it. The dude's a machine. Uh very impressive because uh it was it was a good time.

Great seeing you, buddy. Awesome, Colin. Thanks. Yeah, I'm staring at that Seattle Seahawk hat. He's a former Seahawk and I'm thinking, "Yeah, where'd he go in Seattle?" "Oh, wait. The game was in Santa Clara. I should probably know that." You know, I said before when the game was starting, I turned to Ryan because we were together watching this and I said, "Cattle knows this stadium. They know the angles." Like Seattle's This is This is feels like a little bit there was a lot more Seahawk fans. It felt a little bit

like 65 35. It felt like a Seattle home game in terms of they've played in this stadium multiple times.

Even Darnold looked comfortable in the opening drive. They go right down the field for the field goal. But I want to let me ask something about what he said. Hasselbeck was talking about May and he didn't like look right. He talked about getting that shot after the, you know, before the game.

I'm just Do you how much do you think he was like 80% healthy, 75? Getting a shot before a game. It means you're in pain

after a twoe layoff. That's not great at all. So maybe I'm overreacting to this poor postseason and he's been banged up.

I appreciate Matt Hasselbeck. I really appreciate Matt Hasselbeck saying and admitting that this is how I felt. Why aren't you attacking Seattle with the tight ends? The Rams do a really effective job of that. Hunter Henry's a very nice tight end. I want I want 12 targets to him. I want three-step drops. I want a lot of swing passes. In fact, if you looked at the opening drive for New England, they had they they did a couple swing passes. You have to get Seattle in some space. And and by the way, excellent tackling team, but that's one of you. If you're thinking you're going to drop with a left tackle, Will Campbell, with a quarterback that's not 100%. With a team in Seattle that gets pressure with four, that is not a legitimate game plan. You have got to bring in tricks. You've got to do swing passes. You got to be very Hunter Henry aware.

No gadget plays at all. And and by the way, Seattle as the favorite, did you notice how many times they either did uh

fake reverses to three times in the first couple drives. So Seattle was trying to be more creative and taking more chances than New England and Seattle's got better personnel. So I thought it was a pretty conservative game plan.

Who who who came up with that? Was that Josh McDaniels, the architect of like seven Tom Brady first quarters that did nothing? 10th straight Patriots Super Bowl appearance without a first quarter touchdown.

And a lot of those are Josh McDaniels. So what is that? Just ultra-conservative or

I didn't love the game plan. Again, this is what coaches do. They look at film. You are watching Will Campbell get devoured by all these defenses, especially Houston. Well, Seattle and Houston have defenses, as we've said multiple times this year. Turn the sound down. the Texans and Seahawk defenses do not look like even the Chargers doesn't look quite that good. So both those everybody knew in the building in New England we're going to struggle protecting May's backside. Everybody knew that. All these coaches knew it.

Tight ends, bubble screens, trick plays, reverses, gadgets. You got to get Seattle like slowing down.

Well, remember the stat about how McDonald against young quarterbacks they're like one and nine. And we saw that again with May. He looked confused. Apparently the Seahawks only blitz seven times the entire game. They were getting home with four. Like

they don't. Seattle's a non blitzing team and they brought corner blitzes. And May was still totally rattled by this. So for a gambling nugget, we'll file it for next September. If the Seattle schedule has young quarterbacks early, fade those young quarterbacks and load up on Seattle cuz this defense is just I mean it's it's brutal. I don't even

I thought he brought up a great point. Matt Hasselre brought up a great point. We're we're we're asking what are they going to do with Kenneth Walker

who's absolutely going to have value on the market. Now, he's not a guy you're going to throw the ball to, but everybody wants two running backs. If you have a running back that has good hands and then Kenneth Walker can be the bulldozer. and he said, and I thought this was really uh right, really clever, because of the loss of Clint Kubak and he will take other coaches, you may pay Walker to create more dependability. You don't want too much chaos on the offensive

right with the with the Walker. He also said Kubak brought Shahed from New Orleans. I forgot about that. Does he now take Shahed, who's a free agent, to the Raiders as a potential field stretcher with Mendoza?

I Yeah, I don't know. That would be a big loss because he was huge. I don't I don't know if that's a player I would pay a I think the way

have cap space. Well, but the way the the the Seahawks looked at Rasheed Shahed was

we're a Super Bowl roster. Okay, it's a oneoff. He's a final piece. The you can't make him a go. He's not a volume guy. If you have a really good team, like you'd bring him to the Chiefs with Momes and say if Simmons ends up being the left tackle they think he is, and say, "Okay, we need an over-the-top component here." I think good teams that need a splash player like Seattle, that's who pays him. I And by the way, Seattle probably knew he was a one-year player, but you're looking at I mean, you know how this league is. If you are the Rams, let's go out and get Devonte Adams. Why? Because McVey looks at the roster and thinks, "Okay, we got Puka. I love the tight ends, the backs. We're a Super Bowl roster. Stafford's playing one or two years left. We're gonna go get Devonte Adams. We're going to give up this, this, this, whatever you have to do." So there's there's players fit certain teams. And I think I don't think

Rasheed Jade fits the Raiders. Their timeline. They need they you know what they need? The guy they let go to Jacksonville,

Jacobe Myers. Well, the kid Pierce is uh from the Colts is on the market. He's going to command some top dollar. He's a good receiver.

Yeah, they need they need an 80 catch. Even if it's five touchdown, the Raiders need an 80 catch receiver. They need a volume receiver.

And that's not what he is. Um, live in LA, it's the herd. Welcome back, Jay. Poor Jac. He got, you know, he's he's conflicted that he won all his bets yesterday, so he's in a good mood, but he's come to the realization over the last 12 to 24 hours that poor Brock Purie is going to get shut out of any more postseason success.

Stop with this madness. Come on. We You just think it's Sam Darnold's world. We're just living in it now, right?

I'm going to tell you I when you're I'm happy for you. Let me get that out. I've never done a Seattlebased show today. I never did sports radio in Seattle. So today I decided a lot of Seattle today. I even got Hasselbeck partying in Seattle instead of Santa Clara. Seattle on my break.

I'm expecting you to dip out of the show later this week to go to the parade. I mean, right? I mean, are you going to text Schneider your guy about that?

I would love to have somebody live at the parade. Who's a trustable source we can use?

I don't know. Sam Darnold after watching Devin Witherspoon. Maybe it's him. Oh jeez.

Uh, he was something else. He But the corner play yesterday between Christian Gonzalez.

Yeah. and Devin Witherspoon. You may have been watching the two most athletic corners in the league.

Yeah, Gonzalez was good. That with that deep ball that he knocked down, he was like levitating in the air. That was

That is a poster. Yeah, that guy is insane. He gets banged up a little bit, but he is he is the or he went to Oregon

guy. Yeah, I mean, he's like both those guys are like speed guy. Witherspoon's 4-3 guy.

Yeah, there's not many of those. Believe it or not, there's not that many of those guys.

Illinois, so two big I watched him play at Illinois. YouTube is Illinois stuff. He lit guys up.

Yeah. I mean, he hits like a safety. When are we pivoting to the draft, by the way? Huh?

I'm excited for this draft. Tomorrow's show. A LOT OF JET STALK DRAFT. JAC NO TURN ON THE NEWS.

This is the herd line news. So, you know, I was hopeful that Aaron Rogers would be gone and it' be over and he could just glide into retirement. WELL, HERE WE GO. Uh there's chatter now. according to multiple reports that uh Mike McCarthy and Aaron Rogers could be joining forces. Uh the latest report indicates Rogers is seriously considering returning and the odds are increasing that he returns with the Steelers. I don't

I don't I don't understand where this is coming from. Now, is your guess this is McCarthy's camp or Rogers?

Well, it depends. Do you trust Will Howard? Do you think Will Howard is good enough for a year? Because I think Mike McCarthy with some of their weapons, I think Will Howard, if he can play, and that's up to McCarthy, they haven't seen him.

I don't think it's about Aaron. I think if you think Will Howard is worth 15 start, 16 start, let's see if the kid can play.

Yeah, I think you go for it. I think you got to see what these young guys have. Now, we got stats for the Rogers the last two years, one with the Jets, one with the Steelers. And surprisingly, when you when you cherry pick these stats, he's not awful. Right now, if you look at some advanced metrics, he falls down because he can't run. He's immobiliz.

Didn't have the greatest weapons in Pittsburgh. I know you like them, but like on the outside, they don't have a top 10 receiving.

I thought Aaron got rid of all the chaos. I didn't think Pittsburgh was a smart offense the last six, seven years. I thought Aaron made the offense smarter and eliminated turnovers. I thought Aaron had a, all things considered, a very strong year. So somewhere Arthur Smith, probably Columbus, Ohio. Arthur Smith is like, "Hey, hey, can I get some credit for that?" Because he obviously was the offensive coordinator. I just don't know what to make of Rogers at this point, Colin. Like, at some point, you've got to reboot. You can't just keep, hey, let's just keep Ro. Like, why don't you just rip the band-aid off and move on?

Isn't that the move? See what you got on Will Howard and if he flops, you draft somebody.

Well, I mean, Will Howard's a fifthrounder. I don't think people look at him as a franchise guy. Uh Aaron's better than Will Howard. It depends. I mean, you could I mean, my take is if Aaron comes back with Mike McCarthy, Aaron's going to have a very solid year.

But what what what are they worth as a combo? One win, maybe. Is it an upgrade from Mike Tomlin?

Offensively, absolutely. I think it's two wins. I think Okay. So, if if Mahomes is back,

I would say I don't know what the overunder is. If I think it'll be nine, I'd take the over.

Okay. So, Mahomes, Burrow, Lamar, they're all going to be No. No. No. Aaron's not in his prime. Aaron's probably the eighth best quarterback at best in the AFC.

Okay. I mean, eighth best in a conference. Yeah. They made the playoffs when Tyler Luke missed like a 4.

Drake May is going to be better next year cuz the O line's going to be better. I mean, like, you know, Justin Herbert's going to be better cuz he's going to have his tackles.

Fernando Mendoza, I think they're could be very good from the start. Plus two wins.

I don't think keeping Aaron is a Super Bowl discussion. I think it's a he's our best option discussion.

All right, speaking of NFL returns, how about this one? Travis Kelce is in talks with the Chiefs. Now, nothing is saying he's going to definitely come back, but reports from various outlets indicate he's been in touch with the Chiefs about coming back for year 14. Now, I don't know what in means. Uh, like what are you thinking offensively? Do you have room for me? What kind of salary would I play at? Can I skip pre Can I skip offseason workouts? You know, cuz I got the big wedding. I again, this is one of these like, do we want to keep, you know, do you want to keep the old guys, if you will, Kelsey and Roger?

You want to keep them around or just move on time to move on? Here's the problem. Xavier Worthy is a gadget guy. Rasheed Rice has been immature. Who can they depend on?

Blake, what's the tight end? Blake Bell, is that his name? The the backup. Uh, I don't Their other receivers aren't great. Hollywood Brown, is he going to still be there?

Again, Hollywood Brown's a bounce around the league guy. I think if they had this formidable group of young receivers, if they if they had a JSN, then you maybe don't have the discussion, but I I think Travis Kelce on third down still incredibly important.

I mean, if Patrick Mahomes looks at their depth chart for receivers, tight ends, and running backs,

who you throwing to? They got nobody. I'm just telling you, the skill position guys are nothing.

I mean, to We can all say we want about Travis Kelce, but to me, if I'm Patrick Mahomes, how many catches did he have last year? How many catches did Travis Kelce have last year? Yeah,

he's still a volume guy, especially, let's be fair, too, in big games, he generally, I don't think he has a lot left,

but I think he's probably got Does he have eight to 10 really good performances left? Absolutely.

No, remember that game at the He had several games where he kind of 76 catches last year. Can you give me 72 this year? 70.

And that's probably in like 14 games cuz with the backup quarterbacks at the end, they weren't they they they had nothing going on. 76 catches, 851 yards, very good on third down.

He feels like a declining asset, doesn't he? Oh, he's I don't want to sound He's kind of part of the culture. He's very He's very big culture guy as his brother was in Philadelphia.

All right, final story. Let's go to the NBA. The Lakers, Colin, obviously at the trade deadline made a nice move for Luke Canard. I got a text from one of your staffers about Luke Canard and his great game against the Warriors. Here's Luke Canard. Look at that feathery touch from deep. But I bring that up because Rob Pelinka over the weekend talked about how the new ownership group with the Dodgers um for the Lakers. Obviously, they're a north star when it comes to an example for what the Lakers are striving for. And you've pointed this out. Hey, the Dodgers spent they added to the analytics team. They've got one of the deepest um you know, front offices in the league when it comes to recruiting.

And I don't know. Uh I watch. We'll see. It sounds like the Lakers are making moves in the front office this off season.

Yes. I mean, we I think we were not that it took much, but I thought we were on the forefront when they bought the team. We listed a graphic of the size of the Lakers front office and the size of the Dodgers

and Oh, nice job. Nice job. I didn't know we had that. Look at the difference. So,

that's embarrassing. Yeah. I mean, the Lakers were kind of a discount family business. Mom and pop shop. You need another 20 people. I mean, the Lakers are known as not great necessarily in some of the executive suite stuff. We can blame Pelinka for it, but I mean, I' I've Luke Canard is just more of what they have, a shooter who can't defend. So, I think the Lakers I think the way they look at Luke Canard is we're addressing at least one of our issues, which is more three-point shooting. But this new group, the what I love about the Dodgers group, they've moved off great players. Trey Turner, Seager, Bellinger, Manny Machado, like their standard is Mookie Betts, Freddy Freeman, Otani. So the idea, oh, Austin Reeves is good. Good is not what they maintain. They're keeping better than good.

JJ Reic and Luca are the only thing they're not taking a call on. They have an inc. The Dodgers standard is allstar. I mean, they they didn't Trey Turner win the batting crown?

They moved off Trey Turner. Um, Lakers have had a good stretch. They beat the Sixers the other last week and then the Warriors and tonight against OKC.

Oh, I'll watch I watched I watched the entire game. No SGA tonight. No Luca. And then t Tuesday against the Spurs. That's as tough a backto-back as you can get. OKC and followed by the

You should have come out Saturday night. I heard you were bombed or sorry having a blast. I meant sorry.

I I was having a wonderful time. Yes, it was. We were prepping for the Super Bowl. Uh, clearly, yeah, just drilling down on Sam Darnold's stats and history and

not much to drill down. It was all right in front of you. J-Mack with the news.

Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The Herd lie news. Um, we got a lot of stuff here. Yeah. Like what do you do after 30 starts? If if is 30 starts enough of a sample to say, "Okay, this is what a quarterback is." Okay, go look at Sam's last 30 starts. Next the herd.

Oh, Matt Hasselbeck was great. RG3 will be joining us on the uh last hour. Um yeah, 30 starts. I mean, can you judge somebody after 30 intense days at work? We're not judging Sam on practice, but if if you were an executive outside of an airline pilot where I need you to be perfect or a surgeon where I need you to be perfect, 25 and five in your last 30 times on the cockpit or on the operating table. I mean, Sam Darnold's 25 and tw and five. And it should be noted he plays the Rams a lot and he plays in a superior conference. Remember Sam's last two years have been in the NFC. The NFC's got better rosters. AFC's got better high-end quarterbacks. Buffalo's roster is not great.

I mean, is it is is Houston's roster great? The Chargers roster great? The better rosters are in the NFC. So Sam is 25 and five, Minnesota Seattle against the better conference. So to me, it it's it's better than the number. In fact, what's interesting, if you just took out two Rams games out of his last 30, his numbers would look like Pton Manning in his prime. So, I think I think you're getting such tremendous value with Sam. People look at those numbers and go, "Well, he had Kevin O." Well, how' Kevin Oonnell do this year? That's all I heard last year. Well, it's Justin Jefferson.

It's Kevin O' Conor. Well, how'd they do without him? Not that great. Here's Mike McDonald on Sam's jersey uh journey. Sam doesn't care about the obstacle. Like you like everyone's made a a narrative this guy of like everyone has they they have tried to put a story and a label on who he is as a person, who he is as a quarterback. He does not care. All he's done since he's walked in that door is just been a tremendous player on our football team and a tremendous leader who is the same guy every day. And that's who he is and that's how we need to talk about him moving forward.

You know, it it's what to me has always been fascinating is that we look at quarterback as the reason you win. But when did Seattle get really good? What did what have they always had in Seattle? Stable ownership and a great general manager. The quarterbacks, they've had, you know, Russell Wilson, they've had Gino Smith, they've got Sam Darnold. before Russell Wilson, they had a lot of different quarterbacks, right? Why is Seattle always good? We always talk about that's why, you know, Bellich, Bellich, they've had different coaches, different quarterback. Seattle's had the Allen family, stable ownership, and a great general manager. So, stability and ownership, smart people making smart decisions, and a GM who's hiring really smart people. And um you know, he and he and Pete Carol had a little falling out at the end and he went and got Mike McDonald, but the the Seahawks story is not just Arnold. It is a unbelievable

hit rate. If you go look at the last four drafts for the Seattle Seahawks and you put up their first two picks in those drafts, they're like eight for eight. I'm not even going to talk about the third, fourth, fifth, sixth rounds. They do not miss draft picks. Go look at Minnesota's draft picks. They fired the GM. I mean, their their hit rate's brutal. So, a lot of Seattle is just trades, free agency. They don't overpay for people and they do not miss on those first few draft picks on an annual basis. Our number three next.

Welcome back. All right, there we go, guys. struggling here to here. Make sure we got it right. Yeah, there we go. Got it figured out. Uh, with that, RG3, Robert Griffin III is now joining us live. Well, there's there's so many things. Um, you know, in a blowout, people often think you can't take much from it, but I mean, we have a young Drake May, we have a New England staff that had a very conservative game plan. Uh, and then there's obviously the Darnold component. through the entire playoff run, he didn't have a turnover. Just give me your thoughts as somebody who's played the position and it's, you know, listen, he's bounced around the league, a lot of teammates, a lot of coordinators, sometimes chaos. What jumps out to you?

How do you wrap a bow around Sam Darnold, the Super Bowl win in his career? Yeah, I mean, I think Sam Darnold has one of the greatest comeback stories in NFL history. um when you look at what he's been through throwing 63 touchdowns in a spur six years in the league playing for you know three different teams uh then he comes into his last two and he throws 60 touchdowns with the Vikings and also with the Seahawks. Um I think what he's been able to pull off very few people can do to go from the third pick uh get benched in New York, get benched in Carolina, go become a backup in San Francisco and then get a starting gig in Minnesota and really take advantage of it. You saw what happened in Minnesota when he left. So, I just think Sam Dawn the way he handled the game um was very unique because he wasn't very efficient.

Uh and it's not like he played lights out. Yeah. But I think this game kind of solidified for me uh the whole debate around whether you take the points or you go for it on fourth down. Every single time Seattle took the points and in big time matchups like the Super Bowl when everyone's really really nervous, you see points on that board, it changes the outcome of everything. The defense plays with more energy. And I think that Seahawks defense, you know, they're not getting this type of praise, but I think they're probably one of the best defenses of all time.

Yeah, analytics are funny. There was a moment Seattle could have gone for it at about the 40 and they punted it. And my take was

My take was New England needed a break. It could be a block. It could be a block punt. It could be a They needed a break. And it's like,

yeah, their defense was playing well. Why give them a break? Why get stuffed and give them great field position? They've So, I mean, that's a crime. I don't know what analytics said, but my take is when offenses need help, don't help them. And and Seattle's like, we're just going to keep kicking field goals and uh if we beat you nine nothing, we're going to live with it. Do you when you look at Drake May, I think Chris Collins were said it at halftime and I don't think he wanted to say it, but he kind of it was he kind of came came out and just said Drake May's not he's not ready for this.

I mean, you're watching in a stadium. What did you see? Yeah. Um, I think Drake May, this is my my biggest critique of him for the entire game, and it was really for the entire playoffs. Um, you know, he'd had a bunch of scrambles in the in the postseason. I think he led the the NFL in scramble yardage, but when his team needed him to truly take over the game, I felt like he passed the ball. Um, so, and I say that to say, you know, I'm not a big LeBron hater, but guy, some people say LeBron in big moments, he passes the ball to someone else to shoot it because he doesn't want to take the shot. And I felt like in those moments, you have to be like Jordan. When things get bad, you have to get great. And Drake May too many times was sitting in the pocket in my opinion when he knew he had free runners. When he knew his offensive line was a bunch of traffic cones out there and they couldn't block a soul, when he

knew that, don't even get me started on Will Campbell a left tackle. I mean, Lord have mercy, everybody was trying to swipe their card to that dining hall because everybody was eating when they went against him. Right.

So, I think in that moment and when you're the quarterback and you have the athletic ability that Drake May does possess, you have to say, "All right, my clock has to speed up a little bit. I'm not going to get jittery in the pocket, but what I am going to do is I'm going to get out here, and I've said it multiple times, get jiggy with it." Listen, man. If you guys can't block him, you got to help him block him. That'll You know how many times in my career my offensive lineman came to me and said, "Thank you, Jesus, for for making that guy miss because I couldn't block him." But it gave me a little bit of confidence to know that you're going to make my wrongs right a couple times a game to give me the confidence to shoot my hands and know that I can go out there and do it. That was probably the most disappointing thing for me from Drake May. Aside from the fact that they got to fix the O line and they need more

prime time players at wide receiver because I think you saw it Colin when you get into those games it's all about the Jimmies and the Joe's not just the X's and O's and the Patriots got beat in both regards.

Yeah. the um do you worry at all that Clint Kubiaak is leaving and may take a couple of coaches with him? I mean, Sam's had a lot of success with two different teams.

Um you know, it was interesting. Matt Hasselback came on earlier and he goes, I think they'll keep Kenneth Walker because you're going to have so much movement on the staff. John Snider is going to be like, we're we're going to keep the even though the running back is not a pass catcher, not a great blocker, he's he's continuity. Do you worry about Kubak leaving?

Yeah, you always worry about the coordinator leaving because um they create a rapport with the players that they know how to call the plays and that's what a lot of people, you know, at home and even some obviously some former players that I'm hearing talking today don't realize is the plays matter, but when they get called, how they get called, how the coordinator knows the quarterback's temperament, what he needs in those moments, all those things matter. I think you we see that in Philly with Jaylen Herz and how many coordinators he's had. The guys that have that have called the games best for him have the best feel for that QB. So, I think they should keep Kenneth Walker in third. I know they're going to, you know, they're going to get Zack Sharet back. Um, that's a great one-two punch.

Um, and really the concern for me isn't as much Kubak, but it's like what does Cooper Cup do

because now he's a two-time Super Bowl champ. He's a offensive player of the year, Super Bowl MVP. Does he walk away? Does he does he ride off into the sunset? Um because I don't think people really give him credit because he didn't have the season that Jackson Smith and Jigba had, but who was the number one guy they went to as soon as Jackson Smith and Jigba went out? It was Cooper Cup. He's a big reason why that they won that Super Bowl. So, I I'm I am a concerned about the coordinator, but I think that they're going to do what they have to do defensively um to make sure they keep a lot of that defense and then they can retool through the draft on offense. Do you worry that Seattle um and they draft so well they do have cap space which is just frightening because they don't have a whole special team. I mean it's really and it's like the coach is just going into his prime. Darnold's now right in the thick of his prime.

Y um but you you don't necessarily want to bring the entire band back. Is there anything you'd tweak? I know that's a loaded question, but when you look at Seattle, like I said earlier, Rasheed Shahed is wonderful, but I wouldn't pay him a fortune because he I think they went and got him because they felt like they were a Super Bowl team and just needed a little icing on a great cake.

Any other move Seattle could do to you or you just kind of say, "Listen, we're loaded. Bring back Walker. We're good."

No, I I always think that teams they make that mistake when they win the previous year. What you have to realize is now that every every team that saw you is coming back and they're they're gearing their team to beat you because you're now the standard. So, I agree. Rasheed Shahed was a great addition for them, especially on special teams. Um, the way that they went about that. But if you think about the dynasties of the Patriots and the Chiefs, every single year they tried to add a dynamic wide receiver, whether it be with speed or size, and they tried to add another dynamic running back. Um, I think that to me is what Seattle has to do. Um, because I don't see Sam Darnold playing the way he played in the regular season this past year again. And I mean that in a in the from the negative sense like he led the league in turnovers. I don't think he's going to do that.

But I think they should try to add another dynamic wide out. Um, if you can get Rasheed Shahed back without, you know, having to pay out the wazoo and break the bank for him, I would do it. I would try to bring all those guys back but still add young pieces uh through the draft. Uh, and to me that this team is they're set up to be the dynasty that we thought Yeah.

the Seahawks were going to be when they had the Legion of Boom. So, I think that's a very positive form. Like you said, that cap space is scary.

Yeah. The um, you know, the Patriots, Burl probably Lamar Mahomes could all make the playoffs. We've got an offensive coach with Josh Allen. Justin Herbert's getting his tackles back. Uh, Trevor Lawrence, Trevor Lawrence has got a guy speed dialing up great plays. AFC quarterback play is not going anywhere. I like a lot of what New England's doing, but did you watch Drake May? Did you come away saying, you know, he may not make we're not going to get both these teams back next year and a lot of those AFC top quarterbacks either didn't have O lines, didn't have their health.

I mean, do you think New England repeats and can get back to this thing? Um, I I think there's two things that's going to be stacked against New England now. they're gonna have one of the toughest schedules in the NFL because of because of the way that they finished. Um, if I was a betting man that the team that I would bet on to get back would be Seattle, not not the Patriots for all the reasons that you just mentioned.

But I also think they're going to have to go into next year and whatever game plan they had going into this one, throw that bad boy in the trash because they were playing so conservative. Oh,

it made it made me feel honestly, Colin, like like there would there was something wrong with Drake May.

Yeah. like was was it his shoulder? Was was there something that they didn't want to put him in harm's way or he didn't want to put himself in harm's way?

Yeah. And I think that's part of why I say there's more moves the Patriots have to make at wide receiver. Um and even at running back, I love Tayvon Henderson. I love Raandre Stevenson, but they couldn't run the football because their offensive line was so bad.

Yeah. So, if I'm the Patriots, I go into this and say, "What player can I go get either in the draft or free agency that is going to naturally make me a more aggressive play caller?"

We saw that. Now, Randy Mosses don't grow on trees, Colin. Right. Right. Hell, there's only been one. He's probably the most remarkable receiver we've ever seen.

Yeah. But you saw how much more aggressive McDaniels got when he got Randy and that offense with Tom Brady. So, I think they got to go try to find themselves a receiver that they feel like they can be aggressive with, and Drake May, cuz he was the best deep ball thrower in the league this past year, uh, can really let that thing hunt. It, you know, it's always, uh, and I I rely on guys like you to kind of decipher this. You know, when you see a great defensive coordinator, like offense, I can see it, Robert. I can watch an offense with Mike McDaniel and McVey and go, "Oh my god, multiple sets, lot of movement." I can see offensive efficiency and coaching.

Ben Johnson when he was a coordinator in Detroit for three years, you're like, "Oh, this guy is a he is clever."

Oh, yeah. Defense is different. So, Mike McDonald is doing something that Stafford could figure out, but nobody else in the league could. My part of it is Stafford's great and they employ a lot of tight ends. I think the way to beat Seattle is tight ends. That's why I couldn't believe they didn't target Hunter Henry more. But but but what is what does Mike McDonald do that you see watching and go, "Okay, that's different."

Yeah. Yeah. Well, well, Colin, first I'll say tight ends get us all, right? Tight ends can beat anybody in the world, whether it's on or off the field. So, now piggybacking off of your your point though, I was with Mike McDonald in Baltimore. So, when he was there, the the the thing that I've tried to explain to people over the past two weeks is why do they always get free rushers to the quarterback? Well, if you have a bad offensive line, they're going to pressure you. But even if you don't have a bad offensive line, they found ways to get pressure. And it's because at the line of scrimmage, they allow their safeties and their linebackers and their outside edge rushers to determine who is blitzing based off the turn of the center and based off the call point. How do I know this? Well, my job was to break down protections in Baltimore. My job was to make sure that we were directed the right way and what's the

best way to pick up this blitz. That was my my responsibility as a veteran QB helping the young guy and Lamar Jackson, you know, be prepared for for every single week. So, when we go into practice and I'm going against Mike McDonald all training camp, all offseason, I'm I'm making the mic points and they're changing them at the line of scrimmage and they're not they're non-verbal changes. So, it's not like you could say, "All right, Mike 43." and then you hear him say, "Hey, you're blitzing. I'm going to drop." They just do it automatically. And that's what makes this defense so difficult to defend because you always feel like they're you're playing catch-up. You're playing a catch technique on the backside where they're manning up or they're zoning it out and they're not afraid to put a big guy on a small receiver because they know they're going to have a free runner at the quarterback. And that's the genius in my

opinion of Mike McDonald. He trusts his players so much. You have to be a smart player, but he's always going to give them opportunities to get sacks. That's why they got Riley Mills in the middle of defense,

a guy who played four games in the regular season and had no sacks. He got a sack against this offensive line and and he wasn't a free runner, but it's just like it's the genius of him. I'm very happy for him and I'm glad that now he can go spend more than 30 minutes with his kid.

So am I. I think we all cheer that. Uh host of Out of Pocket RG3 podcast. Love having you on the show. Good seeing you at our party the other night in the Bay Area. and uh talk soon.

Appreciate you calling. Party was phenomenal. Wasn't bad. Going to be honest about that. Pretty good party.

Questions about this episode

Who speaks in "What Colin Cowherd got RIGHT & WRONG: Super Bowl LX, Seahawks, Patriots | HERD NFL"?

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

What is "What Colin Cowherd got RIGHT & WRONG: Super Bowl LX, Seahawks, Patriots | HERD NFL" about?

The discussion highlights Colin Cowherd's predictions regarding NFL performances, particularly focusing on the Seattle Seahawks' unexpected Super Bowl victory, praising Sam Darnold's successful playoff performance while acknowledging his miscalculation on the game's competitiveness and the effectiveness of Seattle's quarterback play compared to expectations.

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

57 people, works and ideas are mentioned, including Sam Darnold, Seattle Seahawks, Colin Cowherd, Drake May, Super Bowl, Mike McDonald. 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: Super Bowl LX, Seahawks, Patriots | HERD NFL"?

The episode runs 56 min; the transcript is about 11,157 words in 158 timestamped sections.

More from The Herd with Colin Cowherd

About this transcript: the episode's spoken words as captioned on YouTube, split into timestamped sections. Reclip.Me locates every person, work and idea in the text, keeps the time it is first named, and quotes the words around it verbatim. Last updated February 9, 2026.