Why New England Patriots are UNDERRATED + Seahawks Super Bowl Preview | Colin Cowherd: THE HERD NFL

What this episode is about

The discussion focuses on the New England Patriots being underrated despite their strong performance metrics, including a top-five ranking in scoring and defense. Colin Cowherd argues that while the Seattle Seahawks receive most of the media attention heading into the Super Bowl, the Patriots have shown significant improvement throughout the season and deserve recognition as a formidable contender.

Key takeaways

• Easiest schedules breed champions; New England's path could lead to elusive Super Bowl gold, despite skepticism.
• Seattle may be the darling, but New England's 16-1 record shows consistent execution outshines glamorous narratives.
• The Knicks' resurgence proves smart coaching can transcend past failures—watch out, NBA, they’re on a roll!
• LeBron's Lakers are more an experiment gone wrong than a winning formula; aging stars can't always fuse.
• Remember, it’s not about style points in the NFL; it’s about winning—just ask the recent Super Bowl champs!

Who speaks in this episode?

• Colin Cowherd (Host) · 33 min speaking

What is discussed, and when

1. 0:00 – 5:00: Colin Cowherd, Sam Darnold, New England Patriots, Seattle Seahawks
2. 5:00 – 10:00: LeBron James, Daniel Jones, Mike Vrabel
3. 10:00 – 15:00: Sam Darnold, Hard Rock Bet, Josh Allen, New England Patriots
4. 15:00 – 20:00: Sam Darnold, DJ McCarthy, Daniel Jones, Aaron Rodgers
5. 20:00 – 25:00: Cliff Kingsbury, New York Giants

Notable quotes from "Why New England Patriots are UNDERRATED + Seahawks Super Bowl Preview | Colin Cowherd: THE HERD NFL"

• Welcome to the Herd's official YouTube channel. Make sure to like and subscribe. Don't forget to check out the Colin Coward podcast, all of our NFL instant reactions, and more football.

  about Colin Cowherd · at 0:00

• Going to be the only team talked about for the next six, seven days. Even though New England was number two in scoring, number four in defense, and these are the two best point differential teams in the league.

  about New England Patriots · at 1:01

• Trading block, people would be interested in them. The Lakers are 29 and 19. LeBron's 41. And when he and Luca are on the court together this season, they're a minus 70. They…

  about LeBron James · at 5:59

• Can defend. But when you go back to when Luca succeeded in Dallas, they had Daniel Jones, they had Gaffford protecting the rim, they had the Duke rookie. Oh, they were…

  about Daniel Jones · at 8:11

• Going to be a lot of different ways. You can get it on next Sunday's action. if you haven't signed up with Hard Rock Bet, never been a better time. This week, launching a brand…

  about Hard Rock Bet · at 11:55

• On defense. A couple of really lean drafts. Maybe the worst receiving core in the league for Josh Allen. But here's what the owner of the Bill said when he recently promoted Brandon Bean.

  about Josh Allen · at 13:52

• He's going to the Super Bowl. Aaron Rogers was interested. You weren't. And you take JJ McCarthy, who threw 23 games is 11 and 12. You're getting fired. It's like being a surgeon.

  about DJ McCarthy · at 16:20

• Development here in that John Harbaugh is looking for an OC and reports are indicating Cliff Kingsbury is near the top of the list as well as Brian Callahan who was with the…

  about Cliff Kingsbury · at 22:41

Who and what is mentioned in this episode?

People

• Colin Cowherd — Person · Host / main speaker · 2 mentions · first at 0:00
  Primary voice driving the episode: Super Bowl pick discussion, Vikings QB/GM critique, and NBA roster/league-tweaks commentary.
• Sam Darnold — Person · Referenced athlete (QB) / recurring point of emphasis · 8 mentions · first at 0:13
  Used as the central example in the Vikings front-office critique (letting him walk) and as a narrative hook for Super Bowl/MVP talk.
  Instant reactions, and more football content. Here we go. We are live in Los Angeles. It is Super Bowl week. Is that Sam Darnold going to another Super Bowl?
• DJ McCarthy — Person · Referenced athlete (QB) / contrast case to Darnold · 3 mentions · first at 15:34
  Presented as the QB the Vikings kept/selected, contrasted against Darnold to argue the GM mis-evaluated quarterback play.
• LeBron James — Person · Referenced athlete (NBA) / example in roster-construction argument · 2 mentions · first at 6:03
  Used to illustrate Lakers roster/defense issues (age/defensive speed) and to discuss legacy/last game at Madison Square Garden.
• Daniel Jones — Person · Referenced athlete (QB) in Vikings roster discussion · 3 mentions · first at 8:16
  Cited as another QB who was 'in the building' and then let go, strengthening the argument that the Vikings mishandled the position.
• Josh Allen — Person · Referenced athlete (QB) / exemplar of 'get QB right' thesis · 2 mentions · first at 13:58
  Used as the key example that securing a franchise QB can protect a GM and transform a franchise's relevance and revenue.
• Cliff Kingsbury — Person · Referenced coach (NFL) / coaching fit debate · 2 mentions · first at 22:46
  Discussed as a potential OC candidate and evaluated as a scheme-strong but CEO/culture-questioned coach, especially in a tough media market.
• Aaron Rodgers — Person · Referenced athlete (QB) in Vikings QB decision tree · 1 mention · first at 15:15
  Mentioned as a veteran QB option the Vikings considered; used to highlight perceived mismanagement/indecision at QB.
  They let him go. They were very interested in Aaron Rogers, but reportedly Aaron was more interested in the Vikings than the Vikings were in him. So, think about that. They had Darnold in the building.
• Mike Vrabel — Person · Referenced coach (NFL) / authority clip · 1 mention · first at 5:11
  Appears via audio bite about uniform choice; later referenced as an archetype of a tougher, culture/CEO-style coach.
  Buffalo. And many of you still think they got robbed by a bad call in Denver and should be in the Super Bowl. Here's Mike Vrabel on why they're wearing the all-white uniforms in the game.
• Kevin O'Connell — Person · Referenced coach (NFL) in Vikings management narrative · 1 mention · first at 15:56
  Mentioned as part of the internal Vikings dynamic (GM-coach alignment) to argue disagreements alone shouldn't cause a firing.
  Leave. That got him fired two weeks. It didn't take two months. Well, he and Kevin O'Connell didn't always see eye to eye. Shawn McVey and Lesne Sneed don't always see eye to eye.

Companies & orgs

• New England Patriots — Company · Case study · 3 mentions · first at 0:48
  Discussed as a team with an easy schedule but strong performance, potential Super Bowl contender
• Seattle Seahawks — Company · Case study · 2 mentions · first at 0:43
  Considered the better team in the Super Bowl discussion, receiving more attention
  Because I think what's happened is I just saw a headline this morning. Sam Darnold favorite to win MVP. Seattle is going to be the only team talked about for the next six…
• Minnesota Vikings — Company · Case study · 2 mentions · first at 11:29
  Discussed in the context of their management decisions and firing of their GM
  Always thought the Vikings were wellrun and then they just unraveled and went sideways. What did we learn? What did the Minnesota Vikings, what did we learn from them firing this bright young GM after they gave him an extension? Right.
• Buffalo Bills — Company · Referenced team · 1 mention · first at 14:40
  Mentioned as a team that New England Patriots lost to
  And the guy who signs the check said that guy He got me Josh Allen. And before Josh Allen, the Bills were an irrelevant franchise. That owner, that billionaire, the Bills are on Sunday Night Football and Monday Night Football and.
• New York Giants — Company · Referenced team · 1 mention · first at 22:39
  Mentioned in the context of their schedule and performance
  At New England's schedule, it's almost worthy of a laugh. It's hard to find the good games. It is a lot of New Orleans, Tennessee, Cleveland Jets, Atlanta, Giants, Baltimore…

Places & events

• Princeton — Place · Referenced location · 2 mentions · first at 13:03
  Mentioned as the alma mater of a fired GM
  A lot. You can forget a lot. You want to get the anniversaries right. Birthdays matter too. so this weekend a quezy adopo Mensah is a very sharp went to Princeton Stanford…
• Stanford — Place · Referenced location · 2 mentions · first at 13:03
  Mentioned as the alma mater of a fired GM
  A lot. You can forget a lot. You want to get the anniversaries right. Birthdays matter too. so this weekend a quezy adopo Mensah is a very sharp went to Princeton Stanford…

Sponsors

• Hard Rock Bet — Product · Sponsor · 2 mentions · first at 11:47
  Presenting sponsor of the podcast, promoting betting on the Super Bowl

Full transcript with timestamps

0:00 Welcome to the Herd's official YouTube channel. Make sure to like and subscribe. Don't forget to check out the Colin Coward podcast, all of our NFL instant reactions, and more football content. Here we go. We are live in Los Angeles. It is Super Bowl week. Is that Sam Darnold going to another Super Bowl? Welcome in. It's the herd. Wherever you may be, however you may be listening, thanks for making us part of your day. It's good to be back in LA. So, this is the one week of the year where people come up to me because I've been a public figure for a while and everybody askked me the exact same question. Who do you like in the Super Bowl? And I've given the exact same answer to everybody. Well, Seattle's the better team, but I think I like New England because I think what's happened is I just saw a headline this morning. Sam Darnold favorite to win MVP. Seattle is going to be the only team talked about

1:04 for the next six, seven days. Even though New England was number two in scoring, number four in defense, and these are the two best point differential teams in the league. Seattle won, New England 2. People are talking about it like it's going to be a blowout. And I think what happened is the Patriots lost to the Steelers and the Raiders in September. And people stopped watching them play. They were in a lot of 1:00 Eastern windows. And and I remember what I kept saying when they lost early. Jac was crushing me. I said, "You guys, you have to slow play this team. 15 new starters. They have to break it before they rebuild it. They were a mess. I love their draft. They're going to have 50 new starters. Check back late October early November. then we can evaluate them. So, starting Sunday, September 8th, they go and play Carolina, a team that could have beaten the LA Rams twice, and they crush Carolina, playoff Carolina, blow

2:11 their doors off. And I want to remind you, yes, their schedule, when you look at New England's schedule, it it's almost worthy of a laugh. It's hard to find the good games. It is a lot of New Orleans, Tennessee, Cleveland Jets, Atlanta, Giants, Baltimore without Lamar Jackson kind of stuff. I mean, it's it's just to give you an example, it was the easiest schedule in the league. Second easiest was Denver and Denver played Green Bay, Green Bay, Houston, Philly, the Chargers twice, the Chiefs and Mahomes and Reed twice. And they played the Colts early in the season did Denver when Denver lost to the Colts because the Colts were actually good and they were healthy. So this is the easiest schedule I've ever seen. But here's the whammy.

3:01 Seven of the last 10 Super Bowl champs have had a top 10 easiest schedule. This is not college football. Style points matter in the NBA and they matter in college football. Go back and look at teams who had top 10 easy schedules. The 2024 Eagles, the Chiefs before them, the Chiefs before them, the Rams before them. New England. This will be their third team with an easiest schedule. That's what happens when you play the Dolphins and the Jets twice a year. So, I always look at this. Yes, I will admit New England has played 11 teams or 11 games against teams that fired their coach, which is outrageously anemic. They've faced 11 games where a team fired a coach. And yes, I'll admit they beat the Chargers convincingly, but the Chargers had a bad O line. And then they beat the Texans, had three turnovers, but CJ Stout had more and it was a blizzard.

4:05 And then they faced a backup against Denver. And well, and that was a blizzard, too. And I admit it doesn't look pretty. But here's what I know. Starting with that Carolina game at the end of September when all the free agents and rookies, there was a certain symmetry. They'd played together for a month. They've won 16 of 17 games. 16 of 17 games. Head coach, A, coordinator, A, defense, A, scoring output, A, ownership, A, close games, A. That's all I know. So, everybody comes up. I keep saying Seattle's the better team, but they're they're going to get all the love. It'll be a fire hydrant of Seahawk greatness until Sunday and kickoff. And I'm like, I know they didn't impress you. This is not college football.

4:59 They've won 16 to 17 games. Their only loss in the last four months, 3531 to Buffalo. And many of you still think they got robbed by a bad call in Denver and should be in the Super Bowl. Here's Mike Vrabel on why they're wearing the all-white uniforms in the game.

5:17 We're the home team. We get to choose guys like the white uniforms. So, five and0 with the white uniforms. There. There we go.

5:27 Hope the tooth fairy comes tonight, too. We'll be real excited. Meanwhile, yesterday, Knicks Lakers played, and it's interesting. The Knicks are 31-8. And I actually they're on a six-game winning streak. I actually think the Knicks are not that far away. I think the Knicks can play with almost anybody. They got a new coach, but at 31-8, I think they're close. And they've got several players, OG, Jaylen Brunson, Josh Hart, Male Bridges, that if you put them on the trading block, people would be interested in them. The Lakers are 29 and 19. LeBron's 41. And when he and Luca are on the court together this season, they're a minus 70. They can't play together. Why? Because something I've been shouting from the beginning of the season. Do not be fooled by the Lakers. The Knicks are not fooling you.

6:20 The Knicks fired a coach. They shouldn't have. They brought in Mike Brown. He's a veteran. It's going to take him a while to figure it out. The Knicks fans wanted to jump off of one of those uh, you know, those those New York, you know, Midtown buildings. Take a deep breath. New coach. The Knicks have a lot of elements that a lot of teams would like to have. OG, you could trade them tomorrow. male Bridges, Josh Hart, Jaylen Brunson, even Cat can score against almost any big. The the the the Knicks are not fool's gold, but what you're watching with LeBron, I saw a stat this morning. Do you know who the three slowest defensive players in the league are? James Harden is number one.

7:04 Do you know who number two is? LeBron. You know who number three is? Luca. in the entire league. They have two of the three slowest players. What does that mean? It's roster construction. And when Austin Reeves comes back, it's going to be fool's gold. The Lakers should have watched what Dallas did with Luca. When you have a star player who's a poor defender, and Luca is Steph Curry, you surround him with Draymond Green, Klay Thompson in his prime, Andre Iguadala. Willing defenders, tough guys, bouncers at the bar to cover for your star. Rob Pelink and the Lakers have doubled down on Luca, just less talented. Austin Reeves, not super athletic, not a great defender.

7:57 LeBron 41, slow, can't defend. Oh, let's go get DeAndre Aton, below average defender. They just keep adding players who are not athletic, fast, quick, and can defend. But when you go back to when Luca succeeded in Dallas, they had Daniel Jones, they had Gaffford protecting the rim, they had the Duke rookie. Oh, they were athletic. You've got to cover for Luca. And I've said this before about Luca when he came to the Lakers. I said, "Stop pretending he's LeBron." LeBron, Kobe, MJ in their prime, Duncan in their prime, Kareem in his prime, Bird in their prime. These guys gave you maximum defensive effort.

8:38 DWade in his prime. Lucas Carmelo, a better version. He's never going to be in great shape for any extended period. He's not interested. Defense is a hobby. Sometimes he's into it and then he loses patience or interest. And so these new owners inherited this Lakers situation. Okay, the Knicks record looks like the Lakers record, but when they play, you can see the clear difference. They've got def OG's a defender. They, by the way, the Knicks realize Jaylen Brunson's a below average defender. So they get guys who can defend. Male Bridges, OG, Josh Hart, it gives you everything he's got, right? They had the kid Devventenza who by the way had done a great defender, great effort player, but they had to eventually move off him. Another great tough guy. So I'm watching this yesterday um and it it's you see the records and a lot of people would say, "Well, the Lakers have got it going because they've

9:40 got the best player, Luca." But do the Lakers and the new owners realize when you have Luca, you've got to build a wall of athletic defenders around him and Austin Reeves and LeBron, that's not the answer. That is the opposite of the answer. Here's LeBron after the loss on playing potentially his last game at the Garden.

10:02 At the end of the day, everything has to come to an end at some point. So no matter when it is, it's going to be like I would never play again in Madison Square Garden. I would never play again in certain arenas. I would never play again, period. So, I mean, at that point, you know, it doesn't matter. You're going to always miss it. You're going to miss the game in general. So, it doesn't um this one will always have like a you know, a special place in in the journey because it is Madison Square Garden.

10:23 All right, J-Mack. Um, you probably already made your bets. I I usually in a Super Bowl, I have a strong definitive feel. I try to talk myself into stuff I shouldn't and out of stuff I shouldn't. And if somebody comes up today, I'll tell them again, Seattle's got the better team, but I think I like New England.

10:41 Yeah, I think you just dropped that Patriots stat on the fired coaches. I had to look that up. I'm like, there's no way they have that many opponents that fire.

10:49 That's insane, Colin. I've never heard anything like that. 11 games, the team they played fired their coach.

10:58 So, last year, one of us got the Super Bowl right. Eagles in a romp. I'll go Seattle by double digits in this.

11:03 Wow. Well, you know what would make me happy? Sam Darnold, of course. Well, yeah. I mean, I I think it's well established that's my guy.

11:10 The executives told me you may need to take a day off for the parade. If Sam Darnold wins it, you may need to go MC that bad boy. And I'll be like, "All right, fine. I'll I'll I'll I'll hold down the fort."

11:19 So, coming up next, there's one thing I always thought the Vikings were wellrun and then they just unraveled and went sideways. What did we learn? What did the Minnesota Vikings, what did we learn from them firing this bright young GM after they gave him an extension? Right. There is something to learn here. That's coming up. It's the herd. Today's show brought to you by our presenting sponsor, Hard Rock Bet, Florida Sportsbook. The big game matchup is set. Patriots Seahawks. Hard Rock Bet going to be a lot of different ways. You can get it on next Sunday's action. Uh if you haven't signed up with Hard Rock Bet, never been a better time. This week, launching a brand new welcome offer for new customers. Plus, Hard Rock Bet is kicking off its $7 million Big Game bonus party available to all users.

12:14 You're definitely not going to want to miss that. And if you're in Florida or Jersey, the Big Game Energy doesn't just live exclusively on the app. Head to Hard Rock Casino property for drawings, giveaways, all the excitement leading up to kickoff. So, Hard Rock Bet also offers new promos every day. So, if you're listening to this later, just open up the app and check out what you got any day of the week. That's Hard Rock Bet. Download the Hard Rock Bet app and make your first deposit today. There are certain things in a marriage you've got to get right. You can mess up a lot. You can forget a lot. You want to get the anniversaries right. Birthdays matter too. Um so this weekend a a quezy adopo Mensah is a very sharp went to Princeton Stanford analytics wiz. Uh you know we were told for years he was just this great young ascending general manager and then he got fired. And people are trying to either rationalize

13:16 it or explain it. And there's a reason he got fired, cuz he let Sam Darnold walk. Folks, if you get the quarterback right, your owner forgets about a lot. And if you don't, they have long memories. Joe Douglas was the Jets GM. He drafted two in a very short time, two rookies of the year, Garrett Wilson and Sash Gardner, and several other very good players. He bombed on the quarterback, Zach Wilson. He's out of work. Brandon Bean in Buffalo. Brandon Bean has no pro bowlers on defense. A couple of really lean drafts. Maybe the worst receiving core in the league for Josh Allen. But here's what the owner of the Bill said when he recently promoted Brandon Bean.

14:08 Success uh with the players. I think we've um I don't know if anybody knows it in this room, but Josh Allen wouldn't be here if it wasn't for this guy pushing and pushing, you know, and pulling a Houdini in that draft to get to the position where we could pick him. So, uh you know, I that was my decision. So, everybody wanted Brandon Bean fired and the guy who signs the check said that guy He got me Josh Allen. And before Josh Allen, the Bills were an irrelevant franchise. That owner, that billionaire, the Bills are on Sunday Night Football and Monday Night Football and merchandise sales and playoff games. And he got the quarterback right. So, not only did they let Sam Darnold walk, but Sam now is with a very young team and a sharp GM. So, the chances are you're going to be reminded every year you let Sam Darnold walk. The other thing is they had Daniel Jones in the building.

15:15 They let him go. They were very interested in Aaron Rogers, but reportedly Aaron was more interested in the Vikings than the Vikings were in him. So, think about that. They had Darnold in the building. Rogers was interested. Daniel Jones was in the building and they kept JJ McCarthy. If he gets Darnold to stay, maybe he doesn't last another 3 to four years, but he's still employed. I I I I read multiple stories. Well, people are saying he took too long of a paternity leave. That got him fired two weeks. It didn't take two months. Well, you know, he and Kevin O'Connell didn't always see eye to eye. Shawn McVey and Lesne Sneed don't always see eye to eye.

16:04 Shawn Peyton and his GM don't always see eye to eye. That you don't have to see eye to eye all the time. You hope you have some symmetry in the working relationship. You don't have to get along with everybody. So, if you have Daniel Jones in the building, he walks. You have Sam Darnold in the building, he's going to the Super Bowl. Aaron Rogers was interested. You weren't. And you take JJ McCarthy, who threw 23 games is 11 and 12. You're getting fired. It's like being a surgeon. You can never amputate the wrong leg, not even once. You can make a lot of mistakes. Surgeons aren't perfect. It's, you know, it's science. There's a reason doctor's office is called a practice.

16:45 You're It's not everything, you know. There's things we do and don't know still about CO. It's medicine. Not that you're making it up, but it's it's not always an exact science, right? Like drafting is an inexact science. You can be a really average general manager. I I was having this discussion this morning. John Lynch in San Francisco because he signed off on Trey Lance. I think he'd be gone today if they didn't draft Brock Party in the seventh round. People forgot about Trey Lance very quickly once Brock Pury came in and Shanahan's like, "I love this guy." If Brock Party didn't get drafted and they passed on him what, six times, the Niners right now are unwatchable.

17:33 They're probably playing Kirk Cousins. So, you can This guy went to Princeton. He went to Stanford. He was on Wall Street. He's really smart. He was great with analytics. He's a whiz kid. He doesn't understand quarterback play. If you watch Darnold play and you watch JJ McCarthy and you choose JJ McCarthy, you got to figure out the thing. That's the thing. Jay Mack with the news.

17:57 NO, NO, NO. TURN ON THE NEWS. THIS is the Herdline news. All right, Colin, let's start with the Raiders. They made big news over the weekend. Clint Kubak will be their next head coach. Um, that's become official according to every reporter in the NFL. Uh, the deal won't be finalized until after the Super Bowl, but Kubak has interviewed multiple times. I think this is a pretty damn good job.

18:22 I I actually, for the first time since I can remember, I I think they have the GM,

18:30 the coach, and by late April, the quarterback. And I haven't been able to say that about the Raiders. I thought Pete Carol would stabilize it, but I still thought they were a mess at quarterback. This league is overwhelmingly GM, coach, quarterback. I mean, you can have a lot of flaws, right? You don't have to be great everywhere. If you get the head coach right, the quarterback right, and and they also I mean, they probably have to get another weapon, but they've got a couple of really interesting players. So, I don't think I've been this positive about the Raiders. I don't think this is a stabilizing move. I think this is eventually a winning move

19:05 cuz we both love Mendoza. And remember, Mendoza means five years of stacking your roster. So, like the like the Bears did, even though it's a number one pick, you think, "Oh, you pay him a lot." Look at the Bears roster. I mean, Ben Johnson came in after they had already added like DJ Moors and said, "Give me Joe Tuni and Drew Dolman and Jonah Jackson." And so, you're going to get a very, very they can go buy an offensive line with Fernando Mendoza.

19:29 Yeah. Second most catch space in the league. Yeah. So, we both love Colton Miller, left tackle. Just go buy the rest of the offensive line. Mendoza, Brock Bowers, uh, draft. I don't think their defense is as bad as people say. I think the whole thing was a mess. But

19:44 there's not a ton of like blue chip talent on the defense after Crosby. There just isn't.

19:49 There isn't. No. No. I'm And but if you have to have one piece on your defense that works, it's it's a pass rusher.

19:56 But you could go by left guard, center, right guard. You also need some weapons. Now, this draft is is loaded with wide receivers. Um they're they're listen they're not going to make a leap. Like by the way the two teams in the Super Bowl were not in the playoffs last year.

20:10 They're not gonna make a New England leap. No. But they are going to make a New England roster improvement leap. This roster is going to be very good

20:20 after that draft. There's going to be seven or eight really nice players. Just don't forget how bad New England was.

20:28 Okay, New England they got Vrabel who was a proven winner. I'm not disputing that. But when you have the second most cap space and you've got a free quarterback for four years, but you can add six to seven like I mean high-end starters.

20:43 Yeah, they should be able to nail the draft. I mean that we're looking at an uptick in wins. That division is going to be very difficult next season. Uh somebody's going to have to fall back cuz I I think Raiders are probably, you know, with Mendoza, sixish win team, seven maybe.

20:56 They'll be lucky. We we'll see how the schedule shakes out. Uh speaking of coaching hires, another one happened. Arizona made a move landing Rams OC Mike Laflur on a 5-year deal. Arizona um had been targeting Kubak and ultimately he picked the Raiders so they settled for Lafleur who will replace Jonathan Ganon. I actually think Laflur is in a really good spot here. My hot take would be you know Lafleur's brother with the Packers had Malik Willis last year. Malik Willis is probably the best free agent quarterback. Arizona go grab him and you've got the ready offense. Trey McBride, James Connor, Harrison Wilson.

21:33 What was interesting about the Cardinals this year? And again, outside of Arizona, people didn't watch them. But you and I, this is what we do. We watch. They they scored a lot of points. And we kept thinking, well, they have a defensive coach. Arizona was kind of explosive. And in fairness to Arizona, it's kind of a good division. Rams defense. Salah had the Niners defense, the Seahawk defense. So they were they were fairly productive. I again I if Matt Laflur is smart I imagine his brother's pretty bright. He comes from the Rams. So I mean McVeyy's tree at least the offensive guys Kevin Oonnell Zack Taylor I feel like they kind of know what they're doing. My Arizona is a bit of a mess right now.

22:14 Not a Jets mess but a mess. But I you and I both believe the same thing. Offensively they've got some really high

22:21 way better skil position players than a lot of teams. Way more way better skilled than the Raiders. Um, I will say he was the OC for the Jets for a minute. He did have Zach Wilson at quarterback. I I was not super impressed, but maybe he needed that run. Now he's back with McVey. I I think it's a good hire by the Cardinals. Final story, Colin, is let's go to the New York Giants. Interesting development here in that um John Harbaugh is looking for an OC and reports are indicating Cliff Kingsbury is near the top of the list as well as Brian Callahan who was with the Titans uh before he got bounced. I'm just curious about Kingsbury because I am higher on him than most. I have been for years. I know you're not as high. Yeah.

22:59 He was very successful with Jaden Daniels in DC and now he's looking for another job and

23:06 I I just Is is it a lateral move to go in the division to the Giants? I don't feel Okay, so I like Kingsberry. The knock on him at Arizona as a head coach. He's not confrontational. What happened in DC? Adam Peters, the GM, the GM of Washington, is confrontational and Cliff Kingsbury felt he was bullied by it. That's the report I got. Felt a little bit bullied. So my take is, is it really a great place for him to go to New York with the loudest media and this large media?

23:40 You don't need that. Yeah. So I Kingsbury to me, maybe he's a college coach. I don't see him. He's We talk about this all the time. It's not about hiring a guy that's good with schemes. It's hiring a CEO that builds a culture. Nobody doubts Kingsberry's intelligence, his work ethic, he's creative, he's a good guy, and he's good at his job. All those things have been what I've said about Lincoln Riley. The push back has been, well, can Lincoln create a culture? Right now, we don't know. And that's the knock on Kingsbury. when when it when it gets uncomfortable, he's sort of the opposite of a varable like he just not he he doesn't that's not his personality. And so New York to me may not be a great fit. He may not be a northeast heavily scrutinized, loud media guy.

24:32 He's a little more chill, laid-back dude. He'll have an opportunity to call plays in New York with Jackson Dart. And if they go to the moon with 10 wins and make the playoffs, I mean, Kingsbury could be in line for a head coaching job next year. So, there is that opportunity. Where are you on Brian Callahan? So, he was really good with the Bengals and Burrow. Yeah.

24:50 Goes for the Titans. I was optimistic. It was a flatout disaster. I mean, another guy that was good at schemes, but not CEO.

24:58 Yeah. You read some of the stuff that was coming out of that locker room. It was not good.

25:00 It was not good. So, that's really changed in the NFL. Like Vrabel's not a scheme guy, although he's smart enough to be good at schemes, but that's not his go-to. Same with the Harbaugh. They're not scheme guys.

25:14 So Shanahan, my knock on Shanahan. So let's say when let's say you get the scheme guy right. Like Andy Reid's a great scheme guy. He's also proven he's a bottom line guy. They're one of the only teams in the league that still has hard practices. Shanahan's a great scheme guy. My knock on him is why doesn't he win coming from behind more? cuz he's stuck to his play sheet. He get and Kyle gets stuck on the play sheet and they have a bizarre number of comeback wins bizarrely low. And so we spend so much time, oh this guy's schemes are great. McVey has good schemes. McVey is a culture builder. The player, he's hard on the players and simultaneously they love him. So I with Kingsberry, they love him, but there's no sense that it it's what happens when somebody goes sideways. He's not he just lets it go. I've heard he has a hard time like owning difficult players.

26:09 That's the job now. Jay Mack with the news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by.

26:16 The herd lie news. So uh for years I've said I think um face of the league is overrated. I don't think you need a face of the league in my lifetime. And I've been watching the NBA since 1972. Uh there really hasn't been a face of the league. I mean, Magic was, Bird was, uh LeBron was, um Michael was, Steph was, but Tim Duncan was great. He wasn't face of the league. Kareem was great. He was too stoic. He wasn't face of the league. I don't think you need it. It's great when you have it, but one of the reasons I think it's been difficult to create a face of the league over the last 10 years, I mean, Steph Curry is still the most popular player today.

27:03 Number two is probably LeBron. And I believe there's a reason for this. The reason is that the NBA over the last 15 years treated college basketball like an enemy. And college basketball is a free marketing platform. Instead, they put their arms around the witness protection program, otherwise known as the G- League or or Ignite G or G Ignite. Irrelevant. Nobody. There's never been a single NBA top jersey seller 25 years out of the G-League. It's in arenas you don't want to go to with coaches you've never heard of, in cities that you would hope your car doesn't break down in. The G-League's always been overplayed. what the face of the leagues have mostly been guys that we fell in love with. We fell in love with Magic. Right now, you could say, "Well, what about LeBron? He didn't play college." LeBron's arguably the single greatest prospect in league history. But the leagues become very European, so we don't watch those

28:08 players when they're 17, 18, 19 and fall in love with them. And then the one and done culture is well a lot of these guys go to Europe, they go to the GLeague, Cooper flag now, and I don't know if he's going to be face of the league, but he outplayed and dominated Kevin Durant this weekend and he went to Duke. And the reason we all wanted to watch Cooper Flag is we watched him in college. We heard about him from Maine. He was one of our guys that went to a Duke or a Kansas or a Yukon. So, I don't know if he's going to be face of the league, but I will tell you for a long period of time, the NBA was anti- college basketball. And this is another reminder how valuable college basketball and March is to the NBA. It's where we get introduced. So, I I've watched Cooper Flag over the last week play in the two most talked about games in the league, and Dallas isn't any good, and he just turned 19 years old. I'm telling you, if

29:16 he played in the GLeague, we wouldn't care. Jaylen Green was going to change the league. He went to the G-League, invisible anonymous witness protection. So statistically, if you look at where he is in jersey sales and where he is in numbers, you know who it reminds people of MJ and Bird. By the way, I'm old enough. I fell in love with Bird at college, Indiana State Sycamores. MJ, I fell in love with them at Carolina. I'm not saying everybody has to come from that route, but there is such incredible value of embracing college basketball. And I don't think it's shocking that Cooper Flag went to Duke and the kid at Charlotte, his roommate, went to Duke and this draft, the first 11 players, they all played, I think 10 of 11 played college basketball.

30:09 So, and his team's bad, but this is the second time in a week we've talked about Cooper Flag. And you know, people, it's Jason Kid's one of the all-time great point guards. He's gotten a lot of flack on playing Cooper Flag who's like 69 and a half at point guard and he talked about it this weekend.

30:29 That's how he's built. Um he he's built to to win. Um he's going to try to do everything to help his team win. Um and he's done that, you know, all season. And so I've built players. So I know what the I'm doing. So to take criticism, it only makes me better because if I wasn't doing it right, you guys wouldn't be poking holes at what I've done. So Mark F was recently quoted saying, "The the best path to the NBA is college basketball. Better coaching. You go to a college campus and you're surrounded by people you wouldn't normally be surrounded by.

31:04 It's a little uncomfortable. The crowds are electric when you're playing when when you're playing at Carolina or Kansas or how do you watch the Michigan Michigan State game? When you're playing in games like that and the intensity of the crowd, that's like NBA basketball. The G-League's not. The the G-League is just, you know, gyms with nobody in them. So, I think Cooper Flag, I don't know if he's going to be facing the league, but I I I I think I look at the last two drafts. I look at this draft coming up. The Peterson kid at Kansas, especially college basketball's back, the domestic star is back. There's nothing wrong with international players, but most of them don't really have an interest in dealing with the media, selling shoes. That's not who they are. They want to hoop it and go back, you know, to Europe. So, I think this is a tremendous, tremendous week for the NBA on what Cooper Flag is

31:56 doing. Uh, and I I'm not somebody who just started ranting on this. I said it for years. You couldn't get me to watch a G-League game if my car broke down and it was right next to the gas station. I I I wouldn't watch the game and I and I like basketball. I I don't care. Duke's on. Every time Duke's on and the game's at Cameron Indoor, every single time or a Michigan State is at home and there's a big game and it's on my TV, I stop and watch it. That's how I get introduced to all these guys. Uh calling right, calling wrong. top of next hour and the NFL made a tweak cuz it's what they do and it again paid off.

32:39 How'd you like the NBC NBA coverage? How'd you like that? I thought that was spectacular yesterday.

32:43 Yeah, two really good games. They went old school. Old school. Yeah. They got Kostas doing the, you know, the monologue, the narrative to start.

32:51 Got you fired up. Yeah. And they, you know, we already know the Michael Jordan stuff. So I I sound critical of the NBA. I love NBA playoff basketball. I have said for a long time I think the NBA has an issue. I I'll give you an example. I saw a story. So, and and this is pretty instructive. So, the NFL 74% of NFL kickoffs were returned this year. Last year it was 32%. So, the NFL tweaked PATs. They said it's boring. They they keep tweaking the kickoff. So, the the strength of the NFL, well, they only play once a week.

33:33 Well, college football only plays once a week and it's not half as popular as the NFL. The the I mean, college football couldn't figure out their playoff until the network stepped in. The NFL does such a great job of tweaking their product. It can be the catch rule, the PAT, the kickoff. And I really appreciate this. They're not arrogant. Even though it's the dominant number one TV show in America for 25 years running, they're never arrogant. They're not one of the, you know, this is not like, oh, uh, people like get they stop paying attention. And I'll give you an example.

34:09 So, baseball, and maybe it's the people that cover it are a little precious sometimes. Baseball can be a little northeast and a little snoody and a little high-minded. They got so arrogant for 30 years. And that's why I've defended Rob Manfred, the the commissioner. He's like, "We're speeding up the game with a pitch clock. Go try and watch a baseball game from seven years ago. It's unwatchable. The game was so slow. I could not get through three innings. I watched baseball games all summer. The last two years, the playoffs have been un unbelievable, gripping. I've watched more baseball than NBA in the last two years. Why?

34:49 because they kept they Rob Manford came in and all the tweaks have worked all of them. They don't listen to traditionalists. They're going to be watching. Don't listen to baseball traditionalists. Get watchable. So, I've said this about the NBA and this is why the NBC's coverage is interesting. So, NBC is bringing back people from a bygone era. Why? Because that's when you loved the NBA. And one of the reasons you love the Pistons and the Bulls and the Lakers because of the physicality. Why? Because it was a mid-range game. So remember the playoffs this past year, JMack and I were really into the playoffs. They were very physical. Why? Because in the playoffs the games get more physical. The refs swallow the whistle. We love that physicality. We love when players care.

35:43 Because be honest, if you're playing a basketball game at the Y or in the NBA and you're on my you know what, you're bumping me and I'm pissed off. That's better competition than me coming down and jacking a three. So, the NBA has a very repetitive problem.

35:59 The three-point shot eliminates a lot of physicality. Gets very repetitive. So, this is a super athletic league. I can shoot a three. That's not athletic.

36:07 Athleticism is a crossover finishing at the rim. That's athletic. So, I've had this theory is that even though we looked at baseball as stuck in the past, they made six very progressive moves, they've all paid off.

36:24 The NFL is constantly tweaking. You see this year's kickoff. So, I've always said in basketball, you can keep giving me reasons that the NBA is not popular. It's that Barkley show. They're too critical. It's too international. But yet, we loved the playoffs because it was physical

36:45 and it wasn't repetitive because everybody's mid-range game, your mine, any great NBA player has a different mid-range game. A three is a three. I catch and shoot, shoot it, they all look the same. So, I've always had a belief on what the NBA's got to do. One major tweak. They think it's the NBA cup. That ain't it.

37:04 Oh, I've told you before. Here we go. Now, it's not that different. I'm sorry to the radio audience. The minute the three-point shot goes into the corner, it's you can't defend it. You and so teams cater to it. We have had Listen to this. The staff went and found this this morning.

37:22 That's my shot, you know, in in basketball. The corner three. It's It's the best shot in basketball,

37:26 especially for short guys who can't play. So, no, that would be the shot you would take.

37:32 Well, Chad Homegrren lines up and he's 6'11, just shoots them all. Eliminate that. What does it do? It's easier to defend the three because you've eliminated the corner three. What does that mean? I'm going to try to beat you off the dribble and get closer to the basket. So, this does two things that are harmful. It takes centers away from the basket. Those are collisions. I want those collisions. Centers have to go guard the corner. It takes Chad Homegrren and WBY out of the paint. I want him in the paint. I want a guy going right at Wemby and dunking on him.

38:04 You ever notice when you show highlights of the NBA how often it's Jordan jamming over Euing? It's not threes. It's all those physical plays. Jordan's pushing, Jordan dunking, running for the ball. That's what people love. This is not soccer with flopping. We like physicality. So, if you eliminate the corner three, it makes the other threes easier to defend, right? Then the three-point shooters don't get the as many easy looks. You have to take people off the dribble. drive to the basket. That's where physicality ensues, collisions ensued, more dunks at the rim, more animosity, a few more fights.

38:44 I mean, I say what you want. People like the bench is clear. It's okay once a week. I don't want malice in the palace, but I I I miss the physicality.

38:53 Yeah. So, what's what's funny to me is baseball was seen as a sport that was set in its ways. They made six brilliant moves. Basketball's always been seen as the progressive sport, almost liberal. We And they're stuck. They won't tweak the three-point shot. Listen to this. Hold on. I got to find this number. I I can't even believe this number.

39:18 I mean, the analytics say the corner three is one of the best shots in basketball because it spaces the floor.

39:23 Oh, great. Great. Last year, 390 games. 390 games. There were 80 or more threes. A decade ago, one. Wasn't a decade ago the time we loved the NBA.

39:38 Well, we were watching the dynasty with the Warriors. And isn't that funny? Cavs Warriors.

39:43 380 games. 80 or more threes. So, you're taking the most athletic league and you're making it unathletic. Anybody can come up the court, catch, and shoot a three. That's a big one. Taking away the corner three. I will say your point about the physicality. One thing that hurt the NBA last year with the playoffs is because you don't call a lot of fouls during the season and then all of a sudden in the playoffs you're doing the opposite. It's like, well, wait a minute. What are we doing? There was no like announcement that, hey, we're going to call it

40:15 the NBA. We're going to let everything go. They didn't do that. There's always a reason men win in the postseason. Young men win a lot in the regular season because men in the postseason they swallow the whistle. So it's the bigger, stronger, more physical players that win in May and June,

40:35 right? The kids Jaylen Green will have great games in in January. Nobody's calling anything, right? Or or they or they are calling things. When you get to the postseason, it becomes physical. The ratings go up and the older players and the mid-range game has more value. I know people get bored with me talking about this, but I'm watching all these tweaks in the NFL and I'm watching all these tweaks in baseball and the ratings are through the roof. And my take is basketball, you're the progressive league, you're the athletic league, tweak your game.

41:10 NFL did with the kickoffs literally doubled the number of kickoff returns.

Questions about this episode

Who speaks in "Why New England Patriots are UNDERRATED + Seahawks Super Bowl Preview | Colin Cowherd: THE HERD NFL"?

Colin Cowherd (Host).

What is "Why New England Patriots are UNDERRATED + Seahawks Super Bowl Preview | Colin Cowherd: THE HERD NFL" about?

The discussion focuses on the New England Patriots being underrated despite their strong performance metrics, including a top-five ranking in scoring and defense. Colin Cowherd argues that while the Seattle Seahawks receive most of the media attention heading into the Super Bowl, the Patriots have shown significant improvement throughout the season and deserve recognition as a formidable…

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

18 people, works and ideas are mentioned, including Colin Cowherd, Sam Darnold, New England Patriots, Seattle Seahawks, DJ McCarthy, LeBron James. Each one on this page links to its own page with every episode that mentions it.

How long is "Why New England Patriots are UNDERRATED + Seahawks Super Bowl Preview | Colin Cowherd: THE HERD NFL"?

The episode runs 41 min; the transcript is about 7,141 words in 86 timestamped sections.

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