Aaron Rodgers reconsidering just one year w/ Pittsburgh Steelers? + TOP 10 NFL teams | THE HERD NFL

Aaron Rodgers reconsidering just one year w/ Pittsburgh Steelers? + TOP 10 NFL teams | THE HERD NFL

But I’d like to begin by talking about the biggest boomer team in the NFL this year, and that is the Pittsburgh Steelers. Because, man, I get why they made the move, but I right off the top, I’m going to make a confession. If I give the Steelers the vote of confidence, and I am, I like what they’ve done this off season. It’s actually made sense to me. I have to also admit to you for the last four years consecutively, I have predicted that the Steelers would have their first losing season under Mike Toblin. And I have been wrong time and time and time and time again. So now I’m like, I think this is a playoff team. I think this team could win a playoff game. I think Aaron Rodgers is a little cuckoo, but he’s objectively better than Mason Rudolph and Kenny Picket and Duck Hodgeges and Mitch Trabiscy. Like, I agree with the conventional wisdom. If Mike Tomlin can get you a winning record with those quarterbacks, he should be able to do better with Aaron Rodgers. But I think that’s just the tip of the iceberg here. I thought that when he signed that contract and it was a weird number and he signed for 13 million bucks. I was like there’s more coming. They’re not done. And then they made the huge trade with Ramsay and John Smith and they upgraded their squad. And I think that John Smith, while not the sexier name, that is the move that really does create some versatility for their offense. DK Metaf, true number one, play your 12 personnel with your two tight ends with Frier Muth and Jonnu Smith on the field. They can block for Aaron because I don’t know if you’ve heard he’s on the wrong side of 40. Jaylen Warren I actually think is an upgrade in the back field from Naj Harris. I think that there is a real opportunity here for this offense to be good. They won’t be top five in the NFL, but a good offense. And then when you combine that with we know all the talent they have on defense and the excellent regular season coaching that they get, I think it made a lot of sense. But we all would agree also that it’s boomer bust. And it feels like based on what Aaron Rogers has said. This is a oneshot deal. One-year contract. He’s a mercenary. He got married. He says, “When I’m done with football, you’ll never see or hear from me again.” I have my doubts. The guy said he loves privacy and then invited a documentary crew with him into the wilderness. So, I got my doubts, but we’ll see. And as for now, it seems like a one-year hired gun situation. The Steelers general manager, Omar Khan, was on with Rich Eisen. He was asked about it. He said it might be a little more than that. Obviously, you know, we have to see how the season goes, but absolutely. You know, um he’s he’s a young 41 and um you know, we’re obviously taking it year by year and and that’s where we’re at. So, I assume this is a one-year deal. And my question though is let’s say I’m wrong again about the Steelers and they’re not as good as they clearly think they can be. Cuz you only do this if you think you can end your going on nine-year playoff drought without a playoff win. That’s the only reason you sign up for the circus that is Aaron Rodgers. For the appearances, for the offseason, for the three-month holding pattern, for all of it, right? because you believe your team is ready to win multiple playoff games in January and this is the missing piece. It’s the only reason you sign up for the circus. If they’re wrong and then I guess if I’m wrong and this is the first losing season under Mike Tomlin and it is like the Jets season last year and they win six, seven games are non-competitive against good teams. Aaron Rodgers is not even a top 15 or 20 quarterback in the NFL. Is there any scenario where the heat shifts to Mike Tomlin? And I’m not saying they’re going to fire him because clearly the Steelers don’t fire anyone. It’s maybe the single most unbelievable fact in all of football that in the history of the Pittsburgh Steelers they’ve had three head coaches. It’s remarkable. But if I just told you that a head coach, it had been eight seasons since they had won a playoff game. And in that time, they were 0 and5 in the postseason. And in that time, he had had five offensive coordinators and eight different starting quarterbacks. And as the defensive coach in those playoff games, he’s given up 40 plus to Blake Bortles and Baker Mayfield and getting boat raced by Patrick Mahomes. And it’s like, oh my god, some of these are great quarterbacks, some of these are not. Some of these you were favored, some of these you weren’t. You’re a 13- win team. You get bounced immediately in the postseason. any other coach in any or other organization would be on the hot seat. And again, they won’t fire him. But if it doesn’t work with Rogers and Tomlin becomes more of the reputation of high floor, low ceiling, he can only win big if he has a Hall of Fame quarterback in his prime. They’re always going to be too good to draft one because he will have you at eight or nine wins as a floor. So, what is his path to getting Drew Aller or Arch Manning or a top five pick at quarterback? And they’ll just be in this middle purgatory space in the NFL with nowhere to go from here. So, I think this is going to work and they’ll win 10, 11 games, maybe win a playoff game. Like, that’s my definition of working. They’re not a Super Bowl team. I don’t think that they have that high of a ceiling. But I think they’re a double-digit win team that can win one playoff game and end that drought. But then the question is, and then what? Cuz the whole thing is the standard is the standard. Excellence is the standard. 10 wins and a wild card win is not excellence. and then they’re still in the exact same situation they found themselves in coming out of last year with no long-term answer at quarterback. So, while I expect success, the much more interesting questions is what happens if there’s failure. The push back I got yesterday from my top 10 quarterback list was mostly from Eagles fans who are upset and I respect it and love it and it’s a passionate fan base, but it was also centered around my guy Justin Herbert. And I will fully admit to you that I sit down on my couch on Sundays and I just watch 11 straight hours of football. And then I watch Monday night and Thursday night and I watch all these games and then I rewatch them and all that and I come from it from more of the analytical and numbers side. But then I just actually love watching the games. I don’t fancy myself a scout, anything like that. But I will say Justin Herbert passes the eye test as much as any quarterback I’ve ever seen. I am just so utterly convinced that this dude is a superstar and that he has been the victim of Anthony Lynn and Brandon Staley and bad special teams misses and incompetence and terrible injury luck around him and two bad playoff games. One terrible comeback allowed by the Jaguars and then last year the four interceptions against the Texans. can’t sugarcoat it, though. Two of those interceptions were off his receivers’s hands and there was a bit of a snowball effect there. But I watch this guy and I am just convinced that he’s one of the best players in football and if he was just in a better situation, everybody would know that and it would become conventional wisdom. And now they hire a true winner in Jim Harbaugh. Last year, Justin Herbert has over 500 pass attempts, which was down because Harbaugh likes to run the ball, but he had over 500 pass attempts and three interceptions. He had more interceptions in that one playoff loss than he had all season. It was a true outlier, worst case scenario performance. And so, I’m trusting my eyes on this one and a belief in Harbaugh. They were the number one scoring defense last year. They draft Hampton. They’re going to upgrade the rushing attack. I love the pick of Trey Harris, the deep threat speedster form on the outside. Makanki is a stud. Arguably the best tackle duo in the NFL outside of Philadelphia. Detroit might have something to say about it, but it’s a top three tackle duo in the NFL at a minimum. This is the year. And this is the year for what you say? This is the year for Justin Herbert to stay on the Pton Manning track. Pton Manning was in a bit of the wilderness early in his career. Different coaches, a bunch of interceptions, no playoff success. And if you study it, and I know some people will say different era of the NFL in terms of volume of passing, and that is true. But again, a guy in Payton who clearly passed the eye test but didn’t have the team success early on in his career. If you look at years 1 through five of Payton and years 1 through five of Justin Herbert, it is shocking how identical it is. Herbert 41 and 38 win loss record. Payton 42 and 38. Both of them winless in the playoffs. Herbert 0 and2 through five years. Manning 0 and3. Their teams scored 24 points per game. They threw basically the same number of touchdown passes, 137 to 138 through five years in their career. And again, I understand more passing in today’s football than then, but the playoff numbers were also remarkably similar in terms of the types of struggles, more interceptions than touchdowns, lower passer rating, lower completion percentage in the playoffs versus the regular season. But in year five, Payton got Dunie. In year five, Herbert got Harbaugh and things started to change. And in year six for Payton, he’s co- MVP of the league. He’s in the AFC Championship game. He’s, you know, 4,200 yards. They’re scoring 28 points per game. It was the arrival of the Pton Manning that became one of the greatest to ever throw a football. And I will be holding Justin Herbert to that standard. This is the last stand because I fully acknowledge at some point the results need to be there in terms of team success. But I am as convinced today as I was after his rookie year when he set the NFL record for touchdown passes as a rookie with 31. This is a Hall of Fame level talent. And I thought what Jim Harbaugh said over the weekend is how I felt about the entire Chargers organization ever since they lucked into Miami drafting Tua over him. The rest of you got to catch up to that guy. This is from the heart. This is the truth. Justin Herbert’s biggest weakness is all of all of those that he’s counting on on offense, coaches, offensive line, uh playmakers, receivers, running backs, uh um to get up to his level, you know, and that’s that’s that’s I wake up every day to try to get to his level. So, if you you put us as the as the number one duel, uh I mean, it’s 99 90 Justin and 10 10 me. Amen. Amen. Pton Manning was the system. He went to four Super Bowls with four different head coaches. That was what it was. He got to a place where he had such dominance and such control of the game that wherever he went, he was the system. I think Justin Herbert can do that and is on his way to doing that. And if the rest of the Chargers, which I expect them to under Harbaugh, catch up to him just a bit. Don’t put the shackles on him. Let him throw. Work off your run game. Work off your defense. And let that guy be one of the best throwers of the football that I’ve ever seen. I think he’s absolutely in the running for the MVP. And I think they’re absolutely in the running to win playoff games this year. Even being in the division with the Kansas City Chiefs. I expect Justin Herbert to stay on the Pton Manning track by the end of this football season. But before we get to Nick, we will begin with my top 10 teams heading into the upcoming football season because if not now, when? And we’ll see if Philly fans maybe feel a little better. Number 10, the Chargers of Los Angeles. You know what I think of Justin Herbert. You know what everyone thinks of Jim Harbaugh? Did you know they were the number one scoring defense in the NFL last year? If they just get a little bit more explosive on offense, and I think Hampton and Harris, their two draft picks, will help. And year two under Harbaugh will help. They take the leap offensively. They get a little bit of health luck, which every team needs. The Chargers, I expect them back in the playoffs and maybe to be rising up this list over the course of the season. The Washington Commanders, I think, better team, worse record. Nine one-score victories last season. Jaden Daniels is a superstar. I like the tonsil edition. We’ll see about Debo and how he fits. I don’t know if you can win that many close games again, but I think they got the right coach, the right quarterback. Obviously, a tough division with Philly and Dallas will be better. I think they’re a better roster and a worse team. The San Francisco 49ers, it’s time to bounce back. Brock Pury to me should not be quite as polarizing as people make him out to be, but he actually impressed me when he lost some of the stuff around it. He’s not a superstar. He’s not a top 10 quarterback, but in Kyle Shanahan’s offense, he’s got good postnap processing. He can get the ball out quick, and I think that’s enough, assuming the rest of their stars stay healthy. KD, Trent Williams, and namely Christian McCaffrey, who’s the key to everything and frankly a cheat code in Kyle Shanahan’s offense. Just be competent on defense, Cincinnati Bengals. Your offense is Super Bowl caliber. You went three and four in games where you scored 30 or more points last year. Figure it out with Hendrickson. Have Shamar Stewart hit. You upgraded at defensive coordinator because you just had to. In the Super Bowl era, for teams that lost five or more games, the Cincinnati Bengals, most points per game in losses, any team, they scored 28 points per game in their losses last year. Just be the 20th best defense in the NFL and you’ll be fine. I can’t quit this Rams team. I think them and the Niners is going to be a great battle all year long. Offensive line health concerns me. Stafford’s a stud. McVeyy’s a stud. The Devonte Adams ad is great. And Fisk and Verse, they didn’t have a first round pick this year, but their draft hit tremendously last year. If you they’re the linebacker or the tight end they uh hit in the second and third round. If they can just add one more piece, they were the team that gave Philly the best challenge really the last four and a half months of football. I think they’re right there as a contender. Maybe this is too low, but it’s the Baltimore Ravens. It was a historic offense last year when you combine running and passing, but their inability to get it done consistently in January once you get up to this level concerns me from the quarterback on down. But this team has a legitimate argument for being the best roster in the NFL. Hopefully for Ravens fans, this is the year they break through. But I still have the Bills in front of them both because of their playoff history. I happen to think Josh Allen is better than Lamar Jackson and they just have been bludgeoning people. It’s the team with the best point differential in the NFL over a sample of five years and it’s not close. You’d say, “Oh, I would assume that would be the Chiefs.” The Chiefs are third. The Ravens are second. They’ve outscored opponents by 555 points in the last 5 years. The Bills have outscored their opponents by nearly 800 points the last five years. They’re a regular season juggernaut. Can they break through in January? Speaking of a team I can’t quit, I think we were robbed of a Lions Eagles NFC Championship game last year. The Detroit Lions come in at number three. This offense should be electric. I think Ben Johnson was a bigger ad for the Bears than he was lost for the Lions. If they just had normal bad luck for health on defense, we would have seen them in the NFC Championship game last year. They gave up 31 points per game their last six games of the year. Injuries caught up to them. The Kansas City Chiefs, their defense is electric. They’ve got the best quarterback. They’ve got the best coach. They’ve improved their offensive line, especially if they can stay healthy. They now have a little depth. Rasheed Rice, Hollywood Brown, Xavier Worthy played zero snaps together last season. If the explosiveness can return to the Chiefs offense, I expect them back in the Super Bowl. The Philadelphia Eagles are the best organization with the best roster. My guess is Eagles fans will not be nearly as happy about this ranking as they were upset about the Jaylen Herz ranking. But winning more than 17 games and rushing for more than 3,000 yards, it puts you in company with the 85 Bears, the 72 Dolphins, the 98 Broncos, and last year’s Eagles team. It’s a tough combination and it’s one that’s going to win you a ton of football games.

Danny Parkins, filling in for Colin Cowered, reacts to the latest in the NFL preseason and training camps. He starts with how the Pittsburgh Steelers general managers believe Aaron Rodgers will be with Mike Tomlin and the Steelers for longer than originally planned. Next Danny reacts to Los Angeles Chargers head coach Jim Harbaugh claiming everyone needs to get on Justin Herbert’s level. Finally, Danny lists his top 10 NFL teams going into the upcoming season.

#losangeleschargers #nfl #justinherbert