Will Aaron Rodgers lead Pittsburgh Steelers to NFL playoffs? | THE HERD

Will Aaron Rodgers lead Pittsburgh Steelers to NFL playoffs? | THE HERD

And with that, our friend, we love having him on the show. It’s a Monday. It’s Matt Hasselbeck, 18-year NFL season. So, I I said last hour, everybody acknowledges how good Shawn McVey is and how great Andy Reid is and the Harboss, but I don’t think we quite understand what Payton has done in Denver. They lost two first round picks to get Russ. He inherited that. The dead cap situation was before Deshun Watson like the worst contract in the league. You got Herbert and Harbaugh, Momes and Reed, and they made the playoffs with Bo Knicks. And my take is not all coaches are great with personnel, Matt, but this roster is really good. I think you said this about a month ago on this show. You’re high on Denver, are you not? Yeah, I’m very high. I Colin, I kind of wonder if people are holding the uh his big loss in that championship game in the home team movie when uh was it him or Kevin James? I don’t know. When he was the offensive coordinator and lost the 12-year-old championship. You know what I’m talking You don’t watch movies, so you don’t know. But no, listen, Denver, I think, is a major threat in the AFC West. We’re going to be talking about what a great coaching division this is. The head coaches, guys that have hoisted Lombardis, three out of the four, but you and everyone’s gonna want to crown Kansas City. I get that. I like them, too. But he has something special in Boon Knicks. He knows exactly what he is looking for in a quarterback. It’s those same exact traits that his quarterback Drew Brees had. This defense might be the best defense in the NFL. They’re certainly um a candidate for that for that um that award. And then they go out and get Evan Ingram. They’ve got a running back by committee uh kind of a fire and ice, lightning and thunder sort of situation there. Great offensive line. My concern or question would be like what do they have firepower-wise, consistencywise at the wide receiver position? I thought they were pretty good last year, but I thought they might have overachieved. You know, can they continue to improve and grow in that area, but to me Shawn Payeyton knows exactly what it takes. Everyone believes in him and uh if that thing gets rolling in Denver, that homefield advantage is real as just as well. So u that’s a team to watch in my mind. Well, you know, I think another reason why people push back on Payton is because Andy Reid rarely says some rarely steps in it. Shawn McVey doesn’t. Shanahan, you know that they’re kind of PC upfront. You know, Shawn’s not Shawn goes after people. And the truth is, I think people inside the league know how good he is, but Shawn has alienated some people because he is I mean, I I know Shawn, that’s his personality. He’s totally authentic. He’s like a little bit like Jim Harbaugh 10 years ago. Half the league hated Harbaugh, half revered him. I think that’s part of the Payton dynamic. Do you? Yeah. But and listen, uh I think also people were surprised when it didn’t work out with Russell Wilson. Um I I wasn’t really surprised because I know that I know what kind of coach Shawn Payeyton is. Known him for a long time. He knows exactly what he wants and exactly how it wants it. How he wants it. So like he he he’s not looking to hear like, “Oh, what are you comfortable with, Mr. Quarterback?” Like he he doesn’t care. He’s like, “Listen, hop on board. Follow me. It’s going to work.” And so like last year, as an example, I think they did a lot of things that Boon Knicks was comfortable with. Like, hey, listen, I would pre like I think Shawn Payeyton almost thought of it this way. I would prefer if you were under center more, but since this is year one for you, we’ll go gun. We’ll go shotgun more for you. But in year two, like we’re going to do it more my way. We’re going to be under center more. We’re going to do a lot of the things that I like to do. And I don’t think he’s very mold. Like I don’t think he wants to move off his spot, which is totally fine when you’re Shawn Peyton. And I think that could be a a rub with a veteran quarterback that’s done it differently. That’s why I think having Bo Knicks is just so great. He’s got a maturity because of how much he played in college, but he also has kind of this mold ability of a young player. So, I think camps are different based on your personnel. I I do think there are teams like Kansas City, Reed, Momes, Kelsey, now they have to rework their offensive line, but Chris Jones now those defensive players who were young three years ago, they know the system with Spags. So, like Kansas City, the preseason to me feels kind of irrelevant. Just stay healthy. Your thought? Are there a couple of teams you look at and think, “Yeah, the next three weeks matter a lot.” Detroit. I mean, I don’t think we’re understanding how hard it’s going to be for Detroit to overcome all the losses that they’ve had. I mean, they losing your offensive and defensive coordinator, that’s not nothing. Um, you know, not really being sure who the five starters are uh up front, like that’s not nothing. Now, listen, they get an extra week. um they get an extra preseason, you know, they get the with the Hall of Fame game and all that, but now they’re also battling that like sort of attrition. So, I think that still like to me the teams that have a lot of change, you know, there’s other teams around the league that have a lot of new pieces, I’ll say like uh the New England Patriots as an example, maybe the um you know, maybe the Pittsburgh Steelers, people that have new people, and so having time on task is also important. Like Aaron Rogers showed up late. Um is it a big deal? like, “No, it’s not a big deal.” But this is this is not what training camp was like when I first got into the NFL. When I first got into the NFL, you know, you’d hear players talk in the locker room, they’d say, “Hey, I’m going to play myself into shape in training camp and I got the preseason. By the start of the season, I’ll be in shape.” Like that’s just not how it is anymore. like the it’s it’s it’s OTAAS, it’s uh it’s mini mini camp, it’s that offseason time, the five or six weeks before training camp, it’s training camp, it’s joint practices. So, it’s it’s um it’s a different NFL. And when you’re not in pads until like the short window in training camp with one a days, not two a days, I think it’s tougher for continuity for coordinators and O linemen. So this question is one that you can um singularly answer that I really can’t. So I said one of the things that’s fascinating if I look at Jaden Daniels I could say from just one year he’s either going to be really good or a legend. I look at Bo Nicks and I’m like he’s either going to be good or really good. May not be a legend. I look at Caleb Williams and there’s a lot of outcomes. Wow. Or yeah this didn’t work at all. And because there are some habits, he holds on to the ball too long. He kind of misses on some easy stuff. You were one of the few people that came out last year and said it’s not all the coaches, some of this. But I Here’s my thing, Matt. I think his flaws are correctable. Like Lamar Jackson got really good in the pocket. His pocket presence. It wasn’t good the first two years. It’s really good the last three. Josh Allen accuracy bad to really good. I think that’s Caleb. I think his I think he is his weaknesses are coachable. A do you agree? And what will you see in the first month that could concern you with all this new staff and all these new players? Yeah, I agree that those things are fixable. I would also say the the guys you mentioned, Lamar and Josh Allen, they were otherworldly and elite in something else. as you work through some of their, you know, maturity as they’re a young quarterback growing up. I think the thing for Caleb is that the excuses are now gone. Like they have done a great job, Ryan Poles has done a great job of building this roster around him, building this coaching staff around him. Now it’s all up to him to be a fulfillment of what they thought he was going to be when they made him the first pick overall. He’s got everything that he needs. He’s got the maybe the the premier quarterback whisperer coming out that was available this year. He’s got everything he he needs. I think the thing that’s going to happen for him this year, the pressure and the heat will turn up on him if guys like Jaden Daniels and Bo Nicks and Drake May and JJ McCarthy and some of these other guys in his draft class do really really well, fair or not fair, that’ll be the standard that he gets measured against. So, you know, I think as those guys go, um, I think that’ll have a that’ll have an effect on, you know, what people think about Caleb in year two. So, um, Nick Sabin, there’s there’s two people I trust, Lane Kein and Greg Mroy, who both hinted at Sabin returning. I don’t think he’s going back to college because NIL money. Universities now have to raise 15 million for NIL. They’d have to buy out their coach, pay Sabin, it’d be a $100 million check. and outside of Texas. I don’t think anybody or Phil Knight Nike money could afford that. So, I think he’s going to go to the NFL. Do you think it would work this time for Sabin? Yeah, I think it could work. Like, the reality of the NFL is that most of the guys in the NFL, most of the players are in years one, two, or three. It’s a very young league right now. You have some outliers, some quarterbacks, some guys that are old, but the most of the roster is young. So, he would know these guys uh maybe as well as anybody. And I think the respect is certainly there. The challenge in my mind um for a guy like that going from Alabama to the NFL, you’re not gonna have a better roster than all the guys you play. Like that’s just not going to be the f uh you know that’s not going to be how it is in the NFL. And then the other thing is like understanding how to deal with a franchise quarterback uh in the NFL is going to be very different than college. You can’t necessarily talk to him that way. Uh you can’t go musical chairs if you feel like switching a guy at halftime. It just it rarely works in the NFL. So, I think that would probably be the biggest adjustment. But in terms of respect, knowledge of the game, uh, the staff that he could acquire, I mean, it would be Bellichicesque in my mind if you were to get him as a as an NFL head coach. All right. Finally, Aaron Rogers, 41, go to your last two camps. What was the advantage of being the old guy in camp, and what was the disadvantage? Well, well, the big perk, I remember I was uh I got my own bed. I got two twin beds moved together next to Adam Venitaryi who was the oldest guy in the team. I was the second guy, second oldest. But between me, Vinnie, and uh like Reggie Wayne, like the old guys get that perk. U you know, I think camps are just so different now. Like for Aaron Rogers, you know, I remember Brett Favre was older in his career when I first started. We threw twice a day. Two a days were a thing. Now with the new CBA, there is no such thing as two two a day. So for a thrower, um training camp’s really not that hard. you throw once a day. And like I’ve said many times, like for Aaron Rogers this year, he can make all the throws. Like when he’s 50 years old, he’ll be able to make all the throws. What has to change for him is in his mind, he probably thinks he can move around in the pocket like he always could. And that’s just not the case. He cannot He’s not as He’s not as mobile. He’s not He doesn’t have that escapability. So, he’s going to have to change his game and rely basically I I would say much more just on his brain, his eyes, and his arm and this sort of forget the the legs part of it. And I think that’s why Tom Brady did such a great job late in his career because he never really relied on his legs or or escapability. You’re moving too far out of the pocket. That’ll be an adjustment for A-Rod. He can certainly do it, but again, you kind of almost just got to flip your mind a little bit and uh and win a different way. You know, you’re you still live in Nashville, right? Correct. Okay. I was sitting this weekend and somebody on the internet, I apologize. I forget who it was, but they said, “In the last 20 years, has there ever been a number one pick that has gotten less publicity and discussion than Cam Ward?” And I’m like, “Oh my god, it’s incredible.” because last year’s class was so profound and and we’re still waiting to see if Pennix can play and if JJ McCarthy can play and if Caleb can play. We’re still paying attention to last year’s class. And I’m like, Cam Ward, not only is Tennessee, the Titans a little bit of an anonymous franchise. There’s no talk. So, you’re down there, you can read the paper. What do you hear about this kid? It’s all about high school football down here, Colin. You know, it’s Friday night lights, man. you know, and then you got SEC football on Saturdays. It’s like there’s there’s like no energy. You know, you got church on Sunday. By the time you get to a Titans game at one o’clock or 12 o’clock on a Sunday, um, no, they’re they’re listen, they’re they’re one of the teams in the witness protection program of the NFL. Like they they have to do something bad to get a headline. Like that’s just how it is. And having been on teams that were like that in Seattle uh for a lot of my career, it’s okay as a player. Like it’s good. you’re all about the ball. You’re all about the football. You’re not all about the, you know, the drama. And I don’t think that’s bad for a young quarterback. I really don’t. Um I have seen a young quarterback first pick overall literally come out of a quarter and call a timeout on the first play of the game and like there was no headline. I remember getting online being like, “Oh my gosh, people are going to be ripping him for this.” No one even said anything. And like you can’t do that playing for the Jets or the Cowboys or the, you know, these other teams. Like you just can’t. So, it’s not the worst place to be as a young quarterback to kind of have some growing pains and be in the shadows just a little bit, but everything that I’ve heard here is everyone’s very, very excited about him as a player. Matt Hasselbeck, man, you just brought your agame today, buddy. I appreciate it. Thanks for stopping by. I’m sweating right off right off the practice field, you know, so we got to uh you know, got to get in shape as coaches, too. Here. Here we go. Matt Hasselbeck, our guy, 18 years in the NFL, former sixthround pick out of Boston College for the Green Bay Packers.

Colin Cowherd is joined by Matt Hasselbeck to react to the latest in the NFL. They discuss whether Sean Payton’s Denver Broncos are ranked correctly at sixth in ESPN’s roster rankings, expectations for the AFC West, changes to the NFL offseason, Caleb Williams and Chicago Bears improving with Ben Johnson, Nick Saban’s return to coaching, and predictions for Aaron Rodgers and the Pittsburgh Steelers.

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