Reaction to Eagles-Chiefs, Bears-Lions, Giants-Cowboys, Seahawks-Steelers, 49ers | Colin Cowherd NFL
Welcome to the official YouTube channel for the Colin Coward podcast. Go on, hit that subscribe button if you’re new so you don’t miss any of our great football content this season. This episode is presented by Uber Eats. When football makes you hungry, order Uber Eats. I do every weekend. All right, time to look at this weekend’s tastiest matchup in this week’s Sunday Night Food brought to you by Uber Eats, a company I use all the time. All right, John Middlecloff, former NFL scout, three and out is his podcast. We do our Sunday night hour plus a lot to talk about. Let’s not waste any time. Philly beats Kansas City uh 2017, although the deep over the top throw by Mahomes made it feel kind of closer than it was. It did feel like in the second half, John, Philadelphia in my lifetime does a better job at one thing than any Tim I’ve ever seen. if they need a yard, two yards or three yards between the O line, Hertz, Squan, and some of their sort of uh counter tight end roll out moves. I mean, it’s just automatic. They are so good. And Herz, you know, let’s be honest, Hertz trailing in the pocket is not my favorite guy in the league. I don’t think that’s his specialty, but I I really, this is one of those games there was never a point. I kept thinking Philadelphia is gonna eventually wear this team down and um I’m I’m kind of surprised Kansas City clawed their way back. What are your basic interpretations from what you saw? You know, I I thought going into that that drive where Travis it hits off his hands and they pick it off and they take it to the 50 and I mean that tackle Josh Simmons running down the field to to save the game. I I thought if Kansas City scored there now I don’t know if they could slow down Philly. They had that time, but I mean, you just never know with Saquon and like you said, some big playmakers. They were just going to have to win that game on guile toughness and it was going to be if they had pulled that off, let’s say Kelsey catches it or that doesn’t happen and they score just an incredible championship like metal type game for them, but they don’t have much right now. You know, Worthy being hurt, Rice being suspended. Yeah, you know that I thought Travis was having a good game until that moment. Uh obviously Patrick missed u you know Thornton earlier in that drive where he ended up hitting him which might have given them a little more time. They wouldn’t had to force it. Let’s face it, Kansas City right now I expected defensively they got shredded last game against Herbert and and Herz shredded them in the Super Bowl. So I I knew that they were going to bring it defensively but offensively I mean they they got an old Kelsey. Yeah. Hollywood Brown. I mean their running backs are okay. They run hard but I are they starting on most good teams in the league. Don. Yeah. I mean, I think they’ll be fine when they get Rasheed Rice back in four weeks. I think they will. I think they’ll find their way. Denver losing a game they should have won today. That’s a huge break for them. So, I mean, that that game ends up being big for them. Um, one in Monday Night Football, someone has to lose between the Chargers and the Raiders. So, you’re not they’re not running away with you yet. Yeah. But I I did feel and you know Chiefs fans don’t want to hear this but I felt like Sirani and Jaylen Herz serriani was coaching with a lot of confidence like when they when they took a lead his whole thing was guys we can just ground this out. Let’s not take any big I mean they did take one big shot down the field to Devonte Smith and they hit on that. But I felt Philadelphia’s kind of felt like okay we’re on the road. We have the better roster. we’re going to grind these guys out in the second half. And it was just one of those things, especially after that interception on the deflection. And and let’s be honest, if you have a great coach, great coordinator spags, and a great quarterback at home after you were humiliated in the Super Bowl, the game was going to be close. The line was one and a half. It was I said it Friday on the herd. I’m like, “Guys, it’s going to be a a close game late and Philadelphia will situationally get a key first down or four and win.” So, the game kind of looked like I thought, but I thought Philadelphia I felt in the fourth quarter, John, they felt they had the game. It’s like they brought in a closer in baseball and they kind of I mean, how many times did they use the tush push today? Seven, nine. A lot. Well, Brady mentioned it though on the goal line play where the two guys jumped off size. They didn’t call it and that that obviously was a huge play in the game. I I do think the Chiefs, they gave it everything they have. They just don’t have much right now. And one elephant in the room is Kelsey’s old now. Now granted, he was having a good game relative to what he’s been in the regular season, but man, that play where the dude picks it off and takes it to midfield and they end up scoring was a a crippling moment for a team. This is not the 2019, 2020, 2021 version. They cannot score against, let’s face it, they’re playing Vic Fangio, who’s one of, if not the best defensive coordinator in the league, with just a really good defensive personnel, right? I mean, you see Jordan Davis looks look how that guy physically looks fantastic. Obviously, Jaylen Carter is one of the best players. You know, Vaughn, all their uh you know, defensive backs. Mitchell’s a really good player. So, that’s a tough loss. I mean, that’s that’s pretty devastating because you threw everything you had. Your coaching was at a high level. Your quarterback was just trying to will his way. Uh and you’re just still not good enough, right? So, you’ve had two straight weeks, right? You know, the Eagles are going to be one of the best teams in the league all season long. The Chargers, obviously, if Herbert’s going to play at that level, they’re going to be an awesome team. And you’ve lost two games, right, against really good teams. That’s where it’s like you hope once these guys come back, Rice off the suspension, you know, if Worthy can get healthy, you’re just going to have to win these games off guy toughness, but eventually you kind of run out of gas. Right. Right. And Denver’s got a better roster, but Denver gave that game away late today against Indie. Three dumb penalties in the last 420. So again, you get a break in division and the Chargers probably beat the Raiders. So, you know, I I still contend they’re going to be a wildcard team in this division. They’ll be fine. That was this week’s Sunday Night Football brought to you by Uber Eats. When football makes you hungry, get game day deals on Uber Eats. I do every week. The official ondemand delivery partner of the NFL. Order now. I just did. Uh a game that was hard to watch, uh but I watched almost all of it. Detroit 52, Bears 21 outside of Roma Dunay for the Bears. Uh, not much worked. You know, I was, and by the way, the Lions, they go for it. So, not kicking field goals, that’s just who they are. That’s Dan Campbell. So, you got to get over that Bears fan. But I got to tell you, I I I watched that game today and after the first drive, take the first drive out. Last couple of weeks, Bears have looked fine. It’s a timing offense and Caleb Williams does not appear to see the field once he’s off script and it just becomes ad libbing. It’s backyard football. I don’t think this is going to work. I don’t I I this it’s the second week in a row. The first series again, they dial up. They got about 8 to 10 plays. It looks fine. It’s very tight, but how many plays can you script? And then they go off script and he clearly Caleb doesn’t see the field particularly well and then he then he’s flushed out of the pocket. He made six, seven, eight throws today rolling to his right. He just kind of threw it up for grabs. Couple were picked. Uh a couple were caught. But you know I’m I’m I’m looking at my notes here and yeah I just keep writing. They’re ad libbing again. Ad libbing. Uh, I mean, there’s just nothing about it except Roma Dunzi. You’d feel good. By the way, Luther Burton, Missouri. Did he play? Did he suit up? Uh, Loveland, uh, the kid from Michigan, uh, Courtland Loveland or is it Lovelin? Courtland, I forget. Uh, the Michigan the Michigan tight end. He had he had no catches. Zero. So, I mean, like, they have weapons. They’ve drafted good players. They can’t get them the ball. I think this thing could go sideways real fast. You know what I wrote down? I watched two documentaries in the last week, Billy Joel and Charlie Sheen. And and whenever they get married, you could see the divorce coming from a mile away, especially with Charlie. And in this situation, I I’ve been saying it from this doesn’t just speak for quarterbacks in the NFL. You could be a talented player, and Caleb to me is a major question mark, but we have seen Hall of Fame guys get with the wrong coordinator and it not work. Scheme is in basketball. whatever plays you’re running, if I’m a great player, you’re going to make it work and I’m not going anywhere. That’s not the way football works. Then you factor in, like you said, there was a interception he threw today. It was classic USC. He rolls to his right. Hero ball. Throws an awful pick. It leads to a touchdown. I I can’t remember if it was 1414 at the time or 214, but it was one of those plays. They show Ben Johnson getting really mad. That cannot happen, right? Obviously, they’re going to be plays where nothing’s there. The Lions are going to be hard to beat at home. I I like the Lions a lot today in this game, but I didn’t expect to see 50 to 20 or whatever the final score was, but this is a this is a marriage that is not meant to be. Their styles do not mesh up. And we have seen time and time again that these coordinators with quarterbacks when I do not pick you. Here’s the thing with with Bo Knicks who threw a bad second half pick. He he played an excellent first half, but the Yeah, Shawn Peyton is tied to him. That’s his guy. He loved him. Right. There is a like that power of when I draft you, when I believed in you from before you become an NFL player is powerful. That it’s not Ben Johnson took this job maybe intrigued by Caleb, but you see through two weeks his his mannerisms on the sideline with his face and it’s this wasn’t flu’s game. I mean, this was pretty embar It’s not all Caleb’s fault. This was not like I he was worse last week, but this is not this this the Bears are a joke. Colin, you and I have been talking the organization. I wrote down Ryan Polls. Is this is this roster the most overrated roster we’ve heard in that last couple years? Listen, the Lions are missing players from last year and that looked like Georgia playing uh Calpali or something. It was crazy. Yeah. And I it it’s funny. I I remember um before Caleb got drafted um good friend of mine is Steve Kim and I said you know what do you make of jumping in the stands for Caleb Williams with his mom and crying and the fingernail polish and Steve’s not a real judgmental guy and Steve was like don’t love it he go I’m not he goes you know if a guy’s talented he’s talent he goes but he he’s a very emotional player and he goes you know and and Steve has taught me this through the years like quarterback’s one of those positions where you really need somebody that’s even keel and puts out fires. It football is an incredibly emotional game and as your teammates are getting emotional and the coaches are getting emotional, you know, when you’re on Tom Brady loved to celebrate, but in the moment of a game, Tom was very even keel and Caleb’s a very you can see his sideline demeanor. U he plays with a ton of emotion and I he gets really amped up. He also lose I think sometimes Caleb loses confidence when I watch him like his his his um his accuracy is all over the map. So that that feels like a confidence and mechanics issue. And I don’t know. I I just look at it and I think this is a this coach wants a certain quarterback stylistically probably much more like Shawn Payton. um where you can augment the timing game with I mean Bo Nicks and Shawn Bo moves they move the pocket a lot for Bo Knicks as you should but there’s I I sat there today and and my notes are all negative on Chicago. Well, I’m fired up to announce Hard Rock Bet as the volume’s new presenting sponsor. 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But it’s just this guy just kind of knows what he’s doing and he’s a athletic adlib in theory, but he can play in big spots. Caleb when the sometimes there’s pressure and there’s nothing you can do. You got to kind of scramble. There are times where it’s just like he’s just taking off. For years, Mark Sleareth was one of the only guys saying everyone acts like these offensive linemen in Seattle suck. Maybe some of it’s Russell Wilson, right? And remember, he would just run into sacks. And you watch him today. When that head goes down and you just scramble into guys, that is quarterback 101 that the coaches hate, right? Head down and his head goes down and then he moves all the time. like Mahomes, whether he misses or makes the throw, his head’s always up moving around. Jaylen Herz head always, even Kyler, Kyler’s head is up. Now, he scrambles probably sometimes at the wrong time, but his head’s up looking to throw. Caleb just looks in the ground and then it becomes I I this there’s no way this is sustainable. Obviously, you start losing like this, but Ben Johnson’s not going down with the ship with this guy. Why? Because Shawn Peyton will go down with Bo Knicks, right? that Andy Reid will go down with Mahomes. I’m not comparing those two situations, but my point is I’m all in on this guy. You can’t convince me after a couple weeks that Ben Johnson is going to be allin with this guy for 17 games. Listen, it’s not possible. They’re clearly the worst team in there. I mean, the Packers look like a juggernaut. We saw the Lions. Turns out they’re not as bad. Why? Because the Packers are really good. And we’ll see how Minnesota looks tonight, but clearly Minnesota’s just they just beat the Bears. So, I mean, they’re just a better operation. The Bears are in major trouble, Colin. Yeah. And I and I and I there’s a reason in the preeason that Ben Johnson made a point. I mean, remember we came on this podcast and we said he was glowing with Tyson Bean. He’s so smart, man. He’s having a great camp. And about a week later, they signed him to a very big backup contract. I think Caleb gets one more start. And if it’s ugly, can Ben come out and go, “Listen, Caleb’s going to be fine.” You settle that to the media, but he needs a week off. He needs to get some stuff right. We need to figure out a way to get this ship going. I could see one more start. I really could. And then you go to Tyson Bean. I would say you’re crazy. Uh because once you bench him, you’re done. But we just saw last year. Who knows? I mean, Bryce Young is any good or not. I I have my reservations at this point, but Panthers just did it and he was the number one overall pick as well. So, we there’s precedent in the league of like, hey, you can bench a guy, bring him back. What are the Bears going to do? Lose more games? I mean, what what are we talking about at this point? So, yeah, I would say moving forward. Everything’s on the table. And and if you’re Ben Johnson, like you clearly don’t care about feelings. You know, the one thing I didn’t quite realize, he’s wired, you know, he’s not like a loosey goosey offensive coach, you know, like Kevin Oonnell, Shawn McVey, always smiling, like he feels more like a Shanahan son. Like kind of angry, never smiles. Like this this is just it’s way I I I bet against it to jump from the jump. It’s way uglier than I thought. And today was like a referendum, not just on Caleb, the entire organization. I mean, Ryan Poles, the roster. And here’s the other thing. I’ve watched panics. I would make a bet now that he can play. I’ve watched JJ McCarthy to some degree and it helps that he has Kevin Oonnell and Brian Flores, but he’ll be able to play. Bo Knicks can play. Jaden’s a star. Drake May doesn’t have a ton of pocket presence, but again, today he he moves the chains. I don’t think he’s great. I think he needs another year. I mean, that’s what they said about Drake May when he came in. He is unrefined. But it is very possible from what I’ve seen and it’s not close. We’re going to have five hits and one miss and the number one guy is going to be the worst quarterback in the class. I I I think the thing with Caleb Williams Yeah. I mean it’s it’s sure heading that way right now. I mean he’s he’s a disaster. I I don’t care what stats you give me last year. I think when you have that great of an arm and Caleb has a fantastic arm. I think sometimes you and which is human nature maybe you struggle to develop other parts of your game and the touch on his ball to me that’s glaring like he just has no touch on the ball and he’s one of those guys that feels like he really struggles to kind of throw a softball a change up because watching him play did you realize he was this good of an athlete in college like he’s I knew he could scramble around but he moves really well if he had and he’s thick in person when you see him his head, his shoulders. He’s 6 feet tall. He feels when you’re around him like he’s 6’4. He is thick and powerful. And wasn’t that the thing with young Russ Wilson? It’s like, wait, hey, he’s got a huge arm, throws a great deep ball. But Russ had a lot of touch. And maybe it was that was he a second baseman? He had some feel to him. And you watch Caleb like he could not play second base. That ball would be Chuck Knoblock all over the place, right? And that to me is where you get the Ben Johnson stuff is like, well, a huge part of his offense in his entire scheme is touch plays. Look at look at Jared Goth today. A lot of it it’s I mean he threw a couple bombs, but it’s a lot of just get the ball out of your hands, couple steps, throw it across the middle, hit guys in stride. Even if you miss a little bit, throw it behind, give them a catchable ball. Caleb throws some balls that even Randy Moss or, you know, Jerry Rice in their prime would have would have a problem catching. Yeah, he he rolls out a lot. I I think you’re uh the one point you made that I really agree with is that he just puts his head down and he is now a running back. And then I I they’re just it’s just not working. Again, Roma Dun is a very good player, but where’s Luther Burton? This kid from Missouri. I mean, Coloulston Loveland, you know, the tight end from Michigan. Where are they? I mean, it just you’ve got to use I mean, I’m watching all these Bo Nicks is getting everybody touches for the Denver Broncos. Franklin, the Oregon kid, Mims, everybody’s the tight ends. I mean, he’s spraying the ball around. Everybody’s getting touches. I mean, in Chicago, it’s like if you’re the GM, you got to be watching this thinking, bro, these are good players. So, I’m I’m almost interested in watching Tyson Bean. I I I think I offensively I think they actually have some skill and they’re just not they’re not Caleb’s not equipped to get him the ball. Well, look at and I’m sure we’ll talk about this game is the thing that stood out to me. Now whether they got lucky to win the game, we could probably argue all day long. Indianapolis Colts obviously in a perfect world you would get a star quarterback, but if you just get me a point guard that can get me double digit assists even if he can’t score now. And Daniel Jones actually is playing pretty well this year, but he’s get they got good players. Yes, they got three or four wide receivers. They got this top 10 or I guess he was the 15th. He was making plays all day. They have a star running back and you’re watching a guy just distribute and you’re like this team’s pretty physically gifted with on the field positions, right? But you didn’t feel that with Anthony Richardson cuz balls are skipping, he’s running, he’s getting sacked, and Daniel Jones just get it to the get it to the guys. Get it to the guys making plays. They were 10 for 10 in their first 10 possessions this year. And to your point, their roster is excellent. I don’t think Indie’s a great team, but it’s a prime example is they have a good roster and they’re using every player on their roster offensively. Every single one is contributing. Okay, let’s talk Dallas 40, New York Giants 37 in the early window has given us some gems. Uh I mean there were five lead changes in the fourth quarter. Dallas prevails. Um Russell Wilson played brilliantly. had a terrible pick on an alley ball in overtime. Uh Dak had a huge run uh that set up the game-winning field goal. You know, I think my takeaway in this was that until that terrible pick in overtime, I thought both quarterbacks played really, really well. And it did remind me a little bit of old Russ where Russ was good moving, Russ was good on stuff underneath 12 yards and closer, and Russ was good deep. The problem is if he and neighbors is a and wear both good deep receivers. The problem is if he doesn’t have that and you ask him to dissect a defense with seam routes. That’s not what he does. He can move around and he throws a really nice deep ball. Now he had one terrible pick in OT but it did look it it Jackson Dart came in for a play or two, but it did look a little bit like the old Russell Wilson, did it not? It did. Here’s the And listen, I’m not trying to diminish what we witnessed. It was really, it was fun throughout the game. His pick had a little, I would say, uh, reminiscent of like that Favre pick in a playoff game out of nowhere cuz he’s playing a great game and all of a sudden the ball down the middle of the field. The Cowboys defense could just be horrendous. Like, it could be really, really bad cuz it’s not normal to throw go routes over and over. You don’t do that against any other team. A a and I think Olsson pointed this out like there is no disputing in his heyday he was as good of a deep ball go ball airing it out quarterback as we’ve ever seen. I mean definitely of his era he’s the best. I mean you see Mahomes overthrow I mean he throws a beautiful go route and uh it was fun to watch. I I also think that there was a moment that got the Cowboys they have this weapon. I mean the kid didn’t even play college football. He was a Notre Dame soccer player. Oh yeah. Brandon, you’ve been watching football longer than me. When have you ever seen people comfortable kicking 60 plus yard field goals? I mean, that’s this is unheard of. I mean, that would have been good from 70 yards. But the Giants, you know, part of zone defense is you go to spots, right? Yeah. There there’s a point in time in football where it’s like you can’t just drop to your landmark when the game is on the line and Ferguson’s running right down the field. Move over a couple yards and cover them. They just gave Dak Prescott and Ferguson like a 20 yard gain and it put Brent and it’s like this is that’s low-level football and that that play won’t be talked about but you should never allow them and even Olsen’s like why are they playing so far off you’re just giving them they got good skill players. I mean the Giants should have I I can’t even imagine if you’re Brian Dal like if I can’t win this game what game am I gonna win? Yeah. And I and I’ve defended Brian Dable but there were 26 penalties in this game. Uh, I I thought the Giants multiple times had this game won. I I will say this, I was harsh. I, you know, maybe I’m too harsh sometimes, but I, you know, Brian Shottenheimimer had not interviewed for a head coaching job in 14 years. And the people in the league that I talked to, he’s an old school offensive coach. Now, he’s an offensive coach, but he’s very old school. He’s not innovative and creative. He’s not, you know, he’s not like a lot of these guys that we, you know, Liam Cohens or McVey or a Kevin Oonnell, but I will say he is a walkaround coach where he lets his assistants coach. Now, maybe that bites him later, but I got to tell you, when I watch Dak, um, Dak is comfortable. George Pickicket is made an immediate impact. They’re getting the ball to CD Lamb. I think their offensive line’s pay playing pretty well. It definitely is. Yeah, their secondary is not great. I mean, it’s just their defensive personnel isn’t great, but their offensive personnel is okay and they look fairly well coached. They’re I always judge this. Are you getting the ball to the right people? They are. They’re getting the ball to the right players. And, you know, I’ll say this for Dak. I mean, I think his number is 33 of 45, 293 yards. Um, I think, you know, sometimes you have these surgeries and you’re never the same. And sometimes you you have them, they clean stuff up. I think Dax’s got some juice. I think he’s I think he looks really alive and really active. And even though they’re only one and one and could be 0 and2, they went straight up against Philadelphia, played him as close or better than Kansas City, and they won a game they could have lost all those lead changes. I think Dallas, even though they’re just one and one, is one of the surprises of the league so far. They look very competent. Jab has the best audio products in the game at affordable prices. 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Visit jlab.com or find the blue box at a retailer or an airport near you. That’s where I found him. That’s jab.com. I’ll say this. I, you know, George Pickkins for the majority of playoff teams I don’t think they would mess with. like I can’t see Shawn McVey dealing with them. I I can’t see Shawn McDermott dealing with them because there’ll be plays that are there to be made and he just kind of like whatever. Kind of puts his hands up, but then he also makes really good plays once the ball is in his hands. And listen, when you are the Cowboys coach, you don’t pick the players. You have nothing to do with the roster. You just coach the team, right? And they are force-feeding him the ball, you know, and he has added an element to their team that, let’s face it, they didn’t have last year cuz they didn’t have a number two wide receiver. So to go along with CD Lamb, I Ferguson’s a good player. Javvante Williams, uh, he was a hyped guy coming out of college, had that bad knee injury. He’s playing, he just gives them, I mean, they did not have a running back last year. I mean, they had no running back. So you get him, like you said, there if you told me Brian Shottenheimer took over the Bears, like he would be done from the beginning. Like like most guys probably, but some of these he Dak is a professional quarterback. Yes. And if he’s going to be healthy, that is uh you know, it’s it’s a pretty good landing spot. Now, now defensively, I mean, how many games are you going to win? 43 to 40 or whatever the hell the fight. They don’t have a lot. I mean, by the way, they’re going to lose a lot of games cuz they can’t stop a soul. But offensively, which is his side of the ball, they have been really good through two games. I mean, really good. Yeah. And I and I and again, it’s um you know, it’s hard to predict who’s going to work. Half of these coordinators don’t work at all. Liam Cohen today with Jacksonville. Jesus, he’s barking at Trevor Lawrence. Brian Thomas doesn’t want to. He’s shying away from contract. That thing could unravel. It’s It’s Jacksonville. It could unravel by next week. Um, you know, Zack Taylor can’t win in September. Burrow’s hurt again. I mean, there’s a lot of offensive coaches. We don’t know how good they are. So, and a lot of, you know, it’s just very hard in this league to know. We knew Andy Reid was going to succeed when he went to Kansas City. We knew Harbaugh was going to succeed with the Chargers. Dan Quinn felt like, you know, he knows what he’s doing with Cliff Kingsbury. But I with Brian Shottnimer, I gotta be fair about this is I didn’t think it was gonna work. I thought he was over his head. But, you know, here’s the other thing. Dak was good with Jason Garrett. He was good with Mike McCarthy. And Dak is good with Brian Shottenheimr. Dak’s pretty good. Yeah, he is. I I I just think like we just have to embrace he is what he, you know, he’s the seventh, eth, ninth, tenth guy. He’s never going to be a top five quarterback. And if you get him the personnel, a running game, the offensive line, here’s where I’ll give Jerry slash his personnel people credit. Look at the Bears. Like Rome had a good game and I I’d say relative to where he’s been drafted, pretty underwhelming, right? Relative, I think people were hoping he’d be a superstar and we’ll see. But like if you could do that over, they would have taken offensive lineman if you were the Bears. Taking a tackle, the kid from Penn State, right? If they could do it, that’s who you would take. Jerry, they are valuing, you know, they traded Micah Parsons, but they drafted him high. They they draft pass rushers, defensive linemen, offensive linemen. Like they they do have the right philosophical belief on how to build a team, you know. And John, remember when the Lakers traded Shaq, they were going to lose that trade the first two years because Shaq went to Miami, but it was the right decision. Shaq fell apart physically, didn’t practice as hard, so you just had to eat a dirt sandwich for a year. knowing you’d get crushed if you were the Lakers because you traded the much more likable and popular Shaq who went to an excellent organization and won a title. But over a course of the next eight years, Kobe, who was obsessed with practice and games, was the better move. You’re when you traded Micah to Green Bay, you are going to lose for a year. You’re going to lose that trade. But next draft, Dallas could turn those two ones because Dak’s playing at a high level. They don’t need a quarterback. If they end up with an 11th pick, somebody’s moving up for a quarterback and they could get another two, another three, another four. Dallas may be able to and next year’s draft is considered above average. Dallas could restock its entire roster next year. So, yeah, you’re going to lose the mic because Micah is playing for the Packers and it’s a team that just needed Micah. They just needed a playmaker. And so, you’re going to be reminded every Sunday or Monday, God, what were we doing? wait till April and Dallas is going to look really smart. The timing of for Jerry, Jerry should have done it before the draft, but obviously once he did it, he didn’t want to trade him to the Packers. Did you read the story? He tried to trade him to the Jets and they’re like, “Yeah, it was some of the money or whatever.” So, at least Jerry knew. And Philly gave him the best offer, but obviously you can’t trade them to Philly. But Green Bay, were you a little surprised that they were really the only team willing? cuz obviously not shocked at all How Howye and Jeffrey Lur were willing but none of the AFC teams and I understand capwise it’ be a little but if you’re Buffalo I mean I mean imagine if Buffalo had done that. Well Green Bay because if you really look at what Green Bay is they have their quarterback, they have their weapons. They have their interior lineman. They have their tight ends. They have their coach. They have their star back. They’re one of those teams that can give away first round picks the next two years. They really can. I mean, they what they can’t guarantee is that Micah would be available because they’re going to draft deep at the end of the first round. So, Green Bay is like, we can get a guy that would be a lottery pick player. We never get into the lottery pick. We give up a one. So, I think it makes a ton of sense for Green Bay. Dallas needs players. I mean, their defense, I mean, you could go into next year’s draft, which is a good quarterback draft. Dallas first six picks were defense, you’d be like, “Yeah, absolutely.” They if they I mean, you could see them doing that. They they maybe a running back some point in the first five picks, but I think it works for both teams. It’s just going to look bad for Dallas for until April. Well, and one thing watching the Chiefs today who obviously are going to be good on defense and have excellent team speed, you know, Jaylen couldn’t just run around today. And if you’re the Packers, like who are you who are the top couple teams you need to beat? Well, it’s obviously the Eagles. And remember that playoff game against Green Bay or I mean against Philly for Green Bay. Jaylen made some big-time plays with his legs. Now you’re watching their whole defense feels faster with Micah around and obviously Micah speed is you know pretty elite for an edge rusher and he he does feel it’s pretty rare in football like Buffalo are they truly a player away? I feel like on defense they need a couple players like Green Bay looking at it and they kind of feel like they were a player away. truly think the Bills can’t like win the Super Bowl, but I don’t know if they were a player away, so maybe that’s how they justified not making the trade. Green Bay didn’t want to trade Kenny Clark, but the truth is they did and they’re fine. They had they’ve, you know, they just draft well. You go to the last 30 years, they draft well. When’s the last time they missed on a wide receiver, a tight end? They just don’t. Yeah. So, all right. Here’s a game that uh there’s a lot to discuss. Seattle 31, Pittsburgh 17. It looks like Seattle had a dynamic day offensively. They didn’t. Pittsburgh gave them a touchdown. It was 14 and to 14. It felt like for a long stretch. I had the under on this game. I felt great until Caleb Johnson forgot the rules on the kickoff. So, um you know, again, it it this game my my two takeaways before I get to the botched play by the Steelers. They can’t run the ball. It it does feel a lot like the Jets offense. It’s an average offensive line just like New York. They can’t run the ball. They averaged three yards a carry against Seattle. Um Aaron had a couple of picks. He was 18 for 33. One of his receivers made a mistake uh in like the red zone, ran the wrong route. So it it I listened to his post game today and it it sounded a lot like Aaron Rogers with the Jets where he’s playing with some young guys that aren’t up to his speed. And truth is Aaron’s really smart. It’s hard as a young player to be up with him intellectually and cerebrally because Aaron’s playing upstairs another level than most guys like an older Brady. So, you know, my my take is is is I said this before. I think this is one of the ones I’m right on. I said they won’t run the ball because Tomlin can’t figure out the O line. The O line will be maybe better than the Jets, but not great. It’s going to feel like a much more refined, polished well-run version of the Jets. And I I gotta be honest with you, John, that’s what the offense looks like. You said average offensive line. That that feels like a stretch to me. I I might even go below average. And maybe once you start paying all these guys, I would put Cincinnati in the same kind of vein. The offensive line, like the resource you because if you miss on a draft pick, all of a sudden, Aaron, who can’t really move as well anymore. even when he makes his great plays scrambling, it feels like he’s kind of moving in quicksand relative to the guy that we, you know, knew a decade ago when he was younger. Their offensive line’s getting him killed. And to me, the thing is one, how often you going to see 10 points scored in two plays, they kick a field goal, they kick it off, and when he touch Caleb Johnson, who I I was high on. I I liked it. Iowa is clear disaster for them. Disaster. I mean that play I I don’t if you told me next week he’s inactive as of like we we just you talk about a guy that needs a break like what was that he just quit I maybe he doesn’t know the rule which to me would also be on the coach and they have a great special teams coach but that was they got the ball back you know they kick a field goal and it is 24-7 and the defense just needs to get to stop well all you know they’re paying TJ Watt Cam Hayward’s getting a raise they get these two DBs if they’re a defense they’re Pittsburgh Steelers and Seattle goes right down and scores a touchdown. It’s like, well, if you were going to be decent at all this year and be real like, okay, this is finally the year with Aaron Rogers you can win a playoff game. You were going to be a top two or three defense, you know, and the defense right now through two games is nowhere near I mean, Sam Darnold throws a couple picks early in the game. This should be a game that they dominate this team. They Seattle’s got one wide receiver who’s an excellent player, but it’s not like they got some potent offense, you know, in terms of the skill. Seattle. Seattle can only win one way. It’s got to be low scoring. It’s got to be, you know, Sam had an occasional big play. You know, Aaron when he throws the ball to DK Metaf, then he had one of the tight end in the end zone. Aaron still throws that red zone ball as well as anybody in the league. But the question is, how often with this O line and run game are they going to get into the red zone? Aaron Aaron needs certain things, protection. He throws a beautiful ball. Those back shoulder throws, it’s gorgeous. It’s as good as anybody that’s ever thrown it. But I I look at Pittsburgh and between the snafu on the kickoff, the lack of the run game, it’s just it is exactly the Jets, but it’s just a much less chaotic organization. Everybody loves a good MVP story, and the story of Wasabi Technology is is one of the best. 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Wasabi hot cloud storage, proud partner of the volume podcast network. Well, exactly. And isn’t that, you know, Mike Tomlin, this 1520 million coach, they’re going to be, you would just say, hey, they’re going to be buttoned up a well-run operation. even whether they have the high-end talent or not, they’re going to be buttoned up and they’re going to be tough. While I’m watching this team, they don’t physically look as tough as they’ve been in some of his heyday teams. And buttoned up, I mean, they got this rookie out there that doesn’t even know what’s going on. Just hands over seven points in a game that I mean, that was the game right there. I mean, once that play happens, it’s like that that that derailed them, which it would derail any team, but how how can that happen? And you know, the old adage, your coaching allow it to happen. How are you having the kid out there if he’s been that big of a disaster for you to even put him in that situation? I I think some you know their roster may and listen maybe I did I overrated a little bit because they’re forcing obviously they’re putting him out there. He’s their best option. Maybe they’re not as good as you think and you know Aaron Rogers getting peppered you know same I’d say the same thing about Cincinnati. I’m like, I think they could be. Well, if your offensive line is a shiv and can’t block a soul, the NFL, I mean, I don’t you can play average teams, they’re going to have some pass rush, your quarterback’s going to get killed. So, unless you got Lamar Jackson back there, these guys are going to get hit and all of a sudden, is Aaron Rogers at this the way it’s going right now? Is he going to make it 17 games at this age? Got peppered like and and by the way, you know, it’s it’s you know, Aaron had an eye roll moment and then he called out a teammate at the podium after. He was right. But generally, I mean, Bo Nicks could call out three of his teammates today. He they they that kick. They had the game one. Bo Nicks is not going to go to the podium and call people out. But that’s Aaron’s sense of value that he’s just going to do it. So, it it’s feeling to me a lot like the Jets where Aaron’s going to call out teammates. He’s going to have weird body language. There’ll be the occasional eye roll. He’ll be like, “Well, you know, we got some young players.” Listen, go watch the Denver Indie game. Denver made three idiotic Shawn Payeyton and Bo Nick. That’s just part of pro sports. The game is fast. The the rosters are younger than they’ve ever been. So I I listen, Seattle wins one way. It was a nice win for Seattle. I mean, if you if you go into the season and you’re like, “Hey, we go on the road and beat Pittsburgh. I don’t care how good Pittsburgh is.” That’s a big W for them. That feels great. 100%. Totally. Abs. Okay. I I want to talk about this game. It wasn’t uh because I’m never going to do this and not talk Niners. Niners beat New Orleans 26-21. So, I had a couple friends, they’re like, “Why pay Brock Pury?” They’re laughing. Uh M. Jones goes 26 of 39, 380 yards, three TDs, no picks without Brandon Iayuk. Um, excellent on third down. They had 345 total yards. It is, and I think Kevin O’Connell has this. I think McVey to a degree has it. Um, I think Brock Pury moves much better than M. Jones, but as you noted this week in your podcast, Brock Party is hurt again. So, they got a pretty teamfriendly deal with Brock Party. But, but M. Jones, who was, you know, he was done. I mean, the league like had said, “You’re done.” And I looked at him today and John, if I’d have never seen him play to go on the road, he was pretty impressive, was he not? Yeah. early on it was a little uh little bumpy and even he said you know he’s worked on his breathing he was amped up and Trent Williams essentially looked at him said relax buddy we’re going to be okay and and he calmed down but as the game went on he he he played really well Saints defense I I think is pretty bad they’re back seven so you’re not it’s a little like playing a Miami and defensively he’s not very good but Kyle Shanahan like this guy coming out for a reason fits his scheme like you said pretty to me is a much better player but as the game went on much better athlete. Yeah. Yeah. They actually have I’d say pretty slightly better arm, but neither guy has a great arm. McAffrey is healthy right now. He’s making a lot of plays. Ricky Pearaw through two games looks like a player. Like Ricky Pearl is really really good. Jawan Jennings is healthy. He made some plays today. And Kyle Shanahan, here’s what the thing I’ll say about just in general. If you’re backup C, if you have a guy that’s on a big contract for a starting quarterback and you can go on the road whether you’re playing the best team in the league or the worst team in the league and the Saints are not. The Saints actually are better offensively. I think Rattler’s looked okay and off they got He has Spencer looked okay. Yeah. I I would say this, your backup quarterback can win you a game. That is a massive win. He You earn a contract immediately with one win. And if you have to start two or three games and you get me two wins out of three starts, that’s you’re worth 15 20 million. You’re underpaid. So that’s right. Robert Salah, here’s the other thing. They let a lot of guys go and it wasn’t easy for Kyle who cares. And we talk about drafting. When coaches get a big say in the draft room, they look at the depth chart, not at the future five years, cuz Kyle Shanahan’s not thinking about 2028. He’s thinking about week two, 2025. Robert Salah has been an ass kicker so far for him. Bosa looks incredible. Fred Warner looks incredible. Look at the Steelers defense, which has given up 400 plus yards in two weeks. Look at what they pay for their defense. It’s the It’s the most expensive in the league. Look at the names of the Steelers defense. Fred Warner, Bosa, and a lot of Who’s that? And they’ve been excellent. This is also where schedules matter. And when I was when I went to your show in the summer and Edelman came on, he got offended by it. Don’t ever say a schedule’s easy. Well, that’s the Bellich and him talking. Some schedules are easier than others. And going on the road week two at the Saints instead of having to play the Ravens or the Packers is a big deal. And you know, are you winning a game in Green Bay or in Buffalo with M. Jones? No. But when you have an easier schedule and this listen, the Niners, we talk about coach quarterback combination. Just go offensive and defensive play color. Niners are as good as anybody. Kyle Shanahan, Robert Salah, and they had a couple easy games. They take advantage of it. I Seattle wasn’t an easy game by any means, but this game is. They get the Cardinals and they got to do it without Brock Pury. It is, you know, someone came at me in uh in my DMs on Instagram and was like, you know, Party really has only missed a couple games in his career. Well, one major injury he had happened to be in the NFC Championship game. So, they had a ninemonth break. That’s a major injury. So, he’s had a major elbow injury. He obviously has a pretty major injury right now. I mean, if he’s got potentially a missing five or six Yeah, it’s a major injury. These are big injuries. He he missed a game last year being banged up that ultimately my point is like you need him to be available and it is like he’s a smaller player. This injury is a little weird because you didn’t even notice it on like you know the burrow thing like guys get hurt. It’s part of the deal but a lot of times you see it happen on the field. when the 49ers two out of the last three years where they deserve the backup quarterback Sam M. Jones Kyle’s very comfortable in the guy he believes in the guy and and it works because we see some teams last couple years in Miami when Tua goes down they they basically just fold. Yeah. And I I I just think I think we know there’s some really good coaching right now. And I I think San Francisco between Kyle and Salah is a top four team. I think Minnesota’s, the Rams, u Kansas City obviously, but I I I do think you look at what the Steelers are paying for their defense and you look what the NerS have, which is two elite players and then just guys. I mean, Hufunga was a great player that is now a Denver. Not a good player, was a great player, was a pro bowler. All pro. So, all pro. So, it’s um solid. You know, that’s why he quickly got a job. I still think he should deserves a second head coach. If you fail with the Jets, it’s like I don’t even count it, right? I I give him two years. If their defense is good, he’s definitely I mean, he’ll get some interviews. Maybe it’s a little too quick, but he’ll be a head coach again. I mean, it feels like inevitable. Too high level of a guy. Okay. And New England beats Miami 33-27. So, um, first of all, you know, Mike McDaniel and the Dolphins are a cautionary tale. If you pay a B quarterback A+ money, you get into trouble. So, the roster isn’t much. The defense is probably the worst defense in the league. Um, listen, New England needed that uh Antonio Gibson uh return on the kickoff. They found a way to win, and that’s what that’s what New England is now. They they need they need everybody. Uh Raandre Stevenson had a great game for them. The running back who they got I think from Oklahoma years and years ago. He had one of his best games as a pro. Drake May was fine. He’s settling in. I think he’s just a guy that needs another year. I just think of all those guys had more starts. They were more polished. I don’t think Drake May, you know, again, but he’s 19 to 23. You know, he’s not throwing interceptions. So, you know, again, it’s Miami. But I thought overall um time of possession, New England dominated. Um they’re not going to be um Tua had a huge pick which helped seal the win for New England. Awful. Yeah, it was an awful pick. Do you think M Mike McDaniel lasts the season? Football season’s here and if you want to go to an NFL or college football game, Game Time is the place for you. The Game Time app just gives you the advantage back to you, the fans. It’s a hack for unlocking amazing tickets and experiences in a few taps. I love it. Easy to use. The Game Time guarantee means you can trust you’ll get a 100% authentic tickets on time and at the best price, 100%. So, they even let you preview your seat on the app. That’s special. Plus, fees are always included. So, what you see is what you pay every time. Take the guesswork out of buying professional football tickets with Game Time. Just download the Game Time app. Create an account. If you use the code Colin Cin, 20 bucks off your first purchase. Terms apply. Again, create an account. Redeem code lin 20 bucks off. Swipe tap ticket. Go download the Game Time app today. You know, I I think they deserve some credit today. They had a little more fight and spunk in them. I I think most people would have bet on this game to be like a 23-3 just beating of just the team quitting and they definitely did not quit. I I think you’re a pretty easy grader, you know, B for Tua. I I I might go like C++. He could have BB+ games, but I’d say over the course of the season because the moment the weather turns, he just kind of falls apart and whenever they have to leave Miami, if he’s turning the ball over, he’s just he’s probably like a C minus player. Uh I just think they got, you know, they they went all in on the Tyreek Hill thing and he had historic year for him a couple years ago, but this thing, all the off the- field noise, he’s not near the same player. It’s so Miami. It’s all sizzle. Yes. I mean, they draft Waddle six overall. Again, Wadd’s a good player, but can you imagine Jim Harbaugh drafting a small quick wide receiver number six overall when you have Tyreek Hill? Or did they draft Did they draft Wadd pre or post Hill? I think they had traded for I I’d have to look. It might have been a year before or it might have been the same year they traded for him earlier in March. I regardless, I mean, it’s like that is not the way good teams build their squad. I mean, the Chiefs got Tyreek Hill and now granted there was because off the field, but in the fifth round, I got if you’re going to take wide receivers that high, he better be Julio Jones sizewise, physicality. And here here’s where I overvalued New England, a win’s a win, especially on the road. Their their roster is not as good. Like their schedule, it’s why I bought into their schedule, but like their teams, you know, Chris is pretty important to them and he’s kind of has some durability questions early on his career for sure. Yeah. I mean, a lot of this is in this league is juice. Like, I mean, when you watch the Rams, uh, Devonte Adams today. Oh, okay. He and Stafford are playing now. It’s Kairen Williams, Devonte Adams, Puka Nakua, Jared Verse. The Rams have five or six players. You’re like, “Oh, they’ve got juice. They’ve got guys.” New England just doesn’t have enough. Again, Stevenson had a great game. Gibson, tremendous game. But I I think I probably I was like you. I looked at the schedule. I didn’t I thought the Dolphins were circling the drain. Jets are the Jets and I just looked around the league and I just thought I don’t trust anybody. The Indianapolis Colts are absolutely better than I thought and New England is not as good as I thought today. Yeah. To me, if you had to say there’s one playoff spot, who would you bet on Indie or New England as like a seven seed? It’d be a hesitate. Honestly, Indie like they can win that division, right? I mean, they they have a lot of offensive talent if Daniel Jones is going to play. Let’s talk about part of being a dome team is like he’s not playing outdoors in a lot of these games. So their team speed was evident today against one of the fastest defenses in the league. Yeah. Colts beat Denver 3128. They get a doover, a mulligan on the kick at the end of the game because of a penalty by Denver. And I I gotta be honest, the Daniel Jones resurrection, again, he’s mostly a distributor, but he’s a big guy. He can take a pounding. Give him credit. He can take a hit. He’s a big, strong kid. He moves pretty well. And you know, and I like Brian Dable, but Shane Stike, and maybe it’s just because, to your point, Colts have a better roster. I mean, Chris Bouter, I I texted him this summer. I’m like, nobody wants to admit this, but I’m like, you have good players. Like, I mean, Jonathan Taylor’s a top five back. Warren today, he made, oh my god, he made Bronco linebackers. I mean, he was cutting back and he’s very good after the catch for a tight end, but Denver really struggled when he got the ball in space. And again, they have Pitman, Pierce, um, I mean, they they’re good. I mean, Indy’s got good players. They’re not a great team because Jones isn’t a great quarterback, but to to drop 31 against Denver, a hyperaggressive team with the best corner in the league and that led the NFL in sacks and probably will again, my takeaway today was I made a mistake. Indy’s better than I thought. Yeah. I mean, we have an example. To me, his comp coming out of Duke was Alex Smith and we saw Alex Smith. Those guys aren’t physically gifted enough. if it gets weird, if someone doesn’t believe in him, it can look really, really bad because their floor is really, really low. But if they get in the right spot, Alex got with Harbaugh, then he got with Andy Reid, and it wasn’t debatable. Like, he’s just a good player. Now, how good, no one’s comparing him to the top guys, but you can win double digit games and make the playoffs with this player. And you could argue that Daniel, even relative to Alex, maybe a and Alex was older when he resurrected his career, it felt like, than uh than Daniel is right now, feels like Daniel’s a little bit more explosive as a runner, maybe a little bit better arm. And you’re watching he’s a little bigger. He looks bigger for sure. Yeah, Alex was felt a little slender. Alex was tall as well, but you watch Daniel Runn, you know, breaking tackles, falling forward. So, I’m just They’re skilled guys. I mean, Pitman’s a really good player. Physical, over the middle guy. Warren’s a star. I think sometimes in the draft and some teams just if they they abide by these rules and you’re going to miss sometimes, but let’s use the Bears. They like Lovelin more because he was a more explosive athlete, a little twitchier. Well, I think sometimes we overrate the testing because Warren when he tests is not going to test as well as Lovelin. But if you watch Warren, let’s say against USC last year, you’re like, “This guy is just a freak.” 17 catches. Yeah. Yeah. And then you watch him today. Well, that’s as fast of a defense as they’re in the NFL. And he’s juking guys. He’s running by guys. He’s just a You can’t fake just being a good player, right? Charles Barkley had no business at 6’4 being as but he’s just an instinctive. He’s natural. He’s a great rebounder. Well, he’s not 7 feet tall, but he’d get rebound over guys that were 6’10 because he was instinctive. You watch Warren, like that’s elite football instincts. So, what do they do? They get him the ball in space and just let the guy make plays. And this is where Shane Styen, his value comes in. Like I knew Bone Knicks was going to bounce back today. I’m like, “Well, Shawn Peyton, they’re not going to let a game.” Now, he had a pick that kind of killed him at the end. A terrible pick. Bad. And I I I I expected Denver to win that game, you know, to start. I I had money on Denver, but I I was I Bo Knicks bounced back, showed some Yes, Denver has a lot of speed. Like if you just compare them to uh to Kansas City on offense, they got a ton of playmakers. Well, I mean Franklin, kid from Oregon, Mims, Courtland Sutton, um their tight end, multiple running backs, Harvey, JK Dobbins. No, Denver’s personnel is strong. Um yeah, that that Bo had a really bad pick. He’s an intense kid. He and Shawn were barking at each other again late in the game. But I think Denver I I feel very confident saying this. They’re a playoff team. I think they’ll Oh, yeah. I I I still think they can win the division. I was a little surprised at the end of the game that Stiken was very conservative. You know, he doesn’t have Brandon Audrey kicking field goals. I mean, the guy wasn’t even close. Thought he’d be a little aggressive. His offense had been good. This wasn’t a seven tie game. This was a highscoring explosive plays. Had been playing well. He got very lucky. He he played for I don’t I don’t know how long the field 58 yard field goal. What what the ball travel 46 yards I mean barely even got to the white on the back of the end zone. He got obviously that rule you can’t jump over the snapper. Whatever. But I I don’t know. I mean I I thought got bailed out for bad coaching right there when he had coached a great game. Same. Yeah. I I was the same way when they just kept running the ball into the line. And by the by by the way by the second one on third down Denver sniffed it out. Denver’s like put eight guys in the box. And I’m like coach you don’t have a kicker that’s going to hit a 59yd kick. And Sean had no timeouts. He had them on the ropes. He’s got he’s got bigbodied skill guys when War and Pitman like it’s not like you got a bunch of tiny little Ty Hiltons out there. Like you could just run five yard curls and just move the you don’t have to even throw the ball down the field. But they they got lucky to win that game was that’s one for I don’t know Denver that’s a that’s you’re going to lose some sleep over that loss. That’s a bad flight home. That’s one of those throws three t three touchdowns in the first half. You’re like god are they just going to are they going to win this game by double digit points? I mean you were you were up uh 2820 I think 2823 late. I mean the game was really yours and and you were driving. Um your guy missed a field goal right bouncing the uprights that killed him. Yeah. I mean that that that that that is as tough a loss. I mean that’s why you know Jimmy Johnson always says man nothing’s going to kill you more than than players that aren’t good above the shoulders they just made and JK Dobbins a smart guy but I mean he spiked the ball and it’s like it was only a small penalty but it’s like guys get it under when you’re on the road you have to be more buttoned up emotionally cuz they’re going to call stuff on the road they’re not going to call when you’re at home. Okay. Rams 33, Titans 19. Uh Jared Verse, uh uh and Byron Young wreaked havoc against Tennessee Titans tackles. They have a very good offensive line coach, but this was a classic game. Devonte Adams emerged with six catches, a touchdown, 106 yards. Puka was great. Kiron Williams was great. As we said earlier, the Rams have about six or seven guys. Brandon Frisk is one of these guys uh vers and young today. They got about six guys in their prime. If Devonte Adams, it gives you this going forward. Puka had eight catches, 11 and a half per catch. Devonte had six catches for over a 100red yards. And I was watching him today. I thought this was going to be a close game. And Cam Ward got sacked five times. It just again everything was speeding up for Cam Ward. Um, I thought he looked a little bit more poised against Denver than he did at home against the Rams, but Green Bay is the best team I’ve seen and Philadelphia is second. Could I argue that the Rams are the third best team in the league? Uh, league would be strong, but I I’m with you. This was a very impressive win. You had the Titans in the Blazing Five, didn’t you? I I thought the Titans were five and a half at home. I thought it was a and and Rams don’t score a lot. When Devonte Adams emerged, I’m like, “Okay, this is this is significant.” I love the Titans in this spot, and I’ll never gamble on them again. I promise you that. Uh that 10 a.m. kickoff for these, you know, for the Niners and the Rams today, that’s difficult on your body clock. These guys, that’s one of the reasons I bet Tennessee. It’s I I don’t care if you’re playing the Titans and the Saints. That That’s tough kickoff moments. You’re eating you’re eating like a pregame meal weight, you know, just it throws off the Rams flipped a switch I thought in the middle of this game. It was like we’re not even you guys are not on our level. And I’m with you. I thought Cam Ward kind of freelanced a little bit more today. Does make some he had one touchdown pass across his body that was called back that was pretty awesome. But it’s like that’s you can’t really function and win like that. But Devonte Adams a really good player now. Is he in his heyday? What he was with uh with Aaron Rogers at this point? No. But you’ve said this and it was pretty clear they thought it was a big upgrade over Cooper Cup. And Devonte brings them they got two wide receivers they can depend on. If Stafford I listen I I didn’t know because he would been banged up. I said hey back issue 37 years old but he has looked pretty good. I mean he is making some throws so far this season. You’re like holy. If it they want they would sign up for the playoffs to start right now cuz their guys healthy and they could beat anyone. So, I’m with you. Now, over the course of the next three months, is that back issue just gone? Is he getting weekly shots? Because if he’s healthy, here’s where I will agree with you. They can beat anything in the league and and they can play on the road or at home against anybody. Yep. To me, it all comes down like they have the pieces. It’s him. We saw them last year were the only team that gave the Eagles any sense of a push down the stretch of the season in the playoffs. But is does he look like he has the first couple weeks making some of these throws in December and January? cuz if he does, then they can win the Super Bowl. If he doesn’t, which I and I think it’s fair to question. I mean, he just missed all of training camp because his back’s funky. And at any moment, that’s one of those injuries that you just never know. And that’s the same thing like with these guys with turf toes. These aren’t like a rolled ankle, you know, you’re going to get a couple weeks or I break a leg, I know it’s six weeks. Like the back thing, it’s like, yeah, I could be good for a month. You meet people old and young, all of a sudden it comes back. It’s like I can’t even get out of bed. So, it to me, and I’ve said it from the beginning, it all ride. He’s out. I’m out on them. I know McVey likes Jimmy. If he’s in and he’s playing well, he’s just healthy. I believe in them against any or or I give them a shot against any I don’t care who they’re playing, Green Bay included. So, I want to end with this is that um you know, a lot of times people think injuries are just bad luck and I think for quarterbacks they’re not. I think there’s reasons Joe Burrow keeps getting hurt. He’s not terribly thick. The Bengals owner is cheap. They don’t have great offensive lines. There’s a reason he keeps getting banged up. Is that Joe Burrow, I think you can say it now, is a little injury-prone. Brock Pur’s a little injuryprone. But when Justin Fields, so Buffalo blew out the Jets. It wasn’t competitive. There’s no reason to spend any time talking about it. for Justin Fields who is a big strong athlete. If he walked into a room, any room you’re standing in, you’d be like, “Who’s that dude? He is a pro alete.” He’s hurt again. And I think I really I thought a lot about when he got hurt today, and I thought that is the value. One of the things Bo Nicks does really well for a young quarterback, I mean, he changes plays at the line of scrimmage a lot. Now, he had 61 college starts, but he did it today against Indie twice. He went up there and he just changed the total play. He moved everybody out. And I’m like, “Okay, that’s that’s pre- snap stuff.” He saw something he didn’t like and he moved into it. And in in one of the instances, he got rid of the ball much more quickly. And that with with Justin Fields and and some quarterbacks to get hurt. When he got hurt again today, I kept thinking he’s too big, strong, fast, and nimble to keep getting hurt. If I say Justin Fields and you had to guess, you would say he’s had four different injuries, would you not? It feels like he’s been banged up a lot in his career. And I’m watching that today and I’m like, God, how does he gets banged up a lot and again, the game’s not I mean, Buffalo is going to win that division for as long as they want. They’re just going to if if you told me Buffalo wins 10 straight AFC starting today, they probably will. But I think some of these young quarterbacks, the value of pre- snap is that you get rid of the ball. The value of judgment is you don’t get hit. I don’t think it’s just happen stance that that by the way Brady didn’t get hit a lot or Eli never missed starts. I don’t think it’s all luck or bad luck, John. Well, I will say this about Fields. I honestly after two series my TV situ I turned that game off. I mean it’s like this thing I was shocked it was 30 to 10 or three or whatever the final score was. The Bills could have scored every single drive they wanted to. That it’s not even a fair fight. I’m with you. They are going to win. They are the new Patriots in that division. They’ve won, I think, four or five straight years. They’re going to win that 12 straight years if Josh Allen’s healthy. Fields turns into a running back and that’s his one of his great skills is with the ball in his hands as a playmaker. Like he’s as talented as most guys in the NFL. So, he takes shots. And I think when you look at Lamar when you watch him play, like he’ll just plop down. He just gets down. He doesn’t take these big shots. He didn’t his first year. First year Lamar took some heat. He took shots, gotten way better at that. I’d say Kyler has improved realizing like I got to be careful. But these are some of the great athletes. They don’t have the muscle that you know Fields is definitely thicker than those two guys. Obviously bigger and Kyler. To me, the Burrow thing like signing Justin Fields, I know he had an all-time great game against the Pittsburgh Steelers. Turns out Pittsburgh might just be terrible on defense. Like Justin Fields kind of is what he is. the Burl thing when you don’t invest in your offensive line and have a poor offensive line especially with a guy like Burl he’s a sitting duck he’s going to get injured and it does feel it doesn’t parallel each other exactly but the Andrew Luck situation their greatest attribute is they are willing to stay in that pocket a little bit extra and throw it Philip Rivers all those guys were so big I’ve said this forever when I first got into the NFL and even after started going to these games like Raider games when I was working in radio every quarter back that came out. Carson Palmer, the Mannings, they were they look like NBA players, small forwards. They were huge. Yes. You know, remember I remember we did the Fox thing and Carson was there and I was like I I didn’t realize how big Carson Palmer was. I went to a party at Hugh Hefner’s the late Hugh Hefner. It was LACC and and Payton was there among a million. There was a million people there and there I think Donovan McNav. It was just a party in LA and it was it was nothing. It was a I mean I got in that that tells you it was in the middle of the day and Pton Manning was the biggest guy there by and I’m 6’2 Buck nine Payton I look like his little tiny brother so like but I just when I we have smaller quarterbacks and and it’s a more athletic position but there is I don’t think all injuries are bad luck. I think there’s usually circumstances that provide a a path to why you’re getting hurt. Yeah. And I I I just don’t think the Joe Burrow thing sustainable. I mean, you can’t get banged up this consistently cuz you’re getting peppered constantly. And maybe some of it’s on him, you know, holds that ball a little bit extra longer. The organization is we talk about a marriage just destined to fail. This situation is just going to get ugly because we know how stubborn Mike Brown is. Uh I I I’ll say this, I know he threw some interceptions today. When Jake Browning was in college and I had followed him, he was a Fulsome high quarterback in South Carolina. I followed every snap at Washington. I wouldn’t have bet that he made it through one training camp without just being cut and maybe not even make it through OTAAS. He’s all He’s a capable player. Like I I I I that individual, that human being deserves a ton of credit. I I would have bet thousands of dollars that he wouldn’t make it more than one season, even on like practice squads, Colin. And he’s going to have what do you think a 14-year career when it’s all said and done just as a backup playing in the league forever. And today the game-winning touchdown as like the Drew Brees moment. I mean, what a cool I I’m blown away by that guy. Jordan Palmer texted me once because I was saying, “Jake Browning doesn’t have an arm. He’s not an NFL quarterback. He’s small. He has He’s He’s got like a CFL arm.” Jordan Palmer goes, “You’re wrong. Watch this guy.” The next week, he just flies through the NFL. And again, I think when you’re a little smaller and don’t have a big arm, you have to be better pre- snap. You have to be better with accuracy. So I think I think all of us know that, right? Like if you weren’t the best looking guy and you wanted to date pretty girls, you had to be funnier. Like everybody knows what they could Yeah. I mean just that’s the reality for everybody. And so I think when you’re a great athlete like a Justin Fields or a Caleb and I don’t think it’s necessarily intentional, but you know, you’ve been able to run in high school and college and sometimes in the NFL and pick up first downs. It’s like, you know, do you spend that extra 45 minutes every day on film room, that tedious film room stuff, which you’ve already looked at eight times, but Drew Brees will look at it 9, 10, 11, 12 times because he’s smaller, without a big arm, and he he’s aging. And I think it’s just the reality of this sport is that when guys get hurt, there’s usually a reason. I think the best example in the NFL of a guy who knows his game better than anyone is Jared Goff. He knows exactly what he does not have and he will hit the ground. He will throw the ball away. Obviously, he can have games where he looks really bad. But there’s a reason that guy is going to make $450 million and throw a ton of touchdowns when it’s all said and done because you watch him today. He’s got to be one of the slowest, if not the slowest quarterback in the league. He doesn’t have some enormous arm, but that guy, you know, even Dak, who’s a good Dak’s a much better athlete. I mean, not even close. Yeah, this version of Dak now has a shattered ankle and a ripped hammy and he could run circles around Jared just moving. So what Jared is able to do, and this gets back to the Caleb thing, why would Caleb know how to check it down? When the hell’s he ever checked it down in college or the pro or in high school? No chance. So now they’re trying to teach him that. It’s not even that shocking that he doesn’t listen. He’s like, “Why would I do that? I can make all the throws.” The problem is the the go routes and the bombs. That’s not how the NFL really works. Pton Manning and Tom Brady made a living throwing out routes. Yeah. I mean, even Josh Allen, um I I when I watch Josh Allen, I don’t see me I don’t see him change the play at the line of scrimmage a lot. And I don’t and I and I always think to myself, well, he probably tells himself, I’ll just make it work. You know, I’ll just I don’t I don’t think of Josh Allen as a guy that’s moving traffic and hey, barking and I’m ch But I saw Bone Knicks to Bix is small. He doesn’t have a huge arm. He’s more athletic than you think. But I do think, you know, people men know what they’re good at. Uh unless they’re weirdly uh delusional, but most pro aletes aren’t. But um it was a it was a hell of a day. I I I went two and three on my Blazing Five picks and God, Denver hurt. That one hurt. Yeah. Badly. really quick before you get out of here just because uh I I know you’re passionate about USC but their uh cross town rival UCLA who fired Foster. Can can we just admit in the NIL era that and I grew up in Davis where UC Davis who used to be a football power Chris Peterson played there bunch of coaches but UC Davis and UCLA aren’t that much different in 2025 when it comes to NIL and UCLA honestly the only reason they’re in the Big 10 is cuz USC needed a partner to bring uh but their program is much closer to being and the way they think about football right is the Big Sky program than it is Ohio State Michigan and Oregon when I knew Washington, Oregon, and USC would be just fine in the Big 10. They’d be fine. And they are and they are. I said it when it happened to UCLA. The good news for UCLA is they’ll get Wisconsin, Nebraska, Ohio State in LA, and it’ll fill their stadium, but they have no money. And it’s ironic because the campus is in Bair. So, it’s probably the nicest campus I’ve ever nicest college campus. PaloAlto and Stanford’s pretty damn. I’d say Stanford and them are 1A and 1A, you know, in the country. So, I mean, it’s just surrounded by wealth, but they just they have no money. Now, the basketball program, which is really the pride, uh, you know, Paulie in the basketball and John Wooden and the history, they get about $4 million a year, I think, in NIL, and that’s if four million for basketball and you can you can be an elite 8 team every year. Uh, so the UCLA has, you know, Pauly, they redid it. It’s a great basketball college basketball place. I love their arena. I think it’s fantastic. It’s got a great sense of history and it’s current. But that football program is dead. It doesn’t matter who you hire. There’s no money for NIL. They don’t have a Phil Knight. You know what’s funny is it’s an international university. They’ve probably got some of the wealthiest graduates ever, but none of them care about football. They are it’s a I I was told when they joined the Big 10, they were last or next to last in football. NIL USC just built a $300 million football program. Their NIL’s $18 million a year and they’re paying Lincoln Riley another 80 million. That staff is expensive. USC is private. Um they don’t have to announce what they pay. Whereas UCLA is public and those salaries for football coaches get listed. And so it’s it’s always been a program that, you know, is is kind of fighting an uphill battle where Washington football matters, Oregon’s got Phil Knight, but they it’s just not it’s done. NIL feels like it just killed UCLA football, which is sad because when I was a kid in the late 90s, UCLA was really good. My cousin was a walk-on there, I think in 2001, and he’s like, “At the time when I went there, we were better than USC.” And then Pete came and obviously changed, but UCLA football used to get Terry Donahghue and now I don’t think a player I mean they would be more likely to go to like Fresno State or San Diego UCLA. You you watch them against New Mexico and I only watched a couple series cuz the game was such a joke. It was like is this is this really h am I witnessing this? It should have been worse. I mean New Mexico got into like a a red zone area twice and didn’t get points. I watched some of it. They It should have been worse. When I see these lists, I don’t want I know we got to watch Sunday night game of some of these potential coaches. Well, the some of these coordinators at these big schools are making a couple million dollars. You think UCLA is going to spend $78 million on a head coach? They want they want to pay two or three million. Deshawn Foster was probably making 325 and the coordinators are making six. Yeah. In LA, that’s what Dan Lanning pays his offensive and defensive coordinators, you know. So, what I I just I just think it’s sad. It’s just sad. But it’s th this is not going to change like it’s going to get worse before it gets better. John Middleoff, our Sunday pod. Good seeing you buddy. See you Colin. [Music]
Colin Cowherd is joined by “3 & Out” host John Middlekauff to react to Week 2 in the NFL. They start with the Super Bowl rematch between the Philadelphia Eagles & Kansas City Chiefs. Next they move on to discuss Caleb Williams in the Bears loss to the Detroit Lions. The Dallas Cowboys get their first win of the year in overtime vs the New York Giants while Aaron Rodgers & the Pittsburgh Steelers get their first loss vs the Seattle Seahawks. The guys talk about Mac Jones filling in for Brock Purdy in the 49ers win vs Saints. They also hit Patriots-Dolphins, Broncos-Colts & Rams-Titans. Lastly they hit Joe Burrow & Justin Fields injuries and end on the struggle of UCLA football.
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TIMELINE
0:00:00 Eagles-Chiefs
0:06:18 Bears-Lions
0:21:15 Giants-Cowboys
0:34:08 Seahawks-Steelers
0:41:35 49ers-Saints
0:47:26 Patriots-Dolphins
0:51:55 Broncos-Colts
0:58:55 Rams-Titans
1:02:48 Joe Burrow & Justin Fields Injury
1:11:34 UCLA Football
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30 comments
HARD Rock Bet a Fraud. You can't get hold of any human being.
No one talking about bad Hurts was? The medias honeymoon with Hurts is going to come to an abrupt end over the next few weeks.
for me the Detroit game was great to watch, because , man, they had me worried
It’s like the Giants thought they was up by four points with a bunch of idiots
Uber eats is a trash scam company.
Screwed me over before. Never use their service.
Best analysis in the game. Colin is absolutely obsessed with Bo Nix though I think he just likes saying his name lol
Re: Joe Burrow: I remember the play when Deion Sanders experienced an inevitably career ending turf-toe injury,
Burrows’ looked worse.
Daniel Jones looks a lot like Hurts did in ‘22 and Jalen Hurts looks a lot like Daniel’s did last year
Brock might play this week. what are you guys smoking on?
Acting like the chiefs game wasn’t close where if Travis keeps hold of the ball they had a legit chance to win is pretty a wrong take
Tyson Bagent will come in and get it done for Ben Johnson. The Dallas Cowboys take their newly added draft capital and they trade for Caleb Williams this off-season. Mark it down💯💯💯
Show some respect "the dude" its Mukuba! Read it learn it get it memorized! He had a hell of a game
Apart from the INT, Caleb played well. Ben Johnson had a stinker. The narrative around Caleb is weird. You have a guy who has had 3 different coaches and OC in a year and still post numbers above what's expected of a rookie. You have people like Colin pushing for clicks and likes last week calling out Caleb, meanwhile the likes of Kurt Warner broke down the tape and pointed out that Caleb played really well, but that doesn't generate headlines
Caleb would be better in an RPO. A timing based offense that worked for Goff is a horrible choice for Caleb.
If the bears GM had any sense Kirk for Caleb when? 0-4 is too late in that division
Waddle b4 Hill
Bears allowed 52 points and all were doing is blaming the Quarterback?
People keep saying Caleb don’t play on time. That’s not the worst issue he is very inaccurate and doesn’t throw the ball away he chucks and hero balls when play is dead
If you watched the Cowboys, after the game today, you saw a team that just won the Super Bowl against one of the worst teams in the league. It's just week two, and they know they're in big trouble this season, lol…
Bears defensive roster is defly overrated. But they have a load of weapons on offense
Any top 15 qb would excel on the Eagles.Hurts is their worst player. STOP the narrative
Everyone with a platform always has to say they don’t care that Caleb paints his nails. It is the politically correct thing to say. It would be perfectly fine if Caleb was Harry Styles. It really wouldn’t make any difference. But Caleb is supposed to be a leader of men. Not a boy band. While obviously none of the players will say anything publicly what impression does that give to offensive linemen, DE or TEs? It doesn’t scream I’m going over the top with you. If Caleb was a WR then it really wouldn’t matter but QB1 for a struggling franchise heading off to the nail salon? Come on. The Bears on field rot starts with Caleb. He sets the standard and the standard is SOFT.
Ben made rookie mistakes too, now I do believe he will work, but when people say Ben didn’t draft Caleb he’s not his guy, I hate to tell y’all that in this situation it’s worse because Ben came to Chicago to coach Caleb up… Caleb is absolutely his guy which in this case is worse then if he had drafted him…
Take shot every time Bo Nix come up! I mean come on we comparing QBs to Bo nix now 😂 he’s okey but let’s chill on make in him as the example
Jesus man this video is 96% ads
Lol, I "liked" several comments anout the ads, when making a comment about the Cowboys. Then I started watching again, and turned it off 2min later when another Colin ad came on mearing the halfway point of the video.
This makes tv/radio seam ad free…
Did we watched the same game. Eagls were pathetic. They had a bunch of foul starts, immense luck with 87 drop and a prayer to Devonte Smith. KC was offensively really pathetic, but the eagles are bad
frequency of ads reminds me of actual game, 60 minute game takes 3+ hours
As a Bruin Alum it really hurts seeing the football program fall apart so quickly. Felt like they were turning the corner at the end of DTRs run and then having 5 star Dante Moore playing as a true freshman in 2023, but we were a solid qb away from competing. Now we’re nothing but a qb. Thank God we’re great in other sports, but man seeing this team get bulldozed at the Rose Bowl hurts. I was a part of the Den and those guys deserve such a better team for all the work they put into setting up the Rose Bowl for giveaways and game day traditions. Hope the program can find a pulse soon and at the very least go bowling again
Everyone complaining about ads, maybe its cos im in Ireland but i dont have premium and there was 2 ads the whole time