NFL WEEK 6 REACTIONS: Chiefs #1? Baker Mayfield MVP? Rodgers & Steelers | THE HERD w/ Colin Cowherd

Colin Cowherd reacts to Week 6 in the NFL. He starts with the Sunday Night Football matchup of Jared Goff’s Detroit Lions vs. the Kansas City Chiefs. Does this win mean Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs are back to being the best team in the NFL? Next Colin discusses why Tampa Bay Buccaneers QB Baker Mayfield could be the NFL’s MVP this year. Then Colin and Jason McIntyre discuss the biggest takeaways from Week 6. Finally Colin is joined by Matt Hasselbeck to make predictions for the rest of the NFL season.

0:00 Lions-Chiefs
4:35 Baker Mayfield
9:32 Chargers
12:36 NFL News
20:41 Aaron Rodgers & Steelers
25:24 Dak Prescott
31:26 James Franklin
36:00 Matt Hasselbeck

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#kansascitychiefs #bakermayfield #detroitlions

Welcome to the Herd’s official YouTube channel. Make sure to like and subscribe. Don’t forget to check out the Colin Coward podcast, all of our NFL instant reactions, and more football content. Here we go. Hour number one. I’m not sure we can get all this show into the next three hours. We are live. We are in Chicago. And it is the herd. One hour from now where Colin was right. where Colin was wrong. Um, I don’t think we should waste any time. Everybody’s worst nightmare is now official. The Kansas City Chiefs, once again, are the best team in professional football. First three weeks, Momes was wobbly. They were averaging 20 points a game and in their last three games they’re now averaging 32 points along with that defense and along with those special teams. Sorry NFL, they did it again. Kansas City, only Andy Reid and Patrick Mahomes, they’re the only people in this league that can take number two and number three wide receivers. They can take Hollywood Brown and Guju Smith Schustster and backup left tackles and okay running backs and get into the 30s. Xavier Worthy with any other team would he be this good? All they do is make it work. Andy Reid is the great chef. He’s the Gordon Ramsay. Everything in the kitchen has a role. Let’s just keep tinkering. Let’s keep figuring out a way to make everything work. put it into our ecosystem and let’s make it flourish. By the way, this is what Kansas City does every year. When you get into these big games, they play differently. No penalties, no turnovers, one punt. Whine all you want about the penalties. Well coached teams, Bellich and Brady did this for years. They don’t turn it over and they don’t get penalized and they don’t pump much. The NFL seasons are incredibly long. You can’t overreact to 0 and2 or three and three. Again, get people healthy. Make everybody count in the kitchen. Three weeks ago when they beat Baltimore, everybody said, “Well, the Ravens are beat up.” Yeah, right now. So is Tampa. So is San Francisco. A lot of teams in the NFL are beat up. Doesn’t matter with this defense, this play calling. People get distracted. The NBA is about talent and appeasing the star. The NFL is about the O line, the defensive coordinator, about the entire system, and it’s about the culture. This is a locker room of 53 guys, not five that really, really, truly matter. And here’s Kansas City. They keep tweaking, add a little salt, make everything in the kitchen work. Prime example last night when their offensive line, the first couple of weeks, offensive line, it was it was messy. It was not very good. They had no running game. O line was bad. Last night, despite the Detroit Lions having a 10-minute opening drive, Kansas City one time a possession with this offensive line that was a bit chaotic and a bit messy five weeks ago. And I know you don’t want to hear it, but Rasheed Rice is coming back. The receiving core now. All right. Worthy is a two. Juju Smith Shuster’s a three. Hollywood Brown is a gadget four. Oh, that’s a And with Mahomes and Reed pulling the levers, that is a way above average receiving court. Travis Kelce again in a big spot. He arrives. So, this is what Kansas City does. First three weeks, very choppy. Last three games, 32 a game. And Detroit’s a really good team, but they were so focused last night. Here’s Patrick Mahomes on being the youngest quarterback to ever get to 300 touchdown passes. It’s extremely cool. I mean, I’ I’ve been blessed. I always say it and I mean it. Like, I’ve been blessed. I got drafted here in Kansas City. A great community, great ownership. Um, and then getting one of the best football coaches of all time and some of the greatest players of all time around me. And so, makes my job a lot easier when I’m able to throw to some great ones. And, um, let’s let’s keep let’s continue it. Let’s have some fun. And, uh, we got a long career ahead and we’ll see how many we can get to. That’s the best team in the NFL right now. Kansas City Chiefs, one punt, no turnovers, no penalties, dominating an excellent Detroit Lions team. Okay, so the last couple of weeks, Baker Mayfield, has had to go on the road out west. Seattle, San Francisco, good teams. And in both games, Baker Mayfield was the difference. He’s missing Mike Evans and Chris Godwin and Bucky Irving. Amecha Ibuka got hurt in the game. Baker willed his team to a W. As you guys all know, this league is about toughness and resilience. Don’t be a victim. Deal with it. Baker’s not the biggest. He’s only 6’1. He’s not the most athletic, but his fight picking up that first down on the run is A++. The dude was missing his top four receivers. Instead, he needed Tez Johnson, heck of a catch, and Cameron Johnson, who was an undrafted D2 athlete. That was his receiving core. And both caught their first career NFL touchdowns. Baker Mayfield. A lot of these quarterbacks, I don’t even need to name them, they get coordinators fired. Baker Mayfield’s last two coordinators, he got head coaching jobs. And again, there’s a quality that Baker Mayfield has that I wish everybody in America had. He just not everything has to be perfect. He never plays the victim. It’s like, what do I got to work with? All right, let’s go. That he’s never pointing fingers. Baker’s like, “Get on my back.” This is This is a guy pulling. He’s pulling a team right now. They are a mess offensively. They are falling. He’s using D2 receivers and he’s beating Seattle and Seattle. You see what Seattle did on the road yesterday? You see what Seattle did to the Steelers this year? He’s beating San Francisco. All I hear, well, Brock Pery’s guys are injured. Baker’s like, “Yeah, whatevers. Let’s go.” Um, I don’t think right now that Tampa Bay roster because I think they’re the second best team in the NFL to Kansas City, but their roster is so beat up. It’s not a top 10 roster. They’re missing great players. Pedal to the metal, head down, don’t point fingers. Tampa’s now five and one. Big win after big win with Baker Mayfield. His resilience is completely contagious and redeemable. And here he was after another W on the road. I truly genuinely trust the guys that are in there. Uh they’re ready. We we talk throughout the week. Guys are on the same page. And that’s um that’s real. I trust these guys. uh even though some of them might not have played a whole lot of ball, but if we’re on the same page, good things happen. You don’t have to have the perfect play when all your guys are fighting for each other and are on the same page. And that’s that’s an example of that. Defense played great. Special teams as well, and so that’s complimentary football. All right. Right now, Baker Mayfield, I think he’s got everybody’s vote as the most valuable player to do it with that belleaguered roster on the road, beating good teams, beating really good defensive minds or defensive coordinators. feel terrible for San Francisco. Fred Warner is now injured. The whole team is falling apart physically, all their stars. But I that’s, you know, we often ask ourselves, you know, what’s a franchise quarterback? What’s the difference? The difference is when things aren’t right. I hear this all the time. Well, I mean, yeah, you’ll hear it from, you know, for years and years. Well, you know, we don’t have Caleb’s missing this or or Jackson Dart was missing that. Baker’s missing everything. He’s on the road. Seattle and San Francisco are good and he’s willing his team to win. He may not be the best athlete, but on that one run, he looked like it. That’s what a franchise quarterback is. You don’t have your best running back. You don’t have your top three wide receivers. You got a defensive coach, so it’s your offense. That’s what an MVP looks like. That’s what a franchise quarterback looks like. It took Baker a while to get there from Cleveland and Carolina and Los Angeles. Took him a while to get there. Who cares? Some careers you got to let them bake. But uh fantastic performance. Today’s show brought to you by our new presenting sponsor, Hard Rock Bet. The pennets on the line, lights are brighter than ever. One swing can change everything and you can be part of every pitch at Hard Rock Bet. New customers can place a $5 bet, and if it hits, you not only get your winnings, but also 150 bucks in extra bonus bets. Plus, every day this week on Hard Rock Bet, you get a profit boost for a postseason baseball parlay. There’s new promos every day. Boost your same game parlay or same game parlay max so your bet pays extra winnings. If you want to see what everybody else is betting on tonight, right, top picks or parlays across any sport, the Hard Rock Bet app literally shows you. It’s another reason to download the app. Takes 90 seconds just for the info. Tap discover and you can see trending picks and parlays at any time. So download the Hard Rock Bet app. Make your first deposit. All right, welcome back. This is going to be an alltime week. Dodgers tonight and tomorrow against the Brewers who escape the Cubs. Mariners take a 10 lead on the Blue Jays. Um, all right. So, of the many bad decisions the Miami Dolphins have made over the last decade, one of them was on display yesterday, drafting Tua over Justin Herbert. When they’re on the same field, you kind of see the difference. Tua is small, not terribly athletic, doesn’t have a big arm, three picks. Herbert’s unbelievable. 66, tough, strong, physical moves. Top NFL quarterbacks need to rise above their circumstances. And Tua needs everything to be perfect. Herbert had no number one receiver, three backups on the offensive line, the number three or number four running back, and Justin Herbert made a play in this game. It could it wasn’t just game saving. It may have been season saving as Herbert again, backups everywhere. Old Keenan Allen, that’s what he has to work with. But he made a play to Lad McConi where he switched hands with the ball again on the road backups everywhere. Season it felt like season on the switches hands finds McConi again that is rising above the circumstances which were terrible for this team. Shedding 250 lb guys or more. 76% completion percentage, two touchdowns, 112 passer rating, backups behind him, backups to the sidelines, backups in front of him. Jim Harbaugh afterwards talking about that play to Lad McCly saw. That play would be burned in my mind for uh till they throw dirt over top of me. You know, Justin Herbert back to throw. uh defender wrapped around him, you know, he’s able to just mighty man it and uh shake it off and hit Lakoni, you know, on a on a physical level. It just can’t really be done by many, you know, uh just a couple, you know, just a couple a handful of guys really that could do that. So, it was Harbaugh who took Makoni out of Georgia, great slot receiver. He has been unbelievably valuable his first couple of years with the Chargers. But again, it’s like Baker Mayfield. You got to rise above the circumstances. Don’t be a victim. Get it done. Put your helmet on. Doesn’t matter where we’re playing. That was probably the play of the day. Baker Mayfield’s run for a first down and Herbert escaping that sack. That’s what franchise quarterbacks do. Don’t point fingers. All right, let’s go. We’re trailing on the road. Saddle up. Jay Mack with the news. No. No. Turn on the news. This is the Herdline news. All right, Colin. Let’s get started with your new number one team in the NFL, the Kansas City Chiefs. There was an incident last night after the game. Brian Branch of the Lions, really talented safety, got ticked off. Isaiah Pacheco’s talking trash. He refuses to shake Mahomes’s hand and then goes up and just whacks Ju Guu Smith Schustster in the face. Now, at the time, nobody had any idea what was going on, why it happened. You can see this turns into a big- time brawl. Branch is basically ready to fight the whole team. Colin, now I have gone back and found the reason that Branch went after Guju. And Juju Smith Schustster did block him in the back illegally. It was a dirty hit, but that’s no reason to lose your mind. Anyway, here’s Dan Campbell afterward talking about how Brian Branch’s actions were unnecessary. Let me start with this. Um, I love Brian Branch, but what he did is inexcusable and uh it’s not going to be accepted here. It’s not what we do. It’s not what we’re about. I apologize to uh Coach Reed and and the Chiefs and uh you know and Schustster. That’s not okay. We we that’s not what we do here. And uh it’s not going to be okay. He knows it. Our team knows it. And uh so that’s that’s that’s not what we do. Yeah. I mean, emotional intelligence is really important and people get ticked off. You got to learn to cope. That’s the reality. Game’s over. I don’t know if he’d be suspended. He’ll be fined. I’m not sure. He probably will be, Colin. This is not good. He’s a great player. I I love him as a player, but you just can’t do that. Got to grow up. Yeah. Their secondary already stinks. They face Baker Mayfield next. So, that would be that would be a punitive suspension. Now, listen, you you and I have played sports. We know in the heat of the moment, you lose your mind. I get it. It’s it’s it’s tough. somebody’s got to reel him in or he’s got to just know I can’t do that. Um I J Guju did kind of hit him with a cheap shot, but again it’s no excuse for that. Um just a quick question. Are you sure the Chiefs beating the Lions makes them the number one team? I didn’t chime in earlier. It’s not that they beat him, it’s that they controlled them and they don’t have Rashi Rice yet and they didn’t have they didn’t have their offensive line all settled last night. They’re getting they’re getting their left tackle. They’re getting Rashi Rice. This team’s dropping now 30. We watched Detroit dis I mean just dismember teams. It was just up and down the field dominate time of possession. The Chiefs won time of possession and that’s after the Lions had a 10minute first drive. That’s impressive. So they didn’t have their offensive line or Rasheed Rice. I’m telling you man, Patrick Mahomes, it’s hard to explain. I remember hearing this year. I thought this was the silliest thing. There used to be this saying among the analytic nerds. They would be like winning is not a quarterback stat. Hell it isn’t. You’re watching Mahomes. You’re telling me that’s not I mean nothing against Spencer Rattler, but he’s like one and 16 as a starter. You think you put Mahomes on the Saints, he’s one and 16 with the same players. Patrick Mahomes is smarter. He de he literally sees the field better cognitively. He sees stuff so fast. Some of these guys don’t see the field. And then there are guys like Momes who not only sees it, it’s like X-ray vision. He He’s like Gretzky. He sees stuff develop before it develops. They’re bringing in Guju Smith Schustster has done nothing every time he’s with the Chiefs. Ever notice how valuable he is? What do you think they I mean, some of it’s Andy Reid. Mahomes is just he’s an insane alltime talent. I mean, is it possible the Lions were overvalued? They haven’t beat a team with a winning record this season. They have really good players all over the field. They have they have an all-star team on offense. I’m telling you, spags and everything you notice, it’s almost like I mean again, one punt, no turnovers, like they’re so good in these big spots, but a lot of times after the first drive, which is scripted, but you get to the second drive and the third drive and the fourth drive at Arrowhead and it’s just like there’s no room. There’s not a lot of like Sam Leaporta is great. Leaporta made a couple of insane catches. He’s an all-time talent, but it’s like a lot of their stuff. Spags knows their tendencies and they you got Chiefs just waiting for receivers who catch it. Okay. All right. Let’s move to the next story, Colin. That’s my Jets. I know you woke up at the butt crack of dawn on Sunday to watch the Jets accumulate 82 yards of offense. Listen, man. Aaron Glenn was not throwing the ball down the I’m sorry, Justin Fields was not throwing the ball down the field, but I think that’s by design from Aaron Glenn. Now, Aaron Glenn uh was under fire from the media afterward. Colin, here he is talking about Justin Fields and his comments after the loss. When you look at what Justin did, the games that he played, listen, I didn’t think he were bad at all. I actually thought he did some pretty good things in those four games. In this fifth game, he took a step back, you know, and I’m with you guys 100%. And we can’t have that, you know, and we have to have get better than that. And he knows that. And he knows that better than anyone, you know. So, um I don’t think you just try to bench a player after having one true bad game. It’s not about that. You you what you have to do in this league is win. And in that second half, A go to the backup. B what? Oh, I would get Tyrod Taylor’s a pro. He’s been around forever. Justin Fields. Denver was in his head. Denver was hammering him. He was done. He was done in the second half. The other thing is, I mean, there’s a reason you bring Tyrod Taylor to your team, not just for injuries. You know, Justin Fields is an uneven quarterback, but it was remarkable. I mean, I’ll get into it later, but on that final drive, I would have kicked the field goal, first of all. Second of all, why are you asking Justin Fields to do sevenst step drops? That is not who he is, right? You had a chance on three straight plays, pick up seven yards and kick a 60s something yard field goal or a high 50, 58, 59. The play calling at the end of the half was egregious. It doesn’t make any sense. The play calling at the end of the game was as bad or worse. This team does not know what they’re doing. And if you don’t want to go to the backup quarterback, I thought over the course of the game, I thought, you know, you’ve we’ve seen this before when quarterbacks just lose their confidence, like they’re just out of sorts. All right, go to the veteran. Bring it down. move the chains. But I was sitting there like, “Dude, just get seven yards, kick a field goal, and and walk out of there stealing a win.” Instead, they’re asking Justin Fields with that pass rush. Deep drops. Now you’re out of field goal range. I I love how you’re saying just get seven yards. They had 82 for the game. Colin, their longest play all day, 11 yards. Now listen, Fields wasn’t great. That’s fine. We know he’s not great. But what the hell was the game plan? The game plan, I can tell you this right now. They basically went and said, “Justin, don’t lose the game for us. We can hang around. Denver’s offense ain’t great.” And they just basically hung around despite the ineptitude. The Jets had a chance to win the game in the final minute. So, I know they weren’t awesome and they couldn’t move the football. But, by the way, Denver’s defense, this is a crazy stat for you. So, four times this season in the NFL, a team did not get 10 first downs. Only four times. Three of them were caused by the Denver Broncos. That’s how good this defense is. So, the idea that Justin Fields was going to go in there and light the world on fire, that was never happening. He didn’t lose the game for them. They were in it until the end. This is a good loss, right? You’re you’re winless. You’re in line to get the number one pick. You covered the spread. Well, it’s not a it’s not a good loss when your coach appears to be completely overmatched as a head coach. Well, come on. He’s a first year coach against Shawn Payeyton, the Hall of Famer. Well, it dude, it’s beyond that. It It’s It’s got a Freddy Kitchens vibe. It’s got a Rich Cot type vibe. It’s got a we don’t know what we’re doing. That’s Is that the worst thing in the world, Colin? When you could get the number one pick because you you lose 14 games. That’s not the worst thing in the world. No, I’m I’m I’m not saying it is, but it it it you would like to not have to buy another coach and another set of coordinators and more position coaches. How many times can you keep flushing this green toilet? Well, well, let’s ask the owner, Woody Johnson, who keeps making horrible decisions. So, I I am going to shock you that for the second straight time I’m talking about the Steelers and Aaron Rodgers. I’ve got positive vibes. They beat Cleveland. They were going to beat Cleveland 23-9. Um, I mean, listen, they Dylan Gabriel had no shot. Totally engulfed. But here’s the thing. Aaron Rodgers has done two things really well. Number one, he has fit into the Steelers culture. He’s not taking anything away. And secondly, he’s made the Pittsburgh offense smarter. Pittsburgh’s offense is unique. It’s got huge targets. You know, the Hayward and Washington and DK Metaf and Frimouth, it’s got gigantic men. This is not like gadget receivers. Like Kansas City’s doing it with some smaller body types. Pittsburgh’s got massive size and Aaron realizes that. There’s no reason to take big risks down the field. For the last seven, eight years, I had said on this show, Pittsburgh had playmakers defensively, but they just weren’t they were like tonedeaf offensively. They just weren’t very smart situationally. So Aaron has fit in. It’s not about Aaron. He’s fit in with a culture and he just made the offense much smarter. Now, now places like PFF are like, he doesn’t throw the ball down the field on this team. There’s no reason to. This offense is big, strong, and physical. And I I’m watching this team. He’s not doing a lot of wow stuff. He’s doing a lot of wee stuff. That’s what this is for Pittsburgh. So now they couldn’t beat Sam Darnold because I don’t think I don’t think this team is going to beat the best quarterbacks. But in the AFC North right now, it’s backups. So I think Aaron has downshifted. He understands his he’s a smart guy. He understands what the team needs from me. And in these games when you’re facing Dylan Gabriel and backups, what the team needs is the system, first downs, not a lot of wow plays, I got big targets, and I mean, it’s like you’re throwing a defensive ends. This whole team feels like a tight end, but effective, productive enough. I like what I see. You’re getting his touch, his accuracy, and his IQ. And I I think he’s done a great job. The numbers will tell you, well, he’s not throwing the ball down the field. You know what? Maybe a younger Aaron Rogers when he was in his athletic prime would have been running around and running out of completions. This Aaron for this team, which has M trucks as targets and Washington and DK Metaf, this is exactly the offense you should run. Get some physical matchup advantages. You can throw stuff underneath. your big guys can break tackles. I I’m really impressed by it. I don’t I they’re they may run away with this division by Thanksgiving, but he’s doing exact that now. That was a great throw in the end zone across your body. That’s an errand throw, but he I think he’s really figured out the right tenor for this offense. He’s just moving the pocket enough. Here he was after. I think we’re playing uh playing pretty smart football. I think Art, you know, got us into a good rhythm today. And uh when we take care of the football and don’t turn it over, we’re gonna have a chance in any game. And then if we can control the line of scrimmage, um you know, we’re really going to be playing downhill. I thought the key to the last two games has been first and second down. Yeah. Um, I I think it looks really good. And I, you know, I I I for years and years, you know, it’s so funny. Aaron, remember when Aaron left the Jets and he was like, “Yeah, I had a meeting with Aaron Glenn. I flew cross country on my Gulfream or Citation or something, my private jet, and I sat down for a meeting and 20 seconds later, Aaron Glenn said, “We’re going to go in a different direction.” And Aaron’s like, “That was weird. I watched the Jets yesterday. They’re weird.” Aaron’s not. Aaron went to Pittsburgh and he just he he’s taken this weird the the the Steelers offense for like seven years. They can’t run the ball despite using draft capital on the O line and at running back. You’re like, why aren’t they more effective? They just weren’t smart enough and and he’s a trigger man and I I he deserves a ton of credit. Coming up next, another track meet involving the Dallas Cowboys. James Franklin gets fired. And there was a play last night in the Lions Chiefs game. There was a singular play that defines why Kansas City’s probably going to win another Super Bowl. Oh, it makes you uncomfortable. Makes everybody but Nick Wright uncomfortable. But I’ll talk about that coming up. Uh, the Dallas Cowboys lost yesterday and they lost because their defense is a quarterback stimulus package. Everybody, everybody, Bryce Young has never been more comfortable. He couldn’t have been more comfortable sitting on a couch watching the game. Dak is on fire. 11 total touchdowns, no picks, last three starts. I mean, Dak is absolutely on fire. He’s playing great football, but he can’t play linebacker. Maybe they should consider it right now. The Cowboys allow opposing quarterbacks. 117 passer rating. And I’m told by my team this morning, that’s the highest since they’ve kept track of that stat. There’s never been a defense this bad. But I said when they traded Micah, you’re going to lose this trade for a year. It’s the Sha Kobe trade. You’re going to lose it for a year. Remember when they they shipped, they chose, we got to move Shaq, not Kobe. And for a couple years it looked really bad because the Heat were ready to win a title. But the Cowboys have two first round picks. It is a draft that is rich at corner and edge rusher and they’re going to use all their picks in the first several rounds to draft a defense. They don’t need a quarterback. Dak is healthy and playing great. The George Pickins move. What, you know, I looked at it and I thought, “Oh, Pickkins is a one a one-year deal.” I’m not so sure now. Dak’s maturity has really tempered uh George Pickkins kind of, you know, high maintenance. So maybe that’s a tandem that works. You can pay two receivers. I mean, it it it you got to you got to hit on some free labor in the draft, but I I watched Dallas’s offense. They look reasonably well coached. Dak’s on fire, but this defense made Rico Dow look like Earl Campbell. I mean, they gave him the ball 30 times. He rushed for over 200 yards almost. So again, it’s a track meet and Dallas has only one way to win now. They’ve got to hit the ribbon first at the track meet and they didn’t. Bryce Young did and here’s Dak after. I wouldn’t say it’s demoralizing. Excuse me. Um but I definitely say it’s frustrating. Um right like just even the last time you have the ball uh we’re probably was our not our best series of the game. If we don’t score last thing I’m doing is being frustrated at the defense like that. That’s That’s my problem. That’s our problem. That’s somebody on offense or, you know, something that we didn’t do better. Okay. I I I want to talk about in that game last night. So, remember a couple of weeks ago, Kansas City goes, they lose to Jacksonville, but it’s it it really is the foundational piece of Kansas City. They are so good situationally. So, there was a play that was called a pick, and Kansas City is like, “No, no, no, no, no, no. This is not a pick. It’s within a yard of the line of scrimmage. That’s legal. Travis Kelce knew it. Mahomes knew it. Andy Reid knew it. They all were pointing. No, no, no. Mr. Official, you’re wrong on that. It’s within one yard of the line of scrimmage. They knew the rules better than the officials. And this is very Bellichian back in New England. Brady and Bellich, Josh McDaniel, they knew the rule book better than the officials. And they tinkered with it and they manipulated it. So, Kansas City knew, no, no, no, no, no. That pick is legal. And they were right last night. Detroit gets into one of these plays, and I think Detroit’s well coached, but the Jared Goff touchdown when he goes out to the flat, no, they practice that thing 10 times. It’s illegal. You got to get that buttoned up. You can’t run that play more than once a year. And when you run it, you got to get it buttoned up. It’s an old rule that goes back to T formation where Goff has to stop for at least a second. He just can’t go in motion and curl off. He has to stop and set. It’s it’s kind of a specific to quarterback rule from the the lost ages, the houseian days of football. So again, in both instances near the goal line, huge situational play. Kansas City against the Jags knew the rule book better than the official. Detroit just a little play was not buttoned up and didn’t know the rule specifically and to me I mean you start watching these games I mean games that should be 30 to nothing like they’re not the Jets and Denver is so much better and Denver is incredibly well coached Denver had the better everything it comes down to like situational coaching situational quarterbacking these Super Bowls there was period for about 10 years where all the Super Bowls were blowouts. The Cowboys were in a few of them win them. That’s not the way it is now. Generally speaking, now Kansas City’s gotten their boat raced in a couple of Super Bowls because they couldn’t get the left tackle right. But by and large, these games are decided on these little situational circumstantial plays, moments, understanding the rules. Kansas City is great at it. They knew this pick was legal. I guarantee you they went to the rule book because the minute that play happened, they were all pointing at the ref. No, no, no, no, no. Pick the flag up. So, it just it just, you know, it’s not the end of the world, but it Detroit, you got to get that right. That’s a play that you run to Jared Goff one time a year. You can’t run it again. It’s like Philly special. You get one of those every couple of seasons. You better have it buttoned up. So, Penn State, this is strange. It it really is to me. Lost three straight close games. Now, they lost to Northwestern. They lost as a huge favorite out west. Although, I will tell you, in college football, traveling 3,000 miles, nothing feels like an upset. That’s why what Indiana did to Oregon this weekend is unbelievable. College teams are young men. They do not travel as well as as professionals in the NFL home field. I mean, Seattle can go all the way to Jacksonville. It doesn’t matter. It It just doesn’t matter. But in college, you know, you travel to UCLA off that Oregon loss. It’s not that shocking they lost. I mean, it’s shocking now losing to Northwestern. Apparently, James Franklin and the athletic director got into a shouting match in the locker room. But here’s why I worry about it. The old substitute teacher rule. If you’re going to spare no expense to fire a coach, and they paid Franklin 50 large, 50 million, then you better spare no expense to hire the next coach. What happens in the next 6 weeks if Penn State goes five and one or four and two? Cuz they got the players and all the players are going to protest. We want the interim coach. We want the interim guy. What do you do? We’re going to transfer. I’m telling you, these athletic departments, they bow. They they bow to pressure. So, when you fire a coach, just know that like the substitute teacher, everybody loves the interim coach. They come in, everybody’s on their best behavior. Everybody’s working their butt off. Generally, the interim is not as harsh. It is It’s not as bleak or intimidating or as punitive as the head coach. Everybody’s playing their hardest. They want to curry favor with the new guys. Backups think they have a chance to start and you go in a little heater. You go on a three-game, four game winning streak and then the players are like, “This is our guy or we’re transferring and then you’re trapped.” So, if you’re going to spare no expense to fire James, you better spare no expense to hire the next guy. So, you know, at Michigan, Harbaugh leaves who was popular. Well, the popular assistant so far doesn’t look very good. Now, it’s too early to make a call. Bryce Underwood, Marsh, two of their best players. You know, they’re kids. Underwood’s a freshman. They got a lot of good young players. Michigan brand, they still recruit well. But I I always worry about that’s how Antonio Pierce got hired by the Raiders. If you fire too early, it’s one thing if you fire and there’s two, three games left. There’s no pressure on an athletic department to hire the guy. you hire with six games left or seven games left and you win a bowl game, you go four and two, maybe you upset a good team, everybody’s like, “That’s a guy. Is he really the guy or is he the guy the the roster, the substitute teacher that everybody loves?” So, uh, I I I think it’s dangerous. Bruce Feldman will stop by later in the show to talk about it. Uh, I think you get into really dicey spots. Um, I I was shocked by it. I mean, they won 13 games last season. and they’ve had double digit wins, multiple seasons. He’s a great recruiter. Now, there’s an argument. It was, you know, it just stuff gets untenable. Okay, I’m not close enough to the program to know. I went online this weekend. You know, everybody on the message board, everybody on the Reddit sites wants him gone, but just be careful. You guys all wanted Ryan Day gone in Columbus before that Tennessee game last year when you lost to Michigan by 20. You all wanted Ryan Day out. That’s funny. You kind of like Ryan Day now. Ohio State won it last year. Probably gonna win it this year. Gotta be careful. Listen to the fan base. Jmack, crazy weekend. What was your fa What was your favorite game this weekend? We both had a very uh Can I go with Penn State losing as my favorite game? The James Franklin. I mean, we talked about this, K. It’s insane how rapidly that accelerated. Can I I also hit up somebody who’s in the college football coaching industry, shall we say, and he gave me a name. You You want it? Yeah. Clark Lee at Vanderbilt. Keep an eye on him. Young guy, very sharp. Previously at Notre Dame. Vanderbilt is pretty damn good this year. Yeah. On a good run. I would keep an eye on him. I know you like uh the Indiana coach as well. But listen, the Indiana coach should not leave and will not leave. Well, he I don’t know. I mean, he’s making 8 million. It’s his program. They just went to Oregon and won. Why can’t they win with a transfer portal in the NIL? If you have support from your donor base, why do you have to go to Alabama? Alabama doesn’t have the money of right now of USC. They don’t have the money of Notre Dame. They don’t have the money of Oregon. Alabama now looks pretty ordinary. Why? They don’t have the donors to step up. They’re not ordinary. The kid Ty Simpson’s amazing. He He’s good. He He may go He may go higher in the draft. Go to the mock drafts. He’s a firstrounder. Hour two. Colin right. Colin wrong on a Monday. On a Monday. And let’s go to Matt Hasselbeck. Three Pro Bowls, 18 years in the NFL. Love him on a Monday. I want to start with the Dolphins, which is not the sexiest team, but when Tua calls out his coach, it’s like, okay, what what are we doing here? Like, this thing has gone sideways. What do you make? I mean, it’s obviously they’re going to make big changes. They could change the GM, the coach. Just let’s just wrap a bow on what is wrong with Miami. Well, I thought he called out himself, really. I mean, you’re the franchise quarterback and you’re saying that players don’t come to players only meetings. Like, that’s an indictment on you. Like, no offense. Uh, sometimes when you’re not like an alpha personality as a quarterback, you kind of need an alpha head coach. But if you’re kind of like a softspoken, hey, I’m not really that guy, then I don’t know if you can have a head coach that really isn’t that guy either. I’m just thinking about it like that. That that to me was uh as bad as it gets at the podium. That’s not the time. It’s not the place. Um, listen, no one likes a players only meeting, but sometimes they need to happen and it’s kind of a a tell the truth Monday situation usually and you air it all out and it’s uncomfortable. But, uh, but that that was just a bad look all the way around. I’m I’m embarrassed for him. I’m sure he regrets it. And, uh, you know, that’s a team that needs some leadership to step up and it doesn’t have to be the guy that gets to call the plays in the huddle. If it’s got to be somebody else, then it’s got to be somebody else. But that was, uh, that was a bad look. Yeah. So, um, you know, I said when the Kansas City Chiefs were, you know, a couple weeks ago, we looked at them and we said, you know, folks, I don’t want to hear about the Ravens injuries. It looks different. Turn the sound in your TV down. Watch the speed. They They’re not letting people over the top. And I watched last night and they No penalties, no turnovers in one punt. Like, you know what it felt like, man? You probably played on a veteran team at one point. That was one of those where the veterans are like, “Guys, we have to play our cleanest game of the season.” I don’t know. I mean, do you see I I They look different than four weeks ago. I But I didn’t play in the sport. What do you see? Well, I think there’s a confidence that comes with having a good offensive line. I think they feel really great about this offensive line. There’s also a confidence with the teams that are still playing with their starting quarterback. And then if your starting quarterback’s one of the greatest quarterbacks to ever play the game ever and then you’ve got the best offensive play caller designer in our era and Andy Reid like literally how are you going to like that gives me confidence as a player that gives me confidence as a locker room and as a defense like you got Mahomes over here running like speed option like like he’s young or something like you got to defend it all and so listen as they’re getting healthy they get Worthy back they’re getting Rice back you can tell that this is a team there’s no panic there’s no players only meetings there. You know, they’re they’re three and three. The sky is not falling. You know, they’re like, “Hey, we’re going we’re going to go one and0 this week.” You know, probably like a game out. We’re good. Like, we’re absolutely good. And I and I can promise you they’re last week was tough. They might maybe they did have to have players speak up, but I don’t think this is the kind of team that needs coaches to leave the room when players want to air out some stuff that they got to say. Yeah. And so like I just think the culture is there, the continuity’s been there, and you have you have alphas at the head coach. Yeah. At the quarterback, at the tight end, at Dline, all over. Good team, good franchise, top to bottom. Yeah. So I, you know, it’d be one thing if Baker Mayfield’s um reboot in his career was based on like one coach or one coordinator. The fact is the last two coordinators under him left to get head coaching jobs. Some quarterbacks get coordinators fired. He’s getting him hired. And so I I would like to give other people credit, but a lot of this is just Baker’s will. Did you ever think Baker Mayfield would be this good in the NFL? Thought he was a risky first overall pick, but no, he has an IT factor and everyone said that from from the get-go. You know, they were a little concerned. Was he too brash? Is he too Brett Favre? But no, he has exceeded I think everybody’s expectations. this. I mean, his response to the MVP thing was great. We don’t need to crown an MVP after week six, but listen, he’d be the guy. Like, he’d absolutely be the guy. The best thing you could say about a quarterback is he makes the guys around him better. He’s got, you know, all his, you know, exciting weapons are out. He’s throwing he threw two touchdowns yesterday to guys that it was their first touchdown ever. Like, he has put literally put this team on his back. The personality that he has is showing up on his team. And I I believe that’s contagious. I really think it’s contagious. And this is a team that you don’t want to face. Tampa is the is the real deal. And it’s because of Baker. Yeah. And there is value in winning these close games time and time again. There you can’t tell me there’s not some red It’s like a baseball team that keeps coming back and winning. I think that stuff always has a redeemable quality. Yeah. And can if I could just add one other thing, he is he has become such a great deep ball thrower. You know, a lot of times quarterbacks, they just kind of play it safe. His eyes are way downfield, the third level of the defense, and he’s like, “You know what? I don’t care if it’s a little bit late. I’m throwing it deep down in the middle to my guys. I’m giving you a chance.” And I think that’s been one of the most dangerous parts about his game. So, let’s talk about his draft class and Sam Darnold. So, I think what’s impressive about Sam Darnold, the Minnesota team he was on had a veteran left tackle and a veteran running back and a veteran wide receiver and Justin Jefferson. He goes to Seattle and it’s kids. It’s the second youngest offense. And we were all like, “Boy, JSN, is that a number one guy?” Explain to me. Now, maybe JSN’s super mature. Explain to me how JSN and Darnold are this good together this quickly. You only have so much practice time. How does it look like they’ve been together for eight years? Well, I think they’re bought into the system. I mean, this is the same system that he threw 35 touchdowns in last year. And I think there’s like with the experience now, there’s a lot of wisdom. He says, you know, he can come into JSN and be like, hey, listen, this is how, you know, Justin Jefferson did it. You know, what do you think? And and Clint Kubak is, you know, really coming from that same Kyle Shanahan uh tree, but I think you also empower a guy when you give him the contract that they gave Sam Darnold. You say, “Hey, you’re the guy.” And I think he’s taken ownership of that. He’s playing great football. I think on both sides of the ball, listen, Seattle’s defense, this is a team that they’ve got length, they’ve got speed, they’re very young, they’ve got a young head coach. you know, when when you’re given when your defense is creating seven sacks, that’s going to help your offense as well. So, I don’t think this is a finished product team. I mean, there’s there’s actually areas where this offense can really improve. Third down would be a great example. They got to improve. But, I think what Darnold has done such an amazing job of is under center play action, turn your back to the defense, which marries up with the run game that they’re trying to establish. And JSN literally I I think I’ve been saying this for a long time. I think he’s the most underrated wide receiver in the entire NFL. So, um, a lot of people didn’t watch the Saints or Patriots, but I remember during camp Mike Vrabel coming out and it was one of those quotes that’s kind of memorable. He’s like, you know, Drake’s got to understand leadership is seven days a week. It’s not a great practice. You got to be a leader seven days a week. And it was kind of like I really like this kid, but he’s he’s young. And and I always said, I think it’s so weird. You’re 24 years old, you walk into a locker room with rich dudes that are 31. It’s like, all right, you’re the parent. It’s like, that is hard. But the last three or four weeks, you tell me. I It looks like Drake May is as good as any quarterback in his class. He’s not Jaden Daniels yet, but I don’t know. It feels special to me. No, he’s he’s not Jaden Daniels, but he outplayed Jaden Daniels in those joint practices when Vable said that. And everyone was trying to crown him as better than Jaden Daniels. And Vrabel was like, “Hey,” in a Bill Parcels’s kind of way was like, “Hey, pump the brakes.” But but no, Drake May has everyone in New England excited mostly because of the huge win at Buffalo against Josh Allen. But I what I love what he’s doing, what Josh McDaniels is doing is they run so many different option routes. You know, think about Josh Daniels and all the different guys that ran option routes through, you know, when he was successful. Drake has has an experience doing that at UNCC. He’s got a great feel for Diggs and Pop Douglas and all the different guys. So, I believe that’s one of the harder things for quarterbacks is to really get on the same page quick with the guys on option routes. The other thing that Drake has done a great job is before he uses his legs to scramble, he’s using the running back checkdown game. Again, a Josh McDaniel staple. So, you know, is is he ready to be crowned like, you know, the best quarterback in the AFC East or is he the next Tom Brady? Like, no. But the excitement is super real and I think Vrabel understands having been teammates with Tom Brady, having been around great quarterbacks. I think Vrabel’s and Josh McDaniels, it’s like a nice little tag team for for uh for this quarterback and don’t be surprised. I mean, literally do not be surprised if the Patriots are a playoff team this year. Great call by you, Colin. Colin was right. Well, you know, get a couple of them. I And by the way, I remind everybody when I hit two times a year on being right, I make sure to You’re like a broken clock. You’re like a broken clock. You’re right. Twice a day. Guaranteed. Absolutely. So, there are some guys, and I’m always kind of amazed by this quality. There are, and I saw it last year with Jaden Daniels. Some guys just see the field and some quarterbacks don’t. And Herbert yesterday is under duress and he’s running around. He’s switching hands with the ball. He throws it out to McConi and I’m like, some of this is innate. I don’t think you can coach some of this quarterback stuff. Herbert yesterday, three backup O lineman, no number one receiver, number three running back. How do you view? I mean, he’s obviously physically impressive, but I just sometimes he makes throws and I it’s just I don’t know. Is it coaching? Is it scheme? What do you make of Herbert? Well, yeah, you can coach that stuff. I mean, you know, literally those are ball control, uh, ball in the pocket drills, escapability drills, but you need the tangibles. Listen, I feel like I talk about intangibles a lot with the quarterback, but you also need the tangibles. You get around Justin Herbert. He’s every bit of franchise quarterback. I mean, he he he looks like Drew Drew Bledsoe. He moves like Brett Favre. Like, he’s really incredible. And he does it at the mo at the clutch moments. Now, here here’s another guy you mentioned. He’s on his third string left tackle. Uh will they make a trade? until they make a trade. He’s gonna have to throw with great anticip anticipation or he’s going to have to really be Superman like you saw in this game, put the team on his back, but you’re not going to be playing the Miami Dolphins every week. And so, this is a this is a situation where I think he’s going to need a little bit of help. I mean, you look at Lamar Jackson, he needed help. He’s one of the games great quarterbacks. Justin Herbert’s gonna need help as well. Finally, um Aaron Rogers in his whole career has never let go of the ball this quickly. And and I’d make the argument Pittsburgh Strange. They have three tight ends that are Giants. One of them is the biggest tight end in the league. Look at a left tackle. Then they have DK Metaf. And this is not necessarily a throw the ball over the top team. It is a we’ve got really large 6’6 men who are strong. Get the ball to him in matchups. Let them break some tackles. and he’s getting crushed in all these analytic grading systems that he’s having a bad year. And I’m like, no, I kind of get it. They don’t have a Xavier Worthy. That’s not They don’t have these Lad McConis. They have six, seven receivers and tight ends. What do you make of Aaron just get spitting that thing out? Is he worried about getting sacked? Is it just that simple? He’s smart. Listen, when I was starting, I think I started eight or nine games in my 40s. Um, I got the ball out quick, too. I wasn’t like consciously trying to do it, but I think maybe there is something to like, man, I’m good. I don’t need to be I don’t need to show him John Wayne. I don’t need to take these hits. No, here’s what here’s what they’re doing. He’s getting the ball out really quick, but Arthur Smith and Aaron Aaron Rogers, they’re moving the launch point. So, the quarterback is almost always like seven and a half or nine and a half yards right behind the center. But not Aaron Rogers. Not this year. A lot of their big plays are coming where the launch point is moving. Doesn’t have to move too far. It can be in the B gap. It could be in the C gap. Maybe it’s all the way outside the hash, but that’s buying time within the design of the play. And even if the defense covers it, that’s where Aaron Rogers has his back shoulder throws, double moves, all the different stuff. So, I think this is a really, really intentional uh game plan by Arthur Smith. And it might be an unintentional thing with Aaron Rogers. Like, it’s all good, man. I can play point guard. I don’t need to be the shooting forward. Yes. And that’s great. That’s what he really probably should have been doing with the Jets. He’s doing it great. I I This is a nice fit. I think everyone was wondering how the fit would be, but just notice the next time you watch the Steelers where that launch point is where he’s letting the ball go from. It’s a uh it’s makes it difficult on the defense and it protects a guy in his 40s. I’m I’m a fan. I think they’re doing great. Yeah, it’s more Chris Paul than Steph Curry. I’m I can hit the jumper, but I’m going to get this ball out because they have some unique body types. I mean, Washington, is he six, seven and a half? I mean, they’ve got massive um by the way, you were the staff just said this. You were five and three as a starter in your 40s. That’s probably like two and and and banged up. You know, that was a u you know, I do think like as a quarterback sometimes, you know, sometimes when you’re younger, you don’t know enough, but I’m sure Aaron Rogers, he knows it all and he’s like, man, I don’t I don’t trust this situation. you know, we got a tight end blocking backside on a defensive end. Like, this ball’s coming out quick. Like, he’s been through the fire. He’s learned the mistakes. I I know that was true for me. Great seeing you, Matt, as always. Thanks. See you, Colin. All right. Um, I love that 20 minutes with Matt Hasselbeck and right and wrong. One of my favorite 20 minutes of the week. Bruce Feldman’s going to join us next hour. Albert Brer, the trade deadline is is creeping up. Uh, the Rams could use a corner. The Chargers could use another tackle. uh swing guy that can play either way. Joe Alt will come back. Philadelphia may need a new offensive coordinator. I’m not sure the trade deadline helps for that. Um and Kansas City doesn’t need anything but Rasheed Rice. Sorry, Jay Mack. And he’s right around the corner. Hey, just got to call it as I see it. I watched last night. That looks like a good football team. Just stop it. What about the Niners? Now, the Niners are interesting, right? Bosa out, Warner out. Do you make a play to add a linebacker? Do you make a play to add a Quinnon Williams from the Jets who Salah knows well? Do you do something? Because a Niner schedule still leaves the door open for them to make a deep playoff run. And remember, the offense will have Iayuk, presumably Jennings, Pierall, Brock Pury, like they’re going to have pieces. I think the NerS are a week- toeek team. If two of their receivers came back next week, I’d say no. I I mean with the Niners, we just watch their practice reports every week. I mean, so I think I mean they do have some offensive firepower coming back, but I mean, listen, it it’s and they had moments in that game. It that that loss was not on M. Jones. I mean, they had their moments, but Tampa’s really good right now. And they’re and they’re punishing you over the top if you have if you try to you bring too much heat on Baker, he’ll burn you. They they’ll go right at you over the top. And as Matt said, Baker’s thrown the best deep ball of his life. He has eight touchdown passes of 20 or more air yards. That’s double the second most quarterback in the league.