Colin Cowherd Podcast - Part 1: Does Hard Knocks = Hard Times For Bears? Can Aaron Survive The Season? Russ + Steelers A Strange Fit

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Download game Time two day last minute tickets. Lowest prices always guarantee, all right. Former NFL scout John middlecough buddy of mine called me today asked how I was doing. I said, I had a podcast with John Middlecoffee said that guy works, man, he's that guy is constantly working. And I said, well, I haven't talked to him in a month, so now's a good time, you know. I had Denny Parkins on a real talented kid from Chicago, and I said, I think the Bears are going to

be really good. I think the division offensively is a really good division with really good coaching and really good O lines. I said. The only thing that will screw it up is a distraction, and then they get hard knocks. I thought, oh god, all these couples that have cameras in their houses, they all get divorced, you know, just it's the end of times. How I mean, I guess in the league nobody wants it. How are people now used to it? Your sources are they used to it?

Life is, podcast, you name it. I think it's never It's less intrusive now than ever because of how numb these guys are to cameras. Now, I think some of the hoopla around it is not ideal. But let's face it, colin the authenticity of the mid two thousands. You remember when you would have the inside of the coaches and gms talking about cutting players and this guy sucks and we don't get that anymore. So that that got thrown out. Really hard knocks isn't for me anymore, right, It just

really isn't. I think it's a pretty watered down version, but I get it. It's popular, but I don't think it phases the player specifically, maybe the coaches. That can be a little unnerving having a camera look at you, knowing that, but you get to control what comes out, right. The teams have final cut. It's like state run media. Yeah, so I don't think it's a big deal at all anymore.

They take gigs and leave in two years and then you have to hit another one. Sean McDermott hit on Brian Dable. He didn't have success with the next hires. And that's very common among defensive coaches. I mean, Mike Tomlins hit on some, missed on some badly. Pete Carroll, same thing. So when I look at eberflues Is, I don't think he's a bad coach. I always say, if you can, if you can show me that you know your side of the ball. Well, the Bear's defense in

the last seven eight weeks was really good. They have a good corner Montese sweat, but they don't have great personnel up front, so I'm interested. I think Eber Flu's changed his look like I think he kind of got.

So to me, if they miss the playoffs, you could argue it's unfair Eberflu should get two years to kind of show what he can do with this young team. But that's not the way it's gonna work, right if they go eight and if they go what would it be eight to nine or nine to eight? And Miss, I could just see because the pressure and the hype on this team. But I'm not as confident they're going to be a playoff team, and a big reason is

because their division help. If Minnesota is the worst team in your division, I mean, that's not an easy team to play, right. So they got an excellent coach, they got a lot of firepower, and I understand the pushback would be while the Bears could have easily beat the Detroit Lions multiple times last year, I'm not saying they're bad. It's just I think the hype on the quarterback big picture totally behind it. He can be a high end player. Most guys don't come into the league and look like CJ.

Strad right. I mean, it's usually there are some growing pains, especially because the transition that he's going to have to have. The way he played last year in college is not going to translate. They're not going to have him do that in theory. So and if he gets some back some of those kind of hero ball habits, you're playing NFL players. You're not playing Arizona anymore. And they were struggling to beat Arizona last year. Now the Bears defense

is better. Offensively, they have firepower, but like you said, I think the pressure on this coach. You don't make the playoffs. You could have a really successful year. Yeah, I think you can still get fired.

sacks last year, but their corners are weak. There's not a dominating defense in this division. It's offensive coaches. So I do think he's gonna come in. I mean, if you head to the AFC North and you're getting Miles Garrett in the Ravens culture, that's a whole different ballgame.

throw twenty four touchdowns in twelve pick yep. We all view him like a transcending or the trajectory's pointing high and go. He was the third best quarterback in his division. And they're the third place team in the division. They missed the playoffs because there's not unlimited amount of spots, right, the Niners, the Rams, the Lions, the Packers. You start doing the math. Atlanta should be better. The Saints were nine to eight last year and they had a terrible offense.

Now they bring Kubiak's kid. The Eagles are gonna be good. I mean, the Cowboys, even if they take a step back from twelve, there'll be in that eight to nine range. So it's just difficult.

problems find open receivers. That was a real issue for Justin. There was like Zach Wilson, there are guys all over the field open, he just couldn't find them. So people are going to want to be right the Justin Fields fans. But I think the league spoke when he went for a six round pick, and I think very quickly you're going to see the calebs just different.

seventeen games? I think lost in this this Jets improvement and people love their roster is Hey, they're a Breece Hall injury from being a have to pass offense, have to pass. And now the good news, they shouldn't be in shootouts. Aaron shouldn't be forced to throw forty four times a game. But they got one back. And I tend to believe that championship teams are built when you have your seven to eight best players all in their prime. Like Detroit right now, Jared's in his prime. Hutchison moved

into it. That running back may be into it now, Amaran Saint Brown, Panay Seouel, You're getting a lot of now Laporta. They're all like moving into their prime. And you start looking at Green Bay and it's like, I guess Breece probably is. Garrett Wilson still raw a lot of their defensive talent. Sauce Gardner's probably moving into it, but they got a lot of guys that aren't there or were never there. I PFF last week had the Kansas City roster number two, and I was like, they're

bad at tackling. Don't I have a number one receiver.

He's forty years old, and we have I would say, pretty recent data of some legendary guys falling off a cliff Matt Ryan for all different Matt Ryan, and I would put him on the lower end of these players. Peyton Manning, Drew Brees, Ben or Roethlisberger most of my life. When I was a kid in the nineties, guys got to like thirty five in all pro sports and were done, and then Brady kind of changed it. Lebron kind of changed it. Most people fall off, Hey, Russell will and

that's what I'm kind of expecting. Yeah, and he's that's crazy. But he's not quite as quick anymore. He's not quite the athlete. Why he's thirty four, he's not twenty six. Aaron's forty forty. And part of the reasons he's older, right, because played several years in college red shirted, gray shirted in the pros, didn't play for a while, so he's actually older, even though he hasn't been playing technically as long as some of those guys like Peyton Manning when

he was forty. But I think there's a very good chance if you just base it up the history of sports, it usually ends poorly. Usually don't do John Elway. This one's for John, especially with the Jets, right, I mean, their offensive coordinator is not any good. That's right, He's just not. I mean, most teams in the league laugh at that situation. And he's there for one reason and one reason only, which I'm for the coach and the

quarterback having a good relationship. That's how you and your producers have good relate Like there's it should be healthy if the guy is good at his job. Josh McDaniel's pay and Tom Brady made a lot of sense Kyle in his quarterbacks for Sean McVay and Matt Stafford. This one, this guy's just not viewed as good enough. And last year when Aaron left, it was an abomination and these stories because of the organization. What if they start slow now,

I actually think they have an opportunity. I don't think their schedule is that hard early after it's.

getting fired. That's what's on the line here.

potentially in the league. I thought last week was really interesting. So Miami signs Jayalen Waddle to a massive deal with Tyreek Hill already signing a stupendous contract. Okay, what are we saying here? So if Tua just signs the tenth biggest contract, that's Josh Allen. Now, who'll get an extension to raise? They're one hundred and five million guy, one hundred and five million bucks. I think something close to

that on three dudes, all on offense. Not a pass rusher, not a corner, not an interior defensive lineman, not an offensive tackle, two receivers in a quarterback. So I almost wondered, was.

my style. I mean, I like my quarterbacks to be a little bigger, a little more mobile with howitzers. Yeah, but because when you look at to in theory, he should be this kind of mobile little guy. But he is much closer to Jared Goff the way he plays. I've said it over and over. Well, here's what Dak does has proven. Now he's given me three straight years of twelve wins. Do I want to give him fifty

plus million dollars? I do not. Is there an opportunity that if he gets hot one postseason, they could win a couple games like an Eli Manning situation. I don't believe too as that capability. Yeah, one, what we witnessed last year. I mean, if this was like the ND five hundred, they were up like several laps, the Bills were leaking oil. They were six and six. Then the season ends, they win the division and they're hosting playoff

games and Miami has to go on the road. And even when I saw Vech at the Combine, He's like, I've been in the NFL a long time. That was the coldest game I've ever stood on the field for when he played the Chiefs. And we felt pretty good about our chances because we knew that offense couldn't function in the freezing court, right, But they wouldn't have had a chance in a cold weather game against Baltimore, against any of these teams. Yeah, So part of it is

the AFC. If you spend two, if you spend all this money on to it, because at the end of the they could dak. It hasn't gone well these last three years. But beat a party. Beat sure. You know a Jared Goff if he plays right, how is Tua ever gonna outplay Patrick mahomes, Lamar Jackson, Herbert Now with Harbaugh, Josh Allen it's not happening. It doesn't mean he's not a solid NFL starter. But once you start talking about the money, this is not baseball. You don't have an

unlimited on of cap space. Tyreek Hill, he's one of the greatest players I've ever seen. No problem investing Jayleen Wattle. You draft him high. He's a productive player. I get it too, Like, why can't we just play this out? Why does every quarterback have to get in it? Jared Goff proved last year. He went toe to toe with Matt Stafford in the playoff game. He won the second

playoff game against Baker Mayfield. He was great against the forty nine ers, Like they have tangible evidence now in the playoffs, let alone the regular season now for a year and a half, where's that evidence against Tua? Like, yeah, he plays well in October. Well, you're in the AFC where most of these teams come November and December. I looked at their schedule whenever the schedules came out, they have three or four games post You know, Hall of

get a little cold, Colin get a little cold. What if you can't do it this year, If you can't win the division and host a playoff game, which they would have to do to have success in the playoffs because of their climate. What's the point of extending them just to say you have a quarterback?

You know, let me let me speak in the buffle. I'm gonna throw a theory at you that and this is especially true with young ger quarterbacks. Four years and then is that I've said this, something can be really important in your life, but overrated. A big house. A house is nice. A bigger house is not necessarily bigger mortgage, more cleaning, bigger yard, like you. My wife and I talk about this like locations. So much more important than size of house. Like we'll just just give us a

good location. We'll add a bedroom. We'll figure out and make, you know, create another place to go to the bathroom.

can play, they have two excellent tight ends. They finally found a running back, Josh Is in his athletic prime. I think I think we're in a little bit of a wide receiver bubble thirty million for a receiver if you don't have the quarterback. We've always said quarterbacks make the rice. Even Larry Fitzgerald had off years without great quarterbacks Carson Palmer big year, Kurt Warner big year. So I look at Buffalo and I think there's this feeling that,

you know, watch out, it's a free fall. I don't feel like it. I really don't.

And then the play was started to like a lot of older players he's played at high level, was no longer at the same level. So it was probably a pretty easy move for them to make. And then they get the wide receiver one that is just going to translate to cold weather, right, He's not predicated on speed, So I'm with you. I mean, they've won this division four straight years. They're the new Patriots in the division in terms of the dominance, obviously not the same playoff success.

The other thing is when you have an all time great quarterback. I mean that's what I think. Josh Allen is going to go down as one of the great quarterbacks of my life. They make wide receivers ideally, you would love to have Marvin Harrison and Reggie Wayne like Peyton benefited. He was a great player, and they also did a great job because Bill Polly is an all

time great exec. Tom Brady won a lot of games with Julian Edelmans and Danny Ammadolas, So if you can find a sweet spot somewhere in the middle, you don't need to have. Look at the Packers. I love Devontae Adams. I'd want them on my team every day of the week. If they get rid of him, he goes to the Raiders. They haven't won at all. He's still a great player, but now he's kind of useless because their quarterback situation sucks.

In the Packers boom last year. Kick the shit out of the Packer or the Cowboys in the playoff game, and it looks like all we talk about is they have one of the best young wide receiver rooms in the league. So I think when I saw the story about would they trade Justin Jefferson right the Minnesota Vikings, Well, if i'd get two ones and two twos and allocate my resources differently, i'd be a no brainer than paying him. And we all acknowledge one of the great non quarterbacks

in the NFL. But this is it's a pretty easy math equations. Especially I already got Jordan Addison, I got an offensive coach, Like, yeah, I wouldn't just trade him for a second round pick. But if you're gonna give me three ones, here, take them. You give them the contract. But I think there's a reason a lot of smart teams now go that's not worth it to us giving up all these ones and then having to allocate the resources.

So it's we've kind of seen less and less of those massive trades since the DeVante and the Tyreek, because why don't I just draft a guy in the twenties like the Baltimore Ravens last year. I get Zave Flowers and he's on a cost controlled contract that pays him three or four million dollars a year, right, and I get to keep my assets.

it what you want. Nobody gets called out in this league as much as Russell, and somebody that has good connective tissue to the Steelers said, there's already been a couple of situations where you know he's he's Russ and these are the Steelers. It's ay and I say this, Green Bay and Pittsburgh have a very lunch pale quality. Now, the Steelers usually have elite defensive personnel. Packers are better on the offensive side in terms of efficiency. Packers have

also had offensive coaches. But if you had to do crystal ball on Russell Wilson, what it looks like end of the year's schedule's awful. But if you had to have a crystal ball on Russell Wilson, another quarterback who almost inexplicably got worse fast without an injury, just got worse fast nearing thirty five, what is your crystal ball on Pittsburgh?

Wilson guys? I mean when you think do you think TJ. Watt and MIKEA. Fitzpatrick. You never say the word brand. You think ass kickers and football players. And I just can't imagine. I just don't think he's good enough. And the margin Ferrera in this conference dinking and dunking. You could argue if it starts slow, like what if they're owing to and it's just like what are we doing on? It might not even get to five and a half

because what what whorst is equity with the operation? Denver what'nything? Pretty heavily paying them anything? They're paying them less than a million dollars. Honestly, if it got really what, you could cut them and you wouldn't even think twice. And that happens to a lot of NFL players. Once you start getting the team three and four, your equity with the operation disappears. And it's a performance based business, so no one's gonna want to hear about anything except touchdown passes.

And I don't know, I mean the guy we've seen the last couple of years, I don't know if his confidence is gone. I don't know if, but he's been a pretty marginal player now for three straight years because that last year in Seattle and then everything that happened

in the last two years in Denver. I also think, if you're the fan bases in the NFL, sneaky have a lot of juice because that's kind of where the owners, you know, they listen to radio that they so you think Pittsburgh if all of a sudden listen, I don't know. I would bet justin Fields he's probably closer to what we've seen his whole career, but we've also seen guys improve with that skill set when they get with the

right coordinator. Arthur Smith resurrected Ryan Tannehill. If I'm a fan and we're zeroing too, like I not watching Russell Wilson, Well, I've seen this from Afar putting the young kid, and let's just see if we could figure something out with this guy that has a lot of physical tools. Now quarterbacks at about a lot more than run fast and throwing hard. His pocket presence has been a major question mark. But what did Arthur Smith do with Ryan tannel They ran the ball. He gave him a lot of easy

looks kept it pretty simple. Now, I don't think they really have Derrick Henry, you know, Najee Harris, Okay, back Jalen Warred pretty explosive, but if their defense is good. You know, honestly, if I was a Steeler fan, I just want to see Justin fields right out. I wouldn't even want to see Russell Wilson. I just like, can we resurrect this guy?

and there's no injury he's not to thirty six. He works really hard, Like it's a really hard ask. You start trying to figure out. You say, well, he didn't get along. Seattley wasn't beloved, so no injury, He's still elusive. It's like he put wede On in the wrong spot. He got a little thick. I find Russell to be a complete historic outlier, like Matt Ryan, never moved well, didn't have a big arm, kind of thin, and it

felt like the game quickly passed him by. It got very mobile and athletic, and he wasn't you know, there are players at the end. Philip Rivers was never athletic. He got like the most unathletic quarterback in the league. Eli Manning just felt like he was out of gas. Russell, You're like last year in Seattle, he's a wizard and then he's bad and then Peyton makes him okay, And I'm like, I don't think he sees the field. I don't think he sees guys, and I from people close

and around Sean like that's what the film said. He just didn't see open guys.

I mean, they have a lot of talent on the team and he looks like a guy and he's way younger than Russell. You're like, what the hell is this? Yeah, and that that is?

Tom Aaron, it's winning. Think about some of the solid cousins. Why is he had success? Dak Goff win in the pocket is how you do it on a weekly basis, especially nowadays you watch the combine. How many of these d linemen are running four sevens and four as crazy, So you start scrambling around. You don't get as much space anymore because these guys can run you down. The guy the Eagles draft last year, Jalen Carter, is like three hundred and twenty pounds and can run faster than

some like running backs. So the athleticism, and let's face it, the other thing is the offensive linemen that have come into the league over the last four or five years. The supply and demand relative to the high defensive linemen, it's kind of it hasn't been there. So the offensive lineman, a lot of these guys get aren't as good as

they used to be. And we know because of college football is not quite the same the way that they coach with the spread offenses, and these defensive linemen are coming for you and they can catch you unless you're Kyler Murray and most obviously you know Russell definitely no longer is as fast and even Deshaun Watson, you watch him, he doesn't play fast anymore. The volume.