BEST OF THE HERD – Caleb Williams keeps sizzling I Drake Maye is carrying the Patriots solo I LeBron’s epic comeback in Philly home opener I DANNY PARKINS

0:00 Thanks for listening to the Best of the Herd podcast. Be sure to catch us live every weekday on Fox Sports Radio and noon to 3 Eastern, 9 a.m. to noon Pacific. Find your local station for the Herd at foxsportsradio.com or stream us live every day on the iHeartRadio app by searching Fox Sports Radio or FSR.

0:19 This is the Best of the Herd with Colin Cowherd on Fox Sports Radio.

0:28 Welcome in. What a night. That is as good as the NFL gets in the regular season. Felt like a conference championship game in Chicago on a perfect weather night. Two great coaches, two remarkable young quarterbacks, two excellent football teams. We are live. We are in Chicago. It's the Herd, blazing five in an hour, wherever you may be, however you may be listening. Thanks for making us part of your game. I want to start with New England's defense.

1:02 It is really well coached. Sticky defense. No deep balls, physical. They sniff stuff out. They disguise it. For Chicago to score 30 points on a short week against that defense, that's the most total yards and the most passing yards the Patriots have given up this year. In fact, since Vrabel's been the coach in New England, they've never given up that many yards in a game, 4-0-5. And they play Josh Allen twice a year. This New England defense is going to eat quarterbacks up. It is hard to describe in person how good Caleb is. I mean, and this offense is the real Gotti. The coach, the quarterback, the GM's been perfect. The tight end, the wide receivers.

1:51 They didn't have their number two running back, who many think is their number one running back. They are moving the ball. You don't get 405 yards on this Rabel defense. You do not. And on a short week, I mean, there was 19 penalties. Thursday football is tough for teams. Caleb throwing across his body, the window throws. I'm going to tell you something. His arm in person, I felt like when I went to Miami, when LeBron was in his prime and basically owned the East, I went to a couple of Miami Heat games against really quality teams.

2:22 And you're like, God, LeBron is like a level above the All-Stars. Bosh, Wade. Some of the stuff Caleb does, I feel like I'm watching Josh Allen without the interceptions. I mean, Josh Allen, a couple weeks ago, played New England's defense, ended up with a passer rating in the 80s. Caleb was at 117 last night in a short week. 117, second highest passer rating in the Vrabel era. So, I mean, first quarterback to throw for 300 yards against this defense in a calendar year. Everybody's afraid to say it. I'm not.

3:01 I think Cale is the most talented quarterback in this league. I really do. It is incredible. And you have to earn every yard. This New England defense, you know, you don't get to see the secondary as much when you're watching on television. This defense is well coached. It is really sticky. They sniffed out a couple of screens. But, I mean, Burden's a dog. Colston Loveland. Roma Dundas had drops.

3:25 He's talented. Swift making up yards. So, I mean, New England's a real team. They had injuries, short week, on the road. I mean, the Bears had eight chunk plays of over 20 yards. That will not happen the rest of the season, including the playoffs against New England's defense.

3:43 No way.

3:44 Eight chunk plays? I mean, I'm not trying to be hyper here, but it is... I mean, honestly, there's times that you watch games on television, then you go watch them in person, and it is wow. And I sat there watching this last night, and my takeaway was Caleb deserves somebody as good as Ben Johnson. Michael Jordan deserved Phil Jackson. Michael Jackson deserved Quincy Jones. Like when you get one of these brilliant, young, talented people in any sport, in the arts, movies, I don't care if it's DiCaprio or Caleb Williams, they deserve the best director. I mean, the last two games, Caleb is 43 of 46 in a clean pocket. And when the pocket's not clean, that's when it's really fun to watch. That's when the magic happens.

4:30 So I'm just saying, 30 points against this New England defense, which in person blew me away, eight chunk plays, and I mean, there's constant pressure. They are disguising, manipulating, sniffing things out. I just sitting there watching some of this stuff. And I was sitting next to a friend who's played college football at quarterback, young kid. And we're just a couple times. We're like this, this stuff is you almost root for the bear's pocket to break down. So Caleb, it's like, Oh, this is a fun stuff. This is Michael Jordan switching hands. I mean, this is, this is, this is the fun stuff. Here was Caleb after the win.

5:09 These nights are awesome.

5:15 He played versus another good team. in a primetime game on a short week. These games are awesome because you get to see who you are as a team, and that's who we are. We're a smash-mouth football team, innovative team. And then when things happen and things don't go our way.

5:30 You know, and the water's.

5:32 Rocky, we stay steady. And so we're going to keep going. We're going to keep fighting. That's who we are. That's why I know who we are.

5:40 And for all of you that sold your Drake May stock, you're out of your mind. This kid is so talented. First of all, running back Travion Henderson, I really liked him out of college. I'm not sure he can play.

5:54 A.J.

5:54 Brown, I'm not saying wash, but you don't have to double him. You don't have to bracket him. They put Malik Muhammad, a rookie, on him.

6:00 Fine.

6:01 I mean, they're tight end. Hunter Henry, I like. They're fine, but they're not Colston Loveland. And the offensive line had multiple injuries. Caleb's got Ryan Poles handing him kings and aces. I mean, every time I look around, Chicago's got a backup guy that can play. Drake May, he is the load-bearing piece here. They got no number one receiver. They thought they bought one. They got no number one running back.

6:24 The offensive line had multiple injuries. The tight ends are okay. And the kid comes up with 320 yards, short week on the road, 118 passer rating, 77% completions. And by the way, Dennis Allen doesn't have a ton to work with. The defense is okay. They need a pass rusher. I mean, could they go out and, I mean, honestly, do you go by? The whole time, you know what I kept thinking?

6:46 Go get Khalil Mack again. Go get Khalil Mack from the Chargers. They need just a straight dog pass rusher. And Dennis Allen is manipulating. He's got seven, eight guys at the line. You have no idea where they're coming from. It's not an easy deal. It's got a lot of Brian Flores to it. You have no idea where guys are coming from. And this kid has a feel. Instincts can move. He's huge. He is the load-bearing piece here.

7:10 And again, so you've got to bake in. He's going to have some bad games against great defenses. He's got to carry so much of the load here. And I'm not saying it's a great Chicago defense, but they're well-coached. That was a tough environment. I don't know why they traded Keishon Booty. That one I don't get. They call up Houston, get him back. I don't get that move at all. They need help here. So when people say this about Drake May, well.

7:38 He presses. You would, too. There's no option here for him. It's funny about last night. And this is why I refuse. So Drake May had a pick.

7:47 Who cares?

7:47 He is pressing. He has to press. He has to make plays. And then Caleb rolled out and took a bad sack. Again, when you're that magical and gifted, you're trying to make plays. Both Drake and Caleb tried to make plays and made mistakes. You cannot be perfect on a short week against that kind of coaching. But the people banging on Drake May... I'm telling you, remember when Vrabel kind of came out and said it's kind of a thin roster? He ain't kidding on offense. I mean, it is. Drake May just competed, is a gamer. I'm telling you right now, I'm not sure how many New England guys start for Chicago offensively. Now, you could say the opposite is true with the New England defense, but offensively, I mean, I got, I got a, I got Ben Johnson.

8:37 I got Caleb. I got a back. I got another one coming back and Loveland and, and Luther and Roma don't say, and it's embarrassment of riches for the bears. Offensively, Drake may, he is, he is carrying the weight on that puppy. Here's Rabel after.

8:54 He gave us a chance.

8:55 He competed.

8:55 And I know he'd like to have that throwback to, to Eli, but you know.

8:59 I thought he really competed and, Whether that was running around and scrambling and finding good places to go with football.

9:11 Gave us a chance.

9:12 I know he'd like to have that one back. He'll learn from it like he always does. I'm glad he's ours.

9:22 New England, I think the number's like 23 first or second year players. So I said this before. I think Chicago is good enough. I really do now. I think if Chicago went out and aggressively got an edge rusher, like a strict pass rusher, like a Khalil Mack, who the Chargers may be willing to deal, I think they're good enough to win the Super Bowl. New England got to one last year. They were overwhelmed. Seattle has more good players. This thing, when Vrabel took this over from Gerard Mayo— I just remember when he took it over.

9:53 They had no players. They were the slowest team in the league. And they had, they, then they bring Vrabel, Josh McDaniel, Drake May, they clean him up. It's remarkable. They got to a Superbowl watching new England last night. I'm like, I honestly feel like they need another draft. because last year was not a good draft for him.

10:09 So they're trying to replenish this stuff. Drake may is playing with a lot of kids. There are a lot of young guys on the old line at tight end at running back. New England's just, they're just not in. This is an offensive league. They just need more pieces there. And they're super, super young, new England. When Vrabel took this over, this was not a one-year lift. Get into the super bowl. It doesn't even make sense. You can't wrap your brain around that. That's amazing. Um, They still need more players. They don't have Niner players. I don't think Chicago's offensive grouping, I mean, even watching them in warm-ups, you're just like, length and size and quickness and hands. Uh, that was fun. J Mac, that was a good time

10:52 last night. Yeah. Sounds like it.

10:54 I mean, geez, you sound like you're hurting this morning, a late night in a windy city. I will say, I think you're overrating the Patriots defense a little bit. They face three good quarterbacks. Trevor Lawrence hung 35 on them. Josh Allen hung 26 on them and Caleb Williams did whatever he wanted last night. So I don't, I mean that some of the advanced stats say they're like a middle of the pack defense. I don't even know if that they're a playoff team in the AFC, but your bears, that is a winner to me. Colin, I think they're better than the Rams right now. I don't think there's any argument.

11:24 Oh, I don't think it's even close. Again, there's something to be said. And I want to talk later about this with the Rams. Rams are top heavy. And when you watch them play, there's not a lot of juice. One of the things I've been saying about the Bears the last couple of years, they have the energy of a college team. They really do because Ben's really intense and Caleb's loose and fun. And we always said they may not be a perfect couple. It'll work because they're both so brilliant. But you start watching them and you're like, no.

11:54 Ben's intensity, like Caleb lightens it up a bit. And Caleb's kind of light, fun. Ben adds a little intensity to that. And you watch them work together well. For the record, these are young teams. Rams are one of the oldest offenses in the league. These two teams you're watching last night, They're not at the ceiling yet. New England's going to be more talented in one calendar year.

12:20 In Chicago, I think Chicago's a piece away on the defensive front from playing in February. Colin, you look at the top three teams in the NFC right now, right? Week seven.

12:30 It's the Niners who are beat the hell up, and we know they're not going to survive the season. The Vikings, who have some questions. I think they do have a really good week this week. And then the Bears, who are an absolute machine. I mean, the Eagles are out, right? I think the Seahawks are fading. Colin, I think you might have to start getting ready for a Super Bowl out here in Los Angeles for your Bears.

12:51 The game's at SoFi in February. I will say, this Thursday night game. Remember we watched Denver and Seattle play Thursday. And you can just tell. Look at the penalties on Thursday. It's just not enough time. I mean, New England goes short week. You're in a big game. Short week.

13:10 On the road.

13:12 We're not asking them to play on Saturday one night before usual. We're asking them to play with about 40% less prep time than they need for a game. So when I watch Thursdays, I try to bake in there's going to be 15 penalties. And you could see last night at the line of scrimmage, it's just a little, it's not buttoned up, but you've got to be fair to these guys. These are two young teams. It's a Thursday night game. It was sloppy. I watched the Seahawks, and I watched Denver, and there's a lot of older players for Denver, and it's like they were sloppy with Sean Payton. So I always kind of like bake in.

13:50 It's Thursday. It will not be an aesthetic masterpiece. But I felt like I was watching great coaching, toughness, physical playmaking. That's about, I'll tell you, between Jacksonville-Houston last week in London, It's funny. The best games, London last week and Thursday this week, that'll be hard to top. That was a sensational night of football. I got more on this game.

14:15 A real takeaway on the Bears that I think deserves praise. Also, of course LeBron beat the Cavs that way.

14:27 Next.

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15:02 On YouTube.

15:03 Subscribe, hit that thumbs up icon, and comment away. So it was just classic. Last night, when LeBron and the Sixers hosted the Cavs, that's why he chose Philly over Cleveland. Everybody thought he was going to Cleveland. And I kept saying, no, Philly works. He needs youth. He needs two-way committed players.

15:28 He doesn't need head cases in Cleveland. The Cavs are the tin man of the NBA. They got no heart. They also blew a 22-point fourth quarter lead against the Knicks in the playoffs. Last night, they led by 29 before half and lost. LeBron wanted to go to Cleveland. He's got the house. He's got the history. He's got friends in the organization. But he knew James Harden. Last night, more turnovers than assists. He knew Donovan Mitchell. Guys that Donovan Mitchell guarded last night shot 67%. And LeBron knew that.

15:58 He's always been that smart. So LeBron's 41 years old. He wanted guys that could get him out of holes. And last night, Jalen Brown, really big in the fourth quarter. Embiid delivered when they were down big. Now LeBron can still crush it in spurts. He had 10 points in the third quarter. But LeBron has actually had, for the Sixers starting five, the lowest plus minus through two games.

16:24 Both games. And they're 2-0. And when they got down 29, Cleveland was the perfect team. to be up by 29. No heart. And what I love about Jalen Brown is he's always been a very good two-way players, the effort. So he held the Cavs last night. Jalen Brown did a four of 13 shooting. In the first game against the Knicks, he held the Knicks that he guarded to one for 14. That's what Luke and Austin Reeves couldn't do.

16:49 That's what Harden and Donovan Mitchell couldn't do. That's why I kept preaching, go to Philly. Edgecombe defends. Jalen Brown will defend. Embiid, not a great defender, but he can protect the rim. LeBron's 41 years old. He's trying to find guys that, you know, he'll give you spurts. He's not going to give 12 straight minutes of great basketball.

17:08 So this is the biggest comeback ever in LeBron's career, down 29. And it's a comeback and a blown lead that Cleveland, even last year, they become accustomed to. But I think last night was a microcosm of why he chose Philly over comfortable Cleveland. Is that Mitchell won't guard anybody, Harden's too flaky in big spots, and last night he needed Jalen Brown's defense, Maxie's ascending closing, Embiid's talent, Edgecombe's energy.

17:46 He needed all of that last night. And then LeBron will give you 10 in the third quarter and distribute and make great decisions. But I'll tell you, Philly is fun to watch. They're not quite synced up yet. They're fun to watch. And here's LeBron after.

18:01 It was everything that I dreamed of and more. Got the booze. That was amazing.

18:09 We deserved it.

18:10 And then we got the cheers and almost blew the roof off this thing tonight, you know, in a good way. So that was a hell of a night.

18:23 Up 29.

18:25 Right before half. If you say, hey, tell me the playoff team that blew a 29-point lead last night. Cleveland. I'm going to go with Cleveland. I trust the Browns today. Seriously, I'm picking them this week way more than the Cavs. And the Cavs have like they think a championship roster, and the Browns are just trying to bail water and get through the season with Todd Munkin. I trust the Cleveland Browns. You can put that in the archives.

18:54 Tonight, the fall classic begins on Fox with two teams looking for their first ever World Series title as the Rays take on the Brewers. Game one of the World Series coverage begins tonight at 7 Eastern on Fox.

19:08 Joe Maddon led the Cubs to a World Series title a decade ago. He's going to be joining us final hour today. You know, you can go on Duolingo for three years and learn a language and But if you grow up in Paris, as a child growing up, it's a different feel. I learned this when I met my wife 20 years ago. Her dad was in the restaurant business.

19:29 And her kids are cooks. Everybody cooks. And friends are chefs. And you can take all the classes you want. If you grow up in the kitchen as a kid, the spices, you just know. It's a language. It's a feel. It's a nuance. In baseball, they say there are throwers and then there are pitchers. And so much of sports, beyond big arm and strong is feel and nuance and it.

19:57 Some guys just see the field. I mean, Caleb Williams sees the field. Justin Fields, I swear, never did. Zach Wilson, I always struggle with. I don't think he sees the field. Drake May sees the field. It's not just being big, strong, and competing. There's a field of sports and some stuff you can't explain. And so the Arch Manning thing, that's been weird because you'd think of all the things that Arch Manning would have, you'd be like, well, he's a Manning.

20:29 He'll have feel for the position. And what's interesting is the most alarming stat with Arch, he's holding the ball longer this year. with a better star receiver, with a better left tackle, with one of the best play callers. So is he processing it slower? Is it taking longer? Does he just lack kind of a feel for it?

20:50 I watched him against that Florida quarterback last week, the Florida kid, on the road. I mean, it's like making his first start, and the kid, all sorts of feel, all sorts of confidence. That's the one thing I'll say about Arch. I don't have the playbook. I don't know what they're calling him. But it does feel like he doesn't have a feel. And I don't know how to explain that. But there is an instinct, a nuance that I just... The great ones, things just come easier. So he'll play a kid tomorrow, Trinidad Chambliss, who's pretty small.

21:24 But I said last year, as my favorite player in college football to watch, Ole Miss quarterback, he's just remarkable. He is a lot of feel. He doesn't have the size. He's 5'10. But when you watch Trinidad play, it's like a golfer who's just good around the green, man. He just never leaves it short in a big pot. He's just got a feel for it. And Art, maybe it's the pressure, but it's not lack of talent. But now the numbers say he's holding the ball longer this year.

21:55 I don't have an explanation. I trust my eyes. I feel like he doesn't have a feel. And here's Sark on the Arch experience.

22:05 Somebody texted me today that we lost the Aw Shucks kid, you know, and we've created something else. I don't know if we lost him. We created this, you know, we did all of us. Y'all included me, the whole thing, right? Everybody on ESPN, we've created this. And so we'll see what comes out of it, but, but he's edgy right now.

22:27 And honestly, I appreciate that about him. At some point he's got to fight back and the best way for him to fight back is going out and playing really good football with his teammates.

22:37 Yeah.

22:37 It's going to be a great game. Ole Miss at Texas tomorrow. So, um, I saw this story yesterday. Puka Nakua, Rams star receiver, leaves practice with a calf injury. He's a remarkable talent. He's also very immature. They've been putting out fires behind the scenes for three years. You've read about some of them, and he gets hurt pretty regularly.

23:01 And Devonta Adams does as well. So now they're going to be potentially without their two best receivers. So this is when GMing is really hard because he's an unbelievable talent. I mean, a fifth-round receiver. receiver like his rookie year you're like wow he can block he's physical yards after the catch but has given him a hundred million dollars gonna make him more mature because they've been putting out some fires and you've read about some of it and so my take is if if the rams felt good about it he'd have a contract i wouldn't pay him and i think he's great I mean, last year, week 14, I think it was week 14, they're getting ready to play Seattle. And basically he tried to get internet streamers

23:40 onto the practice facility. And McVay's like, bro, not the time, not the place. So I think if the Rams wanted to, but I think it's a bigger issue is that everybody's like, how in the world are the Rams two and four? The offense is old. Now they got some really good young defensive talent, but the offense is old. And Stafford's old, and Puka's body sometimes feels old, and Devontae's older. And you've got Kyron Williams not real happy with his carries, and Devontae now hurt again. So it's getting very, very noisy.

24:15 And I think we've got to be honest about what the Rams are. I think we looked at them, and we forget that this is a young man's league. Chicago's offense, explosive, real young. Seattle's defense, unbelievable, real young. And you can win with older players. San Francisco's got them with a great play designer, play caller. But I kind of look at the Rams right now. I feel they're heavy offensively.

24:42 They're old. They're top heavy. There's not a lot of juice. They don't feel like a college team. They feel like a well-paid, older, professional team. And I just– there's something missing. And now Puka's hurt. And, you know– Their draft was really interesting. Robert Mays from The Athletic talked about their needs and what they went and got in the offseason.

25:09 They didn't protect themselves in the offseason. They had a chance to do that in the draft, and they chose not to. They thought that having an off-ramp quarterback was more important than building some depth. And even as you get into the second and third round, Max Claire, the tight end they took in the second round, has been healthy and active for most of the season.

25:24 Just think about this team right now with KC Concepcion.

25:28 And you're not in a spot now where you're having to panic trade for somebody because Devontae Adams got hurt. All of the offensive tackles, essentially, were available to them where they were picking in the first round. They chose not to go that route, and offensive tackle has been a concern.

25:42 Yeah, and by the way, Puka is the all-time leader. The talent's not a question. He is the all-time leader in receiving yards a game, and he blocks. I'm not doubting that. But you get into this, okay, you're going to pay him, and you're paying Devontae, and you're paying Stafford, and you're paying Miles Garrett. You've got a couple of these defensive linemen, you've got to pay them. Kobe Turner, you just paid Trent McDuffie. So, like, to me, and you're seeing a little bit in this Philadelphia. Remember, everybody picked the Eagles to win their division, and all of a sudden they move off Cam Juergens, and Lane Johnson retires, and there's rumors that they're going to move Saquon Barkley.

26:19 You'd rather move guys a year early than a year late, especially guys that get dinged up. And I'm thinking, if the Rams lost this weekend to the Raiders and they're 2-5, are they acquiring some draft picks? Are they looking in the mirror going, guys, I mean, what if the Niners win and they lose? You're not one of the division. Like, you're not.

26:41 Right?

26:41 It's not that early. I mean, now the games start to, that Rams-Raiders game, That is a big deal. And you can point the fingers at the play calling. But, you know, they probably should have gone out and got another receiver. They probably, you know, the reason they had to go get two Kansas City corners, because the year before, inexplicably, they didn't draft the corner. You know, they didn't want to spend a high draft pick on a corner. So it is, I think we all overvalued it. We forget this is often a very young man's league.

27:13 And.

27:14 J-Mac said this earlier. I watched those two teams last night, New England and Chicago. New England has 23 players who are first or second year players. These guys are right out of college. And Chicago's offense is incredibly young, and they're starting two rookies in the secondary. There is an energy.

27:32 And New England and Chicago are excellent football teams. Those are excellent coaches, excellent quarterbacks, excellent cultures. You can feel the energy at that game last night. I was on the sideline before the game. You could, it felt like a college playoff game. Like it was young and trash talking and guys are laughing. And it's, it felt the staff for the bears is young. And you're like, this is Rams feel a little stayed a little old, little dinged up. A lot of guys making a lot of money, a lot of legacies here. Doesn't feel right. That's what's great about the league. J-Mac and I make our picks.

28:08 You wake up Sunday crossing your fingers. You don't know what last week I was wrong on virtually everything. Hey, let me ask you, Colin.

28:15 Cole Komet, they're just reporting now that it sounds like serious knee injury out for the year.

28:19 However, there's a bunch of teams. Dallas Goddard could hit the market. Well, they also drafted a tight end out of Stanford, who's a very good blocker. People criticized it. Now that makes some sense. That's good.

28:34 Be sure to catch live editions of The Herd weekdays at noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, FS1, and the iHeartRadio app.

28:43 Whenever you get these generational athletes, I want to go watch them as often as I can live whenever somebody's in my city. So last night I went to the Bears game. It's a Thursday night game. I can't go to games on Sunday because I have to watch the entire league. So I was going to go to the Bears-Eagles game, but Caleb wasn't playing on that Monday where the Bears won. Caleb was playing on this one against Vrabel in New England, so I thought this is going to be the best game I get to see live all year. And it really lived up to it. It had a very big game playoff feel to it. I think you have to be fair as a fan and as a media member. It's a Thursday night. There were 19 penalties. It's not like we're asking them to play

29:19 24 hours before they normally would. We're asking them to play like 40% less prep time than you would get, 40% to 50% less prep time as a pro athlete than you would get normally. The Seahawks, Denver, played on Thursday. It was one of the most unwatchable games of the year, and those were good teams. So last night, a lot of penalties. But when you watch certain athletes, in person, it's, it is the TV does not do it justice. Your average right guard in person on TV is the same guy.

29:48 You know, you get to watch Caleb in person and you're like some of those, the velocity on his arm. I mean, I'm just talking about, if you look at him, you know, as an asset, as a, if you, if you right now could pick every player in the NFL to start your franchise with, most people would say Josh Allen, Josh Allen played that new England defense ended up with a passer rating in the eighties and Caleb on a short week with a very young team ended up with a one 17. They both have offensive coaches. Like, you know, everybody's a little afraid to say it is Caleb.

30:23 Yeah.

30:23 Just say it. He's the most talented quarterback in the league. Not the winningest, not the most productive. I get all the Josh Allen, but I don't get the picks. And I've said this for years. Caleb does not throw a lot of picks. He really doesn't. You know, when he got injured, when he came into the league, because I'd watched him at USC, I'm like, he doesn't get hurt, and he doesn't throw picks. So you get the big upside.

30:46 A little like Aaron Rodgers early in his career in his prime. You're like, you get the upside, and he doesn't throw picks. I mean, Manning threw picks. Namath threw them. Elway threw them. Everybody throws picks. Mahomes throws picks. But it's pretty special. It is. It is something else. All right, here we go. We've had, was it four to five weeks?

31:05 We've had winning weeks. Kind of stumbled last week. We didn't know what we were doing last week. Feel really good about the picks. Here we go.

31:12 Let's blaze it up. It's Collins blazing fire. 49ers at Falcons.

31:19 I like Atlanta plus two and a half at home number one rush offense and leads the NFL with 14 offensive touchdowns since Penix became the starter in week three Drake London leads the NFL in receiving yards since Penix became the starter in week three and now Kyle Penix has been reborn with Penix as the starter also they get a very good pressure rate On San Francisco, 43% pressure rate this season is near the top of the NFL.

31:44 San Francisco coming off short rest, 15 players on the injured reserve list. They've lost time of possession in five straight games. I don't love that. I think this is one of those bad matchups for a really, really good team. The Niners are not going undefeated. I'm going to take the points and the Falcons to win 28-27. Bengals and Ravens.

32:07 I like the Bengals plus one and a half. They're coming off a bye and the Ravens are coming off a tough divisional road loss. Lamar Jackson back but limited at practice. Burrow has played really, really well against the Ravens. His last four games, 98 passer rating, 300 plus yards and targeting Jamar and T. Higgins this year's passer rating is 115. So I like the matchup. Ravens played five straight physical one-score games. If Snoop starts, they'll give you about 19 points. I just think it's the spot. It's off a bye. I get points. I'm going to take the Bengals to win Moneyline at 27-21. Browns hit Titans.

32:53 I actually love the Browns here. Could be my favorite pick, minus one and a half. They've won four of their last five. They've outscored the Ravens 13-0 in the second half. They dominated Baltimore. Okay, Deshaun Watson, for all my issues with him in the fourth quarter this year, has been exceptional.

33:08 And over his last five games, he's got six TDs and a pick. Deshaun's playing well with a couple of great rookie wide receivers. You think the Titans are going to win back-to-back games? You really going to go there? You're going to have the Titans on a two-game winning streak. They've lost 12 straight games after a win. You suddenly are going to buy into that nonsense. They've been out gained by almost 650 yards this year. So even last week, their win was, I mean, Cam Ward, home or away, six of his 11 losses had been like by 13-plus points.

33:39 And home, Titans don't have a home field advantage anymore. um i i like cleveland here 24 to 20 they're playing well i think they're i think they've got a lot more talent packers and lions i think this is a really tough spot for green bay so the lions are at home off a bye green bay played on sunday night football 77 defensive snaps That is a huge number.

34:06 So Lions' fewest giveaways. Goff doesn't have an interception. Number one rated offensive line. They're going to eat. They're going to score points. Off a bye, they're going to score points. Green Bay in this three-game heater has faced two backup quarterbacks. They're the most penalized team in the league. They make mistakes.

34:21 Only team bottom five in time of possession with a winning record. I don't love that because Detroit, Jameer Gibbs can take the ball away from Jared Goff. I think this is a rough spot. I think 77 defensive snaps for Green Bay last week. I like the Lions here to win and cover minus three, 33-28. Chiefs set Seahawks.

34:44 I like the Chiefs plus two and a half.

34:45 I do.

34:46 If Seattle didn't have a run game, they're not moving the ball against Kansas City. Chiefs have been outscoring teams by almost 12 points a game. Number one total offense. Number two rushing offense. When you go on the road, what do you want to do? Time of possession. Take the Seattle crowd out of it. Seattle can't. They can't run the football. Kansas City can. The Seahawks have lost three of four. They're giving the ball away. Darnold is pressing because on third down and seven, he's got to make plays. They're rushing great this year by PFF is 30th.

35:18 I see Kansas City. Time of possession, quieting the crowd. Andy takes an early lead. I'm going to take them plus the points to beat the Hawks 24 to 23. I like him. I'll be honest with you. I didn't love my picks last week. Love them this week. Now it's time to bring on former Chicago radio legend Danny Parkins.

35:49 Calling all sports fans. Calling all sports fans.

35:54 It's time to park it for parking. I had no idea he called old Brooklyn Dodger games in that video.

36:05 I didn't either.

36:05 I didn't either. And now you tell me that you didn't like last week's picks. Now you tell me.

36:10 That's good.

36:12 Classic gambling move.

36:15 I said, everybody's afraid to say it because they'll get picked on by the blogosphere. It's like, Caleb's the most talented quarterback in the league. I said it. I'm okay with it. I'm going to live with it now. Josh Allen's got more reps, probably a little more refined, I think. Then I look at the pocket numbers. I think the better coaches in Chicago. I think Chicago's drafted better on offense.

36:37 I mean, is it crazy to just say, if you could literally take any player in the league, he's one or two? Am I overshooting it here? When I watched it live last night, I'm like, what am I watching?

36:52 There is something special to watching him live. I remember being at Bears-Packers in the playoff game last year in the snow. I wasn't in a cushy box like you. I was out there with the people. And when Caleb rolls to his left on fourth and eight and does a jump pass to Roma Dunze for 27 yards, I'm like, whew, that is pretty impressive. Now, that one translated well on TV, too, but it is kind of a unique one-of-one type talent. Listen, you're not going to find me arguing against Caleb Williams.

37:18 He's a superstar. He's an elite talent with an elite coach. And he's taken a lot of crap in the blogosphere and in shows like these about his Instagram bio saying that he's inevitable.

37:30 I think he is inevitable.

37:31 I think it is inevitable that the majority in consensus opinion will one day be that Caleb Williams is a superstar. You and I are already there. What I would say is pedigree matters, accomplishment matters, longevity matters. So I have no problem with people who say Mahomes and Allen and Lamar are ahead of Caleb Williams. I have no problem with that. But if they were playing in a game next week and it was Caleb Williams against Josh Allen, Caleb.

37:58 Williams could outplay him.

38:00 I believe that this version of him at this moment can go toe-to-toe with any player in the league. And I want to congratulate us, Colin. We lived through maybe the single dumbest era, and it was only like four days, in the history of sports opinion. Because I was thinking about things that I've been concerned about in my life.

38:22 The happiness of my children, parents getting older, turbulence on an airplane, zombie apocalypse, AI, rational, irrational, we're all worried about stuff. People were actually worried about whether or not Caleb Williams was a check down merchant.

38:36 They were like.

38:37 Average depth of targets, like as if Caleb Williams, who has maybe the strongest arm in the history of football with a coach, Ben Johnson, who like lives, breathes and all he thinks about is explosive plays. They're like, I don't know, maybe Caleb Williams doesn't throw the ball downfield enough to Eight completions of 20 yards or more last night against the Mike Vrabel defense. I think that take lasted about 90 hours.

39:02 Yeah, I texted Vrabel this morning. I'm like, listen, man, that was a tough spot. Road game Thursday night. I mean, there was 19 penalties. I saw Denver-Seattle play on Thursday. These are brutal. I mean, listen, I'm for more football. This is a tough ask for a game where 300-pound men that can bench press a state tackle you. It's a tough ask. I will say this. There was a moment.

39:24 I want to shift to Drake May because we sold CJ Stroud stock. It's like, guys, I saw him as a rookie. He's really good. And then we sold Drake May stock. And let's be honest about this. New England has 23 first or second year players. They're still a draft away. Chicago's not. If Chicago went and got Khalil Mack at the trade deadline, I'd be like, OK, that's a top four Super Bowl team. New England's not there.

39:48 I'm watching last night. They don't have a number one back.

39:51 A.J.

39:52 Brown is now a bodybuilder. I'm not sure he's a number one. Their tight ends are okay. Nothing resembling Colston Loveland. O-line guys. I was blown away by Drake May last night that what he is carrying, he's not Caleb, but I don't know. I came out of that game. I'm like, that's as good a loss as you can have in a short week as a young kid.

40:17 Drake Mays, excellent.

40:18 I never sold a share of his stock. I mean, going into the game, he had the highest pass rating in the NFL the last three weeks, the most touchdowns in the NFL the last three weeks. That game very easily could have gone the other way.

40:31 Drake is the one. Drake made the mistake, right?

40:34 Like Drake had the brutal interception in the end zone. And I have no idea why he didn't put.

40:38 More air under that ball.

40:41 Fourth and two, first play of the fourth quarter, Patriots take the penalty. They were going to go for it on fourth down. They're down 27-21.

40:49 They were driving. Maybe they convert that fourth down.

40:52 And then they play the fourth quarter from out in front. Instead, they had to punt instead of going for it on the fourth and two. And then Cairo Santos makes a career-long field goal at the end to put it on ice. He misses that field goal. Patriots get the ball at midfield. Drake may easily could have been the hero last night.

41:09 And then everyone would have been killing Ben Johnson today for trusting Cairo Santos to kick that ball and for handing off to Joe Tooney and seemingly not knowing the rules that you can't hand off to an offensive lineman. So there's a razor thin margin and edge in the NFL most weeks. But I don't know anyone killing Drake May today. But if they are, that's silly.

41:27 Yeah, you know, it's interesting. In the division, you have Lions, Packers. I think it's a tough spot for Green Bay. I talked about this yesterday. I said, guys, Bears are going to win this game. You cannot ask an injury-riddled O-line with 23 young guys to go on the road short week and win. Like, if they win, it's unbelievable. Detroit rested.

41:48 Green Bay, 77 defensive snaps. They still don't have Micah. I. I look at Detroit and I think, okay, that's a Super Bowl team to me potentially. Do you think either one of these is a Super Bowl team?

42:04 So I feel like I know what Detroit is. Excellent offense, horrible defense. And I don't know that there are reinforcements coming for Detroit on the defensive side of the ball. They just kind of are what they are. Goff has been amazing. It's him and Drew Brees, the only quarterbacks ever, to have 13 or more touchdowns with zero turnovers through the first five games in NFL history. Jared Goff and that offense is... Jameer Gibbs has been arguably the best offensive player in football.

42:32 So they're going to score points.

42:34 But what I would say about Green Bay is Jordan Love's numbers aren't great. But to me, he is passing the eye test.

42:41 His rating would be higher.

42:42 His touchdown perception percentage would be higher. Guys are just dropping touchdown passes like in that game against Dallas last week. And they've gotten the least amount of production of any team in the NFL at running back. They're getting Josh Jacobs back. Their secondary has been good. They've been 10th in the NFL in points allowed. Now, some of that is they played Jalen Daniels in Tampa. They played Tyson Bajent in Chicago. But they did it against Dak, and they're going to get Micah back. So if Jordan Love with Matthew Golden and Christian Watson and Tucker Craft getting Josh Jacobs back is playing that well, their offense should be really good. And their defense has been pretty good, and it's been really good the last three weeks. And

43:21 they're eventually going to get Micah back again. I think Green Bay still has a very high ceiling and can get rolling. The NFC North just top to bottom, I do think is the best division in football. And I still think there's an outside shot that all of the wildcard teams from the NFC could come out.

43:36 Of the North. So Kansas City's playing Seattle. I like Kansas City in that game because until Seattle can run, Darnold won't play on play action. He's very ineffective. Just like the previous two years with Mahomes when he had no run game, you're just not as efficient. It's just harder to throw on third and sixth than third and two.

43:52 Stafford last year, the Rams, I think, had the fewest yards on third down in the league. Stafford's MVP. This year, it's more third and sixth, and he looks old. Kansas City's interesting. Are you shocked? I don't like, because I think some of this, not luck, but some of it is there's a rule in the NFL. Don't pay a running back who's been dinged up and has a lot of carries a second contract. And Kansas City's like, we will.

44:21 And now everybody's like, I can't believe Seattle let him go. And it's like, well, there's kind of an unspoken rule in the league. But Kansas City did something, which I respect. We're kind of desperate. He's really good. Whatever the price is, we're going to go with it. Are you surprised that Kenneth Walker has literally changed Andy Reid's career offense?

44:42 Listen, I think that when Andy Reid has had great running backs, LaShawn McCoy, Brian Westbrook, he has used them. And Kenneth Walker is playing amazing football. And I had no problem with Seattle letting Kenneth Walker go. And then they used a late first-round pick on Jadarian Price, who looked like he had some burst.

44:58 He had the two fumbles. But then he got hurt.

45:00 And I assume when Price comes back, Seattle plus Charbonnet coming back, Seattle will have some balance back in their offensive attack. But listen, the Chiefs, obviously things are going very well.

45:12 They're undefeated.

45:13 I don't look at.

45:14 Them as being a dominant team and I'm opposite you in this game. I actually think this could be, and I know Mahomes is unbelievable as an underdog against the spread historically. So betting against Mahomes when he is an underdog is a losing proposition and I have done it and I am prepared to do it more going into this game, but I can see the chiefs losing this game by double digits, Colin, and I'll lay it out here for you. You say that the chiefs are going to be able to run the ball. No one runs on Seattle. Seattle has not allowed a running back to run for over 100 yards since week eight of 2024.

45:46 So we are going on two full seasons since a running back has gone off on Seattle. The Chiefs left tackle Josh Simmons is out. Jalon Moore, their right tackle concussion protocol probably out. You're going into Seattle at night with that noise. The Seahawks are fourth in the NFL yards per rush against. So they're the fourth best rush defense.

46:05 They're the best pass defense in terms of yards per pass against. We know Taequann Thornton's out. Rasheed Rice might be out because he didn't practice again yesterday.

46:14 I don't know how the.

46:15 Chiefs are going to score in this game. And then you add in Seattle needs it more. They got three losses by a combined total of eight points. I feel like the desperate team at home, at night, that's healthier, that never gets gashed on the ground.

46:29 I think this is a bounce back spot for Seattle.

46:31 So, you know, as I have moved to Chicago, I'm going to L.A. next week, so I still go back. But as I've moved to Chicago, you explore the city. I want your Chicago perspective on this because I've been to Soldier Field now twice, and I love it. Now, it's not– one of the reasons I like it, it's not overbuilt. Relative to the size of the city, it's not that big, and it feels– I'm standing on the grass last night, and I'm like, oh, there are no bad seats. Like, it's really– there's no bad seats. I mean, you go to SoFi, it's just a monstrosity. It's gigantic.

47:08 You could have two games at once. And everybody bangs on Soldier. I got out and back to my place in 18 minutes. The weather was perfect. How does a Chicagoan, now I had North Orange parking lot. That's why I did that. But the point is, how does a Chicagoan think of Soldier Field? Because when I moved here, like nobody liked it. And I'm like, I think it's way better than you people think.

47:32 I've never heard of anybody getting out of Soldier Field in 18 minutes. I don't know what special parking lot that you've created for yourself. I don't know if you took Air Herd and you got out of there on a helicopter. One time I left a Jay-Z and Beyonce show, and it was like the coolest thing I've ever done.

47:50 My buddy had a boat, and he had a boat that took us up to Belmont Harbor.

47:54 So everybody was going west into the city, and we just got onto the water and escaped Soldier Field. So I feel like it is logistically very different. difficult, uh, to get in and out from, you know, you get right there on the Lake shore drive and it's not the easiest, uh, you know, egress.

48:08 Point, not a lot of parking.

48:09 So not a lot of tailgating people got mad at soldier field for the renovation. It looked like they dropped like a flying saucer into.

48:15 The old colonnades.

48:17 Uh, no, no roof, not, not big enough to host a super bowl or a final four. Uh, the bears don't own it. So there've been historic stories about like high school soccer tournaments there on a Saturday, tearing up the field, and then the Bears having to play there on Sunday, or Kanye West lighting his childhood home on fire at Soldier Field during a concert.

48:36 So it's a weird stadium that the Bears.

48:38 Don't own, but, you know, it's got some charm to it, I'll say.

48:43 A little charm. A little charm. A little charm.

48:48 But again, I know the Waldron lot.

48:51 I've never... You have some.

48:52 18 minutes. You must have stayed after the game and had some cocktails in the suite there is no way you left at the final whistle walked out with everybody and got off museum campus to your condo in 18 minutes it's impossible impossible i don't believe you i don't believe you i've.

49:10 Never gone to a stadium that a city hates more than i thought it was incredibly charming it was a fixer-upper i thought it was an adorable piece of real estate.

49:19 It was an hour and 18 minutes. You forgot to check the hour hand on your clock.

49:25 It's an impossibility what you just said.

49:27 Danny, as always, it's great seeing you on a Friday.