Best of The Herd

The best of The Herd with Colin Cowherd on Fox Sports Radio. Big Friday energy and a fresh Blazin’ Five coming up.

We’re live in Chicago, it’s warming up, and I’m in a good mood. Denver may not win beauty contests, but this isn’t figure skating, it’s football, and they handled a division road game with long, methodical drives when Kansas City refused to give anything deep. Sean Payton trusted Bo Nix when a lot of GMs didn’t, and the kid’s now twenty three and ten with playoffs in both seasons, the first ever to open with double digit wins and thirty total touchdowns in back to back years while leading the league in attempts. RJ Harvey, called a reach, has only a handful fewer touchdowns than McCaffrey on far fewer touches and keeps finding the paint. The Chiefs feel like a dynasty aging out, one score losses piling up, and the juice is missing; you take a road win by a touchdown and move on.

None of the talk matters. We’ve got to finish, handle our business against the Chargers, and embrace a playoff atmosphere at home.

Detroit’s slide isn’t just injuries. With Ben Johnson they were sharp and inventive; without him and with Dan Campbell taking over play calling, the operation lost its edge and third downs have been rough all year. You can’t live on O-line excuses when the Chargers and Texans have been patchwork up front and still winning; this looks more like losing a top scheme mind than bad luck.

I’m looking at everything because being home for the playoffs isn’t acceptable. It takes all of us, including me, and I’ll always wish I gave Jared and our guys more.

The front office drafts well and the culture’s real, so getting key pieces like that safety and Sam LaPorta back matters, but culture builders lean on great coordinators. You do what Vrabel did—pair toughness with a high-end OC and get back to being creative.

Blazin’ Five, quick hits. I’ll take Houston plus the points at the Chargers because that defense travels. Seattle wins but I’ll grab the Panthers with the number as Bryce Young’s been clean and hot. I like Philly as a dog at Buffalo with the run game surging and the Bills playing from behind too often. Give me Chicago with rest against San Francisco, with the Niners’ pass rush lagging and a lot on McCaffrey’s plate. And I’m on the over in Cardinals at Bengals with both defenses banged up.

Albert, Lamar reports get messy when a coach refutes and a reporter stands firm. What’s really going on?

There’s a lot of history here, real wear and tear, and the lack of an agent can muddy how injury info circulates, which invites questions in and out of the building. Harbaugh was unusually transparent to take heat off Lamar, but big cap hits are coming, missed expectations sting when you think you had your best roster in decades, and that can trigger changes even if he’s still their guy in two years.

Detroit fans are worked up about Goff and the staff. Where do they actually stand?

The window isn’t shut; the core is young and legit with stars on both sides, and Goff’s been good. This feels like the moment to shift gears—aggressively fortify the line, add an edge opposite Hutchinson, and find a corner—rather than chase a quarterback upgrade you likely can’t get picking late.

Buffalo’s steady, but if Vrabel walks in and wins the division with Drake Maye, that’s a bad look. If they don’t reach the conference title, isn’t there a real conversation?

Internally it hasn’t hit that point, but a new stadium and Josh Allen turning thirty raise the stakes. It could become a Dungy-in-Tampa moment where you’ve built the culture and need a spark to break through, especially with the AFC door open thanks to injuries; if they stall again, those big-picture questions naturally surface.

On the draft, I’m hearing Fernando Mendoza over Jackson Dart for some. If you’re holding the top pick, how do you play it?

The top quarterback isn’t settled; Dante Moore could push into that group, and Mendoza has a Goff-like profile some teams like. The Rosen-Kyler lesson applies: unless the gap between your top guy and your current quarterback is massive, you keep the quarterback you like and trade the first pick for a haul because you’ll recoup far less for the young passer than for the pick.

If I were the Jets, two firsts for Lamar isn’t crazy. Fair?

If there’s even a whiff of uncertainty, teams will call, and that puts a trade into the conversation whether the Ravens want it or not. It doesn’t mean he’s moving, but quarterback-needy teams will probe if they can’t draft who they want.

As a Buckeye, I’ll say it: Kyle Whittingham to Michigan is a strong pull. He took three stars and built top defenses and a real identity.

Urban now has former assistants running both sides of the rivalry, which is wild. Whittingham’s been steady for two decades, maintained and elevated Utah’s brand, and built tough, physical teams that fit what Michigan does; it may not unseat Ohio State or Oregon by itself, but it’s what they need right now.

That toughness and physical style fits exactly what Michigan prides itself on.

I’ve talked to Kyle—great guy with fifty-year-old energy, lived the mountain life, and he even beat Saban in that Sugar Bowl. He’s a college lifer who kept Utah mean and organized, and he’s easy to root for. Good place to land the plane today.