Best of The Herd

Midweek in Chicago and I’m fired up, because the league’s suddenly lukewarm on Fernando Mendoza and I don’t get it, Indiana’s rise was quarterback driven far more than just Kurt Signetti and without him some of those tight games probably flip to losses.

Last year’s schedule was soft before he arrived, this year he shredded real defenses with accuracy, movement, humility and poise, and while he’s not Elway or Luck, quarterbacks swing seasons and this one did.

Two NBA truths hit me, load management guts the live product and the young, deep Spurs and Thunder make the Lakers look old and thin as Victor’s two way impact already outpaces Luka’s more cerebral, less explosive vibe right now.

I was there, the Spurs bench ran the Lakers off the floor and I’m planting my flag that San Antonio is my title pick.

Youth stays available while the Lakers lean on stars who can’t stack back to backs, and AD’s durability and conditioning questions never truly left.

Red eye comedy, my seatmate vanished mid flight and I’m scanning like it’s a DB Cooper reboot until he strolls back before landing after hanging with a buddy in the tail.

With the season over there are three levers, coaches, free agency and the draft, and coaching dwarfs the rest as we have seen with Ben Johnson, Mike Vrabel, Jim Harbaugh and Sean Payton reshaping teams.

Early board for next year, Seattle and the Rams feel like the class, Denver and Chicago are risers, the Chargers will look rejuvenated on offense, Detroit’s core is locked in, while Kansas City and Buffalo have targeted needs to hit.

Wild list, no Eagles, Bengals, Ravens, Texans or Niners and we are just overlooking Lamar and Burrow.

Schedules, cap squeeze and defensive ceilings matter, so I see small step backs for some AFC powers and this group I named checks more boxes right now.

Hall of Famer Drew Brees joins us, congrats, take us to the moment Dan Fouts knocked.

Total ambush in the best way, my wife stalled the kids, I was scolding them for making us late and then Fouts and a camera crew hit the door.

Sam Darnold’s playoff run was clean football and that often wins when the coach and roster are right.

We were ultra confident in that run, Sean Payton called it aggressively and trusted me to take what was there so we could attack without gifting turnovers.

Do you see your early career bumps in Darnold.

Absolutely, adversity sharpened him, he kept learning and the road he did not plan made him steadier and more persuasive as a leader.

How did you go from decent accuracy to the gold standard.

Accuracy is trust and anticipation, live on time, take the profit and master the mechanics so fixes are instant, and for Caleb the next jump is leaning into rhythm and system with selective improv.

Before we go, what is Stretch Zone.

It is practitioner led stretching that boosted my recovery and mobility so much I invested, and the data shows better range, energy, sleep and less pain for everyday people and athletes.

Great stories and insights, loved the Dan Fouts doorstep moment and we are wrapped for today, thanks for riding with us.