BEST OF THE HERD – Seahawks Are Under Rated | Lane Kiffin Is Villain Of CFB | Nick Wright: Sam Darnold Is Elite

Sports media professionals should not be scolding gatekeepers but rather conduits for the audience's passion.

The NFL business is driven by fans who genuinely care about the game, enduring bad weather and high costs, not by media narratives or politics.

Lane Kiffin is a perfect fit for LSU because both prioritize winning over loyalty and embrace the mercenary nature of modern college football. Dabo Swinney is stubborn and outdated for refusing to adapt to NIL and the transfer portal, comparing it to a CEO rejecting the internet or AI.

Coaches are unfairly expected to be loyal when fans, donors, and players are not, and his job is to do what is right for the players, not to please critics.

The Seahawks are the number one team because their best players are in their prime, they have no egos, and they are undervalued in the market. The Rams are the most talented team but ranked second due to the difficulty of staying motivated as heavy favorites and age concerns. The Chiefs are ranked 11th and the Ravens 12th, indicating he is lower on them than most media outlets.

The Chargers are overrated by the media due to weaknesses at receiver, interior offensive line injuries, and a lack of a dominant defense.

Denver's defense will likely regress from last year's remarkable performance, especially with key players on the exempt list.

The Chiefs are better than Cowherd's 11th place ranking suggests, despite concerns about their running game and offensive line.

Sam Darnold is the most egoless and coachable pro athlete he has ever met, which contributes to his success.

Mike McDonald and D'Amico Ryan are the second and third best coaches in pro football, and great coaches make quarterbacks consistently win.

If Darnold has another excellent year, he will be undeniably an elite quarterback, regardless of media narratives about his arm talent.

The Rams are treating the Australia trip like a quick casino run with minimal prep, while the 49ers are treating it like a wedding with months of planning.

The Rams' approach involves 32 hours of flying within a 72-hour window, which will be a fascinating experiment in how it affects their bodies and performance.

The 49ers' extensive prep will benefit them in Week One but hurt them in Weeks Two and Three as they reacclimate to the U.S., while the Rams' approach will hurt them initially but provide an advantage later.