Tony Kornheiser Softens Tone on Justin Herbert

Tony Kornheiser came out guns blazing on Justin Herbert this week, emphatically saying Herbert is going to get Los Angeles Chargers coach Anthony Lynn fired when Kornheiser was asked what advice he'd give to the young quarterback on PTI.

"I would say to Justin Herbert, son, you've gotta win some games. This isn't baseball. We don't give you the Cy Young for going 10-9 like Jacob deGrom. You like your coach? You like your coach? Cuz you're going to get your coach fired cuz you don't win close games. "

As Michael Wilbon said in the clip, that's a pretty crazy take considering Herbert has been arguably the best rookie in the league (I'd still take Joe Burrow over him) and is putting up eye-popping numbers even Peyton Manning would be happy with. He's not losing the Chargers games. He's putting them in a position to win and they simply aren't closing it out.

Perhaps cooler heads and a little deeper research prevailed, because by Tuesday Kornheiser's tone on Herbert changed considerably both in delivery and substance.

"I want to make myself very clear on this. I think Justin Herbert is a better quarterback right now than Tua. I do. I would take him right now over Tua, though Tua is 2-0 in the pros and Herbert is 1-6. But I like the team that Tua is playing for more at this point. Justin Herbert's team doesn't win. They lose very close, six games by 24 points. But they lose all the time. I think we are looking at a game between one coach who could be coach of the year and another coach who could be fired out the door at the end of the year cuz his team doesn't win. "

Kornheizer is right. Herbert has been the more impressive quarterback so far this year. He's also started 3 1/2 times more games than Tagovailoa, so there's a larger sample size to judge. And Kornheizer is also right when it comes to the teams they play on and the coaches they play for.

However, it's clear this segment was created in response to his segment the previous day that drew the ire of many. To make amends, Kornheizer goes out of his way to clarify he thinks Herbert is a good quarterback, or at least better than Tua. He justifies his initial argument by pointing out the Chargers' penchant for blowing close games and reiterates Lynn could be fired because of it. But it's not Herbert's fault. At least not anymore.