The Herd with Colin Cowherd - 08/20/2021 - HOUR 2 - Preseason, playing time

Episode Date: August 20, 2021

Most NFL teams are not playing their best players during the preseasonPlayers that need more time on the fieldGuests: Greg Cosell, Jordan Palmer Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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You're listening to Fox Sports Radio. Ah, here we go. It's our number two. It is a Friday, and we're live in Los Angeles. It's called The Herd, wherever you may be, and however you may be listening. We're on IHeart Radio, Fox Sports Radio, and FS1. There's some really interesting games. Tonight we get the Chiefs at Arizona.

Joe Burrell's not going to play, but Cincinnati's at Washington. Their quarterback situation for Washington is kind of interesting to me. very good very good there's four or five games this weekend you got to watch i'll go through it here in just a couple of minutes gregg cocell is coming on our show 42 years at nfl films he's watched all the film on all these rookie quarterbacks what does he see what does he worry about you know joy taylor is joining me it's interesting cities go in cycles with sports uh good or bad tampa got in a hot streak the bucks won the super bowl the lightning won the stanley cup and the rays were in the World Series.

Year before, Dodgers in L.A. and the Lakers won. Milwaukee, by the way, the Bucks just won. The Packers are excellent, and the Brewers are a great 9-to-1. If you can bet in this country, if you're in a state where you can bet, bet the Brewers to win the World Series. Dominant Ace, great closer. They went on pitching. Yellich isn't having a great year.

But they're a great 9-to-1 bet when you, they win with pitching, and we've seen in post-season. Pitching, good pitching is going to beat good hitting. So, and then there's the opposite. Thank God for Detroit where everybody's circling the drain. Philadelphia, I'm watching the Eagles last night. The Flyers are a nothing burger. The Phillies are on a bad skid.

The Eagles are a mess. Sixers have talent, but they're highly combustible. They can't figure out the Ben Simmons move. You know, the Eagles right now, I cannot remember a franchise that I, for years respected. And then overnight, they've become an eye roll. The way they treated Doug Peterson, the Carson Wentz mess, the meddling stories, how they've handled Jalen Hurt so far as weird. They're just, this is a passionate sports city, a little bit of a mess.

And, you know, again, the good news is, you know, they're in a division, which is you don't exactly have, you know, the 85 Chicago Bears in it. This is a fairly limited division. the Cowboys defense, the Giants O-Line, you know, Washington's quarterback situation. You know, you could hang around in this thing until Thanksgiving if you were not a very good football team. They're just bad. Like Philadelphia, the Eagles right now are just a bad team. I always say that there are four components to be a Super Bowl bubble team.

Owner, GM, head coach quarterback. If you're an A or a B plus in all of them, you're in the Super Bowl bubble. I used to think Jeffrey Lurie and Harry Roseman were both in it. I'm not sure now. And boy, head coach and quarterback, it's near the bottom of the NFL. It is tough sledding right now for Philadelphia. So this is what Greg Kosell does for a living. He watches football players.

He watches every snap. And he projects, he sees what we don't see. In 42 years at NFL film, he is now joining us live. All right. So we're just going to go through a list here. I love when you do this. So let's start with Mac Jones, because, we watched him, we've gotten, again, it's backups. It's the Eagles third stringers. So let's

contextualize it. But what are you seeing with Mack Jones that you go, oh, that's portable. That'll work regular season, preseason, I like that. Well, I think Mac Jones is not a mystery. I think everybody knows what he is and what he would have to be in the NFL, Colin. And that means he'd have to master the subtleties, the nuances, the disciplines of the position. You'd have to play really efficiently from the pocket. We know he throws the ball with precise accuracy. Last night's game was, and I actually watched the tape of all his throws from last night already, and that was a pitch and catch game.

The Eagles played soft zone coverage. They just played shells. They rushed for, they couldn't get anywhere near him. So last night was just pitch and catch. But the one thing that he does do well, and it showed up last night on a few throws, but you saw it in college as well, is he has a pretty good feel for throwing into zone. own windows. He has a good sense of the timing that's required to do that and where to place the ball. And as I said, you saw that on a couple of throws last night. But beyond that, last night

didn't tell you much other than he got more experience playing in the NFL. I will tell you, I thought Zach Wilson, as the pocket collapsed around him last week, showed a lot of poise. You know, they call it a muddy pocket. He's obviously, he's got a nice little arm. The ball comes out really fast. What did you make as Zach Wilson? He doesn't have the best. He doesn't have the supporting cast. No, but I think you hit on something that he will have to become good at, which he was not good at in college, and that's playing in a money pocket. Because normally when that happens, his efficiency decreases. That's what his college tape showed. He wasn't under duress a lot in college, but when he was, his game suffered. What you saw in his first start, he only

threw nine balls. You saw what you saw in college. He has light, quick feet on his drop in his set. He's got a live, loose arm. He has an easy delivery. That'll be the 49er style offense, Colin. So there'll be a lot of boot action. He'll be good at that because of his feet and his ability to throw effectively on the run. He's an easy thrower on the move. All right. So let's go to Trey Lance and the 49ers since you will pivot to that since you mentioned it. He's obviously a big strong athlete, had one big over-the-top play. You know, my takeaway was he was a little uneven. That was my take away. What was yours? You're correct. He was a little unsettled overall in the pocket. He was under a little bit of pressure, but by NFL standards, that's not really pressure. He was efficient when

the primary read was there. He was hesitant, and he hurried himself, hurried his mechanics, played a little fast when he had to come off the primary read. And I thought that on some throws that were short throws, he threw it too hard. He threw it. He was a little too much of a fastball pitcher. Yeah. Need some work on his pace and his touch. All right. So everybody's talking about Justin Fields.

I thought he was a little anxious early, although I'll give him a break because the Chicago Stadium sold out. I mean, they treated him like it was, you know, NFC championship. So there was. Royalty. Yeah, I mean, and let's be honest. Chicago's a great sports city. Talk radio's big in that city.

He's been the talk for a month. I was told by somebody I trust. He was a little loss for two weeks. he's found his footing. I'll tell you, he's got a lot of skills. That's my takeaway. There's a lot there to work with, whether the bears can protect him up front.

I don't know, but there's a lot I like when I watch him. Your thoughts? Yeah, there's no question he's got traits. And I think he's a really good example. And I was actually talking to a former NFL coach about this, and he made a point that I thought was great. He sort of speaks to the difference at this point in time between how evaluators see him and how a play caller might see him

because a play caller might look at him and think there's only so many things I can do until he can really settle in whereas an evaluator looks at the traits. I remember after last week's game on social media, everybody was talking about his mobility as if that was news. We know he's mobile. That was not a scoop based on what he did last week.

I thought his best throw, it was not a difficult read, but I thought his best throw was actually an incompletion on a sale route where he really placed it beautifully to the receiver with pace and touch, a firm touch throwers, we call it. It was just really well defended, but I thought that was his best throw. The touchdown he threw was a scheme throwback. You could have made that throw, Colin. That was just an easy throw to a wide open receiver. But, you know, he moves around very well. He's a big, big athlete.

That's the thing. He's close to 230 pounds. Yeah. We talked about that about a month ago. and Joy and I saw him walk around the field, we're like, you know other players are looking at that going, yeah, that guy looks like a franchise quarterback. And so does Trevor Lawrence.

I found it hard to evaluate what I saw, because Cleveland's backups could start for Jacksonville, probably in many instances. I don't know what to make of it. I mean, he made a couple of nice throws. What about Trevor Lawrence? Yeah, I think, you know, it's funny. When I talk about these quarterbacks now,

I'm just speaking to their play on the field in the last game. These are not definitive statements about their future, which everybody is so quick to make after one preseason game. I thought Lawrence was a little uneven. His first sack was on him because the Reed was to the left and he just stayed on Marvin Jones, Jr., who was in the slot. He stayed on him too long when he had another throw to that side of the Reed progression. But that's to be expected with a young quarterback. But I thought he did a good job on what we call spot throws to the outside. because a lot of those outside throws outside the numbers,

you're not waiting for the receiver, Colin. Those are spot throws. You're throwing it to a spot. I remember Ron Jaworski always telling me you could make those throws blindfolded. And I thought he did a good job on those kinds of throws. All right. For the sake of this segment, I want to talk Jordan Love because we really didn't see him. He didn't dress last year.

So it was, again, hard to evaluate because Houston's not very good. I don't think they're going to be brilliantly coached. and Green Bay is well-coached and has better players. But, you know, he made some of those Mack Jones throws last night over the backer in front of the secondary guys. He showed some touch. I mean, I thought he looked pretty good. I thought they set him up for success. What did you make a Jordan Lowe?

Yeah. Well, it's funny you say that because they're big on the play-action pass game. Very rhythmic, very timing-based. I thought he looked very comfortable executing that part of the offense. He made a really good seam throw to Sternberger. It was a middle seam throw versus cover two. No middle hole defender carried Sternberger, so he was open in the seam, but it was a well-thrown ball, a firm touch throw.

To me, the questions with love, and he's not going to be the starter, unless something dramatic happens, but I think the questions with him will be late in the down pocket efficiency when he has to stay in the pocket a little longer and then work through things. And I think his decision-making off second reaction movement, I think those are two things. I think those are two things that if he were to have to play any meaningful snaps or any meaningful games, I think those two things we'd have to wait and see about. Okay. I want to throw one at you because Carson Wentz will come back.

I wasn't terribly high on Jacob Eason out of college. I watched them a lot at Washington because I'm from the Pacific Northwest. Big arm, big body, was very good on script when Chris Peterson would write it up. But when second half, he's off script, he's got to make some either. cognitive or just quick judgment throws, he got into trouble, his accuracy could dip, left to his own devices and sort of his trait sometimes. I didn't think he was really an NFL franchise quarterback, but people are talking and raving about his arm in Indianapolis. What do you see with him? Well, he's got traits. And by the way, his performance, again, it's one preseason game,

but I know people get excited about one game. He was the best of all these quarterbacks last week. His performance was really, really good. He's a pocket player. What he did last week, which was very good as he stood in the pocket. He showed a lot of pocket toughness. He threw the ball exceptionally well. One thing he's always needed to work on and still does, although I thought it was a little better, but he still needs work, our pace and touch throws.

He tends to be a one-speed thrower. But he is strong in the pocket. He can drive the football when he's accurate. and sometimes that's a question, but when he is, he looks really, really good because he's 6.5, he's 235, he looks the part. You know that. He just looks the part. And I met him when he was in 11th grade, and he looked apart in 11th grade. You know, it's funny. We forget about this. It's not only what organization that you land at as a young quarterback that matters, but it's the coach. Brian Dable deserves a lot of credit for having patience with Josh Allen. You know, we forget

When Frank Reich left Carson Wentz, he wasn't the same quarterback. Jacob Isson now has Frank Reich. And by the way, what you're saying, you forget this, is that this kid could have fallen in the perfect hands as a backup to Wentz for two years. You know, this is what Aaron Rogers did. He was behind a guy. They had a good quarterback. I mean, it sounds like when I hear you talk about Jacob Eson,

you have more faith in him than many do. Well, it's not fair. I mean, he's got trades. and I'm a big believer in coaching. You know that, Colin. We've been doing this a long time. It's one reason I feel very confident about Justin Fields because John D. Philippo is the quarterback coach in Chicago,

and I think he's one of the absolute best in the NFL coaching quarterbacks. And I think that is so, so important for a young quarterback's development. So I feel good about the situation Fields is in. If Eason has to play, I'm not going to sit here and tell he's going to be phenomenal. No one can answer that. But I think he's being well-coached and well-groomed. Greg CoSell, is it for? 41 or 42 years at NFL film.

This will be my 42nd NFL season, Mr. Coward. That's a good pension. You know, you could just go sail the world right now if you wanted to on the NFL film's pension. Good for you. Good for you. All right, thanks, Colin. I appreciate it.

You bet. All those little insights there. Yeah, Eason's the one I watched a ton of. Big arm. I was live at a couple games. And he'd, you know, he'd be on one side of the field. He'd throw to the other. And it was just like, whoa.

Like that's, that is like Carson Wentz has that. That's why it's interesting that Eason plays behind Carson Wentz because a lot of the same traits can be erratic, big, and I mean like show off arms. Like, oh, top six, seven, Jacob Eason has a top 10 arm in the NFL. Now, he may not start, but he has got a huge, huge arm. It's just sometimes the mechanics go down. He can be erratic, but he can really fling it. I think he was a fourth round pick. So you just keep watching.

Want more herd? The herd streams 24 hours a day, seven days a week within the IHeart radio app. Search Herd to listen live or on demand whenever you'd like. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential.

Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the I-Hard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win.

I don't care what I'm saying. Yep, that's me, Cliver Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, the reactions, my journey from basketball to college football, or my career in sports media. Well, somewhere along the way, this platform became bigger than I ever imagined. And now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show.

This is a place for raw, unfiltered conversations with some of your favorite athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. One week, I'll take you behind the scenes of the biggest moments in sports and entertainment, and the next we'll talk about life, mental health, purpose, and even music. The Clifford Show isn't just a podcast. It's a space for honest conversations, stories that don't always get told, and for people who are chasing something bigger. So if you've ever supported me or you're just chasing down a dream,

this is right where you need to be. Listen to The Clifford show on the IHeart radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. Do you remember when Diana Ross double-tap Little Kim's boobs at the VMAs? Or when Kanye said that George Bush didn't like black people. I know what you're thinking.

What the hell does George Bush got to do with Little Kim? Well, you can find out on the Look Back at it podcast. I'm Sam J. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick it here, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. Including a recent episode with Mark Lamont Hill, waxing all about crack in the 80s.

To be clear, 84 is big to me, not just because of crack. I'm down to talk about crack on day, but just so y'all know. I mean, at this point, Mark, this is the second episode where we've discussed crack. So I'm starting to see that there's a through line. We also have AIDS on the table right now. Thank you for finishing that. sentence. I don't think there's a more important

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we get so wrapped up in the chase that we don't realize that we are in possession of the thing. And we're still chasing it. And we don't know when we've done enough. Because people scoreboard watch. Life becomes about wins and losses. Steve Burns, Dustin Ross. Because you find it important to be a good person

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Tomorrow's blockbuster fight between Manny Pacchio and your Dennis Ugas is featured on the free-to-play Fox Bet Super 6 app. Scan the QR code below, download the app, and answer six questions about Fight Night for your chance to win $1,000. Good stuff. Discover matches all the cash back you earn your credit card into the first year automatically no limit. Go to discover.com slash yes. You know, I can't remember the last time and we'll count Jordan Love as a rookie

because we didn't see him. So let's just count him because he got, you know, no preseason didn't get any game snaps. Every single rookie quarterback has looked great. Not even good, great. Why? Are they all great? very doubtful. We have a thing that's happening in the NFL,

kind of a cultural change. Nobody is playing their starters. Like Belichick is Andy Reid for a couple series. Three quarters of this league refuses to play any good players. And so Philadelphia, all their good players are 30-year-older. They're not playing any of them. They were on third stringers by like middle of the second quarter. Like they went backups right to the third string.

And Philadelphia is so bad. their takeaway may be we can't get any of our first two squads hurt anybody and the only way we can win games early is element of surprise we can't show anything because they didn't do anything but the reason all these guys look great is this didn't used to be the case this started like three years ago no and now it's like an avalanche nobody is playing outside of like bellichick and arians nobody's playing starters at all like some guys are leaving 35 guys out both the LA teams, those coaches, you're not going to see any of the good players for either team. So does this help?

Yes. Because these quarterbacks have, they've always had in the preseason vanilla defenses. Nobody's going to give you their best stuff. But now you're seeing average players. Some won't make the league in those vanilla schemes. So all these quarterbacks, the only quarterback that's looked uncomfortable is Trevor Lawrence, who's in a total rebuild. And Cleveland's got a really deep roster where they're back.

can play. That's it. I mean, he looked uncomfortable. But, I mean, Trey Lance has played one football game before last week and two years. When you're playing bad teams and vanilla schemes and no starters for any series, it makes all these young guys look probably better than they are. Joy with the News. Turn on the news. This is the Herdline News. Who, us overreacting to preseason? We would never. So a panel of 10 NBA executives and scouts voted for who they think the best player is heading into next season.

I'm with you. I feel like we probably needed a bigger pool for this poll. But did people not return their calls? That just, I mean, there's 30 teams. You got a third of them that return your calls. All right. Yeah, maybe just like expand. I expand it a little bit more.

Well, remember the guy that does, Mike Sando does that. It's the best poll. all year the quarterback tiers. He talks to 50 executive scouts coaches. Like 50s are real number. You got somebody from every legitimate team. I'm not a polling expert, but I feel like you need a bigger

pool than 10. But votes were split between Janice and Kevin Durant with five each. And LeBron didn't care that it was only 10. He felt like it was something. He noticed that he did not receive a single vote. He tweeted, thank you. As if I

didn't need more to fuel me, hashtag washed king. Nobody said you're washed. That was not what it insinuated, LeBron. I feel like the jump from not being the best player in the league to wash. There's some space in the middle. Yeah, there's a little space there. And saying that Janice and KD are the best players in the league,

I don't know that I would take that as an insult. Well, Katie is the best offensive player. Yonis the best defensive player. And that's probably why they got the votes. Probably. I do think it's, look, I mean, Yonis won the championship and he was finals. So he gets to sit at the top of the league right now. He's a big man on top.

I do think I would still take LeBron. I am not ready to just say that LeBron is still not. This is not still LeBron's league. He is not still the face of the league. Right. And that he is still the overall best player. Yeah, you know, it's funny about this stuff. And we just do this.

Just ask yourself, who's the best centerpiece in the last 15 years? Like leadership. Here's what LeBron still does better. than anybody. Pass, he's brilliant. Handle the ball for a big, brilliant, leadership, brilliant. Now, his durability is now in question. But he is still, and by the way, he's not the best score, but if LeBron decided this year, I want to win the scoring title, you think he could average 34 a game? He'd certainly, you know he could do it. So LeBron is at the stage where, and this is what all smart players do at the end,

they put the jet fuel in for about four minutes a half. There are moments. I remember watching him when he first got to the Lakers, and I went to a game and I really noticed it. And I watched a lot of the Lakers because they're on my spectrum, like every day, right? Like every game. He really tried.

He'd start every game the same way. He was hoping everybody else got hot. He's deferring a lot. He just, and that's not. That's why I think actually the Russell Westbrook move is very valuable. Because in the regular season, he's not going to have to do that work that Russ does naturally every single game during the regular season. But yeah, I think I'm still going with LeBron. And look, what is the margin of difference there between Katie, Yannis, and LeBron?

It's not much. It really is a matter of preference, honestly. Well, the gap was big five years ago. It's not big now. No, but we're talking now. So I thought you thought this would think this is kind of interesting. Aaron Rogers really enjoyed his time guest hosting Jeopardy this year as the show looked for their new host.

He wasn't originally chosen to replace Alex Trebek, but now the search is back on following the news that Mike Richards has stepped down. And in an interview taped before that news broke, Rogers was asked if he wanted the full-time gig. If they offered you the job, would you have taken it? Yeah, I definitely would have. I mean, if they would have figured out a way to work it, make it work with my schedule, yeah, for sure.

I don't have a problem with that at all because I know somebody that did, that had worked on the prices right, it's only like 40 days. I have no problem with a player in the off-season working 40 days in another game. I would have no problem with that.

No, I mean, look, guys do all kinds of stuff. Dancing with the Stars. They do television shows. LeBron has movies. All kinds of productions. You shoot four a day. I do. One. I wonder though with pairing that with the retirement thing.

Was that something he was considering overall? Well, you know, the one area that I always defended Aaron on, and I still do, if you worked for a company and you believed you were totally committed, and then at some point you felt like, you know what, I'm knocking my head against the wall a little here. to protect yourself psychologically, you would have to say to yourself, you know, I'm going to enjoy the rest of my life too. And when they didn't get J.J. Watt or they didn't keep Jared Cook, there are these things where Aaron's looking around at Russell Wilson and Tom Brady and Drew Brees in their rosters and saying, okay, like I'm all in on this and I'm asking for a little and you're not giving it to me. That's where I totally support Aaron.

If I worked, if I worked here at Flock, we have a great staff and everything. But if they went cheap on your business, they went cheap on the staff. And I'm like, I'm giving you like my life here. You know what? I'm not going to the company picnics. I'm not. No, I think a lot of people in a lot of businesses, especially, you know, with everything that we just went through or still going through with the pandemic, realized that. Like, we're working really hard.

And you're not giving us what we deserve. Yeah. And, like, for what? Like, are you going to just replace us if something happens? Do you care if we have to stay home with our families? Like, I think a lot of people reach. Now, obviously, Aaron Rogers is very well compensated. But he is not, it's more than just being compensated at this point for Aaron Rogers.

It's more than being compensated for Russell Wilson. It's more than being compensated for Tom Brady. What are you putting around me to make my life easier and to elevate what I give you as a talent and as a player? So Aaron's off seasons, never forget this. We're always quiet. Right. had no idea what he was doing. The minute Green Bay went 13 and 3 and then drafted developmental players, that is when Aaron's offseason became very public. No, because they sent a message that

this is, we're not going to be aggressive. And he, and his in his respond is, okay, and didn't he mention this? Mentally, I need now to take care of me a little bit. Yeah, he did. So that I will always support him because Aaron's off seasons, we knew he liked music. We didn't know what he did. He hid. The minute they went development heavy on that, on that, and when they were like needed another wide receiver, needed a pass rusher. And they went and got full backs and blocking tight ends and a quarterback.

That is when Eric said, okay, I'm done. I'm not going to drive myself crazy here. No, no, I always support him on that. Nor should he. And I think that's, it's a conversation we have a lot in basketball because people feel like, you know, NBA players or divas forcing their way out or these quarterback. or asking for too much. It's like you don't hold the organizations

to the same standards that you hold players to who don't have a say in all of these other pieces. This is a team sport, both of them, NBA and NFL's team. You have to have the right pieces around you. You have to have healthy pieces around you. You have to be aggressive, especially when other organizations are being aggressive.

If you're not, what are you building for? What place are you in as an organization? Some places need to get developmental players. The Seahawks were talking about how they need. need to get some cheap labor. Like they need to start looking into those things. Where you are as an organization matters. And you're right.

They're 13 and 3. What are you doing? You're clearly right there. Get me players. You need something that's going to push you over the edge. Yeah. So there's a good chance Dak Prescott won't play in the preseason is recovering from his shoulder pain. But he does feel confident that he will be on the field when they start their regular

season against the bucks. Gil Brandt revealed that he had a long talk with Dak this week and tweeted an update on the quarterback's progress. Brant said he expects to be out there when the Cowboys open the season. I think it would take a lot to keep him from playing. Just not sure he will be at 100%. The season tilts on his health. That's not great.

Well, from the moment this has happened, it's not been great for me because you don't want to go into a season injured, right? You want to come in as healthy as possible. He's coming off of an injury. So there's something mentally there. They do not have a solid backup situation. If he's out multiple games, I think for one game, they could figure it out.

out, but you start getting in two, three, four games without that Crescott. That's the season, especially in this division, which no one's really running away with it. If you slip a little bit, that can be it. That's your whole season. They're very DAC dependent. So I don't know. It's sort of weird.

It feels a little bit like the Todd Gurley situation where it's like, is he injured? What's going on here? It's a little vague. He got this weird tweet. Dak is saying he's going to be ready, but he's not going to be 100%. Throwing with his left hand at practice. Yeah. Yes, like Cowboys' legends are very concerned.

It's just a weird situation. And look, look, we're not entitled to all the information and they don't want to put anything out that it's going to make anybody panic. Or if they do need to make a trade for someone, they lose, you know, some leverage in the situation if he's not ready. But it just feels very weird. Yes, fair. It's not very clear what's going on here.

Joy with the news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The Heard Lye News. So here's the NFL schedule. It starts tonight, well, it started last night, obviously. Kansas City at Arizona, Cincinnati at Washington. I'll lay the whole schedule out.

Now, there are five games of these that I think are the five games that I really want to watch. The number one game is Buffalo at Chicago. So Buffalo is probably going to give some first-time defensive players, first-teamers, reps. They're trying to develop a pass rush with some young pass-rush. rushers. Justin Fields now, you know, as Greg CoSell said, he's had a couple of really good weeks of practice. He's got a very good quarterback coach. He's a big athlete with all the traits. I really want to see this grow. Also, the Andy Dalton, it's my team. It's fun. The second game, which I think is really interesting, is Trey Lance at Los Angeles. He's now completed 20 passes

in 538 days. I thought of all the guys, he was the most uneven. The dude needs reps, and he should play an entire half. I would play him as long as I could play him. He's just one of those guys. You can't play him enough in the preseason. The third game is Carolina host Baltimore. Sam Darnold's going to start. I contend this season doesn't rest on Darnold. He'll be fine. It rests on the offensive line. It's not good. And it was not good last week. So I want to see Darnold, who could be mistake prone with a really good set. No more excuses on the weapons and the coaching. I think he's got the coach, the coordinator, and the weapons. The defensive lines good for them, but I want to see Darnold against a real pass rush

in those first couple series in Baltimore. The fourth game that interests me is Jacksonville at New Orleans. I'm not really worried. I don't care about the Saints much. I think they're going to be pretty average. I want to see Trevor Lawrence. Again, New Orleans is the kind of team. He'll have a little more time to throw.

They're not as dominating. The roster isn't as good as Cleveland. So again, and I think his growth is going to be substantial snap-to-snap in this league. And the fifth game is Jets at Green Bay. Jordan Love will not play. But the Jets have a little situation here where Zach Wilson's left tackle is like 365 pounds. The team is now acknowledging he's out of shape. They just lost.

Denzel Mims is not playing. So all of a sudden, he's already got chaos. They lost, it looks like their best pass rusher potentially for the year, an edge guy. So here's the Jets. This is what Darnold face. Now he's got a little crisis. And he did look very good in week one. So those are the five games.

I'm very interested in watching. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, FS1, and the IHeart Radio app. Hey, what's up everybody? It's me, three-time Pro Bowl of LaVore Arrington, and I couldn't be more excited to announce a new podcast called Up on Game. What is Up on Game, you ask? Along with my fellow Pro Bowler, T.J. Hushman Zada and Super Bowl champion.

Yep, that's right. Plexico Burris. You can only name a show. show with that type of talent on it. Up on game. We're going to be sharing our real life experiences loaded with teachable moments. Listen to Up on Game with me, LaVar Arington, TJ

Hushmanzada, and Plexico Burris on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast from. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged. It's the enhanced games.

Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the I-Hard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what I'm saying. Yep, that's me. Clever Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skis. hits, the reactions, my journey from basketball to college football, or my career in sports media. Well, somewhere along the way, this platform became bigger than I ever imagined.

And now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, unfiltered conversations with some of your favorite athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. One week, I'll take you behind the scenes of the biggest moments in sports and entertainment, and the next we'll talk about life, mental health, purpose, and even music. The Clifford Show isn't just a podcast. It's a space for honest conversations, stories that don't always get told, and for people who are chasing something bigger. So if you've ever supported me or you're just chasing down a dream, this is right where you need to be. Listen to The Clifford show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast.

And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. Do you remember when Diana Ross double-tap Little Kim's boobs at the VMAs? Or when Kanye said that George Bush didn't like black people. I know what you're thinking. What the hell does George Bush got to do with a little Kim? Well, you can find out on the Look Back at it podcast. I'm Sam J. And I'm Alex English.

Each episode, we pick it here, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. Including a recent episode with Mark Lamont Hill, waxing all about crack in the 80s. To be clear, 84 is big to me, not just because of crack. I'm down to talk about crack on day, but just so, you know, y'all know. I mean, at this point, Mark, this is the second episode where we've discussed crack. So I'm starting to see that there's a through line. We also have AIDS on the table right now.

Thank you for finishing that sentence. Yes. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Really? Yeah. For me, it's one of the most important years for black people in American history. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hardway with me, your host, and your Facebook. favorite therapist, Kear Games. And in recognition of mental health awareness month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience

in the mental health field and conversations with so many incredible guests. I'm talking, Tripp Fontaine, Ryan Clark. Sometimes when we're in the pursuit of the thing, we get so wrapped up in the chase that we don't realize that we are in possession of the thing. And we're still chasing it. And we don't know when we've done enough.

Because people scoreboard watch. Life becomes about wins and losses. Steve Burns. Dustin Ross, because you find it important to be a good person while you hear on earth, or are you a good person because you're afraid? Because that's two different intentions, bro. Absolutely. And that's two different levels of trust.

I want you to just really be a good person. Join me, Kear Gaines, is we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast, Learn the Hardway. Open your free, Our Heart Radio app. Search Learn the Hardway and listen now. Well, whenever I have a question on a young quarterback, I go to Jordan Palmer, founder of Quarterback Summit.com. His online coaching platform is being used by quarterbacks from 35 states and five countries.

He is live now at the Niners Chargers practice today, which is just fantastic as he's watching a couple of really good rosters. And Jordan Palmer's joining us live. So let me ask you about this. When I watch Mack Jones and you played in the NFL for six years, there's a cultural change in the league. Nobody plays starters outside of like Belichick. Ron Rivera, a couple old guys. So Mac Jones, he's not only not facing backups, he may be facing third and four stringers.

What do I take from his near perfect two performances? What will you take is it's another handful of snaps of reps? We've got to remember, this guy started one season of football at quarterback since high school. He's only started Alabama for one year. And he threw to guys that were predominantly open most of the time. And so now you put him in a preseason game. He's got the 1-0 line versus the 2D line. And, you know, I don't know that any of us think that they have the most talented

receiver room in the league. And so there's just so many factors with Mack. But I think it boils down to this. Is he ready to play or not? And I look at two things when I need to answer that question on a rookie. Can he protect himself physically and can he protect himself mentally? And in that, and ultimately will he protect the ball? Physically, he can do it at the highest level at Bama.

Mentally, he can absolutely protect himself. him and Josh McDaniels can scheme things up to take hits off. And then he showed that he can protect the ball and we'll continue to do so. I think I don't see a ton of reasons to not just go ahead and hand him the ball and let him play right now. Well, that's an interesting situation because Mack is splitting snaps at practice with Cam. Justin Fields is splitting him with Andy Dalton. Trevor Lawrence, who you have worked with is splitting snaps with Gardner Minshu. I mean, that's got to slow the process too, right?

like people don't talk about that right no they miss on it a lot and to be honest it's kind of always been that way where you you don't want to go all in on the rookie yet and so we want to get other guys reps and we want to make it a competition and and maybe we want the young rookie to actually earn the job and earn the locker room and what it ends up netting out to is you got your starting quarterback entering the season not as developed as he could have been and i remember Deshawn Watson wasn't the starter in Houston until half time of the first game. He was splitting reps with Tom Savage. So we've seen this time and time again.

Mack, it's a little bit different. But when you look at Gardner, you look at Zach Wilson, look at these guys that are selected really high, kind of got to make a decision in the offseason if he's going to be your guy or not. We saw Cincinnati do it last year. We saw Arizona do it the year before. We're seeing teams be a little bit more hesitant to do that this year. Yeah. By the way, it benefited Burrow and Kyler Murray.

They get the snaps. You're the guy. and you get twice as many snaps in practice. So I think it's kind of interesting when I look at the Jets situation. They had a bad week of practice. They lost an edge rusher. Their left tackle is in big trouble. He's not in shape.

The Jets acknowledge it. Denzel Mims is hurt again. What do you make of that? I mean, who could flourish in that as a rookie? Nobody. And people have to be very, very patient with Zach Wilson. And, you know, you and I love Sam Darnold. I've been around him, you know, I've been around in most of his, you know, his career and watch the struggles and things that he had to go through in that market on that, in that, on that franchise last year.

I don't see things being a whole lot different this year with Zach Wilson. I'm not even comparing the two players. I just think the situation, the staff has been upgraded, but I haven't seen upgrades across the board. And there's still not continuity in that franchise. People need to be very patient. And also the loss of Greg Knapp, rest in peace, a guy who had a huge impact. on a lot of young players' lives. There's just a lot going on in that New York building that I think is,

people need to exercise patient with Zach. I watched the Carolina Panthers last week. I don't like their offensive line. I like them. The right side of their offensive line feels better than the left side. They did draft a BYU left tackle. Christensen, I think his name is. They have really good receivers, deep threats, slot guys.

They have two backs I like. What will Donald look like, in your opinion? Very smart coach, too. It's kind of crazy to think, but every NFL team has the same cap space. Every NFL team's allocated the same amount of roster spots. It should be even. It should be pretty even. Personally, I look at this as an upgrade in every single category.

From the play caller to the personnel in the huddle to the market, to the structure that it's around him, that Matt Ruhl has put in place, this new general managers put in place. I just think it's an upgrade at every position. I think the best offensive player that Sam's ever played with in the NFL is Robbie Anderson, who most people would say, the second or third best player on this offense, ironically. And so I think it's an upgrade at every position. Now, Sam's got to take it and run with it,

which is something I see all the writing on the wall that I think Sam has a, I guess you call it a breakout year, but a year where he actually plays to the potential that we all thought he had coming out of college. I think we see that start off really early versus the Jets and carry on through this season. The team who can run the ball, offensive coordinator who can dial it up,

and a defensive head coach who's going to bend in break and get after the quarterback. So I'm really excited for what's in front of Sam. And I know Sam is too. All right. Chargers, Niners. Have you seen Trey Lance any bit today? Yeah, I have. I got a chance. There's some quarterbacks out here, man. I mean, Jimmy, Jimmy looks like a really good starting quarterback in the league. Trey's shown flashes. I think the speed of the game will come as Trey gets more reps. And then Herbert looks like, you know, one of the best players in this league. And this is an exciting practice to be at just to watch these two rosters interact.

I mean, the past rushes, Derwin James' return. He had a big pick six a couple minutes ago. The wide receiver position. I'm excited. When it comes to Trey Lance, I think to exercise patience. What they're doing right now,

they've got to throw the whole offense at him to see what he can do. But if he's in there, whenever his time comes this season, they're going to be running the ball with him. They're going to be running the ball really well in first and second down. They're not going to be asking him to do all the things that they ask him to do in training camp. That's what training camp is for.

So I don't, I wouldn't buy too much into him having a good practice or a bad practice, this is going to be a great young player and throw everything at him right now. And then when it is his time, go ahead and run the ball the way that Shanahan is, play great defense, get after the quarterback, and get him in a lot of isolation-type routes with Kittal and Iuke and Debo and these playmakers they have outside. So I'm really excited for Trey. I think he's in a fantastic spot and a chance to watch Jimmy practice and play every day is going to really pour into his development for sure.

Jordan Palmer, quarterback. He is the founder of quarterback summit.com. Final question. You know Joe Burrow, you've trained with him, are you at all concerned his acknowledgement that mentally off that injury he's not right yet? Does that worry you? On my list of things that I'm worried about in my life, Joe Burroughs mentality does not even come close to making that list. Whether it has to do with confidence, whether it has to do with understanding football or making great decisions, that is not one of my concerns. Look, it's a hurdle, especially when it's your front leg. I went through this with my brother on both of his left ACL tears. It's a thing. Tom Brady, it was a thing. And it's a hurdle. And once you get over it, you never think about it again. And so I think it was

really cool to see a young Joe Burrow be transparent and be so confident himself, he'll tell you what's bugging him. But it's a hurdle that he'll get over and once he's over it. Joe and I spent a lot of time this offseason together. He's found a little thing with his velocity where he's going to add an element to his game this year. And I'm really excited to see that. And so I, guy who has the world in front of him and has had an unbelievable career, had a major setback with the injury. But I think we're going to see him make a massive jump this year. Jamar Chase will be a piece of that, but I think it's Joe's continuing to develop in

his coach's system and with the talent around him. So I'm looking for Joe to have a very, very big gear. And fantasy sleeper, too. Oh, fantasy sleeper. You just threw that out there. You barely even, just threw that out there at the end. Jordan Palmer, quarterback consultant. That time of year.

Quarterback Summit.com. Good seeing you, bud. Thanks for having me. You bet Wolf and Shepherd, the dress shoe made and worn by athletes. You get that Italian leather on the top, the athletic soul on the bottom. Wolf and Shepherd.com. Join the pack. That shepherd spelled S-H-E-P-H-E-R-D like theherd.com.

Wolf and Shepard. All right, that's nice. That's good stuff. You know, you forget, San Francisco, as they've built this team, the defense and the coaching gets attention. But they have Debo Samuel, Beast. Brandon Ayuk, watch out. George Kittle. Like, they have, those guys are incredible playmakers.

So as they built that defensive front, we pay attention to Shanahan's run game and John Lynch is in the Hall of Fame. And they have really three playmakers. Like guys that break tackles, you throw it out. they do the rest. Brandon and Iuk's going to be a monster. So good for them. Can't wait for it. This is a Kevin Clark, Greg Kosell, Jordan Palmer, Charlotte Flair next hour, 11-time

WWE Women's Champ. The Queen. The Queen. And she owns the Internet virtually every day she's on it. There is no doubt about that. Hour 3 and a Friday next. Another podcast from some SNL, late-night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smygel and friends. Me

and hilarious guests from Bob Oden to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer, Streeter Seidel, help an a cappella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and friends on the I-Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or

wherever you get your podcasts. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal, but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds.

I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the I-Hard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. On the Look Back at it podcast. From 1979, that was a big moment for me. 84 was big to me. I'm Sam J. And I'm Alex English.

episode, we pick a year, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it, with our friends, fellow comedians, and favorite authors. Like Mark Lamont Hill on the 80s. It was a wild year. It was a wild year. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win.

A win is a win. I don't care what I'm saying. Yep, that's me. Clifford Taylor the Fourth. You might have seen the skis. my basketball and college football journey or my career in sports media. Well, now I'm bringing all of that excitement

to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, unfills of conversations with athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. So let's get to it. Listen to The Clifford show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast.

And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok podcast network on TikTok. This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed human