The Herd with Colin Cowherd - 08/23/2021 - Best of The Herd

Episode Date: August 23, 2021

Colin lays out the quarterback situation facing the 49ers and why they are in such a difficult spot heading into the 2021 season. He discusses the latest update on Dak Prescott’s shoulder injury and why the Cowboys should be concerned about the franchise star after signing him to a huge contract. He also tells you why he was right about Aaron Rodgers and wrong about Zach Wilson. Plus, former Patriots quarterback Matt Cassel joins the show to give his thoughts on who the starting quarterback should be in New England this season.   Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an I-Heart podcast. Guaranteed Human. Another podcast from some SNL, late-night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smygel and friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk 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 IHeart 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. 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 IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. On the Look Back at it podcast. For 1979, that was a big moment for me. 84 was big to me. I'm Sam J.

And I'm Alex English. Each 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. 84 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.

Hey, what's good, y'all? You're listening to Learn the Hardway with your favorite therapist and host Kear Games. This space is about black men's experiences, having honest conversations that it's really not safe to have anywhere, but you're having them with a licensed professional who knows what he's doing. How many men carry a suit or armor. It signals to the world that you're not to be played with. And just because you have the capability that doesn't. does not mean that you need to. Listen to learn the hard way on the IHard radio app, Apple Podcast,

or wherever you get your podcast. Thanks for listening to The Best of HARD podcast. Be sure to catch us live every weekday. From 12 to 3 Eastern, 9 to noon Pacific on Fox Sports Radio and FS1, find your local station for the herd at Fox Sports Radio.com or stream us live every day on the IHartRadio app by searching Herd. This is the Best of the Hurt with Colin Cowher on Fox Sports Radio. Ah, here we go on a very robust Monday.

Live in Los Angeles, it's the herd. Wherever you may be, however you may be listening. IHeart Radio, Fox Sports Radio FS1. One hour from now. Oh, it's a good one. Colin Wright, Colin Wrong. I'm plenty of both. It is great to have you in a great weekend in Las Vegas.

I went to SummerSlam. I went to the Pacquiao fight. I had some cocktails. I didn't eat enough. I saw my son. I hung out. I did pool time. Ooh.

Yeah. Living it up. Beal Las Vegas. With my son. And Joy Taylor could have been in Ecuador or Pittsburgh. It doesn't matter. Every weekend it's a different. I was in Pittsburgh.

I got to see my baby niece. Fam time for you. Family time, yes. So, you know, I was thinking about this, Joy. You know, you tend to think. Let me just speak for guys. The good-looking guy has all the confidence, right? Like George Clooney is a good-looking guy.

had a great career. And then he made a movie Gravity and it was great. And then after that he made like four bombs. And Mr. Confidence, about a year ago, said, I don't need Hollywood. I sold a tequila company. I make a bunch of money. I don't need Hollywood. Oh, the call stopped coming for George Clooney.

Hollywood forget you very quickly. The best-looking guy. Mr. Model guy, Mr. Famous guy, Mr. Cool Friends guy. very fine actor. I like his movies, some of them. But the line between confidence and insecurity, my friends, is very, very thin. Jimmy Garoppolo should be confident. It's like Tom Brady was frightened of him. Got to a Super Bowl.

I mean, look at the guy. If I look like Jimmy Garoppolo, I would take selfies all day. I'd take 400 selfies a day. And yet, do you watch him last night? He's lost confidence. Jimmy Garopolo has no confidence. What are the three things for a quarterback that crush confidence? Number one is injuries.

You don't want to get hit. He's had those. Number two, your coach loses confidence in you. We saw that in his last playoff run. Took the ball out of Jimmy's hand. Number three, they draft your replacement. Jimmy Garoppolo had a quarterback rating of 16 last night. That's against backups.

That is in a game in which nobody now plays starters in the NFL preseason. It's embarrassing. like nobody's playing backups. Easton Stick is a fifth round quarterback number three quarterback for the Chargers. I watched that game last night. Easton Stick was better than Jimmy Garoppolo. Better than Jimmy Garoppolo. He played with more confidence.

He moved better. He was more accurate. Remember, the young quarterbacks who've never played in the NFL are crushing it in this preseason. And those young quarterbacks don't have Kyle Shanahan. They don't have this offensive line. They don't have this culture. They don't have this roster. Jimmy's been in this system now multiple years.

Jimmy Garapolo has lost his fastball. And I like Garoppolo. I'm a much bigger fan of Garoppolo than 99% of you. But I'm watching that game last night. And injuries, coach lost confidence, drafted a quarterback. He does not look the same. I mean, I've been saying this. It's very hard to evaluate these rookie quarterbacks.

And Zach Wilson's tearing it up. You notice what hasn't moved with Zach Wilson. There's still a four-point underdog in the opener to Carolina. And the over-under for the Jets is six and a half. Vegas ain't buying it. But, you know, the reality is between all these injuries and Trey Lance, and by the way, Trey Lance is not ready to play. He's very talented.

But the kid has taken no snaps. He had a couple of nice drives at the end of that game last night. That's against four stringers. That's against people that will not make the NFL. So don't take anything from that. So San Francisco, a team I really like, and in the NFC West has a dilemma. Garapolo's lost some confidence.

Trey's not ready to play. And I said this. Remember a couple years ago, Carson Wentz? He was up for MVP of the league. Much like Clooney and Garoppolo. He checked two boxes. He got hurt and they drafted a quarterback in the second round. And he lost his fastball.

Carson Wentz lost his fastball. There's the old joke Howie Long once said. You can't have two great quarterbacks in the same room at the same time. One sucks all the oxygen out of it. They need attention. They're the guy. It's the only football position doesn't have competition. Right?

A team will draft three receivers in one draft. Nick Saban every year brings in six new running backs and wide receivers to Alabama. That's part of the cultural football. You've got a battle for your job, not quarterback. The way quarterback works, even at college, if you recruit two five-star quarterback, One leaves within a year. It's my team. I get all the snaps.

So the Garoppolo, I think the game's in his head right now. I don't know if it's solvable. It wasn't for Carson Wentz until he left to Indianapolis. By the way, he is back to practice and reportedly looks great. Why? Why would Carson Wentz now look great? Hasn't played a game. He's got his coach back.

He's got an offensive lineback. He has a team that's thrown a ton of money at him. The guys on the roster behind Carson Wentz are absolutely late-round backups. There's no threat. There's no rush. Suddenly Carson Wentz, same size, same arms. Suddenly they say Carson Wentz looks great. Thin line between confidence and insecurity.

Leading men and leading quarterbacks. And Carson Wentz this morning, oh, Jimmy Garoppolo this morning with Trey Lance, ready to take his job, doesn't look good. Kyle Shanahan talked about when he's going to name a starter. I would love for it to be more and more each week, but I think the situation is pretty similar right now. No, we're not making that announcement. Let's try, though, whenever I feel like it. Not the night.

I promise it'll be by that Sunday. All right. Kick off. All right, let's shift gears. The Dallas Cowboys are not only in offensive. team, they're a shootout team. Yeah, in 2019, the last year DAC started every game, the Cowboys were 8 and

0 when they scored over 25 points. And they were 0 and 8 when they scored under 25 points. That's what Dallas is, and their defense hasn't gotten better. I know they have a new coordinator. I know they drafted a bunch of guys. Rookies are not going to make a difference in the NFL, especially the ones they drafted, other than Micah Parsons, who's really good. So this team needs its quarterback. So Adam Schaefter is now the fourth source on this.

Troy Aikman, Michael Irvin, Gilbrand, Adam Schaefter, Dak Prescott could be bothered by injuries for the entire season. So I got Aikman, Irvin, Adam Schaefter, Gilbrant, all well connected, all come to the same conclusion. Dak's shoulder's not right. It's a baseball injury, right? The Cowboys got a hold of the Texas Rangers and the Yankees.

They went to baseball teams. If a baseball pitcher had this injury, you put him on the shelf. He doesn't play. So there was video this weekend of Dak Prescott before the game against what, Atlanta, throwing the ball around. He threw 52 passes. Okay, 52 passes. Not one of them was a seam route.

Not one of them was a post pattern. Not one of them was a deep ball. 10, 15 yards, 52 passes. No deep balls. Is it something? Dallas also does not have a legitimate backup quarterback. I think Jerry Jones, a man who's pretty good at investing, would love to protect his investments. But if they get on the phone with Nick Foles and make a trade, the world will implode.

It'll be just massive distraction. And that's, as Jerry knows, with Zique a couple years ago, it's not good for football. They've already got hard knocks. You don't want to throw in a Nick Foll's backup quarterback situation. So Dallas has only been able to win in the last three years. I could say longer, but they've only really been able to win one way. Score 30 points. That has been it.

That's the way Dallas wins. So this is in 2021, a highly dependent quarterback team. Now, I hear this all the time. Everybody's quarterback dependent. No, they're not. The New Orleans Saints in the last two years have gone eight and one without Drew Brees. How? Great coach.

Great O line, very good defense, excellent GM. They can run the football. They had no deep threat. Drew Breeze and no deep threat. He leaves, they're 8 and 1. With Teddy Bridgewater with Taysam Hill, James Winston can come into 8 and 1. That's not a quarterback dependent team. That's why it was time for Drew Breeze to go.

They didn't need a quarterback to win. I mean, New England last year had no real backup, had Cam Newton with no preseason, he got COVID. They had eight guys off. out. They were a game from 500. You've watched New England play this year. They're preseason. They're not quarterback dependent. Miami last year won 10 games and was not overly productive at quarterback. I mean, in a perfect world, you would have the ability to win without a great quarterback, but just happened to have one. I think Kansas City is close to that. I think, you know,

Seattle with Russell Wilson, like they were good enough defensively to get to the playoffs. Russell got him a Super Bowl almost two. But we know this cowboy team has one way to win. This is the one way to win. And it's very DAC dependent. Oh, by the way, he's coming off a very serious leg injury as well. So when I get Aikman and Irvin and Gilbrand and Adam Schaefter all saying the same thing, I'm going to trust them.

They've been around that franchise forever. I'm going to trust them. 52 passes, not one deep ball. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays and noon Eastern. At AM Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, FS1, and the IHard Radio app. 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 IHard 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 you're 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, untoward. filtered 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 a little Kim? Well, you can find out on the Look Back at a podcast. I'm Sam Jett. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick you here, unpack what you? went down and tried 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 all day, but just so you 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, so. They're 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 Hard Way with me, your host, and your 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. 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, Keer Gaines, is we have really. conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast, learn the hard way. Open your free iHeartRadio app. Search, learn the hard way, and listen now. The determining factor on how great you are is if you were a free agent and not just sports, you were an attorney, you were a doctor, you were a surgeon, you were a salesperson, you were a high school principal, high school administrator, you were a college professor.

It doesn't matter. You could go down to anything. You go down to any worker. You're in a town. You're a chef. And you were on the market. Anybody could have you. They had to bid on you.

What kind of frenzy would you create? That's why Janus really is good. If Janus was on the market, almost everybody would take him. Westbrook is flashier. Carmelo's going to score a bunch of points. Anthony Davis, sit, Janus on the market with a history of no injuries, everybody would bid on him. The whole league would bid on Janus.

Now, in baseball, it doesn't count because some teams just can't afford mokey bets. But Mike Trout and mokey bets, available to the market, every single team in baseball would bid on them if they could afford them. And so if every single player in the NFL was on the market, and we know quarterbacks are the most valuable player. So they would be the big prizes. I believe if every single player in the NFL was on the market, Mahomes would go number one and Russell Wilson would go number two. And people say, what about Aaron Rogers? Well, it's funny. Russell Wilson dropped 10 spots to number 12, the 12th best player in the NFL on the NFL network's list. Now, this is just a list. But this is why I don't

pay a ton of attention to the NFL network. They do a great job, but they do a lot of this stuff. You know, they get us all worked up, and they'll put somebody a little higher, a little lower. Whatever, I get the game. But the value of Russell Wilson and Mahomes is, everybody in the league's available. Bid. You understand if Aaron Rogers, who's going to finish higher on this list, was available and Russell Wilson was, Russell Wilson would have far more suitors. He's younger, he's healthier, he's more optimistic.

He doesn't say things like, yeah, it was 50-50 on retiring. He's more athletic. He's one with four different coaches, a high school coach, two colleges, two colleges, two college coaches, NFL coach. Russell, since he broke into the league, has more passing yards than Aaron Rogers. How is that possible? He's got a defensive coach who falls in love with a run. They've had bad offensive line coaches now on their fourth.

They're on their third offensive coordinator. How is it possible? Aaron's had offensive guys. The reality is, if you go and look at Russell and Aaron on the market, Aaron's older, he's had. issues. He's 50-50 on retirement. He's going to be a $46 million cap hit next year. And this is not a shot at errand. But whenever you see these lists, whenever you see these lists, ask yourself, everybody's available. Brady's 44. Josh Allen. He's been great for a year. Justin Herbert.

Well, yeah, one season. Russell never loses. I mean, last year, he was furious. At his lack of support, they went 12 and 4 in the toughest division. He went 12 and 4 in the toughest division. So when the list comes out and they drop him to 12, never forget this, because you all love Aaron Rogers. Since Russell entered the league, he's got more passing yards, a higher winning percentage, more playoff wins, less drama, fewer injuries, more regular season wins than AR. Or as I like to call him, 50-50. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd, weekdays and noonie. 9 a.m. Pacific.

Hey, it's me, Rob Parker. Check out my weekly MLB podcast Inside the Parker for 22 minutes of piping hot baseball talk featuring the biggest names and newsmakers in the sport. Whether you believe in analytics or the eye test, we've got all the bases covered. New episodes drop every Thursday, so do yourself a favor

and listen to Inside the Parker with Rob Parker on the IHeart Radio app or wherever you get your podcast. 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, Clifford 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 Cliverts show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or we're 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 was big to me, not just because of crack. I'm down to talk about crack all 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, so. 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 IHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hardway with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Keer 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. Trip 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 iHeartRadio app, search Learn the Hardway, and listen now. If you look at the list of billionaires, there's 3,000 billionaires in the world.

After about the 10th, you've never heard of them. Elon Musk, Bill Gates, Mark Cuban, you've heard of those guys. Then it's mostly people you never heard of. Even successful people aren't stars. They're grinders. Most very successful people in America, you've never heard of.

They own a waste management company. They own property somewhere. Donald Trump, believe it or not, is not the biggest real estate developer in New York. He's the one that's the noisiest. I think he's fourth. There's a lot more people with a lot more money. And he's not even close to the richest person just in probably the borough in which he lived, right? Certainly not in Florida, not the richest person.

Not even in the town, West Palm or where Mar-a-Lago. It's not a shot on him. Most people who are rich, you don't know. Most people who are successful. They're not stars in politics. I was at WWE this weekend, in tech, in podcasting. Most successful people are grinders. Now, in the NFL, we want our quarterbacks to be stars.

Mahomes is a star. Aaron Rogers is a star. Tom Brady's a star. A lot of championships came from guys like Phil Sims. And when I watch Tua and Mac Jones, I do not see stars. Stars are big and flashy. and big arms and Tua is not that big and has an average arm and isn't that athletic and his ceiling is kind of low.

But I have a feeling watching Mack Jones and Tua, they're going to be the young quarterbacks winning all the football games. Every time I watch Miami play, I am absolutely convinced that Brian Flores is the next superstar in coaching. They are so well coached. And once again this weekend, Tua looked really good. this is not a shot at Tua. But when I watch he and Mac Jones, I'm watching Phil Sims.

Phil Sims never lost you a game. Didn't win all of them. Never lost you a game. And Tua is accurate. Mac Jones is accurate. They're coachable. They'll play within a system. Sometimes there's an advantage in life.

Not having Jay Cutler's arm or Aaron Rogers arm or Big Ben's talent, knowing your limitations, you become more coachable. You understand you need other people to succeed. Jay Cutler was a huge talent, no emotional discipline. Aaron Rogers is super talented, one Super Bowl trip. Big Ben may be more talented than all of them. But like Tua and Mac aren't as talented, and they know they're not. They see what the ball looks like when it comes off their hand.

And because of that, they are more coachable and more flexible and more adaptable and more. I look at Tua. A lot of it to me is just, he's accurate. And I look at Mac Jones and I'm like, well, but Brian Flores and Belichick, I'm not joking, could be the two best coaches in the NFL. I really believe that. And Phil Sims wasn't that big, didn't have a big arm, wasn't that athletic. Phil Sims never lost games for you. Didn't win them all with Parcells.

But that's what I see. I see Phil Sims. One 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. you'd like. Here we go. Where Colin was right? Well, Josh McDaniel, Patriots coordinator, said yesterday Cam Newton is starting quarterback for the Patriots. By the way, he was eight of nine last week. The only miss was a drop pass. He has spent a majority of the time with the first team. Now,

right now, he's going to be away from the team because of a COVID situation. I don't think he's a vaccinated guy. Does that change it? I don't know. But Josh McDaniels, said this week, Cam is the starter, and I've said for all summer long, this is what I believe this team is good enough to be a playoff team. I don't think you inject a rookie into this division right now. Where Colin was wrong. Zach Wilson, he's the highest rated rookie quarterback. Now, again, he has not played a snap against the starting defense, right? So it is what it is, but I have to be fair. I thought he was going into the worst. situation. I thought he would struggle. I thought he was too much Johnny Mansell. He's Johnny Mansell

with a better arm is how I see it. But I got to be fair now. This weekend, starting offense, two T's D's and a field goal. We know he's got a good arm. That's not the question, but he's been very nimble. He's also looked very calm. He's looked very poised. More so than I thought, so I have to admit I'm wrong on that. Where Colin was right? Jack Prescott, according to Adam Schaefter, will be bothered by injuries all year. This is what I led my Friday show with. Aikman, Irvin, Adam Schaefter, all saying something. I believe sources.

The reality is, if you start looking at people tied to this organization, they've all got skepticism on what the Cowboys are saying, which is nothing to see here. It's all fantastic. But he threw 52 passes before the Atlanta game the other night. No deep ball. So it's something. We'll see.

For the record, this is a very, quarterback dependent team. I work for Fox. I want the Cowboys to be entertaining. I'm rooting for him to be healthy. I don't love having to talk about this story. Where Colin was wrong. I have been a bigger Jimmy Garoppolo fan than most of you have been. But I will admit, yesterday he looked bad. And I think between the injuries and between drafting Trey Lance, it's in his head a little bit, there's no excuse that Zach Wilson looks as good as he does walking into this league. And Jimmy Garoppolo with Kyle Shanahan and this group, I mean, by the way, they're playing some starters here. Brandon Ayuk's out there.

He just doesn't look good. He looks rattled. He looks rushed. And whatever it is, there's no excuse for rookie quarterbacks looking better and more poised than Jimmy Garoppolo who got to a Super Bowl two years ago. Where Colin was right? Tim Tebow was the first Jacksonville Jaguar cut. Hopefully this is the last time I have to talk about him.

When Tim Tebow got signed to the 90-man roster, what was my number? number one issue. How is he going to block? Because he's not going to make it as a vertical tight end. He's got to have to be a blocking tight end. Does he understand that quarterbacks can't leave the league for eight years, come back and block? Well, the video, which made the internet pretty quickly, illustrated his number one issue was not catching the ball. He can't block. That's what a fourth tight end is on an NFL team. Sometimes you're like a lead fullback. You're a blocker. He's a quarterback. He can't block. We were right. Where Colin was wrong. Well, Tua has had maybe as good a preseason as any quarterback. His coach said he's surgical and methodical. 16 to 23 Saturday,

180 some yards, 107 passer rating. I have told you, I have my doubts. I think he looks small. I think the play has to be perfectly designed. He showed a little athleticism here, which I like. Again, rooting for him. But I have to be honest, I've been critical of Tua. I think he's a great kid, but I don't see the magic everybody else sees, but he was, well, whatever you want to label, it may not be magical. He was very good again this time against Atlanta. Where Colin was right? I've said for years, Aaron Rogers, when the rest of you guys were going crazy, he's the goat. I said he doesn't have Brady's leadership. He doesn't have Russell Wilson's leadership. Last week, he comes out and not only admits,

ah, it's 50-50 if I was going to play. You would never hear Peyton Manning say that. You'd never hear Brady say that. You'd never hear any great leader say, eh, I'm kind of want to play. I'm not sure I'll figure it out. He also admitted. Now, this doesn't drive me nuts because I do think in the summer, a quarterback's going to do what they want. But all I see all summer on Russell Wilson is video working out, Aaron Rogers told us this. 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.

This is a side comment, by the way. You ever notice with Aaron Rogers, he always wants to tell you how much he doesn't need stuff? I don't need football. I don't need family. I don't need that teammate. When people are constantly telling me they don't need things, it's called projecting. Aaron's got to stop telling us how much he doesn't. doesn't need football.

It's shrinking his market. I want to get somebody if I'm Denver that needs football. I kind of like it. It's kind of a turn on. My guy loves football. Where Colin was wrong. I had a blast this weekend. I did an event for my new podcast company at WWE SummerSlam, and I went.

Sat right next to Bill Simmons. I had an absolute blast. By the way, that headed right in front of me. That happened right in front of me. Charlotte Flair. It was unbelievable. I know I used to mock you wrestling fans. I called some of you booger eaters, and some of you may still be, but I will be honest.

I got to be honest with you. The production of this thing, the electricity, $48,000. Can you buy season tickets to WWE? It's one of the best live experiences that you can have. I went to the Pachial fight five minutes later after this thing. Wasn't even close to it. And it was a great fight. By the way, great fight.

The energy in that building was amazing. Congratulations to the queen, who I almost made cried last week. where Colin was right? I said before the season, I thought the Dodgers potentially had the best baseball roster, and I'm not a baseball seamhead guy, best baseball roster in 20 years. Now, they lost yesterday,

but they've won 10 of 11 and 13 of 15. They're the hottest team in baseball, and here's what's remarkable. They've done it without Mookie Betts who's been hurt, without Corey Seeger most of the season, Corey Bellinger's hurt and having a terrible year, Clayton Kershaw's out, five of their eight best players are hurt, out, or struggling.

And yet since the All-Star break, their team ERA is 0.89. Max Scherzer is 3-0. This is a roster that's the best in baseball. They added Max Scherzer, who's virtually unhittable since he became a Dodger, and Trey Turner. There's a reason they had a sellout crowd yesterday, a 54,000. This is the best baseball roster in 20 years top to bottom. I mean, I could argue

Walker Bueller and Max Scherzer are the two best pitchers on any given day in baseball. They have both of them. Mookiee Betts is the best player when he's healthy on any given day. They've got him. Trey Turner wasn't even needed, and he's an all-star. They have his position covered. They've won 10 of 11, 13 of 15,

with injuries everywhere. Starting pitching now is all hurt. outside of Bueller and Max Scherzer. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, FS1 and the IHard Radio app. Dan Marino is listed at 6.4.5. He's bigger than that because I'm 6'2 and he was way taller than me. Dan Marino is as talented a quarterback, including John Elway and Andrew Luck as I've ever seen out of college. He started for four years at Pitt. Dan Marino was everything. He was 6'5.

good looking, perfect build, 238, huge arm, silly release. This weekend, I read stories, people comparing Zach Wilson to Dan Marino. Time out. Stop. Dan Marino is a four-year starter. Beat everybody. Zach Wilson's a good kid. He's 19 and 90 at BYU.

Couldn't beat Utah twice. So the betting lines for, I understand Bears fans and Jet fans, they want a quarterback. I get the frenzy. But some of you media people in New York are ridiculous. Have you all become fireman Ed? This is preseason. Nobody's playing starters. And that's always been the case, right?

You only got starters for like two series. Now nobody plays them at all except New England. So it's like, you know what hasn't changed? The line in Vegas. there are still four-point underdogs to lousy Carolina. Five and 11 Carolina is favored by four over the jets. The line hasn't changed. The over under on the jets is six and a half.

That hasn't changed. Slow down. This is the last place team. It's the last place roster. In a division with unbelievable coaching, Brian Flores, Belichick, Sean McDurbit, we got Robert Sala. Could be good.

Who knows? I don't know if he's going to be good. I know Flores is. I know that. Flores is as good as any young coach, including Sean McVeigh. I know McDermott is. I know Belichick is.

So, you know, it's people are going nuts on this stuff. I understand wanting it to be true. But I always check the betting markets. Remember when we had the presidential, the Democrats were trying to find a candidate. So you had Trump and the Democrats were trying to find a candidate. Every two months, the Democrats would fall in love with another candidate. It was Mayor Pete. It's Beto O'Rourke.

It's AOC. You know what the betting markets always had? Yeah, Joe Biden's going to win. Don't listen to the media. Media is, I'm not a member of the media, despite what you think. I'm not really, I'm barely credentialed. I am America's honesty broker, and that will end the discussion right there. The media gets hyper, they hyperventilate, they get overly emotional, and they're falling in love with Joe Biden was the betting favorite.

Every two months, this person's on Vanity Fair. This person's on Esquire. This person's on Joe Biden. Bidding. Even Trump called him sleepy. Sleepy had a name for him. It's like, let's slow down. Stop hyperventilating on all this stuff.

This is preseason stuff. I think Zach Wilson has good feet and a good arm. We knew that. And I think what's happening is Bears fan and Jets fan, New York and Chicago great sports cities. The fans are so desperate to finally have a quarterback. Chicago and New York have had everything, right? Like everything.

The Jets, since Joe Namath, haven't had a star at quarterback. They are so dead. Richard Todd was talented. Chad Pennington was solid, but I mean a star, Namath. Chicago wants a star. They want their Aaron Rogers, right? Like I get Chicago and the Jet fans going nuts. But the media, six and a half wins, four point dog.

And oh, by the way, your linebacker, your best linebacker got hurt today. Your best pass rusher free agent out for the year. According to the Jets coach, the left tackle is overweight, struggling in camp. worst roster in the division. So let's just stop the Dan Marino stuff. Like, stop. It's insane. By the way, Greg Kossel came on last week.

He likes Sack Wilson. He likes him, but he said, let's slow down a little bit. 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. He has light, quick feet on his drop in his set.

He's got a live, loose arm. He has an easy delivery. 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. Yeah, and that's what we've seen, by the way. He's very comfortable moving and throwing. He's very good at that.

And there's no argument here. He is an athlete, and he's got a really lively arm. But you start bringing up Marino. Like, that's got, you've got to be, you just don't understand how good Dan Marino was. You have no idea. Athletes are getting bigger, right? Dan Marino came into the league and he was 6'5-240. We look at guys like that now and it's no big deal.

He was a monster physically. He was like pre-Big Ben. He was just, Dan looked, you could just YouTube Dan Marino highlights. It doesn't even look like the other guys. It was smoother than Elway. And Elway is an all. It was smoother than Elway. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific. Matt Castle played 14 years in the NFL. He played alongside Brady and Tony Romo,

Marcus Marriota, Carson Palmer, 10 and 5 in 2008 when Brady tore his ACL in the first game of the year. So he has been around the league for a long time in those 14 years. And he is a guy that knows a lot, does a lot of Patriot broadcasting as well, knows a lot about a lot of teams and the cultures of the NFL. And he is going to join us live now, Matt Castle. You know, Matt, I was saying this. I always watch preseason, and I really didn't watch it for anything other than I wanted to see some high draft picks and see if they could play the speed of the game. But it's weird. Now the NFL is a 17th game, so some coaches are not even playing starters at all.

Sean McVey a few years ago said no starters play ever, and a lot of people have copied that. So I feel like, like Zach Wilson looks good, but he's going up against second, third. He hasn't played a first team defensive guy. So I never took a ton from preseason, but I don't know what I can take with it now, because I mean, a lot of these teams are on third stringers start of the second quarter. So what should I take from Zach Wilson? What should I take from Justin Fields?

tell me. Right. You've got to take preseason with a grain of salt. And like you said before, it was one thing when you get to kind of that third preseason game, it used to be the starters are playing. And I always remember even early on, Brady would play all the way into the second half. That was our dress rehearsal, so to speak. But now the way that a lot of these teams are approaching it, they don't want to risk injury. So you get the second, the third string guys in there. And while it's fun to see where these guys are at, and you can see the physical attributes that a lot of these first-string quarterbacks have and these other quarterbacks. But the fact of the matter is, the competition is not what it used to be.

And also, in addition to that, you go out there, and a lot of these teams have these joint practices now. And they use that joint practice time to really scrimmage, get after each other during the week. And so those starters get those reps during those joint practices. And then come game time, they say, okay, we're going to let the other guys get out there and get the game experience. And so it just changes the dynamics of preseason. and at the same time, you're not getting the same competition that you're going to get once football season actually starts on week one.

So one of the few teams that is playing starters, shocker is Bill Belichick, right? Like, he's playing starters. I have felt since the summer it was Cam's team because he didn't have a preseason. He got COVID. He was bad after COVID. And at the end of the year, I'm like, you know, he had 12 rushing touchdowns. They had eight opt-outs. I just think that division now. Buffalo's the real deal.

Miami's got excellent defense. I'm not throwing Mack Jones up against Brian Flores or Sean McDermott. And for that matter, the Jets defensive line is excellent. I'm going to go with a veteran here. That's my takeaway. And now we have a COVID situation today where Cam is gone for five days. So you were with New England for a long time. Do you think that ticked Belichick off?

I mean, how do you think the COVID situation with Cam for five days? plays into who's starting, or does it even matter to you? I don't think it matters at this point. I think Cam's done enough up to this point in camp. He's performed well. He played well last week, and all along, Belichick's stuck by his side. And I think that they're going to give him an opportunity to go out and perform with their new weapons. His new toys that they went out and got with Nelson Aguilar, Kendrick Bourne, Johnny Smith, Hunter, Henry.

They've got a full staple of the running backs. And so they're going to let him go out and see if he can lead this team much better. than what he did last year, especially after having a full season under his belt. Now, the COVID situation, look, that just came about, it's got to be frustrating for everybody in the organization, particularly Cam, because he's in the driver's seat right now to take this position. He had a good performance last week, and you want to build on that going into season. Now he's not going to get that opportunity. And while Mack Jones, I don't think is where Cam is in terms of being ready to play, he's also closing the gap. And every week that he stepped on the field, he continues to

get better. And now this is another opportunity for him to step out with the first string offense all week long, build that relationship with those receivers, build the rapport, and just get additional reps, which will be huge. Because at any point, if Camman, this offense is faltering, and they're not going the way that Josh McDaniels wants them to and Bill Belichick and their expectation, they're not living up to the expectation level, I can see them turning to Mack Jones at some point and letting him have the keys of the car. You know, I said that, or today, there's three things that would kill a quarterback's confidence.

Number one, an injury. You just don't feel yourself. I remember when Brady got hurt, the following year, you could tell he didn't like anybody near his knees, like nobody. Second thing is, a coach loses confidence in you. The third thing is they draft your replacement in the first

round or two. Well, all three are true for Jimmy Garoppolo. And I watched him last night, and he didn't, I mean, he, if Zach Wilson can look good against as a rookie with Kyle Shanahan and those players, and the Niners played some starters, I didn't think he looked very good.

And I thought to myself, why? And I'm like, well, I saw Carson Wentz. When they drafted Jalen Hertz in the second round, you could argue that got in his head. And I, and I, it just take me to what Garoppolo is going through. They drafted your replacement. You've had injuries. Kyle took the ball out of your hands a year and a half ago.

Did you ever have a point in your career, college or pro, where you just felt like you just kind of lost your fastball for a time. Absolutely. I mean, I remember being in Minnesota. I re-signed with Minnesota to be the starter that season. And of course, we get to the draft. And I'm thinking, okay, let's take a wide receiver. Let's get somebody big up front, whatever it might be.

And they drafted Teddy Bridgewater in the first round. Immediately, your mind goes so many different directions. Okay, what does this mean for me as the starting quarterback? I know now that there's going to be competition, which you're never fearful of competition. you play this because you know at any given point, look, your job can be taken away for a multitude of reasons. You named a few, whether it's injury, whether it's strapped in somebody. But now your mindset has to be go out and compete every day, but you have to be mentally tough. And the minute

you start to worry about how the other guy's performing or what's being set on the outside, it completely takes away from your focus of on the field. And like you said last night, look, he made some good throws, but that's a great example right there to Brandiou, throwing it high over the middle, which you can never do, and it results in interception. And the one hard part for any quarterback is the feeling that you have to be perfect. Because if you're not perfect, that you're going to have, somebody else is going to be put in the game. And especially in this circumstance, when they traded so much, the San Francisco 49ers trade so much draft capital to move up to get a guy like Tray Lance, which inevitably you know will be your replacement at some point. Now it's whether or not you can manage that

situation mentally, not press, and allow yourself to still go out and execute to the ability. Because the fact of the matter is, look, Jimmy's an underrated player. He's 24 and 8 as a starter. If anything, his biggest issue has always been his durability. If he stays on the field, he's been very successful. Yeah. And I think, as you pointed out, when you feel you have to be perfect, it just changes the psychology of how you play. So I ask everybody that's played in the NFL this question. Dalton, Justin Field, you coached. the Bears. Road game at the Rams week one. Who would you start and why? I'm starting to Andy Dalton to start. Look, the Rams with Aaron Donald and that group that they have, they're going to

come out and be able to get after the quarterback, but you want somebody in there like Andy Dalton, who's a veteran that's going to be able to manage the situation. He's been through the highs and lows of this league. He knows what's about to come when he's facing a defense like that and he understands the mechanics to maybe get himself out of trouble. Whereas Justin Fields, When you step on the field and it's your first real action, and as you pointed to earlier, preseason is much different when you're going up against twos and threes and making these plays and running all over the field and doing that versus you get in there live game speed, all the adrenaline, the excitement of week one. And now you're going up against a Rams defense that's quite honestly going to get after you. You just don't want to kill a young quarterback's confidence throughout the season, make him go in and get beat up or make a bunch of bad decisions. and then where do you go from there?

It's hard to turn the page back when you make the decision to go with the young guy, then to revert back and go to Andy Dalton versus the opposite, which would be if Andy struggles and they give him a few weeks, and then they can turn to Justin Fields and see if he can give you that advantage there from the offensive side of the ball. Matt Castle, great seeing you. Got a new life now. He's doing some play by.

He's doing some color analyst work. He's got Patriot stuff. He's got his family living in a cool city, and I'm not going to tell you where it is because that would be a breach of our confidentiality, but great to hear you're doing well. Good talking to you, Matt. Hey, thanks, Colin. I appreciate it, buddy. Another podcast from some SNL, late-night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smygel and friends, me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk 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 IHeart 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. 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 IHard 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 Jay.

And I'm Alex English. Each 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. 84 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.

Hey, what's good, y'all? You're listening to Learn the Hard Way with your favorite therapist and host Kear Games. This space is about black men's experiences, having honest conversations that it's really not safe to have anywhere, but you're having them with a licensed professional who knows what he's doing. How many men carry a suit or armor. It signals to the world that you're not to be played with. And just because you have the capability that does not. not mean that you need to. Listen to learn the hard way on the IHard radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast.

This is an IHart podcast. Guaranteed human.