The Herd with Colin Cowherd - 08/26/2021 - Best of The Herd

Episode Date: August 26, 2021

With Colin off, Doug Gottlieb steps in to give his thoughts on the quarterback battle in New England and why the Patriots are likely to go with former MVP Cam Newton as their play caller. He also outlines his concerns about the Dallas Cowboys as they prepare to contend for a Super Bowl title after last season’s disappointing finish. Plus, 4-time Super Bowl Champion Charlie Weis joins the show to tell Doug what Bill Belichick will do at QB as he continues to find a successor to Tom Brady.   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. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what I'm saying.

Yep, that's me, Clivert Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, 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 Clifers Show. This is a place for raw, unfilled 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 IHard 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. 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 put on 10. 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. 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 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 Heard 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 iHeartRadio app by searching Heard. This is the Best of the Hurd with Colin Coward. Cowher on Fox Sports Radio. Welcome in, this is The Hurd, wherever you may be in, however you may be making as part of your day talking so much. I'm Doug Gottlie in for Colin Cowherd, and we have arrived at football season.

This is a game week. We're at week zero. Huh? Yeah, week zero. Week zero in college football is akin to pre-board it. It doesn't make any sense. How do you board a plane before you board a plane? There's all different levels of boarding.

Early boarding is better than pre-boarding, but somehow you can pre-wage. For the people who are in the seated area, if you like to pre-board the plane, you can... Wait a second. How do I board before I board? Same way we get week zero. Are there college football games this weekend? Yes, there's a ton of them. There's some really, really good ones, some really exciting ones.

So it's week one. No, no, no, no. It's week zero. So these games count, yes. They exist, yes. But the week doesn't? No. Why?

I don't know. All caught up? Good. Let's get to the NFL. Doug Gottlieb in for Colin. This is the hurt. Tom Curran covers the New England Patriots. And he does a very good job.

And his most recent piece, he's the insider. hey most recent recent piece on NBC Sports Boston and where he stands up and he says this thing is over that Mac Jones has impressed with his performance and his ability to handle all things

New England Patriots offense handle the fact that he's going to take the job from a former league MVP who took the Carolina Panthers to the Super Bowl, able to handle the fact that he is essentially the era parent to the legacy of Tom Brady. I'm sure there will be a limited playbook and a brow beating whatever he plays. But Tom Curran says this thing is over. Which brings us to, there's a couple of rules when you're getting ready for a season,

when you're playing as an athlete. There are basic rules that everybody knows, and yet many people fall into that trap, which is don't make it easy on them. Cam Newton signed for $3.5 million. That kind of made it easy on him, but he clearly didn't have a leverage to get more money. Additionally, he hadn't thrown the football well, and it's backup quarterback, and he played like a backup quarterback last year. Please stop with the, I saw the Seattle game. you didn't watch the rest of the season. Season is longer this year,

and while his shoulder is probably better, and his throwing and mechanics are better, and his knowledge of offense is better, there's been a limitation to his accuracy. And I've heard Colin point this out earlier this week, or maybe it was last week. It's like, hey, the truth is that while he probably throws a better deep ball when he's healthy than Mack Jones,

this is not an offense that needs a deep ball. But the big thing is don't make it easy on your coach. to sit you. Don't give them an excuse. Don't give them an explanation. And Cam Newton has done that. Right. While the explanation of his season going to last year was COVID,

that would lead some to believe that this year you would come in fully vaccinated, ready to lead understanding how much that sets you back. Nope. Nope. and by missing time, he's probably going to miss that opportunity. And like, look, as athletes, like, that's all you really want. Bro, just give me a real opportunity, real games, real team. Lights on, popcorn's popping week to prepare.

Me and Josh McDaniels, draw some stuff up in the dirt, come up with some explosive plays, figure out how to manipulate the defense. Cam Newton, this is a real thing. If Cam Newton doesn't start, week one, against the Miami Dolphins, a team that won 10 games last year that has improved all their skill position. To a tongue of I low has got to be better. Brian Flores another year under his belt, more of his own personnel. If Bill Belichick isn't going to let it organically play out on the field and allow Cam Newton to lose the job.

And he's already lost the job in the preseason after, look, the last time we saw him play, he played pretty well. It tells you all you need to know about the real world of sports, which is you give them a reason. You give them it. If you're close, why would you ever give anybody else an opportunity to take those first team reps? Right. The same reason most people in football have been critical of the Jacksonville Jaguars up until yesterday

announcing that Trevor Lawrence was a starting quarterback, right? The argument is like, why would you be giving away first team reps to Garner Minshu when Trevor Lawrence is your guys? It's the number one overall pick, an incredibly highly touted prospect. He's going to be the guy. Why would you give away half of his, you know, some of his snaps to anybody else? He needs all of those reps, right? The same reason we're critical of the Jaguars is the same reason that Cam Newton completely screwed this thing up.

Whatever happened with the COVID stuff and the, and who he's in proximity to and who tested, like, that stuff is bad. But guess what? If you have, if you're vaccinated, the rules are completely different. everyone knows it and you run the risk of giving your coach an easy excuse for why he couldn't start you, why you didn't get that opportunity. And as much as you could sit here and go like, hey, if you're still Cam Newton, like, okay, keep in mind, the Carolina Panthers, who he was an MVP of, released Cam Newton. He signed late last year.

and the excuse for his lack of a big salary last year was, well, it was late in the process. Like, no, wasn't he was available? Well, nobody could evaluate his shoulder. Okay, that's fine. Everybody could evaluate his shoulder this year. They didn't. He signed for $3.5 million. But look, Ron Rivera has run through a bunch of quarterbacks.

He settled on a veteran in Ryan Fitzpatrick. Ron Rivera went to a Super Bowl with Cam Newton. Usually the way it works is you reach out to one of your guys who runs your system the way that you want. He's reached out to everybody but Cam Newton. Even Mitchell Tribiskey, who is a backup. up in Buffalo. But keep in mind, that Buffalo coaching staff, the Buffalo front office, Brandon Bean, where did they come from, Carolina? So if the two places that have coaches and front office people who worked with Cam previously have politely said, yeah, we're good.

And the Patriots had him for a year and only offered him $3.5 million and he doesn't start this year. And Carolina, like, okay, that's one eighth of the league, but it also sends out signals to the rest of the league. This was a great opportunity for camp. And whether he knowingly squandered it, potentially squandered it was squandered because he wouldn't get vaccinated, right? Because he wouldn't get vaccinated. Because he listened to the wrong people. The guy has done everything in terms of leadership and handling. You haven't heard him. complain about Mac Jones at all. He's been great. He's been a fuse in his praise.

The reason they kept him around is they really believe he's a good dude. He has great intentions. He's a hard worker. He's a locker room leader. And look, most of the dudes in the locker room either were playing with him or playing in the league when he won the MVP or growing up watching him win a Heisman Trophy, National Championship, an MVP and go to the Super Bowl. People idolize him. And that's why Bell Belichick, I believe, I believe, I've been. believe, has handled this thing with kid gloves and thought, let's just let it organically take care of itself. Eventually, everybody will realize that Cam just doesn't have it anymore. And we can insert Mac Jones as he does have what we need. And there won't be any locker room strife. But when you take yourself out of the mix for a couple of days, you run the risk

of being wallie pipped. And that appears, I don't know if Mac Jones is the eye. iron horse. But all these stories are the same, right? Guy gets hurt. Guy misses something. Guy gives an opportunity to a younger player and this is what happens. It's like, look, there's stories in sports which we try and make about a bunch of other things.

But the fact is that, you know, one of the, I don't believe it's the only reason the Niners are going to move on eventually from Jimmy Garapola. But one reason is he's always hurt. If you're not, part of ability is availability. I mean, but like the stories, the. the decades change. Why do teams leave cities? Because it couldn't get a new stadium.

The same reason the Cardinals left St. Louis, the Rams left St. Louis. Same reason, you know, the Raiders left L.A. came to L.A. because they wanted, they were promised the stadium to be fixed. The L.A. Coliseum to be fixed. It never was.

They left. They go to Oakland. They fixed kind of the Coliseum, but they just add seats. But they never build them a new building. And then they leave. Why? They can get a new building.

The same reason the Chargers left. Same reason the Lakers left Minnesota. The same reason the Jazz left New Orleans, right? Like it's all kind of the same, just like all of these stories are the same. Veteran quarterback teetering has respective everybody, but something injury or in this case, being unvaccinated costs him a couple of key days of preparation, gives somebody a great opportunity. And again, this is based upon Tom Curran. But look, Tom Curran covers the TV.

he's not saying these things unless he's hearing them from people inside the organization. And he's telling you that that opportunity that was provided to Mack Jones allowed Mack to shine. Does it mean he's going to be a great quarterback? No. Does it mean it's totally the right selection? No. But once there's momentum in the building, once we move on and a guy becomes QB1, boy, it's really hard to get it back. You want to know what the biggest lie told in sports?

Ready? You don't lose your job to injury. Excuse me? Of course you do. If the guy comes in and is better than you, right? I mean, it's really, look, that's what happened to Carson Wentz, no matter how good he was beforehand, Foles won the Super Bowl. And wasn't good his first two starts, but it's really hard mentally for people to get over what they saw.

The Wally Pip incident, of course, is the most historically significant one where Lou Gehrig replaced him and then never took a day off. You know, Phil Sims didn't get his job back. from Jeff Hostetler when he won a Super Bowl. Drew Bledsoe didn't get his job back when Tom Brady won a Super Bowl. And we may be, maybe seeing the last of Cam Newton as a QB1. Now, would he start at some other place? Will he start in New England if they keep him?

Potentially, yes. But that doesn't mean that he's the starting quarterback, right? And it's crazy. Because sometimes you almost volunteer to your coach to sit down for a while. And when you create that opportunity for somebody else, if they're ready,

they become the guy. And that's what appears to have happened in New England. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, FS1, and the IHeard 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 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 which 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 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 it podcast. I'm Sam Jett. 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. 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, 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, Kear Gaines, is we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast, learn the hard way. Open your free, our heart radio app. Search, learn the hard way, and listen now. This is Jimmy Garoppolo. And you can't, obviously,

Audio-wise, you can't see the smile, but there was a smile ear-to-ear. Here's Jimmy Garoppolo, and he was asked if he knew who the starting quarterback was. Carl said he had a pretty good idea he did the starting quarterback in week one. Do you have a pretty good idea? Oh, yeah, I have a pretty good idea. You're smiling about it. They almost mean something, right? It's whatever he decides, yeah.

I have a pretty good idea. I'm pretty happy with where I'm at right now and everything, and just the offense as a whole. But yeah, Cal's the head man, he'll make the call. Yeah, so he has a pretty good idea. Kyle's the head man, he'll make the call. I mean, it does feel obvious. I'm not really sure if I understand the cat and mouse games.

There's still plenty of time. And I think we all knew this was the plan in San Francisco to begin with. But boy, that is a, I have a secret, but I'm not going to tell you sort of answer. isn't it? I have a secret. What is it? I cannot tell you. I know what's going to happen.

I can't. This is, you know what reminds me of? God, music, you're not old enough. Chase, too, I don't even think you're old enough. Remember when, I just remember when Return of the Jedi came out. Right?

And somebody had spoiled it for me that Darth Vader takes off his helmet. And all of I could wait. All I could think about was Darth Vader taking it. And my brother knew Darth Vader. He had seen the movie previously. And I kept asking him,

when's he going to take up his helmet? What is he going to take up? I'm like eight at the time or nine of the time, whatever. And he just sat there with like a smile on his face, knowing when that scene was coming, knowing when it was coming. But I think what we get to is every situation and story is different. different.

Peyton Manning famously says that every, every interception is a story unto itself, right? It's like when you ask a little kid, like, what happened? What happened here was, right? Like, it is.

It's a different story. And quarterback situations are, are different as well, right? Look, the last time Garoppolo was healthy. Obviously, they didn't let him throw the ball in the NFC. Chams your game. That kind of left you scratch in your head. and then he didn't play well in the second half.

He left points out there and they got themselves beat. But they still went to the Super Bowl. He's still a talented dude. And whether he implodes by his play or those one-off interceptions or he gets hurt, which has happened so many times in the past, you know, remember, he got to San Francisco. He played great when they found. They weren't going to play him.

And they did play him. He played great. They give him a big contract. He comes out. And then he kind of goes hero ball and doesn't step out of bounds and tears his ACL. Then he comes back. That actually allowed them to draft very, very well. Debo Samuel, for example, you know, they get Nick Bosa.

And then they're loaded up. They go to a Super Bowl. And then last year he gets hurt again. So whether he's going to get hurt, whether he's going to throw a bad pick, whether it's just his contract expires. And they do the Alex Smith, like the Kansas City Chiefs. That's different than Andy Dalton has no sweat equity with the Chicago Bears. Right.

Yes, he went to five straight playoffs for the Bengals, but he was a backup last year in Dallas, and he may be the start, but there's no sweat equity there. He didn't take them to a Super Bowl. That's a different scenario. Cam Newton has won an MVP has gone to Super Bowl. It was years ago, and that wasn't with the Patriots.

There's not the same sweat equity there. So every situation is different. Garapolo, unlike Cam, isn't missing time. Garapolo, unlike Andy Dalton, has been to a Super Bowl, has one playoff games. All three eventually will be replaced. It's just a question of when, not if.

Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific. Hey, it's me, Rob Parker. Check out my weekly MLB podcast inside the Parker for 22 minutes of pipe and 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 baseball. is covered. New episodes drop every Thursday, so do yourself a favor and listen to Inside the Parker

with Rob Parker on the IHeartRadio 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, 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 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. 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? 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, as we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast, learn the hard way.

Open your free, our heart radio app. Search, learn the hard way, and listen now. Now we've got a chance to kind of take a catch our breath. Watch hard docks, right? Ruminate over a little bit. And then you hear the comment from Mike McCarthy, which is Dak Prescott's like caged animal

at practice. So we, the Cowboys are kind of an amazing case study, right? Like, I think that people want to draw a parallel between Notre Dame football and Dallas Cowboy football. The difference is that while Notre Dame hasn't won a national

championship, like they've actually gotten to the college football playoff. and we can pick apart their schedule and whatever why and if they're really at the level of the elite teams. But they've, it does feel like with the exception of that one terrible season, Brian Kelly's had much greater consistency of success. Granted college versus pro. But the point is these hype teams, the Cowboys, the Dallas Cowboys are an all-time hype team, right? and I think part of it is, you know, that they've, that they had the three Super Bowl wins, you know, going back to the 90s.

I think part of it is that they've had this kind of history of success. I think part of it is that they just, they're kind of big and bold, and they're that bright, shiny car with the clean rims. And then you start to realize like it might actually be a little bit of a clunk. What's amazing about the Cowboys, so if you go back when Jason Garrett first took over, right? Eight wins, eight wins, eight wins,

12, four wins. Of course, that was when Tony Romo got hurt, right? 13 wins. That's when Dak Prescott filled in for again Tony Romo getting hurt, ultimately Tony Romo retiring. since they've had DAC 13-9-7-8 and then last year six although as we all know they had a litany of injuries not just deck prescott but offensive line and they had a disaster of a defense right a negative 78 point differential they hadn't had a negative point differential since 2015 again when tony roma was out all teams all of them.

If they lose their starting quarterback, they're very, very unlikely to have anywhere near the same level of success. I understand that there's the giants with Jeff Hostetler, that there's the Eagles with Nick Foles. But the truth is that the Eagles were the best team in the NFC, and then when they got Nick Foles, they kind of stumbled around and just survived.

Remember, they should have played New Orleans, if not for a miracle play in which Minnesota wins that. Otherwise, they play New Orleans. Granted, Drew Breeze outdoors, but the Saints that year were a better football team than the... than Case Keenham as quarterback of the Vikings. The point is, everybody's always the same when you lose your starting quarterback. But this, Dak Prescott's a caged animal.

Okay. Has anybody stopped to think, like, you know, I like Dak. He got the new contract. I don't think he's as good as the contract. I think he's a bit overrated. I still think he's a really good quarterback. But even with a healthy DAC Prescott and with what we would all deem, and they've had varying levels of dysfunction, two years ago, they didn't beat anybody who was good. Zero wins over a team with an above 500 record.

Not one. Last year the same. Two years ago, they would get out to a hot start, score in their opening drives of the half, and of the second half, and then really struggle when they got off script. Last year it was kind of the opposite. The defense obviously was a disaster, but even before Dak got hurt, the offense wasn't clicking on all cylinders, and they still had a litany of talented stars.

Like everybody thinks C.D. Lam is going to be special. And then you look and, oh, sure, Ezekiel Elliott need to lose weight, and the offensive line needed to be sure. Yes, but they still had dudes. And now they're incredibly dependent upon Dak Prescott, to carry them. An offensive first team. And the guy who's going to fix their defense is Dan Quinn.

Do you remember the last time Dan Quinn was seen as a great defensive mind? I can tell you. He was with the Seattle Seahawks. That Seattle Seahawks team had Cam Chancellor, Earl Thomas, Bobby Wagner, Richard Sherman, and one of the greatest collections of defensive town. And they did fit into his system. but like everybody's a much better coach

when you have much better dudes. The point is that when I hear Dak Prescott's a caged animal. One, I'm concerned. I'm concerned about the shoulder. You know? Like you don't you don't go back in for a second MRI

if everything felt right. If it was all good news. It's like I say this all the time. Nobody gets a second opinion on good news. Mr. Gottlieb, I want you to know you don't have cancer. Well, Doc, that's good news, but I'd really like a second opinion on that. Who does that? Who does that?

You know, you go in and take a second look. We're like, yeah, something's not right. There's the, he's coming off of a major injury. Like, breaking your ankle in half is a major injury. And when you hurt your shoulder throwing a football, it's, what's it called? The kinetic chain, is that what it is? right? The hip knee bones, the ankle bones connect to the shin bone, shin bones connect to the knee. It's all interconnected. And when I see a guy who's like all of a sudden he's got some sort of

labrum potential issue, like, you hear the Adam Schafter report. He may not be 100% all year. And now they're fluffing it up with all cage animal. He's unbelievable. The throes are great. I'm not the only one sitting here going like, yeah, I just, I like the Cowboys on paper, but something wrong. Something's the miss. Caged lion, sorry, not Caged lion. That's good. He's not great.

He's never been Rogers. He's never been Mahomes. But they have dudes and they have dudes all over the field. But if he's not right, you know, if he's not, what are they thrown out there?

And the more I hear them be so effuse with their praise straight out of a shoulder injury, the more I'm like, I don't buy it. I don't trust it. It doesn't feel right. They are completely dependent upon Dak Prescott to be healthy to deliver the football and to score a bunch of points.

That's how this team is built. They are built around star power on offense. When the truth is that the offensive line is not nearly as good or as young as its reputation. When the truth is that Dack Prescott and the Cowboys haven't beaten a team of the winning record in two years, when the truth is that Dac Prescott's shoulder doesn't seem to be right, could be connected to coming. And the truth is he's coming off of a catastrophic injury.

So before we go kind of all in and we find ourselves like, I don't want to, but once again, I believe in the Dallas Cowboys. And they've had two down years. And usually two down years are followed by an up year. and the Eagles are bad and you don't believe in the Giants and Washington only has a great front four but Ryan Fitzpatrick ultimately like all that's great but there there has to be a I feel like there has to be a hesitance

towards the Dallas Cowboys. 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'd like. Charlie Weiss is a four-time Super Bowl champion. Of course, she's also the head coach at Notre Dame. the University of Kansas. He's been all over the National Football League,

and he's an absolute savant when it comes to offense and the quarterback position. He's kind of to spend some time with this year on Fox Sports Radio. Charlie, how are you? Oh, I'm doing wonderful. How about you, Doug? What's going on? All good here in Southern California.

All right, so let's go through the Patriots. Okay. Look, Cam struggled last year throwing the football. He had obviously the game against. Seattle, which everybody points to, but after that, like, there was some times in which it was painful to watch them through the football. Now, you have to combine it with, they didn't have great talent. It's kind of a bridge year last year. So they re-sign him to back up quarterback money and draft Mack Jones. And now here late in the process of the preseason, he misses time due to

COVID protocols. What are your thoughts on if you were in that meeting room, how you would approach that if you were a member the Patriot staff like you had been for so many years? Well, I've been in that meeting room, you know, when it was me and Bill sitting down when we had to deal with, when Bledso came back from his injury, and Tommy was playing a second year player that no one knew anything about. And we had to make a decision of whether to put Drew back in there or stick with Tommy, and we stuck with Tommy. So Bill doesn't always take the safest route or the most conventional route. You know, he's not afraid to take what he thinks is the best route. I think in this situation, because Cam has handled himself so well in the building and with the coach and staff and with the players, he's kind of endeared himself. You know, he obviously is going to put himself in a position to get first crack.

Now, crack is also the same word I'll use and what happened here this week. let's face it, they played on Thursday night. So in all reality, they got some time off after the game was over and watched the tape on Friday. They probably got, you know, a couple days off and he probably went home. And home is probably North Carolina. I'm not positive. But, you know, it was obviously out of the area. Forget about whether or not he was getting a COVID test or not getting the COVID test.

If you're unvaccinated, once you leave the area, you're in a problem. program. So I think that that really annoyed, that really annoyed, you know, the powers to be in New England. You know, so Mac Jones goes in there yesterday, completes 85% of his passes, and, you know, had a great day. You know, it wasn't as great today, but, you know, it was still, it was still a good day. And I think that it's really made the decision a lot tougher, because before this incident with Cam, you know, going into the program for five days, it was basically, hey, it's known BML, Cam will be the starter, and when the time's right will play Mac. Now, I think the doors open were if they want to go the unconventional route and go ahead and throw

Mac in there, Mac has given them every opportunity to say, okay, let's give it a shot. Doug Alliebin for Colin, this is the herd. That's the voice of Charlie Weiss has been a part of four Super Bowl champion teams. Yeah, I mean, like, I mean, it's, it's, you're, you're, you're giving opportunities to another guy and you're giving coaches a reason. You know, you're saying you don't necessarily want to play without saying you don't necessarily want to play by simply trying to get away or by just not being back, just be vaccinated.

I, I'm like dumbfounded by a guy who had COVID last year. It, by all accounts, set him back and had the entire offseason to get. vaccinated and chose not to. Whatever your feelings are about it, like this, it's a pretty simple solution to many of these issues. Hey, Doug, you and I are on the same page there. Hey, we'll play the party line and say, hey, everyone's got the right to, you know, make their own decisions and that's the world we live in today. But in reality, why somebody wouldn't get vaccinated befuddles me. Boggles my mind as well. Let's let's let's let's let's, let's, let's, let's Let's go to San Francisco.

Okay, so Jimmy Garoppolo has this wry smile. He seems to know I'm still the guy. A different situation, right? Because Garapolo, when he's, last time he played, he went to a Super Bowl, right? No matter of the limitations put on him in an NFC championship game or some of the flawed throws in the Super Bowl, like he actually has some equity in the building.

They have a Trey Lance who has a world of talent, but only played one game last year, and hasn't played super high level. football. How would you approach that situation? Oh, I would definitely play Jimmy first. But my question, though, when I say I would play Jimmy first and when the time's right, get Trey in there. But, you know, almost a question back at you. So whether it's even rhetorical, but when you give all that collateral to go up to that spot in the draft to go get a quarterback, how patient are you going to be waiting to put that person in there?

Not very. So I think it's the same way. I still think that I'd be modestly surprised that Jimmy isn't the starter. I wouldn't be shocked, but I would definitely be surprised because, you know, you've got a team under the chance of play for a championship. I don't think the team would look at Trey as, you know, polished product at this time. Whereas in New England, I think that the players in New England look at Mac as a polished product. And you remember, they're a victim of circumstance, too. Where are they,

what, you know, the college they went to. I mean, trade and play last year. You know, Mac was winning in the national championship and was arguably, you know, arguably the best player in the country. I mean, his receiver wins to Eisenman, but, you know, but arguably the best player in the country, certainly the best quarterback. And, you know, so they really came from a different, you know, a different pattern this year. I think Trey's going to be in there sooner or rather than later, but I think Max ready to play right now.

And I think that that's a totally different issue in New England that their deal with. Because as you expressed, you know, Tam really hasn't done anything yet. You know, Jimmy, you know, Jimmy was leading in the fourth quarter of a Super Bowl, you know, with the same team two years ago. So I think that I'd be very, very, very surprised in San Francisco if Jimmy wasn't the starter, at least start of the year. Everyone, at least on TV and radio, going back a couple years ago, thought Tua was the can't miss guy, right? but Tua had the hip injury and he just didn't have a lot of

it to him like there was there wasn't that, it's like golf right? The one time you drive a ball and you drive it perfect it keeps you coming back. There was nothing to kind of keep you coming back going yes Tua's going to be the guy. But now they've given him better wide receivers an offense that they think he fits in better.

And oh yeah, by the way, he's gotten a preseason not coming off a devastating hip injury. do you see a difference in Tua this year as opposed to Tua last year? Well, fortunately, I was down there last Tuesday. You know, we did our training camp show Miami, being it's 55 minutes from my house, so I drove down there and I did it. So I spent the day with the Dolphins. And the answer to that is you would be sold on,

you would be convinced that Tua was the answer. if you were there with me that day. Okay. So there was absolutely no indication on or off the field that he is not the man. Okay. That's all that's on the field as well. So on or off the field. Now, I have a one day reference, Doug.

Yes. He was just a stud. And you should hear the players, you talk about talking about somebody, lonely. I mean, when you're interviewing defensive linemen and they're saying, too, is my guy. I mean, he has the team won.

He is the piepiper. And, you know, you watch him on the field, did everything. Off the field, everything. Listen to his teammates and his coaches. I mean, this is not a brainwashing, uh,

message. This is obviously, you know, Miami's playing the, they're playing the disrespect card, you could tell it. You walked in that building, you walked out of the building and say, better look out for this team right now because everyone wants to talk about the bills and then the Patriots and no one's talking about the Dolphins. You know, I'd be shocked if they didn't win

double digits this year. What's reasonable to expect from Joe Burrow? Because, and obviously, you know, Brady went through this. But one of the things people forget about Tom Brady is we were kind of robbed of really the prime of his career, right? Like that, the 18 and O team that losing the Super Bowl coming back the next year and he tears his ACL. And then, of course, there's time that you have to, even the year off, you come back,

you're not right. And Burrow, by all accounts, lacks kind of the confidence in that knee and seems to be a little bit shaky, even by his own account. What's a reasonable expectation for when we feel like he should be right? See, here's the problem that Joe had that Tommy didn't have. When Tommy started playing, we were really stout on defense. So we could play a lot of games very conservatively and not throw them to the walls and have to throw it 40 or 50 times, having to score 35 to 35 or more points in the game.

We could win games 21 to 17. and, you know, 28 to 24. We could win games like that, but in Cincinnati, for them to win games, they're going to have to score some points, and that's going to put more pressure on him. Look, he's got good skill players around. You know, the big question is whether or not the offensive line can hold up for him,

and that really is the million-dollar question. Because, you know what, his knee will feel a lot better if that offensive line is playing really well. Because of that offensive line isn't playing very well, I mean, that's a very dangerous proposition. The bills have become a consistent playoff team since the coaching staff and Brandon Bean kind of got there. And now they have their guy in a Josh Allen.

The addition to Stefan Diggs took their offense to a completely different level. But coming back and doing it year after year now, right? Heavy is the head that wears the crown. Some believe they're a huge threat to a super. Where are you on the Buffalo Bills? I'm high on the Buffalo Bills, but there's one thing that really bothers me about the Buffalo Bills, as good as they are, as good as they were on offense,

and that's their inability to run the football. Now, don't you think that everyone, this whole off-season, is basically going to sit there and design defenses just to worry about the passing game and not worry about them running the ball. I mean, those guys in this league get paid money to coach defense, too. You know, I think it's going to be a,

I think that division's going to be pretty rough this year because even the Jets, I think the Jets will win some games in the division this year because I don't think there's just going to be a walkover. You know, I expect them to clearly be the fourth best team in the division. But last year, you know, the division kind of fell apart. I mean, the Patriots are under 500. I mean, the dolphins, you know, they won 10 games.

They came close. I mean, the Jets, they were terrible. I think that, you know, the bills are the favorite, both the Patriots and the Dauphins are a playoff caliber team, and I think the Jets will be better. So what I'm going back to answer your question on Buffalo is, if you can't run the football or you don't run the football, okay, as good as you are on offense,

it's just a matter of time before those defensive guys come up with a way. to slow you down. I look at the Cowboys, and I'm intrigued, right? Offensively, they got a lot of weaponry. And in terms of yardage and, like, when healthy, we've seen a ton from DAC. But he's coming off of a pretty tough injury. Shoulders bothering him.

And the defense has been a mess. And I don't know, year one of completely changing schemes, I don't know how well that goes over. Now, their division's not great, but Washington won it because their defensive front seven is phenomenal. Phenomenal. What are you expecting

from the Cowboys this year? You know, although I'm going to win the division, I'm not sold on the Cowboys yet either, I mean, probably the best thing that's happened for DAC is those three offensive linemen that were

out most of last year are all in the huddle with them. I mean, that's 60% of your offensive line that now you're going back into the huddle and you're looking at these pro bowlers with familiar your faces that weren't playing last year. Of course, he wasn't either.

But, I mean, you know, there were a lot of guys, you know, in the tub and not on the field. I think that Dows, you know, I'm not worrying about their offense being able to score points. I mean, they, I think they'll pass it all over the place and they can run it. You know, like you said, I'm a big fan of Dan Quinn. And they brought them in to run the defense. And for what I understand, what everyone's excited about the most, those young linebackers that they went ahead and drafted or brought in there. But still, I think that Dallas's defense is a ways to go.

And I think that that makes them very vulnerable because I think teams are still going to be able to score against the Cowboys. Yeah, and also keep the offense off the field, right? I mean, that's the, that's the, you keep the offense off the field and it is, it is your, your best defense. Charlie Weiss is our guest here. Doug Gottliebun for Colin, this is the. heard.

The Cleveland Browns are a team that kind of like Tampa, years of being bad and loaded up with talent. And by about midseason, they seem to buy into, you know, to not having Baker try and win games and just run the football and play a little safe. You bring back Odell Beckham Jr. So you do have some star power. Baker's playing for a new contract. But also there's added expectations because last year they made the playoffs.

What are your thoughts in the Browns? I think to the personnel-wise, you know, they're right there with Tampa as the best team in the league. I think Tampa might have the best, but I think Cleveland might have the second-best personnel in the league.

And I think that Baker, Baker seems, you know, I was also high on Baker when Baker came out. Now, you know, there was such disorganization, in the organization, that, you know, he can give, be given a little bit of a, you know, free pass too. But I think that Baker has come along as far as the rest of their team.

I think he's a little cocky, but he's not arrogant. I think that their team is really, really good. It starts with those running backs. The offensive line is so qualified last year by bringing a free agent tackle and drafted one in the first round of the draft. I mean, their tight ends are good. wide receivers are good. The quarterback is solid.

You know, they needed some extra pass rush, so they went ahead and got some. I mean, I think this is a dangerous team. You mentioned Tampa and the overall talent. Is there another level to Brady? I understand he's a year older. He didn't have the all season he wanted because he had to rehab. But it did seem like they figured out kind of a meeting of the minds,

whereas early in the year they were doing the Bruce Ariens throw it down in field offense. Late in the year to win the Super Bowl, Tom Brady seemed to have a little bit more control over how and what they were doing. Do you think year two brings another level? Well, I mean, the best part for both Bruce, and I'm not even saying Bruce, because he doesn't really run the offense. Right. You know, it's left which is offense. You know, left which might talk to Bruce, but, you know, he lets those guys. coach.

Bruce doesn't, you know, he used to call plays. He doesn't call plays anymore. So I think that they went, they've already gone through their transition, you know, which that's, you know, slowed down the pace last year. But they've gone through that transition. And by they, I don't mean just a coaching staff. I mean Tommy too. You know, for all those years, you've put in the same system that I put in back, you know, in 20,

you know, 2000, you know, so it was so long ago that he had the same system for 20 years, the verbiage he'd come every year. He knew what the huddle was going to be. He knew the formation, the plays, the motion, and how the plays were called, and how they're read, how they're designed. Now you're going, and, you know, you're, it's like learning in a foreign language in a short amount of time. I mean, you can sort of get the base of the foreign language, but to get all the, you know, synchresies and the dialects, everything like that, it takes some time.

And I think that as year went on, I thought they got better and better. And I think that there's one wild card player down there in Tampa that isn't quite there yet, but that no one's talking about. And that's O.J. Howard. Because you remember, O.J. Howard really didn't play last year. Sure. Now, I watched out when my kid was down in Alabama, I watched O.J. Howard run around. and it's scary how fast this kid runs a tight end.

He's like one of those guys that you talk about and the front line guys. If they get him back and him healthy, mixing in with those other tight ends, we already know about their wide receivers. I mean, they're good at running back, and then they go get G.O. Bernard to be their third downback. I mean, this team should be rocking and rolling on both sides of the ball.

OJ Howard's one of those teasers, right? They would only throw him the ball in the in the playoff games in college football, but when he gets it, it is, it's electric. Charlie, I hope you're well. By the way, by the way, Doug. Yeah, that's right. He had three catches for three touchdowns in the national championship game. Yeah, yeah.

Only break glass in case of emergency. Charlie, thanks so much for joining us. Can't wait until football kicks off officially, and we appreciate you being our guest in the hurt. All right. Take care. podcast from some SNL late-night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smygel and Friends.

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