The Herd with Colin Cowherd - 09/03/2021 - HOUR 1 - Jerry Jones, Lawrence, Wilson

Episode Date: September 3, 2021

Jerry Jones has a hard time seeing the obviousThe strongest QB-Coach combinations in the NFLTrevor Lawrence and Zach Wilson will have a lot to overcomeColin gives his college football preview for the weekendGuest: Ryen Russillo 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.

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This is my best friend, Janet. Hey. And we have been joined at the hips since high school. Absolutely. A redacted amount of years later, we're still joined at the hip. Just a little bit bigger hips. This is a podcast. We're recording it as we tailgate our youth soccer games in the back of my Honda Odyssey.

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It's our favorite time of the year on our podcast point game, the playoffs. We're digging into the biggest surprises of the season. And I'm looking back on some of my greatest playoff moments. If we didn't talk ever again, I was hungry. You just understood. That's how personal it got. Wow. Then after that game seven, Marquis come in.

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Listen to deeply well with Debbie Brown from the Black Effect Podcast Network on the IHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Thanks for listening to The 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 Heard at Fox Sports Radio.com or stream us live every day on the IHeartRadio app by searching Heard. You're listening to Fox Sports Radio. Ah, it is a Friday in beautiful Los Angeles. And this show's called The Herd, wherever you may be and however you may be listening. IHeart Radio, Fox Sports Radio, FS1. Quite a show today, college football, huge weekend kicked off last night. Ohio State's better, but got a lot of work to do at quarterback and on that defense.

Joy Taylor is joining me. The week has flown by. We're going into a great college football weekend and a lot of NFL stuff. This is an off weekend for the NFL. League now kind of mandating. Friday, Saturday, Sunday. No practicing. Get out of the facility.

But here we go. I watched that game last night. It was so fun. Oh, to have fans back and the energy. It was so great. And it was a great game as well. It was. Ohio State is going to get better and better because they have a very young quarterback.

By the end of the year, you don't want any piece of them. Right now, they're a little. little vulnerable. But I want to start with this. NFL executives. These are people that are paid a lot of money to make judgments on personnel and most have been doing it for years and years and years and years. Not a lot of 20-year-old NFL execs. A lot of 35, 55, 65, people know what they're doing. So they ranked the NFC teams 1 through 16 and the AFC teams 1 through 16. So let's start with the NFC. I view that is a harder conference to predict, a little weaker at the top than the AFC, not nearly as many great young quarterbacks as the AFC.

I think the NFC is now the weaker of the two conferences, especially at the top. But it is very interesting. In the weaker conference, where do the NFL executive has put the Dallas Cowboys right in the middle? 7th. In fact, no executive in the entire league voted them above six, yet none voted them below nine. it is unanimous their average in the weaker conference. I've always been fascinated by something, and I think I have the answer. I'm always amazed when really smart, successful people can't see obvious stuff.

Like you're successful, you're smart, you went to the right schools. Well, that's obvious. What are you doing? Dallas, of course, has two issues. And they've had these now for several years. and I'm amazed Jerry Jones can't spot him. And the only answer is ego. And this is often the problem with men,

is that if smart men are not acknowledging obvious stuff, they see it, right? They just got an ego and they can't get through it. So Dallas has two problems. Number one, they pay good players, good, great money. That's a death sentence in the NFL. But why does Dallas do that? because of their second issue, they become increasingly insular.

We don't need any external voices. We have everything figured out here. So when Dallas drafts players and pays them a lot, it's a self-fulfilling prophecy. Our guys are great. No, they're good. You're paying them great money. Dallas does it different than all the top teams in the league, like a Buffalo or a New England. New England just spent $120 million on free agents, Kansas City, all the other top

teams in the league acknowledge, oh, Rams, Seattle, that organization did a good job to draft that player that we passed on. We're going to go pay for that player. The top teams in this league have many of their own players, but a lot of other stars, they've purchased, they've traded for other teams. Rams, Jalen Ramsey. Matt Stafford acknowledging, yeah, Sony Michelle now. We don't, Andrew Whitworth. That was a bingle guy, right? Aaron Donald is theirs, but they're acknowledging a lot of great players elsewhere. Seattle's doing that. They do that all the time, right? Jamal Adams, not ours, but he's great. Duane Brown, not ours, but he's great. Not the Cowboys. Outside of Amari Cooper,

their entire roster of well-competated players, we drafted them, we know better, they're ours, we're paying them well. And that, those are the two problems, is that they pay good players, great money, and they become increasingly insular. And you see this all the time in America. Let's say somebody's got, you know, They've got a car emporium. They own a car business, a big dealership. And they got all their kids working in the dealership. And it's a big city.

It's a Cincinnati or a Philadelphia or a Denver or Los Angeles. They have all their kids working on the dealership. And then dad, you know, the Patriarch, retires and the dealership goes down. Well, of course it does. Because 75% of businesses fail when you hand them to the second generation. 95% fail when the second generation hands them to their kids, the third generation. They almost all fail. Why?

Because the best people for any business are all over the place. They're not in your family. Believe it or not, if you have seven kids, they're not the seven smartest people in the world or in your town. You got to go get somebody that went to Wharton or Stanford and bring them into your family business to ask questions, to push back. Dallas doesn't do that. It's a family business. It's very insular. We know best the minute Jimmy Johnson, Bill Parcells, came in and pushed back.

Nope, get them out of here. those are the two best coaches they've ever had. And the downside of Dallas is none of this is going to change for a decade. Why? Number one, the Jones family has shown. They don't want external voices. And I'm not saying they're dopes. I think Charlotte's the rock star on the organization, but she doesn't do football.

And then the second reason is, Dax's good. And they're going to keep and they just signed him. So he's going to be around for eight, nine years. He's good. I don't think he's great. He's good. So in this league, there's four components that matter. owner, GM, coach, and quarterback.

And three of those four in Dallas are not changing for probably eight years. The one that will coach, Jerry Jones, has shown reluctance to hire somebody that will push back. He wants basically somebody that will listen to him. And so I just think it's interesting. If you go look at two of the best college football programs in America, Alabama and Notre Dame, they were good. How did they get exceptional? They went outside the family. Nick Saban had no connection to Alabama, Brian Kelly, Notre Dame.

The way to go from good to great is almost always the same answer. You need another voice in the room. A man or a woman, somebody that will push back and say, yeah, let me give you a new pair of eyes. Let me give you a fresh set of ears here. Dallas won't do that. And that's why, according to executives, they are right in the middle of the lesser of two conferences. They're average. You want to go from average to great?

You have to listen to people outside the family. It's uncomfortable. That's how you do it. All right, let's go to the AFC. This is very interesting. Now, the AFC, I think, is a much easier conference to predict because you have these great head coach quarterback combinations, Reed, Mahomes, Lamar, Harbaugh, McDermott, Josh Allen.

It's much easier to predict. The top is very, very strong. And it's, I mean, let's be honest. Jones can play. In fact, the top six of the AFC rankings, according to the execs, I agree right down the line. Chiefs one, Bill's two, Ravens three, Browns four, Colts five, Chargers Six, totally agree. I would flip the Titans at seven to eight and the Patriots eight to seven, but really the top eight I almost all agree. And I do think it's the better conference right now because of the great young quarterback play. But do you notice where Miami is?

11. Not a playoff team. They quote two of the executives in the NFL. One says, I'll believe it when I see it with the quarterback. The other says they're not going to run interceptions back to the five yard line every other week like last year. So this is why I said before last year's draft, you better draft a quarterback because there's five good ones and you're going to be way too good to getting that top five or six in the next day. decade. And it's also why I refuse to back down on Tua. Watch the games. And what's interesting is he plays Mack Jones in week one and he's an underdog. And this is fascinating. Think about that. Mac Jones only started one year of college. That's it. That's usually trouble. And he's never taken an NFL snap live against the first team defense. And Miami's defense last year was number one third down defense in the league, number one in takeaways, top three, four. fewest penalties, and they won 10 games, they returned their quarterback, and they're an underdog to Max Jones.

Same division. Why? Because Tua had two wins last year, throwing for under 200 yards. That's 1978 football. So last year I went seven for seven predicting the AFC. It's not brilliance, although that needs to be considered. It's because the AFC is an easier conference to predict. But what they're telling you, remember this, since 1991, four teams, new teams,

teams every year make the playoffs. Every single year since 1991, four teams minimum that didn't make the playoffs do. And four teams that made the playoffs don't every single year. So Miami didn't last year. There were an inch away and executives are telling you, oh, no, they're going to go backwards because they're not going to get every break. Their schedule is, in arguably, much tougher this year, and New England's back. So this. This is. This is the Tua dilemma. And Miami, unlike Dallas, which I just talked about, smart people don't get obvious stuff. Miami does.

This is the good news for my... They do. That's why the Deshawn Watson rumors happen this week. They see it. They see that New England now has a quarterback that fits. They see how good Josh Allen is. They see the jets are better than they've been the last two years. They see to it practice.

Whereas Dallas, the ego gets in the way. and they don't see obvious stuff. Like get external voices in the organization. Miami going after Deshawn is actually a great, great sign of your dolphin fan. They see their dilemma. The dilemma, all these executives are saying, yeah, they're like bottom half of the AFC. Miami sees it.

Your execs see it. Your coach sees it. Your GM sees it. Your owner sees it. And if Deshawn Watson wasn't in all this trouble, he'd be a dolphin today. Because they're willing to give the picks. up reportedly with all the stuff going on in his life. So sometimes bad news is good news.

Miami, unlike Dallas, sees the issue and is trying to work on it. Dallas knows there's an issue and refuses to. Good stuff. Some thoughts on Ohio State last night. Good team. By the way, there is a huge game in college football this weekend for ramifications. let's be honest in life. Great jobs in any field don't open that much.

You know, the president of Google is not open very much or YouTube, right? We have a chance for two of the top, I would say five jobs in college football, to open up in three months. And one of them this weekend could be opened without publicly being open if this coach and this team lose. It is a great job. We'll talk about that. Be sure to catch live editions of The Herd, Weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m.

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'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. Hey, I'm Joe Donno. You might know me as that loud guy who yells out, help on the internet. Help! Somebody! Please! But there's so much more to me than that. I'm an actor. I'm a comedian. And recently, I've become quite the helper myself. And on my new podcast, Hope from a Hypocrite, I'll be changing lives, helping people in need with my sage advice and thoughtfully. solutions.

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Hey, cream a chicken suit. This is Help from a Hypocrite, the worst advice from the dumbest people you know. Listen to Help from Hippercrit as part of the Mike Coutura Podcast Network available on the IHart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. What's up, fam? It's Isaiah Thomas. And I'm C.J. Toledano, and our podcast, Point Game is about defying the odds. Like LeBron heading into the playoffs without Luca and Austin Reed. And finding ways to win no matter what.

He's the smartest player to ever play the game. His IQ is at a level that we've never seen before. And he knows without Luca and Austin Reeves, I got to manipulate the game. We get a player's perspective on the challenges of the playoffs. I think Joker's going to be exhausted this series because when they don't have Rudy in the lineup, he has to really guard guys like Nasree. He has to guard Julius Randall. And then he has to give us everything he gives us on the night-to-night basis on offense.

And when IT's friends stop by, like Quentin Richardson, we dive into some playoff history too. Steve Nash would get that thing. That man, hell get to fly. He running up the court, licking his fingers, why he got the ball. Like, after you go through a training camp with that, I said, you figure it out real quick. Oh, yeah. Get your ass up and down the court, and you're going to get the ball. So listen to Point Game on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

American soccer is about to explode. The World Cup is coming. Ramers sending on to earnies. Score at the chip. I'm Tad Ramos. I'm Tom Boke. On our podcast, inside American soccer, you'll get the real storylines. I'm not worried about Polisic, I'm not worried about Balagan, I'm not worried about McKinney.

My only concern is what happens in the back. The biggest decisions. If you're going to look at stats and numbers, he has no shot at making this World Cup team. And the truth about the U.S. national team. It wouldn't be a huge surprise if our team ends up in the quarterfinals or potentially a great run into the semifinals. The World Cup is almost here. Experience it all with us. Listen, inside American soccer with Tom Bogart and Tab Ramos

on the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcasts, wherever you get your podcast. Navian Limited, 15-year limited warranty for Navian tankless water heaters. Go to tankless made simple.com. Save hundreds, space, leader in green technology, tankless made simple.com, Navian tankless water heaters. So Ohio State is kind of my pick, along with Clemson to win the national championship. this year. I don't think Alabama's as dynamic offensively as they were the last couple of years. They'll be great defensively, well coached. But I think Ohio State and Clemson look like the

best teams in the country. I think Oklahoma's good. You know, this is kind of the same teams every year. Georgia will be good. C.J. Stroud is a young kid, freshman, no real snaps in big games. And he illustrated how hard it is college or pro to be a young quarterback. So Ohio state, their offense has better players than Minnesota's defense at virtually every position. That's not even arguable. That's that the receiving core for Ohio State is the best in the country. Their offensive lines, top three in the country, maybe the best. They're running backs for four and five stars.

At every position. And C.J. Stroud, super talented. First half was uneven, over his skis, lost, sloppy, and kind of got it right in the second half. Now consider, for all the Jet fanboys, how hard it's going to be for Zach Wilson, who has inferior talent in at least half the positions on his offense against the Miami defense, a Buffalo defense, or a New England defense. Trevor Lawrence and Zach Wilson have talent, but they're going to have to overcome every snap of the year a gap in talent. C.J. Stroud is just guiding superior talent.

And here's how I would put it. C.J. Stroud is being given the keys to a Lamborghini. And they're telling him, just don't wreck it. You can go under the speed limit. Don't wreck it. Trevor Lawrence and Zach Wilson are being given the keys to a 98 civic and told, you got to win the race. I mean, you got to beat the faster cars.

And what's that going to mean? Zach Wilson and Trevor Lawrence are going to make a bunch of mistakes driving in a junkie car faster than it's meant to go. And C.J. Stroud, his whole Ohio State season is going to be, just don't wreck the Lambo. Drive it a little slower. You know what? If you're uneasy, take the exit. Pull off to the side. Go refuel.

Take a break. That even he last night, with that offense, that talent, Ohio State so much better, their offensive talent this year is just as good as they've had ever. And he was uneven, and he's a brilliant, brilliant young quarterback. He talked after the game. In the first half, I just, my mind wasn't right. I mean, I was kind of all over the place a little bit. So, I mean, talk to my teammates praying a lot, just trying to lock back in.

In a game of football, you have ups and downs. and they believe in me, you know what I'm saying? So they put me in a situation to get them the ball. And, I mean, that's a big opportunity for me. That's a big task. So I feel like I did that. Of all the great young quarterbacks, freshman quarterbacks in college football, and of all those great five first round rookie quarterbacks in the NFL,

I'll make a prediction. C.J. Stroud and Mack Jones will win the most games. Not saying they're the best. They'll win the most games because they're being asked. simply to not wreck the car. You can go slower than the speed limit. That's what we talk about all the time. Where you lance is why the best high school quarterbacks go to the best programs.

It's nice to hand off to a five-star running back who zips around the corner and outruns all the Minnesota defenders. Makes life a lot easier. Joy with the news. Turn on the news. This is the herd line news. Well, we talked a lot about Aaron Rogers and the drama with the past. hackers over the off season. No one was really sure if he was going to show up the training camp this year. But he made the decision to come back because he felt like there was more to do in

Green Bay. He said, I just woke up one day and said, I think I'm going to play ball. I really thought about what I wanted to do. And there are a lot of growth opportunities and a good chance to be a part of in Green Bay. So I decided to come back. Well, thank you, Erin, for that decision because the league is better. And Green Bay would like to thank you for that decision too. I cannot believe it came that close to not coming back that he woke up one day and that was it. Well, I think, you know, I thought about that quote and some people might, you know, react to it, thinking it was just kind of a flippant decision. Yeah.

But isn't that how most decisions are made? I think in our lives, like when we make big decisions, right? We think about it a lot. We talk about it with a lot of people. We, you know, go over and over and over. And then generally it's like, all right, this is the decision I'm going to make. Yeah. It's not like some big, you know, corporate boardroom with all these people weighing in.

It's like a gavel. Like, this is our decision. Like, that's kind of how decisions are made. It's not, you do a lot leading up to the decision. But then it's ultimately, like, this is what I feel like I'm going to do. Now, I do think that, you know, $35 million might not have something to do with it. Right. It's also, I don't think he was ready to retire, which is obviously what he's saying.

Like, his option was he was going to not play football anymore or he was going to have to play for Green Bay because they, because they have his rights. I think about this all the time. Retirement scares me. I want you to think about this. So I'm a seven-hour night sleeper. Let's throw in an hour to work out. Keep track of the hours here, Joy.

Okay, we're at eight. Okay, seven for sleep, one for me to work out. 90 minutes a day to either listen to music, read, just kind of total chill time. Let's call it two hours so I can keep track. So now we're at 10. Two hours of eating a day, which I don't do that, but dinner.

I'll just put... No, you're at lunch dinner. Okay, two hours... 12. Although I don't know that that's true. You eat all day. Whole meals, 12 hours. Okay, an hour of...

Two hours of television. Okay, we're at 14. I don't watch that much television. I have 10 hours left. That's just one day. In a week, that's 70 hours. Like, I know some of you want that stimulus check and not work, but the bottom line is,

most people like to be challenged. If you have a full day, an hour to hang out with my dogs, two hours for music, two hours to eat, seven sleep, Aaron Rogers retires with that ability and that mind, he's a nimble guy. You can only jam out to alternative bands so long. There's just, football keeps him active and thinking and challenging. Well, that's what he does. And he's really good at.

Whenever I hear I want to retire, like athletes always say that. I want to spend more time with my kids. Nine months later, they're like, all right, I'm done with kids stuff. I want to go and hang out. Because there's nothing wrong, but kids, once they get to 13, they don't want to hang out with you as a parent. They want to hang out with their peers. So his idea of retiring, even the Jeopardy job is like. Yeah, it's not going to consume that much time.

It's like 12 weeks a year. So I just, whenever I hear retirement, I'm like, retire to what? We don't work in lug nut factories. We like our jobs. Well, he has more to give to the game also, probably a lot more. And I think it was really just obviously a dramatic situation between the Packers and him. And I really believe, and we'll find out eventually, but I believe that they just sat down and hashed out enough to get him back at training camp and pushed everything off until the end of the season. Like he said he doesn't want a farewell tour.

I believe he's gone out of Green Bay after this year. But who knows? People's, you know, affections can change after you're around each other again. It is the offseason. You're not in the building with each other. You're not around your teammates. You're not around football so you can start talking yourself into maybe I could do something else. But, you know, we got back in the locker room and immediately everything was normal again.

I still think it's going to end after this year, but it might depend on how this year goes. Like if they end up winning a Super Bowl, is he going to be able to walk away from that? I don't know. We'll see. So Tom Brady has been in the league for over two decades and experienced a bunch of changes. And one of them was made to protect the offense during that time. but he actually doesn't like how that change puts the responsibility on the defense when the offense makes a mistake. He said a quarterback should only throw the ball to certain places because your receiver is in danger of getting hit.

And I used to play against Ray Lewis. I wouldn't throw the ball in the middle of the field because he would hit them and knock them out of the game. And now every hard hit is a penalty on the defense. So I feel like they penalize defensive players for offensive mistakes. That's an interesting way to view it. That's interesting. It's very interesting because Tom Brady is definitely benefited. greatly from some of the rule changes. Some of them have been very controversial in favor of Tom Brady.

So for him to talk about, you know, the responsibility on the quarterback is very interesting. Because it's like, I was listening to him talk about it. And I'm like, where is he coming from with this? But I think he genuinely has a respect for the game of football. And his teammates. And his teammates. I mean, obviously he said he's not throwing it over. I mean, Ray Lewis is obviously a Hall of Famer, one of the greatest to ever do it. But he's not going to put his respect. receivers in that position and you can now. And it has changed the game greatly to benefit the offense. He's absolutely right about it.

Oh, listen, there's a term that we used to use all the time, alligator arms. Like receivers would not go over the middle. It was understood. Troy Eickman's talked about this. Michael Irvin was his one receiver willing to go over the middle. That's the way it used to be seven, eight years ago in the NFL before the rule changes. Like you were known as, oh, he'll go over the middle. Most receivers had no interest in it.

And why would they? Yeah, because you could. take their head off. So where I guess I would push back on this, although overall he's probably right. That's not the way the game is supposed to be played or designed to be played. It's safer. Yes, it's way, but football's way back. And it's better for fans. It's a better watch. The equipment's better. The hitting is less substantial in practice. Think about this. The entire preseason, we lost two players, Cam Acres and Dobbins. I mean, like really high-end players. Like the Jets did lose, I think a defensive lineman.

Yes, yeah. But I mean, by and large, it used to be not that long ago. Everyone was injured in the preseason. Preseason was four games of crossing your fingers as a fan. You knew you were going to lose players. It was how many and can they come back in week 12? That's how I used to view the preseason, which is why I've been, I'm just not a fan of preseason football.

Sean McVeigh proved it. You do not need to play starters unless you have a rookie quarterback and you want reps. Justin Fields, I want him out there. Outside of that, I'm not playing my guys. No, every change isn't necessarily for the spirit of the game, but for the longevity of the game. Oh, yeah.

It's needed. So Tony Romo's been having some opinions lately. So the Eagles have a new head coach and a young quarterback, and there aren't very high expectations for them this season. But Tony Romo thinks that they could shock the league. He said, I think the Eagles are going to be a surprise team. If you go in and think that they're really not ready, they could shock a lot of people and go 10 and 6 or 11 and 5 very quickly.

I don't see that. That's an uphill battle right now, but I still think they have a lot of talented players and the coaching staff is good. I wouldn't be surprised at all if the Eagles have a great season this year. By the way, the NFL executives had them as 11th in the NFC, which I thought was wildly high. So I will say this, the receiving group and their tight end group are good. So they kept four tight ends, by the way, which I think for Jalen Hertz is significant.

They kept four tight ends. Three them are productive. I do think that's an interesting move. The Fox bet has the over-under at six and a half. That's quite a few wins below what Tony is predicting. Are we both so negative on this team because Nick Sirion is bad at the microphone? I think that I have. No, I mean, I think from what the players are saying, they're buying into him.

So him being bad at the microphone, that's just a nerdy media thing that we prefer. It bothers me. Yes. He's terrible at the microphone. Yeah, but it doesn't matter as far as it doesn't necessarily. If you're on a plane and the pilot came on and literally bumbled. Oh, I've been on a plane like that. And I was like, I don't, I felt fine until this guy started talking.

Now I don't know what's happening. Exactly. What are you talking about? I am telling you. But that's, we're not in the locker room. So maybe what gives me pause about the Eagles is one, they are. way more dysfunctional internally than I thought they were. Right.

So that's one part of it. I don't really know who's running it. I feel like it's Howie Roseman, but then we heard that the owner was involved. Right. And then now you have Nick Seriani, who's a new head coach. And bad at the mic. Right. But let's just take that out.

I can't. But let's just take that out for football's sake. We don't know who's in charge. We assume that it's Howie Roseman, because it seems to be the consensus coming out of Philadelphia. is a new head coach. Jalen Hertz is now has to prove what he is capable of and we didn't see much from him last year. They're in a rebuild.

So it's not that I think they're going to be the worst team in the league, but I don't think they're going to go 11 and 5. Foxbet has them with the worst odds to win the NFC East as well. Let's just look in division. Who are they better than in the division? I just, I think they're bad.

I think they're a five-win team. They might. We don't know what the Giants are going to be, but with that offensive line, they might have a chance to finish better than the Giants, but I don't think the Giants are that bad. So I don't know. I just don't have high expectations for the Eagles this year. All right. Joy with the News. Well, that's the news.

And thanks for stopping by. The Heard Line News. I will admit this. I tend to like, like when Sean McVeigh comes to the mic and I had no idea who he was and I heard him at the mic, I'm like, oh, he's got it buttoned up. Like, Ryan Rosillo joins us from the ringer. Ryan Rosillo joins us live, brought you by my. Mercedes-Benz best for another. All right, let me ask you. I can't get past it. I'd be the first

thing. I cannot get past it. I cannot get past Houston's coach at the mic, Dan Campbell, Detroit at the mic, and Nick Siriani. Because we talk for a living. I can't get past it. He's so bad. Is that just a me problem? Or does it affect you? No, not at all. I mean, I think it's the first thing, especially guys like you and I noticed, you're like, oh, uh-oh. You know, like, how was this guy in the interview room compared to this? But I, you know, I also think that we don't really factor in enough human nature. You imagine how nervous you must be, like having to sit up there for the first time. Like, hey, I used to just grind and watch video and pack dips.

And now I'm sitting here in front of all people. And now, you know, everybody, like every single word. So some of these guys get introduced and it's just a horror show. I mean, look, I'm not telling you that Roger Goodell is this completely misunderstood guy. But I think if Goodell were better at public speaking, it would have done him the best favor he could have ever done beyond some of the decisions that he's made. Like if he were just better at relaying this message and smoother and more cordial, I mean, we're all suckers for that stuff. You know, I mean, think about like the best recruiters. I remember sitting with Bobby Bowden and within two minutes,

the late great Bobby Bowden, within two minutes, I was like, oh, okay, like this is why this guy had powerhouses for 15 years. So I've seen plenty of guys around like, this is awful. You know who was terrible at it? Do you remember Lane Kiffin's first presser? Oh, yeah. It was awful. And you know what? It doesn't matter because you can coach and you can call plays. And now we sort of embrace the awkwardness. Yeah, that's good take.

So you've always been the only person ever born in Massachusetts who's honest about the Patriots. And I always love you for that. I said the other day, I said I went back to 2015 and every year for six years leading up to this year, if you had a top two rated O line and a top three running back production, the quarterback became less relevant, starting with Cam, into Goff, into Nick Foles in the Super Bowl, into Baker Mayfield last year, into rookie Dak Prescott, Jimmy Garoppolo, Niners. Top 2 O-line, top-three running production,

quarterback becomes much less relevant. And I look at this Patriot O line, and I look at that running back depth, and I'm like, I've got to be honest. They're not going to ask Mack Jones to do a ton. Are they maybe, for the first time in our lives, a little undervalued in New England this year? Yeah, maybe.

I'll go with that, because you're absolutely. Absolutely right. I mean, the O line grades out really well, and the running back position is depth. It's also, I think, different types of players back there. You know, they've added tight ends. And there's a ton of maybes at receivers still, which, you know, I don't know what their obsession with that is. I think when they played that inside passing game where they had guys on short routes and getting free off the line of scrimmage and they would just dominate everybody. I think Brady had a hell of a lot more to do with that than anybody else has. But here's what I'd say about Mack Jones. Like, the preseason is irrelevant.

I think Cam's lack of availability factored into this, but I think Mack also was competing against Cam, but it hasn't been great in the last couple camps, and we saw how bad it went last year for a bunch of different reasons. So is Mack the guy because he's this next amazing rookie quarterback or this guy who's going to run the franchise for 10 years? Being compared to Cam Newton that feels like he's going in the wrong direction. And there's another number I think that's scary for Pat's fans,

even though I agree with you on the personnel. Josh McDaniels in the four seasons as an O.C. or a head coach without Tom Brady. Points per game, it's like 18th, 19th, 24th, and I think 32nd. So I don't expect a ton of offense because the other component with that that we have to factor, and especially when you're talking about the Garoppolo years, because some of those Garoppolo split numbers are crazy. You're like, wait a wait a man, is Sharon terrible without Garapolo? And then you're like, wait a minute, I don't even know if Garoppolo is that good. Is this the defense going to be there? Because of all the opt-outs, the money they've spent on it, New England should be good

enough defensively, I think, to be competitive to be around a 500 team. But if you start talking 10 wins, that seems a bit like a stretch, especially when you look, it just looks like Buffalo's far more stable than any other team in that division. You know, it's interesting. I think you and I probably like the, you know, the same teams. I think the AFC is easier to predict because you have so many great young quarterback, good coach combos. And in the NFC, it's a lot of, you know, Brady's great. Is Arians? I think he is. There's a lot of, you know, you kind of think stuff. So let's say Tampa's the best team in the NFC personnel-wise. Who is your big challenge to them in the NFC?

Because I go back and forth on this. Who's your big challenger and why? Well, it's the Rams, and it's very simple. Like, I did this kind of quarterback NBA segment that, you know, whatever, I was doing it. And I always think about Kevin Garnett, right? When Kevin Garnett was with the T-Wolns, he was actually considered like this huge loser, which seems impossible now, right? He's this guy.

The first seven playoff series. he's Kevin Garnett was in. He lost in the first round. Like, imagine what we would do to a guy that was considered top five player today if he had that kind of playoff resume. And that's who Garnett was. And then he goes to Boston and you watch him every single night. I was covering that team back then. And you go, this guy is the ultimate winner. And you're like, wait, I wasn't allowed to say that before. Right. I'm not telling you Matthew Stafford is Kevin Garnett. All right. Stafford has never been to the Garnett level that Garnett was in the NBA. What we're going to see with Stafford and the Rams is a completely opened up offense. And there's two specific numbers. Stafford, the last couple of years against pressure is one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL. Yeah. And replay action is great in the NFL.

Goff is one of the worst in those two. And yet McVeigh was still able to finish with the top 10 offense three of the four years they had with Gop. So if you think about the Rams personnel defensively where you could argue they're maybe the best unit to finish the season last year and the fact that Stafford just raises your capabilities as an offense and that it just felt like McVeigh was kind of carrying golf this whole time, that would be the one team that I'm looking at. Even though I know the division is much tougher, they probably have to go

on the road to beat Tampa in the playoffs. That's the team I like because Tampa had, with everybody back in an easy schedule this year, they had probably the healthiest team we saw in the NFL and the league. Yep, I've got to ask you one NBA question. I've always kind of had a theory on any business that is labor run. And the NBA is run by players, not GMs or coaches, is when one of your stars is unhappy, keep it quiet, get on the phone, and trade him before it goes public, because you're going to lose your leverage because players have the leverage in the NBA. And there's Ben Simmons thing. Okay, after the Atlanta series, get on the phone. And then he comes out and says, I'm not going to be at camp. You lose more leverage. Now, I refuse to play for the Sixers.

You lose more leverage. All he has to do now is a James Harden and say, all right, here's three teams they're going to play for. And you lose all your leverage. So at some point, Daryl Morey has to move him, I think, fairly quickly. Is there a team that it works for you, that it does fit? No, it's tough to find a fit. I don't believe any of that leverage stuff. I just don't. yes, does it happen? I think we on the outside are hysterical about it all the time. Like, I don't think all of a sudden Ben Simmons was worth way more July 15th than he is today. I know the playoff thing was terrible, but trust me, there's still GMs that think Ben Simmons fits. But here's the difference with the leverage play and why this is different.

I remember Colin back 10 years ago when we were working together and the world was on fire about LeBron James leaving as a free agent. People are upset about that. Now it's like, what? Like, why are you guys mad? And then I remember you did a segment and we did. talked about it in the hallway, our great hallway conversations, but I still dearly miss. And I mean, we get nutrition. We get real estate in there. Stockport. Unbelievable.

And we were talking about Mello and you're like, well, wait, isn't Mello actually doing Denver the favor? Should we like Mello more than what LeBron did? And it's like, well, I don't know. Basically, we just don't like players doing anything where they're calling the shots. And Mello was like, I'm not coming back. So you might as well get something for me. This is so different because now we're desensitized to all that.

Now, if you have a year and a half, two years left, you can come. coming out of shape and be like, hey, I want out and I'll only go to one team and you're the, you're the GM and owner going, all right, I guess we lose. Simmons has four years left on his contract. So, like, what's his leverage? Is this the first time we have a guy starting a four-year max extension where he also can tell you where he's not going to go? Because I know his agency, his reps don't want him in Sacramento.

I don't think they want him in Minnesota. They'd love to get him in California, but the two LA teams aren't going to count. And yes, I know Sacramento technically is in California, but I think we get our point here. So really what I think it comes down to is the staring contest between Simmons and his rep saying, I'm not showing up when camp opens up. And the Sixers saying, okay, fine. Like we're not, Daryl Morey, whatever you think about him, he is not going to take a huge hit on an asset. But as far as the leverage and the publicity and all this kind of stuff and the timing and all these things,

like, yeah, maybe he's damaged goods, but I don't know that it meant that the long this goes and into a holdout that all of a sudden he's going to get less by the day. I think it's just way more complicated than that, and that's why it's, and Daryl's also asking for a ton. I mean, the trade he asked for him from Golden States an immediate hang up the phone

offer. I mean, you know, Wiseman Wiggins and four firsts. I mean, I would laugh. I would even say goodbye. Well, that's how our conversations often go when I propose one of my theories. You don't even just hangs up. Ryan, you there. The ringer. Ryan Rosillo, good seeing you, buddy.

All right. Thanks, Colin. He loves college football as well. So do I. I got some thoughts on college football. The game of the weekend that has ramifications for the whole season. Like huge ramifications. Talk about that next. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific. Hey, this is Jason McIntyre. Join me every weekday morning on my podcast, Straight Fire with Jason McIntyre. This isn't your typical sports pod pushing the same tired narratives down your throat every day. Straight Fire gives you on a opinions on all the biggest sports headlines, accurate stats to help you win big at the sports book and all the best guests. Do yourself a favor and listen to Straight Fire with Jason McIntyre 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 I-Hard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, I'm Jared Adano. You might know me as that loud guy who yells out, help on the internet. Help! Somebody! Please!

But there's so much more to me than that. I'm an actor. I'm a comedian. And recently, I've become... the helper myself. And on my new podcast, hope from a hypocrite, I'll be changing lives, helping people in need

with my sage advice and thoughtful solutions. Sike, I'm a comedian. I'm not qualified to give good advice. Join me and my comedian friends as we riff, rant, recommend some of the most legally dubious advice

known to man. If I'm calling you, even if you're on your phone, let it ring twice. One ring is too scary. Oh, cream of chicken soup, Cream. Cream a chicken suit.

This is Help from a Hypocrite, the worst advice from the dumbest people you know. Listen to Help from Hypocrat as part of the Mike Coutura Podcast Network available on the I-Fart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. What's up, fam? It's Isaiah Thomas. And I'm C.J. Toledano, and our podcast Point Game is about defying the odds. Like LeBron heading into the playoffs without Luca and Austin Reed. And finding ways to win no matter what. He's the smartest player to ever play the game.

game. His IQ is at a level that we've never seen before. And he knows. Without Luca and Austin Reeves, I got to manipulate the game. We get a player's perspective on the challenges of the playoffs. I think Joker's going to be exhausted this series because when they don't have Rudy in the lineup, he has to really guard guys like Nas Reed. He has to guard Julius Randall. And then he has to give us everything he gives us on the night-to-night basis on offense. And when IT's friends stop by, like Quentin Richardson, we dive into some playoff history too. Steve Nass, but get that thing. That man, hell get the flying.

He running up the court, licking his fingers why he got the ball. Like, after you go through a training camp with that, Isaiah, you figure it out real quick. Get your ass up and down the court, and you're going to get the ball. So listen to Point Game on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. American soccer is about to explode. The World Cup is coming. Ramos sending on the only score. I'm Tad Ramos.

I'm Tom Bo. On our podcast, Inside American Soccer, you'll get the real storylines. I'm not worried about Policic. I'm not worried about Balagan. I'm not worried about McKinney. My only concern is what happens in the back. The biggest decisions. If you're going to look at stats and numbers, he has no shot at making this World Cup team.

And the truth about the U.S. national team. It wouldn't be a huge surprise if our team ends up in the quarterfinals or potentially a great run into the semifinals. The World Cup is almost here. Experience it all with us. Listen, Inside American Soccer with Tom Bogart and Tabramos on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, wherever you get your podcast. So it's a good college football weekend.

Starts tomorrow morning on Fox. Penn State at Wisconsin is going to be an absolute octagon slug fest. It's going to be a great football game. I'm going to take Wisconsin to win by about a touchdown. And I like Alabama over Miami. I think Indiana can upset Iowa. Louisiana loses. but close to Texas.

I'll take Clemson over Georgia. I am picking an upset. I like UCLA over LSU, and this is the really big game for ramifications. There's five or six jobs in this country, maybe seven great college football jobs. Ohio State, Oklahoma, Alabama, LSU, USC, Florida, Texas.

Multiple coaches have either won national championships. Multiple coaches have had great success. Clemson was irrelevant until Davos Sweeney showed Dabo makes Clemson a great job. Those other places have won multiple national championships with multiple coaches at LSU is one of those jobs. And Ed Orgeron is in trouble. And SEC fans do not think highly of Pact 12 soft out here in liberal California.

They don't like losing out west. And Ed Orgeron's record without Joe Burrow is 20 and 11 at LSU. That ain't good enough. By the way, Clay Helton, his record without Sam Darnold, is 24 and 17 at USC. That is not good enough. So the two programs, very rarely do you get two top five or six jobs in college football that are available? USC and LSU, we're going to know in three months. And my guess is, LSU we're going to know by Saturday night.

because if they lose to UCLA, and this is UCLA's best Chip Kelly team, it's a really good team. They've got offensively good O-line, multiple excellent tight ends, two NFL level potential running backs, and Chip Kelly now, been in the program several years. Don't love their quarterback, not a great thrower of the football, but he's been around. He can guide the offense.

But if they lose, I've said this before, the people that can hire and fire you, make a decision a year before they tell you, right? When you have a big job, your CEO head coach decisions are made well before you're told. If LSU loses to UCLA, Ed's done. It's not public, but they were bad last year. He was in trouble before Joe Burrow. He's in trouble immediately after Joe Burrow.

And this is every. That's a big game. I mean, Wisconsin, Penn State, loser of that could still win 9-10 games. If you look at the SEC, if they can't beat UCLA, they're not winning games in the SEC. So that is a huge, huge game. Penn State, Wisconsin, early, UCLA, LSU late, those are the games to keep your eye on. Very big weekend of college football.

By the way, I asked Joel Clatt yesterday, end of our interview. I asked him, I said at the end of the year, who's going to be better in L.A., USC or UCLA, and he said UCLA. So this is like a legitimate, I think UCLA beat USC this year, the city championship. So watch out LSU. You guys all fell in love with Ed Orsoran a couple years ago. There's a lot of heat on Edo. Hour 2 next.

Another podcast from some SNL late night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smygel and friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob 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 I-heart radio app, Apple podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. What's up, fam? It's Isaiah Thomas. And I'm C.J. Toledano. It's our favorite time of the year on our podcast Point Game, the playoffs. We're digging

into the biggest surprises of the season, and I'm looking back on some of my greatest playoff moments. If we didn't talk ever again, I was crying. You just understood. That's how personal it got. Wow. Then after that game seven,

Markeep coming to you. He's like, you know, I love you, dog. You know, it's all love. This was just playoffs. This was just basketball. So listen to Point Game on the Iheart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Will Ferrell's Big Money Players and IHart Podcast presents soccer moms.

So I'm Leanne. Yeah. This is my best friend, Janet. Hey. And we have been joined at the hip since high school. Absolutely. A redacted amount of years later, we're still joined at the hip. Just a little bit bigger hips.

This is a podcast We're recording it as we tailgate Our youth soccer games In the back of my Honda Odyssey With all the snacks and drinks. Why did you get hard seltzer instead of beer? They hit a bogo. Well, then you got them.

Listen to soccer moms on the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. If you're watching the latest season of the Real Housewives of Atlanta, you already know there's a lot to break down. Gorsha accusing Kelly of sleeping with a merry man. They hold and Kamey back from fighting Drew. Pinky has financial issues.

On the podcast, Reality with the King, I, Carlos King, recap the biggest moments from your favorite reality shows, including the Real House Wise franchise, the drama, the alliances, and the T, everybody's talking about. To hear this and more, listen to Reality with the King on the IHard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. This is an IHart podcast, guaranteed human.

Thank you.