The Herd with Colin Cowherd - 09/17/2021 - HOUR 2 - Blazing 5, QB

Episode Date: September 17, 2021

Colin's new Blazing 5 NFL picksThe importance of getting the QB position rightGuest: T. J. Houshmandzadeh Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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IHeart Radio, Fox Sports Radio, and FS1. Joy Taylor is joining me in a couple of minutes, my blazing five picks. It is a weird week. I tend to be, my belief in betting is take points, especially if you have a competent quarterback, take points. fans generally take favorites. Now that this week was a very weird week, Joy, because if you looked at the lines initially, I liked almost every favorite. So I had to dig, dig, dig this week because I don't like, I'll never take five favorites.

I almost never take four favorites. I'd always rather take underdogs. That has over the last 20 years, all but last year worked. Take underdogs. We are getting into one more offensive league. there's a lot more points scored. I mean, do you think those two quarterbacks last night are great quarterbacks? No, the final score is 30-29.

That's right. We're in an offensive league, which was some COVID opt-outs. And, I mean, last year was a tough year, two and three the first week. So all the lines provided by Fox Bet Sportsbook, are you ready to go? Let's do it. Here we go, Blazing Five. That's a hot one. Let's Blaze It Up.

Fire it up. It's Collins Blazing Five. Saints and Panthers. I'll take Carolina plus three and a half. Second straight home game. Saints, second straight road game. They're living out of hotels and stuff, folks. So it's a really interesting effect happening right now with Carolina.

The Matt Rule effect. Since the start of last year with Teddy Bridgewater and Sam Darnold, Carolina has had the fewest three in outs in the NFL. What? With Bridgewater and Darnold. this is a really well-coached offensive team. Fewer than Kansas City. Fewer than Cleveland without run game.

Fewer than Baltimore. Fewer than Tampa. They also held the jets to 45-yard rushing and had 187 yards with McCaffrey. They run it and don't let you run it. They're getting three and a half, the hooks the half point. I'm going to take Carolina to win. Saints come back down to Earth, 28, 23 Panthers.

Let's at Colts. Rams at Colts. I'm going to take the Colts plus three and a half. You know my rule. Well-coached, good teams that play like crap always bounced back. Colts were awful last week. They got pushed around the field. Jonathan Taylor has topped 100 yards from scrimmage in five of his last seven games.

In fact, since week 11 last year, only Derek Henry has more yards from scrimmage than Jonathan Taylor. How do you beat the Rams? You take the ball out of Sean McVeigh's hands. This offensive line pushed around last week. We'll rebound this week. Also, the Colts have lost eight straight week one games. They've won week two in each of the last three seasons. Well-coached team bounces back, upsets the Rams who are on cloud nine, 27, 26 Colts.

49ers at Eagles. It's an interesting game. You know, I was down on Philadelphia. But Philadelphia is at home, home opener, San Francisco Road, second straight week. So mobile quarterbacks have given the Niners trouble through the years. That defensive line, they love Jared Gough. They love guys that go back and stand. Jalen Hertz moves around.

One of five quarterbacks in league history, with 1,000 passing yards and 200 rushing yards. in his first five career games. And I like this. The Eagles defense against the high-powered Falcons totally shut them down. Atlanta always scores at home. Couldn't move the chains with a veteran quarterback, star-tide-end star receiver and good old line. Also, Philadelphia was three-for-three in the red zone. Touchdowns.

What does it tell me? The line play for Philadelphia was the secret sauce last week with a mobile quarterback at home. The Niners have lost their best corner for the year. It looks like Philadelphia's got a couple stars at wide receiver. Upset. Take the points. Philadelphia beats the Niners 24, 23. Raiders at Steelers. You know, I don't love big numbers and favorites, but like it, I love it. Take the Steelers minus six and a half against the Raiders. Short week for the Raiders, played on Monday and they got to travel cross-country. The defense in week one was relentless

against an offensive line for Buffalo that's at least as good or better than the Raiders. No quarterback in the league struggles more under pressure than Derek Carr and Matt Ryan. Derek Carr under pressure last week against the Ravens, one for nine with a pick. Derek and Matt, and I like both, get ugly fast with pressure.

The relentless Steelers defense will own the Raiders 30, 23, or worse, Pittsburgh. Cowboys and Chargers. I'm going to take the Chargers minus three and a half. The Sharps like the Cowboys. Here's what I can't get over. Yes, Dallas will probably be the home team, 75, 25, 25 fans. Yes, Dallas has extra time. But they've had multiple injuries up front.

Gregory and Demarcus Lawrence won't play. In the back end of their secondary, multiple injuries. Think about this. The Cowboys didn't get a sack on Brady, and they only got two hits on Brady. Okay, so Justin Herbert against a significantly better defensive front, was unbelievable on third down, had nothing but time to throw. So Justin Herbert now, with more time to throw, and a worse secondary, a beat-up Cowboys secondary. I like the Chargers here. Remember, they've won five straight games. They ended last year

when they got healthy on a five-game winning streak, and that's for the coaching staff that got run out. The Cowboys are 0.17 since 2019 scoring less than 30 points. I don't think they're going to have the ball enough. I think the Chargers are going to control the clock and the game. Chargers win. I'll take a minus three and a half. I'd like it more if it was minus three, but three and a half the hook, I'll take the Chargers to win, 33 to 27. So I got three dogs and I'll take two favorites. My favorite bet of the week is the Steelers over the Raiders. I got the Panthers plus three and a half.

Eric Fisher will play for the Colts plus three and a half. Eagles plus three with an upset. And I'll take the favored Steelers and the favored chargers. You know who told us Justin Herbert was going to be great when everybody was saying, No, no, it was T.J. Hushmanzada. 11 years in the league, a pro bowler joins us now. Fox Sports Analyst. You know, it's interesting.

I've heard this before. Not everybody handles success well as a pro athlete. Generally, athletes handle failure the same way. They work harder. They put their head down. They work out long. But success is funny. And so I saw that Cleveland was almost a 13-point favorite this week at home.

That's the biggest line for the franchise in 21 years. And I thought, oh boy, now come expectations. Big favorite. You're going to crush them. Go back to your Cincinnati days. Bad franchise, not a lot of success. Then you start winning a little bit. Is it hard for non-winners who become winners and favorites?

Did you see certain players that just didn't handle success well or expectations well? You know what's crazy, Colin, is when you're playing, everybody thinks they're going to be good until week one or two, you get your butts kicked. They're like, oh, my God, is it going to be like this all year? The Cleveland Browns, I guarantee they feel really confident in themselves because the game isn't one or loss on one play. But if that punter doesn't drop the ball. And he actually, when he dropped it, could they actually picked it up and punted if he tried to run with it. They probably feel they beat the Chiefs. And so confidence, albeit whether it's fake or not, whether it's too much or it isn't, they feel good about where they are because if you look at their team, why wouldn't they?

Why wouldn't they feel good? You go top the bottom. They don't have weaknesses. When I played in, we're in Cincinnati, we felt like we could beat anybody in 05, 06, 07. But the thing is that the Browns don't win this game. They're going to start the second guess themselves and say, oh, are we as good as we thought we were. And so they need to win this game,

which I believe they will handle me. So it was the one blazing five bet I didn't make. I would have taken Cincinnati and Joe Burrow to go into Chicago with a point and a half and win, but I didn't take it. It didn't make it. I have concerns about their defense. But Joe Burrow, and you know him well,

and you've seen him train, and we heard all these reports about he was a little gun shy. We heard all these reports about Jamar Chase couldn't catch the ball. And I watched Joe Burrow last week, and I got to tell you, I didn't see any signs of it. He got hit a lot. I didn't see any signs of it. By the way, Jamar Chase, despite all the reports, I didn't see all the drops. I thought that was an incredibly encouraging win. I think the Vikings are well-coached. I think they have some firepower. I think that's a really impressive win for Cincinnati. Your takeaway on Burrow, Jamar Chase, and what you saw.

I had the Bengals last week against the Vikings, and I actually have him again this week against the Bears. The Bengals, Joe just has his confidence about him, man. It's almost crazy. It's hard to explain. He was sacked five times. And so the nervousness of his knee, you get sacked, you kind of nervous, you get up. Oh, it's fine. You get sacked again.

Oh, it happened five times. Joe's going to move away from thinking about it very, very soon. defensively, the Bengals can be whatever they are. The Bears don't scare you. Their offense doesn't scare you. Andy Doggwin throw the ball down the field. So when Justin Field does enter the game, that's what you expect. Andy Don's going to be fired up.

He may be too fired up. He may try to force passes and plays that aren't there because obviously the Bengals drafted him. He had a ton of success there. Jamar Chase, and I said that I'm not concerned about the drops. He's going to drop ball. throughout the course of the season. We all do.

He was the first receiver picked for a reason. I'm sure he's feeling very good about himself. He said he wanted to put Patrick Peterson on his highlight tape. I don't know if he did that, but he was fine. And I like the Bengals to beat the Bears. The Bears, that often scares you? You know, it's interesting. Giants, Washington, kind of a mess.

These are not great teams, obviously, but this is what struck me, is that Washington with a defensive coach, was willing to let Taylor Heineke throw it 46 times. I mean, you know how defensive coaches are. Marvin Lewis, you had one, Pete Carroll. They want to run the ball and win with defense. We got a kid in his third career start,

and they almost threw it 50 times. The Giants keep telling me they love Daniel Jones, but on that drive late, they couldn't run the football the whole game. Seekwon had one run, and I looked at that kind of conservative play calling. Maybe it's just Jason Garrett. That's his reputation. but when I watch the Giants, they say they love Daniel Jones,

but I don't necessarily see they trust him. Or am I wrong? Do you think they trust Daniel Jones with the play calling and what you saw last night? You know, this is what I will say. Answer the question, no. You need to see what you have in Daniel Jones. And so you could have drafted quarterback this year? You didn't.

You need to see if he's that quarterback of the future. I will say this though. last night watching that game, the first 15 plays that Jason Garrett scripted, I was like, oh, Jason Garrott, he on his thing today. Like, he's doing a hell of a job with these first 15 scripted. It was after that where it was just like, come on, Jason, come on, Coach Garrett. Like, where, where's the creativity? It was one of those things where you're not going to be able to run the ball that effectively

on Washington. That defensive line and all those guys they have up front challenged them down the field. And Joe just said it, and I remember, this. I remember him and Adam Gase because of the bug eye. Joe Judd said, we will be fundamentally sound. We will not beat ourselves. Well, you beat yourself last night. You did exactly what you said you wouldn't do at your introduction news conference when you got the job. They play to not lose that game. They felt they were in field goal range. We're going to play it safe. We're just going to run, run and kick this field on our defense is going to stop them. It didn't happen, but you need to put

the ball in Daniel. The season's over. Oh, and you're not making the playoffs. It is what it is. See what you have in Daniel Jones moving forward. I'm not surprised at all. I trust your judgment. I thought Justin Herbert. Joy and I had said it.

We saw him at the Rose Bowl and we're like, and it was funny because I remember talking to Tom Telesco, the GM of the Chargers, and he liked him a lot, but he wanted to go see him live. So he went to the Rose Bowl. And he said at halftime, it's like, all right, that's our guy.

We like him. Because you got to see guys live. And he does jump out. You said this when you see him on a practice field. or a game live. He's even more impressive. But I'll tell you something, what really jumped out to me last week, and this is kind of a veteran thing,

he may throw the, they play the Cowboys this week, he may throw the best back shoulder throw in this league outside of Aaron Rogers. I am just so surprised how his game looks so old. And maybe it's because he started so many games at Oregon. But, I mean, your first impressions of him, I remember it was the size.

you kept saying his calves, he's big, he's huge. What do you make of his growth, his development, as he hosts the Cowboys this weekend? I'm not surprised. His growth has been what I thought. And you've got to understand when Justin was out there on the field with us, there were also a lot of other quarterbacks on the field with us that were drafted fairly high that same year. And he stood out amongst other guys that were drafted very high. And so I knew right away, I'm like, this dude.

and I was talking to John Beck about it. Like, this dude is going to be special. And because I understand the game of football. I know what I was looking at. And I'm not surprised. He's a big kid with a big arm. And he's a really good athlete. He's not just a big guy that's stationary.

Like, he can get out and run. He's a talented athlete, not just a football player, but he's quiet, but he's a leader. It's just really the fact that he started and played so many games at Oregon. I don't know if people know this, but he was a tutor because he's a very smart dude. So he was a tutor in college. So to be able to tutor just regular students in college, you can relate to everyone. He wasn't that, oh, I'm the quarterback starting quarterback in Oregon. I'm not doing this. People person and the ways planned is exactly how I thought he would. All right. Well, I'll just ask you, I will not lead you in any direction because I am an honesty

broker. This show is journalism, so I'm just going to lay it out there. The reigning MVP was the worst quarterback in the league in week one. He had the noisiest offseason. What did you make of the Packers opening week? What did you make of it? I was shocked. I was shocked. And the football guys, they have a way of humbling you and telling you, this is what you do,

stick to what you do, shut your mouth, go play football, us will do it again. And I believe he got the message. I'm not, I watched that game, and I was just like, wow. You would have thought James Winston was Aaron Rogers and vice versa. And so it was shocking to say the least, but I will say, I do believe Green Bay will bounce back. They're too talented, and Aaron Rogers is too talented of a quarterback, not too. T.J. Hushman's out on a Friday. Great, seniors.

You know, you're always well-dressed for this show. You're such a professional, just like you were as an athlete. Look at you. You look like you're going to a board meeting or something. Good seeing you, buddy. I appreciate it. You guys take care. Yeah. You know when we show those Justin Herbert highlights,

I remember, I've said this before. Years ago, I was sitting on a couch in Vegas with a friend. It was like 20-some years ago, and I'm watching Jordan. And Jordan wasn't the strongest athlete. Dominique Wilkins had a better vertical. Michael wasn't the best shooter in the league. But it always looked so easy with Michael. He's 6-6.

and I always thought the league is full of six-six guys. Why is Michael so much better than all the other six-six guys? And it was just he made it look so easy. And through the years, what I've found is if a guy makes it look easy, they're really naturally gifted. When you watch Justin Herbert throw the football, just his feet, the way he drives it, it is so easy-looking. And a lot of great, like Russell Wilson is not always easy-looking.

I mean, Russell's running around. and it's trying to create space so we can see. I don't think Brady. It's always easy looking with Tom. God, with Herbert, it's just like it's in a Nerf ball, and he's thrown it to his kids. It's just boom, boom, boom, he sets his feet. The ball comes flying out.

He is so accurate on the toughest throws, those back shoulder throws, right there. Most guys starting, you know, he had a stat last year that was remarkable. He led the league throwing under pressure. That is unheard of. With that offensive line. It is unheard of in the league.

The guy who, that's what Aaron leads in. That's what a scrambler leads in. A pocket guy led the NFL with the second lowest red to dough line in throwing under duress. His passer rating was like 99. I mean, that's a guy that this game comes easy. So when I watch Justin, I'm like, I don't even, what's the, ceiling look like? He's this good now. Like with Mahomes, we saw him initially. It's like Andy Reid says he didn't, I mean, Mahomes admitted year two. Yeah, I can't read a defense yet.

Uh-oh. Oh, we got, we got problems here in the AFC. Justin Herbert, what is his ceiling? He's working with a good old line for only the second game. That's why I like him over the Cowboys. I'm not betting against this kid much going forward. He is really special. One more herd? The herd streams 24 hours a day, seven days a week, Within the IHeart Radio app, search heard to listen live or on demand whenever you'd like. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque.

Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the IHard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what 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.

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Learn the Hardway and listen now. This weekend on Fox, start Saturday Strong with the big noon kickoff pregame show at 10 a.m. Eastern live from Norman. Then at noon Eastern, dual threat, Adrian Martinez leads Nebraska against Spencer Rattler and third. ranks Oklahoma. A huge big noon Saturday begins at 10 a.m. Eastern 7 a.m. Pacific on Fox and the Fox Sports Act. More thoughts on that game we all watched last

night. So my takeaway watching the Giants in Washington last night was Dallas, here's your division. So we just watched half of the NFC East. That was not great football. 20 penalties.

One team with a backup quarterback, another team With the quarterback they don't really trust. Both teams tried to give the game away. The Giants eventually did. The Giants through two weeks could not run the football against Denver and could not run it against Washington. You know, Washington has a little bit of a run game, and they lost to a good Chargers team. They deserve credit, but they're in a backup quarterback.

So Dallas, you got the best quarterback in your division. You still have, maybe by an inch over Philadelphia, the best offensive line. line in your division. You have the best wide receiver group in your division. In an offensive league, you got the best quarterback, the best receivers, and probably the best offensive line. And an offensive coach, you won a Super Bowl. So my takeaway, the Giants' wide receivers are dropping passes.

They're fighting. Kenny Dalladay's yelling at people. Washington is sort of duct-taping. Terry McLaurin's their one great offensive player. He is really good. They're duct-taping this offense together now at this point. You're just kind of, I mean, you got a converted guy here and a converted guy there. So I've seen Washington play two times. I've seen the Giants play two times.

I know one thing about these two teams. There's one unit on either team that is outstanding. Washington's defensive front. And in two games, they haven't played outstanding. So that's what I've seen. After two games, I kind of know what I see. One unit on either team is really, really talented, like indisputably. Washington's D-line.

and they're not performing to the level they should. So this division, Dallas, here, it's an offensive league. You got the, I mean, Saquine Barclay is probably the best running back in the division, but you got the second best running back, you've got the first best quarterback, you probably have tied the first best offensive line, offensive coach. I don't know. That's what I kept watching. I'm like, oh, here's your division.

Here it is. It's right there for you. No excuses now. Joy with the news. No, no, no, no. Turn on the news. This is the herd line news. Well, speaking of that game last night,

Taylor Heineke, stepped in for the injured Ryan Fitzpatrick and got his first start this season. He completed 3446 passes for 336 yards, two touchdowns, and an interception in Washington's 3029 win over the Giants, and he thinks he's done enough to cement himself as the starter. I do, and I have confidence that I can do it. So if those guys in the locker room and the facility believe in me, that's all that matters, I think they do.

So let's try to keep his ball rolling. Ryan Fitzpatrick opted for rehab instead of surgery on his hip, so he is expected to be out eight weeks. It was a short week for Washington, so it's not terribly surprising that they didn't go and do something aggressive at the quarterback position. I mean, Taylor Heineke, you saw a little bit of him last year. He was capable, and obviously he did a nice job last night.

I think I'm sold. I think I'm sold on him being the starter for the rest of the season. I mean, you weren't aggressive in the off season, right? So now in order to get someone of a higher, caliber than this, you're going to have to give up a significant amount in a trade. Yeah. Because, I mean, they're not going to bring Cam Newton in because of Ron Rivera. I don't know. I think you ride out with this.

Yeah, I mean, it's, you like him. You know, you've been saying this, Sal, there's something there. He's got that, you know, he's not ideal size. He does not have an ideal arm. He doesn't have ideal legacy. He doesn't have the ideal number of starts. But there is something to be said on a team built around defense. He's a gamer. And I will say, this, he and McLaurin. They've got something. Yeah, they've absolutely got something. They run the ball. In this division where you've got a Daniel Jones, a Jalen Hertz, again, if we were in a division

and it was Russell Wilson and Kyler Murray and Matt Stafford, I don't know if I would think like that. But in this division, outside of DAC, I'm like, he's a gamer. Well, I don't think Washington's going to win the division anyway, and I thought that they should have been more aggressive in the offseason. But since you didn't do that, I mean, this is a situation. that you're in. Like, I did not like their quarterback situation, which obviously included Taylor Heineke,

going into this season. You have an elite unit in Washington, obviously. They haven't played to that level yet in their defensive line. But, you know, you have a good defense there. You have good offensive weapons. You have a Super Bowl caliber coach in Ron Rivera. Be aggressive. But since you weren't aggressive, this is now the situation that you're in.

Ryan Fitzpatrick is out eight weeks. And everybody has their guys. Like, you're now in a situation where you have to make a trade. What is out there on the market? it's unlikely that you're going to bring in Cam Newton into the situation, which actually at this point, I don't know that that would benefit Cam Newton or you because you're bringing him in two games into the season on your third week. You know, it is interesting.

There is one quarterback out there. It's really funny. I think he's the best backup in the league. Nick Foles has played six playoff games. He's won four. And his passerating in those playoff games has been a 98 with 11 touchdowns in like four picks. Foles is the guy, there's no glamour to Nick at all. He's like beyond humble.

But it is funny. We talk Garapolo is if you look at Nick Foll's history, he is as good as his coaching. When he had, when Nick had Andy Reed, pretty good. When he had Doug Peterson, offensive mind from the Andy Reed tree. Foles, everybody, your initial instinct to when I said his name is every. everybody goes, all I'll say this about Nick Foles, go look at his career. He's got a winning career record, which is almost unheard of as a backup.

Yeah. He's a winning record. If you go look at Nick Foles in big spots, and that's really important in critical games. Yeah. Does he win? He's pretty darn good. So you would feel better about Washington.

With Nick Foles, who has a better arm. Than with Taylor Heineke. I absolutely would. But there's something about Nick Foles. Joy's eyes, the minute I said Nick Foles, you do what, and by the way, there are Pete, Nick needs the right support in coaching. Yes. And when he has it, Doug Peterson, Andy Reed, in the biggest games, he's pretty darn interesting.

I think I would look strongly at Foles. Well, it seems that they feel confident in Taylor Hedkey, but if they are going to look at someone, Nick Foles would be a good option. So Justin Fields still is not to the Bears starting court. back. But he did make his debut in week one and completed a couple passes and rush for a touchdown. And Matt Nagy is happy about how they are using fields in the offense right now. How much value does he have, I guess, as a chess piece within your game planning? Yeah, I think he provides a lot of value now that we're here at this point and we're not in training

camp and the guessing game or whatever. When you have a guy like Justin teams, when they see that, now they got to prepare in certain ways for certain things, things they may think of or not think of. So it just can help us that way too. What happens, hypothetically speaking, if they continue with Andy Dalton for a couple more games and their average at best, and then they put Justin Fields in and he looks great. What happens then? Oh, then it's Justin Fields team. No, no, it's Justin Fields team.

But what happens as far as Matt Nagy goes? Well, because like the entire idea of Justin Fields not starting is that he's not ready, right? otherwise, why would he not be out there? Right. We know what Andy. There's no question in anyone's mind of the capability of what Andy Allen is in his ceiling. I told you, if I was USC, the two coaches I would look at, number one and two, are Doug Peterson on the beach and Matt Nagy. Because Matt Nagy got Trubisky to the playoffs twice.

I think this season is so hard. We talked about this before this season. Matt Nagy had the toughest job in the league. somebody upstairs made a promise to Andy Dalton. You got to play Andy Dalton. He looks awful. He makes the mistakes. So what happened last week that really hurts Joy is the reason you started Andy because he won't make the mistake.

Right. And he threw a red zone pick. You're like, well, what's the point then? Justin Fields gives you juice. What is the point? Right, right. So it wasn't that Andy lost. It was the fact that you got no juice with it at all.

They threw nothing over nine yards. Annie made a huge crucial red zone mistake. Well, that's why you're starting him. So here's my takeaway. What happens this weekend if Joe Burrell comes out? And I'm telling you that. That offense is fun and it's a downfield offense and he is just springing. Because we know the secondary for the Bears is vulnerable.

At halftime, you got no juice and you can't stop Cincinnati. That's the question at halftime. You're down 2710 and you can't stop them. So you need juice. Do you just go to Justin Fields at half? So you think that this is coming down. And sometimes this happens because coaches can't really talk about this. And even when they leave places, they are kind of held to certain information not getting out.

You get the kind of feeling that this is about a promise made to Andy Doll and that Matt Nagy is kind of subject to this decision. I believe the front office said in the negotiations, you're our starter, regardless of who we draft. So they go with it. And I think Nagy, and I've said this before, I think Matt Nagy has. no personnel power in this organization. I trust Nagy. I don't trust the Bears front office. Yeah. And so my takeaway is there is that Matt Nagy is left to clean up a bad offensive line and several picks up front that haven't worked. He is left. I mean, he basically, I don't think Matt Nagy wanted Mitch Trubisky. He was, you know, well, actually, I think he came after Trubisky was there. So Matt Nagy's basically, hey, your quarterback's Tribisky. That wouldn't have been Nagy's choice. So he's cooking with somebody else's

ingredients. That's right. Here's your offensive line. So the bottom line is whoever's quarterback. It's a bad offensive line. They've drafted two guys this year, one or two last year. So a lot of times coaches are stuck with the power of the GM and the ownership. And I think Nagy is doing a really good job. That's why I support him. I think he's doing a really good job to clean up everybody else's mistakes and messes. I don't think he would go with Justin Fields. But you're not going to say that publicly. Yeah, no, you can't. No. So I think you're basically, The Trubisky situation, you're doing the best with what you could.

You got them to the playoffs. This situation, this is my, this is not my intel, it's my opinion. Right. Is that ideally. No, but that would make sense because to me it feels like Nagy and GM are coaching and GMing for their jobs. And then in that situation, you would just want to win games. You would just want to win enough to keep your job and then, you know,

turned over to Justin Fields next year. Or if Andy Dalton is a disaster, then, you know, it makes it easier. But he hasn't been a disaster as of yet. has not been great. But that makes a lot of sense because often coaches are in situations where the front office of the ownership is putting pressure or saying this is what needs to happen. And they can't talk about that publicly. Because it's starting to feel like ridiculous.

We knew in New England the draft picks were bills. Right. We knew that. We know in Seattle, Pete Carroll has huge influence. We know in Kansas City. In Indiana, Indianapolis, the GM makes the call. So there are certain, and I think in Chicago,

Nagy is just, he doesn't get to do the shopping, he's just left with the ingredients, and that's why I've always credited him. The ingredients is kind of someone else's recipe, too. Yeah, so that's why, people, why are you so naggy? He doesn't have a lot of power and personnel here. He's doing the best he can with what I believe is a suboptimal GM. So Chiefs Offensive Coordinator, Eric B.N.M.

has been mentioned as a potential candidate for the USC head coaching job but when asked about the rumors he made it clear he is focused on Kansas City I think you guys know me better than that so if USC reached out to me right now my answer would be I am preparing all right for this team to play against the Baltimore Ravens and that's how I rule you guys know that I am where my feet are okay my job is to make sure that we're ready to play a complete sound 60-minute minute football game, but we can come out and win the game. I love that. I'm going to steal that line. I am where my feet are. It is really good. It's a really good line. It is. I'm where my feet are. So this is where I am today.

And I'm a report. If I, you're a reporter and ask me about U.S.A job. Hey, Colin, are you interested in taking the U.S.C. job? I am where my feet are. You're trapped. You can't go anywhere. Where do you go from there? It is. It's a good answer. The U.S. I mean, there's so much conversation about and surrounding this job. They're not going to hire until after the season. There's been nine guys rumored and they've got good jobs. Be enemy. Be enemy.

Urban Meyer, Franklin, Chris Sebal, PJ, B.J. Fleck, Matt Campbell, Luke Pickle. This is the biggest college football hire. West of the Mississippi, I can make the argument in 10 years. It is significant. And for what USC has been, I get it. Fans are going to poke fun or whatever. But the brand is the brand. the end of the day. And, you know, not to be coastal elitist or anything, but it's Los Angeles.

Like, it is, it is a big place with big power and big influence and big names and big stars. And it is a big brand still in a big, massive Hollywood town. And some universities almost always get it right. Ohio State almost always gets it right. Ohio State did Luke Fickle for a year in transition. That wasn't really the true hire. And then he got a job in Cincinnati. But I mean, like Urban was right and Tressel worked and then Woody Hayes was great and then Earl Bruce was great. Their miss was John Cooper and he won 10 games. USC's the opposite. They've had big misses.

They get about every third coach right. So Ohio State almost, I mean, Ohio State has never really whiffed in my lifetime. Oklahoma whiffed once. They usually get it right. Oklahoma always gets it right. Ohio State gets it right. Alabama's had a lot of whiffs. USC.

So there's very political environment at USC. and a lot of people with power and the president gets a lot of voices and it's very interesting. And this particular time and all the influences and the implications of TV contracts and really where the program is, you got to get it right. Oh, TV contracts around the corner. Like whoever you hire, even if you don't know if they're going to be successful, when the name is announced, everyone has to be like, that makes sense. I was on the phone yesterday with somebody in the circle.

who will have a say. And this person said it's the biggest football hire in the history of the university. And this person will be in that circle of seven to eight people. Yeah. Good stuff. Joy with the news. Well, that's the news.

And thanks for stopping by. The Herd Lye News. A lot of stuff there. Be sure to catch live editions of The Herd weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific. On Fox Sports Radio, FS1, and the IHeart Radio app. He's by Carmen. I'm Dan Byrd. We have a brand new fantasy football podcast.

called I Want Your Flex. Twice a week, every Tuesday and Friday, we come up with new episodes to not only look back at what happened, what you need to do at that minute, and also look ahead of what's coming up in the fantasy football world. That's right, Dan. Every week we're going to scour the waiver wire to find the pickups to turbo boost your fantasy lineup. It starts.

Fantasy football players' rankings to get you ready to dominate the competition. Listen to I Want Your Flex with Mike Harmon and me, Dan Byer, on the show. the iHeart radio app, Apple Podcasts, and 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 Heart Radio app. Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what you're saying.

Yep, that's me, Clifford Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, the reactions, my journey from basketball to college football, or my career in sports media. Well, somewhere along the way, this platform became bigger than I ever imagined. And now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show.

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

this is right where you need to be. Listen to the Clifford Show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, 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 Jay. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick it here, unpack what went down, and try to make sense

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

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 because you find it important to be a good person while you hear on earth or are you a good person because you're afraid because that's two different

intentions bro absolutely and that that's two different levels of trust I want you to just really be a good person join me Keer Gaines is we have real conversations about healing growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast, Learn the Hard Way. Open your free iHeartRadio app. Search Learn the Hardway and listen now. Defy Your Age with MDrive, the supplement for Driven Man supports healthy T-levels, keeps you lean and energized.

My mom was a nurse when I was a little kid and she always said, your life can be great. You don't have your health. It doesn't matter. Your health has everything. Nothing unravels a great life. You can have great kids, great jobs. Don't have your health.

It unravels everything. And, you know, I'm sitting there watching the Giants last night, and I went to a Giants message board after the game. I know. I do this once in a while. I want to see the fans' reaction. So Jason Garrett's now totally incompetent. Gettleman needs to be fired.

Joe Judge is a boob. He doesn't know what he's doing. Everybody's terrible. Why? Because the quarterback's not excelling. This is everything. Jay Glazer has said this more than once. If you can't get the quarterback right, this is a miserable existence.

Bill Belichick cannot win football games now. Okay? Herm Edwards always said, I wouldn't broadcast. If Chad Pennington could stay healthy, I'd be in the NFL still. Once you get the quarterback right, everybody else in the building's a genius. Everybody's a genius. Drew Brees would have made Nick Saban an NFL coach. He couldn't get him.

He went to college. Belichick respects Sabin more than any. in football have to get it right. Dallas and the Chargers this weekend, 75 to 80% of the fans will be Cowboy fans. But the Chargers, when they moved up from San Diego, ticked a lot of people off. But it's going to work. And it's going to work for one reason, Justin Herbert. This town has 10 pro teams, two major college football programs, a great beach.

We are completely distracted. Hollywood, several outdoor malls. It's a highly transient town. so people come to this city with their own loyalties in sports. Only one way to cut through and make this thing work. Because we know the Raiders fit in Vegas. It looks right. We know the Rams in St. Louis.

It feels bigger. It's going to work. The Chargers thing, they couldn't sell tickets initially. They're playing in a soccer stadium. I mean, Phillip Rivers is good, but it did not look for the first year. You're like, is this going to work? They couldn't sell sponsorships. Justin Herbert's why it's going to work.

It's why his coach, who's a rookie, is going to be a coach for a long time. It's why the offensive line, it's good. We're going to say it's great by the end of the year. If the chargers were just at quarterback, not even bad, just math. They wouldn't cut through. Nobody would buy tickets. We'd talk clippers. We'd talk Lakers.

We'd talk Rams. We'd talk USC if they got the right coach. We wouldn't talk the chargers. But if you just get this position right, everybody in the building is smarter. and I'm watching them last week. They got a rookie coach and a rookie left tackle and a brand new center and a brand new coordinator, brand new this and brand new that. And Justin Herbert's like, yeah, yeah, we're good here.

He was 74% on third down. What? What? 74% led the NFL last year passing under duress. So that's why I say, the Giants message board last night, Joe Judge is terrible. Fire, Gamma. Jason Garrett's terrible.

Everybody's terrible. If Justin Herbert quarterback, the New York Giants, you'd be like, Judge, I told you, so I spotted it immediately. You know, Gettleman gets a bad rap. He's a little goofy, but I like what he does. That's the whole league. You can make, you can miss. Pete Carroll has missed on a half dozen first round picks.

Pete Carroll's drafting is weird. Russell Wilson, it makes it all work. The human eraser. This is a racist. stuff. All right, hour three is around the corner live in Los Angeles on a Friday. Brady Quinn's going to yell at me around the corner. It's the heard. 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 acapella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform? And Holmes. 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. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what you're saying.

Yep, that's me. Cliver Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, 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 Cliver Show. This is a place for raw, unfills of conversations with athletes, creator, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. So let's get to it. Listen to the Clifford Show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast.

And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok's 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'd put on 10 pounds.

I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the IHard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. 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. many men carry a suit or armor. It signals to the world that you 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 Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. This is an IHart podcast. Guaranteed human.