The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Baker Mayfield, Browns, 49ers, & the Herd Hierarchy

Episode Date: October 8, 2019

Colin discusses the Cleveland Browns-San Francisco 49ers Monday night game, the issues with the Browns, and why he feels they should trade Odell Beckham Jr.. He also explains the strengths of the Niners, and his new Herd Hierarchy. Guests include Doug Gottlieb, Peter King, Trent Dilfer, Reggie Bush, and Cameron Jordan. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and Friends on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. What's up, guys? This is Clivert Taylor the Fourth. And on my podcast, The Cliverts Show, I'm bringing you conversations about all kinds of stuff. Like being an internet famous referee. We're in the middle of a game. This linebacker, this linebacker walks up to me. He goes, hey, ref, my mom wants you to wave at her.

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You're listening to Fox Sports Radio. Oh, here we go on a Tuesday. This is The Herd. Wherever you may be and however you may be listening, we are live in sunny and beautiful Los Angeles. Iheart Radio, Fox Sports Radio, and FS1, one hour from now our herd hierarchy. Cleveland won't be in it. Joy Taylor is joining me. Joy, how are you?

I'm doing better than Cleveland fans are about to be doing guys soon. I'm going to roll up my sleeves. I'm going to go to work here. Okay. All right. This is a work day for me. I'm going to roll up my sleeves. I got a little to talk about today.

No more Mr. Nice Guy. Uh-oh. So, Mr. I am dangerous should be I am embarrassed today. That was bad and it's getting worse. But here is the part that is stunning to me. Richard Sherman said after the game, a first ballot Hall of Famer, defensive back formerly of the Seahawks, now of the 49er, a Stanford guy.

He's pretty smart. He said, what's amazing and annoying? He was shocked that Baker Mayfield snubbed him with a handshake. He goes, that's some college blank. It's ridiculous. We're all trying to get psyched up, shaking hands with your opponent. That's NFL etiquette. When you pull that Bush League stuff, that's disrespectful to the.

the game and believe me, that got us fired up. Baker, this league is hard for Patrick Mahomes with Andy Reid. You watch them against Detroit, you'll watch them this week against the Colts. This league is eating up a hurdle, roadblock, obstacle for Patrick Mahomes, who can throw it from where I'm sitting to Canton, Ohio on a straight line. You're 5.11 and a half.

Looks like you've gained weight. You run a 48440 with a rookie head coach and a bad old line. And you're taunting people? Andrew Luck used to, after getting sacked, congratulate the lineman. Tom Brady and Breeze. Always saying, oh, my God, this opponent. Russell Wilson, has there ever been anybody that wins and loses with more grace? And you're not in their class.

this in the history of Colin Wright, Colin wrong, this is my first ballot right. Police video. Leading the NFL and picks, taunting NFL players. What is that? Bad judgment. That's just bad judgment. Stop with the 29 commercials.

I feel dangerous. I'm not saying the season's over. It's not. There's good news on the horizon for Cleveland. but that was embarrassing and you're making it harder. This league chews up great players, Namath, Fav. It chewed up Andrew Luck and spit him out.

And if you don't think being humble, keeping your head down, what's the old saying under-deliver, under-promise over-deliver? That works in radio, TV, landscaping, government, and it works with quarterbacks. But that's not the worst part. that's not the worst part.

Here's what's really troubling. Baker Mayfield is regressing. You could not watch Baker Mayfield last year and not say this. Even me, a critic, last year I said, damn, bro, he is accurate. You could not have anything other than that. I didn't have to love everything about him, but even I was saying the kid is accurate.

He is a stone cold, 17-yard completion. waiting to happen. He is regressing. His strength is now an issue. He's no longer accurate. He's at his quarterback coach. 64% last year completion percentage. He's down to 56%.

We made fun of CAM for that. And CAM 6'6 and runs like an athlete. You can't be 511, run a 4-840 and throw 56% completions. That's a backup quarterback in this league. I'm not sure to backup. And he is regressing. And what is the reason? My takeaway is, the further removed he gets from Lincoln Riley,

the worse as mechanics get, the worse as tempo gets. He needs to go in the off-season to Oklahoma for about six weeks and get back to Lincoln Riley camp. It is a problem. I've seen this my entire life in the NFL. Jeff Tedford, Nick Sabin, and now Lincoln Riley, where players, defensive backs under Sabin, get such great coaching.

They go to the NFL, and it's the rare instance where their NFL defensive back coach is worse than their college defensive back coach. That's why all these Alabama DBSs look unbelievable in college. 90% go to the NFL. They're never as good.

Lincoln Riley's made Jalen Hertz looked like a number one pick. He looked like a backup at Alabama. He got Kyler Murray drafted number one. He got Baker Mayfield drafted number one. The further removed from Lincoln Riley he gets, the worse he gets. Last night,

He had a couple of throws, one in the fourth quarter down the sideline. Even Freddie Kitchens shook his head. It was a easy throw for Baker Mayfield. So when you're shorter than average and slower than average, and now your strength becomes a weakness, you're one of the least accurate throwers in the league. That's a mechanic issue. That's a tempo issue.

That is a coaching issue. He is regressing, and people now have film on him. Here's the thing about Baker. He came into the NFL almost two years. years older than the other quarterbacks with almost twice the starts and with easily the best college coach of all these young quarterbacks, Donald, Lamar, Josh Allen, Josh Rosen. So he was much closer to his ceiling than the other guys. Donald's got a million miles to go.

Josh Allen's got a million miles. Baker doesn't. Because Lincoln Riley squeezed every ounce of juice out of this two-time walk-on and everybody fell in love with it. And the NFL media, like all media loves stories. well, the story has changed. He's no longer even accurate. Okay?

So let me segue to what I believe is the way to solve this. And this is not a hot take. This is the action Cleveland needs to take. I would strongly consider

trading OBJ. And there are three reasons for this. Number one, Cleveland is struggling with their identity. You're asking a rookie head coach to figure out Jarvis Landry, Callaway, Baker, Chubb, a below-average offensive line in OBJ.

Okay, they're coming up with gadget plays. They are trying so hard to take a gifted, brilliant, and sensitive wide receiver and wedge him sometimes often too much into the game plan. number two is kareem hunt a great running back arrives in cleveland by november 10th you're going to have another mouth to feed chubhunt harvey obj jalloway you got another mouth to feed november 10th and number three cleveland's offensive line is completely overwhelmed against elite pass rushes so let me ask you use andrew luck as an example and as sean watson everybody ripped houston when they made that big

trade and got Laramie Tunsell. You notice Houston last week? No sacks. Five touchdown passes. They moved off. Oh, those coveted first round picks. They solved the left tackle position. Deshawn Watson? Not sure if you noticed last week looked like the MVP. It is time to consider moving OBJ. It's not a hot take. It's the action Cleveland should take. They have a surplus of weapons. they're adding another. I believe, and by the way, if you look at O'Dell Beckham's targets this year through week five, he was targeted 11, 10, 9, 7, 6. They are struggling to figure out how to get him the ball.

Of course they are. They're a better team when they run. His targets are going down every week. By the way, Baker to O'Dell, it's not working. The completion percentage for Baker's 53% is passerating in the 60s. So they're clearly, it's not authentic, it's not organic. They're trying to force this thing to work. I never thought Odell Beckham to Cleveland long term was a solution.

I believe that Cleveland Browns have four foundational players. And when you're struggling with your identity, I mean, Joy and I talk about this in morning meetings. What is the show today? What is the identity of the show? What are the three big topics? The identity going forward for this team is Nick Chubb, Baker Mayfield, Miles Garrett, and Jarvis Landry, everything else floats. I like Denzel Ward, but you just drafted another really good corner.

I like Odell Beckham. But you know what? Landry's more dependable physically, emotionally, and Calloway is fine. Heck, they're going to get David and Joku back next year. That's another mouth to feed. These are the Brown's foundational for. This is what New England does. This is what the Saints do.

Breeze, Thomas, Alvin Kamara, and somebody we're going to have at the end of the show today, Cameron Jordan. Those are their foundational for. Everything else is expendable, movable, tradable, if they don't take the right price. Odell Beckham, it's not working. The targets are coming down. Baker's lowest passer rating is when targeting him. They got him throwing the ball.

They got the reverses, the gadget plays. By the way, do you think he's happy there? Y'all knew he wanted to end up in L.A. Instagram, he wanted to be with Tom Brady. This is not where he wanted to be, a historically losing franchise, and a rookie head coach, Freddie Kitchens and Baker Mayfield. I mean, Baker's doing the best he can, but it is time to consider, and John Dorsey, the general manager, is a Wheeler dealer.

He is a Wheeler dealer. Baker is simply not athletic enough to overcome this team's primary liability, offensive line. That was a, they can't block elite pass rushers. They can't. Go back to the foundational four. Chubb, Baker, Garrett, Landry. That's the future.

And I'm not even all in on Baker all the time. But he's the future. He's your number one pick. He's the guy that you have to make everything pivot off of. After that, everything else floats. Because they don't have an identity right now. And the reason they don't have an identity? Because they got too many mouse to feed.

In November 10th, Kareem Hunt shows up. That's another one. Next year, David and Joku. comes back, that's another one. You got to, you got to trim the playbook, trim all the fluff off this stuff, and go back to what you wake up in the morning saying, this is what we are. And November 10th, when Kareem Hunt shows up, it's got to be Nick Chubb, Kareem Hunt, ground and pound, Baker on play action, and Miles Garrett make life miserable for the quarterback we're facing. That going forward is the team.

Not a hot take. It's the action they should take. There's a big difference. All right, coming up, you saw something last night with Kyle Shanahan, and folks, we are, we are looking at somebody, you think McVeigh's special in that division? We're going to talk about that. Also, there is good news for Cleveland. Also, don't freak out in Dallas. A lot of perspective today, 45 minutes from now are herd hierarchy, and I think it's the best I've ever had. I don't, there's not a single team in here. I don't like a lot.

That's coming up. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, FS1 and the IHard Radio app. Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind. Highlights are trending, opinions are flying, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where Sports Slice comes in. I'm Timbo.

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Listen to Sports Slice on the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Sliced Life 12 in the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hardway 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 rapid. 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 keir games is we have real conversations about All healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast, Learn the Hardway. Open your free iHeartRadio app. Search Learn the Hardway and listen now. What's up, guys?

This is Clivert Taylor the 4th. And on my podcast, The Cliverts Show, I'm bringing you conversations about all kinds of stuff. Like being an internet famous referee. We're in the middle of a game. This linebacker, this linebacker walks up to me. He goes, hey, ref, my mom wants you to wave at her. What? Time out.

Quarterback on office blue with 42. Hey, Wreck, my mama want you to weigh better. What? Hey, Miss Parker. Listen to the Clifford Show on the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. The story I've told myself about love or relationships can then shape my behavior, and that can lead me to sabotage the possibility of connection. This Mental Health Awareness Month, tune into the podcast deeply well with Debbie Brown and explore the journey of healing, self-discovery, and returning to yourself.

We explore higher consciousness, emotional well-being, and the practices that help you find clarity, peace, and self-mastery in a world that can feel overwhelming. The world is becoming lonelier. We're not becoming more social and connected. We're becoming more individualized. but we actually meet people in connection. If you've been searching for a soft place to land while doing the work to become whole,

this podcast is for you to hear more. Listen to deeply well with Debbie Brown from the Black Effect Podcast Network on the Iheart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. By the way, on tucket.com, code heard, 20% off all purchases on tucket.com. GQ calls a perfection.

Shirts drop at the perfect length. Listen, there are sometimes you get advantage, is in life? Would it be an advantage if your dad was Jack Buck and you're a little boy, Joe Buck, at 8, 9, 10 years old and you're in the booth with your dad, a legendary announcer? Is that an advantage? Absolutely. Tom Brennaman and Joe Buck work at Fox. Their dads are legendary baseball broadcasters. It's an advantage that they got to sit in the booth at 9 years old. I wanted to be a broadcaster. I didn't have that. Now, Joe and Tom also deserve great respect because just because your dad's good at something doesn't mean you are. Do I think, you are? Do I think,

Bronny Jr. It's an advantage having LeBron as my dad. Not only the DNA, but LeBron's work ethic, his understanding, his IQ of the world and basketball. Yes. Now again, Michael Jordan had kids. They weren't as driven. But there are advantages in life. Sometimes

mom was in a business, dad was in a business. We get our parents' DNA. Sometimes we get their drive. So when you get the advantage of the parent and access, with drive, it gets special. It gets really special. Kyle Shanahan had Mike Shanahan. Mike Shanahan's one of the great coaches in NFL

history, top 15. Now, a lot of dads, a lot of NFL coaches had sons. Okay? Not all of them are great coaches. But Kyle Shanahan had a great coach and he is, I'm told, exceptionally smart and exceptionally driven. He has taken that dad advantage, that access advantage and he is special. Listen, San Francisco didn't have their left tackle last night, and he's a pro bowler, and they ran all over. Those are Dad's running schemes. That Zone Reed stuff, they ran all over Cleveland.

Cleveland's got a real defense. Don't kid yourself here. Cleveland's season is not over. That defense is going to keep them in games if Baker can stop throwing pecks. That running game and that defense, that's a real defense in Cleveland. But here's what you need to know about Kyle Shanahan. Matt Ryan won an MVP with him. them. Do you know what Matt Ryan's record is since Kyle Shanahan left?

Under 500. You know what Jimmy Garoppolo's record is? 10 and 2. I was told that Shanahan was in the Redskins building the same time Sean McVeigh was and Matt LaFleur, I believe. And I was talking to somebody about a month ago and they said, listen, McVeigh had charisma, a great energy, but Shanahan was the brainiac was the offensive genius. It was rain man stuff. What you watched last night, the blocking schemes, the multiple sets, the decoys. How about that like fourth and one? They brought Goodwin around. I mean, I'd never even seen that play before. This offense, McVeigh is a very, very, very good coach.

But I believe he has a system that is often reliant on a top back. I don't think Kyle Shanahan is reliant on anything. I mean, Harvard fullback. Rookie. receivers, tight ends, slots. I mean, this is not an offense with a lot of first round offensive weapons. This is a lot of second, third, fourth, and fifth round offensive weapons. And it's amazing. Listen, they were scoring points with Nate Mullins. So, I mean, it wasn't even, the offense wasn't even totally quarterback dependent.

They were moving the ball with Nate Mullins. They just couldn't stop anybody. So you are looking at it, and that NFC West, here's the best news in the world for Cleveland. You don't play in the NFC West. you're 0 and 2 against him, and you may be 0 and 3 after Seattle. The good news, Cleveland, by next week, by Sunday night, you're done playing the NFC West or at least the best teams in the NFC West. Because Kyle Shanahan, we all love McVeigh.

He's got the cheekbones and the charisma and the energy, and I like him a lot. Shanahan is the offensive genius in that division. I mean, that stuff last night, Cleveland, there were gaping holes. There were wide open, tight end plays. in the red zone right now I could be wrong on this I think San Francisco leads the NFL in like red zone efficiency

and that tells you even when it's all jammed up and all cluttered up and all you know you get into that tight space good luck stopping them that was a clinic last night on coaching San Francisco and Kansas City right now my two favorite watches in the league those Nick Mullins

did I say Nate Mullins Nick Mullins does it matter I mean He's at Applebee's today. I mean, seriously. I mean, they were scoring points with him. We're winning, but they were scoring points with him. Joy with the News.

No, no, no, no. Turn on the news. This is the Herdline News. Good news for your boy, Colin. Sam Darnold has been medically cleared to play. Yeah. And the Jets have announced that he will be the starter on Sunday at home against the Cowboys. So they did announce it?

Yes. Okay, they just did. He is back on Sunday against the Cowboys. Now, I don't know how that makes you feel about that game and how it's going to go. I am still a little hesitant because it is his first game back. Now, let's look at the bad teams in the NFL. Miami's tanking. Cincinnati doesn't have a lot of playmakers.

Washington's dysfunctional. I'll go back and say this again. The Jets are the most talented winless teams. C.J. Mosley, Jamal Adams, Leonard Williams, Quinn and Williams, Labian Bell, Robbie Anderson, Jameson, Crowder, Darnold. This is not a 2-and-14 team. This is a team that could reel off four straight wins in the league. This will be a closer game than people think.

This Jets team has elite players. Now, their corners are dreadful and they don't have a top receiver. But this is not a team without talent. No, they definitely do have talent. But what worries me is how awful their offense has looked without, Sam Darnel. Fair. Like, they should be able to do something.

Well, Gardner Minshue? Anything. Right. Like, the backup quarterback thing is not an excuse in this league when you're looking around to what's happening. Now, that said, I don't think, I think you should probably remove Teddy Bridgewater from that conversation. Right, right.

But even if you remove him. Listen, a backup quarterback is not going to win you as many games. It shouldn't be an embarrassment on television. You should be able to score a touchdown. And, yeah, occasionally. They have four in 28 quarters. That's unacceptable. So that is what worries me.

Either Sam Darnold is really that great or their offense has some major issues that need to be worked out. So the line is minus nine of the Cowboys right now, but I imagine we'll change the Sam Donald is back. But I'm still a little hesitant about how that's going to go. So Ohio State alum, Nick Bosa, did not forget.

He is petty and I like it. He did not appreciate Baker-Mayfield planning the Oklahoma flag on their field back in college when they had that big win. So Bosa landed a big sack on Baker last night and recreated his infamous move as a celebration and again with the 49ers flag

after the team had won. So he wasn't quite finished. He had to do it during the game and give a little extra sauce afterwards. Boy, the way, he is good. He was incredible last night. And after the game, he said that the celebration was his form of payback.

I think everybody knows what that was for. Just wanted to get payback. He had it coming. Me and my buddy Sam, who plays with the Bengals. He played DN with me that year. And I told him I was going to do it. And then he was like, hey, I was going to do it when we play them. But I'm glad I'm glad.

I mean, I'm glad we won and we dominated. First of all, I'm going to say something and tell me if I'm wrong. Nick Bosa is faster than Baker Mayfield. Yeah. No, you're not wrong. Okay. So stop telling me Baker so athletic. Godlebes on. Doug Gottlieb's athletic.

Baker Mayfield ran a 4-8-440. In high school, I run a 4-7, and I'm a stick. Like, stop telling me that Nick Bosa was significantly faster than Baker. I don't think that that's fair to compare Nick Bosa's athleticism to Baker Mayfield. They played a completely different position. I mean, people don't describe Tom Brady as athletic, but he's the best quarterback to ever play the position. I think different positions require different levels of athleticism. That said, I think that Baker's style is lending to someone who would need to be more athletic than he is.

So it's showing more that Baker isn't athletic. You're not going to outrun Nick Bosa. You're not going to do it. So even the most athletic quarterback is going to have trouble with someone with the level of skill and speed that Nick Bosa is. I don't think that's an indictment of Baker necessarily. It means that Baker shouldn't be playing a form of quarterback that requires you to outrun Nick Bosa because that's what happens. Yeah, I mean, listen, these linemen, these, Miles Garrett and Nick Bosa, I don't, they're incredible. They didn't make, the Lawrence Taylor was the first, but like these guys now are running four sixes and they're like 280.

No, they are specimens. So just let them do what they do and beat them another way. Finally, the Cowboys suffered a tough loss against the Packers on Sunday, but the poor performance has apparently not put Jason Garrett in the hot seat. Jerry Jones was asked about Garrett's status this morning and confirmed his job is not in jeopardy. Jason Garrett has the second best odds of being let go within the season. Would you like to dispel that possibility? Well, yes. Dispel it, yes.

Don't bet any money against that happening. You'll lose it. So, Jerry, being very clear, Jason Garrett's not going anywhere. I mean, I really feel like everyone is grossly overreacting to that loss. It was a bad loss for sure. I don't think it's an indictment of Dak Prescott's entire career, nor do I think that Jason Garrett should be on the hot seat and everything is over for the Cowboys.

They're three and two and an eight-point favorite Sunday. They're going to be four and two. Their offensive line is a disaster right now. Yeah. So that's the part. That's the thing. Like their entire offense runs through Zeke and Dak needs protection

and their offensive line is completely battered right now. So talk about Jason Garrett being in the hot seat and it's the end. It's gloom and doom for the Cowboys Day. Everyone just needs to relax. It's Aaron Rogers. He has a great defense. He's comfortable playing there.

I really think everyone is overreacting to that loss. Yeah. Well, that's essentially the five teams in the NFL that two weeks ago had bad, embarrassing Sundays, went five and all this week. Like, basically, that's how I do my blazing five. Who will we overreact? Now, by the way, this morning, everybody's going to bail on Cleveland. So watch Cleveland come back at home, humiliated and play great. They'll play great against Seattle.

Mark it down. Joy with the news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The Hurd-Ly News. Doug Gottlieb show, Fox Sports Radio, right after mine. Podcast all ball with Doug Gottlieb on iTunes, doing very, very well. So I said this earlier today, and this is very, very rare, but it does happen.

You have friends who are GMs in the league, I do. There are the rare, brilliant college coaches. Sabin could coach at any level, Lincoln Riley, that you have a great college coach. And the rule is generally you go from Clay Helton to. You know, your college coach, to an NFL coach, get better coaching. And then they're saving with DVs and Lincoln Riley with quarterbacks. It looks like to me the further Baker gets away from right now, America's college coaching offensive genius, Lincoln Riley,

he's gone from 64 to 56, his mechanics aren't as good. Doug, no reasonable person could watch Baker last year and not say, man, he is accurate. He's no longer accurate. Yeah, well, there's a bunch of things to unpack. here. Let's start with, please tell me that you bet on the San Francisco 49ers last night. This was the easiest bet that Vegas has maybe ever had. Niners had last week off. They haven't played anybody. Healthyest they've ever been. Nick Bosa just now, he got the first three games to

kind of get his motor going. And now he looks like the guy who should have been the number one overall pick in the NFL draft. And you got Jimmy Garoppolo back kind of getting his confidence. But more than anything, like the story of this week, the story of week five is with all the talk of quarterbacks and throwing the ball around, the best defense is to not play defense, is to run the football and win time of possession. Green Bay, 37 minutes. Colts, 37

minutes. And of course, the bludgeoning last night in Santa Clara, 37 minutes of offense. Run the football. Run the football. And look, you have to have a good offensive line, but it's, by the way, how the Browns beat the Ravens. Now, they were unable to run the ball, but you're

right in terms of coaching. But the first thing is, you've got a team coming off a rivalry game, against the Ravens where they went all in and travel, have to travel across the country, against the Niners who are fresh, rested, trying to prove themselves, and they had an extra week and an extra date of a pair. Of course, this was a mismatch. Now, in terms of coaching, yeah, this is what you get. You get a guy who never called plays until mid-year last year against Kyle Shanan,

who's been bred for this, right? Like 12 years of brilliance in the coaching. It's not just that, but he was essentially a coach as a wide receiver when he was at Texas, you know, playing football there. This is what kind of he was born to do. And think of the wellspring of football brilliance that was in D.C. when he was there, right? Like, go back and look at that group, the McVays. They're all there.

They're all going and winning elsewhere with kind of a similar system. So, yes, I thought Kyle Shanahan showed himself to be an incredible play caller. I also thought their defense was excellent. And I agree with you. I think that the thing about Baker Mayfield is we raved about his intangibles. But you do have to have tangibles. Like let's like you have to everybody We have to have the

You have to have the leadership He has that Okay, you have to have the moxie He has that But there is a reason That he was a walk on twice Right? There was a reason that Oklahoma

Would get the first time They got to the college ball Playoff and he forced the ball a bunch Because he he isn't one of these Six foot four, six foot five Stand back in the back of the pocket And throw it He can't see over

You know, over his offensive linemen He's not as athletic enough To get his feed set He's not Russell Will People are like, well, he's a poor man's Russell Wilson. He's a broke man's Russell Wilson. But I also think he's hurt by the fact that they don't have a great coaching staff. They're not running the football consistently.

And they have the egos to feed the ball to wide receivers. And the whole thing is a smoldering mess right now. And they got exposed last night. Okay, so I said, I think we would both agree on this. Any business, basketball teams you played on, your Oklahoma State teams, you have to have sort of a foundation. What are we? Yeah. We always know what New England is.

Right? Like, there's a lot of talent, but that's why it's very dangerous sometimes, bringing in a lot of free agents, because they have demands. You can't meet them. New England does that sparingly. To me, the Brown's foundational four are Nick Chubb, Baker, Miles Jarvis. I said this morning, they have an offensive line, which is now a liability against elite pass rushers. We saw it last year with the Chargers. We saw it last night. I would consider moving OBJ. November 10, Kareem Hunt comes in. year and Joko is back. You got to solve that online, Doug. OBJ. They're trying to do. What are you going to get for O'Dell Beckham Jr.? An offensive lineman? That's a starter? Maybe. Maybe, but again, you have to unload that

contract. Somebody has to be willing to take it. Look, let me just say this. I know the Jersey Exchange thing happens. I get the jersey swap thing. It started in soccer. Yeah. And apparently Adrian Peterson went up to Tom Brady. And Tom Brady is like, yeah, I'll send it to you, whatever. But the idea that Odell Beckham Jr.

would play that poorly, right? A couple drops, two catches, fumble in the fourth quarter in the punt return, and then stand out and take pictures with the dude changing jerseys when you get beat 31 to 3. Like, the balls on that guy. What are you doing?

You get beat 3 on national TV. You run your butt in the locker room. You change the shower. You answer questions. You get on the plane. You fly home. I'm like, I'm not super old school back when we were in high school.

No music on the bus. Nobody talks on the bus when you get beat. But there's a certain responsibility it if you want to be a leader, if you're about winning. You don't just stand out there all smile. You just got embarrassed on national TV. Like, what are you doing? I would only caution you on the Jarvis Landry thing this.

And I know Joy, you can speak to this. Like, look, Miami couldn't wait to get rid of him. I don't think he's the problem that OBJ is, but he's not necessarily the solution that you think he is. When Miami tried to change their culture two years ago, they let Indomaconsu go and they wanted to get rid of Jarvis Landry. So the idea that he's the solution, I'm not buying. They have offensive line issues.

They don't have a culture in place. They don't have a head coach that can discipline them. And they don't know who they are or what they are. The good news is the Browns have an incredibly soft back end of their schedule. And Pittsburgh's running out a rookie third string quarterback. They play the dolphins. The Bengals are one of the worst teams in the history of football along with the Bengals. There's some wins out there, but they've got to fix it and fix it fast.

Doug Gottlieb after me, Fox Sports Radio. In fact, I'm going to take a break here, Doug, because I do want to address something. You know, we've always talked about you and I talk about this. It's about getting it right, not being right. And I like Dak, but I paused Sunday. I paused and went, all right, that $35 million, maybe down to $26. I want to ask you about Dallas and Dak because I found a trend here that would really bother me if I was into analytics. And I think both of us at least acknowledge they matter in football.

Doug Gottlieb coming back, top of the hour, heard hierarchy, Peter King today, Trent Dillfer, Reggie Bush, Cameron Jordan, of the Saints. Boy, was I wrong on the Saints. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific. On Fox Sports Radio, FS1 and the I-Hard Radio app. Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the Internet lost its mind. Highlights are trending, opinions are flying,

and nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where Sports Slice comes in. I'm Timbo. Every episode, we're cutting through the noise. Breaking down the plays, the controversies, and the stories behind the headlines. We go straight to the source, the athlete themselves. Their locker room stories, their reactions, the stuff nobody gets to hear.

The laughs, the drama, the triumphs, the moments that never make the highlight real. From viral moments to historic games, from buzzer beaters to controversial calls, we break it down, give you context, and ask the questions everybody wants answered. Sports Slice brings you closer to the action with stories told by the people who live them. Listen to Sports Slice on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Slic Life 12 in the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hard Way with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Kear Games.

And in recognition of mental health awareness month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience in the mental health field and conversations with so many incredible guests. I'm talking, Tripp Fontaine, Ryan Clark. Sometimes when we're in the pursuit of the thing, we get so wrapped up in the chase that we don't realize that we are in possession of the thing. And we're still chasing it. And we don't know when we've done enough. Because people scoreboard watch.

Life becomes about wins and losses. Steve Burns, Dustin Ross, because you find it important to be a good person while you hear on Earth? Are you a good person because you're afraid? Because that's two different intentions, bro. Absolutely. And that's two different levels of trust. I want you to just really be a good person.

Join me, Kear Gaines, as we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast. Learn the Hardway. Open your free iHeartRadio app. Search Learn the Hardway and listen now. What's up, guys? This is Clivert Taylor the 4th.

And on my podcast, The Cliverts show, I'm bringing you conversations about all kinds of stuff. Like being an internet famous referee. We're in the middle of a game. This linebacker, this linebacker walks up to me. He goes, hey, ref, my mom wants you to wave at her. What?

Time out. Quarterback on office blue 42. Hey, ref. My mom won't want you. to weigh better. What? Hey, Ms. Parker. Listen to the Cliverts show on the I Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. The story I've told myself about love or relationships can then shape my behavior, and that can

lead me to sabotage the possibility of connection. This Mental Health Awareness Month, tune into the podcast deeply well with Debbie Brown and explore the journey of healing, self-discovery, and returning to yourself. We explore higher consciousness, emotional well-being, and the practices that help you find clarity, peace, and self-mastery in a world that can feel overwhelming. The world is becoming lonelier. We're not becoming more social and connected. We're becoming more individualized, but we actually meet people in connection.

If you've been searching for a soft place to land while doing the work to become whole. This podcast is for you to hear more. Listen to deeply well with Debbie Brown from the Black Effect Podcast Network on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. All right, welcome back. Don't be the guy in the room with a long, sloppy looking untucked shirt, untucket.com. Code heard 20% off on tuckett.com. Doug Gottlieb joining us, Doug Gottlieb show Fox Sports Radio after ours. All right, so, you know, one of my theories in the world is don't, don't try to be right, get it right. It's okay to acknowledge. Wow, I made a mistake on that. That's why we do calling right, calling wrong.

I have been, first of all, I was a doubter on DAC for a long time. Then he got Amari Cooper. I'm like, okay, seven and one, he looks pretty good. And even this year, I'm like, I'd pay him. But you watch him next, Darren Rogers, and you're like, wow, the gap. And by the way, Dax got the better old line. Dax got the more established running game. And that's like a gap.

And then I looked at this, Doug, of the last 12 losses for Dallas, this is what's scary. These aren't like true analytics, but 11 of the 12 are the same game. The offense is inept, scoring zero points, 14, 9, 6, 8, 12. Like, there's ways to lose. Like when Kansas City lost to the Rams last year, you're like, that's a firework show. It happened. You're on the road. It was going to be in Mexico, then in L.A.

Or the Rams lost to Seattle. You're like, that's pretty good team. Buffalo loses to New England. Did you pause it all on DAC after that game? I was never leading the charge on DAC like you were. I wasn't just handing out money the way you were. On Santa Claus. He's Draymond Green to this team, right?

He's Draymond Green. When in his role, he's a superstar role player. But if his role is expanded to carry the team when Tyron Smith is out, right, or they're not able to run the football and you've got to go win us a game. That's not who he is. That's not how the thing is designed. They're designed to run the football, get an extra guy in the box. You know, they had to bring back Jason Witten.

They had to trade for Mari Cooper. They had to make all of these moves to make it right for him. Now, the perfect example is Aaron Rogers, right? Like people are, and I saw last week you pointed out Aaron Rogers' recent record, you did kind of quietly forget about the fact that the first decade of him starting in the league, he's winning 10 and 11 games every year with nominal surrounding talent, right? I mean, Aaron Rogers can just win you a game on his own. own and Dak Prescott can't.

And it's a lot like we'll see Draymond this year with the Golden State Warriors, right? If he's your fifth best offensive player. You can win titles. Absolutely. He can guard any position. He does all the little things. He'll get into a verbal tussle and a physical tussle with a guy trying to rattle the other team's best player. But if you give him the ball and say, hey, dude, we need you to win us a game.

Like, no, no, no, that's not what Draymond does. Same thing with Dak Prescott. If you give him time like you did the first, think about who they played the first three weeks. Yeah. Right? The Giants are embarrassingly bad on defense. bad. Right? And that's when they were starting Eli and had no offense. The Washington Redskins are so good, they fired, they fired their head coach.

They're 31st in defense. And they play Miami Dolphins. Everybody looks good against the dolphins. That's fair. Right? So now the reality has struck. And I think we realize he's a good player. And if you're the Dallas Cowboys, you've always had this ability in negotiation and say, look, if you don't like our deal, it's fine. We'll just franchise tag you next year. And you'll make in the mid-20s guaranteed. But I- That's not a terrible move right now, Doug. No, it's a very reasonable move. In Dallas, no state taxed 27 millions. It's a lot of money.

Time is very, very much on their side. And I think DAC is exactly who I thought he was. I don't think he's a bad quarterback. I don't think he's a great quarterback. I think he's in middle of the road and he's good enough to win with if you put stars around him. The other story of that thing was the defense got dominated at the point of attack, and we shouldn't put all of the blame on deck. Yeah, that's fair.

I got two other things. I got to talk about the Raiders. Listen, I was wrong. Noise, cryofeat, A.B. Helmet. A GM was a TV guy. And I'm like, they're a lame duck. They're playing in Winnipeg. They're playing in London.

I thought they would get crushed in London. I watched the first hour of that game, and I'm like, I don't, my, I have to revisit everything in my life. I don't even understand what's happening. Was I just that wrong? Is this going to work? Well, a couple things here. Let's also remember they've gotten better since they've gotten rid of. AB, addition by subtraction.

Right, right, right. Secondly, last year I told you, and when I host the show, I said they're chapter 11ing, they're reorganizing, their commitment to excrement for a year in order to get better long term. Let's also remember, they're in the midst of arguably the most difficult five-game stretch in the history of the national football

league. They play four road games. The home game was the one they played against the Bears in London. Right. So, yeah, they got beat by Minnesota, but then they go out and they, what, they beat the Colts? And now they get a week off, and they got to go to Green Bay. Like, they have a ridiculous, so they're not just doing it.

They're doing it under really difficult circumstances where they're lame duck at home, ridiculous travel, Antonio Brown, no, no, Vontes Perfect as well. We always knew Gruden, unlike a lot of coaches, Joe Gibbs went to NASCAR. John was in film rooms. Look, he's a football guy. And I don't know whether it's us in the media, jealous of the fact that he got Monday night football, then he got a 10-year, $100 million deal. I don't know what it is.

But he was a good coach in Tampa where he had a turnstile at quarterback and it fell apart. But he did the last time the Raiders were good, he was there. The last time Tampa was good, right? He took over for Tony Dungee, who built a great culture, but he was there. So he's a great football guy. The question was, with all those draft picks, could they put together the right personnel? Let's also remember in terms of being a football guy, the big thing he's done, he's running the football with Josh Jacobs. Yes.

And he's having Derek Carr get rid of the football. I don't know if you saw this at 2.52 seconds. It's the fourth quickest anybody's getting rid of the football. John Gruden watched the New England Patriot and said, what's the magic to Tom Brady? He gets rid of it so quick. And so they've redesigned and retinkered with his offense to get rid of the football. And he's rebuilt his offensive line as well. All of these things are what happens when you sit there and you cover football.

You go into all these meetings before Monday night football. You take copious notes. You run your football academy. And you think, if I ever get a shot to completely rebuild it, I need the longest contract. everybody's got and I need time and here's how I'm going to build it and he's doing a very nice job. You know, I'm just going to say yesterday and I sometimes people think I'm anti Aaron Rogers. I'm not, but he did. A little bit.

A little bit. A little bit. Noticable. Okay. Okay. But he's the best looking guy in the world right. He's got a hundred million. He's happy with a girlfriend.

He won. The coach is out. Yeah. He wins. He looks amazing. He's so. good. And then after the game, he got punched down on Mike McCarthy play the bite. I just think we're just a more connected team this year. We're enjoying each other more.

We like each other. I think a little more. We hang out with each other. The locker room is a raucous environment, whether it's a, you know, a Monday or whether it's right after a big win. I just think guys really really play for each other more. And we have that chemistry that because of the leadership that we have that maybe we've been lacking in the last couple years. I'm not going to comment, Doug, but it seemed fairly obvious who that was directed at. Really?

Yeah, I mean, like, look, obviously that's Aaron being Aaron, right? That's who he is. But remember, last year they changed GMs. They kicked Ted Thompson upstairs and Brian Gunnick came in. Last year they had a lame duck head coach, and it was a me or him. And I also think that's a pat on the back

because he got the new contract and he's kind of the leader of this thing. So people see it his way. But yeah, this is Aaron being Aaron. Like that's who he is. It's the opposite of Tom Brady who could not give any more praise for any former player more. You name that Malcolm Butlerlies, man, he was a great teammate. They caught Benjamin Watson yesterday. God, I'm going to miss him, right?

I'm going to miss him. What do you say today? 10 times better person than a player and he's already a great player. Like that's Tom Brady. Did you hear what Brady said to Dwayne Haskins? Dwayne Haskins came up to him after the game, the Washington game, and Tom went up to him and said, man, you guys always beat us in college. I mean, he's literally like Ohio State's awesome.

Dwayne Haskins. Like, Brady, that's just his DNA. It's always like, you know, never punched down. Yeah, let me give me a quick Dwayne Haskins thing with the rest. 30 seconds go. Okay. They named Bill Callahan, the interim head coach. Right, right, right.

Last time he replaced the Gurd and they went to the Super Bowl and got embarrassed. But, but, but, and we know what he did has been Nebraska football. But Bill Callahan said that Dwayne Haskins is not a can't. to be the starting quarterback. I know, and not a candidate. That is not a good sign if you drafted this guy in the first round. Listen, Urban Meyer came on the show and said, I love him. He's not ready to play in the NFL.

But he also hasn't shown the work ethic in D.C. to truly buy in. That's the part that no one's saying out loud. By the way, that is getting out now. All right, Doug Gottlieb, Fox Sports Radio after our show. Heard hierarchy next. One more, Hurd? The herd streams 24 hours a day, seven days a week, within the iHeart radio app.

Search her to listen live or on demand whenever you'd like. Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind. Highlights are trending, opinions are flying, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where Sports Slice comes in. I'm Timbo. Every episode,

we're cutting through the noise. Breaking down the plays, the controversies, and the stories behind the headlines. We go straight to the source, the athlete themselves, their locker room stories, their reactions, the stuff nobody gets to hear. The last laughs, the drama, the triumphs, the moments that never make the highlight real. From viral moments to historic games, from buzzer beaters to controversial calls, we break it down,

give you context, and ask the questions everybody wants answered. Sports Slice brings you closer to the action with stories told by the people who live them. Listen to Sports Slice on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Slic Life 12 in the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hardway with me. your host and your favorite therapist, Kear Games. And in recognition of Mental Health Awareness Month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience in the mental health field

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

Life becomes about wins and losses. Steve Burns, Dustin Ross, because you find it important to be a good person while you hear on earth? Are you a good person because you're afraid? Because that's two different intentions, bro. Absolutely. And that's two different levels of trust. I want you to just really be a good person. Join me, Kear Gaines, is we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose.

On my new podcast, Learn the Hardway. Open your free iHeartRadio app. Search Learn the Hardway and listen now. What's up, guys? This is Clever Taylor the Fourth. And on my podcast, The Clifford Show, I'm bringing you conversations about all kinds of stuff. Like being an internet famous referee. We're in the middle of a game.

This linebacker, this linebacker walks up to me. He goes, hey, ref, my mom wants you to wave at her. What? Quarterback on office blue of 42. Hey, rep, my mama want you to wave at her. What? Hey, Miss Parker. Listen to the Clifford Show on the IHeart Radio app.

Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcast. The story I've told myself about love or relationships can then shape my behavior. And that can lead me to sabotage the possibility of connection. This Mental Health Awareness Month, tune into the podcast deeply well with Debbie Brown and explore the journey of healing, self-discovery, and returning to yourself. We explore higher consciousness, emotional well-being, and the practices that help you find clarity, peace, and self-mastery in a world that can feel overwhelming. The world is becoming lonelier.

We're not becoming more social and connected. We're becoming more individualized, but we actually meet people in connection. If you've been searching for a soft place to land while doing the work to become whole, this podcast is for you to hear more. 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. Oh, here we go. It is a Tuesday, second hour live in L.A., this is the herd.

Wherever you may be and however you may be listening, we're on iHeart Radio, Fox Sports Radio, and FS1, Heard hierarchy in two minutes. Joy Taylor is joining me. We have Trent Bill for this hour. Peter King, we're packed. By the way, I know you think, Colin, you're just hammering on the Cleveland Browns. Coming up, I'll tell you two great things, not good, two great things the Cleveland Browns have going for them. I'm not cynical.

I'm not sarcastic. There are two things about the Cleveland Browns that they have going for them, and you'll see them both potentially this week. These are good things for Cleveland. Joy, how are you? I'm doing good. As I said, at the beginning of the show, I'm doing better than Browns fans this morning. It was not good. 31 to 3.

And for the record, could have been worse. I mean, they couldn't hit a field goal. It could have been 41-3. If Cleveland's defense wasn't really good, that game was over in eight minutes. Because Baker had too quick turnover. It felt like it was over in eight minutes anyway. Yeah. After the first quarter, it really did not feel like that was going to turn around for them.

All right. Here we go. The top 10 teams in the NFL, I don't think I've ever had a top 10 where every team in this top 10 absolutely deserves to be there. It just shows you the parody and the depth of players in the NFL. Here we go. Heard hierarchy. Time is now. Let's go.

The top 10 NFL teams, according to college. Number 10. Carolina Panthers, once again, Ron Rivera, one of the smartest defensive coaches in the league, their second and sacks, fourth and past defense, eighth overall. So this is what they give Cam every year. By the way, Christian McCaffrey leads the NFL in rushing

in scrimmage yards. Kyle Allen's the only quarterback in the Super Bowl era to go 4-0 with no interceptions in his four starts. Been saying it for years. They're well-coached. They always have top 10 defenses, and they've got plenty of talent. Stop telling me, Cam Newton doesn't have help. This is a top 8 to 10 roster and a top 7 or 8 defense with the NFL's leading rusher, Carolina, at 10. Number 9.

Buffalo Bills are the best defense in the NFL. Not New England. New England's played junk offenses. Buffalo had to face Tom Brady. This defense is unbelievable. Third in scoring, third in past defense, third down in total defense. But what is remarkable about Buffalo? And there are limitations to their offensive explosion.

They have scored 10 touchdowns in 14 red zone trips. With Josh Allen? I mean, Josh Allen has got a big ceiling, but he's not close to where he could be. That is coaching. Cleveland's got all this talent. They're a lousy red zone offense. Buffalo to have near the talent, they're a great red zone offense. This is a coaching league.

Buffalo, that coaching staff, this is the best defense in the league. Maybe not statistically, but it's the best defense in the league, Buffalo 9. Number eight. You're going to be shocked Kansas City. They can't stop the run. They can't stop the run. They're 30th in rush defense. They're 25th in total defense.

bottom line is you cannot win a Super Bowl with this defense. Now, this morning, they're number eight for another reason. The defense and nobody's healthy. You're asking me this morning who's the top four or five teams in the league? They're not healthy enough. They just got dogged at home by Indianapolis, who didn't have Darius Leonard, Malik, Hooker, and Air, Andrew Locke. So they're going to move up.

But right now, physically and defensively, this is not a great team, Kansas City, at 8. Number seven. Rams at seven. Now, one of the problems with the Rams, Sean McVeigh teams don't turn it over, this team's a turnover mess. They have 11 that's tied for the most in the NFL.

But I don't think a lot of that's random. Fumbles are random. I don't think they'll lead the NFL in turnovers in three weeks. So I think that is solvable. What is not solvable is they're allowing 27 points a game. Their secondary Marcus Peters has been roasted multiple times to keep to leave. That worries me.

Listen, they don't have a running game right now. That's a problem. But I think a lot of their stuff is solvable. I still think Marcus Peters and Akim to leave are talented. I don't think there'll be a turnover machine the rest of the year. But I can't put them higher than seven because they don't have a running game. Number six. Seattle.

Now, you'd think they'd be higher, but they could have lost that game to the Rams if the ball's one foot left. That defense is about coaching and Pete Carroll. Because that defense has one star. It is a total work in progress, and yet they're six in the NFL and third down defense and fourth in rushing. That is a testament. Now, Janavian Clowny helps, but that is a testament to what Pete Carroll does. He is a great teacher of defensive principles. Russell Wilson is the MVP.

But again, I think right now the story is Pete Carroll's coaching this defense could get better. They're not there yet. I think they'll be really tested in Cleveland this week. and I have Seattle at 6. Number 5. Green Bay. The story is Aaron Rogers, now as the coach he likes, here's the other thing. They lead the NFL and takeaways with 11. Now, they got gashed by Philadelphia, but that's because it was mostly,

they just ran the ball and didn't give Green Bay a chance to take it away. It's a good team. It's a good football team. They've had one bad half. Their defense was hemorrhaging yards, second half against Philadelphia. First half it wasn't that bad. So I look at Green Bay and I think I've got almost every component I need. Again, their turnover differentials plus seven.

So they're taking it away and they're not giving it back. And I get Aaron Rogers, who does appear to be happier. He tends to have moods. He does appear to be on the upswing with his mood. And by the way, they've also scored more points every week, Joey. 10, 21, 27, 2734. So this is a growing offense. Number four.

Philadelphia. My final four teams are always my favorites to win the Super Bowl. They have had all sorts of injuries. They have no deep threat, left tackle, and they are second on third down offense. That is a huge stat for me. That's about coaching. That's about push. That's about execution.

This is one of the two best teams in the league on third down of getting first downs. They're also, by the way, the best run defense in the league. So you don't get first downs. So what Philadelphia does is get you off the field on third down, and they extend their opportunities on third down. They've been in a lot of close games. They've dealt with a lot of injuries. But I thought last week was a little bit of a deep breath they needed. Didn't have to play the starters as long.

Philadelphia, to me, OD lines will carry them to the NFC championship. Number three. New Orleans Saints. Folks, when you can win three straight games with a backup, and the games are actually. at Seattle, Dallas, and against a pretty dynamic Tampa Bay team, your good football team. Twice this year. And we're going to have Cameron Jordan on later twice this year. They've had six plus sacks in the game.

I really undervalued their defense. Their defense has been really, really good. Remember, they're a bad whistle away from being undefeated against the Rams. They're a bad whistle away. So they've been kind of the surprise in the NFL for me. their defense is, I think, sensational. And Teddy Bridgewater is a starter, but he's also currently the best backup by far in the NFL.

Number two. What do you want me to say with San Francisco? What do I not like? I think their coach is a genius. I think Garoppolo's 10 and 2 is a starter. They didn't even have their left tackle last night, and they gashed, gashed Cleveland's defense. their number two in total defense.

Bosa's a nightmare. I got to tell you, John Lynch, the GM, a lot of those draft picks now look really, really good. They didn't even play a lot of their young receivers last night. They have super depth, super depth on the defensive line and wide receiver.

Their defense has only allowed two touchdowns in 10 red zone drives. And why is that? You saw it last night. It is fast. It is physical. It is long. Richard Sherman on the outside.

This is a real team. folks, this is not a mirage. This is a real team. I'm not overreacting. Cleveland could have lost last night, 41 to 3. Cleveland is only a one-point underdog to Seattle. That tells you a little bit about what San Francisco's got athletically. Number one. Best coach in football is Bill Belichick. They have the best secondary I think I've seen in my life. It's not the best defense Buffalo is. They've played a bunch of bad offenses. But this is. is kind of New England. Last week, they found their running game. Now, maybe that's Washington, but I've got Brady Belichick. They found a running game. Now, they're not a dominant number one.

I wouldn't, I don't think they could go to New Orleans and win. I don't think they could go to Lambo right now or Philadelphia in win. The offensive lines of work in progress, and the wide receiver situation is, I mean, they're making it work, but they've got a guy and I are. For the record, Gronk just signed with Fox Sports I read this morning. So, he's not coming back. He's working here. So they better figure out the tight end spot as well. But New England right now is number one.

All right, coming up. Yeah, Gronk Sunday. I just wrote that this morning. Gronk works for us now. Part of the family. I actually don't disagree with your hierarchy for once. Now I have Houston at 11, Minnesota 12. I'm cool with that.

I like that, actually. Yeah. Houston's right outside. My knock on Houston is every time I buy into him. Yeah, I want to see a little more. I mean, I like Houston this year, but I would want to see a little more. Yeah, pretty good right there. I don't think I'm overreacting to San Francisco.

What's going to stick out to everyone is Kansas City, but the reasoning for it is fair. They have nine starters. This morning? There's a lot of injuries. It's a real problem. This morning, they're not a great team. This morning, they're a beat-up team that can't stop the run.

The run thing is what worries me the most, though, because you can move around some pieces and get healthy. The run thing is a real problem. Coming up next, two actual great pieces of news for Cleveland. Like, they're actually great pieces of news. Plus, Peter King's around the corner, don't go anywhere. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific. Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind. Highlights are trending, opinions are flying, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened.

That's where Sports Slice comes in. I'm Timbo. Every episode, we're cutting through the noise, breaking down the plays, the controversies, and the stories behind the headlines. We go straight to the source, the athlete themselves, Their locker room stories, their reactions, the stuff nobody gets to hear. The laughs, the drama, the triumphs, the moments that never make the highlight real. From viral moments to historic games, from buzzer beaters to controversial calls, we break it down, give you context, and ask the questions everybody wants answered. Sports Slice brings you closer to the action with stories told by the people who live them.

Listen to Sports Slice on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Slicelife Life 12 in the TikTok podcast. network on TikTok. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hardway 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's two different levels of trust. I want you to just really be a good person. Join me, Kear Gaines, as we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast, learn the hard way. Open your free, our heart radio app,

Search learn the hard way and listen now. What's up, guys? This is Clever Taylor the 4th. And on my podcast, The Cliverts Show, I'm bringing you conversations about all kinds of stuff, like being an internet famous referee. We're in the middle of a game. This linebacker walks up to me, he goes,

Hey, ref, my mom wants you to wave at her. What? Time out. Quarterback on office blue with 42. A rep, my mama want you to wave at her. What? Hey, Ms. Parker. Listen to the Clippers show on the IHeart Radio app,

Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. The story I've told myself about love or relationships can then shape my behavior, and that can lead me to sabotage the possibility of connection. This Mental Health Awareness Month, tune into the podcast deeply well with Debbie Brown and explore the journey of healing, self-discovery, and returning to yourself.

We explore higher consciousness, emotional well-being, and the practices that help you find clarity, peace, and self-mastery in a world that can feel overwhelming. The world is becoming lonelier. We're not becoming more social and connected. We're becoming more individualized,

but we actually meet people in connection. If you've been searching for a soft place to land while doing the work to become whole, this podcast is for you to hear more. Listen to deeply well with Debbie Brown from the Black Effect Podcast Network on the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. The American League Division Series between the Astros and Rays continues tonight with game four. Houston is up two games to one as they look to clinch on the road. Coverage begins at 6 Eastern on FS1 and the Fox Sports app.

Astros win the World Series. Good starting pitching. By the way, Dodgers now back home game five. Walker Bueur will throw against Strasbourg. That's going to be a great game five at Dodger Stadium. Before I get to Peter King, let's just not hammer on Cleveland. Two great things going for Cleveland. I predicted 9 and 7.

I think they're going to end 8 and 8, 9 and 7. Let's start with this. The first good news. The Las Vegas line, Fox Bet this morning, has Cleveland plus 1. What does that mean? Vegas is begging you, begging you to take Seattle. Because Cleveland looks so bad on TV and Seattle looks so great on TV, all the masses are going to take Seattle,

Cleveland is the bet of the week. 95% of the bets will be on the Seahawks. Vegas is begging you to take them. Cleveland will come back and play well. That is what they call in Vegas a trap game. Bet Cleveland. Number two is the AFC North is awful. Cincinnati's awful.

Pittsburgh's 1 and 4 and a third string quarterback and Baltimore can't pass. Here's how bad the division is. They have six total wins. But that's not the worst of it. They're 3 and 11 outside of their division and the three wins by the AFC North outside of their division are the Jets, Miami, and Arizona. It is a terrible division as of this morning.

I think Cleveland's fine. Listen, the NFC West is so good that either Kyle Shanahan, Pete Carroll, or Sean McVeigh, one of those three won't make to the playoffs. The NFC North is so good, nobody has a losing record. AFC North is a mess. And the other thing, go look at Cleveland's record today. two and three, I think last night was the low point. I think they're going to go, I think they're going to beat Seattle, beat Denver,

beat Pittsburgh the first time they plan, beat Miami, beat Cincinnati twice, and beat Arizona. I don't think they're going to beat New England. I don't think they'll beat Buffalo, my opinion, the best defense in the league. I don't think they'll beat Pittsburgh twice in three weeks. And I think Baltimore, as I predicted before the season, is going to be in a bad mood after being humiliated. And they're going to go to Cleveland. and they're going to beat him. But you know what that turns out to be?

9 and 7, which is what I predicted. The sky is that this is not panic, although there are issues here, and let's address them via the Coward Global Satellite Network with peter King, NBCSports.com. Here's the one thing Peter that jumps out to me, is that Baker Mayfield, you could not watch him last year and not say this.

Wow, he is shockingly accurate. Peter, he's now at 56%. And he doesn't have the athletic ability that when he's struggling with accuracy to carry him. Last night he was high. He was wild. I worry that the further he gets removed from Lincoln Riley, the mechanics are getting worse. Something's going on because he was deadly accurate last year. Mistake prone, but accurate.

My eyes are telling me, Peter, he is regressing with accuracy. What do your eyes tell you? That feels like real issue to me. I thought that he was very off last night, particularly, even on the throw to Calloway that, you know, that's probably caught, what, four out of ten times, maybe five. I mean, everybody's saying, oh, that that was an easy catch for Calloway. It wasn't. It was a horrible throw, and Calloway babbled it, and it got intercepted, and it was a disaster. but, you know, Calloway, Calloway had a tough catch to make and didn't make it.

I blame that a lot more on Mayfield than I do on Calloway. That's one thing. The second thing is, Colin, I think he's struggling massively because he has very little help right now from his offensive line. That is a bad offensive line. And any time a quarterback who obviously, you know, is still adjusting to so many things, on this offense. Odell Beckham.

He's thinking in the back of his head, get it to Odell, get it to Odell. Odell's had two catches, two weeks in a row. That's not going to go well if it continues. I mean, I just think there are just a lot of little things going on right now

that when he had the great wall of China blocking for him in Norman, Oklahoma, he never had these issues. Yeah. And last year, and last year in the last seven or eight games, when it was being game planned to protect him,

basically and to let them make plays, but don't put them out there to win games by himself, it was a much better way. Plus, they had Zeitler last year. So I just, you know, I think, I think there's a bunch of things happening here, Colin. I suggested this, and I will probably suggest it more than once, is that November 10th, Kareem Hunt comes back. So I'm going to have Nick Chubb and Jarvis Landry and Kareem Hunt and Odell Becker. and next year, David and Joku, that is asking Freddie Kitchen and Baker Mayfield to feed a lot of mouths.

I would consider, because I think the Browns foundational four are Nick Chubb, Baker, Miles Garrett, Jarvis, Landry. That's my future. I would consider moving OBJ for an upgrade on the O line. Is that crazy to you? I think this offense now does not, there's too many mouse to feed here,

and I think it's very difficult for Freddie Kitchens. I thought the gadget stuff to Odell Beckham last night. It's silly. That's not who they are. Is it crazy to suggest that? Get an offensive lineman, move Odell Beckham, and let's give Baker real frontline support. If Trent Williams, if Washington was smart, and if they were smart, they would have traded Trent Williams for a one, maybe a one plus something to Houston in August.

But right now, Washington is not smart. so they didn't do it. I would at least try, if I were Washington, to trade for O'Dell Beckham. And I don't think it's a bad idea at all. I would try to trade for him using Trent Williams and maybe a draft choice to see if you could get that done. I don't think it's a bad idea, Colin. If I ask the average Cleveland Browns fan today, what would you rather have,

an above average left tackle or O'Dell Beckham Jr.? I mean, a football person would say, give me the above average left tackle, because if we don't protect Baker Mayfield, none of it matters. None of the bells and whistles matters. So I actually think that's a smart idea. Let me throw this at you. Kyle Shanahan was with Sean McVeigh and Washington, Matt LaFleur. And I was talking to somebody about two weeks ago, and he said,

when they were all in the building, McVeigh had the charisma, LaFleur was the detail guy, Shanahan was the brink. Brainiac. He was the guy coming up with plays and sets and everybody else was like, wow, that guy, he had a great, you know, his dad was a legend. I watched San Francisco last night, and I'm going to tell you, between Andy Reed and Mahomes and Garapolo and Kyle Shanahan, Peter, they just look different. I think I'm not, I think they're a top five team in the NFL this morning, San Francisco. What say you? I do too. And I think one of the reasons, Colin, that you're seeing this with Shanahan, Kyle Shanahan basically is that was the brains behind the great, you know,

the great RG3 experiment early on in Washington where they were figuring out almost week to week. How are we going to take advantage of this guy's skill set? We're not going to make him a pocket quarterback. He's not ready to do that. We'll work on this with him in the off season. Now it turns out he ended up getting hurt and they couldn't work on, that with him in the offseason. But it's a very big butt.

Kyle Shanahan was one of the guys who was sitting back in the laboratory every week trying to figure out, along with his dad, how are we going to fit this guy into a game plan that fits the rest of our team? And so Kyle Shanahan has always been this guy. If you go back and ask Matt Ryan, if you give him sodium pentothal,

you know what he'll say? Man, I miss Kyle. I miss Kyle Shanahan. That was a Super Bowl offense. with Kyle Shanahan coordinating it. Okay, so the Raiders. I was completely wrong. I just didn't see it, but I'm watching them,

and their offensive draft picks are working, and their offensive free agent signings are working, and they are very good on the script, Peter. They're an excellent first-half team. Does it continue? Was I just completely wrong on this noisy dysfunctional team that I thought would be a four- or five-win team? Because I watched that first half against the Bears, Peter,

and that was life-altering. They killed them. I mean, I just sat there and killed them. What do you make of it? Yeah, I mean, I'll say two things. I talked to Trent Brown after that game, the mountainous tackle of the Raiders, and I said to him,

here's what's interesting about your team right now. You have a running back, Josh Jacobs, who at Alabama, one time in his career, had 20 carries in a game. And he just sort of chuckled and he said, hey, you know, Alabama's got a deep stable. I thank them for giving us a fresh Josh Jacobs so we could get all those carries

out of them. And he's absolutely right. So first of all, they're taking advantage of a guy who they believe is going to be a franchise running back. And they built an offensive line for that. Secondly, I think what is so impressive about this team. And Mike Mayock told me this late in training camp. He said, we are not going to let this Antonio.

Brown thing derail us. And I sort of chuckled at the time, well, what is he going to say? Naturally, he'll say that. But they have not let this Brown thing ruin their season. Good for them. Good for Mayak, good for Gruden. And also, good for Mike Mayock for standing up to a child in Antonio Brown and not letting him run roughshod over this team.

The fact is that sometimes, even though it was hidden, he did that in Pittsburgh. and Mayock wasn't going to let that happen in Oakland. Sometimes it's not that you lose, it's how you lose. We were talking about this yesterday. We went back and looked at the Cowboys' last 12 losses. 11 of 12, the offense has been inept. Shut out, 6 points, 8.7. Only once did the defense, week 11 against Philadelphia two years ago, not show up.

I'm watching that game against Green Bay, and Peter, I like Dak. But it made me pause and think, maybe a friend. The franchise tag is not crazy. Pam, mid-20s, not mid-30s. Do you think Jerry may have, you know, you juxtapose Aaron and Dak, it gave me pause. It just was ugly. Did it give you any? Yes, but I think that's why you play the full season. If I'm Dak Prescott and I'm Jerry Jones, I say, let's see where we are at the end of the season. It's too much of a story. Like sometimes in Dallas, it all becomes such a mellow drama. If I'm Jerry Jones, I say, hey, listen, we're not talking about any contracts during the season.

And I'm not talking about my coach during the season. you cannot take the temperature of Jason Garrett's fate every 15 minutes. It's just stupid. It doesn't help your team. It doesn't make any sense. You know, there are times when Jerry Jones and who, hey, look, I applaud him because he's always available, but there are times where he should say no comment. They just are, and he just doesn't do it.

I don't quite understand it for a guy who's so brilliant at business, but that's the way he does it. But I will agree with you, I'd be worried about this offense. right now. And I wouldn't be worried this weekend. They're at the Jets, but they got some tough games coming up. And later in the year, they're going to see the Patriots. Yep, football morning in America, Peter, Kinknbc Sports.com. Great stuff, Peter, today. A crazy game last night. Thanks for stopping by our show again. Thanks, Colin. By the way, Brady's 5 and 0 and Jimmy G is 4 and 0. And Jacoby Bressette's 3 and 2. They all played together in 2016 in New England, 12 and 2.

How about that? Brady 5-0, Jimmy G4-0, and Jacoby Preset 3 and 2. They might just know what they're doing up there in New England. Yeah, really. They just may have that whole thing figured out. Joy with the news. No, no, no, no. Turn on the news.

This is the herd line news. Well, a team that doesn't quite have it figured out is the Redskins. They fired Jay Gruden yesterday after the team's own five start and that lost the Patriots. There was a lot of speculation that Gruden was unhappy with the decision to draft Dwayne Haskins this year. when he was asked about his feelings on being let go, Gruden acknowledged there was some disconnect between him in the front office. He said, I have mixed emotions about it. At the end of the day, if you're not the GM,

you have to accept the fact that you don't get everything you want. You accept the players given to you. I had input in some areas, but there are some major issues there. It's that way with most coaches. You don't have the total say. It's something you have to overcome and work with the guys you have. Yeah, that's kind of telling you there, that's coding for I didn't want the quarterback, right?

Well, I don't think that's coding at all. I mean, he didn't specifically say Haskins, but what he said is far more telling than just Haskins. And this is the secret sauce to every dysfunctional organization and bad team. Alignment at the top. You can say all you want about having bad players, and unless it's a situation where there's just a catastrophic injury, which in that case, you're not evaluating the team on that level anyway.

Yeah. You have to be aligned. The coach, the GM, and the owner have to be aligned. There's a reason why the Patriots are the way that they are. It's not just because they have great players. It's because their coach and the owner and GM, they're all aligned. And their best player is aligned with all of them. You have to be on the same page.

It can't be, oh, the owner wants this guy and the owner's son wants this guy. And the GM likes this guy, but the coach can't coach that way. Of course you're not going to be functional. Of course you're not going to be a great team. Nobody's on the same page. this all the time. And this is like I do not like when organizations hire coaches that they feel like they can control because you're the guy in the field. You have to get the players that you think you can coach and work with. I don't even understand why that's a good plan. Like we're just going to

give him this guy. We know more than he does. He's the coach. But he'll figure it out. He'll make it work. Not all billionaires are equal. Some are, some are. I mean, listen, here's where billionaires are all the same. You don't go from millionaire to billionaire. without being somewhat controlling and worrying about the bottom line more than anything. And, you know, it's almost now, you know, Bob Kraft, by the way, stepped in and saved Tom Brady. Belichick wanted to move Brady. So it's like even the owner we think is great when that's, even he stepped in over the coach.

But overwhelmingly, he's not meddling. Like, I would not describe him as a meddling owner in any way. And in a lot of cases, there's very, very few situations where you've had sustained success with an owner that's heavily involved. So Jerry Jones has not given Dak Prescott a new contract yet. We were just discussing that. And many think that he's poised for a big payday. But one NFL executive told the athletic that teams should be careful when giving quarterbacks huge contracts. The exec used Kirk Cousins, three-year, $84 million deal as an example, saying Kirk Cousins is no longer Kirk Cousins.

He is Kirk Cousins' contract. it lends itself to constant analysis and barbs. It's a warning to DAC as much as it is to other teams. Mike Sando, by the way, at the Athletic, has a lot of NFL executive connections. He does that executive poll every year, which is fascinating. So if he's saying it, and I think this goes back to Joy, my theory is pay only the players you have to and pay them when they're due in very few instances, unless you're kind of trapped, Zeeke, perhaps, you pay them early. But you make the wrong move. Boy, in the NBA, you can wiggle out of it a little bit, I guess, sometimes.

But you pay a quarterback 34 large. You're four years. You're trapped if it's the wrong guy. I never felt like Kirk Cousins was worth this money, but it was because there was a bidding war, inexplicably, for Kirk Cousins. Like, he just, he had the perfect storm, teams that needed a starting quarterback, and they had money available. That's why he got this contract. It's not necessarily because this is the money he should be paid. And I don't like to get too much into the money because the market is the market.

And it is the quarterback position. But there is something to this. Once you get paid that kind of money, I mean, that's why we have these conversations about Todd Gurley all the time. Once you make a certain amount of money, there's an expectation because it's a salary cap league that you have to perform. Sometimes it's worse for you to put your team in that position. Do a shorter deal, less money with someone who is of the same caliber. Like, just because he's a name. But man, Kirk Cousins know how to make some money.

Finally, Christian McCaffrey is having one of the most production. productive seasons for running back in NFL history. He has 866 total yards from scrimmage so far this season. Then he's on pace to reach 2,771, which would break Chris Johnson's record of 2,509. He also has 50 more total yards than Todd Gurley and Ezekio Elliott combined. And Todd Gurley commented on this comparison to McCaffrey saying, keep us out of this, L.O.L. McCaffrey is unstoppable.

Keep Beasting Brother. Hashtag. He. McCaffrey's the rare professional athlete. I like that he's smaller. I think it's very hard as a linebacker to identify where he's at behind that line. I've seen more plays where he just squirts out of the offensive line. He is small.

He's not terribly wide. And it works for him because he's very tough. Oh, he's physically. He has no body. I mean, he has literally, he may have the least body fat in the league. He is ripped. Because he is on the smaller side, but it's not. That doesn't seem to.

Like he said, it's a disadvantage, but when he gets hit, it doesn't affect him as much either. He is having an incredible season. And, I mean, usually when we're talking about MVPs, we're talking about quarterbacks. But he's, I'll tell you what, you start winning games with a backup quarterback and not Teddy Bridgewater. Kyle Allen. But the numbers that he's putting up are incredible, too. Joy of the news. Well, that's the news.

And thanks for stopping by. The Hurd-Lie News. Cameron Jordan of the Saints next hour, Trent Dilford, joins us. us next, what to make. Is it panic time for Baker Mayfield, whose numbers are regressing clearly? That's coming up. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, FS1, and the I-Hard Radio app. Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind. Highlights

are trending, opinions are flying, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where Sports Slice comes in. I'm Timbo. Every episode, we're cutting through the noise. Breaking down the plays, the controversies, and the stories behind the headlines. We go straight to the source, the athletes themselves. Their locker room stories, their reactions, the stuff nobody gets to hear. The laughs, the drama, the triumphs, the moments that never make the highlight real. From viral moments to historic games, from buzzer beaters to controversial calls, we break it down, give you context, and ask the questions everybody wants answered.

Sports slice brings you closer to the action with stories told by the people who live them. Listen to Sports Slice on the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Sliced Life 12 in the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hardway 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 rapidly. up in the chase, that we don't realize that we are in possession of the thing.

And we're still chasing it. And we don't know when we've done enough. Because people scoreboard watch. Life becomes about wins and losses. Steve Burns, Dustin Ross, because you find it important to be a good person while you hear on earth. Are you a good person because you're afraid? Because that's two different intentions, bro.

Absolutely. And that's two different levels of trust. I want you to just really be a good person. Join me, Kear Gaines, is we have real conversations about. All 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. What's up, guys?

This is Clivert Taylor the 4th. And on my podcast, The Cliverts Show, I'm bringing you conversations about all kinds of stuff. Like being an internet famous referee. We're in the middle of a game. This linebacker, this linebacker walks up to me, he goes, A, ref, my mom wants you to wave at her. What? Time out. quarterback on office blue with 42.

Hey, Wreck, my mama want you to weigh better. What? Hey, Ms. Parker. Listen to the Clifford show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. The story I've told myself about love or relationships can then shape my behavior, and that can lead me to sabotage the possibility of connection. This Mental Health Awareness Month,

Tune into the podcast Deeply well with Debbie Brown and explore the journey of healing, self-discovery, and returning to yourself. We explore higher consciousness, emotional well-being, and the practices that help you find clarity, peace, and self-mastery in a world that can feel overwhelming. The world is becoming lonelier. We're not becoming more social and connected. We're becoming more individualized, but we actually meet people in connection. If you've been searching for a soft place to land while doing the work to become whole, this podcast is for you to hear more. Listen to deeply well with Debbie Brown from the Black Effect Podcast Network on the Iheart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. It's October. It's Geico Ween. Don't be scared of high rates. So good. It's scary.

15 minutes could save you 15% or more on car insurance at Geico. Geico Ween. I don't know. It wasn't great. Not one of my favorite spots. Let's go to a guy I trust when it comes to quarterback breakdown more than anybody, probably. Trent Dill for a decade and a half in the NFL, a Super Bowl, a Pro Bowl via the Coward Global Satellite Network. Listen, the one thing about Baker, he's accurate. But last year he completed 64 percent. This year, 56%.

I don't know if it's the offensive line. I don't know if it's the further he's removed from Lincoln Riley. His mechanics aren't as good. I don't know what it is. What do you see? but he's off, Trent, he's high, he's wilder than last year. Something's not right. What are your eyes telling you?

I think a couple things, Colin. Number one, I think there's some try too hard. I think he's trying to be a superstar and just trying to be the quarterback of the Cleveland Browns. If you go back to the college football playoffs, semi-final game against Georgia, you could see this being a possibility in the NFL, that when he plays on time, when he plays on rhythm, when it's back foot hits the ground ball out, he is deadly accurate. But the longer a play goes on, the worse he gets because the better athletes start coming down in on him. And he's a guy that is a good athlete but not an exceptional athlete like a Russell Wilson, Patrick Mahomes.

So the longer the play goes, the worst he gets in terms of accuracy and his turnover, turnovers go up. And we saw this in that Georgia game. When he played on rhythm with those five future NFL offensive linemen in Oklahoma, he was great. When he tried to improvise and create, he wasn't very good. And that's kind of been his nature so far in the NFL. When he plays on schedule, when he plays like a surgeon, when he plays like Tom Brady, man, he's brilliant. But when he tries to put on that Superman cape and try to do more than the X's and O's, tries to play above the X's and O's, that's when you really see the flaws in his game come out. By the way, Kyle Shanahan, you know the Niners organization.

You're from Northern California. You know his history. I'm just looking at all those sets. It was a little bit of a coaching clinic. The blocking schemes, Trent, they don't, I mean, they don't give you the same look very often. As a coach yourself now, what do you make of his offense? Well, I remember last year when everybody was talking about Sean McVeigh, and he's the, you know, is the next coming, and he's got the greatest offensive mind ever.

And I agree, I think Sean McVeigh is excellent. But Kyle Shanahan, for the last 10 years, has been one of the greatest minds in all of offensive football. He is a guy that very much like his father, Mike Shanahan, who was one of the great coaches in NFL history, has a system that once his guys buy into it, once he gets the right personnel, is virtually impossible to stop. That zone run game sets up everything that they do. And last night was teaching tape. It was the fullness of that offense coming to fruition. The quarterback doesn't have to be great in this system. They're going to run the ball.

They're going to run action. They're going to change the launch point. and they're going to get guys in the passing game in space. And you saw that happen last night. I think this is only the beginning for the offense because eventually Jimmy G. is going to get rolling. He's a very talented player and they're going to put a little more on his shoulders. And they're going to be explosive in the passing game as well.

So he's got his people. He's got his system in place. He's had a couple years to teach it to everybody. I think John Lynch has done a good job of getting them the right people that fit him. And I think the Niners are very much for real. By the way, you know, John Gruden. We work with John Gruden together. It's working. You go on the road to Indy. You go to London, beat the Bears. I was wrong on this. It's working. What do you see? Well, I think you got to understand

John Gruden's nature. And I go back when I played against him in his offensive quarter of Philadelphia Eagles. He is a, he wants slob or knocker games. Everybody thinks John Gruden passing guru wants to throw it over the yard. That's not who John Gruden is. John Gruden truly is that grinder. that he talked so much about on Monday Night Football when he was the analyst. He's a guy that wants physical football. He wants to run the football. He wants the game to be ugly and gross.

And he wants a runner that can be a Belkow back. And guess what? He's getting that from the Oakland Raiders. They found a great back in Josh Jacobs. They've also identified that Derek Hart is better when he's into the run, run action kind of setting instead of a dropback quarterback setting. Yeah.

They're getting the most from a lot of people there. I think this is the style of football that John Gruden wants to play. And the Oakland Raiders can be dangerous if they keep it ugly like this. A lot of people are bagging on DAC, and I will say of the last 12 cowboy losses, in 11 of them, the defense has been fine. The offense has been inept. It worries me. It gives me pause.

Are you still okay with Dak? I know you like him. This morning, you okay with him. I really like Dak. I only credit him with one of those three interceptions. first one goes off on Mari Cooper. The second one was absolutely on Dak. He got tricked by the coverage.

And the third one, Gallup doesn't come back to the quarterback. He crawls too far inside. And any quarterback watching that film will tell you, he's going to throw the ball exactly where Dak threw it on the third one. My concern with the Cowboys is the same thing's getting them in trouble on defense. It's that zone split zone run scheme. It's the same scheme. The Rams rush for, I think, 270 yards against him in the playoffs.

And the Packers gotten a lot of similar sets, a lot of 12 personnel, a lot of tight formations where they ran the zone, split zone run scheme and gash the Dallas Cowboys. The Cowboys better figure out their run defense because that's the headliner right now. It's not Dak Prescott three interceptions. It's Cowboys defense getting gashed by the same schemes that lost in the playoff game last year. By the way, you lost a tough game this weekend. So do you like the coaching thing?

I love it, Colin. It's been one of the greatest throws in my life. It's challenging. I love the kids. I can't think of anything I've ever done in my life that's more rewarding than this outside of being married for 26 years and raising three beautiful daughters. But they're a pleasure to be around. Even after you get beat, we'll get better from it. And I love these boys.

I love what I'm doing. Now, do you do Bella check where you never talk or do you throw headsets like Sabin? What are you? I'm kind of both. I've already broken one headset. And then it's usually the refs, man. That's what gets the most frustrating. It's not the mistakes of the kids.

the bad calls that get frustrated. Stinking. I'm growing too. I got a lot of growth that needs to happen within me, and I'm doing my best to be better every week. Oh, that's great. That's fine. The dang refs.

Those refs are breaking the headsets. It's not Dilfer, people. It's not saving. Exactly. All right. Trent, good talking to you. Thanks, buddy. All right.

By the way, I will say this. You know, it's easy for me today. Listen, I came in this morning, and everybody's like, oh, my God, Colin's just going to bash Baker. Yeah, I did pretty much. But I do think, here's the thing. I've always had this theory.

Any real estate agent can have one great year. They sell a mansion. A friend of a friend, and every real estate person can have a really bad year. They get sick. A parent dies. What are you basically if you take out the best this or the worst that? Here's what I would worry about with Baker Mayfield. So last year, Cincinnati had statistically one of the worst defenses in NFL history.

and Baker chewed him up. Here's what worries me. If you take out just Cincinnati games, that team quit. They were terrible. Statistically, the worst defense in a decade. If you look at Baker Mayfield, every game he's played,

take out two Cincinnati games, 24 touchdown, 22 picks, 60% completion, and 82 passer rating. He is an average quarterback who is turnover prone. That's just what he is. That is what he is. Take out, again, the worst defense in 10 years.

He's below average. He's shorter than average. He's not as athletic as average. And, you know, I got a guy that is a turnover machine. So that worries me. Again, I never thought he was a number one pick. I thought he was a franchise quarterback. But to be a number one pick, you have to be like Carson Wentz, wow.

Mahomes, wow. Joey Boso, wow, Janavian Clowny, wow. You got to give me some, oh my God, you're the best player in college. Like Kyler Murray may be small, but you watch him running around in the NFL, you're like, oh, oh, wow.

No, wow with Baker. He doesn't have a cannon. He's not big. He's not athletic. He's not, he's got Moxie. Moxie doesn't get you drafted number one. Moxie can get you drafted. It doesn't get you drafted number one.

So you take out the Cincinnati games. He's a turnover machine. That's what he is. That's what they are. numbers say that would worry me that he's hit his ceiling he's regressing and his ceiling was way lower than everybody thought a third hour coming up competing today takes energy and drive it takes mdrive from n.com the code is heard 20% off boost natural t levels m drive for men dot com be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon eastern 9 a m pacific on fox sports radio fs one and the i heart

radio app. All right. We are back. Good to have you in. Limitations apply. Go to discover.com slash travel right now where they're Discover at Miles' card. They'll double your Miles first year to 35,000 become 70. Reggie Bush, a Super Bowl champ over a decade in the NFL. Of course, the big noon kickoff live on Foxer at Texas, Oklahoma. You played in a college football game, maybe the only one in my life where I remember where I was sitting in the color of the couch. So Notre Dame will host USC. Clay Hilton's in big trouble. A loss certainly guarantees he's not the coach next year. The Bush push is very memorable for a lot of reasons. One of the landscapers did not cut the grass to slow Reggie Bush down. It looked like it was the British

open. Look how thick that grass is, man. That's crazy. By the way, it's now legal to push from behind. Take me to the moment in the game because the crowd was right on the field. Yeah, the crowd's right on the football field and obviously the sequence of events that happened for us to get there was even crazier. The fourth and whatever when Matt put the football right where only Duane Jericho catch it, literally grazed the defender to fast forward down the football field. Matt gets knocked out of bounds trying to scramble. They let the time run off the clock and then we fast forward to this moment right here and I never forget when we were standing on the field while they were trying to figure everything out. I turned to Matt and I said, what are you going to do? And he says,

I'm going to sneak it. So I was like, oh, damn. I'm going to have to somehow, some way, you know, I guess help him get over the end zone. I wasn't planning to push him, but that's just kind of what happened because when he snapped the ball, he got knocked backwards for a second. And so obviously, being in the competitor that I am, I wanted to obviously help our team win the game, and that's what happened. Known as the Bush push.

By the way, you have Texas, Oklahoma this weekend. You'll be live there. you're not going to sugarcoat it. You think one team wins big. I think Oklahoma's going to win. Why? Because they just have too much firepower. And I think this is a different game than last year,

where Sam Ellinger was Superman. He's going to have to be Superman again this game. Because that defense on the back end? Because that defense on the back end for Texas is struggling right now. And then they have a lot of starters that are hurt in the secondary. And so Oklahoma lives off the deep pass. They live off the explosive plays. And then when you have Texas secondary, who's, I think, dead last in the Big 12.

Also, I think they're around 120th, 125th in college football and defending the past. And they're banged up. And they're banged up. That is not set up well for this game. So Sam Ellinger is going to have to be Superman again. He's going to have to be Mr. Everything in this game. And still, even then, I'm not sure it's enough because also Oklahoma's defense is better this year. They are better.

They're not great, but they're better. A couple of things about the NFL. You've played in the NFL for over a decade. Reggie Bush is joining us part of the big noon kickoff at Fox 11am. We were talking about Cleveland, and I said, listen, in the NFL, you just can't, unless you have a super athletic quarterback like a Cam Newton or a Patrick Mahomes, maybe a Brett Farve in his prime. You got to have a good O line. Cleveland's O line's bad. They have a surplus of offensive players.

And my takeaway is it's not a terrible time. You call up Washington and say, we'll take it. your left tackle Trent Williams. You can have OBJ. I'm not anti-O-BJ, but if you look at the targets, you look at Baker's passer rating, they're trying to jam it in there. I would think about moving OBJ. Is it crazy? I don't think it's crazy. I don't think it's going to happen, but I don't think it's crazy because, to your point, they could not block Nick Bosa last night. Nick Bosa made the offensive line, made Cleveland's offensive line look like they were were a junior varsity football team.

Like, they couldn't stop them. And really, it really San Francisco put on a football clinic last night. Offense, defense, throwing the football, running the football. But the biggest thing that I saw, which gave them a lot of success, was they won the line of scrimmage. On the offense side of the ball,

they completely gutted Cleveland's defense. Like, ran the football right down their throat. And then on the flip side, they had Baker scrambling for his life all night long, right? They didn't give him any room to breathe. They made it dirty and ugly for them. And, you know, they definitely have to make changes with the Cleveland Browns organization. I believe they have a culture issue there.

I don't think it's execution. I think it's culture because there's no way that team with that many, that much talent should get dominated like that. By the way, 31 to 3, if they had a field goal kicker that was hot last night, they lose 41 to 3. Like that game was one of the most lob-sided games. That was Miami first week against both. Baltimore. Like you're like, after about eight minutes, you're like, oh, this could get completely out of control. Are you surprised that New Orleans, a place you love dearly, is winning without Drew Breeze and winning against top NFL teams? Am I a little surprised? I'm a little bit

surprised because I thought that not having Drew there, right, not having that presence of, Drew is not just the quarterback. He's the leader of that football team. He commands respect when he's on the football field from everybody, not just the defense, but the offense too, because other quarterbacks know, I got to beat Drew Brees today when they're playing against the Saints. And so I thought that they would maybe struggle a little bit, but to me, the bigger picture here and the bigger narrative is Sean Payton's coaching because I think he's done a masterful job at winning football games, but in the fashion that he's doing it. He's doing it kind of differently.

Now the defense is taken over. Yeah. They shut down Zique, right? when they played the Cowboys. They went into Seattle, which is not a tough place to win. Special teams and defense were great. Special teams and defense were great again. And so he's finding ways to win football games without his best player.

And that's a sign of a great coach, right? Because we've seen the other way where teams lose their starting quarterback and they just tank. And it's like, well, the Redskins, perfect example. Why isn't Dwayne Haskins prepared to go into a football game? Yeah, look at the two teams, by the last one. the way that have gone to backup quarterbacks and are winning. Carolina, Ron Rivera, one of the top defensive guys in the league,

and Sean Payton. Exactly. It should not be man overboard. You shouldn't be as good, but you should be functional. Right. When you look, so everybody watches DAC and the Packers.

And I said, I'm not trying to be right. I'm trying to get it right. And I did look at DAC and I thought, man, you put them on TV next to Aaron Rogers. and I'm like, I might have to franchise. Yeah. Like, you kind of pause, right? I'm not overreacting, right?

No, you're not overreacting. And it's funny because last week, I initially picked Green Bay to win because I know how Ann Rogers, he's so good in Dallas, right? And now they have a run game. And really, the Packers should be undefeated right now if they run the football on the goal line a couple weeks ago, right? If they run the football and goal line situation, they're probably still undefeated right now. And so that's how good this Packers team is.

They're finding ways now to win football games without Aaron Rogers having to be the man, having to be Superman. And so, again, Aaron Rogers and, sorry, my phone ring. So Aaron Rogers and Dak Prescott on the same football field, you know, Aaron Rogers is always going to have ultra success because he's not necessarily tied to my running. back has to play well for me to win this football game today. Right? Yeah. Like last year he won a game with his arm, throwing a football down the field.

This year they get it done running the football. They really beat the Cowboys at their own game, right? Yeah, basically. Ran the football, pounded the football. Yeah, just ran the behind. When you think about this week, Notre Dame USC. USC has gone through a lot of movement here in the last couple years. Clay Hilton's in big trouble.

They're a 10-11 point underdog. I do not think they win at Notre Dame. When you look at USC football, how does it feel the last time you were there, 97,000, Hollywood all up and down the sidelines, do they have to make a big splashy hire, a small hire, somebody in the program, what's the solution if they lose to Notre Dame? Wow, that's a great question. And I can't tell you I know what the right answer is to that. obviously if they lose to Notre Dame,

people will start chanting more and more about Clay Helton leaving and not being a head coach for the future. So if that happens and if that's the way that things go, then you got to bring in a coach. Would you go NFL? I got to bring in somebody who's a great recruiter, somebody who understands the culture, somebody who understands L.A. and is welcome and is ready to embrace L.A.

Yeah, that's a big part of it. But we got LeBron now, The Dodgers are great. The Rams and Chargers in town. L.A.F.C. Like, this is a crowded market right now. And so you have to, when you are USC, and one thing Pete Carroll did a masterful job

as he owned the L.A. market. Really Southern California, he got all this top recruits there. All of them. We're not getting those top recruits anymore, and that's hurting us a little bit because there are a ton of five-star recruits, players in Southern California.

We can just start right there. and we don't own that market right now. Right now, it's Oregon kind of owns that market. By the way, Clemson walked in and got the best quarterback. Clemson, 3300. When I read the article that Tua almost went to USC, almost passed out because how do we not, and that speaks to the point.

We got to get those kinds of players. We got to start not to say that the quarterbacks and players we have now aren't great, but we got to own, we got to get back to owning the L.A. market. Yeah, right now, Clemson and Bama are taking the best quarterbacks in Los Angeles. And that's crazy. That should never happen.

Southern teams. Reggie Bush, good seeing you, but. High noon. Excuse me, the big noon kickoff. Live on Fox 11 a.m. Eastern Urban. Reggie, Matt, Brady, Rob Stone, live from the Cotton Bowl on Saturday.

Joy with the News. No. No. Turn on the news. This is the Herdline News. All right, Colin, it's Shakegate. Oh, yeah. Let's, there's a big story.

Richard Sherman said, I, Baker didn't shake my hand. Richard Sherman. Yeah, it's being called Shakegate on the Internet. Richard said a little bit more than that. He said what's amazing and annoying was him not shaking hands at the beginning. That's some college bleep. It's ridiculous.

We're all trying to get psyched up. It's shaking hands with your opponent. That's NFL etiquette. And when you pull Bush League stuff, that's disrespectful to the game. And believe me, that's going to get us fired up. So very strong. Very strong words from Richard Sherman. Now, you know, this is the Internet.

It's a different age. It's 2019. There's thousands of cameras. So, of course, they're coming for Baker. Are people going to try and figure out what happened? Because that spiel's very aggressive for Baker Mayfield not to shake hands. And we were all on the same page earlier in the day. Well, as it turns out, you know, because of these cameras, we're able to see if that did in fact happen.

And it appears at the beginning of the game before the coin toss. Baker does, in fact, shake his hand. I see it right. I'll be it not enthusiastically. No. But it is, by all accounts, a handshake. Yeah. Well, Richard Sherman has since replied.

He said, so you don't see any difference in the way I shake everyone else's hand. And the guy who stands back with the petty shake was BS and I took offense to it. And then he turns and runs off. It's not that big of a deal. Pause, it is a big deal because you gave a very strong statement saying that you were very bothered. And it was NFL etiquette and it's disrespectful. It is a college stuff. A wet noodle handshake.

It's a handshake. And we would never notice this handshake if he hadn't said something. Same worse. Yes. And what happened was after the coin toss, Baker then just ran off. Yeah. So he didn't shake hands after the coin toss. Adarius Taylor followed him and also didn't shake hands, which didn't seem to bother him.

So is it, Reggie's a normal after the hand, like afterwards? I feel like I see them shake hands afterwards, but is it rude to not shake hands after the coin toss? No, it's not rude to shake hands after the coin toss. Because once you shake them once after that, it's game time. Right. Now it's like, now I'm focused. I've already, in my etiquette. I've already said, what's up to you.

Now it's time for me to go to my sideline. You go to your sideline. And now we've got to fight on this football field. Yeah, that's exactly what happened. Like Baker just ran off as soon as we found out whose ball it is. He ran off. I feel like this Richard looks kind of silly in this spot. Yeah, it got blown out of proportion.

But the only reason he got blown out of proportion is because he said it's so strong. You can't say it's Bush League and it's college and it's disrespectful and NFL etiquette. This story is crazy. Well, I still stand by my feeling on Baker Mayfield. Stop taunting people because Joey Bosa came out and said, yep. Well, stop taunting. He's taunting people.

You know what? Baker has this ability. to bother you. Like, that's, clearly that's what it is. Because this is ridiculous, and this wouldn't be a problem if it was anybody other than Baker. That said, I think we,

I think we solved it. So, congratulations, internet. You were on top of that. So the Redskins are starting their coaching search, and one interesting name came up yesterday. ESPN's Edwarder reported that Washington would be interested in bringing Mike Tomlin to the Redskins. He's not taking that job.

What the hell? No way. He'd take that job. No way in hell. No. He'd be a dummy to take that. But first of all, Tomlin has so many friends in the NFL, they would literally not let him take it. They would just be like, Tony Dungey would be like, I'm going to block the move.

This would be, by all accounts, unreasonable to do. But he was asked about it, nonetheless, and he quickly brushed it off Tomlin style. Guys, I'm the head coach of a one and four football team that's going on the road to play a Hall of Fame caliber quarterback with my third quarterback. You think I'm worried about anything this week other than that? I think that answers that question. Best head coach in league history along with Gruden at the mic. No, look, I'm not, I'm sure that Washington is interested in Mike Tomlin, as is probably any team that is considering their head coach not.

Yeah, a lot of networks are interested in us because we're crushing it. Doesn't mean we're going anywhere. I mean, it's just silly. Like, Tomlin is not going to Washington. It's just silly. I'm not saying that the residents aren't interested in him, but you can be interested in someone. that doesn't mean that there's any opportunity of that happening.

If Mike Tomlin left, there'd be places he'd get offered. That's not even a... This is not a good job for someone who doesn't currently have an NFL coaching job. Forget the guys who do. Right. Of a storied franchise. This is not a good job for a Hall of Fame quarterback coming back next year. This isn't a good job for unemployed people.

It's really not a good job for employed people. This isn't necessarily a good job for someone who's never even been a head coach. Right. Who's not employed. Finally, the Pelicans have done their best to quiet the hype surround the. the first overall pick, because I'm Williamson, but his preseason debut last night did not help that.

Oh, my God. He had a highlight real dunk in the first two minutes that got the Pelicans' offense going. He finished with 16.7 rebounds, three assists. Oh, excuse me, I couldn't hear those numbers. What were they? 16.7 rebounds, three assists, and three steals in 28 minutes.

Oh, my God. Look at him. They beat the Hawks 133.109. Now, it is preseason, so. Hey, preseason is still basketball. You know, I do love this, though. because he's, they're going to be really fun to watch. Him and Lonzo are going to be a highlight reel every single game.

And it's like, it's nice to see because we, you know, we're in football season now. And they have done a good job of kind of trying to hush all the, you know, LeBron comparisons and all of that to give Zion, you know, an opportunity to get ready for the season. I don't think they're a playoff team. They're too young, but they'll be fun to watch. They're going to be so exciting. Yeah. The Western Conference is really, really fun.

The Western Conference is the NFC. There's like nine teams. You're like, all right, I can win the NFC. I mean, they have a really good team. They could, like, it's a long season. There's a lot could happen. They could make the playoffs. Yeah, but boy, I'll tell you, you get, I was looking the other day, I wrote down my nine,

I wrote down my playoff teams in the West, and you get down to it, and I'm like, what do I do with Dallas? I got Luca and Porzingas and, like, what do I do with Dallas? It's a really deep West. Dallas is like an eight seed, and I'm like, I think Dallas could argue to be a two seed in the East. I honestly, I mean, I've never seen the West this deep. I don't think New Orleans makes a playoffs. I'll tell you this, though. They're going to sell a lot of tickets.

They're going to be really fun to watch. That kid, and he and Lonzo are going to sell a lot of tickets. I enjoy the news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The Heard Lye News. By the way, Tom Brady's 5 and 0. Jimmy Garoppolo's 4-0.

They're 9-0. There's two undefeated teams in the NFL, San Francisco and New England. Garopolo and Tom Brady. Bill Belichick had both. And Bill Belichick, let's never forget this, was ready to make the move off Tom into Garoppolo. And then Tom Brady, well documented, went to Bob Kraft and said, I got Super Bowls in me. Bob Kraft stepped in and Tom won. Remember Tom versus time, the documentary?

Remember that Tom, remember Tom had the final say in editing and Tom left this in. This last two years have been very challenging for him in so many ways. And I think he just, you know, he tells me I love it so much and I just want to go to work and feel appreciated and have fun. Tom left that in. That's a Garoppolo. That is Bob, Kraft, I got Super Bowls. So Tom was right.

Tom was right. He was still really good, good enough to win Super Bowls, and dominate the AFC. So Tom was right. But Belichick was right. The Tom is getting old and Belichick is really good at looking at talent once they're on the roster and saying good, great, special move them. So this is one of those instances.

There was no wrong answer. Brady thought he had more years left. He was right. He's won two Super Bowl, sends him into three. And Belichick was right. Garapolo with the right coaching is 10 and 2. But what's funny about Tom Brady is. There's two things about Tom that we always kind of roll our eyes and thinks hokey.

The kale pajamas, the TB12 stuff were like, oh, good God, he won't have a beer in the season. And the other thing about Tom is the kind of hokeyness, like walking up to rookies, hi, I'm Tom Brady. And they're always like, what hell is Tom Brady introducing himself? But this is why Tom Brady has lasted. Because Brett Farve and Joe Montana and Peyton Manning gave their teams a reason to move off him. Farr was rigid, and Joe and Peyton didn't take care of their body quite as well as Tom. And so all that hokey stuff for Brady, the kale pajamas, don't drink a beer, he could go to Bob Kraft and say, yeah, show me the injury.

Tell me I'm not in my peak. Look at my numbers. And the second thing was, Tom Brady was right, was the other hokey thing is relationships. Tom is the great communicator. He's Reagan as a president. He gets along with everybody. Randy Moss got jettisoned. Never bad-mouthed him.

Josh Gordon relapsed. Tom put his arm around. A.B. was there six days. It was a fire sale. Said, thank you, Tom. The two things we think are a little hokey about Tom. The kale pajamas, don't drink a beer. And the introducing himself, the relationship stuff,

is why he's still there. is why Bobcraft couldn't move him out, and why you could move out Fav, could move out Phaeton, and could move out Montana for Steve Young. Sometimes hokey works. Maybe a little hokey to you, but that relationship stuff,

hi, I'm Tom Brady. And that kale-Bachama stuff, he never gave New England and out. He was right, and Belichick was right. Garoppolo's special. Tom and Jimmy G., 9-0. Cameron Hayward,

a Cameron Jordan, excuse me. A great player for the New Orleans Saints will be joining us next. They are Red Hot. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific. Cameron Jordan is one of the best players in the NFL. When you watch him play football, you think to yourself, man, he could play more than just NFL. Well, that's because in high school he was a world-class track and field athlete.

He's one of the most versatile defensive players in the NFL, and let's bring him on via the Coward Global Satellite Network, Cameron Jordan. First of all, four-time Pro Bowler. It is, I'm watching you guys with Teddy Bridgewater, and when Drew Breeze went down, I remember saying on the air with Joy, I said, oh, they're going to be fine because he's a grown-up, he's smart, he knows what he's doing, he's a distributor. What is Teddy like? Because obviously, Cam, you guys haven't missed a beat. Are Drew and Teddy, are they similar personalities? I don't think they're similar personalities, but they have the same focus, and that's winning.

They have the same drive and that's trying to get to a Super Bowl. And they both understand that, you know, it takes a team to get a win. And that's definitely what's been on display the last couple games. Your defense has been fantastic. I think Marshawn Latimore may be the best corner in football. You're certainly one of the top two or three edge rushers in football. Did you feel like when Drew got hurt, you guys would have to compensate a little bit? No, I mean, I feel like we took it on as a team.

team. It wasn't just a defensive effort. It was all three phases of the game. We saw Seattle, we scored a touchdown on defense. We scored a touchdown on special teams where, you know, you have everybody attacking everybody. You come in a game later and you hold Dallas down to nine points or whatever it is. It's a whole team effort. All three phases of the game was taken over. Cam, it was interesting. You guys are basically an early whistle in L.A. from being undefeated. and what was interesting about that play. You had every reason to be furious, but after the refs blew it dead,

you kind of had a smile on your face, and it was, ah, darn it. I thought you would have been furious, given New Orleans recent history with officials, but when you go back to that play, you didn't really let it affect you. I guess my question would be why. You seem to get over it very quickly.

You've got to have Everybody knows you have to have that short-term memory. Now, it did hurt that you ran 87 yards down the stretch for no reason. But it's not like it's the first time that, you know, a play has been taken back. A crucial play has been taken back. This is something that you have to, you know, put into your temperament that this is a football game.

It has its ups and downs. It has its emotional collides. And you can't let any one set play change your demeanor. It hurts. I mean, I'm looking at stride right there. You can't tell me I'm not rolling, but to bring it back, you have to continue playing. I mean, there's still another possibility. That would have gave us, you know, a couple points ahead of them, and, you know, that whole momentum would have shifted.

That's what really hurts. We've got a smile on your face because you know, you know, the damage that you can do to the offensive line. You know how important it is to continue being a force on the defensive line. And so, you know, maybe one day I'll get that back. That's a touchdown. That would have been nice. Three sacks, one on Sunday against Tampa. Feels like every game you guys play this, you know, last couple of weeks has been huge.

Drew Breeze is not starting. Let me ask you, though, is Drew around the team? How much is he, I mean, is he at practice every day? Is he a verbal leader? What's it like without him starting? I mean, Drew is still degeneral. You talk about what he brings to the thing. I mean, he was gone for a week and, you know, he was still in L.A.

when he was waiting for the swan to go down his thumb or however that situation went. But the moment he came back in the building, He's the same Drew. He's the same guy who's going through different reads, different throws. You can see his progressions right behind. Teddy, he may not be able to throw the ball or what his timeline is for that is unbeknownst to me. But I do know that he's working. He's going through the motions of as if he was taking every snap.

And that's something that you just can't replace. Last night, Bosa came out. He's a heck of a player. And he said, listen, it was personal. Baker went to Ohio State and put the Oklahoma flag out there. and I thought about that all year going to face Baker. And I always wonder, when you're a defensive end, are there quarterbacks that you really get geared up for?

Are there like little personal things when you go out? Certain guys you really, really want to sack. Yeah, I mean, it's probably why I got so frustrated this past game because I had James Winston's in my clutches no less than three times. And he seemingly escaped from me. So that last one, I finally got a hold of them and I didn't let go. And there was no greater feeling of relief. I was like, these are my quarterbacks that I know have to get after.

You talk about James Smithson. You talk about Matt Ryan. Talk about Cam Newton or now the quarterback that has taken over at Carolina. These are somebody that you're going to have to face twice a year. So in my repertoire, I need them. Yeah. By the way, it is an off day for you. It could be.

What are you doing? You're in a Saints uniform. It looks like you were just at an event. What event? Yeah. We just did a play football experience. Saints play football experience over at this local elementary out in Metery. It's a part of my off-day schedule.

I mean, every Tuesday, every off day, I'm out somewhere either doing a literacy visit, a school visit where I get to interact and actually teach kids different routes, teach kids how to get off a block, which apparently, you know, when they're young, they don't really care about getting off blocks. But everybody wants to catch a ball. Everybody wants to score a touchdown. So I become an infamous quarterback in my own right. By the way, not only versatile, you've played every.

game since your rookie season, 128. I don't know if it's like Tom Brady, you wear kale pajamas, I don't know what it is, avocado ice cream. But dude, you are, you must take care of your body because you are there every Sunday. Do you have a special secret sauce or formula?

Something that my, you know, probably Pops has always said, the best ability is availability. Something that's always been instilled by all the coaches you ever play is do what you need to do to take care of your body. Because come Sunday, you know, or even starting earlier than that, when it was, back when it was Wednesday football,

it became Friday football, now it's Sunday football. You take care of your mindset, you take care of your body, and then let everything that you've been gifted from God, the physical assets to display on Sunday. Hey, by the way, I watched Zion's highlights last night. Oh, my Lord. Have you met Zion yet? Yeah, yeah.

I've met the kid. He's a stud, right? I mean, I saw the highlights this morning from the game. What, the four monstrous dunks that he was? laid loose. I mean, the amount of space that they've allowed this alley to happen, this kid's going to be explosive. It's exciting to watch. Yeah.

Yeah, it is. You're one of the good guys in the NFL, Cam Jordan. You put back to the community. You're great with kids. Another Cal Bear who goes, there's a lot of Cal Bears in this league, folks. His dad was, of course, the tight end for years for Minnesota. Cam, we love having you on. You're always welcome.

Anytime you're in L.A. Come on the show. Absolutely. I'm going to keep that word to you, too. Next time in L.A., I'm making that call. All right, buddy. Thanks, Cam. Absolutely. Thanks for having me on. You bet. Yeah, good dude. Cal puts a lot of guys in the NFL, like a lot. A lot of guys.

You know, it's that okay football program. It's fine. But there's certain programs are like, you look up all the time, you're like, oh, there's no Cal Bear in the NFL. Jared Goff, Aaron Rogers. Yeah, it is interesting. I mean, they should have won more. They have way too many NFL players to never be good. Well, they're okay. They go to bowl games, but it's weird.

You get programs like that. You're like, that program puts out a lot of NFL guys. Casper is the most loved and trusted sleep company in America. Over 50,000 five-star reviews. Go to casper.com. The code has heard. H-E-R-D for $100 for the purchase of select mattresses, terms, and conditions apply. So we had our herd hierarchy earlier today. I was telling Joy, generally when we do our herd hierarchy,

I have about eight teams I really like. And then I'm like, eh, Houston did not even make my herd hierarchy today. And I think Houston's a really good team. that has solved some of their offensive line issues. In my herd hierarchy, I dropped Kansas City to eight simply because I don't think they can stop the run, which is a problem. And frankly, physically, they are the most beat-up team in the NFL. About four weeks ago, it was Philadelphia.

Now it's Kansas City. So, you know, if I look at my top 10, I'll give it to you one more time. My top 10, this is my herd hierarchy. I had Carolina at 10. once again, MVP at running back, top eight defense, Buffalo at nine, they face some good offenses and have shut even Tom Brady down. Kansas City at eight. Again, injuries and run defense is a problem. I have the Rams at seven.

I think some of their problems they'll overcome. They've been a little loose with the football. I think they'll figure that out. And Marcus Peters has had an atrocious early September. I think he'll get better. Seattle at 6. I think we know they go to Cleveland. That's going to be, you never want to go on the road and face a team Cleveland that just got humiliated on national TV. That's going to be tough for Seattle.

But Russell's playing out of his mind. I have Philadelphia at Green Bay at 5. They're taking the ball away. They lead the NFL and turnover differential. And they're not giving it back. And their offense has scored more every game. So it is a growing offense. a better defense.

Philadelphia at four. They're finally getting healthy. They have the Jets this week. The Jets seem to make everybody healthy. I have the Saints at three. They're winning with backup quarterbacks. I have at number two right now, San Francisco. I'm not overreacting.

I think their pass rush is elite. I think their offensive schemes are elite. They're doing it without a Pro Bowl. Joe Staley left tackle. Their field goal kickers got to get attack together, though. Robbie Gould last night struggled. And New England's number one. I don't think they're a dot.

dominant number one, but they got their running game back this past Sunday against Washington. Best secondary I've seen in years. That's my top 10 in the NFL. We'll see you tomorrow for join everybody. It's the herd. Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where sports slice comes in. I'm Timbo, and every episode, we're cutting through the noise, breaking down the biggest moments in sports and giving you the real story behind the headline. And we're going straight to the source, the athletes themselves. Their locker room stories, their reactions in the moment, and the stuff nobody gets to

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I'm Joey Dardano, and on my new podcast, Hope from a Hypocrite, I'll be changing lives, helping people in need with 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 me. This is Help from a Hypocrite, the worst advice from the dumbest people you know. Listen to Help from a Hypocrite Wednesdays on the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an I-Heart podcast. Guaranteed human.