The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Best of The Herd: 07/18/2019

Episode Date: July 18, 2019

Colin squashes the idea that the Cowboys need Zeke in order to be good on offense. He explains why the Browns are going to have a rough start to their season. Former Browns Head Coach Hue Jackson tells Colin that the Browns aren't much different than most teams in terms of egos. Plus, former NFL DB Will Blackmon explains to Colin the tough parts about learning maturity in the NFL and his expertise in the wine industry. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Another podcast from some SNL late-night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smigel and friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer Streeter Seidel, help an a cappella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter.

Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and Friends on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. 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, 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, Rhett, 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.

American soccer is about to explode. The World Cup is coming. Ramos sending on to Ernie Stewart the chip. Score! I'm Tab Ramos. I'm Tom Boke. On our podcast, Inside American Soccer, you'll get the real storylines, the biggest decisions, and the truth about the U.S. national team.

It wouldn't be a huge surprise if our team ends up in the quarterfinals or potentially a great run into the semifinals. Listen, Inside American Soccer with Tom Bogart and Tab Ramos on the iHeart radio app, Apple Podcasts, wherever you get your podcast. Thanks for listening to The Best of Heard Podcast. Be sure to catch us live every weekday. From 12 to 3 Eastern, 9 to noon Pacific on Fox Sports Radio and FS1, Find your local station for The Herd at Fox SportsRadio.com or stream us live every day on the IHeartRadio app by searching Herd. This is the best of the herd with Colin Cowherd on Fox Sports Radio. Oh, here we go on a Thursday. This is The Herd.

Wherever you may be and however you may be listening, we are live in Los Angeles on IHeart Radio, Fox Sports Radio, and FS1. I look at my sheet today. I've got Hugh Jackson, former. NFL coach, Will Blackman, former NFL player, Peter King, Josh Norman, cornerback, Brettskins, pro bowler, Jason McIntyre. Football, Football, Football. Here we go. I'm all fired up.

Joy, Taylor is joining me. Joy, how are you? I'm doing great. It snuck up on us. The NBA did an amazing job of leading us right into the NFL season. And today is going to be a big football show. We've got a ton of football. Certainly in Hurdle Dog News, we'll talk about some other stuff as well.

I want to start with the Dallas Cowboys because I've been on the Dallas Cowboys all week. This is what I've led my show with all week. And so I just, for those of you, and I know that many of you listen to me, maybe once or twice a week, you have a busy life. It's the summer. Your schedule is different. But for the last couple days, I've led on the Dallas Cowboys. I've led the show with the Dallas Cowboys, and I've said the same thing, trade Zeke. I know he's great.

But the NFL's all about trading very good players when they're still good. Jimmy Johnson did it with Herschel Walker, and it started this avalanche of trades. Giants just did it with Odell Beckham Jr. Niners did it with Joe Montana. Packers moved off of Brett Farr. The Colts had to move off of Peyton Manning. You move off players in the NFL all the time that are really, really still good often pro-bowl or Super Bowl winning talent players.

So a lot of pushback on my takeaway that he's too good and he's too valuable to the Cowboys. Until you read this this morning, he's not as valuable to the Cowboys as you think. Without Elliot, Zeke drawing defenders into the box, Dak Prescott wouldn't be as effective as a passer. That's what everybody says. Because Zeke, he forces everybody to jump up in the box, and that leaves big spaces for Dak to throw the ball down the field. Oh, wait a minute.

You've heard that trope before, says the article. A great back forces defenses to load the box, which opens up space in the passing game. The problem is there's a new stat out. There's no evidence to suggest that Zeke does that. Zeke's presence does not draw any more loaded boxes. According to the NFL.com's next. generation stats.

How many times did Zeke face an loaded eight-man box? 25% of the time. That ranked him 19th in the NFL in 2018, right behind Elijah McGuire. Meaning is a bunch of nonsense. We talk about analytics all the time in baseball. We talk about analytics all the time in the NBA. Here's some analytics in football. Nobody's loading the box up for Dak.

You know why he, for Zeke, you know why Zeke's a great running back? A, he's talented, and B, the Cowboys' Offensive Line. It's amazing to me. Whenever we get a great running back, it's as if we forget the offensive line. Can we acknowledge that Zeke, in his first three years in the NFL, Dallas has had the best offensive line in the NFL in those three years. We're not going to acknowledge that. DeMarco Murray, with this offensive line, it was younger, but it was still emerging as a force,

had 1,800 yards and 13 touchdowns. How was DeMarco Murray without this cowboy offensive line? Zeeke's numbers last year, by the way, dropped. His yards per game dropped. His touchdowns dropped. Why? Because the Cowboys had injuries off in the offensive line. Travis Frederick didn't play.

Supposed to play this year. Tyron Smith was not 100%. So that offensive line last year, for the first time in the last couple of years, they started getting old and injured. And his numbers went down. as the offensive line is aged, they have more injuries, and Zeke, you start to see a little erosion. By the way, Zeke's talented, really talented, maybe the best running back. I'm not denying that.

But as Dak Prescott, the quarterback grows and matures, he'll become less reliant on him. That's also what happened with Russell, Wilson, and Marshawn Lynch. Russell depended on him for a couple of years, Marshawn Lynch left, and Russell blossomed. By the way, last year at the beginning of the season when Todd Gurley was healthy, we were having arguments on this show, and I'm sure it was on other debate shows. Zeke or Todd Gurley, who's better? And it was kind of split. It was kind of a 50-50 thing.

And like the Cowboys, the Rams have a young quarterback Jared Goff who has not hit his ceiling, and many of you say, oh, come on, he's overrated. Gurley makes golf. Gurley got hurt, but because the Rams have a very good offensive line, they found CJ Anderson a human bowling ball and they got to the Super Bowl without Todd Gurley. Why? Because Jared Goff became less reliant on Todd Gurley as he's age, which Dak will do. I'm not saying Dak is Jared Goff. I don't think he's that talented. But they're close. At this point, they're close.

So you got all these things. If a team's offensive line is the elite, take the Pittsburgh Steelers. Then you can lose a great running back. Labian Bell leaves James Connor last year in 12, 13 games, had 12 touchdowns. By the way, I'll give you another example. There's a guy in the NFL named Marlon Mack. He's a running back. He was like a fourth round pick by the Colts.

You never talked about him. Then last year, the Colts went out and drafted two offensive linemen, and they were both home runs. The Colts now don't have the best offensive line in football, but it's the best young offensive line. Well, what do you know? Marlon Mac last year in 12 games almost got to 1,000 yards. Did Marlon Mac get better?

No, the offensive line did. It's amazing to me that we acknowledge the importance of offensive lines all throughout football. It's really the key to the New England's dynasty. It's not just that Bill Belichick is brilliant and Tom Brady's great. Tom doesn't get hit. Tom always has time. By the way, in that Super Bowl loss to the Eagles, what was it that lost it for the Patriots? Tom got hit and fumbled.

the losses to the Giants in the Super Bowl. What lost it? Tom Brady faced pressure from the Giants' defensive front. Even Tom Brady is vulnerable to an offensive line that gets overwhelmed. If you go to the Super Bowl against Atlanta, Tom Brady had a horrible first half. The Falcons were teeing off on him. Tom Brady had a great fourth quarter.

What happened? The Falcons defensive line was gassed and the Patriots' offensive line dominated. We don't acknowledge the offensive line of the Cowboys in any of Zeke's greatness. I'm not saying he's not terrific, but if you put him behind the offensive line of the Houston Texans, and then you give me the Texans Lamar Miller behind the Cowboys' Offensive Line, Lamar Miller's going to average half a yard more a carry, and Zeke's going to probably average half to three quarters less a yard per carry.

And there'll be a lot closer in what you would get per game out of them. You can't dismiss the Cowboys offensive line in all this. It's been the best offensive line in the NFL for four straight years, maybe six. And now as it ages and gets expensive and more injury prone, maybe now's the time to move off Zeke and keep paying the offensive line and drafting the offensive line. Because if you keep paying all these cowboys, if you pay Dact and Amari and Zique and those linebackers into Marcus Lawrence, you know what you're not going to pay, the offensive line, which is getting really expensive and old. So, you know, it's, I'll say it again.

There's a stat out this morning that shows it's not like people defend the Cowboys and Zeke any differently. That's a bunch of nonsense. It is DAC grows, they will and should become less reliant on Zeke. I trade him and get a hall of picks and get rid of this preseason nonsense. Judicial two years ago and now financial. He wants a new contract two years out. I saw a story yesterday. Chris Sims played in the NFL college football.

He was at some golf tournament. And he did a, what do they call those, like a walk-and-talk interview with Aaron Rogers. And, you know, Aaron had Mike McCarthy, and it worked for a while, one of a Super Bowl. And then at the end, it kind of got corrosive and didn't work. And it was pretty obvious. A lot of different stories out there. Aaron denies some of the stories, but there are stories that Aaron would, you know, roll his eyes in the huddle and didn't like McCarthy, made it difficult.

And so now Aaron's got a new coach And the new coach is like, I have a system And it's pretty strict And we're not into audibling out of place And there's been some pushback in the media Aaron's like, you know what? I ad lib a lot. I audible a lot because, you know,

I do things that other quarterbacks can't do, which he's not wrong. But I've always thought he ad libs differently than other quarterbacks, and I'll get to that in a second. So he was walking and talking with Chris Sims And Aaron was talking about audibling And people are making too much of him kind of ad libbing and audibbing.

too much has made of it. I know it is. Because there's audibles in every play. Well, I've been trying to defend people and just say, I think it's great that you guys are actually publicly having the conversation. I think that's a positive, that Lefleur is willing to talk about it. You are,

and that means it's going in the right direction. I know a lot of people thought it was a negative, and I just didn't see it that way. Negative, but I haven't a lot of experience, being able to do things other quarterbacks just can't do it through that screen. Or haven't done. Here's the thing.

I'm for audibly. I am for audibly. Peyton Manning and Brady audible a ton, but there's different ways to audible. Okay. Tom Brady takes the play, goes to the line, sees a defense, and audibles out of a defense that he thinks is problematic. Peyton Manning did the same thing.

Omaha, Omaha, Omaha. Aaron Rogers audibles differently. Aaron Rogers, and this has now been reported by somebody who is in the huddle, is in the huddle, gets the play call, rolls his eyes in the huddle, goes to the line. has given up on the play and throws it out of bounds. Aaron led the NFL in throwaways last year, meaning it's a middle finger to the coaching staff.

There's a difference between walking to the line, Brady, Breeze, Manning are legendary. Walk to the line. I don't like the defense. This is a problem. I'm audibling out of it. There is a difference between that and the criticism of Aaron Rogers,

which I think you can pinpoint to data, which is gets to play, rolls his eyes, rips the coach in the huddle, confirmed by a teammate, Jeff Saturday, and then goes to the line, regardless of defense, I'm not going to do this. Gets the snap, initial guy covered, chucks it out of bounds. It's called a throwaway, and Aaron led the NFL by a country mile in that stat last year. That's the difference.

It is very generous to say some of Aaron's ad-lib, is an audible. Aaron is different. He's got a different personality. You become your personality as a quarterback. Cam Newton is very expressive. He is a very dramatic. The way he dresses, the way he talks, his press conferences.

And he's also like that as a quarterback. He's a very expressive quarterback. He's very, he's got mood. He's emotional. He emotes as a quarterback. You become your personality. Tom Brady is very focused and driven. You see his home life.

If you watch him on the field, he is very efficient, focused, and driven and very coachable. Aaron's personality, and this has now been documented by everybody from family members to teammates to coaches, is a little condescending, tends to be aloof, smarter than you probably also make sure you know he's smarter than you. And that becomes his personality. Adlimbing in the huddle before he gets to the line. Chris Carter talked about this on first things first. I'm not here to bash Aaron Rogers. This stuff is confirmed by teammates, the eye rolls, the NFL throwaway lead. I think it's being generous to OSA.

You know, Aaron just sort of wants the freedom to add lib. No, Aaron makes his mind up often before he gets to the line that this play's not going to work. Here is Chris Carter this morning on First Things First. Aaron Rogers, he can learn a lot from what's going on in New England. Tom Brady never complains about what they call and what they're going to do. He makes it work. Aaron Rogers makes up excuses after the game. Now, they might be real, but they're not for us to hear.

He's supposed to take the diplomatic approach after the game and blame it on himself, blame it on the teammates that he know are responsible, and then move on. Aaron hadn't done that. Yes, he hasn't. Remember, adapting is really the way to survive as you age. I'm a broadcaster. If I don't adapt to the changing landscape, I die as a broadcaster.

I've seen a lot of sportscasters don't adapt and they die. Okay? I talk some soccer. I talk more NBA. I talk growing sports. I cut stuff that doesn't work as well. Adapting is how you survive as you age. Tom has been the great adapter.

His body, his style, his ice cream, his film style. He's been the great adapter. Deep drops, short drops. He practices how to get hit. Brady actually does that. Aaron, smart as he is, Not so far a great adapter, which is, Chief, Cowboy, get rid of the football. You're 35 increasingly brittle.

Stop ad-libbing. Get rid of the football. And we've already had public discussions on. The new system doesn't quite work for him. So I think it's a fascinating year for Aaron. I just want to create clarity. I don't think he audibles. He may often audible the way Brady Breeze and Manning did.

But I think there are other situations where he makes up his mind pre-Londing. line of scrimmage, and this is not just me making it up. It is confirmed by throwaways and a report to the eye roll stuff in the huddle. That's just not me making stuff 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. 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.

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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

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Open your free iHeartRadio app. Search Learn the Hardway and listen now. What's up, guys? This is Clifford 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.

What? Time out. Quarterback on office blue with 42. Hey, Wreck, my mama want you to weigh better. What? Where's she at? Hey, Miss Parker. Listen to the Clifford show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast.

Hey, I'm Deanna Maria Riva, actress, mother, lover, and a Gen X woman walking through life one hot flash and hormonal crying jag at a time. You ladies know what I mean. I'll bet you a paramed apostle chin here you do. So let's talk about it. Join me on my new podcast. How hard can it be with the Adamania Riva, where I call on my Gen X squads from Ohio to Hollywood as we navigate Midlife's most fantastic BS.

All of a sudden, I'd had hanginess happening on my own. I was like, what the hell is that? I was married when I had her, so I didn't even consider how empty that nest was going to be. Mood swings, night sweats, fupas, sex drive. Wait, what sex? Dating at 45. How high can it be?

I'm getting naked at 50 with the new guy. That one's kind of hard. Well, that's lighting. They say we can't polish a turd, but we're sure going to try. So let's get blunt with laughs, tears, or tears of laughter, and dive into it, unfiltered and unbothered and ask, how hard can it be? I cannot believe I'm about to say this out loud in public.

Listen to How Hard Can It Be with Diana Maria Riva as part of my Cultura Podcast Network available on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. You know, sometimes it's easy in the state of Ohio. because they have a national college football power, Ohio State, that fans would think college football is like the NFL. And they're way different. On any Sunday in the NFL, anybody can beat anybody.

And I mean anybody can beat anybody. But in college football, Ohio State can't lose about nine of their games. Three of them, they should win and probably will split. But in college football, you show up for a lot of Saturdays in Ohio, knowing Ohio State's going to win. the question is by how much? They may get shocked once a year at Iowa, at Purdue, but that is an exception.

That is not the rule. In the NFL, it's the opposite. Bad teams often crush good teams. Miami, Adam Gase and Miami gave the New England Patriots big trouble. In fact, in one Sunday, I watched, New England couldn't figure them out. They couldn't figure out Tanna Hill. So the reality is the NFL's different.

In Cleveland, this just shows you what the NFL is. The best bet on the board in week one, and I've already gambled on this, I've already bet my money on it, is Tennessee plus five and a half against Cleveland at Cleveland. Now, you think to yourself, Collins's just going to rip the Browns. This is the difference between the NFL and college. Let's just take Tennessee and Cleveland. Tennessee last year, the five-point underdog, destroyed New England and Dallas and beat Philadelphia and the Houston Texans. They beat four playoff teams, two they crushed. Cleveland went one in five against playoff teams.

The one win was over Joe Flacco who got benched. So Tennessee's proven we can go up against the best in the league and hammer them. Cleveland has not proven that. Tennessee last three years, nine and seven, nine and seven, nine and seven. A consistent winning football team. Cleveland's won eight games in three years. They haven't proved they can consistently win. Most important unit in the NFL is offensive line.

Tennessee's is rated as number four, pro football focus. Cleveland's is rated 20th, and many subscribe to the belief that their starting tackles are bottom five in the NFL combined, left-right tackle. The coach for Tennessee, Mike Vrable, nine and seven in his first year, they were the least penalized team in the NFL. They're well-coached. Houston, Cleveland has a rookie head coach. and this will be the youngest roster in the NFL. Tennessee added Adam Humphreys, best slot receiver available in free agency

and Roger Safford, two high-end players, very low-maintenance, productive and low-maintenance. Cleveland added the highly dramatic, talented, but often injury-prone, O'Dell Beckham. So on paper, if I reverse those, you'd say Cleveland should be a touchdown favorite. They're a five and a half point favorite.

They have a deficit on consistently winning, beating good teams, offensive line, head coach, and they added more drama than Tennessee did. Like to me, this is the bet of the week one. Now, I'm not saying what's going to happen after that for Cleveland because I think Cleveland's going to win a lot of games, especially post- Thanksgiving. Their schedule lightens up. But this shows you the hype around Cleveland. By the way, Tennessee is laying in the weeds, has been here in all offseason how great Cleveland is,

Baker Mayfield can't shut up. It's taunt great, taunt great. Media, social. Tennessee crickets. Crickets. Crushed New England. Crushed Dallas. Beat Philly.

Beat Texans. Least penalized team. A coach that's proven he can handle it. Top five offensive line. 9-7-9-7-97. And they're the dog. And they're going to Cleveland. That's the difference between Ohio State Schedule and Cleveland.

every Brown fan has that game is the automatic W. Every Brown fan. Tennessee is their automatic W. It's like Alabama against Troy. Everybody's put it down the W. That's your W. By the way, then you have to go to the Jets, play the Rams at Baltimore, at Niners,

Seahawks, at Patriots, at Denver, and everybody in Cleveland, Tennessee's a W. That is the gap, NFL in college. That game has upset written all over it, and Tennessee may just go in there with that veteran offensive line and just lay the wood on Cleveland for three hours. I've already bet it more than I should have.

Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific. Hugh Jackson's one of those guys. We were talking about this this morning. I said, you know, Hugh Jackson could do what Herm Edwards is doing. He could go do college. Herm's got a personality. And it's funny about this. Not that Hugh can't coach in the NFL,

but I've always thought Hugh Jackson is one of those guys. I always felt this with John Gruy. I felt it with Herm Edwards. I felt it with Hugh. Good looking guys, good energy, can talk to talk and deal with young players very well. Hugh Jackson right now is the former Brown's head coach, and he's doing some occasional broadcasting time to time was on the bingles last year, and he's joining us. Hugh, first of all, how are you? How are you spending your summer? I'm doing good. It's been a different summer, but it's been good. So I'm looking forward to the next chapter in my life as well. By the way, take my audience into when you're a new coach, Mike Vrable is going to be in his second year. Kitchens now in his first year. What are you doing right now? Are you evaluating personnel?

Are you putting in the playbook? What is a coach doing a week before camp starts? First, the coach is making sure that all the injured players, you know, the guys that have had some kind of injury or some kind of anything that kept them out of practice, that those guys are moving towards being able to practice. And then you're just making sure you cross all the T's out all the eyes when it comes to your practice plans and your schedules. making sure that this is also a time when the National Football League's office comes in from the officials, from, you know, substance abuse and all those things. They have to have time with the team.

So you have to make sure you have a well-thought-out plan on how you're going to get all those things done on top of practice, meetings, and making sure we're ready to go by time the season starts. Your former team, Cleveland's got big personalities. Odell Beckham's a remarkable player. He's a big personality. Baker's got some real talent. He's a big personality. I think veteran coaches are used to that over time, but Freddie Kitchens is a very young coach

by experienced standards. Do you think there'll be some unique challenges for Freddie going forward with this talented but expressive roster? You know, Colin, I think it's that way for any first-time head coach. You know, I think even if you've been there, I still think there's a period that where you need to go through some things that are different when you're the guy that stands in front of the team all the time when you're the guy that enforces discipline, when you're the guy that, you know, is trying to be the catalyst to winning. So I anticipate that there'll be some things that are

difficult, but that's what brings the team closer together too. And if you can handle that the right way, you have a chance to have success. It's interesting for Freddie. He's an offensive guy. David and Joku is a great tight end. They have two good running backs, three when Kareem Hunt returns. Jarvis Landry has the most catches in the first five years of his career than any wide receiver and now you add Odell. Odell is got a global brand. He's not as patient. His clock's a little different.

He's not young. He's been hurt. There's a lot of mouths to feed. How going forward do you feed all this talent? Because you help draft it, it is substantial in that building on both sides. No, they're very talented. They're very talented group. And they're all going to have to check their egos at the door.

It's going to have to truly be about winning. And there's going to be some bumps and bruises there, because there'll be times when teams are going to do everything they can to take Odell out of the game and Jarvis is going to have to do what he does. And there's going to be times when they try to take them both out of the game and David's going to have to do what he does. And that's going to be the challenge. I think that's the biggest unknown for the team. How will they function and making sure that this one football gets distributed to all these guys who have the ability to make play?

Hugh, I don't know how you feel about this. I tend to be, I call them my bore four. I like my quarterbacks to be boring. Russell Wilson, Andrew Luck, Tom Brady. I'm not into trash talk. I'm not into that stuff. I think quarterback's a leadership position, and sometimes you have to swallow your pride and not win the moment.

How bothered or are you that Baker doubles down on criticism of you? Does it bother you personally? Because, I mean, again, I've been in the National Football League for a long time, and I've seen a lot of different ways that people handle things. He has to do what he feels he needed to do, you know, And so that's how he's handled it. Again, everybody's going to handle things differently. That's how he chooses to make sure that he's ready to go, ready to play, or has his team ready to play.

And again, the Browns wasn't playing Hugh Jackson. They were playing the bingles. So at the end of the day, whatever that was for him and their football team on those particular days, it worked. They won the game. So, you know, you can look at it how you want to. But I don't look at it and say, you know, I'm really. disappointed by it because at the end of the day, Baker has to do what he thinks best for his football team.

Yeah, he's got a chip on his shoulder. By the way, many of the greats have a chip on their shoulder. It's a very redeemable quality for quarterbacks. And I do think there's part of that I really like. He's a little chattery for my taste, but so be it. I want to ask you about two NFL questions. There are people in the league, Hugh, that believe that analytically be very careful about signing a running back to a second long contract.

Melvin Gordon, four years of production at Wisconsin, three great years with the Chargers. Do you assign him to another four years? Similar situation with Zeke. Where do you fall? I mean, we watched New England and Philadelphia. It's running back by committee and they win Super Bowls. Where do you fall on the star running back in 2019 who's got a lot of wear on those tires but is really good? The really good potential to be great.

I fall that if they're the reason why you're winning football games, you've got to have it. You know, there's no question about that. There's only a few of those in a national football league that you can go put that stamp on. And those guys have been consistent throughout their career. And I think, again, it's the vision of the organization. If that's how the team is built to win by running the football and throwing the ball when they need to score, then that's what you better do. But if you start changing the approach on what it takes to win,

you always said you take the runner out of the equation and now you can't win. now that's a whole different conversation. If I said to you, take quarterback out and you ran your team salary cap, take quarterback out, and I said, who are the next three guys you'd pay? What would be the positions? It would be the left tackle, it would be wide receiver, and then running back. So you're an offensive coach, you? Absolutely.

By the way, Aaron Rogers was talking a couple days ago with Chris Sims about audibling, and he's pushing back a little bit on this whole thing. I audible too much. Were you ever bothered as a coach or a coordinator when your quarterback audibled? Absolutely not, because, Colin, we work through that process together. I mean, if the quarterback is making changes and audibling in the game, it's because I've given him the parameters and we've worked through this process that when this look comes up, we need to get to this.

And again, there's nothing that can be said about experience. I mean, Aaron's been playing a game a long time. And so he knows when things are good and when things are bad. I think you have to give the really good players that kind of lead way. And I would hope that, you know, you don't try to put a guy in a box to where you stop him from being the best version of himself, you know, because that could hurt a player. Hugh, I love talking to you. And I say this was respect.

I think you're one of those guys that could hit home runs at the college level if you wanted to. And college pays just like the NFL does. Have you ever considered college? I sure have. You know, and college, it doesn't matter to me where I end up coaching at in the future. I would coach in college in the right situation and a heartbeat. And obviously, I'd love to go back and coach in the National Football League so that I can get that stink off of me.

But, again, I just like coaching. And I don't care where it is or who it's for. As long as this the right situation and we're aligned correctly and we're after the same things and I think good things can happen. It's great talking to you. You too, always. One more herd? The herd streams 24 hours a day, seven days a week,

within the IHeart Radio app. Search Herd to listen live or on demand. whenever you'd like. 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. 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. SportsSlice brings you closer to the action with stories told by the people who live them. Listen to SportsClyce on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Sliced Life 12 and the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hardway with me, your host, and your favorite therapist,

Kyr Games. And in recognition of mental health awareness month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience in the mental health field and conversations with so many incredible guests. I'm talking. Tripp Fontaine, Ryan Clark. Sometimes when we're in the pursuit of the thing,

we get so wrapped up in the chase that we don't realize that we are in possession of the thing. And we're still chasing it. And we don't know when we've done enough because people scoreboard watch. Life becomes about wins and losses. Steve Burns, Dustin Ross. you find it important to be a good person while you hear on earth?

Are you a good person because you're afraid? Because that's two different intentions, bro. Absolutely. And that's two different levels of trust. I want you to just really be a good person. Join me, Kear Gaines, is we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast, Learn the 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 Cliver 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 42. Hey, rep, my mama want you to wave at her. What? Where's she at? Hey, Miss Parker.

Listen to the Clippers show on the I-Hart Radio app. Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcast. Hey, I'm Deanna Maria Riva, actress, mother, lover, and a Gen X woman walking through life one hot flash and hormonal crying jag at a time. You ladies know what I mean. I'll bet you a perimenopausal chin here you do. So let's talk about it.

Join me on my new podcast. How hard can it be with Deanna Maria Riva, where I call on my Gen X squads from Ohio to Hollywood as we navigate Midlife's most fantastic BS. All of a sudden, I'd had hanginess happening on my own. I was like, what the hell is that? I was married when I had her, so I didn't even consider how empty that Ness was going to be. Mood swings, night sweats, fupas, sex drive.

Wait, what sex? Dating at 45. How high can it be getting naked at 50 with the new guy? That one's kind of hard now. Well, that's lighting. They say we can't polish a turd, but we're sure going to try. So let's get blunt with laughs, tears or tears of laughter, and dive into it, unfiltered and unbothered and ask, how hard can it be?

I cannot believe I'm about to say this out loud in public. Listen to How Hard Can It Be with Diana Maria Riva as part of my Cultura podcast network available on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. All right, so I was watching this Tom Hanks documentary. He's doing this six-part series on CNN at about movies. And CNN does these decade-long kind of docu series, and they're fascinating.

I've watched all of them. And I don't watch CNN a lot, but that's the thing that pulled me. Anthony Bourdain pulled me in the late Anthony Bordane, pulled me into CNN, and these docu series are fantastic. Well, Hanks has a new one on movies, and he looks at a decade of movies, the 80s and the 90s. And I'm watching this, and I'm thinking, you know, in my life, Tom Hanks is the most accomplished actor.

He's got like a star named after him. He's on the NASA board. But very rarely, except for the year he won Philadelphia, the Oscar for Philadelphia, has he been the It actor? When he got into acting, Jack Nicholson was the talk of Los Angeles, and then there was Russell Crow got high. and then Ryan Gosling. But if you look at Tom Hanks' career

over the last 25, he's America's greatest actor. He's our most accomplished actor. And I thought it's similar to Tom Brady. That, you know, there's been, now Patrick Mahomes is a hot guy. Before that Aaron Rogers was the hot guy. And before that Peyton Manning had more talent.

And very rarely has Tom been, he win Super Bowls, but is he the it quarterback? Not really. He walked into this league and it was who was it? It was Farrb. And then Manning was more talented. And then Aaron, how many times did I have to argue? He's better than Aaron Rogers. And now Patrick Mahomes. So I would say, we started saying a lot of these quarterbacks remind me of actors. Their careers are like actors. And so the first one I'd put up is Brady is Hanks. In the end, best ever at their profession, but have rarely been over a one or two year period, the it guy in their profession.

Aaron Rogers is George Clooney. Talented and really good looking. Getting a little arrogant, neither had as much success lately as we thought they would. Cam Newton is Ben Affleck. Man can they be great. Cam on an MVP. The town Goodwill hunting for Athlet. But Cam also had a year he completed 53% of his throws, and Affleck made Gile.

Great highs, ugly lows. Philip Rivers is Tom Cruise. A little crazy. The couch with Oprah. Phillips, the 38 kids and is the biggest trash talker in the NFL quarterback. Both have been really good for a really long time. But Cruz never won an Oscar and Phillips never won a Super Bowl. Drew Breeze is Merrill Streep.

I mean, they've been good for like ever, right? What an excellent comparison. And who doesn't love Merrill? who doesn't love Breeze? Probably the most respected, liked people in their respective profession. Every time you look up, Breeze is thrown for 5,000 yards. Every time you look up, Merrill's being nominated for an Oscar.

Dak Prescott is Chris Evans. He's fine when surrounded by superheroes, but not very valuable in his own. You like Chris Evans. I mean, Chris Evans is Captain America. Well, he was Captain America. Very excited for the new Captain America as well. Andrew Luck, I love him. He's Daniel Day-Lewis.

Super smart and talented. Not a very good interview. And don't really draw a rating. Daniel Day-Lewis, not a box office hit. Andrew Luck, cult TV ratings are average. Talent, smart, unbelievable. Patrick Mahomes is Rami Malik. Literally, Malik won an Oscar in the first movie.

Any of us ever watched him in, Bohemian Rhapsody. Mahomes won an MVP in the first season. as a starter. Ben Rathlisberger is Russell Crow. They're big and they're feisty and they're tough and they've had some real issues over the years getting along with people, including hotel clerks for Russell Crowe. But you've got to be honest, they've had a lot of talent. A lot of talent. Baker Mayfield is Jennifer Lawrence. Young, talented, but you read things about their attitude and I have my questions about both leadership skills. Kirk Cousins is Johnny Depp.

He gets paid like a star, but I never go to any of Johnny Depp's movies. They get paid like stars. Are they really stars? Don't you have to get me to a theater once a decade? Marcus Marietta is the late Buster Keaton. Neither of them talk. Buster Keaton was a silent movie star.

Yeah. Yeah, that's kind of a bad joke. Russell Wilson is Chris Pratt. A little stocky, very, very convicted with their religion. Christopher Pratt was part of an ensemble cast. Russell Wilson came into the league with an ensemble cast. But now both are leaders of their respective franchises. Deshawn Watson is Chadwick Bozeman.

Both emerging his stars. haven't won anything yet, but we're pretty sure they will. Eli Manning is Will Smith. It used to be great. It's getting a little sad. What is this? Will Smith slander. It's getting a little sad.

No, it's not. Will Smith is still a star. I reject this comparison. And Joe Flacko finally is the volleyball from Castaway. No personality in a constant blank stare. Wilson. The volleyball from Castaway. Now that was slander.

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. Will Blackman, 10 NFL seasons, been around the league. You see him on the NFL network. He is a sharp dress man and actually has a sense of humor on Twitter. I got a sense of humor. You don't take yourself very, look at you today. I tell you what? Look at you.

I'm just like a Somalié. I'll take a Pino noir. From Oregon. Actually, I have a WSET level 2 certification and wine. I own a wine store. I am a personal wine concierge. I drink wine. Dead serious.

You are? Dead serious. Yeah, I sell wine. I like a reesling. Where's it from? Germany. Wow. Or you go to a Kung Fu Girl in Washington.

Let's do it. Let's do it. I'm serious, bro. I'm not, but I still like it. I'm serious. Go ahead. Okay. So...

By the way, everyone's sleeping on Pakistan. y'all, by the way. By the way. You think Pacquil's going to win the fight? He has a chance. Well, of course he has a chance. By the way, you ever seen him in person? He's really small.

No, I mean, in person, I walked down the hallway with him. Thurman's, like, significantly longer and rangier. And Pacquiao, you're like, that's the greatest pound-for-pound fighter of all time. Thurman will win the fight if he lands that kind of right-hand that Juan Manuel Rakez handed. Right. Anyhow. No, that's not done anyhow. By the way, we were talking this morning about the difference between college football and the NFL.

is that in college football, if you play for a power like Ohio State, you're not going to lose nine games. You're in about three of them where they have close to similar personnel. Tennessee is a five-point dog to Cleveland in the opener, and they have a top five-o line. They were nine and seven last year, least penalized team, added at in Humphreys and Roger Saffold in the offensive line. And they're a dog going to Cleveland.

And I'm like, are we sleeping on Tennessee or are we over-hyping Cleveland? So let's start with that. Cleveland's the most talked about team in the NFL. Right, hands down. Are they legit? I believe they are legit on paper. And I believe they're going to be legit this year. And it's based on the culture.

I feel like they're going to come out playing very, very well. The big deal is going to, what happens when they drop one game? They drop two games. Say if they drop three games in a row, what's going to happen in that locker room? So that's where culture takes over. Culture takes over, 100%. There's an old saying in the NFL, you can lose two straight. You'll lose a third.

A coach can lose a locker room. I never heard that. But, yeah, that's very, very true. So the culture is what's going to help that team be really good or really bad. When you look at that division, though, I take Pittsburgh to win it because I think they have the best offensive line, arguably the best coach, the best quarterback. And I do think they get to the quarterback. They edge rush well. So I'll take Pittsburgh.

You actually like Baltimore. I like Baltimore just because of what DeKosso did in the offseason. and he added Earl Thomas once Cleveland added Odell. I feel like that secondary is built to defeat Cleveland. To defeat Cleveland. By the way, they also upgraded their running back situation. Right, get Ingram. There's a couple teams in the NFL.

Chicago's one and Baltimore's the other. Tennessee may be the third. You can tell they're going to go a little old school. They don't feel they're explosive offensively over the top, so they're going to pound you. Yeah, Navy's not that far from the Ravens either. I'm sure the coaches talk. I'm sure I guarantee we're going to see a wishbone.

I promise we'll see a wishbone with the Ravens. But their success is going to be based off what Lamar Jackson does this year. That's what I see. That's what I see. Listen, we all know that in the NBA, there are certain players you pay and you just swallow hard. They're going to take your cap up. Anthony Davis, you just got to pay him. And then you figure out little pieces around him.

But the NFL, Will Blackman joining us, is different. Historically, people have bailed on Favre, Peyton Manning, Joan Ameth, With years left to play, that's the NFL. You let go of really good players because outside a quarterback, very few players are worth even half a point in terms of what Vegas does the odds. I know Zeke is great, right? 100%. Why doesn't the offensive line for Dallas get half the credit? By the way, DeMarco Murray, 13 touchdowns, 1,500 yards behind that all line.

What happened to DeMarco when he left? Is Zeeke just that special? I believe Darren McFadden ran for a thousand yards too. Yeah. And by the way, at the time, he was considered a shot fighter. Why do you, when you look at Zique, do you just think can't trade him? I think he, you do pay him. I think he's worth being paid.

But if I was Zique, I wouldn't hold out. I would take whatever they're going to pay. I wouldn't hold out because he is, based on everything that's going around with him outside of football, he is tradable. you know, I still have them top three running backs. You know, I have them right now the top guy going in this year. We're going to see what Levyon Bell does,

and I think by the end of the year, Sequan will be the leading rusher this year. Just, I believe he's just... Giants have upgraded their own line. They have upgraded, yeah. They have. They've done it actually last two years. They've got a good job to upgrade.

And then a year or two with the guys they got last year. I think it's going to be a massive improvement. But yeah, I like Seekan. But yeah, I think Zeke, he just... He's that good. just playing against him, he is that good. He's big body, extremely hard to tackle. He was a hirdala, all-state hurt a lot in high school,

so he can hit the home run. He can run, you know, really good out the backfield. Overall, he is the complete runnerback and really good pass protection. That's the one thing that's hard to find, too, and a guy who can run the ball, receive the ball, and also protect the quarterback, and he's good at that as well. He is immature. His father acknowledged when he came into the league, the quote was,

my son's not ready to be some American football star yet. He's a fun kid. He wants to be around fun people. His dad said that. Right. And to some degree, his dad's been, we had the Mardi Gras, we've had the Vegas thing, we've had some incidents. You've been in NFL locker rooms for a decade. Go back to your career and the young immature guy, does the green light go on or are they always immature?

Have you seen guys literally changed from immature to mature? Yeah, sometimes it took for a player to go somewhere else to learn. And so I'll mention a guy. When I was in Seattle, there was a player, safety, Winston guy. Winston guy had dreds. And he, I mean, measurable 6-2, 215, he could run, he can cover the field, he can tackle, he can do all the things well. And I think just mentally, he just wasn't ready yet.

And I'm like, man, you're behind Earl and Cam Chancellor. I mean, what a great place to learn, you know. So I end up going to Jacksonville. He ended up coming to Jacksonville as well after he got released. And he was what Coach Gus Bradley, Gus Bradley knew him. That's kind of how it is. You know a guy, you bring him in. And he got another opportunity.

And I think once he got the starting job, just didn't know how to handle it because he didn't prepare himself in terms of how to be more mature about it. And then he eventually went to the Colts. And then when he went to the Colts... Went to the Colts, he cut his dreds off, you know, became a father, and just understood like, hey, I need to take advantage of my opportunity. So he grew up once he went, you know, to a couple of teams. So, yeah, I seen that, just to name him, for example,

because I was really close to him, and I seen him go through the maturation process. When you came into the league, now you're in wine, Somalié. Were you ready to go maturity-wise? Absolutely not. Absolutely not. You weren't. I was not. It's funny you mentioned that.

On the way, I was thinking, I was like, okay, we always find things off the cuff. And the things, the two things that's hard for an NFL player is your transition into the league and your transition into the league. And I've gone through both. Transition into the league, you know, we were talking at the barbershop the other day is like, hey, you know, this guy, you're, you have no responsibility in college. And then all of a sudden, you become a professional athlete, you have to buy a house, buy a car, you have bills, you have all these things you got to take care of.

You're like, dude, how do I do? I never did this in college. There's no, unless you're a finance major, there's no course for that. And then transitioned out of the league, I play football from six years old to 34. My whole life was scheduled out for me. My whole life. And so now I'm out and I'm like, I need to do something. I need to do something. Yeah. I need to schedule and plan out. What am I going to do now? Because I'm so used to waking up. I do this. I do that. I do this. And I go home. It's the same thing all over again. I've been doing it since I was six years old.

That's fascinating. It's crazy. It is crazy. Will Blackman, wine sommelier. I was saying, I think it's amazing. No, studying to be one. Yeah. Isn't that amazing? I love it. Absolutely. Look up maximum beverage. They're my wine stores in Connecticut. go to NFL Wine Guy on Twitter and Instagram. That's Gary V. That's NFL Wine Guy. That's me. That's you? Yeah.

You're an NFL wine guy. That's my handle. Tell me something about the Bordeaux region. The Bordeaux? Well, you got Merlot on the right bank. You got Cab on the left bank. We just had something from Trupon-Mondot from the right bank, St. Emilion.

And he brought his wine. It was 85% Merlo, 5% cab. been 2% cap, 3% cab franc, I believe it was. And it was good. It was awesome. I'm thinking of having a pinot gris. What does it go well with? You can, it's light. Actually, what's interesting is Pinogrigio, Pinot Gris. They're all kind of the same. Pino Gris is gray. That's the word for it. So you can have that with any kind of like white fish or whatever it is. It's very good. I got you. I do this. Joy. You do this. You really does. You. I'll discuss them and I'll just try them.

Okay, his name is Will Blackman. He actually has a sense of humor. I love your life story. I really like it a lot. I like your life story. I appreciate it. No, I like it. You have things to say.

You're interesting. You know, you're a guy that I can tell without knowing you that well. You think about stuff. Yeah. Because whenever I ask you questions, you have thought about. You see my eyebrows already? Is that what it is? I'm like, oh, when you drive in your car, you may listen to music or sometimes you just think.

Yeah, I do. Yeah. You're a thinker. Especially coming here. I don't, it's unpredictable when I come here to hang out with you guys. So I know you're going to, I'm just, I'm just ready. You got to be ready. I pay attention to the world.

You do. Wine in Somalia. It's so good to see you. Yeah, you too. Are you a Napa guy? I've gone to it. Napa's cool. I like Old world.

That's kind of my vibe. Like Italy? Old world is Europe, yeah. You like old world? Yeah. My like, my thing is like Shablies. People don't understand that champagne's name Champagne because it comes from the Champagne. Yeah. Champagne can only be called.

If it's made in Champagne, France. Thank you. Otherwise, it's called spark. There's other names, but it's sparkling wine. Prosecco. Ponceco, Kava, mascaro. Look at this guy. Cremont.

What the hell? What's going on here? NFL at NFL Wine guys. My new handle, I talk about wine only. Because I talk about wine on my regular handle and people are like, oh, yeah, you know, I just, I just drank it. I don't really care. So I'm like, no one appreciates it here.

Let me create NFL wine guy. This guy appreciates it. Okay, well, we'll follow it. A couple of thinkers. And then all those professional athletes out there, that are looking to buy wine, I am your guy. I'm being serious about that. That's what I do.

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 headlines.

And we're going straight to the source, the athletes themselves, their locker room stories, their reactions in the moment, and the stuff nobody's. gets to hear. Listen to SportsSlic on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Slicelife-Life

12 and the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. Another podcast from some SNL late-night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smygel and friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day

and head writer Streeter Seidel help an a cappella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform. We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and friends on the Iheart Radio app, Apple podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

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, this linebacker walks up to me, he goes, hey, ref, my mom wants you to wave at her.

What? Time of it. Look. Quarterback on office blue with 42. Hey, Wreck, my mama want you to weigh better. What? Where's she at?

Hey, Miss Parker. Listen to the Clifford show on the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. What's up, fam? It's Isaiah Thomas. And I'm C.J. Toledano. It's our favorite time of the year on our podcast point game, the playoffs. We're digging into the biggest surprises of the season.

And I'm looking back on some of my greatest playoff moments. If we didn't talk ever again, I was funny. You just understood. That's how personal it got. Wow. Then after that game seven, Marquis come in to you, he's like, you know, I love you, dog. You know, it's all love. This was just playoffs.

This was just basketball. So listen to Point Game on the Iheart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed human.