The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Best of The Herd: 08/28/2019

Episode Date: August 28, 2019

Colin says running backs can be found anywhere so Zeke has no leverage anymore.  He defends the Aaron Rodgers/Matt LaFleur relationship and talks about it with former Packers WR James Jones.  Plus, Joel Klatt returns to disagree with Colin about Andrew Luck, picking upsets and why Jim Harbaugh has no more excuses to not succeed in Michigan. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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This is the best of the herd with Colin Cowher on Fox Sports Radio. Ah, here we go. We are packed. It is a Wednesday. This is the herd, wherever you may be. However, you may be listening. We are live on IHeart Radio, Fox Sports Radio, and FS1. Joy Taylor's in today. We are packed today. Now we're getting all sorts of stuff. There's no Zeke for the Cowboys, Joy. Yeah, I don't know. I still am holding on faith that they get it done before week one, but I might be on an island with that one.

Well, it's an interesting place to start today. So there's no new news on Zeke, a Zach Martin offensive lineman for the Dallas Cowboys came out yesterday, and here's what he said in regards to the holdout, Zach Martin talking about the Cowboys. Listen, we're preparing for the season, and, you know, we're going to have to play with what we got. And what we got is a damn good back from Tony Pollard.

So, you know, obviously you'd want them out here, but we're preparing to get ready for week one. Okay, that sounds desperate. Dallas is not desperate. Tony Pollard, have you watched him play? Pretty good. 5.6 yards of carry. That would lead the NFL. Well, it's only preseason.

Yeah, that's right. It's only preseason for Dallas's always. line as well. Is everybody forgetting that Dallas's O line is healthier now than last year? That DAC is now in his fourth year, not his third year. That Amari Cooper will play all 16 games. And that Michael Gallup, who was a rookie wide receiver last year, has had a really good preseason in camp, that everything around the cowboy running back position is significantly better this year. The coordinator we think will be better. The quarterback is older and better. Amari an entire offseason is better.

Michael Gallup better. Do you need $18 million a year at running back? I'm not denying Zieg's better than Tony Pollard. But running back is weird in the NFL. Okay, let me give you a couple of examples. Seattle a couple years ago went and drafted a guy in the seventh round named Chris Carson. He could not win the starting job at Oklahoma State. He split time with a freshman his last year there.

Following year, Seattle spent a first round pin. on a running back. Rashad Penny. He can't beat out Chris Carson. Chris Carson's better than Rashad Penny. Well, that's just one example. Not really. How about Denver, Philip Lindsay?

Undrafted. They gave him a tryout because he was a local kid. He was undrafted from a non-football power. He's been a home run. Then they went out and got third rounder from Oregon, Royce Freeman. Philip Lindsay's better. Okay, so you got a couple examples. Now, let's go to the Chargers, Austin Echler.

Calvin Gordon. Pay him a lot. First round pick. Austin Echler went to something called Western State. It's in Colorado. I'm not sure if it's a university or a way station. We couldn't figure it out on Wikipedia. By the way, Justin Jackson's a seventh round pick. He also averages almost four yards of carry. Running back is different.

Matt Breedah at the 49ers, Georgia Southern. David Johnson for Arizona walked into this league and was a star, Northern Iowa, later rounds. Tareke Cohen for the Bears. Did you watch him in college on Saturdays at N-C-A-N-T? Is that a phone company or a football program? Who knows? Running back is instinct. It wouldn't be a shot.

Well, Tony Pollard didn't start at Memphis. Chris Carson didn't get all the carries at Oklahoma State and went in later rounds. Memphis puts a lot of guys in the NFL. Running back is different. Running backs are very dependent in most. cases on every running back was good for Mike Shanahan. Denver for years. Irrelevant who it was. If you were behind Mike Shanahan zone blocking, you rush for a thousand yards. This cowboy line has created three different thousand yard rushers. Dak will be better this year. Amari Cooper

for a full year. Jason Whitten helps a tight end. Michael Gallup in his second year. The offensive line is healthier. Upgrades it coordinator. By the way, the best Green Bay running back in terms of talent in the last several years, half a decade's Aaron Jones. I'm sure you watch them a lot at U-Tap. He went in the fifth round. This is not like a lot of positions in this league. You know, quarterbacks overwhelmingly come from the first round, the great ones. The Aaron Rogers, you know, you can give me Brady, but most of the great ones come

in the first round, the Elway's and Marinos. Running back is all over the board, undrafted. Western Colorado, a directional school in Iowa or Texas. I'm not saying Tony Pollard's amazing. And I don't think you want to give him the ball 275 times this year. I'm not saying he's Levy and Bell. I'm not saying he's Zeke. But I'm saying the Cowboys have more leverage than everybody is insinuating here.

Because he's going to make $600,000 this year. That's what Tony Pollard makes. You're paying Zeke 16. I can re-sign Byron Jones, if that's all I'm paying my running back, and I can re-sign Van derrash and Amari Cooper and give DAC 33 and not go sleepless at night. That's all I'm saying. This is not running back is.

different and everybody for the Cowboys is better around the running back position than they were a year ago. All right, let me go to this. There is, you know, I've been listening to a lot of, you know, talk show hosts and TV personalities. I consider myself a journalist. But let's not get into that. Anyway, I've been listening to a lot of this over the last, I would say, month or two. And there is some speculation. This is the common theme on Aaron Rogers and Matt LaFleur.

You know, what happens when they go into a two-game losing streak, and Aaron wants to do what he wants to do, and Matt Lefleur has his system? It feels a little problematic. I do not believe that is the case. In fact, I think the opposite is true. Aaron Rogers yesterday talked about his new coach and the new system. He's in every meeting. He leads every install.

We spend time one-on-one as well talking about things. There's been a lot of great discussions, a lot of creativity on both sides. You know, I think he's done some really, really smart things. He's not come in and said, hey, the past scheme was terrible. This is what we're going to run. He's been a good blending of some of the things that we're really good at, and then some of the great schemes that he's bringing to us from the places that he's been. I am going to now have a prediction that will be the opposite of everything I have heard in the media over the last month or two since Matt

Lefleur and Aaron Rogers got together. Are you ready for it? Twitter may not like this. I think Aaron Rogers and Matt Lafleur are going to have the best relationship in that division, and I'll explain why. Let's go to Mitch

Trubisky and Matt Nagy in Chicago. Did you watch Matt Nagy's frustration when Mitch Trubisky could not make pedestrian throws in that playoff game? Here's something I know about football. When you are a brilliant

offensive mind, and Matt Nagy qualifies for that. Dude is all it. You get really frustrated when pedestrian quarterbacks can't fulfill the genius that you draw up on the whiteboard.

Vic Fangio is gone in Chicago. A great defensive coordinator. Translation, Bear's going to have to score some points this year. And Matt Nagy has scored points as a coordinator and a Coach, his entire career. What happens when they lose 27, 23 a lot? Okay, I don't think Matt Nagy and Mitch Trubisky

by the end of the year is going to be as ideal as everybody thinks. Let's go to Mike Zimmer and Kirk Cousins. Oh, they get along. Fine. Really? Kirk Cousins is 5 and 13 in primetime TV games. He has a brand now. He clenches his teeth in big games. Mike Zimmer coached for 35 years. before Mike Zimmer was given a head coaching job in the NFL.

He's in his 60s. He doesn't have a lot of years left. This is his big job. He is a great coach. He has a great defense. They have a star running back in Delvin Cook. They have two star receivers and a way above average tight end. Let me ask you, when Kirk Cousins chokes like a cat on a hairball in another primetime TV game,

and you're in week seven and you're already two back of Green Bay and one back of Chicago, You think Mike Zimmer's going to come in? Kirk Cousins, high five. We'll get him next time, Tiger. I think that relationship is walking on eggshells. Okay, let's go to Matt Stafford and Matt Patricia. Let me ask you, how many big wins has Matt Stafford had in his career? Let's start with zero and work backwards.

Because Matt Patricia watched Tom Brady win seemingly every big game and make every big play in every big moment. That's his standard. Think he's going to get tired of Matt Stafford? By the way, Matt Patricia is not getting a second head coaching job because he is a disciple of Belichick, meaning if he fails in Detroit, he will fairly or unfairly be labeled as another Belichick coordinator who can't really get it done. This is his chance.

He's a smart, successful 40-year-old guy. I've known guys like that. This is his opportunity. he's going to have no patience on Matt Stafford putting up big numbers and can't make the play late in the game. Nagy and Tribisky, Zimmer and Kirk Cousins, Stafford and Matt Patricia, I don't see those as potentially great relationships for very long. Now let's go to Aaron Rogers and Matt LaFleur. if Matt LaFleur came from Tennessee.

Okay, that's Marcus Marietta. If you woke up every morning and drove to the facility with Marcus Marietta for a year, and then a year later you wake up and you drive to the facility with Aaron Rogers as your quarterback, it is Christmas every day at five in the morning in Wisconsin, I think Matt LaFleur is going to totally appreciate Aaron Rogers? I think Aaron Rogers, if Matt LaFleur is a little over his head or skis in a couple of games this year, Aaron has the ability to save the staff. I think this relationship is going to be fine.

It's the other three relationships in that division I'm worried about. Aaron and Matt, I'll predict it now. They'll win the division. It won't be a perfect relationship. Aaron's demanding. Aaron's smart and demanding. Smart and demanding people are hard to work for. That doesn't mean you can't enjoy a fruitful relationship, but it's never easy.

not easy coaching Kobe Bryant. It's not easy coaching Michael, Jordan, or LeBron. That doesn't mean it can't be fruitful, but it's not easy. It's just not. I mean, successful. Steve Jobs, guys worked with him for 15 years. There were no easy weeks with Steve Jobs. Bill Gates, Elon Musk.

You know, that's the way it is. But I'll go the opposite. Aaron and Matt will have a better relationship and appreciate each other more and get frustrated with each other less than the other. all the other quarterbacks and coaching relationships in the NFC North. I believe some of the kids call that a hot take. What do you make of it, Joy? I mean, I think you're probably right.

Plus, Aaron Rogers is by far the best quarterback in that division. By far. It makes it a lot easier to enjoy your job and have a good relationship when you're coaching an all-time talent. By the way, I think Stafford's a huge talent. That's part of the frustration. I think Stafford's a mega talent. He's got a little Cam Newton.

Like there are so many things, so many boxes checked. I mean, I would honestly put Cam Newton over years ahead of Stafford. And I think their talent is, Matt Stafford's one of the most talented quarterback arms in the league. So that's another thing where Aaron Rogers has talent, but I got a Super Bowl. I got a lot of playoff wins.

He knows how to win and he's clutch. Matt Stafford, I'm getting a lot of fourth places. So I think the Matt Patricia Matt Stafford think could get really ugly by week 12 if you're in fourth place and Stafford's not delivering in big spots. Yeah, the only way I see the Aaron Rogers relationship, before a relationship going sour, is if it's a complete, utter disaster. Like, if they have any level of winning, it's going to be a success.

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 the game. This morning, the internet lost its mind. Highlights are trending, opinions are flying, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened.

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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 and 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. Trip Fontaine, Ryan Clark. Sometimes when we're in the pursuit of the thing, we get so wrapped up in the chase that we don't realize that we are in possession of the thing. And we're still chasing it.

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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, rec, my mama want you to wave at her. 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. The story I've told myself about love or relationship. 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. Fun day. This is a really fun time of the year. I love working late in August. I got all my information now outside of a Zeke and a Melvin Gordon holdout who's healthy, who's not, what rookies look good, what don't.

I'll re-address my top two takes of the day. Running back is a strange position in the NFL. Guys who are not even super productive in college often pop in the NFL based on the blocking schemes of the coaching staff in the NFL, the offensive line prowess in the NFL. Tony Pollard, I think's going to have a nice year. Dax better. Michael Gallop's better. He's back, Amari Cooper a full year, and the O-line is healthy.

Everything around running back for the Cowboys should be better, and their coordinator will be better. I don't think Zeke has as much leverage, and he is great as he thinks. Tony Pollard can win games in this league with a supporting cast that's better around him in every position. My other takeaway is I think Aaron Rogers and Matt LaFleur will get along great. He and Mark McCarthy got along great forever. I mean, that was a very nice relationship for a long time. Let's not make it into 10 years of gravel road. It was a nice smooth drive on the auto bond until the end.

Here's my other take today, and I want to talk about this for a couple of minutes. Antonio Brown in Big Ben. Everybody's taking sides on this. First of all, Hard Knocks has been a big disappointment. Only thing saving it is John Gruden is a hell of an actor. At this point, I'm not sure he can coach, but he is a great actor. And Antonio Brown is being made to look good. Obviously, the Raiders have some say in the content.

You don't want to make him look bad. you want Antonio Brown to feel good about himself. And you can take sides on this. I've said, A, B, is too high maintenance for me, not interested. But I also think Big Ben, stop trying to win the moment. This is why I criticize Baker Mayfield. Quarterbacks sometimes, just eat it. Just eat it.

You're going to have a young receiver. He's a little cocky and crazy. Eat it. You're the quarterback. That's why we pay you so much money. Sometimes quarterbacks don't win the most. That might knock on Baker. He's always got to win the argument and win the moment and win the commentary and win that.

Stop it. Quarterbacks are paid not to win the moment. Let the superstar receiver win the argument. Let the superstar receiver win the offseason. You're the quarterback. So stop talking about it. And Big Ben said the other day it ruined a friendship. A, B, I wasn't perfect.

Stop talking about it. A.B. came out and said we were never friends. That's now since been deleted on Twitter. Here's all I come back to on this. The greatest revenge. Have you ever heard this story? Or this term. the greatest revenge is living well.

So it doesn't matter what I think. It doesn't matter what A.B. thinks. Ben thinks. Joy thinks. The media thinks. It doesn't matter. Because when there's divorces and breakups in sports, here's the only true barometer of who wins it. Who wins after the divorce?

Who won Westbrook KD? KD. He won titles. LeBron Kyrie. Cairo couldn't get along with anybody in Boston. LeBron gets the finals. Des and the Cowboys. Who won that divorce? Cowboys made the playoffs, won a playoff game.

Des still unemployed. Eagles and Chip Kelly. Who won that? Eagles, they got to a Super Bowl. Khalil Mack and the Raiders. Kalil got to the playoffs. Raiders got to fourth place. Who won that?

Khalil Mack. Look around. Kauai and the Spurs. Kauai was MVP of the finals. Spurs, great organization, exit stage right first round of the playoffs. I think first round, first or second, I forget. Is it first? Yeah.

Every one of these breakups are not determined by sports talk show hosts. They're not determined by the media or even the players in the moment themselves. The winner, the winner, the greatest revenge is living well, is who wins. And then years later, you look back and go, God, Des, he was really flaky. man, Kyrie Irving, talk about difficult. Westbrook, nobody can play with him. Chip Kelly, that college thing just didn't work. By the way, it did work.

10 and 6, 10 and 6. Live well. Win a lot. That will determine Big Ben, A.B. Who wins? And I think you know what side I'm on. I think Pittsburgh is going to win their division, get home games, and end up minimum in the AFC Championship.

What's up, everybody. How are you doing? This is John Middlecock. That's me. Three and Out. That's my podcast. Brought to you by Colin Coward and his podcast network. Coming up on this week's show, we dive into every angle of Andrew Luck.

Why now? How injured was he? How good are the Colts moving forward? Chris Ballard. What's his next move? The ripple effect for the rest of the NFL. A lot to digest. We talk about it all, three and out podcast with me, John Middlecock.

So, listen, I want to address something, first of all. people did not like the Andrew Luck booing, but I want everybody to think about something for a second. Obviously, it's not the way we would hope he would be treated. But there is something to be said. If you leave a company, and the company is pissed, it's because you mattered. If you leave a relationship and you break her heart

because she was in love, sometimes people are booing people, and other times they're booing situations. that include people. I want you to think about this. So when Andrew Luck walks off the field, Indianapolis fans are like, we're going to go from this to Jacoby Brissette.

Jacoby Brissette could be offended. Andrew Luck, they loved you because you matter. Eli Manning, think about this for a second before you have an opinion. What quarterback has blown us away in the preseason? Daniel Jones. We ripped the giants when they picked him. He's been really good.

Daniel Joneses look really good. Every time they put him in, he looks really good. In fact, don't tell anybody. He looks better than the old guy that we've had like four straight losing seasons. If Eli Manning, it would have been announced was retiring walking out that field. with the two Super Bowls, with his evaporating play, with what we've seen with Daniel Jones, you know what the relationship would have been, the crowd reaction would have been? What?

Oh, right. We love you, Eli. What's the Ariana Grande song? Thank you. Next. What's the song? That's it. Yeah.

Okay. Peyton Manning's one of the three greatest quarterbacks I've seen in my life. Three or four. Indianapolis got over Peyton Manning really quickly. Why? Suck for Luck campaign. Because all we talked about for a year was, have you seen this kid at Stanford?

Listen, the bottom line here, Eli Manning has won more than Andrew Luck. And if it was announced that he was leaving at the same time at the end of a fourth quarter of a preseason game with what we've seen with Daniel Jones, I think there would have been people in that stadium going, oh, Eli, that is just terrible news. Anyway, woo!

This is a relationship. Cold fans are giving Andrew a compliment. We're screwed. We don't have anybody close to you. You're amazing. They weren't just booing luck. They're booing the situation. Indianapolis got over Peyton Manning in about five minutes because of Andrew luck.

And New York's going to get over Eli in those two rings, and he's a puppy dog and everybody loves him in about half a minute because of Daniel Jones. When people are mad, you leave a company. It's a compliment. You matter. Not every employee does. Not every quarterback does. But Jacoby Brissette's good, but luck is great.

All right. With that, let's bring in a man who played in the NFL for nine NFL seasons. Most notably, of course, the Green Bay Packers, where he was not only an asset to the organization and beloved and cheered off. also a good friend of Aaron Rogers and sometimes receivers and Aaron don't click but you and Aaron are tight then, you're tight now, it's good to have you. By the way, let's go back to your relationship.

Let's start it with there because I think Aaron and Matt Lafleur are going to work fun. I think they're going to be really, really good together. I think Matt's going to appreciate off Marcus Marietta how gifted Aaron is. And I think Aaron's going to appreciate the youth and the uniqueness and the ideas

and the progressive nature of a young coach. I think they'll be great. Matt Nagy and Trubisky, that ain't going to work forever. But let's start with you and Aaron. Ron Rogers. When did you click and why? We could click my rookie year. And the reason why I believe we clicked, it was, it was authentic. Like, I'm a jokester. So just because Aaron Rogers is a star quarterback, hey, you get the joke, too. The joke is on you too. And I always came off like that.

And it always was authentic. I never was trying to disrespect nobody, never came off like that. And I think when I started doing that and I let him know, like, you're just another. the guy, you're one of the guys too. You're not up here. We're down here. You're one of the guys. And I think he kind of embraced me on that role. And then we just started getting closer and closer, started hanging out off the field and all that. And our relationship grew. And, you know, now we're here now. By the way, it doesn't, you don't have to get along with people. I mean, Calvin Johnson was a very quiet person. Yeah. I don't think Calvin Johnson would always click if you were a Baker Mayfield or a Cam Newton or a big personality. Calvin's a quiet guy.

so he may click with certain people. Tom Brady's rare. He seems to get along with everybody, from Randy Moss to West Welk to Julian Edelman. A, B, and Big Ben don't ever appear like they were great friends. I don't think you have to be, or am I wrong? Do receivers and quarterbacks have to be buds? Not off the field, no.

I mean, on the field, I mean, you can separate it. You can get on the field and let's go to work. Let's win some ball games. I'm one of the best at my position. You're one of the best at yours. Let's go out here. Let's dominate. Off the field, yeah, we don't got a hand.

Our family's got to hang out. We don't got to be best buzz, but when we get on the field, hey, let's be on the same page. Let's go to work and let's put a good product out there. A, B. I saw you at a Raiders practice. Yeah. How are you in A.B? Tell me the story. Me and A.B. are close. I mean, he's a good friend of mine.

You know, just sitting there talking to him at Raiders camp. He's happy. They're happy that he's there. The buzz around there. I mean, you talk to Mark Davis. You talk to a lot of those guys who have sat down with him. they love him they love him they say he's an unbelievable team guy they all embrace them they love them and you can tell that a b understands and believes in his heart that is genuine when it comes

to the owners when it comes to coach when it comes to derrick car he believes it's genuine and he he didn't in pittsburgh not with the quarterback could i could i say this he wasn't as valuable in pittsburg as he will be in oakland he will be more important in oakland Maybe he wants, I mean, Juju Smith-Schuster, Big Ben, James Washington, that organization wins every time a receiver leaves. They have weapons, but to lose a player like that, I know it's easy to say that they're going to be fine now,

but we've got to wait until this season unfold because that is a big weapon that you're a losing. I'm a fan of Juju. I think Juju is going to have a phenomenal year, but I think when teams start coming in there trying to take you, it's going to get harder. I think he will continue to have success, but losing a guy like that,

it's going to be tough to say the offense is just going to take What about the helmet thing? I mean, I get everybody wants a helmet. Tom Brady's helmet this year weighs a pound more than last year. It's a pain in the butt. Yes. But Tom's not holding out of camp. No.

No, and you're exactly right. And I feel the same way. Listen, we all, every time you go to a different team or every time you start, I want my helmet. I've broken that helmet in. I've had that helmet my whole career. I want my helmet. But at the end of the day, it's not just you that has to change your helmet.

Every receiver in the National Football League has to put on a helmet similar to yours. So it's not just you. Do I understand he wants his helmet? But at the end of the day, okay, you can't have it. We've got to go out there and play and find us a helmet that we can play in. All right. So that's a fair criticism. He got a little over dramatic on the helmet.

It's a reality of equipment. I want to ask you, before I'm going to end it today with the Aaron Roger stuff. So I want to go into the Aaron Andrew Luck stuff. Listen, I get it. All we do with fans is as an organization, we demand that you pay us a bunch of money, and then we encourage you to drink, and then we put you amongst other alpha males, and in a crowd, guys tend to act in football games, goofier and more aggressively than they do in real life.

It's like Twitter. Give somebody some anonymity. They're all tough guys. If some guy walked up to you that banged on you on Twitter, they'd be shaking, and can I have an autograph? Isn't some of this luck thing is? Luck's great. Yes.

They pay a lot of money. They're four Bud Lights in. That nobody in Indy hates Andrew Luck. In fact, I would argue, most great quarterbacks are polarizing. Brady, you love them or hate him. He's married to a supermodel. You know, I mean, there's a hate factor with Tom. There's about a handful of great quarterbacks.

Eli Manning's hard to hate. Andrew looks hard to hate. Russell Wilson's hard to hate. They're not booing Andrew. They're booing the situation. I agree and I disagree because at the same time, you've seen this guy battle through injury after injury after injury, come back, play at a high level, give you everything.

he has. And for him to say I'm stepping away from the game, for that to be your first reaction to boo him, I think that's disrespectful. I think your first reaction should have been to clap. And then maybe when you sat down like, Dane, man, you know what I mean? You probably could have thought about something. But right then and there, for him to walk off the field, all that he's been through, all that he's battling, you don't know what he's battling mentally. And everything that he's giving you as a fan base, your star quarterback walking off the field, you boo him his last game in Indy just because he decided to walk away and choose his life over the game of football. Now, again, I think that sounds great, but I said this yesterday or the day before.

If you called off a wedding a week before, and by the way, you were right, it wasn't going to work, you were at each other's throats constantly, you didn't think it was fair to have children with a woman and then know you were going to leave the relationship. You were right to get out. But the first day and hour you announced it, the father-in-law, he wants a piece of you because you hurt his little girl. There is something about us.

I mean, you're a smart guy. I never see you with a temper. But if you get a bad call in a football game and there's a guy holding your arm and there's no PI call, you're not in the best sort, right? You're not, but I just think the situation was different. Like everybody's seen it on their phone.

All right. So everybody had a chance to kind of digest this thing. I mean, it was Dana announced first quarter of the game. So he was on the sideline the whole time. So everybody's seen it. Everybody knew what was going on. So I just believe in that point in time right there, everybody in the stadium knew.

Everybody on TV knew. Like, when he walks off the field, they should have put him on the Jumbotron. They should have said, thank you, Andrew. Everybody should have stood up clapping just because of what he'd done for that organization, what he's given that organization, all the injuries that he's fought through. I feel like the organization should have put up on that jumble. Thank you. Even if it was during the game, everybody knew.

Thank you, Andrew. And everybody right there should have stood up and clapped. You do not boo the quarterback that has sacrificed so much and giving indie fans so much to cheer for over the years. You do not boo him off the field. Let me go back to Aaron Rogers, who you have a strong relationship with. Now, people will say, of course, James is going to support him. here. I do think Aaron's fine. I don't, I said this earlier. It doesn't matter if it's Beyonce. It doesn't matter if it's Elvis Presley. You can go back in time. The really gifted people,

I don't think Tom Brady's really gifted. I think he's talented and a grinder. I don't think Derek Jeter is gifted. I think A-Rod's gifted. I think Derek's talented and a grinder. Aaron's in a different classification. He's in the John L. Way. I mean, there's about a six of these guys, you're like, oh, they're different. Brett Farb's in this. Like, they're just different. When in your, in music and entertainment and acting, you know, there's Leonardo DiCaprio, Samuel Jackson.

When you're talented, not just to grind. I'm a grinder. I got a bad voice. I still slur. I'm a mess. But when you're talented, you are more difficult. Because since sixth grade, things have come easier. And so I do think Aaron's difficult, but I'm okay with Aaron's difficult.

But I think this thing's going to work. Yes. I do. I just kind of feel like Aaron needed a young guy in the room. I mean, McCarthy looked like a Milwaukee cop. Aaron looks like a model from L.A. Even their body chemistry. They were like different cats.

So take me to what you think the relationship is going to look like. Well, what I went out there for training camp, I was talking. to him about the relationship and he was basically saying that, listen, everybody's blowing this thing up too much. Like me and, me and Coach LaFlor have a great relationship. We meet two, three times a week. We talk. The communication is great. He was talking to me about the offensive system, loves the movement. It's constant movement. So I know everybody wants to get on, oh, man, the audible is this. He was telling, there is not even going to be a lot of time too audible in this office. We're doing a lot of movement. Pre-snap. Yes, pre-snap. So we're going to get a lot of

good looks from the defense that we want. It's going to be a lot of easier throws. So it's not like when we play with Coach Mike, we just line up and, okay, I'll get you in the right play. It's a lot of movement. So the audible situation is not even going to be that big of a situation unless it gets into two-minute situation or something like that. But I think the main thing that I took from it is he respects Coach LaFleur.

He looks, he knows Coach LaFleur, knows what he's talking about about offense, knows what he's talking about quarterbacks, even though that Aaron Rogers is probably the best quarterback that he's ever had. he respects him and he's basically embraced the whole role of new offense and this is how it's going to go. So I think the relationship is going to be great just because they both respect each other at a high level. All right. James Jones, Thursday night football returns on Fox, the NFL Network and Amazon Prime Video this year, kickoff week four Eagles Packers. Boy, that'll be a good game.

NFL Network exclusively carries Thursday night football games weeks two and three James Jones. We love having you. I watch all the time on NFL Network. You're crushing it. Appreciate it, my man. You're crushing it. Thank you. Be sure to catch live edition. of the herd weekdays in noon eastern 9 a.m. Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, FS1, and the IHeart 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 Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Slices 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, 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 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,

A, ref, my mom wants you to wave at her. What? Come on. Quarterback on office blue 42. A rep, my mama want you to wave at her. What? Where's she at? 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. Joel Clat, the voice of college football at FS1. Hey, hey. Look at you. Are you ready for me? Oh, man, I cannot wait. All summer, I've been waiting for this. Ten minutes are wrong. Okay, let's get the NFL thing out of the way.

let me guess you're one of these media people you are just outraged by how Andrew luck was treated 100% I'm outraged by it the Indianapolis fans are disgrace oh that's gosh why I'm sorry wait you're defending the fans for booing a guy four Budlights in fourth quarter preseason game jarring sudden news listen four bud lights in doesn't give you an excuse to do anything everybody's like oh don't worry honey I was drunk ah it still happened no no no I think that it was a total disgrace. First of all, I think this entire reaction is born out of jealousy and resentment. Oh, Lord. And it fuels an entitlement that I think is epidemic of our culture. And it's

like, what does Andrew Luck owe the guy in the third deck? Nothing. All right. He already, listen, he already paid the ultimate athletic price, which was his body. His body is finished. He cannot play anymore. He cannot play. There's a standard by which you've got to play and mentally prepare and be in. You've got to be all in to do it at the level that Andrew Luck wants to do it at, and he cannot do that anymore, so he's going to step away. And I also thought it was selfless of him. He's stepping away from money. He could have gone through the motions. Hey, guy in the third deck on your fourth beer, as you like to say. You want Andrew Luck to just go through the motions and take your money for the next three years and not be competitive and sit

out and not play hard and just take a paycheck? Of course not. You're asking for a lot of contextualization in the moment for a human being. You never had a temper tantrum in your life or threw a rosin bag. Why do you want everyone to be kids? You want everyone to be kids. You want dessert first. I mean, you want to be a, you desperately want to be a child. React like a child.

I got Dr. Lour over here. All right, let's get into college football. Let's do it. I tell you what team you like. You like Texas because I think you like their quarterback because he reminds me of you in college. Not a ton of talent, but a ton of heart. that's a good line and you know what he's got an immense amount of talent way more than I had I like him there's no doubt I like Sam Ellinger a lot um I think Sam Ellinger is the best value in the

heisman odds by far he's all the way down there like 25 to 1 not getting much love whatsoever and yet when you look at power five football since the year 2000 there's only been five players that have thrown for 25 touchdown passes and run for 15 touchdowns He's got a Tebow quality. He's incredibly likable. And the players. And he's an alpha. And they feed off him.

He's very Tebow-est to me. He very much is. By the way, Tim Tebow is one of those guys that threw for 25 and ran for 15. The other guys are guys like Marcus Marriota, Johnny Mansell, Cam Newton, and Lamar Jackson. They all won Heisman trophies. This guy is the reason they won 10 games. He only turned the ball over six times. He had his biggest games and big moments.

Ask Georgia, how physical, how tough, and how quality. of a leader, Sam Ellinger is, I really like Sam Ellinger. I like Texas. I think there are a coin flip with Oklahoma to win the Big 12. Yeah, I like them. I don't know. I've always liked Texas football, even when I was a kid. I like the uniforms.

I think it's the Unions. I love the Unis. My favorite uni in college football. I don't even know why. I still get nightmares kind of from the uniform. Quick story about Texas. Okay, so if you don't know, you can Google it and YouTube it. My last play of my college career was against Texas.

They beat us 70 to 3, Vince Young's National Championship here in a Big 12 championship game. They put me in the hospital. That was my last play. Yeah. The first thing I remember, I don't remember the game, Colin. You know what I remember? I woke up in like a Texas Memorial Hospital in Houston, a University of Texas Memorial Hospital, and the doctor had the longhorn stitched in his coat.

And I was like, no, they're coming after me. What's happening? And I freaked out. You know what I remember? You had about eight guys wide open and you missed all of them that game. Oh, here it is. Way to go. And bam lights out.

Oh, Lord. Yeah, right on the chin. Boom. All right, let's shift to this. Harbaugh. You and I have defended Harbaugh. We have. Okay, but this is his best group of receivers.

This is his best all line. Yeah. Shea Patterson, year two. Urban Myers out of the conference. I'm done with excuses. Wisconsin doesn't have their quarterback right, although I love their all line and the running back. Mission's got to win the Big Ten now, right?

I agree. And it's actually why I've put them ahead of Ohio State, at least in my poll. Because, and you have to contextualize this a little bit, even further. It's not just that Urban is gone. This is the first time that we've seen this in college football history. A team and a program lose a guy that won 90% of his games at the school and a first round draft choice at quarterback and Dwayne Haskins and a defensive coordinator. And by the way, just to throw on top of that, Ohio State has lost the most first round

defensive players of the last four years in college football. Wow. So if Michigan does not beat Ohio State this year, there's no more excuses because everything you said about Michigan is correct. is their best offensive line that he's had. They've got the best core of wide receivers, I think, in the conference. Shea Patterson now has an offensive coordinator and Josh Gattis that suits him more. Two years now starting. And you still have Don Brown as your defensive coordinator. There are no excuses for Michigan.

They have to win the Big Ten and compete for a playoff spot this year, or it's going to get messy in Ann Arbor. Yeah, there's, listen, when I look at Clemson and Alabama, I put him here. Even Georgia, who everybody loves. There's only two teams among the ACC and the SEC who have winning records in the last three years against top 25 teams. Clemsons is great. Bama's is great. George is only 500. So I don't put George in that class.

I do think they probably the third best personnel in the country. Sure. Is there a team? Let's take Alabama out. Let's take George out because we all kind of, the three in the country we all agree with. It's Georgia. That's right. Yeah, yeah.

That would be the third one. Yeah. I would agree with that. So pass that? Throw me a team like, everybody's on LSU. I'm not as big on LSU because they're in the same division as Alabama. You're not even the best team in your division, right? So to me, you've got to have a conference championship caliber team

in order to compete for a playoff spot. And then you've also got to be balanced enough, not only across your team, but your coaching staff in order to win. Colin, this is, I'm going to say Texas. I think that's probably, I think I agree with you. And here's the reason. Because Texas we saw physically can go up and, stand toe to toe with the likes of a Georgia.

Yes. And physically beat them up. Remember now, Georgia had run for over 300 yards and five straight games leading into the SEC championship game last year. Then they ran for over 100 against Alabama. And Colin, guess how many they ran for against Texas? 72 yards in the Sugar Bowl. That was a physical beat down for first three quarters at least.

Meanwhile, Texas is running for 178 yards. Yeah. And so there's also this way people in Oklahoma are going to get upset with this, but there's also coach makeup. Think about this. Just real quick, when we talk about coaches that win national championships, they generally don't call their own plays. If you look back all the way back to 1990,

there's only two guys that won a national championship while calling their own offensive plays. That's Jimbo Fisher at Florida State and Steve Spurrier at Florida. Everybody else is a CEO. So while I love Lincoln Riley, I really do. I think he's the best coach that has not won a national championship. I don't think it's the right blueprint to win one. Whereas Tom Herman, I think, fits that blueprint.

And again, Oklahoma fans can be mad all they want. They've had great teams' historic level quarterback play, and they haven't gotten it done in large part because they've been too offensive-centric. All right. The top five quarterbacks for you in college football this year. Trevor. Trevor Lawrence Clemson, that's a no-brainer. Tua.

I'm not as high as everybody else is. I like Justin Herbert a lot. I think he's a good talent. Let's see him win some games away from Monson Stadium. I like Sam Ellinger. He's not a pro, but he's good, yeah. Yeah, but remember now, you can be a great college player and not a great pro prospect. Jake Fromm's good.

And then I like Jake Fromm from Georgia. Jake Fromm plays really well in big moments. He played great against BAM in the SEC championship game last year. I like him. And the reason I love, I mean, I'm flat in love with Trevor Lawrence, is because you talk about playing best when your best is needed. When you look at those guys, and in particular in a comparison to Tua, when Trevor Lawrence faced a top 30 defense last year,

Colin, his numbers went through the roof. His completion percentage went way up. His touchdown to interception ratio was better. Six touchdowns, no interceptions, and his rating went way up. When facing better defenses, meanwhile, if you did the same experiment with Tua in his four games against top 30 defenses versus the other competition, his completion percentage went way down. He went six touchdown, six interceptions.

Wow. And his rating went way down. So you can make the argument that Trevor is a better big game player than Tua. I agree. Even though we saw Tua in the national championship game a couple of years ago beat Georgia in that comeback fashion. You know, Alabama quarterbacks tend to play within a system structure. I tell you, though, he's got Jerry Judy. Oh, Jerry Judy is good.

Yeah, he's fine. I like, I'm a Trevor Lawrence guy. I saw him in high school. Because one of us on the weekends puts a little extra time in. I'm sorry, one of us? Yeah, I went down and saw him playing San Diego at a camp. That's when you're committed to your profession. You were out there sailing in the sea.

I was out there looking at high school football tape. Where else do you sail, first of all? Second of all, while I'm in here digging into these quarterbacks in college football, you're out there riding the horse like Zorro of Baker Mayfield's not going to do anything with the Browns. You're still on that one. Nope. I gave that one up, not even interested. May not talk about it until December.

All right, I want to move to something because I see this thing right here, and this is a bunch of hooey. So I always let you have an upset pick of the week. Okay, give me your two. One of them's ridiculous. Go ahead. Why is it ridiculous? I throw them out there. I like Oregon over Auburn.

Oh, God. That's not even an upset. Check Vegas. Yes, it is. Three and a half. Check Foxbet. Okay. A little company plug there.

It's not Oregon beating Auburn with the best. Better O line and the better NFL quarterback. That's not an upset. That's just a game. Let me give you an upset. Hey, get that bell ready. Here's one for you. Based on what?

Collins odds? Hey, no. Hey, based on my take, that's not an upset. I'm telling you it is. Oregon plus three and a half, Fox Sports, bet the new company here. That's not an upset. How about a new rule?

That is an upset. I got to create new legislation to keep you on the up and up. I've got to take games with over a five-point spread, six-point spread? Well, that would be an upset. All right. Oh, let's see, a six-point. I'll give you one right now. Go ahead.

Do you have that bell thing? Okay. The bell thingy. Northwestern goes to Palo Alto and beat Stanford. You stole that for me. Hey, doesn't matter where I get my information. Oh, my goodness. This is unbelievable.

What? Behind the curtains here, Colin and I had a conversation 30 minutes before a show and I was like, I tell you the game I really like. I think Northwestern goes in and beat Stanford. He goes, no, really? Do you really think that? And now you're using it against me on this, on the bell segment? Hey, time out.

Thank you, Joey. No, I said prove it. Yeah, no kidding. Prove it. That's a good one. Don't the cell phones now just record all of our conversation? There's a matter where I get my upset. If I stole it from you, it's still usable.

You are a thief and a liar and a thief. No, there's an old saying. I steal from everybody. It's called research. You steal from one guy. It's called a thief. I steal from everybody. It's just research.

If I was just stealing from you, I'd be a thief. That's Big J. Journalism right there. You're a travesty and a. Shiam and a mockery. Where's a better place to get your information? He's a Travis Jamokery. All right, Joel Clat, a game, it's a fighting lane kiffins against Ohio State.

Noon. Noon, big noon Saturday. Debut at Big Noon Saturday. Here we go. And 11 a.m. is Urban and Reggie and Brady and Matt and Rob Stone, everything. 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. In 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 hear. Listen to SportsSlic. 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. Another podcast from some SNL, late-night comedy guy, not quite. on Humor Me with Robert Smygel and Friends,

me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, S&L'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 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? Come on out. Quarterback on office blue of 42. Hey, rec, my mama want you to wave at her. What? Where's she at? Hey, Miss Parker.

Listen to the Cliverts 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 part of it. You just understood. That's how personal it got. Wow. Then after that game 7, Marquis keep coming to. 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 I Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed Human.