The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Best of The Herd: 08/29/2019

Episode Date: August 29, 2019

Colin says the Cowboys have no excuse to not win even without Zeke because their schedule is easy early and throughout.  Greg Cosell of NFL Films breaks down the NFC and AFC West divisions.  Plus, Colin debuts a new College Football segment where he picks his top 3 games against the spread heading into the first full weekend of College Football. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an I-Heart podcast. Guaranteed Human. 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,

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

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

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 harmed. you just understood.

That's how personal it got. Wow. Then after that game seven, Mark keep coming to her. 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 IHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. 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 SportsRodio.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. Ah, 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, one hour from now, one of our most popular guest, Greg CoSell. He's been breaking down two conferences per visit,

in the preseason. People love that stuff, and he will be joining us in one hour from now. Joy Taylor is here as always. Joy, how are you? I'm great. Good morning. Good morning, everybody. So the Cowboy holdout. There's two holdouts with two great running backs, the one with the Chargers and the one with the Cowboys. Not a shocker. The biggest brand in the NFL of the Cowboys, the one getting all the press. And Zeke is considered better than Melvin Gordon, but this is what happens when you're the Cowboys. Every holdout becomes the story in the NFL. We've had two huge stories before the season starts, Andrew Luck's retirement and Zeke's holdout are the top two by a mile. And so Jerry Jones, first time, sort of hinted that they may start the season without Ezekiel Elliott,

which I've been saying for months now, I am okay with this. I am okay with this. I think it's smart for a lot of reasons. I'll get to those reasons next. But here's Jerry. We may very well play without a player that is not coming in on his contract. If that's the case, just play and we'll play and we'll play well we've got a marathon here and we won't zeke when we get to the playoffs we won't zeke when we're in the dog days of this season as you well know you have to plan your personnel and you have to manage a player the caliber of zeke we have to be prepared to play without any given player okay so the two cowboy contracts that we really deeply care about.

Are Zeke? That's the most important because he's holding out. And number two is DAC. We'd like to keep that number 30 to low 30, not 36. You can kill two birds with one stone here, Dallas. Look at Dallas's schedule. I can make an argument. They get more breaks than any team in the league.

First of all, they play the rebuilding giants twice and Washington twice in their own division. Four games against rebuilding teams. They have better rosters than both and a better quarterback than both. They should go four and O. There's only four games on their schedule where they should be underdogs, at the Saints, at the Patriots, at the Bears, and at Philadelphia. But let's look at some of the breaks they get. They start very easy.

They get three rebuilding teams to start, Giants, Washington, Miami. In the middle of the schedule, they get both New York teams still rebuilding and a buy. Then at the end of the year, oh, they face the Rams. Oh, but look, they get extra time, 10 days for arguably the best team they face on their schedule at home the Rams. Ooh, they've got a short week because they play on Thanksgiving. Who do they play in the short week? Buffalo. They also get Kurt Cousins in prime time.

That's a W. They only go back-to-back road games once, and one of those is against. fourth place Detroit. By the way, the second time they face the Redskins and the Giants, it's possible they'll both be starting rookie quarterbacks, Daniel Jones and Dwayne Haskins. Folks, this schedule is made to order. They get a short week break, a long week break,

a Kirk Cousins primetime break, two rebuilding teams in their division, who both may play rookie quarterbacks the second time. It starts easy. It's easy in the middle. Oh, yeah. They never play west of Dallas. Come on.

If you, if Dak Prescott, with the surrounding wide receiver, offensive line and defensive talent, and upgrades at coordinator, can't go nine and seven with Tony Pollard, then you've killed two birds with one stone. then he's not a $33 million a year quarterback. There are tough schedules in this league.

The Cleveland Brown's first eight games are brutal. There are teams in this league and scheduling matters. That's why New England is a dynasty. Because to go five and one against their division every year, get a buy and then two home games. It matters. New England's never been as dominant on the road. I think Tom Brady's got a losing record on the road

in the playoffs against Denver. Schedules matter. Dallas got a huge break, a short week against Buffalo, extra days against the Rams, rebuilding teams two in their division, Kirk Cousins in prime time, only once back to back, never go west of Dallas. If Dak Prescott, with the surrounding talent and upgrades, can't go 9 and 7, or you've figured out maybe you do need Zique and maybe you don't need the quarterback. This is a scheduling break.

And so I'll say it again. I would just keep waiting. And I would just keep playing without Zeke. And I think they'll go 3 in O. And then maybe they lose at New Orleans and go, you know, three and one. But then they get a host of Packers and face a rebuilding team in the Jets. I'm looking at Dallas's schedule and it looks like four and one to start for me. Then after that, it's Philadelphia.

But at home, then a buy. than the crappy giants. You know, I'm sorry, but if you want leverage in this stuff, you can get leverage with Zeke and DAC. Let's just roll the dice. And a lot of things will be answered. And if you're a 500 team six weeks in without Zeke, you've answered a question about DAC.

And by the way, even if you still want to re-sign DAC, you got some leverage back from his agent. 38 million's not going to happen. 35's not going to happen. 31 probably does happen. All right, let me shift to this. There are several assets in our life. Take away people, obviously, husband, wife, children, cousins, relatives, you know, obviously.

But I'm talking about like things you can grab assets. For most of us, it's our house, it's our car. I would argue I have so much information on my iPhone. It's one of the most valuable things I have in my life. Take out people. My house is valuable, so I sleep there at night. My car gets me to and from work, commerce, and my iPhone. I've got my alarm clock.

I've got all my contacts. I've got account numbers. If you went to the Verizon store and when you have an asset, you have to get insurance for it. I have insurance for my house. I have insurance for my car. When I go by or you go buy an iPhone, if you don't get a protective case as insurance to protect it, you're a dope. I mean, that's why they upcharge you because they can. You need the protective case.

You can break those things. I've broken a few early when I didn't buy the case. I was a dope. So when you get in the NFL and you have a quarterback, Andrew Luck just retired, job number one isn't building your defense, getting a running back, star wide receiver. It's protecting him. When Sean McVeigh came to the Rams, they went and spent money on that O line.

Carson Wentz, Eagles, spent a lot of money on that O line. Tom Brady, 19 years, never had a bad O line. Andrew Luck just retired. another player in this league that could become Andrew Luck. He's one of my favorite players, Deshawn Watson. Last year in a game against Buffalo, this is one game. He was hit 19 times. Look it up.

It doesn't even sound right. And I never thought Buffalo had a world-class pass rush. Last year, he was sacked 62 times, knocked down another 132. That is outrageous. That is 200 times a year. And remember, as the Texans consider what to do with Jadabian Clowny, trade him, Andrew Luck is out of your division. You can no longer justify spending for two great pass rushers.

Okay, the Rams in New England ended up in the Super Bowl. Neither had an elite edge rusher. Once Andrew Luck announced retirement, your division is now Nick Foles, Marcus Marriota and Jacoby Brissette. You cannot justify needing two great pass rushers. What you need is to protect Deshawn Watson. Of the 10 teams that led the NFL in sacks last year, six missed the playoffs.

New England was near the bottom, but they were near the top in pressures. The idea that you need the all-time great pass rusher to get the sack. No, you don't. what you need is good enough players along your defensive front and good enough coaches to mix up your pass rush to create an uncomfortable situation for the quarterback. Often letting him throw the ball away into my team's hands is an advantage.

But when you have a Patrick Mahomes in your division, or you have a Russell Wilson or an elite quarterback, Andrew Lucker Brady, then you can justify Khalil Mack, by the way. Chicago can justify his salary because Aaron Rogers is in the division. When Peyton Manning was in the division, the teams in the division against Peyton Manning would spend money on pass rushers, like the team's doing Brady's division. But when Andrew Luck retires, you cannot justify paying JJ Watton-Jadavian Clowney. What you can absolutely justify, like insurance on your car, your house, your iPhone, is upgrading this offensive line.

Okay, we're looking at the next Andrew Luck here. Deshawn Watson, 19 times last year. He was hit against one team. And by the way, the reason the Patriots let Chandler Jones go and Trey Flowers go. Why? Because they don't feel there's an elite quarterback in their division. They don't need an elite pass rusher. If Sam Darnold becomes an elite great player, New England will start spending money on pass rushers.

But right now your division, Marcus Marriota is the second best quarterback? You're going to spend big money on JJ Watt and Jadavey and Clownie. By the way, the Texans should know this better than anybody. The Houston Texans have no excuse here. The all-time single season most sacked leaders. Quarterbacks sacked the most in a season. Three of the top seven are Houston Texans. You've already blown other quarterbacks that wear your uniform out of this league.

by not protecting them. When you buy the iPhone, don't be a dope. Get a protective cover. It's insurance. When you get the Sean Watson and Andrew Luck, don't be dopes. You don't need two pass rushers in Houston. You need a left tackle.

There you go. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, FS1, and the iHeard radio app. Last night, a blown call changed the game. This morning, the internet long. It 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. SportsSlice brings you closer to the action with stories told by the people who live them. Listen to SportsSlice on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Slic Life 12 in the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hardway with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Kear Games. And in recognition of mental health awareness month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience in the mental health field and conversations with, So many incredible guests. I'm talking.

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. And we don't know when we've done enough. Because people scoreboard watch. Life becomes about wins and losses.

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What's up, guys? This is Clivert Taylor the Fourth. And on my podcast, The Clivert 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 is a lot. linebacker, this linebacker walks up to me, he goes, hey, ref, my mom wants you to wave at her. What? Come up. 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. 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 need 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. This is fascinating. Michael Jordan it was announced today. They announced shoe sales. Forbes magazine did shoe sales. Michael Jordan's been out of the NBA for 16 years. Sold $130 million. He made that much in annual income on shoe sales last year.

LeBron 32 million. Kevin Durant 26. And Durant made more money in China than America. There's a lot of factors for this. Why Jordan is still five times more popular in terms of apparel sales than LeBron James. And he's been out of the sport for 16 years. One of them is Michael's game was more fun than LeBron James. Carl Malone was a great player.

So was James Harden. Their games aren't that much fun. They're at the free throw line a lot. Michael's game was fun. The huge hands, hang time. It was artistic. The tongue. The hang time.

I mean, I can think I'm showing you some here of a dozen iconic shots from MJ. His shots were memorable. LeBron's been playing for 16 years. He's got one of those. The block against Golden State pops right into my head. And that was a great play. Michael was more artistic. His game was more fun.

Not all great players are fascinating watches. Kareem was not fascinating. He had one shot. Carl Malone, John Stockton, James Hardin. I don't think are riveting watches. Westbrook is actually a riveting watch for all the criticism. Number two. and this is hard to quantify, but Michael Jordan was cool.

Durant and LeBron sometimes feel like they're trying to be cool. Michael was just naturally, the earrings, the body, the suit, the smile, the look, the way he walked. He had a cool walk. Like, you can't teach that and you can't fake that. Michael's game was more fun to watch, and he was cool without trying. The other two things that are fairly remarkable about Michael Jordan, and people think I don't like Jordan, Michael was unbelievable, is that Michael, in an era where everybody has to rush to Twitter

and tell you about what they had for lunch, Michael has largely disappeared. He doesn't hold press conferences. You see him sometimes in the suite at his game. He's got four and five guys he runs with, his boys, his guys, his wife. He's disappeared. There's not a more famous person in America that you see less of except on shoes and logos than Michael Jordan. He is disproven or proven the fallacy that you don't have to rush to social media, show us every bikini shot, every chicken parm you had for dinner.

If you're great, you're frozen in time. I still laugh harder at Johnny Carson clips on YouTube than any current host. The other thing Jordan has proven, there's a belief in media circles today and the media is wrong that everybody has to talk politics. If it's authentic to your brand, do it. But Tiger Woods doesn't, and he's the only logo in golf shops in America. I was told this morning that Dave Chappelle may be the most richest comedian this year. He just did a Netflix special. Wouldn't talk politics.

Tom Brady this morning was named the most popular brand in the NFL. He won't talk politics. And Michael wouldn't either. Doesn't mean you can't. Aaron Rogers does. He's popular. All he did, he was popular. But Michael Jordan's popularity is a lot of things.

His game was amazing. He was cool without trying. And in my lifetime, I don't think there's been another person outside of President Ronald Reagan that was more Teflon. Michael quit the sport twice, failed in baseball, has been an awful general manager and a so-so-at-best owner,

then ended up with the Wizards, who he couldn't even engineer to get into the playoffs, had a brutal Hall of Fame speech. It doesn't matter. It just doesn't matter. The style, the cool, the logo that's international, he's effortlessly cool and wildly entertaining. and he's disappeared and he doesn't like politics or at least won't talk about him.

And so you don't have to rush to social media and show us what you ate for lunch. And you don't have to talk politics if you don't feel it's natural or authentic to your personality. And you can still 16 years out of the game be five times more popular than arguably the second best basketball player in the history of the planet. LeBron James. editions of the herd weekdays in noon eastern 9 a.m. Pacific. I want to say this though. Seguan Barkley last night talked about how many he thought he was the best running back

in the NFL and I don't think he is but he's really really good but it does go back to people think I'm an anti-Ezekiel Elliott. No, I'm pro-analytics and I just think running back is one of those positions in American sports there are a lot of them and they're easy to find and they come

from Division 3, FCS Canada college, big college, small, college, power five, conferences you've never heard of. It's just a position in the NFL. It's also an instinctive position where you can come into the league and play pretty soon. You didn't have to have great coaching in college. I mean, running back, go back to when you played at seven, eight years old.

The best athlete was a running back. You tossed the ball back to the little boy, and he would run around and nobody could tackle him. Quarterback's hard, offensive line. There's technique. Not a lot of technique at running back. Best athlete when you were seven years old got the ball and ran around and nobody could tackle him. It's the most instinctive position in football. And Sequin Barclay is very good.

But this goes to my point about Ezekiel Elliott. I think the Tony Pollard guy for Dallas looks pretty good to me. I don't know if he's a star, but he looks pretty darn good. I went and this morning, I wrote down running backs where everybody who has one of these running backs thinks this guy is a big time player. Look how many there. I'm not sure if there's a position in the NFL that's close to this. There certainly aren't this many tight ends in the league. So I put in order, Zeke, Levian Bell, Sequin, Alvin Camara.

Then I go to Melvin Gordon, who I think's going to be better now than Todd Gurley. Christian McCaffrey, David Johnson. Gurley at 8 because he's hurt, he will not have. He won't be the same running back. Delvin Cook, Joe, Mixing, Karim, Hunt. I think Aaron Jones, Green Bay, very good. Derek Henry can't catch, but I have him 13. Philip Lindsay Denver, Nick Chubb, Sony Michelle next to each other.

Chris Carson, Seattle, underrated because he didn't star in college. Marlon Mack, 900 yards in just 12 games. Jane Conner, Devaney Freeman, can't stay healthy. Mark Ingraham, Leonard Fernett, Adrian Peterson was a top 10 rusher, and then I have to get to 24, 24 until I get what I would consider sort of a specialty back to Rick Cohen of the Bears. And I'm not mentioning Austin Eccler with the Chargers who was really good and will start for them. There's about seven other guys I'm not mentioning who are either a little too much of a specialist or they have been backups. I mean, Seattle's got Rashad Penny. he was a first round pick.

They like him a lot. They just have a guy in front of him, a seventh round pick, Chris Carson, who's been unbelievable, a complete find for Seattle. So there's another six or seven guys. You got about 30 to 32 guys in this league that can make people miss, outrun people or run them over. It's just the position. It's just the position.

So Sequin Barclay is good. And Levian Bell, and, I mean, Lavian Bell is great. But what's the drop-off? Lavian and James Connor. It's a drop-off. but 17 million to a million, I can get three more players. I mean, that's what it comes down to with Zique. All right, let's go to Greg CoSell.

30-plus years at NFL films. He's breaking down the AFC West and the NFC this week. So let's start with the AFC West. Very good at the top. A lot of people are saying Patrick Mahomes will come back down to Earth. I don't think so. I think Andy reads a great play designer, Greg. I think his weapons are still excellent.

I like their offensive line. Do you see a drop off for Mahomes? I don't think there'll be a drop off in terms of his level of play. There could be a drop off in statistics, Colin, which is a different thing. But I watch them through the preseason, and just looking at the personnel they put out there on the offensive side of the ball, it's pretty good. I mean, I remember to Marcus Robinson coming out of Florida, and I guess he had three or four suspensions, which is why he dropped in the draft. But he was a top five receiver in that draft based on my film study.

And he's a guy who's not even talked about, given what they have. So I don't think there'll be a drop off in the level of play, in the scheming. It'll be a fun offense to watch. Whether he throws 50 touchdowns, no one can answer that. Let's go to the Chargers. Not going to have Derwin James. Maybe their best athlete on defense will not have Melvin Gordon. But because of their blocking schemes and Anthony Lynn, other backs have average close to

yards of carry or more. How much of a drop-off is the offense without Melvin Gordon, in your opinion? Well, I think the biggest issue for me with their offense, and it showed up at times last year was their offensive line. And there were times that Philip Rivers, because he's so good and so timing, anticipation-based, can compensate for that. I don't think the loss of Gordon will be highly significant. He's a good back, but I think they'll be able to make up the production. he's sort of morphed in the NFL from a college runner who was an explosive guy to kind of a grinder. And so therefore I think that they can probably make up for the production. The big issue to me is their O-line.

I think the receiver to look at this year in that offense, and I studied him this week pretty hard, I went through all his targets, is Mike Williams. I really like Mike Williams, and I think he'll become a far more important piece of that offensive puzzle. I think Denver's funny because we all kind of. to think, okay, they'll be third place over the dysfunctional raiders. But they have elite pass rushers. Vic Fangio's a tremendous defensive coach. I don't think they'll be a riveting television production, but they could be, I think,

a fairly interesting team. They've got a top back. Flacco's still got some juice. Excellent DC. Great pass rushers. What are the preseason, what do you suspect we see at Denver? What people built on defense, run the ball, try to hit big plays off their run game, you know, eat up clock, shorten games, let their defense play fewer snaps

ideally, and therefore let those pass rushers really get after you in those critical situations. I don't believe there'll be an explosive offense. I don't think you'll see a team putting up 30 points very often unless it's a function of defensive turnovers. So the way that they're structured and the way I think Vic Fangio probably believes you win. I think Oakland's interesting because John Gruden said yesterday, kind of giving a hint to Derek Carr throw it to Antonio Brown. He said, I want Derek Carr to take some big shots down the field. Well, Antonio Brown left a better offensive line in Pittsburgh and a very good deep ball thrower and now inherits an average offensive line and an average deep ball thrower in terms of

Derek only attempted 56 throws last year over 20 yards. So it's an interesting mix. Will Derek Carr and Antonio Brown click? Do you think they do? Well, they cautious quarterback, much like back Prescott. And I think that what Gruden is probably trying to get him to do is to be more aggressive. They've got Antonio Brown. They've got Tyrell Williams, a big receiver with under 4-4-speed. I think he's

trying to get him to be more aggressive to turn the ball loose. And again, no one wants turnovers, obviously. But this league now offensively is built on explosive pass for the most part has been a cautious quarterback. And I think Gruden knows that from

studying him, and he wants him to just be more aggressive. Let's go to the NFC West. Start with the Rams. Offensive line is aging may not be as good. Gurley is not going to get the production load this year. Translation, maybe a little more on Jared Goff's shoulders. Can he handle it? I don't know if that's going to be the case. I had a fascinating discussion with a defensive coordinator that plays the Rams, and I presented a theory to him, Colin, and I believe, I think their run game is scheme-based, not Gurley-based. And, and the defensive coordinator agrees with me. I think it's a scheme-based offense.

Gurley's a good back, no question, but I think they can get production in their run game, even if Gurley is not the workhorse. I think that you'll see Sean McVeigh do more things personnel-wise and formation-wise. I think he learned last year going through the season into the Super Bowl. Yeah, that's interesting. That is interesting because they paid Gurley a year early,

and I had a guy in the NFL tell me, why did they do that? Right. And C.J. Anderson, by the way, came into town and ran the ball, fine for them so that to back up your point. Now, I like the 49ers. I still think they're rebuilding the back end of their defense. I don't think they're a great team. I do think they'll battle for a wild card spot. They are very young at wide receiver. Yes. And so I think there's going to be growing pains. I think they could be better late than early in the season. What say you? I would agree with that because I think they've got three young receivers that I really like.

Dante Pettis, the second year player, Debo Samuel and Jalen Hurd, who were rookies. I really like those receivers. I loved their work coming out of college. I thought Tettis, in and out of injury, a quality receiver. So I think they've got pieces. We know about George Kittle. I think their O line is solid, not great. You know, it's really, Garapolo is going to have to become more consistent. Garapolo is, he's a snap thrower, his accuracy at times, his ball placement is not exactly what you want. He's not scattershot, but ball placement is a different question from being scattershot. Because Shanahan does a good job of creating throws, getting the ball to receivers on the move,

and you've got to hit them in stride. That's how you gain yards after catch. Garoppolo needs to become a little more consistent in that area. Yeah, that's one of the things Brady and Breeze do very well as older quarterbacks. They get it to you at the right spot. Seahawks. Chris Carson, they have two backs now. Chris Carson, the seventh rounders, beat out the first rounder Rashad Penny.

The O-line coaching is better, not sure if the personnel is. They had an interesting draft. I think they need a couple of young guys to pop. When you look at their overall personnel outside of Russell Wilson and Bobby Wagner, do you like it? Well, I think offensively they'll do the same thing they did a year ago. This is old school. They'll run the ball. Carson fits that exactly.

He's a grinder. He's a sustainer. His feet are a little lighter than you think, but he's not explosive by any means. And what they want to do is being second and five and third and three. That's when Russell Wilson is very, very difficult. That's what they want. Now defensively, there's a lot of. different parts. I think we're uncertain as to what they will be. Look, last year they relied on a

four-man pass rush. Frank Clark was their most disruptive player up front, and he's not there. So who's that guy? That's a big question right now, because that's the way they want to play. They want to play with the four-man rush being the key to how they go about defense, particularly on third-down situations. So there's some uncertainty in that area for the Seahawks. Arizona is all of this Kyler Murray, Cliff Kingsbury talk, a lot of hot air because the offensive line is just not equipped to make this team work. It may be the weakest part of their roster and that we're just, you know, Kingsbury's got high cheekbones and Kyler's amazing. But what's it matter if your offensive line can't sustain any blocks in the running game? What do you make of them?

I'm going to be interested to see their offensive line because if you just look at the talent, theoretically they should improve as the year progresses. This is not an offensive line that's terrible. If you go from left to right, what they started anyway in this last preseason game, was Humphreys Pugh, Mason, Cull, Swezy, and Gilbert, the Pittsburgh right tackle. That as an individual, they're not a terrible, top of my head, but if they can improve, Humphreys was a first round, we'll see, you know, and we'll see what Kingsbury does. He didn't do a whole lot in the preseason, and we'll see what.

happens when the regular season starts, but their own line may not be as bad as some think. And then one other question. Andrew Luck, Ricard, retires. Jacoby Brissette, to me, is good, potentially, but not special. And I think Chris Ballard, to win that division is going to go for special, to beat Deshaun Watson for the next 10 years. Brissette, what do you see you like and maybe you have pause with? I like being out of college. I think that with Frank Reich as the head coach, he'll speed him up to Brissette when he played two years ago. He played behind a very poor O line, but he was a little deliberate in his movement. They'll speed him up.

The nature of that offense will do that. There's a spectacular nature to his game as well. He showed in the preseason some better ability to navigate within the pocket. I like Jacoby Brissette, and I think that this team will still compete. I don't see a significant – I'm not going to sit here and tell you they'll be in the Super Bowl football team, and if they're not, it won't be in my view because of Jacoby Brissette. Yeah, by the way, they do have a staple of running backs, superstars like Marlon Mac. Their O-lines good. They upgraded receiver. Their tight-end grouping is

spectacular. And frankly, Chris Ballard has upgraded that secondary in the last two years. Actually, it's a very thorough roster if they can get a couple of the young guys to play early out of college. Greg CoSell NFL films over three decades. Great talking to you. Thanks, Colin. Appreciate it. Man, good stuff. Yeah, John Gruden was quoted yesterday saying Derek Carr, I want him to air it out. Translation, throw it to A.B. And throw it deep. And I don't I think Derek's, I think it's funny when Greg Cosell watches tape, he's like, that's not Derek's personality. So sometimes dramatic people, not just A.B.

He's kind of a dramatic personality. Dramatic people tend to be short-term thinkers, not long-term planners. I think A-B in the moment wanted out of Pittsburgh, but I think he left a better O-line and a better deep-ball thrower. I don't think it serves A-B over the rest of his career, and we'll see how that plays out. But Derek's not 56 times last year. He attempted a throw over 20 yards. It's not what he does.

It's like Dak. Dack does not throw the ball deep often. Some guys, you know, I'll air it out. I watched that kid at Clemson, Trevor Lawrence. That kid, he thinks every ball he throws is going to be caught. Every ball out of his hand. He's like, that's going to be caught. That was very much John Elway.

John Elway, Joe Namath. Guys, Marino. Guys with big arms are like, oh, yeah, Brett Farve. Oh, I'll just squeeze it in that little tiny keyhole. Derek's not that guy. Ben is more of that guy, and I think it benefited Antonio Brown. One more herd? The herd streams 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

within the iHeart radio app search heard to listen live or on demand whenever you'd like last night 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 Slic Life 12 in the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hardway with me. your host and your favorite therapist, Kear Games. And in recognition of Mental Health Awareness Month, I'm bringing over a

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

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

Join me, Kear Gaines, 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 4th. And on my podcast, the Clivert 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, rep, my mama want you to wave at her.

What? Hey, Miss Parker. Listen to the Cliford Show. on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. The story I've told myself about love or relationships can then shape my behavior, and that can lead me to sabotage the possibility of connection.

This Mental Health Awareness Month, tune into the podcast deeply well with Debbie Brown and explore the journey of healing, self-discovery, and returning to yourself. We explore higher consciousness, emotional well-being, and the practices that help you find clarity, peace, and self-mastery in a world that can feel overwhelming. The world is becoming lonelier.

We're not becoming more social and connected. We're becoming more individualized, but we actually meet people in connection. If you've been searching for a soft place to land while doing the work to become whole, this podcast is for you to hear more. Listen to deeply well with Debbie Brown from the Black Effect Podcast Network. on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. I saw a list. This came down today. I don't even know guys who gave me this list. It's the most division titles and playoff berths since realignment in 2002.

And all the top five teams at the top, it's all about the quarterback. New England, Indy, Green Bay, Seattle, and Pittsburgh. Brady, Peyton Manning and Luck, Aaron Rogers, Farrve, Russell Wilson, and Big Ben. So at the top, you get the quarterback right, get a star, you go in a lot of games. But what's interesting is the bottom 10 are not all about lousy quarterbacks. It's about weak ownership. Titans, Jets, Redskins, Bucks, Jags, Lions, Raiders, Dolphins, Bill, Browns. Now, Shod Khan at Jacksonville is respected among owners.

He hadn't been around the league much, so he doesn't have much of a profile. But by and large, in the NFL, the quarterback, guarantee, a star quarterback guarantees at least a modicum of success. This is why I doubt Cleveland. Baker Mayfield is clearly good enough to win playoff games. Tim Tebow won a playoff game. Brock Osloidler won a playoff game. Blake Bortles got to the AFC championship and was a play from the Super Bowl.

Rex Grossman got to a Super Bowl. It's not that Baker can't win games. Myopic Cleveland guy. My doubts are upstairs. If you go look since realignment, the teams with the fewest playoff bursts, it is bad owners. I mean, if you told me make a list of the owners that you doubt, 10 of the 12 are right there. That's the Cleveland issues. We know Baker can win games.

I'm not worried about that. I mean, again, Tim Tebow and Brock Osweiler won playoff games. Blake Bortle has won a lot of playoff games. Rex Grossman, good arm, not much else. They want playoff games. That's not the question. Baker can win playoff games. But did they hire the right coach?

Did they hire the right GM? They hired a GM who had been fired. They hired a coach who the GM can push around who didn't have any real coordinating experience of note. That's always the issue. That's why I picked Pittsburgh. Owner, Pittsburgh over Cleveland. GM, Pittsburgh over Cleveland. Coach, Pittsburgh over Cleveland.

Quarterback, Pittsburgh over Cleveland. O-line, Pittsburgh over Cleveland. That's my big five. And it starts with ownership. The Rooties have been unbelievable. I mean, they've had three football coaches since I was born. Chuck Knoll, Bill Cower, Mike Tomlin. I don't know when Chuck Knoll got the job, but it was around, you know,

I know he was there in 1970, 3 and 4, 5 when I was watching the Steelers as a kid. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, FS1, and the IHeart Radio app. All right, I've been doing Blazing 5 for a long time. and I've never, you know, I have success at it. I love it. But everybody knows. I get people coming up to me all the time.

You love college football. And I'm like, yesterday we had a Joel Clatt segment. I got so much feedback on that. I love college football. It was the first sport I really fell in love with. I grew up in the Pacific Northwest. We had the University of Washington. They were more prominent before the Seahawks were.

So I was a college football fan. Then I moved to the South. So I'm a huge college football fan. And Fox Sports Bet is now. a real thing at our company, and I said, let's come back to our roots. Let's do college football picks on Thursday. I will give you three picks every Thursday. I will try to get games that are somewhere on TV. I want to pick the SEC game, you know, the Oregon game, the Ohio State, the Michigan, the Texas, the Oklahoma, as often as possible, a game that we can all

watch together. So here we go, debuting it, our marquee three. Ready to make some sweet cash, Colin's going to give you his three sure bets for the college football weekend. It's time for the Fox Bet Marquis 3. Auburn versus Oregon. All right, this is the biggest game. Oregon 11th ranked Auburn 16. They're playing on a neutral field in Dallas, and that is a real thing. Oregon's got a significant edge at quarterback, but I don't trust them. Oregon's become, and I talked to their head coach about this at some length about a month ago, Mario Cristobal. When you get them out of Otson Stadium over the last two years, they're awful. outside of Ottson Stadium, they're 4 and 8, which makes no sense when you're a really good football team with a first-round NFL quarterback, and many perceive a very good coach against non-conference opponents, the last four games they placed them, ranked, I should say, non-conference opponents, they're 0.4. Oregon has got to prove to me they can get away from Otton Stadium and win. And frankly, when SEC teams play Pac-12 teams,

you know where I'm going to lean unless it's in a Pact 12 stadium. Auburn has won 11 of 13 of the last openers. Everybody loves Oregon's offensive line, but Auburn returns all five of their offensive linemen. Auburn was top three in the SEC and sacks. They always get after the quarterback. I'm going to take Auburn to win a very close football game despite a significant quarterback advantage. I'm going to take the SEC team in the trenches to win the game late, run the football, 27 to 23 in cover.

It's a three and a half point. Northwestern at Stanford. Okay, so now Northwestern is getting six points here. They're the underdogs. So Northwestern's getting six points. I like Northwestern in the upset. And if nothing else, I like them to cover the spread. Here's why.

They were very good at the end of last year. They won eight of their last 10. Took them a while to figure out who they were. They got very hot late. They were also a great road team. Northwestern went 5 and 0 in the road last year. Often played better on the road. the road. Nobody's seen their quarterback play. His name is Hunter Johnson. He went to Clemson. He was a

five-star recruit. You know why he transferred to Northwestern? Because they have Trevor Lawrence. And he's like, I want to play. And he's a smart kid, and he went to Northwestern. He's a big time talent. Northwestern, I don't think he's had a quarterback this talented in the history of their program. Stanford last year could not run the football. Not very Stanford. They had their worst defensive team in several years. Again, Northwestern, very well coached. has an excellent quarterback. Six points is a ton in this game. And frankly, Stanford, KJ Costello, been a little beat up in camp.

I'm going to go with the healthier team. Upset City. 24, 23. I love the six points here. Win or not? Too many points to give Northwestern. Fresno State at USC. I don't think this USC staff is intact at the beginning of next year.

But I like USC here, even though they're minus 14 to cover the spread. Here's why. USC wins home openers, 17 to the last 18. If you take out Notre Dame, they haven't lost to a non-power conference team since 2001. They're very good at home. 21 and 5 at home over the last four seasons. Like Oregon, you get them out of their comfortable environment. They're a mess.

But at home, USC's good. Graham Harrell is their new offensive coordinator. The strength of this football team, wide receivers. Fresno State was terrific last year. They lost eight starters on offense, and Fresno State is rebuilding the interior of their offensive line, and USC strength of their defense is their defensive tackles, the middle of their defense and their middle linebacker. This is a match-up issue for Fresno State too young, biting off too much here, and I

I think USC over the course of the season having to go to Notre Dame, having to go to Washington, Oregon, Utah. I think USC is going to end up being a very close to a 500 team. But in this spot, I'm going to take USC to cover the spread and win the game 36 to 20. At home, opener, non-power 5 team. That's where USC is good. So I'm taking Auburn to win and cover close, northwestern in the points, little ups and and USC minus the points. Go to the Fox Bet app.

The Fox Bet app right now. Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind. And nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where Sports Slice comes in. I'm Timbo. And every episode, we're cutting through the noise, breaking down the biggest moments in sports

and giving you the real story behind the headline. And we're going straight to the source, the athletes themselves, their locker room stories, their reactions in the moment, and the stuff nobody gets to hear. Listen to SportsSlice 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. 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. Street or 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 Clivert Taylor the 4th. And on my podcast, The Cliverts Show, I'm bringing you conversations about all kinds of stuff. Like being an internet famous referee. We're in the middle of a game. This linebacker walks up to me. And he goes, hey, ref, my mom wants you to wave at her. What?

Time out. Quarterback on office blue with 42. Hey, rep, my mama want you to wave at her. What? Where's she at? Hey, Ms. 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 hungry. You just understood. That's how personal it got.

Wow. Then after that game seven, Marquis come in too, 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.