The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Best of The Herd: 09/04/2018

Episode Date: September 4, 2018

Colin says you simply cannot trade a player like Khalil Mack and has no idea what the Raiders are doing. He talks about where he was right and wrong over the weekend including admitting how bad Jim Harbaugh and Michigan looked. Plus, FOX NFL Insider Peter Schrager talks about the Le'Veon Bell situation and where the Raiders went wrong with Mack. Presented by Perky Jerky. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Find your local station for the herd at Fox Sports Radio.com or stream us live every day on the iHeartRadio app by searching Herd. This is the Best of the Herd with Colin. and Cowher on Fox Sports Radio. Ah! On a Tuesday, this is the herd. Wherever you may be and however you may be listening, live in Los Angeles. Iheart Radio, Fox Sports Radio, and FS1.

Joy Taylor is joining me on the start of football season. We are ready. She just put her glasses on because she's getting serious. I am getting serious. They cleaned them for me, so. Very nice. studious academic. That's what we do here.

It is great to have you in. I don't remember a show where I drove to work in the morning and I don't even think I needed prep. I could have just talked. So let me start with this. The Raiders traded Khalil Mack. Kaleel Mack is everything you're trying to find in the NFL. Every single person in the NFL is trying to find basically the same thing.

A great player who plays at a really important position that's a great guy in the locker room. And the Raiders had it and gave him up because, you know, he was really expensive. Dude, so is Filet Mignon. So is a Mercedes Ben. So is staying at the Ritz Carlton. Like, you got to get comfortable with that, right?

I understand if the Raiders didn't have a star quarterback. And they thought to themselves, oh, Lord, we got to give up this defensive guy, get a bunch of pexed to get a quarterback. But they do. They have Derek Carr. I would get if the Raiders didn't have somebody to protect their quarterback, their offensive linemen. And they said, you know what?

We got a quarterback. We got to protect him. And we're going to give up this great player to get it. But time out. The Raiders do have a great quarterback, and they do have a good offensive line. So the next thing the Raiders would want is a great pass rusher. And they gave him up. What are you doing?

Uncle Collins, three rules of football. It's not real complicated. Number one, get a good quarterback. Number two, get people who can protect your quarterback. and number three, get to the other team's quarterback. They've already got one and two. Do you know what they're going to do with those two draft picks they got, Joy? Try to find the next Khalil Mack, and they won't because he's a once-in-a-franchise player.

There are no Lawrence Taylor's for the New York Giants. They're never going to find another one. Denver's never going to get a John Elway. It's never going to find him. It doesn't work that. There's going to be no next Dion Sanders, the greatest cornerback of all time. This morning, I went and looked at the last 14 years of the Raiders first round picks. One great player, Khalil Mack.

Hey, but you got two first round picks where you could hopefully find, oh, crap, that won't happen. Man, don't outthink the room. If you, think about this, if you get a job and it pays, well. Okay, check. And your boss is really cool. Check. And it's in a great city. Check. You don't leave that job. Those are the three checks you're looking for. It pays. Your boss is cool. And it's in a great city. If you get into a relationship, man or a woman, and they're really fun to hang out with. and your friends and parents like them and you're really attracted to them you don't break that up you don't move out of that relationship you go buy her a big ring yeah i said it you do come on now

man this is football the whole game in football is find a quarterback protect a quarterback and then get people who get their quarterback you got to figure that out this is not complicated and don't get me wrong i understand it's really expensive but as i get older there are just certain things you can't be cheap on. You can't be cheap on transportation. You can't be cheap on toilet paper. Just spend the extra money. Trust me, don't be cheap with NFL superstars.

Because you get about two a draft. You get about two a draft. And I may be hyperventilating. It may be one. And you let him walk out. I'll say it again. I just don't get the John Gruden thing. I just don't get it.

Had him, let him leave. Big mistake. All right, let me transition to this. I just live in Portland, Oregon. That's a fine city in Portland, Oregon. And do you know what the biggest company in Portland, Oregon is? Well, it's Nike. So I know a lot of people that worked at Nike.

I've read a couple of books about Nike, and Nike yesterday did something. Nike does all the time. They had a print ad for Colin Kaepernick. Believe in something, even if it means something. sacrificing everything. A lot of people this morning are going to burn their Nike shoes. Other people are going to run out and buy more Nikes.

I'm not going to do it either. That's not really my personality. But can I remind you certain people are comfortable with discomfort? Remember when Tiger Woods got into trouble? Remember that story? That was controversial. Gatorade said, no, thank you. We're out.

Gillette said, no, thank you. you, we're out. Buick said, no thank you. We're out. AT&T said, no thank you, Tiger. We're out. You know who stayed with Tiger? Nike. They're comfortable with discomfort. Nike actually left golf, but they stayed and backed Tiger Woods. Nike's slogan is just do it. It's not, just be careful just be cautious just don't offend anybody just don't make a move that hurts for a couple of days

the stock price Nike slogan is just do it just do it all chips center of the table piss some people off make some others happy some will burn socks some will buy shoes

it should be noted that many of you won't remember this, but I'm old enough to remember when Nike did this ad, and it was for a decade, and I am not exaggerating. For a decade, the most controversial spot in America. I am not a role model. I'm not paid to be a role model. I'm paid to wreak havoc on the basketball court. You think Kaepernick's print ad is controversial? Joy is my witness and she's younger than I am. That Barkley spot was the most discussed commercial in America, not for a month and not for a year.

Four years. Nike is since then 17 times larger. Their market cap is. They survived. Nike also had a bit of controversy with Jordan when his shoes first came out as well. They're not new to call it. controversy. By the way, when I got into this business, my late mother once went on the internet and she said, people hate you. And I said, mm-hmm, and I'm comfortable with that.

And so was Kanye West and Howard Stern and Rachel Maddow and Rush Limbaugh and the Kardashians and our president. Some people are built. to withstand discomfort. Some companies are built to withstand discomfort. Nike executives did research, sat in a room. This would not work at IBM. But in Nike, they've been just doing this, not just doing it. They've been doing this for years.

During Kobe's Colorado trial, Sprite bailed on Kobe. McDonald's bailed on Kobe. Kobe. Nike did not. This to me is not really about CAP. It's about business. And I've always been fond of Nike, not just because they were the biggest company and many of my friends work there. But I've watched companies cave, bosses cave, people cave because they're afraid of the pushback. Nike never is. And I applaud any company that can withstand the heat, have a belief system that makes people uncomfortable regularly. More than ever, we need that. Their slogan is not just be cautious and just be timid. It's poker chips all in. Just do it.

and they stood behind Tiger and they stood behind Kobe and they're standing behind another polarizing guy, Colin Kaepernick. I won't burn my shoes, nor will I buy new ones. But I can appreciate people who take stands, deal with blowback, and wake up the next morning feeling stronger than never. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, FS1, and the I-Hy-Hy-Hon. Hard Radio app. Everybody knows I like Jim Harbaugh. I think he's difficult. I think he's rough,

but I think he's a really good football coach. I have a resume that shows he won national titles at mid-major. He was great at San Diego. He was great at Stanford. He was great at the San Francisco 49ers. He's very good at Michigan. Saturday night was bad. No, he deserves to be criticized on every show. Because once you pay people, the kind of money Harbaugh makes, and once you go out sort of flexing your muscles, showing everybody how to be how great Michigan is and promoting yourself, the standards change. Listen, if you pay a supermodel $10 million, she can't during fashion week in Paris or New York City trip going down the runway.

By the way, if she does trip, she still has perfect skin. She's still stunning. She clothes still look great on her. Other women probably say, oh, my God, she is amazing. but you can't trip and fall on the runway at $10 million a year. You can't as a model. You can't as a supermodel. Jim Harbaugh's resume is still fantastic.

He's 28 and 12 at Michigan, and that's his big failure. Think about that. His big failure is he's 28 and 12 at Michigan. But Saturday night, he fell on stage. Jim Harbaugh's a tough guy. That offensive line was soft and pushed around by Notre Dame for 30. three and a half hours. He's a former quarterback.

He finally got his great quarterback. And yet they couldn't move the ball. Michigan average like 1.8 yards of carry, pushed around by Notre Dame. Listen, Jim Harbaugh, when he came to Michigan, got the biggest salary in the sport and has done nothing, and I've supported him on promoting Michigan and himself.

But that's the kind of loss that leaves a mark. If you're going to get the big paycheck, you can't trip during fashion week. I've said this about my business. You want the big paycheck on this business? You're going to get some blowback. Can't handle it? Don't take the check. Don't get the corner office.

It's rough. People are vile. Social media is mean. But that was bad. That leaves a mark. And the first thing I actually thought when I watched the game joy, I thought to myself, Jim Harbaugh has been very good at building programs back up. And then at the first opportunity, not even pausing and leaving.

And I look around and Cincinnati Bengals may need to coach, and the Cleveland Browns may need to coach, and the Miami Dolphins may need to coach, and the Denver Broncos may need to coach. And my takeaway is, those places are all going to call Jim Harbaugh. The question is, is Harbaugh finished at Michigan? Because they're not going to fire him. He's going to rattle off five straight wins until they play Wisconsin, and that's going to be a barn burner. He's still 28 and 12 in conference, or overall 18 and 8 in conference, but he's lost 4 straight. And it's not just that he lost.

It is how they lost. That was ugly. That was embarrassing. There was a huge TV rating for that game. So a lot of people watched it, including NFL people watched it. There's two arguments here. Don't tell me the guy can't coach. I got a resume he can coach.

don't tell me the supermodel is not beautiful. She's still beautiful. I know. That's why she got $10 million. They just don't hand that out at colleges. They just don't hand that out to models. A lot of attractive people, a lot of good football coaches. The resume is still the resume.

But you're sitting in that chair, that can't be what the first game of your fourth year looks like. That can't be what it looks like. Yeah, and he's not making $10 million either. By the way, Belichick was fired in Cleveland. Pete Carroll was fired twice in the NFL. Nick Sabin bombed in the NFL. Joe Tori was fired three times.

Everybody likes Mike Dan Tony. He was fired a couple times. Good coaches get fired. Jim Harbaugh is not the first really good coach to have troubles. And he hasn't even been fired yet. You know, it's like actors. It's not like you have good movie, better movie, great movie, greatest movie. No, no, no, no.

There's bumps in the road, even for Belich. There's bumps in the road for everybody. Nick Saban had a bad weekend. Well, I mean, good on the field, bad off it. But that can't be what it looks like. First game, big rival, year four. That is falling down the runway and rolling into the crowd. Like, that's not acceptable.

I may be misquoting you, but didn't you call this a must win for it? I called it a must win. And I also, what I didn't call it, but I should have, a must not look like that. because that was terrible. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific. All right, we do it every Monday, but because we were off yesterday,

we're doing it this week on Tuesday. It'll back to be Monday at this time next week where Colin was right over the last week and where Colin was wrong. Where Colin was right? Well, I told you about Sam Darnold four years ago. I said there's this kid, and you haven't seen him play yet. He's going to be the next Andrew Luck.

And his name is Sam Darnold. Arnold. It's not about his arm. It's not about his size. It's the fact that he is a dude. Men will follow him. And the fact that Teddy Bridgewater is absolutely better than Tyrod Taylor. And yet in a city like New York, the coaches for the Jets felt like, no, no, no, let's just trade Teddy. He's ready to go. It's going to be choppy. It's going to be uneven. He's going to throw 18 to 20 picks. But this is the kid four years ago that I told you was the next great NFL quarterback. and for a New York team with a bad old line to say, no, with Teddy Bridgewater, no, he's ready to go. We were right on that one.

Where Colin was wrong. Year four for Jim Harbaugh, I'm sorry, but it can't look like what I saw against Notre Dame. I thought Harbaugh was a tough guy. They averaged 1.8 yards per rush against Notre Dame. At times the offense look frenzied and overwhelmed, not not. sometimes most of the night. Now, the good news is for them, if you look at their schedule, they'll reel off five wins before they face Wisconsin.

And I do think Harbaugh's still a great coach, and Shea Patterson's got some real talent. Mine's to be a little bit of Johnny Mansell. But come on now. I got to admit this one. I said last week, I said, you have a right to rip me if Harbaugh loses. He not only lost, they looked physically overwhelmed for much of the three hours.

and I deserve the heat. Where Colin was right? I just don't buy John Grun to the Raiders. There are certain industries you can't be gone for a decade. Silicon Valley in the NFL. Baseball's mostly the same, but football changes every couple of years, every couple of hours. For the record, you know who they cut over the weekend? Martavius Bryant, which wouldn't be that bad except for they gave up a third round pick for him during the draft.

Martavius Bryant was a headache in Pittsburgh and everybody, from Pittsburgh and around Pittsburgh knew it. And they gave a third round pick for him as they're trying to rebuild. I have been a cynic from day one. Listen, I had friends in Tampa because I used to work in Tampa. And when Gruden left Tampa, I called them and said, what's the story? And they're like, wears people out. He's the emperor.

He wears people out. And that 10-year contract has only elevated his self-identity. I don't think it's working. I don't buy the Kalil-Mack situation. Let me tell you that. And Derek Carr's best friend was Kalil Mack in that locker room. You want to keep Derek Carr happy. Get him good left tackles and sign Kalee Mack.

Where Colin was wrong. I've said Big Ten is going to be the deepest conference in college football. I don't think they necessarily have a team like Alabama, but I thought they'd be the best conference in college football. Yeah, my bad. The SEC was 13 and one overall. Only dysfunctional Tennessee lost. The SEC West was 7 and 0 this weekend, 2 and 0 against the top 10.

Ed Orgeron looked like Vince Lombardi. They crushed Miami, a pretty good. Miami team. Listen, it's not just that SEC teams look like winners, right? They looked like they were back. The quarterback plays pretty good. They got a couple of NFL quarterbacks in there. They physically pounded people. They separated the line of scrimmage. And I still think the Big Tens are a really good conference, but my eyeballs tell me the SEC has regained without question because the ACC

looked like garbage. The SEC is once again the king of the sport. where Colin was right? Oh, Lamar Jackson. Officially, the Ravens have named him the number three quarterback. I got nothing against the kid. But from day one, I said, the media is going to fawn over him. He's going to be overdrafted. He's a project.

He shouldn't be on a football field for a year or two. He's got to learn sit in that pocket and throw darts and not run. Because he's kind of spindly. He's going to get hurt. It's not like Cam Newton or Ben Rothesburg or big where he can run, take hits and still make it. The Ravens don't generally keep three quarterbacks. This is the first time in like nine or ten years the Ravens have kept the third quarterback.

And they're doing it because, well, they're not going to let go of him. And he does have some talent. I do think he was worth drafting. I said late, second, early third, if I didn't have a backup quarterback, I had an older quarterback, then I'd roll the dice on him. He's dynamic. Not like Tim Tebow, who I didn't think was draftable. I didn't think Johnny Mansell was draftable.

Lamar's draftable. Josh Allen's draftable. I'm just not drafting him as a top 10 quarterback and plan him as rookie year. So I predicted he'd be overdrafted. The median would fawn over him. I can remember when he got drafted, all the NFL reporters were like, oh, he's ready to play. And I'm like, what?

Did you watch him in college? He's not ready to be an NFL quarterback. Said the same thing about Josh Allen at Wyoming. Would you watch the games? Eventually, maybe. Not now. Raven's named him number three quarterback. Where Colin was wrong.

Just last week, I told Joy Taylor, Nick Saban isn't grumpy. Nick Saban's funny. You guys get to take all this stuff seriously. Nick Saban is funny. And then he did this to a reporter. I think both guys are good players. I think both guys can help our team.

All right, so why do you continually try to get me to say something that doesn't respect one of them? I'm not going to. So quit asking. Nick, grow up. Stop being Jack Nicholson and a few good men. You want me on that wall. You need me on that wall. Lord.

Nick, you know the question's coming. As I said earlier, when I walk out. every day from work. My wife says, how was work today? Half the time, I don't want to answer it, but I know the question's coming. You didn't think they were going to ask about that? Maria Taylor's doing her job. She's not a PR person for Alabama. By the way, testy, grumpy, Nick Saban apologized. Do we get a little, can we get the voice guy to say Joy was right?

Joy was right. You were right? Well, do you're a grump. God, didn't take long, did it? It took about two days and I was wrong on that one. Hey. Where Colin was right? Okay. Forget Colin. I'm going to buy Malcolm Jenkins gear for the Eagles. He's become my favorite player. I said last week, Malcolm Jenkins came out and said,

this whole thing in our locker room with this, this like a banner on our locker room is stupid. We won the Super Bowl. We got to win it again this year. This doesn't mean anything. And I said, I love Malcolm Jenkins. That's how winners think. Winners celebrate rarely and grind daily.

And Malcolm Jenkins, by coming out as a leader and saying, I hate this stupid banner. Doug Peterson took it down. I am buying Malcolm Jenkins shoes if they're on the market. That's what leadership is. Leadership is not like, dude, signed a big client, pot-te. Leadership is, hey, I signed a big client in the accounting firm.

Everybody going to be here at 545 in the morning, ready to work tomorrow? because that trophy is not doing your prep tomorrow morning. Malcolm Jenkins is a real leader. I liked him during the anthem protest. I didn't think he was divisive. I thought he was a grown-up. And I love him calling out his organization. And they're smart enough in Philadelphia to go,

you know what? Malcolm Jenkins is right. Where Colin was wrong. Odell Beckham Jr. got a massive deal with the Giants. I'm surprised. A, he's a perimeter player. But here's what really surprises me. He's fragile physically, and sometimes he's fragile emotionally.

And I've always struggled paying guys if physically and emotionally, I'm not sure what I get. But Bucky Brooks, a guy I respect told me last week on the show, he's worth six points. To me, Odell Beckham's worth six Advil for all the headaches I'll have with him. But in the end, if he's worth six points, then I admit, I was wrong. Odell Beckham's worth the dollars and the New York Giants. I thought they'd figure out a way not to pay him, figured out a way to pay him. Where Colin was right?

Finally, I said last week, once Sam Darnold proves he's good enough to start, you've got to move Teddy Bridgewater. The Jets don't need the best backup quarterback in the league. What they need is help. And about a day later, the Jets traded Teddy Bridgewater. Is that once you could see that Darnold was ready to play, again, I'm not saying he's better than Teddy Bridgewater today.

but he's good enough to start in the NFL. Sam Darnold would start for about 10 teams in the NFL, including the Jets. He's not starting for Atlanta. He's not starting for New Orleans. He's not starting for Carolina. But he's good enough to start for the Jets. Then you've got to trade Teddy Bridgewater. There's no value in saying, you know, we got the best quarterback threesome in the league.

I mean, we got three guys who could win. Donald can win with that defense. Josh McCown can win with that defense. Get a draft pick and start rebuilding that offensive line. Where Colin was right, where Colin was wrong. One more herd? The herd streams 24 hours. Today, seven days a week within the IHeart Radio app.

Search heard to listen live or on demand whenever you'd like. Now via the Coward Global Satellite Network. Fox NFL Reporter. Co-host a good morning football on another network, the NFL network, Peter Shreger. All right, let's do. You know, all right, Kalee Mack, I don't like what the Raiders did. But my guess is the Chicago Bears, who already had a pretty interesting defense got better. What were the, why did the bears eventually make that move?

Because, listen, when you're giving up a couple first round, picks. Those are gold bars. Everybody loves those. Tell me how it went down. Yeah, Colin, this actually started in February, and I don't think John Gruden and Reggie McKenzie messed up the last few weeks. What happened was in February, everyone meets at the Combine. And if you got a guy going into the final year of his contract, especially a 27-year-old player, who's an all-pro at two positions and a former defensive player of the year, who's pretty much a saint off the field, you'd like to lock those guys

up long term, and the Raiders offered a deal to Khalil Max agents. Khalil Max agents came back five days later with a deal that the Raiders thought, it was just stratospheric way off, way off. Sure enough, he doesn't show up, says we're too far apart, and then Aaron Donald's deal gets done last Friday, and guess what? It was less than what Kaleel Mack was asking for. So it was almost a deal where Kalil Mack's agent said,

we wanted this number, and it was actually more reasonable than what Aaron Donald got. So at that point, the Raiders said, we can't pay Derek Carr $25 million, we can't pay Kalil Mack $25 million and field a team. However, I do blame Gruden to the Raiders because back in February, if you opened lines of communication, you can get creative. You can start playing around with the salary cap.

You can make some other move throughout free agency so that you do have that. Instead, they went nuclear spring. They didn't talk to Max agents. They said, you guys are crazy. You'll never get that. Guess what? Aaron Donald got it? And then the Chicago Bears paid Mac even more.

So, yeah, if you're a Raiders fan, you can be disappointed. Not so much for the trade to the Bears, but for the fact that they didn't have the communication throughout March, April, June, July. As for the other teams, the Bears weren't the only ones. The Bills, the Browns, the Jets, the 49ers came in with a very good offer. They all wanted Khalil Mack, but no one made a better offer than the Chicago Bears. And the Chicago Bears paid them the highest paid defensive contract in the history of the league. You can't blame either side at that one.

Okay, Levian Bell's out. I like him a lot. It's a big number. You say this situation's a little tricky for the Steelers. It is. And they went through this last year, and Levyon Bell showed up. Week 1 is a little rusty. Only had 32 yards.

Then he caught fire and was fine. Everyone thinks the Steelers have all the leverage in this one, because Levyon Bell can't negotiate a contract with them throughout this season, and he certainly can't negotiate with another team. But what if Levyon Bell doesn't show up? What if he doesn't show up week two? What if doesn't show up week three? Almost like Khalil Mack was willing to do.

Everyone tells me Levyon Bell is supposed to show up Wednesday. That's tomorrow. He's supposed to be there. But what if he doesn't, and the Steelers start off 0 and 3? What if he doesn't, and the Steelers are 2 and 6 going into week 9? suddenly, Leveon Bell has no tread on the tires. He's a free agent at the end of the season. He has no 400-carry season where everyone says,

oh, well, they burned them out and they carried the load, and I don't want to... And suddenly, he's making a statement for running backs everywhere because David Johnson's contract is coming up, Ezekiel Elliott's is coming up, Leonard Fournette. And if you're going to pay a wide receiver like Odell Beckham, and you're going to pay a receiver like Antonio Brown and his team, Levyon Bell can make a stand not only for himself,

but for the entire position and say, you know what, we deserve to be paid like those guys do as well. And if this is the case, he does have a little bit of leverage here, because if the Steelers just absolutely struggle without him, Leveon Bell made a case not only for himself, but also for the running back position. If he misses games, things get very interesting for the Steelers, and they're banking on the fact that he'll be there, and he'll be ready week one. We'll see.

You're in New York City. Sam Darnold gets the green light to start week one. Your thoughts, what you'd been hearing before that and the reaction when it was announced. Yeah, everyone is thrilled. This kid is as ready as he is. any 21-year-old has ever been ready for. I think the Jets made the right decision here. You got something for Bridgewater, who's a backup quarterback.

You have Josh McCown, who might as well be a quarterback's coach. And you got Jeremy Bates, who's one of the most respected offensive minds, working with a young quarterback that can build it from the ground up. Jets fans understand the deal here. This isn't Mark Sanchez as a rookie, because Mark Sanchez is a rookie at Alan Fanica and Nick Mangold and, you know, the Brickshaw Ferguson protecting him with Jericho and Braylon Edwards at Whiteout. It's a different deal.

This is the long term, and they believe he's in the right situation. situation. Yeah. Is there a team that you think is a little under the radar? You've been communicating with all these teams for a month. Do you have a little, my Giants are my dark horse. Pat Schumer's really good. They get home run hitters, wide receiver, O'Dell, Barclay. You know, they actually upgraded their own line at left tackle and at guard. I think giants are a little bit of a dark horse team. Who's yours? Let me make a case for you because I know how you think and I know you love the Belichick way and I know you love locker room chemistry. The ultimate nature versus nurture locker room thing going on right now in the league is the Miami Dolphins.

They got rid of Indomacan Sioux, Jarvis Landry, Pouncy, and Ajai, all guys who didn't mesh with Adam Gase, who are all outstanding players, and instead brought in Danny Amandola, the ultimate team guy, Frank Gore, Josh Sitton, Daniel Kilgore, guys that are ultimate team guys. Gase is all in, pushing his chips, getting rid of a ton of talent, and he's saying, give me the better locker room. I think it's a fascinating study in the NFL right now because basically he's doing the opposite of Sean McVeigh. Where McVe is saying, give me all the best players, I'll make it work. Gase is saying, give me the best guys, give me the team guys that all the young players can root for and learn from. And we're going to roll the dice that way. I don't know if it works, but I love the fact that Gase is going nurture over nature. And Colin, I know how you think about this.

You don't want knuckleheads on your team, and I'm not calling those guys knuckleheads. But Adam Gase is getting a bunch of team first guys, and they are a team that no one is talking about. So the Miami Dolphins, it's a cool social experiment. We'll see how it goes. Finally, Eagles Carson Wentz not ready to go. Any insight? I mean, it was a serious injury. We've kind of predicted he wouldn't start week one.

Are we talking out a month, out a week? What's up? They're hoping it's less than a month, but they are not rushing him at all. They are confident in Nick Foles. They also don't have Alshon Jeffrey. They also don't have Mike Grow their offensive. of court, I mean, they also don't have, I'm sorry, John D. Filippo, the quarterback's coach or Frank Reich. It's a different Eagles team week one, but they believe Carson Wentz is going to be their

quarterback for the next 10, 15 years. We're not worried about weeks one through four. They just want to get him on the field when he's fully ready. Okay, so Thursday, the NFL starts in earnest. Great talking to you, Shrags. I love talking to you, Colin. See you soon. 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. Well, you know that I make my NFL predictions, Joy, in, oh, this is your first football season with me, so it'll be July. And then I'm allowed two amendments, not the free speech and the right to bear arms. My two amendments are, I get to tweak my NFL predictions twice. I've already done it once. Today, this is my second amendment and the final amendment I can make with my NFL predictions.

I am swapping the Cowboys and the Giants in the NFC East. Cowboys I had at 9 and 7, I'm putting them at 8 and 8. The Giants were 8 and 8. I'm putting him at 9 and 7. Because? Good intel, good vibes, a Shermer connection, and I just... You just feel it?

A little concerned with the Dallas O line not being completely 100% dialed in. That's what I'm a little. concerned about. So that's worth a game. And I feel much better about the Giants O line than I did two months ago. I'm getting good intel. So now with that, that leads me to my best for last. After almost three hours, Colin apparently hasn't gotten to the point yet. Quit holding out on us, cowherd. It's the best for last. Now, I'm going to give you an amazing stat since It's 1990.

Okay, that's 28 years. That, like, football used to have huddles back then, in fullbacks. That's a long time. In each season, at least four, that's the minimum. In 28 years, at least four teams make the NFL playoffs that didn't make it the previous year. This is not the NBA. There's a ton of parity.

Last season, Joy, eight teams. made the playoffs that didn't make the playoffs the previous year. That's a quarter of the league. So I think there are six teams this year that are going to make the playoffs that did not make the playoffs last year. And I'll get major pushback

because this is just the way NFL fans are. But you know we're going to have a minimum of four. So I'm going to talk about each team that didn't make the playoffs last year and I believe are going to make the playoffs this year. Let's just start with the New York Giants for, to me, very obvious reasons. Major upgrade at head coach, major upgrade at running back, major running upgrade at left tackle and offensive line, and O'Dell Beckham's back. Now remember, this was an 11-5 team two years ago, and their offensive line is significantly better today, as is their head coach than that team.

I think this is the easy one. This is going to be, last year there were three and 13. Even Vegas says the over-unders eight to eight and a half. I'm predicting a nine and seven team and a team that squeaks into the playoffs. If the NFC in their division wasn't so tough, I would not have a problem going 11 and 5 again. So the Giants are in. They weren't last year. Number two, again, I'm giving you the obvious ones to me, the Green Bay Packers.

Aaron Rogers is back. He got hurt last year in week six. So that's a third the way through the season, and they just don't have the personnel. The other thing I really like is, you know, generally they have a first-place schedule. They don't have a first-place schedule this year. The other thing I like is they have upgraded

the biggest problem with Green Bay over the last two years. They've been really weak in the back end. And they went out and they got with their first couple of picks, a couple of cornerbacks that I loved in college. They've also added tight-end Jimmy Graham, who's not a real pounder, but that's okay. He can get vertical. He was a basketball player before he was a football star.

I think the Packers obviously are a team that didn't make the playoffs last year. Rogers is back. They're a playoff team this year. The other one, and I'm in the minority here, but the Indianapolis Colts. The AFC is weaker than the NFC. Andrew Luck missed the entire season. They also, again, and I defended them on this, They didn't waste any time going right back to the offensive line and helping Andrew Luck.

My theory on this league is get the quarterback and then protect the quarterback. A house is no good if it doesn't have insurance. It burns down, you're out your money. They went and got two guards, one Quentin Nelson, who could be a pro bowler really soon. And I think the Jacksonville Jaguars take a step back. I think Tennessee Titans are still non-trustible. I think Houston will be good. is Deshawn Watson going to be healthy?

Andrew Luck carried a significantly worse roster than this one to 11 and 5, 11 and 5, 11 and 5, 11 and 5. The Colts, to me, are a playoff team. After this, same division, the Texans, a lot of different issues. J.J. Watt got hurt,

week 5. DeShon Watson got hurt. He got hurt in practice after week 7. So remember, they didn't even get to Thanksgiving. I mean, they didn't get to November and they were all beat up, best offensive, best defensive player. You know, Bill O'Brien doesn't get a ton of credit because the way the NFL works is, you know, you got to, the coaches that have star quarterbacks win.

If you really examine Bill O'Brien, he's won with some young quarterbacks and some average quarterbacks. And again, I think the AFC is outside of Pittsburgh and New England is pretty much up for grabs. Texans did not make the playoffs. I think the Texans make the playoffs this year. The other one, and again, the Rams have done so much this offseason to get headlines. There are a lot of people that I talk to in the NFL still think the Chargers have a better roster.

They lost four games by a field goal or less. The last two months of the season, I think they were the best team in the National Football League. In the last two years, here's a stat for you. Philip Rivers in the last two years has the most passing touchdowns in the NFL. They added a tremendous center, pouncy from the Dolphins. Mike Williams, the rookie number one pick for them, the wide receiver, was hurt last year. He's back. They also went out and got Derwin James, and from all accounts, he is going to start and be a dominating force in the middle.

I love their draft. So, and I got to be honest, I think that division's up for grabs. I don't trust Gruden, Case Keenham's quarterbacking, Denver, and what do I really know about Patrick Mahomes? So I think the Chargers win that division didn't make the playoffs, their playoff team this year. And finally, the one team in the preseason that I was like, wow, wow. And I don't get blown away by the preseason, the Baltimore Ravens. Remember, last year, they went nine and seven. Five of those possessions were by one possession, games or less, okay?

So they missed the playoffs last year by a last minute touchdown by Andy Dalton and the Bengals. And Joe Flacco is one of those guys. We got a history here. Joe Flacco is one of those guys, and he's kind of the opposite of Tom Brady. He plays himself into shape. But when he's motivated and pushed, remember the year he was, the contract year? He won the Super Bowl and was the MVP of the Super Bowl. He's looked really, really good in preseason.

I think Lamar Jackson's going to push him. So I think the Ravens, the Ravens John Harbaugh and the Ravens bounce back. So here are my teams. Remember, since 1990, a minimum of four teams make the playoffs that didn't the previous year. Last year it was eight. Here's my six.

Giants, Packers, Colts, Texans, Chargers, and Baltimore Ravens. It's not that I don't like the Cowboys. I didn't necessarily have the Cowboys getting in. Goulet, you're a cowboy fan. Offensive line, there's a couple stories there, don't love. Well, luckily, they kept Frederick on the roster, meaning they didn't put him on IR,

so they do think he's going to possibly come back, which helps. But yeah, if Tyron Smith gets hurt again, I would agree with you. But that was kind of disheartening. My prediction. Yeah, I don't like that. I didn't. I didn't like your hating. have to deal with it.

It doesn't have anything to do with the fact that Cole Beasley is their number one receiver? I don't love their receiving core. I think that's being overplayed. By the way, 8 and 8 in the NFC, that means by week 15, you're in a playoff race. You're probably in a playoff race. There's going to be a lot of 9 and 7s in the NFC. There's nobody's going 14 and 2 in the NFC. So this was my amendment, my last amendment.

I mean, literally, I mean, great point. What's a cupcake in the NFC? There's some cupcakes. Buffalo this year is a cupcake. That they are a complete and utter cupcake. I think the Raiders are going to get blown out a lot. The Browns are still the Browns, and Cincinnati is, you know, Cincinnati. So the NFC, the difference 9 and 7, 8 and 8. And there's also, you know, I just, Dallas, I looked out in the preseason

and I'm like, boy, they're more relying on DAC. They fall apart real fast. had to go to a backup quarterback. They just, they're just not ready. 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 SportsSlice comes in. I'm Timbo. In every episode, we're cutting through the noise, breaking down the biggest moments in sports and giving you the real story behind the headlines. And we're going straight to the source, the athletes themselves, their locker room stories, their reactions in the moment, and the stuff nobody gets

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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 I-Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Michelle McPhee, and I've been unraveling the strangest criminal alliance I've ever reported on. A Mormon polygamist and an Armenian businessman. Multi-million dollar house, Ferraris and Lamborghinis, private jets, a billion dollar fraud. But how long can this alliance last?

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