The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Best of The Herd: 09/10/2018

Episode Date: September 10, 2018

Colin thinks the Packers escaped last night and the decision to allow a division rival to trade for Khalil Mack instead of outbidding them will haunt Aaron Rodgers. He talks about where he was right and wrong over the weekend including admitting Dak Prescott might not be what he thought he would be. Plus, future Hall of Famer Tony Gonzalez defends Jon Gruden and talks about how good the Chiefs looked week 1. 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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Ah, it's a Monday. 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 joining me on a Monday that we cannot wait to get into. By the way, ratings were up. Fantastic, week one, bunch of close games. One hour from now where Colin was right, where Colin was wrong, and there is a bunch of all of them.

Good to have you in today. Good morning. And for the TV audience, we're a little different today. Yes, you are closer to me. I am not sitting on a throne. Our set got a little change. The couch is gone. Yes, got some alterations, have chairs instead.

And we have great stuff today. Tony Gonzalez, Michael Vick, Greg Jennings. I want to start with this, Joy. Is that, for the record, there are certain things I'll overpay for. If I lived in Phoenix or Vegas, I'd overpay for a pool. if I live in Seattle, I'll overpay for an umbrella. And if I have Aaron Rogers in my division, I'll overpay for Khalil Mack. I'm okay with it.

If I got to face Aaron Rogers 10 times in the next five years minimum, Chicago Bears said, we're probably going to overpay and give up a little too much, and I'm okay with it. Can't live in Seattle without an umbrella. You can't live in Phoenix or Vegas in the summer without a pool. And if you're the Chicago Bears, Aaron Rogers, for the next five years is your reality. Overpay a little for Khalil Mack. but I also want to talk about Green Bay should have Khalil Mack.

I know Green Bay you think you won last night. No, he didn't. Packer fans think they won last night. No, you didn't. You escaped last night. You escaped. You were about two inches on that sack to Aaron Rogers from him not playing the rest of the year.

Do you see the pressure on his leg? Did you see him gimp around that field? Did you see him on a cart leaving Lambo into the tunnel? That's not winning. that's escaping. He just came off a collarbone surgery. Green Bay owes Aaron Rogers, Khalil Mack. There's 7 and 0 in the playoffs with Aaron Rogers

when the Green Bay defense is just competent. The average NFL team scores 21 and a half points a game. When the Packers hold teams in the playoffs to 22 or less, Aaron Rogers has never lost. But you know why Aaron Rogers hasn't been to eight Super Bowls like Tom Brady? It's not Aaron Rogers. it's because this team gives up 50, 41, 38, 29, 36, 34. Don't tell me you one last night.

I saw Aaron Rogers. I saw those fans. I saw what you were doing. I watched Twitter. You were freaking out. And by the way, Khalil Mack was on a snap count. He's not even in shape. You only played against the half of Khalil Mack that they scheduled for him to play.

Good luck in Soldier Field the next five years. when he's not in a snap count. Good luck the next four times you face him at Lambo in five years when he's not in a snap count. By the way, the Packers have a really good right tackle. Brian Belaga, what happens when you don't have a tackle that good? Because he was totally overwhelmed. Green Bay.

Don't tell me you can't afford two great players. Minnesota's paying more than just Kirk Cousins. Rams are paying seven different guys. New England's paying Gronk and Tom Brady. Houston's playing Jay Watt and J.J. Watt and Jadavian Clown. and they're going to have to pay Deshaun Watson. I don't want to hear about we can only pay one guy. What are you dealing with a different bank than the Rams are dealing with?

You could have had the best offensive player in your division, Aaron Rogers, and the best defensive player in your division, Khalil Mack, and you went Packers, you went cheap. Well, you know, it's a very expensive, yep. By the way, companies do this all the time. They overpay for something to keep it away from a rival. I've worked at a lot of business companies, a lot of media companies. They'll overpay for people, rights, leagues, games to keep it away from rivals.

If I'm Green Bay and I know A, the Bears want him, and I got to play them twice a year, and, oh, B, free agents don't really like Green Bay. C, C, we're the only team in the NFL with two first round picks. I am getting Khalil Mack to keep him away from my rival and to keep him off Aaron Rogers. I mean, it's real simple in football. Three positions I'm always going to pay for. Quarterback, pay him. Left tackle to protect quarterback, pay him.

Pass rusher to get their quarterback, pay him. I'm just paying it. And I'll overpay for all three. I'll overpay for Kirk Cousins at quarterback in Minnesota. This roster is good enough in Minnesota to win a Super Bowl. I'll overpay for it. I don't love it, but I'll do it now because Minnesota's going to have to start paying all those guys eventually.

I'll overpay right now next three years for Kirk Cousins. And if I'm the Bears, and I've got to, Mitch Trubisky is my quarterback, and I got to go against Aaron Rogers? Yeah, I'm going to overpay for Khalil Mack. I will support the Bears forever on that. That bear's defense has to be great because, you know, I mean, Mitch Trubisky is running a college offense. I mean, did you look at Aaron Rogers on the sideline? Two and a half minutes left. They were giving the ball to Chicago. He was, oh, they're laughing. He's like, we got this thing. I mean, we got this thing. Trubisky against our secondary, our pass. I'm not going to score touchdown.

So, you know, it's, I mean, did you see what defensive linemen did? Did you see what pass rushers did in the NFL yesterday? Anybody watched Denver, Seattle, Vaughn Miller? Three sacks, four hits, two force fumbles. Do you watch Miles Garrett, two force fumbles, two sacks, three tackles for loss? Khalil Mack, I don't know, had the greatest half, I'm not joking, in the history of the NFL by a defensive player. In fact, it was the best stat line by any defensive player in the NFL since Cali'll Mac did it for Oakland.

You got Lawrence Taylor or the closest thing. What about JJ Wat? J.J. Watts never healthy. Kaleel Mack never misses games. There are things I'm going to overpay for. Umbrellas, pools, pass rushers of a mason, Aaron Rogers. And there are things companies should overpay for to keep them away from facing you. Number 52, bears.

Green Bay, you didn't win last night. Don't tell me you won last night. you escaped last night. Let me shift to the Dallas Cowboys. Who! Was that a stinker? It's not like Carolina looked much better. But let me talk about the Dallas Cowboys.

So they lost yesterday, but it's not just losing. It's how they lose. And, you know, I was thinking about this. All of us in life as we age, I'll just speak for guys here, okay? I'm not going to speak for women. I'm a guy. I'll speak for guys. I see the world differently.

now than I did in my 20s. In my 20s, no kids, single, living in Vegas. It was all about me. And then in my mid-30s, I had a kid and I was married. All right, it's still about me sometimes, but it's not all about me. Then I had a second child, and now I have stepkids, and now I go, oh, yeah, it's not always about me. In fact, there's a lot of days that's not about me. There are weeks it's not about me. And that's okay. That's the cycle of life, the chapters of life, right? And as you age as a guy, I can only speak for guys here, I see the world differently.

And let's talk about Jerry Jones. Jerry Jones is 20 and 30 and he's an oil maverick and he's doing, oh, and it makes a bunch of money. And then all of a sudden he gets to a point where I want to buy the Dallas Cowboys. And now he's got, you know, the richest franchise in American sports. And I'm thinking Jerry Jones is 75. years old, and he's watching that thing, and he's in a different stage now. Jerry Jones in recent years has made very non-Jerry Jones moves.

He used to hate Vegas. He voted against Vegas. Vegas is not good for the NFL. Suddenly flipped. He was the owner that got Vegas a football team. Jerry Jones was pro player. It didn't matter how bad the player was. Didn't matter what a headache.

Didn't matter what... Jerry Jones was pro player. And then about six months ago, up, he flipped. Des Bryant. don't have any receivers. He's our best. Let's get rid of him. As Jerry Jones is aging, he is showing you a different Jerry Jones. He's running out of time, and Jerry knows it. And I'm watching that game yesterday, and I have defended Des Bryant, though I've told you, he's never going to be an A quarterback. He's never going to be an elite top, carry the team on

his shoulders guy. I like his leadership. I like his size, his physicality, his mobility. But you watch he and Mitch Trubisky, they're not Aaron Rogers, Breeze, Ben, they're not. Russell Wilson, Brady, they're not. They're never going to be. There's a reason Dak went in the fourth round. But Jerry Jones at 75 is not just happy to own the Cowboys. He's owned him for a long time.

He's not just happy to make money. He's made all his money. He's realized all his dreams. New stadium, new practice facilities, Super Bowls. Jerry Jones now is in the chapter of his life at 75 years old. He's not only on the back nine. He may be on the back two or three. And yesterday is he sitting there watching Jason Garrett and he also watches Belichick and Andy Reed and Doug Peterson and Sean Payton?

Does he think Jason Garrett's in that class? He doesn't. And he's watching Des yesterday and he's watching Breeze yesterday and he watching Brady and he's watching all these great quarterbacks. And does he think, does he think Dak Prescott's that? I know he doesn't. He's got eyes. He may be old. He's not blind.

Yesterday the Cowboys didn't just lose, but they looked boring and safe. and limited and pedestrian. And it looked like they had a really, really low ceiling. Jerry doesn't like ceilings. If Dallas were lost 3837, it's different. In a wild, dynamic,

creative fireworks show. Dallas yesterday didn't just lose. That ceiling looked low. Jason Garrett, limited. Not terrible. limited offense, not creative, DAC.

Good enough, but 22 wins last two years, but I just wonder, when Jerry Jones sits up in that box, this is a new Jerry. He flipped on Vegas. Pro player, flipped on Des. Is that? That something you want long term?

Jason Garrett? Prescott? Now, Dak's, DAC, only making $750,000 a year, nobody is outperforming their contract like Dak Prescott. But Jerry knows if he signs Dak to a franchise deal, that may be Jerry's last big franchise quarterback.

I don't know. The world changes. As you age, you see things differently. He can't like what he saw you. Yesterday. 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. Being a Pittsburgh Steeler fan is the world's greatest roller coaster ride. I mean, it's just like this all over the place. And mostly wins, especially when you're in a division against Cleveland and Cincinnati. But I used to work at a company that had theme parks and roller coasters.

And you know what happens when you ride a lot of roller coasters? You just don't feel that good. You get woozy. Your stomach hurts. When I was a kid, I could ride roller coasters all day. And then as I get older and older and older, I can do like two a day. Then I just want to go have a sandwich, watch my kids on the roller coasters. And the Steelers yesterday, their box score, this is the life of a Pittsburgh Steeler fan.

12 penalties for 120 yards. Six turnovers. But seven sacks and six yards of play. That's the Steelers. They're just a mess. But they are so talented that they've been able to be. to overcome it for years, again, especially because Cleveland and Cincinnati are in their division, and they dominate both. It reminds me a lot of Robert Downey Jr. in Hollywood early in his career.

He had behavioral drug stuff arrested multiple times, but he was so damn talented, he kept getting jobs. He was just so gifted, so handsome, so funny, so glib, so gifted, they just kept giving him jobs. But eventually, to reach his ultimate potential, he had to button it up. And Pittsburgh's all over the map. But they can win most of the time. you know, except when they play Belichick and Brady, and then they can't win because they're a mess. They are the most dysfunctional, even this year. You got the running back holding out,

you got offensive linemen bashing him. You got Big Ben's bashing Tomlin and Todd Haley's out. And then he's in, he's yelling at Big Ben. But they're so talented, they keep winning games. But yesterday now, Cleveland is good enough because they've been so bad for years. They got draft picks. You watch Cleveland yesterday and you're like, oh, Miles Garrett's, really great. Jarvis Landry's really great. And they got some cornerbacks that are pretty good.

And Cleveland now, you can tie them when you're dysfunctional. I mean, Cleveland had that game. And eventually Cleveland's going to get better at quarterback. And they're going to get this superstar young coach. And being a dysfunctional mess is not going to work. And that's the problem with being dysfunctional. I live near Hollywood. I see it all the time. Massive talent and massive dysfunction and you can overcome a lot of it. Talent overcomes a lot of issues. Aaron Rogers overcomes a lot of flaws. I mean, there's no getting past that. Russell Wilson makes up for a lot of mistakes and draft picks by the Seattle Seahawks. But the last eight years, the Steelers have won three playoff wins, and there's a reason. They're dysfunctional.

Yesterday's game was a microcosm. Seven sacks, six yards of play, six turnovers, five interceptions holding? There was a series. I've got to show you. There was a series in the third quarter that was so Steelers. Second goal. Touchdown. Nullified penalty.

Okay, we bring it back. Second 12. Touchdown. Nullified penalty. Second goal at the 22. Touchdown. This time there's no penalties. This one counts as a touchdown.

Good Lord, Pittsburgh. You can't get away with that against Brady and Ballincheck. You're not going to get away with that Ravens team I saw yesterday. I mean, talent's great. But, man, at some point, Robert Downey grew up. Robert Downey got help. Robert Downey buttoned it up. I mean, at some point, you're just not going to win Super Bowls.

Like the eight years three playoff wins. By the way, couldn't score a touchdown in one of them, beat Matt Moore in the Dolphins and the other one, and we're outplayed by the Bengals. The Bengals lost it more than you won it in the other one. But, I mean, yesterday is like, get it together. Lavian Bell's holdout is not the issue. This culture they've created that's all over the map is the issue.

Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific. Here is something that fans don't know about and there's no way for you to know about, but because I've talked to several players through the years that have played with the Green Bay Packers about Aaron Rogers, they will tell you that a lot of times he does an audible out of certain blitzes. Aaron feels so much confidence in his ability. He won't audible out of stuff. Aaron will be like, I'll make it happen. So here's what's funny yesterday.

Everybody's in love with Aaron. Aaron gets hurt. Aaron with a comeback. Aaron with a magical arm. Tom Brady didn't have to have a major comeback because Tom Brady was up 26 at half against the defense. It's even better than Chicago's. I mean, I like the Chicago Bears defense,

but Houston's guy, J.J. Watt and Clownie and merciless, and they're better than Chicago's front, and Tom never gets hit. Because Tom is the best quarterback in the league at stuff you don't know about called pre-snap. And for the first time in his six-year career, Tyron Matthew, Honey Badger played against Tom Brady. And he said after the game, he goes, he's everything I thought he would be. He has a great understanding of pre-snap and post-snap assignments. He did a lot of great things for his team today. By the way, eight different receivers caught a ball.

This is why Tom Brady doesn't get hit. Houston comes into a game with like pro bowl level players up front. They never touch him. They don't touch him. They don't get a hand on him. Why? Because this is something fans can't possibly know about. I'm not blaming fans, but you can't possibly know about it.

You're not looking at film and you don't have a bunch of guys in your rolydecks who played in the league. Tom audibles out of all of it. That's why Tom's up at half. That's why Tom doesn't get hurt. That's why Tom doesn't have surgeries. That's why Aaron Rogers gets hurt more. Because Aaron Rogers doesn't audible out of pressure. He just sort of wings it and he's so naturally gifted.

And the media loves him. There's no question. Aaron Rogers is far more dramatic than Tom Brady. He's got the big arm. He's got the famous girlfriend. He's got the Lambo. He's got the arm. He's on a card.

He leaves the field. He's a hero. He's coming back. The announcers are going crazy. They're comparing him to Willis Reed. And it's like, have you ever noticed that happened? happens a lot with Aaron Rogers. Have you ever noticed that? A lot of drama with Aaron?

Well, that's because Colin, the Patriots have better offensive lines. Oh, actually, I looked it up this morning. Aaron Rogers, in the last decade, has had twice as many pro-bowl offensive linemen as Tom Brady. Well, it's Bill Belichick, who was fired in Cleveland without Brady and five and 11 in New England before Brady started. Bill Belichick's career as a head coach stinks without Tom Brady. Like this is something fans don't see.

Brady goes to the line, sees the pressure and audibles out of it. The audibles out of it. Aaron Rogers walks to the line, little cocky, very confident. I'll make something happen. The downside is you get hit more, you get sat on more, you roll out of the pocket and get hit more. I'm not saying Aaron Aaron doesn't have pure talent,

but John Elway was always more talent than the Joe Montana. Joe Montana got to and won more Super Bowls. Brady's been to eight. Aaron's been to one. There's a reason for it. Rogers has had more pro bowlers on the offensive line. It's not like Rogers Division has always been tough. Detroit's dysfunctional.

Bears have been awful. Minnesota's hot and cold. Never can find, you know, the perfect quarterback. They've run through coaches, So, you know, this is a classic example where once again on a Monday, we're just slobbering over Aaron Rogers. Another comeback, another injury. Tom, you know what he is? Aaron Rogers is Elon Musk and Tesla.

Genius, amazing, highs, new car, changing the world. Rockets, Tesla, pot, internet, podcast, what the... And Brady's Warren Buffett. Berkshire Hathaway. Never any drama. Decade after decade of 15% returns. Don't see them in the news. Still lives in the same house in Omaha. It's not building rockets, not smoking pot on podcasts, not crashing the stock price. I mean, it's like I get why Elon Musk, remember, the media is addicted to interesting. It's catnip. Colin Kaepernick's story, media goes crazy. None of my buddies ever talk about Colin Kaepernick.

They want to talk about football. And Aaron Rogers is like catnip. I mean, he's just the looks and the arm and the plays. Brady's just 10% 12% returns, 10% old, never cool. I mean, he's got married to a supermodel, yet Aaron Rogers is the cool guy. I mean, Brady's just like, I'm a family guy. I love football. I watch film.

He's just Warren Buffett, baby. There's no cool unless, of course. you consider getting to Super Bowl's cool, which I do. Want 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. Every Monday during the football season, for the next seven or eight minutes, where Colin was right, where Colin was wrong.

I love doing this. Hope you enjoyed as much as we do. Let's go. Where Colin was right? Yeah, Kalee Mack, I'm not sure if you noticed. He's sort of good. listen, his first half was the single greatest first half that a defensive player has ever had. Fumble recovery, sack, force fumble, and a pick six.

In fact, as a game, that's the greatest play. That's the greatest game. A defensive player has had in this league. He did it in a half. But it's the greatest game a defensive player has had in this league since Kaleel Mack did it as a raider. Listen, when you play in a division with Aaron. Aaron Rogers. You got to overpay for pass rushers. He is a superstar. And unlike the really talented JJ Watt, Khalil Mack is never hurt. He put out that line last night and he had a snap count.

Like they pulled him out. You could see he was exhausted by the second half. I salute the bears for going after him. And I think with Mitch Trubisky's your quarterback, you have to equal the playing field, level it out. and Khalil Mack was the answer. Where Colin was raw. I've never thought Dak Prescott's a top 10 talent. I was surprised how good he got his first couple of years. And he doesn't have much to work with wide receiver or tight end. But eight of his last 11 games, he has not thrown for 200 yards.

And that offensive line is way better than average. One of the things I like about Dak, his leadership qualities. But I have to be fair here. Part of leading is leading your team into the end zone. And I know he didn't have a great receiving core. But you know what? Quarterbacks have to make receivers with very few exceptions. Obviously, Randy Moss is good with almost everybody.

It's a quarterback's job to elevate wide receivers. That's what Brady does. It's what Breeze does. And it's what Aaron Rogers does. And DAC was really, really below average yesterday. Where Colin was right? I didn't understand it. I still think it's a mistake.

The Giants could have had Sam Darnold. They passed on him for a running back. Yes, Sequin Barclay's a really, really good player. But Eli Manning is old and he plays old. And without Odell Beckham, as a target yesterday, Eli Manning's passer rating was 50. Listen, you can put all the icing you want around Eli Manning, left tackle, Saquan Barclay, O'Dell Beckham.

Eli Manning right now is not very good. and he's only solid when he has OBJ. I wouldn't have paid OBJ that much, but I wouldn't have passed on Sam Darnold. Once the Giants said, we're going to stay with Eli Manning, you are forced to pay for Odell Beckham. Because O'Dell Beckham elevates Eli to passable to B-Minus C-plus.

But this is, you know, again, Barkley was great. But you're going up against Carson Wentz twice a year, and now Alex Smith is in the division. And look around the NFF. see all these great quarterbacks. The Rams offense, the Packers' offense. I'm sorry. Like Eli Manning is a

shot fighter. Where Colin was wrong. I will never make fun of Ryan Fitzpatrick and Ryan Fitzpatrick's beard again. Is he a franchise quarterback? I'm going to pass on him. But as a spot starter, I've

watched him on seven different teams and on every one of those teams, he's done this multiple times. 75% completion rate, 400 yards, 4 TDs, no picks. He even had a world-class run. Listen, again, the Harvard kids, big enough, strong enough. He's not a world-class talent. But I was sitting there watching that game yesterday.

He is more than competent. And if you're Tampa Bay and you're watching that, is part of you thinking to yourself, how invested do we want to get in James Winston? I'm not sure James Winston's played that good. And again, I'm not building my franchise about Ryan Fitzpatrick, but that is not the first time he's done that. He is a highly competent NFL spot starting quarterback.

No, we're making fun of him. We're done making fun of him? Never again. We're like, it's like in England, he is Sir Ryan Fitzpatrick. Oh, wow. This is not overreaction Monday at all. But I will say, though, if you are Tampa, you did build your team around James. I know.

It's not turned out to be. You know you're not going to get any dysfunction. I've never seen Winston do that. Go into that dome and literally outplay Drew Brees. I think Winston has a higher ceiling than Ryan Fitzpatrick, but he can't keep it together. I get it about one at every four Sundays. Where Colin was right. I love college football, but the reason the NFL is king is the parody.

Do you see the scores yesterday? Did you see the finishes yesterday? In college football, you take the top 10, 15 teams, nine of the games, maybe 12 or blowouts. I mean, Alabama will be in a competitive game maybe twice this year. I mean, I watched these college football games. The NFL yesterday was unbelievable. Who's going to win the NFC?

I have no idea. I can't tell you who's going to win the NFC North. I don't know who's going to win the NFC South. I mean, seriously, Saints and Falcons have lost. Carolina won, but I think Carolina's third. But are they, they have the best front seven. Yesterday was a classic example why the NFL is king. On any given Sunday, you have no idea what you're getting.

The only game, and I'll get to it in a second, there was one game I love that was a blowout. After that, it was 12 to 14 games. Even that Indy Colts game, it looks like the Colts got hammered. They were driving for a winning score before a fumble. Where Colin was wrong. Last week, I said there's four NFL teams with a chip on their shoulder. I think they're going to come out of the gate roaring.

Saints Falcons Chargers were three of those four teams, they looked awful. Chargers. Did you watch film? Tyreek Hills good. You may want to cover him. You may not want to kick to him. Saints, I don't know what that was. Falcons, you look soft. Now, Baltimore won, but the three out of the four teams that I really thought got really close last year, and they looked pretty good in preseason, and they would come out with their hair on fire. The Chargers, the Saints, and the Falcons, and I got to tell you, I'm not going to overreact, but what I saw from the Chargers, and that's just disappointing, that game was over fast. They were playing catch-up eight minutes into the game at home.

They just can't meet Kansas City. Where Colin was right? I don't predict routes ever in Blazing Five. For the first time in a long time, I said Baltimore is going to annihilate Buffalo. And they did. I predicted 31.13. I was being kind. Here's what I know about Baltimore.

They may lose to Big Ben and Browell. Brady and great quarterbacks. You get Baltimore at home against the bad quarterback. They are Mike Tyson against Peter McNeely. It is an utter mismatch. Nathan Peterman had a zero-zero pass rating. That was, in all

the years I've been doing Blazing Five, the single time I predicted a route and woke up Sunday morning and had no doubt in my mind, it would be bloodshed. That was 40 to nothing. That was a college football. That was

Bama for about eight of their games yesterday. Where Colin was wrong. I told you Andrew Luck. I watched them in preseason and I said, listen, he took two years off. He doesn't quite look like he's Andrew Luck. I just don't quite, well, I was wrong on that. 39 of 53, after almost having his head taken off early in the game, he was on his way to the game-winning drive, but, you know, the Colts always let him down. He got very little help in the running game. I will say this.

The Colts defensive line is better than people think. Their defensive line's actually got some players. But when I watched yesterday, he looked as sharp as he has ever looked at one point in the game. And the Bengals have players. The Bengals have elite defensive players. At one point, he was 20 of 25 against that pass rush and that secondary with no running game. Andrew Luck looked amazing. Where Colin was right?

said it before Pete Carroll should have embraced Russell Wilson not Michael Bennett not Richard Sherman not defensive stars once again Russell Wilson running for his life

Seattle offensive line completely overwhelmed potential dynasties are not supposed to be this bad this quick and Denver's about the seventh the eighth best team the Seahawks will play this year Russell Wilson, two rookie running backs for Denver, ate up.

Eight up, Seattle's defense. They got way too much into chatter. The minute Russell Wilson arrived, he should have been the centerpiece of this organization, and every move afterwards should have been to protect Russell Wilson, draft left tackles, draft great centers, get him a running game. Instead, they put him on an island surrounded by mostly junk. They spent too much money on defense, and they are not even a top third team in the NFL. That dynasty, it is not even over.

It is not even close to happening. They're miles from teams like the Rams and the Vikings in terms of overall town. Where Colin was raw. Herm Edwards, Arizona State's 2 and O. I just thought it was a bad fit. I mean, NFL guy, never coached college, been out of coaching for years. didn't pay that much attention to college. He got a job.

He was good friends with the athletic director there. I mean, I like Herm. Herm's a friend. Herm's a great guy. But I just didn't think it would work. And I watched them this weekend. I'm going to tell you something. Michigan State's pretty good team.

And they're a little loose. The quarterback's calling out dudes. But Arizona State's okay. Arizona State's 2 and O. Arizona State's fun to watch. And, you know, Herm may be a great motivational speaker. but when I watch him, I'm like, they look pretty well coached. I mean, they're not going to be Washington or Stanford in the PAC 12.

They are way better. I thought that was a real chance for man overboard with Arizona State. That's not fun to watch. They're a pretty good football team. They get after it. They got good quarterback. Where Colin was right. Finally, Lavian Bell was gone.

And James Connor had 192 scrimmage yards. I said it before. We all make choices. And I tell my kid that choice. you make it 12 years old, 13 years old, 14 years old, be very careful about the choice because it's going to affect your life. Don't do dumb stuff and choose carefully. And if you choose to be a running back as a football player, unless you're Todd Gurley and you have a young quarterback and the team really needs you and you play in L.A. and they got a lot of money,

Lavian Bell's a very good football player. In this league right now, he's really replaceable. And I'm not going to pay 90% of these running backs the money they want, especially if I have Big Ben in that offensive line in Antonio Brown and Juju Smith-Schuster. Pittsburgh got to spend some money on defense. Pittsburgh's issues defense. They got more than enough offensive start. James Conner's good enough. And I said, I like Levian Bell.

But if I had Pittsburgh's receivers, O-line, Big Ben, I'm not paying a running back big money. And yesterday, they tied Cleveland. It wasn't because of James Connor. He was fine. He was fine. 192 scrimmage yards. He was not the issue. Picks work.

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. Tony Gonzalez is 14-time Pro Bowler. Second most receptions in NFL history behind Jerry Rice. God, that's a lot of catches. I don't know where to sit. That new set. I said, nice.

Kind of like a hip lounge. This is, yeah, we're the cocktails, huh? No kidding. That's a great point. Usually last hour. So I got to start with the team that you know very well. It's Atlanta and Kansas City. Let's go to Kansas City, Patrick Mahomes. Listen, Andy Reid, we both know as a play designer. He's a play scriptor. That Andy Reid's thing is he's taking quarterbacks, made him better. He trades up for Patrick Mahomes and sits him for a year behind a really good solid quarterback, smart dude, Alex Smith.

And then he says, Alex, love you, buy. Patrick in, I'll tell you something. He looked so poised. He looked so good yesterday. He looked great. He looked what did you see with Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City? I think they put the NFL on notice. I mean, they've been talking about the hype and

we're going to have the best offense. I think Tyree Kill was saying we're going to have the best offense in the league, maybe even ever or whatever. They got a lot of weapons. They went to L.A. And beat the people's favorites who were saying they were going to win the division. Chargers have legitimately

two legitimate pass rushers. Almost nobody in the league does except Denver. Yep. Yep. And they went there and literally made them look like second level type competition. And I just, I look at them right now. And Tyree Kill, he is a special, special player right now. I mean, looking at him, I hope you guys have him on his fantasy, on your fantasy teams, because he is a special player. Last year, Michael Vic interned for the Chiefs during the summer for the coaching or

whatever. And he came back and gave his top five receivers in the league. He put Tyreek Hill on there. And all of us were looking at him like, are you crazy? This is last year. Now look at him. He's right up there at Antonio Brown, A.J. Green, Julio Jones, all those guys. Dion Sanders was so fast, he made fast guys look slow. Yeah.

Like Tyreek Hill yesterday was running away from fast guys. Yeah. And I'm seriously, you get Deshawn Jackson when he first came into the league. Michael Vic once told me about Deshawn Jackson. Michael was standing on the sideline, and Deshawn Jackson ran past him. He said he looked like a deer in the forest. Yeah, he goes, every seen a deer in the forest, they hop. Yeah.

And he goes, and I watched Tyreek yesterday, I'm like, the Chargers aren't slow. Chargers got speed, and Tyreek Hill was amazing. So let me ask about this. So everybody, yesterday you said on the show, you said, listen, John Gruden, you defended John Gruden. I did. You said, I understand what he's doing with Cleo Mac. So this morning, you're probably getting, I don't even know if you're on Twitter, you're probably getting a lot of hate on.

Let up. Got lit up. Because everybody's saying, Tony Gonzalez. You don't know anything like Clown Mac's amazing. Is that what we're saying? Yes, that's what we're saying. He set a record. It hasn't been done since 1982.

Gruden looked like a fool. And so do you. You know, maybe I am a fool. But not about this, okay? I think still, if you look back what the New England Patriots have done, because I do believe Gruden has watched the best team in all sports franchises. Forget about the sport. That's what he's been doing for 15 years.

He's been watching and learning and critiquing and saying that this is how you do it. You cannot use math. maxed out players. First of all, Khalil Mack and the Bears, they still lost the game. Let's just do not forget that. And then look at last year, I can't remember his name. From the New England, I do remember it, from the Patriots, and they let him go. He led the league in Sacks last year in Arizona.

Oh, Chandler Jones. Chandler Jones. Led the league in sacks. Patriots went to the Super Bowl. Okay. Does Belichick look like a fool now? Okay. That's a good point.

So you're saying, you know, he's sitting there watching Belichick give up these players and because they got the quarterback right. Yep. They got Derek Carr. I think Gruden believes that Derek Carr is a superstar quarterback. I think he is too. They paid him like that. He's certainly on his way to be in my.

I like them too. I think they're going to start building the pieces. So I'm still, stand by what I say. I still think Gruden did what he thought was best for that organization. And he's playing the long game. You've got to be patient. Okay, but if I'm Chicago, let me defend the bears, though. If I'm in a division and I have Mitch Trubisky and you have Aaron Rogers,

how do I at least bring Aaron Rogers down? Yeah. Because Mitch Trubisky's ceiling is limited. So if I'm the Bears and I'm Matt Nagy and I'm the owners and I like Trubisky, I put money into him. But he's not Aaron Rogers and he's not Cam Newton. Not yet. Okay. But I'm saying if I'm going to defend Chicago on this.

If I play in a division with Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, Big Ben, Drew Breeze, I'm going to overpay for pass rushers. Yeah. Especially if my quarterback looks to be okay. Yeah. So I'm going to defend the Bears on this. Listen, they're in bed now. with Trubisky for what, four years? Yeah.

Okay, you want to go 0 and 8 against the Packers or 4 and 4? The way to go 4 and 4 is Aaron Rogers gets hurt. Aaron Rogers gets its soldier field knocked down. I think they did the right thing too. I'm not saying they did the wrong thing. See, so what you're saying is you're defending Oakland's approach, but let's not kill Chicago because they've got to face Aaron Rogers 10 times the next five years. They got to face them and you see what happened yesterday.

You could have a legendary performance, legendary performance in Khalil Mack. and guess what? Still, arguably, the best quarterback in NFL history does his thing, and he goes out there and wins the game. So you've never been a guy that jumped on, and we all have, I think most of us in this business agree who the top five or six quarterbacks are, and we know who's at the bottom. We don't need to mention any names.

And then we can argue about the difference is Matt Stafford this, this, this, this, this. I've never thought Dax's an A. I don't think Dax ever going to be an A. but you were always really hesitant on Dak Prescott. You didn't buy into all the stuff. And why? Like I watched him yesterday and I'm like, man, all the haters, it looked good today. And I know it's week one and Carolina's defense is good.

I know that too. That's a real defense. But why didn't you buy in a DAC? You won yesterday because he didn't look good. I think he's never had to look good. I mean, he's had that offensive line. And everybody's like, well, do you think he's capable of doing this? I'm like, well, he's never shown that he can do it before.

He played well with really good players, surrounded by good players. Now you don't have that, which is what happens in the NFL. I don't like it when guys come out the gate and they're hot and people are like, oh, they're going to be one of the best players ever. It's like, well, let's see when the adversity comes, which will come, which will come in life and in football for sure. It's going to happen. And they're going through that right now.

They are the face of that franchise, him and Zeke. It's on them to go out there and be successful. They don't have a tight end now. They don't have the tight end. they don't have that big play receiver. He was late on throws. He was off on throws. Guys were having trouble getting open.

We're going to see what he's made of this year. We're going to see that true play. And it's going to remember, it's only his third year. I'm not getting off the train. I still like him. First of all, as a person, I think he's great. He's a great leader in that locker room. And he's got skill.

And he's going to be a pretty good quarterback. But this is really going to shape who he is, how he handles this adversity this year, because I don't see it getting any better anytime soon. What do you make of Pittsburgh? So it's crazy. So I was saying this earlier, you do some acting stuff. And you were a great player.

You do a great job for us. And you do some acting. You're up for some roles. And I said, in Hollywood, you see these people that are so gifted they can overcome their personal foibles. And I used Robert Downey. He had real troubles early in his career. He had been arrested. He had some behavioral, some drug stuff.

But he was so damn good. He kept getting roles. And then when he got his life together, then he rises. And I said, you know, it reminds me. reminds me the Steelers is that they're so gifted, you can't take your eyes off him, and they're able to still win a bunch of games. But if they don't get it buttoned up, this is why they can't beat New England. Tony, they're a mess.

Six turnovers, 12 penalties, but then they get seven sacks, six yards of play. I just watch them. And I'm like, the more things change, the more they stay the same. Pittsburgh, to me, if you want to win in the playoffs, Tony, you're facing the best coaches, you're facing the best pass rushes, you're facing the best course. quarterbacks. They can beat Cleveland, Cincinnati all day. Something's up with Pittsburgh. Yeah. They're just, they're just too much drama. They were a mess yesterday. Yeah. Why? Is it, are we giving Ben a pass? I don't think you can give anybody pass. And I'm a firm

believer. It starts at the top. The teams that I've been on where we had pretty good talent, but we weren't able to get over that hump. We weren't able to be successful. It starts with the coaching staff. And I think a guy like Tom would probably say, yeah, it starts with me. It's my fault because you see the way things like things are always leaking out of the locker room there and you know are we going to it is it's it's it's it's the reality tell it's the real housewives or the real NFL players of the NFL there it's full of drama all the time and you it's hard to win like that they're going to be it's going to be fun to watch you ever were you ever in a dramatic locker room yes where where in can't city in can't city why why was it just you know

without naming names I mean you get emotional really emotional coaches have emotional teams you are a reflection of what your head coach is always I believe that well Herm Edwards you had Herm at Herm very emotional

yeah we had emotional he liked emotional players he liked emotional players and emotional things happen sensitivity people get sensitive man the NFL it's a tough place in the He said the Hearn locker room could be a little emotional yeah it could be emotional Dick Vermil's locker room was emotional

He cried a lot and all this stuff. I've seen team fights. Just people encourage us. It doesn't happen in Belichick. You're not allowed to do that. You fight. You're kicked out of practice. Don't even come back.

You do it again. Don't ever come back. You know, it's funny about you. One of the things, you know, I have a perception of Tony Gonzalez, and then I meet you. And you're actually strict parent, home early, don't mess around. Get up. Do your push-ups. I look at you, and I think, actor, good-looking guy.

of Famer, but then when I meet you, you hated the drama. No. Like, you're the least dramatic guy. It's really funny. My perception of you is different. So when you tell me these stories off the air, you're like, oh, there's too much drama. It was too much. You wouldn't fit in Pittsburgh.

Pittsburgh would wear you out. I wouldn't like it. I don't like, I want to show up. I think, and not that obviously I played in it and you deal with it and you do, you do what you do what you got to do to go out there and be successful. But I always think about, I would have enjoyed the, People talk about Bill Belichick's locker room. I think I would have enjoyed that.

It's like, let's show up, let's play some ball, let's win some games, and then let's have fun and doing what we've got to do. But then let's go home, let's leave the drama. Let's check the Eagles at the door. And everybody's ego, my ego too. It still went up and down at times, but let's check it for the betterment of the team and have some fun. I'm not that strict of a parent.

I'm not. My daughter's mad at me right now. You're right. No, no, you are. You say stuff. And you're, you just are very, people would look at Tony Gonzalez. and see, oh, the fireworks, you know, you go to these great vacations, and I'm like, dad, home, bed, early.

Now, I'm not trying to say you're boring, but you're not, you're kind of like a dad. Yeah, I'm a dad. I'm a dad, but sometimes you got to like your hair. You're like a high school principal who had really good hands and could bench press like 400 pounds. You're like the principal of your family, but you were really talented and could run and catch and stuff, but you're like, you're like a dad that comes home and I am, you know what, maybe I am, you're right, I'm strict.

Nothing wrong with being strict. Nothing wrong. Standards. Hey, you and I have standards. Absolutely. A lot of people displaced no standards. No standards. You and I have standards. I can tell it with the new set.

You've got standards around here. By the way, Joy, you're a Steeler fan from Pittsburgh. When we sit here and talk about Pittsburgh, in the city of Pittsburgh, do you still have family there? Yeah, yeah. Okay. What's their takeaway? Do they like Ben? Do they like Tomlin?

Like, what are people in Pittsburgh say? The thing about the Steelers is, despite all their dysfunction, they're one of the most consistent franchises in the NFL. They win 10 every year. And they do not change coaches. Never. Ever. They have a very strong ownership, legendary ownership,

and they still have more championships than more Super Bowls than any other team in NFL history. So I think it's just starting to get to the point where it's more expectations than it is necessarily what's been going on in Pittsburgh. It's getting to the point where it's like, okay, you guys are consistently good, but now it's time for another Super Bowl. You have Ben Rathusberger, you have Levy on Bel, you have Antonio Brown, you have the pieces that you need. You have a consistent coach, consistent ownership. You have the pieces you need to win a championship.

So your standards are really high, but there's a sense in Pittsburgh, you know, we're now wasting years. Right. Like in Cleveland, yeah, it feels like in Pittsburgh, it's like, okay, we're not unhappy with everybody. Yeah. We've wasted about five years here. Yeah, I've told you this before, the expectation of the Steelers is to win a Super Bowl. And in another city, this might be acceptable because it's like, hey, we're good, we're competitive, we're relevant. But in Pittsburgh, you need to be winning Super Bowl.

Yeah, and one thing, too, there is the gold standard, which is doing a Patriots. Right. And you can be good and you can win championships and you can be consistent and get your 10 wins. But if you want to take it from good to great, that is where I believe the thing that's stopping them is the drama. I totally agree. If they eliminated the drama, they'd probably win some more championships. No, I agree. They're just not quite buttoned up, and that's it.

Tony Gonzalez, good stuff. 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,

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