The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Best of The Herd: 09/16/2019

Episode Date: September 16, 2019

Colin says the Steelers season is over after losing Big Ben for the year. He thinks the Saints season is not over despite the Drew Brees injury because Brees is not the QB he used to be. He reveals where he was right and wrong over the weekend. Plus, Super Bowl Champion Greg Jennings talks about why Aaron Rodgers and Matt LaFleur arguing on the sidelines is a good thing for the Packers. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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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 Sports Radio.com or stream us live every day on the iHeartRadio app by searching Herd. This is the best of the herd with college. Alan Cowher on Fox Sports Radio. Oh, what an interesting Monday. This is The Heard, 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 where Colin was right, where Colin was wrong. Joy Taylor is joining me, the Pittsburgh girl. If you're a Steeler fan in America, this is a crushing blow. Big Ben is out for the season. Well, it wasn't looking too great. It wasn't trending well for the Steelers to begin with, but this pretty much closes the chapter on this season. Yeah, we start there. Big Ben is out for the season. So I didn't know this until about two minutes ago. And I had noticed over the last two weeks. Now, the Steelers were leading at home against Seattle when Big Ben got hurt and they ended up losing.

judge somebody's value on what happens to the company or the relationship when they leave. Good luck Pittsburgh without Big Ben. Listen, they were still very exciting last year without Lavin Bell. But you watch them against New England and you watch them against Seattle and something was wrong with Big Ben. His accuracy last year was amazing. He completed 67% of his throws last year. But in the last two weeks, something was wrong with Big Ben. Big Ben and something yesterday against Seattle popped.

Doesn't help he was facing Belichick and Pete Carroll, great defensive coaches. But you can judge somebody. The AFC is done this morning. New England, Kansas City, it's done. The question now, do they play at Arrowhead in January or do they play in Foxborough? I mean, I thought that this morning before this, now it's over. I mean, spare me on Cleveland. Tennessee lost at home to Indianapolis's backup.

Baltimore, they're fun. Lamar Jackson, but they struggled at home. with Arizona, rookie quarterback, second game, rookie head coach, second game. Chargers lost to Detroit. What the hell was that? I mean, look around. I mean, Houston struggled with Gardner Minshu. They came within a second of losing.

You start looking around the AFC this morning. There's some fun stories. Cleveland tonight could be fun. Baltimore is really fun. But, I mean, Tennessee, you can't trust Tennessee. You can't trust Houston. You're crossing your fingers watching Deshawn Watson. Duck to get out of the way of sacks.

It's over. AFC is over because Pittsburgh was formidable. The owner, the GM, the coach, the quarterback, the offensive line. They beat New England last year. It's a formidable organization. It's over. And I know, listen, Big Ben may wear some of you out. I get it.

But whereas everybody loves Cam and he's never had back-to-back winning seasons, Big Ben threw for, you know, how many yards did he throw for last year? He liked 67% completion percentage. But you watched him in these first two games against New England and Seattle. and something was off. His accuracy was below average. He's completing like 57% of his throws. Now the injury, boom, season over for Pittsburgh.

And I didn't feel that way as long as Big Ben would return. They were leading Seattle. Mike Tomlin's never had a losing season. This is a great organization. Best offensive line arguably in the AFC. I don't trust anybody in their division. I was not going to bail on Pittsburgh this morning. It was one of my rants.

I'm like, eh, I'd be close. You know, just because you lose to a Hall of Fame coach and quarterback yesterday and a Hall of Fame coach and quarterback in the opener, New England's pretty good. So Seattle, Seattle's won eight of nine. I wasn't going to bail on the Steelers. But now Big Ben's out, season over. And again, I've been a critic at times of Big Ben and Aaron Rogers. You notice what Green Bay looks like without Aaron?

You figure out pretty quick, he's the team. The Steeler defense is now struggling. What's Pittsburgh without Big Ben? I don't know. I haven't seen much of it. You're going to find out. They're going to be Green Bay without Aaron Rogers. So I don't have to love everything a quarterback does,

and Rogers and Big Ben certainly qualify as that. But the season's over. You can't trust anybody in the AFC except New England and Kansas City. So Andy Reid, Belichick, mark it down. We just got to figure out, are they playing in snow in Foxborough or rain and hail in Kansas City? But that's what it feels like this morning. Now I'm going to move over to the NFC and the Saints.

Now Drew Breeze this morning is out for six weeks. I do not think their season is over. But this is what's interesting. My strongest play yesterday, my strongest bet was Rams over the Saints. That's with Drew Brees. Because sometimes a brand is so strong. And if it lasts long enough, it's hard to unwrap that. Like, you know, the restaurant you go to for 20 years and the food's great.

Somebody retires, they change chefs. And you still go to it. And you just don't want to believe the food's not as good. For the last 15 years in this league, there have been three consistent things. New England wins, Cleveland's dysfunctional, and the Saints' offense is dynamic. It hasn't been dynamic since post- Thanksgiving last year, and we just can't wrap our brains around it. Yesterday, Drew Brees, two possessions, interception, three and out. Do you know since last year, week 13, we can't wrap our brains around this.

The Saints' offense isn't even average. It's bad. It's 22nd in points. 19th in yards. 19th in passing. 20th in yards per play. And a lot of those games were at home. This is an eroding brand.

Drew Breeze does not throw the ball down the field. Teddy Bridgewater, his backup, does not. And with the Saints, there's so much sympathy for that. bad call and yesterday there's a bad call and oh my god the refs are out this is not a ref issue that game in new orleans against the rams went to overtime they couldn't move the ball that game yesterday breeze couldn't move it when he was in teddy couldn't move it when he was in this is an offense that is not very dynamic only one other team in the NFL throws the ball down the field less than New Orleans. That's their reality. They're 0 and 7 against the spread in their last seven games.

What does that tell you? The brand, the fans are betting on something, and that's not the reality. So, and this is nothing against Drew Brees. But this was why this was my strongest play yesterday. I think we are so caught up in their brand, which has been so strong and so dynamic for years that we just can't admit. What we're watching now is a pop gun offense. Dak throws the ball down. the field, way better. And if you notice this in the NFL, with all the spacing in the NFL, you've got to have a deep threat. That's why Belichick-Wretton got AB, Patrick Mahomes, Deshaun Watson. That's why Philadelphia, one of the best GMs in the league, went out and got Deshawn Jackson. What you're seeing in the NFL now, the Rams throw the ball. That's why

they paid Brandon Cook so much money. Look at the top teams in the NFL. Like, as the game is changing, quarterbacks now, mobile quarterbacks. That's a trend. Here's the other trend. You got to be able to beat people over the top. And all the teams I like in this league can do it. Green Bay does it. A.B. to New England does it. Seattle does it. Houston does it. Philadelphia does it. The Rams do it. The chargers can do it. So I think what you're seeing with New Orleans, everybody's going to blame the refs. Again yesterday, everybody's going to blame the refs, but this football team in New Orleans, with or without Drew Brees, is not the same. It is just a, that's with Alvin Camaro.

That's with Sean Payton. It's just a ding, ding, ding, ding, and you can't. Why did the Rams win yesterday? Wasn't the officials. They made two huge over-the-top plays, one in the first quarter, one in the fourth. Big plays down the field. Saints no longer do it. So Big Ben is out.

I think it ends the Steelers season because you'll notice what happens. When somebody really gifted leaves a company or leaves the room, the room changes. The temperature changes. I do not think the Saints season is over, but I think it was incredibly limited. That's why I did not have them in the herd hierarchy last week. And I got a lot of heat.

I'm like, watch the games. Watch the games. The Saints don't scare anybody offensively. They don't throw the ball over the top. All right. So I got a lot of things to address here. Obviously, these stories are massive. And for the record, I want to throw out a theory.

Maybe it doesn't matter with quarterbacks. Maybe it does. The trend in the NFL is starters don't play in the preseason. The downside to that is games one and two. You're going from zero to 60. A lot of players hurt. and the preseason was not just about getting better at execution. The NFL preseason, I was told this year's ago by Bill Pullian,

you got to get hit for three weeks, you got to get those calluses, you got to get ready to get hit. Now starters don't play in the preseason. They just don't play. The Rams started it last year. They don't play. Did you notice how tired teams looked in week one? Tired athletes get hurt.

And you're seeing it all over the NFL. There's just a lot of injuries. And it's a trend. And this is one of these things. The NFL, you're going to see probably next year a few more starters play a few more snaps in the preseason. This is a very cyclical league, right? Like things change constantly in the NFL. The big trend now, don't play preseason.

It feels like to me in the first couple of weeks we're having a lot of injuries because you're asking athletes to go from zero to 60 and stuff snapping, stuff's getting hurt, players aren't used to getting hit. You're seeing it all. I mean, Levy and Bell, a great running back, didn't even have that many carries. MRI first weekend. Felt like in Pittsburgh, it carried the ball

350 times a year, never got hurt. He goes to the Jets. First game he's hurt. Why? He didn't take a hit for two years. 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 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.

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and ask the questions everybody wants to. answer. 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 and the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hardway with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Kier 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.

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on my new podcast, Learn the Hard Way. Open your free iHeartRadio app. Search Learn the Hardway and listen now. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal, but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential.

Either way, the podcast Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the I-Hard 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, 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, Miss Parker. Listen to the Clifford show on the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. So I'm watching Dak Prescott, who is good in getting better. I said this before the season started. Last year in his last eight games, he went seven and one.

More attempts, more yards, more accuracy. I think Dax, like a lot of us in life, I mean, a lot of us are slow starters. You know, I've said this often on this show. What was your parental situation like? What was your schooling situation like? Some kids don't get a fair shake. I mean, if you'd have given Dack Prescott in college, Nick Saban is a coach and not Mississippi State's talent, maybe he'd be a lot better. Tim Tebow had Florida's talent.

Dak Prescott had Mississippi State's talent. There's a big gap there. So, Dax very good. And I was watching Dack yesterday. And Dax's problem is, and I don't think it's a problem, but it's a reality with fans why so many fans struggle with him. He doesn't have a defining trait. Arm, eh. Athlete, size, eh.

Accuracy, hit and miss. His greatest quality is leadership. And what is leadership? I asked Jimmy Johnson that once. What's leadership? He goes, I don't know. Troy was a great leader. I can't define it.

It's almost like every car car. commercial you watch. Have you watch car commercials from this point forward? They're always trying to sell you a defining trait. Luxury, speed, power and torque,

towing capacity, and they keep repeating it and repeating it and repeating it. They're selling you a defining trait. Dack doesn't have one. If Dack was an automobile, he'd get a really high rating from J.D. Power and Associates. and does anybody know what that is?

He'd get a five-star safety rating. Nobody wants to buy a car on safety ratings. That's Dax problem. You know, luxury, speed, power, torque, towing capacity. What's his defining trait? What's reliability? What is leadership? But I'll say this again.

Look around the league this morning. Big Ben out for the year. Drew Brees, out until around Thanksgiving. Andrew Luck retired. Foles out. Sam Darnold Mono. Some of the young quarterbacks. I mean, we love Lamar Jackson, but they've beaten Miami, the worst team in the league in Arizona, maybe the second worst team in the league. Do we really know? You start looking around this league. Carson Wentz is in the tent so much. I think he's on a camping trip. Deshaun Watson, I'm crossing my fingers. He doesn't

get, you know, something broken. You start comparing DAC and the numbers don't lie. In his last 10 games, okay, winning matters. He's won 9 of 10. But there are some numbers behind this that you cannot deny. In his last 10 games, he's number one in the league in completion percentage. He's number 2 in passing yards. He's number three in passer ratings. For years and years, we did this with Russell Wilson.

There were all these critics with Russell Wilson. And I kept saying, A, he wins, and he's got the second best passer rating, Aaron Rogers in league history. It goes, Aaron, Russell, and Tom Brady. You can't play for five years, have that and not be good. Dax good, but he doesn't have a defining trait. And so it's hard for us. What exactly is? He's good.

Look around the league this morning. Look around the league this morning. We're a couple of bad breaks from not having Wentz and Deshawn Watson. Big Ben's already out. By the way, Cam is now reeling. Joe Flacco, give me a break. Tribiskey's limited. So's James Winston.

so's Marcus Mariotta. You trust Philip Rivers in a big spot? I got to tell you something. You look around this league. We're going into week three. Dax playing Miami. You know the safest thing on the board next week? New England's going to win and Dax going to win.

And guess who the second winning his quarterback is in the NFL in the last three years? Brady's one and Dax two. We're going into week three. The two guarantees are New England's going to win and Dax going to win. I'm sorry, folks. It's hard. What do you grab with DAC? Leadership.

What is leadership? Jimmy Johnson's one of the best coaches of my life. He can't define it. Jimmy's like, I don't know, I can't realize. It's fuzzy. But Troy was a leader. Well, what was it? I don't know.

Sure, he just was a leader. So when that's your thing, that's your go-to, like Dan Marino, we had the arm in the release. You know, with Brady, we know so much about his, you know, accuracy and his precision. But it's hard with that. What do we luxury, speed, torque, power, nah, Nah, nah, nah. Five-star safety rating.

JD Power and Associates. I'm watching them yesterday, folks, and I'm looking at the numbers, 26 or 30, 7 yards. They got him weapons, more attempts every year. You can't deny it anymore. You just can't deny it anymore. The guy's good. How about that stiff arm down the field on Josh Norman? Classic Dak Prescott.

Josh Norman bad-mouthed him before the game. Dak didn't say a thing before the game or after it, but during the game he had a little scramble and he found him, and he stiff-armed him, and that's what Dak does. Didn't pop off before the game. Didn't pop. Just in the game, a little subtle reminder, Josh, I'm pretty good. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific.

10 NFL seasons, Super Bowl, multiple-time pro bowler, Greg Jennings, Fox Sports Analyst. I thought of you, yes, I was watching Chris Carter doing some in-game analyst work, and I thought of you because you've done that. It's so much fun. we love having you in the studio. So let's start with this. I've been very critical. In fact, I've said Big Ben reminds me of Aaron Rogers, can be passive-aggressives,

says stuff on radio, he won't say to your face. I think part of being a great quarterback is leadership. Aaron and Big Ben are first ballot Hall of Famers. But I will say this about Big Ben. They were leading when he got hurt yesterday. There's a lot of things I still love about Pittsburgh. Hall of Fame coach, great O line, tremendous ownership front office.

They've got talent everywhere. I feel like Pittsburgh sees. is over. I feel like it's done. Do you? Yeah, I do too. It's just hard for a guy like Mason Rudolph, although he played well. Yeah, it's okay. He played well yesterday. Show some signs of life, if you will, but it's just so hard in this league and specifically that division, when you have Baltimore, the defenses that you're going to face. The weather late. Yeah, it's a lot more that's going to have to transpire for them to win, and it's going to be on the shoulders of a young second year who's really playing as a rookie, basically, because it's

first time playing. You know this. The northern divisions in the NFL, it's not a coincidence. Jay Cutler, Big Arm, Aaron Rogers, Big Arm, for years, Flacco Big Arm, Big Ben, Big Arm. It's like not a coincidence. You're playing outdoors and lousy weather. Andy Dalton doesn't have a big arm. He struggles post- Thanksgiving.

It's not just that Big Ben's better than Mason Rudolph. Ben, that ball cuts through. Absolutely. wind and cold. And now you're talking about a smaller quarterback. You know, I just think to me it feels like you're going to see the value of Ben. Yeah, and weather plays a role, the inclement weather, but even the turf gets a lot more challenging because as a quarterback, you're looking at Big Ben, a much more girtier quarterback,

hits the ground, can still get back up, can take those brunts, not only from the hits, but the contact to the ground, because now you're playing on high. Nice field, that's natural grass. The ground gets hard in those later months. So is Lambo. Yeah. Like, man, it changes the game. But I just don't see Pittsburgh doing what the potential that was there in front

of them with Ben Rothersburg at the house. Okay. Now, Drew Breeze is out. Now, my takeaway has been on New Orleans, and I said this last year after the Cowboy game. Their brand is so dynamic. It's hard for us to unravel that when their offense. becomes a pop gum.

Since week 13 last year, they're not even average. Their bottom third in the NFL in points, yards, passing per play. Drew does not throw deep. So I actually think Bridgewater, who doesn't throw deep well, is actually the perfect

six-week backup for Drew. I think they'll actually win some games. I don't think, because whereas Big Ben is this towering guy to Mason Rudolph, Bridgewater is a lesser version of Drew Breeze. The knock on him is he doesn't throw the ball down the field. Well, in the last year, Drew doesn't throw the ball down the field, which hurts their offense. I don't feel like

the Saints season is over. I just thought it was limited coming in. Your thoughts on the breeze? Yeah, I don't think that the Saints season is over, but I do believe that their defense has to get back to playing the way they once were playing a year to two years ago, where they were stopping everyone. They were doing the things that was necessary for them to win ball. games because of what you're alluding to, Drew Breeze was taking the approach of, I'm not going to make mistakes. We just need you guys to not allow other opponents to get in the end zone. We'll still score.

It's going to be a little different. We're going to hang our hat on the running game, Alva Camara out of the backfield, make sure Michael Thomas gets his touches. It's going to look different offensively. Not as dynamic. Not as dynamic. We're not putting up 35, 40 points a game. That's not who we are.

But we will score points. We just need the defense to step up and do their part. And I think Teddy Bridgewater, watching him yesterday, the one thing that I was a little disappointed with was his inability to fill it and throw it. It was almost like he was still in that immature stage of I still want to see it develop and then throw the ball. Can I defend him, though? He didn't. He wasn't going to start this game. It's hard to be thrown in front of Aaron Donald on the road, which,

you didn't do the prep work with the ones. I understand that. I totally understand that. But when I look across the National Football League and I look at backup situation, they have, and they being the New Orleans Saints, one of the better backup situations. Then you look at the Philadelphia Eagles yesterday.

Carson Wins goes out. McCown comes in and he's just starting, they're often started moving. He's just dinking and dunking. It's not a matter of can you still perform at the level as your number one? is can you progressively move our offense? Can we still do what we want to do?

Is the playbook still open? And the playbook is still open to New Orleans Saints with Teddy Bridgewater. But then to your point, because they weren't anticipating that, they do things differently. And I think that's why the New Orleans Saints will still be okay. Because Sean Peyton, he's such an offensive genius when it comes to making sure he puts not only his quarterback, but his team in the best situations. He's going to put Teddy, he's going to look, he understands what Teddy Bridgewater does well and how he can thrive.

And that's what they're going to roll with. Yeah, I guess my takeaway is on the, I haven't bought the Saints for about eight to ten weeks. And I don't think the gap between what Breeze can do and what Bridgewater can do is that wide anymore. And I love Drew. But at the end of last year, New Orleans offense has no ability to go over the top. Houston does, A.B to New England. Big Bend to A.B. Kansas City does. There's a lot of it. I think New Orleans. And this goes opposite to brand is a very

limited downfield offense. For years and years I've said about Aaron Rogers. Love is talent, but he's too passive aggressive. The Kobe Bryant's are just aggressive aggressive. Michael Jordan punched teammates. Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, Troy Aikman, call out teammates yell. I am totally okay with that because I do believe in life you can often say, here's a real tactic. let's just sleep on it. And that's a real thing. In sports, you have the clock and you have downs. So when fit hits the shan and you've got a minute 20 to figure it out, you have to confront.

You and I have to argue. Let's get this right. We've got a minute 20 left. Sports on the sidelines because of a clock. Outside of baseball, all sports have a clock. And football's got downs. So when problems happen, we have to be confrontational with this. You and I have to figure it out.

We can't sleep on it like life. Let's sleep on it, wake up in the morning, reset ourselves, honey, we'll be in a better mood. So yesterday, Aaron and Matt start barking, and I'm like, I love it. This is exactly what he wouldn't do with Mike McCarthy. It was eye rolling, throw the ball out of bounds. What did you make of the confrontation? Yeah, I'm with you there. It's a matter of understanding what we are trying to get done.

We're trying to win. They came out blazing yesterday, and the offense looked great. their passing game, they had an established running game, they were rolling. And this is when you get to the point in the game and things aren't going right, you start to get frustrated. It has nothing to do with him trying to show up Matt LaFleur or Matt LaFleur trying to do it his way. It's like, look, let's get back to whatever we were doing. Let's get back to that.

What are we doing? Let's go. Our defense is special. They're doing things that we haven't seen them do in the last few years. Like, we can't be the reason why we're. we let this team get back in the game. By the way, Green Bay's offense is going to start to hum, folks. They've played the Bears and the Vikings.

These are top five defenses. And they're winning, and they're 2 and O, and they've got a rookie head coach. The only thing I didn't like about this with Aaron, he kept walking. Stop. It was aggressive, but a little passive aggressive. No, I don't mind him walking because if he stops and he makes it into this big ordeal, then what we do as the media, now we're like, oh, there it is right there. but what he's showing is like, yeah, I'm frustrated,

but I'm not going to harp on it. Let's get to the sideline. We're going to get over to the bench. We'll talk about it. You'll get my real sentiments over there and let's move on. It's not a big deal to, it's not a big enough deal to sit there on the sideline while the cameras are all there and just bark back and forth. That's not going to do anything.

But I did think this was a moment where I never saw this with McCarthy. It was eye rolling. It was kind of, he led the NFL last year in throwaways, meaning basically he bailed on the play before the ball was snapped, threw it away. That's passive aggressive. This is, I hope this young coach gets into Aaron. Aaron gets into him because in sports, you got a clock. You got to solve stuff.

You can't sleep on it. You got to confront it. I read a saying this weekend, great democracies have to have uncomfortable discussions. Great quarterbacks and head coach relationships have to have similarly uncomfortable discussions. They had one. It worked. All right, let's go to Dak. I'm watching him.

I'm watching him. Do you know number one in completion, number two in passing yards in the last 10 games? Okay, like, by the way, T-Bow won games. I never bought it. Flacco won an MVP in a Super Bowl. I never really bought it. Andy Dalton won games. I didn't buy it.

It's not just the winning here because I've seen guys win. I don't, Tribisky last year, 11 and 3 as a starter. I didn't buy that. I'm watching this and I'm thinking, That's a quarterback. That's a real quarterback. Big, leading. I don't know. You can't, at this point, if you're doubting him, you're just anti-Cowboy, right? Yeah, look, I like everything that I'm seeing out of Dak Prescott. Like, I'm just going to flat out say it. He is on fire right now. You can say what you want. He play the Giants defense. He play the Redskins. Look, he's getting it done. 82% completion percentage. You don't do that. I don't care who you're playing. You don't do that.

You don't do that. I mean, 60 plus percent on third downs and two games, that is getting it done. That is stepping into the huddle with a play that you have a conviction about, but you also have a swag about yourself. I love that. I'm going to make it work, period. That's what we're seeing out of Dak Prescott this season. And that's honestly what I thought we would see.

Like, we get it. Ezekiel Elliott is what the college. boys want to hang their hat on as far as running the football, punching you in the mouth, and you knowing it. But what Dak Prescott is presenting is that mindset of, look, this is my team. And yes, did we acquire personnel that made me better? Yes, but now it's my turn to make them better and make us better as a team. That's what we're seeing with Dak Prescott.

I love every bit of it. Here's what fans do that drives me nuts. So let Dak Prescott wins. Well, I mean, it was just a Redskins. It doesn't matter. Let me ask you, outside of New England and Kansas City, if you don't think they're the two best teams in the league, then your television's not working.

Take them out. Who's good? I mean, I'm sorry, Philadelphia is loaded. They lost. You can't keep telling me, I mean, I watched the Rams. They're 2 and 0. The first half of both their games were, to be kind, ugly. Like, who's good in the league outside of New England, Kansas City?

I watch Dallas, and you know what I say? Dallas is offense. Yeah, Dallas is offense. And I think when you talk about who's good, the Green Bay Packers. I think they're pretty good. The Green Bay Packers, because you kind of know their offense is going to, at some point, start to really click. Now, they look good coming out of the gauge yesterday, but their defense is for real.

I just didn't know that their defense was going to look like this, this week. This soon. This soon, being so young and not. having played the games together. They look great. I think the Rams, because of their experience together now, they're going to be good. When you start to get to teams in the NFC South, Atlanta Falcons, they have the potential to be special.

The whole darn league does. But you just don't know from week to week because they're inconsistent. This feels like, I mean, honestly, folks, this feels like Alabama Clemson in college football. New England, Kansas City feels like with Big Ben injury. I mean, listen, I like what Baltimore is doing. Let's talk about Baltimore. But I think we have to take, okay, let's take a step back. They've faced Miami, the worst team in the league.

And Arizona could be second worst. I think it's working. My eyes are telling me it's working. But Baltimore's schedule now, I think next week they play somebody tough. They play Kansas City. So it's going to have to be a shootout. You're going to have to drop the... So I think Baltimore's working.

But that game yesterday at home with Arizona was real tight late. When you're watching Baltimore, I know they've done a great job to two, receivers, two backs, new coordinator. I mean, Baltimore's really done a nice job. Are we sure it's working? It's worked. That's all I care about. And it goes back to what we

were just saying about Dak Prescott and Dallas Cowboys. Yeah, they played the Giants and the Redskins. Yes, Baltimore has played the dolphins and the Cardinals. But the big question, for me, I wasn't out on Lamar Jackson,

but I needed to see this. I needed to see him make the throws when the throws were needed, when the team needed him to step up. He's done it against teams that he should have done it against, so I'm not going to take credit away from him because he's been able to do it. In this game yesterday, the throw he made to Hollywood Brown. That was the best throw to game. That's the best throw he's made.

But it was in a crucial moment. They needed it. He stepped up and he did something that we've all been questioning, can he do it? And that's be accurate and put the ball in a place where his receiver can make a play. And he can continue to make his team better. He has been doing that. Now, can he continue to do it? That's to be seen.

But we can say that about any and every team and every quarterback in this league. I want to go to a team. I don't know. A lot of people didn't watch this game. But when you, I have to watch football for a living. So I like to watch. Do you? Yeah, for a little.

I mean, essentially 62% of my show last year is NFL. Like, this is what we do. Absolutely. So it's really. I really like watching football when it's clever and fun. We all love Sean McVeigh, and I think he's terrific. I'm not sure he's the best coach in his division. Kyle Shanahan and San Francisco with a bunch of babies.

That offense is a bunch of, that receiving core. They're all rookies or one-year guys. They did more creative, clever stuff yesterday. I got to have Mike Shanahan on to talk about Kyle, because he'll tell me the secrets. You watched them yesterday as a wide receiver. how much fun would it be to play in this system? How often were the Niners receivers

opened by eight yards? That's scheming. The thing that I love about what I'm seeing out of the 49ers and Shanahan and Garapolo and these young guys on this offense is, number one, we couldn't see this last year because Garoppolo was absent. That's right.

And so he couldn't showcase all of what he really wanted. What we're seeing is not a huge, Oh, he's innovating and he's doing all these different. No, this is formation variation. And smart players that can play different positions, present different looks running the same thing, but it looks differently to the defense. And so when you have a scroll or a list of plays, a barrage of plays,

that you can go to, but you have guys who can interchange. Very New England. Yes, you can interchange these guys. And it looks, and the presentation, of it looks different so you have the defense thinking versus just reacting. This is very interesting. So when you go into a game, if you run 12 plays, but you can make them at the initial, at the outset, they look different.

But how many plays in a game were really in Green Bay for you go-to plays every week? A lot. A lot of plays were go-to plays. We had guys that could interchange position. I literally remember. I literally remember running a play I don't know who was against, but we were all pretty much interchangeable,

specifically Donald and I, Donald Driver and myself, and we ran one play, and we ran it earlier in the game, and I caught the ball from the same position, the number three position, which is the receiver that's closest to the quarterback, kind of the extension of the tight end,

so it means you got two receivers outside of you. We called the same play. We were supposed to be in the same positions. Donald looks at me in the huddle and he says, gee, let me run that and you run this so it looks different for the defense. Boom. That's what Kyle Shanahan is doing outset from jump without players having to do it themselves. And that's what makes your offense thrive. When you have guys who cannot just run a position, they can play football.

They can play football and they understand the concept and they can execute it from all the positions. Yeah, San Francisco is really fun to watch, really fun to watch. Really fun to watch. 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. 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 Slicelife. 12 and the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hardway with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Keer Games.

And in recognition of Mental Health Awareness Month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience in the mental health field and conversations with so many incredible guests. I'm talking, Tripp Fontaine, Ryan Clark. Sometimes when we're in the pursuit of the thing, we get so wrapped up in the chase that we don't realize that we are in possession of the thing. And we're still chasing it. and we don't know when we've done enough. Because people scoreboard watch.

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

Join me, Kear Gaines, as we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose. On my new podcast, learn the hard way. Open your free. iHeartRadio app search learn the hard way and listen now imagine an olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged it's the enhanced games some call it grotesque others say it's unleashing human potential either way the podcast superhuman documented it all embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year within probably ten days i'd put on ten pounds i was having trouble stopping the muscle growth listen to superhuman on the i heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. What's up, guys? This is Clifford 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, ref, my mama want you to wave at her. What? Hey, Miss Parker. Listen to the Clippers show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. So every Monday we do this, I have strong opinion. Sometimes I'm right. Sometimes I'm wrong.

I'm both. I call myself out and pat myself in the back, which I would prefer in all instances. Here we go, right wrong. Where Colin was right? I had a very good blazing five. I went four and one. I picked Atlanta to beat Philadelphia.

They did. I picked the bills, who I think are really interesting to beat the Giants. They did. The Rams won. That was my strongest play of the week. They won. And Denver almost won, but covered.

My only loss was Big Ben and the Steelers, but he got hurt. They were leading. But otherwise, a 4-1 blazing five. We are 7 and 3 to start the year. Last year we had 66% of winning weeks. Fox Bet. Check out the website.

Check out the app. You can win money. A lot of people doubled their money with that Fox Bet app yesterday. where Colin was wrong. Even, regardless of Big Ben's injury, Pittsburgh, I was fooled by the preseason. Sometimes it matters, sometimes it doesn't. Their defense, which was great in the preseason, is a mess.

I mean, Russell Wilson only had six incompletions all day. Threw for over 300 yards. And Seattle, Doug Baldwin retired. Moving the ball down the field was going to be a problem for Seattle. This should have been worse. If Seattle doesn't fumble a couple times, this could be a blowout late in the game. They don't have a deep threat. Joy was right on that.

A, B. I like Juju Smith-Schuster a lot, but he does not separate. That's not who he is. Their running game is incredibly pedestrian. Mike Tomlin's one of my favorite coaches in the history of the league at the podium. Are the players believing in him? Listen, I understand this taking a while, but the defense has been really, really disappointing. They return a lot of good players. They added good players.

I mean, New England added good players to their defense. They look better than ever. So I missed on Pittsburgh. this big Ben or not, their defense and their running game are just not good enough in the NFL. Where Colin was right? Strongest opinion of the week was, listen, the Rams are better than the Saints. They were better than the Saints last year, and the Saints are undisciplined. They had 11 penalties yesterday for 87 yards.

I don't care if the refs make bad calls. They make bad calls all the time. They made a horrible call yesterday, and that Denver loss on a roughing the passer, they made a iffy P.I call against the Steelers on pass interference. This offense for the Saints has been a pop-gun offense since week 13 of last year. It's bottom third and virtually everything. I love Drew Breeze, but his arm was tired. That's why I don't think Teddy Bridgewater coming in ruins the season.

Teddy can't throw the ball down the field either. So I don't buy the Saints. I think we have sympathy for them because we love Drew Breeze and they have this incredibly strong brand, dynamic, clever, creative. San Francisco's that now. New Orleans isn't. and listen, Breeze played two series yesterday,

picked off three and out. You'd have seen that for three and a half hours yesterday. Where Colin was wrong. Jalen Hertz is now the best player in college football. You know how you meet people and they restore cars? Lincoln Riley restores quarterbacks. This kid's unbelievable. 80% completion rate.

Now, it was UCLA, but in three games, no turnovers, nine touchdowns, 900-yard passing, 400 yards throwing, And at Alabama, I just thought he's a college quarterback, and I'm not even sure he's a great college quarterback. I think Lincoln Riley is going to get him drafted. I mean, look at him in the pocket.

Big kid moves well. We have an NFL now where mobility matters, throws the ball effortlessly, finds the open guys, clearly sees the field. Listen, that's why, listen, man, football is the sport in our lives. It's about coaching. Coaching is a big, big deal. Look at Josh Rosen. and then look at Lamar Jackson, who do they inherit? And Jalen Hertz is suddenly unbelievable.

I think he's going to get drafted. I thought the minute two arrived at Alabama, I'm like, he's a second best quarterback at his college. Now I think he gets drafted in the first or second round year or two. Where Colin was right? Oh, Lord, Kirk Cousins. I mean, was that the worst interception ever yesterday? That was just the pits.

14th of... Well, Kirk, you've been in this league forever. It was a first in goal. Throw it away. What are you doing? I mean, I actually did an event years ago with him. He's one of the nicest guys I've ever met. He's just a great kid.

But I tell you right now, he hasn't even gotten to his primetime games yet. These are the one o'clock games. Wait until he gets on television. You can't tell me Minnesota coaches are not completely worn out because this roster of Minnesota is good. Receivers, backs, tight ends, pass rushers, linebackers. One of the best safeties, corners. Oh, Kirk Cousin lures me out. Where Colin was right?

I said all offseason. I think this is going to be Belichick's best defense since Teddy Bruske. Folks, they have not surrendered a touchdown since the AFC championship game. Rams, Dolphin Steelers, no touchdowns. It's the best secondary in the league, no doubt. They got Jamie Collins back. It's an intimidating, fast lineback in court. They get pressure on the quarterback.

They get the ball, take it away, pick sixes. Never forget this, that Belichick is a defensive coach. Sean Payton and Andy Reid are offensive guys. Pete Carolyn Belichick are defensive coaches. So Bill's always taken his players and made them better than they are. This is the best secondary in the league. It's one of the most active linebacking cores. And I got to tell you, this is what Belichick was telling people close to me in the offseason.

Like, we could be special. And right now, they are breaking records through two weeks in New England. Where Colin was wrong. Remember when five quarterbacks a couple years ago got drafted in the first round? I said Josh Allen at Buffalo and Lamar Jackson at Baltimore. I said these are not prospects. These are projects. Just let them sit.

Well, they're the only two young quarterbacks winning. They're combined four and O. I think Buffalo has done a great job with Josh Allen, a great job coaching him. And I think Baltimore has done a really good job. with Lamar Jackson. They both look to me confident. They're both playmakers. Now, again, I think you have to give Buffalo's coaching staff a ton of credit.

They're aggressive. I mean, yesterday they had him. He's a really good runner, Josh Allen. They had running backs blocking for him. Like, they've figured out, here's what the kid does well. We're going to put him in positions to succeed. Buffalo's coaches are not putting Josh Allen in positions where he's not going to succeed. And, I mean, they're really good game plan if you watch this game.

And similarly with Lamar Jackson, they got him two tight ends, they got him two receivers, they got a running back Mark Ingram, they drafted a running back. They went and got him Greg Roman, who's worked with mobile quarterbacks. I thought these guys were projects. They're better than prospects. They are starters in the NFL and capable of, I think, winning 8, 9, 10 games. Where Colin was right? Y'all ready to come to my side on Cam Newton?

I think he's been distracted day one in this league. I think he has, I call him roller coaster cam, not just because of his game, because of his personality. I never get the mood. I never get if he's in. Now, I will say Cam plays hurt. He and Big Ben have excellent reputations, guys that play hurt. So Cam is courageous in that aspect. But folks, this league, it's like Westbrook. It's become a shooter's league. He can't shoot. It's become a precision league. You've got to be able to complete throws. And Cam's wildly, wildly inaccurate. A lot of Joe Flacco. I get the size. I have a history.

I've seen him in a Super Bowl. But yesterday, Thursday, 25 of 51 against the Tampa defense that didn't have a Pro Bowl last year. Like, that is not at home. With Norv Turner. Like, that is not good enough. Where Colin was right. Rookie head coaches are 0.8 and 1 other than Matt LaFleur. You know who's looked really good?

All the veteran coaches. Belichick, John Harbaugh, Pete. Carol, Jason, Garrett, and Andy Reed are 10 and 0. All the young coaches, 08 and 1, old guys have been head coaches. They know the dilemmas and the crises that happen throughout the course of the week with players and families and wives and situations and the owner and coordinating is about being smart. A lot of these young guys are smart. Coaching is about babysitting and psychology and mentoring and being a dad and being, I mean, there's a lot of things these coaches are doing. And the old guys right now, the five experience guys are 10 and O.

And the young guys outside of Matt LaFleurr are struggling. Not everything new. Some stuff that's new is better. Uber's awesome. I like my iPhone. But not everything new is always better. 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, 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 in the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. Another podcast from some SNL late-night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smygel and Friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer Streeter Seidel

help an a cappella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and Friends on the I-Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Hey, what's good, y'all? You're listening to Learn the Hardway

with your favorite therapist and host, Kear Games. This space is about black men's experiences, having honest conversations that it's really not safe to have anywhere, but you're having them with a licensed professional who knows what he's doing. How many men carry a suit or armor? It signals to the world that you're not to be played with.

And just because you have the capability that does not mean that you need to. Listen to learn the hard way on the AHA radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque.

Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the I-Hard radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an IHeart podcast.

Guaranteed human.