The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Best of The Herd: 09/26/2019

Episode Date: September 26, 2019

The Packers are transitioning from being Aaron Rodgers dependent team and Colin explains why.  He shockingly defends Baker Mayfield against the harsh criticism from Rex Ryan. Greg Cosell of NFL Films talks about Carson Wentz and the Eagles early struggles as well as how good Deshaun Watson is. Plus, Colin gives his three best bets in college football this weekend. 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 iHeartreport. radio app by searching herd. This is the best of the herd with Colin Cowherd on Fox Sports Radio. Oh, here we go on a loaded Thursday. This is The Herd, wherever you may be and however you may be listening.

We are live in Los Angeles, beautiful Los Angeles, and IHeart Radio, Fox Sports Radio, and FS1, one hour from now our NFL meat sandwich, Greg Kosel. Those segments get better and better and better every week. We've got all these young quarterbacks out there. What does the film say with Greg Cosell? I can't wait. Tonight we've got the Philadelphia Eagles, a desperate team seemingly at Green Bay. I like Philadelphia to upset the Packers tonight.

I'll get into that. Joy Taylor is joining me, Joy, how are you? I'm great. Very excited for tonight. Yeah, tonight's a great game. Tonight would be the best game if it was played on Sunday. So you've got the 3-0 Packers who have kind of struggled and stammered offensively, but very good defensively against the Philadelphia team that's had injuries at left tackle,

injuries at wide receiver, defensive back issues. They're healthier now, left tackle back, wide receiver Alshon Jeffrey back. I like Philadelphia. If I was betting it, not in my blazing five, but I'd take Philadelphia plus four tonight. But it's interesting. Green Bay is a team in transition. And of course, New England last year was a team in transition. And about two years ago, New Orleans became a team in transition.

But Green Bay is different than those two teams. New England became last year a power running team. Why, Tom Brady's 42? They now draft a running back every year. They're much more reliant on the running back. They have the deepest set of running backs in the league than Tom Brady. And Drew Breeze a couple of years ago, New Orleans stepped up. They started drafting running backs, paying their offensive linemen alike.

But with Breeze and with Brady, there is a reason. They're old. Aaron Rogers is not. He's 35. He's a young 35. He's always kept himself in great shape. He eats well, smart guy. He's got most believe he's still in his prime.

I think he's slightly out of it. but I think he's got at least three to four tremendous years left. But Green Bay made a decision two years ago. We want to be less beholden to Aaron Rogers. Because the downside of being beholden to Aaron Rogers was he wasn't getting along with Mike McCarthy. He'd had teammates take shots at him. He could be condescending and difficult. And despite what Aaron and Green Bay people deny, the articles came out.

They said this time when we hire Matt LaFleck, lure, you don't be the problem. They, of course, denied, I still believe the article. So, if you watch Green Bay tonight, much like New England a year ago and New Orleans two or three years ago, they were teams in transition.

And it's very interesting because Rogers is not old. Rogers is really, at least, worst case scenario, just at the beginning of his twilight. Four good years left. But have you noticed, Last year, Green Bay was last in the NFL rushing 32% of the time.

This year, they're rushing 44% of the time. Top 10 in the league. They ramped up their defense. Now, Green Bay was smart. They knew they were going to have to pay Aaron Rogers, and they knew there wasn't a better college quarterback than Aaron Rogers, and they knew they were going to have to pay him. But this time, when they rebuild the football team,

we're not going to be as Aaron dependent. Because we've done that for 10 years. and we've got a coach that's fired, a quarterback coach that's leaving, we've had one good playoff run, and frankly, a lot of bad press, and we're tired of it. So teams are in transition all the time.

Tennessee is going to be in transition in the off-season. They don't like their quarterback. The Saints in New England, great franchises, have been in transition with Brady and Breeze the last two years because they're getting old. Green Bay's in transition because sometimes Aaron's leadership can be condescending.

He ad-libs, out of plays and often gets hurt. And when he does get hurt, we come crashing down because we're totally beholden to him. And what's interesting tonight, they face Philadelphia. And that's what Carson Wentz is close to. The two knocks on Aaron Rogers, he ad-libs out of plays and gets hurt. And his leadership, not always ideal. The two knocks on Carson Wentz, he ad-libs out of plays and gets hurt.

And his leadership, players like Nick Fon. Balls way, way better. So you're watching a reality for Aaron and what could be another reality for Carson Wentz if he gets hurt again or they don't turn it around. All the time, organizations and companies transition into employees, out of cultures, into employees, out of employees. And I think you're watching a Packer team that knew they were going to have to pay Aaron and should have paid Aaron.

and I'm all for paying Aaron. But that 10-year run with Aaron was fraught with coaches fired, feelings hurt, overly dependent, and they decided we're going to be a running team, we're going to play real defense. And by the way, you're watching it. 37 possessions for the Packers this year,

only seven touchdowns. Two of them last week were a 5-yard drive and a 32-yard drive because Denver turned it over. They are transitioning out of depending on Aaron, being great. Kansas City now is all in on Mahomes. They like him as a kid. They like his age. There's no injuries. They like his leadership. We're not going to spend defense. We're going all offense. And so Kansas City is very comfortable. Keys to the Kingdom. You get them. Deshawn Watson right now. It looks like to me, outside of the left tackle, they're very comfortable

with everything with Deshawn. They're going to keys to the king. Andrew Luck, Keys to the Kingdom, Seattle, Russell Wilson, pay you. But with Aaron, it's very, very comfortable. It's very comfortable. very interesting. Watch the Packers tonight. Now, that doesn't mean Aaron won't be great. They are built now to be not as reliant on Aaron. And I think Carson Wentz, one more injury or a 500 season, not in the playoffs. They'll have discussions about moving off being as beholden.

Got to pay him. He's too good not to pay. He's a quarterback. We're not going to be beholden to him. All right. So I'm in a rare position this morning defending Baker Mayfield. biggest game so far in the season for the Browns, although you could say Tennessee and the Rams Jets were all important.

This week, Rex Ryan used to coach in the NFL, defensive guy, very, very good defensive coach, not a great head coach, but a very smart defensive guy who looks at a lot of film, took a shot at Baker Mayfield. He said, quote, he's overrated as hell. Here's a guy right now that it's a one-reed guy, Baker, and he's going to improvise. He's got to realize one of the slowest guys on the field

when you take off with it. The ball's not coming out in rhythm. He's staring down guys. he's not accurate down the field. I think that's overly harsh. He has had accuracy issues. I do not blame those all on Baker. In fact, I think a big portion of those are interior offensive line.

They have bad tackles. I don't trust Freddie Kitchens. Baker, of course, responded because Baker is, despite what you think he's insecure, insecure guys get very defensive. Baker gets very defensive to criticism, and he took a shot, of course, he did it Rex Ryan. The wise words of Freddie Kitchens,

if you don't wear orange and brown, don't matter. And Rex Ryan doesn't have any colors right now for a reason. So it's okay. Got to win the moment. I want to give you a couple of numbers. Ten of the 16 interceptions last year for Big Ben were targeting AB. Dak Prescott got better when Des left. Ocho Cinco left the Bengals. They won more games. Three teams got better when T.O. left. high maintenance wide receivers, and I think that's realistic calling OBJ, high maintenance, are difficult. And they're especially difficult for young quarterbacks. This is why the Cowboys got Des out of town.

And did you notice when they went and got a receiver? It was the workaholic, the highly respected the very mature Amari Cooper. That was not a coincidence. Young quarterbacks, it should be noted. Who did the Rams get Jared Goff? Small College Cooper Cup. The very dependable low-key Robert Woods. Brandon Cooks, heavy charity, very quiet.

Have you noticed this? Needy wide receivers can be very difficult. They are especially difficult for young quarterbacks who are trying to learn the offense, who are trying to win the room, who are trying to balance the ego. So it's hard enough for Sam Darnold and Baker and Lamar and Kyle or Murray.

To learn the offense, go into a new sport, I mean, college football, the pros is a new sport, win the locker room, get the support of your coaches, and here comes OBJ, which I said could be very problematic and won't last. So Jordan Palmer talked about an interception baker through against Tennessee, and OBJ didn't do what he was supposed to on the route.

It's supposed to be an 18-yard dig, call it, right? It's supposed to be an 18-yard dig. And because the receiver is so, used to kill in the DB or beating the guy covering him, which in zone coverage, you don't need to do that. Get to the spot. He does an extra move and the timing's off and Baker throws it to a spot and the receiver's not ready.

The pick goes on Baker's stat column. But the reality is, if you can't trust the guys are going to be in the same spot every single time, then you've got to wait to see it. You're six foot, whatever he is, 6-162. The offensive line, as you pointed out, is the weakness. Now you're going to do what you have to do. due to survive, and for him in college, that was moving to his right. So it's very easy to bang on Baker, but there's a reason the Rams acquired the receivers they

did for golf, and the Cowboys got Dez out of town, and went and got one of the more mature receivers in the league, Amari Cooper. It is hard enough to ask Baker. Learn the offense, third coordinator, third coach. He's not a good. He's not. now having to massage and take care of OBJ because he knows OBJ is sensitive to criticism. He's taking shots at me. And the other thing Baker's being asked to do, in a weird way, David and Joku, the tight end getting hurt, actually strangely could help Baker's growth. That's one less mouth to feed.

Because if you look at the stats so far with the passer rating, Jarvis Landry, when Baker throws to Jarvis, his passer rating, is a person rating. is 31. So Baker's having to balance the needs of OBJ. Learn the system. New head coach. I got to keep Jarvis Landry healthy. What about the catches?

Rex Ryan's take it shots at me. It'd be very easy for me to take shots on Baker, Mayfield, and yell. I was right. But I think Rex Ryan's too harsh. I think OBJ was a very dicey proposition by the GM John Dorsey. And this is a very combustible situation. Now, if Cleveland wins this weekend, it's all good. But you got Baker trying to make sure OBJ is happy.

And now Jarvis Landry and Baker aren't working. You've got a coach who was hired by the GM who just got fired in Kansas City, John Dorsey. And if Freddie Kitchens doesn't work, then John Dorsey gets fired and he's not getting another GM job. Did anybody see Jimmy Haslam, the owner in the box Sunday night? Did everybody see how intense he was? Dude, you're a billionaire. there. You always see Jerry's smiling and Robert Kraft smiling and has them sitting there like

hovering over all of it, becoming a national joke because he keeps firing people. So you've got all this chaos and all this pressure and all this needs and you're putting it all on Baker Mayfield. You've got to be kidding me. You've got to be getting me. That's why I would not have hired Freddie Kitchens. I would have hired, as Joy said yesterday, Mike McCarthy. That is why I would not have gone after OBJ, although I think statistically he'll be good. year I would have gone out and got kind of an Amari Cooper type player. So we can all bang on Baker on this. I could take out the anvil today,

but you cannot ask a kid in his 12th, 15th NFL game to juggle this many emotional footballs. It'd be asking me at 24 years old to be the face of a sports network with a bad boss. Joy would be just crazy old yell screaming at me, diva. I got Goulet who rarely shows up to work. Well, that's reality. The whole thing would not work is what I'm saying here. You're putting way too much on Baker's plate.

This would be hard for Breeze. Way too much on Baker's plate. And this may be the last time I'm very pro-Baker, but I did think Rex is too hard, and I think people are losing a perspective on how hard quarterbacking in this league is. It's freaking hard. It is hard if you have Belichick.

It's impossible with that mess right now Cleveland. 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. 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.

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What's up, guys? This is Clever Taylor the 4th. And on my podcast, The Clivert Show, I'm bringing you conversations about all kinds of stuff, like being an internet famous referee. We're in the middle of a game. This linebacker, this linebacker walks up to me. He goes, hey, ref, my mom wants you to wave at her.

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There's so many choices for America. There's movies in your, the theater. There's movies on subscription TV, Hulu Amazon Prime. There's cable TV. There's normal TV. There's more malls than ever, indoor, outdoor. There's just options for your dollar. That's why we work so hard on this show.

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So I think as a sport, you have to create urgency. People complain about baseball the length of games. Oh, who. Who gives a rip? A good game's a good game. Baseball's problem. There's 162 games. I don't give a rip of a baseball game in the World Series.

goes four hours. If it's good, it's good. Who cares how long a game is? Football games go four and a half hours. I care that there's no urgency. So the NFL has urgency. Even a clown show win Sunday solves everything. So the NFL is considering going to 18 games.

Joy and I don't like it for the exact same reason. It eliminates slightly urgency. I'll give you a great example. This morning in the NFL, here's the take. takeaway. Baltimore is humming. They're doing everything right in Baltimore. Should have beaten Kansas City. That organization knows what they're doing in Baltimore. This morning, we're also saying Cleveland's pathetic. They can't do anything right. That is like 75 people in an old phone booth. Cleveland beats Baltimore Sunday. Cleveland's in first place.

That's what baseball doesn't have. That's what the NBA doesn't have. That's what the NFL has. The clown show beats Baltimore, and the clown show's in first place, right? And Baltimore, this well-oiled machine. Well, oh, we're tied and they just beat us head to head. And by the way, on Monday Night Football, Cincinnati plays the Steelers. So one of them is going to be 0 and 4. My guess, Cincinnati. So now Cleveland only has to battle Baltimore, who they just beat,

and Pittsburgh with Mason Rudolph. Win Sunday. Great example. Philadelphia. So you think to yourself, well, Colin, that's because the AFC is weak. Well, it is weaker. But let's go to the NFC. So Philadelphia is 1 and 2, and they've already lost to Atlanta

in Detroit. Meaning if right now, Atlanta and Detroit would get a tiebreaker over Philadelphia in a wild card. And if they lose to Green Bay tonight, that's the third potential playoff team in the NFC, that they would lose if tied a tiebreaker. They'd have to have a better record to get in.

But yet if Philadelphia wins tonight. They're two and two. They get extra rest to go home and play. Oh, the New York Jets. They'll probably be three and two. And oh, by the way, Al-Shon Jeffrey's back. The left tackles back. DeShon Jackson's coming back. The cowboy schedule gets harder. Philadelphia gets easier. Win Sunday. Or in this case, win Thursday. This is what sports are losing there, you know what, on the time of games. Create urgency. NBA, first round playoff series, three games. The ratings will go up.

The Warriors, what? James Hardin and Westbrook lost the opening game to Denver. Oh my God. Now it doesn't matter. The Golden State, LeBron, win a game, lose a game. That's why I said with the NBA, you want your ratings to go up. First round, three games, second round three to five games. Conference finals, you can do five to seven, final seven.

That's why we have, you know, that's why I don't like conference. championships in college football. You can be a, you know, mess all over yourself. But if you win this game, get to the championship. We keep adding games. And what we're really doing is eliminating urgency. Take the Browns and the Ravens. Cleveland wins Sunday.

We're all like, whoo, always love Baker. I told you, Freddie Kitchens, mayor of Cleveland. And Baltimore's reeling. You can't be Cleveland at home. Moy Lamar's got a real ceiling on this. 18 games in the NFL, don't rob us of that urgency. sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon eastern 9 a.m. Pacific. I saw some advanced stats. These came from Greg CoSell. This is interesting. So having a

clean pocket, meaning a quarterback goes back to pass and there's nobody around him, obviously beneficial, right? So these are the quarterbacks in the NFL that have had the most time to throw. According to advanced stats, Greg CoSell, DAC, Brady, Garoppolo, Carr, Bressette, Mahomes. Outside of Derek Carr, they're winning a bunch of games. It's the bottom of the list that's interesting. the highest pressures, meaning bad offensive lines, Deshawn, Watson, Josh Allen, and Baker. What's interesting here is,

is Deshawn Watson's 2 and 1 could be 3 and 0. Josh Allen is 3 and 0. Kirk Cousins is, why is Baker man overboard with pressure? Because you keep telling me what a great athlete he is. And so I was thinking this morning, so he's 511.5, 1,000, ran a 4-8-540. I ran a 4-7-9 in high school.

school. Of all these great quarterbacks in the NFL that are young, tell me which one Baker Mayfield's a better athlete then. Is he a better athlete than Kyler Murray, Lamar Jackson, Deshawn Watson, Carson, Carson, Wenz, Patrick Mahomes. Don't say Mitch Trubisky, because Trubisky ran a much faster 40 time and was also just a better athlete coming out of college. The athlete, you keep telling me how great Baker is, but yet when his offensive line deteriorates, his numbers plummet. Deshawns don't. Josh's don't. Kirk Cousins don't. We don't think Mario daisy's any good, so you can't use him as a comp.

Right? He's done. My point is, who is the young quarterback in the league that you keep calling a statue? You tell me he's not an athlete. Every time I tell you he's good, you tell me he doesn't work. It's Jared Goff. Jared Goff is the only young quarterback in the NFL that ran a 40-time as slow as Baker-Mayfield, and Goff's 6.3-5. Baker's 5.11 and a half.

You know, by the way, golf's 40 time, the statue was faster than Baker's. So stop with that he's a great athlete. Now, I do think he has quick feet. And that's important. I don't think you have to be a burner. But whenever I hear this whole thing about Baker, it's like, oh, he's got, he's fast. And my takeaway is, well, is he a better athlete than Deshaun and Josh? Is he a better athlete than the recently retired and the blah?

Is he better than Patrick Mahomes? Is he better than Kyler? I don't think he's better than any of those guys. His 40 time in his cone drills and his verticals line right up with Jared Goff, who you keep telling me is a statue. So either Goff's a better athlete than you think, or Baker Mayfield's not as great an athlete as you keep telling me.

I keep telling you, when Baker rolls out to the right, you ever notice he rolls right and back? Because he can't beat the defensive end of the corner. Because he runs a 4-8-40. I'm not saying he's completely unathletic. He's got quick feet. Excuse me. But I think sometimes we're, Jared Goff's dad played Major League Baseball.

Is it possible golf's a little better athlete, you think? A little? By the way, Oklahoma, where Baker Mayfield played, had four offensive linemen drafted in the NFL this year. Is it possible Baker had a little help at Oklahoma? Four offensive linemen this year drafted in the NFL, NFL-wide receivers. Brilliant head coach. So, you know, I'm not just banging on Baker to banging him.

But, God, if I have to hear again, he's, you know, he's really quite athletic and goffs the statue. If your dad's a major league baseball player, you got some good DNA. How many of you out there watching had a dad who played in the Biggs? I think golf's a little better athlete than you keep telling me, and I don't think Baker's quite the athlete he tell me. And all the comps tell me, all my cone drills and 40s and verticals, they're the same guy. All right, Greg Kossel, 40 years NFL films, my rant is over. now, 40 years of NFL films. This guy knows his stuff.

Let's start with the New York Giants. You know, circumstances matter a lot for quarterbacks in this league. A coach, your old line. I watched Daniel Jones. I watched almost that entire game, Greg. It was fun. What did you see that you liked? I mean, he had that nice scramble to the corner of the end zone.

He races over there and beats a DB. I liked what I saw. What did the film say? You know, I always started with how. he looks in the passing game. He looked poised in the pocket. He was decisive. And I think that's always something you look for with a young quarterback. Does the ball come out and does it for the most part go to the right place? He knew where to go with the ball. He delivered with timing. And for the most part, he threw accurately. What I like the most, Colin, and this is what we don't talk about

very much anymore, because all we do is focus on guys who can run around is I love his pocket movement, the ability to slightly slide one way or the other, to move away from pressure, keeping his focus down the field to still make throws within the structure of the play. I think that, unfortunately, has become an overlooked element of quarterback play because we focus on the Lamar Jackson's and the guys who can just run out of the pocket. But I think that's such an essential attribute to play at a high level in the NFL. All right, Shanahan and Jimmy G. are 3-0. It's a very clever offense. It was mistake-prone last week. But, you know, we both had our reservations about Jimmy G. We think he's talented,

but he didn't start enough games. I think now he's nine and two. I think we both think Shanahan's very clever. Let's talk about San Francisco. What do you see that you like or don't? In the pocket, quick compact delivery, consistent ball placement on intermediate throws. And I think Shanahan does such a good job with how he attacks defense. See, it's really interesting how Shanahan goes about it, because he builds and structures his offense based on understanding the responsibilities of defensive players. So in what, let's say he calls ISO lead run action with the fullback, and they play with the fullback over 50% of the snaps this year, he knows how the defense has to respond to that.

And then the pass play that comes off that exploits the defenders that have to respond to the run game. He's really good at that. And I think that they throw the ball in the middle of the field as well as any team in the league. And that's because they get those under- underneath defenders, normally linebackers, they get them in conflict because those linebackers always have a run responsibility and a pass responsibility, and Shanahan knows how to attack that.

Good stuff. Now, let's concentrate a little on the game for a couple of minutes here. Philadelphia is one and two, but it's deceiving because they've had drops that could have won those games. They could be 3 and 0. Left tackle's been an issue. Alshan Jeffrey now is back. They lose tonight. They're 1 and 3 in the NFC. That feels a little problematic. Like any panic with what you see on film with Philadelphia? Well, I think they've had some issues that are very problematic that need to get fixed. First of all, their run game has been anemic. They've not done a very good job in the interior with their run game.

I would say that losing Deshaun and these last two weeks, they've had no vertical dimension whatsoever, and their past game has been very, very condensed. Defensively, I think the structure of their defense has not been able to play out because it's built on a four-man D-line rush. And they've not been able to generate pressure with their four-down linemen, putting major pressure on their corners, and their corners are not up to the test, Sidney Jones and Russell Douglas, with Darby out now.

And that's forced Jim Schwartz to probably, in my view, have to blitz more than he would ultimately like. So they've got a number of issues that can be corrected, but they're causing issues. Let's talk about Green Bay. We know the defense is improved, but they're only averaging five yards per, or five plays

per series. Now, they have played very good defenses, let's not overreact, but of their seven touchdown drives of 37 possessions, two last week were short, five yards and 32, I think, because Denver had a turnover. Again, it's, I

just can't, I can't be too tough on Green Bay. I kind of feel like I've got to give them eight weeks. Is there something, they are running the ball more effectively, Greg. Do you like that? Similarly, a Matn-Lau-Flor offense starts because of his history with Shanahan and McVeigh, it starts with the run game. And two weeks ago, Aaron Jones had the big game this week. His numbers weren't as good, but Jamal Williams' numbers were better.

I think the past game will take some time to come around. But you hit it on the head. Right now, they're a defensive-based football team. And Mike Patton does such a good job with the way he uses his safeties, with how he structures his secondary, all his multiple front looks. So right now they're a defensive team, and we'll see what happens tonight. maybe they get well offensively tonight because the Eagles, as we said, are having some issues on the defensive side of the ball. I want to talk about the Cowboys and the Saints. I think New Orleans is going to win the game, and I think I've understated.

If you didn't watch New Orleans in Seattle, the Saints really laid it to them. They were really physical. And I thought they beat him in a number of ways. The Saints defense has surprised me. It's better than I thought. And I think it's the first time Dak is. going to face a pass rush. Your takeaway, what are the same, what are the, I think this is going to be very interesting for Dak. It's going to be a big leap from the Miami's to the Saints

defense. Well, they, they're in Dakwasak seven times. And even though the Cowboys won the game, I believe was 1310, you know, they really struggled to move the ball. The Saints did a good job versus Elliott. They played a ton of man-to-man coverage, and they won the line of scrimmage. You know, I think my sense is this could be another low-scritch. going game. I think Bridgewater, he was not very good last week, and I think they knew that. They had a very limited drop-back passing game. The game plan was clearly designed to limit Bridgewater as a passer, and the way the game played out, that tactic was able to prove effective. Now, I think Teddy will probably get a little better with each game. I don't think he's a high-level talent.

They probably know that. The issue is going to be Camara, because last year in the game, and the Cowboys did something really fascinating. They decided to go with six defensive backs on third down, which they normally didn't do up to Week 13 last year, and they matched Jordan Lewis a corner man-to-man on Alvin Camara, and Camara had eight catches for 36 yards in the week 13 game a year ago. Yeah, I think we both like Teddy. 13-6 is his last 19 starts,

but I think we both see him as a, you know, listen, there are guys that are tremendous backups, and I think he is a, you know, I think Tannahill and him are really made to be great backups. And with that, I want to go to Jacoby Brissette, who you and I have said for a year, and I don't, my feeling has been, I think he's a franchise quarterback. I just don't know how great he is, but I got to tell you, I'm watching Indianapolis with that offensive line, he's getting some time to throw.

What do we make of Jacobi so far? I like Jacoby Brissette. I liked him coming out of NC State. I think you can make the comparison that he's somewhat similar to Doc Prescott. He's a bigger man, but I think stylistically, he's somewhat similar. He throws the ball really well. They've speeded him up, which is what I knew they would do with Frank Reich and that staff because he used to be a little too deliberate.

He's got good movement. He certainly has a big arm. They try to keep him in rhythm. They do a really nice job with the rhythmic passing game, so the ball comes out, and they stay with the run game. So, you know, I think that he's a very solid, consistent player. And I think he'll just continue to improve as he plays more. This is really his second year as a starting quarterback.

You know, I text Chris Bowder when Luck retired and I wished him well, and he said, Our season is not over, not for a second. No. No. This kid's going to be a good player. Yeah, he's a real player. Now, here's what's interesting. Greg, I follow recruiting.

I saw Kyle Allen in high school. It was as good a high school quarterback tape as I'd ever seen. Oh, he was the number one. You know this. You follow this stuff. He's the number one recruited quarterback coming out, I believe, Scottsdale, right? Yeah, and his tape wasn't good. It was spectacular. Right.

Then he goes to Texas A&M, and Summlin recruits a million receivers and a million quarterbacks, and it's bumpy, and so he leaves. But I'm watching him Sunday. I'm watching his feet. It's not a one-reed offense. Greg Olson looked like he was 27, and Cam's lost eight straight starts. Now, let's get away from Cam's injury. Let's just talk Kyle Allen. Again, I'm looking at size, feet, arm strength.

Yesterday, Jordan Palmer told me on the show, bright, coachable. Could Carolina, if Cam doesn't get healthy, is this a better team with him this year, Kyle Allen over an injured Cam? Well, now, Alan started the last game of the year last year and looked very good. He started this game this week and looked very good. He's decisive. He's willing to turn it loose. He was precise with his ball placement.

He fits a Norv Turner offense. It's one game. So let's just say that's what he did in that game. He's obviously going to get a much tougher test in Houston this week with a somewhat depleted offensive line against a very good defensive front. But he throws the ball well. He knows where to go with it. Look, they were able to exploit the Greg Olson, DJ Swaringer matchup because he made some really precise throws. So we'll see.

But, you know, he certainly looks the part. And we know, as you said, because you follow this more than I do, but I did know he was the number one recruit coming out. The kids got talent. Yeah. Hey, by the way, Buffalo made my top 10. I think it's a real defense. I think their coaching staff is excellent. I think they're doing a good job to, how would I put this? Put Josh Allen in positions to succeed. I don't think their offensive line yet is a great pass blocking offensive line. What do you make of Buffalo's 3 and 0? Because by the way, I just read this last night. Buffalo's been 3 in 0 a lot. They've had great September's before. I kind of buy this Buffalo team a little more. You? Yeah, I think that Alan probably had his worst game of the three this past week. He still has some concerns. He still stays focused on his primary too long. He walks a fine line between that second reaction ability that can be positive and that negative recklessness.

He can be overreactive in the pocket. They have a distinct profile, Colin, the way they have to play to win. They can't turn it over. They've got to run the ball with some effectiveness. They're a good defensive team, and then they have to rely on Allen. And this is hard to do, but he can do it to make, and he'll make enough good throws from the pocket. But he still has a ways to go, but they've got a distinct profile. That's the way they have to play.

I'll be very anxious to see what Bill Belichick does this week. Yeah. When you play, then, the last thing you want to get beat by, you don't want to walk out of the stadium and go, oh, Josh Allen beat us because he made great second reaction plays. That's what you don't want to get beat by. Yeah, big strong kid, though, that can move. Oh, he sure can. Yeah, finally. Deshawn Watson, he has the most, he's the most pressured quarterback in the league.

He can be an absolute escape artist. I mean, he'd be in a play last week. And your big play of the week is Deshawn Watson, so let's get to it. Pressure's a relative term, though, but we'll talk about that another time. So let's get to the play and let's start it right now. And this was a touchdown pass that he threw to Jordan Aiken's the tight end, the first one, not the one where he ran around. Really well-designed play.

It's a two-by-two set. And you can see the two inside receivers, Hopkins and the tight end Aiken, they're going to run seam routes. Now, it's a single high safety coverage, okay? It's cover three. So what you have here is a post safety. He can't play both seams. It's as simple as that. So if you're not going to carry the verticals, then he can't play both.

So what does Shoshan do on his drop? He looks left. Two Hopkins. And Hopkins is clearly the bigger threat. So what does the safety do? he looks that way and turns that way. Then you take Aiken's down the seam, and it's an easy pitch and catch throw. This is really well-designed.

You know, like I said, there's the linebacker Thomas Davis. If he's not going to carry the vertical by Aiken, there's no way you can play this. And they know that from film study. So this is well-designed, well-executed, a pitch-and-catch touchdown. This is the kind of thing you really like to see in the high red zone. Yeah, boy, I really enjoy watching Deshawn play. And I know he's not the perfect quarterback, but man, as far as TV dollars, I get my money's worth every Sunday with Deshaun Watson. Yeah, I like Watson.

I think he has a chance to be really, really good. He's still got to work through some things, and it's a fine line to coach him because you don't want to take away the movement. But on the other hand, he's also responsible for a number of those sacks. Yeah, no, no, no. It's like Andy Reid says, I'm not going to take the special out of my guys. I got to let him be special, but you've got to put him in situations to succeed. Greg Kosell, big play of the week, manipulating the charger secondary in a road win. Greg, 40 years NFL films, great talking to you.

Thanks, Colin. Appreciate it. One more herd? The herd streams 24 hours a day, seven days a week, within the IHeart radio app. Search herd to listen live or on demand whenever you'd like. Last night, a blown call changed 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 Sliced Life 12 in the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hardway with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Kear Games. And in recognition of mental health awareness month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience in the mental health field and conversations with so many incredible guests. I'm talking, Tripp Fontaine, Ryan Clark. Sometimes when we're in the pursuit of the thing,

we get so wrapped up in the chase that we don't realize that we are in possession of the thing and we're still chasing it and we don't know when we've done enough because people scoreboard watch life becomes about wins and losses Steve Burns, Dustin Ross

because you find it important to be a good person while you hear on earth or are you a good person because you're afraid because that's two different intentions bro absolutely and that's two different levels of trust I want you to just really be a good person Join me, Keir Gaines, as we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast, Learn the Hardway. Open your free iHeartRadio app, search Learn the Hardway, and listen now.

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. fleets 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 Fourth. And on my podcast,

the Cliverts show, I'm bringing you conversations about all kinds of stuff. Like being an internet famous referee. We're in the middle of a game. This linebacker, this linebacker walks up to me, he goes, A. Ref, my mom wants you to wave at her. What? Time out. Quarterback on office blue with 42. Hey, rec. My mama want you to wave at her.

What? Where's she at? Hey, Miss Parker. Listen to the Clifford show on the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. Every Thursday at this time, we do our college football bets. I take three games. Fox Bet Markey 3 games. I try to do games that I think we can all watch together.

In the NFL, I don't care. I just pick the five best games that have the best numbers. In college, I like to pick games we're all going to watch. I'm not going to bet on Northeast Louisiana. And TV games, it makes it a little bit harder, but we do our homework and we like these picks. All our odds are provided by Fox Bet, so it's our Markey 3, and here we go. Ready to make some sweet cash? Colin's going to give you his three sure bets for the college football weekend.

It's time for the Fox Bet Marquis 3, Virginia at Notre Dame. Virginia is getting 12 and a half points. That is a lot of points. This is a good Virginia team that is tied for the most Saxon college football. I think the score will come down. You got to remember, Notre Dame played an incredibly physical game last week and a highly emotional game at Georgia. It's the biggest game in Georgia football in a long time.

It was so physical. Brian Kelly said, watching it on the sidelines, you could hear that game like no other. I think Notre Dame's banged up. It's a highly emotional game. Virginia was awful last week as they were looking ahead, so they looked like garbage against Old Dominion. Notre Dame tends to be a good team after a loss,

but not as dominant. I think Virginia covers. Notre Dame wins. They pull back emotionally. It's 30, 20. But I'm going to take Virginia and the points here. Their biggest game in a long time. Northwestern at Wisconsin.

Northwestern's hard to figure out. They are bizarrely good on the road. They're 8 and 0 in their last 8 road conference games. They're also bizarrely good as a double-digit underdog. In the last 18 games, they've been a double-digit underdog. They've won 10 of them straight up. Northwestern, 15 and 2 in their last 17 conference games, one of the best coach teams. Now, Wisconsin's better, there is no question.

And because Wisconsin was on national TV and drubbed Jim Harbaugh, I think they're overvalued. I like them. I think if you slow down Jonathan Taylor, the running back, you slow down the offense. Again, I'm taking a team that got a four turnover benefit against Michigan, one on national TV, and everybody in the world now has Wisconsin in the playoffs. Wisconsin's going to be down two starters in the secondary. They win the game 36 to 16, but I'm taking the 24 and a half points with Northwestern. USC at Washington.

I'm going to take the favorite Washington here, favored by 10. I think they win by more than that. USC is clinging the life. They're a mess. Don't overvalue the Utah win. Utah is Utah. Washington is better defensively. better at quarterback, better coach, and an overall better roster.

USC's a bad road team. Two and five since the start of last year. They can't hold on to the football. Last in turnovers in the Pack 12. Last in turnover differential, so they don't take it away. It's a coaching mismatch. Clay Hilton, with all that talent, last 16 games, 8 and 8. Washington doesn't lose at home much with Doug Peterson.

16 and 1 in their last 17. Washington does one thing well. They are absolutely brilliantly coached on defense. They're number two in the conference. And the other thing is Jacob Eason, if you haven't seen him play for Washington, is going to end up going in the draft. He may go number one or two.

Spectacular quarterback mismatch here. Washington wins it. USC is a big playoffense. They'll score some points downfield, but I'll take the Huskies to win by more than 10, 34 to 23. So Virginia is going to lose at Notre Dame, but take the points. Notre Dame pulls back a little off that highly physical, emotional win over Georgia.

Northwestern loses to Wisconsin, but I think Wisconsin's a tad overvalued after winning on national TV. I think they pull back a little bit emotionally. And I think USC is not well coached, can't hang on to the football. We're overvaluing them on a home win at the Coliseum over. Utah and Washington. By the way, USC lost to BYU. Washington went to Provo and destroyed them.

Just a better coach team and a better football program right now. There you go. All odds provided by a Fox bet. 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.

In every episode, we're cutting through the noise, breaking down the biggest moments in sports and giving you the real story behind the headline. And we're going straight to the source, the athletes themselves. Their locker room stories, their reactions in the moment, and the stuff nobody gets to hear. Listen to SportsSlice on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast.

And for more, follow Timbo Slicalife-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, S&L's Mikey Day

and head writer, Streeter Seidel, help an a cappella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and friends on the I-Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts,

or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, what's good, y'all? You're listening to Learn the Hard Way with your favorite therapist and host Kier Games. This space is about black men's experiences, having honest conversations that'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 IHart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an IHart podcast. Guaranteed Human.