The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Best of The Herd: 09/27/2019

Episode Date: September 27, 2019

Colin says that Thursday Night was a QB clinic put on by Carson Wentz and Aaron Rodgers and so many young QBs just would not have been able to handle the adversity those guys did. He defends Packers Head Coach Matt LaFleur's play calling and only calling pass plays at the goal line. He thinks Dak Prescott and the Cowboys are in for a wake up call in new Orleans this weekend. Plus, Super Bowl Champion and former Packer LB Brady Poppinga comes in studio to talk Packers, Rodgers and shares an amazing story about playing against Larry Allen. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an I-Heart podcast. Guaranteed Human. Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where Sports Slice comes in. I'm Timbo, and every episode, we're cutting through the noise,

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 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.

Another podcast from some SNL late night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smigel and friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer Streeter Seidel, help an a cappella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter.

Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and Friends on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. What's up, guys? This is Clivert Taylor the Fourth. And on my podcast, The Cliverts Show, I'm bringing you conversations about all kinds of stuff. Like being an internet famous referee. We're in the middle of a game. This linebacker, this linebacker walks up to me. He goes, hey, ref, my mom wants you to wave at her.

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

I'm Joey Dardano, and on my new podcast, hope from a hypocrite, I'll be changing lives, helping people in need with thoughtful solutions. Sike, I'm a comedian. I'm not qualified to give good advice. Join me and my comedian friends as we riff, rant, and recommend some of the most legally dubious advice known to me. This is Help from a Hypocrite, the worst advice from the dumbest people you know.

Listen to Help from a Hypocrite Wednesdays on the IHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Thanks for listening to The Best of Heard Podcast. Be sure to catch us live every weekday. From 12 to 3 Eastern, 9 to noon Pacific on Fox Sports Radio and FS1, find your local station for the herd at Fox SportsRadio.com or stream us live every day on the iHeartRadio app. by searching herd.

This is the best of the herd with Colin Cowherd on Fox Sports Radio. Oh, here we go on a Friday absolutely packed. Best show of the week. This is The Herd, wherever you may be, and however, you may be listening one hour from now, our blazing five, which is red hot. We're on IHeart Radio, Fox Sports Radio, and FS1. Joy Taylor is joining me. What a showcase last night.

I don't have all the Thursday games the last 10 years on my calendar. That was as good as Thursday games get. It lived up to the height for sure. Everybody. Oh, I don't like Thursday games. Poor players. I don't know. Those guys were.

That was as good as football gets last night. Now, I want to start with this. Quarterback in the NFL, the reality is how do you overcome chaos? Everybody loves all these young quarterbacks. And we like Kyle Allen. We like Kyler Murray. and we like Lamar Jackson and we like Josh out and we like Baker-Mayfield. Last night, my friends, may have been two of the best quarterbacks in the league,

two of the top three. Aaron Rogers and Carson Wentz, that's how to play quarterback. Aaron Rogers put on an absolute clinic. That offensive line for Green Bay was overrun by the Eagles. He was running for his life. He had no running game. He's got a rookie head coach who once he gets off the script, they can't do anything. They can't do anything in the second half.

He lost Devonthe Adams, and Aaron Rogers played as well as he has played. That's a top three Aaron Rogers game for me. He was absolutely brilliant last night. He had no running game. He didn't have two and a half seconds in that pocket more than a half dozen times. He lost Devante Adams. He's got a rookie head coach. He's learning a system.

Philadelphia's defensive line was pushing Green Bay's O line back the second the ball, was snapped. And he was as good as Aaron Rogers has been in a long time. Jimmy Graham can't catch anymore. DeMonte Adams got hurt and they couldn't run the ball. The guy threw for 422 yards against the desperate team with Doug Peterson's coaching staff and the veteran Jim Swartz, the defensive coordinator who's outstanding. And then there's Carson Wentz. Now, he ran the ball more. His numbers aren't great, but his team had nine penalties. Nine. They're at Lambo. He didn't have a deep threat. Deshawn Jackson didn't play. Alshon Jeffrey would not have played if they were not one and two.

Alshon Jeffrey was at 50%. And Carson Wentz on the road, can't hear in Lambo, was great. Tremendous decisions. Made one lousy throw at the end that was incomplete in a third and five. Outside of that, Carson Wentz. But what I loved about Rogers and Wentz last night, throwing from the different arm angles, errands under constant duress. Now, Went's had more time to throw, but who's he throwing to?

They had no deep threat. Green Bay knew it. Alshan Jeffries playing at 50%. That's how you're a quarterback. I mean, nothing against Dak Prescott. But he's faced the fewest pressures in the league. He's got the best running back, the best offensive line. He's got super smart guys.

Randall Cobb, Jason Witt, Namari Cooper. He's got all these veteran guys. They all run the routes he needs. That's not the reality of quarterback. That's not how the world works. I like Patrick Mahomes. Andy reads the best play designer, maybe in football history. He's got the best tie.

end. He's got the fastest guy in the league. Everybody they draft, Kansas City works. He's got one of the top seven, eight offensive lines. I love Patrick Mahomes, but that's not reality. Most people don't get Andy Reed. They don't get Travis Kelsey. They don't get the fastest guy. I mean, last night is

how you quarterback in this league. I mean, Buffalo, Josh Allen, 3 and O, they're babysitting him. They still got the binky in. I mean, last night, Aaron Rogers, if Aaron Rogers didn't play last night, and you put in the average NFL quarterback, they could have been, it would have unraveled in five minutes.

I mean, Carson Wentz has trailed in all four games this year by at least 10 points. He had the massive pressure last night. If they lose and go one in three in Dallas is three and no, have you ever heard Philadelphia talk radio? It's the angriest talk radio in the world. He is going to have to, on a by week, on a long week, if he turns on the radio, his ears will catch fire. Philadelphia doesn't just like sports.

They live it. So I'm watching that game last night. The pressure that was on, you know, any pharmaceutical sales rep can sell Viagra and heart medicine. Okay, can you sell the new product that's ankle medicine that nobody talks about? Anybody can look good when you have all sorts of time to throw. Rogers had none. And anybody can look good at home when you're a better team, whence nine penalties on the road, no deep threat. Clinic last night.

Absolute clinic on how to have. a quarterback. All right, let's shift to this. You know, there's a lot of, you ever driven? I used to have to make this drive once in a while when I lived in Vegas. I'd have to drive to Los Angeles, and it's like three and a half hours of desert. And I'd never seen a mirage because I grew up in Washington State and it's, there is no desert. It's raining. Those are real puddles. But I would drive from Vegas to L.A. And sometimes you look out there and it's like, is that a lake? What was it? Oh, it's called a mirage. And you're like, oh, that's so weird. Like the closer you get, It looks like you're driving up to a lake, right?

They're called mirages. A lot of mirages in the NFL. Buffalo 3-0. They played Brady and Belichick. Could be a mirage. Kyle Allen, who he looked good last week. Now, let's see if you can face that Houston Texans pass rush. It could be Kyle Allen could be a little mirage.

Buffalo could be a little mirage. Was Green Bay a little mirage last night? So the first three weeks they faced Mitch Trubisky, Kirk Cousins, and Joe, Blacko and that defense shut them down. I'm looking last night. Carson Wentz, 24 first downs, five for nine on third down, rush for 180 yards for four for four in the red zone. Maybe that Green Bay defense was a little bit of a mirage. Carson Wentz has an A plus arm, a plus size, A plus mobility.

They have a Hall of Fame left tackle who was back. Tight end, Zach Ertz will be a Hall of Fame tackle. Doug Peterson's a super clever coach. They had the better pass blocking offense line last night. Oh, that defense for Green Bay was not quite as spectacular. Yeah. Okay, Carson Wentz was not sacked last night. Green Bay led the NFC and sacks coming into the game, and he didn't face a ton of pressure. I watched that game last night. I felt Philadelphia was bigger. I felt Philadelphia was stronger. I said on Twitter and yesterday all over the show, I thought Philadelphia was going to win the game. They were the better team, and they were last night. Listen, it is very difficult to make decisive decisions in the first three or four weeks of the NFL.

Bill Belichick and Andy Reid are great coaches. I'll stop it about that. Patrick Malhombs is absurdly talented. I'll give you that one. The truth in this league comes out by about mid-October. Buffalo Bill's have had a lot of good Septembers. Kurt Cousins has had a lot of good games not on TV. And Philadelphia walked into that place last night.

They weren't even fully staffed. Didn't have a deep threat. Offensive lines been a mess. Three of their first, three of their best corners were out of the game. So this was not a fully staffed team playing under a ton of pressure last night. And that running game for Philadelphia, I mean, if you're Green Bay this morning, you're wake up, you're like, we couldn't adapt for three and a half hours. They ran over the Packers.

And I mean, Troy Aikman kept saying it. These were not like schematic tricks. Look at the holes they're running through. Those are four and five and six feet tunnels that you're running through. And so I just felt that entire game. I thought the bigger, stronger, more physical team was Philadelphia. It's why I liked them before the game. Even when they got down 10, nothing.

My takeaway, I'm sitting there watching thinking, listen. Referees stop getting in the way of the game. Let it settle down. It's hard to go to Lambo. The crowd is nuts. Thursday night football. Joe Buck, Troy Aikman, National TV. Crowds going crazy. Everybody's socially lubricated

with a couple of craft beers. And once that game settled down, Philadelphia owned Green Bay. Philadelphia's offensive line pushed Green Bay's defensive front all over the field. That was really impressive. And they're now getting some

rest. They're now getting healthier. And they are two drop passes, Philadelphia, my Super Bowl NFC pick, from being undefeated. Watch out. First three games of Packers defense allowed 11 a game last night, 34. In Lambo. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific. 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 athletes themselves. Their locker room stories, their reactions, the stuff nobody gets to hear. The laughs, the drama, the triumphs, the moments that never make the highlight real. From viral moments to historic games, from buzzer beaters to controversial calls, we break it down, give you context and ask the questions everybody wants answered. Sports Slice brings you closer to the action with stories told by the people who live them. Listen to Sports Slice on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast.

And for more, follow Timbo Slic Life 12 and the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hardway with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Kear Games. And in recognition of mental health awareness month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience in the mental health field and conversations with so many incredible guests. I'm talking. Trip Fontaine, Ryan Clark. Sometimes when we're in the pursuit of the thing, we get so wrapped up in the chase that we don't realize that we are in possession of the thing. And we're still chasing it. And we don't know when we've done enough.

Because people scoreboard watch. Life becomes about wins and losses. 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 Hardway and listen now. What's up, fam? It's Isaiah Thomas.

And I'm CJ Toledano, and our podcast Point Game is about defying the odds. Like LeBron heading into the playoffs without Luca and Austin Reed. And finding ways to win no matter what. He's the smartest player to ever play the game. His IQ is at a level that we've never seen before. And he knows without Luca and Austin Reeves,

I got to manipulate the game. We get a player's perspective on the challenges of the playoffs. I think Joker's going to be exhausted this series because when they don't have Rudy in the lineup, he has to really guard guys like Nas Reid. He has to guard Julius Randall. And then he has to give us everything he gives us on the night-to-night basis on offense.

And when IT's friends stopped by like Quentin Richardson, we dive into some playoff history too. Steve Nash will get that thing. That man, hell get the flying. He running up the court, licking his fingers why he got the ball. Like, after you go through a training camp with that, Isaiah, you figure it out real quick.

Get your ass up and down the court, and you're going to get the ball. So listen to Point Game on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. What's up, guys? This is Clever 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 walks up to me, he goes, hey, ref, my mom wants you to wave at her. What? Quarterback on office, blue, 42. Hey, rec, my mama want you to wave at her. What? Where's she at?

Hey, Miss Parker. Listen to the Clippers show on the I-Hart Radio app, Apple Podcast or wherever you get your podcast. So last night during the game, a crucial part in the game was Philadelphia was backed up to their one. So Green Bay's got first and gold at the one yard line and they called four straight passes. And I have as a rule, as a talk show host, I've talked about this. I used to talk about this all the time. Talk show hosts never sound dumber than when they try to second-guess coaches who have actually looked at tape.

This is, believe it or not, 25-year veteran coaches look at tape no more than sports talk show hosts and drunk guy in the fourth row. I know it's shocking, but if you looked at the tape last night, the coaches looked at tape all week, and you could tell from the first series they made a decision, we can't run on Philadelphia. The tape says we can't run on them. So there's that.

Physicality, Green Bay's running back gets knocked out first play of the game and both tackles get hurt. So physically, what they saw on tape was happening. They were hurting us. So there's that. Matt LaFleur likes to run the football. That's his history at Tennessee and Green Bay. So there's that.

Philadelphia's corners were all hurt. Three of four. Jimmy Graham's 6'6. Devonte Adams is tall. They have big receivers at Green Bay. So there's that. Like, there's a lot of different reasons why you don't run the ball. I probably would have run on first down.

Brought in my great power run. But after that, after I couldn't run, I'm not going to run it again. On tape, they couldn't see running. Clearly early in the game. Aaron Rogers led Green Bay in rushing. Aaron Jones is excellent. He had 30 yards on 12 carries. One running back got knocked out of that.

You were down to Aaron Jones and a fullback 35 seconds into the game. You had mismatches all over the field, but they were in the back end. where Philadelphia is, I mean, Philadelphia was hiring guys from Panera, bread, and Olive Garden to play corner last night. And there were massive, massive mismatches in size and experience and talent in the back end. Matt LaFleur talked about it. He took a lot of heat. Not that I wouldn't have run.

I would have run on first down, but here's what he said. You know, when you have one of the greatest quarterbacks ever, you know, you trust him to continually gain yards and get down the field. And we were able to accomplish a lot of what we wanted to do. It's just we've got to do a better job in the red zone. And when you're three for seven, you're not going to win many games. Okay, so ask yourself, why was Philadelphia so good in the red zone last night? Four for four.

Ask yourself, because their offensive line was pushing Green Bay's defensive front all over the field. Is Carson Wentz that much better than Aaron Rogers? Of course not. Well, the opposite was true with Green Bay. When you watched that game last night, the ball was snapped and Aaron Rogers was under duress. There were no running lanes. So you think down at the one, one and a half yard line, they're just going to open up. Well, you've only got to get a yard.

Yeah, and they got more guys jammed in the box. So, and again, if you always default to this in the NFL, I'm going to put the ball in the hands of the most talented player on my team. team. Aaron Rogers has been in a million fourth and ones, third and ones at the goal line. He's been here before. Matt Lefleur hasn't as a head coach, and Matt said, Aaron, I'm going to put it in your hands. Aaron talked about it after the game. I feel good about all four calls. I mean, we had a fade to Jimmy. We had a keeper that they played well. We had a, you know, an RPO. And, you know, and then we had the fourth down call. But I feel good about, you know, we had a couple opportunities there.

to score. We just didn't quite execute. But yeah, it hurts. Obviously, you know, the way they were stopping the run. We feel good about those four calls, and I like the calls, and I feel like we were close to on a couple of those to really score and tying it up. Listen, Green Bay with Matt LaFleur has been very good on script, but once you get off the script last night, Green Bay couldn't move the football. Aaron Rogers had a great drive end of the half because he's Aaron Rogers and Philadelphia's corners. Most of those guys will never see valuable minutes if the real guys are healthy. But, you know, everybody sits around. Green Bay is coaches. Now, I don't like fade patterns, but Aaron throws the best fade in the league. So even

that call on first down, I'm not a huge fan of it. But Aaron throws such a good, I mean, that's as perfectly as thrown ball as you can do. Then you look at the second one. Again, he's under massive duress. Then you look at the third one. Again, There's not much you can do here, but there is a mismatch inside. And the fourth one, it's a little playground, but, you know, I mean, there's eight eagles in one guy. Philadelphia is a better football team. And Philadelphia's defense was in Aaron's face all night.

We can sit here and argue and yell, and I would have run on first down, but I'm going to defend Matt Lafleur here. I got news for you. Pete Carroll got all sorts of heat for throwing the ball at the one yard line. A lot of people in this league now, this is not 1974, 83. They throw the ball at the one and two yard line. It's like, ask yourself, right now, ask yourself. Arizona gets the ball first and goal at the two.

Wouldn't you put the ball in Kyler Murray's hands with their offensive line? Yeah, of course you would. Then why wouldn't you put in Aaron Rogers with that offensive line? Two-yard line for a mobile quarterback who's a playmaker? Lamar Jackson, one-yard line. I'll put it in his hands. Let Lamar make something happen. One more herd?

The herd streams 24 hours a day, seven days a week. within the iHeart radio app search heard to listen live or on demand whenever you'd like all great football coaches adjust very well during the course of a game they adjust well most young coaches script very well now scripting's important but adjusting win super bowls Terry and Howie talked about Green Bay's problem this year, which is last night, fourth quarter, no points. Green Bay is now one of the worst teams in the NFL, 29th in second half points. That's with Aaron Rogers. That's with Aaron Jones.

That's with Devonte Adams. That's with an offensive coach. That's with an above-average pass blocking O line usually. They are bad. They are not. They are not. I mean, they've scored 28 in the first quarter, 33 in the second, six in the fourth quarter. It is now a trend.

Howie Terry talked about it last night, Thursday night football on Fox. Well, they've got the first 15 plays of the game down, Pat. It's the second 15 that they're having an issue with. So why are the first 15 plays they got them down? Why is that? Our viewers may not know. They're scripted. They're scripted.

Yeah, scripted. So they know exactly what they're doing for first 15. That's one thing. I think they're just struggled. They're very good at the opening half. They're very poor in the second half of the football game. And the reality is they may not fix it for a while. Sully Sullenberger, you remember the pilot?

When you're a 35-year veteran of flying and you lose an engine on takeoff over New York City, you can land it flying over the George Washington Bridge and nobody dies. I'm going to go with that would be much harder for a first-year pilot who loses an engine over New York City and has roughly 90 seconds to save everybody's life. Experience is crucial. Belichick, Sabin, Dabo Sweeney, Pete Carroll,

these are great adjusters. Sean McVeigh came into this league as a tremendous scripted coach. He was then embarrassed in the Super Bowl by Belichick. Why? Because he never adjusted. He had a bad Super Bowl, and Sean McVeigh heard about it all off-season. Why didn't you adjust?

can adjust off the script. You don't do anything. Do you know what McVeigh does really well this year? Second half scoring. It took even this brilliant young coach a couple of years to get off the script. He was great on script early with the Rams. Got to that Super Bowl and went, oh God, this is why Belichick has all these rings. Belichick is not good in the first quarter in the Super Bowl. He's the greatest second half quarter coach in the history of the Super Bowl. So McVeigh got ripped all year. And what did he do? Rams are second in the NFL in second half scoring. He said, I've got to learn to adjust better, not just script the game. So here is Matt LaFleur. He is a scriptor. And I think it's very hard to ask a first year pilot, a first year coach, even if, even if it's

Sean McVeigh, all right, 15 plays in. All right. Now at halftime, you've got 12 minutes. Nothing's working or everything is. And I think this is very difficult. I mean, let's go look at six of the eight rookie coaches right now. There's eight new head coaches. Six of them. Six of the eight are in the bottom third

of second half scoring. You think that's just coincidence? And Freddie Kitchens has looked a little overwhelmed. Zach Taylor, after the first game, has looked a little overwhelmed. Matt LaFleur in second halfs has been worked. Does it

he can't coach. It doesn't mean he's not smart. It has nothing to do with that. Sully Sullenberger, first year as a pilot, probably can't land it in the Hudson. Not like that. Not a perfect landing, no engine over New York City. Probably, have you ever watched that movie, had to make split second division decisions. What were all those decisions based on experience? Having flown over big cities, having lost an engine, having been hit by lightning, having had duress in a tight landing spot. So I think they can solve that stuff. It's not that they can't solve it, but I think it's very, very hard, and it comes with experience. And right now, Matt Lafleur, it may take him a year to figure it out.

I say this all the time. Just because you're talented, Kobe Bryant was talented when he was sitting on the Laker bench. But Kobe Bryant had to figure out, okay, be careful, this kind of defense, this guy can shoot. You look at the NBA and LeBron James. LeBron's a coach on the floor. LeBron wasn't even a good defender his first year. You can have all the talent in the world, but you've got to learn. I could never hire a 21-year-old producer on the show.

It could be the secret to go to Harvard. He could go to Princeton. If you don't have 10 years in this business, with all the moving parts on the show, I just can't hire you. I don't care what your resume says. I can't hire you. Everybody in my staff's got 10-plus years or more. So it's, and I loved you. millennials, but it's Joy has got, she's been regional. She's been local now. She's been national. We're asking Matt Lafleur on national TV to go up against Doug Peterson. He's got inferior

line play. Good luck. Blazing five top of the hour. By the way, I don't have a ton of time here. I do want to talk about this because I got so much good stuff top of next hour. I think, I like the Dallas Cowboys to get beat this weekend by New Orleans. So here's what's interesting. I've been saying this. So Dallas has had easy street. I mean, it's bad teams. two or three at home. New Orleans, keep your eye on New Orleans. So the Cowboys so far have faced the 31st defense, the 26 defense, and the worst defense in the league.

They've just got nothing but comfort. Keep your eye in New Orleans. So New Orleans opens against J.J. Watt and the Houston Texans, who, with the worst offensive line last couple years, keep winning their division and winning 11 games a year. And then they go to Los Angeles. Drew Brees gets hurt. They get a bad whistle, and they almost beat the Rams. Then they go up to Seattle, get out game two to one.

and actually, though, physically push Seattle around, win special teams, win red zone. New Orleans has faced nothing but duress, and they are two and one, and if not for a bad whistle, could be 3 and O. Don't think, this is the classic example. Last night, Philadelphia is 1 and 2, Green Bay's 3 and 0. But I said yesterday, Philadelphia is more desperate, and Philadelphia has dealt with major receiver injuries, O-line injuries, drop passes, Philadelphia is a better team. I'm not so sure New Orleans is not the better team than Dallas. I think it's very,

very close. The last couple times these teams have played, they can't score. And I like that. But Giants, Redskins, Dolphins, those are three rebuilding teams. Those are rebuilding defenses. He's going to face his best pass rush. He's not going to be able to hear.

Sean Payton, Alvin Kamara, Michael Thomas, and a top 10 offensive line. I have a feeling this is going to look like Philadelphia Green Bay, where the team with the worst record is going to come in and you're going to go, oh, because the Saints defense is legit. Think about Dallas. Saints this week.

Then Aaron Rogers comes to town. Then the Eagles defense is a couple of weeks away. And by the time you do face the Jets, Sam Darnel is back. And the Jets defense is actually good. They'll have Leonard Williams, Jamal Adams, C.J. Mosley, Quinnon Williams. And I think the kid is May. Is it Brian May? Who's the safety that they love?

Marcus May. They love him in New York. So the defense is now. Jet's strength is their defense. Eagles D-line is coming to town. Saints defense, Sunday night is real. And here comes Aaron Rogers. So all this comfort for Dallas, all this comfort food, it's done. That's done. All the rebuilding defenses are done. I like the Saints coming up on Sunday night football. What's going on everybody? John Middlecopf, that's me, three and out. That's my podcast. I talk about football, football, and more football, brought to you by the Colin Coward Podcast Network. Coming up on the show, Packers, Eagles, Aaron Rogers, Matt LaFleur, Doug Peterson, Carson Wentz,

also go over every individual game matchup coming up this Sunday again. Three-and-out podcast with me, John Middletalcough, go subscribe. I do believe there is a way to lose in the NFL. Nobody goes, I mean, we just don't have 16 and no teams. Miami Dolphins is the only team to do it. You're just going to lose games. But there are ways to lose. Now, Baltimore this week plays Cleveland.

When Cleveland lost to the Rams, a score was 2013. That was a very respectable loss, right? On paper. But Freddie Kitchens looked like he was overmatched. The play calling was putrid. Baker Mayfield made mistakes. It was the way they lost, not the score that made us look at Cleveland and go, Baker's overrated.

Freddie Kitchens is over his head. Now, Baltimore lost to Kansas City, but they look well coached. They look tough. You came out of that loss. And I think Baltimore is like, hey, we can play with anybody. So Cleveland loses does not feel good about itself. Penalties play calling. Baltimore loses feels great about itself.

I mean, last week's a prime example. New Orleans lost in L.A. But Breeze was hurt. They had an early whistle or they would have taken the lead on them. So New Orleans is like, we're not even going back to New Orleans. We're staying on the West Coast. We got robbed in L.A. They went up to Seattle and control the Seahawks.

That's a good loss. It matters. Cleveland can lose this weekend, 2820. It's going to be how they lose. If they lose 2820, four penalties, they play their butts off. It is close late, 2120, and then Baltimore adds a late score. You're going to get on that plane and be, okay, we are making progress. Freddie Kitchens is good enough.

He went toe to toe with Harbaugh. Baker Mayfield cleaned up his act. We ran the ball, a lot of play action. But if they go and they're a mess and Kitchens is overwhelmed and they have 13 penalties, folks, this puppy is unraveling. Because then you're going to face off a by Kyle Shanahan. Good luck, flying west and facing, in my opinion, the most clever offensive guy in the league.

Off a by. That on a short week, because that's Monday night, you play the Seahawks and veteran coach Pete Carroll. Oh, and then it's New England after that. You're not one in any of those games. If you lose to Baltimore and you, and it's ugly, Cleveland can lose this week.

You can lose this week. As long as you show, Freddie can go toe to toe. Baker cuts down on the mistakes. You run the ball allowing Baker to do play action. But if you have nine penalties, you have weird coaching, you look undisciplined, this thing's going to unravel in Cleveland fast. My guess is they play pretty well, but I think it's a time of possession game. I think Baltimore's offensive line is fantastic.

I think they're just going to grind and grind and grind. Baltimore does not make mistakes. That's why they're so well coached. They know their quarterback has some limitation. and they, this is what Buffalo's doing, and they don't put him in harm's way. Cleveland, every play, Baker's having to save the team. So in this league, everybody loses. It is how you lose as a young team.

Just watch that Baltimore game. How? How? How? Not what happens, but how it happens could be the Cleveland Brown's season in the balance. 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. The laughs, the drama, the triumphs, the moments that never make the highlight real. From viral moments to historic games, from buzzer beaters to controversial calls, we break it down,

give you context, and ask the questions everybody wants answered. SportsSlice brings you closer to the action with stories told by the people who live them. Listen to SportsSlice on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo SlicLife 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? 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, our heart radio app, Search learn the hard way and listen now. What's up, fam? It's Isaiah Thomas. And I'm C.J. Toledano and our podcast Point Game is about defying the odds. Like LeBron heading into the playoffs without Luca and Austin Reed.

And finding ways to win no matter what. He's the smartest player to ever play the game. His IQ is at a level that we've never seen before. And he knows without Luca and Austin Reeves, I got to manipulate the game. We get a player's perspective on the challenges of the playoffs. I think Joker's going to be exhausted. this series because when they don't have Rudy in the lineup, he has to really guard guys like Nas Reid. He has to guard Julius Randall. And then he has to give us everything he gives

us on the night-to-night basis on offense. And when IT's friends stop by, like Quentin Richardson, we dive into some playoff history too. Steve Nash would get that thing. That man, hell get the flying. He running up the court, licking his fingers why he got the ball like, after you go through a training camp with that, Isaiah, you figure it out real quick. Oh, yeah. Get your ass up and down the car. court and you're going to get the ball. So listen to Point Game on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get

your podcasts. What's up guys? This is Clever 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, 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, 42. Hey, Rhett, my mama want you to weigh better. What? Hey, Miss Parker.

Listen to the Clifford Show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Eight NFL seasons, a Super Bowl champ drafted by the Packers, buddies with Aaron Rogers, who put on a clinic last night with no running game and no protection. Brady Pupinga, former NFL linebacker just sharing stories. He will have a great story before we let him off about Larry Allen. Cowboys' legendary offensive linemen, not giving it away, 10 minutes away. So let's start with this.

Four or five games in, the truth comes out about the league. There's a lot of mirages early. Matt LaFleur, four games now, they can't score in the second half. So my takeaway is he's a young coach. He's very good off the script. Is it possible that he's just not there yet as a coach being able to adjust at half? Absolutely. I think halftime adjustments, but also like the short week,

I knew he was going to test him tremendously, because you have to be extremely efficient during this time. Because a lot of teams, they get into this idea that because it's a short week, oh, I got to pare everything down and simplify everything, which you don't really have to. There's more than enough time to get in all of your necessary strategies, adjustments, you know, specific to your opponent leading up to a Thursday night game and getting your team ready mentally, which I don't believe that defensively they were able to do.

They were not. Because they got exploited, especially in the trenches. even offensively, if it wasn't for Aaron Rogers playing at his top level, it's a dozy of a game offensively. It would have been a blowout if you don't have a Hall of Fame quarterback. So absolutely, this game I thought more than any time so far in his career, it showed his youth because he just didn't have his team prepared and strategically nor mentally. Brady, take me to, I mean, it was strange.

I mean, it almost felt like Philadelphia was running two run plays over and over and over. What would you have done? What would you have gone to the sideline? Is that match responsibility when you just, I mean, Philadelphia didn't even hide it. We're going to do this again. Well, I mean, the head coach, you have conversations with your defense like, hey, what are you guys going to do this week? You know? And yeah, it all goes through him because if he's like, I don't like what you're doing, this is what I like you to do, then you're going to do it as a defensive coach.

I don't believe he has that relationship with Petton. But here's the thing. You look at Philly in the first three games of the year. they did not commit to the running game like this. They did not block like this. So when you're petting and you're preparing your guys, you're more preparing for this offense. It's like a finesse spread offense.

It's going to run everything through Carson Wentz and all of a sudden they punch in the face. And you don't have a contingency plan. That's what to me bother me is like you, there are basically there are strategies in place called run blitzes. You know, Brady Quinn doesn't believe in them, by the way. You might want to ask them about that. But they do exist.

They're run blitzes to where basically you're saying. to your guys, look, we are going to send you anticipating a run, and we're going to just load you up, and we're going to dare you to try to throw the ball, play action passes, over the top. I did not see that all night. And that to me is like, that's your ultimate line of defense.

If you can't stop the run, because, as we see, the run game is a slow death. If you can't stop it, it keeps your offense off the field. It takes your quarterback, who's very dependent, as all quarterbacks are, on rhythm, puts him out of rhythm because he's cold sitting there on the sidelines instead of getting back out on the field, getting into his groove.

So that to me was the problem with the defense is there was no contingency plan. I get it that, yeah, on film, you saw a whole different team. You prepared for a whole different team, but, hey, have something in place that if they're gashing with runs that you're going to be able to say, hey, let's put that out. So then we can go and figure out what else we're going to have to do because if you're going to commit to the run, then they're going to probably be passing over the top. So you've got to kind of play those against one another. Brady Pupinga, eight years in the NFL, eight NFL season six with the Packers, Rams, Cowboys as well, St. Louis Rams. I have always had kind of a rule as a talk show host. I'm not going to second-guess coaches.

And the reason is you sit and watch tape all week, I don't. Secondly, there's injuries that you don't disclose. You may have a left guard who's got an ankle bruise, and you just can't run certain trap plays. I don't know that. There's all sorts of information you have, I don't, so nobody sounds dumber than a sports talk show host, second-guessing coaches. Sure.

I would like to have seen on first down a running play by Green Bay first and goal. But they were Aaron. I like the ball in Aaron's hands. Absolutely. They have huge targets. In Philadelphia's had corners from Panera bread. Yeah, I get it.

So I'm not going to crush Matt LaFleward. But you should, though. I should. Here's the reason why. Because as a defense, if an offense starts to just throw the ball, throw the ball, throw the ball, you get into the mode of, it's like seven on seven. We're going to play soft. Instead of a linebacker having to step up and respect the run, I'm going to just start right

into my drop, which gives the advantage to a defense. So this whole mentality shifts When you throw a run in there And it's just hey I'm gonna throw the run in there to keep you honest All of a sudden the defense has to be like ooh I can't just bell out of my drop You know if you're a defensive line And I just can't pin my ears back and rush the quarterback

I actually have to play honest And it's just having that threat that that potentially can happen And so what the base of the Packers did is they communicated to the The Eagles hey we're just gonna pass it the whole time The Eagles were like okay yeah you're gonna pass it And they never once played that against it with the run to where you kind of catch them off guard. And that's all it would have to have been,

just one time or two times in those eight plays, because there was two times they're down on the goal line where they, I don't know if the last one was four downs. Yeah, it was four downs. Both times is four downs. But anyway, if those plays, they could have ran at least one or two times just to keep the defense honest.

Yeah. And that's all it does is keeps the defense from saying, hey, we're just going to sit if you're in coverage for the pass, and if you're rushing the pass, and if you're rushing the pass, we're just going to pin our ears back and go after the quarterback. So you should second guess on that. That just principally doesn't make sense.

Okay. That's fine. That's fine. I can take heat. So you're good. You're good with that. All right. So I want to shift to the Cowboys.

You know, I was saying that the great quarterbacks in this league, it's about how they deal with duress. Aaron Rogers had no running game, lost Devante Adams, was running for his life and was absolutely brilliant. That's a great quarterback. Dak has been pressured 10% of the time. It is easily the least in the NFL. The running game's great. He's got grown-up. So Marie Coupil.

Jason Witten, Randall Cobb, like grownups that run good routes. I mean, it's been comfort. Are you calling Jason Witton a grownup because he's like 40 years old? Well, I mean, but I feel like DAC has, there's a lot of comfort here. Yes, yeah. You know, this hotel's in the best part of town. It's got good bed. It's got good breakfast.

Now you go to New Orleans. You've been there. You can't hear. Oh, boy. That's a whole different animal. You got Sean Payton. Talk about Dallas now. And go back to your career where you open the season with a couple of rebuilding

defenses, or rebuilding offenses, then all of a sudden you faced a Pro Bowl quarterback, and it is go-karts to F-1, right? Like, I think Dallas is going to have a little shock early, the noise, the pass rush. Go back to your own career. Do you think Dallas gets a little

overwhelmed early in the step-up in class? I don't think so. Dak has been, and he's been shown this ever since he was a rookie in that first preseason game against the Rams here in Los Angeles poised. And he's never looked rattled. And everybody, and this goes with any offense or defense,

the guy who mostly calls the plays is the kind of the personality that that unit's going to take because they're looking at them at every play. So if you get a guy who's calling a play who looks panicked and doesn't look poised. Kurt Cousin can be that. Oh, he's absolutely that way. He gets very rattled in the heat of the moment. And it kind of gets contagious. With Dak, he's calling the play every play.

And everybody's looking at him like, man, this guy's poised. He's coming. okay, I can be calm and poised. And so I don't believe they're going to be rattled by the noise and all that kind of stuff. They are facing the best team in the NFL if Drew Breeze is healthy. Now he's not healthy. So you got, you know, that to deal with if you're the saints. But they will be poised.

I believe they're going to play well. You always can rely on the running game with them because they're solid with the running game. I mean, you've got options there. Dak can do it. Obviously, Ezekiel and those guys. But the crowd, the atmosphere, it's not going to affect Dak. Dax poise, man. And I love Dac.

Yeah, he may have the luxury of a running game, but you still, think about it. You got to hand that ball off. You got back to the defense. And then you've got to turn around and re-gather what kind of covers they're in. And then based off of that, where are my options? And right now he's doing that at a very high level, and he's going to get paid a lot of money because of it.

Yeah. By the way, you live in Los Angeles. Rams are an ugly 3-0. We were talking about LaFleur. There's an ugly 3-0, huh? They just haven't, Todd Gurley. Well, yeah. Currently, they're just wrestling.

Of all the 3-0 teams, I'll just say this. Buffalo 3-0, buy them? No way. Okay. Jared Allen is the guy who just don't buy it. Or Josh Allen. Yeah, Josh. Josh, excuse me.

I don't buy him. Why? He's too volatile. To me, he's like, in one moment, he goes out there, he'll run around, and he'll look like literally like Mike Vick. He'll throw a sweet pass. And then all of a sudden, he's thrown some stupid pass into quadruple coverage getting picked off in a situation where the reward does not equal to risk.

Or he's running it and diving into. situations where he's again, the reward doesn't equal the risk. So there's just, to me, there's too much volatility to that quarterback position with Island to where you can say, oh, yeah, in the heat of the moment against a really good team, which they haven't faced, in my opinion, a really good team. Right. I don't know if he's going to be able to deliver. Yeah, it is funny about quarterbacks. You do generally become what we think you are. And the knock on Josh Allen was, he's like this wild pony. Oh, yeah. He's from Wyoming, man.

My home state. I saw him play Iowa in college. He was terrible. And then you'd watch him the next week. So to this point, he has not faced. It's been a very comfortable life because he hasn't been in shootouts. No. But if Buffalo gets behind, Josh Allen's going to have to carry him. Okay, I want your Larry Allen story. Folks, Larry Allen's a mythical figure in the NFL.

Oh, wow. Nobody saw him playing college football. I ask players all the time, who is the strongest, toughest guy you've ever faced? And the answer is almost always Larry Allen of the Dallas Cowboys. He's unbelievable. So Brady, this guy could bench 600 pounds. You can go to YouTube. He's not unbelievable.

Offensive linemen. And again, even on a great, he played with all these great players, but if you asked all the Cowboys, who was the scary dude, it would be Larry Allen. So tell me your Larry Allen of the Cowboys story. Okay, so we're getting ready to play 49ers because he went from Dallas to the 49ers. And I grew up watching Larry Allen what he's with the Dallas Cowboys. So I remember, you know, Madden drawing a big circle around his big rear end saying, look at that.

That's why this guy could move so many big players. I was like, okay. So here we are. We're getting ready to play Larry Allen. and they were playing, so the film that we were watching of them, they were playing the Detroit Lions. And at the time, there was a huge defense tackle by the name of Sean Rogers. He had to be 350.

And literally, Larry Allen picked him up by his throat, grabbed, like, I'm serious. Up under his face mask, picked him up, threw him to the ground, like you ragdoll. I'm sitting there, we're looking at each other, like linebackers, like, whoa, that dude weighs 350. I weigh like 250. So I started getting like this little thought.

I'm like, what if he grabbed me? Like, that would be kind of scary, right? So fast forward to the game. We run out into Cattlestick Park. It's a beautiful day. You know, he got the little moisture on the grass. It's a little under the water there on the bay. And all of a sudden, we're going through our warm-ups,

listen to our music. We just hear somebody yelling at us. I mean, it is like yelling profanities. He's going to kill us. He's going to chew us up. I mean, it was very kind of, like, graphic. His descriptions. And I look over, and there he is.

Larry Flippin Allen. And his arms were like tree trunks. his face is so huge I swear he had fangs it was just like you're saying a legend mythological it was like real now you know and that was his tactics

he would go and talk trash before a game and that little clip of him grabbing Sean Rogers and tossing around and just started running through my head and so I go into the locker room and I'm scared this is the first time in my NFL career and the only time where I was really truly scared

to play like I was wondering if I was putting my life on the line literally So we go out to the first play of the game And I'm looking at where Larry Allen is Okay, he's over there, okay, good And sure enough, they snap the ball And they hand the ball off away from me

To Frank Gore, so he's going this way And guess who's going to have to come block me? Larry Allen. So here he is coming up the block me And the best part is He has his arms out wide And he's screaming as he's coming to block Like that. I'm serious, like a monster.

So in the split second as I'm getting ready to take him on, I'm like, dude, this guy's so out of control. I'm thinking this. In the split side, he's so out of control. I'm just going to head fake him, and he's going to whiff air, and I'm going to run right around him. Sure enough, I head fake him. He bites on the head fake, grabs hair. I go around him, I get it on the play.

I jump up, and I look at Larry out, I go, bro. I go, you are a lot more bark than you are bite, buddy. Oh, mistake. And he was so upset about that. But then fast, dude, fast forward to this other play. Third round of 15. we had a three-down linemen set, three linebackers, five defensive back. I was the, they called me a floater.

I could either be a rush or drop back in the coverage. This particular play, I was dropping back in the coverage. So I walked up right over Larry Allen, because I knew I was getting under his skin a little bit, and I go, here I come, big boy, I'm going to run you right over. I'm going to stick my head right up in your chin, and he's looking at me up through his helmet with his face, just filling up the helmet. And he starts breathing harder and harder. And we're like, he's getting ready to take me on.

And I just jab step. And he comes at me. And sure enough, as he comes at me, our noseguard wraps around. It goes right to the spot where he should have been and gets a sack. He was unbelievable. So he never got his hands on me. Two and no against the monster. Yeah, yeah.

Let's hear it for Brady. That was a great. Those are great stories. It's true, by the way, every bit of it. Oh, I believe it. I'm going to go to YouTube after the show just to make sure you're not BSing me. 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 Sports Slice on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Slica 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 Acapella band with their between songs banter.

Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and friends on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. What's up, guys? This is Clever 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, 42. Dude. Hey, Wreck, my mama want you to weigh better. What?

Where's he at? Hey, Miss Parker. Listen to the Clippers show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. I'm Joey Dardano, and on my new podcast, hope from a hypocrite, I'll be changing lives, helping people in need with thoughtful solutions. Sike, I'm a comedian. I'm not qualified to give good advice. Join me and my comedian friends as we riff, rant, and recommend some of the most legally dubious advice known to me. This is Help from a Hypocrite,

the worst advice from the dumbest people you know. Listen to Help from a Hypocrite Wednesdays on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed human.