The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Best of The Herd: 10/03/2019

Episode Date: October 3, 2019

Colin explains why the one thing nobody in the NFL can figure out is how to stop Russell Wilson.  He points out that most NFL players want to play in New England despite the fact that they never pay anyone and don't have any fun. Greg Cosell of NFL Films talks to Colin about what is going wrong with the Rams and what the Saints did to slow down the Cowboys offense. Plus, Colin makes his top 3 college football picks in the Marquee 3. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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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, Wreck, 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.

What's up, fam? It's Isaiah Thomas. And I'm C.J. Toledano. It's our favorite time of the year on our podcast point game, the playoffs. We're digging into the biggest surprises of the season. And I'm looking back on some of my greatest playoff moments. If we didn't talk ever again, I was harmed. you just understood.

That's how personal it got. Wow. Then after that game seven, Mark keep coming to her. He's like, you know I love you, dog. You know, it's all love. This was just playoffs. This was just basketball.

So listen to Point Game 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 SportsRodio.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 Thursday. I think we're going to have our best show of the week. This is The Herd, wherever you may be and however you may be listening. Live in L.A. and IHeart Radio, Fox Sports Radio, and FS1, an hour from now, Greg Kosell, our NFL meat sandwich. He breaks down stuff.

If you're a fantasy football player, if you're a gambler, or if you just like football, Nobody lays it out like Greg CoSell. Urban Meyer in a couple of hours. Jeff Schwartz is live in studio. Former NFL offensive linemen. His brother Mitchell Schwartz, of course, is a great offensive lineman for Kansas City. And Joy Taylor is joining me.

Joy, how are you? I'm great. Can't wait for tonight's game. Yes, tonight the Rams Seahawks. To me, it's a coin flip. So this summer I sent my daughter to Cape Town South Africa for about a month and a half. It was a leadership thing.

And her mother and I decided let's let her see. part of the world, go by herself and a handful of other college kids. And there was a moment that was utterly fascinating to me. She's going to bed and she calls me on FaceTime and I am literally in the back part of my house. And she's on FaceTime and my daughter's calling me. She's in South Africa, in a tiny room, doors are locked. I'm in Manhattan Beach, California. I was looking for a broom or something. I'm in a little storage area and I am talking to my daughter in real time less than a one second delay. She's in South Africa. And I'm thinking, that is crazy. We have figured out how to do that. We have figured out as a country how to send people into spaceships and to be on other

planets. Just think about that. But here's what we haven't done in eight years, figured out how to stop Russell Wilson. Eight years, no losing seasons in now the toughest division, best coach division in football. So tonight the Seahawks and the Rams play. Rams have more good players. Ram should win the game. And it's funny about the NFC West because it's had star-studded coaches. San Francisco owned it for three years with Jim Harbaugh. And then, Seattle owned it for four years with Pete Carroll. And then here came Sean McVey and he's danced on everybody else's grave for a couple of years in Los Angeles. And everybody now, the media just fell in love with Sean McVeigh.

The cheekbones, the charisma, he won, he's very verbal, he's very smart, he's very handsome. He is like the ultimate L.A. millionaire, right? He's got it all, baby, the career, the looks, and everybody fell head over heels. The Rams are going to spend big money and dominate. and you know why I never believed it? Two reasons. Number one, the coaching in this division is the best in football. Pete Carroll is arguably, along with Belichick,

the first or second best defensive mind in the last 10 years in the league. Kyle Shanahan, along with Andy Reed and Sean Payton, is one of the top three offensive coaches. And there's no question, Sean McVeigh is the best young coach overall in the game. I don't know what's happening in Arizona, but those three alone, the coaching is way too good for any one coach to run away with this division. Three of the top five, six coaches in football are in the same division. Nobody's dominating it. But the second reason nobody's dominating it is Russell Wilson.

I want you to think about this for a second. Russell Wilson lost his best receiver. He retired. The offensive line is so-so. His top running back was picked in the seventh round. he has a rookie wide receiver who dropped in the draft and a blocking tight end. And right now, he is neck and neck with Patrick Mahomes as the best quarterback statistically in the NFL. It makes absolutely no sense.

Either does somebody on YouTube, who I watch yesterday, figure out the Rubik's Cube in 28 seconds, men on the moon, or me talking to my daughter in South Africa on a phone. Russell Wilson is unbelievable. The only team that could ever own this division, own it, would be Seattle, and that's because of Russell Wilson. It's really unbelievable what he's done this year. He's having his best season as he lost his best receiver, his best running backs of seventh rounder. The offensive line is not ranked as a top 10 line. They're kind of rebuilding, to be honest with you, on the O line and defense.

And Peter King was on our show this week. I said, Peter, I don't know if he's the best player. he's certainly the best Seahawk ever. I said, but he is absolutely in my lifetime. He's the best running quarterback in 30 years. He has the best touchdown ratio, meaning the percentage of passes that become touchdowns, he has the best ratio in 50 years. Think about that.

The highest percentage of passes that become touchdowns. And the Peter King, I said, Peter, he's the most underrated player of my life. I'm not even sure who's second. Maybe Steve Young. We look at Russell Wilson, who is a quarterback metronome. He never misses any time. He never gets hurt. He's never banged up.

Well, I'm sure he is. But he never, ever flinches. It's hard to say if you think a guy is going to the Hall of Fame one day that he's underrated. But if it's possible with any quarterback in football right now, it's Russell Wilson. Tonight, Rams have better players. Rams have far more, they have an elite offensive lineman. Rams have a better receiving core.

Rams have the best defensive linemen. Rams have better special teams. Rams should win. If they don't, it's because of Russell Wilson. Let me shift to this. I have a theory, and I think Joy and I talked about that this week, I would only pay athletes I had to pay, and I would only pay them when I have to pay them.

I believe you win and athletes want to win. I've seen it in the NBA for years. players want to be relevant. Players give up money. Chris Bosch, LeBron, D. Wade, Anthony Davis, Kevin Durant, Steph Curry. They all give up money because players want to be relevant. So this is a fascinating story. Stefan Diggs is a wide receiver for Minnesota.

Oh, oh, he's good. He's really, really good. And he hasn't shown up for practice because his quarterback stinks, Kirk Cousins. Yesterday, the coach said Mike Zimmer, I don't know where he's at. But it was interesting because he's been sending cryptic messages on Instagram and is now following a bunch of New England Patriots on Instagram. Isn't that interesting? I hear all the time, you've got to pay this player to get him.

Players want money. Got to pay the man. And I'm like, I want you to think about this. Antonio Brown, who did he want to play for? The Patriots. OBJ in the summer. Who did he want to play for? The Patriots.

Stefan Diggs, yesterday on Instagram. Who did he want to play for? New England doesn't pay anybody. The weather stinks. Not even Tom Brady's allowed to be a star. They have the hardest practices in the league, the most demanding coach, and a quarterback that if you don't memorize the playbook will ghost you. OBJ, AB,

AB, Stefan Diggs, I want to play with that team. You don't have to play stars. You have to win. Players want to win. NBA players want to win. LeBron, KD, Wade, Bosch, they want to be relevant.

They want to be on TV in May and June. Their agents want them to be, their shoe companies want them to be. Folks, once you got a net worth of $75 million, the money you make on interest is $7.3. figures. You want to be in the game. You want to be invited to the party. You want to get shoe deals in China. You don't get that when you're watching the playoffs at home in Indiana. And all these so-called diva-wide receivers, got to pay them. No, you don't. DeShon Jackson,

I'm going to play for Philadelphia. OBJ, AB, and now Stefan Diggs. They could play anywhere. Stefan Diggs is absurd. You just, you know where he doesn't want to play? with Kirk Cousins. That's where you don't want to play. So once again, this is why I said, the Rams took a big risk. We're going to pay everybody. New England's like, we're not going to pay anybody.

We're just going to win. By the way, Michael Bennett, very, Mr. Free Expression, Mr. Independent Thinker, Mr. Political Talk guy, Michael Bennett, I want to be a patriot. Jamie Collins was a lot of, Linebacker for New England. They wouldn't pay him. Went to Cleveland, made big money. Could have made more money on the market. He's now making a nickel.

Went back to New England. You don't have to pay players. I mean, you have to pay occasional players on the market like Elbron. I get it. James Harden, Steph Curry, you know, guys on the market. But the truth is, athletes want to be relevant. Athletes want to win. Athletes want to, like us, just be the best version of ourselves. Stefan Diggs might as well be a prank phone call. He's anonymous now in Minnesota. He just wants to catch the ball, be great, have fun. OBJ keeps showing us his watch. You know what OBJ really wants? A ring.

That's what he really wants. It's what they all want. Rings, relevance. Once again, a star-wide receiver wants to go to New England in crappy weather. No stars. We're not paying. paying you, keep quiet, play football, be part of an awesome huddle, memorize the playbook, and our coach barks at you. Where can I sign up? And for the record, I got no problem with

players getting paid who are stars, but isn't sports better when players care about winning as much as we do? And I think overwhelmingly, 99.9% even the stars do. And that's a cool thing. 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,

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network on TikTok. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hardway with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Keer Games. And in recognition of Mental Health Awareness Month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience in the mental health field and conversations with so many incredible guests. I'm talking, Tripp Fontaine, Ryan Clark. Sometimes when we're in the pursuit of the thing, we get so wrapped up in the chase that we don't realize that we are in possession of the thing.

And we're still chasing it. and we don't know when we've done enough. Because people scoreboard watch. Life becomes about wins and losses. Steve Burns, Dustin Ross, because you find it important to be a good person while you hear on earth? Are you a good person because you're afraid?

Because that's two different intentions, bro. Absolutely. And that's two different levels of trust. I want you to just really be a good person. Join me, Kear Gaines, as we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast, learn the hard way.

Open your free, iHeartRadio app search learn the hard way and listen now what's up guys this is clivert taylor the fourth 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 you know these kids linebacker walks up to me he goes hey ref my mom wants you to wave at her what time out look quarterback on office blue 42 hey rep my mama want you to wave at her what

Hey, Miss Parker. Listen to the Clifford Show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. If you're watching the latest season of the Real Housewives of Atlanta, you already know there's a lot to break down. Gorsha accusing Kelly of sleeping with a merry man. They holding Kay Michelle back from fighting Drew. Pinky has financial issues.

I like the bougie style of Housewives of Housewives show. I think it looks like it's going to be interesting. On the podcast, Reality with the King, I, Carlos King, recap the biggest moments from your favorite reality shows, including the Real Housewives franchise, the drama, the alliances, and the team everybody's talking about. As an executive producer in reality television, I'm not just watching it.

I understand the game. As somebody who creates shows, I'll even say this. At the end of the day, when people are at home, they want entertainment. To hear this and more, Listen to Reality with the King on the IHard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Cowboy fans turn away. This could be punitive.

This is going to be very difficult. You know I like Dak. You know I like Dak. And I think he's a franchise quarterback. I think there's a real low ceiling, but that's okay. Not everybody is Carson Wentz and Patrick Mahomes. I think a lot of guys who I see is Matt Ryan's a franchise quarterback. I think the ceiling's lower.

I'm okay with that. very interesting there was an article in the USA today from a writer see joseph right and that sounds a little doesn't it see joseph right see joseph run see joseph right so it's interesting so he takes his notebooks covering the cowboys and he starts noticing something with dac prescott we we thought Scott Linnehan is too conservative as a play caller. So they fire him. We think now last week we're like, you know, Kellen Moore is too conservative and predictable.

Are they or are they realizing there's things that just can't do? And so they call plays to help him. In the 44 games where this writer had notes on the Cowboys, he'd started detecting a trend that they rarely asked DAC when he was under center to drop back and pass. That the Cowboys, when DAC's under center, they almost always run, almost always.

And when DAC's out of the shotgun, they almost always pass. We both know predictability is a very bad thing in the NFL. So I went back and I said, let's not count DAC's rookie season. I don't count anybody's rookie season. Patrick Boholmes didn't play. It just, I don't think you can count. I mean, it was nice for Lamar last year, but he's clearly better this year. So let's just take Dax rookie year out.

Let's not judge him on that. Let's go to 2017 to 2018 and this year. Now, this is with the best offensive line in football. This is mostly overwhelmingly with the best running back in football. You start to see, let's go to 2017 the bad games. It's not just that they lose. They lose awfully to good defenses. So they get crushed by Denver, can't move the ball.

Denver had the third best defense. Then they face Atlanta, the ninth best defense, can't move the ball. They lose by 20. They lose by 30 to the Eagles who had the fourth best defense. They lose to the Chargers 28 to 6 and the Seahawks. And again, they can't move the ball. The following year, they open up with Carolina, can't move the ball. The Panthers defense at that time was ranked 15th overall at the end of the year,

but they were healthy in week one. They didn't have injuries. They then could not move the ball against Seattle, the Texans, the Titans, and were shut out 23-0-0 by the Colts. This year, they've played one elite defense in terms of personnel. Forget rankings now. It's early.

They couldn't move the ball against the Saints. With the best offensive line, with mostly the best running back, Dallas doesn't just lose. They lose the same way. way when you ask Dak to score in shootouts he can't. Dack is 31 and 2

when he scores 20 points telling you Dallas's defense is pretty good. Carson Wents has already lost two games this year when he scored over 20. You see a trend with Dak is that Dak has to

win a certain way. If he faces healthy elite defenses it gets ugly fast. When he faces defense that are in top 10 or top defensive coaches. He can't move the ball consistently. Now, this doesn't mean Dak's not a franchise quarterback. But what it means is there is a formula for DAC.

With the best half offensive line and with Zeke, he has more ugly offensive games than any quarterback we consider to be in that $30 million range. Go back to 2017, 2018 in the Saints game. it's not great. It does give you pause. This is with the best O line. This is with Zeke and a good defense.

So what it tells you is Wence and Mahomes, defense doesn't show up, they can win. Aaron Rogers, defense doesn't show up, they can win. Russell Wilson defense, Deshawn Watson. This is the difference between fantastic quarterback talents and winning quarterbacks, but clearly if you dig deeper, there is a concern when they face top defensive personnel or top coaches.

There have been a dozen absolute clunkers, clunkers, almost all against top 10 defenses or healthy top defenses early in seasons. Again, I like Dak, not anti-Dak, but you know, this guy's notebooks got all these little things in it and pretty soon you start digging it. It's like, by the way, Goulet, have that land for you. I mean, unfortunately, I watched every snap of all of those games. So this is not a total surprise to me. Goulet, as we did this this morning, was moving in his chair.

He was restless. You didn't need to bring it up. You know, you could have just left me alone. Yeah. You don't have to remind me of this. Because in our morning meeting, I have been very pro-Dak for three years. And Goulet just rolls his eyes. He doesn't want to hear it.

And this morning, he heard it. And he didn't like what he heard. Be sure to catch love. Live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific. We blame the wrong people all the time. I talk about this. We always want to blame the wrong people. And so Jared Goff is getting crushed. Jared Goff's no good. Nick Wright yesterday. He's a bomb. He's terrible. Pro football focus. Do you see how bad the Bengals offensive line was against the Steelers on Monday night? It's terrible. Through four games, the Rams have graded worse than Cincinnati. Every game.

line. So now, Jared Goff now has the lowest rated offensive line and no running game. Now, Jacksonville doesn't have a great offensive line, but Leonard Fernett's a star back. And Carolina doesn't have a great offensive line, but Christian McCaffrey's a beast. And Cleveland doesn't have a good offensive line. But Nick Chubbs is a monster. And the Vikings don't have a good offensive line. But Dalvin Cook is fantastic. Jared Goff has a bad offensive line. The guards are among the lowest pass blocking guards in the NFL. And, oh, wait, now Todd Gurley isn't dynamic. So it's not a Jared Goff issue.

You saw him with Patrick Mahomes. Okay? Yes, of course. Just when Kareem Hunt got hurt, Patrick Mahomes went through four or five games and his numbers dipped. If you took Travis Kelsey away from Patrick Mahomes for four to five to six to seven games, his numbers would dip. So we've got this belief now that Jared Goff is no good.

Their line last year was one of the best run blocking lines in the NFL. It's now rated last. That's the problem. It's not a Jared Goff issue. And I'm not a Jared Goff apologist. I like Jared Goff. But you got these young quarterbacks. Rams Whitworth now is 38 showing his age on the left tackle spot.

So we'll get to that with Greg Kossel. 40 years, NFL films. Love bringing them on. We brought him on this summer, by the way. We've had him on every week since August, and we'll have them on through February. So, Greg, it's a pleasure to have you. Let's talk about Cleveland. I'm a big believer in that to get duplicated success, that means to have something that can work week after week after week, in any business, you have to be able to depend on things.

and in Cleveland, Nick Chubb and that defensive front, Jarvis Landre Possession Receiver, I felt like last week Cleveland found a formula that you could duplicate, that you could take on the road. What did you make of their offensive output? Well, I think much of the output, the big output resulted from assignment mistakes by the Ravens. But to get to your larger point, I think every good offense has a sense of an identity and how they want to play. and then you sort of tweak based on your opponent. But I guess what you're saying is, and I think it's fair at this point, should their offense start with Nick Chubb?

Yes. And have him be the foundation as opposed to Baker Mayfield and the gun and working the past game. And I think at this point that's probably a fair way to go. It gives you more of a stability, more of an identity, and then you can work off that. Yeah, you like Nick Chub, I guess. I mean, I think he's a very good back.

I do like Nick Chub, and I think that his size, His movement, his agility and his speed sets him up well to be a feature back, a foundation back in this league. Yeah, boy, I totally agree with you there. Let's move to Baltimore. Listen, you start looking at – I was just talking to Jeff Schwartz, whose brother Mitchell plays for the Chiefs. And Jeff was talking about Lamar Jackson. He said, listen, when they play teams that are good, the Chargers a couple of times,

the Brown's defensive front, if you start looking at six or seven Lamar games, when he faces elite defenses, he's now struggling in all of them. What did you make of what you saw with Lamar? I think you're dealing with a quarterback at this point. That's still an erratic, inconsistent thrower. He'll make some very good throws and he'll miss some routine throws. The question is, can that improve to the point where he becomes a consistent thrower?

And that's a hard question to answer. He's never been a truly consistent thrower as far as ball placement and precise accuracy, but he will make some unbelievable throws. Right. If he's like this, if this is what he is, then what you're working off of is a multidimensional offense that presents major problem through all the run game elements, and you hope then you create defined throws for him to deliver the football. Every game, though, will have third and longs, Colin, as you well know, in which all those run game elements and all those misdirection, deception elements are not a factor, and then you have to make throws. at this point, we're not exactly sure where he stands there. He makes some, he misses others that are routine.

Have you seen in your years of watching tape guys be really average at that and then get much better? Much better? I'd say probably no. I can't think of anyone just offhand. That went from being really inconsistent with their accuracy to being precise with their accuracy, but I think you can improve some. Okay. Let's go to Carson Wentz, rank number one by PFF this season. And again, they've got their algorithms or whatever. Yeah, I don't know exactly what that means, but okay. Now I will say this. I've always been a fan of Carson Wentz. So I, of course, you know, confirmation bias. I'm like, darn right, they're right. Exactly. So I have no problem acknowledging some of this is confirmation bias. But I do like him,

and I think you like him too. I do. I think he's very talented. I'm. I I think that he misses a few throws here and there, but not to the point where I'd call him inaccurate. You know, I think when you speak to general managers, as I have, that they'll tell you that Wenz from a pure standpoint is probably in the conversation among the top two or three quarterbacks in the league. I have one GM tell me that Mahomes and Wins are the two most physically gifted quarterbacks in the league. I agree with that, yeah. So I think that he needs to become a little more consistent. I think if they can develop a run game that will help him, but I think he's the kind of quarterback that can take,

but not big-time receivers and probably help make them a little bit better. You know, I just, the Eagles are a team that has so many injury concerns. It's sort of hard to get a read on where they are offensively right now. Obviously, they ran the ball extremely well against Green Bay, who chose to play nickel pretty much on every snap versus two tight ends and got burned. But, you know, I think that, I'm anxious to see if DeShon Jackson can come back and play and not be injured where this offense can go. Let's shift to the Cowboys.

So it seems like every time they face the Saints, they struggle to move the football. Dallas certainly did. What did the Saints defense do? Is it just personnel that shut down Dallas? It was by Dennis Allen, their defensive coordinator, a ton of slanting, a ton of stunting, a lot of run stunts. Linebackers hitting the gaps. hard and forcing the Dallas offensive line to have to deal with them right

as the ball was snapped. They made the Dallas offensive line have to move and think, and they played faster than the Dallas offensive line, and they overmatched the Dallas offensive line. It was very schematic. Yeah, it really was, wasn't it? I think, I was funny, I watched this

Rams defense for three weekends now, and I think I made a mistake. I think they're better than I thought. You're talking about the Rams? No, no, the Saints. The Saints defense is just better. That is better than I thought. Yeah, and plus they're a challenging defense. You know, they'll play Tampa Bay this week, and James Winston will face a totally different scenario than he did last week against the Rams, where Wade Phillips essentially, Colin, played soft zone coverage concepts with off-coverage

corners, which allowed the receivers to get into their routes freely and easily, and that negated the pass rush, and basically James could hit his back foot and deliver the ball. And I think this week when the bucks traveled to New Orleans, they'll get a defense that will challenge you man to man. They'll put Latimore on Evans as they did a year ago, and they'll make, they'll challenge the receivers to win, and they'll challenge Winston to make precise throws. Let's go to Green Bay at Dallas this weekend. Aaron Rogers probably doesn't have Devante Adams, and I've been saying, I don't want to hear about this, because good Lord, you got Brady last year, Edelman's hurt, Grongsmith Super Bowls, Josh Gordon relapsed.

Randy Moss traded midseason. It doesn't matter. I've seen Russell Wilson lose Doug Baldwin. He's having a great year. But I have this feeling that Devante Adams is really a centerpiece for Aaron Rogers. It could be problematic. What is the tape say, Greg? I would agree with that.

And even though we've talked for five years about Aaron Rogers and the fact that he probably plays too much outside of structure, this may be a game where that's required. Because I think this Dallas defense is really good. That was kind of overlooked in the game this past week because of what the Saints defense did. But the Dallas defense has been very good all year. They have really good players at all three levels. They're very fast. And I think this might be a game where Rogers, and he'll know this going in if Adams can't play,

I think this is a game where Rogers will have to make outside of structure plays and improvise and do those kinds of things, which obviously he's more than capable of doing. Speaking of improvising, Russell Wilson is so different and so unique. I think he got Baker drafted number one, Mansell drafted. I mean, I think he is such an outlier that he's having his best year, statistically. You know, and he's doing it. Doug Baldwin left. He's made Will Disley a blocking tied in in college productive.

What do you, it's hard. We're in his eighth year. And Pete Carroll said two days ago, he's like, this is the best I've ever seen him play in. year eight. Talk about what you've seen so far from Russell, who plays today. Well, they're a fascinating lineup. They run the ball, and then they have Russell Wilson work off that, and it's a very efficient offense, and Wilson then adds the element of movement and the element of making second reaction improvisational plays, but their past game is not particularly detailed or nuanced. It's a fairly basic stuff. They run almost an old school offense, and,

Wilson executes it very, very well. Yeah, I'm watching the highlights. He's so much fun to watch. By the way, before I get to our big play with the Rams and Jared Gough, I predicted before the season, and I was wrong on this, I said, Kirk Cousins, second year in the offense, it's going to get better. My eyes are telling me he's getting more anxious.

He's clenching his teeth more. He won't pull the trigger. Is this getting worse, or is it a lot of? The scheme thing is Zimmer conservative? What is happening to Kirk Cousins? You know, I'm not sure that it's necessarily getting worse. I think Cousins is a certain kind of quarterback, and there's not a lot of mystery to what he is.

I think he's a complementary piece that needs a full complement run game. He needs a good defense, and when one or the other of those things does not work, he can struggle. He'll probably end the season with the same kinds of numbers. always had, but when all said and done, he's probably a mid-range quarterback who needs other things to work for him. And when you go into Chicago against a really, really good front, even without Roquan Smith, and you cannot run the ball at all, those are the kinds of games in which Kirk Cousins will struggle. And I think Mike Zimmer wants to play a certain kind of game, and

those games can get you so far, and then you have to win games with your quarterback making throws. And Cousins may not be the kind of guy that can step up to that level in which he has to be the one to make the throws. But I don't think there's a mystery to that, Colin. I don't think this is news. Okay. Finally, Rams offensive lines not playing as well. They let a couple guys go. Todd Gurley doesn't have the juice. The defense fell apart. You have your big play of the week as the Rams who played the night on Fox on the road against Seattle. So let's talk about this? Well, I just want before we run it, I just want to say that even though the Bucks' defensive numbers in the past game are probably not very good, skewed certainly by this past week, this is

a fun defense to watch under Todd Bowles. They do an awful lot of things and they challenge an offense with a lot of different tactics. So let's run the play. I'm sure a lot of people remember this play with Levanted David making this interception, dropping out and making this interception of Jared Goff. And Jared Goff clearly did not see him and did not account for him at all. But there was a reason for that. It was such a nice scheme. Because what you're going to see is Levant and David up on the line of scrimmage as

part of a five-man defensive front. So he looks like a pass rusher. There's Jordan Whitehead. He's going to blitz. Okay? So what happens now? Here's what Goff wants here on this third and four. He wants to hit Gerald Everett split out to the field on a slant route.

That's where he wants to go with the ball. So now what happens? Well, first of all, they're going to send woods in motion across the formation with the corner going with him. So now you get the blitz. So what does Goff see? That whole area is now open. You can see that clearly. That whole area will be open for Jared Goff to throw the slant to Everett.

He thinks this is pitch and catch right now. Easy throw. But now we need to go back to Levant to David. He was on the line of scrimmage. He drops out underneath that. Gough did not account for him at all. This is schemed defense. Now, you don't know 100% that a slant is coming, but so you're going to get a rhythmic throw,

and that's what you get here. Oh, boy, you're right on that. I can't see that linebacker either on that throw. No, that's really good design. And Todd Balls has done a really good job with this. By the way, right now, they lead the NFL in rush defense, and over the last three weeks, they've played Todd Gurley, Saquan, Barclay, and Christian McCaffrey, and they're the number one rushing defense in the league. Yeah, well, Todd Bowles is the classic great coordinator.

Wade Phillips is this. Not sure he's got the personality to own the room, but as a coordinator, Jets' defense was good. Buccaneers defense is now good. How about that? That is a great play. I didn't see him either. Greg Kosell, 40 years NFL films.

Thanks for coming on, boss. We appreciate it. Appreciate it, Colin. Thank you. One more herd? The herd streams 24 hours a day, seven days a week within the IHeart Radio app. Search her 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. SportsSlice 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 Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Sliced 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. Care 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, Kear Gaines, is 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, guys? This is Clifford Taylor the Fourth. And on my podcast, The Clifford 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, rec, my mama want you to wave at her. What? Hey, Miss Parker.

Listen to the Clifford Show on the IHeart Radio. app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. If you're watching the latest season of the Real Housewives of Atlanta, you already know there's a lot to break down. Gorsha accusing Kelly of sleeping with a merry man. They holding Kay Michelle back from fighting Drew. Pinky has financial issues. I like the bougie style of Housewives show.

I think it looks like it's going to be interesting. On the podcast, Reality with the King, I, Carlos King, recap the biggest moments from your favorite reality shows including the Real House Wise franchise, the drama, the alliances, and the T, everybody's talking about. As an executive producer in reality television, I'm not just watching it, I understand the game. As somebody who creates shows, I'll even say this.

At the end of the day, when people are at home, they want entertainment. To hear this and more, listen to Reality with the King on the IHard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. So I was looking over the NFL schedule this weekend. And typical the NFL, there's seven or eight games that are really interesting. Rams, Seattle tonight's fascinating. Monday night football, Baker Mayfield at San Francisco, Jimmy G. I think Green Bay at Dallas on Fox is outstanding.

New England's going to Washington. I always watch the Patriots. Baltimore, Pittsburgh, to me, is must watch. I think Minnesota bounces back against the Giants. Here's an interesting game. Calil Mack of the Chicago Bears, the former Raider, will now play the Raiders. This game is in London.

Part of the Raiders' goofy schedule that the NFL apologized for it was so difficult. They won't go home again until November 3rd. It's absurd. They had a preseason game in Winnipeg. So anyway, Khalil Mack said he can not, he circled this game on the schedule. I've been looking for it too. This is one I'm looking forward to.

I can't lie to you, man. I got to let you go out of you. It's going to be a big one. I got to give the Raiders credit. I've been very critical of John Gruden, who I know and I like. I think he's a great broadcaster, and I think his departure from Monday Night Football,

the absence has been noticeable. This has been a tire fire. You have the cryo feet disaster with AB, the AB disaster. You have a first-time general manager in his first draft. You had the hard knocks distraction. You had the Vontes-Berfect mess. You've had weird trades.

And yet the Raiders today would be a playoff team. It's incredible. The offense is mostly good. Their rookie running back has 300 yards. They stole Darren Waller, the tied end from Baltimore. He has been spectacular. Tyrell Williams, the receiver from the Chargers, has a touchdown in every game.

They've been clever and creative, and they come right out of the gate every week. Despite the noise and the press conferences and the silliness and the trades and the controversies, the Raiders are actually a pretty fun watch. They are not a great team. And when you consider they're in a division with Mahomes and Andy Reid and the Chargers and the fact today they'd be a playoff team with this schedule, this noise, by the way, if you think I'm exaggerating about the schedule,

starting at Minnesota, September 22nd, they don't play at home until November at Minnesota, at Indy, now in London, by at Green Bay at Houston. Those are some really good defenses. And yet today they're two and two and a fun watch. You know, what are expectations in life? What are expectations? This has been a barnyard musical for six months, a total on the site. of the freeway tire fire. And, you know, they're just a slight underdog against Chicago,

won their division in Chicago last year. Some dysfunctional people can work. And I said, if the Raiders got to 8 and 8, you would be like, oh, this is an incredible success. And I'm dead serious. This would be an incredible success. If the Raiders get to 500, I will buy two season tickets for the Raiders in Vegas, give them to a charity, a kid's charity.

That is how impressed I am. Now, this may go sideways fast. But to be two and two in that division with all the noise, I don't even, I mean, I can't deal with that kind of chaos. I can't deal with it. Their new stadium, you know, remember Al Davis, the late Al Davis, his whole thing was just win baby. they should hang a banner inside the new Vegas football stadium that says just 500, baby,

and it will be one of their great accomplishments. If they beat Chicago and London, I don't even know what to make of it. I don't even know what to make of it. The spread on this game, if you had told me watch the Bears in preseason and watch the Raiders, just organizationally, this should be an 18-point spread. Now Chicago is using a backup quarterback, although Chase Daniels, a very good backup, has played with Matt and Aggie before in Kansas City. So two season tickets, all buy them, go to a charity in Vegas.

Because I am, I think, didn't I call this team a 3 and 13 or a 4 and 12 team? I thought they would be the biggest joke in the league. I thought it would be Miami's tanking, then the Raiders. Just 500, baby. What an accomplishment. live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, FS1, and the I-Hard Radio app.

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. Iowa and Michigan. I'm going to take Michigan to win and cover the spread at minus three and a half. Listen, Michigan was favored in this game by 14 points in the summer

because they lost a Wisconsin. They're 11 points less of a team. No, Wisconsin's fantastic. Wisconsin's defense is the best I've ever seen. Michigan has won 10 straight home games. They're the much better team here. And oh, by the way, Iowa, oh my gosh, Iowa's undefeated. They've yet to face a team this season that has a current winning record.

They have faced the fourth easiest schedule in America among the 18 remaining unbeaten teams. Iowa's also lost three straight games against ranked Big Ten teams. Michigan's the better team. This is an easy number to cover. Michigan wins it 26 to 20 over Iowa. They're the better team here. Auburn at Florida. I'm going to take Auburn has dominated this series.

I'm going to take the Tigers. Auburn Tigers minus two and a half, even though it's at Florida. Auburn has won the last three meetings. Auburn's defensive line, I believe, is. one of the best in America and will push Florida's offensive line around. Auburn's the only team in the country with two wins over teams that are currently ranked Oregon and Texas A&M. And by the way, in the last three games, Auburn's offense has exploded.

In fact, Bo Nicks had a bad first half against Oregon. Since halftime of the opening game, the freshman quarterback, Bo Nix, nine touchdown, no turnovers. They've not only won. They're 5 and 0 against the spread. Auburn has faced better competition. Over the course of the game, this Auburn defensive line pushes around the gators and wins 27 to 20. Texas and West Virginia. Texas is the better team, but I'm going to take West Virginia and the points plus 10 and a half. West Virginia strangely is given Texas all sorts of trouble. They run the heck out of the football and we'll keep it away from Texas quarterback Sam Ellinger. By the way, West Virginia had a buy last week. Now, I know Texas did too, but who is

Texas playing next week? Oklahoma. Texas has lost the game before the Sooners in three of the last five seasons. So all those Texas players are looking ahead on the horizon to Oklahoma. And here's West Virginia at home getting over 10 points that's had kind of the number on Texas. They run the football. Sam Ellinger sits on the sidelines and watches too much of this game. I'm going to take Texas to win 30 to 20. But it's just I'm betting a number here. I'm taking double-digit favorite, a double-digit underdog with West Virginia.

So there's my picks. You can look at them one more time. I think Michigan is absolutely a better team than I. Iowa and wins by more than three and a half. I think Auburn's defensive line is the difference. They've dominated this series. They're actually really playing well after a crappy first half against Oregon. And Texas will beat West Virginia, but I'm going to bet a number here.

I'll take 10 and a half with West Virginia at home. They had a buy. They'll play well. For West Virginia, that's as big as a game gets. That is a big game. For Texas, looking at sooner helmets out in the distance. That's really interesting. That's, yeah.

You know, somebody Lou Holt said this years ago, he goes, you never get the same 19-year-old back-to-back weeks. You never do. He goes, they got midterms, they got girlfriends, they're young, they're emotional. That's why, by the way, you know, Notre Dame plays Georgia, then they come out against Virginia, and they're totally flat in the first half. You know, NFL guys, you can get the same. I mean, you get New England's the same team every week.

College teams, you get wild variations because it's 18-year-old kids. So Texas plays like crud before Oklahoma, just the way it works, right? So it makes sense. Yeah, it does. 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. And for more, follow Timbo Sliced Life 12 in the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. Another podcast from some SNL late-night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smygel and friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and headwriter, 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 I-Heart 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 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, A, ref, my mom wants you to wave at her. What? Time out. Look. Quarterback on office blue with 42. Hey, Rhett, Mom, I 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. What's up, fam? It's Isaiah Thomas. And I'm C.J. Toledano. It's our favorite time of the year on our podcast point game, the playoffs. We're digging into the biggest surprises of the season.

And I'm looking back on some of my... greatest playoff moments. If we didn't talk ever again, I was playing. You just understood. That's how personal it got. Wow. Then after that game seven, Mark keep coming to, he's like, you know, I love you, dog. You know, it's all love. This was just playoffs. This was just basketball. So listen to Point Game on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed human.